THE 
 
 HOLY BIBLE, 
 
 ACCOEDING Xa 
 
 THE AUTHORIZElD VERSION? 
 
 WITH 
 
 NOTES, EXPLANATORY AND PRACTICAL; 
 
 TAKEN PRINCIPALLY FROM THE 
 
 iMOST EMINENT WRITERS OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND: 
 
 TOGETHER WITH APPROPRIATE 
 
 INTRODUCTIONS, TABLES, INDEXES, MAPS, AND PLANS: 
 
 PREPARED AND ARRANGED BY 
 
 THE REV. GEORGE D'OYLY, B.D. 
 
 AND 
 
 THE REV. RICHARD MANT, D. D. 
 
 DOMESTICK CHAPLAINS TO HIS GRACE THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. 
 
 UNDER THE DIRECTION OP 
 
 THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 ifor tl)e m&t of familits. 
 
 VOL. L 
 
 OXFORD, 
 PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY AT THE CLARENDON PRESS, 
 
 JBV BEKSLEY, COOKE, AND COLLINGWOOD, PRINTERS TO THE UNirERSITV; 
 SOLD BY F. C. AND J. RIVINGTON, BOOKSELLERS TO THE SOCIETY, ST. PALL'S CHURCH-YARD} 
 
 AND BY ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. 
 
 I8I7. 
 
 Cum Privilej[io.
 
 
 TO- 
 
 THE MOST REVEREND FATHER IN GOD. 
 
 CHARLES, 
 
 BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE, 
 
 LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, 
 
 PRIMATE OF ALL ENGLAND AND METROPOLITAN; 
 
 THIS EDITION 
 OF 
 
 WITH 
 
 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 IS, 
 
 WITH HIS GRACE'S PERMISSION, 
 
 MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 BY 
 THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, 
 
 BARTLETT'S BuiLDfNGS, 
 
 January 1, 1817. 
 
 1104909
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO 
 
 THE BIBLE. 
 
 THE BIBLE is the only authentick source, from which we can derive instruction concerning the 
 various dispensations of God to mankind, and the duties required of men by their Creator, The word 
 * Bible' literally signifies book; and the word •Scriptur'^s,' writings: but these words are now, by way of 
 eminence and distinction, applied exclusively to those sacred compositions, which contain the revealed 
 will of God. The words ' Scriptures' and ' Scripture' occur in this sense in the Gospels, Acts, and Epistles ; 
 whence it is evident, that, in the time of our Saviour, they denoted the books received by the Jews as the 
 rule of their faith. To these books have been added the writings of the Apostles and Evangelists, which 
 complete the collection of books, acknowledged by Christians to be divinely inspired. The Bible, or 
 the Book, the book of books, was used in its present sense by the early Christians, as we learn from 
 St. Chrysostom. 
 
 The Bible is divided into two parts, the Old and the New Testament. The Apostle St. Paul, at 2 Cor. 
 iii. 6 and 14, calls the dispensation of Moses " the Old Testament," and the dispensation of Christ " the 
 New Testament;" and these distinguishing appellations were applied by the early ecclesiastical authors to 
 the writings which contain these dispensations. The Greek word, translated ' testament,' occurs in Scrip- 
 ture both in the sense of a testament or will, and in that of a covenant, Heb. ix. 16; Gal. iii. 15. It 
 seems less properly applied to the ancient Scriptures in the former sense, since the death of Moses had no 
 concern whatever in the establishment or efficacy of the Jewish religion ; but, in the latter sense, it very 
 properly signifies the covenant between God and His chosen people. The same word, when aj)p]ied in 
 the sense of a testament to the books which contain the Christian dispensation, may refer to the death 
 of Christ, which forms an essential part of His religion ; but even in this case it would perhaps have been 
 better translated by the word « covenant,' as referring to the conditions on which God is pleased to offer 
 ■salvation to His sinful creatures, through the mediation of His only Son, Jesus Christ. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 The books of the Old Testament were originally written in Hebrew, those of the New Testament in 
 Greek. 
 
 The principal translation of the Old Testament into the Greek language, is that which is called the 
 Septuagint. This name is derived from the Latin word Septuaginta, Seventy, the version being related to 
 have been made by seventy or seventy-two interpreters. It is recorded that, about the year Before Christ 
 277> Ptolemy Philadelphus, being intent on forming a great library at Alexandria in Egypt, sent to Eleazar 
 the high priest of the Jews, to request a copy of the Law of Moses; and, as he was ignorant of the Hebrew- 
 tongue, he further desired that some men of sufficient capacity might be sent to translate it into Greek. 
 The messengers, who went upon this errand, and carried with them many rich presents for the temple, 
 were received with great honour and respect, both by the high priest, and all the people ; and having re- 
 ceived a copy of the Law of Moses, and six elders having been assigned out of each tribe (seventy-two in 
 all) to translate it, returned to Alexandria. Upon their arrival, the elders betook themselves to tlie work, 
 and first translated the Pentateuch, afterwards the rest of the Old Testament, into Greek. Whatever may 
 be thought of the truth of this story, it is certain that the translation, called tlie Septuagint, was held in 
 esteem and veneration almost equal to the original, and was not only used by the Jews in tlicir dispersion 
 through the Grecian cities, but approved by the great Sanhedrim at Jerusalem, and quoted and referred 
 to by our blessed Saviour and His Apostles. 
 
 The Latin translations of the Bible were, in early times, extremely numerous, but they were chiefly 
 made from the Septuagint, and not from the original Hebrew, until St. Jerome, who was well versed iu 
 the Hebrew language, observing tlie errours of the many Latin translations, and their frequent dis- 
 agreement with the original, undertook an entirely new translation, and with great care and exactness
 
 c 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTIOxV TO THE BIBLE. 
 
 translated from the Hebrew all the OUl Testament, except the Psalms This translation of St. Jerome 
 wL no .nivorsallv receivc-cl in the Church ; and at length another, wh.ch was composed of this and some 
 former translations, and winch is called by the Romanists The Anc.en Vnlgate. came into gene al use 
 The Romanists pretend that this Vulgate translation is the very same w.th St. Jeronie s, and that, whateve 
 variations may be ib.nul, thev wore occasioned by the negligence of transcribers. However this may be, it 
 ca.mul be do.lie.l that it has considerable hmlts, that it abounds with barbarous words, and that in many pas- 
 sages the sense of the original is corrupted, and in some entuely lost. Stdl the Councd of Trent thought 
 tit to declare that «' the °ame nncicnt and vnlgate Version, which has been approved and used in the 
 fiuuch ibr many a-es past, shall be considered as the autlientick Version in all i)ublick lectures, sermons, 
 and expositions, which no one shall presume to reject, under any pretence whatever. „ , _ . ^ 
 
 It is imnossiblc to ascertain with any exactness how soon there was a translation of the Holy Scriptures 
 into the lan<rua.re of the inhabitants of Britain. The earliest, of which we have any account, is a transla- 
 tion of the Rsafms into the Saxon tongue bv Adhelm, the Hrst bishop of Sherborne, about tlie year 70O. 
 E.-bert bishoi) of Lindistern, who died in the year T^l, made a Saxon version of the tour Oospels ; and 
 not lon'v after, Bede translated the whole Bible into tlmt language. There were other Saxon versions ot 
 tiie whole or parts of tiie Bible of a later date ; and it appears indeed, that new translations were made, 
 from time to time, as the language of the country varied ; but when the popes of Rome had established 
 their spiritual tyranny in this as well as in other countries of Europe, they forbade the reading of these 
 translations ; and in the fourteenth century the common people had been so long deprived of the use of 
 the Scriptures, that the latest of the translations were become unintelligible. Wicklifi" therefore, who was 
 a strenuous opposer of the corruptions and usurpations of the church of Rome, and from whom we are to 
 date the dawn of the Reformation in this kingdom, published a translation of the whole Bible in the 
 English language then spoken; but not being "suiliciently acquainted with the Hebrew and Greek lan- 
 guages to translate from the originals, he made his translation tiom tlie Latin Bibles, which were at that 
 time read in tlic churches. So offensive was this translation of the Bible to those who were for taking 
 away the kev of knowledge, and means of better information, that a bill, we are told, was brought into 
 the House of Lords, in the 13th year of Richard the Second, and in the year of our Lord 1390, for the 
 purpose of suppressing it ; on which the Duke of Lancaster, the king's uncle, is reported to have spoken 
 to this effect : ' We will not be the dregs of all, seeing other nations have the law of God, which is the 
 law of our faith, written in their own language.' At the same time he declared, in a very solemn manner, 
 • That he would maintain our having this law in our own tongue against those, whoever they should be, 
 who brought in tiiis bill.' The bill, through the influence of the Duke, was rejected; and this success 
 gave encouragement to some of \Mckliff's followers to publish another, and more correct, translation of 
 the Bible. But in the year 1408, in a convocation held at Oxford by Archbishop Arundel, it was decreed 
 by a constitution, "That no one should thereafter translate any text of holy Scripture into English, by 
 way of a book, or little book, or tract ; and that no book of this kind should be read, that was com- 
 posed lately in the time of John Wicklift", or since his death." This constitution led the way to great 
 persecution ; and many persons were punished severely, and some even with death, for reading the Scrip- 
 tures in English. 
 
 In the reign of Henry the Eighth, William Tyndal, a favourer of the reformed doctrines, which were 
 then making a rapid jirogress, was compelled by the Romish priests to leave England. After travelling 
 for some time in Germany, where he became acquainted with Luther and other learned men, he settled 
 at Antwerp ; and with the assistance of John Fry or Fryth and William Roye, he translated the New Tes- 
 tament from the original Greek, and printed it, with some short glosses, or comments, without a name, at 
 Hamburgh, or Antwerp, about the year 1.526. This was the first printed edition of any part of the Holy 
 Scriptiues in the English language. The impression was sent over to England ; and the eagerness, which 
 was generally shewn by the })eople, to read the Gospel in the vulgar tongue, quickly excited alarm among 
 those who were devoted to the Romish church. Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor, and Tonstall, Bishop 
 of London, caused all the copies they could purchase or procure, to be burnt at St. Paul's Cross ; and the 
 selling or dispersion of them was prohibited under heavy penalties. In the meantime Tyndal, with the 
 assistance of Miles Coverdale, undertook the translation of the Old Testament, and published the Penta- 
 teuch at Hamburgh, in the year 1530, with prefaces reflecting upon the English bishops and clergy ; and 
 in tlie same year he published a more correct translation of the New Testament. In 1531, he published 
 an English version of the Prophet Jonah. He was proceeding in the translation of the other books, when 
 he was seized and imprisoned by the Emperour, through the influence of King Henry the Eighth and his 
 ministers; and in the year 153G, he was put to death at Villefont near Brussels, in consequence of a decree 
 «iade in an assembly at Augsbourg. 
 
 Ill the year 1531, George Joye, an English refugee, published at Strasburg a translation of Isaiah j and
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE. 
 
 in the year 1534, he published at Antwerp a translation of the prophecies of Jeremiah, and of the Psalms, 
 and of the Song of Moses. 
 
 In the year 1535, Miles Coverdale published in folio the first English translation of the whole Bible, 
 and dedicated it to King Henry the Eighth. It was probably printed at Zurich ; and though it passed 
 under the name of Coverdale only, it is generally supposed that great part of the work was performed by 
 Tyndal, before he was imprisoned, and that his name was not mentioned because he was then under con- 
 finement. 
 
 Those, who were adverse to any translation of the Scriptures, not daring openly to avow their principles, 
 complained of the inaccuracy of Wickliff's and Tyndal's translations ; and on that ground objected to the 
 use of them : but, on the other hand, it was contended by the friends of the Reformation, that, if these 
 translations were erroneous, care should be taken to publish one more faithful. In the year 1535, Cran- 
 mer, who had been advanced to the see of Canterbury two years before, and whose endeavours to pro- 
 mote the cause of the Reformation were unremitted, had sufficient interest to procure a petition from both 
 houses of convocation to the King, requesting that he would allow a new translation of the Scriptures to 
 be made. Heniy consented ; and Cranmer, dividing an old English translation of the New Testament 
 into nine or ten parts, distributed them among the most learned bishops and others, requiring that they 
 should return their respective portions, corrected and amended, by a certain day. Every one sent his part 
 at the time appointed, except Stokesly, Bishop of London, and his positive refusal to have any concern in 
 the business seems to have put a stop to the work for the present. However, early in the year 1536, 
 Lord Cromwell, Keeper of the Privy Seal, and the King's Vicar-general, and Vicegerent in Ecclesiastical 
 Matters, published injunctions to the clergy, by tlie King's authority, of which the seventh- was, " that 
 every parson or proprietary of any parish church within the realm, before August the first, should provide 
 a book of the whole Bible, both in Latin, and also in English, and lay it in the choir, for every man that 
 would to look and read therein ; and should discourage no man from reading any part of the Bible, either 
 in Latin or English, but rather comfort, exhort, and admonish every man to read it as the \"ery word of 
 God, and the spiritual food of man's soul." 
 
 In the year 1537, a folio edition of the Bible was printed by Grafton and Whitchurch, at Hamburgh or 
 at Paris, more probably at Hamburgh : it varied but little from Tyndal's and Coverdale's translation ; 
 and the few emendations and additions it contained were supplied by John Rogers, who superintended the 
 publication, and assumed the name of Matthews : hence this is always called Matthews's Bible. A copy 
 of this book was presented by Cranmer to Lord Cromwell, with a request that he would obtain the King's 
 permission for the free use of it among his subjects ; and it appears that the royal licence was granted 
 through the application of Cromwell. 
 
 In the year 1538, an injunction was published by the Vicar-general, " ordering the clergy to provide, 
 before a certain festival, one book of the whole Bible of the largest volume in English, and to set it up in 
 some convenient place within their churches, where their parishioners might most commodiously resort and 
 lead it;" and in the same year a royal declaration was also published, which the curates were commanded 
 to read in their several churches, informing the people, " that it had pleased the King's Majesty to permit 
 and command the Bible, being translated into their mother tongue, to be sincerely taught by them, and 
 to be openly laid forth in every parish church." " It was wonderful," says Strype, " to see with what 
 joy this book of God was received, not only among the more learned, and those who were noted lo\ers of 
 the Reformation, but generally all over England, among all the common people, and with what greediness 
 God's word was read, and what resort there was to the places appointed for reading it. Every one, that 
 could, bought the book, and busily read it, or heard it read ; and many elderly persons learned to read on 
 purpose." 
 
 In 1538, Grafton obtained leave from Francis the First, king of France, through the intercession of 
 Henry the Eighth, to print an English Bible at Paris, on account of the superior skill of the workmen, and 
 the comparative goodness and cheapness of the paper. But this royal permission did not prevent the in- 
 quisitors from summoning before them the French printers, the English employers, and Coverdale, who 
 superintended the work; and the whole impression, consisting of i2,500 copies, was seized, and condemned 
 to the flames. Some few copies only were saved ; but the English proprietors of this undertaking found 
 means to carry with them tp London the presses, types, and printers. 
 
 In 1539, Grafton and Whitchurch printed, at London, the Bible in large folio, luider the direction of 
 Coverdale and patronage of Cranmer, containing some improvement of jNIatthews's translation ; this is 
 generally called the Great Bible, and it is supposed to be the same which Grafton obtained leave to print 
 at Paris. There were several editions of it, and particularly one in 1540, for which Cranmer wrote a pre- 
 face, shewing, that " Scripture should be had and read of the lay and vulgar people ;" hence this edition 
 of UIO is called Cranmer's Bible. In this year the curates and parishioners of every parish were required.
 
 GENERAL INTRODlTCTION TO THE BIBLE. 
 
 by roval proclamation, to provide tliemselves with the Bible of the largest size, before the feast of All 
 Saints, nnilor a i)onalty of forty sliillings a month ; and all ordinaries were charged to see that this pro- 
 damatioii was obeyed. A biiff or declaration was published to the same effect in the year 1.511 ; but 
 after that time the influence of the popish party increased both in parliament and with the King, and 
 Craiuner's exertions were frustratetl by the opposition of Gardiner and other popish bishops. In the year 
 15i'2, it was enacted by the aulliority of parliament, "That all manner of books of the Old and New 
 Testament, of the craftv, false, anil untrue translation of Tyndal, be fortliwith abolished, and forbidden 
 to be used and kept; and also that all other Bibles, not being of Tyndal's translation, in which were found 
 any preambles or annotations, other than the quotations or summary of the chapters, should be purged of 
 the said preambles or annotations, either by cutting them out, or blotting them in such wise that they 
 might not be perceiyed or read ; and, finally, tliat the Bible be not read openly in any church, but by the 
 leaye of the King, or of the ordinary of the place ; nor priyately by any women, artificers, apprentices, 
 journeymen, husbandmen, labourers, or by any of the seryants of yeomen or nnder ;" but, through the 
 interest of Cranmer, a clan e was inserted, allowing, '« that every nobleman and gentleman might have 
 the Bible read in their houses, and that noble ladies, gentlewomen, and merchants, might read it them- 
 seKes, but no man or Avoman under those degrees ;" which was all the Archbishop could obtain. In the 
 siime year Cranmer proposed in convocation, that there should be a revision of the translations of the 
 Bible ; but so many difficulties were started by Gardiner, and the proposal was so feebly supported by the 
 other bishops, that he was unable to accomplish his object, and desisted from the attempt. In the year 
 151(3, the last of his reign, Henry issued a proclamation, prohibiting the having and reading of Wickliffs, 
 Tyndal's, and Coverdale's translations, and forbidding the use of any other not allowed by parliament. 
 
 Though in the reign of Edward the Sixth the reading of the Scriptures was encouraged by royal pro- 
 clamations, acts of parliament, and by all other means, and there were many impressions of the English 
 Bible, it does not appear that there was any new translation of the Bible, or even any considerable correc- 
 tion of the old ones, during the seven years and an half that excellent prince sat upon the throne ; but it 
 was ordered,, that the Epistles and Gospels, and the Lessons, both from the Old and New Testament, 
 should be read in English in the churches, in the manner they now are. 
 
 The tcrrours of persecution, in the reign of Queen Mary, drove many of our principal Reformers out of 
 the kingdom ; several went to Geneva, and there employed themselves in making a new translation of the 
 Bible. The New Testament was published in 1557, and the remainder of the work in 1560. This is 
 called the CJencva Bible. It was accompanied with annotations, which were, as might be expected from 
 the place where they were written, of a Calvinistical cast; and therefore this translation was held in high 
 esteem by the Puritans. 
 
 Soon after the accession of Queen Elizabeth, a new translation of the Bible was undertaken by royal 
 command, and under the direction of Archbishop Parker. Distinct portions, fifteen at least, were allotted 
 to as many persons, eminent for their learning and abilities ; they all performed the work assigned to 
 them, and the whole was afterwards revised with great care by other criticks. This translation was pub- 
 lishcd in 15()8, with a preface written by the Archbishop ; and it is generally called the Bishops' Bible, 
 because eight of the persons originally concerned in it were bishops. 
 
 Since the Protestants had now made translations of the Bible into the languages of several countries, that 
 the people might read the Holy Scriptures, the Romanists also, finding it impossible to keep the Bible out 
 of the hands of the common people, made new translations into most of the languages of Europe, to op- 
 pose those of the hercticks, (as they termed them,) and to keep the faithful (as they called those of their 
 own communion) from reading translations made by Protestants. But there is this difference of principle 
 in translations made by Papists and those made by Protestants, that the Papists have translated from the 
 Latin \ulgate, as deeming it better, not only than all other Latin translations, but than the Greek of the 
 New Testament itself, in those places where"thev disagree ; whereas the Protestants, in their translations 
 of the Holy Bible, have always had recourse to the original Greek and Hebrew. Thus, when the Papists 
 could not altogether suppress the knoMledge of the Holy Scriptures, whereby their errours are discovered, 
 they thought it the next way for their purpose, by their partial translation, as much as they could, to ob- 
 scure them, and by their heretical annotations to pervert them. Hence, in the year 1582, came forth the 
 Rhcmish translation of the New Testament into English, in which the Papists retained many Eastern, 
 Greek, and Latin words, and introduced so many difficult expressions, that they contrived to render it 
 unintelligible to the common people. A translation of the Old Testament was afterwards published by 
 them at Douay, in two volumes ; the former in l(i()9, the latter in iGlO. 
 
 In the conference held at Hampton Court in lC03, before King James the First, between the Episco- 
 pabans and 1 uritans. Dr. Reynolds, the speaker of the Puritans, requested his Majesty that a new trans- 
 lation of tiie Bible might be made, alleging that those which had been allowed in former reigns were in-
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE. 
 
 correct. Accordingly, his Majesty formed the resolution of causing a new and more faithful translation 
 to be made, and commissioned for that purpose fifty-four of the most learned men in the Universities and 
 other places. At the same time, he required the bishops to inform themselves of all learned men within 
 their several dioceses, who had acquired especial skill in the Hebrew and Greek tongues, and had taken 
 pains in their private studies of the Scriptures, for the clearing up of obscurities either in the Hebrew or 
 the Greek, or for the correction of any mistakes in the former English translations, and to charge them to 
 communicate their observations to the persons employed, that so the intended translation might have the 
 help and furtherance of all the principal learned men in the kingdom. 
 
 Before the work was begun, seven of the persons nominated for it either were dead or declined to en- 
 gage in the task. The remaining forty-seven were ranged under six divisions, and several parcels of the 
 Bible were assigned to them, according to the several places where they were to meet, confer, and consult 
 together. Every one of the company was to translate the whole parcel ; then they were each to compare 
 their translations together, and when any company had finished their part, they were to communicate it 
 to the other companies, that so nothing might pass without general consent. If any company, upon the 
 review of the book so sent, doubted or differed upon any place, they were to note the place, and send 
 back the reasons for their disagreement. If they happened to differ about the amendments, the difference 
 was to be referred to a general committee, consisting of the chief persons of each company, at the end of 
 the work. When any passage was found remarkably obscure, letters were to be directed by authority to 
 any learned persons in the land for their judgment thereupon. 
 
 The names of the persons, and places w^here they met, together with the portions of Scripture assigned 
 to each company, were as follows : 
 
 1st, Dr. Lancelot Andrewes, first Fellow, then Master, of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge, at this time 
 Dean of Westminster, afterwards Bishop of Ely, then of Winchester. 2dly, Dr. John Overall, Fellow of 
 Trinity College, Master of Catharine Hall in Cambridge, at this time Dean of St. Paul's, afterwards 
 Bishop, first of Coventry and Litchfield, then of Norwich. 3dly, Dr. Adrian Saravia, a native of Artois, 
 who cast himself upon the protection of the Church of England, and was preferred to Prebends of Can- 
 terbury and Westminster. 4tlily, Dr. Layfield, Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge, Rector of St. Cle- 
 ment's Danes ; as he was skilled in architecture, his judgment was much relied upon for the fabrick of the 
 tabernacle and temple. 5th, Dr. Clerk, Fellow of Christ College in Cambridge, Pieacher in Canterbury. 
 6th, Dr. Leigh, Archdeacon of Middlesex, Rector of Allhallows, Barking. 7th, Dr. Burgley. 8th, Mr. 
 King. 9th, Mr. Thomson. 10th, Mr. Bedwell, sometime Fellow of St. John's College Cambridge, and 
 Vicar of Tottenham. These ten met at Westminster, and to them were assigned the Pentateuch, and the 
 history from Joshua to the first book of Chronicles exclusively. 
 
 2nd, To meet at Cambridge, were chosen eight; namely, 1st, Mr. Lively, the King's Hebrew Reader 
 in Cambridge. 2nd, Mr. John Richardson, Fellow of Emanuel College, afterwards Doctor in Divinity, 
 Master, first of Peterhouse, then of Trinity College. 3rd, Mr. Chadderton, afterwards Doctor in Divi- 
 nity, first Fellow of Christ College, then Master of Emanuel College. 4th, Mr. DiUingham, Fellow of 
 Christ College. 5th, Mr. Andrews, afterwards Doctor of Divinity, and Master of Jesus College. 6th, 
 Mr. Harrison, Vice-master of Trinity College. 7th, Mr. Spalding, Fellow of St. John's, and Hebrew 
 Reader in that College. 8th, Mr. Bing, Fellow of Peterhouse, and Hebrew Reader therein. To these 
 were allotted the books from the first of the Chronicles, with the rest of the history ; and the Hagiogra- 
 pha, namely. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Canticles, Ecclesiastes. 
 
 3rd, To meet at Oxford were chosen seven; namely, 1st, Dr. John Harding, President of Magdalen 
 College. 2nd, Dr. John Reynolds, President of Corpus Christi College, who died soon after engaging in 
 the work. 3rd, Dr. Thomas Holland, Rector of Exeter College, and the King's Professor of Divinity, 
 ^th. Dr. Richard Kilby, Rector of Lincoln College, and Hebrew Professor. 5th, Mr. Miles Smith, after- 
 wards Doctor in Divinity, and Bishop of Gloucester. He wTOte the Preface to the translation, and was 
 one of the revisers of the whole work, when finished. 6th, Dr. Richard Brett, Rector of Quainton in 
 Buckinghamshire. 7th, Mr. Fairclowe. These had for their task the four greater Prophets, with the 
 Lamentations, and the twelve lesser Prophets. 
 
 4th, For the Prayer of Manasseh and the rest of the Apocrypha, seven were appointed at Cambridge. 
 1st, Dr. Duport, Prebendary of Ely, and Master of Jesus College. 2nd, Dr. Brainthwaite, first Fellow of 
 Emanuel, then Master of Gonvil and Caius College. 3rd, Dr. Radcliffe, Fellow of Trinity College. 4th, 
 Mr. Ward of Emanuel, afterwards Doctor in Divinity, Master of Sidney College, and Margaret Professor. 
 5th, Mr. Downs, Fellow of St. John's College, and Greek Professor. 6th, Mr. Boyse, Fellow of St. John's 
 College, Prebendary of Ely, and Rector of Boxworth in Cambridgeshire. 7th, Mr. Ward, Fellow of 
 King's College, afterwards Doctor in Divinity, Prebendary of Chichester, and Rector of Bishop Waltham 
 in Hampshire. 
 
 r b
 
 GENKRAL INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE. 
 
 r>ih For the New Tostamcnt, the lour Gospels, the Acts, and llevehitions, were assigned to eight at 
 Oxiord- namely, 1st, Dr. Tiiomas Ravis, Dean of Christ Church, aCterwards l5ishop of London, 'ind, 
 l)r Cie(ir"-e Abbot, Master of University College, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. 3rd, Dr. Eedes. 
 4tii, Mr. Toiuson, afterwards Bishop of (ihMiccster. 5th, Mr. Savil. Gth, Dr. I'erin, Canon of Christ 
 Church. 7tii, Dr. Ravens. 8th, ISIr. Marnier. . , ^ . , . , 
 
 (ith The Epistles of St. Paul, anil the other Canonical Epistles, were assigned to seven at \V est- 
 niinster- namely, 1st, Dr. William Barlow, of Trinity Hall in Cambridge, Dean of Chester, afterwards 
 Bishop of Liiu'oin. ''2nd, Dr. Hutchenson. Srd, Dr. Spenser. 4th, Mr. Fenton. 5tli, Mr. Rabbet, 
 (ith, Mr. Sanderson. 7th, Mr. Dakins. , . , „ i , i ,-, • 
 
 The work was be<Tun in the spring ot lG07, and prosecuted with all due care and deliberation. It was 
 about three years before it was finished. T\vo persons selected from the Cambridge translators, two from 
 those at Oxford, and two from those at Westminster, then met at Stationers' Hall, and read over and 
 corrected the whole. After long expectation and great desire of the nation, this translation came forth, 
 in the year Kill, the divines employed having taken the greatest pains in conducting the \vork, not only 
 examining translations with the original, which was absolutely necessary, but also comparing together all 
 the existing translations in the Italian, Spanish, French, and other languages. 
 
 This is the translation of the Holy Scriptures now in common use amongst us ; and since that time 
 there has been no authorized version of any part of the sacred volume. The excellency of it is such as 
 mi^ht be expected from the judicious care with which it was conducted, and the joint labours of the many 
 disunguished men employed upon it. It is, says Dr. Gray, a most wonderful and incomparable work, 
 equally remaikable for the general fidelity of its construction, and the magnificent simplicity of its lan- 
 guage. 
 
 Hajipy has our English nation been, since God has given us learned translators, to express in our mo- 
 ther tongue the heaveidy mysteries of His holy Word, delivered to His Church in the Hebrew and Greek 
 languages ; who, although they may have been deceived and mistaken, as men, in some matters of no 
 importance to salvation, yet have fa'ithfidly delivered the whole substance of the heavenly doctrine, con- 
 tained in tlie Holy Scriptures, without any heretical translations, or wilful corruptions. With what reve- 
 rence, jov, and gladness then, ought we to receive this blessing ! Let us read the Scriptures with a mo- 
 dest, humble, and teachable disposition, with a willingness to embrace all truths which are plainly delivered 
 there, how contrary soever to our own oi)inions and prejudices, and in matters of difficulty readily hearken 
 to the iudgment of our teachers, and those that are set over us in the Lord ; and check every presump- 
 tuous thought or reasoning which exalts itself against any of those mysterious truths therein revealed. 
 If we thus search after tlie truth in the love of it, we shall not miss of finding that knowledge, which will 
 " make us wise unto sahation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus." Bj). Tomline, Stackhouse, j'o/tnson'is 
 Historij of English 'Translations of the Bible. 
 
 The division of the Holy Scriptures into chapters and verses, as ^ye now have them, is not of very an- 
 cient date. About the year of our Lord 1(240, Hugo de Sancto Caro, commonly called Cardinal Hugo, 
 making an index or concordance to the Latin Bible, found it necessary to divide it into the parts which 
 we call chapters ; and further divided each chapter into sections, by placing the letters of the alphabet at 
 certain distances in the margin. The subdivision into verses came afterwards from the Jews ; for, about 
 the year 1430, Rabbi Nathan, an eminent Jew, publishing a concordance to the Hebrew Bible, adopted 
 the division into chapters made by Cardinal Hugo, and divided the chapters by affixing numeral letters in 
 the margin. About one hundred years after this, Vatablus, a Frenchman and eminent Hebrew scholar, 
 taking his pattern from him, published a Latin Bible with chapters and verses, numbered with figures ; 
 and this example has been followed in all subsequent editions, in all languages, published in the western 
 parts of Christendom. The present division of the New Testament into verses was made by Robert Ste- 
 phens, an eminent printer at Paris, who introduced it into his edition of 1551. Dean rrideaux. 
 
 The Bible comprehends, in the grandest and most magnificent order, the various dispensations of God 
 to mankind from the forming of this earth to the consummation of all things. It begins with the ground- 
 work of natural religion, the creation of the universe by one holy and good and wise Being ; relating 
 . distinctly how all those parts of it, to which the heathens paid divine worship, were in truth the work of 
 God's hands. It proceeds to the origin of the Patriarchal, Jewish, and Christian religion, the intro- 
 duction of sin by the fall of our first parents, of which we experience the wretched effects. It goes on 
 to that amazing punishment of sin, the universal deluge, proved to be as certain, as it was wonderful, by 
 the remaining traces of it throughout the globe. It then recites the second peopling of the world, the 
 relapse of mankind into wickedness, the choice of one family and people to preserve the knowledge of 
 God, and to be as a light shining in a dark place, for the benefit of all about them, that would turn their
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE. 
 
 eyes and feet to the way of peace. It lays before us the laws given to this people ; it recounts their his- 
 tory chiefly with regard to their moral and religious behaviour, and dwells on the character and actions 
 of their most remarkable persons. It supplies us with admirable patterns of genuine piety in the Psalms, 
 most virtuous instructions for the prudent conduct of life in the book of Proverbs, for bearing afflictions 
 in that of Job, for thinking justly of wealth, honour, pleasure, science, in Ecclesiastes. Then, in the 
 Prophetical books, it gives us, together with the sublimest and worthiest ideas of God, and our duties to- 
 wards Him, the most affecting denunciations of that private and publick misery and ruin which will ever 
 attend sin, whether cloaked by superstition or displayed in profaneness. And, along with all these things, 
 it unfolds a series of predictions, reaching from the beginning of the Old Testament to the end ; and 
 growing, from obscure and general, continually clearer and more determinate, concerning the appearance 
 of a Divine Person on earth, for the recovery of fallen man, and for the revival and propagation of true 
 religion throughout the world. The books of the New Testament open to us the execution of this great 
 design. The Gospels record His supernatural birth. His unspotted and exemplary life, His astonishing 
 and gracious miracles, His pure and benevolent doctrine. His dying for our offences, and rising again for 
 our justification ; His mission of fit persons endued with the gifts of the Holy Spirit to teach all nations. 
 His own ascension into heaven, and sitting at the right hand of God, till He shall come to judge the quick 
 and the dead. The Acts of the Apostles represent the wonderful success of their preaching, and the 
 oiiginal foundation of the Catholick Church. The Epistles contain their admirable directions to clergy 
 and laity ; and the Revelation concludes with foretelling the state of Christianity, primitive, degenerate, 
 and reformed, to the last ages. A grander, a more comprehensive, and more useful scheme of instruction 
 than this, cannot possibly be conceived. 
 
 In reading the Holy Scriptures, our business is to apply to those parts first, and to dwell on them most, 
 which have the closest connexion with our future happiness. As right practice is the end of faith, the 
 practical passages of Scripture ought certainly to have our principal regard, e\'er comprehending those 
 which express the obligations of Christian piety and moral self-government, as well as justice and mercy. 
 We shall indeed do well, besides occasionally reading particular chapters, to peruse both Testaments in 
 their order : only it will be advisable to go oftenest through the New, as exhibiting more fully what we 
 are to believe and to do, and without such a mixture, as there is in the Old, of things belonging solely 
 to the former dispensation. But the regularity of this course ought not to hinder us from selecting 
 chiefly, and perusing most frequently, those parts of both, which place before us, in the most influencing 
 manner, the common doctrines, and common duties, of our holy profession. Still, even in respect of these 
 parts of Scripture, and much more therefore of other parts, it is requisite that we proceed with some 
 judgment and care; that we make use of the same rules for understanding our Bibles, which we do for 
 understanding other books, and such also, as the peculiar nature of tiiis book points out ; that we never 
 interpret any text in a sense contrary to the dictates of reason, or to other texts more clear or more nu- 
 merous, or to the visible design and drift of the whole passage ; that we always keep in view what goes 
 before and what follows after ; for the connexion is often very strong, where it is not extremely obvious ; 
 that we suppose not every verse to be a separate sentence of itself, nor every chapter to have a separate 
 subject that begins and ends with it, for these divisions are entirely human, and sometimes not discreetly 
 made -, also that we apply the sayings of the holy penmen, only to the things of wliich they are treating, 
 not to others which perhaps were far from their thoughts, unless a just argument can be drawn from the 
 former to the latter. We should also be careful to take both single words, and phrases comprehending 
 several, not always in the meaning which they bear in our daily conversation, but in such as other places 
 of Scripture require or permit ; vmderstanding them literally where we can, but figuratively where we 
 must. Again, we should make such abatements from strong expressions, such restrictions and exceptions 
 to general expressions, and such allowances for the whole manner of speaking, as we perceive the nature 
 of the thing, together with the usage and custom of the sacred writers, demands. Without such equity 
 as this, a large proportion of the compositions which appear in the world would be made to abound with 
 absiu'dities ; and, if the Bible needs it more than later books of nearer countries, it also deserves it in- 
 finitely better, and it would be both perverse and impious to refuse it. These easy cautions will enable 
 persons of almost the lowest capacity and improvements, who either can read Scripture, or have the 
 means of hearing it read, to acquire so competent a knowledge of what is most needful to be Ijnown, as 
 will fully justify the Psalmist's encomium, that «' the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the 
 simple." 
 
 Even the learned do not act with humility and prudence, and much less do tlie unlearned, if in reading 
 the Holy Scriptures they rely wholly on their own judgment unassisted. I'or God hath made the help of 
 others extremely necessary to our understanding of His word, as well as His works. Men of great abi^ 
 lities and attainments, by trusting to themselves, have involved themselves in errour : and men of no 
 
 b y
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE. 
 
 other advantages, tlian a teachable tlisposition, have arrived at a most beneficial acquaintance with reli- 
 gious truths. For God " hides things from the wise and prudent" in their own opinion, which He 
 " reveals unto babes :" •' resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." Nor let it be ima- 
 
 fined, that such must therefore depend altogether in every thing on the authority of their spiritual guides, 
 'or as in matters of science, or common business, what a man doth not see of himself, he may have shewn 
 to him by others, and then may see it as truly and fully, as if it had been his own original discovery : so in 
 matters of revelation, one who would otherwise have made small progress, or, it may be, committed great 
 mistakes, yet having the main articles of it methodically explained to him, in discourses on his Catechism, 
 and occasionally inculcated in Sermons, or in answers to the questions which he asks in private, may by 
 comparing what he is thus taught, with what he reads in his Bible, come by degrees, not to believe impli- 
 citlv, but to discern evidently, the genuine sense of its fundamental doctrines and precepts. In which case, 
 his faith rests no longer on the word of man, but on that of God, whether we can answer all the specious ob- 
 jections against it or not: which few people can do in any thing that they believe of any kind. We should 
 therefore conscientiously take all fit opportunities of learning instruction from those who are set apart to 
 give it. For the priest's lips are appointed to keep knowledge; and the people to seek the law at his mouth : 
 not with a blind submission to whatever he shall affirm, but with so much regard at least, as in other pro- 
 fessions the more ignorant pay to the moi-e skilful. Nor are we confined to respect only the sentiments 
 of the particular teachers, whom we statedly attend, but we ought to have much greater deference for the 
 general persuasion of Christ's Church, particularly our own branch of it, and a proportionable one for 
 that of every knowing and good person ; always entertaining some distrust of ourselves, when we differ 
 from these. The exercise of our best judgment, and a modest attention to that of others, are the 
 joint means which our Maker hath instituted for the understanding of His will, natural and revealed. 
 They who use them uprightly, and they alone, may hope for pardon of their ignorance and errours. And, 
 were any one to continue so ignorant to the last, as to believe the truths contained in Holy Writ, only be- 
 cause those about him told him they were such ; yet might he have the happiness of acquiring, even by 
 the means of this most implicit faith, dispositions of piety and virtue unattainable otherwise, and sufficient 
 to quality him for eternal happiness. 
 
 It is to be acknow ledged that many passages in the Bible are abstruse, and not easy to be understood. 
 Yet we are not to omit reading the abstruser texts, which have any appearance of relating to us j but should 
 follow the example of the blessed Virgin, who understood not several of our Saviour's sayings, yet kept 
 them all in her heart. Were we only to learn humility thus, it would be enough ; but we shall come by 
 degrees to apprehend far more than we expected, if we diligently compare spiritual things with spiritual, 
 darker expressions with clearer, that are like or opposite to them ; for contraries illustrate one another. 
 But, with whatever success we may increase our knowledge of Scripture, that alone is insufficient. We 
 must not think we have done with a passage as soon as we have understood it. If we had understood it 
 instantly, our principal work was to come yet ; and they are strangely wrong, who apply so closely to 
 stuily difficult places, that they forget to make due reflections on the plain. The Word of God was 
 written to give us not merely a speculative apprehension, but an experimental sense and feeling, of holy 
 things, comfortable or terrifying as our spiritual state requires. Too many, alas, have no conception of 
 this efficacy in Scripture : and no wonder, for they have never seriously endeavoured to have any. But 
 let them try in earnest, and they will infallibly succeed, if they use proper means. We read of some, what 
 will be true of all in the same condition, that the Word did not profit them, not being mixed with faith. 
 God indeed can operate according to His own pleasure : but humanly speaking, persons will not be in- 
 fluenced by what they disbelieve ; and not much by what they believe but faintly. Nay, should they la- 
 bour to make the strongest impressions on their own souls, without applying to Him, whose gifl saving 
 faith is, their efforts would be vain. But let any one jointly strive and pray for a deep conviction, that 
 the Bible is the appointed instrument of His religious proficiency : then let him read it, not as performing 
 a task, he knows not why, from which he had rather be excused ; not to outshine others in readiness of 
 quotation, or plausibility of interpreting, or oppositions of science falsely so called ; not to furnish him- 
 self with w eapons for debate and controversy, much less for uncharitableness and abuse ; but to amend 
 his inward state towards God : that, as the excellent Collect in our Liturgy directs, by patience In well 
 doing, and comfort in virtuous suffering, which we learn of His holy Word, we may embrace and ever 
 hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life. Let him accordingly stop on fit occasions and think : What 
 consolation doth this passage administer to me? AVhat acknowledgements to Heaven doth this declaration 
 require from me? What fear for myself doth this threatening call for? What duty doth this precept or 
 pattern point out to me? Of what sin doth it convince me? Against what dangers doth it warn me? Is 
 my character and behaviour suitable to this command or exhortation, this description or good example ? 
 or do I see myself here, under another's name, reproved, condemned, stigmatized ? Have I acquired that
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE. 
 
 sense of my own sinfulness and weakness, of God's holiness and justice, of my need of the merits of 
 Christ, and the grace of the Divine Spirit, which the whole tenour of Scripture inculcates, or am I still 
 inclined to stand or fall by my own righteousness ? faithful pains, taken for some time in such home 
 questions, without forcing unnatural uses out of any text, but only dwelling on those that fairly present 
 themselves, will make us experience a Divine virtue in the sacred writings, piercing first, and healing 
 afterwards ; which, provided we are not satisfied with being piously moved at the time, and then relaps- 
 ing into what we were before, but continue the inquiry steadily, and carry on every feeling into practice, 
 will assuredly transform us into what we ought to be. Possibly, indeed, we may not all at once or very 
 soon receive a sensible benefit. But surely we have no title to be impatient under the hands of our hea- 
 venly Physician; perfect recovery will be at length the certain consequence of His treatment of us; and 
 every single ingiedient in the great remedy. His holy Word, and every direction for the use of it, will 
 contribute its share to our cure. Let us therefore conscientiously observe all His commands, each in its 
 due place, and let us entreat His blessing on our humble endeavours, that, receiving the seed of the Word 
 into a good and honest heart, we may " bring forth fruit with patience." Abp. Seeker. 
 
 IT may be proper to state, that the marginal references, printed in this Edition of the Bible, are the same 
 which were originally furnished by the framers of the authorized Version. Other marginal references 
 have been added in later times, and have been inserted in many editions of the Bible: but it has been 
 deemed expedient to omit them in this Edition, inasmuch as they do not rest on the same authority, as the 
 references of the Translators. Also, the summaries of the contents of each chapter, and the marginal 
 readings and explanations, are those of the authorized Translators. 
 
 The chronological dates in the margin, as well as the Chronological Index at the end, were added by 
 Dr. WilHam Lloyd, who died Bishop of Worcester in 1717- 
 
 The unlearned reader may find it useful to be informed, that, wherever words occur in the text of the 
 English Bible, printed in the Italick character, he is to understand that these words have none correspond- 
 ing to them in the original Hebrew or Greek text, but that the sense is implied ; and that the words are 
 added in the English to complete, or make clearer, the sense.
 
 LIST OF THE MAPS AND PLATES IN THE FAMILY BIBLE, 
 
 Jf'ith Directions to the Binder for placing them. 
 
 MAPS. 
 
 I. Tlie world as known to the anciente, shewing the dispersion and settling of I ^^ ^^^ beginning of Genesis. 
 
 nations by the descendant* of Noah, ..---) .. 
 
 II. Mesopotamia, &c. adapted to the histories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, - At Gen. xii. 1. 
 
 III. Thejoumeyingsandencarapmentsof the Israelites in the wilderness, - - To face Exotl. xiii. 1. 
 
 IV. Canaan, illustrating the booi<s of Joshua and Judges, .... At Joshua i. 
 
 V. The dominions of David and Solomon, To face 1 Kuigs iv. 21— 24. 
 
 VI. ThckingdomsofJudah and Israel, At 1 Kmgs xn. 1. 
 
 VII. Palestine, illustrating the New Test-unent, At the begmnmg of the New Testament. 
 
 \'III. The places mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, illustrating St. Paul's travels. At the beginning of the Acts. 
 
 PLATES. 
 
 By whom Painted. 
 
 1 Adam and Eve driven out of Paradise, ----- Raphael d Urbino, Gen. iii. 24. 
 
 S Abel murdered by his brotlier Cain, Vanderwerf, iv. 8. 
 
 3 Noah's sacrifice, Nicholas Poussin, vni. 20. 
 
 4 Abraham offering up Isaac, - Theodore Rombouts, xxii. 9. 
 
 5 Joseph sold by his brethren, » Silvio Manaigo, xxxvii. 28. 
 
 6 The finding of Moses, - Nicholas Poussin, Exod. ii. 6. 
 
 7 The passage of the Red sea, - Nicholas Poussin, Exod. xiv. 27- 
 
 8 The striking of the rock, - NicJtolas Poussin, xvii. 6. 
 
 9 The tabernacle of the wilderness, alUr of burnt offerings, &c. 1 - ^^^ 10 &c 
 
 10 The table of shewbread, the altar of incense, &c. . - J 
 
 1 1 The high-priest in his robes, ....... xxviii. 4. 
 
 12 The delivery of the Law, Raphael d'Urhino, xxxiv. 29. 
 
 1 3 The brasen serpent, ........ Lehrun, Numb. xxi. 8. 
 
 14 Manoah's sacrifice, W. Hamilton, Judg. xiii. 19. 
 
 15 Samuel telling his vision to Eli, ...... J.S.Copley, 1 Sam. iii. 18. 
 
 1 6 David with the head of Goliath, ....... Carlo Maralli, xvii. 54. 
 
 17 The judgment of Solomon, ' A. Coypel, 1 K nigs iii. 1 6. 
 
 18 Plan of the temple of Solomon, ...... vi. 
 
 19 The disobedient Prophet, -.-.-,./. Northcote, xiii. 28. 
 
 20 Elisha raising the Shuuammite's son, ..... Benjamin West, 2 Kings iv. 37. 
 
 21 The rebuilding of the temple, ...... Ezra iii. 12. 
 
 22 Immanuel, .......... Vandyke, Isaiah vii. 14. 
 
 23 The man of sorrows, ........ — — liii. 3. 
 
 24 Daniel interpreting the writing on the wall, .... Benjamin West, Daniel v. 25. 
 
 25 The messenger of Christ, ....... Guido, Malachi iii. 1. 
 
 26 Tobias anoints his father's eyes, ...... Agostino Caracci, Tobit xi. 
 
 27 Heho<lorus stricken in the temple, ...... Raphael, 2 Mace. iii. 25. 
 
 28 Jerusalem with the neighbouring country, .... At the beginning of the New Test. 
 99 The murder of the innocents, ...... Nicholas Poussin, Matt. ii. 16. 
 
 30 John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness, .... Salvaior Rota, iii. 1. 
 
 31 Christ's entry into Jerusalem, ...... Schiavoni, xxi. 7. 
 
 32 The crucifixion, .--.-.... Lebrun, xxvii. 50. 
 
 33 The angel declaring that the Lord is risen, .... Annibal Caracci, xxviii. 6. 
 
 34 Young children brought to Chiist, ...... Benjamin West, Mark x. 13. 
 
 35 The last supper, Raphael, xiv. 18, 
 
 S6 Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene, ..... Raphael Mengs, xvi. 9. 
 
 37 The salutation of Mary and Elizabeth, ..... Peter Mignard, Luke i. 41. 
 
 38 The adoration of the shepherds, Sir Joshua Reynolds, ii. I6. 
 
 39 The miraculous draught of fishes, ...... Raphael, ' v. 8. 
 
 40 Martha and Marj- l>efore Christ, Le Sueur, x. 38. 
 
 41 The raising of Lazarus, P.P.Rubens, xi. 44. 
 
 42 Christ's agony in the garden, Coreggio, xxii. 41. 
 
 43 The women from Galilee weeping over the body of Christ, . Annibal Caracci, xxiii. 55. 
 
 44 Jesus with the two disciples at Emmaus, .... Titian, ^— xxiv. 30. 
 
 45 Christ discoursing with the woman of Samaria, ... Annibal Caracci, John iv. 7. 
 
 46 Christ at the pool of Bethesda, .-..../_ Restout — ^ v. 2. 
 
 47 The woman t,iken in adullerj', Agostino Caracci, viii. 3. 
 
 48 The body of Chnst taken from the cross, .... Daniel de Volterra, xix. 38. 
 
 49 The .\scension, ......... ^(.ts j g. 
 
 60 St. Peter and St. John healing the lame man at the beautiful 1 r. , , 
 
 gate of the temple, j- Raphael, ui. 7- 
 
 51 Death of Ananias, Raphael, ▼. 5. 
 
 52 Elymas the Sorcerer struck blind, ...... Raphael xiii 11. 
 
 53 St. Paul and St. Barnabas at Lystra, ..... Raphael, xiv. 13.' 
 
 54 St Paul preaching at Athens, Raphael, xvii 22 
 
 ^£ S.\: ^?"' shaking the vnper from his hand Sir James ThomhiU, xxviii. 5. 
 
 56 The insUtution of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, . . Carlo Dolce, 1 Cor. ti. 23,
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO THE 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 THE Old Testament contains those sacred books which were composed, previously to the birth of our Saviour, by the suc- 
 cessive Prophets and inspired writers, whom it pleased God to raise up from time to time, through a period of more than a 
 thousand years. These books are written in Hebrew, and they are the only writings now extant in that language. The Old 
 Testament, according to our Bibles, consists of t!iirty-nine books ; but among tlie Jews they formed only twenty-two, which 
 was also the number of letters in their alphabet. They divided these twenty-two books into three classes: the first class 
 consisted of five books, namely. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which they called the Law : the se- 
 cond class consisted of tiiirteen books, namely, Joshua, Judges and Ruth in one book, the two books of Samuel, of Kings, and 
 of Chronicles, respectively, in single books, Ezra and Nehemiah in one book, Esther, Job, Isaiah, the two books of Jeremiah 
 in one, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the twelve Minor Prophets in one book ; these thirteen books they called the Prophets : the 
 third class consisted of the four remaining books, namely. Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, which 
 four books the Jews call Chetubim, and the Greeks Hagiographa ; this class was also called the Psalms from the name of the 
 first book in it. This threefold division was naturally suggested by the books themselves ; it was used merely for convenience, 
 and did not proceed from any opinion of difference in the authority of the books of the several classes. In like manner, the 
 Minor Prophets were so called, from the brevity of their works, and not from any supposed inferiority to the other Prophets. 
 The books are not, in all instances, arranged in our Bibles according to the order of time in which they were written ; but the 
 book of Genesis was the earliest composition contained in the sacred volume, except, as some think, the book of Job ; and 
 the book of Malachi was certainly the latest book of the Old Testament. 
 
 The five first books of the Bible, generally known by the name of the Pentateuch, are frequently cited both in the Old and the 
 New Testament under the name of the Law. It appears from Deuteronomy, (ch. xxsi. 26,) tliat tiie book of the Law, that is, 
 the whole Pentateuch, written by the hand of Moses, was, by his command, deposited in the tabernacle, not long before his death. 
 It was kept there not only while the Israelites remained in the wilderness, but afterwards, when they were settled in the land 
 of Canaan. To the same sanctuary were consigned, as they were successively produced, the other sacred books, which were 
 written before the building of the temple at Jerusalem. And when Solomon had finished the temple, he directed that these 
 books should be removed into it ; and also, that the future compositions of inspired men should be secured in the same holy 
 place. We may therefore conclude, that the respective works of Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Joel, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Jere- 
 miah, Habakkuk, and Obadiali, all of whom flourished before the Babylonian captivity, were regularly deposited in the temple. 
 Wh'ether these manuscripts perished in the flames, when the temple was burnt by Nebuchadnezzar, we are not informed. But 
 as the burning of the Scriptures is not lamented by any of the contemporary or succeeding Prophets, and as the other treasures 
 of the temple were preserved and set apart as sacred by Nebuchadnezzar, it is probable that these original manuscripts also 
 were saved ; and more especially, as it does not appear that Nebuchadnezzar had any particular enmity against the religion of 
 the Jews. If however the original books were destroyed with the temple, it is certain that there were at that time numerous 
 copies of them ; and we cannot doubt but some of them were carried by the Jews to Babylon, and that others were left in 
 Judea. The Holy Scriptures were too much reverenced, and too much dispersed, to make it credible that all the copies were 
 lost or destroyed; and indeed we find Daniel, when in captivity, (ch. ix. 1 1, 13,) referring to the book of the Law as then ex- 
 isting ; and soon after the captivity, (Neh. viii.) Ezra not only read and explained the Law to the people, but he restored the 
 publick worship and the sacrifices according to tlie Mosaick ritual; and tlierefore there must liave been, at that time, at least a 
 correct copy of tlie Law; for it is impossible to believe that he would have attempted the recstablishment of a church, in wiiich 
 the most minute observance of the rites and ceremonies prescribed by Moses was not only absolutely necessary for the accept- 
 able performance of Divine worship, but the slightest deviation from which was considered as sacrilege or abomination, unless 
 he had been in actual possession either of the original manuscript of the Law, or of a copy so well authenticated as to leave no 
 doubt of its accuracy in the n)inds of the people. 
 
 There is an uncontradicted tradition in the Jewish church, that about fifty years after the temple was rebuilt, Ezra, in con- 
 junction with the great synagogue, made a collection of the sacred writings, which had been increased, since the Jews were 
 carried into captivity, by the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and the Prophecies of Ezekiel, of Daniel, Haggai, and Zechariah j 
 and as Ezra was liimself inspired, we may rest assured, that whatever received his sanction, was authentick. To this genuine 
 collection, which, according to former custom, was placed in the temple, were afterwards annexed the sacred compositions of 
 Ezra himself, as well as thost- of Nehemiah and Malachi, which were written after the death of Ezra. This addition, which 
 was probably made by Simon the Just, the last of the great synagogue, completed the Canon of the Old Testament j for after
 
 INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 Malachi no Prophet arose till the time of Jolin the Baptist, wlio, as it were, connected the two covenants, and of whom 
 Malachi foretold, (ch. iv. 5,) th;it he should precede " tlie great day of the Lord," that is, the coming of the Messiah. It can- 
 not now be ascertained, whether Ezra's copy of tlie Scriptures was destroyed hy Antioehus Epiplianes, wiien he pillaged the 
 temple • nor is it material, since we know that Judas Maccabeus repaired the temple, and replaced every thing requisite for 
 the performance of Divine worship, which included a correct, if not Ezra's own, copy of the Scriptures. This copy, whether 
 Ezra's or not, remained in the temple till Jerusalem was taken by Titus, and it was then carried in triumph to Rome, and 
 laid up with the purple vail in the royal palace of Vespasian. 
 
 Thus, wliile the Jewish polity continued, and nearly 500 years after the time of Ezra, a complete and faultless copy of the 
 Hebrew* canon was kept in the temple at Jerusalem, with which all others might be compared. And it ought to be observed, 
 that althoutrh Christ frequently reproved the rulers and teachers of tlie Jews for their erroneous and false doctrines, yet he 
 never accused them of any corruption in their written Law, or other sacred books : and St. Paul reckons among the privileges 
 of the Jews, " that unto them were committed the oracles of God," (Rom. iii. 2,) without insinuating that they had been un- 
 faithful to their trust. After the final destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, there was no established standard of the He- 
 brew Scriptures ; but from that time, the dispersion of the Jews into all countries, and the numerous converts to Christianity, 
 became a double security for the preservation of a volume held equally sacred by Jews and Christians, and to which both con- 
 stantly referred as to the written word of God. They differed in the interpretation of these books, but never disputed the va- 
 lidity of the text in any material point. 
 
 Tlie books of the Old Testament have been always allowed, in every age and by every sect of the Hebrew church, to be the 
 genuine works of those persons to whom they are usually ascribed ; and tliey have also been, universally and exclusively, with- 
 out any addition or exception, considered by the Jews as written under the immediate influence of the Divine Spirit. Those 
 who were contemporaries with the respective writers of these books, had the clearest evidence, that they acted and spoke by 
 the authority of God Himself ; and this testimony transmitted to all succeeding ages, was in many cases strengthened and con- 
 firmed by the gradual fulfilment of predictions contained in their writings. " We have not," says Josephus, " myriads of 
 books which differ from each other, but only twenty-two books, which comprehend the history of all past time, and are justly 
 believed to be Divine. And of these, five are the works of Moses ; which contained the laws, and an account of things from 
 the creation of man to the death of Moses : this period falls but little short of 3000 years. And from the death of Moses to 
 the reign of Artaxerxes, who succeeded Xerxes as king of Persia, the Prophets after Moses WTote the transactions of their own 
 times in thirteen books; and the four remaining books contain hymns to God, and precepts for the conduct of human life. 
 And from Artaxerxes to the present time there is a continuation of vrritings, but they are not thought deserving of the same 
 credit, because there was not a clear succession of Prophets. But what confidence we have in our own writings is manifest 
 from hence ; that after so long a lapse of time no one has dared to add to them, or to diminish from them, or to alter any thing 
 in them ; for it is implanted in the nature of all Jews, immediately from their birth, to consider these books as the oracles of 
 God, to adhere to them, and if occasion should require, cheerfully to die for their sake." The Jews of the present day, dis- 
 persed all over the world, demonstrate the sincerity of their belief in the authenticity of the Scriptures, by their inflexible ad- 
 herence to the Law, and by the anxious expectation with which they wait for the accomplishment of the prophecies. " Blindness 
 has happened to them" only " in part," Rom. xi. 25 ; and the constancy, with which they have endured persecution, and suffered 
 hardships, rather than renounce the commands of their lawgiver, fully proves their firm conviction that these books were divinely 
 inspired, and that they remain uninjured by time and transcription. Handed down, untainted by suspicion, from Moses to the 
 present generation, they are naturally objects of their unshaken confidence and attachment — but suppose the case reversed — 
 destroy the grounds of their faith, by admitting the possibility of the corruption of their Scriptures, and their whole history be- 
 comes utterly inexplicable. " A book of this nature," says Dr. Jenkin, speaking of the Bible, " which is so much the ancientest 
 in the world, being constantly received as a Divine revelation, carries great evidence with it that it is authentick : for the first 
 revelation is to be the criterion of all that follow ; and God would not suffer tlie ancientest book of Religion in the world to 
 pass all along under the notion and title of a revelation, without causing some discovery to be made of the imposture, if there 
 were any in it ; much less would He preserve it by a particular and signal providence for so many ages. It is a great argument 
 for the truth of the Scriptures, that they have stood the test, and received the approbation, of so many ages, and still retain 
 their authority, tliough so many ill men in all ages have made it their endeavour to disprove them ; but it is a still farther evi- 
 dence in behalf of them, that God has been pleased to shew so remarkable a providence in their preservation." 
 
 But the most decisive proof of the authenticity and inspiration of the ancient Scriptures is derived from the New Testament. 
 The Saviour of the world Himself, even He who came expressly from the Father of truth " to bear witness to the truth," in 
 the last instructions which He gave to His Apostles just before His ascension, said, " These are the words which I spake unto 
 you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, 
 and in the Psalms, concerning Me," Luke xxiv. 44. Our Lord, by thus adopting the common division of the Law, the Pro- 
 phets, and the Psalms, which comprehended all the Hebrew Scriptures, ratified tlie Canon of the Old Testament as it was re- 
 ceived by the Jews; and by declaring that those books contained prophecies which must be fulfilled. He established their Di- 
 vine inspiration, since God alone can enable men to foretell future events. At another time Christ told the Jews, that they 
 made " the word of God of none effect through their traditions," Mark vii. 13. By thus calling the written rules which the 
 Jews had received for the conduct of their lives, « the word of God," He declared that the Hebrew Scriptures proceeded 
 from God Himself. Upon many other occasions Christ referred to the ancient Scriptures as books of Divine authority; and 
 both He and His Apostles constantly endeavoured to prove that Jesus was the Messiah foretold in the writings of the Pro- 
 
 between the Mosaick and Christian dispensations :— and in the next verse the Apostle expressly declares the inspiration of 
 Scripture ; All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." To the same effect St. Luke says, ch. i. 70, that « God spake by
 
 INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 the mouth of His holy Prophets." And St. Peter tells us, that " prophecy came not in old time by the will of man ; but 
 holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," 2 Pet. i. 21 . In addition to these passages, which refer to 
 the ancient Scriptures collectively, we may observe, that there is scarcely a book in the Old Testament, which is not repeatedly 
 quoted in the New, as of Divine authority. 
 
 When it is said that Scripture is divinely inspired, it is not to be understood that God suggested every word, or dictated 
 every expression. It appears from the different style in which the books are written, and from the different manner in which 
 the same events are related and predicted by different authors, that the sacred penmen were permitted to write as their several 
 tempers, understandings, and habits of, life, directed; and that the knowledge communicated to them by inspiration upon the 
 subject of their writings, was applied in the same manner as any knowledge acquired by ordinary means. Nor is it to be sup- 
 posed that they were even thus inspired in every fact which they related, or in every precept which they delivered. They were 
 left to the common use of their faculties, and did not upon every occasion stand in need of supernatural communication ; but 
 whenever, and as far as. Divine assistance was necessary, it was always afforded. In different parts of Scripture we perceive 
 that there were different sorts and degrees of inspiration : God enabled Moses to give an account of the creation of the world ; 
 He enabled Joshua to record with exactness the settlement of the Israelites in the land of Canaan ; He enabled David to 
 mingle prophetick information with the varied effusions of gratitude, contrition, and piety ; He enabled Solomon to deliver 
 wise instructions for the regulation of human life ; He enabled Isaiah to deliver predictions concerning the future Saviour of 
 mankind, and Ezra to collect the sacred Scriptures into one authentick volume ; " but all these worketh that one and the self- 
 same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will," 1 Cor. xii. 11. In some cases inspiration only produced correctness 
 and accuracy in relating past occurrences, or in reciting the words of others ; in other cases it communicated ideas not only 
 new and unknown before, but infinitely beyond the reach of unassisted human intellect; and sometimes inspired Prophets de- 
 livered predictions for the use of future ages, which they did not themselves comprehend, and which cannot be fully understood 
 till they are accomplished. But whatever distinctions we may make with respect to the sorts, degrees, or modes of inspiration, 
 we may rest assured that there is one property which belongs to every inspired writing, namely, that it is free from errour, I 
 mean material errour; and this property must be considered as extending to the whole of each of those writings, of which a part 
 only is inspired ; for we cannot suppose that God would suffer any such errours, as might tend to mislead our faith or pervert 
 our practice, to be mixed with those truths, which He Himself has mercifully revealed to His rational creatures as the means 
 of their eternal salvation. In this restricted sense it may be asserted, that the sacred writers always wrote under the influence, 
 or guidance, or care of the Holy Spirit, which sufficiently establishes the truth and Divine authority of all Scripture. 
 
 These observations relative to the nature of inspiration, are particularly applicable to the historical books of the Old Testa- 
 ment. That the authors of these books were occasionally inspired is certain, since they frequently display an acquaintance with 
 the counsels and designs of God, and often reveal His future dispensations in the clearest predictions. But though it is evi- 
 dent that the sacred historians sometimes wrote under the immediate operation of the Holy Spirit, it does not follow that they de- 
 rived from revelation the knowledge of those things, which might be collected from the common sources of human intelligence. 
 It is sufficient to believe, that by the general superintendence of the Holy Spirit, they were directed in the choice of their ma- 
 terials, enlightened to judge of the truth and importance of those accounts from which they borrowed their information, and 
 prevented from registering any material errour. The historical books appear, indeed, from internal evidence, to have been 
 chiefly written by persons contemporary with the periods to which they relate ; who, in their description of characters and 
 events, many of which they witnessed, uniformly exhibit a strict sincerity of intention, and an unexampled impartiality. Some 
 of these books, however, were compiled in subsequent times from the sacred annals mentioned in Scripture as written by 
 Prophets or seers, and from those publick records, and other authentick documents, which, though written by uninspired 
 men, were held in high estimation, and preserved with great care by persons specially appointed as keepers of the genealogies 
 and publick archives of the Jewish nation. To such well known chronicles we find the sacred writers not unfrequently refer- 
 ring for a more minute detail of those circumstances which they omit as inconsistent with their design. For " these books," says 
 "Dr. Gray, " are to be considered as the histories of revelations, as commentaries upon the prophecies, and as affording a lively 
 sketch of the economy of God's government of His selected people. They were not designed as national annals, to record every 
 minute particular and political event that occurred; but they are rather a compendious selection of such remarkable occurrences 
 and operations as were best calculated to illustrate the religion of the Hebrew nation ; to set before that perverse and ungrateful 
 people an abstract of God's proceedings, of their interests and duties ; as also to furnish posterity with an instructive picture 
 of the Divine attributes, and with a model of that dispensation on which a nobler and more spiritual government was to be 
 erected ; and moreover, to place before mankind the melancholy proofs of that coiTuption, which had been entailed upon them, 
 and to exhibit in the depravity of a nation highly favoured, miraculously governed, and instructed by inspired teachers, the ne- 
 cessity of that redemption and renewal of righteousness, which was so early and so repeatedly promised by the Prophets. It 
 seems probable, therefore, that the books of Kings and Chronicles do not contain a complete compilation of the entire works of 
 each contemporary Prophet, but are rather an abridgment of their several labours, and of other authentick publick writings, 
 digested by Ezra after the captivity, with an intention to display the sacred history under one point of view ; and hence it is 
 that they contain some expressions, which evidently result from contemporary description, and others which as clearly argue 
 them to have been composed long after the occurrences which they relate." 
 
 Since then we are taught to consider the Divine assistance as ever proportioned to the real wants of men ; and since it must 
 be granted that their natural faculties, though wholly incompetent to the prediction of future events, are adequate to the rela- 
 tion of such past occurrences as have fallen within the sphere of their own observation, we may infer that the historical books 
 are not written with the same uniform inspiration, which illumines every page of the prophetick writings. But at the same 
 time we are to believe that God vouchsafed to guard these registers of His judgments and His mercies from all important mis- 
 takes; and to impart, by supernatural means, as much information and assistance to those who composed them, as was requi- 
 site for the accomplishment of the great designs of His providence. In the ancient Hebrew Canon they were placed, as has 
 been ah-eady observed, in the class of prophetical books ; they are cited as such by tlie evangelical writers ; and it must surely 
 
 c
 
 INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 be considered as a strong testimony to the constant opinion of the Jews respecting the inspiration of these books, that they 
 have never dared to annex any histoVical narrative to tiiem since the death of Mahichi. They closed the sacred volume when 
 tlie succession of Prophets ceased. 
 
 If it be asked by what rule we are to distinguish the inspired from the uninspired parts of these books, it is to be answered, 
 Ihat no general rule can be prescribed for that purpose. Nor is it necessary that we should be able to make any such discri- 
 mination. It is enougli for us to know, that every writer of the Old Testament wa.s inspired, and that the whole of the history 
 it contains without any exception or reserve, is true. These points being ascertained and allowed, it is of very little conse- 
 quence whether the knowledge of a particular fact was obtained by any of the ordinary modes of information, or whether it 
 was communicated by immediate revelation from God ; whether any particular passage was written by the natural powers of 
 the historian, or whether it was written by the positive suggestion of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 We may in like manner suppose, that some of the precepts, delivered in the books called Hagiographa, were written with- 
 out any supernatural assistance, tiiough it is evident that others of them exceed the limits of human wisdom ; and it would be 
 equally impossible, as in the historical Scriptures, to ascertain the character of particular passages which might be proposed. 
 But here again a discrimination would be entirely useless. The books themselves furnish sufficient proofs that the writers of 
 them were occasionally inspired; and we know also, that they were frequently quoted, particularly the Psalms, as prophetical, 
 by our Saviour and His Apostles, in support of the religion which they preached. Hence we are under an indispensable obli- 
 gation to admit the Divine authority of the whole of these books, which have the same claim to our faith and obedience, as if 
 they had been written under the influence of a constant and universal inspiration. 
 
 But whatever uncertainty there may be concerning the direct inspiration of any historical narrative, or of any moral precept, 
 contained in the Old Testament, we must be fully convinced that all its prophetical parts proceeded from God. This is con- 
 tinually affirmed by the Prophets themselves, and is demonstrated by the indubitable testimony which history bears to the 
 accurate fulfilment of many of these predictions ; others are gradually receiving their accomplishment in the times in which we 
 live, and afford the surest pledge and most positive security for the completion of those which remain to be fulfilled. The past, 
 the present, and the future, have a connected reference to one great plan, which Infinite Wisdom, Prescience, and Power, could 
 alone form, reveal, and execute. Every succeeding age throws an increasing light upon these sacred writings, and contributes 
 additional evidence to their Divine origin. Bp. Tomline.
 
 TO THE MOST HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE 
 
 J A M E 
 
 BY THE GRACE OF GOD, KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND IRELAND, 
 
 DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, &c. 
 
 THE TRANSLATORS OF THE BIBLE 
 WISH GRACE, MERCY, AND PEACE, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. 
 
 GREAT and manifold were the blessings, most di'ead Sovereign, which Almighty God, the Father of all mercies, bestowed upon 
 us the people of England, when first he sent Your Majesty's Royal Person to rule and reign over us. For whereas it was 
 the expectation of many, who wished not well unto our Sion, that upon the setting of that bright Occidental Star, Queen Elizabeth 
 of most happy memory, some thick and palpable clouds of darkness would so have overshadowed this Land, that men should have 
 been in doubt which way they were to walk ; and that it should hardly be known, who was to direct the unsettled State ; the ap- 
 pearance of Your Majesty, as of the Sun in his strength, instantly dispelled those supposed and surmised mists, and gave unto all 
 that were well affected exceeding cause of comfort ; especially when we beheld the Government established in Your Highness, and 
 Your hopeful Seed, by an undoubted Title, and this also accompanied with peace and tranquillity at home and abroad. 
 
 But among all our joys, there was no one that more filled our hearts, than the blessed continuance of the preaching of God's 
 sacred Word among us ; which is that inestimable treasure, which excelleth all the riches of the earth ; because the fruit thereof 
 extendeth itself, not only to the time spent in this transitory world, but directeth and disposeth men unto that eternal happiness 
 which is above in heaven. 
 
 Then not to suffer this to fall to the ground, but rather to take it up, and to continue it in that state, wherein the famous Pre- 
 decessor of Your Highness did leave it : nay, to go forward with the confidence and resolution of a Man in maintaining the 
 truth of Christ, and propagating it far and near, is that which hath so bound and firmly knit the hearts of all Your Majesty's loyal 
 and religious people unto You, that Your very name is precious among them : their eye doth behold You with comfort, and they 
 bless You in their hearts, as that sanctified Person, who, under God, is the immediate Author of their true happiness. And this 
 their contentment doth not diminish or decay, but every day increaseth and taketh strength, when they observe, that the zeal of 
 Your Majesty toward the house of God doth not slack or go backward, but is more and more kindled, manifesting itself abroad 
 in the farthest parts of Christendom, by writing in defence of the Truth, (which hath given such a blow unto that man of sin, as 
 will not be healed,) and every day at home, by religious and learned discourse, by frequenting the house of God, by hearing the 
 Word preached, by cherishing the Teachers thereof, by caring for the Church, as a most tender and loving nursing Father. 
 
 There are infinite arguments of this right christian and religious affection in Your Majesty ; but none is more forcible to declare 
 it to others than the vehement and perpetuated desire of accomplishing and publishing of this work, which now with all humility 
 we present unto Your Majesty. For when Your Highness had once out of deep judgment apprehended how convenient it was, 
 that out of the Original Sacred Tongues, together with comparing of the labours, both in our own, and other foreign Languages, 
 of many worthy men who went before us, there should be one more exact Translation of the holy Scriptures into the English 
 Tongue ; Your Majesty did never desist to urge and to excite those to whom it was commended, that the work might be hastenedj 
 and that the business might be expedited in so decent a manner, as a matter of such importance might justly require. 
 
 And now at last, by the mercy of God, and the continuance of our labours, it being brought unto such a conclusion, as that we 
 have great hopes that the Church of England shall reap good fruit thereby ; we hold it our duty to offer it to Your Majesty, not 
 only as to our King and Sovereign, but as to the principal Mover and Author of the work : humbly craving of Your most Sacred 
 Majesty, that since things of tins quality have ever been subject to the censures of illmeaning and discontented persons, it may 
 receive approbation and patronage from so learned and judicious a Prince as Your Highness is, whose allowance and acceptance 
 of our labours shall more honour and encourage us, than all the calumniations and hard interpretations of other men shall dismay 
 us. So that if, on the one side, we shall be traduced by Popish Persons at home or abroad, who therefore will malign us, because 
 we are poor instruments to make God's holy truth to be yet more and more known unto the people, whom they desire still to 
 keep in ignorance and darkness ; or if, on the other side, we shall be maligned by selfconceited Brethren, who run their own ways, 
 and give liking unto nothing, but what is framed by themselves, and hammered on their anvil; we may rest secure, supported 
 within by the trutli and innocency of a good conscience, having walked the ways of simjdicity and integrity, as before the Lord; 
 and sustained without by the powerful protection of Your Majesty's grace and favour, which will ever give countenance to honest 
 and christian endeavours against bitter censures and uncharitable imputations. 
 
 The Lord of heaven and earth bless Your Majesty with many and happy days, that, as his heavenly hand hath enriched Your 
 Highness with many singular and extraordinary graces, so you may be the wonder of the world in this latter a^'e for happiness 
 and true felicity, to the honour of that great GOD, and the good of his Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord and only 
 Saviour.
 
 THE NAMES AND ORDER 
 
 OF ALL THK 
 
 BOOKS OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, 
 
 WITH THE NUiMBER OF THEIR CHAPTERS. 
 
 THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 GENESIS hath Chapteri 50 
 
 Exoms *0 
 
 LEVITICUS 27 
 
 KUMBHRS 3»". 
 
 DEUTRRONOrV 3i 
 
 JOSHUA 24 
 
 JUDGES 21 
 
 BUTH * 
 
 I. SAMUEL 31 
 
 II. SAMUEL 24 
 
 1. KINGS i--i 
 
 n. KINGS 25 
 
 V CHRONICLES 29 
 
 II. CHRONICLES 36 
 
 EZRA 10 
 
 NEHEMIAH 13 
 
 ESTHER 10 
 
 JOB 42 
 
 PSALMS 150 
 
 PROVERBS 31 
 
 ECCLESIASTES 12 
 
 THE SONG OF SOLOMON 8 
 
 ISAIAH 66 
 
 JEREMIAH 5i 
 
 LAMENTATIONS 5 
 
 EZEKIEL 48 
 
 DANIEI 12 
 
 HOSEA U 
 
 JOEL 3 
 
 AMOS 9 
 
 OBADIAH 1 
 
 JONAH 4 
 
 MICAH 7 
 
 NAHUM 3 
 
 HABAKKUK 3 
 
 ZEPHANIAH 3 
 
 HAGGAI S 
 
 ZECHARIAH U 
 
 MALACHI 4 
 
 THE BOOKS CALLED APOCRYPHA. 
 
 I "PSDRAS hath Chapters 9 
 
 ^ II. ESDRAS 16 
 
 TOBIT 14 
 
 JUniTH 16 
 
 THE BEST OF ESTHER 6 
 
 WISDOM 19 
 
 ECCLESIASTICUS 51 
 
 BARUCH, WITH THE EPISTLE OF 
 
 JEREMIAH 6 
 
 THE SONG OF THE THREE CHILDREN. 
 
 THE STORY OF SUSANNA. 
 
 THE IDOL BEL, AND THE DRAGON. 
 
 THE PRAYER OF MANASSES. 
 
 I. MACCABEES 16 
 
 II. MACCABEES 15 
 
 THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 ■VIATTHEW hath Chapteri S8 
 
 ^^ MARK 16 
 
 LUKE 24, 
 
 JOHN 21 
 
 THE ACTS 28 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS . . IG 
 
 I. CORINTHIANS 16 
 
 n. CORINTHIANS 13 
 
 GALATIANS 6 
 
 EPHESIANS 6 
 
 PHILIPPIANS 4 
 
 COLOSSIANS 4 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS 5 
 
 II. THESSALONIANS 3 
 
 I. TI.MOTHY 6 
 
 II. TIMOTHY 4 
 
 TITUS 3 
 
 PHILEMON 1 
 
 TO THE HEBREWS 13 
 
 THE EPISTLE OF JAMES 5 
 
 I. PETER 5 
 
 II. PETER 3 
 
 I. JOHN 5 
 
 II. JOHN 1 
 
 III. JOHN I 
 
 JUDE 1 
 
 REVELATION 92
 
 W O K h D 
 
 /"^ ^ Shr»-ii>>; thi- ^ ^ \ 
 
 /"!.... M^r aU Jr..U'. .V » h«..— i4..
 
 ■/.>'.'*i.„„,„„., .i.'yu,,/., ,/„^.^ j^,^^ l„„don Mirch i ^Mi,. 
 
 r*i.~m.wn r tLt/T ^\\.y-f: i Si^y .fo-fffl:
 
 i
 
 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 
 
 CALLED 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE first five Books of the Bible, commonly called the Pentateuch, were composed by Moses, as the concurrent testunonies of all ages 
 declare ; and as hath ever been firmly believed by the Jews, with whom the fact continues to this day to be one of the thirteen ar- 
 ticles of their creed. The word " Pentateuch" is of Greek original; being compounded of two words, signifying /ce, and book, or 
 volume. It was probably first prefixed to the Greek version of the " Septuagint," or seventy translators ; to denote Genesis, Exodus, 
 Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy : all of which had been written by the hand of Moses in Hebrew, probably in the order in 
 which they now stand, though not distributed by their author into books, but forming one continued work. 
 
 The first book is usually entitled Genesis, from a Greek word, which signifies generation; and is so called, because it contains the history 
 of the Creation of the World, and the genealogy of the Patriarchs. 
 
 Moses was assisted by tlie Holy Spirit in the composition of this important work, whicli forms a proper introduction to the laws and 
 judgments delivered in the subsequent books. The description, which he gives in it, of the Creation, as relating to circumstances 
 before the existence of mankind, could be derived only from immediate revelation. As to subsequent events, the Israelites must 
 have been able to judge by tradition how far the account of Moses was consistent with truth. For that tradition was conveyed 
 from Adam to Moses through jeven intermediate persons ; namely, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, and Amram, 
 the father of Moses. The sacted character of the book is established by the internal evidence of its inspiration ; by the revealed 
 history of the Creation of the World; by the several predictions, afterwards fully accomphshed ; and lastly by the testimony of our 
 Saviour and His Apostles, who have cited from it in the New Testament, at least twenty-seven passages, word for word, and thirty- 
 eight according to the sense. I 
 
 This book comprehends a period df 2369 years, or thereabouts. It begins with the history of the Creation of the World in six days, and 
 contains also an account of the disobedience and punishment of Adam and Eve; the increase of mankind; the progress of wickedness; 
 the general destruction of the kuman race by the deluge, except Noah and his family, who were miraculously preserved in the ark ; 
 the promise of God, that the wlrld should no more be destroyed by a flood ; the confusion of tongues, and the dispersion of the de- 
 scendants of Noah ; the call of ibraham, and the covenant of God with him ; the repetition of that covenant with Isaac and Jacob ; 
 the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah ; the history of Joseph ; and the settlement of the Israelites in Egj-pt. This is the oldest 
 book in the world. And it is rinarkable, that the books which come nearest to it in age are those wliich make either the most dis- 
 tinct mention of, or the most eviient allusion to, the facts related in Genesis concerning the formation of the world from a chaotick 
 mass, the primeval innocence aiid subsequent fall of man, the longevity of mankind in the first ages of the world, the depravity of 
 the antediluvians, and the destruction of the world by a deluge. Dr. Gray, Bp. Tomline, Gisborne, Bp. Watson. 
 
 Before 
 CHKIST 
 
 4004. 
 
 ' Fsal. S.-J. 
 6. & 136. 5. 
 Acts 14. ! 5. 
 &• 17. 24. 
 Heb. 1 1. 3. 
 
 The creation of lieave, 
 the Jirmament, 9 of th 
 
 Ct AP. I. 
 
 and earth, 3 of the light, 6 of 
 ^ , ^ ^ J earth separated from the ma- 
 ters, II and made frmful, 14 qf the sun, moon, and 
 stars, 20 offish and oivl, 24 qf beasts and cattle, 
 26 qf man in the imag of God. 29 Also the appoint- 
 ment of food. 
 
 rN the * beginning 
 L ven and the ear' i. 
 2 And the earthlwas without form and 
 
 God created the hea- 
 
 Chap. I. ver. 1. In the beginning ^iod created the heaven and 
 the eartk.'^ In the beginning of tim , God, the Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost, made, of notliing, the m lole great and goodly frame 
 of the world ; both the heaven and lie earth, and the other ele- 
 ments, with all the furniture and ir labitants of them all. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 Moses, the divine lawgiver, designpg to hang the whole frame 
 cf his politj- upon piety towards Gotland to make the Creator of 
 Vol. L 
 
 ioda 
 
 void; and darkness teas upon the face of chk^ist 
 the deep. And the Spirit of God moved 4004. 
 upon the face of the waters. 
 
 3 And God said, "Let there be hght: '2Cor.4. 
 and there was light. 
 
 4 And God saw the light, that it was 
 
 good : and God divided t the light from IrtK^en ihc 
 the darkness. a'*'/"''* 
 
 5 And God called the light Day, and the Jor^ts. 
 
 all the founder of his laws, begins with Him. As if he had told 
 the Hebrew nation, that He, who gave them the law contained in 
 these books, was the King and Lawgiver of the whole world, 
 which was, like a great cit)-, governed by Him : whom therefore 
 he would have them regard, as the Enactor, not only of their laws, 
 but of those also which all nature obeys. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Moses, though divinely inspired, does not go about to prove 
 that there is a God : he justlv supposes, that whoever considers 
 
 ■ B
 
 The creatiun of the 
 
 G E N E S 1 S. 
 
 heaven and the earth, 
 
 Btfurt 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 400-1. 
 
 f lUh. 
 ^wi titc 
 
 wai.nnd thi 
 
 Jvr. la Iti. 
 & £1.15. 
 fHcb. 
 
 rxpmruion. 
 'Jcr.il. 
 15. 
 
 * r»»L 33. 
 
 7. A I -Mi. 0. 
 Job JB. e. 
 
 darkiioss Iio called Ni^lit. t Ami tiie even- 
 ins^ ami the morning were the first day. 
 
 i[ And God said, ' Let there be a t fir- 
 mament in the midst of the waters, and let 
 it divide the waters from the waters. 
 
 7 And God made the firmament, and 
 ilivided the waters which Tiere under the 
 firmament from the waters which rcere a- 
 bove the firmament : and it was so. 
 
 S And (iod called the ''firmament Hea- 
 ven. And the evening- and the morning 
 were the second day. 
 
 9 f And God said, " Let the waters un- 
 der the heaven be gathered together unto 
 one place, and let the dry land appear: and 
 it was so. 
 
 10 And God called the dry land Earth ; 
 
 the works of creation must be coininccd, tli.it a Beinp of infinite 
 perfections, wisdoni, anil jx)wer, whom we cill God, was the 
 Creator of all tilings. lip. Wilton. 
 
 Gixl I ;(«^(^] The Hebrew word Elokim, which is here, 
 
 and pencraliy Uiruuf^hout the OKI TesUinicnt, renderetl " Cixl," 
 is a plural bubstantive, and yet is here and elsewhere joined to a 
 singular verb. By which sort of expression it is very reasonably 
 fupposed, tliat the in»<pired writer dfsijfiicd to intimate the Trinity 
 of i'ersons in tile Unity of liie Clodiiead : namely, as the plural 
 noun denotes the plurality of persons, so the siiijrtdar verb joined 
 to it denotes the unity of the Gudheiid. Dr. Wells. See note on 
 ver. 20". 
 
 the heaven and the earth.'] Or the world: in the scripture- 
 phrase "the lie;iven and earth" are used to express what is other- 
 wise called the world or universe. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 The ancient Hebrews seem to ha\ e had no word in use among 
 tliera, which sinjjly of itself si^iified the world ; and therefore 
 tliey used in conjunction the " heaven :md earth," as the ffr.-ind 
 extremities, within which all things are contained, lip. I'carxon. 
 
 2. And the earth n-as without form and void ;] A confused in- 
 digested lieap, without any ortler or shape. Having no beasts, 
 nor trees, nor herbs, nor any thing else, witii which we now see 
 it adorned. Dp. Patrick. 
 
 and darkness «»a.j upon the face of the deep.'] Nothing was 
 
 to be seen for want of light ; which lay buried, as all tilings else 
 did ill that great abyss, or vast confused heap of matter, before 
 mentioned. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 the Spirit of God] The third Person in the blessed Tri- 
 nity. Dr. JVclls. 
 
 the Spirit of God moved kc] That is, the Divine Spirit, 
 
 by moving on the waters, ojierated tow.ird the order and orna- 
 ment of what was confused before. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 The word we here translate moved, signifies literally brooded 
 upon the waters, as a hen doth upon her eggs. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The word seems used to express that act of the Holy Spirit, by 
 w hich He imparted motion, activity, and life to the particles of 
 matter, lying yet in a mixed and shapeless heajt. Dr. Wells. 
 
 3. And God saiil,] Wherever in the history of the creation 
 we read these words, lie said, the meaning must be understood 
 to be. He nilkd. Bp. Patrick. For this is the admirable power 
 of God, tliat with Him to will is to effect, to determine is to per- 
 form. Bp. Pearson. 
 
 Let there be lijiht :] Not of the sun or stars, which were 
 
 not yet created; but a common brightness only, to distinguish the 
 time, .ind to remedy the former confused darkness. Bp. Hall. 
 
 4; Ami God saw the li^hl, thai it was good :] He approved it, 
 as agreeable to His desigu and accommodated to die use of the 
 world. Bp. KiMcr. 
 
 and God divided the light from the darkness.] Appointed 
 
 that they should constantly succeed one another. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and the gathering together of the waters (,j^^f?|, 
 called he Seas: and God saw that it "ivas 
 
 4004. 
 
 good. 
 
 1 1 And God said, Let the earth bring 
 forth t grass, the herb yielding seed, fl?jrftHcb. 
 tlie fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, J,"'jr 
 whose seed is in itself, upon the earth : and 
 it was so. 
 
 l^i And the earth brought forth grass, 
 and herb yielding seed after his kind, and 
 the tree yielding fruit, whose seed -was in 
 itself, after liis kind : and God 3aw that it 
 xcas good. 
 
 13 And the evening and the morning 
 were the third day. 
 
 14 f And God "said, Let there be Mights ' Dcut. 4. 
 in the firmament of the heaven to divide psatise. 
 
 7. 
 
 5. — And the cvcni7ig and the morning were the first day.] By 
 the evening is here denoted one whole course of darkness ; and 
 by the morning, the next following whole coiu-se of liglit. The 
 evening is mentioned before the morning, probably because the 
 diirkness was before the light, according to the history of the 
 creation. Dr. Wells. Hence the natural day of the Jews began 
 in the evening. Levit. xxiii. 32. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Instead of m.-iking all things at once, it is probable that God 
 was pleased to divide His work into si.x days, partly to give us 
 occasion for considering His works with more attention and se- 
 riousness; and partly to lay the ibundation for the weekly s.ibbath. 
 StackhoHsc. 
 
 6. And God said. Let there he a firmament See] Then Gotl 
 willed th.it there should be a large, clear, airy distance, betwixt 
 those upper waters, which art gathered into clouds, and these 
 below. Bp.Hall. 
 
 The Greek version has given us a word, which has produced 
 in our translation the correspinding word firmament. But this 
 term by no means furnishes us with the true idea of the original 
 word, which is derived from a verb, signifying, to spread abroad, 
 expand, enlarge, viake thin, &c. The proper rendering then is, 
 the e.rpansion : as it is said in other parts of Scripture ; " Who 
 sirctchest out the heavens like a curtain!" "That slretchelh otU the 
 heavens as a curtain, and sprealeth them out as a tent to dwell in," 
 Psal. civ. 2 ; Isai. xl. 22. Bp. Home. 
 
 7. — divided the waters &c] Under the firmament ; namely, 
 in the seas and rivers, &c. Ahave the frmament ; namely, in the 
 clouds, which are said therefore to cover the heaven, (Ps. cxlvii. 8; 
 compare Prov. viii. 28,) that is, the air or lower heaven. Compare 
 2 Sam. xxi. 10. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 9. — Let the waters &c.] Tliis work of God, whereby the wa- 
 ters were sent dow^n into their proper channels, and the earth 
 made dry, and fitted for the habitation of such creatures as were 
 afterwards created, is observfd by Strabo, a Greek geographer, 
 as an act of Divine Providence. " Because," says he, " the water 
 covered the earth, and man is not a creature that can live in the 
 water, God made many cavities and receptacles in the earth for 
 the water ; and raised the esrth above it, that it might be fit for 
 man's habitation." Bp. Palriti. 
 
 11. — whose seed is in itsif,] The meaning is, that the plant 
 should include in itself its proper seed, by means of which it 
 should be afterwards proiwijited from one generation to another. 
 Dr.Wclis. '* ^ 
 
 14'. — Let t/iere be lights'^ Or luminous bodies, by which light is 
 communicated. The lightiroduced at first was now distributed 
 into several luminaries, distait from the earth, " in the firmament 
 of heaven ;" or in those ujper regions, where the sun and tht j 
 planets are placed. Bp. Palrck. \ 
 
 to divide See] Party to make a perpetual :md constant 
 
 division between day and nijht ; and partly to be certain and n*
 
 the sun, moon, and stars. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 and of beasts. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 4004. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 Letaeen the 
 day and bt- 
 Imeen the 
 ni'ht. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 for the rule 
 of the day, 
 &c. 
 
 « Jer. 31. 
 
 "SEsdras 
 6. 47. 
 II Or, 
 creeping. 
 fHeb. 
 soul. 
 fHeb. 
 .face of the 
 firmament 
 of heaven, 
 
 t the day from tlie night ; aiid let them be 
 for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and 
 years : 
 
 15 And let them be for lights in the fir- 
 mament of the heaven to give light upon 
 the earth : and it was so. 
 
 16 And God made two great lights; the 
 greater light t to rule the day, and the les- 
 ser light to rule the night: he made the 
 stars also. 
 
 17 And God set them in the firmament 
 of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 
 
 18 And to ^rule over the day and over 
 the night, and to divide the light from the 
 darkness : and God saw that it was good. 
 
 19 And the evening and the morning 
 were the fourth day. 
 
 20 And God said, " Let the waters bring 
 forth abundantly the || moving creature that 
 hath t life, and fowl that may fly above the 
 earth in the t open firmament of heaven. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 4004. 
 
 tural signs for man's direction. In his course of judgment and 
 practice, for sowing, planting, sailing, and such other common 
 affairs; and partly, to make a distinction of sieasons, summer, 
 winter, spring, autumn, years, months, weeks, days, hours. Bp. 
 Hall. As also to direct mankind afterwards in their solemn fes- 
 tivals. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 We must distinguish betwixt God's saying. Let such a thing 
 be, and let such a thing do, so or so. By the first He produced 
 the thing out of nothing ; by the other He gave laws to it, then 
 in being. As, when He said, " Let there be Ught," by that word, 
 the light, which was not before, began to be : but when He said, 
 " Let there be lights in the firmament, to divide the day from the 
 night, &c." He thereby gave laws to the light He had before 
 made, nhere He would have it be, and what He would have it do. 
 This is what we call the law of nature: that law, which God hath 
 put into the nature of every thing, whereby it always keeps itself 
 within such bounds, and acts according to such riUes, as God hath 
 set it, and by that means shows forth the glory of His wisdom 
 and power. JBp. Beveridge. 
 
 15. And let them be for lights &C.2 Let them there continue 
 to give constant light and warmth to the earth and its inhabitants, 
 which is their principal use. Bps. Hall and Patrick. 
 
 16. —two great lights ;"] "That is, which appear to us greater 
 than all the rest ; namely, the sim and moon. With regard to 
 the inhabitants of the earth, the moon, though certainly an 
 opaque or dark body, and less than most of the planets, may be 
 not improperly called a great light : since, on account of its near- 
 ness, it communicates more light, and is of more use and benefit 
 to us, than all the other planets put together. Dr. Wells, Bp. 
 Patrick, Stackhousc. 
 
 — — to rule the day, &c.] As the sun is said " to rule the day," 
 because he then only appears in the firmament ; so the moon and 
 stars are said to " rule the night," because they then appear with 
 splendour, and give a supply of light, which the sun does not 
 then immediately afford. Dr. Wells, Bp. Kidder. 
 
 17. And God set them &c.] By repeating this so often, Moses 
 intended to fix in the people's mind this notion ; that though the 
 heavenly bodies be very glwioiis, yet they are but creatures rnade 
 by God, and set or appointed by His order, to give us light. And 
 therefore He alone is to be worshipped, not they. Bp. Patrick. 
 This supposition is the more probable, because the most early 
 idolatry is reasonably judged to have been that of worshipping 
 tlie host of heaven, or tlie celestial lights. Dr. Wells. 
 
 21. — whales,'} Or great fishes of all sorts. Dr. Wells. 
 
 26. And God said, Lei us wake man} God not only reserved 
 
 ' Chap. s. 
 17. & 9.1. 
 
 21 And God created great whales, and 
 eveiy living creature that moveth, which 
 the waters brought forth abundantly, after 
 their kind, and every winged fowl after his 
 kind : and God saw that it xcas good. 
 
 22 And God blessed them, saying, ' Be 
 fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in 
 the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 
 
 23 And the evening and the morning 
 were the fifth day. 
 
 24 ^ And God said. Let the earth bring 
 forth the living creature after his kind, cat- 
 tle, and creeping thing, and beast of the 
 earth after his kind : and it was so. 
 
 25 And God made the beast of the earth 
 after his kind, and cattle after their kind, 
 and eveiy thing that creepeth upon the 
 
 eartJi after his kind : and God saw that it *■ chap. s. 
 
 1 l.Sc9. 6. 
 
 was good. 1 Cor. II. 7. 
 
 26 f" And God said, " Let us make man Ephes. 4. 
 
 • 24. 
 
 in our image, after our likeness : and let coi. 3. lo. 
 
 man for the last of His works, but, as it were, advises and consults 
 about his production; not to signify any deliberation within Him- 
 self, or any difficulty in the work ; but to represent to us the dig- 
 nity of man, and that he was made with admirable wisdom and 
 great prudence. It is to be observed also, that God does not 
 say, " Let the earth bring forth man," as He said before of other 
 animals ; and that for the same reason : namely, to represent man 
 as a far more noble work, than any other upon earth. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 — — — Let Its'] The ancient Christians looked upon this as a 
 plain intimation of a plurality of Persons in the Godhead. Epi- 
 phanius says, " This is the language of God to his Word and only 
 begotten, as all the faithful believe ;" and again, " Adam was 
 formed by the hand of the Father and tlie Son and the Holy 
 Ghost." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It is the language'of St. Barnabas, one of the apostolical Fathers, 
 " And for this cause the Lord was content to suffer for om- souls, 
 although He be the Lord of the whole earth ; to whom God said, 
 before the beginning of the world. Let cs make man, &.c."Abp. Wake. 
 
 St.Chrysostom concludes some observations on the same passage, 
 in the following eloquent terms : " Who was He, to whom God 
 said. Let us make man? Who else but He, the Angel of the Great 
 Council, the Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty One, the Prince 
 of Peace, the Father of the future age, the only-begotten Son of 
 God, the equal to His Father in essence, by whom all things were 
 made.> To Him it was said. Let us make man." 
 
 " Let us make man." t i.— He speaks to One who has the 
 power of creating. John i. 1, 2, 3. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 The phraseology, in which this resolution is couched, is remark., 
 able. " Let us make man :" but the Old Testament furnishes 
 more instances of a similar kind : " Behold, the man is become as 
 one of us;" " Let us go down, and there confound their language;" 
 " \\Tiom shall I send, and who will go for us?" These plural 
 forms, thus used by the Deity, demand oiu: attention. Gen. iii. 22 ; 
 xi. 7; Isaiah vi. 8. 
 
 Three solutions of the question have been offered. The first is 
 that given by the Jews, who tell us, that in tliese fonss Go<l 
 speaks of Himself and His angels. But may we not ask upon this 
 occasion, " Who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath 
 been His counsellor!'" With which of tlie angels tlid He at any 
 time vouchsafe to share His works and His attributes? Coidd 
 they have been His coadjutors in the work of creation, which He 
 so often claims to Hunself, declaring He will not give the glory 
 of it to another? 
 
 A second account of the matter is, that the King of heaven 
 adopts the stjde employed by the kings of the earth. But doth it 
 
 B2
 
 The creation of man. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 and appointment of food. 
 
 n»fi>re 
 CHIUST 
 
 ' M*tth«r 
 19. 1. 
 Wild. • 
 8S. 
 
 "Chip. 
 
 ». I. 
 
 + Hr«.. 
 cntptlk. 
 
 them have dominion over the fish of the 
 sea, ami over the fowl of the air, ami over 
 the cattle, and over all the earth, and over 
 every creeping thing that creepeth upon 
 the earth. 
 
 "■27 So God created man in his oicn image, 
 in the image of God created he him; 'male 
 and female created he them. 
 
 'i8 And God blessed tliem, and God said 
 unto them, " Be fruitful, and nuiltiply, and 
 replenish the earth, and subdue it: and 
 have dominion over the fish of the sea, and 
 over the fowl of the air, and over every 
 living thing that tmoveth upon the earth. 
 
 seem nt .'ill irasonable to ini.igiiic, tliat Gwl should borrow His 
 wav of si>eaking from a kiiijf, before man was creatod upon the 
 t-arth ? IJesidfs, as it hath been judiciously observed, " though 
 .1 king and governour may «iy »* and ivc, there is certainly no 
 figure of sijeeeh that will .-dlow .-my single person to say, ' one of 
 us,' when he speaks only of himself It is a phrase that can have 
 no meaning, unlc>s there be more persons than one concerned." 
 
 What then sho\ild hinder us from accepting the third solution, 
 given by the best expositors ancient and mtxlorn, and drawn from 
 this consideration, that in the unity of the Divine Essence there is 
 a plurality of Persons, coequal and coetemal, who might say, with 
 truth ami propriety, " I^t us make man," and, " Man is become 
 as ONE OK fs?" Of such a personality revelation informs us: it 
 is lliat, u|)on which the economy of man's redemption is founded; 
 his creation, as well as tliat of the world, is, in djfFcrent passages, 
 attributed to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; what 
 more natural therefore than that, at his production, this form 
 of speech should l)c used by the Divine Persons? What more ra- 
 tioniil than to suppose, that n doctrine, so im|X)rtant to the human 
 race, was communicated from the beginning, that men might 
 know whom they worshipped, and how thej' ought to worship ? 
 What other good and sufficient reason can be given, why the 
 nime <>f God, in use among believers from the first, should like- 
 wise l>e in the plural number, connecteil with verbs and pronouns 
 in the singular ? It is true, we Christians, with the New Test;i- 
 ment in our hands, may not want these arguments to prove the 
 doctrine : hut why should vi-e overlook, or slight, such very va- 
 luable evidence of its having been revealed and receivetl in the 
 Church of God, from the foundiition of the world ? It is a satis- 
 faction, it is a comfort, to reflect, that in this momentous article 
 of our faith we have patriarchs and prophets for our fathers; that 
 they lived, and that they died in the belief of it ; that the God 
 of .\dam, of Noah, and of Abniham is likewise our God; and 
 that when we adore Him in three Persons, and give " glory to the 
 Fathei, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost," we do " as it was" 
 done " in the begmning, is now, and ever shall be." Bp. Home 
 
 in our iimifc. after our likeneits :] Approaching to the Di- 
 vine likeness in understanding, freetlom of choice, spirituality, 
 immortality, &c. in righteousness and tnie holiness likewise, as 
 m!»y be gathered from the Apostle, Eph. iv. '2 V. Bp. Patrick. Of 
 man's distinguishing excellencies we are taught to entertain the 
 most exaltetl sentiments, when we .are told, that he was made " in 
 the image and likeness of fio<l." For what more can be said 
 of a cre.nt>ire, than, that he is made after the similitude of his 
 Creator .' Bp. Home. 
 
 We should learn to be cautious, lest we charge God foolishly, 
 by ascribing that to Him or the nature* He has given us, which is 
 owing M holly to an abuse of it. Men may speak of the degene- 
 racy and corruption of tlie world, according to the experience 
 they have had of it : but human nature, considered as the Divine 
 workmaiii^hip, should methinks be treated as sacred ; for in the 
 image of CJod made He jnan. Bp. Butler. 
 
 27. — Aim;] God thought fit to make one man to be the head 
 and parent of the whole race of mankind, that men might not 
 
 •2*) ^ And God said. Behold, I have chrTIt 
 given you every herb t bearing seed, which 4ooi. 
 is upon the face of all the earth, and every tiiei>. 
 tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yield- "'"•"«'"•' 
 ing seed ; "to you it shall be for meat. " ciiap 9. 
 
 SO And to every beast of the earth, and ^" 
 to every fowl of the air, and to every thing 
 that creepeth upon the earth, wherein ifiere 
 is t life, / /lavc i^iven every green herb for t Heb. 
 meat : and it was so. 
 
 .SI And "God saw every thing that he "Eccraa. 
 had made, and, behold, it sxa.v \ ery good. 
 And the evening and the morning were the 
 sixth day. 
 
 boast and vaimt of their extraction and original, (as the Jews have 
 observetl,) and that they might think themselves under an obliga- 
 tion to love and assist each other, as proceeding from the same 
 original and common parent Acts xvii. 2b". Bp. Kidder. 
 
 vuilc and female'] That is, ofic male, and one female ; and 
 
 the female from tlie male. Polygamy and divorce were not from 
 the beginning. Compare Matt xix. 3, i. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 He made woman the same day He made man, a.s He did both 
 sexes of all other living creatures; also He made woman, as well 
 as man, " in the image of God ;" forming the male of the matter 
 of the earth, and the female afterwai-ds ol' the male, of which 
 a more particular account is reserved for the following chapter. 
 Bp-i. Patrick and Hull, Dr. Wells. 
 
 2S. And God tikssed litem,'] That is, besides the e.xcellent en- 
 dowments, whicli He bestowed on them. He gave than power to 
 multiply and incre;ise their kind. See Psalm cxxviii. 3, 4. Bp. 
 Kidder. This jiower He had Ijefore bestowed upon other crea- 
 tures ; He adds to it here two other things, " replenish tlie 
 earth, and subdue it" He gives them the whole eiu-th for their 
 possession, with a power to " subdue" it; that is, to make it fit for 
 tlieir habitation, by bringing under, or driving away wild beasts. 
 For, secondly. He gives them the "dominion" over all other crea> 
 tures, whether in the water, air, or earth. Bp. Patrick. . 'ov; 
 
 have domiuion] The divine writers have informed us, 
 
 that God at the beginning gave mankind dominion (that is, au 
 impressed awe and authority) over every living thing that movetli 
 ujx>n the earth, as a defence and security against the btaists of 
 prey, which woidd otherwise have destroyed them. Dr. BentUtf. 
 By the dominion God gave him over the creatures, Adam, 
 though naked and defenceless, had full security that they could 
 not hurt him ; and he had a convincing proof of this by tlieir 
 obeilience, when tliey were brought before him. Bp. IVitson. 
 
 29. — Behold, I liafc given x/uu &c.] Here he assigns tliem their 
 footl ; and makes no mention at all of beasts, but only of plants 
 and fruits of tlie earth. The allowance was expressly enlarged 
 alter the floo<l, when He gave them every living thing for meat, 
 as well as the herbs, chap. ix. 3. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 31 . — very good.] Exactly fitted to the ends and uses, for which 
 He designed it ; and contributing, as much as it could, to the 
 manifestation of His glory. Bp. Bcveridgc. The least or worst 
 of creatures in their original is not any way derogatory to the 
 Creator. Whatsoever is evil, is not so by the Creator's action, but 
 by the creatures defection. Bp. Pearson. 
 
 The narrative contained in this chapter redounds greatly to the 
 honour and glory of God : for the work of creation is an illustri- 
 ous display of the Divine Wistlom, Power, and Goodness. When 
 the holy Psalmist had enumerated the great mercies of (Jod to His 
 creatures in various instances, Ps. civ, he exclainied, ver. 24, " O 
 Lord, how manifold are Thy works ! in rvitdum hast Thou made 
 them all : the earth is full of Thy riches." Every thing indeed is 
 wisely contriveil and adapted to the ends for which it was de- 
 signed. iJdly, The works of Creation demonstrate the all-suffi- 
 cient power of God, who made heaven and earth by His word, 
 and " all the hosts of them by the breath of His mouth :" nay,
 
 Thejirst sabbath. 
 
 CHAP. ir. 
 
 The garden of Eden. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 4004. 
 
 CHAP. n. 
 
 The first sahbath. 4 The manner of l/ie creation. S 
 The planting of the garden of Eden, 1 and the riier 
 thereof. 17 The tree of knowledge only forbidden. 
 19, 20 The naming of the creatures. 21 The making 
 of woman, and inslicution of marriage. 
 
 HITS the heavens and the earth were 
 finished, and all the host of them. 
 • Exod. 20. 2 * And on the seventh day God ended 
 \\] ^ ^'' his work which he had made ; and he rest- 
 Deut.5.14. ed on the seventh day from all his work 
 Hebr.4.4. ^^hich he had made. 
 
 3 And God blessed the seventh day, 
 
 and sanctified it : because that in it he 
 
 fHeb. had rested from all his work which God 
 
 created to % j_ j j j 
 
 make. T Created and made. 
 
 who can produce a world with no more labour than by barely 
 tvilling it to be. Lastly, the Divine Goodness is highly magnified 
 in the works of Creation. There was a time, when there was no- 
 thing but God: but there was no time, when He was not infinitely 
 happy; therefore He was infinitely happy in Himself, and wanted 
 not His creatures to add anj' thing to Him. But His good plea- 
 sure and free grace disposed Him to create them, and impart a 
 share of His own happiness to them. Some of them He hath 
 placed in heaven ; and " the earth hath He given to the chil- 
 dren of men :" which would have been a secondary heaven to 
 us, had we not brought death into it by sin. Nevertheless this 
 death shall prove the beginning of eternal life to all those, who 
 serve God in the faith of His Son Jesus Christ, who hath " open- 
 ed the kingdom of heaven to all believers." Reading. 
 
 The Mosaical account of the Creation of the World is distin- 
 guished for its simplicity and perspicuity, above all the accounts 
 of the Romans, Greeks, Phenicians, Egyptians, and Chinese ; 
 which still, however, tend to confirm and verify it in the leading 
 circumstances. Dr. Hales. 
 
 Chap. n. Moses, having given a short account of the orderly 
 production of all things from the meanest to the noblest, explains 
 more largely in this chapter some things, which, in the forego- 
 ing, were delivered briefly, because he would not interrupt the 
 connexion of his discourse, about the works of the six days. 
 Particularly he relates how Eve was made ; and also fiuther 
 illustrates the production of Adam, &c. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Ver. 1. — all the host of them.'] That is, of each of them. The 
 word " host" is plainly used to signify every thing that is in 
 heaven or in earth ; or, as we say, in the whole world, which in 
 Hebrew is always expressed by these two werds, " heaven and 
 earth." Bp. Beoeridge. The several creatures are called " host" 
 at army, because of their vast variety and excellent order. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 2. And on the seventh dai/ God ended his n'ork] Or rather, had 
 ended, (as it may be translated,) for He did not work on the se- 
 venth day. Bp. Patrick. The verse may be rendered, agreeably to 
 the translation of the Seventy, " On the sixth day God ended His 
 work which He had made ; and He rested on the seventh day 
 from all His work which He had made." Dr. Wells. An emblem 
 of the rest that we shall have, when we have done our work faith- 
 fully, and left none undone. Bj). Patrick. 
 
 8. — blessed] That is, ordered it to be observed, as a day for 
 praising Him, and for obtaining His blessings: and no doubt it was 
 so observed by all good men from Atlam to Moses. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 sanctified^ That is, set it apart, that it might preserve to 
 
 all ages the memory of the Creation and the Creator ; man being 
 by an express law obliged to commemorate them fifty-two times 
 a year. And as the neglect of this law brought in idolatry and 
 infidelity, so the breach of it has ever since been punished most 
 
 4 % These are the generations of the ^"^"'^ 
 heavens and of the earth when they were ^"wl^^ 
 created, in the day that the Lord God 
 
 made the earth and the heavens, 
 
 5 And every plant of the field before it 
 was in the earth, and every herb of the 
 field before it grew: for the Lord God had 
 not caused it to rain upon the earth, and 
 the7^e was not a man to till the ground. 
 
 6 But II there went up a mist from the U ^'• 
 earth, and watered the whole face of the wTn'up'' 
 ground. /'■'""• *'^- 
 
 7 And the Lord God formed man t off ^eb. 
 the ''dust of the ground, and breathed into ^olnd! ^ 
 his nostrils the breath of life ; and " man ^ ' ^°'- '5. 
 became a living soul. ■= i' cor. 15. 
 
 8 ^ And the Lord God planted a garden ^^• 
 
 remarkably, by a judicial hardness of heart, forgetfulness of God, 
 and exemplary judgments ; as numberless offenders have con- 
 fessed. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 4. These arc the generations &c.] This is a faithful account of 
 the generation, or original, of the world. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 in the daj/] Or, at the time, " that the Lord God made 
 
 the eailh and the heavens." From henceforward the Supreme 
 Being is called "Lord," having been hitherto called only " God." 
 The Hebrew doctors observe, that Jehov.\h Elohim, (Lord God,) 
 joined together, is the full and perfect name of God ; and there- 
 fore fitly reserved till this place, when tlie works of God were 
 perfected. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — of the dust of the ground,] Not dri/ but moist dust, or 
 clay ; such as is used by potters: as the Greek and Hebrew words 
 are thought most properly to signify. Upon tliis original of 
 man's body the ancient Fathers make many pious reflexions : but 
 none better or shorter than this, that it is intended to teach us, 
 that when we ai-e inclined to be lifted up, because we are made 
 after God's image, the thoughts of tlie dirt, out of which we are 
 taken, may humble and lay us low. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 In this instance, as in another since, God seemeth to have 
 chosen the base things of the world, to confound things honour- 
 able and mighty, when of the dust of the ground He composed a 
 frame, superiour, in rank and dignity, to the heavens and all their 
 hosts. Bp. Home. 
 
 breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ;] This being 
 
 said of no other creature, leads us to conceive, not only that the 
 soul of man is a distmct thing, of a different original from liis 
 body ; but that a more excellent spirit was put into him by God 
 (as appears by its operations) than into other animals. For 
 though the simple phrase of inspiring him with " the breath of 
 life" would not prove this, yet Moses speaking in the plural num- 
 ber, that " God breathed into him the breath or spirit of lives," it 
 plainly denotes that spirit, which makes man not only breathe and 
 move ; but think also, reason and discourse. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. And the Lord God planted a garden] Or had planted, pro- 
 bably on the third day : " eastward," that is, eastward of Judea, 
 or of the desert of the Amorites, where Moses wrote these books, 
 in a country, long after called " Eden" from its pleasantness and 
 fruitfulness. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 When we think of Paradise, we think of it as tlie seat of 
 delight. The name Eden authorizes us so to do. It signifies 
 PLE.ASURE ; and the idea of pleasure is inseparable from that of 
 a garden, where man still .seeks after lost happiness ; and where, 
 perhaps, a good man finds the nearest resemblance of it, which 
 this world affords, " What is requisite, ' exclaims a great and ori- 
 ginal genius, (Dr. Young,) " to make a wise and happy man, but 
 reflexion and peace .^ And both are the natural growth of a. 
 garden. A garden to the virtuous is a Paradise still extant ; a 
 Paradise xuilost." Bj). Home.
 
 The river of Eden. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 71ic tree ofkncfwledfie. 
 
 «Eccl' 
 84.85. 
 
 Hcforc eastward in Eden; and tlicre he put the i 
 ^"oM."^^ man whom he had tbrmeil. 
 
 !) And out of the ground made tlie Lord 
 Ciod to grow every tree tliat is j)lcasant to 
 the sight, and good for food ; the tree of 
 hfe also in the midst of the garden, and the 
 tree of knowledge of good and evil. 
 
 10 And a river went out of Eden to 
 water the garden ; and from thence it was 
 parted, and became into four heads. 
 
 1 1 The name of the first is '' Pison : that 
 is it which compasseth the whole land of 
 Havilah, where there is gold ; 
 
 10 And the gold of that land is good: 
 tliere is bdellium and the onyx stone. 
 13 And the name of the second river is 
 
 — . and thtre he put the man &c.] VVe cannot conceive such 
 a creature, as man, to be p\it into a more happy state than this. 
 The gn)und naturally, without any labour or trouble, brought 
 forth ever)- thing that was necessary and convenient, and also 
 every thing tJiat was pleas<uit and <U-lightful. So that there was 
 nothing for man to do, but to dress -ind to keep the garden for 
 his diversion, and to satisfy himself with all the variety wliich it 
 aiTorded. Dr. John Clarke. 
 
 9. _ i/,e Ircc of /i/y] So calleil, because he, that ate of it, 
 would have livetl for ever, either by virtue of that tree, or by the 
 appointment of ( iod ; iis the sacraments are means of grace. lip. 
 IVilson. This ganlen In-ing a type of heaven, perhaps God in- 
 tendc<l by this tree to represent th.it immortal life, wln'ch He 
 meant to bestow uixm man with Himself. Rev. x.\ii. 2. In other 
 trees there was nourhhmeiil for man ; but in this also a sacramcnl. 
 For it w.Ts a .tymM both of tliat life, which God had already 
 bestowed upon man ; (who was hereby put in mind th.it G<m1 
 ■was the author of his being, and all his enjoyments ;J and of tliat 
 life which he w.ts to hope for in another world, if he proved 
 ol>cdient. lip. Patrick. 15y means of this sacrament, had .Adam 
 gone happily through his probation, and persevered in obedience 
 imto the end, he would have been admitted, in the kingtlom of 
 heaven, to that stite of eternal life with G(mI, for which he was 
 always designed, and of which I'aradise was the earthly re- 
 semblance. Sp. Home. 
 
 tree of ktiowledse of good and «'//.] .\. tree, which would 
 
 make those tnat should cat of it sensible of good and evil. Bp. 
 Wibon. It was so called, as being the ajipointed test of the obe- 
 dience or disobetlience of our first parents ; procuring " good" or 
 happiness in the former case ; and " eril" or misery in the latter. 
 Dr. //<!/, -t. 
 
 10. .ind a river went out of Eden &c.] It should seem tlint 
 P.oradise lay on the confluent stream of the rivers Euphrates and 
 Tigris, b»it principally on the eastern bank ; which divided into 
 two branches above the garden, and two more below it. From 
 tlie description of these rivers by the ancient historians and geo- 
 graphers, M.-ijor Rennell collects, th.it in ancient times they kept 
 distinct courses to the sea, until the time of Alexander; although 
 at no great distance of time afterwards they became unite<l, and 
 joined the sea in a collective stream. The Cyrus also and Araxes 
 kept distinct courses in ancient times. This, however, does not 
 invalidate a primeval junction of these rivers, before the deluge, 
 which certainly prixlucejl a prodigious alteration in tlie face of tiic 
 primitive globe. Besides, the changes in the beds of other great 
 rivers, such as the Nile, tlie Ganges, and Barampooter, even in 
 modem times, are known to be very great. Dr. Hales. 
 
 11. — Pison:'] The westerly branch, by which the Euphrates 
 empties itself into the Persian gulph. Both this river .md the 
 Gihon have long lost their names ; the Greek and Rom.in writers 
 taUing them, after their p.irting, by the names which they had 
 before they met, Euphrates and Tigris. Bp. Patrick, Dr. IVells. 
 
 —— cwnpoisclli the whole land of HarHah,'] 'J'hat is, washes 
 
 Gihon : the same is it tliat compasseth the 
 whole land oft Ethiopia. 
 
 It And the name of the third river is 
 Hiddekel : that is it which gocth || toward 
 the east of As.syria. And the fourth river 
 is Euphrates. 
 
 1.0 And the Lonn God took lithe man, 
 and put him into the garden of Eden to 
 dress it and to keep it. 
 
 If) And the Lord God commanded the 
 man, saying, Of every tree of the garden 
 tthou mayest freely eat: 
 
 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of 
 good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it : for 
 in the day that thou eatest thereof tthou 
 shalt surely die. 
 
 Brfore 
 CHRI.ST 
 
 lOOf. 
 
 tHeb. 
 Cuslt. 
 II Or, 
 
 tattwanl to 
 Asayrin. 
 
 yor. 
 
 Adam, 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 eatins^ thtm 
 iliult ent. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 (lyin« tltOM 
 ihntl die. 
 
 with a winding stream all one side of the land of Havilah ; or of 
 the eastern tract of Arabia Felix. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 1 2. And the gold of thai land &c.] Arabia was famed for its 
 gold, both as to its fineness and its quality; as also for its arO" 
 matick gums and pearls, whicJi ever of tliese is intended by 
 " bdellium :" and for its precious stones, whatever was the 
 particular species signified by the word rendcrcxi " onyx stone." 
 Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 13. — Gihon ;] The easterly ch.innel of the two, into which 
 the Euphrates, after its conjunction with the Tigris, i.s again dU 
 vided. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. I 
 
 Ethiopia^ Not the country so called in Africa, but 
 
 another in Asia, adjoining to the easterly mouth of the Eu- 
 phrates ; called in Hebrew, as in the margin of our tninslation, 
 Cush ; by the Greeks and Latins Stisiana ; and now called by 
 the Persians Chtisislan, that is, the province of Chus, Bp. Patrick, 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 li. — Hiddekel:'] The Tigris. The word, which is rendered 
 toward the east, should be rendered simply toward or before. For 
 it has that signification, as well as the other ; and so expresses 
 better the course of the river, which does not nin totvard the cast 
 of the province, properly called, of old, A.s.<:i)ria ; but does run 
 before it, in respect to tlie place where Moses wrote. Bp. Patrick, 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 Euphrates.] In Hebrew Peralh or Phrath. The course 
 
 of it was so well known, that Moses gives no description of it. 
 Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 17. — thou shall not cat of it :] It was fit to lay upon Adam 
 this small restraint, to make him sensible, that though he had 
 dominion over all things, yet he was not their lord, but a servant 
 of the Most High, who required this abstinence in token of his 
 subjection, and to prove his obedience to Him. But still some 
 ask, Why should his obedience be tried in such an instance as 
 this? not considering that a trial of it could scarce have been 
 made in any of the moral precepts, which there was no opportu- 
 nity of violating. For what should tempt him to idolatry, or to 
 take God's name in vain, or to murder his wife ? How was it 
 possible to commit adulter}', when there was nobody but he and 
 .she in the world? How could he steal, or what room was there 
 then for coveting, when Gotl had put him in possession of all 
 things? It had been in v;iin to forbid th.it, which could not be 
 done: and it had been \irtue to abstain, ncjt from that, to which 
 there was no temptation, but from that, which invited them to 
 transgress. I speak of them in th.e plural number, because it 
 nnist be remembered that this prohibition was given, not to Adom 
 only, but to Eve also, chap. iii. 1, 2. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 thon shalt siireli/ die.] This does not sigiiifj', as appears 
 
 by the event, that he should instantly die, but that he should be- 
 come mortal ; lose the inimort<ility with which he was invested, 
 chn)). iii. 19. Diseases, sicknesses, and pains, the foreninners of 
 death, are included in this threatening. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The threatening implies a promise, that if he did not cat of the-
 
 The making of woman, 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 calkd. 
 
 Before 18 fl" And the Lord God said, It is 
 
 4004. not good that the man should be alone; 
 
 Ecd"* I wiS make ' him an help t meet for 
 
 » before 19 And out of tlic ground the Lord God 
 
 "'"'• formed every beast of the field, and every 
 
 fowl of the air ; and brought them imto 
 
 I Or, II Adam to see what he would call them : 
 
 ,.».««. ^j^j whatsoever Adam called every living 
 
 creature, that u-as the name thereof. 
 Hei). 20 And Adam tgave names to all cat- 
 
 tle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every 
 beast of the field ; but for Adam there was 
 not found an help meet for him. 
 
 21 And the Lord God caused a deep 
 
 fruit, he should not die, but live. This was the first covenant 
 which God made with man. Bp. Beveridge. 
 
 18. And the Lord God said,'] Or had said, before the de- 
 Kvery of this commandment, which was given to both. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 ■ If is not goodT^ Not so comfortable an estate, that the 
 man should live alone. I will make him an helper, of his own 
 nature, meet for him. Bp. Hall. 
 
 ■ 19. — Adam] The Hebrew word, hitherto rendered Man, or 
 the Man, is here rendered as a proper name. Dr. f Veils. It is 
 commonly thought that this name, given to the first man, signi- 
 fies as much as red earth. But it is far more probable, that it 
 anports elegant or beautiful. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. And Adam gave names &c.] The ancient and modern 
 professors of Atheistical philosophy represent the faculty of arti- 
 culate speech, or language, as the mere instinctive expression of 
 
 .the wants and desires of a herd of associated savages, gradually 
 invented for mutual convenience of communication, and esta- 
 blished by mutual consent. But our great Lexicographer justly 
 remarks, that " language must have come by inspiration: a thou- 
 sand, nay a million of children, could not invent a language; 
 while the organs are pliable, there is not understanding enough 
 to form a language ; and by the time that there is understanding 
 enough, the organs are grown stifiF. We know, that after a ceitain 
 age, we cannot learn a language." Bosroell's Life of Dr. Johnson. 
 This is confirmed by experience. Alexander Selkirk, when cast 
 away on the desert island of Juan Fernandez, almost lost the use 
 of his native tongue, after some years residence. The young 
 savage, called Peter, caught in the woods of Hanover, several 
 years ago, though soon tamed and reconciled to society, never 
 could be taught to speak. And lately, the young savage of 
 AvejTon, in France, though put under the care of the celebrated 
 Sicard, master of the deaf and dumb school, has never yet been 
 observed to utter an articulate sound, not even to express his 
 most urgent wants. 
 
 It is remarkable, that Adam was endued with the faculty of 
 speech in his solitary state, and gave names to the animal tribes 
 before the formation of Eve. Dr. Hales. 
 
 21. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep &c.] Adam was 
 thus less sensible of bodily pain ; at the same time that there was 
 represented to his mind, both what was done to him, and the 
 mystery of it, as appears by ver. 23, 2'1. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 — — and he took one of his ribs,] God did not form Eve out of 
 the ground ; as He had done Adam ; but out of Adam's side, tliat 
 He might create the greater love between him and her, as parts of 
 the same whole. By this He also effectually recommended mar- 
 riage to all mankind, as founded in nature ; and as the reunion 
 of man and woman. 
 
 No mention is here made of God's breathing a soul into 
 her, as into him : for Moses only explains what is peculiar to 
 Eve ; the rest is supposed in the words, " I will make him an 
 help meet for him ;" which the Latin Vulgate rightly translates. 
 
 ST 
 
 and the instittttion of marriage. 
 
 sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and before 
 he took one of his ribs, and closed up the ^^l^\^ 
 flesh instead thereof; 
 
 22 And the rib, which the Lord God 
 had taken from man, tmade he a woman, tHeu. 
 and brought her unto the man. buiUed. 
 
 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of 
 my bones, and flesh of my flesh : she shall 
 
 be called Woman, because she was ^ taken ' i Cor. 
 out of Man. "•®- 
 
 24 ^Therefore shall a man leave his fa- « Matthew 
 ther and his mother, and shall cleave unto ]^{J^ j^ ^ 
 his wife : and they shall be one flesh. i cor.e.'ic. 
 
 25 And they were both naked, the man ^v^-^-^^- 
 and his wife, and were not ashamed. 
 
 " like unto him." It was likewise said before, that both man 
 and woman were made " in the likeness of God." Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 22. And the rib — made he a tvoman,'] Which was as easy for 
 the Divine power to do, as to make the man himself out of the 
 earth. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and brought her unto Ike man.'] Presented and gave her to 
 
 him to be his wife. God Himself made the espousals (if I may so 
 speak) between them, and joined them together in marriage. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 23. — This is now bone ofmtf hones, &c.] Now indeed liave I 
 found, what I could not see before among all God's creatures, 
 a fit helper for me ; even another self. Bp. Hall. 
 
 — she shall be called Wonwn,] Partake of my name, as she 
 doth of my nature. For he called her Isha, as he was called Ish. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 24. Therefore shall a man leave &c.] Dwell with his wife, 
 rather than with his father and his mother, and be joined to her 
 in the closest and most inseparable affection, as if tliey were but 
 one person, and had but one soul and one body ; an obligation 
 arising from the singular imion of the flesh of our first pax'ents, 
 one of whom was taken out of the other. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 — ^ mifc :] Not wives. All this must be from express re« 
 velation ; for otherwise Adam knew not what a father or mother 
 was, nor that the affections of children and parents were great ; 
 and yet tliat the ties of husband and wife would be greater. 
 But it appears from our Saviour's words. Matt. xix. 4, that this 
 revelation was from God ; tliat it is founded upon the law of 
 nature, for one man to have one woman only : for God knew, 
 and none else could know, the evil consequences of unlimited 
 mixture, and that the number of males and females should be 
 so nearly equal, that many of them would be deprived of the 
 comforts of marriage, if it were otherwise than as God ordained. 
 Bp. Wilson. 
 
 25. — tvere not asluimcd.] Because they were innocent, and had 
 done nothing as yet to be ashamed of. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 If we consider seriously, what God is ; how great, almighty, 
 and wise He appears to be by the creation of this heaven and 
 this eartli; and how beneficent and gracious He is to man: if fur- 
 ther we consider nhat man was in his original state, how dignified 
 and distinguished above all other visible creatures: we cannot 
 now, in this our present forlorn condition, make any doubt of the 
 reasonableness and justice of confessing and repenting of those 
 sins, whereby we have degraded our nature, and offended so great, 
 so gracious a Being, our Maker, our Benefactor, and our God. 
 And to make us thoroughly sensible whj/ we ought to repent, was 
 the main design of the inspired ^v^:iter, in describing to us the 
 original and happiness of mankind, and the great riches of tlie 
 Divine Goodness. That very " shame, " which in a state of inno- 
 cence we were strangers to, but which we now inherit by a na- 
 tural descent, ought to excite our repentance and self-abhorrence. 
 JVogan.
 
 The serpen I deceive Ih Eve. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Man's shameful fall. 
 
 Hcfor* 
 CHHIST 
 
 40)1. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 1 T/ie serpent di-i;-ivellt Evi: 6 Man's shameful fall. 
 I) Cod arraigntilt them. 14 Tlte serjieiit is cursed. 
 1/) The proniised seed. Hi The punishment of man' 
 kind, a 1 Their Jirst clothing. 22 Their casting out 
 of paradise. 
 
 OW the serpent was more subtil than 
 
 any beast of the Held whicii the Lord 
 
 God had made. And he said unto the 
 
 ^ „,h. woman, t Yea, hath God said. Ye shall not 
 
 iva, u- eat of every tree of tlic fijarden ? 
 
 """■■ ^'' 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, 
 
 We may eat of tlie fruit of the trees of the 
 
 garden : 
 
 N' 
 
 Chap. III. Wc liave here an account of the state of man, botli 
 before and after his fall : that he was created in the image of 
 Go<l, and placed in Paradise, in a state of trial, in order to a 
 greater happiness and an ininjortal life, if he should keep the 
 covenant which God made with him and his posterity. 
 
 This covenant, through the temptation of tiie devil, he broke ; 
 and was therefore tumeil out of Paradise, became subject to sin, 
 and to the punishment of sin, which is misery, afflictions, and 
 death after iJI : and this wa.s the occasion of that universal cor- 
 ruption, which we see in the world. But then this transgression 
 gave occasion to God to manifest, together with His justice and 
 holine^s in the punishment of sin, another of His glorious per- 
 fections, His infinite goo<lness and mercy. 
 
 For seeing man in this deplorable condition, He had compas- 
 sion on him, and forthwith made him this promise of life and 
 comfort, " That the Seed of the woman," One who was not to have 
 a man for His father, " should bruise the head of that serpent," 
 tlie devil, which had beguiled her. Bp. IVilson. 
 
 Ver. I . — the scr/H-nt'] That this was the devil's act, in the 
 ."•crpent, we have the authority of Christ Himself, who says, " He 
 was a murderer from the beginning," John viii. 44; plainly in 
 allusion to this .seduction of our first parents, and the mortality 
 thereby induced. The same appears also from the Apostle, who 
 calls tlie devil or Satan, " the great dragon, that old serpent, 
 which deceiveth the whole world," Rev. xii. 9; xx. 2, 10. And 
 the author of the Book of Wisdom, ch. ii. ver. 24, who was well 
 acquaiiiled with tlic doctrines of the Jewish Church, tells us, 
 " Through eiuy of the devil came death into the world." Bp. 
 Beeeridne, Dr. Kennicoll. 
 
 — mure sul>tir\ And therefore a fitter instrument for the 
 
 devil, who made use of him; and also a more perfect resemblance 
 of his craft anil wilincss. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Yea, hath God said, &c.] The best interpreters understand 
 
 this to have been spoken interrogatively. Hath God indeed said > 
 ar. Dost thou think Gwl meant absolutely by saying, &c..'' Pyle. 
 
 The devil in these words seems to question the kindness of 
 God, in that He did not j)cnnit to man the eating of every tree 
 in the garden. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 2. — "V mafi eat of the fruit &c.] She seems to have under- 
 stood him, as if he thought God hatl forbid them to eat of any 
 fruit in the gartlen. \nd indeed the foregoing question is ambi- 
 guous. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4^ — Ye shall nut surely die .] As before he called in question 
 God's kindness to man, so does he here deny God's veracity or 
 truth; and deserves the character, which our Saviour gives him, of 
 '' a liar," John \ lii. 44. lip. Kidder. From this first lie that was told 
 in the world by the devil hiiii.self, he seems to be more particularly 
 called by our Saviour, " the fatlier ' of lies. Dr. Hells. 
 
 Unbelief is not only a great sin of itself, but one great cause 
 of all other sins. It may be truly called tlic Mother of sin, as 
 the devil is the Fatlier: for it was that, which by his instigation 
 brought forth sin at first into the world ; and it is that which 
 still maintains and keeps it. « When the old serpent assaulted our 
 fii-st parents, the first attack he made was upon their faith ; and 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 4004. 
 
 * 2 Cor. 1 1. 
 
 3. 
 
 I Tim. 2. 
 
 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is 
 in the midst of the garden, God hath said, 
 Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch 
 it, lest ye die. 
 
 4 * And the serpent said unto the woman, 
 Ye shall not surely die : 
 
 5 For God doth know tliat in the day 14.* 
 ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be open- 
 ed, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good 
 and evil. 
 
 6 And when the woman saw that the 
 tree was good for food, and that it was 
 
 t pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be de- t "«!» 
 sired to make one wise, she took of the " ^"'"' 
 
 when that was once shaken, he soon overcame them. Bp. Be- 
 veridgc. 
 
 5. For God dolh knotv &c.] The first accuser that ever was in 
 the world was ix false accu.Kr; and that was the devil. He was " a 
 liar from the beginning ;" and the first false report he raised, was 
 of the Most Higii : unjustly accusing God Himself unto our mother 
 Eve, in a few words, of no fewer than three great crimes at once, 
 Falsehood, Tyranny, and Envy. He was then a slanderous accuser 
 of his Maker; and he hath continued ever since a malicious accuser 
 of his brethren. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods,"] The 
 
 eyes of your understanding, which are now half-shut, shall be 
 fully opened, and ye shall be full of divine knowledge, like your 
 Maker. Bp. Hall. Or, like the angels of God, who are frequently 
 called " gods" in Scripture. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Be our ends and aims what they will, unless we arm ourselves 
 with strong resolutions beforehand, not to do any thing we know 
 to be unlawful upon any terms, seem it otherwise never so expe- 
 dient ; and then afterwards use all our best prayers and endea- 
 vours by God's grace to hold our resolutions, we are gone. Satan 
 is cunning, and we are but weak, and he will be too hard for us, 
 if he do but find us at :dl staggering in our resolutions to do no- 
 thing but what is latvful; or lending an ear to any persuasions, for 
 the doing of any thing that is unlawful. By this very means he 
 overcame our first mother Eve; and prevailed with her to taste of 
 the forbidden fruit, though it were unlanful, by persuading her 
 that it was expedieitt. This one is a sure ground for us to build 
 upon : to a good Christian that desireth to make conscience of liis 
 ways, nothing can be truly expedient, that he knows to be unlaw- 
 ful. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 knowing good and ei'tV.] An Hebrew phrase, signifying 
 
 as much as to know every thing, or a very enlarged knowledge, as 
 in 2 Sam. xiv. 1 7 and 20. And on the contrary, to know or speak 
 neillier good nor evil is to know or speak nothing at all, Deut. i. 3<); 
 Gen. xxxi. 29. Pyle. 
 
 6. And when the woman saw &c.] She could conclude that it 
 was good for food, only by the serpent's eating of it before her 
 eyes, and by seeing that he did not thereupon die, as God had 
 threatened: so she gave him credit and distrusted God's word. 
 Bp. Wilson. 
 
 did eat,"] Her sin was great and various ; being guilty of 
 
 ambition, incredulity, ingratitude, curiosity, inordinate desire, 
 open rebellion against God, and the drawing aside of her hus- 
 band, and tlie involving of him in sin, and their posterity in 
 misery also. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 and gave also unto her husband with her;"} Besides the ag- 
 gravations common to both our parents. Eve adds one more to her 
 weight, in that she was not content to sin herself alone, but siie 
 allured and drew her husband also into the like horrible trans- 
 gression with her : whereby she was not only guilty of her own 
 |)ersonal sin, but of her husband's also. And this added so much 
 to her former sins, that St Paul speaks of her, as if she had been 
 the only transgressor ; " Adam was not deceived, but the woman 
 being deceived was in the transgression," 1 Tim- ii- 1*. Sg
 
 God arraigrteth 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Adam and Eve. 
 
 Before fruit the2-eof, ''and did eat, and ffave also 
 4004. unto her husband with her ; and he did 
 " Ecci" eat. 
 
 iTim2 14 7 And the eyes of tliem both were open- 
 ed, and they knew that they tter^ naked ; 
 and they sewed fig leaves together, and 
 II Or, made themselves || aprons. 
 '^^about. 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord 
 tH«b. God walking in the garden in the tcool of 
 "■""'■ the day: and Adam and his wife hid them- 
 selves from the presence of the Lord God 
 amongst the trees of the garden. 
 
 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, 
 and said unto him, Wliere art thou ? 
 
 great and horrible a thing it is iii the eye of God, to be tlie cause 
 or mover of another's sin. Jos. Mede. 
 
 7. And the eyes of them both were opened^ They had no sooner 
 transgressed than they began to reflect upon the guilt, and feel 
 the fatal consequences of so doing. Their understandings were 
 indeed " opened," not in the sense the tempter had promised; but 
 in a manner that discovered to them their own folly, degeneracy, 
 and shame. PtJ^c. 
 
 and thai knew that they were nnierf;] Who knows not the 
 
 story of Adam's fall ? Who hath not heard of the sin of Eve our 
 mother? If there were no Scripture, yet the unexampled irre- 
 gularity of our whole nature, which all the time of our life runs 
 counter to all order and right reason ; tlie woeful misery of 
 our condition, being a scene of sorrow without any rest or con- 
 tentment ; this might breed some general suspicion, that from 
 the beginning it was not so: that He, who made us lords 
 of His creatures, made us not so worthless and vile as now we 
 are ; but that some common father to us all had drunken some 
 strange and deviUsh poison, wherewith the whole race is in- 
 fected. This poison, saith the Scripture, was the breach of God's 
 commandment in Paradise, by eating of the forbidden fruit. 
 Jos. Mede. 
 
 and they sewed Jig leaves together,'] They twisted the 
 
 branches of the fig tree about them for coverings : as the true 
 translation is. The fig-tree leaves in eastern countries are so 
 broad, that a few will cover the body of a man. Pyle. 
 
 8. And they heard the voice of the Loi'd God walking in the gar- 
 den'] The sound of the Majestick Presence, or the glory of the 
 Lord, approaching nearer and nearer to the place, where they 
 were. For the " walking" is to be referred to the voice, and not 
 to the Lord. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 hid themselves] Their very reason was so coniipted, as 
 
 to think they could hide themselves, as wild beasts run into a 
 wood when they see a man. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 9- — the Lord God called unto Adam,] Emphatically called, 
 Jehovah Elohim, God the Lord. By which, in the language of 
 Philo, according to the opinion of all the ancient Fathers, is to be 
 understood God the Father, speaking by Christ, the Logos, 
 the Word, or Son of God: the Messenger and Representative of the 
 Father, " the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His 
 person ;" who appeared in, and spake from, the Shcchinah, or 
 cloud of glory ; the same cloud of light, witli its heavenly host of 
 angels, from whence He communed with Adam, with Noah, with 
 Abraham, and the Patriarchs; and communicated His will to, and 
 conducted, the Israelitish nation. For of God the Fatlier it is 
 expressly said, " No man hath seen Him at any time," Jolm i. 1 8 ; 
 VI. 46. " Neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His 
 shape," John v. 37- Pyle. 
 
 — ; — ^Vhere art thou ?] Such questions do not argue ignorance 
 in Him that asks them ; but are intended to awaken the guilty to 
 a confession of their crimes. As appears from chap. iv. 9, 
 " Where is Abel thy brother }" Of whom when Cain stubbornly 
 refused to give an account, the Lord said immediately, (to shew 
 Vol. I. 
 
 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in pS^^sx 
 the garden, and I was afraid, because I 4ooi. 
 was naked ; and I hid myself. 
 
 1 1 And he said, Who told thee that thou 
 iicast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, 
 whereof I commanded thee that thou 
 shouldest not eat ? 
 
 1^2 And the man said, The woman whom 
 thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of 
 the tree, and I did eat. 
 
 13 And the Lord God said unto the 
 woman, MHiat is this that thou hast done ? 
 And the woman said. The serpent beguiled 
 me, and I did eat. 
 
 that He needed not to be informed,) " The voice of thy brothers 
 blood crieth unto me from the ground." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — because I was naked;] They became sensible that they 
 were divested of their inward purity ; they also blushed at their 
 bodily nakedness, of which before they were not ashamed. This 
 shame was part of their punishment; and it is entailed upon 
 their posterity, as a standing memorial of the sins that occasioned 
 it, being an impression from God upon their spirits : for no other 
 accomit can be given of its being so universal as it is. Bps. 
 Patrick and Wilson. 
 
 11. And he said. Who told thee that thoie wast yiaked?'] Adam 
 appears to have avoided a confession of the cause, by acknowledg- 
 ing only the effect : he owned no more than that he hid himself, 
 " because he was naked." But God, who knew that this disco- 
 very, or sense of his nakedness, could only arise from his trans- 
 gression, interrogates him again thus : " \Mio told thee that thou 
 wast naked.?" No one could shew thee this: this must be thy own 
 discovery, and is a strong presumption of thy loss of innocence. 
 Dr. Kainicott. 
 
 12. — The woman whom thou gavest to be ivith me,] He throws 
 the blame upon his wife, which however he did not intend should 
 rest there, but recoil back upon his Creator. " I have eaten," 
 says he, " but the woman gave me of the tree :" even the woman, 
 " whom thou gavest to be with me," or to be my constant com- 
 panion. Thus we are apt to excuse and palliate our faults; 
 by laying that load upon others, with wliich we ought to charge 
 ourselves. Dr. Kennicott, Bp. Patrick. From the beginning man 
 hath always been apt to lay the blame of his faults where it can 
 least lie, upon goodness and perfection itself. The very first sin, 
 that ever man was guilty of, he endeavoured to throw upon God. 
 And his posterity are still apt to excuse themselves the same way. 
 Abp. Tillotson. 
 
 13. And the Lord God said unto the woman, &c.] He from 
 whom no secrets are hid. He that formed the heart of man, and 
 knows all the works we do. He that searcheth and trieth the 
 heart and reins, even He will first examine the fact, will first hear 
 what miserable man can say for himself, before his sentence shall 
 pass upon hun : not out of ignorance of what was done ; for how 
 
 ■should the onmiscient God be ignorant .=■ but out of His wonderful 
 clemency and unspeakable moderation towards man : I say, towards 
 man; for to him alone He shews this favour: for as for the serpent, 
 we see He vouchsafes not to ask liim one question, nor to wait for 
 what he could say for himself, but presently witliout examination 
 proceeds to judgment against him. Jos. Mede. 
 
 Jf'hat is this that thou hast done ?] Who would not think 
 
 this rather the speech of a familiar and condoling friend, than of 
 so great a Judge, so greatly offended ? Here is no word of as- 
 perity, but of lenity : no menacing, no upbraiding terms ; but 
 only, " What is this that thou hast done .' ' Jos. Mede. 
 
 and the woman said. The serpent beguiled 7?ic,] My 
 
 weakness was deceived by the cumiing of the devil. Thus she 
 also threw the blame upon another. But God, no doubt, convinced 
 them both of the greatness of their gxiilt, and the miserable con-
 
 The serpent is cursed. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 The pufiishment of mankind. 
 
 ^'''"■,_ 11 And the Lord God said unto the 
 ■•004. serpent. Because thou hast ilone this, thou 
 art cursed above all cattle, and above every 
 beast ot'the field; upon thy belly shalt thou 
 go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of 
 tliy life : 
 
 1.0 And 1 \sill put enmity between thee 
 and the woman, and between thy seed and 
 her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and thou 
 shalt bruise his heel. 
 
 ilition into which they were fallen by their transgression, before 
 He ended this tliscoiirse with them. This shews the infinite mercy 
 of the Creator of all, who would not abandon them, but sought 
 after tlieni to " save" them, when they had " lost" themselves. 
 U^). Patrick. 
 
 Iiegiiile(r] This first art of the devil is that wherein we 
 
 may behold, " as in a f;'*'^''. " ''!••' """t h^ "t'" useth to tera])t us to 
 sin, and brinif ns to utter destruction. His practice is uniformly to 
 " beguile." He presents all things fair to our face, and sutTers not 
 evil to appear before us in its own deformed shape; for then every 
 niai\ wouKl fly from it. When he would tempt a man to covet- 
 ousness, he calls it thrift ; and the same is the case vi'ith other 
 vices. This is what the Scripture .saith, " Satan is transformed 
 into an angel of light," '2 Cor. xi. 14. Jos. Mcdc. 
 
 me,] The devil assaults us where he finds us weakest, as 
 
 here, in this first sin, he attempts the tt'omati, the weaker vessel. 
 " The serpent beguiled me:" for he knows this is the readiest way 
 to overcome. Jt>s. Metle. 
 
 Let the fatal example of the fall of Eve be a warning to others, 
 how they listen to sophistry in opposition to divine truths. For 
 tho\igh the tempter, since that time, has no more made use of 
 serpents, in such a way, yet he has other instruments proper to 
 work with, and often does the same thing by the tongues or pens 
 of serpentine men. Dr. Waterland. 
 
 14. And the Ltml God said itiilo the serpent, Because thou ha.tt 
 done lhi.t, &c."| Namely, because he hail beguiled the man and 
 wom.in, which God had made, and caused them to transgress His 
 great comm.indment. He therefore th.it is the canse and occasion 
 of another's sin is as hateful to God as the doer, antl is liable to as 
 great or rather a greater punishment Nay, the serpent's doom 
 is first read to him, as if he were the arcli-offender : for which 
 same reason the woman's sentence comes next, because she had 
 been a sin-maker, and wiis guilty, not only of her own personal 
 sin, but of her husband's also. The .same might be confirmed 
 from the quality of their several judgments ; in that the serpent 
 alone is doomed to be "cursed, " and no such sentence is pronounced 
 either upon tl»e man or upon the woman. Jos. Mcdc, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Ihoit art cursed &c.]] What follows has a reference to 
 
 tl>e serpent, the instrument ; and to SaUin, who made use of tliat 
 creature. As an argument of the detestableness of the sin, and a 
 constant memorial of it, the alnised beast is " cursed. ' Compare 
 Exod. xxi. i.'8, 3'i; Levit. xx. 15, \6; and Gen. ix. 5. 
 
 The curse upon the serpent consisted, 1, in bringing down his 
 stature, which was probably in great measure erect before this 
 time : " upon diy belly shalt tluu go ;" or, " upon thy breast," as 
 some version-* have it : 'Jdly, in the meanness of his provision, 
 "and dust shalt thou eat," inasmuch .ns creeping upon the ground, 
 it cannot but lick up much dust together with its food: Sdly, in 
 that "enmity, " which hereafter ensued between this creature and 
 mankind: for the wisest naturalists among the heathens (proper 
 witnesses in the present case) have agreed, that there is a mortal 
 enmity between the human anrl the serj)entine species. Bps. Pa- 
 trick and Kidder, Dr. Kennicolt. 
 
 15 / trill mttcnmiti/ &c.] This last p.irticular more peculiarly 
 
 refers to the devil or S.nt-in, who made use of the serpent as an 
 instrument, .-ind is called a serpent, Hev. xii. 9; xx. 2. " Thy 
 •eetl ;" that is, the ajwstate spirits, and all those that in wick- 
 edncs* resemble their father, the devil, John vi. 70; viii. 44; 
 
 16 Unto the woman he said, I will great- j.H^^\'g.j. 
 ly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception ; 4001. 
 in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children ; 
 
 and thy desire shall be II to thy husband, and u Or, 
 lie shall 'rule over thee. *,!" 
 
 17 And unto Adam he said, Because *<''"' 
 thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy '34 ^"' '* 
 wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I 
 commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not 
 
 eat of it : cursed is the ground for thy 
 
 Acts xiii. 10. " Her Seed ;" that is, the Messiah or Chri.st, (who 
 is peculiarly the Seed of the woman, Isa. vii. 14; Gal. iii. Ki; iv. 4;) 
 and His members, Eph. vi. 11, 12; Hev. xii. 13. " It sludl bruise 
 thy head ;" that is, the Seed of the woman shall destroy thy 
 power, 1 .John iii. 8; John xii. j'l ; Hev. xii. 7, 8, 10; Heb. ii. 14; 
 1 Cor. XV. 55, 56, 57. " Thou shalt brui.se his heel ;" thjit is, thou 
 shalt perseciite the woman's seed, but thou shalt not be ;ible to 
 destroy. Bi). Kidder. 
 
 God in tne midst of judgment remembers mercy ; and here 
 promises a deliverance, the .Seed of a woman, (not of a man,) 
 who should break the head of the serpent, the tievil, by 
 whom our first parents had been led into sin and misery ; at 
 the s.ime time that the promised Seed should receive some da- 
 mage from the serpent, though not in any principal part. So 
 that Jesus Christ was appointed from the beginnmg to suffer- 
 ings. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 ■Though this promise was not fulfilled till four thousand years 
 after, yet the benefits commenced from this very time: which was 
 before God had rejected Cain and preferred Seth to him ; awl long 
 before any restriction was made to Noah's family, or Shem's, who 
 derived from him ; that all the world might look upon the Mes- 
 siah, as a common benefit to aU the tons of Adam. Bps. Patrick 
 and IVilson. 
 
 il .ilutll bruise tht/ head,'] " It," that is, the Seed of the wo- 
 man, which is Christ, as our translation rightly expounds it. Rut 
 the Latin Vulgate renders it, " Ipsa conteret caput tuum," " She 
 shall bruise thy head," as if a woman should do it : which the 
 Papists interpreting of the Virgin Mary, ascribe to her this great 
 victory and triumph over sin and Satan ; and are taught to say in 
 their addresses to her, " Adoro et benedico sanctissimos pedea 
 tuos, quibus antiqui serpentis caput calcftsti :" " I adore and bless 
 thy most holy feet, whereby thou hast bruised the head of the old 
 serpent." Bp. Beveridge. 
 
 16. — / will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception/2 That 
 is, " thy sorrow in thy conception:" a figure of speech not unusual 
 in Scripture. See Ps. cxvi. 1; Jer. xxix. 11. Jos. Mede. 
 
 The sentence upon womankind consists, 1, in her sorrow and 
 pain in conceiving and bringing forth children; it being observed 
 that brute creatures bring forth their young with far less pain, 
 diflRculty, and danger than women do : 2dly, in her more helpless 
 condition, by reason of which she would need to have recourse to 
 her husband, and be more subject to him and his corrupt will ; 
 for whom at first she was designetl for a meet-help. Compare 
 1 Cor. xiv. 34; 1 Tim. ii. 11, 12; 1 Pet iii. 6. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 thy dc.iire shall be to thy husband,] That is, it shall be 
 
 subject to him : so the phrase is used chap. iv. 7. Bp. l^titrick. 
 By a just retribution, the woman's desire of gratifying her appe- 
 tites is punished with the pains of childbirth ; and her ambition 
 to vie with godj in knowledge, or to be exalted, with her subjection 
 to her husband, and her submission to his will. Dr. Hales. 
 
 17- And unto Adam he said,] For Ad,im's transgression, 1, 
 the ground is cursed : and Sdly, mankind is condemned to labour 
 for bread, that is, for necessary food. Compare Gen. xviii. 5, and 
 xxviii. 20. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 for thy sake;] Because of thy sin; which shall be punish- 
 ed partly by the barrenness of the earth, in its bcir)g " cursed," or 
 not bringing forth fruit so plentifully, nor so easily as it did. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 I 
 
 i.
 
 VuMitMl ft»- Aifi/utr^ fi Tfiij 
 
 Erufmt ¥v/ bi • J/J/ojfcf . 
 
 ADAMfrKVK DKr\'E>' OUT OF PARADISE. 
 
 futJiM,t,l /„■ ri..- .■..„y,. „V i^mntinp (7,r,j,tt„„ /u„„ln,t,,r Jon r,j8i4. 
 
 GatrsU cti.^.w.Z4.
 
 Their first clothing . 
 
 CHAP. 111. 
 
 and casting out of paradise. 
 
 c 
 
 4004, 
 
 fHeb. 
 ccMte f 
 
 Before ga^e ; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the 
 days of thy life ; 
 
 18 Tliorns also and thistles shall it tbring 
 forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herb 
 of the field ; 
 
 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt 
 thou eat bread, till thou return unto the 
 ground ; for oiit of it wast thou taken : 
 for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou 
 return. 
 
 20 And Adam called his wife's name 
 t Eve ; because she was the mother of all 
 living. 
 
 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did 
 
 \ Hcb. 
 Chavah. 
 
 18. Thorns also and Ikislks shall it bring forth to thee;"] The 
 word " thorns" seems to be put for all noxious plants, shrubs, 
 &c. by which the labours of the husbandman are impeded, and 
 which are only fit for burning. Our word " thistle" does not 
 denote the plant, or plants, meant by the Hebrew word, which 
 signifies something of a prickly kind. The word in the Greek 
 version is the same as in Heb. vi. 8, where it is rendered " briers." 
 We are not to suppose that thorns and briers were now for the 
 first time created : but they now became vexatious ; as they grew 
 more abundantly and vigorously, perhaps from favourable sea- 
 sons ; and as man was expelled from his garden to till the land, 
 where they were native, and consequently most prolifick and 
 troublesome. Script, illust. Expos. Iiid. 
 
 and thou shall eat (he herb qfthejield;'\ Be content with 
 
 such things as the common field produces, instead of the dehcious 
 fruits of Paradise. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 God made this earth amiable and sweet, and the world a scene 
 of happiness to a creature that was to continue in it : but when 
 sin introduced death, God in His goodness " cursed the earth" by 
 a diminution of its excellence, to make the world less desirable to 
 a creature who was so soon to leave it. Dr. Delanei/. 
 
 God condemned man to toil and misery, that he might look for 
 rest somewhere else than on earth. Bp. Wihon. 
 
 19. /" the sweat of thy face shall thmi eat hread,2 As some of 
 God's curses (such is His good nes.^) are promises as well as curses; 
 as is that of the " enmity" between the woman's seed and the ser- 
 pent's; so some of God's curses (such is His justice) are precepts 
 as well as curses ; as is that of the woman's subjection to the man. 
 This of eating our bread in the sweat of our face is all the three : 
 it is a curse ; it is a promise ; it is a precept. It is a curse ; in that 
 God will not suffer the earth to afford us bread, without our 
 sweat. It is a promise ; in that God assm-eth us, we shall have 
 bread for our sweat. And it is a precept too, in that God enjoin- 
 eth us, if we will have bread, to sweat for it. Bp. Sanderson. 
 All Adam's children are bound to labour; for that which was said 
 unto Adam, " In the Bweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread," 
 is likewise said unto us. Bp. Latimer. 
 
 20. And Adam called his wife's name Eve ;'2 He had before 
 called her " woman" as her common name, or a name for her and 
 all her sex, because she was taken out of man : and now he called 
 her Eve, because he had found she was still to be " the mother 
 of all living." Or, as some interpret it, because in her fall, (and 
 his consequent upon hers,) all men being become mortal, in her 
 Seed all men were to be made alive. This naming of his wife 
 then may be looked upon as an act of faith, exercised by Adam 
 upon the words of God just delivered in the sentence on the 
 serpent. Dr. Kcnnicott. 
 
 God in the promise of a Redeemer did a particidar kindness to 
 Adam: for he having been seduced by his wife to eat the forbid- 
 den fruit, it might have occasioned a breach between them, had 
 not God taken care to prevent it, by making this gracious promise 
 to depend upon his union with his wife ; from whom, He assures 
 tliem. One sliould descend, who should repair their losses. Be- 
 sides, although the forementioned promise was sufficient to induce 
 
 Before 
 
 CHUIST 
 
 4004. 
 
 the Lord God make coats of skins, and 
 clothed them. 
 
 22 ^ And the Lord God said, Behold, 
 the man is become as one of us, to know 
 good and evil : and now, lest he put forth 
 his hand, and take also of the tree of life, 
 and eat, and live for ever : 
 
 23 Therefore the Lord God sent him 
 forth from the garden of Eden, to tUl the 
 ground from whence he was taken. 
 
 24 So he drove out the man ; and he placed 
 at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, 
 and a flaming sword wliich turned every 
 way, to keep the way of the tree of life. 
 
 them to live together as man and wife ; yet it seems not enough 
 to have taken away all grounds for man (namely Adam or any of 
 his male posterity) reproaching woman, (namely Eve or any of 
 her female posterity,) as having been the occasion of human mi- 
 sery. Wherefore, to prevent this, the promised Redeemer is styled 
 peculiarly the woman's Seed, forasmuch as He was to be bom of a 
 woman, without the concurrence of a man. So that the means of 
 our having a Redeemer would be owing to the woman alone of 
 the two, not at all to the man, immediately, or in re.-pect of the 
 birth of Christ Himself; whereas the occasion of our misery was 
 owing indeed first, but not only, to the woman, but also to the 
 man jointly, though in the second place. Dr. Atlix, Bp. Patrick, 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 21. — did the Lord God make coats of skins, "] This Is not to be 
 understood literally. God is frequently said to do that, which is 
 done by His order and approbation. Dr. Kennicott. 
 
 It is probable that they were the skins of beasts slain in sacri- 
 fice, which was then first instituted in ratification of the gracious 
 covenant, just made by God with our first parents ; and which 
 was intended the Ijetter to represent to them their guilt, and that 
 the promised Seed should van((uish the devil, and redeem them 
 by shedding His blood. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 coats of *A/«.?,] Skins have been worn as clothing by 
 
 many nations j the Tartars, the Hungarians, the Laplanders, the 
 Finlanders, the Russians, still wear skins, or furs ; the ancient 
 heroes of Greece and of Asia covered themselves with the spoils 
 of lions, of tigers, and wild animals ; while the ancient Germans 
 wore short coats of sheep-skins. A skin in its natural state is an 
 effectual defence against both heat and cold ; and for duration 
 nothing surpasses it. Script, illust. Expos. Ind. 
 
 22. — as one qfus,"^ See note on chap. i. 26. 
 
 24. — to keep the way of the tree of life.'\ To shew us, that 
 eternal life is not to be obtained by us, it being out of our reach, 
 unless Jesus Christ give us power to eat of the tree of life. 
 Bp. Wilson. 
 
 This " flaming sword," or, as it may be rendered by an usual 
 figure of speech, snurd-like or pointed flame, is generally consi- 
 dered as a sensible symbol of the Divine Presence : resembling 
 perhaps the flame, that appeared to Moses in the bush, Exod. iii. 
 2, or that afterwards rested on the heads of the Apostles at the 
 day of Pentecost, in the form of " fiery tongues," or ioague-Uke 
 flames. Acts ii. 3. And it was here "placed" or stationed be- 
 tween two cherubim, or glorious angels, according to the ancient 
 Jewish interpretation, furnishing probably the ai-chetype of the 
 Shechinah, first in the tabernacle in the wilderness, and after- 
 wards in Solomon's temple. Dr. Hales. 
 
 The garden of Eden was tlie emblem of the Church upon earth. 
 Man was not made in this Paradise, but placed there, afler he 
 was formed out of the earth, chap. ii. 8 ; so we are not of the 
 Church by nature, but by grace. By nature we are all framed out 
 of the same common and corrupt mass of human generation ; 
 which made David say, " I was shapen in iniquitj-, and in sin did 
 my mother conceive me." But by the grace of God we are taken 
 at Baptism out of that state of pollution, and planted withia the 
 
 C2
 
 The tnrth and occupation 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 of Cain and Abel. 
 
 Hk' 
 
 CHAP. LV. 
 
 B«(urv 
 CHHIST 
 
 4uui. , yy^^, f,,^)/,^ Iriitlf, tilut nlisioH (</■ Cain rind Abel. 8 
 The muriirr of Abel. 1 1 'The ciiin- of i'ain. 17 -fc- 
 itoch Ihe Jirat city. IJ) iMinech and hix Ino nun. 
 2 J The Irtrlh of Siih, -26 ami Enos. 
 
 K 
 
 ND Adam knew Eve his wife; .ind 
 
 she conceived, and bare Cain, and 
 
 said, I liave gotten a man t'lom the Lord. 
 
 t iieb. 2 And slie again bare his brother t Abel. 
 
 ^^': And Abel was ta keei)cr of sheep, but Cain 
 
 T "*"■ -11 ,■ 1 1 
 
 ajitdfr. was a tiller ot the grountl. 
 
 jnk" of His own garden the Church : here wc are sanctified and 
 cleansed ; here we enter into covenant witli (ukI. Hut as Adam, 
 on his l)reach of covenant, was expelled from the garden of Eden, 
 to " till the ground from whence he was taken," so shall we be 
 ejected out of the connnunion of saints, and church of tlie living 
 God, if wilfully we break our solemn vow, and do not return to 
 God by a true repentjince, founded on a lively faith in His mercy 
 through Jesus Christ. W'ogan. 
 
 Chap. IV. The jiortion of Scripture, at the beginning of this 
 chapter, contains a very remarkable history, in which perhaps, 
 the first man that ever was born, is represented as a nuirderer ; 
 and the first person, that ever die<l, as murdered. These were 
 the sad effects of Adam's transgression. 'I'he guilt of it was ma- 
 nilesHMl in his firstborn, and its mischievous consequences in his 
 second. Bp. Coni/hcart. 
 
 Vcr. 1 . — Cai/1,3 A name emphatically signifying pat-icssion, and 
 given him, either to express the satisfaction they liad in seeing 
 the general promise of tlieir living yet longer, and propagating 
 their kind, actually fulfilled ; or else from the earnest expectation 
 they had, that llii.i son was to be the promised Seed, the Messiah 
 and Saviour of mankind. /''//'"• 
 
 / have gullen a man from lite Lord.'] As the man, by the 
 
 first sentence he uttered after God's promise of a Redeemer, ex- 
 pressed his faith in the promise, and his expectation of life and 
 redemption by tiie ".Seed of the woman," (chap. iii. 20;) so likewise 
 did the woman herself, in the first speech which is recorded of her, 
 when, upon the birth of Cain, she expressed herself in this manner, 
 " I have gotten a man from the Lord." Dr. Berriman. 
 
 i. — she again hare his brother Abel.'\ But gives no reason of 
 Ills name, which signifies vanili/. Nor is it said who gave him 
 his name; whether his parents at his birth, or others after he was 
 murdered. It seems, however, that his j>areiits made no account 
 of him, in comparison with the firstborn ; because they did not 
 place in him their hope of the promised Seed ; as they did in 
 Cain. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Welh. 
 
 3. — in process of time] That is, at the return of some set and 
 solemn time of Divine worship. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 •I. ^.Uicl, — firuiight of the firsttinss &c.] Thereby instructing 
 us, as the law afterwards did the children of Israel, that wc ought 
 not to appear before the Lord " empty," or to offer to Him of that 
 " whicli Costs us nothing." The prime of our ycitfs, the flower 
 oif our strengtli, the best of our substance, the firstfruits of our 
 increase, should be dedicated and devoted to Him, who makes us 
 all we are, and gives us all wc have. So shall the benedictions 
 of Heaven descend upon all things around us, and upon ourselves 
 in the use of them. Bp. Ilonie. 
 
 And the Lord had re.Kpcrt unto .-Ihel and to hit offering ;] 
 
 First to his person, (his faith and purity of mind,) and then tohis 
 external service. lip. Wilson. 
 
 Why had Almighty God respect to Abel's offering, and not to 
 Cain's } To me Uie reason seems plainly this, that Cain offered 
 only of the fruit of the ground, which h.ul no respect to Christ, 
 but only to God as the Creator of tlie world ; whereas Abel of- 
 fered the firstlings of liis flock, and the fat thereof, which was a 
 bloody sacrifice, typifying the death of Christ, " the Lamb slain 
 from the beginning of the world;" and so exercised his faith in the 
 promised Mcssiali. And therefore the Apostle saith, " By faith 
 
 3 And Mn process oi" time it came to f-fi'lj^W-y 
 pass, that Cain broiiglit of the fruit of the war.. 
 ground an oUcring unto tlic Lokd. t^eu. 
 
 •1. And Abel, he also brought of the first- ".'ft^',';'' 
 lings of his t flock and of the fat thereof, t "'•i' 
 And the Lord had ^respect unto Abel and 'g"',',',"'' 
 to his ofi'ering : ' iiehr ii. 
 
 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he 
 had not resj)ect. And Cain was very wroth, 
 and iiis countenance fell. 
 
 G And the Loud said unto Cain, Why 
 
 Abel offered unto God a more excclK'nt sacTifice than C;iin, ' 
 Heb. xi. 4. Bfi faith ; that is, by believing the promise, which 
 God had made to mankind in Christ; and manifested his faith by 
 ofi'ering such a sacrifice, as represented the deatli of Christ ; by 
 whom therefore his sacrifice was well pleasing and acce])table to 
 God. Bp. Beveridge. 
 
 In this particular the righteous Abel is a constant and useful 
 monitor to every Christian, who comes iiito the presence of liis 
 heavenly Father, to come with the commemoration, ns he did with 
 the pre/igitration, of the body and blood of Christ his -Saviour. 
 And let the one stir up at least as lively a faith in tiio.se who live 
 since the manifestation of the Messiah in the flesh, as the other 
 did in tliose who lived before it. Bp. Ilorne. 
 
 It is not inipiobable (and it seems to be suggested in the history 
 itself) that there was a main difference in this ; namely, that Cain 
 off'ered the vile and refuse, and Abel the most precious, pait of his 
 treasures. Thus it is said of the one, tliat he " brought (barely) 
 of the fruit of the ground ;" and of the other, that he " brought 
 ofthcjirstlings of his flock, and of the /'at thereof" If this were 
 trulj' the case, the sacrifice of Abel was therefore more acceptiible 
 than Cain's, because it expressed a more grateful sense of the 
 Divine goodness. 
 
 To this may be added, that probably the general course of 
 Cain's life was vicious and immoral; and the very offering up of 
 his sacrifice was not attended with that devotion which was ne- 
 cessary. The conjecture ])roposed may receive some confirmation 
 from observing what the Apostle to tlie Hebrews tells us, (Heb. 
 xi. 4,) " By faith Abel offered unto Ciotl a more excellent sacrifice 
 than Cain ; by wliich he obtained witness that he was righteous, 
 God testifying of his gifts." And St. John more fully declares, 
 (1 John iii. 12,) that Cain " was of that wicked one, and slew his 
 brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works 
 were evil, and his brother's righteous." Bp. Cunybeare. 
 
 the Lord had rc.ipect &c.] It is jirobable that God testified 
 
 His accejitance of Abel's sacrifice by fire coming from heaven ; 
 traces of which we meet with in Gen. xv. 17, and very many 
 examples of it, in aftertimes : when Moses offered the first great 
 burnt offerings according to the law. Lev. ix. 24; when Gideon 
 offered upon the i-ock, Judg. vi. 21 ; when David stayed the plague, 
 1 Chron. xxi. 26; and .Solomon consecrateil the temple, 2 Chron. 
 vii. 1 ; an<l when Elijah contentled with the worshippers of Baal, 1 
 Kings xviii. 38, &c. Whence the Israelites, wishing all prosperity 
 to their king, pray that God would "accept" (in the Hebrew, 
 turn into ashes) " his burnt sacrifice," Fsalm xx. 4. Bp. Patrick. 
 Hereby it was declared, that the innocent was taken for the 
 guilty ; and the sacrifice sustained the vengeance, that must 
 otherwise have been inflicted on the sinner. lip. Home. 
 
 5. — And Cain was very wroth,] He was highly incensed 
 against Abel ; instead of making severe reflexions on himself, and 
 considering what had provoked God to slight his sacrifice ; that 
 so he might amend it and procure His finour. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 — his countenance fell.] Became not only dejected through 
 grief, but lowering and cloudy, as of one meditating revenge. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou ivroth ? Sic] The 
 judgments of CJod are intended by Him to lead us to repentance. 
 In the very midst of judgment He thinkcth upon mercy; and the 
 puuislmients, w hich are ijiflicted in this life, are graciously intend-
 
 fitiiirni "I r,tii,/fr H>if\ 
 
 Kitiirai ft/ In'iLHi ■rff'jr. 
 
 ABE I. MTRDKIRED BY (IKS BHiOTMEK (CAIN. 
 
 frfUlVUs' tl/l..'f.fC.8. 
 
 hiNijihcii /m rttf Sftv'i't} /I'/- fvof/ffi/i,/ (HirUtiiin Kiu*Hhxiite. iltUH'it t.iffiX
 
 The murder of Abel. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 2'he curse of Cain. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 ■W03. 
 H Or, 
 have the 
 ei':dlency ? 
 II Or. 
 
 subject unto 
 thee. 
 
 about 3875. 
 " Wisdom 
 10. 3. 
 3Iattliew 
 'J3. 33. 
 IJohn3.12. 
 Jude II. 
 
 art thou \noth ? and wliy is thy counte- 
 nance fallen ? 
 
 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not II be 
 accepted ? and if thou doest not well, sin 
 lieth at tlie door. And il unto thee shall be 
 his desire, and thou shalt rule o\Tr him. 
 
 8 And Cain talked with Abel his bro- 
 ther : and it came to pass, when they were 
 in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel 
 his brother, and ""slew him. 
 
 9 IF And the Lord said unto Cain, Where 
 
 ed for our advantage in another. Happy would it have been for 
 fain, had he made a proper use of his misfortunes. But it seems 
 a mad passion blinded him. He went on to add sin to sin, and to 
 cut off the very possibility of repentance. And yet numerous as 
 his offences had been, and great as tlie present provocation was, 
 the Divine mercy was still greater. God was pleased to conde- 
 scend so far, as to expostulate the matter with him : " MTiy," 
 saith He, " art thou wroth }" &c. One might have imagined, this 
 would have corrected his extravagance. So gracious a representa- 
 tion of the case must be sufficient to allay his present heat ; or, 
 if it were not attended with this effect, it must render him the 
 more inexcusable. Bp. Cotiyheare. 
 
 7. If thou doesl ndl, iScc] We may consider these words, 
 either as setting forllj the true reason of Cain's misfortunes ; or 
 else as directing him what use and improvement he ought to make 
 of them. In the former view, tliey represent the unreasonableness 
 of his present anger against his brother. All the disappointments 
 he met with are here charged home upon himself. " If thou 
 doest" thtj duly, "shalt thou not be accepted.''" and receive the same 
 marks of approbation which have been vouchsafed unto tliy bro- 
 ther.' But, "if thou doest not well, sin" (that is, the punishment 
 of sin) 7viU conslaiilly allend thee. — In the other view, they are 
 a direction how he ought to behave for the future ; and a kind of 
 promise, that his past sins should be forgiven him on his repent- 
 ance. To what purpose is it to disquiet thjself ,- and by thy im- 
 patience to aggravate the evils, which thou endurest .'' Rather 
 consider, that they are the punishments of thy crimes ; and know, 
 that as sin hath been the occasion of thy calamities, so repentance 
 must be their cure. If thou reformest, " shalt thou not be accept- 
 ed .'" But, if thou persistest in the same course of provocations, ex- 
 pect to suffer a greater train of evils. Bp. Conybcare. 
 
 sin lieth at the door.'\ Thy punishment is not far off. 
 
 " Your sin \vill find you out," Numb, xxxii. i.'J. " Sin" is some- 
 times put for its reward or punishment, as well as for the sacri- 
 fice, by which it is atoned. Numb. xii. 11 ; 2 Cor. v. 21; Levit. iv. 
 a*. And it may be said to " lie at the door," when it is near at 
 hand. Matt. xxiv. S3; Jam. v. 9- Bp. Kidder. The word ren- 
 dered " sin" may be rendered " a sin-offering." The sense then 
 is, " If thou doest not well," or, " if thou didst not well," " a sin- 
 offering lieth (that is, coucheth) at the door," in readiness to be 
 sacrificed, as an atonement for thy offence. Dr. KennicotI, Dr. 
 Hales. 
 
 nnto thee shall ke his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.'^ 
 
 He is still tliy younger brother, and shall be subject to thee, (see 
 chap. iii. l6,) and thou shalt be his superiour, and retain the pri- 
 vilege of thy birthright. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 These words are connected with the clause, " If thou doest 
 well," and not with the words which immediately go before. See 
 an example to the same purpose, chap. x. 12. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 That which aggravated Cain's guilt was, that Go<l Himself was 
 pleased to argue with him before he committed the horrid fact, in 
 order to deter him from it. And is not this the verj- case of all 
 sinners .> Does not God, by His ministers and by His word, warn 
 them and set before them the danger and dreatlful consequences 
 of sin ? And yet it makes no impression upon a heart set upon 
 wickechiess, as Cain's was. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 8. — Cain — slew him.'] Thus his impiety at length cmled in 
 
 is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know ^^^^.j. 
 not: Am I my brother's keeper? about 3k75. 
 
 10 And he said, \Vliat hast thou done ? 
 
 the voice of thy brother's t blood crieth t,"!'* 
 unto me from the ground. 
 
 11 And now art thou cursed from the 
 earth, which hath opened her mouth to 
 receive thy brother's blood from thy 
 hand ; 
 
 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall 
 not henceforth yield unto thee her strength ; 
 
 murder. One sin draws on another; a disregard to God naturally 
 shews itself in hatred to man. And it is vain to hope, that he, 
 who hath a contempt of religion, will retain the sentiments of hu- 
 manity. We may in this example see the gradual progress of sin. 
 The first crime mentioned was a disregard of sacred matters: this 
 was followed by envy, and murmuring against God : and at last 
 finished by the impious and inhuman murder of his brother : a 
 crime, at which nature starts; and the verj' mention of which is 
 enough to fiU every ingenuous mind with horror. Bp. Cony' 
 lieare. 
 
 Let every Christian take care, that he fall not after the simiU- 
 tude of this transgression. It is a determined case, that " whoso- 
 ever hateth his brother, is a miu-derer :" it is an unquestionable 
 truth, that he who envicth his brother, will soon hate liim : and it 
 is no less certain, that " the spirit, that dwelleth in us, lusteth to 
 envj'." How earnestly and fervently then ought we to pray, as 
 our excellent Church enjoins us to do, that " from envy, hatred, 
 and malice, and all uncharitableness" our "good Lord" would 
 vouchsafe to " dehver us !" Bp. Home. 
 
 9. And the Lord said nnto Cain, &c.] See note on chap. 
 
 iii- 9. 
 
 And ke said, I know not : Am I my brother's keeper fj I 
 
 can gi^'e no account of him. Was he committed like a little child 
 to my care ; to look after him, and see that he took no harm ? 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Thus adding both falsehood and insolence to all his other crimes; 
 and, in a manner, defying the Deity in His own more immediate 
 presence. Bp. Coni/beare. 
 
 For this complication of crimes, cnvi/, which led him to murder 
 his brother, and then to attempt to hide it by a lie, and by an in- 
 solent rebellious answer to God, Cain is stj'led in the New Testa- 
 ment, a child " of that wicked one," 1 John iii. 12, as imitating 
 his works, who through envy seduced our first parents, and was a 
 " liar" and a " murderer" from the begiiming. Dr. Hales. 
 
 10. And he said, What hast thou done? &c.] Though there 
 should be no living witness of thy guilt, beside thyself, yet thine 
 own conscience cannot but accuse tliee ; and the Almighty Judge 
 of heaven and earth is Himself a spectator of thy crimes. In vain 
 is it to hope for impunity. The innocent blood, which thou hast 
 shed, crieth aloud for vengeance, and hath entered into tlie ears 
 of the Lord of Hosts. 
 
 Though God doth not, in the present age of the world, discover 
 Himself in so astonishing a manner as foniierl}', still He is not 
 unconcerned in imnian affairs. Those crimes of men, which are 
 committed with the utmost secrecy, are generally brought to light 
 by the conduct of Providence. Sin will either discover itself, or 
 be discovered. The blood of an Abel will cry aloud from the 
 earth : and almighty vengeance will pursue the murderer. Bp. 
 Conyheare. 
 
 11. And now art thou cursed from the earth, &c.] I pass a sen- 
 tence upon thee of perpetual banishment from this countr}', which 
 hath drunk in tlie blood of tliy brother. Hitlierto Adam arid his 
 children had lived together: but now Cain was banished into a 
 region, far off from his father, who dwelt in the neighbourhood 
 of P;u-adise. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. — her strength;] That is, her fniit or increase, which speaks 
 the strength of the earth, Joel ii. 22. Bp. Kidder.
 
 The punishment of Cain. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Enoch thejirst city. 
 
 Before 3 hicitivc and a vagabond shalt tliou be in 
 CHKIST , ^ ,, " 
 
 Mx> mMi5. the earth. 
 
 I Or. ii<, 13 And Cain said unto the Lord, II My 
 '^^.^^,tn punishment is greater than I can bear, 
 ihttitmny 14, Behold, thou hast driven me out this 
 »«/'i!">«. jjjjy jYp^ ^i^p j-^j.g Q^- ^hp ^,arth ; and from 
 
 thy face shall I be hid ; and I shall be a 
 fugitive and a vagabond in the earth ; and 
 it shall come to pass, that every one that 
 findeth me shall slay me. 
 
 1.5 And the Lord said unto him, There- 
 fore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance 
 shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the 
 LoKD set a mark upon Cain, lest any find- 
 ing him should kill him. 
 
 l(i ^ And Cain went out from the pre- 
 
 ^— a fugitive and a vagabond shall thou be in the enrth.'^ 
 In that strange country thou shalt have no rest ; but wander up 
 and down unquictly, and not know where to settle. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1.1. — yiif punishment is greater tlian I can 6e«r.] This is too 
 he.ivv « punishment ; for I sink under the weight of it. Others 
 interpret it, as appears by the margin of our Bible, " My sin is 
 unpardonable ; or too great to be ibrgiven." Thus he, who at 
 first was not so sensible of his sin as to confess it, now thinks it 
 to no purpose to hep for mercy. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Cain, when he had slain his righteous brother, and God h.id 
 laid a judgment u]xjn him for it, complained of the buid.n of it, 
 as if the Lord had dealt hardly with him, in laying more upon 
 him than he was able to bear. Solomon notcth it as a fault com- 
 mon among men, when by their own siiU'ul folly thoy have pidled 
 miserj' upon themselves, then to murmur against God, and com- 
 plain of His providence. " The foolishness of man pervertetli his 
 way, and his heart fretteth against the Lord," Prov. xix. 3. 
 Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 1 +. — driven me — ■from the face of the earth ;] Banished me from 
 my own native country, vir. II. Bp. Patrick. From the land, 
 where he then was ; not tlie earth, in the largest sense, for in this 
 he was to be a fugitive and a vagabond. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 and from thy face shall I be hid i'] And more than that, 
 
 I am banished from Thy blessed presence, ver. I6, and shall not 
 have the liberty to come before Thy glorious majesty. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 firry one that findclh me shall slai/ me.~\ By the usual 
 
 progress of guilt, Cain adds to his farmer sins, that of despair, 
 for he does not attempt to supplicate mercy from Ciod; and terror, 
 lest he should find no mercy from man. Dr. Hales. 
 
 He was not only burdened with the sense of present e\il, but 
 suspicious of what was farther yet to come. Every crime natu- 
 rally suggests to us some punishment attending it: but tlic horror 
 of bloo<l, shed unjustly, will make men suspect the danger even 
 of tlieir own lives. And in truth it is no wonder that tlie com- 
 mon enemies of mankind .should expect to be treated as enemies; 
 and im.Tgine, that the rest of the world will be apt to purchase 
 their own security at their eXpence. A life, forfeited in this man- 
 ner, must, according to the common course of tilings, be in con- 
 tinual danger : and fears, thus grounded, will supply the room of 
 tJi.it punishment which is feared. Bp. Coui/beare. 
 
 15. — Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, &c.] Or, as the word 
 ■we tran.slnte " therefore" may be rendered, " not so;" it shall not 
 be as tliou suspectest. Or the word m.iy signify ''surely:" so that 
 the sense will be. Take it for a certain trutli, that if any man slay 
 Cain, &c. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 sevenfold.'] The number seiren is an indication of an inde- 
 terminate, but great number ; signifying as much as, he shall en- 
 dure many punishments. G<k1 intendetl that the life of Cain should 
 be prolonged in a miserable st;ite, .is an example of His vengeance; 
 to deter others from committing the like sin. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 — ^— And the Lord set a murk u]x>n Cain,] What this mark 
 was is not agreed by interpreters. Probably it might be such an 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 3875. 
 
 t Hell. 
 Oinnoek. 
 
 Lcmech. 
 
 \ 
 
 sence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land 
 of Nod, on the east of Eden. 
 
 17 And Cain knew his wife, and she 
 conceived, and bare + Enoch : and he budd- 
 ed a city, and called the name of the city, 
 after the name of his son, Enoch. 
 
 18 And unto Enoch was born Irad : and 
 Irad begat Mehujael : and Mehujael begat 
 Methusael: and Methusael begat tLamech. 
 
 19 IF And Lamech took unto him two 
 wives : the name of the one "was Adah, and 
 the name of the other Zillah. 
 
 '20 And Adah bare Jabal : he was the 
 father of such as dwell in tents, and of 
 stich as have cattle. 
 
 21 And his brother's name "Was Jubal : 
 
 one as at once answered the purposes of punishment, and secured 
 him from human vengeance. We may therefore fairly suppose, 
 that it consisted in a certain horrour of countenance, occasioned 
 by the inward horrour of his mind, which proved, at the same 
 time, the sign and punishment of his guilt. This must affect 
 every spectator with a very lively concern : it must deter men 
 from the commission of the like sin ; and make the wretched 
 Cain a living warning to the world. Bp. Conybeaix. 
 
 " Set a mark ;" or, as the Seventy say, " God set a sign or 
 wonder to Cain ;" that is. He wrouglit a miracle to convince him, 
 or satisfy him, that whoever met him should not kill him. The 
 murder of Abel was not long before the birth of Seth, (see ver. 
 2.5,) which was about the year of the world 130. So that at that 
 time the earth was greatly peopled. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 1(). — from the presence of the Lord,] It is the opinion of many 
 commentators that there was a Divine Glorj', called by the Jews the 
 Sheciiinah, whicii appeared from the beginning; the sight of which 
 Cain never after this time enjoyed, but was banished from it. And 
 God withdrawing His gracious presence from him, he was also for- 
 saken by God, and put out of His special protection. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 In the persons of these two brothers, whose history is recorded 
 as an example " for our admonition," are characterized the two 
 opposite spirits, that have ever since di\ided the world between 
 them, and will continue to do so, till the consummation of all 
 things ; that is to say, the humble, obedient, and suffering spirit 
 of faith ; and the haughty, rebellious, and persecuting spirit of 
 infidelit}'. He, who would be remembered with the children of 
 God, must copy the example of Abel : he who chooses to have 
 his portion with the seed of the evil one, may go " in the way 
 of Cain." Bp. Home. 
 
 the land of Nod,] Or o£ exile, to which Cain retired with 
 
 his wife, is generally reckoned by the Oriental geographers to have 
 been the low country of Susiana, or Cbusistan. 2)r. Hales. 
 
 19. And Lantech took unto him two wives:] Polygamy was a 
 deviation from the first institution of marriage. Gen. ii. 24. It 
 was brought into use by Cain's offspring ; though it was after- 
 wards .illowed to the Israelites, as was divorce also in some cases, 
 " for the hardness of their hearts." Bp. Kidder. 
 
 It is likely that Lamech was the first who ventured to transgress 
 the original institution, which was observed even by the Cainites 
 till this time. Dr. AUijt. 
 
 20. — he was the father] The Hebrews call him the " father" 
 of any thing, who was tlie first inventor of it ; or a most ex«ellent 
 ma.tler of that art Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It demonstrates the superintendence of the great Creator and | 
 Conservator of the world, that things of great and absolutely ne- I 
 cessary use have soon and easily occurred to the invention of man ; I 
 but things of little use, or of very dangerous use, are rarely and 
 slowly disco'.ered, or still utterly undiscovered. We have, as 
 early as the Mo.s;iick history, an account of the inventions of the 
 more useful crafts and occupations: thus. Gen. iii. 23, Adam 
 was sent " forth from the gaidcn of Eden" by God Himself " to till
 
 Lameck and his two tcives. 
 
 CHAP. IV, V. 
 
 TTie birth qfSeth and Enos. 
 
 Heb. 
 
 .elter. 
 
 Before ^g ^-as the father of all such as handle the 
 
 f H R. 1 ST 
 
 ibout 3875. harp and organ. 
 
 22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, 
 an tinstructer of every artificer in brass 
 and iron : and the sister of Tubal-cain was 
 Naamah. 
 
 23 And Lamech said unto his wives, 
 Adah and Zillah, hear my voice ; ye wves 
 of Lamech, hearken unto my speech : for 
 
 ti Or, II I have slain a man to my wounding, and 
 
 o^nt^ a young man II to my hurt. 
 
 •j.7im<, &c 24' If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, 
 
 ui my hurt, truly Lamcch seventy and sevenfold. 
 
 25 5F And Adam knew his wife again ; and 
 she bare a son, and called his name tSeth: 
 For God, said she, hath appointed me ano- 
 ther seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. 
 
 my t 
 387' 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 the ground." And in the next chapter his two sons, Cain and 
 Abel ; the one was of the same occupation, " a tiller of the 
 ground," the other, " a keeper of sheep." And the posterity of 
 these are in the latter end of Gen. iv. recorded; Jabal, to have been 
 " the father of such as dwell in tents;" that is, he was the hwen- 
 tanr oflenls, and of pitching those moveable houses in the fields, 
 for looking after and depasturing their cattle in the deserts and 
 unculti\'ated world. Tubal-Cain was " an instructor of every 
 artificer in brass and iron ;" or the first that found out the art of 
 melting and malleating metals, and making them useful for tools 
 and other necessary implements. And his sister Naamah, whose 
 name is only mentioned, is by some thought to have been the in- 
 ventor of spinning and clothing. Yea, the very art of musick is 
 thus early ascribed to Jubal : so indulgent was the Creator, to 
 find ;neans to divert melancholy, to cheer the spirits, and to en- 
 tertain and please mankind. Dr. Derham. 
 
 2.3. Aiid Lamech said unto his wives, &c.] The occasion of this 
 speech of Lamech's not being revealed, it cannot be reasonably 
 expected that any man should positively determine the full sense 
 of it. Thus much seems plain, that they are vaunting words, 
 intimating his expectation of God's extraordinary regard to him, 
 (though he had killed, or should kill, a man, as Cain did,) many 
 times beyond what God shewed to Cain, as appears from ver. 24. 
 He seems from Cain's indenmity to encourage himself in his vio- 
 lence and wickedness. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 The words should be read as a question. Have I slain a man ? 
 or so much as a boy ? that you should be afraid of my life ? It 
 seems tlie use of weapons being found out by one of Lamech's 
 sons, and grown common, his wives apprehended that some body 
 or other might make use of them to slay him. But he bids them 
 comfort themselves, for he was not guilty of slaying any body 
 himself, and therefore might reasonably hope no body would hurt 
 him. And then the meaning of the next verse is easy. " If Cain 
 shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold." 
 If God hath guarded Cain so strongly, who was a murderer, as 
 to threaten great and long punishments to those that slay him ; 
 he will punish Ihem far more, and pursue them with a longer 
 vengeance, who shall slay me, being a guiltless person. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It should seem that Lamech endeavours to reason his family 
 out of fears which were entertained by the descendants of Cain, 
 lest the family of Adam should revenge Abel's death upon them. 
 SkuckforJ. 
 
 25. — cnUed his name Selh :"} The word signifies appointed, 
 or substituted. Eve gave this son the name of Seth, because she 
 looked on him as epjminted by God to be what Cain, she thought, 
 should have been, tUl God rejected his sacrifice, and he slew 
 Abel. In whose room she believed God had substituted this son 
 to be the see<l, from whom the Redeemer of the world should 
 come. Br. Allix. 
 
 S6, — he called his name Enos :"} Signifying the weak and 
 
 26 And to Seth, to him also tliere was rnRisT 
 born a son; and he called his name tEnos: stgs. 
 then began men || to call upon the name of t "*• 
 the Lord. jf'-tc.« 
 
 CHAP. V. tl.erasclve, 
 
 '>'/ the name 
 1 The genecdogfi, age, and death of the patriarchs front if the 
 Adam unto Noah. 24 The godliness and translation LORD, 
 of Enoch. 
 
 THIS is the ' book of the generations of , '^• 
 Adam. In the day that God created 1. 1. '"^ 
 man, in the likeness of God made he him ; 
 
 2 '' Male and female created he them ; and *• wisd. ?. 
 blessed them, and called their name Adam, ^^" 
 in the day when they were created. 
 
 3 ^ And Adam lived an hundred and thirty s874. 
 years, and begat a son in his own hkeness, 
 after his image ; and called his name Seth : 
 
 miserable condition of mankind, which he seemed, by giving him 
 this name, to deplore. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.'^ This 
 
 does not import, that men did not " call upon the Lord," which 
 includes all His worship and service, before this time ; but that 
 now they were awakened to be more serious and frequent in re- 
 ligious offices : or rather, they began to hold more publick assem- 
 blies ; for families being now multiplied, to which religion was 
 before confined, they joined together and met in larger societies 
 and communion, for the solemn worship of Go<l by sacrifices and 
 other religious services. 
 
 But it being scarce credible, that publick assemblies were not 
 held long before this, some men of note follow our marginal 
 translation, " then began men (that is, the children of Seth) to 
 call themselves by the name of the Lord;" that is, the servants 
 or worshippers of the Lord, in distinction from the Cainites, and 
 such profane persons as had forsaken Him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Moses, in this short account of what passed before the flood, 
 takes no notice of the institution of sacrifices, of the obser^'ation 
 of the sabbath, of prayer, of the rules of virtue and morahty, 
 no doubt given to Adam ; these being received duties, known 
 and practised by all good men from the beginning. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Chap. V. ver. 1. This is tlie book of the generations of Adam.^ 
 That is, Here follows a catalogue of the posteritj' of Adam. So 
 the word " book" signifies, in Matt. i. 1, an account of those, from 
 whom Christ the "second Adam" came; as here an account of those 
 who came from the " first Adam." Yet not of all; but of the prin- 
 cipal persons, by whom, in a right line, the succession was con- 
 tinued down to Noah, and Abraham, the father of the faithful, 
 and so to the Messiah. As for the collateral lines, which, no doubt, 
 were very many, by the other sons and daughters of the persons 
 here mentioned, they are omitted : because no more was pertinent 
 to Moses's purpose. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 in the likeness of God^ This is again mentioned, to re- 
 mind men how highly' God had honoured them, mid how shame- 
 fully they had requited Him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. — called their name Adam,"] Or Man. The common name to 
 both sexes ; like Hmno in Latin, &c. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years,'^ For the more 
 speedy propagation of mankind, for the quicker mcrease of arts 
 and sciences, and that the knowledge of religion might with the 
 greater certainty be established and conveyed down to posteritj-, 
 it pleased the Divine Providence to prolong the lives of men be- 
 fore the flood to a much greater age than they have ever since 
 been. Pyle. 
 
 in his own likeness, after hi^ image ;] Not so perfect as 
 
 himself, when he was created; but with those imperfections which 
 impaired him, after he had eaten the forbidden fruit ; that is, in- 
 clined to sin, and subject to death. For " his own likeness and
 
 The genealo<:y, age, and 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 death of Adam, S^c. 
 
 Brfofr 4. 'And the days of Adam after lie had 
 ^"^i\^^ begotten Seth were eij^ht luinchcd years: 
 
 1 chron. and he begat sons anil (iaiiglitors : 
 '• '•'"■ 5 And all the days that Adam lived were 
 nine hundred and thirty years: and lit- 
 died. 
 3769. 6 And Seth lived an hundred and five 
 + Heb. years, and begat t Knos : 
 £mM. y And Seth lived afler he begat Enos 
 
 eight hundred and seven years, and begat 
 sons and daughters : 
 
 8 And air the days of Seth were nine 
 hundred and twelve years : and he died. 
 3679. y IF And Enos lived ninety years, and 
 .t Heb. begat t Cain an : 
 
 renan. jQ ^ud Euos livcd after he begat Cainan 
 
 eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat 
 sons and daughters : 
 
 11 And all the days of Enos were nine 
 hundred and five years : and he died. 
 3609. 12 i[ And Cainan lived seventy years, 
 t Gr. and begat t Mahalaleel : 
 uaictcti. ij Apfi Cainan lived after he begat Ma- 
 halaleel eight hundred and forty years, and 
 begat sons and daughters : 
 
 It And all the days of Cainan were 
 nine hundred and ten years : and he 
 died, 
 a54<. 15 % And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five 
 f ueb. years, and begat t Jared : 
 Jertd. iQ And Mahalaleel lived after he begat 
 
 Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and 
 begat sons and daughters : 
 
 17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were 
 
 image," wlierein tlii? son -was bcgoUen, seems to be opposed to the 
 likeness anil image of Gotl, wherein Adam was made; and whicli, 
 though not quite lost, was lamentably defaced. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 22. And Enoch n-aHed n-ilh CW] That is, w.is a religious 
 man: he pleased Go<l, and had therefore a true faith in Him, (Heb. 
 xi. 5, 6.) and a firm belief of future rewards, Jude ver. It, 15. 
 Bp. Kidder. Enoch " walked with God" in tlie way of His com- 
 mandments and ordinances : such was the effect and endence of 
 his faith, which " saw Him," who is otherwise " invisible," ever 
 present to his *oul, and " set the Lord always before him," as the 
 inspector of all his ways. Bp. Home. 
 
 24. — /ic wa.i nol;2 .Moses dotli not say, that he died; as he doth 
 of the rest in this chapter, both before and after; but that he " was 
 not" any longer among men in this world; for "God took him," or 
 translated him to another place. Which plainly signifies tlie diffe- 
 rent manner of his leaving this world; insomuch that the Apostle 
 saith, " he did not see death," Heb. xi. 5. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 God translated him either in soul or Ijody, or both, to a place 
 and state of happiness: — a most convincing argument and proof 
 of a life after this; and sufficient, one would have thought, to have 
 silenced the Sadducees, who recci\ed this book : but they had 
 hardened their hearts. God gave the world this instance, pen- 
 haps to convince them, how He would have dealt with Adam, 
 and all his posterity, had they continued in obedience to His 
 command, fip. JVilton. 
 
 " It is .appointed unto all men once to die:" this is the general 
 rule ; but we meet with an exception to it in the case of Enoch ; 
 aiid another ifl that of Elijah. Thus it pleased God to vouchsafe 
 
 eight hundred ninety and five years: and „'J',^"''* 
 he died. 
 
 18 5F And Jared lived an hundred sixty ssss- 
 and two years, and he begat Enoch : 
 
 W And Jared lived after he begat Enoch 
 eight hundred years, and begat sons and 
 daughters : 
 
 HO And all the days of Jared were nine 
 hundred sixty and two years : and he 
 died. 
 
 ^^1 % And Enoch lived sixty and five years, 3.117. 
 and begat t Methuselah : t f"- 
 
 '2^2 And Eno(;h walked with God after ^""•-""" 
 he begat Methuselah three hundred years, 
 and begat sons and daughters : 
 
 '2-3 And all the days of Enoch were three 
 hundred sixty and five years : 
 
 24 And " Enoch walked with God : and ' EccI"' 
 he was not; for (iod took him. iiibr. 11..-, 
 
 25 And Methuselah lived an hundred eigli- siaa 
 ty and seven years, and begat t Lamcch : t Hrf». 
 
 2G And Methuselah lived after he begat ^"""'^■ 
 Lamech seven hundred eighty and two 
 years, and begat sons and daughters : 
 
 27 And all the days of Methuselah were 
 nine hundred sixty and nine years : and 
 he died. 
 
 28 ^ And Lamech lived an hundred 
 eighty and two years, and begat a son : 
 
 29 And he called his name t Noah, say- , ^gis 
 mg, Ihis .same sliail comfort us concerning 
 
 our work and toil of our hands, because of 
 the ground which the Lord hath cursed. 
 
 30 And Lamech lived after he begat 
 
 the world two rehearsals of the .ascension of the holy Jesus : one 
 for the building up of those before the law, the other, of those 
 under the law, in the faith of tliat great and imporfcmt article ; 
 and both, that we of these latter days might admire the wisdom 
 of God in foreshewing what hath been accom))lishcd, and adore 
 His mercy and power in the accomplishment of what was fore- 
 shown. Bp. Home. 
 
 Cod look /lim.'] At the time appointed by the Father for 
 
 the accomplishment of Enix-h's prophecy, when tlic Lord shall 
 come to judgment with ten thousand of His saints, ,Iude ver. 14; 
 that whicii was foresliown by tlie translation of Enoch, and fulfil- 
 led in the ascension of the natural body of Christ, shall be brought 
 to pass likewise in His mystical body, the Church, and the mem- 
 bers thereof They shall " not be found" in the ruins of a burn- 
 ing world, because God shall have " translated" tiiem to an inhe- 
 ritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, 
 reserved in heaven for them. This is but the completion of that 1 
 great work begun in them by the Spirit of God in this life, renew- ' 
 ing and transforming their souls by hearty repentance, lively faith, 
 and fer\ent ciiarity ; by prayer, and fasting, and almsdeeds ; by | 
 holy mourning, and pious meditation ; by reading, hearing, and , 
 communicating ; thus training them up by the means of grace to 
 the hope of glory. Blessed and holy is he, who hath part in this ' 
 first " translation" from sin to righteousness, the sure pledge and : 
 earnest of the second from dust to glory. Bp. Home. 
 
 29. — he called his uame Noah,2 Which signifies rM/; or refresh' 
 meni, which proceeds from rest and quiet : because, as his father ■ 
 foretold of him, " This same shall comfort us." Some think that
 
 The tiokkcdness 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 of the "d'orld. 
 
 2353. 
 
 2448. 
 
 Before Noali HvG hundred ninety and five years, 
 and begat sons and daughters : 
 
 31 And all the days of Lamech were 
 seven hundred seventy and seven years : 
 and he died. 
 
 32 And Noah was five hundred years 
 old : and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and 
 Japheth. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 1 The wickedness of the world, which provoked God's 
 wrath, and caused the flood. 8 Noah findeth grace. 
 14 The order, form, atid end of the ark. 
 
 ND it came to pass, when men began 
 to multiply on the face of the earth, 
 and daughters were born unto them, 
 
 2 That the sons of God saw the daugh- 
 
 A' 
 
 his father expected him to be the promised Seed. In fact, he 
 brought "comfort" and "rest" to mankind, by improving the art 
 of husbandry, and so easing men as to the toil of their hands ; by 
 planting a vineyard, and finding out the art of making wine, which 
 cheers the heart and revives the spirits of men, that ai-e spent with 
 labour ; and by restoring the world, after it had been dispeopled 
 by the flood, and upon his oblations receiving the assurance that 
 " God would not again curse the ground any more for man's 
 sake." Bps. Patrick and Kidder, Dr. Wells. 
 
 32. — a7id Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.^ Of these 
 three sons, the eldest was Japheth, as appears from chap. x. 21, 
 the second was Shem, from x. 21, and the youngest Ham, from 
 ix. 24. Nevertheless both here, and a little lower, Shem is named 
 first ; whether it was that the rights of primogeniture were trans- 
 ferred to him, though the sacred historian says nothing of it ; or 
 that God was minded thus early to show that He would not be 
 confined to the order of nature in the disposal of His favours, 
 which He frequently bestowed upon the younger children ; or, 
 what I think the most likely, because the nation of the Jews were 
 to descend from him ; and he and his posterity were to be the 
 principal subject of this whole history. Stackhouse. 
 
 Chap. VI. vcr. 2. — the sons of Gocf] There are two famous 
 interpretations of these words, besides that of some of the an- 
 cients, who took them to mean angels. Some understand by 
 " the sons of God," the great men, nobles, rulers, and judges; 
 Mho, being captivated with the beauty of " the daughters of 
 lien," that is, of the meaner sort, took by force and violence as 
 lany as they pleased. 
 
 But there are other ancient interpreters, and most of the later, 
 \^ho by "the sons of God" understand the posterity of Seth, who 
 were worshippers of the true God, chap. iv. 26, and who now 
 "saw," or conversed with, "the daughters of men," that is, the 
 daughters of the ungodly race of Cain. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 of all which they chose.'\ Whomsoever they liked, w-ithout 
 
 regard to any thing else but their beauty. It is supposed, that the 
 Cainites spent their time in feasting, musick, dancing, and sports : 
 this allured the children of Seth to come down from the moun- 
 tainous country, which under a solemn injunction from their 
 godly forefathers they inhabited ; and marry with the descendants 
 of Cain. The consequence was all manner of impurity, impiety, 
 idolatry, rapine, and violence. For "evil communications" na- 
 turally " corrupt good manners." And so the example of the 
 wicked prevailed, and by degrees consumed, with few exceptions, 
 all remains of religion in the posterity of Seth. Moses takes no- 
 tice of these things, that he may give the reason why the de- 
 scendants of Seth, even those who sprung from that holy man 
 Enoch, except Noah and his family, were overwhelmed with the 
 deluge, as well as the family of Cain. Stackhouse. 
 
 Thet^e daughters of Cain proved to the sons of Seth what the 
 Moabitish women were afterwards to the children of Israel, and 
 what women of bad principles always have been, and always will 
 Vol. 1. 
 
 ters of men that they -xerc fair ; and they 
 took them wives of all which they chose. 
 
 3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall 
 not always strive with man, for that he 
 also is flesh : yet his days shall be an hun- 
 dred and twenty years. 
 
 4 There were giants in the earth in those 
 days ; and also after that, when the sons of 
 God came in unto the daughters of men, 
 and they bare children to them, the same 
 became mighty men which "were of old, men 
 of renown. 
 
 5 ^ And God saw that the wickedness of 
 man was great in the earth, and that\\e\Qvy 
 imagination of the thoughts of his ' heart 
 •was only evil t continually. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 3448. 
 
 2469. 
 II Or, Ihc 
 whole ima- 
 qinntion. 
 The He- 
 brew word 
 signifieth 
 nut oviy the 
 imaginati- 
 on, but also 
 tlie purposes 
 ami desires. 
 ' Ch. 8. 21. 
 Matt. 15. 
 19. 
 
 fHeb. 
 every day. 
 
 be, to men of good ones, who are no wiser than to contract alliances 
 with them in their state of error and delusion. Bp. Home. 
 
 3. — My spirit^ Either speaking by His prophets, such as Enoch 
 had been, and Noah was; or, working inwai-dly in all men's hearts. 
 '•' Shall not always strive with man," chide and reprove them, and 
 thereby endeavour to bring them to repentance ; but proceed to 
 punish them. "For that he also is flesh;" for that, besides liis 
 wicked actions, he is grown wholly fleshly in his inclinations and 
 affections. He savours nothing but camal things, and conse- 
 quently is incurable. " Yet his days shall be an hundred and 
 twenty years;" yet I will not destroy mankind presently; but 
 have patience with them so long, that it may appear I would will- 
 ingly have saved them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 "ifhe time of the primary denunciation of this sad judgment 
 was no less than 120 years before it came. Which was, I sup- 
 pose, the time, that " the longsufi'ering of God waited in the days 
 of Noah, while the ark was a preparing," 1 Pet iii. 20 ; and while 
 Noah himself, the great " preacher of righteousness," warned 
 them of the certainty and greatness of this impending calamity. 
 Whiston. 
 
 As it was with the world in the days of Noah, so will it be 
 also in the days of the Son of man, and so is it in the present 
 days with nations and individuals. They have their times and 
 their seasons of trial and probation, and they have their warn- 
 ings : after which the ax is laid to the root of the tree, and 
 nothing in heaven or in earth can stay for one moment the up- 
 lifted hand of Justice from striking the fatal stroke. Open then, 
 blessed Lord, our eyes, that we may see the things which be- 
 long unto our peace, before they are hid for ever from our sight ! 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 4. There were giants in the earth in those days ;~\ It is not agreed 
 upon by interpreters, whether Moses intended, by tliis phrase, to 
 express the unconmion stature and bulkiness of these men ; or the 
 cruelty, rapine, and violence of their dispositions and practices, 
 describing them as thieves, robbers, and oppressors. Pyle. 
 
 They were giants, of the property of giants : not that they were 
 greater men of stature and strength of body, than other men 
 were; but they were "giants" for their cruelty, violence, and 
 covetous oppression. Bp. Latimer. 
 
 From the marriages of the sons of Seth with the daughters of 
 Cain sprang a race of men, who, whatever they were as to stature, 
 became overgrown monsters of apostasy, impiety, ;md iniquity : 
 so that in process of time the e;u-th was totally overspread with 
 " corruption" and " violence" of all kinds. Bp. Home. 
 
 5. And God sajv'2 That is, when the merciful space of " an 
 hundi-ed and twenty years," allowed for man's repentance, was 
 expired. Pyle. 
 
 every imagination. &c.] All the secret dioughts and pur- 
 
 poses of his mind were always bent upon evil. Not only the 
 practices of men were evil, (as it is said, " God saw that the 
 wickedness of man was great,") but the principles, from whence 
 those actions flowed, were generally corrupted also. Bp. Kidder.
 
 Ood's uraUi. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Nuah Jindcth graces 
 
 Brfore (j And it lepeiiletl the Lord that he had 
 *^^i^^ made man on the earth, and it grieved him 
 at his heart. 
 
 7 And the Lokd said, I will destroy man 
 
 whom I have created from the face of the 
 
 t Heb. ^ earth ; thoth man, and beast, and the creep- 
 
 " ing thing, and the fowls of the air; for it 
 
 repenteth me that I have made them. 
 
 While principkb remain, j)racticcs may bi- altered anil amended: 
 but ihwe once gone, there remains no farther hope of a ref'onna- 
 tion, because there is then nothing to fcround one \ipon. Let tiiis 
 be a warning to all, who would avert the judpnieMts of God, that 
 tJiev sjuire no time or |Kiins in fixing Christian principles in the 
 hearts of those for whom tlicj- are concerned. Up. Home. 
 
 This is a description of ;ui extrnordimini degeneracy of men, 
 signifying that the world was Uiai extremely bad, and depraved 
 to the highest degree. fJoil gives this as a reason, why He was 
 resolvetl to drown the world, and to '■ destroy man from tile face 
 of the earth," iK-eause their wickedness was grown to so great an 
 height. Abp. Tillolxon. 
 
 6. And a reitenlcd the Lord SiC.'\ Gotl can properly neither 
 repent, nor he p-irvrd. But such expressions signify He resolved 
 to do, as men do ; who, when they repent of any thing, endea- 
 vour to undo it. /?/). Patrick. 
 
 As the conversion of a sinner is said to cause ".;".'/ "^ heaven," 
 8o here, to shew tlie exceeding love of God towards us, and His 
 unwillingness that any should perish, He is represented as " re- 
 penting that He had made m.in, and heins; grieved at His heart." 
 Thus an all-merciful God is plcase<l to represent Himself as feel- 
 ing for us, what we, alas ! do not feel for ourselves, or for one 
 another. Rp. Home. 
 
 It is manifest, that this is only an emphatical way of expres- 
 sion, to .signify God's just displeasure at the great and universal 
 wicke<lness of mankind, and at their having so far fallen from 
 the nol)le end of their creation : and that therefore, after having 
 tried the methmls of indulgence towards them. He saw fit to 
 send a destructive deluge for exterminating that incorrigible race. 
 And it is plain, tliat aecorthng to the doctrine of the sacred writ- 
 ings, which every where represent God as foreknowing the actions 
 of men, this corruption o? mankind wiis what He foresaw from 
 the l)eginning ; and the punishing of them in this manner made 
 a part of the original scheme of Divine Providence, though it did 
 not actually take effect till the proper time came for executin-r it. 
 Dr. Ldand. ° 
 
 The following observations from Stackhouse apply to a variety 
 of passjiges in the sacred volume, and are well worthy of the at- 
 tention of the rejuler : " When the holy Scriptures speak of God, 
 they ascribe hamh; and ei/e.i, and feel to Him ; not that He lus 
 any of these members, according to the literal signification ; but 
 the meaning is, that He has a power to execute all those acts, to 
 the effecting of which these parts in us are instrumental : that is. 
 He can converse with men, as well as if He had a tongue or mouth ; 
 can discern .all that we do or say, as perfectly as if He had eyes 
 and ears ; and can reach us as well as if He had hands or feet, &c. 
 In L'ke maimer, the Scrijiture frequently represents Him, as af- 
 fected with such passions, as we perceive in ourselves ; namelv, 
 as angry and pleased, loving and hating, repenting and grieving, 
 &c. and yet upon reflection we cannot supjjose, that any of these 
 passions csin literally affect the Divine Nature : and therefore the 
 meaning is, that He will as certainly punish the wicked, as if He 
 were inflamed with the passion of anger against them; as infal- 
 libly reward the goo<l, as we will those, for whom we have a 
 particular affection: and that, when He finds any alteration in 
 His creatures, either for the lietter or the worse. He will as surely 
 change His dispensations towards them, as, if He rcidly repented 
 or changed His mind. It is by way of analogy and comparison 
 therefore, that the nature and passions of men are ascribed to 
 God : so that when He is saitl to repent or grici'e, the meaning 
 must Ix-, not that He ])erceivetl any thing, that He was ignorant 
 of before, to give Him any uneasiness ; (for " known unto Cod 
 
 8 But Noah found grace m the eves of ^'^°" 
 
 ^, y " -^ CHRIST 
 
 tiic Lord. o4s<). 
 
 9 f[ These are the generations of No- 
 ah : '' Noah was a just man ami II perfect i> licrM^. 
 in his generations, and Noah walked with i''-,^^ ^ ^ 
 
 God. il Or, 
 
 10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, "Z"^'*'- 
 Ham, and Japheth. 
 
 are all His works from the beginning ;") but only that He altered 
 His conduct with regard to men, as they varied in their bcliaviour 
 towards Him, just as we are wont to do, when we are moved by 
 any of these passions and changes of affection." 
 
 Dr. Lcland has noticed upon this subject the observation of a 
 deistical writer, that "we must speak of God after the manner 
 of men :" and the remarkable concession of another, that " was 
 not God to be represented by expressions, which, literally under- 
 stood, attribute to Him human passions and actions, they, who 
 by their occupations in the world, arc incapable of those more 
 just ideas, which men of thought know to belong to that Being, 
 would perhaps think Him incapable of taking cognizance of their 
 actions. And therefore to make a revelation useful and credible 
 in itself, it must consist of words whose literal meaning is false, 
 but whose real meaning is consistent with the justest notions of 
 reason and philosophy." 
 
 8. But Noah found gr«ce] The phrase here means, obtained 
 favour. Compare Heb. xi. 7. Bp. Kidder. This single person 
 God resolved to spare, because (as it follows) he continued un- 
 tainted in the midst of an universal contagion. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 9. These are the generalion.<; of Noah ;]] This is an account of 
 his family : or, these are the things which befell him and his 
 family. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Noah na.<. a ju.Ki man SccH Had not the same Spirit by 
 
 St. Peter, 2 Pet. ii. 5, told us that lie wms "a preacher of right- 
 eousness," we should not have known it. This shews, that a 
 great many things in this short account, which Moses gixes, ai'e 
 omitted. Noah, having been convinced of (lod's hatred to sin 
 by his own deliverance, and the punishment of the former 
 world, no doubt took all imaginable pains, and became a great 
 " preacher of righteousness" to the new world as well as to the 
 old. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 perfect in his generations,'] He was an upright and sin- 
 cere man, and unblamable in the midst of a wicked and ungodly 
 world. Dp. Kidder. 
 
 " Perfect," not as the holy Jesus was perfect, or as " the spirits 
 of just men" are to be made perfect in heaven; but with such 
 perfection as man can attain unto in this his state of pilgrimage. 
 Jip. Home. 
 
 Sincerity, or integrity of heart, is that which God is pleased to 
 accept of in the new covenant, instead of perfection, and is fre- 
 quently called by that name : as where Noah is said to be " a 
 just man .and perfect," Gen. vi. 9, and Job to be a " perfect 
 and upright" man, chap. i. 1 ; that is, they were cordial and 
 sincere in all their duties to God, serving Him in holiness and 
 righteousness before Him or in His sight all their days, Luke i. 
 7 J. Thus God Himself seems to explain the word, when He 
 ratified and confirmed the new covenant with Abram, saying, 
 " Walk before Me, and be thou perfect," Gen. xvii. 1 . As if He 
 had said, " Walk always as in my sight, so as to keep thy heart 
 right and .sincere before Me, and then by the co\eiiant, which I 
 now establish with thee, thou shall he perfect, for I will accept of 
 thee as such." Bp. Beveridice. 
 
 ——— and Noah walked with God."] It is of unspeakable advan- 
 t.Tge to possess our minds with an habitual good intention, and to 
 aim all our thoughts, words, and actions at some laudable. end, 
 whether it be the glory of our Maker, the good of mankind, or 
 the benefit of our own souls. A person, wTio is possessed with 
 .■^uch an habitual good intention, enters upon no single circum- 
 stance of life, without considering it as wellpleasing to the Author 
 of his being, confonnable to the dictates of reason, suitable to hu- 
 man nature in general, or to that particular station in which Pro-
 
 being just and iiprighl. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Tlie order, <§t. of the arte. 
 
 chrTst ^^ '^''^ earth also was coiTupt before 
 2448. God, and the earth was filled with violence. 
 
 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, 
 behold, it was corrupt ; for all flesh had 
 corrupted his way upon the earth. 
 
 13 And God said unto Noah, The end 
 of all flesh is come before me ; for the earth 
 is filled with violence through them ; and, 
 
 the^eartiT behold, I will destroy them llwith the earth. 
 
 vidence has placed him. He lives in a perpetual sense of the 
 Divine Presence, regards himself as acting, in the whole course of 
 his e.xistence, under the observation and inspection of that Being, 
 •who is privy to all his motions and all his thoughts, who knows his 
 " downsitting and his uprising, who is about his path, and about 
 his bed, and spieth out all his wa^-s." In a word, he remembers 
 that the eye of his Judge is always upon him, and in everj- action 
 he reflects that he is doing what is commanded or allowed by Him, 
 who will hereafter either reward or punish it. This was the cha- 
 racter of those holy men of old, who in that beautiful phrase of 
 Scripture are said to have " walked with God." Addison. 
 
 This was said before of Enoch; and it denotes that general and 
 habitual course of religion and piety which he led : not only in 
 preaching righteousness to the old world, but in preaching it on 
 every occasion in his o\\ n life and conversation : as a light and 
 example, as well as an instructor to others. In a word, it denotes 
 that uniform obedience, which we all promise in our holy vow at 
 Baptism, and almost in the same words, " the keeping of God's 
 holy will and commandments, and walking in the same all the 
 days of our life." Wogwi. 
 
 11. The earlk also was corntpQ It b remarkable that our Lord, 
 speaking of this generation, chief!}' insists upon their carnality, 
 or norldly-mindcdtiess, as the door at which all other abominations 
 entered. " In the days of Noah," says he, " they were eating and 
 drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage:" thereby intimating, 
 that when we see a people wholly immersed in the cares of the 
 ■world, and the pleasures of sense, regardless of that heavenly 
 country to which they are travelling, it is a sure sign of approach- 
 ing destruction. So was it in the days of Noah : so was it in the 
 days of Lot : and so shall it be in the days of the Son of man. 
 Let every reader of this examine his own heait in this particular, 
 and take heed lest at any time it " be overcharged with surfeiting 
 and drunkenness and cares of this life, and so that day," the day 
 either of particular or general judgment, " come upon him una- 
 wares." Bp. Home. 
 
 violence.'^ Cruelty, and outrage, and injustice of every 
 
 kind. Men were corrupt, that is, irreligious towards God ; and 
 unjust to one another. Bp. Kidder. Uncleanness, covetousness, 
 and oppression, were the special causes which occasioned the 
 " flood. Bp. Latimer. 
 
 In the period between the creation of the world and the flood, 
 all mankind had, or might have had, a perfect knowledge of the 
 will of God, and of their duty, had it not been their own fault : 
 for Methuselah lived with Adam two hundred and forty-three 
 years, and with Noali six hundred: so that no man needed to 
 want information of the creation, &c. that had a mind to be in- 
 formed. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 12. And God looked upon the earth,"^ The hundred and twentj' 
 years, allowed by God for mankind to repent, now drawing to an 
 end, God is represented, as if in a special manner He " looked 
 upon the earth" to see what use mankind had made of His gra- 
 cious forbearance. Dr. Wells. 
 
 13. — The end qfalljlesh is come before mc;'] I am determined 
 to make an end of, that is to destroy, all mankind shortly. Bp. 
 Patrick. ^ ' ^ 
 
 Very many methods of mercy having been employed by God 
 for the recovery of mankind, and especially " in the days, that 
 His longsuffering waited, while the ark was a preparing," they 
 amply vindicate the ways of God with man, and justify His se- 
 verity in " bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly^" 
 which neither His restraints, nor rewards, nor all the monitions 
 
 14 % Make thee an ark of aropher wood ; ^ ^^f'"'^ 
 T rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and 2448. 
 shalt pitch it within and without with tHeb. 
 pitch. """• 
 
 15 And this is the fashion which thou 
 shalt make it of: The length of the ark 
 shall he three hundred cubits, the breadth 
 of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty 
 cubits. 
 
 and exhortations of His Prophets, added to His own declarations, 
 institutions, inflictions and denunciations of vengeance could re- 
 claim, in the course of many preceding centuries. 
 
 Other living creatures, it is true, were not culpable in this 
 manner. They all answered the end of their production, and 
 man was the only rebel against his Maker. But as, in an uni- 
 versal deluge, it was impossible to preserve them alive without a 
 miracle ; so having in some measure been made instrumental to 
 man's wickedness, innocent though they were, they were all to 
 be destroyed, in order to evince the malignity of sin, and God's 
 abhorrence of it. For the great end of His providence in sending 
 the deluge was not .-30 much to " ease Himself of His adversaries," 
 as to leave a perpetual monument of His unrelenting severity ; 
 that thereby He might deter future ages from the like provoca- 
 tions. For this is the inference which the Apostle draws from 
 all His judgments of old : " If God spared not the angels that 
 sinned, but cast them down to hell ; if He spared not the old 
 world, but brought in a flood upon the ungodly ; if He turned 
 the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, and condemned 
 them with an overthrow ; these are an example unto those, that 
 after shall live ungodly, that," however they may escape in this 
 Ufe, " He hath reserved the unjust imto the day of judgment to 
 be punished," 2 Pet. ii. 4, &c. Stackhouse. 
 
 14. Make thee an ark~\ This vessel was not made in the form 
 of one of our ships or boats, sharp forward and at the bottom to 
 cut the waves, but broad at the ends, like a chest, and flat at the 
 bottom, with a cover or a roof. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Ji'ells. 
 
 The Hebrew word, which we render ark, occurs only here, and 
 in another place, where Moses, when an infant, is said to have 
 been put into one made of bulrushes, Exod. ii. 3. It is supposed 
 to come from a root, which signifies to dwell or inhabit, and may 
 therefore here denote a house or place of abode. Stackhouse. 
 
 gopher wood ;] Probably cypress ; which abounded in 
 
 Babj'lonia, and was a durable timber fit for ship building. The 
 bitumen also, with which tlie ark was pitched both inside and 
 outside, abounded in Babylonia, which probably was the country 
 of Noah's residence ; not far, we may presume, fi-om the original 
 settlement of Adam's family, in the neighbourhood of Eden, ailer 
 the fall. Dr. Hales. 
 
 rooms shalt thou 7nake'] Little cabins or cells, to sever the 
 
 beasts from the birds ; the clean beasts from the unclean ; and to 
 preserve their several kinds of food. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 15. And this is the fashion &c.] ^Mien one sees with what un- 
 concernedness Moses relates the dimensions of the ark, which at 
 first view seems too little for such a number of creatures and pro- 
 visions as it was to hold ; and this without explaining liirasclfi 
 whereas a writer of his o^vn head would have taken pains to ob- 
 viate difficulties and explain tliem ; — this is a sure proof that 
 Moses wrote just as he was inspired to write ; and atterages, not- 
 withstanduig all objections of infidels, have found all most agree- 
 able to truth and the reason of things. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 The length of the ark &c.] The dimensions of the ark 
 
 were SOD cubits in length, 50 in breadth, and 30 in height : and 
 it consisted of three stories or floors. Reckoning the cubit at 
 18 inches, it must have been of the burden of 42,413 tons. A 
 first rate man of war is between 2,200 and 2,300 tons; and con- 
 sequently the ark had the capacity or stowage of 18 such ships, 
 the largest in present use, and might carry 20,000 men with pro- 
 visions for six nionths, besides the weight of 1800 cannons and 
 of all military stores. It was then by much the largest ship ever 
 built. Can we doubt of its being sufficient to contain eight per- 
 
 D2
 
 The order, form. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 and ciul of the ark. 
 
 Before 16 A window slialt thou make to tin; 
 '^"«i*^ ai-k, and in a cubit slialt thou finish it 
 above ; and the door of the ark shalt 
 thou set in the side thereof; Ktth lower, 
 second, and third stories shalt thou make 
 it. 
 
 17 And, behold, I, even I, do brinrj a 
 flood of wateis upon the tarth, to destroy 
 all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from 
 under heaven ; and e\ ery thing that is in 
 the earth shall die. 
 
 18 But with thee will I establish my 
 covenant ; and thou shalt come into the 
 ark, thou, and thy sons, anil thy wife, and 
 thy sons' wix'es with thee. 
 
 sons, and about 200 or IHO pair of foiirfoolcil animals; (a number, 
 to which, according to Buflbn, all the viu-ious distinct species may 
 be reduced ;) together with uU tlie subsistence necessary for a 
 twelvemonth i" Dr. Hales. 
 
 cmAi/j.] Tiie Hebrews made use of three sorts of cubits : 
 
 1. The common cubit, which was alxnit one foot and a half of our 
 measure. 2. The sacred cubit, which was a hand's breadth more 
 than the common cubit. 3. 'I'he geometrical cubit, which was 
 about nine feet Tlie ark it. to be measured by tlie common cu- 
 bit. The standard of the common cubit was that part of a man's 
 arm, which reaches from the bend of the elbow to the point of 
 the middle finger. If we think the stature vf mankind in Moses' 
 time larger than it is now, we may suppose the coimnon cubit 
 something larger than we shall now compute it : if not, the strict 
 measure of the ark will be, length 450 feet, breadth 75, height 
 45 : and the best >vriter3 generally agree, that the conmion sta- 
 ture of mankind has alwaya been much the same that it now is. 
 aiiuckford. 
 
 16. ,-/ triuduiv shall ihoii makc^ To let in light to the several 
 apartments. For wiiieh purpose should we conceive that one 
 great window might be contrived so iis to be sullieient, that would 
 not exclude many little ones, here and there, (or greater conve- 
 nience. Bp. Palric/i. 
 
 and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above ;"] It, that is, the 
 
 ark; which wjis covered with a roof, raised a cubit high in the 
 middle to carry off the rain. Slackhouse. 
 
 with lower, second, and third stories'^ The lower story 
 
 was probably for tlie greater beasts ; the second for stowage of 
 provisions ; the third for Noah's family, and the fowls, and per- 
 haps some of the smaller creatures. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 17- And, behold, /, even I, do bring a flood of waters &c.] That 
 is, all creatures shall unavoidably be swept away ; for I Myself 
 will bring a deluge u|M)n them : not an ordinary HoikI ; but one, 
 of which I will appciir to be the autlior. J)/). Patrick: 
 
 If we take tlie circuit of the globe, and inquire of the inha- 
 bitants of every climate, we shall find, that the fame of this de- 
 luge is gone through tJie earth ; and that in every part of the 
 known world there are certain records and traditions of it : that 
 tlie Americans acknowledge and speak of it in their continent ; 
 that the Chinese, who are the most distant people in J.sia, have 
 the tradition of it; that Uie several nations of Africa tell various 
 stories concerning it ; and that in the European jiarts the flood of 
 Deucalion is the same with that of Noah, only related with some 
 disguLsc. So that we may trace the deluge (juite round the globe; 
 ana, what is more remarkable still, every one of these people has 
 a tale to tell, some one way, some anotlier, concerning the resto- 
 ration of mankind, which is a full proof, that they thought all 
 mankind was once destroyed in that deluge. Slackhouse. 
 
 18. — nith thee will I establish my covcntint ;] Either the pro- 
 mise to preserve hiin and his family in the ark ; or the covenant 
 concerning the promised Seed of the woman. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Although this u the first place, where a " covenant" is ex- 
 pressly ruenUoned in Scripture, it appears, from the form of words 
 
 l!j And of every living thing of all flesh, (.^^",".p 
 two of every sort shalt tiiou bring ijito the a+4t<. 
 ark, to keep them alive with thee ; they 
 shall be male and iemalc. 
 
 '20 Of tbwis after their kind, and of cat- 
 tle alter their kind, of every creepincj tiling 
 of the earth after his kind, two of every 
 sort shall come unto thee, to keep them 
 aUve. 
 
 '21 And take thou unto thee of all food 
 that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to 
 thee ; and it shall be for food for thee, and 
 for them. 
 
 0,2 'Thus did Noah ; according to all ' neb. 11. 
 that God commanded him, so did he. ''• 
 
 here used, to have subsisted before. It is not said, a covenant, 
 but " My covenant will I establish with thee ;" plainly referring 
 to the same covenant, which Cioil had made with Adam. As if 
 Gotl had said, " I do not revoke My covenant made with Adam, 
 notwitlistaniling it hath, on man's part, been so grievously in- 
 fringed ; but I establish and conjirm it to thee, and to all that 
 shall descend from thee." The covenant, here spoken of, is not 
 the first, but the second covenant; not the covenant of works, but 
 that of grace and niercj-, by which we are now saved, even tlic 
 gospel of jieaee, and grand charter of our salvation : the person, 
 spoken to, was Noah, not in his private capacity only, but in his 
 publiek chai-acter, as a second .\(lam, the head and rei)resentative 
 of all mankind, and so the tyjie and figure of Christ, the new man, 
 who was to restore to the world that life which had been lost by 
 the first : and the benefit, thus renewed and confirmed, was to 
 extend to his posterity, to " him, and his sons, and his seed after 
 him." Consequently as the grant is general, and without any li- 
 mitation or reservation whatsoever, except what necessarily results 
 from the nature of the covenant itself, namely, the tenns and con- 
 ditions on our part ; and as God has likewise in the Gospel de- 
 clared, that " lie would have all men to be saved;" the miscar- 
 riage of no one soul can justly be imputed to Him : on His part 
 of the covenant He has never failed, and never will : the default 
 is wholly on the side of men, who reject the covenant when it is 
 offered to them, or neglect tlie terms of it, and so forfeit the be- 
 nefit. JVogan. 
 
 19. — two of even/ iort'^ Not that there shall be but two of 
 any sort, (conipiu-e chap. vii. ver. 2,) but there must be two at 
 least, namely, male and female, of every kind, ver. 20. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 20. — two of every sort shall come unto thee,"^ In the foregoing 
 verse He had s;iid, " two of every sort shalt thou bring into the 
 ark." Which Noah might think impo.ssible; for how should he 
 get tliem all together.' Therefore it is here explained in these 
 words, they " shall come unto thee ;" by tlie care of God, who 
 made them, and moved them to it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 22. Thus did Noah ; according to all that God commanded him, 
 tiC.'] The Apostle to tlie Hebrews, chap. xi. 7, mentions Noah's 
 builtling the ark, as an heroiek act of faith : " By faith, Noah be- 
 ing WiU-ned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, 
 jjrepared an ark, to the s.iving of his house; by the w hich he con- 
 demned the world, and became heir of the righteousness, which 
 is by faith." For, we may well imagine that this work of his was 
 not only costly and laborious, but esteemed by the generality very 
 foolish and ridiculous ; especially when they saw all things con- 
 tinue in the sjime posture and safety, for so many scores of years 
 together. Stackltousc. 
 
 The conduct of the Patriarch upon this occjision shows us what 
 ours ought to be in like cireumstancts. " According to all that 
 God commanded him, so did he." Being once well assured, upon 
 good and suiTiciciit evidence, what the will of God is, we should 
 suifer no appearances of things, or opinions of men, to discourage 
 and prevent us from accouiplisliing it, to the utmost of our ability.
 
 Noah rvitk hisfamly 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 enter therein. 
 
 CHAP. vn. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 SMO. 1 Noah, Tvith his family, and the living creatures, enter 
 into the ark. 17 The beginning, increase, and conti- 
 muince of the flood. 
 
 •2 Pet. 2. A ND the * Lord said unto Noah, Come 
 ^- x\. thou and all thy house into the ark ; 
 
 for thee have I seen righteous before me in 
 
 this generation. 
 
 2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take 
 tHeb. jf. to thee by t sevens, the male and his fe- 
 ven seven, j^^jg . ^j^^ ^^ beasts that uvc not clean by 
 
 two, the male and his female. 
 
 3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the 
 male and the female ; to keep seed alive 
 upon the face of all the earth. 
 
 4 For yet seven days, and I will cause 
 it to rain upon the earth forty days and 
 forty nights ; and every living substance 
 
 t Heb. that I have made will I t destroy from off 
 ""' ""'• the face of the earth. 
 
 5 And Noah did according unto all that 
 the Lord commanded him. 
 
 6 And Noah was six hundred years old 
 when the flood of waters was upon the earth. 
 
 The only question to be asked is — Hath God spoken it ? This be- 
 ing resolved in tlie affirmative, the soul is to re=t on His word and 
 promise, as an anchor sure and stedfast, from which she should 
 never suffer herself to be parted by all the doubts, difficulties, and 
 objections in the world. In simplicity and godly sincerity let her 
 do what she is commanded to do, waiting- with patience the ap- 
 pointed time ; and in the end God will be found true, though all 
 men are liars. Bp. Home. 
 
 Noah built the ark and laid up provisions for all creatures, 
 as here directed, when the hundred and twenty years drew to- 
 wards an end. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. VII. Noah had as perfect an account of whatever had 
 happened since the Creation, as any man can have of what hap- 
 pened in the days of his own father and grandfather ; or as any 
 man can have of what happened sLxty years ago : for Lamech, 
 Noah's father, had conversed with Adam fifty-six years. Bp. 
 Wilson. 
 
 Ver. I . — for thee have I seen righteous before me in this genera- 
 tionl^ Thee only have I found, in this corrupt and depraved age, 
 free from the common infection of wickedness, and sincere- 
 hearted towards Me. Bp. Hall. 
 
 2. Of even/ clean beaitj The distinction between beasts, that 
 were clean and unclean, being made by tlie law, has given some a 
 colour to imagine, that Moses wrote this book, after his coming 
 out of Egypt, and receiving of the law. But though with respect 
 to man's food, the distinction between clean ;uid unclean was not 
 before the law, yet some were accounted fit for sacrifices, and 
 others unfit, from the very first beginning ; and then, unclean. 
 beasts in this place must denote such asai*e rapacious, which were 
 not to be offered to God. In short, since the rite of sacrificing 
 was before the flood, we may well suppose that tliis distinction 
 also was before it : and we may suppose farther, that, as the rite 
 was undoubtedly of God's institution, so the difference of clean 
 and unclean creatures to be sacrificed, was of His appointment 
 likewise. Bp. Patrick, .Stackhou-ie. 
 
 . Many things, establisiied afterwards in the law of Moses, ob- 
 tained before that law, and were generally practised by the wor- 
 shippers of God; for example: sacrijiccs, (chap. iv. o, 4; viii. 20; 
 xiii. 18,) the paying of tithe, (chap. xiv. 20,) circumcision, (chap, 
 xvii. II,) the rigid of primogeniture, (chap. xxv. 33,) making volt's, 
 
 7 f" And Noah went in, and his sons, and Before 
 his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into '^'23^9.^^ 
 the ark, because of the waters of the flood. 
 
 8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are 
 not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing 
 that creepeth upon the earth, 
 
 9 There went in two and two unto Noah 
 into the ark, the male and the female, as 
 God had commanded Noah. 
 
 10 And it came to pass II after seven days, i| or, unihe 
 that the waters of the flood were upon tlie 'everutiday. 
 earth. 
 
 11 ^ Li the six hundredth year of Noah's 
 life, in the second month, the seventeenth 
 day of the month, the same day were all 
 the fountains of the great deep broken up, 
 and the II windows of heaven were opened, y Or, 
 
 12 And the rain was upon the earth forty ■fl'xx'e'""' 
 days and forty nights. 
 
 13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, 
 and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons 
 of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three 
 wives of his sons with them, into the ark ; 
 
 14 They, and every beast after his kind. 
 
 (chap, xxviii. 20; xxxi. 13,) marrying the brother's wife, (chap, 
 xxxviii. 8.) And some of those things, which Moses forbad, 
 were forbidden before his law : as the eating of blood, and murder, 
 which was a capital crime before the law, (chap. ix. 4, 6.) And 
 there is no doubt, but the difference of clean and unclean beasts, 
 with respect to sacrifice, was known and observed before the Law 
 of Moses, and before the Flood. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 by sevens,'] Seven couple, most probably ; that they might 
 
 have sufficient for sacrifice when they came out of the ark ; and 
 if need were, for food, if other provision did not hold out: at least 
 for food after the flood, when God enlarged their former grant, 
 chap. ix. 3. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11. — mere all the fountains of the great deep broken «/»,] By 
 " the great deep" is meant those waters that are contained in vast 
 quantities witliin the bowels of the earth : which by some cause 
 unknown to us were now made suddenly to gush -out at several 
 parts of the earth, where they either found or made a vent : the 
 waters of the sea likewise at the same time breaking in upon the 
 land. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 and the windows of heaven were opened.'] By this must be 
 
 understood the causing of the waters, which were suspended in 
 the clouds, to fall upon the earth, not in ordinary showers, but in 
 floods, or (as the Seventy translate it) in cataracts; of which tra- 
 vellers may have the truest notion, who have seen tho^^e prodi- 
 gious falls of water, so frequent in the Indies, where the clouds 
 many times do not break into drops, but fall with a terrible vio- 
 lence in a torrent. Bp. Patrick, Stackhouse. 
 
 In tlie Scriptures, the heavens are said to be " opened" when 
 it rains, and " shut" when rain is M'ithholden, and the like. The 
 original word here does not signify niiidon-s, according to the 
 modern idea; but rather clefts, fissures, passages; these were 
 opened, the clouds were rent, as we say. The waters, rising from 
 beneath, met the rains descending from above ; and uniting their 
 forces, tliey deluged the world. Bp. Home. 
 
 Some are puzzled to find water enough to tbrm an universal 
 deluge : to assist their endeavours it may be remarked, that was 
 all that precipitated, which is dissolved in the air, it might pro- 
 bably be sufficient to cover the surface of tile whole earth to the 
 deptli of above tliirty feet. Bp. Watson. 
 
 12. And the rain was upon the earth forty days &C.3 It con« 
 tinuetl raining so long without aiiy intermission. Bp. Patrick.
 
 The hegitmliig vf the flood. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 The ark rcsleth on Ararat. 
 
 B«fo« and ail the cattle after their kiiul, ami every 
 
 ■ins! creeping thing tlvat creepeth upon tiie earth 
 
 after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, 
 
 t Hcb. even*- bird of ever} t sort. 
 
 "'"*• 15 And they went in unto Noah into the 
 
 ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the 
 
 breath of life. 
 
 It) And tiiey that went in, went in male 
 and female of all flesh, as God had com- 
 manded him : and the Lord shut him in. 
 
 17 And the flood was forty days upon 
 the earth ; and the waters increased, and 
 bare up the ark, and it was lift up above 
 the earth. 
 
 18 And the waters prevailed, and were 
 increased greatly upon the earth ; and tlie 
 ark went upon the face of the waters. 
 
 19 And the waters prevailed exceed- 
 ingly upon the earth ; and all the high 
 hills, that were under the whole heaven, 
 were covered. 
 
 20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters 
 prevail ; and the mountains were covered. 
 
 » wuAio. 21 '' And all flesh died that moved upon 
 
 ■*' the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and 
 
 of beast, and of every creeping thing that 
 
 creepeth upon the earth, and every man : 
 
 fH*. 22 All in whose nostrils xvas the t breath 
 
 |^^«^^ of life, of all that teas in tlie dry land, died. 
 
 *""* 23 And every living substance was de- 
 
 tUtjnnt ^ 
 life. 
 
 stroyed which was upon the face of the rn^\s-? 
 ground, both man, and cattle, and the oj^o. 
 creeping things, and the fowl of the hea- 
 ven ; and they were destroyed from the 
 earth : and " Noah only remained alive, and ' wisd. lo. 
 they tliat teeix with him in the ark. 2 Pet 2.5. 
 
 2t And the waters prevailed upon the 
 earth an hundred and flfty days. 
 
 16. — nnd the Lord shii hint m.] God, jjrobably by tlie min- 
 istry of an angel, fastened and secured tlie door of the ark, into 
 which Noah was entered, from tlie danger of the waters, as well 
 as against the attempts of those, that might else have broken in 
 upon him. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 17, 18. And the flood Sec.'] At the end of forty days the waters 
 were come just high enough to lift the ark from the ground ; and 
 ^crward increased so far as to carry it freely up and down, as 
 the waves drove it. Pyle. 
 
 19- — all Ihc high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were 
 cmcred.'] These words, and other pas.«agcs, which say, that " all 
 flesh died," ver. 21, prove the flood to have been universal. The 
 truth is, tliere is every reason to suppose that the world was, at 
 the least, full as well peopled as it is now ; perhaps much more 
 so : and that, to destroy its inhabitants, the inundation must have 
 fallen upon every quarter, and encompassed the whole globe. 
 Bp. Patrick, Stackhouse. 
 
 20. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail;'] That is, 
 about twenty-two feet and a half above the moimtains. Whereas 
 Moses assures us, that the waters prevailed fifteen cubits above 
 the highest mountains, let the mountains themselves be appealed 
 to for the truth of this assertion. Examine the highest eminences 
 of the earth, and they all, witli one accord, produce the spoils of 
 the ocean, deposited upon tliem on that occasion ; the shells and 
 skeletons of sea-fish and sea-monsters of all kinds. The Alps, 
 the Apennines, the PjTenees, the Andes, and Atlas, and Ararat, 
 every mountain of every region under heaven, from Japan to 
 Mexico, all conspire in one uniform universal proof, that they all 
 had the sea spread over their highest summits. -Search the earth, 
 and you will find the Moose-deer, natives of America, buried in 
 Ireland j Elephants, natives of Asia and Africa, buried in the 
 midst of England ; Crocodiles, natives of the Nile, in the heart of 
 Germany ; shell-fish, never known in any but the American seas, 
 together with entire skeletons of whales, in divers other countries; 
 
 4 
 
 ingoifigand 
 returning. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 1 The ivattTs asswage. 4 The ark restelh on Ararat. 
 7 The mien and the dove. 15 Noah, being command- 
 ed, l$gix-lh forth of the ark. 20 Hcbuildcth an altar, 
 and on'erclh sacrijice, 21 irhich God acccptelh, and 
 promiiclh to nine the earth no nmrc. 
 
 AND God remembered Noah, and every 
 living thing, and all the cattle that 
 ti'as with him in the ark : and God made 
 a wind to pass over the earth, and the wa- 
 ters asswaged ; 
 
 2 The ibuntains also of the deep and 
 the windows of heaven were stopped, and 
 the rain from heaven was restrained ; 
 
 3 And the waters returned from off the 
 earth t continually : and after the end offHti.. 
 the hundred and fifty days the waters were 
 abated. 
 
 ■t And the ark rested in the seventh 
 month, on the seventeenth day of the 
 month, upon the mountains of Ararat. 
 
 and, what is more, trees and plants of various kinds, which are 
 not known to grow in any region under heaven. All which are 
 a perfect demonstration, that Moses's account of the deluge is in- 
 contestably true. Stackhouse. 
 
 the mountains were covered.] It appears upon examination 
 
 that the highest mountain in the world is not more than four 
 miles perpendicular. Bp. Stillingjieet. 
 
 21. And alljlcsh died] " If God spared not the old world, but 
 saved Noali, a preacher of righteousness, &c. the Lord knoweth 
 how to deliver the godly, and to reserve the unjust unto the day 
 of judgment to be punished," 2 Pet. ii. 4, &c. 
 
 " As it was in the days of Noah," saith our Saviour, so shall 
 sinners be surprised in the midst of their security. Consider here, 
 what was the consequence of a forgetfulness of God, a contempt 
 of His laws, an abuse of His patience, and the turning of a deaf 
 ear to the preachers of righteousness : a whole world of sinners, 
 surprised by death and judgment, in the midst of the greatest se- 
 curity ! Whether something like this is not the case of too many 
 Christians, when death surprises them, is worthy of the considera- 
 tion of every one who reads this liistory. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Chap. V'lII. ver. 1 . And God remembered Noah^ This is spoken 
 of God after the manner of men. The meaning is, that God 
 shewed His care of Noah. We are said to remember that which 
 vie take care of. God is said to " remember," when He relieves 
 ana shows mercy, Heb. vi. 10; Ps. cxxxvi. 23. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 He remembered the promise He had made to Noah, of pre- 
 serving him, and all that was with him in the ark. Dr. Wells. 
 
 and God made a wind to pass over the earth,] Which by 
 
 degrees drove back the waters into the several channels and ca- 
 verns, whence they had broken out. Pyle. 
 
 4. — ■ upon the mountains of Ararat.] That is, upon one of Ike 
 mountains J as chap. xix. 2J). " God overthrew the cities in which 
 Lot dwelt;" that is, in one of which he dwelt, Judg. xii. J,
 
 The raven and the dove 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 are sent out. 
 
 Before 5 And the waters t decreased continually 
 
 i:s49. until the tenth month : in the tenth month, 
 
 t Heb. on the first day of the month, were the 
 
 were in go- ^^^ of thc mouutains seen. 
 
 mg and de- I\, . . , , i /> 
 
 creasing. 6 % And it Came to pass at the end oi 
 forty days, that Noah opened the window 
 of the ark which he had made : 
 
 7 And he sent forth a raven, which 
 
 t Heb. went forth t to and fro, until the waters 
 
 fATand were dried up from off the earth. 
 
 Teturning. 3 Also he scut forth a dove from liim, 
 to see if the waters were abated from off 
 the face of the ground ; 
 
 9 But the dove found no rest for the 
 sole oOier foot, and she returned imto 
 him iriH the ark, for the waters xvere on 
 the face of the whole earth : then he put 
 
 t Heb. forth his hand, and took her, and t puUed 
 'tTc^me. " her in unto him into the ark. 
 
 10 And he stayed yet other seven days ; 
 
 " Jephthah was buried in the cities of Gileacl;" that is, in one 
 of the cities. Bp. Pdtricl: 
 
 Mount Ararat, according to Major Rennell's excellent map of 
 the ancient Persian empire, (Geogr. of Herodotus, p. 229,) lies in 
 39° 30' North lat. and 40° 30' East long, nearly in the middle of 
 the vast ridge of Taurus, that " stony girdle encompassing tlie 
 earth," as aptly described by the Arabian Geographers, which 
 runs eastward from Cilicia, through the whole extent of Asia; 
 for Ararat lies nearly midway between the southern extremities 
 of the Euxine and Caspian seas. Dr. Hates. 
 
 The Persians call mount Ararat Asis, or the tiappi) mountain, 
 on account of the choice which God made of it, to serve as a port 
 for Noah's ark. The Armenians maintain by tradition, that, since 
 Noah, no one has been able to climb this mountain, because it is 
 perpetually covered with snow, which never melts, but to make 
 room for some newly fallen : that Noah, when he left the ark, 
 settled at Erivan, twelve leagues from Ararat; and that at a 
 league from this city, in a very happy aspect, this Patriarch 
 planted the vine, in a place, where at present there is excellent 
 wine made. Catmet. 
 
 5. — were tlie tops of tlie mountains scen.~\ The ark by its weight 
 settled on mount Ararat, while the top of the mountain, where it 
 rested, was covered with water, and that several cubits high : so 
 that the top of this mountaiii might not appear much before the 
 tops of the other mountains. That the top of it was higher than 
 the neighbouring ones, is probable from the ark's setthng upon it. 
 Bp. Patrick, Dr. mils. 
 
 6. — nundoiv^ Or, casement. It is not the same word, which is 
 used chap. vi. 16. And most probably, (by comparing the word 
 used here by the Chaldee, with Dan. vi. 10,) it is to be luiderstood 
 of some s/iut or casement ; which, being easily removed, gave a 
 prospect abroad, as well as a passage out for the raven, and dove ; 
 and for the rest of the fowls afterwards. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 7. — tie sent fortli a ravcn,'^ To make discovery, whether 
 the earth was dry : for, if it were, the smell of the dead car- 
 cases, he knew, would allure it to fly away from the ark. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 ■ tvcnl fortli to and fro,'] In the Hebrew more plainly, 
 
 going forth and returning. After many flights, finding nothing 
 but water, it stiU betook itself to the ark ; either entering into 
 it, or sitting upon it: till at last, the waters being dried up, it 
 returned no more : that is, fifty days after its first going forth. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. Aho lie sent forth a dove] As a proper creature to make 
 farther discoveries ; being of a strong flight, loving to feed on the 
 ground, and pick up seeds, and constantly returning to its rest 
 
 and again he sent forth the dove out of ^^f""' 
 the ark J "^'^i^]:^ 
 
 11 And the dove came in to him in the 
 evening ; and, lo, m her mouth aas an olive 
 leaf pluckt oflf": so Noah knew that the 
 waters were abated fi-om off the earth. 
 
 12 And he stayed yet other seven days ; 
 and sent forth the dove; which returned 
 not again unto him any more. 
 
 13 % And it came to pass in the six hun- 2348. 
 dredth and first year, in the first month, the 
 
 first day of the month, the waters were 
 dried up from off the earth : and Noah 
 removed the covering of the ark, and 
 looked, and, behold, the face of the 
 ground was dry. 
 
 14 And in the second month, on the 
 seven and twentieth day of the month, 
 was the earth dried. 
 
 15 ^ And God spake unto Noah, saying. 
 
 from the remotest places. This was seven days after he had sent 
 forth the raven. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 0. And he stayed yet other seven days ;] It appears by this, 
 that on the seventh day Noah expected a blessing rather than on 
 another day : It being the day devoted from the beginning to re- 
 ligious services. Having probably performed these services, he 
 sent out the dove again 011 this day, as he had done before, with 
 hope of good tidings. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11. — in her moulh was an olive leaf] Some versions read 
 " leaves ;" others, " a branch ;" perhaps " a spris of olive leaves" 
 was what the dove really brought to Noah. Hence the olive 
 branch h.-;s ever been among the forerunners of peace, and chief 
 of those emblems, by which a happy state of renovation and 
 restoration to prosperity has been signified among mankind. 
 Ex])os. Ind. Script, illust. 
 
 Dr. Chandler supposes, that the olive groves are the principal 
 places for the shooting of birds ; and he observes, that when 
 the ohve blackens, vast flights of doves, pigeons, thrushes, and 
 other birds, repair to the olive groves for food: the connexion 
 then between Noah's dove and an olive leaf is not at all un- 
 natural. 
 
 The tops of olive trees might alone, possibly, be in view of the 
 place, where the ark was then floating, tliough it is a tree of only 
 a middling height ; but if the dove saw a great number of other 
 trees appear above tlie water, it was natural for it to repair to olive 
 trees, where it had been wont to shelter itself, preferably to others, 
 according to Dr. Cliandler's account. Harmer. 
 
 We may be assured, that the ark wns providentially wafted into 
 Armenia ; as that region seems to have been particularly well cal- 
 culated for the reception of the Patri;irch's family, and for the re- 
 peopling of the world. The soil of the countrj' was verj' fruitlul ; 
 and especially of that part, where the Patriarch first made his 
 descent : and we have the attestation of Strabo, that it produced 
 the olive. The region styled Araratia was also very higii, though 
 it had fine plains and valleys between the mountains. A country 
 of this nature and situation must, aft^r tlie flood, liave been soon- 
 est dried, and consequent!)' the soonest habitable. And it seems, 
 also, in an eminent degree to have contained every requisite fot 
 habitation. Bryant. 
 
 14,. — in the second month, kc] If their months were such 
 as ours, twelve of which make 365 days, then Noah stayed in 
 the ark a whole year and ten days, as appears by comparing this 
 verse with chap. vii. 1 1. But if they were lunar months, which 
 is most probable, then he was in the ark just one of oinr 
 years, going out on the j65th day after his entrance into it. 
 Bp. Patrick.
 
 Noah, S^-c. go forth of the arlc. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 God hksseth Noah. 
 
 Vtton iC Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy 
 *^"j48.^^ wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with 
 thee. 
 
 17 Bring forth with thee every living 
 thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both 
 of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creep- 
 ing thing that creepeth upon the earth ; 
 that they may breed abundantly in the 
 earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon 
 the earth. 
 
 18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, 
 and his wife, and his sons' wives with 
 him : 
 
 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, 
 and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth 
 
 t"*- upon the earth, after their + kinds, went 
 forth out of the ark. 
 
 20 % And Noah builded an altar unto 
 the Lord •, and took of every clean beast, 
 and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt 
 offerings on the altar. 
 
 Basnage has ^ven us the calendar of tliis melancholy year of 
 Naahi confinement. 
 
 fimxHet. 
 
 Month 
 
 The year of the world's Creation, 1656. 
 
 I. September. Methuselah ilied at the age of 969 ye<u"s. 
 II. October. Noah and his family entered the ark. 
 
 III. November the 17th. The fountains of the great deep 
 
 were broken up. 
 
 IV. December the 20"th. The rain began, and continued 
 
 forty days and forty nights. 
 V. January. All the men and beasts, that were on the 
 earth, we»e buried under the waters. 
 VI. February. The rain continued. 
 VII. March. The waters remained in their elevation, till the 
 
 27th, when they began to abate. 
 VIII. April the 17th. The ark rested on mount Ararat, in 
 Armenia. 
 IX. May. They did nothing, while the waters were retreat- 
 ing. 
 X. June the 1st. The tops of the mountains appeared. 
 XI. July the 1 Ith. Noah let go a raven. 
 
 the 1 8th. He let go a dove, which returned, 
 the 25th. He let go the dove again, which re- 
 turned with an olive brand). 
 XII. August the 2d. The dove went out the third time, and 
 returned no more. 
 I. September the 1st The dry land appeared. 
 II. October the 27th. Noah went out of the ark with his 
 family. Slackhousc. 
 16. Co forth of the ark,"] Though Noah saw tliat the earth 
 was fit to be inliabited, he waited for God's order to go out of the 
 ark, as he had for his entering into it, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. Aiid Noah builded an altar u-jIo the Lord ;] A place, where 
 a sacrifice or oblation was laid, when it was to be offered up. 
 Here is the first express mention of an altar, though it is to be 
 supposed there was one, upon which Cain and Abel offered, in tlie 
 place appointed for Divine worship. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Noah having been preserved from the flood by a miraculous 
 providence, the first thing he did, was to offer a sacrifice of thanks- 
 giving for his deliverance, and for God's faithfulness and truth, in 
 continuing in him and in his posterity the blessing of the promised 
 Seed. Tfiis was so acceptable to Go<l, that it drew down a bless- 
 ing upon the whole earth, and a promise, that it should never be 
 destroyed again by water. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 
 21 And the Loud smelled ta sweet sa- rui^l%T 
 vour ; and the Lord said in his heart, I 2ms. 
 will not again curse the ground any more f ncb. 
 for man's sake ; for the ' imagination of " *""''"'■ "f 
 man's heart is evil from his youth ; neitlier •chap.b-.s. 
 will I again smite any more every thing ^J*"''- '*• 
 living, as I have done. 
 
 22 t While the earth remaineth, seedtime twcb. 
 and harvest, and cold and heat, and sum- "w^^s »/ 
 mer and winter, and day and night shall '^c««a. 
 not cease. 
 
 CHAP. IX. , 
 
 1 God hlesselh Noah. 4 Blood and murder arc forbid- 
 den. 8 God's covenant, 13 signijied bij the rainbow. 
 1 1 Noah replcnisheth the irorld, 20 plantdh a vine- 
 yard, 21 is drunken, and mocked of his M^K5 curs- 
 elh Canaan, 26 blessclh Shcm, 27 praycth jW Japhelh, 
 29 and dieth. 
 
 AND God blessed Noah and his sons, 
 and said luito them, ' Be fruitfid, and 
 midtiply, and replenish the earth. 
 
 * Chap. 1. 
 28. & tj. 17. 
 
 burnt ojf'erinsix^ They were offerings, which were en« 
 
 tirely biynt, Levit. vi. [). Bp. Kidder. 
 
 21. And the Lord i-mcllcd a snrcl .savour ;'2 This expression is 
 used in great condescension to human thoughts and hiunan lan- 
 guage ; and is intended to signify, tJiat God was pleased with the 
 piety and devout services of Noah and others, sacrificing to Him 
 from a pure heart, as men are wont to be pleased with sweet 
 odours. A comparison taken from things human serves in some 
 measure to illustrate things tlivine : and though it is not exact, as 
 none can be exact, yet it helps to convey a more lively and more 
 affecting idea of the thing th;m could be given without it. " A 
 sweetsnielling savour" is St. Paid's phrase in the New Testament 
 also; where Christ is said to have "given Himself for us, an offer- 
 ing and a sacrifice to God for a swcetsmelling savour," Eph. v. 2. 
 Dr. Waterland. See note on chap. vi. 6. 
 
 and the Lord said in his hcart,~\ He detennined or re- 
 solved in Himself. Bp. Patrick. Or, (as the Hebrew will bear,) 
 to his heart, meaning the heart of Noah : that is, God sjiake com- 
 fortably to Noali. " To speak to the heart of a man," is, in the 
 Scripture phrase, to conifort and speak kindly to him, Gen. xxxiv. 3; 
 Is. xl. 2. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 for the iwaffination of man's heart is evil from his youth ,] 
 
 Such a proclivity there is in men to evil, that if I should scourge 
 them thus, as often as they deserve it, there would be no end of 
 deluges. Or, the words may mean, " Though tlie imagination, 
 &c." 
 
 Those words, " from his j'outh," signify a Isng rooted corrup- 
 tion, as appears from many places, Is. xlvii. 12, 15; Jer. iii. 25; 
 Ezek. xxiii. 8, &c. Perhaps they may be extended so far as to 
 signify froni his mother's womb. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 22. JVhile the earth ranaineth, seedtime ficc] This word is our 
 only security. Our only dependence is upon God. To Him 
 therefore we ought to pray and give praise. 
 
 This seems to have been what Noah prayed for, and intended 
 by his sacrifice ; and this was granted. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. 1. And God blessed Noah and his sons, &c.'] As 
 He did our first parents. The blessing upon Noah and his off- 
 spring is more particularly expressed afterwards : first, in blessing 
 them with increase, " Be fruitful, &c," ver. 7; secondly, restoring 
 them to their dominion over the creatures, ver. 2 ; thirdly, allow- 
 ing them the living creatures for food, ver. 3 ; fourthly, assuring 
 them that He would take special care of their lives, ver. 5, 6 ; 
 and lastly, that He would not destroy the earth by another flood, 
 ver. II. Bp. Kidder.
 
 'i o 
 
 ■i > 
 
 "5 ^ 
 
 I v. 

 
 i 
 
 It 
 
 1
 
 Blood and murder are forbidden. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 God's covenant with Noah. 
 
 Befort 2 And the fear of vou and the dread of 
 2348. you shall be upon every beast of the earth, 
 
 and upon every fowl of the air, upon all 
 
 that moveth itpon the earth, and upon all 
 
 the fishes of the sea ; into your hand are 
 
 they delivered. 
 
 3 Every moving thing that liveth shaU 
 » Chap. 1. be meat for you ; even as the "green herb 
 ^^' have I given you all things. 
 
 ^ Ler. 17. 4 "^ But flesh with the life thereof, XL'hich 
 ^^" is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 
 
 5 And surely youi- blood of your lives 
 
 will I require ; at the hand of every beast 
 
 will I require it, and at the hand of man ; 
 
 at the hand of every man's brother will I 
 
 require the life of man. 
 « Matth. 6 '^ Wlioso sheddeth man's blood, by man 
 Rerta.io. shall his blood be shed: 'for in the image 
 * Chap. 1. of God made he man. 
 ^^" 7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply ; 
 
 bring forth abundantly in the earth, and 
 
 multiply therein. 
 
 3. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you ;] Here 
 the first grant made to mankind concerning food is enlarged. 
 The first legislation granted them the use of fruits ; but now they 
 are permitted to eat of all living creatures as freely, as formerly 
 of all the fruits of the garden. This is the general sense of the 
 .lews, and of the Christian Fathers, and of the first Reformers. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. Bulficsh with the life thereof, &c.] As the criterion of judg- 
 ing of the aptitude of animals for food was declared to be their 
 moving and having life, a danger appeared of misinterpretation, 
 and that these creatures should be used living ; a thing, which 
 God by no means intended : and therefore immediately after, it is 
 said, " But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, 
 shall ye not eat ;" or, as it is explained by the best interpreters. 
 Flesh, or members torn from living animals, ha^'ing the blood in 
 them, thou shalt not eat. We see by this prohibition, that the 
 abuse of eating living meat, or part of animals while yet alive, was 
 known in the days of Noah, and forbidden after being known : 
 and it is precisely what is practised in Abyssinia to this day. This 
 law then was prior to that of Moses, but it came from the same 
 Legislator. It was given to Noah, and consequently obligatory 
 upon the whole world. Moses, however, insists upon it tlu-ough- 
 out his law. He positively prohibits it four times in one chapter 
 of Deuteronomy, ciiap. xii, and thrice in one of the chapters of 
 Leviticus, chap. xvii. Bruce. 
 
 Another reason perhaps was, that God intending in aftertimes 
 to reserve the blood for the expiation of sin, required this early 
 abstinence from it, that men might be the better prepared to sub- 
 mit to that law, and understand the reason of it: which was, that 
 God accepted the life of ike beast instead of their life, when they 
 had forfeited it bj- their sins. 
 
 Another plain reason is immediately added, that tliey might 
 be the more fearful of shedding the blood one of another, when 
 it was not lawful so much as to taste the blood of a beast. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 nhich is the blood thereof] That blood is the seat of 
 
 life could not be known to Moses, but by revelation ; it being a 
 secret in nature never discovered till of late, and that by many 
 experiments and observations, which the age of Moses, and ages 
 following, knew nothing of. Bp. Il'il.ton. Life is supposed in 
 Scripture to be seated in, or att;iched to, the blood : ajid that ex- 
 cellent anatomist, Mr. John Hunter, i'rom the result of many 
 experiments, has confirmed the doctrine, tliat the living principle 
 is inherent in the blood. Dr. Hales. 
 Vol. 1. 
 
 8 f And God spake unto Noah, and to chrTst 
 his sons with him, saying, 2348. 
 
 9 And I, behold, I establish my cove- 
 nant with you, and with your seed after 
 you ; 
 
 10 And. with every living creature that 
 is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and 
 of e\ery beast of the earth with you ; from 
 all that go out of the ark, to every beast 
 of the earth. 
 
 11 And 'I will establish my covenant 'isai. 549. 
 with you ; neither shall all flesh be cut off 
 
 any more by the waters of a flood ; neither 
 shall there any more be a flood to destroy 
 the earth. 
 
 12 And God said. This is the token of 
 the covenant which I make between me 
 and you and every living creature that is 
 with you, for perpetual generations : 
 
 13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it 
 shall be for a token of a covenant between 
 me and the earth. 
 
 5. — at the hand of every beast will I require it,'] That is, Any 
 beast, that kills a man, shall itself be killed: not as if beasts were 
 to blame if they killed a man ; for they are capable of neither vice 
 nor ^rtue : but this was ordained with respect to men, for whose 
 use beasts were created. For 1st, such owners, as were not care- 
 ful to prevent such mischief, were hereby punished. 2dly, Others 
 were admonished by their example to be cautious. 3dly, God 
 hereby instructed them that murder was a most grievous crime, 
 the punishment of which extended even to beasts. And 4thly, 
 the lives of men were hereby much secured by killing such 
 beasts as might otherwise have done the like mischief again. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 at the hand of every man's brother] And therefore " if at 
 
 the hand of everj- bea.%t, much more will I require it at the hand 
 of every man :" whom He calls brother, to shew that murder is 
 the more heinous on this account, because we are all bretlu-en. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — by man shall his blood be shed:"] That is, by the magistrate 
 or judges. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Against murder the Lord thus providetl by an early law, enact- 
 ed and published before him, out of whose loins the whole world 
 after the flood was to be repeopled: to shew that it was not meant 
 for a national and temporary ordinance, but for an universal and 
 perpetual law. Bp. 'Sanderson. 
 
 for in the image of God made he man.] This is a farther 
 
 aggravation of the sin of murder. It is a great trespass upon God, 
 as it destroys His likeness. And self-murder upon this account is 
 forbidden, as well as the killing of others. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 God having stamped His <rv;n image upon every man, and 
 withal signified His blessed pleasure, how precious He would have 
 him to be in our eyes and esteem, according to the tenour of the 
 edict in this verse, and the reason of it; we must expect to answer 
 it as an high contempt of that Sacred Majesty, if we set any man 
 at nought, or make less account of him than God would have 
 us. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 13. J do set my bom in the cloud,] It was now that the rainbow- 
 was appointed by God to be a memorial both of His justice upon 
 the old world, and of His mercy to the new. Let us, when we 
 look upon it, bless God for being nn'ndful of His covenant, and 
 securing to us the blessing of His promi;cd Seed. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 When the Jews behold the rainbow, they bless God, who re- 
 members His covenant, and is faithful to His promise. And tlie 
 tradition of this its designation to proclaim comfort to mankind 
 was strong among the heatlicn; for according to the mythology of
 
 The rainbow. Soak repknishcth 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 the earth, curseth Ccmaajt, 
 
 Before i-i. K And it shall come to pass, when I 
 ^"J^iL^^ brin<T a cloiiil ovir the earth, that tlie bow 
 « Ecci". shall be seen in the eloiul : 
 43.ii,ii. j5 ^jj^ I ^iu remember my covenant, 
 
 which is between n>e anil you anil every 
 living creature of ;ill Hesh ; ami the waters 
 shall no more become a Hooil to destroy 
 all flesh. 
 
 IG And the bow shall be in the cloud; 
 and I will look iii)on it, tliat I may remem- 
 ber tiie everlasting covenant between God 
 and every living creature of all flesh that 
 is upon the eartii. 
 
 17 And God said unto Noah, This is 
 
 the token of the covenant, which I have 
 
 establisiied between me and all flesh that 
 
 is upon tlie earth. 
 
 «M7. 18 ^ And the sons of Noah, that went 
 
 forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, 
 
 and Jupheth : and Ham is the father of 
 
 t Heb. t Canaan. 
 
 """""■ 19 These are the three sons of Noah: 
 
 the Creeks, the ruitibon- was tlie daughter of nonder, " a sifjn to 
 mortal men," ami regartleil, upon its appearance, as tlie messenger 
 of tlie celestial deities. Up. Ilunic. 
 
 It is not at all necessary to inquire whether there was, or was 
 not, any rainbow lu-fore tiie flootl. Upon either supposition the 
 Divine Wisdom is very apjiarcnt, in appointing tiie rainbow for a 
 token of His covenant, and a memorial of His promise: that as 
 often as men should see it, they might remember that God had 
 given them such a promise, and that His infallible word sliould 
 be tlieir sufficient security. Dr. Walerland. 
 
 14. — the how .ihall be sci-n in the cloud :'\ Not always, but at 
 certain times: often enough to remind men of the promise, and 
 stir up their belief of it. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 iG. — / ivill look tijioii it, that J mat) rememher Sec.'] Ciod did not 
 " set tliis bow in the clouds" for His own sake, to engage His 
 attention, and revive His memory whenever " He IcMjked on it;" 
 though that be the expression, wiiich tlie Holy Spirit, speaking 
 alter the manner of men, has tliuught fit to make use of: but for 
 our sakes was it placed there, as an illustrious symbol of tlie Di- 
 vine Mercy and Ciooilness, and to confirm our belief and confi- 
 dence in God. And therefore, whenever we " look upon the 
 rainbow," we should do well to " praise Him that made it ; very 
 licautiful it is in the brightness thereof. It compasseth the heaven 
 about with a glorious circle, and the hands of tlie Most High 
 have bended it," Ecclus. xliii. II, 12. Stackhoiise. 
 
 18. — Ham i.s the father of Canaan.'] He had other sons be- 
 sides, chap. X. (i. But Canaan is here mentioned, as the head 
 of a cursetl race, whose country God gave to tlie Israelites ; 
 imd in order to tlie ensuing relation, ver. 22. Bps. Patrick 
 .ind Kidder. 
 
 19. — of them tvas the whole earth overspread.] We see then, 
 that all mankind are of one blood and original ; being descended 
 of one common ancestor ; and therefore arc all brethren, and, as 
 it were, but one family. This consideration shews, not only the 
 reasonableness of that univer>al benevolp nee and humanity, which 
 God, the great Lord and Master of all, requires towards all men ; 
 but also the folly and injustice of that pride, which puffs up one 
 man against another. " The rich and poor meet together : the 
 Lord is the Maker of them all," Prov. xxii. 2. Il'ogan. 
 
 The two continents of Asia and America, so widely separated 
 from each other by the vast Pacific or Eiastem ocean at their 
 southern extremities, are now found to approach each other to- 
 wards the northern within tliii-teen leagues, instead of eight hun- 
 
 and of them was the whole earth over- f,Jl'!"l%.- 
 spread. jiht. 
 
 'JU And Noah began tu he an husband- 
 man, and he planted a vineyaril : 
 
 'Jl And he drank of the wine, and was 
 drunken ; and he was uncovered within 
 his tent. 
 
 •22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw 
 the nakedness of his father, and told his 
 two brethren without. 
 
 23 And Shem and Japheth took a gar- 
 ment, and laid // upon both their shoulders, 
 and went backward, and covered the na- 
 kedness of their father ; and their faces 
 xcere backward, and they saw not their 
 father's nakedness. 
 
 2'i And Noah awoke from his -wine, and 
 knew what his younger son had done unto 
 him. 
 
 25 And he said, Cursed /je Canaan ; a 
 servant of servants shall he be unto his 
 brethren. 
 
 dred, as was supposed. ,Vnd in this narrow strait there are several 
 intervening islands, as Bering's, Sec. Among other good purposes 
 tlierefore, the voyages of Captain Cook have rendered essential 
 services to religion, by rolibiiig infidelity of a favourite objection 
 to the Mosaical account of the peopling of the earth. \«rth 
 America might have been easily furnished with inhabitants from 
 the opposite coast* of Asia: and South America, by means of the 
 great chain of newly discovered tropical isles, scattered between 
 the two great continents, and successively colonised from Asia ; 
 and also, on its eastern side, by vessels driven by storms, or trade 
 winds and currents, from the shores of riir(i|>e and Africa. And 
 indeed the similarity of languages, religion, manners, and cus- 
 toms, in several leading jioints, furnishes decisive evidence of the 
 descent of all mankiiul from the same parent stock. Dr. Hales. 
 See the note on chap. x. .32. 
 
 21. And he drank of the wine, and was drunken ;] Being unac- 
 quainted with the strength of the liquor; or else being old, and 
 unable to bear its strength. This happened a great while alter 
 the flood. Bp. Patrick. Bishop Wilson, after Bedford's Script. 
 Chronol. says 100 years. 
 
 It is a strong argument of the \eracity of Moses, that through- 
 out his history he has drawn no character so fair, as not to leave 
 some blemishes, some instances of human frailty-, still abiding on 
 it. And indeed it is an act of singular kindness and benefit to 
 us, that God has ordered the faults and miscarriages of His saints 
 so constantly to be recorded in Scripture ; since " they are written 
 for our admonition/' to remind us of our frailty, and to alarm our 
 caution and fear. The example of Noah, who had escaped the 
 pollutions of the aid world, and was now overcome in a time of 
 security and peace, calls perpetually upon " him that thinketh he 
 standeth, to take heed lest he fall." Slackhoitse. 
 
 2.5. — Cursed be Canaan ;~\ The ancient prophecies must be un- 
 derstood, not of single persons, but of whole nations. The curxc 
 of servitude pronounced upon Canaan, and the promise of blessing 
 and enlargement made to Shem and Japheth, extend to their whole 
 race ; as afterwards the prophecies concerning Ishmael, and those 
 concerning Esau and Jacob, and those relating to the Twelve Pa- 
 triarchs. The curse therefore upon Canaan was properly a curse 
 upon the Canaaiiites. God foreseeing the wickedness of this peo- 
 ple, which began in their father Ham, and greatly increased in 
 this branch of his family, commissioned Noah to pronounce a 
 curse upon them, and to devote them to the servitude and misery, 
 which their more common vices and iniquities would deserve.
 
 bksselh Shem, and pray eth for Japheth. CHAP. 
 
 2347. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 servant to 
 than. 
 II Or. 
 yeriunde. 
 
 Before gg And hc Said, Blessed be the Lord 
 CHRIST g^^ of Shem; and Canaan shaU be II his 
 servant. 
 
 27 God shall II enlarge Japheth, and 
 he shall dwell in the tents of" Shem ; and 
 Canaan shall be his servant. 
 
 28 IT And Noah lived after the flood 
 three hundred and fifty years. 
 
 29 And all the days of Noah were 
 
 And this account was plainly written by Moses for the encou- 
 ragement of the Israelites in their expedition against a people, 
 who by their sins had forfeited the Divine protection, and were 
 destined to slavery from the days of Noah. Bp. Newton. 
 
 This curse did not affect individuals, nor even nations, so long 
 as they continued righteous. In Abraham's days, before the ini- 
 quity of the Canaanites came to the full, in the fourth generation 
 afterwards, Melchizedek, whose name was expressive of his cha- 
 racter, " king of righteousness," was a wortliy " priest of the 
 Most High God:" and Abinielech, whose name denotes " parental 
 king," pleaded the integrity of his heart, and the righteousness 
 of his nation before God, and his plea was admitted. Yet they 
 appear both to have been Canaanites, chap. xiv. 18 — 20; xv. 16; 
 XX. 4 — 9. Dr. Hales. 
 
 a .<!erianl of servants shall lie hc nnto his hrethren."] The 
 
 word brethren, in Hebrew, comprehends more distant relations. 
 The descendants therefore of Canaan were to be subject to the 
 descendants of both Shem and Japheth : and the natural con- 
 sequence of vice in conmiunities, as well as in single persons, is 
 slavery. 
 
 Several centuries, 800 years, after the deliverj' of this prophecy, 
 the Israelites, who were descendants of Shem, under the com- 
 mand of Joshua, invaded the Canaanites, smote above thirty of 
 their kings, took posse-ssion of their land, slew several of the 
 inhabitants, made the Gibeonites and others servants and tri- 
 butaries ; and Solomon afterwards subdued the rest, 2 Chron. 
 viii. 7 — 9. 
 
 The Greeks and Romans too, who were desccndarits of Japheth, 
 not only subdued Syria and Palestine, but also pursued and con- 
 quered such of the Canaanites as were any where remaining ; as 
 for instance, the Tyrians and Carthaginians, the former of whom 
 were ruined by Alexiinder and the Grecians, and the latter by 
 Scipio and the Romans. And ever since the miserable remainder 
 of tliis people have been slaves to a foreign yoke ; first to the 
 Saracens, who descended from Shem ; and afterwards to the 
 Turks, who descended from Japheth; and they groan under their 
 dominion at this day. lip. NenHon. 
 
 26. — Bles.sed be the Lord God of Shem ;] The old Patriarch doth 
 not say, " Hlesscd be Siiem," as he said, " Cursed be Canaan :" 
 for men's evil springeth of themselves, but their good from God: 
 and therefore in a strain of devotion he breaks forth into thanks- 
 giving to God as the Autiior of all good to Shem. Neither doth 
 he say the same to Japiieth ; for God certainly may dispense His 
 particular favours according to His good pleasure, and salvation 
 was to be derived to mankind through Shem and his posterity. 
 God prefers Shem to his elder brother .Japheth, as Jacob was af- 
 terwards preferred to Esau, and David to his elder brothers, to 
 shew that the order of grace is not always the same as the order 
 of nature. The l,ord being called " the God of Shem" particu- 
 larly, it is plainly intimated that the Lord would be his Gwl in a 
 particular manner. And accordingly the Church of God was 
 among the posterity of Shem for several generations, " of whom 
 as concerning the flesh Christ came." Bp. Newton. 
 
 27. God shall enlarge Japheth,'^ In the Hebrew there is a 
 plain allusion to Japheth 's name, which signifies enlargement ; as 
 there is to many others in Scripture; Noah, chap. v. 29; Judah, 
 Dan, Gad, &c, chap. xlix. 8, 16, I9. Japheth was enlarged both 
 in territory and in children. As to territory, his posterity pos- 
 sessed, besides all Europe, the lesser Asia, Media, part of Arme- 
 nia, Iberia, Albania, and those vast regions to the north, which 
 
 mne 
 died 
 
 IX, X. 7'ke generations of Noah. 
 
 hundred and fifty years : and he 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1998. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 I The generations of Xoah. 2 The sons of Japheth. 
 6 The sons of Ham. 8 Nimrod the Jirst monarch. 
 2 1 The sons of Shem. 
 
 NOW these are the generations of the 
 sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth : 
 and unto them were sons born afterthe flood. 
 
 anciently the Scythians inhabited, and now the Tartars; and it 
 is not improbable that the new world was peopled by some of 
 his northern descendants going thither by the straits of Anian. 
 As to progeny, from the next chapter it appears that Japheth 
 had seven sons, whereas Ham had only four, and Shem only five: 
 and the northern hive was always remarkable for its fecundity, 
 and hath been continually sending out colonies southward, both 
 in Europe and in Asia, both in former and in later times. Bp. 
 Nenton. 
 
 and he shall dwell in the tents iif Shem ;] By this may be 
 
 meant either that God or that Japheth shall dwell in the tents of 
 Shem. In either sense it has been fulfilled. In the former sense 
 literally, when the Shechinah ox Divine Presence rested on the 
 ark, and dwelt in the tabernacle and temple of the Jews ; and 
 when " the Word, who was with God and was God," pitched His 
 tent, and " dwelt among us." In the latter sense it was fulfilled, 
 first, when the Greeks and Romans, who sprung originally from 
 Japheth, subdued and possessed Judea and other countries of 
 Asia, belonging to Shem ; and again spiritually, when they were 
 proselyted to the true religion ; and they, who were not Israelites 
 by birth, became Israelites by faith, and lived, as we and many 
 others of Japheth's posterity live at this day, within the pale of 
 the Church of Clirist. Bp. Newton. 
 
 How just a regard is here shewn both to piety and disobedi- 
 ence ! Because Ham sinned against his father, therefore he shall 
 be plagued in his children. Japheth is dutiful to his fatlier, and 
 finds the reward of it in his posterity. Because Ham was an ill 
 son to his father, therefore his sons shall be servants to his bre- 
 thren ; because Japheth assisted Shem to bear the cloke of shame, 
 therefore shall Japheth dwell in the tents of Shem, partaking 
 with him in blessing, as in duty. When we do but what we 
 ought, yet God is gracious to us ; and rewards that, the omission 
 of which would be a sin. Who could ever yet shew me a man, 
 rebelliously undutiful to his parents, tliat had prospered in him- 
 self and his seed ? Bp. Hall. 
 
 29. — and he died.'} Not above two and thirty years before 
 Abram was bom. Bp. Patrick, 
 
 Chap. X. ver. 1. Now these are the generations &c.T The 
 tenth chapter of Genesis is one of the most valuable and the most 
 venerable records of antiquity. It explains what aU profane his- 
 torians were ignorant of — the origin of nations. Instead of telling 
 us, as other books do, that one nation had sprung out of the 
 earth they inhabited ; another from a cricket or a grashopper ; 
 another from an oak ; another from a mushroom ; another from 
 a dragons tooth ; instead of these absurdities, it gives such an 
 account of the ]ieopling of the earth after the deluge, as no other 
 book in the world ever did give; and the truth of which all 
 other books in the world, which contain any thing on the subject, 
 confinn. The last verse of the chapter says, " These are tlie fa- 
 milies of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: 
 and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood." 
 It would require great learning to trace out precisely, either the 
 actual situation of all the countries, in which these founders 
 of empires settled, or to ascertain the extent of their dominions. 
 This however has been done by various authors, to the satisfac- 
 tion of all competent judges; so much at least to my satisfaction, 
 that had I no other proof of the authenticity of Genesis, I should 
 consider this as sufficient. But without the aid of learning, any 
 man, who can barely read his Bible, and has but heard ot such 
 
 E2
 
 The sons ofjapheth, and of Ham. 
 
 G E N E S I S. 
 
 Ninirod tltcJirU monarch. 
 
 Brfuro o Tlic sons of Japhetli ; Gomer, ami 
 CHiusr ,- 1 »t 1 • II 1 'i' I I 
 
 1.J90. Mago<j, ami Maclai, anil Javan, and liibal, 
 
 • I Cbron. aiid Mcshccli, ami Tiras. 
 '■ ^" y And the sons of CJonuT ; Ashkenaz, 
 
 and Ripliatli, and Tof^ainiali. 
 
 \ And the sons of Javan ; Klisliali, and 
 Tarshisli, Kittim, and Dodanini. 
 
 5 By these were the isles of the Gen- 
 tiles divided in their lands ; every one 
 after his tongue, after their families, in 
 their nations. 
 
 (i IF ''Anil the sons of Ham ; Cush, and 
 Mizraini, anil Phut, ami Canaan. 
 
 ' 1 Chroii. 
 
 I.e. 
 
 people as the Assyrians, the Elamites, the Lydians, the Modes, 
 tlie lonians, the Thracians, will readily acknowledge that ihey 
 had Assur, and Elain, and Lud, and Madai, and Javan, and 
 Tiras, graniTsoiis of Noah, for their respective founders. Bp. 
 IVatstm. 
 
 Till- following curious and valuable commentary on the tenth 
 chapter of Genesis, which records the primitive settlements of the 
 three families, is fumishetl by -•Vbulfar.igi, in his History of the 
 Dynasties. " In the 140th year of I'haleg, the earth was divided, 
 by a second division, among the sons of Noah. To the sons of 
 Shem wa.s allotted the middle of the earth ; namely, Palestine, 
 Syria, Assyria, Sam;irra, (a town of Babylonian, or Chaldean 
 Irac,) Balu'l, Persia, and Hcgiaz, (or Arabia Petrea.) 'I'o the 
 sons of Ham, Teman, (or Idumea, .ler. xlix. 7,) Africa, Nigri- 
 tia, Egypt. Nubia, Ethiopia, Scindia, and India, (or Western 
 and Eastern India,) on both sides of the Indus. To the sons of 
 Japhetli also, Garbia, (the North,) .Spain, France, the comitries 
 of tlie Greeks, Sclavonians, Bulgarians, Turks, and Armenians." 
 Dr. tlahs. 
 
 The late excellent Sir William Jones has very satisfactorily 
 traced the origin of all the people of the earth to the three roots, 
 Shem, Ham, and .lapheth, according to the account given in this 
 chapter. Up. Tomlinc. 
 
 2. — Jap/iii/t;'] He .seems to have been the same with Jajietus, 
 whom the Greeks own to have been their father. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. Bi) Ihfsc were the Ulcs of the Gentiles dividetF^ The Hebrews 
 (as Mr. Mede observes) use the word ides to signify all those 
 countries divided from them by tlie sea, Isai. xi. 10, 11; xl. 1.'); 
 Jer. ii. 10: or the word may be used generally for a region, coun- 
 try, or province. Job xxii. 30; Isai. x.\. (5. And the word, here 
 rendered " Gentiles," may signify a nmltitude of people, or " na- 
 tions," as it is translated in the last verse of this chapter. The 
 phrase then may be thus interpreted : Bi/ IhcK, or among these, 
 trere divideJ the regions of the jH-oplc, or nations, (descended from 
 Japheth,) in their lands ; in the several countries which they pos- 
 sessed. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 " The isles of the Gentiles" mean many of the maritime coun- 
 tries washed by Uie .Mctliterraneiui sea. Gisborne. 
 
 divided^ It apj)ears by the following words, according 
 
 to liis langn.nge, family, imd nations, this gre.it division of the 
 earth w;is made in an orderly manner, anil not by a confused 
 irregular dispersion, wherein every one went and seated himself 
 where hi- thought giKxl. Jos. Medc- 
 
 This distribution was by the immediate appointment of God. 
 We have full evidence of this in that sublime and pathctick hymn 
 of Moses, where he addresses himself to the people of Israel, " He- 
 member the days of old, &c," Deut. xxxii. 7 — i). From this we 
 may see that the whole was by God's appointment; and that there 
 was a reserve for a people who were to come after. St. Paul like- 
 wise speaks of it exprc-ssly as a Divine ordinance, .Vets xvii. 26. 
 This is taken notice of by many of the Fathers. Eusebius in par- 
 ticular mentions " the distribution of the eartli:" and adds, that it 
 liappcned in " the 'J()72d year of the creation, and in the fi.lOth 
 year of tlic Patriarch's life. Then it was that .Noah, by Divine 
 appointment, divided the world between his three sons." The 
 
 7 And the sons of Cu.sh ; Seba, ^"^ cHK7sr 
 Uavilah, and Sabtah, and Raamali, and lo-is. 
 Sabtechah : and the sons of Raaniah ; 
 Sheba, and Dedan. 
 
 8 And Cush begat Nimrod : he began about 221 », 
 to be a mighty one in the earth. 
 
 [) He was a mighty hunter before the 
 Loud: wherefore it is said. Even as Nimrod 
 the mighty hunter before the Louu. 
 
 10 And tiie beginning of his kingdom t^^^""-^^ 
 was t Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and n oV, 
 Calneh, in the laud of Shinar. ?'."""' »"* 
 
 1 1 Out or tiiat land || went forth Asshur, ria. 
 
 Grecians had some traditions of this partition of the earth, which 
 they supposed to have been by lot, and between Jupiter, Neptune, 
 and Pluto. The tradition probably came to Greece from Egypt. 
 Bryant. 
 
 after his tongue,'] Not distinct languages, but different 
 
 dialects. Bp. Patrick, Pi/U: .Many dialects, even now spoken, may 
 be traced to one common langii.nge, which, as the primitive stock, 
 has been the original of them all. Sir William Jones has demon- 
 strated, that three great branches of language are sufficient to ac- 
 count for all the varieties now extant; and it forms a very strong, 
 as well as a new argimient in favour of the Mosaical account of 
 the early postdiluvian ages. Calmet's Dictionary, Supplement. 
 
 ■■ 8. — he began to be a mightij one in tlie earth.] He was the first 
 great warriour and conqueror : or, as some say, a more severe go- 
 vemour than tliey had been, who only exerciseil paternal authority. 
 For he was the first th.at put down the government of eldership or 
 paternity, and laid the foundation of sovereign rule. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 9. He mas a mighti/ hunter] Or rather, mighttj in hunting : by 
 which means he becatne a great monarch. For he iimred himself 
 to labour by this toilsome exercise; and got together a great com- 
 pany of robust young men to attend liim in this sport ; who were 
 hereby also fitted to pursue men, as tlicy had done wilil beasts. 
 For this was looked upon in all ages as the rudiment of warfare, 
 all the heroes of old being bred up to hinitiiig. Besides, in the 
 age of Nimrod, the exercise of hunting miglit win him the hearts 
 of men, whom he thus delivered from wilil beasts, to which they 
 were much exposed, in their rude and utiprotected way of living. 
 So that many at last joined with him in the great designs he 
 formed of subduing men, and making himself master of the 
 neighbouring people in Babylon, Susiana, and Assyria. The 
 memory of this hunting of his was preserved by the Assyrians, 
 who made Nimrod the same .-is Orion ; for they joined the dog 
 .•xnd the hare, the first creature perhaps that he hunted, with his 
 constellation. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 before the D>rd:] That is, to the highest degree. For so 
 
 a gi-eat city to God is a very great city, Jonah iii. 3, and a child 
 very beautiful is calle<l /1/ir to, or before God, Acts vii. 20. Bp. 
 Patrick. The phrase may jierhaps be more properly rendered, 
 " against the Lord." Bibliotheca Biblica. Bel was the name of the 
 great god of the Babylonians. He is supposed to have been the 
 sjune with Nimrod; and to have been called Bel from his dominion, 
 and Nimrod from his rebellion. For " Bel" or " Baal," which is 
 the sjune n;ime, signifies Lord; and "Nimrod," a Rebel, in the 
 Jewish :uid Chaldean languages : the former was his Babylonish 
 name, by reason of his empire in that i)Iace ; and the latter hig 
 Scripture name, by reason of his rebellion, in revolting from God 
 to follow his own wicked ilesigns. Demi Prideav-r. 
 
 nherefore it is .mid. Even as Nimrod &c.] That is, thence 
 
 came the conmion proverb: which Moses alleges as a proof of the 
 truth of what he delivered. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — the beginning of his kingdom mas Babel,] He first erect- 
 ed the city of Babylon, making it the capital seat of his domi- 
 nions. Pyle. 
 
 1 1. Out of that land went forth Asshur,] The translation in the 
 margin is to be preferred. He went out into As.iyria: meaning, that
 
 CanaarCs descendants. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 and the sons qfSJtem. 
 
 T-Jdon. 
 
 .l-.tah. 
 
 Before gnd builded Nineveh, and II the city Reho- 
 «bout22i8. both, and Calah, 
 
 II Or, the 12 And Resen between Nineveh and 
 theli'/ Calah : the same is a great city. 
 
 13 And Mizraim begat Ludini, and A- 
 namim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, 
 
 14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out 
 of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim. 
 
 tiici). 15 % And Canaan begat t JSidon his 
 
 firstborn, and Heth, 
 
 16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, 
 and the Girgasite, 
 
 17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and 
 the Sinite, 
 
 18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, 
 and the Hamathite : and afterward were the 
 families of the Canaanites spread abroad. 
 
 19 And the border of the Canaanites 
 was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, 
 
 t Heb. unto t Gaza ; as thou goest, unto Sodom, 
 and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, 
 even unto Lasha. 
 
 20 These are the sons of Ham, after 
 their families, afler their tongues, in their 
 countries, and in their nations. 
 
 21 % Unto Sliem also, the father of all 
 the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth 
 the elder, even to him were children born. 
 
 Nimrod went to -war against Assyria, which belonged to the chil- 
 dren of Sheni, but was usurped by this son of Cash. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and builded Nineveh,^ So called from his son Ninus. Thus 
 
 Cain built a city, and called it, not by his own, but by his son's 
 name. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 13. — Ltidimj^ That is, Lud and his posterity the Ludims; the 
 form of that word, as of several others that follow, being plural, 
 and denoting several nations probably in Africa. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 1 8. — aflenvard were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.'^ 
 The race of the Canaanites was so numerous, as not only to spread 
 over the tract of land possessed afterward by the Israelites, but 
 reached into several countries round it. Pyle. 
 
 21. — the father of all the children of Eber, "^ And so conse- 
 quently the father of the Hebrews, who had their name from him. 
 From him Abram is called an Hebrew, chap. xiv. 13, and his pos- 
 terity Hebrews, Gen. xxxix. 14; Exod. i. 15, Hi. Some however 
 have thouglit that Eber in this place is not a proper name : and 
 that Abraham is called an Hebrew, not from Eber, as the proper 
 name of a man, but as this word imports one who comes from he- 
 ^ond the river Euphrates. And then, what we render " the chil- 
 dren of Eber," imports the inhabitants beyond the river Euplirates. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 25. — Peleg;'] The great dispersion, recorded in the next chap- 
 Ur, happening just when he was born, made his father call him by 
 ' !* name, which signifies division and separation. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 :'>i. These are the families of the .tons of Noah, Sicr\ The deri- 
 vation of the human species, all from one stock, Noah, the second 
 father of mankind, has proved a great stumblingblock to minute 
 philosophers: wiio cannot reconcile the fact to the varieties of the 
 species in different countries, ;is to colour, size, shape, disposition, 
 &C. However inadequate we may be fully to unfold the mysteries 
 of nature and the « ays of l'r()\'idence, yet much of these alleged 
 varieties may be satisfactorily accounted for, from the influence of 
 climate, local circumstances of air, water, food, customs, &c. which 
 may, in process of time, make a material change in the constitutions 
 and complexions of the inhabitants. If dogs, taken to the frigid 
 
 22 The 'children of Shem : Elam, and ^'^^^"l' 
 Asshur, and tArphaxad, and Lud, and about 2218. 
 Aram. ' 1 chron. 
 
 23 And the children of Aram ; Uz, and jneb. ^r- 
 Hul, and Gether, and Mash. puchshmi. 
 
 24 And Arphaxad begat t Salah ; and t Heb. 
 Salah begat Eber. ^*'""'- 
 
 25 '' And unto Eber were bom two sons: 2247. 
 the name of one xvas Peleg; for in his days ^ip.'"""' 
 was the earth divided ; and his brother's 
 name xvas Joktan. 
 
 26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and 
 Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, 
 
 27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Dik- 
 lah, 
 
 28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, 
 
 29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab : 
 all these xvere the sons of Joktan. 
 
 30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, 
 as thou goest, unto Sephar a mount of the 
 east. 
 
 31 These are the sons of Shem, after 
 their families, after their tongues, in their 
 lands, after their nations. 
 
 32 These are the families of the sons of 
 Noah, after their generations, in their na- 
 tions : and by these were the nations di- 
 vided in the earth after the flood. 
 
 zone, grow shaggy ; and if sheep, transported to the torrid zone, 
 exchange their wool for hair ; why may not the human species 
 gradually partake of the influence of climate .' 
 
 1. Man was formed to reside in all climates. " The human 
 animal is the only one which is naked, and the only one which can 
 c/o//ie itself. This is one of the properties, which renders him an 
 animal of all climates and of all seasons. He can adapt the warmth 
 or lightness of his covering to the temperature of his habitation. 
 Had he been bom with a fleece upon his back, although he might 
 have been comforted by its warmth in high latitudes, it would have 
 oppressed him by its weight and heat, as the species spread toward 
 the Equator." This is the simple but profound remark of Paley. 
 
 2. " Man, though white in Europe, black in Africa, yellow in 
 Asia, and red in America, is still the same animal, tinged only with 
 the colour of the climate. Where tlie heat is excessive, as in Gui- 
 nea and Senegal, the people are perfectly black : where less ex- 
 cessive, as in Abyssinia, the people are less black: where it is more 
 temperate, as in Barbary and in Arabia, they are brown : and 
 where mild, as in Europe and in Lesser Asia, they are fair." Bvffon. 
 This concession from a great naturalist and sceptick is important. 
 
 3. Shaw, in his travels through Barbary, found a tribe in the 
 mountains of Auress, south of Algiers, who appeared to be of a 
 different race from the Moors: far from swarthy, their complexion 
 is fair and ruddy, and their hair a deep yellow, instead of being 
 dark, as among' the neighbouring Moors. He conjectures that 
 they are a remnant of the A'andals. And they probably retained 
 their complexion from their high mountainous situation ; as the 
 natives of Armenia, in western Asia, and Caslimire, in eastern, are 
 f;iir ; owing to the great elevation of the soil in both places, and 
 the temperature of the climate occasioned thereby. 
 
 4. On the other hand, a colony of Jews, settled at Cochin, on 
 the Malabar coast, from a very remote ejwch, of which they have 
 lost the memory, thougli originally a fair people in Palestine, and 
 from their customs preser\ing tliemsehcs unmixed, are gro\\Ti as 
 black as the other Malabarians, wlio ai-e hardly a shade lighter 
 than the negroes of Guinea. And at Ceylon, the Portuguese, who
 
 Oiie language in the world. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 The confusion of tongues. 
 
 Before 
 CHUIST 
 
 •bout -l-l^T. 
 
 • Wud. 10. 
 
 5. 
 
 t Heb til,. 
 
 t lleb. 
 
 fHeb. 
 o nutn said 
 iohit neigk' 
 hour, 
 t Hcb. 
 bum th(m 
 to u burn- 
 img. 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 1 One languaf(e in the rrorltl. S T/ie fiuilJiui; uf liabt-l. 
 5 The coil fusion «/' tongues. 10 The griitialions u/ 
 Shein. a? The aenenilions vf Tcrah the father uf 
 Abram. 31 Tcrah goeth from Vr to llaran. 
 
 AND 'the whole earth was of one tlaii- 
 puajre, and of" one t speech. 
 '■2 Aiui it came to pass, as they journeyed 
 from the east, that they Joiiml a plain in 
 the land of Sliinar; and they dwelt there. 
 
 3 And + they said one to another, Go 
 to, let us make brick, and t burn them 
 throughly. And they had brick for stone, 
 and slime had they for niorter. 
 
 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us 
 
 settled there only a few centuries ago, arc degenerated, and pri)\vn 
 blacker than the original natives. They are in number about .;000, 
 .still 8peak Portuguese, wear the European dres.s, and profess the 
 Romish religion. 
 
 Still there are anomalies, or exceptions, to the general conclu- 
 sions of the influence of climate and customs, that must be ascribed 
 to other, and perliaps undiscovered causes, which baffle the pride 
 of human sagacity to develop: and which. after itll, must be resohed 
 into the will and pleasure of the Creator, and deposited among 
 " the unsearchable riches" of His wisdom and providence, in the 
 varieti/, no less tlian in the regularili/, of His works. Dr. Hiiles. 
 
 Chap. XI. vcr. 1. — one langimsr,'] The le.irne<l .ire not agree<J, 
 ■whether we have any remains of tlie primitive language of men : 
 and a-s the .Scriptures are silent upon tlie subject, we must be con- 
 tent to leave it in uncertainty. IVrhaps it is most probable, tliiit 
 the old Hebrew or .Syriack is the most ancient languiige which has 
 descended to us ; and in support of this opinion, tlie.lewish histo- 
 rians as.sert, that the sons of Eber, or Heber, diil not concur with 
 the rest in the attempt to build the tower, .uid therefore retained 
 the primitive language. .Sir William .Fones is of o])inion that the 
 original language is entirely lost. lip. Toiii/inc. 
 
 2. — (J.t thei/Journei/ed from the ea.it,~\ Not all the posterity of 
 Noah, who after the fltMxl were jilanted in the Ea.st ; much less 
 Nouli himself: but a great colony of them, who, when tiic East 
 was much peopled, chose to go westward, lip. I'alrick. 
 
 Shiiiar y] Not only th.it part of .Vssyri.i where Babylon 
 
 stood, but all that country which bordere<l upon tlic river Tigris 
 unto the niountiins of Armenia. lip. Pal rick. 
 
 thai dwelt there.'\ Hy what follows it appears, that they 
 
 intended to dwell there for the future, contrary to (lod s connnand 
 of replenishing the earth, lip. Kidder. 
 
 3. — thei) sniir\ Nimrod very probably, as .losephus affirms, 
 cncouragc<l otliers of his race and temper to tills contempt of God. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 lei us make brick,'^ In that low and fat .soil there was no 
 
 stone. Herodotus, .lustin, and many others, describe the walls of 
 Babylon as made of burnt bricks. 
 
 The cement, here mentioned by the name of slime, was pro- 
 bably what the ancient.s calletl a.tplialtus or bitumen ; a kind of 
 pitch, which is described by authors as very glewy, ,ind therefore 
 it was used by Noah, under CkkI's direction, about the ark. As- 
 syria abounds wnth it, both in a licpiid an<l .solid st.ate ; as we learn 
 from ancient historians and nio<lem travellers, who describe it .is 
 cast up from same fountains with the water. Herodotus and 
 many other authors, both (Jreek and I,-itin, affirm that the walls 
 of Babylon were cemented with it. And it is observable that 
 Arrian s.iys. The temple of Belus, in the nn'dst of the city of 
 Babylon, of a vast bigness, was made of brick, cemented with 
 asphaltus. Bp. Patrick, Slack-house. 
 
 Many have thought that the tower of Belus, mentioned by 
 Herodotus, and in his time to be seen in Babylon, was the tower 
 
 a city and a tower, whose top mat/ reach (,^''jj",".p 
 nnto heaven; and let us make us a name, ui,out '.»j47. 
 lest we be scattered abroad upon the face 
 of the whole earth. 
 
 5 And the Loud came down to see the 
 city and the tower, which the children of 
 men builded. 
 
 (3 And the Lord said. Behold, the peo- 
 ple is one, and thoy have all one language; 
 and this they begin to do : and now no- 
 thing will be restrained from them, which 
 thev have imagined to do. 
 
 7 Go to, let us go down, and there con- 
 found their language, that they may not 
 understand one another's speech. 
 
 of Babel ; or at least was built upon the old foundations. 
 Caliiiet. 
 
 ■1.. — a city and a toircr,'] The tower was contained in the 
 city, and foniied part of it. It was probably the Acropolis, as the 
 (ireeks call it, a strong place in the highest part of the city, such 
 as we call a citadel. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 /('/kmc tup mai) reach unio heaven ;] Or to the clouds. An 
 
 exceeding high tower. The same is said of the walls of the cities 
 of Canaan, Dcut. i. 'JH ; ix. 1. /)'/). Patrick. 
 
 The misunderstimding of this text probably gave rise to the 
 fable of the giants attempting to .scale heaven. The silliest of the 
 I'agan fables generally have some foundation in truth, either mis- 
 imilcrstcHKl or misa]>plied. Stack/ioiise. 
 
 let M.v make us a Jiamc,'^ The work was inteiulcd to 
 
 fru.strate the good design of regularly peopling the earth ; out of 
 an ambitious aim of raising themselves into a powerful state, and 
 getting the honour of being the founders of the first great city 
 and government in the world. B,'jle. 
 
 G(kI hatii a special indignation at pride, above all sins ; and 
 will cross our endeavours, not because they are evil, (what hurt 
 could there be in laying one brick upon another.') but because 
 they lU'C j)routlly undertaken. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Ic.it tec be scattered abroad^ What they dreaded, they 
 
 brought u])on themselves by their own vain attempt to avoid it : 
 and now there is no memory preserved of the nimies of those, who 
 conspired in this attempt. Thus what .Solomon sjiith, Wiis long 
 before verified, " The fear of the wicked shall come upon him." 
 But this evil by Ciod's providence was attended with a great gocnl: 
 for by this dispersion the whole earth was pefijiled ; and the foun- 
 dation laid of several great nations and kingdoms. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. And the Ixtrd came down to .ire itc] This is an acconuno- 
 dation to our ccmceptions. It me.ms, that by the effects He made 
 it appear, that He observeil their motions and knew their inten- 
 tions. Bp. ] 'at rick. 
 
 the children of men2 Children of men in Scripture arc 
 
 opposed to Children of God ; as bad men and infidels are to good 
 and faithfid. So that the people engaged in this work were not 
 Noah, .Shem, and otiier gtKxl men ; but some of the worst sort, who 
 had degenerated from the ])iety of their ancestors. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — now nothing will lie restrained from them,'] They will give 
 farther inst'inces of their rebellion and tyratui) , if they be not 
 defeated. lip. Kidder. 
 
 Or the sentence may be taken interrogatively, thus: "Shall 
 they not be restrained in all they imagine to i\o?" The question 
 .imounts to the most e.\-])ress affirmation that they shall be restrain- 
 ed, which accordingly was executed imnu-diately. Stackhoiisc. 
 
 7. — confound their language,'] God did not make every one 
 speak a new different l.mgu.ige ; but they had such a confused re- 
 membrance of their original langu;ige, that they .spake it very dif- 
 ferently : sr) that by the Viorious inflections, and terminations, and 
 pronunciations of the divers dialects, they could no more under- 
 
 I stand one another, than they, who understand only Latin, can un-
 
 The generations qfShem, and 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 ofTerah the father of Abram. 
 
 sfiu 
 
 L'2SI. 
 
 Before g go the LoRD Scattered them abroad 
 
 f 11 HIST" 
 
 about 2247. froiti thencc upon the face of all the earth: 
 and they left off to build the city. 
 
 9 Therefore is the name of it call- 
 
 II That is, ed II Babel ; because the Lord did there 
 
 L\,,j\^,u co„foL„jd the language of all the eaith : 
 
 and from thence did the Lord scatter 
 
 them abroad upon the face of all the 
 
 earth. 
 
 » 1 ciiron. 10 ^ *' These are the generations of 
 
 ' 2316. Shem : Shem "was an hundred years old, 
 
 and begat Arphaxad two yeai's after the 
 
 flood: 
 
 11 And vShem lived after he begat 
 Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat 
 sons and daughters. 
 
 12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty 
 years, and begat Salah : 
 
 13 And Arphaxad lived after he begat 
 Salah four hundred and three years, and 
 begat sons and daughters. 
 
 14 And Salah lived thirty years, and 
 begat Eber : 
 
 15 And Salah lived after he begat Eber 
 four hundred and three years, and begat 
 sons and daughters. 
 
 ■■ 1 chron. l6 " And Eber lived four and thirty 
 '■ 2^247. years, and begat ^ Peleg : 
 •■Called, 17 And Eber lived after he begat Peleg 
 
 pw^^^^' four hundred and thirty years, and begat 
 sons and daughters. 
 2217. 18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and 
 
 begat Reu : 
 
 (lerstand those who speak French, Italian, or Spanish ; though 
 these languages arise out of the former. 
 
 It is probable that each family had its peculiar dialect ; or ra- 
 ther the same common dialect, or way of speaking, was given to 
 those families, whom God intended to form one colony in the fol- 
 lowing dispersion. Bp. Pairick. 
 
 8. So l/te I/)rd scattered theHi] This followed upon God's mul- 
 tiplying the languages of these builders. For as the unity of one 
 common language had before knit them into one commimity, so 
 it is the proper effect of pluralities of tongues to sort men into 
 pluralities of societies. Jus. Mede. Division of tongues must 
 needs slacken any work. Happy were the Chiurch of God, if 
 we all s])ake but one language. Bp. Hall. 
 
 npun the face of all the earth ;] The migrations of the 
 
 three primitive families took place from the central regions of Ar- 
 menia, Mesopotamia, and Assyria; and by successive colonisations 
 established far distant communities, and various modes of society 
 and government ; the Phenicians, Arabians, Egyptians, Ethio- 
 pians, and Libyans, southwards; the Persians, Ethiopians, Indians, 
 and Chinese, eastwards ; the Scythians, Celts, and Tartars, north- 
 wards ; and the Goths, Greeks, and Latins, even as far as the Pe- 
 ruvians and Mexicans of South America, and the Indian tribes of 
 North America, westwards. All these various inhabitants of the 
 globe retain a striking affinity in the leading principles of their 
 language, customs, and religions, however diversified in process of 
 time from each other by local circumstances : such affinity evinc- 
 ing their common descent from one and the s;une parent stock. 
 Dr. Hales. See the notes on chap. ix. 1 9, and x. 32. 
 
 and thai Itfl off to Imild the citij.'^ And the tower. They 
 
 desisted from their enterprise ; but the city and tower probably 
 
 19 And Peleg lived after he beffat Reu ^'f""* 
 two hundred and nine years, and begat 2217. 
 sons and daughters. 
 
 20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, 21 as. 
 and begat " Serug : ' Luke 3. 
 
 21 And Reu lived after he begat Serug ss.snrucA. 
 two hundred and seven years, and begat 
 
 sons and daughters. 
 
 22 And Serug lived thirty years, and 215.5. 
 begat Nahor : 
 
 23 And Serug lived after he begat Na- 
 hor two hundred years, and begat sons and 
 daughters. 
 
 24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty 2126. 
 years, and begat ' Terah : ' Luke 3. 
 
 25 And Nahor lived after he begat Te- ^^'^^^ 
 rah an hundred and nineteen years, and 
 begat sons and daughters. 
 
 26 And Terah lived seventy years, and 2055. 
 ^ begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. « joshua 
 
 27 IT Now these are the generations of ^^chron. 
 Terah : Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and 1. 26. 
 Haran ; and Haran begat Lot. 1996. 
 
 28 And Haran died before his father 
 Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of 
 the Chaldees. 
 
 29 And Abram and Nahor took them 
 wives : the name of Abram's wife was 
 Sarai ; and the name of Nahor's wife, Mi]- 
 cah, the daughter of Haran, the father of 
 Milcah, and the father of Iscah. 
 
 30 But Sarai was barren ; she had no 
 child. 
 
 stood long after this, and may have been tlie very tower after- 
 wards consecrated to Belus. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. These are the generations of Shem:'] As we have an ac- 
 count in chap. v. of the generations from Adam to Noali, who 
 was the tenth from Adam: so we have here an account from Noali 
 to Abrmn, who was the tenth from Noah. And hence we may 
 learn that the age of man's life was much shortened after the 
 flood. The whole time from the flood to the birth of Abram is 
 but 352 years ; whereas from Adam's creation to the flood was 
 no less than l656 years. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Shetn u'as an hundred years oldf\ Abram lived with 
 
 Shem 150 years; and could have from him a most exact account 
 of the creation, flood, &c. for Shem was one hundred years old 
 when the flood came; and had long conversed with Lamech, who 
 had conversed with Adam 5(i years. Bp. ll'ilson. 
 
 26. — Abram, Nahor, and Haran.] Abram seems to have been 
 the youngest: but is named first because of his preeminence. 
 Bp. Patrick. See note on chap. v. 32. 
 
 28. And Haran died btfore his fatha] He was the first son, 
 who in the natural way died before his father. Bp. ff ilson. 
 
 Ur of the Chaldees.] That part of Mesopotamia, which 
 
 was next to Ass\Tia, is called " the land of the Chaldees." For 
 Ur was in Mesopotamia. St. Stephen therefore makes Mesopo- 
 tamia and the land of the Chaldees the same. Acts vii. 2, 4. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 29. — Iscah.] This is supposed to be anotlier name of Sarai, 
 whom Abram married : his eldest brother's daughter, and sister 
 to Lot Haran had three children: Lot, Milcjih whom Nahor 
 married, and Sarai whom Abram married. That is, on the 
 death of Haran, liis two siurviving brothers married lus two
 
 Terah goeth to Haran. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 God calleth Abram. 
 
 Before 31 And Tcrali took Abram his son, and 
 
 Siuugtl Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sa- 
 
 rai his daughter in hiw, his son Abrani's 
 
 wife ; and they went forth with them from 
 
 » Nell. 9. 7. " Ur of the tliahiees, to go into the hind of 
 
 Act'^-.V' Canaan ; and they came unto Haran, and 
 
 dwelt there. 
 
 3i2 And tlic days of Terah were two 
 >92'- hundred and live "years : and Terah died 
 in Haran. 
 
 CHAP. xn. 
 
 1 God calleth Abram, itnd Uesscth him with a promise of 
 Christ. 4 He dejHirlelh nilh Lot from Haran. 6 He 
 joiirnei/cth through Canaan, 7 tvhich is promised him 
 in a lision. 10 He is driven by a famine into Egypt- 
 1 1 Fear niaketh him feign his wife to be his si.sier. 
 It Pharaoh, hating taken her from him, by plagues is 
 rompelled to restore her. 
 
 daughters. Sarai perhaps had one name before they came out of 
 Chaldea, and the other atter. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. — i/„-y nent forth — from Urofthc Chaldecs,'] Terah removed 
 from his own country with Abram, who had received a conunand 
 from God to come out of it, (ien. xii. 1 ; xv. 7; Acts vii. ,'}. It 
 may be conehule<l from this obedience to die Divine tlirectiou, 
 that Terah, who is supposed to have been an idolater, perlwps an 
 itlolatrous priest, wjls become a worshipper of tlie true God. lips. 
 Kidder and Patrick. 
 
 and they came unto Haran,"^ Or Cliarran, as St. Stephen 
 
 calls it ; a place in Mesopotamia. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and dwell there.'\ He intended to jfo to Canaan, and not 
 
 to settle here : but being arrested by sickness, could proceed iu> 
 further. On his death, Abram went forward into Canaan. Bps. 
 J'atrick and Kidder. 
 
 3-2. And the days of Terah tverc two hundred and fve years :'\ 
 By this time a strikinpf change had been experienced in the dura- 
 ti(m of lumian life. Adam lived }).J0 years. Mis posterity before 
 tlie flootl ajjpcar to have jjassed, upon an average, nearly as large 
 a portion of tinu-, and some individuals even a longer period, 
 \ipon earth. N().di lived to the age of <).")0 years. His son .Slieni 
 fell far short of the age of man before the AimhI : and in the days 
 of Peleg, man appciu-s to have attained not to one half i(f the 
 origin.il mejisure of his cxi.stence. In succeeding generations a 
 rapid dimiiuition continued to take ])lace ; until at length, by the 
 time when the children of Israel came out of l'^gy))t, tlie conti- 
 nuance of the jiilgriinage of man iijion earth was reduced nearly 
 within its present si>an. 
 
 The cause of this cliaiige is kiiowni to God, hut immaterial to 
 us. Our concern is to draw from the fact the moral and religious 
 instruction, which it is so well adapted to suggest, that our lives 
 are in the hand of Go<l, and depend for their continuance, mo- 
 ment alter moment, solely on His will. Oisbornc. 
 
 Chai>. XII. One great design of Moses being to lead the Jews 
 to iindersUind the genealogy of .\brahain, their noble ancestor, 
 he hastens to it: relating other matters briefly, but spending 
 many pages about him. For instance, he comprises the history 
 of the world from the cre.-ition to the flood, containing Ki.ili years, 
 in six chapters : but bestows on the history of Abraham nineteen 
 chapters, though it contains no more time than 17.5 years. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 With this pcriml the Mo.saical history projierly commences. 
 All the preceding part of Genesis is only introductory to the birth 
 of Abraham, the illustrious ancestor of the Israelites, and of the 
 Jews; the father of the faithful, and by the highest of all titles, 
 " the friend of Ciod," and " a blessing" to the world, as being 
 the privileged ancestor of Christ, "in whom all the nations of the 
 earth are blessed." Dr. Hales. 
 
 VtT. 1. Now the Lord had said unto Abram,~\ Before he came 
 
 N 
 
 0\V the 'Lord had said unto Abram, f,^'^\\^ 
 Get thee out of thy country, and from 
 
 19'.>1. 
 
 "^1 
 
 18. 
 
 AcU Z. 25. 
 
 Gal. 3. 8. 
 
 tin l^iiidred, and from tiiy father's house, "Acts 7.3, 
 uiito a hiiid that 1 will sliew thee : 
 
 '2 And I will make of thee a great na- 
 tion, and I will bless thee, and make thy * 
 name great; and thou slialt be a blessing: 
 
 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, 
 
 and curse him that curseth thee: *" and " Cbap. is. 
 in thee shall all families of the earth be "*' ^^ 
 blessed. 
 
 4 So Abram departed, as the Loud had 
 spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: 
 and Abram xcas seventy and five years old 1921 
 when he departed out of Haran. 
 
 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and 
 Lot his brother's son, and all their substance 
 
 to Haran, and while he lived in Ur of the Chaldees. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 unto a land2 Which was 400 miles off. The father of 
 
 the faithful w;us sent out of his own country, to intimate to his 
 children, that they are but sojourners and pilgrims here, and 
 therefore must wean their affections from tliis present world. 
 Bp. H'il.wn. 
 
 that I will shew thee ;] This was probably done by some 
 
 appearance of the Shechinali going before him; as his posterity 
 were afterwards conducted to the .same country. Bibliolh. Bibl. 
 
 It argued, as the Apostle observes, great faith in God, that he ,. 
 would follow Him, " not knowing whither" he should be led, |, 
 Heb. xi. 8. Bp. Patrick. \ 
 
 3. — in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.'] " In thee," 
 that is, in thy Seed, chap. xxii. 18. " And tliat Seed is Clu-ist," j. 
 Gal. iii. l(i; Acts iii. 25. Bp. Kidder. TJ, 
 
 It seems pliun from hence, tliat Abram, as our I<ord observes, f 
 John viii. 56, " saw His day, and was glad ;" that is, he saw, and 
 it was made known to him, that tlie Messiali was to come out of 
 his family. 
 
 It is plain also that in this and the foregoing verse are two dis- 
 tinct covenants or blessings : the first temporal, which respects ; 
 only Abram and his family ; the second spiritual, which has re- 
 gard to Christ and the whole world. And all future prophecies 
 have a regard to these two covenants. Ishmael, and l''s;ui, and 
 all the family of ,\brani, had a right to the blessings of the first; 
 and all the world to the blessings of tlie second. The Jews in- 
 dee<l expect, by virtue of the last, to bear rule over the whole 
 world ; but surely this would be no great blessing to the rest of 
 the nations of the world, whatever it might be to them. There- 
 fore, .saith .St. I'aul, with respect to this promise. Gal. iii. 28, 
 " There is neither Jew nor Greek, for ye are all one in Christ 
 Jesus," tlie promised Seetl, in which all the families of the eai-th 
 were to be liajipj'. 
 
 The terrible judgment of God upon the wicked world by the 
 flood was now almost forgotten, and the greatest part of the 
 world fallen into idolatry ; when CJckI, to preserve all the well- 
 disposed from being infected, apiieared to Abram, and by him 
 kept up and preserved the knowledge of the true God in his 
 family and posterity. From this time a jiarticular providence 
 attende<l the people of Israel, his posterity by his sons Isiuic and 
 .lacoli : correcting, trying, punishing, redeeming them out of the 
 hands of their enemies, until the promised Seed came. Bp. IVihon. 
 4. So Abram departed, as the Ijml had .■spoken &.C.] In the 
 foregoing benediction of Abram, we observe the special privileges 
 and advant.'ige of the .second, or Christian, covenant. In this no- 
 ble pattern of his ready obedience, we may as plainly see the ob- 
 ligations, which every Christian takes iijion him, when he enters 
 into this covenant of grace. Abram " (Icpaited," and forsook all, 
 to follow his Lord and Master: so must we. lie believed, "as
 
 He sojour)i€lh in Egypt. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 He feignetk his uife to be his sister, 
 
 Before that they had gathered, and the souls tliat 
 *^"92i.^^ they had gotten in Haran ; and they went 
 forth to go into the land of Canaan ; and 
 into the land of Canaan they came. 
 
 6 % And Abrain passed through the 
 land unto the place of Sichem, unto the 
 plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was 
 then in the land. 
 
 7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, 
 « Chap. 13. and said, " Unto thy seed will I give this 
 ^chap. 13. ^^"^- ^"^ th^'"® builded he an ''altar unto 
 4. the Lord, who appeared unto him. 
 
 8 And he removed from thence unto a 
 mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitch- 
 ed his tent, havi?ig Beth-el on the west, 
 and Hai on the east : and there he builded 
 an altar unto the Lord, and called upon 
 the name of the Lord. 
 
 t Heb. 9 And Abram journeyed, t going on 
 
 jw'^;::;^;:^ still toward the south. ^ . . ^ 
 
 10 ^ And there was a famme m the 
 
 the Lord had spoken unto him :" so must we believe " all the ar- 
 ticles of our Christian faith." " He went forth to go, &c." he 
 actually set about and performed what he was commanded and 
 undertook to do: so must we fulfil our solemn engagement of 
 " keeping God's holy wiU and conunandments, and walking in 
 the same all the days of our life," never stopping, much less turn- 
 ing back again to those things we have renounced, till we arrive, 
 as he did, in Canaan, the promised land, and lot of our inherit- 
 ance. Wogan. 
 
 Here begin the ■I'SO years, mentioned Exod. xii. 40, 41 ; GaL 
 iii. 17. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 5. — arul the souls that they had gotten] That is, all the slaves 
 bom in their house, or bougnt with their money. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Tliey were " the little ones of their houshold," which formed 
 part of the riches of the primitive patriarchal times. See Job xxi. 
 11; and compare Gen. xiv. 14. Dr. Hales. 
 
 the land of Canaan ;] It lies between the Mediterranean 
 
 sea and the mountains of Arabia, and extends from Egypt to 
 Phenicia. It is bounded to the east by the mountains of Arabia; 
 to the south by the wilderness of Paran, Idumea, and Egypt; 
 to the west by the Mediterranean, called in Hebrew the Great 
 sea; and to the north by the mountains of Libanus. Its length 
 from the city of Dan, since called Cesarea Philippi, which stands 
 at the foot of these mountains, to Beer-sheba, is about 70 leagues, 
 or 210 miles; and its breadth from the Mediterranean sea to the 
 eastern border, in some places iiO leagues or 90 miles. This 
 country, though small, lying in tlie very middle of the then 
 known world, was chosen by God wherein to work the redemp- 
 tion of mankind. It w;is first called the land of Canaan from 
 Canaan, the son of Ham, whose posterity possessed it: — after- 
 wards Palestine, from the jieople, whom tlie Hebrews called Phi- 
 listines, and the Greeks and Romans corruptly Palestines; who 
 inhabited the sea coasts, and were first known to them : — the 
 Land of Promise, from God's promise to Abram of giving it 
 to him: — the Land of Israel, from the Israelites, who afterwards 
 possessed it: — the Land of Judah, or Judea, from the tribe of 
 Judah, the most considerable of the twelve tribes, and the only 
 one that remained after the captivity : — and lastly, the Holy 
 1 .and, from being the scene of the birth, miracles, death, and re- 
 surrection cf our Lord Jesus Christ. Slackhmise, Bp. Wilson. 
 
 6. — unto the place of Sichem r\ That is, the place where Si- 
 -liem, Sechem, or Sychar, afterwards wjis. It was a to%vn of 
 Samaria, in the borders of Ephraim. Stackhouse. 
 
 unto thr plain of Morch.'\ Or, oak of Moreh. It was under 
 
 this oak, that Jacob md the strange gods, (chap. xxxv. 4;) and 
 Vol. I, 
 
 land: and Abram. went down into Egypt ^ „"■„"/". j 
 to sojourn there ; for the famine "was griev- 1921. 
 ous in the land. 
 
 11 And it came to pass, when he was 
 come near to enter into Egypt, that he said 
 unto Sarai his wife. Behold now, I know 
 that thou art a fair woman to look upon : 
 
 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when 
 the Egyptians shall see thee, that they 
 shall say, Tliis is his wife : and they will 
 kill me, but they will save thee alive. 
 
 13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister : 
 that it may be well with me for thy sake ; 
 and my soul shall live because of thee. 
 
 14 % And it came to pass, that, when about laio. 
 Abram was come into Eg}7)t, the Eg}^!- 
 
 tians beheld the woman that she "was very 
 fair. 
 
 15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, 
 and commended her before Pharaoh : and 
 the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 
 
 that Rebekah's nurse was buried, (ver. 8.) It was here Joshua 
 set up a great stone, (Josh, xxi v. 26;) and here Abimelech was 
 made king, (Judg. ix. 6;) and here the sons of the old Prophet 
 found the man of God, (1 Kings xiii. 14.) Bp. Wilson. 
 
 the Canaanite nas t/ien in the land.'] "This may relate, not 
 
 to the whole countrj', but to the part of it where Sichem was. 
 By the Canaanite is meant, not all the posterity of Canaan, or all 
 the Canaanitish tribes, but only one particular tribe of them. 
 Biblioth. Bibl. The Canaanite tribe, ds distinguished from the rest; 
 the Hivites, Perizzites, &c. Dr. Hales. See note on chap. xiii. 7- 
 
 7. And the Lord appeared unto Abram,'] Abram had entirely 
 resigned himself to the disposal of Heaven, not knowing whither 
 he was to go. WTien he was come into Canaan, his faith wa-s re- 
 warded with a farther revelation of God's will, and he was told that 
 this was the land, given to him and to his seed. Bp. Warburton. 
 
 8. — unto a mountain] Mount Ephraim, which lay between 
 Beth-el, a town not far from Jerusalem, northwards, and Hai, 
 which is situated toward the west of Beth-el. Dr. Wells. 
 
 Beth-el,] The name of a place called Luz; and after 
 
 this Belh-cl, which signifies the House of God, chap, xxviii. 19. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 pitched his lent,] He did not build an house, being but a 
 
 sojourner in a strange land, Heb. xi. 9. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 13. Say, I pray tfiee, thou art mi/ sister:] He explains in what 
 sense she was so, chap. xx. 12. Bp. Patrick. In those early ages 
 of the world, the rules about marrying with their kindre<l were 
 not so strict, neither was there any reason that they should be. 
 The prohibited degrees came not to be minutely laid down, till 
 the Levitical law commencetl; which has been the standard ever 
 since to those that admit Divine Revelation. Dr. Waterland. 
 
 If this conduct of Abram was weakness and defect in faith, 
 (as who is perfect and sinneth not.") let it teach us to fear for 
 ourselves, to " watch and to pray, lest we also enter into tcmpta- 
 tion. " And if at any time, through frailty of the flesh, we hap- 
 pen to fali, let it also be an encouragement to us, that we shall 
 not perhaps be cast away; that God is gracious, and may over- 
 look our infirmities. But be it considered likewise, that, at this 
 time, Abram was, as it were, in the state of natural religion : 
 he was not yet circumcised, nor yet professedly entered into 
 covenant with God, as we are. His fall therefore, if it was a. 
 fail, is no excuse for ours, when in any article of danger wc shall 
 happen to betray an unworthy fear, or use unlawful means for 
 our escape. Wosan. 
 
 1 5. — Pliaraoh] This name was very ancient, and continued to 
 be the name of all the kings of Egj-pt till the captivity of Babylon, 
 
 F ■
 
 Sarui is restored to At/ram. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Abram and Lot return out of Egypt, 
 
 Before \Q And hc entreated Abram well for 
 ^UVs^ her sake : and he had sheep, and oxen, 
 and he asses, and nienservants, and maid- 
 servants, and she asses, and camels. 
 
 17 And tlie Lord plagued Pharaoh and 
 his house with great plagues because of 
 JSarai Abram's wife. 
 
 18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, 
 WTiat is this t/tat thou hast done unto me? 
 why didst thou not tell me that she xoas 
 
 thv wife ? 
 
 '19 Why saidst thou. She is my sister? 
 so I might have taken her to me to wife : 
 now therefore behokl thy wife, take fier, 
 and go thy way. 
 
 'JO Ami Pharaoh commanded his men 
 concerning him : and they sent him away, 
 and his wife, and all that he had. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 1 Ahram and Lot return out of Eun/pl- 7 By lUsagrce- 
 ment they pari a.siiiidrr. 10 Lul iiodh to nicked So- 
 dom. l\ God reneivelh the promi.if to Abram. \& He 
 removeth to Hebron, and there buildeth an altar. 
 
 perliiip<i lonaer : as Ptolemy w.is tlicir name after the times of 
 Alexander; and Cesjir Augustus the names of the llonuin cm- 
 perours; and Candaee the name of the queens of Ethiopia. I'ha- 
 raoh is supposed to mean Father of the cotintri/. lip. Patrick. 
 
 Tlie name signified " the king," in the Egj7)tian tongue. Dr. 
 Hates. 
 
 If). And he entreated Ahram trcll fiC."] The valuable ac(|uisi- 
 tions, made by Abriun in F.gypt, were not a consideration paid 
 by Pharaoh, fjr permission to esj)ouse one that was tiken for 
 Abram's sister : for a brother appears not to have had such a 
 right: but they are to be understood as a gift of generosity, like 
 that made to Laban^ mentione<l in Gen. xxiv. Harmer. 
 
 sheep, and oxen,'] The word, rendered " sheep," includes 
 
 both the goat kind ana the sheep kind. It denotes also a. jlock 
 of either kind ; as tiie word, rendered " oxen," has also an 
 ertendetl signification, and implies sometimes a herd of cattle. 
 Script, iilust. 
 
 17. — his house'] Pharaoh's courtiers partake of the punish- 
 ment, because they were partners in the intended sin. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 1 9- t^hi/ saidst thou, She is my sister ?] Notwithstanding the 
 piety and worth of Abram, it must be acknowledged, that in this 
 mstance of denying his wife Sarai, he was guilty of a manifest 
 dissimulation. This may be said in extenuation of his fault, that 
 it proceetled from a weakness of faith, and a prevalency of fear, 
 •which arc incident to the best of men. He consideretl himself" 
 as a stranger, among a licentious sort of people, and exposed to 
 the power of an arbitniry- government; and from a principle of 
 ■worldly caution, both to preserve his own life, and his wife's 
 virtue, lie concluded, that this would be the best expedient: 
 but much more wisely had he done, had he committed the whole 
 matter to God's man;igcment, in reliance on His promises, and in 
 confidence of His protection. " The most celebratetl saints of 
 God," says St. Austin, " are not secure from sinning: and from 
 their faults there is no arguing to the prejudice of the Book, in 
 which as we find them recorded as matter of history, so we find 
 them condemne<l as matter of morality. Gotl has informed us 
 of what passetl, but not authorized it; .-md set the example before 
 va, not for a pattern, but for a warning." Stackhoi4se. 
 
 Chap. Xni. vcr. 1. — into the south.'] Not southward; for 
 Canaaa -was north of £gypt ; but into the southern part of Ca- 
 
 AND Abram went up out of Egj-pt, he, f.,^',^,''!^ 
 and his wife, and all that he had, and about 1918. 
 Lot with him, into the south. 
 
 2 And Abram nas very rich in cattle, in 
 silver, and in gold. 
 
 3 And he went on his journeys from the 
 south even to Beth-el, unto the place w here 
 his tent had been at the beginning, be- 
 tween Beth-el and Hai ; 
 
 4 Unto the 'place of the altar, which *cbH>. 12. 
 he had made there at the first : and there ^' 
 Abram called on the name of the Loud. 
 
 5 % And Lot also, which went with A- 
 bram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 
 
 6 And the land was not able to bear 
 them, that they might dwell together: for 
 their substance was great, so that they 
 could not dwell together. 
 
 7 And there was a strife between the 
 hcrdmen of Abram's cattle and the herd- 
 men of Lot's cattle : and the Canaanite 
 and the Perizzite dwelled then in the 
 land. 
 
 naan. Tliis \y.\rt of die land is called the south. Josh. x. 40; and 
 the south country. Josh. xi. 1(). Bp. Kidder. 
 
 2. — Abram was very rich &C.3 His riches being increased, 
 since he went into Egj-pt, by the bounty of Pharaoh. Dr. Wells. 
 Al>ram li\ed with aJl the elegance of a modem Arab emir, or 
 prince; or at least with no other abatement th.-.n what :u-ose from 
 his great antiquity. He was very rich in silver and in gold, as 
 well as in cattle; and consequently he was able to procure the 
 iuicicnt elegancies of his way of life, as well as the modern Arab 
 princes are theirs. 
 
 Authors have sufficiently explained how these acquisitions 
 might be made. Dr. Russell tells us, that the people of A- 
 leppo are sujiplied with the greater part of their butter, their 
 cheese, and their cattle for slaughter, by the Arabs, Rushwrns, 
 or Turcomans, who travel about the country with their flocks 
 and their herds, as the Patriarchs did of old. The Patriarchs 
 doubtless supplied the ancient cities of Canaan in like manner 
 with these things. Haraor expressly speaks of their trading with 
 his people. Gen. xxxiv. 21. 
 
 At the same time that the Arabs receive money for their com- 
 modities, their expenses are very small, so that their princes are 
 rich in silver and gold as well as in cattle, and amass large quan- 
 tities of these precious metals. Abram's expenses, like those of 
 the Arabs, by no means equalled his profits : he was therefore 
 continually making acquisitions of " money current with the mer- 
 chant," Gen. xxiii. I6, or of such precious commodities as were 
 easy of carriage, and suited to his way of life. And more espe- 
 cially might he do this in Egypt, where, as being a rich country, 
 his exchanging his cattle might be more advantageous to liim than 
 usual. For which reason perhaps, his being rich in silver and gold 
 is mentioned immecUately after his return from thence. Harmer. 
 
 C. — the land was not able to bear them,] There was not sufficient 
 pasturage for them both in that part of the country. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — and the Canaanite and ttie Perizzite dwelled then in the land.'} 
 This part of the country was inhabited by the people peculiarly 
 called Can.ianites, and by the Perizzites, perhaps a branch of the 
 family of the Canaanites, a very rugge<l and barbarous nation, 
 (chap. XV. 20,) among whom contention would have been danger- 
 ous, at least very scandalous. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The same observation concerning the Canaanite occurs in chap, 
 xii. 6. It does not foUow, that the Canaanites had been expc led 
 when this clause was written: it may mean no more, than that
 
 and part asunder. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 God rene-iietli the promise to Ahram. 
 
 Before 8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there 
 
 S^uuslI be no strife, I pray thee, between me and 
 
 thee, and between my herdmen and thy 
 
 t Heb. herdmen ; for we be t brethren. 
 
 ^cn^" 9 Is not the whole land before thee? 
 
 separate thyself, I pray thee, from me : if 
 
 thou 'wilt take the left hand, then I will go 
 
 to the right ; or if thou depart to the right 
 
 band, then I will go to the left. 
 
 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and be- 
 held all the plain of Jordan, that it arw well 
 watered every where, before the Lord de- 
 stroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the 
 garden of the Lord, like the land of Eg}'pt, 
 as thou comest unto Zoar. 
 
 1 1 Then Lot chose him all the plain of 
 Jordan ; and Lot journeyed east : and 
 
 the Canaanites were cvai at l/iat time in the land, which God had 
 promised to give to the seed of Abram. This observation, in the 
 ibrmer place, may have been intended to illustrate the faith of 
 Abraiii, who did not hesitate to obey the command of God, by 
 sojourning in this strange land, though even then inliabited by a 
 powerful nation, totally unconnected with, if not averse to, hixn ; 
 a circumstance intimated by Abram's remonsti-ance to Lot, to 
 avoid any enniity between them, " because they were brethren :" 
 as if he had said. It would be extreme imprudence in us, who are 
 brethren, who have no connexion or friendship but with each 
 other, to allow any dissension to ai-ise between us, sun-ounded as 
 we ai'e by strangers, indifferent or even averse to us, who might 
 rejoice at our quarrel, and take advantage of it to our common 
 mischief: '■ for the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled" even 
 " then in the land." Another reason may be given why Moses 
 noticed the circumstance of the Canaanite and the Perizzite hav- 
 ing been then in the land, which, he immediatel}' after the first 
 notice of it, declares, that God promised to the seed of Abram. 
 The Israelites might thus be most clearly satisfied, that no change 
 had taken place in the purpose of God to give them this land ; 
 when they were reminded, that at tlie very time this purpose was 
 declared, the very same nation possessed the country, who now 
 occupied it. Dr. Graves. 
 
 8. And Abram said unto Lot,'] The best, the wisest men, and 
 those of greatest experience in the world, are most inclined to 
 peace, and most yielding in order to it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 we be brethren.] Near kinsmen, whom the Hebrews call 
 
 brethren. He was uncle to Lot. He was also Lofs brother, 
 having married Sarai, sister to Lot. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Q. Is not the whole land before thee ?] The settlements of the 
 primitive families at first seem to have been scattered and detached 
 from each other, according to local convenience ; and in Abram's 
 days there were considerable tracts of unappropriated land in 
 Canaan, on which he and Lot freely grazed their cattle, without 
 hindrance or molestation. That country was not fully peopled 
 till the departure of tlie Israelites from Egypt. Dr. Hales. 
 
 10. — beheld all the plain of Jordan^ A fruitful and pleasant 
 country, well watered by the streams of Jordan ; which in many 
 windings and turnings ran through it, and at some times over- 
 flowed it, and so rendered it very rich. Therefore Moses com- 
 pares this plain to the garden of Eden, a.s most understand the 
 words, " the garden of the Lord," which was well watered by a 
 river running through it ; and to the land of Eg}'pt, which is 
 enriched by the overflowing of the Nile, as this was by the over- 
 flowing of Jordan. Bp. Patrick. The description, that is given 
 us of some well-waterod places in the East of late times, may serve 
 to enliven our apprehensions of tlie fruitfulness and the beauty 
 of the plain, where Sodom and Gomorrah stood, before God de- 
 itroyed those cities. Manner. 
 
 — Jordan,] This river is of great note in the Sacred Writ- 
 
 they separated themselves the one from (.„'^°™.j 
 the other. about 191 7. 
 
 12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, 
 and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, 
 and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 
 
 13 But the men of Sodom tiere wicked 
 and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. 
 
 14 ^ And the Lord said unto Abram, 
 after that Lot was separated from him, Lift 
 up now thine eyes, and look from the place 
 where thou art noii;hward, and southward, 
 and eastward, and westward : 
 
 15 For aU the land which thou seest," to ^<^p- '2. 
 thee will I give it, and to thy seed for bcut.34.4." 
 ever. 
 
 IG And I will make thy seed as the dust 
 of the earth : so that if a man can number 
 
 ings. It is said to derive its name from Jor a spring, and Dan 
 a small town near its source ; or from the two rivulets, Jor and 
 Dan : perhaps it was so called from Jarad, to descend, by reason 
 of the fall and rapid course of the river. 
 
 From its source, near Cesai'ea Philippi, it runs through a space 
 of about fifty leagues, till it discharges itself into the Dead sea or 
 the lake Asphaltites, where it is lost. Five or six leagues from its 
 spring, it forms the lake Semechon. Thence it enters, and passes 
 through, the lake of Tiberias. It overflows its banks about the 
 time of barley harvest, or the feast of the Passover. 
 
 We know from Scripture what miracles were performed in the 
 river Jordan : how it was divided to leave a free passage for the 
 Hebrews under the conduc-t of Joshua ; how EUjah and Elisha 
 walked over its waters ; how Elisha made the ax head of iron, 
 which fell into it, swim ; how when the Saviour of the world 
 was baptized in the same river, the heavens opened and the Holy 
 Spirit descended upon Him. Calmet. 
 
 as thou comest unto Zoar.] These words are not to be re- 
 ferred to " the land of Egj^pt," immediately foregoing, from which 
 Zoar was at a great distance ; but to those words in the beginning, 
 " a plain well watered every where ;" even to the utmost skirts of 
 it, which was Zoar. Such transpositions are not uncommon in 
 Scripture: see Josh. xxiv. 26; Mark xi. 13, 14; xiv. 3, 4. Zoar 
 was so called afterwards, chap. xix. 2i.'. Before tliat it was called 
 Bela, chap. xiv. 2. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 12. — in the land of' Canaan,] In the part more strictly so 
 called : if " the land of Canaan" be taken largely, the plain of 
 Jordan was a part of it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 in the cities] In one of the cities. See chap. A-iii. 4. 
 
 toward Sodotn.] That is, he removed his tent from place 
 
 to place, till he came to Sodom, where he fixed. See chap, si v. 12. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 13. — the men of Sodom were tricked &c.] Their sins were 
 grown ripe for punishment ; having been brought, as it were, 
 " before the Lord," and sentenced at His tribunal to the judgment 
 which shortly after befell them. Bp. Patrick. Or, they were very 
 great sinners : see chap. x. 9. 
 
 We may here take notice of what is but too common in the 
 world ; the foil}- and danger of consulting our senses only in the 
 choice of a way of life. Lot made choice of the fruitful plain of 
 Jordan ; not considering the danger of being in the neighbour- 
 hood of a most wicked people. The consequence of this unad- 
 vised choice was, he lost all he had ; he lost his wife ; and he had 
 like to have lost his life, had not Abraham prevailed with Go<l for 
 his deliverance. This choice was made about twenty years before 
 Sodom was destroyed. Bp. Wilton. 
 
 15. f(n- ever.] It doth not here signify strictly time without 
 
 end, but till the end of the world. Bp. Patrick. The promise 
 however was made on condition of their obedience. Compare 
 Deut. iv. 25, 26 ; Judg. ii. 20, 21. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 F2
 
 The battle offvur kings against Jive. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Lot is taken prisoner. 
 
 Before the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed 
 
 CIIKIST , , u 1 
 
 »bouiioi7. also be numbered. 
 
 17 Arise, walk through the land in the 
 length of it and in the breadth of it ; for 
 1 will give it unto thee. 
 
 18 Then Abram removed his tent, and 
 f H»b. came and dwelt in the t plain of Mamre, 
 
 which is in Hebron, and built there an altar 
 unto tlie Lord. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 pinint. 
 
 I Tlic battle of four kings against _/iie. 
 prisoner. 14 Abram rcscueth him. 
 
 1 1 Lot is taken 
 18 Mekhizedck 
 blessetk Abram. 20 Abram giveth him tithe. 22 The 
 rest ofthesjKiil, his partners having had their portions, 
 he restoreth to the king of Sodom. 
 
 A' 
 
 ND it came to pass in the days of 
 Amraphel king of 8hinar, Arioch 
 king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of E- 
 1am, and Tidal king of nations ; 
 
 2 That these made war with Bera king of 
 Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, 
 Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king 
 of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which 
 is Zoar. 
 
 3 All these were joined together in the 
 vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. 
 
 4 Twelve years they served Chedorlao- 
 mer, and in the thirteenth year they re- 
 belled. 
 
 about 1913. 5 And in the fourteenth year came Che- 
 dorlaomer, and the kings that xvere with 
 
 IS. Then Abram removed his tenl,'] See chap. xii. 8 ; xiii. 3, 12. 
 Abram dwelt in tents througli the whole year : Isaac and Jacob 
 followed his exanijile: and the Rechabites li\'ed in the same man- 
 ner in Jcrcmiali's time, and for several ages before. Many inha- 
 bitants of that country do the same at this day. Mons'. d'Arvieux, 
 who visited the Arabs of mount Carmel by order of Louis XIV. 
 informs us, tliat they have no other places to dwell in but tents ; 
 which are set up in such a manner, as that the rain slides off 
 without penetrating them. Sandys goes further, and says of these 
 Arabs, that they lived in tents, according to the ancient custom of 
 that nation, even during the winter, although possessed of sundry 
 convenient liouses. The true way of accounting for this fact is, 
 that that discipline might appear severe and dangerous to English- 
 men, which was safe to the Patriarchs and Rechabites, who were 
 usetl to this way of life ; and which is accordingly practised by 
 many at this day, even in the northern parts of Palestine. Harmer. 
 
 in the plain of Mamre.'^ Or, bi/ the oak of Mamre. So 
 
 called firom Mamre, the brother of Eshcol and Aner, who were 
 confederate with Abram, chap. xiv. 24. From him Hebron was 
 tailed Mamre, chap, xxiii. 19. Dps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 in Hebronf] Or rather, by or near Hebron : which was 
 
 one of the most .incient cities in the world. It was situated upon 
 an eminence, about twenty miles south of Jerusalem, and about 
 twenty miles north of Beer-sheba. Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac 
 were buried near Hebron, in the cave of Machpelah. Calmet. 
 
 and built there an altar unto the Lord.'] This is the first 
 
 thing, which we always find him doing, after he had pitched his 
 tent Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 A leading reason, we may presume, which influenced Abram 
 to settle at Hebron, was its vicinity to Salem, and to the publick 
 worship of the true God there. For the religion of Abram and 
 
 him, and smote the Kephaims in Ashteroth Christ 
 Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the about 1913. 
 Emims in |1 Shaveh Kiriathaim, n Or, 
 
 6 And the Horites in their mount Seir, 'Ji^J'JZiv{ 
 unto II El-paran, which is by the wilder- n or, 
 
 neSS. "pt^an'' "^ 
 
 7 And they returned, and came to En- 
 mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all 
 the country of the Anialekites, and also 
 the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezon- 
 tamar. 
 
 8 And there went out the king of So- 
 dom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the 
 king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, 
 and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) 
 and they joined battle with them in the 
 vale of Siddim ; 
 
 9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, 
 and with Tidal king of nations, and Amra- 
 phel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of 
 Ellasar ; four kings with five. 
 
 10 And the vale of Siddim was full of 
 .slimepits ; and the kings of Sodom and 
 Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they 
 that remained fled to the mountain. 
 
 1 1 And they took all the goods of Sodom 
 and Gomorrah, and aU their victuals, and 
 
 went their way. i 
 
 12 And they took Lot, Abram's bro- j 
 ther's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his 
 
 goods, and departed. 
 
 13 ^ And there came one that had escap- 
 
 Melchizedek was evidently the same, from their joint use of the 
 same epithets or attributes of the Deity, which were introduced 
 or designetl to counteract the Zabian idolatry, which had crept 
 from Chaldea, before Abram's days, into tlie northern parts of 
 Palestine. Dr. Hales. 
 
 Chap. XIV. ver. 1. — Amraphel king of Shinar,'] Commonly 
 understood to be king of Babylon. But it is probable, either 
 tliat he was some small prince in the country of Shinar, that is, 
 Assyria ; or that, if he was king of Babylon, that monarchy was 
 not very great in Abram's days. The other names probably be- 
 long to some particuliur places, like Sodom and Gomorrah, over 
 which Arioch and Chedorlaomer reigned, who were such kings as 
 those in Canaan when Joshua conquered it ; or else commanders 
 of colonies, which they had led out of Assyria and Persia; and 
 settling thereabouts, endeavoured to enlarge their plantations : as 
 the manner was in those and in succeeding times, wlien the cap- 
 tains of a troop, and leaders of small boclies of men, were called 
 princes or kings. Bv. Patrick. 
 
 king of nations ,•] That is, of a place, the inhabitants of ' 
 
 which were of several nations and people met together. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Part of Galilee, being inhabited by a mixed people of divers 
 countries, was thence called " Galilee of the nations," or " Gen- , 
 tiles," Matt, i v. 15. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 S. — in the vale of Siddim,] A fruitful valley, change*! into '' 
 the salt sea or lake, since the overthrow of the five cities by fire ) 
 and brimstone from heaven. Bp. Patrick. • 
 
 5, 6, 7.] For the probable situation of these people, the reader is 
 referred to the map, adapted to the history of Abraham, &c. 
 
 1 0. — Jled to the mountain.'] This flying to hills and mountains 
 for safety is frequently alluded to in Scripture. Hanv.tr. 
 
 I
 
 Abram rescue th him. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Mekhizedek blesseth Abram. 
 
 ^f"™ ed, and told Abram the Hebrew ; for he 
 bout 1913. dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, 
 brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner : 
 and these ticere confederate with Abram. 
 
 14 And when Abram heard that his 
 ^' brother was taken captive, he || armed his 
 oT II trained servants, born in his own house, 
 
 istrucicd. three hundred and eighteen, and pursued 
 them unto Dan. 
 
 15 And he divided himself against 
 them, he and his servants, by night, and 
 smote them, and pursued them unto 
 Hobah, which is on the left hand of 
 Damascus. 
 
 16 And he brought back all the goods, 
 and also brought again his brother Lot, 
 and his goods, and the women also, and 
 the people. 
 
 17 IF And the king of Sodom went out 
 to meet him after his return from the 
 slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the 
 
 14. — Ids brolker'] His brother's son, or nephew. See chap, 
 iii. 8. 
 
 three hundred and eighicen,'] If we look to the strength 
 
 f an Arab emir, or prince, or the number of men he commands, 
 •e sliall find that, were Abram now alive, he would still be con- 
 idered as a prince among them, he having " three hundred and 
 ighteen" servants trained to bear arms : for this is much like the 
 :rength of those Arab emirs of Palestine, whom d'Arvieux vi- 
 ted. 
 
 Dr. Shaw says, several Arabian tribes can bring no more than 
 00 or 400 horses into the field ; so that it is no wonder that Abram 
 'as considered in ancient days as a considerable prince, at the 
 ead of a powerful clan ; had his alliance courted. Gen. xxi. 22 ; 
 lid made war in his own name. Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, his 
 onfederates, were probably neighbouring emirs at the head of 
 snsiderable clans also, with whom Abram was leagued, and who 
 lade up together a formidable power for those times. Ilarmer. 
 
 pursued them unto Dan.^ As far as the place where one 
 
 f the springs of Jordan breaks forth, called Dan, as Joseplius 
 ilates, where he speaks of this history. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 .'). — he and his servants, by night, &c.] The manner, in 
 hich the Arabs make war and pillage the caravans, is by kecp- 
 ig at the side of them, or following them in the rear, at a greater 
 r smaller distance according to their forces, whidi may be easily 
 one in Arabia, on account of its being one great plain : and in 
 he night they fall silently upon the camp, and carry off one part, 
 efore the rest are under arms. Abram probably fell upon the 
 amp of the four king.s, that had carried away Lot, in the same 
 ^rab manner; and thus, with unequal forces, accomplished his 
 lesign, and rescued Lot. It is to be remembered, that the combats 
 'f those days more resembled a fight among the mob, tlian the 
 loody and destructive wars of Europe. Sir J. Chardin. 
 
 18. — Melchizedek'\ He was a king and priest (for these two 
 iffices were in ancient times united in tlie same person) in that 
 ountry ; where men were not yet wholly fallen from the true re- 
 igion. Bp. Patrick. The word Mekhizedek signifies king of 
 
 ghleousness, Heb. vii. 2, or a just and righteous ki?ig. Pyle. 
 
 Salcm~\ The most ancient quarter of Jerusalem. Dr. Hales. 
 
 brmii'ht forth bread and wine ;] For the refreshment of 
 
 \bram and his followers after the fight. This he did as a king, 
 lot as a priest : it was an act, not of religion, but of hospitality, 
 n the character of a priest " he blessed him," as is added in the 
 ollowing verse. Bp. Patrick. For this was the office of a priest, 
 Vumb. vi. 23 ; and in this hc was a type of Jesus Christ, Acts 
 ii. 26. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 soiUs, 
 
 kings that were with him, at the valley of ^^"'^ _ 
 Shaveh, which is the 'king's dale. about 1913. 
 
 18 And "Mekhizedek king of Salem •sSam.is. 
 brought forth bread and wine : and he was J*- 
 
 the priest of the most high God. 
 
 19 And he blessed him, and said. Bless- 
 ed be Abram of the most high God, pos- 
 sessor of heaven and earth : 
 
 20 And blessed be the most high God, 
 which hath delivered thine enemies into 
 
 thy hand. And he gave him ' tithes of ''Hebr.7.4. 
 all. 
 
 21 And the king of Sodom said unto 
 Abram, Give me the t persons, and take fHeu 
 the goods to thyself. 
 
 22 And Abram said to the king of So- 
 dom, I have lift up mine hand unto the 
 Lord, the most high God, the possessor of 
 heaven and earth, 
 
 23 That I will not take from a thread 
 even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not 
 
 This Canaanitish prince was early considered as a type of Christ 
 in the Jewish Church ; " Thou art a priest for ever after the order 
 of Mekhizedek," Ps. ex. 4 ; who resembled Christ in the follow- 
 ing particulars. 1, In his name, Melchi-zedek, " king of right- 
 eousness." 2, In his city, Salem, " peace." .S, In his oflices of 
 king and priest of the most high God. And, 4, In the omission of 
 the names of his parents and genealogy, the time of his birth, and 
 length oi life ; exhibiting an indefinite reign and priesthood, ac- 
 cording to the Apostle's exposition, Heb. vii. 3. Dr. Hales. 
 
 20. And blessed be the tnost high God,~\ That is, praised be. Sec. 
 WTien God blesseth man. He bestows benefits upon him, Deut. 
 xxviii. 1, 2. Man blesseth God, when he praiseth Him for His be- 
 nefits. Compare Matt. xxvi. 26; with Luke xxii. 19. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 A;id he gave him tithes of all.'] It was a very ancient cus- 
 tom to offer to God, whose priest Mekhizedek was, the tenth part 
 of what they took in war. The custom prevailed among the 
 Greeks and Romans, and other nations, most distant from and un- 
 known to each other. What is recorded here, was long before 
 tlie law of tithes was given to the Israelites, and therefore could 
 not be from them. Jacob vowed after this the tithes to God. 
 And that narrative, together with this of Abram, shows plainly, 
 that the custom of paying tithes was of very high antiquity ; and 
 that not only of the spoils of war, but of their flock, com, and 
 other fruit, which Jacob vowed unto God, diap. xxviii. 22. Bps. 
 Patrick and Wilson. 
 
 21. And the kin^ of Sodom saidT} The defeat and the great de- 
 liverance of the king of Sodom and his people should have been 
 a warning to them, as it was in tlie intention of Providence, to 
 leave off their wicked way of living : but it was not, and they are 
 reserved for a much greater punishment. What we should be 
 convinced of by this i.s, that the abuse of Gotl's mercies and for- 
 bearance is visited upon particular persons, as well as upon na- 
 tions and cities. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 22. — / have lift up mine hand &c.] That is, srvorn; as the 
 phrase is use<l in many places, Exod vi. 8 ; Numb. xiv. 30, &C. 
 Bp. Patrick. See the note on Deut xxxii. 40. 
 
 23. — / nill not take from a thread &c.] That is, the meanest 
 thing. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Abram had learned the lesson of the Apostle, " to be con- 
 tented with his o^vn. " He was so fiir from the base desire of en- 
 riching himself with the king of Sodom's goods, that he utterly 
 refused them, when he might have taken them, .ind held them 
 without any injustice at all. He had, or might have had, a dou- 
 ble title to them. They were his by the law of arms and nations; 
 having won them in the field, and iji a just war : and they might
 
 God encourage th Abram, 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 and promiseth him a son. 
 
 Before ta^g anv thing that is thine, lest thou 
 
 •Unit 1913. shouldest say, 1 have made Abram nch : 
 
 24 Save only that which the young men 
 
 have eaten, and the portion of the men 
 
 which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and 
 
 Mamre ; let them take their portion. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 1 God eHCxmragelh Abram. 2 Ahrnm complaineth for 
 nant of an heir. 4 Gotl jtroniiselli him a son, and a 
 muUifiii/ing of his seed. 6 Abram is justified by failh. 
 7 Canaan is promised again, and con/irmed by a sign, 
 12 and a vision. 
 
 19IS. A FTER these things the word of the 
 .fx. Lord came unto Abram in a vision, 
 saving, Fear not, Abram : I am thy shield, 
 •Pi»i.i6.s. and thy exceeding ' great reward. 
 
 2 And Abram said, Lord God, what 
 wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, 
 and the steward of my house is this Eliezer 
 of Damascus ? 
 
 3 And Abram said. Behold, to me thou 
 hast given no seed : and, lo, one bom in 
 my house is mine heir. 
 
 4 And, behold, the word of the Lord 
 
 h&ve been his by ihe king's free donation, if he had been minded to 
 accept the offfr : " Give me the persons, take the goods to thyself." 
 But Abram would not take them : contenting himself with what 
 the Lord had blessed him with, he did not desire, neither would 
 he take " from a thread even to a shoelatchet," of any thing that 
 appertained to the king of Sodom. Bp. Sanderton. 
 
 Chap. XV. ver. 1. — the nord of the lyord came unto A/n-am'] 
 God revealed Himself to him more clearly. For this is the first 
 time we read of the Word of the Lord coming to him, and of his 
 having a vision, that is, being made a Prophet, and that in an 
 high degree, God revealing His mind to him not in a dream, but 
 in a vision ; when he was awake, but having his senses bound 
 up from their ordinary functions, whilst the heavenly influence 
 came upon his mind. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 A signal manifestation of Himself was now made to Abram 
 by the personal Word of the Lord; who announced Himself 
 as the same God, who had brought him out of Ur of the Chal- 
 dees, to give him the inheritance of the land of Canaan. Dr. 
 Hales. See note on Jer. i. i. 
 
 Fear not, Abram .-] He might be tempted to fear : he 
 
 ■was a sojourner in a strange land, separated from Lot, who with 
 the confederates was assaulted, and but lately rescued from cap- 
 tivity. God assures him therefore both of protection, and of great 
 blesifings besides. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 2. — Lord God, what nilt thou give me,] What good wll all 
 the riches in the world do me, if I have not a child to inherit 
 my estate ? Bp. Patrick. 
 
 We commonly have our eye upon those things which we de- 
 sire, and set so great a price upon them, that the overvaluing of 
 what we have in pursuit and expectation, makes us undervalue 
 ■what we have in ]X)s.session. An infinnity, to which the best of 
 the faithful, " the Father of the faithful" n' t excepted, are subject 
 It ■was the speech of no worse a man than .\bram, " Lord God, 
 ■what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless .>" As if he had 
 said, " All this great increase of cattle and abundance of treasure, 
 which Thou hast given nie, avail me nothing, so long as I have 
 never a child to leave it to." Bp. .Sanderson. 
 
 ;- Eliezfr of Dam/i.mis ?] His ancestors were of Damascus, 
 
 in Syria, thougbi he was bom in Abram's house. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 came unto him, saying, This shall not be chhTst 
 thine heir ; but he that shall come forth 1913. 
 out of thine own bowels shall be thine 
 heir. 
 
 5 And he brought him forth abroad, 
 and said, Look now toward hea\'en, and 
 tell the stars, if thou be able to number 
 them : and he said unto him, " So shall thy ' Rom. i. 
 seed be. 
 
 t) And he ' believed in the Lord ; and ' ^™-*-^ 
 he counted it to him for righteousness. jam. alas. 
 
 7 And he said unto him, I am the Lord 
 that brought thee out of Ur of the Chal- 
 dees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 
 
 8 And he said. Lord God, whereby shall 
 I know that I shall inherit it ? 
 
 9 And he said unto liim, Take me an 
 heifer of three years old, and a she goat of 
 tliree years old, and a ram of three years 
 old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 
 
 10 And he took unto him all these, and 
 divided them in the midst, and laid each 
 
 piece one against another : but the birds \ 
 
 divided he not. 
 
 11 And when the fowls came down 
 
 3. — one born in my house is mine heir."] If they have Di 
 children at all, the rich people of Barbary purchase young slaves 
 e<iucate them in their own tiiith, and sometimes adopt them £9 
 their own children. Relations among us would think this a crw 
 hardship ; would often pronounce it unjust : but the people c 
 the East seem always to have had these ideas. " One bom i 
 my house is mine heir," said Abram, speaking of a slave tin 
 he had, bom of some female slave ; though he had brother's chil 
 dren and grandchildren, il" not a brother, in Mesopotamia, G« 
 xxii. 20 — 24. Harmer. 
 
 6. And he believed in the Lord ;] He trusted in God, belin 
 ing that He would make His promises good, how unlikel 
 soever they seemed. " He against hope believed in God." B} 
 Kidder. 
 
 and he counted it to him for righteousness.~\ The Loi 
 
 esteemed it a most noble act and high expression of a pious oa 
 fidence in Him ; and thereon graciously o^wned him for a " righ 
 ecus" person, though he was not free from all sin ; but was guilt 
 of some actions that were not consistent with perfect " righteoui 
 ness." Bp. Patrick. This is that faith of Abraham, which is r 
 highly celebrated in the New Testament, Rom. iv. 3; Gal. iiL( 
 Jam. ii. 23; and which consisted in a firm belief or persuaaioi 
 that the Divine promises, both temporal and spiritual, would I 
 fulfilled in their season ; and in a conduct suitable to that pe 
 suasion. Dr. Hales. 
 
 8. — whereby shall I know &c.] He desires to know ma 
 particularly the manner of God's performing this last promii 
 of his inheriting that land. He questions not God's veradt 
 but desires a more distinct knowledge of the matter. B^ 
 Kidder. 
 
 10. — divided them in the midst, "^ The only trace of this rr 
 in Scripture is in Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19, where a covenant is mat 
 by dividing a beast, and the parties covenanting passing betwet 
 the parts of the beast so divided. This place however shows 
 to have been a very ancient custom : which appears also firo) 
 Homer, the earliest heathen writer. The rite was as much as ' 
 say, " Thus let me be divided and cut in pieces, if I violate tl 
 oath which I have now made in the presence of God." Jt 
 Mede, Bp. Patrick, Stackhouse. 
 
 l\. And when the fowls came don)n'\ The birds of prey.
 
 Canaan is promised, and 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 confirmed by a sign and a vision. 
 
 191S. 
 
 ^^fo'e upon the carcases, Abram drove them 
 
 HRIST ^ 
 
 away. 
 
 la And when the sun was going down, 
 a deep sleep fell upon Abram ; and, lo, 
 an horror of great darkness fell upon 
 him. 
 
 \3 And he said unto Abram, Know of 
 Acts 7. c. a surety ''that thy seed shall be a stranger 
 in a land that is not their's, and shall 
 serve them ; and they shall afflict them 
 four hundred years ; 
 
 14 And also that nation, whom they 
 shall serve, will I judge : and afterward 
 shall they come out with great sub- 
 stance. 
 
 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in 
 peace ; thou shalt be buried in a good old 
 
 12. — an liorror of great darkness^ An horrible darkness 
 nd dread of spirits. That horror and dread of spirits frequently 
 jized on those who saw visions, is evident from Daniel : " I was 
 ft alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no 
 Tength in me : for my comeliness was turned in me into cor- 
 jption, and I retained no strength," chap. x. 8. The descrip- 
 on of this matter in Job is very awful and affecting : " In 
 loughts from the visions of the night, &c," chap. iv. 13, &c. 
 'taclc/iousc. 
 
 13. And he said unto Abram, Sec.'] Three things were to 
 efall Abram's seed : 1st, That they " should be a stranger in a 
 nd not their's ;" and they sojourned partly in Canaan, partly in 
 ,gypt : 2dly, That they should " serve ;" and they did serve 
 le Egyptians : 3dly, That they should be " afflicted ;" and so 
 »e Israelites were in a great degree, a long time before they 
 ime out of Egypt. The time from the birth of Isaac to the 
 eliverance of the Israelites from Egypt was 400 years. Bps. 
 ''alrick juad Kidder. 
 
 15. And thou shall go to thy fathers'] Die, and depart to the 
 ther world. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It is no small mercy in God, it is no small comfort to us, if 
 ther He take us away, before His judgments come ; or keep 
 lis judgments away, tiU we be gone. When God had told Abram 
 lat " his seed should be a stranger in a land that was not their's," 
 leaning Egypt, where they shoidd be kept under and afflicted 
 
 00 years, lest the good Pati'iarch should have been overwhelmed 
 'ith grief at it. He comforteth him, as with a promise of a 
 lorious deliverance at the last, so with a promise also of pros- 
 erity to his own person and for his own time. See also Isaiah 
 xxix. 8 ; 2 Kings xxii. 20. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 16. But in ike Joiirtfi generation] The fourth from the descent 
 ito Egypt. TIius Caleb, one of those who came into the pro- 
 lised land, was the fourth from Judah, 1 Chron. ii. 4, 5, 9. 18. 
 Lnd Aaron and Moses were the fourth in descent from Levi, 
 Ixod. vi. 16, 18, 20. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 the iniquity of the Amorites &c.] Abram now lived among 
 
 le Amorites, (chap. xiv. 13,) but under their name are compre- 
 ended all the other nations of Canaan. There is a certain mea- 
 iire of wickedness, beyond which God will not spare a sinfid 
 md. And though the seasons of punishing nations with a ge- 
 eral ruin be known to God only, yet when a land adds to its 
 ins, it both hastens and assures to itself destruction. Compare 
 cr. li. 13 ; Matt, xxiii. 32 ; 1 Thess. ii. l6; with Ezek. xiv. 14. 
 ips. Kidder and Patrick. 
 
 When neither tl»e mercies nor the judgments of God will bring 
 s to repentmce, we are then fit for destruction : according to 
 le saying of tlie Apostle in Rom. ix. 22, " Wliat if God, willing 
 
 1 shew His wrath, and to make His power known, endured ■with 
 
 16 But in the fourth generation they ^^^°" 
 shall come hither again: for the iniquity ^"913.^^ 
 of the Amorites is not yet full. 
 
 17 And it came to pass, that, when the 
 sun went down, and it was dark, behold a 
 smoking furnace, and t a burning lamp that t Heb. 
 passed between those pieces. jj/j'/"^ °^ 
 
 18 In the same day the Lord made a 
 covenant with Abram, saying, ' Unto thy ' chap- '2- 
 seed have i given this land, from the river k2>^'.\. 
 of Egypt unto the great river, the river t)eut.34.4. 
 Euphrates : 
 
 19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and 
 the Kadmonites, 
 
 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, 
 and the Rephaims, 
 
 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaan- 
 ites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. 
 
 much longsufFering the vessels of \vTath fitted to destruction ?" 
 They who are wrought upon neither by the patience of God's 
 mercies, nor by the patience of His judgments, seem to be fitted 
 and prepared, to be ripe and ready for destruction. Abp. 
 Tillotson. 
 
 17. — behold a smoking furnace, &c.] B}' this sj-mbol God de- 
 signed to represent to Abram, either the future state of his pos- 
 terity, the " smoking furnai e" signifying Israel's misery in Egypt, 
 and the " bimiing lamp" their escape and deliverance : or more 
 probably to notify His own immediate presence. A symbolical 
 representation of His Majesty appeared in great splendour, like a 
 flaming fire, as it afterwards appeared to Moses, (Exod. iii. 2, 6,) 
 and " passed between the pieces" of the beasts that were divided, 
 (ver. 10,) in token that He entere<l into covenant with Abram 
 and his posterity. Stackhouse, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 8. — from the river of Egi/pl] " The river of Egjpt," which 
 is here mentioned, as one of tlie boundaries of the land promised 
 to the posterity of Abraham, was the river Nile, whose eastern 
 or Pelusiac branch was reckoned the boundary of Egypt, towards 
 the great desert of Shur, which lies between Egypt and Pales- 
 tine, and which is about f)0 miles in breadth. From a compa- 
 rison of 1 Kings viii. fi.i, and 2 Chron. vii. 8, with 1 Chron. xiii. 5, 
 it appears that " Sihor" and " the river of Egypt" are the same. 
 And it appears from .ler. ii. 18, that Sihor was the Nile. The 
 Hebrew name " Sihor" signifies " black ;" it is an apt epithet 
 of the Nile, bringing down, with its flood, from Abyssinia, a 
 rich, black, loamy sand, which fertilizes the lower Egj-pt. In 
 the Ethiopian, Egj'ptian, Greek, and Hindu languages, the 
 Nile is distinguished by appellations, all of which signify 
 " black." 
 
 From a solitary passage in the Septuagint version, rendering 
 " the stream or the river of Egypt" (Isai. xxvii. 12) by Rhino- 
 corura, a city of Palestine Syria, built on the borders of the 
 desert which separates that country from Egi,i>t, it has been sup- 
 posed to denote a stream or torrent near that city by Augustine, 
 and by some respectable modem geographers. Wells, CelLirius, 
 Pot'hart, itc. But none of the old geographers, Strabo, Mela, 
 Pliny, Ptolemy, &c, notice anj- such stream or torrent tliere. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 The rc-ider will observe, that, in the maps constructed for the 
 present edition of the Bible, attention has been p.nid to the two 
 opinions respecting " the river of Egy))t," stated above : accord- 
 ingly in the " Map of the stitions of the Israelites," the south 
 bonier of Canaan is delineated so as to agree with the hypothesis 
 of the eastern branch of the Nile being the river here spoken 
 of by Moses: and in the " Map of Canaan," the s,ime border is 
 made to correspond with the opinion, " hich identifies that river 
 with the supposed stream near Ilhinocorura.
 
 God encourageth Abranu 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 and promiseth him a son. 
 
 B*<^»« take any thing that is thine, lest thou 
 
 ^f I'iM shouldest say, 1 have made Abram rich : 
 
 24 Save only that whicii the young men 
 
 have eaten, and the portion of the men 
 
 which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and 
 
 Mamre ; let them take their portion. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 I God encourageth Abram. 2 Abrnm complainelh for 
 twant of an hnr. 4 Goil imnnhcth him a son, and a 
 muUijilying of his seed. 6 .Ibram is Jn.\li/ied by faith. 
 7 Canaan is promised again, and conjirmed by a sign, 
 12 and a vision. 
 
 1913. A I-TER these things the word of the 
 x\ Loud came unto Abram in a vision, 
 saying. Fear not, Abram : I arn thy shield, 
 •P«i.i6.5. and thy exceeding 'great reward. 
 
 'i And Abram said. Lord God, what 
 wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, 
 and the steward of my house is this EUezer 
 of Damascus ? 
 
 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou 
 hast given no seed : and, lo, one bom in 
 my house is mine heir. 
 
 4 And, behold, the word of the Lord 
 
 have been his by tlie king's free donation, if he had been minded to 
 accept the offer : " (iivc nie the j)ersons, take the ^oods to thyself." 
 But Abram would not take them : contenting himself with what 
 the Lord hati blessed him with, he did not desire, neither would 
 he take " from a thread even to a shoelatchet," of any thing that 
 appertained to the king of Sodom. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 Chap. XV. ver. 1. — the word of the Ix>rd came unto Abram~\ 
 God revealed Himself to him more clearly. For this is the first 
 time we read of the Word of the Lord coming to him, and of his 
 having a vision, that is, being made a Prophet, and that in an 
 high degree, God revealing His mind to him not in a dream, but 
 in a vision ; when he was awake, but having his senses bound 
 up from tlieir ordinary functions, whilst the heavenly influence 
 came upon his mind. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 A signal manifestation of Himself was now made to Abram 
 by the personal Word of the Lord; who announced Himself 
 as the same God, who had brought him out of Ur of the Chal- 
 dees, to give him the inheritance of the land of Canaan. Dr. 
 Hales. See note on Jer. i. 4. 
 
 Fear not, Abram :'] He might be tempted to fear : he 
 
 •was a sojourner in a strange land, separatetl from Lot, who with 
 the confederates was assaulted, and but lately rescued from cap- 
 tivity. Got! assures him therefore both of protection, and of great 
 blessings besides. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 2. — Lord God, trnal nilt than give me,] What good will all 
 the riches in the world do me, if I have not a child to inherit 
 my estate.' Bp. Patrick. 
 
 We commonly have our eye upon those things which we de- 
 sire, and set so great a price upon theni, that the overvaluing of 
 what we have in ])ursuit and exj)ectation, makes us underv;ilue 
 ■what we have in ]K>sses,sion. An infinnity, to which the best of 
 the faithful, " the Father of the faithful" n't excepted, are subject. 
 It was the speech of no worse a man than .Xbram, " Lord God, 
 wh.it wilt thou give me, seeing I go cl.ildless?" As if he had 
 said, " All this great increase of rattle and abundance of treasure, 
 which Thou hast given me, avail me nothing, so long as I have 
 never a child to leave it to." Bp. Sandcrwn. 
 
 Eliczrr of Dama.tctis ?1 His ancestors were of Damascus, 
 
 in Sjrria, though he was bom m Abram's house. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 ' Rom. 4. 
 
 18. 
 
 came unto him, saying, This shall not be (,hu°i1x 
 thine heir; but he that shall come forth 1913. 
 out of thine own bowels shall be thine 
 heir. 
 
 5 And he brought him forth abroad, 
 and said. Look now toward heaven, and 
 tell the stars, if thou be able to number 
 them : and he said unto him, " So shall thy 
 seed be. 
 
 6 And he ' believed in the Lord ; and g^^'- 
 he counted it to him for righteousness. jam. 2.23. 
 
 7 And he said unto him, I am the Lord 
 that brougiit thee out of Ur of the Clial- 
 dees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 
 
 8 And he said. Lord God, whereby shall 
 I know that I shall inherit it? 
 
 9 And he said unto him, Take me an 
 heifer of three years old, and a she goat of 
 tluee years old, and a ram of three years 
 old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 
 
 lU And he took unto him all these, and 
 divided them in the midst, and laid each 
 piece one against another : but the birds 
 divided he not. 
 
 11 And when the fowls came down 
 
 3. — one born in my hou.ie is mine hcir.'^ If they have no 
 children at all, the ricli i>eople of Barbary purchase young slaves, 
 educate them in their own faitli, and sometimes adopt them for 
 their own children. Relations among us would think this a cru«l 
 hardship ; would often pronounce it unjust : but the people of 
 the East .seem always to have had these ideas. " One bom in 
 my house is mine heir," sjiid Abram, speaking of a slave that 
 he had, born of some female slave ; though he had brother's chil- 
 dren and grandchildren, if not a brother, in Mesopotamia, Gen. 
 xxii. 20 — 24. llanner. 
 
 6. And he believed in the Lord f^ He trusted in God, believ* 
 ing that He would make His promises good, how unlikely 
 soever they seemed. " He against hope believed in God." Bp, 
 Kidder. 
 
 and he counted it to him for righleousness."^ The Lord 
 
 esteemed it a most noble act and high expression of a pious con- 
 fidence in Him ; and thereon graciously owned him for a " right* 
 eous" person, though he was not free from all sin ; but was guilty 
 of some actions that were not consistent with perfect " righteouB. 
 ness." Bp. Patrick. This is that faith of Abraham, which is so 
 highly celebrated in the New Testament, Rom. iv. 3 ; Gal. iii. 6; 
 Jam. ii. 23; and which consisted in a firm belief or persuasion, 
 that the Divine promises, both temporal and spiritual, would be 
 fulfilled in their season ; and in a conduct suitable to that per- 
 suasion. Dr. Hales. 
 
 8. — whereby shall I know &c.] He desires to know more 
 particularly the manner of God's perfonning this last promise 
 of his inheriting that land. He questions not God's veracity, 
 but desires a more distinct knowledge of the matter. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 10. — divided them in the midst,"] The only trace of this rite 
 in Scripture is in Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19, where a covenant is made 
 by dividing a beast, and the parties covenanting passing between 
 the parts of the beast so divided. This place however shows it 
 to have been a very ancient custom : which appears also from 
 Homer, the earliest heathen writer. The rite was as much as to 
 say, " Thus let me be divided and cut in pieces, if I violate the 
 oath which 1 have now made in the presence of God." Jos. 
 Mede, Bp. Patrick, Stackhouse. 
 
 11. And when thefotvls came down] The birds of prey.
 
 Canaan is promised, and 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 confirmed by a sign and a vision. 
 
 s^""^« upon the carcases, Abram di'ove them 
 
 CHRIST ^ 
 
 191S. away. 
 
 12 And when the sun was going down, 
 a deep sleep fell upon Abram ; and, lo, 
 an horror of great darkness fell upon 
 him. 
 
 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of 
 »Acts 7.6. a surety "that thy seed shall be a stranger 
 
 in a land that is not their's, and shall 
 serve them ; and they shall afflict them 
 four hundred years ; 
 
 14 And also that nation, whom they 
 shall serve, will 1 judge : and afterward 
 shall they come out with great sub- 
 stance. 
 
 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in 
 peace ; thou shalt be buried in a good old 
 
 age. 
 
 12. — an liorror of great darkness^ An horrible darkness 
 and dread of spirits. That horror and dread of spirits frequently 
 seized on those who saw visions, is e\ddent from Daniel : " I was 
 left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no 
 strength in me : for my comeliness was turned in me into cor- 
 ruption, and I retained no strength," chap. x. 8. The descrip- 
 tion of this matter in Job is very awful and affecting : " In 
 thoughts from the visions of the night, &c," chap. iv. 13, &c. 
 SlacUvouse. 
 
 13. And he said unto Abram, &c.] Three things were to 
 befiiU Abram's seed: 1st, That they "should be a stranger in a 
 land not their's ;" and they sojourned partly in Canaan, partly in 
 Egypt : 2dly, That they should " serve ;" and they did serve 
 the Egyptians : 3d]y, That they should be " afflicted ;" and so 
 the Israelites were in a great degree, a long time before they 
 came out of Egypt. The time from the birth of Isaac to the 
 deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt was 400 years. Bps. 
 Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 15. And t/uM shalt go to thy fathers^ Die, and depart to the 
 other world. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It is no small mercy in God, it is no small comfort to us, if 
 cither He fcike us away, before His judgments come; or keep 
 His judgments away, tUl we be gone. When God had told Abram 
 that " his seed shoidd be a stranger in a land that was not their's," 
 meaning Egypt, where they should be kept under and afflicted 
 ■iOO years, lest the good Patriarch should have been overwhelmed 
 with grief at it. He comforteth him, as with a promise of a 
 glorious deliverance at the last, so with a promise also of pros- 
 perity to his own person and for his o^vn time. See also Isaiah 
 xxxix. 8 ; 2 Kings xxiL 20. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 16. But in the fourth general ion^ The fourth from the descent 
 into Egypt. Thus Caleb, one of those who came into the pro- 
 mised land, was the fourth from Judah, 1 Chron. ii. 4, 5, 9, 18. 
 And Aaron and Moses were the foiirth in descent from Levi, 
 Exod. vi. l6, 18, 20. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 the iniquity of the Amorites &c.] Abram now lived among 
 
 the Amorites, (chap. xiv. 13,) but under their name are compre- 
 . bended all the other nations of Canaan. There is a certain mea- 
 sure of wickedness, beyond which God will not spare a sinfid 
 land. And though the seasons of punishing nations with a ge- 
 neral ruin be known to God only, yet when a land adds to its 
 ains, it both hastens and assures to itself destruction. Compare 
 Jer. li. 13 ; Matt, xxiii. 32 ; 1 Thess. ii. l6 j with Ezek. xiv. 14. 
 Bps. Kidder and Patrick. 
 
 When neither the mercies nor the judgments of God will bring 
 U8 to repent.ince, we are then fit for destruction : according to 
 the saying of the Apostle in Rom. ix. 22, " What if Goti, willing 
 to shew His wratli, and to make His power known, endured with 
 
 ST 
 
 16 But in the fourth generation they ^f"'* 
 shall come hither again: for the iniquity ^"Jli^ 
 of the Amorites is not yet full. 
 
 17 And it came to pass, that, when the 
 sun went down, and it was dark, behold a 
 smoking furnace, and t a burning lamp that t h*. 
 passed between those pieces, jj/;'"'' °-^ 
 
 18 In the same day the Lord made a 
 covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy 'ciup. 12. 
 seed iiave I given this land, from the river & J;.'"l'*' 
 of Egypt unto the great river, the river Deu'-a^.t 
 Euphrates : 
 
 1 9 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and 
 the Kadmonites, 
 
 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, 
 and the Rephaims, 
 
 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaan- 
 ites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. 
 
 much longsuffering the vessels of wTath fitted to destruction ?" 
 The\- who are wrought upon neither by the patience of God's 
 mercies, nor by the patience of His judgments, seem to be fitted 
 and prepared, to be ripe and ready for destruction. Abp. 
 Tillotson. 
 
 17. — behold a smotcing furnace, &c.] By this symbol God de- 
 signed to represent to Abram, either the future state of his pos- 
 terity, the " smoking fiimat e" signifying Israel's misery in Egypt, 
 and the "burning lamp" their escape and deliverance: or more 
 probably to notify His own immediate presence. A svmboUcal 
 representation of His Majesty appeared in great splendour, like a 
 fl:;ming fire, as it afterwards appeared to Moses, (Exod. iii. 2, 6,) 
 and " passed between the pieces" of the beasts that were divided, 
 (ver. 10,) in token that He enteretl into covenant with Abram 
 and his posterity. Stackhousc, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 8. — from the river of Egypt~\ " The river of Egypt," which 
 is here mentioned, as one of the boundaries of the land promised 
 to the posterity of Abraham, was the river Nile, whose eastern 
 or Pelusiac branch was reckoned the boundarj' of Egypt, towards 
 the great desert of Shur, which lies between Egj'pt and Pales- 
 tine, and which is about f)0 miles in breadth. From a compa- 
 rison of 1 Kings viii. fi.i, and 2 Chron. vii. 8, with 1 Chron. xiii. 5, 
 it appears that " Sihor" and " the river of Egypt" are the same. 
 And it appears from Jer. ii. 18, that Sihor was the Nile. The 
 Hebrew name " Sihor" signifies " black ;" it is an apt epithet 
 of the Nile, bringing down, with its flood, from Abyssinia, a 
 rich, black, loamy sand, which fertilizes the lower Ei/J^pt. In 
 the Ethiopian, Egyptian, Greek, and Hindu languages, the 
 Nile is distinguished by appellations, all of which signify 
 " black." 
 
 From a solitary passage in the Septuagint version, rendering 
 " the stream or the river of Egypt" (Isai. xx\ni. 12) by Rhino- 
 corura, a city of Pales-tine Syria, built on the borders of the 
 desert which separates that country from Egypt, it has been sup- 
 po>ed to denote a stream or torrent near that city by Augustine, 
 and by some respectable modem geographers. Wells, Cellarius, 
 Poc-hart, itc. But none of the old geographers, Strabo, Mela, 
 Pliny, Ptolemy, &c, notice any such stream or torrent there. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 The reader will observe, th.it, in the maps constructed for the 
 present edition of the Bible, attention has been p.aid to the two 
 opinions respecting "the river of Egypt, " stated .ibove : accord- 
 ingh- in the " Map of the stations of the Israelites," the south 
 border of Canaan is deline,ited so as to agree w ith the hj-pothesia 
 of the eastern branch of the Nile being the river here spoken 
 of by Moses: .ind in the " Map of Cana.in," the s,ime border is 
 made to correspond with the opinion, " hich identifies that river 
 with the supposed stream near Rhinoconura.
 
 Sarai giielh Hagar to 
 
 Abram. 
 
 (i E N E S I S. 
 
 God promiseth to multiply her seed. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHKISX 
 
 1911. 
 
 t Heb. 
 it huUiitd 
 tyker. 
 
 CHAR XVI. 
 
 1 Sarai, being barren, ^iveth Ha^ar lo Abram. 4 Hagar, 
 being afflil-led for iespising )ier mistress, runneth a- 
 way. 7 An angel scmletli her back to submit herself, 
 1 1 and teUeih her of her child. 1 5 Ishinael is born. 
 
 NOW Sarai Abram's wife bare him no 
 cliildren : and .she had an handmaid, 
 an Egyptian, whose name 'ii'as Hagar. 
 
 2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold 
 now, tlie Lord liath restrained me from 
 bearing : I i)ray thee, go in unto my maid ; 
 it may be that I may t obtain children by 
 her. And Abram liearkened to the voice 
 of Sarai. 
 
 3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her 
 maid the Eg}'ptian, after Abram had dwelt 
 ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave 
 her to her husband Abram to be his wife. 
 
 4 % And he went in unto Hagar, and she 
 conceived : and when she saw that she had 
 conceived, her mistress was despised in her 
 eyes. 
 
 5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong 
 he upon thee : I have given my maid into 
 thy bosom ; and when she saw that she had 
 conceived, I was despised in her eyes : the 
 Lord judge between me and thee. 
 
 Chap. XVI. ver. 1. — an handmaid, an Egi/ptian,'] Every 
 woman (in Barbary) tJiat is married, has at least one female 
 sla'.e, who is usually a black, to attend her ; whilst others have 
 two or more, according to their rank and quality. In like 
 manner we find that Hiigar was Sarai's " handmaid ;" that Re- 
 bekaii, when she wa.s betrothed to Isaac, was attended by " her 
 inirsc and her damsels ;" that Laban gave to his daughter Leah, 
 when she was married to Jiwob, Zilpali " his maid for an hand- 
 maid ;" and to Rachel, on the like occasion, Bilhnh " his hand- 
 maid to be her maid." Dr. Shaw. 
 
 3. — gave her to her husband &c.] In concubinage, these se- 
 condary wives were accounted lawful and true wives, and their 
 i-isue wiis reputed legitimate ; but they were inferiour to the 
 chief wife, having no authority in the fimiily, nor any share in 
 household government : so, if tiiey had been servants in the 
 family, before tliey became concubines, they continued to be 
 such afterwards, and in the same subjection to their mistresses as 
 before. Slnckhon.ie. 
 
 Hagar being Sarai's bondslave, her cliildren woidd be Sarai's 
 children, according to the custom of those times, chap. xxx. S ; 
 Exod. xxi. 4. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. And he wait in &c.] As an excuse, in some mea.«ure, for 
 Abram, it m.iy be pleaded, that having lived many years without 
 giving occasion to suspect his modesty and continence, he did 
 not in all probability now act from a criminal motive, but from 
 a principle of conjugal affection to Sarai, in compliance tvilh 
 ■whase solicitations, made from her desire of thus contributing to 
 the accomplishment of Cod's promises, he took Hagar to hie bed : 
 that having no longer any hope of issue by Sarai, he had recourse 
 to this, as the only way he could devise, whereby to have God's 
 promise of " an heir, that should be bom of himself," accom- 
 plished ; and that polygamy, though certainly declared criminal 
 by our Saviour, who has restored matrimony to its primitive in- 
 stitution, may have been at that time, if not allowed, yet tolerated 
 by God, for the hardness of men's hearts. Stackhouse. 
 
 The instances of polygamy, which Scripture records, by no 
 means exJiibit inducements to the practice : witness Sarai and 
 Hagar, Leah and Rachel, Hannah and rcniiinah. As in ancient 
 
 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, r.^^1%^ 
 thy maid is in thy hand ; do to her tas it ign. 
 pleaseth thee. And when Sarai t dealt tHcb. 
 hardly with her, she fled from her face. L^!,'„„"^'-,f 
 
 7 ^ And the angel of the Lord found her tune eyes. 
 by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by \m^iii,cr. 
 the fountain in the way to Shur. 
 
 8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, 
 whence camest thou ? and whither wilt 
 thou go? And she said, I flee from the 
 
 face of my mistress Sarai. \ 
 
 9 And the angel of the Lord said unto 
 her, Return to thy mistress, and submit 
 thyself under her hands. 
 
 10 And the angel of the Lord said unto 
 her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, 
 tliat it shall not be numbered for multi- 
 tude. 
 
 11 And the angel of the Lord said 
 unto iier. Behold, thou art with child, and 
 shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name 
 II Ishmael ; because the Lord hath heard 
 thy affliction. 
 
 12 And he will be a wild man ; his hand 
 •will be against every man, and every man's 
 hand against him; 'and he shall dwell in 
 the presence of all his brethren. 
 
 II That is, 
 God s/iall 
 hear. 
 
 ' Chaji. 
 18. 
 
 25. 
 
 times family feuds imbittered polygamy, we shall find on inquiry,- 
 that in modem times also this irregular practice is far from adding 
 any thing to domestick happiness. In MsJiometan countries, where 
 polygamy is allowed, what we are able to learn of the domestick 
 life of the husbands, wlio have several wives, is calculated neither 
 to make their lot enviable, nor to give a favourable opinion of 
 Mahomet's legislation : their house is a perpetual scene of tumult 
 and contention. Nothing is to be heard but quarrels among the 
 different wives, and complaints made to the husband. The four 
 legal married wives complain, that their slaves are preferred to 
 them ; and then- slaves, that they are abandoned to the jealousy 
 of their mistresses. Fragments lo Cahnet, Volney's Travels. 
 
 her mistress 7vas despised in her eyes.~\ Fruitfulness was 
 
 accounted a great blessing and lionour in those days. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. And the angel of the Lord^ This is the first time that we 
 read of the appearance of an angel : by which some Christians 
 understand the Eternal Word, or Son of God. It is probable, 
 that it was one of the heavenly ministers. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 in the wai/ to Shur."] She was fleeing into Egypt, her own 
 
 country, on which the wilderness of Shur bordered. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. — Hagar, Sarai's maid,'^ He addresses her as Sarai's maid, 
 to put Hagar in mind of her relation and duty. Bp. JVihon. 
 
 10. — / will multiply &c.] The angel delivers this message 
 in the name of God who sent him. Bp. Patrick. He speaks in 
 the person of God, and by Hagar is acknowledged as (iod, ver. 
 13, which seems to some to intimate, that it was the Son of God, 
 who appeared. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 multiply thy seed exceedingly,'^ In a few years the family 
 
 of her son Ishmael was so increased, that in the 'STth chapter we 
 read of Ishmaelites trading into Egypt. Afterwards his seed 
 was multiplied exceedingly in the Hagarenes, probably so called 
 from his mother Hagar ; and in the Nabatheans, who had their 
 n;)mc from his son Nebaioth ; and in the Itureans, so called from 
 his son Jetur or Ittir ; and in the Arabs, especially tlic Scenites, 
 and the Saracens, who overran a great part of the world : and his 
 descendants, the Arabs, are a very numerous people at this day. 
 Bp. N^enion. 
 
 12. And ke will be a mild man ,■] Live in a rambling unsettled
 
 Ishmael horn. 
 
 CHAP. XVI, XVII. 
 
 God reneiceth the covenant. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1911. 
 
 k Chap. 24. 
 
 62. 
 
 H That is, 
 the veil nf 
 him that 
 liveth and 
 teeth me. 
 
 1910. 
 
 13 And she called the name of the Lord 
 that spake unto her, Thou God seest me : 
 for she said, Have I also here looked after 
 him that seeth me ? 
 
 14 Wherefore the well was called "IIBeer- 
 lahai-roi ; behold, it is between Kadesh and 
 Bered. 
 
 15 ^ And Hagar bare Abram a son: and 
 Abram called his son's name, which Hagar 
 bare, Ishmael. 
 
 16 And Abram was fourscore and six 
 years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to 
 Abram. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 1 God renetveth the covenant. 5 Ahram his navie is 
 changed in token of a greater blessing. 10 Circum~ 
 cision is instituted. 15 Sarai her name is changed, 
 and she blessed. 17 Isaac is promised. S3 Abraham 
 and Ishmael are circumcised. 
 
 state. Dr. Wells. It is in the original a wild ass-man ; meaning 
 as wild as a wild ass : so that that should be eminently true of 
 him, which is affirmed of mankind in general, " Man is bom 
 like a wild'ass's colt," Job xi. 12. The nature of the creature, 
 to which Ishmael is compared, cannot be described better than 
 in the same book, (chap, .\xxix. 5, &c:) according to which Ish- 
 mael and his posterity were to be wild, fierce, savage, ranging in 
 the deserts, and not easily softened and tamed to societj-. And 
 whoever hath read or kno\vn any thing of this people, knoweth 
 this to be their true and genuine character. Bp. Xen'ton. 
 
 his hand will be against every ntan, &c.] The one is the 
 
 natural and ahnost necessary consequence of the other. Ishmael 
 lived by prey and rapine in the wilderness; and his posterity 
 have all along infested Arabia and the neighbouring coimtries 
 with their robberies and incursions. They live in a state of 
 continual war with the rest of the world ; and are both robbers 
 by land, and pirates by sea. As they have been such enemies to 
 mankind, it is no wonder that mankind have been enemies to 
 them again ; that several attempts have been made to extirpate 
 them ; and even now, as well as formerly, travellers are forced to 
 go with arms and in caravans or large companies, and to march 
 and keep watch and guard like a little army, to defend themselves 
 from the assaults of these freebooters. Bp. Nenton. 
 
 The Arabs are naturally thievish and treacherous: and it some- 
 times happens that those very persons are overtaken and pillaged 
 in the morning, who were entertained the night before with all 
 the instances of friendship and hospitality. Neither are they to 
 be accused for plundering sti-angers only, and attacking almost 
 every person whom they find unarmed and defenceless ; but for 
 those many implacable and hereditary animosities, which conti- 
 nually subsist among them ; literally fulfilling to this day the 
 prophecy to Hagar, that " Ishmael should be a wild man ; his 
 hand should be against every man, and every man's hand against 
 him." Dr.- Shaw. 
 
 and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.'^ 
 
 Shall tahertincle ; for many of the Arabs dwell in tents, and are 
 therefore called Srcnites, from a Greek word, signifying a tent. 
 Thev dwelt in tents in the wilderness as long ago as Isaiah's and 
 Jeremiah's time. Is. xiii. 20; Jer. iii. 2; and thej' do the same at 
 this day. This is very extraordinai-y, that " his hand should be 
 against everj' man, and every man's hand against him ;" and yet 
 that he should be able to " dwell in the presence of all his bre- 
 thren :" but extraordinarv as it was, this also hath been accom- 
 plished both in the person of Ishmael, and in his posterity. As for 
 Ishmael himself, the sacred historian artervvards relates, ch. xxv. 
 17, 18, that "the years of the life of Ishmael were an hundred 
 iuid thirty and seven years, and he died in the presence of all his 
 brethren." As for his posterilij, they dwelt likewise in the pre- 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 isys. 
 
 • Chap 5. 
 
 22. 
 g Or, 
 
 upright, or, 
 finccre* 
 
 Rom. 4. 
 
 17. 
 
 AND when Abram was ninety years old 
 and nine, the Lord appeared to A- 
 bram, and said unto him, 1 am the Almighty 
 God ; ^ walk before me, and be thou || perfect. 
 
 2 And I will make my covenant between 
 me and thee, and will multiply thee ex- 
 ceedingly. 
 
 3 And Abram fell on his face : and God 
 talked with liim, saying, 
 
 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with 
 thee, and thou shalt be a fatlicr of t many t Heb. 
 "ations. -t:.t. 
 
 5 Neither shall thy name any more be 
 called Abram, but thy name shall be Abra- 
 ham ; " for a father of many nations have I 
 made thee. 
 
 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruit- 
 ful, and I will make nations of thee, and 
 kiiiffs shall come out of tliee. 
 
 sence of all their brethren ; Abraliam's sons by Keturah ; the 
 Moabites and Ammonites, descendants of Lot ; tlie Israelites, 
 descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; and the Edomites, 
 descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Esau. They still subsist a 
 distinct peo])le, and inhabit the countr}' of their progenitors; 
 they have from first to last maintained their independency ; and 
 notwithstanding the most powerful efforts for their destruction, 
 still dwell in tlie presence of all their brethren, and in the pre- 
 sence of all their enemies. Bp. Newton. 
 
 The region inhabited by the Arabs is not remote or insidated, 
 separated from soci.al life, and therefore exempt from the influ- 
 ence, which naturally results from intercourse with other coun- 
 ti'ies. It is situated in that portion of the globe, in v • ich society 
 originated, and the first kingdoms were fonned. The greatest 
 empires of the world arose and fell ;iround them. They have not 
 been secluded from correspondence with foreign nations ; and 
 thus attached through ignorance and prejudice to simple and pri- 
 mitive manners. In the early periods of history they were united 
 as allies to the most powerful monarchs of the East : under their 
 victorious prophet they once carried their arms over the most 
 considerable kingdoms of the earth ; through many succeeding 
 ages the caravans of the merchant, and the companies of Maho- 
 metan pilgrims passed regidarly over their deserts : even their 
 religion has undergone a total change. Yet all these circum- 
 stances, which, it might be supposed, would have subdued the 
 most stubborn prejudices, and altered the most inveterate habits, 
 have protluced no effect upon the Arabs ; and they still preser^'e 
 unimpaired a most exact resemblance to the first descendants of 
 Ishmael. Richards. 
 
 13. — for she said. Have I also here &c.] That is, Have I not 
 here also, even in the waste desert, and not only in the house of 
 Abram, seen that good God of mine, which hath first graciously 
 looked upon me and mine affliction .'' Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XVII. vcr. 1. — / am the .ilmiglUy God;-} Or .insuffi- 
 cient. This is the first time we meet with this name. And God 
 plainly uses it here, to confirm His covenant ; that Abram might 
 more fimjly believe, that He was able to perfonn what He pro- 
 mised, seeing He was " Gixl Almighty." Bp. Beveridgc. 
 
 perfect.'] See note on cha)). vi. p- 
 
 2. — / will maLr mi/ covenant] Establish, and confirm, and 
 give a token of it : it was made before. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — thou shalt be a father tifniani/ nalion-t.] Not only of Jews, 
 and Ishmaelites, and others ; but iii the .spiritual sense, of all the 
 Gentile world. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. Neither shall thi/ name &c.] Abram means, o high father ; 
 Abraliam, a father of a great multitude. Bp. Patrick, Calmet. 
 
 6. — kirxrs shall 'come out of thee.] Manv kings sprang from 
 
 G
 
 Circitmcision instituted. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Sarai'6 name is changed. 
 
 Before 
 
 CIIKIST 
 
 1898. 
 
 i Heb. 
 
 Iff thy to- 
 'I'umings. 
 
 Act^ 7. S. 
 
 ' A(.-U7. ». 
 Rom. 4. II. 
 t Hib. 
 n nn nf 
 ei7ht days. 
 ' Lev. I-.' 3. 
 Luke 2. 21. 
 Juhn 7. 22. 
 
 7 And I will establish my covenant be- 
 tween me and thee and tliy seed aller thee 
 in their generations tor an everlasting co- 
 venant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy 
 seed after thee. 
 
 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy 
 seed al\er thee, the land t wherein thou art 
 a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an 
 everlasting possession ; and I will be their 
 
 God. 
 
 9 % And God said unto Abraham, Thou 
 shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, 
 and thy seed after thee in their genera- 
 tions. 
 
 10 This is my covenant, which ye sliall 
 keep, between me and you and thy seed 
 after thee ; " Every man child among you 
 shall be circumcised. 
 
 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of 
 your foreskin ; and it shall be " a token of 
 the covenant betwixt me and you. 
 
 12 And t he that is eight days old ' shall 
 be circumcised among you, every man 
 child in your generations, he that is bom 
 
 Ahraliani ; of the Jews, Ishmaelites, Idumeans, Midianites^ and 
 <iur great King tl\e Messiali. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 7. — to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after tliee.^ The fa- 
 mily of.Abrahai.1 was to be disciplined as a select people, and 
 Ciod in a peculiar sense engaged to be a Got! unto him and to his 
 seed al'ter him. Whilst other nations seemed to be neglected, and 
 lell to follow tlieir own imaginations, He prescribed them a botly 
 of laws, as their proper head and goveniour; and, by a continued 
 series of typical prefigurations, prepared them for the acknow- 
 ledgment and reception of that great Deliverer, who had been 
 promised from the beginning. JJr. Berriman. 
 
 This is the first place in all the Scriptures, wherein God pro- 
 mises in express terms to be a God to any people. Afterwards 
 indeed He often repeated the same thing by His prophets, say- 
 ing, "I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people." 
 But these words were only as tlie transcripts of this covenant : 
 this was the original copy ; the first grant here made to Abraham 
 :ind to his seed. Bp. Beveridise. 
 
 S. — for an eierUisting possession ;3 The word " everlasting" 
 is to be understood according to the capacity of the subject; 
 *onntlimcs for a perpetual duration ; sometimes for as long as the 
 world shall last ; according to God's appointment or purpose. 
 Bp. K'ilson. 
 
 .Abraham's seed were to " possess" the land, if they did not 
 forfeit it by their disobedience to God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 JO. This is my coieKant.'2 That is, tiiis which I am about to 
 mention, is a sign or token of the covenant; as the Paschal Lamb 
 i< (.-died " the Passover of the Lord," Exo<]. xii. 11, that is, the 
 ttttmoriai of the angel's passing them by, when he smote the 
 Egj'ptian children. But circumcif.ion was such a sign, that they 
 e.itered thereby into a covenant witia Got! to be His people. For 
 it was not a mere mark, v.-tirreby tiiey should be known to be 
 Almham's seed, and distinguished from otiier nations; but they 
 wt re made by this the children of the covenant, and entitled to 
 the blessings of i'. This mark was very fitly chosen, because it 
 wr.s such a tiikcn, an no maj; v/ould have set upon himself, and 
 afon his children, unless it were for faith and religion's sake. 
 
 Covenants were anciently made in the East by means of blood. 
 Thus God's covenant with Abraham was solemnized on Abra- 
 ham's part by his own and his eon Isaac's blood, and so continued 
 through ail gcnar^tiocs : and as ihey were thus made the select 
 
 in the house, or bought with money of any ^.^r^i'It 
 stranger, which is not of thy seed. lass. 
 
 13 He that is born in thy house, and he 
 that is bought with thy money, must needs 
 be circumcised : and my covenant shall be 
 in your flesh ibr an everlasting covenant. 
 
 I't And the uncircumcised man child 
 whose flesh of his foreskin is not circum- 
 cised, that soul shall be cut off" from his 
 people ; he hath broken my covenant. 
 
 15 IF And God said unto Abraham, As 
 for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her 
 name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 
 
 16 And 1 will bless her, and give thee 
 a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and 
 tshe shall be a mother of nations ; kings of tH"-*- 
 people shall be or her. income na- 
 
 17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, ""«»• 
 and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a 
 child be born unto him that is an hundred 
 years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety 
 years old, bear ? 
 
 18 And Abraham said unto God, O that 
 Ishmael might live before thee ! ' 
 
 people of God, so God in conclusion sent Hia own Son, who by 
 this very covenant of circumcision wa.s consecrated to be their 
 God and their Redeemer. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 One great end of circumcision was, not only to distinguish 
 them from all others, but chiefly to keep them from idolatry, 
 into which all other nations had fallen ; and to put them in mind 
 of the covenant made with Abraliam, and with every one that 
 was circumcised, that he would wor.fhip no other god but the 
 true God, the God of his father Abrahiun ; nor own any other 
 Mediator, but Him promised to Abraham : all other nations 
 worshipping the sun, &c. as mediators. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 The Egyptians borrowed circumcision either from the He- 
 brews, or the Ishmaelites, or some other people descended from 
 Abraham. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. And he that is eight days old^ The eighth day is the time 
 of circumcision among the Jews, that is, the descencLints of Abra- 
 ham and Siinth ; but because Ishmael, the son of Abraham and 
 Hagar, was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised, the 
 descendants of Ishmael are not circumcised till that age. Cir- 
 cumcision was a type of baptism. Abraham was the first person 
 iLrcumcised ; and he is also the first person called a Prophet in 
 Scijpturc. Bp. Tomliiie. 
 
 14. — that sold shall be cut off^ The meaning of this phrase 
 is much disputed. The simplest sense seems to be. He shall not 
 be accoimtcd one of God's people. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 15. — Haraf] Sarai means mi/ princess, Sarali a princess, or the 
 princess ; a. princess indefinitely : not of one f;unOy, but d' many 
 nations. Bp. Wilson, Calmet. 
 
 17. — laughed,'\ Not doubting of the promise, for the Apostle 
 tells us the contrary, Rom. iv. 19, but out of his great joy and 
 admiration. He is therefore not censured for it, as Sarah is, 
 chap, xviii, A reference seems to be made to this 'oy our Saviour, 
 John viii. ,06. God had promised, that the Seed of the woman 
 should bruise the serpent's head. This coven.int is renewed to 
 Abraham, ver. 3, t of this chapter ; and here limited to Isaac. 
 Good reason therefore had he to rejoice exceedingly, believing 
 that so great a blessing should proceed out of his loins : a bless- 
 ing, which should abolish the cur.^e, brought upon all nations by 
 Adam's transgression. Bps. Patrick, Kid/lcr, and Wilson. 
 
 18. — O that Isltmacl might live before thee .'] I believe, O 
 Lord, as Thou saycst, that my old age shall be blessed with
 
 Isaac is promised. 
 
 CHAP. XVII, XVIII. 
 
 Abraham ente^'taineth three angels. 
 
 Before 19 And God said, ' Sarah thy wife shall 
 ^^898.^^ bear thee a son indeed ; and thou shalt call 
 f Chap. IS. his name Isaac : and I will establish my 
 10. & 21.2. covenant with him for an everlasting cove- 
 nant, and with his seed after him. 
 
 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard 
 thee : Behold, I have blessed him, and will 
 make him fruitful, and will multiply him 
 
 « Chip. 25. exceedingly ; ^ twelve princes shall he be- 
 '2- get, and I will make him a great nation. 
 
 21 But my covenant will I establish with 
 Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at 
 this set time in the next year. 
 
 22 And he left off talking with him, and 
 God went up from Abraham. 
 
 23 % And Abraham took Ishmael his 
 son, and all that were born in his house, 
 and all that were bought with his money, 
 every male among the men of Abraham's 
 house ; and circumcised the flesh of their 
 foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had 
 said unto him. 
 
 1898. 24 And Abraham ivas ninety years old 
 and nine, when he was circumcised in the 
 flesh of his foreskin. 
 
 farther issue, for which also Thou wilt in all likelihood reserve 
 Thy special and highest favour : but let not the son, Thou hast 
 given me already, even Ishmael, be cast out and neglected by 
 Thee : let it please thee to continue him also to me, with much 
 prosperity. Bp. Hall. 
 
 19. — Isaac :'\ Which signifies in the Hebrew he has, or sJiall 
 laugh. He was so called, not from Sarah's laughter, ch. xviii. 12, 
 but from Abraham's joy. His name was a memorial of his father's 
 faith, not of his mother's unbelief Slackkoiise, Bp. Kidder. 
 
 20. — and mill rmdtiphj hivi &c.] See tlie note from Bp. New- 
 ton, on the tenth verse of the preceding chapter. 
 
 twelve princes shall he beget,~\ This circumstance is very 
 
 particular, but it was punctually fulfilled. Moses hath given us 
 the names of these twelve princes, chap. xxv. 13 — 16: by which 
 we are to \indefstand, not that they were so many distinct sove- 
 reign princes, but heads of clans or tribes. Heathen wTiters speak 
 of the Arabian phi/larchs, or rulers of tribes ; and of that people 
 having twelve kings over them. The people have ever since 
 lived in tribes; and still continue to do so, as Thevenot and 
 other modern travellers testify. Bp. Nen'ton. 
 
 —^ and I wiU make him a great nation. '^ This is repeated 
 twice or thrice ; and it was accomplislied as soon as in the regu- 
 lar course of nature it could be. His seed in process of time 
 grew up into a great nation ; and such they continued for several 
 ages, and such they remain to this day. Thej' might indeed 
 emphatically be styled a great nation, when the Sai-acens had 
 made their rapid and extensive conquests, and cre.ited one of the 
 largest empires that ever were in the world. Bp. Newton. 
 
 21. Bui my covenant mill I establish with I.iaac,'\ My spiritual 
 covenant ; My everlasting covenant, chap. xii. 3. As for the tem- 
 poral covenant, or promise, Ishmael was made as much partaker 
 dt it as Isaac ; and so was Esau, as well as Jacob. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 St. Paul points out a material difference between these two sons 
 01 Abraham. Ke says that Ishmael, the son of the bondwoman, 
 was born only according to the flesh, in the conmiion com-se of 
 ^ature : but that Isaac was bom by virtue of the promise, and by 
 'he particular interposition of the Divine Power : and that these 
 'wo sons of Abraham were designed to represent the two cove- 
 ii..ts of the Law and of the Gospel ; the former a state of bondage, 
 lie latter cffrcedciB, Gal. iv. 22 — 31. Bp. Tomlinc. 
 
 25 And Ishmael his son a-a^ thirteen rnRi'r 
 years old, when he was circumcised in the i^gg.^ 
 flesh of his foreskin. 
 
 26 In the selfsame day was Abraham 
 circumcised, and Ishmael his son. 
 
 27 And all the men of his house, born iii 
 the house, and bought with money of tlie 
 stranger, were circumcised with him. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 1 Abraham entertainelh three angels. 9 Sarah is re- 
 proved for latighirig at the strange promise. 17 The 
 destruction of Sodom is revealed to Abraham. 23 
 Abraham makelh intercession for the men thereof. 
 
 AND the Lord appeared unto him in '■'js- 
 the plains of Mamre : and he sat in 
 the tent door in the heat of the day ; 
 
 2 * And he lift up his eyes and looked, \ucht. m. 
 and, lo, three men stood by him : and "" 
 when he saw them, he ran to meet them 
 
 from the tent door, and bowed himself to- 
 ward the ground, 
 
 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have 
 found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I 
 pray thee, from thy servant : 
 
 Chap. XVIII. ver. 1 . And the Lord appeared vnio him^ When 
 we consider what our Saxdour saith, Jofin i. 18, " No man hath 
 seen God at any time ; the only-begotten Son, which is in the 
 bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him;" as also John vi. 46, 
 we must be convinced that it was not God the Father, who 
 shewed Himself in these appearances ; but that it was He, the 
 Logos or Word, who appeared to the Patriarchs ; and neither 
 God the Father, nor His angels. Bp. fVilson. 
 
 ■^■^ he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day ;]] " At ten 
 niinutes afler ten in the morning, we had in view several fine 
 bays, and a plain full of booths, with the Turcomans sitting by 
 the doors, under sheds resembling porticoes ; or by shady trees, 
 surrounded with flocks of goats." Dr. Chandler. 
 
 2. — three men'\ Whom he took to be Qirce men. Bp. 
 Wilson. 
 
 It is very observable, that one of these appeared superiour to 
 the other two : Abraham therefore addresses him as the dhief, 
 and Moses styles him Jehovali, which most Jews and Clu-istians 
 look upon as the incommunicable name of God : and therefore 
 the far greatest part of the latter beheve, that it was the Son of 
 God, who appeared in that form. Others however, particularly 
 some modem ones, maintain, that it was no more than an angel, 
 wlio spoke in the person of God : though it is hardly probable, 
 either that Moses should call an angel by that name, or that 
 Abraham should intercede with him, as he does, when he saith, 
 " That be far from thee to slay the righteous with the wicked ; 
 shall not the Judge of all the earth do right }" or that an angel 
 should peremptorily say, ''' If I find fifty righteous within the 
 city, for their sakes I will spare all the place. " So that the most 
 probable opinion is, that it was C.'irist Himself, who is emphati- 
 cally called " the Judge of all the earth." Stackhoiisc. 
 
 Happy were the days, when celestial visitants thus dcignc.i 
 to descend, and converse with men, " as a man converseth with 
 his friend." But surely we have no reason to complain of any 
 partiality shewn in this respect to our fatliers ; wo, to whom this 
 comfortable promise hath been made by the mouth of TnuTH 
 itself; " If a nian love Me, My Father will love him, and we will 
 come, and make our abode witli him," John xiv. 23. By His 
 word and by His spirit, Christ continually visiteth Hia people, 
 and dwelleth in the hcaits of the faithful. Bp. Home. 
 
 G-i
 
 The promise of Isaac reneued. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Sarah is reproved for laughing. 
 
 Bcfure 
 CHRIST 
 
 1898. 
 
 flleb. 
 
 ^ou /taic 
 fainni. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 • Clup. 17 
 19. It ■■il. -2 
 
 4. Let ;i little water, I pray yon, be fetch- 
 ed, and wash your feet, and rest your- 
 selves under the tree : 
 
 5 And I will fetch a morsc-l of bread, 
 and t comfort ye your hearts ; alter that ye 
 shall pass on : for therefore t are ye come 
 to your servant. And they said, So do, as 
 thou hast said. 
 
 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent 
 unto Sarah, and said, t Make ready quickly 
 three measures of tine meal, knead it, and 
 make cakes upon the hearth. 
 
 7 And Abraliam ran unto the herd, and 
 fetclit a calf teiuler and good, and gave 
 it unto a young man ; and he hasted to 
 dress it. 
 
 8 And he took butter, and milk, and 
 the calf which he had dressed, and set it 
 before them ; and he stood by them under 
 the tree, and they did eat. 
 
 9 % And tliey said unto him, Where is 
 Sarah thy wife ? And he said. Behold, in 
 tlie tent. 
 
 10 And he said, I will certainly return 
 unto thee according to the time of life ; 
 and, lo, " Sarah thy wife shall have a son. 
 And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which 
 li-as behind him. 
 
 Before 
 Oil III ST 
 
 18»8. 
 
 .'i. — a morsel of bread, ~^ Rather, a loaf of bre;id ; comprehend- 
 ing all necess.iry provision at a intal. lip. Patrick. 
 
 The Eastern jieople in gencilil arc great eaters of bread ; it 
 being computed that three persons in four live entirely upon it, 
 or else on such compositions as .are made of barley and \'vhcat 
 flour. Frequent mention is raude of this simple diet in the holy 
 Scriptures. Dr. Sluiiv. 
 
 comfort i/e your heart.'. ;] Refresh yourselves. 
 
 6. — make cakes nj-on the hrarth.'] Rauwoltf tells us in his 
 Travels, that as he went through a country, which lies between 
 Mesopotamia and Media, a woman presently made them cakes, 
 •bout a finger thick, and of the bigness of a trencher : M'hich 
 she first laid upon hot stones, and tiu-ned them often ; and then 
 threw ashes .and embers over them : which he says were very 
 savoury. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Among the Bedoweens, as soon as the dough is kneaded, it is 
 made into thin cakes, which are either immediately baked upon 
 the coals, or else in a shallow earthen vessel like a fryingpan. 
 Such were the " vmleavened cakes," Exod. xxix. 2, and other 
 places of .Scrij>ture ; and the " cakes which Sarah made quicklv 
 on the hearth." Dr. .Shatr. 
 
 7. -Jhi/ Abraham ran unto the herd,"] It is no disgrace here for 
 persons of the higiiest character to busy themselves in what 
 we should reckon menial employments. The greatest prince of 
 these countries is not ashamed to fetch a lamb from his herd, and 
 kill it, whilst tlie princess is impatient till she hath prepared her 
 fire and her kettle to dress it. The custom, that still continues, 
 of walking cither barefoot or only with sandals, requires the 
 ancient compliment of bringing water, upon the arrival of a 
 stranger, to wash his feet : whilst the person, who presents him- 
 self tlie first to do this office, and to give the nelcome, is the 
 master of the family ; who always distinguishes himself by being 
 the most officious ; and who, .titer his entertainment is prepared, 
 thinks It a shame to sit down with his guests, but will stand up 
 all the tune and .serve them. Dr. Shaiv. 
 
 9. — tn the tent.'] In her apartment : for women had their 
 apartments by themselves. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ' 1 Pet. 3. 6. 
 
 1 1 Now Abraham and Sarah "were old 
 and well stricken in age ; and it ceased to 
 be with Sarah after the manner of women. 
 
 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within her- 
 self, saying. After 1 am waxed old shall I 
 have pleasure, my ' lord being old also ? 
 
 13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, 
 Wiierefbre did Sarah laugli, saying. Shall 1 
 of a surety bear a child, which am old ? 
 
 I'l Is any thing too hard for the Loud? 
 At the time appointed I will return unto 
 thee, according to the time of life, and 
 Sarah shall have a son. 
 
 15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed 
 not ; for she was afraid. And he said. Nay; 
 but thou didst laugli. 
 
 16 *|[ And the men rose up from thence, 
 and looked toward Sodom : and Abraham 
 went with them to bring them on the way. 
 
 17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide 
 from Abraham that thing which I do ; 
 
 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely be- 
 come a great and mighty nation, and all 
 
 the nations of the earth shall be " blessed ' cimp. 12. 
 
 . , . _ 3. & 22. 18. 
 
 in hull? Acts 3. 25. 
 
 19 For I know him, that he will com- cais. s. 
 mand his children and his houshold after 
 
 him, and they shall keep the way of the 
 
 10. — accord ini; to the time of life s] The next or following 
 year : according to the usual time that passes from the conception 
 to the timely birth of a living child. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 12. — Sarah laughed n'ithin herself, "^ Not as Abraliam for joy, 
 but out of incredulity : having a greater regard to the order of na- 
 ture than to (lod's promise. Bi)s. Patrick and V/ilson. 
 
 Abrah.wi heard this news from the Angel, and " laughed:" 
 Sarah heard it, a id " laughed :" they did not more agree in their 
 desire, than difler in their sentiments : Abraham laughed forjo^; 
 Sarah, for distrust : Abraham laughed, becanse he believed it 
 tvould be so ; Sarah, because she believed it could not be so : the 
 same act varies in the manner of doing, and the intention of the 
 doer. Bp. Hall. 
 
 After I am waxed olcQ She was now eighty-nine years 
 
 old. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 1 .5. — for she n>as afraid."] This natural fear of Sarah's, ac- 
 companied with confusion at being discovered, betrayed her into 
 this denial, and so caused her to add one sin to another. For 
 this reason perliaps it is, that when the Apostle proposes Sarah as 
 a pattern of obedience to women, he at the same time cautions 
 them very seasonably against the fear by which she fell. " Whose 
 daughters ye are as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with 
 any amazement," 1 Pet. iii. 6. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 And he .-said, Nai/; but thou didst laugh.] Sarah only 
 
 laughed within herself, and is betrayed. How easily can God 
 discover even our most secret sins ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 ] 8. Seeing that Abrahavt &c.] Two reasons are given, why God 
 acquaints Abraham with His intended proceedings: 1st, Because 
 He had already revealed to him greater things, and made him 
 most gracious promises : 2dly, Because He knew that Abraham 
 would approve himself so faithful to Him, that he would not fail 
 to enjoy all that God had promised. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 19- — that he jvill command his children &c.]] This was the 
 great glory of Abraham, next to his being " the friend of God," 
 that he was " the father of the faithful." And the careful educa- 
 tion of children " in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" is 
 so honourable to parents, that God Himself would not pass it by
 
 Abraham maketh intercession 
 
 CHAP. xvm. 
 
 for the men <)f Sodom. 
 
 Before LoRD, to do justicc and judgment ; that 
 '^^Kss.^^ the Lord may bring upon Abraham that 
 which he hath spoken of him. 
 
 20 And the Lord said, Because the cry 
 of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and be- 
 cause their sin is very grievous ; 
 
 21 I will go down now, and see whether 
 they have done altogether according to the 
 cry of it, which is come unto me ; and if 
 not, I will know. 
 
 22 And the men turned their faces from 
 thence, and went toward Sodom : but xlbra- 
 ham stood yet before the Lord. 
 
 23 % And Abraham drew near, and said, 
 Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with 
 the wicked ? 
 
 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous 
 within the city : wilt thou also destroy and 
 not spare the place for the fifty righteous 
 that are therein ? 
 
 25 That be far from thee to do after this 
 manner, to slay the righteous with the wick- 
 ed : and that the righteous should be as the 
 wicked, that be far from thee : Shall not the 
 Judge of all the earth do right ? 
 
 26 And the Lord said. If I find in Sodom 
 fifty righteous within the city, then I will 
 spare all the place for their sakes. 
 
 27 And Abraham answered and said. 
 
 in Abraham without special mention of it to his everlasting com- 
 mendation ; " I know Abraham," saith God, " that he will com- 
 mand his children and his household after him to keep the way of 
 the Lord, and to do jvistice and judgment." Ahp. Tillotson. 
 
 Parents and masters of families, from the example of this Father 
 of the Faithful, may learn their duty to instruct their chikhen and 
 servants in the way of the Lord. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 That Abraham might be ftu-nished with a powerful argument 
 against a wicked course of life, which he might make use of for 
 the instruction of others, he is made acquainted with God's inten- 
 tions agaiiist Sodom : so that he could assure his posterity, that 
 this dreadful judgment was not the effect of natural causes, but 
 the appointment of a just and angry God. " The fear of the Lord 
 is the beginning of wisdom." Bp. Wilson. 
 
 21. I will go dow7i &c.] The patience of God was very great 
 towards Sodom and Gomorrah. For when the cry of their sins 
 had reached heaven, and called loud for vengeance to be poured 
 down upon them ; to express the wonderful patience of God to- 
 ward such grievous sinners, though nothing is hid from His sight 
 and knowledge, yet He is represented as coming do^vn from hea- 
 ven to earth on purpose to inquire into the truth of things, and 
 " whether they were altogether according to the cry that was 
 come up to Him." Abp. Tillotson. 
 
 In this passage God speaks after the manner of men ; using the 
 language of a good judge, who never passes sentence, much less 
 executes it, tiU he hath examined the cause. Bps. Kidder and 
 Patrick. 
 
 3t2. — / will not destroy it for ten's sake.'] A wondei-ful repre- 
 sentation of the tender mercy of the most High ; who conde- 
 .scended to grant a reprieve to the whole country for the sake of 
 a few righteous, could they have been found in it. And His mercy 
 was still greater, even beyond Abraham's desire ; for He spared 
 one of the five cities, for the sake of three or four persons : as we 
 read chap. xix. 20, 21. 
 
 Abraliam makes no express mention of Lot in any of the fore- 
 
 Behold now, I have taken upon me to ^^^l^ 
 speak unto the Lord, which am but dust isys. 
 and ashes : 
 
 28 Peradventure there shall lack five of 
 the fifty righteous : wUt thou destroy all 
 the city for lack q/Uve? And he said, If I 
 find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. 
 
 29 And he spake unto him yet again, 
 and said, Peradventure there shall be forty 
 found there. And he said, I will not do it 
 for forty's sake. 
 
 30 And he said unto him. Oh let not the 
 Lord be angiy, and I will speak : Perad- 
 venture there shall thirty be found there. 
 And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty 
 there. 
 
 31 And he said, Behold now, I have 
 taken upon me to speak unto the Lord : 
 Peradventure there sliall be twenty found 
 there. And he said, I will not destroy it 
 for twenty's sake. 
 
 32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be 
 angry, and I will speak yet but this once : 
 Peradventure ten shall be found there. 
 And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's 
 sake. 
 
 33 And the Lord went his way, as soon 
 as he had left communing with Abraham : 
 and Abraham returned unto his place. 
 
 going petitions : but it is plain from chap. xix. 29, that he was in 
 his thoughts, which God knew ; and he is comprehended in those 
 words at the 23d verse of this chapter, " Wilt Thou also destroy 
 the righteous with the wicked ?" Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The conduct of Abraham on this occasion furnishes a powerful 
 instance of the efficacy of weM-directed prayer, and an encou- 
 ragement to the faithful at all times to " continue instant in prayer, 
 watching thereunto with all perseverance ;" without fainting in- 
 deed, but " with all humility of mind." Thoiigh .\braham did 
 not succeed for the guilty Sodom, his intercession was powerful 
 to save Lot, and the righteous part of his family. And one of the 
 five cities, Zoar, as appears from the next chapter, was saved by 
 the sole intercession of Lot ; and by a gracious impossibihty. So- 
 dom itself, the largest and the guiltiest, could not be destroyed, 
 while one righteous person remained therein. These are ra- 
 markable and comfortable instances of the mighty efficacy of in- 
 tercession before the throne of gi-ace. " The effectual fervent 
 prayer of a righteous man availeth much," not only for himself^ 
 but for his family and friends, and for liis country, .-md even 
 for strangers. While the destruction of Sodom, because there 
 were not ten righteous fosnd therein, furnishes a most .-(wful 
 and awakening example, that every obstinate and incorrigible 
 sinner is not only an enemy to himself, but an enemy to his 
 family and to his country, by contributing to swell the tide of 
 national guilt, which will not fail to end in national calamity, 
 whenever the measure of the iniquity of the indixiduals, tliat 
 compose the community, shall come to the full. Dr. Hales. 
 
 In this chapter we find the Iwly Patriarch AbraJi.-un interced- 
 ino- with the Lord for sinful Sodom : and we find, such is the 
 ainazing extent of Divine mercy, tliat had there been only ten 
 righteous persons ui the city, the rest woidd have been spared for 
 their sakes. But the corruption was universal; and .\braham 
 himself could hiterfere no longer. " The Lord left communing 
 with Abraliam: and Abraham returiwd unto his place.' Bp. 
 Home.
 
 Lot entertaineth txco anseh. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 The Sodomites stricken xvith blindness. 
 
 Before CHAP. XIX. 
 
 CUBIST 
 
 I «!».•• 1 Lot cnJt'.iainelh tiro angels. 4 The vicioa.t Sodomies 
 
 are ilrickcii with Uindiiess. 12 IjjI is sent for tafetf/ 
 
 into the mountains. 1 8 He olHainelh leare to go into 
 
 /oar. 2+ Sodom and Gojnt>rrah are destroyed. 26 
 
 Lol't mfe is a pillar of salt. .'iO Lot dn-ellelh in a 
 
 cave. 31 The incestuous original of Moab and Avi- 
 
 A' 
 
 ND there came two angels to Sodom 
 at even ; and Lot sat in tlie gate of 
 Sodom : and Lot seeing t/iein rose up to 
 meet tlicin ; and lie bowed himself with his 
 face toward the ground ; 
 
 2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, 
 turn in, I pray you, into your servant's 
 ' cjup 18. iiouse, and tarry all night, and "" wash your 
 feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on 
 your ways. And they said. Nay ; but we 
 will abide in the street all night. 
 
 S And he pressed upon them greatly ; 
 and they turned in unto him, and entered 
 into his house ; and he made them a feast, 
 and did bake unleavened bread, and they 
 did eat. 
 
 4 % But before they lay down, the men 
 of the city, eieti the men of Sodom, com- 
 passed the house round, both old and 
 young, all the people from every quarter : 
 
 5 And they called unto Lot, and said 
 unto him. Where are the men which came 
 in to thee this night ? bring them out unto 
 us, that we may know them. 
 
 Chap. XIX. Extraordinarj' interpositions of Providence de- 
 mand extraordinary attention. If God speaks, it is but reasonable 
 that man should hear. And when He executed the vengeance 
 recorded in this cliapter. He cert.-iinly spake in an audible 
 voice to the hopes and fears of all the dwellers upon earth. Bj' 
 the deliverance vouchsafed to His righteous servant. He encou- 
 raged the hopes of such as, like him, preserved their integrity in 
 the midst of a crooked and perverse generation ; while by the 
 unparalleled destruction of the cities of the plain. He alarmed the 
 fears of those, who resembled them in impiety and iniquity. And 
 though so many hundred years have past, since that astonishino- 
 catastrophe took place, yet the histor)' should answer the same 
 purpose now, that the event itself was designed to do then. No 
 time can destroy the efficacy of this salutary medicine for the 
 disorders of the world. \'irtue and vice are not changeable 
 things : they continue still the same, and there is no alteration in 
 the Di\-ine decrees concerning them. Sooner or later, in this life 
 or in the next, a deliverance similar to that of Lot will be granted 
 to the righteous: a destruction, answering to that of Sodom, will 
 be the portion of tiie wicked. For, as St. Peter argues on the 
 .subject, " If God turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into 
 ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an en- 
 fample unto those that after should live ungodly ; and delivered 
 
 just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked : the 
 
 Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and 
 to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." 
 Bp. Hornc. 
 
 ^'"■. 1. — Lot sat in the gate of Sodom .] People might sit in 
 the gate anciently for conversation and diversion, as they do now 
 ajnong the .\ abs, in markets and fairs. Lot seems to have placed 
 himself in the gate after this manner, for ;uuusciucnt and society. 
 Harmer. 
 
 (j And Lot went out at the door unto chr'i'st 
 them, and .shut the door afler him. 
 
 18>)3. 
 
 7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not 
 so wickedly. 
 
 8 Behold now, I have two daughters 
 w hich have not known man ; let me, I pray 
 you, bring them out unto you, and do ye 
 to them as is good in your eyes : only unto 
 these men do nothing } for therefore came 
 they under the shadow of my roof. 
 
 9 And they said. Stand back. And they 
 said again. This one felloxo came in to so- 
 journ, and he will needs be a judge : now 
 will we deal worse with thee, than with 
 them. And they pressed sore upon the 
 man, even Lot, and came near to break the 
 door. 
 
 10 But the men put forth their hand, 
 and pulled Lot into the house to them, and 
 shut to the door. 
 
 11 And they smote the men " that 'were " wisi i;>. 
 at the door of the house with blindness, "" 
 both small and great : so that they wearied 
 themselves to find the door. 
 
 12 ^ And the men said unto Lot, Hast 
 thou here any besides ? son in law, and thy 
 sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever 
 thou hast in the city, bring them out of 
 this place : 
 
 13 For we will destroy this place, be- ^ 
 cause the "cry of them is waxen great be- so.°*^ '*' 
 
 2. — turn in, I pray you, &c.] In the Eastern countries of late 
 some few caravansaries have been .set up, but in Lot's time there 
 were no inns for the accommotlation of strangers ; so that travel- 
 lers, unless invited to a private house, were forced to lie all night 
 in the streets. It was customary therefore for those of the better 
 sort to receive travellers, wheUier or not thej' knew them, into 
 their houses, and entertain them with j,Teat civility. For this 
 reason we meet, IxJth in sacred and profane authors, witli such 
 large commendations of this act of hospitality ; and particulojly 
 in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chap. xiii. 2, we have a precept to 
 this effect, alluding to tiiis verj" histoiy : " Be not forgetful to 
 entertain strangers ; for tliereby some have entertained angels 
 unawares." Stackhouse. 
 
 a. — unleaivned bread,'] Because it would be soonest ready. 
 
 5. — tlmi 7VC may knotv them.'] This vile sin, so hateful to God, 
 and repugnant to human nature, continued among the Gentiles 
 till the Apostles' time, as may be gathered from Rom. i. 27, and 
 1 Cor. vi. 9. It was expressly forbidden by the law of Moses, 
 Levit. xviii. 22, and thereby made capital, chap. xx. IS, as it is 
 also by our English laws. Stackhouse. 
 
 7- — do not so wickedly.'] As to break the rights of hospitality, 
 and violate the laws of nature. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. Behold norv, I have two daughters &C.3 If we may not do 
 any evil, to procure a positive good, certainly much less may we 
 do one evil, to avoid or prevent another. Lot should have re- 
 solved, rather to suffer any evil, than to do any. He should 
 rather have adventured his own life, and theirs too, in protecting 
 the chastity of his daughters, and the safety of his guests, than 
 have offered the exposal of his daughters to the lusts of the So- 
 domites, though it were to redeem his guests from the abuse of 
 fouler and more abominable filthiness. There is no perplexity, no 
 necessity, no obligation, no expediency, which should cither en-
 
 Lot and his family are sent out of Sodom. CHAP. XIX. Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed. 
 
 Before fgre the face of the Lord : and the Lord 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1S98. hath sent us to destroy it. 
 
 14 And Lot went out, and spake unto 
 his sons in law, which married his daugh- 
 ters, and said. Up, get you out of this place; 
 for the Lord will destroy this city. But he 
 seemed as one that mocked unto his sons 
 in law. 
 
 15 % And when the morning arose, then 
 the angels hastened Lot, saying. Arise, take 
 
 l^fyund ^^y ^^^^' ^"'^ * V ^^^'o daughters, which t are 
 J Or!" here; lest thou be consumed in the II ini- 
 S!''" quity ofthe city. 
 
 "Wis'i 10. 16 And " while he lingered, the men laid 
 ^" hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of 
 
 his wife, and upon the hand of his two 
 daughters; the Lord being mercifid unto 
 him : and they brought him Ibrth, and set 
 him without the city. 
 
 17 1[ And it came to pass, when they had 
 brought them forth abroad, that he said. 
 Escape for thy hfe; look not behind thee, 
 neither stay thou in all the plain; escape 
 to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. 
 
 18 And Lot said unto them, Ch, not 
 so, my Lord : 
 
 force or persuade us to any sin. The resolution, " Let us do evil, 
 that good may come/' is pronounced by an Apostle to be worthy 
 of condemnation. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 1 }■. — ivhick married his daugMers,~\ Or, were to marry: that 
 is, were betrothed or espoused to his daughters. Ep. Wilson. 
 
 But he seemed as one that mocked^ Lot warns his sons in 
 
 law like a prophet, and ad\-ises them Ukc a father; but both in 
 vain : he seems to them as if he mocked, and they do more than 
 seem to mock him again. " WTiy should to morrow differ from 
 other days? VVho ever saw it rain fire.'' Or whence should that 
 brimstone come.^ Or if such showers must fall, how sliaU nothing 
 burn but this valley?" So to carnal men preaching is foolishness, 
 devotion idleness, the Prophets maclmen, Paul a babbler; these 
 men's incredidity is as worthy of the fire, as the others' unclean- 
 ness. " He that believeth not, is condemned already." Bp. Hall. 
 
 l6. — while he lingered,^ It is observable that Lot, though he 
 fully believed there should be a performance of the things which 
 were told him, yet made not that haste to get out of the city, 
 which the case required. How apt is the sinner to linger and to 
 pat off his repentance ! How often is God forced, as it were, to 
 irrest him by sickness or some grievous calamity, and so to drag 
 ^n from perdition! And O! how merciful is the Lord to that 
 •nan, whom by any means, however painful and afflicting. He 
 bringeth forth into safety, and setteth him without the city ! Let 
 such an one hear the voice of his gracious Deliverer, saying to him 
 in the person of Lot, •' Escape for thy life; look not behind thee; 
 TMrither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou 
 ic consumed." — E>xape, O sinner, for thine eternal life: look not 
 re hind thee on the pleasures thou hast left, neither let thine affec- 
 t'-cis stay upon the earth; escape to the holy moimtain, lest thou 
 fce consumed with the worlcL Bp. Home. 
 
 22. — / cannot do any thirtg &c.] Having made thee this pro- 
 ■ -.Jsc, I must defer the vengeance till thou art safe there. Bp. 
 
 Therefore the name of the citii rcas called Zoar.'\ Signifying 
 
 • little:" for the name of it was Beia before, chap. xiv. 2. Bp. 
 fviUon. 
 
 In times of publick calamity, there is often some little Zoar 
 provided for them that love God, where they arc wonderfully 
 
 19 Behold now, thy ser\'ant hath found 
 grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified 
 thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto 
 me in saving my life ; and I cannot escape 
 to the mountain, lest some evil take me, 
 and I die : 
 
 20 Behold now, this city is near to flee 
 unto, and it is a Httle one: Oh, let me 
 escape thither, (js it not a little one ?) and 
 my soul shall live. 
 
 21 And he said unto him. See, I have 
 accepted t thee concerning this thing also, 
 that I will not overthrow this city, for the 
 which thou hast spoken. 
 
 22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I can- 
 not do any thing till thou be come thither. 
 Therefore the name of the city was called 
 Zoar. 
 
 23 % The sun was t risen upon the earth 
 when Lot entered into Zoar. 
 
 24 Then ' the Lord rained upon Sodom 
 and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire 
 from the Lord out of heaven ; 
 
 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all 
 the plain, and all the inhabitants of the ci- 
 ties, and that which grew upon the ground. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1S98. 
 
 tHcb. 
 
 thyfacr. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 goruj'jrth. 
 
 « Dcut. ?9. 
 
 23. 
 
 Luke ]T. 
 
 29. 
 
 Isai. 13.19. 
 
 Jcr. 50. 40. 
 
 Amos 4. 
 
 n. 
 
 Jude 7. 
 
 preserved from the judgments, that fall on their country and their 
 kindred. The Roman armies, which surrovmded Jerusalem, to 
 execute on it the vengeance predicted, drew off in an unaccount- 
 able manner, as if their design had been to give the Christians 
 contained within its walls an opportunity of withdrawing to a 
 little adjoining city called Pella, which proved a Zoar to them: 
 from whence they beheld the Roman eagles fly again to devour 
 their destined prey. And what is the Cliurch upon earth, but a 
 Zoar, a Utile citi/, (is it not a httle one?) spared at tlie interces- 
 sion of its Lord ? Here the penitent, not yet strong enough to 
 escape to die heavenly mountain, findeth rest and refreshment, 
 and is strengthened to pursue his journey. Hither let him escape, 
 and his soul shall live. Bp. Home. 
 
 24. Tlwn the Lord rained from the Lord] In the account 
 
 ofthe overthrow of Sodom, there is a distinction of persons in the 
 Godliead: " Then the Lord rained upon Sodoin and upon Go- 
 morrah brimstone and fire from the Loud out of heaven." The 
 former was tlie visible Lord, " the image," or representative, " of 
 the invisible," whom " no man hath seen at any time, nor can 
 see; nor ever saw His shape, nor heard His voice;" as we learn 
 from the former; who only could expound to mortals the nature 
 and the will of tlie Father: for " no man knoweth the Father, 
 save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.' 
 Compare CoL i. 15; Johni. 18; v. 37; 1 Tim. vi. i6; Matt. xi. 9.7. 
 That the visible Lord was the Son of God, was tiie doctrine of 
 the primitive Church: TertuUian says, " It is the Son, who has 
 executed judgment from the beginning : overthrowing the proud 
 tower of Babel, and confoimding mens languages; punishing the 
 whole world by the violence of waters; raining upon Sodom and 
 Gomorrah lire and brimstone, the Lord from the Lord." Dr. 
 
 Hales. ^ . , V 
 
 upon Scdom and upon Gomorrah'] -A^nd the neighbouring 
 
 cities, Admah and Zeboimj as appears from Deut. xxix. 23. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 brimstone and fire'] The plain where these cities stood, 
 
 which had been pleasant and fruitful, Uke an earthly paradise, 
 was first inflamed by lightning, which set fire to the bitumen, 
 with which it was replete; and it was afterwards overflowed by 
 the waters of the Jordan, which difiused itself there, and formed
 
 Lot dxoelleth in a cave. 
 
 GENKSIS. 
 
 The origin ofMoab and Ammon. 
 
 B«(^ SO IF But his wife looked back from be- 
 ''"Si"^ hiiui him, luul she became a pillar of salt. 
 
 '■n f Aad Abraham gat up early in the 
 moriiing to the place where he stood be- 
 , tiwre the Lokd : 
 
 '28 And he looked toward Sodom and 
 Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the 
 plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of 
 the country went up as the smoke of a 
 fiu"nace. 
 
 'i9 S\ And it came to pass, when God de- 
 stroyed the cities of the plain, that God 
 remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out 
 of tiie midst of the overthrow, when he 
 overtiirew the cities in the which Lot 
 dwelt. 
 
 30 IF Ax\A Lot went up out of Zoar, and 
 dwelt in the mountain, and his two daugh- 
 ters with liim ; for he feared to dwell in 
 Zoar : and he dwelt in a cave, he and his 
 two daughters. 
 
 31 And the firstborn said unto the 
 younger, Our father in old, and there is not 
 
 " the Dead sea," or •' lake of SckIoih," called also " tlie lake As- 
 plialtitcs," because of the asphaltus or bitumen, with wliich it 
 abounded ; and " the Salt seii," because the Hebrews call nitre 
 and bitumen sail. The Prophets speak often of the destruction 
 of So<loni and Goii'orrali, and say that these phices shall be desert, 
 cbied up, and uninhabited; covered with briers and branibles; a 
 land of salt and sulphur, where there can be neither planting nor 
 sowinj?. Josejihus siiys, that round about the lake of Sodom, 
 and about the cities heretofore destroyed by fire from heaven, the 
 land is all burnt up, and tlierc are still to be seen the dismal 
 effects of this terrible biuiiinp, and the remains of those unfortu- 
 nate cities. Heathen writers give accounts much to the same ef- 
 fect : especially Tacitus, who says that these cities were burnt by 
 the stroke of thunderbolts from heaven; and that vestiges of 
 that destruction remained, the earth itself being in ap))eai'ance 
 burnt up, and having lost its prolifick power: and the air being 
 infected with the same noisome qualities. Modern travellers 
 speak in like manner of the saltness of the water; of the un- 
 w holesomeness of the air; of the bitumen, gathered on the neigh- 
 bouring mountains, and covering the stones on the side of the 
 lake; and of a sort of black sulphureous stones, abounding on 
 the shores of the lake and on the neighbouring hills, which being 
 held in the flame of a candle soon bum, and yield a smoke of an 
 intolerable stench. Calmet, Bps. Patrick and Pococke, Maundrcll. 
 
 26. But his trife looked hack &.c.~\ There are in Lot's story two 
 very notable memorials of God's judginent. The lake of Sodom, 
 and Lot's wife's pillar. The one, the puni-shment of resolute sin; 
 the other, of faint virtue. For the Sodomites are an example of 
 impenitent wilful sinners: and Lot's wife, of unpersevering and 
 relapsing righteous persons. So that there are two sorts of men, 
 to whom these particulars are fitted. To those in a state of sin, 
 the lake of Sodom : to those in a state of grace. Lot's wife's pillar. 
 To the first in a state of sin, Moses proposeth " the vine of Sodom," 
 and the grapes of Gomfirr;ih, which, if you but touch them, turn 
 to ashes. To the others, in a state of grace, Christ proposeth the 
 pilku" of salt: " Reniember Lot's wife." To the one Jeremiah 
 crieth, that when they have " fallen," they should "arise again:" 
 to the others St. Paul saith, " Let him that thinketh he standeth, 
 tike heed lest he fall :" Deut xxxii. 32; Luke xvii. 32; Jer. viii. 4; 
 1 Cor. X. 1-2. Bp. Andremes. 
 
 a pillar ofxah."] It is probable that some of the dreadfid 
 
 rfiower, which destroyed the cities of the plain, overtook her; 
 and tailing upon her, wrapped her body in a sheet of nitro-sul- 
 
 Before 
 CHRISI 
 
 1998. 
 
 a man in the earth to come in unto us after 
 the manner of all the earth : 
 
 32 Come, let us make our father drink 
 wine, and we will lie with him, that w& 
 may preserve seed of our father. 
 
 33 And they made their father drink 
 wine that night: and the firstborn went 
 in, and lay with her father; and he per- 
 ceived not when she lay down, nor when 
 she arose. 
 
 31' And it came to pass on the morrow, 
 that the firstborn said unto the younger, 
 Behold, I lay yesternight with my father : 
 let us make him drink wine this night also; 
 and go thou in, and lie with him, that we 
 may preserve seed of our father. 
 
 35 And they made their father drink 
 wine that night also: and the younger 
 arose, and lay with him-, and he perceived 
 not when she lay down, nor when she 
 arose. 
 
 36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot 
 with child by their father. 
 
 phureous matter; which congealed into a crust as hard as stone, 
 and made her appear like a pillar of salt, her body being, as 
 it were, candied with it. Josephus says, that the pilLir was re- 
 maining in his time. Bps. Patrick and Wilson. 
 
 28. — and, lo, the .tmoke of the counJri/ rvent up &c.]] "As it was in 
 the days of Lot, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man:'* 
 when that last morning shall dawn, and the Sun of Righteousness 
 shall arise in glorious majesty upon the earth. No sooner shall 
 He make His appearance, than the heavens, being on fire at His 
 presence, siiall be dissolved, and pass away with a great noise: 
 the earth also, with tlie works that are therein, shall be burned 
 up. Then shall be fulfilled that which was spoken by the 
 Psalmist in terms evidently borrowed from the history before us : 
 " Upon the ungodly He shall rain fire and brimstone, storm and 
 tempest: this shall be their portion." What Sodom was, the 
 world shall be: and at the last day, when we shall arise and look 
 towards the place, where its pleasures and dehghts, its beauties 
 and glories once existed, as " Abraham arose in the morning, and 
 looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the cities of 
 the plain," we shall behold a sight like that which presented itself 
 to the Patriarch, " the smoke of the country going up, as the 
 smoke of a furnace." 
 
 But the same all-gracious and merciful God, who, " when He de- 
 stroyed the cities of the plain, remembered Abraham, and sent Lot 
 out of the midst of the overthrow;" when He shall destroy this 
 place wherein we dwell, will remember the true Abraham, the 
 Father of us all, our dear Redeemer and Intercessor: and for His 
 sake, if we now repent and believe in Him, will save us in that 
 day from the ruins of a burning world, and fr«m those fires which 
 are never to be extinguished. Bp. Home. 
 
 33. And they made their father drink wi/ie] We must be con- 
 vinced of the frailty of nature, wdthout the grace of Go<l, when 
 we read the account of Lot's intemperance after so great a deli- 
 verance; and if we have any concern for our salvation, we shall 
 dread a vice, which will lead a man to the greatest crimes. Bp. 
 Wilson. I 
 
 36. Thus were both the daughters of Lot &c.] One circumstance 
 must be remembered by those, who would understand the scope 
 and design of the sacred wTiter, in furnishing us with particu- 
 lar relations coTitained in this book; which is, that h« always 
 kept in mind the promise of the Messiah, and was desirous of 
 .shewing, that the expectation of this great object of the Jew- 
 ish hopes w as predominant in all times, and infiufnced. the
 
 Ah'aham sojoimielh at Gerar. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 Ahimekch is reproved. 
 
 chrTst '^' -^^^^ '''^^ firstborn bare a son, and 
 1897. called his name Moab : the same is the fa- 
 ther of the Moabites nnto this day. 
 
 38 And the younger, she also bare a 
 son, and called his name Ben-ammi : the 
 same is the father of the children of Am- 
 nion unto this day. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 1 Ahiuhain sojonnielh at Girar, 2 denieth his wife, and 
 losclh her, 3 Ablmelecli is reproved for Iter in a 
 dream. 9 He rebukcth Abraham, 14 restorcth Sarah, 
 \G arul reprovcth her. 17 He is healed by Abraham's 
 prayer. 
 
 about I89S. 
 
 AND Abraham journeyed from thence 
 toward the south country, and dwell- 
 ed between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourn- 
 ed in Gerar. 
 
 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, 
 
 opinions and manners of every generation. The recollection of 
 this will furnish the reason of many particulars mentioned in the 
 book, which might otherwise appear e.xtraordinary and exception- 
 able. It will perhaps serve to explain the conduct of Lot's 
 daughters ; tlie violent desire of Sarah for a son ; the soUcitude 
 of Isaac to remove the barrenness of Rebekah ; and the conten- 
 tion between the wives of Jacob. In conformity with this design 
 also Moses relates the jealousies between Ishmael and Isaac ; and 
 between Esau and Jacob ; and many other minute and singular 
 particulars, which an historian of his dignity would not have 
 condescended to describe, but with a view to illustrate the general 
 persuasion of, and gradual preparation for, the coming of the 
 Messiah. Dr. Gray. 
 
 Chap. XX. ver. 1. — journeyed from thence"] That is, from 
 Mamre, probably to avoid the stench of the vale of Siddim, and 
 on occasion of the destruction of Sodom, of which he was an 
 eyewitness. •Slac/chouse, Bp. Kidder. 
 
 toward the south country,'] Towards Egypt. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 Gerari] Gerar was a regal city, situated not far from the 
 
 angle, where the south and west sides of Palestine meet : and the 
 country, to which it gave the name, extended itself pretty far into 
 Arabia Petrea. Beer-sheba signifies the ivell of the oath, because 
 here Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech, king of Gerar, 
 concerning a well which he had digged hard by; here he likewise 
 planted a grove, and instituted an oratory, or place of divine wor- 
 ship ; and here in process of time was a city or considerable town 
 built, taken notice of by heathen authors under the name of Ber- 
 zimma, or Bersabe. Kadesh was a city, lying on the edge of the 
 land of Canaan, to the south of Hebron. Shur was the name of 
 that part of Arabia Petrea, which joins Egypt and the Red sea : 
 and somewhere between these two was the well, near which A- 
 braham, when he left Mamre, fixed his habitation. Stackhouse. 
 
 2. And Abraham said of Sarah &c.] See the note on chapter 
 xii. 13. It is still more extraordinary, that Abraham failed under 
 the same trial twenty-three years after his former failure : when 
 he again denied his wife to Abimelech, whose character and that 
 of his people was the reverse of that of the Egyptian conrt ; for 
 he took her " in the integrity of his heart," and his nation was 
 then " righteous." God therefore dealt more gently with him 
 than with the Egyptians ; and removed the plague of barren- 
 ness from him and his household, on Abraham's intercession. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 Abimelech'] The name of all the kings of Palestine, as 
 
 Pharaoh was of the kmgs of Egypt Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — in a drcaml God revealed Himself and His will fre- 
 Voi„ I. 
 
 married to 
 071 husband. 
 
 She is my sister : and Abimelech lung of before 
 Gerar sent, and took Sarah. Swifil^Z 
 
 3 But God came to Abimelech in a 
 dream by night, and said to him. Behold, 
 tliou art but a dead man, for the woman 
 which thou hast taken; for she is ta man's tHeb. 
 wife. 
 
 4 But Abimelech had not come near 
 her : and he said, Lord, wiJt thou slay 
 also a righteous nation ? 
 
 5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? 
 and she, even she herself said. He is my 
 brother : in the I! integrity of my heart and II. O''.. 
 innoccncy of my hands have I done this. X«Siy. 
 
 6 And God said unto him in a dream. 
 Yea, I know that thou didst this in the in- 
 tegrity of thy heart ; for I also withheld 
 thee from sinning against me : therefore 
 suffered I thee not to touch her. 
 
 quently in old times, especially before the sealing of the Scripture- 
 canon, in sundry manners : as by visions, prophecies, ecstasies, 
 oracles, and other supernatural means ; among the rest, by dreams. 
 By such supernatural revelations He imparted His will, not only 
 to the godly and faithful, though more frequently and especially 
 to them ; but sometimes also to hypocrites within the church, as 
 to Saul and others ; and sometimes even to heathens out of the 
 church, as to Pharaoh, Balaam, Nebuchadnezzar, &c. and here to 
 Abimelech. But since the writings of the Prophets and Apostles 
 were made up, the Scripture-canon sealed, and the Christian 
 church by the preaching of the Gospel became imi\ersal ; dreams, 
 and other supernatural revelations, as also other things of like 
 natin-e, as miracles, and all the more immediate and extraordin;u-y 
 manifestations of the will and power of God, have ceased to be 
 of ordinary and familiar use : so that now, we ought rather to 
 suspect delusion in them, than to expect direction from them. 
 Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 t/toii art but a dead man,] That is, thou shalt certainly die. 
 
 But then there is a condition implied in this as in other threats ; 
 namely, " If he did not restore Abraham his wife." See Jonah iii. 
 4; Ez'ek. xxxiii. 14, 15. Besides, the words imply wliat punish, 
 ment adultery deserves in God's accoimt. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 5. Said he not unto me, She is my sister ?] Abimelech, an hea- 
 then man, who had not the knowledge of the true God of heaven 
 to direct him in the right way ; and withal a King, who had 
 therefore none upon earth above him, to control him if he should 
 transgress; would yet have abhorred to have defiled himself know- 
 ingly by adultery with another man's wife, although the man 
 were but a stranger, and the woman exceeding beautifiU. Cer- 
 tainly Abimelech shall one day rise up in judgment, and condemn 
 thy filthiness and injustice, whosoever thou art, that coinmittejt, 
 or causest another to commit, adultery: " who knowing the judg- 
 ment of God, that they which do such things are worthy of death, 
 either dost the same thyself, or hast pleasure in them that do 
 them;" or being in place and office to punish incontinent persons, 
 dost at once both criminate thy own conscience, and embolden 
 the adulterer to commit that sin again without fear, from which 
 he hath once escapetl without shame. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 in the integrity of my heart] Not with any intention to 
 
 defile her, but to make her ray wife : and innoccncy of my hands ; 
 I did not take her by violence from Abr.iham, but he and she 
 consented to it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — / also withheld thee from sinning] It was Go<l's great 
 mercy to all the three parties, that He did not suffer tliis evil to 
 be done : for by this means He graciously preserved Abimelech 
 from the sin, Abraluun from the wrong, and Sarah frpni both. 
 And it ig to be acknowledged the great mercy of God, when at 
 
 • H
 
 Ahimek'ih rclniketh Abraham. 
 
 G E N E S I S. 
 
 Isaac is bom. 
 
 Brforc 7 Now therefore restore the man his 
 
 ^"wtl ^^ife; for he is a propliet, and he shall pray 
 
 for thee, and thou shalt live : and if thou 
 
 restore hci- not, know thou that thou shalt 
 
 surely die, thou, and all that are thine. 
 
 8 Therefore Abinielech rose early in the 
 morning, and called all his servants, and 
 told all tiicse things in their ears: and the 
 men were sore afraid. 
 
 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and 
 said unto him. What hast thou done unto 
 us? and what have I offended thee, that 
 thou hast brought on me and on my king- 
 dom a great sin ? thou hast done deeds 
 unto me that ought not to be done. 
 
 10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, 
 What sawest thou, that thou hast done 
 this thing ? 
 
 11 And Abraham said. Because I thought, 
 Surely the fear of God is not in this place; 
 and they will slay me for my wife's sake. 
 
 VZ And yet indeed she is my sister ; she 
 is the daughter of my father, but not the 
 daughter of my mother ; and she became 
 my wife. 
 
 13 And it came to pass, when God caus- 
 ed me to wander from my fivther's house, 
 that I said unto her. This is thy kindness 
 which thou shalt shew unto me ; at every 
 
 •Chap. 12 place whither we shall come, "say of me, 
 
 '" He is my brother. 
 
 BeForc 
 CHRIST 
 
 womenser- nboutiaos. 
 
 13 
 
 an}' time He doth (aiul He doth often more or less) by His gra- 
 cious and powerful restraint -Hithliold any man from running into 
 those extremities of sin and mischief, whereinto his own corrup- 
 tion would carry him headlong, especially when it is inflamed by 
 the cunning persuasions of Satan, and the manifold temptations 
 that are in the world llivough lust. Bp. Sanilcrson. 
 
 7. — he is a prnphcl,'] This is the first time we meet with the 
 word prophet; and Abr;Jiam is the first that is honoured with this 
 name. It signifies one admitted to a nearer intercourse with God; 
 so as to be allowed to consult Him, and to declare His mind and 
 will to others ; and also to prevail with Him by prayer to confer 
 blessings upon them. Bp. Patrick. Sec note on Numb. xi. 25. 
 
 he .shall pray fur //«r,] Though God c.in give His bless- 
 ing without the intercession of any of His serv;mts, yet it is plain 
 that He has otherwise ordered it. He sends them to His " Pro- 
 phets ;" to those whom He has appointed to " bless in His name ;" 
 to " men of like p;issions with themselves;" that He may prove 
 their faith and tlieir obedience. Bp. Wihon. 
 
 1 1. — the fear of' God /.v not in thin place ;~\ This fear of Gotl 
 being the great restriiint upon men's lusts and passions. " By 
 the fear of the Lord men depart from evil," Prov. xvi. 6. It ap- 
 pears however that Abimelech and his court were not so corrupt 
 as Abr.iliam suspecte<l. Bp.t. Kidder and Patrick. 
 
 l6. Aitd unto Sarah he said,'] In this speech Abimelech tells 
 .^arah, she was at liberty to return to her brother, as she calletl 
 him ; and might live with him without fear : for that he was so 
 far from designing any injury to him, or resenting what hatl 
 passed, that he had made him a present of great value, as a 
 token of esteem for u virtuous and good man. But by way of 
 gentle reproof, he advised her not to use any more artifices by 
 disowning .\braham for her husband ; but to place herself under 
 hii care, which would be a protection to her; or (as the words 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 as isgoorf frt 
 tliitie ei/fs. 
 
 11- And Abimelech took sheep, and 
 oxen, and menservants, and 
 vants, and gave ihej7i unto Abraham, and 
 restored him Sarah his wife. 
 
 15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my 
 land is before thee : dwell t where it pleas- 
 eth thee. 
 
 16 And unto Sarah he said. Behold, I 
 have given thy brother a thousand pieces 
 of silver : behold, he is to thee a covering 
 of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and 
 with all other : thus she was reproved. 
 
 17^ So Abraham prayed unto God: and 
 God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and 
 his maidservants ; and they bare children. 
 
 18 For the Lord had fast closed up all 
 the wombs of the house of Abimelecli, be- 
 cause of Sarah Abraham's wife. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 1 Ltaac is bom. 4 He is circumcised. 6 Sarah's Joi/. 
 9 Hagnr and Jshmael arc ca-tt forth. 1 .'> Ilagar in 
 dislre.fs. 17 The angel comforlelh her. 2si Abime- 
 lech's covenant with Abraham at Bcer-skeba. 
 
 AND the Lord visited Sarah as he had 
 said, and the Lord did unto Sarah ^as '^Ijj*^^- 
 he had spoken. \d. 
 
 2 For Sarah "conceived, and bare Abra- "^^^^''-J,- 
 ham a son in his old age, at the set time of iiebr. n. 
 which God had spoken to him. ''• 
 
 3 And Abraham called the name of his 
 
 may signify) wear her veil over her face, as she ought to do, that 
 every body might know her to be a man-ied woman, to prevent 
 such misfortunes for the future. P'/lc. 
 
 18. — because of Sarah Abraham's yvife.'\ Gotl here restrained 
 Abinielech, :is elsewhere He did Laban, and Esau, and Balaam, 
 and others ; not so much for their own sakes, though sometimes 
 perhaps that also; as for the sake of those, whom they would have 
 injured by their sins, if they had committed them. As here 
 Al)imelech for His chosen Abraham's sake; and I.aban and Esau 
 for His servant Jacob's sake ; and Balaam for His people Israel's 
 sake. As it is .said in the lO.Jth Psalm, and that with special 
 reference, as I conceive, to this very story of Abraham, " He 
 suffered no man to do them wrong, but reproved even kings for 
 their sakes ; saying. Touch not Mine anointed, and do My pro- 
 phets no harm :" He reproved " even kings," by restraining their 
 power, as here Abimelech : but it was " for their sakes" still ; 
 that so .Sarah " His anointed might not be touched," nor " His 
 prophet" Abraham sustain " any harm." Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 Chap. XXI. ver. 1. — the Lord visited Sarah &c.] Bestowed 
 on her tlie promised blessing. The word " visit" signifies, either, 
 in a bad sense, to inflict punishment, (Exod. xx. 5;) or, in a good 
 sense, as here, to confer blessings, (Exod. iii. l6; Ps. viii. 4.) Bp. 
 Palrick. 
 
 2. — Sarah conceived,'] That the posterity of Abraham might 
 be disposed hereafter more readily to receive the promisctl Se^d, 
 it pleased God to make Isaac, the heir of that promise, a most exact 
 type and figure of Jesns Christ. His birth was niiraculotts, its 
 was that of Christ ; for it was as much out of the common coifrse 
 of nature for Sarah to bear at ninety, as for a virgin to bekr a 
 child. He disputed not his father's will, though it was to cost 
 him his life: Jesus Christ became obedient everi to the death.
 
 Sarah's joy. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 Before gQii that was liom iftjio ru^, wfeom >wah 
 
 CHRIST, ^ ,. T „- :'..0'. --;jM'.H;f' 
 
 about 1897. bare to Jiim, isaac. 
 
 4 And Abraham circumcised his son 
 'Chap. 17. Isaac beinsr eight davs old, "as God had 
 
 12. J ] 1 • ' ' 
 
 commanded him. 
 
 5 And Abraham was an hundred years 
 old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. 
 
 6 ^ And Sarah said, God hath made me 
 to laugh, so that all that hear will Jaugh 
 with me. 
 
 7 And she said. Who would have said 
 unto Abraham, that Sarah should have 
 given children suck ? for I have born him 
 a son in his old age. 
 
 8 And the child grew, and was weaned: 
 and Abraham made a great feast the same 
 day that Isaac was weaned. 
 
 9 IF And Sarah saw the son of Hagar 
 the Egyptian, which she had born unto 
 Abraham, mocking. 
 
 about 1892. 10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, 
 ■> Gal. 4. 30. "* Cast out tliis boudwomau and her son: 
 for the son of this bondwoman shall not be 
 heir with my son, even with Isaac. 
 
 11 And the thing was very grievous in 
 Abraham's sight because of his son. 
 
 12 ^ And God said unto Abraham, Let 
 it not be grievous in thy sight because of 
 the lad, and because of thy bondwoman ; 
 in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, 
 hearken unto her voice ; for in Isaac shall 
 thy seed be called. 
 
 Isaac carried the wood on which he was to be sacrificed ; Jesus 
 Christ carried the cross on which He was to be crucified. They 
 both carried them to the very same place, mount Moriah ; being 
 the place, where the Temple was afterwards built, though then 
 a desert. So good was God : who, for the greater confirmation 
 of our faith, would not let us want these surprising instances of 
 the truth of both the Old and the New Testaments, confirming each 
 other. But then how great is the sin, and how great must be the 
 punishment, of infidelity ! Bp. Wilson. See note on ch. xxii. 19. 
 
 6. — God hath made me to laugh,'] That is, to rejoice exceed- 
 ingly. She refers to her laughter on a former occasion ; though 
 from a different motive. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. — and was weaned ;] Probably when he was two or three 
 years old. SlacJchouse. 
 
 9- — Sarah saw the son of Hagar — mocldng.~\ He derided 
 perhaps the festivity observed at Isaac's weaning, looking on him- 
 self as the firstborn. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — she said] And God approved it, ver. 12. And the 
 Apostle observes, that '• the Scripture saith. Cast out the bond- 
 woman, &c." Gal. iv. 30. Bf. Kidder. Abraham was satisfied by 
 what follows in ver. 1 2, that Sarah's motion proceeded not merely 
 from her anger, but from a Divine suggestion. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. — in Isaac shall thy seed be called.] The promised Seed, 
 the Messiah, shall not descend from Ishmael, but from Isaac. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 14. — took bread, and a bottle of water,] Which includes all 
 sort of provision for their present necessity, till they c;une to tlie 
 place, to which in all probability he directed them. Their wan- 
 dering about in the desert, until their water was consumed, ap- 
 pears to have been the effect of their accidentally mistaking their 
 way ; and not to have been intended by Abraham. Bp. Patrick, 
 Stackhouse. 
 
 Hagar and Ishmael cast forth. 
 
 IS" And also of the soiV of tne bond- ^"^ 
 woman will I make a nation, because he [(.^uMfils. 
 25 thy seed. 
 
 14 And Abraham rose up early in the 
 morning, and took bread, and a bottle of 
 water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it 
 on her shoulder, and the child, and sent 
 her away: and she departed, and wandered 
 in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. 
 
 15 And the water was spent in the bot- 
 tle, and she cast the child under one of the 
 shrubs. 
 
 16 And she went, and sat her down over 
 against Mm a good way off, as it were a 
 bowshot : for she said. Let me not see the 
 death of the child. And she sat over against 
 him, and lift up her voice, and wept. 
 
 17 And God heard the voice of the lad ; 
 and the angel of God called to Hagar out 
 of heaven, and said unto her. What aileth 
 thee, Hagar ? fear not ; for God hath heard 
 the voice of the lad where he is. 
 
 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him 
 in thine hand ; for I will make him a great 
 nation. 
 
 19 And God opened her eyes, and she 
 saw a well of water ; and she went, and 
 filled the bottle with water, and gave the 
 lad drink. 
 
 20 And God was with the lad ; and he 
 grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and be- 
 came an archer. 
 
 and the child,] Ishmael, though called " a child," was not 
 
 less than sixteen or seventeen years old ; and was consequently a 
 youth capable of being a support and assistance to his mother, as 
 he soon after proved. Stackhouse. See the note on Jer. i. 6. An 
 ambiguity in the text would be avoided, by placing the clause 
 " putting it on her shoulder" within a parenUiesis, as it is placed 
 by Bishop Kidder, Stackhouse, and Pyle. 
 
 15. —site cast the child &c.] The lad being faint and ready 
 to perish, she laid him under the shade of a tree or shrub. Bp. 
 Kidder. She lefl off supporting him, and let him gently drop 
 on the ground, where he desired to he. In a succeeding verse 
 the Angel of the Lord bade her lifl up Ishmael, and hold him 
 in her hand, or support him under his extreme weakness : she 
 had doubtless done this before ; and her quitting her hold, upon 
 his lying down, is the meaning of the word translated cast. 
 Harmer. 
 
 18. — / will make him a great nation.] Very properh* deno- 
 minated Ishmaeliles and Hagarenes by others, they affectedly 
 called themselves Saracens; thus rejecting their descent from the 
 concubine, and challenging it from the wife, of Abrahani ; till at 
 last they became noticed under that appellation by Dioscoridcs, 
 by Ptolemy, and the Jerusalem Targura itself. Whitaker. 
 
 20. _ and became an archer.] A skilfid hunter and warnour 
 also with bow and arrow. The Saracens, who were of the pos- 
 terity of Ishmael, never set their hands to the plough, but got 
 their living for the most part by their bow : supporting them- 
 selves on wild flesh and venison, and such wild fowl as the wil- 
 derness afforded, with herbs and milk. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It is from our inattention to the customs of the times, it we 
 imagine that Hagar and Ishmael had any hard usage in their 
 ejectment. Whatever the nature of their offence may have been, 
 there is no reason to accuse Abraham's conduct; since it was 
 
 H2
 
 Alnmelech'i covenant 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 ■witfi Al/raham. 
 
 Btfon 21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of 
 ^y^wi. Paran : and his mother took him a wife 
 out of the land of Egypt. 
 
 'i'-Z % And it came to pass at that time, 
 that Abimclccli and Phichol tho chief cap- 
 tain of his host spake unto Abraham, say- 
 ing, God is with thee in all that thou 
 docst : 
 
 '23 Now tlierefore swear unto me here by 
 t Hcb. God t that thou wilt not deal falsely with 
 ifihou,i.aii jj^p j^yj, ^^.j^j^ gQj^ „y^ ^^,-^^Yi my son's 
 
 lie unto Wf. ' *' 11*1 1 T 
 
 son : bttt accordmg to the knidness that 1 
 have done unto thcc, thou shalt do unto me, 
 and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. 
 2t And Abraham said, I will swear. 
 
 25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech 
 because of a well of water, which Abime- 
 lech's servants had violently taken away. 
 
 26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who 
 hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell 
 mc, neillier yet heard 1 ()J'U, but to day. 
 
 427 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, 
 . .. .%id gave them unto Abimelech ; and both 
 'of them made a covenant. 
 
 128 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of 
 the flock by themselves. 
 
 29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, 
 
 pursuant to a Divine ilirection, was agreeable to the practice of 
 the times, and no more t])an what otiier fathers in tliose days 
 iraposid ujiou tlieir younger sons: — since the hardships, which 
 Hagar and IsJiniael suffered, were accidental ; hut tlie benefits, 
 which accrued, were ilesigned : — since Abraham by this means 
 rescued them Irom a sUte of servitude tor ever ; and, according 
 to the Divine predit-tion, was persuaded, tliat tliis would be 
 the only expedient U> make of Ishmael a flourishing nation. 
 SlacUtoiisi: 
 
 23. — sirenr unlu mc here htf GoiH This is the first mention 
 of an oath given or taken. Bp. Wihon. 
 
 Briice, with reference to this passage, observes that a " kind of 
 oath," whicii he specifies as now prevailing in those parts, " was 
 in use among the Arabs, or shepherds, as early as the time of 
 AbraJiani." 
 
 " Cursed be those men of my people, or others, that ever shall 
 lift up their hand against you, either in the desert or the tell ; 
 (the part of Egypt which is cultivated.) As long as you are in 
 this country, or between this and Cosseir, my son shall serve you 
 with heart and hand : one night of pain, that your medicines 
 freed me from, would not be repaid, if I was to follow you on 
 foot to Messir, that is, Cairo." 
 
 " The grf at peojjle among them came, and, after joining hands, 
 repeated a kmd of prayer of about two minutes long, by which 
 they declared themselves and their children accursed, if ever 
 they lifted tlieir hands against me in the tell, or field, in the desert, 
 or on tlie river : or, in case that I or mine should fly to them for 
 refuge, if they did not protect us at tlie risk of their lives, their 
 tiuiiihes, and their fortunes ; or, as they emphaticidly expressed 
 It, to the death of the last male child among them." Bruce. 
 Jib And Abraham reproved Ahimcleciq Before he sware, he 
 thought It necessary to settle a right understanding between 
 them : and therefore argued with Abimelech, as it m"iy be ren- 
 dered, about a well of water, digged by Abraham's ser^'ant8, 
 wincli A^upclech's had injuriously taken' fi-om him. This was 
 w.sdonpto complain of wrongs now, before they entered into 
 coveiianf ; ^hat tliesc being redressed, Uiere might be uo occasion 
 of luture quarrels. Bp. Patrick. « i.-'rt. ^vjv jjTgij » 
 
 What mean these seven ewe lambs which (;j^^jj°ist. 
 thou hast set by themselves ? about 1892. 
 
 30 And he said, For t/iese seven ewe 
 lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they 
 may be a witness unto me, that I have dig- 
 ged this well. 
 
 31 Wherefore he called that place II Beer- IJ )"'"''%. 
 sheba;becausetheretheyswarebothofthem. //JU'il " 
 
 32 Thus they made a covenant at Beer- about is9!. 
 sheba : then Abimelech rose up, and Phi- 
 chol the chief captain of his host, and they 
 returned into the land of the Philistines. 
 
 33 IF And Abraham planted a || grove in II Or, ircc. 
 Beer-sheba, and called there on the name 
 
 of the Lord, the everlasting God. 
 
 34 And Abraham sojourned in the Phi- 
 listines' land many days. 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 1 Abraham is templed to offer Isaac. 3 He givelh proof 
 of his faith and obedience. 1 1 The angel stnycth him. 
 13 Isaac is exchanged with a ram. 14 The place is 
 called Jehovak-Jireh. 15 Abraham is blessed again. 
 20 The generation of Nahor unto Rcbekah. 
 
 AND it came to pass after these things, '^^-• 
 that 'God did tempt Abraham, and "Hcbr. ii. 
 said inito him, Abraham : and he said, 
 t Behold, here I am. ^bcim me. 
 
 27. And Abraham took &c. and gave them &c.] In token of 
 amity, or as an expression of gratitude. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Presents are considered in the East to be essential to humane and 
 civil intercourse: whether they be dates, or whether they be dia- 
 monds, they ai-e so much a part of Eastern manners, that without 
 them an interiour will never be at peace in his own mind, or think 
 that he has a hold of his superiour for his favour or protectioir. 
 Bruce. 
 
 Medicines and advice being given on my part, faith and 
 protection pledged on theirs, (some Arabs near the Nile,) two 
 bushels of wheat and seven sheep were carried down to the boat; 
 nor could we refuse their kindness, as refusing a present in that 
 country (however it is understood in ours) is just as great an af- 
 front, as coming into the presence of a superiour without a pre- 
 sent at all. Bruce. 
 
 30. And he said, For these seven &c.] That is, thy acceptance 
 of these seven lambs shall be an acknowledgment, that this well, 
 whicli I have digged, belongs to me. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 31. — Beer-sheba ;] The well of the oath. In process of time 
 there was a considerable town built there, which is noticed by 
 heathen writers under the name of Berzimma, or Bersabe. The 
 greatest length of the land of Israel is denoted in Scripture by 
 the distance from Beer-sheba, in the south, to Dan in the north. 
 Dr. Heylin tells us, it was well fortiified by the western Christians, 
 when they were masters of the Holy Land, as being a border tow n 
 of importance. Dr. Jf'ells. 
 
 33. And yibraham planted a grore] For a solemn and retired 
 place wherein to worship God. Hence, some think, the custom 
 of planting groves was derived into all the Gentile world : who 
 so profaned them by images, and filthiness, and sacrifices to 
 demons, that God commanded them, by the Law of Moses, ta, 
 be cut down. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXII. ver. 1. — God did tempt Abraham,"^ Or prove 
 and fry him, as the word here used signifies in Deut. viiL 2, and, 
 xi'i. 3, " that it might be known to others what Abraham was.'*j 
 See ver. 12. Bp. Kidder, See the note on Deiit. viii. 2. 
 
 -here I am.l A phrase, expressing readiness to hearken ' 
 
 and to Answer. Bn.PalrKk.- ■ • . - i- i -^
 
 Abraham giveth proof of 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 his Jul th and obedieiKe. 
 
 Before 2 And he said. Take now thy son, thine 
 1S7J. only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get 
 thee into the land of Moriah ; and offer 
 him there for a burnt offering upon one 
 of the mountains which I wiU tell thee 
 of. 
 
 3 % And Abraham rose up early in the 
 morning, and saddled his ass, and took two 
 of his young men with him, and Isaac his 
 son, and clave the wood for the burnt of- 
 fering, and rose up, and went unto the place 
 of which God had told him. 
 
 4 Then on the third day Abraham 
 lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar 
 off 
 
 2. And he said,'^ The command proceeded immediately from 
 God Himself; but how, and in what manner, it was conveyed to 
 Abraham, we are no where told. This only can be affirmed, that 
 God maj', if He pleases, communicate His will to His creatures : 
 and whenever He vouchsafes to do so, He will, no doubt, give 
 sufficient evidence of the revelation. And therefore we can make 
 no question but Abraham had sufficient proof (whatever that proof 
 was) that the several revelations, respecting both God's former 
 promises, and the present severe command, did really proceed from 
 God. Bp. Conyheare. 
 
 Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac,'] A hard thing, 
 
 even had it been Ishmael : but this was his only son by Sar^, 
 and the child of promise. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 This command was a noble manifestation of Abraham's faith 
 and obedience. The hardest of those orders, which he had re- 
 ceived before, were very supportable : and they were accompanied 
 with great promises of advantages ; in particular of worldly ad- 
 vantage. This on the other hand was severe beyond expression ; 
 and had no promise or consolation at all annexed to it : but, in- 
 .stead of that, it enumerated to him the most cutting circumstances, 
 and placed them before him in the fullest Hglit. " Take now thy 
 son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and offer him up." 
 Yet pierced to the heart, as he must be, by these expressions, he 
 dutifully submitted : without seeking excuses from any dissuasive 
 reasonings ; without throwing on any one the least share of the 
 burden of his own anguish ; without exposing himself to the 
 tender solicitations of Sarah ; without acquainting Isaac what was 
 ihtended, before it became absolutely needful. How astonish- 
 ingly great, how composed, how considerate a self-denial was this ! 
 Abp. Secher. 
 
 the land of Moriah ;"] " The high land," as the Greek 
 
 renders it ; it being a mmtntainous place. The Latin Vulgate 
 renders it " a land of vision ;" the reason of which may be found 
 in ver. 14. And the Chaldee, by a prolepsis, calls it " the land 
 of worship:" for there Abraham worshipped, ver. 5 nnd 13; 
 and there was afterwards built a temple for the tvorslup of God, 
 2 Chron. iii. 1. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 upon one of the mounlainsl In ancient times they chose 
 
 mountains or high places, on which to worship God and offer sacri- 
 fices, chap. xii. 8. God approved of this, till they were profaned, 
 as the groves were ; see note on chap. xxi. 33 ; and then He com- 
 manded Abraham's posterity, not to worship in high places, but 
 only in one certain mountain, where He ordered His temple to 
 be seated. These mountains were well shaded with trees, so that 
 commonly groves and mountains are mentioned together, as places 
 for religious worship. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. And Ahrahom rose up &c.]] There have been several ex- 
 amples, especially of persons of a publick character, who have 
 sacrificed themselves, or their nearest relations. But to what ? — 
 Even to desperation, or the apprehension of human force and 
 power ; to a wicked and superstitious custom ; to pride and vain- 
 glory ; or to the hopes of preventing or stopping some dreadful 
 
 5 And Abraham said unto his vounff ^^^"'^ 
 
 *i-i 1 ... ■'.o CHRIST 
 
 1872. 
 
 me. 
 
 men. Abide ye here with the ass ; and I 
 and the lad will go yonder and worship, 
 and come again to you. 
 
 6 And Abraham took the wood of the 
 burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his 
 son ; and he took the fire in his hand, and 
 a knife ; and they went both of them to- 
 gether. 
 
 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his fa- 
 ther, and said, My father: and he said, 
 
 t Here am I, my son. And he said, Be- + ^*p'- 
 
 hold the fire and the wood: but where is 
 
 the II lamb for a burnt offering ? u or,*;<f 
 
 8 And Abraham said. My son, God will 
 
 and publick calamity. But the ca.se of Abraham is so singularly 
 circumstanced, that none of all these can be imputed to it. The 
 only motive we can possibly imagine, must have been his earnest 
 desire to testify his obedience to God, in all, even His most ar- 
 duous commands. Stack-house. 
 
 ivent unto the place of which God had told him.'] Isaac 
 
 was the very person to whom God had solemnly promised signal 
 blessings, and a numerous posterity : so that the former promises 
 and the last command seemed directly to contradict each other, 
 and consequently might have staggered a less confirmed piety 
 than that of Abraham ; and have made another parent, if he had 
 been so tried, unwilling to obey, and inclined to suppose either 
 that there was some delusion in the revelation, or that he did not 
 rightly understand it. He would have chosen to save his son, and 
 to sacrifice his faith. Yet Abraham's faith was as reasonable as it 
 was eminent. 
 
 For, first, he had had a long and familiar intercourse with 
 God, and frequent experience of the nature of revelations ; and 
 so knew, beyond a possibility of doubting, that the command 
 came from God. 
 
 He was ordered to go with his son to the land of Moriah, a land 
 where there were many mountains, and to offer up his son upon 
 one particular mountain, which God would shew him. On the 
 third day he came within sight of it, and distinguished it from 
 the rest, which must have been by some Divine indication. So 
 this was a new revelation to him, that God required of him this 
 act of obedience. 
 
 He therefore concluded that God woidd proWde some method 
 to reconcile this cruel command with His goodness and with His 
 promises. And this method could be no other than to raise up 
 Isaac, and to restore hun to a second life. Upon this supposition, 
 the immorality and the cruelty of killing a son would be removed, 
 and the death of Isaac would be only a short sleep followed by 
 a resurrection. " Abraham," says the author of the Epistle to the 
 Hebrews, "offered up his son, accounting," or reasoning with 
 himself, " that God was able to raise him from the dead : from 
 whence also he received him in a figure." That is, Abraham was 
 persuaded, that God could raise his son from the dead: and ac- 
 cording to his faith it was done unto him : he did receive him raised 
 up from die dead, raised in a figtirati\ e sense, when the sentence 
 of his deatli was recalled, and when he brought him away from 
 the altar. This was a plain and striking image and representation 
 of a real death and of a real resurrection. Dr. Jortin. 
 
 4. _ OH the third day] The piteous deed was not to be done 
 immediately, whilst the impression of the Divine \ oice was still 
 soimdingin Abraliam's ears, and excluded every other sentiment ; 
 but at the distance of three whole days: during which every feel- 
 ing of paternal affection would return in full force ; and even the 
 inferiour consideration of what his family and the world would 
 think and sav to so unnatur;d an action, if Isaac did not rise again 
 instantly, as" there was no proof he would, must singly have a 
 weight very hai-d to be supported. Abp. Seeker.
 
 The angel xtai/effi Abraham. 
 
 GENES IS. 
 
 Abraham is blesaed again. 
 
 BefoiT 
 
 CIlItlST 
 
 lt7S. 
 
 ' Jamn 2. 
 fil. 
 
 provide himself a lainh for a l)urnt ofToring : 
 so they went both of tlieni tos^ether. 
 
 9 And they came to tlie place which God 
 had told him of; and Abraham built an 
 altar there, and laid the wood in order, and 
 bound Isaac his son, and " laid him on tlie 
 altar upon the wood. 
 
 10 And Abraham stretched forth his 
 hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 
 
 11 And the angel of the Lonu called 
 unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, 
 Abraham : and he said, Here am I. 
 
 12 And he said. Lay not thine hand 
 upon the lad, neither do thou any thing 
 unto him : for now I know that thou fear- 
 est God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy 
 son, thine only son from me. 
 
 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, 
 and looked, and behold behind him a ram 
 caught in a thicket by his horns : and A- 
 braham went and took the ram, and offer- 
 
 8. — to (key tvenl both of them toscthcr.'^ These (la3-s were not 
 to be spent in retirement, in meaitation and prayer, to fortify 
 his resoludon ; but altogether in the cxjmpany of tlic dear object, 
 ■whom he was to slay ; whose conversation would be in a thou- 
 sand instances the more moving, as he went along with him un- 
 suspicious of what was to follow ; and whose innocent question 
 at last, " My father, behold the fire and the wood : but where is 
 the lamb for a burnt offering ?" must, one should think, have com- 
 pleted the melting down of all human resolution. But " wistlom 
 preserved him," as the Rook of Wisdom expresses it, "blameless 
 unto God, and kept him strong against his tender compassion to- 
 wards his son," chap. x. ."j. Abp. Srcker. 
 
 9- — ond bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the aJlar^ Tl)e 
 love of God the Father cannot be better expressed than by this 
 instance. Abraham readily gives his 07jly, his beloved son, to be 
 sacrificed : so God gave His only Son. Up. IVilson. 
 
 Abraham bound Isaac, that he might not afterwards, through 
 fear or pain, disturb or defeat the work. No doubt he liad made 
 him acquainted with the will of God, and persuaded him will- 
 ingly to submit to it : in which he prefigured Chri.st tlie more ex- 
 actly, who " laid down His life of Himself, and no man" (without 
 His consent) " could take it from Him." Isaac, being younger and 
 stronger, could have made resistance, had he chosen. Joscphus 
 says he was twenty-five years old. Bps. Kidder and PalricL. 
 
 10. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, &c.] Now, when 
 the .s;icrifice of the mind was made to the utmost, and only the 
 outw.ird act was wanting, the hand being stretched forth even for 
 that; Uie gotxlncss of the Almighty broke forth on a sudden, like 
 the sun from Ix-innd a black cloud concealing it, " and the angel 
 of the Lord culled unto him out of heaven, &c." The transport of 
 hearing these words must have made in a moment large amends 
 for the preceding pangs. Isaac was restored to him without 
 goiug through " the bitterness of death :" reproach and miscon- 
 struction was avoided : the dreadful deed dispensed with : the 
 willing mind accepted : and a solemn auprobation pronounced 
 over h:;n from above, anticipating the final sentence, " Well done, 
 good and faithful servant" Abp. Seeker. 
 
 }-■ r-./^'" """' I l"iow lluU thou fearesl God,^ Indeed, before 
 Una, God liad declared, "I know Abraham," chap, xviii. ](). 
 But now He " knew him" by a new proof: and, which is the 
 constant Scripture-sense of His trying any one, He manifested 
 Iiun by the trial to angels, to men, to himself: and "experience 
 wrought m him sure hope not to be asiiamed" upon any future 
 occasion, "because the love of God was tlnis shed abroad in his 
 Jieart. A turthcr discovery was, and a very delightful one it 
 
 ed him up for a burnt offering in the stead 
 of his son. 
 
 11. And Abraham called the name of 
 that place II Jehovah-jireh : as it is said to 
 this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall 
 be seen. 
 
 15 If And the angel of the Loud called un- 
 to Abraham out of heaven the second time, 
 
 l(i And said, ' By myself have I sworn, 
 .saith the Lord, for because thou hast done 
 this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, 
 thine only soti : 
 
 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and 
 in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as 
 the stars of the heaven, and as the sand 
 which is upon the sea t shore ; and thy seed 
 shall possess the gate of his enemies ; 
 
 18 "^ And in thy seed shall all the nations 
 of the earth be blessed ; because thou hast 
 obeyed my voice. 
 
 19 So Abraham retiuned unto his young 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 187-'. 
 
 II Tliat !s, 
 ■rheLOHD 
 will see. Of, 
 primdc. 
 
 ' IVal 105. 
 
 0. 
 
 Kcd"' 41. 
 
 21. 
 
 Luke 1.7::. 
 
 Hi'br.G l;;. 
 
 t Hcb. /.>. 
 
 " Chap I.'. 
 
 3. & 18. 18. 
 
 Eccl"' 44. 
 
 22. 
 
 Acts n. 25. 
 
 G.a. 3. 8. 
 
 must be, that, by so decisive an experiment of Isaac's piety, his 
 father knew him to be worthy of his utmost affection ; and worthy 
 of the choice, which God had made of him, to support religion, 
 and be the progenitor of the promised Seed. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 1 +. — Jehovah-jireh ;] That is, The Lord will see, or, provide. 
 God having there provided a ram for a sacrifice, instead of Isaac. 
 Bp. Kidder. The word " provide" having been used before, ver. 8, 
 it would have been better to retain the same word instead of " It 
 shall be seen," in this verse. Dr. ff'all. 
 
 16. — Bi/ mi/self have I sn'orn,'] (Jod enlarged His mercies to 
 Abraham proportionally to his obedience. This is ap))arent, as 
 on other occasions, so in this the great and last trial oi' all, the 
 offering of his son ; which Wiis rewarded by the ratification of 
 (rod's former promise or covenant, by a most solemn oath. Bp. 
 Patrick. " Because He could swear by no greater. He sware by 
 Himself," Heb. vi. 13. 
 
 1 7- — the gale of his enemies ;] That is, the cities ; and con- 
 sequently their country. For the gates being taken, they entered 
 into tlicir cities ; and their cities being surrendered, the country 
 was conquered. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18. — in tht/ «•(■(/] That is, in Christ, Gal. iii. \6. 
 
 because thou hasl obej/cd my voicc.~\ As a reward (the 
 
 Hebrew word signifies) for obeying My voice. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 We read that Abraham's " faith was accountecl unto him for 
 righteousness :" but then St. James tells us, that " faith wrought 
 with his works ;" and, "by works was his faith made perfect." 
 Let us not pretend to rest in a naked contemplation of the great 
 truths of the Gospel : they are revealed for nobler purposes, and 
 intended to enforce the tluty of obedience. It is to no purpose 
 that we maintain the orthodoxy of our faith, as to the deep points 
 of our religion, if wc still promote heresy in our practice, and by 
 our actions disgrace our belief These are botli jointly necessary 
 to salvation : and what Go<l hath joined together, let not man put 
 asunder. " Wilt thou know," .saith St. J.imes, chap, ii, " that faith 
 without works is dead } As the body without the spirit is dead, 
 so faith without works is dead also." Bp. Conyhcare. 
 
 19- So Abraham returned^ The sacrifice of Isaac should be 
 viewed in the resemblance which it Iiath to that of Christ. No 
 wonder it was so extraordinary a transaction in itself, if it was in- 
 tended to prefigure the most extraordinary .•'nd mysterious one 
 that the world ever saw : as the agreeipg circumstances prove it 
 must. In both cases we see a good and kind Father causing his 
 beloved, only, and innocent Son to suffer deutli. Isaac was heir 
 to the promises of the temporal Canaan : through Christ we 
 claim the inheritance of the neavenly. Isaac carried the wood,
 
 ^amcoS by UteoJ^JU^mh^JtOs, 
 
 £nariitvilhf t>". lI'i'?v 
 
 4^^ 
 
 Genesis C.3:i.t:Qn>J3.
 
 ijio mod o'iiG lijfiri otiz , 
 
 ;. . ■.•'(!,! hnjc .rrrr 
 
 ■ nrYr? .rrtsrit dJiw t 
 biuoria I J' 
 
 £.' ;i /i.J ^ilj jil) ^Vi^ 
 
 ?rit ni i\ rfoirfw ,rf;tsH firi 
 1 8i: ^(9aom rfoum est i; 
 
 •uox 
 lirfo sdt gnoxne jiswo 
 
 ' l/)/onm bos ^3(ie-i9»S A9I itudsidi- 
 i.'^J iTwo bW nronft smitD sH *" 
 
 T rtf'H 
 
 •■. iLljC Jlw 
 
 IJii},.
 
 The age and death of Sarah. 
 
 CHAP. XXII, XXIII. 
 
 The purchase ofMachpelah. 
 
 A' 
 
 CHRIST "^^"' ^"'^ *^^^ ^^^^ "P '^"'^ ^^"^ together 
 1872. to Beer-sheba j and Abraham dwelt at 
 
 Beer-sheba. 
 
 20 ^ And it came to pass after these 
 things, that it was told Abraham, saying. 
 Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children 
 unto thy brother Nahor ; 
 
 21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his bro- 
 ther, and Kemuel the father of Iram, 
 
 22 And Chesed, and HazO; and Pildash, 
 ' Called, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. 
 
 fi-tecw '"' -^ ^"^^ Bethuel begat ' Rebekah : these 
 eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's 
 brother. 
 
 24 And his concubine, whose name -was 
 Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, 
 and Thahash, and Maachah. 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 1 The age and death of Sarah. 2 The purchase of 
 Machpelah, 19 n'here Sarah was buried. 
 
 ND Sarah was an hundred and seven 
 and twenty years old : these were the 
 years of the life of Sarah. 
 18G0. 2 And Sarah died in Kiijath-arba ; the 
 
 same is Hebron in the land of Canaan : and 
 Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and 
 to weep for her. 
 
 3 \ And Abraham stood up from before 
 
 on -which he was bound, in order to be offered up : Christ car- 
 ried the cross, on wliich He was afterwards nailed, and put to 
 death. The place, where God appointed the former should die, 
 and where the latter died actually, was the very same ; " the land 
 of Moriah," that is, of God manifested: on one of the mountains 
 of which, the Temple stood ; on another, our Saviour's cross. 
 Tiie tenii of three days too is remarkably specified in each history. 
 The lamb, which, Abraham said, " God would provide," naturally 
 turns our thoughts to Him, whom the Baptist calls tlie Lamb of 
 Vod ; and the ram, substituted for Isaac, to the temple-sacrifices 
 of animals, types of the atonement of Christ. Then lastly, the 
 mountain, where provision was made for Abraham's distress, de- 
 served its name infinitely better, on account of Gotl's providing 
 there for the redemption of mankind. 
 
 These things indeed the Patriarch could not understand, unless 
 they were revealed to him : for the likeness of two objects cannot 
 be discerned, till both appear. Perhaps he was told the intent ; 
 and thus " saw the day" of Christ, and " was glad." How gra- 
 cious an ending of so terrifying a dispensation ! But however 
 that were, .ve now may justly conclude, that what He then re- 
 quired Abraliam to do for Him, He had purposed from eternity, 
 in the counsel of unsearchable wisdom, to do for His lost crea- 
 tures. And let the comforting reflection dwell with us, " He that 
 spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall 
 He not with Him also freely give us all things >" Ahp. Seeker. 
 
 20. — il was told Abraham, &c.] The chief intention of this 
 genealogy seems to be, to give us an account of the family of 
 Rebekah, whom Isaac married : it connects with the beginning of 
 ch. xxiv. And it was in consequence of the information here given 
 to Abraham, tliat he thought of seeking a wife for his son from 
 this family. Huz, or Uz, here mentioned, is supposed to have 
 given its name to Job's country, (see Job i. 1 ;) and from Buz it 
 is thought came Elihu, the Buzite. See Job xxxii. 2. Locke. 
 
 Chap. XXIII. ver. 2. ^ Kirjath-arba ;] " The city of Arba," 
 
 his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, Before 
 saying, chrksf 
 
 4 1 am a stranger and a sojourner with 
 you : give me a possession of a burying- 
 place with you, that I may bury my dead 
 out of my sight. 
 
 5 And the children of Heth answered 
 Abraham, saying unto him, 
 
 6 Hear us, my lord : thou art t a mighty t "ei>- 
 prince among us : in the choice of our se- ^JT"'' ""^ 
 pulchres bury thy dead ; none of us shall 
 withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that 
 
 thou mayest bury thy dead. 
 
 7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed 
 himself to the people of the land, even to 
 the children of Heth. 
 
 8 And he communed with them, saying. 
 If it be your mind that I should bury my 
 dead out of my sight ; hear me, and in- 
 treat for me to Ephron the son of Zo- 
 har, 
 
 9 That he may give me the cave of 
 Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the 
 end of his field ; for t as much money as it t V:^' 
 is worth he shall give it me tor a possession 
 
 of a buryingplace amongst you. 
 
 10 And Ephron dwelt among the chil- 
 dren of Heth : and Ephron the Hittite 
 answered Abraham in the t audience of the lar,. 
 
 who v/as a famous man among the Anakims, Josh. xiv. 1 5. It 
 does not appear when Abraham left Beer-sheba, and removed to 
 this place. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Abraham came to mourii} He came from his own tent, 
 
 which was separate from his wife's : see chap. xxiv. 67- Having 
 performed the offices of private sorrow, he appears to have now 
 prepared for the publick funeral solemnities. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — from before his dead,"] That is, from the place where he 
 sat mourning over his dead. Is. xlvii. 1 ; Job ii. IS. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 the sons of Heth,"} Tliat is, the Hittites. Heth was tlie 
 
 son of Canaan, and grandson of Ham. By " the sons" are meant 
 the principal persons of the nation. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. / am a stranger and a sojmmirr with you .•] Abraham's de- 
 claration that he was only a stranger and sojourner in the land, 
 and his purchase of a buryingplace for his deceased wife and his 
 family from the Hittites or " sons of Heth," is finely introduced 
 by St Paul, to prove how well he and the Patriarchs understood 
 that the grant of the land of promise gave them no present title, 
 or iimnediate possession of it ; that it was only designetl for a fu- 
 ture inheritance. " By faith Abraham sojourned in the land of 
 promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with 
 Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he 
 looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and 
 maker i^s God," Heb. xi. 9, 10. Dr. Hales. 
 
 Q. — the cave of Machpelah, — in the end of his Jield ;'] By 
 a cave is probably 'meant a vault, arched over with stones or wood, 
 such as the ancient Greeks called Cri/ptw. Burjingplaces were not 
 anciently in the cities, much less in their temples ; but in the fields 
 in caves or vaults, made to hold a large number of bodies. So they 
 continued among the Jews in our Saviour's time, as appears by 
 Lazarus's monument, John xi. 30, 31 ; and by the bur)-ingplaces 
 for strangers, Matt, xxvii. 7 ; and by their carrying the widow's 
 son out of the city, Luke vii. 12, &c This seems to have been 
 in the comer of the field, whicii perhaps was near the highway :
 
 Sarph is btiried. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Abraham szccareth his servant. 
 
 B»f''., cliUdroii of Ileth, even of all that went in 
 ^"iwrt.'^^ at tlio prate of liis city, saving, 
 
 11 Nay, mv lord, hear me : the field give 
 I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give 
 it thee ; in the presence of the sons of my 
 people gi\ e I it thee : bury thy dead. 
 
 l!^ And Abraham bowctl down himself 
 before the people of the land. 
 
 13 And he spake unto Ephron in the 
 audience of the people of the land, saying. 
 But ii' thou -will give it, I })ray thee, hear 
 me : I will give thee money for the field ; 
 take it of me, and I will bury my dead 
 there. 
 
 14 And Ephron answered Abraham, say- 
 ing unto him, 
 
 15 My lord, hearken unto me: the land 
 Ii worth four hundred shekels of silver ; 
 what is that betwixt me and thee? bury 
 therefore thy dead. 
 
 16 And Abraham hearkened unto E- 
 phron,and Abraham weighed to Ephron the 
 silver, which he had named in the audience 
 of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels 
 of silver, current mojiey with the mer- 
 chant. 
 
 17 if And the field of Ephron, which xcas 
 in Machpelah, which ivas before Mamre, 
 the field, and the cave which teas therein, 
 and all the trees that tvcre in the field, that 
 'were in all the borders round about, were 
 made sure 
 
 18 Unto Abraham for a possession in 
 the presence of the children of Heth, be- 
 fore all that went in at the gate of his 
 city. 
 
 19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah 
 
 for there th^ sometimes chose to burj' their dead. Gen. xxsv. 8, 
 19; Josh. XXIV. 30. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — of all Ihal treni in at the gale of his ci7y,] That is, of all 
 the citizens or inhabitants. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 The pates of cities in these day, and many a|»es after, were tlie 
 places of judicature and common resort. Here the governours and 
 elders of the city met to hear complaints, administer justice, make 
 conveyances of titles and estates, and in .«hort to transact all the 
 affairs of the place. Hence that passage in the Psalmist, " They 
 shall not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the 
 gate ;" that is, when they are accused by them before the court 
 of raagisti-ates. It is probable that the room or hall, where these 
 m;igistrates sat, was over the gate, because Boaz is said to " go 
 up to the gate ;" and the reason of havinij it built there seems to 
 have been for the convenience of the inhabitants ; who, being all 
 husbandmen, and forced to pass and repass every morning and 
 es-ening, as they went and came from their labour, might be more 
 easily called as they went by, whenever tliey were wanted to ap- 
 pear in any business. So that from the whole it appears, that 
 Abraham could not have m.ide his purchase from Ephron, with- 
 out his having recourse to tlie city gates. StackJiou.se. 
 
 All affairs of moment amoryr the Algerines are laid before the 
 Dey or the principal officers, who sit const.-intly in the gate of the 
 ualace for that purpose. Thus we read of tile " elders in the gate," 
 Deut. xxii. 15, and xxv. 7. And of " him that reprovetli and re- 
 
 29. 
 
 his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah (,,\''i[",''^.j 
 before Mamre : the same is Hebron in the isoo. 
 land of Canaan. 
 
 !20 And the field, and the cave that is 
 therein, were made sure unto Abraham for 
 a possession of a buryingplace by the sons 
 of Heth. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 1 Abraham siveareth his scrvaiil. 10 The servant's 
 journey: 12 Hii prayer : 14 His sip\. 15 Rc- 
 bchah mcclclh him, \9<fiilfillclh his sign, 22 receir- 
 eth jenvis, ^3 shcweth her kindred, 25 and iniilef/i 
 him home. 2G The .feriani blesscth God. 28 Laban 
 enterlaiiielh him. 3 1 The servant sheweih his message. 
 50 Laban and Belhutl approve it. 58 liehehah con- 
 scntelh to go. 62 Isaac mceleth her. 
 
 AND Abraham was old, and twell strick- isst. 
 en in age : and the Lord had blessed t Hcb. 
 Abraham in all things. days. 
 
 2 And Abraham said unto his eldest ser- 
 vant of his house, that ruled over all that 
 he had, * Put, I pray thee, thy hand under ' chap. 47 
 my thigh : 
 
 S And I will make thee swear by the 
 Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of 
 the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife 
 unto my son of the daughters of the Ca- 
 naanites, among whom I dwell : 
 
 4 But thou shalt go unto my country, 
 and to my kindred, and take a wife unto 
 my son Isaac. 
 
 5 And the servant said unto him, Perad- 
 venture the woman will not be willing to 
 follow me unto this land : must I needs 
 bring thy son again unto the land from 
 wlience thou earnest? 
 
 buketh in the gate," Is. xxix. 21 ; Amos v. 10. The Ottoman 
 Court likewise seems to be called the Porte, from the distribution 
 of justice, and the despatch of publick business carried on in the 
 gates of it. Dr. Shan\ 
 
 1 5. — four hundred sfiekels'] Money in general, and pieces of I 
 silver, were spoken of before, chap. xvii. 12, 13, and xx. 16; ; 
 which shews that they did not trade merely by the exchange of 
 commodities. This is the first place in which the name of shekel 
 occurs. The value is not exactly known : but it appears from 
 Josephus to have been something less than half-a-crown of our 
 money. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 16. — and Abraham treigheiF] They did not tell money as we 
 do now, but weighed it : till it being fomid inconvenient to weigh 
 it on every particular occasion, they set a mark ujion it to denote 
 its value. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXIV. ver. 1. And Abraltam was old,^ A hundred and 
 forty years old. 
 
 Some think that putting the hand under the thigh w.as a token 
 of subjection and homage, done by a servant to his lord : tlie latter 
 sitting, and the servant kneeling and putting his hand imder 
 him. Bp. Patrick. In ancient times servants were accustomed 
 thus to acknowledge their obedience ; and the custcnn is preserved 
 to this day amongst some Indians. It is as much as to say, Thou 
 art subjected to me ; thou art my servant. Locke.
 
 His journey and prayer. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 Rebekah meeteth him. 
 
 Before 5 And Abraham said unto him, Beware 
 ^Vs57.^^ thou that thou bring not my son thither 
 again. 
 
 7 % The Lord God of heaven, which took 
 me from my father's house, and from the 
 land of my kindred, and which spake unto 
 
 » ckap. 12. me, and that sware unto me, saying, ''Unto 
 
 I' islts! & *-hy ^^^^ ^^ ^ S^^^ ^^^^ \an6. ; he shall send 
 2s. 4. his angel before thee, and thou shalt take 
 a wife unto my son from thence. 
 
 8 And if the woman will not be willing 
 to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear 
 from this my oath : only bring not my son 
 thither again. 
 
 9 And the servant put his hand under 
 the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware 
 to him concerning that matter. 
 
 10 ^ And the servant took ten camels 
 of the camels of his master, and departed ; 
 
 I Or, and. \\ for all the goods of his master s'ere in his 
 hand : and he arose, and went to Mesopo- 
 tamia, unto the city of Nahor. 
 
 11 And he made his camels to kneel 
 down without the city by a well of water 
 
 thattuomen at the time of the evening, even the time 
 vikkh draw \ that women go out to draw Kater. 
 firtZ^" 12 And he said, O Lord God of my 
 
 6. And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou &c.] The steward 
 demanded, whether, if he could not persuade the person, whom 
 Isaac was to marry, to come and dwell with Isaac in Canaan, he 
 might carry him to her, into that country, which Abraham had 
 forsaken. The answer of Abraham is a denial ; accompanied 
 with an intimation that he was bound, by express revelation, to 
 let none of his family return, for constant residence, thither, that 
 b, into the country of Mesopotamia. Pj/k. 
 
 10. — the servant took ten camels^ What enables the shepherd 
 to perform the long and toilsome joumies across Afinca is the 
 camel, emphatically called by the Arabs, " the ship of the desert." 
 He seems to have been created for this very trade, endued with 
 parts and qualities adapted to the office he is employed to dis- 
 charge. The driest thistle, or the barest thorn, is all the food 
 this useful quadruped requires ; and even these, to save time, he 
 eats while advancing on his journey, without stopping, or occa- 
 sioning a moment ^ delay. As it is his lot to cross immense 
 deserts, where no water is found, and countries not even moist- 
 ened by the dew of heaven, he is endowed with the power of 
 laying in at one watering-place a store, with which he supplies 
 kunself for many days to come. To contain this enormous quan- 
 tity of fluid, nature has formed large cisterns within him, from 
 which, once filled, he draws at pleasure the quantity he wants, 
 and pours it into his stomach with the same effect as if he then 
 drew it from a spring ; and with this he travels patientlj- and 
 vigorously, all day long, carrying a prodigious load through 
 countries affected with poisonous winds, and parching and never- 
 cooling sands. Bruce. 
 
 The common load of the Turkman camel is about 400 pounds 
 on each side: but some will carry a much greater weight. The 
 Arab camel seldom carries more than 250 pounds on each side. 
 They go between two and three miles an hour. The dromedary 
 is a high breed of the Arab camel : it ambles with more agility ; 
 and is capable of going as far in one day as the ordinary camels 
 «sually go in three or four. Dr. Russell. 
 
 11. — he mads his c.:mels to kneel dojvn'] When a camel 
 i« bom, the breeders tie his four feet under his belly, and a 
 
 Vol. I 
 
 master Abraham, I pray thee, send me ,.5^°"~ 
 good speed this day, and shew kindness 1857. 
 unto my master Abraham. 
 
 13 Behold, ' I stand here by the well of ' v»4s. 
 water ; and the daugliters of the men of 
 
 the city come out to draw water : 
 
 14 And let it come to pass, that the 
 damsel to whom I shall say. Let down thy 
 pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink ; and 
 she shall say, Drink, and f will give thy 
 camels drink also : let the same be she tkiit 
 thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac ; 
 and thereby shall I know that thou hast 
 shewed kindness unto my master. 
 
 15 % And it came to pass, before he had 
 done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came 
 out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Mil- 
 cah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, 
 with her pitcher upon her shoulder. 
 
 16 And the damsel was \ v^vy fair to tH^"* 
 look upon, a virgin, neither had any man fouJc- 
 known her : and she went down to the well, "»""• 
 and filled her pitcher, and came up. 
 
 17 And the servant ran to meet her, and 
 said. Let me, I pray thee, drink a little 
 water of thy pitcher. 
 
 18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and 
 
 carpet over his back. Thus they teach him the habit of bend- 
 ing his knees to rest himself, or to be loaded or unloaded. 
 Calntet. 
 
 at the time of the evening, &c.] Dr. Shaw, having de- 
 scribed the occupations of the Barbary women during the day, 
 adds. To finish the day, " at the time of the evening, even the 
 time that women go out to draw water," they have still to fit 
 themselves out with a jiiteher or a goat'.s skin ; and tying their 
 sucking children behind them, go in this manner two or three 
 miles to fetch water. Yet, in the midst of all these labours, the 
 women will not lay aside any of their omamente : neither their 
 nose-jeweh, which are still used by tlie Levant Arabs ; nor their 
 bracelets, shackles, or earrings, which are all very cumbersome. 
 Dr. Shan: 
 
 15. — Rebekah came out, &c.] Great was the simplicity of 
 these early days, when persons of the best rank, and of the fe- 
 male sex too, did not disdain to be emplo3'ed in such menial 
 offices. Thus, in the following age, Jacob found his cousin 
 Rachel watering her father'.^ sheep ; and several ages after that, 
 the seven daughters of Jethro, who was a prince as well as a 
 priest of Midian, kept their father's flocks, and used to draw 
 water for the cattle. So well has Moses expressed that simpli- 
 city of manners, which we may observe in Homer, or Hesiod, or 
 any of the most ancient \\Titers. Stackhouse. 
 
 n'ith her pitcher upon her shotildcr.'^ " We came to a 
 
 well at the foot of a hill, on which there is a village called Perd. 
 The oxen raise the water by a bucket and rope ; and the women 
 carry the water in earthen jars up the hill, to water the plantatiorKs 
 of tobacco." Bp. Pococke. 
 
 At the foot of the hill b what the monks call the well of Za- 
 bulon : the water is drawn by boys in leathern buckets, and car- 
 ried in jars up the hill on women's heads. Bp. Pococke. 
 
 " The women," says Dr. Chandler, " resort to the fountains by 
 their houses, each with a large two-hiindled earthen jar, on the^ 
 back, or tlirown over the shoulder, for water." Tliis account of 
 the jars made use of by the Greek women of the island of Te- 
 nedos may, very natiu-ally, be understood to be a modem but
 
 Laban cntertaineth the setrant, 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 •who shexceth his mesmge : 
 
 B«for» she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon 
 1837. her hand, and gave him drink. 
 
 19 And when she had done giving him 
 drink, she said, I will cbaw u-ater for thy 
 camels also, until they ha\ e done drinking, 
 50 And she hasted, and emptied her 
 pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto 
 the well to draw water, and drew for all 
 his camels. 
 
 21 And the man wondering at her held 
 his peace, to wit whether the Lord had 
 made his journey prosperous or not. 
 
 22 And it came to pass, as the camels 
 had done drinking, that the man took a 
 
 p Or, golden II earring of half a shekel weight, 
 j^'w'*' ^"^ t^'° l>racelets for her hands of ten 
 sfiekels weight of gold ; 
 
 23 And said, Whose daughter art thou ? 
 tell me, I pray thee : is there room m thy 
 father's house for us to lodge in ? 
 
 24 And she said unto him, I am the 
 daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, 
 which she bare unto Nahor. 
 
 25 She said moreover unto him. We 
 have both straw and provender enough, 
 and room to lodge in. 
 
 26 And the man bowed down his head, 
 and worshipped the Lord. 
 
 27 And he said, Blessed be the Lord 
 God of my master Abraham, who hath not 
 left destitute my master of his mercy and 
 his truth : I being \n the way, tlie Lord led 
 me to the house of my master's brethren. 
 
 28 And the damsel ran, and told them of 
 her mother's house these things. 
 
 29 IT And Rebekah had a" brother, and 
 his name xvas Laban : and Laban ran out 
 unto the man, unto the well. 
 
 30 And it came to pass, when he saw the 
 earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, 
 and when he heard the words of Rebekah 
 his sister, saying, Thus spake tlie man vmto 
 me ; that he came unto the man ; and, be- 
 hold, he stood by the camels at the well. 
 
 31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed 
 of the Lord ; wherefore standest thou 
 without? for I have prepared the house, 
 and room for the camels. 
 
 accurate comment on what is said concerning Rebckah's fetching 
 water. Harmcr. 
 
 22. — the man took &c."] Tlie weight of these ornaments ap- 
 pears t(i UH rather extraorclinarj' : the earring, or jewel for the face, 
 weighed half a shekel, and the bracelets tor lier hands ten she- 
 kels, wliich, as Sir J. C'hardin justly observes, is about five ounces. 
 Upon which he tcUs us, " the women wear rings and bracelets of 
 «fl great weight ;is this, through all Asia, and even much heavier. 
 They are rather manacles th:m bracelets. There are some as 
 large as the finger. The women wear several of them, one above 
 another, in such a manner as sometimes to have the arm covered 
 
 32 ^ And the man came into the house : ^^ ^"1" x 
 and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw us- 
 and provender for the camels, and water 
 to wash his feet, and the men's feet that 
 were with him. 
 
 33 And there was set meat before him 
 to eat: but he said, I will not eat, untii 
 I have told mine errand. And he said. 
 Speak on. 
 
 34 And he said, I am Abraham's ser- 
 vant. 
 
 35 And the Lord hath blessed my mas- 
 ter greatly ; and he is become great : and 
 he hath given him flocks, and herds, and 
 silver, and gold, and mensen^ants, and 
 maidservants, and camels, and asses. 
 
 30 And Sarah my master's wife bare a 
 son to my master when she was old : and 
 unto him hath he given all that he hath. 
 
 37 And my master made me swear, say- 
 ing. Thou shalt not take a wife to my son 
 of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose 
 land I dwell : 
 
 38 But thou shalt go unto my father's 
 house, and to my kindred, and take a wife 
 unto my son. 
 
 39 And I said unto my master, Perad- 
 venture the woman will not follow me. 
 
 40 And he said unto me. The Lord, be- 
 fore whom I walk, will send his angel with 
 thee, and prosper thy way ; and thou shalt 
 take a wife for my son of my kindred, and 
 of my father's house : 
 
 41 Then shalt thou be clear from this 
 my oath, when thou comest to my kindred ; 
 and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be 
 clear from my oath. 
 
 42 And I came this day unto the well, f 
 and said, O Lord Ciod of my master A- •: 
 braham, if now thou do prosper my way 1 
 which I go : 
 
 43 '^ Behold, I stand by the well of wa- * ver. 13. i J 
 ter ; and it shall come to pass, tliat when ' 
 the virgin cometh forth to draw xvater, and 
 I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little 
 water of thy pitcher to drink ; 
 
 44 And she say to me. Both drink thou, 
 and I will also draw for thy camels : fe/the 
 
 with them from the wrist to the elbow. Poor people wear as 
 many of glass or horn. They hardly ever take them off; they 
 are their riches." Harmer. 
 
 a golden earring'] It is the custom in ahnost all the 
 
 East, for the women to wear rings in their noses, in the left 
 nostril, which is bored low down in tlie middle. These rings 
 are of gold ; and have commonly two pearls and one ruby be- 
 tween, placed in the ring. I never saw a girl, or young woman, 
 in Arabia or in Persia, who did not wear a ring after tins manner 
 in her nostril. It is without doubt of such a ring that we are to 
 imderstand what is said in this verse. Sir J. Chardin.
 
 Laban and Bethuel approve it. 
 
 chrTst ^^'"^ *^ *-^^ woman whom the Lord hath 
 1857. appointed out for my master's son. 
 
 45 And before I had done speaking in 
 mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth 
 with her pitcher on her shoulder j and she 
 went down unto the well, and drew water: 
 and I said unto her. Let me drink, I pray 
 thee. 
 
 46 And she made haste, and let down 
 her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, 
 Drink, and I will give thy camels drink 
 also : so I drank, and she made the camels 
 drink also. 
 
 47 And I asked her, and said. Whose 
 daughter art thou? And she said. The 
 daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom 
 Milcah bare unto him : and I put the ear- 
 ring upon her face, and the bracelets upon 
 her hands. 
 
 48 And I bowed down my head, and 
 worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord 
 God or my master Abraham, which had led 
 me in the right way to take my master's 
 brother's daughter unto his son. 
 
 49 And now if ye will deal kindly and 
 truly with my master, tell me : and if not, 
 tell me ; that I may turn to the right hand, 
 or to the left. 
 
 50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered 
 and said. The thing proceedeth from the 
 Lord : we cannot speak unto thee bad or 
 good. 
 
 51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take 
 Jier, and go, and let her be thy master's 
 son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken. 
 
 52 And it came to pass, that, when 
 Abraham's servant heard their words, he 
 worshipped the Lord, boning hitnself to 
 the earth. 
 
 t Heb. 53 And the servant brought forth t jew- 
 
 els of silver, and jewels of gold, and rai- 
 ment, and gave tJiem to Rebekah : he gave 
 also to her brother and to her mother pre- 
 cious things. 
 
 • 49. — thai I may turn to the right hand, or to the kft."^ A pro- 
 verbial speech, signifying-. That I may take some other course, as 
 God shall direct, for fulfilling my master's desire. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 50. — fve cannot spealc unto thee bad or good.'^ No way con- 
 tradict it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 53. — the servant brought forth jewels &C.3 A gold and silver 
 sarmah, one or two sets of earrings, bracelets, and shekels, a gold 
 chain to hang over their breasts, with half a dozen vests, some 
 of brocade, others of rich silk, are usually the wedding clothes 
 of an Algerine lady of fashion. Habits and ornaments of the 
 like kind were given to the bride in the time of Abraham. Thus 
 " a golden earring of half a shekel weight" was given to Rebe- 
 kah, and " two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of 
 gold."' Abraham's servant also " bi-ought forth jewels of silver, 
 and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekali." 
 Dr. Shaw. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. Rebekah departeth, and meeteth Isaac. 
 54 And they did eat and drink, he and '^'^'"'^ 
 
 vessels. 
 
 the men that were with him, and tarried ^"s^t 
 all night; and they rose up in the morn- 
 ing, and he said, ' Send me away unto my ' ^'"- ^'^^ 
 master. ■ ^ ^^■ 
 
 55 And her brother and her mother said, 
 Let the damsel abide with ifs || a few days, II Or, 
 
 at the least ten ; after that she shall go. o^i.* ""' 
 
 56 And he said unto them, Hindet me months. 
 not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my 
 way; send me away that I may go to my 
 master. 
 
 57 And they said. We will call the dam- 
 sel, and enquire at her mouth. 
 
 58 And they called Rebekah, and said 
 unto her. Wilt thou go with this man? 
 And she said, I will go. 
 
 59 And they sent away Rebekah their 
 sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's ser- 
 vant, and his men. 
 
 60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said 
 unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the 
 mother of thousands of milUons, and let 
 thy seed possess the gate of those which 
 hate them. 
 
 61 ^ And Rebekah arose, and her dam- 
 sels, and they rode upon the camels, and 
 followed the man : and the servant took 
 Rebekah, and went his way. 
 
 62 And Isaac came from the way of the 
 
 ^well Lahai-roi ; for he dwelt in the south 'Ciup. h. 
 country. "; '^ "• 
 
 63 And Isaac went out to II meditate in II o^ 
 the field at the eventide : and he lifled up ''^"^' 
 his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels 
 were coming. 
 
 64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, 
 and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off 
 the camel. 
 
 65 For she had said unto the servant, 
 What man is this that walketh in the field 
 to meet us ? And the servant had said, It 
 is my master: therefore she took a vail, 
 and covered herself. 
 
 65. — she took a vail,"] The Eastern brides are wont to be 
 vailed in a particular manner, when presented to the bridegroom. 
 Those that give us an account of their customs at such times, 
 take notice of their being vailed all over. Dr. Russell gives u*' 
 this circumstance in his account of a Maronite wedding, wliich, 
 he says, may .serve <is a specimen of all the rest, there being no- 
 thing materially different in the ceremonies of the different sects. 
 I suppose that the vail, which Rebekah put on, was such an one 
 as was appropriate to such a solemnity; and that she was pre- 
 sented to Isaac by her nurse and other female attendants in form. 
 Harmer. 
 
 In the summer months, when the Moorish women retire to 
 their country seats, tliey walk abroad with less caution and re- 
 servedness; and upon the approach of a stranger, let only their 
 vails fall over their faces, as Rebekah may be supposed to have 
 done upon the sight of Isaac. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 1 tm
 
 Abraham's sons by Ketiirah : 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 His death, and burial. 
 
 Befor, (J6 And the servant told Isaac all things 
 isiT. that he had done. 
 
 67 And Isaac brought her into his mo- 
 ther Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and 
 •he became hi"; wife; and he loved her: 
 and liaac was comforted after his mother's 
 death. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 1 Tht tons at' Abruhiim by Kcturoh. 5 The division 
 of his gooJs. 7 His aee. and itnith. .9 Hts hiirial. 
 i'J The ^cmraliuits of Is/imiirl. 17 His a^e, and 
 death. 19 Isaac prai/elh fur Kehehah, bein^ barren. 
 St'i The children strive in her nomb. 24 The birth 
 «J' Esau and Jacob. '-'7 Their difference. 29 Esan 
 selleth his birthright. 
 
 About i8i3. rr^HEN again Abraluun took a wife, and 
 
 J_ her name zi'os Keturah. 
 •i Chron. o And *she bare him Zimran, and Jok- 
 '■ ^"" shan, and Medaii, and iMidian, and Ishbak, 
 and Shuah. 
 
 3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. 
 And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, 
 and Letushim, and Leunimim. 
 
 4- And the sons of Midian ; Ephah, 
 and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidali, and 
 Eldaah. All these icr?-e the children of 
 Keturah. 
 
 5 % And Abraham gave all that he had 
 unto Isaac. 
 
 But unto the sons of the concubines, 
 which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, 
 and sent tliem away from Isaac his son, 
 while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east 
 country. 
 isK. 7 And these are the days of the years 
 of Abraham's life which he lived, an hun- 
 dred threescore and fifteen years. 
 
 8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and 
 died in a good old age, an old man, and full 
 oj years ; and was gathered to his people. 
 
 chap. XX\'. ver. 6. — suns of tlw- conaibines,'] Namely, of 
 H:ipir and Kiturah : who were wives, but of an inferiour sort, 
 a< lonlinjj to the manner of tJiose times and countries. Keturah 
 i* expressly calh^l his concubine, 1 Chron. i. 32, as she is called 
 his wife, ver. 1 of this chapter. .She w;ls his concubine, because 
 of a servile condition; but his wife, being married with cove- 
 nants to provide for iier and her children : though they were not 
 to inherit his estate. Up. Patrick. 
 
 gave pifls, &c.] Lest these sons should interfere with 
 
 Isaac, in his niheritance of Canaan, as they grew up, Abraham 
 jKirtioned tliem off, and sent them away towards the East; where, 
 settling in Arabia and Syria, they became in time heads of dif- 
 ferent nations: of which we have footateps both in sacred and 
 in prolane history. Slackhou.ie. 
 
 8. — Abraltam — died^ This is said by anticipation, to finish 
 the story of Abraham; lor Esau and Jacob were bom fifteen 
 years before he died. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 mas gathered to his people.'^ He passed into the stat« 
 
 of the dead, following his deceased ancestors. Bp. Kidder. 
 See chap. xlix. 53. 
 
 Abraham, from the time of his call, became the great restorer 
 hxA reviver both of natural and revealed religion to a corrupt 
 
 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael bu- j,j^*^°[|y 
 ried liim in the cave of Machpelah, in the isi^a. 
 field of Ephron the son of Zoliar the Hit- 
 tite, which is before Mamre ; 
 
 10 "The field which Abraham purcliased ^Chan-ss. 
 of the sons of Heth : there was Abraham 
 buried, and Sarah his wife. 
 
 11^ And it came to pass aflcr the deatiiof 
 Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac ; 
 and Isaac dwelt by the ' well Lahai-roi. 'i{:&''24 *' 
 
 12 % Now these are the generations of 62. 
 Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Ilagar the 
 Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto 
 Abraham : 
 
 13 And " these are the names of the sons «>>«»« 'iw. 
 of Ishmael, by their names, according to 1.^9/°"' 
 their generations : the firstborn of Ishmael, 
 Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and 
 Mibsam, 
 
 It And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, 
 15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, 
 
 and Kedemah : 
 
 IG These are the sons of Ishmael, and 
 
 these are their names, by their towns, and 
 
 by tlieir castles ; twelve princes according 
 
 to their nations. 
 
 17 And these are the years of the life i773. 
 of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and se- 
 ven years : and he gave up the ghost and 
 
 died ; and w as gathered unto his people. 
 
 18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto 
 Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest 
 toward Assyria : and he t died in the pre- t Heb./ftf. 
 sence of all his brethren. 
 
 19 ^ And these are the generations of 
 Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac: 
 
 20 And Isaac was forty years old when 18*7. 
 he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of 
 Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the 
 sister to Laban the Syrian. 
 
 world. By his sons, Isaac and Ishmael, and six more, and by 
 his nephew Lot, he spread rehgion and virtue far and wide, their 
 descendants being numerous as the stars of heaven, and growing 
 up into many and great nations. His fame reached much fartl'.er 
 than the Jewish scriptures reached, among the Gentiles, among 
 the Arabians especially, his descendants: and there are some 
 remains of his religion and memory among the Persians at this 
 day. Dr. fValerland. 
 
 19- — these are the generations of Isaac,'] His principal design 
 being to give an account of those descended from Abraham by 
 Isaac, Moses returns to that after a short account of Abraham's 
 other posterity. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. — the Syrian of Padan-aram,! Bethuel, as also his son 
 Laban, is called the Aramite or Syrran, not as descended from 
 Aram, or a Syrian by descent; but as living in tlie country, 
 which fell to the lot of Aram at the first plantation after the flood, 
 and which must accordingly be esteemed a part also of Syria, 
 largely taken to denote all the country of Aram. For he lived 
 at Haran, and so in the north part of Aram-Naharaim, or Me- 
 sopotamia, which north part from tlie fruitfulness of it was 
 pjirticularly called Padan-aram, the word Padan denoting a 
 cultivated fruitful ground. Dr. f Veils.
 
 The birth of Esau and Jacob. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 Esau selleth his birthright. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 I8Sn. 
 
 • Rom. 9. 
 12. 
 
 21 And Isaac intreated the Lord for 
 his wife, because she was barren : and the 
 Lord was intreated of liim, and Rebekah 
 his wife conceived. 
 
 22 And the children struggled together 
 within her ; and she said, If it be so, why 
 am I thus ? And she went to enquire of the 
 Lord. 
 
 23 And the Lord said unto her, Two 
 nations are in thy womb, and two manner of 
 people shall be separated from thy bowels ; 
 and tlie 07ie people shall be stronger than 
 the other people ; and ' the elder shall serve 
 the younger. 
 
 24 % And when her days to be dehvered 
 were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in 
 her womb. 
 
 25 And the first came out red, all over 
 like an hairy garment ; and they called his 
 name Esau. 
 
 26 And after that came his brother out, 
 »Hos. 12.3. and "^his hand took hold on Esau's heel ; and 
 
 21. — Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, &c.]) He prayed, 
 as the Hebrew implies, with earnestness, vehemence, and impor- 
 tunity : being uneasy at her barrenness, on account of the pro- 
 mise of the Messiah. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Of all the Patriarchs, none passed so quietly tlirongh the world 
 as Isaac: none lived either so privately, or so innocently: neither 
 know I whether he approved himself a better son or husband. 
 For the one, he gave himself over to the knife of his father, and 
 mourned three years for his mother: for the other, he sought 
 not to any handmaid's bed, but in a chaste forbearance reserved 
 himself for twenty years' space, and prayed: Rebekah was so 
 long barren. At last, in reward for his piety, she conceived. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 22. — went to enquire of the Lord.^ Either by prayer, or to 
 some holy man, and possibly to Abraham, who was now living. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 23. - Trvo nations^ That is, the heads of two nations, the 
 Edomites and Israelites. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 two manner of people] Greatly differing in their dispo- 
 sition, manners, course of life, and country ; which will make 
 them perpetually disagree. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ' ~ The children struggled together in the womb, which was an 
 omen and token of their futiu-e disagreement; and when they 
 were grown up to manhood, they manifested very different in- 
 clinations. Esau was " a cunning hunter," and delighted in the 
 sports of the field : Jacob was more mild and gentle, " dwelling 
 in tents," and minding his sheep and his cattle. Esau slighted 
 his birthright, and those sacred privileges, of which Jacob was 
 desirous, and is therefore called the profane Esau, Heb. xii. l6; 
 but Jacob was a man of better faith and religion. The like di- 
 versity ran through their posterity. The religion of the Jews is 
 very well known : but whatever the Edomites were at first, in 
 process of time they became idolaters. Upon these religious dif- 
 ferences, and other accounts, there was a continual grudge and 
 enmity between the two nations. The king of Edom would not 
 suffer the Israelites, in their return out of Egypt, so much as to 
 pass through his territories. Numb. xx. 1 i — 2 1 ; and the history 
 of the Edomites aflerwards is little more than the history of their 
 wars with the Jews. Bp. Neivlon. 
 
 — — the one people shall be stronger &c.] The family of Esau 
 mas for some time the greater and more powerful of the two. 
 But David entirely conquered the Edomites, and made them tri- 
 butaries. In aftertimes, they were governed for the most part 
 by viceroys or deputies appointed by the kings of Judah. And 
 
 his name was called Jacob : and Isaac -was 
 threescore years old when she bare them. 
 
 27 And the boys grew : and Esau was 
 a cunning hunter, a man of the field ; and 
 Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. 
 
 28 And Isaac loved Esau, because t he 
 did eat of his venison : but Rebekah loved 
 Jacob. 
 
 29 % And Jacob sod pottage : and Esau 
 came from the field, and he was faint : 
 
 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I 
 pray thee, t with that same red pottage ; 
 for I am faint : therefore was liis name call- 
 ed Edom. 
 
 31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy 
 birtliright. 
 
 32 And Esau said. Behold, I am t at the 
 point to die : and what profit shall this 
 birthright do to me ? 
 
 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this 
 day ; and he sware unto him : and ^ he sold 
 liis birthright unto Jacob. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1837. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 veimnn wa3 
 inhitminuti. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 Mfith tfiat 
 red, with 
 that red 
 pottage, 
 about 1805. 
 
 tHeb. 
 going to die. 
 
 ' Hebr. 12, 
 
 IC. 
 
 in the time of the Maccabees they were incorporated into the 
 Jewish church and nation. Bp. liewton. 
 
 and the elder shall serve the younger^ In his posterity, 
 
 not in his own person. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The prediction w.is verified in the descendants of Jacob, then 
 represented by himself, being favoured with some distinguishing 
 prerogatives, both spiritual and temporal, above the descendants 
 of Esau. For we know Esau did not serve his brother Jacob : 
 nay, his brother Jacob did obeisance to him. Deai} Tucker. 
 
 25. — Esau.'\ That is, made or perfected, as if born more hke 
 a man than a babe. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 26. — Jucob :~\ That is, a siipplanlcr; or one that taketh hold 
 of, and trippeth up his brother's heels. Stackionse. 
 
 27. — Jacob was a plain man,] But he appears rather from 
 his whole tonduct and behaviour, to have been an artful man. 
 The word in the original signifies perfect, wliich is a general 
 term : but being put in opposition to the rough and rustick man- 
 ners of Esau, it particularly imports, that Jacob was more humane 
 and gentle. Bp. Neivton. 
 
 29. — sod] Boiled ; the preterite of seethe. Johnson's Die- 
 tionary. 
 
 30. — Edom^ Which signifies red. Whence the city, which 
 he built, and the country, which his posterity iniiabited, were 
 called by the same name ; and by the Greeks Iduniea : bordering 
 towards the south on Judea, Arabia, and Egypt. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. — Sell me this day thy birthright.] The birthright, or right 
 of primogeniture, had many privileges annexed to it. The first- 
 born was consecrated to the Lord, Exod. xxii. 29 ; had a double 
 portion of the estate allotted him, Deut. x.ti. 17 ; had a dignity 
 and authority over his brethren. Gen. xlix. 3 ; succeeded in the 
 government of the family or kingdom, 2 Chron. xxi. 3 ; and, as 
 some with good reason imagine, succeeded to the priesthood, or 
 chief government in matters ecclesiastical. He had a right to 
 diallenge the particulai- blessing of his dying parent ; he h.id 
 the covenant, which God made with Abr."ham, that from his 
 loins Christ should come, consigned to him : and, v hat is more, 
 tliese prerogatives were not confined to his person only, but de- 
 scended to his latest posterity, in case they comported themselves 
 so as to deserve tliem. Stackkouse. 
 
 33. — Swear to me this day;] Moses, who records this con- 
 duct of Jacob, does not commend him for it. God indeed, before 
 he was born, designed and promised this privilege to him: but 
 then he should have waited, till the Divine wisdom had found 
 out the means of executing His promise in His own way, as David
 
 God instructeth Isaac, and blesseth Mm 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 he is reproved by AUmclech. 
 
 Before 3.1, Then Jacob gave Esau bread and 
 •bout ifloi. pottage of lentiles ; and lie did eat and 
 drink, and rose up, and went liis way : thus 
 Esau despised his birtliright. 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 1 Isaac because of famine tfevi lo Gerar. 2 God iii- 
 slruclelh, and blrssi-lli him. ~ He is reproved by Abi- 
 melechj'ur dtni/ing fiis wife. 12 He growclh rich. 18 
 He dig;gel/i /V*, Sitnali, and Kehoboth. 23 Abime- 
 lech makeih a covefia»l with him at Bter-sheba. 34 
 Etna's tvives. 
 
 .bouU8(M. A ND there was a famine in the land, 
 J\. beside the first fiimine that was in 
 the days of Abraham, And Isaac went 
 unto Abimelech king of the Philistines 
 unto Gcrar. 
 
 2 And the Lord appeared unto him, and 
 said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in 
 the land which I shall tell thee of: 
 
 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with 
 thee, and will bless thee ; for unto thee, 
 
 • Owp. 13. and unto thy seed, ' I will give all these 
 Igj*''^" countries, and I will perform the oath 
 which I sware unto Abraham thy father ; 
 
 4 And I will" make thy seed to multiply 
 as the stars of heaven, and will give unto 
 thy seed all these countries ; and in thy 
 seed shall all the nations of the earth be 
 
 »Cli»p.I2. bUl J. 
 
 3. k 15. 18. I'leb^eu , 
 
 a 88. 18. 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my 
 voice, and kept my charge, my command- 
 ments, my statutes, and my laws. 
 
 6 ^ And Isaac dwelt in Gerar : 
 
 7 And the men of the place asked him 
 of his wife j and he said, She is my sister : 
 
 did, till God gave him jrosscsbion of Saul's kingdom : and not 
 have anticipated God, and snatched it by an irrej^ular act of his 
 own. In the whole affair indeed, Jacob acted with a subtilty, 
 not at all becoming an honest man. He knew that delays were 
 dnr^erous, and that his brotlier's consideration niiglit possibly 
 spoil his bargain ; and therefore he required haste, both in the 
 sale, and in his oath ; and thereby incun-ed another sin, by hur- 
 rying hi.s brother into an oath by precipitation, which neither he 
 should have taken, nor Jacob h.ivc advised him to take, without 
 mature advice and deliberation. 
 
 And in like manner, as to his interception of the blessing, 
 which his father designed for his brother Esau : it is in vain to 
 have recourse to forced constructions, or to plead the lawfulness 
 of menial reservationt, in order to excuse him in the lying and 
 dis^umulation, for which he was certainly culpable. The best 
 way is, upon this occasion, to Lunent the in/irmity of human na- 
 ture, which cannot always stand upright; and to admire the im- 
 partiality of the Sacred Writings, in which the very blemishes 
 and transgressions of sucli, as are designed to make the principal 
 figure in them, are not forgotten to be recorded. Stack/iouse. 
 
 34. — pollage qflentiles;^ Lcntiles were a kind of pidse, some- 
 what like our vetches, or coarser sort of pease. Slackhoi/.^e. 
 
 The inhabitants of Barbary still make use of lentiles, boiled and 
 stewed with oil and garUck, and forming a pottage of a chocolate 
 colour: this was " the red pottage," vcr. 30, for which Esau, 
 thence called Edom, sold his birthright Dr. Shaw. 
 
 In the account of the Life of Hilarion, a celebrated hermit, 
 mat austere recluse 'u said for three years to liave eaten nothing. 
 
 for he feared to say. She is my wife; lest, cinusT 
 said fie, the men of the place should kill about 1.104. 
 me for Rebekah ; because she xoas fair to 
 look upon. 
 
 8 And it came to pass, v?hen he had been 
 there a long time, that Abimelech king of 
 the Philistines looked out at a window, and 
 saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with 
 Rebekah liis wife. 
 
 9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, 
 Behold, of a surety she is thy wife : and 
 how saidst thou, She is my sister? And 
 Isaac said unto him. Because I said. Lest 
 I die for her. 
 
 10 And Abimelech said. What is this 
 thou hast done unto us ? one of the people 
 might lightly have lien with thy wite, and 
 thou .shouldest have brought guiltiness up- 
 on us. 
 
 11 And Abimelech charged all his peo- 
 ple, saying. He that toucheth this man or 
 his wife shall surely be put to death. 
 
 12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and 
 
 t received in the same year an hundred- t '^eb. 
 fold : and the Lord blessed him : •^''""^■ 
 
 13 And the man waxed great, and t went t Heu. 
 forward, and grew until he became very "'""s""'?- 
 great : 
 
 14 For he had possession of flocks, and 
 possession of herds, and great store of II ser- i ^' 
 vants : and the Philistines envied him. "" "" '^' 
 
 15 For all the wells which his father's 
 servants had digged in the days of Abra- 
 ham his father, the Philistines had stopped 
 them, and filled them with earth. 
 
 but half a sextary (about a pint) of lentiles, moistened with cold 
 water : and for other three years only dry bread with salt, and 
 some water. This shews the eating of lentiles was thought to be 
 very poor li^^ng, though much eaten in those countries ; and 
 sometimes sent to soldiers attending their prince, 2 Sam. xvii. 28. 
 It shews also, in a very strong point of light, the profaneness of 
 Esau, who despised his birthright to such a degree, as to part 
 with it for a mess of lentile pottage. Harmer. 
 
 Chap. XXVI. ver. 1. — Abimelech'] Probably the son of him, 
 to whom Abraham went. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — guiltine.is'] The Hebrew word signifies both sin and 
 punishment. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 12. — an hundredfold .-^ This was a singular blessing of God. 
 However, A'arro and Pliny say, that in parts of Syria and Africa, 
 they reaped an hundred bushels for one : nay, Bochart shews out 
 of several good authors, that some parts of Africa were so rich as 
 to produce two and even three hundredfold. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 15. — the Philistines had stopped them,'] The people of these 
 countries have put in practice, many ages since the events re- 
 corded by Moses, the same mode of taking vengeance on those 
 that were disagreeable to them, or whom they would prevent 
 from coming among them. Niebuhr relates, that the Turkish 
 emperowrs annually give to every Arab tribe, which is near the 
 road from Egypt and Syria to Mecca, a certain sum of money, 
 and a certain number of vestments, to keep them from destroy- 
 ing the wells, that lie in that route. Harmer. Sec 2 Kings 
 iii. 19-
 
 Isaac diggeth sundry ivells, and 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 makelh a eovemnl uiih AbwielecA. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 IJ That is. 
 Contention. 
 
 [ That is. 
 Hatred. 
 
 8 That is, 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ^^^ Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go 
 about 1804. from us; for thou art much mightier than 
 we. 
 
 17 % And Isaac departed thence, and 
 pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and 
 dwelt there. 
 
 18 And Isaac digged again the weUs 
 of water, which they had digged in the 
 days of Abraham his father ; for the Phi- 
 listines had stopped them after the death 
 of Abraham : and he called their names 
 after the names by which his father had 
 called them. 
 
 19 And Isaac's servants digged in the 
 valley, and found there a well of t spring- 
 ing water. 
 
 20 And the her dm en of Gerar did strive 
 with Isaac's herdmen, saying. The water is 
 cur's : and he called the name of the well 
 II Esek ; because they strove with him. 
 
 21 And they digged another well, and 
 strove for that also : and he called the name 
 of it II Sitnah. 
 
 22 And he removed from thence, and 
 digged another well; and for that they 
 strove not : and he called the name of it 
 IIRehoboth; and he said, For now the 
 Lord hath made room for us, and we shall 
 be fruitful in the land. 
 
 23 And he went up from thence to Beer- 
 sheba. 
 
 24 And the Lord appeared unto him 
 the same night, and said, I am the God of 
 Abraham thy father : fear not, for I am 
 with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply 
 thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. 
 
 25 And he builded an altar there, and 
 called upon the name of the Lord, and 
 
 20. — the herdmen of Gerar did strive^ It is our ignorance of 
 the Patriarchal manner of living, which makes us think it unac- 
 countable to hear, in those early days, of so many contests about 
 ■wells: for on nearer inspection -vve should hnd, tliat in those hot 
 countries, where water was so very scarce, a well, or fountain of 
 living water, was a possession of inestimable value: and for this 
 reason we find Moses, in magnifying the Divine bounty to the 
 children of Israel, among other parts of the inventory, reckoning 
 up, not only " great and goodly cities, which they builded not," 
 bnt " tveUt likewise digged, which they digged not." Biblioth. 
 Bibl. 
 
 The importance of water is acknowledged all over the world ; 
 but its value, and the labour, with which it is sometimes procured 
 in the East, are hardly credible to an English ear. At Cairo 
 and Constantinople the gratuitous distribution of water is esteem- 
 ed a most beneficial charity. Niebiihr. At Suez, a very consider- 
 able price, not less than a groat or sixpence a gallon, was paid for 
 ■fresh water. Pills. Persons are forced to travel across the deserts 
 ■without any supply for their camels, sometimes as much as eighty 
 miles. Plaisted. The wells too are very "deep; many of them 
 being from 160 to I70 feet. Niebuhr. From the great depth of 
 earth, which must be dug away to get at water, we may infer the 
 labour that Abraham had to dig his wells, and Isaac afterward.s, 
 to re-open them, when filled by the Philistines. We see too. 
 
 pitched his tent there : and there Isaac's 
 servants digged a well. 
 
 26 ^ Then Abimelech went to him from 
 Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, 
 and Phichol the chief captain of his army. 
 
 27 And Isaac said unto them. Wherefore 
 come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and 
 have sent me away from you ? 
 
 28 And they said, t We saw certainly that 
 the Lord was with thee : and we said. Let 
 there be now an oath betwixt us, even be- 
 twixt us and thee, and let us make a. cove- 
 nant wth thee ; 
 
 29 t That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we 
 have not touched thee, and as we have 
 done unto thee nothing but good, and have 
 sent thee away in peace : thou art now the 
 blessed of the Lord. 
 
 30 And he made them a feast, and they 
 did eat and drink. 
 
 31 And they rose up betimes in the 
 morning, and sware one to another: and 
 Isaac sent them away, and they departed 
 from him in peace. 
 
 32 And it came to pass the same day, 
 that Isaac's servants came, and told him 
 concerning the well which they had dig- 
 ged, and said unto him, We have found 
 water. 
 
 33 And he called it 1| Shebah : therefore 
 the name of the city is || Beer-sheba unto 
 this day. 
 
 34 % And Esau was forty years old when 
 he took to wife Judith the daugliter of Bee- 
 ri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter 
 of Elon the Hittite : 
 
 S5 Which ' were t a grief of mind unto 
 Isaac and to Rebekah. 
 
 Brforc 
 CHRIST 
 
 about I«0(. 
 
 tHeb. 
 Steing fee 
 saw. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 If thou 
 shidt, &r. 
 
 I That is, 
 an oath. 
 y That is, 
 the well of 
 the oath. 
 1796. 
 
 ' Chap. 27. 
 
 46. 
 tHeb. 
 
 intterneu of 
 spirit. 
 
 that a well was an article of property of the most valuable kind; 
 since it was to be procured in many places only by continued and. 
 expensive labour. An acquaintance with such particulars adds 
 much to the spirit of those passages in Scripture, where wells, or 
 brooks, or waters are mentioned: but to know the full value of 
 this indispensable element, we must endure burning thirst, be- 
 neath an unclouded sky, under a parching sun, amidst an arid 
 and sandy desert. Fragmenls lo Calmet. 
 
 26. — Phichof] The same name and the same office, possessed 
 by him, who is mentioned chap. xxi. 22. It was probably the 
 name of some dignity among them, like that of tribune or dicta- 
 tor among the Romans. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 33. — Beer-sheba] Isaac renewed the well dug by his father 
 at this place, where in later times a city was built. Dr. Wells. 
 See note on Gen. xxi. 33. 
 
 34,. _ the daug/Uer of Beeri the Hittite, &c.'] Josephus says 
 these two men, \vhose daughters Esau married, were power- 
 ful men among the Hittites. Doubtless his father had given 
 him the same charge which Abraham had done concerning 
 his own marriage, chap. xxiv. S. And then it was a \try 
 undutiftd, nay, an impious action, to marry with those peo- 
 pie, who were under the curse of God. The Scripture might 
 well caD him •profane; for he seems not to have regardetl either 
 the ciirse or the blessing of the .tUmighty. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Isaac sendeth Esau for venison. 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Jacob obtaineth the blessing. 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 dJwuc 1760. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 hunf. 
 
 1 haac tendeih Esau for venitoii. 6 Eebehah intlruet- 
 eth Jacob to obtain the blessing. 15 Jacob under the 
 person of Esau obtaineth it. 30 Esau brin^eth veni- 
 son. 33 Isaac trembkth. 34 Esau comptaincth, and 
 by importunili/ obtaineth a blessing. 41 He threaten- 
 eth Jacob. 42 Rebekah disappointeth it. 
 
 AND it came to pass, that when Isaac 
 was old, and his eyes were dim, so 
 that he could not see, he called Esau his 
 eldest son, and said unto him. My son : and 
 he said imto him. Behold, here am I. 
 
 2 And he said. Behold now, I am old, I 
 know not the day of my death : 
 
 3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy 
 weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go 
 out to the field, and ttake me some ve- 
 nison ; 
 
 4 And make me savoury meat, such as 
 I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat ; 
 that my soul may bless thee before I die. 
 
 5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake 
 to Esau his son. And Esau went to the 
 field to hunt./or venison, and to bring it. 
 
 6 % And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her 
 son, saying. Behold, I heard thy father 
 speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 
 
 7 Bring me venison, and make me sa- 
 voury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee 
 before the Lord before my death. 
 
 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice 
 according to that which I command thee. 
 
 9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me 
 from thence two good kids of the goats ; 
 and I will make them savoury meat for thy 
 father, such as he loveth : 
 
 10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, 
 that he may eat, and that he may bless 
 thee before his death. 
 
 11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mo- 
 ther. Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy 
 man, and I am a smooth man : 
 
 V2 My father peradventure will feel me, 
 
 Chap. XXVII. ver. 1. — mhen Isaac mas old,2 He was one 
 hundred and thirty-seven years old. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — make me savoury meat,'] For the elde.st son of a family to 
 be 30 employed, may seem to shew that the family was possessed 
 •f no great wealth or mafiTiificence. Such however was the sim- 
 plicity of those times, that it was customary for men of the high- 
 est rank to submit to meaner offices than this. The Sacred His- 
 tory, in all its accounts and descriptions, agrees with the sense of 
 the most ancient writers, and is conformable to the manners and 
 customs that then prevailed. Stackhuuse. 
 
 '<>■ — put the skins of the kids &c.] Bochart observes, that in 
 the Eastern countries goats' hair was very like that of men. Bp. 
 Patrick. ^' 
 
 In this chapter is shown, how Jacob deceived his father. He 
 ■was a good man; but every thing, that good men have said or 
 done through infirmity, must not be imitated : the Law of God 
 being our sure and never-failing rule. 
 
 and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and nS^YsT 
 I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a ai>out nsa 
 blessing. 
 
 13 And his mother said unto him, Uporj 
 me be thy curse, my son : only obey my 
 voice, and go fetch me them. 
 
 14 And he went, and fetched, and 
 brought them to his mother : and his mo- 
 ther made savoury meat, such as his father 
 loved. 
 
 15 And Rebekah took t goodly raiment t Hrf>. 
 of her eldest son Esau, which tver'e with 
 
 her in the house, and put them upon Jacob 
 her younger son : 
 
 16 And she put the skins of the kids of 
 the goats upon his hands, and upon the 
 smooth of his neck : 
 
 17 And she gave the savoury meat and 
 the bread, which she had prepared, into 
 the hand of her son Jacob. 
 
 18 5[ And he came unto his father, and 
 said. My father : and he said, Here am I j 
 who art thou, my son ? 
 
 19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am 
 Esau thy firstborn ; I have done according 
 as thou badest me : arise, I pray thee, sit 
 and eat of my venison, that thy soul may 
 bless me. 
 
 20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is 
 it that thou hast found it so quickly, my 
 son? And he said. Because the Lord thy 
 God brought it t to me. t Hcb. 
 
 21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come *'>'""'• 
 near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my 
 
 son, whether thou be my very son Esau or 
 not. 
 
 22 And .lacob went near unto Isaac his 
 father; and he felt him, and said. The voice 
 is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the 
 hands of Esau. 
 
 23 And he discerned him not, because 
 his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's 
 hands: so he blessed him. 
 
 A while hence we shall see Jacob himself imposed upon by 
 Laban, in the case of Rachel his espoused wife: and in bis old 
 age we shall see him imposed upon by his own sons, and with 
 the blood of a kid, with which they dyed bis son's coat. So 
 exact, so wonderful, so instructive are all the ways of Providence! 
 Bp. Wilson. 
 
 23. — so he blessed him.l Jacob and his mother were justly 
 to be praised, for having a due esteem of the paternal benediction, 
 as a means instituted by God for the conveyance of His covenant 
 with Abraham. And if this blessing was, as some suppose, an 
 appendage to the birthright, Jacob, in purchasing the one, had 
 acquired a just title to the other. Pursuant to the Divine des^- 
 nation likewise, Isaac was bound to confer his blessing upon 
 Jacob; and therefore his wife, j)erceiving hi.i erroneous intention, 
 laid a scheme, which induced him to do ignorantly, what Gri 
 had preordained to be done. Furthermore, when her artifi'-- .'ad 
 succeeded, and Jacob was blessed, Isaac was fully satisfit:d wit)i
 
 Esau brhgeth venison. 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 Esau complavwth. 
 
 Before 34, And he said. Art thou my very son 
 fb?uU76a Esau ? And he said, I am. 
 
 25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and 
 I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul 
 may bless thee. And he brought it near 
 to him, and he did eat: and he brought 
 him wine, and he drank. 
 
 26 And his father Isaac said unto 
 him, Come near now, and kiss me, my 
 son. 
 
 27 And he came near, and kissed him : 
 and he smelled the smell of his raiment, 
 and blessed him, and said. See, the smell 
 of my son is as the smell of a field which 
 the Lord hath blessed : 
 
 28 Therefore * God give thee of the dew 
 of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and 
 plenty of corn and wine : 
 
 29 Let people serve thee, and nations 
 bow down to thee : be lord over thy 
 bretliren, and let thy mother's sons bow- 
 down to thee : cursed be every one that 
 curseth thee, and blessed he he that bless- 
 €th thee. 
 
 30 % And it came to pass, as soon as 
 Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, 
 and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from 
 the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau 
 his brother came in from his hunting. 
 
 31 And he also had made savoury meat, 
 and brought it unto his father, and said 
 unto his father, Let ray father arise, and 
 
 » Hcbr. 1 1. 
 -20. 
 
 -what he had done : " I have blessed him, yea, and he shall be 
 blessed :" which sudden change of mind may be imputed to some 
 Divine inspiration, opening his understanding, and convincing 
 him that he had given the blessing to the right person. These 
 considerations may serve to alleviate the crime : still it must be 
 owned, that Rebekah was guilty of a fault, in suggesting such 
 wicked advice to her son ; and that Jacob committed another, in 
 suffering himself to be setluced by so bad a guide : and that both 
 of them presumed to limit the power of God, by thinking that a 
 complication of frauds was necessary for the accomplishment of a 
 Divine prophecy. Had Rebekah put her husband in remem- 
 brance of this prophecy, and shewn how Esau had forfeited the 
 blessing by selling his birthriglit, and by marrying strange wives, 
 this had been a much more honourable proceeding. But she was 
 left to pursue her own indiscreet method ; and thus God accom- 
 . plished His righteous purposes by converting, as He often does, 
 .human foHy to the promotion of His glory. Stackhouse. 
 
 24. — And he said, I am.~^ Jacob got his father's blessing by 
 
 a he : but see what followed. His brother purposed to murder 
 
 chim : — he was in a manner banished from his father's house ; — 
 
 his uncle dealt deceitfully with him, as he had done with his 
 
 •father, and treated him with great rigour: and his mother, who 
 
 put him upon this fraud, never saw him after. Bp. U'ilson. 
 
 fc 28. Therefore God give thee'] Or, mill give thee : it is a pro- 
 
 . phecy as well as a prayer. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 ,1 the detv of heaven,] Rain fell only at certain seasons in 
 
 that country : but there was a recompense for it by plentiful dews, 
 wluch very much refreshed the earth, and are represented as a 
 Divine gift, Job .xxxviii. 28 ; Mic. v. 7. Bp. Patrick, 
 
 and Ike fatness of the earth,] Canaan, the lot of his in- 
 
 Voi,. I. 
 
 eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may 
 ble^ss me. 
 
 32 And Isaac his father said unto him, 
 WTio art thou ? And he said, I am thy son, 
 thy firstborn Esau. 
 
 33 And Isaac t trembled very exceed- 
 ingly, and said, ^\^lo ? where is he that 
 hath t taken venison, and brought it me, 
 and I have eaten of all before thou earnest, 
 and have blessed him ? yea, and he shall be 
 blessed. 
 
 34 And when Esau heard the words of 
 his father, he cried with a great and ex- 
 ceeding bitter crj-, and said unto his father. 
 Bless me, even me also, O my father. 
 
 35 And he said, Thy brother came with 
 subtilty, and hath taken away thy bless- 
 ing. 
 
 36 And he said. Is not he rightly named 
 II Jacob ? for he hath supplanted me these 
 two times : he took away my birthright ; 
 and, behold, now he hath taken away my 
 blessing. And he said, Hast thou not re- 
 served a blessing for me ? 
 
 37 And Isaac answered and said unto 
 Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, 
 and all his brethren have I given to him 
 for servants ; and with corn and wine have 
 I II sustained him : and what shall I do now 
 unto thee, my son ? 
 
 38 And Esau said unto his father. Hast 
 thou but one blessing, my father? bless 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1760. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 IremUed 
 
 xvitli a sreut 
 
 trembting 
 
 greatlt/. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 Iiunted. 
 
 II That is, 
 a supplant- 
 er. 
 
 I! Or, 
 ttqtpOTted. 
 
 heritance, was a fruitful, and therefore by the Prophet called, a 
 fat land, Neh. ix. 25. Stackhouse. 
 
 29. Let people serve thee,] As the former part of Uie blessing 
 relates to wealth, so does this to dominion and empire : it was 
 signally fulfilled in the days of David, when the Moabites, Am- 
 monites, .Syrians, Philistines, and Edomites also, were subdued 
 under him'. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 be lord over tht/ brethren,] This is a third ^jart of the 
 
 blessing, gi\'ing him a prerogative in his own family. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 In the following chapter, ver. 14, the promise is made to Jacob, 
 " In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the^ earth be 
 blessed ;" and to this are to be refen-ed in their full force those 
 expressions, " Let peo])le ser\ e thee, &c." It appears that Jacob 
 was a man of more religion, and believed the Divine promises 
 more than Esau. The posterity of Jacob hke\\ise prescrvetl the 
 true religion and the worship of one God, while the Edomites 
 were sunk in idolatiy. And of the seed of Jacob was born at 
 last the Saviour of the world. This was the peculiar pnvikge 
 and advantage of Jacob, to be the happy insmiment ot con\'eymg 
 these spiritual blessings to all nations. This was his greatest su- 
 periority overEsiiu : and in this sense St. Paul understands anil 
 applies the prophecy, " The elder shall serve the youBger, 
 Rom. ix. 12. The Christ, the Saviour of the world, was to be 
 born of someone family; and Jacob's was preferred to Esau's out 
 of the good pleasure of Almighty God, who is certainly the best 
 judge of fitness and expedience, and hatii an undoubted right to 
 dispense His favours, as He shdl see proper : " lor He saith to 
 Moses," as the Apostle proceeds to argue, ver. 15, " I will have 
 mercy on whom I wiU have mercy, and 1 wiU have comi»ssicn
 
 Esau thrcaienelh Jacob. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Isaac blesseth Jacob. 
 
 Before ,j^Q^ exfft me also, O my father. Ami Iv 
 fiimtV:" sail lilU-d u]) his voice, "aiul \vi-])t. 
 »Hii.r. 1.'. Hi) Anil Isaac his iathor answered anil 
 ."•. saiil unto him, Ik'hoKl, ' tliy ihveilinjr sliall 
 
 ]^o^'. '*' l>i^ lltliL' fatness of the eartli, ami of the dew 
 of the fu- of lieavcn from above ; 
 ""'■ 40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and 
 
 shah serve tiiv brother ; and it sliall come 
 to pass when thou shalt ha\ethe dominion, 
 that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy 
 neck. 
 
 n % And Esau hated Jacob because of 
 the blessing wherewith his father blessed 
 him : and ICsau said in his heart, 'I'he days 
 of mourning for my father are at hand ; 
 
 * Obad. la d ji^pn will 1 slay my brother Jacob. 
 
 4'2 And these words of Esau her elder 
 son were told to llebckah : and she sent 
 and called Jacob her younger son, and said 
 unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as 
 touching thee, doth comfort himself, jmr- 
 posing to kill thee. 
 
 'k3"Now tlK-retbrc, my son, obey my 
 voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my 
 brother to Haran ; 
 
 It And tariy with him a few days, until 
 thy brother's fury turn away ; 
 
 ^5 Until thy brother's anger turn away 
 from thee, and he forget that which thou 
 hast done to him : then I will send, and 
 fetch thee from thence : why should I be 
 dei)ri\ ed also of you both in one day ? 
 
 • Chap. 2c. 46 And Ilebekah said to Isaac, ' I am 
 **■ weary of my life because of the daughters 
 
 on whom I will have compassion." And when tlie Cientilos were 
 converted to Christianity, the prophecy was literall)' fulfilled, " Let 
 people scr\'e thee, and nations bow down totliee;" and will more 
 amply be fulfilled, when " tlie fidness of the Gentiles shall come 
 in, and all Israel shall be saved." lip. Newton. 
 
 .Sp. — Behold, Ihi/ dwelling &c.n Esau had c;ittle, and beasts, and 
 substance in abundance. And wlien the Israelites on their return 
 from Efjypt desired leave to pass through the territories of Edom, 
 it appears that the country contained fields and vineyards. There 
 i« however a manifest difference between this and Jacob's bene- 
 diction. For here is no mention of plenty of com and wine ; 
 nor is there dominion given to him, as there was to Jacob : and, 
 whatsoever falne.'is was in the soil of the country, it did not last, 
 ■s appears from Mai. i. .3. Bps. Neti'lon and Falriek. 
 
 +0. — hy th;i .fword sltall thou live,"} Live upon spoil. Bp. 
 Patrick. The Edomites were always distinguished for their 
 violence and/n.irtial spirit. Josephus gives them the character of 
 " a turbulent and disorderly nation, always erect to commotioits, 
 and rejoicing in changes ; at the least adulation of those who be- 
 seech them, beginning war, and hastening to battles as it were to 
 a feast." Bp. Newton. 
 
 .limit serve thi/ brother ;] See note on cliap. xxv. 23. 
 
 when thou shall have the dominion,^ It is not meant, that 
 
 they should have dominion over the seed of Jacob, but simply 
 have dominion, as they had when tliey appointed a king of their 
 own. Bp. Sfwton. 
 
 thou sImU hreak Iris i/oke &C.3 In the reign of Jehoram, 
 
 " the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judali, and 
 
 of Heth : if Jacob take a wife of the daugh- ^u'iust 
 tersof Hetii, such as these u/iic/i c//r of the about i76o. 
 daughters of the land, what good .shall my 
 life do me ? 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 ] Lwac blesseth .tacol), and sendeth him to Padan-arom. 
 ti K.t(iit manieth Mahalalh the daughter of Ishmnet. 
 10 The vision of Jacob's ladder. 18 The stone of 
 Beth-et. 20 Jacob's vow. 
 
 AND Isaac called Jacob, and blessed ''''<*^ 
 him, and cliarged him, and said unto 
 him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the 
 daughters of Canaan. 
 
 'J 'Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house ' Hos- 1-'- 
 of Bcthuel thy mother's father ; ami take '"' 
 thee a wife from thence of tiie daughters 
 of Laban thy mother's brother. 
 
 .'} And (lod Almighty bless thee, and 
 make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that 
 thou mayest be t a midtitude of people ; tHei>. 
 
 -1. And give thee the blessing of Abra- 'J^^';,^',™!''^ 
 ham, to theo, and to thy seed with thee ; 
 that thou mayest inherit the land t wherein t H^b. 
 thou art a stranger, which God gave unto j^,^*^,,^^ 
 Abraham. 
 
 5 And Isaac sent away Jacob : and he 
 went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of 
 Hethucl the Syrian, the brother of Rcbe- 
 kah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. 
 
 G ^ When Esau saw that Isaac had bless- 
 ed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan- 
 aram, to take him a wife from thence ; 
 and that as he blessed him he gave him a 
 
 made themselves a king," (2 Kings viii. 20 ;) thus fulfilling this 
 prophecy f)00 years after it was delivered. Bp. Newton. 
 
 4C. — i am weary of my life &C.3 However culpable Rebekah 
 may be tllought in the former instance, there is not the like im- 
 putation on her, in hiding from her husband the true reason of 
 her sending Jacob away. It is pruilcnce to conceal the truth, 
 when the discovery will occasion more harm than good. There- 
 fore tliat she might not afflict her husband's old age with the un- 
 welcome news of his son Esau's wicked design against his 
 brother, and thereby provoke his indignation against him ; she 
 covered the dismission of Jacob with a reason, that M-as true in- 
 deed, but not that chief and latent one, which gave her the most 
 uneasiness ; and which, if communicated to her husband, might 
 have been the means of bringing down his grey hairs with sor- 
 row to the grave. So that, on the whole, and according to the 
 Proverbs of the wise king, she acted the part both of a careful 
 wife and of a j)rudent woman : for " the tongue of the wise useth 
 knowledge aright," and she, "that is of a faithful spirit, concealeth 
 the matter," Prov. xv. 2, and xi. 13. Slackhouse. 
 
 Chap. XXVIII. ver. \. — blessed him,~\ Renewed and con- 
 firmed his former blessing, that it might not be thought of less 
 force, because procured by artifice and subtilty. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4- — the blessing of Abraham,'^ That blessing, not only tem- 
 poral, but spiritual, which was promised to Abraham, chap. xii. 
 2, 3; xvii. IQ; xxii. 17, 18; and was by God Himself transferred 
 to Isiiac, chaj). xxv. 1 1, and .\xvi. 3 ; and is here by Isaac assured 
 to Jacob and hia seed. Bp. Kidder,
 
 The vision of Jacob's ladder. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 'The slonc of Bclh-d. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ITlJO. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 were evil in 
 the eyes, &c. 
 
 about 17G0. 
 
 » Called, 
 AcU 7. 2, 
 Charrnn. 
 
 " Chap. 35. 
 I. & 48. 3. 
 
 charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife 
 of the daughters of Canaan ; 
 
 7 And that Jacob obeyed his father 
 and his mother, and was gone to Padan- 
 aram ; 
 
 8 And Esau seeing that the daughters of 
 Canaan tpleased not Isaac his father ; 
 
 9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and 
 took unto the wives which he had Maha- 
 lath tlie daughter of Ishmael Abraham's 
 son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife. 
 
 10 ^ And Jacob went out from Beer- 
 sheba, and went toward '' Haran. 
 
 1 1 And he hghted upon a certain place, 
 and tarried there all night, because the sun 
 was set ; and he took of the stones of that 
 place, and put them for his pillows, and lay 
 down in that place to sleep. 
 
 12 And he dreamed, and behold a lad- 
 der set up on the earth, and the top of it 
 reached to heaven : and behold the angels 
 of God ascending and descending on it. 
 
 13 "And, behold, the Lord stood above 
 it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abra- 
 ham thy father, and the God of Isaac : the 
 land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give 
 it, and to thy seed \ 
 
 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of 
 
 10. And Jacob wcnl out from Bcer-sheba^ Isaac's life was not 
 more retired and quiet, tlian Jacob's was busy and troublesome. 
 In the one I see tlie image of contemplation ; of action, in the 
 Other. None of the Patriarchs saw so evil days as he ; from 
 whom justly hath the Church of God therefore taken her name. 
 Neither were the faithful ever since called Abrahamites, but 
 Israelites. As an emblem of his future lot, he began his strife in 
 the womb : after that, he flies for his life from a cruel brother to 
 a cruel uncle. With a staff goes he over Jordan alone, doubtful 
 and comfortless, not like the son of Isaac. In the way the earth 
 is his bed, and a stone his pillow ; yet even tliere he sees a vision 
 of angels. Jacob's heart was never so full of joy, as when his 
 head lay hardest. God is. most present with us in our greatest 
 dejection ; and loves to give comfort to those that are forsaken of 
 their hopes. Bp. Hall. 
 
 12. — behold a ladder &c.] Tliis ladder, according to the sense 
 of the best interpreters, is an emblem of the Divine Providence, 
 which governs all things. Its being " set up on the earth" de- 
 notes the steadiness of Providence, which nothing can unsettle : 
 its "reaching up to heaven" signifies, that it erleiids over all 
 things : the several " steps of tiie ladder" are the motion and 
 action of Providence : the " angels going up and down" show, 
 that they are the great ministers of Providence, always employed 
 in the preservation of the just: their "ascending" represents 
 their going up to receive the Divine commands ; and their " de- 
 scending," their coming down upon earth to execute them. So 
 that God hereby signified to Jacob, now full of cares and uneasy 
 apprehensions, that the man, who was under the custody and 
 protection of Divine Providence, wanted not company in a wil- 
 derness ; nor security in danger ; nor direction in difficulties : 
 since there were so many " ministering spirits," holding corre- 
 spondence between earth and heaveri ; and daily and hourly 
 " sent forth" from God's presence " to minister for them, who 
 shall be heirs of salvation," Heb. i. 14. 
 
 Another interpretation deserves our attention. The promise, 
 .which Ggd makes to Jacob, fi-oni the top of the ladder, relates 
 
 Bcfiirc 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1760. 
 t Heb. 
 breat: Jorth, 
 " Deut. 12. 
 20. 
 
 ' Cba|j. 12. 
 3. & 18. 18. 
 & 22. 18. & 
 26.4. 
 
 II Tliatii, 
 tlie liuute iif 
 God. 
 
 the earth, and thou shalt t spread abroad 
 " to the west, and to the east, and to the 
 north, and to the south : and in thee and 
 ' in thy seed shall all the families of the 
 earth be blessed. 
 
 15 And, behold, I om with thee, and will 
 keep thee in aW.jilaces whither thou goest, 
 and will bring thee again into this land; 
 for I will not leave thee, until I have done 
 iliat which I have spoken to thee of. 
 
 16 if And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, 
 and lie said. Surely the Loud is in this 
 place ; and I knew it not. 
 
 17 And he was afraid, and said. How 
 dreadful is this place ! this is none other 
 but the house of God, and this is the gate 
 of heaven. 
 
 18 And Jacob rose up early in the morn- 
 ing, and took the stone that he had ])ut for 
 his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and 
 poured oil upon the top of it. 
 
 19 And he called the name of that place 
 II Beth-el : but the name of that city icas 
 called Luz at the first. 
 
 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying. If 
 God will be with me, and will keep me in 
 this way that I go, and will give me bread 
 to eat, and raiment to put on. 
 
 chiefly to His covenant with Abraham, which was principally 
 founded in Christ, that chosen Seed, " in whom all tlie familie* 
 of the earth were to be blessed." The analogy of the thing may 
 therefore lead us to believe, that this ladder was tlesigned for a 
 type and emblem of the covenant of grace, which was in force 
 from the time of man's first aposta.sy, and began to be put in 
 execution at the incarnation of our Saviour Christ, that only Me- 
 diator, who opened an intercourse between earth and Iieaven : by 
 whose intercession plenty of all spiritual blessuigs descend to us ; 
 and by whose merits and doctrines His disciples are sanctified, and 
 so become " meet to be part;ikers with the saints in light," or to 
 ascend into heaven. To this mystical meaning of the ladder, 
 our Saviour Himself may be thought to allude, when He says, 
 " Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God 
 ascending and descending upon the Son of man," John i. 51. 
 Slackhouse. 
 
 18. — took Ike stone, — and set it up &c.] That it might pre» 
 serve tlie memory of this heavenly vision ; and serve as a token 
 to point out to him the place, when God should bring him back 
 again. He afterwards poured oil upon it, to consecrate it as a 
 monument of God's great mercy to him. Hence arose the Pagan 
 custom of anomting stones, and consecrating them to the memory 
 of great men after their death, and falling down, and worshipping 
 before them ; a proof, how the best and noblest acts of piety may 
 be perverted into a foolish and degrading superstition. This 
 idolati-ous practice arose very early : whence Mosen forbade tlie 
 erecting of such pillars, they being in his time con\ erted to a 
 profime use. Bp. Patrick, Stack/ioiise. 
 
 ig. _ //„. name of that citif] Wliich was near the place where 
 this pillar was set up. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. — Jacob vowed a row,] Annotators have observed, that 
 this is the first vow we read of in Scripture. Jacob however ap- 
 pears to have done no more, than his fathers had done before him. 
 When, for example, the Lord is s;ud to have made a covenant 
 with Abrahimi, it must be supposed, that Abraham on his part 
 expressed his consent and acceptance ; and not only so, but vowed
 
 Jacuh meektii ui/A Kachel 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 at I he •well of Haran. 
 
 B«fore 21 So that I come again to my father's 
 ^ 1760.^^ house in peace ; then shall tlie Lord be my 
 God : 
 
 2'2 And this stone, wliicli I have set, /or 
 a pillar, shall be God's house : and of all 
 that thou shah give me 1 will surely give 
 the tenth unto thee. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 1 Jacol) cometh to the neU of Ilnraii. 9 He iaketh ac- 
 iimiintance of RacheJ. KJ Lahan cnlcrtaineth him. 18 
 Jacol) cwniaulelh fur Ildchd. 2.'f Uc is deceived tritit 
 Leah. 28 He viarrielh also Rachel, and xerreth fur 
 her sa-cn years more. 32 Leah bcarcth Reuben, 33 
 Simeon, 3i Levi, 35 and Jtidah. 
 
 THEN Jacob twcnt on his journey, and 
 came into the land of the t people of 
 
 t Hch. 
 lift u;i hii 
 fttt. 
 
 t Hcb. the east. 
 
 ckMr^ 2 And he looked, and behold a well in 
 the field, and, lo, there awe three flocks of 
 sheep lying by it ; for out of that well they 
 watered the flocks : and a great stone "was 
 upon the well's mouth. 
 
 3 And thither wore all the flocks gather- 
 ed : and tliey rolled the stone from the 
 well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and 
 put the stone again upon the well's mouth 
 in his place. 
 
 4 And Jacob said unto them, My bre- 
 
 aiul promised to (lei-fonn the conditions, in order to attain the 
 benefits of it. Bililiolh. llihl. 
 
 and trill give me bread &c.] To work our own content- 
 ment, we tliotild not labour so much to iticrejwe our substance, 
 as to moderate our desires. Jacob did not propose to Iiiniselt'auy 
 great endowments, rich revenues, and larf^e )«)Ssessiont : but only 
 " bread to eat, and raiment to )nit on." No matter of what coarse 
 grain, so it were but bread to give nourishment, and maintain 
 life. No matter for tlic stuff or fasln'on, so it were but raiment 
 to cover nakedness, and to keep off heat and cold. Neither doth 
 St. Paid speak of any choicer or costlier gifts : " Having food 
 and raiment," saith he, " let us be therewith content," 1 Tim. vi. 8. 
 He saith not delicacies, hut food ; not ornaments, but raimetil, 
 covering.^. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 The conditions of Jacob's vow seem to denote the secret wish 
 .-ind desire of his soul, and not any ex|)rcs8 stipulation with God. 
 Man certainly cannot insist on terms with his Maker ; but he may 
 desire and humbly hope for a supply of his wants. More than 
 this tlie Patriarch did not expect ; and less than this God never 
 intended to give. "Our heavenly Father knows that we have 
 need of foo<l to eat and raiment to put on ;" and it is a renuncia- 
 tion of our depcndance upon His proviclential goodness not to 
 ask Uiem. To sen e God for no consideration, but that of His 
 own glory, is a notion, that may well enough comport with our 
 future exalted .state, when we shall " hunger no more, neither 
 thirst anjr more," and where our service will always be attended 
 with vision ; but while we are invested with these weak and 
 frail bodies, they and their concerns will tenderly affect us : and 
 Cod, who "considers whereof we are made," expects no other 
 than that they should. Slnckhoiise. 
 
 -2\. — then shall the Ix>rd be mi/ Co<l .'] I will suffer no idolatry 
 ni my house or family. Up. tViJson. He does not mean, that he 
 would not worship God, if He did not bring him home in peace: 
 for the right which Go<l has to the service and homage of His 
 creatures is absolute and inalienable ; but that, if He did, he 
 would perform some special service to Him, and worship Him 
 with tjctraordinanj devotion. Bp. Patrick, Stackhousc. 
 
 thren, whence be ye? And they .said, Oi'Jl<-[°".^ 
 _, •' '' CUIUS r 
 
 Haran are we. i7«v 
 
 5 And he said unto thcni, Know ye La- 
 ban the son of Nahor ? And they said. We 
 know fiim. 
 
 6 And he said unto them, t /.v he well ? t "'''• 
 And they said. He is well : and, behold, peac^ /« 
 Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. '""'' 
 
 7 And he said, Lo, fit is yet high day, +"'"'• . 
 neither is it time tliat the cattle should be isgreai. 
 gathered together : water ye the sheep, 
 
 and go and liecd t/icm. 
 
 8 And they said, We cannot, until all 
 the flocks be gathered together, and //'// 
 tiiey roll the stone from the well's mouth ; 
 then we water the sheep. 
 
 9 H And while he yet spake with them, 
 Rachel came with her latlier's sheep : for 
 she kept them. 
 
 10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw 
 Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's 
 brother, and the sheep of Laban his mo- 
 ther's brother, that Jacob went near, and 
 rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and 
 watered the flock of Laban his mother's 
 brother. 
 
 11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted 
 up his voice, and wept. 
 
 22. — / will sureh) give the tenth unto thee.'] The tithe of all 
 his income, saith Josephus ; for the niuinteiiancc of burnt sacrifices, 
 and other pious pur])osps ; perhaps also for the relief of the poor; 
 the order of priesthood being not yet instituted. 
 
 This is the second mention of tithes or tenths, and the first 
 spccifick dedication of them to God : and from this place we may 
 conclude, that Jacob, the grandchild of Abraham, vowing " the 
 tenth of all," as Abraham had given " the tenth of the spoil," was 
 induced to do it by the custom then prevailing among religious 
 people. Some persons suppose this portion was fixed upon, rather 
 than a fifth, sixth, or any other, because in this number ten all 
 nations in a manner end tlieir account, and tlien begin again with 
 compound numbers. But it is most likely, they had some Divine 
 direction for it, as for sacrificing. Jacob appears to have per- 
 formed his vow on his return from Padan-aram, Gen xxxv. 7, 14. 
 Bp. Patrick, Stackhoiise. 
 
 Chap. XXIX. ver. 2. — a great stone tvas upon the ivelFs mouth.] 
 In Arabia, and in other places, they are wont to close and cover 
 up their wells of water, lest the sand, which is put into motion 
 by the winds there, like tlie water of a pond, should fill them, 
 and quite stop them up. Sir J. Chardin. 
 
 8. And thei/ said, We cannot,] Not that they were unable to 
 roll away the stone ; but it was probably contrary to the niles of 
 the place, as it may have been agi-eed, that no one should unco- 
 ver the well, and disturb the waters, till all the shepherds with 
 their flocks were assembled together to this common place of 
 watering. Locke. See below note on ver. 10. 
 
 9- — for she kept than.] That employment in those early days 
 was very honourable ; as is evident from Homer and other an- 
 cient writers. Stackhouse. 
 
 It is customary, even to this day, for the children of the greatest 
 emir to attend their flocks, as we find Rachel kept the sheep of 
 her father Laban. Dr. Shatr. 
 
 10. — rolled the .f tone from the well's mouth,] Sir J. Chardin gives 
 us to underst-md, Uiat he has known wells or cisterns of water lock- 
 et! up in the East : and if not, tliat some person is so far the pro-
 
 Laban cot>enanteth leith Jacob 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 for Rachel and Leah. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 hearing. 
 
 + Heb. 
 
 a 'ntfinlli of 
 
 Before 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was 
 
 f H R. T S T 
 
 1760. her father's brother, and that he was Re- 
 bekah's son : and she ran and told her fa- 
 ther. 
 
 13 And it came to pass, when Laban 
 heard the t tidings of Jacob liis sister's son, 
 that he ran to meet him, and embraced 
 liim, and kissed him, and brought him to 
 his house. And he told Laban all these 
 things. 
 
 14 And Laban said to him, Surely thou 
 art my bone and my flesh. And he abode 
 with him t the space of a month. 
 
 15 ^ And Laban said unto Jacob, Be- 
 cause thou art my brother, shouldest thou 
 therefore serve me for nought? tell me, 
 what shall thy wages be ? 
 
 1 6 And Laban had two daughters : the 
 name of the elder was Leah, and the name 
 of the younger was Rachel. 
 
 17 Leah was tender eyed ; but Rachel 
 was beautiful and well favoured. 
 
 18 And Jacob loved Rachel ; and said, 
 I will serve thee seven years for Rachel 
 thy younger daughter. 
 
 19 And Laban said, It is better that I 
 give her to thee, than that I should give 
 her to another man : abide with me. 
 
 20 And Jacob served seven years for 
 Rachel ; and they seemed unto him but a 
 few days, for the love he had to her. 
 
 i7i3. 21 ^ And Jacob said unto Laban, Give 
 
 prietor, that no one dares to open a well or cistern, but in his pre- 
 sence. He has often, he says, seen the inhabitants make use of 
 such precautions in divers parts of Asia, on account of the real 
 scarcity of water there. Harmer. 
 
 1 ','. — herfalherx brother, '\ That is, kinsman. 
 
 13. — he told Laban all these things.'^ Such as that he was 
 Laban's kinsman, and Rebekah's son, ver. 12; as also the reason of 
 liis coming from home ; God's providence over him on his jour- 
 ney ; and his happy meeting with Rachel. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 17- Leah was tender eyed,'2 Having some blemish or soreness 
 in her eyes. Slackhouse. 
 
 18. — / will serve Ihee seven years for RaclieF] It was a cus- 
 tom, which had prevailed almost in all ages, that, in contracting 
 marriages, as the wife brought a portion to the husband, so the hus- 
 band should give her, or her parents, money or presents, some- 
 times called in Scripture the dowry, in lieu of this portion. Jacob, 
 being destitute of money, offers his uncle seven years' service, 
 which must have been equivalent to a lai-ge sum. Biblioth. 
 Bibl. 
 
 22. — Laban gathered together all the men of the placc,~\ All 
 such private contracts were completed by the elders or governours 
 iif the place, in the presence of all the people. An instance of 
 this occurred before in Abraham's purchase of a sepulchre for his 
 family, chap, xxiii. 11, 18. This was a sacred and religious 
 thing, as well as the rites of marriage ; and therefore both were 
 parts of the publick care. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2.5. — and brought her to him y] The modesty of those times 
 made them bring the bride to her husband's bed vailed, and with- 
 out lights : so that it was easier for Laban to impose on Jacob. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 -25. — wherefore then hast thou beguiled me ?3 This was a 
 
 place. 
 
 me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that B'f"™ 
 I may go in unto her. ^^^^j!*"^ 
 
 22 And Laban gathered together all the 
 men of the place, and made a feast. 
 
 23 And it came to pass in the evening, that 
 he took Leah his daugliter, and brought her 
 to him ; and he went in unto her. 
 
 24 And Laban gave unto his daughter 
 Leah Zilpah his maidyor an handmaid. 
 
 25 And it came to pass, that in the 
 morning, behold, it was Leah : and he said 
 to Laban, What is this thou hast done 
 unto me? did not I serve with thee for 
 Rachel ? wherefore then hast thou beguil- 
 ed me? 
 
 26 And Laban said. It must not be so 
 done in our t country, to give the younger fHeb 
 before the firstborn. "'"' 
 
 27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee 
 this also for the service which thou shalt 
 serve with me yet seven other years. 
 
 28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her 
 week : and he gave him Rachel his daugh- 
 ter to wife also. 
 
 29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daugh- 
 ter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. 
 
 30 And he went in also unto Rachel, 
 and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, 
 and served with him yet seven other years. 
 
 31 % And when the Lord saw that Leah 
 xi'as hated, he opened her womb : but Ra- 
 chel was barren. 
 
 great fraud in Laban, and to Jacob a great affliction : but such as 
 might remind liim of the guile which he had used m procuring 
 his father's blessing. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 26. — // 7nust not be so done'^ This wag a mere pretence, for 
 we read of no such custom ; had it been true, he should have 
 told Jacob beforehand. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 27. Fulfil her week, &c.] That is, marriages are to be celebrated, 
 according to custom, by a seven days' feast : complete this mar- 
 riage thou hast begun with Le;di ; and then, upon condition of 
 another seven years' service, thou shalt marry Rachel also, and 
 keep her wedding feast seven days. Selden. 
 
 30. And he went in also unio Rachel,'^ There was no positive 
 law at this time against such marriages as this ; and Jacob proba- 
 bly thouglit there was an unavoidable necessity for his marrying 
 these two sisters : for Rachel was his true wife, Leah being im- 
 posed upon him by deceit ; but having taken her, he concluded 
 he could not honestly leave her, any more than he could Rachel, 
 to whom he was first contracted. 1'he example of Jacob however 
 in this particular is no rule for Christians. He, who pretends to 
 pronounce on so singular a case as that of this Patriarch, should 
 consider the different state of things, before tlie promulgation of 
 the Law, during the obligation of it, and since the commencement 
 of the Gospel. The Gospel undoubtedly proliibits botli a plu- 
 rality of wives, and consjmguinity in marriages ; and requires of 
 its votaries the strictest chastity, from a consideration and motive, 
 which neither the law of nature, nor the Law of Moses, knew 
 any tiling of ; " Yc are not your own, for ye are bought witli a 
 price : therefore glorify God" in your body and in your spirit, 
 which are God's," 1 Corintli. vi. 1<), 20. Bp. Patrick, Stack- 
 house. 
 
 3L — Leah was haled,'} Loved less Uiaq Rachel, as it is in the
 
 Rachel siveth Bllhah to Jacob, 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 •who beareth him children. 
 
 u.-f.«- 30 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, 
 
 S^IVtsI and she called liis name !l Ileul)cn : for she 
 
 I That u. said. Surely the Loud hath looked ujjom 
 
 '""""' my afHiction ; now therefore my husband 
 will love me. 
 
 •boutiTii. 33 And she conceived again, and bare a 
 son; and said, liecaiise the Lord hath 
 heard that I nas hated, he hath therefore 
 •riven me this sun also: and she called his 
 
 I That is name II Simeon. 
 
 itoCuTsa . i^t And she conceived again, and bare a 
 son ; and said. Now this time will my hus- 
 band be joined unto ine, because I have 
 born him three sons : therefore was his 
 
 I nmt is name called II Levi. 
 
 iito^i749. ^^ And she conceived again, and bare a 
 son : and she said, Now will 1 praise the 
 
 •Matth. 1. Lord; therefore she called his name'HJu- 
 
 i That it, dah ; and t lefl bearing. 
 
 praise, 
 t lllb. 
 
 bearing, V^ xl J\. 1 . 2i.2\,A.* 
 
 1 Hnchcl, in srirffor lier harrrnness, g'lurth Bil/iah her 
 maid unto Jacit/). 5 S/ie bcarclh J)tiu rind Naphtiili. 9 
 Ijcah givelh Zilpah her maid, n/w heareth Gad and 
 Asher. 15 lieidieii /indclh mandrakes, with which 
 I.enh tiiii/dh hrr husband of Rachel. 17 Leah licnr- 
 tlh fssacbnr, Zclm/un, and Dinah. ii:i Rachel Inuir- 
 eth Jitacp/i. S.» Jacob dairelh lo depart. 27 Lalxin 
 ttaycth him on a new cuvciuiul. ^7 Jacob's jivlici/, 
 trhiTeby he became rich. 
 
 ND when Rachel saw that she bare 
 Jacob no children, Rachel envied her 
 sister ; and said unto Jacob, Give me ciiil- 
 dren, or else I die. 
 
 a And Jacob's anger was kindled against 
 Rachel : and he said, Am I in God's stead, 
 who hath withheld liom thee the fruit of 
 the womb V 
 
 3 And she said. Behold my maid Billiah, 
 
 go in unto her; and she shall bear u])()ii 
 
 fHcU my knees, that I may also thave children 
 
 4f And she gave him Bilhah her hand- 
 maid to wife : and Jacob went in inito her. 
 
 .3 And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob 
 a son. 
 
 Before 
 
 A' 
 
 forppoinjf verse. Haliut: is, in the Scripture plrrase, sometimes 
 put for loving less. Compare Luke xiv. ■M, with Mattlicw \. 37. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Cliap. XXX. ver. .^. — she shall hear upon mi/ knees,'] Brinjj 
 me a child, whom I may set upon mv knees .is my own. Bv. 
 Patrick. ' ■ } f 
 
 The bearing upon llie knees may denote, that Rachel designed her 
 servant to bear a child, a.<i in her presenci-, and as it were upon /ur 
 knees, lo the end that her n)istress mi»ht be made a motlier bj' her 
 instnimentalitj-, and miifht have chiklren whom she might truly 
 call her own, though not Iwrn of herself. Stnckhoiisc. 
 
 We sec that l):irren Ilachel follows .S:irah's example, and adopts 
 the 60Q of that maidservant, wliom she gave to Jacob ; wherein 
 
 or. 
 
 (i And Rachel said, God hath judged p,m,y.j. 
 me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath ai)oiit nia^ 
 given me a son : therefore called she his 
 name II Dan. i ■'■''^' '^ 
 
 7 And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived ^*"'°"'-- 
 again, and bare Jacob a second son. 
 
 S And Rachel said, With t great wrest- t Heb. • 
 
 ,. , , 111 ■ ^ II wrcillingi 
 
 lings have I wrestled with my sister, and 1 ^ (;,.<(. 
 ha\e prevailed: and she called his name 
 irNai)litali. || Ti.ai is 
 
 <J When Leah saw that she had left bear- ,™^,,.'"'"'" 
 ing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave \^f^f- 
 her Jacob to wife. i% 
 
 10 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob NqM,*- 
 a son. 
 
 1 1 And Leah said, A troop cometh : and 
 
 she called his name II Gad. « That is 
 
 VZ And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob "J^'^'jZn, 
 a second son. 
 
 13 And Leah said, t Happy am I, for t"«^i' 
 the daughters will call me blessed: and she ^,"„"jf '"^ 
 called his name II Asher. irriiatis, 
 
 ll- % And Reuben went in the days of a^uutnsi. 
 wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the 
 field, and brought them unto his mother 
 Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give 
 me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. 
 
 L3 And she said unto her, Is it a small 
 matter that thou hast taken my husband? 
 and wouldest thou take away my son's 
 maiulrakes also ? And Rachel said. There- 
 fore he shall lie with thee to night for thy 
 son's mandrakes. 
 
 l(i And Jacob came out of the field in 
 the evening, and Leah went out to meet 
 him, and said. Thou must come in unto 
 me ; for surely 1 have hired thee with my 
 son's mandrakes. And he lay with her 
 that night. 
 
 17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and 
 
 she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth about nsa 
 son. 
 
 18 And Leah said, God hath given me 
 my hire, because I have given my maiden 
 
 to my husband: and she called his name . 
 
 li Issachar. |„ ,,;^'."' 
 
 Leah followed her, and gave one of her maids to her iiu-sband. 
 All this was evidently fjrouniled upon the same principle, which 
 afterwards bretl those dissensions betwixt Jacob's wives about the 
 having chiklren by them : for it is very natural to believe, tliat 
 Jacob <Ud not conceal from his wives his advantages and hopes. 
 Dr. Allix. See Dr. Gray's note on chap. xix. 36. See also note 
 on ver. 23. 
 
 thai I viai) also have c/iildreii] She being Rachel's ser- 
 vant, the children, that were bom of Tier, were Rachel's childreo. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. — mandrakes] Supposed to be what the Syrians call mauz, 
 a fruit, about as big as a small cucumber, that hangs in clusters, 
 sometimes to the number of forty on the same stalk, and is in 
 figure and taste not unlike the Indian fig. iilaclc/touse.
 
 Joseph lorn. 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 Jacob's polio/. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1749. 
 
 II That is, 
 dwcUitv^. 
 <• Called, 
 Mattli. 4. 
 IS, 
 
 Ziihulon. 
 about 1748. 
 II 1 hat is, 
 judgment. 
 1745. 
 
 tl Tliat is, 
 iiddin!'. 
 
 fHcb. 
 broken 
 forth. 
 
 19 And Leah conceived again, and bare 
 Jacob the sixth son. 
 
 20 And Leah said, God hath endued 
 me 'Oiith a good dowry ; now will my hus- 
 band dwell with me, because I have boi-n 
 him six sons : and she called his name 
 II " Zebulun. 
 
 21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, 
 and called her name || Dinah. 
 
 22 ^ And God remembered Rachel, and 
 God hearkened to her, and opened her 
 womb. 
 
 23 And she conceived, and bare a son ; 
 and said, God hath taken away my re- 
 proach : 
 
 24 And she called his name II Joseph ; 
 and said, The Lord shall add to me an- 
 other son. 
 
 25 ^ And it came to pass, when Rachel 
 had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto La- 
 ban, Send me away, that I may go unto 
 mine own place, and to my country. 
 
 26 Give me my wives and my children, 
 for whom I have served thee, and let me 
 go : for thou knowest my sei'vice which I 
 have done thee. 
 
 27 And Laban said unto him, I pray 
 tliee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, 
 tan~y : for I have learned by experience 
 that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. 
 
 28 And he said. Appoint me thy wages, 
 and I will give it. 
 
 29 And he said unto him. Thou knowest 
 how I have served thee, and how thy cattle 
 was with me. 
 
 30 For it 'was little which thou hadst be- 
 fore I came, and it is ?iow t increased unto 
 a midtitude ; and the Lord hath blessed 
 
 21. — Dina/i.'^ No reason is given for this name; but it 
 seems to have the same with that of Rachel's firstborn by Bilhah ; 
 for, as if she had now got the better of Rachel, she called this 
 child by a name importing Judginent. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 23. — taken awau my reproach :'\ " Be fruitful and multiply" 
 was the blessing ot God. Barrenness therefore was reckoned pe- 
 culiarly a reproach in those days. Bp. JVilson. 
 
 25. — unto mine own place, &c.]] To my father's house in Ca- 
 naan, where I was born. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 26. — thou knowest my service which I have done thee.'^ How 
 faithful and successful it has been, so that I now well deserve to 
 be dismissed. Dr. fVelh. 
 
 32. / will pass through all thyjlock to day,"^ The meaning was, 
 that Laban should drive away all the brown or speckletl, tliat 
 were at present in the flock, and give them to his sons to keep 
 three days' journey off: and that Jacob should have only the white 
 sheep and the uniformly-coloured goats of Laban's, to keep ; and 
 that he should have for his hire for keeping them, only such of 
 the breed of that flock, as should hereafter be black of the sheep 
 or speckled of the goats. Dr. Wall. 
 
 33. So shall my righleousness &c.] This separation being made, 
 it would appear that if he had any spotted, tliey were not taken 
 from Laban's flock ; but given to him b}' God out of them as a 
 reward of his honest diligeace. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 to morrtw. 
 
 thee t since my coming : and now when B'='"°« 
 shall I provide for mine own house also ? '^^t^ ^"^ 
 
 31 And he said, What shall I give thee ? tHeb. ' 
 And Jacob said. Thou shalt not give me "* "'^f'""- 
 any thing : if thou wilt do this thing for 
 
 me, I will again feed a?id keep thy flock : 
 
 32 I will pass through all tliy flock to 
 day, removing from thence all the speckled 
 and spotted cattle, and all the browu cat- 
 tle among the sheep, and the spotted and 
 speckled among the goats : and (f such 
 shall be my hire. 
 
 33 So shall my righteousness answer for 
 
 me t in time to come, when it shall come t Heb. 
 for my hire before thy face : every one 
 that is not speckled and spotted among the 
 goats, and browi among the sheep, that 
 shall be counted stolen with me. 
 
 34 And Laban said. Behold, I would it 
 might be according to thy word. 
 
 35 And he remo\cd that day the he 
 goats that were ringstraked and spotted, 
 and all the. she goats that were speckled 
 and spotted, and every one that had soi7ie 
 white in it, and all the brown among the 
 sheep, and gave///e;«into the handof his sons. 
 
 36 And he set three days' journey be- 
 twixt himself and Jacob : and Jacob fed 
 the rest of Laban's flocks. 
 
 37 % And Jacob took him rods of green 
 poplar, and of the hasel and chesnut tree ; 
 and pilled white strakes in them, and made 
 the white appear which was in the rods. 
 
 38 And he set the rods which lie had 
 pilled before the flocks in the gutters in 
 the watering troughs when the flocks came 
 to drink, that they should conceive when 
 they came to drink. 
 
 In considering this action of Jacob, we must not look to it by 
 itself only, but we must remember, that there was a much supe- 
 riour Agent, even the great Proprietor of the world, by whose direc- 
 tion it was done. God Abnighty determined to punish Laban for 
 his injustice, and' to reward Jacob for his fidelity. He revealed 
 to Jacob the manner, in which He designed to bless him, and or- 
 dered liim to do an action, as a token of reliance on Him for the 
 performance of His promise, chap, xx.xi. 10. Jacob faitlifuUy ob- 
 served the orders, that were given liim, and tlie event proved 
 accordingly. 
 
 Were it lawful for any private person to make reprisals, the in- 
 jurious treatment Jacob had received from T-aban, both in impos- 
 ing a wife upon him, and prolonging his servitude without wages, 
 was enough to give him both the provocation and the privilege to 
 do so. God Almighty however was pleased to take the determi- 
 nation of the whole matter into His own hands : and therefore the 
 true coJichision is, what Jacob himself expresses in his .<jieech to 
 his two wives, " Ye know that with all my power I liave served 
 your father. And your father liath deceived me; but God suffered 
 him not to hurt me. If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy 
 wages ; then all the cattle bare speckled : and if he said thus. The 
 ringsti-aked shall be thy hire ; then bare all the cattle ringstraked. 
 Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given 
 them to me," chap. xxsi. 6 — 9- Stackhome.
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Jacob is commanded by God 
 
 BtfoTt 39 And the flocks conceived before tlie 
 *^"7«.^^ rods, and broufrht Ibrtli cattle ringstiaked, 
 speckled, and spotted. 
 
 40 And Jacob did sci)arate the lambs, 
 and set the faces of the flocks toward the 
 ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock 
 of Laban ; and he put his own flocks by 
 themselves, and put them not unto Laban's 
 
 cattle. 
 
 41 And it came to pass, whensoever the 
 stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob 
 laid tlie rods before the eyes of the cattle 
 in the gutters, that they might conceive 
 among the rods. 
 
 4'2 But when the cattle were feeble, he 
 put them not in : so the feebler were La- 
 ban's, and tlie stronger Jacob's. 
 
 43 And the man increased exceedingly, 
 and had much cattle, and maidservants, 
 and menservants, and camels, and asses. 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 1 Jacob upon displeasure departelh secretly. 19 Rachel 
 stealeth her father's images. 22 Laban pursueth 
 ajler him, 26 aitd complaineth of the wrong. 34 Ra- 
 chel's policy to hide the images. 36 Jacob's complaint 
 of Laban. 43 The covenant of Laban and Jacob at 
 Galeed. 
 
 '"'■ A ND he heard the words of Laban's 
 jTTL sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away 
 all that lias our father's ; and of that which 
 v)as our father's hath he gotten all this 
 glory. 
 
 2 And Jacob beheld the countenance of 
 Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him 
 t Hcb. + as before. 
 
 "^"r'a"" ^ "^^^ *^^ Lord said unto Jacob, Re- 
 "b^ore'. "" turn unto the land of thy fathers, and to 
 thy kindred ; and I will be with thee. 
 
 4 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and 
 Leah to the field unto his flock, 
 
 5 And said unto them, I see your fa- 
 ther's countenance, that it is not toward 
 me as before ; but the God of my father 
 hath been with me. 
 
 6 And ye know that with all my power 
 1 have served your father. 
 
 7 And your father hath deceived me, 
 
 Chap. XXXI. ver. 7. — changed my wages ten times ;'^ The 
 cattle in Mesopotamia bred twice every year. Supposing there- 
 fore th.it for tlie first year Luban stood to his bargain, but seeing 
 his son in law thrive exceedingly, altered the form of it in the 
 next, and so continued to do every half year, till the sLxth year 
 when J.icob left him, the times of his changing his w.iges will be 
 exactly ten. There is no occasion however for so exact a calcu- 
 lation, as it is usuaJ to put a certain for an uncertain number. 
 Slackhouse. 
 
 19. — the images] In the Hebrew "teraphim:" used as objects 
 of worship, or instruments of divination. It is supposed that Rachel 
 stole tlicm ; cither because, having still a tincture of superstition, 
 
 to retttrn to his oicn country. 
 
 and changed my wages ten times; but God chrTst 
 suffered him not to hurt me. 1739. 
 
 8 If he said thus, The speckled shall be 
 thy wages ; then all the cattle bare speck- 
 led : and if he said thus. The ringstraked 
 shall be thy hire j then bare all the cattle 
 ringstraked. i 
 
 9 Thus God hath taken away the cattle ,1 
 of your father, and given tlietn to me. 
 
 io And it came to pass at the time that 
 the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine 
 eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the 
 II rams which leaped upon the cattle tvere | Or, 
 ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. "s«"»- 
 
 1 1 And the angel of God spake 'unto 
 me in a dream, saying, Jacob : And 1 said, 
 Here am I. 
 
 12 And he said. Lift up now thine eyes, 
 and see, all the rams which leap upon the 
 cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and gris- 
 led : for I have seen all that Laban doeth 
 unto thee. 
 
 13 I am the God of Beth-el, 'where thou ' ciup.as. 
 
 18 
 
 anointedst the pillar, and where thou vow- 
 edst a vow unto me : now arise, get thee 
 out from this land, and return unto the 
 land of thy kindred. 
 
 14 And Rachel and Leah answered and 
 said unto him. Is there yet any portion or 
 inheritance for us in our father's house ? 
 
 15 Are we not counted of him strangers? 
 for he hath sold us, and hath quite devour- 
 ed also our money. 
 
 16 For all the riches which God hath 
 taken from our father, that is our's, and 
 our children's : now then, whatsoever God 
 hath said unto thee, do. 
 
 17 1[ Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons 1739. 
 and his wives upon camels ; 
 
 18 And he carried away all his cattle, 
 and all his goods which he had gotten, the 
 cattle of his getting, which he had gotten 
 in Padan-aram, for to go to Isaac his father 
 in the land of Canaan. 
 
 19 And Laban went to shear his sheep : 
 
 and Rachel had stolen the t images that t Heb. 
 were her father's. . ""'''"''"■ 
 
 she feared Laban should inquire of them which way Jacob was 
 gone; or because, having been brought off by Jacob froni the 
 false notions and bad customs of her country, she desired to con- 
 vince her father of his superstition, by letting him see, that hi.s 
 gods (as he called them) could not preserve themselves, much 
 less be of any servicfe to him : or because she intended to give 
 herself some portion of his goods which she thought justly be- 
 longed to her, and of which he had deprived her. It is supposed 
 the images were made of gold, or silverj or some other valuable 
 substance. Bp. Patrick, StacLhouse. 
 
 The teraphim were probably the pictures or statues of some of 
 Rachel's ancestors, and taken by her for the preservation ul" their
 
 Labmi pursueth after him. 
 
 CHAP. xxxr. 
 
 and complnineth of the "wrong. 
 
 chrTst ~^ '^"'^ Jacob stole away t unawares to 
 1739. Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not 
 
 tHeb. that he fled. 
 
 ^^Jeartof ^l So he fled with all that he had; and 
 he rose up, and passed over the river, and 
 set his face toxcard the mount Gilead. 
 
 22 And it was told Laban on the third 
 day that Jacob was fled. 
 
 23 And he took his brethren with him, 
 and pursued after him seven days' journey ; 
 and they overtook him in the mount Gi- 
 lead. 
 
 24 And God came to Laban the Syrian 
 
 in a dream by night, and said unto him, 
 
 Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob 
 
 + Heb. t either good or bad. 
 
 fromjond 25 ^ ^.j^gj^ L^^^j^ overtook Jacob. Now 
 
 Jacob had pitched Iiis tent in the mount : 
 and Laban with his brethren pitched in the 
 mount of Gilead. 
 
 26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast 
 thou done, that thou hast stolen away una- 
 wares to me, and carried away my daugla- 
 ters, as captives taken with the sword ? 
 
 27 Wherefore didst thou flee away se- 
 t HeJ>. cretly, and t steal away from me ; and didst 
 kau stolen j^Q^ ^q\\ j^g^ ^\yy^i I niight have sent thee 
 
 away with mirth, and with songs, with ta- 
 bret, and with harp ? 
 
 28 And hast not suffered me to kiss my 
 sons and my daughters ? thou hast now 
 done foolishly in so doing. 
 
 29 It is in the power of my hand to do 
 you hurt : but the God of your father 
 spake unto me yesternight, saying. Take 
 
 tnanory, when she was about never to see her country and fa- 
 ther's house again. Laban had abused them to idolatry. Dr. 
 Lighljhot. 
 
 5l. — the river,'] The Euphrates ; frequently called in Scrip- 
 ture the river, by way of eminence, lip. Patrick. 
 
 the mount Gilead.] So called by anticipation. The heap 
 
 of stones, which Laban and Jacob raised in memory of their 
 agreement and covenant, was called Gilead, that is, «n heap of 
 witnesses : and in afterages gave the name to tlie whole neigh- 
 bouring country, which lies on tlie east of the sea of Galilee : 
 being part of that ridge of mountains, which runs from mount 
 Lebanon southward on the east of tlie Holy Land, and includes 
 the mountainous region, called in the New Testament Trachonitis. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 27- — / might have sent thee away with mirth, &C.3 When the 
 prefetto of Egypt was preparing for his journey, he complains 
 of his being incommoded by the sonnets of his Eastern friends, 
 who took leave in this manner of their relations and aciiuaintance 
 before their setting out. These valedictory songs, howe\er, are 
 not to be supposed to be a prelude to all their journeys, but 
 onlj' to those of the most solemn kind. Tliere is therefore an 
 energ}' in those words of Laban, which ought to be remarked. 
 Why didst not thou tell me, that I might have sent thee away, 
 and taken my leave of my daughters, going such a journey, with 
 all due solemnity, according to the custom of my country '( 
 Harmer. 
 
 33. And Laban went into Jacob's tent, &c.J Men and women 
 Vol. L 
 
 thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob ^f"'" 
 either good or bad. ifsL^ 
 
 30 And now, though thou wouldest needs 
 be gone, because thou sore longedst after 
 thy father's house; yet wherefore hast thou 
 stolen my gods ? 
 
 31 And Jacob answered and said to La- 
 ban, Because I was afraid : for I said, Per- 
 adventure thou wouldest take by force thy 
 daughters from me. 
 
 32 With wliomsoever thou findest thy 
 gods, let him not live : before our brethren 
 discern thou what is thine with me, and 
 take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that 
 Rachel had stolen them. 
 
 33 And Laban went into Jacob's tent, 
 and into Leah's tent, and into the two 
 maidservants' tents ; but he found thetn 
 not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, 
 and entered into Rachel's tent. 
 
 34 Now Rachel had taken the images, 
 and put them in the camel's furniture, and 
 
 sat upon them. And Laban t searched all t Het^ 
 the tent, but found them not. 
 
 35 And she said to her father. Let it 
 not displease my lord that I cannot rise up 
 before thee ; for the custom of women is 
 upon me. And he searched, but found 
 not the images. 
 
 3(3 ^ And Jacob was wroth, and chode 
 with Laban : and Jacob answered and said 
 to Laban, Wliat is my trespass? what is 
 my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued 
 after me ? ^^ 
 
 37 Whereas thou hast t searched all my jui. 
 
 had their distinct tents, apart by thwBselves, chap. xxiv. 67. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 The Arabs are not so scrupulous as the Turks about their wo- 
 men ; and though they have the harem, or women's part of the 
 tent, yet such, as they are acquainted with, come into it ; but 
 no strangers ever dare to come into the women's apartment, un- 
 less they are introduced. Bp. Pococke. 
 
 34. — put them in the camel's furniture,'] Rachel probably 
 rode after the Arab mode, upon an hiran. which is a j)iece of 
 serge, about six ells long, laid upon the saddle, which is of wood, 
 in order to make the sitting more easy. This /tiran is made use 
 of as a mattress, wlien they stop for a night in a place; and it 
 serves them to lo<lge on, as their wallets serve for cushions of a 
 bolster. It was probably the liiran, part of tlie camel's furniture, 
 under which she hid her father's teraphim ; and on which she 
 sat, according to their customs, in her tent, and therefore unsus- 
 pected. Harmer. 
 
 In the East, aged and infirm persons travel in double wicker- 
 work seats, placed on the back of a camel, one on each side of 
 the animal ; they are fomied something like a craille ; and have 
 a back, head, and sides, like a great chair. Inder the seat are 
 store hampers, or baskets, containing those personal necessaries, 
 which may be needed bv the traveller on the journey. Under 
 tlie saddle of eacli camel is a coarse carpet, to cover tliem by 
 night. This coarse carpet is the hiraji mentioned by Harmer. It 
 is piobable that the camel's furniture, on which Uachel was seat- 
 ed, was the veliicle, above described. Script, illusl.
 
 Jacob's complaint of Laban. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 The covenant of Jacob and Laban. 
 
 ^f"'* stuflT. what hast thou foiuid of all thy hous- 
 ^""9*'" hokl stuffy set it here before my bretlueii 
 and thy brethren, that tliey may judge be- 
 twixt us both. 
 
 38 This twenty years have I hecri with 
 thee ; thy ewes and" thy she goats liave not 
 cast their young, and tlie rams of tiiy flock- 
 have 1 not eaten. 
 
 S\) That wliieh was torn of beasts I 
 brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of 
 »Eioa.«2. it ; of "mv hand didst thou require it, xdie- 
 '" ///<■/• stoleii by ilav, or stolen by niglit. 
 
 40 Thus I was ; in the day the drought 
 consumed me, and the tiost by night ; and 
 my slee)) departed from mine eyes. 
 
 4.1 Thus have I been twenty years in thy 
 house ; I served thee fourteen years for thy 
 two daughters, and six years for thy cattle : 
 and thou hast changed my wages ten times. 
 i'-i Except the (iod of my father, the 
 God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, 
 bail been with me, surely thou hadst sent 
 me away now empty. God hath seen mine 
 affliction and the labour of my hands, and 
 rebuked tliec yesternight. 
 
 4-3 ^ And Laban answered and said unto 
 Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, 
 and tliese children are my children, and 
 these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou 
 seest is mine : and what can I do this day 
 unto these my daughters, or unto their chil- 
 dren which they have born? 
 
 44- Now therefore come thou, let usmake 
 a covenant, I and thou ; and let it be for a 
 witness between me and thee. 
 
 45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it 
 up Jhr a pillar. 
 
 40. — in the ilaif the drousihl consumed me, &c.] In Europe 
 the (lays and nin;ht.s reseml)1e each other, with respect to tlie 
 qualities of heat and cold: but it is quite otlicrwise in the 
 Eajit. In the lower Asia, in particular, the day is always liot : 
 on the contrary, in the heipiit of summer the niphts are as cold 
 as at Paris in the month of M.-u-ch. I have travelled in Arabia 
 and in Mes<ipotamia, the theatre of the adventures of Jacob, both 
 in wintir .ind in summer ; and have found the truth of what the 
 I'atriarch s;iid, That he was scorched witli heat in the day, and 
 stiffened with cold in the night. This contrariety in the' quali- 
 ties of the air in twenty-four hours is extremely great in some 
 placeti, and not conceivable by those that have not felt it : one 
 would im;igine he had passed in a moment from tlie \iolent heats 
 of summer to the depth of ninter. Thus it hath ple.ised Gwl to 
 temper the heat of the sun by the coolness of the nights ; with- 
 out which the greatest part of the Ea.st would be liarren and a 
 desert: the earth could not pro<luce any thing. Sir J. C/iiirdin. 
 
 42. — the fear 0/' I.tnnr,'] The (iod whom Isaac fe.nred, th.it 
 i», worshijjped. lip. Pal rick. 
 
 45. — #d it tip for a pillar.'^ Or monument. This monument 
 must not be supposed to have l>ecn a heap of loose stones, for then 
 it could not have contiiuieil long in the same position, nor Iiave 
 given a niune to the country around it. It was <loubtless a re- 
 gular and permanent builibng ; probably in the figure of a table, 
 as they used it the next morning to eat and sacrifice upon. Bi- 
 bltolh. Bibl. 
 
 46 And Jacob said unto his brethren, chhTst 
 Gather stones ; and they took stones, and 1739." 
 made an heaj) : and they did eat there 
 
 upon the heap. 
 
 47 And Laban called it 11 Jegar-sahadu- II ""■=" ' • 
 tha : but Jacob called it (ialeed. ',wi,!%!"'' 
 
 4S And Laban said. This heap is a 
 witness between me and thee this day. 
 Therefore was the name of it called Ga- 
 leed ; 
 
 41) And II Mizpah; for he said. The lin'^fs 
 Lord watch between me and thee, when "J,ZZ'ci, 
 we are absent one from another. '""•"• 
 
 50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or 
 if thou shalt take other wives beside my 
 daughters, no man is with us ; see, God is 
 witness betwixt me and thee. 
 
 51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold 
 this heap, and behold this pillar, which I 
 have cast betwixt me and thee ; 
 
 52 This heap be witness, and this pillar 
 he witness, that I will not pass over thi5 
 heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass 
 over this heap and tliis pillar unto me, for 
 harm. 
 
 5S The God of Abraham, and the God 
 of Nahor, the God of their father, judge 
 betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear 
 of his father Isaac. 
 
 54 Then Jacob || offered sacrifice upon i|Or,iiff<(j 
 the mount, and called his brethren to eat '"'"'"■ 
 bread : and they did cat bread, and tarried 
 
 all night in the mount. 
 
 55 And early in the morning Laban rose 
 up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, 
 and blessed them : and Laban departed, 
 and returned unto his place. 
 
 47. — Lahan called it &-c.] The one is a Syriack, the otlier a 
 Hebrew name ; both h;iving the same signification. Bp. Patrick. 
 .55. And — Laban roue up, &c.] There is something or other, 
 that restraineth men from doing some evils, to vhich they iiave 
 not only a natural pronencss, bi,it perhaps witl)al an actual de- 
 sire and purpose. When we behold Laban, wiio had pursued 
 seven days after Jacob in an hostile manner, upon overtaking 
 him, do no more than expostulate with him, and then kiss him, 
 .ind bless him, and ret\n-n to his place ; and when we behold 
 Esau, who had vowed the death of Jacob, and who went forth to 
 meet him with four hundred men, .armed, as it should seem, for 
 his destruction, yet run to meet him on his approach, and em- 
 brace him, and fall on liis neck, and kiss him : it cannot be ima- 
 gined that such a stop shoidd be made but by the powerfid re- 
 sti-aint of some superiour and overruhng hand ; nor may w'e doubt, 
 th.it every such restr.iiiit, by ^vliatsoever second and subordinate 
 means it be fiirthered, is yet the proper work of God, as proceed- 
 ing from and guided by His almight}' and irresistible providence. 
 It was God, that turned I>aban's revengeful thoughts into a 
 friendly expostulation : it was the same God, that turned Esau's 
 inveterate m.ilice into a kind brotlierly congratulation. He that 
 " hath set bounds to the sea, which, though the waves thereof 
 rage horribly, they cannot pass," hatli in His hands, and at His 
 conmiand, " the hearts of all the sons of men, as the rivers of wa- 
 ters';" and can wind and turn thera at His pleasure, inclining; 
 them which way soever He will. Bp. Sanderson.
 
 Jacob'' s vision at Mahanam. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 CHAR XXXII. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1739. 1 Jacob's vision ai Mahanaim. S His message to Esau. 
 6 He is afraid of Esau's coming. 9 He prayethfor 
 his deliverance. 1 3 He sendeth a present to Esau. ' 24 
 He wrestlel/i with an angel at Peniel, where he is call- 
 ed Israel. 31 He haltelh. 
 
 A' 
 
 ND Jacob went on liis way, and the 
 angels of God met liim. 
 2 And when Jacob saw them, he said. 
 This is God's host : and he called the name 
 U That is, of that place II Mahanaim. 
 iwo hosts. 3 And Jacob sent messengers before him 
 to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, 
 t Hei). the t country of Edom. 
 jtM. 4, And he commanded them, saying. 
 
 Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; 
 Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have so- 
 journed with Laban, and stayed there until 
 now : 
 
 5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, 
 and menservants, and womenservants : and 
 I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find 
 grace in thy sight. 
 
 6 % And the messengers returned to Ja- 
 cob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, 
 and also he cometh to meet thee, and four 
 hundred men with him. 
 
 7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and 
 distressed : and he divided the people that 
 Tvas with him, and the flocks, and herds, 
 and the camels, into two bands; 
 
 8 And said, If Esau come to the one 
 company, and smite it, then the other com- 
 pany which is left shall escape. 
 
 9 IF And Jacob said, O God of my fa- 
 ther Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, 
 
 ' Chap. ai. the Lord which saidst unto me, "^ Return 
 
 unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and 
 
 I will deal well with thee: 
 tHeb. 10 tl am not worthy of the least of all 
 
 IhlnX tl^e mercies, and of all the truth, which 
 &<=• thoii hast shewed unto thy servant; for 
 
 with my staff I passed over this Jordan; 
 
 and now I am become two bands. 
 
 Chap. XXXII. ver. 2. — Mahanaim.'] That is, two hosts, or 
 camps, the angels probably appearing in two companies: or else 
 it may have respect to the host or camp of Jacob, and the other 
 host of the angels. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 S. — unto the land of Seir,] AMiich Esau, it seems, had con- 
 quered in Jacob's absence, according to the blessing of his father, 
 " by thy sword shall thou live." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — mi/ lord Esau;] By the Divine direction Jacob was consti- 
 tuted Esau's lord ; nor did he forego tliat prerogative by calling 
 himself Esau's servant. Lord and servant were, as they are now, 
 certain modes of civility. Jacob therefore might address Esau in 
 this manner, without derogating from his own spiritual preemi- 
 nence: and confining himself to tlie bounds of nature, might re- 
 verence iiim as his elder brother. Slackhouse. 
 
 Q. And Jacob said, God &c.] Tliis should be the practice of 
 Christians, to go immediately to God in all their necessities and 
 
 He sendeth a present to Esau, 
 
 11 Deliver me, I prav thee, from the ^.f^^' 
 hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau : 1739 
 for I fear him, lest he will come and smite 
 
 me, and the mother t with the children. t Heb. 
 
 12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee "''"'' 
 good, and make thy seed as the sand of 
 the sea, which cannot be numbered for 
 multitude. 
 
 13 ^ And he lodged there that same 
 night; and took of that which came to 
 his hand a present for Esau his brother; 
 
 14. Two hundred she goats, and twenty 
 he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty 
 rams, 
 
 1.5 Thirty milch camels with their colts, 
 forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, 
 and ten foles. 
 
 16 And he delivered them into the hand 
 of his servants, every drove by themselves ; 
 and said unto his servants. Pass over be- 
 fore me, and put a space betwixt drove 
 and dfove. 
 
 17 And he commanded the foremost, 
 saying. When Esau my brother meeteth 
 thee, and asketh thee, saying, ^Vliose art 
 thou? and whither goest thou? and whose 
 are these before thee? 
 
 18 Then thou shalt say. They be thy 
 servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto 
 my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is be- 
 hind us. 
 
 19 And so commanded he the second, 
 and the third, and aU that followed the 
 droves, saying. On this manner shall ye 
 speak unto Esau, when ye find him. 
 
 20 And say ye moreover. Behold, thy 
 servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, 
 I will appease him with the present that 
 goeth before me, and aftenvard I will 
 see his face; peradventure he will accept 
 tofme. t"^« 
 
 21 So went the present over before him : "'^ 
 and himself lodged that night in the com- 
 pany. 
 
 dangers: since He will as surely help them, as He did Jacob. 
 Bp. Wilson. 
 
 10. — willi mil staff I passed over &c.] I had nothing but this 
 staff in my hand, when I left my father's house: an humble and 
 very affecting expression of God's mercy to him ; and a lesson to 
 the rich, to put them in mind that it is God alone, to whom they 
 stand obliged for all their wealth and riches. Bp. " ilson. 
 
 13. — and took of that nhich came to his hand] What he could 
 first light upon, without any choice: or, it may be, " that which 
 was in his hand;" what he had it in his power to offer; namely, 
 the cattle, which are afterwards mentionetl; tliough he had no 
 jewels or precious raiment. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 l.--,. — milch camcb] ^Vhich had lately foaled. Bochart ob- 
 serves out of Aristotle, Pliny, and many other authors, that no- 
 thing was more deUcious in those countries than camels' milk. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 L 2
 
 He icrestktk 'wilfi an angd at Pcnlel. 
 
 G E N E S I S. 
 
 The kind meeting of Jacob and Esau. 
 
 Bcfon- 
 CHRIST 
 
 ITS!*. 
 
 fHcb. 
 catutd to 
 pau, 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 atctnding 
 of Ike mom 
 
 'Hot. i1. 
 •1. 
 
 ' Oup. 35. 
 
 la 
 
 '^•2 And he rose up that night, and took 
 his two wives, and 1\is two wonienscrvants, 
 and liis eleven sons, and passed over tlie 
 tord Jahbok. 
 
 iS And lie took them, and t sent them 
 over the brook, and sent over tliat lie had. 
 
 '21 1[ And Jacob was letl alone; and 
 there wrestled a man with him until the 
 t breaking of the day. 
 
 <25 Ami wiien he saw that he prevailed 
 not against him, he touched the hollow 
 of his thigh ; and the hollow of Jacob's 
 thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with 
 him. 
 
 '2(5 And he said. Let me go, for the day 
 breaketh. And he said, "I will not let thee 
 go, except tiiou bless me. 
 
 27 And he said luito him, "What is thy 
 name? And he said, Jacob. 
 
 '28 And he said, " Thy name shall be 
 called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a 
 prince hast thou power with God ami with 
 men, and hast prevailed. 
 
 29 And Jacob asked him, and said. Tell 
 rnc, I j)ray thee, thy name. And he said, 
 Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my 
 name? And Ne blessed him there. 
 
 .'30 And Jacob called the name of the 
 
 22. — the ford Jabbok.'] A small river, which is by .ill agree«l 
 to flow from the adjacent nimmtains of (iilead; but some re|>re- 
 seiit it as running into the sea of Cialilee, others intti the river 
 Jordan, below or south of that sea. Dr. fVcll.i. 
 
 2+. And Jacob u'os tij) a/oiic;^ He staved alone, in all proba- 
 bility, that he migiit commend liimself anil his family to God by 
 earnest prayer. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 and there n-rcstlcd a man nlllt /liin'] Tliat is, an angel in 
 
 the appearance of a man; called also Gon. C'onip. vei-. 'JS, .'>(), with 
 llos. xii. 3, i. A fair represenUition of Christ, botii God .ind Man, 
 and " the angel of the covenant," Mai. iii. 1. I)j>. Kidder. 
 
 25. And n-hcn lie .unr that he prevailed not'\ .Jacob, hearing of 
 liis brother Esau's power, .and dreading liis resentment, addresses 
 himself, for protection in this distress, to the (Jod of his fathers, 
 with all humility and confidence. God hears his prayer, and is 
 pleased to inform him of the hapjjy issue of the adventure by a 
 significative action: the following night he ha.s a struggle witli an 
 angel, with whom he is suffered to make his part so good, that 
 from thence he collected God had granted his petition. This in- 
 formation by action, concerning only the indi\idual concerned in 
 it, who little needed to be told the meaning of a mode of instruc- 
 tion, at that time in vulgar use, hath now an obscurity, which the 
 Scripture-relations of the same mode of information to the Pro- 
 phets are free from, by reason of their being given for the use of 
 the people, to whom they were explained. Bp. IVarburton. 
 
 It wa* a common custom among Eastern nations, to convey the 
 knowledge of things by actions, as well as words. To this pur- 
 pose we find Zedekiah " making him horns of iron," thereby to 
 iwrtend victory to Ahab, 1 Kings xxu. 11; and EUsha orderin-r 
 Joash to " strike the ground with arrows-," thence to pre^ignify hi" 
 ^luninh over the Synans, 2 Kings xiii. 18. Nay, even Hannibal 
 .himself, ;is Livy tells us, perceiving that his soldiers were not to 
 be encouraged witli words, made a jiublick shew for them, not so 
 nmch to entertain their sight, as to give them an imao-e and re- 
 presentation of their own condition. In like manner, God made 
 use of this expedient to cure Jacob of his dejection. Stackhouse 
 
 place II Pcniel: for I have seen God face ^^^"^1^ 
 to race, and my uie is preserved. 1739. 
 
 31 And as he passed over Penuel the n fuai u, 
 sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his tiief<ice»f 
 
 God. 
 
 thigh. 
 
 3'2 Therefore the children of Israel eat 
 not of the sinew which shrank, which is 
 upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this 
 day: because he touched the hollow of 
 Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 1 The kindne.<:s of Jacob and Esau at their meeting. 17 
 Jacob comelh to Hiiccolh. 18 At Shalein he biij/elh a 
 field, and buildeth an altar called El-elufie-Israel. 
 
 AND Jacob lifted up his eyes, and- 
 looked, and, behold, Esau came, and 
 with him four hundred men. And he di- 
 vided the chililreu unto Leah, and unto 
 Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. 
 
 '2 And he put the handmaids and their 
 children foremost, and Leah ami her chd- 
 dren after, and Rachel and Joseph hinder- 
 most. 
 
 3 And he passed oyer before them, and 
 bowed himself to the ground seven times, 
 until he came near to his brother. 
 
 ■i And Esau ran to meet him, and em- 
 
 the hJlotv of hix t/iigh;'] The upper part of his thigh, 
 
 or iiip-bone where the joint is. Up. Kidder. 
 
 ont of joint, '\ Though .Jacob prevailed, yet he met with 
 
 difficulty antl pain to keep him from vaunting his own strength, 
 and being " exalted above measure," ii Cor. xii. 7- Bp- Kidder. 
 This bodily .ifflictioii was left to iiunihle him, ;md at the same 
 time to testify, that it was not a mere man with whom he strove. 
 B]>. Hall. 
 
 28. — Thif name sluill he called &c.] Not oidi/ Jacob; or not 
 so much Jacob as Israel: which name abolished tiie other in his 
 posterity, who were called Israelites, but never by any name 
 derived from .Jacob. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Israel:~\ That is, a prince with God. Bp. Patrick. The 
 
 latter part of the verse should be tiius translated: " for thou hast 
 been a prevailer with God; and with men thou shalt also power- 
 fully jjrevail." This is the true \erbal translation of the Hebrew 
 words, and is agreeable to the Chaldee Paraphrase, the Septuagint, 
 and tlie Vulgate. Shnckford. 
 
 and ha.it prevailed.'^ St. .Jerome imderstinds the " wrest- 
 ling" of Jacob as figurative of spiritual conflicts, which we are to 
 maintain. Dr. Gray. 
 
 SO. — my life is preserved.^ He eitlier alludes to an opinion, 
 that if men saw one of tlie heavenly ministers, they should die 
 presently: or tlie words may refer to tlie principal scope of the 
 combat, which was to confirm Jacob .igainst the fear of Esau. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 32. Therefore the children <f Israel eat not of the sinew which 
 shrankf^ That sinew, or tendon, wliich fastens the hip-bone in 
 its socket: comprehending the flesh of the muscle connected with 
 it. He that ate of this was to be beaten, as tiie .Jewish masters 
 tell us. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 The Jew s t;ike great care to cut away the sinew of the thigh 
 of such animals as they intend to eat. And in se\ cral places of 
 Germany and Italy they will not eat any of the hinder quarter, 
 because great nicety is required in taking away this sinew as it 
 should be done, and few know how to do it exactly. CabneU
 
 Jacob's present to Esau. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII, XXXIV. 
 
 Jacob buildeth an altar. 
 
 chrTst ^^^^^^ ^""1' ^"^ ^^11 "" '"s neck, and kiss- 
 1739. ed him : and they wept. 
 
 5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw 
 the women and the children ; and said, 
 
 t Heb. Who are those t with thee ? And he said, 
 The children which God hath graciously 
 given thy servant. 
 
 6 Then the handmaidens came near, 
 they and their children, and they bowed 
 themselves. 
 
 7 And Leah also with her children came 
 near, and bowed themselves : and after 
 came Joseph near and Rachel, and they 
 bowed themselves. 
 
 fHeb. 8 And he said, + What mea7iest thou by 
 
 viuba'ndto ^^ this drovc which I met? And he said, 
 theer These are to find grace in the sight of my 
 lord. 
 
 9 And Esau said, I have enough, my 
 t Heb. brother ; t keep that thou hast unto thy- 
 
 be that to If. ^ •' 
 
 th£ethnt is ^CIl. 
 
 thine, 10 And Jacob said. Nay, I pray thee, 
 
 if now I have found grace in thy sight, 
 then receive my present at my hand : for 
 therefore I have seen thy face, as though 
 I had seen the face of God, and thou wast 
 pleased with me. 
 
 11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that 
 is brought to thee; because God hath dealt 
 graciously with me, and because I have 
 enough. And he urged him, and he 
 took it. 
 
 IQ, And he said. Let us take our jour- 
 ney, and let us go, and I will go before 
 thee. 
 
 IS And he said unto him, Mv lord 
 
 Chap. XXXIII. ver. 10. — as though I had seen the face of 
 God,'\ He regarded Esau's kind reception of him as a token of 
 the Divine favour. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11. — mij blessing^ That is, my present : as we expound it in 
 the margin of 1 Sam. xxv. 2". Bp. Patrick. 
 
 15. — let me find grace in the sight ofnu/ lord.'] In this also be 
 ■so kind as to gi-atify my desires. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 \6. — E.iaii returned thai daif] All things considered, Esau 
 •was not that very bad man, which some would make him. His 
 generous and open temper appears in his affectionate deportment 
 towards his brother, and his speedy and utter obli\i()n of the 
 treatment he had received from hiin. And though St. Paul calls 
 him a " profane person," and saj's that he was " hated by God ;" 
 yet all that he means by the word hated is no more than that God 
 did not shew him the same mark of distinction which He did Ja- 
 cob : for the Apostle's purpose is to shew, that God had, all along, 
 bestowed the favours, which led to the Messiah, on whom He 
 pleased ; on Abraham, not on Lot ; on Jacob, not on Esau ; as 
 at the time he wrote, the Gentiles were made the people of God, 
 and not the Jews. And he calls him profane for tliis reason ; not 
 because he was more wicked than other men of his age ; but l)e- 
 cause he seems to have been not so mindt'ul of the spiritual pro- 
 mises made to his family, as Jacob was ; anil consequently was 
 not so tit to be the heir of the mercies peculiar to it. Shuckfurd, 
 Stackhouse. 
 
 17. And Jacob journeyed to Succothi] Esau invited Jacob to 
 
 knoweth that the children are tender, and ^^^"^ 
 the flocks and herds with yoiuig are 'with '^^-fag.^''' 
 me : and if men should overdrive them one 
 day, all the flock will die. 
 
 14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over 
 before his servant : and I will lead on soft- 
 ly, according t as the cattle that goeth t Heb. 
 before me and the children be able to "JX'^ 
 endiue, until I come unto my lord unto ■ftLZri, 
 Seir. t'jacc^d. 
 
 15 And Esau said. Let me now t leave '»giotUe 
 with thee some of the folk that are with {ZjfJn' 
 me. And he said, t What needeth it ? + "'•''• 
 let me find grace in the sight of my fUeb.''""' 
 
 lord. ntterrftre 
 
 IG if So Esau returned that day on his "'*"' 
 Avay unto Seir. 
 
 17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, 
 and built him an house, and made booths 
 for his cattle : therefore the nam'* of the 
 place is called II Succoth. ii That is, 
 
 18 1[ And Jacob came to Shalem a city '""""■ 
 of II Shechem, which is in the land of Ca- y c»"«J. 
 naan, when he came from Padan-aram ; sychm. ' 
 and pitclied his tent before the city. 
 
 19 And he bought a parcel of a field, 
 where he had spread his tent, at the hand 
 
 of the children II of Hamor, Shechem's II CaUed, 
 father, for an hundred II pieces of mo- '^J^^^, ' 
 ney. II or, 
 
 20 And he erected there an altar, and 
 called it II El-elohe-Israel. " V"^} •'• 
 
 God the 
 God of 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. ^-'■«' 
 
 1 Dinah is ravished hi/ Shechem. 4 He siielh to marry 
 her. 1 a The sons of Jacob offer the condition of cir- 
 
 Seir, and offered to conduct him thither ; but Jacob had no de- 
 sign to accept the invitation, and yet was alVaid directly to refuse 
 it. Shuck ford. 
 
 Succoth.] So the place was afterwards calle<l : it is situ- 
 ated not far from the Jordan, to the east. Dr. Wells. 
 
 19. — an hundred pieces of money.'] In the margin it is '■ lambs." 
 It wa-s probably some sort of coin, which had a lamb stamped 
 upon it, and was originally of the real value of a lamb : and may 
 have been adled by that name, as we used to call a cert;iin coin 
 an ani;el from the stamp which it bore. Stackhouse, Bp. JVilson. 
 See the note on Josh. xxiv. 32. 
 
 20. .-/«(/ he creeled there an altar,] At the same ])lace, where 
 Abraham had built his first altar, chi-.p. xii. 7- Abraham dedicat- 
 ed his " unto the Lord, who appearcil unto him ;" Jacob his, unto 
 " God the God of Israel," which was tlie new Uiune that GikI had 
 given him. The place was at or near Shechem: so that the wo-- 
 man of Samaria might well say as she did to our Saviour, that 
 " their fathers worsliii)ped God in that nioimt." Shechem seems 
 to have been one of the oldest cities in all Cima;m. Dr. M all. 
 The first thing that good men dt>, is to provide for tiie honour 
 and service of God. Bp. H'ilson. 
 
 Chap. XXXI\'. The fatd historj- of Din;ih is recorde'd to con- 
 vince future ages of this truth ; that the sins of impurity are so 
 hateful to CioiJ, that thev seldom go unpunished in this world ; if 
 they do, worse will be their punishment in the next. Bp. fViUoii.
 
 Dinah is ravished. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 The condition of circumcision 
 
 Dcfore ciimcision lit the Shcchemitrs. 20 Hamor and Shi-c/iem 
 
 C II K I_ST persuade l/iem to accept it. ^ZCt T/ie suiis of Jacob ujxm 
 .bout 1:32. ihal adiatilaae slai/ llieiii, ^1 and spoil their cilif. 30 
 Jacob reprorctli Simeon and Levi. 
 
 A- 
 
 ND Dinah the daughter of Leah, 
 whicli she bare unto Jacob, went out 
 to see tlie (huighters of the land. 
 
 '2 And w hen .Shecheni tlie son of Hamor 
 
 the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, 
 
 t »«'. he took her, and lav with her, and t defiled 
 
 /,.-.. her. 
 
 3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the 
 
 daughter of Jacob, and he loved the dam- 
 
 t lu-u s*^!' ''"<^l spake t kindly unto the damsel. 
 
 iik€Tk(art. .\. And Shecheni spake unto his father 
 
 Hamor, saying. Get me tliis damsel to wife. 
 
 .5 And .Jacoi) heard that he had defiled 
 
 Dinah his daughter : now his sons were 
 
 with his cattle in the field : and Jacob held 
 
 his peace until they were come. 
 
 G i[ And Hamor the father of Shcchem 
 went out luito Jacob to commune with him. 
 
 7 And the sons of Jacob came out of 
 the field when they heard // ; and the men 
 were grieved, and they were very wroth, 
 because he had wrought folly in Israel in 
 lying with Jacob's daughter ; which thing 
 ought not to be done. 
 
 8 And Hamor communed with them, 
 saying, Tiie soul of my son Shechem long- 
 eth for your daughter : I pray you give 
 her him to wife. 
 
 f) And make ye marriages with us, and 
 give your daughters unto us, and take our 
 daughters unto you. 
 
 10 And ye shall dwell with us : and the 
 land shall be before you ; dwell and trade 
 ye therein, and get you possessions therein. 
 
 11 And Shechem said unto her father 
 and unto her brethren, Let me find grace 
 in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto 
 me I will give. 
 
 1'2 Ask me never so much dowry and 
 gifl, and I will give according as ye shall 
 say unto me : but give mc the damsel to 
 wife. 
 
 13 And the sons of Jacob answered 
 
 V'cr. 1. — Biniih — ncnt out to see &c.] When this happened, 
 the Scripture docs not inform vis. From the exploit of her bro- 
 thers, she was nrobably fifteen or sixteen years of age. Tlie oc- 
 casion of the calamity, Josephus tells us, was a great festival, held 
 at Shcchem, which she vcnture<l to go to, desirous of seeing the 
 fine spectacles and fashions of the place. Stack-liouse. 
 
 "• — n-rou^hl folli/ in IsraeF] Or, against Israel. Committed 
 a wickedness, hig"lily to the disgrace and injury of Israel's family. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. Ask me never so much don-ri/J This shews more fully, that 
 tlie custom was (as noted before, chap. xxix. 18,) for men to o-ive 
 Bioney for their wives. But there was a greater reason for a 
 
 Shechem and Hainor his father deceitful- (^j^'^'flx 
 ly, and said, because he had defiled Dinah about nvj. 
 tlieir sister : 
 
 1 1 And they said unto them. We can- 
 not do this thing, to give oiu- sister to one 
 that is uncircumcised ; for that xvere a re- 
 proach unto us : 
 
 15 But in this will we consent unto you : 
 If ye will be as we he, that every male of 
 you be circumcised ; 
 
 IG Then will we give our daughters 
 unto you, and we will take your daughters 
 to us, and we will dwell with you, and we 
 will become one pcoj)le. 
 
 17 But if ye will not hearken unto us, 
 to be circumcised ; then will we take our 
 daughter, and we will be gone. 
 
 18 And their words pleased Hamor, and 
 Shechem Hanior's son. 
 
 19 And the young man deferred not to 
 do the thing, because he had delight in Ja- 
 cob's daughter : and he xcas more honour- 
 able tlian all the house of his father. 
 
 20 ^ And Hamor and Shechem his son 
 came unto the gate of their city, and com- 
 muned with the men of their city, saying, 
 
 '21 These men are peaceable with us; 
 tlicrefbre let them dwell in the land, and 
 trade therein ; for the land, behold, it is 
 large enough for them ; let us take their 
 daughters to us for wives, and let us give 
 them oiu" daughters. 
 
 22 Only herein will the men consent 
 vmto us for to dwell with us, to be one peo- 
 ple, if every male among us be circumcised, 
 as they are circumcised. 
 
 23 Shall not their cattle and their sub- 
 stance and every beast of their's be our's ? 
 only let us consent unto them, and they 
 will dwell with us. 
 
 21. And unto Hamor and unto Shechem 
 his son hearkened all that went out of the 
 gate of his city ; and every male was cir- 
 cumcised, all that went out of the gate of 
 his city. 
 
 25 ^ And it came to pass on the third 
 day, when they were sore, that two of the 
 
 dowry now, and that a large one, to make compensation for the 
 wrong he had done. For tliere was a natural equity in those laws 
 of Moses, Exod. xxii. ifi, and Deut. xxii. 28, 29, by which men 
 were bound to make satisfaction to the families, if eitlier by en- 
 ticement or violence they had abused their daughters. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. The same custom of men giving dowries for their wives* 
 prevails at tliis time among the Turks and Persians. Tlievenof. 
 
 l-l- — "f cannot'] Or, we ought not ; it is not lawful. Bp. 
 Jlihon. Here is a specious pretence of religion, with design to 
 do an injury. B p. Kidder. " 
 
 ~''>- — on the third day, &c.] Physicians have observed, that 
 this was the time when fevers usually attended circiuncisioni
 
 offered to the SJiecheniiles. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV, XXXV. 
 
 God sendeth Jacob to Betli-el. 
 
 CiOUlk. 
 
 CHRIST ^"""^ of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's 
 aiKiut ns2. brethren, took each man his sword, and 
 "Chap. 49. came upon the city boldly, and ^ slew all 
 "• the males. 
 
 2G And they slew Hamor and Shechem 
 + Hfh. his son with the t edge of the sword, and 
 
 took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and 
 
 w ent out. 
 
 !27 The sons of Jacob came upon the 
 
 slain, and spoiled the city, because they 
 
 had defiled their sister. 
 
 28 They took their sheep, and their 
 oxen, and their asses, and that which "was 
 in the city, and that which was in the 
 field, 
 
 29 And all their wealth, and all their lit- 
 tle ones, and their wives took they captive, 
 and spoiled even all that -was in the house. 
 
 30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, 
 Ye have troubled me to make me to stink 
 among the inhabitants of the land, among 
 the Canaanites and the Perizzites : and 1 
 being few in number, they shall gather 
 themselves together against me, and slay 
 me ; and I shall be destroyed, I and my 
 house. 
 
 31 And they said. Should he deal with 
 om- sister as with an harlot ? 
 
 occasioned by the inflammation of the wound, -which was gene- 
 rally then most painful. Stack/iouse. 
 
 Simeon and Levi,'] These are mentioned, because, being 
 
 own brothers to Dinah both by father and motlier, and conse- 
 quently more concerned to resent the injury done to lier honour, 
 they were the chief contrivers and conductors of it : but it is to 
 be supposed, that their domesticks were engaged in the execu- 
 tion of it. Nothing is more known and common in historj% than 
 to ascribe an action, especially in military affairs, to tlie chief 
 commanders in it, however many imder-agents they may employ. 
 Stack/ioiise. 
 
 slen' all tlic males.^ Though this was a base action, yet 
 
 God permitted it, to punish the sin of Shechem, and the conni- 
 vance of his father. Bp. Wilsou. 
 
 The women and children were always spared in the most 
 deadly wars. As when the Midianites were killed. Numb. xxxi. 
 7, 9; and the Edomites, 1 Kings xi. l6. And so Moses command- 
 ed they should do even with the Canaanites, Deut. xx. 13, 14. 
 Bj). Patrick. 
 
 26. And tliei/ sleiv Hamor and Shechem his mk] To execute 
 rigour upon a submissive offender, is more merciless than just: 
 or if the punishment had been both just and proportionable from 
 another, yet from them, who had vowed peace and affinity, it was 
 shamefully unjust. To disappoint the trust of another, and to 
 neglect our own promise and fidelity for private purposes, adds 
 faithlessness unto our cruelty. That they were impotent, was 
 caused by their circumcision: what impiety was this! instead of 
 honouring a holy sign, to take an advantage by it ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 27. — because (hey had defiled^ Their prince had defiled her; 
 and tlie people, it seems, did not disapprove the fact. It is 
 therefore imputed to them all, as the cause of their slaughter. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 30. — Ye luive troubled mc to make me to stink &c.] That is, to 
 render me odious to all the country, as a m;u*derer, a robber, 
 and a breaker of my faith, as if I had been privy to your craft 
 aad cruelty. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 CHAP. XXXV. Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1 God sendeth Jacob to Beth-el. 2 He purgeth his house ^'""' ' '^'''' 
 of idols: 6 He hiiildcth an altar at Beth-el. 8 Debo- 
 rah dieth at Allon-bachuth. y God blesseth Jacob 
 at Beth-el. 16 Rachel travailcth of Benjamin, and 
 dieth in the^ way to Edar. 22 Reuben lielh with Bil- 
 hah. 2.0 The sons of Jacob. 27 Jacob cometh to 
 Isaac at Hebron. 28 The age, death, and burial of 
 Isaac. 
 
 AND God said unto Jacob, Arise, go 
 up to Beth-el, and dwell there : and 
 make there an altar unto God, that appear- 
 ed unto thee ' when thou fleddest from the "Chap-sr. 
 face of Esau thy brother. ^^' 
 
 2 Then Jacob said unto his houshold, 
 and to all tliat uere with him. Put away 
 the strange gods that are among you, and 
 be clean, and change your garments : 
 
 3 And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el ; 
 and I will make there an altar unto God, 
 who answered me in the day of my dis- 
 tress, and was with me in the way which 
 I went. 
 
 4 And they gave unto Jacob all the 
 strange gods which were in their hand, 
 and all their earrings which were in their 
 ears ; and Jacob hid them under the oak 
 which was by Shechem. 
 
 The abhorrence, which Jacob expressed of the cruelty of his 
 sons, tlie sharpness of the reproaches uttered against them, the 
 remembrance of it, even to the end of his life, and the care he 
 took to recapitulate it upon his derth-bed, give us a much juster 
 idea of it than the writing.s of some Itabbins, who have undertaken 
 not onlj' to excuse, but even to commend it. Stackhouse. 
 
 31. — Should he deal rvilh our sister &c.] WTiat great evils 
 arise from small beginnings! The idle curiosity of Dinah hath 
 bred all this mischief: ravislmient follows upon her wandering; 
 upon her ravishment, raiu-der; upon the murder, spoil: it is holy 
 and safe, to be jealous of the Jirst occasions of evil, either done or 
 suffered. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XXXV. ver. 2. — Put away the strange gods that are 
 among you,'] Hence it is supposed, that some of Jacob's family 
 were addicted to idolatry. But " the strange gods," or " the gotis 
 of the stranger," an the words may be rendered, probably mean 
 the gods of the Shechemites, whom Jacob's sons had taken cap- 
 tive, and brought into liis family. These were to be put awaj-, 
 in order to preserve in his family that purity of worship, whicli 
 he designed to keep up among tliem. Shuekford. 
 
 be clean, and change your garments:] The manner in 
 
 which Jacob required his domesticks to purify themselves, was by 
 washing their bodies, and putting on fresh apparel. This was a 
 custom among other nations, as well as the Jews : and may be 
 regarded as an external profession of the piu-ity of Iieart and 
 mind, with which persons shotdd approach God in solemn and 
 religious offices. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4 — and all their earrings which irere in their ears;! Besides 
 the earrings, which were for orn;unent, there were others worn 
 in the nature of amulets or cliarms, or for some other supersti- 
 tious uses; having the effigies of some false god, or some sjTii- 
 bolical notes, in which was fancied to be a power to preserve diem 
 from evil. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 I have seen some Eastern eiu-rings with figures upon them, and 
 strange characters, which, I believe, may be talismans or charms,
 
 Jacob's name is changed. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Tfie sons of Jacob. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 ■buut 17J2. 
 
 <• Qiap. 28. 
 
 19. 
 
 g That is 
 
 U,( Cnd ,f 
 
 Belh-el. 
 
 g Tliatis 
 the ittiJc of 
 vreqring. 
 
 ' Chap. 32. 
 
 28. 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 a lilUe piece 
 
 ^ground. 
 
 5 And they jounieyecl : and tlie terror 
 of God wasuiKHi the cities that xcerc rouiul 
 al)oiit them, and they did not pursue alter 
 tlie sons of Jacob. 
 
 6 f So Jacob came to Luz, wliich is ni 
 the hmd of Canaan, that is, Beth-el, he and 
 all tlu' people that xcerc with him. 
 
 7 And lie built there an altar, and ''call- 
 ed the place ||El-beth-el: because there God 
 ajjjjeared unto him, when he fled from the 
 face of his brother. 
 
 8 But Deborah Rebekali's nurse died, 
 and she was buried beneath Beth-el vuider 
 an oak : and the name of it was called 
 IIAllon-bachuth. 
 
 9 % And God appeared unto Jacob 
 again, when he came out of Padan-aram, 
 and blessed him. 
 
 10 And God said imto liim, Thy name 
 is Jacob : tliy name shall not be called any 
 more Jacob,"' but Israel shall l)e thy name: 
 and he called his name Israel. 
 
 11 Anil Ciod said unto him, I am God 
 Almighty : be fruitful and multi))ly ; a na- 
 tion and a company of nations siiall be of 
 thee, and kings shall come out of thy 
 loins ; 
 
 1'^ And the land Avhich I gave Abraham 
 and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to th} 
 seed after thee will I give the land. 
 
 13 And God went up from him in the 
 place where he talked with him. 
 
 14 And Jacob set up a pillar in tlie 
 place where he talked with him, eve?i a 
 pillar of .stone : and he |)oured a drink of- 
 fering thereon, and he ])oured oil thereon. 
 
 15 And Jacob called the name of the 
 place where God spake with him, Beth-el. 
 
 IG ^ And they journeyed from Beth-el; 
 and there w as but t a little way to come to 
 
 or perhaps nothing but the amusement 6f old women. The In- 
 dians .say they are preservatives ajjainst enchantment. I'erhap.s 
 the carrinps of .Tacob's family were of this kind. Sir J. Cliarrl'ni. 
 
 8. — IMmrah liihekali's nurse died,~\ .She attencled Uel)ckah 
 on her marriage with Isaac. Jacob had probably lieen at liis fa- 
 ther's house before this time; and Rebekali beinfj dead, Diljorali 
 W!is desirous of living witli liis wives, who were her country- 
 women. Up. Patrick. 
 
 Mons'. Savar}-, speaking of the Egyptian women, says, " ^^^^en 
 circumstances compel them to have recourse to a n\irse, she is not 
 looked upon as a stranger. .SIic becomes part of tlie family, and 
 passes the rest of her life in the midst of the children slie lias 
 suckled. She is honoured and cherished like a second mother." 
 So this Syrian nurse continued imtil lier death with Rebekali's 
 family, and was buried with great Milcmnity of mournin"-: since 
 the oak, under which she was buried, was from that time distin- 
 guislied by the name of Ihc oak of irccpitig. Ilarmer. 
 
 Ifi. — F.pfiral/i:'] Wliich is Hetli-lehem, ver. ly, called Beth- 
 lehem Kphratali, Mic. v. 2, where Christ was born. /}/). Kidder. 
 
 20. .Ind .faci)/} .?(•/ a pillar upon hrr uraic:'] Tliis monument 
 of Rachel's is the first that we read of in Scripture. It was cer- 
 
 " Chap. 49. 
 
 4. 
 
 Ephrath : and Rachel travailed, and she ^j^^j^^g^. 
 had hard labour. 1729. 
 
 17 And it came to pass, when she was 
 in hard labour, that the midwife said unto 
 her, Fear not ; thou shalt have this son 
 also. 
 
 18 And it came to pass, as her soul w\is 
 
 in departing, (for she died) that she called about 1729. 
 his name H Ben-oni : but his father called j'/,^ _,',", ^'• 
 
 him II Benjamin. T'ThaTr' 
 
 19 And Rachel died, and was buried ;/,esi!^',!J'- 
 in the way to Ei)hrath, which is Beth-le- '/"^ '•;i''" 
 hem, 
 
 20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave : 
 that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this 
 day. 
 
 21 ^ And Israel journeyed, and spread 
 his tent beyond the tower of Edar. 
 
 22 And it came to ])ass, when Israel 
 dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and 
 '' lay with Bilhah his father's concubine : 
 aiul Israel heard it. Now the sons of Ja- 
 cob were twelve: 
 
 23 The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's 
 firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Ju- 
 dah, and Issachar, and Zebulun : 
 
 24 The sons of Rachel ; Joseph, and 
 Benjamin : 
 
 2.5 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's 
 handmaid ; Dan, and Naphtali : 
 
 2() And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's hand- 
 maid ; Gad, and Aslier : these are the 
 sons of Jacob, which were born to him in 
 Padan-aram. 
 
 27 II And Jacob came unto Isaac his fa- 
 ther mito Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, 
 which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac 
 sojourned, 
 
 28 And the days of Isaac were an hun- 
 dred and fourscore years. 
 
 tainly standing, when Moses wrote, as appears from tliis versej 
 and mention is made of it, just before Saul was anointed king, 
 1 Sam. X. 2. Tlie monument, now shewn for it, is a modern and 
 "I'urkish structure; for though the work is rude enough, anil 
 without any oniament, _yet tlie whole is as entire, as if it had 
 been only ju.st made. Maiiiidrcll. 
 
 22. — lieiihfii ivevQ Moses mentions this, that he may give 
 us a true account, why the right of inheritance, wliich was ori- 
 ginally in Keuben, was transferred to Joseph; and the kingdom, 
 or right of dominion, >-.-liich wa' forfeited by his transgression, 
 was conferred on the tribe of Judah : and that he might furnish 
 his countrymen with matter for humiliation, by giving them to 
 understand, from this anil the like instances, that it was not their 
 merit, but purely Clod's mercy, that advanced them to the honour 
 of being His peculiar people. Stachhousc. 
 
 26. — horn to him in Padan-aram.'J All except Benjamin. 
 
 27- — Jdcoh canif nnio I.saac /lis- falher^ To dwell with him, 
 and to be the coinfi)rt of his old age. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Isiiac had the comfort of seeing tlic promise of (Jod, in this in- 
 stiince of earthly prosperity, made good to himself and to Abra- 
 ham; as a sure pledge that the .ipiriiual promises, that " in their
 
 Esau's generations ; and the 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 chrTst .^^ ^"'^ ^^^^^ S^^^ up the ghost, and 
 1716. died, and 'was gathered unto his people, 
 " Chap. 25. being old and full of days : and his sons 
 Esau and Jacob buried him. 
 
 CHAP. XXX VL 
 
 1 Esau's three wives. 6 His removing to mount Seir. 
 d His sons. 15 The dukes which descended of his 
 sons. 20 The sons and diihes of Seir. 2i Anakjlnd- 
 eth mules. 31 The kings of Edom. 40 The dukes 
 that descended of Esau. 
 
 about i796. 
 
 about 1 7G0. 
 
 ^ 1 Chroii. 
 1.35. 
 
 about 1740. 
 t Heb. 
 
 Now these are the generations of Esau, 
 who is Edom. 
 
 2 Esau took his wives of the daughters 
 of Canaan ; Adah tiie daughter of Elon the 
 Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of 
 Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite ; 
 
 3 And Bashemath Ishmael's daughter, 
 sister of Nebajoth. 
 
 4 And ^ Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz ; 
 and Bashemath bare Reuel ; 
 
 5 And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaa- 
 1am, and Korah : these are the sons of 
 Esau, which were born unto him in the 
 land of Canaan. 
 
 6 And Esau took his wives, and his sons, 
 and his daughters, and all the t persons of 
 his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, 
 and all his substance, which he had got in 
 the land of Canaan ; and went into the 
 country from the face of his brother Ja- 
 cob. 
 
 7 For their riches were more than that 
 they might dwell together ; and the land 
 wherein they were strangers could not bear 
 them because of their cattle. 
 
 8 Thus dwelt Esau in " mount Seir : Esau 
 is Edom. 
 
 9 IT And these are the generations of 
 Esau the father of tthe Edomites in mount 
 Seir : 
 
 10 These are the names of Esau's sons ; 
 "^ Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, 
 Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of 
 Esau. 
 
 11 And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, 
 Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. 
 
 12 And Timna was concubine to Eli- 
 phaz Esau's son ; and she bare to Eliphaz 
 Amalek : these were the sons of Adah E- 
 sau's wife. 
 
 Seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed/' would be 
 made good in God's due time. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 29. — his sons Esau and Jacob buried Awi.] As Isaac and 
 Ishmael had buried Abraham. Hence it appears the friendship 
 between Esau and Jacob continued after their interview on Ja- 
 cob's return. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXXVI. ver. 2. Esau took his wives'] They had pro- 
 VoL. I. 
 
 » Josh. 24. 
 4. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 Edom. 
 
 " 1 Chron. 
 1. 35, &c. 
 
 dukes xvhich descended of his sons. 
 
 13 And these are the sons of Reuel ; i^'""™ 
 Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Miz- 2!,u74a 
 zah : these were the sons of Bashemath 
 Esau's wife. 
 
 14 f And these were the sons of Aholi- 
 bamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter, 
 of Zibeon, Esau's wife : and she bare to 
 Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah. 
 
 15 ^ These were dukes of the .sons of »i»Hti7i5. 
 Esau : the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son 
 
 of Esau ; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke 
 Zepho, duke Kenaz, 
 
 16 Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke 
 Amalek : these are the dukes that came of 
 Eliphaz in the land of Edom ; these were 
 the sons of Adah. 
 
 17 IT And these are the sons of Reuel 
 Esau's son ; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, 
 duke Shammah, duke Mizzah : these are 
 the dukes that came of Reuel in the land 
 of Edom ; these are the sons of Bashemath 
 Esau's wife. 
 
 18 ^ And these are the sons of Aholi- 
 bamah Esau's wife ; duke Jeush, duke 
 Jaalam, duke Korah : these were the dukes 
 that came of Aholibamah the daughter of 
 Anah, Esau's wife. 
 
 19 These are the sons of Esau, who is 
 Edom, and these are their dukes. 
 
 20 ^ "^ These are the sons of Seir the »bout 1840. 
 Horite, who inhabited the land ; Lotan, ' ' ^^"^ 
 and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, 
 
 21 And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan : 
 these are tlie dukes of the Horites, the 
 children of Seir in the land of Edom. 
 
 22 And the children of Lotan were 
 Hori and Hemam ; and Lotan's sister xcas 
 Timna. 
 
 23 And the children of Shobal were 
 these ; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, 
 Shepho, and Onam. 
 
 21. And these are the children of Zibeon ; 
 both Ajah, and Anah : this was that Anah 
 that found the mules in the wilderness, as 
 he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. 
 
 25 And the children of Anah were these; 
 Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of 
 Anah. 
 
 26 And these are the children of Dishon ; 
 Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and 
 Cheran. 
 
 1. 38. 
 
 bably several names as well as he. Bp. Kidder. See chap, 
 xxvi. 34. . 
 
 15. These were dukes] Heads, chiefs, or rulers of families. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 24. — that found the mules in the ivilderness,] Or, that discover- 
 ed springs of warm water, or encountered the Emim, a gigaiitick 
 people, whom he orei-threw. Cnbnel.
 
 7 he kiitgs t/EdMU. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 2Vi€ kktary oj Joiepit. 
 
 urfor. 27 TUe ciuldren .of Ezer ai)e these ; Bil- 
 LVuf nlil han. and Zaavau, aud Akau. 
 
 iiS 'I'lie cbiUiiou ol' Dislian are these j 
 Uz, and Aran. 
 
 •JiJ These Art' tlie dukes iAfl/ ca»«e •01 the 
 lluriies; duke- Lotan, duke Shobal, duke 
 Ziheon, didce Anah, , , r^ 
 
 ao Duke Dishoii, duke Lzer, duke i>J- 
 sliau: Lh£se arc tJu- dukes tluit came oi 
 Ban, among theix dukes iu the laud of 
 
 .'H IF And these are the Jcings tliat 
 reigned in the huid of Edom, before there 
 leaned any king owr the chikUen of Is- 
 rael. , . 
 ,.M.u. 10-c 3^2 And Bela the son of Beor reigued ni 
 Edom : aud the name of his cit}' was Din- 
 
 habah. 
 
 33 And Bela died, and Jobab the son oi 
 Zcrah of Bozrali reigned Ln his stead. 
 
 34. And Jobab died, aud Husham of the 
 huid of Temani reigned in his stead. 
 
 65 Aud Husham died, and Hadad the 
 SOD of Bedad, who smote Midian in the 
 field of Moab, reigned in his stead : aud 
 the name of his city -j:as Avith, 
 
 36 And Hadad died, and Samlali of Mas- 
 rekali reigned in his stead. 
 
 37 And Sanilah died, and Saul of Ke- 
 hobotli by the river reigned iu his stead. 
 
 38 .Ind Saul died, and Baal-hanan tiie 
 son of Achbor reigned in his stead. 
 
 39 And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor 
 died, and Hadar reigned in his stead : and 
 tlie name of his city Kas Pau j and his 
 
 31. before tltere reigued aiij/ k-ing over t/ie children of Israel.'] 
 
 Moses liavinj; recently nientioiicd the promise of God to Jacob, 
 that " kings should come out of his loins," observes it as remarka- 
 ble, that Esau's posterrty should have so many kings, and yet 
 there was no king in Israel when he wrote this book. Moses 
 might have written this by inspiration ; or he might well write 
 it without a spirit ot' prophecy ; aiid we might affirm, if necessary, 
 that his meaning is, " All these were kings in Edom, before his 
 Clin time;" who was, in a certain sense, the first king in Israel, 
 Dent, xxxiii. o; for he truly exercised royal authority over tliem, as 
 Selden observes. li/}. Patrick. See the note on Deut. xxxiii. 5. 
 
 Chap. XXXVII. The history of Joseph sets before our eyes 
 such a scene of the wonders of Providence, as will confinn our 
 faith in God. His brethren conspire to kill him : God sends a 
 company of merchants at that very moment to buy him. A 
 thousand others might have puroLased him in the land of Egypt: 
 but God had trials for him to piiss through, and work for him to 
 ilo, in the palace of the king. Thither he is to be sold. 
 
 In the next place wc find him run the hazard of his ver}- life, 
 rather than do what he knew would displease God : and God re- 
 warded him for it, beyond wh.it Potiphar could do for him. The 
 \(ry dreams of Pharaoh and his servants are all directed by God 
 for the advancement of Joseph : nay, tlie very fate of the whole 
 kingdom, both the seven years plenty, and seven years famine, 
 wer« ordained, in order to bring Joseph's father and his ikmily 
 into Egypt, according to former prophecies. 
 
 We may observe, m Joseph's brethren, how God by afflictions 
 brings men to a sense of their sins : inaop^uch as tbat j^dah him." 
 
 A' 
 
 wife's name was Mehetabel the daughter ^^^st 
 of Matrod, tl\e daughter of Mezabab. ahuut i^oe. 
 
 4-0 Aud these arc the names of the dukes 
 that came of Esau, according to theij- fami- 
 lies, after their places, by their names j 
 duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth, 
 
 41 Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke 
 I'inon, 
 
 4^ Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke 
 Mibzar, 
 
 43 Duke Magdiel, duke Iram : these be 
 the dukes oi Edom, according to their ha- 
 bitations in the land of their possession : 
 he is Esau tl>e fatiier of t the Edomites. t H«h. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 2 Joseph is haled of /«'*' brethren. S HJs tipo .dreams. 
 l.'J Jacob sciiiletk him to visit his hrethreti. 18 His 
 brethren conspire his death. 21 Reiiben savcth him. 
 2f) Thei/ sell him to the IslimeelHcs. SI Mis father, 
 deceived hi/ the bloody coal, mourneth for him. 36 He 
 is sold to J'oliphar in Eyi'/pt- 
 
 ND Jacob dwelt in tlie land t wherein tH*. 
 his father was a stranger, in the laiad ,-£.*w' 
 of Canaan. jourm»st. 
 
 2 These are the generaticais of Jaoob. 
 Joseph, beina seventeen years old, was feed- its©. 
 ing tlie flock witli hit brethren ; and the 
 
 lad icffv with the sons of Bilhah, and with 
 the sons of ZUpah, his father's wives : aud 
 Joseph brought unto his fi^ther tlieir evil 
 report. 
 
 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all 
 his cliildren, because he was the son of his 
 old atje : ami he made him a coat of many „ „ 
 
 "& "'"'™^ * I Or, 
 
 II colours. ,,ieces. 
 
 self, who had hated Joseph because he was dear to his father, is 
 now willing to be a bond-slave for Joseph's brother, for the very 
 same reason. 
 
 We may observe, what a lively type or figure Joseph is, anil 
 was so designed by God to be, of Jesus Christ. Sold by his bre- 
 thren : sold to strangers : sold for a few pieces of money : the 
 bargain proposed by his brother Judiih, the very namesake of 
 that disciple and brother, for so Christ vouchsafes to call him, who 
 sold his Lord and Master ; and after all he became the saviour 
 of them and of all the neighbouring nations. 
 
 All these things came to pass by the direction o£ a wise, great, 
 and good God, who would not let the world want such instances, 
 to confirm their faith in Ilim. Bp. JViUon. 
 
 Ver. 2. These are the generations of Jacob.'] Or things which 
 happened to him. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 ^— their evil report.] What evil lives they led. JBp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — because he teas the sou of his old age :] Not because he 
 was his youngest son, for that he was not, Benjamin being 
 younger. But probably because, after a long season of barren- 
 ness, he w as born of Rachel, the most beloved consort of Jacob ; 
 and because, at the period referred to, he was arrived at an age, 
 when he was capable of affording more comfort to the declining 
 years of his father, than his younger brother Benjamin. The 
 Jewish historian Josephus says, " his father loved him above the 
 rest of his sons, both because of the beauty of his body, and the 
 virtues of his mind, for he excelled the rest in prudence." Bp. 
 Patrick: 
 
 -^— (t qcio/ of fttfli^ f^fo^f'i-^ jCsfJ.erally thought to signify a
 
 His two dreams. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 tlis brethren conspire liis dkath. 
 
 CHRIST * •^"^ Mfhen his brethren sa^v that their 
 i7aa father loved him more than all his bre- 
 thren, they hated him, and could not speak 
 peaceably unto him. 
 
 5 ^ And Joseph dreamed a dream, and 
 he told it his brethren : and thej' hated him 
 yet the more. 
 
 6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray 
 you, this dream which I have dreamed : 
 
 7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves 
 in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and 
 also stood upright ; and, behold, your 
 sheaves stood round about, and made obei- 
 sance to my sheaf. 
 
 8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt 
 thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou 
 indeed have dominion over us ? And they 
 hated him yet the more for his dreams, and 
 for his words. 
 
 9 IF And he dreamed yet another dream, 
 and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, 
 I have dreamed a dream more ; and, be- 
 hoki, the sun and the moon and the eleven 
 stars made obeisance to me. 
 
 10 And he told it to his father, and to 
 his brethren : and his father rebuked him, 
 and said unto him, AVliat is this dream that 
 thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mo- 
 ther and thy brethren indeed come to bow 
 down ourselves to thee to the earth ? 
 
 11 And his brethren envied him; fe^ut 
 his father observed the saying. 
 
 about 1729. 12 ^ And his brethren went to feed their 
 father's flock in Shechem. 
 
 garment wrought with threads of divers colours, or made up of 
 vadegated pieces of silk or stuff. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 5. — dreamed, a dream,~\ See the note on chap. xx. 3. In tlie 
 manifestations, which God made of Himself by dreams, tlie point, 
 iotended to be disclosed, was either expressly signified ; or else 
 shadowed forth by sufficient representations and emblems. These 
 emblems again were sometimes so plain and clear, that their 
 meaning was immediately apprehended; as in these dreams of 
 Joseph: at other times they were more difficult to be understoodj 
 so that the person, who saw the dream, was a stranger to its 
 meaning. In this case Providence so ordered it, that there was 
 iorae one in the way, to whom the gift of interpreting dreams 
 was vouchsafed. Of this we have instances in the dreams of 
 Pharaoh's butler and baker, and afterwards in Pharaoh's own 
 dreams ; which were interpreted by Joseph, and the meaning 
 ju&tiiied by the accomplishment. JBp. Coiiybeare. 
 
 Qt —tJie eleven starsl The obeisance of tlie sun, moon, and 
 eleven stars (or constellations of the Zodiack) to him the twelfth. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 10. — Jus falher rebuked him,'^ Gave him a check; that Jo- 
 seph might not grow proud, and that his brethren might not be 
 provoked to hate him. Still Jacob did not look upon tlie dream 
 a« a mere fancy, but laid it up in his heart. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 What is this dream &c.3 From this time forward in all 
 
 the Scripture, when in any dream, vision, parable, or prophecy 
 ihfSce is mention of sun, moon, stars darkened, falling, &c. it is 
 generally meant of kings, emperours, or other superiours, as here 
 of father and mother. Dr. Wall. 
 
 13. — their father's Jlock in Sheckenu} Not that Shechem, I 
 suppose, where they had so lately robbed and murdered the peo- 
 
 13 AmJ Israel said unto Joseph, Do not 
 thy bretliren feed the Jlock in Shechem? 
 come» and I will send thee unto them. 
 And he said to him. Here mn I. 
 
 14 And he said to him. Go, I pray thee, 
 tsee whether it be well with thy bre- 
 thren, and well with the flocks ; and bring 
 me word again. So he sent him out of 
 the vale of Hebron, and he came to She- 
 chem. 
 
 15 ^ And a certain man found him, and, 
 behold, lie -xas wandering in the field : aad 
 the man asked him, saving, \Miat seekest 
 thou ? 
 
 16 And he said, I seek my brethren : 
 teU me, I pray thee, where they feed their 
 
 Jiocks. 
 
 17 And the man said. They are departed 
 hence ; for I heard them say. Let ns go to 
 Dothan. And Joseph went after his bre- 
 thren, and found them in Dothan. 
 
 18 And when they saw him afar off| even 
 before he came near imto them, they con- 
 spired against him to slay him. 
 
 19 And they said one to another, Be- 
 hold, this t dreamer cometh. 
 
 20 Come now therefore, and let us slay 
 him, and cast him into some pit, and we 
 wiU say, Some e\^l beast hath devoiued 
 him : and we shall see what will become 
 of his dreams. 
 
 21 And * Reuben heard it, and he deh'- 
 vered him out of their hands ; and said, 
 Let us not kill him. 
 
 CH»IST 
 
 about 172". 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 seethe pt^nce 
 of thy hre- 
 tfam, &C. 
 
 tHeb. 
 master mf 
 dreanu* 
 
 ' Ch»p. 4% 
 
 pie, and where they had been afraid of being pursued by the 
 neighbours: the Septuagint makes a difference in the spelling of 
 that name and tliis : liere it is Sychem ; that Shechem it always 
 calls Sekima : it was more northward. This Sychem and Outhm, 
 which must be nigh it, were in the way, which the Ishmeelites 
 took from Gilead to Egj-pt. Dr. Wall. 
 
 1&. — they conspired against him lo slay him.^ See in this in- 
 stance the sad consequences of giving way to anger ! At first 
 perhaps the displeasure, which they conceived against their bro- 
 ther, was moderate, and pardonable in persons so liable to errour 
 as men are. But then, the first cool reflections ought to have 
 checked these resentments, and have brought them back to a bet. 
 ter temper. Instead of tliis, they laid hold of every opportunity 
 to keep up, and even to heighten their passion. They rose fi-om 
 one degree to another ; till at length they deUberated about tlie 
 commission of an action, which in former times they could not have 
 thought on without horrour. They " conspired together to slay 
 their brother:" — to commit miuder, a crime abhorred both by 
 God and man ; — and this upon so near a relation, as a brother, 
 whose life they oiight to have defended at the hazard of their 
 own ; and at a time too, when he was performing towards them 
 an act of brotherly love, and bringing a tender message from their 
 father. Bp. Conybeare. 
 
 '21. And Reuben heard it, &c.] Several reasons may be as- 
 signed for this interference of Reuben : such as the common 
 feelings of humanity, fraternal affection, or the sense of respoDsi- 
 bility to God for the murder of an innocent and excellent youth. 
 Besides these reasons, which Josephus suggests, he may have either 
 thought himsell' most concerned to save his brother, as being 
 tlie firstborn, and therefore likely to be the first io blame: or 
 
 M2
 
 Joseph is cast into a pit, and 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 after-wards sold to the IshmeeKtes. 
 
 Before qo And Rcubcn said unto them, Shed 
 
 Tblun:^! no blood, bnl cast him into this pit that ;*■ 
 in tiie wilderness, and lay no hand upon 
 him ; that he might rid him out of their 
 liands, to dehver him to iiis father again. 
 
 'ZS % And it came to pass, when JosepJi 
 was come imto iiis brethren, that the)^ stript 
 Joscj)h out of his coat, his coat of many 
 
 n Or, II colours tiiat ivas on iiim ; 
 
 '"'■"'■ 24 And tliey took him, and cast him in- 
 
 to a pit : and "the ])it -was empty, there was 
 no water in it. 
 
 25 And they sat down to eat bread : and 
 they lifted nj) their eyes and looked, and, 
 beiiold, a company of Ishmeelites came 
 from Gilead with their camels bearing 
 spicery and balm and myrrh, going to 
 carry // down to Kgy))t. 
 
 'iG And Judah said unto his brethren, 
 What j)roHt /> it if we slay our brother, and 
 conceal his blood ? 
 
 i27 Come, ami let us sell him to the Ish- 
 meelites, and let not our hand be upon 
 liim ; for he is our brother and our flesh. 
 
 tiicb. And his brethren t were content. 
 
 »«rif«./. ,,y '|-jj^.jj ^|j^,j.^, passed by Midianites 
 
 merchantmen ; and they ch-ew and lifted up 
 »Ps»i. 105. Jose])h out of the pic, ''and sold Joseph to 
 wlsa 10. ^'"'' isluneelites for twenty /mccs of silver: 
 13. and they brought Josej)!! into Egypt. 
 
 Att. 7. 9. 29 % And Reuben returned unto the pit; 
 
 and, behold, Joseph n-as not in the pit ; and 
 
 he rent his clothes. 
 
 he may have hoped, by thus piously and compassionately preserv- 
 ing the favourite Joseph, to recover that place in his lather's af- 
 fection, which he had lost by his late crime. Slachliuiise. 
 
 2.5. — a comptiti;/ of IshmecHlcs] They are called below Mi- 
 dianites. These people were near neighbours to each other ; and 
 were joined tof^ether in one company or caravan, as it is now 
 calle<I. It is the custom, even to this day, in the East, for mer- 
 chants and otiiers to travel through the deseits in hu-ge companies, 
 for fear of robbers or wild beasts. Up. Palricli. 
 
 a?. Ctnne, and let us sell liim &C.3 The providence of God 
 m.-ikcs use of the wickedness of men to accomplish H'.-. designs. 
 His ways are dark and to us unsearchable, till they ai-e cleared up 
 by the event. Means, to ns imlikely, are applied by Gotl to bring 
 ■n^jout the most important ends : imd it is sometimes seen, that 
 adversity itself is the direct way to liappiness. Bps. Wilson 
 and Coiiijl>can\ 
 
 2!). — /"• reiil /lis clutlies.'] This was an Eastem way of ex- 
 pressing cither grief for calamity, or horrour for sin. Reuben was 
 the first we read of, who, to denote his exceeding soitow, " rent 
 Iiis clothes :" and as Jacob, we find ver. Hi, does the same, we 
 may supi>ose it to have been an usual manner of expressing grief 
 and uneasiness of mind in those days. Putting on sackcloth 
 which .lacob is here first descritxnl as doing, was afterwards com- 
 mon on all mournful occasion^. " Kend your clothes, and gird 
 you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner," 2 Sam. iii. 31. 
 "Mordecai rent his clotlies, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and 
 cried witli a loud and a bitter cry," Estli. iv. 1 — 3. Stackhousc 
 Calmct. ' 
 
 30. — Till- child is ttol ,] That is, he is dead. A common 
 Scnpturc phrase. 
 
 30 And he returned unto his brethren, c^^j^^Jg.j. 
 and said. The child is not ; and I, whither »bout 1729. 
 shall I go ? 
 
 31 And they took Joseph's coat, and 
 killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the 
 coat in the blood ; 
 
 32 And they sent the coat of ma?ii/ co- 
 lours, and they brought it to their father ; 
 and said. This ha\e we found : know now 
 w hether it be thy son's coat or no. 
 
 33 And he knew it, and said, // is my 
 
 son's coat ; an ' evil beast hath devoured " Cbap- ""^ 
 him ; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. 
 3i< And Jacob rent his clothes, and put 
 sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for 
 his son man>' days. 
 
 35 And ail his sons and all his daughters 
 rose up to comfort him ; but he refused to 
 be comforted ; and he said, For 1 will go 
 down into the grave inito my son mourn- 
 ing. Thus his father wept for him. tJJud't ■ 
 
 36 And the Midianites sold him into But die 
 Egypt luito Potiphar, an tofiieer of Pha- ;,:;;|,J''„'|,\ 
 
 only eu- 
 liuchs, hut 
 also cltam- 
 
 1 Judah begeHeth Er, Oniiii,and Slicluii. Er marridli cmmiers, 
 
 Tamar. 8 The Ire pass of O/itin. 11 Tamar sLii/etli andi^cer*. 
 
 for Shdah. 13 She drccivclh Judah. 27 SJie bearelh t '"•■i'- 
 
 hvins, Phurcz ami Zaruh. "'!"■> ','/'" 
 
 AND it came to pass at that time, that ""•". or 
 Judah went down from his brethren, "«.''""""* 
 and turned in to a certain Adullamite, II "r, 
 whose name was liuah. shai. 
 
 raoh's, and t II captain of the guard. 
 CHAP. XXX VIII. 
 
 35. — nil his daughters^ Dinah and his sons' wives. 
 
 1 will go down into the grave .&c.] That is, to the state 
 
 or place of the dead. The sense is, I will not cease mourning 
 until I die and be laid in the grave. Slackkouse. 
 
 The translation into the grave is wrong ; as if lie meant to have 
 his body laid by Joseph's. Tliat could not be, for lie thought 
 him devoured by wild beasts. It means, into the invisible state, 
 the state of departed souls; and in this sense it is .said of several 
 of the I'atriarclis, that they " were feathered unto their jieople," 
 Gen. XXV. 8 ; xxxv. 29 ; xlix. 29 ; and of " all that generation," 
 which lived with Joshua, that they " were gathered unto their 
 fatliers," Judg. ii. 10. Ahp. Seeker. 
 
 Where parental affection exists, it will express itself in grief 
 and mourning, when the person beloved is taken from us. Grief 
 on such occasions is natural. Our blessed Lord Himself wept on 
 the death of Lazarus. Care however must be taken, not to run 
 into excess. To grieve is generous and humane ; to be loud and 
 querulous is childish ; and to refuse comfort is inexcusable. It is 
 impious towards God ; it shews too great disregard to other men ; 
 and it is highly prejudicial to ourselves. Nothing can excuse such 
 conduct in Jacob but this, that his present passion overcame his 
 reason, and that this misfortune befell him at an age when he was 
 least able to bear it. We find however by the event, that he got 
 the better of his grief. When the first fit was over, he grew more 
 moderate : time in some degree cured him of his concern ; and 
 he submitted to that misfortune, wliich he could not avoid. Bp. 
 Conybearc. 
 
 Chap. XXXVIII. ver. 1. — at that iimei^ Judah was married 
 about eight years before Joseph was sold; Joseph being then not
 
 'Ji 
 
 
 
 1 

 
 Judah begetteth Er, Onan, and Shelah. CHAP. XXXVIIl. 
 
 Tamar deceive th Judah. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1727. 
 » 1 Chron. 
 2. 3. 
 
 » Numb. 26. 
 19. 
 
 * Numb. 2G. 
 19. 
 
 f Heb. 
 
 Vias evil in 
 thf cifes of 
 the LORD. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 the days 
 •were mulli- 
 2)lied, 
 
 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a 
 certain Canaanite, whose name was " Shu- 
 ah ; and he took her, and went in unto 
 her. 
 
 3 And she conceived, and bare a son; 
 and he called his name Er. 
 
 4 "'And she conceived again, and bare a 
 son; and she called his name Onan. 
 
 5 And she yet again conceived, and bare 
 a son; and called his name Shelah : and he 
 was at Chezib, when she bare him. 
 
 6 And Judah took a wife for Er his first- 
 born, whose name urns Tamar. 
 
 7 And ''Er, Judah's firstborn, was wick- 
 ed in the sight of the Lord ; and the Lord 
 slew him. 
 
 8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in un- 
 to thy brother's wife, and marry her, and 
 raise up seed to thy brother. 
 
 9 And Onan knew that the seed should 
 not be his ; and it came to pass, when he 
 went in unto his brother's wife, that he 
 spilled it on the ground, lest that he should 
 give seed to his brother. 
 
 10 And the thing which he did t dis- 
 pleased the Loud : wherefore he slew him 
 also. 
 
 1 1 Then said Judah to Tamar his daugh- 
 ter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's 
 house, till Shelah my son be grown : for he 
 said. Lest peradventure he die also, as his 
 brethren dia. And lamar went and dwelt 
 in licr father's house. 
 
 12 ^ And + ill process of time the daugh- 
 ter of Shuah Judah's. wife died ; and Ju- 
 dah was comforted, and went up unto his 
 
 above twelve years of age. Therefore the words " at that time," 
 do not refer to the time of Judah's mamage, but to the deaths of 
 Er and Onan ; wliich happened not long after Joseph was sold, 
 and show how Judah was punished in liis cliildren for the sale of 
 hi.«! righteous brother. Dr. Lightfoot. 
 
 AdiilUnnile,2 A citizen of Adullam, a famous town, that 
 
 fell atlerwards to the tribe of Judah. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — and the Lord sleiv /«'ot.] By some extraordinary judg- 
 ment. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Notorious sinners God reserves to His own vengeance. He 
 doth not inflict sensible judgments upon cdl His enemies, lest the 
 wicked should think there were no punishment abiding for them 
 elsewhere. He doth inflict such judgments upon some, lest He 
 should seem careless of evil. It were as easy for Him to strike 
 all dead, as one : but He would rather all should be warned by 
 one ; and would have His enemies find Him merciful, as well as 
 His children, just. Bp. Hall. 
 
 8. — marry her, and raise up seed &c.] This is the first men- 
 tion of the custom, which nevertheless seems to have been a verj' 
 common one, and well understood by Onan ; for he knew that the 
 firstborn son was not to be accounted his, but his deceased bro- 
 ther's ; to be called by his name, and inherit his estate. Stackhouse. 
 
 10. — he slew him alsor\ Thus Judah, who deprived his aged 
 father of his son, is himself deprived of two of his own sons. Bp. 
 fVilson. 
 
 13. — to shear his sheep.^ Sheepsheai-jng was a kind of har- 
 
 sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend ^^f°" 
 Hirah the Adullamite. "",^^'11 
 
 io A 1 • 1 1 rr-i about 1727. 
 
 Id And It was told Tamar, saying, Be- 
 hold thy father in law goeth up to Tinuiath 
 to shear his sheep. 
 
 14 And she put her widow's garments off 
 from her, and covered her with a vail, and 
 wrapped herself, and sat in an topen place, tHei,. 
 which is by the way to Timnath ; for she "•"'•^''f 
 saw that Shelah Avas grown, and she was £/«vim. 
 not given unto him to wife. 
 
 15 When Judah saw her, he thought her 
 to be an harlot ; because she had covered 
 her face. 
 
 16 And he turned unto her by the way, 
 and said, Go to, 1 pray thee, let me come 
 in unto thee ; (for he knew not that she 
 "was his daughter in law.) And she said. 
 What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest 
 come in unto me ? 
 
 17 And he said, I will send thee -[a kid tHeb. 
 from the flock. And she said. Wilt thou gJ'Jiif"" 
 give me a pledge, till thou send it? 
 
 18 And he said, Wliat pledge shall I give 
 thee ? And she said, Thy signet, and thy 
 bracelets, and thy staff" that is in thine 
 hand. And he gave it her, and came in 
 unto her, and she conceived by him. 
 
 19 And she arose, and went away, and 
 laid by her vail from her, and put on the 
 garments of her widowhood. 
 
 20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand 
 of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his 
 pledge from the woman's hand : but he 
 found her not. 
 
 21 Then he asked the men of that place. 
 
 vest, and used to be observed with the same sort of joy. Judah, 
 having finished the time of mourning for his wife, went to recreate 
 himself with his friends, at this festival sejison. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. — covered her with a vail,'\ As all women diil in the Eastern 
 countries, when they went abroad. This is still the practice, and 
 is required by several passages in the Koran. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and sat in an open place,'} Hoping to im))ose herself, 
 
 either upon Judah himself, on his return from the feast, or upon 
 Shelah, whom, she presumed, he would take witii him. This 
 most desperate and unlawful proceeding of Tamar was probably 
 undertaken out of revenge upon Judah, for not fulfilling liis pro- 
 mise, but retaining Shelali from her, after he was fully arrived at 
 man's estate. Pi/le. 
 
 1 5. — because she had covered her face.} This is not the rea- 
 son, wliy he took her for an harlot ; but why he did not know her 
 to be his daughter in law, because he could not see her face. He 
 thought her to be an harlot, becatise she sat in the highway, where 
 she publickly exposed herself. Selden, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 s. — thi/ bracelets,} According to the views of different com- 
 mentators, the word, translated " bracelets," is supposed to be a 
 cloak, or girdle; Bp. Patrick, Pi/lc. A scarf ; Bp. Kidder. A 
 luindkerchuf; Bp. Hall, Sir J. Chardin. Ajilkt or wreath, worn 
 about the head ; Harmcr. 
 
 The ancient Hebrews wore their seals or " signets" in rings on 
 their fingers, or in " bracelets" on their amis : as is now the cus- 
 tom in the East. See Cant. viii. G. Calmct.
 
 Tajnar btareth Pharei mid Zaruh. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Joseph advanced in Pofiphar^s house. 
 
 CMKuer 
 
 g Or, 
 
 I 'I Enofim. 
 
 
 conttmpL 
 
 saying, Wliere w the harlot, that rcas II open- 
 ly by the way side ? And they said. There 
 was no harlot in this place. 
 
 •£"2 And he returned to Judah, and said, 
 I cannot find her ; and also the men of 
 the place said, that there was no harlot in 
 tliis place. 
 
 'iS And Judah said, Let her take it 
 to her, lest we t be shamed : behold, I 
 sent this kid, and thou hast not found 
 her. 
 
 2-t if And it came to pass about three 
 months after, that it was told Judah, say- 
 ing, Tamar thy daughter in law hath play- 
 ed the harlot ; and also, behold, she is with 
 child by whoredom. And Judah said. Bring 
 her forth, and let her be burnt. 
 
 '25 When she aus brought forth, she sent 
 to her father in law, saying. By the man, 
 whose these are, am I with child : and she 
 said, Discern, 1 pray thee, whose are these, 
 the signet, and bracelets, and staff. 
 
 26 And Judah acknowledged them, and 
 said, She hath been more righteous than I ; 
 because that I gave her not to Shelah my 
 son. And he knew her again no more. 
 
 27 1[ And it came to pass in the time of 
 her travail, tliat, behold, twins were in her 
 womb. 
 
 28 And it came to pass, when she tra- 
 vailed, that the one put out his hand : and 
 the midwife took and bound upon his hand 
 a scarlet thread, saying. This came out 
 tirst. 
 
 29 And it came to pass, as he drew back 
 
 23. — iM her lake it to Iter, lest tvc he sliamed .•] Though the 
 fact, he had committeil, was not punislied by the laws, yet men 
 were asliamed it should be knowii, which was a sign that they 
 were sensible of its tuoral turpitude. Agreeable to this is the 
 sense of Judah's words: " It is better to lose what she hath of 
 •urs, than, by inquisition after it, to divulge the busine»^, and in- 
 •raaae our shame." hn. Patrick. 
 
 24. — .Judah said, firing herjorth,"^ If Judah had not forgot- 
 ten his sin, his piti) had been more than his hatred^ to this of his 
 daughters. How eauy in it to iletest those sins in others, which 
 we natter in ourselves ! B/i. llalL 
 
 let kcr he Aur/f/.] Some think burning was the punish. 
 
 nient for adultery in tho.se days : others, that the punishment de- 
 pended on the w ill of the supreme govemour, whom some suppose 
 Judah himself to have been, as chief in his own family. Others 
 suppose, that by burning is meant no more than braiuling her in 
 the forehead. All this proceeds on the supposition of her being 
 an adulteress, as the wire of Shelah, by virtue of the first contract 
 with his ehk'st brullier. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2(3. — She halh been more Tighteous than I ,•] Tamar hafl kept 
 her faith with Judah for a considerable time, fiving long a widow, 
 in expectation of being married, as she ought to liave been, to his 
 son Shelah. In that respect, she hatl been more righteous and 
 ikithful to Judah, than he had been to her. Dr. Walcrlatid. 
 
 It is not meant, that in this matter she had committed a less 
 sin, than he ; for she had knowingly committed adultery and in- 
 ent, whereas he had not by design committed either. She was 
 more wicked in the sight of God ; yet she may be said to be juster 
 
 CWRPST 
 
 about J797. 
 
 II Or. 
 tfi.refire 
 ll^it ilitu 
 m . '• this 
 breack o- 
 
 I That is, 
 n breach. 
 ' I Chron. 
 2. 4. 
 Matt. 1. 3. 
 
 1729. 
 
 his hand, that, behold, his brotlter came 
 out : and she said, II How hast thou broken 
 forth ? this breach be upon thee : thereifbre 
 his name was called ||''Pharez. 
 
 30 And afterward came out his brother, 
 that had the scarlet thread u|x>n his hand : 
 and his name was called Zarah. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 I Joseph advanced in PiUiphar'.s- lionxe. 7 Me re»isfctk 
 his iiiislress'.r tetaptativn. 13 He i.t falsely accused. 
 20 He Li cast in prison. 21 God is with him titcre. 
 
 AND Joseph was brougiit (fe>wn to 
 Egy})t ; and Potiphar, an officer of 
 Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyp- 
 tian, bought him of the hands of the Ish- 
 meelites, which had brought him down 
 thither. 
 
 2 And the Lord was with Joseph, and 
 he was a prosperous man ; and he was in 
 the house of his master the Egyptian. 
 
 3 And his master saw that the Lord was 
 with him, and that the Lord made all that 
 he did to prosper in his hand. 
 
 4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, 
 and he served him : and he made him over- 
 seer over his house, and all that he had he 
 put into his hand. 
 
 5 And it came to pass from the time that 
 he had made him overseer in his house, 
 and over all that he had, that the Lord 
 blessed the Egj'ptian's house for Joseph's 
 sake ; and the blessing of the Lord was 
 upon all that he had in the house, and in 
 the field. 
 
 before Judah ; or to have done no more to him, than what he 
 justly deserved. Stackhouse. 
 
 he knew her again no moro.'2 This abstaining from sin i> 
 
 necessary, and without it we cannot be said to repent. Bp. Kid- 
 der. If this had not cost Judah many a sigh, he had no more 
 eiicaped his father's curse than Reuben did. The difference was 
 not in the sins, but in the men. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XXXIX. vcr. 2. And the Lord was with Joseph,'] T» 
 guide him in his deportment, and in the management of all affairs 
 committed to him. Bp. Patrick. He was favourable and mercifid 
 to him in his affliction. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 he nms in llie house of hit Tnasler"] One of his domestick 
 
 servants. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — overseer] The office, to which Joseph was thus pro- 
 moted, was one of great trust and honour ; for he was made 
 superintendent of all the property of Potiphar. Fragments to 
 CabneJ. 
 
 Here was a prodigious change of circumstances. He, who a 
 little before was sold by his brethren, brought down to Egypt, 
 and delivered over to Potiphar as a slave, is now advanced to a 
 creditable and advantageous post ; made steward to a rich and 
 great man ; the director of all his fortunes. This instance should 
 teach us to rely on the care and protection of Providence in the 
 most comfortless circumstances of life : because how hopeless so- 
 ever our condition may, in human accounts, appear, yet there is 
 a God above, who careth for us ; and is both able and willing ta 
 relieve us itom all our troubles. Bp. Contfbeare.
 
 He resisteth Ms mistress's temptation ; CHAP. XXXIX, XL. 
 
 chrTst ^ -"^^ ^^^ ^^^ *^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^'^ ^° Joseph's 
 1729. hand ; and he knew not ought he had, save 
 the bread which he did eat And Joseph 
 was a goodly perso7i, and well favoured. 
 
 7 ^ And it came to pass after these 
 things, that his master's wife cast her eyes 
 upon Joseph ; and she said, Lie with me. 
 
 8 But he refused, and said unto his mas- 
 ter's wife. Behold, my master wotteth not 
 what is with me in the house, and he hath 
 committed all that he hath to my hand ; 
 
 9 There is none greater in this house 
 than I ; neither hath he kept back any 
 thing from me but thee, because thou art 
 his wife : how then can I do this great 
 wickedness, and sin against God ? 
 
 10 And it came to pass, as she spake to 
 Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not 
 unto her, to lie by her, or to be with 
 her. 
 
 11 And it came to pass about this time, 
 that Joseph went into the house to do his 
 business ; and there was none of the men 
 of the house there within. 
 
 12 And she caught liun by his garment, 
 saying, Lie with me : and he left his gar- 
 ment in her hand, and fled, and got him 
 out. 
 
 13 And it came to pass, when she saw 
 that he had left his garment in her hand, 
 and was fled foilh, 
 
 14 That she called unto the men of her 
 house, and spake unto them, saying. See, 
 he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to 
 mock us ; he came in unto me to lie with 
 
 |Heb. me, and I cried with at loud voice : 
 ^"°'- 15 And it came to pass, when he heard 
 
 tiiat I hfted up my voice and cried, that he 
 left his garment with me, and fled, and got 
 him out. 
 
 9. — how ilicn can J do Ihis great wickedness, and sin against 
 God ?] He alleges in the most modest maimer, gratitude to his 
 master, and obedience to the Divine will. The favours, which his 
 master had bestowed upon him, were sufficient to such a grateful 
 mind as his, to prevent him from doing any thing which might 
 justly displease his master : much less could he bear the thought 
 of turning these very favours to his dishonour, and of injuring 
 him in the most sensible manner by those very advantages which 
 he held under him. To this he adds, that the regard he owed to 
 the Supreme Being, would ever forbid him to gratify such unlaw- 
 ful requests. Bp. Conybcare. 
 
 From a sense of duty to his master he was incapable of recom- 
 pensing the confidence reposed in him with so irrepai'able and 
 cruel an injury. But his sense of duty to his master was founded 
 on the only perfect security of moral obligation ; a sense of his 
 duty to God. Mant's Parochial Sermons. 
 
 14^ — to mock us ;'} To disgrace us, by committing a sin so 
 foul and so dishonourable to us. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 1 7. And she spake unto him, — saijing, &c.] Thus one sin draws 
 on another. She had been unfaithful to her lord, in endeavour- 
 ing to bring dishonour on him : and when these endeavours did_ 
 not succeed, she could not stop here, but aggravated the fault of 
 
 and is cast into prison. 
 
 16 And the laid up his garment by her b«^'°'« 
 until his lord came home. ' CHitisx 
 
 - „ . ] , , about 1 789. 
 
 17 And She spake unto him accordii:^ 
 to these words, saying. The Hebrew ser- 
 vant, which thou hast brought unto us, 
 came in unto me to mock me : 
 
 18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up 
 my voice and cried, that he left liis gai- 
 ment with me, and fled out. 
 
 19 And it came to pass, when his mas- 
 ter heard the words of his wife, which she 
 spake unto him, sa^ang. After this manner 
 did thy servant to me ; that his wrath was 
 kindled. 
 
 20 And Joseph's master took him, and 
 put Iiim into the prison, a place wiiere the 
 king's prisoners 'were bound : and he was 
 there in the prison. 
 
 21 ^ But the Lord was with Joseph, and 
 
 t shewed him mercy, and gave him favour t Heb. 
 m the sight of the keeper of the prison. ^^j 
 
 22 And the keeper of the prison com- wuohim. 
 mitted to Joseph's hand all the prisoners 
 
 that uere in the prison ; and whatsoever 
 they did there, he was the doer o/it. 
 
 23 The keeper of the prison looked not 
 to any thing that was under his hand ; be- 
 cause the Loiin was with him, and that 
 which he did, the Lord made it to pros- 
 
 per. 
 
 CHAP. XL. 
 
 1 The bntler and baker of' Pharaoli in prison. 4 Joseph 
 hath charge of them. 5 Ue iiitfrpretelh I heir dreams. 
 20 They come to pass according to his inierprctation. 
 23 The ingralitude of the butler. 
 
 AND it came to pass after these things, about 1:20. 
 thai the butler of tlie king of Egypt 
 and his baker had offended their lord the 
 king of Egypt. 
 
 Q And Pharaoh was wroth against two 
 
 a criminal desire by a false accusation. The same may he ob- 
 served in almost every other instance of sin. Wlien we venture 
 on the commission of it, we lose the command of ourselves : we 
 roll on, as a stone down a precipice, unable to say where we shall 
 stop, or how far we shall go. Bp. Conybeare. 
 
 20. And Joseph's master look him,'] This errour of Potiphar, for 
 I will not give it any harsher name, cost Joseph dear. He for- 
 feited his post ; and, what is worse, was ti-eated as tlie worst of 
 criminals. Hence we may learn, that the greatest innocence can- 
 not secure us from misfortunes. We are born to trouble ; and 
 ought rather to expect it, than be siu^rised at it. Nay, it some- 
 times happens, that our virtue itself will expose us to sufferings. 
 Yet we ought not on this account to question the providence of 
 God. Tliis world is a place, not of retribution, but of trial. If 
 we are true to ourselves, God will assist us in these sufferings ; 
 and perhaps make tliem, as Ho had before done, and now again 
 did, in tlie case of Joseph, the steps and means towards a greater 
 advancement. Bp. Conybcare. 
 
 Chap. XL. ver. I.— the btUkr — and — baker] These were two 
 distinguished officers of the crown ; " cupbearer" and " master 
 of the household" to the king. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Joseph inlerpntelh Ihe dreams of 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Pharaoh's baker and butler. 
 
 Before qJ' his ofticcis, aguinst the chief of tlie 
 
 ■bout 1 1 
 
 *^""iVl^ butlers, unci against the chief of the ba- 
 
 kers. 
 
 3 And lie put them in ward in the honse 
 of the captain of tlu- guard, into the prison, 
 the place where Joseph tivw bound. 
 
 4 And the captain of the guard charged 
 Josejih with them, and he served them : 
 and they continued a season in ward. 
 
 iTis. 5 5[ And they dreamed a dream both of 
 
 them, each man his dream in one night, 
 each man according to the inteqjretation 
 of his dream, the butler and the baker of 
 the king of Egypt, which xixre bound in 
 the j)rison. 
 
 i) And Joseph came in unto them in the 
 morning, and looked upon them, and, be- 
 hold, they were sad. 
 
 7 And he asked Pharaoh's officers that 
 "were with him in the ward of his lord's 
 
 t ">*• house, saying, Wherefore t look ye so sadly 
 >c«ni/.' to day? 
 
 8 And they said unto him, We have 
 dreamed a dream, and there is no inter- 
 preter of it. And Joseph said unto them, 
 Do not interpretations belong to God ? tell 
 me them, I pray you. 
 
 9 And the chief butler told his dream to 
 Joseph, anil said to him, In my dream, be- 
 liold, a vine ■aas before me ; 
 
 10 And in the vine tccjt three branches : 
 and it tcyw as though it budded, and her 
 blossoms shot forth ; and the clusters there- 
 of brought forth ripe grapes : 
 
 11 And Pharaoh's cup xcas in my hand: 
 and I took the grapes, and pressed them 
 into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into 
 Pharaoh's hand. 
 
 Vi. And Joscj)h said unto him, This is 
 the interpretation of it : The three branches 
 are three days : 
 
 13 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh 
 ift up thine head, and restore thee unto 
 
 O Or, 
 
 reckon. 
 
 4- — the captain of Ihe gimrd chartred Joseph with them,'] Po- 
 tiphar seenis by this time to have been con\inced of Joseph's 
 inniicenty, as to the erime wliicli lie had confined liim for: and 
 though, to conceal the disiionoiir of his wife, lie thought it proper 
 still to confine him, yet having now a still greater opinion of his 
 virtue and prudence, he committed to him the management of 
 the whole prison, and so delivereil these two prisoners into his 
 custody. Pt/le- 
 
 5. — according lu the interpretation'^ That is, such as signified 
 the event which Joseph foretold, lip. Kidder. 
 
 15. — out o/'t/ic land of I he llebren:^ :"] Joseph might well call 
 that particular part of the land of C.inaan near Hebron, where 
 [saac and Jacob had resided so many years, " the lantl of the 
 Hebrews. " They, it is true, were not originally natives of the 
 countrj-, but they possessed such wealtl), such numerous families, 
 herds, and flocks, that they were looked up to as "mighty princes," 
 as appears from ttie language of the children of Heth to Abraham, 
 
 thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's (,hrTst 
 cup into his hand, after the former manner nis. 
 when thou wast his butler. 
 
 14 Butt think on nie when it shall be t"'^''- 
 well with thee, and shew kindness, 1 pray 'mcwiih" 
 thee, unto me, and make mention of me ""■''• 
 unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this 
 house : 
 
 1.5 For indeed I was stolen away out of 
 the land of the Hebrews : and here also 
 have I done nothing that they should put 
 me into the dungeon. 
 
 IG When the chief baker saw that the 
 interpretation was good, he said unto Jo- 
 seph, I also "was in my dream, and, behold, 
 / had three || white baskets on my head : I Or, . 
 
 17 And in the uppermost basket there ^" '^ 
 rcas of all manner tof bakemeats for Pha- ^^^\ 
 raoh ; and the birds did eat them out of 'pi"ar"w/i, 
 the basket upon my head. ;*^j;[:^;* f^ 
 
 18 And Joseph answered and said. This cook. 
 is the interpretation thereof: The three 
 baskets are three days : 
 
 19 Yet within tinee days .shall Pharaoh 
 
 lllift up thy head frum oiY thee, and shaH l!,,,"";;,,,^^ 
 hang thee on a tree : and the birds shall .nci cake 
 eat tliv flesh from off thee. p "*"•= 
 
 !20^ And It came to pass the tiurd day, 
 tchich -ivas Pharaoh's birthday, that he made 
 a feast unto all his servants : and he II lifted ij^*!:, 
 up the head of the chief butler and of the 
 chief baker amonsr his servants. 
 
 21 And he restored the chief butler unto 
 his butlership again ; and he gave the cup 
 into Pharaoh's hand : 
 
 22 But he hanged the chief baker : as 
 Joseph had interpreted to them. 
 
 23 Yet did not the chief butler remem- 
 ber Joseph, but forgat him. 
 
 CHAP. XLI. 
 
 1 rharnoh'.i two dream.';. 2.t Jo.ieph interpreteth them, 
 o'.i He givclh Pharaoh coun.scl. 'S8 Jo.ieph is ad- 
 
 Gen. xxiii. 6. We find them joining the neighbouring kings in 
 making war, chap, xiv ; making compacts and leagues even with 
 kings, chap. xxi. ■23, and chap. xxvi. 1 4 ; and even conquering 
 entire cities, chap, xxxiv ; living according to their own customs, 
 and exercising their own religion. It is therefore perfectly cre- 
 dible, that the place of their residence may have been termed 
 " the land of the Hebrews," as they had been there such a length 
 of time, independent, and in alliance with the natives. Dr. Graves. 
 2.3. Yet did nut — remember Joseph,'] Prosperity is very apt 
 to puff men up ; to incline them to vanity ; and to make them 
 overlook the concerns of other men. This we see in the instance 
 before us. The chief butler bestowed not one kind thought on 
 Joseph for fuU two years. He contented himself with following 
 his own pleasures, and enjoying the good fortune which had 
 befallen him ; whilst this innocent and extraordinary person was 
 left friendless in prison, and supported only by the o nsciousnes^ 
 of his iimocencc, and the favoiu- of his God. Bp. Conybeare, 
 
 reckoned.
 
 Pharaoh's fwo dreams. 
 
 CHAP. XLI. 
 
 Pilar aoh sendeth for Joseph. 
 
 A' 
 
 Before vanced. 50 He hegetlelh Manasseh and Ephraim. 54 
 
 CHRIST yAe famine besinnelk. 
 1715. -^ '^ 
 
 ND it came to pass at the end of two 
 full years, that Pharaoh dreamed : 
 and, behold, he stood by the river. 
 
 2 And, behold, there came up out of the 
 river seven well favoured kine and fatflesh- 
 ed ; and they fed in a meadow. 
 
 3 And, behold, seven other kine came 
 up after them out of the river, ill favoured 
 and leanfleshed ; and stood by the other 
 kine upon the brink of the river. 
 
 4 And the ill favoured and leanfleshed 
 kine did eat up the seven well favoured 
 and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. 
 
 5 And he slept and dreamed the second 
 time : and, behold, seven ears of corn came 
 
 t Hei»./u«. up upon one stalk, trank and good. 
 
 6 And, behold, seven thin ears and blast- 
 ed with the east wind sprung up after 
 them. 
 
 7 And the seven thin ears devoured the 
 seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh 
 awoke, and, behold, it 'was a dream. 
 
 8 And it came to pass in the morning 
 that his spirit was troubled ; and he sent 
 and called for all the magicians of Egypt, 
 and all the wise men thereof : and Pharaoh 
 told them his dream ; but there "was none 
 that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. 
 
 9 ^ Then spake the chief butler unto 
 Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults 
 this day : 
 
 10 Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, 
 and put me in ward in the captain of the 
 guard's house, both me and the chief baker : 
 
 1 1 And we dreamed a dream in one night, 
 I and he ; we dreamed each man according 
 to the interpretation of his dream. 
 
 12 And there was there with us a young 
 man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of 
 
 Chap. XLI. ver. 5. — seven ears of earn came up upon one 
 slalk,2 This is not an unusual and monstrous production, as it 
 has been often supposed to be. A species of wheat, which grows 
 in Egypt, actually bears, when perfect, this number of ears on one 
 stalk. The stem is solid, or at least full of pith, in order to yield 
 sufficient nourishment and support to so great a weight as the 
 ears it bears ; whereas the stem of our own wheat is a mere hol- 
 low straw. Fragments to Calmel. 
 
 6. — blasted with the east wind^ To this wind is ascribed 
 in Scripture all the mischief done to corn or fruit, by blasting, 
 smutting, mildews, locusts, &c. It was more pernicious in Egypt 
 than other places, because it came through the vast deserts of 
 Arabia. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. — the magicians'] Men who professed a skill in interpreting 
 dreams ; whether by natural observations, or by consulting de- 
 mons, or by the foohsh art of astrology, or by certain superstitious 
 characters, pictui'es, images, and figures, engraven with magical 
 rites and ceremonies, is uncertain. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 9- — I do remember my faults this day ;] His offences against Pha- 
 raoh; or moreprobably his ingratitudetowards Joseph. Bp. Patrick. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 the guard ; and we told him, and he ' in- before 
 terpreted to us our dreams; to each man ^"17^15.^'^ 
 according to his dream he did interpret. ' Chap. 4o. 
 
 13 And it came to pass, as he interpret- '^'*''- 
 ed to us, so it was ; me he restored unto 
 mine office, and him he hanged. 
 
 14 ^ •> Then Pharaoh sent and called ^'•'- '°^- 
 Joseph, and they t brought him hastily out t Heb. 
 of the dungeon : and he shaved himself, ^^ *'"* 
 and changed his raiment, and came in unto 
 Pharaoh. 
 
 15 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I 
 have dreamed a dream, and there is none 
 that can interpret it : and I have heard say 
 
 of thee, that \\ thou canst understand a ihen »a<,u 
 dream to interpret it. hearea > 
 
 16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, say- ca^ilut^- 
 ing. It is not in me : God shall give Pha- /""««'• 
 raoh an answer of peace. 
 
 17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In ray 
 dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of 
 the river : 
 
 18 And, behold, there came up out of 
 the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well 
 favoured ; and they fed in a meadow : 
 
 19 And, behold, seven other kine came 
 up after them, poor and very ill favoured 
 and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all 
 the land of Egypt for badness : 
 
 20 And the lean and the ill favoured 
 kine did eat up the first seven fat kine : 
 
 21 And when they had t eaten them up, „„, /, ^,, 
 it could not be known that they had eaten '"^^"''^ 
 them ; but they were still ill favoured, as at f/"^. 
 the beginning. So I awoke. 
 
 22 And I saw in my dream, and, be- 
 hold, seven ears came up in one stalk, fiUl 
 and good : 
 
 23 And, behold, seven ears, || withered, BOj. 
 thin, a)id blasted with the east wind, sprung 
 
 up after them : 
 
 13. — me he restored unto mine office,] He foretold that I should 
 be restored to mine office ; and he told the other he should be 
 hanged. Bp. Patrick. See the note on Jer. i. 10. 
 
 14. — otit of the dungeon :1 Where he was possibly minister- 
 ing to the prisoners committed to his charge. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 he shaved himself, &c.] It was the custom in most coun- 
 tries, when men were in a mournful condition, to neglect their 
 hair, both of the head and beard ; and not to shift their clothes 
 
 previously ascribed his skill in divination to its all-wise Giver ; 
 see chap. xl. 8. The instrument of any extraordinarj' action 
 ought not to arrogate that praise, which is due only to the author 
 of it. Even oiu- ordinary powers proceed from Go<l : and there- 
 fore, as we should do every thing to His glorj-, so, when we 
 have done it, we should ascribe our doing it to His power. Bp. 
 Conybearc. . 
 
 an answer of peace.l An answer that will be to lus sa- 
 tisfaction and the welfare of his kingdom. Dr. Wells. 
 
 N
 
 Joseph inlerpreteth Pharaoh's dreams. GENESIS. 
 
 Joseph is advanced. 
 
 B»f™-c oj. And tlio tliin ours ilc\oiircd the seven 
 17IJ. good ears: and 1 told this unto the niap^- 
 cians ; but there icas none that could de- 
 clare it to me. 
 
 '25 ^ And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The 
 dream of Pharaoh is one : God hath shewed 
 I'haraoh what he is about to do. 
 
 y() 'Hie seven good kine a?v seven years ; 
 atid the seven good ears are seven years : 
 the dream is one. 
 
 27 And the seven thin and ill favoured 
 kine that came up after them are seven 
 years ; and the seven empty ears blasted 
 with the east wind shall be seven years of" 
 famine. 
 
 '2S This is the thing which I have spoken 
 unto I'iiaraoii : AVhat God is about to do he 
 sheweth unto Pharaoh. 
 
 29 Behold, there come seven years of 
 
 freat plenty throughout all the land of 
 'gypt •• 
 
 30 And there shall arise after them se- 
 ven years of famine ; and all the plenty 
 shall be forgotten in the land of Eg}^t; 
 and the famine shall consume the land ; 
 
 31 And the plenty shall not be known 
 in the land by reason of that famine follow- 
 ing ; for it shall he very t grievous. 
 
 32 And for that the dream was doubled 
 unto Pliaraoh twice ; // is because the thing 
 is II established by God, and God will short- 
 ly bring it to pass. 
 
 33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out 
 a man tliscreet and wise, and set him over 
 the land of Egypt. 
 
 31- Let Pharaoh do this, and let him ap- 
 point II officers over the land, and take up 
 
 t Hcb. 
 htaty. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 pre/xired of 
 Cod. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 overtcers 
 
 25. — The dream of Pharaoh is one :'\ One and the same 
 thing is represented by two several figures. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 28. T/iis J.V the ihiiiir ii'hich 1 have spoken &c.] I have told the 
 king in short, what God is about to effect. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 29. — seven j/cars of great pleiit}/'] Tliis history of Joseph fore- 
 telling the seven years of plenty, and then seven years of famine, 
 and of Egypt preser\ed thereby, was remembered by the Egyp- 
 tians, and told by them to Trogiis Pompeius, out of whom Justin 
 recites it, though not naming Joseph's name. Dr. Walt. 
 
 30. — all the pleiiti/ shall l)e forgotten'] It shjill be as if it had 
 not been at all, by reason of tlu- succeeding famine. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 35. — gather all the food] Tile fifth part of the growth, as 
 before stated. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 36. — the land perish not] That is, the people of the land. 
 Bp. Patrick. ^ ^ 
 
 38. — a man in whom the Spirit of God is ?] Phar.ioh forms 
 this conclusion from the interpreUition which Josejih had given 
 of his dream ; com])are Dan. v. 1 1 ; as also from Joseph's words 
 before, ver. 16. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 40. — shall all 1111/ people he ruled :] In the margin it is kiss ; 
 as It signifie.s in the second Psalm, " kiss the Son," that is, sub- 
 mit to Him and obey Him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Bp. Pococke, when he describes the Egyptian compliments, tells 
 us, Uiat on i>ersons taking any thing from the hand of a sui)eriour, 
 or that IS sent from such an one, they kiss it, and as the highest 
 
 the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the ^S^^'^Il- 
 seven plenteous vears. 1715. 
 
 35 And let them gather all the food of 
 those good years that como, and lay up 
 corn inider the hand of Pharaoh, and let 
 them keep food in the cities. 
 
 3() And that food shall be for store to 
 the land against the seven years of famine, 
 which shall be in the land of Egypt ; that 
 the land t perish not through the famine. tHd. 
 
 37 ^ And the thing was good in the *^.""'"" 
 eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his 
 servants. 
 
 38 And Pharaoh said imto his servants. 
 Can we find such a one as this is, a man in 
 whom the Spirit of God is ? 
 
 39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, For- 
 asmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, 
 there is none so discreet and wise as thou 
 art : 
 
 40 ""Thou shalt be over my house, and 
 according unto thy word shall all my peo- 
 ple tbe ruled : only in the throne will I be 
 greater than thou. 
 
 41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I 
 have set thee over all the land of Egypt. 
 
 42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from 
 his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, 
 antl arrayed him in vestures of || fine linen, 
 and put a gold chain about his neck ; 
 
 43 And he made him to ride in the se- 
 cond chariot which he had ; and they cried 
 before him, lit Bow the knee : and he made 
 him 7'ukr over all the land of Egypt. 
 
 44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am 
 Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift 
 up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. 
 
 ' Psal. 10.?. 
 
 21. 
 
 1 Mac. 2. 
 
 53. 
 
 Acts 7. 10. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 firmed, or. 
 
 Itiss. 
 
 Or, .«•«. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Tender J^w 
 titer. 
 t Hcb. 
 Abreeli. 
 
 respect put it to their foreheads. The same custom prevails in 
 other Eastern countries. Is not this what Pharaoh refers to in 
 this passage? " according unto thy word," or on account of tliy 
 word, "shall all my people kiss:" that is, 1 imagine, the orders 
 of Joseph were to be received with the greatest respect by all, 
 and kissed by the most illustrious princes of Egypt. Ilartner. 
 
 42. — took off his ring &c.] Both in token of the dignity to 
 which he was preferred, and that he might seal letters or patents 
 in tlie king's name. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 vestures of fine linen,] Not " silk," as in the margin ; nor 
 
 common linen ; but that which the ancients called IJyssus ; a 
 sort of linen very pure and soft, and very dear. In garments 
 made of this great men only were clothed ; kings themselves, it 
 appears by Solomon, being arrayc d in sucli vestures. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 44.. — nithout thee shall no man lift up &C.3 No man shall 
 have power to do any thing without thy leave, at least not against 
 thy will. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 We have now followed Joseph to the lieiglit of his advance- 
 ment. We have seen him in all the several parts of his life vir- 
 tuous and religious ; patient and courageous under the greatest 
 misfortunes ; and modest and temperate in the greatest successes. 
 His virtue indeed had been for some time ill requited. He was 
 imprisoned by his master, for being just and faithful to him, in a 
 point, in which his peace and honour were in the greatest degree 
 concerned. Yet, tliough he suffered, his own innocence gave
 
 Manasseh and Ephraim horn. 
 
 CHAP. XLI. 
 
 'The famine beginnclh. 
 
 chrTst '^^ "^"^ Pharaoh called Joseph's name 
 
 1715. Zaphnath-paaneah ; and he gave him to 
 
 wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah 
 
 II P""' II priest of On. And Joseph went out over 
 all the land or Ji^gypt. 
 
 about 1715. 46 ^ And Joseph was thirty years old 
 when he stood before Pharaoh king of 
 Egypt. And Joseph went out from the 
 presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout 
 all the land of Egypt. 
 
 47 And in the seven plenteous years the 
 earth brought forth by handfuls. 
 
 48 And he gathered up all the food of 
 the seven years, which were in the land of 
 Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities : 
 the food of the field, which was round about 
 every city, laid he up in the same. 
 
 49 And Joseph gathered corn as the sand 
 of the sea, very much, until he left num- 
 bering ; for it was without number. 
 
 ■i ciiap. 4c. 50 '' And unto Joseph were born two 
 20. & 48. 5. gQj^g before the years of famine came, 
 
 which Asenath the daughter of Poti-phe- 
 li 9^- rah II priest of On bare unto him. 
 abouU7i2. 51 And Joseph called the name of the 
 II That is, firstborn || Manasseh : For God, said he. 
 Forgetting, hath made me forget all my toil, and all 
 
 my father's house. 
 
 him some comfort, and the Spirit of God greater. He resigned 
 himself up entirely to the Divine will ; as knowing, that whatever 
 happens, it wiU " work togetlier for good to them that love God." 
 The Divine workings are indeed many times to us unsearchable ; 
 but they are always managed by infinite goodness and wisdom. 
 Joseph trusted in God ; who not only delivered him from tlie 
 prison, where he had been confined, but at once advanced him to 
 be first minister to the king of Egypt. Such was the reward of 
 his piety ! And thus was it done to that person, whom the Lord 
 delighted to honour. Bp. Cunybeare. 
 
 45. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name &c.] It was an ancient 
 custom among Eastern princes, on their promotion of a favourite, 
 to give him a new name. Thus Nebuchadnezzar did to Daniel 
 and his companions in Babylon : and to this day the Mogul never 
 advances a man, without giving him a new name, significant of 
 something belonging to him. Joseph's new name signified a rc- 
 vealcr of secrets ; or, more probably, a prime minister, or, tlie 
 prince of lords. Stack-house. 
 
 priest of Oh.] Or "prince" of On, as in the margin; 
 
 for the original word signifies both priest and prince. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. On among the Egyptians signifies the sun. Hence the 
 city On was uniformly rendered Heliopolis, or the city of the 
 sun. The authors of the Greek version call Poti-pheraii, priest 
 of HehopoHs. Bryant. 
 
 And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.~\ To see 
 
 what places were fittest for stores. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 As soon as Joseph was invested with full power over the do- 
 minions of Pharaoli, he immediately took a survey of the land, 
 and entered on proper measures to discharge the office he had 
 undertaken. He did not consider his advancement, as intendetl 
 merely to give him a figure, and to gratify his own pride and 
 vanity. He knew tiiat this was intended for the publick good ; 
 to enable him to do some general service ; and to preserve life. 
 This is indeed the design of Providence, whenever a person is 
 advanced to any station of figure and fortune. And consequently 
 men should consider, that the more they enjoy, they are accouijt- 
 
 52 And the name of the second called ^^°"' 
 he II Ephraim : For God hath caused me to S)"f m?! 
 be fruitful in the land of my affliction. u That is 
 
 5S ^ And the seven years of plenteous- ^"'^•f'^- 
 ness, that was in the land of Egypt, were 
 ended. nos. 
 
 54 " And the seven years of dearth began ' PsaL 105. 
 to come, according as Joseph had said : and '^' 
 
 the dearth was in all lands ; but in all the 
 land of Egypt there was bread. 
 
 55 And when all the land of Egypt was 
 famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for 
 bread : and Pharaoh said unto all the 
 Egyptians, Go unto Joseph ; what he saith 
 to you, do. 
 
 5Q And the famine was over all the face 
 of the earth : And Joseph opened t all the t Heb. 
 storehouses, and sold unto the Egj^tians ; ^as" ""'* 
 and the famine waxed sore in the land of 
 Egypt. 
 
 57 And all countries came into Egypt 
 to Joseph for to buy com ; because that 
 the famine was so sore in all lands. 
 
 CHAP. XLH. 
 
 1 Jacob sendeth his ten sons to buy corn in Egypt- l6 
 They are imprisoned by Joseph for spies. 1 8 Theij 
 are set at liberty, on condition to bring Benjamin- 
 
 able for so much the more ; and, as they are capable of doing 
 the more good, so by neglecting these opportunities they expose 
 themselves to tlie greater pimishments. Bp. Conyhcarc. 
 
 51. — forset all my toil, and all my fathers hou.<ie.'\ God did 
 for certain purposes order it so ; or' else it might be counted a 
 wonder, that in all this time he did not send to his father. 
 Dr. Wall. 
 
 57. And all countries came into Egypt to Jo-ieph"} The history 
 of Joseph is a strong and plain example of t!ie circuitous provi- 
 dence of God ; that is to say, of His bringing about the ends and 
 purposes of His pro\ idence, by seemingly casual and unsuspected 
 means. That is a high doctrine, both of natural and revealed 
 religion ; and is clearly exemplified in this history. It is an useful 
 example, at the same time, of the protection and final reward of 
 virtue, though for a season oppressed and caliminiated, or carried 
 througli a long series of distresses and misfortunes. I say it is an 
 useful example, if duly understood, and not urged too far. It 
 shows the protection of Providence to be with virtue under all 
 its difficulties ; and this being believed upon good grounds, it is 
 enough: for the virtuous man will be assured, that this protection 
 will keep him in and through all stages of his existence : living 
 and dying he is in its h.ands ; and for the same reason thai it 
 accompanies him, like an invisible guardian, tliroiigh his trials, it 
 will finally recompense liim. This is the true application of that 
 doctrine of a directing Providence, which is illustrated by the 
 history of Joseph, as \t relates to om-selves : I mean as it relates 
 to those, wlio are looking forward to a future state. It we draw 
 from it an opinion, or an expectation, that, beamse Joseph was 
 at length rewarded with riches and honours, thereture we shall 
 be the same, we carrv the example f;u-ther than it will bear. It 
 proves that virtue is under the jirotection of G(k1, and will ulti- 
 mately be taken care of, and re^^■arded : but in what manner, and 
 in what stage of our existence, wiiether in the present, or the 
 future, or in both, is left open by Uie example : and both may 
 and must depend upon reasons, in a great measure unknown to 
 and incalculable by us. Archdeacon Palcy. 
 ' N2
 
 Jacob sendeth his ten sons 
 
 Bifore 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 to buy com in Egypt. 
 
 o\ The}) have remortefor Joseph. 24 Simeon is kepi 
 
 :hRIST fgj. „ platge. 25 They return tvith com, nnd their 
 
 '"°"' 'moneu. 20 Ttieir relation to Jacuh. 3(» Jacob re- 
 
 money. 29 
 J'meth to send Benjamin. 
 
 'Act»7.12. I^T 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 OW when ' Jacob saw that there was 
 _ corn in EgApt, Jacob said unto his 
 8ons, Why do ye look one upon another ? 
 
 'i And he said, Behold, I have heard 
 that there is corn in Egypt : get you down 
 thither, and buy for us from thence ; that 
 we may live, and not die. 
 
 S % And Joseph's ten brethren went 
 downi to buy corn in Egypt. 
 
 4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob 
 sent not with his brethren ; for he said, Lest 
 peradventure mischief befall him. 
 
 5 And the sons of Israel came to buy 
 corn among those that came: for the fa- 
 mine was in the land of Canaan. 
 
 G And Joseph xvas the governor over 
 the land, and he it was that sold to all the 
 people of the land : and Joseph's brethren 
 came, and bowed down themselves before 
 him Xi-it/i tiieir faces to the earth. 
 
 7 And Jose])!! saw his brethren, and he 
 knew them, but made himself strange unto 
 
 . , ,. . them, and spake t roughly unto them ; and 
 
 Manl things ' r -.iti *^ a i 
 
 inih them, he saul unto them, \V lience come ye ? And 
 they said, From the land of Canaan to buy 
 food. 
 
 8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but 
 they knew not him. 
 
 •Chap. 37. 9 And Joseph ''remembered the dreams 
 *• whicli he dreamed of them, and said unto 
 
 tlieni, Ye are spies ; to see the nakedness 
 
 of the land ye are come. 
 
 Chap. XLII. ver. 1. — Tvhen Jacob sant &c.] The Scripture 
 sometimes puts seeing for hearing. " All the people satv the 
 thunderings," Exod. xx. 18. And so here, when Jacob satv, 
 that is, when Jacob heard, as it is expressed Acts vii. 12. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 6. — bowed down themselves before him'^ By so doing, they 
 unwittingly fulfilled his dream. Gen. xxxvii. 7, &c. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 7. — and spake roughly unto ihcm ;] This was the properest 
 way of bringing them to a sense of their sin against him ; and it 
 liad that effect. Bp. WiLmn. 
 
 9- — If are spies ,] These words were not spoken by way of 
 affirmation, but of probation or trial : such as judges use, when 
 they examine suspected persons, or inquire into a crime, of which 
 men are accused. And therefore they have the force of an inter- 
 rogation. Are ye not spies .' Or, I must take you for spies, till ye 
 prove the contrary. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 To conceive the full force and helnousness of this charge, it is 
 necessary to state briefly the situation of Egypt at this time. In 
 the reign of Timaus or Thamuz, Egj'pt had been invaded and 
 sulxlued by a tribe of Cushite shepherds from Arabia, who cruelly 
 enslaved the whole country, under a dynasty of six kings, until, 
 at length, the native princes, weary of their tyranny, rebelled, and 
 after a long war of thirty years shook off" the yoke, and expelled 
 the shepherds to Palestine, where they became the Philistines, 
 about twenty-seven years before Joseph's administration. But 
 
 Before 
 
 10 And they said unto him, Nay, my ^j^jst 
 lord, but to buy food are thy servants no?, 
 come. 
 
 1 1 We are all one man's sons ; we are 
 true men, thy servants are no s])ies. 
 
 12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to 
 see the nakedness of the land ye are come. 
 
 13 And they said, Thy servants are 
 twelve brethren, the sons of one man in 
 the land of Canaan ; and, behold, the 
 youngest is this day with our father, and 
 one is not. 
 
 14 And Joseph said unto them. That is 
 it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are 
 sjjies : 
 
 15 Hereby ye shall be proved : By the 
 life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, 
 except your youngest brother come hither. 
 
 IG Send one of you, and let him fetch 
 your brother, and ye shall be t kept in l^^- 
 prison, that your words may be proved, 
 whether thei'e be any truth in you : or else 
 by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. 
 
 17 And he tput them all together into fHeb. 
 ward three days. gathered. 
 
 18 And Joseph said unto them the third 
 day. This do, and live ; for I fear God : 
 
 19 If ye be true men, let one of your 
 brethren be bound in the house of your 
 prison : go ye, carry corn for the famine of 
 your houses : 
 
 20 But ' bring your youngest brother '^ chap. 13. 
 unto me ; so shall your words be verified, 
 
 and ye shall not die. And they did so. 
 
 21 ^ And they said one to another, We 
 are verily guilty concerning our brother, in 
 
 the memory of their tyranny was still fresh in the minds of the 
 Egyptians, so that " everj' shepherd was an abomination unto tlie 
 Egyptians," Gen. xlvi. 34. And they could not endure to " eat 
 bread with the Hebrews," because they were sheplierds, and came 
 from the neighbourhood of Palestine. Dr. Hales. 
 
 to see the nakedness of the laniF^ The weakest and most 
 
 undefended places. Egypt was most liable to incursions on the 
 side towards Canaan, whence Joseph's brethren came. On other 
 sides it was secured by large deserts and shallow seas. Bp. Kidder, 
 Stackhouse. 
 
 1 1 . We are all one man's sons ;] And no man would send all 
 his sons on so dangeroiis an enterprise. Nor was it probable that 
 one man could have a design on Egypt, but all tjie great men of 
 Canaan must have joined in it ; and then they would have sent 
 men of diff'erenl families. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 13. — and one is not.'] He is dead. So they thought, having^ 
 heard nothing of Joseph for twenty years. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 17- — into ward three days.'] He made them taste for three 
 days the sufferings he had undergone for three years ; and pro- 
 bably in the ^ery same state prison. Dr. Hales. 
 
 18. — for I fo-ar God:] I know there is a God, who will pu- 
 nish all injustice and cruelty ; therefore ye may expect justice 
 from me. Bps. Patrick and Wilson. 
 
 21. — We arc verily guilty concerning our brother, &c.] Under 
 the direction of that blessed Spirit, whose office, we are told, it 
 is to " convince or convict the world of sin," such conviction is
 
 Tliey are imprisoned as spies. 
 
 CHAP. XLII, XLIII. 
 
 Their relation of it to Jacob. 
 
 chrTst ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ anguish of his soul, when 
 1707. he besought us, and we would not hear; 
 therefore is this distress come upon us. 
 
 22 And Reuben answered them, saying, 
 * Chap. 37. '' Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin 
 -'• against the child ; and ye would not hear ? 
 
 therefore, behold, also his blood is required. 
 
 23 And they knew not that Joseph un- 
 t Heb. derstood them ; for t he spake unto them 
 ;"«'as by an interpreter. 
 
 between 24 Aud lie tumcd himself about from 
 
 ''"' them, and wept ; and returned to them 
 
 again, and communed with them, and took 
 
 from them Simeon, and bound him before 
 
 their eyes. 
 
 25 ^ Then Joseph commanded to fill 
 their sacks with corn, and to restore every 
 man's money into his sack, and to give 
 them provision for the way : and thus did 
 he unto them. 
 
 26 And they laded their asses with the 
 corn, and departed thence. 
 
 27 And as one of them opened his sack 
 to give his ass provender in the inn, he 
 espied his money ; for, behold, it zms in 
 his sack's mouth. 
 
 28 And he said unto his brethren. My 
 money is restored ; and, lo, it is even in my 
 
 t Htb. sack : and their heart t failed them, and 
 wentforth. ^^yQy ^fi,eTe afraid, saying one to another. 
 
 What is this that (xod hath done unto 
 
 us? 
 
 29 IF And they came unto Jacob their 
 father unto the land of Canaan, and told 
 him all that befell unto them ; saying, 
 
 30 The man, rvho is the lord of the land, 
 fHeb. spake t roughly to us, and took us for spies 
 withushard of the couutry. 
 
 ""««*• 2 J ^^^^ ^,g g^jjj ^jj^|.Q jjjjjj^ -yy-g gj^g ^J.^^Q 
 
 men ; we are no spies : 
 
 produced by various means ; by disappointments, by crosses, by 
 ksses, by sickness, by the death of a friend, by a passage in Scrip- 
 ture, or a discourse upon one, by the incidents of common life, or 
 the changes that happen in the natural world : in short, there is 
 hardly a circumstance of so trivial a nature, but that a kind Provi- 
 dence, in some instance or other, has been pleased to make it in- 
 strumental to this salutary purpose. On the brethren of Joseph, 
 after an interval of more than twenty years, the conviction was 
 wrought by tlie usage they experienced from him, when unknown, 
 in Egypt. It put them upon reflecting, of what offence they 
 could have been guilty in the former part of life, which might de- 
 serve to be punished in this particular manner. Conscience 
 stepped forth, and gave the necessary information, " We are ve- 
 rily guilty concerning our brother : therefore is this distress come 
 upon us." Bp. Home. 
 
 24. And lie turned himself about from them, and wept ;] Human 
 nature is ever uniform ; and the gi-eater passions, such as those 
 of friendship and natural affection, shew themselves to be the same 
 at all times. Of tliis we have an instance in that amiable domes- 
 tick story of Joseph. This Patriarch had been cruelly injured by 
 
 32 We he twelve brethren, sons of our ^^'"'^ 
 father; one is not, and the youngest is this ^"m" 
 day with our father in the land of Canaan. 
 
 33 And the man, the lord of the coun- 
 try, said unto us. Hereby shall I know that 
 ye are true men ; leave one of your bre- 
 thren here with me, and take food for the 
 famine of your housholds, and be gone : 
 
 34 And bring your youngest brother 
 unto me : then shall I know that ye are no 
 spies, but that ye are true men : so will I 
 deliver you your brother, and ye shall traf- 
 fick in the land. 
 
 35 ^ And it came to pass as they emp- 
 tied their sacks, that, behold, every man's 
 bundle of money was in his sack : and 
 when both they and their father saw the 
 bundles of money, they were afraid. 
 
 36 And Jacob their father said unto 
 them. Me have ye bereaved (fjt^y children .- 
 Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye 
 will take Benjamin aivai/ : all these things 
 are against me. 
 
 37 And Reuben spake unto his father, 
 saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him 
 not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and 
 I will bring him to thee again. 
 
 38 And he said, My son shall not go 
 down with you ; for his brother is dead, 
 and he is left alone : if mischief befall him 
 by the way in the which ye go, then shall 
 ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow 
 to the grave. 
 
 CHAP. XLHI. 
 
 1 Jacob is hardly persuaded to send Benjamin. 15 Jo., 
 seph entcrlainelh his hrethren. HI He maheth Ihem a 
 feast. 
 
 AND the famine "was sore in the land. 
 2 And it came to pass, when they 
 
 his brethren. Providence at length put them into his power; 
 and, in just resentment of their inhuman usage, he thought fit to 
 mortify and humble them : but no sooner did he find them begin 
 to be unhappy, than his anger subsided, violated affection return- 
 ed, and he melted into their bosoms with all the tenderness of a 
 fellow-sufferer. This was nature: this was Iiistory. Bp. War- 
 burton. 
 
 took from Ihem Simeon,'} Reuben, who was the eldest, 
 
 had resolved to save Joseph ; and, Judali also being inclined to 
 favom- him, had Simeon joined with them, their authority might 
 have prevailed for his deliverance. Simeon was the eldest of 
 those, who had proposed to murder him, and was therefore a fit 
 proxy for the rest: the man, as the Hebrews say, who put Joseph 
 into the pit, and was now verj- justly served in his kind. Slack- 
 house. 
 
 28. —and their heart failed Ihem, &c.] Their giult made them 
 afraid; otherwise they would have rejoiced. But aU things terrify 
 an evil conscience. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 38, _ f,e is left alone:'] The only child of Rachel, as Jacob 
 supposed. Bp. Kidder.
 
 Jacob sendeth Benjamin. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Joseph entertaineth his brethren. 
 
 Bi-forc 
 CHUIST 
 
 1707. 
 
 I Hcb. pro- 
 leiting he 
 /rroletud. 
 
 ' Cl>»p. 42. 
 20. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 Hiking he 
 a tied lu. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 mouilt. 
 fHeb. 
 
 knuunng 
 cituld vje 
 huw. 
 
 * CliBp. 44. 
 33. 
 
 »Or, 
 twice III/ this. 
 
 had eaten up the corn whicli tliey hail 
 brought out of Kgvpt, thrir father said 
 unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. 
 
 3 And Judah spake unto him, saying. 
 The man tilid solennily protest unto us, 
 saying. Ye >liall not see my face, except 
 your 'brother l>e with you. 
 
 4 If thou wilt .send our brother with us, 
 y/e will go down and buy thee food : 
 
 5 But if thou wilt not send him, we 
 will not go down : for the man said unto 
 us, Ye shall not see my face, except your 
 brother i/e with you. 
 
 And Israel said, Wlierefore dealt ye 
 so ill with me, as to tell the man whether 
 ye had yet a brother? 
 
 7 And they said. The man t asked us 
 straitly of our state, and of our kindred, 
 saying. Is your father yet alive? ha\e ye 
 another brother ? and we told him accord- 
 ing to the t tenor of these words : t could 
 we certainly know that he woidd say, Bring 
 your brother down ? 
 
 8 And Judah said unto Israel his father, 
 Send the lad with me, and we will arise and 
 go ; that we may live, and not die, both 
 we, and thou, and also our little ones. 
 
 9 I will be surety for him ; of my hand 
 shalt thou require him : "^ if I bring him 
 not unto tliee, and set him before thee, 
 then let me bear the blame tor ever : 
 
 10 For except we had lingered, surely 
 now we had returned II this second time. 
 
 11 And their father Israel said unto 
 them. If /7 must be so now, do this; take of 
 the best fruits in the land in your vessels, 
 and carry down the man a present, a little 
 balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, 
 nuts, and almonds : 
 
 12 And take double money in your 
 hand ; and the money that was brought 
 again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it 
 
 Chap. XLIII. ver. 5. — wc mill not go cimni ;] It would have 
 bctii to no purpose ; and would also have endangered their lives. 
 Bi,. Patrick: 
 
 8. — iSi-ud Ihf hid n'tlh me^ He was the youngest of Jacob's 
 sons, and mij^ht thiTcfbri' be c.-illeil the .1/"""^' '""« by those of 
 Jacob's family : though he w.is at this time the father of several 
 children. Tlie Hebrew word implies, not a stripling, but only a 
 young man. lip. KidtUr. See the note on Jer. i. 6. 
 
 10. — except lie had lingered, \c.] If thou hadst not hindered 
 US by these scruples about Benjamin, we had been there and at 
 home again by tiiis time. lip. Patrick. 
 
 11 a Utile balm,'] The l)ahn of Gilead was of great price all 
 
 the world over, and a small quantity was a present worth accept- 
 ance. .Slackhuiisi: 
 
 — — AoHpy,] P'or which this country was famous : and there- 
 fore it was a fit present for a king, as we see in tlic etorj' of David, 
 2 Sam. xvii. 29. Bp. Patrick: Honey was fomurly the only sweet- 
 ener in use, like our sugar: its value consequently was then greater 
 than It is now : it was also a delicacy. Scri^)!. illusl. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1707. 
 
 II Or, yttid 
 I, as J tiave 
 been, ^c. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 icitt ti Jiilling. 
 t Heb. 
 eat. 
 
 again in your hand ; peradventure it was 
 an oversight : 
 
 13 Take also your brother, and arise, go 
 again unto the man : 
 
 14 And God Almighty give you mercy 
 before the man, that he may send away 
 your other brother, and Benjamin. || If I 
 be bereaved ofmij children, 1 am bereaved. 
 
 15 1[ And the men took that present, and 
 they took double money in their hand, and 
 Benjamin ; and rose uj), and went down to 
 Egypt, and stood before Joseph. 
 
 IG And when Joseph saw Benjamin with 
 them, he said to the ruler of his house. Bring 
 these men home, and tslay, and make ready; 
 for these men shall t dine with me at noon. 
 
 17 And the man did as Joseph bade ; 
 and the man brought the men into Jo- 
 seph's house. 
 
 18 And the men were afraid, because 
 they were brought into Joseph's house ; 
 and they said, Because of the money that 
 was returned in our sacks at the first time 
 are we brought in ; that he may t seek oc- 
 casion against us, and fall upon us, and 
 take us for bondmen, and our asses. 
 
 19 And they came near to the steward 
 of Joseph's house, and they communed 
 with him at the door of the house, 
 
 20 And said, O sir, ' t we came indeed 
 down at the first time to buy food : 
 
 21 And it came to pass, when we came 
 to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, 
 behold, every man's money "was in the 
 mouth of his sack, our money in fuU 
 weight : and we have brought it again in 
 our hand. 
 
 22 And other money have we brought 
 down in our hands to buy food : we cannot 
 tell who put our money in our sacks. 
 
 23 And he said, Peace be to you, fear 
 not : your God, and the God of your fa- 
 
 mits,~\ Such as we call pistachioes. Bp. Patrick. The 
 
 pistachioes of Syria are the best in the world. Sir J. Chardin. 
 
 14. — If 1 be bereaved Sic.'] Having taken this course, I en- 
 tirely commit the success to God, and refer myself to Him. Be 
 it now as it will : " If 1 be bereaved, I am bereaved." See the 
 like expression, Esth. iv. 16, " If I perish, I perish." Bp. Kid- 
 der. 
 
 18. And the men were afraid, &c.]] They who have not show- 
 ed mercy iu-e very apt to believe they shall receive none. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 23. — Peace be to you,"] The Bedoweens retain a great many 
 of the customs and manners we read of in sacred as well as pro- 
 fane history: l>eing, except in tlieir religion, the same people they 
 were two or three thousand years ago. Upon meeting one an- 
 other they still use the primitive salutation, " Peace be unto you;" 
 though tiiey have made it a religious compliment, as if they said. 
 Be in a .state of .lalvatiim. Dr. Sham. 
 
 //o«r God, and the God of your father, &C.3 This steward 
 
 had learnt of Joseph the knowledge of the true God, and would 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 rott himself 
 ■ujion us. 
 
 ' Chap. 42. 
 
 3. 
 
 + Heb. 
 
 coming 
 (loivn we 
 came dawn.
 
 and maketh them a feast. 
 
 CHAP. XLIII, XLIV. 
 
 Joseph stayeth his brethren. 
 
 chrTst ^^^^^' '^^^''' given you treasure in your sacks: 
 1707. 1 1 had your money. And he brought Si- 
 fHeb. meon out unto them. 
 ZZeToZi 24 And the man brought the men into 
 
 Chap. IS. Joseph's house, and ''gave them water, and 
 24.32. ^j^gy washed their feet; and he gave their 
 asses provender. 
 
 25 And they made ready the present a- 
 gainst Joseph came at noon : for they heard 
 that they should eat bread there. 
 
 26 ^ And when Joseph came home, they 
 brought him the present whicli "was in their 
 hand into the house, and bowed themselves 
 to him to the earth. 
 
 t Heb. 27 And he asked them of their t welfare, 
 
 t'^iieb. ^^^ ?idi\d, \Is your father well, the old man 
 Is there of whom yc spake ? Is he yet alive ? 
 ^ymrfL ^8 Aud they answered. Thy servant our 
 
 ther? father is in good health, he is yet alive. 
 
 And they bowed down their heads, and 
 
 made obeisance. 
 
 29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw 
 liis bi'other Benjamin, his mother's son, and 
 said. Is this yoiu- younger brother, of whom 
 ye spake unto me? And he said, God be 
 gracious unto thee, my son. 
 
 30 And Joseph made haste ; for his 
 bowels did yern upon his brother : and he 
 sought where to weep ; and he entered in- 
 to his chamber, and wept there. 
 
 31 And he washed his face, and went 
 out, and refrained himself, and said. Set 
 on bread. 
 
 h.ave these men acknowledge God's providence in what had be- 
 fallen them. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 28. — Till/ servant our father &c.] Thus Jacob by his sons 
 paid homage to Joseph ; and so was fulfilled that part of the 
 dream, which related to him, Gen. xxxvii. 10. Bps. Patrick and 
 Kidder. 
 
 29. — God he gracious unto thee, my tow.] He blessed him, as 
 superiours were wont to do to those below them : calling them 
 sons, with reference to themselves as fathers of the country. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 32. — because the Egyptians might not eat &c.] See the note 
 above from Dr. Hales, on chap. xlii. 9- 
 
 33. — the men marvelled one at another.'} That tliey should 
 be so exactly disposed according to the order of their birth ; and 
 so kindly treated by one, who had lately used them so roughly. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3'i. And he took and sent messes &c.] The ancient manner of 
 eating was, for every one to have one or more dishes to himself. 
 Tlie whole of these dishes were set before tlie master of the feast, 
 and he distributed to every one his portion. As a mark of par- 
 ticular esteem for Benjamin, Joseph sent him five dishes to the 
 others' one ; or five times as much meat in his mess, as in one of 
 their's. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 In Persia, Arabia, and the Indies, a carver parts each dish, 
 which is set before the master of the house, or the principal guest, 
 or in the middle of the hall, into as many portions, put into dif- 
 ferent plates, as there are people to eat. The great men of the 
 state are always by themselves in the feasts that are made for 
 them, and have a greater profusion ; their part of each kind of 
 provision being always double, treble, or a larger proportion of 
 
 32 And they set on for him by himself, B^"« 
 and for them by themselves, and for the ^"7^.^'' 
 Egyptians, which did eat with him, by 
 themselves: because the Egyptians might 
 
 not eat bread with the Hebrews ; for that 
 is an abomination unto the Egyptians. 
 
 33 And they sat before him, the first- 
 born according to his birthright, and the 
 youngest according to his youth : and the 
 men marvelled one at another. 
 
 34 And he took a7id sent messes unto 
 them from before him : but Benjamin's 
 mess was five times so much as any of 
 their's. And they drank, and were t merry f Hcb. 
 with him. """ "'' 
 
 Ittey drank 
 largelj/. 
 
 CHAP. XLIV. 
 
 1 Joseph's policy to .ttay his brethren. 14 Judah's hum- 
 ble supplication to Joseph. 
 
 ND he commanded tthe steward oft Heb. 
 
 A 
 
 his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks 
 
 him tliat 
 
 rvtth rood, as much as they can carry, and a« ttmue. 
 put every man's money in his sack's mouth. 
 
 2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the 
 sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn 
 money. And he did according to the word 
 that Joseph had spoken. 
 
 3 As soon as the morning was light, the 
 men were sent away, they and their asses. 
 
 4 And when they were gone out of the 
 city, and not i/et far off, Joseph said unto 
 his steward, Up, follow after the men ; and 
 when thou dost overtake them, say unto 
 
 each kind of meat. As for Benjamin's mess being five times as 
 much as any of his brethren's, it may be understood to mean, that 
 he had five times as much of every thing as they ; or that the 
 vessel, in which he was served, was five times larger: but the first 
 notion agrees best with the customs and manners of the East. 
 Sir J. Chardin. 
 
 Chap. XLIV. ver. 1. — Fill the men's sacks nithfood,'] There 
 are two sorts of sacks, noticed in the history of Joseph, which 
 ought not to be confounded : one for the com, the other for the 
 baggage, &c. Tlu-ough all Asia, as far as to the Indies, every 
 thing is carried «i)on beasts of burden, in sacks of wool, covered 
 in the middle witli leather, down to the bottom, tlie better to re- 
 sist water. They inclose in them their things, done up in large 
 parcels. Of this kind of sacks we are to understand what is said 
 here, and tlu-ough this history ; and not of the sacks in whidi 
 they carried their corn. Otherwise we must believe that each of 
 the Patriarchs carried but one sack of corn out of Egjiit, whicli 
 is not reasonable. The present text confinus this remark ; for 
 Joseph ordered the steward to fill the sacks with victuals as mucli^ 
 as they could hold ; wliich jiresupposcs they were not ftiU of 
 corn. Another proof is in chaj). xlii. 27, " One of them opened 
 his sack to give Ins ass provender in the inn :" for if this sack 
 had been a sack of wheat, it would follow, that tliey gave their 
 beasts of burden wheat for foml, which is not at all probable. 
 Sir J. Chardin. 
 
 2. put mil cup, &c.] Joseph, having before honoiu-cd Ben- 
 
 jamin, now tries the temper of his brethren, whether moved willi 
 envy they would give him up, or help him in his tlanger. Bp. 
 Kidder.
 
 Joseph's cup found in Benjamin's sack. GENESIS. 
 
 Judah's humble supplication. 
 
 »«'<"» them. Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for 
 CHRIST ,\ •' 
 
 1707. good r 
 
 5 /* not this // in wliicli my lord drink- 
 g Or. eth, and whereby indeed lie !l divineth ? ye 
 mattih hsixe doiic evil in so doing. 
 *" ■ Gf And he overtook tliem, and he spake 
 
 unto them tliese same words. 
 
 7 And they said unto him, Wherefore 
 saith my lord these words? God forbid that 
 thy servants should do according to this 
 thing : 
 
 8 Behold, the money, which we found 
 in our sacks' mouths, we brought again 
 unto thee out of the land of Canaan : how 
 then should we steal out of thy lord's 
 house silver or gold ? 
 
 9 With wliomsoever of thy servants it be 
 found, both let him die, and we also will 
 be my lord's bondmen. 
 
 10 And he said, Now also let it be ac- 
 cording unto your words: he with whom 
 it is found shall be my servant ; and ye 
 shall be blameless. 
 
 1 1 Then they speedily took dowTi every 
 man his sack to the ground, and opened 
 every man his sack. 
 
 12 And he searched, and began at the 
 eldest, and left at the youngest : and the 
 cup was found in Benjamin's sack. 
 
 13 Then they rent their clothes, and 
 laded every man his ass, and returned to 
 the city. 
 
 14 ^ And Judah and his brethren came 
 to Joseph's house ; tor he av/.s yet there : 
 and they fell before him on the ground. 
 
 15 And Joseph said unto them, WlMit 
 deed is this that ye lia\e done ? wot ye not 
 that such a man as I can certainly || divine? 
 
 16 And Judah said, What shall we say 
 unto my lord? what shall we speak? or 
 how shall we clear ourselves? God hath 
 found out the iniquity of thy servants : 
 behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, 
 and he also with whom the cup is found. 
 
 5. — ivhcrchi) — he dtiineth?'^ This does not signify that .lo- 
 scph practisctl divination, nor does his steward say that he did ; 
 but only asks such a question, as might make them think he did. 
 For being a known interjjrctcr of dreams, people perha])s thought 
 he wa-s skilled in the arts of divination. But the worti, rendered 
 " divineth," sometimes signifies no more than to make an cjrperi- 
 mcnt, as in the words of Laban, chap. xxx. 27. The meaning 
 then may be, Might you not have considered, that my master 
 made a trial, (so we interpret it in the margin,) by laying this 
 in your way, whether you were honest men or thieves.'' Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 The verse m.iy be rendered, " Why have ye stolen the cup, in 
 which my lord drinketh.' He indeed hath conjectured rightly 
 concerning it, and you have done wickedly." The verb, rendered 
 " divineth," signifies, not only auguries, but conjecture : and the 
 ori^nal admits of an ap)>lication not only to the instrument, 
 M'hich one uses, but also to the subject, concerning which any 
 
 II Or, 
 make trial. 
 
 17 And he said, God forbid that I should j-^^YsT 
 do so : but the man in whose hand the cup 1707. 
 
 is found, he shall be my servant; and as for 
 you, get you up in peace unto your father. 
 
 18 i[ Then Judah came near unto him, 
 and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I 
 pray thee, speak a word in my lord's cars, 
 and let not thine anger burn against thy 
 servant : for thou art even as Pharaoh. 
 
 19 My lord asked his servants, saying. 
 Have ye a father, or a brother ? 
 
 20 And we said unto my lord. We have 
 a father, an old man, and a child of his old 
 age, a little one ; and his brother is dead, 
 and he alone is left of his mother, and his 
 father loveth him. 
 
 21 And thou saidst unto thy servants. 
 Bring him down unto me, that I may set 
 mine eyes upon him. 
 
 22 And we said unto my lord, The lad 
 cannot leave his father : for if he should 
 leave his father, his father would die. 
 
 23 And thou saidst unto thy servants, 
 
 * Except your youngest brother come down •ch»p.43. 
 with you, ye shall see my face no more. ^" 
 
 24 And it came to pass when we came 
 up unto thy servant my father, we told him 
 the words of my lord. 
 
 25 And our father said. Go again, and 
 buy us a little food. 
 
 26 And we said, We cannot go down : 
 if our youngest brother be with us, then 
 will we go down : for we may not see the 
 man's face, except our youngest brother be 
 with us. 
 
 27 And thy servant my father said unto us. 
 Ye know that my wife bare me two sons : 
 
 28 And the one went out from me, and 
 
 1 said, ''Surely he is torn in pieces; and I ''Ciiap.37. 
 saw him not since : 
 
 29 And if ye take this also from me, and 
 mischief befall him, ye shall bring down 
 my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. 
 
 30 Now therefore when I come to thy 
 
 thing is done, judged, or said. The steward means, that his lord 
 had made a certain conjecture concerning his cup, where it was ; 
 and the words of Joseph, ver. 15, have the same meaning: " Wot 
 ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?" Knew ye not 
 that such a man as I could form a right conjecture .'' that is, that 
 I, who can interpret dreams and foretell future events, must be 
 able to form an immediate and true conjecture concerning all 
 things, and that therefore I sliould suspect you ? Houhigant. 
 
 1(). — God hath found out the iniqiiilii &c.] He ingenuously 
 acknowledges that he and his brethren had been guilty of many 
 sin», for which God had now brought them hither to suffer pu- 
 nishment. Vet he neither confesses this particular guilt, nor de- 
 nies it, nor excuses it ; but acknowledging God's justice, throws 
 himself and his brethren u])on Joseph's mercy. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 He meant their cruelty to Joseph, whom probably they now 
 named, and began afresh to reproach each other with, as in chap, 
 xlii. "il, &c. As Joscphus thinks. Pyk.
 
 Joseph maketh himself known CHAP. XLIV, XL^^ to his brethren, and comforteth tliem. 
 
 chrTst ^6'"^'^"^^ my father,' and the lad be not with 
 1707. us ; seeing that his life is bound up in the 
 lad's life ; 
 
 31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth 
 that the lad is not "with us, that he wiU die : 
 and thy servants shall bring down the gray 
 hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow 
 to the grave. 
 
 32 For thy servant became surety for 
 ^^ Chap. 43. the lad unto my father, saying, ' If I bring 
 
 him not unto thee, then I shall bear the 
 blame to my father for ever. 
 
 33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy 
 servant abide instead of the lad a bond- 
 man to my lord ; and let the lad go up 
 with his brethren. 
 
 34 For how shall I go up to my father, 
 and the lad be not with me? lest perad- 
 
 t Heb. venture I see the evil that shall t come on 
 fij^^^^j^yfi- my father. 
 
 CHAP. XLV. 
 
 1 Joseph mnlceih himself known to his brethren. 5 He 
 corriforteth them in God's providence. 9 He sendeth 
 for his father. l6 Pharaoh confirmeth it. 21 Jo- 
 seph fumishelh tke?n for their journey, and exhorieth 
 ihem to concord, 25 Jacc^ is revived milk the news. 
 
 THEN Joseph could not refrain him- 
 self before all them that stood by 
 him ; and he cried. Cause every man to 
 
 33. — let thy servant abide &c.] Thus God makes use of af- 
 flictions, to humble us, and bring us to a sense of our sins ; and 
 we see their power in this very instance. He who could not en- 
 dure Joseph, because he was dear to his father, is willing, for the 
 very same reason, to becoma a bond-slave for Joseph's brother. 
 Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Si. For hmv shall I go up to my father,'^ I must abide here 
 too, if thou wilt not dismiss him ; for I am not able to see my 
 father die. 
 
 Nothing could be said more affecting, than this speech of Judah, 
 which flowed from such natural passions, as no art can imitate. 
 Which makes me wish, that they who think these historical books 
 of Scripture were written with no spirit, but that with which 
 honest men now write the history of their country, or the lives of 
 any famous persons, would seriously rfed and consider this speech 
 of Judah's to Joseph, together with the foregoing dialogue be- 
 tween Jacob and his sons ; and I hope it may make them change 
 their opinions, and be of the riiind of Dr. Jackson, " That seeing 
 such passages are related by men, who affect no art, and who 
 lived long after the parties tliat first uttered them, we cannot con- 
 ceive how all particulars could be so naturally and fully recorded, 
 unless they had been suggested by His Spirit, who gi\es mouth 
 and speecii to men." Bp. Patrick: 
 
 Chap. XLV. ver. 1 . Then Joseph could not refrain himsclj'^ Tlie 
 circumstances of this discovery are very remarkable, and serve 
 strongly to illustrate the filial piety of Joseph. He had prepared, 
 we read in the foregoing chapter, to detain Benjamin : the rest 
 being perplexed beyond measure, and distressed by this proposal, 
 Judah, approaching Joseph, presents a most earnest supplication 
 for the deliverance of the lad ; offers liimself to remain Joseph's 
 prisoner, or slave, in his brother's place ; and in the conclusion 
 touches, unknowingly, upon a string, which vibrates with all the 
 affections of the peraon, whom he was addressing. " How shall 
 Vol. I. 
 
 go out from me. And there stood no before 
 man with him, while Joseph made himself ^^ifoi^'^ 
 known unto his brethren. 
 
 2 And he t wept aloud : and the Egyp- t Heb. 
 tians and the house of Pharaoh heard. s<'<^' forth 
 
 3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, u'et,Zl."* 
 ' I am Joseph ; doth my father yet live ? ' Am 7. 
 And his brethren could not answer him ; '^ 
 
 for they were || troubled at his presence. II Or, 
 
 4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, ""^"^ 
 Come near to me, I pray you. And they 
 came near. And he said, I am Joseph your 
 brother, whom ye sold into Eg^-pt. 
 
 5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor 
 
 t angry with yourselves, that ye sold me t Hcj,. 
 hither : " for God did send me before you "f**""'*^ 
 to preserve life. „„g^,-„ 
 
 6 For tliese two years hath the famine ^tua'*'^ 
 been in the land: and yet there are five 20."''' 
 years, in the which there shall neither be ''°^' 
 earing nor harvest. 
 
 7 And God sent me before you to t pre- \^-^^ ., 
 serve you a posterity in the earth, and to /»« " ««- 
 save your lives by a great deliverance. '"'^' 
 
 8 So now /■/ was not you that sent me 
 hither, but God : and he hath made me 
 a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his 
 house, and a ruler throughout all the land 
 of Egypt. 
 
 9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and 
 
 I go up to my father, and the lad be n»t with me ? lest peradven- 
 ture I see the evil that shall come on my Jallu^." The mention 
 of this circumstance and this person subdued immediately the 
 heart of Joseph ; and produced a sudden, and, as it should seem, 
 an undesigned premature discovery of himself to his astonished 
 family. Then, that is, upon this circumstance being mentioned, 
 '• Joseph could not refrain himself:" and, after a little prepara- 
 tion, " Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph." 'Archdeacon 
 Paley. 
 
 5. — for God did send me before you"] \\'Tien you thought only 
 to be rid of me, God intended another thing, which is now come 
 to pass. For He hath made me an instrument of preser\'ing ali 
 your lives. A most happy event of a most wicked deed. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 God's thoughts are not as men's thoughts, nor His ways like 
 our ways. In our transactions with the world, we are too apt to be 
 actuated by some irregular passion, and to be so far from aiming 
 at the glory of God, or the welfare of our brethren, that we often 
 grossly neglect them both, and sacrifice them to the gratification 
 of our own desires. But He, to whom alone belong the property 
 and the power to bring good out of evil, so orders the unruly wills 
 and affections of sinful men, as to make them subservient to the 
 fulfilling of His decrees, when they least intend it. Heading. 
 
 0. — neither be caring nor hanrst.'] The word " earing" sug- 
 gests the idea of gathering ripe ears of corn : whereas Joseph 
 means to say, " there sliail be neitlier ploughing nor harvest during 
 five years." " Earing" is an old English word for" ploughing:" 
 the word Ls used in the same sense in 1 Sam. viii. 12 ; Exod. 
 xxxiv. 21; Isai. xxx. 24. In Deut. xxi. i, it occurs in the sense 
 of tillage, general labour, labour of any kind bestowed upon the 
 groimd. Pra-^menls to Calmrt. 
 
 "8. — made me a father lo Pharaoh^ Given me the authority 
 of a father with him. so that he honours me, and does nothing 
 without my advice and counsel. Bp. Patrick, 
 
 O
 
 Joseph sendeth far his father. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 •who is revived ivilh the news. 
 
 CH 
 
 **« say unto him, Tlius saith thy son Joseph, 
 "o!" God hath made me lord of all Egypt : 
 come down unto me, tarry not : 
 
 10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of 
 Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, 
 thou, and tliy children, and thy chddren's 
 children, and thy flocks, and tiiy herds, and 
 all that thou hast: 
 
 11 And there will I nourish thee; tor 
 yet there are five years of famine; lest 
 thou, and thy houshold, and all that thou 
 hast, come to poverty. 
 
 12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the 
 eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my 
 mouth that speaketh unto you. 
 
 13 And ye shall tell my father of all my 
 glory in Eg}T)t, and of all that ye have 
 seen ; and ye shall haste and bring down 
 my father hither. 
 
 14 And he fell upon his brother Benja- 
 min's neck, and wept ; and Benjamin wept 
 upon his neck. 
 
 15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, 
 and wept upon them : and after that his 
 brethren talked with him. 
 
 16 % And the fame thereof was heard in 
 Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren 
 
 are come : and it t pleased Pharaoh well, 
 
 wai good in , , . 
 
 fUcb 
 
 tht fyJof and his servants. 
 
 J'haraoH. 
 
 17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say 
 unto thy brethren. This do ye ; lade your 
 beasts, and go. get you unto the land of 
 Canaan ; 
 
 IS And take your father and your hous- 
 holds, and come unto me : and I will give 
 you the good of the land of Eg}'pt, and ye 
 shall eat the fat of the land. 
 
 10. — the land nf Goshen,! Part of lo\ve>- Egypt, next to 
 Arabia and Palestine ; abounmng with fair pastures, and watered 
 by many streams from the Nile. lip. Pal rich: 
 
 14. — lie fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, &c.] Among 
 the Bedoweens, those who are more intimately acquainted, or are 
 of equal ace and dignity, mutually kiss the hand, head, or shoulder 
 of each Dtlicr. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 Those passages in the Bible, which speak of falling on tlie neck 
 and kissing a person, seem to have a reference to this Eastern 
 way of kissing the shoulder in an embrace. Manner. 
 
 15. Moreover he kit.ied all his Lrelhrcn,'] Here is noble matter 
 of instruction. The affectionate brother forgets his past sufferings, 
 and is so far from endeavouring to avenge himself, and to afflict 
 the authors of his wrongs, that he employs his whole power to 
 comfort and relieve them. A behaviour this, different from what 
 most men would be inclined to discover on the like occasion : the 
 sense of injuries is apt to bear too hard on the mind ; and men 
 arc transporte<l into measures both mischievous and unreason- 
 able, lip. Conybeare. 
 
 19. AW thou art commanded, this rfo] Now that thou hast re- 
 ceived my warrant for it, go about it inime<liately. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. — regard not your stuff", ■"] Your furniture, or moveables. 
 If you are not able to bring it ;dl, do not care for it : 3'ou shall 
 have better here. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 19 Now thou art commanded, this do p^^^^Jg^ 
 ye ; take you wagons out of the land of ivoe. 
 Egypt for your little ones, and for your 
 wives, and bring your father, and come. 
 
 20 Also t regard not your stuff; for the t Heb. 
 good of all the land of Eg)T>t is your's. ^XJi'^;' 
 
 21 And the children of Israel did so : &'• 
 and Joseph gave them wagons, according 
 
 to the t commandment of Pharaoh, aiid t "«•>• 
 gave them provision for the way. """" '' 
 
 22 To all of them he gave each man 
 changes of raiment ; but to Benjamin he 
 gave three hundred pieces of silver, and 
 hve changes of raiment. 
 
 23 And to his father he sent after this 
 manner ; ten asses t laden with the good t "«';• 
 things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden '^''"■^"'^• 
 with corn and bread and meat for his fa- 
 ther by the way. 
 
 24 So he sent his brethren away, and 
 they departed : and he said unto them. See 
 that ye fall not out by the way. 
 
 25 ^ And they went up out of Egypt, 
 and came into the land of Canaan imto Ja- 
 cob their father, 
 
 26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet 
 alive, and he is governor over all the land 
 
 of Egypt. And t Jacob's heart fainted, for t Hci.. a«. 
 he believed them not. 
 
 27 And they told him all the words of 
 Joseph, which he had said unto them : and 
 when he saw the wagons which Joseph had 
 sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their 
 father revived : 
 
 28 And Israel said, It is enough ; Jo- 
 seph my son is yet alive : I will go and see 
 him before I die. 
 
 22. — to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces q/' silver,'] Sir 
 Jolin Chardin observes on tliis occasion, that the kings of Asia 
 almost always make presents of this kind to ambassudours, and to 
 other strangers of consideration, who have brought them pre- 
 sents. So the khalif Mahadi, according to d'Herbelot, ga\e an 
 Arab, that had entertained him in the desert^ a vest and a purse 
 of silver. Harmer. 
 
 24. — See that ye fall not out by the tvai/.'] About what you 
 have formerly done to me ; or any thing else that I have said to 
 you. But when you reflect on your selling me, adore the provi- 
 dence of God, which by that means brought about your happiness 
 and mine. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Considering the bad disjjosition of mankind in general, and the 
 bad disposition, which he knew by experience had formerly ap- 
 peared in some of them, he gave them a charge, not to fall out by 
 the way; but to travel peaceably like brethren, and make their 
 journey as comfortiible to each other as they could. Gilpin. 
 
 28. — // is cnoti^h ; Joseph my son is yet alive:] Two things 
 liis sons told him ; namely, that Joseph was alive, and that he was 
 govemour of Egypt. And the latter of the two Joseph required 
 them to tell his father. But for .Joseph's glori/ and dominion Ja- 
 cob does not rejoice, as one greatly affected with it. It was his 
 life that gave him the joy : he Siiid, " It is enough ; Joseph my 
 son is yet alive." Bp. Kidder.
 
 Jacoh is comforted by God at Beer-sheba. CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 Tlie number of Jacob's Jaynilij. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1706. 
 
 ' Jobh. 24. 
 
 4. 
 
 PsaL 105. 
 
 23. 
 
 Isai.«2. 4. 
 
 " Exod. 1. 
 1.&6. 14. 
 Numb. 2G. 
 8. & 
 
 1 Cliron. 
 :>. 1. 
 ' Numb. 
 126.5. 
 
 "Exoie. 
 
 15. 
 
 1 Chron. 4. 
 
 24. 
 
 ' 1 Chron. 
 
 6.1. 
 
 f 1 Chron. 
 
 2. 3. & 4. 
 
 21. 
 
 chap. 38. 3. 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 1 Jacob is comforted by God at Beer-sheba: 5 Thence 
 he with his comjiany goelh into Egypt. 8 The number 
 of his family tluit went into Egypt. 28 Joseph meet- 
 eth Jacob. 31 He instructeth his brethren horv to 
 answer to Pharaoh. 
 
 AND Israel took his journey with all 
 that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, 
 and offered sacrifices unto the God of his 
 father Isaac. 
 
 2 And God spake unto Israel in the vi- 
 sions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. 
 And he said, Here am I. 
 
 3 And he said, I am God, the God of 
 thy father : fear not to go down into E- 
 gypt; for I will there make of thee a great 
 nation : 
 
 4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; 
 and I wiU also surely bring thee lip again : 
 and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine 
 eyes. 
 
 5 And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba : 
 and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their 
 father, and their little ones, and their 
 wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had 
 sent to carry him. 
 
 6 And they took their cattle, and their 
 goods, which they had gotten in the land of 
 Canaan, and came into Egypt, ' Jacob, and 
 all his seed with him: 
 
 7 His sons, and his sons' sons with him, 
 his daughters, and his sons' daughters, 
 and all his seed brought he with him into 
 Egypt. 
 
 8 % And these are the names of the 
 children of Israel, which came into Egypt, 
 Jacob and his sons: " Reuben, Jacob's first- 
 born. 
 
 9 And the sons of Reuben ; Hanoch, and 
 Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. 
 
 10 ^ And "^ the sons of Simeon ; Jemuel, 
 and Jamin, and Chad, and Jachin, and 
 Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish 
 woman. 
 
 11 ^ And the sons of ' Levi; Gershon, 
 Kohath, and Merari. 
 
 12 % And the sons of "^Judah; Er, and 
 
 Chap. XLVI. ver. 3. — fear not to ga down into Egypt;"] On 
 several accounts Jacob might fear to go, with his whole laniily 
 especially, into Egypt. Abraham had been injured there: it had 
 been foretold that his seed should be afflicted by the Egyptians : 
 Isaac had been warned not to go into Egypt: the Egyptians 
 were men of very different usages and manners from the He- 
 brews: they were also of a different religion, and Jacob besides^ 
 might fear lest by this means his posterity should be deprived of 
 the land of Canaan. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 4. / will go down with ihce'} Take care of thee in thy journey, 
 and preserve thee and thy family there. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: before 
 but Er and Onan died in the land of Ca- ^^tm.^^ 
 naan. And the sons of Pharez were Hez- 
 ron and Hamul. 
 
 13 f ^ And the sons of Issachar; Tola, ' « Chron. 
 and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron. ''' '' 
 
 14 ^ And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, 
 and Elon, and Jahleel. 
 
 15 These be the sons of Leah, which she 
 bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his 
 daughter Dinah : all the souls of his sons 
 and his daughters were thirty and three. 
 
 16 ^ And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and 
 Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, 
 and Areli. 
 
 17 If "And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, l^^""- 
 and Ishuah,and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah ' 
 their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, 
 
 and Malchiel. 
 
 1 8 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom 
 Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and 
 these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen 
 souls. 
 
 19 The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife ; 
 Joseph, and Benjamin. 
 
 20 ^ And unto Joseph in the land of 
 Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, 
 
 ' which Asenath the daughter of Poti- ' Ch»p- ■♦'• 
 pherah II priest of On bare unto him. ^^'ot, 
 
 21 ^ " And the sons of Benjamin "were j""«- 
 Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and 7. 6.&8. i, 
 Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and 
 Huppim, and Ard. 
 
 22 These are the sons of Rachel, which 
 were born to Jacob : all the souls aere 
 fourteen. 
 
 23 IT And the sons of Dan; Hushini. 
 
 24 ^ And the sons of NaphtaH; Jahzeel, 
 and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. 
 
 25 These are the sons of Bilhah, which 
 Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and 
 she bare these unto Jacob : all the souls 
 U'ere seven. 
 
 26 ' All the souls that came with Jacob ;,d«"'- '<'• 
 into Egypt, which came out of his t loins, '{ha. 
 besides Jacob's sons' wives, all tlie souls ""«*• 
 •were threescore and six; 
 
 bring thee up again:] His body was brought into Canaan, 
 
 and (what seems principally intended) his posterity also returned 
 thither. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 put his hand iijjon thine eyes.] Be witli thee, when thou 
 
 leavest the world, and take care of thy funeral when thou art 
 dead. The first thing done, when one expired, was to close lus 
 eyes, whicli was performed, both among Greeks and Romans, 
 by the nearest relations or dearest friends. In short, by tliese 
 words God assures Jacob, that he should die before his son 
 Joseph, and that he should die in peace, with liis chililren about 
 him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ^ O 2
 
 Joseph mectelh Jacob. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Joseph presenteth his brethren, 
 
 Btfore 27 And the sons of Joseph, which were 
 '"'iTOb!*' born him in Egypt, xvcrc two souls: all the 
 souls ot" tiie liousc of Jacob, wliich came 
 into Egypt, ilxtc threescore and ten. 
 
 28 ^And he sent Judah before hitn un- 
 to Josej)h, to direct his face unto Goshen; 
 and they came into the land of Goshen. 
 
 '29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, 
 and went up to meet Israel his father, to 
 Goslien, and presented Iiiinsclf unto him; 
 and he fell on his neck, and wept on his 
 neck a good while. 
 
 30 And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let 
 me die, since I lia\ e seen thy face, because 
 thou art yet alive. 
 
 31 And Josepii said wnto his brethren, 
 and unto his father's house, I will go up, 
 and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My 
 brethren, and my fatlier's house, which 
 "U'crs in the land of Canaan, are come un- 
 to me ; 
 
 S'l And the men are shepherds, for 
 tHrf.. f their trade hath been to feed cattle; and 
 *'f™°/ they have brought their Hocks, and their 
 herds, and all that they have. 
 
 33 And it siudl come to pass, when Pha- 
 raoh shall call you, and shall say. What is 
 your occupation ? 
 
 mttl: 
 
 27- — all the souU, — which came into Egypt, rvcre threescore 
 and tcn^ There is a remarkable difference between tliis verse and 
 the foregoing: there those only are numbered who came with Ja- 
 cob into E(jj-pt, amounting to no more than tlireescore and six: 
 but here are numbered all that came into Egypt, first and last, 
 comprehending Jacob, Joseph, and his two sons, and making up 
 tlireescore and ten. Rp. Patrick. 
 
 The whole account of Jacob's sons and grandsons, wlio went 
 along with him into Egypt, stmds thus: by Leah, thirty-two; by 
 Zitpah, sixteen; by Rachel, eleven; by Bilhah, seven: in all 
 sixty-six, exclusive of Jacob himself, and of Joseph and bis two 
 sons, which make up the seventy: and it was necessary that these 
 genealogies should be exactly registered, not only to distinguish 
 each tribe, and thereby discover the Messiah, when He came; but 
 (as it is in the case before us) to make it apparent, that the in- 
 creose of Israel, even under oppression, should bear a fair propor- 
 tion to the promise made to Abraham, concerning the multipli- 
 cation of his seed. Stackhouse. 
 
 28. And he sent Judah before hint} Who seems by the whole story 
 to h«ve been the most eminent among Jacob's children, when Jo- 
 seph was gone; and to have given goo<l proof, a little before, how 
 much he was concerned for his father. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 f" ''"■'■c' his face unto Goshen, ^ To give Joseph notice of 
 
 hjs coramg, and to receive directions in what part of Goshen he 
 should remain. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ■ ^t T^' ''^" '"^' ^'"^ -servants' trade &c. — that ye may dwell 
 in the land of Cothen ;'\ There must have been shepherds in those 
 p.irta before; otherwise Joseph could not have foreseen, that, on 
 tellmg their occupation, the land would be necessarily given to 
 his brethren. .\nd when they are presented before the "king, he at 
 once determines this jilace of resilience for them, chap. .^Ivii' 5 0" 
 They were most prokibiy the Arabian or Cuthite siiepherds who 
 had been previously in possession of this land, from whence tliev 
 had been lately ejected. The whole kingdom had been in sub- 
 jection to their kings. But they were obliged to retire, being ex- 
 peiled by the natives. The other parts of the kingdom were im- 
 mediately occupied. But pasturage being contrary to the taste of 
 
 31. That ye shall say. Thy servants' trade chrTst 
 hath been about cattle from our youth even i7o«. 
 imtil now, both we, and also our fathers : 
 that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; 
 for every shepherd is an abomination unto 
 the Egyptians. 
 
 CHAP. XLVII. 
 
 I Joseph presenteth fve of his hrcthren, 7 and his father, 
 before Pharaoh. 1 1 He giveth them habitation and 
 maintenance. 1 S He gcttelh all the Egyptians' monci/, 
 1() their cattle, 18 their lands to Pltc'iraoh. 22 The 
 priests' land was not bought. 23 He Ictteih the land 
 to them for a fifth part. 28 Jacob's age. 29 He 
 swearcth Joseph to bury him with his fathers. 
 
 rr^HEN Joseph came and told Pharaoh, 
 X and said, My father and my brethren, 
 and their flocks, and their herds, and all 
 that they have, are come out of the land of 
 Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land 
 of Goshen. 
 
 2 And he took some of his brethren, evefi 
 five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. 
 
 3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren. 
 What is your occupation ? And they said 
 unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, 
 both we, and also our fathers. 
 
 4 They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For 
 to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy 
 
 the Egyptians, this particular region lay, in a great measure, neg- 
 lected. Hence we have a satisfactory reason for the Israelites 
 finding such easy access into the country, so as not only to dwell 
 in it, but to have the land of Goshen given them for a possession, 
 even the best of the land of Egj'pt. Bryant. 
 
 fur every shepherd is an abomination fic.'] See note on 
 
 chap. xlii. 9. Tne promise which God had made to Abraham, to 
 give his posterity the land of Canaan, could not be performed till 
 Abraham's family was grown strong enough to take and keep 
 possession of it. In the mean time therefore they were necessi- 
 tated to reside among idolaters, and to reside unmixed; but who- 
 ever examines their history, will see, that the Israelites ever had 
 a violent propensity to join themselves to Gentile nations, and to 
 practise their manners. God therefore, in His infinite wisdom, 
 brought them into Egypt, and kept them there during this period, 
 tlie only place, where they could remain for so long a time safe, 
 and unconfounded with the natives: the ancient Egyptians be- 
 ing, by numerous institutions, forbidden all fellowship with 
 strangers, and bearing besides a particular aversion to the profes- 
 sion of the Israelites, who were shepherds. Thus from the 
 Israelites going into Egypt arises a new occasion to adore the 
 footsteps of Eternal Wisdom, in His dispensations to His chosen 
 people. Bp. Warburton. 
 
 is an abomination unto the Egyptians."^ It was an instance 
 
 of Joseph's great modesty and love of truth, that he was not 
 ashamed of an employment, so vile in the sight of the Egyptians. 
 He might have instructed his brethren to conceal their way of 
 life: or he might have told them to lay before Pharaoh the dig- 
 nity of their descent, and the wonderful history of their fore- 
 fathers; men, great in their generations, and honoured with re- 
 velations from God Himself. But by this open declaration his 
 object seems to have been, to render as conspicuous as possible 
 the wonderful chain of the Divine counsels, in raising him from 
 so humble a condition to an elevation of such dignity and power. 
 Stackliousc. 
 
 Chap. XLVII. ver. 1. — to sojourn in the land^ Not to settle
 
 1 
 
 and his father, before Pharaoh. 
 
 cHinsT servants have no pasture for their flocks ; 
 ,706. for the famine is sore in the land of Ca- 
 naan : now therefore, we pray thee, let thy 
 servants dwell in the land of Goshen. 
 
 5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, say- 
 ing, Thy father and thy brethren are come 
 unto thee : 
 
 6 The land of Eg}'pt is before thee ; in 
 the best of the land make thy father and 
 brethren to dwell ; in the land of Goshen 
 
 : let them dwell : and if thou knowest any 
 
 men of activity among them, then make 
 them rulers over my cattle. 
 
 7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his fa- 
 ther, and set him before Pharaoh : and Ja- 
 cob blessed Pharaoh. 
 
 t Heb. 8 And Pliaraoh said unto Jacob, t How 
 
 ^Tw7.oldarnhou? 
 
 of the years 9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, ' The 
 *H'4r 11. days of the years of my jjilgrimage are an 
 9. 13. hundred and thirty years : few and evil 
 have the days of the years of my life been, 
 and have not attained unto the days of the 
 years of the life of my fathers in the days 
 of their pilgrimage. 
 
 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went 
 out from before Pharaoh. 
 
 11 ^ And Joseph placed his father and 
 his brethren, and gave them a possession 
 in the land of Egypt, in the best of the 
 land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh 
 had commanded. 
 
 12 And Joseph nourished his father, and 
 
 in it ; and therefore they desire Goshen as near to Canaan. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 the famine is sore in the land of Canaan .•] Canaan was 
 
 an high country, when compared with Egypt: and the grass 
 sooner burnt up there than in Goshen, which being very low, 
 they found in it pasture for their flocks. We are told on the 
 authority of those who knew the country, that there was grass 
 in the marshes and fenny parts of Egypt, when the Nile did not 
 overflow enough to make plenty of corn. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — make them rulers over my caltle7\ As Doeg was te Saul, 
 1 Sam. xxi. 7, and those great officers, mentioned 1 Chron. xxvii. 
 29, were to king David. The Eastern kings raised part of their 
 revenue from cattle ; as the Egyptians also did : having some 
 principal officers to superintend the lower sort of shepherds. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 9. — pilgrimage'^ So good men are wont to call their life, 
 though they never stir from their native soil : looking upon it as 
 a passage, not a settlement. But Jacob had reason to call his 
 life so, more literally : having been tossed from place to place, 
 ever since he went from his father's house to Mesopotamia, and 
 returned from thence into Canaan : where he dwelt some time at 
 Succoth ; then at Shechem : and after that removed to Beth-el ; 
 and so to Hebron, unto his father Isaac ; whence he was now 
 come into Egypt. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 If we look into the story of those friends and favourites of Hea- 
 ven, the ancestors of the Israelitish nation, we find them sojourn- 
 ing in a land that was not their's ; dwelling only in tents, soon 
 pitched, and as soon removed again ; having no ground o( their 
 own to set their foot on, save only a possession of a buryingplace. 
 
 CHAP. XLVn. Joseph buyeth the Egyptians' goods, f^c. 
 
 his brethren, and all his father's houshold, «*'''« 
 with bread, || t according to their families, ^"t^.^""" 
 
 13 ^ And there "was no bread in all the ii Or, 
 land ; for the famine urns very sore, so that "^^'"^ 
 the land of Egj-pt and all the land of Ca- 'nouri!iud. 
 naan fainted by reason of the famine. l^^aiu 
 
 14 And Joseph gathered up all the mo- ^"tTeiuL 
 ney that was found in the land of Egypt, """• 
 and in the land of Canaan, for the com 
 which they bought : and Joseph brought 
 the money into Pharaoh's house. 
 
 15 And when money failed in the land ^''"■ 
 of Egypt, and in the "land of Canaan, all 
 the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said. 
 Give us bread : for why should we die in 
 thy presence ? for the money faileth. 
 
 iG And Joseph said. Give your cattle ; 
 and I will give you for your cattle, if mo- 
 ney fail. 
 
 17 And they brought their cattle unto 
 Joseph : and Joseph gave them bread m 
 exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and 
 for the cattle of the herds, and for the 
 asses : and he t fed them with bread for t »<* 
 all their cattle for that year. ''"'' ""^ 
 
 18 When that year was ended, they came noi. 
 unto him the second year, and said unto 
 him. We will not hide it from my lord, how 
 that our money is spent ; my lord also hath 
 our herds of cattle ; there is not ought left 
 in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and 
 our lands : 
 
 19 Wherefore shall we die before thine 
 
 and that purchased of the inhabitants ; where they might rest 
 from their travels, till they shall pass, at the resurrection of the 
 just, to their durable inheritance in the kingdom of God. Such 
 was .Tacob's notion of human life, exprci^^sed in his answer to the 
 Egj'ptian monarch, who had inquired his age. -Bp. Home. 
 
 fcif and evil have the dai/s &c.] They had been fin\ in 
 
 comparison with his forefathers ; and evil, because full of labour 
 and care, grief and sorrow, on many occasions. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Though Jacob in some respects was a prosperous man, j-et he 
 met with many evils. He fled from Esau, and served Laban 
 twenty years ; he wa.s defeated in his hope of Rachel, and she 
 w;is barren also ; he fled from L.iban, and feared Esau ; he was 
 afflicted in Dinah, in Simeon and Levi, and in Reuben, .ind 
 upon the score of Joseph ; in the sons of Judah, and in Tamar ; 
 besides the death of Rachel and the sending away of Benjamin. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 have not attained unto the days &c.] Though Jacob lived 
 
 seventeen vears aller this, he did not att;un to " the d.iys of the 
 years of the life of his fathers :" since liis father Isaac lived ISO 
 years, and his grandfather Abraham 17.5. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 11. — in {he land of Rame.tes ,'] So called perhaps by antici- 
 pation : the Israelites" built a city of that name for Pharaoh in the 
 land of Goshen, and the same name was given to the country. 
 Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 li. — into Pharaoh's house.'} Into the treasury. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18. — jsecond year, 2 That is, the next year after the sale of 
 their cattle : this was the last year of the famine. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 9. Wherefore shall ive die, '— we and our land ?] The land is 
 said to die, when it lies untilled and desokte. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Joseph buycth all Uie land of Egypt. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Israel dwelleth in Egypt. 
 
 B^jbfc eyes, both we and our land? buy us and 
 
 1701.*^ our land for bread, and we and our land 
 
 will be servants unto I'iiaraoli : and gi\c 
 
 7is seed, that we may live, and not die, 
 
 tliat the land be not desolate. 
 
 20 And Joseph houglit all the land of 
 Egypt for Pharaoh ; tor tlie EgyjJtians sold 
 every man his field, because the famine 
 prevailed over them : so the land became 
 Pharaoh's. 
 
 21 And as for the people, he removed 
 them to cities from one end of the borders 
 of Egypt even to the other end thereof. 
 
 I Or, 2ij Only the land of the II priests bought 
 
 ;.nnc«. j^^ ^^^^ . ^-^^ ^y^^ priests had a portion as- 
 signed them of Pharaoh, and did eat their 
 portion which Pharaoh gave them : where- 
 fore they sold not their lands. 
 
 23 Then Joseph said unto the people, 
 Behqld, 1 have bought you this day and 
 your land for Pharaoh : lo, here is seed for 
 you, and ye shall sow the land. 
 
 24 And it shall come to pass in the in- 
 crease, that ye shall give the fifth part un- 
 to Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your 
 own, for seed of the field, and for your 
 
 «r anil our land nill be seri'anls iinio P/inian/i:'] We, 
 
 that are free, will become the king's bondmen ; and our land, 
 which was our own, we will hold of him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 gire us .?m/,1 They desired corn, not merely for food, 
 
 but also to sow, in hopes of a crop the next year. For Joseph 
 had told them there should be but seven years of famine Bd 
 Patrick. ^' 
 
 21. —he removed them to cities kc.'] The people of Egypt 
 were, before this time, almost entirely scattered over the coun- 
 try ; by which means, having fewer opportunities of conversing 
 together, they were not only, upon niaiiv occasions, left destitute 
 of friendly help aiul assist-uice, but were also rude and unpolish- 
 ed ; and unacfjuainted with the arts, necessary to improve life 
 To persuade men to combine together, and to unite several dis- 
 persed tamihes, is a most difficult point : and those who have 
 succeede<l m such attempts, have been few. But Joseph, having 
 gamed the absolute i>ower of the country, employed it to pro- 
 mote this useful end. lip. Couyhearc. 
 
 from one end of the bjrders of Esi/pt &c.] Joseph did 
 
 not, as some persons have imagined, transplant the people to 
 cities remote from their residence ; but, consulting their conve- 
 nience, only t.» Uic cities adjacent : the people round about each 
 store-city he brought into that city ; and this he did through- 
 out the wht.le extent of the countrj-. The lands, thus voluntarilv 
 sold by the people, he fannetl to the occupiers again, at the mi 
 derate ami fixetl crown rent of a fifth part of the produce Thus 
 did he provide for the liberty and independence of the people 
 while he strengthened the authority of the king, by renderinff 
 him sole proprietor of the lands. And to secure the people from 
 further exaction, " Joseph mado it a law over the land of Errypt 
 that Pharaoh should have only the fifth part ;" which law sub' 
 sisted to the time of Moses, ^■er. 'ifi. By this wise regulation 
 the people had four fifths of the produce of the lands for their 
 own use, and were exempted from any further taxes; the king 
 being b«un<l to support his civil and military estabUshment out 
 of the crown rents. Dr. Hales. 
 
 22. Oiil^ the land of the priests /joui;/if he not ;~\ The E"-vp 
 tian priests were obliged to provide "aU sacrifices, and to bew 
 
 food, and for them of your housholds, and c^^g^ 
 for food for your little ones. noi. 
 
 25 And they said. Thou hast saved our 
 lives : let us find grace in the sight of my 
 lord, and we will be Pharaoh's ser\ants. 
 
 21J And Joseph made it a law over the 
 land of Eg}i)t unto this day, that Pliaraoh 
 should have the fifth part; except the 
 land of the II priests only, which became not n or, 
 
 Pharaoh's. printet. 
 
 27 % And Israel dwelt in the land of 
 Egypt, in the country of Goshen j and 
 they had possessions therein, and grew, 
 and nudtiplied exceedingly. 
 
 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt usg. 
 seventeen years : so t the whole age of Ja- +Heb. 
 cob was an hundred forty and seven years. ','ll'!"eiU^- 
 
 29 And the time drew nigh that Israel huhji. 
 must die : and he called his son Joseph, 
 
 and said unto him. If now I have found 
 grace in thy sight, " put, I pray thee, thy " Chap. 24. 
 hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and ^' 
 truly with me ; bury me not, I pray thee, 
 in Egypt : 
 
 30 But I \vill lie with my fathers, and 
 thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury 
 
 all the charges of the national religion ; and religion was in 
 those tlays a matter of very great expense to them, who were 
 to supply what was requisite for the performance of the offices of 
 it. The numerous sacrifices that were appointed to be offered in 
 these times, could not be provided, nor the preparations and ce- 
 remonies in offering them, performed, but at a very great charge. 
 The priests of Egj'pt were the whole body of the nobility of the 
 land : they were the king's counsellors, and assistants : they were 
 the professors and cultivators of astronomy, w'ithout which, even 
 agriculture itself could not have proceeded : they were the keepers 
 of the publick registers, memoirs, and chronicles of the kingdom : 
 in a word, under the king, they were the magistrates ; and filled 
 all the prime offices. If we consider them in some or other of 
 these views, Pharaoh might think, that they had not too much to 
 su])port the stations they were to act in, and for that reason he 
 ordered, that no tax should be laid upon them. Shuckfurd. 
 
 23. — Behold, I have bougid you this day~\ The bargain 
 could not be denied : but he would not be so rigid as to insist 
 upon it strictly. He requires only a Jifth part of the increase of 
 their ground for the king ; and tells them the rest shall be their 
 own. Herein he showed himself both a good man, and a wise 
 statesman ; in tiiking away all matter of complaint from the peo- 
 ple. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 29- — If now I have found grace in thy sight,'] If thou lovest 
 rae. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 put — thy hand under my thigh, &c.] Swear to me, 
 
 that thou wilt shew me tnie kindness, in promising and per- 
 forming what I desire. Bp. Patrick. See note on chap. xxiv. 
 ver. 2. 
 
 30. — / will lie niith my fathers, &c.] Besides the desire, na- 
 tural to men, of being biu-ied widi their forefathers, Jacob had 
 this peculiar reason for his request ; namely, liis belief, that the 
 country, where their bodies lay, was his in reversion ; anfT that*i 
 God, in His due time, would put his children into possefSJBh pt" •• 
 it : for which time they would long more earnestly, liecause the. 
 bodies of their ancestors were there buried. Jacob requires- an 
 oath of Joseph, not because he doubted of Joseph's inclination, 
 but to make it an argument for Pharaoh's compliance with a pro-
 
 thrTst "^^ ^^ ^^^^^'^ buryingplace. And he said, I 
 IC89. will do as thou hast said. 
 
 31 And he said, Swear unto me. And 
 'Hebr.ii. he swaie unto him. And "Israel bowed 
 ^'' himself upon the bed's head. 
 
 CHAP. XLVIII. 
 
 1 Joseph mitk his sons visiteth his sick father. 2 Jacob 
 streiigtheneth himself to bless tliem. 3 He repeateth 
 the promise. 5 He taJceth Ephraim and Manasseh as 
 his own. 7 He tellcth Joseph of his mother's grave. 
 9 He blesseth Ephraim and Manasseh. 17 He pre- 
 ferrelh the younger before the elder. 21 He prophe- 
 sieth their return to Canaan. 
 
 RIST 
 
 1689. 
 
 1G89, 
 
 Joseph xvtth his sons visiteth Jacob. CHAP. XLVHI. Jacob blesseth Ephraim end Manasseh. 
 
 6 And thy issue, which thou begettest before 
 after them, shall be thine, and shall be call- ^"'^^ 
 ed after the name of their brethren in their 
 inheritance. 
 
 7 And as for me, when I came from Pa- 
 dan, " Rachel died by me in the land of ' Ch«p. ss. 
 Canaan in the way, when yet tJiere was but '^' 
 a little way to come unto Ephrath : and I 
 buried her there in the way of Ephratli; 
 the same is Beth-lehem. 
 
 8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and 
 said. Who are these ? 
 
 9 And Joseph said unto his father, They 
 are my sons, whom God hath given me 
 in this place. And he said. Bring them, 
 I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless 
 them. 
 
 10 Now the eyes of Israel were t dim tHeb. 
 for age, so that he could not see. And he '"'""•'' 
 brought them near unto him ; and he kiss- 
 ed them, and embraced them. 
 
 11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had 
 not thought to see thy face : and, lo, God 
 hath shewed me also thy seed. 
 
 12 And Joseph brought them out from 
 between his knees, and he bowed himself 
 with his face to the earth. 
 
 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim 
 in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, 
 and Manasseh in his left hand toward Is- 
 rael's right hand, and brought them near 
 unto him. 
 
 14 And Israel stretched out his right 
 hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who 
 
 AND it came to pass after these things, 
 that ojie told Joseph, Behold, thy fa- 
 ther is sick : and he took with him his two 
 sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 
 
 2 And 07ie told Jacob, and said, Behold, 
 thy Son Joseph cometh unto thee : and 
 Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon 
 the bed. 
 
 3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God 
 'ciiap.28. Almighty appeared unto me at * Luz in 
 13.&55.6. ^i^g \-x\\A. of Canaan, and blessed me, 
 
 4 And said unto me. Behold, I will make 
 thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will 
 make of thee a multitude of people; and 
 will give this land to thy seed after thee 
 
 for an everlasting possession. 
 ' Chap. 41. 5 ^ And now thy '' two sons, Ephraim 
 Josh. 13. 7. 3.nd Manasseh, which were born unto thee 
 
 in the land of Egypt before I came unto 
 
 thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and 
 
 Simeon, they shall be mine. 
 
 ceeding, to which Joseph would lie under so sacred an obligation. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. — Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.'^ Raised up his 
 head from his pillow, and bowed, either to Joseph, in thankful- 
 ness for his promise; or to God, for the assurance he had received, 
 that he should be buried with his pious forefathers. Bp. Patrick. 
 Or it may be, he laid himself down upon his pillow, as weak men 
 are accustomed to do, after they have sat up some time, for the 
 despatch of business. Stackhoiise. 
 
 Chap. XLVIII. ver. 1. — one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is 
 sitk:'] On receiving this intelligence, Joseph delayed not, we 
 find, to leave the court of Pharaoh, the cares and greatness of his 
 station in it, in order to pay the last visit to his dying parent, and 
 to place before him the hopes of his house and family, in the per- 
 sons of his two sons. Nothing can well be more solemn or inter- 
 esting than this interview; more honourable or consoling to old 
 age, or more expressive of the chgnified piety of the best of sons 
 and the greatest of men. Archdeacon Patey. 
 
 3. — Israel strengthened himself^ He exerted his strengtli : 
 and possibly, when he had raised himself, he supported himself 
 by bearing on his staff, Heb. xi. 21. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 5. — thy two sons — are mine ;~\ They shall be reckoned as if 
 " |S'had*Uegotten them; and accordingly shnll have, each of them, 
 
 ■ an- inheritance, equal with the rest of my sons, and be distinct 
 ■tribes.. TJnis he gives Joseph the right of primogenitin-e, who 
 
 ■ was "indeed the firstborn of his intended wife; and bestows a 
 double portion on him, by making his two sons equal to the rest 
 of Jacob's children. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. And thy issue, which thou begette.tt after them, &c.] But as to 
 whatever sons you siiall hereafter have, I give them no such pri- 
 vilege as this. They shall not be the heads of tribes, but shall 
 be sorted and comprehended in those of Ephraim and Manasseh. 
 Pyle. 
 
 7. — Rachel died by me~\ He intimates, that in memory of his 
 most beloved wife Rachel, and to testify his affection for her, he 
 adopted her grandsons to be, as it were, his sons by her; that io 
 tliree of the tribes of his family might be descended and deno- 
 minated from her offspring. Dr. Wells. 
 
 8. And Israel beheld Joseph's sons,'] But could not see dis- 
 tinctly who they were, on account of the dimness of his sight. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. — his knces^ That is, Jacob's. When Jacob had ceased 
 caressing them, .Joseph, fearing his two sons might press too long 
 or too hard on their grandfather by reason of his feebleness, took 
 his sons from between iiis father's "legs, and in tlie most reverent 
 manner thanked him for the kindness he had e.xpresscd to his 
 cliildren. Pijlc, Dr. Wells. 
 
 13. — toward Israel's right hand,] Joseph so placed them, 
 that his father might lay his right hand on M.wassi'h tlie eldest. 
 The right hand being esteemed a token of the greater honour, 
 1 Kings ii. 19; Matt. 'xxv. 33. B p. Kidder. 
 
 14. — laid it upon Ephraim's head,] Liiying hands on the head 
 of any person was always used in this nation in giving blessings, 
 and appointing men to any office, and in tlie consecration of pub- 
 lick and solemn sacrifices. This is tlie first time we find it men- 
 tioned; but in aftertimes it occurs often: particularly when 
 Moses constituted Jeshua liis successor, God orders him to do it.
 
 Jacob bksseth Joseph : and 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 prophesielh their return to Canaan. 
 
 SI 
 
 Befor. tms the younger, and his left hand upon 
 *^"6*9" Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wit- 
 tingly ; for Manasseh was the firstborn. 
 * Hrfir. II. 15 f And " he blessed Joseph, and said, 
 God, before whom mv fathers Abraham 
 and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me 
 all my life long unto this day, 
 
 16 The Angel which redeemed me from 
 all evil, bless the lads ; and let my name 
 be named on them, and the name of my 
 fathers Abraham and Isaac ; and let them 
 
 t H«b. f grow into a nuiltitude in the midst of the 
 "'"'''*" ''Varth 
 
 17 And when Joseph saw that his tather 
 laid his right hand upon the head of E- 
 phraim, it displeased him : and he held 
 up his father's hand, to remove it from 
 Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. 
 
 18 And Joseph said unto his father. Not 
 so, my father : for this is the firstborn j put 
 thy right hand upon his head. 
 
 19 And his father refused, and said, I 
 know it, my son, 1 know it : he also shall 
 
 by lavinjr his hands on him, Numb, xxvii. 18, 23 ; Deut xxxiy. 9. 
 Thus children were brought to our blessed Saviour, that He might 
 lay His hands on them, ;uid bless them ; which He did, Matth. 
 six. 13, 15. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. — who ivas llie yoimser,'] God chose from the beginning 
 in several instances to prefer the yo\mger before the elder ; as 
 Abel before Cain ; Shein liefore Japheth ; Isaac before Ishmael ; 
 Jacob Ijcfore Esau ; Jiidah aiid Joseph before Reuben ; and here 
 Ephraim before Maiiasseh ; and afterwards, Moses before Aaron ; 
 and David, the youngest of all, before his elder brethren : to 
 shew that the Divine benefits were not limited to the order of 
 nature, but dispensed freely according to God's most wise good- 
 ness. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 guidins his hands witlingltf ;] He did it of choice, not by 
 
 chance. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 for'] Or, although, as the Hebrew particle signifies. Bp. 
 
 Kidder. 
 
 15. — he blessed .Joseph^ In the blessing he bestowed on his 
 children. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 16. The .4ngel n-liich redeemed &C.T That is, Christ, the Angel 
 of the covenant, Mai. iii. 1, who led the Israelites, and whom 
 they tempted, Ex<xl. xiv. If) ; and xxiii. 20 ; and 1 Cor. x. 9. To 
 whom the title of Redeemer belongs, Isai. lix. 20. \Mio is called 
 "the Angel of Clwl," chap. xxxi. 11 ; and "the God of Beth-el," 
 chap. xxxi. 13. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 let my name he named im ihem,~\ Here he plainly adopts 
 
 them for his children, as he before said he would. For to be 
 called by one's name, which is the same as having his name 
 named on them, is as much a-s to be one's children. For thus 
 they, that are saitl to be called by God's name, became His peculiar 
 people. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Let my name, as their father, be named on them as my sons ; 
 and the name of my fathers Abraham .ind Isaac l>e consequently 
 named on them, a*; if Isaac had been their grandfather only, and 
 Abraham their great grandfathfr. Dr U'tlls. 
 
 17. ■'ind when Jtiseph .mw SiC.~\ Joseph, supposing that his fa- 
 ther, through weakness of sight, had committed a mistake in 
 placing his hands, would have rectified it, before he began his 
 blessing. Pyle. 
 
 19- — ■ sreater] In number. Numb. i. .'33, 35 ; Deut. xxxiii. 1". 
 And in dignity : for this is called the tribe of Joseph, Numb. i. 
 32, 34 ; Rev. vii. 8 ; and is put for the whole kingdom of Israel, 
 IsaL vii. 2. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 become a people, and he also shall be great : ^h rTst 
 but truly his younger brother shall be 1689. 
 greater than he, and his seed shall become 
 a t multitude of nations. t Heb. 
 
 20 And he blessed them that day, saying, •^'"'''"'■ 
 In thee shall Israel bless, sa;f^ng, God make 
 thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh : and he 
 
 set Ephraim before Manasseh. 
 
 21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, 
 I die : but God shall be with you, and bring 
 you again unto the land of your fathers. 
 
 22 Moreover I have given to thee one 
 portion above thy brethren, which I took 
 out of the hand of tiie Amorite with my 
 sword and with my bow. 
 
 Their blessing 
 29 He chargcth them about his burial. 
 
 CHAP. XLIX. 
 
 1 Jacob calleth his sons to bless them 
 in particular. 
 33 He dieth. 
 
 AND Jacob called unto his sons, and 
 said. Gather yourselves together, that 
 I may tell you that which shall befall you 
 in the last days. 
 
 his seed shall become a ynuUilude of nations.'] How rapidly 
 
 the tribe of Ephraim increased in its population, we may judge 
 from the pedigree of Joshua, 1 Chron. vii. 20 — 27, who was in the 
 tenth generation. Dr. Hales. 
 
 20. And he blessed them that day,] He concluded with a so- 
 lemn benediction upon them both. And when he pronounced it, 
 " worshipped God," as the Apostle tells us, Heb. xi. 21, "leaning 
 upon the top of his staff." 'This he did to support himself from 
 falling. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 /« thee shall Israel bless,] When the Israelites, my pos- 
 terity, would wish all happiness to others, they shall use this 
 form of speech, " God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh ;" 
 which is said to continue among the Jews to this day. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 22. — which J took out of the hand of the Amorite] It is pro- 
 bable, that Jacob bought tnis part, which he here gives to Joseph, 
 of Shechem's father, chap, xxxiii. 19: and that upon Jacob's 
 removal, afler the Shechemites were destroyed, the Amorite 
 took possession of it, whom Jacob upon his return dispossessed 
 by force of arms, and recovered his unquestionable right. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 This parcel of land he here promised to the posterity of Joseph, 
 though it should not fall to their lot on the division of Canaan. 
 It did however lie in that part, which fell by lot to Joseph's de- 
 .scendants ; Providence perhaps so ordering it, to prevent all occa- 
 sion of difference between them and any other tribe. Dr. WeUs. 
 
 Chap. XLIX. ver. 1. — that I may tell you that which shall be- 
 fall you &c.] It is a very ancient opinion, that the ne.irer men 
 approach to their dissolution, their soids grow more divine, and 
 discern more of futurity. We find this opinion as early as Homer ; 
 and testimonies to this purpose might be produced from various 
 authorities. What might principally give rise to this opinion, was 
 the tradition of some of the Patriarchs being divinely inspired in 
 their last moments to foretell the con<lition of their descendants, 
 as Jacob on his deathbed siunmoned his children together, that 
 he might inform them of what should befall them iu the latter or 
 the last days. Bp. Newton. , ^ 
 
 Jacob is the first we read of, who particularly declared the f\i- 
 ture state of every one of his sons, when he left the world. 
 These last words of his may be called prophecies, rather than be- 
 nedictions ; some of tiiem containing no blessing in them ; but 
 all of them predictions. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Jacob blesseth 
 
 CHAP. XLIX. 
 
 his sons. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1639. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 do not thou 
 
 excel. 
 
 " Chap. 35. 
 
 22. 
 
 I Chron. 
 5. 1. 
 
 II Or, 
 my couch 
 h gone. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 iheir swords 
 are iceupotts 
 of violence. 
 
 2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, 
 ye sons of Jacob ; and liearken unto Israel 
 your father. 
 
 3 ^ Reuben, thou a?Y my firstborn, my 
 might, and the beginning of my strength, 
 the excellency of dignity, and the excel- 
 lency of power : 
 
 4 Unstable as water, tthou shalt not 
 excel ; because thou * wentest up to thy 
 father's bed ; then defiledst thou it : || he 
 went up to my couch. 
 
 5 % Simeon and Levi are brethren ; 
 II instruments of cruelty a7'e in their habi- 
 tations. 
 
 in the lasf tlays.^ That is, hereafter. These word.s denote 
 
 not any one precise time. The predictions were to be fulfilled 
 ill sundry times : and part of them to extend to the time of the 
 Messiah, which is called "the last days," Is. ii. 2; Acts ii. 17; 
 Heb. i. 2. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 2. Gather 1/niirselves together, &C.3 The style, in which Jacob 
 speaks to his sons, is much more lofty than that hitherto used in 
 this book. The spirit of prophecy, now coming upon him, pro- 
 bably raised his style as well as his understanding ; as it did that 
 of Moses also, who delivered his benedictions in Deut. xxxiii. in a 
 strain more sublime than his other writings. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. Reiibeii, thou art my firstborn,'^ The prerogatives of the 
 birtliright consisted chiefly in a double portion of the father's 
 estate ; the priesthood ; and the kingdom, that is, the chief au- 
 thority among his brethren. The first of these was given to 
 Joseph ; the second to Levi ; and the third to Judah, to descend 
 to their respective tribes ; whilst the tribe of Reuben, who had 
 forfeited his prerogative by his crime, recorded before by Moses, 
 and now alluded to by Jacob, was to continue in obscurity. Bp. 
 Patric/i, Stackhouse. 
 
 my might, and the beginning of my strength!^ Whom I 
 
 begot, when I was in my full vigour ; and the firstfruits of my 
 strength. The firstborn is called the " beginning of strength" 
 in Deut. xxi. 1" ; and "the chief of strength" in Ps. cv. 36. Bp. 
 Patrick. Or the phrase may signify, not the personal vigour of 
 Jacob, but " the beginning of his strength," as a tribe. The 
 strength of the Patriarch consisted in the number and valour of 
 his sons ; and the future greatness of the tribe depended on their 
 increase. Edit. 
 
 tlie excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power ;] Wio 
 
 hadst the preeminence among thy brethren, if thou hadst not 
 lost it by thy folly : and who wast bom to the highest authority 
 among them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. Unitfahle as wafcr,2 Or, poured out like water. It denotes 
 Reuben's fall from dignity, as water suddenly disappears, when 
 it is poured out on the earth, and sucked up into it. Bp. 
 Patrick. Rather unconjinable, licentious : not to be restrained by 
 mounds and banks, but overflowing all restrictions : " impetuous 
 as a deluge, or a cataract." Script. iUust. 
 
 thou shalt not e.rcel ;] Nothing great or excellent is re- 
 corded of this tribe. In number and power they were infcriour 
 to several other tribes. Less numerous, by a third part, than the 
 tribe of Judah, to whom God gave part of Reuben's prerogative. 
 Numb. i. 21, 27. Bps. Nenton and Patrick. 
 
 t/uw )ventest up"] At one end of each chamber there is a 
 
 little gallery, raised four or five feet above the floor, with a ba- 
 lustrade in the front of it. Here they place their beds : a situa- 
 tion frequently alluded to in the holy Scriptures ; Gen. xli.x. 4 ; 
 2 Kings i. 6, and l6 ; Ps. cxxxii. 3. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 5. Sitneon and Levi are brethren ,] That is, not only lx>rn of the 
 same father and mother, for so were Reuben and Judah also ; but 
 as they conspired against Joseph, whose life Reuben and Judah 
 studied to preserve ; and especially because of their conspiracy 
 against the Shechemites, chap, xxxiv. 25 ; tlie snvrds, there men- 
 tioned, being the inslnimenis oi' cruelty mentioned here. In the 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 h'pughed 
 ozen> 
 
 6 O my soul, come not thoi'i into their cJ?*r71t 
 secret; unto their assembly, mine honoiu> leso. 
 be not thou united : for in their anger 
 
 they slew a man, and in their selfwill they 
 II digged down a wall. ii Or, 
 
 7 Cursed he their anger, for it teas 
 fierce ; and their wrath, for it was cruel : 
 I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter 
 them in Israel. 
 
 8 % Judah, thou art Ite whom thy 
 brethren shall praise : tliy hand shall be 
 in the neck of thine enemies ; thy fa- 
 ther's children shall bow down before 
 thee. 
 
 Scripture phrase, brethren are those who are alike in minners, 
 and agree in the same design. Compare Job x.vx. 2y ; Ps. cii. 6' ; 
 Prov. xviii. 9. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 6. O viy soul, come not thou &c.] He utterly disclaims all know- 
 ledge of their wicked deed beforehand ; and all approbation of it 
 afterwards. By soul is meant himself: and the word honour 
 seems to mean the same ; or else it signifies the tongue, as in other 
 places of Scripture, particularly Ps. xxx. 12. The meaning then 
 is, He never in thought, much less in word, assented to what 
 tiiey did. Bp. Patrick. Though Jacob .seems, from what is re- 
 corded in chap, xxxiv, to have lu-ged only jmidential reasons 
 against the crime committed by these two brethren, yet we may 
 fairly conclude, from the manly abhorrence which he expresses 
 here, that his conduct in that transaction was altogether free from 
 censure. Dr. Durell. 
 
 secret ;] A secret place or closet, where cabals are usually 
 
 held. Bp. Patrick. Their secret cruel designs. Dr. Wells. 
 
 theij slew a man,^ The original word, thougli singular in 
 
 its form, is frequently used for any number of men : though it 
 may be matter of indifference, wliich of the two numbers we 
 adopt here. The singular answers more exactly to Hamor, the 
 chief of the Shechemites ; but the plural represents in a stronger 
 light the murder of " all the males." Dr. Durell. 
 
 Ihei/ dissed down a wall.'] In order to break into Hamor's 
 
 house, and' so krU him and his son. Dr. Wells. Or, as the inha- 
 bitants of Shcchem are meant by the former sentence, so is the 
 town of Shcchem by " the wall," which they are here said to have 
 " digged down." Locke. Many read, " They slew a bullock," that 
 is, a prince : meaning the pi-ince of Shechem, chap, xxxiv. 26. 
 Script, illust. 
 
 -,. — I will divide them in Jacob, &c.] The tribe of Simeon 
 had not any inheritince properly of theic own, but only a por- 
 tion in the midst of the tribe of Judah, Josh. xix. 1 — 9 ; whence 
 several of them afterwards went in quest of new habitations, 
 1 Cliron. iv. 39, 42, and so were divided from the rest of their 
 brethren. As to the tribe of Levi, they had no inheritance al- 
 lotted to them, but were dispersed .imong all tlie tribes, ha\nng 
 certain cities assigned to them, with a little land adjoining. This 
 indeed did not prove a curse to them, they liaving the tenth of all 
 the increase of the land : for this curse seems to have been taken 
 off, by reason of their eminent service in falling on the worship- 
 pers of the golden calf, and so consecrating themselves to the 
 Lord, Exod. xxxii. 26, 29; on which accomit Moses blesses this 
 tribe a httle before his death, Deut. xxxiii. 9: «hcreas he gives 
 no blessing to the tribe of Simeon, but leaves them under the 
 curse here pronounced bv Jacob. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. Judah, thou art he whomthi, brethren shall praise :1 Vr, con- 
 fcss. The rest of the nation shall be called Jews, and theu- whole 
 countrj' Judca, from Judah. See Esth. iii. 6 ; Matth. xxvu. 3. . 
 This tribe was famous also for their conquests over their enemies, 
 Judg. i. 2, and the dominion, which it enjoyed over their bre- 
 thren. It was famous for the kingdom of the house ot David ; 
 but especially, because the Messiah was born of this tribe, whose 
 kingdom is everlasting. Bp. Kidder. . l- u v 
 
 The name of Judah signifies praise : it was given him by hw 
 
 P
 
 The blessing ofjudah. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Zebulun, Issachar, 
 
 Bofor* y Judah is a lion's wiielp : from the prey, 
 icsii.' my son, thou art gone up : he stooped 
 down, he couched as a lion, and as an old 
 lion ; who shall rouse him up y 
 
 10 The sceptre shall not depart from 
 Judah, nor a lawgiver fiom between his 
 teet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him 
 shall the gathering of the people be. 
 
 11 Binding his fole unto the vine, and 
 his ass's colt unto the choice vine ; he 
 
 mother, in gratitude to God for him ; and liii father here alludes 
 to it, with a view to the applause, which Judah should receive 
 from his brethren. Up. Patrick. 
 
 y. Judah is a lion's rvhclp :'\ He sets forth in this verse the war- 
 like temper of this tribe, their undaunted courage, and the tcrroiir 
 the)' inspired into their enemies, lips. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 This tribe gave early proofs of its valour, being the first that 
 went to fight against the Can.aanites alter Joshua's death. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 from the prni, my son, thou art cone up ;] He speaks as if 
 
 he saw them returning in triumph with the spoils of their ene- 
 mies ; alluding to lions, who, having gotten their prey in the 
 plain, return satiated to the moimtiins. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 he stooped down, he couched as a lion,'] The Hebrew word 
 
 signifies a grown lion, come to his full strength ; by whose stoop- 
 ing doMii and couching to take his rest, Jacob sets forth the ease 
 and quiet, that Judoli should enjoy ai'ter their victories, without 
 any fear of disturbance. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 vho sliall rouse him up ?] Tliat is, as all other creatures 
 
 are afraid to disturb a full grown lion, so shall all the neighbour- 
 ing n.itions be alraid to assault the tribe of .Judah or any of the 
 Israelites, during tlu- great iK)wer which tliat tribe shall possess 
 in the days of David and Solomon. And this shall be fulfilled in 
 u much higher manner, when the kingdoms of the earth sh.iU be- 
 come the kingdom of Christ, who is expressly and emphatically 
 styled " the Lion of the tribe of Juda," a.s He in whom this pro- 
 phecy is to receive its utmost completion. Dr. Wells. 
 
 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,l The word, trans- 
 lated sceptre, signifies a rod or .vtajfof arty kind ; and particularly 
 the rod or staff, which belonged to each tribe as an ensign of 
 their authority. What is here meant is, that such autliority as 
 Judah then had, was to remain with his posterity ; that is, that 
 he should not cease from being a tribe, or body politick, having 
 rulers and governours of liis own, till a certain period here fore- 
 told. Bp. Dlenlon. 
 
 ' nor a lawgiver from between his feet,'] The word, render- 
 ed langiver, signifies, not only one who makes laws, but likewise 
 one who exercises jurisdiction. The meaning is, there should not 
 be wanting a judge of the race and posterity of Judah, according 
 to the Hebrew phrase of children's coming from between the feet 
 until the time here foretold. Ih}. Newton. 
 
 until Shiluh come ;'] That is, until the coming of the 
 
 Messiali. For howsoever tne word Shiloh be explained, whether 
 it signify lie who is to be .tent, or the Peacemaker, or any otlier 
 of tlie senses, usually given by interpreters, the Messiah is the 
 jierson plainly intended. 
 
 The j)ron)ise tlien to .Fudah means, that his tribe .should con- 
 tinue a distinct tribe with rulers and judges and governours of its 
 ouni, until the coming of the Messiah. In eju-ly times the tribe 
 of .ludali made as considerable a figure as any other. The second 
 king of Israel was of the tribe of Judah ; and from that time to 
 the Babylonish captivity, Judaii had not only the sceptre of a 
 tribe, but the sceptre of a kingdom. When it was promised, that 
 the sceptre should not depart from Judah, it was implied that it 
 should depart from the other tribes : accordingly the tribe of 
 Benjamin became an ajjpendage to the kingdom of .Judah, and 
 the otlier ten tribes were carrietl into Assyria, whence they never 
 returned. The Jews also were carried captive to Bal)ylon,' but re- 
 turned after seventy years. During their captivity they had live<l 
 as a distinct people ; had rulers and governours of their own j and 
 
 and 
 
 (lie Berore 
 CHRIST 
 
 168<). 
 
 washed his garmt?nts in wine, 
 clothes in the blood of grapes : 
 
 1'2 His eyes shall be red with wine, and 
 his teeth white with milk. 
 
 13 % Zebulun shall dwell at the haveu 
 of the sea ; and he shall be for an haven of 
 ships ; and his border shall be unto Zidon. 
 
 14 ^ Issachar is a strong ass couching 
 down between two burdens : 
 
 15 And he saw that rest •a.'as good, and 
 
 a " prince of Judah," Ezra i. 8. These princes and rulers ma- 
 naged their return and settlement afterwards. Ai"ter the Baby- 
 lonish captivity, they lived under the dominion of the Persians, 
 Greeks, and Romans, not so free as before ; but still as a distinct 
 people under their own laws. The authority of their rulers and 
 governours subsisted under these foreign masters ; afterwards un- 
 der the Asmonean princes ; and e\cn in our Saviour's time. Tlieir 
 power indeed in capital causes, especially those relating to the 
 state, was abridged. The sceptre was then departing ; and in 
 about forty years it totally departed. Their city was taken ; their 
 temple was destroyed ; and they themselves were either slain with 
 the sword, or sold for slaves. And from that time to this, they 
 have never formed one bo<ly or society, but have been dispersed 
 among all nations; tlieir tribes and genealogies have been all 
 confounded ; and they have lived without a ruler, without a law- 
 giver, and without supreme authority and government in any 
 part of the earth. And this a captivity not for seventy year.s, but 
 for seventeen hundred. Bp. Newton. 
 
 unto him shall the gathering of the people be.] That is, of 
 
 the Gentiles. This is foretold in ni;fny otner Scriptures. It be- 
 gan to be fulfilled in Cornelius the centurion. Acts x, and in a 
 I'ew years the Gospel was disseminated in the most considerable 
 parts of the then known world. Wc oiu-selves were of the Gen- 
 tiles, but are now gathered unto Christ. Bp. Netvton. 
 
 1 1. Binding hisfok unto the vine, Sic] The expressions in this 
 verse are somewhat hyperbolical ; i'or they imply that vines in 
 this country were as common as thorns in other places, so that 
 they might tie asses with their colts to them ; and wine as plen- 
 tiful as water, so that they might wash their clothes in it. They 
 were however in a great measure fulfilled in that fertile land, 
 which fell to the tribe of Judah : for here was the valley of Eshcol, 
 from which a bimch of grapes was brought by the spies as a spe- 
 cimen of the fruitfulness of the land. Numb. xiii. 23. And here 
 was a brook, or torrent of the same name, .ilong the banks of 
 which were the most delicious pasture grounds for cattle. Modem 
 travellers tell us of the large grapes and rich pasture grounds, 
 about Jerusalem and the valley of Hebron. Stackhouse. 
 
 13. Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of tlie sea;] Had Jacob 
 been present at the division of the land of Canaan, he could 
 hardly have described Zebulun's lot more exactly, than he did 
 two hundred ,-ind fifty years before it happened. It extended 
 from the Mediterranean sea on the west, to the lake of Genne- 
 sarct on the east, and was very commodious for trade and navi- 
 gation. Such particuliu-ities as these must have convinced the 
 Israelites, that it was not chance, nor power, nor policy, that gave 
 tliem the land of Canaan ; but Go<rs right hand, and His arm, 
 and the light of His countenance, because He had a favour unto 
 them. Stackhouse. 
 
 unto Zidon.] Not the city of Zidon, for the tribe of Ze- 
 bulun did not extend beyond mount Carmel, forty miles from 
 thence ; but the country of Zidon, or Phenicia, which Zebulun 
 touched. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 l-i. Issachar is a strong ass] The description of Issach.ir is no 
 less remarkable : since, though a laborious people in rural em- 
 ployments, they had no inclination to war ; and were therefore 
 frequently subjected by strangers, especially in the time of the 
 Judges. Stackhouse. 
 
 As he compares Judah to a lion, for his valonr ; so he compares 
 Issachar to an ass, which was principally employed for hard la- 
 bour in those coimtries. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, 
 
 CHAP. XLIX. 
 
 and Joseph. 
 
 cinnsT *^^^ ^^^^ ^'^^^ '^ ^'"'* pleasant; and bowed 
 1GS9. his shoulder to bear, and became a servant 
 unto tribute. 
 
 16 f" Dan shall judge his people, as one 
 of the tribes of Israel. 
 
 17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, 
 t Heb. t an adder in the path, that biteth the 
 'sLZ?"" horse heels, so that his rider shall fall 
 
 backward. 
 
 18 I have waited for thy salvation, O 
 Lord. 
 
 19 ^ Gad, a troop shall overcome him : 
 but he shall overcome at the last. 
 
 20 ^ Out of Asher his bread shall be 
 fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. 
 
 '21 % Naphtali is a hind let loose : he 
 giveth goodly words. 
 
 1 i3. — he saw that rest was good,'\ He should prefer husbandry 
 to war or merchandise, and love peace and quiet as husbandmen 
 do. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and the land that it was pleasant ;] The famous valley of 
 
 Jezreel was in tliis tribe ; the border of which extended as far as 
 Jordan, where was a very pleasant country. Josh. xix. 18, 22. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 16. Dan shall Judge his people, &c.] Though Dan was the son 
 of a bondwoman, yet his posterity shall be governed by a ruler 
 of his own tribe, as well as the descendants of Rachel and Leah. 
 Bps. Patrick and JVilson. 
 
 17. Dan shall be a serpent by the nay, &c.] This is supposed 
 to be a description of Samson, who was of that tribe, and, by 
 pulling down the temple on the Philistines, overthrew them by 
 craft and subtletj-. Perhaps it rather belongs to the tribe of Dan 
 in general, as the foregoing prophecies to the other tribes : Jacob 
 foreseeing that they would manage their wars rather by cunning 
 and deceit, than by open hostility. An example of this occurs, 
 Judg. xviii. 27. Stackhottse, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18./ have waited for thy salvation, Lord."] In these words, 
 Jacob, ibreseeing the distresses of his children, prays that God 
 would help them, and teach them to look up to Him in their ne- 
 cessities, especially to wait for the Messiah. Or, perceiving his 
 approaching death, and his spirits beginning to fail him, he in- 
 terrupts his speech to his sons with this exclamation, signifying, 
 I wait, O Lord, for a happy deliverance out of this world into a 
 better place. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 Q. Gad, a troop shall overcome him : Ac.^ The Inheritance of 
 Gad being in a frontier country, they were often invaded and 
 harassed by tlieir neighbours, the Ammonites, Moabites, &c. 
 Judg. X. 7, 8, 17. But as they were a fierce and valiant people, 
 Deut. xxxiii. 20 ; in time they overcame them, Judg. xi. 33 ; 
 1 Chron. v. 18—22. Bp. Kidder, Pyle. 
 
 20. Out of Ashe r'\ That is, out of his country. Bp. Patrick. 
 Asher's tribe shall be situated in a plentiful tract, aboiuuling not 
 only with e.vcellent provisions of all kinds for human life ; but 
 some part of it, namely, the delicious valley about Carmel, pro- 
 dueing the choicest fruit, fit to be served up to the table of kings. 
 Josh. xix. 26". Bp. Patrick, Pyle. 
 
 21. Xaphlali is a hind let loose:'] And like it, will be great 
 lovers of liberty. To preserve the peace and freedom of their 
 country, they will use great smoothness and address in treating 
 with the neighbouring people. But wlien urged by necessity, 
 will prove as swift and valiant ui defending their coimtry, as any 
 other tribe. As in the instance of Barak's expedition, Judg. iv, 
 and y. Pyle. 
 
 The prophecy relating to Naphtali may be thus translated, 
 " Naphtali is a spreading oak, wliich producetli beautiful boughs:" 
 Jacob probably meant hereby to denote the flo\u:isliing condition 
 of the land, which this tribe should possess. Dr. Durcll. Or, it 
 
 22 f Joseph /.* a fruitful bough, even a "'^f"" 
 fruitful bough by a well ; a-Ao.se t branches ^"iJi^^ 
 run over the wall : ^ n<.b. 
 
 23 The archers have sorely grieved him, *""«*'"■'■ 
 and shot at him, and hated him : 
 
 24 But his bow abode in strength, and 
 the arms of his hands were made strong 
 by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob ; 
 (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of 
 Israel :) 
 
 2.7 Even by the God of thy father, who 
 sliall help thee ; and by the Almighty, who 
 shall bless thee with blessings of heaven 
 above, blessings of the deep that lieth un- 
 der, blessings of the breasts, and of the 
 womb : 
 
 26 The blessings of thy father have prc- 
 
 may be translated, " NaphtaU is a deer, roaming at liberty: 
 he shooteth forth noble branches," that is, majestick antlers. 
 The horns of a stag are ample or stinted in their growth, in 
 proportion to the richness or penurj- of his pasture. The pre- 
 diction then of Jacob means : Naphtali shall inhabit a country, 
 .so rich, fertile, and quiet, that after having fed to the full on 
 the most nutritious pasturage, he shall shoot out branches, or 
 antlers, of the most majestick magnitude. Thus the Patriarch 
 indirectly denotes the happy lot of Naphtili. And in fact the lot 
 of this tribe was rich in pasture, and his soil was very fruitful in 
 com and oil. Script, illust. 
 
 22. Joseph is a fruilftd bough. Sec."] See Ps. i. S; .Ter. x\-ii.-8. 
 Joseph is very fitly compared to a fruitful bough, by reason of hig 
 numerous offspring. He was the head of two tribes, Ephraim 
 and Manasseh, and they were both very numerous. Numb. i. 33, 
 35; Josh. xvii. 1^—17; Deut. xxxiii. 17. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 23. The archers &c.] Joseph was, as it were, aimed and shot 
 at, and greatly oppressed by his enemies. His own brethren re- 
 viled hira, shooting at him with the arrows of bitter words : they 
 contrived his death. He was sold into Egypt through envy, and 
 imprisoned by a lie. His chastity was assaulted by his mistress ; 
 his patience exercised by his master and the ingratitude of Pha- 
 raoh's butler. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 24. But his bow abode in .ttrength, Sec] The Divine lielp and 
 mercy did not forsake liim : he was preserved and relieved by 
 the mighty God of Israel. By Him he was kept alive, when his 
 death was designed ; preserved chaste, when he was greatly 
 tempted to lewdness ; rendered prosperous in his lowest circum- 
 stances ; and from them advanced to great dignity, and m.ide an 
 instrument of very great good to others. From thence, that is, 
 from the same Dixine power and mere}-, Joseph, who liad been 
 sold, tempted, maligned, and imprisoned, and greatly oppressed, 
 became the feeder, and stay, and support, (called here sw)ic, com- 
 pare Gen. xxviii. 11,) or rock of defence of his father and his 
 family. " Neither was there a man bom like unto Joseph, a 
 govemour of his brethren, a stay of the people," Ecclus. .\!L\. 15. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 2 .">. Even by] Or rather, from the God, &c. These blessings 
 light upon Joseph, but they come from the God of Israel, who will 
 help him ; and from the Almighty, who will bless him with all 
 temporal blessings. Such are seasonable weather. Lev. xx\i. 4; 
 Deut, xxviii. 12; xxxiii. 11; and consequently a fniitlul land; a 
 numerous offspring, and power to bring them up. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 2(5. The blessings of thy father have prevailed &c.] The bless- 
 ings, which I ha\"e receiveti, and with which I bless thee and thy 
 brethren, are greater than the hlossings of my progenitors, .\br;i. 
 ham and Isaac. Jacob blessed Joseph's two sons ; whereas Abra- 
 ham suffered Ishmael to be cast out; and Isaac bestowed the 
 blessing on Jacob, rejecting Esau. Besides, Jacob was blessed 
 with many sons, none of wliidi were excluded from inhcritajKC, 
 
 P2
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 Jacob Nessfth Benjamin. 
 
 ricforc vailed above the blessings of thy progeni- 
 ^"ic"l.*^ tors imto the utmost bound ot- the ever- 
 lasting liills: they sliall be on the head of 
 Joseph, and on the crown of the liead 
 of him that was separate from his bre- 
 thren. 
 
 27 IF Benjamin slialf ravin as a wolf: in 
 tlie morning he shall devour the prey, and 
 at night he siudl tlivide the spoil, 
 
 'JS % All these ai-e the twelve tribes of 
 Israel : and this i\s it that their father 
 spake unto them, and blessed them ; every 
 one according to his blessing he blessed 
 them. 
 
 29 And he charged them, and said unto 
 
 them, I am to be gathered unto my people: 
 
 ^hap.47. bi,^,,.y „^j. ^,it|, ,^y fathers in the cave that 
 
 is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 
 
 .10 In the cave that is in the field of 
 
 Machpclah, which is before Mamre, in the 
 
 ■ Ch'P- -3- land of Canaan, ' which Abraham bought 
 
 with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a 
 
 possession of a buryingplace. 
 
 but all were heads of their several tribes, and continued among 
 God"s jx-culiar people. " Unto the utmost bound of the everlast- 
 ing hills" may imply, cither the plenty of that part of Canaan, 
 which was the lot of Joseph's children, comprehending the moun- 
 tains of F.phraim, Samaria, and Baslian, Deut. xxxiii. 15 ; or, the 
 eminence and long duration of these blessings, metaphorically 
 expressed by the height and duration of ancient hills. Is. liv. 10. 
 Up. Kidder. 
 
 of' him thai was separate from his hrcthren.'\ The Hebrew 
 
 word iiazir, translated separate, signifies crownca; it appears to 
 be here used in allusion to the superintendents of ,the king's 
 household in Eastern countries, who were called Nazirs, and pro- 
 bably wore some kind of diadem on their heads, by way of dis- 
 tinction. Utackltouse. Separated frum others, either by a vow or 
 by dignity : Joseph is called so in the latter sense, as viceroy of 
 Egypt. Up. Patrick. 
 
 iij. lienjamiit shall rutin as a not/:'] As Judah is likened to a 
 lion, Issachar to a strong ass, Dan "to a serpent, Naphtali to an 
 hind let loose, Joseph to a fruitful bough, or tree planted by the 
 waters ; so Benjamin is fitly conijjared to a ravenous wolf, for his 
 warlike courage and success against his enemies, lip. Kidder. It 
 was a fierce and warlike tribe, as appears from several instances, 
 antl especially in the case of the Levite's wife, Jntlg. xx, when 
 they alone w;ige<J war against all the other tribes, and overcame 
 them in two battles. Bp. Newtvn. 
 
 ill the morning he shall devour the prey, &c.] The mornin" 
 
 and night here arc the morning and night of the Jewish state, 
 which is the sul>ject of all Jacob's prophecy : as in Moses's pfo- 
 phecy, which is an exposition of tills of Jacob, " Benjamin shall 
 dwell in s;ifety ; the Lord shall cover him all the day lon<r," 
 Deut. xxxiii. 1'2. This imports tiiat Benjamin should continue 
 longer than the other tribes, even to the very last times of the 
 Jewish stiite. And this was most exactly fulfilled. As the tribe 
 of Benjamin annexed itself to the tribe of Judah as its head, so 
 it ran the same fortune with it: they went together into captivity; 
 they returned home together ; and were both in bein" when 
 Shiloh came. Bps. Sherlock and Kewlon. 
 
 '-'8. All these are the tmch'C Irihes of Israel:'] From these 
 sprang the twelve tribes of Israel ; or these are the blessings of 
 the twelve tribes. Levi not inheriting as the rest did, th»y arc 
 s;iid to be twelve : or they are so reckonetl, according to .Jacob's 
 words ; for though he expressly mentions Levi, Ijc does not men- 
 
 Jacob's death ; 
 
 31 There they buried Abraham and Sa- j,^*ri|x 
 rah his wife ; there they buried Isaac and icbs. 
 Rebekah his wife ; and there I buried 
 
 Leah. 
 
 32 The purchase of the field and of the 
 cave that is therein was from the children 
 of Heth. 
 
 33 And when Jacob had made an end 
 of commanding his sons, he gathered up 
 his feet into the bed, and yielded up the 
 ghost, and was gathered unto his people. 
 
 CHAP. L. 
 
 1 The mourning for Jacob. 4 Joseph gctieth leave of 
 Pharaoh to go to hiiri/ him. 7 The funeral. 1 5 Jo- 
 seph comjbrtelh his brethren, who craved his pardon. 
 22 His age. '■23 He sccth the third generation of hit 
 sons. 24 He prophesielh unto his brethren of their 
 return. 2.5 He takcth an oath iif them for his bones. 
 26 He dieth, and is chested. 
 
 A 
 
 him. 
 
 ND Joseph fell upon his father's 
 face, and wept upon him, and kissed 
 
 tion Ephraim and Manasseh, but blesses them in Joseph. Bps. 
 Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 blessed them ;] Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, though re- 
 prehended by their fatlier, yet received a blessing in being 
 reckoned as heads of their tribes, and inheritors ot tlie promised 
 land. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 according to his blessing] That is, Jacob told eacli of his 
 
 sons what would happen in aftertinies to his posterity respective- 
 ly, as we are told in the introduction to this prophecy. The 
 word " bless" may signify here to take leave or hid farcivell ; as it 
 appears to be used in 2 Sam. xix. 39; or it is meant, as Calmet 
 says, to denote the last words of a dying parent to his childrej>. 
 Dr. Durell. 
 
 29. — I am to he gathered unto my people:] I must die shortly; 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 30. In the cave that is in the afield &c.] He describes the place 
 so particularly, because he would not have them mistake it, when 
 they went to bury him ; and that he might show his title to it, if 
 the inhabitants of Canaiin, from which he had been absent many 
 years, should deny the right of laying his body there. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3.3. — and was gathered unto his people.] To his ancestors. 
 Hence is inferred the belief entertained in those days of another 
 life, in society with such as were departed out of this life. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 In the history, which the Scriptures give us, of good men in 
 okl time, it is worth observing, tliat their dying appears to have 
 been a circumstance as easy and indifferent to them as to the his- 
 torian who relates it. With Mose.s, it is only, " Go up to mount 
 Nebo, and die." With Aaron, " Ascend to mount Hor," and do 
 the same. And before them, we find the holy Patriarchs, when 
 the appointed hour came, calling their children about them, be- 
 queathing to po.sterity the promised blessing of salvation by the 
 Messiah, gathering up their feet into the bed, and dying with the 
 same satisfaction and complacency, as they would have fallen 
 asleep. .\nd why } but because, having been always accustomed 
 to think of themselves as strangers in the earth, they constantly 
 regarded death as a departure to that other and better country, 
 of which they lived in perpetual expectiition ; and could not 
 therefore be surprised or alarmed, at being called to take posses- 
 sion, as knowing they began their journey in order to finish it. 
 Could we think as they did, we should live as they did, and die 
 as they did. Bp. Home.
 
 hii en^Jjalming ; 
 
 CHAP. L. 
 
 andfuneral. 
 
 CHRIST ^ ^"^^ Joseph commanded his servants 
 1689. the physicians to embalm liis father: and 
 the physicians embalmed Israel. 
 
 3 And forty days were fulfilled for him ; 
 for so are fulfilled the days of those which 
 
 fHeb. are embalmed: and the Egyptians tmourn- 
 "'''"■ ed for him threescore and ten days. 
 
 4 And when the days of his mourning 
 were past, Joseph spake unto the house of 
 Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace 
 in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears 
 of Pharaoh, saying, 
 
 » Chap. 47. 5 * My father made me swear, saying, 
 ^®' Lo, I die : in my grave which I have dig- 
 
 ged for me in the land of Canaan, there 
 shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me 
 go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and 
 I will come again. 
 
 Chap. L. ver. 52. — ilie physicians} Those to -whom the care of 
 embalming belonged. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 embalmed Israel.} The manner of embalming among the 
 
 Egyptians was as follows. A coffin was first prepared, the upper 
 part of which represented the person of the deceased, and was ge- 
 nerally adorned with paintings and embellishments, suitable to 
 his quality. Preparations were then made for embalming the 
 body, the price varying from about £300 sterling, to a very small 
 sum. An incision was first made in the left side, through which 
 they drew all the intestines, except the heart and kicbieys, and 
 then washed them with palm-wine, and other strong and binding 
 drugs. The brains they drew through the nostrils with an hooked 
 piece of iron, and fiUed the skull with astringent drugs. The 
 whole body they anointed with oil of cedar, with myrrh, cinna- 
 mon, and other drugs, for about thirty days : by which means it 
 was preserved entire, without so much as losing its hair; and 
 eweet, without any signs of putrefaction. It was then put into 
 salt about forty days : so that when Moses says, " that forty days 
 were employed in embalming Jacob," he must mean the forty 
 days of his continuing in the salt of nitre, without including the 
 thirty days, spent in the other operations : so that in the whole 
 they mourned seventy days in Eg3rpt, as Moses likewise observes. 
 Last of all, the body was taken out of this salt, washed, and 
 wrapped up in linen swaddling-bands, dipped in myrrh, and 
 rubbed with a certain gum, which the Egyptians used instead of 
 glue, and so restored to the relations, who put it into the coffin, 
 and kept it in some repository, in their houses, or in tombs 
 made particularly for that purpose. Calmel. 
 
 The Egyptians excelled all other people in this art. Bodies 
 thus embalmed remain to this day, and are often brought into 
 these countries under the name of mummies. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — Joseph spake untu the house of Pharaoh,} He does not 
 speak to Pharaoh himself, perhaps because he was a mourner, 
 and for that reason might not come into the king's presence, be- 
 ing looked upon as defiled. See Esth. iv. 2. Bps. Patrick and 
 Kidder. 
 
 5, — in mu grave which I have digged for me} It was usual 
 for men to dig their sepulchres in their lifetime. Bp. Kidder. And 
 Jacob, it seems, had taken care to have a grave digged for himself 
 in the cave that Abraham had bought. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — all the servants} That is, a great number of them ; all 
 that could well be spared. Tims in Matt. iii. 5, all Judea is said 
 to have gone out to John's baptism ; that is, a great many of the 
 inhabitants. Bp. Patrick, Pyle. 
 
 the ciders of his house,} Elder is a name of dignity, as 
 
 in chap. xxiv. 2, where it signifies, the principal servant, who 
 was set over all the rest, as their govemoiir. It appears from 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1689. 
 
 6 And Pharaoh said. Go up, and bury thy 
 father, according as he made thee swear. 
 
 7 1 And Joseph went up to bury his fa- 
 ther : and with him went up all the ser- 
 vants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, 
 and all the elders of the land of Egj^t, 
 
 8 And all the house of Joseph, and his 
 brethren, and his father's house: only tlieir 
 little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, 
 they left in the land of Goshen. 
 
 9 And there went up with him both 
 chariots and horsemen : and it was a very 
 great company. 
 
 10 And they came to the threshingfloor 
 of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there 
 they mourned with a great and very sore 
 lamentation : and he made a mourning for 
 his father seven days. 
 
 this place to have been used by the Egyptians, as well as by the 
 Hebrews, long before Moses's time, as a title of honour; as it 
 hath been ever since by all nations whatsoever. Sclden. 
 
 9. — and it was a very great company.} The splendour and 
 magnificence of our Patriarch's funeral seem to be without a 
 parallel in history. The noble obsequies of Marcellus come 
 nearest in comparison. But how do even these fall short of the 
 simple narrative before us ! For what are the six hundred beds, 
 for which the Roman solemnities on this occasion were so famous, 
 when compared to that national itinerant multitude, which swelled 
 like a flood, and moved like a river; to "all Pharaoh's servants, 
 to the elders of his liouse, and all the elders of the land of Egypt," 
 that is, to the officers of his household, and deputies of his pro- 
 vinces ; with " all the house" of Joseph, and his " brethren," and 
 his " father's house," conducting their solemn sorrow for near 
 two hundred miles into a distant country .'' Slackhouse. 
 
 10. — the threshingfoor of Atad,} It is uncertain whether 
 Atad is tlie name of a place or of a man : the threshingfloor was 
 probably not far from Hebron. Dr. fVells. 
 
 beyotid Jordan,} Beyond, not in respect of Egypt, whence 
 
 Jacob's corpse was brought ; but in respect of the place, in which 
 Moses was when he wrote this history, and which was east of 
 Jordan ; consequently the places beyond Jordan lay on the west 
 Why they made this threshingfloor, ratlier than the place of in- 
 terment, the scene of their lamentations, is not so easy to resolve. 
 Perhaps it was a place more convenient to stay in for seven days, 
 than the field of Machpelah : or perhaps it might be the custom 
 at the entrance of the country, whither they were carrying the 
 body for burial, to fall into lamentations, which they might re- 
 peat over the grave. Dr. li'ells. 
 
 they mounted with a great and very sore lamentation :} In 
 
 what this lamentation consisted, we are not told : but in after- 
 times they sat with their faces covered, having ashes sprinkled 
 on their heads, crying out with a mournful voice, sometimes 
 wringing, sometimes clapping their hands together, smiting tlieir 
 breasts or their thighs, with many other expressions of sorrow. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The cries of the Eastern people are especially long in die case 
 of death, and very frightful. I was lodgetl in 10'76 at Ispahan 
 when the mistress of tlie next house to mine died. The moment 
 she expired, all the family, to the number of twenty-five or thirty 
 persons, set up such a furious cry that I was quite sUrtled. These 
 cries continue a long time, then cease all at once : they begin 
 again as suddenly at daybreak, and in concert. Tin's enraged 
 land of mourning continued forty days : not equ.illy violent, but 
 diminisliing from day to day. The longest and most violent act« 
 were when they washed the body, when tliey perfumed it, v hen
 
 Joseph relunieth to Egypt 
 
 G E N E S I S. 
 
 His age .- 
 
 BcTurr 
 CHRIST 
 
 ( ThM is, 
 thf mourn' 
 «n< of the 
 Fgyptiani. 
 
 » ACU7. 
 
 ' Chip. 23. 
 IG. 
 
 fHch. 
 
 c\argfj. 
 
 11 And when the inliabitants of the 
 land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning 
 in the floor of Atatl, they said, This is 
 a grievous mourning to the Egyptians : 
 wherefore the name of it was called || A- 
 bel-mizraini, which is beyond Jordan. 
 
 12 And his sons did unto him according 
 as he commanded them : 
 
 13 For "his sons carried him into the 
 land of Canaan, and buried him in the 
 cave of the field of Machpelah, which 
 Abraham ' bought with the field for a pos- 
 session of a buryingplace of Ephron the 
 Hittite, before Manire. 
 
 14 % And Josepli returned into Egypt, 
 he, and his bretliren, and all that went up 
 with liim to bury his father, after he had 
 buried his father. 
 
 15 5^ And when Joseph's brethren saw 
 that their father was dead, they said, Jo- 
 seph will pcradventure hate us, and will 
 certainly requite us all the evil which we 
 did unto him. 
 
 16 And they tsent a messenger unto 
 Joseph, saying. Thy father did command 
 before he died, saying, 
 
 17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgi^ e, 
 I pray thee now, the trespass of thy bre- 
 thren, and their sin ; for they did unto 
 tliee evil : and now, we pray thee, forgive 
 
 tlicy carried it out to be interred, at making the inventory, and 
 when they divided the effects. Sir ,/. Chardin. 
 
 seven rfay.v.] Tin's was tlie time of publick mourning 
 
 among the Jews in succeeding ages, as appears from 1 Sam. x.\xi. 
 \'.i; Lcchis. xxii. liJ ; Judith xvi. 'i-t. They rejoiced the same 
 length of time at solemn weddings; see cliap. xxix. 27. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 Thus died, and thus was honoured in liis death, the foimder 
 of the Jewish nation, wlio, amidst many mercies, and many visi- 
 tations, sudden and surprising vicissitudes of afflictions and joy, 
 found it the greatest bles-sing of liis varied and eventful hfe, that 
 lie had been the father of a dutiful and affectionate son. It has 
 been said, and, as I believe, truly, that tlicrc is no virtuous qua- 
 lity belonging to the himiim character, of which there is not some 
 distinct and eminent example to be found in the Bible : no rela- 
 tion, in which we c;ui be placed, no duty, which we have to 
 discharge, but that we may observe a pattern for it in the .Sacred 
 History. Of the duty of children to parent.-*, of a son to his fa- 
 ther, maintained under great singularities .-uid vari.itions of for- 
 tune, undinnnished, nay rather increased, by absence, by distance, 
 by unexampled success, by remtite and foreign coiniections, we 
 may sec, in this most ancient of all histories, as conspicuous, and 
 as amiable an instance, as can be met with in the records of the 
 world, in the purest, best ages of its existence. Archdeacon 
 Fairy. 
 
 15. — Joseph ivill peradecniurc hale »«,] Their guilt was so 
 great that it continued to make them suspicious. lip. Patrick. 
 
 This was probably twenty years after their coming into Egj-pt; 
 and forty since the commission of the crime, tjins of great pre- 
 sumption will not suffer him that hath repented them, for ever 
 Suite to forget them : and he shall never be able to remember 
 lem, without shame and liorrour. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 B<•ro^e 
 CHUIST 
 
 KiU'J. 
 
 I Chnp. 
 
 to iUeir 
 Itcurti. 
 
 icns. 
 
 ' Nuiirfj. 
 
 Si'. 39. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 borne. 
 
 < Ilebr. 11. 
 
 22. 
 
 tlie trespass of the servants of the (iod of 
 thy father. And Joseph wept when they 
 .spake unto him. 
 
 18 And his brethren also went and fell 
 down before his face ; and they said, Be- 
 hold, we he thy servants. 
 
 19 And Joseph said unto them, '' Fear 
 not : for am I in the place of God V 
 
 20 But as for you, ye thought evil a- 
 gainst me ; but God meant it unto good, 
 to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save 
 much people alive. 
 
 21 Now therefore fear ye not : I will 
 nourish you, and your little ones. And he 
 comforted them, and spake t kindly unto fHei' 
 them. 
 
 22 ^ And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, 
 and his father's house : and Joseph lived 
 an luuidred and ten years. 
 
 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children 
 of the third generation : " the children also 
 of Machir the son of Manasseh were 
 t brought up upon Joseph's knees. 
 
 2'1' And Joseph said unto his brethren, 
 I die : and ' Ciod will surely visit you, and 
 bring you out of this land unto the land 
 which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and 
 to Jacob. 
 
 2.5 And ^ Joseph took an oath of the ' Exod. 
 children of Israel, saying, God will surely '^' ''■"' 
 
 17. — of the .teiva/ils of the God of thy father.'^ Besides the 
 command of their father, and their relation to him as his brethren, 
 they urire that they are of the same religion with him. This, if 
 riglitly understood and practised, causes the greatest imion of 
 minds and affections. For how can the worshippers of the same 
 God hate one another ? Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 9. — am I ill the place of God ?] To wliom alone belongs 
 vengeance. Bp. U'il.son. It belongs not to me to punish j-ou for 
 your sins, nor will it become me to remember your former faults, 
 since God hath turned your evil into good. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 20. — but God vicaiit it unto good, &c.] .Joseph does not vaunt 
 his own wisdom and skill ; but acknowledges God as the author 
 of the good which befell him and his father's house. Bp. Kidder. 
 Herein apjiears the wonderful wisdom of God's overruling pro- 
 vidence ; whidi, contrary to the nature of sin and the will of 
 sinners, turns the evil tliey do into good, and directs it to the 
 most excellent ends. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 22. — Joxcph lived an hundred and ten r)earsr\ Eighty of which 
 he spent in great prosperity, being but thirty years old when he 
 first stood before I'haraoh. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 23. — Ephraim's children of the third griierolinii :'^ That is", 
 his great grandchildren. So that Joseph had the pleasure of see- 
 ing his father's blessing upon his own two sons in p.-irt fulfilled : 
 for he saw great grandchildren from I-^phraim ; and grandchildren 
 by one branch of Manasseh. Bp. Patrick, Pi/le. 
 
 24. — his brethren,'] Sucli of the principal heads of liis fa- 
 mily as were then alive. Pylc. 
 
 God will surcli/ visit you,] Accomplish His promise of 
 
 giving you the \md of Canaaii. Pyle. 
 
 25. And .Joseph took an oath] As his father had done of him, 
 cliap. xlvii. SO, .•?]. The oath was to oblige all such as should be 
 alive on their going out of Egypt. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells.
 
 He dieth. 
 
 CHAP. L. 
 
 and is chested- 
 
 nS'lT^T "^'isit yo^i» 3.nd ye shall carry up my bones 
 1635. from hence. 
 
 26 So Joseph died, being an hundred 
 
 ;/f shall carry \ip my bones from henceJ^ He did not de- 
 sire to have his body carried into Canaan imniediatelj', for several 
 reasons ; chiefly. Because the presence of his body with the 
 Israelites might be a pledge to assure them, and a means to 
 strengthen and confirm their faith and hope in God's promises to 
 their progenitors, that He would infallibly put their posterity in 
 possession of the land of Canaan. And accordingly, when Moses 
 delivered them out of Egyjit, he carried Joseph's body along 
 with him, Exod. xiii. If); and committed it to the care of the 
 tribe of Ephraim, who buried it near Shechem, Josh. xxiv. 32, in 
 the field, which Jacob, a little before his death, gave to Joseph, 
 as his peculiar property. Stackhoiise. 
 
 Moses does not tell us what became of the other sons of Jacob: 
 but Josephus saith, they were all carried into the land of Canaan 
 to be buried. For they had probably the same desire, and gave 
 the same charge concerning their bodies, to keep their posterity 
 in hope that God would certainly bring them thither. "Tliis may 
 seem to be imported by the words of St. Stephen also, " Jacob 
 went dowii into Egjpt, and died, he and our fathers, and were 
 carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham 
 bought, &c." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 26. — he was put in a coffin in Egypt-'} Such a chest, as 
 dead bodies were enclosed in, after being embalmed ; to be pre- 
 served in it, until the Israelites should go out of Egypt. Tra- 
 vellers, who have gone to search for mununies, tell us, they found 
 some of the coffins, made of wood, not putrefied to this day ; 
 and others of cloths pasted together, forty times double, which 
 were as strong as wood, and not at all rotten. Up. Patrick. 
 
 Coffins were not used universally in Egypt : and probably they 
 were only persons of distinction that were buried in them. In 
 times so remote as those of Joseph, they might be much less com- 
 mon than afterwards; and consequently Joseph's body being put 
 
 and ten years old: and they embalmed ^"^ 
 him, and he was put in a coffin in £. ^"^^^ 
 
 ST 
 
 1635. 
 
 in a coffin in Egypt may be mentioned, with a design of ex- 
 pressing the great honours the Egyptians paid him in death as 
 well as in life, being treated after the most sumptnous manner of 
 the Egyptians, embalmed and put into a coffin. Harmer. 
 
 Throughout the foregoing narrative we trace in the Patriarch 
 Joseph the character of one, who diligently " exercised himseb" 
 to have always a conscience void of offence towards God and 
 towards nian. " Endowed with a solid understanding, and with 
 a heart alive to virtuous thoughts and to kind affections, he made 
 " the fear of God" the ruling principle of his conduct. He ac- 
 cordingly affords us an example of devout and rational piety; of 
 blameless and manly virtue. To the Ahnighty he was humble, 
 grateful, and resigned; zealous in promoting His glory, and reso- 
 lute in keeping His commandments. To his fellow creatures he 
 w-as, as a son, dutiful and affectionate; as a brother, kind and for- 
 giving; faithful, as a servant and a subject; discreet and benevo- 
 lent, as a nder; of integrity unshaken, and of manners uncorrupt. 
 The concluding chapters of the l)ook of Genesis, which are unex- 
 ampled for the interesting and affecting simplicity of the narrative, 
 present us in this character of Joseph with one of the most fault- 
 less patterns for our imitation. We may therefore reasonably de- 
 mand in the language of the Egj-ptian monarch, and with that 
 enlarged signification, which the Christian will affix to the words, 
 " Can we find such an one as this is; a man, in whom is the 
 Spirit of God ?" And we may then safely conclude, that we are 
 guided by the same Spirit, when we testify our " love of God," 
 by that piety, faith, resignation, gratitude, and obetlience; and 
 our " love of man" by that affectionate behaviour in our domestick 
 relations, by that faithful discharge of our social duties, and that 
 general tenour of kindness and benevolence, which so eminently 
 distinguished this wellbeloved son of Israel, this highly favoured 
 servant of God. Manl's Parochial Senimns. 
 
 The following are the Chapters from the Book of Genesis, appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holydays. 
 
 P„.p t /Trinity Sunday, Morning. 
 
 UHAP. 1. - \ Septuagesima, Ditto. 
 
 20. 
 10. 
 
 30. 
 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 VI. 
 
 IX. to ver. 
 
 XI. to ver. 
 
 XII. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 XIX. to ver. 
 
 XXII. - - ■ 
 
 XXII. to ver. 20. 
 
 XXVII. - - . 
 
 XXXII. - - 
 
 XXXIV. . - . 
 
 XXXIX. . - • 
 
 XLII. - . - 
 
 XLIII. . - • 
 
 XLV. . - - . 
 
 Septuagesima, 
 Sexagesima, - - 
 Ditto, - - - - 
 Quinquagesima, - - 
 \Vhit-Monday, - - 
 Quinquagesima, - - 
 CircumcisicMi, - - 
 Trinity Sunday, 
 1st Sunday in Lent, 
 Ditto, .... 
 Good Friday, - - 
 2nd Sunday in Lent, 
 St. Michael, - - - 
 2nd Sunday in Lent, 
 3rd Sunday in Lent, 
 
 Ditto, 
 
 4th Sunday in Lent, 
 Ditto, 
 
 Evening. 
 
 Morning. 
 
 Evening. 
 
 Morning. 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 Evening. 
 
 Morning. 
 
 Evening. 
 
 Morning. 
 
 Evening. 
 
 Morning. 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 Evening. 
 
 Morning. 
 
 Evening. 
 
 Morning. 
 
 Evening.
 
 THE SECOND BOOK OF MOSES, 
 
 CALLED 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE title of this Second Book of Moses is descriptive of its contents. The word Exodus is of Greek derivation, and signifies a going 
 ml or dqiarlins. from one place to another. Tlie book relates the departure of the Israelites out of Epjpt, after a previous descrip- 
 tion of their sUte of .servitude, of the appointment of Moses, and of the miracles by which he effected their deliverance. It presents 
 us also with the account of their journey through the wilderness, of the solemn promulgation of the I-aw at mount Sinai, of the deli- 
 very of the Ten Commandments, and of the building of the tabernacle. It is uiiiversally allowed to be written by Moses, and the 
 words of Exo<lus arc cited as the words of Moses, by Daniel, David, and other Sacred Writers: there are, besides, no less than twenty- 
 five passages from this book, quoted by Christ and His Apostles in express words, and nineteen more as to the sense. 
 
 Exodus contains a history of one hundred and forty-five year.s, or perhaps of a somewhat shorter period. 
 
 Besides historical event.s, this book contains .some predictions, of which it records also the accomplishment; as that of the deliverance of 
 the Jews, which Moses foresaw and effected, (Exod. vii. 4, .5.) — It likewise describes some which were not fulfilled till after his death, 
 as that concerning the conquest of Canaan, and the future division and allotment of the land, — also those relating to the revolutions 
 tliat were to take place in the govermnent of the Jews, their future subjections, captivities, deliverances, and returns. Dr. Gray. 
 
 Mases proceeds in this book in such an order, as was most natural to a MTiter, relating the different occurrences which took place, ex- 
 actly as they took place. The history is perpetually interrupted with exact details of the laws, as they were occasionally delivered : 
 with minute, and even tedious, though necessary descriptions of the materials and work of the tabernacle and its furniture, of the 
 altar, the ark, the dress of the priests, and the mode of offering the sacrifices: these are detailed in the most inartificial manner, if we 
 consider the Ixwk .as intended for a regular audjinishcd composition. The description of the method, in which these things should 
 be formed, is sprcid through near sixchapters; chap, xxv — xxx; then the history proceeds for five more; and then succeeds a rel*. 
 tion of the fact, th,»t eacli ])articular, directed to be made, was made according to the direction given, in most cases word for word the 
 same as the direction; and this extended through five long chapters, xxxvi — xl. The measures of the curtains, and the boards, and 
 the borders, the numljcr and size of the rings and the loops, of the tenons, and the pillars, and the sockets, of the curtains and the 
 hangings, are enumerated with such exactness, as proves the detail was not at all designed to display in strong and glowing colours 
 the magnificence of the objects described; for such a purpose it is totally unfit, but it is exactly such as was necessary to instruct the 
 ■workmen in the making of them. All this is just and natural if Moses was really the author of Exodus, and if he detailed the cir- 
 cumstances at the time when they occurred ; because he concei\ed the fonnation of all this work, according to a particular model, 
 chap. xxv. 3, 9, and 40, as a matter of important obligation; and worthy a peculiar record, when he tells us, " that according to all 
 tliat the Lord coimnanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work, and Moses blessed them," chap, xxxix. 42. But such 
 an enumeration would have been utterly irrational and unnatural in any other writer, or for any other purjiose. Dr. Graves. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1706. 
 
 * G«ti. 46 
 8. 
 chap. 6. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 The children of Israel, after Joseph's death, do mullipli/. 
 8 The more Ihey are oppressed by a new king, the more 
 they multiply. 1 5 The godliness of the midn'ires, in 
 saving the men children alive. 22 Pharaoh command- 
 eth lite male chitdreii to be cast into the river. 
 
 :.N 
 
 OW ' tliese are the names of the chil- 
 dren of Israel, which came into E- 
 
 Chap. I. ver. 1. Now these are tlie names &C.3 As Moses was 
 about to relate the departure of the children of Israel out of 
 Egjpt; it was very proper to begin with setting dowTi the num- 
 ber of those who came into it, and the heads of the distinct 
 households or tribes; whereby it might the better appear also, 
 how God had fulfilled His promise to Abraham of " multiplying 
 his seed." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 man and his houshold came 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1706. 
 
 g)-pt-, every 
 with Jacob. 
 
 Q Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 
 
 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 
 
 4 Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. tH^b. 
 
 5 And all the souls that came out of the t gcI,. 46, 
 t loins of Jacob were '' seventy souls : for 27. 
 Joseph was in Egypt already. 22*" 
 
 2. Reuben, Simeon, &c.]] He does not report their names in 
 these three verses, according to their birth ; but first the children 
 of Leah ; then one of Rachel's; then those of Jacob's handmaids; 
 and last of all Joseph, who was in Egypt before. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ■'>■ —/"r Joseph tras &c.] Or, tvi/h Joseph who was &c. Jo' 
 seph is not to be added to the seventy, but reckoned among them 
 to make up the number. Bp. Patrick.
 
 The Israelites multiply. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 CH Ri'sT *"' ^"^^ Joseph died, and all his brethren, 
 
 1G35. and all that generation. 
 " Acts 7. 7 IT "" And the children of Israel were 
 ^'- fruitful, and increased abundantly, and 
 
 mwltiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty ; 
 and the land was filled with thera. 
 
 8 Now there arose uj) a new king over 
 Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 
 
 9 And he said unto his people, Behold, 
 the people of the children of Israel are 
 more and mightier than we : 
 
 10 Come on, let us deal wisely \\-ith 
 them ; lest they multiply, and it come to 
 pass, that, when there faJJeth out any war, 
 they join also unto our enemies, and fight 
 against us, and so get them up out of the 
 land. 
 
 11 Therefore they did set over them 
 taskmasters to afHict them with their bur- 
 dens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure 
 cities, Pithom and Raamses. 
 
 tifct.. ^ 1^2 tBut the more they afflicted them, 
 nffiicud '^^ the more they multiplied and grew. And 
 them. %^ they were grieved because of the children 
 
 they mxiiti- ex i 
 
 /;/iVd.fic. ot Israel. 
 
 1-3 And the Egj'jjtians made the chil- 
 dien of Israel to serve with rigour : 
 
 14 And they made their lives bitter 
 
 7- And the cliildren of Israel were f mil fid, &C.3 They in- 
 creased to such numbers, strength, and riclies, as to fill all the 
 countrj' of Goshen, and some other of the neighbouring parts of 
 Egyq)!. P///c. In the course of two hundred j-ears and upwards, 
 the seventy liad increased to about six hundred thousand men, 
 Exod. xii. 37. Bp. Patrick. Moses exjjresses the prodigious in- 
 crease of their numbers and power by a remarkable amplification 
 of tem;s : " and they were fruitful, and increased abundantly, 
 and multiplied, and waxetl exceeding mighty ; and the land was 
 filled with them. " Dr. Hairs. 
 
 8. — a lien' /./h^'] New in his laws and manner of gtrt em- 
 tnent. Bp. Hal/. Of a new house and family, perhaps. Bp. Kid- 
 der. Or it may be sufficient to understand, a king different from 
 him who advanced Joseph, though of the same race. Dr. Wells. 
 
 kiicm not Josepli.'\ L'nthankfully forgot the great service, 
 
 ■which Joseph had done to the kingdom and crown of Egypt. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 p. — more and mi^ldier than ire .•]] This was not really true ; 
 but he said it to awaken his people to consider how to suppress 
 them. Bp. Patrick. More mighty in proportion than we ; or 
 more than is consistent with our safety. Pi/le. Pharaoh's pre- 
 tences for oppressing the Israelites were, 1st, Their gi-eat num- 
 ber, ver. 9. 2dly, A fear lest they should join with the enemies 
 of Egypt in the event of war, ver. 10. ifdly. Lest they should 
 go out of Egypt when they pleased, \er. 10. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 The fear entertained by Pharaoh, lest the Israelites sliould 
 " get them up out of the land," was a reasonable apprehension : 
 for Egypt was, in every age, subject to the incursions of that 
 fierce and barbarous people, the Arabians, on that very side which 
 the Israelites inhabited : who, possessing their owii district, 
 unmixed w ith the Egyptians, had the keys of the counti-y in their 
 hand>, to admit or exclude an invader at pleasure. To prevent 
 so probable a danger, their taskmasters are ordered to increase 
 their ojjpressions : and they groaned under them w ithout power to 
 resist, till set free by the almighty ha3id of God. Bp. Wurhurlon. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 The godliness of the inidzcives. 
 
 with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, ^^""^ 
 and in all manner of service in the field : '^"e'^ss." 
 all their service, wherein they made them 
 serve, xvas with rigour. 
 
 15 ^ And the king of Egypt spake to 
 the Hebrew midwi\es, of which the name 
 of the one uris Shiphrah, and the name of 
 the other Puah : 
 
 16 And he said, "When ye do the office 
 of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and 
 see them upon the stools ; if it be a son, 
 then ye shall kill him : but if it be a daugh- 
 ter, then she shall live. 
 
 17 But the midwives feared God, and 
 did not as the king of Eg^-jit commandetl 
 them, but saved the men chikh-en ali\e. 
 
 18 And the king of Eg^-pt called for 
 the midwives, and said unto them. Why 
 have ye done this thing, and have saved 
 the men children alive ? 
 
 19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, 
 Because the Hebrew women are not as the 
 Eg}-ptian women ; for tiiey are li\ely, and 
 are delivered ere the midwives come in 
 unto them. 
 
 20 Therefore God dealt well with the 
 midwives : and the people multiplied, and 
 waxed very mighty. 
 
 Pharaoh's treatment of them was a violation of their rights, as 
 a free people, naturalized in his country. Dr. Hales. 
 
 11. — treasure cities, Pilliom and Raainses.'] ?'ortified cities, 
 in which he had stores of corn, provisions, ammunition, &c. Bp. 
 Patrick. Pithon or Bethon, " the house of On," or the Sun, was 
 a second Heliopolis, built upon tiie confines of Arabia, according 
 to Ptolemy. Bri/anl. Instead of Raamses, the Cireek version 
 reads IJameses ; and Eusebius s;iys, that Rameses, which gave 
 name to tliat district of the land of Goshen, Gen. xlvii 11, was 
 built by the Israelites. Besides these store cities, on the con- 
 fines of the desert of .\rabia, Josephus mentions tliat the Israelites 
 were employed in making canals and embankmenLs, to prevent 
 the overflowing of the river; and also in building pyramid*. 
 Perhaps the principal brick pyramids, found in Egypt, were their 
 work. Dr. Hales. 
 
 1 .5. — the name of the one ti'as Shiptirah, &c.] It is not to be 
 supposed, that there were only two mid^vivcs to ser\e the whole 
 nation : but these were probably the chief, who had the rest un- 
 der then- government. Bji. Patrick. 
 
 16. — see them upon the stools ;~\ Seats contrived for women 
 in labour, that the miilwives might the better do their office. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 //' it he a son, then i/e shall kill him .] By which means, 
 
 in no long time, none would be bom, that were n<»t h.ilf Egj-p- 
 tians ; and so tlie Israelites would be soon lost in tliat nation. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 If). — for theii are lieeli/, &c.] Many of the Hebrew women 
 may have been such as here described, if not all. The answer of 
 die midwives is therefore so tiu- from being, as sometimes repre- 
 sented, an unworthy falsehood to .wic their li\cs, th.it it is a bold 
 confession of their faith and piety to the hazard of them: pur- 
 porting tliat they saw so plain an evidence of the wonderl'ul h;md 
 of God in that extraordiiuiry vigour in the travail of tlie women, 
 tliat, do what Ph;u-aoh would, they durst not, would not. obey 
 him, because they would not strive against God. Dr. Lightfool. 
 
 Q
 
 Moaes is honi, and 
 
 V. X ODTTS. 
 
 hvoughl up III/ PJiaraoh's (laughler. 
 
 Ikforc 
 CHRIST 
 
 iliout 1573. 
 
 " Chsp. C. 
 
 sa 
 
 Numb. SG. 
 59. 
 
 liTI. 
 
 * Acts 7. 
 W). 
 
 Hcbr. II. 
 l."3. 
 
 yi And it came to pass, because tlie 
 iiiiclwivL's ffuii'il (It.il, that lip m;Nk' them 
 liuiises. 
 
 <ifi Ami rharaoli charged all his people, 
 savinir, Every son that is horn ye shall cast 
 into the river, and e\er\' ilaunhter ye shall 
 .save alive. 
 
 CHAP. H. 
 
 1 yjivits is horn, 'J and in an ark nixl into the fti-s-t. .5 
 Hi is fouHil, ami /irun^.l »p In/ P/iar/iuh'x iltuig/ilcr. 
 11 lie sliii/rtli nil I^ajf/'iiiin. \:i lie rcprovdli an Hc- 
 lirrn: 1 1> lie Jleci/i iulu Miilian, 2 1 lie marricth 
 Xipjmnili. 2'2'Gers/wm i.i horn. '2.'{ God rcspeclelh 
 the Israelites' cry. 
 
 AN I) there went " a man of the house 
 of Levi, and took to 'dije a daughter 
 of Levi. 
 
 2 And the woman conceived, and bare 
 a stm: and wlien slie saw him that he 
 zcas a goodly c/iih/, she '' hid him three 
 months. 
 
 3 And wlien she could not longer liide 
 him, she took lor him an ark of bulrushes, 
 and daubed it with slime and with pitch. 
 
 21. — he made them hoiisei.^ 'I'hat is, He lilcssed the mid- 
 wives witli a peculiar increase of their own i'aniilies and estates. 
 Pyle. Otiicrs refer them to the Israelites, understundinu- the sense 
 to be, " Ciod !)}■ tiiesc means niultiphed and increased the Israel- 
 ites," which is expressed by " making them houses." Bp. Kid- 
 dv. 
 
 252. And Pharaoh eharged all his people, &c.] Tliis decree 
 was in force at the birth of Moses, sixty-four years after the 
 death of Joseph ; and was probably enacted soon after the birth 
 of Ifis i-ltler brother Aaron, three years earlier, who was not sub- 
 ject to the decree. A\'e may date it therefore about the thirty- 
 second ye.ir of their bondage; ;ind about ;m hundred and thirty- 
 three years alter their settlement. Dr. Hales. 
 
 Chap. II. ver. 1. — there nrni a man &c.] The name of tlie 
 father of Moses was .\mrani ; .ind his mother's name wius Jochc- 
 bcd, chap. \ i. 'JO. They were both of tiic tribe of Levi. Aaron, 
 his elder brother, w.-is three ye.irs older tii.m he; and Miriam, 
 his sister, probably sevi-n or eight years older than AiU-on. ('«/- 
 met. 
 
 '-• — and hare a son ;] The entire account, w hich the book of 
 Exodus delivers of the |>rivate life of Moses, for the eighty ^i^ears 
 which preceded his divine nn'ssion to deliver the lsr.ieiites. is 
 contained in two short chapters: at his birth, the narr.itive with a 
 beautiful simplicity notices the very n.itinal circumstance, th.it 
 "when his mother saw him that he was a goodly ciiiid, she hiil 
 liim three months." All that follows is pl.iin and artk.-s, full of 
 tJie simplicity of jiatriarcii.al life, and unmixed with any circum- 
 stances tending to exalt the ])ersonal character of the lawgiver, or 
 m.irk him out as peculiarly fitted for so high a destiny ; but it is 
 distinguished, like the other parts of the Pentateuch, in which 
 Mo.>es sjieaks of himself, by the most decisive proofs of candour 
 and impartiality. Dr. Craves. 
 
 3. — she took for him an ark of hidru.ihex,'] A little vessel or 
 b.xsket made of rushes: which she "daubed with slime and with 
 pitch," to keep out the water ; and " laid in the flags by the brink 
 of the river" Nile, that it might remain concealed without bein" 
 cairird away by the stream, or that she might suckle the child in 
 tlic night. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 nn ark of hulrii.thrs.'] This .irk was probably of the fonn 
 
 of one of tha,c boats, with which the river was always covereil. 
 
 and put the child therein ; and she laid it (.f^l^W^ 
 in the flags by the river's brink. ' 1571. 
 
 1. And his sister stood afar off, to wit 
 what would be done to him. 
 
 5 % And the daughter of Pharaoh came 
 down to wash herself' at the river ; and her 
 maidens walked along by the river's side ; 
 and when she saw the ark among the flags, 
 she sent her maid to fetch it. 
 
 6 And when she had opened it, she saw 
 the child : and, behold, the babe wej)t. 
 And she had compassion on him, and said. 
 This is one of the Hebrews' children. 
 
 7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's 
 daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a 
 nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may 
 nurse the child for thee ? 
 
 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 
 Go. And the maid went and called tbe 
 child's mother. 
 
 9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto 
 her, Take this child away, and nurse it for 
 me, and I will gi\e thee thy wages. And 
 the woman took the child, and nuised it. 
 
 and made like tliem of " bulrushes," or flags of the papyrus, of 
 which the Egyjitians made their paper, luiil which grew particu- 
 larly on the banks of the Nile. 'J'liis papyrus was strung enough 
 ti> hold out the water, and smooth enough to receive the " slime 
 and pitch" with wliich it was smeared; and by its lightness fit- 
 test to swim with the child's weight. The vessels of bulrushes, 
 mentioned both in sacred and profane history, were no other 
 than larger fabricks made of the papyrus, in the same manner as 
 tliia ai-k of Moses. Dr. Waicrland, Dr. }>han\ 
 
 4. Ami his sister stood afar o//',] Tlie mother of Moses doe.e- 
 not leave her child without a guardian. No tyranny can forbid 
 her to love him, whom she is forbiildcn to keep. Her daughter's 
 eyes must supply the jjlace of her arms. And if the weak affec- 
 tion of .1 mother were tlins effectually careful, what shall we 
 think of Ilim, whose love, whose compassion, is, as Himself, in- 
 finite.^ His eye, His hand cannot but be witli us, even when 
 we forsake ourselves. Moses had never a stronger protection 
 about him, no, not when all his Israelites were pitched about his 
 tent in the w ilderness, than now when he lay an outcast, alone, 
 upon the w.itcrs. No w.iter, no Egypti.'ui can hurt him. Neither 
 father 7ior mother dare own him : and now (lod challenges his 
 custod}'. When we seem most neglected and forlorn in ourselves, 
 then is God most present, most vigilant. I>p. Hall. 
 
 5. — to wash herself (it the river -^ Not for pleasure probably, 
 but for purification ; this being an ancient rile of religion in alt 
 ages, for j)ersons to cleanse themselves by w.ashing after any de- 
 filement. Bp. Patrick. The people of F.gypt, especially the fe- 
 males, express their veneration \\>r the Nile, in return for the 
 benefits received from it, bj' plunging into it when it begin.s- 
 to overflow the country. It is probaljle, that w'hen the daughter 
 of Pharaoh bathed in the river, it was in com))liance with some 
 such custom, perhaps of an idolatrous kind. Irwin mentions a 
 ceremony, whicii is observed by some of the Egypti.in females, 
 of going with singing and dances to solemnize tlie first visible 
 rise of the Nile, and to bathe in the river. Ilarmcr. 
 
 8. And I'karuoli's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went 
 &c.] Here we see an amazing concurrence of circumstances J 
 and those of great moment, and liighly interesting, which could 
 not be the effect of chance. 'J'licy were certainly brought about 
 by that Divine Wisdom, which can influence our hearts, and order 
 our goings, and make us subservient to the will of God. Which
 
 5 
 
 3 

 
 Moses slayetli an Egyptian, 
 
 CHAP. IL 
 
 and Jleeth into Midiun. 
 
 chrTst ^^ ^'^"^^ *'^® ^'^^'^ S''e^'. ii"tl slie brouglit 
 1571. him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he be- 
 came her son. And slie called his name 
 II That is, II Moses : and she said, Because I drew 
 hnn out of the water. 
 
 11 ^ And it came to pass in those days, 
 \\\\e\\ Moses was grown, tlmt lie went out 
 unto his brethren, and looked on their bur- 
 dens : and he spied an Egyptian smiting 
 an Hebrew, one of his brethren. 
 1531. 12 And he looked this way and that 
 
 way, and when he saw that there xcns no 
 man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him 
 in the sand. 
 
 often makes use of a series, and evolution of e\ents, simple in 
 tlienisehes, and obvious, but ^v(lnde^•flll in their texture, and 
 combination, towards the accompli.shnicnt of His high decrees. 
 Uri/iiiil. 
 
 10. — site hroitnJil ]iim itnlo rharaoli'x daiighlcr,'^ Who was a 
 married woman, without children, according to the Jewish histo- 
 rian Josepluis. Bp. Pnliirh: 
 
 ciiid lie became her sutir\ Her adopted son. Accordingly 
 
 slie gave him a princely education ; and caused him to be in- 
 structed "in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," Acts vii. '12. Bj>. 
 Patrick. Josephus says, that he became a man of eminence 
 among them ; was made general and leader of their armies ; and 
 fought some battles with conduct and success. Sliiickford. Thus 
 did he find an asylum in the very palace of his intended destroyer ; 
 while his intercourse with his own family and nation was still 
 most naturally, though unexpectedly, maintu'ncd : so mysterious 
 are the ways of Heaven ! And while he was instructed " in all 
 the wisdom of the Egyptians," and bred up in the midst of a luxu- 
 rious court, he acquired at home the knowledge of the promised 
 Redemption of Israel: and, " by faith in the Redeemer Christ," 
 refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter ; choosing ra- 
 ther to suffer affliction with the peo))le of God, than to have en- 
 joyment of sinful pleasures for a season ; esteeming the reproach 
 of Christ (or persecution for Christ's sake) greater wealth than 
 the treasure of Egypt : for /;(• liad respect unto the (future) re- 
 compense of the reward, or looked forward to a future state. Dr. 
 Hales. 
 
 Moses .-3 Which in the Egyptian language signifies one 
 
 saved or drawn out of the water. Mo or Mon was the Egj'ptian 
 for water. Cahnet, Bryant. 
 
 11. — when Moses was grown, thai he went out &c.] Being now 
 forty ytars old. Acts vii. ii3, he was moved by God to go and 
 acquaint himself more particularly with the condition of his bre- 
 thren ; and to own himself, moi-e than he had hitherto done, to 
 be one of them. Bp. Patrick. One of the noblest instances on 
 record of despising popular opinion, when it opposes duty, is 
 furnisiied in the conduct of Moses. He was in the highest credit 
 in the court of Pharaoh, and enjoyed all the luxuries of Egypt. 
 He had had intercourse with the Israelites, no doubt, in various 
 shapes ; and was well acquainted \\\xh the prophecies of C hrist, 
 from the times of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He had that faith 
 therefore, which all true Israelites had, in a promised Saviour ; 
 and in obedience to that faith he thought it his duty to break 
 away from all the allurements of his splendid situation, and take 
 his fortune with his poor oppressed countrymen. Many, no 
 doubt, were the reproaches he sufl'ered on this apparently strange 
 choice. The wit and ridicule of Pharaoh's court would undoubt- 
 edly be pointed against him ; and all who heard of his leaA ing 
 sucii advantages, for no consideration as it appeared, woidd de- 
 ride his folly. Moses however considered these scoffs of the 
 world as trials only of his faith : " he had respect unto the re- 
 compense of the reward ; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater 
 riches than the treasures in Egypt." Gilpin. If we had Moses's 
 tiith, we could not but make his choice. It is only our infidelity, 
 tliat binds us to the world, and makes us prefer the momentary 
 
 1;-J And when he went out the second J^'*'''"* 
 da}, behold, two men of the Hebrews ^"5"?.^^ 
 strove together : and lie said to him that 
 did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy 
 fellow ? 
 
 11' And he said, Who made thcetatHcb. 
 ])rince and a judge over us? intendest thou ""'""'" 
 
 : 1-11 1 1 -11 1 1 n . I'nnct. 
 
 to kill me, as thou kijiedst the Egyjitian? 
 And Moses feared, and said, Surely this 
 thing is known. 
 
 1.} Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, 
 he sought to slay Mo.scs. lint Closes Heel 
 iVom the iace of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the 
 land of Midian : and he sat down by a well. 
 
 pleasures of sin unto tliat everlasting recompense of reward. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 12. — he looked this irai/ and t/ial way,] Thougli he knew he 
 had a secret calling to deliver the Israelites, )ct, because it was 
 not publickly known, lie cirricd himself warily in the business, 
 and looked round about. Bj). Hall. 
 
 he slew the Ku'i/fitian,'] By comparing the two accounts 
 
 of this matter here and in the Acts, it ajjjjcars that tlie Israelite 
 sufl'ered wrongfulh. Eor .St. .Stephen says, that Moses saw him 
 " suffer wrong," or " treated injuriously." The maniicr, as repre- 
 sented here, was, that lie observed the Egyptian " smiting" him ; 
 and that to such a degree, that, according *to St. Stephen, the 
 Israelite was "oppressed," or rather, "quite debilit-.ted," and l.iy 
 at his mercy. Upon this Moses stepped in, and " defended and 
 avenged him ;" that is, agreeably to the original, " rescued liim, 
 and vindicated his cause, or did him justice," by killing the 
 Egyptian, there being probably no other way of doing it. It is 
 not said indeed, that the Egyptian had a murderous design, 
 and would have proceeded to kill the Israelite, when he had 
 him in liis power, if Moses had not interposed. But the circum- 
 stances of the narrative, and the char.icter of Moses, as tlie meekest 
 man upon earth", m.ake it very prob.ible. Nor does the word used 
 both by the Septuagint and by St. .Stcj))ien concerning .Moses, as 
 smiting the Egyptian, necessju-ily signify that he designed to kill 
 him. But if he had not, it would certainly have been a verj' im- 
 prudent action to have struck him at all : since, had the Egyptian 
 lived to make his com])laint at court, it must very probably have 
 cost Moses his life. This action therefore m.iy be considered, as 
 done to save the life of an innocent man in the utmost extre- 
 mity bv the death of him, who would otherwise have killed him. 
 The Israelites had doubtless a nat\iral right to rescue themselves 
 from the unjust slavery, to which they were reduced. And any 
 one of them had the like right to defend his own life against any 
 single Egyptian, who should atUick it, though by the death of tlie 
 aggressor. ,\nd that a thinl jicrson might rescue another from 
 one about to murder him, appears from Cicero to ha\e been an 
 allowed case : and Grotius produces the opinion of several ancient 
 writers among both the Greeks and the Romans, in supj)ort of 
 that principle. Dr. .John Ward. 
 
 \-,. — he sought to slaji yioses.'\ The volunt.u-y killing of .1 
 person was, according to the laws of Egypt, certain dcatli to tlio 
 aggressor. Of what antiquity the law v ,is, is uncertain. But all 
 the laws of Egypt are said to ha\e been ^■ery ancient. Bri/ant. 
 
 Moses fed from the fire of Pharaoh':] Though he could 
 
 satisfy his own conscience in ha\ ing killed tlie Egyptian, yet he 
 had not received a commission from (iod to .ict publickly as the 
 deliverer of the Israelites, and so could not well justify his action 
 to Pharaoh : nor had he reason to expect, that God should protect 
 him in an extraordiiiarj' manner, since his safety could be pro- 
 vided for at present by ordinary means ; n.uiicly, by withdrawing 
 from Egypt. Dr. Wells. 
 
 the land of Midian :~\ \ part of Arabia Petrca. vhere 
 
 some of Abrahain's posterity were settled, Cicii. xxv. 2. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. It Lay upon the farther side of the two inlets to tlic Red 
 sea, to tlic cast of the H'ildcrncss of Sin and Etham : about eight 
 
 Q3
 
 Moses mankth Zipporah. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 God respecteth the Israelites' cry. 
 
 B«forr 10 Xow the II pricbt of Midian hail seven 
 ^"iii.^^ daiigliters : and thcv caiiif ami tlrcw -iatcr, 
 I, Or. and tilled the troughs to water their lather's 
 ^"""- Hock. 
 
 17 And the shepherds came and drove 
 tiiem away : but Moses stood up and help- 
 ed tliein, and watered their flock. 
 
 IS And when they came to Keuel tiieir 
 lather, he said, How" /.v // that ye are come 
 so soon to day ? 
 
 1<J And they said, An EfjN^itian deli- 
 vered us out of the hand of the shepherds, 
 and also drew t^ater enough for us, and 
 watered tlie flock. 
 '20 And lie said unto his daughters, And 
 
 days* journey from Egj-pt. The whole route was through a de- 
 sert. Bri/ant. 
 
 iC). — drew iralrr,"^ See note on Gon. xxiv. 1 j ; and xxix. 9- 
 
 17. — Moses stood up and licl/H-d lhcm,l Moses, wlien hei«ay 
 not in Egypt, will be doini; justice in Midian. In Egyj)t, he de- 
 livers the oppressed Israelite: in Midian, the wronged daughters 
 of Jethro. A good man will be doing good, wheresoever he is. 
 His practice is a compound of justice and charity. As therefore 
 evil ilispositions cannot be changed by clijnate, no more will 
 good. lip. Hall. 
 
 18. — AV«t7 their fallierr\ The name of the priest of Midian 
 va-s Jethro, I'xod. iii. 1 ; so that either Reuel was his name as 
 well as Jethro ; or else Reuol was the father of Jethro, and there- 
 fore grandfather of these young women. Bp. Patrick. It is usual 
 in Scripture to call the grandfather, father: see Gen. xxiv. 48, 
 ■where Kelx^kah is called Abraham's brother's daughter : slie was 
 in fact his grandaughter. Bp. Kidder. See tile note on Jer. 
 xxvii. 7. 
 
 19. — An F.s,'ipl'aii driivcrrd u.f\ So they took Moses to be 
 from his speech and habit. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 21. — lie gave Moses Zippora/t tiis daughter.'] It may be made 
 a standing observation, that the sacred authors do not relate :dl 
 the particidars of a story, as other authors delight to do ; but 
 such only as are most material. We may therefore suppose that 
 a great many things intervene<l, between Moses's entrance into 
 Jetliro's family, and his marriage to his daughter : especially con- 
 sidering that his children were so young at his return into EgJ^pt 
 after an absence of forty years. Stackhou.ii: This marriage of 
 Moses was contrary to the usage of his forefathers, and of the 
 Hebrews in general ; ;uid seems to intimate that he thought him- 
 self quite alienated from his countrymen. Brijant. 
 
 '2i. — Ccrsliom ;] That is, a desolate stranger. Bp. Patrick. 
 A stranger here. Catmct. 
 
 All this while Mo.ses's affection was not so tied to Midian, that 
 he could forget Egj-pt. He was a stranger in Midian : what was 
 he else in Egypt ? Surely, either Egypt was not his home, or a 
 miserable one ; and yet, in reference to it, he calls his son " Ger- 
 shoni," a stranger here. Much better were it to be a stranger there, 
 than a dweller in Egypt. How hardly can we forget the place of 
 our abode or education, although never so homely ! And if he so 
 thought of his EgjTJtian home, where was nothing but bondage 
 and tyranny ; how should we think of that home of ours, above, 
 where is nothing but rest and blessedness ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 ■ for tie said, I have been a stranger &c.] During his long 
 exile, Moses was trained in the school of adversity for that ar- 
 duous mission, which he had anticip;ited ; and so became " very 
 meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth," 
 Numb. xii. 3. And no man indeed had greater trials, or more 
 occasion for meekness. And his humility was equal thereto: his 
 backwardness afterwards to undertake that mission, for which he 
 was de.stined from the womb, was no less remarkable than Iris 
 ■forn^rdncs! before, Exod. iv. 10—13. Dr. Hales. 
 
 where is he ? why is it that ye liave left the chki'st 
 man ? call him, that he may eat bread. 1531. 
 
 '21 And Moses was content to dwell with 
 the man : and he gave Moses Zipporah his 
 daughter. 
 
 '2ii And she bare him a son, and he call- 
 ed his name 'Gershom : for he said, I have ' Chap. m. 
 been a stranger in a strange land. "" 
 
 23 % And it came to pass in process of 
 time, tliat the king of Egypt died : and 
 the children of Israel sighed by reason of 
 the bondage, and they cried, and their 
 cry came iij) unto God by reason of the 
 bondage. 
 
 12 1 And God heard their groaning, and 
 
 Si. And God heard their groaning, See.'] He favourably con- 
 descended to listen to their petition, which was the first step to 
 their deliverance. He "remembered His covenant;" which gives 
 the reason of His gracious condescension, because He was mind- 
 ful of His ancient promises to their forcfatlier.-;. He " looked upon 
 them ;" or, took notice of their affliction and liard labour. And 
 He " had respect inito them ;" and determined forthwith to effect 
 their deliverance. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 " God doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." 
 It is therefore reasonable to suppose, that the severe chastisement, 
 which He caused the Israelites to undergo, was in consequence of 
 some great and n.-itional defection, such as that, of which they 
 were in aftertimes guilty, and of which they hail probably been 
 guilt)' in Eg3pt, in neglecting His worship, and coui]jlying too 
 nuich with the idolatrous customs of the country : aiul that it 
 was accordingly designed to remind them of their sad degeneracy 
 from the virtues of their ancestors ; and so, in the phrase of the 
 Prophet, to make them " look to Abraham their father, and to 
 Sarah that bare them," Isai. li. ii. 
 
 Or supposing them to have been not thus cul}iable, since 
 " whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son 
 whom He reccivetli," (iod may ha\ e permitted such c;damities to 
 befall His adoj)ted jieople, the more to exercise their virtue, and 
 patience, and resignation to the Divine will : the more to keep 
 up a distinction between them and tlie F.gyptians, which friendly 
 usage might have desti-oyed : the more to prepare and make them 
 willing to le;ive Egypt, when C!od should command them to de- 
 part: and the more to heighten the relish of their future deliver- 
 ance, and to make them more tiiankful, more obedient to Him 
 and His injunclions, on every remembrance of that " house of 
 bondage," wherein they had suffered so much, and been so long 
 detained. .Stackhousc. 
 
 In this Iiistory of Israel, here is consolation for the oppressed : 
 that they can engage an invisible hand to vindicate their cause, if 
 they truly turn to Ciod, pour out their sujiplications before Him, 
 trust in Him, and patiently wait for His salvation. For God is 
 full of compassion : He delights to show mercy and lovingkind- 
 ness ; to raise up those that are down ; to release the innocent 
 prisoner, and break the yoke of the proud and haughty from off 
 the neck of His servants. .-Vnd when He is pleased to do this, 
 ■who shall hinder Him.' All Egypt could not hinder Israel from 
 thriving among them, though they had an amiy of taskmasters, 
 and searchers, to murder and destroy them. All Egypt could not 
 murder Moses at tlu-ee months old, though one of their chiefs met 
 ■with him even upon the river. 
 
 We see also, how mindful Gwl is of His promise, and how 
 punctu.il in the perfomnmce of it. He hatl promised four hun- 
 dred years before to give Israel the land of Caiuum, and that time 
 was now expired. 15ut when was Israel in so unhkely a condition 
 to obtain it, as at the expiration of this term, when they most 
 groaned under their Egj-ptian servitude .' This then was a season, 
 most suitable for God to magnify His wisdom and power in ac.*-'
 
 God ajipeareth to Moses 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 in a hurniyig bush. 
 
 CHRIST ^^^ remembered his " covenant witli Abra- 
 
 15J1. ham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 
 ' Gen. 15. 25 And God looked u})on the children 
 t Hd,^*^' *" °^ Israel, and God t had respect unto them. 
 
 knew. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 1 Moses keejKth Jethro's fiock. 2 God appeareth to him 
 in a burning bmh. 9 He scndetli tiiiii to deliver Israel. 
 14 Ttie name of God. 15 His message to Israel. 
 
 1491. IVJO^^^ Moses kept the flock of Jethro 
 JL\ his father in law, the priest of Mi- 
 dian : and he led the flock to the backside 
 of the desert, and came to the mountain 
 of God, even to Horeb. 
 
 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared 
 
 complishing His promise. WTien tliere is no help in man, then is 
 the ami of the Lord most easily seen, and the work is most con- 
 fessedly to be ascribed to Him. Let this confirm us in the faith 
 of our eternal redemption, of which the deliverance from EgjTjt 
 was a figure. Let us conclude fi'om hence, that when our burden 
 is great, and our religion oppressed by the overflowings of impiety, 
 and patience is much tired, and hope almost ashamed, then our 
 spii-itual Moses, our gi-eat Prophet like unto him, shall appear, as 
 he did, the second time for our salvation : and dehver us out of 
 this our Egyptian ser\'itude by a glorious resurrection and ascen- 
 sion into our heavenly Canaan, which He has promised us and 
 secured for us, bj' now living and reigning there in our nature, at 
 the right hand of the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one 
 God, world without end. Reading. 
 
 Chap. HL ver. 1. Now Moses kept thejlock &C.3 So Moses was 
 taken from the sheepfold, as David was in aftertimes, to be the 
 ruler of God's people, Ps. Ixxviii. 70. God's power herein ap- 
 peared the more wonderful, that He delivered His people from 
 the Egyptian tj rannj' by one, that was contemptible, or rather 
 abominable to that nation, namely a keeper of sheep. It can 
 hardly te supposed however, but that a person of Moses's educa- 
 tion would, during forty years, find some other employment 
 besides that of keeping sheep. It is probable therefore, that the 
 several arts and sciences, which he had been taught in his youth, 
 he took care to cidtivate and improve in this happy retirement. 
 Bp. Patrick, Stack house. 
 
 the mountain of God, even to Horeh.'\ Otherwise, Sinai, 
 
 Acts vii. 30. Horeb and Sinai seem to have been two tops of the 
 same mountain. It is here called " the mountain of Ciod," be- 
 cause, when Moses wrote this book, there had been this Divine 
 appearance on it. Moses was conducted hither by the providence 
 of God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. — the angel of the Lord^ Christ, the Angel of the Covenant, 
 appeared. Bp. Hall. It is plain that the angel here spoken of 
 was no created being, from the whole context, and especially from 
 His saying, " I am the Lord God, the Jehovali, &c." No angel, 
 without blasphemy, coidd take these titles; and since neither God 
 the Father, nor God the Holy Ghost, is called an Angel, that is, 
 a Messenger; whereas Gotl the Son is called " the Angel of the 
 Covenant," Mai. iii. 1 ; it seems to follow, that this Wiis God the 
 Son, who miglit properly be called an Angel, because in the ful- 
 ness of time He was to be sent into the world in our flesh, as a 
 messenger from GoA. Stackhouse. 
 
 the bush burned witkjire, &c.] ^Vhen I look upon this 
 
 burning bush with Moses, methinks I can never see a worthier 
 and more lively emblem of the Church, that in Egj'pt was in 
 " the furnace," yet wasted not: since then how oft hath it been 
 flaming, never consumed ! The same power, that enlightens it, 
 preserves it: and to none, but to His enemies, is He " a consum- 
 ing fire." Bp. Hall. 
 
 i.— ivlicn tlte Lord saw SiC."] The Lord, who appeared to 
 
 in a ' flame of fire out of the 
 a bush : and he looked, and, be 
 
 Bcfure 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 * Arts 7. 
 
 3a 
 
 unto him 
 
 midst of ^^^ 
 
 hold, the bush burned with fire, and' the 
 bush 'das not consumed. 
 
 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, 
 and see this great sight, why the bush is 
 not burnt. 
 
 4 And when the Lord saw that he turn- 
 ed aside to see, God called unto him out 
 of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, 
 Moses. And he said. Here avi I. 
 
 5 And he said. Draw not nigh hither: 
 
 " put off" thy shoes from off" tliy feet, for ' Josh. s. 
 the place whereon thou standest is holy V' „ 
 ground. ^ *"*'•''• 
 
 the Patriarchs, is allowed by the best and most judicious writerji 
 to have been the same Divine Person who afterwards "took upon 
 Him the seed of Abi-aham," and was made man, and dwelt among 
 the Jews: and accordingly the prophet Zechariah, chap, xii, calls 
 this Person, whom the Jews were to pierce, Jehovah. But since 
 no person could be justly called Je/iovah, unless he were truly 
 and essentially God; since we must conclude with Isaiah, that 
 God would " not give His name and glory to another;" since, 
 according to the words of the Apostle to the Hebrews, we ought 
 to think this Divine Person " so much better than the angels, as 
 He hath obtained a more excellent name than they:" it must ap- 
 pear, from this Person being after called by the name of Jehovah 
 in the Old Testament, that we have in that Testament great and 
 weighty proofs of our blessed Saviour's true and essential Deity. 
 I need not remark, that neither Abraham nor his children ran 
 into the errours of polytheism; for though it api>ears that they 
 acknowledged more persons than one to have a right to the es- 
 sential name of God, yet their belief was, that the Lord their God 
 was (one Jehovah) one Lord. God, whom no man hath seen 
 at any time, nor can see; and the Lord, who appeared unto 
 Abraham, were not supposed to be one and the same person: 
 but as they were called by one and the same name, by a name 
 which could not be given to another, so they were believed to be 
 of one nature, they were one Being; in a word, as is expressed 
 by Moses, they were one Jehovah, though revealed to be more 
 persons than one. Shuckford. 
 
 5. — Draw not nigh hither:'] In that appearance, God meant 
 to call Moses to come: yet, when he is come, inhibits him, " Come 
 not hither." We must come to God: we must not come too near 
 Him. When we meditate of the great mysteries of His word, we 
 come to Him: we come too near Him, when we search into His 
 counsels. The sun and the fire saj' of themselves, " Come not too 
 near;" how much more the light, which none can attain unto! 
 We have all our limits set us. The Gentiles might come into 
 some outer courts, not into the inmost: the Jews nu'ght come 
 into the inner court, not into the temple: the priests and Levites 
 into the temple, not into the Holy of Holies: .Moses to the hill, 
 not to the bush. The waves of the sea had not more need of 
 bounds than man's prcsimiption. Bp. Hall. 
 
 putoff tliy .t/zoct] ."V customary token of reverence in those 
 
 times in Eastern countries. The custom was probably derived 
 from the Patriarchs; it continiu-d to be observe<l by the priests 
 in the service of the tabernacle, though there is no conmiand for 
 it in the law of Moses; and the Maliometans and other Eastern 
 people retain it to this day. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 hohi ground.] Made holy by the special presence of God: 
 
 thus the tibcrnacle, the temple, .md the utensils belonging to them 
 were calletl holy, with all things appropriatetl to the Divine ser- 
 vice. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 All tlnngs that belong to God are holy — His house. His sacra- 
 ments. His word, &-C. are "holy ground;" and when we .approach 
 them, we must put off all uncleanness, and appear with the
 
 GofI sendeth Moses to 
 
 K X O D U S. 
 
 deliver (he children of Israel. 
 
 Before f, MoFcover hp Said, ' I am the God of 
 CIIUIST ^1^^. ^._^^^ ^,^^ ^j^^j ^j. .^,„..,i,.„ii^ tlif (iod 
 
 H9I. 
 
 Maltli. 
 
 of Isaac, and the (Jod of Jacob. And 
 22. 3;(. JMoses hid his face; for he was afraid to 
 
 Acts7. 3J. IqqI^ ,,p^,p (^Jy^l 
 
 7t And tlie Loan said, I I lave surely 
 seen the aHhction of my peojjle whicli arc 
 in K!X\n)t, and liave Iicard their cry by rea- 
 son of their taskmasters; for I know their 
 sorrows ; 
 
 S And I am come down to deliver them 
 out of the hand of tiie Egyptians, and to 
 bring them up out of that land unto a 
 good land, and a large, unto a land flow- 
 nig with milk and honey; unto the place 
 of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and 
 the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the 
 Hivites, and the Jebusites. 
 
 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the 
 children of Israel is come unto me : and I 
 
 profoundest reverence, and the greatest puritj' of soul. JVo- 
 gan. 
 
 6. — l/ie God of Abraham, &c.] Ilavinir made a covenant that 
 He would be their God after a prcidiar manner; tor otherwise He 
 was tlje CJod of Xoali, and of all the holy Patriarchs before him. 
 But He is called the Gcxl of Abraham, Isaac, and .lacob, for a 
 peculiar reason, because of the promise made to tliese three of 
 the ble.s.sed Seed that should .sprinjr from lliem, in opposition to 
 tlie pretensions of other neighbouring people who were their 
 rivals in that hope. These words signify the same as if He had 
 said, the Ciod of .Vbraham and not of Lot, as the y\innionites and 
 Moiibite-s pretended; the Gotl of Lsaac; and not of Ishinael, as his 
 posterity pretended ; the GihI of Jacob, and not of Ksau, as tJie 
 iidoniitcs boasted. Dr. Allijc. 
 
 -Moses was the son of Aniram, Amrani of Koliath, Kohath of 
 Levi, Levi of Jacob, Jacob of Isaac, Isaac of Alirahani. God 
 here phices together both ends of the pedigree; " I am the God 
 of thy father; and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." 
 If He had only said, " I am tiiy (>od," it had been the duty of 
 Moses to attend awfully; but now that He says, " I am the God 
 of thy father, and of Abraham, &e." He challenges further reve- 
 rence by prescription. Bp. Hall. 
 
 And Mi/scs hid his /'ace; &c.] Moses at first was bold: he 
 
 goes towards the biisli to behold this strange a])pearance; but 
 hearing God was there, he " hid his face, and was afraid." This 
 sufjgests a sentiment of great use, to repress the fond iiresuniption 
 of spiritual pride; and ma)' ))lainly shew, that the more C!od 
 revealeth Himself to man, and the nearer man drawetli imto God, 
 the f^reater will be liis reverence and lioly fear, the dee|)er his 
 sense of his own imperfections and unworthiness. Il'mran. 
 
 8. — a land flowing with mill; and honci/;^ A country frtiilfiil 
 and well watered; full of fair pitslures and flowers, where tiie 
 flocks might abound with milk, and the bees might fill their cells 
 with honey. The poats of .Syria, which includes this country of 
 Canaan, are said to have afforded a sjrcater ])lenty of milk than 
 those of any other country. Bp. I'alrick. And besides the fre- 
 quent expressions of Scripture, which denote that honey was tbr- 
 merly very common in Palestine, travellers observe, that it is at 
 this day in great plenty there, and that the inhabitants mix it in 
 all their sauces. Calmd. 
 
 10. Come now therefore, and I will send thee &c.] Moses liiid 
 l)ow proliiibly given over all thoughts of ever seeing or coming 
 again to the Israelites. But the private affairs of all considerate 
 men afford them, I Injlievc, many instances of some turn of life 
 brought about by the direction of Providence in unexpected 
 events, which could not be compasKcd by all the schemes 
 
 have also seen the oppression wherewith (,"^,['j^j. 
 the Egyptians oppress them. hpi. 
 
 10 Come now tlierefore, and I will send 
 thee unto Pharaoh, that thou niayest bring 
 forth my people the children of Israel out 
 of Egypt. 
 
 \\'% And Moses said imto God, Whotf?M 
 I, that I shoidd go unto Pharaoh, and that 
 I should bring forth the children of Israel 
 out of Egypt ? 
 
 V2. And he .said, Certainly I will be 
 with thee ; and tiiis shall be a token un- 
 to thee, that I have sent thee: When 
 thou hast brought forth the people out 
 of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this 
 mountain. 
 
 13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, 
 •xhen 1 come unto the children of Israel, 
 and shall say unto them, The God of your 
 fathers hath sent me unto you; and they 
 
 which they themselves could contrive and execute. Thus it 
 happened in the life of Moses in a most extraordinary manner. 
 Shuchford. 
 
 that Ihoii mni/csl bring forth mi/ people'] I'rom this time 
 
 we are to consider (iod as the king of this people; not in general 
 only, as He is Lord of the whole world; but in .t j)roper and 
 peculiar manner; for whatever authority or jurisdiction the kiiijjs 
 of other nations exercised over tlieir subjects, as power of life 
 and death, of making laws and leagues, &c. the same preroga- 
 tive did the Lord of lieaven and earth reserve to Himself alone 
 over the children of Israel, on which ground Moses was delegated 
 to be His ambassadoiu- to the king of I',gypt, and constituted, iia 
 appears by the whole story. His deputy or viceroy over Israel. 
 Bp. Palriclc. 
 
 12. — thin shall be a token ii/ilo thee, ^c.] The present miracle 
 of the burning busii shall be a previous token of assurance of 
 gowl success, through the future assistance of the same Almighty 
 ])ower. Pifle. Moses Avas frightened when lie heard his desti- 
 nation. He started back from a just sense of the greatness of the 
 undertaking, and a fearful consciousness of his own inability. It 
 ])UMsed God to assure liim of His guidance and protection; and 
 I le added, " this shall be a token &c." This was a circumstance, 
 were it not for the Person who ))romised and appointed it, scarcely 
 to be believed. For what connection had Horeb Avith the borders 
 of Canaan? the road from Egypt being in a quite different direc- 
 tion. When however this was afterwards accomjilished, it was a 
 sure token, that the mission of Moses was from God. Bri/ant. 
 
 \o. — and theif shall sai/ to me, JVhat is his name? &:c.] The 
 revelation which God had made of Himself being hitherto im- 
 perfect, Moses, by desiring to know God's name, clesired to have 
 some revelation of His nature and attributes. The ancients did 
 not give names arbitrarily, and without reason. Gen. iv. 1, and 
 25; V. 29; xxv. 2;), 30. Some names were given by God Him- 
 self, expressive of the nature or circumstances of the person. 
 Gen. v. 2; xvii. 5; xxxii. 28. And men endeavoured from the 
 beginning to give names as expressive ,i.s they could. Gen. ii. 23; 
 iii. 20. The Egyptians were curious in attempts U) name per- 
 sons in this m.inner, even before Moses's days. Gen. xli. -15. And 
 tlie Israelites afterwards thought a person well named, when his 
 n.ame expressed his nature, 1 S;mi. xx\-. ■■25. The samp observa- 
 tion applies to the name or names, Avhich God thought fit to 
 give of Himself, and which were descriptive of His attributes. 
 See Exod. xxxiii. IS, 1(); xxxiv. j — 7. And in the same man- 
 ner the name of the Messiah is .spoken of. Is. ix. ti ; Matt. i. 
 21, 23. The design of Moses then, in»asking God's name, was 
 to obtain information concerning tlic Divine natiuc and attri^
 
 The name of God. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Before 
 
 c HIM ST ^^^'"^^^ ^^y ^^ '"^' ^l^at is his name? what 
 nyi. shall I say unto them ? 
 
 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM 
 THAT I AM : and he said, Thus shah 
 thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM 
 hath sent me unto you. 
 
 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, 
 Thus shalt thou say unto the children of 
 Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the 
 God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and 
 the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you : 
 this is my name for ever, and this is my 
 memorial unto all generations. 
 
 16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel 
 together, and say unto them. The Lord 
 God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, 
 of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, 
 saying, I have surely visited you, and seeii 
 that which is done to you in Egypt : 
 
 17 And I have said, I will bring you up 
 out of the affliction of Egypt imto the land 
 of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and 
 the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and tlie 
 
 butes, in order to know what duties He would expect from the 
 Israelites, and how they were to serve Him. Skuckford. 
 
 So great at this time was the degeneracy of the Israelites 
 in Egypt, and so sensible was Moses of its effects, in igno- 
 rance of, or alienation fi'om, the true God, that he would will- 
 ingly liave declined the office ; and when absolutely commanded 
 to undertake it, he desired that God would let him know by 
 wbat name He would be called, when the people should ask the 
 name of the God of their fathers. In which we see a people, 
 not only lost to all knowledge of the unity, for tlie asking for a 
 name necessarily implied their opinion of a plurality ; but like- 
 wise possessed with the very spirit o( Egyptian idolati'y. The 
 religion of names was a r,i.itter of great consec(ueiice in Egypt: 
 it was one of their essential superstitions — it was one of their 
 native inventions; and the first of tliem which they communicated 
 to the Greeks. A name was a peculiar adjunct to a local tutelary 
 deity. Out of indulgence to tliis weakness, God was pleased to 
 give Himself a name : where we may observe, according to the 
 constant method of Divine \Visdom, when it condescends to the 
 prejudices of men, how, in the very instisnce of indulgence to 
 their superstition. He gives a corrective of it. The religion of 
 names ai-ose from an idolatrous polytheism ; and tlie name liere 
 given, Avhich implies eternity and self-existence, directly opposes 
 that superstition. Bp. Warbiirton. 
 
 14. — / inn that I am:'\ I am constantly and eternally iin- 
 changealile, being of Myself, one and the same for ever. Even 
 thus thou shalt describe and express Me to the children of Israel. 
 Bp. Hall. He doth not say, I am this or that particular thing ; but 
 in general I am, ami I am that I am. Whereby he plainly in- 
 terprets his name Jehovah, whicii signifies He is, or Being it- 
 self, without any restriction or limitation ; as St. John expresses 
 it, " which is, and which was, and which is to come," Rev. i. \. 
 Bp. Bevciidge. This very name, thus expressed by tlie Apostle, 
 is given to Jesus Christ, Rev. i. 8. Bp. li'ilsvii. 
 
 / atir\ It may be rendered, as may the former words, I 
 
 nil! be: As God is, so will He be. And this belongs to Him 
 alone ; no creature can say, I will be. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 13. — The Loud] That, which God Himself in a more especial 
 manner calls His name. Is. xlii. 8, is Jehovah, as we commonly 
 pronounce it : this, in the Greek translation of the Old Testa- 
 ment, and by the Apostles and Evangelists in the New, is con- 
 stantly interpreted by a word, which being commonly used to 
 
 Pharaoh's oUtinacyfuretold. 
 
 Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land ^'^'"'^ 
 flowing with milk and honey. ^"«f.^^ 
 
 IS And they shall hearken to thy voice: 
 and thou shalt come, thou and the elders 
 of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye 
 shall say unto him. The Lord God of the • 
 Hebrews hath met with us : and now let 
 us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey 
 into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice 
 to the Lord our God. 
 
 19 IF And I am sine that the king of 
 Egyjjt will not let you go, li no, not by a II Or, but 
 mighty hand. " tlir"" 
 
 20 And I will stretch out my hand, and 
 smite Egypt with all my wonders whicli I 
 will do in tlie midst thereof: and after that 
 he will let you go. 
 
 21 And I will give this people favour in 
 tlie sight of the Egyptians : and it shall 
 come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall 
 not go empty : 
 
 22 '' But every woman shall borrow of'tiiap. 11. 
 her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth ""^ ''■^^' 
 
 signif}' a Lord or Goveniour, therefore our English translation 
 always renders it the Lord, in capital or great letters; and 
 wherever we read the Loud, in such letters, it answers to Je- 
 hovah ; that is, to the most proper and essential name of God, 
 signifying essence or being itself. Bp. Beveridgc. 
 
 this is my memorial &C.3 By this name will I be remem- 
 bered throughout all generations. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18. — The Lord God of the llchretvs hath met with us: &c.n 
 That is, we ha\ e received a .special command from the Eternal 
 God, whom ^ve and our forefathers worsliip. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 three dai/s' journeif^ They intended to go quite away; but 
 
 are directed to demand at first, to go as l;u- as mount .Sinai, which 
 was by the nearest way but three days' journey from Egj-pt. 
 Bp. Patrick: Pharaoh was to be tried at first witli this request. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 19. — the king of Egypt will not let you ^0,3 God knew before- 
 hand the liardness of Pharaoh's lieart to be such, that he would 
 not yield, " no, not by a mighty hand;" in the niiurgin, '• but by 
 strong liand." Tlie meaning is, till I have performed many mira- 
 cles, and at length cut off all the firstborn in Eg}-pt. Dr. Wells. 
 
 20. — 1 mill — smite Egypt with all my nondcrs^ There was 
 a peculiarity in God's judgments upon the Egyptians ; they were 
 very significant in their operation, and p.irticularly adapted to tlie 
 people, upon whom they were inflicted. They would have been 
 murks of Di\ine power to any nation upon earth ; at Nineveh, or 
 Babylon; in Carthage, or Tyre. But they are remarkably pointed 
 in re.^pect to the Egyptians, and in every inst;mce have a strict 
 reference to their idolatry, such as cannot be so particularly ap- 
 plied to any other people. Bryant. 
 
 22. — every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, &C.3 The 
 Hebrew word, which our triuislators have rendered borroir, docs 
 not signify to bon-ow, but to ask one to give. It is the very won! 
 used in Ps. ii. 8, " Ask of me, anil I sirall give thee tJie heathen 
 for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth lor thy 
 possession ; ' and the fact was this : God told Moses, that the 
 Israelites " sliould not go out of Egypt empty, but that every 
 woman .should ask her neighbour, and the jierson she lived with, 
 to give her jewels and raiment ; and tliat He would dispose the 
 Egyptians to give them ;" and tlius, when they were leaving 
 Egypt, tlie children of Israel a.</kcd the Egj-jitiiuis for " jewels of 
 silver, and jewels of gold, iuid raiment ;" and the Lord gave the 
 people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so tliat they gave
 
 Mnses receh'Clh sigtts from Cod. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 He is loth to be sent. 
 
 1191. 
 
 lOr. 
 
 Before jj, her liouse, jewels of silver, and jewels of 
 HKisT^ Ij^ and raimenl : ami ye shall put llicm 
 
 upon your sons, and ujjon your daugliters; 
 
 and ye shall spoil II the Egyptians. 
 
 CHAl'. W. 
 
 I Mtucs's rod i.i liinial into a ser/M-iil. 6 His liami is 
 leprous. 10 He is lolli lu be sen/. 1 i .liiroii is np- 
 jxMiiled to assist liim. 18 MoKes drparlrlli from Jeiliro. 
 iX Gotrs messHp- lo Pharaoh. 21 Zipi>orah circum- 
 ciselh her sail. ' •2' .-laroii is sent lo meet Moses. 31 
 The jKopU- belicvcih than. 
 
 AND Moses answered and said. But, 
 behold, they will not believe me, nor 
 hearken unto my voice : for they will say. 
 The Loun hath not appeared unto thee. 
 
 2 And the Lord said unto him, What ?.s- 
 that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. 
 
 3 And he said. Cast it on the ground. 
 And he cast it on the ground, and it be- 
 came a serpent ; and Moses fled from be- 
 fore it. 
 
 1- And the Loud said unto jNIoscs, Put 
 forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. 
 And he put forth his hand, and cauglit it, 
 and it became a rod in his hand : 
 
 5 That they mav believe that the Lord 
 God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, 
 the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, 
 hath apj)eared unto thee. 
 
 (j % And the Lord said furthermore un- 
 
 thein wli.it they asked for so Creel v us to impoverish theinselve.s 
 l>y making; jireseiits to them. .losephus represents this fact 
 .-iXreeably to the tnie sense of the s.icre(l text. He says, that the 
 Ef^ptians made tlic Hebrews considerable jiresents ; and that 
 some did so in order to induce tiieni to rjo tiie sooner away from 
 them ; others, out of respect to, and upon account of the ac- 
 quaintiince they liad h.id w ith tliem. Shiiihford. In a ])arallel 
 passajre, Hannaii " freely gave," or consecrate<i to the Lord iier 
 firstl)orn, wliom she iiad ashed, or prayed for, in obedience to 
 the Law of Moses respectinj; the firstborn, 1 Sam. i. 2S ; I'"xod. 
 xiii. 'J. On the itresent mistranslation has been jrraftcd a calumny 
 ;i«ainst the Israelites, as if they cheated the Egyptians: whereas 
 the Lord gave them fa\our in the sight of the Egj'ptians, wlio 
 freely gave what they as freely asked. 7)/-. Hah's. 
 
 The practice of giving, receiving, and asking for ))resents, is 
 very common in the Ilast at this day, and seems to l)c among the 
 us.Tges dcrive<l from remote antiquity. Thus we read that king 
 Solomon (I Kings x. 1.'!) "gave unto the cpicen of Sheba all lier 
 desire, irhalsoevcr she a.\lied, lieside that wliich Solouion gave lier 
 of his royal bounty." The practice is not Iwked upon as any 
 degradation lo dignity, or any mark of a rapacious meanness. 
 Harmcr. See the note on Gen. xxi. 'J". 
 
 ;/e shall .ijkvI the Egi/ptiaiis.'] Not by rapine or stealth, 
 
 but by their own consent. Bp. Patrick. Or, ye shall cmpli/ 
 Egj-pt ; that is, ye shall leave the people in a condition, like 
 those that are spoiled. Bp. Kidder. All this was to be done by 
 the special appointment ot Almighty C;o<l, who is the disposer of 
 all things, and ordered this as one part of the punishment due to 
 the oppressive Egyptians. Pyle. 
 
 Chap. IV. ver. 1. — thet/ mill uet believe &c.] Moses might 
 well suppose, that the Israelites woidd not presently and without 
 a sign give him credit : such signs he now ;isks and God grants, 
 that they might believe the Lord had appeared unto him, and 
 
 to him, Put now thine hand into thy bo- 
 som. And he ])ut his hand into his bosom: 
 and when he took it out, behohl, his hand 
 'xas leprous as snow. 
 
 7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy 
 bosom again. And he put his hand into 
 his bosom again ; and plucked it out of his 
 bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as 
 his ol/ic')' flesh. 
 
 8 And it shall come to pass, if they will 
 not believe thee, neither hearken to the 
 voice of the flrst sign, that they will be- 
 lieve the voice of the latter sign. 
 
 9 And it shall come to pass, if they will 
 not believe also these two signs, neitiier 
 hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt 
 take of the water of the rixer, and pour it 
 upon the dry la7id : and the water which 
 thou takest out of the river t shall become 
 blood upon the dry land. 
 
 10 ^ And Moses said unto the Lord, O 
 my Lord, I am not t eloquent, neither 
 t heretofore, nor since thou hast sjioken 
 unto thy servant : but I am slow of speech, 
 and of a slow tongue. 
 
 11 And the Loud said unto him. Who 
 hath made man's mouth ? or who maketh 
 the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the 
 blind ? have not I the Loud ? 
 
 12 Now therefore go, and I will be 'with 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 H'Jl. 
 
 tHcb. 
 shall be and 
 shall be. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 H vuin itj* 
 W'lrils. 
 t Hcb. 
 since yes- 
 terday^ nur 
 since the 
 third day, 
 ' Watth. 
 10. 19. 
 Mark IS. 
 U. 
 
 Luke 12. 
 II. 
 
 given him a commission for their deliverance. Dps. Patrick and 
 Kidder. 
 
 a. — A rod.2 The staff or wand that he generally used foF 
 driving his flock. Calmct. 
 
 5. That thci) niaif believe &c.] The meaning is. This shall be 
 one miracle, which you shall be enabled to repeat before tlie 
 Israelites, to demonstrate that you arc authorized by Me, the 
 God of your forefathers. P;//c'. 
 
 6. — his hand was leprous as siioir.^ As white with leprosy 
 as snow. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. And it shall conic to pass, &c.] In case the first of these 
 miracles should fail to bring over the people to iiim, his orders 
 were to make use of the second : and if tliat slioiild not be suffi- 
 cient, he was promised a third, which wiis to take water out of 
 the Nile, and turn it into blood before their eyes. This last sigii 
 was not wrought now, because he was in the desert, <uid far from 
 the river. Pi/le. 
 
 It w;u> necessary that Moses should be fiirnished with all these 
 powers, because he came with an unusual commission, wliich 
 would not have been credited, unless confiniicd by such extra- 
 ordinary jiroof All the I'rojihets after him did not work miracles, 
 which Were neccssjiry only when sonic great change was to be ef- 
 fected in the world: and this was the case now at the delivenmce 
 of the Israelites from EgV]it. .After this, they were to be put 
 into a new form and order by a body of pcciili.Tr laws, both civil 
 and religious. And when these laws were notoriously violated, 
 God was pleased by such wonders, as Moses wrought, to turn 
 their hearts back again, as Me did in the days of Elijah, 1 Kings 
 xviii. 37. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 liJ. — / "•'// be with thij month,~\ I will take away thy imper- 
 fection of speech. Bp. Patrick. No observant reader of the writ- 
 ings of Moses can be insensible, that he was in truth, what .St. 
 Stephen styles him, " mighty in words :" for numerous instances 
 may be given of his eloquence. But it is not to be believed that
 
 Aaron appointed to assist Moses. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Moses retumeth to Jeffiro. 
 
 11 Or, 
 sliijiildcst. 
 
 CHRIST ^^^y """out'i' '^"fl t^'ich thee what thou shalt 
 HOI.' say. 
 
 13 And he said, O my Lord, send, I 
 pray thee, by the hand q/' him whom thou 
 II wilt send. 
 
 14< And the anger of the Lord was kin- 
 dled against Moses, and he said, Is not 
 Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know 
 that he can speak well. And also, behold, 
 he Cometh forth to meet thee : and when 
 lie seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. 
 
 15 And thou shalt speak unto him, and 
 put words in his mouth : and 1 will be with 
 thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will 
 teach you what ye shall do. 
 
 16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto 
 the people : and he shall be, cvefi he nhail 
 
 he acquired tliis ability from his Egj'ptian education any more 
 than that he was thereby made " mighty in deeds." also, vhich 
 St. Stephen joins to his power " in words/' and in which he was 
 undoubtedly assistetl in an extraordinaiy manner by the Deity. 
 b/nick-ford. 
 
 13. — send, I prnij thee, hy the hand &c.] Send a more proj)er 
 person, one fitter for the employment, than I am. Bp. Patrick. 
 Driven from all his excuses, Moses is at last compelled to declare 
 openly, tliat he was not inclined for the office, and to intreat God 
 to provide some odier messenger. His backwardness appears to 
 have been produced by such considerations as these : he had 
 long lost tlie influence, which he formerly possessed in Egypt; 
 he had already experienced the ingratitude of the Hebrews, and 
 their rejection of his services ; perhaps also he was still mindfiil 
 of the danger, which had caused him to take refuge in Midian ; 
 besides he was aware of the great weight of the employment^ and 
 conscious of his own infinnities. These considerations may serve 
 to account for Moses's backwardness, and perhaps go some way 
 towards excusuig it. Slackliouse. 
 
 1 1. And the anger of the Lord was kindled &c.] Tliese words 
 seem to import that God was highly displeased at him. Perhaps 
 this anger amomited only to such displeasure, as a father con- 
 ceives against a son when he is too diffident, notwithstanding all 
 that he has said or done to breed in him a just confidence. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother ?] The manner of 
 
 Aaron's introduction into the history is worthy of notice. He at 
 once appears as a kind of as.sistant, and so far an inferiour to his 
 brother Moses ; yet Aaron liad some advantages, which seem to 
 entitle him to prior consideration. He wsis the elder brother, 
 was an eloquent speaker, and was favoured by Divine inspiration. 
 Why he was not preferred to Moses in respect of authority we 
 have no cause assigned : and it is not now for us to assign any 
 other than tlie Divine good pleasure. Calmet. 
 
 Aaron was probably a person of great distinction in the tribe 
 ef Levi, as may be concluded also from his marriage with the 
 sister of the prince of the tribe of Judah, chap. vi. 2^;. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. It should seem that he was in circumstances superiour to 
 those of the lower class of people. One from among such, as were 
 kept to their daily bondage, could ill have spared time and money 
 for a journey to Horeb: his family and his task would have 
 missed him too much. It is reasonable to suppose, that, though 
 the family of these brothers had no pretension to sovereign au- 
 thority by descent, they were probably of consideration by their 
 property, or their office, or on some other account. Calmet. 
 
 he cometh forth to meet thee .-] That is, by My direction 
 
 or suggestion to hmi, he ivill conic forth to meet thee, when thou 
 goest into Egypt. Dr. Wells. Among the most confirming signs 
 given by God to Moses, no doubt, we must reckon tlie intersicw 
 with his brother Aaron ; which, being predicted by God, and 
 Vol. I. 
 
 be to thee instead of a mouth, and " thou ^^"^ 
 shalt be to him instead of God. *^"f9{.*^ 
 
 17 And thou shalt take this rod in thine ■• chap. 
 hand, wherewith thou slialt do signs. '• '• 
 
 18^ And Moses went and returned to 
 Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, 
 Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto 
 my brethren which are in Egypt, and see 
 whether they be yet alive. And Jethro 
 said to Moses, Go in peace. 
 
 19 And the Lokd said unto Moses in 
 Midian, Go, return into Egypt : for alJ the 
 n)en are dead which sought thy life. 
 
 20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, 
 and set them upon an ass, and he returned 
 to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the 
 rod of God in his hand. 
 
 directly happening, was very convincing to Moses. See some* 
 tiling similar in the case of Jereiniah, chap, xxxii. 7, 8- See also 
 Luke xxii. 10. It should seem also, tliat Aaron would not have 
 taken a long journey from Egjpt to mount Sinai at great hazard 
 and at much expense, unless he had been well assured ■>{ the 
 authority which sent liim. Neitlier could he have cxp .led to 
 find Moses, where he did find him, unless bj- Divine diiection; 
 since the place, afterwards called "the mount of God," was then 
 private and unfrequented. Inasmuch therefore, as Aaron was 
 a .sign to Moses liy meeting him there, so Moses was a sign to 
 Aaron. Aaron seems to have joined Moses after the affair of Zip- 
 porah : no doubt, he related to Moses the events in Egypt, the 
 death of the former Pharaoh, &c. Calmet. 
 
 16. — thou shalt be to him instead of God.^ Thou shalt deliver 
 My mind and will to him. Bp. Patrick. By this is meant, that 
 Moses sliould be like a Divine oracle; whose responses were dis- 
 closed by liis priest or prophet. He was, as a divinity, to sug- 
 gest ; and another was to declare his purpose. But the first 
 suggestion was to come from God ; by whom Moses himself was 
 to be originally inspired. " Tliou shall speak unto him, and put 
 words in his mouth : ' but antecedently to this, " I will put words 
 in thy mouth." Thus Moses was made the oracle of God. -■Vnd 
 it is verj- remarkable, that among the Egyptians he was styled 
 Alpha, or more properly Alphi, which signifies the mou/Zi or oracle 
 of God : a term, used by them for an honoiurable and prophetick 
 title. Bri/anl. 
 
 According to the foregoing appointment, when the people and 
 elders of Israel were assembled, it was Aaron " who sj>ake all the 
 words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did all the 
 signs in the sight of all the psople," ver. 30. And in every sub- 
 sequent conference with Pharaoh, and the whole deliverance from 
 Egj'pt, Aaron is the inseparable companion of Moses, and always 
 acte the same subordinate indeed, but yet necessary and important 
 part. Dr. Graves. 
 
 1 7. ihon sitalt do signsr\ Moses and Aaron, the lawgiver 
 
 and priest of His chosen people, appear to have been the first 
 persons, whom God empowered to work miracles. Bp. Tmnlinc. 
 
 18. see n'hclhcr they be yet aliic^ He concealed his mam 
 
 design from Jethro, not thinking it safe perhaps to trust his com- 
 mission to one, wlio, though a good man, was not an Hebrew : 
 or fearing that Jetliro might discourage him from undertekmg 
 what he was noif fullj' resolvetl on. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. — rod of God} The ro<l, which God had commanded him 
 to take, and w-ith wliicli he was to perform miracles. Bp. Pairici. 
 
 It pleased God, who could ha^e wrought His wonders without 
 any xkMe signs, that Moses should use the rod in external de- 
 monstration of the Divine power : yet it is to be observed, Uiat 
 the Lord uses such means as have no power ot themselves, or 
 likelihood to effect that wliich is wrought Thus Naaman was 
 bid to wash lumself iu Jordan, :md our Saviour used spittle and
 
 God's messdse Jo Pharauh. 
 
 I 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 Aaron sent to meet Moses. 
 
 before qi And the Loud siiid unto Moses, 
 '^"«i.^'^ \\lion thou goest to return into Kgvpt, 
 sec tliat thou ilo all those wonders before 
 Pliaraoh, which I have put in thine liand : 
 hut I will harden his heart, that he shall 
 not lei the people go. 
 
 ^^4 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, 
 Thus sailh the Loiiu, Israel is my son, even 
 my lirstborn : 
 
 QS And I say unto thee, T.et my son go, 
 that he may serve me : and if thou refuse 
 to let him go, behold, I ■w'ill slay thy son, 
 ei'eu thy firstborn. 
 
 '21 •[ AjuI it came to })ass by the way in 
 
 (lay to aiiulnt tlie eyes ot" tlie lilinil. Antl this the Lord iloth, 
 Uia't the work .should not lie ascriljcd to the means, li'illel. 
 
 21. — / nill hartlni his heart,'} I will, wlicn he ha-; liardened 
 Iiis own heart, leave hun to his stubbornness .and impenitence. 
 ii;). KidJrr. When Clod is s;ii(l to harden men's hearts, it is not 
 to be imaptincd that He secretly influences their wills, or suggests 
 any .stubboni resolutions to their minds. But knowing how ob- 
 Ktiiiately they are bent on wickedness, He judicially gi\ cs thein 
 uj) to thrir oym madness, and lets them run headlong on to their 
 ccrt.ijn undoing. Dr. ffntcrlanil. It was before the plagues be- 
 jtan to lie inflicted, that the Lord announced to Moses that lie 
 would " harden I'haraoh's heart :" luit it is a remarkable fact, that 
 the threat was ronstantlv suspended, in order, as it appears, that 
 I'liaiaoh migiit '• i^jt his heart" to fiod's judgments, and be obe- 
 dient to Hi.s word. Five ])lngiies l^.-irl already been wrought in 
 liis ))resfnee by "the finger of (iod," and he h.id jjrevionsly hard- 
 ened hifflicart against these «net|uivncal testimonies of Ahin'ghly 
 jMiw er, before the sentence of the Divine wralh was ac((jm])llshed 
 against him, and " the Lord hardene<l his heart, as 1 Ic had spoken 
 by .Moses." ^iit chap. ^ ii. 1j, 'i'i ; vili. ir>, ](), :i'i ; ix. l'.i. 'I'liis 
 result was drawn down uj;on him by his own jirevious obstinacy 
 and nunierou.s provocations. That lie hardened his own heart, 
 ■was his .sin ; that the Lord hardened it, was his punishment. It 
 was an act ot' righteous retributive justice u)ion an impenitent 
 and obstinate sinner, wlio had despised tlie riches of Cjod's mercy 
 and forbearance, and challenged the .se\•erit^• of His anger. Manl's 
 Bamplon Lectures. 
 
 '-'■-'. — Isract is viij son, eren nni firstborn :'] The children of 
 Israel arc My cliosen and .idopted |)eople, both before all other 
 and above all other nations, lip. Hall. Israel is mast dear to 
 Mc, and beloved above all people, as the firstborn son commonly 
 is alwve the other children. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 '-ij. — / H'iU slai/ thif son,~\ Not after the first refusal ; but 
 after a long course of other judgments, which should end, if he 
 were- not refonned bv them, in the death of his firstborn. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 24. — in Ike inn,'} Our translators have here used a very mo- 
 dem term. The Hebrew word signifies only, whei-e they rested 
 all night : which was most probably in some cave, or under the 
 shade of some trees. Shuckford. 
 
 sought to kill him.} Sensibly afflicted him with some sud- 
 den and violent disease, which he knew to be done, on account 
 of his neglect of his son's circumcision. Bp. Hall. Appeared in 
 huch a manner as if He intended to kill him. Bp. Patrick, Dr. 
 Hells. God had been pleased to make a covenant with Abraham, 
 and ordained circumcision as a test of it, and as a badge to all 
 thoit who were admitted to His covenant. And it was enjoined 
 in strong terms, and attended with this penalty to the uncircum- 
 cised person, " th.at soul shall be cut oft'trom h'is people ; he hath 
 broken My covenant," Gen. xvii. U. Of this breach and neglect 
 Moses was ojiparently guilty, having been probably seduced by 
 hjs Cuthite wife. On this .account it is said, " that "the Lord met 
 hmi " m his way tow.ards E.jrjTJt, and offered " to kill him" for not 
 hitvmg had this rite performed on his son. There seems to have 
 l«ai some hesitation on the part of the woman ; but the altcrna- 
 
 the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought ^,^^^l'll.g 
 to kill him. 1491. 
 
 2.7 Tiien Zipporah took a sharp || stone, n Or, knife. 
 and cut off the foreskin of her son, and 
 t cast /■/ at his feet, and said. Surely a bloody t ">^^'".- 
 husband <trt thou to me. '"olcV 
 
 !^() So he let him go: then she said, A 
 bloodv husband llioit art, because of the 
 circinncision. 
 
 '27 % And the Lohu said to Aaron, Go 
 into the wilderness to meet Moses. And 
 he went, and met him in the mount of 
 God, and kissed him. 
 
 s.'8 Ami Moses told Aaron all the words 
 
 tive w.as death, or obedience. Alarmed therefore with her hii.s- 
 band's danger, which was imminent, she pcrfonnedthe operation, 
 concluding with a bitter taunt, " a bloody husband art thou to 
 me." Moses, by his acquiescence, had brought down the neces- 
 sary interposition of the Deity. For how co\dd it \w expected, 
 that a j)erson shoukl be a proniulger of Gwl's Law, who had been 
 guilty of .a \ iolation in one of the first and most essential articles, 
 an<l j)erscvered in this neglect ? Bryant. 
 
 2.). — a .<,harp stoHe,} The knives of stone, u.sed by the Jews 
 in circumcision, were not enjoined by the Law ; but the use was. 
 founded either on custom, convenience, or experience, that instru- 
 ments of this kind were less dangerous than those of metal. Zip- 
 porah used a stone to circumcise her son. .Joshua did the same at 
 Gilgal, .losh. v. 2. The Egyptians used knives of stone to open 
 dead bodies that were to be embalmed. They used .stone knives 
 to make incisions in the tree, whence the balm di.stilled ; also, to 
 cut the canes for writing with. The Africans of Morocco, and 
 some Americans, still have them in couunon use. The Oriental 
 .lews commonly used them for the circumcision of their childi-en, 
 being not unlike flints for guns : but the Western Jewu use a 
 razor. Cahiirt. 
 
 at his fi'ct,} The feet of Moses. 
 
 Sureli/ a blood}) husband &c.] She tells him, either in a 
 
 jiettish humour, as some interpret : or, in a strain of joy, as otiiers ; 
 that she had saved his life, and got him for an husband again, by 
 circumcising his child. Pyle. 
 
 26". So he let him go:} So the Lord no longer threatened Moses 
 with death. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 What circumcision was of old, baptism is now. Forasmuch 
 therefore as our Lord Himself maketh baptism necessary, neces- 
 sary, whether we respect the good received by it, or the testimony 
 thereby yielded to God of our humility and meek obedience; 
 howsoever He, by the secret ways of His own incomprehensible 
 mercy, may be thought to save without baptism, this deareth not 
 us from guilt; if through our superfluous scruples, lets, and im- 
 pediments, we cause a grace of so great moment to be withheld. 
 By such scruples we may do an injury to ourselves, though not 
 to them, towards whom we show them : and we for the hardness 
 of our hearts may perish, although they t'nrough Go<l's unspeak- 
 able mercy may be saved. Ciod, who did not afflict the innocent 
 child, whose circumcision Moses had too long deferred, took re- 
 venge uj^on Moses himself for the injury which was done through 
 so great neglect : giving us thereby to understand, that they, 
 whom God's own mercy saveth without us, are on our parts not- 
 withstanding, and as much as in us lietJi, even destroyed, when 
 under insufficient pretences we defraud them of such ordinary 
 outward helps, as we shoidd exhibit. We have for baptism no 
 set day, as the .Jews had for circumcision : infants therefore are 
 cajjabie of it from the very instant of their birth. And if they 
 have it not, whosoe\er is the occasion of that loss, doth, as much 
 as in him lieth, wilfully castaway their souls. Hooker. 
 
 28. .'Ind Moses told Aaron SiC.} We see now the shepherd of 
 Horcb, the man slow of speech, arrived upon the confines of 
 Egypt, with a design to free his people. If we set aside all su- 
 pernatural assistance, he stands single and imsupportcd, without
 
 Aaron and Moses gather the Israelites. 
 
 chrTst °^tlie Lord who had sent him, and all the 
 ivA. signs whicli he had commanded him. 
 
 !2'J ^ And Moses and Aaron went and 
 gathered together all the elders of the chil- 
 dren of Israel : 
 
 30 And Aaron spake all the words which 
 the Loud had spoken unto Moses, and did 
 the signs in the sight of tlie people. 
 
 31 And the people believed : and when 
 they heard that the Loud had visited the 
 children of Israel, and that he had looked 
 upon their affliction, then they bowed their 
 heads and worshipped. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 1 Pliiiraoh chidelh Moses and Aaron fur tlicir Message. 
 5 He incrcnsclh ilii: Isrncliics' la.sl: 15 He clieckclh 
 their comp/ainls. 19 T/ieij crtj aid upon Moses and 
 Aaron. 2ii Moses complainelh to God. 
 
 A 
 
 CHAP. V. Pharaoh chhlclh Moses. 
 
 XD afterward Moses and Aaron went ^^'^I'l^..^ 
 in, and told Pliaraoh, Thus saith the hoi 
 Loud God of Israel, Let my people go, 
 that they may hold a feast unto me in the 
 wilderness. 
 
 '2 And Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lonu, 
 that I should obey his voice to let Israel 
 go ^ I know not the Lord, neither will I 
 let Israel go. 
 
 3 And they said, ' The God of the He- * a.ap. ?. 
 brews hatli met with us : let us go, we '**• 
 pray thee, three days' journey into the 
 desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our 
 God ; lest he tail upon us with pestilence, 
 or with the sword. 
 
 4 And the king of Egypt said luito 
 them, Wlierefbre do ye, Moses and Aaron, 
 let the people from their works? get you 
 unto your burdens. 
 
 one requisite for the completion of his purpose. How can we 
 suppose a person, so circuinstanced, capable of carrying on a 
 scheme so arduous in its execution ? He sets out alone to perform, 
 what the wisdom and experience of the elders of the people joint- 
 ly could not effect ; and this, without knowing for ceitain that he 
 had any friend or ally. Arriving with his staff in his hand, like 
 a pilgrim, in Egypt, how is he to get together some hundreds of 
 thousands of people, scattered over the face of the country, and 
 persuade them to follow him to Canaan i" A stranger at the Egyp- 
 tian court, and not gifted with the powers of persuasion, how is 
 he to get access to the reigning prince ; and beg, or demand, the 
 dismission of so many useful subjects ? What plea could he use, 
 or what art employ, to favour his pui-pose.^ And what answer 
 could he expect from a monarch on such an occasion, but that 
 which was really given ; accompanied with an imposition of 
 double duty on the peojile ; sufficient to make them detest the 
 name of Moses, to ruin hmi in their opinion, and to defeat all 
 his views ? These difficulties neither the wisdom nor the ability 
 of men could remedy. Yet they were remedied j but it was by 
 far supcriour power. It was by God Himself, who sufftred His 
 people to be in this perplexity and distress, that they might wish 
 for deliverance, and be ready to obey. Accordingly, when, upon 
 the display of His wonders, they acknowledged the hand of the 
 Almighty, and proffered their obedience to His Prophet, they 
 were delivered by Him from those evils, from which no power on 
 earth could have freed them. Bryanl. 
 
 Chap. V. ver. 1 . — Mo.-.cs and Aaron went in, and told Fharao/i,'] 
 Attended probably by some of the elders of the people, they de- 
 manded an audience of Pharaoh, and repaired to his court. Bp. 
 Patrick. It seems probable that Aaron was a governour over the 
 Israehtes. He was certainly under the authority of Pharaoh's 
 officers, yet he might be the head of his own people : for it is 
 customary in the East, for all societies, trades, &c. to have a 
 head, who is responsible to government : and something of this 
 kind was very likely the case, because we do not read of any 
 intrusion of Aaron into office, or any election by the people, or 
 any charge of such assuming brought against him by Pliaraoh ; 
 but both Moses and Aaron seem to be acknowledged by Pharaoh 
 himself, and evidently by many of Iiis servants, to be of great 
 consideration; and apparently to be the proper persons, who 
 rjhould plead and remonstrate on behalf of the Israelites to the 
 king. Catmet. 
 
 hold a feast unto me^ Perform a solemn service according 
 
 to peculiar rites, which I shall prescribe. Bp. Patrick. The ap- 
 parent reason of Moses's application to Pharaoh was, that the 
 people might go tliree days' jounicy into the desert, for the pur- 
 pose of a. festivity and sacrifice to the God Jehovali. Similar 
 
 undertakings are actually established, and accomplished every 
 year, from Egy|)t, by the caravan to Mecca, &c. And it is 
 probable that such pilgrim<iges arc of very ancient date. Frag- 
 ments to Calmet. 
 
 2. — Jf'/io is the Lord,2 Who is Jehovah ? Though he owneil 
 such gods as the Egyptians worshipped, he slighted that God, 
 whom Moses called Jehovah, to whom he says, that he owed no 
 obedience, because he did not know whom tliey meant by Him. 
 Up. Patrick. 
 
 The answer of all irreligious people, when they arc pressed to 
 a duty, which it is against their interest or indination to perform, 
 is nuich the same with thLs of Pharaoh to Moses: " Who is the 
 Lord, that I should obey His voice.-" How docs it appear that 
 He has employed you, and that you do not rather use Hin name, 
 to give credit to your own iunbitious purposes? It is well known 
 that such objections as these have broken tlic force oi' religion 
 upon the hearts of siimers in all ages of the world. Readin:;. 
 
 o. And l/iei/ said, The Gtxl of the Hchrvns tVc.]] In answer to 
 tlie haughty tyrant, tliey styled the honu by a more ancient 
 title, which the Egyptians ought to have known mid respectetl, 
 from Abraham's days, when He plagued them in tlie matter of 
 Sarah : " The God of the Hebrews hath met with us : let us 
 go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacri- 
 fice unto the Lord our God ; lest He fall upon us w ith pestilence, 
 or with the sword:" plainly intimating to Ph.iraoh also, not to in- 
 cur His indignation, by refusing to comply with their desire. Dr. 
 Hales. The" three days' journey" was not the whole that was 
 intended. But Moses was under no obligation to let so bitter an 
 enemy as Pharaoh into all his design. He acted according to 
 God's ii-.structions : and God thought proper to demand at 
 first no more than '• three days' journey into the wilderness," 
 that by denying so modest a re(|uest Pharaoh might make his 
 tyranny more manifest, and tlie Di\ ine vengeance more just and 
 remarkable. SiacL Iiuusc. 
 
 lest he fall upon us &c.] Lest He send a plague upon us, 
 
 or some fureigii enemy to cut us oti", for our neglect of Him. It 
 is observable, that they neither w rought any mhaclo, nor tlireat- 
 ened any punishment upo)i Pharaoh, on their lii-st application to 
 hian, but told him very submissi\ t ly the danger to which they 
 were tlicmselves exposed, if they did not obey their God. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 ■I: And the king of Egj/pt said^ Pharaoh raged before, much 
 more now, that he received a message to dismiss the Israelites. 
 The admonitions of God m;ikc ill men w orse. Conniption, when 
 it is checked, grows mad with rage. A good heart yields at tlie 
 stillest voice of God; but the most gracious motions of God 
 harden tlic wicked. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Jl'Jicrcforc do yc, &c.] Instead of answering their reasons, 
 
 K ~
 
 rharaoh increaseth the JsraeUtcs' task. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 llmj complain of Moses and Aaron. 
 
 j;cf..r.. 5 And Pharaoh said, Beliold, the people 
 ^"iwi!''^ of the land now are many, and ye make 
 them rest from their bindcns. 
 
 (j And Pharaoli commanded the same 
 day tlie taskmasters of the people, and 
 their officers, sa\ iiig, 
 
 7 Ye shall no "more give the people straw 
 to make brick, as heretofore: let them go 
 and leather straw tor themselves. 
 
 8 And the tale of the bricks, which they 
 did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon 
 tliem; ve shall not diniinish ought there- 
 ol': for they be idle ; therefore they cry, say- 
 ing. Let us go and sacrifice to our God. 
 
 t Hcb. 9 t Let there more work be laid upon 
 
 u 'r/te the men, that they may labour therein ; and 
 
 kraii/ uitn \qi them not regard vain words. 
 
 ""■ "■"'• 10 1 And the taskmasters of the peoj)le 
 
 went out, and their officers, and they spake 
 
 to the people, saying. Thus saith Pharaoh, 
 
 1 will not give you straw. 
 
 11 Go ye, get you straw where ye can 
 tind it : yet not ought of yoiu- work shall 
 be diminished. 
 
 12 So the people were scattered abroad 
 throughout all \hc land of Egypt to gather 
 stubble instead of straw. 
 
 13 Aiul the taskniasters hasted them, 
 t Utb. saying. Fulfil your works, woKr t daily tasks, 
 
 a mr.ltrr of i .1 i 
 
 aaayinhit »» whcn tijerc was straw. 
 
 d»j,. . 14 And the officers of the children of 
 
 Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had 
 set over them, were beaten, «wrf demanded, 
 Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task 
 in making brick both yesterday and to day, 
 as heretoiore ? 
 
 15 *![ Then the officers of the children of 
 Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, say- 
 ing, "Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy 
 servants ? 
 
 Phamoli tells them, that he looked upon them as disturbers of 
 the peaee of the kingdom, and hinderers of his business. Dp. 
 Patrick: 
 
 7. — straw to make hrick,'\ The composition of bvicks in 
 Ejfvpt wns only a mixt\ire of clay, mud, and straw, slightly 
 blended and kneaded together, and at\erwards baked in the sun. 
 Dr. Shaw. 
 
 The Egyptian pyramid of unburnt brick scorns to be made of 
 the earth brought by the Nile, being a sandy black cartii, with 
 some pebbles and shells in it : it is mixed up with chopped straw, 
 in order to bind the clay together, lip. Pvcockc. 
 
 21. — The Lord look upon iioti, and judge ; &c.] The Lord 
 requite you, as you deserve ; l)ecause you have made us odious 
 in the sight of Pharaoh, an<l given him occasion or pretence tor 
 destroying our whole nation. Up. Patrick, Dr. Wcllx. 
 
 Hi. And Moses returned unto the Ixtrd, itc.^ This plainly in- 
 timates, that the Lord had appeareil to Moses since he came to 
 ^Ryp*' '" some settled place, whither he might on all occasions 
 resort to Him. B p. Patrick. 
 
 n-hcrefore host thou &c.] Moses hinisclf appears to have 
 
 been unable to give an account why the l^rd should sufler their 
 
 l(i There is no straw given unto thy ser- cJ^rTst 
 vants, and they say to us, Make brick : and, un. 
 behoUl, thy servants are beaten ; but the 
 fault is in thine own people. 
 
 17 But he said, Ye arc idle, ye are idle : 
 therefore ye say. Let us go and do sacrifice 
 to the Lord. 
 
 18 (Jo therefore now, and work; for 
 there shall no straw be given you, yet shall 
 ye deliver the tale of bricks. 
 
 19 And the officers of the children of 
 Israel did sec that they "were in evil ca.sc, 
 after it was said. Ye shall not miniiih ought 
 from your bricks of your daily task. 
 
 ^20 *[ And they met Moses and Aaron, 
 who stood in the way, as they came forth 
 from Pharaoh : 
 
 21 And they said unto them, The Loud 
 look upon you, and judge ; because ye 
 have made our savour t to be abhorred in t "«»>• 
 the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of '"""*■ 
 his servants, to put a sword in their hand 
 to slay us. 
 
 22 And Moses returned unto the Lokd, 
 and said. Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil 
 entreated this people ? why is it that thou 
 hast sent me ? 
 
 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak 
 
 in thy name, he hath done evil to this _ 
 
 people ; t neither hast thou delivered thy J"*K„, 
 people at all. 
 
 .idi 
 
 .;p-,; 
 
 . ...■>• 
 
 if) 
 
 lUCti- 
 
 ttiQU tiaxi 
 nut delif- 
 vcrcil. 
 
 CHAP. VL 
 
 1 God reneweth hi.i promise hi/ his name JEHOVAH. 
 14 The genealogy of Reuben, 15 of Simeon, lii of 
 Levi, ofrvhorm. came Moses and Aaron. 
 
 THEN the Lord said unto Moses, Now 
 shalt thou see what I will do to Pha- 
 raoh : for with a strong hand shall he let 
 
 condition to grow worse rather than better, since he delivered His 
 message to Pharaoh. The reflections, which had been cast upon 
 him by the officers, so disturbed his mind, that he forgot himself 
 to siicli a degree as to ask these unbecoming questions ; and to 
 complain that God had done notlnng to fulfil His promise of de- 
 liverance to His people, lip. Patrick. 
 
 It is the nature of man to murmm' and complain, if our hopes 
 are deferred, and things succeed not immediately according to 
 our expectations : and even good men, as we see from this part of 
 Moses's conduct, iU-e too apt to repine, when they suffer them- 
 selves to be surprised. But if Mosrs did amiss in repining, he 
 did well in " returning unto the Lord," and making iiis complaint, 
 not to others, but to Him. Let this example teach us, that when- 
 ever our frailty falls into discontent and uneasincs.s under the 
 hand of God, wc should avoid publicklj' venting our griefs, as 
 the Israelites did ; but rather, with Moses, return to God, and 
 pour out our complaints before Him. So did David, the man 
 after God's own heart ; " When I am in heaviness," saith he, " I 
 will think upon God : when my heart is vexed, I will complain," 
 Ps. Ixxvii. 3. .So did .St. I'aul, when, buffeted by the messenger of 
 Satan, he applietl Imnself to God for reliefj and besought the Lrfrd
 
 God renexceth his promise 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 hy /lis name Jehovah. 
 
 ;hiust *''*^'" ^^' ^^^ "^"^^^^ ^ strong hand shall he 
 i-1'ji. drive them out of his land. 
 
 2 And God spake unto Moses, and said 
 unto him, I am the Lord: 
 
 3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto 
 Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of GoA. 
 Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH 
 was I not known to them. 
 
 4 And I have also established my cove- 
 nant with them, to give them the land of 
 Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, 
 wherein they were strangers. 
 
 5 And I have also heard the groaning of 
 the children of Israel, whom the Egj-ptians 
 keep in bondage; and I have remembered 
 my covenant. 
 
 6 AVherefore say unto the children of 
 Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you 
 out from under the burdens of the Lgyp- 
 
 thrice, that it might depart from him; but the answer was, (and he 
 acquiesced in it,) " My grace is sufficient for tliee," 2 Cor. xii. 9. 
 Wogan. 
 
 Chap. VI. ver. 1. — 7iith a strong hand &c.] I will so terribly 
 scourge him, that he shall not only suffer them to go, but thrust 
 them out of Egypt, and be glad to be rid of them. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 2. — / am lite Lord:'} This is an answer to tlie question put by 
 Moses, chajj. v. 2'2, " Why is it that Thou hast sent me.'" God 
 here tells him in reply, I am Jehovali, and have sent thee to 
 make known this great name, that is. Myself, who am constant 
 to My word, and will faithfully perform all My promises. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 3. — / appeared unto Abraham, &c.] He tells him, that He, 
 Avho had formerly represented Himself to Abraham, and their 
 forefathers, under the name of El-Shaddai, that is, the all-suffi- 
 cient God, Gen. xvii. 1; and under that of .lehovah. Gen. xii. 7, 
 8; xxii. 14; would now demonstrate Himself indeed to be what the 
 latter name imported, the uncJiangeable and J'uithfnl God. Pyle. 
 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as thai Go<l, who was 
 able and jwwerful to effect that which I promisetl : I now appear 
 to thee as ready to make good and execute. Bp. Hall. In many 
 places of Scripture God brings in His great name of Jehovah, as 
 an argument of tlie immutability of His counsel : That nhich 
 He saith, shall most certainly come to pass, because He that saith 
 it is the Lord Jehovah. By this we see the true meaning of the 
 passage, " By My name Jehovah was I not known to them ;" that 
 is, I never made known Mj'self, nor confirmed My promise to 
 them, as I now do to thee, by saying I am Jehovah. Bp. Be- 
 veridgc. When God entered into covenant with Abraham, it was 
 by the name of " God .41mightj-," Gen. xvii. 1 ; upon which He 
 promised to his seed the land of Canaan, ver. 8. By tiiis name 
 Isaac blessed Jacob, and bestowed on him the blessing of Abra- 
 ham, chap, xxviiii 3, 4. By this name again Jacob blessed Joseph, 
 chap, xlviii. 3; xlix. 25. God lets them here know, tliat He, who had 
 made a promise to their fathers by the name of " God Almighty," 
 woidd now confirm His covenant to them, and make His promise 
 good by the name of '• Jehovah." For this name denotes, not 
 only Cjod's eternal being, but His giving of being to other things, 
 and especially the performing of His promise. Abraliani, Isaac, 
 and Jacob had received promises, but enjoyed not the thing pro- 
 mised. The time was now come, in which God would bring to 
 pass what He had promise<l; and now they should know that He 
 is THE Lord. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 It means that God having actually given defence and plenty to 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was already known to tlicm by the 
 names of " El," Almighly; and " Shaddai," All-svfficicnt ; but that 
 
 ST 
 
 tians, and I will rid you out of their bon- Bef"" 
 dage, and'I will redeem you with a stretch- *^""f ^ 
 ed out arm, and with great judgments : 
 
 7 And I will take you to me for a peo- 
 ple, and I will be to you a God: and ye 
 shall know that I am the Louu your God, 
 which bringeth you out from under the 
 burdens of the Egyptians. 
 
 8 And I will bring you in unto the land, 
 concerning the which I did t swear to give tHeb. 
 it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and f,^'"-' 
 I will give it you for an heritage : I am the 
 Lord. 
 
 9 ^ And Moses spake so unto the chil- 
 dren of Israel: but they hearkened not 
 unto Moses for t anguish of .spirit, and for t Hd>. 
 cruel bondage. jA«rtn«s.or 
 
 lU And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 having not fulfilled to them His promise 6f giving^ to them or their 
 seed the land oi' Canaan, He was hot y«t known to them by His 
 name Jehovah, -which imports a God, constant to His word, and 
 " the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever," Heb. xiii. 8. 
 Abp. Tcnisvn. i 
 
 4. — the land of iheir'-^itgrtUage, nh?Mf>t'fhei/n-ere strangers.'] 
 So it is often called, when "He speak« Jto A^rah;im, Isaac, and 
 Jacob; and so it might be called a^oj>jjti*r^?fjject to tiieir posterity. 
 Bp. Patrick. If we look '"^u, the story of those favourites of 
 Heaven, the ancestors of the Is'raeBtis'U.,nation, we find them so- 
 journing in a land that was not their's — dwelling only in tents, 
 soon pitched, antl as soon removed again; having no ground ol' 
 their own to set tlieir foot on, save only a possession of a burying~ 
 place, (and that purchased of the inhabitants,) wliere liiey might 
 rest from their travels, till they shall pass, at the resurrection ai 
 the just, to their durable inheritance in the kingdom of God. 
 Look at tlie posterity of Jacob, the chosen people of the most 
 High, after lliey had been deh'vered from tlie house of bondage. 
 Wev; tliem likewise dwelling in tents, sojourning, for forty years, 
 in a vast and howling wilderness, attacked by enemies, stung by 
 serjients, and in danger of perishing tor want of provisions; but 
 still supported by tiie hand of Providence; .-md at length con- 
 ducted to the liUid of promise. When tliey had taken possession 
 of Canaan, they might be said in some sense to liave obtained a 
 settlement. But, in truth and propriety, what settlement can any 
 man be said to have obtained, to whom will soon be brought 
 (and he knows not how soon) the message which was brought 
 to king Hezekiah ? " Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die!" 
 This was the case with the Israelites, no less after tlieir settle- 
 ment in the land of Canaan, th.in before it. Notwithstanding 
 therefore the rest, which God had then given tiiem, we find Da- 
 vid, in the J)oth Psalm, speaking of another fiitur»' and distant 
 rest, still remaining for the people of God, in a better country, 
 that is, an heavenly. And accordingly, though settled in the 
 promised land, we hear him still crying out in the 119th Psalm, 
 •' 1 am a stranger in the eartli." Bp. Home. 
 
 7. — / will take i/nic to me for a fienple,'} They who ask a rea- 
 son, why God should prefer so perverse a people to all olliers. 
 may recollect, that one reason has been given already: that it 
 was for the sake of their forefathers, and to fulfil the promise 
 made to the Patriarchs, .\nother may be, that the extraordmarj- 
 providence, bv whicii thev were protected, might become the 
 more visible and illustrious: for, had they been endowetl with the 
 shining qualities of moi-e polished nations, tlie effects of that pro- 
 vidence might have been ascribed to their own wisdom : whereas 
 their impotence and inability, when left to themseh-es, are finely 
 represented by the prophet Ezckicl, under the sunibtude of the 
 vine tree. Sec Ezek. iv. 2, 3. Bp. Warburton.
 
 The genealogt/ of Reuben, 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 Simeon, and Levi. 
 
 n.fnr.. 11 Go in, speak unto Pharaoli king of 
 ^ hII;"''^ KffVTt, that lu' lot the cliiUlrcn of Israel 
 go out of his huul. 
 
 12 And Moses spake before the Lord, 
 saying, Hehokl, the cliikiren of Israel have 
 not hearkeneJ unto me; how then shall 
 Pharaoh hear me, who mil of uncncum- 
 
 ciscd lips? 
 
 13 And the Louu spake unto Moses 
 and unto Aaron, and gixvc them a charge 
 unto the children of Israel, and unto Pha- 
 raoh kini-- of i:gvi)t, to bring the chddren 
 of Israclout of the land of Egypt. 
 
 14 % These be the heads of then- fathers' 
 •Gcn.4c. houses: 'The sons of Reuben the first- 
 Taron •^o>n "^" I^™^''"' Hanoch, and Pallu, Hez- 
 .'••.•'■ ' ron, and Carmi: these be the tamdies of 
 
 Ueuben. 
 >■ 1 chron. i;3 "And tlic SOUS of Simcou ; Jemuel, 
 '*'* and Jamin, and Ohad, and .Jachin, and Zo- 
 
 har, and iShaul the son of a Canaanitish 
 woman : these ore the families of Si- 
 meon. 
 ' Numb. 16 ^ And these air the names of ' the 
 I cLn. sons of Levi according to their genera- 
 <=•'• tions; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari : 
 
 1G19. and the years of the life of Levi uere an 
 hundred thirty and seven years. 
 
 17 The sons of Gershon; LilMii, and 
 
 Shimi, according to their fomihcs. 
 
 'Numi,. 18 And " the sons of Kohath; Amram, 
 
 I'chlon. '^"d Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel : and 
 
 6.2. ' the years of tlie life of Kohath xcere an 
 
 hundred thirty and three years. 
 
 19 And the sons of Merari; Maliali and 
 Mushi: these arc the families of Levi ac- 
 cording to their generations. 
 ' ciia|i 20 And ' Amram took him Jochebed his 
 
 ^ „g father's sister to wife; and she bare him 
 Aaron and Moses ; and the years of the 
 life of Amram were an hundred and thirty 
 and seven years. 
 
 12. — n/io am (>l uncirciimcisril lips?'] An ill speaker and one 
 vho wantcu eloquence. It was the manner of the Hebrews to 
 call those jiart.'! uncircunicised, which were unprepared lor the 
 use, for which they were designed. Thus Jeremiah says of 
 tlie Jews, tliat their " ear was uncircunicised;" and adds the 
 consequence, "that tliey cannot he:irken," Jer. vi. 10. Again 
 he says, that the house of Israel were " uncircuinciscd in the 
 heart;" that is, they would not understand and learn their duty, 
 chap, ix.afi. .St. Stephen puts both to{;ether — " uncircunicisecl 
 in heart and ears," Acts vii. 51. As circumcision was the first 
 and greatest s.icrament among the Jews, so uncircumcision was 
 esteemed by them the greatest scandal and disgrace. Bp. Pa- 
 trick, Slackliousc. Sec the note on .ler. vi. 10. 
 
 14. These he the heads of their fathers' houses :~\ The principal 
 persons of the several families of Israel. Moses "here gives an ac- 
 count of tlie genealogj- of himself and Aaron, that he might leave 
 it on record to posterity, that they were both true Israelites. 
 Accordingly he briefly sets down the heads of the two eldest fa- 
 
 2. 1. 
 
 Numb. 
 5'J. 
 
 21 IF And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and (."*,j"fsT 
 Nepheg, and Zithri. ifcu<. 
 
 22 And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, 
 and Elza|)Iian, and Zithri. 
 
 2.3 And Aaron took him Elisheba, '•'^""usso- 
 daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naa- 
 shon, to wife; and she liare him Nadab, 
 and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, 
 
 21' And the sons of Korah; Assir, and 
 Elkanali, and Abiasaph: these are the fa- 
 milies of the Korhites. 
 
 25 And Eleazar Aaron's son took him 
 o??cof the daughters of Putiel to wife; and 
 
 ' she bare him Pliinehas: these arc tiie 'Niimb.'-'5. 
 heads of the fathers of the Levites accord- "■ 
 ing to their families. 
 
 26 These are that Aaron and Moses, to 
 whom the Loun said. Bring out the chil- 
 dren of Israel from the land of Egypt ac- 
 cording to their armies. 
 
 27 These arc they which spake to Pha- '•'9>- 
 raoh king of Egypt, to bring out the chil- 
 djen of Israel from Egypt: these are that 
 Moses and Aaron. 
 
 28 % And it came to pass on the day 
 xdien the Lord spake unto Moses in the 
 land of Egypt, 
 
 29 That the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, I am the Lord: speak thou unto 
 Piiaraoh king of Egypt all that I say unto 
 thee. 
 
 30 And Moses said before the Lord, Be- 
 hold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how 
 shall Pliaiaoh hearken unto me ? 
 
 CHAP. VIL 
 
 1 Moses is encouraged to go to Pharaoh. 7 His age. 
 8 His rod is turned into a serpent. 1 1 The sorcerers 
 do the like. 1'3 Pharaoh's heart is hardened, i-i 
 God's mrs.iage to Pharaoh. 19 The ricer is turned 
 into blood. 
 
 A 
 
 ND the Lord said unto Moses, See, I 
 have made thee a god to Pharaoh : 
 
 niilies of Israel, and enlarges on the third, that of Levi, from 
 which he was himself descended. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 130. — his father .1 sister'\ .Jochebed was daughter of Levi, 
 born in Egypt, Numb. x.wi. CyQ. It is a proof of the truth of 
 Moses iis an historian, that he does not scrui)le to relate the con- 
 sanguinity of his parents; which in afterages, when the law 
 iigainst such marriages was enacted, might bethought disgraceful 
 to his family; though before perhaps it was approved. -Stuvkhouse. 
 
 23. — Naashon,'] A prince of the house of Judah, and chief 
 commander of their host when they ivent I'rotn Egypt, Numb, 
 ii. 3. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 27- — lhe.^c are that Moses and Aaron.] He repeats this, that 
 all generations might mark, who were the men employed by God 
 in this gre.it and liazardous work of demanding the liberty of 
 the children of Israel from Pharaoh's serN-itude. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. VII. ver. 1. — / have made lliee a god to Pharaoh:'] I 
 have made tliec, not only My ambassadour to tpcaii in My name.
 
 Moses sioeth to PharaoJu 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 cHuTsT ''^"^ Aaron thy brother shall be thy pro- 
 1491. phet. 
 
 '2 Thou shalt speak all that I coniniand 
 thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak 
 unto Pharaoh, that he send the cliildren of 
 Israel out of his land. 
 
 3 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, 
 and multiply my signs and my wonders in 
 the land of Egyj)t. 
 
 4 But Pharaoh shall not hearken imto 
 you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, 
 and bring forth mine armies, and my peo- 
 ple the children of Israel, out of the land 
 of Egypt by great judgments. 
 
 5 And the Egyptians shall know that I 
 am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine 
 hand upon Egypt, and bring out the chil- 
 dren of Israel from among them. 
 
 6 And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord 
 commanded them, so did they. 
 
 7 And Moses tvas fourscore years old, 
 and Aaron fourscore and three years old, 
 when they spake unto Pharaoh. 
 
 l)ut also My substitute to punish Pharaoh for disobedience to Me. 
 Ih: Wells. I liave made thee a terrible instrument, to execute 
 My judgments upon Pharaoh, whicli he shall take, as wrought by 
 Me, tlu-ough thy hands. Bp. Hall. It denotes tliat he was God's 
 ambassadour, to speak to him in His name, with a power ready to 
 execute all that he desired, for humbling Pharaoh, and punish- 
 ing his disobedience to the Divine message. Bp. Patiich. 
 
 Action tlnj brother shall be thi/ prophet.'] Sliall inter- 
 pret thy mind, as projiliets interjiret the mind of God. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 3. — multipli) m>i .ligns &C.3 1 he first plagues, that were in- 
 flicted on Pliaraon, proving ineU'ectual, it was necessary to send 
 more and greater, that, if it Iiad been jjossible, Iiis stubborn heart 
 might have been softened. Bp. Pcilrich. 
 
 7. — Moses n-a;; fourscore years old,'] This seems to be noticed, 
 to shew that Moses and Aaron were arrived at an age of settled 
 gravity, when God made choice of them for this weighty employ- 
 ment. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. — lliei/ became serpents:'] Either tliey liecame real sei-jients, 
 God permitting these sorcerers to work by the assistance of evil 
 spirits ; or they became serpents only in appearance, a mist Ijeing 
 cast over the eyes of Pharaoh antl his courtiers; or the sorcerers 
 brought thither real serpents in the place of their rods which 
 they conveyed away. Bps. Patrick and Kidder, Dr. Wells. 
 
 The original phrase, for " they did so," or, " in like manner," 
 may only indicate the attempt, and not the deed ; as afterwards in 
 the plague of lice, when " they did so vvith their enchantments, 
 but could not," chap. viii. 18. And indeed, the original term, ren- 
 dered " their enciiantments," fitly expresses the secret deceptions 
 of legerdemain, or slight of hand, to impose on spectators. And 
 tlie remark of the magicians, when unable to imitate the pro- 
 duction of lice, wliich was beyond their skill and dexterity, on 
 account of their minuteness, " this is the finger of God," seems 
 to strengthen the supposition ; especially as the Egyptians were 
 famous for legerdemain, and for cliarming serpents ; and the ma- 
 gicians havinir had notice of the miracle, which thcv were ex- 
 petted to miitate, they might make provision accordingly, and 
 bring live serpents, v/hich they might have substituted for their 
 rods. And though Aaron's serpent swallowed up their serpents, 
 shewing the sui)eriority of the true miracle over the false, 
 2 Thess. ii. 9, it might only lead tlie king to conclude, that Moses 
 and Aaron were more expert jugglers than Janncs and Jarabres, 
 
 Aaron's rod turned into a serpent. 
 
 S 1[ And the Lord spake unto Moses Before 
 and unto Aaron, saying, ' ciikist 
 
 9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you 
 saying, Shew a miracle for you : then thoii 
 shalt say imto Aaron, Take thv rod, and 
 cast It before Pharaoh, and it shall become 
 a serpent. 
 
 10 IF And Moses and Aaron went in 
 unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord 
 had commanded: and Aaron cast tlown 
 his rod before Pharaoh, and before his ser- 
 vants, and it became a serjjent. 
 
 11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise 
 men and the sorcerers : now the magicians 
 of Egypt, they also did in like manner 
 with their enchantments. 
 
 12 For they cast down every man his 
 rod, and they became sei-pents : but Aa- 
 ron's rod swallowed ii]) their rods. 
 
 1.3 And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, 
 that he hearkened not unto them ; as the 
 Lord had said. 
 
 11' If And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 
 who opposed tliem, 2 Tim. iii. S. Br. Ilalc.f. See the note on 
 chap. viii. 18. 
 
 The following reasons may be given for God's suffering the 
 magicians to act thus: 1st, It was necessai-y that the magicians 
 should be suffered to exert the utmost of tlieir |M)wer against 
 Moses, in order to clcai- him from the imputation oi' magick or 
 sorcery, to which, considering the notions that then prevailed, 
 lie miglit liave been exposed, if they had not entered into this 
 competition with hiin, and been at length overcome. 2(lly, In 
 order to confirm the faitli of the wavering antl desjxmding Is- 
 raehtes, by maliiug them see the difference between Moses, who 
 acted by tlie ])ower of God, and the magicians, who acteil by 
 some inferiour j)oHer. Sdly, In order to preserve them after- 
 wards from being seduced, by any false miracle, from the wor- 
 ship of the true Clod. Universal History. 
 
 but .laron's rod sivallonctt up their rods.] This shews the 
 
 superiour power by which Moses acted. B/i. Patrick. In relating 
 tliese miracles of the Egyptian sorcerers, Moses expresses himself 
 througliout, as if they really operated the .same effects which he 
 himself did : so that Pliaraoh and liis wliole court were probably 
 persuaded, that the power of tin ir magicians was equal to that 
 of Moses, till the magicians not being able to pro<luce lice, as 
 Moses had done, cliaj). viii. 18, tiiey were constrained to own that 
 " the finger of God" was conci'med in it. Calmet. In order to con- 
 firm the wavering fiith of the Israelites, and to exhibit to Plia- 
 raoh and to the Egyptians the strongest testimony oi the Divine 
 mission of Moses, this contest between Moses and the niagici.ins 
 appears to have been permitted, that the disparity of" persons, 
 acting, the one by the power of God, and the others by infernal, 
 or merely human power, might be more conspicuous. Hereby 
 the truth of Moses's pretensions was established, and Pharaoh's 
 obstinacy and infidelity rendered inexcusable. Stackiiouse. 
 
 How easily might tlie Egvptians have thought, that He, who 
 caused tlieir serjieiits not to be, could liave kept them from 
 being; and that they, who could not keep His serpent from de- 
 vouring, could not secure them from being consuiued ! Bp. 
 Hall. ' 
 
 13. And he hardened P/uiraoh's heart,] It should be, And the 
 heart of Pliarach iras hardened, so that "he hearkened not unto 
 them, as the Lord had said, ' or foretold. The original is so 
 rendered by all the ancient versions without exception, and Ixy 
 the most judicious nicdern trajislations. Our present translators
 
 God^i message unto Pharaoh. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 The river turned into blood. 
 
 Bcrorc Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth 
 
 CHRIST ^ , , ^1 1 
 
 M9I. to let the people go. 
 
 15 Get thee unto Phaiaoli in the morn- 
 ing ; \o, he gocth out unto tlie water ; and 
 thou shalt stand by tlie river's brink against 
 he come; and the rod which was turned to 
 a serpent shalt thou take in tliine hand. 
 
 16 And thou slialt say unto him, The 
 Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me 
 unto thee, saying. Let my people go, that 
 they may ser^'e me in the wilderness : and, 
 behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. 
 
 17 Thus saith tiie Lord, In this thou 
 siialt know that I am the Lord : behold, I 
 will smite witii the rod that is in mine hand 
 upon the waters which are in the river, 
 and they shall be turned to blood. 
 
 18 And the fish that is in the river shall 
 
 incorrectly render, " And He hardened Pharaoh's heart," incon- 
 sistently with their rendering of the same phrase, and of a phrase 
 with the s,-une construction, aflcrwards, ch. vii. 22; viii. 1<); ix. 7; 
 for Pharaoh hardened his heart several times, before God began 
 to harden it. They seem to have been led into this crrour by the 
 expression, "as the Lord had said," referring to the foregoing, 
 " But I will liarden iiis heart," chap. iv. 21 ; and, " I will h.irden 
 Pharaoh's heart," chap. vii. .1. But this did not take place till 
 Pharaoli became obdurate and incorrigible, chap. ix. 12. Dr. Hales. 
 There is not in any of these three verses, the 13th, the Itth, and 
 the 22(1, of this cliapter, the least mention of any person by 
 whom liis heart was hardened. Nor is there any other hardening 
 implieil, than wliat proceedeil from his own settled resolution, not 
 to lose the service of tlie Israelites. Dp. Palrick. 
 
 15. — /<), fie gocl/i viit niilo the nater ;'] (iod knew beforehand 
 that Pharaoli would go out in the morning of the next day, either 
 to walk for recreation bj' the bank of the river, or else to worship 
 the river Nile, as was usual with the Egyptians; Dp. Patrick; 
 or to perform his morning purification ; the Egyptians esteeming 
 it a p.-ut of their religion to wash themselves in the river twice or 
 tlirice a day. Slitickford. Moses was perhaps directed to take 
 this opportunity of meeting with him, because it may not have 
 been easy for him to get access to the court. Bp. Kiifder. 
 
 1 "• — In this thou shall kncnr thai I am the Lord .•] Pharaoh 
 had asked in a contemptuous manner, " Who is the Lord r" (Jod 
 therefore no-w bids Moses tell him. He would make him know 
 that He is the .Mniighty Lord of the world. Up. Patrick. The 
 design of the^e \isitations growing more awful and tremendous 
 in their progress, was to make Pharaoh know and confess that the 
 Gon OF TiiK Hi:nnEws was the .Supreme Loud; to exhibit His 
 power and His justice in the strongest light to "all the nations 
 of the earth," and to execute judgment upon the EgjTitians, and 
 " upon all their gods, ' inanimate and bestial, for their cruelty to 
 the Israelites, and for tlieir groveling polytheism and idolatry 
 tllap. xii. 12. Dr. HaU.<:. 
 
 behold, I will smite &c.^ G<xl commands; Moses directs; and 
 
 .^aron smites ; ver. 19, 20. Cod may therefore be said to do that 
 which wa.s done by His command aiid by His power. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 .Vs the river Nile was to Egypt, instead of heaven, to moisten 
 an«l fatten the eiulh ; so tlicir confidence was more in it than in 
 heaven. Men arc sure to be punished most and soonest in that 
 which they make a rival with God. Bp. Hall. See below, note 
 on ver. 20. 
 
 1 0. — «/»n the ivalers of E^ijpt, upon tlieir ttrcams, &c.] The 
 particularity here employed, m enumerating the various kinds of 
 places for cont.iining water, deserves notice : the streams, or di- 
 visions of the river ; the river itself; the ponds; the pools of wa- 
 ter ; and whatever water was already drawn from them, and set 
 apart for (bnnking, whether kept in vessels of wood, or vessels of 
 
 die, and the river shall stink ; and the (.^"^[i-r 
 Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water H91. 
 of the river. 
 
 19 IF And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 Sav unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch 
 out thine hand upon the waters of I'gypt, 
 upon their streams, upon their rivers, and 
 upon their ponds, and upon all their ti)ools t He''- 
 
 :• I . .1 1 111 iialhennzi*f 
 
 of water, tliat they may become blood ; i/u-iru-uh-n. 
 and that there may be blood throughout 
 all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of 
 wood, and in vessels «/'stone. 
 
 20 And Moses and Aaron did .so, as tiie 
 Lord commanded ; and he " lifted up the " cinp. 
 rod, and smote the waters that were in the '^■^' 
 river, in the sight of Pharaoli, and in the 
 
 sight of his servants; and all the "waters 'Ps-ii. 7ii. 
 tliat zcere in the river were turned to blood. **' 
 
 stone. In Egj-pt are reservoirs of water higher than the Nile, 
 v^hich fill themselves when the river rises, and in which the wa- 
 ter preserves itself a long while, as in a kind of cistern. These 
 reservoirs are of great antiquity, and no doubt as early as tiic 
 days of the Pharaohs. When the river Nile is rising, the water- 
 turn red, and sometimes green :' and in some years they become 
 corrupt; during which time the inhabitants use the water of their 
 cisterns, or reservoirs. But in order to distinguish this miracle 
 from any such natural occurrence, not merely the waters of the 
 river and its canals, but also those more distant, and those already 
 drawn, partook of the general change. Even the reservoirs, 
 which were higher than the level of the Nile, and had no com- 
 munication with it, became blood. Fragments to Calmct. 
 
 in vessels rif nood, and — of stone.'] In which water was 
 
 kept in private houses for their present use. Bp. Palrick. Per- 
 haps these words may mean the filtering vessel.s, through which 
 they used to purify the waters of the Nile for drinking; and the 
 sense may be, that the water should be so nauseous, that no m^ J 
 thod whatever of purifying it should succeed. Harmer. \ 
 
 20. — smote the rvatcrs that were in the rivcr,~] This judgment 
 brought on the Egyptians is very remarkable, and intnxluced 
 with great propriety, though the scope of it may not at first be 
 obvious. It was a punishment particularly well adapted to that 
 blinded and infatuated jieople : as it sheweil them the baseness of 
 th(}se elements which they reverenced, and the insufficiency of 
 the go<ls, in which they trusted. And this knowledge was very 
 salutar}' to the Israelites ; as it warned them not to fall into the 
 same, or any similar, idolatry ; when they had seen it thus de- 
 based and exposed, and attended with such acciunulated evil. 
 The Egyptians honoured the Nile with a religious reverence ; 
 and \alued themselves much upon the excellence of their river. 
 Nor was this blind regard confined to the Egj'ptians only, but 
 obtained in many parts of the world: so that it was expedient for 
 the children of Israel to be timely warned against such blindness 
 and infatuation. But no nation carried their reverence to such 
 an extravagant degree of idolatry as the Egj-ptians. They look- 
 ed upon their river not only as consecrate<l to a deit}' ; but, if we 
 may believe some authors, as their chief national god : and wor- 
 shippi.d it accordingly. There was therefore a great propriety in 
 this judgment They must have felt the utmost astonishment 
 and horrour, when they beheld their sacred stream changed and 
 polluted ; and the divinity whom they worshipped so shamefully 
 foiled and debased. And these appearances nuist have had a 
 salutary effect upon the Israelites ; as they were hence warned 
 not to accede to this species of idolatry, but to have it ever in 
 contempt, as well as abhorrence. Bryant. 
 
 The Egyptians still retain a religious veneration for the Nile ; 
 they call it holy, blessed, sacred : and on the appearance of the 
 new waters, mothers aic seen plunging their infants into the
 
 The fish die, and 
 
 CHAP. VII, VIII. 
 
 the river stinketh. 
 
 chr'ist .-^ ^^^^ *^^ ^^^ ^"^^^ "^^^ ^" the river 
 H91. died ; and the river stank, and the Egyp- 
 tians could not drink of the water of the 
 river ; and there was blood throughout aU 
 the land of Egypt. 
 « wisdom 22 "And the njagicians of Eg}'pt did so 
 ^^- ''■ with their enchantments : and Pharaoh's 
 heart was hardened, neither did he hearken 
 unto them ; as the Lord had said. 
 
 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into 
 his house, neither did he set his heart to 
 this also. 
 
 24 And all the Egyptians digged round 
 about the river for water to drink ; for they 
 could not drink of the w^ater of the river. 
 
 stream, from a belief that it has a Divine virtue, such as the 
 ancients attributed to every river. Volney's Travels. 
 
 and all the waters — 7vere turned to bloods] God might, 
 
 if it had been the Divine pleasure, have many different ways 
 tainted and polluted the streams of Egypt. But he thought pro- 
 per to change them to blood. Now the Eg3'ptians, and especially 
 their priests, were particularly nice and delicate in their outward 
 habit, and rites: and there was nothing which they abhorred 
 more than blood. They seldom admitted any bloody sacrifices ; 
 and with the least stain of gore they would have thought them- 
 selves deeply polluted. Hence this evil brouglit upon them must 
 have been severely felt ; as " there was blood throughout all the 
 land of Egypt," ver. 21. It is moreover said, that " the fish that 
 were in the river died ; and the river stank." The offensive va- 
 pour from the waters must have been a great aggravation of the 
 evil to people of such external purity as the Egyptians, who ab- 
 horred all animal corruption. And >^hat the historian mentions 
 concerning the fish is of consequence : for all the natives of the 
 river were in some degree esteemed sacred. In many parts the 
 people did not feed upon them. The priests in particular never 
 tasted fish ; and this on account of their reputed sanctity. For 
 they were sometimes looked upon as sacred emblems : at other 
 times worshipped as real deities. These punishments then, brought 
 upon the Egyptians, bore a strict analogy to their crime. They 
 must have been greatly alarmed, when they beheld their sacred 
 sti-eam defiled with blood, their land infected, and themselves 
 almost poisoned with their stinking deities. The evil reached 
 the land of Goshen : for it seemed proper that the Israelites should 
 partake in it ; that the impression might be the sti-onger on their 
 minds. One great reason for this part of the punishment was to 
 give them a thorough disgust to this worship, -that they might 
 not -afterwards lapse into this popular idolatry. For it is to be 
 observed, as they were to be conducted to the land of Canaan and 
 the confines of Syria, that there were many nations in those parts 
 among whom this n'orship was common. Bryant. 
 
 21. And the Jiah that was in the river died ;'\ Diodorus Siculus, 
 in his description of Egypt, informs us, that the river Nile abound- 
 ed with all manner of fish. The food of many of the Egyptians, 
 
 . who abstained from eating most animals, consisted of the Iruits of 
 
 .the earth, and the fish of the river. Stackhouse. 
 
 _- could not drinic of the water'] It appears from the reports 
 
 of travellers, that there are few wells in Egypt, and that their 
 ■waters are not used by the inhabitants to quench their thirst, 
 being unpleasant and unwholesome : but that tlie water of the 
 Nile is universally used in that country, being esteemed very 
 wholesome and extremely delicious. Thus, by the effect of this 
 miracle, they were made to " loath" those waters, which they 
 before preferred to all others. Harmer. 
 
 22. — the magicians — did so with their enchantments :'] That 
 is, they made an appearance of the same change in some of the 
 waters. It may be conjectured, that Moses did not in a moment 
 change all the waters of the country, but only those of the river 
 
 VoLs I. 
 
 25 And seven days were fulfilled, after ^^^°" 
 that the Lord had smitten the river. "\w^^ 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 1 Frogs arc sent. 8 Pharaoh suelh to Moses, \<i and 
 Mases bij prayer removrth 'them avay. 1 6 The dust 
 is turned into lice, which tlie imigiiians could not do. 
 20 The swanns qfjlies. 25 I'litinnhjuclinelh to let 
 the people go, 32 hut yet is hardened. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, Go 
 unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, 
 Thus saith the Lord, Let my j)eople go, 
 that they may serve me. 
 
 2 And if thou refuse to let l/tetn go, be- 
 hold, I will smite all thy borders with 
 frogs : 
 
 at first, (see ver. 20,) and afterwards by degcee^ ail the rest, when 
 the magicians had tried their art upon some of them. Bp. Patrick: 
 See notes on ver. 12, and chap. viii. 18. 
 
 23. — iieilltcr did he set his heart &c.] He did not seriously 
 consider this miracle, and the difference between it and the at- 
 tempts of the magicians. This shews his wilfiil neglect ; snd 
 was the cause of his heart being hiu-dened, as are the hearts of 
 all men, who will think of nothing but the gratification of their 
 own perverse humours. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 24. — digged round about the river tor water to drink ;]] All 
 the waters in the country being spoiled, they were forced to try 
 to prociu-e water for quenching their thirst by tlic great labour of 
 digging wells. Bp. Patrick. This .particular in the conduct of 
 the Egyptians may Ijc illustrated by a circumstance in Plaisteds 
 journey over the great desert from Busserah to Aleppo. " We 
 encamped near a stantling pool of water, which was so muddy, 
 it was not fit to drink : for which reason three wells were dug 
 by our people, pretty near it, wherein thej' met with very good 
 water. If this method was practised oftencr, especially where 
 the situation of the ground gives hopes of success, I am per- 
 suaded the scarcity of water, so much complained of, would be 
 greatl}' lessened." Fragments to Ca/met. 
 
 25. — seven days trere fulj!lled,'\ The change made in the 
 waters lasted seven days," before the plague was removed. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 Chap. VIII. ver. 1. .4nd the T^rd spake Scc.2 Philo, the Jew, 
 has a fine observation on the plagues of Egypt, " Some perhaps 
 may inquire, why did God punish the country by such niinute 
 and contemptible animals, as frogs, lice, flies, rather than by bears, 
 lions, leopards, or other kinds of savage beasts, which prey on 
 human flesh ? or if not by these, wiy not by the Egjptian asp, 
 whose bite is instant death ? But let him learn, if he be ignorant, 
 first, that'GocT chose rather to correct than to destroy the inha- 
 bitants: Tortf He desired to annihilate them utterly, He had no 
 need to have made use 'of anitytals as His au.xiliaries, but of the 
 Divinely inflicted evils of famine and pestilence. Ne.xt, let him 
 further learn that lesson, so necessary for every state of life, name- 
 ly, that men, when they war, seek the most powerful aid to supply 
 their own weakness ; but God, the highest and greatest p<iwer, 
 who stands in need of nothing, if at any time He chooses to em- 
 ploy instruments, as it Mere, to inflict chastisement. ch<x)-es not 
 the strongest and greatest, disregarding their strengdi ; but rather 
 the mean and the minute, whicli He endues with irresistible 
 power to chastise offenders." Dr. Hales. 
 
 2. ;/ thou refuse Sec] God again threatens the plague, be- 
 fore He' inflicts it, that Pharaoii migiit know, it came not by 
 chance, but by His determinate counsel ; and that he might 
 jirevent it by repentance and submission to the Divine com- 
 mands. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 / will smile all thi/ borders with frogs:'] This evil, like 
 
 the former, arose from their sacretl river, iji which they «o much 
 
 S
 
 3V/e plague of frogs. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 Moses remoreth thetn. 
 
 ^fo" 3 And the river shall brinrf forth frogs 
 ^"4"'.^^ j»l)iiiuhintly, which sliall go u)) ami conic 
 into thine house, and into thy bedcham- 
 ber, and upon thy bed, and into the house 
 of thy servants, and upon thy people, and 
 J Or. into thine ovens, and into tliy ilkneading- 
 ioufh. troughs : 
 
 1 And the frogs shall come up both on 
 thee, and upon thy people, and upon all 
 thy servants. 
 
 "5 % And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 Say unto Aaron, Stretch fortli thine hand 
 vitli thy rod over the streams, over the ri- 
 veis, and over the ponds, and cause frogs 
 to come up upon the land of Egypt. 
 
 (J And Aaron stretched out his hand over 
 
 the waters of Egypt ; and the frogs came 
 
 up, aiul covered the land of Egypt. 
 
 • wiMiom 7 * And tlic magicians did so with their 
 
 '" " enchantments, and brought up frogs upon 
 
 the land of Egypt. 
 
 8 f Then Pharaoh called for Moses and 
 Aaron, and said, Intreat the Lord, that he 
 may take away the frogs from me, and from 
 U Or, my people ; and I Avill let the people go, 
 //o,t this that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord. 
 mf!*c."' ' 9 And Moses said unto Pharaoh, || Glory 
 n O'- over me : II when shall I intreat for thee, 
 wC and for thy servants, and for thy people. 
 
 confided, and of wliose sanctity and excellence they were so much 
 persuaded. Its i^tromns by these means became a second time 
 polluted and di.-<gracc(l, to the utter confusion botli of their gods 
 and priests. TJie land also was equally defiled, and their palaces 
 ;uid temples rendered hateful ; so that every native was infected, 
 and had no way to perform any lustration, and to cleanse himself 
 from the filtli, with which he was tainted. Every stream and 
 every lake was in a state of pollution. Whether the frog among 
 the Egyptians was an object of reverence or of abhorrence, is 
 uncertain : but tlius much is certain, that it was very consistent 
 with Divine wisdom and justice to punish the Egyptians either 
 by wliat they abombated, or by what they idly revered. 
 BryayU. 
 
 3. — come iittu thine house, ficc] The frogs were to choke up 
 the river, cover the land, crawl upon their houses, beds, tables, 
 vessels, &c. infest the very persons of all ranks from the prince 
 to the beggar, and nothing should be clear from their loathsome- 
 IJC3S and annoyance. Pyle. 
 
 The production of a number of frogs, if produced in a perfect 
 sute, was a very remarkable instance of a power overruling the 
 ordinary course of nature. The miracle further consisted in giv- 
 ing an impulse to these creatures, and raising in them a desire 
 to quit the cool waters, for the dry land, tlie jilaii/s, the city, &c. 
 so contrarj' to their natural residence. Script, illiui. 
 
 7. And the magieians did so &c.] They brought forth frogs out 
 of some parts of the river and ponds, where thev stood : Gorl 
 permitting them to do what contributed to the greater punish- 
 ment of the Egj-ptians. It is probable, that Pharaoh afterwards 
 ordered them to try their skill and power in removing or destroy- 
 mg the frogs, which Moses had brought up; and that they were 
 unable to do it : God hereby shewing them that they could do no 
 more, than He thought fit to permit them. Dr. fVells. In these 
 .•iccounts of the wondei-s wTought by the Egyptian sorcerers, 
 wlicther they arc supposed to have been wrought in realitv, or 
 in appcarante only ; by sleight of hand, or by the power of" evil 
 
 tto destroy the frogs from thee and thy (;j'|'ji"jo™ 
 houses, that they may remain in the river 1491. 
 
 only ? " L"?'„r. 
 
 10 And he said, ||To morrow. And he 'i^o"! 
 said, Be it according to thy- w'ord : that ■^'p«inst t<> 
 thou mayest know that thefe is none like 
 
 unto the Lord our God. 
 
 1 1 And the frogs shall depart from thee, 
 and from thy houses, and from thy servants, 
 and from thy people ; they shall remain in 
 the river only. 
 
 Ii2 And Moses and Aaron went out from 
 Pharaoh : and Moses cried unto the Lord 
 because of the frogs which be had brought 
 against Pharaoh. 
 
 13 And the Lord did according to the 
 word of Moses ; and the frogs died out of 
 the houses, out of the villages, and out of 
 the fields. 
 
 14 And they gathered them together 
 upon heaps : and the land stank. 
 
 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there 
 was respite, he hardened his heart, and 
 hearkened not unto them ; as the Lokd 
 had said. 
 
 16 ^ And the Lord said unto Moses, Say 
 imto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite 
 the dust of the land, that it may become 
 lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 
 
 spirits, through the permission of God, who was willing to 
 make His power known in this grand contest ; the superiority 
 of the God of Israel was manifested, and the contest yielded by 
 the adversaries, who could not protect tliemselves or their 
 friends from the maladies and plagues inflicted by Omnipotence. 
 Up. Home. 
 
 8. — Intreat the Lord, &c.] Thus Pharaoh is brouglit to ac- 
 knowledge, that the Lord had sent the plague, and that He alone 
 was able to remove it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 9. — Glori^ over ine : ivhen shall I intreat for thee, &c.] Or, as 
 the margin has it, " Have this honour over mc, &c." that is. Take 
 the hcmour of appointing your own day for your deliverance, at 
 what time I shall intreat, &c. intimating that God, as an encou- 
 ragement to his obedience, would grant him the favour of naming 
 the very time in which he should be delivered. Pyle. 
 
 15. &it when Pharaoh saw &c.] This heavy visitation was no 
 sooner removed than forgotten. The king's fright was over; he 
 retracts his promise, and returns to a worse degree of resolute 
 disobedience than before. Pyle. 
 
 1 (). And the Lord sai(C] f Jod secrns to have given Pharaoh no 
 warning of this plague, but to have inflicted it immediately on 
 the removal of the frogs ; for his breach of faith deserved a more 
 notable judgment. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 smite the dust of' the land, that it vmy hecome /tcf] It has 
 
 been mentioned, that the Egy])tians affected great external purity, 
 and were very nice both in tlieir persons and clothing. Un- 
 common care was fcikcii, that they might not harbour any vermin. 
 They were particularly solicitous upon this head; thinking it 
 would be a great, profanation of the temple, which they entered, 
 if any animalcule of this sort were concealed in their garments. 
 It would have been well, if their worship had corresponded with 
 their outward appearance ; but on the contrary it seems to have 
 been more foul and base tlian that of any other nation. Their 
 gods were contemptible and ridiculous, and their rites filthy, and 
 to the last degree bestial and obscene. Yet they were carried on
 
 The dust turned into Ike. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 The jilague ofjlks threatened. 
 
 cmusT ^^ "^""^ ^'^*^-^ ^^'^ ^^ ' ^^^ Aaron stretclN 
 1491. ed out his hand with his rod, and smote 
 the dust of the earth, and it became lice 
 in man, and in beast ; all the dust of the 
 land became lice throughout all the land 
 of Egypt. 
 
 18 And the magicians did so with their 
 enchantments to bring forth lice, but they 
 could not : so there were lice upon man, 
 and upon beast. 
 
 19 Then the magicians said unto Pha- 
 raoh, This is the finger of God : and Pha- 
 raoh's heart was liardened, and he heark- 
 ened not unto them ; as the Lord had 
 said. 
 
 with an appearance of outward purity, and a fcrupulous shew of 
 cleanliness. The judgments therefore inflicted by the hand of 
 Moses were directed against the prejudices of the Egyptians ; and 
 they were made^to suffer for tlieir false delicacy in placing the 
 essence of i-eligion in external cleanliness, to the omission of 
 things of real weight. The present judgment was attended with 
 such propriety in its direction, that tile priests and magicians 
 perceived immediately from what hand it came. The two pre- 
 ceding plagues had been antecedently mentioned to Pharaoh ; 
 and notice was given concerning the hand that would inflict them. 
 But of this third plague there was no warning afforded ; yet the 
 application was too plain to be mistaken ; and the magicians said 
 immediately, " This is the finger of God." Some interpreters have 
 imderstood " gnats" or "flies" to be here meant; but without suf- 
 ficient reason ; especially as thus the plague of flies w ould be un- 
 duly anticipated. Bryant. 
 
 18. And the magicians did so, — hid they could not : ]It is pro- 
 bable that the Egyptian magicians imitated the miracles of Aaron, 
 so far as they did imitate them, by juggling tricks. ]. The turn- 
 ing of their rods into serpents may be supposed to be a substitution 
 on their part, rather than a metamorphosis. 2. There is nothing 
 contrary to possibility in supposing, that they might so change 
 the colour and appearance of water by mixture, as to deceive the 
 ryes of spectators ; or might even substitute a red liquor which 
 might pass for blood: not to insist upon this, that they might 
 procure and produce the very blood of animals. 3. The frogs, 
 no doubt, canie up from the waters, where tliey were bred ; and 
 where they had hitherto remained. They imitated then the mi- 
 racles of Aaron, which referred to those productions, with which 
 the Egyptians were well acquainted, and of whose properties they 
 were perfectly informed. And this they probably did, by their 
 auperiour knowledge of nature, and natural powers, united, no 
 doubt, with great dexterity of management in the performance of 
 their tricks. But when they came to attempt those miracles 
 wliich required a change in the nature, temperature, &c. of the 
 atmosphere, or of which the atmospliere was the vehicle of con- 
 veyance, here their sleight of hand was inefl^eetual, and the supe- 
 riority of Aaron became more conspicuous. Script. Must. 
 
 19. — This is the finger of God:'] Acknowledging that the 
 power by which Moses was assisted was superiour to their's. Pyle. 
 The power of God is represented by His hand or finger in the 
 Scripture phrase, Psal. viii. 3 ; Luke xi. '10. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 20. — fo, he Cometh forth to the water;] Moses was ordered to 
 accost Pharaoh, and to disclose to him the will of God, at the 
 time when lie was taking his morning walk upon the banks of 
 the Nile. It was probably a season of customary adoration ; when 
 the prince of the countiy shewed his reverence to the stream, 
 which was esteemed so beneficial and sacred. Bryant. See note 
 on chap. vii. 15. 
 
 21. — / 7vill send swarms of fiies upon thee.'] The judgment to 
 be denounced was a plague of flies ; which were brought all over 
 the land in vast numbers ; and seem to have been not only for- 
 midable fbr their swarms, but for the painfulncss of their stings. 
 
 20 % And the Lord said unto Moses, B'='''«* 
 Rise up early in the morning, and stand ^^\fo\^^ 
 before Pharaoh ; lo, he cometh forth to the 
 water; and say unto him. Thus saith the 
 Lord, Let my people go, that they may 
 
 serve me. 
 
 21 Else, if thou wilt not let my peojjle 
 
 go, behold, I will send || swarms of /ties 11 Or, 
 upon thee, and upon thy servants, "and ^f";J^2lme 
 upon thy people, and into thy houses: and bM:,ti,.S;c 
 the houses of the Egyptians sliall be full 
 of swarms oJ\/iies, and also the ground 
 whereon they are. 
 
 22 And I will sever in that day the land 
 of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that 
 
 as well as of tlieir bite, which was intcjlerable. There is reajon 
 to think, that the Egyptians had particular deities, whose depart- 
 ment was to ward off those natural evils to which their votaries 
 were liable. The province allotted to several deities was parti- 
 culail)' to dri\e away flies. But this is not all: these insects, 
 however incredible it may appear, were in many places worship- 
 ped. This reverence seems to have been shewn, sometimes, to 
 prevent tlieir being troublesome ; at other times, because they 
 were esteemed sacred to the deit}-. Nor did they only shew an 
 idolatrous regard to flies in general ; there was a deity styled 
 Deus Musca, who was particularly worshipped luidcr the cha- 
 racteristick of a fly. This idolatry originated in Egj-pt, whence 
 it was brought to Palestine, &c. by the Phenicians to tjidon. 
 Tyre, and Byblus; and so into otiier regions of the world. Such 
 being the worship of this people, nothing could be more striking 
 and determinate, than the judgment brought upon them. They 
 were punished by tlie very things which they revered ; and though 
 they boasted of spells and charms, yet they could not ward off 
 the evil. They had gods, who, tliey thought, could avert all 
 mischief; but their power Was ineffectual ; :uid both the prince 
 and the people were obliged to acknowledge the inferiority of 
 their own deities, by suing thi'ough Moses to the God of Israel. 
 Bryant. 
 
 swarms of flics'] Flesh flies, or dog flies, very bold, trou- 
 blesome, and venomous. Some think the Hebrew word means a 
 mi.Kture of different insects, all manner qf'Jlics. Bp. Patric/c. Per- 
 haps this is the insect called Zimh in those countries. As soon a* 
 this plague appears, and its buzzing is heard, al} the cattle for- 
 sake their food, and run wildly about the plain, till they die, worn 
 out with fatigue, fright, and hunger. Bruce. 
 
 22. — / irill sever in that day the land of Goshen, &c.^ The 
 three first jutlgments were experienced by the Israelites, as well 
 as by the Egyptians. They were not so grievous as tho.-<e which 
 succeeded. Yet they were sufficient to teach the inhabitants of 
 Goshen, that there was no illusion in these mighty operations ; 
 which perhaps they might have suspected, had they not ^•ecn, 
 and felt, and borne some share in the e\i\. On the other hjind 
 Pharaoh and his servants, when they saw God's people invohed 
 in the same calamities with themselves, might have fanded, that 
 there was nothing particular in the judgments; and in conse- 
 quence of it, not so distinctly seen to whom they were directed. 
 Hence the scope of Providence would have been defeated. It 
 therefore pleased God, in the plague of flies, and in those which 
 came after, to separate the land of His own people, and pre- 
 serve them from these evils. The Israehtes, haWng e.xperienccd 
 the former evils, must have been more intimately affected with 
 this immunity, by which they were distingtiished. And they 
 must, in consequence of it, have been more ready to follow their 
 great leader ; who was the immediate agent of Providence, both 
 to punish and to preserve. 
 
 The land of GosJien was a tongue-like piece of land, where the 
 Nile first divided at a place called Cercasora. Said, or Upper 
 Egypt, lay abo^ e ; and Mesre, or Lower Egj-pt, was in a line
 
 The plague ofjlies. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 The Jlies are removed. 
 
 rvw. 
 9. 
 
 B«forc no swarms ofjlies shall be there ; to the end 
 ^^"ms'i.*^ thou mayest know that I am the Loud in 
 
 the midst of the earth. 
 tHci.„ 03 And I will putt a division between 
 r«u^,^u.n. ^^. peopip and tliy people : II to morrow 
 tyumor- shall this sign be. 
 
 '2-1. And the Loud did so ; and " there 
 
 came a grievous swarm of /lies into the 
 
 house ot" Pharaoh, and into his servants' 
 
 houses, and into all the land of Egypt : 
 
 I Or. the land was il corrupted by reason of the 
 
 ^ur.yH. s^^-ann ofllies. 
 
 125 ^ Aiul I'liaraoh called for Moses and 
 for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to 
 your God in the land. 
 
 '2G And Moses said. It is not meet so to 
 do ; for we shall sacrifice the abomination 
 of the Egyptians to the Loud our God: 
 lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of 
 the Egyptians before their eyes, and will 
 they not stone us ? 
 
 !27 We will go three days' journey into 
 
 downward. Nothing but a miracle could have preserved this in- 
 termediate land from flies, which swarmed both above and below. 
 Bryant. 
 
 We cannot read the history of the plafjucs which God brought 
 upon Pharaoh by the hands of Moses, without stopping a moment 
 to consider a singularity, a very principal one, Avliich attended 
 this plague of the fly. It was not till this time, and by means of 
 this insect, that Clod said He would separate His people from 
 the Egyptians. And it would seem, that then a law was given 
 to it, which fixed the limits of its habitation. The land of Go- 
 shen was a land of pasture, not tilletl or sown, because it was 
 not overflowed by the Nile. But the land overflowed by the 
 Nile was the black earth of tlie valley of Egypt; and it was 
 here that God confined the flies : for. He says, it shall be a sign 
 of this separation of the people, which He then made, tiiat not 
 one fly should be seen in the sand or pasture ground, the land of 
 Goslien : and this kind of soil has ever since been the refuge of 
 all cattle, emigrating from the black earth to the lower part of 
 Atbara. Bruce. 
 
 24. And the Lord did so ; &c.] The land of Egypt, being an- 
 nually overflowed, was pestered with swarms of flies. They were 
 so troublesome, tliat the people were in many places forced to lie 
 on the tops of their houses, which were flat, where they were 
 obliged to cover themselves with a network. As the country 
 abounded thus with these insects, it might be thought that the 
 judgment was effected in a natural way ; if it were not, that it was 
 brought about, as was that also of the frogs, in the coldest and 
 most ungenial season of the year in Egypt. These noxious ani- 
 mals could not have been produced at such a season by natural 
 means. It was contrary to all experience. They used to be pro- 
 ducc<l at a ditferent, and for the most part an opposite, time of 
 the year : and before this season they were either diminished or 
 extinct So also with respect to the change in the waters of the 
 Nile, which cannot be imputed to a natural caiise. The stream 
 of the Nile indeed is sometimes of a re<l colour; and the same is 
 said of the river Adonis, ;n Phenicia : but this is always during 
 violent inundations, when the rivers, by the exuberance of their 
 waters, wash away ochre, and other minerals, from the sides of 
 their banks. This circumstance in Egypt never happens but in 
 summer, when tlie Nile is rising ; at which time its waters are 
 turbid. But in January and February the river is not only re- 
 duce<l to its channel, but is lower than in any of the preceding 
 months, and particularly pure and wholesome. The change 
 therefore was not produced by any natural cause ; such as mi- 
 
 the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord chr°i|t 
 our God, as " he shall command us. 1491. 
 
 28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, ' chap. 3. 
 that ye may sacrifice to the Loud your '^• 
 God in the wilderness ; only ye shall not 
 go very far away : intreat for me. 
 
 '29 And Moses said. Behold, I go out*- 
 from thee, and I will intreat the Lord tiiat 
 the swarms oj Jlies may depart from Pha- 
 raoh, from his servants, and from his peo- 
 ])le, to morrow : but let not Pharaoh deal 
 ileceitfully any more in not letting the peo- 
 ple go to sacrifice to the Lord. 
 
 30 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, 
 anil intreated the Loud. 
 
 31 And the Lord did according to tile word 
 of Moses ; and he removed the swarms 0/' 
 
 Jlies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and 
 fiom his people ; there remained not one. 
 
 32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart at 
 this time also, neither would he let the 
 l)eople go. 
 
 neral tincture and common pollution : the season of the year 
 shews the contrary. Bryant. Concerning the season, see Dr. 
 Hales's note on chap. ix. ."Jl. 
 
 a grievous swarm of flics'] How intolerable a plague 
 
 flies can prove, may be known from places near lakes and pools, 
 which have been on tlieir account deserted, and rendered deso- 
 late. Such was the fate of Myuns in Ionia, and of Atarnae. The 
 inhabitants were forced to quit these cities, not being able to stand 
 tlie flies and gnats, with which they were pestered. Trajan was ' 
 obliged to raise tlie siege of a city in Arabia, before which he had 
 sat down, being driven away by the swarms of these insects. 
 " The fly of Egypt" seems to have been proverbial. Hence 
 Isaiah says, " The Lord shall hiss for the fly of Egypt," chap. 
 vii. 18. We are told by Moses, that the hornet drove out the 
 Canaanite: by which we may infer, that, before the coming of 
 the Israelites, several cities had been evacuated through the ter« 
 rour of this insect. Bryant. 
 
 26. — the abomination of the Egyptians'] That is, the oxen, 
 sheep, goats, &c. which they worshipped. Locke. Herodotus 
 expressly tells us, that the Egyptians esteemed it a profanation 
 to sacrifice any kind of cattle, except swine, bulls, clean calves, 
 and geese ; and that heifers, rams, and goats were held sacred, 
 either in one province or another : and if he came any thing 
 near the truth, in his account of the early superstition of Egypt, 
 tJie Israelites, we see, could not avoid sacrificing " the abomina- 
 tion of the Egyptians." And with what deadly hatred and re- 
 venge they pursued such imaginary impieties, the same Hero- 
 dotus elsewhere informs us. Bp. Warburton. 
 
 From what is here said about " animal sacrifices," it is 
 probable, that the Israelites were debarred from the exercise 
 of their religious rites during their slavery. Their minds were 
 enslaved still more than their bodies, by the most cruel of all 
 despotisms, to render them incapable of the enjoyment of ra- 
 tional liberty, as moderated by religion, pure and undefiled. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 28. — ye shall not go very far away .-] He was apprehensive 
 of their flight, like his predecessor, who first enslaved the Is- 
 raelites. Dr. Hales. 
 
 32. And Pharaoh hardened his heart &c.] No sooner was the 
 scourge taken away, than his j)ride and covetousness discovered 
 themselves afresh, and made him as unrelenting and perverse as 
 ever. Pyle. This he did after a new plague, that spoke not only 
 the power, but the peculiar providence of God, in severing be- 
 tween His people and the Egyptians. Bp. Kidder.
 
 The murrain of beasts. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 The plague of boils and blains. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 1 The murrain of beasts. 8 The plague of boils and 
 blains. IS His message about the hail. 22 The 
 plague of hail. 27 Pharaoh sueih to Moses, 35 but 
 yet is hardened. 
 
 THEN the Lord said unto Moses, Go 
 in unto Pharaoh, and tell him. Thus 
 saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let 
 my people go, that they may serve me. 
 
 2 For if thou refuse to let them go, and 
 wilt hold them still, 
 
 3 Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon 
 thy cattle which is in the field, upon the 
 horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, 
 upon the oxen, and upon the sheep : there 
 shall be a very grievous murrain. 
 
 4 And the Lord shall sever between 
 the cattle of Israel and the cattle of 
 Egypt : and there shall nothing die of all 
 that is the children's of Israel. 
 
 5 And the Lord appointed a set time, 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. 3. — the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle &c.] 
 We may observe a particular scope and meaning in this calamity, 
 if we consider it with regard to the Egyptians, which would not 
 have existed in respect to any other people. It is well known 
 that they held in idolatrous reverence the lion, wolf, doer, cat, ape, 
 and goat. But they had gods which they held in still greater 
 reverence than these; such were the ox or steer; the cow and 
 lieifer; and the ram. Among these the Apis and Mnevis are well 
 known; the former, a sacred bull adored at Memphis; and the 
 latter, at Heliopolis. There was also a cow or heifer which had 
 the like honours at Momemphis. To these may be added the goat 
 at Mendes, though perhaps not so celebrated as the others. This 
 judgment, therefore, upon the kine of Egypt, was very significant 
 in its execution and purport. The Egyptians not only suffered 
 a severe loss, but, what was of far greater consequence, they saw 
 the representative of their deities, and their deities themselves, 
 sink before the " God of the Hebrews." There is reason to tliink, 
 that both the camel and ass were held sacred, which were in- 
 volved in the same calamity. Hence it is said by the sacred 
 writer, " upon their gods also the Lord executed judgments," 
 Numb, xxxiii. 4. See Exod. xii. 12; also Exod. xviii. 11. These 
 events, we may well imagine, had a happy influence on the 
 minds of the Israelites, to whom the worship of the Egyptians 
 must at this time have appeared in a most contemptible hght, 
 And their gods despicable. Their separation too, and exemption 
 during these evils, must have had still greater weight. It ren- 
 dered them more ready to quit a people, from whom they were 
 in so salutary a manner distinguished, aiid to embrace a better 
 and more rational religion. Bryant. 
 
 6. — all the cattle of Egypt died:'] It appears from ver. 19, that 
 some survived; therefore the meaning is, either that all in the 
 field, ver. 3, not those in the houses, died; or else that a great 
 many of all sorts of cattle died, as the -word all may be expounded. 
 Bp. Patrick. See note below on ver. 19. 
 
 In this act of Divine power, we see, that all the ways of God 
 are mercy, as well as truth. The exact completion of the pre- 
 diction proved His veracity — the appointing of a set time was an 
 act of mercy. U'ogan. 
 
 8. And the Lord &c.] The former plague having moved so 
 little the proud and stubborn heart of Pharaoh, the Lord in- 
 stantly, without any further message to him, commands Moses to 
 bring another judgment upon the Egyptians, more dreadful and 
 noisome than any of the rest had been. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1491. 
 
 saying. To morrow the Lord shall do this b^^"" 
 thing in the land. chhist 
 
 6 And the Lord did that thing on the 
 morrow, and all the cattle of Egj'pt died • 
 but of the cattle of the children of Israel 
 died not one. 
 
 7 And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there 
 was not one of the cattle of the Israelites 
 dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hard- 
 ened, and he did not let the people go. 
 
 8 ^ And the Lord said unto Moses and 
 unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes 
 of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it 
 toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. 
 
 9 And it shall become small dust in all 
 the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil 
 breaking forth -dcilh blains upon man, and 
 upon beast, throughout all the land of 
 Egypt. 
 
 10 And they took ashes of the furnace, 
 and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses 
 sprinkled it up toward heaven ; and it 
 
 Take to you handfuls of ashes &c.] This plague, like those 
 
 which preceded, was well calculated to confound the Egyptians, 
 and confirm the faith of the Israelites. The Egyptians had many 
 gods, and those of high rank, who were supposed to preside over 
 jjharmacy and medicine; and to these the people looked up with 
 great confidence, in all those pains and maladies to which the 
 human frame is subject. Among these Esculapius was held in 
 particular honour for his skill in this science. The Egyptians 
 believed the art of medicine to have been found out by tliese 
 gods; and from tliera to have been transmitted to particular per- 
 sons in succession, who under their influence carried it on to the 
 advantage of the nation. Hence in this instance, as in the pre- 
 ceding, the Egyptians were not only punished, but were shewn 
 the baseness of tiieir worship, and the vanity of their confidence, 
 where they most trusted. They could dig for water, and in some 
 degree shelter themselves from flies; but there was no resource 
 from this evil, which M-as brought more home to them. It was a 
 taint of the human frame; a grievous internal maladv, under 
 which the priests, as well as the people, smarted, to their astonish- 
 ment and confusion. Hence it appears, that the prince of the coun- 
 try was deserted of his wise men, as well as of his gods: " the ma- 
 gicians could not stand before Moses, because of the boil: for the 
 boil was uj)on the magicians, and upon all the Egj'ptians." Bryant. 
 
 9. And it shall become small dust] Instead of the ashes, which 
 they threw into the air, tliere was to come down a small sleet or 
 dust, that should scald the flesh of man and beast, and raise a 
 blister, " a boil breaking forth with blains," on every part on 
 which it should tall. The Hebrew word properly signifies an 
 inflammation, which first makes a tumour or " boil," as we trans- 
 late it, and thence turns into a grievous ulcer. Moses speaks of 
 it afterwards as an imusual pl.-igue, which he calls " the botch of 
 Egj'pt," Deut. xxviii. 2". Bp. Patrick, Stackhouse. 
 
 io. And they look ashes of the furnace, &c.] There was some- 
 thing very significant in this plague. " The furnace," from which 
 the ashes were Uikeii, aptly represented " the iron fiimace" of 
 Egyptian bondage, Deut. iv. 20; and the scattering of the 
 ashes in the air might refer to the us.ige of the E<:ypti;uis in 
 their Typhonian sacrifices of human victims, some of whom pro- 
 bably were Israelites; at the clo-;e of which sacrifices the priests 
 gathered together the ashes of the victims, and scattered them 
 upwards in the air. This plague also converted another of the 
 elements and of their gods, tlie air or ctlier, uito an instrument 
 of their chastisement. Br. Hales, Bryant.
 
 The plague of 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 hoik and blaitis. 
 
 ai. 
 
 Before became a boil breaking forth nilli blains 
 
 M91. "P"" '"'"^' '^""^^ "P'^" beast. 
 
 11 Ami llu' magicians could not stand 
 before Moses because of the boils ; for the 
 boil was upon the magicians, and upon all 
 the Egyptians. 
 
 12 And the Lord hardened the heart 
 of Pharaoli, and he hearkened not unto 
 
 a.ap. 4. them; ' as the Lonn had spoken unto 
 Moses. 
 
 13 IF And the Lord said unto Mostfs, 
 Rise up early in the morning, and stand 
 before Pharaoh, and say unto him. Thus 
 saitli the Louu God of the Hebrews, Let 
 my peoj)le go, that they may serve me. 
 
 \i. — the niiigicians could not stand &c.] We rcatl of no attempt 
 made by the magicians, since the plague of lice, ■which they could 
 not counterfeit, to vie in working miracles with Moses and Aaron. 
 Still they sccni to have remained w ith Pharaoh, and to have en- 
 deavoured to fix liitn in the resolution not to let Israel go. But 
 now the plague seized on them, as ■well as on the rest of the 
 Kgyptian.-., which perfectly confounded them, so tliat they could 
 not stand before .Moses, or look him in the face. Bp. Patrick. 
 Though, by the Divine permis.sion, the magicians could change 
 their rods into seri)ents, yet, as a manifest token of superiority, 
 Aaron's rml swallowed all their's; though they could turn water 
 into blood, yet it was above their skill to restore it to its former 
 nature; tliough they contrived to produce frogs, j-ct they ■were 
 utterly unable to remove them from the Egyptian palaces and 
 houses; though they did in short some things, which only added 
 to the calamities of Egypt, yet they could do no one thing to re- 
 dress them; nor even to relieve themselves from the plague of 
 tlie boils. So true and so severe withal is the observation of the 
 autlior of the Book of Wisdom, chap. xvii. 7, 8. Slackhoiise. 
 
 12. And (lie Lord &C.2 Now " the Lord," for the first time, 
 " hardened the heart oJ' Pharaoli," after he liad so repeatedly 
 hardened it himself, " ;md he hearkened not unto them, as the 
 Lord had foretold unto Moses." Though Pharaoh j)robabIy felt 
 the scourge of the " boil," as well as his people, it did not soften 
 nor humble his heart. And when he wilfully and obstinately 
 turned away from the light, and .shut his eyes against the luminous 
 evidences vouchsafed to him of the xiiprcmaci/ of the God of riiE 
 Hebhews, and had twice broken his promise, when he was in- 
 dulged with a respite, and dealt deceitful 1 1/, he became a just 
 object of punishment; and God now began to increase the hard- 
 ness or obduracy of his heart. And such is the usual and the 
 righteous cour.se of His providence; when nations or individuals 
 despi.se the warnings of Heaven, abuse their best gifls, and re^i^t 
 the means of grace, " Gotl then delivers them over to a reprobate 
 or undiscerning mind, to work all uncleanness with greediness," 
 Itom. i. 'J8; Ephes. iv. ig. Dr. Hates: Even now Gotl did not 
 infuse into Pharaoh's heart any biid qualities, or ungodly resolu- 
 tions; but only He did not vouchsafe to him tho.sc convictions 
 which might have softened him; "and He gave him up to his 
 own heart's lust;" and likewise ordered things so to fall out, that 
 he became more and more obdurate. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 1 .5. — that I may .unite tliec I'tc] I will smite Uiy people with 
 that peslilentiid disease, which shall take off all the firstborn of 
 the Egyptiiuis; and thou thyself shall be cut off, by being drowned 
 in the Red sea. Dr. H'clls. 
 
 The following plagues were formally announced to Pharaoh 
 and his people: " I will at this seaaon send all My plagues upon 
 thine heart, and upon thy ser\'anti, and upon thy people, that 
 thou mayi>t know that there is none like Me in all the earth. 
 For now I could stretch out My hand, and smite t/iec and thy jieo- 
 ple with pestilence," or destroy thee at onco, like thy cattle with 
 the murr.-iin, " and thou slionlde.vt be cut off from the earth ; but in 
 truth, for lliia cause have I sustained thee, that I might manifest in 
 
 It For I will at this time send all my p,^''^^"^^- 
 plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy 1491. 
 servants, and upon thy people; that thou 
 mayest know that there is none like me in 
 all the earth. 
 
 15 For now I will stretch out my hand, 
 that I may smite thee and thy ])cople ^s•ith 
 pestilence; and thou shalt be cut oft" from 
 the earth. 
 
 1(3 And in very deed for '' this caii.se have '• Rom. o. 
 I t raised thee up, for to shew m thee my j'^gi, 
 power ; and that my name may be declared """'<•• tiiec 
 throughout all the earth. '"""'■ 
 
 17 As yet exaltest thou thyself again.st 
 my people, that thou wilt not let them go? 
 
 thee My power, and that My name might be declared throughout 
 the whole earth." This rendering of the passage is more con- 
 formable to the context, to the Chaldec Paraplirase, and to the 
 foregoing observation of Philo, alluding thereto, than the received 
 translation: " For now I will stretch out My hand, that 1 may 
 smite thee and thy people with pestilence." For surely Pharaoh 
 and his people were not smitten with pestilence; and " they were 
 preserved," or kept from immediate destruction, according to the 
 Septuagint, " to manifest the Divine power," by the number and 
 variety of their plagues. Dr. Hales. 
 
 16. — for this cause have I raised thee up,'] In the Hebrew 
 the words are, " 1 have made thee stand;" that is, I have pre- 
 served thee alive, when the pestilence would have cut thee off, 
 as the murrain did thy cattle, that I might destroy thee in a more 
 remarkable manner. " I have raised thee" from the foregoing- 
 sickness; that is, spared thee in the midst of the most malignant 
 ulcers. Bp. Patrick. I have made thee to stand, preserving thee, 
 and suspending to punish thee, when I sent all My other plagues, 
 that I might show My power more illustriously in thee. Dean 
 Tucker. I'he Greek translates the place very justly, " For this 
 cause thou hast been preserved:" and most of the versions ex- 
 press the true meaning of the passage better than our Englisli 
 translation. The reason of the words, and the true meaning of 
 them, is this: Moses had wrought several miracles before Pha- 
 raoh, without eflect. Hereupon he delivers him a severer mes- 
 sage, threatening that God would send all His plagues upon his 
 heart, &c. to smite him with pestilence, and to cut him off from 
 the earth: and " indeed," continues he, speaking still in the name 
 of God, " for this cause have I preserved thee hitherto, to shew 
 in thee My power:" that is, I had cut thee off sooner for thy ob- 
 stinacy, but that I intended to make My power over thee more 
 conspicuous. So that the words signify, that Pharaoh was hitherto 
 preserved by the forbearance of God, to be a more remarkable ex- 
 ample; not that he was born to be brought to ruin. Shuckfard. 
 
 We see then, that when God .says, lie raised up Pharaoh for 
 this cause, that He might magnify His Power and Glory in his 
 punishment. He does not mean that He made him either a man 
 or a king with such a view»; but that He preserved him from the 
 fatal stroke of former visitations, that he did not expire under 
 them, but his life -was prolonged for further trials and exercises of 
 the same kind. And this sort of dealing is very consistent with 
 all the parts of the Divine character. It is agi-ceable to the Pa- 
 tirnce and Longsuffering of God, that He should reprieve sinners 
 from death, and not presently make a full end of them, but give 
 them repeated calls, and large time and space for repentance. Jt 
 is agreeable to His Mercy, that correction should be given them, 
 in order to prevent their final perdition; and that others should 
 be warned by their sufferings to take heed that they provoke not 
 Go<l by the like sins. It is agreeable to the Justice of God, some- 
 times, to make an example of a sinner, that the world may see 
 His hand in the government of it, and that no one may promise 
 himself impimity in the commission of sin. Lastly, it is agr«able 
 to His Holiness, for He hereby declares, that He "is of purer
 
 The plague of hail 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 threatened, and sent. 
 
 CHRIST ^^ Behold, to morrow about this time I 
 1491. will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, 
 such as hath not been in Egypt since the 
 foundation thereof even until now. 
 
 19 Send therefore now, a7id gather thy 
 cattle, and all that thou hast in the field ; 
 
 for upon every man and beast which shall 
 be fo,und in the iield, and sliall not be 
 brought home, the hail shall come down 
 upon them, and they shall die, 
 
 20 He that feared the word of the Lord 
 among the servants of Pharaoh made his 
 servants and his cattle flee into the houses : 
 
 t Hell. 21 And he that t regarded not the word 
 
 set n^t Hi of ^j^g LoRD left his servauts and his cattle 
 
 heart unto. • , ^ , , 
 
 HI the held. 
 
 22 ^ And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, 
 that there may be hail in all the land of 
 Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and 
 upon every herb of the field, throughout 
 the land of Egypt. 
 
 eyes than to behold iniquity" without disapprobation and abhor- 
 rence. Reading. 
 
 18. — / will cause it to rain a very grievous kail, &c.] This 
 judgment was equally significant and proper with the foregoing. 
 It was foretold to Pharaoh by Moses, that on tlie very next morn- 
 ing there should be a grievous rain, attended with hail and thun- 
 der. This must have been a circumstance of all otliers the most 
 incredible to an Egyptian. For in Egypt there fell no rain ; the 
 want of which was supplied by dews, and by the overflowing of 
 the Nile. At least it is certain, that, allowing for occasional show- 
 ers in some parts, no country upon earth, to which we have ac- 
 cess, has so little rain as Egypt ; and particularly the upper part 
 of it. The Egyptians therefore must have perceived themselves 
 particularly aimed at in these fearful events, so contrary to all e.\- 
 perience. For they were witnesses to not only deluges of rain, 
 but hail mingled with rain; and these attended with thunder and 
 fire, to their great amazement. Now the Egyptians were super- 
 stitious above all people upon earth. They were particularly ad- 
 dicted to the observance of portentous appearances. Every un- 
 common circumstance was esteemed of this class. But as these 
 were imaginary portents, which arose merely from a superstitious 
 dread, it pleased God to punisli their blind credulity by bringing 
 upon them some real prodigies ; some preternatural evils, to 
 which they had never been witness. Such was the rain, and hail, 
 .ind fire, which ran on the ground, to their great amazement and 
 ruin. Its coming was determinately foretold ; nor could all the 
 deities of Egypt prevent its fearful efl'ects. Those of the people, 
 who took warning, were preserved : but all, who neglected the 
 caution, and who did not shelter themselves, were, with their 
 cattle, destroyed. 
 
 There seems, further, a great fitness and propriety in the Egyp- 
 tians being punished by fire, and by water : as they were guilty 
 of gross idolatry towards these elements, and adored them as 
 deities. Bryant. 
 
 Hail in some countries is a very common production of the 
 atmosphere : in Egypt it is rare, because the sultry nature of tlie 
 climate does not permit its formation. We see then a threefold 
 interference of Providence in this miracle; 1st, That hail should 
 be formed. 2dly, That it should happen to morrow, at a time 
 prefixed : no human power being able to direct the atmosphere 
 to this or any other eftect. Sdly, That in a certain district these 
 occurrences did not take place. Script, illust. 
 
 since the foundation thereof] Shice it was an inhabited 
 
 country. Bp. Patrick, 
 
 23 And Moses stretched forth his rod '^^'"^ 
 toward heaven : and the Lord sent thun- ^^w\^^ 
 der and hail, and the fire ran along upon 
 the ground; and the Lord rained hail 
 upon the land of Egypt. 
 
 24- So there was hail, and fire mingled 
 with the hail, very grievous, such as tiierc 
 was none like it in all the laud of Eg^^jt 
 since it became a nation. 
 
 25 And the hail smote throughout all 
 the land of Egypt all that mas in the field, 
 both man and beast; and the hail smote 
 every herb of the field, and brake every 
 tree of the field. 
 
 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where 
 the children of Israel xvere, was there no 
 hail. 
 
 27 f And Pharaoh sent, and called for 
 Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, 
 I have sinned this time : the Lord is 
 righteous, and I and my people are wick- 
 ed. 
 
 19. Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, &C.3 In the midst 
 of judgment God remembered mercy; and gave a gracious warn- 
 ing to the Egyptians to avoid, if they chose, the threatened cala- 
 mity. Dr. Hales. It appears that there were some persons in 
 Pharaoh's court better disposed than himself; and that for their 
 sake God gives this warning of their danger, that they may avoid 
 it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The cattle of the Egyptians in the field had been destroyed 
 by the foregoing plague of murrain, ver. 6. But they might 
 have recruited their stock from the land of Goshen, where " not 
 one of the cattle of the children of Israel died." This justifies 
 the supposition, that there was some respite or interval between 
 the several plagues, so that the whole may have taken up about 
 a quarter of a yeai-. That the warning in this case was respected 
 by many of the Egyptians, we may infer from the number of 
 chariots and horsemen, that went in pursuit of the Israelites after- 
 wards. Dr. Hales. 
 
 22. — every herb ofiliejicld,'} All of the vegetable kind, com- 
 prehending trees. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 23. — thundfr and hail, and the fire'} In this tremendous 
 plague, the united elements of air, water, and ftre were employed 
 to teiTify and punish the Egyptians, by their princip.il divinities. 
 Dr. Hales. All jointly demonstrating and proclaiming, that the 
 God of Israel was the God of nature. Stachhonsc. 
 
 27. And Pharaoh sent, and called &c.] The duration of this 
 miracle is remarkable. Usually hail stonns last but a little time : 
 but this storm lasted long enougli to terrify Pharaoh, and to 
 induce him to intreat its suppression. In proportion to the in- 
 frequency of this kind of storm must have been the terrour, which 
 it infused into Pharaoh : and this terrour must have been pro- 
 portionately increased by the continuance of the storm. Script. 
 illust. 
 
 1 have sinned this lime ;] The meaning is not, that he 
 
 had not sinned before : but he says, " I now acknowledge my 
 offence, and the justice of God in punishing the wickedness of 
 me and of my people : " which confession does not argue any re- 
 ligious tenderness of heart, but was e.xtortcd by the excessive 
 alarm which possessed him at the moment. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Good thoughts pass rapidly through carnal hearts ; they can 
 never settle there. Who would think it possible, that .any spu1_ 
 could be so secure in the midst of such variety and frequency of 
 judgments? These \cry plagues arc not more wonderful than 
 "tlieir want of success. To wliat a height of obduracy will sin lead 
 a man ; and, of all sins, incrcdiOity ! During all these ttorms
 
 Pharaoh sueth to Moses, 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 but is still hardened. 
 
 Before 28 Intreat the Lord (for it is enough) 
 ^^liV,^"^ that there be no more tniislity thunderings 
 t Hcii. and hail ; and I will let you go, and ye 
 ^" "^ shall stay no longer. 
 
 '29 And Moses said unto lum, As soon as 
 I am gone out of the city, 1 will spread 
 abroad my hands unto the Loud ; and the 
 thunder shall cease, neither shall there be 
 any more hail ; that thou mayest know how 
 •p».24. 1. that the 'earth is the Loud's. 
 
 30 But as I'or thee and thy servants, I 
 know that ye will not yet fear the Lord 
 God. 
 
 31 And the flax and the barley was 
 smitten : for the barley was in the ear, and 
 the flax xvas boiled. 
 
 Pharaoh sleepeth, till the voice of God's mighty thunder, and hail 
 mixed with fire, roused him up a little. Now, as between sleep- 
 ing and waking, he starts up and says, " God is righteous ; I am 
 •wicked ; Moses, pray for us," and presently lays down his head 
 aimiii. God hath no sooner done thundering, than he hath done 
 fearing. All this while we never find him careful to prevent any 
 one evil, but desirous still to shift it off, when he feels it ; he 
 never holds constant to any good motion ; never pra3's for him- 
 self, but carelessly wills Moses and Aaron to pray for him; never 
 yields God His whole demand, but endeavours to satisfy Him by 
 the least concession : first, " They shall not go ;" then, " Go and 
 sacrifice, but in Egypt ;" next, " (>o, sacrifice in the wilderness, 
 but not far off;" after, " Go ye that are men ;" then, " Go you 
 and your children only ;" at last, " Go all, save your sheep and 
 cattle." \\'heresoever mere nature is, she is still improvident of 
 future good, sensible of present evil, inconstant in good purposes; 
 unable, through unacquaintaiice, and unwilling to speak for her- 
 self; niggardly in her grants, anil uncheerful. lip. Hall. 
 
 29. — / will .spread nhroad mi/ /iniidx'] This was an ancient 
 posture of supplication in all nations. lip. Patrick. 
 
 31 . — tliejlajr and the hailey was smitten ;] This is by no means 
 trivid, but of great moment. The Egyptians were doomed to 
 imdergo many terrours, and, beside these, to suffer no small losses. 
 Scarcely any thing could have distressed them more than the ruin 
 of the f(irmcr article. The Egyptians above all nations affected 
 outwartl purity and cleanliness. On this account the whole nation 
 ■wore linen garments ; and priests never put on any other kind of 
 clothing. This linen was manufactured from that fine flax, for 
 ■which the country was particularly famous. The flax and linen 
 of Egypt were also in ijreat request in other countries ; and 
 though the Egyptians did not themselves trade abroad, yet they 
 sufferf d other nations to come to them. Hence »hc demolition of 
 their flax was attendetl with great inconvenience, and must have 
 provetl a heavy loss ; so that this judgment particularly affected 
 this people above all other nations ; and their priests more parti- 
 cularly suffered. 
 
 The ruin of their barley was equally fatal, both in respect to 
 their trade, (for Egypt seems verj' early to have been the granary 
 of the worhl,) and to their private advantage. They had few vines 
 in Egypt, but, instead of the juice of the grape, they made a liquor 
 calle<l barleif-tvine, undoubtedly a kind of beer, which was par- 
 ticularly .serviceable during the time that the Nile was turbid, 
 and not so fit to be used. These advantages were lost to them 
 now llirough the devastation made by the rain, hail, and fire ; 
 and their loss could not hut have been severely telt. Bri/ant. 
 Biu-lcy is the most ancient aliment of mankind, as Pliny says on 
 the testimony of Menander. Hcript. illu.st. 
 
 lliv barley tvas in the ear. &e.3 Tlie season of the year, and 
 
 the commencement of tlie plagues, is no where specified ; but both 
 may be collected from the history. The departure of the Israelites, 
 after the tenth and last plague, was about tiie vernal equinox, or 
 
 3'i But the wheat and the rie 
 not smitten 
 
 up 
 
 were Be/ore 
 C ,\ + * CHRIST 
 
 lor they ivere tnot grown ngi. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 33 And Moses went out of the city from '"'^''' "'• 
 
 dark. 
 
 Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands un 
 to the Lord : and the thunders and hail 
 ceased, and the rain was not poured upon 
 the earth. 
 
 3 1 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain 
 and the hail and the thunders were ceased, 
 he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, 
 he and his servants. 
 
 35 And the heart of Pharaoh was hard- 
 ened, neither would he let the children 
 of Israel go ; as the Lord had spoken tby t Heb 
 Moses 
 
 tiy ttie liiintl 
 vf'Mascs. 
 
 beginning of April, on the 15th day of the 1st month, Abib, chap, 
 xii. G; but by the seventh plague of hail, the barley was smitten, 
 but not the wheat and rie of later growth. For according to the 
 report of modern travellers, the barley harvest in Egypt is reaped 
 in March, and the wheat in April ; and Le Brun found the whole 
 to be over at Cairo on the lyth of April. This agrees with the 
 account of Moses, that " the barley was in the ear," though not 
 yet fit for reaping ; but " the wheat and the rie were not grow n 
 up." This judgment therefore must have happened about a 
 month before the departure of the Israelites, or in the beginning 
 of March, before the barley harvest, so early as to leave room for 
 the three succeeding plagues. And if we count backwards two 
 months, by the same analogy, it will bring the first about tlie be- 
 ginning of January, or the commencement of the winter season, 
 at which time the river Nile was lowest, and its water clearest. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 the fUi.v was Lolled.'^ This word signifies to rise into a 
 
 stalk or stem, which is of a roundish form. But some think, that 
 the seeds, or grain, of the flax were assuming a roundish form 
 within their husks. Script, illust. 
 
 32. — rie~\ The Hebrew word signifies a hairy plant. It is 
 usually thought to be the Zea, or Spelt, ■which is a species of 
 corn. Dr. Shaw thinks this word may signify rice. It is pro- 
 bable, that from the intercourse of ancient Egypt with Babylon 
 and with India, this inundated country could not be ignorant of a 
 grain so well suited to its climate. Scrij.!. illust. 
 
 they were not n;ron'u up.l They were not yet eared ; and 
 
 so being tender and flexile, yielded to the stroke of the hail, and 
 received less harm than the barley and flax, which were in a riper 
 state. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 34. And when Pharaoh .mw &c.] The effect on Pharaoh was 
 exactly what Moses foretold, ver. 30. Instead of being melted into 
 consideration and gratitude, he forgot his solemn promise, made 
 a jest of his faith an<l honour, set God at defiance, and refused to 
 let the Israelites go. Pyle. 
 
 he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, 2 He stifled the 
 
 dictates of conscience, and acted against conviction. Bryant. In 
 this instance there is a remarkable suspension of tlic judicial in- 
 latu.ition. Pharaoh had humbled himself and acknowledged his 
 own !ind his people's gi'i't, and the justice of the Divine plague. 
 The Lord therefore forbore this time to harden his heart. But 
 he abused the long sufferance of (iod, and this additional respite: 
 "he sinned yet more," because he now sinned wilfully, after he 
 had received information of the truth, he relapsed, and hardened 
 his own heart, a seventh time. He became tlierefore " a vessel 
 of wrath, fitted to destruction," Heb. x. 26 ; Rom. ix. 22. Dr. 
 Hales. 
 
 Moses had performed in the presence of Pharaoh such miraculous 
 works, as would probably have liad an effect on any other person. 
 But, because he saw some of the miracles imitated by tlie magici- 
 ans ; because the plagues came gradually uoon him, and by the in-
 
 God threateneth 
 
 CHAR X. 
 
 to send locusts. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 ' Oiap. 4. 
 
 21. 
 
 I God threateneth to send locusts. 7 Pharaoh, moved by 
 his servants, incUneth to let the Israelilcs go. 12 The 
 plague of the locusts. l6 Pharaoh sueth to Moses. 21 
 The plague of darkness. 24 Pharaoh sueth unto Moses, 
 21 but yet is hardened. 
 
 AND the Lord said unto Moses, Go in 
 unto Pharaoh : ' for I have hardened 
 his heart, and the heart of his ser\^ants, that 
 I might shew these my signs before him : 
 
 2 And that thou mayest tell in the ears 
 of thy son, and of thy son's son, what 
 things I have wrought in Egypt, and my 
 signs which I liave done among them ; that 
 ye may know how that I am the Lord. 
 
 3 And Moses and Aaron came in unto 
 
 tercession of Moses were constantly removed ; he thence took oc- 
 casion, instead of being softened by this alternative of mercy and 
 judgment, to become more sullen and obdurate. " When Pha- 
 raoh saw that the rain, and the hail, and the thunders were ceased, 
 he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart." The mercy of God, 
 which should have led him to repentance, had a contrary effect 
 upon him, and made him more obstinate. For an hardened 
 heart is neither cut by compunction, nor softened by any sense 
 of pietj'. It is neither moved by intreaties, nor yields to threaten- 
 ings, nor feels the smart of scourges. It is ungrateful to benefac- 
 tors, treacherous to counsels, sullen under judgments, fearless in 
 dangers, forgetful of things past, negligent of things present, and 
 improvident for the future. All these bad qualities seem to have 
 concentered in Pharaoh. It was therefore entirely agreeable to 
 the rules of Divine justice, when nothing would reclaim this wicked 
 king, when even that which wrought upon the magicians, the 
 ministers of Satan, made no impression on him, to let his crime be- 
 come his punishment, and to leave him to eat the bitter fruit of 
 his own ways, and to be filled with his own devices. Stackhouse. 
 
 The case of the hard-hearted Pharaoh may be made a ground 
 of admonition to ourselves. We have had more messengers from 
 God, more summonses to do many parts of His will, than were 
 ever sent to this king and his people. We have with them refus- 
 ed to be obedient to the heavenly call, and thereby rendered our- 
 selves obnoxious to the Divine judgments, under several of which 
 we have smarted. Like them too, instead of being awakened to 
 a sense of our disobedience, we have grown harder and more in- 
 sensate under the rod. We have seen many examples of God's 
 wrath upon sinners, and lightly passed them over, without being 
 led by them to consider our own demerits. 
 
 How long shall we see this face of things, and hear the warn- 
 ings of God to reform our lives, and to prevent the worse effects 
 of His displeasure, and still continue in a state of stupid insensi- 
 bility, as if we were in no danger ? Shall we pass the time of our 
 mortal lives, as if we were not accountable to God for what we are 
 here doing ? He hath "raised us up for this very purpose," that 
 we should be for ever happy in our observance, or miserable in 
 our contempt, of His holy word. And either His mercy shall be 
 glorified in our salvation, or His justice in our punishment. Such 
 are God's thoughts and resolutions towards us : if we have no 
 thoughts of our duty to Him, and of the end for which He hath 
 sent us into the world, it is because we are hardened and infatu- 
 ated by the deceitfulness of sin. Reading. 
 
 Chap. X. ver. 1. — for I have hardened &c.1 The particle 
 translated " for" admits of the sense " although." "Then the 
 meaning becomes clear : " Although I have hardened his heart, " 
 yet let not that hinder thy going to him, but still importune him : 
 because I intend to take occasion from his refusing to obey Me, 
 to work greater signs and wonders for your benefit, (ver. 2,) and 
 for his ruin. Bp. Patrick. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 Pharaoh, and said unto him. Thus saith B'fo" 
 the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long "^ ms?'"" 
 wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before 
 me ? let my people go, that they may 
 serve me. 
 
 4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people 
 
 go, behold, to morrow will I bring the " lo- » wudom 
 custs into thy coast : '«• ^• 
 
 5 And they shall cover the t face of the t ha. ^-. 
 earth, that one cannot be able to see the 
 
 earth : and they shall eat the residue of that 
 which is escaped, which remaineth unto you 
 from the hail, and shall eat every tree which 
 groweth for you out of the field : 
 
 6 And they shall fill thy houses, and the 
 houses of all thy servants, and the houses 
 
 2. — thou mayest ielT^ He speaks to Moses, as the representa- 
 tive of the whole people of Israel. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — io morron will I bring the locusts &C.3 It was not the 
 purpose of God to complete every punishment at once ; but to 
 carry on these judgments in a series, and by degrees to cut off all 
 hopes, and every resource, upon which the Egyptians depended. 
 By the hail and thunder, and fire mingled with rain, both the 
 barley and flax were ruined, and their pastures must have been 
 greatly injured. But the wheat and the rie were not yet in ear : 
 and such was the fruitfulness of the soil, that a very short time 
 would have sufficed for the leaves of the trees, and for the grass 
 of the field, to have been recruited. It pleast-d God therefore to 
 send an host of locusts, to devour every leaf and blade of grass, 
 which had been left in the former devastation, and whatever was 
 beginning to vegetate. It is hard lo conceive, how widel)' the 
 mischief extends, when a cloud of these insects comes upon a 
 country. Though it were a paradise before, it is soon rendered 
 a desert. They devour to the very root and bark : so that it is m 
 long time before vegetation can be renewed. Scarcely any mis< 
 fortune can so effectually damage a land, but that room will be 
 left for them to add to the mischief How dreadful their inroads 
 at all times were, may be known from a variety of authors, «n- 
 cieiit and modem. They describe them, as being brought on upon 
 a country by one wind, and carried off by another : and spieak 
 of their numbers as past all conception. The Egj^ptians had 
 gods, in whom they trusted to free their countrj- from these ter- 
 rible invaders. But these power.s could not stand before Moses, 
 the servant of the true God. He brought upon them an host of 
 enemies, who laid waste the fruits of their ground, and rendered 
 all their confidence vain. 
 
 As Egj'pt is in gre.it measure bounded to the east and north by 
 seas, and is far removed from those regions in Africa, where lo- 
 custs particularly generate, it is not much infested with them. 
 However, at the time spoken of, an east wind prevailed " all day 
 and all night ;" and the whole country in the moniing swarmed 
 with these insects. Hence we know, that they came from Ara- 
 bia ; and that they must have passed the Red sea, which is the 
 barrier to the East. " Before them there were no such locusts as 
 they, neither after them shall be such," ver. 1 4. Hence Pharaoh 
 called for Moses and Aaron in haste ; acknowledged his sin ; and 
 begged to be delivered " from this death, " ver. 17;" and the 
 Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the lo- 
 custs, and cast them into the Red sea, " ver. I9. The storm, which 
 carried them away, served to bury them in the waters. Bryant. 
 
 locusts'] There are in Scripture ten names for locusts. 
 
 The species mentionetl here is called Arbah, which imports mul. 
 tiplicity ! a very just description of the locust tribes ! Leewen- 
 hoeck says, he has seen a female lay more than eighty eggs : if 
 every female is equally prolifick, and lays three or four times in 
 a summer, what an immense multitude must issue, and tint 
 speedily, from such fertility ! "Scrip*, illust.
 
 Pharaoh urged by his servants. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 The plague of locusts. 
 
 »*<■•" of all the Egyptians ; which neither thy 
 
 '^"«}.^^ fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, 
 
 since the ilay that they were upon the earth 
 
 unto this day. And he turned himself, and 
 
 went out from Pharaoh. 
 
 7 And Pharaoh's servants said unto liim. 
 How long sliall this man be a snare unto 
 us? let the men go, that they may serve 
 the Lord their God : knowest thou not yet 
 that Egvpt is destroyed ? 
 
 8 Anil Moses antl Aaron were brought 
 again unto Pharaoh : and he said unto 
 them. Go, serve the Lord your God : but 
 
 t Hib. t who arc they that shall go ? 
 
 Zl" "&t ^ ^"'■^ Moses said, We will go with our 
 young aTul with our old, with our sons and 
 witli our daughters, with our flocks and 
 with our herds will we go; for we must 
 hold a feast unto the Lord. 
 
 10 And he said unto them. Let the Loud 
 be so with you, as I will let you go, and 
 your little ones : look to it ; tor evil is be- 
 fore you. 
 
 1 1 Not so : go now ye that are men, 
 and serve the Lord; for that yc did desire. 
 And they were driven out from Pharaoh's 
 presence. 
 
 12 i[ And the Lord said unto Mose*, 
 Stretch out thine hand over the land of 
 Egypt for tlie locusts, that they may come 
 up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every 
 
 (). — which neither thy fathers, &C.2 Though locusts .ire com- 
 mon in Arabia, they are seldom found in Egypt ; the Red sea 
 forming a baiTier against them, as they are not formed for cross- 
 ing teas, or for long flights. The winds also blow there six 
 months from the north, and six from the south : so that tlie 
 strong easterly wind, which enabled them to cross it, has every 
 appearance of being preternatural. Dr. Hales. 
 
 7- — be a snare unto i/j?] Be the occasion of our falling into 
 one calamity after another : involve and entangle us in so much 
 mischief lip. PtUrick. 
 
 knon'fst thou not yet &c.] When pride rules in the heart, 
 
 it necessarily hardens it, because it excludes Divine grace, and 
 ihiit.s the car, not only to all admonition both of God and of man, 
 but even to the voice of our own interest. " Knowest thou not 
 yet that Egypt is destroyed }" Pharaoh knew this; yet he would 
 not yield, li'ogan. 
 
 10. — Let the iMrd be so nith you,!^ These words are cither 
 a form of imprecation, as if he had said, " I wish you may pros- 
 per no iKtter than I shall accord to your desire :" or else they 
 are spoken scoffingly, as if he had said, " '^'ou trust in the Lord • 
 let Hvax do all He can to deliver you, as I am resolved to keep 
 you hwe." Bp. PatricL 
 
 luok to it ; for evil is before you.li Look to it ; go, if you 
 
 will, at your own peril. Bp. flail. 
 
 15. — tluy covered tlie face of the whole earth,"] I had once an 
 opportunity to see large swarms of locusts in the island of Cyprus : 
 aiul till that time had no adequate idea of their numerous hosts 
 and rapacious depretlations. In goiJJg in a chaise from Lamica 
 to a garden at a distance of four or five miles, the locusts lay 
 swarming, above a foot deep, in several pjuts of the high road, 
 and thousands were destroyed by the wheels of the caniage 
 crashing o\er them. Dr. liusfcU. 
 
 herb of the land, even all that the hail hath ^hrTst 
 left. H91. 
 
 13 And Moses stretched forth his rod 
 over the land of Egypt, and tlie Lord 
 brought an east wind upon the land all that 
 day, and all that night ; a7id when it was 
 morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 
 
 It And the locusts went up over all the 
 laud of" Egypt, and rested in all the coasts 
 of Egypt : \'ery grievous xcerc they ; before 
 them there were no such locusts as they, 
 neither after them shall be such. 
 
 \5 For they covered the face of the 
 whole earth, so that the land was darken- 
 ed ; and tiiey did eat every herb of the 
 land, and all the fruit of the trees which 
 tlie hail had left : and there remained not 
 any green thing in the trees, or in the 
 herbs of the field, through all the land of 
 
 Eg)!)!- 
 
 1 6 ^ Then Pharaoh t called for Moses t Heb. 
 
 and Aaron in haste ; and he said, I have *^//"*"^ '* 
 sinned against the Lord your God, and 
 against you. 
 
 17 Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, 
 my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord 
 your God, that he may take away from mc 
 tliis death only. 
 
 18 And he went out from Pharaoh, and 
 intreated the Lord. 
 
 19 And the Lord turned a mighty strong 
 
 they did eal every herb tiC.~\ Of the insect tribes, the 
 
 locust is the most dreadful in its depredations ; it sets all the 
 defensive arts of man at defiance, and destroys in a few days 
 the beautiful verdure of vast tracts of cultivated country. Dr. 
 Russell. 
 
 Those which I saw in Barbary were much bigger than our 
 common grashoppers. They appeared first towards the end of 
 March, the wind having been some time southerly : in the middle 
 of April their numbers were so increa.sed, that in the heat of 
 the day they formed themselves into large bodies, appeared like 
 a succession of clouds, and darkened the sun. In June the new 
 broods gradually made their appearance : on being hatched, they 
 immediately collected together, forming compact bodies of several 
 hundred yards square : and marching directly forward, climbed 
 over ti'ees, walls, and houses, eat up every plant in their way, 
 and let nothing escape tkevi. The inhabitants made trenches, and 
 filled them with water ; and placed in rows great quantities of 
 combustible matter, and set them on fire. But in vain. The 
 trenches were quickly filled up, and the fires put out, by infinite 
 swarms succeeding one another : the last gnawing off the young 
 branches, and the very bark of such trees, as had escaped before 
 with the loss only of their fruit and foliage. Dr. Sluiw. 
 
 17- — this deatir] Death, being the extremity of temijoral 
 sufferings, in the Hebrew idiom, which expresses every thing 
 strongly, signifies any very dreadful evil or hazard. Archbishop 
 Seeker. 
 
 ^9- • — o Mighty strong tvest wind,"] Strong winds are the only 
 remedies to free a country from this plague ; for if the locusts die 
 in the fields, the air is so corrupted with the stench, that it breeds 
 pestilential diseases. Bp. Patrick: As the direction of the flights 
 of the locusts in Barbary is always to the northward, it is proba- 
 ble they perish in the sea. Dr. Shaw.
 
 The plague of darkness. 
 
 CkAP. X. 
 
 Pharaoh siieth unto Moses. 
 
 chrTst ^^^^ wind, which took away the locusts, 
 
 H91. and tcast them into the Red sea; there 
 
 t Heb. remained not one locust in all the coasts 
 
 fastened. of Egypt. 
 
 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's 
 heart, so that, he would not let the children 
 of Israel go. 
 
 21 % And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that 
 there may be darkness over the land of E- 
 
 t Heb. gypt, t even darkness xvhich may be felt. 
 rt«/ one 22 And Moses stretched forth his hand 
 
 daricTiess. toward heavcu ; and there was a tluck dark- 
 ness in all the land of Eg}'pt three days : 
 
 23 They saw not one another, neither 
 rose any from his place for three days : 
 
 "= Wud. 18. ' but all the children of Israel had light in 
 their dwellings. 
 
 24 % And Pharaoh called unto Moses, 
 
 there remained not one locust^ The power of God ap- 
 peared no less in sweeping them all away, than in bringing them 
 upon the country : for both were done at the instance of Moses. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 21. And the Lord said &c.] He now left off treating with Pha- 
 raoh, and only proceeds in the execution of the sentence of utter 
 destruction, which had been decreed against him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 darkness ivhich may be felt.~\ Darkness caused by thick 
 
 and clammy fogs, which might be felt by the bare faces and 
 hands of those who were exposed to them. Bp. Patrick, Dr. 
 Wells. So thick, black, and dreadful a mist fell upon the coun- 
 try, as affected all people in the most sensible manner, and with 
 the most frightful apprehensions. Pylc- 
 
 22. — there rvas a thick darkness"^ This judgment was very 
 extraordinary : nor had any tiling similar been ever experienced 
 by this or any other nation. It bore a strict analogy with the 
 sentiments and idolatrj' of the people who suffered. The Egyp- 
 tians were a people of great learning ; and seem to have been 
 superiour in science to all other nations. But they prostituted 
 these noble gifts : and, through an affectation of mystery and 
 refinement, they abused the kiiowledge afforded them : for, by 
 vaiUng every thing under a type, they at last lost sight of their 
 original intelligence. They at first looked upon light, and fire, 
 and the great fountain of light, the sun, merely as proper em- 
 blems of the true Deity, the God of all purity and brightness. 
 But such was the reverence which they paid to them, that in pro- 
 cess of time they forgot the hand by which tliese things were^ 
 framed ; and looked upon the immediate means and support of 
 life, as the primary efficient cause, to the exclusion of the real 
 Creator. What then could be more reasonable and apposite, than 
 for a people, who had thus abused their intelligence, and prosti- 
 tuted their faculties ; who raised to themselves a god of clay, their 
 Osiris, and instead of that intellectual light, the wisdom of the 
 Almighty, substituted a created and inanimate element, as a just 
 object of worship : what, I say, could be more apposite, than for 
 a people of this cast to be doomed to a judicial and temporary 
 darkness > The judgment bore a strict analogy with the crime : 
 and, as it was a just punishment to them, so it was a proper warn- 
 ing to others, not to give way to the like mystery and illusion. 
 
 Nor was this all. As the Egyptians betrayed an imdue reve- 
 rence for the sun, and light ; so they shewed a like veneration 
 for night and darkness : regarding them as real, sensible, substan- 
 tial beings; and giving them a creative power. They were 
 therefore very justly condemned to undergo a palpable and coer- 
 cive darkness ; such as prevented all intercourse for three days. 
 In short, they suffered a preternatural deprivation of light, which 
 their huninary Osiris could not remedy; and they were punished 
 
 and said. Go ye, serve the Lord ; only let ^^'^ 
 your flocks and your herds be staved : let *^ hw *^ 
 your little ones also go with you. ' - 
 
 2.5 And Moses said, Thou 'must give tug t "*• 
 also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we 'JZT' 
 may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. 
 
 20 Our cattle also shall go with us; there 
 shall not an hoof be left behind ; for there- 
 of must we take to serve the Lord our 
 God ; and we know not with what we must 
 serve the Lord, until we come thither. 
 
 27 If But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's 
 heart, and he would not let them go. 
 
 28 And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee 
 from me, take heed to thyself, .see my face 
 no more; for in that day thou seest my 
 face thou shalt die. 
 
 29 And Moses said. Thou hast spoken 
 well, I mil see thy face again no more. 
 
 with that essential night, which they so foolislily had imagined, 
 and at last found realizecL Bryant. 
 
 23. They saw not one another^ Some of the Roman writers 
 mention a darkness for a short time so great, that one man could 
 not know another. But of such a darkness as Uiis, which conti- 
 nued to obscure all things for three days, there is no other re- 
 cord in history. It appears to have been caused by God, both to 
 punish the Egj'ptians, and to relieve the I.=TaeUt€s, who were 
 probably preparing, during these three days, for their departure. 
 Dr. Wells. The same prodigy, but of shorter continuance, 
 attended our Lord's crucifixion, when " there was darkness over 
 all the land from the sixth hour," the time of His crucifixion, 
 " till the ninth hour," when He expired : emblematical likewise 
 of that mental darkness and destruction, which awaited His mur- 
 derers. Dr. Hales. 
 
 23. — neither rose any from his place for three days -^ The 
 consternation of the EgypUans is strongly represented by their 
 totiil inaction : " neither rose any from his place for three days," 
 petrified, as they were, with horrour. Dr. Hales. 
 
 26. — not an hoof be lej) behind;'] The hoof put for the whole 
 beast : not one animal shall be left. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2". — and he would not let them go.J Thus was this unhappy 
 prince by the obstinacy of his heart carried on, through many 
 great misfortunes to himself and his people, at length to his ruiii. 
 He had all along sufficient means of conviction ; yet he was re- 
 solved not to be convinced. If it be asked, how could a man of 
 common sense and understanding be so wonderfully absnrd ?^ 
 it may be answered, sense and understanding are not the only 
 requisites to make men judge rightly of even the clearest reli- 
 gious truths. The inspired writer most justly advises, to " take 
 heed of an evil heart of unbelief," Heb. iii. 12. "Out of the 
 heart are tlie issues of life," Prov. iv. 23. Our passions and 
 affections have a very powerful influence over us ; and where 
 they are not carefully managed and governed, it is amazing to see, 
 how the slightest occasions will piss for most weighty and conclu- 
 sive arguments ; and how the brightest truths will be thought to 
 be of little moment, even to persons of the greatest sense and sa- 
 gacity in other matters, where their interest or their humours do 
 not contradict the truths which are offered to tliem. Pharaoh's 
 fault was in liis heart ; and diat made him unfortunate in the use 
 of his understanding. Tlie Israelites were numerous and ser\'ice- 
 able slaves ; and it was a terrible shock and diminution to his 
 wealth and grandeur to dismiss tliem ; and not being able to re- 
 concile his inclinations to the thoughts of parting with them, the 
 vague and ill-grounded learning of the times, he lived in, was 
 thouijht to afford arguments sufficient to Uke off the force of all 
 the miracles, that were offered to induce him to it. It is no hard 
 
 T 2
 
 dotTs messai^e to the Israelites. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 Death qfiJieJirstbom threatened. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 A' 
 
 IWf.-re 
 
 cnuisT 
 
 1491. 
 
 1 Gofit message to the Israelites to borrow jewels of 
 their tuighfwurs. 4 Moses ihreateneth Pharaoh with 
 Ikt death of the Jtrstborn. 
 
 ND the Lord said unto Moses, Yet 
 
 will I bring one plague more upon 
 
 Pharaoh, anil upon Egypt ; afterwards he 
 will let you go hence: wlien he shall let 
 you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence 
 altogether. 
 
 2 Speak now in the ears of the people, 
 
 and let every man borrow of his neighbour, 
 
 Chup. 3 and every woman of her neighbour, ' jew- 
 
 •2--. & 12. 
 
 cls of silver, and jewels of gold. 
 
 3 And the Lord ga\ e the people favour 
 in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover 
 
 » Eeci" the man "Moses u^as very great in the land 
 of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's ser- 
 vants, and in the sight of the people. 
 
 4 And Moses said. Thus saith the Lord, 
 •Chmp.i2. 'About midnight will I go out into the 
 
 midst of Egypt : 
 
 5 And all the firstborn in the land of 
 
 Ab. 1. 
 
 s». 
 
 matter to judge of tnitli, if we are sincerely disposed to embrace 
 it; " If any man will do Gwl's will, he shall know of the doctrine, 
 whether it be of Gml," John vii. 17. A common capacity, and 
 an ordinary share of understanding, will afford light enough, if 
 evil passions do not make the light thai is in us to become dark- 
 ness : but, if our heart is not duly disposed to embrace the truth, 
 neither may we be persuaded by the greatest arguments and de- 
 monstrations that can be offered for it, even though we have un- 
 common abilities to judge of, and understand the force of what is 
 represented to us. ShuckJ'ord. 
 
 Chap. XI. ver. 1. Attd the Ixtrd said} The Hebrew words 
 shotdd rather be translated, " The Lord had said :" for the inter- 
 view of Moses with Pharaoh in tliis chapter must have been ante- 
 Cfdent to what occurs at ver. 28, 29, of the preceding chapter. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — the mail Moses was very great &c.] This seems to be 
 introduced as a reason why the court durst not meddle with 
 Moses, though he had brought so many pLigues upon them; 
 and why the people were willing to grant the Israelites what 
 they desired ; namely, because they all highly esteemed him, and 
 held him in great reverence, a,?, a person who had extraordinary 
 power from (iod. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 f>- — all tkejirsthorn in the land of Egypt shall die,} One ma- 
 nifest purpose of Providence in these signs and judgments was 
 to punish the Egyptians by a series of evils ; and this on two ac- 
 counts. Iti the first place, because they were blest witli noble 
 p.TTts and great knowledge, which they prostituted to a shameful 
 degree. And 2dly, because, after their nation had been preser\ed 
 by one of the Israclitish family, they had, contrary to all right, and 
 in defiance of origin.il stipulation, enslaved the people, to whom 
 they had been so much indebted. And not contented witli this, 
 they had proceeded to murder their offspring, and to render tlie 
 people's bondage intolerable by a wiuiton exertion of power. It 
 had been told them, that the family of the Israelites collectively 
 were esteemed as God's firstborn, chap. iv. 22 : for from that fa- 
 mily Christ was to proceed, " who is the firstborn of every crea- 
 ture." Therefore Gotl said to them, " Let my son go, that he 
 may serve Mc: and if thou refiise to let him go, behold, I will 
 slay thy son, even thy firstborn," chap. iv. 23. But they heeded 
 not thi« admonition. Hence these judgments came upon them ; 
 
 Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pha- j^/I'^^jIt 
 
 1491. 
 
 «"•• 
 
 raoh that sitteth upon his throne, even 
 unto the firstborn of the maidservant that 
 is behind the mill ; and all the firstborn of 
 beasts. 
 
 6 And there shall be a great cry through- 
 out all the land of Egypt, such as there was 
 none like it, nor shall be like it any more. 
 
 7 But against any of the children of Is- 
 rael shall not a dog move his tongue, against 
 man or beast : that ye may know how that 
 the Lord doth put a difference between 
 the Egyptians and Israel. 
 
 8 Arid all these thy servants shall come 
 down unto me, and bow down themselves 
 luito me, saying. Get thee out, and all the 
 people t that follow thee : and after that I |"^"*-^, 
 will go out. And he went out from Pha- thlfert. 
 raoh in t a great anger. t Heb. 
 
 9 And the Lord said unto Moses, Pha- *^'"/"''- 
 raoh shall not hearken unto you ; that my 
 wonders may be multiplied in the land of 
 
 Egypt. 
 
 10 And Moses and Aaron did all these 
 
 which terminated in the death of the eldest in each family: a just 
 retaliation for their disobedience and cruelty. Bryant. 
 
 the maidservant that is behind the mill;'} The people of 
 
 the East commonly make use of handmills. They are female 
 slaves, that are generally employed about them. It is extremely 
 laborious, and esteemed the lowest employment in the house. 
 Sir J. Chardin. The grinder usually sits on the floor ; and placing 
 the mill on her lap, by means of the handle works the upper 
 stone round with her right hand. Hence we read of the maid- 
 servant, who is behind the mill. Fragments to Calmet. 
 
 6. — there shall be a great cry &c.] The Egyptians of all na- 
 tions upon earth were most frantick in their grief. When any 
 person died in a family, all the relations arul all the friends of the 
 deceased cooperated in a scene of sorrow. And the process was 
 to quit the house; at which time the women, with their hair 
 loose, and their bosoms b;ue, ran wild about the streets. The men 
 likewise, with their apparel equally disordered, kept them com- 
 pany; all shrieking, and howling, and beating themselves, as they 
 passed along. This was upon the decease of an individual : but 
 when there was one dead in every family, every house must have 
 been in a great measure vacated, and the streets quite filled with 
 mourning. Hence we may be assured that those violent emotions 
 were general ; and at the Siune time shocking past all imagina- 
 tion. The suddenness of the stroke, and the immediate and uni- 
 versal cries of death at midnight, that particularly awful season, 
 must have filled every soul with horrour. It was therefore very 
 truly said by the Prophet of God, " There shall be a great cry 
 throughout all the land of Egypt; such as there was none like it" 
 (before,) " nor shall be like it any more." — " And Pharaoii rose 
 up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians ; 
 and there was a great cry in Egj-pt,", chap. xii. 30. Bryant. 
 
 8. — he went out — in a great anger.} It moved even Moses, 
 the meekest man upon earth, to a just indignation, to see Pharaoh 
 rernain so stupidly insensible, as not to regard this threatening, 
 which he might well think would be as certainly executed as tlie 
 preceding. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — did all these 7i:onders'] The gradual ina-ease of these 
 judgments is remarkable. The four first plagues were loathsome, 
 rather than fatal, to the Egj^itians. After that of the flies came 
 the murrain, which chiefly spent its rage upon the cattle. The 
 boils and blains reached both man and beast ; though there was
 
 The beginning of the year changed. 
 
 CHAi*. XII. 
 
 The passoter instituted. 
 
 uj 
 
 chr'ist "^^'0"d^'^s before Pharaoh : and the Lord 
 H91. hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would 
 not let the children of Israel go out of his 
 land. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 1 The beginning of the year is changed. S The pass- 
 over is instiiuled. 11 The rile of the passover. 
 15 Unleavened bread. 29 The Jirstborn are slain. 
 31 The Israelites are driven out of the land. 3~ 
 They come lo Snccotk. 43 The ordinance of the pass- 
 over. 
 
 ND the Lord spake unto Moses and 
 Aaron in the land of Egypt, say- 
 
 A 
 
 2 This month shall be unto you the be- 
 ginning of months : it shall be the first 
 month of the year to you. 
 
 3 ^ Speak ye unto all the congregation 
 of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this 
 
 still a reserve of life. The hail and locusts extended, in a great 
 measure, even to life itself; the first, by an immediate stroke; and 
 both in their consequences, by destroying the fruits of the earth. 
 That of darkness added consternation to their minds, and lashes 
 to their conscience. And when aU this would not reclaim, at 
 length came the decisive blow : first, the cutting off of the first- 
 born; and then the drowning of the incorrigible tyrant, and all 
 his host. Slackhouse. 
 
 By the infliction of these plagues we are taught, that punish- 
 ment, and a continuance of judgments and correction, becomes a 
 necessary discipline, while the heart persists in rebeUion. Never- 
 theless, from the tenour of the whole, it is obvious to observe, that 
 however severe the chastisements of God in tliis world may seem, 
 they are ever tempered with mercy, and graciously designed to 
 lead us to repentance: but that, if we repent not, mercy must and 
 will give place to justice, and deliver us up to destruction. For, 
 as Divine justice is seasoned with mercy, so mercy itself is ever 
 perfectly just. IVogan. 
 
 Chap. XII. ver. 2. This month'\ Which in process of time was 
 called Abib, because the cam was then in ear ; for Abib signifies 
 an ear of corn : and also, in afterages, Nisan. It answers to part 
 of our March and .\pril. It was now made the first month of the 
 year; that is, of the sacred, not of the civil year. For the seventh 
 month, or Tisri, answering to our September and October, was, 
 even after this time, the first month of the year in some respects. 
 Tisri began the civil year, and was reckoned the first month, not 
 only for civil purposes, but for the sabbatical year, and the jubi- 
 lee. But Abib was the beginning of the sacred or ecclesiastical 
 year, with respect to the holydays and festivals which God ap- 
 pointed. Bp. Patrick. See note on chap. xiii. 4. 
 
 to you.'] To you especially, in the sense before explained, 
 
 and with a particular reference to your redemption out of Egypt. 
 It was at this time also that our Lord Jesus Clirist suffered for our 
 redemption : there was always a tradition among the Jews, that 
 as tliey were redeemed from Egypt on the 1 5th day of Nisan, so 
 they should on the same day be redeemed by the Messiah. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 3. — a lamb] The Hebrew word signifies a kid as well as a 
 lamb. Numb. xv. 1 1 ; Deut. xiv. 4. They might take either for 
 this sacrifice, ver. 5 ; but commonly they made choice of a lamb. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Many of the ceremonial laws of the Hebrews have reference to 
 the idolatrous opinions of the neighbouring nations, and their 
 corresponding rites; for they were given in opposition to them : 
 and therefore they derive light from the knowledge of thoee rites 
 
 month they shall take t-o them every man Befoip 
 a 11 lamb, according to the house of their ^'"«J.*^ 
 fathers, a lamb for an house : n or, kiu. 
 
 4 And if the houshold be too little for 
 the lamb, let him and his neighbour next 
 unto his house take it according to the 
 number of the souls; every man according 
 to his eating shall make your count for the 
 lamb. 
 
 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a 
 male tof the first year: ye shall take it out J,!|^,^. 
 from the sheep, or from the goats : I'Zr. ' 
 
 6 And ye shall keep it up until the four- 
 teenth day of the same month : and the 
 whole assembly of the congregation of Is- 
 rael shall kill it tin the evening. fHeb. 
 
 7 And they shall take of the blood, and ';i'Z7 
 strike // on the two side posts and on the n^"'s»- 
 upper door post of the houses, wherein 
 
 they shall eat it. 
 
 and opinions. The passover was a memorial of the deliverance 
 of the Israelites. But many circumstances of it were in oppo- 
 sition to Egyptian superstitions. Among them, " a lamh oc kid," 
 was not sacrificed, but venerated : " A male" was worshipi)ed as 
 a symbol of Hammon; female sacrifices were always preferred: 
 " Eat no part raw," as was usual in solemn festivals ; '• Not car- 
 ried forth," as was also usual: " No bone broken," as pulled asun- 
 der in enthusiasm: " Not sodden," as in solemn and magical rites: 
 " Roasted with fire," not by the heat of the sun ; " To be eaten 
 with its purtenance," tlie intestines, which were reserved for di- 
 vination : " No part to remain, but the fragments to be burnt," 
 which were usually kept for charms and superstitious purposes. 
 Dean Spe/tcer. , 
 
 6. — in the evening."] The Hebrew expression is, " Betweea 
 the two evenings." Among the Jews there was a former and a 
 latter evening. The first began at noon, as soon a.s the sun began 
 to decline : the second began froui sunset. Thus the time " be- 
 tween the two evenings," when the passover was slain, was about 
 three o'clock in the afternoon : and this w;is the very time ol' tlie 
 da}-, when Christ, the true passover, was sacrificed upon the cross. 
 Bps. Patrick and Kidder, JPyle. There is a strong resemblance 
 between the passover as a sacrifice, and die death of Jesus Clirist. 
 In the month Abib, the people of Israel were to t;ike, '• every 
 man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a 
 house." And if the household were too Uttle for the lamb, it was 
 to be shared with the neighbouring family. The lamb was to be 
 without blemish; a male of the first year; to be kept till the 14th 
 day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation 
 of Israel were to kill it in the evening. And they were to take 
 of the blood ; and strike it on the two side posts, and on the upper 
 door post of the houses ; so when the Lord should pass through 
 the land of EgjiJt, to smite the Egj-ptians, and should see the 
 blood. He would not suffer the destroyer to smite His people. 
 Moreover the lamb was to be eaten whole, and care was to be 
 taken, " not to break a bone of it." The most siipcrficiiil observo: 
 must instantly see the immediate reference of tlie Pa«ch;il lamb 
 to Him, who'is called •' the L;unb of God, which taketli away the 
 sin of the world," John i. '29. The two sacrifices are strictly 
 analogous. And in the same month, on die same day, and at the 
 same hour, m which the Israelites were ordered to kill the lamb, 
 was Jesus crucified. And, as in all sacrifices it was the bloo<l 
 which made atonement for the soul. Lev. xvii. 11; so it is " the 
 blood of Christ, which cicanseth us from all sin," 1 John i. 7. 
 Christ too was the Lamb, of whom we are told, that " not a bone 
 of Him was broken," John xix. S3, S6. In this grand sacrifice of 
 Christ all other offeruigs for sin were for ever closed. Polrrhcle.
 
 The passover. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 avd the rite of it. 
 
 ifw. ftight, roast with fire, and unleavened 
 bread; a7id with bitter herbs they shall 
 eat it. 
 
 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all 
 with water, but roast "tilth fire ; his head 
 with his legs, and with the purtenance 
 thereof. 
 
 10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain 
 until the moniing; and that which remain- 
 eth of it until the morning ye shall burn 
 with fire. 
 
 11 If And thus shall ye eat it; with' your 
 loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and 
 your staft" in your hand ; and ye shall eat 
 it in haste : it is the Lord's passover. 
 
 h2 For I will pass through the land of 
 
 Egypt this night, and will smite all the 
 
 firstborn in the land of Eg}'pt, both man 
 
 I 0'> and beast ; and against all the II gods of 
 
 pnn.es. Egypt I will exccute judgment : I a?7i the 
 
 Lord. 
 
 13 And the blood shall be to you for a 
 
 token upon the houses where ye are: and 
 
 t Heb. when I see the blood, I will pass over you, 
 
 "«™«l'n. and the plague shall not be upon you +to 
 
 8. — unleaveiifd bread -^ Partly to put them in miiwl of their 
 hardships in Epypt ; for unleavened bread is heavy and unsa- 
 voury : and parti}' to commemorate their deliverance from thence 
 in such haste, that they had not time to leaven it, ver. SQ; Deut. 
 xvi. 3. Bp. Pnlrick. 
 
 n'ilk billrr hcrhx'] To put them in mind of their grievous 
 
 bondage in Egypt, which made " their lives bitter" to them, chap, 
 i. a. Bp. Patrick. These bitter herbs, according to the Jews, 
 were probably such as lettuce, endive or succory, chervil, and the 
 like. Script, iliiist. 
 
 11. And lints .shall i/c cat it;'\ Like travellers, or persons en- 
 gaging in some laborious work, as appears from the following 
 particulars. Bp. Patrick. ^ 
 
 with your loins girded,"] It being usual for travellers so to 
 
 do in the Exst, where they wear long and loose garments. Bp. 
 Patrick. All persons in the East, that journey on foot, always 
 gather u]> their vest, by which they walk move commodiously, 
 thus having the leg and knee unembaiTassed. Sir J. Chardin. 
 
 your shoes on your feet,] As necessary for travellers. Ei- 
 ther they were without shoes in their state of bondage; or it was 
 their custom to put off their shoes during meals. Bp. Patrick. 
 The Lntter is still the custom in the East, either to avoid soiling 
 the carpets, on which they sit ; or because shoes would be trou- 
 blesome to persons who sit cross-legged. Sir J. Chardin. 
 
 i/our staff in your hand ;] Another characteristick of per- 
 sons travelling. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 J/e shall eat it in liaste:'] After the manner and posture of 
 
 distressed pilgrims, who were setting out instantly on a long 
 journey, through a dreary wilderness, towards a pleasant land, 
 where their toil and travel was to cease. Dr. Ha/cs. These lat- 
 ter particulars were to be observed only in the first passover ce- 
 lebrated in Egypt, and not in aftertimes. Bps. Patrick and 
 Kiader. 
 
 12. — against all the gods of Egifpt"] That is, I will destroy 
 the idols and images of Egypt. Pyle. Or perh.ips the beasts are 
 meant, whose firstborn were .smitten. Bri/ant. By " the gods of 
 Egypt" in this place, some interpreters nndersUnd, as in the 
 margin, the " princes" and judges, the great men of the kingdom, 
 upon whom the judgment of GckI was now executed. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 destroy i/ou, \vhen I smite the land of chr"i|x 
 Egypt. 1491. 
 
 14 And this day shall be unto you for a 
 memorial ; and ye shall keep it a feast to 
 the Lord throughout your generations ; 
 ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for 
 ever. 
 
 15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened 
 bread ; even the first day ye shall put away 
 leaven out of your houses : for whosoever 
 eateth leavened bread from the first day 
 until the seventh day, that soul shall be 
 cut off from Israel. 
 
 l(i And in the first day there shall be an 
 holy convocation, and in the seventh day 
 there shall be an holy convocation to you ; 
 no manner of work shall be done in them, 
 save that which every tman must eat, that J^^.**^ 
 only may be done of you. 
 
 17 And ye shall observe the feast q/" un- 
 leavened bread ; for in this selfsame day 
 have I brought your armies out of the 
 land of Egj'pt : therefore shall ye observe 
 
 this day in your generations by an ordi- • Lev. 25. 
 nance for ever. 5. 
 
 18 ^ * In the first mo7ithf on the four- is"" ' " ' 
 
 13. — / nill pa.M oi>er you,"] My destroying angel shall " ]ias* 
 over you." Here is the reason of its being called the Passover. 
 In Hebrew it is called Pesach, which signifies to pass aver. 
 Hence the expression of the Paschal lamb. Bp. Patrick, Dr. 
 Wells. 
 
 14. — ye shall keep it ajeast — for ever.] Not only now, but 
 after their arrival in Canaan, till the time of the Messiah, or final 
 period of the ceremonial law and Jewish polity. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 This passover was ordained by God to be observed by every 
 Israelite, at the peril of excommunication, at every return of this 
 day of the year ; not only because it was to be a standing proof 
 to all future ages of this their deliverance, but also a standing 
 figure or type of a much greater. Bp. Wilso7i. As the Israelite! 
 were instructed to keep the passover in remembrance of their 
 escape from the Egyptian bondage, so are we required to observe 
 the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, in memory of our deliverance 
 from the yoke of sin. And it is remarkable, that both the Jewish 
 and the Cliristian rite were enjoined in commemoration of events, 
 which had not yet happened, with the same degree of precision as 
 if they had actually taken place. Pulrvhelc. 
 
 15. Seven days &C.2 Seven days, following the feast of the Pass- 
 over, were observed as a distinct festival, and called the feast of 
 unleavened bread. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 ye shall put atvay leaven'] There would be great incon- 
 venience in putting away all leaven from the houses for several 
 days in some countries; but not so in the East, for there they u.se 
 no other leaven than dough, kept till it is l)€come sour; so that, if 
 there should be no leaven in all the country for some days, fresh 
 leaven would be ])roduced in a few hours. Harmer. 
 
 that sotd shall be ad off] Excommunicated; excluded the 
 
 privileges iuid blessings of My people; and shall become liable 
 to severe punishment, which I will either inflict Myself, or ap- 
 point the magistrates to inflict. Dr. Welh. See the note on Gen. 
 xvii. 14. 
 
 16. And in the _firsl day &c.] The first and last days of the 
 feast of unleavened bread were kept holy, (the other five being 
 working days,) because God delivered the people from their 
 bondage on the first, and overthrew Pharaoh in the Red sea on 
 the seventh. Bp. Patrick.
 
 The feast of unleavened bread. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 The firstborn are slain. 
 
 w, 
 
 chr7st *^^"t^ ^*y of the month at even, ye shall 
 1491. eat unleavened bread, until the one and 
 twentieth day of the month at even. 
 
 19 Seven days shall there be no leaven 
 found in your houses : for whosoever eat- 
 eth that which is leavened, even that soul 
 shall be cut off from the congregation of 
 Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born 
 in the land. 
 
 20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened ; in all 
 your habitations shall ye eat unleavened 
 bread. 
 
 21 f" Then Moses called for all the elders 
 of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out 
 
 I Or, Hd. and take you a || lamb according to your 
 families, and kill the passover. 
 
 sop, and dip it in the blood that is in the 
 bason, and strike the lintel and the two 
 side posts with the blood that is in the ba- 
 son ; and none of you shall go out at the 
 door of his house until the morning. 
 
 23 For the Lord will pass through to 
 smite the Egyptians ; and when he seeth 
 the blood upon the lintel, and on the two 
 side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, 
 and will not suffer the destroyer to come in 
 unto your houses to smite you. 
 
 24 And ye shall observe this thing for an 
 ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 
 
 25 And it shall come to pass, when ye 
 
 19- — a stranger, ~\ One of another nation, who had embraced 
 the Jewish religion by receiving circumcision. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 22. — hyssop,'\ This herb is a cathartick, and is used as em- 
 blematical of purification. Le Clerc. It ha.s its name in the He- 
 brew from, its detersive and purgative qualities. Parkhurst. 
 
 23. — and rvill not suffer the destroyer &C.3 In the awful pu- 
 nishments of the Egyptians, we see every element and every class 
 of animated beings subservient to the command of Moses; he 
 gives notice when they shall begin and when they shall cease 
 their operations ; he sets them their bounds, beyond which they 
 shall not pass ; and while the raging storm and the silent pestilence 
 sweep away thousands on every side, they presume not to touch 
 the chosen race of Israel. The destroying angel selects from each 
 family through the land of Egypt the single victim pointed out ; 
 and while with unerring hand he aims at this the shaft of death, 
 he passes over every habitation of Jacob, marked witli the sign 
 appointed by the Divine command. Do we not in all this discover 
 the plain operation of that Being, who alone is the God of nature, 
 and the Lord of life ; whose will controls every element, and 
 directs every event .'' Ih-. Graves. 
 
 26. — n:keH your children sliall say unto you, &c.] When chil- 
 dren were twelve years old, their parents were bound to bring 
 them to the temple, where, seeing what was done at this festival, 
 they would be apt to inquire into the meaning of it. At every 
 &ast also of the Passover the eldest person at the table instructed 
 all the younger persons present in the reason of this institution, 
 rehearsing the very words here prescribed. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 29. — the Lord smote &c.] Now God begins to call for the blood 
 they owed Him : in one night every house hath a carcass in it ; 
 and, which is more grievous, of their firstborn ; and, which is yet 
 more fearftU, in an instant. No man could comfort another : every 
 man was too full of his own sorrow, helping rather to make tlie 
 noise of the lamentatiua more doleful and astouishing. Bp. Hall. < 
 
 be come to the land whicli the Lord will before 
 give you, according as he hath promised, ^"fa!.^^ 
 that ye shall keep this service. 
 
 26 *= And it shall come to pass, when 'joJi.-!.s. 
 your children shall say unto you, M'hat 
 
 mean ye by this service ? 
 
 27 That ye shall say. It is the sacrifice 
 of the Lord's passover, wlio passed over 
 the houses of the children of Israel in Ei- 
 gypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and 
 delivered our houses. And' the people 
 bowed the head and worshipped. 
 
 28 And the children of Israel went 
 away, and did as the Lord had command- 
 ed Moses and Aaron, so did they. 
 
 29 IF " And it came to pass, that at mid- ' Chap. 11. 
 night the Lord smote all the firstborn in 
 
 the land of Egypt, Mrom the firstborn of j,^'^"- 
 Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the 
 firstborn of the captive that 'was m the 
 t dungeon ; and all the firstborn of cattle, t Heb. 
 
 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, ^"^' "■^'^ 
 he, and all his servants, and all the Egyp- 
 tians ; and there was a great cry in Egypt ; 
 
 for there was not a house where there was 
 not one dead. 
 
 31 ^ And he called for Moses and Aa- 
 ron by night, and said, Rise up, and get 
 you forth from among my people^ iboth ye 
 and the children of Israel ; and go, serve 
 the Lord, as ye have said. 
 
 the captive — in the dungeon ;~\ The expressinn in chap. xi. 
 
 ver. 5. is, " the maidservant that is behind the mill." Perhaps 
 the me.aning here is, " the captive or bondwoman that was kept 
 in the dungeon to turn the mill." Dr. li'ells. The working at 
 the mill was looked upon as the lowest and severest drutlgery ; 
 and was allotted to the meanest slaves: {Bryant :) and tliis otlen 
 in a prison ; of which we have an instance in the story of Sam- 
 son, Judg. xvi. 21. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. And he called for Moses &C.3 Here we see the proud heart 
 of Pharaoh is at last subdued, and compelled to obey the will of 
 God, without reserve or limitation. But as this obedience was 
 extorted, not free ; and the effect only of a slavish and servile 
 fear ; so it did not long continue. He soon repented of his re- 
 pentance, as such constrained penitents generally do ; and soon 
 after perished in the Red sea. This aptly reminds us of the 
 wise man's saying, wliich should be a wiu-ningtous all, " He that 
 being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be de- 
 stroyed, and that without remedy," Prov. xxix. 1. IVogati. 
 
 Rise up, and get you forth from among my people,'} We 
 
 might not long since contemplate Moses, engaged in an attempt 
 to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage, to all appearance, if we 
 consider human means," iitterly desperate. He was resisted and 
 scorned by the Egyptian monarch ; deserted and almost execrated 
 by liis coimtrjnien, for involving them in new miseries. He 
 stood on one "side, without arms, without followers, without re. 
 sources of any human kind ; opposed to a mighty sovereign, who 
 was surrounded by his wise men and priests, his counsellors, his 
 officers, his armies; and invested widi despotick power, vrhich 
 he was determined to exercise, in opposition to the authority of 
 that God, whose ambassadour the Jewish legislator declared him- 
 self, and in contempt of those menaces which he denounced. 
 
 A veiy short period elapses ; and what i^ the event ? No liu- 
 man force is exercised, not a single Israelite lit^ the sword, or
 
 The Israelites driven out of the land. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 The or di fiance of the passover. 
 
 Bffore 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 D Or. 
 
 I Chap. 3. 
 S2. & 11. 
 
 • NumI). 
 33.3. 
 
 t Hell, 
 a grfat 
 mizlure. 
 
 » Gen. 15. 
 13. 
 
 Acts 7. G. 
 G»l. 3. 17. 
 
 3'2 Also take your flocks and your herds, 
 as ye have said, and be gone ; and bless 
 me also. 
 
 33 And the Egyptians were urgent up- 
 on the people, that tiiey niigiit send them 
 out of the land in haste ; for they said, We 
 be all dead men. 
 
 3+ And the people took their dough 
 before it was leavened, their II kneading- 
 troughs being bound up in their clothes 
 upon their shoulders. 
 
 35 And the children of Israel did ac- 
 cording to the word of Moses ; and they 
 borrowed of the Egyptians ^ jewels of sil- 
 ver, and jewels of gold, and raiment : 
 
 36 And the Lord gave the people fa- 
 vour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that 
 they lent unto them siich things as they re- 
 quired. And they spoiled the Egyptians. 
 
 37 ^ And ' the children of Israel jour- 
 neyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six 
 hundred thousand on foot that were men, 
 beside children. 
 
 38 And t a mixed multitude went up 
 also with them ; and flocks, and herds, 
 even very much cattle. 
 
 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of 
 the dough which they brought forth out of 
 Egypt, for it was not leavened ; because 
 they were thrust out of Eg}'pt, and could 
 not tarry, neither had they prepared for 
 themselves any victual. 
 
 40 ^ Now the sojourning of the children 
 of Israel, who dwelt in Egj'pt, "was " four 
 hundred and thirty years. 
 
 bends the bow ; but the Egj^tian monarch is humbled, his peo- 
 ple terrified, they urge the Israelites to hasten their departure. 
 These are now honoured as the masters of their late oppressors : 
 '• they demand of the Egyptians silver, and gold, and jewels ;" 
 as the remuneration due to their past unrequited labours, con- 
 ceded by Divine justice, and obtained by Divine power ; as the 
 homage due to their present acknowledged superiority, and the 
 purcliase of their immediate departure. The Egj'ptians grant 
 every thing. Dr. Graifs. 
 
 34. — llteir li-neadinglroiighs'] The vessels, which the Arabs 
 of that country still use for kneading the unleavened cakes, which 
 they prepare for travellers in this very desert, are only small 
 »-oo<len lx)wls : nothing could be more convenient than kneading- 
 troughs of this sort, for the Israelites on their journey. Dr. Sharr, 
 Uarmer. The Arabs, among their other kitchen furniture, have 
 a round leather coverlid, which they lay on the ground, and which 
 serves them to eat from. It has rings round it, by which it is 
 drawn together with a chain, that has a hook to it to hang it by, 
 cither io the -fide of the camel, or in the house. Tliis draws it to- 
 gether ; and sometimes they carry in it their meal made into dough: 
 and in this manner they bring it full of breail ; and, when the 
 repast is over, carry it away .it once with all that is left. Bp. Po- 
 €ocke. Niebuhr describes a piece of furniture of the same nature 
 as this, mentioning that it is usually siting on the cameU in travel- 
 ling. Which accounts for the remark of Moses, that the people 
 " came<l their kneading bags on their shoulders ;" bound up, pro- 
 bably, like knapsacks. This may be ascribed to two causes: 1st, 
 They had not camels sufficient to tran.sport the baggage of so 
 Bumcrou* a ho»t.- 2dly, They were sent away with all speed, and 
 
 41 And it came to pass at the end of (,^*^'Yg.r 
 the four hundred and thirty years, even msi. 
 the selfsame day it came to pass, that all 
 the hosts of the Lord went out from the 
 land of Egypt. 
 
 4'2 It is t a night to be much observed t ha. 
 unto the Lord for bringing them out from ItZna} 
 the land of Egypt : this is that night of '""■»• 
 the Lord to be observed of alt the children 
 of Israel in their generations. 
 
 43 % And the Lord said unto Moses and 
 Aaron, This is the ordinance of the pass- 
 over: There shall no stranger eat thereof: 
 
 44 But every man's servant that is 
 bought for money, when thou hast circum- 
 cised him, then shall he eat thereof. 
 
 45 A foreigner and an hired servant 
 shall not eat thereof. 
 
 46 In one house shall it be eaten ; thou 
 shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh 
 abroad out of the house ; ' neither shall ye ' Numw. 
 break a bone thereof. jj^l' ^^ 
 
 47 All the congregation of Israel shall se. 
 
 t keep it. t Heb. 
 
 48 And when a stranger shall sojourn 
 with thee, and will keep the passover to 
 the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, 
 and then let him come near and keep it ; 
 and he shall be as one that is born in the 
 land : for no uncircumcised person shall 
 eat thereof. 
 
 49 One law shall be to him th^t is home- 
 born, and unto the stranger that sojourn- 
 eth among you. 
 
 50 Thus did all the children of Israel ; 
 
 had no time allowed them to procure travelling animals for their 
 accommodation. They must either carry their food themselves, 
 or relinquish it. Script, illust. 
 
 35. — they borrowed &C.3 See the notes on chap. iii. 22. 
 
 37. — Rameses~\ See chap, i, 11. 
 — Succoth^ See chap. xiii. 20. 
 
 that were men,] Fit for war : twenty years old and up- 
 wards. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 38. — a mixed multitude'] Of others besides Israelites : perhaps 
 proselytes, who had renounced idolatry ; or persons with whom 
 the Israelites were connected by intermarriages. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 40. — the sojourning of the children of Israel,'] This includes 
 their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and their sojourning in 
 the land of Canaan as well as in Egj-pt. From the time of Abra- 
 ham's coming from Charran into the land of Canaan, when this 
 sojourning began, till the going of his descendants out of Egypt, 
 was just 430 years. From his arrival in Canaan to the birth of 
 Isaac was twenty-five years; Isaac was sixty years old when he 
 begat .Jacob ; and Jacob was one hundred and thirty years old 
 when he went down into Egypt : making together two hundred 
 and fifteen years : and from hisfamily's coming into Egypt till their 
 departure was just two hundred and fifteen more. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 41. — all the hosts of the Lord] Hosts, or armies ; seever. 51. 
 So called, because they were led forth under the Lord, as their 
 king and captain general. The word implies also, that they went 
 out not confusedly, but in good order. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 This event of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt was so 
 notorious, that the memory of it, as well as of various particular* 
 in the J)irth, lile, and adventures of Moses, was preserved in far
 
 
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 Ut 
 
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 ii!l|i:!!Mfg!L- 
 
 
 

 
 Tlie firstborn sanctified to God. CHAP. XIII. 
 
 as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, 
 
 The firstlings of beasts set apmt. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST ,., , 
 
 nn. so did they. 
 
 51 And it came to pass the selfsame 
 day, that the Lord did bring the children 
 of Israel out of the land of P^gypt by their 
 armies. 
 
 CHAP. XIIL 
 
 1 The firstborn are sanclified to God. 3 The memorial 
 of the passuver is conwtnnded. 1 1 The Jirsllings of 
 beasts are set apart. 17 The Israelites go out of E- 
 gUpt, and curry Joseph's bones with them. 20 They 
 come to Etham. 2 1 God guideth them by a pillar of 
 a cloud, and a pillar of fire. 
 
 A' 
 
 ND the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 • Chap 22. 2 ^ Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, 
 19! ■ whatsoever openeth the womb among the 
 Lev. 27.26. children of Israel, both of man and of beast : 
 
 Numb. 3. . . . 
 
 13. & 8. 16. it IS mine. 
 
 Luke 2. 23. 3 ^ And Moses said unto the people. 
 
 Remember this day, in which ye came out 
 t Heb. from Egypt, out of the house of + bondage ; 
 
 for by strength of hand the Lord brought 
 
 you out from this place: there shall no 
 
 leavened bread be eaten. 
 
 4 This day came ye out in the month 
 Abib. 
 
 5 ^ And it shall be when the Lord shall 
 bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, 
 and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and 
 the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he 
 sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land 
 flowing with milk and honey, that thou 
 shalt keep this service in this month. 
 
 6 Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened 
 bread, and in the seventh day shall be a 
 feast to the Lord. 
 
 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven 
 days; and there shall no leavened bread 
 
 distant nations, though the story was mucli corrupted for want of 
 the knowledge of these sacred records. Stackhouse. 
 
 Chap. XIIL ver. 2. Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, — it is 
 miner] It is dedicated or appropriated to Me. God claimed this, 
 not only by right of creation, but more especially to jjut the Is- 
 raelites in mind of His miraculous providence, in .sparing their 
 firstborn, when those of the Egyptians were all destroyed. Bp. 
 Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 4. — the month Abib.] The ancient Hebrews had no particular 
 names for their month.s. They said, the 1st, 2d, 3d, &c. In this 
 place, and in chap, xxiii. 15; xxxiv. 18; Deut. xvi. 1 ; we have the 
 inonth Abib, that is, the month of the young ears of corn, or of 
 the new fi'uits, which is probably the Egyptian name of the 
 month, which the Hebrews called afterwards Nisan, and which 
 was the first of their holy year. Every where else Moses marks 
 out the months by their order of succession. In Josluia, Judges, 
 and Samuel, we see the same method. Under Solomon, we read 
 of certain names, which have been thought to be borrowed from 
 the Phenicians, Chaldeans, or Egyptians. These names however 
 do not occur, either before or after Solomon's time. After tiie 
 captivity of Babylon, they continued the names of the months. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 be seen with thee, neither shall there be ^'■■^"'^ 
 leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. ^"'".^^ 
 
 8 % And thou shalt shew thy son in that 
 day, saying. This is done because of that 
 which the Lord did unto me when I came 
 forth out of Egypt. 
 
 9 And it shall be for a sign unto thee 
 upon thine hand, and for a memorial be- 
 tween thine eyes, that the Lord's law 
 may be in thy mouth: for with a strong 
 hand hath the Lord brought thee out of 
 Egypt. 
 
 10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordi- 
 nance in his season fironi year to year. 
 
 11 ^ And it shall be when the Lord 
 shall bring thee into the land of the Ca- 
 naanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy 
 fathers, and shall give it thee, 
 
 12 " That thou shalt t set apart unto the * ci'^p ^ 
 Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every fy. * "**■ 
 firstling that cometh of a beast which thou E«k. 44. 
 hast; the males shall be the Lord's. .(.Heb. 
 
 13 And every firstling of an ass thou """ " 
 shalt redeem with a || lamb ; and if thou ''"orTud. 
 wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break 
 
 his neck: and all the firstborn of man a- 
 mong thy children shalt thou redeem. 
 
 14 ^ And it shall be when thy son ask- 
 
 eth thee t in time to come, saying, What fHeb. 
 is this ? that thou shalt say unto him, By '" ""^"'^ 
 strength of hand the Lord brought us out 
 from Egypt, from the house of bondage: 
 
 15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh 
 would hardly let us go, that the Lord 
 slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, 
 both the firstborn of man, and the first- 
 born of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the 
 Lord all that openeth the matrix, being 
 males ; but all the firstborn of my children 
 I redeem. 
 
 as they had found them among the Chaldeans and Persians. 
 Calmct. See note on chap. xii. 2. 
 
 9. — a sign — ujmn thine hand, &c.] It shall be for a token or 
 memorial of what God did for your forefathers; to make thee as 
 sensible of God's goodness, as of that which thou hast in tliy hand, 
 or of a thing which is continually before tliine eyes. The Jewish 
 superstition of wearing wliat were called " phylacteries," took its 
 rise from these words. Phylactery is a word derivetl from the 
 Greek, and pro])erly signifies a preservalice, such as the P.Tgan« 
 carried about them, to preserve them from evils, diseases, or 
 dangers. The .Jewish phylacteries were little boxes, or rolls of 
 parchment, in which were written certain words of the law. 
 These they wore on their foreheads, and on the wrist of the left 
 arm. The passages written on them were ExoJ. xiii. 2—10, 
 1 1—16; Deut. vi. 4 — 9; xi. l.'J— 21. Bp. Patrick, Caimci. 
 
 1 3. — an ass] The ass seems to be here mentioiii'd, rather than 
 the horse or camel, because this animal was most in use among 
 the Israelites. It appears to comprtliend otiier " unclean be.ists," 
 that is, creatures not fit lor sacrifice. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 14. „,/„.„ ihy son askilh titer'} It appears from this, and from 
 
 ver. 8, that great care was taken for the instruction of children in 
 the rites of tlieir religion: {Bp. PatricJc.) that by an early eUu- 
 
 J
 
 The Israelites go out ofEgiipt. 
 
 E X O D II S. 
 
 God mstrtictcth the 
 
 Before i(j And it shall be for a token upon 
 "«1. thine hand, and for frontlets between thine 
 eyes: ibr bv strength of hand the Loud 
 bronght us forth out of Egypt. 
 
 17 IF And it came to pass, when Pharaoh 
 iiad let tlie people go, tliat God led them 
 not throu<^h the way of the land of the 
 Philistines, ahhough that u-as near; for 
 God said, Lest peradventure the people 
 repent when they see war, and they re- 
 turn to Egvpt: 
 
 IS But (lod led the people about, through 
 the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: 
 II Or. and the children of Israel went up || har- 
 ^>^*m« ngs<,pj oj,t of tiig land of Egypt. 
 
 Ifj And Moses took the bones of Joseph 
 
 with him: for he had straitly sworn the 
 
 ' Gen. 50. children of Israel, saying, ' God will surely 
 
 j^. 24. visit you ; and ye shall carry up my bones 
 
 away hence with you. 
 
 'iO ^ And '' they took their journey from 
 
 * Numb, 
 SS. 6. 
 
 cation in tlic inipoi-taiit knowlcilijc of tlic mercies herein com- 
 niemorateH, no one iiiif;lit forget tlieni, and lose the influence which 
 they ought to have on his conduct and beliaviour. /''//''. 
 
 Ifi. — frmillcls'] The Hebrew word means vtcmorinl, as in 
 ver. 9. lip. Vulrick: 
 
 1 8. Bui God led Ihr people about, &c.] Tiie regular route was 
 towards Gaza, and the otlier cities ot Palestine, which were a 
 portion of Canaan, and at no great distance from tlie borders of 
 Lower Egypt. But Ciod would not permit them to take this 
 course, ihougii compendious and easy; for lie knew their re- 
 fractory si)irit, and how prone they were to disobey; and tlic 
 pro.\imity of this country to Eg}7it woidd lead them, on the first 
 difficulty, to return. Of tliis we may be assured from what tlicy 
 did, when, upon some disappointment, they gave vent to their 
 evil wishes, Exod. xvi. 3; Numb. xiv. 2. Rnjant. 
 
 the nnldcrncss of Ihc Red sea :'\ The clesert bordering on 
 
 the Red sea. The Red sea, called also the Arabian guljih, sepa- 
 rates Egypt on the west from Arabia on the east. The name in 
 Hebrew signifies " the weedy sea," or the sea of weeds; so called 
 either from the variety of sea-weeds seen on its shores at low 
 water, {Sliaie;) or from the quantity of white coral spread every 
 where over its bottom. Jinice. In the Coptick language it is at 
 this time called the Sea of Weeds. Bruce. We derive the name 
 " Red sea," from the CIreeks. It is a false opinion, that the sea is 
 so called from the red colour of its waters, or of the sand at its 
 bottom ; the most jirribable notion is, that it was called the sea of 
 Edam, from its neighbo\iring coast; and that, as Edom signifies 
 red in Hclirew, the Clreeks, not understanding the meaning of 
 the appellation, translated it, as we have done after them, the Red 
 sea. Dr. If'clls, Stackhousc. The part of the sea, where the Is- 
 l-aeh"tes crossed, fi-ora a com])arison of the reports of different 
 travellers, may be estimated at about twelve miles. Dr. llalcs. 
 
 /ianiessc(T] In the margin, " by five in a rank:" in good 
 
 order, like soldiers; not confusedly, like runaways. Dr. Wells. 
 It is tiot likely that the Egyptians suffered them to have arms; 
 yet they did not go away tumultuously like fugitives, but march- 
 ed like soldiers in goo<l orilcr. Bp. Pa/rick. 
 
 20. — Siircnffi,'2 Little more than thirty miles from Rameses. 
 ■^le name signifies an inclosure, consisting of pens and booths for 
 cattle. It was probably built for a receptacle, in which the 
 Eg}'?*'""" secured and foddered their flocks and herds during 
 the inundation of the Nile. Bryant. Succoth by .Jordan, eastward, 
 was so called on a like occasion. Gen. xxxiii. 17. Dr. Wells. 
 
 Elliam, in the edge of the n'i/da-ness.'] This desert was 
 
 properly a continuation of the wilderness from Egj-pt. But it 
 
 ' Neh. 9. 
 
 Siiccoth, and encamped in Ethani, in the „5*'°™-r 
 edge 01 tlie wilderness. 1491. 
 
 iil And ' the Lord went before them ' Numb. 
 by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them u^uV'i.s^. 
 the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, Psai.78.i4. 
 to gi\e them light; to go by day and '^''""•'"•'• 
 night : 
 
 '2'-2 He took not away the pillar of the 
 cloud by day, ' nor the pillar of fire by j 
 night, Jrom before the people. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 1 God inslrucleth the Israelite.! in their journei). .5 
 Vharaoh pumuelh after them. 10 The Israelites 
 murmur. 13 Moses conijhrlclh them, l.") God in- 
 .siruclcth Moses. 1<) The cloud rcmovcth behind the 
 camp. 21 The Israelites pass through the lied sea, 
 23 which drowiieth the Egyptians. 
 
 A 
 
 N D the Loud spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that 
 
 commenced inider the name of Etham at the northern extremity 
 of the western gulph of the Red sea. According to the estima- 
 tion of travellers, the dist;mce is about sixty miles from Succoth 
 to this, their second place of encampment. Bryant. 
 
 21. And the Lord went before them (kv.^ Hy " the Lord" we arc 
 here to understand the Shechinah, or Divine glory, which ap- 
 peared to Moses in the bush, ch. iii. 2, and on other occasions; and 
 now appeared in a glorious cloud to conduct the Israelites, and 
 assure them of God's care and protection. This cloud was a sym- 
 bol of His gracious presence with them, and especial providence 
 over them. We must be careful not to underst-md that God Him- 
 self moved from place to place; for He is always every where; 
 but this cloud was moved by Him, from whom it came, as a token 
 that He was present by His special favour, care, and providence, 
 wheresoever it went. Bp. Patrick. From the time that the chil- 
 dren of Israel arrived at Succoth, to their jiassing the Red sea 
 into Midian, it does not appear that Moses led them one step by his 
 own conduct or contrivance. According to his nairation of their 
 several movements, it was in no wise left to his judgment, where 
 to lead the people; but their journeying was evidently conduct- 
 ed by the immediate direction of God, with a view to that mira- 
 culous deliverance which He designed for them at the Red sea. 
 Shuck ford. 
 
 And the Lord &c.] He, who in this chapter is called the 
 Lord, is in the next called " the angel of God," ver. I9: who, as 
 formerly He had gone before the camp for their guidance, so 
 now, the Egyptians pursuing, stood behind it as their defence. 
 It was the opinion of the primitive church, that He, who thus ac- 
 companied the Israelites with the pillar of a cloud, was the same 
 who had formerly appeared to the Patriarclis in the figure of man. 
 And indeed, whilst Moses is not contented with the promise of an 
 assistant angel, but expressly petitions for the continuance of God's 
 presence, he leaves us not in want of a commentator to tell us 
 what kind of Angel was present with him. See Exod. xxxiii. 2, 
 5, 9 — 15, compared with xxiii. 20 — 23. Abp. Tenison. 
 
 Chap. XIV. ver. 2. Speak iinto the children of Israel, &C.3 The 
 Israelites were now secure, being out of all fear of the Egyptians, 
 and just ready to take shelter in a wilderness, where no army, 
 without a miracle, could subsist. The want of water, and every 
 other necessary article, precluded all chance of being overtaken. 
 But at this instant they have an order to cliange their route; not 
 to march to the left to Canaan, the land flowing with milk and 
 honey, but to retire from it. Bryant. 
 
 Instead of proceeding from Ethani, round the head of the Red 
 6ea, and coasting along its eastern sliore, the Lord made them
 
 Israelites in their journey. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Pharaoh pursuelh /hew. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 ' Numb. 
 33. 7. 
 
 they turn and encamp before ' Pl-hahiroth, 
 between Migdol and tlie sea, over against 
 Baal-zephon : before it shall ye encamp by 
 the sea. 
 
 3 For Pharaoh will say of the children 
 of Israel, They are entangled in the land, 
 the wilderness hath shut them in. 
 
 4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, 
 that he shall follow after them ; and I will 
 be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all 
 his host ; that the Egyptians may know 
 that I am the Lord. And they did so. 
 
 5 ^ And it was told the king of Eg}'pt 
 that the people fled : and the heart of Pha- 
 raoh and of his servants was turned against 
 the people, and they said, Why have we 
 done this, that we have let Israel go from 
 serving us ? 
 
 6 And he made ready his chariot, and 
 took his people with him : 
 
 " turn" southwards along its western shore ; and after a stage of 
 about twenty or thirty miles, (which cannot be exactly ascer- 
 tained, because the Red sea anciently extended a good way north- 
 wards of Suez,) to encamp in the valley of Bedea, where there 
 was an opening in the great chain of mountains, that line the 
 western coast, called Pi-hahirolh, " the mouth of the ridge," be- 
 tween Migdol, ("the castle or garrison," Bryant,) westwards, and 
 the sea eastwards, over against Baal-zephon on the eastern coast, 
 to tempt Pharaoh, whose heart He finally hardened, to pursue 
 them, when they were " entangled in the land," and " shut in by 
 the wilderness," on their rear and flanks, and by the sea in their 
 fi'ont. Dr. Hales. 
 
 ^— Pi-hahirotk,'] The Arabs call the narrow passes in the 
 mountains Fum, as the Hebrews did Pi, " the mouth." Fum el 
 Beder is the mouth of Beder : Fum el Terfowey, the passage or 
 mouth of Terfowey : Pi or Pki-Hiroth, the moutli of the valley 
 cut through with ravines. Bruce. 
 
 Baal-zephon ;] Nothing could tend more to wean the 
 
 Israelites from their fondness for Egyptian superstitions, than 
 God's showing his superiority over all their deities, and His 
 judgments upon their votaries. Baal-zephon was probably a 
 place of worship, designed for the use of mariners, where stood 
 the statue of some serpentine deity, the supposed guardian of 
 those seas. The children of Israel may have been particularly 
 directed towards this part of the coast, that they might see 
 another proof of the futihty of such worship. This must ha\e 
 been the consequence, when in the morning they beheld the dead 
 bodies of the Egyptians, lying upon the beech, almost within the 
 precincts of the idolatrous inclosure, ver. 30. Bryant. 
 
 4. — / tvill harden Pharaoh's liearl,'] I will in just judgment 
 so besot Pharaoh, that, forgetting his former experience of My 
 power, he shall, in hopes of prevailing, follow after you. Bp. Hall. 
 
 5. — and the heart of Pharaoh — was turned^ As good mo- 
 tions are long, ere they can enter into hard hearts, so they seldom 
 continue long. No socner were the backs of the Israelites turned 
 to depart, than PJiaraoh's heart and face are turned after them, 
 to fetch them back again. It vexes him to see so great a com- 
 mand, so much wealth, cast away in one niglit ; which now he 
 resolves to redeem, though with more plagues. The same ambi- 
 tion and covetousness, that made him wear out so many judgments, 
 will not leave him, till it have wrought out his full destruction. 
 £p. HaU. 
 
 7. — chariots,'} Scripture speaks of two sorts of chariots ; one 
 for princes and generals to ride in, the other to break the ene- 
 my's battalions, "by inishing in among them, being armed witli^ 
 jxoa, which made temble havock. The most ancient cliarioU of 
 
 7 And he took .mx hundred chosen cha- i^^'f'^"-. 
 riots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and ^"!.-I"^ 
 captains over every one of them. 
 
 8 And the Lord hardened the heart of 
 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued 
 after the children of Israel : and the chil- 
 dren of Israel went out with an high hand. 
 
 9 But the " Egyptians pursued after them, » J^h. 24. 
 all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and lyi^^ 5. 
 his horsemen, and his army, and overtook 
 
 them encamping by the sea, beside Pi- 
 hahirothj before Baal-zephon. 
 
 10 ^ And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the 
 children of Israel liited up their eyes, and, 
 behold, the Eg}'ptians marched after them ; 
 and they were sore afraid : and the children 
 of Israel cried out unto the Lord. 
 
 11 And they said unto Moses, Because 
 there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou 
 taken us awav to die in the wilderness ? 
 
 war we find mentioned are Pharaoh's, which were overthrown 
 in the Red sea. The Canaanites, whom Joshua engaged at 
 the waters of Merom, had cavalrj-, and a multitude of chariots. 
 Josh. xi. 4. Sisera, general of Jabin, king of Hazor, had 9OO 
 chariots of iron, Judg. iv. 3. Judah could not get possession of 
 the lands belonging to their lot, because the ancient inhabitan^ 
 of the country were strong in chariots of iron, Judg. i. 19. The 
 Philistines, in their war again.st Saul, had ,30,000 chariots, and 
 6,000 horsemen, 1 Sam. xiii. 5. David having taken 1,000 chariots 
 of war from Hadadezer, king of Syria, ham.strung the horses, 
 and biunied 9OO chariots, reserving only 100, 2 Sam. viii. 4; 
 1 Chron. xviii. l. 
 
 It does not appear that the kings of the Hebrews lised chariots 
 in war. Solomon had a considerable number, 1 Kings x. HG ; 
 but we do not know of any military expedition wherein tliey 
 were employed. As Judea was a mountainous country, chariots 
 were of no use. In 2 Mac. xiii. 2, there is mention of chariots 
 armed with scythes, which the king of Syria led against Judea. 
 Calmet. 
 
 8. — he pursued after the children of Israel :'] Of all the in- 
 fatuated resolutions, that either king or people adventured on, 
 the pursuing of tlie Israelites with such a mighty army, after they 
 had so intreated and urged them to leave their country, may well 
 seem to every indifferent reader the most stupid that ever was 
 conceived. So the author of the book of Wisdom justly censures 
 it, chap. xix. 3. Possibly the Egyptians miglit think with the 
 Syrians, that the God of Israel might not be alike powerful in all 
 places, 1 Kings xx. 23 : or they might think that Moses's com- 
 mission did not extend beyond Egypt : or that he might not have 
 power over mighty hosts and armies. They knew at least, that 
 the Israelites had no military skill, no captains of infantry, no ca- 
 valry, no weapons or engines of war ; of all which tlie Egyptians 
 had great abundance. On these and the like presumptions they 
 became fool-hardv, and desperately resolved to be avenged on the 
 children of Israel', for all the losses they had sustained by Moses 
 and Aaron. Slackhousc. 
 
 — nith an high hnnd.l Visibly by the miraculous and over- 
 nUing power of God. Dr. Jf ells. -, ^u- 
 
 11. — Because there were no graves in Egypt, &-C.J This sar- 
 castical anil reproachful language argues die height of their dis- 
 content, or rather rage, against their deh vert r. Bp. Patrick. Their 
 fear and disposition to submit without resistance to their oppres- 
 sors, " Let us alone, that we may serve tlie Egyptians," justily 
 the wise precaution of Providence, that woidd not expose them 
 to warfare with tlie Philistines, when their spiriU were depressed 
 and debased by bondage. See cliap. xui. 17. Dr. Halts.
 
 God instnicteth Moses. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 I'he cloud removeth behind the camp. 
 
 lufi.re Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to 
 
 *^""j'i.''^ carry us forth out of Egypt? 
 
 •ch.p.6.9. V>'Js not this the wortl that we did tell 
 thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that \vc 
 may serve the Egyptians? For it had been 
 better for us to serve the Egyi)tians, than 
 that we should die in the wilderness. 
 
 13 % And Moses said unto the people. 
 Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salva- 
 tion of the Loud, which he will shew to 
 
 II Or, vou to day : II for the Egyptians^hom ye 
 
 ■'^^^ktZZ liavc seen to day, ye sinill see them again 
 
 the Egi/p- no more for e\ei'. 
 
 rio,u,uj-y. J J ,p,j^^ j^^^j^jj j,]j^j2 flgj^t for you^ and ye 
 
 shall iiold your peace. 
 
 15 if And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 Wherefore criest thou unto me ? speak 
 unto the children of Israel, that they go 
 forward : 
 
 1 () But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch 
 out thine hand over the sea, and divide it : 
 and the children of Israel shall go on dry 
 ground through the midst of the sea. 
 
 17 And I, behold, I will harden the 
 
 13. — ye shall see them agniti no rnore"] Ye sliall not see them 
 alive any more. Tlic spirit of Moses is most admirable. Instead 
 of resenting the reproaches of the Israelites, or being dismaj'ed 
 ut the approaclj of Pharaoh, he meekly and sedately exhorts the 
 people to be of good courage and to trust in GojI ; who, he assures 
 them, would accomplish what He had begun. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 If Moses had, humanly speaking, betrayed unparalleled im- 
 prudence in exposing his host to their present d.-uiger, by leading 
 them into a defile, with mountains on either side, and the sea in 
 front, the high strain of confidence, which lie now speaks in, is 
 equally unparalleled. " Fear ye not," s.iys he to the terrified 
 multitude : does he add. Rouse your courage ; there is no way to 
 avoid slavery or deatli, but by one manly effort ; turn then on 
 your pursuers, and your God will aid you ? No : his language 
 IS, "Stand ye still, &c." See verses 13, 14. What would this 
 be in any mere human leader, but the ravings of frenzy ? Yet, 
 wonderful to relate, tlie event accords with it. The Israelites 
 escape " by the way of the sea :" the Egyptians perish in the 
 name sea. Dr. Graves. 
 
 1 4. — ye shall hold ijwir peace^ Ye shall have no occasion to 
 strike a single blow. Bp. Patrick. We may well imagine how 
 great must have been the anxiety of the people, who had not true 
 faith in their leader, and saw no possible means for their escape. 
 Pharaoh was seen approaching in the very article of their en- 
 campment. Night now came on, which must have increased their 
 horrours and their mumiurs against Moses. At last the word of 
 command was given ; and the Lord spake unto Moses, who seems 
 to have been looking up to Heaven for assistance, " Wherefore 
 criest thou unto Me ? S<c." Bri/iint. 
 
 1<). And the angel of God ^ The Lord Himself is said to go 
 before them, chap. xiii. 21. liut we must understand, that 
 ■where tlie Lord is. He is attended by His angels ; some of which 
 were sent from the Shechinah, which was in the cloud, to con- 
 duct the Israelites, and take care of them. Bp. Patrick. The 
 Angol of the Covenant, which was Christ, removed the signs 
 of His presence from before the Israelites behind them. Bd. 
 HaU. ^ 
 
 and the pillar of the cloud &C.3 Wonder now justly strove 
 
 ■with fear in the Israelites, when they saw the cloud remove be- 
 hin<l them, and the sea give wiiy before them. They were not 
 used to such bulwarks. Co<l stood behind them in the cloud : 
 the sea reared them up walls on both sides of tliem. That, 
 
 hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall fol- gj^^i^^i'sT 
 low them : and I will get me honour upon 1491. 
 Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his 
 chariots, and upon his iiorsemen. 
 
 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I 
 am the Lord, when I have gotten me ho- 
 nour uj){)n Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and 
 upon his horsemen. 
 
 19 ^ And the angel of God, which went 
 before the camp of Israel, removed and 
 went behind them ; and the pillar of the 
 cloud went from before their face, and 
 stood behind tlicm : 
 
 20 And it came between the camp of 
 the Egyptians and the camp of Israel ; and 
 it was a cloud and darkness to tlian, but it 
 gave light by night to these : so that the 
 one came not near the other all the night. 
 
 21 And Moses stretched out his hand 
 over the sea; and the Lord caused tiie sea 03."' 
 to go back by a strong east wind all tiiat rs. 114. :j. 
 night, and made the sea dry la7id, and the 13."" 
 waters were ''divided. 1 Cor.io.i. 
 
 22 And * the children of Israel went into 09* "' 
 
 which they feared would be their destruction, protected thom. — 
 How easily can God make the cruelest of His crea>.ures both our 
 friends and p.-.trons ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 21. And Moses &c.] The precise place of this passage has 
 been much contested. Some place it near Suez, at the head 
 of the gulph : others, with more probability, about ten hours' 
 journey lower down, at Clysnia, or the valley of Bedea. The 
 modern names of places in the vicinity tend to confirm the 
 latter supposition. The chain of mountains, which line the 
 western coast of the Red sea, is called " Att.aca," deliverance. 
 On the eastern coast opposite, is a head-land, called " Ras Mus;i," 
 or the Cape of Moses : gomewhat lower, " Hamam Faraun," 
 Pharaoh's springs : below Girondel, a reach of the gulph, called 
 " Birket Faraun :" and the general name of the gulph is " Bahr 
 al Kolsum," the Bay of .Submersion. These names indicate that 
 the passage was considerably below Suez, according to the tra- 
 dition of the natives. Dr. Hales. 
 
 22. And the children of Israel wait &c.] It has been asked, 
 whether there were not some ri<lges of rocks, where the water 
 was shallow, so that an army at particular times may pass over ? 
 And, whether the Etesian winds, which blow strongly all summer 
 from the northwest, could not blow so violently against the sea, 
 as to keep it back on a heaj) ; so that the Israelites might have 
 passed without a miracle } Bruce's observations on these queries 
 are excellent. " These doubts do not merit any attention to solve 
 them. This passage is told us by Scripture to be a miraculous 
 one ; and if so, we have nothing to do with natural ciuses. If 
 we do not believe Moses, wc need not believe tlic trans.'iction 
 at all, seeing that it is from his authority we derive it. If we 
 believe in God, that He ' made' the sea, we must believe He 
 could ' divide' it, when He sees proper reason : and of that He 
 must be the only judge. It is no greater miracle to divide the 
 Red sea tlian to cjivide the river Jordan. 
 
 " If the Etesian wind, blowing from tlie northwest in summer, 
 could keep up the sea as a wall on the right, or to the south, of 
 fifty feet higli ; still the difficulty would remain of building the 
 wall on the left liand, or to the north. Besides, water standing 
 in that position for a day must have lost the nature of fluid. 
 Whence came that cohesion of particles, which hindered that wall 
 to escape at the sides ? This is as great a miracle as that of 
 Mosts. If the Etesian winds had <lone this once, they must have 
 repeated it many a time before and since, from tlie same causes.
 
 
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 The Israelites pass through the sea. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Pharaoh and his host are drowned. 
 
 chk'ist *'^^ midst of the sea upon the dry ground : 
 H&i. and the waters uere a wall unto them on 
 their right hand, and on their left. 
 
 23 ^ And the Egyptians pursued, and 
 went in after them to the midst of the sea, 
 even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and 
 his horsemen. 
 
 24 And it came to pass, that in the 
 morning watch the Lord looked unto the 
 host of the Eg^-ptians through the pillar of 
 fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host 
 of the Egyptians, 
 
 25 And took off their chariot wheels, 
 Ir^made H^hat they drave them heavily : so that the 
 them to go Eg^^tians said, Let us flee from the face 
 heavuy. Q^- jsrael ; for the Lord fighteth for them 
 
 against the Eg\"ptians. 
 
 26 % And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that 
 the waters may come again upon the E- 
 gyptians, upon their chariots, and upon 
 their horsemen. 
 
 27 And Moses stretched forth his hand 
 
 " Were all these difficulties surmounted, what could we do 
 with the ' pillar of fire ?' The answer is, we should not believe 
 it. Why then believe the passage at all ? We have no authority 
 for the one, but what is for the other : it is altogether contrary to 
 the ordinary nature of things : and if not a miracle, it must be a 
 fable" 
 
 Still such queries have their use ; they lead to a stricter inves- 
 tigation of facts, and tend thereby strongly to confirm the truth 
 of the history. Thus it appears, from the accurate observations of 
 Niebiihr and Bruce, that there is no ledge of rocks running across 
 the gulph any wliere, to afford a shallow passage. And the se- 
 cond query, about the Etesian or northerly wind, is refuted by 
 the express mention of a strong "easterly" wind, blowing across, 
 and scooping out a deep passage : not that it \\ as necessary for 
 Omnipotence to employ it there as an instrument, any more than 
 at Jordan : but it seems to be introduced in the Sacred History 
 by way of anticipation, to exclude the natural agency that might 
 in aftertimes be employed for solving the miracle : and it is re- 
 markable that the monsoon in the Red sea blows the summer half 
 of the year from the north, and the winter half from the south, 
 neither of which could produce the miracle in question. Dr. Hales. 
 
 24. — in the morning watch'] The Hebrews, as well as the 
 Romans, divided the night into four parts, or watches, of about 
 three hours each ; so called, because at tiie beginning of each 
 part, the guard of soldiers, who kept watch, was changed. The 
 morning watch was die last of them, immediately before sunrise. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 the Lord looked] Or, frowned upon them. Dr. Hales. 
 
 The Lord, who had seemed all this while to wink at the entsr- 
 prises of the Egyptians, began, according to our apprehension, to 
 take notice of this their pursuit, &c. Bp. Hall. 
 
 25. — took off their chariot wheels,'] It is probable, that, when 
 the Egyptians were thus troubled and disordered, they did not 
 follow the regular way of thnse whom they pursued, but got 
 among the rocks, and mud, and those other impediments, with 
 which the Red sea particularly abounds. These brake their 
 wheels, and disabled their chariots, so that they made little way. 
 Bryant. 
 
 27. — the Egyptians fled against it i] Against the sea, as it 
 was returning to its strength ; that is, to its former place and si- 
 tuation. Dr. Wells. They turned back; and like men distracted, 
 ran and met the waters, which rushed upon them with a mighty 
 force, and overwhelmed them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 over the sea, and the sea returned to his "''"™ 
 strength when the moming appeared; and ^"49/" 
 the Egyptians fled against it ; and tiie Lord 
 t overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of t"*- 
 the sea. ''""* °^- 
 
 28 And the waters returned, and cover- 
 ed the chariots, and the horsemen, and all 
 the lio.'^t of Pharaoh that came into the sea 
 after them ; there remained not so much 
 
 as "^one of them. ' P«J- io«- 
 
 29 But the children of Lsrael walk- "" 
 ed upon dry land in the midst of the 
 sea ; and the waters uere a wall unto 
 them on their right hand, and on their 
 left. 
 
 30 Thus the Lord saved Lsrael that day 
 out of the hand of the Egyptians ; and Is- 
 rael saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea 
 shore. 
 
 31 And Israel saw that great twork tH«b. 
 which the Lord did upon the Egyptians : '""^' 
 and the people feared the Lord, and be- 
 lieved the Lord, and liis servant Moses. 
 
 Wicked men make equal haste both to sin, andyrom judgment. 
 But they shall one day find, that it is not more easy to run into 
 sin, than impossible to rim away from judgment Bp. Hall. 
 
 28. And the waters returned, &c.] Thus the Egyptians died by 
 the same means, by which they had caused the poor Israelitish 
 infants to die : that law of retaliation, which God will not allow 
 to us, because we are fellow creatures. He justly practiseth in us. 
 Gotl would have us read our sins in our judgments, that we 
 might botli repent of our sins, and give glory to His justice. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 31. — the people feared the Lord,] They ccxisidered the power- 
 fixl hand of God, which appeared in this great work ; and this 
 begat in them for the present high and awful thoughts of Him, 
 and devout affections towards Him. And so they " believed the 
 Lord ;" that is, they believed the promises which He had made 
 to tliem ; and had taith in Moses, as His true prophet and " ser- 
 vant." Bp. Patrick, Pyle. 
 
 The fame of this deliverance was spread abroad among the hea- 
 then, as we read in several places of Holy Scripture, and in other 
 authors. And the application, which St. Paul and the Fathers of 
 oiu- Church have made of it, shows, that they understood it to be 
 a type of our Christian baptism, and consequently of our resur- 
 rection and immortal life in the kingdom of God. (See 1 Cor. x. 2, 
 and the first prayer in the Ministration of Baptism.) And this is 
 the reason why the chapter, which contains the narrative of this 
 signal deUverance, is appointetl to be read in the churches on the 
 festival of our Lord's Resurrection. It contains in it the myste- 
 ries of our re.-^urrection to a state of grace here, and of our pas- 
 sage through the grave to the glorious inheritance of our hea\ enly 
 Canaan. 
 
 This consideration ought to fill our hearts with the praises of 
 Go<l, and a thankful remembrance of all His benefits. Did Israel 
 praise Him for their deliverance out of Egypt, and is He not 
 mucli more to be magnified and exalted fur rescuing us from the 
 slavery of sin and Satan, into the glorious liberty of the cliildren 
 of God ? Were they so sensible of the happiness of their escape 
 from those, who could oidy kill the botly, and sfiall we not cele- 
 brate Him, who hath redeemed us from such enemies, as would 
 ruin us, soul and body, to all eternity ? They escaped the Egjp- 
 tiuns and the sea : we are ransomed from dt;ith and hell. They 
 were under the ministry of Moses: we are under the conduct and 
 protection of the Son of God. " Chri.-t our (wssovcr is sacrificed 
 for us: therefore let us keep the feast," 1 Cor. v. 7, 8. It is by
 
 Moses' 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 song. 
 
 CHAP. XV 
 
 Rffore 
 CHJUST 
 
 '*9'- I .Vo.wt' .KWff. 22 The jtroplr n-aiit water. 23 The 
 
 tralert at Marnh are bitter. 25 A tree trreeteneth 
 
 them. 27 At Etim are twelve tvelU, and seventy palm 
 
 trees. 
 
 * Wi«lom 
 10. 20i 
 
 THEN sang ' Moses and the children of 
 Israel this song unto the Lord, and 
 spake, saying, I vill sing unto the Lokd, 
 for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse 
 and his rider hath he throwii into the sea. 
 '2 The Loud is my strength and song, 
 and he is become my salvation : he is my 
 God, and 1 will prepare him an habitation; 
 my father's God, and I will exalt him. 
 
 3 The Loud is a man of war : the Lord 
 is his name. 
 
 4 Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath 
 he cast into the sea : his chosen captains 
 also are drowned in the Red sea. 
 
 5 The depths have covered them : they 
 sank into the bottom as a stone. 
 
 (') Thy right hand, O Loud, is become 
 glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, 
 hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 
 
 7 And in the greatness of thine excel- 
 lency thou hast overthrown them that rose 
 up against thee : thou sentest forth thy 
 wrath, xchich consumed them as stubble. 
 
 8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the 
 waters were gathered together, the floods 
 stood upright as an heap, and the dej)ths 
 were congealed in the heart of the sea. 
 
 9 The enemy said, 1 will pursue, I will 
 overtake, I will divide the sjjoil ; my lust 
 
 virtue of the bloocl of this " Lamb, without blemish and without 
 spot," that wc are protected from tlie sword of the ilcstrovinj^ 
 anRcl. It is He that hath made a way through the sea, and a patli 
 through the deep waters of this mortal st;itc, and turned our grave 
 into a door of hope, an entrance to that heavenly kingdom, which 
 He hath opened to all believers. Reading. 
 
 rhap. X\'. vcr. 1. Then .tang .'Ifow.? &o.^ On this memorable 
 deliverance Moses composed a thanksgiving, which he and the 
 Israelites sang unto the Lord. It is also a suhlime prophecy, 
 foretelling tlic powerful ctTect of this tremendous judgment on 
 the neighbouring nations of Edom, Mo.ib, Palestine, and Canaan ; 
 the future settlement of the Israelites in the promised land ; and 
 the erection of the temple and s.uictuary on mount Sion ; and the 
 perpetuity of the dominion and worship of CIixl. Dr. Halcx. 
 
 The most ancient of all poems, now extant, at least of those 
 the age of which has been ascert;iinc<l, is this thanksgiving ode of 
 Moses arter the piL«.si>ge of the Red sea : it is at the same time 
 most perfect in its kind. It shows the early connection which 
 subsisted between poetry and religion: and is an example of that 
 species of poetical composition, whiih the Hebrews cultivated 
 more than all other sorts, and in which they particularly excel- 
 led ; namely, the rendering of publick thanks in songs of triumph 
 to Go<l, for prosperity in their enterprises and for success in w;ir. 
 Bp. lonth. 
 
 -■ — / "■'// prepare him an habitation ,-] I will build Him a 
 tabernacle. Dr. Hales. Meaning, I foresee by that spirit of pro- 
 phecy, which He has given me, that He shall ha\e a tabernacle 
 reared up for Him by His people. Bp. Hall. Let this mighty 
 
 shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw c/IhTst 
 mv sword, my hand shall || destroy them. hui. 
 
 lU Thou ilidst blow with thy wind, the || Or, 
 sea covered them : they sank as lead in the •■'7"'*»«"- 
 mighty waters. 
 
 11 Who is like unto thee, O Lord, a- 
 mongthe llgods? who is like thee, glorious n or, 
 
 in holiness, fearful in praises, doing won- ""«'"J''"'«- 
 ders ? 
 
 12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, 
 the earth swallow-ed them. 
 
 13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the 
 ))eople ichich thou hast redeemed : thou 
 hast guided them in thy strength unto thy 
 holy habitation. 
 
 li ""The ))eople shall hear, and be afraid: »Dcut. 2. 
 sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants j^^^. 2. 9. 
 of Palestina. 
 
 15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be 
 amazed ; the mighty men of Moab, trem- 
 bling shall take hold upon them ; all the 
 inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. 
 
 16 'Fear and dread shall fall upon them ; ' dcw. 2. 
 by the greatness of thine arm they shall be joji. 2. 9. 
 as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, 
 
 O Lord, till the people pass over, w/iick 
 thou hast piu'chased. 
 
 17 Thou shall bring them in, and plant 
 them in the mountain of thine inheritance, 
 in the place, O Loud, tchich thou hast made 
 for thee to dwell in, m the Sanctuary, O 
 Lord, rcfiic/i thy hands have established. 
 
 18 The Lord shall reign for ever and 
 ever. 
 
 God and Defender be the object of our constant adoration, in at- 
 tending upon the stated place of His publick worship. Pt/le. 
 
 3. — n man of wnr:^ A noble warriour. Bp. Hall. He gets 
 great victories. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 the iMrd is his name.'] Rather, " Jehovah is His name." 
 
 It is hereby meant, that He hath performed that which this name 
 imports ; namely, He hath caused that to be, ■which He promised 
 shoidd come to pass. Locke. See the notes on chap. vi. 3. 
 
 (). — right hand,'] This word is frequently used to express the 
 height of power, exerted in the preservation of gootl men, or the 
 destruction of the bad. Bp. Patrick. The right hand being the 
 instrument, by which a man effects what he has in his power, 
 hence it is attributed to God, when His power is celebrated. Bp. 
 Kidder. See the note on Gen. vi. 6. 
 
 II. — a>nong the gods ?] Among those that are called gods in 
 heaven anrl in earth, 1 Cor. viii. 5. Dr. Wells. Or, " the mighty 
 ones," as in the margin. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 fearful in praises^ Who shoiddest be praised with fear 
 
 and reverence: who canst never sufficiently be praised. Bp, 
 Patrick. 
 
 13. — Jinio tht/ holy /uthitatioti.^ Towards thy holy settlement. 
 Dr. Hales. The coinitry, where God Himself, speaking after the 
 manner of men, intended to have a settlement. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It. — Palestina.'] The whole of the promised land appears to 
 have been called Palestine at this time; probably from " Pa- 
 listhan," signifying " Shepherd land" in the Sanscrit language, 
 which is a diatect of the ancient Syriack. Dr. Hales. 
 
 1 7. — mottntain of thine inheritance,'] Mount Moriah, or Sion ; 
 where Moses seems to have foreseen, by the spirit of prophecy,
 
 Miriam's song. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 The waters at Marah. 
 
 chrTst }'^ ^P^ *'^^ \\ox?,e of Pliaraoh went in 
 H91. with his chariots and witii his horsemen 
 into the sea, and the Lord brought again 
 the waters of the sea upon tliem ; but the 
 children of Israel went on dry land in the 
 midst of the sea. 
 
 20 % And Miriam the prophetess, the 
 sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; 
 and all the women went out after her with 
 timbrels and with dances. 
 
 21 And ^Miriam answered them. Sing 
 ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed 
 gloriously ; the horse and his rider hatli 
 he thrown into the sea. 
 
 that God would fix His habitation. Bp. Patrick. The sanctuary 
 being certainly to be built, when God should command, is spokeii 
 of as already completed. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 20. — Miriam the prophetess, ~\ So called from having the gift 
 of composing hymns in praise of the Divine Majesty ; or from 
 having received .some revelation from God for the direction of 
 His people. Dr. Jl'el/s, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 took a timbrel in her hand ,•] So the manner was in after- 
 times, when they prophesied, 1 Sara.x. 5,6; 2 Kings iii. 15; and 
 when they sang hymns, Psal. xxxiii. 2; hni. 7, 8; and upon any 
 occasion of great rejoicing, Judg. xi. 34; 1 Sam. xviii. 6. Hence 
 we may leai'n how ancient niusick was in the service of God : this 
 way of praising Him being practised before the institution of the 
 Mosaical Law. Bp. Patrick. The timbrel or tabret was a drum, 
 with bells appended to it, carried in the hand and beat with the 
 fingers. It is still used in Syria ; and has of late become popular 
 among ourselves in the tambourine. Fragments to Calmei. 
 
 and jvilh dances.'^ The Eastern dances are extemporane- 
 ous, if I may be uidulged in the expression, as well as their songs. 
 The great lady leads the dancCj and is followed by a troop of 
 young girls, who imitate her steps, and, if she sings, make up the 
 chorus. The steps are varied according to tlie pleasure of her 
 who leads, but always in exact time. This may give us a dif- 
 ferent apprehension, from what we should otherwise form, of the 
 description of Miriam. Mariner. 
 
 21. — Miriam answered them,'^ Mii'iam and the women an- 
 swered Moses and the people verse by verse : or after every verse 
 sung by Moses and the men, Miriam and the women interposed 
 and repeated this verse in the way of chorus. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Sing ye to the Lord,'\ Or rather, " Let us sing unto the 
 
 Lord, &c." thus repeating the burden of Moses's thanksgiving, 
 according to the reading of the ancient versions, in the first per- 
 son plural, " Let us &c." which is most suitable to the occasion. 
 .Dr. Hales. If gratitude is due from man to man, how much 
 more from man to his Maker! If gratitude, when exerted towards 
 one another, naturally produces a very pleasing sensation in the 
 mind of a grateful man ; it exalts the soul into rapture, when it is 
 employed on this great object of gratitude, on this beneficent 
 Being, who has given us every thing we already possess, and 
 from whom we expect every thing we 3'et hope for. Most of the 
 works of the pagan poets were either direct hymns to their deities, 
 or tended indirectly to the celebration of their respective attributes 
 and perfections, though with a mixture of much impertinence and 
 absurdity. Tlie Jews, who before the time of Christianity were 
 the only people who had the knowledge of the true God, have 
 set the Christian world an example how they ought to employ 
 this Divine talent of which I am speaking. As that nation pro- 
 duced men of great genius, without considering them as inspired 
 writers, they have ti-ansmitted to us many h3Tnns and Divine 
 odes, which excel those that arc dehvered down to us by the an- 
 cient Greeks and Romans in the poetry, as much as in the subject 
 to which it was consecrated. Addison. 
 
 22. — wilderness of Shur ,-] Or of Etham, Numb, xxxiii. 8. 
 Shur was a part of Etham. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The great sandy desert of Shur, whicli divides Egypt from Pa- 
 
 22 So Moses brought Israel from the b*'"'"* 
 Red sea, and they went out into the ^"4'^.!.^'^ 
 wilderness of Shur ; and they went three 
 
 days in the wilderness, and found no 
 watei'. 
 
 23 f And when they came to Marah, 
 they could not drink of the waters of 
 Marah, for they xcere bitter : therefore the 
 name of it was called II Marah. 11 That i». 
 
 24 And the people murmured against "™"'' 
 Moses, saying, AVTiat shall we drink y 
 
 2.5 And he cried unto the Lord ; and 
 the Lord shewed him a " tree, "which when '„£«i" 
 he had cast into the waters, the waters 
 
 38.5. 
 
 lestine, stretching from tlie Mediterranean sea to the head of the 
 Red sea, at both sides of the latter assumes the name of" Etham." 
 Thus tlic third station of the Israelites is called " Etham, in the 
 edge of the wilderness," Exod. xiii. 20. And after passing the 
 Red sea, they entered " the wilderness of Shur," Exod. xv. 22. 
 But near their landing-place on the eastern coast, Niebuhr 
 maiks a mountain to the northeast, called " Etti, ' evidently 
 from " Etham." 
 
 This mountain forms the southern termination of tlie great 
 ridge of mountains, now called " Jebel Te," which runs in a 
 northeasterly direction, stretching along the eastern coast of the 
 Dead sea, or Asphaltick lake, towards the head of the Elanitick, 
 or eastern gulph of the Red sea : forming the western boundary 
 of Arabia Petrea, and called in Scripture indiscriminately mount 
 " Hor," and mount " Seir," because it was conquered from the 
 origuial inhabitants, " the Horites," Gen. xiv. 6 ; by Esau and his 
 family. Gen. xxxvi. 20, 21 ; whose eldest son was " Seir." Dr. 
 Hales. 
 
 23. — called Marah.'] Afterwards so called from the bitter- 
 ness or brackishness of its waters. Bp. Patrick. Most travellers 
 attest, that there are several fountains of bitter water not far from 
 the Red sea. Slackhoiise. In a space of 315 miles over part of 
 this wilderness, Mr. Irwin found only four springs of water. In 
 anotlier space of 115 miles he found only two springs, at one of 
 wliich the water was brackish, and at the other unwholesome. 
 Harmer. We may probably fix the Marah of Scripture at Coron- 
 del : there is a small rill of water, which, unless it be diluted by 
 tlie dews and rains, still continues to be brackish. lir. Shan: 
 
 S-i. — the people murmured against Muxes,] It is the hard con- 
 dition of auUiority, tliat when the people fare well, they applaud 
 themselves ; when ill, they repine against their govemours. Who 
 can hope to be free, if Moses escape not? Never any prince so 
 merited of a peojile. He exposed himself to the assaults of Pha- 
 raoh's tyranny : he brought them from a bondage worse than 
 death : his rod divided the sea, and gave life to them, death to 
 their pursuers. AVho would not have thought these men so in- 
 <lebted to Moses, that no death could have openetl tlieir mouths, 
 or raised their hands against him .' Yet now the first occasion of 
 want makes them rebel. No benefit can stop the mouth of impa- 
 tience : if our present desire be not gratified, former favours are 
 either forgotten or despised. But no marvel if we deal so with 
 men, when God receives the same measure from us. One year of 
 famine, one sununer of pestilence, one month of unseasonable 
 weather, makes us overlook all the blessings of Gixl, and murmur 
 more at the sense of our e\-il, than praise liim for our varitties of 
 good. He makes an ill use of God's mercies, who hath not learn- 
 ed to be content with His coireotions. Bp. Hidl.^ 
 
 2.5. And he cried unto the Lord;] Moses took that course 
 wliich the Israelites should have done, and did not. They crie<l 
 not more frequently to him, than he to God. He knew to whom 
 to look for redress of all complaints : even to Him, who alone 
 can give us comlbrt in affliction, who alone can make the bitter 
 waters sweet. Bp. Hall. 
 
 and the Lord shcned him a tree,] It is a question, whe- 
 ther these bitter waters were sweetened by the miraculous power
 
 The waters made sweet. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 The Israelites murmur against Moses. 
 
 ' Numb. 
 S3. 9. 
 
 Bcfori- were made sweet : there he made for tliem 
 ^"lll^^ a statute ami an ordinance, and there he 
 proved them, 
 
 '26 And said, If tlioii wilt dihgentlv 
 licarken to the voic-o of the Loun thy God, 
 and wih do that whicli is right in Iiis siglit, 
 and wilt give ear to his commandments, 
 and keep all his stat\itos, I will put none 
 of these diseases upon thee, wliich I have 
 brought upon the Egyptians : for I am the 
 Loud that healeth thee. 
 
 <27 % ' And they came to Elim, where 
 •were twelve wells of water, and threescore 
 and ten palm trees: and they encamped 
 there by the waters. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 1 The Israelites come lo Sin. 2 They murmur for want 
 
 of Gotl, or by the natural property of the tree, to which God di- 
 rected Moses. Most probably it i.s to be attributed to tlie former. 
 .Slac/,hotise. NIebuhr, when upon the spot, where this miracle 
 va-i performed, inquired after wood caj)able of producing such an 
 ofltct ; but could gain no information of any. The water of these 
 parts continues so bad to this day, and is so much in want t>f im- 
 provement, that had tiie discovery of a wcx)d, possessing such a 
 corrective quality, been comnuniicated to Moses, it could hardly 
 have been lost Calmet's Diclioiiari/. 'I'hc ,'Vrabs call a shrub or 
 tree, not unlike our hawthorn, either in form or flower, by the 
 name of " El-vah." It was with this wood, they say, Moses 
 sweetened the waters of Marah. Bruce. 
 
 The hand of faitli never knocked at heaven in vain : no sooner 
 hath Moses showed his fjricvance, than God shows him the re- 
 medy: vet an unlikely one, that it miffht be miraculous. He that 
 made the waters, could have given them any sa%'our: the same 
 hand that created them, nn'ght have immediately changed them. 
 But .Mniighty Power still works by means: and the glory of 
 Omnipotency is manifested by the improbability of the means 
 which lie employs. Elisha with salt, Moses with wood, shall 
 sweeten the bitter waters. Let no man despise tUe means, wlien 
 he knows the Author. Bp. Hall. 
 
 there he made for lliem a slaliilr &c.] This seems to sig- 
 nify, that for their better govennnent (ickI now gave them a few 
 rules to be observed for the present, till He should more fully de- 
 cl.ire His will at mount Sinai ; and " proved them," or began to 
 ni.nke trial of their obedience, whether they would observe these 
 laws or not. Bp. I'tilrirk: 
 
 The passage should rather be translated, " he made for him a 
 statute and an ordin.ince;" which agrees also with the Sfith verse, 
 " If tliou wilt diligently hearken &c." We meet in the .Scriptures 
 with many instances of God's appointing persons, who applied to 
 Him for favours, to do some act as a proof of their submission 
 and oljedicncc. .lacob Wits ordered to use peeled rods, Gen. xxx; 
 Niuiman to wash in the river .Jordan, 'J Kings v. And in Exod. 
 xvi, the Israelites were proved in this marmer: they were ordered 
 to gather of the manna a certain rate e\crv dav, that God niit!,ht 
 '• prove them, whether they would walk in His law or no." 
 Thus was Moses here proved : he was ordered to put a bough 
 into the wafer ; a thing in its If insignificant ; but by doing it he 
 testitiod !iis readiness to observe any injunction, which God 
 shoidd think fit to give him. Skuckford. 
 
 '27. — Ihrii came to FJim.'\ In remarking the several stations of 
 the Israelites from the Red sea to mount Sinai, we must observe 
 that Moses does not set down every place where they encamped, 
 as in Numb, xxxiii, but only those where something remarkable 
 occurred. Elim, where they now encamped, was esteemed a 
 ple.is.iiit and fruitful place, at least in compari.son of the desert 
 and barren parts about it. Dr. IVeUs, Stackhousc. Trees in the 
 
 of bread. 4 God promisilh them bread from heaven. Before 
 11 Quails are sent, \\ and mnuna. \(i The. ordering CHRlSf 
 ()/" manna. S25 // 7vas not lo be found on the sabbath. 
 32 An oincr of it is preserved. 
 
 AND they took their journey from 
 Elim, and all the congregation of 
 the children of Israel came unto the wil- 
 derness of Sin, which is between Elim and 
 Sinai, on the tifteenth day of tlie second 
 montii after their departing out of the land 
 of Egypt. 
 
 2 And the whole congregation of the 
 children of Israel murmured against Moses 
 and Aaron in the wilderness : 
 
 3 And the children of Israel said unto 
 them. Would to God we had died by the 
 hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, 
 
 desert are a very extraordinary sight : we met with oidy five as 
 we passed tlirough it, in seven days and a half; tiiese were si- 
 tuated near wells. Ptaiiled's Journei/ to Aleppo. 
 
 twelve well.s^ I saw no more than nine of the twelve wells 
 
 that are mentioned by Moses; the other three being filled up by 
 those drifts of sand which are connnon in Arabia. Y( t this loss 
 is amply maile up by the great increase of the palm trees ; the 
 seventy having i)ropagated themselves into more than two thou- 
 sand. Under the shade of these trees is the Hummum Mousa, 
 tlie Bath of Moses, which the inhabitants of Tor have in extra- 
 ordinary esteem and veneration ; acquainting us that it was here 
 tliat Moses himself and Ids particular household encamped. Dr. 
 Shall!. 
 
 palm trees :^ The palm, says Plutarch, loves water ; and 
 
 I'liny says, it loves to drink through the whole year. Tiie Son of 
 Sir.ich says, " I was exalted like a palm tree in Engaddi," Ecclus. 
 xxiv. 14, which was a very watery spot, and iherel'orc fit for gar- 
 dens. Script, illud. 
 
 Chap. XXT. ver. 1. — on the. fflcenth day &c.] Just a month 
 from their first setting out from Ilameses. It seems, therefore, 
 they stayed some time at Elim, where was plenty of water and 
 sh.ule. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 a. — Khule congregation'^ Including the elders with the rest; 
 at chap. XV. 24, " the people" only are mentioned. Bp. Patrick. 
 Had we been left ignorant of the corruption of human nature, the 
 conduct of the Israelites, during the long course of their history, 
 would have been inexplicable, if not incredible. Bp. Toinliue. 
 
 The other meeting was of some few nialecontents, perhaps 
 those strangers, who sought their own protection under the wing 
 of Israel ; this was o( the whole troop. Not that none were free : 
 Caleb, .loshua, Moses, Aaron, Miri.im were not yet tainted. 
 Usually God measures the stite of any church or country by the 
 most ; the greater part carries both the name and the censure. 
 Sins are so much greater, as they are more universal ; so far is 
 evil from being extenuated by tiie multitude of the guilty, th.it 
 nothing can more aggravate. With men, commomiess may plead 
 for favour ; with God, it pleads for judgment. The leprosy of 
 the whole body is more loathsome than that of a part. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 3. — Would to God we had died hi/ the hand of the Lord^ 
 And by whose hand would they die, if they perished by famine.'' 
 God carried them forth; God restrained His creatures from them; 
 and while they are ready to die thus, they cry, " O that we had 
 died by the hand of the Lord !" It is the folly of men, th;it in 
 inmiediate judgments they c;ui see God's hand, not in those, whose 
 .second causes are sen. ible ; whereas G(kI holds Himself equally 
 interested in all, challenging that there is no evil in the city, but 
 from Him. See Amosiii.ti. It is but one hand,and many instruments.
 
 God promise tk bread. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Quails are sent. 
 
 his day. 
 
 chrTst ^^'^1^*^ ^'^ s^t '^y tlie flesh pots, and when 
 1491. we did eat bread to the full ; for ye have 
 brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill 
 this whole assembly with hunger. 
 
 4 % Then said the Lord unto Moses, 
 Behold, I will rain bread from heaAen for 
 you ; and the people shall go out and ga- 
 
 \heforiion ^^^ ^ ^ certain rate every day, that I may 
 itfadaym prove them, whether they will walk in my 
 law, or no. 
 
 5 And it shall come to pass, that on the 
 sixth day they shall prepare that which 
 they bring in ; and it shall be twice as 
 much as they gather daily. 
 
 6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all 
 the children of Israel, At even, then ye 
 shall know that the Lord hath brought 
 you out from the land of Egypt : 
 
 7 And in the morning, then ye shall see 
 the glory of the Lord ; for that he hear- 
 eth your murmurings against the Lord : 
 and what are we, that ye murmur against 
 us? 
 
 8 And Moses said, This shall be, when 
 the Lord shall give you in the evening 
 flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to 
 
 that God strikes us with. It is our want of faith, that in visible 
 means we " see" not " Him that is invisible." Bp. Hall. 
 
 when tve sat by ihejtesh pots, &c.] It is not probable that 
 
 they had plenty of food and " bread to the full," when they were 
 slaves, and under cruel liardships; but they untruly magnify 
 their former condition, that they might represent the present to 
 be more miserable than it really was. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — / 7iill rain bread from heaven &c.] The Scripture gives 
 to manna the name of " angels' food," and "bread from heaven ;" 
 whether it would insinuate to us, that the angels sent and pre- 
 pared this food, or that angels themselves, if they had need of food, 
 could not have any more agreeable than manna, Ps. Ixxviii. 25 ; 
 John vi. 31. At this very day manna falls in several places : in 
 Arabia, in Poland, in Calabria, in mount Libanus, and elsewhere. 
 The most common and the most famous is that of Arabia, which 
 is a kind of condensed honey, found in the summer time on the 
 leaves of trees, on herbs, on the rocks, or the sand of Arabia Pe- 
 trea. It is of the same figure as Moses describes. Several modern 
 •vvi-iters think, that the manna of the Israelites was like that now 
 found in Arabia ; and that the miracle did not con.sist in pro- 
 ducing a new substance, but in the exact and constant manner, 
 in which it was dispensed by Providence, and in the quantity of 
 it that fell daily, for so long a time. It certainly had miraculous 
 qualities not found in common manna, and which probably sub- 
 sisted only while the Israelites were fed with it. Calmet. 
 
 a certain rate every daj/,'\ This bread was given to them 
 
 day by day, to signify to them and to us om- dependence upon 
 God every day of ourlife. " Give us this day oiu: daily bread." 
 Bp. Wilson. 
 
 He that gave an omer to each, could have given an ephah ; as 
 easily could He have rained down enough for a month, or a year, 
 at once, as for a day. God delights to have us live in a conti- 
 nual dependence upon His providence, and each day renew the 
 acts of our faith and thankfulness. Bp. Hall. 
 
 that J may prom them,'] Try whether they will be obe- 
 dient to My commands, when 1 let them want nothing to support 
 and encourage them in My service. Not as if God was ignorant, 
 but that He might make it appear plainly to themselves and others 
 what they were. Bp. Patrick. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 the full ; for that the Lord heareth your 
 murmurings which ye murmur against him : 
 and what are we ? your murmuring.s are not 
 against us, but against the Lord. 
 
 y % And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say 
 unto all the congregation of the children 
 of Israel, Come near before the Lord : for 
 he hath heard your murmurings. 
 
 10 And it came to pass, as Aaron .spake 
 unto the whole congregation of the chil- 
 dren of Israel, that they looked toward the 
 wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the 
 Lord ' appeared in the cloud. 
 
 11^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 1 2 I have heard the murmurings of the 
 children of Israel : Speak unto them, say- 
 ing, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the 
 morning ye shall be filled with bread ; 
 and ye shall know that I am the Lord 
 your God. 
 
 13 And it came to pass, that at even 
 ^ the quails came up, and covered the 
 camp : and in the morning the dew lay 
 round about the host. 
 
 14 And when 'the dew that lay was 
 
 Before 
 CHRJST 
 
 H91. 
 
 • Chap. IS. 
 21. 
 
 ' Niurb. 
 11.31. 
 ' NumU 
 11. 7. 
 l'5aL 78. 
 24. 
 
 Wisd. 16. 
 20. 
 
 7. — nhat are we,] We, Moses and Aaron, are merely His 
 instruments and agents ; and therefore your murmurings agamst 
 us are in effect against Him. Dr. Wells. 
 
 8. — your murmurings are not against us,] Not only against us, 
 which would have been a smaller offence, but against the Lord. 
 It is the manner of the Scripture phrase to express by a negative 
 that wliich is of inferiour moment and consideration, Matt. ix. 13; 
 -xiL 7 ; 1 Sam. viii. 7 ; Johnxii. 44. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Temporal blessings are no certain signs of Go<rs favour. He 
 grants the manna and the quails to the Israelites, in answer, not 
 to their prayers, but to their murmurings. 'Tis true, they stood 
 in need of daily food, but they wanted faith and patience more. 
 This righteousness they neither hungered nor thirsted after. 
 \\herefore though God sent them meat enough for their bodies, 
 yet, as the Psalmist speaks, " He sent leanness wit!ial mto their 
 souls :" that is, He withlield His grace, because not asketl for, nor 
 desired. Thus worldly-minded men have often their wish grant- 
 ed, but not •• for their wealth." What they count their blessing 
 is often their cmse, and a real misfortune. But if we " seek first 
 the kingdom of God, and His righteousness," as our Lortl advises 
 us to do, Matt. vi. 33, or make wisdom our choice, as Solomon 
 did, all other necessai-ies shall be added unto us. But if we give 
 tlie preference to worldly things, the things of heaven and real 
 goods shall be taken away. How foolish then is such a choice ! 
 how unprofitable the gain ! Ji'ogan. 
 
 13. — quails] God gave quails to His people twice: once, on 
 this occasion, a short time after they had passed the Red sea ; 
 and a second time, at the encampment c.iUed htbroth-huttaiwah, 
 or the graves of lust, Xumb. xi. :J 1-^4 ; Ps. cv. 40. Both of these 
 happened in the spring, when the quails pass from Asia into 
 Europe. Then they .oie found in great quantities on the coasts ot 
 the Red sea and the Mediterranean. God by a wind drove them 
 within and about the camp of Israel; and in this the miracle con- 
 .ists, that they were brought so seasonably to the place, and in so 
 Treat numbers, as to suffice two or three millions ot persons longer 
 Tiian a month. Some persons think locusts to have been here in- 
 tended; but the other sense is that of the Oriental interpreters in 
 ceneral, of the Greek translators, and of Josephus. Lalmct ^ee 
 note on Niunb. xi. 33. The quail of the desert, accordu.g t-
 
 The ordering of manna : 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 an omer of it to be preserved. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 II Or, 
 
 ir/iul is 
 
 ihu * or, ll 
 
 w n portion- 
 
 ' Jolin 6'. 
 
 31. 
 
 1 Coi. 10. 3. 
 
 f Ikb. 
 ly the poUf 
 or, henit. 
 fHeb. 
 touts. 
 
 ' 2 Cor. 8. 
 15. 
 
 gone lip, behold, upon the face of the wil- 
 derness there lay a small round thing, as 
 small as the hoar frost on the ground. 
 
 15 And when the children of Israel saw 
 it, they said one to another, II It is manna : 
 for they wist not what it was. And Moses 
 said unto them, " This is the bread which 
 the Lord hath given you to eat. 
 
 16 1[ This is the thing which the Lord 
 hath commanded, Gather of it every man 
 according to his eating, an omer t for 
 every man, according to the number of 
 your t persons ; take ye every man for 
 thevi which are in his tents. 
 
 17 And the children of Israel did so, 
 and gathered, some more, some less. 
 
 18 And when tliey did mete it with an 
 omer, ' he that gathered much had nothing 
 over, and lie that gathered little had no 
 lack ; they gathered every man according 
 to his eating. 
 
 19 And Moses said, Let no man leave 
 of it till the morning. 
 
 20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not 
 unto Moses ; but some of them left of it 
 until the morning, and it bred worms, and 
 stank : and Moses was wroth with them. 
 
 ^1 And they gathered it every morning, 
 every man according to his eating : and 
 when the sun waxed hot, it melted. 
 
 '22 % And it came to pass, that on the 
 sixth day they gathered twice as much 
 bread, two omers for one man : and all 
 the rulers of the congregation came and 
 told Moses. 
 
 '13 And he said unto them, This is that 
 which the Lord hath said. To morrow is 
 the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord : 
 bake that which ye will bake to day, and 
 seetlie that ye will seethe ; and that which 
 
 Hasselquist, very much resembles the red partridjre, but is not 
 larger than the turtledove. The Arabs bring manv thousands of 
 them to sell at Jerusalem about VVliitsuntide. Dr' Hales. 
 
 14. — rmall as l/ie hoarfrusi'] Like a drop of dew frozen on 
 the ground, very small, and at the same time wliite in colour 
 Bp. Palriclc. 
 
 15. — his manna ;] The meaning of this word is uncertain. 
 A great number of ancient and modern expositors understand tlie 
 Hebrew word to signify " What is this }" to which the following 
 words, "they wist not wliat it wa.s," seem to refer the meaning 
 Others thmk it may be better expounded, " It is a gift or portion " 
 as being sent from Got!. Others maintain that the I lebrews we'll 
 knew what manna was, and said one to another, " This is manna " 
 Bp. Patrick, Calmet. 
 
 iG. — an mner'} Something less than half a peck of our 
 measure. 
 
 23. — t/ie rest of the hoty sabbath unto llie Lord :~\ To keep up 
 Uie memory of His being the Creator of the world, and to engage 
 mankind solemnly to acknowletlgeand worship Him as such G^ 
 having on the .eveuth day "rested" or ceased from the work of 
 creation, blessed that day and hallowed it. Accordingly " the 
 
 reniaineth over lay up for you to be kept pu'jjTc-. 
 until the morning. 1,91. 
 
 'it And they laid it up till the morning, 
 as Moses bade : and it did not stink, nei- 
 ther was there any worm therein. 
 
 25 And Moses said. Eat that to day; 
 for to day is a sabbath unto the Lord : to 
 day ye shall not find it in the field. 
 
 26 Six days ye shall gather it ; but on 
 the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it 
 there shall be none. 
 
 27 IT And it came to pass, that there went 
 out sojne of the people on the seventh day 
 for to gather, and they found none. 
 
 28 And the Lord said unto Moses, How 
 long refuse ye to keep my commandments 
 and my laws ? 
 
 29 See, for that the Lord hath given 
 you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you 
 on the sixth day the bread of two days ; 
 abide ye every man in his place, let no man 
 go out of his place on the seventh day. 
 
 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. 
 
 31 And the house of Israel called the 
 name thereof Manna : and it rvas like co- 
 riander seed, white ; and the taste of it 
 was like wafers made with honey. 
 
 32 ^ And Moses said. This is the thing 
 which the Lord commandeth. Fill an omer 
 of it to be kept for your generations ; that 
 they may see the bread wherewith I have 
 fed you in the wilderness, when I brought 
 you forth from the land of Egypt. 
 
 33 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a 
 pot, and put an omer full of manna there- 
 in, and lay it up before the Lord, to be 
 kept for your generations. 
 
 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so 
 Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to 
 be kept. 
 
 sabbath" continued to be observed so long as any sense of true 
 religion remained on the earth. But as wickedness increased in 
 the world, and the true worship of God was corrupted by an 
 almost universal idolatry, so the solemn day of His worship was 
 neglected likewise. And though it may have been revived after 
 tile flood, and continued in some part of Abraham's family, yet in 
 their Egj-ptian slavery the observation of it appears to have been 
 interrupted. On the present occasion God renewed the com- 
 mandment to the Israehtes ; designing this particular day to be 
 kept by them, in memory of their final deli\erance out of Egyp- 
 tian slavery, and of their being miraculously fed witli manna in 
 the wilderness. For which reason He required them to observe 
 a strict " rest" on that day ; tliat they might keep up the memory 
 of their hard labours in Egypt, where they were not suffered to 
 rest on the sabbath day ; and be the more engaged to serve God, 
 who had so wonderfully delivered them from that wretched state. 
 Abp. Wake. 
 
 ^'*- — before tfie Testimony, ~\ Before the Lord, in the foregoing 
 verse : for the Divine glory dwelt between the Cherubim, which 
 were over the ark, elsewhere called " the ark of the testimony," 
 chap. XXX. 6, but here simply " the testimony." It is called " the
 
 77/e people murmur for tcater. 
 
 Before 
 
 12. 
 
 Neh. 9. 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ^^^^ ^'^^ children of Israel did eat 
 i4;)i. manna forty years, ' until they came to a 
 f Josh. 5. land inhabited; they did eat manna, until 
 j^ they came unto the' borders of the land of 
 Canaan. 
 
 36 Now an omer is the tenth part of an 
 ephah. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 1 The people mvnniir for valer at lirphidim. 5 God 
 ncndetk him for wafer to the rock in Horeb. 8 Amaiek 
 is overcome by the holding up of Moses' hands. 1.5 
 Moses buildeth the altar JEHOTAH-nissi. 
 
 AND all the congregation of the chil- 
 dren of Israel journeyed from the 
 wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, ac- 
 cording to the commandment of the Lord, 
 and pitched in Rephidim : and there was 
 no water for the people to drink. 
 
 2 Wlierefore '' the people did chide with 
 
 CHAP. XVII. God sendeth Moses to the rock in Horeb. 
 Moses, and said, Give us water that we »«'"'« 
 
 '■ Numb. 
 20. -i. 
 
 testimony," partly because God there gave them a special token 
 of His dwelling among them ; and partly because the two tables 
 of stone, called " the testimony," chap. xxv. 21, were in the ark. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 35. — did eat manna forty years,~\ Within a month, which was 
 ■wanting to complete forty years. The manna began to fall just 
 thirty days after they left Egypt, and ceased the day after the 
 passover which they kept in the fortieth year, Josh. v. 11, 12. 
 Bp. Patrick. The manna was truly mii-aculous on the following 
 accounts: 1. It fell but six days in the week. 2. It fell in such 
 a prodigious quantity, that it sustained almost three millions of 
 souls. 3. There fell a double quantity every si.\th day, to serve 
 them for the sabbath. 4. What was gathered on the first five 
 days, stunk and bred worms, if kept above one day; but what was 
 gathered on the sixth day, remained sweet for two days. Lastly, 
 it continued falling while the Israelites abode in the wilderness, 
 but ceased as soon as they left it, and could procure com to eat 
 in the land of Canaan. Stackhoitsc. 
 
 Chap. XVII. ver. 1. — from the wilderness of Sin, &c.] Between 
 " the wilderness of Sin" and Rephidim, they made two short 
 halts, not mentioned here; one at Dophkah, the other at Alush. 
 It may be here hinted once for all, that these and the other names 
 of places, where they made their encampments in the wilderness, 
 are generally names given by them to the places wliere they 
 stopped; and that the places were not called by any particular 
 names, except by the Israelites on account of their encamping at 
 them. Sktickford. The name of a place does not imply a town or 
 habitations, &c. at that place. Fragments to Calmef. 
 
 there was no watei-^ Before, Israel thirsted and were satis- 
 fied; after that, they himgered and were filled; now they thirst 
 again. God constantly withholds something from us, because He 
 would keep us still in exercise. We should forget by whose 
 bounty we live, if we wanted nothing. Still God observes a 
 vicissitude of evil and good; and the same evils, that we have 
 passed, often retiu-n upon us in their order. 
 
 It was at " the commandment of the Lord" that they pitched 
 in Rephidim, who could as well have conducted them to another 
 Elim, to " palm trees and wells of water." This consideration 
 should have allayed their discontent. There can be no more 
 forcible motive to patience, than the acknowledgment of a Divine 
 hand that strikes us. It is fearful to be in the hand of an adver- 
 sary; but who would not be confident of a Father.!" Bp. Halt. 
 
 2. — Moses said unto them, &c.'] The answer of Moses is like 
 himself, mild and gentle: " Why contend you with me? Why 
 tempt ye the Lord?" In the furst expostulation he condanns 
 
 CHRIST 
 491. 
 
 may drink. And Moses said unto them, " 
 Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye 
 tempt tlie Loud? 
 
 3 And the people thirsted there for wa- 
 ter; and the people jnurmured against 
 Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that 
 thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to 
 kill us and our children and our cattle 
 with thirst? 
 
 4 And Moses cried unto the Lord, say- 
 ing. What shall I do unto this people? 
 they be almost ready to stone me. 
 
 5 And the Loud said unto Moses, Go 
 
 on before the people, and take with thee " ch»p. 7. 
 of the elders of Israel ; and thy rod, where- ^%^^a,^^ 
 with '' thou smotest the river, take in thine 2<'. 9._ 
 hand, and go. 13.410s. 
 
 6 " Behold, I will stand before thee there ;»'.• 
 upon the rock in Horeb ; and thou shall icor.io,4l 
 
 them of injustice, since not he, but the Lord, had afflicted them: 
 in the second, of presumption; that since it was God, who 
 tempted them by want, they should tempt Him by murmuring. 
 — In the one he would have them see their wrong; in the 
 other their danger. As the act came not from him, but from 
 God, so he transfers it to God from himself: " Why tempt ye the 
 Lord?" The opposition which is made to the instrumentt of God 
 redounds ever to His person. He holds Himself smitten through 
 the sides of His ministers. Bp. Hall. 
 
 3. — Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up &c.] How 
 necessary is it to preserve in our minds the remembrance of God 
 and of His benefits ! Had this people done so, they could not have 
 fallen a third time into such discontent, as made tJiem speak 
 reproachfully of their deliverer, and slight the wonderful deliver- 
 ance, wliicli God had lately vouchsafed them, from a state of cruel 
 and severe bondage. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. And Moses cried unto the l^rd, kc.'} There is no expostu- 
 lating with an unreasonable miJtitude. Moses has recourse to 
 Him, who was able at once to quench their thirst and to curb their 
 fury. It is the best way to trust God with His own causes. If 
 we be sure we have begun our enterprises from Him, we m-iy 
 securely cast all events on His providence, which knows how to 
 dispose, and how to end them. Bp. Hall. 
 
 5. — thi/ rod, irherenith thou .tmolesf the rirer,'} This circum- 
 stince is added to strengtlien the faith of Moses, tliat he might 
 well expect this fresh wonder from the roti, which he had before 
 proved to be miraculous. Nothing more raises up the heart in 
 present affiance, than the recollection of favours or wonders pass- 
 ed. Bp. Hall. , . 
 
 6. —I will stand before thee'] The pillar of cloud, the sign ot 
 My presence among vou, sliall stand upon the roi-k. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Horeb;'] This famous mountain is called indiscriminately 
 
 in ScripUire, Horeb and Sinai. The former seems to be the 
 general name of the whole mountain, signifying " a desert : ' tlic 
 latter appropriated to its highest summit. Thus the rock at 
 Rephidim is called '• the rock in Horeb." And the law was 
 given " in Horeb," Dcur. v. -2 ; but from " mount binai, ' Exod. xix. 
 18, 2.'?. Sinai is derived from Scne, " a bush," Exod. lii. 2; or a 
 bramble bush. Dr. Hale.-:. See the note on chap. xix. 3. 
 
 thou shall .imitc the rock,] The .-Vrabs shew a rock of red 
 
 granite stone on the foot of mount Serich, discoloured, as if by Uie 
 rimning of water, and with a sort of openmgs, or mouths, which 
 appear not to be the work of a tool. They suppose this to be \hc 
 rock here spoken of: and they call it the stone of Moses^ iJp. 
 Pococke. It lies toUering, as it were, and loose m the middle ol 
 the valley; and seems formerly to have belonged to mount binai.
 
 Amalek is overcome. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 Moses builcieth an altar. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHllIST 
 
 1-I9I. 
 
 n TliBt w, 
 Tenlnlim, 
 II 'I1m( is 
 Chitlmg, or, 
 Strife. 
 
 * Dcut 25. 
 17. 
 WisAlI.s, 
 
 • Called 
 
 ■/(TflU, 
 
 Acu 7. 45. 
 
 smite tlic rock, ami there shall come water 
 out of it, that the people may liriiik. And 
 Moses did so in the sight o"f' the elders of 
 Israel. 
 
 7 And he called the name of the place 
 II Massali, and II Merihah, because of the 
 chiding of the children of Israel, and be- 
 cause diey tempted the Lokd, saying. Is 
 the Lord among us, or not? 
 
 8 f " Then came Amalek, and fought 
 with Israel in Kephidim. 
 
 9 And Moses said unto ' Joshua, Choose 
 us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: 
 to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill 
 with the rod of (Jod in mine hand. 
 
 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to 
 him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, 
 Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the 
 hill. 
 
 11 And it came to pass, when Moses 
 held up his hand, that Israel prevailed : 
 and when he let down his hand, Amalek 
 prevailed. 
 
 which hangs in a variety of precipices all over this plain. Dr. 
 Slian. 
 
 there shall come water out of it,'] It may throw some light 
 
 on this book, a.s well as contribute to our general admiration of 
 JScriiituri', if we observe that the events recorded to have ha|)pen- 
 ed under tho old dispensation are often strikingly prefigurative 
 of those which occur under the new: and that tlie temporal cir- 
 cimistances of the Israelites seem designedly to shadow out the 
 spiritual condition of the Christian CInircli. The connexion 
 is ever obvious; and points out the consistency of the Divine 
 purpose, and the hamiony tleliberatcly contrived to subsist be- 
 twttii botli ilispensations. Tlius in the servitude of Israel are 
 described the sufferings of tlie Church. In the deliverance from 
 Egypt is forcshewn its redemption, Luke i. 6S — 7,9; and the 
 journey through the wilderness is a lively representation of a 
 Christian's pilgrimage tlirough life, to his inheritance in everlast- 
 ing bliss. So also, w ithout too minute a discussion it may be ob- 
 8cr\-ed, that the manna, of which the Israelites did eat, .loirn vi. 
 S3 — 38; Uev. ii. 17; and the rock of which they drank, 1 Cor. x. 
 1 — *; as well as the brascn serpent by which they were healed, 
 John iii. l-t; were severally typical of correspcmdent particu- 
 lars, that were to obt.iin under the Christian cst.ablishment: as 
 under the sacrifices and ceremonial service of the Law, of which 
 the institution is recorded in this book, was described the more 
 spiritual worship of tlje Ciospel. Dr. GrftJ/. 
 
 8. T/ieit came A malt: k, ^c] In their passage out of Egypt, Clod 
 Avould not lead the Israelites the nearest way, by the I'hilistincs' 
 land, lest they should rejwnt at the sight of war: now they both 
 see and feel it. Me knows how to make the fittest choice of the 
 times of evil; and witliholds that one while, which He sends an- 
 other, not witliout a just rcjison, why He sends .ind withholds it. 
 And though to us they come, ever, as we think, unseasonably, 
 and at some times more unfitly than other.<s, yet He that sends 
 them knows their opportunitic .. Bp. Iliilt. 
 
 Atnalck,] The Amalekitcs were descended from the eld- 
 est son of Esau, Gen. xxxvi. 1 2. 
 
 (). — Jo.fhiia.'] He is first noticed on this occasion. Dr. Hales. 
 And seems to have been an eminent person now on their coming 
 out of Egypt. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chuaie us out men,] Moses does not say to .Toshua, " Ama- 
 lek is come up against us; it matters not, whctlier thou go against 
 liim or not; or if thou go, whether alone or with company; or if 
 
 12 But Moses' hands Kcre heavy; and 
 they took a stone, and put it under him, 
 and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur 
 stayed up his hands, the one on the one 
 side, and the other on the other side; and 
 his hands were steady until the going down 
 of th^ sun. 
 
 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and 
 his people with the edge of the sword. 
 
 It And the Loun said unto Moses, 
 Write this Jbr a memorial in a book, and 
 rehearse // in the ears of Joshua: for ' I 
 will utterly put out the remembrance of 
 Amalek from under heaven. 
 
 15 And Moses built an altar, and called 
 the name of it 1! JEHOVAH-nissi : 
 
 16 For he said, II Because t the Loud hath 
 sworn ll/at the Lord xvill have war with 
 Amalek from generation to generation. 
 
 CHAP. XVIH. 
 
 1 JelJiro briiigeth to Moses his wife and tiro .wiis. 7 
 Muses ciitcrtainelh /dm. 13 Jet/iro's counsel is ac- 
 cepted. 27 Jcl/iro departcth. 
 
 Before 
 CHIlIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 ' Numb. 
 24. 20. 
 
 I Sam. 15.3, 
 
 II Tli.it is, 
 the LORD 
 my hnnncr. 
 II Or, 
 
 JifCiiuse the 
 hand of 
 Amalek h 
 (Jiiainst the 
 throiie of 
 
 the Lonn, 
 
 therefore, 
 
 4:c. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 the hand 
 vjion the 
 throne of 
 the LORD. 
 
 accompanied, whether with many or few, strong or weak ; or if 
 strong men, whether they fight or not; I will pray on the hill:" 
 but he says, " Choose us out men, and go, fight." Then only 
 can we pray with hope, when we have done our best. And 
 though tlie means cannot effect that, which we desire; yet God 
 will liave us use the likeliest means on our part to effect it. 
 In vain shall Moses be on the hill, if.Ioshua be not in the valley. 
 Prayer without means is a mockery of God. Bp. Hall. 
 
 10. — Hiir] Josephus says he was the husband of Miriam. 
 Certainly he was a person of wistlom and piety, or he would not 
 have been joined with Moses and Aaron. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11. — when Moses held up Ids hand, &.c.~\ Nit as a standard- 
 bearer, so much as a suppliant, doth Moses lift up his hand: the 
 gesture of the body should both express and funher the piety of 
 the soul. And that the Israelite^ might see the hand of Moses 
 had more efiic.icy in the fight than all their's, their success rises 
 and falls with it. Wonderful is the power of " the prayer of faith!" 
 All heavenly favours are derived to us through this channel of 
 grace : to it are we beholden for our peace, preservation, and all 
 tile rich mercies oi' God whicli we enjoy. Bp. Hall. 
 
 14. — rehearse it in the ears of Joshua:] That he, who was 
 to be the leader of God's people after Moses, might never enter 
 into any league with the Amalekites. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ifi. — Because the Lord hath sirorn'] In the Hebrew the words 
 arc, " the hand upon the throne of the Lord :" wliich is commonly 
 interpreted, " The Lord hath sworn by his throne;" for laying 
 the hand upon the throne was a form of swearing. The marginal 
 translation is very literal, and makes the sense exceeding plain 
 and clear: " Because the hand (of Amalek) is against the throne 
 of the Lord," namely, against God Himself; " therefore the Lord 
 will have war with Amalek from generation to generation." 
 This is easy and natural, and agrees with the whole history. 
 Bp. Patrick. The reason why God denounced a perpetual war 
 against the Amalekites is to be resolved into this: that, knowing 
 the Israelites were preordained by God to be put in possession 
 of the land of Canaan, they came against them with an armed 
 force, in hopes of frustrating the designs of Providence. Moses 
 assigns this rea.son, " Because the hand of Amalek &c." as in 
 the margin. The injurj' done to the Israelites was not so great 
 an offence as the affront offered to the Divine Majesty : there- 
 fore God threatens utterly to extirpate the designers of it. Slac/c~ 
 house.
 
 '■jr. 
 2
 
 Jetkro bringeth Moses* wife. 
 
 CHAP. xvm. 
 
 Jethro counselleth Moses. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 " Chap. 2. 
 IG. 
 
 l" Chap. 2. 
 
 22. 
 
 |{ That is, 
 
 a stranger 
 
 there. 
 
 14 Tliatis, 
 
 my God is 
 
 an help. 
 
 WHEN * Jethro, the priest of Midian, 
 Moses' father in law, heard of all 
 that God had done for Moses, and for Is- 
 rael his people, and that the Lord had 
 brought Israel out of Egypt ; 
 
 2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, 
 took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had 
 sent her back, 
 
 3 And her tw^o sons ; of which the 
 '' name of the one tt'«5 || Gershom ; for he 
 said, I have been an alien in a strange 
 land : 
 
 4 And the name of the other "xas II Eli- 
 ezer ; for the God of my father, said he, 
 was mine help, and delivered me from the 
 sword of Pharaoh : 
 
 5 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, 
 came with his sons and his wife unto Mo- 
 ses into the wilderness, where he encamped 
 at the mount of God : 
 
 6 And he said unto Moses, I thy father 
 in law Jethro am come unto tliee, and thy 
 wife, and her two sons with her. 
 
 7 IT And Moses went out to meet his 
 father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed 
 him ; and they asked each other of their 
 t welfare ; and they came into the tent. 
 
 8 And Moses told his father in law all 
 that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh and 
 to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all 
 the travail that had t come upon them by 
 the way, and how the Lord delivered 
 them. 
 
 9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good- 
 ness which the Lord had done to Israel, 
 whom he had delivered out of the hand of 
 the Egyptians. 
 
 10 And Jethro said. Blessed be the 
 Lord, who hath delivered you out of the 
 hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand 
 
 Chap. XVIII. ver. 2. — after he had sent her back,'\ He 
 had probably done so at her desire, ■when she saw how difficult 
 his enterprise was likely to prove in Egypt. Bp. Patrick. Or 
 perhaps from the inn mentioned chap. iv. 24. Dr. Wells, Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 5. — mount of God ;] Horeb, where the Israelites were now 
 encamped, was not far from Midian : for Moses led Jetliro's flock 
 to this mount, chap. iii. 1 . Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 1 . Naw I know &c.] He knew the true God before ; but was 
 now fully convinced, that He alone was the Most High ; greater 
 than all whom the world accounts " gods." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. — took a burnt offering Si.c.~\ He did this, to acknowledge 
 himself a worshipper of the only true God, and to return Him 
 thanks for the mercies which He had vouchsafed to the Israelites. 
 Dr. Wells. Thus was fulfilled the projihetick " sign," which the 
 Lord had given to Moses, when He first appeared to him in the 
 burning bush. See chap. iii. 12. The speedy accomplishment 
 therefore of this sign, at the beginning of their journey, was well 
 calculated to strengthen their faith, or reliance on the Divine 
 Protection throughout. Dr. Hales. . ■ 
 
 a burnt offering and sacrifices^ The Hebrews Iiad pro- 
 
 fHtb. 
 
 peace. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 juund them. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 c Chap. 1. 
 10, J 6, 22. 
 & 5. 7. & 
 14. 18. 
 
 of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people 
 from under the hand of the Egyptians. 
 
 1 1 Now I know that the Lord is greater 
 than all gods : ' for in the thing wherein 
 they dealt proudly he was above them. 
 
 12 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, 
 took a burnt offering and sacrifices for 
 God : and Aaron came, and all the elders 
 of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father 
 in law before God. 
 
 13 ^ And it came to pass on the mor- 
 row, that Moses sat to judge the people : 
 and the people stood by Moses from the 
 morning unto the evening. 
 
 14 And when Moses' father in law saw 
 all that he did to the people, he said. What 
 is this thing that thou doest to the people ? 
 Why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the 
 people stand by thee from morning unto 
 e\'en ? 
 
 15 And Moses said unto his father in 
 law. Because the people come unto me to 
 enquire of God : 
 
 16 When they have a matter, they come 
 unto me ; and I judge between t one and 
 another, and I do make them know the 
 statutes of God, and his laws. 
 
 17 And Moses' father in law said unto 
 him. The thing that thou doest is not 
 good. 
 
 18 t Thou w'ilt surely wear away, both 
 thou, and this people that is with thee : 
 for this thing is too heavy for thee ; '' thou 
 art not able to perform it thyself alone. 
 
 19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will 
 give thee counsel, and God shall be \\-ith 
 thee : Be thou for the people to God- 
 ward, that thou mayest bring the causes 
 unto God : 
 
 20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances 
 
 bably three sorts of sacrifice, as will hereafter appear: 1st, The 
 burnt offering, which was wholly consumed on tlie altar without 
 reserve. Lev. i. 2dly, The sacrifice for sin, or sacrifice of expia- 
 tion, for the purification of a person, who had fallen under an of- 
 fence against the law. Lev. iv. 3dly, The peace offering, or sa- 
 crifice of thanksgiving, by which devout tlianks were returned to 
 God for benefits received. Lev. vii. 30. Calmet. Jethro " took 
 sacrifices ;" that is, other sacrifices besides a burnt offering. For 
 no man might eat of the burnt offering, it being entirely offered 
 up : whereas in peace offerings, tlie priest and people had their 
 share. Bp. Kidder. It may be tliought that these offerings were 
 made by Jethro, after the giving of the law at mount Sinai ; but 
 that Moses mentions it here, for tlie purpose of comprising in one 
 view all that belongs to Jetliro's story. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. _ Be thou for the people to God-nard.'] Do thou propound 
 the doubts and demands of the people to Go<l, as also their suits, 
 in thy prayers ; and report God's answers back again to them. 
 Bp. Hall. When tlie people bring any matter to thee, which \m 
 too hard for others to determine, do thou, if need be, carry it to 
 God, tliat He may resolve thee. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. ordinances and tans,'] Ordinances are commonly under- 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 n man and 
 lnsJ'elloif.:_ 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 leading 
 thou unit 
 fade. 
 "Deuul.S.
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 Jethro's cotmsel accepted. 
 
 B^f"" and laws, and shalt show them the way 
 ^"«}.'^^ wlierein tlieymust walk, and the work that 
 they must do. 
 
 i>l Moreover thou shalt provide out ot 
 all the people able men, such as fear God, 
 men of truth, hating covetousness ; and 
 place such over them, to lie rulers of thou- 
 sands, nud rulers of hundreds, riders of fif- 
 ties, and riders of tens : 
 
 2'2 And let them judge the people at all 
 seasons : and it shall be, tluU every great 
 matter they shall bring unto thee, but 
 every small matter they shall judge : so 
 shall it l)e easier for thyself, and they shall 
 bear the ht/rden with thee. 
 
 'J3 If thou shalt do this thing, and God 
 command thee so, then thou shalt be able 
 to endiu-e, and all this people shall also go 
 to their place in peace. 
 
 24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of 
 his father in law, and did all that he had 
 said. 
 
 25 And Moses chose able men out of all 
 Israel, and made them heads over the peo- 
 ple, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, 
 rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 
 
 26 And they judged the people at all 
 seasons : the hard causes they brought unto 
 Moses, but every small matter they judged 
 themselves. 
 
 27 % And Moses let his father in law 
 depart j and he went his way into his own 
 land. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 1 The people come to Sinai. 3 God's message by Moses 
 unto the people out of the mount. 8 The people's an- 
 swer returned again. 10 The people are prepared 
 
 stood to concern matters of religion ; and laws, civil matters of 
 justice and charity. Dr. Wells. 
 
 21. — to be rulers of ihousand.t, &c.] Lord Bacon thinks, in 
 hi.s Esiay on English Government, that Alfred the Great took 
 from hence his iclea of the old Saxon constitution of sheriffs in 
 counties ; hundredort or cenlgravcs. in hundreds ; and deciners, in 
 decennaries i)r tithings ; who were a sort of justices of peace in 
 their respective divisions. Dr. Hales. 
 
 '23. — all this /xopte shall also go to their place in peace."^ They 
 shall go home every day from the place of judicature, greatly sa- 
 tisfied with so much quicker despatch. Dr. Wells. 
 
 Chap. XIX. ver. 3. — Moses went up unto God,2 On mount 
 Sinai, the highest simunit of Horeb. Dr. Hales. See note on 
 chap. xvii. 6. Sinai has three tops of a marvellous height : that 
 on the west side, where God appeared to Moses in a bush, fruit- 
 ful in pasturage ; far lower than the middlemost, and shadowed 
 when the sun riseth thereon : which is that whereon God gave 
 the law to Moses, and which is now called the mount of Moses : 
 at the foot of which stands the monastery of St. Catherine's, from 
 which there were steps formerly up to the very top of tlie moim- 
 tain, and were computed 1*,000 in number. At present some of 
 them are broken ; but those that remain are well made, and easy 
 
 God's message by Moses. 
 
 a^ainsUhe third day. VI T/te mountain must not ^**»" 
 he touched. l(i The fearful presence of Cod upon the ^^^. 
 
 vwunl. 
 
 IN the third month, when the children of 
 Israel were gone forth out of the land 
 of Kgypt, the same day came they into the 
 wilderness of Sinai. 
 
 2 For they were departed from Rephi- 
 dim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, 
 and had ])itched in the wilderness ; and 
 there Israel camped before the mount. 
 
 3 And ' Moses went up unto God, and • Acts 7. 
 the Lord called unto him out of the moun- ^^' 
 tain, saying. Thus shalt thou say to the 
 house of Jacob, and tell the cluldren of 
 Israel ; 
 
 4 ''Ye have seen what I did unto the "Deut-sg. 
 Egyptians, and hoiv I bare you on eagles' " 
 wings, and brought you unto myself. 
 
 5 Now "^ therefore, if ye will obey my "o<iM.5.'2. 
 voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then 
 
 ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me a- 
 
 bove all people : for •* all the earth is mine : ' Deut lo. 
 
 6 And ye shall be unto me a ' kingdom p'^^i. 24. 1. 
 of priests, and an holy nation. These are 'iPet.2.9. 
 the words which thou shalt speak unto the 
 children of Israel. 
 
 7 ^ And Moses came and called for the 
 elders of the people, and laid before their 
 faces all these words which the Lord com- 
 manded him. 
 
 8 And 'all the people answered toge- 'Chap.24. 
 ther, and said. All that tiie Lord hath pJu,_5.27. 
 spoken we will do. And Moses returned &26. 17. 
 the words of the people unto the Loud. 
 
 9 And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I 
 come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the 
 people may hear when I speak with thee, 
 
 to go up and down. There are in several places of the ascent 
 good cisterns ; and especially near the top, a fair and good one. 
 The third or most easterly summit is called by the religious in 
 those parts mount Catherine. Sandys. One may judge of the 
 height of St. Catherine's mount, which certainly is not so high 
 as that of Moses by a third part, from this circumstance, that 
 Thevenot found much snow on both when he was there, which 
 was in February. The monastery of St. Catherine is from Cairo 
 some eight days' journey over the deserts, according to Sandys. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 4. — how I bare you on eagles' wings,"^ How I carried you, as 
 it were, aloft, above the reach of dangers, like as an eagle carrieth 
 her young ones, supporting and helping them with her wings. 
 Bp. Hall. See the note on Deut. xxxii. 11. 
 
 6. — a kingdom of priests,~\ An honourable or a Divine king- 
 dom ; not like worldly kingdoms, which are defended by arms ; 
 but a kingdom supported by piety. Bp. Patrick. My peculiar 
 church and people: " a royal priesthood," as in 1 Peter ii. 0; 
 " kings and priests unto God," Rev. i. 6. Pyle. 
 
 9. — / come unto thee in a thick cloud,"] In a darker cloud than 
 that which had hitherto conducted them ; with flashes of light- 
 ning gleaming from it in an awful and tremendous manner. 
 Dr. Wells.
 
 The people are prepared. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. God's fearful presence upo7i the moimt. 
 
 cHiusT ^"'^ believe thee for ever. And Moses told 
 1491. the words of the people unto the Lord. 
 
 10 ^ And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 Go unto the people, and sanctify them to 
 day and to morrow, and let them wash 
 their clothes, 
 
 1 1 And be ready against the third day : 
 for the third day the Lord will come down 
 in the sight of all the people upon mount 
 Sinai. 
 
 Il2 And thou shalt set bounds unto the 
 
 people round about, saying, Take heed to 
 
 yourselves, that ye go not up into the 
 
 ■^ Heiir. 12. mount, Or touch the border of it : ^ who- 
 
 ^°' soever toucheth the mount shall be surely 
 
 put to death : 
 
 13 There shall not an hand touch it, but 
 he shall surely be stoned, or shot through ; 
 whether it be beast or man, it shall not 
 
 II Or. live : when the || trumpet soundeth long, 
 they shall come up to the mount. 
 
 14 ^ And Moses went down from the 
 mount unto the people, and sanctified the 
 people ; and they washed their clothes. 
 
 15 And he said unto the people, Be 
 ready against the third day : come not at 
 your wives. 
 
 16 •[[ And it came to pass on the third 
 
 10. '—sanctify thern] Let them abstain from ordinary employ- 
 ments, and otherwise lawful pleasure, (ver. l.'i,) and give them- 
 selves to fasting and prayer ; that their hearts being abstracted 
 from worldly things, they may be more fit to converse with God: 
 and let them " wa.sh their clothes," and also their bodies, as a to- 
 ken of their inward sanctiti cation. For thus Aaron and his sons 
 were to be consecrated to their office, chap. xxix. 4; xl. 12; and 
 thus the people were now to be made " an holy people to the 
 Lord :" unto whose religion none were admitted, that is, made 
 proselytes, in aftertimes, but by baptism, which was taken from 
 this pattern. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 As sin is always dangerous, so most, when we bring it into 
 God's sight : it envenometh both our persons and our services, 
 and turns our goo<l into evil. As therefore we must be always 
 holy, so most, when we present ourselves to the holy eyes of our 
 Creator. And if we must be sanctified to receive the Law, how 
 holy must we be to receive tlie grace promised in the Gospel ! 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 11. — the Lord will come domn^ From heaven " upon mount 
 Sinai." The Scripture, suiting itself to man's common way of 
 speaking and thinking, assigns to God such things as are only 
 proper to the effects. Thus it is said, that God should " come 
 down" upon the mountain, because He made His presence more 
 visible there by sensible and surprising effects. Staclckouse. 
 
 l6. — that there were thunders and lightnings, &c.] Such was 
 the splendid and terrifick appearance, in which it pleased God to 
 manifest Himself to the people. The whole was calculated to 
 produce a proper reverence and fear, and make the people more 
 ready to receive the law, and to obey it, when delivered. For 
 the law was of such a nature, and contained such painful rites 
 and ceremonies, and Injunctions seemingly so unnecessary and 
 without meaning, that no people woidd have conformed to it, or 
 even permitted it to take place, if there had not been these terrours 
 and this sanction to enforce it. A meaning certainly there was in 
 every rite and ordinance : yet, as it was a secret to them, there 
 was nothing which could have made them submit, but the imnie- 
 
 day in the morning, that there were thun- ^"^"^ 
 ders and lightnings, and a thick cloud up- '^"fg}^'' 
 on the mount, and the voice of the trumpet 
 exceeding loud; so that all the people that 
 ivas in the camp trembled. 
 
 17 And Moses brought forth the people 
 out of the camp to meet with God; and 
 they stood at the nether part of the mount. 
 
 18 And "mount Sinai was altogether ' ne"H- 
 on a smoke, because the Lord descended "" 
 upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof 
 ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and 
 
 the whole mount quaked greatly. 
 
 19 And when the voice of the trumpet 
 sounded long, and waxed louder and loud- 
 er, Moses spake, and God answered him 
 by a voice. 
 
 20 And the Lord came dowTi upon 
 mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: 
 and the Lord called Moses tip to the top 
 of the mount ; and Moses went up. 
 
 21 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go 
 down, t charge the people, lest they break t Heb. 
 through imto the Lord to gaze, and many """'' 
 of them perish. 
 
 22 And let the priests also, which come 
 near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest 
 the Lord break forth upon them. 
 
 diate hand of Heaven. A shepherd of Midiari could never have 
 brought about so great a work, though he had been joined by 
 Aaron his brother, and all the elders of Israel. But Aaron wxi 
 so far from cooperating, that, even while tlie law was giving, 
 while the cloud was still upon Sinai, he yielded to the importuni- 
 ties of the people, and made a golden calf, and suffered them to 
 lapse into the idolatry of Egypt. Moses therefore stood single : 
 he had not a person to assist him, except the great God of all, by 
 whose command he acted, and by whom the law was enforced. 
 Bryant. 
 
 the voice of' the trumpet exceeding loud ;]] The angels, the 
 
 ministers of heaven, and attendants on the Divine Majesty, sum- 
 moned the people by a voice resembling that of a trumpet, but 
 loud and terrible beyond all human art or expression. Pyle. 
 
 ig. — Moses spake,2 We read at Heb. xii. 21, "So terrible 
 was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake :" 
 which words are judiciously referred to this place. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 22. — the p)iests2 Perhaps tlie principal and most honourable 
 persons in the several tribes. Bp. Patrick. Or tiio-e who mini- 
 stered in holy things before Aaron and his sons were consecrated. 
 Bp. Kidder. Or possibly Aaron and his sons, who were shortly 
 to be consecrated. Dr. IVells. 
 
 If the law were given with such majesty and terrour, how shall 
 it be required ? If such were the proclamation of God's statutes, 
 what shall the judgment be.' I see, and tremble at the resem- 
 blance. The tnmipet of the angel called unto the one ; the voice 
 of an archangel, the trumpet of God, shall summon us to the 
 other. To the one, Moses, that climbed up the hill, and alone 
 saw it, says, "God came with ten thousands of His siiints:" in the 
 other, "thousand thousands shall minister toHim,and ten thousand 
 times ten thousand shall stand before Him." In the one, mount 
 Sinai only was on a flame ; all the world shall be so, in the othar. 
 In the one, there were fire, smoke, thunder, and lightning : in 
 the other, a fiery stream shall issue from Him, wherewith the hea- 
 vens shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt .iw.iy with a 
 noise. O God, how powcrfid art Thou to inflict vengc.-uicc upon
 
 Moses descendethfi'om the mount. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 The ten commandments. 
 
 Brforc 2S And Moses said unto the Lord, The 
 ^"<9i.^^ jK>ople cannot come up to mount Sinai: for 
 thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds a- 
 bout the mount, and sanctify it. 
 
 ^4- And the Loitn said unto him, Away, 
 get thee down, and thou shak come up, 
 thou, and Aaron with thee : but let not 
 the priests and the people break through 
 to come up unto the Lord, lest he break 
 forth upon tiiem. 
 
 25 So Moses went down unto the peo- 
 ple, and spake unto them. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 I The ten commandments. 1 8 The people arc afraid. 
 
 einiiers, who ditlst thus forbid sin ! And if thou wert so terrible 
 a Lawgiver, what a Judge shall Thou a])pear ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XX. ver. 1. And (lad .spa/yC (dl Ihcsc words,'] t)r precepts, 
 as the Hebrew tenii sometimes signifies. Bp. Patrich. Though 
 the Ton Commandments which follow, Mere given to the Jews 
 particularly, yet the things contained in them are such, as all 
 mankiiui from the beginning were bound to observe. And tliere- 
 fore even under the Mosaiek dis|)ensation they, and the tables on 
 wliich they were engraven, and the urk in wiiich they were put, 
 •were distinguished from the rest of God's ordinances by a peculiar 
 regard, as containing the covenant of the Lord. And though the 
 Mosaiek dispensation be now at an end, yet concerning these mo- 
 ral precepts of it our Saviour dechu-es, that " one jot or one tittle 
 shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled," Matt. v. 18. 
 Accordingly we find both Him and His Apostles quoting these 
 Ten Commandments as matter of perpetual obligation to Christ- 
 ians; who are now, as the Jews were formerly, " tiie Israel of 
 God," Gal. vi. 16'. 
 
 To comprehend the full extent of these Commandments, it will 
 be requisite to observe the following rules. Where any sin is 
 forbidden in them, the opposite duty is implicitly enjoined ; and 
 ■where any duty is enjoined, the opposite sin is imj)licitiy forbidden. 
 Where the highest degree of juiy thing evil is prohibited ; what- 
 ever is faulty in the same kind, though in a lower degree, is by 
 consequence prohibited. And where one instance of virtuous 
 behaviour is commanded, every other, tliat hath the same nature, 
 and the same reason for it, is understood to be commanded too. 
 "W'hat we are expected to abstain from, we are expected to avoid, 
 as far as we can, all temptations to it, and occasions of it: and what 
 we arc expected to practise, we are expected to use all fit means, 
 that may better enable us to practise it All, that we are bound 
 to do oiu-sclves, we are bound, on fitting occasions, to exhoit and 
 assist others to do, when it belongs to them ; and all, that we are 
 bound not to tlo, we are to tempt nobody else to do, but keep 
 them back I'roin it, as much as we have opportunity. The Ten 
 Commandments, excej)ting two that required enlargement, are de- 
 livered in few words; which brief manner of speaking hath great 
 majesty in it. Rut explaining them according to these rules; 
 which are natural and rational in themselves, favoured by ancient 
 Jewish writers, autliorised by our blessed Saviour, and certainly 
 designed by tlic makers of our Church Catechism to be used in 
 expounding it ; we shall find, that there is no part of the moral 
 law, but may be fitly ranked under them. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 2. / am Ihe Lord Ihij God, &c.] This is a general preface or 
 intrmluction to the Commandments; and represents the two great 
 grounds or motives on which God required the obedience of the 
 Jews, 1 St, That He was " tlie Lord their God ; " and 2dly, That 
 He had " brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house 
 of bondage." These reasons extend to us Christians, no less, if 
 not more, than they did to the Jews. For we are the " spiritual 
 Israel, ajid heirs of the promises." He is the " Lord our God," 
 by a more excellent covenant than He was their 's. He has brought 
 
 20 Moses cotnfortelli Ihem. 22 Idolatry is forbidden. 
 24 Of what sort the altar should be. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 AND God spake all these words, say- 
 ing. 
 '2 ' I om the Lord thy God, which have * Deut.5.c. 
 
 brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out 
 
 of the house of tbondage. fUcb. 
 
 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before '""" 
 me. 
 
 4 ""Thou shalt not make unto thee any "Lev. 26. i. 
 graven image, or any likeness of any thing ^'"^ ^^' ^' 
 that is in heaven above, or that is in the 
 
 earth beneath, or that is in the water un- 
 der the earth : 
 
 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to 
 
 vs out of that slavery, of which the Jews' Egyptian bondage was 
 but a type. And He has prepared for vs an inheritance in hea- 
 ven, in comparison of which their land of Canaan is of no account, 
 Rom. ii. 28, 29; 1 Cor. x. 18; Gal. iii. 23, 26; vi. 16; Phil. iii. 5; 
 Heb. viii. G, 8 ; Luke i. 74, 75; Gal. iv. 26; Heb. xii. 22. Abp. 
 Wake. 
 
 3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.^ The same reasons, 
 which prove that God is, prove that there is but one God. And 
 what reason teaches in this matter, Scriptiu-e every where con- 
 fimis ; forbidding us to worshij) or believe in any other deity than 
 tlie one Maker and Ruler of heaven and earth, who hath mani- 
 fested Himself to all men by the works of His hands ; to the Pa- 
 triarchs and Jews, by the revelations recorded in Moses and the 
 Prophets ; and finally, to Christians, by His Son, our Lord, who, 
 in a way and manner to us inconceivable, is one with the Father, 
 and the Holy Spirit with both. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 The first Commandment, which concerns the acknowledgement 
 of God, forbids these sins. 1 . The sin of atheists, who acknow- 
 ledge no God, Ps. xiv. 1. 2. The sin of such as serve false gods. 
 Gal. iv. 8. ."?. The sin of such as serve not the true God only, 
 and aright, 2 Kings xvii. 33, 34. It also enjoins these duties : 
 1. That we acknowledge but one God, Mark xii. 32. 2. That we 
 have the only true CJod for our God, 1 Cor. viii. 6 ; which must 
 appear by our loving, fearing, trusting in, and obeying Him above 
 all others, Mark xii. 30; Ps. ii. U; Prov. iii. 5; Acts v. 29. Ox- 
 ford Catechism. 
 
 no other god.f] There is not, nor does this Commandment 
 
 at all suppose that there is any other God besides the Lord. Alip. 
 Wake. But before and long after the law of Moses was given, the 
 generality of the world entertained a belief that there were many 
 gods ; a great number of beings, superiour to men, that amongst 
 them governed the world, and were fit objects of devotion. To 
 these, as their own fancy, or the folly and fraud of others led 
 them, they ascribed more or less both of power and goodness; at- 
 tributed to several of them the vilest actions, that could be; sup- 
 posed them to preside, some over one nation or city, some over 
 another; worshipped a few or a multitude of them, just as they 
 pleased, and that with a sti-ange variety of ceremonies, absurd 
 and impious, immoral and bitfbarous. Amidst this crowd of 
 imaginary deities, the real God was almost entirely forgot ; false 
 religion and irreligion divided the world between them ; and 
 wickedness of every kind was authorised by both. The cure for 
 these dreadful evils must plainly be, restoring the old true notion 
 of one only God, ruling the world Himself; which tlierefore was 
 the first great article of the Jewish faith, as it is of out's. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 before me.] Ratl>€r " besides Me." As much as if He had 
 
 said. Thou shalt love nothing as God, before Me ; worship no- 
 thing as God, before Me; serve nothing as God, before Me. Bp. 
 Beveridge. 
 
 4. Thou shall not make unto thee &c.] In this second Command- 
 ment, which concerns the worship of God, are forbidden these sins.
 
 The 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 Commmidments. 
 
 lioi. God «;« a jealous God, visiting the ini- 
 quity of the fathers upon the children 
 unto the third and fourtli generation of 
 them tliat hate me ; 
 
 6 And shewing mercy unto tliousands 
 of them tliat love me, and keep my com- 
 mandments. 
 
 1. The appointiiijT of anj' kind of image for reUgious worship. 
 Lev. xxvi. 1. 2. The worshipping of such an image or any other 
 creature, Rev. xxii. 8, 9. ,"5. The neglect of tlie worship of t!ie 
 true God, Rom. i. 25. 4. The worshipping of Him after a false 
 manner. Matt. xv. 8, p. Because the Lord is a jealous God, Is. 
 xlii. 8; and a severe punisher of idolaters, Deut. viii. 19. In the 
 same Commandment are enjoined these duties: 1. That God only 
 be rehgiously worshipped. Matt. iv. 10. 2. That He be worship- 
 ped both in body and spirit, Ps. xcv. 6'; John iv. 9,3. And to such 
 worshippers, who thus love and obey the Lord, He hath promised 
 His especial mercy, John ix. 31. 0.rfijrd Cntcc/tism. 
 
 graven image, or tiiuj lil:eness'\ The Hebrew word, trans- 
 lated " graven image," pro])erly signifies a statue made of wood 
 or stone ; that translated " likeness," means a picture drawn on 
 a wall or flat surface. Dp. Palrick. • 
 
 This Commandment seems to have been framed with a view to 
 the worship of Egypt. To any people, who had not been con- 
 versant in that country, it had been sufficient to say, " Thou shalt 
 make no graven image, nor frame any similitude of things." But 
 the commandment is dilated, and the nature of the objects pointed 
 out, for the sake of the Israelites. They were not to make to 
 themselves an " image or likeness of any thing that is in heaven 
 above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under 
 the earth;" nor were they to " bow down to, or worship them," ei- 
 ther real or represented. By this is intimated, that they were not 
 to make a likeness of the sun, or of the moon; of man, or of beast; 
 of fly, or creeping thing ; of fish, or of crocodile, " which are in 
 the waters beneath." How prone the Israelites were to this sym- 
 bolical worship, and how necessary it was to give them warning, 
 may be seen by the threat, and by the blessings which immedi- 
 ately follow. Bryant. See the note on Deut. iv. 18. 
 
 5. — a jealous God^ Jealous of the honour due to Him alone, 
 not bearing any rival or partner in what belongs to Him alone. 
 Dr. Wi'Us. I am a jealous God : I am so affected to you My 
 people, as a loving husband to his wife, whom he cannot endure 
 to set her affections on another. Bp. Hall. Not jealous for Him- 
 self, lest He should suffer for the follies of His creatures ; that 
 cannot be : but jealous for " His spouse, the church ;" lest our 
 notions of His nature and attributes, and consequentlj' of the du- 
 ties which we owe to Him, being depraved, and our minds dark- 
 ened with superstitious persirasions and fears and hopes, we should 
 depart from the fidelity, which we have vowed to Him ; and fall 
 into those grievous immoralities, which St. Paul describes as the - 
 consequences of idolatry, Rom. i. 21 — 32, and which have been 
 its consequences in all times and places. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children'^ It 
 
 cannot consist with the justice of God, to punish one person for 
 the sin of another ; neither does God threaten any such thing. 
 But God, who is the great Lord of the whole world, may so 
 punish a man for his sins, that the temporal evil of it may reach, 
 not to himself alone, but to his posterity also. As in the case of 
 high treason, the father, by forfeiting his honour and estate, brings 
 the iU consequence of his crime upon his family, as well as upon 
 himself; and the prince, by enacting the penalty of the law, may 
 justly be said to visit the children, for the offence which the fa- 
 tJier committed. The meaning of this part of the commandment 
 is this: God had, in general, promised to the Jews temporal 
 blessings, to encourage their obedience ; and had denounced pre- 
 sent evils against them, to keep them from siiming. But to set a 
 particidar mark of His indignation on the sin of idaiairi/. He 
 thought fit to declare, that if they offended in this matter, lie 
 v/ould not only severely punish them Himself, but would deliver 
 Vol. I. 
 
 7 'Thou shalt not take tlic name of the ^'f<»« 
 Lord thy God in vain ; for the Lord will ^^ilVu"^ 
 not hold him guiltless that taketh his name ' Lev. 19. 
 
 12. 
 
 in vain. 
 
 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keen Matts'ss." 
 it holy. ^ 'C1K23.I2. 
 
 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all '2- 
 thy work '"' 
 
 Luke 13. 
 
 H. 
 
 tliem up into the hands of their enemies, who should oppress both 
 them and their children after them ; whereas if they continued 
 firm to His worship, thougli otherwise they should be guilty of 
 many lesser crimes, yet He would not ca.st them off" from His 
 fa\our, but on the contrary would bless both them and their pos- 
 terity with plenty and prosperity all their days. This I take to 
 have been the literal meaning of the present denunciation ; and 
 how exactly it was made good to them, their history sufficiently 
 declares to us, 1 Kings xi. 31— .35; xiv. 22, 23, 25; xv. 29, 30; 
 2 Kings x.\ii. 17; xxiv. 3. Compare xxi. 3; Lam. v. 7. Abp. 
 Wake. 
 
 a. — unto thou.mndi] That is, to the thousandth generation, 
 as the passage is judiciously rendered by the Syriack version 
 and Chaldee paraphrase ; supported by tlie parallel passages, 
 Deut. vii. 9; I Chron. xvi. 15. Dr. Hales. See note on Deut 
 vii. 9. 
 
 — — love me, and keep viy commandmenlsr^ Tlie keeping of 
 God's commandments is the best argument that we love Him. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 7. Thou shall not take the name &c.] In this third Command- 
 ment, which concerns the name of God, are forbidden these sins : 
 1. Irreverent thoughts of God, Job i. 5. 2. Blasphemy, or dis- 
 honourable mention of His name, Rev. xiii. 6. 3. False swearing 
 in avouching an untruth, Zech. viii. 17. 4. Perjurj-, or breaking 
 a laM-ful oath, Matt. v. 33. 5. Causing the name of God, and 
 our holy profession, to be blasphemed by others, Rom. ii. 24. 
 And such sins God Himself hath especially threatened to punish, 
 2 Sam. xii. 14. In the same Commandment are enjoined these 
 duties : I . To think and s})eak reverently of the names and attri- 
 butes of God, Ps. ciii. 1,2. 2. To glorify Him in His holy word 
 and ordinances, that bear His name. Acts xiii. 48. 3. To use_His 
 name with reverence in taking religious oaths, Deut, vi. 13. 4. 
 To observe such oatlis with religious care and conscience, Heb. 
 vi. 16; Ezek. xvii. 18, 19 ; Ps. xv. 4. 5. To glorify God by a 
 Christian conversation, 1 Tim. vi. 1. O.tford Catechism. 
 
 the Lord tvill not hold him guiltless &c.] But will cer- 
 tainly punish him, unless prevented by sincere repentance. Dr. 
 Wells. God declares, that He will severely punish such sinners, 
 as take His name in vain, and will not suffer His name to be pro- 
 faned by them, without bringing upon them some exemplary 
 vengeance for their presumption. If it be asked. How then comes 
 it to pass, that such persons do often escape without any such 
 exemplary mai-k of God's vengeance .' we answer, We are not to 
 call God to account for His actions. It is enough that He ha.") 
 assured us, that " He will not hold such persons guiltless ;" :md 
 that therefore every such sinner must either repent, in a very sin- 
 gular manner, of his offence in taking Go<l's name in vain ; or he 
 shall assuredly be punished with an extraordinary severity for it, 
 either in this life or in the other. Abp. Wake. 
 
 8. Remember the sabbath day,'] See the note on chap. xvi. 23. 
 In this Commandment, which concerns the sabbatli of die Lord, 
 is enjoined an especial attendance upon Gods services on that day, 
 such as, 1. Prayer, Acts xvi. 13. 2. Dispensing and receiving 
 His word, Acts xiii. 44. 3. Partaking in His sacr-ament. Acts .\x. 
 7. 4. ReHeving of His saints, 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2. And, 5. Meditating 
 upon His works of creation and redemption, Ps. xcii. 1, 2 ; Deut. 
 v. 1 5. In the same Commandment arc forbidden our worldly un- 
 dertakings and emplojTnents on this holy day. Is. Iviii. 13; Neh, 
 xiii. 15; excepting such as concern works of piety, charity, and 
 necessity. Matt. xii. 5 ; Luke vi. 9 ; xi\-. 5. O.rford Catechism. 
 
 the sabbalh day,] The day of rest. The word " sabbath" 
 
 means rest. 
 
 Y
 
 The 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 Commandmenls. 
 
 Brfo«- 10 But tl>e seventh day is the sab- 
 ^",9,''"'^ bath of the Lord thy God: in it thou 
 shall not do any work, thou, nor thy 
 r,on, nor thy daughter, tliy niansenant, 
 nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, 
 nor thy stranger that is within thy 
 gates : 
 'C«..s.a 11 For 'in six days the Lord made 
 heaven and earth, the sea, and all that ni 
 them is, and rested the seventh day: 
 
 10. thii si ranger] Foreigners, who, by being circumcised, 
 
 Iiad embrairtl the JcwisJi religion. Bp. PaliicL: 
 
 1 1 . For ill six days &c.J 1 his Conmiandment is as obligatory 
 tipoii us, as it ever was upon tlic Jews, thougli not exactly after 
 tlic .<ianie manner. We worship, as they did, the (iod, who " in 
 si.x days creatod the heaven, and earth, the se.i, .nnd all that in 
 tliem is, and rested the seventh day ;" and in acknowledgment 
 thereof, we stand obliged witli lliein, to keep a seventh day of 
 rest, after si.\ of labour. But then, as they worshipped this God 
 under the peculiar cliaracter of " llie God, who brouglit iheni out 
 of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage," so were they 
 directed to take that particular day, the seventli of the week, for 
 tlioir sabbath, upon whicli He completed their deliverance; and 
 strictly to abstain from all bodily labour upon it. Now in this 
 respect we difier from them. We worship God, the Creator of 
 the world, under a mucli higher and more Divine character ; as 
 He is our Father and Deliverer by Jesus Christ our Lord : who, 
 on the first day of the week, rose from the dead, and thereby 
 put an end to tlic Jewish dispensation. And in testimony of 
 this, we keep die first day of the week for our sabbath, according 
 t J the practice of tlie Apostles ; and so profess ourselves to be the 
 servants of tlic true God, tlirough the covenant, which He has 
 been ))leased to make with mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
 Abp. hake. 
 
 12. Honour tlij/ father and Ihi/ mother:'] In this Commandment, 
 %vhich is tlie commandment of relations, are enjoined t!ie mutual 
 Hutioa of infcriours and superiours. From children to parents is 
 required honour, which implies, 1. Fear, Lev. xi.\. ;>. ^. Reve- 
 rence, Gen. xxxi. So. 3. Obedience, Eph. vi. I, •^. And, 4. 
 Maintenance, 1 Tim. v. 4. And the contrary vices are forbid- 
 den, Lev. XX. 9. This Commandment concerns not only natural 
 Tarents, but extends also to Magistrates in tlie ttate, Rom. xiii. 
 1, &c. Ministers in the church, Hcb. xiii. I7, and Masters in 
 families, 2 Kings v. 13; Eph. vi. 5, 6; who are also calic4 fa- 
 tlicrs. The reciprocal duties of superiours to inferiours are like- 
 wise recjuired in this Commandment ; namely, of natural Parents, 
 Eph. vi. 4; Magistratco, Ps. Ixxviii. 70, 71; Ministers, 1 Pet. v. 
 2; and Masters, Col. iv. 1. And the contrary vices iu-e forbidden. 
 And here are also enjoined the mutual duties of husbands and 
 wives, 1 Pet. iii. 1, 7. 0.cjbrd Ca!cchiim. 
 
 titdl ihij days &c.]] That God may give tliee a loii" and 
 
 happy life in this lliy promised huid upon earth ; and an eternal 
 jiff, figured by the otlier, in that true l.md of rest which is above. 
 Bp. Hall. Were but all the tlutics enjoined by this Corffciand- 
 ment conscientiously observed by all tlie world, how happy a 
 place would it be ! And whoever will faithlully do their own 
 part of them, tlicy shall be happy, whether others will do their 
 part or not : and this Commandment assures them of it ; " that 
 thy days may be long upon tJie land, which the Lord thy God giv- 
 eth thee." In all probability, if we obey His laws, and that now 
 before us in particular, both longer and more prosperous will our 
 days prove in this land of our pilgrimage, in which God has 
 placed us to sojourn: but, without all question, eternal and infinite 
 blLill our felicity be in that land of promise, the heavenly Canaan ; 
 which He hatli appointed for our inheritance. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 VS. Thou shalt not kill.l In this sixth Commandment which 
 concerns mans life, are forbidden these sins: 1. Hatred, 1 John 
 III. \o. 2. Causeless .-md revengeful anger, Matth. v. 21 "^ 
 &. Grievous reproaches, Ps. kiv. 3. 4. Occasion of bloodshed^ 
 
 21. 
 
 wlicrelbic the Lord blessed the sabbath ^.fjl"'" 
 day, and hallowed it. ' wji. 
 
 12 ^ ' Honour thy father ami thy mo- < Dcut 5. 
 ther : that thy days may be long upon the ^^{^^^ ,5 ., 
 land whicli the Loud thy God giveth thee. EpiiJs.e'.j 
 
 13 « Thou shalt not kill. ' ''''"'• ^• 
 14. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 
 
 15 Thou shalt not steal. 
 
 16 Tliou shalt not bear false witness a- 
 gainst thy neighbour. 
 
 Deut. xxii. 8. .O. Contrivance of man's deatli, 2 Sam. xii. g. 
 6. Actual and wilful murder, E.\od. xxi. 14. In the same Com- 
 mandment is enjoined the preservation of man's life: 1. By a 
 seasonable and moderate use of God's creatures ordained ibr that 
 end, Eccles. x. 17; 1 Tim. v. 23. 2. By a prudent avoiding of 
 dangers. Matt. x. 23. 3. By flying all sins ; and particularly 
 murder and uncleanness, Ps. Iv. 23, which ai-e noted to be espe- 
 cially destructive to the body and soul of him that commits 
 them, Prov. v. 1 1 ; vi. 32. Oxford Catechism. These commands 
 are only short summaries of our moral duty ; under one or more 
 principal instances comprehending ail other plain particulars of 
 it. Fi/le. 
 
 kill.] Killing in some cases is net murder ; nor forbidden 
 
 by God : such as the execution of justice, after a lawful manner, 
 for a suitable ofience, and by a lawiul magistrate ; the killing of 
 an enemy in a just war; the killing of another for tlie necessary 
 defence of a man's o^^ti life: to which under the Law were added 
 some other cases, with which wc arc not concerned now under 
 the Gospel. Abp. Wake. 
 
 14. 2'hou shall not commit aduUeri/.] In this seventh Command- 
 ment, which concerns man's chastity, are forbidden adulterous or 
 lascivious thoughts. Matt. v. 27, 28; looks, 2 Pet. ii. 14; attire, 
 Prov. vii. 10 ; words, Eph. iv. 29; v. 3 ; and acts of adultery and 
 fornication, Gal. v. 19; -'is also unlawful marriages, Luke xvi. 18. 
 Besides these sins more directly against this Commandment, are 
 herein also forbidden such sins as give occasion to these : idle- 
 ness ; excess iu eating and drinking; and the like. In the same 
 Commandment are enjoined chastity and modesty in thoughts, 
 1 Thess. iv. 4, 5; behaviour, 1 Pet. iii. 2; and apparel, 1 Tim. ii. 
 9 ; as also sobriety and vigilance, 1 Pet. v. 8. Oxford Catechism, 
 The sin of adultery under the law was punished with death, Lev. 
 XX. 10; Deut. xxii. 22; and that not only upon a civil account, 
 as being most injurious to society ; but also typically, to denote 
 ■what such persons are to expect from Go<l in the other world, 
 even death eternal. Abp. IVuke. 
 
 15. Thou shall not steal.] In this eighth Commandmeivt, which 
 concerns man's goods, are forbidden these sins: 1. Covetous de- 
 sires, I's. cxix. 36. 2. Bribery, Is. i. 23. 3. Withliolding other 
 men's dues, .lames v. 4. 4. Defrauding, or deceitful stealtli, 
 1 Thess. iv. 6. 5. Oppression, or violent robbery, Luke iii. 14, 
 6. Sacrilege, or robbing of God, Mai. iii. 8. In the same Com- 
 mandment are enjoined these duties : 1 . To give to all their dues, 
 Rom. xiii. 7. 2. To live in a lawful calling, Eph. iv. 28, 3. To 
 be diligent in that calling, 2 Thess. iii. 11, 12. 4. To restore 
 that wliicii li;ith been stolen, Ezek. xxxiii. 15. 5. To give 
 chiiritably to the poor, Prov. iii. 27, 28. 6. To avoid "the 
 company of the breakers of this law, Prov. xxix. 24. Oxford 
 Catechism. 
 
 16. Thou shalt not hearfolse n'ilness 8iC.] The ninth Command- 
 ment is connected witli every one of the four which precede it. 
 For neither the duties of superiours and inferiours, nor those 
 among equ:ds, could be tolerably practised ; neither the lives of 
 men, nor their happiness in the nearest relation of life, nor their 
 possessions and properties coidd ever be secure; if they were left 
 exposed to those injuries of a licentious tongue which are here 
 prohibited. This Commandment therefore was intended, partly 
 to strengthen the foregoing ones ; and partly also, to make pl•o^•i- 
 sion for every persons just cluu-acter on its" own account, as well 
 as for the &ke of consequences. Abp, Seeker,
 
 The people are afraid. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 Ho-ii; the altar should be made. 
 
 chrT^t ^^ ^ Thou shalt not covet thy neigh- 
 1491. hour's house, thou shalt not covet thy 
 'nora.7.7. neighbour's wife, nor iiis manservant, nor 
 his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, 
 nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. 
 'iiebr.12. 18 4 And 'all the people saw the thun- 
 **■ derings, and the lightnings, and the noise 
 
 of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking : 
 and when the people saw it, they removed, 
 and stood afar off. 
 ''Deut. 5. 19 And they said unto Moses, ^ Speak 
 27. & IS. ^i^Q^ \\i\\\ us, and we will hear: but let 
 not God speak with us, lest we die. 
 
 20 And Moses said unto the people. 
 Fear not : for God is come to prove you, 
 and that his fear mav be before your faces, 
 that ye sin not. 
 
 21 And the people stood afar off, and 
 Moses drew near unto the thick darkness 
 where God xvas. 
 
 In this Commandment, which concerns man's good name, are 
 forbidden these sins : 1. Lies, Eph. iv. 25. 2. Groundless 
 jealousies, ] Sam. xxii. 13. S. The raising, taking up, or di- 
 vulging of false or malicious reports, Exod. xxiii. 1 ; Ps. xv. 3 ; 
 Prov. X. 12; Lev. xix. l6. 4. The suborning or encouraging of 
 false witnesses, 1 Kings xxi. 9, 10. In the same Commandment 
 are enjoined these duties, which maintain veracity and charity, 
 Eph. iv. 15. 1. To love and speak the trudi, Zech. viii. 19; 
 Eph. iv. 25. 2. To preserve our own reputation, Phil. iv. 8. 
 3. Seasonably to vindicate ourselves, and our innocent neighbours. 
 Acts XXV. 8 ; Luke xxiii. 41 ; 1 Sam. xix. 4, 5. 4. To cover the 
 infirmities of others, Prov. xvii. 9. Oxford Catechism. 
 
 17. Thote shalt not covet &c.] In this tenth Commandment, 
 which especially concerns man's desires, are forbidden: 1. In 
 general, sinful lusts, and the first motion of general corruption. 
 Col. iii. 5, 6; Gal. v. 17; Jam. i. 14. 2. In particular, the co- 
 veting of our neighbour's house, wife, servants, and other goods 
 belonging to him, Mic. ii. 2 ; Jer. v. 7, 8 ; Acts xx. 33. In the 
 same Commandment are enjoined these duties: 1. To regulate 
 our aflections, 1 Cor. ix. 25. 2. To restrain sinful desires. Tit. 
 ii. 12. 3. To be content witli our present estate, Heb. xiii. 5. 
 Oxford Catechism. 
 
 This last Commandment is very important ; and is indeed the 
 guard and security of all the preceding ones. For our actions 
 will never be right habitually, till our desii-es are so. Or, if they 
 could, our Maker demands the whole man, as He surely well 
 may ; nor, till that is devoted to Him, are we " meet to be par- 
 takers of the inheritance of the saints in light." Abp. Seeker. 
 
 This Commandment stamps the seal of divinity upon the Mo- 
 saical code, of which the Decalogue is the summary. No such re- 
 striction is to be found in the Ordinances of Lycurgus, or Solon, 
 the Twelve Tables, or the Institutes of Justinian : because the 
 thoughts and desires of the heart are not cognizable by human 
 tribunals. This was a case reserved for Him alone, who both can 
 and will " bring every w ork into judgment, with every secret 
 thing, whether it be good or evil," Eccles. xii. 14; because He is 
 a discoverer " of tlie thoughts and intents of the heart," 1 Sam. 
 xvi. 7 ; Heb. iv. 12. The Law therefore " was our schoolmaster 
 to bring us to Christ ;" who in His Gospel has so finely com- 
 mented on the tenth Commandment in particular. Matt. v. 28, 30 : 
 and who inculcates obedience to all His laws from an inward 
 principle : requiring ils to " show the work of the law written in 
 our hearts," Rom. ii. 15. Dr. Hales. 
 
 20. — God is come to prove i/ou,'] God intends, by this dreadful 
 appearance, to discover unto yourselves and others, whether you 
 will be such as you have promised. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 22 «[ And the Lord said unto Moses, before 
 Thus thou shalt say unto the children of ^"«P^ 
 Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked 
 
 with you from heaven. 
 
 23 Ye shall not make with me gods of 
 silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods 
 of gold. 
 
 24 «[ An altar of earth thou shalt make 
 unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy 
 burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, 
 thy sheep, and thine oxen : in all places 
 where I record my name I will come unto 
 thee, and I will bless thee. 
 
 25 And ' if thou wilt make me an altar ' Deut 27. 
 of stone, thou shalt not t build it of hewn JUh.8.31. 
 stone : for if tliou lift up thy tool upon it, tHeb.' 
 thou hast polluted it. tThh*^' 
 
 26 Neitlier shalt thou go up by steps »"«• 
 unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not 
 discovered thereon. 
 
 24. An altar rf earth] For the better observation of the fore- 
 going command. He orders that the altars built to Him may be 
 as simple as possible : and forbids their being constructed of 
 " hewn stone," for fear of the tools being also employed in making 
 any figure or image. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 in all places 7vhcre I record my name &c.] That is, where- 
 soever is that place, which I have appointed, or shall appoint, to 
 be the remembrance or memorial of My name and presence, "there 
 will I come unto thee and bless thee." It is here promised, that 
 God will come unto men, and bless them, generally in everyplace 
 dedicated to His worship and service : but more especially in those 
 tokens or symbols, by which He testifies His covenant and com- 
 merce with men, and which are the memorials or monuments of 
 His name. Such were the sacrifices and tiic altar, under the 
 Jewish dispensation, often called the " Memorial," Lev. ii, v, vi, 
 xxiv, inasmuch as they were rites of remembrance, whereby the 
 name of God was commemorated or recorded, and His covenant 
 with men renewed and testified. Such, under the Christian dis- 
 pensation, is the holy communion of Christ's body and blood, 
 ordained by Him to be the "memorial" of His name in the New 
 Testament. See Luke xxii. I9. It is true, we arc not now con- 
 fined to one place alone, as those under the law were ; and God 
 heareth the faithful prayers of His servants, wheresoever they 
 are made to Him, as also He did then : yet in the place, where 
 is His memorial, there in a special manner does He vouchsafe His 
 presence to the sons of men, and visit them with His blessing. 
 Jos. Mede. 
 
 25. And if thou wilt make vie an altar &c.] As much as to say, 
 " Whilst you travel in the desert, I will not have a lasting altar, 
 made either of marble or met;d. that you may not, after the man- 
 ner of the heathens, believe Me to be the God of a particular 
 place, or that I am confined to .any province." In this and the 
 following verses God orders the matter and form of the alt,-ir 
 in opposition to the laws, rules, and customs of the heathens. 
 Locke. ... 
 
 26. Neither shalt titou no up hy steps &c.] It was suitable to 
 the state of travellers, to have their alters low. Besides, He 
 would not have them imitate the Gentiles, who sacrificed in 
 "high places," imagming their s.acrifices were most acceptable, 
 when nearest heaven. A further reason is assigned at the end of 
 the verse, namely, to prevent unseemliness; and that the priests 
 miffht not be exposed to ridicule and contempt, by means of the 
 light and loose garments, which were worn m those countries. 
 Bo. Patrick, Pyle. God requires the greatest modesty in His 
 worshippers ; whereas the heathen rites were attended with great 
 ;:.5.T30c(c!ty. Bp- Kiddtr.
 
 Divers laws 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 mid ordinances. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 nrforc 
 CHRIST 
 
 l^'"* I Lairs fur meiiservanls. T) For the servant whwte car 
 is bored. 7 /"<"• ivomcnscnanls. 1 2 For manslaugh- 
 ter. 16" For stealers of own. 17 For iiirsers of pu- 
 renU. 18 For niiiters. --"i For a hurt hi) ehaiice. 
 28 For an ar thai goreth. S3 For him that is an oc- 
 casion of harm. 
 
 N 
 
 • LtT. 25, 
 41. 
 
 OW these are tlie judgments which 
 tliou slialt set before them. 
 '2 ' W thou buy an Hebrew servant, six 
 „ . ,, years he shall serve : and in the seventh he 
 
 Dt'ut. 15. J'- , . 
 
 I'.'. shall go out tree for nothing. 
 
 jcr^34.n. .3 j^-|^^, pjj,,^^, j„ fi^y iiiniself, he shall go 
 
 wii'hii out by himself: if he were married, then 
 *^*" his wife shall go out with him. 
 
 Ch.ap. XXI. The laws tliiis ileliverpil by God Himself, with 
 all these solemn preparntions, and in a manner so peculiarly cal- 
 cuLited to impress awe, and exercise obedience, were of three 
 sorts ; moral, ceremonial, and civil. The 7noral law, which is 
 comprised in the Ten Commandment.i, " written with the finger 
 of God," and the law of nature, as it is called, are, in all essen- 
 tial points, the same. The heart of man being much depraved, 
 »nd his understanding darkenetl, in consequence of the fall of 
 Adam, God had been pleased to renew the impression of the ge- 
 neral law of nature from time to time, by occasional communica- 
 tions of Mis will ; and He now confirmed and explained it by 
 an express Revelation, whicl) He conmianded to be recorded in 
 writing for the use of all future ages. This moral law, founded in 
 the relation sub>isting between G<k1 and man, is of universal and 
 *tern;d obligation. We are to remember that the cliange, w hich 
 sin jmnluced in tlie n.itiire of man, weakened the faculties with 
 whicii lie WiLS originally created, .-md obscured the light of reason. 
 'We m;iy conceive that perfect reason would <lirect man to right 
 conclusions concerning the nature of God and of niiui, and the 
 duties which he owes to Ciod and to his fellow-creatures. Still, 
 while man, as a fi-ee agent, had, as necessarily belonging to that 
 chai-acter, the power of opposing the suggestions of will to the 
 deductions of reason, his state of happiness must have been in- 
 secure. Whc-ther we consider the knowledge of this moral law as 
 derived from perfect human reason, or, wJiich is the same thing 
 under .wotlier name, from the original nature of man given him 
 by his Creator, (and in this sense the moral law would be justly 
 termed the law of nature,) or whether we supiiose the knowledge 
 of tliis law communicatetl by some impression upon the mind, 
 »omemo<le of Divine inspiration, (like that, by which the Prophets 
 were enabletl to di.stingui.,h clearly and positively the declarations 
 of Gwl from the dicUUes of their own reason,) or by the audible 
 voice of ( iotl Himself, accomjianied by some visible mark of the 
 Divine presence, the Divine origin of this law is equally establish- 
 etl, and its imuuitable truth is eiiually apparent. The ceremonial, 
 or positive law, relates to the priests, the tabernacle, the sacrifices' 
 and other reli-ious rites and services. God commanded that 
 those, who should Ix' employed about the tiibeniacle, or in the 
 offices of publick worship, shoiihl be of the posterity of Levi : 
 and lience this law is sometimes called the Levitical Law ; but the 
 priesthoo«l itself was to be confined to .\aron and his descendants. 
 The principal objects of the ceremonial law were, to preserve the 
 Jews from iilolatry, to which all the neighbouring nations were 
 addictwl, and to keep up in their minds the necessity of an atone- 
 ment for sill. The civil law relates to the civil government of the 
 Israelites, to punishmcntx, marriages, estates, and jjosscssions. 
 The ceremonial and civil laws are intennixed witli each other 
 mmI being adapted to the particular pur]M)se of separating fi-om 
 the rest of the world one nation, among wiiom the knowled'^e of 
 the true God, and the promise of a Redeemer, niiglit be preserved 
 were designed for tlie sole use of tlie Israelites, and were to be 
 bindniK upon them only till the coming of the Messiah. Bn 
 Tomltne. ^ ' 
 
 B«rure 
 CHRIST 
 
 14<Jl. 
 
 saying i 
 say. 
 
 4 If his master have given him a wife, 
 and she have born him sons or daughters ; 
 the wife and her children shall be her mas- 
 ter's, and he shall go out by himself. 
 
 5 And if the servant t shall plainly say, ^S,*"" 
 I love my master, my wife, and my chil 
 dren ; I w ill not go out free : 
 
 6 Then his master shall bring him unto 
 the jndges ; he shall also bring him to the 
 door, or unto the door post ; and his mas- 
 ter shall bore his ear through with an aul ; 
 and he shall .serve him for ever. 
 
 7 ^ And if a man sell his daughter to be 
 a maidservant, she shall not go out as the 
 menservants do. 
 
 Ver. 1. Now these arc the judgments &c.] The Nfosaical Law 
 was infinitely superiour, in point of humanity, to all the institutions 
 of the most celebrated lawgivers of antiquity. It abounds with 
 injunctions of mercy and pity, not only to Jews, but to strangers, 
 to enemies, and even to those, who had most cruelly oppressed 
 and injured them. The dispositions in favour of the poor are 
 truly singular and amiable, Lev. xxv. 55, 3() ; Exod. xxiii. 9 ; Lev. 
 xix. Si ; Deut. xxiii. 7 ; Exod. xxiii. 4 ; Deut. xv. 7, 8 ; Lev. xix. 
 9, 10; Deut. xxiv. 19. Tlie provisions made for the security and' 
 comfort of that most useful, though too often most wretched, part 
 of the species, slaves and servants, are entirely worthy of a law, 
 that came down from heaven. That absolute and unlimited 
 power over the lives of slaves, indulged to their tyrannical master 
 by almost all heathen lawgi\ crs, a power most scandalously abused 
 to the ilisgracc of all humanity, was effectually restrained by the 
 - Jewish law, which punished the murder of a slave with the ut- 
 most rigour, Exod. xxi. 20. The kinchiess enjoined towards hired 
 servants is most remarkable, Deut. xxiv. 14, 1,5. The injunctions 
 respecting Hebrew slaves w-ere no less merciful. Lev. xxv. 43; 
 Deut. XV. 12, l.'i. It siiould seem also, as if all other bondmen 
 or slaves, even those captured in war or brought from the neigh- 
 bouring heathen nations, were to be emancipated in the j'car of 
 the jubilee, tliat is, every fiftieth year. Lev. xxv. 10. The utmost 
 cai'e, ill short, is taken throughout to giuird against every species 
 of t3'raiiny and oppression, and to protect the helpless and weak 
 from the wanton insolence of prosperity and power. The tender- 
 ness of the Divine Legislator thought no creature below its notice: 
 and extended itself to the minutest articles of social and domes- 
 tick life, which, though unnoticed by less benevolent lawgivers, 
 do, in fact, constitute a very great and essential part of human 
 haiijjiness and misery. 
 
 With sucli heavenly institutions as these, which we shall in 
 vain look for in any Pagan government, is every page of the 
 Jewish Law replete. It is from tliese we are to form our judg- 
 ment of the Jews, of their religion, and its Divine Author ; and 
 if tiiese h.-id tlieir projicr etl'ect on the manners of the people, they 
 must have jirothiccd upon the whole a constant and habitual, 
 though, perhaps, from the veiy nature of their situation, a con- 
 fined benevolence, much su])eriour, not only to that of tiieir rude 
 contemporaries, but to the boasted lenity of much later and more 
 polished nations, lip. Porteiis. 
 
 Judgments'] Tlmse political laws which God thought fit 
 
 to give for the determination of diffei'ences among the peoplei 
 and for their just and peaceable government. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. — nn Hebrew servant,] Or slave ; some Hebrews sold them- 
 selves from poverty ; and others were sold by the court of judi- 
 cature, on account of a theft, for which they were unable to make 
 satisiaction. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — liJive given him a n-ife^ A Gentile bondmaid, who was 
 before in the master's servic^. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — burc his cur through &c] As a mark of servitude, and 
 in token that he was now as it wci-e fixed to the house. Bv. 
 Patrick.
 
 Divers laws 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 ■tHeb. 
 be evil in 
 the eyes of, 
 &c. 
 
 * Lev. 24. 
 17. 
 
 'Deut. 19. 
 
 3. 
 
 * Lev. 20. 9. 
 Prov. 20. 
 20. 
 
 M.itt 15. 4. 
 Mark 7. 10. 
 
 rcriirtfu 
 :| Or, 
 'tis nagk' 
 iour. 
 
 f Hel). 
 
 A/s ceasing. 
 
 f Hib. 
 avenged. 
 
 8 If .she t please not her master, who 
 hath betrothed lier to himself, then shall 
 he let her be redeemed : to sell her unto a 
 strange nation he shall have no power, see- 
 ing he hath dealt deceitfully with her. 
 
 9 And if he have betrothed her unto 
 his son, he shall deal with her after the 
 manner of daughters. 
 
 10 If he take him another nife ; her 
 food, her raiment, and her duty of mar- 
 riage, shall he not diminish. 
 
 1 1 And if he do not these three unto 
 her, then shall she go out free without 
 money. 
 
 12 ''% " He that smiteth a man, so that he 
 die, shall be surely put to death. 
 
 13 And if a man lie not in wait, but 
 God deliver him into his hand ; then ' I 
 will appoint thee a place whither he shall 
 flee. 
 
 14 But if a man come presumptuously 
 upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile ; 
 thou shalt take him from mine altar, that 
 he may die. 
 
 15 5r And he that smiteth his father, or 
 his mother, shall be surely put to death. 
 
 16 ^ And he that stealeth a man, and 
 seUeth him, or if he be found in his hand, 
 he shall surely be put to death. 
 
 17 IF And ''he that Hcurseth his father, or 
 his mother, shall surely be put to death. 
 
 18 ^ And if men strive together, and 
 one smite II another with a stone, or with 
 his fi.st, and he die not, but keepeth his 
 bed: 
 
 19 If he rise again, and walk abroad 
 upon his staff, then shall he that smote him 
 be quit: only he shall pay^/or tthe loss of 
 his time, and shall cause him to be tho- 
 roughly healed. 
 
 20 ^ And if a man smite his servant, or 
 his maid, with a rod, and he die under his 
 hand ; he shall be surely t punished. 
 
 The meaning is, lie sliall not go free at the end of the usual 
 term of seven years, but shall continue with him till his master's 
 death, or till the year of jubilee. Dr. S. Clarke. 
 
 8. — a slrange 7tation'] Another family or tribe; for it was in no 
 case lawful to sell a Hebrew to any heathen nation. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 13. — God deliver him into his hand ;'\ If, by God's permission, 
 he kill him unadvisedly. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 This expression, respecting a man being killed by accident, 
 without any ill intention on the part of tlie slayer, is rem;u-kable. 
 It signifies that even those things, which to us seem the most 
 casual and merely accidental, yet in respect of God, are really 
 providential, and could not happen but by His (for wise reasons) 
 jjermitting them to be done. Dr. S. Clarke. 
 
 1 i. — thou shall take him from mine nllar,^ That is, the most 
 sacred and inviblable place of refuge, which shall not protect a 
 wilful murderer, 1 Kings ii. 28. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 6. — he that slcalelk a man, &c. J As liberty is equally valuable 
 
 21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day ^'^"'^ 
 or two, he shall not be punished : for he /*• ^"faj.^ 
 his money. 
 
 22 •[ if men strive, and hurt a woman 
 with child, so that her fruit depart Jrom 
 her, and yet no mischief follow: lie shall 
 be surely punished, according as the wo- 
 man's husband will lay upon him ; and he 
 shall pay as the judges determine. 
 
 23 And it'finij mischief follow, then thou 
 shalt give life for life, 
 
 24 ' Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand ' Lct. 24- 
 for hand, foot for foot, ^^^^^ j^ 
 
 25 Burning for burning, wound for 21. 
 wound, stripe^ for stripe. llT^'^' 
 
 26 ^ And if a man smite the eye of his 
 servant, or the eye of his maid, that it 
 perish ; he shall let him go free for his 
 eye's sake. 
 
 27 And if he smite out his manservant's 
 tooth, or his maidservant's tooth ; he shall 
 let him go free for his tooth's sake. 
 
 28 5f if an ox gore a man or a woman, 
 
 that they die: then ' the ox shall be surely ' Cm. 9.5. 
 stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten ; 
 but the owner of the ox shall be quit. 
 
 29 But if the ox were wont to push with 
 his horn in time past, and it hath been tes- 
 tified to his owner, and he hath not kept 
 him in, but that he hath killed a man or a 
 woman ; the ox shall be stoned, and his 
 owner also shall be put to death. 
 
 30 If there be laid on him a .sum of 
 money, then he shall give for the ransom 
 of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. 
 
 31 Whether he have gored a son, or have 
 gored a daughter, according to this judg- 
 ment shall it be done unto him. 
 
 32 If the ox shall push a manservant or 
 maidservant ; he shall give unto their mas- 
 ter thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall 
 be stoned. 
 
 33 ^ And if a man shall open a pit, or ^ 
 
 ST 
 
 with life, the Jewish law with the strictest equity ordaine<l, that 
 if any man were convicted of attempting to reduce any fellow- 
 citizen to slavery, he should be punished witli death. Dr. 
 Graves. 
 
 21. for he is his moiici/.'] He bought him with his money ; 
 
 thereforenot striking him i'or the pui-pose of killing him. he shall 
 not be punislied, since he is alraidy punished in liis loss. Bps. 
 Hall and Patrick. 
 
 24. Ei/e fur cijc, &c.n Not in kind, but by a fine, propoTtione<l 
 to the damage received^ The offender might in these cases, though 
 not in murder, make a ])ecuniary satisfaction. Bp. Kidder, f his 
 mode of expression intimated that the punishment ought to be 
 in jiroportion to the crime. This retaliation was never executed 
 under the Mosnick law. The .lews misunderst<iod the law, which 
 was only a direction to the magistrate, a.s if it authorized i>rivate 
 revenge. Our Saviour therefore sets the law in its true light, 
 Bp. H ilson.
 
 Divers laxcs 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 and 07'dinavccx. 
 
 B«fore if a man shuU dig a pit, and not cover it, 
 *^"f, j''*^ and an ox or an ass fall tiicriMn ; 
 
 3i The owner of the pit shall make ;/ 
 good, a)id give money unto the owner ot 
 them ; and the dead Oeast shall be his. 
 
 35 % And if one man's ox hurt another's, 
 tliat he die ; tlien tliey shall sell the live 
 ox, and divide the money of it ; and the 
 dead o.r also they shall divide. 
 • 36 Or if it be known that the ox hath 
 used to push in time past, and his owner 
 hath not kept him in ; he shall surely pay 
 ox for ox ; and the dead shall be his own. 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 1 Of thfft. 5 Of damage. 7 Of trespasses, li Of 
 borronin^. \6 Of fornication. IS Of witchcraft. 
 19 Of beaslialiti/. " 20 Of idolaln/. 21 'Of strangers, 
 n'idonsyandfaiherkss. "s2.5 Ofustiri/. 26 Of pledges. 
 28 Of reverence to magistrates. 29 Of the jirslfruits. 
 
 n Oi,ioiit. TF a man shall steal an ox, or a || sheep, 
 J. and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore 
 •2 Sam. five oxen for an ox, and 'four sheep for a 
 '- <'• sheep. 
 
 2 ^ If a thief be found breaking up, and 
 be smitten that he die, ilicre shall no blood 
 be shed for him. 
 
 3 If the sun be risen upon him, there 
 shall be blood shed for him ; Jbr he should 
 make full restitution ; if he have nothing, 
 then he shall be sold for his theft. 
 
 4 If the theft be certainly found in his 
 hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or 
 sheep ; he shall restore double. 
 
 5 If If a man shall cause a field or vine- 
 yard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, 
 and shall feed in another man's field ; of 
 the best of his own field, and of the best 
 of his own vineyard, shall he make resti- 
 tution. 
 
 6 ^ If fire break out, and catch in thorns, 
 so that the stacks of corn, or the standing 
 
 corn, or the field, be consumed theremlh ; 
 
 * ' 
 
 S6. — if it be known &c.] There is a great difference between 
 what is done casually, and what is done constantlj'. The former 
 verse speaks of the hurt done by a beast, that was not accustomed 
 to push ; and this, of the hurt done by one notoriously mis- 
 chievous. Accordingly greater damages were given in this latter 
 case tlian in the former. And by this general rule the Jews re- 
 gulated all other cases. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXII. ver. 1. — Jtve oxen — four shcep'^ The reason of 
 the greater punishment for stealing an ox seems to be, that the ex 
 was of greater value, was useful in agriculture, and perhaps was 
 more easily stolen, as feeding separately in the field. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 3. If the sun be risen &c.] It is remarkable that the laws of 
 most nations have punished more severely an attack by night 
 than by day. The Jewish law made it justifiable to kill a house- 
 breaker, only in the case of a nocturnal attempt : the Athenian 
 and Roman laws enacted the same : and by the English law, if a 
 
 he that kindled the fire shall surely make j.hu"ist 
 restitution. j491. 
 
 7 ^ If a man shall deliver unto his 
 neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it 
 be stolen out of the man's house j if the 
 thief be found, let him pay double. 
 
 S If the thief be not found, then the 
 master of the house shall be brought unto 
 the judges, io see whether he have put his 
 hand unto his neighbour's goods. 
 
 9 For all manner of trespass, rvhether it he 
 for ox, for ass, for slieep, for raiment, or 
 for any manner of lost thing, which another 
 challengeth to be his, the cause of both 
 parties shall come before the judges ; a7id 
 whom the judges shall condemn, he shall 
 pay double luito his neighbour. 
 
 10 If a man deliver unto his neighboiu* 
 an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, 
 to keep ; and it die, or be hurt, or driven 
 away, no man seeing it : 
 
 1 1 Then shall an oath of the Lord be 
 between them both, tliat he hath not put 
 his hand luito his neighbour's goods ; and 
 the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he 
 shall not make it good. 
 
 12 And "if it be stolen from him, he "Ccn-iu. 
 shall make restitution unto the owner ^'•*" 
 thereof. 
 
 13 If it be torn in pieces, then let him 
 bring it for witness, and he shall not make 
 good that which Avas torn. 
 
 11' ^[ And if a man borrow ought of his 
 neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the 
 owner thereof being not with it, he shall 
 surely make it good. 
 
 15 But if the owner thereof be with it, 
 he shall not make it good: if it be an hired 
 thmg, it came for his hire. 
 
 16 ir And "if a man entice a maid that ' ocut. 22. 
 is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall 
 surely endow her to be his wife. 
 
 17 If her father utterly refuse to give 
 
 person attempts to break open a house in the night time, .ind is 
 killed in tlie attempt, the slayer is acquitted ; not so in the <lay 
 time, unless the act carries with it an attempt at robbery also.- 
 Blachstonc. 
 
 6. If fire break out, &c.] It is a common custom in the East, 
 to set the dr}' herbage on fire, before the descent of the autumnal 
 rains; which fires, for want of care, often do great damage : on 
 this account it is expressly provided in the law of Moses, that 
 those who occasion them maliciously, or through great negligence, 
 should be liable to make all damages good. Harmcr. 
 
 11. — an oath of the Lord} They shall be put to swear by the 
 name of God. Bp. Hall. " An oath of the Lord" is an oath, 
 wherein God is appealed to as the only witness, there being no 
 need of this oath, where there was any other witness. He that 
 had stolen was forced to forswear himself, if he would avoid- dir- 
 covery. Hence it is tiiat theft and perjury are so often mentioned 
 together in Scriptiu-e, one very often inferring the other. See 
 Lev. xix. 11, 12 ; Frov. xxx. 8, 9; Zcch. v. 3, 4. Bp. Kidder.
 
 Divers latcs 
 
 CHAR XXII, XXIII. 
 
 arid ordinances. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 14D1. 
 
 t Hel.. 
 
 ■weish. 
 
 <i Dcut. 13. 
 13, 14, 15. 
 1 Blac. 2. 
 24. 
 
 * Lev. 19. 
 
 f Zech. 7. 
 10. 
 
 " Lev. 25. 
 
 37. 
 
 Deut. 23. 
 
 19. 
 
 Psal. 15. 5. 
 
 her unto Iiim, he sliall t pay money accord- 
 ing to the dowry of virgin.s. 
 
 18 ^ Thou shalt not suftbr a witch to 
 live. 
 
 19 IF Whosoever lietli with a beast shall 
 surely be put to death. 
 
 20 ^ '' He tliat sacrificeth unto a?iJ/ god, 
 save unto the Lord only, he shall be ut- 
 terly destroyed. 
 
 21 ^ " Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, 
 nor ojipress him : for ye were strangers in 
 the land of Egv^it. 
 
 22 ^ ^ Ye sTiall not afflict any widow, or 
 fatherless child. 
 
 23 If thou afflict them in' any wise, and 
 they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear 
 their cry ; 
 
 24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I 
 will kill you with the sword ; and yovu" 
 wives shall be widows, and your children 
 fatherless. 
 
 25 ^ ^ If thou lend money to amj of my 
 people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not 
 be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou 
 lay upon him usury. 
 
 26 If thou at all take thy neighbour's 
 raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it 
 unto him by that the sun goeth down : 
 
 27 For that is his covering only, it is 
 his raiment for his skin : wherein shall he 
 sleep ? and it shall come to pass, when he 
 crieth unto me, that I will hear ; for I am 
 gracious. 
 
 2S ^ " Thou shalt not revile the || gods, 
 nor curse the ruler of thy people. 
 
 29 IF Thou shalt not delay to offer t the 
 first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy t liquors : 
 ' the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give 
 unto me. 
 
 30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine 
 oxen, and with thy sheep : seven days it 
 shall be with his dam ; on the eighth day 
 thou shalt give it me. 
 
 IS. — a 7i<llcli2 One who practises diabolical arts. Dr. Wells. 
 A woman that pretends to the power of inverting the established 
 order of nature. Bp. Kidder. The Hebrew word refers, in its 
 original sense, to the pretended discoxery of things hidden, or 
 future, by magical means, rarlihurst. 
 
 27. For that is his covering &c.] To the present time the Arabs 
 use their clothes as a covering both by day and by night. The 
 usual size of their garments is six yards long, and five or six feet 
 broad, serving them for n complete dress in the day ; and as they 
 sleep in their raiments, as the Israelites did of old, it serves like- 
 wise for a bed and covering at night. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 28. — ihe gods,'] The judges or under magistrates. Bp. Pa- 
 trick, Dr. Wells, &c. 
 
 — — t/ic ruler of thy people.] The civil, the judiciary magi- 
 strate. He was not to be reviled, cspeciall} in the dii>ch.Trgc of 
 his office. Cabnet. 
 
 Chap. XXni. ver.2. Thou shall not follow &c.3 If thou art 
 a judge, thou shalt not be influenced, either by the people, " the 
 
 " Acts 2: 
 5. 
 
 II Or, 
 juitnes. 
 t Hel). 
 thtj fulness. 
 t Heb. tear. 
 ■ Ch;i)). 13. 
 :.M2.& 34. 
 19. 
 
 31 % And ye shall be holy men unto k*''"™ 
 me: "^neither shall ye eat «/ij/ flesh that is ^ mP"^ 
 torn of beasts in the field ; ye shall cast it ^.0^.22.8. 
 to the dogs. E""^ ■»•» 
 
 3). 
 
 CHAP. XXIH. 
 
 I Of.ilander and fahe rritness. 
 cliarifal)leiies.i. 10 f)f the year of rest. 12 Of 
 
 1.3 Of idolatn/. 11 Of the three feasts. 
 
 3, 6 OfjiLitice. 4 Of 
 y the 
 
 II Or, 
 receive. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 aniwer. 
 
 .mlihath 
 
 18 Of the blood and t)ic'fal of the sacrifice. 20 An 
 
 Angel is promised, with a blessing, if tliey oliey him. 
 
 THOU shalt not || raise a false report : 
 put not thine hand with the wicked 
 to be an unrighteous witness. 
 
 2 ^ Thou shalt not follow a multitude to 
 do evil ; neither shalt thou t speak in a 
 cause to decline after many to wrest judg- 
 ment : 
 
 3 ^ Neither shalt thou countenance a 
 poor man in his cause. 
 
 4 ^ If thou meet thine enemy's ox or 
 his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring 
 it back to him again. 
 
 5 " If thou see the ass of him that liateth 
 thee lying under his burden, II and wouldest 
 forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help 
 with him. 
 
 G Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of 
 thy poor in his cause. 
 
 7 Keep thee far from a false matter ; 
 and the innocent and nghteous slay thou 
 not : for I will not justify the wicked. 
 
 8 ^ And " thou shalt take no gifl : for 
 the gift blindeth t the wise, and perverteth 
 the words of the righteous. 
 
 9 ^ Also thou shalt not oppress a 
 stranger : for ve know the t heart of a 
 stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the 
 land of Egypt. 
 
 10 And "^ six years thou shalt sow thy 
 land, and shalt gather in the fruits there- 
 of: 
 
 1 1 But the seventh 7/ear thou shalt let 
 
 multitude;" or by the great, who are generally attended by 
 "many" supporters; to pronounce a f;ilse or unjust judgment. 
 Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wclh: 
 
 5. Neither s/tuli thou countenance a i>oor man Sic] If his cause 
 be bad, let his poverty be what it will, thou maycst not counte- 
 nance him in it. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 6. Thou shall not wrest the Judgment of thy poor] As they were 
 not to favour a man because' he V.i.s poor, ver. 3, so much less 
 might tliey wrong him, or forbear to do him right, because he 
 wanted money to prosecute his cause. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — false matter ;] False .iccusation, if the precept is ad- 
 dressed to persons in general: or false judgment, if it is address- 
 ed to judges, whom he seems to connnand not to " slay tlie in- 
 nocent ;" that is, not to pronoinicc a sentence of deatJj upon them, 
 or condemn them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Q. _ ,,e know Ihe heart of a .stranger,] Yc have Iclt what :i 
 di.'i'trcsscd condition that of a stranger is; how friendless and 
 helpless, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ' Dcut 22. 
 4. 
 
 II Or, 
 uUl ttiou 
 cease Co keip 
 Itim ? or, 
 and would- 
 est ceate to 
 leave thy 
 business 
 for him : 
 thou shati 
 surety leaue 
 it to join 
 ifith hinu 
 * Deiiu IC. 
 19. 
 
 Eccl"' 20. 
 29. 
 
 tHeb. 
 the seeing. 
 tHeb. 
 soul. 
 
 ' Lev. 25. 
 
 3.
 
 Divers hits 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 a»d ordinances. 
 
 Brfo" it rest and lie still ; that the poor of thy 
 *"' "111^^ people niav cat: ami wluit tliey leave the 
 boasts of the rielil sliall eat. In hke man- 
 ner tliou shah ileal with thy vineyard, and 
 y Or. with thv 11 olive\ ard. 
 
 lliie IrefM. 
 
 * CliBi). aa 
 
 Deiit.£. IS. 
 Luke 13. 
 M. 
 
 • Dcut IC. 
 IC. 
 
 ' Oiip. 13. 
 
 ( 
 IC. 
 
 W "Six davs thou shalt do thy work, 
 and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: 
 tliat tliine ox and thine ass may rest, and 
 the son of thy luuulniaid, and the stranger, 
 may be refreshed. 
 
 K3 And in all f/iings that I have said 
 unto you be circumspect : and make no 
 mention of the name of other gods, neither 
 let it be heard out of tiiy mouth. 
 
 14 IT "^ Three times thou shalt keep a 
 feast unto me in the year. 
 
 15 ' Thou shalt keep the feast of un- 
 *-*^<-"*- leavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleaven- 
 ed bread seven days, as I commanded 
 thee, in the time appointed of the month 
 Abib ; for in it thou earnest out from 
 
 D«ui.i6. Egypt : ^ and none shall appear before me 
 
 Ec(:i""3o. empty:) 
 «. ' 16 And the feast of harvest, the first- 
 fruits of thy labours, whicli thou hast sown 
 in thy field : and the feast of ingathering, 
 nhich is in the end of the year, when thou 
 hast gathered in thy labours out of the 
 field. 
 
 17 Three times in the year all thy males 
 shall appear before the Lord God. 
 
 IS Thou shalt not offer the blood of my 
 
 sacrifice with leavened bread ; neither shall 
 
 |Or,ye«j«. the fat of my 1| sacrifice remain until the 
 
 morning. 
 »ch8p. S4. 19 'The first of the firstfruits of thy 
 -*'• land thou slialt bring into the house of the 
 
 ' Dent. u. Louu thy God. ' Thou shalt not seethe a 
 ^'" kid in his mother's milk. 
 
 ' ciiap. 33. '20 % " Behold, I send an Angel before 
 '' tliee, to keep thee in the way, and to 
 
 bring thee into the place which I have 
 prepared. 
 
 21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, 
 provoke him not ; for lie will not pardon 
 
 I.?. — make no mention of the name of other gorf.v,] With an)' 
 reverence, or any approbation, by appealing to them, or vowing 
 by their names. It was not inilawful merely to mention tl>e names 
 of other gods in ordinary conversation. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 1 y. — Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his another's milk.l This 
 precept has respect to an idolatrous custom of the lioatliens of 
 tliose days, cruel as well as superstitious, who used to boil a kid 
 ni lU mother's milk, and sprinkle it on their fields and trees, in 
 order to make them frxiitful. Pi/te. 
 
 20. — an Anger] Called at verse 23, " Mine Angel." See 
 chap. xiv. 19. 
 
 21. — my name is in him.'] He acts by My authority and 
 power. Bo. Patrick. My power and divinity is in Him. Bo. 
 HaU. John X. 38. '' 
 
 The name of God signifies His essence, E.xod. iii. 13, 14. And 
 
 your transgressions : for my name is in 
 him. 
 
 '22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his 
 voice, and do all that I speak ; then 1 will 
 be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an 
 II adversary unto thine adversaries. 
 
 '28 ' For mine Angel shall go before thee, 
 and "' bring thee in unto the Amoritcs, and 
 the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the 
 Canaanites, the llivites, and the Jebusites : 
 and 1 will cut them off. 
 
 24- Thou shalt not bow down to their 
 gods, nor serve them, nor do after their 
 works : "but thou shalt utterly overthrow 
 them, and quite break down their images. 
 
 '25 And ye .shall serve the Lord your 
 God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy 
 water ; and I will take sickness away from 
 the midst of thee. 
 
 26 ^ ° There shall nothing cast their 
 young, nor be barren, in thy land : the 
 number of thy days I will fulfil. 
 
 27 I will send my fear before thee, and 
 will destroy all the people to whom thou 
 shalt come, and I will make all thine ene- 
 mies turn their + backs unto thee. 
 
 28 And '' I will send hornets before 
 thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, 
 the Canaanite, and the Ilittite, from be- 
 fore thee. 
 
 29 I will not drive them ont from before 
 thee in one year ; lest the land become de- 
 solate, and the beast of the field multiply 
 against thee. 
 
 30 By little and little I will drive them 
 out from before thee, until thou be in- 
 creased, and inherit the land. 
 
 31 And I will set thy bounds from the 
 Red sea even unto the sea of the Philis- 
 tines, and from the desert unto the river : 
 for 1 will deliver the inhabitants of the land 
 into your hand ; and thou shalt drive them 
 out before thee. 
 
 32 '' Thou shalt make no covenant with 
 them, nor with their gods. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1191. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 1 will afflict 
 thfjn Ihnt 
 nlflirl thee. 
 ' Chap. 33. 
 
 •■ Josli. 24. 
 II. 
 
 " Dcut. T. 
 25. 
 
 ° Dcut T. 
 
 14. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 neck. 
 
 f Josh. 24. 
 
 12. 
 
 ' Chiip. 34. 
 
 15. 
 
 Dcut. 7. 2. 
 
 .sometimes His word, says Maimoniiles ; and is applicable to the 
 "Messiah in both these senses. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 28. — / will send hornets before thee, &c.] .Sec the accomplish- 
 ment of this promise in Josh. xxiv. 12, 1 3, with the note upon it. 
 
 jElian gives a history of the Phasaelites, driven from their coun- 
 try by wasps. Tiiese jieople inhabited the mountiiins of Solyma;, 
 and were originally of Phenicia, that is, descendants of the Ca- 
 naanites ; and very probably were some of those very people, 
 who were expelled their country by tliose wa.sps or hornets, 
 wliich were sent to precede the army of Israel. Script, itlust. 
 
 31. — / nill set thi/ hounds &c.] See Gen. xv. 18, and Numb. 
 xxxiv. " The sea of the Philistines" is the Mediterranean sea, 
 on which the Philistines bordered : " the desert," the desert of 
 Arabia, or Shur, Exod. xv. 22, near Egypt ; apd " the river," 
 the Euphrates.
 
 Moses is called tip 
 
 CHAP. XXIV, XXV. 
 
 into the mountain. 
 
 Before 
 
 A" 
 
 33 They shall not dwell in thy land, 
 1491. lest they make thee sin against me : for if 
 f jjjut. 7. thou serve their gods, ' it will surely be a 
 '6- snare unto thee. 
 
 Josh. 23. 13. 
 Jude. 2. 3. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 1 Moses is called up into the vmuvtain. S The people 
 promise obedience. 4 Mases huildcth tin altar, and 
 twelve pillars. 6 He sprinMeth the blood of the co- 
 venant. 9 The glory of God appeareth. 14 Aaron 
 and Hur have the charge of the people. 15 Moses 
 goeth into the mountain, ivliere he continueth forty days 
 and forty nights. 
 
 ND he said unto Moses, Come up unto 
 the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, 
 and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of 
 Israel ; and worship ye afar off. 
 
 2 'And Moses alone shall come near the 
 Lord: but they shall not come nigh; nei- 
 ther sliall the people go up with him. 
 
 3 ^ And Moses came and told the people 
 all the words of the Lord, and all the 
 judgments : and all the people answered 
 
 •Chap. 19. with one voice, and said, 'AH the words 
 8. & 24. :i, ^iiicJi tj^e Lord hath said will we do. 
 iJcut.5.27. 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the 
 Lord, and rose up early in the morning, 
 and builded an altar under the hill, and 
 twelve pillars, according to the twelve 
 tribes of Israel. 
 
 5 And he sent young men of the chil- 
 dren of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, 
 and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 6 And Moses took half of the blood, 
 and put it in basons; and half of the blood 
 he sprinkled on the altar. 
 
 7 And he took the book of the covenant, 
 and read in the audience of the people : 
 
 "■Ver. 3. and they said, "AH that the Lord hath 
 said will we do, and be obedient. 
 
 8 And Moses took the blood, and 
 sprinkled it on the people, and said, Be- 
 
 M Pet 1.2. hold "the blood of the covenant, which 
 . cbr.9.20. ^j^g Lord hath made with you concerning 
 all these words. 
 
 9 % Then went up Moses, and Aaron, 
 
 chap. XXIV. ver. 4. — an altar — and tn-elvc pillars,'^ The 
 former to represent God in this covenant, which follows ; the 
 i.ittcr, to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 S. — Beltold the blood of the covenant,'^ Behold that blood, by 
 which the covenant made between God and you is signified to be 
 confirmed. Bp. Hall. This was a figure of tlie blood of Christ, 
 Matt. xxvi. 28. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 10. Ayid they saw the Gad of Israel:'} The visible glory of 
 God, the symbols of His Majesty and presence, appearing with 
 more splendour and brightness than ever before. Dr. Wells, Pyle. 
 
 under his fget'} Under the lower part of tliis glorious 
 
 Vol. I, 
 
 Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the eld- ^''"'^ 
 ers of Israel: ^^^^^ 
 
 ST 
 
 J49I. 
 
 10 And they saw the God of Israel: and 
 there was under his feet as it were a paved 
 work of a sapphire stone, and as it were 
 the body of heaven in liis clearness. 
 
 1 1 And upon the nobles of the children 
 of Israel he laid not his hand: also they 
 saw God, and did eat and drink. 
 
 12 % And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 Come up to me into the mount, and be 
 there: and I will give thee tables of stone, 
 and a law, and commandments which 1 
 have written ; that thou mayest teacli 
 them. 
 
 13 And Moses rose up, and his minister 
 Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount 
 of God. 
 
 14 And he said unto the elders. Tarry 
 ye here for us, until we come again unto 
 you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are 
 with you : if any man have any matters to 
 do, let him come unto them. 
 
 15 And Moses went up into the mount, 
 and a cloud covered the mount. 
 
 16 And the glory of tlie Lord abode 
 upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered 
 it six days : and the seventh day he called 
 unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 
 
 17 And the sight of the glory of the 
 Lord "was like devouring fire on the top of 
 the mount in the eyes of the children of 
 Israel. 
 
 18 And Moses went into the midst of 
 the cloud, and gat him up into the mount : ^ 
 
 and ■* Moses was in the mount forty days ^^^p- ^^ 
 and forty nights. oeut o. 9. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 1 JVhat the Israelites must offer for the making of the 
 tabernacle. 10 The form of the ark. 17 The mer- 
 cy seat, with the cherubims. 23 The table, with the 
 furniture tliereqf 31 The candlestick, with the in- 
 struments thereof. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 '2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that 
 
 light. There was no bodily form; for it is expressly said at 
 Deut. iv. 15, that they " saw no manner of siniilitude." Thus 
 the Divine Majesty is sometimes said to have a footstool, though 
 it have no human shape. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 a paved work of a sapphire stone,'] A pavement very 
 
 bright and glistering. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Ihc body of heaven'] As clear as tl:e piirest and sereiiest 
 
 sky, when it i« all spangled with stars. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 \ I. — also they saw God, &c.] They saw Ciod m these signs 
 of His manifestation, and yet lived in health and soundness ot 
 body. Bp. HalL
 
 The offerings for the tabernacle. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 The mercy seat. 
 
 BffoK 
 
 CHRIST 
 M9I. 
 
 flkb. 
 ttdttfoT me, 
 II Or. 
 
 Arat* offer- 
 tog. 
 
 ' Chap. 3J. 
 5. 
 r Or, h»t. 
 
 » Clmp. 28. 
 4. 
 
 ' ai»p. 28. 
 
 15. 
 
 ' Cbap. 37. 
 1. 
 
 the)- 1 bring me an II offering : * of every 
 man that giveth it willingly with his heart 
 ye shall take my offering. 
 
 3 And this is the offering which ye shall 
 Uke of them ; gold, and sil\cr, and brass, 
 
 4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and 
 II fine linen, and goats' hair, 
 
 5 And ranis' skins dyed red, and badg- 
 ers' skins, and shittim wood, 
 
 6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing 
 oil, and for sweet incense, 
 
 7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in 
 the " ephod, and in the ' breastplate. 
 
 8 And let them make me a sanctuary; 
 that I may dwell among them. 
 
 9 According to all that I shew thee, 
 after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the 
 pattern of all the instruments thereof, even 
 so shall ye make it. 
 
 1 5F ■* And they shall make an ark nf 
 shittim wood : two cubits and a half shall 
 be the length thereof, and a cubit and a 
 half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a 
 half the height thereof. 
 
 1 1 And thou shalt overlay it with pure 
 gold, within and without shalt thou over- 
 lay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of 
 gold round about. 
 
 Chap. XXV. ver. 4. — blue, and purple, &c.] These were 
 probably woollerj or yarn cloths ; not made of silk, which, it is 
 tliought, was not discovered in those early times; of fine linen 
 there was a peculiar kind amont^ the Egyptians called Byssus. It 
 is supposed that the Israelites either brought the materials here 
 mentioned witli them from Egypt, or else obtained them by traf- 
 ficking with some neighbouring tribes, and giving in exchange 
 other valuables which they had brought with them. Dp. Patrick. 
 
 ^o/(/4' Ani'r,] Many ancient and modern writers describe 
 
 the goats of Asia, Phrygia, and Cilicia: their hair is very long, 
 white, bright, and fine, and hangs to the ground ; in beauty it al- 
 most equals silk, and it is never sheared, but combed off. The 
 shcplierds carefully wash their goats often in the rivers. The 
 women Hpin the hair, and it is carried to Angora, where it is 
 worked and finely dyed. It affords at this day a great trade at 
 Angora and Aleppo. Calmct. 
 
 5. — badgers' skins,'] There are doubts respecting the mean- 
 ing of the Hebrew word, translated badgers' shins. The most 
 ancient interpreters think that it does not "signify any skin, but a 
 colour. lip. Patrick, Pult. 
 
 — — shittim rvood,'] Tlie shittim wood, of which very frequent 
 mention is made in Scri|)ture, grew in the neighbourhootl of mount 
 Sinai, as well as in other places, being exceedingly durable 
 smootJ), and strong. Bp. Patrick. ' 
 
 St. Jerome says, that tlie shittim wood resembles the white thorn; 
 that it is of an admirable beauty, solidity, strength and smooth'- 
 ness. It is tiiought he means the Black Acacia, which, they say, 
 is the only tree found in the deserts of Arabia. Calmct. The 
 Acacia benig by far the largest and the most common tree of 
 these deserts, (/Vrabia Petrea,) we have some reason to conjecture 
 that the shittim wood, of which the utensils, &c. of the tabernacle 
 (Exod. XXV.) were made, was the wood of the Acacia. This tree 
 abound.s with flowers of' a globular figure and of an excellent 
 smell, wliich may further induce us to ta.ke it for the same with 
 the shittah tree, which, in Is. xli. 19, is joined with the myrtle 
 and other swcet-sraelling plants. Dr. Shan: The Acad i Vera 
 seems to be the only indigenous tree in Upper Egypt. From it 
 
 12 And thou shalt cast four rings of "*'<^ 
 gold for it, and put them in the four corners *^"4^!.*^ 
 thereof; and two rings shall be in the one 
 
 .side of it, and two rings in the other side 
 of it. 
 
 13 And thou shalt make staves o/ shittim 
 wood, and overlay them with gold. 
 
 14 And thou shalt put the staves into 
 the rings by the sides of the ark, that the 
 ark may be borne with them. 
 
 15 The staves shall be in the rings of 
 the ark : they shall not be taken from it. 
 
 16 And thou shalt put into the ark the 
 testimony which I shall give thee. 
 
 17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of 
 pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be 
 the length thereof, and a cubit and a half 
 the breadth thereof. 
 
 18 And thou shalt make two cherubims 
 of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make 
 them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. 
 
 19 And make one cherub on the one 
 end, and the other cherub on the other 
 end: even || of the mtrcy seat shall ye make II Or, 
 the cherubims on the two ends thereof. "^^'ifTi^e' 
 
 20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth ^frcy seat. 
 their wings on high, covering the mercy 
 
 seat with their wings, and their faces shall 
 
 proceeds the gum-Arabick, which chiefly comes from Arabia Pe- 
 trea, where tliesc trees are most numerous: bnt it is the most 
 common tree of all the deserts from the northernmost part of Ara- 
 bia to the extremity of Ethiopia. Bruce. 
 
 8. — « sancluartj r\ A tabernacle or tent, called a sanctuary or 
 holy place, because it was appropriated to God, and because no 
 uncircumcised or unclean person might enter into it without pro- 
 fanation: there God was to dwell or to manifest His presence in a 
 peculiar manner by a cloud or visible glory. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — an ark"] A chest or coffer. Bp. Patrick. A cubit, ac- 
 cording to Bp. Cumberland, was about twenty-one inches of our 
 measure. See the tables. 
 
 11. — a cronn of gold round about.'] A mixed border which 
 went round the top of it. £p. Patrick. A cornice or rim of massy 
 gol<l. Pyle. 
 
 16". — put into the ark the testimony] The two tables of stone, 
 containing the Ten Commandments, which testi/ied what tlie will 
 of God was, which the Israelites consented to observe. Hence 
 the ark itself is frequently called the ark of the testimony, 
 chap. xl. 21. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 17. — thoii shall make a mercy seaJC] The lid or covering of the 
 ark was called the mercy seat, or propitiatory, because God here 
 shewed Himself to be propitious, being appeased by the blood of 
 the sacrifices which was sprinkled on this place. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18. — chenihims] These were winged figures: and the cir- 
 cumstance of tiieir being placed in the Holy of Holies, (a type of 
 the highest heaven, Hebr. ix. 24,) makes it jirobable tliat they re- 
 present the angels which stand before God continually, Matt, xviii. 
 10, ready to do God's will, Hebr. i. 14. Bp. Kidder. It is uncer- 
 tain of what shape they were. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. The Jewish 
 doctors have always represented the cherubim on the holy ark un- 
 der the shape of winged boys. Archdeacon Sharp. It was between 
 the cherubim, over the lid of the ark, that the slori/ of the Lord 
 resided. Hence God is said to dwell between the cherubims, Ps. 
 Ixxx. 1, and tlie ark is called His footstool, Ps. xcLx. 5. Here He 
 displayed the token of His immediate presence, and hence He 
 delivered out His orders and commands. Pyle.
 
 Taber^sacue i:y the >>'ll.i>JiR>^i:ss, 
 
 £XOJi. XXVU. J. iV . 
 
 
 Exoi). xxr. y.i . 
 
 TABEKNACLK I'NCO^'ERED. KXOD. XXVJI 
 
 
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 ETOD.JXZ.J J 
 
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 11mmi!i<«i if-n1|> 
 
 RthHthed AJr At Soae^. ^prvmotmtf ('An.r/i'iin KhowlM^.i^M^i^Jiu'in^hm^. SfJim/if dtayft J<tn/ Lftndon ./(vutury 7?4d^
 
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 t : K,nT. ■ I,
 
 Tfieftemiture 
 
 CHAP. XXV, XXVI. 
 
 Jbr the tabernacle. 
 
 S9, 
 
 Before look 0116 to anotlicr; toward the mercy seat 
 '^'^WK^^ shall the faces of the cherubims be. 
 
 21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat 
 above upon the ark j and in the ark thou 
 shalt put the testimony that I shall give 
 thee. 
 
 22 And there I will meet with thee, and 
 I will commune with thee from above the 
 
 Numb. 7. mercy seat, from 'between the two che- 
 rubims which are upon the ark of the tes- 
 timony, of all things which I wiU give tliee 
 in commandment unto the children of 
 Israel. 
 » Chap. S7. 23 ^ ^ Thou shalt also make a table of 
 ^°- shittim wood : two cubits shall be the length 
 
 thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, 
 and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 
 
 24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure 
 gold, and make thereto a crown of gold 
 round about. 
 
 25 And thou shalt make unto it a border 
 of an hand breadth round about, and thou 
 shalt make a golden crowu to the border 
 thereof round about. 
 
 26 And thou shalt make for it four rings 
 of gold, and put the rings in the four cor- 
 ners that are on the four feet thereof. 
 
 27 Over against the border shall the rings 
 be for places of the staves to bear the table. 
 
 28 And thou shalt make the staves of 
 shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, 
 that the table may be borne with them. 
 
 29 And thou shalt make the dishes 
 thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers 
 
 II Or, thereof, and bowls thereof, || to cover with- 
 !«Xr°"' al: ofpure gold shalt thou make them. 
 
 30 And thou shalt set upon the table 
 shewbread before me alway. 
 
 • Chap. 37. 31 ^ ^ And thou shalt make a candle- 
 stick of pure gold : of beaten work shall 
 the candlestick be made : his shaft, and his 
 branches, his bowls, liis knops, and his 
 flowers, shall be of the same. 
 
 32 And six branches shall come out of 
 the sides of it ; three branches of the can- 
 dlestick out of the one side, and three 
 branches of the candlestick out of the 
 other side : 
 
 29- — '^ dishes — spoons — co-jers — botvWy It is thought 
 that in the " dishes" the shewbread was placed. The " spoons," 
 vials or cups, as some translate, used in conveying the incense. 
 The " covers," with which the loaves and the incense were co- 
 vered. The " bowls," for the wine used in the sacrifices. Bp. 
 Patrick, Dr. Wells. " To cover withal," the most prob.ible mean- 
 ing is, that the above-mentioned utensils were to cover or furnish 
 out the table. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 30. — sftewbreMT] In Hebrew, the bread of the face or presence, 
 because it was set before the ark of the covenant, where God was 
 present, jjp. Patrick. See it described at Lcvit. xxiv. 5, 7. 
 
 17, 
 
 1491. 
 
 face ■>f 
 
 33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, before 
 with a knop and a flower in one branch; ^^^^^* 
 and three bowls made like almonds in tlie 
 other branch, xviih a knop and a flower : so 
 in the six branches that come out of the 
 candlestick. 
 
 34 And in the candlestick sliall be four 
 bowls made like unto almonds, nith their 
 knops and their flowers. 
 
 35 And there shall be a knop under two 
 branches of the same, and a knop under 
 two branches of the same, and a knop 
 under two branches of the same, according 
 to the six branches that proceed out of the 
 candlestick. 
 
 36 Their knops and their branches shall 
 be of the same : all of it shall be one beaten 
 work of pure gold. 
 
 37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps 
 thereof: and they shall |1 light the lamps II O""- 
 thereof, that they may give light over o°^.' 
 against t it. + Heb. 
 
 38 And the tongs thereof, and the snuff- '^y° 
 dishes thereof, shall be o/'pure gold. 
 
 39 Of a. talent of pure gold shall he make 
 it, with all these vessels. 
 
 40 And " look that thou make them after ' Acts 7. 
 their pattern, + which was shewed thee in Hebr. s. 5. 
 the mount. +?'.''• ^ 
 
 wast caused 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. '"^ 
 
 1 The ten curtains of the tabernncle. 7 Tlie eleven 
 curtains of goats' hair. 14 The covering of rams' 
 ski?is. 15 The boards of the tabernacle, nith their 
 sockets and bars. 31 The vail for the ark. 36 The 
 hanging for the door. 
 
 MOREOVER thou shalt make the ta- 
 bernacle -ivith ten curtains (f fine 
 twined linen, and blue, and purple, and 
 scarlet : zcith cherubims t of cunning work t "ei^ 
 shalt thou make them. a Iw'nmg 
 
 2 The length of one curtain shall be «'<"-«^.'>'C 
 eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth Z'e^ " 
 of one ciu-tain four cubits : and every one 
 
 of the curtains shall have one measure. 
 
 3 The five curtains shall be coupled to- 
 gether one to another ; and other five cur- 
 tains shall be coupled one to another. 
 
 Hebrew word 
 and here 
 to 
 
 Chap. XXVI. ver. 1. — the tabernacle'} The 
 properly signifies any habitation or place to dwell in ; and h 
 denotes a tent, or dwelling which might be moved from place 
 place. 
 
 This tabernacle had four separate coverings, the ten curtains 
 mentioned in this verse, the curtains of goats' hair, ver. 7, ami 
 tlie two coverings mentioned at ver. 1 4, to preserve and shelter it 
 from the weather. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 with cherubims of cunning Kork'] Meaning that figures of 
 
 cherubims should be curiously wTOught on the curtains. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 7.-X
 
 The tabarnack 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 and its appurtenances. 
 
 B*f"" 1. And thou shall make Ioojjs of bhie 
 '^""'.'^^ upon the edge of tJie one curtain from the 
 selvedge in the coupling ; and likewise 
 shalt thou m:ike in the uttermost edge of 
 another ciu-tain, in the coupling of the 
 second. 
 
 5 FiAy loops shalt thou make ni the one 
 curtain, and Hftv loops shalt thou make in 
 the edge of the curtain that is in the cou- 
 pling of the second ; that the loops may 
 take hold one of another. 
 
 (i And thou shalt make fifty taches of 
 gold, and couple the curtains together with 
 tlie taches : and it shall be one tabernacle. 
 
 7 V And thou shalt make curtains of 
 goats' hair to be a covering upon the taber- 
 nacle : eleven curtains shalt thou make. 
 
 8 The length of one curtain shall be 
 thirty cubits, and the breadth of one cur- 
 tain "four cubits: and the eleven curtains 
 5^// l>c all of one measure. 
 
 9 And thou shalt couple five curtains by 
 tlieuLselves, and six curtains by themselves, 
 and shalt double the sixth curtain in the 
 forefront of the tabernacle. 
 
 10 And thou shalt make fifty loops on 
 the edge of th^ one curtain that is outmost 
 in the coupling, and fifty loops in tlie edge 
 of, the curtain which coupletli the second. 
 ^,'X\ And tliou shalt make fifty taches of 
 brass, and put the taches into the loops, and 
 cppp^e tiie lltent together, that it may be one. 
 
 l!i:And the remnant that remaineth of 
 the curtains of the tent, the half curtain 
 that remaineth, shall hang over the back- 
 side of the tabernacle. 
 
 13 And a cubit on the one side, and a 
 
 t "««»• cubit on the other side t of that which re- 
 
 mnniul'.t.T. malnclh in the length of the curtains of the 
 
 fK'/Vwop-. tent, it shall hang over the sides of the ta- 
 
 beniacle on this side and on that side, to 
 
 cover it. 
 
 I't And thou shalt make a covering for 
 the tent o/ rams' skins dyed red, and a co- 
 vering above ^badgers' skins. 
 
 15 1[ And thou shalt make boards for the 
 tabernacle ofshittim wood standing up. 
 
 It) Ten cubits shall be the length of a 
 board, and a cubit and a half shall be the 
 breadth of one board. 
 
 17 Two t tenons shall there be in one 
 board, set in order one against another : 
 thus shalt thou make for all the boards of 
 the tabernacle. 
 
 18 And thou shalt make the boards for 
 
 SI. — cuiiniixg trork :'] Work ingeniously and curiously 
 wrmight : this s€<ans to be more curioiis work than tlie " ncedlc- 
 ■work" mentioned vex. 36. Bf. ratrick. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 t flrih 
 
 the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south ^j^^ji^g^p 
 side southward. 1491. 
 
 19 And thou shalt make forty sockets 
 of silver under the twenty boards ; two 
 sockets under one board for his two tenons, 
 and two sockets under another board for 
 his two tenons. 
 
 20 And for the second side of the taber- 
 nacle on the north side there shall be twenty 
 boards : 
 
 21 And their forty sockets o/silver; two 
 sockets under one board, and two sockets 
 under another board. 
 
 22 And for the sides of the tabernacle 
 westward thou shalt make six boards. 
 
 23 And two boards shalt thou make for the 
 corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. 
 
 24 And they shall be t coupled together t HeK 
 beneath, and they shall be coupled together '"'""''' 
 above the head of it unto one ring : thus 
 shall it be for them both ; they shall be for 
 
 the two comers. 
 
 25 And they shall be eight boards, and 
 their sockets o/silver, sixteen sockets; two 
 sockets under one board, and two sockets 
 under another board. 
 
 26 1[ And thou shalt make bars o/'shit- 
 tim wood ; five for the boards of the one 
 side of the tabernacle, 
 
 27 And five bars for the boards of the 
 other side of the tabernacle, and five bars 
 for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, 
 for the two sides westward. 
 
 28 And the middle bar in the midst of 
 the boards shall reach from end to end. 
 
 29 And thou shalt overlay the boards 
 with gold, ;uk1 make their rings o/gold/or 
 places for the bars : and thou shalt overlay 
 the bars with gold. 
 
 30 And thou shalt rear up the taberna- 
 cle 'according to the fashion thereof which ''C^p.25. 
 was shewed thee in the mount. Acts?. 41, 
 
 31 % And thou shalt make a vail of h\ne, Hebr.8.5. 
 and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined 
 
 linen of cunning work : with cherubims 
 shall it be made : 
 
 32 And thou shalt hang it upon four 
 pillars of shittim "wood overlaid with gold : 
 their hooks shall be of go] d, upon the four 
 sockets of silver. 
 
 33 ^ And thou shalt hang up the vail 
 under the taches, that thou mayest bring 
 in thither within the vail the ark of the tes- 
 timony : and the vail shall divide unto you 
 between the holy place and the most holy. 
 
 33. — between ihc hnhj place and the most holy.'] The Holy 
 pLice, into which none but the priests could enter ; the most Holy^ 
 the Sanctuary or Holy of Holies, into which none but the high 
 
 I
 
 The altar of burnt offering. 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 v:ith the vessels thereof. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST ^* '^"'^ ^^^'^'^ s\\2At put the mercy seat 
 1191. upon the ark of the testimony in the most 
 holy place. 
 
 35 And tliou slialt set the table without 
 tlie vail, and the candlestick over against 
 the table on the side of the tabernacle to- 
 ward the south : and thou shalt put the 
 table on the north side. 
 
 36 And thou shalt make an hanging for 
 the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, 
 and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought 
 with needlework. 
 
 37 And thou shalt make for the hanging 
 five pillars of shittim r^ood, and overlay 
 tliem with gold, and their hooks shall be of 
 gold : and thou shalt cast five sockets of 
 brass for them. 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 1 The altar of burnt offering, with the vessels thereof. 
 9 The court of the tabernacle inclosed rvitk hangings 
 and pillars. 18 The measure of the court. 20 The 
 oil for the lamp. 
 
 AND thou shalt make an altar o/' shittim 
 wood, five cubits long, and five cubits 
 broad ; the altar shall be foursquare : and 
 the height thereof shall be three cubits. 
 
 2 And thou shalt make the horns of it 
 upon the four comers thereof: his horns 
 shall be of the same : and thou shalt over- 
 lay it with brass. 
 
 3 And thou shalt make his pans to re- 
 ceive his ashes, and his shovels, and his 
 basons, and his fleshhooks, and his fire- 
 pans : all the vessels thereof thou shalt 
 make of brass. 
 
 4 And thou shalt make for it a grate of 
 network of brass ; and upon the net shalt 
 thou make four larasen rings in the four 
 corners thereof. 
 
 5 And thou shalt put it under the com- 
 pass of the altar beneath, that the net may 
 be even to the midst of the altar. 
 
 6 And thou shalt make staves for the 
 altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay 
 them with brass. 
 
 7 And the staves shall be put into the 
 rings, and the staves shall be upon the two 
 sides of the altar, to bear it. 
 
 8 Hollow witli boards shalt thou make 
 l^.f'-, it : tas it was shewed thee in the mount, so 
 
 shall they make «7. 
 
 9 % And thou shalt make the court of the 
 
 prit-st could enter, and he only once a year, on the great day of 
 expiation. Slackhouse. 
 
 Chap. XXVII. ver. 1. — thou shalt make an altar'} The 
 altiir of burnt offerings, as is explained at l^\od, chap, xxxviii. 
 
 'iCT. 1. I 
 
 tabernacle : for the south side southward ^"^ 
 there shall be hangings for the court o/fine '^^fs!®'^ 
 twined hnen of an hundred cubits long for 
 one side : 
 
 10 And the twenty pillars thereof and 
 their twenty sockets shall he of brass ; the 
 hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall 
 be of silver. 
 
 11 And likewise for the north side in 
 length there shall be hangings of an hundred 
 cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their 
 twenty sockets of brass ; the hooks of the 
 pillars and their fillets of silver. 
 
 12 i! And for the breadth of the court 
 on the west side shall be hangings of fifty 
 cubits : their pillars ten, and their sockets 
 ten. 
 
 IS And the breadth of the court on the 
 east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. ' 
 
 14 The hangings of one side of the gate 
 shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, 
 and their sockets three. 
 
 15 And on the other side shall be hang- 
 ings fifteen cubits : their pillars three, and 
 their sockets three. 
 
 16 ^ And for the gate of the court shall 
 be an hanging of twenty cubits, oj blue, 
 and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined 
 linen, wrought with needlework : and their 
 pillars shall be four, and their sockets 
 four. 
 
 17 All the pillars round about the court 
 shall be filleted with silver; their hooks 
 shall be of silver, and their sockets of 
 brass. 
 
 18 ^ The length of the court shall be an 
 hundred cubits, and the breadth t fifty ^,^^^ 
 every where, and the height five cubits /j>y.^ 
 of fine twined linen, and their sockets of 
 brass. 
 
 19 All the vessels of the tabernacle in 
 all the service thereof, and all the pins 
 thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall 
 be of brass. 
 
 20 % And thou shalt command the chil- 
 dren of Israel, that they bring thee pure 
 oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the 
 lamp t to burn always. ^^^int 
 
 21 In the tabernacle of the congregation up. 
 without the vail, which is before the testi- 
 mony, Aaron and his sons shall order it 
 from evening to morning before the Lord : 
 
 20. — oU olive bealcii] That is, oil not squeezed out by a press 
 or mill, but such as ran fireely from the olives when bruised. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 21. — the vail, rvhich it before the testimony^ 'fh.e vail v.h'oh 
 was before the " ark of the testimony," and ■which separate; '.he 
 Holy place from the Holy of Holies. Bp. Patrid:,
 
 Aaron ami his sons are set 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 apart for the priest^ s office. 
 
 ■rf*" it shall be a statute for ever unto their ge- 
 ^"m"!'^ uerations on the behall" of the childien of 
 Israel. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 1 Aaron and his son* are tet apart for ike priest's office. 
 S //o/y gari'ienU are appuinled. O The ephod. 1 5 
 The breastfJale nilh Inelve precious stones. 30 The 
 Urim and Thummim. 3 1 The robe of the ephod, nith 
 pomegranates and bells. 36" The plate of t/ie mitre. 
 ^9 The embroidered coal. 40 The garments for Aa- 
 ron's swu. 
 
 A' 
 
 ND take thou unto thee Aaron thy 
 
 brother, and his sons with him, from 
 
 among tlie children of Israel, that he may 
 minister unto me in the priest's office, even 
 Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and 
 Ithamar, Aaron's sons. 
 
 2 And thou shalt make holy garments for 
 Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. 
 
 3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are 
 wise hearted, whom I have filled with the 
 spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aa- 
 ron's garments to consecrate him, that he 
 may minister unto me in the priest's office. 
 
 4 And these are the garments which 
 they shall make ; a breastplate, and an 
 ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, 
 a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make 
 holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and 
 his sons, that he may minister unto me in 
 the priest's office. 
 
 5 And they shall take gold, and blue, 
 and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 
 
 6 i[ And they shall make the ephod of 
 gold, o/'blue, and o/'purple, o/' scarlet, and 
 fine twined linen, with cunning work. 
 
 7 It shall have the two shoulderpieces 
 thereof joined at the two edges thereof; 
 
 I Or. and so it shall be joined together. 
 
 erf. "' 8 And the 1! curious girdle of the ephod, 
 
 Chtp. XXVIIl. ver. 1. And lake thou unto thee &c.] Here is 
 the first appointment of a regular priesthood; Aaron and his sons 
 are here selected for that office, and afterwards, chap, xxxii. 29, 
 the whole tribe of Levi are consecrated to the Lord. lip. Patrick: 
 
 '2. — hoii/ garments} Called holy Iwcause worn by none but 
 priests, and by them only when they ministered : they were in- 
 tended " for glory and tor beauty," that is, to make their office 
 more respected, and to strike beholders with an awful sense of the 
 Divine Majestj', whose ministers they sjiw appear in such "ran- 
 deur. Bp. Patrick. 'Sft holy in their own nature, but so called, 
 by reason of their distinction and separation from other things of 
 the like nature to higher and more excellent uses. Bp. Bcverid"r. 
 
 3. — all thtit are n'ise hearted,} So the Hebrews call those that 
 arc endowed witJi extr.iordinary skill in any art : these persons 
 were fillctl by God with the spirit of wisdom, that is, endowed in 
 an extraordinary manner with skill for these requisite works. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 C. — the ephod} This name is derived from a Hebrew word 
 signifying to tic or gird. The ephod was a. kind of girdle, which 
 was brought from brhind the back, over the two shoulders ; was 
 tlien put across the stomach, and carried round the waist, ^o as to 
 
 which is upon it, shall be of the same, ac- pS^J^Tg^ 
 cording to the work thereof; even of gold, u^\. 
 o/blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine 
 twined linen. 
 
 [) And thou shalt take two onyx stones, 
 antl grave on them the names of the chil- 
 dren of Israel : 
 
 10 Six of their names on one stone, and 
 the other six names of the rest on the other 
 stone, according to their birth. 
 
 1 1 ' With the work of an engraver in * wudom 
 stone, lifL-e the engravings of a signet, shalt 
 
 thou engrave the two stones with the names 
 of the children of Israel : thou shalt make 
 them to be set in ouches of gold. 
 
 l'-2 And thou shalt put the two stones 
 upon the shoulders of the e])liod for stones 
 of memorial unto the children of Israel : 
 and Aaron shall bear their names before 
 the Lord upon his two shoulders for a me- 
 morial. 
 
 13 % And thou shalt make ouches o/' 
 gold ; 
 
 14 And two chains of pure gold at the 
 ends ; of wreathen work shalt thou make 
 them, and fasten the wreathen chains to 
 the ouches. 
 
 15 % And thou shalt make the breast- 
 plate of judgment with cunning work ; after 
 the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; 
 o/"gold, o/'blue, and o/'purple, and of scar- 
 let, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou 
 make it. 
 
 16 Foursquare it shall be bei7ig doubled; 
 a span s/iall be the length thereof, and a 
 span shall be the breadth thereof. 
 
 17 And thou shalt tset in it settings ofjj^tn'it 
 stones, even four rows of stones: the Jirst f">'^' 9f 
 row shall be a llsardius, a topaz, and a car- Yor.rvbi/. 
 buncle : iliis sJiall be the first row. 
 
 form a girdle to the broidered coat, the ends oi it hanging (\oyn\ 
 before. The " shoulderpieces," ver. 7, were the parts covering 
 the shoulders, and " the girdle," ver. 8, that part which tied round 
 the body, below the heart. Calmet. 
 
 12. — for stones of memorial} For a sign whereby the children 
 of Israel may know that their memory is presented to God, and 
 that they are had in remembrance of God. Bp. Hall. A memo- 
 rial both with reference to God, ver. 29, and also to the priest, 
 who was thereby put in mind of the concerns of the people. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 15. — breastplate of Judgment} It was so called, because the 
 high priest wore it, when he went to consult the Divine Majesty 
 about the great concerns of theii* religion and government: it was 
 to be made ef the same materials and workmanship with the 
 ephod : it was also to be " foursquare" when doubled, ver. 1 6, that 
 is, the whole piece was to be twice as long as it was broad, so that 
 when doubled it was to form a square of a span on every side. 
 The span was half a cubit, or about ten inches. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 7- — a sardius, &.c.} There is very little certainty as to the 
 particular kinds of stones mentioned in these verses, the true 
 meaning of the Hebrew wewds being ill understootl. Pyk.
 
 ■m
 
 ,1 ', iiM- ' , ij I'M ' it; il 
 
 v>l .ou
 
 Holy garments for 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 Before jg And the second row shall he an eme- 
 1491, raid, a sapphire, and a diamond. 
 
 19 And the third row a ligure, an agate, 
 and an amethyst. 
 
 20 And the fourth row a beryl, and an 
 onyx, and a jasper : they shall be set in 
 
 t Heb. gold in their t inclosirrgs. 
 
 juiin^s. 21 And the stones shall be with the 
 
 names of the children of Israel, twelve, 
 according to their names, like the engrav- 
 ings of a signet ; every one with his name 
 shall they be according to the twelve 
 tribes. 
 
 22 ^ And thou shalt make upon the 
 breastplate chains at the ends o/'wreathen 
 work 0/ pure gold. 
 
 23 And thou shalt make upon the breast- 
 plate two rings of gold, and shalt put the 
 two rings on the two ends of the breast- 
 plate. 
 
 24 And thou shalt put the two wreathen 
 chains of gold in the two rings "which are on 
 the ends of the breastplate. 
 
 25 And the other two ends of the two 
 wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two 
 ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces 
 of the ephod before it. 
 
 26 ^ And thou shalt make two rings of 
 gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two 
 ends of the breastplate in the border there- 
 of, which is in the side of the ephod in- 
 ward. 
 
 27 And two other rings of gold thou 
 shalt make, and shalt put them on the two 
 sides of the ephod underneath, toward the 
 forepart thereof, over against the other 
 coupling thereof, above the curious girdle 
 of the ephod. 
 
 30. — the Vrim and the Tkummim /] The words Urim and 
 Thuminim signify light and perfection. There is not the least in- 
 timation any where what these were, nor is there any direction 
 given to Moses for the making of them, as there is for the rest of 
 the priestly attire. The opinions respecting their meaning have 
 been very various : some have tliought that the words merely re- 
 ferred to the twelve stones, which have been described, ver. 1 7, 
 on the breastplate of the high priest ; others, that they were small 
 oracular figures placed in the doubling of the breastplate, which 
 gave articulate answers ; others, that they referred to a plate of 
 gold, inscribed with the sacred name of Jehovah ; others again, 
 that they only imply the Divine virtue and power given to the 
 breastplate in its consecration, of obtaining an oracular answer 
 from God ; and that the names Urim and Thuminim were applied 
 only to denote the clearness and perfection, which those oracular 
 answers always carried with them. Whatever the ornament was, 
 it enabled the high priest to collect divine instruction on occa- 
 sions of national imporfcince, or even of private concern. It is 
 wholly unknown how the Lord answered by the Urim and Thum- 
 rnini. The Jews generally think it was done by the shining of 
 the stones, on the breastplate, or of some letters inscribed upon it. 
 Others with more reason suppose that the Urim and Thummim 
 only qualified the high priest to present himself in the holy place 
 
 Aaron and fits sons. 
 
 Before 
 
 28 And they shall bind the breastplate 
 by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ^^im 
 ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be 
 above the curious girdle of the epliod, and 
 that the breastplate be not loosed from the 
 ephod. 
 
 29 And Aaron shall bear the names of 
 the children of Israel in the breastplate of 
 judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in 
 unto the holy place, for a memorial before 
 the Lord continually. 
 
 So ^ And thou shalt put in the breast- 
 plate of judgment the Urim and the Thum- 
 mim ; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, 
 when he goeth in before the Lord : and 
 Aaron shall bear the judgment of the chil- 
 dren of Isi-ael upon his heart before the 
 Lord continually. 
 
 31 ^ And thou shalt make the robe of 
 the ephod all of blue. 
 
 32 And there shall be an hole in the top 
 of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a 
 binding of woven work round about the 
 hole of it, as it were the hole of an haber- 
 geon, that it be not rent. 
 
 33 ^ And beneath upon the || hem of it II Or. 
 thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and * 
 o/'purple, and o/" scarlet, round about the 
 hem thereof ; and bells of gold between 
 them round about : 
 
 34 A golden bell and a pomegranate, a 
 golden beU and a pomegranate, upon the 
 hem of the robe round about. 
 
 35 *' And it shall be upon Aaron to min- 
 ister : and his sound shall be heard when 
 he goeth in unto the holy place before the 
 Lord, and when he cometh out, that he 
 die not. 
 
 to receive answers from the mercy seat in the tabernacle. Dr. 
 Gray, Dean Prideaux, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 32. — habergeon,'^ Armour to cover the neck and breast, a 
 neckpiece. Dr. Johnson. 
 
 33. — pomegranates'] Bells of embroidery, in size and shape 
 like pomegranates. The pomegranate is a sort of apple very 
 common in the East ; as the fruit is very beautiful, the Scriptures 
 often make use of similitudes taken from it. Calmet. 
 
 bells'] The bell seems to lla^'e been a sacred utensil of 
 
 very ancient use in Asia. The use and intent of these bells iji 
 the pontifical robe of the Jewish liigh priest is e\ ident from the 
 following words : " his sound shall be heard when he goeth in, 
 &c." The sound of the numerous bells that covered tlie hem of 
 his garment gave notice to the assembled people that the most 
 awful ceremony of their religion had commenced. When arrayed 
 in this garb, he bore into the sanctuary the vessel of incenee ; it 
 was the signal to prostrate themselves before the Deity, and to 
 commence those fervent ejaculations which were to ascend with 
 the column of that incense to the throne of heaven. The an- 
 cient kings of Persia, who, in fact, imited in their own persons 
 the regal and sacerdotal office, were accustomed to have the 
 fringes of their robes adorned with pomegranates and golden bells. 
 Caliiief. 
 
 "Ecd" 
 45.9.
 
 Hohi gannails. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 Consecration ofpriesls. 
 
 Befure 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 MVl. 
 
 Sa \ And thou shall make a plate o/pure 
 colli, and crave upon it, lila- the engrav- 
 h.^s of a «gnet, HOLINESS TO THE 
 LOUD. 
 
 iJ7 And thou shall put it on a blue lace, 
 that it may he upon tlie mitre ; upon the 
 forefront (if the mitre it shall be. 
 
 38 And it shall be upon Aaron's fore- 
 head, that Aaron may bear the inicpiity of 
 the holv things, uhich the children of Israel 
 shall hallow in all their holy gifts ; and it 
 shall be always upon his forehead, that they 
 may be accepted before the Lord. 
 
 •Sil ^ And thou shalt embroider the coat 
 of Hue linen, and thou shalt make the mitre 
 o/fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle 
 o/'ncedlework. 
 
 1-0 i[ And for Aaron's sons thou shalt 
 make coats, and thou shalt make for them 
 girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for 
 them, for glory and for beauty. 
 
 41 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron 
 thy brother, and his sons with him ; and 
 shalt anoint them, and t consecrate them, 
 and sanctify them, that they may minister 
 unto me in the priest's office. 
 
 42 And thou shalt make them linen 
 breeches to cover t their nakedness ; from 
 
 feiAnf their ^j^g iQJjjg gygp ^,j^tQ jj^g thighs thcy shall 
 
 t Hcu t reach : 
 
 **• 4J And they shall be upon Aaron, and 
 
 upon liis sons, when they come in unto the 
 tabernacle of the congregation, or when 
 thcy come near unto the altar to minister 
 in the holy place ; that they bear not ini- 
 quity, and die : it shall be a statute for ever 
 unto him and his seed after him. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 1 The sacrifice and ceremonies of cotisecratinp the priests. 
 3S The continual burnt offering. -J-.J God's promise to 
 dwell among the children of' Israel. 
 
 AND this is the thing that thou shalt do 
 unto them to hallow them, to minister 
 • u». 1. 2. unto me in the priest's office : * Take one 
 young bullock, and two rams without 
 blemish, 
 
 fHtb. 
 jUI their 
 hand. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 One inilispcnsable crrfmoiiy in the Indian Pooja is theringin" 
 of a small M\ by the officiating Brahmin. Maurice. 
 
 as. — Ihui .tarun inny hear the initfuiti/ &c.] Meaning that, if 
 there should happen to be any defects' in the .s;icrifices or gifts 
 presented to Go<l, these defects might be i>ardoncd by the inter- 
 cession of the high priest, when he ap|)eared before God with 
 this pLitc as a crown on his head. Up. Patrick. In this the high 
 priest was a fit t>-pe of Christ, 1 Pet. ii. 2(j. lip. Kidder. 
 
 .39. — the tuitrel The fonii of the high priest's mitre is not 
 veil un(lcrsto<xl, the descriptions which are given of it being very 
 various; nor is it known in wiiat respects it differed from the 
 boanet (ver. 40) of the other priests, except that it was more 
 
 2 And unleavened bread, and cakes un- 
 leavened tempered with oil, and wafers un- 
 leavened anointed with oil : o/'wheaten flour 
 .shalt thou make them. 
 
 8 And thou shalt put them into one 
 basket, and bring them in the basket, with 
 the bullock and the two rams. 
 
 4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt 
 bring unto the door of the tabernacle of 
 the congregation, and shalt wash them with 
 water. 
 
 5 And thou shalt take the garments, and 
 put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of 
 tlie ephod, and the ephod, and the breast- 
 plate, and gird him with the curious girdle 
 of the ephod : 
 
 6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his 
 head, and put the holy crown upon the 
 mitre. 
 
 7 Then shalt thou take the anointing 
 '' oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint 
 him. 
 
 8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put 
 coats upon them. 
 
 9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, 
 Aaron and his sons, and t put the bonnets 
 on them : and the priest's office shall be 
 their's for a perpetual statute : and thou 
 shalt t " consecrate Aaron and his sons. 
 
 10 And thou shalt cause a bullock to be 
 brought before the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation : and ''Aaron and his sons shall 
 put their hands upon the head of the bul- 
 lock. 
 
 1 1 And thou shalt kill the bullock before 
 the Lord, by the door of the tabernacle of 
 the congregation. 
 
 1 2 And thou shalt take of the blood of 
 the bullock, and put // upon the horns of 
 the altar with thy finger, and pour all the 
 blood beside the bottom of the altar. 
 
 13 And " thou shalt take all the fat that 
 covereth the inwards, and 11 the caul that is 
 above the liver, and the two kidneys, and 
 the fat that is upon them, and burn them 
 upon the altar. 
 
 14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 >■ Chap. 30 
 25. 
 
 + Hel>. 
 blHrt. 
 
 t Hcl,. 
 
 fill titt hand 
 
 ".f- 
 
 ' Chap. 28. 
 
 41. 
 
 <I>cv. 1.4. 
 
 " Lev. .•;. 3. 
 IJ It soem- 
 i-th by A- 
 natoiiiy. 
 and the 
 Hebrew 
 (locturs, to 
 he Me mid' 
 
 adorned and costly. The Hebrew doctors say tliat thcy botli con- 
 sisted of folds of linen, wrapt .several times round, like the tur- 
 bans now worn in the Ea.st. Cabnet. 
 
 43. — ttuit they bear not inifjiiili/, and die :'] That God may 
 not punislj them with death, for profaneiiess in neglecting to 
 appear before Him witli the sacred garments, which He has ap- 
 pointed. Bp. PatricL: 
 
 Chap. XXIX. vcr. 10. — shall put t/ieir hands upon the 
 head^ This was to shew that they loaded the victim with 
 their iniquities, and confessed that they deserved the death 
 which he was about to suffer. And he that did not repent
 
 The consecration 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 of the priests. 
 
 CHRIST •'^^"'' ^"'^ ^"^ dung, slialt thou burn with 
 1491. fire without the camp : it isn sin offering. 
 \5% Thou shalt also take one ram ; and 
 Aaron and his sons shall put their hands 
 upon the head of the ram. 
 
 16 And thou shalt slay the ram, and 
 thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it 
 round about upon the altar. 
 
 17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, 
 and wash the inwards of. him, and his legs, 
 
 11 Or, and put them unto his pieces, and || unto 
 "^'"''' his head. 
 
 18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram 
 upon the altar : it is a burnt oftering unto 
 the Lord : it is a sweet savour, an offering 
 made bv fire unto the Lord. 
 
 19 IF And thou shalt take the other ram ; 
 and Aaron and his sons shall put their 
 hands upon the head of the ram. 
 
 20 Then shalt thou kill the ram, and 
 take of his blood, and put it upon the tip 
 of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip 
 of the right ear of his sons, and upon the 
 thumb of their right hand, and upon the 
 great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle 
 the blood upon the altar round about. 
 
 21 And thou shalt take of the blood that 
 is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, 
 and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his 
 garments, and upon his sons, and upon the 
 garments of his sons with him : and he 
 shall be halloAved, and his garments, and 
 
 this sons, and his sons' garments with him. 
 22 Also thou shalt take of the ram the 
 fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth 
 the inwards, and the caul above the liver, 
 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is 
 upon them, and the right shoulder ; for it 
 is a ram of consecration ; 
 
 23 And one loaf of bread, and one cake 
 of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the 
 basket of the unleavened bread that is be- 
 fore the Lord : 
 • 24 And thou shalt put all in the hands 
 
 and thus confess liis sins, vas not cleansed by this sacrifice. Bp. 
 Wilson. 
 
 1 1. — // is a sin offering.'^ An offering made for the sins of 
 Aaron and his sons, wliicli sins it was necessary slioidd be expi- 
 ated before they were qualified to make offerings for the sins of 
 others. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. — the rigid ear &c.] It is thought that the blood was put 
 upon their right ears, to denote their hearkening to the Divine 
 precepts ; and on their thumbs and toes, to denote tlieir strenuous 
 performance of all that was required of them. Bp. Patrick: 
 K 22. — lake qflhc ram the fat and the rump,~\ Tlie tails of the 
 
 .sheep in Eastern countries are extremely large and loaded with 
 fat. The least of tliem weigh ten or twelve pounds, and accord- 
 ing to the reports of ti-avellers, some of them weigh upwards of 
 fifty pounds. Bochart. This broad flattisli tail is mostly covered 
 with long wool : it is entirely composed of a substance between 
 marrow and fat, being used instead of butter, and sewing as aii 
 Vol. I. 
 
 of Aaron, and in the hands of liis .sons ; before 
 and .shalt || wave them for a wave offering ^"«|.^^ 
 before the Lord. 
 
 H9I. 
 
 11 Or. 
 
 25 And thou shalt receive them of their **„"j^/„' 
 hands, and burn them upon the altar for a " ' ° 
 burnt offering, for a sweet savour before 
 
 the Lord : it is an offering made by fire 
 unto the Lord. 
 
 26 And thou shalt take the breast of the 
 ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it 
 
 fur a wave offering before the Lord : and 
 it shall be thy part. 
 
 27 And thou shalt sanctify the breast of 
 the wave offering, and the shoulder of the 
 hea\e offering, which is waved, and which 
 is heaved up, of the ram of the consecra- 
 tion, even of that which is for Aaron, and 
 of that which is for his sons : 
 
 28 And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' 
 by a statute for ever from the children of 
 Israel : for it is an hea\ e offering : and it 
 shall be an heave offering from the chil- 
 dren of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace 
 offerings, eveii their heave offering unto the 
 Lord. 
 
 29 IT And the holy garments of Aaron 
 shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed 
 therein, and to be consecrated in them. 
 
 30 .4nrf t that son that is priest in his +Hcb. 
 stead shall put them on seven days, when ['f,,-'^ *" 
 he Cometh into the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation to minister in the holy place. 
 
 31 ^ And thou shalt take the ram of the 
 consecration, and seethe his flesh in the 
 holy place. 
 
 52 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the 
 flesh of the ram, and the 'bread that is in 'i^'-s. 
 
 SI 
 
 the basket, by the door of the tabernacle Siimh. 12. 
 of the congregation. *• 
 
 38 And they shall eat those things 
 wherewith the atonement was made, to 
 consecrate and to sanctify them : but a 
 stranger shall not eat thereof, because they 
 ai-e holy. 
 
 ingredient in several kinds of food. AVhen the animal is young, 
 it is little inferiour to the liest marrow. When the animal has 
 been pampered, the tail has been known to weigh seventy and 
 eighty pounds ; but usually tliey weigh from ten to twenty 
 pounds. Dr. Rus.wU. 
 
 26. — // shall he thy part^ Moses being at this time in the 
 stead of the High Priest, ver. 22. Bp. Kithlcr. 
 
 27. — Tvave offering, — heave offeriiig,~\ There is no difference 
 between the wave offering and the heav^ offering, except that the 
 latter was only heaved or lifted up, but the former naved in all 
 manner of directions, to shew that He, to whom it was offered, was 
 Lord of the whole earth, and of all that therein is. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 28. — sacrifice of their peace offerings,'] The pjeace offering 
 betokened that they were now in a state 01 friendship and recon- 
 ciliation with God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 33. — a stranger^ Meaning hei-e any one not of tlie family 
 of Aaron. 
 
 Aa
 
 The continual burnt offering. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 The altar of incense. 
 
 Ucfor, 3-1. And if ought of" the flesh of the con- 
 *^"«'.'*'^ set-rations, or of tlie bread, remain unto the 
 morning, then tlioii shah burn the remain- 
 der with fire : it shall not be eaten, because 
 it is holy. 
 
 3.5 And thus slialt tliou do unto Aaron, 
 and to his sons, accoulini'- to all things 
 which I have commanded thee: seven 
 days shalt thou consecrate them. 
 
 S(i And thou sluiit offer every day a 
 bullock 7or a sin oHering for atonement: 
 ami thou slialt cleanse the altar, wlien thou 
 hast made an atonement for it, and thou 
 shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. 
 
 37 Seven days thou shalt make an atone- 
 ment for the altar, and sanctify it ; and it 
 shall be an altar most holy : \vhatsoevcr 
 toucheth the altar shall be holy. 
 
 38 If Now this is that which lliou shalt 
 « NumU oflTer upon the altar ; ^ two Iambs of the first 
 "^"^ year day by day continually. 
 
 39 The one lamb thou shalt oflfer in the 
 morning ; and the other lamb thou shalt 
 oft'er at even : 
 
 40 And with the one lamb a tenth deal 
 of flour mingled with the fourth part of an 
 iiin of beaten oil ; and the fourth part of 
 an hin of wineyor a drink offering. 
 
 41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer 
 at even, and shalt do thereto according to 
 the meat offering of the morning, and ac- 
 cording to the drink ofifcring thereof, for a 
 sweet sa\our, an oflcring made by fire unto 
 the LoKU. 
 
 42 T'his shall be a continual burnt offer- 
 ing throughout \our generations «/ the 
 door of the tabernacle of the congregation 
 before the Lord : where I will meet you, 
 to speak there unto thee. 
 
 43 And there I will meet with the chil- 
 LkI *^^^^ ^^ Israel, and 11 the tabernacle shall be 
 
 sanctified by my glory. 
 
 ■W). — a tenth deal — an hin &c.] See tliese explained in tlie 
 tables. 
 
 4"l. — / trill sanctifti also both Aaron ami his sons,2 God had 
 no sooner directed .1 particidar i)lacc ibr His service; He had no 
 sooner caused an altar to be erecte<l, where His people should 
 more peculiarly serve and worship Him, and ofi'er their sncrifices 
 to Him ; but He set apaVt a chosen people, who, and who alone, 
 mi'jht ]>«rform the priests' office in His service. Aaron and his 
 Bons, aiul tliey wlio <lesccndeil from them, mi^ht do that office : 
 bold nion nii;;ht not intrude into it ; nor iniqualified nun be im- 
 posed upon it by any authority whatsoever. And the next care 
 UiatG.Kl took, jifttr He had adorned the place of His worship 
 ■with all |M>.isible lustre .and m.igiiificence, was, to provide such or- 
 n.wicnts and habits for the persons of tliose who served, as mijjht 
 make them remarkable above other men. " And thou shalt make 
 holy parmeiius for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for beauty, " 
 chap, xxvui. -2. And Go<l vouchs.ifed to be as particular and 
 punctual in His directions for the matter and fonn of those gar- 
 
 nd 
 
 4f And I will sanctify the tabernacle of ^.j^'j^^'™ .j. 
 the congregation, and the altar : 1 will Myi. 
 sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to 
 minister to me in the priest's office. 
 
 45 IF And '■ 1 will dwell among the chil- •'^^^^■"-''' 
 dren of Israel, and will be their God. 2 Cor. e. 
 
 ■16 And they shall know that I am the '®- 
 Loud their God, that brought them forth 
 out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell 
 among them : I am the Lord their God. 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 1 The allar of incense. 1 1 The ransom of souls. 1 7 
 The brascn lava: 2a The holi/ anointing oil. 31 The 
 composition of the perfume. 
 
 AND thou shalt make an altar to burn 
 incense upon : of shittim wood shalt 
 thou make it. 
 
 '2 A cubit sliall be the length thereof, 
 and a cubit the breadth thereof ; four- 
 square shall it be : and two cubits shall 
 be tlie height thereof: the horns thereof 
 shall be of the same. 
 
 3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure 
 gold, the t top thereof, and the t sides t""''- 
 thereof rouiul about, and the horns there- 'theZliu. 
 of; and thou shalt make unto it a crown t'''^i'- 
 
 /» 1 I II, 'At-' walls. 
 
 01 gold roinid about. 
 
 4 And two golden rings shalt thou make 
 to it under the crown of it, by the two 
 
 t corners thereof, upon the two sides of it t n^b. 
 shalt thou make it ; and they shall be for 
 places for the sta\Ts to bear it withal. 
 
 5 And thou shalt make the staves of 
 shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. 
 
 () And thou shalt put it before the vail 
 that is by the ark of the testimony, before 
 the mercy seat that is over the testimony, 
 where I will meet with thee. 
 
 7 And Aaron shall burn thereon t sweet t Heb. 
 
 1 I J ii. iiiccnsc of 
 
 mcense every mornmg : when he dresseth s^„„,. 
 the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. 
 
 nients, as well for the sons, the inferiour priests, as for Aaron the 
 High Priest himself, as He had been for the ark, the tabernacle, 
 and the altar. 
 
 All which, methinks, should be a sufficient argument, or at 
 least a sufficient motive, tli.at particular ^;/rtcci' should be set aside, 
 and adorned too, for the publick service of (io<l : and for the dis- 
 tinction between the persons dedicated to His jjarticular service, 
 and qualified for tiiat ])urpose, and the very huhils appropriated 
 to them, and tiie general ranks and classes of other men, wlio are 
 not under the same obligations. Lord Clarendon. 
 
 Chap. XXX. ver. 1. — an altar to hum incense'] Thence called 
 the altar of incense ; distinct from the altur of burnt oll'eriiigs, 
 described at chap, xxvii. } — 8. 
 
 (). — where I trill meet tvith thceT] It seems from this, that 
 thougli Aaron and his successors could go into the Holy of Holies 
 only once a year, yet God gave to Moses the privilege of coming 
 there as often as there was occasion to consult the Divine Ma- 
 jesty. Jip. Patrick,
 
 Tfie ransom of souls. 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 TJie anointing oil. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 ROr, 
 
 settcth up. 
 t Heb. 
 causelh to 
 aicend. 
 t Hcb. 
 between the 
 two evens. 
 
 ' Numb. 
 1. 2, 5. 
 fHcb. 
 them that 
 are to be 
 numbered. 
 
 * Lev. 27. 
 25. 
 
 Numb. 3. 
 47. 
 
 Ezek. 45. 
 12. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 muitijilt/. 
 t Heb. 
 diminish. 
 
 8 And when Aaron 11 1 lighteth the 
 lamps tat even, he shall burn incense up- 
 on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord 
 throughout your generations. 
 
 9 Ye shall offer no strange incense 
 thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat 
 offering ; neither shaU ye pour drink offer- 
 ing thereon. 
 
 10 And Aaron shall make an atonement 
 upon the horns of it once in a year with the 
 blood of the sin offering of atonements : 
 once in the year shall he make atonement 
 upon it throughout your generations : it is 
 most holy unto the Lord. 
 
 11 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 12 * When thou takest the sum of the 
 children of Israel after t their number, then 
 shall they give every man a ransom for his 
 soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest 
 them ; that there be no plague among them, 
 when thou numberest them, 
 
 13 This they shall give, every one that 
 passeth among them that are numbered, 
 half a shekel after the shekel of the sanc- 
 tuary : C' a shekel £5 twenty gerahs :) an 
 half shekel shall be the offering of the 
 Lord. 
 
 14- Every one that passeth among them 
 that are numbered, from twenty years old 
 and above, shall give an offering unto the 
 Lord. 
 
 15 Tlie rich shall not tgive more, and 
 the poor shall not tgive less than half a 
 shekel, when they give an offering unto tlie 
 Lord, to make an atonement for your 
 souls. 
 
 16 And thou shalt take the atonement 
 money of the children of Israel, and shalt 
 appoint it for the service of the tabernacle 
 of the congregation ; that it may be a me- 
 morial unto the children of Israel before 
 the Lord, to make an atonement for your 
 souls. 
 
 17 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 18 Thou shalt also make a laver o/'brass. 
 
 g. — no strange incense'] None but that which is prescribed at 
 ver. 34 — 37 "f this chapter. 
 
 10. — il is viost hoUf unto the Lord.'] Eithei- the altar itself, 
 being consecrated to God's service, is so called, or else the solemn 
 expiation perfoniied once a year, Levit. xvi. 29 — 34, which was 
 the most ho\y rite in their religion. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 1. And the Lord spahc] This is often repeated in this chapter, 
 ver. 17, 22, 34, and the succeeding chapter, to shew that God did 
 not deliver His precepts to Moses without intermission, but that 
 He gave him time to rest, and then spake to him again. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 12. — a ransom for his souf] As a homage, -whereby they ac- 
 
 Bcfore 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 and his foot also o/ brass, to wash •aithal : 
 and thou shalt put it between the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation and the altar, and 
 tliou shalt put water therein. 
 
 19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash 
 their hands and their feet thereat : 
 
 20 When they go into the tabernacle of 
 the congregation, they .shall wash with 
 water, that they die not ; or when they 
 come near to the altar to minister, to burn 
 offering made by fire unto the Lord : 
 
 21 So they shall wash their hands and 
 their feet, that they die not: and it shall be 
 a statute for ever to them, even to him and 
 to his seed throughout their generations. 
 
 22 ^ Moreover the Lord spake unto 
 Moses, saying, 
 
 23 Take thou also unto thee principal 
 .spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, 
 and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even 
 two hundi'ed and fifty shekels, and of sweet 
 calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, 
 
 24 And of cassia five hundred shekeh, 
 after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of 
 
 oil olive an ' hin : " chap 29. 
 
 25 And thou shalt make it an oil of 
 holy ointment, an ointment compound after 
 the art of the ij apothecary : it shall be an j Or, 
 holy anointing oil. • r"/"""^- 
 
 26 And tliou shalt anoint the tabernacle 
 of the congregation therewith, and the ark 
 of the testimony, 
 
 27 And the table and all his vessels, and 
 the candlestick and his vessels, and the al- 
 tar of incense, 
 
 28 And the altar of burnt offering with 
 all his vessels, and tlie laver and his foot. 
 
 29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that 
 they may be most holy: whatsoever touch- 
 eth them shall be holy. 
 
 30 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his 
 sons, and consecrate them, that they may 
 minister unto me in the priest's office. 
 
 31 And thou shalt speak unto the chil- 
 dren of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy 
 anointing oil unto me throughout your ge- 
 nerations. 
 
 knowled,--ed that they had been redeemed by Go<l, and also con- 
 fessed His goodness in having multiplied their nation according 
 to His promise. Dr. Wells. 
 
 13. — after the shekel of the sanctuary :] The shekel (nearly 
 half a crown of our moiiev) was called " after the shekel oi die 
 sanctuary," because the standard, according to which tlie money 
 was tried, was kept in the sanctu.iry. I^nis. 
 
 31. — This shall be an holy anointing oif] It was to be set 
 apart to the use of God's ministry, and therefore not to be em- 
 ployed on any other; not to be " poured on man's flesh," that is, 
 not on the flJsh of a common man, but only on the pncsts, and 
 on such as were specially appointed. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 A a 2
 
 Bezaleel and Aholiab 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 are called. 
 
 t Hcl>. 
 liUleii. 
 
 Before 32 Upon man's flesh shall it not be 
 *^"lil.^^ poiiieil, neither shall ye maVean^uther like 
 it, after the composition of it : it is holy, 
 and it shall be holy unto yon. 
 
 '6:i Whosoever conipomulcth arnj like it, 
 or whosoever pntteth aiii/ ol" it upon a 
 stranger, shall even be cut oft' from his 
 people. 
 
 .^••[ And the Lokd said unto Moses, 
 Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and 
 onycha, anil fjalbanuni ; ifiese sweet spices 
 witii pine tiankincense: of each shall there 
 be a like xwigh! : 
 
 35 And thou shalt make it a perfume, a 
 confection after the art of the a|)0thecary, 
 t tempered together, pure and holy : 
 
 3i) And thou shalt beat some of it very 
 small, and put of it before the testimony in 
 the tabernacle of the congregation, where I 
 will meet with thee : it shall be unto you 
 most holy. 
 
 37 And as for the perfume which thou 
 shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves 
 according to the composition thereof: it 
 shall be unto thee holy for the Lord. 
 
 38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, 
 to smell thereto, shall even be cut oft" from 
 his people. 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 1 Bezaleel and Aholiab arc called and made meet for the 
 work of the tabernacle. 12 The ohscrvalion of the 
 sabbath is again commanded. 18 Moses receivelh the 
 two tables. 
 
 ND the Lord spake imto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 
 2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel 
 •ichron. the 'son of Uri, the son of Ilur, of the 
 
 tribe of Judah : 
 
 3 And I have filled him with the spirit 
 of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, 
 and in knowledge, and in all manner of 
 workmanship, 
 
 4 To devise cunning works, to work in 
 gold, and in silver, and in brass, 
 
 5 And in cutting of stones, to set litem, 
 and in carving of timber, to work in all 
 manner of workmanship. 
 
 A= 
 
 •-■. ya 
 
 S:i. — upon a strauser,~\ V\w\\ one wlio is not .1 pviest or a 
 kinp. Bp. Kidder. Any otlier tlian a priest, or one specially ap- 
 pointed to be anointed witii it. Dr. Wells. 
 
 Chap. XXXI. vcr. 3.-7 havejilkd him with the spirit of God,'] 
 It was nccess.iry tliat he should be supcrnaturally endowed with 
 .ikiU in these ingenious arts, since the Hebrews, from their long 
 contumance in E<rjptian bondajje, cannot be supposed to have 
 been trained to them. Rp. Fatrick. 
 
 ■ ' f ~ '"•/'"Maths ye shall keep ; j This is repeated, after hav- 
 ing been thnce mentioned before, chap. xvi. t>3; xx. 8- xxiii 1" • 
 on this special occasion, in order to shew that a breacli of Uie sab- 
 
 C And L behold, I have given with him j, /I'lj^g-j. 
 Aholiab, the son of Ahisaniach, of tiie tribe mim. 
 of Dan : and in the hearts of all that are 
 wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they 
 may make all that I have commanded 
 thee; 
 
 7 The tabernacle of the congregation, 
 and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy 
 seat that is thereupon, and all the t furni- t "«>»• 
 ture of the tabernacle, *"■"'■"• 
 
 8 And the table and his furniture, and 
 the pure candlestick with all his furniture, 
 and the altar of incense, 
 
 9 And the altar of burnt offering with 
 all his furniture, and the laver and his 
 foot, 
 
 10 And the cloths of service, and the 
 holy garments for Aaron the priest, and 
 the garments of his sons, to minister in 
 the priest's office, 
 
 11 And the anointing oil, and sweet in- 
 cense for the holy place : according to all 
 that I have commanded thee shall they do. 
 
 12 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 13 Speak thou also unto the children of 
 Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall 
 keep : for it is a sign between me and you 
 throughout your generations ; that i/e may 
 know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify 
 you. 
 
 14 ^ Ye shall keep tlie sabbath therefore; ' a.ap. 20. 
 for it is holy unto you : every one that de- ^,,^1.5. ij. 
 fileth it shall surely be put to death : for Kzek. 20. 
 whosoever doeth a7it/ work therein, that '^' 
 soul shall be cut off' from among his peo- 
 ple. 
 
 15 Six days may work be done ; but in 
 
 the seventh is the sabbath of rest, t holy to t "<;''■ 
 the Lord ; whosoever doeth a?ii/ work in ''"'"""»*• 
 the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to 
 death. 
 
 16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall 
 keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath 
 throughout their generations, Jbr a per- 
 petual covenant. 
 
 17 It is a sign between me and the chil- 
 
 batli would not be warranted, even by the important work on 
 nhich they were to be now enii)loye<l. The sjibliath was to be " a 
 sign between God and them," that He was their deliverer from 
 E;iyptian slavery, and that He " sanctified" them to be His pe- 
 cidiar people. This command is again given at chap. xxxv. 2. 
 Bp. PatricL 
 
 11. — that soul shall be cut off] If any man worked openly 
 on the sabbath day, so tliat witnesses could be procured, lie was 
 to be stoned, accoriling to Nund). xv. ,"5 : thus tiie meaning 
 seems liere to be, that if any one committed the deed secretly, so 
 as not to be punished by the judges, God would Himself punish 
 him by shortening his days. Bp. Patrick,
 
 Aaron maheth 
 
 THAR XXXII. 
 
 a molten calf. 
 
 H91. 
 
 chr'ist ^^^^ '^^ Israel for ever: for 'in six days the 
 1491. Lord made heaven and earth, and on the 
 'Gen. I. seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. 
 .';i.& 2. 2. 18 ^ Arijj l^e ga^yg m^^.^ Moses, when he 
 
 had made an end of communing with him 
 * Dcut. 9. upon mount Sinai, " two tables of testi- 
 mony, tables of stone, written with the 
 finger of God. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 1 The people, in the absence of Moses, cause Aaron to 
 make a calf. 7 t'orf is angered Ihere/ii/. 1 1 At the 
 inlrcalt/ of Moses he is appeased. 1 j Moses comelh 
 down with the tables. 19 He breakcth them. 20 He 
 deslroj/eth the calf. 22 Aaron's cj:cusc for himselj] 
 25 Moses causeth the idolaters to be slain. 30 He 
 pruTjcth for the people. 
 
 AND when the people saw that Moses 
 delayed to come down out of the 
 , mount, the people gathered themselves to- 
 
 ■40. "^'^ ^' gether unto Aaron, and said unto him, " Up, 
 
 18. — written with ihe^finger of God."^ That is, framed by the 
 operation of God Himself, without Moses or any other person be- 
 ing employed. As human beings use their hands and fingers in 
 doing these things, the same form of words is used to express 
 that which is wrought by the power of God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXXII. ver. 1. — make us gods, ~\ Or rather, "make us 
 a god;" for so the Hebrew word is often translated. The mean- 
 ing is. Make us a sacred symbol or sign, which may represent 
 God to us in a visible manner. They hankered probably after 
 the idolatrous worship which they had learned in Egypt. St. 
 Stephen calls their behaviour on this occasion a turning back of 
 their hearts unto Egypt, Acts vii. SJ). Bp. Patrick. 
 
 How great was the madness and ingratitude of the Israelites ! 
 What if Moses had been gone for ever, must they therefore have 
 gods made.' If they had said, " Choose us another governour," it 
 had been a wicked and ungi-ateful motion: they were too un- 
 worthy of Moses that could so soon forget him: but to say, " Make 
 us gods," was absurdly impious. Moses was not their god, but 
 their governour: neither was the presence of God limited to Moses: 
 when he was gone, they saw God still in His pillar, and in His 
 manna; and yet they say, " Make us gods." Bp. Hall. 
 
 4. — and fashioned if with a graving 1001,"] That is, after he 
 had cast it in a mould, he fashioned and polished it with a proper 
 tool. Ep. Patrick, Dr. Wells. The original word probably signi- 
 fies here, not "a graving tool," as we render it: it is used in a 
 very different sense, 2 Kings v. 23: it there signifies "a bag" or 
 " little chest;" and by an easy metaphor from this use of it, it 
 may denote a mould made to shut up like a chest, to contain and 
 form the met;il to be poured into it. By a slight correction of the 
 text, the verse would run thus: " And he received (it, that is, the 
 gold) at their hands; and they formed it in a mould, and they 
 made a molten calf; and they said, This is thy god, O Israel." 
 The verse would thus agree to what is suggested in other places, 
 that Aaron indeed received the gold that was brought him; but 
 that the forming of it in the mould, and the making it into a calf, 
 and proclaiming it a god, was not done by Aaron, but by others; 
 by the workmen or artificei-s, and the people. Notwithstanding 
 this, whatever may hence be offered in mitigation of Aaron's fault, 
 yet certainly all will be too little to prove him innocent; and 
 iigi'eeably to tliis, we find a great sliare of the guilt was imputed 
 to him: " The Lord was very angry with him to have destroyed 
 liini; but that Moses prayed for him," Deut. ix. 20. Shiickford. 
 
 Aaron shrunk from the importunity, perhaps from the threats, 
 of the people; as if He, that forbade other gods, could not have 
 uiaiutained His own act and agent against men. .'sudden fears, 
 
 make us gods, which shall go before us; for 'R'f^^^ _ 
 as for tliis Moses, the man that brought us "^"h^I'i.^^ 
 up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not 
 what is become of him. 
 
 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off 
 the golden earrings, which are in tiie ears 
 of your wives, of your sons, and of your 
 daughters, and bring them unto me. 
 
 3 And all the people brake off the gold- 
 en earrings which -were in their cars, and 
 brought thevi unto Aaron. 
 
 4 "'And he received them at their hand, ' p^l io«. 
 and fashioned it with a graving tool, after i icings 
 he had made it a molten calf: and they said, '2. 28. 
 These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought 
 
 tliee up out of the land of Egyj)t. 
 
 5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an 
 altar before it; and Aaron made procla- 
 mation, and said, To morrow is a feast to 
 the Loud. 
 
 when they have possessed weak minds, lead them to sliamefid er- 
 rours. Importunity or violence may lessen, but they cannot excuse 
 a fault. Wherefore was he a governour, but to repress their dis- 
 ordered motions.' Facility of yielding to a sin, or courting it with 
 our voluntary suit, is a higher degree of evil: but even at last to 
 be won by sin, is deserving of condemnation. Bp. Hall. 
 
 a molten calf :~\ .Such as they had seen worshipped by the 
 
 Egyptians. Servitude was the least evil that Israel received'from 
 Egypt: for that made them have recourse continually to the true 
 God : but this idolatrous example led them to a false one. The 
 very sight of evil is dangerous; and it is hard for the heart not to 
 run into those sins, to which the eye and ear are inured: not out 
 of love, but out of custom, we fall into some offences. How many 
 have fallen into a fashion of swearing, scoffing, drinking, out of 
 the usual practice of others; as those that live in a pestilential air 
 are infected with diseases! Bp. Hall. 
 
 5. — To morrow is a f-ast to the Lord.'^ Not to the go'den 
 calf, but to the Creator of the world, whom they worshipped in 
 this image. Notwithstanding which, this was no better than an 
 idol. Acts vii. 41 ; and they were gross idolaters, Ps. c\'i. ig, 20; 
 1 Cor. X. 7. Bp. Patrick. The words of the second Command- 
 ment express very strongly tlie great care of God to free His peo- 
 ple from idolatiy; and ver)- clearly forbid not only making and 
 worshij)ping representations of false gods, but any representation 
 of God at all. And to shew yet more fully, that even those of 
 the true God are prohibited by it, Moses in Dcuteronornv, imme- 
 diately after mentioning the deli\ cry of the Ten Commandments, 
 adds with respect to the second, " Take therefore good heed unto 
 3'ourselves, for 3'e saw no manner of similitude on the day that the 
 Lord spake unto you in Horcb out of the midst of the fire: lest ye 
 corrupt yoursehes, and make you a gi-aven image, the similitude 
 of any figure," Deut. iv. 12 — 16. And when the Israelites made 
 a golden calf in the wilderness, though evidently their ilcsign was 
 to represent by it, not a false object of worship, but the Loan, (in 
 the original it is Jehovah,) who brought them out of the haul of 
 Egypt; j'et they were charged with it, and punished for it, as a 
 breach of their covenant with God: and Moses accordingly broke 
 on that occasion the two tables of the Conmiandments, which were 
 on their pait the conditions of that covenant. Again, in after- 
 times, when the kings of Israel set up the same representation of 
 the true God at Dan and Beth-el; the Scriptuj-e constintly speaks 
 of it, as the leading sin, from which all the rest of their idolatries, 
 and at last their utter destruction, proceedetl. For from worship- 
 ping the ti'ue God liy an image, they soon came to worship the 
 images of i'alse gods too: and from thence fell into all sorts of 
 superstition, and all sorts of wickedness. Abp. Seeker.
 
 Ood is an^tf nilh the Israelites : 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 biit appeased hy Moses. 
 
 Before 
 CHHIST 
 
 H'JI. 
 
 • I Cor. la 
 7. 
 
 ' DtuL 9. 
 
 • DruL 9. 
 1. 
 
 ' Chap. 33. 
 S. 
 DeukO. 13. 
 
 ■ PuLlOC 
 
 23. 
 
 fHab. 
 
 the face of 
 the LORD. 
 
 G And they rose up early on the morrow, 
 ami oflered burnt ofierings, and brouglit 
 peace offerings; and the 'people .sat down 
 to eat and to drink, and rose up to 
 plav. 
 
 7 % And the Lord said unto Moses, "Go, 
 get thee down; for thy people, which thou 
 broiiglitest out of the land of Egypt, liave 
 corrupted t/iemsches: 
 
 8 ' They have turned aside quickly out 
 of the wav which I connnanded them : they 
 have made them a molten calf, and have 
 worshippeil it, and have sacrificed there- 
 unto, ami said, Tliesc be thy gods, O Is- 
 rael, which ha\c brought thee up out of 
 the land of Egypt. 
 
 9 And the Lord said unto Moses, ' I 
 have seen this people, and, behold, it is a 
 stiffnecked people : 
 
 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my 
 wratli may wax hot against them, and that 
 I may consume tlicm: and I will make of 
 thee a great nation. 
 
 1 1 ' And Moses besought t the Lord his 
 
 It bcinj; the fact, tliat the idolatry of the Israelites consisted, 
 not in worshipping a fal.** deity, but in making an iinat^e to the 
 true and living God; and tliis iUct being expressly condemned as 
 idolatry by the Apostle, 1 Cor. x. 7 ; the Papists are hence un- 
 answerably ch;irgetl with idolatry for their image worship, and 
 they can in no wise justify themselves; for what they can offer, 
 if it might be admitted, would vindicate the Israelites as well as 
 them. Shurkfurd. 
 
 6. — aiid ilw people sat donm to eat and to drink,'] Of the peace 
 offerings, of wiiich they ha<l a part, according to God's own di- 
 rections: and " rose up to play;" to express their joy by mnsick, 
 dancing, and other signs of mirth. Bp. Patrick. This mirth was 
 an attendant upon their idolatrous worship; and is expressed in 
 the Hebrew by a word, that is sometimes applied to other kinds 
 of w^antonness: idoLitry being frequently compared to such illicit 
 commerce, Gen. xxxix. 1 ~. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 7- — thu people,] The Lord, as a jealous God, for their spi- 
 ritual adulterj- now disclaims the Israelites as His people. " Go, 
 get thee down; for Ihi/ jKoplc, wliich thou broughtest out of the 
 land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves." Dr. Hales. 
 
 9- — a slij^neckcd people:] Stubborn and unwilling to obej-. 
 This expression is frequent in .Scripture; and bears allusion to un- 
 tamed heifers, which draw back their neck and shoulders, when 
 put under the yoke, instead of going quietly forward. Bp. Patrick. 
 10. Now therefore let me alone,] As yet, Moses had said nothing: 
 before he opens his mouth, God prevents his importunity, as fore- 
 seeing that holy violence, which the requests of .Moses would offer 
 to Him. Moses stood trembling before the Majesty of his Maker, 
 and yet hears Him say, " Let Me alone." The mercy of our (}od 
 hath, ijs it were, submitted His power to the faith of men: the fer- 
 vent prayers of tlie faithful hold the hands of the Almighty. As 
 we find it afterwards said of Christ, that " He coidd do no miracle 
 among his countrj-raen, because of their unbelief;" so now we hear 
 G«l, as if He could not do execution upon Israel because of Moses's 
 Cutli, say, "Let Me alone, tliat I may consume them." Bp. Hall. 
 
 / rrill make of I liee a great nation.] On this occasion Moses 
 
 ^ve a signal proof of his love for his people, by interceding for 
 them with the Lord; and of his own disinterestedness, in refus- 
 ing tlie tempting offer of the Almighty, to adopt his family in 
 their nx)ni and make of them " a great nation." He prayed that 
 Ood would " blot him out of His book, ' or take away his life, if 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 ' NiimK. 
 14. 13. 
 
 ' Gen. 1 i. 
 7.& 15.7. 
 & 48. IS. 
 
 God, and said. Lord, why doth thy wrath 
 wax hot against thy people, which thou 
 hast brouglit forth out of the land of E- 
 gvpt with great power, and with a mighty 
 hand ? 
 
 1'2 " Wherefore should the Egj'ptians 
 speak, and say, For mischief did he bring 
 them out, to slay them in the mountains, 
 and to consume them from the face of the 
 earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and re- 
 pent of this evil against thy people. 
 
 1.3 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and 
 Israel, thy servants, to whom tliou swarest 
 by thine own self, and saidst unto them, ' I 
 will multiply your seed as the stars of hea- 
 ven, and all this land that I have spoken of 
 will I give unto your seed, and they shall 
 inherit it for ever. 
 
 14 And the Lord repented of the 
 evil which he thought to do unto hi.s 
 people. 
 
 1.5 ^ And Moses turned, and went down 
 from the mount, and the two tables of the 
 testimony xcere in his hand: the tables "were 
 
 He would not forgive "the great sin of his people;" and prevailed 
 with God to alter His determination of withdrawing His presence 
 from them, and sending an inferiour angel to conduct them to the 
 land of promise. 
 
 And can we Iiave a stronger proof of his veracity and .strict 
 fidelitj- as an historian, than his recording a fact so disgraceful to 
 his people, whom he loved so tenderly .> A fact, which the Jewish 
 historian, Jo.sephus, lias passed over in total silence; as he has 
 also that other of the brasen serpent, .so expressive of the cruci- 
 fied Saviour of the world. Dr. Hales. 
 
 II. — Moses hcsoiiglil the Lord] How graciou.sly doth Moses 
 strive with God against his own preferment! If Gotl had threat- 
 ened, '• I will consume l/ice, and make of t/iein a mighty nation," 
 I doubt whether he could have been more moved. The more a 
 man can leave himself behind him, and aspire to a care of the 
 community, the more spiritual he is. Nothing makes a man so 
 good a patriot as religion. Bp. Hall. 
 
 which thou hast brought fotlh &c.] Moses here beseeches 
 
 the Lord upon three several grounds: 1st, He intreats that God 
 would not on a sudden destroy tho.se, whom He had employed so 
 much power to preserve: 2clly, He urges as a reason, lest the 
 Egyptians should he led into misbelief, and say, that He had 
 brought the Israelites out, not from love to them, but from the 
 ■wish to destroy them: 3dly, He reminds Him, as the chief 
 ground of hope, of the promise formerly made to their forefa- 
 thers, Gen. XV. 5; x.xii. 17, &-c. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Ii3. Wherefore should I lie Egyptians speak,] Moses saw tliat the 
 eyes and tongues of all the world were intent upon Israel; a peo- 
 ple so miraculou.sly fetched from Egj-pt; whom the sea gave way 
 to, whom heaven fed, whom the rock watered, whom the fire and 
 cloud guarded, which heard the audible voice of God. He knew 
 withal, how ready the world would be to misconstrue, and how 
 the heathens would be ready to cast imputations of levity or im- 
 potence upon God; and then he says, " What will the Egyp- 
 tians say?" Happy is that man, who can make God's glory the 
 scope of all his actions and desires: neither cares for his own 
 welfare, nor fears tlie miseries of others, but with respect to God 
 in both. Bp. Hall. 
 
 14. — the Lord repented] Did not go on to bring that evil 
 on the Israelites, which He had conditionally threatened against 
 them. Bp.Hall.
 
 Moses breaketh the tables. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. Moses causeth the idolaters to be slain. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 * Chap. 31. 
 18. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 iveukness. 
 
 written on both tlieir sides ; on the one side 
 and on the other u-et-e they written. 
 
 16 And the " tables were the work of 
 God, and the writing was the writing of 
 God, graven upon the tables. 
 
 17 And when Joshua heard the noise of 
 the people as they shouted, he said unto 
 Moses, There is a noise of wai' in the camp. 
 
 18 And he said. It is not the voice of 
 them that shout for mastery, neither is it 
 the voice of them that cry for t being over- 
 come : but the noise of them that sing do I 
 hear. 
 
 19 IT And it came to pass, as soon as he 
 came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the 
 calf, and the dancing : and Moses' anger 
 waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of 
 
 brake them beneath the 
 
 >Deut9. 
 21. 
 
 his hands, 
 mount. 
 
 20 'And 
 had made, 
 
 and 
 
 he took the calf which they 
 and burnt it in the fire, and 
 ground it to powder, and strawed it upon 
 the water, and made the children of Israel 
 diink q/lt. 
 
 21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What 
 did this people unto thee, that thou hast 
 brought so great a sin upon them ? 
 
 22 And Aaron said. Let not the anger of 
 my lord wax hot : thou knowest the people, 
 that they are set on mischief. 
 
 23 For they said unto me. Make us gods, 
 which shall go before us : for as for this 
 IMoses, the man that brought us up out 
 of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is 
 become of him. 
 
 15. — on both their sides ;~\ Not on their forepai-t and back- 
 part: but on both of their leaves, -which were to be folcletl 
 up, and shut like a book, when tliey were laid in the ark. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 9. — he cast the tables &c.] He did this, not till he came nigh 
 tlie camp, so that the people might see with what indignation 
 their wickedness filled him. We never find that he is blamed for 
 Ijreaking the tables : whence it is concluded, that he did it, either 
 by Divine impulse and instruction, or from a proper and virtuous 
 feeling. Bp. Patrich. 
 
 20. — ground it to powder^ Probably by means of a file, or 
 by having it beaten out into thin plates. Stackhouse. 
 
 For Moses, sin^e and alone, to take their golden calf, and de- 
 stroy it before then* faces, was an example of a noble and un- 
 daunted resolution, which ought to animate the acts of all persons 
 in authority, especially in the cause of God. JVogaii. 
 
 made the children of Israel drink of //.] He did not con- 
 
 .strain them ; but as they had no other water, they could not avoid, 
 when they were thirsty, to drink from the brook with this mix- 
 ture. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The dust is cast into the water, which they had received not 
 long before out of the rock in that dry and barren place ; thereby 
 to upbraid their unthankfulness, which in the same place, where 
 they had received so great a benefit, forgat God, and fell away 
 from Him. JVillet. 
 
 2i. — tfien I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf^ 
 It seems to be the design of Aaron to plead, that he was not 
 
 24. And I said unto them. Whosoever 
 hath any gold, let them break it off. So 
 they gave it rae : then I cast it into the 
 fire, and there came out this calf. 
 
 25 % And when Moses saw tliat the peo- 
 ple were naked ; (for Aaron had made them 
 naked unto their shame among t their ene- 
 mies :) 
 
 26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the 
 camp, and said. Who is on the Lord's side? 
 let him come unto me. And all the sons 
 of Le^'i gathered themselves together unto 
 him. 
 
 27 And he said unto them. Thus saitli 
 the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his 
 sword by his side, and go in and out from 
 gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay 
 every man his brother, and every man his 
 companion, and every man his neighbour. 
 
 28 And the children of Levi did accord- 
 ing to the word of Moses : and tliere fell 
 of the people that day about three thou- 
 sand men. 
 
 29 II For Moses had said, t Consecrate 
 yoiuselves to day to the Lord, even every 
 man upon his son, and upon his brother ; 
 that he may bestow upon you a blessing 
 this day. 
 
 30 ^f And it came to pass on the mor- 
 row, that Moses said unto the people. Ye 
 have sinned a great sin : and now I will 
 go up unto the Lord ; peradventure I shall 
 make an atonement for your sin. 
 
 31 And Moses returned unto the Lord, 
 and said, Oh, this people have sinned a 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 titose that 
 rose up 
 ngainst 
 litem. 
 
 !l Or, 
 
 jiitd Mosfs 
 said, Crnse- 
 crute youT" 
 selves to 
 dntf tn the 
 LORD, l>e- 
 cnu^c e> cTif 
 man hath 
 h^nngumtt 
 his son, and 
 asuinst his 
 brother, &c 
 t Heb. 
 Fitlyour 
 hands. 
 
 actually the maker of the image ; but that otiier persons were the 
 founders of it. He represents, that they required him to make 
 them a god ; that hereupon he asked them for materials ; that 
 they brought him their gold ; " then," says he, " I cast it into the 
 fire ;" I delivered it out of my hands to the use it was designed 
 for, into the furnace in whicli it was to be melted ; " and there 
 came out this calf:" that is, I was no further concerned in what 
 was done ; the next thing I saw was tlie calf. What was done 
 further, was done by others, not by me : the workmen made the 
 calf, and brought it to me. Shiick/brd. 
 
 25. — that the people were naked; kc.'} Or deprived of the Di- 
 vine protection : Aaron having laid them open bj' this sin to the 
 scorn of all their enemies, who should hear of such a shameful 
 revolt from their God. Bp. Patrick. After the unhallowed sa- 
 crifice they had risen up to wanton play, singing, and dancing, 
 according to the obscene Egyptian rites, by whicli Aaron "made 
 them naked to their shame." Dr. Hales. Perhaps also the verse 
 is intended to express, 1. That the people were upon no guard ; 
 in no posture of defence ; under no direction or command of their 
 proper officer ; but were scattered up and down tlie plain at their 
 games, as their fancy led them ; and so were in no formed body, 
 to be able to make head against an enemy. And, 2. That they 
 were free of their armour, or unarmed, " naked" in this sense ; not 
 clothed to defend themselves against any violence that might be 
 offered to them. Tiiis was the condition, in which Moses found 
 them exposed " to their shame," or in a " shameful" manner 
 " amoBg«t tlieir enemies." Hhuckfurd.
 
 Tlic Lord refuselh to go. 
 
 K X O D U S. 
 
 2^he tabernacle is removed. 
 
 A' 
 
 Brforc rrreat sni, and have niado them gods ot 
 CHKIST ^ , , 
 
 H9I. gold. 
 
 S'J Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their 
 sin— ; and if not, blot me, I pray tiiee, out 
 of thy book whicii thou hast Avritten. 
 
 3d' And the Loitu said unto Moses, Who- 
 soever hath sinned against me, him will I 
 blot out of niv book. 
 
 yj. 'Iherefore now go, lead the people 
 unto the place of wliicii I have spoken un- 
 to thee : behold, mine Angel shall go be- 
 fore thee : nevertheless in the day when I 
 visit I will visit their sin upon them. 
 
 35 And the Loud plagued the people, 
 because they made the calf, which Aaron 
 made. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 1 The lAird rcfiiscth to go as he had promised with the 
 people. 4 the people murmur thereat. 7 The taher- 
 nacle is removed out of the camp. 9 The Ij)rd talketh 
 familiarly irilh Moses. 12 Moses desirelh to see the 
 j^iori/ of Cod. 
 
 ND the Lord said unto Moses, De- 
 
 part, nnd go up hence, thou and the 
 
 people which thou hast brought up out of 
 the land of Egypt, unto the land which 
 I sware luito Abraham, to Isaac, and to 
 
 • cen. 12. Jacob, saying, ' Unto thy seed will I give 
 '■ it: ' 
 
 ' Dcut 7. o b And I will send an angel before thee ; 
 
 jitii. 21. a"d I will drive out the Canaanite, the 
 
 II. Amorite, and tlie Hittite, and the Periz- 
 
 zite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite : 
 
 3 Unto a land flowing with milk and 
 honey : for I will not go up in the midst 
 
 • ch.ip.3L'. of thee ; for thou art a '^ stifthecked people: 
 Dcui 9.13. Jest I consume thee in the way. 
 
 4 ^ And when the people heard these 
 
 Si. — /;/()/ VIC, I praij thee, out of thy hooli^ The expression of 
 " blotting out of the book of life" is of the same import with 
 those phrases so frequently used in tlie Old Testament, of " blot- 
 ting out from the face of the ejirth," and " blotting out one's 
 name from under heaven :" and tlie desire of Moses signifies, that 
 he m;is willing to submit to a temponJ death, that his nation 
 raighl be saved from a temporal ruin. Abp. Tillotson. 
 
 So in Numb. xi. 1.5. it is, " Kill me, I pray thee, out of hand." 
 The expression is an allusion to the custom of registering the peo- 
 ple, as m Numbers, chap. i. and as more at large in Ezra and Ne- 
 iumiah afterwards ; and blotting out every one's name as fast as 
 they died. Vf/h: God hath no need of a book to register and re- 
 cord any of His purjioses: but the Scripture uses the Lniguage of 
 men, according to the practice of the .lews, who, to this day, re- 
 tain the same form of speech. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 This was the highest possible expression of Moses's great zeal 
 for tlie glory of God, and of his fear lost any thing should be 
 done, which might reflect upon God's power and goodness. Bp. 
 Beveridge. 
 
 Chap. XXXIII. ver. 2. — an angeF] By an angel here is meant 
 one of GikI's ministering servants ; and not the Angel mentioned 
 chap, xxiii. 20, as is evident from comparing the text. lip. Kidder. 
 
 ij- — lest I consume ihct in tlie may. J Lest, seeing Myself af- 
 
 1491. 
 
 evil tidings, they mourned: and no man cfnusT 
 did j)ut on him his ornaments. 
 
 5 For the Loud had said unto MoseS, 
 Sav unto the children of Israel, Ye are a 
 stirtiiecked people : I will come up into the 
 midst of thee in a moment, and consume 
 thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments 
 from thee, that I may know what to do 
 unto thee. 
 
 G And the children of Israel stripped 
 themsehes of their ornaments by the 
 mount Horeb.' 
 
 7 And Moses took the tabernacle, and 
 pitched it without the camp, afar off from 
 the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of 
 the congregation. And it came to pass, 
 t/iat every one which sought the Loud 
 went out unto the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation, which was without the camp. 
 
 8 And it came to pass, when Moses went 
 out unto the tabernacle, t/iat all the people 
 rose up, and stood every man at his tent 
 door, and looked after Moses, until he was 
 gone into the tabernacle. 
 
 9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered 
 into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar de- 
 scended, and .stood at the door of the 
 tabernacle, and the LOUD talked with 
 Moses. 
 
 10 And all the people saw the cloudy 
 pillar stand at the tabernacle door : and all 
 the people rose up and worshipped, every 
 man in his tent door. 
 
 1 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses face 
 to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. 
 And he turned again into the camp: but 
 his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young 
 man, departed not out of the tabernacle. 
 
 fronted as it were to My face, I punish the people with utter de- 
 struction. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — that I mat) know nhal to do unto thee.'2 That I may deal 
 with you according as I find you disposed. God had not abso- 
 lutely resolved to forsake them, but might be moved by their 
 re|)Ciitance to continue with them. Bp. Patrick. We must not 
 sup))ose that Ciod did not " know" His own jiurjjose and the 
 event of things. To " know" here signifies to discover or make 
 known to others. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 11. — face tojitcc, as a man &C.3 That is, the glory of the 
 Lord appeared visibly before the face of Moses, but not in a 
 dreadful and .ilarming manner, as when He spake to all the peo- 
 ple out of the midst of the fire, Deut. v. 4; but witli such a mild 
 and comfortable light, as encouraged and cheered him. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. Sjieaking by audible voices to him, as one friend imparts 
 his counsel to another. Bp. Hall. This expression merely signi- 
 fies the clear and familiar manner, in which God was pleased to 
 communicate His will to Moses. Dr. Lclund. He spake plainly and 
 familiarly ; not in visions, and dreams, and dark speeches. This 
 was a peculiar privilege of Moses, Numb. xii. 6, 8 ; Deut. xxxiv. 
 10. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 a t/oung man^ He was at this time near sixty years old ; 
 
 but the Hebrews called all men young till they began to decline. 
 Bp. Patrick.
 
 Moses desire th to see 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII, XXXIV. 
 
 the ghry of God. 
 
 CHRi'sT ^^ ^ ^^^ Moses said unto the Lord, 
 1491. See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this 
 people : and thou hast not let me know 
 whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou 
 hast said, I know thee by name, and thou 
 hast also found grace in my sight. 
 
 13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have 
 found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy 
 way, that I may know thee, that 1 may find 
 grace in thy sight : and consider that this 
 nation is thy people. 
 
 14 And he said, My presence shall go 
 icith thee, and I will give thee rest. 
 
 15 And he said unto him, If thy presence 
 go not xvith me, carry us not up hence. 
 
 16 For wherein shall it be known here 
 that I and thy people have found grace in 
 thy sight ? is it not in that thou goest with 
 us? so shall we be separated, I and thy 
 people, from all the people that are upon 
 the face of the earth. 
 
 17 And the Lord said unto Moses, I will 
 do this thing also that thou hast spoken : 
 for thou hast found grace in my sight, and 
 I know thee by name. 
 
 1 8 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me 
 thy glory. 
 
 19 And he said, I will make all my good- 
 ness pass before thee, and I will proclaim 
 
 12. — / hnorv thee by name,'] To know any one by his name 
 expresses a distinction, a friendship, a particular familiarity. The 
 kings of the East had little communication with their subjects, 
 and hardly ever appeared in publick. So that when they Itnew 
 their servants by name, vouchsafed to speak to them, to call them, 
 and to admit them into their presence, it was a great mark of 
 favour. Calmef. See the note on Jer. i. 5. 
 
 13. — shew me now thy «'«y,] Thy gracious and mercifid ad- 
 ministration. Bp. Kidder. The way, which Thou habt appoint- 
 ed, whereby men may come to a right knowledge of Thee. Bp. 
 Beveridge. 
 
 thai I may know thee,'] That I may be assured of Thy 
 
 gracious acceptance. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18. — shew me thy glory. '\ Thy glorious presence, not vailed 
 in a cloud ; but in its full majesty and splendour. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 That which Moses begs, is a more plain and familiar knowledge 
 of the Divine Nature and Essence, or such a " seeing of God," 
 ver. 20, as this mortal state will not admit of Bp. Kidder. 
 
 \<j. — / will make all my goodness pass &c.] When Moses 
 desires, that God would shew him His glory, he is answered, that 
 God will cause " His goodness to jiass before him ;" and will 
 " proclaim His name," or His glorious attributes before him ; 
 hereby intimating, that to know God in His glorious attributes 
 or moral perfections was of much greater importance, than to be 
 admitted to the immediate sight of that outward Divine Glory, 
 even though he had been able to behold it in all its unutterable 
 splendour. Dr. Lelatid. 
 
 and will be gracious &c.] I will always dispense My fa- 
 vours, according to My own pleasure, as I now vouchsafe this 
 favour to thee. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 22. — ivilt cover thee with my hand'} I will cast a cloud about 
 thee, that thou mayest not be struck dead by the inconceivable 
 brightness of the rays, which come from the Divine Majesty. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 23. — / will take away mine hand, &c.] When the full splen- 
 VoL. I. 
 
 the name of the Lord before thee ; " and ^^^"" 
 will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, ^"fui.*^ 
 and will shew mercy on whom I will shew ' R"™- s- 
 mercy. ' ^^■ 
 
 20 And he said, Thou canst not see my 
 face : for there shall no man see me, and 
 live. 
 
 21 And the Lord said. Behold, there is 
 a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon 
 a rock : 
 
 22 And it shall come to pass, while my 
 glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a 
 clift of the rock, and will cover thee witii 
 my Jiand while I pass by : 
 
 23 And I will take away mine hand, and 
 thou shalt see my back parts : but my face 
 shall not be seen. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 1 Tlie tables are renewed. 5 The name of the LORD 
 proclaimed. 8 Moses intrcateth God to go witli them. 
 1 God makcth a covenant with them, repeating certain 
 duties of the first table. 28 Moses after forty days in 
 the mount cometh down with the tables. 2y His face 
 thineth, and he covcreth it with a vail. 
 
 AND the Lord said unto Moses, * Hew ' Deut. la 
 thee two tables of stone like unto the 
 first : and I will write upon these tables the 
 words that were in the first tables, which 
 thou brakest. 
 
 dour of My Majesty is passed, I will remove that cloud wliich 
 covered thee; and thou shalt see the skirts and hinder portion, 
 or have a shaded and imperfect view, of the symbol of My pre- 
 sence ; but thou slialt not see My glory in its fullest lustre. Bp. 
 Patrick. It is manifest, tliat these passages cannot possibly be 
 designed to signify, that God is of a bodily form, or that Hi» 
 Essence can be seen with the bodily eye. When Moses desired to 
 see " the glory of God," the natural and most literal sense is, that 
 he desired, as a token of the extraordinary favour, with which 
 God was pleased to honour him, that He would vouchsafe to ad- 
 mit him to a full and immediate view of that Divine brightness 
 and splendour of Majesty, without the cloud or darkness which 
 usually vailed it : and when God let him know, tliat He could not 
 " see His face and live ;" and that " His face should not be seen ;" 
 this is designed to signify, that He would grant him sucli a view 
 of that glory, as he was able to bear, but not in its full lustre and 
 niajesty, which would have overpowered his frail nature. Tlie 
 bright side of the glorious light, where it shone with its full un- 
 vailcd lustre, is called the fove part, or " face ." and the dark side, 
 where there was a lower degree of brightness, is called its " back 
 pai-t." There is no danger that any one, who reads the Scrip- 
 tures, should tliink that the Divine Essence consists of any bodily 
 form or parts ; since He is described as " filling the heaven of 
 heavens," 1 Kings viii. 27 ; as " a spirit," .lolm iv. 24, " whom no 
 man hath seen, nor can see," 1 Tim. vi. 1 6, &c Dr. lA^land. 
 
 Chap. XXXn\ ver. 1. — Hew thee two tables &c.] By this 
 renewal of the Law, God shewed that He was reconciled to Israel. 
 As the Israelites had been wilfully blind, had they not seen God's 
 anger in the tables broken ; so could they not but esteem it a 
 good sign of grace that God gave them His testimonies. There 
 was nothing, wherein Israel surpassed all the rest of the world 
 more than in this privilege ; the pledge of His covenant, the Law, 
 written witli God's own hand. What a fevour then is it, where 
 God bestows His Gospel upon any nation ! That was but " a 
 
 Bb
 
 The tables are renewed. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 God maketh a covenant 
 
 Brfiirr 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 ' Chap. I'J 
 1^ 
 
 ' Chap. -M. 
 5. 
 
 D«ul. .J. 9. 
 Jer. 3-.'. 1». 
 
 <i And be ready in the morning, and 
 come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, 
 and present tliyseW there to me in the top 
 of the mount. 
 
 .'] And no man shall ''come up with thee, 
 neither let any man be seen throughout all 
 the mount ; neither let the flocks nor herds 
 feed before that mount. 
 
 4. % And he hewed two tables of stone 
 like unto the first ; and Moses rose up early 
 in the morning, anil went up unto mount 
 Sinai, as the Loud had commanded him, 
 and took in his hand the two tables of 
 stone. 
 
 5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, 
 and stood witii him there, and proclaimed 
 the name of the Lord. 
 
 (i And the Lord passed by before him, 
 and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, 
 merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and 
 abundant in goodness and truth, 
 
 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiv- 
 ing iniquity and transgression and sin, and 
 lliat will by no means clear the guilty ; '^ v\- 
 siting the iniquity of the fethcrs upon the 
 children, and upon the children's children, 
 unto the third and to the fourth generation. 
 
 8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his 
 head toward the earth, and worshipped. 
 
 9 And he said, If now I have found grace 
 in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray 
 thee, go among us ; for it is a stiffnecked 
 people ; and pardon our iniquity and our 
 sin, and take us for thine inheritance. 
 
 10 % And he said. Behold, '' I make a 
 covenant : before all thy ])eople I will do 
 marvels, such as have not been done in all 
 the earth, nor in any nation : and all the 
 people among which thou art shall see the 
 work of the Lord : for it is a terrible thing 
 that I will do with thee. 
 
 killing letter," 2 Cor. iii. 6 : this is " the power of God unto sal- 
 tion," Rom. i. l6. Bp. Hall. 
 
 5. — proclaimed lie name of the Lord.'] Here " the name of 
 the Lord" signifies those adorable perfections or attributes, which 
 arc, as it were, the proper denomination and character of the 
 Divine Nature. Dr. S. Clarke. 
 
 7. — Ihat nill by no means clear the pi'lty ;"] Without repent- 
 ance. Dr. iVclls. The words have been translated also, " In 
 extirpating He will not extirpate :" and so they still belong to the 
 lovinpkjndncss of Go<l, as all the foregoing do; signifying, that 
 when He doth punish, He will not utterly destroy and make deso- 
 late. Bp. Pntrick. See the notes on Numb. xiv. 18, and Jer. xxx. 11. 
 
 Although there be several other names and properties of God 
 commonly attributed to Him in His Holy Word, yet they are all 
 inchulod in one or otiier of those here given. This great essential 
 name, .Teiiovaii, Tlie Loud, used singly, signifies what He is in 
 Himself, without respect to His creatures : where it is used with 
 the word Cion, it seems to denote all those perfections, which He 
 maiiifests in the creation and goTcrnmcnt of the world. And so 
 the Lord God is the same, as if He liad said, The Lord, the Al- 
 
 * D«ut -. 2. 
 
 11 Observe thou that which I command 
 thee this day : behold, I drive out before 
 thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and 
 the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hi- 
 vite, and the .Jebusite. 
 
 12 ' Take heed to thyself, lest thou make 
 a covenant with the inhabitants of the land 
 whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in 
 the midst of thee : 
 
 13 But ye shall destroy their altars, 
 break their t images, and cut dowii their 
 
 groves 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 ' Chsp. 23. 
 
 31'. 
 
 Deut. 7. 2. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 slntuet. 
 
 14 For thou shalt worship no other god : 
 for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a 
 'jealous God : 
 
 1.5 Lest thou make a covenant with the 
 inhabitants of the land, and they go a 
 whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice 
 unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou 
 eat of his sacrifice ; 
 
 IG And thou take of ^ their daughters 
 unto thy sons, and their daughters go a 
 whoring after their gods, and make thy 
 sons go a whoring after their gods. 
 
 17 Thou shalt make thee no jnolten 
 gods. 
 
 18 ^ The feast of " unleavened bread 
 shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt 
 eat unleavened bread, as 1 commanded 
 thee, in the time of the month Abib : for 
 in the ' month Abib thou earnest out from 
 
 19 "AH that openeth the matrix is mine; 
 and every firstling among thy cattle, xvhe- 
 ther ox or sheep, that is male. 
 
 20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt 
 redeem with a || lamb : and if thou redeem 
 him not, then shalt thou break his neck. 
 All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt re- 
 deem. And none shall appear before me 
 ' empty. 
 
 ' Chap. DO. 
 5. 
 
 « 1 Kings 
 11.2. 
 
 ' Chap. 23. 
 15. 
 
 ' Chap. 13. 
 4. 
 
 ' Chap. 22. 
 29. 
 £zek. 44. 
 
 II Ou-, kid. 
 
 ' Chap. 23. 
 IS. 
 
 1 
 
 mighty. All-wise, All-good Creator, Preserver, and Governour of 
 all things : this He speaks of Himself, with reference to the whole 
 creation. But the rest of the properties here mentioned, as His 
 mercy, His grace. His longsuffering. His abundance in goodness 
 or bounty, and truth. His keeping mercy for thousands. His for- 
 giving iniquities, ti-ansgression, and sin, &c. have all respect to 
 mankind in a particular manner. And by the last, namely. His 
 " forgiving," or, as the word signifies, His taking away " iniquity, 
 transgression, and sin," He intimates His special love to them, in 
 sending His Son, " the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of 
 the world." Bp. Beveridgc. 
 
 1 6. — go a ivhoring after their gods^ The Scriptures frequently 
 speak of idolatrous worship as uncleanness : partly, in compliance 
 with the Jewish idiom, which calls any thing, that is detestable, 
 filthy and unclean ; the persons of that people being rendered 
 unholy by corporal pollutions : partly, by reason of the very un- 
 chaste actions and rites, by which many of the heathen idols were 
 served : but especially, because it was an alienation of the hearts 
 and bodies of the .lews from the God of Israel, who had, as it 
 were, chosen that Church as His spouse on earth. Abp. Tenison. 

 
 :^ '^^^^^ -.>• 
 
 < 
 
 S 
 
 •5 
 
 a -I 
 
 r=! -J
 
 tmth the Israelites. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 Moses* face shine ili. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 ■" Chap. 23. 
 12. 
 
 Deut. 5. 12. 
 Luke 13. 
 14. 
 
 " Chap. 23. 
 16. 
 
 fHeb. 
 revolution of 
 the ytar. 
 " Chap. 23. 
 14, 17. 
 Deut. 1£. 
 IS. 
 
 » Chap. 23. 
 18. 
 
 « Chap. 2S. 
 
 19. 
 
 Deut. 14. 
 
 21. 
 
 • Deut 4. 
 
 13. 
 
 -" Chap. 24. 
 
 18. 
 
 Deut. 9. 9. 
 
 21 ^ "Six days thou shalt work, but on 
 the seventh day thou shalt rest : in earing 
 time and in harvest thou shalt rest. 
 
 22 ^ "And thou shalt observe the feast 
 of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, 
 and the feast of ingathering at the tyear's 
 end. 
 
 23 % "Thrice in the year shall all your 
 men children appear before the Lord God, 
 the God of Israel. 
 
 24 For I will cast out the nations before 
 thee, and enlarge thy borders : neither 
 shall any man desire thy land, when thou 
 shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy 
 God thrice iathe year. 
 
 25 P Thou shalt not offer the blood of 
 my sacrifice with leaven ; neither shall the 
 sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left 
 unto the morning. 
 
 26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land 
 thou shalt bring unto the house of the 
 Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a 
 ■"kid in his mother's milk. 
 
 27 And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 "Write thou ' these words : for after the 
 tenor of these words I have made a cove- 
 nant with thee and with Israel. 
 
 28 * And he was there with the Lord 
 forty days and forty nights ; he did neither 
 eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote 
 
 21. Six days thou shall morh, bill on the seventh &c.~\ If labour 
 of any sort could be ordinarily permitted on this day, it must be 
 that of cultivating the earth, and gatliering in the truits of it : the 
 proper seasons for which, especially for the latter, may othenvise 
 Be lost. And accordingly allowances of this kind have been for- 
 merly granted by law. But they have been found so little need- 
 ful, and so liable to abuse, that these laws have been repealed, 
 and that of Moses resumed: " Six days thou shalt work, but on 
 the seventh, in earing," that is, in ploughing " time and in har- 
 vest, thou shalt rest." Never, I believe, hath any general scarcity, 
 seldom, if ever, hath any great disti-ess in any particular place 
 happened, merely by observing this rule. But were the breach of 
 it indulged, whenever the persons concerned should think it ne- 
 cessary, many of them would plead the necessity every year, and 
 in a little whUe throughout the year : so their servants and cattle 
 would be kept to incessant toil ,- and just that part oi the world, 
 which most needs instructing and civilizing, that is, tlie lowest, 
 would have by far the least opportunity for it. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 24. — neither shall any man desire thy land, &c.2 He tells them, 
 that there shall be no danger of their country being invaded by 
 their enemies, when their males are gone to worship Gotl. Bp. 
 Patrick. See the note on Deut. xvi. 16. 
 
 29. — the two tables of testimony'} The Ten Commandments, 
 being originally written, by the finger of God Himself, on two 
 tables of stone, and consisting of two part*, our duty to our Maker, 
 and to our fellow creatures ; which we can never perform as we 
 eught, if we neglect what we owe to ourselves ; the four first are 
 usually called the duties of the first table ; the six last, of the se- 
 cond. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 the s/iin of his face shone'] Shot forth radiant beams of 
 
 light, as the Hebrew properly expresses it. Parkhurst. The 
 Latin Vulgate renders it " horned ;" by confining the sense of the 
 Hebrew word, which signifies in fjeneral " rayed." From mis- 
 
 upon the tables the words of the covenant, ^^''"'« 
 the ten t commandments. ^"49!.^^ 
 
 29 ^ And it came to pass, when Moses t Heb. 
 came down from mount Sinai with the two """'''' 
 tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when 
 
 he came down from the mount, that Moses 
 wist not that the skin of his face shone 
 while he talked with him. 
 
 30 And when Aaron and all the children 
 of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of 
 his face shone ; and they were afraid to 
 come nigh him. 
 
 31 And Moses called unto them ; and 
 Aaron and all the rulers of the congrega- 
 tion returned unto him : and Moses talked 
 with them. 
 
 32 And afterward all the children of Is- 
 rael came nigh: and he gave them in com- 
 mandment all that the Lord had spoken 
 with him in mount Sinai. 
 
 33 And till Moses had done speaking 
 with them, he put 'a vail on his face. 
 
 34 But when Moses went in before the 
 Lord to speak with him, he took the vail 
 off, until he came out. And he came out, 
 and spake unto the children of Israel that 
 which he was commanded. 
 
 35 And the children of Israel saw the 
 face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face 
 shone : and Moses put the vail upon his 
 
 « 2 Cor. J. 
 13. 
 
 taking that translation, the Italian painters, whom others have 
 ignorantly followed, are wont to represent Moses with horns, in- 
 stead of rays of glorious light. Pylc. 
 
 If the flesh of Moses, in this mortal perishable body, so shined 
 by conversing with God forty days in Sinai, what shall be our 
 glory, when, clothed with incorruptible bodies, we shall converse 
 with Him for ever in the highest heaven ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 35, — the skin of' Moses face shone:] To reward and strengthen 
 the faith of Moses, God was pleased, at his request, to grant him 
 a fuller view of the Divine glory or presence, than He had hither, 
 to ; and, to confimi his authority with the people, on his return 
 after the second conference of forty days. He imparted to him a 
 portion of that glory : for the face of Moses shone so, that Aaron, 
 and all the people, were afraid to come nigh him, luitil he had 
 put a vail on his face, to hide its brightness. This was an honour, 
 never vouchsafed to mortal before; nor afterwards, till Christ, 
 the Prophet like Moses, in His transfiguration also, on mount 
 Tabor : when Moses again beheld the glorj- of the Lord, mi- 
 nistering thereto in a glorified form himseli". Matt. xvii. I — 8. 
 
 Dr. Hales. l u i 1 
 
 Moses put the vail upon his face] Finduig that the Israel- 
 
 ites durst not look upon it. That'which should have comforted, 
 affrights them ; yea, Aaron himself, that before went up into the 
 mount to see and speak with God, now is afraid to see him that 
 had seen God : such a fear there is in guiltiness, such confidence 
 in innocency ! When the soul is once cleared from sin, it shall run 
 to that glory with joy, tlie least glimpse of which now appals it, 
 and sends it away in terrour. How could the Israelites now do 
 otherwise than tliink, " How sh.Hll we abide to look God in the 
 face, since our eyes are dazzled with the face of Moses ?" And 
 weU may we still argue, " If tlie image of God, which He hath 
 set in the fleshly forehead of authority, daunt us, how shall we 
 stand before the dread tribunal of Heaven?" Bp. Hall. 
 
 Bb2
 
 The free gifts 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 for the tabernacle. 
 
 ,>?•'";' face again, until he went in to speak with 
 nim. 
 
 H'.M. 
 
 CHAP. XXXV. 
 
 1 The sabbath. ♦ The free gifts for the tabernacle. 
 20 The readiness of the people to offer. 30 Bezaleel 
 and Aholiab are called to the trork. 
 
 A' 
 
 ND Moses gathered all the congrega- 
 
 tion of the children of Israel together, 
 
 and said unto them, These are the words 
 which the Lord hatli commanded, that^^e 
 slioulil do thcin. 
 •ch«p.2o. i> ' Six davs shall work be done, but on 
 Lt. S3, s. the seventh day there sliall be to you tan 
 Deui 3. 1'.', iioly dav, a sabbath of rest to the Lord : 
 h""" '^ wiiosoe\ cr doeth work therein shall be put 
 
 U«« ^" death. 
 
 3 Ye shall kindle no tire throughout your 
 habitations upon the sabbath day. 
 
 •1- % And Moses spake unto all the con- 
 gregation of the children of Israel, saying, 
 This is the thing which the Lord com- 
 manded, saying, 
 
 5 Take }e from among you an offering 
 'Chap Lvs. „pto ^\^Q Loun : ''whosoever is of a willing 
 
 heart, let him bring it, an offering of the 
 Lord ; gold, and silver, and brass, 
 
 6 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and 
 fine linen, and goats' hair, 
 
 7 And rams' skins dyed red, and badg- 
 ers' skins, and shittim wood, 
 
 8 And oil for the light, and spices for 
 anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, 
 
 i) And onyx stones, and stones to be set 
 for tlie ephod, and for the breastplate. 
 
 10 And every wise hearted among you 
 shall come, and make all that the Lord 
 hath commanded ; 
 •Ch»p.£c. 11 'The tabernacle, his tent, and his 
 covering, his tachcs, and his boards, his 
 bars, his pillars, and his sockets, 
 
 1'2 The ark, and the staves thereof, xcith 
 the mercy seat, and the vail of the cover- 
 ing. 
 
 13 The table, and his staves, and all his 
 vessels, and the shewbread, 
 
 14 The candlestick also for the light, 
 and his furniture, and his lamps, with the 
 oil for the light. 
 
 Chap. XXXV. ver. 3. Take ye from among i/ou an offering &c.] 
 Wc rcail th.it many among the cliildrcn of Israel, both men ancl 
 women, brought voUmtary " offerings unto the Lonl" for the work 
 of the tabcrn.icle. The early Christians imitited their example, 
 as soon as they durst ; .ind, atier the superfluous ornaments of the 
 following age were justly disapproved, valuable presents have 
 been made in the reformed Church of England for the greater 
 solemnity and beauty of Divine service. Distinguished honour is 
 
 1 5 '' And tTie incense altar, and his staves, ^h rYst 
 and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, i49i. 
 and the hanging for the door at the enter- " cusp. so. 
 ing in of the tabernacle, ' 
 
 16 'The altar of burnt offering, with his ^c^ap. 27. 
 brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, 
 the laver and his foot, 
 
 17 The hangings of the court, his pillars, 
 and their sockets, and the hanging for the 
 door of the court, g 
 
 18 The pins of the tabernacle, and the 
 pins of the court, and their cords, 
 
 19 The cloths of service, to do service in 
 the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron 
 the priest, and the garments of his sons, to 
 minister in the priest's ofiice. 
 
 20 % And all the congregation of the 
 children of Israel departed from the pre- 
 sence of Moses. 
 
 21 And they came, every one whose 
 heart stirred him up, and every one whom 
 his spirit made willing, atid they brought 
 the Lord's offering to the work of the ta- 
 bernacle of the congregation, and for all 
 his service, and for the holy garments. 
 
 22 And they came, both men and wo- 
 men, as many as were willing hearted, a7id 
 brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, 
 and tablets, all jewels of gold : and every 
 man that offered offered an offering of gold 
 unto the Lord. 
 
 23 And every man, with whom was 
 found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and 
 fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of 
 rams, and badgers' skins, brought them. 
 
 21 Every one that did oflier an offering 
 of silver and brass brought the Lord's of- 
 fering : and every man, with whom was 
 found shittim wood for any work of the 
 service, brought it. 
 
 25 And all the women that were wise 
 hearted did spin with their hands, and 
 brought that which they had spun, both 
 of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and 
 of fine linen. 
 
 26 And all the women whose heart stir- 
 red them up in wisdom spun goats' hair. 
 
 27 And the rulers brought onyx stones, 
 and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for 
 the breastplate ; 
 
 due, by reason, Scripture, and the consent of mankind, to sacred 
 things. Indeed, every thing publick, though of a civil nature 
 only, and still more of a religious, ought to exceed, in point oi' 
 dignity, that which belongs to mere private use ; and the neglect 
 of this rule both shews, and will increase, a preference of personal 
 interests to those of the community. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 C), 7. All that follows is repeated from chapters twenty-five and 
 t\venty-six.
 
 Bezaleel and Aholiab are called. 
 
 chrTst ^^ "^"^ ' spice, and oil for the light, and 
 1491. for the anointing oil, and for the sweet 
 
 fciiajx so. incense. 
 
 23- 29 The children of Israel brought a will- 
 
 ing offering unto the Lord, every man and 
 woman, whose heart made them willing to 
 bring for all manner of work, which the 
 Lord had commanded to be made by the 
 hand of Moses. 
 
 30 ^ And Moses said unto the children 
 « ciiap. 31. of Israel, See, ^ the Lord hath called by 
 ^" name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of 
 
 Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 
 
 31 And he hath filled him with the 
 spirit of God, in wisdom, in understand- 
 ing, and in knowledge, and in all manner 
 of workmanship ; 
 
 32 And to devise curious works, to work 
 in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 
 
 33 And in the cutting of stones, to set 
 them, and in carving of wood, to make any 
 manner of cunning work. 
 
 34 And he hath put in his heait that he 
 may teach, both he, and Alioliab, tlie son 
 of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 
 
 35 Them hath he filled with wisdom of 
 heart, to work all manner of work, of the 
 engraver, and of the cunning workman, 
 and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in 
 purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of 
 the weaver, even of them that do any work, 
 and of those that devise cunning work. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVL 
 
 I The offeritigs are delivered to the workmen. 5 The 
 liberalili/ of the people is restrained. 8 The curtains 
 of cherttbims. 14 The curtains of goals' hair. IQ 
 The covering of skins. 20 The boards with their 
 sockets. 31 The bars. 35 The vail. 37 The hang- 
 ing for the door. 
 
 1491. rr^HEN wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, 
 X and every wise hearted man, in whom 
 the Lord put wisdom and understanding 
 to know how to work all manner of work 
 for the service of the sanctuary, according 
 to all that the Lord had commanded. 
 
 2 And Moses called Bezaleel and Aho- 
 liab, and every wise hearted man, in whose 
 heart the Lord had put wisdom, even every 
 one whose heart stirred him up to come 
 unto the work to do it : 
 
 3 And they received of Moses all the 
 offering, which the cliildren of Israel had 
 
 35. Them hath hejllled with ivisdmn of heart, '\ Tliis seems to 
 be so often repeated tor the purpose of increasing the confidence 
 of the Israelites in the -workmen, and of shewing that Bezaleel 
 and Aholiab were fit to be intrusted with the rich offerings they 
 had made. Bp. Patrick. As also of inculcating upon tlie minds 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. The liberality of the people restrained. 
 
 brought for the work of the service of the ^'"^"^ 
 sanctuary, to make it xdthal. And they ^"4".^^ 
 brought yet unto him free offerings every 
 
 morning. 
 
 4 And all the wise men, that wrought 
 all the work of the sanctuary, came every 
 man fi-om his work which they made; 
 
 5 ^ And they spake unto Moses, saying. 
 The people bring much more than enough 
 for the service of the work, which the Lord 
 commanded to make. 
 
 6 And Moses gave commandment, and 
 they caused it to be proclaimed through- 
 out the camp, saying, Let neither man nor 
 woman make any more work for the offer- 
 ing of the sanctuary. So the people were 
 restrained from bringing. 
 
 7 For tile stuff they had was sufficient 
 for all the work to make it, and too much. 
 
 8 % "And every wise hearted man among » chap. ss. 
 them that wrought the work of the taber- '• 
 nacle made ten curtains of fine twined 
 linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet : 
 
 xvith cherubims of cunning work made he 
 them. 
 
 9 The length of one curtain xvas twenty 
 and eight cubits, and the breadth of one 
 curtain four cubits : the curtains were all 
 of one size. 
 
 10 And lie coupled the five curtains one 
 unto another: and the other five curtains he 
 coupled one unto another. 
 
 11 And he made loops of blue on the 
 edge of one curtain from the selvedge in 
 the coupling : likewise he made in the 
 uttermost side of another curtain, in the 
 coupling of the second. 
 
 12 ''Fifty loops made he in one curtain, 'Chap. se. 
 and fifty loops made he in the edge of the '°- 
 curtain which was in the coupling of the 
 second: the loops held one ciu'tain to an- 
 other. 
 
 13 And he made fifty taches of gold, 
 and coupled the curtains one unto another 
 with the taches: so it became one taber- 
 nacle. 
 
 14 ^ And he made curtains of goats' 
 hair for the tent over the tabernacle: ele- 
 ven curtains he made them. 
 
 15 The length of one cintain xvas thirty 
 cubits, and four cubits icas the breadth of 
 one curtain : the eleven cnrtains sen- of 
 
 one size. 
 
 of the people, that every human accomplishment is tlie gift of 
 God. Edit. 
 
 Chap. XXX\I. ver. J). All that follows in tliis and the next 
 chapter is repeated from cliapters .\xv, xxvi, ,xxx. Sec the re- 
 mai-ks of Dr. Graves in the Introduction to tliis book.
 
 The offtringsfoi- the taf>emack. 
 
 Bcfor* 1 6 And he coupled five curtains by them- 
 ^"fs!^^ selves, and six curtains by themselves. 
 
 17 And he made fifty loops upon the 
 uttermost edge of the curtain in the coup- 
 ling, and fiftv loops made he upon the 
 edge of the' curtain which coupleth the 
 
 second. 
 
 18 And he made fifty taches of brass to 
 couple the tent together, that it might be 
 
 one. 
 
 10 And he made a covering for the tent 
 of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of 
 badgers' skins above that. 
 
 20 IF And he made boards for the taber- 
 nacle o/'shittini wood, standing up. 
 
 21 The length of a board was ten cubits, 
 and the breadth of a board one cubit and 
 a half. 
 
 22 One board had two tenons, equally 
 distant one from another: thus did he 
 make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 
 
 23 And he made boards for the taber- 
 nacle; twenty boards for the south side 
 southward : 
 
 24 And forty sockets of silver he made 
 under the twenty boards; two sockets 
 under one board for his two tenons, and 
 two sockets under another board for his 
 two tenons. 
 
 25 And for the other side of the taber- 
 nacle, which is toward the north corner, he 
 made twenty boards, 
 
 26 And their forty sockets of silver; two 
 sockets under one board, and two sockets 
 under another board. 
 
 27 And for the sides of the tabernacle 
 westward he made six boards. 
 
 28 And two boards made he for the cor- 
 ners of the tabernacle in the two sides. 
 
 tHtb. 29 And they were t coupled beneath, 
 
 and coupled together at the head thereof, 
 
 to one ring : thus he did to both of them 
 
 in both the corners. 
 
 30 And there were eight boards; and 
 
 their sockets icere sixteen sockets of silver, 
 t Heb. t under every board two sockets. 
 ',Z ZkJ,': ^1 1l A"^l he made 'bars of shittim wood ; 
 unucr xM five for the boards of the one side of the 
 ^;V 25. tabernacle, 
 s«. 4 sa 5. 32 And five bars for the boards of the 
 
 other side of the tabernacle, and five bars 
 
 for the boards of the tabernacle for the sides 
 
 westward. 
 
 33 And he made the middle bar to shoot 
 
 througli the boards from the one end to 
 
 the other. 
 
 34. And he overlaid the boards w ith gold, 
 
 and made their rings of gold to be places 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 2%e ark, and mercy seat, 
 
 for the bars, and overlaid tlie bars with j,^'risi 
 
 gold. HOI. 
 
 35 i[ And he made a vail of blue, and 
 purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen : 
 Tcith cherubims made he it of cunning work. 
 
 36 And he made thereunto four pillars 
 o/' shittim wood, and overlaid them with 
 gold : their hooks were o/'gold ; and he cast 
 for them four sockets of silver. 
 
 37 % And he made an hanging for the 
 tabernacle door of blue, and purple, and 
 scarlet, and fine twined linen, t of needle- t Hei.. 
 
 I the work of »a 
 
 work ; a needU- " 
 
 38 And the five pillars of it with their "^'ll^"': 
 hooks: and he overlaid their chapiters and ^r. 
 their fillets with gold: but their five sockets 
 
 were o/'brass. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 1 Tlie ark. 6 The maxij seal with cherubims. 10 The 
 table tvilh his vc.tscls. 17 The candte.stick with his 
 lamps and instruments. 25 The altar of' incense. 29 
 The anoi/iting oil and sweel incense. 
 
 AND Bezaleel ' made the ark o/'shittini * cii«p, 2s. 
 wood: two cubits and a half was the '°' 
 length of it, and a cubit and a half the 
 breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the 
 height of it : 
 
 2 And he overlaid it with pure gold 
 wthin and without, and made a crown of 
 gold to it round about. 
 
 3 And he cast for it four rings of gold, 
 to be set by the four corners of it; even two 
 rings upon the one side of it, and two rings 
 upon the other side of it. 
 
 4 And he made staves q/" shittim wood, 
 and overlaid them with gold. 
 
 5 And he put the staves into the rings 
 by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. 
 
 6 % And he made the "mercy seat o/''^chap.25. 
 pure gold: two cubits and a half was the 
 length thereof, and one cubit and a half 
 
 the breadth thereof. 
 
 7 And he made two cherubims o/'gold, 
 beaten out of one piece made he them, on 
 the two ends of the mercy seat; 
 
 8 One cherub || on the end on this side, 11 Or, 
 and another cherub 1| on the other end on ^"o";^' *"' 
 that side : out of the mercy seat made he <"" »/• &«• 
 the cherubims on the two ends thereof. 
 
 9 And the cherubims spread out their 
 wings on high, and covered with their 
 wings over the mercy seat, with their faces 
 one to another; even to the mercy seat- 
 ward were the faces of the cherubims. 
 
 10 ^ And he made the table of shittim 
 wood : two cubits was the length thereof, 
 and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cu- 
 bit and a half the height thereof:
 
 and the table with his vessels. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVII, XXXVIII. 
 
 The altar of burnt offering. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ■^"'^ ^^ overlaid it with pure gold, 
 1481. and made thereunto a crown of gold round 
 about. 
 
 12 Also he made thereunto a border of 
 an hand breadth round about; and made 
 a crown of gold for the border thereof 
 round about. 
 
 13 And he cast for it four rings of gold, 
 and put the rings upon the four corners 
 that icere in the four feet thereof. 
 
 14 Over against the border were the 
 rings, the places for the staves to bear the 
 table. 
 
 15 And he made the staves of shittim 
 wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear 
 the table. 
 
 16 And he made the vessels which were 
 ' Chap 25. upon the table, his '^ dishes, and his spoons, 
 II %r^ and his bowls, and his covers || to cover 
 to pour out withal, o/'pure gold. 
 
 "Cbap. 25. 17 IF And he made the *" candlestick of 
 31- pure gold : of beaten work made he the 
 
 candlestick; his shaft, and his branch, his 
 bowls, his knops, and his flowers, were of 
 the same : 
 
 18 And six branches going out of the 
 sides thereof; three branches of the can- 
 dlestick out of the one side thereofj and 
 three branches of the candlestick out of 
 the other side thereof: 
 
 19 Three bowls made after the fashion 
 of almonds in one branch, a knop and a 
 flower; and three bowls made like almonds 
 in another branch, a knop and a flower : 
 so throughout the six branches going out 
 of the candlestick. 
 
 ^0 And in the candlestick "were four 
 bowls made like almonds, his knops, and 
 his flowers : 
 
 21 And a knop under two branches of 
 the same, and a knop under two branches I 
 of the same, and a knop under two branches | 
 of the same, according to the six branches i 
 going out of it. 
 
 22 Their knops and their branches were 
 of the same : all of it was one beaten work 
 o/'pure gold. 
 
 23 And he made his seven lamps, and his 
 snuffers, and his snuffdishes, o/"pure gold. 
 
 24. Of a talent of pure gold made he it, 
 and all the vessels thereof. 
 
 25 % ^ And he made the incense altar of 
 I. '*"'' ■ shittim wood: the length of it was a cubit. 
 
 Chap. XXXVIII. ver. 8. — lookingglasses^ Lookingglasses, 
 ov, as it should rather be rendered, mirrors, were formerly made 
 of brass, tin, bilver, &c. and a mixture of brass and silver. 
 There are some still extant of silver -which are mucli es- 
 
 A 
 
 and the breadth of it a cubit; it was four- , before 
 square; and two cubits aoi- the height of *^"«l.^^ 
 it; the horns thereof were of the same. 
 
 26 And he overlaid it with pure gold, 
 both the top of it, and the sides thereof 
 round about, and the horns of it : also be 
 made unto it a crown of gold round about. 
 
 27 And he made two rings of gold for it 
 under the crown thereof, by the two cor- 
 ners of it, upon the two sides thereof, to be 
 places for the staves to bear it withal. 
 
 28 And he made the staves of shittim 
 wood, and overlaid them with gold. 
 
 29 % And he made ' the holy anointing ' Chap. so. 
 oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, ^^" 
 according to the work of the apothecary. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 1 The altar of burnt offering. 8 The laver of brass. Q 
 The court. 21 The sum of' thai the people offered. 
 
 ND "he made the altar of burnt offer- 'Chap.27. 
 ing of shittim wood : five cubits was '' 
 the length thereof, and five cubits the 
 breadth thereof; it was foui'square; and 
 three cubits the height thereof. 
 
 2 And he made the horns thereof on the 
 four corners of it; the horns thereof were 
 of the same : and he overlaid it with brass. 
 
 3 And he made all the vessels of the al- 
 tar, the pots, and the shovels, and the ba- 
 sons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans : 
 all the vessels thereof made he 0/ brass. 
 
 4 And he made for the altar a brasen 
 grate of network under the compass there- 
 of beneath imto the midst of it. 
 
 5 And he cast four rings for the four 
 ends of the grate of brass, to be places for 
 the staves. 
 
 6 And he made the staves of shittim 
 wood, and overlaid them with brass. 
 
 7 And he put the staves into the rings 
 on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; 
 he made the altar hollow witli boards. 
 
 8 % And he made the laver 6»/'brass, and 
 the foot of it of brass, of the il looking- s Or. 
 glasses of the women t assembling, whicli J°^X". 
 assembled at the door of the tabernacle of t ««•»• 
 
 , auembliHg 
 
 the congregation. by troops. 
 
 9 % And he made the court : on the 
 south side southward the hangings of the 
 court were of fine twined linen, an himdred 
 cubits : 
 
 teemed. The mirrors of the ancients were generally round. 
 Calmet. 
 
 9. All that follows to ver. 21, has been explained at cL xxvii. 
 excepting two or three words.
 
 The court. The sum qf 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 that the people offered. 
 
 Before 
 
 10 Their pillars were twenty, and their 
 ^'m*?'.^^ braseii sockets twenty; the hooks of the 
 
 pillars and their fillets' ufrt o/' silver. 
 
 1 1 And for the north side the hangings 
 ■cere an hundred cubits, their pillars -were 
 twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; 
 the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of 
 silver. 
 
 12 And for the west side "were hangings 
 of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their 
 sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and 
 their fillets r^'silver. 
 
 13 And for the east side eastward fifty 
 cubits. 
 
 It Tlie hangings of the one side of the 
 gate •aerc fifteen cubits ; their pillars three, 
 and tlieir sockets three. 
 
 15 And for the other side of the court 
 gate, on this hand and that hand, u-erc 
 hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars 
 three, and their sockets three. 
 
 16 All the hangings of the court round 
 about uerc of fine twined linen. 
 
 17 And the sockets for the pillars xvere 
 o/'brass; the hooks of the pillars and their 
 fillets o/'silver; and the overlaying of their 
 chapiters of silver; and all the pillars of 
 the covut xvere filleted with silver. 
 
 18 And the hanging for the gate of the 
 court xvas needlework, of h\\ic, and puq)le, 
 and scarlet, and fine twined linen : and 
 twenty cubits xcas the length, and the 
 height in the breadth -was five cubits, an- 
 swerable to the hangings of the court. 
 
 19 And their pillars xcei'e four, and their 
 sockets o/'brass four; their hooks o/" silver, 
 and the overlaying of their chapiters and 
 their fillets o/'silver. 
 
 »Ch.^27. .20 And all the " pins of the tabernacle, 
 and of the court round about, xvere o/"brass. 
 21 % This is the sum of the tabernacle, 
 even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it 
 was counted, according to the command- 
 ment of Moses, for the service of the Le- 
 vites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron 
 the priest. 
 
 19, 
 
 I". — chapilcrs'] Or heads of tlie pillars. 
 
 18. — Ihe height in Ihe hriadthl Thi.o i.s an Hebrew way of 
 jpeaking, signifying llie height ot tlie hanging itself; its breadth 
 when It lay along, was called its height when it wiis huo" up' 
 Bp. Palrick. " ' ' 
 
 21. This is Ihe tuniy This, which follows at ver. 24, &c. is the 
 •urn of all the materials, gold, silver, brass, &c. which were em- 
 ployed m buildinc the tabernacle. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ——/<"• tlit service of the Uvilcs,-] Rather, by Ihe ministr,, of 
 the Lcittes, whom Moses appointed to take the account of all the 
 expenses. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2*. — twenty and nine talents,'} As has been noted before, a 
 
 22 And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the c^^^*^,. 
 son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all ^491. 
 that the Lord commanded Moses. 
 
 23 And with him was Aholiab, son of 
 Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an en- 
 graver, and a cunning workman, and an 
 embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in 
 scarlet, and fine linen. 
 
 24 All the gold that was occupied for 
 the work in all the work of the holy place, 
 even the gold of the offering, was twenty 
 and nine talents, and seven hundred and 
 thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanc- 
 tuary. 
 
 25 And the silver of them that were 
 numbered of the congregation xcas an hun- 
 dred talents, and a thousand seven hundred 
 and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the 
 shekel of the sanctuary: 
 
 26 A bekah i'or t every man, that is, half t Heb. 
 a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, "''""■ 
 for every one that went to be numbered, 
 from twenty years old and upward, for six 
 hundred thousand and three thousand and 
 
 five hundred and fifty men. 
 
 9r] And of the hundred talents of silver 
 were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and 
 the sockets of the vail ; an hundred sockets 
 of the hundred talents, a talent for a 
 socket. 
 
 28 And of the thousand seven hundred 
 seventy and five shekels he made hooks for 
 the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, 
 and filleted them. 
 
 29 And the brass of the offering xias 
 seventy talents, and two thousand and four 
 hundred shekels. 
 
 30 And therewith he made the sockets 
 to the door of the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation, and the brasen altar, and the 
 brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of 
 the altar, 
 
 31 And the sockets of the court round 
 about, and the sockets of the court gate, 
 and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all 
 the pins of the court round about. 
 
 shekel was nearly half a crown of our money; and the talent was 
 3000 shekels. Thus the amount of the gold here mentioned 
 (twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels) was something more than 
 ill 47, 180 of our money. Bp. Cumberland. 
 
 25, 2(5. It appears that there were 6oy,o.'JO men, who gave a 
 bekah, or half a shekel apiece; which amounts to 301,77-^ she- 
 kels: and, as this is called (at ver. 2.5) 100 talents, and 1775 
 shekels, it is shewn that the talent was equal to 3000 shekels. 
 The whole sum of the silver is reckoned nearly £,35,S00 of our 
 money. /?». Cumberland. 
 
 28. — (if Ihe thuu.satid seven hundred seventy and Jive shekels'] 
 Which remained above the 100 talents; see note at ver. 25.
 
 The holy garments for the 
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 service of the tabernacle. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 A' 
 
 10. & 35. 
 19. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 H91. 1 'r}ie cloths of service and holy garments. 2 The ephwi. 
 8 The breastplate. 22 T/ie robe of the cphud. 27 
 The coats, mitre, and girdle of fine linen. 30 The 
 plate of the holij crown. 32 All is viewed and ap- 
 proved by Moses. 
 
 ND of the blue, and purple, and scar- 
 let, they made cloths of service, to do 
 "Chap. 31. service in the \\o\y place, and* made the 
 holy garments for Aaron; as the Lord 
 commanded Moses. 
 
 2 And he made the ephod o/'gold, blue, 
 and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined 
 linen. 
 
 3 And they did beat the gold into thin 
 plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in 
 the blue, and in the purple, and in tlie 
 scarlet, and in the fine linen, -with cun- 
 ning work. 
 
 4 They made shoulderpieces for it, to 
 couple it together : by the two edges was 
 it coupled together. 
 
 5 And the curious girdle of his ephod, 
 that was upon it, was of the same, accord- 
 ing to the work thereof; o/'gold, blue, and 
 purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen ; 
 as the Lord commanded Moses. 
 
 » Chap. 28. 6 ^ '' And they wrought onyx stones in- 
 * closed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets 
 
 are graven, with the names of the childi^en 
 
 of Israel. 
 
 7 And he put them on the shoulders of 
 the ephod, that they should be stones for a 
 
 = Chap. 28. "^ memorial to tlie children of Israel ; as the 
 **• Lord commanded Moses. 
 
 8 ^ And he made the breastplate of 
 cunning work, like the work of the ephod ; 
 o/'gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and 
 fine twined linen. 
 
 9 It was foursquare; they made the 
 breastplate double : a span was the lengtli 
 thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, 
 being doubled. 
 
 10 And they set in it four rows of 
 ■I Or, stones : the frst row xms a !l sardius, a 
 "***■ • topaz, and a carbuncle : this xcas the first 
 
 row. 
 
 11 And the second row, an emerald, a 
 sapphire, and a diamond. 
 
 12 And the third row, a ligure, an agate, 
 and an amethyst. 
 
 13 And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, 
 and a jasper : they were inclosed in ouches 
 of gold in their inclosings. 
 
 Chap. XXXIX. ver. 3. And they did beat &c.] The uiider- 
 
 workmen beat the gold into very thin plates, and then cut it 
 
 into wires or small threads of gold. It appears that, in those 
 
 days, they had not the art, which we now possess, of drawing a 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 14. And the stones were according to r^^l^H 
 the names of the children of Israel, twelve, nsi. 
 according to their names, like the engrav- 
 ings of a signet, every one with his name, 
 according to the twelve tribes. 
 
 15 And they made upon the breastplate 
 chains at the ends, <f wreathcn work of 
 pure gold. 
 
 16 And they made two ouches o/'gold, 
 and two gold rings, and put the two rings 
 in the two ends of the breastplate. 
 
 17 And they put the two wreathen chains 
 of gold in the two rings on tlie ends of the 
 breastplate. 
 
 18 And the two ends of tlie two wreath- 
 en chains they fastened in the two ouches, 
 and put them on the shoulderpieces of the 
 ephod, before it. 
 
 19 And they made two rings of gold, and 
 put them on the two ends of the breastplate, 
 upon the border of it, which was on the 
 side of the ephod inward. 
 
 20 And they made two other golden 
 rings, and put them on the two sides of the 
 ephod underneath, toward the forepart of 
 it, over against the other coupling thereof, 
 above the curious girdle of the ephod. 
 
 21 And they did bind the breastplate 
 by his rings unto the rings of the ephod 
 M'ith a lace of blue, that it might be above 
 the curious girdle of tlie ephod, and that 
 the breastplate might not be loosed from 
 the ephod ; as the Lord commanded 
 Moses. 
 
 22 if And he made the robe of the ephod 
 o/" woven w'ork, all of blue. 
 
 23 And there was an hole in the midst 
 of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, 
 with a band round about the hole, that it 
 should not rend. 
 
 24. And they made upon the hems of 
 the robe ])omegranates o/'blue, and purple, 
 and scarlet, and twined li7ien. 
 
 25 And they made "bells f/piire gold, ^ Chap. as. 
 and put the bells betw een the pomegranates ^^' 
 upon the hem of the robe, round about be- 
 tween the pomegranates ; 
 
 26 A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and 
 a pomegranate, round about the hem of 
 the robe to minister in ; as the Lord com- 
 manded Moses. 
 
 27 ^ And they made coats of fine linen 
 of woven work for Aaron, and for his 
 sons, 
 
 ST 
 
 piece of gold into round wires of any length. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 " /„ nwk it in the blue, &.C.1 To twist it together with 
 
 threads of blue, &c. so as to torm one thread. Bp. Pa. 
 
 trick: 
 
 Cc
 
 The holy garments, 8^c. 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 approved by Moses. 
 
 lUforr 
 
 emu ST '^^ -^"'^ ^ mitre o/'fine linen, anil goodly 
 M»i. bonnets (>/" fine linen, and ' linen breeches 
 
 •cb«p. .'8. <>/ fine twined linen, 
 
 *'^ '29 And a girdle of tine twined linen, 
 
 and blue, and purple, and scarlet, oj 
 needlework j as the Lord commanded 
 Moses. 
 
 30 i[ And they made the plate of the 
 holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon 
 it a wTiting, like to the engravings of a 
 
 <Ch.^» signet, 'HOLINESS TO THE 
 "^^ LORD. 
 
 31 And they tied unto it a lace of blue, 
 to fasten it oil high upon the mitre ; as 
 the Loud commanded Moses. 
 
 32 5r Thus was all the work of the ta- 
 bernacle of the tent of the congregation 
 finished : and the children of Israel did 
 according to all that the Lord commanded 
 Moses, so did they. 
 
 3!d % And they brought the tabernacle 
 unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, 
 his taches, his boards, his bars, and his pil- 
 lars, and his sockets, 
 
 31' And the covering of rams' skins dyed 
 red, and the covering of badgers' skins, 
 and the vail of the covering, 
 
 ^5 The ark of the testimony, and the 
 staves thereof, and the mercy seat, 
 
 ii^ The table, and all the vessels thereof, 
 and the shewbread, 
 
 37 The pure candlestick, mth the lamps 
 thereof, even rvilh the lamps to be set in 
 order, and all the vessels thereof, and the 
 oil for light. 
 
 32. Thus was — ^finished .-"J It i? reasonably supposed that 
 Moses has iK-en thus exact and particular, in chapters xxxvi, 
 xxxvii, xxxviii, xxxix, in relating how the tabernacle and its 
 particulars were made, in order to shew more clearly and fully, 
 that tliej were made acoording to God's directions, in chapters 
 XXV, XX vi, &c. Dr. ti'ells. 
 
 talicrnade nf the tenf] The tibemacle, or dwellingplace 
 
 of God, which was a tent ; or, " the tabernacle" may be thought 
 to signify the inward part of the house, as the tent did the out- 
 wanl part which covered the inward. See chap. xl. 17, I9, 29. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 43. — as the Lord had commanded,'] This is the tenth time that 
 Moses, in this one chapter, says idl this was done, " as the Lord 
 had commanded," to shew how scrupulously exact they were in 
 thrir obedience. Rp. Patrick. 
 
 Moses bles.fcd them.] He gave to the workmen, who had 
 
 bestowed their labour on it, and to the whole congregation that 
 contributed to it, his commendations, blessings, and prayers. 
 Pifle. 
 
 On reviewing the account of the Jewish tabernacle and its 
 utensils, .^s also of the priestlio<Kl ;md its offices, it is proper to 
 consider for what ends .and purposes God was pleased to insti- 
 tute thi-c things. To this purpose, St. Paul informs us, that the 
 Jewish I-iw was an imjierfect dispensation from the first and 
 " .idded because of transgressions, till tlie seed should come," 
 Gal. iii. If) ; that in great condescension it was adapted to the 
 weakness of the Jewish people, whom he compares to an heir un- 
 
 38 And the golden altar, and the anoint- ch*^"!".,. 
 ing oil, and t the sweet incense, and the 1491. 
 hanging for the tabernacle door, fHeb. 
 
 3!) The brasen altar, and his grate of ''''' '""'"'^ 
 
 ,. 1,11. 1 I ofiwect 
 
 brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the ,pices. 
 laver and his foot, 
 
 40 The hangings of the court, his pil- 
 lars, and his sockets, and the hanging for 
 the court gate, his cords, and his pins, 
 and all the vessels of the service or the 
 tabernacle, for the tent of the congrega- 
 tion, 
 
 41 The cloths of service to do service in 
 the holy place, and the holy garments for 
 Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, 
 to minister in the priest's office. 
 
 42 According to all that the Lord com- 
 manded Moses, so the children of Israel 
 made all the work. 
 
 43 And Moses did look upon all the 
 work, and, behold, they had done it as the 
 Lord had commanded, even so had they 
 done it : and Moses blessed them. 
 
 CHAP. XL. 
 
 1 The tabernacle is commanded to be reared, 9 "'"^ 
 anointed. \S Aaron and his sons to be sanctified. 
 1() Moses pcrformeth all things accordinglt/. Si A 
 child coverelh the tabernacle. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing* 
 
 2 On the first day of the first month 
 shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent 
 of the congregation. 
 
 3 And thou slialt put therein the ark of 
 
 der a tutor or governour. Gal. iv. 1,2, " the law being our school- 
 master to bring us unto Christ," Gal. iii. 24, and having only 
 " a shadow of good things to come," Heb. x. 1. Thus the Jewish 
 religion was, in its several particular institutions, intended in 
 great measure to typify and prefigure the more perfect dispensa- 
 tion of the Gospel. That the Jewish High Priest was a manifest 
 type of our Lord and Saviour, the author of the Kpislle to the 
 Hebrews has frequently declared, Heb. iii. 1; viii. 1; ix. 11. So 
 the tabernacle itself was a type of our Redeemer dwelling in our 
 nature, John i. 14, as was the ark in the Holy of Holies, with its 
 mercy seat, an emblem of Him, from whose mouth we have re- 
 ceived the Law, and whose satisfaction to Divine justice is our 
 true propitiatori/ or mcrci/ .seal. In like manner, the several altars 
 appointed in the tabernacle, and the sacrifices appointed to be 
 performed upon them, equally lead us to Christ and His Dispen- 
 sation. Since therefore the chief end of the several institutions 
 relating to the ceremonial j)art of the Jewish worship was to pre- 
 figure the person and transactions of our Blessed Saviour, so the 
 ceremonies aj)pointed under it could never be of any esteem in the 
 sight of God, except as they tended to promote this end, and to 
 prepare men's minds for the reception of a more perfect institution 
 of religion. Slack-house. 
 
 Chap. XL. ver. 2. On the first day of the fist month'} This was 
 the second year (as is e.\pressly mentioned ver. 17) after their 
 coming out from Egypt : a complete year within fourteen days 
 after that great deliverance. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Aaron and his sorts 
 
 CHAP. XL. 
 
 to be sanctified. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 holiness of 
 holinesses. 
 
 CHRIST ^'^? testimony, and cover the ark with the 
 
 1491. vail. 
 « Chap. 26. 4 And "thou shalt bring in the table, 
 tHeb. and set in order tthe things that are to be 
 'w?"^ set in order upon it ; and thou shalt bring 
 
 in the candlestick, and light the lamps 
 
 thereof. 
 
 5 And thou shalt set the altar of gold 
 for the incense before the ark of the testi- 
 mony, and put the hanging of the door to 
 the tabernacle. 
 
 6 And thou shalt set the altar of the 
 burnt offering before the door of the taber- 
 nacle of the tent of the congregation. 
 
 7 And thou shalt set the laver between 
 the tent of the congregation and the altar, 
 and shalt put water therein. 
 
 8 And thou shalt set up the court round 
 about, and hang up the hanging at the 
 court gate. 
 
 9 And thou shalt take the anointing oil, 
 and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is 
 therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the 
 vessels thereof: and it shall be holy. 
 
 10 And thou shalt anoint the altar of the 
 burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanc- 
 tify the altar: and it shall be an altar tmost 
 holy. 
 
 11 And thou shalt anoint the laver and 
 his foot, and sanctify it. 
 
 12 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his 
 sons unto the door of the tabernacle of 
 the congregation, and wash them with 
 water. 
 
 13 And thou shalt put upon Aaron the 
 holy garments, and anoint him, and sanc- 
 tify him ; that he may minister unto me in 
 the priest's office. 
 
 14 And thou shalt bring his sons, and 
 clothe them with coats : 
 
 15 And thou shalt anoint them, as thou 
 didst anoint their father, that they may min- 
 ister unto me in the priest's office: for their 
 anointing shall surely be an everlasting 
 priesthood throughout their generations. 
 
 16 Thus did Moses: according to all that 
 the Lord commanded him, so did he. 
 
 17 % And it came to pass in the first 
 month in the second year, on the first day 
 
 "Numb.?, of the month, that the ''tabernacle was 
 '■ reared up. 
 
 18 And Moses reared up the tabernacle, 
 and fastened his sockets, and set up the 
 
 3. — cover the ark with the vail.'\ Tluit is, hang the vail, so as 
 to separate the most holy part of the tabernacle, in which the ark 
 ■was to stand, from the holy and outer part of the tabernacle. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 1490. 
 
 boards thereof, and put in the bars tlicreof, chr'/st 
 and reared up his pillars. h9o" 
 
 19 And he spread abroad tlic tent over 
 the tabernacle, and put the covering of the 
 tent above upon it ; as the Lord com- 
 manded Moses. 
 
 20 ^ And he took and put the testimony 
 into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, 
 and put the mercy seat above upon the ark : 
 
 21 And he brought the ark into tlie ta- 
 bernacle, and "set up the vail of the cover- ' Chap.s^. 
 ing, and covered the ark of the testimony; *'' 
 
 as the Lord commanded Moses. 
 
 22 if And he put the table in tlie tent of 
 the congregation, upon the .side of the ta- 
 bernacle northward, without the vail. 
 
 23 And he set the bread in order upon 
 it before the Lord; as the Lord had com- 
 manded Moses. 
 
 24 ^ And he put the candlestick in the 
 tent of the congregation, over against the 
 table, on the side of the tabernacle south- 
 ward. 
 
 25 And he lighted the latnps before the 
 Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses. 
 
 26 ^ And he put the golden altar in the 
 tent of the congregation before tiie vad : 
 
 27 And he burnt sweet incense thereon; 
 as the Lord commanded Moses. 
 
 28 ^ And he set up the hanging at the 
 door of the tabernacle. 
 
 29 And he put the altar of burnt offering 
 by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of 
 the congregation, and offered upon it the 
 burnt offering and the meat offering; as 
 
 the ''Lord commanded Moses. "Cbip-sa 
 
 30 ^ And he set the laver between the 
 tent of the congregation and the altar, and 
 put water there, to wash ivithal. 
 
 31 And Moses and Aaron and his sons 
 w ashed their hands and their feet thereat : 
 
 32 When they went into the tent of 
 the congregation, and when they came 
 near unto the altar, they washed ; as the 
 Lord commanded Moses. 
 
 33 And he reared up the court round 
 about the tabernacle and the altar, and set 
 up the hanging of the court gate. So 
 Moses finished the work. 
 
 34.^ 'Then a cloud covered the tent of '^Numb.<u 
 the congregation, and the glory of the i kings s. 
 Lord filled the tabernacle. 
 
 35 And Moses was not able to enter 
 
 10. 
 
 15. —for — an everlasting priesthood'} This anointing shall 
 not only consecrate them for the priesthood in their own per- 
 sons; but their posterity also, who shall stand in need of no other 
 anointing for the office, in succeeding generations. Bp. Palrid: 
 
 Cc3
 
 A cloud covereth 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 the iahenmcle. 
 
 "*'■"• into the tent of the congregation, because 
 ^^Mly^ the cloud abode tliereon, and the glory of 
 the Loud tilled the tabernacle. 
 
 36 And when the cloud was taken up 
 from over the tabernacle, the children of 
 Israel t went onward in all their jour- 
 neys : 
 
 f Hell. 
 
 J»urncy<d. 
 
 38. — /,>,■ was im it Ay »(>///.] That is, the pillar, which in 
 the iky tinu- W.1S dark aiid hail the appearance of a cloud, had in 
 the night the appearance of (ire. Up- I'alrick. 
 
 The following observations on the journeying of the Israelites, 
 from an author, who has contribute<l largely to the foregoing an- 
 notations, may serve us a valuable conclusion to the notes on this 
 book of Kxotlus. 
 
 " Without paying much re^jard to the opinions of the modern 
 Arabs, and to the names which they assign to places, unless they 
 have the sjinction of antiquity, it may be remarked, that, where 
 there are names of long standing, and accounts incidentally intro- 
 tluced by authors, who knew not the original history, and conse- 
 quently "could have no system to maiiitiiin, their evidence must 
 necessarily have weight, Jind demand our attention. Such is the 
 evidence of Diodorus Siculus, who mentions the traditions which 
 pre\aile<l among the people upon the coast, that the Red sea up- 
 on a time retiretl in a wonderful manner, and left the channel dry. 
 'I'lie region also will often bear witness for itself For when tra- 
 vellers arrive at that part of the bay, ^vhere the Israelites .ore sup- 
 posed after their passage to have been engiiged, they find names 
 of places, and other memorials, which greatly illustrate and con- 
 (inii the sacred history. It is said tliat they came into the region 
 of r.tham, which is still called Elti, the inhabitants of which were 
 the Auta;i of Pliny. Here also at this day is the wilderness of 
 Slnir and Sin, and the region of I'aran. Beyond Corondel (near 
 which place the natives still preserve a tradition, that a numerous 
 army was formerly drowned near Be<lea, the same as Clysma) is 
 a hill called Ciibel al Marah, and the coast downward seems to 
 have tJie same name .xs it had of old, from the bitter waters with 
 which it abounds; the inhabitants of which were probably the 
 Maranwi of Pliny. The names of Elath and Midian also remain, 
 and are mentioned by Abulfeda. Below this region are the palm- 
 trees, and the twelve wells of water in Elim. Diotlorus Siculus 
 gives an account of this palm strove, as it was described by Aris- 
 ton, who was sent by Ptolemy to descry the coast of Arabia upon 
 the Red sea. The place was held in great reverence on account 
 of the ])alms, which grew there in great niunbcr: all the country 
 around was exposed to \iolent heats, and was destitute of good 
 water: but in this spot, he savs, " there ai'e a number of springs 
 •ind scantlings of water, which fall as cool to the taste as snow." 
 Just above this part of the desert he places the Maranaei; in 
 whose name we probably see traces of the ancient Marah. Here 
 likewise is the desert of Faran, the Pharan of Ptolemy; which in 
 its situation agrees precisely with tlie Paran of the Scriptures. 
 Diodorus further speaks of some rocks or pillars here, engraven 
 with unknown characters. The same history of this palm grove 
 and the fountains is given by Strabo: and they must have been 
 tlie same mentioned by Moses; for we do not read tliat there was 
 any other part of the region, which had either such a grove of 
 trees or such water. 
 
 Thus it was in the time of the Israelites; and so it was found to be 
 in the time of Strabo antl Diodorus: and thus we find it at this day. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1490. 
 
 lyj But if the cloud were not taken up, 
 then they jounieyed not till the day that it 
 was taken up. 
 
 38 For the cloud of the Lord xaas upon 
 the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by 
 night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, 
 throughout all their journeys. 
 
 Monconys, in his return through the desert from mount Sinai, 
 took a lower way to the south towards a i)lace now called Tor, 
 where seems to l)e the district described by Strabo and Diodorus, 
 near Paran. He )nentioiis a valley, which he passed through; 
 and in this valley, towards the end, he saw the rocks with ancient 
 inscriptions: and at last came to a place, which he seems very 
 justly to suppose the Elim of the Scriptures: " where," he says, 
 " are still the twelve fountains, and a number of fine palm-trees." 
 Bp. Pococke also visited this district; and says, that in going 
 southward towards Tor, and about a league from it towards the 
 north, " there is a well of good water; and all about it are a great 
 number of date-trees or palms, and several si)rings of salt water, 
 especially to the southeast, where the monks have a garden. 
 Near it arc sever;J springs, and a bath or two, which axe called 
 the baths of Moses. The Greeks, as well as some others, are of 
 opinion, that this is Elim." To the same purpose is the evidence 
 of the traveller Brietenbach, as quoted by Niebuhr. 
 
 It may perhaps be thought that these names were introduced 
 by Christian travellers, and adopted by the later inhabitants of 
 these parts. But this could not have been the case. Ariston, 
 Diodorus, and Strabo, all lived before the Clu-istian era. The 
 leai-ned Abulfeda was indeed much later; but he could have no 
 regard for the religion of Jesus or of the Jews; nor any prejudice 
 in favour of Moses. The names therefore have remained from 
 the beginning unimpaired, and the situations of the places, which 
 they point out, correspond so precisely with those mentioned in 
 the Scriptures, and are supported by such indisputable authority, 
 that they appear manifestly to be the same as those mentioned by 
 the sacred liistorian. 
 
 The distiuice of time is so great, and the scene of action so re- 
 mote and so little frequented, that one would imagine there could 
 be no traces obtained of such early occurrences. It must there- 
 fore raise within us a kind of religious reverence for the sacred 
 writer, when we see such evidences still remain to the truth of his 
 wonderful !iistor_y. We read of expeditions undertaken by Osiris, 
 Sesostris, Bacchus, Semiraniis, and the Atlantians, into different 
 parts of tin- world. But no vestige remains of their operations, 
 no particular history of their appulse, in any region upon earth. 
 We have in like manner accounts of Brennus, as well as of 
 the Teulones, Cinibri, and Ambrones; also of the Goths and 
 \'isigotlis; and of other swai-ms from the great hive of the 
 north; all which are better authenticated. Yet we have only 
 a general history of their migrations. The places, from whence 
 they originally came, and the particulars of their jom'neying, have 
 been eflaced for ages. When we look back upon the accounts 
 transmitted concerning the Assyrians, Egyptians, Medes, and 
 Scythians, or those of the eai-ly ages of Italy and Greece, we find 
 nothing but a series of incredible and inconsistent events. But 
 concerning the Israelites we have a regular and consistent his- 
 tory: and though they were roving in a desert for forty years, 
 and far removed from the rest of the world, yet manifest to- 
 kens remain oi' their journeying and miracidous preservation." 
 Bri/anl. 
 
 CuA 
 
 The following are the Chapters from the Book of Exodus, appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holydays, 
 
 III. . - 
 V. . . 
 
 IX. - 
 X. 
 
 XII. . 
 
 XIII. . 
 
 5th Sunday in Lent, 
 
 Ditto, 
 
 Sunday before Easter, 
 
 Ditto, 
 
 Easter D.iy, - . - 
 Easter Even, - . . 
 
 - Morning. 
 
 - Evening. 
 
 - Morning. 
 
 - Evening. 
 
 - Morning. 
 
 - Evening. 
 
 Chap. 
 
 XIV. - - - Easter Day, ----- Evening. 
 
 XVI. . - . Easter Monday, . . - - Morning. 
 
 XVII. - - Ditto, .-...-. Evening. 
 XX. - . - Easter Tuesday, - - - - Morning. 
 XXXII. - - Ditto, ----..- Evening.
 
 THE THIRD BOOK OF MOSES, 
 
 CALLED 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE Book of Leviticus is so called, because it is chiefly employed in describing the sacrifices and services of the Tabernacle, to be 
 performed by that holy order of men who were of the tribe of Levi, and in detailing the particulars which related to the discharge 
 of the priestly office ; the historical parts of this book being extremely few. That Moses was the author of this book is shewn not 
 only by the general arguments %vhich prove him to have written the Pentateuch, but appears also from particular passages in other 
 books of Scripture, in which this is expressly cited as his inspired work. The delivery of these Laws, it is supposed, was included in 
 the space of one month. 
 
 The two main designs of the Jewish Law seem to have been, to oppose the idolatry and false worship so miiversaUy prevalent in the 
 heathen world, and to prefigure the spiritual religion of Jesus Christ, the promised Saviour. As to the former of these designs, 
 many particular customs and usages are forbidden the Jewish nation, for the prohibition of which we can in no way account, except 
 by taking them under this view of an intended opposition to the several superstitions of the Gentiles. The chief difficulty under 
 which we labour in this matter, is, that we cannot determine what particular idolatrous customs were prevailing in the time of Moses ; 
 so vastly distant is the time, and so short the records of ancient nations. 
 
 The religious services prescribed in this book are reducible to the following heads : 
 
 First, Sacrifices of different kinds. Though these were outward rites of religious service, yet did tliey carry with them their several 
 meamngs, which had relation to spiritual religion and worship, while the whole was a typical scheme, and a fit introduction to that 
 more perfect dispensation of Jesus Christ the Messiah, by whom all mankind were to receive full atonement with God, and be blessed 
 with the more pm-e revelation of His perfect will and way of worship. 
 
 Secondly, Purifications from legal uncleannesses. These were a numerous and burdensome part of tlie Israelitish religion : but they 
 were not intended to terminate in mere ritual observance : they were most aptly significant of many things tending to inwartl and 
 substantial religion, such as reverence towards God's house. His worship, and all holy things appropriated to His ser\'ice : they re- 
 presented also the necessity of inward purity of heart, life, and principles ; the difficulty of rooting out evil habits from the mind, 
 and the danger of sinful affections in such as worship the true God, and are related to Him as His peculiar people. These and other 
 such things were represented by the purifications of the Jewish Law, always with a view to the promised Redeemer, who was in the 
 most perfect manner to cleanse us by His blood, enlighten us by His doctrine, and purify us by His Spirit. 
 
 Thirdly, Various solemn festivals. The exact and pompous observance of these was so far from being a needless and trivial institution, 
 that they appear to have been exceedingly proper for preserving the whole nation in the practice of true religion. They were thank- 
 ful commemorations of the most signal national mercies and deliverances ; mercies that formed the foundation of all their blessings, 
 peace, and prosperity, as an united church and people : and, by their constant attendance on these joyful solemnities, at so many 
 stated times of the year, and at the one fixed place of national worship, the people went through those courses of pious service to 
 God, and that intercourse of kindness, generosity, and charity towards each other, which tended to make them adhere to the religion 
 of the true God, and to confirm them in the love of that constitution under which they lived, siu-roxmded with the xmcommon bless- 
 ings of His providence. 
 
 If in parts of the Jewish Law we should meet with some directions, the utility of which should not be at first sight apparent to us, 
 let us beware of setting up the conclusions of our own reason against the unbounded wisdom of God. A closer consideration of the 
 
 SUbieCt will ' ' ^ * ^ * ' l l ^L ^ H ^l •„_..!*.---.: 1 *.U„ ^C ».-.^»^.'^.*»^ .Un T^i...Ali*^n.^ it-. P.l.tK 0,1^ 
 
 obedience : 
 
 to their habi ,, ^ , , 
 
 that many of those directions, which rashness and presumption sometimes censure as trifling, and as unwortliy of the DiWne attention, 
 were specifically calculated to guard the people of Israel, from being betrayed into particular modes of idolatry and wickedness, pre- 
 valent in the nations amongst whom they were to dwell. 
 
 Besides the laws relating to religion delivered in this book, there are civil and judicial laws, which appear, when rightly considered, to 
 make the surest provision for the honour of the government and magistracy, to lay down most impartially the rights of the people, 
 and to advance those degrees of charity, pcaceabjeness, mutual lo\o, and jvistice, whicli form the sUongest cement of a happy society. 
 Py/c, Hr. Gray, Gisborne.
 
 lite burnt offerings 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 of the herd, 
 
 B'f"" CHAP. I. 
 
 CHIIIST 
 
 '**• \ The burnt offering$. 3 Of the herd, 10 of the fockt. 
 13 ofthefoKls. 
 
 AND the Lord called unto Moses, and 
 spake unto iiim out of the tabernacle 
 ol" the congregation, saying, 
 
 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and 
 say unto them. If any man of you bring 
 an ollering unto the Lord, ye shall bring 
 your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, 
 and of the flock. 
 
 Cliap. I. ver. 1. — the Lord called unto Mosei!,'\ The repetition, 
 frequent as it is, of this form of promulfjation is truly solemn and 
 majestick, " The Lord called," that is, He declared and published 
 His pleasure distinctly and aloud, as princes on their thrones, and 
 penerals in their camps, are wont to do. Yet He did this, as the 
 rabbles observe, with expressions of tenderness and love ; for it 
 was not for His own sake that He imposed on them these rites of 
 worship, but for theirs ; and that they might continually have in 
 remembrance how much their whole dejjendence was upon Him. 
 BMiolh. Bibl. 
 
 2. — Jf<if>;i man of yoti brins an offering^ It is observable, 
 that in this beofinning of the laws respecting sacrifices, God does 
 not command the Israelites to offer these rites ; but, appearing to 
 suppose that they would offer them in compliance with the cus- 
 toms in which they had been brought uj), and the usages of the 
 >vorId at that time, directs them to Himself as the right object, 
 and limits them to such things as are most agreeable to Imman 
 nature. They were to offer them, of the herd as bullocks, or of 
 thejlock as sheep and goats. Bp. Patrick. One great end of the 
 Levitical sacrifices was the prevention of idolatry. God needed 
 them not : the sacrifice of a pure and humble mind was more 
 agreeable to Him who is an intellectual Spirit. But the Israelites 
 doated on such gross maimer of expressing their devotion ; and 
 seeing they must needs offer sacrifice, it pleased God to give them 
 a law which might indulge them in their inclinations, and re- 
 strain tliem from sacrificing unto idols. Abp. Tcnisoii. Sacrifices 
 had iH-en appointed from the fall of man, but the design of them 
 had been perverted or forgotten. The sacrifices in the Levitical 
 law arc to be considered, first, in a carnal worldly ^'iew, as free- 
 ing the Jew from all contracted uncleanncss, and rendering him 
 worthy to continue a member of that church, and an inheritor of 
 the land of Canaan, idly. In a spiritual sense, with regard to 
 the sacrifice of Christ, which was to cleanse tliem from sin, and 
 fit them for an inheritince in the heavenly Canjian. Bp. Wilson 
 The institution of animal sacrifice had continued until the giving 
 of Uie law, no oUier offering but Uiat of an animal being recorded 
 in Scnpture, down to this period, except in the case of Cain, when 
 the offering wa.s rejected. But when we come to the promulira- 
 tion of the \:\y>, we finil the connexion between animal sacrifice 
 and atonement or reconciliation with God, clearly and distinctly 
 Announced. It is here declared, that sacrifices for sin should on 
 conforming to certain prescribed modes of offering, Ix; accepted 
 as the means of deliverance from tile penal consequences of trans- 
 gression. Dr. yingee. 
 
 It is on the whole most probable that sacrifices were first in- 
 stitutetl by God Himself, and enjoined to our first parents pre- 
 sently after the fall : from whom, and afterwards from Xoa'h all 
 nations received them by tradition. However, in process of time 
 these, as well as many other branches of religious faith and wor' 
 ship, were miserably corrupted: instead of brute animals, which 
 Ood had appointed, human sacrifices grew into use ■ and it be 
 came no uncommon thing, in several countries, for p'arents to sa 
 crifice their children. Besides this change in the sMects of the 
 «acnhces, the ol>kctt of them were likewise altered ; the Gentiles 
 Mcnficing to " devils, and not to God," 1 Cor. x. 20. When there 
 fore God chose Israel to be His peculiar people and church, among 
 Whom He would revive the true religion ; He gave them anew 
 
 • Eiod, 29 
 10. 
 
 3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of ^"'"^ 
 the herd, let him offer a male without ngo. 
 blemish : he shall offer it of his own vo- 
 luntary will at the door of the tabernacle 
 
 of the congregation before the Lord. 
 
 4 ' And he shall put his hand upon the 
 head of the burnt offering ; and it shall 
 be accepted for him to make atonement 
 for him. 
 
 5 And he shall kill the bullock before 
 the Lord : and the priests, Aaron's sons, 
 shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the 
 
 His law concerning sacrifices, with the addition of such particu- 
 lar rites, as would make them more significant types of good 
 things to come under the Gospel dispensation. Dr. Jennings. 
 
 of the herd, and of the flock. '^ God limits the kinds, whe- 
 
 tlier animate or inanimate, which His people were to sacrifice or 
 offer unto Him ; whereas the Gentiles took their own liberty, 
 and offered a strange variety of species, and almost something of 
 every kind which was valuable or serviceable to themselves ; 
 because, in the same proportion, they supposed it would be ac- 
 ceptable to their deities. Dean Upencer. 
 
 3. — a burnt sacrifice'^ Burnt sacrifices were so called, because 
 wholly burnt on the altar. These are the first and most ancient 
 sort of sacrifices. They are mentioned by the Heathens, as well 
 as tlie Jews ; particularly by Xenophon, who speaks of offering 
 burnt sacrifices of oxen to Jupiter, and of horses to the Sun. The 
 Jews accounted these the most excellent of all their sacrifices. 
 Some Christian writers make the burnt offering to be offered to 
 God, as an acknowledgment of His being the Creator, Lord, and 
 Preserver of all, worthy of all honour and worship. Others sup- 
 pose that they were either to expiate the evil thoughts of the 
 heart, as sin offerings and ti-espass offerings were to do for evil 
 actions ; or to atone for the breach of affirmative precepts, as 
 those did for negative. But doubtless there was a further use 
 and intention in these sacrifices, even to typify, and to direct the 
 faith of the Old Testament believers to that only true atoning 
 sacrifice, which the Son of God was to offer m due time. Hence 
 Christ is said to have "offered up His body once for all," Heb. x. 10; 
 that is. His whole Self, His entire human nature. Dr. Jennings, 
 Leiris. 
 
 at the door of the tabernaclel Here the priest was care- 
 fully to inspect .and examine the animal brought to be offered, to 
 ascertain whether it was every way such as God required. In 
 saying " the door of the tabernacle," which was in some sense 
 His proper house, and the abode of His divine Majesty, He ad- 
 monished them to sacrifice to Himself alone, and not to any 
 strange gods ; which was the reason of His commanding all sa- 
 crifices to be brought to this place. Dr. Outram. 
 
 4. — put his hand upon the lieadl Thereby, as it were, transfer- 
 ring the punishment, wliich was chie to himself, upon the sacrifice 
 that M-as to be slain and offered up. Abp. Tillotson. This cere- 
 mony of putting the hand on the head denoted the entire devotion 
 of things or persons to the special service of CJod. Dr. Outram. 
 He who brought the victim was commanded to lay liis hand upon 
 the head of the animal : which action was esteemed an acknow- 
 ledgment of his own guilt, and a prayer that it might be punished 
 in the victim upon which his hand was laid. And accordingly 
 we find in the rabbinical writers a set form of prayer, which ac- 
 cording to them was always used on this occasion. In this form 
 the delinquent acknowledges his offence, and professes his re- 
 pentance ; and concludes with a petition, that the victim upon 
 which he laid his hand might be his expiation. By which last 
 expression he was, as the Jews inform us, understood to mean, 
 that the victim might be substituted in his room, and that the 
 punishment which himself had merited, might fall on the head of 
 his offering, feysie. Thus the victim was accepted to make atone- 
 ment for the offerer, that is, it recommended him to the future fa- 
 vour of God on his sincere prayers accompanying it. Bp. Patrick
 
 ofthefiocks, and 
 
 CHAP. I, II. 
 
 qfthefoicls. 
 
 CHRIST ^^^^^ round about upon the altar that is 
 1490. by the door of the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation. 
 
 6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, 
 and cut it into his pieces. 
 
 7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall 
 put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in 
 order upon the fire : 
 
 8 And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay 
 the parts, the head, and the fat, in order 
 upon the wood that is on the fire which is 
 upon the altar : 
 
 9 But his inwards and his legs shall he 
 wash in water : and the priest shall burn all 
 on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an of- 
 fering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 10 % And if his offering be of the flocks, 
 namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a 
 burnt sacrifice ; he shall bring it a male 
 without blemish. 
 
 1 1 And he shall kill it on the side of the 
 altar northward before the Lord: and the 
 priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his 
 blood round about upon the altar. 
 
 12 And he shall cut it into his pieces, 
 with his head and his fat : and the priest 
 shall lay them in order on the wood that is 
 on the fire which is upon the altar : 
 
 13 But he shall wash the inwards and 
 the legs with water : and the priest shall 
 bring it all, and burn it upon the altar : it 
 is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by 
 fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord. 
 
 7. — shall put Ji re upon the aUar,~\ Shall prepare the fire, and 
 kindle the coals ; for the original fire, as we read afterwards, came 
 down from heaven. Bihlioth. Bibl. 
 
 9. — a sweet savour~\ Acceptable to God as the testimony of 
 the sincere devotion of the ofiFerer. Bp. Kidder. It is a form of 
 speech taken from men, who are delighted with the good scent 
 and taste of meat and drink : none can reasonably imagine that 
 the mere sacrifice was pleasing to God, but the devotion, faith, 
 obedience, and sincerity of their minds who made the oblation. 
 Bp. Patrick. See the note on Gen. viii. 21. 
 
 14. — turtledoves, or vft/oung pigeons.^ They were not to be 
 birds of prey, or of the coarser kind, but of the more harmless and 
 wholesome nature. Pt/le. There was vast plenty of doves and 
 pigeons in the land of Canaan, so that the poorest people could 
 make this oblation without being put to any great charge. 
 Pigeons were most esteemed when young, and on this account 
 young pigeons are to be offered. Bp. Patrick. By means of this 
 provision, the poor as well as the rich had it in their power to 
 perform their religious dutj-, and make their offerings to God, 
 who receives the services of the poor no less graciously than those 
 of the rich, if they proceed from a sincere and willing uiind. 
 Ostervald. 
 
 Chap. II. ver. 1. And tvheti ani/ rvill offer a meat offering] Here 
 again is a merciful provision for those who were too poor to offer 
 the sacrifice mentioned in the last chapter. The term " meat of- 
 fering" shoiUd rather be translated bread offering, as use has now 
 restrained the word tneal to signify flesh. " Dr. )i'clls. It was to 
 
 14 f And if the burnt sacrifice for his b^°'« 
 offering to the Lord be of Ibwls, then he ^"^^^ 
 shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of 
 young pigeons. 
 
 15 And the priest shall bring it unto the 
 altar, and || wring off his head, and burn it i Or, 
 
 on the altar ; and the blood thereof shall tZ'^it 
 be wrung out at the side of the altar : '*« nau. 
 
 16 And he shall pluck away his crop 
 with II his feathers, and cast it beside the il Of- 
 altar on the east part, by the place of the Ja^}* 
 ashes : 
 
 17 And he shall cleave it with the wings 
 thereof, but shall not divide it asunder : 
 and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, 
 upon the wood that is upon tiie fire : it is 
 a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, 
 of a sweet savour unto the Lord. 
 
 CHAP. IL 
 
 1 The meat offering qfjhur with oil and incense, 4 ei- 
 ther haken in the oven, 5 or on a plate, ~ or in afry- 
 ingpan, 12 or of the Jirstfruits in the ear. 13 The salt 
 of the meat offering. 
 
 AND when any will offer a meat offer- 
 ing unto the Lord, his offering shall 
 be o/^fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon 
 it, and put frankincense thereon : 
 
 2 And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons 
 the priests : and he shall take thereout his 
 handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil 
 thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; 
 and the priest shall burn the memorial oi' 
 
 be made of fine mlicat flour, mixed with oil to give it a grateful 
 flavour to the priests, ver. 3, and with frankincense, for tlie pur- 
 pose, perhaps, of preventing an unpleasant smell in the court of 
 the tabernacle. Bp. Patrick. The Hebrew word here for a meat 
 offering is mincha, which denotes generally an oblation of the na- 
 ture of a sacrifice, being consumed upon the altar ; although the 
 Mosaick institution in a great degree narrows its apphcation, con- 
 fining it to what is called the meat offering, or more properly, the 
 bread or flour offering. ZV. Magee. 
 
 oir\ Oil was anciently in very high esteem among the 
 
 Eastern nations on various accounts, and, as tliey were wont to 
 express almost every matter of importance by actions as well as 
 words, one way of setting any thing apart and appropriating it to 
 an honom'able use, was by anointing it with oil. Therefore we 
 find Jotham, in his parable, makes the olive tree speak of its fat- 
 ness, as that " wherewith they honour God and man," Judg. is. 9. 
 Accordingly, the tabernacle and temple, and tlieir furniture, were 
 consecrated by anointing them. And ahnost every sacrifice had 
 oil, mixed with flour, added to it, when it was offeree! up. Nor 
 was it used only to these things, but to persons also who were dis- 
 tinguished in honoiur above otliers: to kings, who were hence 
 frequently styled in Scripture, " the Lord's anointetl ;" to priests, 
 concerning whom God commands in the case of Aaron and his 
 sons, "thou shalt anoint them — that they may minister unto Me 
 in the priest's office," Exod. xl. 13; and lastly to prophets, as 
 where Elijah is directed to " anoint Elisha in his room," 1 Kings 
 xix. 16. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 o the memorial of 1/] Meaning that part of the offering, by
 
 2'he meat dffl'riitg qfjlour. 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 and of the firstfmits in the ear, 
 
 chrTst '* "P°" *^^ altar, to bezn offering made by 
 
 M90. fire, of" a sweet savour unto tlie Lord : 
 • Etcr 3 And *the remnant of the meat offering 
 ^ "■ shall be Aaron's and his sons' : // is a thing 
 
 most holy of the offerings of the Lord 
 
 made by fire. 
 
 4 IF And if thou bring an oblation of a 
 meat offering baken in the oven, it shall be 
 unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled 
 with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed 
 with oil. 
 
 5 % And if thy oblation be a meat offer- 
 I Or, ing baken II in a pan, it shall be of fine 
 '^J^X, ^°^^ unleavened, mingled with oil. 
 
 aiict'. (j Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour 
 
 oil thereon : it is a meat offering. 
 
 7 IT And if thy oblation be a meat offering 
 baken in the fryingpan, it shall be made of 
 fine flour with oil. 
 
 8 And thou shalt bring the meat offering 
 that is made of these things unto the Lord: 
 and when it is presented unto the priest, he 
 shall bring it unto the altar. 
 
 9 And the priest shall take from the 
 »v*rae2. meat offering a memorial thereof, and 
 '^Exod.29. shall burn // upon the altar: it is an "of- 
 fering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 10 And that which is lefl of the meat 
 offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it 
 is a thing most holy of the offerings of the 
 Loud made by fire. 
 
 11 No meat offering, which ye shall 
 bring unto the Lord, shall be made with 
 
 wliicli, being })urnt on the altar, they made grateful acknowledg- 
 ment ot" the power and goodness of God, and j>raye(l that He 
 would still remember and be gracious to them. lip. Pa/rick. 
 
 4. -- Hrt/tT.»] It is mentioned by travellers, that tlie Arabs 
 have ni thei- tents flat stones, or copper plates, made on purjjose 
 for bakmg. Dr. Pococke speaks of iron hearths used for that 
 puq)osc. The wafers here mentioned were probably prepared in 
 this manner. Ilarmer. 
 
 II. — HO Ictiifii.'] The prohibition of leaven was laid either to 
 perpetuate the memory of their deliverance from Egyjjt, or to 
 op|)osc some idolatrous rites of their heathen neighbour^ or else 
 to warn the priests to put away Uie " leaven of mahce and wick- 
 edness," I Cor. V. 8. Bps. Pii'lrick and Kidder. 
 
 The principal priest of Juj)iter, among the Romans, was abso- 
 lutely forbidden to touch leaven. Plutarch makes the reason of 
 this to be, that, .xs lea\en itself is a corrupt substance, so it does 
 more or less corrupt that mass with which it is mingled. But 
 the true reason of this prohil)ition may be much better accounted 
 for, by the Levitical law before us. liihtiotli. hihl. 
 
 — — nor any hunci/,1 'J'his was anciently offered to many of 
 Uie Gentile deities. Besiilcs, many have remarked tliat honey 
 has sometliing in it of the same nature with leaven, that, when 
 It is burnt, it has an unple.is.nnt smell. Under tlie name of 
 honey, tlie Jews comprehended all sweet fruits, as figs, dates, 
 &c. none of which were burnt, but only offered before the Lord 
 BMioth. BihI. 
 
 13. — salt of the coienanQ " The salt of the covenant of God," 
 that is, a symbol of the perpetuity tJicreof. Dr. Maga. Salt. 
 
 leaven : for ye shall bum no leaven, nor ^S'nxRT 
 any honey, in any ofiering of the Lord h9o. 
 made by fire. 
 
 12 if As for the oblation of the first- 
 fruit.s, ye shall offer them unto the Lord : 
 
 but they shall not t be burnt on the altar t H*b. 
 
 n . ascend. 
 
 for a sweet savour. 
 
 13 And every oblation of thy meat offer- 
 ing '^ shalt thou season with salt ; neither " M»rk p. 
 shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of '"' 
 thy God to be lacking from thy meat of- 
 fering : with all thine offerings thou shalt 
 
 offer salt. 
 
 14 And if thou offer a meat offering of 
 thy firstfruits unto the Lord, thou shalt 
 offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits 
 green ears of corn dried by the fire, even 
 corn beaten out of full ears. 
 
 15 And thou shalt put oil upon it, and 
 lay frankincense thereon : it is a meat of- 
 fering. 
 
 10 And the priest shall burn the memo- 
 rial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, 
 and part of the oil thereof, with all the 
 frankincense thereof: it is an offering made 
 by fire unto the Lord. 
 
 CHAP. in. 
 
 1 The meal offering of the herd, C of the flock, 7 eilher 
 a lamb, 12 or a goat. 
 
 AND if his oblation be a sacrifice of 
 peace offering, if he offer it of the 
 herd ; whether it be a male or female, he 
 
 among the ancients, was deemed a symbol of friendship and fide- 
 lity, and was therefore frequently used in sacrifices and covenants. 
 Dr. Wells. The "salt of the covenant" means the salt, which by 
 this law or covenant they were obliged to offer up in every obla- 
 tion. Salt may also be deemed a sign of the perpetuity and in- 
 violableness of the covenant on God's part. See Numb, xviii. 19; 
 2 Chron. xiii. .'5. Bp. Kidder. It is matter of doubtful discussion 
 whether the use of salt in sacrifices was prior to the Mosaick Law, 
 as derived to the Gentile world from tlie Patriarchs, or whether 
 it was later, and copied from this ordinance of Moses. That salt 
 was generally used in the later Gentile oblations is well known. 
 Bibliolh. Bibl. See note on Numb, xviii. 19- 
 
 Chap. in. ver. L — o xacrijice cf peace offering,'^ The He- 
 brew word translated peace signifies pro.iperilij and happiness: 
 thus these oblations were called peace offerings, because they 
 were principally thankfid acknowledgments for mercies received 
 from the Divine bounty. The more particular division of these 
 sacrifices is into thank offerings, freewill offerings, and offerings 
 for vows. The first sort were offereil for prosperity, or good, al- 
 ready obtained ; the second, in the way of dcv<)tit)n, to continue 
 or to procure peace with CJod ; the third, for the attainment of 
 futui-e prosperity or good. The peace offerings of the Israelites 
 were either of tlie whole congregation, or of particular persons. 
 Lewis. 
 
 n'hether it be a male or female,'] In burnt offerings, the 
 
 female was never sacrificed, because the burnt offiering was a more 
 perfect sacrifice : for biumt offerings principally had respect to the 
 
 I
 
 The offering of the herd, 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 and of tite, flock. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 141)0. 
 
 " Exod. 29. 
 
 22. 
 
 g Or, tuet. 
 
 D Or, 
 
 midriff over 
 the liver, 
 and aiier 
 the kidneys. 
 
 shall offer it without blemish before the 
 Lord. 
 
 2 And he shall lay his hand upon the 
 head of his offering, and kill it at the door 
 of the tabernacle of the congregation : and 
 Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the 
 blood upon the altar round about. 
 
 3 And he shall offer of the sacrifice of 
 the peace offering an offering made by fire 
 unto the Lord; ° the II fat that covereth 
 the inwards, and all the fat that is upon 
 the inwards, 
 
 4 And the two kidneys, and the fat that 
 is on them, which is by the flanks, and the 
 11 caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it 
 shall he take away. 
 
 5 And Aaron's sons shall bum it on the 
 altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is 
 upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an 
 offering made by fire, of a sweet savour 
 unto the Lord. 
 
 (i ^ And if his offering for a sacrifice of 
 peace offering unto the Lord be of the 
 flock; male or female, he shall offer it 
 without blemish. 
 
 7 If he offer a lamb for his offering, then 
 shall he offer it before the Lord. 
 
 8 And he shall lay his hand upon the 
 head of his offering, and kill it before the 
 tabernacle of the congregation: and Aa- 
 ron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof 
 round about upon the altar. 
 
 9 And he shall offer of the sacrifice of 
 the peace offering an offering made by fire 
 unto the Lord; the fat thereof, and the 
 whole rump, it shall he take off hard by 
 the backbone; and the fat that covereth 
 
 honour of God, who justly demands the very best ; but peace 
 offerings more peculiarly related to the advantage of the offerers, 
 and therefore they were left herein to their ovra free choice. 
 Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 2. — shall lay his hand upon the head^ See note at chap. i. 4'. 
 It is observable, that in all sacrifices of beasts^ chap. iii. 8, 13," 
 iv. 4, 15, &c. the owner laid his hands upon their heads: to 
 signify (no doubt) his property in what he offered, the transfer- 
 ring his right in it to God, and the devoting it to death for the 
 purposes specified by the Law. All which, under that figurative 
 state, were a type of Christ's voluntary death : as lively an image, 
 as a priest and sacrifice different could exhibit of One who was 
 priest and sacrifice both ; and this lets us into the importance of 
 those phrases, which say, Christ " offered His own body" for a 
 sacrifice, &c. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 5. — upon the burnt sacrifice^ Here seems to be meant the 
 daily sacrifice which was burnt every morning: after which this 
 was to be offered, to intimate that the stated sacrifice was to take 
 place of all others. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Of these daily sacrifices there were two, the one about nine 
 o'clock in the morning, the other about tliree in the afternoon : 
 these were so stated and constant, that they were never intermit- 
 ted, not even upon festivals when others were added. They were 
 a constant ackiiowledgment of God's sovereign dominion, and 
 Vol. I. 
 
 the inwards, and all the fat that /*• upon ^'^""^ 
 the inwards, '^"w"* 
 
 10 And the two kidneys, and the fat 
 that is upon them, which is by tlic flanks, 
 and the caul above the liver, with the kid- 
 neys, it shall he take away. 
 
 11 And the priest shall burn it upon 
 the altar : it is the food of the offering 
 made by fire unto the Lord. 
 
 12 5F And if his offering be a goat, then 
 he shall offer it before the Lord. 
 
 13 And he shall lay his hand upon the 
 head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle 
 of the congregation : and the sons of Aaron 
 shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the 
 altar round about. 
 
 14 And he shall offer thereof his offer- 
 ing, even an offering made by fire unto the 
 Lord; the fat that covereth the inwards, 
 and all the fat that is upon the inwards, 
 
 15 And the two kidneys, and the fat 
 that is upon them, which is by the flanks, 
 and the caul above the liver, with the kid- 
 neys, it shall he take away. 
 
 16 And the priest shall burn them upon 
 the altar: it is the food of the offering 
 made by fire for a sweet savour : '' all the » Chap. 7. 
 fat is the Lord's. ^^' 
 
 17 It shall be a perpetual statute for your 
 generations throughout all your dwelUngs, 
 
 that ye eat neither fat nor ' blood. ' cea. 9. *. 
 
 •' chap. 7. 26. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 1 The sin offering of ignorance, 3 for the priest, 13 for 
 the congregalim, 22 for the ruler, 27 Jor any of the 
 people. 
 
 ND the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 
 &1T. 14. 
 
 A' 
 
 saymg, 
 
 were in the nature of a daily prayer, that He woiJd graciouslj 
 continue His mercy to Israel. Lewis. 
 
 of a sweet savour unto the Lnrd.^ As the design of these 
 
 peace oflTerings was, to render solemn Uianks and praise to God 
 for His past favours, and to engage Him to continue His bless- 
 ings ; we should hence learn our indispensable obligation to tes- 
 tify our gratitude to God, when He vouchsafes us any particular 
 favour : and since His kindness and love is the source of all our 
 happiness, it should be our chief care to procure it. Oslervald. 
 
 17. — neither fat nor blood.'] It is not meant of the fat which 
 is mingled with the flesh of the animal, but of tliat of the entrails, 
 which, as was before mentioned, was to be burnt at the altar. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The fat w as to be the Lord's, by way of suggestion, tliat our 
 offerings to God ought to be the richest and the choicest in their 
 kind. Among other reasons assigned for the prohibition to eat fat, 
 it is supposed that an opposition was intended to the practices of 
 idolaters, who were wont to feast on the fat of their sacrifices. 
 
 nor blood.] As the blood of the sacrifices was a figure of 
 
 the blood of the Messiah, so its being forbidden to be eaten im- 
 plied liow sacred and precious a tiling it was. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 See note on chap. vii. 2o. 
 
 Chap, IV. ver. 1. And the I Md spake] The repetition of tliese 
 *^ Dd
 
 The sm uffhing of ignorance 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 Jbr the priest, 
 
 Befor. ^2 Speak unto the children of Israel, say- 
 ^^"^"^ ing. If a soul shall sin tlirou^Mi ignorance 
 against any of the coinnianduients ol" the 
 Loud concerning things wliicli ought not 
 to be done, and shall do against any of 
 them : 
 
 3 If the priest that is anointed do sni 
 according to the sin of the people ; then 
 let him "bring for his sin, which he hath 
 sinned, a vouiig bullock without blemish 
 unto tiie Louu for a sin oHcring. 
 
 4 And he shall bring the bullock unto 
 the door ot the tabernacle of the congre- 
 gation bclore the Loud ; and shall lay his 
 hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the 
 bullock before tlie Loud, 
 
 :') And the ])riest that is anointed shall 
 take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to 
 the tabernacle of the congregation : 
 
 tj And the priest shall dip his finger in 
 the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven 
 times before the Loud, before the vail of 
 the sanctuary. 
 
 7 And the priest shall put so7ne of the 
 blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet 
 incense before the Lord, which is in the 
 tabernacle of the congregation ; and shall 
 
 worils seems to imply tli.it the following precepts were deliver- 
 wl at a (littVreiit tinie from the preceding. \Ve now proceed 
 to " .sin ofl'erinps," or olTering.s to be made by tliose who had of- 
 fended God, in expiation of tlieir sins. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 o J fa xoiil shall .«rt] Here are three conditions of the de- 
 
 scription'of sin: 1st, It was to be done ignorantly, unadvisedlj', 
 through surprise. 2dly, It was to be against iicpalivc precepts, 
 or those wliicli /br/iof/c something to be done. Sdly, It was not 
 a sin of ivordx or llioii!;/ils, but oC aclioiix — " shall do against any." 
 Dps. Kidder and Piilrich: 
 
 The Hebrew word for sin offering includes the sense of cleans- 
 ing, expiating, anil making satisfaction : hence it denotes an of- 
 fering for sin, whereby pardon is procured, atonement made, and 
 sin expiated. According to the scriptural account, these sacri- 
 fices were offered for all sins of ignorance and inadvertence 
 against what are commonly called the negative precepts, or with 
 respect to things forbiddoi : also on occasions of legal pollution, 
 as at the cleansing of a leper, &c. chap. xiv. In the common 
 sin offering, whether private or publick, the fat only was l)amt 
 upon the altar, and part poured out at the foot of it, (sec this 
 chapter, ver. iit,) the flesh being due to the priest : there were 
 other sin ofl'erings of a more solemn nature, offered on extraor- 
 dinary occasions, of which the priest had no part, but which 
 'Ncre entirely consimicd with fire. Dr. Jennings. 
 
 Since Ciod appointed sacrifices to atone even for sins of igno- 
 rance, these sins, though much less heinous than Avilful and 
 obstinate sins, ought carefully to be avoided ; and therefore we 
 ought to be well instructed in our duty, and have a strict guard 
 ever our conduct : and when we have ignorantly f;dlen into sin, 
 «nd have perceived our errour, wc should be sincerely grieved 
 rven for these sins, and remedy them to the utmost of our 
 power, (htcrrald. 
 
 3. If Ike priest — dn .tin according to iJie sin of the people;'] If 
 the high priest sin like one of the common people. The high 
 priest being apuWick person, might bv his sin and evil example 
 involve the whole people in guilt and 'misery, chap. x. C: 1 Sum. 
 U.17, 24. Bp.KMcr. J> V , 
 
 pour "all the blood of the bidlock at the 
 bottom of the altar of the burnt oHering, 
 which is at the door of the tabernacle of 
 the congregation. 
 
 S And he shall take off from it all the 
 fat of the bidlock for the sin offering ; the 
 fat that covereth the inwards, and all the 
 fat that is upon the inwards, 
 
 And the two kidney.s, and the fat that 
 is upon them, which is by the flanks, and 
 the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, 
 it shall he take away, 
 
 10 As it was taken off from the bullock 
 of tlie sacrifice of peace offerings : and the 
 priest shall burn them upon the altar of 
 the binnit offering, 
 
 11 ""And the skin of the bullock, and all 
 his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, 
 and his inwards, and his dung, 
 
 12 Even the whole bullock shall he 
 carry forth t without the camp unto a 
 clean place, where the ashes are poured 
 out, and " burn him on the wood with 
 fire : t where the ashes are poured out 
 shall he be burnt. 
 
 13 ^ And if the whole congregation of 
 Israel sin through ignorance, "^ and the 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 H9l). 
 
 •Cliap.S.9. 
 
 '' Exod. 29. 
 11. 
 Numb. 19. 
 
 t Ucb. 
 /() wit/tont 
 I he camp, 
 ' Hel)r. 13. 
 II. 
 
 t Hcl). 
 at lliepour- 
 ing uiit Iff 
 the ashes. 
 " Chap. 3. 
 2, 3, 4. 
 
 The sacrcdness of liis office was an aggravation of his sin, be- 
 yond that of others, and his dignity rendered his example in 
 tloing evil more hurtful tiian theirs : for which reason a more 
 solemn sacrifice was apjioiiited to be offered for liis sins, even of 
 ignorance, than for those of the common i)eoj)Ie. Dr. .Jennings. 
 
 4. — and kill the bullock'] Among the Oentiles, the slaying 
 of beasts for sacrifice was not tliought to be beneath persons of 
 the verj' highest character and figure. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 It;. — the ji'/iole bullock] It was to be ciirried, skin and all, 
 without being dissected, out of the camp, and there to be burnt 
 in a fire on the ground. This was to signify that the offerer was 
 in a perfect sfcite of guilt, unfit to communicate with Go<l ; and 
 that, like the offering itself, he deserved to be excluded from the 
 society of his people, till he was reconciled by this sacrifice made 
 in his stead : and thus Christ, who was made a sin offering for 
 us, suffered " without the camp," that is, " without the gate" of 
 Jerusalem, of whose expiation for us this offering was a type and 
 figure, Hebr. xiii. II, 12. Pj/li'. 
 
 without the camp] The burning of these sacrifices 
 
 " without the camp " is to be understood as typical not only of 
 Christ's suffering " without tlie gate" of Jerusalem, but probably 
 also of His suffering for the salvation of the Gentiles, (who were 
 without the camp of Israel,) as well as for the Jews: as the 
 bringing the blood of those sacrifices into the Holy place was a 
 figure of Christ's presenting the merit of His death for us, ir. His 
 heavenly intercession. Dr. Jcnning.f. 
 
 n clean place,] Set apart in decency, and out of reve- 
 rence to religion : and implying that the very ashes that were 
 there laid were not to be converted to any human use. Bibliotli. 
 Bibl. 
 
 1 S. — if the mkole congregation — sin] The Jewish writers 
 arc of difierent opinions concerning the nature of this sin : some 
 by the whole congregation understand the Sanhedrim, and ima- 
 gine their sin to be, that they had mistaken in judgment, and by 
 that means misled the people. Others interpret it of ;uiy ge- 
 neral popular defection from tlie law of God, which through 
 their ignorance of tlie law was not pr -lently attended to. Thus^
 
 for fhe congregation, for 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 CH n'isT t^^"^§ ^^ ^^^^ ^xo\\\ the eyes of the assembly, 
 
 M90. and they have done some'what against any 
 
 of the commandments of the Lord con- 
 
 cernmg things which should not be done, 
 
 and are guilty ; 
 
 14 When the sin, which they have sin- 
 ned against it, is known, then the congre- 
 gation shall offer a young bullock for the 
 sin, and bi'ing him before the tabernacle of 
 the congregation. 
 
 15 And the elders of the congregation 
 shall lay their hands upon the head of the 
 bullock before the Lord : and the bullock 
 shall be killed before the Lord. 
 
 IG And the priest that is anointed shall 
 bring of the bullock's blood to the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation : 
 
 17 And the priest shall dip his finger in 
 some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven 
 times before the Lord, even before the vail. 
 
 18 And he shall put sotjic of the blood 
 upon the horns of the altar which is before 
 the Lord, that is in the tabernacle of the 
 congregation, and shall pour out all the 
 blood at the bottom of the altar of the 
 burnt offering, which is at the door of the 
 tabernacle of the congregation. 
 
 19 And he shall take all his fat from him, 
 and burn it upon the altar. 
 
 20 And he shall do with the bullock as 
 be did with the bullock for a sin offering, 
 so shall he do with this : and the priest 
 shall make an atonement for them, and it 
 shall be forgiven them. 
 
 21 And he shall carry forth the bullock 
 without the camp, and burn him as he 
 burned the first bullock : it is a sin offering 
 for the congregation. 
 
 22 % AVTien a ruler hath sinned, and 
 done somexchat thi-ough ignorance against 
 any of the commandments of the Lord his 
 God concerning tilings which should not be 
 done, and is guilty ; 
 
 23 Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned. 
 
 when Hezekiah restored tlie true worship of God after the temple 
 had been shut up, he oflercd " a sin offering lor tlie kingdom," 
 2 Chron. xxix. 21. Dr. Jennings. 
 
 and the thing be hidT] Tliat is, if they be not sensible of 
 
 their errour at the time of commission, but afterwards discover 
 it, either by themselves or their rulers. Bp. Paliich. 
 
 •20. — it shall he forgiven them.7\ It is observable that we find 
 no express promise of pardon to the priest himself, when he 
 should sacriKce for himself, to the end that he might be so much 
 the more cautious of sinning ; or, in case he did sin, of relaps- 
 ing. But forgiveness is here most expressly jjromised to the 
 people, on the priest's intercession, to the end that the people 
 might repose the stronger confidence in the mercy of God, pro- 
 vided they complied with His appointed ordinances. Bibliulh. 
 Bibl. 
 
 ^2. — a ruler'] Any person possessing eminence and autho- 
 
 the ruler, and for the people. 
 
 come to his knowledge ; he shall bring his ^"^"'K^ 
 offering, a kid of tiie goats, a male without ^^\my 
 blemish : 
 
 21. And he shall lay his hand upon the 
 head of the goat, and kill it in the place 
 where they kill the burnt offering before 
 the Lord : it is a sin offering. 
 
 25 And the priest shall take of the blood 
 of the sin offering with his finger, and put 
 it upon the horns of the altar of burnt of- 
 fering, and shall pour out his blood at the 
 bottom of the altar of burnt offering. 
 
 26 And he shall burn all his fat upon 
 the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace 
 offerings : and the priest shall make an 
 atonement for him as concerning his sin, 
 and it shall be forgiven him. 
 
 27 IF And if t any one of the t common t Heb. 
 people sin through ignorance, while he do- \"ii^' 
 eth ,so7nexchat against any of the command- /"•<';•'« 'f 
 ments of the Lord concerning: thi7i<is which "" "'*' ' 
 ought not to be done, and be guilty ; 
 
 28 Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, 
 come to his knowledge: then he shall bring 
 his offering, a kid of the goats, a female with- 
 out blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned. 
 
 29 And he shall lay his hand upon the 
 head of the sin offering, and slay the sin 
 offering in the place of the burnt offering. 
 
 30 And the priest shall take of the blood 
 thereof with his finger, and put?7 upon tlie 
 horns of the altar of burnt offering, and 
 shall pour out all the blood thereof at the 
 bottom of the altar. 
 
 31 And 'he shall take away all the fat JChap-a. 
 thereof, as the fat is taken away from off 
 
 the sacrifice of peace offerings ; and the 
 
 priest shall burn it upon the altar for a 
 
 ' sweet savour unto the Lord ; and the ' Exod. 29. 
 
 priest shall make an atonement for him, 
 
 and it shall be forgiven him. 
 
 32 And if he bring a lamb for a sin of- 
 fering, he shall bring it a female without 
 blemish. 
 
 rity over the people, as the Hebrew name imports. Bisliop 
 Kidder. 
 
 og. — ii .shall he forgiven him.'] That is, his sin shall not be 
 imputed to him : but then this forgiveness is not tlie fruit of the 
 sacrifice barely considered, but an effect oi God's mercy. As 
 the sacrifice was a token of the offerer's repentince, a.s well as 
 the institution of God, and a type of our Sa\ iour's death, it was 
 accepted by Gad, and procured paidon to the offerer who had 
 sinned. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 It should be well remembered, that none of these sacrifices 
 had in themselves any value sufficient to clear the sinner, and 
 procure his forgiveness from God : tliey were only, by the mercy 
 of God, instituted and accepted as a sign of the offender's re- 
 ])ent;ince, and designed as ligurati\ c representitions of a more 
 fidl and perfect expiation to be iiereafier made by Christ tlie 
 Messiah, for th^sins of mankind. Pylc. 
 
 Dd2
 
 The trespass (iffcring 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 for concealhig his knowledge. 
 
 ^.'.^/'Tf n -^ Ami he shall lay his iiaiul upon the 
 CUIUS r , , ^. .1 <,. y 1 I '. r 
 
 Hso. ni'ad ot tlio sin ortoruiff, ami slay it tor a 
 
 MM (irterint; in I he phice wlicrc tlicy kill the 
 
 hiniit oBl'iin^. 
 
 ;H Anil the priest Nliali take of the blood 
 of the sin oHerin^^ witii iiis tinger, and put 
 // ujion the horns of the altar of burnt of- 
 ferii)<r, anil shall pour out ail the blood 
 thereof at the bottom of the altar: 
 
 33 And he shall take away all the fat 
 thereoi; as the fat of the lamb is taken a- 
 way from the saeriHee of tiie peace offer- 
 ings; and the priest shall burn them upon 
 the altar, aceording to the offerings made 
 by rire luito the Lord: and the priest shall 
 make an atonement for his sin that he hath 
 conunitted, and it shall be forgiven him. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 I He timl sinnclh in concealing his knon'ledgc, 2 in 
 toiiching an unclean tiling, 4 or in making an oath. 
 fi Ills Irexpaxs offering, of' the Hock, 7 of Jowls, 11 or 
 of flour. IV The tresjyass offering in sacrilege, 17 
 iintl in sins of ignorance. 
 
 AND if a soul sin, and hear the voice 
 of swearing, and is a witness, whether 
 he hath seen or known of it ; if he do not 
 utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity. 
 
 "■J Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, 
 whether // he a carcase of an unclean beast, 
 or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the car- 
 case of unclean creeping things, and if it 
 be hidden from liim; he also shall be un- 
 clean, and guilty. 
 
 .3 Or if he touch tlie uncleanness of 
 man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a 
 man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid 
 from him ; when he knoweth ofit, then he 
 shall be guilty. 
 
 \ Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with 
 
 Chap. v. vcr. 1. — if a soul sin, &c.] If a person be ad- 
 jured in the name of CJod to speak llic truth, when he is called to 
 be a witness in any cause, " whctlur lie hath seen or known of 
 it," that is, whether he can speak to the matter either from his 
 own knowledjje or from the infonnation of credible witnesses, 
 and do not "utter it." then bo shall "bear his iniquity," or be 
 deemed guilty and liable to punishment Bps. Patrick and 
 Kidder. 
 
 It was the cnstom in those times and countries, for judges and 
 magistrates to demand of accused persons, or witnesses in any 
 cause, in the name of God, to speak the truth. And this laid 
 the same obligations on them that Uie administering of an oath 
 m our country does now. See instances in 1 Kings xxii. 16 • 
 2 Chron. xviii. 1.5, &c. PtiU: 
 
 2.-.im,ch an;/ unclean 'thing,-} The Hebrew doctors explain 
 ttiis of those persons, who, having touched an unclean thin" 
 come mto the sanctuary or eat of holy things : otherwise, it w^ 
 «uBicient to wa.sh themselves to get rid of the uncleanness, chap. 
 Xh 25, 40; but still this may apply to those who neglected to 
 wash themselves as prescribed. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ^Mi//jf.] Having contracted a legal pollution. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 /lis lips to do evil, or to do good, whatso- puw'Tlx 
 ever // be that a man shall pronounce with iiyo. 
 an oath, and it be hid from him ; when he 
 knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in 
 one of these. 
 
 .li And it shall be, Avhen he shall be guilty 
 in one of these things, that he shall confess 
 that he hath sinned in that thing : 
 
 And he shall bring his trespass ofter- 
 ing unto the Loud for his sin which he 
 hath sinned, a female from the flock, a Iamb 
 or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; 
 and the priest shall make an atonement for 
 him concerning his sin. 
 
 7 And if t he be not able to bring a 
 lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass, 
 which he hath committed, two turtledoves, rcac/i la ttie 
 or two young pigeons, unto the Lord; one "^a'lamb. 
 for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt 
 offering. 
 
 8 And he shall bring them unto the 
 priest, who shall offer that which is for the 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 his /land 
 catttiot 
 
 Clmp. 1. 
 
 15. 
 
 II Or. 
 iiritbunice* 
 
 sin offering first, and ^ wring off his head 
 from his neck, but shall not divide it 
 asunder : 
 
 9 And he shall .sprinkle of the blood of 
 the sin offering upon the side of the altar ; 
 and the rest of the blood shall be wrunjr 
 out at the bottom of the altar ; it is a sin 
 offering. 
 
 10 And he shall offer the second Jbr a 
 burnt offering, according to the || manner: 
 and the priest shall make an atonement 
 for him for his sin which he hath sinned, 
 and it shall be forgiven him. 
 
 11 ^ But if he be not able to bring two 
 turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then 
 he that sinned shall bring for Iiis offering 
 the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for 
 a sin offering ; he shall put no oil upon it. 
 
 3. — uncleanness of man,"} Wliich is described in chap, xii, 
 .xiii, XV. 
 
 4. Or if a soul swear, tiC.'] That is, if a person swear rashly 
 and incoii-sidcrately in the common affairs of life, that he will 
 or will not do something, whether good or evil, &c. and if " it 
 be hid from him," that is, if he have not rightly considered the 
 thing bcl'ore, whether it was in liis power or not ; whether it 
 were lawful or not ; or if through forgetfulness lie omit to do 
 what he might have done, when he knoweth it, " he shall be 
 guilty, &c." Bp. Patrick. From this and other passages it ap- 
 pears, that God knowing tlie frailty and corruption of our na- 
 ture, whereby no man is able always to stand upright, but will 
 sometimes fall into sin, and so be liable to death and misery, He 
 Himself of His infinite mercy to His own people was pleased to 
 provide a remedy for them, whereby they might be freed, in or- 
 dinary cases, from the guilt contracted. Bp. Bcvcridgc. 
 
 7- — sin offering, — Imrnt offering.-] He was first to make 
 his peace with God by a sin offering ; and then his burnt offering 
 or gift would be accepted. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11- — the tenth part of an ephah] It must have been a great 
 satisfaction to Uie poor, to find that so small and easy an offering
 
 end in making an oath. 
 
 CHAP. V, VI. 
 
 and for sins done mttingly. 
 
 35, 
 
 CHuTsT "hither shall he put any frankincense there- 
 H90. on : for it is a sin offering. 
 
 12 Then shall he bring it to the priest, 
 and the priest shall take his handful of it, 
 
 k Chap, 2. 2. ^ even a memorial thereof, and burn it on 
 Chap. 4. the altar, " according to the offerings made 
 by fire unto the Lord : it is a sin offer- 
 ing. 
 
 13 And the priest shall make an atone- 
 ment for him as touching his sin that he 
 hath sinned in one of these, and it shall 
 be forgiven him : and the remnant shall be 
 the priest's, as a meat offering. 
 
 14 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 15 If a soul commit a trespass, and sin 
 through ignorance, in the holy things of 
 the Lord ; then he shall bring for his tres- 
 pass unto the Lord a ram without blemish 
 out of the flocks, with thy estimation by 
 shekels of silver, after the shekel of the 
 sanctuary, for a trespass offeriiig: 
 
 16 And he shall make amends for the 
 harm that he hath done in the holy thing, 
 and shall add the fifth part thereto, and 
 give it unto the priest : and the priest shall 
 
 would as effectually make their peace with God, as if they had 
 been in a condition to bring oblations of greater value. Besides, 
 this plainly shewed them that the intrinsick value of the offering 
 was nothing, and admonished them of the necessity of a sacrifice 
 infinitely more efficacious. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 no oil — neither shall he put any frankincense^ The sin of- 
 fering was to be offered without oU or frankincense, as an inti- 
 mation that sin is most displeasing to God. Bp. Kidder. As oil 
 and frankincense had delicacy in them, they were by no means 
 suitable to that contrition and that solemnity which should attend 
 an offering for sin. Biblioth. Bibl. In this manner God wisely 
 provided that, even in some cases where errours and miscarriages 
 could hardly be avoided, a sacrifice should be paid and confession 
 made, in order to keep His people under greater awe of trans- 
 gressing His laws, and to shadow forth to them that more pure 
 and spiritual religion, that was afterwards to be revealed to them 
 and to all the world. Pyle. 
 
 1 3. And the priest sha)l make an atonement for him~\ Whoever 
 among the Israelites, on account of any sin or uncleanness, was 
 excluded from the worship of the tabernacle, could only recover 
 the Divine favour through the intercession of the priest, who 
 was said on these occasions to " make atonement ;" which he or- 
 dinarily did, by appearing before God in the holy place, witli 
 the blood of the appointed victim. An offering of blood was 
 not indeed so absolutely required, but that on particular occa- 
 sions the law in this respect was relaxed : as in the case of ex- 
 treme povertj', when the substitution of a less expensive offering 
 was allowed. But on all occasions the ministry of the priest was 
 so indispensably necessary, that without it no atonement could be 
 made. See ver. 10, 11; chap. xiv. 20; xvi. 1(5, 33. Veysie. 
 
 1.5. If a soul — sin through ignorance,^ If a person, tlu-ough 
 errour, forgetfulness, or inadvertency, take or detain what is due 
 to the sanctuary or the priests, the oblations or firsttruits, or the 
 hkc. Biblioth Bibl. 
 
 ivith thtf e,^imalion by shekels'^ At least- two shekels, as 
 
 the Jewish doctors observe. Besides his sacrifice, he was to make 
 satisfaction in money, according as the priest should estimate the 
 damage. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 make an atonement for him with the ram Before 
 of the trespass offering, and it shall be for- '^"fw.^^ 
 given him. 
 
 17 1[ And if a " soul sin, and commit any " Chap. 4. 2. 
 of these things which are forbidden to be 
 done by the commandments of the Lord ; 
 though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and 
 shall bear his iniquity. 
 
 18 And he shall bring a ram without 
 blemish out of the flock, with thy estima- 
 tion, for a trespass offering, unto the priest : 
 and the priest shall make an atonement 
 for him conceniing his ignorance wherein 
 he erred and wist it not, and it shall be 
 forgiven him. 
 
 19 It is a trespass offering : he hath cer- 
 tainly trespassed against the Lord. 
 
 CHAP. VL 
 
 1 The trespass offering for sins done niltingly. 8 The 
 law of the burnt offering, 14 and of the meat offering. 
 19 The offering at tfie consecration of a priest. 2+ 
 The law of the sin offering. 
 
 A 
 
 ND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 
 ing. 
 
 shekel of the sanctuart),'\ See note on Exod. xxx. Mi. 
 
 for a trespass offering ;] The difference between the sin 
 
 offering and the trespass offering is not distinctly a.scertained. 
 The principal difference seems to have consisted in this : a sia 
 offering was for a thing done ignorantly against one of the nega- 
 tive precepts, and now known to be certainly done. The tres- 
 pass offering, on the other hand, was for an act committed, when 
 it was doubtful whether a precept wa5 violated by the action: 
 in this, the person, being uncertain whether he had trespassed 
 or not, was to bring a trespass offering, to secure him against the 
 penalty of " cutting off," which he otherwise incurred: and, if 
 once he came to know that he had offended against a command- 
 ment by the action, then he was to make atonement by a sin 
 offering. Lewis. 
 
 Perhaps the trespass offering was for sins of lesser importance, 
 as the omission of some duties, and the neglect of observing tlie 
 legal washings and purifications ; whereas the sin offering was 
 for greater offences, in the commission of things forbidden by 
 God. Dr. Beaumont. 
 
 The trespass offering, though, in many things, like the sin of- 
 fering, yet in other things differed from it 1. A female was al- 
 lowed in a sin offering, but a male was required in the trespass 
 offering ; compare chap. iv. 28, with chap. vi. 6. 2. The bloo<l 
 of the sin offering w;is to be put ".ipon the horns of the altar, 
 chap. iv. 34 ; that of the trespass offering to be sprinkled round 
 about the altar, chap. vii. 2. 3. The sin offering was sometimes 
 offered for the whole congregation, chap. iv. 13; the trespass of- 
 fering was for a single person. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 16. — he shall make amends &c.j By this law those, who had 
 taken or withheld by mistake any thing dedicated to God, were 
 not only to offer a sacrifice, but also to make restitution, and even 
 to add to it a fifth part. Whence we learn our indispensable 
 obligation to restore whatever we are imlaw fully possessed of: 
 andsince those, who had withheld any sacred thing ignorantly, 
 were boimd to make restitution, even above the value of it, the 
 duty of restitution must be still more indispensable, when we 
 have taken and withheld, knowingly and wilfully, what does not 
 belong to us. Ostenald.
 
 Divers 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 offerings. 
 
 Bcfurv 
 CHRIST 
 
 II Or. 
 
 IK Jfaling. 
 
 t Ilcb. 
 
 Ike hand. 
 • Numfc. 
 
 " Chap. 5. 
 
 1 Or. 
 
 in thf day 
 
 Jounil f^uU* 
 t<j. 
 
 t H«b. 
 IN the dny 
 *J^his tres' 
 pail. 
 
 ' Chap. 5. 
 15. 
 
 2 If a soul sin, and commit a trespass 
 against the Lord, and lie unto liis neigli- 
 bour in that wliich was ileiivered him to 
 keep, or in II fellowship, or in a thing taken 
 away by t violence, or hatii deceived his 
 neighbour ; 
 
 3 Or have found that whicli was lost, 
 and lieth coiuerning it, and ■" sweareth 
 falsely ; in any of all these that a man do- 
 eth, sinning tlierein : 
 
 1. Then it shall be, because he hath sin- 
 ned, and is guilty, that he shall restore 
 that whicli lie took violently away, or the 
 thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or 
 that which was delivered him to keep, or 
 the lost thing which he found, 
 
 5 Or all that about which he hath sworn 
 falsely; he shall even "restore it in the 
 principal, and shall add the fifth part more 
 tiiereto, and give it unto him to whom it 
 appertaineth, || t in the day of his trespass 
 ortering. 
 
 () And he shall bring his trespass offer- 
 ing unto the Lord, a ram without blemish 
 out of the ' flock, with thy estimation, for 
 a trespass oft'cring, unto the priest : 
 
 7 And the priest shall make an atone- 
 ment for him before the Loud: and it shall 
 be forgiven him for any thing of all that he 
 hath done in trespassing therein. 
 
 8 % And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 y Command Aaron and his sons, say- 
 ing. Tills is the law of the burnt offering : 
 It is the burnt offering, || because of the 
 burning upon the altar all night unto the 
 morning, and the fire of the altar shall be 
 burning in it. 
 
 10 And the priest shall put on his linen 
 
 Chap. \"I. ver. 2. — trespass against the Lord,"^ False swear- 
 ing, ver. 3, is a sin direcllif against God ; and any wrong to our 
 neighlwur is an indirect offence against GotI, being a breach of 
 His Commandments. Bp. Kidder. The trespasses specified in 
 this verse are, " lying nuto a neighbour in tliat whicli was deli- 
 vered," th.it is, denying a trust wiiicli had been committed to iiim 
 by a neighbour, or " in fellowship," (in Hebrew " putting of 
 the hand ;") alluding either to a contract between two parties, 
 or to partnership in trade— or " in a thing taken away by vio- 
 lence," that is, by robberv or stealth, as tiie Hebrew word 
 signifies — or " deceiving his neighbour," where the Hebrew 
 expression signifies calumny, false accusation, and e.\tortion. 
 Bp Patrick. 
 
 ■i. — and is guilty, 2 In the judgment of his own conscience 
 and by the confession of his lips ; for, if the injury was proved 
 upon him without his own confession, the penalty was greater. 
 Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 8. .ind the Lord &c.] Here the Hebrews begin a new section 
 of their law : as it has been before declared what offerings the 
 people should bring to tlie Lord, instructions arc now given to 
 tlie priests, how they shall manage the several offerings that are 
 brought 
 
 kOr. 
 fir Ihe 
 Imrning. 
 
 Chap, 
 
 garment, and his linen breeches shall he „.^"!^^*. 
 jiiit upon his flesh, and take up the a.shes hooi. 
 which the fire hath consumed with the 
 burnt oflering on the altar, and he shall 
 put them beside the altar. 
 
 1 1 And he shall put ofl" his garments, and 
 put on other garments, and carry forth the 
 ashes without the camp unto a clean place. 
 
 12 And the fire upon the altar shall be 
 burning in it ; it shall not be put out : and 
 the priest shall burn wood on it every 
 morning, and lay the burnt offering in or- 
 der upon it ; and he shall burn theieon the 
 fat of the peace offerings. 
 
 13 The fire shall ever be burning upon 
 the altar ; it shall never go out. 
 
 14 ^ '' And this is the law of the meat "Chap, 1;. 
 offering : the sons of Aaron shall offer it ^^^mb. 15. 
 before the Loud, before the altar. ■». 
 
 l.'i And he shall take of it his handful, 
 of the flour of the meat offering, and of the 
 oil thereof, and all the frankincense which 
 is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it 
 upon the altar yo/- a sweet savour, even the 
 "memorial of it, unto the Loud. '^' 
 
 IG And the remainder thereof shall Aa- 
 ron and his sons eat : with unleavened 
 bread shall it be eaten in the holy place ; 
 in the court of the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation they shall eat it. 
 
 17 It shall not be baken with leaven. I 
 have given it wilo tlicmfor their portion of 
 my offerings made by ffre ; it is most holy, 
 as is the sin offering, and as the trespass 
 offering. 
 
 18 All the males among the children of 
 Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute 
 for ever in your generations concerning 
 the offerings of the Lord made by fire : 
 
 (). — // is Ihe burnt uffering,~\ He explains that He means 
 chiefly the daily sacrifice, which was burning on tlie altar from 
 evening till morning, the priests watching all night. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 10. — and take vp the ashe.t'] So strictly the law consulted and 
 provided for the dignity of the minutest matters in the worship 
 of God. None but those who were dedicated to the siicred min- 
 istry were allowed so much as to dispose of the ashes in their 
 proper place. Bibliulh. Bibl. 
 
 11. — unto a clean place.'] See note on chap. iv. 12. 
 
 13. The /ire shall ever he burning] It can admit of little doubt 
 that the perpetual sacred fires of the Heathens, whether Per- 
 sians, Greeks, Romans, Indians, &c. were copietl from this 
 Divine original amongst the Jew.s, The aiiti(|uity of sacred 
 fires among the Greeks and liomans is «cll known. Theo- 
 plirastus iiiJronns us, that this rite of burning perpetual fire to 
 the gods had formed a part of llieir worship tiom time immemo- 
 rial, being used as an expressive symbol or figure of their im- 
 mortality. The sacred fire among the Persians was viewed with 
 such superstitious regarfl, that, if ever it were extinguibhed, 
 they would only relmiclle it by fire lighted up from the sun. 
 Biblioth. Bibl.
 
 Divers 
 
 CHAP. VI, VII. 
 
 offerings. 
 
 r-S^lT^T ^ every one that toucheth them shall be 
 
 1490. holy. 
 ' Exod. 29. 19 IF And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 ^^- saying, 
 
 20 This is the offering of Aaron and of 
 his sons, which they shaU offer unto the 
 Lord in the day when he is anointed ; the 
 
 «Exoa. iG. tenth part of an ^epliah of fine flour for a 
 meat offering perpetual, half of it in the 
 moming, and half thereof at night. 
 
 21 In a pan it shall be made with oil ; 
 and xvhen it is baken, thou shalt bring it in : 
 and the baken pieces of the meat offering 
 shalt thou offer for a sweet savour unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 22 And the priest of his sons that is 
 anointed in his stead shall offer it : it is a 
 statute for ever unto the Lord ; it shall be 
 wholly burnt. 
 
 23 For every meat offering for the priest 
 shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten. 
 
 24 % And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 9,5 Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, 
 saying, This is the law of the sin offering: 
 In the place where the burnt offering is 
 killed shall the sin offering be killed before 
 the Lord : it is most holy. 
 
 26 The priest that offereth it for sin 
 shall eat it : in the holy place shall it be 
 eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the 
 congregation. 
 
 27 M'liatsoever shall touch the flesh 
 thereof sliall be holy : and when there is 
 sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any 
 garment, thou shalt wash that whereon it 
 was sprinkled in the holy place. 
 
 28 But the earthen vessel wherein it is 
 kchap. u. sodden "shall be broken: and if it be sod- 
 den in a brasen pot, it shall be both scour- 
 ed, and rinsed in water. 
 
 29 All the males among the priests shall 
 eat thereof: it is most holy. 
 
 'Hciir. 13. 30 'And no sin offering, whereof «;/y of 
 the blood is brought into the tabernacle of 
 the congregation to reconcile uithal in the 
 
 18. — evert/ one that toitcheih tkcm shall he hoty.'} The sense is, 
 " Everj' one that toucheth them shall be beforehand sanetitied 
 and free from any legal defilement." Bp. Hall. 
 
 20. — Aaron and of his sons,~^ Aaron and " his successors," the 
 high priests which shall succeetl htm. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 25. — This is the law &c.] Here directions for the people's sin 
 offerings are repeated from chap. iv. 27, with some additional 
 circumstances. 
 
 27- Whatsoever shall touch &c] All this particularly incul- 
 cated a reverence and veneration for holy things, the duty of 
 approaching them with fear, and of observing a decent distance. 
 hibitoth. Btbl. 
 
 \io\\ place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt before 
 in the fire. ^"fg^.^"^ 
 
 CHAP. VIL 
 
 1 The lam of the trespass offering, 11 and of' the peace 
 offerings, 12- jvhether it be for a thanksgiving, 16 
 or a von', or a freewill offering. 22 The fat, 26 
 and the blood, are forbidden. 28 The priests' por^ 
 tion in the peace offerings. 
 
 LIKEWISE this /5 the law of the tres- 
 pass offering: it is most holy. 
 
 2 In the place where they kill the burnt 
 offering shall they kill the trespass offer- 
 ing: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle 
 round about upon the altar. 
 
 3 And he shall offer of it all the fat 
 thereof; the rump, and the fat that cover- 
 eth the inwards, 
 
 4 And the two kidneys, and the fat that 
 is on them, which is by the flanks, and the 
 caul that is above the liver, Avith the kid- 
 neys, it shall he take away : 
 
 3 And the priest shall burn them upon 
 the altar Jbr an offering made by fire unto 
 the Lord : it is a trespass offering. 
 
 6 Every male among the priests shall eat 
 thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place : 
 it is most holy. 
 
 7 As the sin offering is, so is the trespass 
 offering: t/ie7-e is one law for them: the 
 priest that maketh atonement therewith 
 shall have it. 
 
 8 And the priest that offereth any man's 
 burnt offering, even the priest shall have to 
 himself the skin of the burnt offering which 
 he hath offered. 
 
 9 And all tlie meat offering that is baken 
 in the oven, and all that is dressed in the 
 fryingpan, and || in the pan, shall be the II Or, 
 priest's that offereth it. jXtVor"' 
 
 10 And every meat offering, mingled »'•<;'• 
 with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aa- 
 ron have, one as muc/i as another. 
 
 11 And this is the law of the sacrilice 
 of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 Chap. V'll. ver. ?. — there is one law for Ihem:^ One Liw for 
 them, as to the particulars just mentioned, respecting the eating 
 of them by the priests. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — shall all the sons of Aaron have,"} It was said in the pre- 
 ceding verse, that the meat offering should be " the priest's that 
 offereth it. ' Some reconcile the two, by distinguishing between 
 that which was raw, and that which was dressed; the one be- 
 longing to the priest that offei-ed, the other to Uie priests in 
 common. Others intei-pret the matter thus: that each priest 
 should have his day or tiun of ministration, in which lie might 
 claim what was offered, as the other priests did in theic tums. 
 Bibliotli. Bib!.
 
 The peace offering for a fott', ^r. 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 The fat and hlood are forbidden. 
 
 usn. 
 
 iwf..rr JO II' lie ofler it for a thanksarivint?, then 
 he shnll oflbr with the sacrifico or thanks- 
 jjiviiig unleaveiK'il cakes mingled with oil, 
 and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, 
 and cakes mingled with oiJ, of fine flour, 
 fried. 
 
 18 Beside the cakes, he shall ofler./b/- his 
 offering leavened bread with the sacrifice 
 of thanksgiving of his peace offiMings. 
 
 14 And of it he shall offer one out of 
 the whole oblation Jar an hea\ e offering 
 unto the Lord, and it shall be the priest's 
 Uiat sprinkletli the blood of the peace of- 
 ferings. 
 
 1.5 And the flesh of the sacrifice of his 
 })eacc offerings for thanksgiving shall be 
 eaten the same day that it is offeaed ; he 
 shall not leave any of it until the morn- 
 ing. 
 
 10 But if the sacrifice of his offering be 
 a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be 
 eaten the same day that he offereth his sa- 
 crifice : and on the morrow also the re- 
 mainder of it shall be eaten : 
 
 1/ But the remainder of the flesh of the 
 sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt 
 with fire. 
 
 18 And if am/ of the flesh of the sacri- 
 fice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on 
 the third day, it shall not be accepted, 
 neither shall it be imputed unto him that 
 offereth it : it shall be an abomination, 
 
 13. — leavened brenif] The leavened bread was not to be 
 offered on the altar, for th.it had been absolutely forbidden at 
 chjij). ii. U ; but it was to be eaten by the priests and the offerer. 
 Dr. fVelh. 
 
 1 5. — .ihall hr ralen the same day] The reasons for this ordi- 
 nance seem to have been, that the service of the sacrificial feast 
 between OoA and man shoulil be conducted with special reveroice 
 and decency, and tiiat the meat might be taken fresh and un- 
 tiinted ; also that none of it should be set by, and hoarded for 
 private use and entertainment, but that it should be free and 
 common to those who stootl in need of it. Bibliolli. Bibl. 
 
 Ui. — a voir, or a lolunlan/ offering,'} A " vow" of offering sa- 
 crifice to Ciod upon receivuig a" benefit ; as the " voluntary offer- 
 ing" was freely made beforehand, in the hope that God would 
 confer the benefit. lip. Patrick. 
 
 18. — ealeti at all on the third da;/,'] The prohibition to eat the 
 flesh on the third day might appear unnecessary in so wann a 
 climate ; but it should be remembered, that the practice of drying 
 meat is frequent in those hot climates, and that this is sometime's 
 done to flesh killed with a religious intention, which may have 
 been the cause of this prohibition. The Mahomet^ms, who go 
 in pilgrimage to Mecca, are obliged, on a certain day, to sacri- 
 fice a sheep, j);ut of which they dry for use at otlier times. 
 llarvier. 
 
 neither shall it be imputed unto him l/iat offereth'] It shall 
 
 not bo looked upon by God as a peace offering niaJe by him. 
 
 ~ ""■ 'O'd Ihal eateth of it shall bear his ini(milii.~\ That is 
 shall beo.me guilty of a great sin; {Dr. IVelU;) ant] suffer the 
 punnhment lor it. Bp. Hall. 
 
 20. — t/ui! soul shaU be cut off] The person »liall be excluded 
 
 and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his ^.j^'jj'j'sj. 
 iniquity. h9o. 
 
 1!) And the flesh that toucheth any un- 
 clean thing shall not be eaten ; it shall be 
 burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that 
 be clean shall eat thereof. 
 
 '20 But the soul that eateth of the flesh 
 of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that 
 pertain unto the Lord, ' having his un- " cii»i> i5. 
 cleanness upon him, even that soul shall ^• 
 be cut off from his people. 
 
 21 Moreover the soul that shall touch 
 an>^ luiclean thing; as the uncleanness of 
 man, or ani/ unclean beast, or any abomina- 
 ble unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of 
 the sacrifice of peace offerings, which per- 
 taiii unto the Lord, even that soul shall be 
 cut off' from his people. 
 
 22 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying,^ 
 
 23 Speak unto the children of Israel, 
 saying, "Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ' cii»i>- ^ 
 ox, or of sheep, or of goat. 
 
 2t And the fat of the t beast that dieth t"*: 
 of itself, and the fat of that which is torn 
 with beasts, may be used in any other use: 
 but ye shall in no wise eat of it. 
 
 25 For whosoever eateth the fat of the 
 beast, of which men offer an offering made 
 by fire unto the Loud, even the soul that 
 eateth it shall be cut off" from his people. ' Ccn. o. 
 
 26 <= Moreover ye shall eat no manner of ^^'n.^ii'. ' 
 
 from all his privileges as an Israelite and tneniber of God's church 
 " and people. Pyle. 
 
 23. — Ye .shall cat no manner of fat,'] None of those parts of 
 fat and suet, which God had appropriated to the .sacrifices on 
 His altar. Pyle. See note on chap. iii. IT. According to some 
 opinions, the prohibition to eat fat is restricted to the three sorts 
 oi' animals here mentioned. Bibliulh. Bibl. 
 
 26. — i/c shall eat no manner of blood,] This command m.ny be 
 thus paraphrased : Forasmuch as the blood of animals is the very 
 life and soul of them, I have separated or selected it to be a ran- 
 som for your soids, and for that most sacred use, the expiation of 
 your sins. You are therefore strictly and scrupulously to abstain 
 from bltxxl, out of regard to this separation, and to be cautious not 
 to bring to your t:d)les that which I have consecrated to My altar. 
 On blood depends the gift of My grace, and your life; and there- 
 fore you are not to put it to any vulgar use, nor presume to 
 nourish your bo<lies with that, which is, as it were, the life and 
 preservative of your souls. Dean Spencer. 
 
 The custom of eating blood appe.ars to have prevailed in the 
 time of Moses; otherwise why would that have been forbidden, 
 which was never practised ? We have the testimony of different 
 travellers, that this. same practice still prevails in some countries, 
 particularly in Abyssinia, and in India at the sacrifices of their 
 idols. Fragments to Calmet. 
 
 It was the great end of the numerous sacrifices of the Mosaick 
 ritual to impress the Jewish people, tor a season the chosen de- 
 positaries of revealed truth, with an opinion of the necessity of a 
 sanguinary expiation even i'or involuntary offences; to train them 
 to the habitual belief of that awful maxim, that " without slied- 
 tling of blood there is no remission." The end of those earlier 
 sacrifices, wliich were of u.se in the pati'iarchal ages, was ua-
 
 The priests' portion of the peace offerings. CHAP. VII, VIII. Moses consecrateth Aaron and his som 
 
 24. 
 
 chrTst '''^^'^' 'whether it be of fowl or of beast, in 
 J490. any of your dwellings. 
 
 '■17 Whatsoever soul it be that eatetli any 
 manner of blood, even that soul shall be 
 cut off from his people. 
 
 28 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying,- 
 
 2y Speak unto the children of Israel, 
 saying, He that ofiereth the sacrifice of his 
 peace offerings unto the Lord shall bring 
 his oblation unto the Loud of the sacrifice 
 of his peace offerings. 
 
 30 His own hands shall bring the offer- 
 ings of the Lord made by fire, the fat with 
 
 <iEiod.2y. the breast, it shall he bring, that '' the 
 breast may be waved ydr a wave offering 
 before the Lord. 
 
 31 And the priest shall burn the fat upon 
 the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron's 
 and his sons*. 
 
 32 And the right slioulder shall ye give 
 unto the priest j^r an heave offering of the 
 sacrifices of your peace offerings. 
 
 33 He among the sons of Aaron, that 
 offereth the blood of the peace offerings, 
 and the fat, shall have the right shoulder 
 for his part. 
 
 34 For the wave breast and tlie heave 
 shoulder have I taken of the children of 
 Israel from off tlie sacrifices of their peace 
 offerings, and have given them unto Aaron 
 the priest and unto his sons by a statute for 
 ever from among tlie children of Israel. 
 
 35 ^ This is the portion of the anointing 
 of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, 
 out of the offerings of the Lord made by 
 fire, in the day lehen he presented tliem to 
 minister imto the Lord in the priest's office ; 
 
 3G Which the Lord commanded to be 
 given them of the children of Israel, in the 
 day that he anointed them, by a statute for 
 ever throughout their generations. 
 
 questionably the same. To iiiculcat* the same important les- 
 son, in the earliest iiistiintc of ;i sacTifice upon record, respect 
 was had to the shepherd's sacrifice of the firstlings of his flock, 
 rather than to the husbandman's ottering of the fruit of his ground; 
 and for the same reason, by the prohibition laid upon the sous of 
 Noah, and afterwards enforced in the sc\ erest terms in the Mosaick 
 tare, blood was sanctified, as it were, as the immediate instru- 
 ment of atonement. The end of the prohibition was to impress 
 mankind with a high reverence for blood, as a most holy thing, 
 consecrated to the purpose of the general expiation; but this ex- 
 piatory virtue belonged, not to the blood of bulls anil of goats, 
 but to the blood of Christ, of whieh the other was by God's ap- 
 pointment mode a temporar)' emblem. Bp. Uorthi/. See the 
 notes on Gen. ix. 4; Levit. xvii. 11. 
 
 3.5. T/iii is Hie. portion of the amiiUing &c.] That is, this (the 
 •wave breast and the heave brciist) is the poi-tion assigned to i\uron 
 and liis sons in their quality of priests consecrated to the Lord, 
 and which shall contribute to tJieir support. Cahnet. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 37 This is the law of the burnt offering, '^f<"' 
 of the meat offering, and of the sin offer- ^^f^,^^^ 
 ing, and of the trespass offering, and of the 
 consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the 
 peace offerings; 
 
 38 W^iich the Lord commanded Mose* 
 in mount Sinai, in the day that he com- 
 manded the children of Israel to offer tlieir 
 oblations unto the Lord, in the wilderness 
 of Sinai. 
 
 CHAP. VIIL 
 
 1 Mosex consecrateth Aaron and his sons. 11- Their 
 sill offering. 18 Their burnt offering. 22 The ram 
 of consecrations. 31 The place and time of their 
 consecration. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 
 2 Take Aaron and his sons with him, 
 
 and " the garments, and " the anointing oil, ' ExoA as. 
 and a bullock for the sin offering, and two b'^jod. so. 
 rams, and a basket of unleavened bread ; 21. 
 
 3 And gather thou all the congregation 
 together unto the door of the tabernacle of 
 the congregation. 
 
 4 And Moses did as the Lord com- 
 manded him; and the assembly was ga- 
 thered together unto the door of the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation. 
 
 5 And Moses said unto the congrega- 
 tion, ' This is the thing which the Lord ' Eiod. 29. 
 commanded to be done. *' 
 
 6 And Moses brouglit Aaron and his 
 sons, and washed them witii water. 
 
 7 And he put upon him the coat, and 
 girded htm witii the girdle, and clothed 
 him with the robe, and put the ephod upon 
 him, and he girded him with the curious 
 girdle of the ephod, and bound /'/ unto him 
 therewith. 
 
 8 And he put the breastplate upon him: 
 
 also he '^ put in the breastplate the Urim 30^^°^' "*" 
 and the Thummim. 
 
 Chap. VIII. ver. .I. — all the congregation'] All tlie elders 
 and principal oliicers. They seem to have been assen;blcd on 
 this iK'casion, to satisfy the people that Aaron and his sons did 
 not intrude themselves on the office of the priesthood, but were 
 solenmly consecrated by Moses, tlie servant of tlie Lord. Bp. 
 Patrick: 
 
 Notwithstanding the Lord hud fixed the whole ceremonial of 
 the consecration, and chose the person, yet the congregation is 
 summoned. For the presence of the people is required at the 
 ordination of a priest, tliat all may know, and be ccrfciin, that tlie 
 person elected is eminent among the peoj->lc in chai-acter, for 
 learning, sanctity, and virtue; and, being tliemselves their nvm 
 witnesses of this, lliey may be precluded all scruples in future. 
 Bihliolh. Bibl. 
 
 6. — n>ashed them frith tralcr.'] So thrift, our High Priest, as 
 it were to consecrate that ricinent for our baptism, was Himself 
 baptize<l in the river Jordan. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 8. — the Urim siid the Thwiimim.l Sec the note on Exod. xxviii. 
 
 ir. e
 
 The sin offering and 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 burnt qffenng of 
 
 B*fere 
 ClIttlST 
 
 H90. 
 
 • EjoiL •-'8. 
 39, tie. 
 
 I Eccl" 
 «. 15. 
 I^aLl33. 
 V. 
 
 tHcb. 
 boumi, 
 
 ' £i(kL 39. 
 I. 
 
 • Eiod. 29. 
 11. 
 
 9 And he put the mitre upon his head ; 
 also u\ioi\ the mitre, eren upon his forefront, 
 did he i)ut the golden plate, the holy crown; 
 as the Lord ' commanded Moses. 
 
 10 And Moses took the anointing oil, 
 and anointed the tahcrnacle and all that 
 Tcas therein, and sanctified them. 
 
 11 And he sprinkled thereof upon the 
 altar seven times, and anointed die altar 
 and all his vessels, both the laver and his 
 foot, to sanctity them. 
 
 12 And he 'poured of the anointing oil 
 upon Aaron's head, and anointed liim, to 
 sanctify him. 
 
 13 And Moses brought Aaron's sons, 
 and put coats upon them, and girded them 
 •\vitli girdles, and t put bonnets upon them; 
 as the LoKU conunanded Moses. 
 
 14 *And he brought the bullock for the 
 sin oflering: and Aaion and his sons laid 
 their bauds upon the head of the bullock 
 for the siu ottering. 
 
 15 And he slew it; and Moses took the 
 blood, and put //upon the horns of the altar 
 round about with his linger, and purified 
 tlie altar, and poured the blood at the bot- 
 tom of tlie altar, and sanctified it, to make 
 reconciliation upon it. 
 
 16 Anil he took all the fat that a-rt^upon 
 tlie inwards, and the caul above the liver, 
 and the two kidneys, and their fat, and 
 Moses burned // upon the altar. 
 
 17 But the bullock, and his hide, his 
 flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire 
 without the camp; as the Lord * command- 
 ed Moses. 
 
 IS «[ And he brought the ram for the 
 burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid 
 their hands upon the head of the ram. 
 
 It) Aiul he killed //; and Moses sprinkled 
 the blood uj)on the altar round about. 
 
 30. _ It should be observed, that Moses here says nothing of the 
 precious stones on the breastplate, as in Exod. xxxix. 10 — 13; but 
 only mentions the Urim and the Thummim; which seems to sup- 
 plj- an .-ulditional proof that they were the same. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ' *• — f'^ [Ik sin "Jferiiig .-^ The first jiart of the ceremony 
 was an ofTcrinc for sin; because, till their sins were expiated, 
 they were not fit to offer any thing to Godj much less to offer for 
 the sins of otJ.crj. Lewis. 
 
 15. — and .^fost•s luok llie blood, ^c] Moses had never been 
 consecrated after the manner of Aaron, but he was made a priest 
 for this peculiar purpose by an extraordinary commi^ion. Lewis. 
 ir hut the hulloi.^, &c.] We do not find that the blood of this 
 ^cnfice was carried int«) the holy place; whence it may be in- 
 tirrwl, that no high priest, whether ordinary^ or extraordinary, 
 snrli as Moses now was, mi /ht eat of any sin offering, offered for 
 the priests thcmsches, although the bluod of it was not brought 
 mtp the satKtuary. Henco we may infer, that, although the sins 
 nf the people were taken away by the prIesU, who, by eating of 
 their jin offering, pUmly shewed that they bare (heir iniquity, 
 
 ExoiL29. 
 
 31. 
 
 20 And he cut the ram into pieces; and pu'.fYlj 
 Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and ugo. 
 the fiit. 
 
 21 And he washed the inwards and the 
 legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole 
 ram upon the altar: it was a burnt sacrifice 
 for a sweet savour, arid an offering made 
 bv fire unto the Lord; as the Lord com- 
 manded Moses. 
 
 2'i % And he ' brought the other ram, the 
 ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons 
 laid their hands upon the head of the ram. 
 
 23 And he slew it; and Moses took of 
 the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of 
 Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb 
 of his right hand, and upon the great toe 
 of his right foot. 
 
 24 And he brought Aaron's sons, and 
 Moses put of the blood upon the tip of 
 their right ear, and upon the thumbs of 
 their right hands, and upon the great toes 
 of their right feet : and Moses sprinkled 
 the blood upon the altar round about. 
 
 25 And he took the fat, and the rump, 
 and all the fat that loas upon the inwards, 
 and the caul above the liver, and the two 
 kidneys, and their fat, and the right 
 shoulder : 
 
 26 And out of the basket of unleavened 
 bread, that was before the Lord, he took 
 one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled 
 bread, and one wafer, and put them on the 
 fat, and upon the right shoulder : 
 
 27 And he put all " upon Aaron's hands, » Exod. so. 
 and upon his sons' hands, and waved them ^^' *'^' 
 
 Jbr a wave offering before the Lord. 
 
 28 And Moses took them from off their 
 hands, and burnt them on the altar upon 
 the burnt ottering : they icere consecrations 
 for a sweet savour: it is an offering made 
 by fire unto the Lord. 
 
 (as the phrase is chap. x. 17;) yet the sins of the priests them- 
 selves could not be taken away by any sacrifice they could offer 
 for sin, of which they might not eat. But they were to expect 
 a better sacrifice, made by a better High Priest, the Son of God. 
 Blhlioth. Bibl. 
 
 23. — and Moses loo/c of the blood of it, &c.] This ceremony 
 figured out our Christian privileges and duty, '''he bloo<l repre- 
 sented that blood by which we are saved; the oil (ver. 12) our 
 lioly unction. The right ear is a symbol of our approved obe- 
 dience, and the hand and foot, of our good actions. Biblioih. Bibl. 
 They put the blood on the tip of their right ears, to signify, as 
 the Jewish doctors discourse, that tliey should attend to the Di- 
 vine prescription.^; and then upon their right thumbs and great 
 toes, (in wliich lies the strength of the hands and feet,) to denote 
 their strenuous and ready perfonnance of their duty. As the 
 right hand, &c. are mentioned, it may well be tliought to signify 
 tile most exact and perfect obedience; the ri^ht hand, &c. Ijeing 
 every where representee!, as the most excellent, and the strongest 
 to do execution. Lavis.
 
 Aaron and his sons. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHAP. VIII, IX. 
 
 The first offerings of Aaron. 
 
 3i 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ^^^^ Moses took the breast, and 
 
 14S0. waved it for a wave offering before the 
 
 Lord : for of the ram of consecration it 
 
 'Exod. 29. was Moses' 'part; as the Lord commanded 
 
 -^- Moses. 
 
 30 And Moses took of the anointing oil, 
 and of the blood which ivas upon the altar, 
 and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his 
 garments, and upon his sons, and upon his 
 sons' garments with him ; and sanctified 
 Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and 
 his sons' garments with him. 
 
 31 ^ And Moses said unto Aaron and to 
 his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the 
 tabernacle of the congregation : and there 
 
 "Exod. 29. "eat it with the bread that is in the basket 
 *^' of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, 
 
 Aaron and his sons shall eat it. 
 
 32 And that which remaineth of the 
 flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire. 
 
 33 And ye shall not go out of the door 
 of the tabernacle of the congregation in 
 seven days, until the days of jour conse- 
 
 Eiod. 29. cration be at an end : for " seven days shall 
 he consecrate you. 
 
 34 As he hath done this day, so the 
 Lord hath commanded to do, to make an 
 atonement for you. 
 
 35 Therefore shall ye abide at the door 
 of the tabernacle of the congregation day 
 and night seven days, and keep the charge 
 of the Lord, that ye die not : for so I am 
 commanded. 
 
 36 So Aaron and his sons did all things 
 
 33. — ye shall not go out — for seven dat/s2 As Aaron is com- 
 manded to attend at the tabernacle so many daj's together, in 
 like manner our Lord Christ did attend the temple five days, one 
 after another; see John xii. 1, 12, &c.; Matth. xxi. 12, &c.; and 
 having purged it, on the first or second of those days, from the 
 profaneness that was exercised in it ; and afterwards hallowed it 
 by His doctrine and Divine presence, which appeared in several 
 miraculous cures. He went the sixth day into His heavenly sanc- 
 tuary, into Paradise itself, to purify and sanctify it with His own 
 blood, as Moses at Aaron's consecration did the material sanc- 
 tuary and altar with the blood of beasts. And, having rested the 
 seventh day, finished all by His resurrection early the next day 
 in the morning. Dr. Jackson. They were " not to go out of the 
 door of the tabernacle," for these offices and ministrations were 
 to be exercised only within the Church, out of the sight and 
 hearing of the profane, that it might not be in the power of any 
 one to cast contempt upon them, or depreciate their dignity. 
 BibUoth. Bibl 
 
 35. — day and night seven dai/s,2 This was to make their con- 
 secration more solemn, and to draw the observation of the people. 
 By abiding " seven days," a sabbath, as the Jews observe, passed 
 over their heads, without which, they conceive, the consecration 
 of Aaron and his sons could not have been completed. But the 
 sabbath of the Lord did never so exactly pass over any high 
 priest in his consecration, as it did over the great High Priest of 
 the New Testament. For, however it was in Aaron's consecra- 
 tion, it was to our blessed Saviour a day of rest indeed after six 
 days of labour, watdiing, praying, and fasting, which concluded 
 in His bloody death and passion. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 whicli the Loud commanded by the hand ^'<" 
 of Moses. i-'""! 
 
 sr 
 
 lASHX 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 1 The frst offerings of Aaron, for hinvsclf and the peoi- 
 pfe. 8 The sin offering, lii and the hiimi oJ}eri„<r 
 for himself. 15 The offerings for the jxojtlc. 23 Mo- 
 ses and Aaron hlc.fs the people'. 24 Fire comelh from 
 the Lord, upon the altar. 
 
 AND it came to pass on the eighth day, 
 that Moses called Aaron and his sons, 
 and the elders of Israel ; 
 
 2 And he said unto Aaron, 'Take thee a • Eiod. 2?. 
 young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for '• 
 
 a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer 
 the7n before the Lord. 
 
 3 And unto the children of Israel thou 
 shalt speak, saying. Take ye a kid of the 
 goats for a sin offering ; and a calf and a 
 lamb, both of the first yeai", without ble- 
 mish, for a burnt offering ; 
 
 4 Also a bullock and a ram for peace 
 offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord; and 
 a meat offering mingled with oil : for to 
 day the Lord will appear unto you. 
 
 5 ^ And they brought that which Mose-s 
 commanded before the tabernacle of the 
 congregation : and all the congregation 
 diew near and stood before the Lord. 
 
 6 And Moses said. This is the thing 
 which the Lord commanded that ye should 
 do : and the glory of the Lord shall ap- 
 pear unto you. 
 
 7 And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto 
 the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy 
 
 36. — by the hand of Moses.'} In this ordination of the priests, 
 Moses perlbi-med the office of the consecrating priest. In after- 
 times, on the death of the high priest, it is probable that tlip 
 ceremony of consecrating his successor was performed by some 
 of the inferiour priests, the most venerable for rank and age. 
 Calmet. 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. 1. — on the eighth day, 2 The eighth day from 
 the beginning of the consecration of the priests. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. — for a sin offering,'] This sin offering was for himself, 
 that is, for his own sins general!}', ver. 8, to i^hew that the high 
 priest was but a frail and sinful man, hke others ; an imperfect 
 intercessor, and but a type and resemblance of One, more pterfect 
 and complete, to come hereafter, Hebr. v. ."); vii. 27. Pylc. ^Ve 
 here see the imperfection of the law of Moses : the high priest 
 himself could not offer an acceptable sacrifice, until an atonement 
 was made for him, whereas (to the praise of our Redeemer) we 
 Christians have an High Priest without sin, and who is at God'n 
 right hand, continually making intercession for all that come unto 
 God by Him. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 and offer them before the Lord.'^ It is observable, that n© 
 
 peace offering is ordered for the high priest, as there is after- 
 wards for the people, ver. 4, because the offerer and the priest 
 shared in this case the whole, after the fat was burnt ; imd it was 
 not fitting that he should have all the sacrifice to liimseli'. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 6. — the gloi-y of t/ie Lord shall appear unto you.l Tliat is, a 
 visible sign of the presence and favour of God: which was ful- 
 filled, ver. 24, by Hi» sending fire from heaven to consume the 
 
 E e2
 
 Aaron's offerings. 
 
 L E V rr I c u s. 
 
 for himself and the people. 
 
 Dcforc burnt ortl'i-iiig, and make an atonement for 
 '""i^'^ tlnstlf, and for the people : :uul offer the 
 otlerin<j oi" tlie peoj)le, and make an atone- 
 ment for them ; us the Loud connnandeil. 
 S % Aaron therefore went unto the altar, 
 and slew the ealf of the sin olKMirig-, which 
 •Kas for himself 
 
 <) And the sons oi' Aaron brought the 
 blood unto him : and he di])ped his fiiiger 
 in the blood, and put il ujioii the h'orns of 
 the altar, ami j)oured out the blood at the 
 bottom of the altar : 
 
 10 Hut the fat, and the kidneys, and the 
 caul above the liver of the sin ottering, he 
 burnt upon the altar ; as the Lord com- 
 manded Moses. 
 
 1 J And the Hesh and the hide lie burnt 
 with lire without the camp. 
 
 1'2 And he slew the burnt offering ; and 
 Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, 
 which he spnnkled round about upon the 
 altar, 
 
 1'] And they presented the burnt offer- 
 iinto him, \i'ith the pieces thereof, 
 ai;j the head : and he burnt them upon 
 the nltar. 
 
 Vnd he did wash the inwards and 
 th iogs, and burnt them upon the burnt 
 offering on the altar. 
 
 15^^ And he brought the people's offer- 
 ing, and took the goat, which teas the sin 
 oftering for the ])coplc, and slew it, and 
 offered it for sin, as the first. 
 
 Ki And he brought the burnt offering, 
 and offered it according to the || manner. 
 17 And he brought the meat offering, 
 tH«t.. and ttook an handful thereof, and burnt 
 hu'nd^.fit upon the altar, ''beside the burnt sacri- 
 ^- I fice of the morning. 
 
 :a. 18 He slew also the bullock and the ram 
 
 for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which tcy/s 
 
 for the people: and Aaron's sons present- 
 
 sicrifice. Any such token of God's favour and more especial 
 presence may l)c called " the glory of tile Lord." Compare 
 a Peter i. 17, with Matt. xvii. T) ; and Rom. ix. 4, with 1 Sam. iv. 
 :22. Dp. Kidder. 
 
 1 :t. And he brought the people's offeriii", &c.] The priest, hav- 
 ing offered all that was necessary for himself, now became fit to 
 make supplication for the people. Bp. Palrkk. 
 
 "22. — (tnd blessed llicm,^ This was the peculiar office of the 
 priest. The fonn ol' this blessing is aftcrw;u-ds prescribed at 
 Nnmb. vi. tit, &c. Bp. Kidder. The people, when they were 
 convenetl to tiie tabernacle, might not depart, imtil the priest 
 dismisjedthem with his benediction. Lami/. 
 
 2-*. — Utere eaiiif: a fire mil from before the Lord,'\ From that 
 gltwy of the Lord wbiich appeared unto all the people. Bib/iuth. 
 Bibi 
 
 —— the burnt offering and the fat :"} It seems most natural 
 and easy to take tliis bunit offering and lat for the evening sa- 
 crifice: which concluding tlie work of Uiis day, God gave a 
 
 i Or. 
 anlmtncc, 
 
 ed inito him the blood, which he sprinkled cj''|r''Jst 
 upon the altar round about, moo 
 
 1!) And the fat of the bullock and of 
 the ram, the nuup, and that which cover- 
 eth the inivards, and the kidneys, and the 
 caul above the liver : 
 
 '20 And they put the fat upon the 
 breasts, and he burnt the fat u))ou the 
 altar : 
 
 'Jl And the breasts and the right shoul- 
 der Aaron waved for a wave offering be- 
 fore the Loud; as Moses commanded. 
 
 'J'J And Aaron lifted up his hand toward 
 the people, and blessed them, and came 
 down from offering of the sin offering, and 
 the burnt off'ering, and peace offeriug.s. 
 
 '23 And Moses and Aaron went into 
 the tabernacle of the congregation, and 
 came out, and blessed the peo])le : and t la- 
 glory of the Lord appeared unto all the 
 people. 
 
 21. And '^ there came a fire out from be- ^S"''^-'- 
 tore tlie Lord, and consinned ujjou the m 
 altar the burnt offering and the fat : ichich j ^■'"■°"- "■ 
 when all the people saw, they shouted, and 2 Mac. 2. 
 fell on their laces. '"• ''• 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 1 Xadnb and Abihit, for offering <f .it range fire, are 
 burnt hi/ fire, f) Aoron and hi.i sons are forbidden to 
 mourn for them. 8 I'lie priests are forbidden nine 
 when the// are to go info the tabernacle. 12 The laiv 
 of eating the lioly things. 16 Aaron's exctuefbr trans- 
 sre-t-fim; titcreof. 
 
 O O i' 
 
 AND »Nadab and Abihu, the .sons of ' Numb. r?. 
 Aaron, took either of tliem his cen- I'ciiron. 
 ser, and ])ut fire therein, and put incense -^•^• 
 thereon, and offered .strange fire before the 
 Lord, which he commanded them not. 
 
 Q, And there went out fire from the Lord, 
 and devoured them, and they died before 
 the Lord. 
 
 special token of His acceptance of all the other sacrifices, by 
 consuming it : and likewise publickiy testified His approbation of 
 all the above-mentioned rites of the ministry t>f Aai-on, who.se 
 authority was hereby established in a miraculous manner. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 thrii .ihouted,~\ They shouted with joy, and fell on their 
 
 faces, with humble adorations, and thanksgiving to GckI, for tlius 
 graciously testifying His acceptance of all that had been done on 
 that day. Dr. JVc'lls. 
 
 Chap. X. ver. 1. ^ offered strange fire before the Lord,'] The 
 crime of Nadab and Abihu consisted in venturing to burn incense 
 in the ganctu.wy at all, without any onler from God, and, still 
 further, in using for the purpo.se common fire taken from some 
 other place, and not that which God had peculiarly sent for the 
 service of His sanctuary. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. — there vent out fire from the Lord,"] There came a flash of 
 fire from the Divine Presence; {Pj/lc;) it was sent either Irora the
 
 JNadab and Ahihit 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 chrTst ^ "^^^^ Moses said unto Aaron, This is 
 
 14U0. it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be 
 
 sanctified in them that come nigh me, and 
 
 before all the people I will be glorified. 
 
 And Aaron held his peace. 
 
 4- And Moses called Mishael and Elza- 
 phan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of 
 Aaron, and said unto them. Come near, 
 carry your brethren from before the sanc- 
 tuary out of the camp. 
 
 5 So they went near, and carried them 
 in their coats out of the camp ; as Moses 
 had said. 
 
 6 And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto 
 Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons. Un- 
 cover not your heads, neither rend your 
 clothes ; lest ye die, and lest wrath come 
 
 altar or from above, {Bp. Kidder,) and " devoured them," that is, 
 scorched their inward and vital parts, without consuming the 
 outer parts. Tliis severity of immediate punishment was neces- 
 sary towards the first transgressors of the Divine Law, to deter 
 others from the same offence, and to increase the reverential awe 
 of the Divine Majesty. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 Nadab and Abihu, having been admitted to the high dignity 
 of the priesthood, were particularly obliged to the observance of 
 God's commands. The higher their station was, and the more 
 distinguishing the favours they had received, the more heinous 
 was their offence, in attempting to adulterate an ordinance of God's 
 institution. They thought that common fire might serve the pur- 
 pose of burning incense, as well as that which was held more sa- 
 cred ; at least, in the gaiety, or rather naughtiness of their hearts, 
 they were minded to make the experiment, in direct opposition 
 to the Divine command. And therefore, it was just and requisite 
 in God (especially in the beginning of the priesthood, and when 
 one akeration of a Divine precept might, in process of time, be 
 productive of many more) to inflict an exemplary punishment, 
 that others might fear, and not commit the like abomination. 
 Stackhouse. If this crime had been committed some ages after, 
 when the memory of tlie original of this heavenly fire had been 
 worn out, it might have ieen excused on the plea of ignorance ; 
 but now, when God had newly sent His fire from above, an<l 
 newly commanded th* continuance of it ; either to let it go out, 
 or while it still flamed, to fetch profane coals to God's altar, couhl 
 savour of nothing less than presumption and sacrilege. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 It would seem also that Nadab and Abihu were betrayed into 
 this act of presumption by intemperance at the feast upon tlie 
 peace oft'erings: for inmiediately after, and in consequence of their 
 fate, Moses delivers the injunctions against the priests' drinking 
 wine and strong drink when they approached the sanctuary. 
 Perhaps also, their presumption may have been increased by tlie 
 high honour, which tliey alone, of Aaron's sons, had enjoyed, 
 when they, with Moses and Aaron and seventy of the elders of 
 Israel, were called up to mount Sinai, to behold the glory of tiie 
 God of Israel. This distinguished honour may have jjuff'ed them 
 np with the imagination, that they were not to be controlled by 
 the restraints, to whicli the other priests were subject : but that 
 they might ap))ioach the altar without obser\'ing the strict regu- 
 lations of the Divine coumiand : a presumption, which, if suff'ered 
 to pass w ith imi)unity, amongst a people so prone to disobedience 
 as the Jews, and just after the obserxance of the ritual law had 
 commenced with a publick miracle to attest its Divine original, 
 might have introduced a contempt of the systeui, and aposfcisy 
 Irom God. Dr. Griwc.i. 
 
 This piece of history is a caution to us that we quench not the 
 Spirit, but that we stir up the grace which we liave received. 
 And further, that we add nothing foreign to the Holy Scriptures, 
 
 are burnt byjire. 
 
 upon all tlie people: but let your bre- Before 
 thren, the whole house of Israel, bewail ^"^^^ 
 the bunnng whicli the Loud hath kin- 
 dled. 
 
 7 And ye sliall not go out from the door 
 of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest 
 ye die : for tlie anointing oil of the Lord 
 is upon you. And they did according to 
 the word of Moses. 
 
 8 f And the Lord spake unto Aaron, 
 saying, 
 
 9 Do not drink wine nor strong driak, 
 thou, nor thy son.s with thee, when ye go 
 ulto the tabernacle of the congregation, 
 lest ye die : it shall be a statute for ever 
 througJiout your generations : 
 
 10 And that ye may put difference be- 
 
 but satisfy ourselves with the doctrine of the Spirit : and abomi- 
 nate heresies, whether they be ,>iuch as join fables and falsities to 
 the Divine oracles, or such as prefer profane and impious inter- 
 pretations to the genuine sense of the text. Bibtiuth. Bihi 
 
 3. — (tefore all the people I nill be glorified.'] Meaning either, 
 I will be reverenced by My priests in""a special manner before tlie 
 people; or else, I will glorify Myself by vindicating My honour, 
 in punishing those priests who shall offend thus signally and 
 openly before all the people. Dr. JVells. 
 
 I expect to be woridjipjx;d augustly, with a decorum and ritea 
 bearing some resemblance to My separate and eminent nature. 
 Locke. 
 
 And Aaron held hi.i peacc^ Aaron hohls his peace, not 
 
 out of amazemeirt or sullenness, but out of patient and humble 
 submission : seeing God's displeasure and his sons' desert-s he is 
 content to forget that he had sons. He might have had a silent 
 tongue and a clamorous heart, but his silence was no less inward ; 
 he quietly submitted to the will of God, and held his peace be- 
 cause the Lord had done it. There is no greater i)roof of grace 
 than to smart patiently, and humbly aud c«utentedly to rest the 
 heart in the justice and wisdopi of Goil's proceeding. Dp. Halt. 
 
 5. — and carried them in their coats uvt of the camp ,] They 
 carried them in their coats, or the Ihicn garments in which they 
 ministered, because these ha\ing touchell their «k.vid b<Klics, were 
 no longer fit for the Divine service. — '" Out of the camii." It was 
 the ancient custom, not to bury in cities, but in the fields adjjicent. 
 Gen. x.\iii. 9, 17; and so in succeeding times, Matt, xxvii. 7. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 6. — L'ncovcr not your heads, neither rend i/onr clothes ;'] The 
 uncoxering of the fiead, whether by putting off' the ornament 
 usually worn on it, or by shaving off the hair, w.ns a custonury 
 sign of sorrow, Ezek. xxiv. 17, '23; Levit. xiii. ■kTJ"'Xumb: vi. 
 5, 9. Pjjb: Perhaps, by uncovering the head was meant no more 
 than the talking off" what covering was oxer it, in order to "thrtow 
 dust upon it, in token of great grief and sorrow. Lnintf. _'' • 
 
 The priests wore forbidden to go into a course of raoiiMJihpon 
 this occasion, probably to shew that God's service is not to bein- 
 ten-uptcd by human accidents. Pi/le. They were also to testify 
 by this Mioans that they were more concerned for the honour of 
 God than for their own interest, and that they acquiesced in the 
 just judgments of God. Ostcnald. 
 
 7. — the anointing oil of the Lord is ujwn '/on.] Vou are kle- 
 voted and consecrated by a soleinn uiictimi to the sersice-WGotl, 
 which must not be omitted out of respect to any person whatso- 
 ever. Bp. Patrick. . 
 
 The anointing oil of the Lord, whidi w.n? upon ttie priest.*, was 
 the oil of joy and gladness; compare Ps. xlv. 7; typic;d of the 
 Spirit of Christ. BMioth. Bibl. 
 
 10. — thai i/e. mat/ put dijlrc'icc .Sccl " That your faculties 
 may be clear and in" right orderj to dlstmguish sacred things and
 
 The law of eating the holy things. 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 Beasts clean and unclean. 
 
 ». 
 
 B«fo« twcen ludy and unlioly, luul between un- 
 
 t- II HIST , 1 1 „ , 
 
 ,49a clean ami clean ; 
 
 11 And tliat ye may teach the children 
 of Israel all the statutes which the Lord 
 hath spokt-n unto them by the hand of 
 Moses. 
 
 12 i[ And Moses spake unto Aaron, and 
 unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sous 
 that were left, Take the meat offering that 
 remaineth of tlie offerings of the Lord 
 made by fire, and eat it without leaven be- 
 side the altar ; for it is most holy : 
 
 13 And ye shall eat it in the holy place, 
 because it is thy due, and thy sons' due, of 
 the sacrifices of the Lord made by fire : 
 for so I am commanded. 
 
 »Exod.S9. 1* And "the wave breast and heave 
 shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, 
 and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: 
 for Iheij be thy due, and thy sons' due, 
 •which are given out of tlie sacrifices of 
 peace off*erings of the children of Israel. 
 
 15 The heave shoulder and the wave 
 breast shall they bring with the offerings 
 made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a 
 wave offering before the Lord ; and it 
 shall be thine, and thy sons' with thee, by 
 a statute for ever ; as the Lord hath com- 
 manded. 
 
 16 <[ And Moses diligently sought the 
 goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was 
 burnt : and he was angry with Eleazar and 
 Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were lefl 
 alfi^e, saying. 
 
 persons : tliat the fonnner be used and handled with exact decency 
 and reverence, and that no unclean person enter My sanctuaiy 
 and jwlliite it." Had the liberty here forbidden been allowed, 
 excess and licentiousness might have in time prevailed ; and, 
 ■when the priests were intoxicated with wine, they might have 
 confounded sacred and profane together; and so, by exposing 
 themselves, and abusing and profaning the holy vessels, they 
 might have brought contempt on the tabemacle, and on all that 
 belonged to it. Dean Spencer. 
 
 12. — Tide the meal ojerin/' that remainelh'} He seems to have 
 been afraid that Aaron's grief for the loss of his sons might have 
 so disturbed hi"! mind as to make him careless of this part of his 
 duty ; or that Eleazar and Ithamar, through mistake or forgetful- 
 ness, might have offijnded against some of the laws lately deli- 
 vered about sacrifice, which therefore he here repeats, that they 
 might be exactly observed. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 17. — to bear the inupiiti/ of the congregation, ^ This was done 
 by their eating the sin oti'erin^. And thus our great High 
 Priest is said to bear our iniquities. Is. liii. 11. The priest, by 
 eating of the sin offering, receiving the guilt upon himself, may 
 well be thought to prefigure One, who should be both priest and 
 sacrifice for sin, which was accomplished in Christ. Bibliolk. 
 Bibl. 
 
 i9--—iihoHld it have been accepletT] Would God have been 
 pleased with me, if I had eaten of the sacrifice in my present 
 eonrow and widness > Bp. Patrick. 
 
 30. — fihen Mostn heard that, he 7ras cwiteni.'] Because the 
 fault wa» not done designedly, but through human frailty, they 
 
 17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin ^huist 
 offering in the holy place, seeing it is most 1190. 
 holy, and God hath given it you to bear 
 
 the iniquity of the congregation, to make 
 atonement for them before the Loud ? 
 
 18 Behold, the blood of it was not 
 brought in within the holy place : ye should 
 indeed have eaten it in the holy ;;/acc, "^as 'Chap. c. 
 I commanded. "®' 
 
 19 And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, 
 this day have they offered their sin offering 
 and their burnt offering before the Lord ; 
 and such things have befallen me : and if 
 I had eaten the sin offering to day, should 
 it have been accepted in the sight of the 
 Lord? 
 
 20 And when Moses heard that, he was 
 content. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 1 fVJial beasts mat/, 4 and ivkal maxj not be eaten. 9 What 
 Jishes. 13 H hat Jowls. 29 The creeping things lekich 
 are unclean. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses and 
 to Aaron, saying unto them, 
 
 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, say- 
 ing, * These are the beasts which ye shall * Deut, h. 
 eat among all the beasts that are on the ictsio.H. 
 earth. 
 
 3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is 
 clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among 
 the beasts, that shall ye eat. 
 
 4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of 
 them that chew the cud, or of them tliat 
 
 being perplexed with grief. The letter of the law gives place to 
 great necessity. S. Curkc. 
 
 Chap. XI. ver. 2. — the beasts n-hich ye shall eat'] Rather, that 
 ye may eat. The laws distinguishing between clean and unclean 
 beasts were peculiar to the Israelites : their main drift and scope 
 was, to preserve them distinct from other nations, and so to pre- 
 vent their learning foreign idolatrous customs. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 A strict and religious distinction was appointed with respect 
 to meats, for several good reasons, peculiar to the Jewish dispen- 
 sation : the chief of these was, that by setting a mark of re- 
 straint and impurity on such creatures as were generally eaten, 
 or held in sacred and superstitious esteem by the neighbouring 
 heathen nations, and confining the Israelites to a diet peculiar 
 to themselves, God might keep them a separate people, free from 
 heathen intercourse, and from allurement to idolatry and super- 
 stitious practices. Pyle- God was pleased to make a difference 
 between certain creatures, as for divers other rea.sons, so for 
 moral significations, to teach them, 1. To abhor that filthiness 
 and those other ill qualities, for which some of these creatures 
 are noted. 2. To observe the special purity which God required 
 of them above other nations, ver. 44. 3. To prevent their con- 
 versing too familiarly with the heathen, Acts x. II — 15 ; xi. 6, 7, 
 &c. S. Clarke. 
 
 3. Whatsoever parteth the hoof,'} The Hebrew text means, 
 emphatically, " divideth the division of the hoofs," implying an 
 entire and total separation of the hoof into two parts ; and mean- 
 ing also neither more nor fewer parts than two. Hence the camel,
 
 that may or may 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 not be eaten. 
 
 CH 
 
 1490. 
 
 18, 
 
 rTst ^^"^^^^ ^^^ hoof: as the camel, because he 
 490. cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; 
 he is unclean unto you. 
 
 5 And the coney, because he cheweth 
 the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is 
 unclean unto you. 
 
 6 And the hare, because he cheweth the 
 cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is un- 
 clean unto you. 
 
 "•Mace. 7 And Hhe swine, though he divide the 
 hoof, and be clo\enfooted, yet he cheweth 
 not the cud ; he is unclean to you. 
 
 8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and 
 their carcase shall ye not touch ; they are 
 unclean to you. 
 
 9 IF These shall ye eat of all that are in 
 the waters : whatsoever hath fins and scales 
 in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, 
 them shall ye eat. 
 
 10 And all that have not fins and scales 
 in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that 
 move in the waters, and of any living thing 
 
 whose hoof is partly divided, is unclean to the Jews, though it is 
 eaten by the Arabs ; and the hnre, having more than two divi- 
 sions, though described as ruminating or chewing the cud, yet 
 was forbidden. Script, illust. 
 
 5. — the coney i^ The Hebrew word {saphan) seems improperly 
 rendered a rabbit. Bochart understands it to mean the jerboa, or 
 jumping mouse : but Dr. Shaw and Bruce conceive it to signify 
 the daman Israel, or Israel's lamb ; described by Dr. Shaw as a 
 harmless creature, of the same size and quality as the rabbit, and 
 with the like incurvating posture, and disposition of the fore 
 teeth. Parkhvrst. 
 
 1. — tlie swine^ Maimonides fancies that this animal was 
 prohibited on account of its filthy feeding and wallowing in the 
 mire : others give the reason, because it feeds on flesh; and some, 
 because it breeds the leprosy in hot climates. But, whatever 
 might be the grounds of this prohibition, that prohibition could 
 not be the only reason, why the whole nation of the Jews ab- 
 horred this more than any other of the unclean animals which 
 were equally forbidden, irusomuch that they called it a strange 
 thing. It was certainly owing to some other cause, that in pro- 
 cess of time this became to them the most abominable of all 
 creatures ; and that cause was, it is supposed, because the Gen- 
 tiles used it in their sacrifices and mysteries of religion, and be- 
 cause nothing was accounted a more delicious food among many 
 great nations ; who (if a strong abhorrence of this creature had 
 not been infused into the Jews) might have invited them to their 
 tables, and bred such famili;uHlty with them as would lia\e con- 
 eluded in idolatry. The Jews were not allowed so much as to 
 open these beasts to take out the fat, and apply it to any use. In 
 this they are now so scrupulous, that they say they may not touch 
 them alive with one of their fingers, for fear of the leprosy. 
 Lewis. The swine is held in utter abomination by some at least 
 of the Mahometans : the old Persians also religiously abstained 
 from eating its flesh. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 8 they are unclean to jjou."] WTloever touched their carcases 
 
 was under a legal uncleanness, so that it was unlawful for him to 
 approach the tabernacle, or pai-take of the oblation, or converse 
 with those who did so. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 g. These shall t/c cat of all that are in the tvaters ;] The spe- 
 cies of fish are not here enumerated, because tiie clean and un- 
 clean are better distinguished by their general character here 
 given than by names. Moses all<)ws to tlie Hebrews all fish 
 which had fins and scaleSj contrary to the custom of the Egyp- 
 tians, who, it Is'thouglit, abstained fi-om them. The Egyptian 
 
 ST 
 
 whicli is in the waters, they shall be an »«*« 
 abomination unto you : ^^«a^ 
 
 1 1 They shall be even an abomination 
 unto you ; ye shall not eat of their fle.sh, 
 but ye shall have their carcases in abomi- 
 nation. 
 
 12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in 
 the waters, that shall be an abomination 
 unto you. 
 
 13 % And these are they uhich ye shall 
 have in abomination among the fowls ; 
 they sliall not be eaten, they are an abo- 
 mination : the eagle, and the ossifrage, 
 and the ospray, 
 
 14 And the vulture, and the kite after 
 his kind ; 
 
 15 Every raven after his kind ; 
 
 16 And the owl, and the night hawk, 
 and the cuckow, and the hawk after his 
 kind, 
 
 17 And the little owl, and tlie cormo- 
 rant, and the great owl, 
 
 priests, from motives of superstition, refrained from aU fish. 
 Calmel. 
 
 10. — all that have not ^fins and scales &c.] Among the 
 Romans, it was not jjermitted to use fish, that had no scales, in 
 sacrifices to their gods. Pliny cites a law of Numa : " Let not 
 fish which are without scales be dressed for sacrificial feasts or 
 banquets." Calmet. 
 
 13. — the eagle,'^ The eagle has its flesh hard, and is ravenous 
 in its nature; and therefore, on a natural and moral account, 
 some authors fiuicy it was prohibited ; but Origen has given a 
 better reason, viz. that those creatures generally are forbidden 
 to the Jews, wliich were looked upon as prophetical by the Egyp- 
 tians and other nations ; among which he cxprcsslj' mentions the 
 eagle and the hawk. Diodonis Siculus relates, that the people 
 of Thebes w-orsI]ii)i)ed the eagle, looking upon it as a royal bird, 
 worthy of Jupiter. Lewis. 
 
 the ossijrage,'] A species of eagle, by some calle<l the 
 
 sea eagle. This bird is understood to have received its name 
 from its flj'ing up, after it has eaten tlie flesh of its prey, to a 
 proper height, and tlience letting fall the bones upon a rock, or 
 hard stone, so as to break them with greater ease, and thus get 
 at the delicacy of the man-ow. Bibliuth. Bibl. 
 
 16. And the o»7,] The Hebrew word signifies literally '' the 
 daughter of vociferation." Parkhurst. By some it is under- 
 stood to mean the ostricli. It is certain, that it was the constant 
 persuasion of the Jews, that God did not permit them to eat the 
 flesh of the ostrich, wliich is no where forbidden, if not here. 
 Lewis. 
 
 In regard to the names of birds in some of these verses, trans- 
 lators have differed ; and, from our imperfect kjiowledge of the 
 Hebrew names used in natural liistory, we cannot be in all in- 
 stances certain that tliose in our translation corresp<ind exactly 
 with the animals designed: but our English version appears on 
 the whole to be as accurate in regard to these n.uiies as any 
 other. Pijle. 
 
 tlie hawk after his kind,'] This bird was held in so much 
 
 veneration by the Egyptians, tliat, iis Herotlotus tells us, they 
 made it dciith, if a man killed one of them undcsignetlly. It was 
 sacred to the sun on account of its sw itbiess. Biltliolh. Bibl. 
 
 17. — the great of^'/,] Instead of this, the Greek and Vul- 
 gate translations have the ibis, a ravenous bird, well knitwux 
 to have been sacred ;;niong the Egyptians. Biblioth. Bibl. ?t. 
 Jeroine, taies tlie word to signify a stork, aiid otlieis a bustard. 
 Lewis.
 
 Meats clean 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 and umkan. 
 
 Brfore 18 And the swan, and the pehcan, and 
 
 CHRIST ,, . 
 
 MK.. the •,nor eagle, 
 
 1<) And tlie stoik, tlie iieron after her 
 kind, and tlie lapwing, and tlie bat. 
 
 'iO All fowls that creep, going upon all 
 four, shall be an abomination unto you. 
 
 '21 Yet these may ye eat of every flying 
 creeping thing that goeth upon all four, 
 which have legs ab()\e their feet, to leap 
 withal upon the earth ; 
 
 2'i Even tliese of tliem ye may eat ; the 
 locust afler his kind, and the bald locust 
 after his kind, and tlie beetle after his kind, 
 and the grasho])per after his kind. 
 
 '23 ]3ut all other flying creeping things, 
 which have four feet, shall he an abomina- 
 tion unto you. 
 
 i24 And for these ye shall be unclean : 
 whosoever toucheth the carcase of them 
 shall be unclean until the even. 
 
 25 And whosoever beareth ought of the 
 carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and 
 be unclean until the even. 
 
 2C IVie carcases of every l)east which 
 diWdeth the hoof, and is not clo\enfooted, 
 nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto 
 you : e^'ery one that toucheth them shall 
 be imclean. 
 
 "27 And whatsoe\er goeth upon his paws, 
 among all manner of beasts that go on all 
 four, those are unclean unto you : whoso 
 toucheth their carcase shall be unclean un- 
 til the even. 
 
 19. — the slorky'y This bird was also held in veneration by the 
 Egyptians and other people, on account of its fjreat use in de- 
 rtroving serpents. It was esteemed most \-alual)le by tlic people 
 of Thcssaly, which country abounded so much in serpents, that, 
 if the storks luid not killed them, the people must have deserted 
 the country. Bochart. 
 
 the bat.'^ Moses, beginning the catalogue with the mo- 
 
 ble.tt of birds, the eagle, ends with the vik•^t, which is the bat. 
 The name in Hebrew, as also in Greek, signifies it to be a bird 
 ef nijjht, or darkness. It is observable, generally, tliat the birds 
 forbidden are either rapacious, and live on Hesh, or are nij^htbirds, 
 or haunt marshes and lakes, or are heavy ancl not easily raised 
 from the ground, or live on dung and coarse diet. On the con- 
 trarj-, the birds allowed by the law of Moses, are those that live 
 upon a cleaner foo<l. Lewis. 
 
 20. Atljonh thai creep, goiii^ upon all four, "^ All " flying in- 
 sects," which also creep upon the earth, a-s flies, wasps, bees, &c. 
 If it l>c s-iid that these have six legs, it is answere<l, that their two 
 lore feet are not properly feet, but rather serve them for hands 
 liMioll,. Bin. 
 
 21. — lo lenp nilhal uimi the earth ;^ In this verse is an ex- 
 ception of those flying inseits which, besides their four legs with 
 which they go, liave two legs or thighs, which give tliem power 
 to le.np upon the earth, .ns well as to go. Such are those locusts 
 luentioned in the next verse. As to the various sorts of Iwusts, 
 It IS observed that there are nine kintls mentioned in Scripture' 
 tour only of which are permitted to be eaten. Bv what marks 
 the locusts, which are pennitte<l, are distinguished, is so little 
 .greed among the Hebrews, that it plainly shews they lia\ c no 
 certain knowledge about Uie matter. Unis. 
 
 28 And he that beareth the carcase ^^ rv^l^^^ 
 them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean h9o. 
 iiiitii the even : they are unclean unto you. 
 
 29 IF These also shall be unclean unto 
 you among the creeping things that creep 
 ii])on the earth ; the weasel, and the mouse, 
 and the tortoise after his kind, 
 
 30 And the ferret, and the chameleon, 
 and the lizard, and the snail, and tlie mole. 
 
 31 These are unclean to you among all 
 that creep : whosoever doth touch them, 
 when they be dead, shall be unclean luitiJ 
 the even. 
 
 32 And upon wliatsoc\er any of them, 
 when they arc dead, doth fall, it shall be 
 unclean ; whether it be any vessel of wood, 
 or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever 
 ^•essel it be, wherein any work is done, it 
 must be put into water, and it shall be 
 unclean until the even ; so it shall be 
 cleansed. 
 
 S3 And every earthen vessel, whereinto 
 any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall 
 be unclean ; and "ye shall break it. "^chap-s. 
 
 31 Of all meat which may be eaten, that '^' 
 on which siicli water cometh shall be un- 
 clean : and all drink that may be drunk in 
 e\ery such vessel shall be unclean. 
 
 3.5 And every thing whereu])on any part 
 of their carcase falleth shall be unclean ; 
 xchether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they 
 shall be broken down : Jbr they are un- ■ 
 clean, and shall be unclean unto you. 
 
 '22. — the beetle after his lcind,1] The beetle and the grashop- 
 ])er seem to be a wrong translation ; for they were not human 
 food, as were the locusts. Bp. Patrick. It should be observed 
 that the phrase, " at\er his kind," so often repeated in the law.s 
 concerning fowls and flying things, does not necessarily imply 
 that there are diflerent kiyids of e\'cry flying thing to wliich it is 
 applied, but only imports " every one of that kind:" it is an ex- 
 pression denoting that the whole species is prohibited. Lewis. 
 
 27- — trhali-oevcr goeth ufMn hi.t /)««.«,] In the original " upon 
 his hands :" as lions, apes, bears, dogs, cats, &c. Leivis. 
 
 29. — creeping things that creep upon the earth ,•] That is, 
 which seem to move with their bellies close to the ground, owing 
 to the shortness of their legs. Bibliath. Bibl. 
 
 the tortoise'] The Vidgatc translation makes this the cro- 
 codile ; the Greek, a land crocodile, a sort of lizard about a cubit 
 long. Much critical controversy has taken place respecting the 
 several species here mentioned. Bibliolh. Bibl. 
 
 ."2. — vessel of wood, — or skin, or .<tack,'\ VVomlen bowls are 
 still used by tfie Arabs in this same country: also trunks or 
 baskets covered with skins; and sacks of hair cloth for the pur- 
 pose of conveying their goods from place to place. Harmcr. 
 
 0.5. — ranges for jtots,'] The following account is given by 
 Kauwolf of the management of the Eastern people for saving fuel : 
 " They make in their tents or houses a hole about a foot and a 
 half deep, wherein they put their earthen pots, with the meat in 
 them closed up : three fourth parts tliereof they lay about with 
 stones, and the fourth part is left open, throngh which they fling 
 in their dried dung, twig.s, and straw, wliich bum immediately, 
 and give so great heat, that the pot grows very hot : thus they 
 boil their meat with a little fire, ijuicker than we do ours with r.
 
 Meats clean and unclean. 
 
 CHAP. XI, XII. 
 
 Tlie purificalion of ivomen. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 14yo. 
 fHeb. 
 a gathering 
 together of 
 waters. 
 
 i Heb. 
 
 dftth viulli- 
 plt/feet. 
 
 fHeb. 
 touts. 
 
 "Chap. 19. 
 2. & 'JO. 7. 
 1 Pet. 1.15. 
 
 36 Nevertheless a fountain or pit, f where- 
 in there is plenty of water, shall be clean : 
 but that which toucheth tlieir carcase shall 
 be unclean. 
 
 37 And if aiiy part of their carcase fall 
 upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, 
 it shall be clean. 
 
 •38 But if any water be put upon the 
 seed, and any part of their carcase fall 
 thereon, it shall he unclean unto you. 
 
 39 And if any beast, of which }e may 
 eat, die ; he that toucheth the carcase 
 thereof shall be unclean until the even. 
 
 40 And he that eateth of the carcase of 
 it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean 
 until the even : he also that beareth the 
 carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be 
 unclean until the even. 
 
 41 And every creeping thing that creep- 
 eth upon the earth shall be an abomination ; 
 it shall not be eaten. 
 
 42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, 
 and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or 
 whatsoever t hath more feet among all 
 creeping things that creep upon the earth, 
 them ye shall not eat ; for they are an 
 abomination. 
 
 43 Ye shall not make your t selves abo- 
 minable with any creeping thing that creep- 
 eth, neither shall ye make yourselves un- 
 clean with them, that ye should be defiled 
 thereby. 
 
 44 For I am the Lord your God : ye 
 shall tlierefore sanctify yourselves, and ye 
 ^ shall be holy ; for I am holy : neither sliall 
 
 great one on our hearths." Tliis quotation may explain perliaps 
 in the best manner what is meant by " ranges tor pots" in this 
 passage. Mariner. 
 
 S&. — a fountain or pil,^ Pit or cistern. Those hot Eastern 
 counti-ies did not much abound with water, whicli made tliis ex- 
 ceptioii the more necessary; and water itself also was tlie means 
 of purifying uncleannes.s, being the proper element for separating 
 the unclean particles from the persons or things defiled. Thus, 
 without this exception, it would have been difiicult for tiiose who 
 were unclean, ever to cleanse themselves. Jiihliol/i. Bihl. 
 
 3~t. — vpon any son-ing seed^ Sowing seed being of great im- 
 portance to the uses and necessities of life. For the inconvenience 
 ■would have been very great, if the husbandman must have de- 
 ferred sowing as often as he happened to find a dead animal in 
 the corn designed for the furrows. Biblwth. Bilil. 
 
 38. But if any water be put upon the seed, &c.J The reason of 
 this difference was, that the seed to be sown went tlirough many 
 alterations, before it became food, which took away the pollution. 
 Wet seed might be supposed to liave received some tincture trom 
 the carcase, which dry did not ; and, not being so fit to be sown 
 till it was dry, was in that time to be cleansecL Lewis. 
 
 ■11. — every creeping thing'\ Except those allowed at ver. 21, 
 22. The following verse, " whatsoever goeth upon the belly^ &c." 
 seems to be an explanation of tliis. Bp. Fairick. 
 
 4-4^ For I am the Lord your God:'] I am God of Myself, and 
 not like one of the Gentile gods ; being infinitely superiour, both 
 in My attributes and My works, particularly in that wprk of 
 
 \'0L. I. 
 
 ye defile yourselves with any manner of E''"'"^ 
 creeping thing that creepeth upon the ^"fw^'' 
 earth. 
 
 45 For I am the Lord that bringeth 
 you up out of the land of Egypt, to be 
 your God : ye shall therefore be holy, for 
 I am holv. 
 
 40 Tliis is the law of the beasts, and of 
 the fowl, and of every living creature that 
 moveth in the waters, and of every crea- 
 ture that creepeth upon the earth : 
 
 47 To make a difference between the 
 unclean and the clean, and between the 
 beast that may be eaten and the beast that 
 may not be eaten. 
 
 CHAP. xn. 
 
 1 The purijicalion of women after cluldbirth. 6 Her 
 offerings for her purifying. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 
 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, 
 saying. If a 'woman have conceived seed, ' ch»p. u. 
 and born a man child: then she shall be "' 
 unclean seven days ; according to the days 
 
 of the separation for her infirmity shall she 
 be unclean. 
 
 3 And in the ^ eighth day the flesh of ' Luke 2. 
 his foreskin shall be circumcised. |i,„ 7. 
 
 4 And she shall then continue in the 
 blood of her purifying thiee and thirty 
 days ; she shall touch no hallowed thing, 
 nor come into the sanctuary, until the days 
 of her purifying be fulfilled, 
 
 bringing you out of tlie land of Egypt It is therefore My plea- 
 sure that there should be a special peculiarity in your diet, to be 
 one mark of distinguishing you as a nation separated, and conse- 
 crated to Me alone. Dean Sjiencer. 
 
 45. — ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.] Implying that, 
 as God is in Himself a being infinite in perfections peculiar to 
 His own transcendent nature, incomparably surpassing the false 
 gotls of other nations; so it is His most wise and reasonable plea- 
 sure that His own peculiar people should be so distinguished from 
 all others in their manner of living, as to be preserved from in- 
 tercoiu-se with them, and from enticements to their corrupt and 
 idolatrous worship. Pylc. 
 
 Chap. XII. ver. 2. — days of the separation] For which see 
 chap. XV. 19, 20. 
 
 ,3. — in tlte eighth day] Till the eightli day the infant was not 
 well able to undergo the pain. fVillet. 
 
 4. — three and thirty days ;] Thus all the days of her puri- 
 fication were forty ; during the last thirty-three she was not pre- 
 vented from conversing with her neighbours, but was debarred 
 from touching any of the holy things. It is affirmed that the an- 
 cient idolaters in Eastern coimtries had a great number of tedious 
 and tiresome customs respecting the purification of their child- 
 bed women ; from all which God freed His people, leaving them 
 at liberty to attend to all manner of offices in their families, 
 and only restraining them from partaking of tiic holy tilings. 
 Bp. Falrid: 
 
 Y i 
 
 22.
 
 The UiKi and 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 tokens how 
 
 ikfirt 5 Hut if she bear a maid child, then she 
 ^"w.'^^ shall 1)0 uiiclean two weeks, as in licr sepa- 
 ration : and she sliall continne in the blood 
 of her purifying threescore and six days. 
 
 (i And wiicn the days of her purifying 
 are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, 
 fiicb. she shall bring a lamb t of the first year for 
 <^'^»'f''" a burnt offering, and a young ])igeon, or a 
 turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door 
 of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto 
 the priest : 
 
 7 Who shall offer it before tiie Lord, 
 
 and make an atonement for her ; and she 
 
 shall be cleansed from the issue of her 
 
 blood. This is the law for her that hath 
 
 born a male or a female. 
 
 'Luke 2. 8 'And if tshe be not able to bring a 
 
 t Hcb. liinib, then she shall bring two turtles, or 
 
 hfrhand two vouug ijigcons : the one for a burnt 
 
 mffitimcy offering, and the other for a sin offering: 
 
 "/ and the priest shall make an atonement for 
 
 her, and she shall be clean. 
 
 CHAP. XIIL 
 
 1 The laws and lok-nix whcrehi/ the priest is to be guided 
 ill discerning the Icprasy. 
 
 ND the Lord spake unto Moses and 
 Aaron, saying, 
 '^ When a man shall have in the skin of 
 U Or, Jiis flesh a II rising, a scab, or bright spot, 
 
 j)Iague of lej)rosy ; then he shall be brought 
 unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his 
 sons the priests : 
 
 S And the priest shall look on the plague 
 in the skin of the flesh: and xvhen the hair 
 in the plague is turned white, and the 
 plague in sight be deeper than the skin of 
 
 A' 
 
 5. — the shall be unclean two tveeks,'\ Thus the time is doubled 
 in case she bare a female; perliaps to remind them of tlic sin of 
 Eve, who " was (fu-st) in the transgression, " 1 Tim. ii. 14. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 '•• — for a burnt offerijig,^ In gratitude to God for giving her 
 a safe deliverance, and bestowing on her a cliild, and raising her up 
 in her former strength, and bringing her again to His sanctuarj' ; 
 where, by this offering, she commended herself and her child to 
 His continued care and blessing, and implored His divine guid- 
 ance and assistance in its education. Bn. Patrick. 
 
 for a sin ojl'ering,! By sin, in this place, we must under- 
 stand not a moral turpitude, but only a legal uncleannoss. Bihiiolh. 
 Bthl. Xot that childbearing itself was a sin, or that this sin of- 
 '"'[^"K was required for the sin of the motJicr; but because, say 
 the Jew.s tlie pain of childbearing was a punishment of sin, and 
 '• the mother of all living" was the first who brought sin and sor- 
 row mto the world; and therefore God appointed this offering for 
 the expiation of that primary offence. Lewis. 
 
 Chap. XI n. ver. 2. — plague of leprosy;-] Whether this dis- 
 ease were the natural effect of any thing peculiar to the air and soil 
 rf these countries, or, as is more probable, the special stroke of a 
 Divme hand (see chap. xiv. 3+; 2 Kings v. 7, 27, and xv. 5.) for the 
 
 his flesh, il is a plague of leprcsy: and the Christ 
 priest shall look on him, and pronounce noa 
 liim unclean. 
 
 1. If the bright sjjot he white in the .skin 
 of his flesh, and in sight he not deeper than 
 the skin, and the hair thereof be not turn- 
 ed white ; then the priest shall shut up him 
 that hath the plague .seven days : 
 
 5 And the priest shall look on him the 
 seventh day : and, behold, {/"the plague in 
 his sight be at u stay, and the plague spread 
 not in the skin ; then the priest shall shut 
 him up seven days more : 
 
 () And the j)riest shall look on him again 
 the seventh day: and, behold, ij' the plague 
 he somewhat dark, and the plague s])read 
 not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce 
 him clean : it is but a scab : and he shall 
 wasli his clothes, and be clean. 
 
 7 But if the scab spread much abroad 
 in the skin, after that he hath been seen of 
 the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen 
 of the priest again : 
 
 8 And iJ' the priest see that, behold, 
 the scab spreadeth in the skin, then the 
 priest shall pronounce him unclean : it is 
 a leprosy. 
 
 9 ^ When the plague of leprosy is in a 
 man, then he shall be brought unto the 
 priest ; 
 
 10 And the priest shall see him : and, 
 behold, //'the rising he wliite in the skin, 
 and it hav'e turned the hair white, and 
 thci'e he tquick raw flesh in the rising ; ^,^'-'^: , 
 
 ' " the QUiCK^ 
 
 11 It is an old leprosy in the skin of his eninnif 
 flesh, and the priest siiall })ronounce him ""'"sf"''- 
 unclean, and shall not shut him up: for he 
 
 is unclean. 
 
 sins of men; God was pleased to declare tliat whatsoever person 
 or thing was infected l)y it, should be in a sUite of uncleaniiess; 
 meaning by this treatiiiciit, on account of tiiis bodily distemper, 
 to caution them the more earnestly against all vicious liabits and 
 distempers of the mind and he;u-t. Pyle. The leprosy in all its 
 stages, and under all its appearances, is one of the most calamitous 
 of diseases. Wc, in Britain, have long been for the most part hap- 
 pily freed from it by a variety of causes: and therefore we are not 
 able to form just conceptions of its various distinctions, and their 
 appearances, in the hotter parts of the globe. Script, illusl. 
 
 The leprosj-, it is supposed, was a disease, at first peculiar to 
 the Egyptians, and wliicli from them spread into Syria. But the 
 leprosy provided against by the law of Moses was not so much a 
 common disease, or a legal pollution, as a Divine infliction for the 
 punishment of some grievous sin in the leprous/person ; for it is 
 difficult to conceive how such a pestilent disease, as not only in- 
 fected men's bodies, but the very walls of their houses, and their 
 garments, should proceed merel}' from natural causes ; and there- 
 fore it was always understood tiiat the miraculous hand of God 
 was in some measure concerned in it. Lewis. 
 
 11. — shall not shut him up:'] Shall not shut him up for tempo- 
 rary separation, because there could be no need of further proof, 
 nor any doubt wliether it was the leprosy or not. Bp. Patrick.
 
 to discern 
 
 CHAP. xm. 
 
 t/ie leprosi/. 
 
 CHRIST ^^ 4^^^ ^^ ^ leprosy break out abroad in 
 
 1490. the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin 
 
 of him that hath the plague from his head 
 
 even to his foot, wheresoever the priest 
 
 looketh ; 
 
 13 Then the priest shall consider : and, 
 behold, if the leprosy have covered all his 
 flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that 
 hath the plague : it is all turned white : he 
 is clean. 
 
 14 But when raw flesh appeareth in him, 
 he shall be unclean. 
 
 15 And the priest shall see the raw flesh, 
 and pronounce him to be unclean : for the 
 raw flesh is unclean : it is a leprosy. 
 
 16 Or if the raw flesh turn again, and 
 be changed unto white, he shall come unto 
 the priest ; 
 
 17 And the priest shall see him : and, 
 behold, j/'the plague be turned into white ; 
 then the priest shall pronounce him clean 
 that hath the plague: he is clean. 
 
 18 ^ The flesh also, in which, even in the 
 skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed, 
 
 19 And in the place of the boil there be 
 a white rising, or a bright spot, white, and 
 somewhat reddish, and it be shewed to the 
 priest ; 
 
 20 And if, when the pi'iest seeth it, be- 
 hold, it be in sight lower than the skin, 
 and the hair thereof be turned white ; the 
 priest shall pronounce him unclean : it is a 
 plague of leprosy broken out of the boil. 
 
 21 But if the priest look on it, and, be- 
 hold, there be no white hairs therein, and ij' 
 it be not lower than the skin, but be some- 
 what dark ; then the priest shall shut him 
 up seven days : 
 
 22 And if it spread much abroad in the 
 skin, then the priest shall pronounce him 
 unclean : it is a plague. 
 
 23 But if the bright spot stay in his 
 place, and spread not, it is a burning 
 boil ; and the priest shall pi'onounce him 
 clean. 
 
 24- % Or if there be any flesh, in the skin 
 fHeb. whereof ///ere is ta hot burning, and the 
 ^wi^mg fi^{c\ijiesh that burnetii have a white bright 
 spot, somewhat reddish, or white ; 
 
 25 Then the priest shall look upon it : 
 
 13. — be shall pronounce Mm clean'] This circumstance shall 
 be considered as a proof tliat the blood is perfectly purged, the 
 inward corruption being all driven out. Pj/le. 
 
 15. — the raw Jlcsh is unclean:'] This being so undoubted 
 a mark of leprosy tliat there needed no more. Bishop Pa- 
 ir ich. 
 
 2J). — have a plague upon ike head or the heard;'] Maimonides 
 tells us that, in this sort of leprosy, the hair on the head or be;»rd 
 
 and, behold, if the hair in the bright spot f,^%j. 
 be turned white, and it be in sight deeper nao. 
 than the skin ; it is a leprosy broken out 
 of the burning : wherefore the priest shall 
 pronounce him unclean : it is the plague of 
 leprosy. 
 
 26 But if the priest look on it, and, be- 
 hold, there be no white hair in the bright 
 .spot, and it be no lower than the other skin, 
 but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall 
 shut him up seven days : 
 
 27 And the priest shall look upon him 
 the seventh day : and if it be spread much 
 abroad in the skin, then the priest shall 
 pronounce him unclean : it is the plague 
 of leprosy. 
 
 28 And if the bright spot stay in his 
 place, and spread not in the skin, but it be 
 somewhat dark ; it is a rising of the burn- 
 ing, and the j)riest shall pronounce him 
 clean : for it is an inflammation of the 
 burning. 
 
 29 II If a man or woman have a plague 
 upon the head or the beard ; 
 
 30 Then the priest shall see the plague : 
 and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than 
 the skin ; and there be in it a yellow thin 
 hair ; then the priest shall pronounce him 
 unclean : it is a diy scall, even a lepro.sy 
 upon the head or beard. 
 
 31 And if the priest look on the plague 
 of the scall, and, behold, it be not in sight 
 deeper than the skin, and that there is no 
 black hair in it ; then the priest shall shut 
 up him that hath the plague of the scall se- 
 ven days : 
 
 32 And in the se\'enth day the priest 
 shall look on the plague : and, behold, if 
 the scall spread not, and there be in it no 
 yellow hair, and the scall be not in sight 
 deeper than the skin ; 
 
 33 He shall be shaven, but the scall shall 
 he not shave ; and the priest shall shut up 
 //»« that hath the scall seven days more : 
 
 34 And in the seventh day the priest 
 shall look on the scall : and, behold, //' the 
 scall be not spread in the skin, nor be in 
 sight deeper than the skin ; then the priest 
 shall pronounce him clean : and he shall 
 wash his clothes, and be clean. 
 
 fell off by the roots, and the place of the hair remained bare. 
 This seems to have been that kind of disease \yhich, Pliny says, 
 came into Italy in tlie middle of the reign of Tiberius Cesar, and 
 was called Menta^ra, because it commonly began in the chin; 
 and wliich was so filthy that .-uiy deatli was preferable to it, 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. — black hair] A favourable symptom, opposed to the 
 yellow hair in the foregoing verse. 
 ' Ff2
 
 Laus and tokens 
 
 L E V I T I C U S. 
 
 ho'j} to discern 
 
 S5 Bat if the scall sprcuil much in the 
 j49a skin after his cleansing ; 
 
 36 Then the priest shall look on him : 
 and, behold, if the scull he spread in the 
 skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow 
 hair ; he is nnclean. 
 
 37 But if the scall be in his sight at a 
 stay, and that there is black hair grown 
 up therein ; the scall is healed, he is 
 clean : and the priest shall pronounce him 
 clean. 
 
 38 f If a man also or a woman have in 
 the skin of their flesh bright spots, even 
 white bright spots ; 
 
 39 Then the priest shall look : and, be- 
 Iiold, if the bright spots in the skin of their 
 flesh be darkish white; it is a freckled spot 
 that groweth in the skin ; he is clean. 
 
 tHeb. 40 And the man whose thair is fallen off 
 
 keaiupia- jjjg j^gjjjj^ Yic is bald ; yet is he clean. 
 
 41 And he that hath his hair fallen off 
 from the part of his head toward his face, 
 he is forehead bald : yet is he clean. 
 
 42 And if there be in the bald head, or 
 bald forehead, a white reddish sore ; it is a 
 leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or his 
 bald forehead. 
 
 43 Then the priest shall look upon it : 
 and, behold, if the rising of the sore be 
 white reddish in his bald head, or in his 
 bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in 
 the skin of the flesh ; 
 
 44 He is a leprous man, he is unclean : 
 
 45. — his ctolkes shall be rent, &c.] This was designed to dis- 
 tiii^ish him from others who were sound and in good health, 
 and also to make him appear in the garb and liabit of a mourner. 
 His head was to be bare for similar reasons, and a covering was to 
 be put on his upper lip, to prevent more or less the spreading of 
 any dis.igreeable smell or infection by his breath. He was also 
 to cry, " Unclean, unclean ;" as much as to say, Keep at a dis- 
 tance from me, for I am both legally impure and physically in- 
 fectious : this proclamation, some of the Hebrews say, was inadc 
 by a publick officer, liiblioth. Bihl. 
 
 46". — he shall dwell nlone;~\ Lepers might be conversant with 
 lepers, and the same of persons afflicted with other disorders ; 
 but those that were under different defilements might not con- 
 verse promiscuously. It is probable there were certain ])laces, 
 where those who were diseased witlj the leprosy were secluded ; 
 for it were .in inhuman thing to cast the leprous out of the city 
 or camp, without any provision for his dwelling. Dr. Light- 
 fool. 
 
 His living out of the camp was for his own good, as well as 
 that of the publick; because free and fresh air would contribute 
 not a little towards his relief and recovery. The Persians, as we 
 tiiid from Herodotus, followed this discipline: if any inhabitant 
 f>t a city happened to have a leprosy or leprous scurf, he was de- 
 barretl entrance, and was not allowed to approach anv of his 
 countrymen. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 47. The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in,"! The ac- 
 
 ".^^c^u:rr °'" "t '^P^^-^y ^ gan4,tf is /ong, dTstinct, and 
 particular but very obscure. It may be understortd in two s^ses, 
 ibt, inat tiic garments worn by leprous persons, receiving infec 
 
 tlie priest shall pronounce him utterly un- Christ 
 clean j his plague is in his head. hto. 
 
 4.5 And the leper in whom the plague 
 is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head 
 bare, and he shall put a covering upon his 
 upper lip, and shall cry. Unclean, un- 
 clean. 
 
 46 All the days wherein the plague shall 
 be in him he shall be defiled ; he is un- 
 clean : he shall dwell alone ; ' without the ' Numb. 5. 
 camp shall his habitation be. ^Kings 15. 
 
 47 ^ The garment also that the plague ■^• 
 of leprosy is in, xchcther it be a woollen gar- 
 ment, or a linen garment ; 
 
 48 Whether it be in the warp, or woof; 
 of linen, or of woollen ; whetlier in a skin, 
 
 or in any t thing made of skin ; t^for. 
 
 49 And if the plague be greenish or red- 
 dish in the garment, or in the skin, either 
 in the warp, or in the woof, or in any 
 tthing of skin ; it is a plague of leprosy, t ^*''- 
 and shall be shewed unto the priest : lZ"rli7°!^^nc. 
 
 50 And the priest shall look upon the 
 plague, and shut up it that hath the plague 
 seven days : 
 
 51 And he shall look on the plague on 
 the seventh day : if the plague be spread 
 in the garment, either in the waqj, or in 
 the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that 
 is made of skin ; the plague is a fretting 
 leprosy ; it is unclean. 
 
 52 He shall therefore bum that garment, 
 whether warp or woof, in woollen or in 
 
 tion from their wearers, became thereby ancle;ui, that is, conta- 
 gious. That this disorder may be communicated by such means, 
 is evident from the relations of travellers in the East. This kind 
 of infection gradually corrodes even the texture of the garments, 
 ■ind is much dreaded in all countries subject to the plague, and 
 by all persons exposed to it by attendance on purulent disorders. 
 2d, That there was a natural disease in the garments, appertain- 
 ing to themselves. This appears to be the true sense of the ex- 
 pressions here ; but we ha\e no account from travellers, of such 
 a disease, any where subsisting in the present days. Script, illitst. 
 
 The leprosy of garments mentioned by Moses is much more 
 difficult of explanation, than that of human bodies ; and the 
 learned are much divided in opinion respecting it. The prevail- 
 ing opinion has been, that this leprosy of garments was entirely 
 mii'aculous, and no where to be found, but in the land of Canaan: 
 that (Jod thus treated the rebellious Jews in withdrawing Himself 
 from them, and pouring down this sort of curse on their apparel. 
 Others have believed tliat the lepro.sy of the body was commu- 
 nicated to the clothes tlirough the pores of the skin. And hence 
 the red and green spots on the garments of lepers are to be ac- 
 counted for. It is certain that the leprosy of garments can no 
 otherwise be called a leprosy than by analogy, and as it carries 
 •with it some near resemblance to the leprosy of the body. An- 
 other opinion has been, that this sort of leprosy was occasioned 
 by little worms, which bred in linen, stuffs, and skins, corroding 
 tliem in different parts, and thereby causing spots of different 
 colours. Calmet. 
 
 51. — n fretting leprosi/;^ A leprosy which eateth into the 
 garment till it be consumed. Bp. Pairick.
 
 the leprosy. 
 
 CHAP. XIII, XIV. 
 
 chrTst l^"6n, or any thing of skin, wherein the 
 H90. plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it 
 shall be burnt in the fire. 
 
 53 And if the priest shall look, and, be- 
 hold, the plague be not spread in the gar- 
 ment, either in the uarp, or in the woof, 
 or in any thing of skin ; 
 
 54 Then the priest shall command that 
 they wash the thing wherein the plague is, 
 and he shall shut it up seven days more : 
 
 55 And the priest shall look on the 
 plague, after that it is washed : and, be- 
 hold, £/'the plague have not changed his 
 colour, and the plague be not spread ; it 
 is unclean ; thou shalt burn it in the fire ; 
 
 t Heb. it is fret inward, t whether it be bare within 
 t^taidin or without. 
 
 the hcmi 5(j And if the priest look, and, behold, 
 \nZffore- the plaguc be somewhat dark after the 
 head there- washiug of it ; then he shall rend it out of 
 
 the garment, or out of the skin, or out of 
 
 the warp, or out of the woof : 
 
 57 And if it appear still in the garment, 
 either in the warp, or in the woof, or in 
 any thing of skin ; it is a s^xQSidLing plague : 
 thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is 
 with fire. 
 
 58 And the garment, either warp, or 
 woof, or whatsoever thing of skin it be, 
 which thou shalt wash, if the plague be de- 
 parted from them, then it shall be washed 
 the second time, and shall be clean. 
 
 59 This is the law of the plague of le- 
 prosy in a garment of woollen or linen, 
 either in the warp, or woof, or any thing 
 of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pro- 
 nounce it unclean. 
 
 Of cleansing the leper 
 
 "f- 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 1 The rites and sacrifices in cleansing of the leper. 
 
 33 
 
 Chap. XIV. ver. 2. — He shall be brought unto the priest :'] See 
 Matt. viii. 4; Mark i. 44; Luke v. 14. As the leper was shut out 
 of the camp while the Israelites remained in the wilderness, and 
 out of the city after they possessed the promised land ; he was to 
 be brought, in order to be pronounced clean, to a certain place 
 in or near the city, to the end that the priest might consider his 
 case. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 The ceremony of the cleansing of the leper, ver. '2 — 7, seems to 
 be typical of the purification of our sins, by the sprinkling of the 
 blood of Christ, Is. lii. 15; 1 Pet. i. 2; the dismissal of the living 
 bird, ver. 7, resembles that of the scapegoat into the wilderness, 
 with the sins of the lepers upon him. It is observable that our 
 Lord expressly commanded the lepers whom He healed to con- 
 form to this law, Matt viii. 4. Dr. Hales. 
 
 4. — two birds'] The solemn rite or ceremony here prescribed 
 was perhaps ordained to signify that the leprous person owned the 
 God -of Israel to be the Lord both of heaven and earth ; in oppo- 
 sition to the polytheism of the Gentiles; particularly to their dis- 
 tinction of the gods of the snperiour regions, and gods of the in- 
 feriour, both nf which were worshipped by the oblation of birds, 
 the former by letting them fly up into the air, the latter by killing 
 them. Dean Spencer. 
 
 The sipis of leprosy in a liouse. 43 T/ie cleansine of Before 
 that house. ^ "^ CH*IST 
 
 AND the Lord .spake unto jNIp^L'^y- ^ 
 
 2 This shall be the law of the'^leper Ih 
 
 the day of his clean.sing^„,He * shall be *Matt.8.2. 
 brought unto the priest : ' L^t""'^' 
 
 3 And the priest shall go forth out_of 
 the camp ; and the priest shall look, and, 
 behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed 
 in the leper ; 
 
 4 Then shall the priest command to take 
 
 for him that is to be cleansed two || birds 3 O'' 
 alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scar- '''°"''""' 
 let, and hyssop : 
 
 5 And the priest shall command that 
 one of the birds be killed in an earthen 
 vessel over running water : 
 
 6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, 
 and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and 
 the hyssop, and shall dip them and the 
 living bird in the blood of the bird that xvas 
 killed over the running water : 
 
 7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that 
 is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven 
 times, and shall pronounce him clean, and 
 shall let the living bird loose t into the tHeb. 
 open field. ';''"" '*' 
 
 All face of lite 
 
 8 And he that is to be cleansed shall ./s«w. 
 wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, 
 and wash himself in water, that he may be 
 clean : and after that he shall come into 
 the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his 
 tent seven days. 
 
 9 But it shall be on the _seventh_ 
 day, that he shall shave all bis hair off 
 his head and his beard and his eye- 
 brows, even all his hair he shall shave 
 off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he 
 
 5. — IK an earltien vessel over running water:] The sense 
 seems to be, " over an earthen vessel that hath running or spring 
 water in it." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The bird was to be killed, not by way of sacrifice, but merely 
 as a rite or ceremonj-. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 7. — loose into the open afield.] As a token that the leper was 
 restored to a free conversation with all his neighbours, as the bird 
 was let loose to join the rest of its tribe. Bp. Patrick. There was 
 an analogy between this bird and the scapegoat, chap. .\vi. 21, 
 both being considered, with good reason, types of our Saviour's 
 resurrection, as the bird slain, and the goat sacrificed, were types 
 of His death. Bochart. 
 
 8. — and shave off all Ids hair,] The shaving of the hair gave 
 the power of wasliing and inspecting the whole person : also tlie 
 infection of the leprosy was supposed to be peculiarly attached to 
 the hair. 
 
 shall tarry abroad out of his tent] He was to do this, for 
 
 fear there might be some undiscerned remainder of the disease, 
 by which liis wife and children might l>e endangered. It is said, 
 "out of his tent" instead of " out of his house," because, when 
 this law was given, the Israelites were dwelling in tents. Bp^ 
 Patrick.
 
 The rites in 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 cleansing the leper. 
 
 ^f'"' shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall 
 CUBIST , , 
 Mw. be clean. 
 
 10 And on the cifihth day he shall take 
 two lie lambs witliou't blemish, and one ewe 
 
 tHeb. lamb tot" the first year without blemish, 
 
 '*"!rli?^' ^"'^ *'"'^<^ *^"^'' '*^^''' "^ '^"'^ flour/or a 
 %f. " meat ofterint;, mingled wath oil, and one 
 
 log of" oil. 
 
 11 And the priest that maketh him clean 
 shall present the man that is to be made 
 clean, and those things, before the Lord, 
 at the door of the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation : 
 
 VI And the priest shall take one he 
 lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, 
 • Exod.29. and the log of oil, and ""wave them ybr a. 
 '^' wave offering before the Lono : 
 
 13 And lie shall slay the lamb in the 
 
 place where he shall kill the sin offering 
 
 and the burnt oflfering, in the holy place : 
 
 •Ch»p.7.7. for "as tiie sin offering is the priest's, so is 
 
 the trespass offering : it is most holy : 
 
 1 1 And the priest shall take some of the 
 blood of the trespass offering, and the priest 
 shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of 
 him that is to be cleansed, and upon the 
 thumb of his right hand, and upon the 
 great toe of his right foot : 
 
 15 And the priest shall take some of the 
 log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his 
 own left hand : 
 
 1() And the priest shall dip his right fin- 
 ger in the oil that is in his left hand, and 
 shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger se- 
 ven times before the Lord : 
 
 17 And of the rest of the oil that is in 
 his hand shall the priest put upon the tip 
 of the right ear of him that is to be cleans- 
 ed, and upon the tluunb of his right hand, 
 and upon the great toe of his right foot, 
 upon the blood of the trespass offering : 
 
 IS And the remnant of the oil that is in 
 the priest's hand he shall pour upon the 
 
 U>. — he xhall take hvo he lamhx &c.] There were many pe- 
 culiar rites difierent from the common usage, belonging to the 
 cleansing of the leper ; for the purpose of making hmi sensible 
 bow great a mercy he had received from God, who alone could 
 cure this disea.>:e which His hand had inflicted : the most minute 
 cu-cumstances were to be all punctually observed, although there 
 was no natvral efficacy in them, and every thing depended en- 
 tirely on the will and pleasure of God. Lewis. 
 
 18. — shall make an alonemenl for hitn] This seems to sup- 
 pose that the leprosy was inflicted for some sin, which, by this 
 sacrifice, was to be taken away : but the expression to " make 
 atonement- docs not alw.iys signify, " to take away sin," but 
 sometimes merely to make a thing or person fit for holy uses. 
 1 hus Moses is said to make atonement for the altar, Exod xxix 
 36, .37. lip. Pfilrick. 
 
 19. — qlj^nrnrd he shaU kill iJie burnt oferiHg.-l This being an 
 oflermg to God Himself, was not accepted tiU the man was puri- 
 
 tng. 
 
 head of him that is to be cleansed : and chrTst 
 the priest shall make an atonement for him 1490. 
 before the Loud. 
 
 19 And the priest shall offer the sin of- 
 fering, and make an atonement for him 
 that is to be cleansed from his unclean- 
 ness ; and afterward he shall kill the burnt 
 offering : 
 
 20 And the priest shall offer the burnt 
 offering and the meat offering upon the 
 altar : and the priest shall make an atone- 
 ment for him, and he shall be clean. 
 
 21 And if he he poor, and t cannot get t Heb. 
 so much ; then he shall take one Iamb 707- reJuZji. 
 a trespass offering t to be waxed, to make | Heb. 
 an atonement for him, and one tenth deal /^^ "«'"''- 
 of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat 
 offering, and a log of oil ; 
 
 22 And two turtledoves, or two young 
 pigeons, such as he is able to get ; and the 
 one shall be a sin offering, and the other a 
 burnt offering. 
 
 23 And he shall bring them on the 
 eighth day for his cleansing unto the 
 priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of 
 the congregation, before the Lokd. 
 
 24 And the priest shall take the lamb 
 of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, 
 and the priest shall wave them Jbr a wave 
 offering before the Lord : 
 
 25 And he shall kill the Iamb of the 
 trespass offering, and the priest shall take 
 some of the blood of the trespass offering, 
 and put it upon the tip of the right ear of 
 him that is to be cleansed, and upon the 
 thumb of his right hand, and upon the 
 great toe of his right foot : 
 
 26 And the priest shall pour of the oil 
 into the palm of his own left hand : 
 
 27 And the priest shall sprinkle with his 
 right finger so77ie of the oil that is in his 
 left hand seven times before the Lord : 
 
 28 And the priest shall put of the oil 
 
 fied by the other offerings for trespass and sin. This very long 
 process, through so many different rites, and for so many days, 
 before men could be purified from a legal defilement in tlieir bo- 
 dies, was a plain instruction to .ill persons of good sense, how 
 much more difficult it would pro\e to cleanse tlieir souls from 
 those moral impurities which they contracted by long habits of 
 sin ; and wliat great pains must be taken, both by the sinners 
 them.selves,and by God's ministers, to root them out : and witli what 
 repeated prayers the mercy of (iod towards them was to be im- 
 plored, of which they ought not hastily to presume. Up. Vatrick. 
 
 21. And if he he jwor, &c.] It was the peculiar goodness of 
 Gofl, to make a merciful pro\ ision that the poor should not be 
 charged with too costly sacrifices, and yet should paitake of their 
 benefit as much as the rich. This was peculiarly apparent in the 
 case of cleansing the leper, where special provision is made for 
 less costly offerings, whenever the person was unable to bear a 
 heavy charge. ■ Lewis.
 
 The signs of 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 leprosy in a house. 
 
 c H rTst ^'^^* '* "^ '^^^ '^^"^ vi^on the tip of the right 
 
 i4yo. ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon 
 
 the thumb of his right hand, and upon the 
 
 great toe of liis right foot, upon the place 
 
 of the blood of the trespass offering : 
 
 29 And the rest of the oil that is in the 
 priest's hand he shall put upon the head 
 of him that is to be cleansed, to make an 
 atonement for him before the Lord. 
 
 30 And he shall offer the one of the 
 turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such 
 as he can get ; 
 
 31 Even such as he is able to get, the 
 one for a sin offering, and the other for a 
 burnt offering, with the meat offering : and 
 the priest shall make an atonement for him 
 that is to be cleansed before the Lord. 
 
 32 This is the law of him in whom is the 
 plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able 
 to get that which pertaineth to his cleans- 
 ing. 
 
 33 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses 
 and unto Aaron, saying, 
 
 34 ^V^len ye be come into the land of 
 Canaan, which I give to you for a pos- 
 session, and I put the plague of leprosy in 
 a house of the land of your possession ; 
 
 S5 And he that owneth the house shall 
 come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth 
 to me there is as it were a plague in the 
 house : 
 
 36 Then the priest shall command that 
 I Or, they II empty the house, before the priest 
 prepare. g^ ^^^f^ -^ ^^ ggg ^l^g plaguc, that all that is 
 
 in the house be not made unclean : and 
 afterward the priest shall go in to see the 
 house : 
 
 37 And he shall look on the plague, and, 
 behold, // the plague be in the walls of the 
 house with hollow strakes, greenish or 
 
 34. — / put the phii^iie of lepras!/ in a lioiise^ These words 
 «eem manifestly to imply that this plague was not a common evil, 
 but supernatural, and sent as a Divine judgment on the Jews for 
 their sins in the land of Caniuui, by which the inhabitants of that 
 land were awakened to repentance. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 This subject, like that of the leprosy in clothes, is one on 
 which we have very little information. The description given 
 by Moses is precise, but there is nothing in any modern accounts 
 corresponding to it. The circumstance that approaches nearest 
 to it is that, according to the reports given of the plague of 
 London, the walls of the rooms, where the sick lay, were dis- 
 coloured green, red, &c. by the pestilential effluvia : and Dr. 
 Mead says, that the houses themselves were infected by the 
 plague. All the accounts which we have of the manner, in 
 which pestilential contagion is retained for a long time in clothes, 
 walls, &c. shew the absolute necessity of biinii/ig, or otherwise 
 totally destroying the seeds of infection, whether in clothes, or 
 in houses, as the Mosaick appointments strongly enjoin. Script. 
 illust. 
 
 Respectbg the leprosy in houses, it has been supposed by some 
 
 H90. 
 
 reddish, which in sight are lower than the ^^"^ 
 
 wall; CHRIST 
 
 38 Then the priest shall go out of the 
 house to the door of the liouse, and shut 
 up the house seven days : 
 
 39 And the priest shall come again the 
 seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, 
 if the plague be spread in the walls of the 
 house ; 
 
 40 Then the priest shall command that 
 they take away the stones in which the 
 plague is, and they shall cast them into an 
 unclean place witliout the city : 
 
 41 And he shall cause the house to be 
 scraped within round about, and they shall 
 pour out the dust that they scrape off with- 
 out the city into an unclean place : 
 
 42 And they shall take other stones, and 
 put them in the place of those stones ; and 
 he shall take other morter, and shall plaister 
 the house. 
 
 43 And if the plague come again, and 
 break out in the house, alter that he hath 
 taken 'away the stones, and after he hath 
 scraped the house, and after it is plaistcred ; 
 
 44 Then the priest shall come and look, 
 and, behold, f the plague be spread in the 
 house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house : 
 it is unclean. 
 
 45 And he shall break down the house, 
 the stones of it, and the timber thereof, 
 and all the morter of the house ; and he 
 shall carry them forth out of the city into 
 an unclean place. 
 
 46 Moreover he that goeth into the 
 house all the while that it is shut up shall 
 be unclean until the even. 
 
 47 And he that lieth in the house shall 
 wash his clothes ; and he that eateth in the 
 house shall wash his clothes. 
 
 that it was a wasting of tlie walls caused by small insects, called 
 stone worms, which live upon the stone and eat it gradually away. 
 These worms commonly stick to those parts of buildings which 
 are most moist, and easily penetrated ; hence tho«e parts are apt 
 to be discoloured with green or reddish hues. Ciilmd. Tliat tJiis 
 leprosy in particular was a Divine infliction is highly probable. 
 The rabbles observe, that this sore disease was inflicted first upon 
 the houses and ganncnts as a punishment for lesser sins ; and, jf 
 men continued in a course of wickedness, then it mvadcd their 
 bodies ; so that it began in their liouses, which were not infected 
 by the inhabitants, but the inhabitants by them. The signs, by 
 which a leprosy was discovered in a house, were much the same 
 as appeared in a human body. Lewis. 
 
 of the land of i/oiir po.ixcssion ;'] This seems to express 
 
 emphatically that this leprosy was to be a Divine stroke in this 
 country, and no where else ; because it was a holy land, bestowed 
 upon the Israelites by God, who dwelt there Himself, .-md punished 
 great offences a<;ainst His Divine Majesty with this sore disease; 
 by which He banished them from His presence till they amended. 
 lip. Par id:
 
 The mckanness of 
 
 L E V I T I C U S. 
 
 men in their issues. 
 
 Itrforc 
 
 {• nil I ST 
 u»o. 
 
 t llcb. 
 Ill comiii!; 
 in lAd// 
 Cijmf in, ^-f. 
 
 * Chap. 13. 
 
 sa 
 
 ■j-Hcb. 
 
 in the day 
 of the un- 
 cican, ami 
 in the day 
 of the clean. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 1-unnm^ o/* 
 the reins. 
 
 48 And it'tlie priest t shall come in, and 
 look upon it, and, behold, the plajiiie hath 
 not spread in the house, after the house 
 was plaistered : then the priest shall pro- 
 nounce the house clean, because the plague 
 is healed. 
 
 1!) And he shall take to cleanse the house 
 two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and 
 hyssop : 
 
 " 50 And he shall kill the one of the birds 
 in an earthen vessel over running water : 
 
 51 And he shall take the cedar wood, 
 and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the 
 li\ing bird, and dip them in the blood of 
 the slain bird, and in the running water, 
 and sjjrinkle the house seven times : 
 
 .5'J And he sliall cleanse the house with 
 the blood of the bird, and with the running 
 water, and with the living bird, and with 
 tlie cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and 
 with the scarlet : 
 
 53 But he shall let go the living bird out 
 of the city into the open fields, and make 
 an atonement for the house : and tt shall 
 be clean. 
 
 54! This is the law for all manner of 
 plague of leprosy, and '' scall, 
 
 55 And for the leprosy of a garment, 
 and of a house, 
 
 56 And for a rising, and for a scab, and 
 for a bright sj)ot : 
 
 57 To teach t when it is unclean, and 
 when it is clean : this is the law of leprosy. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 I The iincleanness of men in tlieir issues. 13 The 
 cli'tiiising of litem. 19 The uncteanness of tromen in 
 I heir issues. '28 Their cleansing. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses and 
 to Aaron, saying, 
 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and 
 say unto them. When any man hath a ||run- 
 
 •'5 "■ — "'" " Ihc law of Icprosi/.'] Here is a conclusion of 
 what relates to this matter. Profane minds, who love to dis- 
 parage the Holy .Scripture, may deride these minute precepts 
 respecting leprosy, as imworthy to be made a part of a Divine 
 law; but meii better disposed may discern therein the great 
 goodness of (iotl to His chosen people, in taking care to give 
 them precepts about all manner of things which were pro- 
 fitable, both for regulating their manners and preserving their 
 health ; and for accustoming them to an e.iact obedience to 
 Himself in every respect. And who does not see tliat, by these 
 external rites .uid ceremonies, He admonishes us to keep pure 
 consciences, " void of offence toward God, and toward men," in 
 a strict observance of all the rules of our most holy relin-ion' 
 Bp. I'alrick: ' " 
 
 All this God hath wisely ajipointed, in order to denote and 
 tigiire out to us, in a more sensible manner, the danger of moral 
 ev.l and VICIOUS habits of mind, and to lead to the expectation of 
 the great Sacrifice to be afterwards offered up by Jesus Christ the 
 
 ning issue out of his flesh, because o/' his j,j|*^"[s.j. 
 issue he is unclean. i-iyo. 
 
 3 And this shall be his uncleanness in 
 his issue : whether his flesh run with his 
 issue, or his flesh be stoj)ped (iom his 
 i.ssue, it is his uncleanness. 
 
 4 Every bed, whereon he licth that hath 
 
 the issue, is unclean: and every t thing, tHe'>. 
 whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean. 
 
 5 And whosoever toucheth his bed shall 
 wash his clothes, and bathe fiimsel/' in wa- 
 ter, and be unclean until the even. 
 
 6 And he that sitteth on any thing 
 whereon he sat that hath the issue shall 
 wash his clothes, and bathe himselj'm wa- 
 ter, and be unclean until the even. 
 
 7 And he that toucheth the flesh of him 
 that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, 
 and bathe himselj'm water, and be unclean 
 until the even. 
 
 8 And if he that hath the issue spit upon 
 him that is clean ; then he shall wash his 
 clothes, and bathe himselj'm water, and be 
 unclean until the even. 
 
 9 And what saddle soever he rideth 
 upon that hath the issue shall be unclean. 
 
 10 And whosoever toucheth any thing 
 that was under him shall be unclean until 
 the even : and he that beareth any o/' those 
 things shall wash his clothes, and bathe 
 himself' in water, and be unclean until the 
 even. 
 
 11 And whomsoever he toucheth that 
 hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his 
 hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, 
 and bathe himself in water, and be unclean 
 until the even. 
 
 12 And the 'vessel of earth, that he 
 toucheth which hath the issue, shall be 
 broken : and every vessel of wood sliall 
 be rinsed in water. 
 
 13 And when he that hath an issue is 
 
 Messiah, as a more full and perfect atonement for all tlie sins and 
 defilements of mankind. l\i/le. 
 
 Chap. XV. ver. ,'>. And 7i>hosoever loiiche/h his bed iS:c.] It ap- 
 pears from this and the following verses, that this disease made a 
 man unclean to the highest degree ; insomuch that not only all 
 he touched became unclean, but 'whoever touched such things 
 was also made unclean. lip. I'alrick. 
 
 All this mystically teaches us to beware of courting or choosing 
 the conversation of those that have received any tincture of vice, 
 and not to contract acquaintance with any persons who, we have 
 reason to believe, are not on good terms with (!od. Tliere is 
 such a venomous c<mtagion in vice and immorality, that fami- 
 liarity with sinners does, of itself, make a man an associate in 
 their practices: so saith the Son of Sirach, Ecdus. xiii. 1; and 
 thus the Apostle commands, 1 Tim. \. •2'2. Bibliolh. BihI. 
 
 12. — every vcs.^el of irooiF] V'^essels of wood were not to be 
 broken, but only washed, because they were not so easily made 
 as vessels of earth, and were of greater value. Bp, Patrick. 
 
 ' ai»j). 6. 
 
 2?.
 
 Their cleansing. 
 
 The uncle anness 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 q/'uomen, and their cleansing. 
 
 chrTst ^^^^"s^'i of his issue ; then he shall number 
 1490. to himself seven days for his cleansing, and 
 wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in run- 
 ning water, and shall be clean. 
 
 14 And on the eighth day he shall take 
 to him two turtledoves, or two young 
 pigeons, and come before the Lord unto 
 the door of the tabernacle of the congre- 
 gation, and give them unto the priest : 
 
 15 And tlie priest shall offer them, the 
 one Jbr a sin offering, and the other Jbr a 
 burnt offering ; and the priest shall make 
 an atonement for him before the Lord for 
 his issue. 
 
 16 And if any man's seed of copulation 
 go out from him, then he shall wash all his 
 flesh in water, and be unclean until the 
 even. 
 
 17 And every garment, and every skin, 
 whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be 
 washed with water, and be unclean until 
 the even. 
 
 18 The woman also with whom man 
 shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall 
 both bathe themselves in water, and be un- 
 clean until the even. 
 
 19 IT And if a woman have an issue, 
 atid her issue in her flesh be blood, she 
 
 t Heb. shall be t put apart seven days : and who- 
 'raiion"^"' soever toucheth her shall be unclean until 
 the even. 
 
 20 And every thing that she lieth upon 
 in her separation shall be unclean : every 
 thing also that she sitteth upon shall be 
 unclean. 
 
 21 And whosoever toucheth her bed 
 shall wash his clothes, and bathe him- 
 self in water, and be unclean until the 
 even. 
 
 22 And whosoever toucheth any thing 
 that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, 
 and bathe himself in water, and be unclean 
 until the even. 
 
 23 And if it be on her bed, or on any 
 thing whereon she sitteth, when he touch- 
 eth it, he shall be unclean until the even. 
 
 24 And if any man lie with her at all, 
 and her flowers be upon him, he shall be 
 
 13. — and shall be clean.'] So that he might keep company 
 ■with his neighbours, but he was not to have communion with 
 God in the sanctuary till the following sacrifices were ofFered. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. — when they dejik my tabernacle'] This great variety of 
 legal pollutions, which detained men from the sanctuary for a 
 time, had a singular and natural tendency and efficacy towards 
 quickening their zeal and devotion. It made them look with 
 greater reverence to the seat of the Divine Presence. Too easy 
 and familiar an access is apt to cheapen the best and greatest of 
 things and persons. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 unclean seven days ; and all the bed where- s*'""" 
 on he lieth shall be unclean. ^"4^.^"'' 
 
 25 And if a woman have an issue of her 
 blood many days out of the time of her se- 
 paration, or if it run beyond the time of 
 her separation ; all the days of the issue of 
 lier uncleanness shall be as tlie days of her 
 separation : she shall be unclean. 
 
 26 Every bed whereon she lieth all the 
 days of her issue shall be unto her as the 
 bed of her separation : and whatsoever she 
 sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the un- 
 cleanness of her separation. 
 
 27 And whosoever toucheth those things 
 shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, 
 and bathe himself in water, and be unclean 
 until the even. 
 
 28 But if she be cleansed of her issue, 
 then she shall number to herself seven days, 
 and after that she shall be clean. 
 
 29 And on the eighth day she shall take 
 unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, 
 and bring them unto the priest, to the door 
 of the tabernacle of the congregation. 
 
 30 And the priest shall offer the one^or 
 a sin offering, and the other ^or a burnt 
 offering; and the priest shall make an 
 atonement for her before the Lord for the 
 issue of her uncleanness. 
 
 31 Thus shall ye separate the children 
 of Israel from their uncleanness ; that they 
 die not in their uncleanness, when they de- 
 file my tabernacle that is among them. 
 
 32 This is the law of him that hath an 
 issue, and of him whose seed goeth from 
 him, and is defiled therewith ; 
 
 33 And of her that is sick of her flowers, 
 and of him that hath an issue, of the man, 
 and of the woman, and of him that lieth 
 with her that is imclean. 
 
 CHAP. XVL 
 
 1 HoTv the high priest mi/si enter into the holy place. 1 1 
 The sin offering for himself. 15 The sin offering Jbr 
 the people. -20 The scapegoat. 29 The yearly J'eatl 
 of the e.rpiations. 
 
 ND the Lord spake unto Moses afler , 
 * the death of the two sons of Aaron, o *•" 
 
 A 
 
 All the before-mentioned laws concerning uncleanness and the 
 rites of purification were designed by God to represent, that 
 persona ought at all times to worship and serve Him, and also to 
 converse with one another, with inward cleanness and purity of 
 mind. They were also intended further to prevent the Israelites 
 from being drawn into idolatry, by establishing a difference 
 of customs and habits between them and the heathens. Dr. 
 H'ells. 
 
 Chap. XVI, ver. 1, — afler the death of the two sons of .iaron,'] 
 This seeing to be mentioned again, in order to make,H»e priests
 
 Horv the holy place must be entered. 
 
 L E \ IT I C C S. 
 
 The sin offering for the priest, 
 
 Before when tliey offered before the Loud, and 
 CHKIST ... ■' 
 
 "2 And the Lord saiil unto Moses, Speak 
 
 • Eiod sa unto Aaron thy brother, that he 'come not 
 
 Hebr 9 - 'It aJl times into the holy piace within tlic 
 
 vail bctbro tho mercy seat, which /*• upon 
 
 the ark ; tliat he die not : for 1 will appear 
 
 in the cloud upon the mercy seat. 
 
 3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy 
 place: with a youn^f bullock for a sin otter- 
 ing, and a ram for a burnt otitiring. 
 
 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, 
 and he shall have the linen breeches upon 
 Jiis riesli, and shall be girded with a linen 
 girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be 
 attired: these arc holy garments; there- 
 lure shall he wash his fiesh in water, and 
 so put them on. 
 
 o And he shall take of the congregation 
 of the children of Israel two kids of the 
 goats for a sin ofiering, and one ram for a 
 burnt offering. 
 
 (J And Aaron shall offer his bullock of 
 the sin ofiering, which is for himself, and 
 •iiibr.o.T. ^make an atonement for himself, and for 
 his house. 
 
 7 And he shall take the two goats, and 
 present them before the Loud at the door 
 of the tabernacle of the congregation. 
 
 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the 
 two goats ; one lot for the Lord, and the 
 
 t Hell. other lot for the t scapegoat. 
 ■^""'- y And Aaron shall bring the goat upon 
 
 iHci). which the Lord's lot t fell, and offer him 
 ' Jor a sin offering. 
 
 10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to 
 be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive 
 
 careful, not only to s,itTifice to the Lord alone, but after such a 
 manner as He ordered. lip. Patrick. 
 
 -t. — the holy linen co.it,'] Tiie service peculiar to this day 
 was to be performed by the high priest in his linen vestments, 
 not in his more costly attire, the ephod, breastplate, &c. this 
 meaner garb being uulgcd more agreeable to that sorrow and 
 repentance, which tJie service of the day required. Bp. Kid- 
 der. 
 
 />• — f'f himself, — and for lii.s home.'} For himsc'/ and all the 
 tribe of Levi, as it sho\ild seem by comparing with Xumb. i. \~, 
 fic. Mnimonides mentions three confessions made on this day 
 by the high priest: one for himself; the second for the other 
 pnc.t^, upon the l»illock ; and the third, for all Israel, on the 
 scim-joat. Bibliolh. lii/il. 
 
 H. — the Inn soalxQ The.se two goats were two parts of one 
 und tlie s.ime ^in ofteriiig : the one to be slain, and its fat offered 
 on the .iltar ; the other to be only presented ali\e to God, and 
 MVrw.inls driven into the wilderness. Pyle. The Hebrew name 
 tor the latter, or the scapegoat, is aza:el, which signifies " a "oat 
 sent away." Bp. Patrick. " 
 
 11. — the .un oftniiig, which is for himself ^ It was very 
 proper, or rather absolutely necessary, that Aaron, notwithst.and- 
 !■>,. tlw eminence and sublimity of his character, should offer 
 m.cr.iice for hi, own erroius and miscarriages: for, as he was but 
 
 before the Loud, to make an atonement rl^{l^{%.^ 
 with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat moo 
 into the wilderness. 
 
 11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of 
 the sin offering, which is for himself, and 
 shall make an atonement for himself, and 
 for his house, and shall kill the bullock of 
 the sin ofliering which is lor himself: 
 
 V2 And he shall take a censer full of 
 burning coals of fire from off the altar be- 
 fore the Lord, and his hands full of sweet 
 incense beaten small, and bring it within 
 the vail : 
 
 1.'} And he shall put the incense upon 
 the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of 
 the incense may co\er the mercy seat that 
 is upon the testimony, that he die not : 
 
 14 And" he shalftake of the blood of''H»i.r. o. 
 the bullock, and *" sprinkle it with his finger ' ciiap'.4.c. 
 upon the mercy seat eastward ; and before 
 
 the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the 
 blood with his linger seven times. 
 
 15 % Then shall he kill the goat of the 
 sin offering, that is for the people, and 
 bring his blood within the vail, and do 
 with that blood as he did with the blood 
 of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the 
 mercy seat, and before the mercy seat : 
 
 1 (i And he shall make an atonement for 
 the holy place, because of the uncleanness 
 of the children of Israel, and because of 
 their tran.sgressions in all their sins : and 
 so shall he do for the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation, that t remaineth among them in t ".*;''. 
 the midst of their uncleanness. 
 
 17 'And there shall be no man in the ' Luke i. 
 tabernacle of the co)igiegation when he '"' 
 
 a man, lie must be more or less a delinquent also. On the other 
 hand, Christ, our true High Priest, being God Himself, had not 
 in Him the least blot or tJTicture of sin; thus, in Him and by 
 Him, His saints arc cleaiistd and purified from sin. Bibliolh. Bibl. 
 
 1 ;(. — that he die not :'] That the brightness of the glory 
 might be so far clouded and intercepted as not to be insupport- 
 able to his gnze. iMmt/. 
 
 15. — and bring his blood tvilhiii the vail, &c.] The Jews did 
 all believe that the tabernacle signified this world ; and the Holy 
 of Holies the highest heavens : wherefore, as the high priest did 
 slay the sacrifice, and with the blood thereof did pass through 
 thr re^tof the tabernacle, and with th.it blood enter into the Holy 
 of Holies; so was the Messiah to oHer Himself uji, and, being 
 slain, to ])ass tlirough all the courts <if this world below, and with 
 His blood to enter into the highest heavens, the most glorious 
 seat of the Majesty of God. Bp. Pearson. 
 
 if). — he shall make an aloncment fur the holi/ place,'] He shall 
 purify the Holy place, which, on account of the legal pollutions 
 and transgression.-- of the peoj>le, was so defiled a.s to be imfit for 
 the abode of the Divine Glory, without this ye;u-ly atonement. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 1 7- — there ."thall be no man in the labernacte] This was com- 
 manded out of reverence to the Divine Majesty, then mwiifesting 
 itself in a most e.special manner. Lamy.
 
 and for the people. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 CHRIST E^^^^ i" ^^ make an atonement in the holy 
 
 1490. place, until he come out, and have made 
 
 an atonement for himself, and for liis 
 
 houshold, and for all the congregation of 
 
 Israel. 
 
 18 And he shall go out unto the altar 
 that is before the Lord, and make an a- 
 tonement for it ; and shall take of the 
 blood of the bullock, and of the blood of 
 the goat, and put it upon the horns of the 
 altar round about. 
 
 19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood 
 upon it with his finger seven times, and 
 cleanse it, and hallow it from the unclean- 
 ness of the children of Israel. 
 
 20 ^ And when he hath made an end of 
 reconciling the holy place, and the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation, and the altar, 
 he shall bring the live goat : 
 
 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands 
 upon the head of the live goat, and confess 
 over him all the iniquities of the children 
 of Israel, and all their transgressions in all 
 their sins, putting them upon the head of 
 
 fHeb. the goat, and shall send him away by the 
 ],^unu^'.'' hand of t a fit man into the wilderness : 
 
 18. — he shall go out unlo the altar] " He shall go out" of the 
 tabernacle " unto the altar" of burnt offering.^, which was in the 
 coiut of the tabernacle, and for which it was as necessary to make 
 atonement, as for the altar of incense. Dr. Wells. 
 
 21. — putting them upon the head of the goat,] By the high 
 priest putting his hands upon the head of the goat, and confessing 
 the sins of the people over it, (with prayer to God to remit them,) 
 those sins were all charged upon the goat, and the punishment 
 of them transferred from tlie Israelites to it. Tliis scapegoat was 
 a most illustrious figure of the sacrifice of Christ, who suffered, 
 not merely for our benefit, but in our stead ; on whom " the Lord 
 laid the iniquity of us all," Isai. liii. (), w^ho was " made sin 
 for us," 2 Cor. v. 21, and who " b;u-e our sins in His own bod_v," 
 1 Pet. ii. 24. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The sins of tlie people being thus transferred to tjie animal, it 
 is afterward.s represented to be so polluted, as even to pollute the 
 person who carried it away, ver. 26. It is to be remarked, that 
 this is the only passage in ;ill .Scripture, in whidi the meaning 
 of the ceremony of laying hands on the head of the victim is 
 directly e.\plained. Dr. Magee. 
 
 iy the hand uf a Jit vian~] According to the Jews, the ap- 
 pointment of the per.son rested w ith the high priest, who gene- 
 rally did not appoint an Israelite. Dr. Wcll.i. 
 
 iiito the wilderness .•] The goat was sent into the most 
 
 desert places of the wilderness, in token tliat the sins of the Is- 
 raelites were quite carried away, to be found no more. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 It is not certainly known into what wilderness they used to 
 send the goat, when they were settled in Canaan. The Hebrews 
 call it the wilderness of Tzuk, which, they say, was ten miles 
 from Jerusalem : they add that, at the end of each mile there was 
 a booth erected, wiiere men stood ready with meat and drink, 
 which tliey offered to him that went with the goat, lest lie should 
 faint by the way ; wlicn they came to the end of tlie distance, the 
 goat was led to the top of a rock, and then let loose, to carry the 
 sins of the people out of siglit. Lewis. 
 
 22. .ind the goat shall bear — all their iniquities'] As the 
 slain goat shall represent Clirist dying for sin, so tlie escaping 
 goat shall represent Him, freed from death, for our full justifica- 
 
 The scapegoat. 
 
 22 And the goat shall bear upon him all b*''"'* 
 their iniquities imto a land t not inhabited: '^'m^.^^ 
 and he shall let go the goat in the wilder- t "ci.. 
 
 neSS. nfupara- 
 
 23 And Aaron shall come into the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation, and shall put off 
 the linen garments, which he put on when 
 he went into the holy place, and shall leave 
 them there : 
 
 24. And he shall wash hi.s flesh with wa- 
 ter in the holy place, and i)ut on his gar- 
 ments, and come forth, and offer his burnt 
 offering, and the burnt offering of the peo- 
 ple, and make an atonement for himself, 
 and for tlie people. 
 
 25 And the fat of the sin offering shall 
 he burn upon the altar. 
 
 26 And he that let go the goat for the 
 scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe 
 his Hesh in water, and afterward come into 
 the camp. 
 
 27 And the bullock for tiie sin offering, 
 and the goat Jo?- the sin offering, whose 
 blood was brought in to make atonement i chap. «. 
 in the holy place, shall one carrv forth ^■ 
 ^without the camp; and they shall burn n* '' 
 
 tion, and taking away the sins of mankind, so that they shall not 
 appear in the sight of God to their condemnation. Bp. Hall. 
 
 The transfer of the iniquities of the people upon tlie head of 
 the scapegoat, and the bearing them away to the Avildeniess, ma- 
 nifestly imply that the atonement effected by tlie s-icrifice of the 
 sin offering consLsted in tiie transfer and consequent removal of 
 those iniquities. Wliat then are we tauglit to ini';;r tiom this ce- 
 remony .? That, as the atonement under tiie law, or the expiation 
 of the legal transgressions, was represented as a translation of those 
 transgressions in the act of the sacrifice in which the animal was 
 slain, and the people thereby cleansed from legal impurities, and 
 released from penalties incurred ; so the great atonenient for the 
 sins of mankind was to be effected by the sacrifice of Christ, un- 
 dergoing, for the restoration of men to the favour of God, that 
 death which liad been denounced against sin, and which He suf- 
 fered in like manner as if the sins of men had been actually 
 transferred to Him, as those of tlic congregation had been s\Tn- 
 bolically transferred to the sin offering of tlie [icople. Dr. 
 Magee. 
 
 Si. Jnd he shall wash his flesh] To purify himself, as it should 
 seem, after he had touched the goat, whicii bare all their iniqui- 
 ties : though others understand that it was in token he liad now 
 finished the expiation. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 21. — shall one carry Jbrth without the camp;] To be a type and 
 figm-e of the more perfect sacrifice of Christ the Mcssiali, who was 
 to sufler " without the gate," Hebr. xiii. 11, 12. Pi/lc. 
 
 It is observable, that the bodies of those beasts, which were of- 
 fered in the most solemn maimer on t\\e^e iKca^iuiis, were burnt 
 " witliout the camp" during tlie service of tlie tabernacle, and 
 " without tlie gate" of Jerusalem after the building of tiie temple; 
 and that every person -who touched them, conliacted a legal un- 
 cleanness, ;uid was not suffered to mingle witli his bretliren, till 
 the prescribed rites of purification had pas.sed upon him. The 
 reason of which ordinances is, that those sacrifitx-> were chai-ged 
 with the sins of the people, from the insunt that llie people were 
 discharged of them; and consequently the same blemish rested 
 on the liody of the beast now, which was upon tlie persons befur« 
 the oblation was made. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 The holy of holies on earth represented the residence .of tlit 
 
 Gg2
 
 Thcjeast of the expiations. 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 The blood of beasts musibt 
 
 H!K1. 
 
 fllcb. 
 
 JiUhUhttni, 
 
 •<■*"». in tlie fire their skins, and their flesh, and 
 tlieir dung. 
 
 i28 And he that burneth them shall 
 wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in 
 water, and afterward he shall come into 
 the camp. 
 
 29 i[ And this shall be a statute for ever 
 unto you : that in the seventh month, on 
 the tenth dai/ of the month, ye shall afflict 
 your souls, and do no work at all, rvhether 
 it be one of your own country, or a stran- 
 ger that sojourneth among you : 
 
 30 For on that day shall the priest make 
 an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that 
 ye may be clean fiom all your sins before 
 the Lord. 
 
 31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, 
 and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute 
 for ever. 
 
 32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, 
 and whom he shall t consecrate to min- 
 ister in the priest's office in his father's 
 stead, shall make the atonement, and shall 
 put on tiie linen clothes, even tiie holy gar- 
 ments : 
 
 Deity in heaven. The service that was performed in it conse- 
 quently represented the service that was to be performed in hea- 
 ven. The high priest under the Law, therefore, represented the 
 person of our great High Priest and Intercessor on this occasion; 
 and the blood which he sprinkled before the cherubim on the mer- 
 cy seat, was the type of that blood, tlie merits of which our great 
 High Priest, when " entered within the vail," Heb. vi. 19, 20, was 
 afterwards to plead before His heavenly Father. " Christ (says 
 the Apostle) is not entered into the holy places made with hands, 
 (that is, into the holy of holies in the temple,) which are the figures 
 of the tnie ; but into lieavcn itself, (tlie natural residence of the 
 Deity,) now to appear in the presence of God for us," Heb. ix. 24. 
 And, as the high priest on earth was not permitted to enter into 
 the holy of holies on the great day of atonement, " without 
 blood of others ;" so his great Antitype, Jesus Christ, " being 
 come an High Priest of good things to come," qualified His 
 human nature for an entrance into the holy place in heaven, by 
 the offering of His own blood. Each high priest acted under a 
 publick character, each sustaining the persons of those whom he 
 represented. The high priest under the Law " offered for him- 
 self and for the errours of the people." Our great High Priest under 
 the Gospil " appeared in the presence of God /or us:" whilst the 
 burning the sin offering " without the camp," answers to Christ's 
 suffering " without the gate" of Jerusalem. On this great and so- 
 lemn day of general humiliation, botli priests and people were re- 
 quired, by an everlasting statute, to plead virtually guilty to the 
 sentence that had been denounced against sin : the particular ser- 
 vice of this day being expressly calculated to leave a stronger im- 
 pression on the human mind, respecting the nature of sin and the 
 manner in which its effect was, by Divine appointment, to be 
 •lone away, than if such ideas had been conveyed only by words. 
 For on that day, the appointed atonement, by sprinkling before 
 the mercy seat the bloo<i of the sin offering which had been slain, 
 was accepted both for priests and people ; " to cleanse them, that 
 mey nnght be clean from idl their sin-= before the Lord " WTiilst 
 tor Uie more complete satisfaction of the Jewish worshippers on 
 this occasion, the high priest proceeded to confess over the head 
 of one of the two goats, which had been brought by the congrc- 
 gation of the ch.Wren of Israel, for the business of this day's so- 
 leinnity, all the m>quities of the children of Israel and aU their 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1490. 
 
 33 And he shall make an atonement for 
 the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an 
 atonement for the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation, and for the altar, and he shall 
 make an atonement for the priests, and for 
 all the people of the congregation. 
 
 31' And this shall be an everlasting sta- 
 tute unto you, to make an atonement for 
 the children of Israel for all their sins 
 •"once a year. And he did as the Lord 'Exod.so. 
 commanded Moses. Hibr.9.7. 
 
 CHAP. xvn. 
 
 1 The blond of all slain beasls must lie offered to the 
 Lord at the door of the tabernacle. 7 Thci/ must not 
 offer to devils. 10 All eating of blood is forbidden, 
 1 5 and all that dicth alone, or is torn. 
 
 AND the Lord .spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing, 
 
 2 Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, 
 and unto all the children of Israel, and say 
 unto them ; This is the thing which the 
 Lord hath commanded, saying, 
 
 3 "What man soever there be of the house 
 of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or 
 
 transgressions in all their sins ; and putting them on the head of 
 the live goat, sent him away as the scapegoat for the children of 
 Israel into an uninhabited land. A ceremony which carries with 
 it so obvious an interpretation, as to render all comment on it un- 
 necessary. Archdeacon Daubeni/. 
 
 29. — in the seventh month, on the tenth daif] Maimonides, to 
 account for God's choosing this day for a day of extraordinary 
 stated penance and devotion, ob.serves, that it was that, on which 
 Moses came down from the mount with the second tables, and 
 notified to the people the remission of their great sin. Bibliotk. 
 Bibl. 
 
 ye shall afflict your souls^ By fasting and abstinence, not 
 
 only from all meat and drink, but from all other pleasure what- 
 soever, lip. Patrick. 
 
 They observed this solemnity so strictly, that on it they were 
 not permitted to wash their faces, much less to anoint their head.s, 
 or to wear their shoes, or even (if their doctors say true) to read 
 any portion of their Law, which gave them delight. They ab- 
 stained, likewise, not only from pleasure, but from labour, nothing 
 being to be done on this day, but confession of sins, and repent- 
 ance. This was the only fast appointed by the law of Moses, al- 
 though, in succeeding times, many others were appointed by the 
 authority of the state. Lewis. 
 
 They were to afflict their souls on this day, because, as follows 
 in tlie next verse, their sins were then expiated. Expiated, how.!> 
 By " the blood of bulls and of goats?" That is impossible, as the 
 Apostle teaches, Hebr. x. 4 ; but they were expiated by the blood 
 of Christ, then represented to them under types and shadows. 
 Bp. Beveridge. 
 
 30. — thai ye may be clean from all your sins~\ Not from sins 
 comniittetl against the eternal laws of God, but from sins against 
 the ritual laws contained in this book, when committed through 
 ignorance or errour. In respect to these, they were to be esteemed 
 clean before God, on atonement being thus made for them, and 
 on their performing the duties required on this day- Dr. Wells. 
 
 ,31. — a sabbath of rest'^ In the Hebrew, A sabbath of sab- 
 baths; meaning a perfect and peculiar sabbath. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XVII. ver. 3. — that hilleih an ox, or lamb, &c.] Not 
 for his own private use or occasion, but for publick sacrifice. The
 
 offered at the door of the tabernacle. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 They mmt not offer to devils. 
 
 Before nroat in the camp, or that killeth it out of 
 
 CHRIST p, ^ 
 
 H90. the camp, 
 
 4 And bringeth it not unto the door of 
 the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer 
 an offering unto the Lord before the taber- 
 nacle of the Lord ; blood shall be imputed 
 unto that man ; he hath shed blood ; and 
 that man shall be cut off from among his 
 people ; 
 
 5 To the end that the children of Israel 
 may bring their sacrifices, which they offer 
 in the open field, even that they may bring 
 them unto the Lord, unto the door of the 
 tabernacle of the congregation, unto the 
 priest, and offer them for peace offerings 
 unto the Lord. 
 
 6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood 
 upon the altar of the Lord at the door of 
 the tabernacle of the congregation, and 
 
 * Exod. 29. burn the fat for a ^ sweet savour unto the 
 ciiap.3. 41. Lord. 
 
 design of this prohibition was, to keep private persons from pre- 
 suming to be their own priests, and to teach them that it did not 
 belong to them to sacrifice at home or in conventicles, but to 
 bring their oblations to the priest, by him to be offered unto God. 
 And this was one mean of preserving them from idolatry. If 
 however no sacrifices were to be offered except in the tabernacle, 
 and afterwards in the temple, it may be asked, what we are to say 
 of such a sacrifice as that of Elijah, who obtained fire from heaven, 
 1 Kings xviii. 36, and other parallel instances ? The answer is, 
 that Elijah and the other great Prophets seem to have had the same 
 plea as the great patriarch Abraham, when he was going to sacri- 
 fice his son. When the legislator commands that to be done which 
 he had antecedently forbidden, that command has as much the 
 force of a law, by virtue of that authority, as the prohibition had 
 before. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 The reason of this law was, that whereas amongst the neigh- 
 bouring nations, every one was wont to perform sacrifices in his 
 own family, when and where he pleased ; by which liberty they 
 had run into many superstitious errours and idolatrous practices : 
 God now restrained His own people to one stated place and me- 
 thod of regular and uniform publick worship : and particularly, as 
 sacrifices were a rite of communion between the offerer and the 
 Being to whom they were presented, God in great wisdom con- 
 fined the Israelites to His own tabernacle, thereby to make them 
 communicate with Himself alone, the sole true object of Divine 
 adoration ; not suffering them to perform this part of worship in 
 distant places, wliere they might be seduced by their idolatrous 
 neighbourhood. Pyle. 
 
 4. And bringeth it not unto the doot-^ God knew the naughti- 
 ness of their hearts, how much they were disposed to sacrifice 
 imto devils, and how certainly they would do so. He therefore 
 requires that, whosoever killeth an ox, &c. should bring it to the 
 door of the tabernacle, pour out the blood, and take the flesh to 
 eat at home. Which if he did not, " blood would be imputed to 
 him," that is, the very guilt of murder would be upon him, and 
 he would " he cut off from the people," that is, would be ex- 
 cluded from the Israelite people and nation, as if he were a per- 
 son found to be inicircumcised, and not of the seed of Abraham. 
 That this was the meaning and scope of this law, appears from 
 ver. 6, 7. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 5. — in the open .field,'] That is, " without the camp," where 
 they were most prone to transgress this law, being most remote 
 from the observation of others. Bp. Kidder. Neither in the tops 
 of mountains nor in tlie retirement of groves, which better suitetl 
 
 7 And they shall no more offer their sa- b**^* 
 crifices unto devils, after whom they have ^^i^oL^ 
 gone a whoring. This shall be a statute 
 
 for ever unto them throughout their gene- 
 rations. 
 
 8 ^ And thou shalt say unto them, 
 Whatsoever man there be of the house of 
 Israel, or of tlie strangers which sojourn 
 among you, that offereth a burnt offering 
 or sacrifice, 
 
 9 And bringeth it not unto the door of 
 the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer 
 it unto the Lord ; even that man shall be 
 cut off from among his people. i. 
 
 10 ^ And whatsoever man thei^e be of 
 the house of Israel, or of the strangers that 
 sojourn among you, that eateth any man- 
 ner of blood ; I will even set my face a- 
 gainst that soul that eateth blood, and will 
 cut him off from among his people. 
 
 11 For the life of the flesh is in the 
 
 the scandalous rites of Pagan worship, as being more out of sight. 
 Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 7. — unto devils,"] Literally, in the original, " unto the hairy 
 ones ;" meaning those brute animals, covered with hair, espe- 
 cially goats, which they worshipped in Egypt, either alive or in 
 figure. The people of Mendes in Egypt worshipped Pau under 
 the form of a live goat ; and it is relatetl, that monstrous obsceni- 
 ties were practised at this worship. These devils or goais are 
 joined with Jeroboam's calves at 2 Chron. xi. 1 5. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 8. — of the strangers which sojourn among i/ou,] Proselytes to 
 the Jewish religion. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 1 . For the life of the flesh is in the blood : Ac.! All this is as 
 much as to say, The life of the animal lying in the blood, 1 have 
 ordained it to expiate your sins, that, by its death in your stead, 
 your life may be preserved : and therefore I require you not to 
 eat that which is appointed for so holy an end. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 This is a very remarkable declaration as to the peculiar effi- 
 cacy of animal sacrifice ; and, in reference to it, St. Paul formally 
 pronounces, that " without shedding of blood there is no remis- 
 sion," Hebr. ix. 22. Now, in what conceivable light can we view 
 this institution of sacrifice, but in relation to that great Sacrifice 
 which was to make atonement for sins : to that " blood of sprink- 
 ling" which was to speak " better things than that of Abel," 
 Heb. xii. 24, or that of tlie Law ? The Law itself is said to have 
 respect solely unto Him. To what else can the principal institu- 
 tion of the Law refer.' an institution too, which, unless fo referred, 
 appears utterly unmeaning. The offering up of an animal cannot 
 be imagined to have had any intrinsick efficacy in procuring par- 
 don for the transgression of the offerer. The blood of bulls and 
 of goats could have possessed no virtue, whereby to cleanse him 
 from his offences. Still less intelligible is the application of the 
 blood of the victim, to the purifying of the parts of the taber- 
 nacle, and the apparatus of ceremonial worship. All this can, 
 clearly, have had no other than an instituted meaning ; and can 
 be understood, only in reference to some bloo<lshedtling, which, 
 in an eminent degree, possessed the power of purifying from 
 pollution. In short, admit the sacrifice of Christ to be held in 
 view, in the institutions of the Law, and every part is plain and 
 intelligible; reject that notion, and every theorj' devised by the 
 ingenuity of nian, to explain the nature of the ceremonial wor- 
 ship, becomes trifling and inconsistent. Dr. Magee. 
 
 The eating of bloo<l was strictly forbidden to the Hebrews, 
 under the terrible jienalty of cutting off: even if it were not the 
 blood of a sacrifice offered at the altar, but of beasts or fowls
 
 Eating of blood forbidden. 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 Unlaivful 
 
 BffoM. blood : and I have given it to you upon 
 ''"rJ..*^tlie altar to make an atonement for your 
 souls : for it is the blood iluil niaketh an 
 atonement for the soul. 
 
 1^2 Theretbre I said unto the children of 
 Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, nei- 
 ther shall any stranger that sojourneth a- 
 mong vou eat blood. 
 
 l.i And whatsoever man there be of the 
 
 children of Israel, or oi' the strangers that 
 
 fHcb. sojourn among von, t which hunteth and 
 
 \\ha»y'' catcheth any beast or fowl that may be 
 
 hunting- eaten ; he shall even pour out the blood 
 
 thereof, and cover it with dust. 
 »Cfii. 9. •». 14 ''For // is the life of all flesh; the 
 blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore 
 I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall 
 eat the blood of no manner of flesh : for 
 the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: 
 whosoever eateth it shall be cut oft". 
 tHeb. 15 And every soul that eateth t that 
 
 < carcase. ^^.|^j(..jj ^^J^^^ ofitsclj', OY that wllich WHS tOfU 
 
 rcith beasts, tchethtr it be one of your own 
 country, or a stranger, he shall both wash 
 his clothes, and bathe hiniselj'm water, and 
 be unclean until the oven : then shall he 
 be clean. 
 
 taken in hunting;, and killed for their own use, yet they niifjht 
 not eat of it : thoy were to bury it in the jiround, lest, as the Jews 
 say, any beast should lick it up. But tiie rabbies distinguish 
 between the l)l(M)d of the soul or the life, as they speak, and the 
 blood of a limb : tiie former, which ran out freely when the 
 beast was killed, and in whicli was the life oi" the beast, is abso- 
 lutely forbidden ; the other, which remained in tlie several parts 
 of the beast, they considered as belonging to the flesh, and which 
 therefore they might cat with it. Lewis. 
 
 On this acknowledged principle, that blood made atonement 
 for tlie soul, tlie whole Lcvitical service proceeded. The design 
 of tliat service being to remind the parties concerned, that the 
 life of the beast slain on the altar was accepted in exchange for 
 the life of the oflender, which, according to the original covenant 
 between Go<l and man, had been forfeited by sin. Arc/tdeacon 
 Daubrni/. 
 
 12. Thrrcfore I .v^iVT] Then fori; that is, because the blood is 
 appointed to make atonement, and is consequently a type of the 
 blood of the Messiah, Rom. iii. 2j ; Eph. i. 7 ; Col. i. It ; Hebr. 
 ix. 12. li/t. Kidder. 
 
 1 '-i- — triid rover it nilh dui1.~\ Lest any beast should lick it 
 lip, (as is commonly interpreted,) or lest any persons should meet 
 lor idolatrous puqioscs, and feast upon it. Bp. Patrick. This co- 
 vering of bloo<l w as to be so strictly observed, that, if a man saw 
 his neighbour kill a beast, and neglect to cover its blood with 
 dust, he was bound to go and do it himself, because God here 
 speaks unto the children of Isr.iel generally. The ancient heathens 
 »se<l to take some of the bloo<l, when they slew a beast in sacri- 
 fice, and put it in or on the ground, either in a vessel, or in a 
 
 h ^fl^"!*"" '^"" ' ""''' *'"'"g '" •"* circle round the blood, they eat 
 the flesh ; nnagining that, at the time they were doing so, the 
 (lemons tciuted on the blood as their proper and beloved food, 
 am that this common repast between them made the demons 
 still more and morr their friends. Bihiioth. Biht. 
 
 10. — he ,Ul bear hi., iniquity. -\ Death shall be his punish- 
 ment, eiUier Irom the hand of man or from the hand of God. Lamw. 
 thap. Will. ver. 2. _ / am the Lord your Gorf.] I who 
 
 1() But if he wash them not, nor bathe chr"ist 
 
 his flesh ; then he shall bear his iniquity. 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 1 V Ilia Iff III marriuges. 1[) L'nlairful liisls. 
 
 ND the Lord spake inito Moses, say 
 
 1490. 
 
 A 
 
 ing, 
 
 remainder 
 ofbisfleth. 
 
 'i Speak unto the children of Israel, and 
 say unto them, 1 am the Loud your (lod. 
 
 3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, 
 wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do : anci af- 
 ter the doings of the land of Canaan, whi- 
 ther I bring you, shall ye not do : neither 
 shall ye walk in their ordinances. 
 
 i Ye shall do my judgments, and keep 
 mine ordinances, to walk therein : I am the 
 Lord your God. 
 
 o Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, 
 and my judgments: ^ which if a man do, 'Kzek. m 
 he shall live in them : I am the Lord. r,',™. io.«. 
 
 6 ^ None of you shall approach to any <^''' ^- ^^• 
 that is t near of kin to him, to uncover their t Hci 
 nakedness : I am the Lord. 
 
 7 The nakedness of thy father, or the 
 nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not 
 uncover : she is thy mother ; thou shalt not 
 uncover her nakedness. 
 
 am your sovereign Lord, and, by redeeming you from Egyptian 
 bondage, am become in an especial manner your God, have a right 
 to give you laws, to which all luiman customs must yield, how- 
 ever long jjractised and extensively spread. This title to the obe- 
 dience of the people is repeated six times in this chapter, and 
 oftener in the next. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. After the doings of the land of Egypt, — of Ca7uianf\ The 
 wilderness, in which they now were, was a very fit place for en- 
 joining these laws upon the Israelites, as tliey were now removed 
 from the snares and tempUitions of Egypt, and were not yet min« 
 gled with the people of Canaan. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 The expressions here used sufficiently shew that the foul prac- 
 tices here forbidden reigned among the Egyptians and Caniianites, 
 and that they were such as the Divine I'urity .ibsolutely con- 
 demned. That the dictates of nature may thus be overruled in 
 fact, we learn from the manners of tlu' Persians, who, at this very 
 time, marry not only their sisters, but their own mothers and 
 daughters ; not to mention other instances of similar enormities. 
 Biblioth Bihl. 
 
 5. — he sImU live in them :] He shall live happily and long in 
 the enjoyment of all the blessings, wiiich God promised in His 
 covenant will) the Israelites. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. None of yon .ihn/l approach &c.] The Jews give two reasons 
 for the prohibitions relating to marriage in this chapter ; the one, 
 a natural incongruity and immodesty in the thing itself; the 
 other, that if courtships of this kind had been allowed, they might 
 have proved the occasion of very scandalous and lewd practices 
 among relations, from the circumstance of their constant inter- 
 course. These laws are not branched out into remoter relations, 
 because the inconveniences, obviated in tlie prohibitions actually 
 given, w'ere to be prudentially guarded against in all resembling 
 cases. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 7. Tlic nakedness of thy father, &c.]] It is related by historians, 
 that the Magi, or wise men, among the Persians, were always 
 persons born in this detestable incest. There were many nations 
 among whom such marriages were altogether in fashion, as In« 
 dians, Arabs, Persians, &c. Biblioth. Bibl.
 
 marriages^ and 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 wiUvwjul lusts. 
 
 11. 
 
 chrTst ^ ^'^^^ nakedness of thy father's wife 
 1490. shalt thou not uncover : it is thy father's 
 * Chap. 20. nakedness. 
 
 9 The nakedness of thy sister, the 
 daughter of thy father, or daughter of 
 thy mother, xvhether she he born at home, 
 or born abroad, even their nakedness thou 
 shalt not uncover. 
 
 10 The nakedness of thv son's daugh- 
 ter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even 
 their nakedness thou shalt not uncover : 
 for their's is thine own nakedness. 
 
 11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's 
 daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy 
 sister, thou shalt not uncover her naked- 
 ness. 
 
 1 2 ' Thou shalt not uncover the naked- 
 ness of thy father's sister : she is thy fa- 
 ther's near kinswoman. 
 
 13 Thou shalt not uncover the naked- 
 ness of thy mother's sister : for she is thy 
 mother's near kinswoman. 
 
 14 '' Thou shalt not uncover the naked- 
 ness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not 
 approach to his wife : she is tliine aunt. 
 
 15 ' Thou shalt not uncover the naked- 
 
 ' Chap. CO. 
 19. 
 
 I" Chap. 20. 
 20. 
 
 • Chi4). 20. 
 12. 
 
 8. — th) father's wife^ Thy stepmother ; beinsj as near to a 
 person in the estimation of the law, though not in the account of 
 nature ; therefore, though man-iaije with a stepmother be a crime 
 of less turpitude, yet it is equally forbidden, and is against the 
 law of nature, not directly, but by interpretation. Bp. jei: Taylor. 
 The Jews say on this occasion, that it was unlawful for tlie son 
 to marry her, though she had been only espoused by his father ; 
 or, if he had divorced her, it was not lawlul for the son to have 
 her, even after he was dead. Lewi.t. 
 
 9- — of thy si.ifer,'^ Diodorus Siculus tells us, that the Egyp- 
 tians encouraged marriages between brothers and sisters, as well 
 pleasing to their deity Isis. Pyh. This law includes a half sister, 
 " whether bom at home or abroad," that is, legitimately bom in 
 wedlock or illegitimately out of it. Such a marriage is next to 
 an unnatural mixture, it has something of confusion in it, and 
 blending the very first partings of nature, which makes it in- 
 tolerably scandalous, and universally forbidden ; for if it were 
 not, the mischief would be hoi-rible and infinite. Bp. Jeremy 
 Taylor. 
 
 10. — thy son'.i daughter,'] No mention is made of a man's 
 own daughter, because, say the Jews, as marriage with grand- 
 children was forbidden, that with children was neces,sarily in- 
 eluded. Lewis. 
 
 l6. — thy brother's n'ife :'} If this prohibition be understootl 
 in the case of the brother's deatli, it may seem to clash witli tJie 
 command of Deut. xxv. 5. But both are easily reconciled under 
 tliis limitation, that the brother was not to lake the brother's wife, 
 if the deceased left ciiildren : or further, if the brother's wife had 
 been divorced. BiUioth. BihI. 
 
 As it is here forbidden that two brothers should marry the 
 .same woman, so, by parity of reasoning, it must be understood 
 to be forbidden that two sisters should marry the same man ; and 
 theie prohibitions form part of tl;e moral law, binding on all 
 mankind. Dr. Beniman. 
 
 1 8. Neither .ihalt thou lake a wife to her sister,'] The marginal 
 reading is, " one wife to another ;" but the meaning of the pre- 
 cept is, that no man should marry his wife's sister while that 
 wife is living. It does not expressly forbid the taking more 
 
 ness of thy daughter in law : she is thy 
 son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her 
 nakedness. 
 
 1(> 'Thou shalt not uncover the naked- 
 ness of thy brother's wife : it is thy bro- 
 ther's nakedness. 
 
 17 Thou shalt not uncover the naked- 
 ness of a woman and her daughter, neither 
 shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her 
 daughter's daughter, to uncover her naked- 
 ness ijbr they a?-e her near kinswomen : it 
 is wickedness. 
 
 18 Neither shalt thou take II a wife to 
 her sister, to vex hei; to uncover her na- 
 kedness, beside the other in her life time. 
 
 19 ^ Also thou shalt not approach un- 
 to a woman to uncover her nakedness, as 
 long as she is put apart for her unclean- 
 ness. 
 
 ^U Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally 
 with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself 
 with her. 
 
 21 And thou shalt not let any of thy 
 seed "pass through the Jire to ' Molech, 
 neither shalt thou profane the name of thy 
 God : I am the Loud. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1490. 
 
 ' Chap. 20. 
 21. 
 
 J Or. 
 
 one wife to 
 anulhcr. 
 
 ' Chap. 29. 
 
 18. 
 
 "Chap. 20. 
 
 2. 
 
 2 Kings 2S. 
 
 10. 
 
 'Called. 
 
 Acts 7. i2, 
 
 itJich. 
 
 wives than one, which practice had generally obtained, and passes 
 without reproof among the Israelites. Bps. Patrick and Kid- 
 der. 
 
 Many eminent writers, following our marginal tran»Lition, 
 conceive that plui'ality of wives is expressly tbrbidden by this 
 law ; and so the Kai-aitcs interpret tills place, tliat a man, having 
 a wife, sliould not take another while she lived ; which, if it were 
 true, would assist us to resolve many dilHculties: but there are 
 such strong reasons against this interpretiition, that I cannot think 
 this to be the meaning; for, as more wives than one were permit- 
 ted before tlie law, so they were afterwards. .\nd Moses himself 
 supposes as much, when he provides (Deut. xxi. 17) tliat a man 
 should not prefer a child he had by a beloved wife, to one by her 
 whom he hated, if he were the eldest son. We find expressly that 
 the Hebrew kings might have many wives, though not a multitude; 
 and the best of their princes, (David,) who read the Divine law 
 day and night, and could not but understand it, took many wives 
 without any reproof; so far from that, Gotl gave him more wives 
 than he had before, by delivering to him his m;i.-ter's wives, 
 2 Sam. xii. 8. The meaning therefore is, that though two wives 
 at a time, or more, were permitted in those d«ys, yel no man was 
 to take two sisters (as Jacob had fonnerly done) begotten of the 
 same father, or bom of the same mother, whether Itgitiniately or 
 illegitimately ; which, though it may seem to have been prohibit- 
 ed before by consequence and analogy, (because the niarri;ige of a 
 brother's wife is forbidden,) yet in this place it is more expressly 
 prohibiteil, as other marriages .ore. Lenis. 
 
 to ve.T her,'] The taking, in general, of one wnfe or con- 
 sort to another is not here forbidden, but the marrying of two 
 sisters to live in the conjugal state together: as .Jacob did, either 
 because there was then no law to the contrary ; or, because the 
 first of them ha\ ing been fraudulently imposed upon him, Uiough 
 the latter was his proper choice and tavourite, he would not dis- 
 miss the former, lest he shotdd prove the occasion of her takijig 
 to evil courses. Bibliuth. Bibl. 
 
 -21. — thi/ seed pass through the fire to Molech,] Thy seed, or 
 offspring, Deut. xviii. 10. Molech was the name of an idol wor- 
 shipped^ by the Aiiunonites, 1 Kings xi. 7, otherwise called Mil-
 
 UnUrdfiil 
 
 L E \ IT I C U S. 
 
 lusts. 
 
 Boforc O'j Thoti shalt not lie with mankind, as 
 
 ^"w^^ with womankind : it is abomination. 
 
 > Oup. m 23 * Neither shalt thou lie with any 
 
 '*• beast to defile thyself therewith : neither 
 
 shall any woman stand before a beast to 
 
 lie down thereto : it is confusion. 
 
 24. Defile not ye yourselves in any of 
 these things : for in all these the na- 
 tions are defiled which I cast out before 
 you : 
 
 25 And the land is defiled : therefore I 
 do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and 
 the land itself vomiteth out her inhabit- 
 ants. 
 
 26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes 
 and my judgments, and shall not commit 
 any of these abominations ; neither any of 
 your own nation, nor any stranger that so- 
 journeth among you : 
 
 27 (For all these abominations have the 
 
 com, 2 Kings x\iii. 13. This was a principal idol among all the 
 heathens. The Hebrew word is of nearly the sanic import as 
 that of Baal, implying dominion and kingly superiority. The 
 passing of the children through the fire, here forbidden, seems to 
 have been practised for the purpose of purification, and as a means 
 of dedicating them to the service of the false god. The heathens 
 also offered their children in sacrifice to Molech, which is for- 
 bidden under severest penalties at chap. xx. 3. Bps. Patrick 
 and Kidder. 
 
 Few things arc more shocking to the ears of humanitj', than 
 the frequent mention, in the sacred Scriptures, of the custom of 
 causing children, &c. to pa.ss through fire, in honour of Molech : 
 a custom, the antiquity of which appears from its being repeat- 
 edly forbidden by Moses; as Lev. xviii. 21, and afterwards in 
 chap. XX, where the expression is very strong of "giving his seed 
 to Molech." The rabbies have histories of the manner of passing 
 through the fires, or between the fires, or into caves of fire. And 
 there is an account of an image, which received children into its 
 arms, and let them drop into a fire beneath ; and of the shouts of 
 the multitude, the noise of drums, &c, to drown the shrieks of the 
 agonizing infant, and the horrours of the parents' mind. Waving 
 ail .illusion to these at present, the following extract maj' give us 
 a good idea, in what manner the passing tkroueh or over fire 
 was anciently performed : " A still more astonishmg instance of 
 the superstition of the ancient Indians, in respect to their venerat- 
 ed fire, remains, at this day, in the grand annual festival, holden 
 in honour of Darma Rajah, and called the Feast of Fire : in 
 which, as in the ancient rites of Molech, the devotees walk bare- 
 foot over a glowing fire, extending forty feet It is called the 
 feast of fire, because they then walk on that element. It lasts 
 eighteen days, during which, those, who make a vow to keep it, 
 must fast, lie on the bare ground, and walk on a brisk fire. The 
 eighteenth day they a.ssemble, with the sound of instruments, 
 their heads crowned with flowers, the body bedaubed with saf- 
 fron ; and follow in cadence the figures of Darma Rajah, and of 
 Drobede his wife who are carried there in procession ; when 
 they come to the fire, they stir it, to animate its activity, and take 
 a little of the ashes, with which they rub their foreheads : and 
 when the gods have been three times round it, they walk either 
 fast or slow, according to their zeal, over a very "hot fire, ex- 
 tended to about forty feet in length. Some carry their children in 
 Iheir armt ; and others lances, sabres, and standards." Sonnerat's 
 Travels. This extract accounts for several expressions used in 
 Scripture: such as, causing children (very young perhaps) to 
 P¥* Mroug/i fire, as we see they are carried oi'cr the fire, by 
 which means they were not destroyed or injured, except by being 
 
 1490. 
 
 men of the land done, which were before ..h',?.'!-, 
 you, and the land is defiled ;) 
 
 28 That the land spue not you out also, 
 when ye defile it, as ft spued out the na- 
 tions that mere before you. 
 
 29 For whosoever shall commit any of 
 tliese abominations, even the souls that 
 commit tfiem shall be cut off from among 
 their people. 
 
 30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordi- 
 nance, that J/e commit not any one of these 
 abominable customs, which were commit- 
 ted before you, and that ye defile not 
 yourselves therein : I am the Lord your 
 God. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 A repetition of sundry latvs. 
 
 ND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 
 A' 
 
 mg 
 
 2 Speak unto all the congregation of the 
 
 profaned. Nevertheless it might, and probably did, happen, that 
 some of those, who thus passed, were hurt or maimed in the pass- 
 ing; or, if not immediately slain by the fire, might actually be 
 burned in this superstitious pilgrimage, so a^ to contract fatal 
 diseases. Fragments, Appendix to Calmet. See 2 Kings, chap. xvi. 
 ver. 3. 
 
 25. — Ihe land itself vomiteth ouQ A most eloquent figure, 
 expressing the excessive loathsomeness of their wickedness, 
 which made their own country nauseate them, and throw them 
 out as the stomach does food that offends it. Bp. Patrick: How 
 strong and descriptive is this language ! the vices are declared so 
 abominable that the very land was sick of them, and forced to 
 vomit them forth; as the stomach disgorges a deadly poison. 
 Bp. Watson. 
 
 29- — whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, &C.1 
 Next to " idolatry" the Jewish law seems to have condemned 
 with peculiar emphasis, and punished with peculiar severity, " all 
 kinds of impurity :" every species of incestuous connexion and 
 urmatural crime was punished with death. Besides, not only 
 was forcible violation capital, as by our law, but the violation o 
 the marriage vow. The adulterer and adulteress were condemned 
 to suffer a publick and ignominious execution. The same pu- 
 nishment was the consequence, where the female, though not 
 married, was betrothed in marriage. In a word, we perceive 
 the most anxious care to cut off every greater degree of licen- 
 tiousness, and stigmatize even the least with infamy : yet never 
 did this care degenerate into an extravagant reverence lor unna- 
 tural austerity and monastick celibacy. In every rank, from the 
 high priest to the lowest peasant, marriage was encouraged and 
 esteemed honourable : our blessed Lord indeed has declared, that 
 some permissions, relating to marriage, granted to the Jews for 
 the hardness of their hearts, were inconsistent with the more 
 pure and refined morality of the Gospel ; yet, notwithstanding 
 this, we perceive in the Jewish law so strong an opposition to the 
 usual licentiousness of Eastern manners, and so decided a supe- 
 riority in this respect above the legislators and philosophers of 
 the heathen world, and still more above their religious institu- 
 tions, as tend strongly to prove, that a system so favourable to 
 the interests of virtue, and restraining so powerfully, and yet so 
 judiciously, the excesses of passion ; a system, introduced at that 
 early period, in an Eastern climate, and amongst a people ac- 
 customed to be irresistibly led by objects of sense, had higher 
 origin than mere human wis<lom ; and that, to secure submission 
 to its restraint, required an interference more powerful than mere 
 human authority. Dr. Graves.
 
 Divers laii's 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 22. 
 
 chrTst ^^li^f^ren of Israel, and say unto them, * Ye 
 1490. shall be holy : for I the Lord your God am 
 "Chap.u. holy. 
 
 iPet. i.'iG. 3^ Ye shall fear every man his mother, 
 and his father, and keep my sabbaths : I 
 am the Lord your God. 
 
 4 % Turn ye not unto idols, nor make 
 to yourselves molten gods : I am the Lord 
 your God. 
 
 5 % And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace 
 offerings unto the Lord, ye shall offer it at 
 vour own will. 
 
 6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer 
 it, and on the morrow : and if ought re- 
 main until the third day, it shall be burnt 
 in the fire. 
 
 7 And if it be eaten at all on the third 
 day, it is abominable ; it shall not be ac- 
 cepted. 
 
 8 Therefore every one that eateth it shall 
 bear his iniquity, because he hath profan- 
 ed the hallowed thing of the Lord : and 
 that soul shall be cut off from among his 
 people. 
 
 » Chap. 23. g ^ ^^^ b ^y}^g„ yg j.g^p ^i^g harvest of 
 
 your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the 
 corners of thy field, neither shalt thou ga- 
 ther the gleanings of thy harvest. 
 
 10 And thou shalt not glean thy vine- 
 
 Chap. XIX. ver. 2. — Ye shall be holy: &c.] These words 
 were before used, cliap. xi. 44, with respect to forbidden meats, 
 and are now repeated with a peculiar reference to the abomina- 
 tions foibidden in the last chapter ; it being a general reason, 
 why they should strictly observe the peculiar laws, by wlu'ch they 
 were separated fi-om other people, that they were the worship- 
 pers of Him, whose most excellent nature sui-passes all other 
 beings, in purity and every other perfection. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. Ye shall fear &c.]] Ye shall reverence and respect. Pj/le. 
 It was enacted by a law of Solon, that whoever did not make 
 provision for his parents should be treated with infamy and de- 
 testation. Marsham observes, that the mother is here put before 
 the father, as, in Exodus, the father was before the mother, to 
 signify that obedience and reverence in general are due alike to 
 both parents. Bihliolh. Bibl. 
 
 5. — i/e shall offer it at ijour own rvill.'] Freely and of your own 
 choice. Dr. Wells. Or the words may be translated, as in the 
 Greek and Latin versions, " ye sliall offer it that it may be ac- 
 ceptable to the Lord," that is, according to the rules jirescribed 
 in the seventh chapter. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. Therefore every one that eateth it &c.] As Moses specified 
 to the people the laws whicli he gave them, with several repe- 
 titions, the deeper to imprint it on their memoiy ; so especially 
 he did with those laws, in which they were required to be most 
 punctual, as this of eating of the sacrifice of peace offerings on the 
 third day ; on account of the Irequency of offering them, and tiie 
 danger of " cutting off" in all who disobeyed. Bibliuth. Bibl. 
 
 9. — ihou shalt not wholly reap~\ By this command, not only 
 that which dropt accidentally, but even a part of the crop in the 
 corners of the ground was to be left to the poor : thereby, pro- 
 prietors of land were stirred to acts of good neighbourhood imd 
 generosity. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 12. — neither shall thou projme &c.] By vain, or common, or 
 needless swearing. Dr. Wells. Either by swearing to what is 
 false, or by rash swearing in common conversation, or by scoftiiiij 
 Vol. I. 
 
 yard, neither shalt thou gather nfrw grape ^'^'""' 
 of thy vineyard; thou slialt leave them for '^ h».^^ 
 the poor and stranger: I am the Lord 
 your God. 
 
 11 1[ Ye shall not steal, neither deal 
 falsely, neither lie one to another. 
 
 12 ^ And ye shall not 'swear by my 'Exo4 2o. 
 name falsely, neither shalt thou profane Deut5 11 
 the name of thy God : I am the Lord. i-iM.li'i. 
 
 13 f Thou shalt not defraud thy neigh- S- ,0" 
 hour, neither rob liim : ' the wages' of him g- 
 
 that is hired shall not abide witli thee all 'i^^*"'-^- 
 niglit until the morning. ToWt 4. h. 
 
 14 f Thou shalt not curse the deaf, ' nor ' Dcuts?. 
 put a stumblingblock before the blind, but '*• 
 shalt fear tliy God : I am the Lord. 
 
 15 ^ Ye shall do no unrighteousness in 
 judgment : thou shalt not *= respect the per- •Exod.23. 
 son of the poor, nor honour the person of ^ 
 
 the mighty : hut in righteousness shalt thou ScTe^i's!^' 
 judge thy neighbour. Prov.24. 
 
 16 ^ Thou shalt not go up and down as Jaincs2.9, 
 a talebearer among thy people: neither , ,j„,,„2 
 shalt thou stand against the blood of thy u. 
 neighbour : I ayn the Lord. J^""- "• 
 
 17 IF "Thou shalt not hate thy brother Ec'd- is. 
 in thine heart : thou shalt in any wise re- 5%,, 
 buke thy neighbour, || and not suffer sin '*"' "'o" 
 upon him. ^r..^"" 
 
 and speaking reproachfully of religion, or by too frequent, fa- 
 miliar, and irreverent mention of God in ordinarj- discourse. 
 Dr. S. Clarke. 
 
 13. — shall not abide with thee"] That is, if demanded or want- 
 ed. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 14. Thou shall not curse the deaf, &c.J Thou shalt not curse 
 thy neighbour, especially the deaf who cannot hear thee, and 
 complain of thee for so doing ; nor " put a stumblingblock in the 
 way of the bhnd," who cannot sec to avoid it. Dr. Wells. 
 
 The base action of reviling or cursing a deaf person is here 
 condemned : but this is not all ; the general meaning is. Thou 
 shalt not tike the sordid advantage of a man's incapacity to de- 
 fend himselfj and hurt him either in his bodj-, fortunes, or repu- 
 tation. To abuse an absent person, to calunmiate in secret, to 
 attack another's reputation in the dark, and in disguise, to defame 
 those who are deaii, to hurt in any manner those wlio are unable 
 to help and redress thcmseh es, all this may be called, " to curse 
 the deaf." Dr. Jortin. We are to understand this precept as for- 
 bidding us on any occasion to give wrong counsel to a simple, or 
 to a careless person. Lord Clarendon. 
 
 16. — as a talebearer'] As an informer. The word literally 
 signifies, a merchant or pedlar: it here means a person who drives 
 a trade by carrying about tales and accusations, which disturb 
 the peace, and sometimes endanger the lives, of men. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 neither shalt thou .<!tand against the blood] Neither shalt 
 
 thou be a false witness against thy neighbour, so as to endanger 
 his life. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 17. — thou shall — rebuke tht/ neighbour,] Thou shalt rebuke 
 thy neighbour for his fault, and endeavour to convince him of it ; 
 and " not suffer sin upon him," that is, not suffer him to go on in 
 his sin for want of telling him of it. In tlie margin, the latter 
 words ai-e translated, " that thou bear not sin for liim ;" meaning, 
 that, by forbearing to reprove thy neighbour, thou mayest not 
 brii^g liis guilt upon thyself. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 H k
 
 Divers laws 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 Brforr 
 CHRIST 
 
 14-JU. 
 
 ' M«tt.5. 
 43. & -i-i. 
 39. 
 
 Rom. 13. i<. 
 G«l. 5. 14. 
 Jamn 2. 8. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 tibuicd htf 
 
 nntf. 
 
 fileb. 
 
 rfpr-tached 
 by, OTi/or 
 tnan. 
 
 U Or, Mry. 
 t Hcb. 
 ihere shall 
 bf a scourg- 
 inc. 
 
 18 % Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear 
 any griulge against the children of tliy 
 people, ' but thou shalt love thy neighbour 
 as thyself: I am the Lord. 
 
 iyi[Ye shall keep my .statutes. Thou 
 shalt not let thy cattle gender with a di- 
 verse kind : thou shalt not sow thy field 
 with mingled .seed: neither shall a gar- 
 nient mingled of linen and woollen come 
 upon thee. 
 
 '20 % And whosoever lieth carnally with 
 a woman, that is a bondmaid, || t betrothed 
 to an husband, and not at all redeemed, 
 nor freedom given her ; II t she shall be 
 scourged ; they shall not be put to death, 
 because she was not free. 
 
 21 And he shall bring his tre.spass of- 
 fering unto the Lord, unto the door of the 
 tabernacle of the congi-egation, even a ram 
 for a trespass offering. 
 
 22 And the priest shall make an atone- 
 
 In many cases direct remonstrances to the faulty are necessary, 
 vliich, therefore, such, as with propriety can, are bound to make ; 
 and whatever reluctance they may find in so painful a work, must 
 " in any wise rebuke their neighboiu-, and not suffer sin upon 
 him," for the omission of it is interpreted to lie " iiating him in 
 their heart." Timely admonition niaj' stop him short just at the 
 entrance upon a wrong course. Even those, who are farther gone, 
 may yet be recalled by a lively representation of their guilt and 
 danger. But then we must be very careful, that we nevtr bring 
 a charge, unless we have incontestable proof of its truth ; that a 
 genuine friendly concern be evidently the principle of all we say; 
 that we express more sorrow than anger, where circumstances 
 will allow it ; that we use tender expostulations by choice, and 
 harsh expressions only when nothing else will prevent ruin; and 
 then also with such attention as may reconcile the person con- 
 cerned, if possible, to the liberties taken with him by the convic- 
 tion that they are taken unwillingly. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 18. — thou sliali love thy neighhottr as thyself: I am the Lord^ 
 In tlie Mosaick Law, the love of God is made the ruling principle 
 of the love of our neighbour, or of benevolence to mankind. In 
 this passage, the emphatick conclusion, " I am the Lord," inti- 
 mates that they should obey the precept of loving their neighbour, 
 for tlie lord's sake. Dr. Hales. 
 
 19- — Thou shall not let thy cattle &c.] These mixtures seem 
 to have been forbidden chiefly with a reference to some idolatrous 
 practices prevailing in those times ; also to cause a greater abhor- 
 rence of those immoral and filthy mixtures, mentioned in the 
 foregoing chapter, especially those of verses 22, 23. Bp. Patrick, 
 Pyle. 
 
 Since the things which are here prohibited are not morally evil, 
 there might he a further meaning in these laws, namely, that the 
 Jews should abstain from all impurities, and that they should 
 have no intercourse, and contract no marriages with idolatrous 
 neighbours. Dr. Jortin. 
 
 thou shall not sow thy field with mingled seed:"] This law 
 
 was possibly given in opposition to the Zabians and Amorites, 
 who designed honour to their gods by planting their vines and 
 sowing their seeds together, hoping, on tliis account, to obtain a 
 raore plentiful vintage and crop. Dean Spencer. 
 
 — ;— " garment mingled of linen and woollen'] These garments 
 of mixed substances were ordinarily woni by the Zabians, in to- 
 ken of gr.ititude and honour to their deities, whom, according to 
 the several provinces which they assigned them, as presitUng over 
 the affairs of men, they looked upon as the distributors and do- 
 nors of these and the like conveniences. Dean Spencer. 
 
 ment for him with the ram of the trespass Christ 
 offering before the Lord for his sin which 1490. 
 he hath done : and the sin which he hath 
 done shall be forgiven him. 
 
 23 ^ And when ye shall come into the 
 land, and shall have planted all manner of 
 trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit 
 thereof as uncircumcised : three years shall 
 it be as uncircumcised unto you : it shall 
 not be eaten of. 
 
 24 But in the fourth year all the fruit 
 thereof shall be t holy to praise the Lord t "*''■ ^ 
 
 Xi'lttiai. praises ttt 
 
 25 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of "" ^ord 
 the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto 
 
 you the increase thereof: I am the Lord 
 your God. 
 
 2(3 ^ Ye shall not eat a?ii/ thittg with 
 the blood : neither shall ye use enchant- 
 ment, nor observe times. ^ 
 
 27 " Ye shall not round the corners of 5. '*'"' 
 
 20. — she shall be scourged ;"] Rather, as in the margin, " there 
 shall be a scourging ;" that is, the cause of scourging to both. 
 Bibtioth. Bibl. 
 
 23. — as uncircumcised :~] As profane and refuse. This pre- 
 cept seems to have been enjoined, to draw them off from the 
 practices of idolaters, whose custom it was, to offer up to their 
 idols jjart of the firstfruits of their trees, and to eat the other part 
 in the idol's temple ; conceiving that, if this were not done, their 
 trees would be blasted, and the fruit fall off. Bps. Patrick and 
 Kidder. 
 
 25. — in the Jiflh year"] So long their faith and dependence 
 on God were to be tried ; and they had the promise of their re- 
 ward annexed, if they failed not in it, namely, " that it may yield 
 unto you the increase thereof." Bibliolh. Bibl. 
 
 26. — with the blood ;] /// or over the blood : this was in op- 
 position to the magical rites of the ancient idolaters, when they 
 would convene demons or departed souls, whom they supposed 
 to be delighted with a festival of blood : while the votaries fed 
 upon the flesh, in order to inform themselves about uncertainties 
 and futurities. Dean Spencer. 
 
 neither shall ye use enchantment,'] Neither shall ye make 
 
 an}' superstitious observation of events or omens, by which men 
 pretend to divine future events ; nor " observe times," vainly ima- 
 gining some to be lucky, others unlucky. Dr. H'ells. 
 
 27- Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, &c.] The 
 prohibitions given in this verse are made in opposition to some 
 idolatrous and superstitious practices of the heathens. " Ye shall 
 not round the corners," that is, round the ends of the hair of your 
 heads, as was done by the heathen, either as a part of superstitious 
 funeral ceremonies, or in honour of particular idols, — nor " make 
 cuttings in your flesh ;" supposed by some to have been a method 
 of pacifying infernal spirits, so as to make them propitious to the 
 dead, — nor " print any marks upon you," as did the Gentiles, to 
 shew what false god they worshipped. Pyle, Dr. Wells. 
 
 The Hebrew word translated corners signifies al.so the extremi- 
 ties of any thing ; and the meaning is, they were not to cut their 
 hair equal behind or before, as the worshippers of the stars and 
 planets, particularly the Arabians, did. There are those however, 
 who think it refers to a superstitious custom among the Gentiles, 
 in their mourning for the dead. They cut off their hair round 
 about, and threw it into the sepulchre with the bodies of their re- 
 lations and friends, and sometimes laid it upon the face or breast 
 of the dead, as an offering to the infernal gods, whereby they 
 thought to appease them and make them kind to the deceased. 
 Burder.
 
 Divers laws 
 
 CHAP. XIX, XX. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 rofane- 
 
 r^uoTtx your heads, neither slialt thou mar the 
 
 1490. comers oi thy beard. 
 'Deuti4. 28 Ye shall not ' make any cuttings in 
 '• your flesh for the dead, nor print any 
 
 marks upon you : I am the Lord. 
 t Heb. 29 ^ Do not f prostitute thy daughter, 
 
 to cause her to be a whore; lest the land 
 
 fall to whoredom, and the land become 
 
 full of wickedness. 
 
 30 ^ Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and re- 
 verence my sanctuary : I am the Lord. 
 
 31 % Regard not them that have fami- 
 liar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to 
 be defiled by them : I am the Lord your 
 God. 
 
 32 ^ Thou shalt rise up before the hoary 
 head, and honour the face of the old man, 
 and fear thy God : I am the Lord. 
 
 ^Exod.-22. 33 ^ And -"if a stranger sojourn with 
 II Or, thee in your land, ye shall not 11 vex him. 
 "''S 2" ^* " ^"' ^^ stranger that dwelleth with 
 21. " you shall be unto you as one born among 
 
 you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; 
 
 for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: 
 
 I am the Lord your God. 
 
 28. — not make any cuilings — for the dead,'] It was a fashion 
 in some countries of the Gentiles, to express their grief for the 
 loss of their friends by these incisions. Biblioth. Bibl 
 
 One reason why God was pleased to forbid these extravagant 
 and violent expressions of grief so solemnly practised among the 
 Gentiles was, the more effectually to fix them in a belief of His 
 good providence, and a future state. Dean Spencer. 
 
 The demonstration of love, by cuttings made in the flesh, is a 
 practice still prevalent in the East. " The most ridiculous and 
 senseless method of their expressing affection is, their singing 
 certain amorous and whining songs, composed on purpose for 
 such mad occasions : between every line of which they cut and 
 slash their naked arms with daggers; each endeavouring in their 
 emulative madness to exceed the other by the depth and number 
 of the wounds he gives liimself. Some Turks I have observed, 
 when old, and past the follies of their youth, to show their arms 
 all gashed and scarred from wrist to elbow; and express a great 
 concern, but greater wonder, at their past simplicity." Aaron Hilts 
 Travels. This custom of cutting themselves is taken, in several 
 places of Scripture, for a mark of affection. See Jer. xlviii. .37; 
 xvi. 6; xli. 5; xlvii. 5. AU these places include the idea of pain- 
 ful absence of the party beloved. Cuttings for the dead had the 
 same radical idea of deprivation. The law says in the text, and 
 in Deut. xiv. 1, "Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye 
 vhall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your 
 eyes for the dead:" that is, restrain such excessive tokens of grief. 
 Sorrow not as those without hope, if for a dead friend: but, if for 
 a dead idol, then it prohibits tiiis idolatrous custom, of which it 
 also manifests the antiquity. Fragments to Calmet. See note on 
 1 Kings xviii. 28; also on Zech. xiii. 6. 
 
 nor print any marks] This imprinting of marks or signa- 
 tures was understood to be fixing a badge or characteristick of 
 the person's being devoted to some false deity. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 29. Do not j)rostitute thy daughter,'} This horrible practice 
 had prevailed with some heathens, even in the service of their 
 idols. Dr. Wells. 
 
 31. Regard not them that have familiar spirits, &c.] Go not to 
 consult them, nor follow their directions. It is uncertain what is 
 exactly meant by the word "familiar spirits" in this place: it 
 is supposed by some to allude to those who imposed on mankind, 
 
 35 if Ye shall do no unrighteousness in c^ui'sT 
 judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in um. 
 measure. 
 
 36 "Just balances, just t weights, a just ° ^"'- '/• 
 ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I a?« iao. 10. 
 the Lord your God, which brought you ^ "*''■ 
 out of the land of Egypt. * "'"'' 
 
 37 Therefore shall ye observe all my 
 statutes, and all my judgments, and do 
 them : I am the Lord. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 1 Of him that givelh of his seed to Molech. 4 Of him 
 that favourelk such an one. 6 Of going to n-lzards. 
 7 Of sanctijicatiun. 9 Of him that curseth his pa- 
 rents. 10 Of adultery, "ll, 14, 17, 19 Of incest. 
 13 Of sodomy. 15 Of bcastiality. 18 Of unclean- 
 ness. 22 Obedience is required with holiness. 27 
 Wizards must be put to death. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing* 
 2 '■ Again, thou shalt say to the children ^P'*''- "• 
 of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children 
 of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn 
 in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto 
 Molech; he shall surely be put to death: 
 
 by pretending to have a spirit or demon speaking from within 
 their bodies. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 wizards,] Cunning or wise men, who pretended to tell 
 
 what was not to be liiiown by natural causes or orih'nary means. 
 Bp. Kidder. Fortunetellers, whose practices tended to create a 
 distrust of Providence. Pyle. See the note on chap. xx. 27. 
 
 32. — rise up before the hoary head,] Most civilized people 
 have shewn this mark of respect to age: the Lacedemonians in 
 particular enacted that the same reverence should be paid to aged 
 persons, as to fathers. Bp. Pa/rick. With remarkable solicitude 
 the Law of Moses impresses reverence for the authority, and at- 
 tention to the wants, of the aged, delivering as the direct com- 
 mand of Jehovah, " Thou shalt rise up before tlie hoary head, 
 and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the 
 Lord." How much praise have the Spartan institutions jusUy 
 obtained for cherishing tliis principle! yet how much more ener- 
 getick and authoritative is the language of the Jewish Lawgiver. 
 Dr. Graves. 
 
 In this precept, the laws of nature and of nations conspire, as 
 is very well known. This form of rising up to shew respect and 
 reverence seems to have generally and at all times obtained. Of 
 all the laws that should regulate men's deportment, in point of 
 esteem and civility, to one another, that of Lycurgus, in my opi- 
 nion, says iElian, is the most valuable and weighty, that young 
 people should rise from their seats, and break the way, at the 
 approach of the old. The giving place to the aged, and standing 
 up before them, Plato mentions among other duties of young 
 men ; and Herodotus, Xenophon, &c. speak of this, as a decorum 
 and duty constantly practised. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 3(5. — o just ephah, and a just hin,] Here put for all sorU of 
 liquid and dry measures. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XX. ver. 2. — he shall surely be put to death:] One 
 species of idolatry is marked with peculiar abhorrence in the 
 Jewish Law, that of giving their seed unto NIolech, or burning 
 their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. This the 
 Deity directs to be punished with deatli: if the punishment is 
 neglected. He denounces that He will Himself execute venge;uice, 
 as well on the offender as on those who desigaedly suffered him 
 to escape with impunity: thus marking with peculiar abhorrence 
 ^ Hh2
 
 Divers hru-s 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 (i)i(l ordinances. 
 
 TVforc the people of the land shall stone him witli 
 
 *^*!f«\' ' stones. 
 
 3 Antl I will set my face agamst that 
 man, anil will cut him off" from among 
 his people; because he hath given of his 
 Beecl unto Molech, to iletile my sanctuary, 
 and to jjiofane my holy name. 
 
 4 And if the jjeople of the land do any 
 ways hide their eyes from tiie man, when 
 he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and 
 kill liim not : 
 
 .O Then I will set my face against that 
 man, and against liis family, and will cut 
 him oft; and all tiiat go a whoring after 
 liim, to commit whoredom with Molech, 
 from among their people. 
 
 () \\ And the soul that turneth after such 
 as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, 
 to go a whoring after tlicni, I will even set 
 my face against that suul, and will cut him 
 off from among his people. 
 "Chap. 11. 7 ^ "Sanctify yourselves therefore, and 
 ri'eVric. be ye holy: for I am the Loud your God. 
 8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do 
 them: I am tlie Loiin wiiich sanctify you. 
 
 the execrable custom of human sacrifices, wliich to the disgrace 
 of reason and humanity so lonji polhUed tlie earth, even in na- 
 tions and at periods, wliich we are accustomed to honour with 
 the epithets of enhghtened and ci\ihzed. Dr. Graves. 
 
 .i/iall .stone him irillt stoiics.'\ The stoning with stones 
 
 was the peculiar punishment denounced in this and some other 
 cases, particularly adultery and blasphemy, chap. xxiv. It. Bp. 
 Palrich. 
 
 To be stoned to death, was a most grievous and terrible in- 
 fliction. When the offender came within four cubits of tlie place 
 of execution, he was stript, and his hands bound. The first ex- 
 ecutioners of the sentence were the witnesses, who generally 
 pulled off their clothes for the purpose. In their turns, they each 
 threw a large stone at his breast; and, if he was not despatched 
 by these, all the people, that stood by, threw stones at him till 
 he died. Leu-is. 
 
 3. And I will set my face &c.] There are two cases, in ■which 
 the offender here described might escape punishment; either the 
 crime could not be legally proved, or the magistrate might be 
 remiss in punishing. The Divine Lawgiver here obviates both, 
 .ind declares that, in such cases, the offender shall suffer death 
 by God's own hand, in an extraordinary manner. He sujiplies 
 the first defect in these words, " I will set My face against &c." 
 and the second at ver. 4, 5. B/). Warhtirton. 
 
 lo fle/ile nil) saiuiuari/,'] It was a defilement of the sanc- 
 tuary of God, and a profanation of His holy name, to prefer 
 ;mother pLice of sacrifice, and to pay divine honours to such abo- 
 minable idols. Dr. Welis: 
 
 '•■• — if the people — hide their eyes from the inan,'\ If they 
 connive at what he does, and dissemble their knowledge of it. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 I). — cverii one that cursclh his father or his mother'^ Every 
 nnc that revilcth or speaketli reproachfully of father or mother. 
 "/'• Hall. See note on Deut. xxvii. iG. 
 
 One of the crimes which the Jewish law punished with pecu- 
 li.ir severity, was diso/tedience to parents. " Every one that curs- 
 '■tli his father or his mother shall be surely put to death." And 
 ;ig.iin, " If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, &c." See 
 Deut. XXI. 18—21. Undoubtedly in thus enforcing filial obedi- 
 
 9 % <^For every one that curseth his fli- c^^f/l.!. 
 ther or his mother shall be surely put to moo. 
 death : he hath cursed his father or his c ^^^ g, 
 mother; his blood shall he upon him. '"• 
 
 * • ■ 1 rov *'0 *'0 
 
 W % And '' the man that committeth Matt."i5."4! 
 adultery with another man's wife, even he 2,P*"'*^- 
 that committeth adultery with his neigh- joiin 8. 4. 
 hour's wife, the adulterer and the adul- 
 teress shall surely be put to death. 
 
 11 'And the man that lieth with his "Chap-is. 
 father's wife hath uncovered his father's " 
 nakedness : both of them shall surely be 
 put to death ; their blood shall he upon 
 them. 
 
 \2 And if a man lie with his daughter 
 in law, both of them shall surely be put 
 to death: they have WTought confusion; 
 their blood shall he upon them. 
 
 13 ^ If a man also lie witli mankind, as 'Cinp. is. 
 he lieth with a woman, botli of them have ~^' 
 committed an abomination : they shall 
 surely be put to death; their blood shall 
 he upon them. 
 
 H' And if a man take a wife and her 
 mother, it is wickedness : they shall be 
 
 ence, the Jewish law laid the fouiid.ition of every virtue. He 
 who despises parental instruction, tramples on parental authority, 
 and feels no gratitude for parental afl'ection in his earlier j-ears, 
 will probably as his passions strengtiicn, and his depraved habits 
 grow inveterate, trample on the authority of laws both human and 
 divine, and requite witii ingratitude all the benefits which man 
 can confer, and all the blessings which the Divinity bestows. But 
 in estiiblisliing this iniportimt principle, we see nothing harsh or 
 overstrained: the parents have no such arbitrary authority as un- 
 der the Uonian law, which armed tlic father with the absolute 
 right of life and death over his children, and even allowed him 
 to fell them three times over : a power which lasted during their 
 whole lives, or ended only with the third sale. Nor was such ex- 
 treme parental power deemed unreasonable in Greece; where it 
 was maintained, that the power of a father of a family over his 
 slaves and children was absolute. On the contrary, in the Jewish 
 law, all is just and moderate. The offence of cursing father or 
 mother implies such hardened impiety, as well as such extreme 
 contempt and malignity towards the authors of our existence, as 
 strikes the heart with horrour, and indicates the greatest moral 
 depravity. Equally worthy of reprobation and punishment is 
 pe';severing and obstinate stubbornness and rebellion, against that 
 exercise of parental authority which would restrain drunkenness 
 and debauchery: and when such disobedience was investigated 
 by a solemn and publick trial, and established by a judicial con- 
 viction, it surely merited infamy and death; so that " all Israel 
 might hear and fear, and put away evil from among them." Dr. 
 Graves. See note on Deut. xxi. 18. 
 
 his blood shall he upon him.'} He shall be guilty of his 
 
 own death. Bp. Kidder. The jieculiar meaning of this phrase is, 
 he shall perish by his own fault, and therefore his bloo<l, that is, 
 his death, shall riot be vindicated; the blood of an innocent man, 
 who was slain, was said to be on the murderer, that is, was to be 
 avenged. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Our Saviour cites this law, in opposition to an evil practice of 
 the Jews, at Matt. xv. 4; Mark vii. 10. 
 
 12. — Ihei/ have n-rought confusion;'] They have pervert- 
 ed the order of nature which God hath appointed. Bp. Pa- 
 trick.
 
 Divers laws 
 
 CHAP. XX, XXI. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 23. 
 
 CUap. IS. 
 
 ^i^^Tt- burnt with fire, both he and thev ; that 
 i4yo. there be no wickedness among you. 
 
 15 ^And if a man lie with a beast, he 
 shall surely be put to death : and ye shall 
 slay the beast. 
 
 IG And if a woman approach unto any 
 beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill 
 the woman, and the beast : they shall sure- 
 ly be put to death ; their blood shall be 
 upon them. 
 
 17 And if a man shall take his sister, 
 his father's daughter, or his mother's 
 daughter, and sec her nakedness, and she 
 see his nakedness ; it is a wicked thing ; 
 and they shall be cut off in the sight of 
 their people : he hath uncovered his sister's 
 nakedness ; he shall bear his iniquity. 
 
 18 ''And if a man shall lie v.ith a woman 
 having her sickness, and shall uncover her 
 nakedness ; he hath t discovered her foun- 
 tain, and she hath uncovered the fountain 
 of her blood : and both of them shall be 
 cut off from among their people. 
 
 19 And thou slialt not uncover the na- 
 kedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy 
 father's sister : for he uncovereth his near 
 kin : they shall bear their iniquity. 
 
 20 And if a man shall lie with his uncle's 
 wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's naked- 
 ness : they shall bear their sin ; they shall 
 die childless. 
 
 21 And if a man shall take his brother's 
 wife, it is + an unclean thing : he hath un- 
 covered his brother's nakedness ; they sliall 
 be childless. 
 
 22 % Ye shall therefore keep all my 'sta- 
 tutes, and all my judgments, and do them : 
 
 " Chap. 18. 
 19. 
 
 tHeb. 
 •made nU' 
 Led. 
 
 tHeb. 
 « separa- 
 tion. 
 
 • Cliap. 18. 
 2G. 
 
 18. And if a. man &c.] This is to be understood of ivilful and 
 presumptuous acts : he that did the same unawares was not liable 
 to the same severity, chap. xv. St. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 20. — theij shall die childless.'] Some interpret this to mean 
 that they shall not be suffered to live till they have children. It 
 seems better to understand in the literal sense, that they shall 
 not have any children, which are declared blessings b)' the Author 
 of nature. Biblioth. Bihl. 
 
 25. Ye shall there/ore put difference] We observe in every 
 part of the law a wise provision for keeping the Israelites a se- 
 parate people, by forbidding them to confgrm to the rites and 
 customs of other people, and enjoining such a distinction of meats 
 and sacrifices, as must prevent all intimacy between them, and in 
 some instances create in the heathens an abhorrence of them ; 
 for they were commanded to abstain from meats which others 
 ate, and to sacrifice and eat what others worshipped. This was 
 the reason given for that command of clean or unclean creatures, 
 by God Himself: and it is probable that for this very reason the 
 law condescends to such little things, as the fashion of their dress, 
 their beards, &c. that God might in every respect distinguish and 
 make tliem known from all other people, and so prevent all mix- 
 tm-e and confusion. Dr. T. Burnett. 
 
 27. A man also or ivmnan that hath a familiar spirit, &c.] On 
 the principle which pervades the whole Jewish law, of preserving 
 the allegiance due to the Supreme Jehovah; resorting or pre- 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1490. 
 
 ' Chsp. 18. 
 
 i'5. 
 
 ' Dent. 9. 
 
 "Chap. II. 
 Deut-H. •!. 
 
 i Or. 
 
 miwet/i, 
 
 ° Chap. 19. 
 •-'. &-A>.-. 
 1 Pet. 1.16. 
 
 ° Dcut 18. 
 
 11. 
 
 I Sam. 28. 
 
 that the land, whitlier 1 bring you to dwell 
 therein, "spue you not out. 
 
 2.3 And ye shall not walk in the man- 
 ners of the nation, which I cast out before 
 you : for they committed all these things, 
 and 'therefore I abhorred them. 
 
 21< But I have said unto you. Ye shall 
 inherit their land, and I will give it unto 
 you to possess it, a land that floweth with 
 milk and honey : I arn the Lord your 
 God, whicli ha\e separated you from ot/ie7- 
 people. 
 
 25 ""Ye sliall therefore put difference be- 
 tween clean beasts and unclean, and be- 
 tween unclean fowls and clean : and ye shall 
 not make your souls abominable by beast, 
 or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing 
 that llcreepeth on the ground, which I Iiave 
 se])arated from you as unclean. 
 
 26 And ye shall be holy unto me: "for 
 1 tlie Lord ajti holy, and have severed you 
 from other people, that ye should be mine. 
 
 27 H ° A man also or woman that hath 
 a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall 
 surely be jnit to death : they shall stone 
 them with stones : their blood shall be up- 
 on them. '* 
 
 CHAP. XXL 
 
 1 Of the priests' mourning, (i Of their holiness. 8 Of 
 their estimation. II, l.S Of their marriages. 1" The 
 priests that have blemishes must not minister in the 
 sanctuan/. 
 
 AND the Lord said unto Moses, Speak 
 unto the priests the sons of Aaron, 
 and say unto them, There siiall none be 
 defiled for the dead among his people : 
 2 But for his kin, that is near unto liim, 
 
 tending to resort to supernatural .agencj', in order to discover or 
 control future events, as it implied a dependence on inferiour 
 spirits, was a violation of allegiance to tlie true and only God, 
 who declared Himself the peculiar guardian of this people ; ever 
 ready to assist them in any distress, and communicate to them any 
 necessary information as to futurity, when piously and humbly 
 consulted according to the regulations of His law. Numb. vii. 
 89; and ,\xvii. 21, compared with Josh. i,\. 14; Judg. i. 1 ; and 
 2 Sam. V. 23. Hence those, who had, as they asserted or sup- 
 posed, " familiar spirits," those wlio practised " enchantments" or 
 witchcraft, were to be punished with deatli. Dr. Graves. 
 
 Women have been generally more addicted to tliesc arts and 
 practices than men, and men are generally tender of the other 
 sex, and willing to shew them mere)- ; on which account, women 
 are distinctly mentioned in the wording of this law. Biblioth. 
 Bibl. 
 
 Chap. XXI. ver. 1 . — There shall none he dejiled for the dead] 
 The priests, being specially dedicated to the service of God, 
 were not to do any thing in administering about a dead body, 
 which would make them legally unclean and polluted. An ex- 
 ception to the general rule is made (ver. 2) in the case of near 
 relations. Bp. Patrick. On this point, both the Greeks and Ro- 
 mans copied from the Mosaick law. The Flamen Dialis, particu- 
 larly, among the Romans, was never permitted to touch a corpse, 
 or to come where tlie ashes of the dead were deposited : the
 
 Divers lavs 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 arid ordinances. 
 
 Ik'forc 
 CHKIST 
 
 14'J0. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 being an 
 hutband 
 amiiug kit 
 people, he 
 shall not 
 defile him- 
 self (ot his 
 wife, ^c. 
 • Cbap. 19. 
 27. 
 
 that is, for his mother, and for his father, 
 ami for his son, and for his daughter, and 
 for his brother, 
 
 3 And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh 
 unto him, which hatli had no husband ; for 
 her may he be defiled. 
 
 4 But he shall not defile himself, Wbeing 
 a chief man among his people, to profane 
 himself. 
 
 .5 ' They shall not make baldness upon 
 their head, neither shall they shave ofi" the 
 corner of their beard, nor make any cut- 
 tings in their flesh. 
 
 6 They shall be holy unto their God, 
 and not profane the name of their God : 
 for the offerings of the Loud made by fire, 
 and the bread of their God, they do ofier : 
 therefore they shall be holy. 
 
 7 They shall not take a wife that is a 
 whore, or profane ; neither shall they take 
 a woman put away from her husband : for 
 he is holy unto his God. 
 
 8 Thou shalt sanctify him therefore ; for 
 he oflfereth the bread of thy God: he shall 
 be holy unto thee : for I the Lord, which 
 sanctify you, ain holy. 
 
 !) ^ And the daughter of any priest, if 
 
 Pontifex Maximus was not allowed so much as to look on a dead 
 body. Bibliotli. Bibl. The Jewish priests were forbidden (as the 
 Hebrews say) to come within four cubits of a dead body, or to 
 enter into the house where it lay. Lewis. 
 
 3. — nliich hath had no /itisband;'] To take care of her funeral. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — fteina a c/iiefman among his peojde^ The Hebrew words 
 admit of being translated " for a cliief man among his people :" 
 so the V^ulgate, Syriack, and .'Vjabick render it ; and tliis sense 
 seems preferable. Bibliolh. Bibl. 
 
 5. They shall not make baldness &c.] After this manner the 
 Egyptians annually worshipped Osiris. They shaved their heads, 
 meaning to express their sorrow for the sad fate of their king, 
 in despoiling their own heads of the ornament of their hair. 
 They beat their breasts, tore the flesh off their arms, and ripped 
 open the scars of wounds which they had given themselves the 
 year before. Thus all the customs here forbidden obtained a- 
 mong the Egyptians and other nations, and were of an idolatrous 
 nature, as practised by them in their mournings for the dead. 
 Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 neither — shave off the corner of their beard,"^ After the 
 
 manner of the idolatrous priests, who were used to shave their 
 beards, and smite their cheeks, at the funeral of their friends. 
 Nor was the high priest to " make cuttings in his flesh" with his 
 nails or with a knife, or other sharp instruments, in imitation of 
 the heathen, who by these rites thought to pacify tiie anger of the 
 enraged deities. Lcn-is. 
 
 6. — the bread of their God,2 The sacrifices are so called, as 
 the altar was the table of God, whereon His provision, as their 
 
 King, was laid, and consumed in the palace of His tabernacle. 
 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7 a wife that is a whore, &c.] The priests were forbidden 
 
 *° "".^y " prostitute, or even a person of suspected chastity ; 
 
 , *? "k P™*^"*^ woman," that is, one descended from persons of 
 
 tall character, or born of such an union as is here forbidden to 
 
 the priest ; also a woman who had been divorced, because she was 
 
 of suspecte<l fame. Lewis. 
 
 8. T/uM shaU sanctify him therefore , 2 Some suppose this pre- 
 
 she profime herself by playing the whore, (.Hp'j*- 
 she profaneth her father : she shall be 1490. 
 burnt with fire. 
 
 10 And he that is the high priest among 
 his brethren, upon whose head the anoint- 
 ing oil was poured, and that is consecrated 
 to put on the garments, shall not uncover 
 his head, nor rend his clothes ; 
 
 11 Neither shall he go in to any dead 
 body, nor defile himself for his father, or 
 for his mother ; 
 
 12 Neither shall he go out of the sanc- 
 tuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his 
 God ; for the crown of the anointing oil 
 of liis God is upon him : I am the Lord. 
 
 13 And he shall take a wife in her vir- 
 ginity. 
 
 li A widow, or a divorced woman, or 
 profane, or an harlot, these shall he not 
 take : but he shall take a virgin of his own 
 people to wife. 
 
 15 Neither shall he profane his seed 
 among his people : for I the Loud do sanc- 
 tify him. 
 
 16 % And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Wlioso- 
 
 cept directed to Moses and his successors in the supreme autho- 
 rity ; others to the people, that, within their proper bounds, they 
 should do all that in them lay to prevent such profanations as 
 these, and keep any priests, who had thus actually disqualified 
 themselves, from continuing to exercise their function till they 
 had divorced such wives. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 9. — the daughter of any priest, "^ The particular severity of 
 punishment on the priest's daugiiter might be enjoined, not only 
 cut of general regard to the dignity of' the priesthood, but also 
 to deter from the wicked usages of heathen priests, who were 
 wont to prostitute their wives and daughters, even in their reli- 
 gious rites. Pyle. 
 
 10. — not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;'^ The high 
 priest especially was not to omit the duties of his oflice, by shew- 
 ing signs of mourning, even on the occasion o( the death of his 
 nearest relations. By " uncovering his head," is either meant 
 the laying aside of his mitre, which is one of the holy garments, 
 without which it was unlawful for him to officiate ; or else the 
 shaving of his head, which was a customary mode of expressing 
 grief. T)r. .Jennings. 
 
 rend his clothes;'] The Jews say, that they whose gar- 
 ments were torn by accident were as incapable of officiating as 
 those who rent them by design. Lewis. The high priest, because 
 he was a more eminent type of Christ, was to have an especial 
 care of his sanctity. 5. Clarke. 
 
 12. Neither shall he go out of the tunctuary,'] The priest's con- 
 stant observance of this law, not to leave the sanctuary at any 
 time, till he had duly finished the service of it, did not a little 
 tend to render both his office and his person more venerable. 
 For when, in obedience and honour to God, he had such a com- 
 mand of himself as to let nothing interrupt him in the exercise of 
 his office, and take him from it, neither ordinary business, nor 
 extraordinary events of any kind ; this discovered how serious 
 and profound a reverence he bore to the sanctuary of his God. 
 Dean Spencer. 
 
 15. Neither shall he profane his seed] That is, neither shall he 
 vitiate or corrupt his posterity by foreign and forbidden mixtures 
 in marriage. Bp. Kidder.
 
 Divers laws 
 
 CHAP. XXI, XXII. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 CHRIST ^^^^ ^'^ ^^ ^^ *^y ^^^^ ^" ^'^^''" generations 
 1490. that hath ani/ blemish, let him not approach 
 Or.fotd. to offer the || bread of his God. 
 
 18 For whatsoever man he be that hath 
 a blemish, he shall not approach : a blind 
 man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, 
 
 ^Ch»p. 22. or any thing ''superfluous, 
 
 19 Or a man that is brokenfooted, or 
 brokenhanded, 
 
 l^'icnder. ^^ ^'^ crookbackt, or || a dwarf, or that 
 hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or 
 scabbed, or hath his stones broken ; 
 
 21 No man that hath a blemish of the 
 seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh 
 to offer the offerings of the Loud made by 
 fire : he hath a blemish ; he shall not come 
 nigh to offer the bread of his God. 
 
 22 He shall eat the bread of his God, 
 both of the most holy, and of the holy. 
 
 23 Only he shall not go in unto the vail, 
 nor come nigh unto the altar, because he 
 hath a blemish ; that he profane not my 
 sanctuaries : for I the Lord do sanctify 
 them. 
 
 24 And Moses told it unto Aaron, and 
 to his sons, and unto all the children of 
 Israel. 
 
 CHAP. XXIL 
 
 1 The priests in their uncleanness must abstain frmn the 
 holy things. 6 How they shall be cleansed. 10 Who 
 of the priest's house may eat of the lioly things. 1 7 
 The sacrifices must be without blemish. 26 The age 
 of the sacrifice. 29 The law of eating the sacrijice 
 of thanksgiving. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 2 Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, 
 that they separate themselves from the 
 holy things of the children of Israel, and 
 
 17. — that hath any blemish, &c.] The priests were required 
 to be free from any blemish or defect of body, as well as pos- 
 sessed of a religious frame and habit of mind, which did but 
 faintly represent the unexampled purity and perfections of our 
 great High Priest, " who is holy, harmless, tindcjilcd, separate from 
 sinners," having no such infirmity as the high priests of the law, 
 which should make Him need to offer up sacrifice for any sins of 
 His own, or daily ones for other people ; but having made a full 
 reconciliation by the sacrifice of Himself, and remaining perfect, 
 and " consecrated for evermore." Dr. Berriman. 
 
 Those who were deformed and ill favoured were excluded from 
 the ministry, because the vulgar do not judge according to men's 
 true worth and beauty, (which lie in the soul,) but according to 
 their outward appem*ance, in tlie comeliness of their bodies, and 
 the richness of their garments ; and therefore the end of these 
 precepts was, that the house of God might be had in due reverence 
 and honour. Lewis. 
 
 22. He shall eat the bread of his God^ Though such a priest 
 might not offer any sacrifice, yet he might eat with his brethren 
 of that part of the sacrifices which was given to tliem for their 
 portion; both, of " the most holy," as meat offerings and sin 
 
 that they profane not my holy name in ^^°" 
 those things which they hallow unto me : I '^"i^^^ 
 am the Lord. 
 
 3 Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all 
 your seed among your generations, that 
 goeth unto the holy things, which the chil- 
 dren of Israel hallow unto the Lohd, hav- 
 ing his uncleanness upon him, that soul 
 shall be cut off from my presence : I am 
 the Lord. 
 
 4 What man soever of the seed of Aaron 
 
 is a leper, or hath a t running issue; he tw^b. 
 shall not eat of the holy things, until he Th'c'I^JH'^ 
 be clean. And ' whoso toucheth any thing ' Chap. is. 
 that is unclean btj the dead, or a man whose ^• 
 seed goeth from him ; 
 
 5 Or whosoever toucheth any creeping 
 thing, whereby he may be made unclean, 
 or a man of whom he may take unclean- 
 ness, whatsoever uncleanness ho hath ; 
 
 6 The soul which hath touched any such 
 shall be unclean until even, and shall not 
 eat of the holy things, unless he wash his 
 flesh with water. 
 
 7 And when the sun is down, he shall 
 be clean, and shall afterward cat of the 
 holy things ; because it is his food. 
 
 8 " That which dieth of itself, or is torn » Eiod. 22. 
 •with beasts, he shall not eat to defile him- |'^-^^ ^^ 
 self therewith : I am the Lord. si" 
 
 9 They shall therefore keep mine ordi- 
 nance, lest they bear sin for it, and die 
 therefore, if they profane it : I the Lord 
 do sanctify them. 
 
 10 There shall no stranger eat of the 
 holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or 
 an hired servant, sliall not eat of the holy 
 thing, ^ Heb. 
 
 11 But if the priest buy am/ soul twith "•■'*"'« 
 his money, he shall eat of it, and he that 'hiimo^. 
 
 offerings ; and " of the holy," as the firstfruits, titlies, &c. Bp. 
 Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 Chap. XXn. ver. 2. — tliat they separate themselves from the 
 Iwly things^ That they do not presume to eat of tlieui in the 
 circumstances now to be mentioned. Bibliolh. Bibl. 
 
 3. — Imifing his uncleanness upon him,"] The circumstance of 
 the priests' being disqualified from ministering in, or even enter- 
 ing the sanctuary, by these impurities, which in themselves were 
 merely legal and ritual, was one effectual means to preserve and 
 cultivate, in the minds of men, worthy sentiments of the majesty 
 of God, and all that preparation of the heart, with whicli it be- 
 came them to approach His worship. Dean Spencer. 
 
 7. — because it is his food.'} Gotl was so gracious, as not to 
 keep a priest any longer in a state, wherein he should want his 
 necessary or comfortable sustenance. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — no stranger} By " stranger" is here meant, one not of 
 the priest's family ; as also at ver. 12. By " a sojoiumer of the 
 priest," one who dwells in his house, but is not part of his fa- 
 mily. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 11. — if the priest buy any soul} If he buy any person, either
 
 Divers laws 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 Ikforc 
 CM III ST 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 a man n 
 
 ' Chap. 10. 
 M. 
 
 n O'. 
 
 laite tiiem- 
 iflvei wiifi 
 the miquitt^ 
 
 in their tal- 
 
 is born in his house : they shall eat of his 
 meat. 
 
 I'J If the priest's daughter also be mar- 
 ried unto t a stranger, slie may not eat of 
 an ortering of the holy things. 
 
 13 But if the priest's daughter be a 
 widow, or divorced, and have no child, 
 and is returned unto her father's house, 
 ■'as in her youth, she shall eat of her fa- 
 ther's meat : but there shall no stranger 
 eat thereof. 
 
 14 IT And if a man eat of the holy thing 
 unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part 
 thereof unto it, and shall give il unto the 
 priest Avith the holy thing. 
 
 15 And they shall not profane the holy 
 things of the ciiildren of Israel, which they 
 offer unto the Lord ; 
 
 l«i Or II suffer them to bear the iniquity 
 of trespass, when they eat their holy things: 
 for I the Lord do sanctify them. 
 
 17 IF And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 18 Speak unto Aaron, and to his .sons, 
 and unto all the children of Israel, and say 
 unto them, Whatsoever he he of the house 
 of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that 
 will offer his oblation for all his vows, and 
 for all his freewill offerings, which they 
 will offer unto the Lord for a burnt offer- 
 ing ; 
 
 1!) Ye shall offer at your own will a male 
 without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, 
 or of the goats. 
 
 20 But whatsoever hath a blemish, that 
 shall ye not offer : for it shall not be ac- 
 ceptable for you. 
 
 21 '' And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of 
 peace offerings unto the Lord to accomplish 
 his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or 
 
 Or, goats. II sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted ; 
 there shall be no blemish therein. 
 
 22 Blind, or broken, or maimed, or hav- 
 ing a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall 
 not offer these unto the Lord, nor make 
 an offering by fire of them upon the altar 
 unto the Lord. 
 
 il Ot,kid. 23 Either a bullock or a 11 lamb that 
 
 of another nation, or of tlicir own nation, who was compelled by 
 poverty to sell himself, lip. Patrick: 
 
 Hi. — to hear t/ic iiiimiiti/ of trespass, &c.] That i.s, to fall un- 
 der the punishment which 'Go<1 will inflict for their trespass, in 
 eating thin^rs which do not appertiin to them. Bp. Patrick. 
 . -•'• — ''"' for a I'orv SiC.^ Freewill offerings were different 
 from vows, there heing no obligation upon them to offer the for- 
 mer, as there was to offer tlie latter : and a less perfect animal 
 
 n",", }^, •■•cceptcd in the one case, Uiough not in the other. 
 IJiolioln. Bibl. 
 
 ' DcHt 15. 
 31. & 17. 1. 
 
 R eft>ro 
 CHRIST 
 
 H90. 
 
 ' Chni). 21. 
 
 IS. 
 
 II Or, 
 she goat. 
 1" ' Deut. 2iJ 
 
 hath any thing ' superfluous or lacking in 
 iiis parts, that mayest thou offer Jbr a free- 
 will offering ; but for a vow it shall not be 
 accepted. 
 
 21. Ye siiall not offer unto the Lord that 
 which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or 
 cut ; neither shall ye make ti7ii/ ojj'cring 
 thereof in your land. 
 
 2.5 Neither from a stranger's hand shall 
 ye offer the bread of your God of any of 
 these ; because their corruption is in them, 
 and blemishes be in them : they shall not 
 be acceptetl for you. 
 
 2() ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 27 When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, 
 is brought forth, then it shall be seven days 
 under the dam ; and from the eighth day 
 and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an 
 offering made by fire unto the Lord. 
 
 28 And whether it be cow or || ewe, ye 
 shall not kill it ' and iier young both 
 one day. 
 
 29 And when ye will offer a sacrifice of 
 thanksgiving unto the Lord, offer it at 
 your own will. 
 
 30 On the same day it shall be eaten up ; 
 ye shall leave ^ none of it until the morrow: 
 I am the Lord. 
 
 31 Therefore shall ye keep my com- 
 mandments, and do them : I am the Lord. 
 
 32 Neither shall ye profane my holy 
 name ; but ^ I will be hallowed among the 
 children of Israel : I am the Lord which 
 hallow you, 
 
 3S That brought you out of the land of 
 Egypt, to be your God : I am the Lord. 
 
 CHAP. XXIIL 
 
 1 The feasts of the Lord. 3 The sahhatli. 4 The pass- 
 over. 9 The sheaf of Jirslfniits. 1 5 The feast of 
 Penteco.it. 22 Gleanings to be left for the poor. 23 
 The feast of trumpets. 26 The day of atonement. 
 
 33 The feast of tabernacles. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and 
 say unto them, Conceryiing the feasts of the 
 
 28. — not kill it and her young both in one day.'] In this and 
 other instances of the Mosaick Law, the things mentioned, slight 
 as they may appear, are condemned, because they carry an air of 
 cruelty : and, if cruelty, and the appearance of it, or a tendency 
 to it, was to be condemned even towards brutes, much more was 
 compassion and pity due to men. Dr. Jortin. 
 
 Chap. XXIII. ver. 2. — Concerning the fea-^ts] The Hebrew 
 word should rather be translated " solemn assemblies:" for, under 
 the name is comprehended the day of atonement, ver. 27, which 
 
 « Chap. 7. 
 15. 
 
 " Cliap. 10. 
 
 3
 
 Divers latvs 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 CHuTsT Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy 
 
 1490. convocations, even these are my feasts. 
 » Exod. 20. 3 * Six days shall work be done : but the 
 Deut.5.13. seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy 
 Luk« 13. convocation ; ye shall do no work therein : 
 *^' it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your 
 
 dwellings. 
 
 4 % These are the feasts of the Lord, 
 even holy convocations, which ye shall pro- 
 claim in their seasons. 
 "•Exod. 12. 5 b In the fourteenth r% of the first 
 Numb. 28. Hiontli at cven is the Lord's passover. 
 ^''- 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same 
 
 month is the feast of unleavened bread un- 
 to the Lord : seven days ye must eat un- 
 leavened bread. 
 
 7 In the first day ye shall have an holy 
 convocation : ye shall do no servile work 
 therein. 
 
 8 But ye shall offer an offering made by 
 fire unto the Lord seven days : in the se- 
 venth day is an holy convocation : ye shall 
 do no servile work therein. 
 
 9 IT And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying^ 
 
 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, 
 and say unto them. When ye be come into 
 the land which I give unto you, and shall 
 reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall 
 
 II Or, bring a || t sheaf of the firstfruits of your 
 
 handful. i , . . i • . "^ 
 
 t Heb. harvest unto tlie priest : 
 
 untmer. n ^^d he shall wave the sheaf before 
 
 the Lord, to be accepted for you : on the 
 
 morrow after the sabbath the priest shall 
 
 wave it. 
 
 12 And ye shall offer that day when ye 
 
 wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish 
 
 Was no feast, but a fast. — All that are mentioned in this chapter 
 had been appointed in general before ; the sabbath, Exod. xx ; 
 the passover, Exod. xii ; the feast of weeks, and tlie feast of tidier- 
 nacles, Exod. xxiii. iC; xxxiv. 22; and the day of atonement, 
 Levit. xvi : the directions are here repeated with such additions 
 as had not before been given. Py/e. 
 
 3. — do 110 work therein .•] It is observable that, on the weekly 
 sabbath, and on the day of expiation, they are commanded to do 
 no work, verses 28, ."O : on their other festivals they were to do 
 " no servile work," that is, no hiborious work, to which slaves are 
 usually put. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 5. In the fourteenth day &c.] See notes at Exod. xii. 
 
 10. — ye shall bring a sheaf Sec."] By this they were reminded 
 of the bounty of God in His plentiful gifts of the fruits of the 
 earth, and of their duty to offer up their prayers for His blessing 
 on the next crop : they were also reminded of their dependence 
 on Providence for the proper seasons of sowing, reaping, and or- 
 tlering their land ,• since none of the product of that year was to 
 be used, till the offering was made. From this homage and testi- 
 mony of gratitude very probably did the Gentiles afterwiirds bor- 
 row their forms and rites of sacrificing to the deities, whom they 
 supposed to preside over the fruits of then- grounds, as Ceres, Pan, 
 Bacchus, &c. Bihlioth. Bibl. 
 
 11. — on the morrow after the sabhalh~\ Not on tlie mor- 
 VoL. I. 
 
 ST 
 
 of the first year for a burnt offering unto ^'^°" 
 the Lord. ^"4^""' 
 
 13 And the meat offering thereof shall 
 be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled 
 with oil, an offering made by fire unto the 
 Lord for a sweet savour : and tlie drink 
 offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth 
 2^art of an bin. 
 
 14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor 
 parched corn, nor green ears, until the 
 selfsame day that ye have brought an of- 
 fering unto your God : it shall be a statute 
 for ever throughout your generations in all 
 your dwellings. 
 
 15 ^ And 'ye shall count unto you from ' Dcutic. 
 the morrow after the sabbath, from the ^" 
 
 day that ye brought the sheaf of the 
 wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be 
 complete : 
 
 16 Even unto the morrow after the se- 
 venth sabbath shall ye number fifty days ; 
 and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 17 Ye shall bring out of your habita- 
 tions two wave loaves of two tenth deals : 
 they shall be of fine flour ; they shall be 
 baken with leaven ; they are the firstfruits 
 unto the Lord. 
 
 18 And ye shall offer with the bread se- 
 ven lambs without blemish of the first year, 
 and one young bullock, and two rams : 
 they shall bejbr a burnt offering unto the 
 Lord, with their meat offering, and their 
 drink offerings, even an offering made by 
 fire, of sweet savour unto the Lord. 
 
 19 Then ye shall .sacrifice one kid of the 
 goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of 
 
 row after the ordinary sabbath of the week, but after tlic first 
 day of the passover week, which was a sabbatick day. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 15. — seven sabbaths'] Or seven whole weeks. 
 
 16. — shall ye number fifty days ;] Hence this feast is styled in 
 the New Testament, the feast of Pentecost, Uie word Pentecost 
 signifying fiftieth in Greek. It is called " the feast of weeks," Exod. 
 xxxiv. 22, because celebrated seven weeks, or a week of weeks, 
 after the passover ; " the feast of harvest," Exod. xxiii. l6, because 
 the barley harvest, which began at tJie jiassover, ended at tliis time; 
 " the day of the firstfruits," Numb, xxviii. 2(5, because, on that day, 
 they were to offer " a new meat offering unto the Lord." .See this 
 chap. ver. 1 6, 17. The rabbies also call it, " the day of the giving of 
 the law ;" for it is the constant opinion of the Jews, that on this day, 
 namely, on the fiftieth day of their departure from Egj'pt, tlie law 
 was given on mount Sinai. This they collect from Exod. xix. 1. 
 Tlie more inimediate design of this institution seems to have been, 
 tliat they might thankfully acknowledge the goodness of God in 
 giving them the fruits of the eartli, and implore His further 
 blessing, by offering to Him the firstfruits of their harvest ; and 
 it doubtless had a typical reference to the firstfruits of the Holy 
 Spirit, and of converts to Christ, after the erection of the Gospel 
 kingdom, by means of St. Peter's preaching on the day of Pente- 
 cost. Dr. Jennings. 
 
 I i
 
 Divers Ions 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 rii 
 
 Before the fipst vcar for a sacrifice of peace of- 
 II R 1ST ,. . ■' 
 
 H90. fcrings. . , „ ,, •,, 
 
 '20 And the priest shall wave them with 
 the bread of the firstfruitsyor a wave offer- 
 ing before the Loud, with the two lambs : 
 they shall be holy to tiie Loud for the 
 priest. 
 
 '21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame 
 day, that it may bo an holy convocation 
 unto you : ye shall do no servile work 
 therein : it shall he a statute for ever in all 
 vour dwellings throughout your genera- 
 tions. 
 «cbip. 19. 'J2 IT And " when yc reap the harvest of 
 '• your land, thou shalt not make clean rid- 
 
 dance of the corners of thy field when thou 
 •D«ut.24. reapest, "^neither shalt thou gather any 
 ''•*• gleaning of thy harvest : thou shalt leave 
 
 them unto the poor, and to the stranger: 
 I am the Lord your God. 
 
 23 if And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 
 saying, 
 
 ''2t Speak unto the children of Israel, 
 
 » Numb, saving, In the ^ seventh month, in the first 
 
 ^''' '■ daii of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, 
 
 a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy 
 
 convocation. 
 
 ^15 Ye sliall do no servile work therein : 
 
 but ye shall offer an offering made by fire 
 
 unto the Loud. 
 
 • Chap. 16. 2G if And the Lord spake imto Moses, 
 
 ■«'• saying, 
 
 7."" ■ ■ 27 * Also on the tenth day of this se- 
 
 521. — ye shall do no sennle work therein:^ Perliaps one 
 day only was appointed at this feast, to be free from all ser- 
 vile work, because of the important business of wheat harvest, 
 ■which was then coming on, and could not permit to them so 
 much leisure, as when tlie fruits were all gathered. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 24. — a memorial of bloming of trumpets^ This festival was 
 called the feast of trumpets ; and, as Scripture no where assigns 
 the reason of tiiis festival and of the blowing of trimipets upon it, 
 the leametl are very much divided about it. Maimonides thinks 
 it was instituted to awaken the people to repentance, against the 
 annual fast, or great day of expiation, which followed nine days 
 after. Other Jews make the Ijlowiiig of the tnmipet a memorial 
 of Isaac's deliverance by means of the ram, which was substituted 
 for sacrifice in his stead, on which account, they saj-, the trum- 
 pets now sounded were made of rams' homs. Some Christian fa- 
 thers make the sounding of the trumpets on this day, to be a me- 
 n\orial of the giving of the Law at moinit Sinai, which was at- 
 ten<le<l with the sound of the trumpet. But the opinion more ge- 
 nerally embraced is, that it was a memorial of the creation of the 
 world, which is supposed, not without reason, to have token place 
 Btthis season of the year. Accordingly, this seventh month was not 
 only anciently, but is still, reckoned by the Jews the first month 
 of the year. Thus the feast of trumpets was indeed the new 
 vears day, on which the people were solemnly called upon to re- 
 k"* '" " grateful remembrance of all Gotl's benefits to them, 
 through the last year, as well as to implore His blessing upon 
 them lor the ensuing year, which was partly the intention of the 
 sacrifices on this day offered. Dr. Jaminss. 
 
 ventli month there shall he a day of atone- cwr^st 
 ment : it shall be an holy convocation unto hso. 
 you ; and ye shall afflict your souls, and 
 offer an offering made by fire unto the 
 Loud. 
 
 28 And ye shall do no work in that 
 same day : for it is a day of atonement, to 
 make an atonement for you before the 
 Lord your (lod. 
 
 2!) For whatsoever soul it be that shall 
 not be afflicted in that same day, he shall 
 be cut off" from among his people. 
 
 30 And wliatsoever soul it be that doetli 
 any work in tiiat same day, the same soul 
 will I destroy from among his people. 
 
 .'31 Ye shall do no manner of work : it 
 shall be a statute for ever throughout your 
 generations in all your dwellings. 
 
 32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, 
 and ye shall afflict your souls : in the ninth 
 day of the month at even, from even unto 
 even, shall ye t celebrate your sabbath. tHcii.mt. 
 
 3S if And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 31' Speak unto the children of Israel, 
 saying, " The fifteenth day of this seventh ' Kumb. 
 month shall be the feast of tabernacles yor joimv. 37. 
 seven days unto the Lord. 
 
 35 On the first day shall he an holy 
 convocation : ye shall do no servile work 
 therein. 
 
 SQ Seven days ye shall offer an offering 
 made by fire unto the Lord : on the eighth 
 
 32. — in the ninth dor/ — at ct'CK,] The tenth day was the 
 day of atonement, ver. 27, but they were to begin to observe it 
 before sunset on the ninth. Bp. Patrick. Respecting this day, 
 see notes on chap. xvi. 
 
 .^4. — the feast of tabernacle.'!'] This feast was so ciJled from 
 their being commanded to dwell in tobernacles or booths, during 
 the celebration of it, ver. 42 ; also called " the feast of ingather- 
 ing," Exod. xxiii. Hi, because, at this season, the whole har\'est, not 
 only of the corn, but also of the vintage and other fruits, for which 
 they were to express their thankfulness to God at this feast, was 
 completed. It is expressly stoted that the seven days, ver. 42, 43, 
 were in commemoration of their dwelling in tents in thi wilder- 
 ness for forty years : the eighth day was not .so properly a part of 
 the feast of tobernacles, as another distinct feast which followed 
 immediately after, according to the account in Nehem. viii. 18: 
 this eighth day therefore was properly tlie feast of ingathering, 
 on wliich they were to give thanks for their whole harvest, Deut. 
 xvi. l.S — 16'. It has been variously conjectured, why the comme- 
 moration of their dwelling in tents was fixed for this season of 
 the year. Some have supposed that the season was selected, 
 because the people could dwell in tents with least inconvenience : 
 others, that this'was the time when Moses came doAvn a second 
 time from the mount, after the sin of the golden calf The learn- 
 ed Jos. Mede's opinion seems to lie the most ])r()bable, as well as 
 the most ingenious, namely, th;it this feast was affixed to the time 
 of year when Christ was to be born, and the dwelling in toberna- 
 cles was intended as a type of His incarnation, as .St. John inti- 
 mates, John i. 1 4, " The Word was made flesh, and dwelt^" or ta- 
 bernacled, " among us." Dr. Jennings. 
 
 M
 
 Divers laws 
 
 CHAP. XXIII, XXIV. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 tHcb. 
 day of r^' 
 slraint. 
 
 Before ^ay shall bc an holy convocation unto you; 
 1490. and ye shall offer an offering made by fire 
 
 unto the Lord : it is a t solemn assembly ; 
 
 and ye shall do no servile work therein. 
 
 37 These ai-e the feasts of the Lord, 
 which ye shall proclaim to be holy con- 
 vocations, to offer an offering made by fire 
 unto the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat 
 offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, 
 every thing upon his day : 
 
 38 Beside the sabbaths of the Lord, and 
 beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, 
 and beside all your freewill offerings, which 
 ye give unto the Lord. 
 
 39 Also in the fifteenth day of the se- 
 venth month, when ye have gathered in 
 the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast 
 unto the Lord seven days: on the first day 
 shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day 
 shall be a sabbath. 
 
 40 And ye shall take you on the first 
 day the t boughs of goodly trees, branches 
 of palm trees, and the boughs of thick 
 trees, and willows of the brook ; and ye 
 shall rejoice before the Lord your God 
 seven days. 
 
 41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto 
 the Lord seven days in the year. It 
 shall be a statute 
 rations : ye shall 
 venth month. 
 
 42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days ; 
 all that are Israelites born shall dwell in 
 booths : 
 
 43 That your generations may know 
 that I made the children of Israel to dwell 
 
 tHeb, 
 fruit. 
 
 for ever m 
 celebrate it 
 
 your 
 in the 
 
 genc- 
 se- 
 
 40. — boughs of goodly trees,2 It is evident from Nehem. viii. 
 15, that they cut these branches to make booths or tents, and not 
 to carry in their hands, though it is probable that, in aftertimes, 
 the carrying branches in their hands might be thought a fit ex- 
 pression of rejoicing. The Hebrew word for " boughs" signifies 
 also " fruit," as is noted in the margin : whence some interpret 
 " boughs of fruitbearing trees," or boughs with their fruit. They 
 were also to be boughs of " thick trees," tliat is, of thick leaved 
 trees ; trees whose boughs and leaves grew thick together. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 and ye shall rejoice &c.^ It was not intended that we 
 
 should pass our religious festivals in sullen retirement, sliunning 
 human converse, or affecting each other with melancholy. The 
 Jews were bidden to " rejoice" in their feasts " before the Lord 
 their God," Deut. xii. 12, 18; xvi. 11 ; xxvii. 7- Christians are 
 bidden to " rejoice in the Lord alway," Phil. iv. 4. /Vnd a verj' 
 ancient father, Tertidlian, informs us, that on a Sunday, for so he 
 calls it, they gave way peculiarly to religious joy ; as well they 
 might, since He who " died for our sins, then rose for our justi- 
 fication." Indeed, would we but practiseChristianity as we ought, 
 we should find its promises of pardon and strength, its beneficial 
 precepts, and glorious prosjiects, the assurance of God's love to 
 us, and the exertion of our own love to Him and our fellow- 
 creatures, matter of tlie highest joy, both within ourselves, and 
 amongst each other. Abj). Seeker. 
 
 in booths, when I brought them out of ^'°'' 
 the land of Egv-pt : I am the Lord your "jwa 
 God. 
 
 44. And Moses declared unto the chil- 
 dren of Israel the feasts of the Lord. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 1 The oil for the lamps. 5 The shen-bread. 10 She- 
 lomith's son hlasphemeth. 13 The law of blasphemy. 
 17 Of murder. 18 Of damage. 23 The blasphemer 
 is stoned. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 
 2 Command the children of Israel, that 
 they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten 
 
 for the light, t to cause the lamps to bum t H*b. 
 
 . . 11 * to cause (« 
 
 continually. „,en<<. 
 
 3 Without the vail of the testimony, in 
 the tabernacle of the congregation, shall 
 Aaron order it from the evening unto the 
 morning before the Lord continually : it 
 shall be a statute for ever in your genera- 
 tions. 
 
 4 He shall order the lamps upon ' the ' E^oJ- 5<- 
 pure candlestick before the Lord conti- ^' 
 nually. 
 
 5 ^ And thou shalt take fine flour, and 
 
 bake twelve " cakes thereof : two tenth » Exod. 25. 
 deals shall be in one cake. *^' 
 
 And thou shalt set them in two rows, 
 six on a row, upon the pure table before 
 the Lord. 
 
 7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense 
 upon eacli row, that it may be on the bread 
 for a memorial, even an offering made by 
 fire unto the Lord. 
 
 Chap. XXIV. ver. 2. Command the children of Israel,'^ A« the 
 daily service of the tabernacle was to be provided for at the cost 
 of all the Israelites, the command is here addressed to them all 
 generally. They are now reminded of what had been before en- 
 joined at Exod. xxvii. 20, &c. 
 
 5. — tneke cake.i'\ Called the bread of the presence, which we 
 translate shewbread, at Exotl. xxv. 30. It was intended for " a 
 memorial," ver. 7, that is, for an acknowledgment of the goodness 
 and sovereignty of God; " being taken from the children of Israel 
 by an everlasting covenant," ver. 8, tliat is, being pro\-ided at the 
 charge of the children of Israel, by \-irtue of a command (which 
 they had all agreed to observe) requiring the shewbread to be 
 always set before the Lord. Bp. Patrick. These loaves of shew- 
 bread were about the size of peck loaves. They were taken oflF 
 by the priests, and eaten, at the end of every week, and new ones 
 set in their places. It is probable that, in the wilderness, they 
 made tliem of flour from the manna which fell. Dr. Wall. 
 
 tno tenth deals} That is, two omers : being the quantity 
 
 which each Israelite gatheretl of manna for every sabbath, whilst 
 they sojourned in the wilderness ; whence learned men have 
 observed, that both the measure and the time were designed to 
 put the Israelites in mind of their sustenance tliere. Biblioth. 
 Bibl. 
 
 'J. — an offering made byfre'\ Since the frankmcense set upon 
 the bread, a« a part of v/hat was offered to God oh this table, 
 
 Ii2
 
 Divers lavs 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 U90. 
 
 ' Eiod. 29. 
 
 S3. 
 
 chap. 8.31. 
 
 »IMC 12. 
 
 1,5. 
 
 * Numb. 
 15. 3-». 
 fHcb. 
 to expound 
 unto litem 
 nccordingto 
 the mouth of 
 the LORD. 
 
 ' Dcut. 13. 
 
 a & 17.7. 
 
 8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order 
 before the Lord continually, beiyig taken 
 from the children of Israel by an everlast- 
 ing covenant. 
 
 9 And 'it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; 
 and they sliall oat it in the lioly place : 
 for it is most holy unto him of the otter- 
 ings of the Lord made by fire by a per- 
 petual statute. 
 
 10 if And the son of an Israelitish wo- 
 man, -whose fatiier xcas an Egyptian, went 
 out among the children of Israel : and this 
 son of tile Israelitish xcoman and a man of 
 Israel strove together in the camp ; 
 
 11 And the Israelitish woman's son blas- 
 phemed the name ()/' Ihc LORD, and curs- 
 ed. And they brought him unto Moses : 
 (and his mother's name xcas Shelomith, the 
 daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan :) 
 
 1-2 And they '' put him in ward, t that 
 the mind of the Lord might be shewed 
 them. 
 
 13 And tlie Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 14 Bring forth him that hath cursed 
 without the camp ; and let all that heard 
 Aim "lay their hands upon his head, and let 
 all the congregation stone him. 
 
 15 And thou shalt speak unto the chil- 
 dren of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth 
 his God shall bear his sin. 
 
 16 And he that blasphemeth the name 
 of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, 
 and all the congregation shall certainly 
 stone him : as well the stranger, as he that 
 is born in the land, when he blasphemeth 
 
 which was really an altar, was burnt ; it might be called " an of- 
 fering made by fire." Bihliolh. liihl. 
 
 10. — jvhose father was an Egyplian,'] The father was probably 
 one who came out from Egypt with the Israelites, and had be- 
 come a proselyte to their religion. Dr. IVclls. 
 
 12. — thai the mind of the Lord might be shewed themr\ The 
 words in the Hebrew are, as the margin states, " to expound unto 
 them (namely, by Moses) according to the mouth of the Lord," 
 that is, as the Lord should declare unto them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 ••■• — let nil that heard him &c.^ The persons who lieard him 
 were to lay their hands on him, as an open testimony to the truth 
 iif their evidence, and the ju.stice of his condemnation. Pi/le. 
 The punishment here recorded of these sins of blasphemy and 
 cursing is very remarkable, and ought to inspire us with a great 
 horrour for such sins, of which the punishment will ever be most 
 severe. Bp. li'ihon. 
 
 \6. And he that blasphemeth the name of the I^rd, &c.] On the 
 principle of preserving the allegiance due to the Supreme Jeho- 
 vah, the blasphemer, and the deliberate presumptuous " sabbath- 
 breaker," and tlie " false prophet," as they openly sliook off all 
 reverence for the Lord, were to suffer death. Numb. xv. 3-2 ■ 
 Ueut. xvu. 12; xviii. 20. Dr. Graves. 
 
 -— «.t well the stranger, &c.] As Gotl was, in a strict and 
 political sense, the proper God and sovereign Prince of Israel, 
 Htraj.gers and aUens were, in all reason, to be as much obliged to 
 
 the name of the LORD, shall be put to ^S"!"!!.^ 
 
 II CHKISI 
 
 deatn. ngo. 
 
 17 IT ' And he that t killeth any man 'Exod.21. 
 sliall surely be put to death. i;;^^ ,9 
 
 18 And he that killeth a beast shall -'i. 
 make it good ; t beast for beast. l"1'hii,c 
 
 19 And if a man cause a blemish in his i-fi-ifa 
 neighbour; as ^le hath done, so shall it be "^"ho,. 
 done to him ; OA/"-- tife. 
 
 20 Brcacii for breach, eye for eye, tooth .jii""" "'" 
 for tooth : as he hath caused a blemish in p*^"'- 's- 
 a man, so .shall it be done to him again. jiatt.s. ss. 
 
 21 And he that killeth a beast, he shall 
 restore it : and he that killeth a man, he 
 shall be put to death. 
 
 22 Ye shall have "one manner of law, 'Exodi*. 
 as well for the striuiger, as for one of your ''^' 
 own country : for I ai7t the Lord your 
 
 God. 
 
 23 ^ And Moses spake to the children 
 of Israel, that they should bring forth him 
 tliat had cursed out of the camp, and stone 
 him with stones. And the children of 
 Israel did as the Lord commanded Mo- 
 ses. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 1 The sabbath of the seventh year. 8 The jiibile in the 
 Jijiieth year. 14: Of oppre.ision. 18 A blessing of 
 obedience. 9.3 The redemption (f land. 29 ()f houses. 
 35 Cwtipassion of the poor. 3() The usage of bond- 
 men. 47 Tlie redemption of servants. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses in i4oi. 
 mount Sinai, saying, 
 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and 
 say unto them, When ye come into the 
 
 observe this law, and under the same penalties, as the Israelites 
 themselves. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 19. — as he hath done, so shall it be done to kim;'^ The offences 
 punished capitally by the Jewisli law were idolatrj', and various 
 crimes connected with it, impurity, presumptuous disobedience to 
 parents and chief magistrates, and murder: perhaps to these we 
 ought to add that of bearing false witness in a case, where the 
 life of the accused was at stake ; for in all instances the punish- 
 ment to be inflicted on the false witness was the same as the mis- 
 chief that would have followed, had his testimony been received 
 as true. In all the other penal laws of tlie Mosaick code there ))re- 
 vails a constant spirit of mildness and equity, I believe, unequalled 
 in any other system of jurisprudence, ancient or motlern. Personal 
 violence and assault were punished by damages, or by retaliating 
 on the offender a punishment similar to the injury his violence 
 had inflicted, as tlie .judges should determine. I cannot but no- 
 tice here, how strangely the Jews perverted this principle of re- 
 taliation, recognised by their law : and how obstinately some mo- 
 derns choose to misuntlerstand it ; as if it authorized the retalia- 
 tion of injury by the arm of individuals, and made each man a 
 judge and an avenger in his own cause: a principle altogether fo- 
 reign to the meaning of the legislator. In every instance where 
 this principle is applied, a legjil tribunal was to ascertain, and 
 the publick executive power to iufiict, the punisliraent. Dr. 
 Craves.
 
 Divers laws 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 CHuTsT ^^^^ which 1 give you, tlien shall the land 
 
 1491. tkeep ^a sabbath unto the Lord. 
 t Heb. rest. 3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and 
 " Exod. iia gjj. years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and 
 
 10. 
 
 gather in the fruit thereof ; 
 
 4 But in the seventh year shall be a sab- 
 bath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for 
 the Lord : thou shalt neither sow thy field, 
 nor prune thy vineyard. 
 
 5 That which groweth of its own accord 
 of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither 
 
 fHeb. gather the grapes tof thy vine undressed : 
 fJlZ^''""for it is a year of rest unto the land. 
 
 6 And the sabbath of the land shall be 
 meat for you ; for thee, and for thy servant, 
 and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, 
 and for thy stranger that sojourneth with 
 thee, 
 
 7 And for thy cattle, and for the beast 
 that are in thy land, shall all the increase 
 thereof be meat. 
 
 8 % And thou shalt number seven sab- 
 
 Chap. XXV. ver. 2. — iheft shall the land keep a sahbalh'\ The 
 land in this seventh year was to Iiave rest from being tilled or 
 sown. They were to subsist on tl>at " which groweth of its own 
 accord," ver. 5, namely, that which sprang from seed accidentiiUy 
 sown, or from roots left in the ground ; and this they were not to 
 " reap" for the purpose of laying up in store, but were to gather for 
 their daily use, the owner of the land sharing in common with 
 others, and none laying up separate stores for themselves. Bp. Pa- 
 trick, Pyle. It is remarkable that this law, though given to the 
 Israelites, with the rest of the Mosaick precepts, forty years before 
 their enti'ance into Canaan, was not to take place till they had 
 actual possession of the land of promise ; " When ye come into 
 the land &c." Dr. Berriman. 
 
 The peculiar observances of this sabhatical year were a total 
 cessation from all manner of agriculture ; the leaving all the 
 spontaneous product of the ground to be used and enjoyed in 
 common, so that no person was to claim any peculiar property ; 
 the remission of all debts from one Israelite to another, and the 
 publick reading of the law at the feast of tabernacles. As to the 
 general reason, on which the law concerning the sabbatical year 
 was grounded, it was no doubt partly political and civil, to pre- 
 vent the land from being worn out by continual tilling ; partly 
 religious, to afford the poor and labouring people more leisure, one 
 year in seven, to attend to deTotional exercises ; and partly mys- 
 tical, typifying that spiritual rest, wliich Clxrist will give to all 
 who come unto Him. Dr. Jennings. 
 
 4. ■— in the seventh year shall be a sabbath &C.3 There are some 
 particulars commanded in the law of Moses which it is evident that 
 Moses, at the time when he enjoined them, knew might be fatal 
 to the welfare of the people, if God did not interpose, and by an 
 especial Providence preserve them from the evils, which obedi- 
 ence to those commands might bring upon them. Among these, 
 is the command not to sow or till their lands every seventh year. 
 This must, ordinarily speaking, have brought upon them many 
 inconveniences, as it required them to lose at once a whole year's 
 produce of their country. But, to prevent these inconveniences, 
 a most extraordinary j)roduce was promised all over tlie land, 
 ver. 21, on the year before they were to begin their neglect of 
 harvest and tillage. How can any one imagine that Moses would 
 ever have thought of obliging the Israelites by such a law as this, 
 if God had not really given a pai'ticular command respecting it ? 
 or that the Isi-aelites would have been so weak as to obey such 
 pernicious instructions, if they had not sufficient evidence that the 
 command came from God .' Oj", if they had been so romantick 
 
 baths of years unto thee, seven times seven christ 
 years ; and the space of the seven sabbaths i4yi. 
 of years shall be unto thee forty and nine 
 year,s. 
 
 9 Then shalt tliou cause the trumpet tof + "''''• 
 tlie jubile to sound on the tentli day of the kIm. 
 seveutli month, in the day of atonement 
 shall ye make the trumpet sound through- 
 out all your land. 
 
 10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, 
 and proclaim liberty tln'oughout all the 
 land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it 
 shall be a jubile unto you ; and ye shall 
 return every man unto his possession, and 
 ye shall return every man unto his family. 
 
 11 A jubile sliall that fiftieth year be un- 
 to you : ye shall not sow, neither reap that 
 which groweth of itself in it, nor gather 
 tlie grapes in it of thy vine undressed. 
 
 1'2 For it is the jubile ; it shall be holy 
 unto you : ye shall eat the increase thereof 
 out of the field. 
 
 aa to obey such an institution, without an especial Providence to 
 protect and preserve them from the consequences whicli would 
 naturally arise from it ; would not a few yeiu-s' trial have given 
 tliem a dear-bought experience of so great folly ? If any proof 
 can be wanting of the Divine origin of the laws given by Moses, 
 that proof is abundantly supplied by these reflections on this, and 
 some other, of the Mosaick appointments. Shuckford. 
 
 thou shalt neither sow thy ^fieltt,'} The sabbath day was a 
 
 rest from the labours, laid upon man for sin. The sabbath year 
 was a rest for the ground, which for man's sin God had cureed. 
 Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 6. — the sabbath of the land shall be meat for yoti;'] By sabbath 
 is here meant the produce that grew of itself in the sabbatical 
 year. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — it shall be a jubile unto yoii;'^ The word "jubilee" is 
 derived from a Hebrew word, wiiich signifies the blast of a trum- 
 pet ; the year of jubilee being proclaimed by a trumpet, ver. 9. 
 Parkhur.1t. The prochunation took place on the day of atone- 
 ment, ver. 9; a fit time of shewingmercy to others, when tliey re- 
 ceived parcion from God. Bp. Kidder. ' On this occasion, liberty 
 was procl.iimed to " all the inhabiunts." Every man, who from 
 poverty had sold his house or field, " returned unto his possession," 
 and every man, who had become a servant or slave, returned in 
 freedom to his family. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The design of the' law respecting the jubilee was partly politi- 
 cal, and partly typical. It was jJoUtical, inasmuch as it tended to 
 prevent the too great oppression of the poor, as well us to save 
 tiiem from peiiietual slavery : also to prevent the too great accu- 
 mulation of land among the rich, and to preserve the tUstinction 
 of tribes, in respect both to their famihes and possessions. The 
 typical use of the jubilee is pointed out by the Prophet Isaiah at 
 chap. Ixi. 1,2; in which passage " the acceptable year of the 
 Lord," when "liberty was proclaimed to the capthcs," and " the 
 opening of the prison to them that are bound," evidently refers to 
 the jubilee ; but, in the prophetick sense, means tlie Gospel sUle 
 and dispensation, which proclaims spiritual liberty from the bon- 
 dage of sin and Satan, and the liberty of returning to our own pos- 
 session, even tlie heavenly inherit;mce, to which, having incurred a 
 forfeiture by sin, we had lost all right and chiim. Dr. Jennings. 
 
 When Isaiali describes the office of the promised Messiah, he 
 does it by an allusion to the year of jubilee, which by expre^ 
 conmiand was celebrate<l on the periodical return of every fiftieth 
 year ; in which, according to the provision of the law, liberty was 
 proclaimed tljioughout tlie laud of Judca unto all the inhabitants ;
 
 Divers larcs 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 B«forr 13 In the year of this jubilc yc shall re- 
 ^"]»i.^^ turn everv man \into his possession, 
 
 14 And if thou sell ought unto thy 
 neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neigh- 
 bour's hand, ye sliall not oppress one an- 
 other : 
 
 15 According to the number of years 
 after the jubilc thou shalt buy of thy neigh- 
 bour, and according unto the number of 
 years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee : 
 
 1() According to the multitude of years 
 thou shalt increase the price thereof, and 
 according to the fewness of years thou 
 shalt diminish tlie price of it : for accord- 
 ing to tlie number of the years of the fruits 
 doth he sell mito thee. 
 
 17 Ye shall not therefore oppress one 
 another ; but thou shalt fear thy God : for 
 I am the Lord your God. 
 
 18 ^ Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, 
 and keep my judgments, and do them ; and 
 ye shall dwell in tlie land in safety. 
 
 19 And the land shall yield her fruit, 
 and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein 
 in safety. 
 
 20 And if ye shall say, Wliat shall we 
 eat the seventh year ? behold, we shall not 
 sow, nor gather in our increase : 
 
 21 Then I will command my blessing 
 upon you in the sixth year, and it shall 
 bring forth fruit for three years. 
 
 22 And ye shall sow the eighth year, 
 and eat yet of old fruit xrntW the ninth 
 
 nnd every man returned into his own possession, and into his own 
 family ; and a general redemption of property took place. And 
 that "the reference which this temporal redemption on every year 
 of jubilee had to that spiritual redemption wliich was in the ful- 
 ness of time to be efl'ected by our gi-eat Redeemer, might not 
 esca))C observation ; it was commanded, that the trumpet which 
 was to give notice of the returning celebration of tliis joyful year, 
 should be sounded on the great day of atonement ; on that day, 
 when the high priest under the law was engaged in sprinkling 
 before the mercy seat in the Holy of Holie»,the type of that pre- 
 cious blood, which was in the fulness of time to be offered up by 
 our great High Priest under the Gospel, for the redemption of 
 the world. Archdeacon Daiiheiii/. 
 
 13. — yc shall return every man unio his possession.'^ By appoint- 
 ing that, on the year of jubilee, the owner of estates whicli had 
 been sold, sliould return to his possession, and that every Israel- 
 itish slave should be at perfect liberty to return to his family, 
 God wisely provided for the suppression of luxury, cruelty, and 
 ambition, for the preservation of a perfect distinction of tribes, 
 families, and gene;ilogies, and chiefly for ascertaining the descent 
 of tlie future Messiah, whose more eminent deliverance wrought 
 for all mankind, was shadowed out by the privileges bestowed 
 upon the Israelites in the year of jubilee. Pt/le. The uses of this 
 provision were, 1st, to prevent the confusion of the tribes by the 
 alien.ition of their lands : 2dly, to prevent the rich from swallow- 
 mg the inheritance of their poor bretlircn : 3dly, to make them 
 still look upon tliemselves a.8 sojourners, and their land to be God's. 
 Dr. S. Clarke. Piy this law of jubilee, which prescribed that every 
 one, who could justify his peiligree, should be reinstated in the 
 possessions of liis ancestors every fifty years, Gotl obliged the 
 
 year ; until her fruits come in ye shall cat g^^^lx 
 o/"the old store. 1491. 
 
 23 % The land shall not be sold lit for n Or, 
 ever ; for the land is mine ; for ye wrc '"/J"'" 
 strangers and sojourners with me. t h*^^''- . 
 
 24- And in all the land of your possession ■{^'J'^"""'* 
 ye shall grant a redemption for the land. 
 
 25 ^ If thy brother be waxen poor, and 
 hath sold away some of his possession, and 
 if any of his kin come to redeem it, then 
 shall he redeem that which his brother sold. 
 
 26 And if the man have none to redeem 
 
 it, and thimself be able to redeem it ; tHeb. 
 
 27 Then let him count the years of the 'Z^ZL- 
 sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto <•</ «"</ 
 the man to whom he sold it ; that he may •^['^^Jcyf' 
 return unto his possession. 
 
 28 But if he be not able to restore it to 
 liini, then that which is sold shall remain 
 in the hand of him that hath bongiit it 
 until the year of jubile: and in the jubilc 
 it shall go out, and he shall return unto 
 his possession. 
 
 29 And if a man sell a dwelling house 
 in a walled city, then he may redeem it 
 within a whole year after it is sold ; tvitlun 
 a fidl year may he redeem it. 
 
 30 And if it be not redeemed within 
 the space of a full year, then the house 
 that is in the walled city shall be establish- 
 ed for ever to him that bought it through- 
 out his generations : it shall not go out in 
 the jubile. 
 
 people of Israel to keep up a distinct knowledge of the first divi- 
 sion of land made under Joshua, much more effectuallj' than if He 
 had made a law for tiiat very purpose ; also to preser\ e regular 
 genealogies of their tribes and families. Dean AlUx. 
 
 17. — but thou shalt fear thy God .-] This sentence plainly im- 
 plies that it is from the want of " the fear of God," that men op- 
 press one another. Jip. Sanderson. 
 
 2.'J. — shall not he sold for ever:'] The Hebrew e.xpression 
 means literally, " .shall not be sold so as to be quite cut off," that 
 is, from the original possessors. For, (saj's God,) "the land is 
 mine, &c." I am to be deemed proprietor and lord in chief, and 
 ye are tenants, to hold the land as I think fit. Dr. Welts. 
 
 o.\,_ — yg shall grant a redemption^ Ye shall allow to the first 
 owner, or to his kinsman, the power of redeeming the land be- 
 fore the year of jubilee, if he be rich enough to effect the re- 
 demption. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 30. — if shall not so ont^ The reason of this exception seems 
 to be, either that cities might be better filled with inhabitants, 
 who were invited thither when they had hopes of a settlement, or 
 that proselytes, who were not of the Hebrew nation, and could 
 have no fields or vineyards, might yet have something of their 
 own, stable and certain, and not be forced always to want a per- 
 petual possession. I^7vis. 
 
 One part of the regulation, respecting the release in the year of 
 jubilee, deserves our notice : it did not extend to houses in cities; 
 these, if not redeemed within one year after tliey were sold, were 
 alienated for ever. This circumstance must have given property 
 in the country a decided preference over property in cities ; and 
 induced every Jew to reside on and improve liis land, .and employ 
 his time in the care of flocks and agriculture : which, as they had
 
 Divers laws 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 and ordinances. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 But the houses of the villages which 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 redemptiun 
 belimgeth 
 unto it. 
 
 II Or, 
 one of the 
 
 Levites re- 
 deem them. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 his hand 
 faUeth. 
 tHeb. 
 strengthen. 
 
 » Exod. 22. 
 
 2.5. 
 
 Dcut. 23. 
 
 19. 
 
 Provr. 28. S. 
 
 Ezek. 18. 8. 
 
 & 2-2. 12. 
 
 31 
 have no wall round about them shall be 
 counted as the fields of the country: t they 
 may be redeemed, and they shall go out 
 in the jubile. 
 
 32 Notwithstanding the cities of the 
 Levites, and the houses of the cities of 
 their possession, may the Levites redeem 
 at any time. 
 
 33 And if 1| a man purchase of the Le- 
 vites, then the house that was sold, and the 
 city of his possession, shall go out in the 
 year o/" jubile: for the houses of the cities 
 of the Levites are their possession among 
 the children of Israel. 
 
 34 But the field of the suburbs of their 
 cities may not be sold ; for it is their per- 
 petual possession. 
 
 35 ^ And if thy brother be waxen poor, 
 and t fallen in decay with thee ; then thou 
 shalt t relieve him : yea, though he be a 
 stranger, or a sojourner j that he may live 
 with thee. 
 
 36 ^ Take thou no usury of him, or in- 
 crease: but fear thy God; that thy bro- 
 ther may live Avith thee. 
 
 37 Thou shalt not give him thy money 
 upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for 
 increase. 
 
 38 I am the Lord your God, which 
 brought you forth out of the land of E- 
 gypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and 
 to be your God. 
 
 39 IF And ' if thy brother that divelleth 
 by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto 
 thee ; thou shalt not t compel him to serve 
 as a bondservant : 
 
 40 But as an hired servant, and as a so- 
 wiVA Me scr- journer, he shall be with thee, and shall 
 vice,&c serve thee unto the year of jubile : 
 
 41 And then shall he depart from thee, 
 both he and his children with him, and 
 shall return unto his own family, and unto 
 
 been the occupation of those revered Patriarchs, from whom the 
 Jews descended, were with them the most honourable of all em- 
 ployments. Dr. Graves. 
 
 34. — the field of the suburbs — muy not be sold;'} The houses 
 which belonged to tlie particular Levites might be aUenated for a 
 time, and they not suffer much by it: but, as the fields of the 
 subiu'bs were common to the wliole body of the Levites, they 
 would have been undone, if they had wanted pasture for their 
 flocks, on which their whole subsistence depended. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 36. Take thou no usiirij of him, or increase:"} Usury is under- 
 stood to uiean that which is taken for money lent; and increase. 
 that which is received for the use of corn, fruits, or gootls: both 
 these oppressions are forbidden b}^ the Law, wliich is -so strictly 
 interpreted by some Jews, that all Israelites are required to have 
 no hand in letting out money to usur}-, either by writing the 
 bonds, or being a witness to them, or by being bound with 
 others for the interest of their money. The foundation of this 
 
 ' Exod. 21. 
 
 2. 
 
 Deut. 15. 
 
 12. 
 
 Jer. 34. 14. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 sene thyself 
 
 with him. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 Hill. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 mlh the 
 sale of a 
 bondTtusJu 
 ' Ephei. 6. 
 
 a 
 
 CvL 4. I. 
 
 t Heb. 
 ye simll 
 serve your- 
 seh>es with 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 Au hiijui 
 uktain, &c 
 
 the possession of his fathers shall he re- 
 turn. 
 
 42 For they are my servants, which I 
 brought forth out of the land of Egypt: 
 they shall not be sold t as bondmen. 
 
 43 ■* Thou shalt not rule over him with 
 rigour; but shalt fear thy God. 
 
 44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bond- 
 maids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the 
 heathen that are round about you ; of them 
 shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. 
 
 45 Moreover of the children of the 
 strangers that do sojourn among you, of 
 them shall ye buy, and of their families 
 that are with you, which they begat in 
 your land : and they shall be your posses- 
 sion. 
 
 4G And ye shall take them as an inhe- 
 ritance for your children after you, to in- 
 herit them for a possession; t they shall be 
 your bondmen for ever : but over your 
 brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not 
 rule one over another with rigour. 
 
 47 IF And if a sojourner or stranger 
 t wax rich by thee, and thy brother that 
 d-aelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself 
 unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or 
 to the stock of the stranger's family : 
 
 48 After that he is sold he may be re- 
 deemed again; one of his brethren may 
 redeem him : 
 
 49 Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, 
 may redeem him, or any that is nigh of 
 kin unto him of his family may redeem 
 him ; or if he be able, he may redeem 
 himself. 
 
 50 And he shall reckon with him that 
 bought him from the year that he was 
 sold to him unto the year of jubile: and 
 the price of his sale shall be according un- 
 to the number of years, according to the 
 time of an hired servant shall it be with 
 him. 
 
 precept was, to impress upon them the great virtue of kind- 
 ness and clemency, whereby poor people, being assisted by this 
 gratuitous method of lending them money, might raise them- 
 selves into a better condition under the blessing of Divine Provi- 
 dence. Lewis. 
 
 that Ihi/ brother may live n-ith thee.'} It is palpable wick- 
 edness to demand exorbitant interest for lending to ignorant or 
 thoughtless persons; or to extravagant ones, for carrj'ing on their 
 extra v.ngance; or to necessitous ones, whose necessities it must 
 continually increase, and make their ruin, after a while, more 
 certiiin, more difficult to retrieve, and more hurtful to all with 
 whom tlioy are concerned. The Scripture hath particularly for- 
 bidden it in Uie last case, and enjoined a very different sort of be- 
 liaviour. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 3(). — as a boniLmvanl .] That is, as a slave bought from other 
 nations; over wliom the dominion of the Israelites was as com- 
 plete as over their cattle. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Divers laws 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 find ordinances. 
 
 Before 
 CllltlST 
 
 II Or. 
 £y thtte 
 nicaiM. 
 
 51 If there be yet many years behind, 
 according unto them lie sluiH give again 
 the price of his redemption out of the 
 monev that he was bouglit for. 
 
 52 And if there remain but few years 
 unto the year of jubile, then he shall count 
 with him, and according unto his years 
 ^hall he give him again the price of his 
 redemj)tion. 
 
 53 And as a yearly hired servant shall he 
 be with him: and ihc other shall not rule 
 with rigour over him in thy sight. 
 
 54 And if he be not redeemed II in these 
 years, then he shall go out in the year of 
 jubile, both he, and his children with him. 
 
 55 For unto me the children of Israel 
 are ser\ants; they a7'e my servants whom 
 1 brought forth out of the land of Egypt : 
 I am the Lord your Ciod. 
 
 CHAP. XXVL 
 
 I Of iflolalri/. 2 Iieli!>iouSiicss. 3 A l)lcsxiiig lo them 
 that keep the commandments. \^ A curse to those that 
 break them. 40 Cod promiseth lo remember them that 
 repent. 
 
 TTE shall make you ' no idols nor graven 
 X image, neither rear you up a jj stand- 
 ing image, neither shall ye set up anj/ 
 
 II t image of stone in your land, to bow 
 down unto it: for I am the Lord your 
 God. 
 
 2 ^ '' Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and re- 
 verence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. 
 
 3 If ' If ye walk in my statutes, and keep 
 my commandments, and do them; 
 
 4 Then I will give you rain in due sea- 
 son, and the land shall yield her increase, 
 and the trees of the field shall yield their 
 fruit. 
 
 54. — if he be not redeemed in these years,"] Or, " by these 
 means," as in tlie margin ; that is, if lie be not redeemed by his 
 own money, or by that of his kinsman. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 //)■ shall go out in the year ofjuhile,] For it would have 
 
 been an unequal proceeding, if the Hebrews, sold to proselytes, 
 had been discharged from their service so soon, when the children 
 of proselytes, sold to Hebrews, were to be their inheritance for 
 ever. It w.is more reasonable that tiie Hebrews sold to proselytes 
 should not be free till the year of jubilee, unless redeemed: by 
 ■which law also they were made more careful not to sell them- 
 selves to strangers. Sclden. 
 
 Chap. XXyi. ver. 1. — no idols &c.] The Hebrew means 
 literally, " things of nought" — mere empty vanities. By " stand- 
 ing image" seems meant properly " a pillar" for religious worship; 
 and by " image of stone," carved or figured stone; " a stone of 
 picture ' according to the literal Hebrew. Ep. Patrick. 
 
 4. Then will I give you rain &c.] Rain was particularly a bless- 
 mg and favour of the great Governour of the world, in those hot 
 and dry countries, where, as St Jerome tells us, he never saw it 
 ram m the end of the month of June, and in the month of July. 
 Hence it is that, in various parts of Scripture, we find it so em« 
 
 • Eioi 20. 
 4. 
 
 Deut. S. 8. 
 & 16. '^2. 
 Psal. 97. 7. 
 HOr. 
 jiiUar, 
 n Or, 
 Jigured 
 stone. 
 fHeb. 
 a itone of 
 picture. 
 
 * Chap. 19. 
 .<KX 
 
 ' Deuu 28. 
 
 I. 
 
 5 And your threshing shall reach unto 
 the vintage, and the vintage shall reach 
 unto the sowing time : and ye shall eat 
 your bread to the full, and "^ dwell in your 
 land safely. 
 
 6 And I will give jjcace in the land, and 
 ye shall lie down, and none shall make 
 1/ou afraid : and I will t rid evil beasts out 
 of the land, " neither shall the sword go 
 through your land. 
 
 7 And ye shall chase your enemies, and 
 they shall fall before you by the sword. 
 
 8 And ^ five of you shall chase an hun- 
 dred, and an hundred of you shall put ten 
 thousand to flight: and your enemies shall 
 fall before you by the sword. 
 
 9 For I will have respect unto you, and 
 make you fruitful, and multiply you, and 
 establish my covenant with you. 
 
 10 And ye shall eat old store, and bring 
 forth the old because of the new. 
 
 11^ And I will set my tabernacle among 
 you : and my soul shall not abhor you. 
 
 12 " And I will walk among you, and will 
 be your God, and ye shall be my peo})le. 
 
 13 I am the Lord your God, which 
 brought you forth out of the land of E- 
 gypt, that ye should not be their bond- 
 men; and I have broken the bands of your 
 yoke, and made you go upright. 
 
 41- ^ ' But if ye will not hearken unto 
 me, and will not do all these command- 
 ments ; 
 
 15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, 
 or if your soul abhor my judgments, so 
 that ye will not do all my commandments, 
 but that ye break my covenant : 
 
 16 I also will do this unto you; I will 
 even appoint t over you terror, consump- 
 
 Rcfore 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 Mob II. 
 
 19. 
 
 fHch. 
 cause tt 
 ccnsf. 
 'Job U. 
 19. 
 
 'Josh. 2.1 
 10. 
 
 « Ezek. 37. 
 
 20. 
 
 " 2 Cor. C. 
 IG. 
 
 ' Deut. 28. 
 15. 
 
 Lam. 2. 17. 
 Mai. 2, 2. 
 
 fHcb. 
 vjian you. 
 
 phatically ascribed to the good providence of God. See Job v. 10; 
 Is. XXX. 2.3, &c. Bibliotli. Bibl. 
 
 5. And i/our threshing &c.] This is a truly elegant and po- 
 etical description of a very great and constant plenty. Bibliolh. 
 Bibl. 
 
 8. — ^five of '/on shall chase an hundred, &c.] See Josh, xxiii. 
 10; Judg. iii. 31; vii. 22; xv. 15; 2 Sam. xxiii. 8. With a view 
 to the several blessings and curses in this chapter, see particidarly 
 Deut. xxviii. and the notes upon it. 
 
 11. — ?ny soul shall not abhor i/ou.] I will not cast you off be- 
 cause of your offences, for which I have appointed an expiation. 
 B]). Patrick. 
 
 12. — / tvill }valk among »/o",] Jonathan paraphrases thus: 
 " I will cause the glory of My Divine Presence to dwell among 
 you." I will take that care of you, which a vigilant general does 
 of an army. I will be, as it were, carefully moving among 
 you to keep things safe and quiet, and prevent any surprise 
 from an enemy; even when ye shall be sleeping in your tents. 
 Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 13. — made you go upright.'] Have made you go, no longer 
 bowed down by burdens, and hanging your Iieads in heaviness. 
 Dr. Wells.
 
 Plagues threatened 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 for disobedience. 
 
 CHRIST ^''°"' ^""^ *'^^ burning ague, that shall con- 
 1491. sume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart : 
 and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for 
 your enemies shall eat it. 
 
 17 And I will set my face against you, 
 and ye shall be slain before your enemies : 
 they that hate you shall reign over you ; 
 
 'Prov. 28. and "ye shall flee when none pursueth 
 you. 
 
 18 And if ye will not yet for all this 
 hearken unto me, then 1 will punish you 
 seven times more for your sins. 
 
 19 And 1 will break the pride of your 
 power; and I will make your heaven as iron, 
 and your earth as brass : 
 
 20 And your strength shall be spent in 
 vain : for your land shall not yield her in- 
 crease, neither shall the trees of the land 
 yield their fruits. 
 
 II Or. 21 5F And if ye walk || contrary unto me, 
 
 m"uurci' and will not hearken unto me; I will bring 
 wui, me, seven times more plagues upon you ac- 
 
 and so ver. j • , .'■'-' ' •' 
 
 21. coi'dmg to your sins. 
 
 22 I will also send wild beasts among you, 
 which shall rob you of your children, and 
 destroy your cattle, and make you few in 
 number; and your highways shall be deso- 
 late. 
 
 23 And if ye will not be reformed by 
 me by these things, but will walk contrary 
 unto me ; 
 
 ■2 Sam. 22. 24 ' Then will I also walk contrary unto 
 you, and will punish you yet seven times 
 foi" your sins. 
 
 27. 
 
 Psal. 18. 
 26. 
 
 18. — / will punish you seven times more'] The number " seven" 
 put for any indefinite number. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It is a great aggravation of sin, after gi-eat judgments have 
 been upon us, to return to an evil course ; because this is an ar- 
 giunent of great obstinacy in evil. The longer Pharaoh resisted 
 the judgments of God, the more was his wicked heart hardened, 
 till at last he arrived at a monstrous degree of hardness, having 
 been, as the Scripture tells us, hardened imder ten plagues. And 
 we find that after God had threatened the people of Israel with 
 several judgments. He tells them that, if they will not be reform- 
 ed by all these things. He " will punish them seven times more 
 for their sins." And if the just God wiU in such a case punish 
 seven times more, we may conclude that the sin is seven times 
 greater. Abp. Tillotson. 
 
 19. — / mill make your heaven as iron,] '"' I will make your 
 heaven as iron," hard and drj', affording no rain ; " your earth 
 as brass," fruitless and unproductive. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 22. / will also send wild beasts among J/"",] Of God's extraor- 
 dinary manner of punishing by wild beasts many examples might 
 be brought; as of the Samaritans that were slain by them, 2 Kings 
 xvii. 25, 26, the children that mocked Elisiia, ibid. ii. 23, 24, the 
 disobedient prophet, 1 Kings xiii. 24, and another prophet's flis- 
 obedient neighbour, ibid. xx. 36. Bibliolh. Bibl. 
 
 24. Then will I also walk conlrary unto you,'] I will make your 
 plagues more grievous, as your stubbornness grows more confirm- 
 ed. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 These passages, ver. 23 — 39, are remarkably descriptive of the 
 captivities of the ten tribes carried away by the Assyrians, and 
 transplanted into the remotest parts of the empire, and of the two 
 Vol. I. 
 
 25 And I will bring a sword upon you, Before 
 that shall avenge the quarrel of viy cove- ^"49!.*'' 
 nant : and when ye are gathered together 
 within your cities, 1 will send the pestilence 
 among you ; and ye shall be delivered into 
 the hand of the enemy. 
 
 2G And when I have broken the staff of 
 your bread, ten women shall bake your 
 bread in one oven, and they shall deliver 
 you your bread again by weight : and ye 
 shall eat, and ,not be satisfied. 
 
 27 And if ye will not for all this hearken 
 unto me, but walk contrary unto me ; 
 
 28 Then I will walk contrary unto you 
 also in fury ; and I, even I, will chastise 
 you seven times for your sins. 
 
 29 "And ye shall eat the flesh of your "Dcutss. 
 sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ^^• 
 
 ye eat. 
 
 30 And I will destroy your high places, 
 
 and " cut down your images, and cast your ■£ ciiron 
 carcases upon the carcases of your idols, ^*"^' 
 and my soul shall abhor you. 
 
 31 And I will make your cities waste, 
 and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, 
 and I will not smell the savour of your 
 sweet odours. 
 
 32 And I will bring the land into deso- 
 lation : and your enemies which dwell 
 therein shall be astonished at it. 
 
 33 And I will scatter you among the 
 heathen, and will draw out a sword after 
 you : and your land shall be desolate, and 
 your cities waste. 
 
 remaining tribes of Judah and Benjamin, by the Babylonians. 
 Their true meaning is determined by the prophet Jeremiah, at 
 Jer. v. 1.5 — 17. The same events are predicted again at Deut. 
 xxviii. 32. Dr. Hales. 
 
 26. And when I have broken the staff' of your bread,] When I 
 have brought upon you a scarcity of bread, which is the-staff and 
 main support of life. Dr. Wells. " Ten women shall bake your 
 bread in one oven," that is, the scarcity shall be so great, that one 
 oven shall be sufficient to bake bread for ten famihes ; and " they 
 shall deliver you your bread — by weight," that is, they shall deli- 
 ver a certain quantity to every one in the family, not sufficient to 
 satisfy hunger, but only to preserve life. Bp. Patrick. It will 
 serve to explain the phrase of ten women baking in one oven, 
 that it was usual in Eastern countries to ha\-e small ovens, 
 which were designed to sers-e only one family, and were just 
 sufficient to bake for tlicm tlie bread of a single ilay. Ovens 
 of the same description are still in use in the same countries. 
 Harmer. 
 
 28. — in fi'ri/;] As your obstinacy and rebellion grow more 
 provoking and outrageous, so My just wrath and vengeance shall 
 appear in still more and more remarkable instances of My seve- 
 rity. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 29. — eat the flesh of your sons,] This is the utmost calainit>- 
 that can befall apeople: it happened to the Israelites in the siege 
 of Samaria, 2 Kings vi. 29; i" the siege of Jerusalem before the 
 captivity. Lament, iv. ] ; and again in the si^e under Titus, as 
 Josephus relates. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 •j\, — j^our sanctuaries] That is, even the several parts of My 
 sanctuary which is among you. Dr. Wells. Or else we must 
 
 K k
 
 God promiseth to remember 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 thein that repent. 
 
 Bcfurc 34 Then shall the land enjoy her sab- 
 ^"4"!.'*^ baths, as long as it licth ilesolate, and ye 
 be in your enemies' land ; even tlien shall 
 the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. 
 
 35 As long as it "lieth desolate it shall 
 rest ; because it did not rest in your sab- 
 baths, wiien ye dwelt upon it. 
 
 80 And uj")on them that are left alive of 
 
 you I will send a faintness into their hearts 
 
 in the lands of their enemies ; and the 
 
 tHcb. sound of a t shaken leaf shall chase them ; 
 
 '''■''"'• and thev sliall Hee, as fleeing from a sword j 
 
 and thev shall fall when none pursueth. 
 
 37 Aiul they shall fidl one upon another, 
 as it were before a sword, when none pur- 
 sueth: and ye shall have no power to stand 
 belbre your enemies. 
 
 38 And ye shall perish among the hea- 
 then, and the land of your enemies shall 
 eat you up. 
 
 S\) And they that are left of you shall 
 })ine away in their iniquity in your ene- 
 mies' lands; and also in tiic iniquities of 
 their fathers shall they pine away with 
 them. 
 
 40 If they shall confess their iniquity, 
 and the iniquity of their fathers, with their 
 trespass which they trespassed against me, 
 and that also they have walked contrary 
 unto me ; 
 
 41 And that I also have walked contrary 
 unto them, and iiave brought them into the 
 land of their enemies ; if then their uncir- 
 cumcised hearts be lunnbled, and they 
 then accept of the punishment of their 
 
 iniquity' : 
 
 4'2 Then will I remember my covenant 
 with Jacob, and also my covenant with 
 Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham 
 will I remember ; and I will remember the 
 land. 
 
 43 The land also shall be left of them, 
 
 understanil the plural to be put for the singular. Biblioth. 
 Bibl. 
 
 S\. — foj"!! Iicr .<tnhl)al/ix,2 Or her sabbatical years. Tliis is 
 a most bitter re])roach to them for their ingratitude and disobedi- 
 ence, in not keeping the sabbatical year according to the com- 
 mand given in the last chapter. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 41. And IhnI I also haie iialkccl coiitniri/ unto them,'] If they 
 be sensible that all the miseries they have endured come not by 
 chance; but were the just punisliments sent upon them for their 
 sins. Bp. Piitrick: 
 
 nnrircumciscd^ Hardened, impenitent. 
 
 Circumcision Iwtokens the mortifying and casting off of vicious 
 .ipnetites and affections. See Deut. x. I6; xxx. 6; Jer. iv. i. 
 Whence it is usual, both in the Law and Prophets, for tliosc, whose 
 ykiouR appetites and affections are not thus subdued and mortified, 
 to be described under the character of uiicirciitncised in heart or 
 ear, Jer. vi. 10 ; ix. 26 ; Ezek. xliv. 7, 9. Dr. Berriman. 
 
 — they then acccft of the puiiUhmeni'] If they humbly ac-. 
 
 and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she f-^,f[|T 
 heth desolate witiiout them: and they shall H9i. 
 accept of the punishment of their iniquity: 
 because, even because they despised my 
 judgments, and because their soul abhor- 
 red my statutes. 
 
 44 And yet for all that, when they be in 
 
 the land of their enemies, ° I will not cast "Deut.* 
 them away, neither will I abhor them, to uom. u. 
 destroy them utterly, and to break my co- ^''• 
 venant with them: for 1 am the Lord their 
 God. 
 
 45 But I will for their sakes remember 
 the covenant of their ancestors, whom I 
 brought forth out of the land of Egypt in 
 the sight of the heathen, that I might be 
 their God : I am the Lord. 
 
 46 These are the statutes and judgrnents 
 and laws, which the Lord made between 
 him and the children of Israel in mount 
 Sinai by the hand of Moses. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIL 
 
 1 He that maheth a singular vo/v viust be the Lord's. 
 2 The estimation of the per.ion. 9 Qf a beast given 
 by von: 14 OJ" a lioiise. l6 Of a Jield, and the re- 
 demption thereof. 28 ^o devoted thing may be re- 
 deemed. 32 The tithe may not be changed. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 
 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and 
 
 say unto them. When a man shall make a 
 singular vow, the persons shall be for the 
 Lord by thy estimation. 
 
 3 And thy estimation shall be of the male 
 from twenty years old even unto sixty 
 years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty 
 shekels of silver, after the shekel of the 
 sanctuary. 
 
 4 And if it be a female, then thy estima- 
 tion shall be thirty shekels. 
 
 5 And if it be from five years old even 
 
 knowledge that they deserved all the punishment inflicted on 
 them. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 44. — / n'ill not cast them away,'] Here the restoration of the 
 Jews to their own country is predicted, at tlie tiestined end of 
 their captivity ; which prediction is more fully expressed at Deut. 
 xxx. 1. Dr. Hales. See the note on Deut. xxx. 1. 
 
 45. — / am the Lord.] Wlio desire that all should be saved ; 
 ;md, among these, the remnant of Jews that shall be left, when 
 " the fulness of the Gentiles shall be come in," Rom. xi. 25. 
 Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 Chap. XXVI [. ver. 2. — When a man shall make a singular vow, 
 &c.] When a person shall bind himself by a vow, as for instance, 
 to devote himself, his chiklren, &c. wholly to the service of God 
 in the sanctuary : " the perscms" so devoted " shall be for the 
 Lord according to thy estimation," that is, a value in money shall 
 be set upon them, and that money be applied to holy uses, instead 
 of the persons themselveg being actually taken. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Of vows, and 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 their redemption. 
 
 CHRIST ""*^ twenty years old, then thy estimation 
 1191. shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for 
 the female ten shekels. 
 
 6 And if it be from a month old even 
 unto five years old, then thy estimation 
 shall be of the male five shekels of silver, 
 and for the female thy estimation shall be 
 three shekels of silver. 
 
 7 And if it be from sixty years old and 
 above ; if it be a male, then thy estimation 
 shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female 
 ten shekels. 
 
 8 But if he be poorer than thy estimation, 
 then he shall present himself before the 
 priest, and the priest shall value him ; ac- 
 cording to his ability that vowed shall the 
 priest value him. 
 
 9 And if it be a beast, whereof men bring 
 an ottering unto the Lord, all that a7iy 
 man gi\eth of such unto the Lord shall be 
 holy. 
 
 10 He shall not alter it, nor change it, 
 a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if 
 he shall at all change beast for beast, then 
 it and the exchange thereof shall be holy. 
 
 11 And if it be any unclean beast, of 
 which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the 
 Lord, then he shall present the beast be- 
 fore the priest : 
 
 12 And the priest shall value it, whether 
 fHeb. it be good or bad: tas thou valuest it, voho 
 Ztht^i. ^'^f tl^e priest, so shall it be. 
 
 mation, 13 But if hc wiU at all redeem it, then 
 priest, &c. jjg gj^^ij ^jj 3^ ^f^j^ ^^^.^ thereof unto thy 
 
 estimation. 
 
 14 ^ And when a man shall sanctify his 
 house to be holy unto the Lord, then the 
 priest shall estimate it, whether it be good 
 or bad : as the priest shall estimate it, so 
 shall it stand. 
 
 15 And if he that sanctified it will re- 
 deem his house, then he shall add the fifth 
 pat't of the money of thy estimation unto 
 it, and it shall be his. 
 
 8. — if he be poorer than thy eslimrilion,^ If he, wlio made the 
 vow, be vmable to pay the rate assigned. Bp. Kidder. Or, if, 
 after his vow, he become impoverished, and not able to pay the 
 price set, according to the rules here given. S. Clarke. 
 
 9. — shall be hu!y.'\ Shall be set apart for God's scr\ic-e, ac- 
 cording to the nature of the vow : to be offered at the altar, if it 
 was so expressed, or to be given to the priests and Levites, if that 
 was his desire ; or to be sold for the service of the taberuacle, if 
 the matter be left at large. Bp. Palrick: 
 
 l6. — according ie the seed thereof:^ Either, as some uiider- 
 Ktand, according to the quantity of seed required to sow it : or, as 
 others, according to the quantity and measure of the produce of 
 it. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 an liomer of barky sec(r] That is, so much land as an 
 
 homer of barley seed would sow, shall be rated at fifty shekels. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ST 
 
 16 And if a man shall sanctify unto the ^'^"'^ 
 Lord some part of a field of his possession, ^^\\\\^ 
 then thy estimation shall be accordin"- to 
 
 the seed thereof: Han homer of barley seed s Or, 
 shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. ''"' '^"'^ "^ 
 
 17 If he sanctify his field from the year a".""*^' 
 of jubile, according to thy estimation it 
 
 shall stand. 
 
 18 But if he sanctify his field after the 
 jubile, then the priest shall reckon unto 
 him the money according to the years 
 that remain, even unto the year of the ju- 
 bile, and it shall be abated" from thy esti- 
 mation. 
 
 19 And if he that sanctified the field will 
 in any wise redeem it, then he shall add 
 the fifth part of the money of thy estima- 
 tion unto it, and it shall be assured to him. 
 
 20 And if he will not redeem the field, 
 or if he have sold the field to another man, 
 it shall not be redeemed any more. 
 
 21 But the field, when it goeth out in 
 the jubile, shall be holy unto tlie Lord, 
 as a field devoted ; the possession thereof 
 shall be the priest's. 
 
 22 And if a vian sanctify unto tlie Lord 
 a field which he hath bought, which is not 
 of the fields of his jiossession ; 
 
 23 Then the priest shall reckon unto 
 him the wortli of thy estimation, even unto 
 the year of the jubile : and he shall give 
 thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing 
 unto the Lord. 
 
 21- In the year of the jubile the field 
 shall return unto him of whom it was 
 bought, even to him to whom the posses- 
 sion of the land did belong. 
 
 25 And all thy estimations shall be ac- 
 cording to the shekel of the sanctuary : * Eiod. 3c. 
 'twenty gerahs shall be the shekel. Nunib.3. 
 
 26 % Only the t fii'stling of the beasts, •'7- 
 which should be the Lord's firstling, no i" ^''' 
 man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or t"c'' 
 sheep : it is the Lord's. 
 
 jirUb\jrn. 
 
 20. — or if he have sold the Jield &c.J The meaning is, if die 
 field was sold to any otlier man except the person who vowed it, 
 he could never redeem it again. The reason of the law wa^i, 1st, 
 that the owners of land miglit hereby be obliged to redeem their 
 own lands, lest the cst;ite should pass away from tril>es and faini- 
 lies : 2dly, that God might hereby make a provision for llie 
 priests, who woidd receive more if the owner redeemed it, tliaii 
 if another person. This is to be understood of a (iekl tliat wa.s 
 promised to God by a simple vow, because, if it was devoted, or 
 consecrated, it could not be redeemed. Biblioth. Bibl. 
 
 26. — no man shall sanctify it ;] And yet it is said at Deut 
 XV. 19, '•■ All the firstling males — thou shall sanctify unto the 
 Lord." The rejison of tlie comm.-uid in this place is, that, a* 
 e\ery firstling was of course sacred to the Lord, any other con- 
 secration of it w;is unnecessary. The meaning of the com- 
 mand in Deuteronomy is, tliat the firstling, already sacred 03 
 
 Kk2
 
 The tithe matf not 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 be changed. 
 
 rKf..if 07 And if i7 be of an unclean beast, then 
 ^""ji.**^ he sluill redeem it aceoidin;x to tiiinc esti- 
 mation, and shall adil a i\M\ pert of it 
 thereto : or if it be not redeemed, then 
 it shall be sold according to thy estima- 
 tion. 
 'JoJi.c. 28 ''Notwithstanding no devoted thing, 
 ''■'■ that a man shall devote unto the Lord of 
 
 all tliat lie hath, both of man and beast, 
 and of tiie held of iiis possession, shall be 
 sold or retleeined : e\ery devoted thing is 
 most holy unto tiie Loud. 
 
 •ii) None de\"oted, wliich shall be devoted 
 of men, shall be redeemed; ^«/ shall surely 
 be put to death. 
 
 SO And all the tithe of the land, whether 
 of the seed of the land, ur of the fruit of 
 
 such, !»hould be put to none but a holy use. The one precept 
 made it unnecessary to sanctify what was antecedently sacred 
 to God ; the otlier made it neccss«u-y not to use or treat that 
 as common wliich was antecedently sacred. Jos. Mede, Biblioth. 
 Dihl. 
 
 28. — no devoted thing, &C.3 The Hebrew word cherem, here 
 translated " devoteti," signifies devoted by a peculiar sort of vow, 
 with a curse annexed to it. The meaning is, nothing devoted by 
 this sort of vow shall l)e sold or redeemed : for it was the pecu- 
 liar nature of this vow, that the thing should remain unal- 
 terably and irreversibly for the use to which it was devoted. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 29. — n/iich .sluill be devoted of men,'] Persons might be devoted, 
 not only by God, as when He devoted the city and inhabitants 
 of Jericho, Josh. vi. 1", and the Amalekites, Deut. xxv. 19, hut 
 by men, as in sj)ecial vows, Numb. xxi. 2, 3, or when they were 
 adjudged to death for sin, Exwl. x.\ii. 20. S. Clarke. 
 
 The 28th verse speaks of things or persons devoted to sacred 
 u.K.t, by that sort of vow which was called cherem ; a consecration 
 under pain of a airse. Things or persons, so devoted or conse- 
 crated, were for ever to be set apart to sacred uses, and could 
 never be redeemed. The 29th verse is to be understood of per- 
 .00ns devoted by the cherem also, but devoted to perdition (as were 
 the people of Jericho) in a hostile or vindictive way, and not in 
 the way of sacrifice. Persons so devoted were to be utterly de- 
 stroyed. Dr. Watcrland. 
 
 sliall stirilij be put to death.] It has been asserted by 
 
 .-'ome, that this law of Moses concerning devoted things to be 
 put to death, authorized human sacrifices : and Jephthah's sa- 
 crificing his daughter. Judges xi. 34, &c ; Samuel's hewing A- 
 gag in pieces before the Lord, 1 Sam. xv. 33 ; and David's de- 
 livering seven of Saul's posterity to the Gibconites to be put to 
 death by them, 2 Sam. xxi. 2, &c ; have been represented as in- 
 stances of human sacrifices, conformably to that law. But, as 
 there are express laws wliich forbid the sacrificing of their chil- 
 
 the tree, is the Lord's ; 
 Loud. 
 
 it is holy unto the 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1491. 
 
 ;31 And if a man will at all redeem ought 
 of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth 
 part thereof 
 
 3'2 And concerning the tithe of the herd, 
 or of the flock, even of wliat.soever passeth 
 under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 33 He shall not scarcli wliether it be 
 good or bad, neither shall he change it : 
 and if he change it at all, then both it and 
 the change thereof shall be holy ; it shall 
 not be redeemed. 
 
 34< These are the commandments, which 
 the Lord commanded Moses for the chil- 
 tlren ol Israel in moinit Sinai. 
 
 dren, Dcut. xii. 30, 31 ; Ps. cvi. 37, 38; Jer. vii. 31 ; Ezek. xvi. 20, 
 21 ; so there not only is no direction to sacrifice any otlier huiiKUi 
 creature, nor any rites appointed for such sacrifice ; moreover 
 such a sacrifice would liave rendered the priest unclean by touch- 
 ing a dead liody. Dr. Gerard. 
 
 30. And all the tithe of Ihc land, &c.] This is the first mention 
 of tithes in the Law of Moses. As the priests and Levites had no 
 share in tlic division of the land, except a niunber of cities, with 
 their suburbs, they were supported by the tithe or tenth part of 
 the produce of all the Lmds : this tenth was paid to the Levites, 
 who again paid a tenth of all which they received to the priests. 
 This method of maintaining the persons employed upon the Di- 
 vine service seems to have been adopted, that they might have 
 greater leisure for their sacred offices, and that their thoughts 
 might not be diverted by the business of tillage and other such 
 employments. It is impossible to assign any direct reason why 
 a tenth part of the produce, and not more or less, was assigned 
 to the ministers of religion. The Jews have invented many fan- 
 ciful reasons ; but it is quite sulficient to refer this custom, as well 
 as their other civil and religious usages, entirely to the Divine 
 command. It should be observed however, that the tenth part 
 was anciently paid to kings, as well as to God. It appears from 
 1 Sam. viii. l.'j, that this was a part of the royal right among the 
 peoj)le of the East. Aristotle mentions it as an ancient law in 
 I{al)ylon : the same law obtained iJso in Athens, which was a re- 
 publick, and among the Romans. 
 
 Besides the first tithe thus paid, there was also a second tithe, 
 paid from the nine remaining pai-ts, which the owner was obliged 
 either to pay in kind, and carry to Jerusalem, or to the place where 
 the sanctuary was, there to feast before the Lord witli the Levites 
 and the poor ; or, if the place was too remote, he might turn it 
 into money, Deut. xiv. 23, 2i. Lewis. See note on Gen. xiv. 20. 
 
 32. — passeth under the rod,] The tithing rod, used in num- 
 bering the tenth out of the herd ; or the shepherd's crook, under 
 which the flock passed as he numbered them daily. Bp. Patrici.
 
 THE FOURTH BOOK OF MOSES, 
 
 CALLED 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THIS Book is called the Book of Numbers, because it contains an account of the numbering or mustering of the people ; or rather, 
 indeed, of two numberings: the first in the beginning of the second year after their departure from Egypt; the second in the plains 
 of Moab, to^v;lr(ls the conclusion of their journey in the wilderness. It is certain that Moses was the inspired author of the book, 
 and that he delivers in it nothing but what is consistent with truth, and agreeable to the Divine will, since it constitutes part of 
 the Pentateuch, which in all ages has been universally ascribed to Moses, and it is cited as his inspired work in various parts of 
 Scripture. 
 
 The book comprehends a period of about thirtj'-eight years, reckoning from the first day of the second month after the deliverance 
 from Egypt, during which time the Israelites continued to wander in the wilderness. Most of the transactions, however, described 
 in this book, happened in the first and last of these years. The date of those events which are recorded in the middle of the book 
 cannot be precisely ascertained. 
 
 The history presents us with an account of the consecration of the tabernacle, and of the offering of the princes at its dedication. It 
 describes the journies and encampments of Israel under the miraculous guidance of the cloud ; the punishment at Taberah ; and the 
 signal vengeance with which, on several occasions, Go<l resented the distrustful murmurs of the people, and that rebellious spirit 
 which so often broke out in sedition against His appointed ministers, particularly in the affair of Korali, which is described with great 
 animation. The promptitude and severity with which God enforced a respect for His laws, even to the exemplarj' condemnation of 
 the man who profaned the sabbath, were necessary, when even a sense of the immediate presence of the Almighty, and a consider- 
 ation of the miracles daily performed, failed to produce obedience. Amidst the terrours, however, of the Divine judgments which 
 the book unfolds, we perceive likewise the continuance of God's mercies in providing assistance for Moses by the appointment of the 
 seventy elders ; in drawing water from the rock ; and in the setting up of the brasen serpent. The benevolent zeal of Moses to inter- 
 cede on all occasions for the people, even when punished for ungrateful insurrection against himself, deserves likewise to be con- 
 sidered. The history' is enlivened with much variety of event ; and, besides the particulars above alluded to, it contains tiie account of 
 the resignation and death of Aaron ; of the conquest of Sihon and Og ; of the conduct of Balaam towards Balak ; of the meritetl fate 
 of Balaam ; of the insidious project to seduce the Israelites, its success and effects ; and of the appointment of Joshua. The book 
 contains likewise a repetition of many principal laws given for the direction of the Israelites, with the addition of sevenJ precepts civil 
 and religious. It describes some regulations established for the ordering of the tribes, and for the division of tlie land which the 
 Israelites were about to possess. It fnrnishes us also with a list of the tribes ; and with that of Levi in particular, which is reserved 
 for a distinct roll, because that tribe was in possession of an order in the priesthood. 
 
 The most signal prophecies, which are contained in this book, and bear testimony to its inspiration, are those blessings which Balaam 
 was constrained to utter concerning the future prosperity of the Israelites, and the destruction of their several enemies ; especially in 
 that distinct and extatick description of the " Star which should come out of Jacob, and of the sceptre that 'hoidd rise out of Israel." 
 The denunciation likewise against Moses and Aaron for their disbelief, as well as the threats against the people for thiir murmurs, 
 and the declaration, that none but Caleb and Joshua should enter the land, were strikingly ftdfilhxl ; and it may be added, that the 
 rites of the Passover, of which the observance is again enjoined in this book, were figurative representations of a predictive cha- 
 racter. Dr. Gray.
 
 llie number of 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 moi in each tribe, 
 
 A' 
 
 Before CHAP. I. 
 
 M90. 1 God commandeth Moses lo number llic people. 5 The 
 princes of the tribes. 1 7 Tlie number of every Iribc. 
 47 The Levites arc exem])ied fur the service of the 
 Lord. 
 
 ND the Lord spake unto Moses in 
 
 the wilderness of Sinai, in the taber- 
 
 nacle of the congregation, on the first dai/ 
 of the second month, in the second year 
 after they were come out of the land of 
 Egypt, saying, 
 * Eiod.so. '2 ' Take ve the sum of all the congrega- 
 '* lion of the" children of Israel, after their 
 
 faraiUes, by the house of their fathers, with 
 the number of their names, every male by 
 their polls ; 
 
 3 From twenty years old and upward, 
 all that are able to go forth to war in Is- 
 rael : thou and Aaron shall number them 
 by their armies. 
 
 4 And with you there shall be a man of 
 every tribe ; e\ ery one head of the house 
 of his fathers. 
 
 5 i[ And these are the names of the men 
 that shall stand with you : of the tribe of 
 Reuben ; Elizur the son of Shedeur. 
 
 6 Of Simeon ; Shelumiel the son of Zu- 
 rishaddai. 
 
 7 Of Judah ; Nahshon the son of Am- 
 minadab, 
 
 8 Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of 
 Zuar. 
 
 9 Of Zcbulun ; Eliab the son of Helon. 
 
 10 Of the children of Joseph : of E- 
 phraim ; Elishama the son of Ammihud : 
 of Manasseh ; Gamaliel the son of Pe- 
 dahzur. 
 
 11 Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of 
 Gideoni. 
 
 \Q Of Dan ; Ahiezer the son of Ammi- 
 shaddai. 
 
 13 Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran. 
 
 14 Of Gad ; Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 
 
 chap. I. ver. 1. — on the first day of the second month, Sec] The 
 transactions related in the ibregoing book seem to have passed in 
 the first month of the second year after they left Egypt : in the 
 beginning of which the tabernacle was set up, and in the middle 
 of it the passover was kept. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 2. Take yc the sum &c.] There had been a muster of the peo- 
 ple before the tabernacle was erected, Exod. xxx. 12, in order to 
 a contribution, which every one was to make towards that holy 
 work, Exod. xxxviii. 26. This was for the better arrangement of 
 their camps about the tabernacle, and for their more regular march 
 on their removal from mount .Sinai. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 of ail the congregation'] Except the tribe of Levi, who 
 
 were appointed to the service of the tabern.icle. Stacklumse. 
 
 after ihcir fainHies^ A careful distinction was to be 
 
 made of tribes, families, and housholds ; that every one might 
 know, and deliver to his posterity, the tribe and family to which 
 
 15 Of Naphtalij Ahira the son of E- ^hrTst 
 nan. H90. 
 
 1 (j These xvere the renowned of the con- 
 gregation, princes of the tribes of their fa- 
 thers, lieads of thousands in Israel. 
 
 17 % And Moses and Aaron took these 
 men which are expressed by their names : 
 
 18 And they assembled all the congre- 
 gation together on the first dai/ of the se- 
 cond month, and they declared their pedi- 
 grees after their families, by the house of 
 their fathers, according to the number of 
 the names, from twenty years old and up- 
 ward, by their polls. 
 
 19 As the Lord commanded Moses, so 
 he numbered them in the wilderness of 
 Sinai. 
 
 20 And the children of Reuben, Israel's 
 eldest son, by their generations, after their 
 families, by the house of their fathers, ac- 
 cording to the number of the names, by 
 their polls, every male from twenty years 
 old and upward, all that were able to go 
 forth to war ; 
 
 21 Those that were numbered of them, 
 even of the tribe of Reuben, ivere forty and 
 six thousand and five hundred. 
 
 22 ^ Of the children of Simeon, by their 
 generations, after their families, by the 
 house of their fathers, those tliat were 
 numbered of them, according to the num- 
 ber of the names, by their polls, every mile 
 from twenty years old and upward, all that 
 were able to go forth to w ar ; 
 
 23 Those that were numbered of them, 
 even of the tribe of Simeon, -dere fifty and 
 nine thousand and three hundred. 
 
 24 % Of the children of Gad, by their 
 generations, after their families, by the 
 house of their fathers, according to the 
 number of the names, from twenty years 
 old and upward, all that were able to go 
 forth to war ; 
 
 he belonged. God hereby further pro\-idc(I for the certain genea- 
 logy of the Messiah, hereafter to be bom of this nation. Pi/le. 
 
 5. — of the tribe nf Reuben;] The tribes are here mentioned 
 not according to the order of the birth of the Twelve Patriarchs, 
 from whom they sprang, but according to the order of their mo- 
 thers : first the sons of Leah; then those of Racliel ; then of 
 Zilpah ; then of Billiah. The sons of Jacob's two wives are 
 mentioned in the order of their birth : but the sons of the hand- 
 maids are not. This was probably on account of some pre- 
 eminence, which the younger may liave gained over the elder ; as 
 Ephniim, the younger son of Joseph, is named before Maiiasseh, 
 because Jacob had given him the precedence. Bp, Patrick, 
 Dr. IVetls. 
 
 20. — by llteir generations,] The word " generations " is a 
 com]irehensive term, including all the families of the tribe ; as 
 families include every lioushold ; and housJwlds, every individual.
 
 exclusive of 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 the Leiites. 
 
 Before 25 Those that were numbered of them, 
 H90. even of the tribe of Gad, "were forty and five 
 thousand six hundred and fifty. 
 
 26 5f Of the children of Judah, by their 
 generations, after their famihes, by tlie 
 house of their fathers, according to the 
 number of the names, from twenty years 
 old and upward, all that were able to go 
 forth to war ; 
 
 27 Those that were numbered of them, 
 even of the tribe of Judah, "ivere threescore 
 and fourteen thousand and six hundred. 
 
 28 ^ Of the children of Issachar, by their 
 generations, after their families, by the 
 house of their fathers, according to the 
 number of the names, from twenty years 
 old and upward, all that were able to go 
 forth to war ; 
 
 29 Those that were numbered of them, 
 even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and 
 four thousand and four hundred. 
 
 30 % Of the children of Zebulun, by 
 their generations, after their families, by 
 the house of their fathers, according to the 
 number of the names, from twenty years 
 old and upward, all that were able to go 
 forth to war ; 
 
 31 Those that were numbered of them, 
 even of the tribe of Zebulun, -were fifty and 
 seven thousand and four hundred. 
 
 32 % Of the children of Joseph, namely, 
 of the children of Ephraim, by their gene- 
 rations, after their families, by the house of 
 their fathers, according to the number of 
 the names, from twenty years old and 
 upward, all that were able to go forth to 
 war ; 
 
 33 Those that were numbered of them, 
 even of the tribe of Ephraim, "were forty 
 thousand and five hundred. 
 
 34. If Of the children of Manasseh, by 
 their generations, after their families, by 
 the house of their fathers, according to the 
 number of the names, from twenty years 
 old and upward, all that were able to go 
 forth to war ; 
 
 2>5 Those that were numbered of them, 
 even of the tribe of Manasseh, a-ere thirty 
 and two thousand and two hundred. 
 
 30 % Of the children of Benjamin, by 
 their generations, after their families, by 
 
 Tlie meaning is, all that were descended from Reuben, according 
 to their several families, and houses in those families, and persons 
 in those houses. Bp. Palricl;. 
 
 27- — the tribe of Jiiilak,'] It appears that Jacob's prophecy 
 concerning the power and strength of this tribe. Gen. xlix. 8, 
 Ac. began already to be fulfilled ; they being far more niunerous 
 than any other: agreeably to the same prophecy, the tribe of 
 
 the house of their fathers, according to the ^'^'"^ 
 number of the names, from twenty years ^^ivi^ 
 old and upward, all that were able to go 
 forth to war ; 
 
 37 Those that were numbered of them, 
 even of the tribe of Benjamin, "uere thirty 
 and five thousand and four hundred. 
 
 38 t Of the children of Dan, by their 
 generations, after their families, by the 
 house of their fathers, according to the 
 number of the names, from twenty years 
 old and upward, all that were able to go 
 forth to war ; 
 
 39 Those that were numbered of them, 
 even of the tribe of Dan, aere threescore 
 and two thousand and seven hundred. 
 
 40 ^ Of the children of Asher, by their 
 generations, after their families, by the 
 house of their fathers, according to the 
 number of the names, from twenty years 
 old and upward, all that were able to go 
 forth to war ; 
 
 41 Those that were numbered of them, 
 even of the tribe of Asher, xvere forty and 
 one thousand and five hundred. 
 
 42 ^ Of the childi-en of Naphtali, 
 throughout their generations, after their 
 families, by the house of their fathers, ac- 
 cording to the number of the names, from 
 twenty years old and upward, all that were 
 able to go forth to war ; 
 
 43 Those that were numbered of them, 
 even of the tribe of Naphtali, uere fifty 
 and three thousand and four himdred. 
 
 44 These aj'e those that were numbered, 
 which Moses and Aaron numbered, and 
 the princes of Israel, being twelve men : 
 each one was for the house of his fathers. 
 
 45 So were all those that were number- 
 ed of the children of Israel, by the house 
 of their fathers, from twenty years old and 
 upward, all that were able to go forth to 
 war in Israel ; 
 
 46 Even all they that were numbered 
 were six hundred thousand and three thou- 
 sand and five himdred and fifty. 
 
 47 % But the Levites after' the tribe of 
 their fathers were not numbered among 
 them. 
 
 48 For the Lord had spoken unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 ST 
 
 Ephiaim was already more fruitful than th.it of Manasseh. Bp. 
 Patrick 
 
 48. For the Lord had spoken unto Motes, &c.] It w.is by the 
 special commandment of God. thiit Moses did not number the 
 Levites at this time ; because tliey were intended for another ser- 
 vice, and were therefore to be numbered by theitisclves. In the 
 same maimer all nations have exempted their ministers of religion
 
 The Lei'ites' office and charge. 
 
 NUMBER S. 
 
 The order of the tribes. 
 
 Before 49 Oiil}' tliou sHalt Hot numbcr the tribe 
 '^""w.^^ of Levi, neither tiike tlic sum ol" tliem 
 amonc the cliikheii oi" Israel : 
 
 .00 But thou sliah appoint the Levites 
 over the tabernacle of testimony, and over 
 all the vessels thereof, and over all thnigs 
 that Ulung to it : they sliall bear- the ta- 
 bernacle, anil all the vessels thereof; and 
 they shall minister unto it, and shall en- 
 camp round about the tabernacle. 
 
 51 And wlien the tabernacle setteth for- 
 ward, the Levites shall take it down : and 
 when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the 
 Levites shall set it up : and the stranger 
 that Cometh nigh shall be put to death. 
 
 52 And the children of Israel shall pitch 
 their tents, every man by his own camp, and 
 every man by his own standard, throughout 
 their hosts. 
 
 53 But the Levites shall pitch round a- 
 bout the tabernacle of testimony, that there 
 be no wrath upon the congregation of the 
 children of Israel : and the Levites shall 
 keep the charge of the tabernacle of testi- 
 mony. 
 
 51 And the children of Israel did ac- 
 cording to all that the Lord commanded 
 Moses, so did they. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 The order of lite tribes in their tents. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses and 
 unto Aaron, saying, 
 2 Every man of the children of Israel 
 shall pitch by his own standard, with the 
 
 from other services, particularly from war. Strabo notes this 
 custom to have been as old as Homer's time ; and Cesar ob- 
 serves that the ancient Druids were exempt from war and tribute. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 50. — oiTr the tabernacle — and over all the vessels thereof, "^ 
 Not to officiate in the tabernacle, or use any of its vessels in any 
 Bacred ministrj-, for this belonged to the priests alone; but to 
 carrj- it, chap. i\-, and to minister unto it, see chap, iii, and to 
 encamp round it as a special ffuard. For this reason they did not 
 march under the standard of any other tribe, because they formed 
 a c.imp by themselves ; nor did they go to tlie wai-s with tlie 
 others, because they were to attend on the tabernacle of God 
 Dr. Hells, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 .'51. — and the stranger that cometh nish shall be put to dcalli.l 
 Any Israelite whatsoever, being not of the tribe of Levi, if he of- 
 fer to meddle with the ark, shall surely die ; either by tlie imme- 
 diate hand of Gotl, or by the h;md of human justice' and autho- 
 rity. Bp. Hall. As a presumptuous intruder into sacred offices. 
 Pi/le. 
 
 Chap. II. ver. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses2 The tribes 
 being mustered, registcretl, and formed into companies, the next 
 orders given were about the form of their encampments and of 
 their marches. Their general camp was to be in the form of a 
 square; of which the four sides were to be placetl towards the 
 ioui quarters of the compass. Each side was to consist of three 
 
 ensign of their father's house : t far oft" ^1"',^,^-^ 
 about the tabernacle of the congregation H90. 
 sliall they pitch. fHeO.'.iY.'- 
 
 3 And on the east side toward the ris- "«"""'■ 
 ing of the sun shall they of tiie standard 
 of the camp of Judah pitch throughout 
 their armies : and Nahshon the son of Am- 
 minadab shall be captain of the children of 
 Judah. 
 
 4. And his host, and those that were 
 numbered of them, icere threescore and 
 fourteen thousand and six luindred. 
 
 5 And those that do pitch next unto 
 him shall be the tribe of Issachar : and Ne- 
 thaneel the son of Zuar shall be captain of 
 the children of Issachar. 
 
 G And his host, and those that were 
 numbered thereof, 'iVere fifty and four thou- 
 sand and four hundred. 
 
 7 Then the tribe of Zebulun : and Eliab 
 the son of Helon shall be cajjtain of the 
 children of Zebulun. 
 
 8 And his host, and those that were 
 numbered thereof, xvere fifty and seven 
 thousand and four hundred. 
 
 9 All that were numbered in the camp 
 of Judah ivere an hundred thousand and 
 fourscore thousand and six thousand and 
 four hundred, throughout their armies. 
 These shall first set forth. 
 
 10 ^ On the south side shall he the 
 standard of the camp of Reuben accord- 
 ing to their armies : and the captain of the 
 children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son 
 of Shedeur. 
 
 11 Ajid his host, and those that were 
 
 tribes, nearest related to each other : and they were to pitch at 
 such a distance from the tabernacle, which was in the midst of all, 
 as might show their re^xrence for it, at the same time that the 
 whole camp might serve for its protection. Pyle. 
 
 2. — bii his own standard,'^ 15y the standard or banner of that 
 tribe to which he shall be attached by the following order. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 tvith the ensign of l/icir father's house :2 All the twelve 
 
 tribes were distinguished by particular standards ; and each 
 standard is supposed l)y some to have been of the colour of that 
 stone in Aaron's breast])late, on which the name of the particular 
 tribe was written. Stavkltousc. The Jews have a tradition that 
 the ensign, carried in tlie standard of Judah, was a lion ; in that 
 of Reuben, a man ; in that of Ephraim, an ox ; and in that of 
 Dan, an eagle. St. John seems to allude to this in Rev. iv. 7- 
 Dr. Wells. Probably the name of Judah was embroidered in 
 great letters on liis standard; of Reuben, on his ; antl so on. Or 
 they were distinguished by their colours only, as our regiments 
 now are. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 :i. — throughout their armies :] That is, all the several com- 
 panies, regiments, and brigades, into which the men of the tribe 
 were distributed. Dr. IVcll.s. 
 
 9- — These shall first set forth.'] Or march in the front, when- 
 ever a movement was made, as the van-guard. Pijle, Dr. Wells. 
 They were the greatest of the four bodies ; ;md were placed be- 
 fore the oracle, as the strongest guard. Bp. Patrick.
 
 The order of the tribes 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 in their tents. 
 
 CHRIST ""limbered thereof, were forty and six thou- 
 1490. sand and five hundred. 
 
 12 And those which pitch by him shall 
 he the tribe of Simeon : and the captain of 
 the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel 
 the son of Zurishaddai. 
 
 13 And his host, and those that were 
 numbered of them, itere fifty and nine 
 thousand and three hundred. 
 
 14 Then the tribe of Gad : and the cap- 
 tain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph 
 the son of Reuel. 
 
 15 And his host, and those that were 
 numbered of them, "were forty and five 
 thousand and six hundred and fifty. 
 
 16 All that were numbered in the camp 
 of Reuben icere an hundred thousand and 
 fifty and one thousand and four hundred 
 and fifty, throughout their armies. And 
 they shall set forth in the second rank. 
 
 17 IF Then the tabernacle of the congre- 
 gation shall set forward with the camp of 
 tlie Levites in the midst of the camp : as 
 they encamp, so shall they set forward, 
 every man in liis place by their stand- 
 ards. 
 
 18 ^ On the west side shall be the stand- 
 ard of the camp of Ephraim according to 
 their armies : and the captain of the sons 
 of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of 
 Ammihud. 
 
 19 And his host, and those that were 
 numbered of them, were forty thousand 
 and five hundred. 
 
 20 And by him shall be the tribe of Ma- 
 nasseh : and the captain of the children of 
 Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pe- 
 dahzur. 
 
 21 And his host, and those that were 
 numbered of them, "H'ere thirty and two 
 thousand and two hundred. 
 
 22 Then the tribe of Benjamin : and 
 the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall 
 he Abidan the son of Gideoni. 
 
 23 And his host, and those that were 
 numbered of them, u-ere thirty and five 
 thousand and four hundred. 
 
 24 All that were numbered of the 
 camp of Ephraim -diere an hundred thou- 
 sand and eight thousand and an hundred, 
 throughout their armies. And they shall 
 go forward in the thiid rank. 
 
 17. Then the tabernacle of the congregation &c.] The taberna- 
 cle, not entirely, but the sanctuary rather, was to follow, in the 
 midst of the army; see chap. x. 17 ; having the camps of Judah 
 and Reuben before it, and the camps of Ephraim and Dan be- 
 hind, for the greater security of so holy a thing. So that they did 
 not march, as they encamped : in the latter case, there was a 
 Vol. I. 
 
 2.5 «; The standard of the camp of Dan ^'"l' 
 shall be on the north side by their armies : ^"4^.'^ 
 and the captain of the children of Dan 
 shall be Ahiezer the son of Aramishad- 
 dai. 
 
 26 And his host, and those that were 
 numbered of them, were threescore and 
 two thousand and seven hundred. 
 
 27 And those that encamp by him shall 
 be the tribe of Asher : and the captain of 
 the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the 
 son of Ocran. 
 
 28 And his host, and those that were 
 numbered of them, were forty and one 
 thousand and five hundred. 
 
 29 f Then the tribe of Naphtali : and 
 the captain of the children of Naphtali 
 shall be Ahira the son of Enan. 
 
 30 And his host, and those that were 
 numbered of them, were fifty and three 
 thousand and four hundred. 
 
 31 All they that were numbered in the 
 camp of Dan were an hundred thousand 
 and fifty and seven thousand and six hun- 
 dred. They shall go hindmost with their 
 standards. 
 
 32 % These are those which were num- 
 bered of the children of Israel by the 
 house of their fathers : all those that were 
 numbered of the camps throughout their 
 hosts xcere six hundred thousand and 
 three thousand and five hundred and 
 
 fifty. 
 
 33 But the Levites were not numbered 
 among the children of Israel ; as the Lord 
 commanded Moses. 
 
 34 And the children of Israel did ac- 
 cording to all that the Lord commanded 
 Moses : so they pitched by their standards, 
 and so they set forward, every one after 
 their families, according to the house of 
 their fathers. 
 
 CHAP. in. 
 
 1 The sons of Aaron. 5 Tlie Levites arc given to the 
 priests for tlie service of the tabernacle, 11 instead o/' 
 the firstborn. 14 Tlie Levites are numbered by ihetr 
 families. 21 The families, number, and charge of 
 the Gcrshonitcs, 27 of the,Kohatliites, 33 of the .V»- 
 rarites. 3& Tlie place and charge of Moses and Aa- 
 ron. 40 The ftrdborn are freed by the Levites. 4-t 
 The overplus are redeemed. 
 
 camp on each side of the tabernacle ; but wlicn they marched, 
 there were two before, and two behind. Pifle, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. — They shall go hindmosf] They were the most numerous 
 body after that under the standard of judah : and were therefore 
 appointed to bring up the rear, as the former led the van, for the 
 greater security of the sanctuary. Bp. Patrick; Pylc.
 
 77/f Letiles 
 
 N U M B E R S. 
 
 are numbered. 
 
 Uifore rr^IIF.SE also are the generations of Aa- 
 '^"wf.'*^ A ion and Moses in the day t/ml the 
 LoKD spake witli Moses in mount Sinai. 
 
 2 And these arc the names of the sons 
 
 • Eiod. 6. of Aaron ; Nadab the ' firstborn, and Abi- 
 "■ hu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 
 
 3 These are the names of the sons of 
 Aaron, the priests which were anointed, 
 
 tHrb. twhom he consecrated to minister in the 
 ktjuitd. priest s omce. 
 
 M90. 4 " And Nadab and Abihu died before 
 
 *^„''^'°j*- the LoiiD, when they offered strange fire 
 
 ichron. ' before the Lokd, in the wilderness of 
 
 "*•-■ Sinai, and they had no children : and 
 
 Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the 
 
 priest's ofiice in the sight of Aaron their 
 
 father. 
 
 5 % And the Loud spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 6 Bring the tribe of Levi near, and pre- 
 sent them before Aaron the priest, that 
 they may minister unto him. 
 
 7 And they sliall keep his charge, and 
 the charge of the whole congregation be- 
 fore the tabernacle of the congregation, to 
 do the service of the tabernacle. 
 
 8 And they shall keep all the instru- 
 ments of the tabernacle of the congrega- 
 tion, and the charge of the children of Is- 
 rael, to do the service of the tabernacle. 
 
 9 And thou shalt give the Le\ites unto 
 
 chap. III. ver. 1. These also are the generations of Aaron and 
 Moses &C.1 This that follows is an account of the genealogy of 
 Aaron, and Moses, and the other Lovites. Dr. Wells. He puts 
 Aaron first, because lie was the elder brother, and his posterity 
 were advanced to the dignity of priests; whereas the descendants 
 of Moses were only ministers to the priests, as were the other 
 Levites. The posterity of Moses are reckoned among the Kohath- 
 ites, ver. 2?. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 6. Brine the tribe of Levi near,'] They had consecrated them- 
 selves to God by a noble act, mentioned Exod. xxxii. IQ, which 
 procured them this blessing of being presented to God, and so- 
 lemnly consecrated to His service. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 that they may minister unto him.'] The work and office of 
 
 the Levites were as follows: 1. To minister to the priests, as ap- 
 jicars from this verse, and from 1 Chron. xxiii. 28. 2. To serve 
 at the tabernacle ; expressed by keeping the charge of the whole 
 congregation, ver. 7- And herein they served the people ; see 
 2 Chron. x.xxv. 3. We have an account in this chapter of the par- 
 ticular charge of the Gershonites, ver. 25, 26 ; of tlie Kohathites, 
 ver. 31 ; of the Merarites, ver. 36 ; and of their burdens and 
 the carrying of the ark, chap, iv, and Deut. x. 8. From these 
 duties they were excused, when the temple was built, 1 Chron. 
 xxiii. 26. But then they were appointed (3.) to be singers, 
 1 Chron. xxiii. 30, and chap, xxv; (4.) and porters to the several 
 gates of the temple, I Chron. xxvi. 13. 5. They had the charge 
 of the treasure, 1 Chron. xxvi. 20, of the house of God, and of 
 the detlicated things. And lastly, some of them were made offi- 
 cers and judges in business of the I^)rd, and service of the kin" 
 i>ee 1 Chron. xxvi. 29, 30. Bp. Kidder. " 
 
 J.' r~''"'V **"" *ffp Aii charge,] They sliall do that service, 
 which Aaron, as from the Lord, shall appoint to them. Bp. Hall. 
 
 • 'r~T-f°'"'^'''l>^'-"oclcofthecongrcgalion,] Not officiating 
 in It, tor that bc.ongcd to the priests; but assisting the priests iii 
 
 Aaron and to his sons: they arc wholly £^^^"[1.^ 
 given unto him out of the children of Is- huo. 
 rael. 
 
 10 And thou shalt appoint Aaron and 
 his sons, and they shall wait on their 
 priest's office : and the stranger that Com- 
 eth nigh shall be put to death. 
 
 11 And the Loud spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 12 And I, behold, I have taken the Le- 
 vites from among the children of Israel in- 
 stead of all the firstborn that openeth the 
 matrix among the children of Israel: there- 
 fore the Levites shall be mine ; 
 
 13 Because all the firstborn are mine ; 
 
 "for on the day that I smote all the first- ' Exod. is. 
 born in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto ^^^ g? as. 
 me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and cH- s. is. 
 beast: mine shall they be : 1 am the Lokd. i-"'"' '•^- ^s- 
 
 14< ^ And the Loud spake unto Moses 
 in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 
 
 15 Number the children of Levi after 
 the house of their fathers, by their fami- 
 lies : every male from a month old and up- 
 ward shalt thou number them. 
 
 16 And ^ Moses numbered them accord- " Gen. 4c. 
 ing to the tword of the Lord, as he was eJo^.s. le. 
 commanded. ch. 'ir,. si. 
 
 17 And these were the sons of Levi by g.^J"™"" 
 their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and t"eb. 
 Merari. 
 
 their service before it, or about the external part of it. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 1 0. — priest's office :] It was the proper .ind peculiar office of 
 the priests to bless the people in the name of the Lord ; to offer 
 incense ; and to minister at tiie altar, Ntmib. xviii. 7; Deut. xxi. 5; 
 1 Chron. xxiii. IS. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 the stranger] Any one, tiiough a Levite, that was not of 
 
 the sons of Aaron. God Himself sent out fire to consume Korah 
 and his company, who presumed to offer incense, being only Le- 
 vites, and not priests, chap. xvi. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. — / have taken the Levites — instead of all the_/irstborn &c.] 
 Whereas before, tlie firstborn of the family was ordained to exe- 
 cute the office of priestliood, and to offer sacrifices for the rest, 
 now I have confined thi.i office to one tribe alone ; so that only 
 tho.se of Levi, instead of the firstborn, shall be set apart for this 
 work. Bp. Hall, 
 
 13. — / am the Lord.] Who, as such, may take whom I 
 please to be employed in My service, and therefore much more 
 make such an exchange. Dr. Wells. 
 
 1 4. — the Lord spake unto Mose.t] And not to Aaron also. The 
 number of the Israelites was to be taken by them both, chap. i. .'}, 
 as was that of the Kohathites, chap. iv. 2. And the Gershonites 
 and Merarites were numbered by Aaron as well as by Moses, 
 chap. iv. 41, 45. But the precept to number the Levites here is 
 directed to Moses onl}', and by him was executed, ver. l6", whatever 
 assistance or approbation Aaron might give, ver. 3y. And again 
 we find that Moses alone was concerned in numbering the first- 
 born of Israel, ver. 40 — 12, in which no mention at all is made 
 of Aaron. For since the money, with which the firstborn of 
 Israel, that exceeded the number of the Levites, were to be re- 
 deemed, was to be paid to Aaron and his sons, ver. 48, he, whose 
 advantage it was tliat the number of the firstborn should exceed, 
 was not authorized to take the number. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 i
 
 The Levites' 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 several charges. 
 
 chrTst ^^ "^"^ ^'^^'^^ "^^ *'^^ names of the sons 
 ' noo. of Gershon by their faniihes; Libni, and 
 Shimei. 
 
 19 And the sons of Kohath by their 
 families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, 
 and Uzziel. 
 
 20 And the sons of Merari by their fa- 
 milies; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the 
 families of the Levites according to the 
 house of their fathers. 
 
 21 Of Gershon was the family of the 
 Libnites, and the family of the Shimites : 
 these are the families of the Gershonites. 
 
 25 Those that were numbered of them, 
 according to the number of all the males, 
 from a month pld and upward, even those 
 that were numbered of them were seven 
 thousand and five hundred. 
 
 23 The families of the Gershonites shall 
 pitch behind the tabernacle westward. 
 
 24 And the chief of the house of the 
 father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph 
 the son of Lael. 
 
 25 And the charge of the sons of Ger- 
 shon in the tabernacle of the congregation 
 shall be the tabernacle, and tlie tent, the 
 covering thereof, and the hanging for the 
 door of the tabernacle of the congregation, 
 
 26 And the hangings of the court, and 
 the curtain for the door of the court, which 
 is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round 
 about, and the cords of it for all the service 
 thereof. 
 
 27 IT And of Kohath "was the family of 
 the Amramites, and the family of the Ize- 
 harites, and the family of the Hebronites, 
 and the family of the Uzzielites: these are 
 the families of the Kohathites. 
 
 28 In the number of all the males, from 
 a month old and upward, "were eight thou- 
 sand and six hundi'ed, keeping the charge 
 of the sanctuary. 
 
 29 The families of the sons of Kohath 
 shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle 
 southward. 
 
 30 And the chief of the house of the 
 father of the families of the Kohathites 
 shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 
 
 32. And Elenzar ihc son of Aaron &c.]] There was one officer 
 in chief set over each of these great families, ver. 2-i, 30, 35; 
 and over all these officers there was one supreme chief, namcl)', 
 Eleazar, who was more than a Levite, being the eldest son of 
 Aaron the high priest. Bp. Patrick. | 
 
 39. — twenty and two thousand.^ The foregoing sums amount 
 to 22,300; a greater number tlian that of the firstborn of tlie 
 Israelites, which was 22,273. Yet we find the number to be re- 
 deemed was 273, ver. 46. So that 300 are omitted here, where 
 the several sums are collected; and a price is paid for 273, which 
 were indeed over and above the number here mentioned, but 
 
 31 And their charge sUal/ be the ark, and J^f"" 
 the table, and the candlestick, and the aU ^ u^^^ 
 tars, and the vessels of the .sanctuary where- 
 with they minister, and tiic hanging, and 
 
 all the service thereof. 
 
 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the 
 priest shall be chief over the chief of the 
 Levites, and have the oversight of them that 
 keep the charge of the sanctuary. 
 
 33 ^ Of Merari was the family of the 
 Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: 
 these are the families of Merari. 
 
 34. And those that were numbered oi" 
 them, according to the number of all the 
 males, from a month old and upward, were 
 six thousand and two hundred. 
 
 35 And the chief of the house of the 
 father of the families of Merari was Zuriel 
 the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the 
 side of the tabernacle northward. 
 
 36 And t under the custody and charge t Hcb. 
 
 of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of ',1'^ "^^ "-f 
 the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and "^ "'*' 
 the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, 
 and all the vessels thereof, and all that 
 serveth thereto, 
 
 37 And the pillars of the court round 
 about, and their sockets, and their pins, 
 and their cords. 
 
 38 ^ But those that encamp before the 
 tabernacle toward the east, even before the 
 tabernacle of the congregation eastward, 
 shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, 
 keeping the charge of the sanctuary for 
 the charge of the children of Israel; and 
 the stranger that cometli nigh shall be put 
 to death. 
 
 39 All that were numbered of the Le- 
 vites, which Moses and Aaron numbered 
 at the commandment of the Lord, through- 
 out their families, all the males from a 
 month old and upward, were twenty and 
 two thousand. 
 
 40 % And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 Number all the firstborn of the males of 
 the children of Israel from a montli old 
 and upward, and take the number of their 
 names. 
 
 twenty-seven short of the real number of tlie Levites. It is pro- 
 bable therefore, that the 300, not reckoned here, were the first- 
 bom of the Levites; which, being due to Gotl l>efore from the 
 tribe of Levi, as well as from tiie oilier tribes, were not to be 
 reckoned among those Levites, who were to be taken instead of 
 the firstborn of Lsratl. Bp. Kidder, Dr. Wall. 
 
 It is singular tliat the tribe of Levi shoulil be much less nu- 
 merous than any of the others. Their munber of males from a 
 month old amounts only to 22,300; whereas, of the other tribes, 
 Judah was 74,600, chap. i. 27, and the rest, one with another, 
 about 40,000, none so fgw as 30,000. Dr. Wall. 
 
 L 1 2
 
 Thefrstborn me freed by the Leiiles. NUMBER S. 
 
 2'he Levitea' 
 
 Brfor* .\.\ And tliou shall take the Levites for 
 ^ M^*^ me (1 am the Lord) instead of all the first- 
 born among the children of Israel; and 
 the cattle of the Levites instead of all the 
 firstlings among the cattle of the children 
 ol" Israel. 
 
 42 And Moses numbered, as the Lord 
 commanded him, all the firstborn among 
 the children of Israel. 
 
 4.S And all the firstborn males by the 
 number of names, from a month old and 
 upward, of those that were numbered of 
 them, were twenty and two thousand two 
 hundred and threescore and thirteen. 
 
 44. ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 45 Take the Levites instead of all the 
 firstborn among the children of Israel, and 
 the cattle of the Levites instead of their 
 cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am 
 the Lord. 
 
 46 And for those that are to be redeem- 
 ed of the two hundred and threescore and 
 thirteen of the firstborn of the children 
 of Israel, which are more than the Le- 
 vites; 
 
 47 Thou shalt even take five shekels 
 apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the 
 
 • Exod. 30. sanctuary shalt thou take thein : (' the she- 
 
 hey 27 25 ^^' '* twenty gerahs:) 
 
 ch. 18. 16. 48 And thou shalt give the money, 
 wherewith the odd number of them is to be 
 redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons. 
 
 49 And Moses took the redemption mo- 
 ney of them that were over and above them 
 that were redeemed by the Levites: 
 
 50 Of the firstborn of the children of Is- 
 rael took he the money; a thousand three 
 hundred and threescore and five shekels, 
 after the shekel of the sanctuary: 
 
 51 And Moses gave the money of them 
 that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his 
 
 41. — tlie cattle cf the LevUes} In the gross. Dr. ffe/Zs. Not 
 to be sacrificed, or taken from the Levites; but to continue in 
 their possession, by God's allowance, for their encouragement in 
 His service. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 i~. Thou shall — take Jive shekels apiece,'] This was the price 
 of redemption ever after, chap, xviii. 16. It had been lately con- 
 stituted the value of a man-child, from a month to five years old. 
 Lev. xxvii. (>. Which of the firstborn was to be redeemed by 
 money, anil which to be exchanged for a Levite, was probably 
 determined by lot: unless the congregation redeemed the 273 
 firstborn out of a common stock. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. IV. ver. 3. From thirty years old and upward] In the 
 ^iT'^ki" "^'^^^^^ ^^^y '^^ ''"■*= appointed, they were not employed 
 till tl^y reached thirty years of age: but they were admitted to 
 attend at the tabernacle, and do other service at t^venty-fivc 
 yeare: see chap. viiL 24. The work, here aUuded to, was that 
 o\ cairymg the ark, and the most holy things, which were always 
 borne on mens shoulders. It is spoken of ^ the word " burden" 
 
 Euk.45 
 
 12. 
 
 sons, according to the word of the Lord, (,^^"[1^ 
 as the Lord commanded Moses. mso. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 1 The age and time of the Levites' service. 4 The car- 
 riage of the Kohathites, when the priests have taken 
 down the lahernacle. 1 6 The charge of Eleazar. 1 7 
 The office of the priests. 21 The carriage of the 
 Gershonites. 29 The carriage of the Merarites. 34 
 The manlier of the Kohathites, aS of the Gershonites, 
 42 a7id of the Merarites. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses and 
 unto Aaron, saying, 
 
 2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath 
 from among the sons of Levi, after their 
 families, by the house of their fathers, 
 
 3 From thirty years old and upward 
 even until fifty years old, all that enter into 
 the host, to do the work in the tabernacle 
 of the congregation. 
 
 4 This shall be the service of the sons of 
 Kohath in the tabernacle of the congrega- 
 tion, about the most holy things: 
 
 5 ^ And when the camp setteth forward, 
 Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they 
 shall take down the covering vail, and co- 
 ver the ark of testimony with it : 
 
 6 And shall put thereon the covering of 
 badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a 
 cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the 
 staves thereof. 
 
 7 And upon the ' table of shewbread ' Exod. 25. 
 they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put 
 thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the 
 bowls, and covers to || cover withal: and II Or, 
 the continual bread shall be thereon : witLT' 
 
 8 And they shall spread upon them a 
 cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a 
 covering of badgers' skins, and shall put in 
 the staves thereof. 
 
 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, ^ j, ■ ^s 
 and cover the '' candlestick of the light, 31. * " 
 
 in ver. 15, 19, 24, 31, 47. Bp. Patrick. Probably, at twenty-five 
 years of age they went in as learners; and at tWrty began to do 
 the hard sei-vices. Dr. Wall. 
 
 all that enter into the host,'] All that are fit to enter upon 
 
 this ministry, being of just age, and sufficient strength, and not 
 legally excluded, chap. v. 2; i. 3. This service was a spiritual 
 warfare; and he that entered into it, is said to enter into the 
 host. See ver. 23, and 1 Tim. i. 18; 2 Tim. ii. 3. Bp. Kidder. 
 Their watching continually about the tabernacle made them a 
 sort of guard. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — put in the staves lltcreof.~\ Not into the rings, for they 
 were never to be t.-ikcn out, Exod. xxv. 15. The Heirew words 
 signify pui the staves thereof, that is, upon their shoulders: or. Jit 
 and dispose them, under the covering, that they might be laid on 
 their shoulders. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 7. — the continual bread] The shewbread, which stood con- 
 tinually in the presence of God, being renewed every sabbath. 
 Bp. Patrick.
 
 several charges 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 about the sanctuary. 
 
 chrTst ^"^ his lamps, and his tongs, <=and his 
 1490. snuifdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, 
 ' Exod. 25. wherewith they minister unto it : 
 3'- 10 And they shall put it and all the ves- 
 
 sels thereof within a covering of badgers' 
 skins, and shall put it upon a bar. 
 
 1 1 And upon the golden altar they shall 
 spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a 
 covering of badgers' skins, and shall put to 
 the staves tliereof : 
 
 12 And they shall take all the instru- 
 ments of ministry, wherewith they minister 
 in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth 
 of blue, and cover them with a covering 
 of badgers' skins, and shall put them on a 
 bar: 
 
 13 And they shall take away the ashes 
 from the altar, and spread a purple cloth 
 thereon : 
 
 14 And thev' shall put upon it all the 
 vessels thereof, wherewith they minister 
 about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, 
 
 i! ^J< and the shovels, and the 11 basons, all the 
 vessels of the altar ; and they shall spread 
 upon it a covering of badgers' skins, and 
 put to the staves of it. 
 
 15 And when Aaron and his sons have 
 made an end of covering the sanctuary, 
 and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the 
 camp is to set forward ; after that, the sons 
 of Kohath shall come to bear it .• but they 
 shall not touch any holy thing, lest they 
 die. These things are the burden of the 
 sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the 
 congregation. 
 
 16 % And to the office of Eleazar the 
 son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil 
 
 •"Eiod-so. for the light, and the ''sweet incense, and 
 'Exod 30 ^'^^ daily meat offering, and the 'anointing 
 23. oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, 
 
 and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, 
 
 and in the vessels thereof. 
 
 17 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses 
 and unto Aaron, saying, 
 
 18 Cut ye not off the tribe of the fami- 
 lies of the Kohathites from among the 
 Levites : 
 
 19 But thus do unto them, that they 
 may live, and not die, when they approach 
 
 1 0. — put it upon a har.l^ Rather, a bier ; or a thing I)road, 
 and fit to carry the vessels, &c. just mentioned. Bp. Patrick, 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 1 5. — thcfi shall not touch any holy thing,'] They were to touch 
 the staves, but not the ark, which is here meant principally by 
 the holt/ thing, the word any not behig in the Hebrew. Bp. Pa- 
 trick, Dr. Welts. 
 
 16. And to the office of Eleazar &c. Though the Levites of 
 this class had a particular governour of their own, cbap. iii. 30, 
 
 unto the most holy things: Aaron and his ^""^ 
 sons shall go in, and appoint them every ^"4^.'^ 
 one to his service and to his burden : 
 
 20 But they shall not go in to see when 
 the holy things are covered, lest they die. 
 
 21 % And the Lord spake unto Closes, 
 saying, 
 
 22 Take also the sum of the sons of 
 Gershon, throughout the houses of their 
 fathers, by their families ; 
 
 23 From thirty years old and upward 
 until fifty years old shalt thou number 
 them ; all that enter in t to perform the t "*'>• 
 service, to do the work in the tabernacle '^^ar'j!' 
 of the congregation. 
 
 24 This is the service of the families of 
 the Gershonites, to serve, and for llbur- i| or. 
 
 dens : cnrrM^e. 
 
 25 And they shall bear the curtains of 
 the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the 
 congregation, his covering, and the cover- 
 ing of the badgers' skins that is above upon 
 it, and the hanging for the door of the ta- 
 bernacle of the congregation, 
 
 26 And the hangings of the court, and 
 the hanging for the door of the gate of the 
 court, which is by the tabernacle and by 
 the altar round about, and their cords, and 
 all the instruments of their service, and all 
 that is made for them : so shall they serve. 
 
 27 At the t appointment of Aaron and t H«b. 
 his sons shall be all the service of the sons 
 
 of the Gershonites, in all theii' burdens, 
 and in all their service : and ye shall ap- 
 point unto them in charge all their bur- 
 dens. 
 
 28 This is the service of the families of 
 the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of 
 the congregation : and their charge shall 
 be under the hand of Ithamar the son of 
 Aaron the priest. 
 
 29 1[ As for the sons of Merari, thou 
 shalt number them after their families, by 
 the house of their fathers ; 
 
 30 From thirty years old and upward 
 even unto titty years old shalt thou num- 
 ber them, every one that entereth into the 
 t service, to do the work of the tabernacle t Hrf*. 
 
 of the congregation. 
 
 lanrfare. 
 
 yet both he and they, in all their important trusts, were to be 
 under the inspection of the high priest's eldest son, as their su- 
 pervisor, chap. iii. 3'i. Pi/lc. 
 
 18. Cut ye not off' ike] J)o not ye, by your neglect, suffer or 
 cause to be cut off the considerable part of llic tribe of Levi, 
 namely, the families of the Koliatliitcs, from among the Levites, 
 by giving them opportunity to touch any of the holy things, or 
 not sufficiently warning them, again and again, to the contrary. 
 Dt. Wells.
 
 The Lnites' charge. 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 and their number. 
 
 Before gi And tliis /,s- the charge of their biir- 
 
 *^"i4w.^^ tlcn, according to all their service in tlic 
 
 ' Eiod. 26. tabernacle olthe congregation ; ' the boards 
 
 '^- of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and 
 
 the pillars thereof, ami sockets thereof, 
 
 32 And tiie |)illars of tiie court round 
 about, and their sockets, and their pins, 
 and their cords, with all their instruments, 
 and with all their service: and by name ye 
 shall reckon the instruments of the charge 
 of their burden. 
 
 33 Tiiis is the service of the families of 
 the sons of Merari, according to all their 
 service, in the tabernacle of the congrega- 
 tion, under the hand of Ithamar the son of 
 Aaron the priest. 
 
 34 % And Moses and Aaron and the 
 chief of the congregation numbered the 
 sons of the Kohathites after their families, 
 and after the house of their fathers, 
 
 35 From thirty years old and upward 
 even unto fifty years old, every one that 
 entereth into the service, for the work in 
 the tabernacle of the congregation : 
 
 3G And those that were numbered of 
 them by their families were two thousand 
 seven hundred and fifty. 
 
 37 These were they that w^ere numbered 
 of the families of the Kohathites, all that 
 might do service in the tabernacle of the 
 congregation, which Moses and Aaron did 
 number according to the commandment of 
 the Lord by the hand of Moses. 
 
 38 And those that were numbered of 
 the sons of Gershon, tliroughout their fa- 
 milies, and by the house of their fathers, 
 
 39 From thirty years old and upward 
 even unto fifty years old, every one that 
 entereth into the service, for the work in 
 the tabernacle of the congregation, 
 
 40 Even those that were numbered of 
 them, throughout their families, by the 
 house of their fathers, were two thousand 
 and six hundred and thirty. 
 
 41 These (n-e they that were numbered 
 of the families of the sons of Gershon, of 
 all that might do service in the tabernacle 
 of the congregation, whom Moses and Aa- 
 ron did number according to the command- 
 ment of the Lord. 
 
 42 ^ And those that were numbered of 
 the families of the sons of Merari, through- 
 
 Chap. V. vcr. 2. — put Old of the camp Ac] There were three 
 caiTips, as may be learned from what has gone before, and a.s the 
 Jewish writers have observed. 1. The camp of the Shechinali, 
 or of the Lord ; namely, the sanctuarj-, with its courts, where God 
 was said to dwell, and which are called the tents of the Lord, 
 2 Chron. .\xxi. 2. 2. The camp of tlie Levites, who, with Aaron 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 H90. 
 
 out their families, by the house of their 
 lathers, 
 
 43 From thirty years old and upward 
 even unto fifty years old, every one that 
 entereth into the service, for the work in 
 the tabernacle of the congregation, 
 
 4i Even those that were numbered of 
 them after their families, were three thou- 
 sand and two hundred. 
 
 4.5 These he those that were numbered 
 of the families of the sons of Merari, whom 
 Moses and Aaron numbered according to 
 the word of the Lord by the hand of 
 Moses. 
 
 46 All those that were numbered of the 
 Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the 
 chief of Israel numbered, after their fami- 
 lies, and after the house of their fathers, 
 
 47 From thirty years old and upward 
 even unto fifty years old, every one that 
 came to do the service of the ministry, 
 and the service of the burden in the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation, 
 
 48 Even those that were numbered of 
 them, were eight thousand and five hun- 
 dred and fourscore. 
 
 49 According to the commandment of 
 the Lord they were numbered by the hand 
 of Moses, every one according to his ser- 
 vice, and according to his burden : thus 
 were they numbered of him, as the Loi{D 
 commanded Moses. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 1 The nndean arc removed out of the camp. 5 Resli- 
 tiitiott is to be made in trespasses. II The trial of 
 Jealousy. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 
 2 Command the children of Israel, that 
 they put out of the camp every " leper, and ' 
 every one that hath an '' issue, and whoso- " 
 ever is defiled by the " dead : 
 
 3 Both male and female shall ye put 
 out, without the camp shall ye put them ; 
 that they defile not their camps, in the 
 midst whereof I dwell. 
 
 4 And the children of Israel did so, and 
 put them out without the camp : as the 
 Lord spake unto Moses, so did the chil- 
 dren of Israel. 
 
 and his sons, encamped round about the sanctuary, ch. iii. 3. The 
 camp of Lsrael, chap, ii, which encompassed them all. Lepers 
 were not admitte<l into any of these three camps : he, that had an 
 issue, was excluded from the two first ; but might be in the camp 
 of Israel : and he that was defiled by the dead was excluded, only 
 from the sanctuary, and not &om the other two. Bp. Patrick, 
 
 Lev. 13.3. 
 Lev. 15.2. 
 Lev. 21.1.
 
 liesiittilion is to he made. 
 
 CHAR V. 
 
 TJie trial of jealousy. 
 
 12. 
 
 chrTst ^ ^ ^"'^ ^^^ Lord spake unto Moses, 
 
 H90. saying, 
 
 6 Speak unto the children of Israel, 
 'Ler.c. s. "^When a man or woman shall commit any 
 
 sin that men commit, to do a trespass a- 
 gainst the Lord, and that person be guilty; 
 
 7 Then they shall confess their sin which 
 they have done : and he shall recompense 
 
 'Lev. 6. 5. his trespass 'with the principal thereoii and 
 add unto it the fifth pai't thereof, and give 
 it unto him against whom he hath tres- 
 passed. 
 
 S But if the man have no kinsman to 
 recompense the trespass unto, let the tres- 
 pass be recompensed unto the Lord, even 
 to the priest ; beside the ram of the atone- 
 ment, whereby an atonement shall be made 
 for him. 
 I O"-- 9 And every || offering of all the holy 
 
 ^eme ejfe,- j-j^j^gg of the children of Israel, which they 
 bring unto the priest, shall be his. 
 
 10 And every man's hallowed things 
 shall be his : whatsoever any man giveth 
 
 'Lev. 10. the priest, it shall be "^his. 
 
 11 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 12 Speak unto the children of Israel, 
 and say unto them. If any man's wife go 
 aside, and commit a trespass against him, 
 
 13 And a man lie with her carnally, and 
 it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and 
 be kept close, and she be defiled, and there 
 be no witness against her, neither she be 
 taken with the manner ; 
 
 14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon 
 him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she 
 
 6. — commit am/ sin thai men commit,'^ That is, which they are 
 ordinarily obnoxious to, or overtaken with. Bp. Kidder. Any sin 
 of frailty or infirmity, wliieh is commonly incident to every man. 
 Bp. Hall. In the Hebrew the words are, shall commit am/ sin of 
 man; that is, any sin against his neighbour: as in Joel iii. 19; 
 " violence o/" the children of Judah" is truly translated, " violence 
 against the children of Judah." It is plain from ver. 7> 8, that 
 Moses here speaks of offences against their neighbours. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 to do a Irespa.is against the Lord,'] Such offences against 
 
 their neighbours, as were also offences against God; such as frauds 
 and cheats put on men by a false oath. Bp. Patrick. Tiic con- 
 text manifestly implies, that a sin against our neighbour is an 
 offence against God. Pi/le. 
 
 that person he guilty ;"] Or rather, be sensible of his guilt. 
 
 See Lev. vi. 4. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7- — and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal 
 thereof, <^c.] Under the Levitical law, reconciliation could be ob- 
 tained only by repentance, and no repentance was accepted, which 
 did not prove its sincerity by practical reformation. For every 
 transgression the Law prescribed a trespass offering. Where the 
 transgression was of a mere ritual precejjt, and committed without 
 deliberation or design ; when discovered, the trespass offering was 
 sufficient alone : for tliis shewed, that the offender acknowledged 
 the authority of the Law, which lie had unintentionally violated. 
 But where the transgression inclutl^d. any encroachment on the 
 
 be defiled : or if the spirit of jealousy come ^^"^ 
 upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, ^^u^^ 
 and she be not defiled : 
 
 15 Then shall the man bring his wife 
 unto the priest, and he shall bring her of- 
 fering for her, the tenth part of an ephah 
 of barley meal ; he shall pour no oil upon 
 it, nor put frankincense thereon ; for it is 
 an offering of jealousy, an offering of me- 
 morial, bringing iniquity to remembrance. 
 
 16 And the priest shall bring her near, 
 and set her before the Lord : 
 
 17 And the priest shall take holy water 
 in an earthen vessel ; and of the dust that 
 is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest 
 shall take, and put it into the water : 
 
 IS And the priest shall set the woman 
 before the Lord, and uncover the woman's 
 head, and put the offering of memorial in 
 her hands, which is the jealousy offering : 
 and the priest shall have in his hand the 
 bitter water that causeth the curse : 
 
 19 And the priest shall charge her by an 
 oath, and say unto the woman. If no man 
 have lain with thee, and if thou hast not - 
 gone aside to uncleanncss {W-aith another II Or, 
 
 . instead of thy husband, be thou {tqq from ^^^r[^\ul 
 this bitter water that causeth the curse : kusiHmd. 
 
 20 But if thou hast gone aside to anotlier Lrf^«/.y 
 instead of thy husband, and if thou be de- husiMHd. 
 filed, and some man have lain with thee be- 
 side thine husband : 
 
 21 Then the priest shall charge the wo- 
 man with an oath of cursing, and the priest 
 shall say unto the woman. The Lord make 
 thee a curse and an oath among thy people. 
 
 rights of another, the trespass offering could not be received, un- 
 less it was accompanied by a publick acknowledgment of the of- 
 fence, a resignation of the usurped property, and a restitution to 
 the person injured, if he or his heir could be found ; if not, the 
 usurped propertj' was to be consecrated to pious uses, as the of- 
 fender could not procure pardon, while he retained it No regula- 
 tion could point out more clearly the ineffiaicy of sacrifice, where 
 guilt was not iinfeignedly repented of, and all the advantages, 
 which had tempted to its perpetration, renounced and resigned ; 
 and where full restitution to the injured individual ilid notaccom-. 
 pany humiliation before God. Dr. Graves. 
 
 I S. — the bitter nater"] The water which shall prove bitterly 
 afflictive and deadly to her, if she be guilty. See rer. 27. Bp, 
 Hall. 
 
 21. — The Lord make thee a curse'] So that when men would 
 imprecate evil on another, they should say, Let that befall thee, 
 which befell such a woman. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 The water of jealousy, drunk by an Israelitish woman, suspect- 
 ed of infidelity to her husband, but denying that crime, has been 
 a subject of great difficulty. It appears to h.-ive contained the 
 essence of an oath, varied for the purpose of peculiar solemnity: 
 so that a woman woidd naturally hesitate to take such an oath, 
 imderstood to be an appeal to Heaven of the most solemn kind: 
 understood also to be accompanicfi, in case of peijury, by most 
 painfid and fatal effects. The drinking appears to have been a 
 symbolical action: when " the priest wrote we curses in a book/'
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 noforc 
 CM III ST 
 
 t Hrt. 
 
 fall. 
 
 The trial ofjealotisij. 
 
 when tho Loud iloth make thy thigh to 
 trot, and thv belly to swell ; 
 
 2'2 And tliis water that causeth the curse 
 shall £?o into thv bowels, to make thy belly 
 to swell, and % tliigli to rot. And the 
 woman shall sav. Amen, amen. 
 
 •23 And the priest shall write these curses 
 in a book, and he shall blot them out with 
 the bitter water : 
 
 '24. And he shall cause the woman to 
 drink the bitter water that causeth the 
 curse: and the water that causeth the curse 
 shall enter into her, and become bitter. 
 
 '25 Then the priest shall take the jealousy 
 oftering out of the woman's hand, and shall 
 wave the offering before the Loud, and otler 
 it upon the altar : 
 
 sJO And the priest shall take an handful 
 of the ofl'ering, even the memorial thereof, 
 and burn it upon the altar, and afterward 
 shall cause the woman to drink the wa- 
 ter. 
 
 27 And when he hath made her to drink 
 the water, then it shall come to pass, that, 
 if she be defiled, and have done trespass 
 against her husband, that the water that 
 causeth the curse shall enter into her, and 
 become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and 
 her thigh shall rot : and the woman shall 
 be a curse among her people. 
 
 28 And if the woman be not defiled, but 
 be clean ; then she shall be free, and shall 
 conceive seed. 
 
 29 This is the law of jealousies, when a 
 
 and washed those curses into tlic water which was to be drunk, 
 the water was understood to be impregnated, as it were, to be 
 tinctured with the curse, the acrimony of which it received ; so 
 that now it was metaphorically hitlcv, containing the curse in it. 
 The drinking of this curse, though conditionally effective or non- 
 effective, could not but have a great effect on the woman's mind ; 
 and an answerable effect on tlie husband's jealousy, which it was 
 designed to cure and to dissipate. Sciipl. illiixl. A'-r/xw. Iml. 
 
 29. TItisi.i the law of jealousies.'^ By which God dcclai-cd Him- 
 self to be privy to the most secret sins ; and to be both the pre- 
 server of conjugal fiiith and chastity, anil the jirotector of inno- 
 cence : and at the same time prevented all other hard and cruel 
 usage of the wife, in the case of the husband's jealousy. Bn. 
 Patrirk, I'yk. 
 
 It has been well remarked, that this species of ordeal could 
 not injure the innocent at all, or punish the guilty, except by a 
 iniracle : whereas, in the ordeals by fire, &c. in the" dark ages, the 
 innocent could scarcely escape, but by a miracle. Dr. Graves. 
 
 31. Then shall the man be gtiiltlc.i.s^ Nor shall the luisband in- 
 cur any reproach in thus prosecuting the wife, that gives him oc- 
 casion of jealousy, whether she prove really guilty or not. If she 
 appear innocent, she still pays for her indiscretion: and if guilty, 
 she has the just punishment of her crime. Pi/le. 
 
 From this declaration of Clod, that He would chastise the of- 
 tender, and from this mention of the jwrticular chastisement, in a 
 case, tor which no human punishment could be inflicted, appears 
 the uiirc;i.«onableness of supposing that Moses was indeed a vir- 
 tuous and wise man, but that the Law, which he drew up for the 
 
 The lav: of the Nazarites, 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1490. 
 
 wife goeth aside to another instead of her 
 husband, and is defiled ; 
 
 30 Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh 
 upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, 
 und shall set the woman before the Lord, 
 and the priest shall execute upon her all 
 this law. 
 
 31 Then shall the man be guiltless from 
 iniquity, and this woman shall bear her 
 initpiity. 
 
 CHAP. VL 
 
 1 Tlic law of the Nazarites. 22 The form of blessing 
 llie people. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 
 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and 
 
 say unto them, AVhen either man or woman 
 shall II separate themselves to vow a vow of II O'- 
 a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Zues A'n- 
 Lord : ""■""• 
 
 3 He shall separate himself from wine 
 and strong drink, and shall drink no vine- 
 gar of wine, or \inegar of strong drink, 
 neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, 
 nor eat moist grapes, or dried. 
 
 t All the days of his || separation shall n q^ 
 he eat nothing that is made of the t vine ^'"iarUe- 
 tree, from the kernels even to the husk. ^ Heb. 
 
 5 All the days of the vow of his separa- »■'«« "J "" 
 tion there shall no ^rasor come upon his »"judg. is. 
 head : until the days be fulfilled, in the ^■ 
 which he separateth /j/wwe^unto the Lord, u. 
 
 Israelites, was of his own contrivance, and that he called it a Di- 
 vine revelation, to make the people reverence it, and imposed up- 
 on them for their good. As he was a virtuous man, he would not 
 have done evil that good might come of it ; and as he was a wise 
 man, he would never have made such laws as this and others like 
 it, and have promised what he was not able to perform. It fol- 
 lows that, as he was a virtuous and wise man, his Law w-as indeed 
 a Divine revelation. See Lev. xx. 20, 21 j xvii. 10. Dr. Jortin. 
 Chap. V'l. ver. 2. — to wtv a vow of a Nazarite,'^ That is, a 
 vow of separation or abstinence ; for the Hebrew word, from 
 w'hich Nazarite comes, signifies " to separate or abstain." Bp. 
 Kidder. " Nazarite" denotes one separated from others by a pro- 
 fession of some extraordinary and special acts of religion. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 3. He shall separate himself from «;/«?] That by abstaining 
 from every intoxicating liquor he might the better attend to the 
 study of the law and other exercises of religion. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and .<!trong drink,'\ Chiefly such tlrink was here meant, as 
 
 was made of dates, figs, or other fruits ; or of honej-, as metheglin 
 or mead. Malt liquor was very little, if at all, used in those 
 countries and times. Dr. Wells. 
 
 liquor of grapes,'] That which is made of grapes bruised 
 
 in water, after the juice had been pressed out to make wine. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 i. All the days of his .reparation'] Or " Nazariteship," as in the 
 margin. This might be for a whole life, as in the cases of Sam- 
 son, and John the Baptist : or for a set time ; even as little as a 
 week. See Acts x.\i. 26, 27. Bp. Patrick.
 
 The late of 
 
 CHAP. Vi. 
 
 the Nazat'Ues. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^'y* ^"'^ ^^^^^' '^^ ^^^ ^<^C^S O^ 
 
 1490. the hair of his head grow. 
 
 6 All the days that he separateth himself 
 unto the Lord he shall come at no dead 
 body. 
 
 7 He shall not make himself unclean for 
 his father, or for his mother, for his bro- 
 ther, or for his sister, when they die : be- 
 
 t Heb. cause the t consecration of his God is upon 
 
 reparation. j^Jg J^^^J^ 
 
 8 All the days of his separation he is 
 holy unto the Lord. 
 
 9 And if any man die very suddenly by 
 him, and he hath defiled the head of his 
 consecration ; then he shall shave his head 
 in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh 
 day shall he shave it. 
 
 10 And on the eighth day he shall bring 
 two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the 
 priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the 
 congregation : 
 
 1 1 And the priest shall offer the one for 
 a sin offering, and the other for a burnt 
 offering, and make an atonement for him, 
 for that he sinned by the dead, and shall 
 hallow his head that same day. 
 
 12 And he shall consecrate unto the 
 Lord the days of his separation, and shall 
 bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass 
 offering : but the days that were before 
 
 t Heb./ntf. shall t be lost, because his separation was 
 defiled. 
 
 13 % And this is the law of the Nazarite, 
 when the days of his separation are fulfilled: 
 he shall be brought unto the door of the 
 tabernacle of the congregation : 
 
 14- And he shall offer his offering unto 
 the Lord, one he lamb of the first year 
 without blemish for a burnt offering, and 
 one ewe lamb of the first year without 
 blemish for a sin offering, and one ram 
 without blemish for peace offerings, 
 
 15 And a basket of unleavened bread, 
 
 7. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, &c.] By 
 attending on any funeral solemnity ; looking on himself as one so 
 entirely consecrated to God, as to be obliged to abstain in these 
 cases, more than the ordinary priests, and as much as the high 
 priest himself. P>/le. 
 
 g. — he hath defiled the head of his consecration ;~\ Meaning, 
 the consecration of his head ; that is, his hair, which, "having been 
 consecrated to God, was defiled by being accidentally near a dead 
 body. His Nazariteship was interrupted by this defilement, so 
 that it could not proceed further: but, after the usual purifica- 
 tions, was to be begun anew, by shaving off the polluted hair, 
 and letting new hair grow instead of it. Moses here speaks only 
 of such as made this vow for a limited time. Perpetual Nazarites 
 were never shaven, whatever defilement they might contract. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11. — he sinned by the dead,'] Contracted a legal defilement 
 by means of the deaci. Bp. Patrick. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and ^^^°" 
 wafers of unleavened bread anointed with ^""m'*^ 
 oil, and their meat offering, and their drink 
 offerings. 
 
 IG And the priest shall bring tfiem be- 
 fore the Lord, and shall offer his sin offer- 
 ing, and his burnt offering : 
 
 17 And he shall offer the ram yo?- a sa- 
 crifice of peace offerings unto the Lord, 
 with the basket of unleavened bread : the 
 priest shall offer also his meat offering, and 
 his drink offering. 
 
 18 "^ And the Nazarite shall shave the'-^cuai 
 head of his separation at the door of the '*' 
 tabernacle of the congregation, and shall 
 
 take the hair of the head of his separation, 
 and put it in the fire which is under the 
 sacrifice of the peace offerings. 
 
 19 And the priest shall take the sodden 
 shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened 
 cake out of the basket, and one unleavened 
 wafer, and shall put them upon the hands 
 of the Nazarite, after the hair o/'his separa- 
 tion is shaven : 
 
 20 And the priest shall wave them 'for '_ExoA29. 
 a wave offering before the Lord : this is ''' 
 holy for the priest, with the wave breast 
 
 and heave shoulder : and after that the 
 Nazarite may drink wine. 
 
 21 This is the law of the Nazarite who 
 hath vowed, atid of his offering unto the 
 Lord for his separation, beside that that 
 his hand shall get : according to the vow 
 which he vowed, so lie must do after the 
 law of his separation. 
 
 22 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, 
 saying. On this wise ye shall bless the chil- 
 dren of Israel, saying unto them, 
 
 24- The Lord bless thee, and keep thee : 
 25 The Lord make his face shine upon 
 thee, and be gracious unto thee : 
 
 1 i. — he shall offer his offering &c.] Here are all .<!orts of 
 offerings : a burnt offering, as an acknowledgment of God's sove- 
 reign dominion ; a .sin offering, imploring j>ardon for any omis- 
 sion, of whicli he might liave been guilty during this vow ; and a 
 peace offering, in thankfidness to God, who iiad given him grace 
 to make, keep, and fulfil this vow. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 l(). — shall put them ujxm the hands of the Sasarite,'] That he 
 might present them to tlie priest in Uiken of gratitude. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 23. Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons.J \Vhosc proper office 
 it was to bless tlie people ; m it was to oner sacrifices, and bum 
 incense, Deut. xxi. 5. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 24. The Lord bless thee, and keep thee .J Give thee all gootl 
 things, and preserve thee from evil. Bp. Paliick. 
 
 25. The Lord make his face shine u/wn ihec,] Make thee to 
 perceive tliat He looks on" tliee with a pleasing and favourable 
 countenance : " and be gracious unto thee," especially in the par- 
 don of thy sins. Dr. Wells. 
 
 M m
 
 I 
 
 The ojffkring of 
 
 20 The Lord lift 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 the princes. 
 
 ) his countenance 
 
 Bcf..re 20 The Lord litt ii] 
 '■'mw'*'^ upon thee, and {rive thee peace. 
 
 '27 Anil they shall nut my name upon 
 the children of Israel; and I will bless 
 them. 
 
 CHAP. VIL 
 
 1 The offerinc of the princes at the dedicalion of the 
 lahernacL: ^ 10 Their several offenngs at the ded,- 
 cnlkm of the altar. 89 God speakelh In ilosa Jrom 
 the meivy seat. 
 
 AND it came to pass on the day that 
 Moses had fully ' set up the taber- 
 nacle, and iiad anointed it, and sanctified 
 it, and all the instruments thereof, both the 
 altar and all the vessels thereof, and had 
 anointed them, and sanctified them ; 
 
 2 That the princes of Israel, heads of 
 
 2(i. 'J'hf Lord tij) up his countenance iijiun ihec,^ As a man 
 is wont to lift up his counti'iiancc upon one, for whom he 
 ha-< a favour ; and tbertforf h)ves to look upon ;is much as he 
 can. Dr. fi'clls. The " liftinp »ip of the coimtenance" upon 
 anv person denotes favour and good-will towards him. Dr. 
 
 1 and give thee peace.'} Outward and inward. Dr. fVells. 
 
 As a proof of His care and special protection, may He give thee 
 all the tokens of His kindness, the greatest of His benefits and 
 iavours. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 The repetition of the name Jehovah three times in these three 
 verses, and that with a different accent in each of them, hath 
 made the Jews themselves think that there is some mystery in it. 
 It may well be looketl upon, as having respect to the three Persons 
 in the" blessed Trinity : who are one Gotl, from whom all blessings 
 flow unto us, 2 Cor. xiii. 1 i. This mystery, as Luther wisely ex- 
 presses it, is here secretly insinuated, though not plainly revealed. 
 And it is not hard to shew, if this were the place for it, how pro- 
 perly God the Father may be said to bless and keep vs ; and God 
 the Son, to be gracious unto us ; and God the Holy Ghost, to 
 give tis peace. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 After this form the high priest was commanded to bless the 
 children of Israel. The name o( the Lono, in Hebrew Jehovah, 
 is here repeated three times. And parallel to this is the form of 
 Christian baptism, wherein the three personal terms of Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghost, are not represented as .so many different 
 names, but as one name : the one Divine nature of God being no 
 more divided by these three, than by the single name Jehovah 
 thrice repeated. If the three articles of tliis benediction be at- 
 tentively considered, their contents will be found to agree respec- 
 tively to the three Persons taken in the usual order of the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Father is the Author of bless- 
 ing and preservation. Grace and illumination are from the Son, by 
 •whom we have " the light of the knowledge of the glory of G<k1 
 in the face of Jesus Chri.st," 2 Cor. iv. 6. Peace is the gift of the 
 •Spirit, wliose name is the Comforter, and whose first and best fruit 
 is the work of peace. J<mcs of S'ai/land. 
 
 27. And thei) shall put mif name &c.] Laying their hands 
 upon the children of Isniel, they shall call upon .My n;une for a 
 blessing, and it shall be given by Me, according t» their prayers. 
 Bp. Hull. The Jews from hence observe, that God's blessing in 
 »ome sort depends upon the bles.sing of the priest. And this they 
 thought so necessary, that such priests, as were admitted to no 
 <ither service, might peHorm this, for fear the people should at 
 any time want it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 VVhxn the priest pronounceii this blessing to the people, as we 
 still do in the X'isitation of the Sick, God promised that He Him- 
 self wm-ld accordingly bless them. And when men faitlifully 
 and devoutly receive it as they ought, there is no question but 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1490. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 who tlood. 
 
 the house of their fathers, who "ivere the 
 princes of the tribes, t and were over them 
 that were numbered, oftered : 
 
 S And they brouglit their offering before 
 the Lord, six covered wagons, ami twelve 
 oxen ; a wagon for two of the princes, and 
 for each one an ox : and they brought them 
 before the tabernacle. 
 
 4 And the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing, 
 
 5 Take it of them, that they may be to 
 do the serxice of the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation ; and thou shalt give them unto 
 the Levites, to every man according to his 
 service. 
 
 6 And Moses took the wagons and the 
 oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. 
 
 7 Two wagons and four oxen he gave 
 
 that God continues to bless them now : or when the priest pro- 
 nounces in His name the same blessing, according to the Aposto- 
 lical form of words, " The grace of the Lord Jesus Clu-ist, and the 
 Love of Ciod, and the Communion of the Holy Ghost, be with 
 you all. Amen." 2 Cor. xiii. 14. Bp. Beveridge. 
 
 and I will bless them.'} Lest any should despise this 
 
 blessing, because pronounced by a poor mortal like themselves, 
 it is added, " I will bless them." The blessing dependeth, not 
 on the priest, but on CJod's ordinance. Bp. Wilson. To jiromote 
 a due regard in His people to their teachers and rulers, the 
 sacred writings ascribe a peciUiar efficacy to tlieir praying over 
 those committed to their charge. Even under the Jewish dis- 
 pensation, the familj- of Aaron were tohl, that " them the Lord 
 had sej)arated to minister unto Him, and to bless in the name of 
 the Lord : and they shall put My name," saith God, " upon the 
 children of Israel, and I will bless them." No wonder then, if 
 under the Christian dispensation we read, that the Apostles, when 
 they were come down to Samaria, prayed for the new-baptized 
 converts, that they might receive the Holy Ghost ; and that, on 
 their laying their hands upon them, they did receive Him ac- 
 cordingly. Acts viiL 15, 17. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Chap. VII. ver. I. — on the dtiif] y\n Hebraism, signifying 
 not only a precise and stated day, but often used to signify in, or 
 about, or after sucli a time. Pffle. " On the day that ;" in English, 
 when. 
 
 2. — the princes — offered:'] They testified, by their several 
 gifts, their joyful celebration of the dedication of the tabernacle 
 and the altar. Bp. Hall. They agreed together, whether at their 
 own proper expense, or in conjunction with others of the richer 
 and abler sort, to make a liberal present or offering for the use of 
 this house of God, each as the representative of his own tribe. 
 Pyle. 
 
 5. — thou shall give them unto the Levites, to everi) man according 
 to his service.'] Agreeably to this, Moses distributed them to two 
 families of the Levites, for the third were to carry the part assign- 
 ed to them, the furniture of the Holy of Holies, upon their shoul- 
 ders : of these two families, to one were assigned two wagons, to 
 the other, four. The reason of this inequality is not s]>ecified_: 
 but on turning back to the fourth chapter we find, that the fa- 
 mil)', to whicli the four wagons are assigned, had been appoint- 
 ed to carry the solid, and therefore heavy, part of the tabernacle, 
 its boards, and bars, and pillars ; while that family, to which the 
 two wagons are assigned, was appointed to carrj- tiic lighter 
 parts ; its curtains a!id coverings, its liangings and cords. Such 
 minute and apparently unimportant coincidences as these could 
 not have arisen from any thing but reality, and supply very de- 
 cisi\'e proofs of the truth and autlienticity of the historj'. Dr. 
 Graves.
 
 2'he offering qf 
 
 CHAP. \U. 
 
 Hie princes. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHKisT ""^'^ *'^^ ^""^ °^ Gershon, according to 
 Hw. their service : 
 
 8 And four wagons and eight oxen he 
 gave unto the sons of Merari, according 
 unto their service, under the hand of Itha- 
 mar the son of Aaron the priest. 
 
 9 But unto the sons of Kohath he gave 
 none : because the service of the sanctuary 
 belonging unto them -iVas that they should 
 bear upon their shoulders. 
 
 10 ^ And the princes offered for dedi- 
 cating of the altar in the day that it was 
 anointed, even the princes offered their 
 offering before the altar. 
 
 11 And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 They shall offer their offering, eacli prince 
 on his day, for the dedicating of the altar. 
 
 12 ^ And he that offered his offering the 
 first day was Nahshon the son of Ammina- 
 dab, of the tribe of Judah : 
 
 13 And his offering a'os one silver 
 charger, the weight thereof -was an hun- 
 dred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of 
 seventy shekels, after the shekel of the 
 sanctuary ; both of them yiei-e full of fine 
 
 •Lev. 2.1. flour mingled with oil for a '' meat offer- 
 ing: 
 
 14 One spoon often shekels of gold, full 
 of incense : 
 
 15 One young bullock, one ram, one 
 lamb of the first year, for a burnt offer- 
 ing: 
 
 Lev. 4. 23. \Q One kid of the goats for a ' sin offer- 
 ing : 
 
 17 And for a sacrifice of peace oflierings, 
 two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five 
 lambs of the first year : this xcas the offer- 
 ing of Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 
 
 18 ^ On the second day Nethaneel the 
 son of Zuar, prince of Issachar, did offer : 
 
 19 He offered yor his offering one silver 
 charger, the weight whereof was an hun- 
 dred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of 
 seventy shekels, after the shekel of the 
 
 10. — dedicating'] The " dedicating" of a thing, here, and in 
 several other places, signifies the first applicalion of it to sacred 
 uses, or to the Divine service, to which it hatl been designed and 
 consecrated. The altar had been " dedicated," in the sense of 
 selling it apart and sanctifying it for the service of God, E.\o<L 
 xxLx. 27 ; Lev. viii. 11. It now began to be used, after it had 
 been so sanctified. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 11. — each prince on his t/oy,] To render the dedication move 
 solemn ; to avoid all confusion ; and that every tribe, by its re- 
 presentative, might distinctly express its devotion to God, and 
 receive a gracious entertainment from Him. Pj/lc. 
 
 1 '2. And he that offered his offering &c.] The offerings of all the 
 princes were the same in kind, number, and value : to prevent all 
 vanity and emulation among the tribes ; and to shew that they 
 were all equally interested in the altar, and acceptable to the 
 Divine Majesty. The offering of each consisted of one silver 
 
 liOO. 
 
 sanctuary ; both of them full of fine flour Ucf"r^. 
 mingled with oil for a meat offering : chkist 
 
 '20 One spoon of gold often shekels, full 
 of incense : 
 
 21 One young bullock, one ram, one 
 lamb of the first year, for a burnt offer- 
 ing : 
 
 22 One kid of the goats for a sin offer- 
 
 ing: 
 
 23 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, 
 two oxen, fi\c rams, five he goats, five 
 lambs of the first year : this was the offer- 
 ing of Nethaneel the son of Zuar. 
 
 24 % On the third day Eliab the son of 
 Helon, prince of the children of Zebulun, 
 (lid offer : 
 
 25 His offering was one silver charger, 
 the weight whereof was an hundred and 
 thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy 
 shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary- ; 
 both of them full of fine flour mingled with 
 oil for a meat offering : 
 
 26 One golden spoon of ten shekels, full 
 of incense : 
 
 27 One young bullock, one ram, one 
 lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 
 
 28 One kid of the goats for a sin offer- 
 ing : 
 
 29 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, 
 two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five 
 lambs of the first vear : this was the offer- 
 ing of Eliab the son of Helon. 
 
 30 % On the fourth day Elizur the son 
 of Shedeur, prince of the children of Reu- 
 ben, did ojfer: 
 
 31 His offering teas one silver charger 
 of the weight of an hundred and thirty 
 shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, 
 after the shekel of the sanctuary ; both of 
 them full of fine flour mingled with oil for 
 a meat offering : 
 
 32 One golden spoon of ten shekels, full 
 of incense : 
 
 33 One young bullock, one ram, one 
 
 bason, for receiving the parts of the several sacrifices, weighing 
 130 shekels, or about sixty-five oimces: one silver bonl. to hold 
 tlie blood, wine, or flour, of seventy shekels, or about tliirty-five 
 ounces weight ; botli of these being full of flour and oil : one 
 gold spoon, to take up the incense with, full of incense, weighing 
 ten shekeb, or about five ounces : a burnt offering, consisting of 
 a bullock, a ram, and a lamb : a sin offering, of a goat : and an 
 eucharistical, or peace offering, consisting of two oxen, five rams, 
 five he goats, and five lambs, with meat offerings of bread, and 
 cakes, annexed to them : the priests, princes, and as many of the 
 people as were invited, being to feait on their share of the last 
 named sacrifice. Pj/le. 
 
 Nahshon the son qf Amminadab,'] This Nahshon was an 
 
 ancestor of our Saviour according to the flesh. The value of each 
 of these presents was about eighty or ninety pounds : of the 
 twelve, about £1000. Dr. fVnll. 
 
 M mS
 
 The offering of 
 
 NUMBER S. 
 
 the princes. 
 
 Before In nil) 
 
 M'jo. iiig : 
 
 .St 
 
 ing: 
 
 of the first year, for a burnt off'cr- 
 Oiie kill of the goats for a sin ofFer- 
 
 Sr) And for a sacrifice of peace oftcr- 
 ings, two oxen, fi\e rams, five he goats, five 
 lambs of the first year : this -was the offer- 
 ing of EHzur the son of Shedeur. 
 
 3(') 1[ On the fifth day Shelumiel the son 
 of Zurishaddai, prince of the children of 
 Simeon, did offer: 
 
 37 His ottering was one silver charger, 
 the weight whereof was an hundred and 
 tliirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy 
 shekels, afler the shekel of the sanctuary ; 
 both of them full of fine flour mingled with 
 oil for a meat ottering : 
 
 38 One golden spoon of ten shekels, full 
 of incense : 
 
 S[) One young bullock, one ram, one 
 lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 
 
 40 One kid of" the goats for a sin offer- 
 ing : 
 
 41 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, 
 two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs 
 of the first year : this was the offering of 
 Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 
 
 42 % On the sixtii day Eliasaph the son 
 of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad, 
 offered: 
 
 43 His offering was one silver charger 
 of the weight of an hundred and thirty 
 shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, 
 after the shekel of the sanctuary ; both of 
 them full of fine flour mingled with oil for 
 a meat offering : 
 
 44 One golden spoon of ten shekels, full 
 of incense : 
 
 4,5 One young bullock, one ram, one 
 lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 
 
 46 One kid of the goats for a sin offer- 
 ing : 
 
 47 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, 
 two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five 
 lambs of the first year : this was the offer- 
 ing of Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 
 
 48 % On the seventh day Elishama the 
 son of Ammihud, prince of the children of 
 Ephraim, offered: 
 
 49 His offering was one silver charger, 
 the weiglit whereof was an bundled and 
 thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy 
 shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary ; 
 both of them full of fine flour mintj-led 
 ■with oil for a meat offering : 
 
 .OU One golden spoon of ten shekels, full 
 of incense : 
 
 51 One young bullock, one ram, one 
 lamb oi" the first year, for a burnt offering : 
 
 5'2 One kid of the goats for a sin offer- 
 
 53 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, 
 two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five 
 lambs of the first year : this was the offer- 
 ing of Elishama the son of Ammihud. 
 
 54 % On the eighth day offered Gamaliel 
 the son of Pedahzur, prince of the chil- 
 dren of Manasseh : 
 
 55 His offering was one silver charger 
 of the weight of an hundred and thirty 
 shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, 
 after the shekel of the sanctuary ; both of 
 them full of fine flour mingled with oil for 
 a meat offering : 
 
 5() One golden spoon of ten shekels, full 
 of incense : 
 
 57 One young bullock, one ram, one 
 lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 
 
 58 One kid of the goats for a sin offer- 
 ing: 
 
 59 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, 
 two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five 
 lambs of the first year : this was the offer- 
 ing of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 
 
 60 % On the ninth day Abidan the son 
 of Gideoni, prince of the children of Ben- 
 jamin, offered: 
 
 61 His offering was one silver charger, 
 the weight whereof was an hundred and 
 thirty sliekcls, one silver bowl of seventy 
 shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuaiy ; 
 both of them full of fine flour mingled with 
 oil for a meat offering : 
 
 62 One golden spoon of ten shekels, full 
 of incense : 
 
 63 One young bullock, one ram, one 
 lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering : 
 
 64 One kid of the goats for a sin offer- 
 ing: 
 
 65 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, 
 two oxen, five rams, five he goats, fivfe 
 lambs of the first year : this was the offer- 
 ing of Abidan the son of Gideoni. 
 
 66 ^ On the tenth day Ahiezer the son 
 of Ammishaddai, prince of the children of 
 Dan, offered: 
 
 67 His offering xvas one silver charger, 
 the weight whereof was an hundred and 
 thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy 
 shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary ; 
 both of them full of fine flour mingled 
 with oil for a meat offering; 
 
 68 One golden spoon of ten shekels, full 
 of incense : 
 
 69 One young bullock, one ram, one 
 lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering : 
 
 70 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 
 
 71 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1490.
 
 The offering of 
 
 CHAP. VII, VIII. 
 
 the princes. 
 
 chr7st *^'^ *'^^"' ^^'^ ''^'"^' ^^'^ ^^ goats, five 
 i49(x lambs of the first year: this xvas the offer- 
 ing of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 
 
 T^ % On the eleventh day Pagiel the son 
 of Ocran, prince of the children of Asher, 
 offered: 
 
 73 His offering "was one silver charger, 
 the weight whereof was an liundied and 
 thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy 
 shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; 
 both of them full of fine flour mingled with 
 oil for a meat offering: 
 
 74 One golden spoon often shekels, full 
 of incense : 
 
 75 One young bullock, one ram, one 
 lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 
 
 70 One kid of the goats for a sin ofter- 
 ing: 
 
 77 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, 
 two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs 
 of the first year: this •avas the offering of 
 Pagiel the son of Ocran. 
 
 78 ^ On the twelfth day Ahira the son of 
 Enan, prince of the children of Naphtali, 
 offered: 
 
 79 His offering "ivas one silver charger, 
 the weight whereof tvas an hundred and 
 tiiirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy 
 shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; 
 both of them full of fine flour mingled with 
 oil for a meat offering: 
 
 80 One golden spoon often shekels, full 
 of incense : 
 
 81 One young bullock, one ram, one 
 lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering : 
 
 82 One kid of the goats for a sin offer- 
 ing: 
 
 83 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, 
 two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five 
 lambs of the first year: this was the offer- 
 ing of Ahira the son of Enan. 
 
 84 This was the dedication of the altar, 
 in the day when it was anointed, by the 
 princes of Israel: twelve chargers of sil- 
 ver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of 
 gold: 
 
 85 Each charger of silver •weighing an 
 hundred and thirty shekels, each bowl se- 
 venty: all the silver vessels weighed two 
 thousand and four hundred shekels, after 
 the shekel of the sanctuary: 
 
 84. This tvas the dedication of the altar,'] It seems plain, tliat 
 l)oth the altars were now dedicated : because the great quantity 
 of incense, here presented, was to be offered on the golden altar, 
 as the flesh of tne beasts was on the great brasen altar: though 
 the latter alone is mentioned as principal, agreeubly to the com- 
 tnon use of the sacred writings. Thus magnificently did tlie 
 tribes of Israel, in a religious festival of twelve dn3B' continuance. 
 
 86 The golden spoons were twelve, full ^'f"" 
 of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, ^^4^.^^ 
 after the shekel of the sanctuary: all the 
 
 gold of the spoons was an hundred and 
 twenty shekels. 
 
 87 All the oxen for the burnt offering 
 were twelve bullocks, the rams twelve, the 
 lambs of the first year twelve, with their 
 meat offering: and the kids of the goats 
 for sin offering twelve. 
 
 88 And all the oxen for the sacrifice of 
 the peace offerings were twenty and four 
 bullocks, the rams sixty, the he goats sixty, 
 the lambs of the first year sixty. This was 
 the dedication of the altar, after that it was 
 anointed. 
 
 89 And when Moses was gone into the 
 tabernacle of the congregation to speak 
 
 with II him, then he heard the voice of one II That i.-, 
 speaking unto him from off' the mercy seat ^""^' 
 that was upon the ark of testimony, from 
 between the two cherubims: and he spake 
 unto him. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 1 How Ike lamps are to be liglited. !i The consecralion 
 of the Levites. 23 The age ami time of their service. 
 
 AND the Lord spake imto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 
 2 Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him. 
 When thou " lightest the lamps, the seven 'Exod. 25. 
 lamps shall give light over against the can- Is. * ^' 
 dlestick. 
 
 3 And Aaron did so ; he lighted the 
 lamps thereof over against the candlestick, 
 as the Lord commanded Moses. 
 
 4 "And this work of the candlestick was <■ ExoA 25. 
 ©/"beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto ^'• 
 
 the flowers thereof, xvas " beaten work : ac- ' ExoA 25. 
 
 • IS 
 
 cording unto the pattern which the Lord 
 had shewed Moses, so he made the candle- 
 stick. 
 
 5 if And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 6 Take the Levites from among the chil- 
 dren of Israel, and cleanse them. 
 
 7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to 
 cleanse them : Sprinkle water of purifying t Hci.. 
 upon them, and t let them shave all their .'JJl/" 
 flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and ™'^'"'°_ 
 so make themselves clean. 
 
 pati oper, 
 S.C. 
 
 declare their piety and reverence towards God, and an ex- 
 emplary liberality in providing for His ministry and worship. 
 Pyle. 
 
 Chap. VIII. ver. 2. — over against the candlestick.'] Every way 
 before the candlestick; that is, all over the tabernacle. Dr. 
 WclU.
 
 The consecration 
 
 N U iM B E R S. 
 
 of the Levites. 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 WttVt, 
 
 f Hib. 
 itHive offer' 
 inp. 
 t H»b. 
 tk-'y may be 
 to aecute, 
 A.-. 
 
 Before g ] hell let tlicm take a voiincj bullock 
 
 CHRIST .,, , • ^ ... ■ 'ii \i ■ 
 
 U9a with Ins meat otienng, n-cn niie Hour iiuii- 
 fjli'il with oil, ami another young bullock 
 shalt thou take lor a sin oHering. 
 
 !) And thou shalt bring the Levites be- 
 fore the tabernacle of the congregation: 
 and thou shalt gather the whole assembly 
 of the children of Israel together: 
 
 10 And thou shalt bring the Levites be- 
 fore the Loiuv. and the children of Israel 
 shall put their hands upon the Levites: 
 
 1 1 And Aaron shall t offer the Levites 
 before the Loan, /or an t offering of the 
 children of Israel, that t they may execute 
 the service of the Lord. 
 
 10 And the Levites shall lay their hands 
 u])on the heads of the bullocks: and thou 
 shalt offer the oncji)}- a sin offering, and the 
 other. /or a burnt offering, unto the Lord, 
 to make an atonement for the Levites. 
 
 13 And thou shalt set the Levites before 
 Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them 
 fur an offering unto the Lord. 
 
 14 Thus shalt thou separate^he Levites 
 from among the children of Israel : and the 
 
 Ch»p. 3. Levites shall be '' mine. 
 
 15 And after that shall the Levites go in 
 to do the service of the tabernacle of the 
 congregation : and thou shalt cleanse them, 
 and offer them^or an offering. 
 
 1() For they m-e wholly given unto me 
 from among the children of Israel ; instead 
 of such as open e\ery womb, eveti instead 
 o/"the firstborn of all the children of Israel, 
 have I taken them unto me. 
 
 17 Tor all the firstborn of the children 
 
 of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on 
 
 Luke 2. 23. the day that I smote every firstborn in the 
 
 land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself. 
 
 45, 
 
 * Exod. 13. 
 
 2. 
 
 chap. 3. I a. 
 
 10. — s/iall pill their hands upon the Levites :2 As the offerer 
 was wont to do upon his .sacrifice, thereby signifyini; tlie devoting 
 of it to God. By the sanctification of the firstborn to Goct 
 Exod. xiii. 1, tlje whole tkinily was sanctified, and their sin after 
 a manner expiated. The offering of the Levites to Gotl in this 
 way, instead of the firstborn, was to have the same effect; 
 namely, the sanctification and atonement of the children of Israel' 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. — to make an atonement for the Lei:ites.'] The end proposed 
 by the legal atonements was to recommend and make acceptable 
 to God the things intended for His service, whicli on account of 
 some unfitness, either natural or acquired, were objects of dis- 
 pleasure ratlier than of favour. Accordingly atonement implies a 
 double effect; one referring to the thing, the other to Gal. With 
 •aspect to the tiling, it implies the removal of the micleanness, 
 which made it an object of displeasure: with respect to God, it 
 unphes a removal of tJie displeasure, which the uncleanness had 
 occasioned. The atonement was inade^or the thing, which being 
 in itselt unclean and unholy, was in conseciuence cleansed and 
 saiKUfied: but it was made to God, that He might be reconciled 
 to, and tiike pleasure in, those things, which in tJieir natural state 
 were unworthy and unlit for His service. Hence an atouement 
 
 IS And I have taken the Levites for all .^]^'llj 
 the firstborn of the children of Israel. h9o. 
 
 If) And I have given the Levites as t a tHe'>- 
 gift to Aaron and to his sons from among '"""■ 
 the children of Israel, to do the service of 
 the children of Israel in the tabernacle of 
 the congregation, and to make an atone- 
 ment for the children of Israel : that there 
 be no plague among the children of Israel, 
 when the children of Israel come nigh unto 
 the sanctuary. 
 
 20 And Moses, and Aaron, and all the 
 congregation of the children of Israel, did 
 to the Levites according unto all that the 
 Lord commanded Moses concerning the 
 LeA'ites, so did the children of Israel unto 
 them. 
 
 21 And the Levites were purified, and 
 they washed their clothes; and Aaron of- 
 fered them as an offering before the Lord; 
 and Aaron made an atonement for them 
 to cleanse them. 
 
 22 And after that went the Levites in 
 to do their service in the tabernacle of the 
 congregation before Aaron, and before his 
 sons: as the Lord had commanded Moses 
 concerning the Levites, so did they unto 
 them. 
 
 23 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 24- This is it that belongeth unto the Le- 
 vites: from twenty and five years old and 
 upward they shall go in t to wait upon the +"«'»• _ 
 
 . » ^ ^ to wur the 
 
 service of the tabernacle of the congrega- warfare »/, 
 tion : ^''^ 
 
 2.5 And from the age of fifty years they 
 shall t cease waiting upon the service there- letunifr^m 
 oJ\ and shall serve no more: the warfare 
 
 26 But shall minister with their brethren LCI'* ^"' 
 
 was made for the altar, when it was originally consecrated, Exod. 
 xxix. SQ, 37, and for the Levites, when tiiey were dedicated to 
 their office and ministry, in order tliat, being cleansed from that 
 pollution, which necessarily cleaves to all terrestrial things, they 
 might become acceptable to God, and fit for His service. In like 
 manner, and for the same reason, atonements were appointed in 
 cases, where tlie uncleanness was contracted: for a house, after 
 having been infected w-ith lepros}'. Lev. xiv. 53; at the purifica- 
 tion of a leper, Lev. xiv. 1 8 ; after involuntary uncleanness. Lev. 
 XV. 15, 30; and sins of ignorance. Lev. iv. 20, 26, 35; v. 18; as 
 well as in some cases of wilful transgression, upon repentance and 
 restitution. Lev. vi. 5 — 7. Veysie. 
 
 19. — and to make an alotiement~\ Not by offering sacrifice, 
 which was the work of the priests alone; but by being offered 
 themselves in the natui-e of an expiatory sacrifice. Bp. Patrick, 
 Dr. Wells. By ministering to the priests, who made the atone- 
 ment, and by worshipping God according to ^is own direction 
 in tJie room and stead of the people. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 tlial there he no plague &c.]- Thus they kept the people 
 
 from intermeddling in sacred things and services, and pre- 
 vented those Divine judgments that are due to such profanation. 
 PyU. 
 
 i
 
 The passover is 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 commanded again. 
 
 A- 
 
 ' Eioi 1-. 
 1, &c. 
 Lev. 2:i. 5 
 
 CHRIST '" ^^^ tabernacle of tlie congregation, to 
 H9a keep the charge, and sliall do no service. 
 Thus shalt thou do unto the Le\ites 
 touching their charge. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 1 The passover is commanded again. G A second pass- 
 over allowed for them that were unclean or absent. 
 15 The cloud guidelk the removings and encampings 
 of the Israelites. 
 
 ND the Lord spake unto Moses in 
 the wilderness of Sinai, in the first 
 month of the second year after they were 
 come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 
 
 'i Let the children of Israel also keep 
 ^ the passover at his appointed season. 
 
 3 In the fourteenth day of this niontli, 
 Deut'i^e'^ ^^^ even, ye shall keep it in liis appointed 
 t Heb. season : according to all the rites of it, and 
 between the accordiufij to all the ceremonies thereof, 
 
 twn even- i 1 1 i • 
 
 iitgs. shall ye keep it. 
 
 4 And Moses spake unto the children 
 of Israel, that they should keep the pass- 
 over. 
 
 5 And they kept the passover on the 
 fourteenth day of the first month at even 
 in the wilderness of Sinai : according to 
 all that the Lord commanded Moses, so 
 did the children of Israel. 
 
 6 ^ And there were certain men, who 
 were defiled by the dead body of a man, 
 that they coidd not keep the passover on 
 that day: and they came before Moses and 
 before Aaron on that day : 
 
 7 And those men said unto him. We are 
 defiled by the dead body of a man : where- 
 fore are we kept back, that we may not 
 offer an offering of the Lord in his appoint- 
 ed season among the children of Israel ? 
 
 8 And Moses said unto them. Stand still, 
 and I will hear what the Lord will com- 
 mand concerning you. 
 
 9 IT And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, 
 saying. If any man of you or of your pos- 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. 1. — the Lord spake — in thejir.it month'] Here 
 the history returns to speak of the p:vssover in the first month ; 
 for all that has hitherto been said in tills book relates to the second 
 month, chap. i. 1. It should rather be here translated, " the Lord 
 had .spoken," nameh', in the first month. Dr. Wall. 
 
 2. Let the children of' Israel also keep the passover'] This is a 
 special command to the Israelites on tlie present occasion : for the 
 passover was annexed to the land of Canaan in its first institu- 
 tion, Ejcod. xii. 25. Nor do we find tiiat it was at any time, be- 
 sides this, kept in the wilderness ; or that they were iuiy farther 
 obliged to it in the wilderness, where they might not be provided 
 with lambs, and where they continued in their uncircumcision, 
 Exod. xii. 48 ; Josh. v. 5. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 terity shall be unclean bv reason of a dead ^^""^ 
 body, or be in a journey Jfar ofi; yet lie shall ^^\^J^'^ 
 keep the passover unto the Lord. 
 
 1 1 The fourteenth day of the second 
 month at even tiiey shall keep it, and 
 eat it with unleavened bread and bitter 
 herbs. 
 
 V2 They shall leave none of it unto the 
 morning, " nor break any bone of it : ac- <• Exod. n. 
 cording to all the ordinances of the pass- f. ,„ 
 
 ,',,,, . r John 19. 
 
 over they shall keep it. sc. 
 
 13 But the man that is clean, and is not 
 in a journey, and fbrbeareth to keep the 
 passover, even the same soul shall be cut 
 off from among his people : because he 
 brought not tiie offering of the Lord in 
 his appointed season, that man shall bear 
 his sin. 
 
 14 And if a stranger shall sojourn among 
 you, and will keep the passover unto the 
 Lord ; according to the ordinance of the 
 passover, and according to the manner 
 thereof, so shall he do : ^ ye shall have one ' ExoA 12. 
 ordinance, both for the stranger, and for ^^ 
 
 him that was born in the land. 
 
 15 % And "^ on the day that the taber- " Exod. 4a 
 nacle was reared up the cloud covered the ^' 
 tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testi- 
 mony : and at even there was upon the ta- 
 bernacle as it were the appearance of fire, 
 
 until the morning. 
 
 16 So it was ahvay : the cloud covered 
 it by day, and the appearance of fire by 
 night. 
 
 17 And when the cloud was taken up 
 from the tabernacle, then after that the 
 children of Israel journeyed : and in the 
 place where the cloud abode, there the 
 children of Israel pitched their tents. 
 
 18 At the commancbnent of the Lord 
 the children of Israel journeyed, and at the 
 commandment of the Lord they pitched : 
 
 ' as long as the cloud abode upon the ta- ' i Cor. 10. 
 bernacle they rested in their tents. '■ 
 
 19 And when the cloud t tarried longtHch. 
 upon the tabernacle many days, then the ^"^ °"°' ' 
 
 13. — the man that is clean, Sec] While provision was made 
 to enable those wlio were defiled to keep the passover, strict 
 charge was at the same thne gi\cii, tliat no Israelite or Proselyte 
 should omit the passover through negligence or forgetfulness ; but 
 that every member of their religion, by circumcision, should at- 
 tend upon it in every annual return, ujron pjiin of l>eiug cut off 
 by the sentence of "the judges, «r by the liand of Ciod. /'y/f. 
 Christians should observe and remember, what Cioil has threat- 
 ened to such as wilfully turned their kicks upon die jiiusstjver of 
 the Jews, which was a' representation of the Christian passover, 
 or Sacrament of the Lord's Sup^pcr: " That soul shall be cut off 
 from his people." The least of that pimishment was excommu- 
 nication. If unclean by reason of sin, they should remember not
 
 The cloud eiiidcl/i the Israelites. 
 
 NUMB E R S. 
 
 77ie use of the silver trumpets. 
 
 iwr»rc 
 
 CIIKIST 
 
 f }ltb.ua$. 
 
 I Exod. 40. 
 3C, -J'. 
 
 fliililren of Israel kept tho cliarore of tlie 
 Lout), and iourneyed not. 
 
 '20 AiuI'ao it \v*8, wluMi the cloud was 
 a few davs npon the tabernacle ; accordinu 
 to the commandment of the Loud they 
 abode in their tents, and according to the 
 commandment of the Lord they jour- 
 neyed. 
 
 i21 And so it was, when the cloud t abode 
 from even unto the morting, and thnt the 
 cloud was taken up in tiie morning, then 
 they jounieyed : whetiier it was by day or 
 by iiight that the cloud was taken up, they 
 journeyed. 
 
 22 Or whether it were two days, or a 
 month, or a year, that the cloud tarried 
 upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, 
 the children of Israel ' abode in their tents, 
 and journeyed not : but when it was taken 
 up, they journeyed. 
 
 23 At the commandment of the Lord 
 they rested in the tents, and at the com- 
 mandment of the Lord they journeyed : 
 they kept the charge of the Lord, at the 
 commandment of the Lord by the hand 
 of Moses. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 1 The use of Ihe silver trumpets. 11 The Israelites re- 
 move Jrom Sinai to Paran. l-t The order of their 
 march. 29 Holjab is intreated by Moses not to leave 
 dim. 33 The blessing of Moses at the removing and 
 resting of the ark. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 2 Make thee two trumpets of silver ; of 
 a whole piece shalt thou make them : that 
 thou mayest use them for the calling of 
 
 to continue in that slate at tlicir peril ; but to repent, and take 
 the first opportunity of obeying the command of God, lest tliey 
 be cut ofl'. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 2 J. — trhelher it was liif day or hij night &c.] Pitts, describing 
 tte journey of a caravan through the desert, between Grand Cairo 
 and Mecca, says, "'They have lights by night, which is the chief 
 time of travelling because of the exceeding heat of the sun Ijy 
 day ; these liglits arc carried on the tops of high poles, to direct 
 the iiilgriine in their march." Thevenot however travelled here 
 in the day time, passing through these deserts in January, and 
 even found the mornings cold before the sun was up : and it 
 seems that Egmont and Heyniiin, who travelled to mount Sinai 
 in July, travelled a good deal in the day time, and found very re- 
 freshing breezes. Moses in like manner relates that the cloud, 
 which regulated the marches of the Israelites, was sometimes 
 taken up by day, and sometimes by night; doubtless according to 
 the season, or the temperature of the air, which a merciful God 
 regarded in giving that signal. Harmer. : ^ • , 
 
 ' 23. — at the cunonandmetil of Ihe lx>rd hy the hand of Mo'ies.~\ 
 That is, by the ministry of Moses, who was their law"iver and 
 director under (Jod. lip. Kidder. All these circumstances are 
 recit«l thus particularly by Moses, to show, that the Israel- 
 ites did not wander Ro long in the wilderness from heino- be- 
 wildered and unable to lind their way out; but that all'tlieir 
 
 Befbee 
 CHRIST 
 
 149(1. 
 
 tiie assembly, and for the journeying of the 
 eamjis. <• 
 
 3 And when they shall blow with them, 
 all the assembly shall assemble themselves 
 to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the 
 congregation. \o »tn. 
 
 4 And if they blow but -vihh' one trum- 
 pet, then the princes, "which are heads of 
 the thousands of Israel, shall gather them- 
 selves unto thee. 
 
 5 When ye blow an alarm, then the 
 camps that lie on the east parts shall go 
 forward. 
 
 6 When ye blow an alann the second 
 time, then the camps that lie on the soutli 
 side shall take their journey : they shall 
 blow an alarm for their journeys. 
 
 7 But when the congregation is to be 
 gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye 
 shall not sound an alarm. 
 
 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, 
 shall blow with the trumpets ; and they 
 shall be to you for an ordinance for ever 
 throughout your generations. 
 
 9 And if ye go to war in your land 
 against the enemy that oppresseth you, 
 then ye shall blow an alarm with the trum- 
 pets ; and ye shall be remembered before 
 the Lord your God, and ye shall be saved 
 from your enemies. 
 
 10 Also in the day of your gladness, 
 and in your solemn days, and in the be- 
 ginnings of your months, ye shall blow 
 with the trumpets over your burnt offer- 
 ings, and over the sacrifices of your peace 
 offerings ; that they may be to you for a 
 memorial before your God: I am the Lord 
 your God. 
 
 motions were directed by the special appointment of God. Bp. 
 Patrictc. 'r ' - 
 
 ■ Chap. X. ver. 2. Make thee two trumpets &c.] Trumpets were 
 used ■!» the Jewish worship in the wilderness. Two were made 
 of silver, as appears from this place ; which, Josephus says, were 
 near a cubit in length, curved at the end like a bell ; and at the 
 niouthjtrsit of width sufficient to admit tKe breath. The purpose 
 of these instruments was for conducting the joumeyings andrest- 
 iilgs of the camp. There arc two Hebrew names for trumpets, 
 which imply a difference, either of form or of material. The trum- 
 pets of Moses and Solomon are called Chatsolseroth ; and this word 
 seems to denote metal trumpet.s. Numb. x. 2 ; xxxi. f) ; 2 Kings 
 xi. 14; xii. 13; 1 Chron. xiii. 8; and elsewhere. The jubilee trum- 
 pets are called S/iopkerolh : with these the priests encompassed 
 the -wallas of Jericho. These were employed by Gideon ; and the 
 niune is applied metaphorically to the thunder of Sinai, Exod. 
 xix. l6 ; Is. Iviii. 1. Where both words occur together, the latter 
 is rendered cornets by our translation of the Psalms in the Bible, 
 and slianmis by that in the Common Prayer Book, Psal. xcviii. 6. 
 Fragments to Calmet. "'" " 
 
 S. -^ hlom with t/iem,^ With an equal and continued souKd : 
 to " blow an alarm," is to blow with an interrupted, or broken and 
 quavering sound. Bp. Patrictc.
 
 Tlie Israelites remove to Paran 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 the order of their march. 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ^ ^"4 ^* ^*"^® ^^ P^'^ ^^ *^^ twen- 
 1490. tieth day of the second month, in the se- 
 cond year, that the cloud was taken up 
 from off the tabernacle of the testimony. 
 
 12 And the children of Israel took their 
 journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai ; 
 and the cloud rested in the wilderness of 
 Paran. 
 
 13 And they first took their journey ac- 
 cording to the commandment of the Lord 
 by the hand of Moses. 
 
 'Chap.«.3. 14 ^ > In the first place went the stand- 
 ard of the camp of the children of Judah 
 according to their armies : and over his 
 
 '^ Chap. 1.7. host W'fl5 Nahshon the .son of Amminadab. 
 
 15 And over the host of the tribe of the 
 children of Issachar xvas Nethaneel the son 
 of Zuar. 
 
 16 And over the host of the tribe of the 
 children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of 
 Helon. 
 
 17 And the tabernacle was taken down ; 
 and the sons of Gershon and the sons of 
 Merari set forward, bearing the tabernacle. 
 
 18 ^ And the standard of the camp of 
 Reuben set forward according to their ar- 
 mies : and over his host ii-as Elizur the son 
 of Shedeur. 
 
 19 And over the host of the tribe of the 
 children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son 
 of Zurishaddai. 
 
 20 And over the host of the tribe of 
 the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son 
 
 •Chap. 4, 4. of Deuel. 
 
 B That is, 21 And the Kohathites set forward, bear- 
 ahonit^s, iog the ' sanctuary : and II the other did set 
 and the uD the tabcmacle against they came. 
 Seever. 17. 22 ^ And the standard of the camp of 
 
 17- — the soils of Gershon &c. — set forward, bearing the ta- 
 bertiacle.2 This was after the first, and before the second, camp : 
 which seems to be a contradiction to the order of the march fixed 
 in chap. ii. 17, that the tabernacle, with the camp of the Levites, 
 should set forward between the second and third camps. But this 
 apparent contradiction is reconciled a few verses below, where we 
 find, that, though the less sacred parts of the tabernacle, the out- 
 side tent and its apparatus, set out between the first and second 
 camp ; yet the sanctuary, or Holy of Holies, with its furniture, 
 the ark and the altar, did not set out till after the second camp, 
 as the direction required. And the reason of the separation is 
 assigned, ver. 21, that those, who bore the outside tabernacle, 
 might set it up, and thus prepjire for the reception of the sanc- 
 tuary. No forger or compiler, who lived when these marches 
 had wholly ceased, and the Israelites were fixed in the land of 
 their inheritance, would have thought of such a circumstance as 
 this. Dr. Graves. 
 
 25. — the rerewar<r] All the rest of the people, who were not 
 a part of the four camps, before mentioned; all under twenty 
 years of age, who were not able to go forth to war ; all the mi.xed 
 multitude, that came with them out of Egj-pt ; and all the un- 
 clean persons, who were shut out of the camp ; came after this 
 hindmost standard of the children of Dan. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 29. — Moses' father in /a/f,] This word may refer either to 
 Vol. I. 
 
 the children of Ephraim set forward ac- ^^•'" 
 cording to their armies : and over his host ^"4^.^^ 
 was Elishama the son ofiAnimiluid. 
 
 23 And over the host of the tribe of the 
 children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son 
 of Pedahzur. 
 
 24 And over the host of the tribe of the 
 children of Benjamin was Abidan the son 
 of Gideoni. 
 
 25 5r And the standard of the camp of 
 the children of Dan set forward, which was 
 the rereward of all the camps throughout 
 their hosts : and over his host was Ahiezer 
 the son of Ammishaddai. 
 
 26 And over the host of the tribe of the 
 children of Asher was Pagiel the son of 
 Ocran. 
 
 27 And over the host of the tribe of the 
 children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of 
 Enan. 
 
 28 t Thus were the journeyings of the t "«»• 
 children of Israel according to their ar- ^''"'' 
 mies, when they set forward. 
 
 29 H And Moses said unto Hobab, the 
 son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses' father 
 in law, AVe are journeying unto the place 
 of which the Lord said, I will give it you : 
 come thou with us, and we will do thee 
 good : for the Lord hath spoken good 
 concerning Israel. 
 
 30 And he said unto him, I will not go ; 
 but I will depart to mine own land, and to 
 my kindred. 
 
 31 And he said. Leave us not, I pray 
 thee ; forasmuch as thou knowest how we 
 are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou 
 mayest be to us instead of eyes. 
 
 S2 And it shall be, if thou go with us. 
 
 Raguel, who is supposed to be Jethro, and then it is rightly trans- 
 lat«l " father in law ;" or it may refer to Hobab, and be translated 
 " brother in law." Jethro being returned to his countr}-, Hobab. 
 his son, stayed with his sister, Zipporah, whilst Moses continued 
 near Sinai, which was not far from Midian. He now proposed to 
 return home, on the Israelites being about to quit that neighbour, 
 hood : but Moses was desirous that he should accompany them to 
 the promised land. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. — forasmuch as thou knofvest how we are to encamp Ac] He 
 being a borderer on tliis wilderness knew every part of it : and 
 could advise them how to secure their camp, (for the cloud only 
 directed them where it was to be pitched,) how to defend them- 
 selves from the neighbouring people, and to provide themselves 
 with such things as they wanted. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Hobab may have been of great use to the Israelites, with re- 
 spect both to guiding their parties to wells and springs in the de- 
 sert, and to giving them notice where they might find fuel. But 
 besides this, the sacred history expressly mentions several journeys 
 undertaken by detachments of the Israelites, while the main body 
 remained still : so in chap, xiii, we read of a party sent out to re- 
 connoitre the land of Canaan ; in chap, xx, of the messengers sent 
 from Kadesh to the king of Edom; in chap, xxxi, of an expedition 
 against the idolatrous Midianites ; of some little expetlitions in 
 the close of chap, xxxii : and more journevi of the like kind w»rr 
 
 Nn
 
 fliii kkmiH^ qf Moses. 
 
 N U M 13 E R b. 
 
 IVie burning Qt Taberah, 
 
 Brfore 
 CHRIST 
 
 « Psil. 63. 
 
 1. -i. 
 
 t Heb. 
 tin thitu' 
 sand thou- 
 tandi. 
 
 yea, it shall be, tliat wliat goodness the 
 I^ouD bhull do unto us, the sanie will we 
 do unto thee. 
 
 3S «[ And they denarted from tlie mount 
 of tlie Loud three days' journey : and the 
 ark of tlie covenant oV the Louu went be- 
 fore them in the three days' journey, to 
 search out a resting place for them. 
 
 Si And the cloud of the Loud teas up- 
 on them by day, when they went out of the 
 camp. 
 
 35 And it came to pass, when the ark set 
 forward, that Moses said, '' Rise up, Loud, 
 and let thine enemies be scattered ; and let 
 them that hate thee flee before thee. 
 
 SO And when it rested, he said. Return, 
 
 Loud, unto the t many thousands of 
 Israel. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 1 The burning at Taberah quenched by Moses' prayer. 
 4 The people lust for Jlesh, and loathe manna. 10 
 
 witliout doubt uiulcrt;ikcii, though they are not particularly re- 
 counted. Moses, foreseeing this, might well beg Hobab to ac- 
 company him, not as a single Arab, but a» the prince of a clan, to 
 supply conductors for these detached parties, while the body of the 
 people, and the cloud of tiie Lord, continued stationary. Hartner. 
 
 thou mayest he to us instead of eyesr\ By reason of thy 
 
 knowledge and experience, thou mayest be a good direction for 
 us. Up. Hall. 
 
 We are informed that guides are now necessary for travellers in 
 these deserts. A Hyhcer is a guide, from the Arabick word hubbar, 
 to infomi, instruct, or direct, because the Hybeers are used to do 
 this office to the caravan, tra\elling through the desert in all its 
 directions. Thej' are men of great consideration ; knowing per- 
 fectly the situation and properties of all kinds of water, to be met 
 with on the route ; the distances of wells ; whether occupied by 
 enemies or not, and if occupietl, the way to avoid them with the 
 least inconvenience. It is also necessary to them to know the 
 places occupied by the Simoom, and the seasons of their blowing 
 in those p;irts of the desert : likewise those places occupied by 
 moving sands. The Hybeer generally belongs to some powerfdl 
 tribe <>f Arabs inhabiting these deserts, whose protection he makes 
 use of, to assist his caravans, or protect them in time of danger. 
 Bruce. 
 
 82. — the same trill tve do unto thee."] We will give thee some 
 part of the possession, which Gotl shall bestow upon us. Accord- 
 ingly Hobab accompanied Moses ; and he and his posterity were 
 iettleil among the Israelites in Canaan, Judg. i. 16" : iv. 11. Bp. 
 Patrick, Dr. mils. 
 
 S3. — and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them~\ 
 Leading them, as a general is said to lead his army, though he be 
 not in the front, but in the midst, whence he issues his orders. 
 hr. H'ells. 
 
 Chap. XI. ver. 1. — tliejire of the LoriT} That is, a fire which 
 the Lord sent among them. Bp. Kidder. This fire came either 
 immetliately from heaven like lightning ; or from the pillar of the 
 clou<l, which went before tlie tabernacle. Or it might be an hot 
 burning wind, in these desert places not unusual, and often very 
 pestilential: and on this occasion preternaturally raised in the 
 rear of the .-uniiy, to punish the stragglers, and such as loitered 
 behind out of pretence of weariness. Stackhouse. Thevenot men- 
 tions the death of 20,000 men, who perished in one night by one 
 of these biuTiing winds. Script, illusl. Sir J. Chanlin describes this 
 wind as making a great hissing noise : he says that it appears 
 red Mid fierj-, and kills those, that it sUikes, by stifling them. 
 
 Muses complniuelh of his charge. l6 God divideth Before 
 hix burden unto sewnly elders. 31 Qifails are given CHRIST 
 in wrath at Kibroth-hattaavah. 
 
 Hao. 
 
 AN D is-'hen the people II qpmplained, t it 
 displeased the Loud : and the Loud 
 heard//; and his anger was kindled ; and 
 the fire of the Loud burnt ' among them, 
 and consumed them that were in the utter- 
 most parts of the camp. 
 
 '2 And the people cried unto Moses ; 
 and when Moses prayed unto the Loud, 
 the fire t was quenched. 
 
 S And he called the name of the place 
 II Taberah : because the fire of the Loud 
 burnt among them. 
 
 4 % And the '' mixt multitude that was 
 among them t fell a lusting : and the chil- 
 dren of Israel also i" wept again, and said, 
 ' Who shall give us flesh to eat ? 
 
 5 We remember the fish, which we did 
 eat in Egypt freely ; the cucumbers, and 
 
 II Or, 
 were as it 
 were com- 
 piainers. 
 t Heb. 
 it was evil 
 in the ears 
 
 of, ic. 
 
 'Psal. 78. 
 
 21. 
 
 t Heb. 
 iunk. 
 
 II That i». 
 a burning. 
 "As Exod. 
 I'J. 3S. 
 tHcb. 
 tusted a 
 lust. 
 t Heb. 
 relumed 
 and tvqit. 
 ' I Cor. 10. 
 C. 
 
 Maillet mentions its being felt in the desert between Egypt 
 and Mecca, in part of which Israel vandered forty years. 
 Manner. 
 
 4. — IVho shall give us flesh to eat ?]] These words explain the 
 expression that preceded, they " fell a lusting," namely, for " flesh 
 to eat." Bp. Patrick. This sin was tlistinct from tliat mentioned 
 in the first verse, and more severely punished. It was aggravated 
 on the following accounts : I . Their discontent was increased to 
 an open complaint. 2. They declared their distrust of God'a 
 power and providence, of which they had had great experi- 
 ence ; compare ver. 4, and 1 8, with Ps. Ixxviii. 22. 3. They un- 
 thankfully despised God and His former mercies, ver. 6, 7, 20. 
 4. They covetously desired flesh, when they had much cattle of 
 their own; compare Exod.xii. 32, 38, with Numb, xxxii. 4. 5. And 
 this they did, after God had plentifully provided for their natural 
 necessities, Exod. xvi. 2. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 .'). fVe remember the fsh, &c.] It appears from the accounts of 
 modern travellers, that fish are very plentiful in Egypt, in the 
 lakes and ponds ; on the coasts of Lower Egj-pt ; and in the Red 
 sea ; and probably in the Nile also. Harmer. 
 
 the cucumbers, and the melons,"] These names probably in- 
 clude all of their kinds. These vegetables are stLU esteemed de- 
 licacies in Egypt, and still form a great part of the food of the 
 lower class of people, especially during the summer months. 
 The melon in particular, meaning the water melon, serves the 
 Egyptians for meat, drink, and physick: the common people 
 scarcely eat any thing else diu-ing the season, the drink they de- 
 rive from its juice being particularly grateful. It is cultivated on 
 the rich clayey earth, which is left by the inundation of the Nile. 
 Hasselquist's Travels. 
 
 Whether the following word, rendered " leeks," have that sig- 
 nification, may be doubted. Some think it was the lotus, which 
 is a wator plant, a kind of water-lily ; which the Egyptians were 
 used to eat during the heats of summer. As to the " onion" and 
 " garlick," these two plants were certainly highly esteemed in 
 Egj'pt, which was admirably adapted to their culture. From 
 these recollections we perceive, the people longed for moistening 
 cooling diet ; for vegetables calculated to correct the heats of the 
 atmosphere : these are greater indulgences beneatli a sultry sky, 
 than the inhabitants of Britain can conceive. Script, illust. Or 
 ratlier, the complaint of the Israelites proceeded from a wayward 
 and perverse kind of luxuriousness, and for that reason drew down 
 such a severe animadversion from Heaven. So we are told, some 
 of the more delicate Egyptians pined to death, when Damietta 
 was bcsiegedj in 1218, though they had a sufficiency of corn, for 
 
 I 
 
 i
 
 Matma is loathed. 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 14ua 
 
 <■ Exod. 16. 
 14, 31. 
 fHeb. 
 <ye of it as 
 the eye '^. 
 
 the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, 
 and the garlick : 
 
 6 But now our soul is dried away: thei^e 
 is nothing at all, beside this manna, before 
 our eyes. 
 
 7 And '' the manna leas as coriander 
 seed, and the t colour thereof as the colour 
 of bdellium. 
 
 8 And the people went about, and ga- 
 thered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it 
 in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made 
 cakes of it : and the taste of it was as the 
 taste of fresh oil. 
 
 9 And when the dew fell upon the camp 
 in the night, the manna fell upon it. 
 
 10 ^ Then Moses heard the people weep 
 throughout their families, every man in the 
 door of his tent : and the anger of the Lord 
 was kindled greatly j Moses also was dis- 
 pleased. 
 
 11 And Moses said unto the Lord, 
 Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant ? 
 and wherefore have I not found favour in 
 thy sight, that thou layest the burden of 
 all this people upon me ? 
 
 12 Have I conceived all this people ? 
 have I begotten them, that thou shouldest 
 say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as 
 a nursing father beareth the sucking child, 
 unto the land which thou swarest unto 
 their fathers ? 
 
 13 Whence should 
 unto all this people ? 
 me, saying, Give us 
 eat. 
 
 14 I am not able to bear all this people 
 alone, because it is too heavy for me. 
 
 want of the food they were used to ; pompions, garlick, onions, 
 fish, birds, fruit, herbs, &c. Harmer. 
 
 tlie leeks, and the onions, and the garlick .-T The word here 
 
 rendered "leeks" probably signifies a plant of the lotus kind, 
 which grew in the low lands of Egypt, and was of a very delicate 
 taste, and held in great estimation. According to the accounts of 
 the best travellers, the " onions" and " garlick" are far better, and 
 of a much sweeter taste in the East, than in our psu-ts of the world. 
 The Jews, and the Orientals in general, are to the present time 
 very foml of them. Both the lotus and tlie garlick were in high 
 request among the ancients, and are descril)ed by Homer as 
 mjdcing parts of entertainments. Scheuchzer, Calmet. 
 
 6. — our sold is dried amay:'] Like the earth that is parched 
 and rendered baiTen for want of moisture. Bp. Kidder. They 
 speak, as if they were starved; and, as we speak, had neither life 
 nor soul left in them. Such is the vile nature of discontented 
 ingratitude, which makes men despise their present enjoyments, 
 and praise a different state. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 mas as coriander seed,"] Not in colour, but in shape and 
 
 form, Exod. xvi. 14. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and tlie colour thereof SiC.~\ Of a pure white colour, and 
 
 bright like pearl. Grateful to the eye, as well as pleasant to the 
 taste. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 15. — let me not .-see my wretchedness.'^ Let me not live to be 
 « most miserable creature. To see death, is to die, Ps. Ixxxix. 48. 
 
 to give 
 
 I have flesh 
 
 for they weep unto 
 
 fleshi, that we may 
 
 God promiselh the people jtcsfi. 
 
 1.5 And if thou deal thus with me, kill ^ "'^'"'"t ,. 
 me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have mw. 
 found favour in thy sight j and let me not 
 see my wretchedness. 
 
 16 ^ And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 Gather unto me seventy men of the elders 
 of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the 
 elders of the people, and officers over 
 thein; and bnng them unto the tabernacle 
 of the congregation, that they may stand' 
 there with thee. 
 
 17 And I will come down and talk with 
 thee tliere : and I will take of the spirit 
 which is uj)on tliee, and will put il upon 
 them ; and they shall bear the burden of 
 the people with thee, that thou bear it not 
 thyself alone. 
 
 18 And say thou unto the people, Sanc- 
 tify yourselves against to morrow, and ye 
 shall eat flesh : for ye have wept in the 
 ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give 
 us flesh to eat ? for it xvas well with us in 
 Egypt : therefore the Lord will give you 
 flesh, and ye shall eat. 
 
 19 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two 
 days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor 
 twenty days ; 
 
 20 But even a t whole month, until it +^'*- _ 
 
 . I'll 1 "»»n/A of 
 
 come out at your nostrils, and it be loath- dayi. 
 some unto you : because that ye have de- 
 spised the Lord which is among you, and 
 have wept before him, saying. Why came 
 we forth out of Eg\'pt ? 
 
 21 And Moses said. The people, among 
 whom I am, are six hundred thousand foot- 
 men ; and thou hast said, I will give them 
 flesh, that they may eat a whole month. 
 
 To see salvation, is to be saved, Ps. xci. l6. And .so, to see labour 
 and sorrow, is to suffer or to be miserable, Jer. xx. 18. ,Bps. Pa- 
 trick and Kidder. 
 
 16. — seventy — eldersl It is generally believed, that this 
 was the origin and foundation of the great national cnuncil of tlie 
 Jews, called in afterages the Sanhedrim. Bp. Tomlinc. 
 
 17. — and I tvill take of the spirit &c.] Confer iijwn tiiem 
 some of the same gifts which I have bestowed upon tliee ; but not 
 take away or diminish thine. Bp. Patrick. It is probable that 
 the persons appointed by Jethro's advice, Exod. xviii, M-ere to hear 
 and judge only in smaller causes ; all weighty and difficult points, 
 as well as last appeals in smaller matters, being still \et\ to Sfoses : 
 and that it was to ease him of tliis burden, that these seventy 
 were chosen, as men of superiour cajvicity and understanding, 
 and who were to be assisted by the Sjiirit of God in their judg- 
 ments and determinations. Stackhouse. 
 
 IS. — Sanctify yoiirselves'2 Here the word "sanctify' seems 
 to signify no more than th.it they should prepare and make them- 
 selves ready to receive what they desired. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. — until it come out at your nostrils,'] Till you be glutted 
 and cloyed witli it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 I'l. And Moses said. The people, Sec.'] In answer to the Divine 
 declaration, Moses here proposes a difficulty in accomplishing this 
 promise, in the natural course of things : not as imagining that it 
 could not be done by a miracle ; for he could not but know, that 
 
 Nn2
 
 The seventjf elders. 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 Quails are given 
 
 B«for. <A2 Shall the flocks and the herds be 
 
 *^ "foi^^ slain for them, to sullice them ? or shall all 
 
 the fish of the sea be gathered togetlier for 
 
 them, to suffice them y 
 
 •K5aa. '2d And the Loud said unto Moses, 'Is 
 
 * *'■ '• the Louu's hand waxed short ? thou shalt 
 
 see now wliether my word shall come to 
 
 pass unto thee or not. 
 
 ,2t 1[ And Moses went out, and told the 
 people the words of the Loru, and gather- 
 ed the seventy men of the elders of the 
 people, and set them round about the ta- 
 - •.. jj^rnacle. 
 
 €5 And tlie Lord came down in a cloud, 
 and spake unto him, and took of the spirit 
 tJiat was upon him, and gave it unto the 
 seventy elders : and it came to pass, that, 
 when the spirit rested upon them, they 
 prophesied, and did not cease. 
 
 Q6 But there remained two of the men 
 in the camp, the name of the one "uas El- 
 dad, and the name of the other Medad : 
 
 He, who rained down manna, could by a miracle gorpe them with 
 flesh ; but he was at a loss to conceive, how it could be effected 
 in the common course of tilings, or in the natural, tliough more 
 unusual, operation of Providence. .Some flocks and liertls they 
 had with them ; but could these, with what might be procured 
 from the tribes on the skirts of the desert, suffice the jjeople for 
 a whole montli ? Fish might be obtained from the Red sea, from 
 which, it seems, they were not very distant: but could it be ex- 
 pcctetl that they would come to the shore in such numbers, as to 
 satisfy the cravuig of their appetites, day by day, for a whole 
 month ? JIarmcr. 
 
 Witl> the ensuing miracle, we may parallel our Lord's signal 
 miracle of feeding the .lOlK) men, beside women and children, in 
 the wilderness, witli a few barley loaves and fishes, recorded by 
 all the Evangelists ; which convinced the multitude, tiiat Jesus 
 was indceil " the Prophet like unto Mo«es," insomuch that they 
 , wanted to takeliiui by force, and make Him " King" or " Messiah," 
 .lohn vi. 15. Dr. Hales. 
 
 *ij- hundred thousand footmen ;'] Able to bear arms; be- 
 sides women, children, slaves, and tl>e mixt multitude ; perhaps 
 in tlie whole thirty hundred thousand. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 23. — Ts the lAtrd's hand imxed slwrl ?J Or, Does the Lord 
 WjWlt lK)Wcr ? Bp. Kidder. 
 
 2.^. — they proplwsied ,1 To " prophesy" is a word of extensive 
 signification. Resides, First, the foretelling of future events, 
 which is the ordinary notion of it ; it signifies. Secondly, To work 
 miracles, Ecclus. xiviii. 13, compared with 2 Kings xiii. 21. 
 Thirdly, To dcckre the will of God to any, by revelation or 
 mission from Him ; in which sense, as Christ's prophetick office 
 consisted in revealing the w ill of Gotl to the world, .so all, who 
 have in any degree done the like, by teaching men their duties 
 towartls God and each other, are styled I'rophets. See Exod. vii. 
 1, compared with iv. l6. Fourthly, It signifies to expound or in- 
 terpret Scripture; as in 1 Cor. xiv. 1, &c. Fifthly, it is some- 
 times used to signify wild and extravagant behaviour, or such 
 speaking as was usual witli enthusiasts among the heathen ; see 
 I Sam. xviii. 10. Sixthly, It signifies singing and praising God ; 
 forming divine hj-mns, and singing tliem to God. See 1 .Sam. x. 5 ; 
 and 1 Chron. xxv. 1 . This most probably is the meaning of the 
 word here. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 ' '_">d did not cease."} That is, they did not cease all that 
 
 d.iv, while they stood about the tabernacle. The gift of prophecy, 
 which God gave them for the present, w;is only to jirocure them 
 reverence from the people, as an evident sign that they were 
 
 and the spirit rested upon them ; and they j.^^^^. 
 tit/r of tliem that were written, but went 1490. 
 not out unto the tabernacle : and they pro- 
 phesied in the camp. 
 
 27 And there ran ayoinigman, and told 
 Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do pro- 
 phesy in the camp. 
 
 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the ser- 
 vant of Moses, one of his young men, an- 
 swered and said. My lord Moses, forbid 
 them. 
 
 29 And Moses said unto liim, Enviest 
 thou for my sake ? would God that all the 
 Lord's people were prophets, and that the 
 Lord would put his spirit upon them ! 
 
 30 And Moses gat him into the camp, 
 he and the elders of Israel. 
 
 3\% And there went forth a "^ wind from ' Kxod ic. 
 the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, p; -j, jg. 
 and let thevi fall by the camp, tas it were t Hob. 
 a day's journey on this side, and as it were 1lc\Z^y'„f 
 a day's journey on the other side, round '»<^n> 
 
 chosen by God to be coadjutors to Moses. Bp. Patrick. A like 
 instance on a like occasion we read of Saul, I Sam. x. 10. Dr. 
 Wells. 
 
 26. But there remained two of the men'} Perhaps, because they 
 were not in the way when the command was given ; or out of 
 modesty they declined the dignity; or they were unwilling to 
 engiige in the management of so unruly a people ; or they might 
 be under some legal defilement, which hindered their ajiiiroach to 
 the tabernacle ; or under some other restraint, or impediment. 
 See 1 Sam. xx. 26; Jcr. xxxvi. .'i. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 they were of them thai mere written,} Whose names Moses 
 
 put into the summons to attend. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2y. — Enviest tliuii fur my sake ? &c.] .Joshua thought it 
 would lessen the authority of Moses, if these two men, who, by 
 their not coming up to the tabernacle, might appear to have no 
 commission from him, should be allowed to use this privilege. 
 Put Moses, having no aim to his own glory, remonstrated, that he 
 wished " all the Lord's people wen- prophets, and that the Lord 
 would put His Spirit upon them." If God would have thus im- 
 mediately revealed His will to every Israelite, the people, from 
 the highest to the lowest, would all have known what they ivere 
 to do, as well as Moses himself; and he, not seeking his own ho- 
 nour, nor having at heart his private interest, but sincerely de- 
 siring to be " faithful to Him that ajjpointed him," would have 
 heartily rejoiced to see tlie Divine purpose and design thus 
 effectually taking place among his people. Shuck ford. 
 
 S\. — quails} It is a disjiuted point among the learned, whe- 
 ther the creature, here mentioned, was the quail, as our translation 
 renders it, or tlie locust. 
 
 as it were a day's journey &.Q.} Bp. Patrick supposes a 
 
 day's journey to be sixteen or twenty miles, and thence draws his 
 circle witli a radius of tliat length : but Dr. .Shaw, on another 
 occasion, makes a day's journey but ten miles, which would 
 make a circle but of twenty miles in diameter : and as the text 
 evidently designs to express it, very indeterminately, " ;is it were 
 a day's journey," it might be much less. This softens the objec- 
 tion to their being quails, founded on their immense quantity, 
 Harmer. 
 
 round about the camp,} It is not necessary to suppose 
 
 that these creatures covered a circular piece of ground : but only 
 that they appeared on both sides of the camp of Israel, about " a 
 day's journey." The same word is used in Exod. vii. 24 ; where 
 " round about" can mean only on each side of the Nile. Har' 
 mer.
 
 at Kihroth-hattaavah. 
 
 CHAP. XI, XII. 
 
 God rebuketh Miriam and Aaron. 
 
 Before about the camp, and as it were two cubits 
 1490. high upon the face of the earth. 
 
 32 And the people stood up all that day, 
 and all that night, and all the next day, 
 and they gathered the quails : he that ga- 
 thered least gathered ten homers : and 
 they spread therii all abroad for tliemselves 
 round about the camp. 
 » Psai.78. 33 And while the * flesh rvas yet between 
 "* their teeth, ere it was chewed, the WTalh 
 
 of the Lord was kindled against the peo- 
 ple, and the Lord smote the people with 
 a very great plague. 
 
 34> And he called the name of that place 
 II Th« i». II Kibroth-hattaavah : because there they 
 o/zuir" buried the people that lusted. 
 
 as it mere two cubits high upon ike face of the earlh.'] By 
 
 this expression .loaephus thought it was intended to be intimated, 
 that the quails flew within three or four feet of tlie ground ; so low, 
 on account of the fatigue of their passage, as to be witliin reach of 
 the Israelites. Hannei: Our English \ersion represents the quails 
 to have lain round about the camp as it were two cubits, or a yard, 
 high : but there is no word in tlie Hebrew text for the number 
 two : the Hebrew signifies, as it tvere cubits high, expressing no 
 determinate increase, but in general a considerable height. In 
 like manner we say, " he that gathered least, gathered ten homers," 
 ver. 32. A surprising quantity, if an homer be, as is by some 
 computed, five English bushels and an half. Perhaps the word, 
 here rendered " homer," was rather meant to signify heaps in ge- 
 neral, without defining the quantity of each heap. It is so ren- 
 dered in Exod. viii. 14. And we may well imagine each man to 
 have gathered ten heaps, but fi\e and fifty bushels a man seems 
 a very unlikely quantity. Shuckford. 
 
 32. — and they spread them all abroad &c.] The people took, 
 and dried, and salted them for their eating ; which management 
 of quails, in order to preserve them, was usual among the heathens. 
 Shiwkford. Maillet speaks of some islanders near Egypt stripping 
 the feathers from certain birds of passage, probably quails among 
 the number, and burying them in the burning sands for about 
 half a quarter of an hour. This explains the design of spreading 
 the quails round about the camp : it was to dry them in the burn- 
 ing sands, in order to preserve them. So Maillet tells us of their 
 th-ying fish in the sun in Egypt : and other authors speak of the 
 Arabs drying camels' flesh in the sun and wind ; which, though 
 not at all salted, will, if kept dry, remain goo<l a long while, and 
 may be eaten without dressing. Harmer. 
 
 33. — the wrath of the Lord was kindled^ He had formerly 
 pardoned the murniurings, for which He now punished them. 
 The same sin repeated is death, whose first act found remission : 
 relapses are desperate, where the sickness itself is not. It is a 
 mortal thing to abuse the lenity of God : it is presumptuous 
 madness to hope that God will quietly suffer us to provoke Him 
 how we will. It is more mercy than we are entitled to, if He 
 forbear us once: it is His justice to punish us the second time : 
 it is our own faulty if we will not profit by former warnings. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XII. ver. 1. — Miriam and AarotQ Miriam probably 
 was the beginner of the sedition, and is therefore mentioned first. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Miriam and Aaron are in mutiny against Moses. Who is so 
 holy that sins not } What sin is so unnatural, that the best can 
 avoid without God.!" but whatever weakness may plead for 
 Miriam, who can but grieve to see Aaron engaged in so many 
 sins ? Of late we saw him carving the molten image, and conse- 
 crating an altar to a false god: now we see him seconding an 
 unkind mutiny against his brother : in both sins he is an acces- 
 sary; in neither a principal. It was not in the power of the legal 
 
 35 And the people journeyed from Ki- ^hrTst 
 broth-hattaavah unto Hazeroth ; and t a- 1490. 
 bode at Hazeroth. tHch. 
 
 theif were 
 in, &c. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 1 God rebuketh the sedition of Miriam and Aaron. 10 
 Miriam's leprosi/ is /tented at the prater of Moset. 1 4 
 (Jod commandeth her to be shut out of the host. 
 
 AND Miriam and Aaron spake against 
 Moses because of the || Ethiopian U Or, 
 woman whom he had married : for he had 
 t married an Ethiopian woman. t Hcb. 
 
 2 And they said. Hath the Lord indeed ""*'"• 
 spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken 
 also by us? And the Lord heard it. . 
 
 3 (Now the man Moses was ^xcry meek, 45.4. 
 
 priesthood to perform or promise innocency to her ministers : it 
 was necessary we should have another High Priest, which could 
 not be tainted. That " King of Righteousness" was of another 
 order : He being without sin hath fully satisfied for the sins of 
 men. Whom can it now offend, to see tlie blemishes of the 
 evangelical priesthood, when God's first high priest thus mis- 
 carried .? Bp. Hall. 
 
 the Ethiopian nioman'^ In Hebrew, a Cushile woman. 
 
 Here Cush plainly signifies that part of Arabia Deserta which was 
 then called Midian. Dr. Wall. Or rather Arabian woman. Zip- 
 porah, the wife of Moses, was daughter of the priest or prince of 
 Midian, which lay in Arabia, near mount Sinai. Dr. Jt'ells. 
 
 Cush, or Ethiopia, usually rendered Ethiopia in our English 
 Bible, has a very extensive signification. It comprehends all the 
 southern and eastern borders of Egypt. In Ezek. xxix. 10; 
 XXX. 5, 6 ; Is. xviii. 1 ; xx. 3 ; and in many other passages, it 
 denotes African Ethiopia, or Nubia and Abyssinia. In others it 
 must signify Asiatick Ethiopia, or Arabia, as in the description 
 of the garden of Eden, Gen. ii. 13. Ihe wife of Moses was con. 
 temptuously styled a " Cushite," or Ethiopian of Arabia. And 
 where " Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya," are recited in order, the 
 second must denote Arabia, Ezek. xxxviii. .'>. Dr. Hales. 
 
 2. — hath he not spoken also bifus?'\ Miriam probal)ly was 
 jealous of the respect paid to the wife of Moses, which she lx;fora 
 liad enjoyed without a rival ; when, as a "prophetess," she joined 
 with Moses in his triumphant hymn, on the destruction of the 
 Egyptians in the Red sea, and led the women witli timbrel-; and 
 dances, Exod. xv. 20. And Aaron wa.s the prophet of Moses, 
 by the Lord's appointment, Exod. vii. 1, 2. That Miriam, how- 
 ever, was the principal offender, we may coiiclude from Aaron's 
 not being involved in her punishment ; ami from her being cure<} 
 of her leprosy on his humble intercession to Mo«es, and confession 
 of tlieir joint offence. Dr. Hales. 
 
 Pride is the ground of all setlition. Which of their faces shone 
 like that of Moses.!* \\Tiich of them had fasted tbrty days? Which 
 of them ascended up to the top of Sinai, and was hid with smoke 
 and fire? Which of them received the law twice, in two several 
 tables, from God's own hand f And yet they dare say, " Hath not 
 God spoken by us?" They do not deny Moses's honour, but they 
 challenge a part with him: and as they were the eltkr in nature, so 
 they would be equal in dignity, equal in administration. Bp. Half. 
 
 3. (Xoiv the man Moses tfas irry ?««*,] This is addetl as the 
 reason, why he passed by the affront they put upon him ; and 
 why God avenged it. It is also a contiitalion of their charge 
 against him ; showing that he was so far from the pride they im- 
 puted to him, that he ihd not resent their undutiful behaviour 
 towards him : so that it is not so nmch a conunendation, as a 
 necessary account, of himself To such vindications of them- 
 selves the humblest souls may be constrained by the calumnies of 
 wicked men : as we see, not only in St. Paul, but in our blessed 
 Saviour also, when assailed by the malignity of their enemies, 
 John X. 36; 2 Cor. xi. 10, 23. And this is the more allowable.
 
 CfOrf rcbukelh Minam and Aaron. 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 Miriam's leprosi/. 
 
 ' 
 
 abo\e all the men which u^ere upon the 
 *^*!4»" Jace of the earth.) 
 
 4 Ami the Loud spake suddenly inito 
 Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto jSIniani, 
 Come out ve throe unto the tabernacle ot 
 the congre^-ation. Ami they tluee came out. 
 
 5 And the Loiiu came down ui the pil- 
 lar of the cloud, and stood in the door ot 
 the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Mi- 
 riam : and they botii came forth. 
 
 () And he said, Hear now my words : It 
 there be a jjiophet among you, / the Lord 
 will make nivself known unto him m a vi- 
 sion, and will speak unto him in a dream. 
 .Htbr.3 2. 7 My servant Moses is not so, "^ who is 
 
 faithful in all mine house. 
 ' Eix.4 3J. ^ ^^'Jtli '"I" ^^'ll I ^P^^^ ' mouth to 
 • 1. mouth, even apparently, and not in dark 
 
 speeches ; and the similitude of the Lord 
 
 Before 
 
 when men know, not onlv tliat they write the truth, but that it 
 is notorious to all that are'acquaintctl with them. The holy writ- 
 ers also are not to be confined to oiir rules; beinp moved by the 
 Holy Ghost to set down things, which of themselves perhaps they 
 would not have mentioned. And men, who have a due reverence 
 for the Holy Scriptures, will look on this, rather :is the Holy 
 Ghost's testimony concerning Moses, than as Moses's testimony 
 concerning himself. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Moiis tras verji meek^ ^\^lo can look for love and pros- 
 perity at once, when the holy and meek Moses finds enmity in 
 his own fle^h and blood .> Rather than we shall want, " a man's 
 enemies shall be those of his own house," Micah vii. 6. Authority 
 cannot fail of opposition, if it be never so mildly swayed. 
 
 No man could have ^ven more 'proofs of his courage than 
 Moses. He slew the Eg}-ptian : he confronted Pharaoh in his 
 own court: he beat the \iidianite shepherds : he feared not the 
 troops of Egypt : he durst behold the face of God amidst all the 
 terrours of Sinai : and yet that Spirit, which made and knew his 
 heart, says, " He was very meek above all men upon earth." 
 Mildness and fortitude may well lodge together in one breast : 
 to correct the misconceptions of those men, who think none va- 
 liant, but those tliat are fierce and cruel. Bp. Hall. 
 
 4. And the Lord spake suddeiilij &c.] As the Israelites lived 
 then under the immediate government of God, God Himself un- 
 dertook to decide the controversy depending between these His 
 chief ministers, who were not accountable to any other judge. 
 Stackliouse. Because Moses was meek, therefore he complained 
 not. Because he was meek and complained not, therefore Gotl 
 asserted His cause the more. The less a man strives to avenge 
 himself, the more is God his champion. Bp. Hall. 
 
 6. — in a vision,'^ Or enigmatical representation of something 
 thereby signified : as of " the wheels," and " dry bones," in Ezekiel ; 
 of the " ram" in Daniel, &c. Hence a prophecy is called a vision, 
 Is. i. 1. A " dream" was generally in the night, and always when 
 the senses were suspended. In tliis case the representation was 
 frequently obscure, and not easily understoo<l. Such was tliat of 
 " Jacob's ladder," " Pharaoh's kine," &c. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 7. Ml/ servant Moses is nut .ro,] That is, he is a Prophet fa- 
 voured with clearer revelations. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 rrAo it faithful in all mine hoiise.'^ Because he was entrust- 
 
 ti\ wiUi God's whole family ; and faithfully discharged the trust 
 reposed in him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Moaes was zealously careful for God's glory, and now God is 
 zealous for his. The remunerations of the Almighty are infinitely 
 graciouit. He cinnot want honour and patronage that seeks the 
 honour of his Muker. The ready way to true glory is goodness. 
 Bp. UalL 
 
 B, Jyith him ntili I speak month to mouth,'}. In a m<Bt familiar 
 
 shall he behold: wherefore then were ye c„u,st 
 not afraid to speak against my servant mw. 
 Moses ? 
 
 <) And the anger of the Loud was kin- 
 dieil against them ; and he departed. 
 
 10 And the cloud departed from off the 
 tabernacle ; and, behold, Miriam liecamc le- 
 ])rous, •i>:hitc as snow : and Aaron looked 
 upon Miriiun, and, behold, she uas leprous. 
 
 11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, 
 my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin 
 upon us, wherein w^e have done foolishly, 
 and wlierein we have sinned. 
 
 l!iJ Let her not be as one dead, of whom 
 the flesh is half consumed when he cometh 
 out of his mother's womb. 
 
 13 And Moses cried unto the Lord, 
 saying. Heal her now, O God, I beseech 
 thee. 
 
 manner, as one friend discourses witli another. According to tha. 
 Jews, Moses differed from other Prophets in these four particulars: 
 1st, Go<l spake to others by a mediator; but to Moses by Him- 
 self. 2dly, When they prophesied, their senses were bound up 
 either in visions or in dreams : whereas Moses was perfectly- 
 awake, as we are when we discourse witli each other. .'?dly. After 
 the vision, they were often so weak and feeble, as to be scarce 
 able to stand on their feet: but Moses spake with the Divine 
 Majesty without consternation or alarm. 4thly, God did not 
 communicate Himself to other Prophets, whenever thej' pleased: 
 but Moses might at any time have recourse to God, to inquire of 
 Him, and receive an answer. Bp. Patrick, Slackhoiise. 
 
 even apparently, ~\ Plainly, clearly, and distinctly: thus He 
 
 proclaimed His name to Moses, Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and not in dark speeches;'} Or in parables and enigma- 
 tical representations: such as, the " ladder," which Jacob saw in 
 a dream ; the " seething pot," which was shewn to Jeremiah • 
 the " wall by a plumbline," and the "basket of summer fruit," 
 which Amos saw; the "beasts," which were represented to 
 Daniel; the " lamps," and the " mountains, horses and chariots," 
 to Zechariali ; and " the roll of the book," which Ezekiel was to 
 eat. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 the similitude of the Lord shall he behold:} No man liath 
 
 seen God, or can see Him. The meaning is, that as Moses had 
 the will of God more plainly revealed to him, so he was admitted 
 to a greater sight of His glory than any other. Bp. Kidder. It 
 relates to that wonderful apparition of God to him in the bush, 
 Exod. iii. 6; but especially to that revelation which God made 
 of Himself, when He told him that he could not see His face, 
 but should behold His back parts, Exod. xxxiii. 20, 23. This 
 privilege was granted to none but him. Bp. Patrick. Whereas 
 God spake with Moses face to face, this appearance to Moses is 
 supposed by St. Augustine to be the appearance of the Son of 
 Gotl, John i. 18. Dr. Woodward. 
 
 11. And Aaron .taid SiC.} Miriam was stricken; Aaron es- 
 caped: yet both had sinned. His priesthood could not rescue 
 him; the greatness of his dignity did but add to the heinousness 
 of his sin: his repentance freetl him: "Alas, my lord, I beseech 
 thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly." 
 No wonder that we behold Aaron free, while we behold him 
 penitent: this very confession saved him before from bleeding 
 for idolatry, which now preserves him from leprosy for his en- 
 vious repining. The universal antidote for all the judgments of- 
 God is our humble repentance. Bp. Hall. 
 
 12 Let her not be as one dead,} The leper was separated from 
 the living, and defiled as the dead. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 13. And Mmes cried unto the Lord,} Admirable was the meek- 
 ness of Moses. His people, the Jews, rebelled against him ; God
 
 Th^ names of the men who 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 'ii:ere sent to se/irch the kind. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 H90. 
 
 * Lev. 13, 
 4G. 
 
 14 ^ And the Lord said unto Moses, If 
 her father had but spit in her face, should 
 she not be ashamed seven days? let her be 
 ■^ shut out from the camp seven days, and 
 after that let her be received in again. 
 
 15 And Miriam was shut out from the 
 camp seven days: and the people journey- 
 ed not till Miriam was brought in again. 
 
 16 And afterward the people removed 
 from Hazerotli, and pitched in the wilder- 
 ness of Paran. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 1 The names of the men who were sent to search the land. 
 
 17 Their inslrucliotis. 21 Their actt. 26 Their re- 
 lation. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 
 2 Send thou men, that they may search 
 the land of Canaan, which I give unto the 
 children of Israel: of every tribe of their 
 fathers shall ye send a man, every one a 
 ruler among them. 
 
 3 And Moses by the commandment of 
 the Lord sent them from the wilderness of 
 Paran : all those men iiTre heads of the 
 children of Israel. 
 
 4 And these uxre their names: of the 
 tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of 
 Zaccur. 
 
 proffers revenge; he would rather die than they should perish: 
 his sister rebels against him; God works his revenge; he will not 
 give God peace, tiU she be cured. Behold a worthy and noble 
 pattern for us to follow ! How far are they from tliis disposition, 
 who are not only content God should revenge, but are ready to 
 anticipate God's revenge with their own ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 14. — If her father had but spit in kerface,^ As a mark of an- 
 ger and contempt. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Spitting before any one, or spitting upon the ground in speak- 
 ing of any one's actions, is through the East an expression of ex- 
 treme detestation. Sir J. Chardin. An Arab would by no means 
 suffer that any one should spit in his face, or, as they phrase it, 
 upon his beard, especially if he thinks himself equal in power to the 
 aggressor. I remember to have seen in a caravan, tliat some one, 
 spitting sideways, defiled a little the beard of a Mahometan, who 
 was cruelly offended by it. The offender instantly asked pardon, 
 and kissed his beard; by which submission the former was ap- 
 peased. Niebnhr. Perhaps the passage in the text may be ex- 
 plained by saying, " had there been a quarrel and anger between 
 a father and his daughter, so that he had spit at her, that is, to- 
 wards her, such an affront, such a misunderstanding, could not be 
 instantly made up, and forgotten; it must have some time to cool 
 in: during some few daj-s, tliere would be a reluctance in the par- 
 ties, to their former cordiality and freedom: on a like principle 
 let Miriam be excluded from the camp during seven days." Frag- 
 ments to Calmet. 
 
 15. — and the people journeyed not &c.] For the cloud was gone, 
 which should have directed them in their motions. Besides, this 
 respect perhaps was shewn to her, as a prophetess; and she 
 had hereby time to humble herself before God, and to beg His 
 pardon for her sin. Bp. Patrick. God's love to Moses suffers 
 him not to obtain presently his suit for Miriam. His kindness to 
 his sister made him pray against himself. If the judgment had 
 been at once inflicted and removed, there had been no example of 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1490. 
 
 5 Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the 
 son of Hori. 
 
 6 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son 
 of Jephunneh. 
 
 7 Of ihe tribe of Issachar, Igal the son 
 of Joseph. 
 
 8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the 
 son of Nun. 
 
 9 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the 
 son of Raphu. 
 
 10 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the 
 son of Sodi. 
 
 11 Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the 
 tribe of Manasseli, Gaddi the son of Susi. 
 
 12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son 
 of Gemalli. 
 
 13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son 
 of Michael. 
 
 14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the 
 son of Vophsi. 
 
 15 Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son 
 of Machi. 
 
 16 These are the names of the men 
 whicli Moses sent to spy out the land. 
 And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun 
 Jehoshua. 
 
 17 % And Moses sent them to spy out 
 the land of Canaan, and said unto them. 
 Get you up this wat/ southward, and go up 
 into the mountain : 
 
 ten-our for others. God either denies or defers the grant of our 
 requests, for our good : it would be hurtful to us, if our suits 
 should always be heard. It was fit for all parties, that Miriam 
 should continue some time leprous. If the judgments of God 
 should be only as passengers, and not sojourners at least, they 
 would be not at all regarded. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XIII. ver. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,! 
 As they were now come to the borders of Canaan, the Lord 
 ordered Moses to exhort them to go up and take possession of it; 
 and " fear not, neither be discouraged, " as we read in Deut. i. 21. 
 But the people, distrusting God's power, Deut. ix. 23, desired 
 they might first send some to search out the landj before they at- 
 tempted its conquest, Deut. i. 22. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11. Of the tribe of Joseph, 2 That is, of the o//ier branch of 
 Joseph' sfamili), namely, of the tribe of Manasseh. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Its. — Jehoshua.Ji In short, Joshua; or as the Seventy, and 
 Josephus, and the New Testament, in Acts vii. 45, and He- 
 brews iv. 8, c;ill him, Jesus; that is, a saviour; he being 
 appointed to save the people, and bring them into possession 
 of the promised land; in which he was a t>pe of our blessed 
 Saviour. Bp. Kidder. He was called by this name soon after 
 they came out of Egypt, when he fought with and conquered 
 Amalek, Exod. xvii. 9, 10. Moses considered this as a proof 
 that lie should save and deliver the people of Israel, and thert 
 called him by this name. Bp. Patrick. This name was question- 
 less by God's providence, or by Moses, by Divine instinct, first 
 produced with relation to the Messiah. For of all the ancier.t 
 types, Joshua did most exactly, in office ainl performance, repre- 
 sent and prefigure the Messiah; and his actions wonderfully agree 
 witli those, which we attribute to Jesus, tlie Son of God. Dr. 
 Isaac Barron: 
 
 17. — into the mountain :'\ Or mountainous tract, which he» 
 nex^ to the wilderness of /in. Dr. WelU.
 
 Their inslrucllons, their acts. 
 
 NUMBERS, 
 
 and their relation. 
 
 n.forf IS And see the land, what it is ; and the 
 '^"iwo.^'^ people that dwelleth therein, whether they 
 he strong or weak, few or many ; 
 
 19 And what the land is that they dwell 
 in, whether it he pfood or bad ; and what 
 cities Ihcj/ l>e that they dwell in, whether in 
 tents, or in strong holds ; 
 
 ^0 And what the land is, whether it he 
 fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, 
 or not. And be ye of good courage, and 
 bring of the fruit of the land. Now 
 the time was the time of the firstripe 
 grapes. 
 
 21 5r So they went up, and searched the 
 land from the wilderness of Zin unto Re- 
 hob, as men come to Hamath. 
 
 '22 And they ascended by the south, and 
 came unto Hebron ; where Ahiman, She- 
 shai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, 
 •wei-e. (Now Hebron was built seven years 
 before Zoan in Egypt.) 
 • Dcut. 1. 23 ' And they came unto the II brook of 
 
 I Or, Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch 
 •^'J'- with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it 
 
 between two upon a staff; and thei/ brought 
 of the pomegranates, and of the ligs. 
 
 II Or. 24 The place was called the || brook 
 %Th\i is, II Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes 
 " '^''"''^ "f which the children of Israel cut down from 
 '"''"'■ thence. 
 
 25 And they returned from searching of 
 . the land after forty days. 
 
 26 % And they went and came to Moses, 
 
 If)- — nhrlhrr in Uiils, or in strong fioltls;'] Whether they lived 
 in tcnls, as the Arabians did, and the Israelites at this time; or in 
 hous« ; and whether they were f()rtific<l. Or rather, whether in 
 open villages, or in walled cities. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 -'• — ./'"om — Zi;i uuto lii-hob,'] From the south to the most 
 nortlurn part of the land, where Rehob was situated, something 
 toward the west. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 IlamiUh.'] In the north toward the west 
 
 22. .ind Ihiy ascended l>y the .mitlh,'} In their return from 
 searchinp the countrj-. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Hc6ro/i;2 A city, in the south part of the country, which 
 
 fell to tlie tribe of Judah. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 — Jnnk,2 He was the son of Arba, who gave name to 
 
 Kirjath-arba, or the city of Arba, afterwards called Hebron. 
 Compare Gen. x.xiii. 2, with Josh. xv. 13. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Zoaii^ .\ principal city of the Egyptians, who vaunted 
 
 of tlieir great anti(|uity, Is. xix. 11. 
 
 23. — find (keif bare U betrccen two"} On account of its great 
 «ize, and to preserve the grapes from being bruised. The vines 
 and grapes are protligiously large in those eastern and southern 
 parts of the world. Strabo says, that in Margiana, and other 
 places, the vines were so big, that tNvo men could scarce compass 
 them ; and that they produced bunches of grapes two cubits 
 long. Olearius tells us, that not far from Astracan, in Persia, he 
 •aw vines, tliat a man could hardly grasp with both arms. And 
 Huetiu» affinus, tliat in Crete, Chios, and other islands of the 
 Archipelago, there are bunches of grapes from ten to forty pounds 
 ux weight. Slaekhouse. 
 
 Dandini, though an Italian, seems to have been surprised at 
 the extraordinary size of the grapes of mount Libanus, which he 
 
 and to Aaron, and to all the congregation f,^'(°,''t~ 
 of the children of Israel, unto the wilder- noa 
 ness of Paran, to Kadesh ; and brought 
 back word unto them, and unto all the 
 congregation, and shewed them the fruit 
 of the land. 
 
 27 And they told him, and said. We 
 came unto the land whither thou sentest 
 
 us, and surely it floweth with " milk and " Exod. n. 
 honey ; and this is the fruit of it. ^' 
 
 28 Nevertheless the people be strong 
 that dwell in tlie land, and the cities are 
 walled, and very great : and moreover we 
 saw the children of Anak there. 
 
 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land 
 of the south : and the Hittites, and the 
 Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the 
 mountains : and the Canaanites dwell by 
 the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. 
 
 30 And Caleb stilled the people before 
 Moses, and said. Let us go up at once, and 
 possess it ; for we are well able to ov^er- 
 come it. 
 
 31 But the men that went up with him 
 said. We be not able to go up against the 
 people ; for they are stronger than we. 
 
 32 And they brought up an evil report 
 of the land which they had searched unto 
 the children of Israel, saying. The land, 
 through which we have gone to search it, 
 is a land that eateth up the inhabitants 
 thereof; and all the people that we saw in tHei.. 
 
 I /• i ^ vien of ita- 
 
 it are t men oi a great stature. <««». 
 
 describes as equal to a prune. It is no wonder the Israelites 
 were struck with them ; because, according to Norden, tlie grapei 
 of Egypt, though excellent, are very small. Harmer. 
 
 2-t. The place was called the brook Eshcol,'^ That is, when the 
 Israelites got possession of the land, they called this brook, or val- 
 ley, " Eshcol," in memory of tliis bunch of grapes ; for so Eshcol 
 signifies. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 26. And they mciit'^ Up the mountain from Eshcol, and came 
 down on the other side to Moses, &c. Dr. Wells. 
 
 29- — by the sea^ Meaning either the Mediterranean sea, 
 westward ; emphatically called " the sea," as being the greatest 
 near Canaan. T)r. Wells. Or possibly, from its connexion here 
 with the river Jordan, it may mean the Dead sea. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. — We be not able to go up"] Forty days they spent in this 
 search ; and their cowardly unbelief in the search shall cost them 
 forty years' delay of the fruition. Who can bear to see the rulers 
 of Israel so basely timorous.' They commend the land; the fruit 
 commends itself; and yet they plead difficulty: " We be not able 
 to go up." It is an unworthy thing to plead hardness in the achieve- 
 ment, where the benefit w ill more than requite the endeavour. Our 
 land of promise is above : we know the fruit thereof is sweet and 
 glorious, the passage difficult. The gigantick sons of Anak, " the 
 powers of darkness," stand in our way; if we sit down and com- 
 plain, we sliall hereafter be convinced, tliat " without shall be the 
 fearful and unbelieving." See Rev. -\xi. 8; xxii. 1.5. Bp. Hall- 
 s'. — The land, — is a land that eateth np the inhabitants^ Either 
 tlie air is unwholesome, and wastes the inhabitants with disease ; or 
 the soil is so stubborn and harsh to work upon, that it consumes 
 their bodies with the difficulty of their labours. Bp. Hall. In 
 the heat of their opposition, these men now disparage the country
 
 TJte people murmur at the news. CHAP 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ^^^ there we saw the giants, the sons 
 1-190. of Anak, which come of the giants : and we 
 were in our own sight as grashoppers, and 
 so we were in their sight. 
 
 CHAR XIV. 
 
 i The people murmur at the news. 6 Joshua and Caleb 
 labour to still them. 11 God threafenetk them. 13 
 Moses persiiadeth God, and obtaineth pardon. 26 The 
 murmurcrs are deprived of' entering into the land. 36 
 The men n'ho raised the evil report die by a plague. 
 40 The people that mould invade the land against the 
 trill of God are smitten. 
 
 AND all the congregation lifted up 
 their voice, and cried ; and the peo- 
 ple wept that night. 
 
 2 And aU the children of Israel mur- 
 mured against Moses and against Aaron : 
 and the whole congregation said unto 
 them, Would God that we had died in the 
 land of Egypt ! or would God we had died 
 in this wilderness ! 
 
 3 And wherefore hath the Lord brought 
 us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that 
 our wives and our children should be a 
 prey? were it not better for us to return 
 into Eg}'pt ? 
 
 4 And they said one to another, Let us 
 make a captain, and let us return into 
 Egypt. 
 
 which they had before praised ; and also stretch their report of 
 the inhabitants beyond the truth. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 33. And there we satv the giants,'] Althoujjh we read of giants 
 before Noah's flood, Gen. vi. 4, and more plainly afterwards in 
 Numbers, yet there is great reason to think the ordinary size of 
 man was always the same from the creation. For as to the 
 " Nephilim," or "giants," in Gen. vi, the ancients vary about 
 them ; some taking them for great atheists, and monsters of im- 
 piety, rapine, tyranny, and all wickedness, as well as of mon- 
 strous stature, as indeed the Hebrew signification allows. And 
 as for the '• Nephilim" in Numbers, which were evidently men 
 of a gigaritick stature, it must be considered, that it is very 
 probable the fears and discontent of the spies may lia\e added 
 something to their height. But be the matter as it will, it is 
 very manifest, that in both these places giants are spoken of as 
 rarities and wonders of the age, not as of common stature. But 
 as for the ordinary size of mankind, it was always, in all pro- 
 bability, the same, as may appear from the monuments, mum- 
 mies, armour, vessels, and other utensils to be seen at this day. 
 J>r. Derham. 
 
 rce were in our onm sight as grashoppers,] For stature 
 
 and strength there seemed to be no less difference betwixt tliem 
 and us, than tetwixt grashoppers and men. Bp. Hall. They had 
 no confidence in the promise and power of God, on which Caleb 
 and Joshua relitd ; but measured all things by human strength. 
 Bj). Patrick. When we measure our spiritual success by our own 
 power, we are vanquished before we fight. He, that would o\er- 
 come, mn^t neither look upon his own arm, nor tlie arm of his 
 enemy, but the mouth and hand of Him that hath'promised and 
 can perform,. 'Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. Xiy. ve'r. 2. — would God we had died in this wilder- 
 ness.'] TPu^wnich' they foolishly wish for, happened to them, 
 ver. m, 29- ' Bp. Kidder. ,', \ 
 
 3. — wherefore hath the Lord brought us Sec] Having vented 
 Vol. I. 
 
 XIV. Joshua and Caleb endeavour to still thew. 
 
 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell ou their f.^^\*..^ 
 faces before all the assembly of the congre- nw. 
 gation of the children of Israel. 
 
 6 •[ And Joshua the son of Nun, and 
 Caleb the son of Jephunneh, v^hich were 
 of tliera that searched the land, rent their 
 clothes : 
 
 7 And they spake unto all the company 
 of the children of Israel, saying, The land, 
 which we passed through to search it, is an 
 exceeding good land. 
 
 8 If the Lord delight in us, then he 
 will bring us into this land, and give it 
 us ; a land which floweth with milk and 
 honey. 
 
 9 Only rebel not ye against the Lord, 
 neither fear ye the people of the land ; for 
 they are bread for us : their t defence is t hcu. 
 departed from them, and the Lord is with 
 
 us : fear them not. 
 
 10 But all the congregation bade stone 
 them with stones. And the glory of the 
 Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the 
 congregation before all the children of 
 Israel. 
 
 11 i[ And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 How long will this people provoke me? 
 and how long will it be ere they believe 
 me, for all the signs which I have shewed 
 among them ? • 
 
 their passion against God's ministers, they most imdutifully 
 accuse Him, as if He had dealt deceitfully with them. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 4. — Let us make a -captain, ami Iff us return fnto Egypt.] 
 Though they niight in their rage speak of returning into Egypt, 
 it is amazing that they sliould continue in tliis madness^ and deli- 
 berate about it, and actually ap))oint thcui a captain, as Nehemiiih 
 saith thev did, chap. ix. \~. For how could they get thither 
 without food .'' which they could net expect God would send 
 them from heaven, when they had forsaken Him. Or how could 
 they hope to find their way. when His cloud, that directed them, 
 was withdrawn ? Or hope to resist such nation-, ;i5 might oppose 
 their progress, if they happened to take the right way ? And after 
 all, if they came into Egypt, what reception could they expect 
 from a people, whose king, princes, and firstborn had lately 
 perished on their accoiuit .' Nothing can be Si;id in answer to 
 these things, but that outrageous discontent will not suffer men 
 to consider any tiling, but ' that which grieves them ; and that 
 foul ingr;ititude and forgetfulness of God's benefits throws them 
 into such discontent. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 f). — they are bread fur us :] W'c shall consume them with 
 gi-eat ease, and feed upon their rich provisions. Bp. Hall. 
 
 fear them not.] Caleb does not saj', " Who am I, to strive 
 
 with a multitude } What can Josluia and I do against ten rulers?" 
 but he resolves to struggle against opposition, and will either 
 draw friends to the truth, or enemies upon himself True Chris- 
 tian fortitude teaches us, not to regard the number or quality of 
 the opponents, but the equity of the cause ; and fears not to stand 
 alope, and challenge all comers ; and if it could be opposed by 
 as many worlds as men, it may be overborne, but it cannot be 
 daunted. Whereas populiu-ity carries weak minds, and teaches 
 them the safety of erring witli a multitude. £p. Hall. 
 
 10. — all the congregation bade stone them tvilh stones.] Tliough 
 Moses and Aaron entreat upon their faces, and Joshua and Caleb 
 
 O o
 
 Moses prayeth to God, 
 
 N U M B E R S. 
 
 and obtcuneth pardon. 
 
 ikfore 12 1 will smite them witli the pcsti- 
 
 *^'ji9o.^^ lenco, ami disinherit them, ami will make 
 
 of liice a greater nation and mightier tlian 
 
 they. 
 
 • EioAa-.'. is f And ' Moses said nnto the f-ouu, 
 
 '*■ Then the Ktryptians shall hear //, (for thou 
 
 broughtest up this people in thy n)ight from 
 
 among them ;) 
 
 11- And they will tell it to the inhabit- 
 ants of this land : for they have heard that 
 thou Loito art among this people, that 
 thou LoKD art seen face to face, and lliat 
 ••Eiod. ij. bti,y cloud standeth over them, and that 
 thou goest before them, by day time in 
 a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire 
 by mglit. 
 
 15 ^ Now //'thou shalt kill all this peo- 
 ple as one man, then the nations which 
 have heard the fame of thee will speak, 
 saying, 
 « DcDL 9. IG Because the Loud was not " able to 
 "■ bring this people into the land which he 
 
 sware unto liiem, therefore he hath slain 
 them in the wilderness. 
 
 17 And now, I beseech thee, let the 
 
 pcTsuiide and rend their giirments, yet they prevail nothing. 
 The obstinate multitude, grown more violent by opjxisition, is 
 ready to return them stones for their prayers. Such have been 
 ever the thanks of fidelity and truth : interrujited wickedness 
 proves desperate-, and, instead of yielding, seeks for revenge. 
 Nothing is so hateful to a resolute sinner as good counsel : we 
 are become enemies to the world, because we tell tliem the truth. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 17. — Id the power of mi/ Lord be gicnl,'] Let the greatness of 
 Thy power appear in pardoning and forbearing this people. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 18. The Lord is longmffering, &c.] In these words, though 
 more largely, God proclaimed His name to Moses, when He 
 shewed him His glory, Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7, adding, among other 
 things " by no means clearing the guilty." These words, as in- 
 terpreted in the note on Exodus, are a jjlain argument to move 
 the Divine Gtmdness to pardon their sin. But' the next word.'!, 
 "visiting the iniquity &c." seem to be contrarj' to the intention 
 of the petition : till it be considered, that they had not now com- 
 mitted idolatry, against which sin God, in these words, par- 
 ticularly declares His severity, and that Moses did not now plead 
 for an absolute pardon, without any punishment ; but that God 
 would not utterly disinherit and destroy the whole nation. This 
 threatening he hoped that God's gracious nature would incline 
 Him to revoke ; notwithstanding which, He might " visit the sin 
 of Uio fathers upon the children;" that is, punish them and their 
 poj^tcnty a long time. So this latter part of the verse is to be 
 uneq)reted, "in making desolate He will not make quite de- 
 solate, though He visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the chil- 
 dren." Bp. Patrick. See the notes on Exod. xxxiv. 7 ■ and Jer 
 XXX. 11. 
 
 20 / have pardoned accordin;; to thy nord :'\ God grantetl 
 
 bis desire, not to destroy them utterly ; though He did not wholly 
 forgive their sin. Bp. Patrick. "^ 
 
 21. -.all the earth shall he filed &C.2 The whole earth shall 
 take notice ot My righteous judgments, which I will execute 
 upon this people ; and give Me the praise and glorj^ of M v justice. 
 tSp. Unit. Although this people be not brought into "the pro- 
 
 ThZ «n' • ^■'m''^'"\'^ J"'*'*'"^ '" ^^y P'-^^^^dings against 
 them, and, by My mighty and righteous works, sufficient!^ pro- 
 
 power of my Lord be great, according as Christ 
 thou hast spoken, saving, 1490. 
 
 IS The Lord /,« longsuffering, and of •'Exod. 34. 
 great mercy, forgiving inicpiity and trans- p^. ,0, g 
 gression, and by no means clearing the 
 gttiltijy 'visiting the initpiity of the fathers « Exod. 20. 
 upon the children unto the third and fourth "-•■ *= ^■J. 7. 
 generation. 
 
 19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity 
 of this people according unto the greatness 
 of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this 
 people, from Egypt even || until now. ll.Of- 
 
 'JO And the Lord said, I have pardoned 
 according to thy word : 
 
 21 But as truly as I live, all the earth 
 shall be filled with the glory of the 
 Lord. 
 
 22 Because all those men which have 
 seen my glory, and my miracles, which I 
 did in Egypt and in the wilderness, have 
 tempted me now these ten times, and have 
 not hearkened to my voice ; 
 
 2-3 t Surely they shall not see the land t Hcb. 
 which I sware unto their fathers, neither ^J^fl^jJ" 
 shall any of them that provoked me see it: 
 
 vide for the honour of My name, amcmg all the inhabitants of the 
 earth which shall hear of these things. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 22. Becau.ic all Iho.te men &C.3 The destruction of the Israelites 
 will not redound to the dishonour of God, because, 1st, They 
 had been disobedient to Him, had tempted Him, and provoked 
 Him. 2d, They were guilty of rebellion against God after the 
 greatest mercies and proofs of God's patience and jirovidence ; 
 tliey had " seen His glory and His miracles." Sd, God did not 
 punish them for their first fault, but they had often temptetl 
 Him, which is here expressed by " ten times." See Gen. xxxi. 7- 
 1-th, None of them are devoted to destruction, but those who 
 provoked God, ver. 23, 24, 30. Nor are they destroyed suddenly. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 have templed me"] To "tempt" God, in Scripture lan- 
 guage, is to provoke Him by some presumptuous act to anger; 
 as it were to try, whether He will punish or not ; or in fewer 
 words, to dare God. Jos. Mede. 
 
 There is frequent mention in Scripture of men's tempting God ; 
 thst is, trying Him, as it were, whether He will do any thing for 
 their sakes tliat is misbecoming His goodness, and wisdom, and 
 faithfulness, or any other of His perfections. Thus the Israelites 
 are said to have " tempted God" in the wilderness forty years 
 together, and in that space more remarkably " ten times." The 
 meaning of which expressions is, that when God had promised 
 Abraham to bring his seed into the land of Canaan, that people, 
 by their great and repeated provocations of Goil, did often pro- 
 voke Him to have destroyed them, and consequently to have 
 failed of the promise, which He made to the fathers. Abp. Til~ 
 lotsoJi. 
 
 23. — neither .\hall am) of them &c.] Rather, Even all that 
 provoked Me, they shall not see it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It is a fearful aggravation of sin, after great judgments and 
 great deliverance?, to return to sin, and especially to the same sins, 
 again ; because this can hardly be without our sinning against 
 knowledge, and after we are convinced how evil and bitter the 
 sin is, which we were guilty of, and have been so severely 
 punished for before. This is an argument of a very perverse 
 and incorrigible temper, and that which made tlie sin of the 
 people of Israel so above measure sinful, that after so many signal 
 deliverances, and bo many terrible judgments, they fell into the
 
 Tlie murmurers are deprived 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 of entering into the land. 
 
 Before 24 gut mv servant ^ Caleb, because he 
 
 CHR.TST 
 
 149a had another spirit with him, and hath fol- 
 f Josh. 14. lowed me fully, him Avill I bring into the 
 "■ land whereinto he went ; and his seed shall 
 
 possess it. 
 
 '■25 (Now the Amalekites and the Ca- 
 naanites dwelt in the valley.) To morrow 
 turn you, and get you into the wilderness 
 by the way of the Red sea. 
 
 26 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses 
 and unto Aaron, saying, 
 
 27 How long shall I bear with this evil 
 congregation, which murmur against me ? 
 I have heard the murmurings of the chil- 
 dren of Israel, which they murmur against 
 me. 
 
 • Chap. 26. 28 Say unto them, ^ As truly as I live, 
 lo! saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine 
 
 ears, so will I do to you : 
 
 same sin of murmuring ten times : murmuring against God the 
 Author, and against Moses the glorious instrument, of their deli- 
 verance out of Egypt, which was one of the two great types of 
 the Old Testament, both of temporal and spiritual oppression 
 and tyranny. Abp. Tillotson. 
 
 24. Bid my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with 
 him,'^ A spirit of courage and truth, which ten of the spies 
 wanted. Bp. Kidder. Because he trusted in the power and pro- 
 mise of God, and was not at all afraid of the strength of the 
 enemies. Bp. Patrick. Whilst ten of the spies vehemently dis- 
 suaded the Israelites from attempting to enter the country of 
 Canaan, and aveiTed that its inhabitants were fai- too mighty to 
 be attacked bj' them with any hope of success ; Caleb, together 
 with Joshua, had no apprehensions : he looked not around for 
 objections ; he raised up no difficulties. And why .' Because 
 " he followed the Lord fiilly." He placed entire confidence in 
 God. He knew that whatever God promised. He was able to 
 perform. The strong people, that dwelt in the land ; the cities 
 walled and very great ; the sons of Anak, who were giants ; he 
 regarded as nothing. He beheld with the eye of faith the Lord 
 of hosts going before him to battle, and casting down all ene- 
 mies under his feet. His heart was Avith his God. He delighted 
 to obey the Divine commands. " Only rebel not ye against the 
 Lord ;" this was his main desire, both for his countrymen and for 
 himself. To the protection of the God whom he loved, he com- 
 mitted himself. Consequences he left to Omnipotence. His own 
 concern was his duty ; and therefore, at the saiue time that God 
 destroyed the ten spies, who had impelled the Israelites to trans- 
 gress, and pronounced sentence on the rebellious congregation, 
 that they should wander until they died in the wilderness, 
 and should never set their foot on the promised land, to His 
 servants Caleb and Joshua, who had fully followed Him in stead- 
 fast obe<lience. He repeated His gracious assurance, that they 
 should enter into the land and possess it. Let us remember the 
 example of the rebellious Israelites, who listened to tlie ten un- 
 faithful spies ; and that of the two steadfast followers of God. 
 Gisborne. 
 
 2.5. {Norv the Amalekites and the Canaanitcs dwell in the valley.)"^ 
 Or, dwell in the valley ; and the words should be read without a 
 parenthesis ; the meaning is, they at present lie in wait for you, 
 at the bottom of the otlier side of the mountain. Bp. Patrick. 
 God, having CK)nsented not to destroy the people suddenly, here 
 gives them notice of their danger from the neighboiu'iug people, 
 who lay in wait to give them battle. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 To morrow turn you, &c.] Therefore do not go forward, 
 
 as I formerly commanded you ; lest vou fall into their ambushes; 
 but return whence you came. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 29 Your carcases shall fall in this wil- ^.^'^jl^. 
 derness ; and all that were " niunbered of 1490. 
 you, according to your whole number, from " Oeut 1. 
 twenty years old and upward, which have ^^^ 
 murmured against me, 
 
 30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the 
 land, concerning which I tsware to make fHei'- 
 you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of ^f^";^"^"* 
 Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 
 
 31 But yom- little ones, v/hich ye said 
 should be a prey, them will I bring in, and 
 they shall know the land which ye have 
 despised. 
 
 32 But as for you, your carcases, they 
 shall fall in this wilderness. 
 
 33 And your children shall || wander in Oi,fetd. 
 the wilderness forty years, and bear your 
 whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted 
 
 in the wilderness. 
 
 To morrow~\ That is, hereafter ; at your next removaL 
 
 See the marginal reading at Exod. xiii. 14. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 by the nay of the Red sca^ By the way which leads to 
 
 the Red sea, and so to Egypt, whither they desired to return. 
 This command was so grievous, that it appears to have caused 
 those fresh murmurings, wliich occasioned what follows. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 29. Yoiir carcases shall fall in Ihi-t wilderness;'^ God would 
 not suffer die knd of promise to be occupied by a stubborn and 
 rebellious people, whom neither benefits nor judgments could re- 
 claim : a people, who could never be brought to place any confi- 
 dence in Him, though He had shewn them that He was superiour 
 to all gods, and had saved them by wonderful deli\'eraiices. The 
 Apostle, speaking of these judgments, says, " Now all these things 
 happened unto them for ensamples : and they are written for our 
 adinonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come," 1 Cor. 
 X. II . The great crime of the Israelites was a desire to return 
 to the land of" bond;ige ; and in consequence of it giving up all 
 hopes and all wishes in respect to the land of promise. Hence 
 their carcases fell by the way; and they never ai-rived at the place 
 of rest. Bryant. 
 
 30. — concerning which I snare to make you drvcll therein,'] Xot 
 to make these particidar men, but the seed of Abraham, inhabit 
 it, as Grotius rightly observes. The land had been promised by 
 oath, not to persons, but to the people ; namelj', to the posterity 
 of those, unto whom God sware to give it, ver. 23. Now such a 
 promise, as he observes, may be performed at any time ; because 
 it is not tied to certain persons. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It is a very usual and a very intelligible way of speaking, 
 common in all languages, to speak of nations in their national 
 capacity ; and to say, " we," or " you," not meaning it of the 
 individuals now living, but of their ancestors or posterity. Dr. 
 Waterland. 
 
 SS. — your children shall wander] ' In the Hebrew, shall feed 
 or graze, as sheep in the deserts. Or rather, like the Arabian 
 shepherds, who removed tlieir tents from place to place, that they 
 might find pasture for their flocks. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 forty years,] Reckoning from their first coming out of 
 
 Egypt. They came out of Egypt on die l.'jth day of the first 
 month, and pitched their tents in Gilgal on the lOUi day of the 
 first month, of the 41st year after their departure Ironi Egypt: 
 so tliat their wanderings were just forty years, all but five days. 
 Slackhouse. 
 
 and bear your whoredoms,] That is, the punislunent of 
 
 them. MTiilst God visits their present rebellion. He punishes 
 them .ilso for the rest of their iniquities, Deut. ix. IS, 24, espe. 
 cially for the greatest of them all, their idolatries, which He 
 
 O o2
 
 The men who raised the 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 evil report die by the plague. 
 
 iicforc 34 After the nmnber of the days in 
 '■'"^*''" vhich ve soarcheil tlie land, acn 'forty 
 ■I'-Lw. ilays, eueli tla) lor a }ear, shall ye bear 
 10 your ini<iuities, even forty years, and ye 
 
 f'or,*'^' shall know 11 mv ])reach of promise. 
 niicnnfof >3j I the Loud have said, 1 wdl surely 
 .ny;,Mry.oi,. ^^^ .^ ^^^^^^^ _^|j ^j^j^ ^^j, conorfgation, that 
 
 are gathered ti)s:ether against me : in tins 
 wilderness they shall be consumed, and 
 there thev shall die. 
 
 ,'3() Anil the men, which Moses sent to 
 search the laiul, who returned, and made 
 all the congn-gation to murmur against 
 him, by bringing up a slander upon the 
 land, 
 
 37 Even those men that did bring up 
 
 ► I Cor. 10. the evil report upon the land, *" died by 
 
 nd,r.j.i-. the plague before the Lord. 
 
 Jude5. 38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and 
 
 Caleb the son of Jephunneh, xdiich ivere 
 of the men that went to search the land, 
 lived still. 
 
 39 And Moses told these sayings unto 
 all the children of Israel : and the people 
 mourned greatly. 
 
 40 ^ And they rose up early in the 
 morning, and gat them up into the top of 
 
 » DeuL 1. the mountain, saying, Lo, we ' be here, and 
 will go up unto the place which the Lord 
 hath promised : for we have sinned. 
 
 41 And Moses said, Wherefore now do 
 
 declared He would not forpet to punish upon any new occasion, 
 Exod. xx.\ii. 34. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 St. — i/c sliall know tin/ hrcach of promise.'^ In the Hebrew, 
 the words are, " ye shall know My^ breach." The ancients un- 
 derstoiKl them to mean God's breaking in upon the Israelites, to 
 take vi'ngeani-L- for their sins. Or, we may understand them of 
 Gml's hreakiiig off from the people ; that is, His departure from 
 them, who had so shamefully departed from Him. Or, accord- 
 inf{ to our translation, it sijrnifies a revocation of the blessings 
 promised to them. Bp. Patrick. Since you have thus shamefully 
 broken your covenant with Me, ye shall know and feel that those 
 promises, which I made to you upon your obedience, shall now 
 be reversed. Bp. Hall. 
 
 It is not certain thiit the Hebrew word really signifies 
 " breach." It occ\irs but once more in the Bible, Job xxxiii. 10, 
 in the plural number, and is rendered occasions, as much by con- 
 jecture, as in this place. According to the Greek version it may 
 be translated, i/e .thall know Mi/ anger, or the Jury of My wrath ; 
 aereeable to which is the version in two early translations of the 
 Bible, ve shall feel Mi/ vengeance, and i/e shall know .My displea- 
 sure. This is as good a rendering, and as probable as any. Dr. 
 Waterland. 
 
 •''5. ■ — / rvill .iiirelif do it unto all this evil congregation, &C.3 Dur- 
 ing this critical transaction, how different was the conduct of the 
 Jewish leader from what human prudence would have dictated ! 
 According to such dictates, his course coidd have been no other 
 than to sooth the midtitiide, till their extreme panick had time to 
 subside ; tlien gradually to revive their confidence by recalling to 
 their view the miseries of that servitude from which they had 
 ^cajied, the extraordinary success wliich had hitherto attended 
 their efforts, and the consequent probability ol" their overcoming 
 
 ye transgress the commandment of the ^.j^'^^i'It 
 Lord? but it shall not prosper. 1490. 
 
 4!2 Go not up, for the Lord is not a- 
 mong you ; that ye be not smitten before 
 your enemies. 
 
 43 Eor the Amalekites and the Canaan- 
 ites are there before you, and ye shall fall 
 bv the sword : because ye arc turned away 
 fiom the Lord, therefore the Lord will 
 not be with you. 
 
 44 But they presumed to go up unto 
 the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the 
 covenant of the Lord, and Moses, depart- 
 ed not out of the camp. 
 
 45 Then the Amalekites came down, 
 and the Canaanites which dwelt in that 
 
 iiill, and smote them, and " discomfited 1^^"^ '' 
 them, eve9i unto Hormah. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 1 The law of the meat offering and the drink offering. 
 IS, 29 The stranger is under the same law. 1? TJie 
 law of the first of the dough for an heave offering. 
 22 T/u: .sacrifice for sin of ignorance. SO The jm- 
 nishment of preemption. 32 He that violated the 
 sabbath is stoned. 37 The law of fringes. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 2 ^ Speak unto the children of Israel, » Lct. sa. 
 and say unto them, When ye be come into ^°- 
 the land of your habitations, which I give 
 unto you, 
 
 the difficulties by which they were now dispirited: and so leading 
 them from one assault, where circumstances were most likely to 
 ensure victory, to another, till their courage was reanimated, and 
 the great object of their enterprise might be again attempted 
 with probability of success. But how strange and unparalleled 
 is the conduct of Moses ! He denounces against this whole rebel- 
 lious midtitude the extreme wrath of God : instead of animating 
 them to resume their enterprise, he commands them never to 
 resume it : instead of encouraging them to hope for success, he 
 assures them they never shall succeed: he suffers them not to re- 
 turn to Egypt, yet he will not permit them to invade Canaan. 
 He denoimces to them that they shall continue under his com- 
 mand ; that he would inarch and countermarch them for forty 
 years in the wilderness, until every one of the rebellious mul- 
 titude, then able to bear arms, should perish there ; and that 
 then, and not till then, should their children resume the invasion 
 of Canaan, and infallibly succeed in it. See ver. 28 — 35. Surely 
 such a denunciation as this could never have been uttered by any 
 human being, not disti-acted with the wildest frenzy, if it had 
 not been dictated by the clearest Divine authority : nor, if ut- 
 tered, could it have been received by an entire nation with any 
 other sensation than that of scorn and contempt, if the mani- 
 festation of the Divine Power, from which it proceeded, and by 
 which alone it could be executed, had not been most certain and 
 conspicuous. Dr. Graves. 
 
 Chap. XV. ver. 1 . And the Lord spake iinto Moses/J It is im- 
 cei-tain at what time. Probably the transactions, recorded in 
 this and the four following chapters, took place in Kadesh, where 
 the foregoing murmuring was, and where " they abode many 
 days," Deut. i, last verse. Dr. Wells, Bp. Patrick.
 
 The law of the 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 meat offering, 8$c. 
 
 Before 3 ^nd Will make an offering by fire un- 
 1490. to the Lord, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice 
 ►Lev. 22. •'in t performing a vow, or in a freewill 
 + Heb offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make 
 sqmraiing. a " swBct savour unto the Lord, of the 
 ;f ''""^- '^' herd, or of the flock: 
 
 "Lev. 2. 1. 4 Then ''shall he that offereth his offer- 
 ing unto the Lord bring a meat offering of 
 a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth 
 part of an hin of oil. 
 
 5 And the fourth part of an hin of wine 
 for a drink offering shalt thou prepare with 
 the burnt offering or sacrifice, for one 
 lamb. 
 
 6 Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare^?- a 
 meat offering two tenth deals of flour min- 
 gled with the third /)«/-^ of an hin of oil. 
 
 7 And for a drink offering thou shalt 
 offer the third part of an hin of wine, Jbr 
 a sweet savour unto the Lord. 
 
 8 And when thou preparest a bullock 
 Jbr a burnt offering, or Jbr a sacrifice in 
 
 performing a vow, or peace offerings unto 
 the Lord : 
 
 9 Then shall he bring with a bullock a 
 meat offering of three tenth deals of flour 
 mingled with half an hin of oil. 
 
 10 And thou shalt bring for a drink of- 
 fering half an hin of wine, Jbr an offering 
 made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the 
 Lord. 
 
 11 Thus shall it be done for one bullock, 
 or for one ram, or for a lamb, or a kid. 
 
 12 According to the number that ye 
 shall prepare, so shall ye do to every one 
 according to their number. 
 
 13 All that are born of the country shall 
 do these things after this manner, in offer- 
 ing an offering made by fire, of a sweet 
 savour unto the Lord. 
 
 14 And if a stranger sojourn with you, 
 or whosoever be among you in your gene- 
 rations, and will offer an offering made by 
 fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord ; as 
 ye do, so he shall do. 
 
 •Eitod. 12. \5 ^ One ordinance shall he both for you 
 ^p.9.14. ^^ ^^^^ congregation, and also for the 
 stranger that sojourneth ivith you, an ordi- 
 nance for ever in your generations : as ye 
 are, so shall the stranger be before the 
 Lord. 
 
 16 One law and one manner shall be for 
 you, and for the stranger that sojourneth 
 with you. 
 
 14. — « stranger^ There were two sorts of strangers among 
 the Israelites : some that entirely embraced and professed tlie 
 Jewish religion, into which they were admitted by circiimci- 
 
 17 f And the Lord spake unto Moses, ^f/t't^ 
 
 ^„' CliRISX 
 
 saying, H90. 
 
 18 Speak unto the children of Israel, 
 and say unto them. When ye come into the 
 land whither I bring you, 
 
 19 Then it shall be, that, when ye eat of 
 the bread of the land, ye shall offer up an 
 heave offering unto the Lord. 
 
 20 Ye shall offer up a cake of the first 
 of your dough yor an heave offering : as ye 
 do the heave offering of the threshingfloor, 
 so shall ye heave it. 
 
 21 Of the first of your dough ye shall 
 give unto the Lord an heave offering in 
 your generations. 
 
 22 ^ And if ye have erred, and not ob- 
 served all these commandments, which the 
 Lord hath spoken unto Moses, 
 
 23 Even all that the Lord hath com- 
 manded )'ou by the hand of Moses, from 
 the day that the Lord commanded Moses, 
 and henceforward among your generations; 
 
 24 Then it shall be, if ought be commit- 
 ted by ignorance t without the knowledge t "<^- 
 of the congregation, that all the congre- t^™ 
 gation shall offer one young bullock for a 
 burnt offering, for a sweet savour unto the 
 Lord, with his meat offering, and his drink 
 offering, according to the II manner, and II 9'^' 
 one kid of the goats for a sin offering. 
 
 25 And the priest shall make an atone- 
 ment for all the congregation of the chil- 
 dren of Israel, and it shall be forgiven 
 them ; for it is ignorance : and they shall 
 bring their offering, a sacrifice made by 
 fire unto the Lord, and their sin offering 
 before the Lord, for their ignorance : 
 
 26 And it shall be forgiven all the con- 
 gregation of the children of Israel, and the 
 stranger that sojourneth among them ; see- 
 ing all the people "were in ignorance. 
 
 27 IF And Mf any soul sin through igno- f Lev. 4. 27. 
 ranee, then he shall bring a she goat of the 
 
 first year for a sin offering. 
 
 28 And the priest shall make an atone- 
 ment for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, 
 when he sinneth by ignorance before the 
 Lord, to make an atonement for him ; and 
 it shall be forgiven him. 
 
 29 Ye shall have one law for him that 
 
 t sinnetli through ignorance, both Jbr him f iieb. 
 that is born among the children of Israel, ''"'"'• 
 and for the stranger that sojourneth among 
 them. 
 
 sion, &c. ; others, that lived among them by permission, liaving 
 renounced all idolatry, but did not submit to their whole religion. 
 The former sort are understood to be meant here. Bp. Patrick.
 
 The sabltath hreaktr 
 
 NUMBER S. 
 
 rv stoned to ^deai%. 
 
 30 IF But the soul that doeth onfihtf\)rc- 
 *^"4^'." suinptuouslv, 'dih'ther he he bom in tlie 
 f iicb. land, or a stran^'or, the same reproac heth 
 T"l T < the Loud ; and that soul sliall be cut off 
 
 ki^n nana. ' . 
 
 from amons^ his people. 
 
 31 Because he hutli despised the word of 
 die LoKD, and hath broken his command- 
 ment, tluit soul sliall utterly be cut off; his 
 iniquity shall he upon him. 
 
 3ii» % And while the children of Israel 
 
 were in the wilderness, they found a man 
 
 that gathered sticks ui)on the sabbath day. 
 
 ^a^Aud they that found him gathering 
 
 sticks brought'him unto Moses and Aaron, 
 
 and unto all the congregation. 
 
 •LeT.24. Si And they put him *in ward, because 
 
 '-• it was not declared what should be done to 
 
 him. 
 
 35 And the Loud said unto Moses, The 
 man shall be surely put to death : all the 
 congregation shall stone him with stones 
 without the camp. 
 
 36 And all the congregation brought 
 him without the camp, and stoned him 
 with stones, and he died ; as the Lord 
 commanded Moses. 
 
 37 % And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 » Dcut 22. ys Speak unto the children of Israel, 
 
 IS. 
 
 Mott.23.5. and bid "them that they make them fringes 
 
 35. — The man shall he ttircli/ put to death ;] The sabbath being 
 Intended as a sign, tliat tlic Israeh'tes were the special people of 
 that Go<l, who is the Creator of tlie world, and who brought them 
 out of Ejrypt ; the breach of it was to be regarded in effect as a 
 renouncing of their religion ; and was therefore to be punished, not 
 only with deatli, but with a more than ordinai-y deatli. Dr. tVclh. 
 
 all the consregation shall xtone him SiC^ This was a 
 
 punisliment inflicted for very enormous crimes, Lev. xx. 2 ; xxiv. 
 12 — \\: .ind this man was condemned to suffer it, because he 
 ■was the first breaker of this sacred law. Besides, by doing it 
 presumptuously, as is supposed from the connexion of this story 
 with tlie .iOth and 31st verses, in contemi>t of the L-nv ; and by 
 not desisting from his impiety, when he was admonished to for- 
 bear, as is probable, he highly aggravated his guilt ; which was 
 no less than a reproaching of the Lord, and a dcspi.sing (i/'His word. 
 The Jews have a saying. He that denies the sabbath, is like to 
 him tliat denies die whole Law. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 39. And it shall be unto ijoiifor aj'riiigc,'] Or rather, //, that is, 
 the ribband, sliall he unto t/ou upon the fringe; that being of a 
 different colour from the fringe it may be the more noted. Bn. 
 Patrick. ' 
 
 — — that ye seek not after your own heart'] God here forbids 
 this ignorant nation, who were used to the customs of the Gentiles, 
 to take the measures of His worship, rather from the suggestions 
 of their own vitiated fancies, than from the dictites of His law : 
 and He commands them not to think every thing pleasing to 
 God, which might appear handsome to them, bred up as they 
 were amongst the pompous ceremonies of the Gentiles. God 
 therefore admonishes them, that they shmdd not too much in- 
 dulge their senses or inclinations in the affair of religion • but that 
 they should hearken to, and rest in, wliat He Himself delivered 
 to Uiem, concerning Himself and His worship. lAjcke. 
 Chap. XVI. ver. 1. Now &c.] At what time this rebellion 
 
 in the borders of their garments through- (-j^pi^x 
 out their generations, and that they put Mwa 
 upon the fringe of the borders a ribband 
 of blue: 
 
 3!) And it shall be unto you for a fringe, 
 that ye may look upon it, and remember 
 all the commandments of the Lord, and do 
 them ; and that ye seek not after your own 
 heart and your own eyes, afler which ye 
 use to go a whoring : 
 
 40 That ye may remember, and do all 
 my commandments, and be holy unto your 
 God. 
 
 41 I atn the Loud your God, which 
 brought you out of the land of Egypt, to 
 be your God : I am the Lord your God. 
 
 CHAP. XVL 
 
 1 The rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. 23 Moses 
 separateth the people from the rcheW tents. 31 The 
 earth swallotveth up Korah, and a Jire cotisumellt 
 ol Iters. 36 The censers are reserved to holy use. 41 
 Fourteen thousand and .seven hundred are slain bij a 
 plague Jor murmuring against Moses and Aaron. 46 
 Aaron by incense stayeth the plague. 
 
 NOW 'Korah, the son of Izhar, the son about 1471. 
 of Kohath, the son of Le^'i, and Da- ;ch«p.27. 
 than and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and EccI" 45. 
 On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, j^ae 11. 
 took men : 
 
 2 And they rose up before Moses, with 
 
 liappened, the history does not inform us. Probably it was soon 
 after the advancement of Aaron and his family to the office of 
 high priest, it being the general opinion that that advancement 
 was the cause of the mutiny. And so Josephus represents it. 
 Stackhouse. 
 
 Korah,2 He was cousin-gernian to Moses and Aaron, 
 
 Fxod. vi. 18, and thought himself fit to be their eqnal. Again — 
 Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel, who was younger brother to Izhar, 
 was appointed chief of the house of the fatlier of the families of 
 the Kohathites, Numb. iii. 30, which might occasion some discon- 
 tent to Korah. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Bcuhcn,] He A\as the firstborn of Israel, but lor his sin 
 
 was deprived of his birthright. Gen. xlix. 3, 4, and the privi- 
 leges of it, 1 Chron. v. 1, 2 ; which his posterity seditiously 
 would usurp. They and Korah confederated together. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 The narrative no where notices the circumstances, which led 
 these men in particular to unite in tliis reljcllion ; but when mi- 
 nutely examined, we discover from it, tliat they liad sucli pre- 
 tensions from their rank, as may have encouraged them to resist 
 the authority of Moses and Aaron. Korah was one of the cliiefs 
 of the family of Kohath, which appears to have been specially 
 employed to carry tlie ark and the Holy of Holies, though not 
 pemiitted to look into them, Nmiib. iii. 3 1 . They were therefore, 
 amongst the Leviles, the next in sacredness of function to Aaron 
 and his sons, and may therefore the more readily have formed a 
 scheme to contest with Aaron his exclusive right to the high 
 priesthood. Dathan, Abiram, and On, were chiefs of the tribe of 
 Reuben, the firstborn of the sons of Jacob ; and may therefore 
 have concci\ed themselves better entitled than Moses to preemi- 
 nence in temporal power. Dr. Graves. 
 
 look jdon.-J That is, accomplices or associates in his re- 
 bellion ; namely, the 250, mentioned in the next verse : or, the
 
 The rebellion of Korah, 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Datlian, and Abiram. 
 
 Before certain of the children of Israel, two hun- 
 
 CH R I ST 
 
 about 1471. fired and fifty . princes of the assembly, 
 ' Chap. 26. " famous in the congregation, men of re- 
 9. novvn : 
 
 3 And they gathered themselves toge- 
 ther against Moses and against Aaron, and 
 
 t Heb, said unto them, t Ye take too much upon 
 
 for^/ou. ' you, seeing all the congregation are holy, 
 
 every one of them, and the Lokd is among 
 
 them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves 
 
 above the congregation of the Lord ? 
 
 4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon 
 his face : 
 
 5 And he spake unto Korah and unto 
 all his company, saying, Even to morrow 
 the Lord will shew who flre his, and xaho 
 is holy; and will cause /lim to come near 
 unto him: even Iwn whom he hath chosen 
 will he cause to come near unto him. 
 
 6 This do; Take you censers, Korah, 
 and all his company; 
 
 7 And put fire therein, and put incense 
 in them before the Lord to morrow : and 
 
 •word " men" being not in the Hebrew, the verse may be thus 
 translated, Korah the son of Izhar, &e. took both Dathan and 
 Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On tlie son of Peleth, &c. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 Korah was certainly at the head of the rebellion. Also, the 
 verb, which is singular, and begins the verse, signifies to " take" 
 or " take in," in the sense of alluring, winning, or gaining by 
 persuasion. The verse therefore should run thus; " Now Korah 
 
 won over both Dathan and Abiram, &c." Eliab being a 
 
 Reubenite, Deut. xi. 6, as well as Peleth, the word " sons" refers 
 to these two. Dr. Keiinicotf. 
 
 2. — two hundred andjifty princes &c.] \Miat wonder is it, 
 that the ten rulers prevailed so much with the multitude, to dis- 
 suade them from Canaan, when three traitors prevailed thus with 
 two hundred and fifty rulers, " famous in the congregation, men 
 of renown.''" One man may kindle such a fire, as all the world 
 cannot quench. One plague-sore may infect a whole kingdom. 
 The infection of evil is much worse than the act. Bp. Hall. 
 
 3. — Ye take loo much upon i/on,'] Ye take too much state and 
 greatness upon you; as if j-ou only might or ought to engross the 
 Lord to jourselves: since there is none of the congregation, who 
 is not capable and fit to do those holy actions, which ye have 
 appropriated to yourselves; and the Lord would be as ready to 
 testify His acceptation of them. Bp. Hall. 
 
 the congregation are holy, &c.] As if they had said, Every 
 
 man is qualified to be his own priest, to instruct and to save him- 
 self; and who is Aaron, that he should set himself up, and lord it 
 over God's heritage.'' Bp. Home. 
 
 Nothing can be more pleasing to the vulgar, than to heai- their 
 govemours censured, and themselves flattered. Every word of 
 this speech was a falsehood. Instead of " lifting himself up," Mo- 
 ses humbled himself, " Who am I}" It was God who lifted him 
 up over Israel. And Israel was as " holy," as Moses was ambi- 
 tious. What holiucix was there in so much infidelity, feiir, idolatry, 
 mutiny, disobedience.' What could make them unclean, if this 
 were holiness? They were still fresh from their last obstinacy; 
 and yet these flatterers say, " All Israel is holy." Bp. Hall. 
 
 4. — he J'eU upon his face:'] In a deep sorrow for this pre- 
 sumptuous sin of these princes, and in an humble invocation of 
 God, who only could right these proud challenges. Bp. Hall. 
 
 5. — who are his,] Vvho ai-e chosen by Him to govern and 
 minister in holy things. Bp. Kidder. To morrow the Lord will 
 
 it shall be that the man whom the Lord ^^""^ 
 doth choose, he shall be holy:^/^ take too l^ufit^l 
 much upon you, ye sons of Levi. 
 
 8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I 
 pray you, ye sons of Levi : 
 
 9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, 
 that the God of Israel hath separated you 
 from the congregation of Israel, to bring 
 you near to himself to do the service of 
 the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand 
 before the congregation to minister unto 
 them ? 
 
 10 And he hath brought thee near to 
 him, and all thy brethren" the sons of Le- 
 vi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood 
 also? 
 
 11 For which cause both thou and all 
 thy company are gathered together against 
 the Lord : and what /*• Aaron, that ye 
 murmiu- against him ? 
 
 1'.^ % And Moses sent to call Dathan and 
 Abiram, the sons of Eliab : which said. We 
 will not come up : 
 
 give a visible proof, whether He hath set us apart to these His 
 highest services; and is well pleased, that ye should, without any 
 special calling thereunto, approach unto His presence to offer 
 sacrifices to Him. Bp. Hall. 
 
 ■ and n'ill cause him to come near unto him:] He will make 
 
 it appear, that they are the persons, who ought to bum incense, 
 and to offer sacrifices. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 him whom he hath chosen will he cause Sec] They shall 
 
 discharge the office of priesthood, whom God Himself hath chosen 
 to it; and no person else. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — Take you censers,] Perform the office of priests, to which 
 you pretend that you have a right. Moses, no doubt, by God's 
 direction, orders Korah and his company to execute the office to 
 which they aspired. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1. — ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.] Thou, O 
 Korah, being one of the tribe of Levi, rather takest too much up- 
 on thee and thine, thus to encroach upon the priest's oflice. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 Q. — to bring you near to himself] Though not so near as the 
 priests, yet nearer than all other men ; being the sole attendants 
 on the priests. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 As there was a diff'erence betwi.\t the people and Levites, so 
 was there betwi.xt the Levites and priests. The God of order 
 loves to have our degi-ees kept. While tlie Levites would be 
 looking up to tlie priests, Moses directs their eyes down to the 
 people. The way not to repine at those abo\e us, is to look at those 
 below us. There is no better remedy for ambition, than to reckon 
 up our former blessings, and to set them against our deservings, 
 and to compare our own estate with that of our inferiours. So 
 shall we find cause to be thankful that we are above any, rather 
 than to be envious because any ai'e above us. Bp. Hall. 
 
 12. — which said, lie will not come up:] At the same time that 
 a schism was forming in the church, by Korah, a discontented 
 factious Levite, charging Aaron with priestcraft, a rebellion was 
 likewise fomented in the state. For Datlian and Abiram, who 
 were lapnen, and jirinces of the congregation, accused Moses of 
 tvrannv imd a design to establish arbitrary power; which they 
 affirmed to be so clear a case, that unless he " put out the eyes" 
 of tlie people, they must .see he intended to enslave, and " to 
 make himself altogether a prince over them." Bp. Home. 
 
 Moses was the prince of Israel, Aaron the priest ; Moses was 
 mild, Aaron popular; yet both were conspired against: their
 
 Moses oppnseth the rebellion ; and 
 
 NUMBERS, separatcth the people from the rebels' letits. 
 
 n.fore 13 /s it a small thing that thou hast 
 li!!L^!^i broiiixht us up out of a hunl tluit floweth 
 witli niilk and lioncy, to kill us in the wil- 
 derness, except thou make thyself altoge- 
 ther a j)rinct.' over us ? 
 
 14 Moreover thou hast not brought us 
 into a land that Howeth with milk and ho- 
 ney, or given us inheritance of fields and 
 
 t Heb. vineyards : wilt tliou t put out the eyes of 
 *""'""• these men? we will not come up. 
 
 1.5 And Moses was very wroth, and said 
 'Gen. 4. 4. uuto the LoiiD, "Respect not thou their of- 
 fering: I have not taken one ass from them, 
 neither have I hurt one of them. 
 
 16 And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou 
 and all thy company before the Lord, thou, 
 and tliey, and Aaron, to morrow: 
 
 17 And take every man his censer, and 
 put incense in them, and bring ye before 
 the Loud every man his censer, two hun- 
 dred and fifty censers; thou also, a!id 
 Aaron, each of you his censer. 
 
 15 And they took every man his censer, 
 and put fire in them, and laid incense 
 thereon, and stood in the door of the ta- 
 bernacle of the congregation with Moses 
 and Aaron. 
 
 19 And Korah gathered all the congre- 
 gation against them luito the door of the 
 tabernacle of the congregation : and the 
 glory of the Lord appeared unto all the 
 congregation. 
 
 120 And the Lord .spake unto Moses and 
 unto Aaron, saying, 
 
 21 Separate yourselves from among this 
 congregation, that I may consume them in 
 a moment. 
 
 22 And they fell upon their faces, and 
 
 places were no less nearly related than their persons, yet both were 
 <ipposed at once. He that is a traitor to the Church is a traitor 
 to the Kiiijf. «/;. //'///. 
 
 1 .S. — out of a land l/iiil floivrlli trilli mill; ami honci/,'] Nothing 
 coulil be more insolent and ungrateful, than to describe Egypt in 
 the very same language, in which God had often spoken of the 
 land of promise: particularly «ince He sent Moses to tell them, He 
 would bring them up out of the affliction of Egypt, Exod. iii. 
 Ki, i;. Bp. Pal rick. 
 
 1 j. — / hare iiol taken one ass from them,~\ The innocence of 
 Mo3es called for vengeance on liis adversaries. If he had wrong- 
 ed them in his government, in vain would he have looked to 
 Gotls hand for protection. Our sins exclude us from God's 
 favour; whereas uprightness challenges and receives His patron- 
 age. Ui>. Hall. ^ 
 
 22. — the God of the spirits (falljle.ih,'] Thou who hast created 
 the souls of all mankind, and who therefore knowest their most 
 •ecrct thoughts and inclinations, lip. Patrick. Ciod is called 
 " the G.kI of the .spirits of all flesh," as he is called " the Father 
 °A''P^."f,'" "''^- '""• 9' '*•'»' '"' *e Creator of the souls of men. 
 
 S(j. — Depart, I pray you, from the tents &c."] GotVs ven- 
 geance, when It IS hottest, distinguishes betwixt meii. In the uni- 
 
 said, O God, the God of the spirits of all Christ 
 flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be about i47i. 
 wroth with all the congregation ? 
 
 23 ^ And the Lord spake luito !Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 2i Speak unto the congregation, saying, 
 Get you up from about the tabernacle of 
 Korah, Dalhan, and Abiram. 
 
 25 And Moses rose up and went unto 
 Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of 
 Israel followed him. 
 
 2() And he spake unto the congregation, 
 saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents 
 of these wicked men, and touch nothing 
 of their's, lest ye be consumed in all their 
 sins. 
 
 27 So they gat up from the tabernacle 
 of Korah, l)athan, and Abiram, on every 
 side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, 
 and stood in the door of their tents, and 
 their wives, and their sons, and their little 
 children. 
 
 28 And Moses said. Hereby ye shall 
 know that the Lord hath sent me to do all 
 these works; for / have not dmie them of 
 mine own mind. 
 
 29 If these men die t the common death t Hcb. 
 of all men, or if they be visited after the "m^Zta. 
 visitation of all men; then the Lord hath 
 
 not sent me. 
 
 30 But if the Lord t make a new thing, t Heb. 
 and the earth open her mouth, and swallow "^Tatwc. 
 them up, with all that appertain unto them, 
 
 and they go down quick into the pit ; then 
 ye shall understand that these men have 
 provoked the Lord. 
 
 31 If "And it came to pass, as he had p^;^^-'- 
 made an end of speaking all these words, ps!"oc. n. 
 
 versal judgment of all the earth, the Judge Himself will separate: 
 in these particular judgments we must separate ourselves. The 
 society of wicked men, especially in their sins, is mortally danger- 
 ous: while we will not be parted, how can we complain, if we be 
 included in their condemnation ? Bp. Hall. 
 
 28. — to do all these norks;'\ That is, to take upon me the 
 government; and to put Aaron and his family into the priest- 
 hood; and to make the Levites only their ministers, &c. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 29. — the common dentil cf all mcn,~\ A natural death. " After 
 the visitation of all men," means such judgments of God as are 
 common in the world; namely, pestilence, sword, or famine. To 
 " go down quick into the pit," in the next verse, signifies, " to be 
 buried alive, in perfect health." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. And it came to pass, &c.] The history of the punishment of 
 Korah is among the most striking instances of the Divine Power, 
 exerted to vindicate His appointments, and to destroy profligate 
 offenders. Let the earth swallow men and their dwellings, when 
 it opens its abysses ; there is nothing in that beyond the powers 
 of nature. When the earth trembles, those places which are the 
 seat of this di.sturbance must crumble into dust by the shock. 
 .Sicily and Italy furnish innumerable instances in support of these 
 assertions; yet even in these instance.s, though not miraculous, it is
 
 Dathan and Ab'tram sxvalloxced 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 up of the earth. 
 
 Before 
 CHUIST 
 mbout 1471. 
 
 that the ground clave asunder that was un- 
 der them : 
 
 32 And the earth opened her mouth, 
 and swallowed them up, and their houses, 
 and all the men that appertained unto Ko- 
 rah, and all their goods. 
 
 33 They, and all that appertained to 
 them, went down alive into the pit, 
 and the earth closed upon them : and 
 they perished from among the congrega- 
 tion. 
 
 34 And all Israel that were round a- 
 
 the Divine power that produces such commotions. All the works 
 of nature are works of Gotl. But here, while the earth is compos- 
 ed and tranquil, the man of Gotl foretells the time, the place, the 
 persons concerned, and the manner in which this prodigy sliould 
 happen : and this, not in Sicily, not in Italy, not in a country un- 
 dermined by subterranean fires ; but in the sandy deserts of Ara- 
 bia, where rocks probably fonn the general under strata, and sand 
 the upper ; wliere earthquakes are little known, except by report ; 
 and where little expectation of this threat's fulfilment could arise 
 in the minds of the hearers, from general appearances, or from 
 supposable natural causes. Yet here, at the time appointed, the 
 earth opens her mouth, and swallows down into Iier profound 
 abysses the whole company of rebels ; leaving no trace of them 
 remaining, but by the void where they had been. 
 
 As to the fire from the Lord, mentioned in ver. 35, the proba- 
 bility is that it was lightning ; but nothing forbids its being an 
 exhalation of a different kind ; perhaps from the earth itself 
 
 It is good to remark here, in passing, that tlie greater part of 
 the miracles wrought to establish the Jewish religion were of a 
 terrifick nature, and often involved the ruin of a multitude of 
 transgressors ; witness this destruction of Korah and his accom- 
 plices. On the contrary, the miracles wrought in establishing the 
 truth of the Gospel were salutary and benevolent, as well to the 
 enemies as to the friends of religion. Script, illust. Expos. I ml. 
 
 32. And the earth opened her rnoiith, and swallowed Ihem up,'] 
 It appears from chap. xxvi. 11, that " the children of Korali died 
 not" in this destruction, which involved the entire families of 
 Dathan and Abiram. The difference may be thus accounted for. 
 Dathan and Abiram shewed their rebellion in resisting liie autho- 
 rity of Moses, as temporal judge, refusing to come, when called 
 on, to attend his summons, ver. 12. Korah's rebellion consisted 
 in his laying claim to the high prie.sthood : and in consequence of 
 a direction given for bringing his claim to a test, ver. l6, 17, he 
 " gathered all the congregation against Moses and Aaron unto the 
 door of the tabernacle of the congregation," ver. 1 9. Here then 
 a separation took place between these different parties. When 
 indeed the Divine command was given, that the congi-egation 
 should separate themselves from all three, speaking of them all col- 
 lectively, because involved in one common cause, it is said, " Get 
 you up from about the tabernacle" (that is, the assembly or com- 
 pany, according to the Greek version. Dr. Hales,) " of Korah, 
 Dathan, and Abiram." Yet in delivering this direction, we find 
 the separation contuiued : for Moses, at the time he received it, 
 was standing at the door of the tabernacle with Korah and 
 his company ; and he " rose up and went unto Dathan and 
 Abiram, undoubtedly leaving Korah's company at the door of 
 the tabernacle. .Soon after, it is said, " Dathan and Abiram came 
 out, and stood in tlie door of their tents, and their wives, and 
 their sons, and their little children." On this circumstance turns 
 the explanation, which seems to account for the final difference of 
 the event. Thus Dathan and Abiram collected their famihes 
 round them, as their abettors in this rebellion, and as tleterniined 
 to abide all its consequences with themselves : but this is not said 
 of the family of Korah, and the nature of the case shews the 
 reason : Korah did not remain in his tent, but was at a consider- 
 able distance from it, the tabernacle beuig in tlw centre of the 
 Vol. I. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 bout them fled at the cry of them : for 
 
 they said, Lest the earth swallow us up "ii^uiim 
 
 also. 
 
 35 And there came out a fire from the 
 Lord, and consumed the two hundred and 
 fifty men that offered incense. 
 
 36 % And the Lord .spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron 
 the prie.st, that he take up the censers out 
 of the burning, and scatter thou the fire 
 yonder ; for they are hallowed. 
 
 camp ; the tents of the Levites surrounding it on every side ; 
 and outside them the tents of the other tribes. He Iiad therefore 
 no opportunity of collecting his children about him : and it is not 
 said, nor is it a natural supposition, that his wife and children 
 should in his absence assemble of themselves, and stand at the 
 door of their tent, in the same manner as Dathan and Abiram 
 caused their families to do : hence they escaped from being so 
 openly and contumaciously involved in the guilt of his reberuon, 
 and hence tliey escaped its punishment. 
 
 When it is stated that " the earth swallowed them up, and tlieir 
 houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their 
 goods," it only means Dathan and Abiram, to whose tents only 
 Moses is said to have gone, and against whom only he denounced 
 tliis sjjccies of punishment. The phrase '• appertaining unto Ko- 
 rah" meaning only that they belonged to his party, and supported 
 his cause : for in the third verse after it is said, that the two hun- 
 dred and fifty men, who offered incense, perished by a fire from 
 the Lord, amongst whom probably were the men of Korali's fa- 
 mily. Dr. Graves. 
 
 35. — consumed the two hundred and Jijiy men thai offered in- 
 cen-ie.] Which was a plain declaration, that they usurped the of- 
 fice of priests ; and therefore were thus punished by God Him- 
 self for their presumption. Bp. Patrick. Tliere were two sorts of 
 traitors : the earth swallowed up the one, the fire consumed the 
 other. All the elements agree to serve the vengeance of tlieir Maker. 
 Nadab and ■\bihu brought fit persons, but luifit fire toGixl : these 
 Levites bring the right fire, but unwarranted persons before Him: 
 fire from God consumes both. It is a dangerous thing to usurp 
 sacred functions. Bp. Halt. 
 
 37. — unto Eleazar] These evil men attempted to depriva 
 Aaron's posterity of the priesthood. Therefore Eleazar his son 
 is commanded to make the censers into a standing memorial of 
 their fault, and of the priesthood's being settled in tlie family of 
 Aaron. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 yonder ;~\ Farther from the sanctuary. Probably into 
 
 some imclean place, as a token of God's abhorrence of their of- 
 fenng. Dr. iVe/ls. 
 
 hallowed.] That is, separated from common use, having 
 
 been offered before the Lord, and tliat by God's command :and 
 therefore God would not have them serve hereafter for any other 
 use. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 for theij are hallowed.] M'hatever is once dedicated to 
 
 God, cannot afterwards be apphed to any secular or profane use : 
 but it may, by lawful authority, be diverted to other use than 
 that, to which at first it was piously designed. There were many 
 institutions with reference to religion, originally founded in piety 
 and devotion, which in process of time degenerated into supersti- 
 tion and idolatry : and, as these profane customs ought to be jnip- 
 pressed, so, whatever was conferred for the maintenance and sup- 
 port of tliat service in the integrity of it, ought not to be diverted 
 to any arbitrary purpose, because the first end is determined ; but 
 it ought still to be applied to somewhat that is sacre<l, and to 
 comply with tlie original designation, as far as can be, lawfully 
 and usefully. And for this, methinks, Go<l's own determination 
 seems to be some warrant in the insurrection of Korah, Dathan, 
 and Abiram ; where the two hundred and fiAy censers, m which 
 
 Pp
 
 The censers resencd to holy use. 
 
 NUMBER S. 
 
 The plague is stayed. 
 
 Brfon SH The censers of these sinners aijainst 
 ^"ufiviJ. their own sonls, let tlu-m make them broail 
 philes /or a covering of the altar : for they 
 otfereil them before the Lord, therefore 
 they are halloweil : and they shall be a 
 sign unto the children of Israel. 
 
 3!) And Kleazar the priest took the 
 brasen censers, wherewith they that were 
 burnt had offered; and they were made 
 broad plates for a covering of the altar: 
 
 K) To be a memorial unto the children 
 of Israel, that no stranger, whicii is not of 
 the seed of Aaron, come near to otter in- 
 cense before the Lord ; that he be not as 
 Korah, and as his company : as the Lord 
 said to him by the hand of Moses. 
 
 H ^ But on the morrow all the congre- 
 gation of the children of Israel murmured 
 against Moses and against Aaron, say- 
 ing, Ye have killed the people of the 
 Lord. 
 
 'I'i And it came to pass, when the con- 
 gregation was gathered against Moses and 
 against Aaron, that they looked toward the 
 tabernacle of the congregation : and, be- 
 hold, the cloud covered it, and the glory 
 of the Lord appeared. 
 
 incense had been offered, were taken out of the fire. " The cen- 
 sers of these sinners &c." see ver. 38. There must be no more 
 incense offered in them ; tliey had been too much profaned. 
 " .\nd Kleaz:ir the priest took &c." ver. .Sg. There was no need 
 of any "covering for the altar:" (rod had provided every thing 
 that was necessary for it before; there was no ilefect: but He 
 would rather make a new addition to '.\ hat was perfect enough 
 before, than suffer what had been once hallowed to be turned 
 to any use wliich had no reference to His service. Lord Cia- 
 reiidun. 
 
 38. — siiiner.t against their oivn souls^ WTio have brought de- 
 struction on themselves by their presumption. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 thei) shall he a sign unto the children of Israel.'] Or, " a 
 
 memorial," ver. 40, that God accepts no sacrifice, which is not 
 presente<l by the hands of the sons of Aaron. This was to be re- 
 membered by the Levitcs in their attendance upon the priest, when 
 they saw their plates laid upon the altar of burnt offering every 
 day. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ■W. — that no stranger,] Though he were an Israelite, nay, a 
 Levitc, if he were not of the seed of Aaron, he was reputed a 
 " stranger" to this office. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 41. But on the morrow Sec] They who have not studied hu- 
 man nature, who have not seen or heard much of mankind, will 
 perhaps imagine that such a decision as that just recorded must 
 needs have silenced everj- objection, and put an end to the mur- 
 raurings of discontent. And so far indeed it is true, that the peo- 
 ple fled at the cry of those who suffered, " for they said. Lest the 
 earth swallow us up also." But as soon as the danger was over, 
 they discovered the real sentiments of their corrupted hearts. 
 After a single night's rest, the spirit of rebellion again took pos- 
 session of them ; and, all reverence laid aside, they go in a tu- 
 niuUuous and insolent manner to their leaders, requiring at their 
 hands, truly, the blood of Korah and his followers. 'I'hus, bv 
 standing up for these offenders, they shewed a secret approbation 
 of their offence ; and, being partiikers of their crime, they justly 
 became partakers also of their puniohmenL Bp. Home. 
 
 42. — they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation :] 
 
 4,3 And Moses and Aaron came before ^i^rTs 
 the tabernacle of the congregation. about 147 
 
 44- if And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 45 Get you up from among this con- 
 gregation, that I may consume them as in 
 a moment. And they fell upon their faces. 
 
 40 i[ And Moses said unto Aaron, Take 
 a censer, and put fire therein from off the 
 altar, and put on incense, and go quickly 
 luito the congregation, and make an atone- 
 ment for them : for there is wrath gone out 
 from the Lord ; the plague is begun. 
 
 47 And Aaron took as Moses command- 
 ed, and ran into the midst of the congre- 
 gation ; and, behold, the plague was begun 
 among the people : and he put on incense, 
 and made an atonement for the people. 
 
 48 And he stood between the dead and 
 the living ; and the plague was stayed. 
 
 49 Now they that died in the plague 
 were fourteen thousand and seven hun- 
 dred, beside them that died about the mat- 
 ter of Korah. 
 
 50 And Aaron returned unto Moses un- 
 to the door of the tabernacle of the congre- 
 gation : and the plague was stayed. 
 
 Moses and Aaron implored helji of God, which is implied in tlieir 
 looking towaril His dwelling place. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4f). And Moses said nntu Aaron, &cc.] Moses, though he were 
 great with God, yet takes not upon himself this reconciliation : 
 he may advise Aaron what to do, himself undei-takes not to do it : 
 it is the work of the priesthood to make an atonement for the 
 people. And shall there be less use, or less regard, of the evan- 
 gelical ministry, than of the legal ? Bp. Hall. 
 
 Take a censer, Sec] By what Aaron did and effected, 
 
 God farther asserted his just title to the priesthood. Bp. Kidder. 
 For He not only preserved him, when he offered incense together 
 with Korah's company, but He now makes him an instrument of 
 preserving others from destruction. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 47. And Aaron took — and made an atonement for the people.] 
 He interceded with God for them, and obtained what he desiredT 
 But was it for Aaron's sake that God spared the remnant of His 
 people ? Had Aaron any merit of his own, any superfluous right- 
 eousness, which might be imputed to them ? Far from it. He, 
 and " every high priest taken from among men," were neces.sarily 
 heirs of the universal corruption of the children of Adam: they had 
 their infirmities, as the Apostle argues, and were obliged to offer 
 up sacrifices for their own sins, as well as for those of the people. 
 But, as the same Apostle teaches us, Aaron, in the office of high 
 priest and mediator, represented the world's Redeemer ; and the 
 atonement, which he made for Israel, showed forth that great 
 Atonement, to be one day made by Jesus Christ for the Church 
 universal of .'dl ages and nations. God had respect unto that 
 great Atonement ; and for His sake, who was to make it, par- 
 doned those for whom it was to be made. In the person of 
 Aaron He beheld His beloved Son, " in whom He is well pleas- 
 ed," interceding for the transgressors : Israel was spared for the 
 sake of Aaron ; but Aaron himself was accepted for the sake of 
 Christ. Bp. Home. 
 
 50. — and the plague ivas stayed.] Upon Aaron's offering in- 
 cense a stop is put to the destruction ; whereas when they, who 
 were not called of Ciod, as Aaron, attempted to offer it, they were 
 overtaken by the judgment of God. Bp. Kidder.
 
 Aaron's rod Jlourisheth ; 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 and is left for a monument. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 A' 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 •bout 1471. 1 Aaron's rod among all the rods of the tribes only Jlou- 
 risheth. \0 It is left for a monument against the 
 rebels. 
 
 ND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 
 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and 
 take of every one of them a rod according 
 to the house of their fathers, of all their 
 princes according to the house of their fa- 
 thers twelve rods : write thou every man's 
 name upon his rod. 
 
 3 And thou shalt write Aaron's name 
 upon the rod of Levi : for one rod shall be 
 for the head of the house of their fathers. 
 
 4 And thou shalt lay them up in the ta- 
 bernacle of the congregation before the 
 
 » Exod. 25. testimony, * where I will meet with you. 
 '^' 5 And it shall come to pass, that the 
 
 man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blos- 
 som : and I will make to cease from me 
 the murmiuings of the children of Israel, 
 whereby they murmur against you. 
 o rotfur 6 ^ And Moses spake unto the children 
 one prince, of Isracl, and every one of their princes 
 o^pnncc. gave him t a rod apiece, for each prince 
 
 Under this most affecting image of rebellious Israel, smitten 
 with a pestilence, and saved by the intercession of Aaron, are 
 described the miserable state of man after the fall ; the terrible 
 execution of God's judgment on the one hand, and the gracious 
 interposition of our Redeemer on the other. — Were the men of 
 Israel sinners and rebels against their God .'' So we are all. All 
 have sinned; all have broken their allegiance to their Creator and 
 Sovereign, and gone over to His and their enemy. — Did Korah, 
 Dathan, and Abu-ani, with all their company, go down into the 
 pit ? Did a fire come forth from the Lord, and consume the two 
 hundred and fifty men that offered incense .■' And did a raging 
 pestilence sweep off the murmurers by thousands ? What are we 
 taught by all this, but the same interesting lesson, which the 
 Apostle teaches us in words, that " tlie wages of sin is death ;" 
 and that " death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned ?" 
 But what? Must we then indeed perish.'' Must we all perish.' Is 
 the plague begun among the people, and is there no person who 
 can stay it .'' O, not so ; blessed be our gracious God ; there is 
 yet hope of comfort, health, and salvation. Behold the Inter- 
 cessor making atonement, and saving the remnant of His people. 
 He puts on, for incense, the merits of His own sufferings. He 
 runs into the midst of God's people, as a Mediator, interposing 
 Himself between the parties at variance, in order to reconcile 
 them. He meets the burning wrath, and turns it aside from all 
 believers. He stands between the dead and the living ; between 
 those, who, by opposing His method of salvation, will die in their 
 sins, and those, who, living and believing in Him, shall never die 
 eternally. He is at the right hand of God, ever m.iking inter- 
 cession for us. And so " the plague is stayed." A stop is put to 
 the progress of everlasting destruction. The fiery sword of of- 
 fended justice cannot reach, nor shall the second death have any 
 power over such as accept the atonement which He hath made 
 for them, and thankfully receive the benefits of His all-prevailing 
 intercession. " There is now no condemnation to them which are 
 in Christ Jesus," Rom. viii. 1. Bp. Home. 
 
 Chap. XVII. ver. 2. — of every one qflkem'^ That is, of every 
 tribe. 
 
 one, according to their fathers' houses, ei-ai chrTst 
 twelve rods : and the rod of Aaron teas about hVi. 
 among tlieir rods. 
 
 7 And Moses laid up the rods before the 
 Lord in the tabernacle of witness. 
 
 8 And it came to pass, that on the mor- 
 row Moses went into the tabernacle of 
 witness ; and, behold, the rod of Aaron 
 for the house of Levi was budded, and 
 brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, 
 and yielded almonds. 
 
 9 And Moses brought out all the rods 
 from before the Lord unto all the children 
 of Israel: and they looked, and took every 
 man his rod. 
 
 10 ^ And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 Bring ''Aaron's rod again before the testi- "Hcbr.;).*. 
 mony, to be kept for a token against the 
 
 t rebels ; and thou shalt quite take away t Heb. 
 their murmurings from me, that they die ll^,J^-^ 
 not. 
 
 11 And Moses did so : as the Lord 
 commanded him, so did he. 
 
 12 And the children of Israel spake 
 unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we 
 perish, we all perish. 
 
 a rod^ It has been the custom in all ages for elderly 
 
 men, and for those in authority, to carry, as a mark of dignity, a 
 rod or cane, or walking-staff; which at length became the sceptre 
 peculiar to princes. The priests too, among tlie Greeks and 
 Romans, liad their recurved rods ; and bishops, in later ages, have 
 their croziers. AU these are ensigns of dignity and office. 
 
 The rod of Aaron should seem to have been of the almond tree: 
 the Fathers thought it was of some other kind of wood ; but 
 there is no need to augment a miracle, which is sufficient in 
 itself 
 
 The Jews, to commemorate this miracle, have struck the blos- 
 soming rod on several of their coins. Script, illust. Expos. Ind. 
 
 4. — where I will meet with you.'] There He promised " to meet" 
 with Moses, Exod. xxv. 22, by whom He communicated His mind 
 to the people. For tliis reason the tabernacle of the Lord is call- 
 ed The Tabernacle of Meetirig ; not of men's meeting there, as 
 is commonly supposed by our translating it, " The tabernacle of 
 the Congregation ;" but of God's meeting there with men. See 
 Exod. xxix. 32 ; xxx. S6. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — in the tabernacle of Tvittiess.'J In that part of the tabernacle 
 where tlie ark was, which had in it the " witness" or testimony 
 given by Goil to Moses, Exod. xxv. 21. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. — was budded,] Probably in some places of the rod there 
 was an appearance of buds coming forth; in others the buds were 
 fully thrust out ; and in others they were opened and shot forth 
 into blossoms; and those blossoms in other parts were knotted and 
 grown into almonds. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — for a token against the rebels ;] That it might be pro- 
 duced as a sufficient conviction of their impiety, if any should 
 presume hereafter to rebel against Aaron's authority. Or rather 
 that it might prevent all insurrections against his authority for 
 the future. It remained in the most holy place for some time, as 
 appeai-s from Heb. ix. 4. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. — tve die, &c.] We all see how deadly a thing it is for 
 us to offer to meddle with any of tlie sacred affairs of tlie taber- 
 nacle. But, O Lord, what shall become of us ? Some of us are 
 swallowed up of the earth ; others of us are consumed by fire ; 
 others, by the sudden stroke of Thy hand. O God, wilt not 
 
 Pp2
 
 The charge nf the priestx and Levites. N U M 
 
 ncforr IS Whosoever coinetli any thing near 
 S^,r,'" unto the tabernacle of tlio Loko shall die: 
 shall we he consmued with dying? 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 1 Tlir charge of Ih,- priests and J.cviles. D The priests 
 porliuH. ^\ The UiUcs porliun. 2:> The heave oj- 
 J'eriHp to the prints out of the Leiilcs portion. 
 
 AND the Loud said unto Aaron, Thou 
 and thv sons and thy father's house 
 with thee shall bear the iniquity t;f the 
 sanetiiarv: and thou and thy sons with thee 
 shall bear the iniquity of your i)riesthood. 
 
 Q And thv brethren also of the tribe of 
 Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou 
 with thee, that they may be joined unto 
 thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and 
 thy sons with thee shall minister before the 
 tabernacle of witness. 
 
 3 And they shall keep thy charge, and 
 the charge of all the tabernacle: only they 
 shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanc- 
 tuary and the altar, that neither they, nor 
 ye also, die. 
 
 4 And they shall be joined unto thee, 
 and keej) the charge of the tabernacle of 
 the congregation, for all the service of the 
 tabernacle : and a stranger shall not come 
 uigh unto you. 
 
 5 And ye shall keep the charge of the 
 sanctuary, and tlie charge of the altar : 
 that there be no wrath any more upon the 
 children of Israel. 
 
 (i And I, behold, I have 'taken your bre- 
 thren the Levites from among the children 
 of Israel : to you thet/ are given as a gift 
 for the Lord, to do the service of the ta- 
 bernacle of the congregation. 
 
 7 Therefore thou and thy sons with thee 
 shall keep your priest's office for every 
 thing of the altar, and within the vail ; and 
 ye shall serve: I have given your priest's 
 office unto you as a service of gift: and the 
 stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to 
 death. 
 
 Thou be entreated to take off Thy revenging hand from us, till 
 we be all utterly consumed ? Bp. Ilall. By tnis miracle they are 
 convinced of their danger, if they should at any time invade the 
 office of the priesthood, or press beyond their allowed limits. 
 Up. Kidder. 
 
 Chap. XVI 11. ver. 1. And the Lord said unto Aaron, &c.] Hav- 
 ing wrought several miracles to establish Aaron in the priesthood, 
 GikI now instructs him, that the honour conferred upon him was 
 an office of great weight and burden ; in which he must conduct 
 himself with es|)ecial care and circiunspection. lip. Pa/rick. 
 
 — — shaii hear the iiiiquili/ of the sanclunri/ ;] Shall be hable to 
 punishment for the profanation of the sanctuary, of which you 
 Jwve the charge. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 B E R S. 
 
 T^te priests' and 
 
 * Ch«p. 3. 
 
 8 ^ And the Lord spake unto Aaron, 
 Behold, 1 also have given thee the charge 
 of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed 
 things of the children of Israel ; inito thee 
 ha\e I given them by reason of the anoint- 
 ing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for 
 ever. 
 
 9 This shall be thine of the most holy 
 things, resen'ed from the fire: ever}"^ obla- 
 tion of their's, every meat offering of their's, 
 and every sin offering of their's, and every 
 trespass offering of their's, which they shall 
 render unto me, shall be most holy for thee 
 and for thy sons. 
 
 10 In the most holy place shalt thou eat 
 it ; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy 
 unto thee. 
 
 1 1 And this is thine ; the heave offering 
 of their gift, with all the wave offerings of 
 the children of Israel : I have given them 
 unto '' thee, and to thy sons and to thy 
 daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: 
 every one that is clean in thy house shall 
 eat of it. 
 
 VZ All the t best of the oil, and all the 
 best of the wine, and of the wheat, the first- 
 fruits of them which they shall offer unto 
 the Lord, them have I given thee. 
 
 13 And whatsoever is first ripe in the 
 land, which they shall bring imto the 
 Lord, shall be thine; every one that is 
 clean in thine house shall eat of it. 
 
 14 'Every thing devoted in Israel shall 
 be thine. 
 
 15 Every thing that openeth the ''matrix 
 in all flesh, which they bring unto the 
 Lord, whether it be of men or beasts, shall 
 be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man 
 shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling 
 of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem. 
 
 16 And those that are to be redeemed 
 from a month old shalt thou redeem, ac- 
 cording to thine estimation, for the money 
 of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanc- 
 tuary, 'which is twenty gerahs. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1471. 
 
 I- Ler. 10. 
 14. 
 
 t H«b./a/. 
 
 • Lev. 27. 
 
 28. 
 
 ' Exod. 13. 
 2. & 22. 29. 
 Lev. 27.26. 
 chap. 3. 13. 
 
 • Exod. 30 
 
 13. 
 
 Lev. 27. 25. 
 
 chap. 3. 47. 
 
 Ezek. 45. 
 
 12. 
 
 .shall hear the iiiiquili/ of your priesthood.'^ Shall suffer 
 
 punishment, if you permit any person, not of the line of Aaron, 
 to offer incense, or perform any part of the priest's office ; or if 
 you do not faithfully discharge your office. This was some com- 
 fort to the people, who were afraid they should die for every errour 
 committed in their approaches to the sanctuary; whereas God a». 
 sures them He would punish the priests and Levites: and it also 
 served to remove the people's envy towards the priests, whose 
 dignity they saw accompanied with such danger. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — as a service of gift ;] That which is at once a favour and 
 privilege; and also imports duty and service. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 G. — according to thijie estimation^ According to the estima- 
 tion prescribed for thee to take of all sorts, poor as well as rich. 
 Bp. Patrick.
 
 Levites' portions 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 of the offerings. 
 
 chrTst ^7 ^"' *'^^ firstling of a cow, or the 
 ai)outi47i. firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a 
 goat, thou shalt not redeem ; they are 
 holy : thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon 
 the altar, and shalt burn their fat Jbr an 
 offering made by fire, for a sweet savour 
 unto the Lord. 
 
 18 And the flesh of them shall be thine, 
 *Exod. 29. as the ' wave breast and as the right shoul- 
 der are thine. 
 
 19 AH the heave offerings of the holy 
 things, which the children of Israel offer 
 unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy 
 sons and thy daughters with thee, by a 
 statute for ever : it is a covenant of salt 
 for ever before the Loud unto thee and to 
 thy seed with thee. 
 
 20 % And the Lord spake unto Aaron, 
 Thou shalt have no inheritance in their 
 land, neither shalt thou have any part a- 
 
 « Dent 10. mong them: *I a?» thy part and thine in- 
 
 jo^.'i3.^ heritance among the children of Israel. 
 
 14, 33. 21 And, behold, 1 have given the chil- 
 
 Ezck. 44. ^yQjy Qf L.e\i all the tenth in Israel for an 
 
 inheritance, for their service which they 
 
 serve, even the service of the tabernacle of 
 
 the congregation. 
 
 22 Neither must the children of Israel 
 henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the 
 
 tHei>. congregation, lest they bear sin, tand die. 
 
 23 But the Levites shall do the service 
 of the tabernacle of the congregation, and 
 they shall bear their iniquity : it shall be a 
 statute for ever throughout your genera- 
 tions, that among the children of Israel 
 they have no inheritance. 
 
 24 But the tithes of the children of Is- 
 rael, which they offer as an heave offering 
 unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites 
 
 19. — a covenant of salQ An incorruptible and everlasting 
 covenant, not to be revoked. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Salt preserves from decay and putrefaction, and may therefore 
 properly be an emblem of duration and perpetuity. But the 
 " covenant of salt" seems to refer to the making of an agreement, 
 wherein salt was used as a token of confirmation. Among the 
 Turks, according to Baron du Tott, the eating of bread and salt 
 with a person is esteemed a veiy significant confirmation of an 
 agreement, and a token of inviolable friendship. Fragments to 
 Calmel. 
 
 Between the Mohammedans of Aleppo the relation of host and 
 guest is held sacred, and always mentioned with reverence. A 
 league of mutual amity, founded on fonner acquaintance, on living 
 together in the same house, but esiiecially on an interchange of 
 hospitable offices, is expressed by " having eaten bread and salt 
 together." Dr. Russell. See the note on Lev. ii. 13. 
 
 32. — neither shall ye pollute the holy things &c.] There shall 
 be no danger of your polluting the holy tilings which God hath 
 reserved to Himself, by turning them to a common use ; as there 
 would have been, if they had eaten the tithes or other gifts, be- 
 fore the tenth part, which was God's, was taken from them. Bp. 
 PtUricL 
 
 to inherit : therefore I have said unto them, chrTst 
 Among the children of Israel they shall about 1471. 
 have no inheritance. 
 
 25 % And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say 
 unto them, \VTien ye take of the children 
 of Israel the tithes which I have given you 
 from them for your inheritance, then ye 
 shall offer up an heave offering of it for the 
 Lord, even a tenth part of the tithe. 
 
 27 And this your heave offering shall be 
 reckoned unto you, as though it xvere the 
 corn of the threshingfloor, and as the ful- 
 ness of the winepress. 
 
 28 Thus ye also shall offer an heave of- 
 fering unto the Lord of all your tithes, 
 which ye receive of the children of Israel ; 
 and ye shall give thereof the Lord's heave 
 offering to Aaron the priest. 
 
 29 Out of all your gifts ye shall offer 
 every heave offering of the Lord, of all 
 
 the t best thereof, eveji the hallowed part t H»b 
 thereof out of it. 
 
 30 Therefore thou shalt say unto them. 
 When ye have heaved the best thereof 
 from it, then it shall be counted unto the 
 Levites as the increase of the threshing- 
 floor, and as the increase of the wine- 
 press. 
 
 31 And ye shall eat it in every place, ye 
 and your housholds : for it is your reward 
 for your ser\ ice in the tabernacle of the 
 congregation. 
 
 32 And ye shall bear no sin by reason 
 of it, when ye have heaved from it the 
 best of it : neither shall ye pollute the 
 holy things of the children of Israel, lest 
 ye die. 
 
 lest ye die.'] In the Hebrew, " nor shall ye die :" as those 
 
 did, who meddled with the holy things, which Gotl reserved for 
 His ministers alone. Bp. Patrich: 
 
 Four and twenty gifts were given to the priests, and they are 
 all expressed in the law. Eight of these gifts the priests were to 
 eat no where but in the sanctuary, within the wall ol" tlio court 
 yard ; and five gifts they did not eat but in Jerusalem, within 
 the walls of the city ; five gifts were not due unto tlieni by the 
 law, but in the land of Israel only ; and five gifts were due unto 
 them both within the land, and without the land ; one gift wai 
 due unto tliem from the sanctuary. 
 
 The eight gifts, which they did not eat but within the sanctuary, 
 were these, 
 
 1. The flesh of the sin offering, whether fowl or beast. Lev. vi. 
 25, 26. 
 
 2. The flesh of the trespass offering. Lev. vu. 1, 6. 
 
 3. The peace offering of the congregation. Lev. xxiii. I9, 20. 
 
 4. The remainder of the onier or sheaf. Lev. xxiii. 10. 
 
 5. The remnant of the meat offering of the Israelites, Lev. 
 vi. 16.
 
 The water of separation. 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 The law for the use of it 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 A^ 
 
 Defon 
 CHRIST 
 
 about M71. 1 The naler of separalion viatic of the ashes of a red 
 heifer. 1 1 The latr fur the use of it in jntrijlcalion 
 of the unclean. 
 
 ND the Lord spake unto Moses and 
 unto Aaron, saying, 
 
 2 This is the ordinance of the law wliich 
 the LoKD hath commanded, saying, Speak 
 unto the children of Israel, that they bring 
 thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is 
 no blemish, and upon which never came 
 yoke : 
 
 3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar 
 the |)riest, that he may bring her "forth 
 without the camp, and one shall slay her 
 before his face : 
 
 4 And Eleazar the priest shall take of 
 her blood with his finger, and " sprinkle of 
 her blood directly before the tabernacle of 
 the congregation seven times : 
 
 5 And one shall burn the heifer in his 
 '^ Exod. 29. gjghj . cjiej. skin, and her flesh, and her 
 
 blood, with her dung, shall he burn : 
 
 6 And the priest shall take cedar wood, 
 and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the 
 midst of the burning of the heifer. 
 
 7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, 
 and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and 
 afterward he shall come into the camp, 
 and the priest shall be unclean until the 
 even. 
 
 • Hebr. 13. 
 
 II. 
 
 » Hebr. 9. 
 13. 
 
 L«T. 4. 11, 
 IJ. 
 
 6. The two loaves, Lev. xxiii. 17. 
 
 7. The shewbread. Lev. x.viv. 9. 
 
 8. The leper's log of oil. Lev. xiv. 1 0. 
 
 The five which they might not eat but in Jerusalem, (and be- 
 fore that within the camp of Israel, to which Jerusalem afterward 
 was answerable,) were these, 
 
 1. The breast and shoulder of the peace offerings. Lev. vii. 
 31, S4. f o ' 
 
 2. The heave offering of the sacrifice of confession. Lev. viL 
 12, 14. 
 
 3. The heave offering of the Nazarite's ram. Numb. vi. 17, 
 
 4. The firstling of the clean beast. Numb, xviii. 17, 18 • Deut 
 »v. ly, 20. 
 
 5. The firstfruits, Numb, xviii. 13. 
 
 The five things due from the land of Israel only, were, 
 
 1. The heave offering or firstfruits, Numb. xviiL 12. 
 
 2. The heave offering of the tithe. Numb, xviii. 28. 
 
 3. The cake. Numb. xv. 20. 
 
 These three were holy. 
 
 4. The first of the fleece, Deut xviii. 4. 
 
 5. The field of possession. Lev. xxvii. 22, 23. 
 
 Both of these were common. 
 
 The five things due to the priest, in every place, were these, 
 1. The gifts of the beasts slain, Deut. xviii. 3-5. 
 
 3. The firstUng of the ass, Exod. xxxiv. 20; Numb, xviii. 15. 
 
 8 And he that burneth her shall wash p h^jj°j|.j. 
 his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh about 1471. 
 in water, and shall be unclean until the 
 
 even. 
 
 9 And a man that is clean shall gather 
 up the ashe« of the heifer, and lay them up 
 without the camp in a clean place, and it 
 shall be kept for the congregation of the 
 children of Israel for a water of scj)aration : 
 it is a purification for sin. 
 
 10 And he that gathereth the ashes of 
 the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be 
 unclean until the even : and it shall be 
 unto the children of Israel, and unto the 
 stranger that sojourneth among them, for 
 a statute for ever. 
 
 1 1 ^ He that toucheth the dead body of 
 any tman shall be unclean seven days. t Heu. 
 
 12 He shall purify himself with it on the *'"''• 
 third day, and on the seventh day he shall 
 
 be clean : but if he purify not himself the 
 third day, then the seventh day he shall 
 not be clean. 
 
 13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body 
 of any man that is dead, and purifieth not 
 himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; 
 and that soul shall be cut off from Israel : 
 because the water of separation was not 
 sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean ; 
 his uncleanness is yet upon him. 
 
 14> This is the law, when a man dieth in 
 
 4. The restitution of that which is taken by rapine from a 
 stranger. 
 
 5. The devoted things. Numb, xviii. 14. 
 
 These five were common things in all respects. 
 
 The gift due unto them from the sanctuary was. 
 The skin of the burnt offerings. Lev. vii. 8. 
 
 The gifts which the females had part in, as well as the males, 
 were five, 
 
 1. The heave offering and firstfruits. 
 
 2. The heave offering of the tithe. 
 .'!. The cake. 
 
 4. The gifts of the beast. 
 
 5. The first of the fleece. Maimonides. 
 
 Cliap. XIX. ver. 2. — a red heifer without spot,"} The word?, 
 " without spot," mean that the animal should be perfectly red, 
 without one spot of any other colour. Dean Spencer. See Heb. 
 ix. 13, 14. 
 
 upon which never came yoke ;] That is, which had never 
 
 been employed in ploughing the ground or in any otlier work : 
 for, according to the common sense of all mankind, those crea- 
 tures, which had been made to serve other uses, became pnfit to 
 be offered to the Deity. We find this sentiment in Homer, and 
 in other heathen writers. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 9. — for a water of separalion :2 To be put into spring water, 
 which was always accounted more pure than other, by which 
 those persons were to be cleansed, who were separated, on account 
 of their pollutions, from the congregation : and those things also, 
 which had been defiled, were restored to their common use. J5p. 
 Patrick.
 
 in purification of the unclean. 
 
 CHAP. XIX, XX. The children of Israel come to Zin. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 abou« 1471. 
 
 fHel). 
 dust. 
 f Heb. 
 
 lining wU' 
 ters skull be 
 given. 
 
 a tent : all that come into the tent, and all 
 that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven 
 days. 
 
 15 And every open vessel, which hath 
 no covering bound upon it, is unclean. 
 
 IG And whosoever toucheth one that is 
 slain with a sword in the open iields, or a 
 dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, 
 shall be unclean seven days. 
 
 17 And for an unclean person they shall 
 take of the t ashes of the burnt heifer of 
 purification for sin, and t running water 
 shall be put thereto in a vessel : 
 
 18 And a clean person shall take hyssop, 
 and dip // in the water, and sprinkle it up- 
 on the tent, and upon all the vessels, and 
 upon the persons tliat were there, and up- 
 on him that touched a bone, or one slain, 
 or one dead, or a grave : 
 
 19 And the clean person shall sprinkle 
 upon the unclean on the third day, and on 
 the seventh day : and on the seventh day 
 he shall purify himself, and wash his 
 clothes, and bathe himself in water, and 
 shall be clean at even. 
 
 20 But the man that shall be unclean, 
 and shall not purify himself, that soul shall 
 be cut off from among the congregation, 
 because he hath defiled the sanctuary of 
 the Lord : the water of separation hath 
 
 not been sprinkled upon him ; he is un- ^^'"^ 
 
 rlpan CHRIST 
 
 ^^^^"- about 1471. 
 
 21 And it shall be a pei-petual statute 
 unto them, that he that sprinkleth the wa- 
 ter of separation shall wash his clothes ; 
 and he tliat toucheth the water of separa- 
 tion shall be unclean until even. 
 
 22 And whatsoever the unclean person 
 toucheth shall be unclean ; and the soul 
 that toucheth it shall be unclean until 
 even. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 1 The children of Israel come to Zin, where Miriam 
 dieth. 2 Thet/ mtinmtrfor want of water. ~ Moses 
 smiting the rock hringeth forth tvaler at Merihah. 14 
 Moses at Kadesh desirelh pas.iage thrwigk Edom, 
 which is denied him. 22 At mount Hor Aaron re- 
 signeth his place to FAeazar, and dieth. 
 
 THEN came the children of Israel, even i«s. 
 the whole congregation, into the de- 
 sert of Zin in the first month: and the 
 people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died 
 there, and was buried there. 
 
 2 And there was no water for the con- 
 gregation : and they gathered themselves 
 together against Moses and against Aaron. 
 
 3 And the people chode with Moses, 
 and spake, saying. Would God that we had 
 died^when our brethren died before the 'Ctap. ii. 
 L. 
 
 33. 
 
 17- — purification for sin,~\ The terms iniquity and sin da 
 rot, in the language of the Old Testament, necessarily imply a 
 deviation from moral rectitude, or a transgression of the moral 
 law ; but are frequently used, when nothing more can be under- 
 stood than a privation of that bodily purity which the ceremonial 
 law required. See Numb, xviii. 1; Exod. xxviii. 38; Lev. xiv. 1 9. 
 Feysie. 
 
 18. — hyssop,'] A cleansing herb, easily procured. 
 
 22. — siuill be unclean until even.] By the nice care here taken 
 about the smallest bodily defilements, God undoubtedly intended 
 to make the people sensible, how necessary it was to preserve in- 
 ward purity ; without which they could not be acceptable to God, 
 though they approached His sanctuary. For these laws, extend- 
 ing to what was done at home as well as abroad, were a plain in- 
 struction, both that it was not sufficient to be pure in the eyes of 
 men, and that nothing could be concealed from tlie Divine Ma- 
 jesty, who sees what passeth in secret. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XX. ver. 1. — the desert of Zin] The southern dis- 
 trict of Arabia Petrea was called in general " the wilderness of 
 Zin," which tiame is still given by the inhabitants of Tor to the 
 desert in ifieir neighbourhood. The northern and western dis- 
 tricts were also called " Pai'an" and " Kadesh." Thus the dis- 
 astrous station of Kadesh, named Bai-nea, " Son of wandering," 
 to which tlie Israelites returned again after thirty-eight years, is 
 said to be in the wilderness of Zin, Numb. xiii. 21 ; and again on 
 their return, Numb. xx. 1 ; Deut. xxxii. 51 ; but in the wilderness 
 of Paran, Numb. xii. 1 6. While in the itineraiy, or journeys of 
 the Israelites, Numb, xxxiii. 18, it is simply called Rithmah, sig- 
 nifying " the wilderness," from Rethem, which signifies " a desert 
 place ;" and properly denotes a plant, which flourishes in sandy 
 deserts, called " Juniper," Job xxx. 3, 4; 1 Kings xix. 4, 0; 
 whence it is transferred to signify " a desert," like oar English 
 word " heath," from the plant of that name. Dr. Hales. 
 
 ^r 
 
 — in the first month :] That is, of the fortieth year after 
 they left Egypt. Moses passes in silence the transactions of the 
 thirty-seven years, during which the Israelites wandered in the 
 wilderness ; and gives us only tlie first and last years of their 
 joumeyings: for, since he writes not so much in the quality of an 
 historian as of a legislator, whose purpose it was to deliver down 
 to posterity all the laws which he received from God, and -that 
 system of laws being completed in the two first years after they 
 left Egypt, and no new law being delivered during jhe subse- 
 quent years, it did not fall in with his design to insejirthe history 
 of these years in tiie Pentateuch. Le Clerc. ..^ 
 
 Miriam died there,] Four month*.-t5efore Aaron, and 
 
 eleven months before Moses : being pM^ than either of them. 
 At the birth of Moses she was probably about twelve years of age, 
 as Thay be CoHectetl froHi'^xod. ii. 4, 7 ; and at her death about 
 130. Josephus tells us, she was buried with great solemnity; 
 and Eusebius relates, that her sepulchre was extant in his time 
 at Kadesh, not far from the city Petra, the metropolis of Arabia 
 Petrea. Stackhouse. 
 
 2. — there was no water] We have had no mention of the 
 Israelites from the time of the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and 
 Abiram, until they came into this difficultj-. There had jtasseJ 
 six or seven and tiiirty years in this interval ; diu-ing which time 
 Moses had led them up and down from place to place, as God had 
 directed their joumeyings by the cloud. During this space it is 
 probable the people had been very obedient : for we hear of no 
 discontents among them. Now they began to be refractory again, 
 but Moses now could not so well bear it. Shuckford. 
 
 3. — JVould God that we had died &c.] By a sudden death, 
 rather tlian linger away with thirst. They allude to the judg- 
 ments of God upon their brethren, which should rather have de- 
 terred them from such discontented language. But nothing will 
 alter those, who will not lay to heart and preserve in mind God's 
 mercies and judgments. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Moses bringeth forth 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 water out of the rock. 
 
 Before 4 ^\ih1 "wliv have ye brondit up the 
 ■bout Hi J. congregation of the Lord into this wil- 
 
 • E.od. 17. dcrncss, tliat we and our cattle should die 
 
 * there ? 
 
 5 And wherefore ha\e ye made us to 
 come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto 
 this evil place ? it 'is no place of seed, or 
 of tigs, or of \ ines, or of pomegranates ; 
 neither is there any water to drink. 
 
 6 And Moses and Aaron went from the 
 presence of tlie assembly unto the door of 
 the tabernacle of the congregation, and 
 they fell upon their faces : and the glory 
 of the Loud appeared unto them. 
 
 7 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 8 Take the rod, and gather thou the 
 assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy 
 brother, and speak ye unto the rock be- 
 fore their eyes ; and it shall give forth his 
 water, and thou shalt bring forth to them 
 water out of the rock : so thou shalt 
 
 8. Take the rod,"^ With which Moses wrought his miracles in 
 Egypt, called in ver. II," his rod." It was probably lodged in 
 the sanctuary ; for he is said, in the next verse, to have taken it 
 " from before the Lord." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — Hear now, ye relicts ; must we fetch you water out of this 
 rock ?] Hear now, ye rebels ; is it likely that we shall fetch water 
 out of this hard rock, to satisfy your thirst ? This we are required 
 to do ; but is this a thing possible to be done? Bp. Hall. 
 
 11. — the rock'] In one of the roads from the convent of Sinai 
 to .Suez there is exactly such another stone as the rock of Massah, 
 with the same sort of openings all down, and the signs where 
 the water run. See the note on Exod. xvii. 2. The Arabs say, 
 tliat it is likewise calletl " the stone of Moses ;" and that this must 
 be the rock " .Merib.ih-Kadesh," Deut. xxxii. 51, which Moses 
 smote twice, and the waters came out abundantly, after they had 
 returncil into these parts from Ezion-gaber. Bp. Pocockc. 
 
 1-. — Because ye believed me tiot, to sancti/}/ me in the eyes of 
 the children of Isracl,~\ Because ye doubted of the performance of 
 Nty word ; ami, in a weak distrust, struck the rock twice, as not 
 being confident of the issue, whereas ye were only bidden to speak 
 unto to the ro<k, to yield forth these waters. Bp. Hall. It may be 
 inquired, wherein consisted the sin of Moses, with wliich Aaron 
 also is charg»-<l, as consenting to it. In answer it is to be con- 
 sidered, I. That tile very letter of God's couunand was broken, 
 Jl^t, in tliat Moses " smote" the rock with his ro<l, and smote it 
 '• twice," whereiis he had received no such command from Cio<l, 
 but was commandeil to " speak" to it, tliat the people mi'dit 
 fee how easily CJod could supply their want of water : '2dly, in 
 " speaking to U\e people," which Moses had no cjmmission to 
 do ; and in not spc: king to the rock, which was expressly com- 
 mandetl. II. That this open breach of God's commandment 
 was conmiitted in the face and sight of the assembly ; hence 
 are Moses and .-Varon charged for " not sanctifying the Lord in 
 the eyes of the children of Israel." III. Moses was also guilty 
 of some degree of unbelief and distrust of Go<l's power anil 
 veracity, as appears from ver. I'J, compared with ver. 10 ; " .Must 
 we" (or can we, as in tlie Latin Vulgate) " fetch water &c." 
 which seems to intimate a doubting ; see Gen. xviii. 13 ; and too 
 much anger and commotion of mind : " they provoked his spirit, 
 »o that he >p.ike un.idvisedly with his lips," Psal. cvi. 33. And 
 as the degrees of these sins were known to God only, so it is 
 certain, upon the whole, they were guilty of that which is else- 
 where called " rebellion" ami " trespass, " Numb, xxvii 14 ■ 
 Deut-xxiii. 51. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 give the congregation and their beasts „,^t{°5' 
 drink. about uss. 
 
 9 And Moses took the rod from before 
 the Lord, as he commanded him. 
 
 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the 
 congregation together before the rock, 
 and he said unto them. Hear now, ye re- 
 bels ; must we fetch you water out of this 
 rock? 
 
 11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and 
 with his rod he smote the rock twice : and 
 the water came out abundantly, and the 
 congregation drank, and their beasts also. 
 
 V2 ^ And the Loud spake unto Moses 
 and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, 
 to sanctify me in the eyes of the children 
 of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this 
 congregation into the land which I have 
 given them. 
 
 13 ' This is the water of || Meribah j be- • p^. io« 
 cause the children of Lsrael strove with ^2, &c. 
 the Lord, and he was sanctified in them. ,(ni/>!'"' 
 
 to sanctify me] That is, by your ready and absolute obe- 
 dience to My command, to own My sovereignty as well as veracity 
 in the presence of the children of Israel. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 yc shall not brins; this congregation into the land Sec] They 
 
 brought them into tlie land of Sihon and Og; but not into Ca- 
 naan, the promised land. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 This prohibition, while it was in a peculiar manner mortifying 
 to them as leaders of the people, afforded an exemplary lesson 
 to all Israel of the necessity of implicit obedience, of constant 
 faith, and perfect humility, to secure the favour of God. Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 How severely Moses felt this deprivation appears from his 
 humble, and, it should seem, rejyeated supplications to the Lord, 
 to reverse the sentence. See Deut. iii. 23, 27. The Apostle Paul, 
 witli equal impartiality, has recorded the refusal of the Lord, 
 after he had besought Him thrice, to remove " a thorn in the 
 flesh," or some infirmitj', under which he laboured, 2 Cor. xii. 7. 
 It was reserved for a greater than Moses, that perfect model of 
 " patience in tribulation," to teach His disciples how to pray on 
 such an occasion : " O My Father, if it be possible, let this 
 cup pass from Me : nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt," 
 Matt. xxvi. 39. Dr. Hales. 
 
 13. — Meribah;] That is, strife: called Meribah-Kadesh, 
 Deut. xxxii. 51, to distinguish it from the Meribah mentioned 
 Exod. xvii. 7, where the Israelites were guilty of the same crime, 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 This offence, so frequently alluded to in the Pentateuch, and tlie 
 punishment of which Moses is represented as repeatedly depre- 
 cating, intreating to be permitted to enter the promised land, 
 thougli in vain, is totally omitted by Josephus ; while, in the 
 original narrative, nothing can be more aflecting than the manner 
 in which it is alluded to. It is expressed as if the heart was 
 weighed down by sorrow for the disappointment of its fondest 
 hope; and, as if occasions of venting this sorrow were industriously 
 sought, even a remote allusion or reftience is enough, ^'et it con- 
 cerned only the historian himself; it was not to his credit, but it 
 was that wliicli he felt most deeply, and which he only could feel 
 so truly. Thus we clearly perceive the difference between the 
 genuine narration of Moses himself, and the cautious compilation 
 of a remote historian, (although admitted to be of general veracity 
 and integrity,) when describing the character of a legislator, whom 
 he looked up to with reverence. Dr. Grai^es. 
 
 he was sanclijied in them.] Either in the waters, by the ho- 
 nour which He procured in bringing them again out af a rock ; or in
 
 Moses desireth passage Ihrougli Edom. CHAP. XX, XXI. 
 
 Aaron dielh upon mount Hor. 
 
 ^'^1^°^''^ 14 IF And Moses sent messengers from 
 
 CHRIST . . ^ . 
 
 1453. Kadesh unto the king of" Edom, Thus saith 
 thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the 
 tHeb. travel that hath t befallen us: 
 
 found us. , _ , y /• 1 1 
 
 \o How our lathers went down into 
 Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long 
 tiitie ; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our 
 fathers: 
 
 16 And when we cried unto the Lord, 
 he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and 
 hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, 
 behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the ut- 
 termost of thy border : 
 
 17 Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy 
 country : we will not pass through the 
 fields, or through the vineyards, neither 
 will we drink o/the water of the wells: we 
 will go by the king's high way, we will not 
 turn to the right hand nor to the left, until 
 we have passed thy borders. 
 
 18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt 
 not pass by me, lest I come out against 
 thee with the sword. 
 
 19 And the children of Israel said unto 
 him. We will go by the high way: and if 1 
 and my cattle drink of thy water, then I 
 will pay for it: I will only, without doing 
 any thing else, go through on my feet. 
 
 20 And he said. Thou shalt not go 
 through. And Edom came out against 
 him with much people, and with a strong 
 hand. 
 
 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel 
 passage through his border: wherefore Is- 
 rael turned away from him. 
 
 22 il And the children of Israel, even 
 the whole congregation, journeyed from 
 
 ^.Chap. 33. ^ Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor. 
 
 23 And the Lord spake unto Moses and 
 Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the 
 land of Edom, saying. 
 
 Moses and Aaron, by giving proof of His holiness and justice in 
 the punishment of their disobedience; or in the Israelites, before 
 whose face God's power, goodness, and faithfulness appeared. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. — thi/ brother Israel,~\ The Israelites were descended from 
 Israel or Jacob, the twin brother of Edom or Esau. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 19. — if I and mif cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for 
 it:~\ It appears from the accounts of travellers, that this is no 
 unusual practice on the coasts of the Red sea, in Egjpt, and in 
 Turkey. And Niebuhr mentions it as a circumstance >vorthy of 
 notice, that at Cairo and Constantinople ai'e several elegant houses 
 where freslj water is distributed gratis to passengers. Fragments 
 to Calmel. 
 
 22. — mmini Hor.'] On the edge of Edom, but more to the 
 northeast than Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, whence they 
 came. Bp. Patrick. See the note on Exod. xv. 22. 
 
 2ti. — ■•ilrip Aaron of his garments,'] Of his priestly robes. 
 This implied the divesting him of his office; as the putting them 
 upon Eleazar his son implied the succeeding of Eleazar to his 
 Vol. I. 
 
 37, 
 
 24 Aaron shall be gathered unto his p^^T^^ 
 people: for he shall not enter into the land 1453. 
 which I have given unto the children of 
 Israel, because ye rebelled against my 
 t word at the water of Meribah. tHeb. 
 
 2.5 "Take Aaron and Eleazar his sorii 'Chap. sr 
 and bring them up unto mount Hor: ^^^^ ^^ 
 
 20 And strip Aaron of his garments, and 50. 
 put them upon Eleazar his son : and Aaron 
 shall be gathered unto his people, and shall 
 die there. 
 
 27 And Moses did as the Lord com- 
 manded : and they went up into mount 
 Hor in the .sight of all the congregation. 
 
 28 And Moses stripped Aaron of his 
 garments, and put them upon Eleazar his 
 
 son; and "^ Aaron died there in the top of H52. 
 the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came 'Deutio. 
 down from the mount. 
 
 29 And when all the congregation saw 
 that Aaron was dead, they mourned for 
 Aaron thirty days, even all the house of 
 Israel. 
 
 CHAP. XXL 
 
 1 Israel with some loss destroy tJie Canaanitcs at Hor' 
 mail. 4 The people murmuring are plagued with fiery 
 serpents. 7 They repenting are healed by a brasen 
 serpent. 10 Sundry Journeys of t/ie Israelites. 21 
 Sihon is overcome, 33 and Og. 
 
 AND when ' king Arad the Canaanite, ^ ciisp. 33. 
 which dwelt in the south, heard tell "* ' 
 that Israel came by the way of the spies; 
 then he fought against Israel, and took 
 some of them prisoners. 
 
 2 And Israel vowed a vow unto the 
 Lord, and said. If thou wilt indeed deliver 
 this people into my hand, tlien 1 will ut- 
 terly destroy their cities. 
 
 3 And the Lord hearkened to the voice 
 of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; 
 and they utterly destroyed them and tlieir 
 
 father's office and dignity. Moses herein acted a3 the minister 
 of God, who now transferred the priesthood to anotJicr. Bp. 
 
 Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXI. MT. 1. — in the .tnulh.'] Of the land of Canaan, 
 towards the eastern aiiolo, near the Dead sea. 
 
 by the way of the snles;] Who had been sent by Arad to 
 
 bring him intelligence, which way the Israelites marched. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 2. — / will utterly destroy their cities.'] The Israelites implored 
 the Divine assistance by this sok-mii vow; pledging tliemselves 
 to reserve none of this idolatrous nation to their own use, but to 
 devote it all to destruction. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 r,. —delivered up the Canaanites.] The Canaanitcs by their 
 wickedness had grievously offendetl the Lord of tlie whole earth; 
 and He here appoints the Israelites to execute His just wrath and 
 vengeance upon them. Dr. Waterland. This was effected in the 
 days of Joshua, Josh. xii. U, or a little after his death. Judges 
 i. 17. Shiickford. 
 
 Qq
 
 rite people are plagued xcithjiery serpents. NUMBERS. 
 
 Theii are healed Inj a hrasen serpent. 
 
 I}«forr 
 CHKIST 
 
 H Thil is 
 utttr de- 
 iti-ueUon. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 t IIHi. 
 
 ihttrtened. 
 
 Chap. 11. 
 
 ' Wudom 
 16. I, 5. 
 1 Cor. 10. 
 9. 
 
 cities: and he called the name of the place 
 II Hormah. 
 
 4 S And they journeyed from mount 
 Hor bv the wav of tlu' Keil sea, to com- 
 pass the landol"i:dom: and tlie soul of the 
 people was much II t discouraged because 
 of the way. 
 
 5 And the people spake against God, 
 and against Moses, Wherefore have ye 
 brought us up out oi" Egypt to die in the 
 wilderness ? lor there is no bread, neither 
 is there any water; and *» our soul loatheth 
 this light bread. 
 
 6 And ' the Lord sent fiery serpents a- 
 mong the people, and they bit the people; 
 and much people of Israel died. 
 
 7 ^ Therefore the people came to Mo- 
 ses, and said. We have sinned, for we have 
 spoken against the Lord, and against thee; 
 pray unto the Lord, that he take away the 
 serpents from us. And Moses prayed for 
 the people. 
 
 8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make 
 
 5. — Ihc peojJe s])a/ce againxl God, and again>,l I\lusex,~\ Aaron 
 and .Miriam were now passed the reacii of their inulinies: they 
 tliereforc join Go<l with Moses in their nnirmurinfjs, fearless of 
 tlie danger of rendering their Maker their eneuiy. Impalience is 
 akin to frenzy: it causes men to earc not whom tlioy assault, so 
 they may give vent to their fur)'. How often do we hear men, 
 that arc displeased v.ith others, disparage and dishonour their 
 Creator ? But if to .strive with a mighty man is unwise and unsafe, 
 ■what nmst it be to strive w'xXh. the mighty God.'' Bp. Hall. Com- 
 pare I's. Ix.xviii. jO'; 1 Cor. x. J). 
 
 6. — Jify serpents'] The seraph is a flying sei-pent, the only 
 one that luis wings. The word properly signifies to bum; and 
 this name was probably given it, either because of its colour, or 
 because of the heat and tliirst which its bite occasions. Its wings 
 are not feathers, like the wings of birds; but rather like those of 
 bats. When the Arabians go to gather the aromatick reed, or 
 cassia, of which these serpents are very fond, they cover all their 
 heads, exce|>t their eyes, w ith skins, to secure themselves from the 
 bite of the serpent, which is very dangerous. Catmet, Stack- 
 liuiisc. 
 
 and Ihei/ bit the people;'] The divers casualties, which 
 
 befell the Israelites in tlie wilderness, happened unto them for 
 '.!//*■*' «"■ eiisampiis, " and are written for our admonition, upon 
 wliom the ends of tl e world are come," 1 Cor. x. 6, 11; that end 
 of all the Divine coun.sels towards man, which relate to his re- 
 covery by the promised Redeemer. Thus their nuumurings were 
 punished by the biting of fiery serpents, to remind them of the 
 deceit of Uie old serpent, which brought sin into the world. And 
 when the malady was healed by looking up to that brasen ser- 
 pent, which was erected on a pole, this fitly represented our look- 
 ing by faith to that Reileemer, who was lii^d up upon the cross, 
 to draw all men unto Him. Dr. lierriman. 
 
 much jHople of Israel died.] .Vs Moses represents these 
 
 serpents to have cau.<ed a groat mort.-dity, so the heathen writers 
 concur in testifying, th.it the deserts, wherein the Israelites jour- 
 neyed, produced serjients of so venomous a kind, that their biting 
 was deacjly, beyond the iH)wer of any art tlien knowni to cure it. 
 The ancients observcil in general, that the most barren and s;mdy 
 dtocrU had the greaUst number and most venomous of serpents: 
 Diodorus remarks this more pmlicularly of the sands in Africa; 
 but it was equ.illy true of llie wilderness, in which the Israel- 
 ites journeyed. Scqjcnts and scoqiions were here, accordinrr to 
 Moses, as natural as ib-ought and want of water, Deut. viii.''l5. 
 
 Befdre 
 CHHIST 
 
 1452. 
 
 ' CImp. 33. 
 43. 
 
 II Or, 
 heaps of 
 Ahnrim. 
 
 thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: 
 and it shall come to pass, that e\ery one 
 that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, 
 shall live. 
 
 9 And '' Moses made a serpent of brass, '^2 Kings 
 and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, joiin 3. 14 
 that if a serpent had bitten any man, when 
 
 he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. 
 
 10 % And the children of Israel set for- 
 ward, and " pitched in Oboth. 
 
 1 1 And they journeyed from Oboth, and 
 pitched at II Ije-abarim, in the wilderness 
 which is before Moab, toward the sunrising. 
 
 12 ^ From thence they removed, and 
 pitched in the valley of Zared. 
 
 13 From thence they removed, and 
 pitched on the other side of Arnon, which 
 is in the wilderness that cometh out of the 
 coasts of the Amorites; for Arnon is the 
 border of Moab, between Moab and the 
 Amorites. 
 
 I'i Wherefore it is said in the book of II, Or, 
 the wars of the Lord, II What he did in su,',Li" 
 
 Strabo's observation agrees with Moses: and both .Strabo and 
 Diodorus concur, that the serpents, which were so numerous liere, 
 were of the most deadly kind, and that there was no cure for 
 their biting. He\ice we see reason to consider both the calamity 
 inflicted on the Israelites, and the miraculous cure of it, in the 
 proper light. The Israelites were unmindful of the obedience 
 they owed God, unwilling to march where God directed them. 
 Hereupon they were punished to bring them to a better mind; 
 and tlu'ir punishment was in a little time removed in a miraculous 
 manner. They were commanded to come and look up to a brasen 
 .serpent, a thing evidently of itself of no importance, but by God's 
 power and good pleasure made so eflectual to their recovery, as 
 abundantly to remuid thera, that whatever CJod should think fit 
 to connnand them, was importantly necessary for them to per- 
 form. Shuclcford. 
 
 7. Therefore ike people — said, We have sinned,] All the per- 
 suasions of Moses could not have done that, wnich the ser- 
 pents did for him. It were pity men should be without aftlic- 
 tion, since it sends them to their prayers and confessions. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 8. — Make thee a fiery serpent,] That is, a serpent like the kind 
 mentioned ver. 6; and so Moses made it of brass, ver. 9- That it 
 might be conspicuous, it was to be raised on high; " upon a pole," 
 or, as the word may be rendered, it was to be set up as a sign. And 
 indeed it was a very illustrious type of Christ, and particularly of 
 His death upon the cross: by whom we are redeemed from the 
 sting of death, and the power of the devil, that old serpent, 
 John iii. 14; and whom God sent "in the likeness of sinful flesh," 
 and did by this way condemn " sin in the flesh," Rom. viii. 3. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 9. — when he beheld the serjyenl of brass, he lived.] The author 
 of the book of Wisdom, speaking to God of the Israelites, im- 
 putes the virtue of the serpent to its right cause : " He that 
 turned himself toward it was not saved by the thing that he 
 saw, but by Thee, that art the Saviour of all:" and therefore he 
 calls it, " a sign" or symbol " of salvation, to put them in remem- 
 brance of the commandment of the law," chap. xvi. 6, 7. Slack- 
 house. We see in this a lively figure of the Christian Sacraments; 
 and how God has shewn, ;md can shew His power; and can sanc- 
 tify water to the washing away of sin, and make bread and wine 
 instruments of our salvation. Bp. If'ihon. 
 
 l-i. — in the book of the wars of (he Lord,] Some ancient re- 
 cord of those countries, to which Moses refers: or, more probably.
 
 35 

 
 Sihon and Og are 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 overcome and slain. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 iennetlt. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 Aicend. 
 IJ Or, 
 
 answer. 
 
 ^^,^^1%^ the Red sea, and in the brooks of Ar- 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1452. non, 
 
 15 And at the stream of the brooks that 
 goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and 
 t Heth upon the border of Moab. 
 
 16 And from thence they went to Beer : 
 that is the well whereof the Lord spake 
 unto Moses, Gather the people together, 
 and I will give them water. 
 
 17 IT Then Israel sang this song, t Spring 
 up, O well ; II sing ye unto it : 
 
 18 The princes digged the well, the no- 
 bles of the people digged it, by the direc- 
 tion of the lawgiver, with their staves. 
 And from the wilderness they went to 
 Mattanah : 
 
 19 And from Mattanah to Nahaliel : 
 and from Nahaliel to Bamoth : 
 
 20 And from Bamoth in the valley, that 
 is in the t country of Moab, to the top 
 of II Pisgah, which looketh toward II Jeshi- 
 mon. 
 
 21 ^ And Israel sent messengers unto 
 Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 
 
 22 ^ Let me pass through thy land : we 
 will not turn into the fields, or into the 
 vineyards ; we will not drink o/'the waters 
 of the well : but we will go along by the 
 king's high way, until we be past thy bor- 
 ders. 
 
 23 ^ And Sihon would not suffer Israel 
 to pass through his border : but Sihon ga- 
 thered all his people together, and went 
 out against Israel into the wilderness : and 
 he came to Jahaz, and fought against 
 Israel. 
 
 24 And " Israel smote him with the edge 
 of the sword, and possessed his land from 
 Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the chil- 
 dren of Ammon : for the boi-der of the 
 children of Ammon was strong. 
 
 25 And Israel took all these cities : and 
 Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amor- 
 ites, in Heshbon, and in all the t villages 
 thereof. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 Jidd. 
 II Or, 
 the hill. 
 II Or, 
 ll:e wUder- 
 ncss, 
 
 < Deut. 2. 
 27. 
 
 Judges II. 
 19. 
 
 ''■ Oeut. 2i), 
 7. 
 
 '■ Jobli. 12. 
 
 •J. 
 
 Psal. 135. 
 
 11. 
 
 Amos 2. 9. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 duuiilUers. 
 
 die following account of tlic wars of the Israelites, gi\'en in the 
 sacred history, by Moses, and other inspired writers. Pi/lc, Dr. 
 Wells. 
 
 1 8. — with l/ieir staves.^ With no more labour but that of 
 thrusting their staves into the ground, and turning up the earth. 
 ].y]. Patrick. 
 
 !23. — and fought against Lsrad.'\ Who had orders from God, 
 not to decline the battle, as they did with the Edomites and 
 Moabites. These Amorites were among the seven nations con- 
 demned by God to destruction. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 24. — for the border of the children of Ammon tva.t .'ilrong.'] This 
 is not given as a reason, why the Israelites carried their victory 
 no farther ; for the country of Ammon was no pai't of the land 
 promised to them ; nay, they were forbidden to invade it, Deut. 
 
 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon cj^ii'YIx 
 the king of the Amorites, who had fought 1452. 
 against the former king of Moab, and 
 
 taken all his land out of his hand, even 
 unto Arnon. 
 
 27 Wherefore they that speak in pro- 
 verbs say. Come into Heshbon, let the city 
 of Sihon be built and prepared : 
 
 28 For there is a fire gone out of Hesh- 
 bon, a flame from the city of Sihon : it 
 hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords 
 of the high places of Arnon. 
 
 29 Woe to thee, Moab ! thou art un- 
 done, O people of 'Chemosh : he hath given ■ 1 Kings 
 his sons that escaped, and his daughters, "•^•^3- 
 into captivity unto Sihon king of the A- 
 morites. 
 
 30 We have shot at them ; Heshbon is 
 perished even unto Dibon, and we have 
 laid them waste even unto Nophah, which 
 r-eacheth unto INIedeba. 
 
 31 ^ Thus Israel dwelt in the land of 
 the Amorites. 
 
 32 And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, 
 and they took the villages thereof, and 
 drove out the Amorites that were there. 
 
 33 ^ " And they turned and went up by 'Deut.j. 
 the way of Bash an : and Og the king ^f i-s^'^g. 7. 
 Bashan went out against them, he, antl all 
 
 his people, to the battle at Edrci. 
 
 34 And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 Fear him not : for I have delivered him 
 into thy hand, and all his people, and his 
 land; and ' thou shalt do to him as tliou ipsaLi35. 
 didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, "• 
 which dwelt at Heshbon. 
 
 35 So they smote him, and his sons, and 
 all his people, until there was none left 
 him alive : and they possessed his land. 
 
 CHAP. XXIL 
 
 1 Balak's first 7ne.s.iagc for Balaam is refused. 1 5 flis 
 ■second message ohtttineth him. 22 An angel would 
 have slain him, if his ass had not saved him. 36 Ba- 
 lak cntertaineth him. 
 
 ii. l;); but as tlie reason, why ^'ihon had not gained upon the 
 country of the children of ,\nnnon, as he had upon diat of the 
 Moabites. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 27. Wherefore theti that speak in proverhs sat/, &c.] The fol- 
 lowing words appear to have been a song of victory composed by 
 the Amorites, upon tlie victory gained by ^ihon over tlie Moabites. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 op. — people of Chemosh .] Or people, that sen-est Chemosh. 
 Chemo.sh was the idol of the Moabites, Jer. xlviii. 46. Bp. Kidder. 
 Servants are known by the name of their lord. As the Israelites 
 were called bv the name of the true God, 2 Ciiron. vii. 14, so 
 the Moabites were called by the name of tlieir god, the " people 
 of Cliemosh ;" and the other idolatrous nations in like manner. 
 Sec Mic. iv. 5. Abp. Seeker.
 
 Balak's Jirst nwssage for 
 
 N U M B E R S. 
 
 Balaam is refused. 
 
 Before 4 N D tlic childieii of Isruol sct ibiwaicl, 
 lis-.'. XjL ami pitched in tlie plains of Moab on 
 tliis side Jonlan hif Jericho. 
 
 '2 % And Balak the son of Zijjpor saw all 
 that Israel had done to tiie Amorites. 
 
 3 And Moab was sore afraid of the peo- 
 ple, because they nere many : and jNIoab 
 was distresseil because oi tii« children of 
 Israel. 
 
 i And Moab saiil unto the elders of 
 Miihan, Now shall this company lick up 
 all Ihat are round about us, as the ox lick- 
 eth up the tjjrass ol" the field. And Balak 
 the son of Zippor xais king of the Moabites 
 at that time. 
 •Josh. 2j. .'5 ' He sent messengers therefore unto 
 '■'■ Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which 
 
 is by the river of the land of the children 
 of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, 
 there is a people come out from Egypt : 
 
 Chap. XXII. viT. I. — on this side Jordan by Jericho.'] That 
 is, over .ip;iiinst .Icriilio, Jurdan being between it and the camp 
 of Israel. lip. Patrich. 
 
 3. .-ind Mofih niix .tare tif'riiij] The Israelites had entirely 
 routed and ruined .Sihon, kins of the Aniorite.s, and Og, king of 
 Ba:<han, taking jtosse.ssion of their lands : and they had done it 
 with such despateh, and in so surprising a manner, that the neigh- 
 bouring nations had reason to suspect there was something super- 
 natural in it. It seems to have been owing to some such appre- 
 hension as this, that none of them durst oppose the Hebrews, 
 without endeavouring first to engage heaven on their .side, which 
 they hoped to do by tiic Jielp of enchantments. Tlie Midianites 
 and .MoubitO'i were both of them full of this persuasion, as we 
 learn from this chapter : and we find from other places of Scrip- 
 ture, that the Ammonites joined with them in the design of 
 sending to Balaam, Deut. xxiii. 3, 4. Dr. IValertand. 
 
 4. — Midian,'] It is manifest from Scripture, that there were 
 two regions called Midian. The inhabitiints of the one were at 
 Jirst of the Cuthite race, and their sit\iation was upon the Red 
 sea, towards the most southern parts of Edom and ."Vmalek : they 
 were the people, to whom Moses betook himself when he fled 
 from Kgypt, anil married a C;uthite woman, and among whom he 
 resided forty ye;u-s, Exod. ii. 21. The other Midian wa^ to the 
 north, on the river Arnon, and in the vicinity of Moab. The na- 
 tives were of the family of Abraham, by Keturah, and bordered 
 on the up])erpart of Edom ; being allied to the Edomites, as well 
 as to the children of Moab, by the ties of consanguinity. Their 
 situation may be known from the correspondence which they kept 
 up with the Israelites, when the latter were encamped in the 
 plains of Moab, near the rivers Jordan and Arnon. linjaiit. 
 
 •^- — Balaam'] Though Balaam was a heathen, and an immoral 
 man, he appeai-s to luive been a true Pro|)het. He was a worship- 
 per of the true God, as appears by his aj)plying to God, ver. 8, and 
 by his calling the Lord hisG<Kl, ver. 18; though his worship was 
 debased by superstition, chap, xxiii. 1, 2; xxiv. 1. He seems 
 also to have had some pious thoughts and resolutions, ver. 18; 
 chitp. xxiii. 10; but his heart was unsound, mercenary, and cor- 
 rupt: he •' loved the wages of unrighteousness," s'Pet. ii. 15 
 and "ran greedily at\er reward," .lude II. To account for this 
 an^lanty of character, it may be observed, 1st, Tliat before the 
 jnvmg ot the law, and the conquest of the promised land there 
 were, besides the descendants of Abraham, other worshippers of 
 ^e true God m the world, such as, perhaps. Job and his friends 
 u, Arabia; Jelhro and his family in Mi,Kan; and in Mesopotamia 
 where Balaam l,ve.l, the abode of Abraham might have left bel 
 h.nd bun some proselytes to the true religion, ^'dly. That this 
 
 behold, they cover the 1 face of the earth, j,^^"ig.j. 
 and they abide over against me : 1452.' 
 
 6 Come now thereibre, I pray thee, curse ^ Heb. lyc. 
 me this people ; for they are too mighty 
 
 for me : jjcradventure I shall prevail, i/iat 
 we may smite them, and that I may drive 
 them out of the land : for I wot that he 
 whom thou blessest is ble.ssed, and he 
 whom thou cursest is cursed. 
 
 7 And the elders of Moab and the eld- 
 ers of Midian departed with the rewards 
 of divination in their hand ; and they came 
 unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words 
 of Balak. 
 
 8 And he said unto them. Lodge here 
 this night, and I will bring you word again, 
 as the Lord shall speak unto me : and the 
 princes of Moab abode with Balaam. 
 
 9 And God came unto Balaam, and said. 
 What men are these with thee ? 
 
 worship of God was frequently mixed with superstition and idol- 
 atry, as in the case of Laban's teraphini. 3dly, That this oilious 
 mixture did not hinder God from revealing Himself to those 
 who practised such a monstrous religion, as in the instances of 
 Abimelech and Nebuchadnezzar, Gen. xxvi. Dan. ii. 4.thly, That 
 supernatural gifts, especially those of prophecy, though they en- 
 lightened the minds of the Prophets, yet frequently did not sanc- 
 tify their hearts and affections ; see Mic. iii. 1 1. And .'5thly, That 
 the greatest weakness or wickedness of Prophets never went so 
 far, as to make them pronounce oracles contrary to what was dic- 
 tated to them by the Spirit of God, ver. 18 of this chapter. Bp. 
 Newluii, Slac/chousi: 
 
 Though God had probably rejected Balaam as an apostate Pro- 
 phet, He deigned to employ him on this signal occasion as the 
 ijerald of the Divine oracles, to illustrate the impotency of the 
 heathen arts, and to demonstrate the power and foreknowledge of 
 the Divine Spirit. Dr. Gray. 
 
 Pethor,'] A city in Aram, or Mesopotamia. The name 
 
 was afterwards changed by the Syrians to Bosor. See 2 Pet. ii. 1 5. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 tke riiier] The Euphrates. 
 
 C. — cur.sc vtc this people;] It was a superstitious ceremony in 
 use among the heathens, to devote their enemies to destruction at 
 the beginning of their wars ; as if the gods would enter into their 
 passions, and were as unjust and partial as themselves. The Ro- 
 mans had publick officers to perform the ceremony. Now Balaam 
 being a Prophet of great note and eminence, it was believed that 
 he was more intimate than others with the heavenly powers, 
 and consequently that his imprecations would be more effectual. 
 Bp. Newton. 
 
 7. — tke reivards of divination] It was the custom among 
 God's people, when they consulted a Prophet, to bring with them 
 a present, 1 Sam. ix. 7, 8. And indeed from ancient time, men 
 were not used to approach a great person without one. See Gen. 
 xliii. 11, 25, 20'. Bp. Patrick. What the rewards of divination 
 were, we know not. It is probable, however, they were only an 
 ordinary recompense : such as Balaam had often received from 
 other people ; and what had not the force of a temptation in his 
 eye. So that he appears at first not to show any great eagerness 
 to attend the call of Balak. Gilpin. 
 
 9- — What men are these with thee ?] God heard all the con- 
 sultation of these Moabites : these messengers could not have 
 moved their foot or their tongue but in Him: and yet He, who 
 asked Adam where he was, asks Balaam, " What men are these ?" 
 God loves to take occasion of proceeding with us from ourselves, 
 rather than from Hie ovm immediate prescience. Hence it is.
 
 His second message 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 obtaineth Jtim. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1452. 
 
 jHeb. 
 
 / shall prc- 
 vuilinjight- 
 ing against 
 him* 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 He not thou 
 letteiljrem 
 ttc. 
 
 10 And Balaam said unto God, Balak 
 the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent 
 unto me, saying, 
 
 11 Behold, there is a people come out 
 of Egypt, which covereth the face of the 
 earth : come now, curse me them ; perad- 
 venture + 1 shall be able to overcome them, 
 and drive them out, 
 
 12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou 
 shalt not go with them ; thou sh^lt not 
 curse the people : for they are blessed. 
 
 13 And Balaam rose up in the morning, 
 and said unto the princes of Balak, Get 
 you into your land: for the Lord refuseth 
 to give me leave to go with you. 
 
 l-i And the princes of Moab rose up, 
 and they went unto Balak, and said, Ba- 
 laam refuseth to come with us. 
 
 15 ^ And Balak sent yet again princes, 
 more, and more honourable than they. 
 
 16 And they came to Balaam, and said 
 to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zip- 
 por, tLet nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee 
 from coming unto me : 
 
 that we lay open our wants, and confess our sins, to Him that 
 knows both better than our own liearts, because He wilj deal with 
 us from our own mouths. Bp. Hall. 
 
 12. — Thoii shall not go tvilh litem f^ The reward of divination 
 had easily procured the journey and curse of the covetous Pro- 
 phet, if God had not stayed him. How often are wicked men 
 curbed by a Divine hand, even in those sins which their heart 
 desii-es. Bp. HalL 
 
 — — thou .ihalt not curse the people : for they arc blessed.'] This 
 Divine command to Balaam, which he afterwards pleads in op- 
 position to Balak's wishes, chap, xxiii. 7, 8, refers to the blessing 
 of Abraham, Gen. xii. 3, renewed to Jacob, Gen. xxvii. 29. The 
 prophecies of Balaam, which follow, are most curious and im- 
 portant, and were evidently dictated by the same Spirit as those 
 of Jacob, of which they furnish the continuation and develope- 
 ment. Dr. Hales. 
 
 17- — / IV ill promote thee unto very great honour i^ He probably 
 imagined, that Balaam thought the rewards of divination not suf- 
 ficient encouragement ; and therefore promises to advance him 
 to some liigh jireferment in his court. Bp. Patrick. Here was a 
 temptation of a more splendid nature. This might have shaken 
 a firmer soul than Balaam's : of his it seems to have taken entire 
 possession. From the moment this message rang in his eai-s, he 
 seems to have given himself tot:dly up to views of ambition. 
 What had he to do to consult God a second time about going } 
 Had he not h^d his answer already ? " Thou shalt not go with 
 them ; thou shalt not curse the people : for they are blessed." 
 God liowever\who often suffers wicked men to be hurried on by 
 their own obstinate perverseness, and out of that perverseness 
 works His own righteous purposes,) at length permitted him to 
 go ; that is. He gave him such permission, as our blessed Saviour 
 once gave Iscariot, " That thou doest, do quickly," John xiii. 27. 
 Gilpin. 
 
 20. — rise up, and go nith them ;] Since thou hast such a 
 mind to go, follow thy inclinations. Bp. Patrick. Compare 
 2 Kings ii. 17, 18. 
 
 When God sees men leaning too far to ambitious or covetous 
 <lesiros, and not wise enough to profit by gentle hints. He then 
 leaves them to pursue their own heai't's lust, and lets them follow 
 their own imaginations. After the first prohibition, a wise man 
 woidd have absolutely refused to treat with any ambassadours on 
 the same errand. But Balaam had set his lieart upon the bribes. 
 
 ex 
 
 17 For I will promote thee unto very „^'g*Tl 
 great honour, and 1 will do whatsoever u$2. 
 thou sayest unto me : come therefore, I 
 
 pray thee, curse me this people. 
 
 18 And Balaam answered and said unto 
 
 the servants of Balak, "If Balak would give »chap.24. 
 me his house full of silver and gold, I can- '^" 
 not go beyond the word of the Lord my 
 God, to do less or more. 
 
 19 Now therefore, I pray you, tar- 
 ry ye also here this night, that I may 
 know what the Lord will say unto me 
 more. 
 
 20 And God came unto Balaam at night, 
 and said unto him. If the men come to call 
 thee, rise up, and go with them ; but yet 
 the word wiiich I shall say unto thee, that 
 shalt thou do. 
 
 21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, 
 and saddled his ass, and went with the 
 princes of Moab. 
 
 22 ^ And God's anger was kindled be- 
 cause he went: and the angel of the Lord 
 stood in the way for an adversary against 
 
 So God permitted the foolish man to follow liis inclination, and 
 to run his utmost length of folly and madness. Since he would 
 not retreat in time, though God had given him sufficient intima- 
 tions, he was at length permitted to proceed in his own way, and 
 to his own destruction. Dr. Wiiterland. As wiien the Israehtish 
 nation afterwards rejected God from reigning over them, " He 
 gave them a king in His anger," Hos. xiii. 1 1 ; in the sjune way, 
 as appears from otlier parts of the narrative. He gave Balaam the 
 permission which he desired. Bp. Butler. 
 
 that shall thou do.] God permits him to follow his evil 
 
 and covetous desires, but restrains him from doing the evil that 
 he wished. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 21. — and saddled his ass,] The common breed of asses in 
 the East is larger than tliat usually seen in Britain ; and another, 
 still larger, is preserved for the saddle : for the ordinary people, 
 and many of the middle class, commonly ride asses. Asses are 
 often preferred to horses by the Sheihs, or religious men ; and 
 though most of the opulent merchants keep horses, they are not 
 ashamed, especially when old, to appear mounted on asses. Those 
 intended for the saddle, of the best sort, bear a high price ; they 
 are tall, delicately limbed, go swiftly in an easy pace or gallop, 
 and are very sure footed. They are fed and dressed with the 
 same care as horses. 'I'lie bridle is ornamented with fringe and 
 cowries, or small shells ; and the saddle, which is broad and easy, 
 is covered with a fine carpet. Dr. Russell. 
 
 22. — God's anger was kindled because he went :~\ God, who 
 seeth the lieart, and knew the sinister affections and intentions 
 wherewith Balaam went, was sore displeased at his going. Bp. 
 Hall. It may seem strange, that God should be angry with him 
 for going, when He had bidden him "rise up and go." In an- 
 swer, it niay be observed, 1st, That God did expressly forbid his 
 going at first ; God had said to him, '' Thou shalt not go with 
 them." 2dly, That Ciod did alter this only permit, but not com- 
 mand, nor yet approve of, his going, (iod having declarc<l Him- 
 self positively, Balaam ought not to have made further inquiry ; 
 yet this he did out of covetousness, on the arrival of more ho- 
 nourable messengers. .Sdly, His going was attended with an evil 
 design. The angel says, '"' Tliy way is perverse before me," ver. 
 32. And he seemed to go with a purpose of cursing Israel, 
 which the king of Moab exjiressly desired, and God had as ex- 
 pres.*ly forbidden. " Nevertheless the Lord thy God would not 
 Iiearki-n unto Balnam ; but tlie Lord thy God tiu-ned tlie curse
 
 An angel 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 appeareth 
 
 Dofore him. Now lic WQS ri(Jin_<r upon his ass, and 
 
 *^"«2*'^ his two servants were with iiim. 
 
 '8P.L-.'. '23 And 'tlie ass saw the angel of the 
 
 "• Loud standing in the way, and his sword 
 
 ^'"*'"' drawn in his hand: and the ass turned 
 
 aside out of the way, and went into the 
 
 field : and Balaam smote the ass, to turn 
 
 her into the way. 
 
 '^t But the angel of the Lord stood in 
 a path of the \ineyards, a wall being on 
 this side, and a wall on that side. 
 
 25 And when the ass saw the angel of 
 the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, 
 and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall : 
 and lie smote her again. 
 
 '2G And the angel of the Lord went 
 further, and stood in a narrow place, where 
 
 into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee, " 
 Dent, xxiii. .'5. Up. Kidder. Balaam probably now expected, that 
 haviiifj {raine<l one point, he might j^ain another ; and that, as 
 he hail been suffered to go to 15alak, he might also be pemiitted 
 to curse his enemies. This supposition is supported by a passage 
 in Deuteronomy, which says, '• Clod would not hearken unto Ba- 
 laam." Why " hearken ?" It docs not appear from the face of 
 the stop,-, that Balaam had been pleading openly with Ood on 
 this subject ; it must relate then to some secret pleading. And 
 it is not unlikely, that in the midst of a train of ambitious 
 thoughts, in which the apostate Prophet might be indulging his 
 corrupt heart, the angel of (iod withstood him. Gilpin. 
 
 because he trc/it:'] That is, with a wrong disposition. In 
 
 the Aral)iek version there is a word, expressing this very dis- 
 position : " God was angry with him, because he went covelon.<th/," 
 or, witJ) a covetous inclination. Dr. KciinicoU. Our inward dis- 
 position is the life of our actions : according to that doth " the 
 God of spirits" judge us, while men censure according to our 
 uxt«rnal motions, lip. Hall. 
 
 2.''. — lite ass .sdw^ 2 Pet. ii. Ki; Jude 11. Which was more 
 than Balaam or his servants did ; God thinking fit to restrain 
 their sight. Dp. Kidder. 
 
 27. — nml he .'nimle the a.\s irilh a xlaff.'] If Balaam iiad done 
 justly, he would have spared the ass, and have corrected himself; 
 but the false Proijhet commits the fault, and the poor beast must 
 bear both the blame and the ])unishment. When we suffer, we 
 are ajit to curse, or at least to blame, the creatures of CJod : this 
 weather, that H(«)d, such a stomi, has blasted our fruits, deluged 
 our grounds, shipwrecked our merchandise, and undone us : 
 whereas these have no jwwer to hurt us, but such as we ourselves 
 twcasion by our sins. JCvery sense ol" evil therefore in or from 
 the creatures of (iod should work in us a sense of our dis- 
 obedience to t!ie Creator ; should increase in us a detestation of 
 the sins we have committed against Him ; should teach us, by 
 condemning ourselves, to acquit them ; which, as they are good 
 in themselves, would continue always good unto us, if we con- 
 tinueil true to ourselves, .ind faithful servants unto God. Bp. 
 Sanderson. 
 
 28. — the Lord opened the moulh of the a.fs, &c.] God caused 
 the ass miraculously to speak with the voice of man, to reprove 
 the fiK)li»hness of the Prophet, lip. Hall. A voice, proceeding 
 trom a dumb creature, w as made, upon this occasion, to teach a 
 lesson similar to that deduced, upon another, from the example 
 o» the same creature, " Ihe ox knoweth his owner, and the ass 
 his ma-ster's crib: but Isr.icl doth not know. My people doth not 
 consider." See Is. i. 3. Up. Home. The learned Bochart hath 
 collectetl several instances from the gravest heathen writers, who 
 trequently affirm that animals have spoken. The proper use of 
 cmug such authorities is, not to prove that those instances and 
 that ot Balaam are upon an equal footing, and equally true ; but 
 
 ■was no way to turn either to the right chIust 
 hand or to the left. 1452. 
 
 ^7 And when the ass saw the angel of 
 the Lord, she fell down under Balaam : 
 and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he 
 smote the ass with a staft". 
 
 '28 And the Lord opened the mouth of 
 the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What 
 have I done unto thee, that thou hast 
 smitten me these three times ? 
 
 29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Be- 
 cause thou hast mocked me : I would there 
 were a sword in mine hand, for now would t.^tnst 
 
 I kill thee. riddenvron 
 
 30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am jfor, 
 not I thine ass, t upon which thou hast "'•'""'"^« 
 ridden || ever since I U'as thine unto this &c." "'" ' 
 
 only to prove that the Gentiles believed such things to be true, 
 ami to lie within the power of their gods, and consequently could 
 not object to the truth of Scripture History oji this account. The 
 ass was enabled to utter such and such sounds, probably as par- 
 rots do, without understanding them : and say what you will of 
 the construction of the ass's mouth, of the formation of the tongue 
 and jaws being unPt for speaking, yet an adequate cause is as- 
 signed for this wonderful effect, for it is .said expressly, that "the 
 Lord opened the mouth of the ass ;" and no one, who believes a 
 CJod, can doubt of His having power to do this, and much more. 
 The miracle was by no means needless or superfluous : it was 
 very proper to convince Baliiam, that the mouth and tongue were 
 under God's direction ; and that the same Divine power, which 
 caused the dumb ass to speak contrary to its nature, could make 
 him in like manner utter blessings contrary to his inclination. 
 Bp. Newton. 
 
 The fact is as consonant to reason, as any other extraordinary 
 operation : for all miracles are alike, and equally demand our 
 assent, if properly attested. The giving of articulation to a brute 
 is no more to the Deity, than the making the blind see, or the 
 deaf hear. And as to the reputed baseness of the instrument, of 
 which (jod was jjleased to make use ; it amounts merely to this, 
 as the Apostle ot>serve9 on another occasion, "God hath chosen 
 the foolish things of the world to confound the wise," 1 Cor. i. 27. 
 There was therefore a fitness in the instrument used: for the 
 more vile the means, the fitter to confound the unrighteous Pro- 
 phet. Briftint. 
 
 29. And Balaam said nnto the a.i.s,'] It is thought strange that 
 Bakuim should express no surprise on this exti'aordinary occasion. 
 But perhaps he had been accustomed to prodijries in his en- 
 chantments : or perhaps, believing the Eastern doctrine of the 
 transmigration of human souls into the bodies of brutes, he miglit 
 think such a humanized brute not incapable of speaking : or per- 
 haps he might not regard, or attend to the wonder, through ex- 
 cess of rage and " madness," as tlie word is in .St. Peter : or perhaps, 
 which is the most probable of all, he might be greatly disturbed 
 and astonished, as Josephus affirms he was, and yet Moses in his 
 short history might omit this circumstance. Bp. Newton. 
 
 Objections to miracles, drawn from their difficulty, aie prepos- 
 terous, when applied to an Omnipotent Being ; and that Moses 
 shoidd not stop to tlescribe the surprise of Balaam, was as con- 
 sistent witli the gravity, as with the conciseness, of his history. 
 Dr. Gray. 
 
 Because tkuu heist mocked me .-] Exposed me to scorti and 
 
 laughter. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 SO. And the a.ts said unto Balaam, Am not I &c.] This does 
 not imply that the ass understood what Balaam said, and there- 
 upon retiu-ned this pertinent answer : but that the same power, 
 which made the ass speak at first, continued to form such an an., 
 swer, as might convince Balaam of his errcur. Bp. Patrick,
 
 2into Balaam. 
 
 CHAP. XXII, XXIII. 
 
 Balak's sacrifice. 
 
 .Ji^i^^l^ day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? 
 
 CHKiSr All •! XT 
 
 i4i52. And he said, Nay. 
 
 31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of 
 Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord 
 standing in the way, and his sword drawn 
 in his hand: and he bowed down his head, 
 
 \\ O'; , and II fell flat on his face. 
 
 self. 32 And the angel or the Lord said unto 
 
 him. Wherefore hast thou smitten thine 
 ass these three times ? behold, I went out 
 
 t^c^i'n ad- ^ *° withstand thee, because thy way is per- 
 
 versanj un- vBrsB beforc mc : 
 
 to thee. gg ^j^j j.j^g ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ tumcd 
 
 from me these three times: unless she had 
 turned from me, surely now also I had 
 slain thee, and saved her alive. 
 
 34 And Balaam said unto the angel of 
 the Lord, I have sinned ; for I knew not 
 that thou stoodest in the way against me : 
 
 t Heb. now therefore, if it t displease thee, I will 
 
 fte evil in . t T . 
 
 lUine eyes, get me back again. 
 
 35 And the angel of the Lord said un- 
 to Balaam, Go with the men : but only 
 the word that I shall speak unto thee, that 
 thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with 
 the princes of Balak, 
 
 36 ^ And when Balak heard that Balaam 
 was come, he went out to meet him unto 
 a city of Moab, which is in the border of 
 Arnon, which is in the utmost coast. 
 
 37 And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I 
 not earnestly send unto thee to call thee ? 
 
 "1, Then the Lord opeiied the eyes of Balaam^ He was not 
 blind before : but his eyes were lield, as tlje eyes of the men of 
 Sodom were, who could not see Lot's door, tliough tliey found 
 their way to their own homes. Bp. Patriclc. 
 
 S2. — Wherefore hast thou smillen thine ass these three times ?^ 
 The angel of God takes notice of the cruelty of Balaam to his 
 beast : his first words to the unmerciful Prophet are an expostu- 
 lation for this wrong. We little think it, but God shall call us to 
 an account for the mikind and cruel usage of His poor mute crea- 
 tures. He hath made us lords, not tyrants; owners, not tormen- 
 tors : He that hath given us leave to kill them for our use, hatli 
 not given us leave to abuse them at our pleasure. Bp. Hall. 
 
 thi/ K'ay is perverse before me ;] Thy intentions and pur- 
 poses are not sincere and honest before me ; for thou designest to 
 serve Balak, and so to gain thy covetous and ambitious ends, ra- 
 ther than to serve me. /);•. JVells. 
 
 •j^. — / have sinited ;'\ I have done ill in smiting my beast 
 causelesly. Bp. Hall. He makes no confession of his covetous- 
 ness, which was the faulty principle that set him forward. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 40. — sent to Balaam,'^ To feast upon the oxen and sheep 
 which he had slain. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 41. — the high places of' Baal,'] The high places set apart for 
 the worship of their idol or false god, Baal. Thither Balak brings 
 Balamn, as to a place most advantageous for his purpose, both as 
 it was a place dedicated to Baal, and for its height, giving him a 
 prospect of the c;;mp of Israel. Bp. Kidder. The w ord Baal 
 signifies Lord, and was the name of several gods, both male and 
 female. The god of the Moabites was Chemosh ; but here \ery 
 ))robably is called by the common name of B;ial. And as all na- 
 tions worshipjied then- gods upon high places, so this god of Moab, 
 
 wherefore earnest thou not unto me ? am ^^°" 
 I not able indeed to promote thee to ho- hsv. 
 nour ? 
 
 38 And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I 
 am come unto thee : have I now any power 
 at all to say any thing? the word that God 
 putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak. 
 
 39 And Balaam went with Balak, and 
 they came unto II Kirjath-huzoth. II O''- 
 
 40 And Balak offered oxen and sheep, luJeuf 
 and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that 
 were with him. 
 
 41 And it came to pass on the morrow, 
 that Balak took Balaam, and brought him 
 up into the high places of Baal, that 
 thence he might see the utmost pari of 
 the people. 
 
 CHAP. XXIIL 
 
 1, 13, 28 Balak's sacrijice. 7, 18 Balaam's parable. 
 
 AND Balaam said unto Balak, Build 
 me here seven altars, and prepare me 
 here seven oxen and seven rams. 
 
 2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken ; 
 and Balak and Balaam offered on every al- 
 tar a bullock and a ram. 
 
 3 And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand 
 by thy burnt offering, and I will go : per- 
 adventure the Lord will come to meet 
 me : and whatsoever he sheweth me I 
 will tell thee. And II he went to an high II o^- 
 
 ° he went jo- 
 
 litari/. 
 
 place. 
 
 having more places of worship tlian one, Balak carried Balaam to 
 them all, that from thence he might take the most advantageous 
 prospect of the Israelites. These high ])laces were full of trees 
 and shady groves, which made them commodious both for the 
 solemn thoughts and prayers of such as were devout ; and for the 
 filthy inclinations and abominable practices of the wicked. Bp. 
 Patrick, Stackhouse. 
 
 Chap. XXI II. ver. 1. — Build me here .leven atlars,'] Balaam 
 appoints this for the worship of the tr\ie God, ver. 4. But he was 
 blamable, because he would have the altars erected in the high 
 places of Baal. Such were they, who " feared the Lord,"' and yet 
 had their sacrifices in the " houses of the high places:" they are 
 said to " fear the Lord, and serve their own gods," i2 Kings 
 xvii. 32, 33. Besides this, though the number of sacrifices were 
 not reprovable, yet the multiplying of altars has a bad name in 
 Scripture. Bp. Kidder. The number " seven" was much ob- 
 served among the Hebrews, by God's order, Lev. iv. (i; Josh, 
 vi. 4 ; but no more than one altar at a time Avas b\iilt by the Pa- 
 triarchs, when the}' otfered sacrifices; nor was more than one 
 allowed by Moses. So that in this erection of seven altars there 
 was probably somctliing of hcalhen superstition. Bp. Patrick, 
 Stackhouse. 
 
 seven oxen and seven rams.'] This number was used by 
 
 pious persons, both in these days. Job xlii. 8, and in aftertimes, 
 1 Cliron. XV. 26". Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. — Balak and Balaam offered See.] B;dak presented the 
 sacrifices to be offered for hin'i and for his people ; and Balaam 
 perfoi-med the office of a priest, and offered them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — And he ncnl lo an high place.] We translate it in the_ 
 margin, " he went solitiiry." " Probably it is to be understootl of
 
 Balaam's 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 parcthle. 
 
 4 And God met Balaam : and he said 
 ''"fi'.*^ unto him, I have prepared seven altars, 
 
 and 1 iiuvc ortercil upon cvcrij altar a bul- 
 lock and a ram. 
 
 5 And the Loan put a word in Balaam's 
 mouth, and said, Koturn unto Balak, and 
 thus thou shalt spt-ak. 
 
 6 And he retiuneil unto him, and, lo, 
 he stood bv his burnt sacrifice, he, and all 
 the princes of Moab. 
 
 7 And he took up his parable, and said, 
 Balak the king of Moab hath brought me 
 from Aram, out ol the mountains of the 
 
 some part of the high place, wlicre he might I)e solitary ; for in- 
 stance, the grove, which high places selilom wanted. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 The sacrifice being over, he retired alone to a solitude sacred to 
 these occasions, there to wait tlie Divine inspiration or answer, 
 for which the foregoing rites were the prej)aration. Bp. Butler. 
 
 7. — he took up hi.i parable,'] He lift up his voice, and deliver- 
 ed in a loud and audible manner this his prophetical speech, be- 
 ing of weighty conceni, atul expressed in sublime and majestick 
 words, Job xxvii. 1 ; xxix. 1. Dr. li'elh. There are different sig- 
 nifications of the word />ara6le, both in the Old and in the New 
 Testament. 1. It is sometimes use<l for elevated and instructive 
 poctni'. Balaam is said to take up his parable, when he uttered 
 his sublime poems and predictions relating to Fsrael. David says, 
 " I will incline mine ear to a parable," which is equivalent to 
 speaking o( wisdom, and musnig of understanding, Ps. xlix. 3, 4. 
 In Ps. Ixxviii. we find Uie words, " I will o])en my mouth in a 
 parable ;" and the author then proceeds to relate historical, but 
 very useful, facts. 2. It signifies a proverbial saying: thus 
 Solomon is saiil to ha\e spoken three thousand pro\erbs, or para- 
 Ues, as the (Jreek word is, 1 Kings iv. 3'i. In Ecclesiasticus the 
 word is translated " a wise sentence," cha)). xx. 20. And in Luke 
 iv. 23, the word rendere<l " proverb," is literally parable. 3. It oc- 
 curs in the Gospels for a short comp^u-ison or similitude; see Luke 
 V. :i6; vi. 39 ; Matt. xiii. 3\, 34. Lastly, the word parable occurs 
 for a continued relation of feigned but possible facts ; bearing a 
 general correspondence to the circumstances of those, for whose 
 instruction it was designed, or to the real state of things which it 
 was intended to illustrate. Such are our Lord's parables. Abp. 
 Xewcome. 
 
 and .said, &c.] The predictions of Balaam are wonderful, 
 
 whether we consider the matter or the style ; as if the same Di- 
 vine .Spirit, that inspired his thought>, had also raised his lan- 
 guage. They are indeed, as the word " parable ' implies, a weighty 
 and -solemn speech, delivered in figurative and majestick language. 
 We cannot peruse them without being struck with the beauty of 
 them, and perceiving their uncommon force and energy, though 
 we read them only in a translation. Bp. Kenton. 
 
 t). For from llie top of Ike rocks I sec him, &c.] I am set upon 
 this high rock and mountain, on purpose that, upon the sight of 
 Israel, I might curse him : I do indeed behold him, but I have no 
 power to curse. Lo, this people shall be an entire nation within 
 themselves ; and shall be a pecidiar people, severed and set apart 
 to God, fron> all other nations upon earth. Bp. Hall. 
 
 ; lo, the people shall dncll alone, &c.] How could Balaam, 
 
 on a distant view only of a people, whom he had never seen or 
 known before, have discovered the genius and manners, not only 
 of the people then living, but of their posterity to the latest gene- 
 retions ? What renders it the more extraordinary is, the singu- 
 larity .,f the character, that they should differ from all the people 
 in the world, and should dwell by themselves among the nations, 
 without mixing and incorporating with any. The time too, when 
 this was affirme<l, increases the wonder ; it being before the peo- 
 ple were well known in the world, before their religion and 
 government were esublished, and even before they had obtained 
 
 east, sdi/ing, Come, curse me Jacob, and ,.^,"1°!%.^ 
 _ . cry Israel. mss. 
 
 S How shall I curse, whom (iod hath 
 not cursed ? or how shall I defy, xv/i07n the 
 Loud hath not defied y 
 
 y For from the top of the rocks 1 see 
 him, and from the hills I behold him : lo, 
 the people shall dwell alone, and shall not 
 be reckoned aniong the nations. 
 
 10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, 
 and the number of the foiuth pari of Is- 
 rael? Let tme die the death of the right- tHeb. 
 eous, and let my last end be like his ! Zl uje.' °'' 
 
 a settlement any wliere. But yet that the character was fully ve- 
 rified in the event, not only all history testifies, but we have even 
 ocular demonstration at this day. The Jews in their religion and 
 laws, their rites and ceremonies, their manners and customs, were 
 so totally different from all other nations, that they had little in- 
 tercourse or communion with them. There was a general inter- 
 community among the gods of Paganism ; but no such tiling was 
 allowed between the God of Israel, and the gods of the nations. 
 There was to be no fellowship between God and Belial, though 
 there might be between Beli;d and Dagon. And hence the Jews 
 were branded for their inhumanity and unsociableness ; and they 
 as generally hated, as they were hated by the rest of mankind. 
 Other nations, the conquerors and the conquered, have often 
 associated and united as one body under the same laws : but the 
 Jews in their captivities have commonly been more bigoted to 
 their own religion, and more tenacious of their own rites and cus- 
 toms, than at other times. And even now, while they are dis- 
 persed among all nations, they yet live distinct and separate from 
 all ; trading only with others, but eating, marrying, and convers- 
 ing, chiefly among themselves. Bp. New/on. 
 
 10. — the dust of Jacob,'] The posterity of Jacob, which are, 
 and shall continue to be, multiplied, as the dust of the earth. 
 Dr. f Veils. Sec God's promise to Abraham, Gen. xiii. 16", repeated 
 to Jacob, chap, xxviii. 14. 
 
 Let me die the death of the y-ighteous,"] Such a death as 
 
 those die, who are in covenant with God, and obey His precepts. 
 Bp. Kidder. By the righteous he means Israel; who were now 
 a people free from idolatry, the great crime of those days. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 " Let me die in a mature old age, after a life of healtli and 
 peace, with all my posterity flourishing about me; as was the lot 
 of the righteous observers of the law !" This vain wish, Moses, 
 I suppose, recorded, that the subsequent account of his immature 
 death in battle, chap. xxxi. 8, might make the stronger impression 
 on the serious reader, to warn him against the impiety and folly of 
 expecting the reward of virtue for a life spent in the gratification 
 of every corrupt appetite. Bp. Warburton. 
 
 When Balaam poured forth this passionate wish, he had in all 
 probability some forebodings of his own coming to an mitimely 
 end, as he really did afterwards, being slain with the five kings of 
 Midian by the sword of Israel. Bp. Newton. 
 
 These words may be regarded as a prophecy, foretelling the 
 happy state of future Israel. Balak, alarmed at the success of the 
 Israelites, had sent to Balaam to curse them. A present danger 
 struck him with turrour ; a present deliverance was the object of 
 all his thoughts : but Baliuim's answer is, " How shall I curse, 
 whom God hath not cursed ?" And then in few words he pro- 
 ceeds to state the midtitudes and the growing prosperity of the 
 people, instead of their being cut off and driven out : see ver. 
 8 — 10. This is the sum of the blessing which he pronounced. 
 And that it was a blessing directly contrary to what was desired, 
 a curse of immediate discomfiture, the answer of Balak declares. 
 All that Balaam uttered afterwards was rather an amplification 
 of this his first and immediate blessing ; wliich was designed to 
 show that Israel should not be destroyed, but should be of long
 
 Salaam 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 blesseth Israel. 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ^"'^ Balak said unto Balaam, "What 
 1452. hast thou done unto me ? I took thee to 
 curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast 
 blessed them altogether. 
 
 12 And he answered and said, Must I 
 not take heed to speak that which the 
 Lord hath put in my mouth ? 
 
 13 And Balak said unto him, Come, I 
 pray thee, with me unto another place, 
 from whence thou mayest see them : thou 
 shalt see but the utnrost part of them, and 
 shalt not see them all : and curse me them 
 from thence. 
 
 14 ^ And he brought him into the field 
 II Or. of Zophim, to the top of llPisgah, and built 
 
 seven altars, and offered a bullock and a 
 ram on every altar. 
 
 15 And he said unto Balak, Stand here 
 by thy burnt offering, while I meet the 
 LORD yonder. 
 
 » Chap. 32. 16 And the Lord met Balaam, and ' put 
 a word in his mouth, and said, Go again 
 unto Balak, and say thus. 
 
 tke hiU. 
 
 35. 
 
 conrinuance, and ultimately happy in the blessings of God. " Let 
 me die the death of the righteous," or, as the righteous ones die, 
 full of days ; long life being promised to those who feared God. 
 Bp. Goodenough. 
 
 13. — Cmne, I pray thee, with me unto another place, 2 It was 
 the opinion of the Gentiles, that if one victim proved faultj', or 
 portended evil, another victim might have a more propitious as- 
 pect and be accepted. Balaam seems here to have complied with 
 some superstitious notions of this kind ; and to gratify Balak, and 
 his own ambitious views, he repeated the same experiment of 
 sacrificing at different places, a second time, and a third time, and 
 still with the same disappointment. Dr. Jortin. 
 
 shah not see than all .-J He imagined perhaps that Balaam 
 
 was frightened at the sight of their multitude, and therefore durst 
 not meddle with them. lij). Patrick. 
 
 14. — Piigah,! A high mountain, commanding an extensive 
 view, even of all the parts of Canaan, Deut. iii. 27 ; xxxiv. 1, 2. 
 
 19- God is not a man, &c.] God will make good His promises, 
 and particularly that of bringing this people into the promised 
 land ; for He is not like a man, who for want of veracity or power 
 fails in the performance of his promise. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 21. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, &c.] That is, they were 
 a people of virtue and piety, so far as not to have drawn down by 
 their iniquity that curse, which Balaam was soliciting leave to 
 pronounce upon them. Bp. Butler. The words, which we trans- 
 late here " iniquity" and " perverseness," signify frequently in 
 Scripture the highest wickedness, namely idolatry. So that the 
 reason which Balaam gives, why God had blessed and he could 
 not curse them, is, because they were free from idolatry : unto 
 which unless they could be seduced, there was no hope that God 
 would deliver them into the power of their enemies. For which 
 reason Balaam afterwards counselled Balak to entic£ them to this 
 sin, as the only way to move God's anger against them. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. It is weakly inferred from these words, that God sees no 
 sin in His own people ; and it is in itself a great untruth. 
 That He hath not knowledge of their sins, no man can affirm : 
 nor ought any man to say, that He approves, or will not punish 
 them. For, 1st, God hath declared otherwise. He said unto 
 Moses, " I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffhecked 
 people," Ex. xxxii. 9; Deut. ix. 13, 14. And by the Prophet He 
 jsaid unto the whole family of Israel, whom He brought out of 
 Egypt, " You only have I known of all the families of the earth : 
 therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities," Amos iii si. 
 Vol. J. 
 
 17 And when he came to him, behold, , Before 
 he stood by his burnt offering, and the '^"«2.*'^ 
 princes of Moab with him. And Balak 
 
 said unto him. What hath the Lord 
 spoken ? 
 
 18 And he took up his parable, and 
 said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken 
 unto me, thou son of Zippor : 
 
 19 God is not a man, that he should lie ; 
 neither the son of man, that he should re- 
 pent : hath he said, and shall he not do it? 
 or hath he spoken, and shall he not make 
 it good ? 
 
 20 Behold, I have received command- 
 ment to bless : and he hath blessed ; and I 
 cannot reverse it. 
 
 21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Ja- 
 cob, neither hath he seen perverseness in 
 Israel : the Lord his God is with him, and 
 the shout of a king is among them. 
 
 22 ^ God brought them out of Egypt ; ' chap- 24. 
 he hath as it were the strength of an uni- *' 
 corn. 
 
 2dly, This cannot be the sense of these words ; for then Balaam 
 would in vain have given counsel to draw the Israelites into sin, 
 that they might be destroyed ; of which see an account, chap, xxv, 
 and compare chap. xxxi. 1(). The true sense of these words is, Tliat 
 God would not give up the Israelites to destruction for their sins, 
 which were not like the sins of the neighbouring countries, that 
 were now ready to be destroyed for them. " He hath not beheld," 
 may be rendered in the present tense. He doth not behold ; and, 
 " Neither hath He seen," Neither doth He see. The word, wlilch we 
 render " iniquity," is observed to signify an idol in other places ; see 
 1 Sara. XV. 23. Is. Ixvi. 3. The ancients understood it of idolatry : 
 and our Church understands this place in the same sense, as ap- 
 pears from the homily against the peril of Idolatry ; " There was 
 no idol in Jacob, nor was there any image seen in Israel ; and the 
 Lord God was with the people." Bp. Kidder. 
 
 the Lord his God is rrith him, &c.] The meaning of the 
 
 whole verse is briefly this: Since they do not worship idols, but 
 cleave to the Lord their God, and ser\'e Him alone. He is present 
 with tlitni, not only to preserve them from their enemies, but, as 
 a king, to crown them with glorious victories. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 the shout of a king^ He alludes to die shouts matle, when 
 
 a king or great captain returns victorious with the spoils of his 
 vanquished enemies. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 22. — he hath as it trerc tke strength of an unicorn.'^ He, that 
 is, Israel, hath the strengtli, or rather the height, of an unicorn. 
 It is uncertain what is the animal, here called reem, and by us 
 translated unicorn The learned Bochart thinks it most probable 
 that it is a kind of goat, called the gazelle, or antelope : which 
 is a tall animal, sometitiies as high as a stag, with long and sharp 
 horns. So that Balaam foretells the Israelites should be as emi- 
 nent among other people, as the reem was among otiier kinds of 
 goats. This animal's property of carrying its head verj- high, and 
 erecting its ears, may be considered as an excellent emblem of the 
 Israelites, released from oppression, and raised by God to a great 
 height of glory. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 "rhe name raam, which I apprehend, with the learned Bochart 
 and others, to denote the same kind of animal as rim, or rean, 
 in Job xxxix. 9, 10, seems to signify tlie wild bull, so called from 
 liis height and size in comparison with the tame. That it cannot 
 mean an unicorn, if indeed there ever existed such an animal as 
 that is described to be, is evident from Deut. xxxiii. 17, where the 
 two tribes of Ephraim and M;inassch are compared to the horns of 
 an unicorn. Parkhurst. The name unioom is derived to us frota 
 
 Rr
 
 Balak bringeth Balaam to the top ofPeor. NUMBERS. Balaam prnphesielh the happiness of Israel. 
 
 BrCon 
 CHKIST 
 
 I Or, in. 
 
 '23 Surely there is no 
 jjainst Jacob, neither is 
 
 enchantment 11 a- 
 
 . „ , ._ there any divnia- 
 
 tion against Israel : according to this time 
 it sliall be said of Jacob and of Israel, 
 What hath God wrougiit I 
 
 24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a 
 great lion, and lift up himself as a young 
 lion : he shall not lie down until he eat q) 
 the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. 
 
 '25 % And Balak said unto Balaam, Nei- 
 ther curse them at all, nor bless them at 
 all. 
 
 26 But Balaam answered and said unto 
 Balak, Told not I thee, saying. All that the 
 Lord speaketh, that I must do ? 
 
 27 ^ And Balak said unto Balaam, 
 Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto 
 another place ; peradventure it will please 
 God that thou mayest curse me them from 
 thence. 
 
 28 And Balak brought Balaam unto the 
 top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon. 
 
 29 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build 
 me here seven altars, and prepare me here 
 seven bullocks and seven rams. 
 
 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, 
 and offered a bullock and a ram on every 
 altar. 
 
 the Greek translatore, who, in all the passages of Scripture, in 
 which the word occurs, except one, render it monoccros, or the 
 uniconi : and who were very likely to know the animal descrilied 
 by the sacred writers. It is probable that they meant by it tlie 
 rhinoceros, which has sometimes only one horn, and sometimes 
 two, nearly equal in strength, power, magnitude, &c. The sin- 
 gle hometl rhinoceros will suit some passages in Scripture ; and 
 the doubled honied, other j)ass;iges. Script, illu.sl. Reem is the 
 Arabick name of the rhinoceros. The animal is reported by the 
 Arabs to have but one horn till a certain age, when a second ap- 
 pears ; and some affirm, that a third appears when the animal 
 grows old. Jackton's Account of Morocco. 
 
 '23. Surely there i.i no enchant mcnl Ofrniial Jncoh, fee] In vain 
 do ye carry me from place to place, that I might by my incanta- 
 tions procure some mischief to Israel ; for certainly this" people is 
 so strong and safe in God's protection, that no enchantment, or anv 
 other evil art, can prevail against them. Bp. Hall. Or, as in the 
 margin, There is no enchantment in .lacob, or among them : thev 
 had no need of diviners and m^icians, being sufficiently instruct- 
 ed by Divine revelations. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 according to tki.i time it .shall he .said &c.] The time is now 
 
 at hand, when Ciod shall do great things for Israel. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 2*. Behold, the people shall ri.se up as u great lion, &C.3 And to 
 the same purpose, in the following chapter, ver. 8, 9. These 
 passages are a manifest prophecy of the victories which the Israel- 
 ites should gain over their enemies, and particularly the C'anaan- 
 ites ; and of tlieir secure possession and cjuiet enjoyment of the 
 land afterwards, particularly in the reigns of David and Solomon. 
 It IS remarkable that God hath here put into the mouth of Balaa 
 much the same tilings which Jacob had before predicted of Juda.. 
 C.en. xhx. i). Such is the analogy- and harmony between the pro- 
 phecies ol Scripture. Bp. Kenton. 
 
 ■ "^'~i^ '"" '"'"'^ ""'^ ""'" *'"«'/'«'" place;'] He fancies, accord- 
 ing to the superstition of those days, that there might be some- 
 thing unlucky m the place, to make his prayers unsuccessful. 
 r^LZ-\ 7."^"' "nagined, in afterages, that some gods were 
 powerful in the hills, who could do nothing in the plains, 1 Kings 
 
 ;im 
 ah, 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1452. 
 
 liness 
 5 He 
 
 ' Chap. 2S. 
 3, 15. 
 t Heb. 
 to the meet- 
 ing of en- 
 cliantmcnts. 
 
 " Oiap. 2J. 
 7, 18. 
 
 t Heb. 
 uiAu lind his 
 eyes shut, 
 but now 
 open. 
 
 1 Balaam, leaving divinaliotts, prophesiclh the happi 
 of Israel. \0 Bttlak in anger di.smisseth him. 15 — 
 prophesieth of the Star of Jacob, and the destruction of 
 some nations. 
 
 AND when Balaam saw that it pleased 
 the Lord to bless Israel, he went 
 not, as at * other times, t to seek for en- 
 chantments, but he set his face toward the 
 wilderness. 
 
 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he 
 saw Israel abiding in his tents according to 
 their tribes ; and the spirit of God came 
 upon him. 
 
 3 ^ And he took up his parable, and 
 said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, 
 and the man t whose eyes are open hath 
 said : 
 
 4 He hath said, which heard the words 
 of God, which saw the vision of the Al- 
 mighty, falling into a trance, but having his 
 eyes open : 
 
 5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, 
 and thy tabernacles, O Israel ! 
 
 6 As the valleys are they spread forth, 
 as gardens by the river's side, as the 
 trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath 
 
 XX. 23, 28 ; so it seems there was a conceit at this time in those 
 countries, that some gods delighted more in one hill than they did 
 iri another. Such a conceit remains to tliis day in the Romish 
 Church, where the Lady and the Rood of one place are thought 
 liir more powerful, and are therefore more frequented, than those 
 of another. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 '28. — Peor,] The most famous high place in the country of 
 Moab, where B;ial had a temple and was worshipped ; and thence 
 called Baal-peor. By " Beth-peor," Deut. xxxiv. 6, which in En- 
 glish is the house (f Peor, in the land of Moab, is probably meant 
 the temple of Baal, which stood upon the mountain. 
 
 Jeshimon.'] That is, the desert or wilderness. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXn'. ver. 1. — to seek for enchantments,] This im- 
 jilies, that he had hitherto used some wicked arts to effect his 
 ends. But being not able to succeed, he gave himself now 
 wholly up to the conduct of God's Holy .Spirit, and did not so 
 much as offer to seek for enchantments. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — whose ei/es arc open] Who, when he was awake, received 
 revelations from God, who commonly appeared to men in a 
 dream. Bp. Patrick. In the original, " who had his eyes shut, 
 but now open ;" that is, who is now enlightened, though he were 
 once stupid and blind. See ver. 1, and chap. xxii. Si. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 'i. — falling into a trance, but having his eyes open :] Falling 
 into a trance, so that all his outward senses were .shut up ; yet the 
 eyes of his mind were opened, to behold the visions of God. Bp. 
 Hall. Ill the original there is no mention of a trance: the pas- 
 sage should be tendered. Jailing, and liis eyes were opcwd ; al- 
 luding to what happened in the way to Balaam's falling with his 
 falling ass, and then having his eyes opened, chap. xxii. 27. Bp. 
 Newton. 
 
 6. As the vallei^s are tlieij spread forth. Sec] The tents of Jacob 
 he compares to things very goodly : such are the far-extended 
 valleys, gardens well watered, trees bearing spices of sweet smell, 
 lofty and tall cedars planted by the waters. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 lign aloes] A very odoriferous tree, growing in India
 
 Balak in anger dismisseth Balaam. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. Balaam prophesieth of the Star of Jacob. 
 
 ' e*ap. 2S. 
 22. 
 
 chrYst pJ^"t6*^» '^^^ 3" cedar trees beside the wa- 
 1452. ters. 
 
 7 He shall pour the water out of his 
 buckets, and his seed shall be in many 
 waters, and his king shall be higher 
 than Agag, and his kingdom shall be 
 exalted. 
 
 8 " God brought him forth out of E- 
 gj'pt; he hath as it were the strength of 
 an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his 
 enemies, and shall break their bones, and 
 pierce them through with his arrows. 
 
 « Gen. 49. 9 '' He couched, he lay down as a lion, 
 and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? 
 Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed 
 is he that curseth thee. 
 
 10 ^ And Balak's anger was kindled 
 against Balaam, and he smote his hands 
 together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I 
 called thee to curse mine enemies, and, 
 behold, thou hast altogether blessed them 
 these three times. 
 
 11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: 
 I thought to promote thee unto great ho- 
 nour; but, lo, the LoKD hath kept thee 
 back from honour. 
 
 12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake 
 
 and Arabia. It is often joined with myrrh in the holy Scripture, 
 and was burned as a perfume, and called in Greek by a name, 
 which corresponds with the " lign" or " wood-aloes," here spoken 
 of. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 which the Lord liatk platited,~\ Which grew naturally of 
 
 themselves, without any labour, care, or art of man. Bp. Patrick. 
 It may refer to some traditional notion of the garden of Eden, 
 which the Lord planted. Expos. Ind. 
 
 as cedar trees'^ The cedar was one of the pleasantest 
 
 trees in Eastern countries, particularly for its fragrancy : the 
 Greeks being accustomed to bum the wood of it on their altars. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. He slutll poitr the water &C.3 He shall have a plentiful and 
 rich progeny; his issue shall spread abroad over fruitful regions; 
 and the kings, that sh.nll come of his loins, shall be more mighty 
 than the most flourishing kings of the Amalekites. Bp. Hall. 
 The increase of posterity is in the Scripture represented by the 
 flowing out of waters, Is. xlviii. 1; Prov. v. 15 — 18. And"raany 
 waters" in the .Scripture phrase are put for many people, Rev. 
 xvii. 15; Ps. cxliv. "; Jer. xlvii. 2. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 hi<i king shall be higher than Agag,'] Either Agag was 
 
 prophesied of by name particularh', as Cyrus and Josiah were se- 
 veral years before they were bom; or Agag was the general name 
 of the kings of Amalek, as Pharaoh was of the kings of Egj'pt, 
 and Abimelech of the kings of the Philistines. Amalek was at 
 this time a great and flourishing kingdom ; in ver. 20, it is styled 
 " the first of the nations;" and therefore for the king of Israel to 
 be exalted above the king of .Vnialek was a great exaltation. But 
 it was accomplished by Saul, 1 .Sam. xv. 7, 8. The first king of 
 Israel subdued Agag the king of the Amalekites, so that it might 
 truly and properly be s.iid, " his king shall be higher than Agag, 
 and his kingdom shall be exalted," as it afterwards was greatly by 
 David and .Solomon. Bp. Neirliiii. The .lews themselves think this 
 prophecy hath its full completion in the Messiah. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 9- — "'ho shall .stir him up?] Lions do not betake themselves 
 to remote or secret places, when tliev go to sleep: but lie down 
 any where, as if they understood, that, let them sleep where 
 
 I not also to thy messengers which thou c^rTIt 
 sentest unto me, saying, 1452. 
 
 13 If Balak would give me his house full 
 of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the 
 commandment of the Lord, to do either 
 good or bad of mine ovm mind; but what 
 the Lord saith, that will I speak? 
 
 14 And now, behold, I go unto my peo- 
 ple: come therefore, and I will advertise 
 thee what tin's people shall do to thy peo- 
 ple in the latter days. 
 
 15 ^ And he took up his parable, and 
 said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, 
 and the man whose eyes are open hath 
 said : 
 
 16 He hath said, which heard the words 
 of God, and knew the knowledge of the 
 most High, "ichich saw the vision of the 
 Almighty, falling into a trance, but having 
 his eyes open : 
 
 17 I shall see him, but not now : I shall 
 behold him, but not nigh : there shall 
 come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre 
 shall rise out of Israel, and shall li smite I' ^'^ 
 the corners of Moab, and destroy all the through the 
 children of Sheth. '3™ "-^ 
 
 18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir 
 
 they pleased, no one durst disturb them. This comparison sig- 
 nifies that the Israelites should have such an absolute and secure 
 possession of the land of Canaan, that none should be bold enough 
 to assault or give them any disquiet. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. — in the latter days."] In time to come, be it more or less 
 remote. Bp. Newton. 
 
 17. I shall see him, but not notv: I shall behold him, &c.] Ra- 
 ther, I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: the 
 future tense in Hebrew being often used for the present. He 
 saw with the eyes of prophecy; and Prophets are emphatically 
 called .■seers. Bp. Newton. 
 
 there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre &C.T 
 
 The " star" and " sceptre" are probably metaphors borrowed 
 from the ancient hieroglyphicks, which much influenced the 
 language of the East: and they evidently denote some eminent 
 and illustrious king or ruler, particularized in the following 
 words. Bp. Newton. 
 
 and shall smile the comers of Moab,'] Or the princes of 
 
 Moab, according to other versions: this was executed by David, 
 when he destroyed two thirds of the people, and saved one third 
 alive: and " so the Moabites became David's servants, and brought 
 gifts," 2 Sam. viii. 2. Bp. Newton. 
 
 and destroy all the children of Sheth."] It Ls common in 
 
 the style of the Hebrews, and especially in the poctick parts of 
 Scripture, and we may observe it particularly in these prophecies 
 of Balaam, that the same thing in effect is repeated in other words, 
 and the latter member of each period is explanatory of the fomier; 
 as in the passage before us: "I shall see him, but not now ; I shall 
 behold him, but not nigh:" and then again, " there shall come a 
 Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel :" and again 
 afterwards, " .\nd Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a 
 possession for his enemies." There is great reason therefore to 
 think, that the same manner of speaking was continued here, and 
 consequently that " Sheth" must be the name of some eminent 
 person or place among the Moabites. Bp. Ne?vlon. 
 
 18. And Edom shall be a possession,] This was also ftilfilled 
 by David, 2 Sam. viii. H, who in two of his Psalms hath men- 
 
 Rr2
 
 Balaam prophesicth 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 of the destruction 
 
 B«fore also sliall be a possession for his enemies; 
 ^"fy!*"" and Israel shall do valiantly. 
 I Or, ly Out of Jacob sliall come he that shall 
 
 W/Z'L have dominion, and shall destroy him that 
 thatKorrM rcniainetli of the city. 
 VJ^"" '" 20 H And when he looked on Amalek, 
 Ei<iLi7.a j^g ^ooi^ up his parable, and said, Amalek 
 IhUrb. was II the first ot the nations; but his latter 
 "'"""''- end II shall be that he jjerish for ever. 
 
 tinned together his conquest of Moab and Edom, as they are also 
 joined tojrether in this proi)hecy, Ps. Ix. 8; cviii. 9- Jip- Navton. 
 
 Scir also xliiill be a imtasion fur his fwc-WHCv;] That is, 
 
 for the Israelites. " Seir" is the name of the mountains of Edom; 
 BO that even their niouiitains and liistnesses could nol defend the 
 Idumeans from D.ivid and liis captains. B/i. Neivton. 
 
 and Israel shall do vaHaiilli/.'] As they did particukrly 
 
 under the conimand of David, several of whose victories are re- 
 corded in 2 Sam. viii, together with his conquest of Moab and 
 Edom. Bp. Siwlon. _ - 
 
 1 1). Out of Jaeoh shall come he thai shall have dominion, and 
 thail deslrau him thai remaiiuih of the citi/.'} Not only defeat them 
 in the field, hut destroy them even in their strongest cities; or 
 perhaps some particular city was intended, as we may infer from 
 Vs. Ix. •); cviii. 10, " Who will bring me into the strong city? 
 who will lead me into Edom .>" And we read particularly that 
 Joab, David's general, " liad smitten every male in Edom," 1 
 Kings xi. 15, 10'. 
 
 Thus this proi)hecy was exactly fulfilled in the person and ac- 
 tions of David : but most Jewish as well as Christian writers ap- 
 ply it, primarily perhaps to David, but ultimately to the Messiah, 
 as the jK-rson chiefly intended, in whom it was to receive its full 
 wid entire completion. Onkelos, the mo.st ancient and valuable 
 of the Chaldce paraplirasLs, interprets it of the Messiah: " When 
 a jirince, says he, shall arise of the house of Jacob, and Christ 
 thall be anointed of the house of Israel, He shall both slay the 
 princes of Moab, and rule over all the sons of men;" and with 
 Kim agree the other Targums or parajihrases. Maimonides, one 
 of the most learned and famous of the Jewish doctors, under- 
 stands it partly of David, and partly of the Messiah; and with 
 him agree otlier rabbies, cited by the criticks and commentators to 
 this purpose. It appears to have been generally understood by 
 the Jews as a prophecy of the Messiah, because the false Christ, 
 who appeared in the reign of the Roman emjicrour Adrian, as- 
 sumed the title of Barchoehebas, or the son of the star, in allusion 
 to this prophecy, and in order to have it believed that he was the 
 star whom Balaam had seen afar off. The Christian Fathers are 
 unanimous in applying this prophecy to our Saviour, and to the 
 ►Uir which appcareil at His nativity. Origen in particular saith, 
 that in the law there are many typical and enigmatical references 
 to the Messi;di: but he pro<luces this as one of the plainest and 
 clearest of prophecies. And both Origen and I'.usebius affirm, 
 that it was in consequence of Balaam's proj)hecies, which were 
 known and believed in the East, that the Magi, upon the appear- 
 ance of a new star, came to Jerusaleu) to worshi]) Him who was 
 bom King of the Jews. The stream of mo<lcrn divines and com- 
 mentators runs the same way: that is, they apply the prophecy 
 j)rincipally to our Saviour, and by Moab and Edom understand 
 the enemies and persecutors of the Church. In favour of this 
 opinion it must be acknowledged, that many prophecies of Scrip- 
 ture have a double meaning, literal and mystical; respect two 
 €\ents; and receive a twofold completion. David too was in 
 sevcnd things a type and figure of the Messiah. If by " destroy- 
 mg all tlie children of Sheth" be meant " ruling over all mankind," 
 this was never fulfilled in David. A star did really appear at our 
 Saviour's nativity; and in Scripture He is styled "the day stai," 
 2 Pet. I. 19; " the momuig stir," Rev. ii. 28 ; "the bright and morn- 
 ing star Rev. xxii. Hi; perhaps in allusion to this very prophecy. 
 I pon tlie whole, it is probable that tlie Messi.ih was remotely in- 
 tended; but Uut the primary and hteral meaning of the prophecy 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 145V!. 
 
 t Ilcb. 
 Kain. 
 H Or, 
 
 21 And he looked on the Kcnite-s, and 
 took up his parable, and said. Strong is thy 
 dwellingplace, and thou piittest thy nest 
 iu a rock. 
 
 22 Nevertheless t the Kenite shall be 
 wasted, II until Assliur shall carry thee away *««; /™« 
 
 ■' ' slmll u be 
 
 captive. eruAashur 
 
 23 And he took up his parable, and said, carry //<« 
 Alas, who shall live when God docth this! "i^V"''' 
 
 respects the person and actions of David; particularly for this 
 reason, because Balaam is here advertising Balak, " what this 
 people should do to liis people in the latter days;" that is, what 
 the Israelites should do to the Moabites hereafter. Bp. Newton. 
 
 Balaam here, in prophetick vision, descries the remote coming 
 of Siui.oii, under the imagery of a " stiir" and a " sceptre," or 
 an illustrious prince. Though it was foretold, that " the sceptre 
 should depart from Judah at His coming," this prophecy confirms 
 to him a proper sceptre of His own. And our Lord claimed it, 
 when He avowed Himself " a king" to Pilate; but declared that 
 " His kingdom was not of this world," 
 
 This branch of the prophecy was fulfilled about iCOO years 
 after, when, at the birth of Christ, the Magi from the East, who 
 are supposed by Theophylact to have been the posterity of Ba- 
 laam, came to Jerusalem, saying, " Where is He that is born King 
 of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come 
 to w^orship Him," Matt. ii. 2. Dr. Hales. 
 
 20. — Amalek was the first of the nations;'] The first and most 
 powerful of the neighbouring nations. Bp. Neti'ton. 
 
 but his latter end shall be that he jurish for ever.] Balaam 
 
 here confirms what God had before pronounced by Moses, Exod. 
 xvii. 14. He had before declared that the king of Israel should 
 prevail over the king of Ainalek; but the menace is here carried 
 further, and Amalek is consigned to utter destruction. This sen- 
 tence was in a great measure executed by Saul, 1 Sam. xv. 7, 8 ; 
 then by David, 1 Sam. xxvii. 8, 9; and again, by a farther con- 
 quest, 1 Sam. XXX. 1 7 ; and lastly was comjjleted by the Simeon- • 
 ites, in the days of Hezekiah, 1 Chron. iv. 41 — 43. And where is 
 the name or the nation of Amalek subsisting at this day? What 
 history, what tradition concerning them is remaining any where? 
 They are but just enough known and remembered to shew, that 
 what God had threatened. He hath punctually fulfilled: " I will 
 utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven 
 — and his latter end shall be that he perish for ever." Bp. 
 Newton. 
 
 21. — the Kcniles,2 Not one of the Canaanitish nations, men- 
 tioned in Gen. xv. 19, but probably a tribe of the Midianitcs: 
 Jethro, the father in law of Moses, being called in one place " the 
 priest of Midian," Exod. iii. I, and in anotlier, " the Kenite," 
 Judges i. l6. Bp. Newton. 
 
 . Strong is thy dwellingplace, &c.] Their situation was 
 
 strong and secure among the mountains. Bp. Newton. 
 
 In these words is an allusion to that princely bird the eagle, 
 which not only delights in soaring to the loftiest heights, but 
 chooses the highest rocks and most elevated mountiiins as the 
 most desirable situations for erecting her nest. Burder. 
 
 22. Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Assliur shall 
 carrt) thee awaij captive.] The Amalekites were to be utterly de- 
 stroyed, but the Kenites were to be carried captive. And accord- 
 ingly when Saul was sent to destroy the Amalekites, he ordered 
 the Kenites to depart from among them, 1 Sam. xv. 6. This 
 shews that they were " wasted" and reduced to a low and weak 
 condition. And as the kings of Assyria caiTied captive, not only 
 the Jews, but also the Syrians, 2 Kings xvi. 9, and several other 
 nations, 2 Kings xix. 12, 13, it is highly probable that the Ken- 
 ites shared the same fate with their neighbours; especially as 
 some Kenites are mentioned among the Jews after their return 
 from captivity. Bp. Newton. 
 
 23. — Alas, who sitall live when God doelk this.'] This excla- 
 matioa is referred by several commentators to what precedes; but
 
 of some nations. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV, XXV. 
 
 Israel comrmtteih idolatry. 
 
 cHiusT ^* ^^^ ships sliall come from the coast 
 1452. of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and 
 shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish 
 for ever. 
 
 25 And Balaam rose up, and went and 
 returned to his place : and Balak also went 
 his way. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 1 Israel ui Shillim. commil ivlioredom and idolatry. 6 
 Phimhas killcih Zimri and Coxbi. 10 God therefore 
 
 it relates rather to what follows : implying that he is now pro- 
 phes3ang of very distant and very calamitous times. Bp. 
 Newton. 
 
 24. And ships shall come from Ific coast of Chiitim,"] Or rather, 
 for ships shall come, &c. Chittim was one of the sons of Javan, 
 
 who was one of the sons of Japhet, by whose posterity " the isles 
 of the Gentiles were divided" and peopled ; that is, Europe, and 
 the countries to which the Asiaticks passed by sea. The land of 
 Chittim was a general name for the countries and islands in the 
 Mediterranean. And Balaam might here mean either Greece, or 
 Italy, or both ; the particular names of those countries being at 
 that time perhaps unknown in the East. And the passage may 
 be the better understood of both, because Greece and Italy were 
 alike the scourges of Asia. Bp. Nen'to7i. 
 
 ajid shall afflict Asshur,'^ Asshur properly means the de- 
 scendants of Asshur, the Assyrians ; but the Syrians and Assy- 
 rians are often confounded together, and mentioned as the same 
 people. The Greeks under Alexander the Great subdued all 
 those countries. The Romans afterwards extended their empire 
 into the same regions : and Assyria, properly so called, was con- 
 quered by the eraperour Trajan. Bp. Netvton. 
 
 and shall afflict Eher,'] By Eber is meant, either the 
 
 people bordering on the Euphrates ; or the Hebrews, the posterity 
 of Eber. If the former ; they, as well as the Assyrians, were 
 subdued both by the Greeks and Romans : if the latter, as is 
 most probable, they were afflicted, though not much by Alex- 
 ander himself, yet by his successors the Seleucida?, and particu- 
 larly by Antiochus Epiphanes, who spoiled Jerusalem, defiled the 
 temple, and slew all those who adhered to the law of Moses, 
 1 Mace. i. They were worse afflicted by the Romans, who not 
 only subdued and oppressed them, and made their coimtry a pro- 
 vince of the empire, but at last took away their place and nation, 
 and sold and dispersed them over the face of the earth. Bp. 
 Newton. 
 
 and he also shall perish for eucr.] That is " Chittim," who 
 
 is the main subject of this part of the prophecy. If by Chittim be 
 meant the Greeks, the Grecian empire was entirely subverted by 
 the Romans : if the Romans, the Roman empire was in its turn 
 broken into pieces by the Incursion of the northern nations. The 
 name only of the Roman empire and Cesarean majesty is sub- 
 sisting at this day, and is transferred to another country and 
 another people. Bp. Newton. 
 
 25. — and returned to his place ;] Unto his country, Mesopo- 
 tamia. His prophecies being uttered, the design of Heaven was 
 now answered, and the instnunent was thrown aside. The 
 wicked B;ilaam was now left entirely to pursue the schemes of his 
 own mad ambition. He had been ordered to depart ; with wliich 
 order he seems, publickly at least, to have complied. The text 
 says, " he went to his place." If he went home, it is plain how- 
 ever he returned. And now he effected that grand scheme, ^«hich 
 he hoped would be as destructive to the Israelites as if he had 
 cursed tliera. Josephus tells us, that Balaam informed the king, 
 he could never subdue the Israelites, unless they should be dis- 
 obedient to their God ; and instructed him liow to make them so. 
 This account is confirmed in the sacred story both by Moses, who 
 says that Balaam " caused the Israelites to commit trespass against 
 the Lord," chap. xxxi. 1 6 ; and also by St. John, Rev. ii. 1 4. The 
 
 givelh him an everlasting priesthood. 16 The Midi- Before 
 anitcs are to be vexed. CHRIST 
 
 1452 
 
 AND Israel abode in 'Shittim, and the .chap.33. 
 people began to commit whoredom 49. 
 with the daughters of Moab. 
 
 2 And they called the people unto the 
 sacrifices of their gods : and the people 
 did eat, and bowed down to their gods. 
 
 3 And Israel joined himself unto Baal- 
 peor : and the anger of the Lord was kin- 
 dled against Israel. 
 
 whole story of the " trespass" and its punishment is written at 
 length in the following chapter, where we find it recorded, that 
 Israel provoked God by revolting through the artifices of Balaam ; 
 and that a plague was inflicted on them as a punishment, which 
 swept off twenty-four thousand men. Gilpin. 
 
 The history of this Prophet furnishes a deplorable and an 
 alarming instance of the deceitfulness of the human heart. He 
 could not forego "the rewards of divination," and the allurements 
 of ambition : he first sought permission to go to Balak, wishing to 
 gratify that prince, even afler he had been refused by God, and 
 told expressly, " Thou shalt not go w ith them ; thou shalt not 
 curse the people : for they are blessed." And he tempted God, 
 Qwho afterwards in His anger permitted him to go,] by seeking 
 to prevail on Him, by solicitations and sacrifices, to alter His pur- 
 poses. When these failed, and he had thrice blessed the people, 
 he sinned yet more against the whole meaning, end, and design 
 of the prohibition. For surely tiiat mischievous counsel, to se- 
 duce the Israelites into idolatry, was in fact a greater piece of 
 wickedness and impiety, than if he had formally cursed them in 
 words. Still his partial regards to his duty seem to have quieted 
 his conscience ; how otherwise could he e.\pect, that, wliile he 
 did not live the life of the righteous, he could be entitled to his 
 peaceful death, and joyful resurrection .' And accordingly his 
 ill-founded wish was frustrated : for he was cut off by the aveng- 
 ing sword of the Israelites, in reward for his pernicious counsels, 
 along with his licentious abettors, chap. xxxi. S. And his end fur- 
 nishes an awful and ahmning example, that extraordinarj- " gifls 
 of the Spirit" are not alwaj-s accompanie<l by the genuine 
 " fruits of the Spirit," in the heaits and lives of the possessors ; 
 and that without charity, the rarest gifts and endowments are 
 nothing worth, 1 Cor. xiii. 1, 2 ; Matt. vii. 22. Dr. Hales. 
 
 Chap. XXV. ver. 1. — Shitlim,2 In the plains of Moab ; called 
 Abel-shittim, chap, xxxiii. 49. 
 
 with the daughters of Moab. 2 And of Midiaii, vcr. 6, 17, 
 
 18. These women exposed themselves by Balaam's counsel to 
 the lust of the Israelites, that by this means they might seduce 
 them to idolatry, and so deprive them of the Divine blessing. 
 Bp. Patrick. This should convince us, that we should be more 
 on our guard against our own passions than against our enemies: 
 God, we see, secured the people against their enemies, while they 
 brought destruction on themselves by their wickedness. Bp. 
 Wilson. 
 
 2. — and the people did cat,l Of the Moabitish sacrifices. 
 This was an act of idolatry, whereby they ownctl themselves 
 the servants of the gods of Aloab ; as to eat of the Lord's sacri- 
 fices was an act of Divine worship. See Exod. xx.xiv. 15. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 5. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor:! And the Israel- 
 ites joined thetnselves, both in spiritual and "bodily fornication, 
 with those that worshipped Baal-peor. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Baal-peor .-] Either the idol Baal, whose temple stood 
 
 on moimt Peor ; or else Peor was the person, whom these nations 
 had deified af\er his death under the title of Baal or Lord. So 
 the Psalmist may be understood, " They joined tliemselves unto 
 Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead ;" that is, of some 
 eminent deceased person deified, Ps. cvi. 28. Pyle.
 
 Phinchas killeth Zimri and Cozbi. 
 
 NUMBERS. God givelh him an everlasting priesthood. 
 
 Mort 4. And the Lord said unto Moses, ''Take 
 '^m"^'^ all the heads of the people, and hang them 
 >D.ut.4.3. up before the Lord against the sun, that 
 joJi. 22. jhg flprce anger of the Lord may be turn- 
 
 17 
 
 ed away from Israel. 
 
 ,5 And Moses said unto the judges ot 
 Israel, Slay ye everyone his men that were 
 joined unto I5aal-peor. 
 
 6 % And, behold, one of the chddren of 
 
 Israel came and brought unto his brethren 
 
 a Midiaiiitish woman in the sight of Moses,_ 
 
 and in the sight of all the congregation of 
 
 the children of Israel, who ziere weeping 
 
 he/on- the iloor of the tabernacle of the 
 
 congregation. 
 
 'Tuioe. 7 And 'when Phinchas, the son of Ele- 
 
 f Mac. 2. azar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he 
 
 5<- rose up tiom among the congregation, and 
 
 took a javelin in his hand ; 
 
 8 And he went after the man of Israel 
 into the tent, and thrust both of them 
 
 4. — Take all the hauls of Ihc people,'] The judges of Israel, 
 as tlicy are called, ver. .'">, namely, the principal officers among 
 the people. By their assistjince the jieople, who had sinned, were 
 to be punished. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Imns them up] That is, the people who had sinned ; and 
 
 not all tlie heads of the peoi)le, for they were concerned in the 
 r.vecution of the sentence, lip. Kidder. 
 
 rt. — one of the children of Israel came &c.] One cannot 
 enough wonder at the impudence of this Israelite. Here is for- 
 nication, an o<liou3 crime : and that of an Israelite, whose name 
 ch.illenges holiness: yea, of a prince of Israel, whose practice is a 
 rule to inferiours : and tliat with a woman of Midian, with whom 
 even a chaste contract had been unlawful : and that with contempt 
 of all government : and that in the face of Moses and all Israel : 
 and that in a time of mourning and judgment for the same of- 
 fence. Those that have once pjissed the bounds of modesty, soon 
 grow shameless in their sins. Bj). Hall. 
 
 7. .-(«(/ nlien Phinelia.i, Sie.] The example of Phinehas is no 
 warrant to private persons to put the greatest malefactor to death. 
 He was a man of considerable authority, being next to the high 
 priest. He wanted not a commission, ver. 5. It is certain God 
 approved of the action, ver. 1 1. And it may be well concluded, 
 that as he acted not without the consent of Moses, go he acted by 
 the direction of God Himself. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 9. — lirenly ami four thousand.] Those that died of the plague 
 itself were only twenty-three thousiind, 1 Cor. x. 8. The thou- 
 sind who were convicted of idolatry, and thereupon slain with 
 the sword, "in the d.iy of the plague," ver. IS, are comprehend- 
 ed in tlie whole number. The expression " of the plague" in the 
 text might be rendered during the plague. Bp. Patrick. What 
 we render nlague does not signify pe.itilnicc only, but any other 
 sudden stroke ; and may comprehend the destruction that befell 
 them from tlie judges, as well as tliat inflicted immediately by 
 Gotl. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 •2. — / give unto him mi/ covenant of jxacc :] I solemnly pro- 
 mise to make him and his family prosperous, as in other respects, 
 so p.articularly in respect of their having the priesthood. Dr. 
 Wcllt. The covenant of peace is expressed, ver. 13, by an ever- 
 la'«ting prie»lhootl. The office of a priest was that of a mediator 
 between (lod and man ; and the end of the sacrifices and incense 
 the ty|)e of prayers, was to procure God's favour. Numb. xvi. 47' 
 48. Bp. Kidder. ' 
 
 IS. — ttu eierlasling priesthood;] This is to be understood with 
 some bnutauon. After some successions in tlie line of Phinehas, 
 
 through, the man of Israel, and the woman (.^ifi'sT 
 through her belly. So the plague was 1452. 
 stayed from the children of Israel. 
 
 <J And ' those that died in the plague g' ^'" "* 
 were twenty and four thousand. 
 
 10 % And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 1 1 ' Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son ' ?*• '<>« 
 of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrrath 
 
 awav from the childrert©f -Israel, while he 
 was zealous for my sake among them, that 
 I consumed not the children of Israel in 
 my jealoiisv. 
 
 V2 Whei-efore say, ' Behold, I give unto ^Ecc1'"46 
 him my covenant of peace : i Mac. 2. 
 
 1,3 And he shall have it, and his seed ^*- 
 after him, even the covenant of an ever- 
 lasting priesthood ; because he was zealous 
 for his God, and made an atonement for 
 the children of Israel. 
 
 11- Now the name of the Israelite that 
 
 the priesthood came for a time into the family of Eli, who was 
 descended from Ithamar, the youngest son of Aaron. The reason 
 of this interruption is not mentioned in Scripture ; most probably 
 some great sin provoked God to set aside the line of Eleazar for 
 some years, till Eli's sons also became so wicked, that the priest- 
 hood was taken from them ; and restored in the days of Solomon 
 to the posterity of Phinehas, with whom it continued as long as 
 the priesthood lasted. The words " everlasting, perpetual," and 
 the like, in a general and indefinite sense, denote no more than 
 a long duration. Bp. Patrick, Stnckhouse. 
 
 We need not suppose tlie priesthood to be here called " ever- 
 lasting," to express a design of a perpetual continuance of it to 
 Phinehas's descendants ; but rather the term " everlasting" is the 
 appellation annexed to the priesthood in its limitation to the fa- 
 mily of Aaron ; and suggests no more, than that the priesthood 
 of Aaron should descend to them. God made to Phinehas and 
 to his seed after him, not an everlasting grant of the priesthood, 
 as some commentators take it, nor a grant of " an everlasting 
 priesthood," as oiu- English version renders the place ; but rather 
 a grant of the everlasting priesthood ; of the priesthood limited to 
 Aaron and his descendants by that appellation. And this pro- 
 mise would have been fulfilled, if the priesthood had descended 
 to Eleazar and his son only. Shuckford. 
 
 because he tras zealous for his God,] God, who searches 
 
 the hearts, saw that this conduct of Phinehas proceeded not from 
 any private passion ; but out of pure love and affection to Him, 
 and from indignation to see His Divine Majesty so affronted. Bp. 
 Patrick. It is not a good argument to saj', " such a man dotJi 
 such and such things, and therefore they are good things for me 
 to do." We must act in such a manner, as is agreealile to the 
 state of life, whereunto God hath called us : for when we leave 
 our vocation, we act wickedl}', and justly expose ourselves to pu- 
 nishment. Our Sa\'iour fasted forty days and forty nights with- 
 out any sustenance, but we are not to do so too ; for if we were 
 to attempt it, we should kill ourselves. Moses, tliat holy Prophet 
 of God, killed an Egyptian, a wicked and injurious man : am I 
 therefore to go and kill a wicked man too.' I may not do so, for 
 it is against my calling : I am no magistrate, therefore I may not 
 do it. As for Moses, he acted under a special inspiration of God. 
 Phinehas, that godly man, killed Zimri and Cozbi, even in the act 
 of fornication ; and this deed of Phinehas was pleasing to God. 
 But it were a bad argument to say, Pliinehas did so, and it jjleas- 
 ed God : therefore we may do the same ; when we see any man 
 dishonour God, we may immediately go and kill him. Phineha.'*
 
 Israel is numbered 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 by their ti-ibes. 
 
 A' 
 
 CHRIST ^^^ slain, even that was slain with the Mi- 
 1452. dianitish woman, teas Zimri, the son of 
 t Heb. Salu, a prince of a t chief house among the 
 faZf" Simeon ites. 
 
 15 And the name of the Midianitish 
 woman that was slain was Cozbi, the 
 daughter of Zur ; he was head over a peo- 
 ple, (md of a chief house in Midian. 
 
 16 5F And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 e Chap. 31. 17 « Vex the Midianites, and smite them : 
 18 For they vex you with their wiles, 
 wherewith they have beguiled you in the 
 matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, 
 the daughter of a prince of Midian, their 
 sister, which was slain in the day of the 
 plague for Peor's sake. 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 1 The sunt of all Israel is taken in the plains of Moab. 
 52 The law of' dividing among them the inheritance of 
 Ihe land, 57 The families and number fflhc Leviles. 
 63 None were left (f Ihem vhich tvere numbered at 
 Sinai, but Caleb and Joshua. 
 
 ND it came to pass after the plague, 
 that the Lord spake unto Moses and 
 unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, 
 saying, 
 
 2 Take the sum of all the congregation 
 •Chap. 1.3. of the children of Israel, 'from twenty 
 
 years old and upward, throughout their fa- 
 thers' house, all that are able to go to war 
 in Israel. 
 
 3 And Moses and Eleazar the priest 
 spake with them in the plains of Moab by 
 Jordan near Jericho, saying, 
 
 4 Take the sum of the people, from twenty 
 *Chap.i.i. years old and upward; as the Lord ''com- 
 manded Moses and the children of Israel, 
 which went forth out of the land of Egypt. 
 
 'Gcn.46.s. 5 % ' Reuben, the eldest son of Israel : 
 
 fchroii"' ^^^^ children of Reuben; Hanoch, of -d'hom 
 
 s. 1. cometh the family of the Hanochites : of 
 
 Pallu, the family of the Palluites : 
 
 had a special licence to do this : but we must not follow his exam- 
 ple, but must take heed to our calling, to our office. Bp. Latimer. 
 If we will imitate Phinehas, let us imitate him in tiiat for which 
 lie is commended and rewarded by God, and for whicli lie is re- 
 nowned among men ; and that is, not barely the action, the tiling 
 lione ; but the affection, the zeal with which it is done. For that 
 zeal God commendeth him, ver. 1 1 , and for that zeal God re- 
 wardeth him, ver. 1.", and for that zeal did j)osterity praise him; 
 tlie wise Son of -Sirach, F.cclus. xlv. 23 ; and gfxjd old Matta- 
 thias on his death-bed, 1 Mac. ii. 5t. Not again that any ])ri- 
 vate man should dare, by his example, to usurp the magistrate's 
 office, and to do justice upon malefactors without a calling: or 
 that any magistrate sliould dare, by his example, to cut off grace- 
 less offenders without a judicial course; but that every man, who 
 is by virtue of his calling endued with lawful authority to execute 
 justice upon transgressors, should set himself to it with that vigour 
 
 6 Of Hezron, the family of the Hez- before 
 ronites : of Carmi, the family of the ^"«2.^^ 
 Carmites. 
 
 7 The.se are the families of the Reuben- 
 ites : and they that were numbered of them 
 were forty and three thousand and seven 
 hundred and thirty. 
 
 8 And the sons of Pallu ; Eliab. 
 
 9 And the sons of Eliab ; Nemuel, and 
 Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan 
 and Abiram, which -were famous in the 
 congregation, who '^ strove against Moses •> cu«p. le. 
 and against Aaron in the company of -• 
 Korah, when they strove against the 
 
 Lord : 
 
 10 And the earth opened her mouth, and 
 swallowed them up together with Korah, 
 when that company died, what time the 
 fire devoured two hundred and fifty men : 
 and they became a sign. 
 
 11 Notwithstanding the children of Ko- 
 rah died not. 
 
 12 ^ The sons of Simeon after their 
 families : of Nemuel, the family of the 
 Nemuelites : of Jamin, the family of the 
 Jaminites: of Jachin, the family of the 
 Jachinites : 
 
 13 Of Zerali, the family of the Zar- 
 hites : of Shaul, the family of the Shaul- 
 ites. 
 
 14 These are the families of the Simeon- 
 ites, twenty and two thousand and two 
 hundred. 
 
 15 if The children of Gad after their 
 families : of Zepiion, the family of the 
 Zephonites : of Haggi, the family of the 
 Haggites : of Shuni, the family of the 
 Shunites : 
 
 Ifi Of Ozni, the family of the Oznites: 
 of Eri, the family of the Erites : 
 
 17 Of Aroil, the family of the Arodites: 
 of Areli, the family of the Arelites. 
 
 IS These are the families of tlie children 
 of Gad according to those that were num- 
 
 and courage and zeal, which wa$ in Phinehas. " It is good," 
 saitli the Apostle, " to be zealously affected always in a good 
 thing," Gal. iv. IS. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 Chap. XXVI. \-er. 1. — vido Mo.tes and unto Eleazar'] Ax 
 God had formerly joined Aaron with Moses, so now, Aaron being 
 dead, he joins Eleazar; to shew that lie succeeded to the authority, 
 as well as to the place and office, of his father. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. Take the sum &c.] They had been twice numbered before 
 tiiis : once, belbre the building of the tabernacle ; and a second 
 time, when they were to be encamped. All tlie men then num- 
 bered, tliirty-eight years ago, being now dead, Go<l commands a 
 third numbering, partly to" shew Ilis faitiifulness to His word, in 
 multiplying them greatly, notwithsUinding all their provocations; 
 and partly for the more easy division of the Irnid among their 
 trib«s. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Israel is numbered 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 by their tribes. 
 
 otfon ,ered of them, forty thousand and five 
 i45a htiiulred. 
 • Gen. 3(1. 19 H " Thc soHs of Juduh uxre Er and 
 **';* Onan : and Er and Onan died in the land 
 of Canaan. 
 
 20 And the sons of Judah after their 
 famihcs were; of Shehih, the family of the 
 Shelanites : of Pharez, the family of thc 
 Pharzites : of Zerah, the family of the 
 Zarhitcs. 
 
 '■21 Aiid the sons of Pharez were; of 
 Hezroii, the family of the Hezronites : of 
 Hamiil, tlie family of the HamuHtes. 
 'J'J These are the families of Judah ac- 
 "* cording to those that were numbered of 
 
 them, tlireescore and sixteen thousand and 
 Hve hundred. 
 
 23 ^ Of the sons of Issachar afler their 
 families: o/Tola, the family of the Tolaites: 
 of Pua, tlie family of the Punites : 
 
 24 Of Jashub, the family of the Jashub- 
 ites : of Shimron, the family of the Shim- 
 ronites. 
 
 25 These are the families of Issachar ac- 
 cording to those that were numbered of 
 them, threescore and four thousand and 
 three hundred. 
 
 26 ^ O/'the sons of Zebulun afler their 
 families: of Sered, the family of the Sar- 
 dites: of Elon, the family of the Elonites: 
 of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. 
 
 27 These are the families of the Zcbu- 
 lunites according to those that were num- 
 bered of them, threescore thousand and 
 five hundred. 
 
 28 % The sons of Joseph after their fa- 
 milies were Manasseh and Ephraim. 
 
 ' Jodi. 17. 29 Of the sons of Manasseh : of ^ Machir, 
 the family of the Machirites: and Machir 
 begat Gilead: of Gilead come the family of 
 the Gileadites. 
 
 30 These are the sons of Gilead : qfJee- 
 zer, the family of the Jeezerites: of Helek, 
 the family of the Helekites : 
 
 31 And of Asriel, the family of the 
 Asrielites : and o/' Shechem, the family of 
 the Shechemites : 
 
 32 And of Shemida, the family of the 
 Shemidaites: and o/"Hepher, the family of 
 the Hepherites. 
 
 « Chip. 27. 33 ^ And ^ Zelophehad the son of He- 
 pher had no sons, but daughters : and the 
 names of the daughters of Zelophehad ■n'O'e 
 Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and 
 Tirzali. 
 
 34' These are the families of Manasseh, 
 and those that were numbered of them, fifty 
 and two thousand and seven hundred. 
 
 35 ^ These are the sons of Ephraim after 
 
 their families : of Shuthelah, the family of chbTst 
 the Shuthalliites : of Becher, the family of 1452. 
 the Bachrites : of Tahan, the family of the 
 Tahanites. 
 
 36 And these are the sons of .Shuthelah: 
 of Eran, the family of the Eranites- 
 
 37 These are the families of the sons of 
 Ephraim according to those that were num- 
 bered of them, thirty and two thousand 
 and five hundred. These are the sons of 
 Joseph after their families. 
 
 38 ^ The sons of Benjamin after their 
 families: of Bela, thefamily of the Belaites: 
 of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of 
 Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites: 
 
 39 Of Shupham, the family of the Shu- 
 phamites : of Huphani, the family of the 
 Huphamites. 
 
 40 And the sons of Bela were Ard and 
 Naaman : 0/ ^^f'd> the family of the Ard- 
 ites : and of Naaman, the family of the 
 Naamites. 
 
 41 These are the sons of Benjamin after 
 their families : and they that were num- 
 bered of them were forty and five thousand 
 and six hundred. 
 
 42 if These are the sons of Dan after 
 their families : of Shuham, the family of 
 the Shuhamites. These are the families of 
 Dan after their families. 
 
 43 All the families of the Shuhamites, ac- 
 cording to those that were numbered of 
 them, rcet-e threescore and four thousand 
 and four hundred. 
 
 44 % Of the children of Asher after their 
 families : of Jimna, the family of the Jim- 
 nites : of Jcsui, the family of the Jesuites: 
 of Beriah, the family of the Beiiites. 
 
 45 Of the sons of Beriah : of Heber, the 
 family of the Heberites : of Malchiel, the 
 family of the Malchielites. 
 
 46 And the name of the daughter of 
 Asher teas Sarah. 
 
 47 These are the families of the sons of 
 Asher according to those that were num- 
 bered of them ; who were fifty and three 
 thousand and four hundred. 
 
 48 % Of the sons of Naphtali after their 
 families : of Jahzeel, the family of the 
 Jahzeelites : of Guni, the family of the 
 Gunites : 
 
 49 Of Jezer, the family of the Jezer- 
 ites : of Shillem, the family of the Shil- 
 lemites. 
 
 50 These are the families of Naphtali 
 according to their families : and they that 
 were numbered of them were forty and 
 five thousand and four hundred. 
 
 51 These 7vere the numbered of the chil-
 
 Israel is numbered by tfieir tribes. CHAP. XXVI, XXVII, 
 
 The law of inheritances. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 H52. 
 
 h Chap. 33. 
 
 54. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 mxdliplif 
 his inltcrit- 
 nnce. 
 t Hel.. 
 diminish 
 his inherit' 
 
 33. 
 
 ' Cliap, 
 54. 
 
 Josh. II. 
 23. it 14 
 
 * Enod. C. 
 16, 17, 18, 
 ly. 
 
 dren of Israel, six hundred thousand and a 
 thousand seven hundred and thirty. 
 
 .52 If And the Lord sjiake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 53 Unto these the land shall be divided 
 for an inheritance according to the number 
 of names. 
 
 54 '' To many thou shalt t give the more 
 inheritance, and to few thou shalt t give 
 the less inheritance : to every one shall his 
 inheritance be given according to those that 
 were numbered of him, 
 
 55 Notwithstanding the land shall be 
 ' divided by lot : according to the names 
 of the tribes of their fathers they shall in- 
 herit, 
 
 56 According to the lot shall the pos- 
 session thereof be divided between many 
 and few. 
 
 57 IT '' And these are they that were 
 numbered of the Levites after their fami- 
 lies : of Gershon, the family of the Ger- 
 shonites : of Kohath, the family of the 
 Kohathites : of Merari, the family of the 
 Merarites, 
 
 58 These are the families of the Levites: 
 the family of the Libnites, the family of 
 the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, 
 the family of the Mushites, the family of 
 
 And Kohath begat Am- 
 
 the Korathites. 
 
 ' Eiod. 2. 
 2. & 6. 20. 
 
 " Lev. 10. 
 2. 
 
 chap. 3. 4. 
 1 Chron. 
 24. 2. 
 
 ram. 
 
 59 And the name of Amram's wife leas 
 ' Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom 
 Jier motlier bare to Levi in Egypt : and 
 she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, 
 and Miriam their sister. 
 
 fiO And unto Aaron was born Nadab, 
 and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 
 
 01 And "Nadab and Abihu died, when 
 they offered strange fire before the Lord. 
 
 G2 And those that were numbered of 
 them were twenty and three thousand, all 
 males from a month old and upward : for 
 they were not numbered among the chil- 
 dren of Israel, because there was no inhe- 
 ritance given them among the children of 
 Israel. 
 
 63 ^ Tliese are they that were number- 
 ed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who 
 
 55. — the land shall he divided by lot:'] This dividing by 
 lot w-Ts very consisleiit with the equality required, ver. 5i. It 
 is most probable, that tlie several coasts or provinces of the 
 whole land were by lot adjudged to the several tribes; but then 
 each tribe was assigned a trreater or less portion of that tract 
 wherein his lot fell, as the number of its families wiis greater or 
 less. The e.xact measure of their portion was not determined 
 bj' lot ; for then Simeon could not have been justly placed 
 ■within the tract, where Juduh inherited. Josh. xix. 1 — 9- t^p- 
 Kidder. 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 numbered the children of Israel in the chuTst 
 plains of Moab by Jordan ??e«r Jericho. 1452. 
 
 64 But among these there was not a man 
 of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest 
 numbered, when they numbered the chil- 
 dren of Israel in the wilderness of .Sinai. 
 
 65 For the Lord had said of them. They 
 
 " shall surely die in the wilderness. And ° <^'P- ^*- 
 there was not left a man of them, save Ca- I cor. 10, 
 leb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the *> *'• 
 .son of Nun. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIL 
 
 1 T/ie daughters of Zehphehad sue for an inheritance. 
 6 The law of inheritances. 12 Moses, being told of his 
 death, sueth for a successor. 18 Joshua is apjwinted 
 to succeed him. 
 
 THEN came the daughters of ' Zelo- ^chap.26. 
 j)hehad, the son of Hepher, the son j^ j^ 3. 
 of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of 
 Manasseh, of the families of Manasseli the 
 son of Joseph : and these are the names of 
 his daughters ; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, 
 and Milcah, and Tirzah. 
 
 2 And they stood before Moses, and be- 
 fore Eleazar tlie priest, and before the 
 princes and all the congregation, bij the 
 door of the tabernacle of the congregation, 
 saying, 
 
 3 Our father '' died in the wilderness, J-ciiap-u. 
 and he was not in the company of them s^' 55. 
 that gathered themselves together against 
 
 the Lord in the company of Korali ; but 
 died in his own sin, and Jiad no sons. 
 
 4 Why should the name of our fatlicr 
 
 be t done away from among his family, fHeb. 
 because he hath no son ? Give unto us 
 therefore a possession among the brethren 
 of our father. 
 
 5 And Moses brought their cause before 
 the Lord. 
 
 6 % And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 7 The daughters of Zelophchad speak 
 
 right 
 
 thou shalt surely give them a pos- 
 
 session of an inheritance among their fa- 
 ther's brethren ; and thou shalt cause the 
 inheritance of their father to pass unto 
 them. 
 
 8 And thou shalt speak unto the children 
 
 The division of land by lot appears to have been a very ancient 
 custom. It was not only adopted, as in the present instance, in 
 the distribution of a whole country : but appears from Hesiod 
 and Homer to have been resorted to, in order to apportion par- 
 ticidar inheritances. Burder. 
 
 Chap. XXVII. ver. 3. — died in his own sin,'] He was not 
 one of them, who were authors of sin unto others ; but as other 
 unnoted Israelites, he died in the wilderness, witliout any publick 
 offence or censure. Dp. Hall. 
 
 Ss
 
 Moses, being told of his death. 
 
 N U M B E R S. 
 
 sueihfor a successor. 
 
 Brfore of Israel, sayinj?, If a man die, ami have no 
 '^"^'.^'^ son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to 
 pass unto his daughter. 
 
 »> And if lie have no daughter, then ye 
 shall giv'c his inheritance unto his bre- 
 thren. 
 
 U) And if he have no brethren, then ye 
 shall give his inheritance unto his father's 
 brethren. 
 
 11 And if his father have no brethren, 
 then ve shall give his inheritance unto his 
 kinsnian that is next to him of his i'amily, 
 and he siiall ])Ossess it: and it shall be unto 
 tlu' children of Israel a statute of judgment, 
 as the LoiiD connnanded Closes. 
 
 12 ^ And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 ■• Deut3i. <^Qqi thee u]) into this moimt Abarim, and 
 
 see the land which I have given unto the 
 children of Israel. 
 
 V3 And when thou hast seen it, thou 
 also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as 
 J Chap. lio. d Aaron thy brother was gathered, 
 •cimp. 20. 11' For ye "^rebelled against my com- 
 '^ mandment in the desert of Zin, in the 
 
 strife of the congregation, to sanctify me 
 at the water before their eyes : that is the 
 'ExoA IT. ' water of IMeribah in Kadesh in the wil- 
 derness of Zin. 
 
 15 % And Moses spake unto the Lord, 
 saying, 
 
 IG Let tlie Lord, the God of the spirits 
 of all flesh, set a man over the congre- 
 gation, 
 
 17 Which may go out before them, and 
 which may go in before them, and which 
 may lead them out, and which may bring 
 
 12. — Get thee up into ikis mount Abarim,'^ A tract of moun- 
 tains in the plains of Moab, one of wliich was called Nebo, and 
 the top of it Pisgah. Bp. Palric/c. 
 
 1 6. Lft the LfOrd, — .«•/ a man over the congregation^ He, that 
 was so tender over tlie welfare of Israel in his life, would not 
 i-lacken his care in death : he takes no tliought for himself, for 
 he knew how gainful an exchange he must make ; all iiis care is 
 for his ch:irge. Sonic envious natures desire to lie missed, when 
 they must go; and wish that the weakness, or want of a succes- 
 sor, may be the foil of their memory and honour. Moses is in 
 a contriry disposition ; it sufticeth him not, to find contentment 
 in his own happiness, unless he may have an assm-ance, that Is- 
 rael shall jirosper with him. Bp. Hall. 
 
 18. — a man in nlum is tlic .tpiril,'] A man, whom I have en- 
 dued with more tiian an ordinary measure of My spirit of wisdom. 
 Dp. Hall. 
 
 lai/ thine hand H}]on him ;] By that rite set liim apart for 
 
 the oflice ; see Numb. viii. 10. This laying on of hands was fol- 
 lowed with increase of gifts from Ciod, Deut. xxxiv. 9. Bp. 
 Kiildcr. 
 
 ~^: — Ihou shall put some of tliine honour upon him,'\ Com- 
 ™'*"''^^e sonii; of thy authority to him at present; antl not let 
 him be any longer as thy minister, but as an associate in the 
 government. lip. Patrick. 
 
 21. — Af shall .'.land before Eleazar the priest, &c.] The high 
 pnest ot God shall, upon all weighty occasions, ask counsel of 
 
 them in ; that the congregation of the q^^iIx 
 Loiti) be not as sheep which have no 1452. 
 shejjherd. 
 
 18 IF And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man 
 in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand 
 upon him ; 
 
 If) And set him before Eleazar the ])riest, 
 and before all the congregation ; and give 
 him a charge in their sight. 
 
 '20 And thou shalt })ut some of thine ho- 
 nour upon him, tiiut all the congregation 
 of the children of Israel may be obedient. 
 
 51 And he shall stand before Eleazar the 
 priest, who shall ask coiaiscl for him ^ after « Exod. ys. 
 the judgment of Urim before the Lord: at ^■ 
 his word shall they go out, and at his word 
 they shall come in, both he, and all the 
 children of Israel with him, even all the 
 congregation. 
 
 2'2 And Moses did as the Lord com- 
 manded him : and he took Joshua, and set 
 him before Eleazar the priest, ahd before 
 all the congregation : 
 
 23 And he laid his hands upon him, and 
 gave him a charge, as the Lord command- 
 ed by the hand of Moses. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIIL 
 
 1 Offerings are to be observed. 3 The continual burnt 
 offering. 9 The offering on the sabbath, 1 1 o?» tlie 
 new moons, 16 at the passover, 26 in the day ofjirst- 
 Jruits. 
 
 AND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing. 
 2 Command the children of Israel, and 
 
 God for him ; and he shall receive directions from " the breast- 
 plate of juilgment" in all his doubts. Bp. Hall. The great dif- 
 ference between Moses and Joshua consisted in this : Moses was 
 never to make use of the priest, to know the will of God, for God 
 spake to him Himself. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 22. — Moses did us the Lord commanded him :] In this we sec 
 the great integrity, the sincere liumility and self-denial of Moses, 
 that he reatlily submitted to have the government of Israel trans- 
 lated from his own family and tribe, to another, who was of the 
 trilie of Ephraim. By this means his own children were reduced 
 to a mean condition ; being not so mucli as priests, but mere Le- 
 vites. This demonstrates that he acted not /ra;« himself, because 
 he acted notyor himself; but was contented to have the supreme 
 authority placed, wl.ere God pleased, both in church and state, 
 and to leave his own family in inconsideiable eiiiployment. This 
 shews him to have had a princijile, which raised liim abo\e all 
 other lawgivers; who always took care to advance their own fa- 
 milies, and establish them in some share of that greatness, which 
 they themselves possessed. This likewise siiews, that the future 
 rulers of this nation had no temptation to aJ\ance the credit of 
 Moses beyond what it really was; since they were not descended 
 from him, but were of other tribes. Bj). Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXVIIL ver. 2. Command the children of Israel, &c.] 
 Moses, having numbered the new generation of men, who were 
 to inherit the land, and received warning of his own death, is
 
 Solemnfcasts 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 and their njferings. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1452. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 a savittr of 
 mi/ rot. 
 • Exod. 29. 
 
 + He!.. 
 
 in n day. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 between the 
 *wu even- 
 ings. 
 
 Lev. 2. 1. 
 ' Exod. 29. 
 40. 
 
 say unto tliem, My offerinf^, and my bread 
 for my sacrifices made by tire. Jar t a sweet 
 savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer 
 unto me in their due season. 
 
 3 And thou shalt say unto them, ^ This 
 is the offering made by fire which ye shall 
 offer unto the Loud; two lambs of the first 
 year without spot r day by day, Jbr a con- 
 tinual burnt offering, 
 
 4 The one lamb shalt thou offer in the 
 morning, and the other lamb shalt tliou 
 offer t at even ; 
 
 5 And a tenth part of an ephah of flour 
 for a '' meat offering, mingled with the 
 fourth part of an '' hin of beaten oil. 
 
 G It is a continual burnt offering, which 
 was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet sa- 
 vour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the Lord. 
 
 7 And the drink offering thereof shall be 
 the fourth ^;«r^ of an hin for the one lamb : 
 in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong 
 wine to be poured unto the Lord Jbr a 
 drink offering. 
 
 8 And the other lamb shalt thou offer at 
 even : as the meat offering of the morning, 
 and as the drink offering thereof, thou shalt 
 offer it, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet 
 savour unto the Lord. 
 
 9 % And on the sabbath day two lambs 
 of the first year without spot, and two tenth 
 deals of flour Jbr a meat offering, mingled 
 with oil, and the drink offering thereof: 
 
 10 I'his is the burnt offering of every 
 sabbath, beside the continual burnt offer- 
 ing, and his drink offering. 
 
 11 ^ And in the beginnings of your 
 months ye shall offer a burnt offering unto 
 the Lord; twoyoungbullocks,and one ram, 
 seven lambs of the first year without spot ; 
 
 12 And three tenth deals of flour Jor a 
 meat offering, mingled with oil, for one 
 bullock ; and two tenth deals of tiour Jbr a 
 meat offering, mingled with oil, for one ram ; 
 
 13 And a several tenth deal of flour 
 mingled with oil Jbr a meat offering unto 
 one lamb ;Jbr a burnt ottering of a sweet sa- 
 vour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the Lord, 
 
 commanded to piit them in mind of the ordinances which tliey 
 were to observe in that land, I's. cv. !■}■, 4."). And the rather, 
 because in their journeys in the v.'ilderness tiie}' liad not ))rac- 
 tised the laws and rites wliieh they had received, Deiit. xii. 8. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 7- — strong iriiiiQ The Hebrew word commonly signifies an}' 
 strong drink; imt here the noblest ,ind most generous wine; for 
 it was not lawful to use any other li(|uor in their s.acrifices. The 
 lieatliens also had this reverence to their gods, that they always 
 offered to them the most excellent wines. Bp. Patrick. ' 
 
 11. — in the beginnings of' i/uur months 8ic.^ This solemn sa- 
 crifice seem.s to liave been ordained by God, to prevent the 
 
 li And their drink offerings shall be Christ 
 half an hin of wine unto a bullock, and 1452. 
 the third part of an hin unto a ram, and a 
 fourth part of an hin unto a lamb: this is 
 the burnt offering of every month through- 
 out the months of the year. 
 
 15 And one kid of the goats for a sin 
 offering luito the Lord shall be offered, 
 beside the continual burnt offering, and 
 his drink offering. 
 
 16 ''And in the fourteenth day of the 'jE='«»-12- 
 first month is the passover of the Lord. Lev. 23. 5. 
 
 17 And in the fifteenth day of this month 
 is the feast: seven days shall unleavened 
 bread be eaten. 
 
 18 In the ' first day shall be an holy con- 'Lev. 23. r. 
 vocation; ye shall do no manner of servile 
 
 work therein: 
 
 19 But ye shall offer a sacrifice made by 
 fire Jbr a burnt offering unto the Lord ; 
 two yoimg bullocks, and one ram, and se- 
 ven lambs of the first year: they shall be 
 unto you without blemish: 
 
 20 And their meat offering shall he of 
 flour mingled with oil: three tenth deals 
 shall ye oflTer for a bullock, and two tenth 
 deals for a ram; 
 
 21 A several tenth deal shalt thou of- 
 fer for every lamb, throughout the seven 
 lambs : 
 
 22 And one goat^r a sin offering, to 
 make an atonement for you. 
 
 23 Ye shall offer these beside the burnt 
 offering in the morning, which is for a con- 
 tinual burnt offering. 
 
 24 After this manner ye shall offer daily, 
 throughout the seven day.s, the meat of the 
 sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour 
 unto the Lord: it shall be offered beside 
 the continual burnt offering, and his drink 
 offering. 
 
 25 And on the seventh day ye shall have 
 an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile 
 work. 
 
 2(5 ^ Also in the day of the firstfruits, 
 when ye bring a new meat offering unto 
 the Lord, after your weeks be out, ye shall 
 
 idolatry which was usual among the Gentiles; wlio worshipped 
 the new moon with great rejoicings at its firit ai)pearance. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 1 -,. — unto the iMriF] These words were jidded, to remind the 
 j)eople, at this time in ])articular, of the right object of worship. 
 A goat being a])pointe(l to be offere;! at two cither solemnities, and 
 to be offered for a sin ollering, \er. iiS, ."O, it is not, upon those 
 occasions, said " unto the Lord," though certainly intendetl, be- 
 cause there was no danger, at those times, of the jieople directing 
 their sacrifices to a wrong object, as at the time of the new moons; 
 V hen the heatlien offered a goat to the moon, it being a creature 
 whose horns arc like the new moon. Grotius. 
 
 S s2
 
 Solemn 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 feasts 
 
 Si 
 
 A' 
 
 lufuro iiave an holy com ocatioii ; ye shall do no 
 
 CHKIST 11 
 
 H53. servile work : 
 
 '27 Bill ye shall oHor tiio burnt offering 
 for a sweet savour unto the Lord; two 
 young bullocks, one ram, seven lambs of 
 the first year; 
 
 28 And their meat offering of flour min- 
 gled with oil, three tentii deals unto one 
 bullock, two tenth deals unto one ram, 
 
 29 A several tenth deal unto one lamb, 
 throughout the seven lambs; 
 
 ;^0 And one kid of the goats, to make 
 an atonement for you. 
 
 31 Yc shall offer them beside the conti- 
 nual burnt offering, and his meat offering, 
 (they shall he unto you without blemish) 
 and their drink offerings. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 1 The offering at the feast of trumpets, 7 at the (hy of 
 afflicting their .muls, 13 and on the eight days oj the 
 feast oj tabernacles. 
 
 ND in the seventh month, on the first 
 
 daif of the month, ye shall have an 
 
 holy convocation; ye shall do no servile 
 
 Lcy.23. work: Mt is a day of blowing the trumpets 
 
 imto you. 
 
 2 And ye shall offer a burnt offering for 
 a sweet savour unto the Loud; one young 
 bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the 
 first year without blemish : 
 
 3 And their meat offering sJtall he of 
 flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals 
 for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a 
 ram, 
 
 4 And one tentli deal for one lamb, 
 throughout the seven lambs : 
 
 5 And one kid of the goats Jor a sin 
 offering, to make an atonement for you : 
 
 (j Beside the burnt offering of the month, 
 and his meat offering, and the daily burnt 
 offering, and his meat offering, and their 
 drink offerings, according unto their man- 
 ner, for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by 
 fire unto the Lord. 
 
 It&^l' 7 ^ ^""-^ ' y*^ ^•'•''' '''^^■*^ on the tenth dai/ 
 27. of this seventh month an holy convocation; 
 
 and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not 
 
 do any work l/ierein : 
 
 8 But ye shall offer a burnt offering un- 
 
 Clw]). XXIX. ver. 12. — a fcasf} The feast of Ubemacles 
 Lev. xxiii. 3+, which was kept at the close of their vintiige and 
 harvest, Deut. xvi. l.J. This beinju' a time of lei.siire and enjoy- 
 ment, Go<l thought fit to oblijie the Israchtes to a long attendance, 
 and H Rreater niinihcr of siicrifices, than He required at the other 
 festivals. ISp. Kidder. 
 
 13. — llitrlccn youns hidlochs, &c.] The whole number of 
 buUjxk.^ ofTcre,! at this festival was seventy: the rams also and 
 tlie lambs were m a double proportion to what was usual. This 
 
 to the LoRD^or a sweet savour; one young c^^^YsT 
 bullock, one ram, arid seven lambs of the 1452. 
 first year; they shall be unto you without 
 blemish : 
 
 9 And their meat offering shall he o/'flour 
 mingled with oil, three tenth deals to a bul- 
 lock, and two tenth deals to one ram, 
 
 10 A several tenth deal for one lamb, 
 throughout the seven lambs : 
 
 11 One kid of the goats ^o?- a sin ofl'er- 
 ing; beside the sin oflering of atonement, 
 and the continual burnt offering, and the 
 meat oflering of it, and their drink offer- 
 ings. 
 
 12 if And on the fifteenth day of the 
 seventh month ye shall have an holy con- 
 vocation ; ye shall do no servile work, and 
 ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven 
 days: 
 
 13 And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a 
 sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour 
 unto the Lord; thirteen young bullocks, 
 two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first 
 year ; they shall be without blemish : 
 
 14 And their meat oflering shall be of 
 flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals 
 unto every bullock of the thirteen bul- 
 locks, two tenth deals to each ram of the 
 two rams, 
 
 15 And a several tenth deal to each 
 lamb of the fourteen Iambs : 
 
 1 6 And one kid of the goats Jur a sin 
 offering; beside the continual biunt offer- 
 ing, his meat offering, and his think of- 
 fering. 
 
 17 IT And on the second day i/e shall 
 offer twelve young bullocks, two rams, 
 fourteen lambs of the first year without 
 spot : 
 
 18 And their meat oflering and their 
 drink oft'erings for the bullocks, for the 
 rams, and for the lambs, shall be according 
 to their number, after the manner : 
 
 19 And one kid of the goats ^r a sin 
 oflering; beside the continual burnt offer- 
 ing, and the meat offering thereof, and 
 their drink offerings. 
 
 '20 5[ And on the third day eleven bul- 
 locks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first 
 year without blemish; 
 
 was a \ast charge; but more easj' at this time of the year than 
 any other, because now their barn.s were full, and their wine- 
 presses overflowed; and their hearts might well be supposed to 
 be more enlarged than at otiier times, in thankfulness to God for 
 His great benefits, ^'et this \ery gross, troublesome, and expen- 
 sive way of serving God made the best men among them groan 
 and long for the coming of the Messiah; in whose days, their 
 own doctors say, no sacrifices shall remain, but those of thanks- 
 giving, and praise, and prayer. Bp. Patrick.
 
 and their offerings. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX, XXX. 
 
 Vo-iis are not to be broken. 
 
 Before o\ And their meat ofFeiinor and their 
 1452. drink offerings for the bullocks, for the 
 rams, and for the lambs, shall be according 
 to their number, after the manner : 
 
 22 And one goat for a sin offering ; be- 
 side the continual burnt offering, and his 
 meat offering, and his drink offering. 
 
 23 ^ And on the fourth day ten bullocks, 
 two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first 
 year without blemish : 
 
 24 Their meat offering and their drink 
 offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and 
 for the lambs, shall be according to their 
 number, after the manner : 
 
 25 And one kid of the goats for a sin 
 offering ; beside the continual burnt of- 
 fering, his meat offering, and his drink 
 offering. 
 
 26 1[ And on the fifth day nine bullocks, 
 two rams, and fourteen Iambs of the first 
 year without spot : 
 
 27 And their meat offering and their 
 drink offerings for the bullocks, for the 
 rams, and for the lambs, shall be according 
 to their number, after the manner : 
 
 28 And one goat for a sin offering ; be- 
 side the continual burnt offering, and his 
 meat offering, and his drink offering. 
 
 29 IF And on the sixth day eight bul- 
 locks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the 
 first year without blemish : 
 
 30 And their meat offering and their 
 drink offerings for the bullocks, for the 
 rams, and for the lambs, shall be according 
 to their number, after the manner : 
 
 31 And one goat for a sin offering; be- 
 side the continual burnt offering, his meat 
 offering, and his drink offering. 
 
 32 % And on the seventh day seven bul- 
 locks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the 
 first yeai- without blemish : 
 
 33 And their meat offering and their 
 drink offerings for the bullocks, for the 
 rams, and for the lambs, shall be according 
 to their number, after the manner : 
 
 36. — one hiftlock.'^ Thouijh the day were solemn, " that ^reat 
 day of the feast," John vii. 37, yet were the sacrifices fewer tiian 
 on the seventh day, bj' six bullocks and one ram. This, together 
 with the gradual declining of the sacrifices appointed in this fea-st, 
 shews us the invalidity of the legal sacrifices. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 39- These things ye shall do &:c.] It appears by this account, 
 that there were ever3' year sacrificed at the tabernacle, (;uid tem- 
 ple,) at the stated national charge, the following numbers of beasts; 
 namely, 
 
 1,101 lambs, 
 132 bullocks, 
 72 rams, 
 21 kids, 
 2 goats. 
 
 34 And one goat for a sin offering ; be- j-^ ^^l f 
 side the continual burnt offering, his meat H52. 
 offering, and his drink offering. 
 
 35 5[ On the eighth day ye shall have a 
 ■^solemn assembly: ye shall do no servile 'Le»-23. 
 work therein : 
 
 36 But ye shall offer a burnt offering, a 
 sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour 
 unto the Lord : one bullock, one ram, 
 seven lambs of the first year without ble- 
 mish : 
 
 37 Their meat offering and their drink 
 offerings for the bullock, for the ram, and 
 for the lambs, shall be according to their 
 number, after the manner : 
 
 38 And one goat for a sin offering ; be- 
 side the continual burnt offering, and his 
 meat offering, and his drink offering. 
 
 39 These things ye shall II do unto the y Or, 
 Lord in your set feasts, beside your vows, °-"'^' 
 and your freewill offerings, for your burnt 
 offerings, and for your meat offerings, and 
 
 for your drink offerings, and for your peace 
 offerings. 
 
 40 And Moses told the children of Israel 
 according to all that the Lord command- 
 ed Moses. 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 1 J'ows are ml to be broken. 3 The exception of a 
 
 maid's vow. 6 Of a wife's, 
 that is divorced. 
 
 9 ()f a widow's, or her 
 
 AND Moses spake unto the heads of 
 the tribes concerning the children of 
 Israel, saying. This is the thing which the 
 Lord hath commanded. 
 
 2 If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, 
 or swear an oath to bind his soul with a 
 bond ; he shall not t break his word, he t "*''• 
 
 _. n I 11 profane* 
 
 shall do accordmg to all that proceedeth 
 out of his mouth. 
 
 3 If a woman also vow a vow unto the 
 Lord, and bind herself by a bond, being in 
 her father's house in her youtli ; 
 
 4 And her fitther hear her vow, and her 
 bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, 
 
 These made up the morning and evening sacrifices. Besides these, 
 were a vast number of " voluntary, vow, and trespass sacrifices," 
 which, if it were possible to state them, would swell the account 
 to a much greater degree. P>/li-'- 
 
 Chap. XXX. ver. 2 . — stvear an oath to bind his sold nith a 
 bond ,] It is not possible for men to lay a more sacred and so- 
 lemn obligation upon their consciences, than by the religion of 
 an oath. Moses very well exjiresses it by " binding our souls 
 with a bond ; ' intimating, that he, who swears, lays the strongest 
 obligation upon himself, and puts Iiis soul in p;iwn for the truth 
 of what he says. And this obligation no miin can violate, but at 
 the utmost peril of the judgment and vengeance of God. Abp. 
 Tillotson.
 
 Of voxis. 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 The Midianites are spoiled. 
 
 B«ft>«. and lier father shall hold his peace at her : 
 * l"'.'*^ then all her vows shall stand, and every 
 bond wherewith she hath bound her soul 
 shall stand. 
 
 5 But it' her father disallow her in tlie 
 day that he heareth ; not any of her vows, 
 or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound 
 lier soul, shall stand: and the Loitn shall 
 forn-ivc her, because her father disallowed 
 her. 
 
 (3 And if she had at all an husband, when 
 
 t n.h. t she vowed, or uttered ought out of her 
 
 ™^1 lips, wherewith she bound her soul ; 
 
 *<•.. 7 And her husband heard it, and held 
 
 his peace at her in the day that he heard 
 
 /■/ ; then her vows shall stand, and her 
 
 bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall 
 
 stand. 
 
 8 But if her husband disallowed her on 
 the day that he heard it; then he shall 
 make her vow which she vowed, and that 
 which she uttered with her lips, wherewith 
 she bound her soul, of none effect: and the 
 Loud shall forgive her. 
 
 9 But e\ery vow of a widow, and of her 
 that is divorced, wherewith they have bound 
 their souls, shall stand against her. 
 
 10 And if she vowed in her husband's 
 house, or bound her soul by a bond with 
 an oath ; 
 
 1 1 Anil her husband heard it, and held 
 his peace at her, and disallowed her not : 
 then all her vows shall stand, and every 
 bond wherewith she bound her soul shall 
 stand. 
 
 V2 But if her husband hath utterly made 
 them void on ijie day he heard them ; then 
 whatsoever proceeded out of her lips con- 
 cerning her vows, or concerning the bond 
 of her soul, shall not stand : her husband 
 hath made them void ; and the Lord shall 
 forgive her. 
 
 1.3 Every vow, and every binding oath to 
 afflict the soul, her husband may establish 
 it, or her husband may make it void. 
 
 14 But if her husband altogether hold 
 
 5. — the iMrd thaU, forgive her, because Iter fattier disallowed 
 /ifr.] It shall not be imputed to her as a sin, that she pcrfomied 
 not that which her lather does not allow ; since she is not in her 
 own power to dispose of. lip. Ilitll. 
 
 13. — to afflict tkc soul,'] Such as vows of fasting and absti- 
 nence. Lev. xvi. 29. Bp. Kidda: See the note there. 
 
 Chap. XXXI. ver. 2. Avenge t/ie cititdrcn (if Israel] Chap. xxv. 
 l". Moses is commanded here to " avenge the Israelites;" but 
 ver. S, he requires the people to " avenge the Lord." The Mi- 
 dianites had brought destruction upon the people of Israel, and 
 had drawn them from God into idolatry ; and on both these 
 accounu were obnoxious, as offenders against God, and against 
 Israel. B p. Kidder. 
 
 his peace at her from day to day ; then he cnui'^T 
 cstablisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, nsa. 
 which are upon her: he confirnieth them, 
 because he held his peace at her in the day 
 that lie heard them. 
 
 15 But if he shall any ways make them 
 \oid after that he hath heard them ; then 
 lie shall bear her iniquity. 
 
 l(i These are the statutes, which the 
 Lord commanded Moses, between a man 
 and his wife, between the father and his 
 daughter, being yet in her youth in her fa- 
 ther's house. 
 
 CHAP. XXXL 
 
 1 Tlic Midianilcs arc spoiled, and Balaam shin. l.'J 
 Moses is nrolh ivith the officers, for .s(wlni; llic wmnen 
 alin: ly Hoiv tlic soldiers, nnlU t/icir captives and 
 spoil, are to be puri/ied. 25 Tiie proportion irlwrcbt/ 
 tlie prci) is to be divided. 48 The voluntury olilation 
 unto tlie treasury of the Lord. 
 
 A 
 
 ND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 
 2 " Avenge the children of Israel of the • ch.p i-s. 
 Midianites: afterward shalt thou ''be ga- l''^^^ ^, 
 thered unto thy people. 13. 
 
 3 And Moses spake unto the people, 
 saying. Arm some of yourselves unto the 
 war, and let them go against the Midian- 
 ites, and avenge the Lord of Midian. 
 
 4 t Of every tribe a thousand, through- t Heb. 
 
 out all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to ^j.'f;""""' 
 the war. 
 
 ■ilic, a 
 ^ thousand uf 
 
 5 So there were delivered out of the " ""''"'■ 
 thousands of Israel, a thousand of even/ 
 tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 
 
 (i And Moses sent them to the war, a 
 thousand of evert/ tribe, them and Phinehas 
 the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, 
 with the holy instruments, and the trum- 
 pets to blow in his hand. 
 
 7 And they warred against the Midian- 
 ites, as the Lord commanded Moses ; and 
 they slew all the males. 
 
 8 And they slew tlie kings of Midian, 
 beside the rest of them that were slain ; 
 
 (j. — them and rhiiielias'] It is doubted, -whether Pliinehas 
 was sent to conunand the troops, or only to peiform such sa- 
 cred offices, as might be required by the general. 'I'he office 
 of Phinehas a))pears to have been to take care oi' " the holy 
 instruments;" which some su])pose to have been the Urini 
 and Tluninnim : but others more reasonably tlie ark of the 
 covenant, and its contents, which not long alter Joslnia or- 
 dered to be carried, with priests blowing their trumjiets before 
 it, when he surrounded Jericho. It may bo liowever that " the 
 holy instruments" and the trumpets are one and the same. 
 •Stac/ihottse. 
 
 8. — tliet/ slew the Icings of Midian,] Little kings, called 
 princes. Josh. xiii. 21, wliere ihey are said to be dukes of Sihon ;
 
 and Balaam slain. 
 
 21 
 
 chrTst "^'""^^^' "Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and 
 H52. Hiir, and Reba, five kings of Midian : 
 Josh. 13. Balaam also the son of" Beor they slew 
 with the sword. 
 
 9 And the children of Israel took all the 
 women of Midian captives, and their little 
 ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, 
 and all their flocks, and all their goods. 
 
 10 And they burnt all their cities where- 
 in they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, 
 with fire. 
 
 1 1 And they took all the spoil, and all 
 the prey, both of men and of beasts. 
 
 1'2 And they brought the captives, and 
 the prey, and the spoil, unto Closes, and 
 Eleazar the priest, and unto the congre- 
 gation of the children of Israel, unto the 
 camp at the plains of Moab, which are by 
 Jordan near Jericho. 
 
 13 % And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, 
 and all the princes of the congregation, 
 went forth to meet them without the 
 camp. 
 
 li And Moses was wroth with the offi- 
 cers of the host, ",iith the captains over 
 thousands, and captains over hundreds, 
 t ^^^: ^^^ which came from the t battle. 
 
 16 And Moses said unto them, Have ye 
 
 saved all the women alive ? 
 
 Chap. 25. 16 Behold, ''these caused the children 
 
 ^2 Pet. 2. o^ Israel, through the " counsel of Balaam, 
 
 15. to commit trespass against the Lord in the 
 
 that is, great men, tributai'y to Sihon, while he continued king 
 of the Amorites. After he was conquered, they took perhaps the 
 title of kings. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Balaam also the son of Bcor ihcif -slew wilk llw. !in'ord.~\ He 
 
 is here mentioned, because it was he that advised Balak to tempt 
 Israel to sin : he is therefore among those tiiat suffer for it; see 
 ver. 1(5. Bp. JVihori. Perhaps he had returned into Mesopotamia; 
 but when he lieard of the success of his advice against tlic Is- 
 raelites, and how many thousands of them had been cut off in 
 consequence, he may have gone back again to the Midianites in 
 hopes of receiving an ample reward for his services ; or when 
 war was declared against tliem, the Midianitcs may have sent for 
 him again, and he may have been the rather inclined to go, be- 
 cause he might now have hopes of cursing the Israelites with 
 success, since they had a})ostatized from the worship of God, and 
 fallen into idolatry. And it is not unlikely that for this very 
 purpose he was caiTied into the field of battle, and there became 
 a sacrifice to his own e^il policy. Slack/iouse. What, may we 
 suppose, were Balaam's sentiments, when he lay bleeding on the 
 ])lains of Midian ! When all his wicked vision was fled : when he 
 found himself struck witii the hand of death, destitute of all com- 
 fort u])on earth, and of all hope from heaven ! In those bitter 
 moments, we mav supjiose, he saw things in their true light. In 
 tlie agony of despair and iuirrour, he was at length convinced of 
 the folly and wickedness of all his worldly schemes. His " sin 
 had now found him out." And he exclaimed in earnest, what 
 perhaps in the hypocrisy of his soul he had once uttered, " Oh, 
 that I miglit die the death of the righteous, and that my latter 
 end miuht be like his!" May we all catch the warning voice! 
 And may God grant us grace to make a better use of it, through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord ! Gilpin. 
 
 ST 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. Hoiv the soldiers, ^c. are to be purified. 
 
 matter of Peor, and there was a plague ^^''"'^ 
 among the congregation of the Lord. *^"«2.^ 
 
 17 Now therefore "^kill every male among ' Judg. 21. 
 the little ones, and kill every woman that "' 
 hath known man by lying with thim. tHeb. 
 
 18 But all the women children, that have " ""''• 
 not known a man by lying with him, keep 
 alive for yourselves. 
 
 \\) And do ye abide without the camp 
 seven days : whosoever hath killed any 
 person, and ^ whosoever hath touched any b cimp. 19. 
 slain, purify both yourselves and your cap- "•*'^- 
 tives on the third day, and on the seventh 
 day. 
 
 (s!0 And purify all your raiment, and all 
 t that is made of skins, and all work of t ^''''• 
 goats' hair, and all things made of wood, ""'^.^rj/- 
 
 21 ^ And Eleazar the priest said unto »*«»'• 
 the men of war which went to the battle. 
 This is the ordinance of the law which the 
 Lord commanded Moses ; 
 
 22 Only the gold, and the silver, the 
 brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 
 
 23 Every thing that may abide the fire, 
 ye shall make it go through the fire, and it 
 shall be clean : nevertheless it shall be pu- 
 rified with the water of separation : and all 
 that abideth not the fire ye shall make go 
 through the water. 
 
 24 And ye shall wash your clothes on the 
 seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and 
 afterward ye shall come into the camp. 
 
 9. And the children oj' Israel look all the women of Midian cap- 
 livc.'ij'J Having overthroAvn the armies of the Midiaiiites, tliey 
 fell upon tlieir cities; and, according to the ancient custom in the 
 most bloody wars, thej' killed only the men, but no women, nor 
 chikh-en. Gen. xxxiv. iiS ; 1 Kings xi. 1(>. And so the law of 
 f Jod afterwards required them to do, when they took any city, 
 not belonging to the Canaanites, Dcut. xx. l.!, 14, who under 
 some circunistances were utterly to be destroyed, ver. l6, 17. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 17. Norn therefore kill &c.] Moses gave an order that the 
 boys and the women should be put to death, but that the young 
 maidens should be kept alive. This proceeding shews good 
 policj', combined with mercj'. The young men might have be- 
 come dangerous avengers of, what they would esteem, their 
 country's wrongs ; the mothers might have again allured the Is- 
 raelites to the love of licentious pleasures, and the practice of 
 idolatry, and brought another plague upon tlie congregation; but 
 the young maidens not being polluted by the flagitious habits of 
 their mothers, nor likely to create disturbance by rebellion, were 
 kept alive. These young women were reserved lor the purposes 
 of sla\ cry : a custom, abhorrent from our manners, but every 
 where practised in fonner times; and still practised in countries, 
 where the benignity of the Ciu-istian religion has not softened the 
 ferocity of human nature. Bp. ll'at.nm. 
 
 ly. — piirifi/ bulk yourscha^ Such purifications were common 
 among the Geiitiles.'cspecially the Greeks; with whom it was the 
 c ustoin, when they had killetl a man, to wash their hands in water 
 for the purification of the defilement. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 '23. — i/e shall make it i!u through the Jirc,'] This also was a 
 way of purifying among the Gentiles, as old as Homer's time ; 
 but they used sulphur with it. Bp. Patrick.
 
 //(HT the prey 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 is to be divided. 
 
 Drfore 25 % And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 
 Hi,- saynig, 
 
 tiub. '26 Take the sum of tlic prey tthat was 
 
 of 11" cap. taken, both of man ami of beast, thou, and 
 
 Ek'azar tlie priest, and the chief fathers of 
 
 the congregation : 
 
 27 And ih\ide the prey into two parts ; 
 between them tliat took the war upon them, 
 who went out to battle, and between all the 
 congregation : 
 
 28 And levy a tribute unto the Lord of 
 the men of war which went out to battle : 
 one soul of five hundred, both of the per- 
 sons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, 
 and of the sheep : 
 
 29 Take it of their half, and give it unto 
 Eleazar the priest, /or an heave offering of 
 the LoHD. 
 
 30 And of the children of Israel's half, 
 thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the 
 persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of 
 
 II Or.jM/i. the II flocks, of all manner of beasts, and 
 give them unto the Levites, which keep the 
 charge of the tabernacle of the Lord. 
 
 31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did 
 as the Lord commanded Moses. 
 
 32 And the booty, being the rest of the 
 prey which the men of war had caught, 
 was six hundred thousand and seventy 
 thousand and five thousand sheep, 
 
 33 And threescore and twelve thousand 
 beeves, 
 
 34 And threescore and one thousand 
 asses, 
 
 35 And thirty and two thousand persons 
 in all, of women that had not known man 
 by lying with him. 
 
 36 And the half, xchich xcas the portion of 
 them that went out to war, was in number 
 three hundred thousand and seven and 
 thirty thousand and five hundred sheep : 
 
 37 And the Lord's tribute of the sheep 
 was six hundred and threescore and fif- 
 teen. 
 
 38 And the beeves xvere thirty and six 
 thousand; of which the Lord's tribute was 
 threescore and twelve. 
 
 <8. .Ind Icii/ a tribute unto the Ijtrd &c.] The soldiers were 
 ordere<l, out of their half, to deduct a .500th part of every kind of 
 spoil, as an offering to (Jod, in acknowled<;mcnt of Him, as the 
 Sovereign owntr of all, and the Author of all their success. This 
 was to be presented to the prie.sts. Pi/lc. 
 
 30. And of lit.- children of Isracts half, &c.] In like manner, 
 out of the l)alf belonging to the people, who had borne no fatigue 
 in the war, a much larger proportion was to be deducted out of 
 each article of spoil, namely, a 50th part, to be presented to the 
 Lcvito*. the other bnmch oi" Owl's ministrj-. Pi/le. 
 
 4<). — there luckclh not one man </«*.] The Lsraelitish army 
 coasisted ot but twelve thousand men, a mere handful when op- 
 
 39 And tlie asses were thirty thousand ^hrTst 
 and five hundred •, of which the Lord's hsz. 
 tribute "was threescore and one. 
 
 40 And the persons tirrc sixteen thou- 
 sand ; of which the Lord's tribute was 
 thirty and two ))ersons. 
 
 41 And Moses gave the tribute, which 
 was the Lord's heave offering, unto Ele- 
 azar the priest, as the Lord commanded 
 Moses. 
 
 42 And of the children of Israel's half, 
 which Moses divided from the men that 
 warred, 
 
 43 (Now the half that pertained unto the 
 congregation was thi-ee hundred thousand 
 and thirty thousand a?id seven thousand 
 and five hundred sheep, 
 
 44 And thirty and six thousand beeves, 
 
 45 And thirty thousand asses and five 
 hundred, 
 
 46 And sixteen thousand persons ;) 
 
 47 Even of the children of Israel's half, 
 Moses took one portion of fifty, both of 
 man and of beast, and gave them unto the 
 Levites, which kept the charge of the ta- 
 bernacle of the Lord ; as the Lord com- 
 manded Moses. 
 
 48 % And the officers which were over 
 thousands of the host, the captains of thou- 
 sands, and captains of hundreds, came near 
 unto Moses : 
 
 49 And they said unto Moses, Thy ser- 
 vants iiave taken the sum of the men of 
 war which arc under our t charge, and !"<••'• 
 there lacketh not one man of us. 
 
 50 We have therefore brought an obla- 
 tion for the Lord, what every man hath 
 
 t gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and t "'■'J'- 
 bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to 
 make an atonement for our souls before 
 the Lord. 
 
 51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest 
 took the gold of them, even all wrought 
 jewels. 
 
 52 And all the gold of the t offering + Heb. 
 that they oflfered up to the Lord, of the ;' 
 captains of thousands, and of the caj)tains 
 
 heave offh'' 
 "S- 
 
 posed to the people of Midian. Yet when the officers made a 
 muster of their troops after their return from tlie war, tliey found 
 they had not lost a single man ! This circumstance struck them 
 as so decisive an evidence of God's interjwsition, that out of the 
 spoils they had taken they offered " an oblation to the Lord, an 
 atonement for their souls." Bp. Watson. 
 
 .50. — tablets,'] Some ornaments about the breasts ; sec Exod. 
 XXXV. 22. Bj). Patrick. 
 
 to make an atonement for our souls Sec."] The officers of 
 
 the army were sensible, that in saving tlie caj)tive-women alive, 
 they had transgressed their commission ; and therefore they pre- 
 sented a great quantity of jewels and other rich spoils, both as an
 
 Reuben and Gad sue for inheritance. CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 Moses rejyrovelh them. 
 
 cniiTsT *^^' liundreds, was sixteen thousand seven 
 H52. hundred and fifty shekels. 
 
 53 (For tlie men of war had taken spoil, 
 every man for himself.) 
 
 51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest 
 took the gold of the <:aptains of thousands 
 and of hundreds, and brought it into the 
 tabernacle of the congregation, , /or a me- 
 morial fer the cliildren of Israel before the 
 
 t Ilcb. 
 
 Lord. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 1 Tlie Reithenilc.t and Gadiles sue for their inherttance 
 on thai side Jordan, fi Mo.iex reprovdk them, ifi 
 Tlicy offer kim conditions lo his content. '.iS Moses 
 assi'giieifi them Ihc land. 39 They conquer it. 
 
 NOW the children of Reuben and the 
 children of Gad had a very great 
 multitude of cattle: and when they saw the 
 land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, 
 behold, the place was a place for cattle ; 
 
 2 The children of Gad and the children 
 of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and 
 to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes 
 of the congregation, saying, 
 
 S Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and 
 Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and 
 Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon, 
 
 4 Even the country vihich the Lord 
 smote before the congregation of Israel, 
 is a land for cattle, and thy servants has^e 
 cattle : 
 
 5 Wherefore, said they, if we have found 
 grace in thy sight, let this land be given 
 unto thy servants for a possession, and 
 bring us not over Jordan. 
 
 6 ^ And Moses said unto the children 
 of Gad and to the childi'en of Reuben, 
 Shall your brethren go to war, and shall 
 ye sit here? 
 
 7 And wherefore t discourage ye the 
 heart of the children of Israel from going- 
 over into the land which the Lord hath 
 given them? 
 
 8 Thus did your fathers, when I sent 
 them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 
 
 expiatory fiff'cring', to atone for their offence ; and as a gratulatory 
 oft'ering, in iickiiowledgment of God's goodness in giving tiietn so 
 great and sigoal a victory. • Stiic/thoiise. 
 
 Cii. — for a mcmorr(ir\ A memorial at once of God's mercy in 
 preserving their niunber entire ; and of their gratitude and piety 
 - in offering up their tribute of praise. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Cliap. XXXII. ver. 1. — llic land of Jau'r,'^ Lately taken from 
 the Amorites, after the death of Sihon, their king, Xmnb. xxi. 32. 
 This city, and the country belonging to it, were near the spring 
 of tlie river Amon. Bp. Patrick-. 
 
 tliQ land of Gilend,'^ A rich country, so called from 
 
 mount Giieail, winch bounded it on tlic east, as Jordan did on 
 Vol- L 
 
 p. H. 
 
 9 For ' when they went up unto the val- ^<^"^ 
 ley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they ttis- '^"«2^'^ 
 couraged the heart of the children of •cha,.. 13. 
 Israel, that they should not go into the '■*^ 
 land which the Lord frad givni them. 
 
 10 And the Lord's anger was kindled 
 the same time, and he swarc, saying, 
 
 1 1 Surely none of the meii that qamc 
 iip out of Egypt, "from twenty years old. \^^l 
 and upward, shall see the laiuV* which I"' 
 sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and Unto- 
 Jacob ; because they have not twhollvfol- tHei.. 
 lowed me: >^'t, 
 
 12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunueh the 
 Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun : for 
 they have wholly followed the Lord. 
 
 13 And the Lord's anger was lj:indled 
 against Israel, and he made them wander 
 in the wilderness forty years, until all the 
 generation, that had done evil in the sight 
 of the Lord, was consumed. 
 
 14 And, behold, ye are risen up in your 
 fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, 
 to augment yet the fierce anger of the 
 Lord toward Israel. 
 
 15 For if ye turn a^ray'from after him, 
 he will yet again leave them in the wilder- 
 ness ; and ye shall destroy all this people. 
 
 16 ^ And they came near unto him, ami 
 said, We will build sheepfblds here for our 
 cattle, and cities for our little ones : 
 
 17 But we ourselves will go ready armed 
 before the children of Israel, until we have 
 brought them unto their place : and our 
 little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities 
 because of the inhabitants of the land. 
 
 18 We will not return unto our house;?, 
 until the children of Israel have inherited 
 every man his inheritance. 
 
 ly For we will not inherit with thtni on 
 yonder side Jordan, or fbi'ward ; because 
 our inheritance is fallen to us on this side 
 Jordan eastward. 
 
 20 ^ And ' Moses said unto them. If ye 'J- 
 will do this thing, if ye will go ar»?»ed be- '" 
 
 JoiJi. I . 
 
 ■o» " ye 
 fore the Lord to war, 
 
 the west, the river Jabbok on the south, and mount Libanus on 
 the north. Bp. Palriclc 
 
 a place for catllc ;] In this aiuntry was Rashan, Dent. 
 
 iii. 12, 13, where were bred tlie Lirgest and fattest oxen, I's. xxii. 
 I'i, and sheep also, Deut. xx.xii; 14, and therefore it is j.iined 
 witli Gilead, Mic. vii. 14; wliich, lieiMjr woody ;ind mountainous 
 in some parts, was no less famous for breeding goats, see Ciuit 
 iv. 1, whicli dehght to brouse on such trees as mount Gilead 
 abounded with. Bp. Pa trie/-:. 
 
 12. — the Kenezite,'] PriJiably so called fr«m Kenae, one of 
 his ancesUirs. Bp. PalricL 
 
 20. — iftfe trill po armr-d bcjiite. lie Lord to mar^ That i«, 
 before the arkj the symbol of tlu- Lord's iwesence. These two 
 
 Tl,
 
 The lituUiutts and GudiifS have the 
 
 N U U B E K S. 
 
 hind un Ihe east side oj' Jordan. 
 
 IS. 
 
 B»rc« '21 Ami will j^o all of vou arineil over 
 *'""«i.'*^ Jonian before the Loiin,' until lie luitli 
 driven out his enemies from before him, 
 
 '2'2 And the huid be subdued before the 
 Loud : then aftersv aril ye shall return, ami 
 be guiltless before the" Loiiu, and before 
 Israel ; and this land shall be your posses- 
 sion before the Loud. 
 
 23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye 
 Ijave sinned ajj^ainst the Loud : and be sure 
 your sin will find \ou out. 
 
 21. Build you cities for your little ones, 
 and foKls for your sheep ; and do that 
 which hath proceeded out of your mouth. 
 
 2.5 Ami the children of Gad and the 
 children of Keiiben spake unto Moses, say- 
 ing, Thy servants will do as my lord com- 
 niandeth. 
 
 26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, 
 and all our cattle, shall be there in the ci- 
 ties of Gilead : 
 -Josh. 4. oy d jjut tiiy servants will pass over, 
 every man armed lor war, before the Lokd 
 to battle, as my lord sailh. 
 
 2S So concerning them Moses com- 
 manded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the 
 son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the 
 tribes of the children of Israel : 
 
 29 And Moses said unto them. If the 
 children of (iad and the children of Reu- 
 ben w ill pass with you o\er Jordan, every 
 man armed to battle, before the Lord, and 
 the land shall be subdued before you ; then 
 ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a 
 possession : 
 
 30 But if they will not pass over with 
 you armed, they shall ha\e possessions a- 
 niong you in the land of Canaan. 
 
 31 And the children of Gad and the 
 
 tribes always lay encamped before the sanctuary, chap. ii. WTien 
 the camp rcmovod, they iiiiirched before it, chap. x. so tliat Moses 
 here requires them, only to liold their usual place, which it is ex- 
 pressly Slid that they did, .Josh iv. 12, 1.3. Bn. Pal rid;. 
 
 23. — i/viir sill uiH /iiiil 1/1)11 uiil.'^ You shM be punished for 
 your disi.hedience. Bp. Kidder. Sloses consents to tlie request 
 of the Reubenites and Ci.idites on certain conditions ; but is very 
 e.-u-nest that the conditions, which he prescribed, sliould be punc- 
 tually observed. Accordingly he represents sin, by which he 
 means the consequence of sin, under the strong image of a per- 
 son, who should certainly find out every transgressor among 
 them, that did not punctually perform the condition, to which he 
 ha<l agree<l. Gilpin. 
 
 " If men sin lurainst tlie Lord, their sin will surely find them 
 out :" tlut the world may be convinced, tliat (jod governs it in 
 truth and justice, and that lie sees all things that are done imder 
 the sun ; that good men may be reclaimed by His fatherly cor- 
 rections ; that wicked men may be left without excuse ; .ind tiiat 
 all may Iw aw,ikene<l to a due care of their ways, that so they 
 may avoid what will otherwise certainly come upon them Bn 
 fMUon. '' 
 
 X7. But thy iervant* niU past oixr,] Not strictly, all the men 
 
 children of Reuben answered, saying, As ^h^rist 
 the Loud hath said unto thy servants, so 1452. 
 will we do. 
 
 32 We will pass over armed before the 
 Lord into the land of Canaan, that the 
 possession of our inheritance on this side 
 Jorilan jnaij he our's. 
 
 33 And " Moses gave unto them, even to ' Deut. 3. 
 the children of Gad, and to the children 'i^sh. 1:5. ». 
 of Reuben, antl unto lialf the tribe of Ma- & '--' •«• 
 nasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of 
 Sihon king of the Anioriles, and the king- 
 dom of Og king of Bashan, the laud, with 
 the cities thereof in the coasts, even the 
 cities of the country round about. 
 
 31 If And the children of Gad built 
 Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, 
 
 35 And Atroth, JShophan, and Jaazer, 
 and Jogbehah, 
 
 30 And Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, 
 fenced cities : and folds for sheep. 
 
 37 And the children of Reuben built 
 Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim, 
 
 38 And Nebo, and Baal-meon, (their 
 names being changed,) and Shibmah : and 
 
 t gave other names unto the cities which f Hib. 
 
 they builded. 't-''Z"'f 
 
 39 And the chikb'en of 'Machir the son iVZmes 
 of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, fe^'/|^;;''' 
 and dispossessed the Amorite which teas 23. 
 
 in it. 
 
 40 And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir 
 the son of Manasseh ; and he dwelt therein. 
 
 41 And *^ Jair the son of Manasseh went e Dent. r>. 
 and took the small towns thereof, and call- '•* l 
 ed them Ilavoth-jair. j 
 
 42 And Nobah went and took Kenath, ' 
 and the villages thereof, and called it No- 
 bah, after his own name. 
 
 of war .".rnong them ; b\it as many as could be spared, and as 
 were thought sufficient. There went in fact 40,000 out of, pro- 
 bably, 100,1)00. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 .'5.'5. — fialf tlie Iritte of Ma/iasscli'] Tlie history does not men- 
 tion how this half tribe chose to stay. Probably, when tliey saw 
 the success of thfe other two tribes, they might represent to Moses 
 tlieir great stock of cattle ; and tliat the country would be equally 
 commodious to them, as well as too large for only two tribes to 
 occupy. Without doubt Moses was inclined to listen to tlicin, 
 because the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had by their 
 valour subdued a great part of the country where they settled.- 
 Slackltotise. 
 
 34. — built'] Repaired and fortified. 
 
 38. — {llieir naiiii's being c/iiiiiged,yj Nebo, as Ayell as Baal, was 
 the name of a god. Is. xlvi. 1, probably an Assj-rian deity. It 
 is not unlikely th.at the Israelites changed the names of these 
 cities, that they might abolish all remains of idolatry in the 
 country. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 40. — Moses gave Gilead vnio Machir] He gave half of 
 mount Gilead to the descendants of Machir, Deut. iii. 12, 
 IS. 
 
 41. — Hamlh-jair.] That is, the habitations of Jair.
 
 The journeys 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 of the Ixraeliles. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1452. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 50 The 
 
 1 Two and forlif journeys of the Israelites. 
 Caitaantics arc to be destroyed. 
 
 r"JpHESE are the journeys of the children 
 jL of Israel, which went forth out of the 
 
 Chap. XXXIII. ver. 1. These arc the journeys &c.] The 
 travels of the Israelites from E^ypt to the promised land of Ca- 
 naan are a matter of such important consideration, so abounding 
 vith the instances of miraculous power, of Divine wisdom, and 
 the wonders of Providence, in behalf of His Church and people, 
 that for tlie more perfect preservation of the memory of so great a 
 work of Cxod, Moses was, b}' His express command, obliged to 
 recapitulate the several principal stages of this long journey, and 
 set them all in one view for the benefit of posterity. Pyle. As the 
 best comment on this chapter, the reader is referred to the Map 
 of the Journeyings of the Israelites; together with the subjoined 
 Table of Stations, from Dr. Hales. 
 
 TABLE OF STATIONS, &c. 
 
 Y. M 
 1 1 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 1 Ramcses, near Cairo - - - 
 
 2 Suceoth ...-..- 
 
 3 Etham, or Adsjerud - - - 
 
 4 Pi-hahiroth, or Valley of Bedea 
 
 5 Sliur ; Ain Musa 7 
 
 6 Desert of Slmr, or Etham J 
 
 7 Marah, — " bitter" waters healed 
 
 8 Elim, Valley of Corondel - - 
 
 9 Encampuient by the Red sea 
 
 10 Desert of Sin, Valley of Baliarim 
 Quails, for a day - - - - 
 Manna, for forty years - - - 
 Sabbath renewed, or revived 
 
 n Dophkah 
 
 12 Ahis!) 
 
 13 Rcphidim 
 
 Water from the rock Massah - 
 Amalckites defeated - - - 
 Jethro's visit ------ 
 
 Judges appointed - . - . 
 
 14 Motmt Sinai, or Horeb 
 
 The Decalogue given - - - 
 The Covenant made - - - 
 The Golden Calf - . . - 
 
 Tlie Covenant renewed - - 
 The first muster or numbering 
 The Tabernacle erected - - 
 Aaron and his sons consecrated 
 Sacrifices of atonement - - - 
 The second passover - - - 
 'rhe second muster - - - - 
 Nadab and Abihu destroyed - 
 
 15 Desert of Paran . - . . 
 
 16 Tabcrah ------- 
 
 Murmuring of the people - - 
 
 17 Kibroth-hattaavah, or Topliel - 
 
 Quails, for a month - - . 
 Plague of the people - - - 
 Council of LXX appointed 
 
 18 Ilazeroth ...... 
 
 Miriam's leprosy ... 
 
 19 Kadesh-harnea in RithmaJi T 
 
 or " the Desert of Sin," > 
 or Paran J 
 
 Twelve spies sent out - - . 
 
 Tlieir return ...... 
 
 Tile people rebel .... 
 
 Sentenced to wander forty years 
 
 Ten of the spies destroyed - - 
 The peojile defeated by the 
 Animalekites - - - - 
 Rebellion of Korah, &c. - 
 
 Exod. xii. ,^7. ] 
 
 xii. .■57. 
 
 xiii. 20. 
 
 xiv. 2. 
 
 XV. 22. 
 
 XV. 23. 
 
 XV. 27. 
 
 xvi. 1. 
 
 xvi. 13. 
 
 xvi. .35. 
 
 xvi. 23. 
 
 xvii. 1. 
 
 ivii. 6. 
 
 xvii. 13. 
 
 xviii. S. 
 
 xviii. 25. 
 
 xix. 1. 
 
 XX. 1. 
 
 xxlv. 7. 
 
 xxxii. 6. 
 
 Nehem. ix.18 
 
 Ex. xxxiv. 27. 
 
 xxxviii. 2G. 
 
 xl. 17. 
 
 Lev. viii. 6. 
 
 ix. 1. 
 
 Numb. ix. 5. 
 
 iii. 4. 
 
 Lev. X. 1. 
 
 Numb. X. 12. 
 
 X. 33. 
 
 xi. 3. 
 
 xi. 34. 
 
 Deut. i. 1 . 
 
 Numb. xi. 35. 
 
 Dcut. i. 1. 
 
 Numb. xii. 10. 
 
 xii. 16. 
 
 xxxii. 8. 
 
 xiii. 2. 
 
 xiii. 2(). 
 
 xiv. 2. 
 
 xiv. 33. 
 
 xxxii. 13. 
 
 xiv. 37. 
 
 xiv. 45. 
 
 xvi. J. 
 
 Num. 
 
 xxxiii. 3. 
 
 xxxiii. 5. 
 
 xxxiii. 6. 
 
 xxxiii. 7. 
 
 xxxiii. 3. 
 
 xxxiii. 8. 
 
 xxxiii. 9. 
 
 xxxiii. 10. 
 
 xxxiii. 11. 
 
 xxxiii. 12. 
 xxxiii. 13. 
 xxxiii. 14, 
 
 xxxiii. 15. 
 
 xxxiii. IG. 
 
 xxxut. 17. 
 
 xxxiii. IS. 
 
 land of Egypt with their armies under the 
 hand of Moses and Aaron. 
 
 2 And Moses wrote their goings out ac- 
 cording to their journeys by the command- 
 ment of the Loud : and these are their 
 journeys according to their goings out. 
 
 Before 
 CUHCST 
 
 1452. 
 
 Y. JI. D. 
 
 40 
 
 40 
 
 40 
 40 
 
 The budding of Aaron's rod 
 '20 Riminon-parez - . . - 
 
 21 Lilinah, or Laban ... 
 
 22 Rissah ...... 
 
 23 KelicLitliah - . . . - 
 
 24 Mount Shapher . . - 
 
 25 Haradali or - - - . - 
 Haiar-addar, or Adar 
 
 . Num. xvii. 10. 
 
 - I 
 
 Deut. i. 1. 
 
 2C Makheloth ... 
 Tahath - - . . 
 
 28 Tarah .... 
 
 29 Mithcah . . . - 
 
 30 Hashmonah or - - 
 Azraon, or Selmonah 
 
 31 Beeroth ..... 
 
 32 Moseroth, or Mosera 
 
 33 Bene-jaakan, or Banca 
 
 34 Hor-hagidgad, or - - 
 Gudgodah .... 
 
 35 Jotb.-itliah, or - - - 
 Etebatha, or Elath 
 
 Num. xxxiv. 4. 
 Josli. XV. 3. 
 
 Num. xxxiv. 4. 
 
 36 Ebronah ....... 
 
 37 Ezion-gaber, or ... 
 Dizahab ..... 
 
 38 Kadesh-barnea again, after 
 
 thirt)'-eight years . - - 
 ]\Iiriam's death . . - - 
 
 Water from the rock Meribah 
 Moses and Aaron offended 
 
 39 Mount Hor, or Seir, on tlic 
 edge of Edom .... 
 
 Aaron's deatli .... 
 
 King Arad attacks the Israelites 
 
 40 Kibrotli-hattaavah, or Tophcl / 
 again -..-._ ^ 
 
 41 Zalmonal), or Hasmonah again 
 'J'hc people bitten by serpents 
 The brascn serpent erected 
 
 42 Punon ....... 
 
 43 Obotli - 
 
 44 Ilm, or Ijc-abarim, in the 1 
 border of Moab - . ^ 
 
 45 The valley and brook Zcred - 
 
 46 Amon ....... 
 
 47 Beer, or Beer Elim ... 
 
 48 Jahaz ....... 
 
 49 Heslibon 
 
 Sihon defeated . . - . . 
 
 50 Jaazer ....... 
 
 51 Edrei .-....- 
 Og defeated ..... 
 
 52 Dibon.gad ----.. 
 
 53 Almon-diblatli.iim - - - 
 
 54 Mattanah ...... 
 
 5 Nahaliel 
 
 6 Bamoth -....-. 
 
 7 Pisgah ....... 
 
 8 .\barim ....... 
 
 59 Shittim, or Abel shittim 
 
 in the plains of Moab 
 Idolatry of Baal-peor - - - 
 Midianitcs punished - - 
 
 The third muster .... 
 Last exhortations of Moses 
 Joshua appointed his successor 
 
 Death of Moses ... 
 A month's mourning - - 
 Joshua sends two spies 
 60 Passage of the river Jordan 
 
 Its 
 
 Josh. 
 Deut. 
 
 Num. 
 
 ii. 8. 
 1 Kings ix. 26. 
 
 Deut. i. 1. 
 
 \ ... 
 
 XXXUl. 
 
 xxxiii. 
 
 34. 
 35. 
 
 ii. 14. 
 
 xxxiii. 
 
 36. 
 
 Num. XX. 1. 
 XX. 13. 
 
 
 
 XX. 12. 
 xxvii. 14. 
 
 1 
 
 
 XX. 22. 
 
 xx.xiii 
 
 3r. 
 
 XX. 23. 
 xxi. 1. 
 
 xxxiii 
 
 30- 
 
 Dcut. i. 1 
 
 Num. XXL. 8 
 
 xxi. 10. 
 
 xxi. 12. 
 
 Deut. ii. 13. 
 
 Num. xxi. 13. 
 
 xxi. 16. 
 
 Isaiah xv. 8. 
 
 Num. .\xi. 23. 
 
 xxi. to- 
 
 xxi Si. 
 xxi. 3;>. 
 
 Ezek. vi. 
 Nuiu. xxi. 
 
 x.vi. 
 xxi. 
 
 1. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Josh. iii. 
 
 Num. XXV. 3. 
 
 XXV. 17. 
 
 xxvi. •?. 
 
 Dcut. i. 3. 
 
 Num. xxvii. 18. 
 
 Deut xxxiv. 9. 
 
 xxxiv. 5. 
 
 xxxiv. 8 
 
 Josh. ii. 1. 
 
 It. la. 
 
 xxxiiL If. 
 xxxiii. 20. 
 xxxiii. 21. 
 xxxiii. 22. 
 xxxiii. 23. 
 xxxiii. 24. 
 
 xxxiii. 25* 
 xxxiiL 26. 
 xxxiii. 27. 
 xxxiii. 28. 
 xxxiii. 29. 
 
 xxxiii. 30. 
 xxxiii. 31. 
 xxxiii. 32. 
 
 xxxiii. 33. 
 
 xxxiii. 41. 
 
 XXXUl. 42. 
 xxxiii. 43. 
 
 xxxiii. I>t 
 
 xxxiii. 4.5. 
 xxxiii. 46. 
 
 xxxiii. 47. 
 xxxiii. 4^
 
 Thejournctfs 
 
 NUMB E R S. 
 
 of the Israelites. 
 
 urfo" 3 Anil tlvey ' dopaitcd from Ramescs in 
 ^"«i!*' tlie first nioiilli, on the tilUH-ntli ilay of 
 •Eiod iJ. the first month; on the morrow alter the 
 'T- passovcr the chiUheii of Israel went out 
 
 "''■ with an high iiaml in the sight of all the 
 Egyptians. 
 
 4 For the Eg\ i)tians hnried all their hrst- 
 born, which the Loiiu had smitten among 
 them: upon their gods also the Loud ex- 
 ecuted judgments. 
 
 .5 And the children of Israel remov- 
 ed from Raineses, ami pitched in Suc- 
 
 coth, 
 »E.od.i3. ^\ \^^\ tiipv departed from ''Succoth, 
 
 "^ and pitched in Ethum, which is in the 
 
 edge of the wilderness. 
 
 7 And they removed from Etham, and 
 turned again" unto Pi-liahiroth, Avhich is 
 beiore Baal-zephon: and they pitched be- 
 fore Migdol. 
 
 5 And thev dejjarted from before Pi- 
 ^Exod.15. liahiroth, and 'passed through the midst 
 
 of the sea into the wilderness, and went 
 three days' journey in the wilderness of 
 Etham, and pitched in Marah. 
 !) Anil they removed from Marah, and 
 
 * ExoA 15. d j.jj„,j, j,„^o" Elim: and in Elim were 
 
 twelve fountains of water, and three- 
 score and ten palm trees; and they pitch- 
 ed there. 
 
 10 And they removed from Elim, and 
 encamped by the Red sea. 
 
 11 And they removed from the Red 
 
 * Exo.1 iG. sea, and encamped in the " wilderness of 
 '■ Sin. 
 
 12 And they took their journey out of 
 the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in 
 Dophkah. 
 
 13 And they departed from Dophkah, 
 and encamped in Ahish. 
 
 1 1 And they removed from Alush, and 
 «E«od.i7. encamped at Re])hidim, where was no 
 '• water for the people to drink. 
 
 •<9o- 15 And they departed from Rephi- 
 
 » EioA IP. iliin, and pitched in the ^ wilderness of 
 Sinai. 
 
 Hi And they removed from the desert 
 »ch»p.ii. of Sinai, and pitched " at || Kibroth-hat- 
 rTi.a.K taavali. 
 
 thrpnvcs 17 And they departed from Ki- 
 f^'^ 11. hroth-hattaavah, and ' encamped at Ha- 
 ^- zeroth. 
 
 18 And they departed from Hazeroth, 
 and ])itched in Rithmah. 
 
 1!) And they departed from Rithmah, 
 and pitched at Rimmon-parez. 
 
 ~0 And tliey departed liom Rimmon- 
 parez, and pit(iiicd in Libuah. 
 
 21 And they removed from Libnali, and ^ j"*"^",' ^.j. 
 pitched at Rissah. usa. 
 
 2'2 And they journeyed from Rissah, 
 and ])itched in Kehelathah. 
 
 '2^ And they went from Kehelathah, and 
 pitched in mount Shapher. 
 
 'Jt And they removed from mount Sha- 
 pher, and encamped in Haradah. 
 
 •■15 And they removed from Haradah, 
 and pitched in Makheloth. 
 
 '2G And they removed from Makheloth, 
 and encamj)ed at Tahath. 
 
 '27 And they departed from Tahath, and 
 pitched at Tarah. 
 
 'JS And they removed from Tarah, and 
 pitched in Mithcah. 
 
 '29 And they went from Mithcah, and 
 pitched in Hashmonah. 
 
 30 And thev departed from Hashmonah, 
 
 and '' encami)ed at Moscroth. g'^^'"'- "*• 
 
 31 And tlicy departed from Moseroth, 
 and pitched in Bene-jaakan. 
 
 3-2 And they removed irom Bene-jaakan, 
 and encamped at Hor-hagidgad. 
 
 33 And they went from Hor-hagidgad, 
 and pitched in Jotbatluih. 
 
 S^t And they removed from Jotbathah, 
 and encamped at Ebronah. 
 
 35 And they de})artcd from Ebronah, 
 and encamped at Eziou-gaber. 
 
 3() And they removed from Ezion-gabcr, i^^s. 
 and pitched in the ' wilderness of Zin, which ' chap. jo. 
 is Kadesh. 
 
 37 And tliey removed from " Kadesh, °' c1">p- 20. 
 and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge of 
 
 the land of Edom. 
 
 38 And "Aaron the priest went up into " ci.ap. 20. 
 mount Hor at the commandment of the uc^t. 32. 
 Lord, and died there, in the fortieth year so. 
 after the children of Israel were come out 
 
 of the land of Egypt, in the first day of 
 the fifth month. 
 
 39 And Aaron ivas an hundred and 
 twenty and three years old when he died 1452. 
 in mount Hor. 
 
 40 And "king Arad the Canaanite, <> chap. 21. 
 which dwelt in the south in the land of '■ *""■ 
 Canaan, heard of the coming of the chil- 
 dren of Israel. 
 
 41 And they departed from mount ^ Hor, ^ chap. 21, 
 and pitched in Zalmonah. 
 
 l^ And they departed from Zalmonah, 
 and pitched in Punon. 
 
 43 And they departed from Punon, and 
 pitched in Oboth. 
 
 44 And they departed from Oboth, and 
 pitciied in |1 Ije-abarim, in the border of U ^' , 
 
 ivioao. , Aburint. ■
 
 The Canaaniks 
 
 CHAP. XXXm, XXXIV. 
 
 are to be destroyed. 
 
 ,i'5efo'e 45 And they departed from lim, and 
 1.452. pitched in Dibon-gad. 
 
 46 And they removed from Dibon-gad, 
 and encamped in Ahnon-diblathaim. 
 
 47 And they removed from Ahnon-dib- 
 lathaim, and pitched in the mountains of 
 Abarim, before Nebo. 
 
 48 And they departed from the moun- 
 tains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains 
 of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. 
 
 49 And they pitched by Jordan, from 
 II o-"- Beth-jesimoth eveti unto II '* Abel-shittim in 
 'ofsmlm. the plains of Moab. 
 
 'Chip. 05. .5Q ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses 
 in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Je- 
 richo, saying, 
 
 51 Speak unto the chikkcn of Israel, and 
 'Deut.7.2. gay unto them, ' When ye are passed over 
 
 Josh. 11. y •' , . , , , ..•'^~ '■ 
 
 iL'. Jordan mto the land or Canaan ; 
 
 52 Then }'e shall drive out all the inha- 
 bitants of tiie land from before you, and 
 destroy all their pictures, and destroy all 
 their molten images, and quite pluck down 
 all their high places : 
 
 53 And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants 
 of the land, and dwell therein: for I have 
 given you the land to possess it. 
 
 • Oiap. 2c. 54 And ' ye shall divide the land by lot 
 ■^^' for an inheritance among your families : 
 
 52. — deslroif all their pielures,'] All those images and repre- 
 sentations, upon what material soever they were wrought, which 
 were worshipped, or designed for such an use. Compare Deut. 
 xvi. 22, with Lev. xxvi. 1. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 /liglt places ;] That is, all groves or buildings for wor- 
 
 sJjip, which were generally in high places. See Deut. xii. 2. 
 Bj). Kidder. 
 
 55. — if ^e wi/l not drive out &c.] At first they could not 
 drive them out, for it was not God's design. Therefore Joshua 
 would not attempt it, while he lived : but left several nations, or 
 part of them, imsubdued, Judg. ii. 21, 23 ; of which he himself 
 takes notice a little before he died. Josh, xxiii. 4, 7, where he 
 warns the Israelites to have nothing to do witli them, promising 
 that God would in time expel them quite, chap. v. 5. But when 
 the Israelites grew slothfiil and cowardly, and negligently suf- 
 fered the people of Canaan to dwell among them, and make 
 friendship with them, as they did alter Joshua and all that gene- 
 ration were dead, then followed what is here threatened in the 
 next words. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 s/mll be pricks in your eyes, &c.] Bring very sore cala- 
 mities upon you ; as grievous and as mischievous as a woimd 
 made in the eye, which is a most tender jxirt ; or in the side when 
 a thorn sticks and festers in it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 56. — / s/ialt do unto you, as I tlioiiglil to do unto //jem.] As I 
 purposed to do unto them : that is, 1 will make you their slaves, 
 as the Isra'.'lites became to several people, whom they served 
 many years, Judg. iii. 8, 14; vi. 2, and miuiy other places. Or, 
 make you flee before them ; and at last expel you from the land 
 which I give you. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXXIV. ver. 2. — When ye come into the land of Ca- 
 7iaan ; Scc.'^ By the Abrahamick covenant the original grant of 
 the promised land to the Israehtes was " from tlic river of E- 
 gypt" (the Nile southwards) "to the great river, the river Eu- 
 piirates," (northwards,) Gen. xv. 18. 
 
 atid to the more ye shall t give the more 
 inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall tgive 
 the less inheritance : every man's inherit- 
 ance sliall be in the place where his lot fall- 
 eth ; according to the tribes of your fathers 
 ye shall inherit. 
 
 55 But if ye will not drive out the in- 
 habitants of the land from before vou ; 
 then it shall come to pass, that those 
 which ye let remain of them .shall l^ 
 ' pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your 
 sides, and shall vex you in the land wiiere- 
 in ye dwell. 
 
 50 Moreover it shall come to pass, that 
 I shall do unto you, as I thought to do 
 unto them. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 1 The borders of the land. l6 The names of the men 
 which shall divide the land. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1453. 
 
 t Heb. 
 viuitiply hit 
 inheritance. 
 t Hell. 
 diminish /lis 
 inheritance. 
 
 ' Josh. 23. 
 13. 
 Judg. 2. 3. 
 
 A 
 
 ND the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 
 2 Command the children of Israel, and 
 say unto them. When ye come into the 
 land of Canaan ; (this is the land that 
 shall fall unto you for an inheritance, 
 even the land of Canaan with the coasts 
 thereof:) 
 
 The boundaries of it are accurately described by ^f oses in this 
 chapter, before the Israelites entered into it. " \\'hen ye come 
 into the land of Canaan, (this is the land that shall fall unto 
 you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts 
 thereof:) 
 
 " Your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin, 
 along by the coast of Edora," or Iduniea. This was its general 
 description. Tlie boundary itself is next traced : " And your 
 south border shall be the outmost coast of the Salt sea eastward ;" 
 or as e.xplainetl by Joshua's description afterwards, chap. xv. 2 — 4, 
 " the south border of the tribe of Judah began from the bay of 
 the Salt sea that looketh southward;" or by combining both, 
 fi-om the southeast comer of the Salt sea, or Asphaltite lake. 
 " From thence, your border shall turn southwards to the ascent 
 of Akrabbim," or the mountains of Accaba, (signilyiii|f '• ascent" 
 in Arabick,) which run towai'ds the head of the Elanitick or 
 eastern gulph of the Red sea; passing, we may piesume, through 
 the seaports of Elath and Ezion-gaber on the Red sea, which be- 
 longed to Solomon, 1 Kings ix. 26, tliough they are not noticed 
 in this place. 
 
 " Thence it shall pass on to (the wilderness of) Zin," on the 
 east side of mount Hor, including that whole mountainous region 
 within the boundary ; " and the going fortli thereof shall be to 
 Kadcsh-bamea southwards, and it shall go on to Hazar-addar, 
 and pass on to Azmon." 
 
 " And the border shall fetch a compass," or form an angle, 
 " from .\zmon," or turn westwards towards the river of Egypt, 
 or Polusiack branch of the Nile; " and its outgoings shall be at 
 the sea, " the MediteiTanean. This termination of the southern 
 border wcst\var{is is exactly conformable to the accounts of He- 
 rodotus and Pliny : the former represents mount Casius lying 
 between Pclusium and the Sirbonick lake, ;is the boundary be- 
 tween Egypt and Palestine Syria, the latter reckoned the Sir- 
 bonick lake itself as the boundary. 
 
 " And as for the western border, ye shall have the Great sea for
 
 The borders oj iht land. 
 
 NUMBER S. 
 
 The names of the men 
 
 Before i^ TlicM ^ vour soutli qiuirtor sliall be from 
 ^^^"li'.'*'^ tlic wiUlonios of Zin along by the coast of 
 •j<wh. 15. Kdom, ami your soutli borilcr shall be the 
 ' outmost coast of the salt sea eastward : 
 
 4 And your bonier sliall turn from the 
 south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass 
 on to Zin : and the going forth thereof 
 shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, 
 anil shall go on to llazar-addar, and pass 
 on to Aznjon : 
 
 5 And the border shall fetch a compass 
 from A/mon unto the river of Kgypt, and 
 the goings out of it shall be at the sea. 
 
 () And n.s for the western border, ye 
 shall even have the great sea for a border : 
 this shall be your west border. 
 
 7 And this shall be your north border : 
 from the great sea ye shall point out for 
 you mount Hor : 
 
 8 From mount Hor yc shall point out 
 your border unto the entrance of Hamath ; 
 and the goings forth of the border shall be 
 to Zedad : 
 
 9 ^ And the border shall go on to Ziph- 
 ron, and the goings out of it shall be at 
 Hazar-enan : this shall be your north bor- 
 der. 
 
 10 And ye shall point out your east bor- 
 der from Hazar-enan to Shepham : 
 
 11 And the coast shall go down from 
 
 Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of chIust 
 A in ; and the border shall descend, and has. 
 shall reach unto the t side of the sea of t "<•'•• 
 C'hinnereth eastward : s//<>uWc.-. 
 
 Vi And the border shall go dowii to Jor- 
 dan, and the goings out of it shall be at 
 the salt sea : this shall be your land with 
 the coasts thereof round about. 
 
 18 And Moses commanded the children 
 of Israel, saying. This is the land which ye 
 shall inherit by lot, which the Lord com- 
 manded to give unto the nine tribes, and 
 to the half tribe : 
 
 11. ''For the tribe of the children of "Chap. 32. 
 Reuben according to the house of their f^^^ y^ „ 
 fathers, and the tribe of the children of 3. 
 Gad according to the house of their fa- 
 thers, have received their inheritance ; and 
 half the tribe of Manasseh have received 
 their inheritance : 
 
 15 The two tribes and the half tribe 
 ha\'e received their inheritance on this side 
 Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the 
 sunrising. 
 
 16 And the Loud spake unto Moses, 
 saying, 
 
 17 These are the names of the men 
 which shall divide the land unto you : 
 ""Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son 'Josh. J9. 
 or ISun. 
 
 a border : this shall be your western border." The Great sea is 
 the Mediterrajiean, as contrasted with tlie smaller seas or lakes, 
 the Red .sea, the Sidt sea, and tlie sea of Tiberias, or Galilee. 
 
 " Anil this shall be your north border : from the Great sea you 
 shall point out llor-ha-lior, (not " mount Hor," as rendered in our 
 Tcrsion, confounding it with that on the southern border, but) 
 " the mountain of tiie mountain," or " the double moinitain," or 
 mount Lebanon, which I'ornied the northern frontier of Palestine, 
 di\ ulinj; it from Syria ; consisting of two great parallel ranges, 
 calletl Libanus and Antilibanus, (derived from Ichan, " white," 
 because tlieir summits are usually covered with snow,) arid rui'i- 
 mng eastwards from the neighbourhood of Sidon to that of Da- 
 mascus. 
 
 " From Hor-ha-hor ye shall point your border to the entrance 
 of Hamath;" which .Joshua, speaking of the yet uneonquered 
 land, descnbes, " All Lebanon, towards the sunrising, from the 
 Talley of Baal-gad, under mount Hennon, unto the entrance of 
 Hamath," Josh. xm. .5. This demonstrates, that Hor-ha-hor 
 corresponded to all Lebanon, including mount Hermon as iudi- 
 ciously rcniarked by Wells; who observes, tliat it is not decided, 
 which of the two ridges, the northern or the souUiern, was pro- 
 perly Libanus; the natives at present call the southern so, but 
 the ^cptuagint and I'tolemy called it Antilibanus 
 
 "From Hamath it shall go on to Zedad, and from thence to 
 Ziphron, and the gom.gs out of it shall be at H;izar-enan, (near 
 Damascus, Ezek xlvni. 1,) this shall be your north border. 
 Sl> ^hn"^ ^'^ 'h P°'"' °f ,r'"' f"'^ ^'""''" fr'"" Hazar-enan to 
 
 of AhW.; T\ ' '°'-^' **""" *?° ''"";" '" ^"'^^>- «" '^'^ «--='^t side 
 ot Am, ( the fountain" or spnngs of Uic river Jordan ;) and tlie 
 border shall descend, and shall reach unto the (east) si e of U e 
 sea of Chinnereth," (or sea of Galilee, or lake of Tiberias thence 
 probably called Gennesareth in our Saviours time.) "And the 
 border shall go do>.-B to Jordan on the east side. a. d the goings 
 
 51. 
 
 out of it shall be at the Salt sea." There it met the southern 
 border, at tlic southeast corner of tliat sea, or the Asphaltite 
 lake. 
 
 " This shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about" 
 in circuit. 
 
 Sucli was the admirable geographical chart of the land of 
 promise, dictated to Moses by the God of Israel, and described 
 with all tlie accuracy of an eyewitness. 
 
 In his first expedition Joshua subdued all the southern depart- 
 ment of the promised land, and in Iiis second the northern, 
 having spent five years in botii. Josh. xi. IS'. What Joshua left 
 uiifuiisliL'd of the conquest of the whole, was afterwards com- 
 pleted by David and Solomon. In the reign of the latter was 
 realized the Abraharaick covenant in its full extent. 
 
 " And .Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river (Eu- 
 plirates) unto the land of the Pliilistines, and unto the border of 
 Egypt : — for he had dominion over all tlie region on this sitle of 
 the river (Euphrates) from Tiplisah (or Thapsacus situated there- 
 on) even to Azzah (or " Gaza with her towns and her villages, 
 unto the river of Egypt," southward, " and the Great sea," west- 
 ward. Josh. XV. 47,) over all the kings on this side the river," 
 (Euphrates,) 1 Kings iv. 21, 2i. Dr. Hales, 
 
 For a farther explanation of what is here said concerning the 
 borders of the land of Canaan, the reader is referred to the map. 
 
 17. These arc the names of the vien which shall divide the land 
 unto you : &c.] Nothing could be more prudent, than this par- 
 tition of the country by lot, and making Joshua and the high 
 priest superintendents of it : since it was the only plan which 
 could effectually prevent all murmurings and quarrellings among 
 such an obstinate people as the Jews. However, as t)ie lots were to 
 bear a proportion to the size of each tribe and family, it is supposed 
 from what followed, that every tribe first drew its lot, for its own 
 canton ; and that, after that, there were proper persons appointed
 
 ^kkh shall divide the la7id. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV, XXXV. 
 
 The cities of the Levites. 
 
 ch'rist ^^ ^^^ y^ ^^^'^ ^^^^ °"^ prince of every 
 1452. tribe, to divide the land by inheritance. 
 
 19 And the names of" the men Are these: 
 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of 
 Jephunneh. 
 
 20 And of the tribe of the children of 
 Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihiid. 
 
 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the 
 son of Chislon. 
 
 22 And tlie prince of the tribe of the 
 children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli. 
 
 23 The prince of the children of Jo- 
 seph, fur the tribe of the children of Ma- 
 iiassch, liannicl the son of Ephod. 
 
 2-i And the prince of the tribe of the 
 children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of 
 Shiphtan. 
 
 2.5 And the prince of the tribe of the 
 children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of 
 Parnach. 
 
 26 And the prince of the tribe of the 
 children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of 
 Azzan. 
 
 27 And the prince of the tribe of the 
 children of Asher, Ahihud the son of 
 Shelomi. 
 
 28 And the prince of the tribe of the 
 children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of 
 Ammihud. 
 
 29 These are they whom the Lord com- 
 manded to divide the inheritance unto the 
 children of Israel in the land of Canaan. 
 
 CHAP. XXXV. 
 
 1 Eight and forty citie.ifor the Leviies with their suburbs, 
 and measure thereof. 6 fsix of them are to be cities of 
 refuge, y The laws of' murder. ."1 No sati.sjactiaii 
 Jor murder. 
 
 1451. A ND the Lord spake unto Moses in 
 jlX the plains of Moab by Jordan near 
 • Josh "1 Jericho, saying, 
 2. 2 ^Command the children of Israel, that 
 
 to measure out a quantity of land for each family, according to 
 their size. But whether this distribution was made by this or 
 any other method; whether tlie subdivisions between the families 
 were conducted by lot or otherwise, it is certain that we do not 
 read of any broils or jealousies, that it ever occasioned among 
 them. Stac/chouse. 
 
 Chap. XXXV. ver. 1. And the Lord spahe unto Moses &c.] 
 Hitherto nothing had been said of the Levites, but that they 
 should have no lot in the land of Canaan. But now (Jod pro- 
 vides that they should have habitations assigned them to dwell 
 in, though they had not fields, nor olive yards, &c. as tlieir 
 brethren had ; with such a portion of ground about their houses, 
 as might serve for their more commodious subsistence. Bp. 
 Patrich: 
 
 3, 4, and 5.] The grounds, appropriated to the Levites, were 
 to be close under the walls, or nearest to tlie buildings of the 
 several towns, and were to consist of two piu-ts. First, a space of 
 about 500 y;u-ds iu length, immediately from the walls round tlie 
 
 ttfhiue them 
 i/e shall giiC' 
 
 they give unto the Levites of the inhe- ^''^°'^. 
 ritance of their possession cities to dwell ^"45!.^^ 
 in ; and ye shall give alao imto the Levites 
 suburbs for the cities round about them. 
 
 3 And the cities shall they have to dwell 
 in ; and the suburbs of them shall be for 
 their cattle, and for their goods, and for 
 all their beasts. 
 
 4< And the suburbs of the cities, which 
 ve shall give luito the Levites, shall reach ■ 
 from the wall of the city and outward a 
 thousand cubits round about. 
 
 5 And ye shall measure from without 
 the city on the east side two thousand cu- 
 bits, and on the south side two thousand 
 cubits, and on the west side two thousand 
 cubits, and on the north side two thousand 
 cubits ; and the city shall be in the midst : 
 this shall be to them the suburbs of the 
 cities. 
 
 (i And among the cities which ye shall 
 give unto the Levites thej-e shall be '' six " Dent. 4. 
 citi&s for refuge, which ye shall appoint jo:i,. 2a 2. 
 for the manslayer, that he may flee thi- & 21. s. 
 ther : and tto them ye shall add forty and + Heb. 
 two cities. 
 
 7 So all the cities which ye shall give to 
 the Levites shall be forty and eight cities : 
 them shall ye give with their suburbs. 
 
 8 And the cities which ye shall give shall 
 be of the possession of the children of Is- 
 rael : from them that have many ye shall 
 give many; but from them that have few 
 ye shall give few : every one shall give of 
 his cities unto the Levites according to his 
 inheritance which t he inheriteth. t Het.. 
 
 9 IT And the Lord spake unto Moses, '^'J""'"'-^- 
 saying,^ 
 
 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, 
 
 and say unto them, " When ye be come ' D*"'- 's- 
 over Jordan into the land of Canaan ; }o,h. 20. a 
 
 11 Then ye shall appoint you cities to 
 
 town, was appropriated to them, for houses, stables, and stowage? 
 for their cattle of all kinds ; and from thence the space of some- 
 thing above 1,000 yards of ground more, for their pasturage. 
 Pyk. 
 
 6. — cities for refuge,"^ See Dent. iv. \-Z ; six. \ ; and the 
 notes there. 
 
 7. — all the cities which ijc shall give to the Levites &c.]] Moses 
 allotted to the Levites these forty-eiglit cities in different parts of 
 the land ; that they might « itii more convenience go to perfonn 
 religious offices in e\ery quai-ter ; jiarticiiliU'lj- that of instructing 
 the people, wliich Moses expressly assigns to their wliole tribe. 
 Dent, xxxiii. 10. .ibp. Seeker. 
 
 Of these Levitical cities, thirteen were properly sacerdotal ; 
 namely, those assigned to the sons of Aaron, to whom tlie priest- 
 hood was exclusively confined : for though all were Levites, these 
 only could be priests. And tl>e legal economy of High Priest, 
 Priest, and Levitc, has been adoptecl in the Cltfi^tian, of Bishop, 
 Priest, and Deacon. Dr. Jialet.
 
 The cities oj refuge. 
 
 NUMBER S. 
 
 The laws of murder. 
 
 Brfor* be cities of refuge for you ; that the slayer 
 '"""1*^ may flee tlutlar, which killeth any person 
 . „ . t at unawares. . . 
 
 ib-TT^r. iq And ihev shall be imto you ciUes for 
 refuge from the avenger; that the man- 
 slayer die not. until he stand before the 
 congregation iu judgment. 
 
 IJ And of these cities which ye shall 
 give six cities shall ye have for refiige. 
 
 It Ye sliall give three cities on this side 
 Jordau, and three cities shall ye give in 
 the land of Canaan, -u)iiic/i shall be cities 
 
 of" refuge. 
 
 lo These six cities shall be a refuge, 
 bof/i for the children of Israel, and for the 
 gtranger, and for the sojourner among 
 them : that every one that killeth any 
 person unawares may flee thither. 
 'Eiod.2i. 16 ■'And if he smite him with an instru- 
 "• ment of iron, so that he die, he is a mur- 
 
 derer : the murderer shall surely be put to 
 death. 
 tH«b. 17 And if he smite him twith throwing 
 
 wuhaufit a stone, wherewith he may die, aud he die, 
 .f,i.chm,d. j^^ .^ ^ nmrderer : the murderer shall sure- 
 ly be put to death. 
 
 18 Or if he smite him with an ha(\d- 
 weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, 
 and he die, he is a murderer : the mur- 
 derer shall surely be put to death. 
 
 If) The revenger of blood himself shall 
 slay tiie murderer : when he meeteth Jiim, 
 he shall slav him. 
 
 I .;. — Jhnn the avenger ;'\ Called " the revenger of blood," 
 ver. 1 p. The Hebrew signifies a liedcaiicr ; and becjiuse the 
 rifiht. of redemption of estates belonged to the iieaiX'St kinsman, 
 the word iniporU* such a kinsman here. Bp. KJildci: 
 
 Iltal the mauslaticr die nol^ By a sudden heat of passion 
 
 in the nearest kinMiinn to the deceased. This was a merciful 
 provisiuu, both fiir the inanslayei-, that lie might be preserved ; 
 and for thc^aveiv^er, that liis blood might cool, by the reilioval of 
 the niiuislayer out of his sight. Ifp. t'aliick. 
 
 . r until he stand before the congregation'^ The city of refuge 
 
 protected the innocent, and such as were not condenmed, but it 
 did not protect tlieni from giving an account before tlie judges. 
 This they were obliged to do, either at their entrance into the 
 tity of refuge. Josh. xx. 4, or in the place where the fact was 
 committed. Dp. Kidder. 
 
 15. — fur the stranger, "^ Or proselyte, as in the Creek: that 
 is, one who undertakes uie religion of the Israelites, and was 
 thereby distinguislied from the sojourner, who, tliough he did not 
 oblige himself to all their laws, was yet permitted to live among 
 them. lip. Kidder. Both strnngers aiid sojourners had renounced 
 idolatry : but had not equally embraced the Jewish religion. Yet 
 both had the same share in this benefit with tlu:' native Israelites; 
 it being a natural right, tliat every innocent man should be pro- 
 tected. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1(5. And if lie smile him &C.3 Rather, But if he smite him. 
 It was to be presumed, that he who ran at a man with a sword, 
 or any such weapon, intended to do him 11 mischief; though per- 
 Ihiju he had no malice to lum beforehand, but did it in a passion. 
 Bp. Pafrick. It was the opinion of a very learned judge, that if 
 
 '20 But if ' he thrust him of liatrcd, or ^,^ ^"[^.j, 
 hurl at him by laying of wait, tliat he die ; i4.'>i. 
 
 21 Or in enmity smite him with his ° D<.ut. 19. 
 hand, that he die : he that smote fiim shall '"'■ 
 surely be put to death ; Jbr he is a mur- 
 derer : the revenger of blood shall slay 
 the murderer, when he meeteth him. 
 
 22 But if he thrust him suddenly ' with- "Exod-ai. 
 (Jilt enmity, or have cast upon him any 
 thing without laying of wait, 
 
 2;3 Or with any stone, wherewith a man 
 may die, seeing /«?w not, and cast it upon 
 him, that he die, and xcas not his enemy, 
 neither sought his harm : 
 
 21' Then the congregation shall judge 
 between the slayer and the revenger of 
 blood according to these judgmeuts : 
 
 25 And the congregation shall deliver 
 the slayer out of the hand of tlie revenger 
 of blood, and the congregation shall re, 
 store him to the city of his refuge, whither 
 he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto 
 the death of the high priest, which was 
 anointed with the holy oil. 
 
 20 But if the slayer shall at any time 
 come without the border of the city of his 
 refiige, whither he was fled ; 
 
 27 And the revenger of blood find him 
 without the borders of the city of his re- 
 fuge, and the revenger of blood kill the 
 slayer ; t he shall hot be guilty of blood : t "«'>• 
 
 28 Because he should have remained in "h^be 
 the city of his refuge until the death of «>/ii»». 
 
 a man killed his neighbour with a weapon or instrument likely 
 to kill him, it was malice prepense in the eye of the law. So that 
 rencounters, as they are called, and chance medley, &c. where 
 Uie instrument was such as would probably kill a man, were 
 murder. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 20. Bid ifhcthni.'it &c.] Kathcr, Or if he thrust i<lc. Pijic. 
 
 21. — xliall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him.'\ The re- 
 venger of blood, to whom lawful authority shall commit the exe- ( 
 cution, shall slay the murderer : when he is delivered into his 
 hand by a legal judgment, he shall be his executioner. Bp. Hall. 
 He was not bound to stay for the judgment of the co\wt, but 
 might kill him, wheresoever he found him. Bp. Patriclc 
 
 22. But if he thrust him suddenly without enmiii/, &c.] In all 
 these judgments or rules, there is a plain exemption of what we 
 call chance medley, from the guilt of murder ; but not of that 
 wliich we call manslaughter. A man that strikes, thrusts, or 
 throws any thing with design of killing, is here a. murderer, 
 though he did it not out of an old envy, but on a sudden rage or 
 passion. Dr. Wall. 
 
 24. — tlic congregation'} The judges and elders, to whom such 
 causes belong. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 25. — and he shall abide in «7] This retiremerit of the man- 
 slayer appears to have been «ujoined, for a warning to all others 
 to be careful and watdiful, lest by any negligence, surprise, or 
 heedlessness, they endangered the life of any person : and at the 
 same time, by the absejice and retirement of the slayer, to miti- 
 gate the resentment of the relations and near friends of the slaiu, 
 and prevent them from executing any revenge. Pyle. 
 
 uHto t/ie death of the high priest,'^ That being a time of
 
 No satisfaction Jbr murder. 
 
 CHAP. XXXV, XXXVI. 
 
 Latvsfor inheritances. 
 
 !''ie land. 
 
 chrTst *'^^ ^"^'^ priest : but after the death of the 
 1451. Iiigh priest the slayer shall return into the 
 land of his possession. 
 
 29 So these things shall be for a statute 
 of judgment unto you throughout your 
 generations in all your dwellings. 
 
 30 Whoso killeth any person, the mur- 
 « Deut. 17. derer shall be put to death by the ^ mouth 
 
 6. & 19. IS. j;. ., ", • "^ 1 11 , 
 
 Matth. 18. oi Witnesses : but one witness shall not 
 "Cor 1" I t^^tify against any person to cause him to 
 
 Hebr. 10. die. 
 
 -^' 31 Moreover ye shall take no satisfac- 
 
 tion for the life of a murderer, which is 
 tHeb. t guilty of death: but he shall be surely 
 
 faulty /u ^ • .* 
 
 'die. put to death. 
 
 32 And ye shall take no satisfaction for 
 him that is fled to the city of his refuge, 
 that he should come again to dwell in the 
 land, until the death of the priest. 
 
 33 So ye shall not pollute the land 
 wherein ye are : for blood it defileth the 
 
 t Heb. land: and tthe land cannot be cleansed of 
 bfZexpia- the blood that is shed therein, but by the 
 wm/or blood of him that shed it. 
 
 34 Defile not therefore the land which 
 ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the 
 Lord dwell among the children of Israel. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 1 T/ie inconvenience qftlie inheritance of daughters 5 is 
 remedied bi/ marrying in their own tribes, 7 lest the in- 
 heritance should be removed from the tribe. 10 The 
 daughters of Zelophehad marrtj their father's bro- 
 thers' sons. 
 
 AND the chief fathers of the families 
 of the children of Gilead, the son of 
 Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the fami- 
 
 piiblick mourning, when their great advocate died, was a fit sea- 
 son for men to lay aside their private animosities, and forget their 
 particular feuds and quarrels. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 31. Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction &c.] If a murderer 
 would have given all his estate to save his life, or the avenger of 
 blood would have accepted a compensation, or freely let him go, 
 the judges, when they had found him guilty, coulil not restore 
 him to the city of refuge, but he was to suffer deatJi. For the 
 life of him that was slain was not, as Maimonides says, part of 
 the goods of the avenger of blood, but belonged to Almighty 
 Ciod; who set such a value on a man's life, that He would not 
 suffer any price to be taken for it. Bp. Patrick. The crime of 
 ilcliberate and wilful murder is a crime at which lumian nature 
 starts, and which is, I believe, punished almost universally througii- 
 out the world with death. The words of the Mosaical law (oxer 
 and above the general precept of Noah, that " whoso sheddeth 
 nnn's blood, by man shall his blood be shed") are very cmphati- 
 cal in prohibiting the pardon of murderers : " moreover ye shall 
 take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer who is guilty of 
 death, but he shall surely be put to deatii: for the land cannot be 
 cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him 
 that shed it." And therefore the British law has provided one 
 course of prosecution, that by appeal, wherein the king himself is 
 excluded the power of pardoning miu-der : so tliat, were tlie king 
 Vol. I. 
 
 unto whom 
 thei/ shaU 
 
 lies of the sons of Joseph, came near, and chrTst 
 .spake before Mose.s, and before the princes, h3i. 
 the chief fathers of the children of Israel : 
 
 2 And they said, "The Loud command- ' Chap.27. 
 ed my lord to give the land for an inlie- ]'^y,_ ,73. 
 ritance by lot to the children of Israel : 
 
 and my lord was commanded by the Lord 
 to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our 
 brother unto his daughters. 
 
 3 And if they be married to any of the 
 sons of the other tribes of the children of 
 Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken 
 from the inheritance of our fathers, and 
 shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe 
 t whereunto they are received : so shall it t "e^- 
 be taken from the lot of our inheritance 
 
 4 And when the jubile of the children of *' 
 Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance 
 be put unto the inheritance of the tribe 
 whereunto they are received : so shall their 
 inheritance be taken away from the inhe- 
 ritance of the tribe of our fathers. 
 
 5 And Moses commanded the children 
 of Israel according to the word of the 
 Loud, saying. The tribe of the sons of Jo- 
 seph hath said well. 
 
 6 This is the thing which the Lord doth 
 command concerning the daughters of Ze- 
 lophehad, saying. Let them t marry to whom t Hcb. 
 they think best; ''only to the family of the *';X'j.,. 
 tribe of their father shall they marry. 
 
 7 So shall not the inheritance of the chil- 
 dren of Israel remove from tribe to tribe : 
 for every one of the children of Israel shall 
 t keep himself to the inheritance of the ^ Heb. 
 tribe of his fathers. 
 
 8 And every daughter, that possesseth 
 
 ctenve t« 
 the. Sec. 
 
 of England so inclined, he could not imitate that Polish monarch 
 mentioned by Puffendorf ; who thought proper to remit the pe- 
 nalties of murder to all the nobility, in an edict, witli this arro- 
 gant preamble, " We, mitigating the rigour of the Divine Law, &c." 
 Sir If m. Blackstone. 
 
 Chap. XXXVI. ver. 6. — only to the family of the tribe of their 
 father shall they marry.^ Tlie original division of land was to the 
 several tribes according to their families ; so that each tribe wa.s 
 settled in tlie same county, and each family in the same barony 
 or hundred. Nor was the estate of any family in one tribe per- 
 mitted to pass into another, even by the marriage of an heiress. 
 So tliat, not only was tlie original balance of property preserved, 
 but the closest and dearest connexions of affinity attached to each 
 other the inliabitants of every vicinage. Thus domestick virtue 
 and affection had a more extensive sphere of action : the happi- 
 ness of rural life was increased, and a general attention to virtue 
 and decorum was promoted, from that natural emulation, which 
 each family would feel to preserve unsullied the reputation of 
 their neighbourhood: and the poor might every where expect more 
 ready assistance, since they implored it from men, whose sympa- 
 thy in their sufferings would be quickened by hereditary friend- 
 ship, and hereditary connexion. Dr. Graves. 
 
 8. .Iml every daiighler, that iMsstsselh an inheritance &c.]] The 
 
 U u
 
 La'j:sfor 
 
 Hcft.,c an inheritance in any tribe of tlie children 
 
 "«i'*^ of Israel, shall be wife inito ow of the fa- 
 
 niilv of the tribe of her lather, that the 
 
 children of Israel may enjoy every man 
 
 the iniieritance of his fathers, 
 
 t) Neither siiall tiie inheritance remove 
 from one tribe to another tribe ; but every 
 one of the tribes of the cliildren of Israel 
 shall keep himself to his own inheritance. 
 
 10 Even as the Loud coiiinianded Moses, 
 so did the dauj^hters of Zelophehad : 
 
 1 1 'For Malilah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 inheritances. 
 
 ' Ch«ii. S7 
 I. 
 
 particular law, relating to Zelophchail's daughters, is here passed 
 into a gciienJ law I'ot/icircsses: for it should be remembered, that 
 
 Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelo- j,„'',jYst 
 phehad, were married unto their father's 1451. 
 brothers' sons : 
 
 12 And they were married tinto the fa- +Heb. 
 milies of the sons of Manasseh the son of JhaTwere 
 Joseph, and their inheritance remained in "fii>ef*- 
 the tribe of the family of their father. ""''"• 
 
 13 These arc the commandments and 
 the judgments, which the Lord command- 
 ed by the hand of Moses unto the children 
 of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan 
 near Jericho. 
 
 tlie case concerned no other women, but such as possessed an in- 
 heritance. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 The following are the Chapters from tlie Book of Numbers, appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holydays. 
 
 Chap. XI. rer. 16, to ver. 30, 
 
 XVI. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 XXIII. 1 
 
 XXIV. >- - - - 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Monday in Whitsun-week, 
 1st Sunday after Easter, - - 
 Ditto, 
 
 2d Sunday after Easter, 
 Ditto, 
 
 Evening. 
 Morning. 
 Evening. 
 
 Morning. 
 
 Evening. 
 
 ii
 
 THE FIFTH BOOK OF MOSES, 
 
 CALLED 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE fifth and last book of the Pentateuch is called " Deuteronomy," a word composed of two Greek words, signifying a repetition of 
 the Law. It contains indeed a compendious repetition of the Law, enlarged with many explanatorj- additions, and enforced by the 
 strongest and most pathetick exhortations to obedience ; as well for the more forcible impression on the Israelites in general, as in 
 particular for the benefit of those, who, being born in the wilderness, were not present at the first promulgation of the Law. Ft is a 
 kind of manual of Divine wisdom ; a conmjentary on the Decalogue ; and contains such laws, as concerned the people in general, as 
 to their civil, military, and religious government, omitting for the most part what related to the Priests and Levites. It was delivered 
 by Moses, a little time previous to his death, to the people whom he had long governed and instructed ; and it was bequeathed, with 
 his other writings, to the charge of the Levites, as the most valuable testimony of liis regard, in the fortieth year after the departure 
 from Egypt, in the year of the world 2552. 
 
 The book opens with an interesting address to the Israelites, in which Moses briefly recapitulates the many circumstances, in which 
 they had experienced the Divine favour since their departure from Horeb. He describes the success and victories, whicli Jiad marked 
 their progress ; the incredulous murmurs and ingratitude, by which the people had incensed God ; and the effects of the Di\ine 
 wrath ; especially in the inexorable decree, by which he himself had been debarred from that land, for the possession of which he 
 \lad so earnestly toiled. He proceeds with the most animated zeal to exhort them to future obedience : and to rehearse in a discourse, 
 renewed at intervals, the various commandments, statutes, and judgments, wliich had been delivered to them by God, that they 
 might become " a wise and understanding nation ;" and fulfil the terms of that covenant, which the Lord liad made with tliem in 
 Horeb. Moses, while he intersperses with these laws frequent reproaches for their past misconduct, unfolds the glorious attribute* 
 of God, and reiterates every persuasive motive to obedience. He commands them to distinguish their first entrance into Qmaan, by 
 a publick display of reverence for God's law : by erecting stones on which all its words and precepts might be inscribed. He enters 
 into a new covenant with the people ; which not only included that previously made at Horel), but which renewed also and ratified 
 those assurances of spiritual blessings, long before imparted to Abraham and his descendants. He then, in consistency with the 
 promises and sanctions of both covenants, sets forth for their election, " life and good, and death and evil :" temporal and eternal 
 recompense, or present and future punishment. 
 
 Deuteronomy contains a period of nearly two months : an history of the conclusion of the life of Moses, whose last days were dis- 
 tinguished by increasing solicitude, and by tiie most active exertions for the welfare of his people. After a commemorative hjTim, in 
 which lie particularly exhorts them to " consider their latter end ;" and after having uttered his prophetick blessings in solemn and 
 appropriate promises to the several tribes, this great man is represented to have retired, by Divine command, to the top of mount 
 Nebo ; from whence he had a prospect of Canaan, and foresaw the speedy accomplishment of God's promises. He then, in the full 
 possession of his powers and faculties, when " his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated," died in tlie 120th year of his age. 
 
 This book is cited as the book of Moses in many parts of Scripture, and numberless passages are produced from it in testimony, by 
 Christ and His Apostles. 
 
 With respect to the prophetick part of Deuteronomy, it should be remarked, that the Messiah is here more explicitly foretokl than in 
 the preceding books, and described as the completion of the Jewish economy. " I will raise them up a Prophet from among their 
 brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak imto them all tliat I shall command Him." The 
 prophecies of Moses increase in number and clearness towards the close of his writings. As he approached the end of his life, he 
 appears to have discerned futiuity with more exactness. His deniuiciation concerning the future rewards and punishments, the 
 success, dispersions, and desolations of his people ; liis prophetick blessings on the tribes ; hLs description of the rapid victories of 
 the Romans ; and of the miseries to be sustained by his besieged countrymen ; and particularly his prophecies relative to their present 
 condition, as accomplished under oiu- own observation, bear a striking evidence to the truth and uispiration of his writings, and fear- 
 fully illustrate the character of the Divine attributes. 
 
 The book of Deuteronomy brings down the Sacred History to the year of the world 2552, and completes the volume of the Pentateucb, 
 of which every part is uniformly and consistently perfect. Dr. Crai/.
 
 y/ repetition of 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 former tilings. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 T 
 
 I Or. 
 
 H3I. 
 
 Btfvrr 
 CHKIST 
 
 UAI. 1 3fo,„' tpffch i„ i/,f end of the foilieth year, briefly 
 rfhcartins the slorif (i of ft«/ .t promise, 1 3 of giving: 
 them officers, 19 of se'mtiiig the sjurs to xcnrc/i the 
 land, Ji of Uod's anger for their increduliti), H and 
 disobedience. 
 
 f^HESE l>e the words which Moses 
 spake unto all Israel on this side Jor- 
 dan in tlie wiklerness, in the plain over 
 afjainst 11 the Red sea, between Paran, and 
 'I'ophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and 
 Dizahab. 
 
 2 ( T/iere are ele\cn days' journei/ from 
 Horeb bv the way of mount .Seir unto 
 Kadesh-barnea.) 
 
 3 And it came to pass in the fortieth 
 vcar, in the eleventh month, on the first 
 daj/ of the month, that Moses spake unto 
 the children of Israel, according unto all 
 that the Lonu had given him in command- 
 ment unto them ; 
 
 SI. 8?. t 'Aller he had slain Sihon the king of 
 
 Chap. I. ver. 1. These he the n-ords tv/iich Moses spake &C.3 
 This exordium to Deuteronomy is remarkable. It states that this 
 book is not, hkr the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, 
 a direct narration or journal of the various events, which occurred 
 to the .lewisli legislator and nation from the commencement of 
 their deli\ erance from Egypt ; but that it is a recapitulation of 
 ever)' thinjr, which Moses thoujrht it necessary to notice, in ad- 
 dressing the people shortly before his death, at the close of the 
 forty years, during which he had acted as their lawgiver and 
 judge. Dr. Graves. 
 
 on this side Jordan"] Namely, on the "ca.stern" side of 
 
 Jordan, " by the wilderness" that lay on the soutlieast of the 
 plain of Moah. In this plain the Israelites had been encamped 
 since the time intimated in Numb. xxii. 1, their camp lying, 
 not "over against the Red sea," which the Hebrew word "z'uph" 
 sometimes signifies, but from which they were now far distant ; 
 but "over against a place called Zuph," as in the margin; and 
 " between the places ' last mentioned in this verse, which appear 
 to have been frontier towns of the country of Moab, that lay upon 
 the borders of this plain. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells, Pyle. 
 
 ± (There are rlei^en days' jmimeif v<tc.] This is said to intimate 
 that the tedious tract of time, occupied in coming to this border 
 of Canaan, is not to be ascribed to the length of the way thither 
 from Egypt ; there being only eleven days' continued march 
 from Horeb, » here the Law was given, to Kadesh-barnea, whence 
 the distance to Canaan is very small ; but partly to a desiTn of 
 proving tliem, and partly as a just punishment upon the infidelity 
 and disobe<lience of the foregoing generation. .See Numb. xiii. 
 and xiv. Pyle. 
 
 3. — in the fortieth year,] Moses was the immediate agent of 
 God in all those mighty operations, which took place, during his 
 residence with the Israelites in Egypt, as well as in those which 
 ensued. The destination of this people was to the land of Cana;in : 
 and though the history of their journey ings mav not be unifonnly 
 attended with tlie same astonishing prodigies as they had expe- 
 riencetl in Egypt, yet in every movement, throughout the whole 
 process, there are marks of Divine power and wisdom, by which 
 they were at all times conducted. For no man cotdd have form- 
 ed such a system, much less have carried it on in the manner by 
 *, .k V T^ " •''' ^^ completed. After the signal deliverance 
 at the Red sea, mstead of taking tlie shortest course to Cana^ui, 
 Moses sets out m a quite contrarj- direction, southward towards 
 J'ar,-.n : and ha\ »,g led the people Uirough one barren wild, he 
 druigs them mto anotlier, stiU more barren and horrid In Uiis 
 
 the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, (,j^^"fgT, 
 and Og the king of Bashaii, which dwelt 1451. 
 at Astaroth in Edrei : 
 
 5 On this side Jordan, in the land of 
 Moab, began Moses to declare this law, 
 saying, 
 
 (i The Lord our God spake unto us in 
 Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough '^*'- 
 in this mount : 
 
 7 Turn you, and take yoiu- journey, and 
 go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto 
 tall t/ic places nigh thereunto, in the plain, tHeb. 
 
 in the iiills, and in the vale, and in the °",!','t„„„. 
 south, and by the sea side, to the land of 
 the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto 
 the great river, the river Euphrates. 
 
 8 Behold, I have t set the land before t Hcb. 
 you : go in and possess the land which the ^"'"'' 
 Lord sware unto your fathers, ''Abraham, 'g°f"' '^' 
 Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and 7,8. 
 
 to their seed after them. 
 
 9 ^ And I spake unto you at that time, 
 
 desert they reside near forty years, where a cara^'an could not 
 subsist for a month. It is moreover said, that in this state of tra- 
 vel for so many years, their apparel lasted to the very conclusion 
 of their journey, Deut. xxix. .5. It is farther said, that when they 
 were afflicted with thirst, the solid rocks affordetl them streams 
 of water, Ps. Ixxviii. l6, and that for a long .season they were fed 
 with a peculiar food from heaven, Deut. viii. 3. And this must 
 necessarily have been the case : for there was not subsistence in 
 the desert for one hundredth part of their number. In short, it 
 seemed good to Divine wisdom, to bring the Israelites into perib 
 of various kinds, from whence there seemed no opening for 
 escape ; no subterfuge, which could avail them. And this was 
 done, that they might manifestlj- see, that their safety was not ef- 
 fected by any hnman means : but that it was a far higher power, 
 which both conducted and preserved them. Bryant. 
 
 5. — to declare this /an',] By way of rehearsal. Dr. WeUt. 
 To c;dl to remembrance that which any one had forgotten, and to 
 explain that which any one did not understand. What Moses 
 now said was likely to be tlie more regarded, because these were, 
 in a manner, his dying words ; for he lived but till the seventh 
 day of the next month. This book seems to have been composed 
 by him as a compendium of his whole law, for the familiar use of 
 the children of Israel. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The Hebrew words import, that Moses began, or determined, 
 to explain the Law : and so the words are rendered in most of 
 the ancient versions, and by several modern commentators, who 
 were eminently skilled in the Hebrew language. This repetition 
 and explanation of the law was a wise and benevolent proceeding 
 in Moses ; tiiat those, who were either not bom, or were mere 
 infants, when it was first delivered in Horeb, forty years before, 
 might have an op))ortunity of knowing it ; especially as Moses 
 their leader was soon to be taken from them, and they were about 
 to be settled in the midst of nations, given to idolatiy, aiid simk 
 in vice. Bp. Watsun. 
 
 C. — Ye have dwelt lung enough Sec] It appears by comparing 
 Exo<l. xix. J, with Numb. x. 11, 12, that they continued in the 
 wilderness of Sinai for the space of almost a year, in which time 
 they received their law, erected their tabernacle, numbered their 
 people, set up their standards, and encam])cd by them in the 
 order prescribed ; and were therefore sufficiently prepared to 
 march onward in great order. Bp. Kidder. It was God's pur- 
 pose that the Israelites should enter into the land of Canaan from 
 their encampment at Kadesh-barnea, if they had not hindered it 
 by their unbelief. Dr. JVells. 
 
 \
 
 A repetition of 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 former things. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 t Hell. 
 Give. 
 
 flleb. 
 
 gui:e. 
 
 saying, I am not able to bear you myself 
 alone : 
 
 10 The Lord your God hath multiplied 
 you, and, behold, ye are this day as the 
 stars of heaven for multitude. 
 
 11 (The Lord God of your fathers make 
 you a thousand times so many more as ye 
 are, and bless you, as he hath promised 
 you !) 
 
 12 How can I myself alone bear your 
 cumbrance, and your burden, and your 
 strife ? 
 
 13 1 Take you wise men, and understand- 
 ing, and known among your tribes, and I 
 will make them rulers over you. 
 
 14 And ye answered me, and said, The 
 thing which thou hast spoken is good for 
 us to do. 
 
 15 So I took the chief of your tribes, 
 wise men, and known, and t made them 
 heads over you, captains over thousands, 
 and captains over hundreds, and captains 
 over fifties, and captains over tens, and 
 officers among your tribes. 
 
 16 And I charged your judges at that 
 time, saying, Hear the causes between your 
 brethren, and " judge righteously betw'een 
 even/ man anil his brother, and the stranger 
 that is with him. 
 
 17 ^ Ye shall not + respect persons in 
 judgment; but ye shall hear the small as 
 well as the great; ye shall not be afraid 
 of the face of man; for the judgment is 
 God's: and the cause that is too hard for 
 you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. 
 
 18 And I commanded you at that time 
 all the things which ye should do. 
 
 19 ^ And when we departed from Horeb, 
 we went through all that great and terrible 
 wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the 
 
 11 . ( The Lord God of your fathers make you &c.] How natu- 
 rally does the pious legislator in this address to the people dwell 
 on every circumstance, which could improve his hearers in piet)' 
 and virtue ! The multitude of the people was the cause of the ap- 
 pointment of the judges here spoken of, ver. 13. How beauti- 
 fully is this increase of the nation turned to an argument of gra- 
 titude to God! How affectionate is the blessing, with which the 
 pious speaker interrupts the narrative, imploring God that the 
 multitude of His people may increase a thousand fold ! How ad- 
 mirably does he take occasion, from mentioning the judges, to 
 inculcate the eternal prinoiples of justice and piety, which should 
 control their decisions ! How remote is all this from art, forgery, 
 and imposture ! Siu-ely here, if any where, we can trace the cUc- 
 tates of nature, truth, and pietj'. Dr. Graves. 
 
 1 2. — your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strifef] How 
 is it possible for one man alone to undergo the labour of hearing 
 all the complaints of such a multitude; and of remedying all their 
 grievances; and of determining all their controversies? Up. Patrick. 
 
 17. — for the judgment is God's:'] You are Go<rs ministers, and 
 act by His authoritj', and therefore may be confident that He will 
 defend you in the dischai'ge of your office. Dr. Ji'clls. 
 
 ' John 7. 
 24. 
 
 "■ Lev. 15. 
 
 t5. 
 
 cli. 16. 19. 
 1 Sam. 1 6.7, 
 Prov. 24. 
 
 tlieb. 
 
 ac/cnino~ 
 
 Udgejhces. 
 
 1450. 
 
 mountain of the Amorites, as the Lord our rn r^iIt 
 God commanded us; and we came to Ka- 
 
 1451. 
 
 desh-barnea. 
 
 20 And I said unto you. Ye are come 
 unto the moimtain of the Amorites, which 
 the Lord our God doth give unto us. 
 
 21 Behold, the Lord thy God hath set 
 the land before thee : go up and possess it, 
 as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said 
 unto thee; fear not, neither be discou- 
 raged. 
 
 22 ^ And ye came near unto me every 
 one of you, and said. We will send men 
 before us, and they shall search us out the 
 land, and bring us word again by what 
 way we must go up, and into what cities 
 we shall come. 
 
 23 And the saying pleased me well: 
 
 and ' I took twelve men of you, one of \^l°*- 
 a tribe : 
 
 24. And '' they turned and went up into ' Num''- 
 the mountain, and came unto the valley of 
 Eshcol, and searched it out. 
 
 25 And they took of the fruit of the land 
 in their hands, and brought it down unto 
 us, and brought us word again, and said. 
 It is a good land which the Lord our God 
 doth give us. 
 
 26 Notwithstanding ye would not go 
 up, but rebelled against the commandment 
 of the Lord your God : 
 
 27 And ye murmured in your tents, and 
 said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath 
 brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, 
 to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, 
 to destroy us. 
 
 28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren 
 have t discouraged our heart, saying. The t^Hei.. 
 people is greater and taller than we; the 
 cities are great and walled up to heaven; 
 
 26. Nolmilftslanding ye mould not go up^ Moses, in his recapi- 
 tulation of his conduct on this occasion, omits altogether the me- 
 nace of God to disinherit the Jews, and raise up a nation from 
 himself in their stead, Numb. xiv. 12: and takes no notice of his 
 own successful intercession, on wiiich God had deigned to wave 
 the execution of this awful menace, ver. 19, 20. This omission 
 is extremely natural. To dwell on a tact so disgraceful to the 
 people, whom he addressed, and so honourable to himself, would 
 have servetl rather to wound the feelings, and kindle the jealousy 
 of his hearers, than to awaken tliem to piety and rejientance, and 
 would not have suited the character of him, who was the meekest 
 of men; thouirh, in recording the dispensations of Providence for 
 the cooi reflection of his countrvmen, it was a lesson too import- 
 ant to be left out. Dr. Graves. 
 
 27. to deliver us into the Itand of the Amorttcs,} Notliing can 
 
 be more pernicious, as Grotius here observes, than a persuasion 
 that God doth not love us, but hath a design upon us, to destroy 
 us. Bp. Patrick. -, ie \, 
 
 28. the cities arc srcat and nmlled up to heaven;] It the 
 
 people of these coimtrics ancientlv raised up the walls of their ci- 
 ties so high, as not to be liable to be scaled, they thought them
 
 A repetition of 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 former things. 
 
 Btfon ami iiiDrcover we lia\*e seen the sons of the 
 *^""I.'^' 'Anakinis there. 
 
 • Nmnb. '-><) Tlien I said unto you, Dreiid not, 
 13. ». neither be afraid oltlioni. 
 
 80 The Lord your God which goeth 
 before von, he shall fi-ht for you, accord- 
 ing to all that lie did for you in Egypt be- 
 fore your eyes; 
 
 31 And in the wilderness, where thou 
 hast seen how that the Lobd thy God bare 
 thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the 
 way that ye went, until ye came into this 
 
 •3'2 Yet in this thing ye did not believe 
 the Loiu) your God, 
 
 • Exod. 13. 33 " WIio went in the way before you, 
 '^' to search you out a place to pitch your 
 
 tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by 
 what way ye should go, and in a cloud by 
 
 day. 
 
 34. And the Lord heard the voice of 
 your words, and was wroth, and sware, 
 
 saying, 
 ' Numb. 35 ' Surely there shall not one of these 
 '■*■ '^' men of this evil generation see that good 
 
 land, which I sware to give unto your fathers, 
 36 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 
 
 safe. The same simple contrivance is to this day sufficient to 
 piiarJ places from the Arabs, who live in the very wildemess, in 
 which Israel was now waiulcrinfr, and wlio are a nation more 
 inured to warlike cnterjjrises than the Israelites were. The ex- 
 pression " up to heaven" is a strong Eastern way of speaking. 
 Harmer. 
 
 og. — Dread iiot,l Moses here notices two very powerful ar- 
 guments, which he had used to deliver the Israelites from fe;ir: 
 1. A promise of Divine assistance; " The Lord your God, which 
 goeth before you, He shall fight for you:" 2. The experience of 
 Gotl's mercies towards them in Egypt, and in the wilderness; 
 wliere Go<l had home them as a tender father carries an infirm 
 child. Compare Is. xlix. 22, with Exod. xlx. 4. Bn. Kidder. The 
 long experience they had had of God's watchful and indulgent 
 eve over tliem should have made them confident of His gracious 
 Providence for the future. He does not mention these arguments 
 in the book of Numbers, where we reatl only of liis falling down 
 before Ciod, that he might awaken this generation to a great- 
 er confidence in Go<l, and a dread of His judgment. Bp. Fa- 
 trick. 
 
 34. — llir Lord — tras tniUh,'] The Scriptures ascribe to God 
 hands, eyes, and feet, not that He has literally any of these mem- 
 bers; but because He has a power of executing all those acts, to 
 which the.sc members' in us are made subservient In the same 
 manner, the Scriptures represent Him as affected witli the like 
 passions, which we feci in ourselves, when we are angry or pleas- 
 ed, when we have our hearts softened, or provoked to revenge. 
 Not that .-my of these passions belong to tlie Divine nature: but 
 the meaning is, tliat Gotl will :is certainly pimish the wicked, as 
 if He were prompted by the passion of anger or revenge; and as 
 infiillibly relieve or rewar<l the g<x)d, as we do those, for whom 
 we entertain compassion or affection. So that it is oidy by way 
 of analogy or comparison, that the nature and passions of men are 
 ascribed to God ; and out of a gracious condescension to our fa- 
 culties: for which therefore we should be gi-ateful, and be cautious 
 to interpret His words in a sense suitable to His Divine Majesty. 
 Slackhoiue. 
 
 he shall see it, and to him will I give the chkTst 
 land that he hath trodden upon, and to his usi. 
 children, because he hath t wholly followed f neb. 
 the Lord. fulfilled to 
 
 .'37 Also the Lord was angry with me i Numb, 
 for your sakes, saying, ' Thou also shalt not 'f^- '^ & 
 go in thither. ichlp.3.2<. 
 
 38 Bi/t Joshua the son of Nun, which ^ ■»• 21. * 
 standeth before thee, he shall go in thi- 
 ther : encourage him : for he shall cause 
 Israel to inherit it. 
 
 39 Moreover your little ones, which ye 
 said should be a prey, and your children, 
 which in that day had no knowledge be- 
 tween good and evil, they shall go in thi- 
 ther, and inito them will 1 give it, and they 
 shall possess it. 
 
 40 But as for you, turn you, and take 
 your journey into the wilderness by the 
 way of the Red sea. 
 
 41 Then ye answered and said unio me, 
 
 "' We have sinned against the Lord, we " Numb. 
 will go up and fight, according to all that '^^" 
 the Lord our God commanded us. And 
 when ye had girded on every man his wea- 
 pons of war, ye were ready to go up into 
 the hill. 
 
 afid ^ware,'2 An oath is a solemn asseveration, made as 
 
 strong and binding as possible, in order to beget faith and confi. 
 dence in others, as to the certainty of what is affirmed. When 
 men sweju-, nothing can make their asseveration so strong and 
 binding, as the invocation of God, to be their witness or avenger. 
 In like manner, when God Himself is said to swear, we are to 
 suppose that He inforces His asseveration, to beget the firmest 
 belief in His revelations, not by invoking a superiour, for that is 
 not in His power, but by condescending to make use of human 
 forms of swearing, with such alterations as the case requires. 
 Thus, when God -swears by Himself, Gen. xxii. I6; or by His 
 great name, Jer. xliv. 26; or by His life, Jer. li. 14; or by His 
 right hand. Is. Ixii. 8; or by His holiness, Amos iv. 2; or by His 
 truth, Ps. Ixxxix. 4<); or by His excellency, Amos viii. 7; or by 
 any other of His attributes or perfections: the meaning of these 
 expressions is, that He thereby declares the thing to be as certain, 
 and as surely to be relied on, as are His own being and attributes. 
 This is the whole purport of the thing; and God is therefore said 
 to make use of this manner of speaking, because it is more awfiil 
 and solemn, and consequently fit to make a deeper impression 
 and to produce a firmer confidence in the hearers. Dr. fVnter- 
 land, SUickhouse. 
 
 .37. — the Lord iva.i fingri/ with me for your snlres,'] Wlien 
 Moses was so provoked by their fresh discontents and mutinous 
 upbraidings of him, that "he spake unadvisedly with his lips," 
 Ps. cvi. 32, 33. This was an high aggravation of their guilt, 
 tliat they not only mined themselves, but brought great displea- 
 sure upon their worthy leader and governour, whom they wearied 
 with their tumults and rebellions. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 58. But Jo.ihua — shall go in thither: &c.] The introduction of 
 this his owij rejection, and the substitution of Joshua, as the per- 
 son destined by God to lead the Jews to conquer the promised 
 land, was here peculiarly natural and useful: lest the people, re- 
 collecting their former defeat, in attempting to invade that land, 
 when Moses did not accompany them, should dread a similar de- 
 feat now, when they were to be entirely deprived of him. Dr. 
 Graves.
 
 The 9tory 
 
 CHAP. I, II. 
 
 is continued. 
 
 + Heb. 
 
 and went 
 up. 
 
 Before 4^ And the Lord said unto me, Say 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. unto them, Go not up, neither fight ; for 
 I am not among you ; lest ye be smitten be- 
 fore your enemies. 
 
 43 So I spake unto you ; and ye would 
 not hear, but rebelled against the com- 
 mandment of the Lord, and t went pre- 
 
 mmiZo^''. sumptuously up into the hill. 
 
 44 And the Amorites, which dwelt in 
 that mountain, came out against you, and 
 chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you 
 in Seir, eve?! unto Hormah. 
 
 45 And ye returned and wept before the 
 Lord ; but the Lord would not hearken to 
 your voice, nor give ear unto you. 
 
 46 So ye abode in Kadesh many days, 
 according unto the days that ye abode 
 there. 
 
 CHAP. IL 
 
 1 The story is continued, that they mere not to meddle 
 with the Edomites, 9 nor with the iMoabitcs, 17 nor 
 ■with the Ammonites, 24 but Sihon the Amorite was 
 subdued by them. 
 
 THEN we turned, and took our journey 
 into the wilderness by the way of the 
 Red sea, as the Lord spake unto me : and 
 we compassed mount Seir many days. 
 
 2 And the Lord spake unto me, say- 
 ing, 
 
 3 Ye have compassed this mountain long 
 enough : turn you northward. 
 
 4 And command thou the people, say- 
 ing, Ye are to pass through the coast of 
 your brethren the children of Esau, which 
 dwell in Seir ; and they shall be afraid of 
 you : take ye good heed unto yourselves 
 
 + "'*'■ I therefore- 
 tven to ttie lueieiui e . 
 
 treadins of 5 Mcddlc not with them ; for I will not 
 'thefoot" give you of their land, t no, not so much 
 
 46 . — many days, according unto the days that ye abode therer] 
 The most natural sense of these words is that of our learned 
 Bishop Patrick ; namely, " that they stayed at Kadesh a good 
 •while, and much about the same space of time after the mutiny 
 that they had done before it." Pyle. 
 
 Chap. II. ver. 1. — we compassed mount Seir many days.~\ We 
 spent near thirty-eight years in the encampments we made in the 
 wilderness, which lies round the west and south borders of the 
 country of Edom. Dr. Wells. " Mount Seir" is put for the rest 
 of the country of tlie Edomites, of which tliat mount was a re- 
 markable place. We find that Ezion-gaber, ver. 8, which was on 
 the shore of the Red sea, was in the land of Edom, 1 Kings ix. 26. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 4. — Ye are to pass through the const'] Or rather, near or by 
 tlio c«ast, as the Hebrew particle may be rendered. They were 
 not to " meddle with" the Edomites : not because the Edomites 
 were too formidable an enemy ; for it is said, " they shall be afraid 
 of you:" but because God had bestowed that land upon Esau, 
 Josh. x.\iv. 4, and would not give to the Israelites thereof, " no, 
 not so much as a foot breadth :" or, as it is in tlie Hebrew, " even 
 to the treading of tlie sole of the foot." Bp. Kidder. 
 
 as a foot breadth -, " because I have given 
 mount Seir unto Esau_/?>r a possession. 
 
 6 Ye shall buy meat of them for money, 
 that ye may eat ; and ye shall also buy wa- 
 ter of tliem for money, tiiat ye may drink. 
 
 7 For the Lord thy God hath blessed 
 thee in all the works of thy hand: he know- 
 eth thy walking through this great wilder- 
 ness : these forty years the Lord thy God 
 hath been with thee ; thou hast lacked no- 
 thing. 
 
 8 And when we passed by from our bre- 
 thren the children of Esau, which dwelt in 
 Seir, through the way of the plain from 
 Elath, and from Ezion-gaber, we turned 
 and passed by the way of the wilderness of 
 Moab. 
 
 9 And the Lord said unto me, || Distress 
 not the Moabites, neither contend with 
 them in battle : for I will not give thee of 
 their land^or a possession ; because I have 
 given Ar unto the children of hot Jar a 
 possession. 
 
 10 The Emims dwelt therein in times 
 past, a people great, and many, and tall, 
 as the Anakims j 
 
 1 1 Which also were accounted giants, as 
 the Anakims ; but the Moabites call them 
 Emims. 
 
 12 ^ The Horims also dwelt in Seir be- 
 foretime ; but the children of Esau t suc- 
 ceeded them, when they had destroyed 
 them from before them, and dwelt in their 
 II stead ; as Israel did unto the land of his 
 possession, which the Lord gave unto 
 them. 
 
 13 Now rise up, said I, and get you over 
 " the II brook Zered. And we went over the 
 brook Zered. 
 
 Beforr 
 CHRIST 
 
 HSl. 
 ' Gen. 
 8. 
 
 . 3C. 
 
 II Or, • 
 
 Use 710 
 
 hostil'Uif 
 iiguinsi 
 
 ^ Gen. 3C. 
 
 20 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 inhenHd 
 
 them, 
 
 II Or. 
 
 room. 
 
 ' Numh. 
 21. 12. 
 II Or. 
 
 valley. 
 
 7. — he knoweth thy wallting] He hatli directed and prospered 
 thee in thy trairls througli a dangerous wilderness. See tliis 
 signification of the word" " knoweth" in Ps. i. 6 ; xxxi. 7. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 9. — Ar] This was titf principal city of the Moabites, Numb, 
 xxi. 13, 28. It is here put for the counti-y of the Moabites, 
 as mount Seir in tlie first verse for that of tlie Edomites. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 unto the children of Lot] Though the Moabites were now 
 
 a wicked people, yet, for the sake of their pious ancestor, God 
 would not suffer them to be dispossessed. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. — as Israel did unto the land of his jMSse-ision ,] Moses here 
 alludes to what tlie Israelites had already done, in dispossessing 
 Sihon and 0>.; of tlieir respective countries : wliich he had before 
 given by Gocl's direction to the Uibes of Reuben and Gad, and 
 the halt" tribe of Manasseh, Numb, xxxii. y^ ; xxxiv. 14, 15. Bp. 
 Patrick. All these conquests of the Moabites over the Emiras, 
 and of the Edomites over the Horims, and of the Israelites them- 
 selves over the two kingdoms of the Amorites and of Bashan, are 
 probably here noticed by Moses, to encourage the Israelites not 
 to doubt, but God would in like manner enable them to conquer 
 the Canaanites. Dr. Wells-
 
 The slon/ 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 is continued. 
 
 Hoforr 1 J. And the space in Mliicli we came from 
 ^ 'm"'."^ Kadcsli-barnea, until we were come over 
 tlie brook Zered, a</.v tlnrt v and eight years; 
 initil all the generation of the men of war 
 were wasted out from among the host, as 
 the Lord sware unto them. 
 
 l.'j For indeed the hand of the Lokd was 
 against them, to destroy tiiem from among 
 the host, until they were consumed. 
 
 1() i[ So it came to pass, when all the 
 men of war were consumed and dead from 
 among the people, 
 
 17 That the Lord spake unto me, say- 
 
 18 Thou art to pass over through At, 
 the coast of Moab, this day : 
 
 19 And tc/ien thou comest nigh over 
 against the children of Amnion, distress 
 them not, nor meddle with them : for I 
 will not give thee of the land of the chil- 
 dren of Amnion anjj possession ; because I 
 have given it unto the children of Lot Jbr 
 a possession. 
 
 20 (That also was accounted a land of 
 giants : giants dwelt therein in old time ; 
 and the Ammonites call them Zamzum- 
 mims ; 
 
 21 A people great, and many, and tall, 
 as the Anakims ; but the Lord destroyed 
 tliem before them ; and they succeeded 
 them, and dwelt in their stead : 
 
 22 As he did to the children of Esau, 
 which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed 
 the Horims from before them ; and they 
 succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead 
 even unto this day : 
 
 23 And the Avims which dwelt in Ha- 
 zerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, 
 which came fortii out of Caphtor, destroy- 
 ed them, and dwelt in their stead.) 
 
 21. f Rise ye up, take your journey, and 
 
 C;(). — / .ven/ wc.s.vcHtrcr.v uiil of the trildcrncss of Kedcinoth^ So 
 calle<l Croui a city of that nanii-, nientioned anionjr the cities given 
 to the Kcubenitcs, Josh. xiii. 18. Several weijility reasons may 
 be ajsigiietl, why Moses took thi.s course with Sihon, wlio was to 
 be (Ifstroyed. 1. That the Israelites might be sensible, that their 
 victory over Sihon was not owing to his fearfiilness and want of 
 counige, since he was so hardy as to refuse them a passage. 2. To 
 strike terrour by this example into the otiier nations which shouUl 
 be ii\clinetl to resist. .",. To give the Israelites a proof, that God's 
 counsel sl)ould stand, in that Sihon hardened liimself, and refused 
 the offer of peace. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 29. {As the children of Esau &c. — did unto me ;)] He does not 
 mean that they granted Israel a j)a.ssage through tneir country : 
 but that they did not refuse to .sell them meat and drink, as they 
 piuss«l by tiieir coasts, lip. Patrick. 
 
 .10. — the Ixird thii God hardened his spirit,'] The Lord thy 
 Cod gnvfc him up to his own thoughts; and he put on stubborn 
 resoluUons agajn.st Israel. Up. Hall. 
 
 When this haughty and obstinate prince denied the Israelites 
 
 pass over the river Anion : behold, I have cSrist 
 given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, 1451. 
 king of Heshbon, and his land : t begin t Heb. 
 to possess it, and contend with him in Jf"''""" 
 battle. 
 
 25 This day will I begin to put the dread 
 of thee and the fear of thee upon the na- 
 tions that are under the whole heaven, who 
 shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, 
 and be in anguish because of thee. 
 
 2f> ^ And I sent messengers out of the 
 wilderness of Kcdemoth unto Sihon king 
 of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, 
 
 27 '' Let me pass through thy land : I ^ ^;;'"''- 
 will go along by the high way, I will iiei- " ' " ' 
 ther turn unto the right hand nor to the 
 
 left. 
 
 28 Thou shalt sell me meat for money, 
 that I may eat; and give me water for 
 money, that I may drink : only I will pass 
 through on my feet ; 
 
 29 (As the children of Esau which dwell 
 in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in 
 Ar, did unto me ;) until I shall pass over 
 Jordan into the land which the Lord our 
 God giveth us. 
 
 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would 
 not let us pass by him : for the Lord thy 
 God hardened his spirit, and made his heart 
 obstinate, that he might deliver him into 
 thy hand, as appeareth this day. 
 
 31 And the Lord said unto me, Behold, 
 I have begun to give Sihon and his land 
 before thee : begin to possess, that thou 
 mayest inherit his land. 
 
 32 " Then Sihon came out against us, he ' Numb. 
 and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. 
 
 33 And the Lord our God delivered him 
 before us ; and we smote him, and his sons, 
 and all his people. 
 
 34 And we took all his cities at that 
 
 the courtesy of passing through his land, God, in punishment for 
 the irreclaimable vices of his court and kingdom, left him to take 
 the effects of his pride and passion. Pyle. God gave him over to 
 his own inflexible iiumour, which was set upon violent courses ; 
 from which God did not divert him ; but rather ordered things 
 so, that his mind shoidd be enraged and disturbed, and so unable 
 to consfder things prudently, and discern what belonged to his 
 peace. This is the utmost that can be meant by " hardening his 
 spirit, and making his heart ob.ilinale :" which, as it is a sin, can- 
 not be ascribed to God : but, as it is a punishment, might justly 
 be inflicted by Him upon Sihon in return for his fonner sins. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. — before thee :~\ Into thy power. 
 
 32. Then Sihon came out against us,'} Moses had sent ambassa- 
 dours to the king of the Amorites with a peaceable request, that 
 the Israelites might bo pennitted to pass through his land : and 
 it does not appear, that they ever thought of forcing their way. 
 But since, instead of acting on the defensive, which was all that in 
 reason he should have done, Sihon placed himself at the head of
 
 The stoty of the conquest 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 ofOg Icing ofBashan, 
 
 CHuTsT ^""^' ^"'^ utterly destroyed tthe men, and 
 1451. the women, and the Httle ones, of every 
 
 t Heb. city, we left none to remain : 
 
 'ofZnXd ^^ 0"'y *^^^ cattle we took for a prey 
 
 wnmen,a,ui unto oursclves, and the spoil of the cities 
 
 liui.ones which we took. 
 
 S6 From Aroer, which is by the brink 
 of the river of Arnon, and from the city 
 that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there 
 was not one city too strong for us : the 
 Lord our God delivered all unto us : 
 
 37 Only unto the land of the children 
 of Amnion thou earnest not, nor unto any 
 place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the ci- 
 ties in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever 
 the Lord our God forbad us. 
 
 CHAP. HL 
 
 1 The slory of the conquest of Og king of Banhan. 1 1 
 The bignesx ()f his bed. 12 The distribution of those 
 lands to the two tribes and half. 23 Moses' prayer 
 to enter into the land. 26 He is permitted to see it. 
 
 THEN we turned, and went up the 
 way to Bashan : and ^ Og the king of 
 diap. 29. 7. Bashan came out against us, he and all his 
 people, to battle at Edrei. 
 
 2 And the Lord said unto me, Fear 
 
 him not : for I will deliver him, and all his 
 
 people, and his land, into thy hand ; and 
 
 thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto 
 
 " Numb, i* Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt 
 
 ■ " ■ at Heshbon. 
 
 his forces, and marched out to fight ; the war, even upon the 
 common principles of equity, must be deemed unjust on his side, 
 and hia fate no more than he deserved. Slackhouse. 
 
 34. — ntlerly destror/cd the men, &c.] They being part of those 
 wicked people the Amorites, whom God had condemned to utter 
 destruction. For the Amorites came out of Canaan, and took 
 tliis country from the Moabitcs, and tlie children of Amnion. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 In reading the Old Testament account of the Jewish wars and the 
 conquests in Canaan, and the terrible destmction brought upon 
 the inhabitants thereof, we are constantly to bear in mind, that 
 we are reading the execution of a dreadful, but just, sentence, 
 pronounced by God against the intolerable and incorrigible crimes 
 of these nations: — that they were intended to be made an ex- 
 ample to the whole world of God's avenging wrath against sins 
 of such a magnitude and such a kind ; sins, which, if they had 
 been suffered to continue, might have polluted the whole ancient 
 w^orld, and which could only be checked by the signal and pub- 
 lick overthrow of nations notoriously addicted to them, and so 
 addicted, as to ha\e incorjiorated them even into their religious 
 and their publick institutions : — that the miseries, inflicted upon 
 the nations by the invasion of tlie Jews, were expressly jleclared 
 to be inflicted on account of their abominable sins: — that God 
 had borne with them long : — that He did not proceed to execute 
 His judgments till their wickedness w.ns full : — that tiie Israelites 
 were mere instruments in the hands of a righteous Providence for 
 effecting the extermination of a people, whom it was necessary to 
 make a publick example to the rest of mankind : — that this ex- 
 termination, which might have been accomplished by a pestilence, 
 by fire, by earthquakes, was appointed to be done by the hands 
 of the Israelites, as being the clearest and most intellii'ible me- 
 Vol. I. 
 
 3 So the Lord our God delivered into chr"|x 
 our hands "Og also, the king of Bashan, 1451. 
 and all his people : and we smote him until ' Numb. 
 none was left to him remaining, -'• ^^" 
 
 4 And we took all his cities at that time, 
 there was not a city which we took not from 
 them, threescore cities, all the region of 
 Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 
 
 5 All these cities -were fenced with high 
 walls, gates, and bars ; beside unwalled 
 towns a great many. 
 
 G And we utterly destroyed them, as we 
 did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly 
 destroying the men, women, and children, 
 of every city. 
 
 7 But all the cattle, and the spoil of the 
 cities, we took for a prey to ourselves. 
 
 8 And we took at that time out of the 
 hand of the two kings of the Amorites 
 the land that "was on this side Jordan, 
 from the river of Arnon unto mount Her- 
 mon ; 
 
 9 (^Which Hermon the Sidonians call 
 Sirion ; and the Amorites call it She- 
 nir;) 
 
 10 All the cities of the plain, and all 
 Gilead, and all Bashan, unto Salchah and 
 Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Ba- 
 shan. 
 
 1 1 For only Og king of Bashan remain- 
 ed of the remnant of giants ; behold, his 
 bedstead was a bedstead of iron ; is it not 
 
 thod of di3pla3ing the power and righteousness of the God of 
 Israel ; His power over the pretended gods of other nations, 
 and His righteous hatred of the crimes into which they were 
 fallen. 
 
 This is the true statement of the case. It is no forced or in- 
 vented construction, but the idea of the transaction set forth in 
 Scripture : and it is an idea, which, if retained in our thought.^, 
 may fairly, I think, reconcile us to every thing which we read in 
 tlie Old Testament concerning it Archdeacon Paley. See the 
 note on chap. vii. 24. 
 
 Chap. III. ver. 4. — all the region of Argob.'] .\ small pro- 
 vince, lying between Jordan and the mountams of Gilead ; a little 
 al)ove the sea of Til)erias. This region was afterwards called 
 Trachonitis, a Greek name, importing the ruggedness of the 
 moimtains. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. — frmn the riccr of Anion unto mount Hermon ;] This river 
 was the bound of their country on the south; and Hermon, which 
 was one of the mountains of Gilead, where it joins to Libanus, 
 was their bound on the north. Hermon, said in the next verse 
 to be called " Sirion" by the Sidoniims, is called so in Ps. xxix. f>, 
 and joined with Lebanon: for it Wius as much a part of Lebanon 
 as of Gilead ; these two mountains there meeting together. 
 Whence .leremiah calls Gilead the head of Lebanon, chap. xxii. (i ; 
 because Lebimon begins where Gilead ends. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 U. — a bedstead of iron ;] That it might be strong enou-^h 
 to sujjport his gigantick and weighty body ; and yet not be too 
 cumbersome, as it might have been if made of otlicr materials. 
 Dr. ll'tlh. Such bedsteads were not unusual in ancient days, 
 though much later than this. . Thucydidcs says, that when the 
 Thebans took Platea, they made beda of the brass and iron they 
 
 X X
 
 7^e distribution of lam/. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 Moses' prayer to 
 
 B«*»r jn Kal)kitli oi the diililren of Ainmoii '' 
 *'"ml*'^ uiiiu ciil)its WIS tlu- Jength flicreof; atitl 
 Ibiir c-Jibits the breaiitli of it, after the cu- 
 bit of a mati. 
 
 Iv? And tliis laiul, 7iliich we possessed at 
 
 tJiat time, from Aroer, whicli iv by the river 
 
 * Nutnh. Anion, and half mount Gilead, and " tlio 
 
 jlh.'iAs, citiesitiiereof, pave 1 unto tlie Heubenites 
 
 *'^- and to' tJie Gadites. 
 
 ly And the rest of Gilead, and all Ba- 
 shaii, hciii}: the kinpiloni of Op, gave I unto 
 the hijlf tribe of AJaiuisseh ; all the region 
 of Argob, with all Basiiaii, which was call- 
 ed tJie land of giants. 
 
 1 t Jair the son of Manasseh took all the 
 
 eoimtrv of -'\rgob unto the coasts of Ge- 
 
 shiui and Maachathi ; and called tiiein 
 
 •j<umb. after his own name, Hashan-" havoth-jair, 
 
 unto tiiis day. 
 
 15 And 1 gave Gilead unto Machir. 
 l(j And unto the Reubeiu'tes and unto 
 the Gadites I gave lioni Gileail even un- 
 to the ri^•er Anion liaif the valley, and 
 the border even unto the river Jabbok, 
 uhich is the border of the children of Ani- 
 mon ; 
 
 17 The plain also, and Jordan, and the 
 coast t/iercof, from Chinnereth oven unto 
 undt^iki the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, Hun- 
 $i>rinf,nf der Ashdoth-piscah eastward. 
 
 Pilgah, or, i<>«-«ir II 1 
 
 i/ieiiU!. 18 II And 1 connnanQed you iat that 
 
 found there. And Ijeds of silver and gold are mentioned by other 
 autliors. Pp. I'tttrici: 
 
 Bedstt-ads of iron, brasK, and other metals, are not unusual in 
 the- warm countries, as a tleience against the multitude of insects. 
 lichciiclizcr. 
 
 is U nut in Jlahhalh &c.] It is probable, that citlier Og 
 
 conveved his iron be»lstead, with other furniture of jiis palace, 
 into the country of the Ainiiionitps, to prevent their falling into 
 Ihc hands of the Israelites: or eWe the Ammonites had taken it 
 from him in some former conquest, and kept it as a monument of 
 their victory. P}ilc. 
 
 nine nthils was the Icnpt/i thereof, &c.] Bedsteads being, 
 
 according to the common custom, made a third part longer than 
 the [KTsons that lie in them, Og was perhaps about six cubits liigli; 
 " after the cubit of a man," that is, according to the cubit of ordi- 
 nary men, which is a little more than Haifa yard. lip. Patrick. 
 
 S,>nie allowance may be made for the size of a royal bed : or 
 king Og may have been possessed with the sjmie kind of vanity, 
 which occupied tlie mind of king Alexander, when he ordered 
 his soldiers to enlarge the size of their betls, that they might give 
 to the Indians in .succeeding ages a great idea of the prodigious 
 stiiture of a Macedonian. Bp. Walson. 
 
 The people of tlie East are extremely fond of corporeal great- 
 ness; and id ways consider it as a sign of the greatness of the soul, 
 of courage, strength, and virtue. We found in Bactriana mum- 
 mies of eight feet: but it is most likely, that the people bound up 
 their dead at tlie greater length, that posterity, discovering their 
 Dotlies, might conceive a very high opinion of their persons and 
 actions. .S,r J. Lkiirdin. 
 
 Ihe people of the East use a kind of settle, caUed a duan, or 
 ««««. or sofa: consisUng of boards raised from the ground, about 
 Uve leet brood, and one and a liaU' liigh, reaching sometimes quite 
 
 time, siiying. The Lano your God hath (,,"*,j7y^ 
 •riven you this land to possess it: "^ye shall H5i. 
 pass over armed before your brethren the ' Numb, 
 diildren of Israel, all tliat are t meet for ^'^jj^J; 
 the war. j™« ■/ 
 
 19 But your wives, and your little ones, *"""'■ 
 and your cattle, (for ^ know that ye have 
 mucii cattle,) shall abide in your cities 
 which I have given you ; 
 
 'iO Until tlie LoKU have given rest unto 
 your brethren, as well as unto you, and 
 until theyalso ])ossess the land which the 
 Lorti) yoiu- God hatli given them beyond 
 Jordtui : an(\. then shall ye ^return every ».iobii 22. 
 man unto'his possession, which I have given ''• 
 you. 
 
 '.^1 ^ And "I commanded Joshua at'' Numb, 
 that time, saying. Thine eyes have seen *'• '**• 
 all tliat the Loud your God hath done 
 unto these two kings : so shall the Lord 
 do unto all the kingdoms whither thou 
 l)assest. 
 
 2'2 Ye fvhall not fear them : for the Lord 
 your God he shall fight for you. 
 
 "•23 And 1 besouglit the LaRD at that 
 time, saying, 
 
 y 1 O Lord God, thou hast begun to shew 
 thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty 
 hand : "for what God is there in heaven or 
 in earth, that can do according to thy 
 works, and according to thy might ? 
 
 round the room, sometimes only along a part of it : it is covered 
 with a carpet, and furnished with mattresses, to sit upon cross- 
 legged nfter the Turkish f;ishion, and with cushions placed against 
 the wall to lean upon. Thai serve for beds at night. This custom 
 may sei-vc to illustrate the dimensions of " the bedstead" of Og, 
 which appe;irs to ha\e been about fifteen feet and a h:df long, and 
 six feet ten inches broad. Engli.sh ideas have measured this by 
 English bedsteads. But when we reflect, that neither tlie divan 
 nor its covering is .so nearly fitted to the size of the person as our 
 bedsteads in England are, we may make, in the neces-sar}' dimen- 
 sions of his " bedstead," no inconsiderable allowance for the repose 
 of this martial prince. Fragments to Cahnet. 
 
 after the cuhit of a man.'] The first stated measure was 
 
 that mentioned in this place, " the cubit of a man;" measuring 
 from the centre of the round bone in the elbow to the point of the 
 middle finger. This is still the measure of all unpolished nations: 
 but no medium or term, expressive of its exact contents having 
 been applied, writers have ditfered as to the precise length of this 
 cubit. Bruce. 
 
 iG. — half the valley, ~\ The same Hebrew word signifies both 
 a va/lei/, and a brook, or river: and being translated in the fore- 
 going words " the river," it should be so here likewise, " half the 
 river :" that is, to the middle of the river Arnoii, which was the 
 exact boundary of their country. In Josh. xii. 2, we have the 
 same Hebrew words, wliich :ire there rendered, " from the mid- 
 dle of the river:" where the city Aroer stood, encompassed by 
 the river. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 24. — what God is there in heaven Sec] Moses here speaks 
 according to the language of the times, when men worshipped 
 many gods, of several sorts : none of which, he acknowledges, 
 were able to bring to pass such things as the Lord had done. 
 Bp. Patrick.
 
 eJiter into the land. 
 
 CHAP. Ill, IV. 
 
 An exhortation to obedience. 
 
 chrTst ^^ ^ P^*^ *^^^' '^ "1® go o\Qx, and see 
 1431. the good land that is beyond Jordan, that 
 goodly mountain, ami Lebanon. 
 
 ^Numb. 25 gut the Lord ' was wroth with me 
 
 ciiap.'i.s7. for your sakes, and would not hear me: 
 and the Lord said unto me. Let it suf- 
 fice thee ; speak no more unto me of this 
 matter. 
 
 II O'. 27 Get thee up into the top of II Pisgah, 
 
 and lift up thine eyes westward, and north- 
 ward, and soutliward, and eastward, and 
 behold it with thine eyes : fox thou shalt 
 not go over this Jordan. 
 
 28 But charge Joshua, and encourage 
 him, and strengthen him : for he shall go 
 over before this people, and he sliall cause 
 them to inherit the land which thou shalt 
 see. 
 
 29 So we abode in the valley over against 
 Beth-peor. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 1 An exhortation to obedience. 41 Mates appoinfetfi the 
 three cities of refuge on llial side Jordan. 
 
 25. — -^T""".? '^^') '<"' "Jfi go over, &C.3 Tt is not unreasonable 
 to suppose, that Moses should think the threatening of God re- 
 versible : and it must have been very desirable to him to see that 
 land, which had been so long promised, so much expected, and 
 »o much vilified by them, who had been sent from Kadesh-barnea 
 to search the land. But besides this it may be said, that he had 
 a desire to see especially that place, where God would choose to 
 dwell, which the Jews affirm is meant by the "goodly mountain;" 
 as well as the remoter parts of the promised land, in which was 
 Lebanon. Bp. Kidder. By the " goodly mountain" he most pro- 
 bably means, that goodly ro?/n/ri/, full of noble mountains: for 
 thus the word " mountain" is often used, pai-ticularly in Numb, 
 xiii. 29, where the spies say, " the Amorites dwell in the moun- 
 tains ;" that is, in that nvmnlainous part of Canaan. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 26. But the Lord nas wroth with rue for your sokes, &c.] As 
 if he had said, Remember, it was the tumultuous and ungovern- 
 able behaviour of your fatliers, that provoked and drew me into 
 that miscarriage, which deprived me of a pleasure I so much 
 wished to enjoy. Learn you wisdom by their folly ; while I 
 cheerfully resign myself to the just and good will of God. 
 Fyfe. 
 
 Chap. IV. ver. 1 . Now therefore hearken, Israel, &c.] Moses 
 having laid before the Israelites so long a train of Divine dis- 
 pensations towards their nation, calls here upon the whole as- 
 sembly, in the most earnest and serious manner, to consider what 
 influence these things ought to have upon their conduct and 
 practice, answerable to the great designs of such mercies and 
 judgments : namely, that they should render them punctually 
 obedient to the laws of God, and cautious of offending Him, eitlier 
 by the addition of any heathenish and superstitious rites to the 
 services enjoined them, or by the wilful omission and neglect of 
 any plain precept of religious worship. This being the very in- 
 tent, for which they were conducted to the promised land, and 
 the absolute condition of their peaceful and happy enjoyment of 
 it. Pfije. 
 
 2. Ye shall not add unto the word &c.] This prohibition pre- 
 served these books from any alteration since the time they were 
 written. For the whole body of the people acknowledging their 
 Divine authority, none of them dared to change any thing either 
 by addition or diminution. Of this there is a wonderful instance 
 ill the people that came cmt of Ajisyria, in the room of the Is- 
 
 NOW therefore hearken, O Lsrael, unto chrTst 
 the statutes and unto the judgments^ mu 
 which I teach you, for to do them, that ye 
 may live, and go in and possess tlie land 
 whicli the Lord God of your fathers giv- 
 eth you. 
 
 2 * Ye shall not add unto tlie word which ' Chap. 12. 
 I command you, neither shall ye diminish j^^ ,. 7. 
 ought from it, that ye may keep the com- Prov. ms. 
 mandments of the Lord your God wliich '^*-^--"- 
 I command you. 
 
 3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord 
 
 did because of " Baal-peor : for all the men " ^'""Jf'- 
 that followed Baal-peor, the Loud tliy God 
 hath destroyed them from among you. 
 
 4 But ye that did cleave unto the Lord 
 your God are alive every one of you this 
 day. 
 
 5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and 
 judgments, even as the Lord my God com- 
 manded me, that ye should do so in the 
 land whither ye go to possess it. 
 
 6 Keep therefore and do tJiem; for this is 
 
 raelites, who were transported thither: these people, on coming 
 to inhabit the country of Samaria, having received the Law of 
 Moses, their posterity have kept it all along to this day as un- 
 corrupted as the Jews themselves have done ; although they were 
 their mortal enemies, and have been exposed to all the changes 
 and revolutions that can befall a nation, during the long intcrxal 
 of 2400 years. Dr. Atlix. 
 
 It was fit, at the beginning of this e.\hortation to obedience, to 
 require, that they should neither add to, nor take from, the Divine 
 precepts, because God had given them His law for their rule of 
 life, and had annexed His promises to their universal obedience 
 to it. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 4. But yc that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive &C.3 
 A singular Providence watched over those, who did not depart 
 from the worship of the Ix)rd, but bewailed the apostasy of some 
 of their brethren, Numb. xxv. (5. Hence they were preserved in 
 such good health, that not one in so many tliousands was since 
 dead. Nor in the war with the Midianites, wherein they slew all 
 the males, did tliev lose so much as one man, Numb. xxxi. 7, 1<). 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 How decidedly does this statement justify the punishment ex. 
 tending to such a multitude : a circumstance to which objections 
 are so often made. Dr. Graves. 
 
 5. — / have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord 
 my God commanded me, Scc.l Laws are generally made, when 
 people have been well settled ; and they are founded upon many 
 contingencies, which arise from the nature of the soil, the trade, 
 and produce of the country, and the temper, customs, and dis- 
 position of the natives and their neighbours. But the laws of 
 Moses were given in a desert; while the people were in a ibrlorn 
 state ; wandering from place to place ; and encountering hunger 
 and thirst without seeing any ultimate end of their roving. 
 Numb. XX. 2. These prescripts were designed for a religious 
 polity, when the people should be at some j-articular period set- 
 tled in Canaan ; of which settlement human forecast could not see 
 tlie least probability. For what hopes could a leader entertain 
 of possessing a country, from which he withdrew himself, and 
 persisted in receding, for so many yeirs > And, when at a time 
 an attempt was made to obuiii some footing, nothing ensued but 
 repulse and disappoinUnent. Did any lawgiver ever give di- 
 rections about com, wine, and oil in a country, that was a stranger 
 to tillage and cultivation ; or talk of tithes and firstfruits, where 
 
 Xx2
 
 An exhurtation 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 /() obeilieitce. 
 
 iwf..re your wisdom and vour undcrstaiitlinj; in 
 
 *^ HAi.^^ till- sifjht of till' nations, whicli sliall hear 
 
 all tliL'se statutes, and say, Surely this 
 
 great nation is a wise and understanding 
 
 people. 
 
 7 For what nation is there so great, who 
 /uilh (Jod .v(» nigh unto them, as the Lohd 
 our Ciod is in all Ifiiniis that we call ui)on 
 
 him for ' 
 
 8 And what nation is there su v^rvnU tiiat 
 hath statutes and judgments so righteous 
 as all this law, which I set before you this 
 
 dav y 
 
 \) Onlv take heed to thyself, and keep 
 thy soul' diligently, lest thou forget the 
 tilings which tiiine eyes have seen, and lest 
 tliev de))art tiom thy heart all tlie days of 
 thy life : but teach them thy sons, and thy 
 sons' sons ; 
 
 10 Specially the day that thou stoodest 
 betbre the Loud thy God in Horeb, when 
 the Loud said unto me, Gather me the 
 people together, and 1 will make them 
 hear my words, that they may learn to fear 
 me all 'the days that tllcy shall live upon 
 
 there was scarcely a blade of grass ? It may be answered, that 
 these ordinances wore given with a view to C anaan. True ; but 
 Moses hiuiselt' was not acquainti'd with Canaan ; as is plain from 
 the spies which were sent, and the orders they received, Numb, 
 xiii. IS — •JO; and if Providence were not his guide, there was 
 little chance of his fretting even a sight of it. He was in the 
 midst of a wilderness, and .so continued for near forty years. And 
 in this place, and at this season, he gave directions about their 
 towns and cities, and " of the stranger within their gates:" while 
 they were in a state of solitude under tents, and so likely to con- 
 tinue. He mentions their vineyards and olives, before they had 
 an hich of ground, Deut. viii. 8 ; and cives intimation about 
 their future kings, Deut. xxviii. 36, when they were not con- 
 stitutid as a nation. These good things they did at length enjoy; 
 and in process of time they were uiider regal govenmient. But 
 how could Moses be apprized of it? Surely, it could only be by 
 inspiration. He must have been under the direction of a higher 
 power, and his mission by Di\'ine authority. liri/tinl. 
 
 (). — this is i/oiir nixilom &c.] It is the fniit of great wisdom, 
 to fear (lod and obey His laws: " The fear of the Lord is the be- 
 ginning of wisdom : a good understjmding have all they that do 
 His connnandment;-." I's. cxi. 10. Besides, many of these laws 
 were such as the wiser heathen coidd not but aj)])rove : and ac- 
 cordingly they did actu.dly receive several of them into their own 
 laws ; as w;is the case with the .Vthenians and the Romans. Bps. 
 KiddiT and Pnlriek. 
 
 7- — II Im hiilli (■•ikI ■"' iiish ttnlo i/icm.'J God shewed Himself 
 ready to hear the |irnyers of His ser^-ants upon all occasions, Exod. 
 xvii. U. and to protect and defend tliem in all straits and dangers, 
 as appe.-u-ed by the many miracles which He had wrought. Bp. 
 Kidder. To this may be added, that they had a symbol of God's 
 pre<<ence continually among them, in the Holy ji'lace, where He 
 dwelt with them : .-.nd Moses, whenever he pleasetl, consulted 
 Him in all iliHicult affairs : as their high priest might do with 
 the L"rim and the Thununim in all times to come. Bn. Patrick. 
 
 8. — ii^al ualinn is there .m great, &c.] Hence it appears that 
 the true Ereatnes> i.f a nation consists in the sincere worshiij of 
 CkkI, and m the upright a;lmini.stration of justice. Both of these 
 were vo provided for by the Divine laws among the .lews, tlwt no 
 nation could compare with tlicm, or was really so great as thev 
 Bp. J'lilriek. ' ' 
 
 the earth, and that they may teach their f,^'l°\\y 
 children. 1451. 
 
 1 1 And ye came near and stood under 
 the mountain ; and the "^mountain burned ' Exod. 19. 
 with fire unto the t midst of heaven, with ^ jj^b. 
 darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. ''-^'"■'• 
 
 I'i And the Loiiu spake unto you out of 
 the midst of the fire : ye heard the voice 
 of the words, but saw no similitude ; t only J„"';|',,„„,.. 
 ye heard a voice. 
 
 13 And he declared unto you his cove- 
 nant, which he commanded you to jierfbrm, 
 even ten commandments ; and lie wrote 
 them upon two tables of stone. 
 
 14 % And the Lokd commanded me at 
 that time to teacli you statutes and judg- 
 ments, that ye might do them in the land 
 whitlier ye go over to possess it. 
 
 15 Take ye therefore good heed unto 
 yourselves ; for ye saw no manner of simi- 
 litude on the day that the Loud spake unto 
 you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire : 
 
 16 Lest ye coxxw^i yourselves, and make 
 you a graven image, the similitude of any 
 figure, the likeness of male or female, 
 
 ///(// hath Matiile-i — so righteous as all this larr,^ The 
 
 Jews, who were a nation separated from other people, and jjerhaps 
 not equal to many of them in ]K)lite arts and learning, yet in reli- 
 gious knowledge far surpassetl the rest of mankind. This we 
 must ascrilK" to the discoverie.s, which God made to them of His 
 will. In the two tables, and in the laws added to them, God 
 gave the Jews just notions of Himself, and a system of morality, 
 which in equity, cliarity, humanity, and many other respects, sur- 
 passed what could have been collected from the laws of other 
 nations. And as good laws naturally tend to make good subjects, 
 and a good religion to make good men, so the lives and behaviour 
 of some worthies recorded in Scripture are witnesses to the ex- 
 cellence of the religion which they had received, and by which 
 they were guided. They were remarkable for piety to God, and 
 for a disinterested love of their co\mtry: they preferred their duty 
 to all worldly advantages, and endured with patience cruel per- 
 secutions, even to death, for the sake of a good conscience. Dr. 
 Jorlin. 
 
 14. — ftial ye might do them in the land &c.] The calling of 
 the Israelites, and their separation from the Gentiles, to be " a holy 
 nation, and a peculiar treasure inito (iod above all people," took 
 place in the fulness of time, when the apostasy from the pure pa- 
 triarchal religion was become universal, and polytheism and idol- 
 atry had pervaded the most polishetl nations of the earth, the As- 
 syrians, Babylonians, Phenicians, Canaanites, and Egj'ptians : and 
 pure and undefiled religion would soon liave been exterminated 
 and lost every where, had not the Israelites, themselves a degraded 
 and enslaved people, " been borne on eagles' wings," from the 
 house of bondage in Egypt, and brought by their gracious Re- 
 deemer unto Himself, to His holy mountain, in tlie solitary deserts 
 of Arabia Petrea ; where tliey were at fn-st instructed by the voice 
 of God Himself, pronouncing the ten commandments audibly 
 from the summit ot' Sinai ; and were afterwards trained up to re- 
 ligion and virtue, during forty jears of wandering " in the waste 
 howling wilderness;" until Jeshurun, or " righteous Israel," were 
 qualified to enter the land of promise, ajid replace the devoted 
 nations of Canaan. 7)j-. Hale.<t. 
 
 16. — « graven image,'] The idolatry of the heathens in ge- 
 neral, and of the Egyptians and Canaanites in particular, con- 
 sisted not only in worshipping false gods, such as the sun, moon, 
 stars, winds, elements, &c. see ver. ly, which they supposed to
 
 An exhortation 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 to obedience. 
 
 Before ij Tlic likcness of any beast that is on 
 1451. the earth, the Hkeness of any winged fowl 
 that flieth in the air, 
 
 18 The likeness of any thing that creep- 
 eth on the groiuid, the likeness of any fish 
 that is in the waters beneath the earth : 
 
 19 And lest thou lift u]) thine eyes unto 
 heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and 
 the moon, and the stars, even all the host 
 of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship 
 them, and serve them, which the Lord thy 
 
 II Or, God hath || divided unto all nations under 
 impcrte . ^|^^ whole heaveu. 
 
 20 But the Lord hath taken you, and 
 brought you forth out of the iron furnace, 
 even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people 
 of inheritance, as j/e are this day. 
 
 21 Furthermore the Lord was angry with 
 me for your sakes, and sware that 1 should 
 not go over Jordan, and that I should not 
 
 be animated and actuated by some intelligences residing in them, 
 and exerting their beneficial or noxious powers to the advantage 
 or detriment of mankind; but also in framing certain symbolical 
 or figurative representations of the true God, under the forms of 
 beasts, birds, and fishes, expressive of their peculiar excellencies 
 or powers: as the horns or strength of the bull, the milk or nourish- 
 ment of the cow, the swiftness and sharpsightedness of the eagle 
 or hawk, the wisdom or cunning of the serjient, &c. until at 
 length the symbols were forgotten, or perverted by the vulgar 
 into the most grovelling and senseless materialism on the one 
 hand, or bestial idolatry on the other. Dr. Hales. 
 
 18. The likeness of am/ thing tlial creepeth &c.] Amongst the 
 Egyptians almost every species of vermin was held sacred. They 
 shewed a reverence, as Sir John Marsham observes, not only to 
 cats, and rats, and apes; but to grubs and beetles; to birds, and 
 reptiles, and fishes. Among these were, as Lactantius tells us, 
 gnats and ants. Hence the children of Israel were enjoined by 
 the Mosaick law to hold every thing of this sort in abhorrence. 
 " Therefore," says the lawgiver, " take ye good heed to your- 
 selves, lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, 
 the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female," ver. 
 1.5, l6. And he further tells them, that this interdict did not 
 merely extend to the larger and nobler animals, such as the steer 
 and the cow; to the crocodile of the river, or the stork in the 
 heavens; but to " tile likeness of any tiling that creepeth on the 
 ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the 
 earth," ver. 18. But notwithstanding these prohibitions, the chil- 
 dren of Israel forsook the law of the Lord ; and the rites, which 
 they adopted, consisted in this symbolical worship, introduced 
 from Egypt. They had polluted the house of Clod by painting 
 these vile hieroglyphicks upon the walls of the inner court, the 
 most sacred of all. Hence Ezekiel says, that when he was brought 
 there in vision, he had a full sight of these abominations : " So I 
 went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and 
 abominable beasts, and all tile idols of the house of Israel, pour- 
 tray ed ujxin the wall round about," chap. viii. 10. In all these 
 accounts wc have tlie idolatry of the Egyptians alluded to; and 
 their worship of flies and insects particularly prjiuted out. Bri/ant. 
 See the note on Exod. xx. 4. 
 
 Ike likeness of aiii) ,fislf\ The famous Dagon, which the 
 
 Philistines worsiiipped, was a fish with an human face, hands, 
 and feet;«the Syrians worshipped a fish, as Cicero tells us: and 
 all Egypt worshipped certain fishes, and some of them the croco- 
 dile and the hippopotamus. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 19. — and when Ihuii seest the sun, &c.] By the best accounts 
 we have of the earliest ages, the worship of the sun aiid planets 
 
 go in unto that good land, which the Lord j,^rTst 
 thy God giveth thee Jor an inheritance: 1451. 
 
 22 But I must die in this land, I must 
 not go over Jordan : but ye shall go over, 
 and possess that good land, 
 
 23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye 
 forget the covenant of the Lord your God, 
 which he made with you, and make you a 
 graven image, or the likeness of any thing, 
 which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee. 
 
 24 For '' the Lord thy God is a consum- ^Chap.9.8. 
 
 J, • 1 /^ 1 Hehr. 12. 
 
 ing nre, evai a jealous God. 29. 
 
 25 ^ When thou shalt beget children, 
 and children's children, and ye shall have 
 remained long in the land, and shall cor- 
 rupt yourselves, and make a graven image, 
 or the likeness of any thing, and shall do 
 evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to 
 provoke him to anger : 
 
 26 I call heaven and earth to witness 
 
 was the first and leading instance of idolatry ; being in all pro- 
 bability in use long before the time of Moses himself tkaii 
 Prideaiix. 
 
 It appears by the testimony of all history, sacred and profane, 
 that the oldest and first idolaters worshippeid the creature instead 
 of the Creator, the powers of nature instead of the God of nature. 
 Receiving life, health, food, and many other blessings by means 
 of the Sim, the light, and the air, they forgot CJod who made 
 those elements, and " deemed them to be the gods that governed 
 the world," Wisd. xiii. 2, supposing them to be endued with 
 understanding and wisdom, as well as power and might. Bp. 
 Hume. 
 
 20. But the Lord halh taken yon, &c.] This vei-se contains 
 two powerful arguments to obedience: 1. Goil's great mercy in 
 delivering them Irom tlie bondage and miseries of Egj-pt, which 
 is here expressed by the " iron furnace," or furnace where iron 
 is melted, Exod. xx.'s. 2dly, His taking them for His peculiar 
 people, Exod. xix. 5. Both of these arguments Gotl made use 
 of, when He gave them His law. Bp. Kidder. It was the 
 design of these blessings to make the Israelites a separate and 
 peculiar church and people, by the worship of the one true, 
 infinite, and invisible God, free from all the ignorant and 
 corrupt usages of idolatrous nations. This design the Israel- 
 ites would frustrate, by falling into any kind of ima^e-Korship. 
 Pi/te. 
 
 out of the iron furnace,'] That is, out of Egj-ptian thral- 
 dom. Abraham saw in a vision tlie bondage of his posterity under 
 the emblem of ■' a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp," Gen. 
 .w. 17; and the fiery furnace is frequently used in Scripture as a 
 type of the Israelites' slavery, and of all the cruelty which they 
 experienced in Egypt, 1 Kings viii. ,51; Is. xh-iii. 10. Bri/anl. 
 The phrase is used to express the most cruel servitude, wherein 
 Gotl suffered them to be trietl, as metal* are in a furnace of iron 
 red-hot. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 21. the Lord was angri/ nith mc~\ Moses calls this to their 
 
 recollection again, though he had mentioned it twice before, chap, 
 i. 37 ; iii. 26 ; that they might be the more sensible of the danger 
 of offending (iod, since such a man as he was excluded from die 
 good land for one single fault. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 26. / call heaven and earth to nitncvs against t/oii Sec] That 
 is. As sure as there is a heaven above, or the earth under your 
 feet, so surely will the vengeance of God keep pace witli 
 your impiety. Pj/lc. This vehement attestation is used in the 
 Scriptures, to upbraid men for tlieir stupidity, and to awaken 
 them to greater attention, Dcut. xxxii. 1; Is. i. 2. Bp. Ktd- 
 da:
 
 V, 
 
 CrwTjf merc}i 
 
 B»f<.rc a^ainrt yoiti this tiav, that ve sliall soon ut- 
 
 ^ 'I+ji'*'^ terlv p<?rish rrom ot!' tho htnd whet^iinto 
 
 ye go over .Ionian to possess it ; ye shall 
 
 "not i)rolon<; ijow days ii})oi\ it, birt shall 
 
 utterly bo iK'st roved. 
 
 'J7 And tlK! Loud shall seatt«r yoU a- 
 moni; the PHtioiis, and ye shirll he IciV few 
 ill number ainoiig the heatlien, whither tiie 
 IvOKD shall IoimI vWi. 
 
 'JK And thei-e ye shall serve prrtds,. the 
 work of men's hjrnds, wooti and stoiic, 
 which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor 
 smell. 
 
 '-'9 But '\i from thence thou shalt seek 
 
 the Loud thy God, thou shwlt find hhn, if 
 
 thou seek him with all thy heart and with 
 
 all thy sold. 
 
 \ 30 When thou art in tribitkition, and aH 
 
 ■^*- these things t are come upon thee, even in 
 
 /,«y.„nd j,j^, j^j^^.j. ^j^^.j^^ jj- j|,„n ^„r„ to the Lord 
 
 thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his 
 voice; 
 
 31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful 
 God;) he will not forsake thee, neither de- 
 stroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy 
 fathers which he sware unto them. 
 
 3-2 For ask now of the days that are past, 
 which were before thee, since the day that 
 God created man upon the earth, and ash 
 from the one side of heaven unto the other, 
 whether there hath been any such thing as 
 this great thing is, or hath been heard like 
 it? 
 
 StJ. — trlirlher there /talk hren am/ such thing as this /^reat thing 
 if, &c.] It' Moses has recorded nothinij tint renl facts, (and the 
 truth ot" what he has recorded no considerate person can dispute,) 
 it m»< be undeniably evident, tliat tlic hand of God was most 
 miraculously employed in loading the Israelites out of Effypt, in 
 ^ivin;rthein their taw, in conducting them through the wilderness, 
 and in l)ringinjt them into Canaan. If the miracles were wrought 
 in the land of Egypt, and the judgments executed upon Pharaoh 
 and his people, as Moses has related, Exod. vii — xii; if the Red 
 ne« was really divided before the Israelites, and Pharaoh and his 
 host drowned in it, as Moses lias recorded, Exod. xiv; if a mi- 
 raculous supply of food was given daily to the Israelites in the 
 wilderness for forty years together, chap, xvi ; if God did indeed 
 speak to them in an audible voice from heaven, chap. xLx, xx; if 
 their laws were given, as Moses informs us; if their tabernacle 
 wa« directed, an<l, M-hen tinished, if a cloud covered the tent, and 
 the glory of the Lord filled the tabcniade, and rested upon it in 
 a cloud by day, and ih fire by night, Exo<l. xxxv — xl; if this 
 d««d removed visibly to conduct their journey ings; if the many 
 op|»sition9 of the ])cople were miraculously punished in the 
 several manners related to us, Numb, xi, xii, xiv, xvi, xxi, x\v, &c. 
 and the miracles, that are recorded, were wrought to testify the 
 Hivinc appointment of the institutiorM cnjoine<l, when the people 
 would have varieil from them, Levit. x; Numb, xvi, xvii, &c; 
 if a Prophet, even of another nation, corrupt in the inclination of 
 his heart, .ami tempted by great offers to speak evil of this people, 
 was by very astonishing miracles prevented from declaring any 
 thn>g alMmt them, diverse from what Moses had represented to be 
 the purixi,* of Gtxl towards them: if all these, and other things 
 ot a Uke nature, were really and truly done, as Moses hath related 
 
 DEUTFRONOMY. 
 
 toward Israel. 
 
 33 Did evei/> people hear the voice of ^";„ 
 God speaking out of the nviitst of the fire, hsi. 
 as thou hast heard, and live? 
 
 S-Sf Or hath God assayed to go and take 
 him a nation from the midst oi' mrother na- 
 tion, by teiriptations, by signs, and by won- 
 ders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, 
 and by a stretchcil out arm, ami by great 
 terrors, according to all that the Loud your 
 (iotl did tor you in Egypt before your 
 eyes? 
 
 35 Unto thee it was shewed, that thoii 
 mightest know that the Loud he is God; 
 tlwrc is none else beside him. 
 
 3G Out of heaven he made thee to hear 
 his voice, that he might instruct thee: and 
 u})on earth he shewed thee his great fire; 
 and thou heardest his words out of the 
 midst of the fire. 
 
 37 And because he loved thy fatiiers, 
 therefore he chose their seed after them, 
 and brought thee out in his sight with his 
 mighty power out of Egypt; 
 
 38 To drive out nations from before thee 
 greater and inightier than thou art, to bring 
 thee in, to give thee their land^or an inhe- 
 ritance, as it is this day. 
 
 39 Know therefore this day, and consi- 
 der it in thine heart, that the Lord he is 
 God in heaven above, and upon the earth 
 beneath : there is none else. 
 
 40 Thou shalt keep therefore liis sta- 
 tutes, and his commandments, which I 
 
 well might he " call heaven and earth to witness" for him, Deut. 
 XXX. 1<); well niight he observe, that " no such things liad ever 
 been done for any nation:" and we who read them, cannot but 
 conclude from them, that the power of God did indeed miracu- 
 lously interest itself in appointing the law and polity of this 
 people, and in conducting them to their settlement in the pro- 
 mised land. Shuckford. 
 
 .')4. — hi) tcnipfations,'^ Or trials. For the miracles, which 
 God wrought in Egypt, were trials both to the Egyptians and 
 the Israelites, whether they would obey God and trust in Him, 
 or not. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 By " tempting" any one, is sometimes meant only tn/ivg him; 
 putting his sincerity, his obedience, his faith, or any of his other 
 virtues to the test. In this sense Gotl " tempted" Abraham, when 
 He commanded him to offer up his son. Gen. xxii. 1. In this 
 sense He may be said to have "tempted" the Israelites in tlie 
 wilderness; on purpose, as Moses expressly tells us, to " prove 
 them, to know what was in their hearts, whether they would 
 keep His commandments or no." And in the same manner He 
 every day suffers good men to fall into what are very properly 
 called iri/iiig circumstances, for the exercise and improvement of , 
 their virtue. To " tempt" men in tliis way is evidently no im- 
 peachment either of G(Krs holiness, mercy, or justice. For He 
 does it with the best and most gracious intentions, in order to call 
 out into artion the latent great qualities of an honest and good 
 heart, to hold them up to the observation and applause of man- 
 kind, and to reward them in proiwrtioti to the severity with which 
 He tried them. Bp. I'orteiis. 
 
 40. Thou shall keep therefore his statutes, &c.] That is, thou 
 shalt worship and obey Him, a« tl>e only way to make thee and
 
 Moses appointeth three cities of refuge. C H A P. IV, V. 
 
 The covenant in Horeb. 
 
 Before command thee this daj^ that it may go 
 
 J451. well with thee, and with thy children after 
 
 thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy 
 
 days upon the earth, which the Lord thy 
 
 God giveth thee, for ever. 
 
 41 5F Then Moses severed three cities on 
 this side Jordan toward the sun rising ; 
 
 42 That the slayer might flee thither, 
 which should kill his neighbour unawares, 
 and hated him not in times past ; and that 
 fleeing unto one of these cities he might 
 live : 
 
 « Josh. 20. 43 Namely, ' Bezer in the wilderness, in 
 *■ the plain country, of the lleubenites ; and 
 
 Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Go- 
 lan in Bashan, of the Manassites. 
 
 44 ^ And this is the law which Moses 
 set before the children of Israel : 
 
 45 These are tlie testimonies, and the 
 statutes, and the judgments, which Moses 
 spake unto the children of Israel, after they 
 came forth out of Egypt, 
 
 4G On tliis side Jordan, in the valley 
 
 over against Beth-peor, in the land of Si- 
 
 hon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at 
 
 Heshbon, whom Moses and the children 
 
 'NumU of Israel ' smote, after they were come 
 
 chap. i. 4. forth out of Egypt : 
 
 47 And they possessed his land, and the 
 
 thy posterity live happily in the land, which God is about to give 
 tlice. Thouijli Moses in this verse speaks of their lonjj life upon 
 earth, or of their long possession of the promised land, yet the 
 better sort of Jews did not set up tlieir rest Ijere ; but from the 
 word " prolong," here used, they extended their hope as far as 
 to the other world. For thus, Maiioonides says, they were taught 
 by tradition to exjwund these words, " That it may be well with 
 thee," in the world which is all good; and, " that thou mayest 
 prolong thy days" in the world which is all long ; that is, which 
 never ends. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 42. — l/iat ^fleeing unto one of these cities lie jnight live :'] Yet 
 he was not thereupon exempt from^ the pursuit of justice, Numb. 
 XXXV. 1'2 : an information was lodged against him ; he w.as sum- 
 moned before the judges and the people, to prove that the act was 
 really casual, and involuntary ; if found innocent, he dwelt safely 
 in the city, to which he had retired ; if guilty, he was put to death 
 according to the law. At the same time, to inspire the greater 
 horrour, even of involuntary bloodshed, the law punished it by a 
 kind of banishment : for the raanslayer was obliged to dwell in 
 this cit}', without going out of it, tiU the death of the high priest. 
 Numb. -xxxv. 25 — 28. Calmel. 
 
 44. And this is the law &c.] Moses did not deliver all, that is 
 contained in this book, in one continuetl speech. After the pre- 
 face in these four chapters, it is to be supposed that he dismissed 
 the people to consider what be had said; and then, having as- 
 signed the cities of refuge, some time after reassembled them, to 
 put tliem in mind of the laws, which he so earnestly pressed them 
 to observe. The next ciiapter contains " the Law," that is, the 
 Ten Commandments, which Moses " set before them ;" and in 
 the several following chapters, after new earnest e.vliortations to 
 obedience, he represents to them the rest of God's will, compre- 
 hended under these three words in the 45th verse, " testimonies, 
 statutes, and judgments :" some of which belong to the Divine 
 service, others to their civil goverjiment, and the rest to cere- 
 
 land^ of Og king of Bashan, tw© kings of c^^Tst 
 the Amorites, which liere on tins side Jor- 1431. 
 dan toward the sun rising ; ' Numb. 
 
 48 From Aroer, which is by the bank of ^l' ^; , 
 the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, 
 which is Hermon, 
 
 49 And all the plain on this side Jordan 
 eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, 
 under the "springs of Pisgah. * Chap.s. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 1 The coivnant in Horeb. 6 Tlie ten commandments. 
 22 At the people's request Moses receiveth the lam 
 from God. 
 
 AND Moses called all Israel, and said 
 unto them. Hear, O Israel, the sta- 
 tutes and judgments which I speak in your 
 ears this day, that ye may learn them, and 
 t keep, and do them. t HeU 
 
 2 ' The Lord our God made a covenant th^'." 
 with us in Horeb. , '*'"• 
 
 3 The Lord made not this covenant with 5. 
 our fathers, but with us, even us, who are 
 all of us here alive this day. 
 
 4 The Lord talked with you face to 
 face in the mount out of the midst of the 
 fire, 
 
 5 (I stood between the Lord and you at 
 that time, to shew vou the word of the 
 
 monial observances, for the better security and preservation of 
 both tlie fonjier. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 48. — utounl 'S'/'un,] Not that, which was &o iamous in after- 
 times, wlien David made it the royal seat ; for that was on the 
 other side Jordan : the word is probably a contraction or a faulty 
 reading for Sirion, the name by which the Sidonians called Her- 
 mon. See chap. iii. 8, 9. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. V. ver. 3. — wA — with our fathers, but willi «j,] 
 Though many, who were present at Sinai, were now dead, many 
 also must have been still living : those only having perished in 
 consequence of God's threats, who were twenty years old and up- 
 wards, when they offended Him by their murmurs ; and even of 
 those, condemned to die in the wilderness, manj' might, like 
 Moses, be suffered to behold the land, wliich they were not to en- 
 ter. Moses however may perhaps mean only, that God made not 
 that solemn covenant with their forefathers, the Patriarchs, but 
 with the generation of his contemporaries. Dr. Grat/. 
 
 5. {I stood betnecn the Lord and you &c.]] In the preceding 
 books of the Pentateuch, Moses speaks of himself in the third 
 person : but in this book, in a more animate<l manner, he droops, 
 as it were, the character of an historian, and is introduced .is im- 
 mediately addressing himself to his countrj-men. Hence it is 
 that, in describing what he uttered, he repeaU the Decalogue 
 with some slight change of expression from that which was used 
 as its first delirery ; a variation, which, as it affected not the im- 
 port of the commandment, might have served to indicate, that 
 not the letter, but tlie spirit, of the law was to be regarded : he 
 Ukewise introduces some general alteration* in the code that he 
 presents, which should be considered as >upplementary additions 
 requisite by a change of time and circumstances : and be take« 
 occasion to intimate that spiritual intention of the law, by which 
 it was designed for the inward government of man. See chap. x. 
 16. Dr. Gray.
 
 The ten 
 
 D E U T E 11 N O xM Y. 
 
 Commandments. 
 
 iwfore Lord : for yc were alVaiil h\ ioa<!(in of llic 
 ^^'liii.^^ fire, and went not up into the mount ;) 
 
 saving, 
 >Eiod.8a 'G f " I am the Loud thy God, which 
 Lt%s. I. brought tiiee out of the land of Egypt, 
 Pi hI. 10. from tlie liousc of t bondage. 
 Lilanii 7 Thou .shalt have none other gods be- 
 fore me. 
 
 S Thou shalt not make thee any graven 
 image, or anv likeness of any thing that is 
 in heaven above, or that is in the earth be- 
 neath, or that is in the waters beneath the 
 earth : 
 
 For a ref^ular exposition of the sevcriil coniniamlnients, the 
 rrailer \i refemHl to the notes on Exodus xx ; the following 
 notes contain various miscellaneous observations upon the Deca- 
 logue. 
 
 7. Thou shah hare none other god.t before me.'] It is wisely ob- 
 served by Grotius, that true relijjion was ever built upon these 
 four principles: 1st, That there is a Ciod, and that He is but 
 One. 2dly, That Ciml is none of tho^^e things, which we see with 
 our eyes; but something more sublime than they all. 3dly, That 
 He takes care of human aH'airs, and judsjcs them most justly, 
 tthly, That He is the Maker of all things whatsoever. These 
 principles are explained in the first four precepts of the Decalogue. 
 In tlie first, the Unity of tile Godhead is delivered. The second 
 contains the second pVinciple, that (iod's nature is invisible ; for 
 this is the ground of the prohibition against making any image of 
 Him. In the third C'onunandment we have the third of these 
 principles, that GikI takes notice of all things, even of our 
 thoughts, and governs all our affairs : for it is the foundation of 
 an oath, that G<h1 knows our very hearts, and is witness to our 
 meaning as well as our words; and will, if we swear falsely, pu- 
 nish us for it; which is an acknowledgnvent also both of the jus- 
 tice and of the power of God. Lastly, in the fourth Command- 
 ment, the reason given for the religious observation of the seventh 
 day is, beauise " in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 
 &c." So that this Connnandmcnt was designed to establish the 
 fourth principle above mentioned, that God is the Maker of all 
 things. To preserve the memory and sense of which, this rest 
 was instituted, to be observed with more than ordinary sanctity. 
 And it wiis esteemed of such great moment, that the first sabbath- 
 breaker was punished with death. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 f). — vitiling the ini<]mlti of the fnther.i upon the chiUreiiJ 
 There is an apparent harshness in tliis declaration, with which 
 the minds even of gmxl and pious men have been sometimes sen- 
 sibly affeitc-<l. To " visit the sins of the fathers upon the children, 
 even to the third and fourth generation," is not, at first sight at 
 least, so reconcile.ible to our apprehensions of justice and equity, 
 as that we should expect to find it in a solemn publication of the 
 will of Go<l. IJut the difficulty and the objection which lies 
 against the words may be removed by considering: 1st, That 
 the denunciation and sentence relate to the sin of idolatry in par- 
 ticular, if not to that alone : 2dly, That they relate to temjjoral, 
 or more i)roperly speaking, to family prosperity and adversity ': 
 .Ully, That they relate to the Jewish economy, in that particulai- 
 administration of a visible Providence, mider which the Jews 
 livwl : 4thly, That at no rate do they affect, or were ever meant 
 to affect, the acceptance or salvation of individuals in a future life. 
 Archdiiuon I'ulei/. 
 
 In Eyekiel we are told, that " the soul that sinneth, it shall 
 die: the son shall not l>ear the iniquity of the father, &c." If it 
 be asked, how we reconcile these seemingly contradictory asser- 
 ti<ms? the answer, 1 think, is plain. Whenever God denounces 
 punishment against any jH-rsons for the sins of others, whether it 
 be of their ancestors or contemporaries, we are always to under- 
 st.Tnd liy It some tcm/wral jiunishnient, or national calamity ■ in 
 w uch Uie righteous .ind the wicked are oftentimes equally iiivolv- 
 «1: but when He declares, Uiat cM-ry man *hall be:u- /,»■ own 
 
 i) Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto (,,^1^"j'| 
 tliem, nor .serve them : for I the Lord thy msi. 
 God am a jealous God, ' visiting the ini- ' Esod. 3 
 quitv of the fathers upon the children un- ^■ 
 to the thiitl and fourth gencralion of them 
 that hate me, 
 
 10 ""And shewing mercy unto thousands "jcr. 32. 
 of them that love me and keep my com- '"• 
 mandments. 
 
 1 1 Thou shalt not take the name of the 
 Lord thy God in vain : for the Lord will 
 not hold him guiltless that taketh his name 
 
 in vain. 
 
 iniiinilij, and die for his own sin, I apjirchcnd He refers chiefly to 
 the future and eternal punishment of sin in the next life; where- 
 in none shall suffer for the offences of others, but " God will ren- 
 der to every man acconling to his deeds," Rom. ii. 6. When 
 therefore we pray in that admirable and complete fonii of true 
 Christian devotion, the Litany of our Church, that God will 
 " not reinerr-'icr the offences of our forefathers," we must confine 
 our thoughts to temporal evils and judgments ; which we beseech 
 Him not to semi upon us, for their sins any more than for onr 
 unn. Waldo. 
 
 the inii/nity'] The single subject, to which the prohibi- 
 tion of both the first and second Commandments relates, is false 
 worship, or the worship of false gods; this is the single class of 
 sins which is guarded against. Although therefore the expres- 
 sion here be, " the sins" or " the iniquities of the fathers," with- 
 out specifying in that clause what sins, yet in (air construction, 
 and indeed in common construction, we may well suppose it to 
 be that kind and class of sins, for the restraint of whicli the com- 
 mand was given, and against which its force was directed. The 
 punishment threatened by any law must natiiially be applied to 
 the offence particularly forbidden by that law, and not to offences 
 in general. Archdeacon Palcij. The sin of idolatry here meant 
 was tlie greatest natkmal crime that could be committed : it wast 
 high treason against the Supreme Majesty of the state, during the 
 theocracy, or whilst the people continued under tlie more imme- 
 diate government of God : the offenders therefore, and e\en the 
 enticers to idolatry, whether cities or individuals, by the municipal 
 law, were to be utterly destroyed or stoned to death ; or any one 
 that sacrificed to a .ttrange god. And in cases of high trea.ion do 
 not hum.m lawgivers visit the children or families of the delin- 
 quents with confiscation of property, and legal disabilities, that 
 parents may be deterred from disturbing the publick peace, and 
 be more strongly attached to the existing government, from re- 
 gard to their offspring.? Cicero commends the policy of such 
 penalties. Dr. Hales. 
 
 10. And shewing merctj unto thousands &c.] What a happi- 
 ness it is to be born of good parents ! Hence God claims an in- 
 terest in us, and we in Him, for their sake. As many a maji 
 smartelh for his father's sin, so the goodness of others is crowned 
 in a thousand generations. Bp. Hall. See the note on ch. vii. 9. 
 
 11. Thou shall not take the name &c.] An habitual reverence 
 for the Supreme Being would banish from among us that pre- 
 vailing impiety of using His name on the most trivial occasions 
 The following passage occurs in an excellent sermon, jireached at 
 the funeral of a gentleman, (the Hon. Robert Boyle) who was an 
 honour to his country, and a more diligent as well as successful in- 
 quirer into the works of nature, than any other our nation has ever 
 produced : " He had the profoundest veneration lor the great 
 God of heaven and earth that I have ever observed in any per- 
 son. The very name of God was never mentioned by liim with- 
 out a piiuse and a visible stop in his discourse : in which one, 
 that knew him most particularly above twenty years, has told me, 
 that he was so exact, that he does not remember to have observed 
 him once to fail in it." 
 
 Every one knows the veneration which was paid by the Jews to 
 a name so " great, wonderful, and lioly," Tiiey would not let it
 
 The ten 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Commandments. 
 
 Before \q KcBp tlic sabbatli day to sanctify it, as 
 1451. the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. 
 13 Six davs thou shalt labour, and do all 
 thy work : 
 
 enter even into their religions discourses. What can we then 
 think of those, who make use of so tremendous a name in the or- 
 dinary expressions of their anger, mirth, and most impertinent 
 passions? of those, who admit it into the most familiar questions 
 and assertions, ludicrous phrases, and works of humour ? not to 
 mention those who violate it by solemn perjuries ! It would be 
 an affront to reason to endeavour to set forth the horrour and pro- 
 faneness of such a practice. The very mention of it exposes it 
 sufficiently to those, in whom the liglit of nature, not to say reli- 
 gion, is not utterly extinguished. Addison. 
 
 12. Keep the sabbatli day to sanctify it,~\ In Exodus it is " Re- 
 member the sabbath day ;" but that was in order to the keeping 
 of it. Bp. Kidder. Nothing is the cause of more mischief and 
 wickedness of every kind amongst us, than the neglect of the 
 sabbath. If we look into the accounts of bad people, who have 
 suffered for their crimes, we shall generally find they began with 
 neglecting the sabbath. From hence they proceeded to higher 
 tlegrces of wickedness : and though young people in general, 
 who neglect the sabbath, may not go such violent lengths as 
 many of these unhappy wretches go ; yet, having no regard for 
 religion, nothing to recall them to a sense of duty, they soon 
 learn every kind of wickedness. Swearing and drinking are the 
 common attendants on sabbath breaking : for if the sabbath- 
 breaker is not at church, there is another place, where he is com- 
 monly to be found. Here he shows plainly whose servant he is; 
 not the servant of God certainly. 
 
 In an account of a country, in which the Christian faith had 
 once been established, it is stated, that when the jierson, who 
 wrote the account, tra^■elled there, all knowledge of Christianity 
 was so utterly lost, that when he asked such of the inhabitants 
 as he met with, who Christ was ; for what purpose he died ; 
 what was meant by a future state ; or by the immortality of the 
 soul ; or by the day of judgment ; or any other easy question : 
 they stared at him in stupid ignorance, having never heard of 
 any of these things. In the last page the author tells us, the use 
 of the sabbath was totally lost among these people. If he had 
 told us this in the first page, we should have taken aU the rest 
 for granted. Gilpin, Polnhele. 
 
 to sanctify jV,] There is not much said in express words, 
 
 concerning this end of the " rest" of the sabbath. But common 
 reason told the Jews, it could not be intended merely as a day 
 of ease from labour; but for the solemn service of God, and in- 
 struction in their duty to Him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 God directed the Jews, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God &c. 
 and these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine 
 heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, 
 and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and 
 when thou walkest by the way, and when thou licst down, and 
 when thou risest up," Deut. vi. 5 — 7. Now as He required them 
 to attend so constantly to these duties. He could not but expect, 
 they should attend more especially to them on that daj', when the 
 great foundation of all duty. His creation of the world, was ap- 
 pointed to be commemorated ; and when they had nothing to do, 
 to take off their thoughts from what thcj' owed to God and their 
 Maker. There was a peculiar sacrifice appointed for that day ; 
 there is a peculiar psalm composed for it, the ninety-second ; and 
 these things are surely further intimations to us, that it must have 
 been a time, peculiarly intended for the offering up of prayers and 
 thanksgivings to heaven. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Let it not be supposed, that because God hath appointed the 
 sabbath as a day of rest from bodily labour, it is therefore to be 
 an idle holiday. Many, in following their wicked pastimes, make 
 it more a day of labour, than any day in the week. This is not 
 only perverting God's design in giving them " rest from their la- 
 bour ;" but it is perverting God's design in giving them rest for 
 the religioris employment of their minds : which is a point of still 
 Vol. L 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 14 But the seventh day is the ° sabbath 
 of the Lord tliy God : in it thou shalt not 
 do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy = Gen. 2.2. 
 daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy " '^" ' 
 
 Hebr. 4. 4. 
 
 greater consequence. God hath therefore taken both these points 
 into His own hands : knowing that man had not the authority to 
 enjoin them ; nor probably the inclination. God not only " rest- 
 ed" on the sabbath day ; "but He " blessed" and " hallowed" it. 
 Gilpin. 
 
 1 4. — the seventh day is the sabbath &.C.2 To the question, 
 UTiat regard is due to the institution of a sabbath under the 
 Christian dispensation } the answer is plainly this : neither more 
 nor less than was due to it in the Patriarchal ages, before the 
 Mosaick covenant took place. It is a gross mistake to consider the 
 sabbath as a mere festi\-al of the Jewish Church, deriving its 
 whole sanctity from the Levitical law. The contrary appears, as 
 well from the evidence of the fact, which sacred history affords, 
 as from the reason of the thing, which the same history declares. 
 The religious observation of the seventh day hath a place in the 
 Decalogue among the very first duties of natural religion. The 
 reason assigned, in Exod. xx. 11, for the injunction, is general, 
 and hath no particular relation or regard to the Israelites. The 
 creation of the world was an event, equally interesting to the 
 whole human race; and the acknowledgment of God, £s our 
 Creator, is a duty in all ages and in all countries, equally incum- 
 bent on every individual of mankind. The terms, in which the 
 reason of the ordinance is assigned, plainly describe it as an ordi- 
 nance of an earlier age : " Therefore the Lord blessed and hal- 
 lowed it," or set it apart. It is not said, ' Therefore the Lord 
 non blesses the seventli day, and sets it apai-t,' but ' Therefore 
 He did bless it, and stt it apart in time past; and He now requires 
 that you His chosen people should be observant of that ancient 
 institution." And in further confirmation of the fact, we find 
 from Exod. xvi, that the Israelites were acquainted with the sab- 
 bath, and had been accustomed to some observance of it, before 
 Moses received the tables of the law at Sinai. Indeed the Jews 
 themselves well luiderstood the antiquity of this institution, which 
 appears upon the best evidence to have been coeval with the 
 world itself: in the book of Genesis, the mention of this institu- 
 tion closes the History of the Creation. An institution of this 
 antiquity, .ind of this general importance, could derive no part 
 of its sanctity from the authority of the Mosaick law : and the 
 abrogation of that law no more releases the worshippers of Go<l 
 from a rational observation of a sabbath, than it cancels the in- 
 junction of filial piety, or the prohibitions of thtft and raiirder, 
 adultery, calumny, and avaiice. The worship of the Christirn 
 church'is properly to be considered as a restoration of the_ Patri- 
 archal in its primitive simplicity and purity : and of the Patriarchpl 
 worship, the sabbath was tlie noblest and perhaps the simplest 
 rite. Bp. Horslcy. 
 
 nor thy mansen^ani, nor thy maid.'tervaiil,'] It is to be re- 
 membered, that, although the worship of God is the chief end of 
 the institution of the sabbath, yet the refreshment of the lower 
 orders of mankind, by an intermission of their labours, is indis- 
 putably a secondary object : " that thy manservant and thy mr.id- 
 servant may rest as well as thou." Thus it is expressly provided 
 by the law, that on the sabbath day they should have their refresh- 
 ment. Now as these injunctions were e\-idently foxmded on the 
 general principles of philanthi-opy, it should seem, that, allowance 
 being made lor the difference between the rigour of the Jewish, 
 and the liberality of the Cluisti.in dispensation, and allowance 
 being also made for the different circum-stanccs of the ancient and 
 modern world, these injunctions of the suspension of the labows 
 of the lower ranks arc universally and pei-petually in force, m all 
 parts of the world, and in all ages: the rather, as they^e no less 
 calculated for the benefit of the higher than for the comfort of the 
 lower orders. It is useful to both to be admonished at frequent 
 intervals ; the one for their consolation, the other for the suppres- 
 sion of that pride, which a ccndition of ease and superiority is too 
 apt to inspire. It is useful to both to be reminded of their cqiNil 
 
 Yy
 
 The ten 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 Commandmen/s 
 
 B«rorf maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, 
 *^"f^j*^ nor any of tliv cattle, nor tliy stranger 
 that is within tliv gates ; tliat thy manser- 
 vant and thy maidservant may rest as well 
 as thou. 
 
 15 And remember tliat thou wast a ser- 
 vant in the land of Egypt, and Ihal the 
 Loud thy God brought thee out thence 
 Uirough a mighty Iiand and by a stretched 
 out arm : tlierefbre the Lord thy God com- 
 manded tliee to keep the sabbath day. 
 !()•[ Honour tliy tatlier and thy mother. 
 
 relation to tlieir coininon Lord, as the creatures of His power, tlie 
 subjects of His goverument, the children of His love, by an in- 
 stitution, which ut frequent intervals unites them in His service. 
 Under this recollection tlie servant will obey with fidelity and 
 cheerfulness, and the superiour will go^•e^l with kindness an<I 
 lenity. It is of the highest importance to the present good hu- 
 mour of society, and to the future interests of men of every rank, 
 that these injunctions should be observed with all the exactness 
 which the jjresent state of society may admit, lip. Ilurxlci/. 
 
 nur tliine ox, nor thine ass, nor aiii/ oflliij caUle,'} The la- 
 bour of man is not the only toil, wliich the .\Iosaick law prohibit- 
 ed on tire sabbath d.iy. " Thou shalt not do any work — nor 
 thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle." It was a principle 
 with some of the heatlien moralists, that no rights .subsist between 
 man and the lower animals; that^ in the exercise of our dominion 
 over them, we are at liberty to pursue our own jirofit and con- 
 venience, without any consideration of the fatigue and miseries 
 which they may undergo. The Holy Scriptures seem to speak 
 another language, wlien they say, " A righteous man regardeth the 
 life of his beast," Prov. xii. 10: and as no reason can be alleged, 
 why the ox or the ass of Palestine should be treated with more 
 tenderness than the kindred brutes of other countries, it must be 
 u(K)n this general principle, that mercy is in some degree due to 
 the animals beneath us, that the Divine Legislator of the Jews 
 provided on the sabbath for their refreshment. This therefore, 
 like the provision made for servants, allowance still being made 
 for the different spirit of Judaism and Christianity, is to be consi- 
 dered as a general and standard ))art of tlic institution ; which is 
 violated, whenever, for the mere pleasure and convenience of the 
 master and the owner, either servants, or even animals, are sub- 
 jected to tile s-ime severity of toil on the sabbath, which belongs 
 to the natural condition of the one and to the civil rank of the 
 other on the six tiays of the week. ]ip. Horsley. 
 
 15. — remember Ihal Ihou nuisl a senmni &c.] This is a new 
 ground for the observation of the sabbath, bec.mse God had given 
 them rest from their hard labour in Egypt. This obliged them 
 to keep Ihat sereiilh day, which (iod appointed at the giving of 
 manna, being the day on which He overthrew Pharaoii in the Red 
 sea ; as the memory of the creation of the world obliged them to 
 keep one dai/ in seivii. Jos. Mede. 
 
 It is for this reason, that the Hebrews are so often reminded by 
 God of their having been strangers and bondservants in the land 
 of Egypt, that by their hospitjility and charity they might comfort 
 and relieve those who were in the like condition : and tliat the 
 happy change in thtir circumstances n-ight beget in them a per- 
 petual gratitude to liieir great Benefactor, and the meanness of 
 their former condition teach them to be iunnble. Slaekhuuse. 
 
 16. Honour Ihi/ father and thii mother,'] This Commandment 
 requires honour to be given not only to the father, but to the mo- 
 ther also ; an addition, which many human laws seem to have neg- 
 lected. As the laws were given to the Isr.ulites with a view to 
 Keep them free from the crimes of their idolatrous and wicked 
 neighbours, and from the iniquities of the Egyptians, with whom 
 they had lonjf dwelt, it is to be supposed, that the moral duties 
 ^h^'j'*'' ''""^ scandalously neglected by those n.itions, and that 
 the duty of obedience to parents, and particularly to mothers, was 
 
 as the Lord thy God liath commanded ch'^YI,. 
 thee ; that thy days may be prolonged, and hsi. 
 that it may go well with thee, in the land 
 which the Loud thy God givcth thee. 
 
 17 ' Thou shalt not kill. 'Matth. 5. 
 
 18 ^Neither shalt thou commit adultery. • Luke is. 
 
 19 " Neither shalt thou steal. 20. 
 
 20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness 9. 
 against tliy neighbour. 
 
 21 ' Neither shalt thou desire thy neigh- ' Rom.-.?. 
 hour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy 
 neighbour's house, his field, or his manser- 
 
 as ill observed as the rest. The Egyptians, as we learn from an- 
 cient history, were far from having right notions of it : for they 
 held, first, tlwt children had more obligaticm, and should pay 
 more respect, to the father than to the mother ; and, secondly, 
 that a son lay under no necessity to maintain his indigent parents, 
 but that a daughter was obliged to do it. Thus they compelled 
 a woman, considered as a daughter, to assist and maintain her 
 parents ; and yet, as she was a mother, they took from her in a 
 manner all authoritj' over her sons: whicii was absurd and un- 
 just. Dr. Jor/in. 
 
 that thi) dai/s may be prolonged,'] These words are here 
 
 added to what we read in Exod. xx. I'i, as a farther motive to 
 obedience ; and we find the Apostle takes notice of it in Eph. 
 vi. 3. On the whole, obedience to this precept hath tlie promise, 
 not only of a long, but of an happy life. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Dutiful children have even now, though no absolute certainty, 
 yet a reasonable hope of a long prosperous life. For, 1st, the good 
 providence of God is extended to all and each person, and acts 
 secretly, silently, and effectually, and often conveys temporal 
 blessings to the righteous by ways and means not discernible and , 
 exposed to publiek view. 2dly, There is a natural connexion 
 between obedience to jiarents, and length of days. Parents, usu- 
 ally speaking, desire that their children should behave themselves 
 well, and prosper in the world ; that they should be modest, civil, 
 sober, temperate, regular, and industrious : and children, who in 
 these things obey their parents, take the best methods to secure 
 to themselves long life and prosperity. But since under the 
 Gospel, spiritual promises are more fully propounded, and all , 
 things temporal are represented as precarious, if long life should 
 not alwa)'s be the effect of a dutiful behaviour to God and to pa- 
 rents, it is to be considered, that when a pious and excellent per- 
 son dieth in the flower of his age, to such an one to live is loss, 
 and to die is gain : it is to depart hence, and to be with the Lord, 
 which is far better. The conclusion is, that " godliness is profit- 
 able unto all thing.s, having promise of the life that now is, and 
 of that which is to come," 1 Tim. iv. 8: of the life that now is, 
 in all fair probability ; of that which is to come, with absolute , 
 certainty. Dr. Jortin. 
 
 21. — neither shall thou cwet Ihtj neighbour's honse, &c.] This 
 tenth and last Commandment is by the Church of Rome divided 
 into two, to keep up the number after joining the first and second 
 into one, contrary to ancient authority, Jewish and Christian. 
 How the mistake was originally made, is hard to say : but un- 
 tloubtedly they retain and defend it the more earnestly, in order 1 
 to pass over the second Commandment, as onlj' part of the first, 
 without any distinct meaning of its own. And accordingly many ii 
 of their devotional books omit it entirely ; though the two Com- ; 
 mandments plainly relate to different tilings; the first appointing, 
 that the object of our worshij) be the only trne God ; the second, 
 that we worship not Him under any visible resemblance or form. 
 It is plain therefore that these two ought not to be thus joined and 
 confounded. And that the tenth ought not to be divided, is 
 equally evident: for it is one single prohibition of all unjust de- 
 sires. And if reckoning up the several prohibited objects of de- i: 
 sire makes it more than one Commandment, for the same reason i 
 it will be more than two. For there are six things forbidden in
 
 The people 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 are afraid. 
 
 Before vaiit, OF iiis maidscrvant, his ox, or his ass, 
 1451. or any thing that is thy neighbour's. 
 
 22 ^ These words the Lord spake unto 
 all your assembly in the mount out of the 
 midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the 
 thick darkness, with a great voice: and he 
 added no more. And he wrote them in 
 two tables of stone, and delivered them 
 unto me. 
 
 23 And it came to pass, when ye heard 
 the voice out of the midst of the darkness, 
 (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that 
 ye came near unto me, even all the heads 
 of your tribes, and your elders; 
 
 24 And ye said, Behold, the Lord our 
 God hath shewed us his glory and his 
 
 » Exod. 19. greatness, and " we have heard his voice 
 '^" out of the midst of the fire: we have seen 
 
 this day that God doth talk with man, and 
 < amp. 4. he ' liveth. 
 '^' 25 Now therefore why should we die? 
 
 for this great fire will consume us: if we 
 t ^^''- t hear the voice of the Lord our God any 
 
 add to hear. i ii i- 
 
 more, then we shall die. 
 
 26 For who is there of all flesh, that 
 
 it particularly, besides all the rest, that are forbidden in general. 
 And moreover, if thig be two Commandments, which is the first 
 of them? For in Exodus it begins, " Thou shalt not covet tliy 
 neighbour's house;" but in Deuteronomj', " Thou shalt not covet 
 tliy neighbour's wife." And accordingly some of tlie Romish 
 books of devotion make the former, some the latter of these, the 
 ninth. Surely the order of the words would never have been 
 changed thus in Scripture, had there been two Commandments in 
 them: but being one, it is no way material, which part is named 
 first. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 neither shalt thou covet'] It is remarked by some, that an 
 
 exact order is observed in the delivery of these precepts: for first. 
 He places such offences as are consummated, and then tliose, that 
 are begun and not perfected. And in the former He proceeds 
 ft-om those that are most heinous, unto those that are less grievous: 
 for tho.'ie offences are the greatest, which disturb the publick order, 
 and consequently do mischief to many persons. Such are those 
 that are committed against governours and rulers, wlio are com- 
 prehended under the name of pai-ents; by whose authority hu- 
 man society is preserved. And then, among those, which are 
 against particular persons, those are the greatest whicli touch a 
 man's life; next, those that wrong liis family, the foundation of 
 which is matrimony; then, those that wrong him in his goods, 
 either directly, by stealtli, or more craftily, by beai-iiig false wit- 
 ness: then, in the last place, those sins are mentioned, which are 
 not consummated, but proceed no farther than desire. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 The whole law, concerning those matters of our several obliga- 
 tions one to another, " is briefly comprehended," as St. Paid very 
 justly observes, in tliis one saying, " TIiou slialt love tliy neigh- 
 liour as thyself," Rom. xiii. J). Our neighbour is every one, witli 
 whom we have at any time any concern, or on whose welftire oiu- 
 actions can liave any influence. For whoever is thus within our 
 read), is in the most important sense near to us, however distant 
 in other respects. To " love our neighbour" is to bear him good 
 will, which of course will dispose us to think favourably of him, 
 and beliave properly to him. And to " love him as ourselves" is 
 to have not only a real, but a strong and active good will towards 
 him; with a tenderness for his interests, duly proportioned to 
 that, which we naturally feel for oiu: own. Such a temper would 
 
 hath heard the voice of the living God -Sr^'iIx 
 speaking out of the midst of the fire, as 1451. 
 we have, and lived ? 
 
 27 Go thou near, and hear all tliat the 
 
 Loud our God .shall say: and "speak thou °'Exod.2o. 
 unto us all that the Lord our God shall ''' 
 speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and 
 do //. 
 
 28 And the Lord heard the voice of 
 your words, when ye spake unto me; and 
 the Lord said unto me, I have heard the 
 voice of the words of this people, which 
 they have spoken unto thee: they have 
 well said all that they have spoken. 
 
 29 O that there were such an heart in 
 them, that they woidd fear me, and keep 
 all my commandments always, that it might 
 be well with them, and with their children 
 for ever ! 
 
 30 Go say to them, Get you into your 
 tents again. 
 
 31 But as for thee, stand thou here by 
 me, and I will speak imto thee all the 
 commandments, and the statutes, and the 
 judgments, which thou shalt teach them, 
 
 most powerfidly restrain us from every tiling wrong, and prompt 
 u.? to every thing right: and therefore is "the fulfilling of the 
 law," so far as it relates to our mutual behaviour, Rom. xiii. 10. 
 A/>p. Seeker. 
 
 22. — nnd he added no tnore.'^ That is. He did not deliver the 
 following laws, which we find in Ex<k1. xxi, xxii, &c. as He did 
 these moral precepts, by an audible voice and in the solemn man- 
 ner out of the midst of the fire; but He delivered them to Moses, 
 who imparted them to the people. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 29. O that there were -vi/ch an heart in them, &c.] The words 
 are wonderfully emphatical in the Hebrew: " Who will give 
 that there maj' be such an heart in them! " This is an expression 
 of the most earnest desire; but at the same time it signifies, that 
 if what He had done for them, would not move them to fear and 
 obej' Him, it was impossible to persuade them to it. Xot but 
 that He could miraculou.sly work upon them, and cliange their 
 hearts (saith Maimonides) if He plesused, as He miraculously 
 changed the nature of other thing<!: but if this were God's will, 
 to deal with them in this manner, there would ha\e been no need 
 to send a Prophet to them, or to publish laws full of precepts and 
 promises, rewards and punishments; by which, saith he, Goil 
 wrought upon their heart, and not by His absolute omnipotence. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 that it 7nighl be well nith them, and rvith their children'] 
 
 There is no judgment threatened to any nation in the Holy 
 Scripture, but it is on account of tlie sins and wickedness they 
 were guilty of; which sins if they repented of, so as to forsake 
 them, they might find mercy. Accordingly we find in fact, that 
 God always dealt with people and nations according to these 
 measures. The truth of tliis might be shewn from the histories 
 of all nations. But in the history of the Jews it is especially re- 
 roai-kable, that every degree of publick vice and depjuture from 
 God's laws was always punished with publick judgments; ;md, 
 on the other hand, every degree of publick repentance and re- 
 formation was always rewarded witli publick happiness and pro- 
 sperity. So that any one, who could make a just estimate of 
 the morals of that nation, and how it stood as to virtue and vice, 
 might constantly make a judgment likewise, how it would fare 
 with them, .is to their outward temporal affairs, .irchbishop 
 Sharp. 
 
 Yy 2
 
 Moses receivelh the law. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 An exhortation to obedience. 
 
 Brfon 
 
 C UK I ST 
 
 HJI. 
 
 that they may do them in the hind which 
 I give them to possess it. 
 
 3'-2 Ye shall observe to do therefore as 
 the Lord your Gotl hath commanded you: 
 ve shall not turn aside to the riglit hand or 
 to the leJt. 
 
 33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which 
 the Lord your God hath conmianded you, 
 that ve may li\e, and (hat it may be well 
 with you, and that ye may prolong your 
 days in the land which ye shall possess. 
 CHAP. VL 
 
 1 TIte end of the law is obcdiawe. 3 An exhortutiun 
 thereto. 
 
 ^T OW these arc the commandments, the 
 ^ statutes, and the judgments, which the 
 Lord your God commamled to teach you. 
 
 33. Ye ihalt malk in all the mays — tlial t/e mat/ live,2 In the 
 Jewish dispensation mankind are enabled to discern the principles 
 ^jid the process of that moral frovemment, which God exercises 
 over nations, even in the course of His ordinary providence: 
 which undoubtedly dispenses publick prosperity and publick ca- 
 lamity, and regulates the rise and decay of empires, on the very 
 same' principles, which are so strikingly displayed in the history 
 of the chosen people. The Divine interposition in the general 
 government of the world is indeed conducted by the regular 
 operation of secondary causes, and therefore more silent and un- 
 seen, than the course of that extraordinai-y Providence then ex- 
 hibited: but it is not therefore less certain or less effective. In 
 the history of the Jewish state, the judgments of God are dis- 
 tinctly and solemnly exhibited for the instruction of man; and in 
 a word, this great truth is clearly and powerfully impressed, that 
 '• as righteousness exalteth a nation, so sin is a reproach to any 
 people," Prov. xiv. 34: a lesson, which but for the immediate 
 and extraordinary Providence, tlisplayed in this awful dispensa- 
 tion, could never have been so forcibly inculcated, or so clearly 
 understood. Dr. Graves. 
 
 Chaj). \'I. ver. 4. Hear, Israel : The Lord our God is one 
 Ijjrd :2 I'he Scripture expressly asserts, in perfect conformity 
 witli reason, that tliere is but one God, the object of our faith 
 and adoration: not one supreme, and other inferiour ones, as the 
 hcatliens believed, but one alone. See also ver. IS; Matt. iv. 10; 
 Is. xhi. 8; xlv. 5. Accordingly St. Paul declares, that "to us" 
 Christians, " there is one God the Father, of whom are all things." 
 But then, besides the several orders of created beings, the same 
 Scripture as exjiressly mentions His eternal Son and Spirit; the 
 one begotten of Him, the other proceeding from Him. The dis- 
 tinct and full meaning of these terms we know not; but this 
 however they plainly denote, that the Son and Spirit are derived 
 from the Father, in a manner, whatever it be, each different from 
 the other, and both different from creation. Accordingly we find 
 ascribed to both these, not only the names, but the perfections 
 of God, witli honours and worship incommunicable to anv crea- 
 ture: and whiL- they are evidently distinguished from the Father, 
 they are as evidently described as being one with Him. Wherein 
 precisely this union and this di.ninction lies, the Scripture hath 
 not said, and therefore we cannot s.iy, any farther than this: that 
 the union appears to be, not only a similitude of will, or of other 
 powers and dispositions, but the highest possible sameness of cs- 
 8cnti.ll attributes and properties; for which reason it hath been 
 called an unity of essence, nature, or substance: and the dis- 
 Unction appears to be, not only a difference of names, or of rela- 
 tions to created beings, but of subsistence and action, resembling 
 in Kune measure, as described in holy writ, that of different 
 human agcnU; on which account it is said to be a distinction of 
 prsons. .\nd from all these things put together, we conclude, 
 
 that ye might do tkem in the land whitlier j,i^^nT„„ 
 ye t go to |)o.ssess it: hsi. 
 
 2 That thou mightest fear the Lord thy .j. hcu. 
 God, to keep all his statutes and his com- ;'«"<>'"• 
 mandments, which I command thee, thou, 
 
 and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days 
 of thy life; and that thy days may be 
 prolonged. 
 
 3 % Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe 
 to do it; that it may be well with thee, and 
 that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord 
 God of thy fathers hath promised thee, 
 
 in the land that floweth with milk and ho- 12^*"'' "* 
 
 nev. 
 
 RIatth. ; 
 37. 
 
 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is Mark 12. 
 one Lord: ''o 
 
 5 And "thou shalt love the Lord thy 27" * 
 
 that we are to believe and worship Three Persons, who are one 
 (iod. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 It is usually obsen'cd by commentators, that many of the an- 
 cient Fathers look on this text as containing a plain intimation of 
 the blessed Trinity, tlie word translated the Lord being a sin- 
 gular, and the word rendered God a plui-al: and some of the Jews 
 themselves have had similar thoughts, as noticed by Bp. Patrick. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 5. — l/iou sluilt love itie Lord tliy God^ The characteristick ex- 
 cellence of the Mosaical law consists in the inward principle, on 
 which obedience to it was founded, namely, " the love of God," 
 as noticed in the second Commandment; and more fully unfolded 
 afterwai-ds in the admirable commentary upon the Decalogue, 
 furnished in the remainder of the Pentateuch. Its nature and 
 degree is thus specified; " with all thy heart, and with all thy 
 soul, and with all thy strength:" and the grounds of it also; "for 
 the Lord, the Lord God, is merciful and gracious, longsuffcring, 
 and abundant in goodness and truth, &c. visiting the iniquity of 
 the fathers upon the children," Exod. xxxiv. C, 7; Numb. xiv. 
 17, 18. The love of God was therefore necessarily accompanied 
 with thenar of God: " For the Lord your God is God of gods, 
 and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which 
 rcgardeth not persons, nor taketh reward." — " Thou shalt fear 
 the Lord thy God; Him shalt thou serve, and to Him shalt thou 
 cleave," Deut. x. 17, 20. See also verses 12, 13. The great- 
 ness, the majesty, and justice of God, necessarily render Him an 
 object of fear and awe: while His disinterested goodness, and 
 free bounties, naturally tend to excite love and gratitude in the 
 receivers; and both together, a hearty desire and sincere endea- 
 vour to obey His will in all things. This " love of God" there- 
 fore is made the ruling principle of the " love of our neighbour," 
 or of benevolence to mankind. " Thou shalt not hate \hy brother 
 in thy heart, &c. but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I 
 AM THE Lord," Lev. xix. 17, 18. This emphatick conclusion in- 
 timating, that they were bound to do so, for the Lord's sake. Nor 
 was it confined merely to their neighbour, or to their own coun- 
 trymen; it was to extend to strangers, Deut x. 17 — 19; and 
 even to enemies, Deut. xxiii. 7; nay, to the animal creation, 
 Deut. xxii. 6, 7, 10. Thus the " love of God" was made, 
 throughout the Mosaical law, tlie basis of the " love of our 
 neighbour," of all mankind, and even of the animal creation for 
 His .sake. Accordingly our blessed Saviour declares, that " the 
 love of God is the first and great Commandment in the Law;" 
 ;uid that " the second, the love of our neighbour as ourselves," 
 is like it in principle, as being derived from it, and regulated 
 thereby. " On these two commandments hang all the Law and 
 the Prophets;" or the whole religion ami morality of the Old 
 Testament, Matt. xxii. 36 — 40. They evidently coincide there- 
 fore with the Evangelical virtue of love, or Christian chanty, so 
 well explained by St. Paul, 1 Cor. xiii. and which may accord-
 
 Ati exhortation 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 to obedience. 
 
 >■ Chap. 1 1 
 18. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 whel, or, 
 sharjten. 
 
 Before Qq^ with all tlune heart, and with all thy 
 1451. soul, and with all thy might. 
 
 6 And '' these words, which I command 
 thee this day, shall be in thine heart : 
 
 7 And thou shalt t teach them diligently 
 unto thy children, and shalt talk of them 
 when thou sittest in thine house, and when 
 thou walkest by the way, and when thou 
 liest down, and when thou risest up. 
 
 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign 
 upon thine hand, and tliey shall be as front- 
 lets between thine eyes. 
 
 ingly be defined, " A divine virtue, bj' which we love God above 
 all things for His own sake ; and our neighbours as ourselves, for 
 the love of God." Dr. Hales. 
 
 The love of God is the source of every thing which is good in 
 man. I do not mean that it is the only source, or that goodness (in 
 some sense) can proceed from no other ; but that of all principles 
 of conduct it is the safest, the best, tlie truest, the highest. Perhaps 
 it is peculiar to the Jewish and Christian dispensations, and, if it be, 
 it is a peculiar cxcellencij in them, to have formallj' and solemnly 
 laid down this principle, as a ground of liuman action. I shall 
 not deny, that elevated notions were entertained of the Deity by 
 some wise and excellent lieathens ; but even these did not, that I 
 can find, so inculcate the love of that Deit}', or so propose and 
 state it to their followers, as to make it a governing, actuating prin- 
 ciple of life amongst them. This did Moses, or rather God by 
 the mouth of Moses ; expressly, formall)', solemnly. This did 
 Christ ; adopting, repeating, ratifying, what the Law had already 
 declared ; and not only ratifying, but singling it out from the 
 body of precepts which composed the old institution, and givuig 
 it a preeminence to every other. Archdeacon Valcy. 
 
 rvilh all thine heart, &c.] For there being no other God 
 
 but He alone, none else could have any right to their love and 
 service, but He only, whose nature is so excellent, that it requires 
 the utmost we can ilo to testify our regard to Him. 
 
 By the " heart" here may be meant the will, which is the ori- 
 ginal of all a man's actions, whether good or evil ; by the " soul," 
 the affections ; to which St. Mark adds the " mind," that is, the 
 understanding, or rational faculty ; and by " might" or " strength" 
 is meant xhe power of the body for action: whicli four, all together, 
 make up the whole man. The word " all," added to each of 
 these, does not exclude all otlier things from any share in our 
 thoughts and affections; but only from an equal interest in them. 
 " The love of God" ought to be superiour, and to direct all our 
 other motions to serve Him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. And thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children,'] Under 
 all the Divine dispensations from the beginning, no dutj' is set 
 higher, or more insisted on, than that of instructing children in 
 the knowledge of religion. " Abraham shall surely become a 
 great and miglity nation, and all tlie nations of the earth shall be 
 blessed in him." What more or greater can be said of any mere 
 man ? Attend to the reason, which immediately follows, " For I 
 know him, that he will command his children after him, &c." 
 See Gen. xviii. 18. Thus again in the passage before us from 
 the Law ; " These words, which I command thee tliis day, shall 
 be in thine heart :" for what jiurpose, or for whose .sake ? For 
 the sake of themselves alone? By no means: — "And thou shalt 
 teach them diligently unto thy children, &c." Children on tlieir 
 part are supposed to be often asking questions upon these subjects, 
 and so to put their pai-ents, teachers, or friends, upon conversation 
 of tliis kind. See Exod. xii. 26. Respecting Christian parents, 
 they are most expressly enjoined to " bring up their children 
 in the nurture and admonition of the Lord :" and to the praise of 
 young Timothy, as well as of those relations, who had been his 
 instructors, it is said, " that from a child lie had known the holy 
 Scriptures, able to make him wise unto salvation, through faith 
 which is in Christ Jesus." Bp. Home. 
 
 and shalt talk of ttiem ivlien t/wu sittest &c.^ As much 
 
 9 And thou shalt write them upon the ^^'°'* 
 posts of thy house, and on thy gates. mx, 
 
 10 And it shall be, when the Lord thy 
 God shall liave brought thee into the land 
 which he sware unto tliy fathers, to Abra- 
 ham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee 
 great and goodly cities, which thou build- 
 edst not, 
 
 11 And houses full of all good things, 
 which thou filled st not, and wells digged, 
 which thou diggedst not, vineyards and 
 olive trees, which thou plantedst not ; 
 
 as to say, they should take all occasions to inculcate this great 
 lesson, at home and abroad, night and day ; never ceasing their 
 most earnest endeavours, to persuade their children, not to wor- 
 ship any other god ; nor to iail to worship the Lord their God, 
 with sincere affection. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Tliis injunction of God to the Jews cannot be in less force a- 
 mong Christians. It does not mean, that our conversation should 
 be of notiiing besides religion : but it must mean, that religion 
 should have a due share m it: and doubtless then a peculiar share 
 on the day, which God hath hallowed. Em))loying a part of that 
 day in giving those about us the obvious proofs of Christianity, 
 just notions of the holiness of the Divine law, and their need of a 
 Redeemer and a Sanctifier; instruction in their various duties to 
 God, and man, and themselves; joyful expectations of the rewards 
 of piety ; awful apprehensions of the consequences of sin ; affec- 
 tionate cautions again.st the dangers, to which they are exposed; 
 will be a most improving exercise to ourselves, and afford us the 
 most rational prospect of gaining an influence over them to our 
 own comfort, and to their good in this life and the next. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 8. And thou shalt bind them &c.] See the note on F.xod. xiii. p. 
 
 9. And thou shalt write them upon the posts ttc] The Jews 
 give the name " Mezuzoth" to certain pieces of parcliment, 
 which they fix on the door-posts of their hoii.-tos, understanding 
 this precept in a literal sense. They pretend, that to avoid mak- 
 ing tlum'^elves ridiculous by writing the Commandments of God 
 without their doors, or rather to avoid exposing them to profa- 
 nation, they ought to write them on jjarchment, and to inclose 
 it in a piece of cane or other hollow wood. Therefore they write 
 on a square piece of parchment, prepared on purpose, with a par- 
 ticular ink, xnA a square kind of character, the following texts: 
 Deut. vi. -1 — 9 ; then after a little space, Deut. xi. 13 — iO. They 
 then roll up the parchment, put it into a case, and write on it, 
 " Shaddai," which is one of the names of God: they put it at the 
 doors of their houses, and chambers, to the knockers of their 
 doors on the right side ; and as often as they pass, they touch 
 this place witli their finger, which they afterwards kiss. The 
 Hebrew word " Mezuza" properly signifies the door of a house ; 
 but it is also given to this roll of piu-chment. Calmet. 
 
 This wise and holy lawgiver well knew, how much men's 
 hearts are alienated from goodness, and that it is reqm'site to work 
 upon them with incessant applications of the word of (JihI, before 
 they can be impressed with a due sense of religion. It is no easy 
 matter to dispossess the vanities of the world and the lusts of die 
 flesh, of that dominion, which they have naturally o\er us. A 
 few cold prayers, and unsettled meditations, and fomial hearings 
 of the word of God, will never subdue them. But a daily assi- 
 duity and constancy in these duties will gradually weaken them 
 and drive them out! For constancy will beget zeal; and zeal will 
 make us delight in drawing nigh to God: and then He will draw 
 nigh to us, and will daily appear to us more goixl and gracious, 
 more excellent, and more worthy of our love. Whilst by ofleii 
 raising our hearts to heaven, and" setting our affections on it, and 
 laying up our treasure in it, our ideas and conceptions of its 
 society, of its enjoj'ments, of its most noble exercises, and un- 
 disturbed peace and tranquillity, will be continually strengthened 
 iuid enlarged. Eeading.
 
 An erhorlation 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 to obedience. 
 
 iuf.ir« c^y,|,CT, thou shall have eaten and be 
 
 •cb.pc. W Then beware lest thou forget the 
 9.io.»c. i^oKD, which brought thee forth out of 
 tlie hind of Egypt, from the house of 
 t lUb. t bondage. 
 
 fc,wlmrn. j^ jj^^^^ ^[^j^j^ a j^.^^^ j|,g L^,,,, thv God, 
 
 or, MTfonif. Ill II" 
 
 ' Oup. 10. and ser\e hini, and shall swear by Ins name. 
 
 IJf-* 14. Ye shall not go afler other gods, of 
 the gods of the people which are round 
 about vou ; 
 
 15 ("For the Lord thy God is a jealous 
 God among you) lest the anger of the 
 Loud thy God be kindled against thee, and 
 destroy thee from off" the face of the earth. 
 
 ' M«tth. 1() IT 'Ye shall not tempt the Lord your 
 
 'V»oa 17 ^^f^' '^^ y^ tempted him in Massah. 
 
 'J." ■ ' 17 Ye shall diligently keep the command- 
 ments of the Lord your God, and his tes- 
 timonies, and his statutes, which he hath 
 commanded thee. 
 
 1 S And thou shalt do that which is right 
 
 and good in the sight of the Lord : that 
 
 ^ it may be well with thee, and that thou 
 
 mayest go in and possess the good land 
 
 whict the Lord sware unto thy fathers, 
 
 19 To cast out all thine enemies from 
 before thee, as the Lord hath spoken. 
 
 t Hib. 20 And when thy son asketh thee t in 
 
 to marrow, ^j^^ ^^ coine, sayiug, What mean the tes- 
 timonies, and the statutes, and the judg- 
 ments, which the Lord our God hath com- 
 manded you ? 
 
 12. Then bervare lest thou forget &c.] Prosperity is generally 
 very danpcrous to mankind. Hence it is, that they are warned, 
 at such times of plenty and affluence of worldly thinps, to " be- 
 ware." Such things are a great snare, and occasion of pride and 
 haughtiness, and many other vices. ]ip. Kidder. 
 
 \3. Thou shall frnr the fxyrd thy God,~\ There is no perfection 
 in the Divine nature, which is not a proper foundation, and may 
 not suggest motives, for a religious " fear of God." God is most 
 holy, and abhors iniquity as entirely opposite to His pure and un- 
 defiled nature. He is every where present, and from Him nothing 
 can be hid. He is all-wise, and cannot be deceived. He is the 
 just governour of the world, and as such He cannot but observe 
 the actions of men, and will cert;iinly " render to every man ac- 
 cording to his works :" .ind though He be good and merciful to 
 all His creatures, yet He must be supposed so to love them as 
 to love justice and righteousness also. He is almighty, and 
 can pi'nish the rebellious many ways, by tiirning them out 
 of being, or by making that being a pain to them for as long 
 a time as He sees proper. He is also supremely goml ; and 
 though this of all His perfections may seem the least suited to 
 make us dread Him, yet whosoe\'cr judgeth so is much mistaken; 
 for indeed there is not any one quality of the Divine nature so 
 ailapted to strike us with an ingenuous fear, with the fear of a 
 child towards a parent, as this, and of such efficacy to deter us 
 from sin, and to make us avoid incurring His just displeasure. 
 Sin against God, as He is almighty, is the excess of madness and 
 folly ; but, a.s He is most kind and merciful, it is the basest in- 
 pTititude. The greater His goodness is, the greater is our guilt, 
 if we be undutifid servant* ; and the greater will be our punish- 
 ment, and that remorse and horrour, which St. John in so strong 
 
 21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, chrTst 
 We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt ; hsi. 
 and the Lord brought us out of Egypt 
 
 with a mighty hand : 
 
 22 And the Lord shewetl signs and 
 wonders, great and t sore, upon Egypt, t Heb. evU. 
 upon Pharaoh, and upon all his houshold, 
 before our eyes : 
 
 23 And he brought us out from thence, 
 that he might bring us in, to give us the 
 land which he sware unto our fathers. 
 
 24 And the Lord commanded us to do 
 all these statutes, to fi.-ar the Lord our 
 God, for our good always, that he might 
 preserve us alive, as it is at this day. 
 
 25 And it shall be our righteousness, if 
 we observe to do all these commandments 
 before the Lord our God, as he hath com- 
 manded us. 
 
 CHAP. VIL 
 
 1 All commnnion ivith the nations is forbiddev, 4' Jar 
 fear of idolalri/, 6 for the holiness of the people, 9fof 
 the nature of God in his mercy and justice, \1 foir 
 the assuredness of victory which God tvill give over 
 them. 
 
 WHEN the "Lord thy God shall bring 'Chap. 31. 
 thee into the land whither thou go- 
 est to possess it, and hath cast out many 
 nations before thee, the Hittites, and the 
 Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the 
 Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the 
 Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations 
 greater and mightier than thou j 
 
 and eloquent a manner expresses in the Revelation, when he 
 makes the wicked say to the mountains, " Fall on us, and hide us 
 from the wrath of the Lamb." He says not, from the wrath of 
 the lion, though in the same book he calls Christ the Lion of the 
 tribe of Judah ; but from the wrath of the Utmb ; from long- 
 despised patience, and much-injured mercy. Dr. Jortin. There is 
 nothing more terrible than goodness s-lighted, and patience abused. 
 Dr. Isaac Barrow. 
 
 and shall sivear by his nome.'J That is, onli/ by His name. 
 
 This is the only reasonable interpretation. Swearing could never 
 be lawful, but when it was necessary ; and all that the Israelites 
 were obliged to from these words was this, that when they did 
 swear, they should do it b)' the name of God only, and not by 
 any creature, Matt. v. 3-i. The words in this verse, thou shalt 
 " serve Him," Chi-ist expresses by " Him only shalt thou serve." 
 Matt. iv. 10. The doctrine of Christ is always at harmony with 
 the moral precepts of Moses. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 25. And it shall be our rig/tleoiisness,^ Both the Latin and the 
 Cireek translations understand " righteousness" to import "mercy." 
 And then the meaning of the sentence is, " God will be merciful 
 to us for tlie future, if we obey His laws." Bp. Kidder. " If wc 
 observe to do all these commandments, God will account us a 
 righteous people, and be kind to us." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. Vn. ver. 1. — tJie Hittites, &c.] In Abraham's days the 
 land was occupied by ten nations : the Kenites, the Kenizzites, 
 and the Kadmonites, eastwards of Jordan ; and westwards, the 
 Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaims, the Amorites, the Canaan- 
 ites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites, Gen. xv. 18 — 21. These 
 latter in the days of Moses were called by the same names ; the
 
 Communion xvith the nations 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 forbidden Jbr /ear of idolatry. 
 
 Before o Aiid wheii the Lord thy God shall 
 
 j^si. deliver them before thee ; thou shalt smite 
 
 K Exod. 23. them, and utterly destroy tliem ; " thou shalt 
 
 32. «:34. niake no covenant with them, nor shew 
 
 mercy unto them : 
 
 3 Neither shalt thou make marriages 
 with them ; thy daughter thou shalt not 
 give unto his son, nor his daugliter shalt 
 
 ■ thou take unto thy son. 
 
 4 For they will turn away thy son from 
 following me, that they may serve other 
 gods : so will the anger of the Lord be 
 kindled against you, and destroy thee sud- 
 denly. 
 
 5 But thus shall ye deal with them ; ye 
 shall destroy their altars, and break down 
 
 fHcb. their f imafires, and cut down their groves, 
 riiiars.. and burn their graven nnages with nre. 
 
 ''^^tr '"'■ ^ " ^^^' ^'^^^ ^""^ ^" ^'^^y people unto the 
 "Exodiiy! Lord thy God: ''the Lord thy God hath 
 I'pet 2 9 c^^os^'^ ^'^ee *^ ^e ^ special people unto 
 
 himself, above all people that are upon the 
 
 face of the earth. 
 
 7 The Lord did not set his love upon 
 
 you, nor choose you, because ye were more 
 
 Hivites being substituted for the Rephaims. These seven na- 
 tions were thus distributed : " The Hittites," or sons of Heth, 
 " the PerizKites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwelt in the 
 mountains," or in the hill country of Judea, southwards : " the 
 Canaanites" dwelt in the midland, " by the sea," westwards, and 
 " by the coast of Jordan," eastwards ; and " the Girgashites," or 
 Gergesenes, along the eastern side of the sea of Galilee; and 
 " the Hivites" in mount Lebanon, under Hermon, in the land of 
 Mizpeh, or Gilead, northwards. Compare Numb, xiii 29; Josh, 
 xi. 3 ; Judg. iii. 3 ; and Matt. viii. 28. Dr. Hales. 
 
 2. — ullerli) destroy them ;] One of the reasons which made 
 this destruction more necessary and more general, than it would 
 have otherwise been, was the consideration, that if any of the old 
 inhabitants were left, they would prove a snare to those who suc- 
 ceeded them in the countrj' : would draw and seduce them by 
 degrees into the vices and corruptions which prevailed among 
 themselves. Vices of all kinds, but vices especially of the licen- 
 tious kind, are astonishingly infectious. "A little leaven leavencth 
 the whole lump." A small number of persons addicted to tliem, 
 and allowed to practise them with impunity or encouragement, 
 will spread them tlu:ough the whole mass. This reason is for- 
 mally and expressly assigned, not simply for the punishment, but 
 for the extent to which it was carried, namely, extermination. 
 " Thou shalt utterly destroy them : that they teach you not to do 
 after all their abominations, which they have done unto their 
 gods," chap. XX. 17, 18. Archdeacon Paley. 
 
 3. Neither shalt thou make marriages with tliem ;~\ The true rea- 
 son of providing against a too familiar conversation between tlie 
 Hebrews and their idolatrous neighbours, was not ill-will towards 
 them : but it was a measure of self-preservation ironi a very 
 great evil ; no less than a loss of the true religion, and therewith 
 of their happiness, in the favour of Jehovah, as their God. " For 
 they will turn away thy son, &c." see the -tth verse. All care 
 to prevent idolatry would probably have been useless, without 
 prohibiting intermariiages ; and putting a stop to such inter- 
 course and entertainments, as \voiil(l have proved an occasion 
 either of intermarriages, or of familiarities no less dangerous. 
 Lawman. 
 
 7. '—for ye were thefetvest of all people :'\ Wheij God fii-st de- 
 
 "ore 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 in number than any people; for ye 'were ^^ 
 the fewest of all people : 
 
 8 But because the Lord loved you, and 
 because he would keep the oath which he 
 had sworn unto your fathers, liath the 
 Lord brought you out with a mighty 
 hand, and redeemed you out of the house 
 of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh 
 king of Egypt. 
 
 9 Know therefore that the Lord thy 
 God, he is God, the faithful God, which 
 keejieth covenant and meicy with them 
 that love him and keep his commandments 
 to a thousand generations ; 
 
 10 And repayeth them that hate him to 
 their face, to destroy them : he will not be 
 slack to him that hateth him, he will repay 
 him to his face. 
 
 11 Thou shalt therefore keep the com- 
 mandments, and the statutes, and the 
 judgments, which I command thee this 
 day, to do them. 
 
 12 % Wherefore it shall come to pass, 
 
 t if ye hearken to these judgments, andtHeb, 
 keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God ''"" 
 
 clarcd His love to Abraham and his posterity, he had no child. 
 Gen. xii. 1 — 3; xv. 1, 2. And when he had, his family con- 
 tinued so small, after there were twelve heirs of the promise, 
 that in the space of 200 years there were but seventy persons. 
 Gen. xlvi. 27. Nor do we read of any great increase of them, 
 till after the death of Joseph, which was near eighty years more, 
 Exod. i. 7, 8. So St. Stephen observes. Acts vii. 17, " When the 
 time of tlie promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abra- 
 ham, the people grew and multiplie<l in Egj-pt" Bp. Patrick. 
 
 g. — to a thousand generations ;] The fundamental laws of the 
 Jewish theocracy were sanctioned with powerful national sanc- 
 tions of punishment and reward, to be admiaiistered by God 
 Himself, as their King and their Judge. The "liaters of God," 
 or the disobedient, were threatened with temporal calamities, ex- 
 tending " to the third or fourth generation of their children :" 
 but the " lovers of God," or the obedient, who should keep these 
 His Commandments, were encouraged by the promise, that God 
 woiUd shew mercy unto their children to the thou.iandth gene- 
 ration, or to the remotest ages. Thus the idolatries of tlie Jewish 
 nation drew down on themselves, and on their children, the Ba- 
 bylonish captivity of seventy years, includuig the tliird and 
 fourth generation of the offenders : while tlie righteous jwsterity 
 of the true Israelites, in the regeneration, will flourish till the end 
 of the world. How infinitely does the goodness transcend the 
 severity of God ! Dr. Hales. 
 
 1 2. — if i/c hearken to these judgments,'^ As God hath made us 
 rational creatures, so He treats us in the same reasonable way, in 
 which we deal with one another. The relative duties of supe- 
 riours and subjects among men must be performed on Iwth sides, 
 otherwise there is an end of unity, i>cnce, and tr\ith, and conse- 
 quently of all social and good government If children and ser- 
 vants rebel against tlieu- parents and masters, they are so far 
 fiom deserving to be provided for and maintained on the score 
 of such relation, that they deserve to be punished most se- 
 \ercly, as acting an unnatural part. No more reason have we 
 to hope for any blessing of God, on account of our being His 
 cliildrcn and servants, if we refuse Him our obedience. This 
 is what He hatli insisted upon, fi-om the first production of our 
 race upon earth. From Acl;un to the present generation. He has
 
 The reward 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 of obedience. 
 
 sc, & 
 
 33. 
 
 Brforr shall keep unto thee the covenant and the 
 "«i'.^^ mercy wliicii lie sware unto thy fathers: 
 
 l.':j'And he will love tiiee, and bless thee, 
 and multiply thee: he will also bless the 
 fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy 
 land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine 
 oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks 
 of thy sheep, in the land which he sware 
 unto thy fathers to give thee. 
 
 11. Thou slialt be blessed above all pco- 
 
 Ztod.2s. pie : ' there shall not be male or female 
 
 '■*'■ barren among you, or among your cattle. 
 
 15 And the Lord will take away from 
 
 thee all sickness, and will put none of the 
 
 1 *'V^r' ' evil diseases of EgyjJt, which thou knovv- 
 
 2G. ^ est, upon thee; but will lay them upon all 
 
 t/iem that hate thee. 
 
 IG And thou shalt consume all the peo- 
 
 ))le which the Lord thy God shall deliver 
 
 thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon 
 
 them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; 
 
 «Exo<i23. for that uill be ^a snare unto thee. 
 
 17 If thou shalt say in thine heart. 
 These nations are more than I; how can 
 I dispossess them ? 
 
 18 Thou shalt not be afraid of them : 
 but shalt well remember what the Lord 
 thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all 
 Egypt; 
 
 19 The great temptations which thine 
 eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, 
 and the mighty hand, and the stretched 
 
 always said to men the same thin^ which He says by Moses to 
 the Israelites; "If ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and 
 do them," that is, If ye will honour and obey Me as your God; 
 then, and no otherwise, " the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee 
 the covenant and the mercy which He sware unto thy fathers;" 
 in other words, I will own and bless you, as My children and 
 people. From this, and from the whole of Scripture, it is plain, 
 that God deals with us according to a positive relation, contracted 
 between us by a covenant and agreement, that He will be our 
 God and Saviour, provided we hearken to His voice, and do His 
 will. Reading. 
 
 I .). — iLe ecil dUeasf.1 of F.gi/pl.^ The Egj-plians seem to have 
 be<^ liable to many distemiiers. some of which were epidemical- 
 as we find them to be at this day. In the time of Moses we read 
 of a jvirticular disUmper, called " the botch of Egypt," chap, 
 xxviii. 27, and the disea.ses of the country are mentioned in more 
 places than one of Scripture, chap, xxviii. 60, Sec. Bryant. 
 
 22. — /r.t/ the ticnsls «/' the field increase upon Ihee.^ ' It is sup. 
 posed in the Old Testament, 'that if Judca should be thinly peo- 
 pled, the wild luasts woulil so multiply as to render it dangerous 
 to the inhabiunts. The coimtiy is now not verj' populous; and 
 accordingly wild beaat-s are so ninvcrous there as to be terrifying 
 to strangers. Hayncs .says, " The country alwut Cana of Galilee 
 swanns with wild boa.-ts, such as tigers, leopards, jackals, &c. 
 whose cries and howling, I do\ibt not, would strike the boldest 
 traveller, who had not been frequently in the Uke situation, with 
 the de( pest sense of horrour." Harmcr. 
 
 „^ *-—""'' '/""' vAo// dcxlroy their name from under heaven :~\ 
 1 he dt praved ntatc of morals of the Canajin'ites is too notorious to 
 require any pro,.,'. They were a wiclted people in the time of 
 AUrahain; and Uiey, even then, were devoted by God to destiuc- 
 
 out arm, whereby the Lord thy God pj^^'T^.p 
 brought thee out: so shall the Lord thy 1451.' 
 God do imto all the people of whom thou 
 art afraid. 
 
 iiO "Moreover the Lord thy God will "Exod.gT 
 send the hornet among them, until they joi^h. -.m. 
 that are left, and hide themselves from '-• 
 thee, be destroyed. 
 
 21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: 
 for the Lord thy God is among you, a 
 mighty God and terrible. 
 
 22 And the Lord thy (jod will + put out t Hci.. 
 those nations before thee by little and ' ""^ "•'^ 
 little: thou mayest not consume them at 
 once, lest the beasts of the field increase 
 upon thee. 
 
 23 But the Lord thy God shall deliver 
 them t imto thee, and shall destroy them t Hcb, 
 with a mighty destruction, until they hQ'j{^'^'"'^ 
 destroyed. 
 
 24 And he shall deliver their kings into 
 thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their 
 name from under heaven: there shall no 
 man be able to stand before thee, until 
 thou hav'c destroyed them. 
 
 25 The graven images of their gods 
 'shall ye burn with fire: thou "shalt not ^C''"''' '- 
 desire the silver or gold that is on them, 'josh. 7. 
 nor take // luito thee, lest thou be snared ^-^j'^^ ^ , 
 therein : for it is an abomination to the 40. 
 Lord thy God. 
 
 26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomina- 
 
 tion : but " their iniquity was not then full." In the time of 
 Moses they were idolaters: .sacrificers of their own infants; de- 
 vourers of human flesh; addicted to unnatural lust; immersed in 
 the filthinfss of all manner of vice. It was agreeable to God's 
 moral justice to exterminate so wicked a people. He made the 
 Israelites the executors of His vengeance; and, in doing this. He 
 gave such an evident and terrible proof of His abomination of 
 vice, as could not fiiilto strike the surrounding nations with asto- 
 nishment and terrour,and to impress on the minds of the Israelites 
 what they were to expect, if they followed the example of the na- 
 tions, whom He commanded them to cut off. See Lev. xviii. 26, 
 28. That f Jod should thus, by an express act of His providence, 
 destroy a wicked nation, is not in any degree repugnant to reason. 
 I am fond o( considering the goodness of God as the leading 
 principle of His conduct towards mankind; of considering His 
 justice as subservient to His mercy. He punishes individuals 
 and nations with the rod of His wrath: but I am persuaded that 
 all His punishments originate in His abhorrence of sin; are cal- 
 culated to lessen its influence ; and are proofs of His goodness : 
 inasmuch as it may not be possible for Omnipotence itself to com- 
 municate supreme happiness to the human race, whilst they 
 continue servants of sin. The destruction of the Canaanites ex- 
 hibits to all nations, in all ages, a signal proof of God's displea- 
 sure against sin: it has been to others, and it is to ourselves, a 
 benevolent warning. The conduct of Moses towards the Canaan- 
 ites would have been open to severe animadversion, had he acted 
 by his own authority alone: but it were as reasonable to attribute 
 cruelly and murder to the judge of the land in condemning cri- 
 minals to death, as to condemn the conduct of Moses in executing 
 the command of God. Bp. Wation. 
 
 2,1. — it is an abomination to the Lord thij God.'} Whatsoever
 
 An exhortation 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 to obedience. 
 
 Berorc tioii into thine house, lest thou be a cursed 
 H5I. tiling hke it : hut thou shalt utterly detest 
 Chap. 13. it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it ; ' for it 
 is a cursed thinij. 
 
 17. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 An exhorlation to obedience in regard of God's dealing 
 with them. 
 
 ALL tlie commandments which I com- 
 mand thee this day shall ye observe 
 to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and 
 go in and possess the land which the Lord 
 sware unto your fathers. 
 
 2 And thou shalt remember all the way 
 which the Lord thy God led thee these 
 forty years in the wilderness, to humble 
 thee, and to prove thee, to know what ivas 
 
 had been employed in idolatroii.s worship, was so detestable to the 
 Divine Majesty, that He would not have it converted to any or- 
 dinary use, but utterly destroyed. And therefore Moses command- 
 ed them, not to bring any of the silver and gold, which had be- 
 longed to idols, which he calls " an abomination," into their 
 houses, to be employed for any private use whatsoever. If a man 
 did, he became " an accursed thing," that is, was devoted to de- 
 struction, as the thing itself was. This appeared afterwards in 
 the example of yVclian, Josh, vii, who took a wedge of gold and a 
 Babylonish garment for his own private use, when it had been 
 " accursed" by God's express command. Josh. vi. 18, and there- 
 fore was stoned to death. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 We do not at this day understand or think much concerning 
 the sin of idolatry. It hath in a manner ceased from among us. 
 ^\^lereas in the age of the world, and among those people, when 
 and to whom these commandments were delivered, false worship, 
 or the worship of false gods, was the sin, which lay at the root 
 and foundation of every other. The worship of the one true God, 
 in opposition to the vain and false and wicked religions which 
 had then obtained amongst mankind, was the grand point to be 
 inculcated. It was the contest tiien carried on : and the then 
 world, as well as future ages, were deeply interested in it. 
 History testifies, experience testifies, that there cannot be true 
 morality, or true virtue, where there is false religion, false wor- 
 ship, false gods : for which reason we find, that this great article 
 (for such it then was) was not only made the subject of a com- 
 mand, but placed at the head of all the rest. Nay more ; from 
 the whole strain and tenour of the Old Testament there is good 
 reason to believe, that to maintain in the world the knowledge 
 and worship of the one true God, holy, just, and good, in con- 
 tradistinction to the idolatrous worship whicli prevailed, was tlie 
 great and principal scheme and end of the Jewish polity and most 
 singular constitution. As the Jewish nation therefore was to be 
 the depository of, and the means of preserving in the world, the 
 knowledge and worship of the one true God, when it was lost 
 and darkened in otlier countries, it became of the last import- 
 ance to the execution of this purpose, that this nation should be 
 warned and deterred by every moral means from sliding them- 
 selves into tho.se practices, those errours, and that crime, against 
 which it was the very design of their institution, that thej' should 
 strive and contend. Archdeacon Pa/n/. 
 
 Chap. VT 1 1, ver. 2. And thou shalt remember &.c.~\ As if he had 
 said. Recollect the wisdom and advantage of God's dispensations 
 towards your nation, through the long course of their forty years' 
 travels. The streights of a bai-ren wilderness, the want of com- 
 mon necessaries for life, supplied by the timely and miraculous 
 hand of Heaven ; what were they but a plain lesson, that to God 
 ive owe all our blessings, and wliere His providence interposes, 
 nothing can be wanting to us ? Pijlc 
 
 to know what was in thine heart,'] God knew perfectly 
 
 V'oL. I. 
 
 in thine heart, whether tliou wouldest keep ^P'^^Tt. 
 his commandment.s, or no. 1451. 
 
 3 And he humbled thee, and suffered 
 thee to hunger, and fed thee with man- 
 na, which thou knewest not, neither did 
 thy fathers know ; that he might make 
 
 thee know that man doth ^ not live by "Matth.4. 
 bread onh-, but by everv Xiord that pro- i' . . , 
 
 11 /• 1 • 1 01 -r Luke 4. 1. 
 
 ceedeth out oi the mouth or the Lord 
 doth man live. 
 
 4 ^ Thy raiment waxed not old upon •• Neh. 9. 
 thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty -'• 
 years. 
 
 5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, 
 that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the 
 Lord thy God chasteneth thee. 
 
 6 Therefore thou shalt keep the corn- 
 
 how they were disposed towards Him : but it was fit, tliat they 
 should know themselves better, and that posterity should be in- 
 structed by their beliaviour. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — man doth not live by bread only, &c.] That is, man is 
 not sustained only by the food which he eats ; but whatever God 
 appoints for that end, however unlikely it be, sustains him, as 
 was seen in the manna. It is the blessing of God tiiat renders 
 our food the support of our life. Bp. Kidder. The creatures, ap- 
 pointed for food, are sanctified by the word of God ; when, toge- 
 ther with the creatures. He giveth His blessing to accompany 
 them : by His powerful word commaniUng them, and by that com- 
 mand enabling them, to sustain us. Such is the meaning of this 
 passage, alleged by our Saviour against the tempter, Matth. iv. 4. 
 For what is bread to nourish us, without His word } Unless He 
 say the word, and command the bread to do it, there is no more 
 strength in bread than in stones. The power and nutritious vir- 
 tue, which bread possesses, it derives fi'om His decree ; because 
 the word is already gone out of His mouth, that " bread should 
 strengthen man's heart," Ps. civ. 15. As in the first creation, when 
 the creatures were originally produced, had their beings given 
 them, and natural powers and faculties bestowed upon them, this 
 was all done by the word of God's powerful decree ; (" He spake 
 the word, and they were made ; he commanded, and the)' were 
 created," Ps. xxxiii. f); cxlviii. 5;) so in all their subsequent opera- 
 tions, when they do at any time exercise those natural faculties, 
 and perfonn those oftices for which they were created, all this is 
 still done by the same powerful word and decree of God ; " He 
 upholdeth all things by the word of His power," Heb. i. 3. Bp. 
 'Sanderson. 
 
 4. T/iy raiment wa,red not old upon thee,] Some interpreters, 
 and particidarly the Jewish rabbles, understand by these words, 
 that the raiment of the Israelites, during their abode in tlie wilder- 
 ness for forty years, never decayed by using, and never was torn 
 by accident : and that the very clothes, which they had when 
 they were children, grew like their skin along with their bodies, 
 ami fitted them wlicn they were men. Others explain it thus : 
 The good providence of Goil took care that the Israelites in the 
 V ilderness never wanted raiment. They were supplied partly by 
 the flocks and the materials which they brought out of Egypt, 
 and partly by the Arabs, Ishmaelites, and neiglibouring people : 
 so that they had change of apparel, when they stood in need of 
 it, and were not obliged to go barefoot, ragged, and half naked 
 for want of clothes. God so ordered the course of things, that 
 they obtained whatsoever was needful by natural means, or, if 
 tliej- failed, by a miraculous interposition. Dr. Jortin. 
 
 5. — as a man chaxleiielh his son, &c.] Ail the afflictions, which 
 God had sent upon them. He would have them tiiink, were not 
 for their destruction, but for their correction and amendment : 
 and therefore they ought to be thankfully acknowledged, as well 
 as His benefits. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Za
 
 An exhortation 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 to obedience. 
 
 unurc iiiaiidinenta of the Lord thy God, to walk 
 '^'nii.^ i" his ways, ami to f'oar him. 
 
 7 For ihe Loud thy (Jod biinp^eth thoo 
 into a good hind, a land of brooks of wa- 
 ter, of fountains and depths that spring 
 out of valleys and hills ; 
 
 8 A lantl (»i wheat, and barley, and vines, 
 f Hii>. and fig trees, anil pomegranates ; a land t of 
 ^yi,tiTfe yji olive, and honey ; 
 
 '^ ' ' <) A land wherein thou shalt eat bread 
 
 without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any 
 thing in it ; a land whose stones are iron, 
 anil out of whose hills thou mayest dig 
 brass. 
 
 'Ch.p.G. 10 'When thou hast eaten and art full, 
 then thou shalt bless the Loud thy God for 
 the good land which he hath given thee. 
 
 11 Beware that thou forget not the 
 
 Loud thy God, in not keeping his com- 
 
 • mandments, and his judgments, and his 
 
 which I command thee 
 
 7. — a good land, a land of brooks &c.] It was styled in ge- 
 ncrul " tlie pleasant land," Ps. cvi. '■H ; Dan. viii. y. And Rab- 
 sluikeli, the Assyrian, describes it .is like his own, '-'a land of corn 
 and wine, a land of bread and vineyards," Is. xxxvi. 17- It must 
 indeed Iiavc been a wonderfully rich and fertile land to produce 
 its inunense pupulatiun, botli before and after the conquest of 
 the Israelites. Dr. Hales. Moses enlaj'ges now more frequently 
 and more fully than he ever did before, on the fertility and ex- 
 cellence of the promised land : this was natural ; such a topick 
 at an earlier period would l)a\'e increased the nmnnurings and 
 tlie impatience of the people at being detained in the wilderness ; 
 whereas now it encouragi'd them to encounter with more cheer- 
 fulness the opposition they must meet witli from the inhabit;ints 
 of Canaan. Dr. Graves. 
 
 a. ./ laud of wheal, &C.3 The value of the good things, here 
 «aid to be [jroducetl in Canaan, can iiardly be estimated by us in 
 Europe: " tountains, brooks, depdis of water, wheat, barley, vines, 
 fig trees, pomegranates, oil," (oil in the East answers the pur- 
 poses of butter among ourselves,) " aiad honey." And whose 
 " stonen" (ver 9) are capable of being smelted down to " iron ;" 
 and^hosc mines furnish " copper;" not " brass," this being a 
 factitious metal, composed of copper as one p;u-t only, zinc being 
 the other. ScrifU. Ulusl. These useful minerals, as plentiful as 
 atones were in otlier places, arc tlie rather mentioned, because 
 there were no such mines in Egypt, where the Israelites had lonsr 
 dwelt. Up. Patrick. ^ 
 
 U). — llirn l/tou shah bless the Ijord Ihy Go<Q Thou shalt give 
 tiolcnm th.-uikii to Go<l, not only for the present re)iast, but for'^the 
 plentifid provision, He had made for thee, of all good tilings, 
 in tlie land I le hath bestowed on thee. From this jijace the Jews 
 Imve in.-ide it a genend rule, that " evei7 one blesj God at his 
 meals." Up. Patrick. The genend meaning of the precept is. 
 Look up to (iod through every instance of His temporal bless- 
 ings ; and let your religious tluuikfulness keep pace with the 
 plenty you enjoy. Pi/le. 
 
 1 1. Harare that iliuit forget not &c.] Tliink what will be the 
 natural effects of ease, plenty, and pleasure, without a sense of 
 religion and virtue. Ease will beget luxurv : and riches, that 
 pride, scorn, and contempt of others, which will end in a forget- 
 ftilness of G(k1 Himself, the Author of your deliverance aiid iiros- 
 penty. Pi/le. '■ 
 
 Th« generality of mankind remember most things better tlian 
 benehls; those especiaUy which have been conferred upon them 
 l)v Uiur heavenly rath^-r and Friend. And if the case be go bad 
 With imiividuals ui this respect, there is no re.ison to suppose it 
 better with coramumtics; where, the benefit being shared by so 
 
 this '^*'"°'* 
 ^ CHRIST 
 
 14J1. 
 
 statutes, 
 
 day : 
 
 V> Lest rvhen thou hast eaten and art 
 full, and hast built goodly houses, and 
 dwelt therein ; 
 
 \S And xvhen thy herds and thy flocks 
 multiply, and tiiy silver and thy gold is 
 multiplied, and all that thou hast is mul- 
 tiplied ; 
 
 14- Then thine heart be lifted up, and 
 thou forget the Lord thy God, which 
 brought thee forth out of the land of E- 
 gypt, from the house of bondage ; 
 
 15 Who led thee through that great and 
 terrible wilderness, "wherein "dcere fiery ser- 
 pents, and scorpions, and drought, where 
 there was no water ; '' who brought thee i smuu. 
 forth water out of the rock of flint ; ""• ''• 
 
 16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with ^ 
 ' manna, which thy fathers knew not, that i 
 
 Exod. IG. 
 
 many, each is apt to consider his own portion of it as small, and 
 scarcely worth notice ; where that which should be done by every 
 body is often done by nobody; and where the guilt of ingratitude, 
 like the value of the benefit, liy being divided, seems, in the con- 
 science of every single member, to be diminished, and as it were 
 brought to nothing. The astonishing instances of forgetfidness 
 among die iuiciciit people of God are recorded and reproved for 
 our admonition in the Scriptures of truth: and parallel instances 
 among Christians, notwithstanding such admonition, will present 
 themselves to hiin who is disposed to behold them. Bp. Home. 
 
 H'. Then thine heart he lifted up, &c.] The descriptions, which 
 we meet witli in the Bible, of pride, in the sense of a proud dis- 
 position of tlie heart towards God, are very numerous ; and always 
 represent it to us in the most odious and detestable light. The 
 expression commonly used for it is that of a " litling up" or " ex- 
 alting of the heart" against God. So Moses cautions the Israelites 
 in this passage. Thus we read, that " the heart of Uzziali was lifted 
 up to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his 
 God," 2 Chron. xxvi. 16; and of Hezekiah, that " his heart was 
 lifted up," and afterwards that " he humbled himself for the pride 
 of his heart," 2 Chron. xxxii. 25, 26 ; and of Nebuchadnezzar it is 
 said, with a peculiar emphasis, that " his heart was lifled up, and 
 his mind hardened in pride," Dan. v. 20. In the New Testament 
 the same sin is described and condemned in tlie same language : 
 the conclusion, which our blessed Lord draws from the parable of 
 the Pharisee, deserves our attention : " Every one that cxaltelh 
 himself shall be abased; and he that humhlcth himself shall be 
 exalted," Luke ,\viii. M. And the subduing of this spiritual pride 
 is elegantly described by .St. Paul, by " casting down imagina- 
 tions," or human reasonings, which are ever apt to oppose the 
 Divine will, " and every high thing that exalteth itself against the 
 knowledge of G(k1 ; and bringing into captivity every thought to 
 the obedience of Christ," 2 Cor. x. 5. It is chiefly from this kind 
 of pride that we pray in the Litany to be delivered : and earnest- 
 ly ought we to pray that our blessed Saviour would deliver us 
 from this fatal snare of the devil, lest being " lifted up with pride, 
 we fall into his condemnation ;" and that He would dispose us, 
 by the influence of His Holy Spii-it, to imitate tlie pattern of 
 lowliness, which He hath set us, and to " walk humbly with our 
 God." Waldo. 
 
 1 5. — Jieri) serpents, and scorpions, and drought,'] For the fiery 
 serpents see the note on Numb. xxi. 6. The " scorpion" is an 
 insect with a great sting at tlie end of its tail. In hot countries, 
 as in the desert between .Judea and Egypt, they are companions 
 with serpents, and their venom is ecpially fatal. In Africa they 
 grow to a great size : and are soraetimts as big as a small lobstei-
 
 An exhortation to obedience. 
 
 CHAP. VIII, IX. Moses dissuadethfrom "wrong oj)inion. 
 
 Before i^g mifflit luimblc thee, and that he might 
 1451. prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter 
 end ; 
 
 17 And thou say in thine heart, My 
 power and the miglit of 7m?ie hand hath 
 gotten me this wealth. 
 
 18 But thou shalt remember the Loud 
 thy God : for it is he that giveth thee 
 power to get wealth, that he may establish 
 his covenant which he sware unto thy fa- 
 thers, as // is this day. 
 
 19 And it shall be, if thou do at all for- 
 get the Lord thy God, and walk after other 
 gods, and serve them, and worship them, 
 I testify against you this day that ye shall 
 surely perish. 
 
 20 As the nations which the Lord de- 
 stroyeth before your face, so shall ye pe- 
 rish ; because ye would not be obedient 
 unto the voice of the Lord your God. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Moses dissuadelh them from the opinion of their own 
 righteousness, by rehearsing their several rebellions. 
 
 which they somewhat resemble. The word rendered " drought" 
 is thought by some to signify a sei-pent, whose bite causes intole- 
 rable thirst, the " Dipsas :" others suppose it to signify a thirsty, 
 dry, uncultivated desert. Script, illust. 
 
 16. — to do thee good at thy latter e«f?;] When we provoke 
 God to treat U6 with harshness and severity, He still, like a kind 
 and tenderhearted father, aims at our benefit and advantage. 
 He designs kindness to the sons of men by all those judgments, 
 which do not kill and cut them off from the opportunity and pos- 
 sibility of improving them. If He sends evils upon us, it is that 
 thereby He may do us some greater good : if He afflicts us, it is 
 not because it is pleasant to Him to deal harshly with us, but be- 
 cause it is profitable and necessary for us so to be dealt with : and 
 if at any time He imbitter our lives by miseries and sufferings, it 
 is because He is loth to see us perish in pleasant ways, and chooseth 
 rather to be somewhat severe towards us, than suffer us to be utterly 
 undone. This Moses declares to have been the great end of all 
 the severe providences of God towards the people of Israel in their 
 long wandering in the wilderness, and all the difficulties and hard- 
 ships they were there exercised with for the space of forty years. 
 So tliat the afflicting providences of God are not only apt in their 
 own nature to do us good, but, whicli is a more express argument 
 of the Divine goodness, God intends and aims at this end by them. 
 Abp. Tillutson. 
 
 20. — so shaU ye perish r^ It appears from various passages in 
 Scripture, that God's abhorrence and treatment of the crimes, for 
 wliich He destroyed the nations of Canaan, were impartial, with- 
 out distinction, and without respect of nations or persons. The 
 Divine impartiality is pointed out by such words as these, in which 
 Moses wai-ns the Israelites against falling into any of the like 
 wicked courses : " that the land cxst not you out .also, when ye 
 defile it, as it cast out the nations that were before you: for who- 
 ever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that 
 commit them shall be cut off from among their people." The^ 
 Jews are sometimes called the chosen and favoured people of 
 God ; and in a certain sense, and for some purposes, they were 
 so: yet is this very people, both in this place and in other places, 
 over and over again reminded, that if they followed the same 
 practices, they must expect the same fate. " Ye shall not walk 
 in the manners of the nations, whicli I cast out before you : for they 
 committed all these thing<<, and therefore I abhorred them: as 
 
 HEAR, O Israel : Thou art to pass over ^n r7st 
 Jordan this day, to go in to possess hsi. 
 nations greater and mightier than thyself, 
 cities great and fenced up to heaven, 
 
 2 A people great and tall, " the children ' Numb. 
 of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and 
 
 of whom thou hast heard say, Wlio can 
 stand before the children of Anak ! 
 
 3 Understand therefore this day, that 
 the Lord thy God is he which goeth over 
 before thee ; rt5 a "" consuming fire he shall g^^''*''- ■* 
 destroy them, and he shall bring them down iiebr. 12. 
 before thy face : so shalt thou drive them -"• 
 out, and destroy them quickly, as the Lord 
 
 hath said unto thee. 
 
 4 Speak not thou in thine heart, after 
 that the Lord thy God hath cast them out 
 from before thee, saying. For my righteous- 
 ness the Lord hath brought me in to pos- 
 sess this land: but for the wickedness of 
 these nations the Lord doth di'ive them 
 out from before thee. 
 
 5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the 
 uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to 
 
 the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall 
 ye perish : because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the 
 Lord your God." Archdeacon Paley. 
 
 The admonition of St. Paul is most just. That if God spared 
 not the natural branches of His Church, but broke them off because 
 they grew wild, and brought forth sour fruit ; much less reason 
 have we to expect that He should spare us, if we are as impious 
 towards Him, and as profligate in our manners, as His first people 
 were. For we are not redeemed with the blocxl of bulls and 
 goats, but with tlie invaluable sacrifice of His own well-beloved 
 Son. And " if he, that despised Moses' law, died without mer- 
 cy," being convicted by the testimony of " two or three witnesses, 
 of liow much sorer punishment shall he be thought worthy, who 
 hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the 
 blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy 
 thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace .?" Hcb. x. 
 28, 29. Reading. 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. \.--lhis dayr\ Tliat is, shortly, not long 
 hence. 
 
 3. — destroy them quichly,'] That is, certainly and effectually, 
 in your successive expeditions against the several parts of the 
 country. Pi/le. 
 
 4. _ For 'mtf righteousness &c.] Nothing is more dangerous 
 than pride and self-conceit. Therefore as he taught tlioni before, 
 chap. viii. 17, to have an humble opinion of their own power ; so 
 now he teaches them not to aiTogate any thing to themselves, on 
 account of their own rigliteousness. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. Not for thy righteousness, &c.] It was of great moment, and 
 therefore Moses repeat^; it. that they should underst.ind the true 
 causes, why God expelled these nations, and gave their l.-ind to 
 the Israelites, namely, 1st. The abominable wickethiess of tlie 
 Canaanites, for which they deserved to be rootetl out. 2dly, 
 God's gracious promises to the pious ancestors of the Israelites, 
 with whom He had made a covenant, and confirmed it with an 
 oath, to plant them there, in the room of tlie former inhabitants. 
 Bp. Patrick. ^ , , , 
 
 It may be thought, that the Jews, being G(k1 s cliosen people, 
 ought to be found superiour in benevolence, as well as every other 
 virtue, to the rest of mankind. But it must ever be remembered 
 what God Himself frequently declares, that it was not lor their 
 
 Z7.2
 
 Moses rehearselli 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 the several 
 
 »•'■<»«„ possess tlieir land : but for the wickedness 
 *^"«i.*''^ of those nations the Loud thy (iod dotli 
 drive them out troni before thee, and tliat 
 lie may perform the woril which tlie Loud 
 swareunto tliy fatliers, Abraham, Isaac, 
 and Jacob. 
 
 6 Understand therefore, that the Loud 
 thy God priveth thee not this <food laud to 
 possess it for thy riijhteousuess ; for thou 
 art a stitiuecked people. 
 
 7 1i l{emeniber, and forget not, how thou 
 provokedst the Loud thy God to wrath in 
 the wilderness : liom the day that thou 
 didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until 
 
 " own fakes," fur their " own rigliteousness," that they were 
 diosen, but for otiu-r rc.isons ; for preserving the knowledge, and 
 promoting the worship, of the one true God ; for manifesting His 
 Divine power in the working of miracles, and for executing His 
 judgments on tiiose impenitent nations, whose enormous wicked- 
 ness was then ripe for vengeance. The moral goodness thei-efore 
 of the Jews being no jieculiar object of (Jod's choice, we ai'c not 
 {in that account merely to exjiect from them any uncommon de- 
 grees of virtue, or any exemption from the reigning vices of their 
 age. Bp. Porlaix. 
 
 for llie nickcdnesx of Ihc.ic Hnlions'] It is a thing espe- 
 cially to be observed, that the nations of Canaan were destroyed 
 for their wickedness. In proof of this, let tlie reader refer to the 
 ISth chap, of Leviticus, the 'Jith and the following verses, where 
 Moses, ai^er laying down jiroiiibitions against brutal and abomi- 
 nable vices, thu-. iiroceeds: " Defile not 30 yourselves, &c." 1st, 
 This pass.ige testilies the ])rinei])al point: namely, that the Ca- 
 na;initcs were tlie wicked pco])le we re)ire-;cnt them to be ; and 
 that this point docs not rest upon supposition, but upon proof: in 
 particu).->r, the following words contain an express assertion of the 
 ^uilt of that peoj)le ; " In all tliise the nations are defiled which I 
 cast out before you : for all tliese abominations have the men of 
 the land done." 2dly, The form aiul turn of expression seems to 
 shew, that these detestable practices were general amongst them, 
 and h.ibitual : they arc said to be " abominable ciislum.\" which 
 were committed. Now the word " custom" is not applicable to a 
 few single or extraordinary instances, but to usage and to national 
 character : which argues, that not only the practice, but the sense 
 and notion, of morality was corrupted amongst them, or lost. 
 Antl it is observable, that these practices, so far from being check- 
 e<l by their religion, formed a part of it. They are described not 
 only under the name of " abominations," but of " abominutions 
 which they have done nnto their gods," Deut. xii. .SI. What a 
 sUitc of national morals nuist that have been ! .Sdly, This passage, 
 in common witli many otliers, positively and directly asserts, that 
 It \yas for these sins that the nations of Canaan were destroyed. 
 This is the im|X)rtant part of the inquiry. And what do the 
 wortls of .Moses declare .> " In all these," namely, the odious and 
 brutal vices, which had been spoken of, " the nations arc defiled, 
 which I cast out before you: and the land is defiled: therefore I 
 do visit the iniquity thereof upon it." This is the reason and 
 cause of the calamities which I bring on it. The land itself vo- 
 miteth out her inhabitants. The very land is sick of its inhabit- 
 ants : of their odious and brutal practices ; of their conniption 
 and wickedness. This, and no other, was the reason for destroy- 
 ing them. This, and no other, is the reason here alleged. It was 
 not, as hath been imagined, to make way for the Israelites • nor 
 wxs It simply for their idolatry. Archdeacon Pale,/. 
 
 -and that he may perform the word ite.-] ' Four hundred 
 jears betorc the event, the fate of these nations w.-is revealed to 
 Abraham. The longsuffering of God waited so long, till their 
 iniquities should come to the full, Gen. xv. l(j. It was for the 
 Z-orJZT-' °' *''"'^. "='''""« tl-'-y ^vere expelled, and the Israelites 
 were put n. possession ot their land, not for their own righteous- 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 ye came luito this place, ye have been re- 
 bellious against the Lord. 
 
 8 .Also in Iloreb ye provoked the Lord 
 to wrath, so that the Lord was angry with 
 you to have destroyed you. 
 
 9 When I was gone up into the mount 
 to receive the tables of stone, even the ta- 
 bles of the covenant which the Loud made 
 
 with you, then '^ I abode in the mount forty ' e*"*! 21. 
 days and forty nights, 1 neither did eat as! 
 bread nor drink water : 
 
 10 ''And the Loud delivered unto me " Etod. 51. 
 
 18 
 
 two tables of stone written with the finger 
 of God} and on them was rvriiioi accord- 
 
 ness, or merits, for they were a stiffliecked people, but to perform 
 the covenant which God made with their fathers, Abraham, 
 Isaac, and Jacob. These nations had repeated warnings froin 
 God, to repent and reform their evil ways, in an awful succession 
 of judgments, signs, and wonders, inflicted on the neighbouring 
 nations for their wickedness. 1st, In the signal destruction of the 
 cities of the plain, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admali, Zeboim, by the 
 immediate vengeance of Heaven, destroyed by fire and brimstone, 
 or lightning, and overw'helmed by the Salt sea. Sdl}', In the 
 plagues of Egypt, and destruction of the Egyptians in the Red 
 sea, forty years before, for abominations resembling their own. 
 Lev. xviii. 3. 3d]y, In the recent destruction of their neighbours, 
 the Eastern Amorites, and the miraculous passage of the river 
 Jordan. All these terrified, but did not reform them. See Josh, 
 ii. f) ; ix. 24. Dr. Hales. We may observe the great reason, why 
 God took such a distinguishing care of this people, was not " for 
 their righteousness" or merils, but to make His own name and 
 pmrer to be known through the earth. In order to this. He kept 
 them under discipline forty years; He gave them laws proper to 
 cure and keep tliem from idolatry ; He bore long with their per- 
 versencss, and at last brought them to Canaan, a land situate in 
 the midst of the nations ; that " as a city upon a hill," they 
 might be seen by all well-disposed persons, and afford them an 
 opjiortunity of coming to the knowledge of the true God, and of 
 His glorious attributes. To manifest His j'li.tlice, He spared them 
 not when thej' notoriously transgressed His laws. To shew His 
 goodness; He had pitj' on them when they repented. And, to 
 shew Wis faith fulness to His jiromises. He preserved them many 
 and many a time from ruin ; and they continue a people to this 
 day. Dp. WiLson. 
 
 7. — from (he day that thmt didst depart SiC.~\ No historian ever 
 placed his nation in so unfavourable a light as Moses. We meet 
 with a continual detail of discontent and murmuring, of disobe- 
 dience and rebellion towards God, and of punishments in conse- 
 quence of this beliaviour. At one time there fell three thousand 
 men for their idolatry, Exod. xxxii. 28. At another time, upon 
 tlie rebellion of Korah, a large family by the earth's opening was 
 swallowed up ()uick ; and two hundred and fifty men were con- 
 sumed by an eruption of fire. Numb. xvi. 32, 35. At the same 
 time a plague broke out, and carried off fourteen thousand and 
 seven hundred persons. Another judgment in the same way car- 
 ried off no less than twenty-four thousand. Numb. xxv. .0. All 
 this is said to have been brought upon them, for their not attend- 
 ing to God's signs and wonders, and for their disobedience to His 
 express commands. If there was no truth in these facts, for 
 what end could Moses introduce them to the disparagement of 
 his brethren? It is well known how disaffected they were at 
 times towards him, so as even to meditate his death : yet he 
 wrote these things, and what he wrote he read before them. 
 Was this the way to gain good will } Could these upbraidings 
 conciliate their favour '} He must have been upholdcn in all he 
 said, and in all he did : and there was a sanction to his law from 
 above, or he could not have succeeded, or even escaped their ni.a- 
 lice. Brijant.
 
 rebellions 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 of Israel. 
 
 CHRIST '"S ^^ ^'^ ^^^ words, which the Lord spake 
 1451. with you in the mount out of the midst of 
 the fire in the day of the assembly. 
 
 11 And it came to pass at the end of 
 forty days and forty nights, that the Lord 
 gave me the two tables of stone, even the 
 tables of the covenant. 
 
 « Exod. 32. 12 ^„fl ^j^g Lord said unto me, 'Arise, 
 get thee down quickly from hence ; for thy 
 people which thou hast brought forth out 
 of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they 
 are quickly turned aside out of the way 
 which I commanded them; they have made 
 them a molten image. 
 
 13 Furthermore the Lord spake unto 
 me, saying, I have seen this people, and, 
 behold, it is a stiffhecked people: 
 
 14 Let me alone, that I may destroy 
 them, and blot out their name from under 
 heaven: and I will make of thee a nation 
 mightier and greater than they. 
 
 15 So I turned and came down from the 
 mount, and the mount burned with fire : 
 and the two tables of the covenant "were in 
 my two hands. 
 
 16 And I looked, and, behold, ye had 
 sinned against the Lord your God, afid had 
 made you a molten calf: ye had turned 
 aside quickly out of the way which the 
 Lord had commanded you, 
 
 17 And I took the two tables, and cast 
 them out of my two hands, and brake them 
 before your eyes. 
 
 18 And 1 fell down before the Lord, as 
 iit the first, forty days and forty nights: I 
 did neither eat bread, nor drink water, be- 
 cause of all your sins which ye sinned, in 
 doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, 
 to provoke him to anger. 
 
 19 For 1 was afraid of the anger and hot 
 displeasure, wherewith the Lord was wroth 
 against you to desti'oy you. But the Lord 
 hearkened unto me at that time also. 
 
 14. Let me alone, that I may destroi/ them, &c.] The awful me- 
 nace of God to destroy the Jews, and raise from Moses a nation 
 mifflvtier than tliey, is here introduced witli great propriety. For 
 nothing could conduce more to inculcate deeply the humiliating 
 but necessary truth of their own unwortliiness, than to stiite to 
 them, that the greatness of their rebellion had almost induced 
 that God, in whom they trusted, totally to disinherit and destroy 
 them, and raise up another nation in their place. Dr. Graves. 
 
 27. — look' not udIo Ike sluhhunincus of this people, &c.] He 
 ))rays that the gracious promise of God to their pious forelathers 
 would move Him to overlook the high provocations of tlieir pos- 
 terity: which he aggravates in several words the more to humble 
 them, and to magnify God's mercy in granting them a pardon. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Of all the attributes of God, foibearance perhaps is that which 
 we have most to acknowledge. We cannot want occasions to 
 bring tlie remembrance of it to our thoughts. Ha\e there not 
 been occasions, in which, ensn;u'ed by vice, we might have been 
 
 ST 
 
 20 And the Lord was very angry with , before 
 Aaron to have destroyed him: and I pray- 1451. 
 ed for Aaron also the same time. 
 
 21 And I took your sin, the calf which 
 ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and 
 stamped it, and ground it very small, even 
 until it was as small as dust: and I cast the 
 dust thereof into the brook that descended 
 out of the mount. 
 
 22 And at ^ Taberah, and at ^ Massah, ' Numi>. 
 and at '' Kibroth-hattaavah, ye provoked « exI)A 17. 
 the Lord to wrath. 7. 
 
 23 Likewise wiien the Lord sent you 11.34!* 
 from Kadesh-barnea, saying. Go up and 
 possess the land which I have given you; 
 
 then ye rebelled against the commandment 
 of the Lord your God, and ye believed him 
 not, nor hearkened to his voice. 
 
 24 Ye have been rebellious against the 
 Lord from the day that 1 knew you. 
 
 25 Thus I fell down before the Lord 
 forty days and forty nights, as I fell down 
 at the jirst; because the Lord had said he 
 would destroy you. 
 
 26 I prayed therefore unto the Lord, 
 and said, O Lord God, destroy not thy 
 people and thine inheritance, which thou 
 hast redeemed through thy greatness, which 
 thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with 
 a mighty hand. 
 
 27 Remember thy servants, Abraham, 
 Isaac, and Jacob ; look not unto the stub- 
 bornness of this people, nor to their wick- 
 edness, nor to their sin: 
 
 28 Lest the land whence thou brought- 
 
 est us out say, ' Because the Lord was not l^'""'*- 
 able to bring them into the land which he 
 promised them, and because he hated them, 
 he hath brought them out to slay them in 
 the wilderness. 
 
 29 Yet they are thy people and thine in- 
 heritance, which thou broughtest out by thy 
 mighty power and by thy stretched out arm. 
 
 detected and exposed; have been crushed by punishment or 
 siiame ; liave been irrecoverably ruined .' occasions, in which we 
 miglit have been suddenly stricken with death, in a stite of soul^ 
 tlie most unfit for it lliat was possible.' Tliat we were none of 
 these, that we ha\ e been ))reserved from tliese dangers, that our 
 sin was not our destruction, that instant judgment did not over- 
 take Jis, is to be atti-ibuted to the longsuft'ering of God. We were 
 not destroyed, when we might have been destroyed, and when 
 we merited destruction. We ha\e been reserved for further 
 trial. Tliis is, or ought to be, a touching reflection. How deep- 
 ly therefore does it beliove us, not to trifle witli the patience of 
 God, not to abuse tliis enlarged space, diis resjiited, protracted 
 season of repentance, by plunging afresh into the same crimes, or 
 other, or greater crimes? It shows that wc are not wrought up- 
 on by mercy; tiiat our gratitude is not moved; that things are 
 wrong within us; that there is a deplorable void and chasm in 
 our religious principles, the love of God not being present in our 
 hearts. Archdeacon Puleij.
 
 GoiTs p-cat mercy in 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 restoring the two tables. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 M9l. 
 
 • Exod. 34. 
 I. 
 
 Bcfor* 
 CHKIST . . 
 
 l«l. 1 Coefs mrm/ in rcttorinplhc tiro tallies. 6 ni coiitiiiimi^ 
 the priealliood, 8 in ttparaling Ihe tribe of I^vi, 10 in 
 /uarJrrniiig unto MiMrx his suit for the jjcoplc. 1'-' 
 All eshorUUiun unto obi'diaicc. 
 
 AT that time the Lord said unto me, 
 » Hew thee two tables of stone like 
 unto tiie first, and come up unto me into 
 the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. 
 
 2 And I will write on the tables the 
 words that were in the first tables which 
 thou brakest, and tliou shall put them in 
 the ark. 
 
 S And I made an ark q/" shittim wood, 
 and hewed two tables of stone like unto 
 the first, and went up into tlie mount, hav- 
 ing tlie two tables in mine hand. 
 
 4 And he wrote on the tables, according 
 fHeb. to the first writing, the ten t command- 
 "'""''■ raents, whicli the Loud spake unto you in 
 
 the mount out of the midst of the fire in 
 tlie day of tlie assembly : and the Lord 
 gave them unto me. 
 
 5 And I turned myself and came down 
 from the mount, and put the tables in the 
 ark which I had made; and there they be, 
 as the Lord commanded me. 
 
 6 % And the chiklren of Israel took their 
 journey from Beeroth of tlie chikben of 
 
 LTso ''' Ja^'^'i" to '' Mosera : ' there Aaron died, 
 ' Nunib. and there he was buried; and Eleazar his 
 ^ '^^- son ministered in the priest's office in his 
 stead. 
 
 Chap. X. ver. 6. — there yiuroii dial,'] That is, at Mosera. In 
 Numbers xx. 25 it is said, that he died at mount Hor. But it is 
 no unusual thing for one place to liavc different names, especially 
 witii respect to its several parts. Thus Horeb and Sinai were two 
 names of the same mountain: and Mosera mij?ht be another name 
 for I lor, or the name of a place adjoining to it. Bp. Kidder. See 
 the map of the stations of the Israelites. 
 
 and Eleazar /11.9 swi ministered &c.] The connexion 
 
 which this and the following verse have with what went before, 
 appears to be tliis: Moses having told them, that he put the tables 
 of tlie testimony or covenant into the ark, as a token of God's 
 being reconciled to them, and that there they still were as the 
 Lord commanded; he puts them out of all doubt by telling tliem, 
 that though /Varon, who had the spcciiil care of tlie Holy place, 
 was dead, yet Eleazar his son was still alive, who could testify 
 those holy tilings remained, as when Moses first placed them 
 there: he having been consecrated to the prie.st's office instead 
 of Aaron, and in this very mount, which is the occasion of men- 
 tioning this station here, when most of the rest are omitted. 
 Bp. Patrick: 
 
 '? ""''"' ''""' ""' ^'"^ '''■'' ^"^ require of thee,] Wivxt now 
 
 ought to be your behaviour, in return for sucha degree of pardon- 
 ing mercy, that ha.s restored you to such blesned privileges of the 
 Divine covenant.^ What can it be less, than a careful and con- 
 •cientious regard to all His Divine commands; but especially to 
 U»o.sc mora/ precepts, that are in their own nature so good and 
 beneficial to be put in practice ? In this you are to show the fear 
 G^ PU' ""* '^^^'■^nce you bear towards Uie great and good 
 
 Moses in this place exhorts them to obedience from very pow- 
 
 7 From thence they journeyed untoGud- p/|^,?[|.,. 
 godah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a h.',i. 
 land of rivers of waters. 
 
 S ^ At tliat time the Lord separated the 
 tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the cove- 
 nant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord 
 to minister unto him, and to bless in his 
 name, unto this day. 
 
 9 '' Wherefore Levi hath no part nor in- " ^-j""!'- 
 hcritance with his brethren; the Lord is ''°' 
 liis inheritance, according as the Lord 
 
 thy God promised him. 
 
 10 And I stayed in the mount, accord- hoi. 
 ing to the II first time, forty days and forty II Or, 
 nights; and the Lord hearkened unto me-^™"''^ 
 at that time also, and the Lord would not 
 destroy thee. 
 
 11 And the Lord said unto me. Arise, 
 
 + take thy journey before the people, that t^'^'': 
 they may go in and possess the land, which fJJ!'^''"" 
 I sware unto their fathers to give unto 
 them. 
 
 12 ^ And now, Israel, what doth the 
 Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear 
 the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, 
 and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy 
 God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 
 
 13 To keep the commandments of the 
 Lord, and his statutes, which 1 command 
 thee this day for thy good ? 
 
 14< Behold, the heaven and the heaven 
 of heavens is the Lord's thy God, ' the ' I'^ai. 24. 
 earth also, with all that therein is. 
 
 crful arguments: namely, 1st, from the consideration of God's 
 former mercies, ver. 10, 11, 22: 2dly, from His sovereign au- 
 thority, ver. 14: ."idly, from His peculiar kindness to them, ver. 
 15: 4thly, from His infinite power, ver. 17: and 5thly, from His 
 inflexible justice, ver. 17j 18. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 to fear the JMrd thi/ God, — and to love him, &c.] The 
 
 genuine love of God includes all those mingled sentiments of fear, 
 awe, admiration, veneration, gratitude, and love, which tlie contem- 
 plation o{ such a perfect character, as that of the Deity, naturally 
 and necessarily suggests. Bp. Butler. 
 
 The true principles of Christian obedience, as they are every 
 where set forth in Scripture, are the love and fear of God: which 
 are so far from being inconsistent with each other, that they arc 
 really inseparable; the one deterring us from sin, the other excit- 
 ing us to virtue and righteousness. They are both put together 
 in these expressive words, in which Moses sums up his exhorta- 
 tions to the Israelites: " And now, Israel, what doth the Lord 
 thy God require of thee, &c." The royal preacher concludes his 
 discourse to the same effect, but more shortly, thus: " Fear God, 
 and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty," or the 
 whole business, " of man," Eccles. xii. 13. And St. John tells us, 
 " This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments," 
 1 John V. 3. In the former passage, the fear of God evidently in- 
 cludes the love of Him; as in the Litter the love does by no meaiw 
 exclude the fear: the following words being the same in each, 
 that we " keep His commandments." With the strictest propriety 
 therefore we are taught to pray in our Liturgy, for " an heart" 
 disposed " to love and dread," or fear God, " and diligently to 
 live after," or according to, " His commandments." JVa^o. Seo 
 the notes on chap. vi. 5, and 1 3.
 
 An exhortation 
 
 CHAP. X, XL 
 
 to obedience. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 f 2 Chron. 
 19. 7. 
 
 Job 34. 19. 
 Acts 10.31. 
 Rom 2. 1 1. 
 Gal. 2. G. 
 Eplic5. G.9. 
 Col. 3. 25. 
 1 Pet. 1.17. 
 e Cha]). 6. 
 13. 
 
 Matt. 4. 10. 
 Luke 4. R. 
 ' Chap. 13. 
 4. 
 
 15 Only the Lord had a delight in thy 
 fathers to love tliem, and he chose their 
 seed after them, even you above all people, 
 as it is this day. 
 
 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of 
 your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. 
 
 17 For the Lord your God is God of 
 gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a 
 niighty, and a terrible, which "^regardeth 
 not persons, nor taketh reward : 
 
 18 He doth execute the judgment of 
 the fatherless and widow, and loveth the 
 stranger, in giving him food and raiment. 
 
 19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for 
 ye \\'ere strangers in the land of Egyj)t. 
 
 20 ^ Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God ; 
 him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou 
 '' cleave, and swear by his name. 
 
 15. Oiilij the Lord had a delight ill thy fathers SiC.'^ He would 
 have them .sen.sible, tliat the Possessor of heaven and earth could 
 have no need of them or of tlieii- services, so inconsiderable a part 
 as they were of His creatures. But it was His own mere good 
 •will and pleasure, which moved Flim to show such love, as He 
 had shown, to Abraham, and to his posterity for his sake, above 
 all other nations on earth. Bp. VairicL 
 
 1 6. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, ~\ Satisfy not 
 yourselves in the mere outward badge and character of God's 
 church and people. Let not your religion rest in external rites, 
 and the observances of ceremonial worship : but let your chief aim 
 be, to attain those inward dispositions of mind, and to reform those 
 sinful passions and affections, that are intended and represented 
 by such external ordinances ; in order to prevent the miscarriages 
 to which you have hitherto been subject. Pyle. 
 
 As circumcision was a rite, which united the family of Abra- 
 ham, as having the same faith, worship, and privileges, and kept 
 them separate from other nations, who had corrupted the faith 
 and worship of tlie true God, and had lost the privileges of a true 
 Church : so also it was most proper to teach the obligations of an 
 holy nation, in purity of heart and holiness of life, of which cir- 
 cumcision was so proper a figurative instruction. Moses expresses 
 these obligations in this precept; "Circumcise therefore the fore- 
 skin of your heart :" and to the like effect, " The Lord thy God 
 wiU circumcise thine heart &c." chap. xxx. 6. This shews that 
 circumcision was designed to teach the inward circumcision of the 
 heart, as being preferaljle to outward circumcision in the accept- 
 ance and approbation of God. And this great use of it gave St. 
 Paul just reason to argue, " He is a Jew, which is one inwardly; 
 and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in 
 the letter ; whose praise is not of men, but of God," Rom. ii. 29. 
 Lowman. 
 
 1 7- For the Lord your God is God of gods, &rc.^ The sovereignty, 
 the pov/er, the justice, the unpartiality, the lovingkindness, and 
 the bounty of God, are here brought forward as a groimd of ad- 
 monition to the Israehtes to be kind and hospitable to the dis- 
 tressed ; especially to " the stranger," who might be driven un- 
 justly from his own country, or, as lie was travelling on his honest 
 occasions, might fall into want. This is a A'irtue ■\vhich flows 
 from the love of God ; for it is in vain to pretend that we love Him, 
 if we love not all mankind. This love is shown by our imitjiting 
 God's care of "the stranger," and the distressed, and acting, as He 
 is described to act towards them ; namely, by doing them justice 
 equally with others, and giving them food and raiment. I'his 
 virtue was peculiarly required of the Jews, who had been :n that 
 condition, which he commanded them to pity : and if they had sin- 
 cerely practised towards aliens the duty thus enjoined them, the 
 grace of God phown to the Gentiles in our blessed Saviour woidd 
 not have seemed so strange to them as it did. Bp. Pairid; 
 
 21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, 
 that hath done for thee these great and 
 terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. 
 
 22 Thy fathers went down into Eg^^pt 
 ' with threescore and ten persons ; and now 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 14.51. 
 
 Gen. 4C. 
 
 the Lord thy God hath made thee "as the £,„j , ^ 
 
 ^ Gen. 15. 
 5. 
 
 Stars of heaven for multitude. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 1 An exhortation to obedience, 2 by their onn experience 
 of God's great irorks, 8 by promise of God's great 
 blessings, 16 and hy threalenings. 18 A careful study 
 is required in God's ivords. 2() The blessing end curse 
 is set before them. 
 
 THEREFORE thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God, and keep his charge, 
 and his statutes, and his judgments, and 
 his commandments, alway. 
 
 Chap. XI. ver. 1. Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, &c.T 
 There could not be a better way found out, tiiough that was not 
 sufficient to keep the children of Israel in their integrity towai-ds 
 God, than by frequently putting them in mind, and fixing in 
 their memory the history of all the miracles which He had wrought 
 for them, from the time of their being in Egjqit, to their being 
 in a triumphant condition in the land of Canaan : in which they 
 had been eyewitnesses of more and greater miracles, than all the 
 world besides had been acquainted with from the time of the de- 
 luge. All that He expected from them for all His mercies, was, 
 that they would acknowledge Him their God, depend upon Him, 
 and not have recourse to other god.s, from whom they had received 
 no benefit, and who never had done, nor ever could Ao, good for 
 those who depended on them. And if the memory of all the 
 wonders He had done in Egypt, their walking through the sea as 
 upon dry land, and seeing all those, who pursued them, covered 
 and drowned in that very sea : if their having found bread in the 
 wilderness, and a dry rock having given them drink, when they 
 were on the jK)int of fainting : if the sub<luing many nations, and 
 more warlike than themselves, and putting than into the quiet 
 possession of their habitations and dominions : if all this would 
 not imprint a notion of His omnipotence and paternal affection in 
 their hearts in such indelible cliaracters, that they should never 
 be in doubt to whom they ought to pay their vows, or whither to 
 repair in their distress ; they must be more brutish creatures, and 
 more unworthy of His future protection and preservation, than 
 the fowls of the air or the beasts of the field. 
 
 We are much more inexcusable than tliese Israelites, if, after 
 the clear and full information, which we have received and 
 which is every day inculcated, of the history of the whole Ufe 
 and death of our Saviour, the infinite benefits, which we have re- 
 ceived from Him, and the infinite torments which He endured 
 for us, we do ever forget the matter or manner of those obliga- 
 tions ; and if we do remember them, and tlie reason and the end 
 of His confeiTing them, we have done all He expects from us. 
 But if, by the vain hopes or fears of this world, our ambition of 
 honour and preferment, or our apprehension of punishment or 
 disgrace, we are startled in the performance of our duty to Him 
 and observation of His comm;mds, we have, though we pretend 
 what we will, forgot all He did and all He said ; how much He 
 despised tlie world, and all the temptations thereof, out of His 
 love and value to us, and only to teach us the -i^ay to come to Him 
 in a better world. If we are ten-ified by the power and threats 
 of princes, from doing any thing which He hath enjoined us, or 
 to do any thing that He hath forbidden ; .we have forgotten that 
 kings are to tremble before Him for those verj- threats, and for 
 using the power He hath given them, so unri^hteou.'^ly : whilst 
 we shall at tlie same time be conunended and justified for being 
 resolute iji His commandments. Lard Clarendon.
 
 An exhortation 
 
 D E U T E R O N O U Y. 
 
 to obedience. 
 
 Before 
 CHKIST 
 
 H6I. 
 
 • Numb. 
 16. 31. & 
 87. 3. 
 PmL 106. 
 17. 
 
 II Or, 
 (inn; lub- 
 stnnce 
 vhichjal- 
 hued them. 
 t Hcb. 
 
 f»t. 
 
 '2 And know yc tins day: ior / speak 
 not with your children winch have not 
 known, anil which have not seen the chas- 
 tisement of the Lord your Ciod, his «Treat- 
 ne.ss, his niijihty hand, aiul his stretched 
 out arm, 
 
 a And his miracles, and his acts, which 
 he did in the midst of Ei,n pt unto Pharaoh 
 the king of K-i^ypt, and unto all his land ; 
 
 t Aiul what he did unto the army of 
 Egypt, unto their horses, and to their cha- 
 riots ; how he made the water of the Red 
 sea to overflow them as they pursued after 
 vou, antl //OH' the Loud hath destroyed 
 them unto this day ; 
 
 .5 And what he did unto you in the wil- 
 derness, until yc came into this place ; 
 
 (i And • what he did unto Datlian and 
 Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reu- 
 ben : how the earth opened her mouth, 
 and swallowed them up, and their hous- 
 holds, and their tents, and all the || sub- 
 stance that t iras in their possession, in the 
 midst of all Israel : 
 
 7 But your eyes have seen all the great 
 acts of the Lohd which he did. 
 
 S Therclbre shall ye keep all the com- 
 mandments which 1 command you this 
 
 10. For the land, ivhilhcr thou goal &c.] Moses uses all man- 
 ner of" arjfuments ti) i>er.sua(le theni to obedience: from a grateful 
 remembrance of (iml's former mercies, ver. 2, 3, &c. from the 
 terrible punishment of the disobedient, ver. 6, from tlie benefits 
 tliat wouki redound to themselves for tlieir obedience, ver. 9. 
 And now he represents to tliem what a noble country He was 
 going to bestow on them, but of such a condition as would keep 
 tliem in a constant dependence upon His favour for tlie blessing 
 of it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 is nut ax the land of Egfipt,'] The comparison between 
 
 Canaan and tlie land of Egypt is not <le.iigned to have respect to 
 its fniitfulness ; but to make the Israelites sensible, that they 
 ■were immediately dependent on God's good providence, and tliat 
 they ought therefore to endeavour to please Him, who alone is 
 able to send fruitful seasons. lip. Kidder. 
 
 n-atercdsl il irilli llii/ fuol,'] .Such vegetable jiroductions, 
 
 as recjuire more moisture tlian is occasioned by tlie inundation of 
 the Nile, iu-e refreshed by water drawn out of the river by in- 
 struments, and lodged in capacious cisterns. When therefore 
 llieir various sorts of pulse, melons, sugar canes, &c. all wliieh are 
 commonly ploughed in rills, require to be refresiied, they strike 
 out the plugs from the bottom of tlie cisterns ; and then the -.vater 
 gusliing out is conducted from rill to rill by the gardener ; who is 
 always ready, as occasion requires, to stoj) and divert the torrent, 
 4y turning the earth against it, hi/ his foot, and opening at the same 
 time witii his mattock a new trench to receive it. This method 
 of conveying moisture and nourishment to a land, rarely, if ever 
 refreshed by rain, is often alUided to in the Holy Scriptures: where 
 also it is made tlie distinguishing quality betw ixt F.gypt and the 
 land of Cansian ; as in this pa.'^^^agc of Deuteronomy. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 Palestine has rains, plentilul dews, springs, rivulets, brooks, 
 which supply tile earth with the moisture necessary to its fruit- 
 fulness: whereas Egjpt has no river but the Nile; there it seldom 
 pr never rains ; and the lands, which are not within reach of the 
 jnundation, continue parched and barren. To supply this want 
 ditches are dug, and water is distributed throiigliout the several 
 
 day, that ye may be strong, and go in and chhTst 
 possess the land, whither ye go to possess 14.51. 
 
 it; 
 
 <) And that ye may prolong ijour days in 
 the land, which the Loim sware unto your 
 fathers to give unto them and to their seed, 
 a land that floweth with milk and honey. 
 
 10 ^ For the land, whither thou goest in 
 to jiossess it, in not as the land of I'2gypt, 
 from whence ye came out, where thou sow- 
 edst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, 
 as a garden of herbs : 
 
 11 But the land, whither ye go to pos- 
 sess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and 
 drinketh water of the rain of heaven: 
 
 1'2 A land which the Lord thy God 
 tcareth for : the eyes of the Lord thy God t Hci.. 
 a7-e always upon it, from the begiiniing of'" 
 the year even unto the end of the year. 
 
 13 ^ And it shall come to pass, if ye 
 shall hearken diligently imto my command- 
 ments which I command you this day, to 
 love the Lord your God, and to serve him 
 w^ith all your heart and with all your soul, 
 
 11' That I will give t/ou the rain of your 
 land in his due season, the first rain and 
 the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in 
 thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. 
 
 villages and cantons : there are great struggles, who shall first get 
 it ; and in this dispute they often come to blows. Notwithstand- 
 ing tliesc precautions, many places liave no water ; and in tlie 
 course of the year, tlie jilaces nearest the Nile require to be wa- 
 tered again by means of art and labour. It is done by the help 
 of machines : one of which I'hilo describes, as a wheel, which a 
 man turns with the motion of his feet, by ascending successively 
 the several steps within it, holding in his hands a stay, or rail, 
 placed before liini, which is not moveable. This is what Moses 
 means by saying, that in Egypt they water the earth with their 
 feet. Catmet. No travellers give an account of such a machine as 
 at present in use in Egypt : but Sir George Staunton, in his ac- 
 count of Lord Macartney's embassy to China, gives a figure, 
 wliicli so closely resembles the description of Philo, that, if not 
 the same, it may serve to illustrate it. Fragments to Cnlnicl. 
 
 1 3. And it shaft come to pass, Sec.'] Know and be assured, the 
 infinite Author of nature is not bound up to mere natural causes ; 
 rain and drouglit, spring and autumn, a scanty or plentiful har- 
 vest, are all at Hi.s will ; dispensed and restrained, as He sees; 
 best, for blessings or for judgments upon any peoiile. Cana;in 
 will be fruitful to you, only in proportion to your religious ob- 
 servance of the laws of the great God, who bestowed it upon 
 you. Fi/le. 
 
 to love the Lord your God^ He repeats this so often, be- 
 cause it is " the great commandment," as our Saviour speaks ; 
 and because nothing is so natural as to love oiu' benefactors; espe- 
 cially our greatest Benefactor, who gave us our being, with all 
 oiu- heart and with all our soul. And being " the first and gi-eat 
 commanchnent," this draws along with it obedience to all the rest, 
 and is in effect the whole duty of man to God : for const;int ex- 
 perience shows us, that whosoever gets firm hold of this affection, 
 governs a man as he pleaseth. Bp. Vatriclc. 
 
 14. — the first rain and the latter rainf] The first, or the au- 
 tumnal rain, before seedtime, to prepare the ground for being 
 broken up to receive the seed; the latter, or the vernal, before 
 harvest, to fill the ears of com, Br. Blaynei/.
 
 An ejrhoriation 
 
 CHAP. xr. 
 
 to obedience. 
 
 10. 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ■^"^ ^ ^^^^ ^ ^^"'^ ^'"^^ "^ *'^)^ ^^^'^'^ 
 
 1451. for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be 
 
 f Hcl). i:ive. ^^''' 
 
 IG Take heed to yourselves, that your 
 heart be not deceived, and ye turn a- 
 side, and serve other gods, and worship 
 them ; 
 
 17 And then the Lord's wrath be kindled 
 against you, and he shut up the heaven, that 
 there be no rain, and that the land yield 
 not her fruit ; and lest ye perish quickly 
 from off the good land which the Lord 
 giveth you. 
 
 18 ^ Therefore shall ye lay up these my 
 words in your heart and in your soul, and 
 
 •' ciiap. G. b. {jifjfj them for a sign upon your hand, 
 that they may be as frontlets between your 
 eyes. 
 Chap. 4. 19 " And ye shall teach them your chil- 
 *"■ ^' di'en, speaking of them when thou sittest 
 in thine house, and when thou walkest by 
 the way, when thou liest down, and when 
 tliou risest up. 
 
 20 And thou shalt write them upon the 
 door posts of thine house, and upon thy 
 gates : 
 
 21 That your days may be multiplied, 
 and the days of your children, in the land 
 which the Lord sware unto your fathers 
 to give them, as the days of heaven upon 
 the earth. 
 
 22 ^ For if ye shall diligently keep all 
 
 17- And then the Lord's wrath he kindled against you,'\ Moses 
 having cautioned the Israelites against the specious pretences, by 
 which other nations justified their idolatry, sucli as its antiquity, 
 universal consent, &c. ; and by which the Israelites were in 
 danger of being seduced into an imitation of their neighbours : 
 apprizes them, that the wrath of the Lord would be the conse- 
 quence of their seduction : and that their being deceived into idola- 
 try by false reasonings, which persuaded them that what they did 
 was lawful, would not excuse them before God, who expected 
 them to use greater caution, and to govern themselveB by His 
 plain and express commands. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 19. And ye shall teach them your children,'] This is repeated 
 very often, chap. iv. 10; vi. 7- The Jews do this so diligently, that 
 as soon as their children are capable of understanding any tiling, 
 they make them carefully read the Holy Books; and instruct 
 them so, that before they can be called youths, they are acquaint- 
 ed with the whole law of God. In this, we nnist confess, they 
 shame a great many Christians, who scarce understand as much 
 of their religion, when they are men and women, as the Jews do 
 of theirs, when tliey are mere chikh-en. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 21. — as Ike days of heaven upon the earth.] That is, as long 
 as the world endures. " While the heaven keeps its place over 
 the earth," according to the Latin Vulgate. See Ps. Ixxxix. 29; 
 Jer. xxxiii. 25. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 27, 28. A blessitig, — And a curse,] These are more particu- 
 larly explained in chap, xxviii. This blessing and this cui'se are 
 here represented as suspended respectively upon the obedience 
 and disobedience of the people. And it is observable, that tlie 
 whole historical part of the Old Testament witnesses the truth of 
 this, that God blessed or cursed them, according as they kept or 
 violated His laws. And if the people of Israel had diligently 
 Vol. I. 
 
 these commandments wliich I command S'''"'"''" 
 you, to do them, to love the Lord your *^"«!.^^ 
 God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave 
 unto him ; 
 
 23 Then will the Lord drive out all 
 these nations from before you, and ye 
 shall ])ossess greater nations and mightier 
 than yourselves. 
 
 24 '' Every place whereon the soles of ' Josh. 1. 3. 
 your feet shall tread shall be your's : from 
 
 the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, 
 the river Euphrates, even unto the utter- 
 most sea shall your coast be. 
 
 25 There shall no man be able to stand 
 before you : Jbr the Lord your God shall 
 lay the fear of you and the dread of you 
 upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, 
 as he hath said unto you. 
 
 26 ^ Behold, I set before you this day 
 a blessing and a curse ; 
 
 27 ' A blessing, if ye obey the command- * cbap. 29. 
 ments of the Lord your God, which I 
 command you this day : 
 
 28 And a ^ curse, if ye will not obey the ' Chap. ss. 
 commandments of the Lord your God, but 
 
 turn aside out of the way which 1 com- 
 mand you this day, to go after other gods, 
 which ye have not kno%vn. 
 
 29 And it shall come to pass, when the 
 Lord thy God hath brought thee in unto 
 
 the land whither thou goest to possess it, ' Chap. 37. 
 that thou shalt put ^ the blessing upon josh. s. 33. 
 
 marked, considered, and laid to heart, that their happiness and 
 misery were alwa3S correspondent to their good and bad beha- 
 viour towards God, it would have confirmed their belief of their 
 law, as much as if they had seen all the miracles done in the pre- 
 sence of their forefathers, and would have supplied the want 01? 
 rarity of them in :il'terages. Nay, this wovdd have done more 
 than was done bj* all the miracles, which were forgotten in a 
 short time : whereas their own daily experience of the happy 
 fruits of obedience and tlie mischief of disobedience would have 
 sealed these truths unto their conscience. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 As often as the children of Israel, after tlieir establishment ill 
 Canaan, rebelled against tlie Lord their Gotl, He punished them 
 by means of the neighbouring nations. When they returned to 
 Him, His favour returned to them : the light of His countenance 
 soon dispelled the darkest cloiuls of publick calamity, and brake 
 forth upon them by means of deliverers, raised up to chasti.-ic the 
 insolence of their enemies, and to restore tranquillity and happU 
 ness in the dwellings of Jacob. From thus considering God's 
 proceedings, learn we to rectify and regulate our own. To pu- 
 nish wickedness and vice, to preserve and promote true religion 
 and virtue, appears to have been the end and desi";n of all His 
 dispensations. Let it be the end and design of all our transac- 
 tions. If the dealings of the Almighty with a people be squared 
 by their dealings with His religion, the state of religion will al- 
 ways be the surest criterion, whereby to judge of the state of that 
 nation, wherein it is planted : and there can be no greater enemies 
 to their country, than those who are enemies to her : since con- 
 cerning her He hath declared, who cannot decei\'e, or be deceiv- 
 ed, " No weapon tliat is formed against thee shall prosper ; and 
 every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt 
 condemn," Is. liv. 17- Bp. Home. 
 
 .3 A
 
 Monuincnti ojidulatry 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 are to be destroyed. 
 
 RWorr 
 CHKIST 
 
 » Ch»p. J. 
 32. 
 
 mount Gemim, and the curse upon mount 
 Ebal. 
 
 30 Arc they not on tlie other side Jor- 
 dan, bv the way wliere the sun goeth down, 
 in the" land of the Canaanites, which dwell 
 in the champaign over against Gilgal, be- 
 side tiie phiins of Moreh ? 
 
 31 For yc shall pass over Jordan to'go 
 in to possess the land which the Loud your 
 God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, 
 and dwell therein. 
 
 32 And ye shall observe " to do all the 
 statutes and judgments which I set before 
 you this day. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 I Monuments of idolatry are to be destroyed, ii The 
 place of Guci's service is to be kept. 15, 23 Blood is 
 /orbidcten. 17, 20, 2() Holy things must be eaten in 
 the holi) place. If) The Lcvite is not to be forsaken. 
 2i) Idolatry is not to be enquired ajler. 
 
 THESE are the statutes and judgments, 
 which ye shall observe to do in the 
 land, which the Lord God of thy fathers 
 giveth thee to possess it, all the days that 
 ye live upon the earth. 
 
 29. — f»ouH< Gerizim,"^ 
 33, &c. 
 
 See chiip. xxvii. 11, 12, &c. Josh. viii. 
 
 Chap. XII. ver. 1. These are the statutes Scc^ Moses having 
 still at heart tlie prcat dangers, to wliich liis nation would be cx- 
 poseil, of being tempted into idolatrous practices after their .set- 
 tlement in the promised land in the neighbourhood of superstitious 
 people, began a new c.vhortJition to them, reminding them of the 
 Jaws provided against it, ;is the indispensable conditions of their 
 happy and peacefid enjoyment of that fruitful country. Pi/le. 
 
 2. Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, &c.] CJod did not 
 think it enough to forbid them idolatry, but commands them to 
 destroy all the monuments and memorials of it : and His great 
 care that they should flee from every sort and degree of it is 
 testified fiu ihcr by the following enumeration of particulars. Bp. 
 Kidder. 
 
 vjxtn the high mountains, &c.] These were the places 
 
 where the ancient heathens chose to worship their gods : imagin- 
 ing their sacrifices were more acceptable on mountains than in 
 valleys. Lucian himself gives this reason for it, " Because men 
 were then nearer to the gods, and so more easily gained audience." 
 It wa.s thought also that demons were wont to frequent woods 
 and shady places, and there appear to men : and that some pre- 
 sided over mountains, others over woods and forests. Accordingly 
 the heathens erected altars to them in these .md the like places, 
 particularly under great oaks, which were held ."acred, and where 
 their go<Is were thought to have a peculiar power. Pliny, in his 
 work on natural history, speaking of trees, sjiys, " These were the 
 temples of the go<Is : and even now the simple peojile, after the 
 ancient rites, deilicate to God such trees as excel the rest. Nor 
 do wc more adore the images glittering with gold and ivory, than 
 we do tlie groves, and the solemn sdence therein." Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 3- — break their pillars, — hen' down the iiraven ima<ces^ It 
 was the notion of the best of the heathens with rrspcct to their 
 worshin, that " the host of heaven" were glorious btxiies, wherein 
 tl>e gods dwelt : and they accordingly worshipped tlie sovereign 
 celestial deities in the sun, moon, and stars, which they were sup- 
 posed to mhabit. In the same manner they supposed that the 
 demons, or inferiour deities, dwelt in the images ai:d pillars which 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 ' Chap. 7. 
 
 5. 
 II Or, 
 
 iuherit. 
 " Judg. e 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 break dovm 
 
 ' 1 King5 
 8. 29. 
 2 Chron. 
 7. 12. 
 
 2 »Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, 
 wherein the nations which ye shall 11 possess 
 served their gods, upon the high mountains, 
 and upon the hills, and under every green 
 tree : 
 
 3 And ''ye shall t overthrow their altars, 
 and break their pillars, and burn their 
 groves with fire ; and ye shall hew down 
 the graven images of their gods, and 
 destroy the names of them out of that 
 place. 
 
 4 Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your 
 God. 
 
 5 But unto the place which the Lord 
 your God shall "" choose out of all your 
 tribes to put his name there, even unto his 
 habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou 
 shalt come : 
 
 G And thither ye shall bring your burnt 
 offerings, and your sacrifices, and your 
 tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, 
 and your vows, and your freewill offerings, 
 and the firstlings of your herds and of 
 your flocks : 
 
 7 And there ye shall eat before the 
 
 Mere erected to them, and which were therefore made objects of 
 worship, as tlie residences of such deities. Jos. Mede. 
 
 •i. Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your Gtx/.J That is, not 
 serve Him " upon the mountains, nor in groves, nor under green 
 trees." It is very probable, that during their continuance in the 
 wilderness, none sacrificed in high places, but oflfered all at the 
 <loor of the tabernacle, which was not far from them. When 
 they came into Canaan, and were many of them at a distance 
 from the tabernacle, they did sacrifice in high places; and we do' 
 not find them reproved for it, vhile they worshipped the Lord 
 alone, and had priests, who officiated there and in other places 
 according to the precepts of the law. But when the temple was 
 built, and the ark of God's presence no longer removed from place 
 to place, the Prophets required them not to sacrifice any longer in 
 high places, nor any where else, but only at the temple. And 
 they blamed even good kings for not taking away the high places, 
 though no sacrifices were offered upon them to any strange god, 
 but to the true God alone. This connivance proved in time a great 
 mischief: for here they first began to worship strange gods ; the 
 Israelites being very prone to choose mountains and such shady 
 places, as the rest of the world did. wherein to set up their images, 
 2 Kings xvii. 10, 11; Ezek. xx. 2H; Hos. iv. 13. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 .'). — clwwie~^ Or .set apart for that purpose, as He did Jeru- 
 .salem afterwards, 1 Kings viii. 29; 2 Chron. vii. 12. " To put His 
 name there ;" that is, to dwell, or more cspeciallj* to be present 
 there, where He is worshipped according to His will. The iiame 
 of God is put for Ciod Himself: see Lev. xxiv. 11, 16, and 2 Sam. 
 vi. 2. And so it is, where there is mention of calling on His 
 name, building an house to His nainc, believing on His name, 
 Ps. Ixxx. IH; xxiii. 3; 1 Chron. xxii. 8. And that it is so in this 
 place is evident from the words of God to .Solomon concerning 
 the temple which he had built, " I have chosen this place to My- 
 self for an house of sacrifice," 2 Chron. vii. 12. So also in the 
 following words of this verse, " unto His habitation shall ye seek." 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 6. — your tithes^ Not those, which were to be paid to the 
 Levites, or by them to the priests : but another, called the second 
 tithe, which was to be set aside after that to the Levites was paid, 
 and employed as is directed in chap. xiv. 22, 23, &c. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — ye shall eaf} Namely, your allotted part. Bp. Kidder.
 
 2Vie place of God's service is to be kept. CHAP. XII. Holy things must be eaten in the holy place. 
 
 9. 
 
 thrT- ■ Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in 
 1451, all that ye put your hand unto, ye and 
 your housholds, wherein the Lord thy 
 God hath blessed thee. 
 
 8 Ye shall not do after all the thitigs that 
 we do here this day, every man whatsoever 
 is right in his own eyes. 
 
 9 For ye are not as yet come to the rest 
 and to the inheritance, which the Lord 
 your God giveth you. 
 
 10 But when ye go over Jordan, and 
 dwell in the land which the Lord your 
 God giveth you to inherit, and when he 
 giveth you rest from all your enemies 
 round about, so that ye dwell in safety ; 
 
 11 Then there shall be a place which 
 the Lord your God shall choose to cause 
 his name to dwell there; thither shall ye 
 bring all that I command you ; your burnt 
 offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, 
 and the heave offering of your hand, and 
 
 t Heb. all t your choice vows which ye vow unto 
 
 the choice o/" . u T _ 
 
 .vour mws. the LoRD : 
 
 12 And ye shall I'ejoice before the Lord 
 your God, ye, and your sons, and your 
 daughters, and your menservants, and your 
 maidservants, and the Levite that is within 
 
 Chap. 10. your gates ; forasmuch as "* he hath no part 
 nor inheritance with you. 
 
 13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer 
 not thy burnt offerings in every place that 
 thou seest : 
 
 14 But in the place which the Lord 
 shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou 
 
 7/e shall rejoice &c.]] To the appointed place they were 
 
 to bring all the solemn and voluntary offerin/rs or sacrifices of 
 particular persons, either by way of special vow, or expiation; or 
 whereon to feast themselves, their families, and friends, in some 
 place adjacent to the sanctuary, by way of religious rejoicing and 
 grateful thankfulness, as being the people of God, communicating 
 ■with Him at His own altar, and living under the blessing and 
 comfort of His providence. Py/c. 
 
 8. — even/ man whatsoever is right in his mvn eijcs.'J Tliis does 
 not mean that there was no good order kept among them, or that 
 they were at liberty to sacrifice where they pleased ; but that in 
 such an imcertain state, when they were removing from pl,ice to 
 place, many took the liberty in those matters to do as they thought 
 good. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 15. Notwithstanding thou mayesl kill &c.] Whereas during 
 their travels in the wilderness God enacted it as a law, that even 
 all the beasts, that were killed by any Israelite for the use of his 
 family, should be first presented to God at the tabernacle and 
 there slain; in consequence of which the nation then lived, as it 
 were, wholly on peace offerings, communicating with God even 
 In their common food: it was allowed now that, after their settle- 
 ment in Canaan, every man might kill any beasts, birds, &c. for 
 his family provision, at home, without being obliged to bring it 
 to the tabernacle or temple. Pyle. 
 
 fl.s of the roebuck, and as of the hart."] Why not as an ox 
 
 or a lamb, for they were of more familiar use.^ The reason is plain. 
 To prevent idolatry, in offering the blood to other gods, they were 
 
 shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there Christ 
 thou shalt do all that 1 command thee. 1451, 
 
 15 Notwithstanding thou inayest kill 
 and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever 
 thy soul lusteth after, according to the 
 blessing of the Lord thy God which he 
 hath given thee : the unclean and the clean 
 may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as 
 of the hart. 
 
 16 ' Only ye shall not eat tiie blood; ye ' cjiap. 15. 
 shall pour it upon the earth as water. "'' 
 
 17 % Thou mayest not eat within thy 
 gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, 
 or of thy "oil, or the firstlings of thy herds 
 or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which 
 thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or 
 heave offering of thine hand : 
 
 18 But thou must eat them before tiie 
 Lord thy God in the place which the 
 Lord thy God shall choose, thou, and thy 
 son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, 
 and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is 
 within thy gates : and thou shalt rejoice 
 before the Lord thy God in all that thou 
 puttest thine hands unto. 
 
 19 ' Take heed to thyself that thou for- [^'p- h- 
 sake not the Levite t as long as thou livest ecc1°'7.3i. 
 upon thy earth. Lm*"*. s 
 
 20 % "Wlien the Lord thy God shall en- " " ""'' 
 large thy border, ^as he liath promised thee, * ccn. 2s. 
 and tliou slialt say, I will eat flesh, because cimp. i<>. s 
 thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest 
 
 eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. 
 
 21 If the place which the Lord thy God 
 
 commanded to kill all the cattle, they ate, at the door of tlie 
 tabernacle, as a peace offering, and sprinkle the blood on the altar. 
 Lev. xvii. But wild beasts, that were clean, might be eaten, 
 though their blood was not offered to God, vcr. 1,S; because, being 
 commonly killed before they were takeji, their blood could not 
 be sprinkled on the altar; and therefore it sufficed, in such cases, 
 to pour out their blood wherever they were killed, and cover it 
 with dust. And for the same reason, when the camp was broken 
 up, wherein all the people were in the neighbourhood of the ta- 
 bernacle, and when they were scattered in their liabitations 
 through all tiie Lind of Canaan, those, who were too far off from 
 the temj^e, were excused from killing their tame cattle at Jeru- 
 salem, and sprinkling their blood on the altar: no more was re. 
 quired of tliem, than was required in killing a " roebuck," or any 
 other clean wild beast: they were only to pour out the blootl, and 
 cover it with dust, and so they might eat tlie flesli. Locke. 
 
 16. — >/e shall ponr k &c.] " As water," tJiat is, they were 
 to pour it out with as little religious ceremony, as water. Cat- 
 met. 
 
 17. — the firstlings of thy herds &c.] The firstborn, strictly 
 so called, belonged to the priests, Niuiib. xviii. 1 .i. The firstlings, 
 here spoken of, were probably such as were set apart and dedi- 
 cated to God by the owner, aiter the setting aside of the firstborn. 
 Bp. Kidder. It may be meant of the firstborn fem:des, which the 
 Lord may have chosen to have accounted in some sort sacred, 
 by requiring them to be eaten at His sanctuary. The males only 
 were the Lord's. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 .•; A 2
 
 Eal'uig of blood for Inddciu 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. Idolatry not to be enquired after. 
 
 tHeU 
 A« tiTtnf. 
 
 hath chosen to put his name there be too 
 
 cjraisT ^.^^ j.j.^^^ ^j^g^^ ^i^^j^ ^j^P^j gf^^lj i-ijl (,£■ ^hy 
 
 herd and of thy Hock, which the Lord 
 hath given thee, as I have commanded 
 thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates what- 
 soever thy soul lustoth after. 
 
 2y Even as the roebuck and the hart is 
 eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean 
 and the clean shall eat o/them alike. 
 
 2d Only t be sure that thou eat not the 
 blood: for the blood is the life; and thou 
 mayest not eat the life with the flesh. 
 
 24 Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt 
 pour it upon the earth as water. 
 
 2.5 Thou shalt not eat it; that it may ^o 
 well with thee, and with thy children after 
 thee, when thou shalt do that rvhich is 
 right in the sight of the Lord. 
 
 2G Only thy holy things which thou hast, 
 and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto 
 the place which the Lord shall choose: 
 
 27 And thou shalt offer thy burnt offer- 
 ings, the flesh ami the blood, upon the 
 altar of the Lord thy God: and the blood 
 of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon 
 the altar of the Lord thy God, and thou 
 shalt eat the flesh. 
 
 28 Observe and hear all these words 
 which I command thee, that it may go 
 well with thee, and with thy children after 
 
 22. — the unclean attd Ike clean shall eal of them alike.l \Miile 
 they were in the wildemess, only sucli as were clean, that is, not 
 under any Icfjal unclcanness, miglit eat flesh, because it was sanc- 
 tified by beinjf killed at the altar: now all were to be indulged 
 tlic same lil)erty. }Jp. Patruk. 
 
 30. — encfnire not after their gods,"] The pretensions of the 
 heathen deities being mutually acknowlcdgeci by their distinct 
 and proper followers; and jome, by the fortunate circumstances 
 of these followers, being risen into snperiour fame ; the rites used 
 in tlieir worship were ejigerly sought for and imitated. It was 
 likewise a general principle, that the local god was to have a 
 necessary share in the worship of .ill who settled in the country; 
 and those, who were loth to leave their paternal gods when they 
 sought new settlements, at least held thimselvcs obliged to wor- 
 ship those gods with the rites, and according to the usages, of the 
 country they came to inhabit. Against this more qualified prin- 
 ciple of piganism Moses thinks fit to caution his people in this 
 and the subse<iuent verses. lip. Warburton. 
 
 31. Tlimt stiali nut do so &c.] It appears extremely probable, 
 that idolatry in those times leil, in all countries, to the vices, of 
 which the Canaanites were guilty: and also that the detestation, 
 threats, and severities, expressed against idolatry in the Old Tes- 
 tament, Were not against idolatry simjily, or considered as an 
 erroneous religion, but against the abominable crimes which 
 usuidly accompanied it. I think it quite certain that tlie case was 
 ■so in the nations of Canaan. Archdeacon Paler/. 
 
 -— ^/yr even their sons &c.] This is the great instance of their 
 abominable wickednes.s. See Lev. xviii. '21; .\x. 2. This was 
 notoriously practised by the Carthaginians, who certainly derived 
 It trom the Phenicians, the ancient inhabitants of this" country. 
 
 lalo says, " Tlie Athenian laws did not permit them to sacrifice 
 iiMin; but among Uie C.-irthaginians it was an holv rite; so that 
 eome ol them jiermitted their sons to be offered to Saturn " This 
 vvieke<l custom at last overspread all natioDa^ even the Greeks 
 tliemselvcs. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 H51. 
 
 t Heb. 
 inheritest. 
 or, passcss- 
 est them. 
 
 fHcb. 
 nfler lliem. 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 attomhta- 
 tiun pfllie. 
 
 ' Cliap. 4. 
 
 2. 
 
 Josh. I. 7. 
 
 Prov. 30. C. 
 
 Rev. 22. 18. 
 
 thee for ever, when thou doest that •which 
 i.i good and right in the sight of the Lord 
 thy God. 
 
 29 H ^^'llen the Lord thy God shall cut 
 oft" the nations from before thee, whither 
 thou goest to possess them, and thou t suc- 
 ceedest them, antl dvvellest in their land; 
 
 30 Take heed to thyself that thou be 
 not snared tby following them, after that 
 they be destroyed from before thee; and 
 that thou enquire not after their gods, say- 
 ing, How did these nations serve their 
 gods? even so will I do likewise. 
 
 31 Thou shalt not do so luito the Lord 
 thy God: for every t abomination to the 
 Lord, which he hateth, have they done 
 unto their gods; for even their sons and 
 their daughters they have burnt in the fli'e 
 to their gods. 
 
 32 What thing soever I command you, 
 observe to do it: *■ thou shalt not add 
 thereto, nor diminish from it. 
 
 CHAP. xm. 
 
 1 Ent-icers to iddatrt/, 6 horn near soever unto thee, 9 are 
 to be stoned to death. 12 Idolatrous cities are not to 
 be spared. 
 
 IF there arise among you a prophet, or a 
 dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a 
 sign or a wonder, 
 
 When men were exalted into gods, every the basest passion 
 and the foulest vice found an example to justif\', and a patron to 
 protect it. Ciods, whose characters and actions had been impure, 
 revengeful, and cruel, were honoured by adopting, as parts of 
 their worship, impurity, cruelty, and bloodshed. Demons, who 
 were worsliipped, not from love but from fear, not because bene- 
 ficent but malignant, it was naturally supposed could be appeased 
 or conciliated, onl}- by the snpj)li;uit inflicting suffierings and 
 death, even on the object whom he held most dear. Hence 
 " every abomination &c." In truth, we know from other sources 
 besides the Scripture, that theft, bloodshed, and cruelty, that in- 
 cest, adultery, and unnatural crimes, were sanctioned by the ex- 
 ample of the lieathen gods, and even consecrated as parts of their 
 worship: we know that every s])ecies of lewdness was practised 
 in the temples of .some, and that hmiian sacrifices bled <;n the al- 
 tars of others; and this in the most polished and celebrated na- 
 tions of antiquity. Thus foul and odious was the nature, thus 
 wide the diffusion, and thus fotal the effects of that idolatry; to 
 provide an antidote to which, in the Jewish nation, a special Di- 
 vine interposition was employed. Dr. Graves. 
 
 .'52. lihal thing soever I command yutr, observe SiC.^ Keep close 
 to the worship and ordinances of the true God. Let no htj^then- 
 ish ceremonies be added to, or mixed with. His service : nor anv 
 of their impure rites creep into your worship, by the omission of 
 anj' thing prescribed to you. Pj/le. 
 
 By this injunction, there is no doubt but Moses and all Israel 
 were religiously confined to do those things, to which it is an- 
 nexed: they were not at liberty to vary a tittle in matter or form 
 from the scheme and plan, which was Iiiid before them. But the 
 passage may be considered likewise as supjilying a general and 
 siicred ride to ns all, th.it v.-e receive the word of God as it i.s, 
 and interpret it according to its genuine sense and meaning, and 
 study to maintain the truth and integrity of it; that it may be to 
 us, as it is designed to be, an everlasting fountain of holiness and 
 purity of livmg. In this respect the Law of God is perfect: and 
 
 1
 
 Entkers to idolatry 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 to be stoned to death. 
 
 CHRIST ^ ■^"'^ *^^ *'S" ^^ *^^ wonder come to 
 1451. pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, 
 Let us go after other gods, which thou 
 hast not known, and let us serve them ; 
 
 3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words 
 of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams : 
 for the Lord your God proveth you, to 
 know whether ye love the Lord your God 
 with all your heart and with all your soul. 
 
 4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your 
 God, and fear him, and keep his com- 
 mandments, and obey his voice, and ye 
 
 • Chap. 10. shall serve him, and " cleave unto him. 
 ^- 5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of 
 
 dreams, shall be put to death ; because he 
 fHeb. hath t spoken to turn yoti awav from the 
 W( against LoRD your God, which brought you out 
 the LORD, ^f ^|jg jgj^ J pf £gypt, and redeemed you 
 
 out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee 
 out of tlie way which the Lord thy God 
 commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou 
 put the evil away from the midst of thee. 
 
 6 ^ If thy brother, the son of thy mo- 
 ther, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the 
 wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is 
 as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, 
 saying. Let us go and serve other gods, 
 which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy 
 fathers ; 
 
 7 Natneli/, of the gods of the people 
 which are round about you, nigh unto 
 thee, or far off from thee, from the o?ie 
 end of the earth even unto the other end 
 of the earth ; 
 
 men must not presume to impair its perfection, by adding to it, 
 or diminishing from it. Reading. 
 
 Cliap. XIII. ver. 3. — the Lord your God proveth you,'\ He 
 suffercth the false ))rophet to give a sign, and by tlie event to 
 confirm his impious doctrine, to try wliether you are sincere 
 and steadfast in j'our love and your obedience to Him ; and 
 that this your sincerity may be known to yourselves and others. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 6. Iflhy brother, &C.3 At the head of capital crimes under tlie 
 Jewisli law was placed idolatry. Not only the act itself, but 
 everv attempt to seduce men to it, and every mode of conduct 
 which j)i'esupposeil or obviously led to it. ^Vgainst this oflence 
 the strictest vigour was exercised ; no partiality for the dearest 
 relative was to induce concealment; no dignity to silence accusa- 
 tion; no multitude of oiTenders to deter from punishment. This 
 severity, whilst it conduced to preserve the allegiance due to the 
 Supreme Jehovali, inseparably associated the feelings of detesta- 
 tion and abhorrence with the crime of idolatry, not with the per- 
 sons of the Canaanites ; and proved to the Jews that they were 
 commanded to exterminate tlie seven nations, not from any prin- 
 ciple of personal resentment or national hostility, but merely as 
 criminals condemned by God. Dr. Graves. 
 
 9. — t/ioii shalt sureltj kill himr\ Thou shalt discover liim, and 
 bring him to condign punislmient, which is death in this case, 
 by the sentence of the magistrate: and " tliine hand sliall be first 
 upon him ;" namely, as the witness of his crime. Bp. Kidrkr. 
 The crimin;d w,-.s to be stoned to death : and the accuser was to 
 throw the first stone at liim, together with the witnesses, chap. 
 
 8 Thou shall not consent unto him, nor ^«'''"» 
 hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye ^ mi.^^ 
 pity him, neither shait thou spare, neither 
 
 shalt thou conceal him : 
 
 9 But " thou shalt surely kill him ; thine » Chap. 17. 
 hand shall be first upon him to put him to ''■ 
 death, and afterwards the hand of all the 
 people. 
 
 10 And thou slialt stone him with stones, 
 that he die ; because he hath sought to 
 thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, 
 which brought thee out of the land' of E- 
 gypt, from the house of t bondage. t Heb. 
 
 1 1 And "^ all Israel shall hear, and fear, = ch^iV. 
 and shall do no more any such wickedness is. 
 
 as this is among you. 
 
 1*^ ^ If thou shalt hear say in one of thy 
 cities, which the Lord thy God hath given 
 thee to dwell there, saying, 
 
 13 Certain men, || the children of Behal, II •''■' 
 are gone out from among you, and have '""f^ 
 withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, 
 saying. Let us go and sene other gods, 
 which ye liave not known ; 
 
 14 Then shalt thou enquire, and make 
 search, and ask dihgently ; and, behold, // 
 it be truth, and the thing certain, tjiat such 
 abomination is WTOught among you ; 
 
 15 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabit- 
 ants of that city with the edge oi" the sword, 
 destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, 
 and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the 
 sword. 
 
 16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of 
 
 xvii. 7 ; to testify thereby his own piety and unshaken fidelity 
 towards God. Bp. Patrick, Wogaii. 
 
 1 1 . And all Israel sliall hear, and fear, &c.] God doth not 
 punish merely for the sake of punishment. Even His se\erities 
 are the effects of goodness : and alwaj-s directed to the advantage, 
 either of those who feel them, or at least of others ; " that they 
 mav hear, and fear, and do no more wickedness." It is a most 
 serious and profitable employment, humbly to trace the footsteps 
 of infinite wisdom, in the government, as well as in the creation, 
 of the world ; in order to learn a true sense of our condition liere, 
 and right notions of behaving in it Ahp. Seeker. 
 
 13. — the children of Belial,'] So the most profligate wretches 
 are called in .Scripture, signifying lawless persons, who had no 
 regard either to God or men. Bp. Patrick. Belial is a Hebrew 
 word, implying a w icked w orthless man ; one resolved to endure 
 no subjection ; a rebel ; one that cannot be controlled. In later 
 writings, Belial denotes the devil. St. Paul says, ',' Cor. vi. 15, 
 " What concord hath Christ with Belial.'" Whence we infer, 
 that in his time the Jews, under the name of Behal, commonly 
 understixid the devil by this term m the Old Testament. Calmei. 
 
 l.i. Tliou shalt sumlfi smile the iiiluihitanls &c.] In this com- 
 mand we see, not only the rigour «f the ancient law, but even a 
 mercy, as well as justice, in the cxeiution of tlie sentence. For 
 although, at fir.st view, it carry the appearance of extreme seve- 
 rity, yet considering, 1st, the state of the Jews, a-s a theocracy, or 
 government under the immediate authority of Clod, ail publick 
 violation of the Divine law was such an open and direct act of rebel- 
 lion against their rightful Lord and King, as by the common law of 
 all nations is deemed a crime worthy of death. 2dly, If the total
 
 Meats clean 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 and unclean. 
 
 tinMii- 
 
 B'''"* it into the midst of the street tJiereof, and 
 
 '^""i.*^ slialt burn with tire the city, and all the 
 
 spoil thereof every whit, for the Loud thy 
 
 (Jod: and it shall be an heap for ever; it 
 
 sliall not be bnik again. 
 
 17 And there shall cleave nought of the 
 t Or. II cursed thing to thine hand: that the Lord 
 
 may turn from the fierceness of his anger, 
 and shew thee mercy, and have compassion 
 upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath 
 sworn unto thy fathers ; 
 
 18 When thou slialt hearken to the voice 
 of the Loud thy God, to keep all his com- 
 mandments which I command thee this 
 day, to do that xchich is right in the eyes of 
 the Lord thy God. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 1 Gud's children arc nut to disfigure l/tcmselves in mourn- 
 ing. 3 IVhat mai/, and nhat may not be ealcn, 4 of 
 tieasis, 9 of fishes, 1 1 of forvls. 'Z 1 That trhich dieth 
 of ilsvlf' mai) not be eaten. 22 Tithes of divine service. 
 23 Tithes and Jirstlings of rejoicing before the Lord. 
 28 The l/iird year's lithe of alms and charily. 
 
 "\,^E are the children of the Lord your 
 JL God : ^ ye shall not cut yourselves, 
 
 S8. 
 
 19. 
 
 ' Cliap. 
 6. &2«. 
 
 • Lev. 1 
 2,4c 
 
 a Or. 
 euon. 
 tHcb. 
 
 nor make any baldness between your eyes 
 for the dead. 
 
 ''■ 2 ^ For thou art an holy people unto the 
 Lord thy God, and the Lord hatii chosen 
 thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, 
 above all the nations that are upon the 
 earth. 
 
 3 ^ Thou shalt not eat any abominable 
 thing. 
 
 '• 4 <= These are the beasts which ye shall 
 eat : the ox, the sheep, and the goat, 
 
 5 The hart, and the roebuck, and the fal- 
 low deer, and the wild goat, and the lltpy- 
 garg, and the wild ox, and the chamois. 
 
 excision of the Canaanites was a just and wholesome law of Gofl, 
 much more equitable is this, against any rebellious subjects of His 
 own commonwealth, whose revolt, as being more criminal, and 
 in the example more pernicious, deserved the greater and more 
 extraordinary punishment. But still in such a proceeding the 
 mercy of God is more macnifietl than His justice. For although 
 He punish, in such publick calamities, the innocent with the 
 guilty. He knows how to distinguish them. He not only takes 
 away such innocent jiersons from the greater evil to come, espe- 
 cially from tliat corruption, to which a longer life miglit expose 
 uiem ; but He also makes them ample amends in a better world. 
 As to the offenders, the penalty, however severe, is nevertheless 
 most strictly just. But the prevention of a total corruption and 
 apo-usy from Go<l is an act worthy of infinite goodness and 
 tnc greatest of mercies to those who survive. Wogan. 
 
 wmiU*!; ^'^" "'"■■J- "■'"' *''"" "'" "" .!"«"•*'■/'■«, &c.] God 
 woum not jiermit them to imitate the excessive lamentations and 
 U.e frantick behaviour of the Gentiles at their funeral rites aS 
 
 wiU.rtTn'r^ '.K '"r " ''r'*""" '° '^"°^' ""' »° ^"-^"^ like men 
 TI! 1^- 1 '^V'" ^^ '^P°'''* expresses it, but to expect another 
 »tate besides the present, 1 Thes . iv. 13, &c. Dr. JorUn 
 
 6 And every beast that parteth the hoof, f.Ha'isT 
 and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and 1151. 
 cheweth the cad among the beasts, that ye 
 
 shall eat. 
 
 7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of 
 them that chew the cud, or of them that 
 divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and 
 the hare, and the coney : foi- they chew 
 tiie cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore 
 they are unclean unto you. 
 
 8 And the swine, because it divideth the 
 hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean 
 imto you : ye shall not eat of their flesh, 
 nor touch their dead carcase. 
 
 9 ^ "^ These ye shall eat of all that are ■' Lev. n. 
 in the waters : all that have fins and scales ^' 
 shall ye eat : 
 
 10 And whatsoever hath not fins and 
 scales ye may not eat ; it is unclean unto 
 you. 
 
 11 1[ Q/'all clean birds ye shall eat. 
 
 VZ But these are they of which ye shall 
 not eat : the eagle, and the ossifrage, and 
 the ospray, 
 
 13 And the glede, and the kite, and the 
 vulture afler his kind, 
 
 14 And every raven after his kind, 
 
 15 And the owl, and the night hawk, and 
 the cuckow, and the hawk after hi^ kind, 
 
 16 The little owl, and the great owl, and 
 the swan, 
 
 17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle, 
 and the cormorant, 
 
 18 And the stork, and the heron after 
 
 her kind, and the lapwing, and the "^ bat. ' Lct. n. 
 
 19 And every creeping thing that flieth 
 is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten. 
 
 20 But o/"all clean fowls ye may eat. 
 
 21 ^ Ye shall not eat of any thing that 
 
 This is an usage frequent, and still retained among the Jews, 
 though positively prohibited by the law. As soon as a near rela- 
 tion dies in Abyssinia, a brother or parent, cousin-german, or 
 lover, every woman in that relation, with the nail of her little 
 finger, which she leaves long on purpose, cuts the skin of both 
 her temples, about the size of a sixpence ; and therefore you see 
 either a wound or a scar in every fair face in Abyssinia. Bruce. 
 
 3. — any abominable thing.'] All meats, forbidden by God to 
 be eaten, are called " abomimible ;" not merely because His pro- 
 hibition made them so ; but because the Gentile superstition had 
 consecrated most of them to their gods. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 .5. — J'allotv deer, — l^^gorg, — nild ox, — chamois.] It can- 
 not be ascertained what determinate kind of creatures each of 
 these Hebrew names means. Bochart has with great probability 
 ranked them amongst tlie goat or deer kinds. Pyle. It is pro- 
 bable that the several animals, mentioned in this verse, except the 
 hart, are of different species of antelopes. Script, illust. 
 
 21. Yc shall not eat of any thing that dieth qfilself:'] What was 
 allowed to an alien, was forbidden to the Hebrews, as an holy 
 people, not because morally evil, or therefore unlawful on a moral 
 account, but because it was unbecoming a people consecrated to 
 the service of Jehovah. Hence, what the Hebrews were allowed
 
 Meats clean and unclean. 
 
 CHAP. XIV, XV. 
 
 Of the year of release. 
 
 19. & 34. 
 86. 
 
 CHRIST '^'^'-'^ ^^ itself: thou shalt give it unto the 
 
 1451. stranger that is in thy gates, that he may 
 
 eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: 
 
 for thou art an holy people unto the Lord 
 
 < Exod.23. thy God. ' Thou shalt not seethe a kid in 
 his mother s milk. 
 
 22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase 
 of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth 
 year by year. 
 
 23 And thou shalt eat before the Lord 
 thy God, in the place which he shall choose 
 to place his name there, the tithe of thy 
 corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the 
 firstlings of thy herds and of thy^ flocks ; 
 that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord 
 thy God always. 
 
 24 And if the way be too long for thee, 
 so that thou art not able to carry it ; or if 
 the place be too far from thee, Avhich the 
 Lord thy God shall choose to set his name 
 there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed 
 thee : 
 
 25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, 
 and bind up the money in thine hand, and 
 shalt go unto the place which the Lord 
 thy God shall choose : 
 
 26 And thou shalt bestow that money 
 for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for 
 oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for 
 strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul 
 
 •\ Heh. t desireth : and thou shalt eat there before 
 "thee!' the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, 
 
 thou, and thine houshold, 
 ' ciinp. 12. 27 And ^ the Levite that is within thy 
 
 gates ; thou shalt not forsake him ; for 
 
 he hath no part nor inheritance with 
 
 thee. 
 
 28 ^ At the end of three years thou 
 shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine in- 
 crease tlie same year, and shalt lay it up 
 within thy gates : 
 
 29 And the Levite, ("because he hath no 
 
 for food, was of best esteem in common use ; and what they 
 were forbidden, was of least esteem, and reckoned too mean for a 
 good table : and, as Dr. Spencer observes, these things continue 
 so in the Eastern nations to the present times. Lowman. 
 
 for thou art nn holij people^ See also Lev. xx. 26". Such 
 
 passages as these put the moral intention of the distinction of 
 meats out of dispute, and are indeed a direct affirmation of it : the 
 people of God were to avoid " unclean meats," as a sign that He 
 had separated them from unclean Gciiliks to be " holy unto Him- 
 self." Jonc.t of Naijlnnd. 
 
 Thou shalt vot seethe a l;hl &c.] See the note on Ex. xxiii. I9. 
 
 Some remains of this custom seem still to exist among the 
 Arabs, instanced in their boiling a lamb in sour milk and water. 
 Bp. Pococke. 
 
 y2. — tithc^ This is meant of the second tithe. See ch. xii. 6. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 !28. At the end <f three years &C.3 At every third year's end, 
 either this same second tithe, or else another over and above it, 
 was to be kept and spent at home, for entertaining ,ind feasting 
 
 19. 
 
 Before 
 
 part nor inheritance with thee,) and the 
 stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, *^"i«!.^^ 
 which are within thy gates, shall come, and 
 shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord 
 thy God may bless thee in all the work of 
 thine hand which thou doest. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 1 The seventh year a year of release for the poor. 7 It 
 must be no let of lending or giving. 12 An Hcbren 
 servant, 16 except he mill not depart, must in the 
 seventh year go forth free and well furnished. I9 All 
 firstling males of the' cattle are to be sanctified unto the 
 Lord. 
 
 AT the end of ^ every seven years thou ' Lot. 2a 
 shalt make a release. " *• 
 
 2 And this is the manner of the release: 
 Every t creditor that lendeth ought unto t Heb. 
 his neighbour shall release it: he shall T'.'^''/ 
 
 tJ . /. , . . I "*' tending 
 
 not exact it or his neighbour, or of his of nu hand. 
 brother; because it is called the Lord's 
 release. 
 
 3 Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it 
 again : but that which is thine with thy bro- 
 ther thine hand shall release ; 
 
 4 II Save when there shall be no poor II Or, 
 among you ; for the Lord shall greatly p^aui,^/ 
 bless thee in the land which the Lord thy be no poor 
 God giveth thee for an inheritance to pos- """^'3"^- 
 sess it : 
 
 5 Only if thou carefully hearken unto 
 the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe 
 to do all these commandments which I 
 command thee this day. 
 
 6 For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, 
 
 as he promised thee : and *" thou shalt lend J^'"'p- ^^• 
 unto many nations, but thou shalt not 
 borrow ; and thou shalt reign over ma- 
 ny nations, but they shall not reign over 
 thee. 
 
 7 If If there be among you a poor man 
 of one of thy brethren within any of thy 
 
 the poor of the town, in which the owner dwelt, and tlie Levites 
 belonging to it. And this practice, so higlily promotive of cha- 
 rity, love, and good neighbourhood, Gotl promised to reward and 
 bless with increase and plenty of all the products and fruits of 
 the land. Pyle. 
 
 Chap. W. ver. 7 — 11. If there be among you a poor man &c.l 
 Great care was hereby taken to prevent the i)robable operation ot 
 the laws of the sabbatical year, and of tlie jubilee, to clieck the 
 feelings of compassion towards the indigent. By this most hu- 
 mane law, " the poor" ;ire represented as always to continue in 
 the land, in order to exercise the liberality of tlie rich : who are 
 promised to be rewarded, in proportion to their liberality, with 
 temporal blessings by God Himself, the Supreme Proprietor of 
 their lands. While on the other hand, by a necessarj- inference, 
 the churlish or the niggardly were to be punished witli a temporal 
 curse. Never were municipal laws and institutions fenced with so 
 complete and ccrtaii sanctions, both of rewards and punishments 
 in this life. Dr. Hales.
 
 Of' the year ofrelcftsc. 
 
 D E U T E R O. N O M Y. a7id the Hebrew servant's discharge. 
 
 t Heb. 
 K'ord. 
 t Hcb. 
 Belial. 
 
 »»ft« ffates in tliv laml which tlic Lord thv God 
 
 ^"Vi^^ giveth thco, thou shnit not harden tliint- 
 
 hcJHt, nor shut thine hand liom tliy poor 
 
 brother: 
 
 ' M.iih.5. 8 ' But thou shait open thnie hand wide 
 
 tuk.c 34 ""to him, and siiah surely lend him sulH- 
 
 ' cient lor his need, in that which he want- 
 
 eth. 
 
 <) Beware tliat there be not a t tliought 
 in thy t wicked heart, sayiufr, The seventh 
 year, the year of release, is at liand; and 
 thine eye be e\ il against thy })oor brother, 
 and thou givcst him nought; and he cry 
 unto tlie LoHD against thee, and it be sin 
 unto thee. 
 
 10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thine 
 heart shall not be gi'ieved when thou givest 
 unto him: because that for this thing the 
 Loud thy God shall bless thee in all thy 
 works, and in all that thou puttest tliine 
 hand unto. 
 
 11 For the j)oor shall never cease out of 
 tiie land : therefore I command thee, say- 
 ing, Thou shalt open thine hand wide xm- 
 to thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy 
 needy, in thy land. 
 
 «Exod. 21. 12 % And " if thy ferother, an Hebrew 
 Jet 94 u. '"""' ^^ ^" Hel)rew woman, be sold unto 
 
 thee, and serve thee six years; then in the 
 
 seventh year thou shalt let him go free 
 
 from thee. 
 
 IS And when thou sendest him out free 
 
 from thee, thou shalt not let him go away 
 
 empty : 
 
 14 Thou shalt furnish him liberally out 
 odT thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out 
 of thy winepress: of that wherewith the 
 Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt 
 give unto him. 
 
 15 And thou shalt remember that thou 
 wast a bondman in the land of Eg}Tt, and 
 
 12. — if lliy brother, — be sold vnio liter, Sec."] The c;ise of 
 slaves was truly ilcjilorable anionif the most polished nations of 
 antiquity, tlie Chaldeans, Egyptians, Persians, Greets, and Ro- 
 man'i. Tiieir slavery was perpetual, and they were deprived of 
 all civil rijihts and immunities, and might be tortured, put to 
 <leath, or starved, at the will of their merciless masters. The last 
 wa.s practised by old Cato the censor, so admired for his virtue, 
 when his slaves grew old and pa.st their labour ! How different 
 were the humane and equitable rcpfiilations of the Hebrew legis- 
 lator. The /lircd .wrvniil, or day-labourer, wa.s to be pakl his 
 wages ii\ the evening, .ifter his work was over: payment was not 
 to be deferred till the next morning. Lev. xix. l;{; Deut. xxiv. 14, 
 l.*). The bought sen-ant, or houshold slave, was to be freed at the 
 end of seven years' service, in tlie .sabbatical year, Exod. .xxi. 2 ; 
 Lev. xx\. .-iO-l^; Deut. xv. 12 — 18; unless he refused his free- 
 iom, and chose to continue in his master's service; in which ease 
 his car was to be Ixired with au awl to the door of his master's 
 house, signifying his attachment thereto to die end of his life, 
 Exod. XXI. 5, fi. Servants of any description were not to be treat- 
 ed harshly. The master could not beat them unmercifully, the 
 
 the Lord thy God redeemed thee: there- ^.^^^''j'l.p 
 fore I command thee this thing to day. usi. 
 
 l(i And it shall be, if he say unto thee, 
 I will not go away from thee; because he 
 loveth thee and thine house, because he is 
 well witii thee; 
 
 17 'Then thou shalt take an aiil, and 'Exod. 21, 
 thrust it through his ear unto the door, ^' 
 and he shall bo thy servant for ever. And 
 also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do 
 likewise. 
 
 IS It shall not seem hard unto thee, 
 when thou sendest him away free from 
 thee; for he hath been worth a double 
 hired servant to thee, in serving thee six 
 years: and the Lord thy God shall bless 
 thee in all that thou doest. 
 
 19 ir "^All the firstling males that come 'Exod. 34. 
 of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt " 
 sanctify unto the Lord thy God : thou 
 
 shalt do no work w^ith the firstling of thy 
 bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy 
 sheep. 
 
 20 Thou shalt eat it before the Lord thy 
 God year by year in the place which the 
 Lord shall ciioose, thou and thy houshold. 
 
 21 * And if there be anij blemish therein, ' Lev. 22. 
 as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill ^ap. 17. 1. 
 blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the EccI"' 35. 
 Lord thy God, 
 
 22 Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: 
 the unclean and the clean person shall eat 
 it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart. 
 
 23 " Only thou shalt not eat the blood \^^- '2- 
 thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground 
 
 as water. 
 
 CHAP. XVL 
 
 1 TJie feast of ihc pas.iovcr, Qofweelcs, \3oftahcrna' 
 cles. 16 Eieri/ male must ojfer, as he is able, at these 
 three feasts. 18 Of judges and justice. 21 Groves 
 and images urej'orbidden. 
 
 number of stripes for offences was limited by law to forty, and 
 tlie reason assigned is liberal: "lest thy brother should seem vile 
 unto thee, if beaten with many stripes," Deut. xxv. 1 — 3. If a 
 master beat his servant to deatli, he was surely to be punished 
 with death ; if he struck out his or her eye, or even a tooth, he 
 was bound to let him go free, for his eye or his tooth's sake, Exod. 
 xxi. 20 — 27. Dr. Hales. 
 
 The various kind laws made in favour of slaves, servants, and 
 strangers, were reasonable in themselves, and productive of good 
 effects. We often read, in history, of dangerous conspiracies 
 formed, and of wars waged, by slaves and captives. In all proba- 
 bihty it was cruel usage, which stirred them up to these acts of 
 desperate violence against their unmerciful masters. But in the 
 Jewish history we meet with no such instance of seditions and re- 
 bellions; probably, because their slaves were better treated, and 
 less oppressed, than in many other countries. Dr. Jortin. 
 
 1 5. And thou shall remember &c.] This is a powerful motive, to 
 incline us to show mercy. The example of God's mercy, and the 
 sense of our liability to sufferings, strongly impel to compassion 
 those who duly consider them. Bp. Kidder.
 
 Solemn 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Jeasts. 
 
 i^BSERVE the » month of Abib, and 
 
 Before 
 
 1451.*" V_.^ keep the pa-ssover unto the Lord thy 
 » Exod. 12. God : for '' in the month of Abib the Lord 
 fj.*^ 13 thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt 
 4. by night. 
 
 £ Tliou shalt therefore sacrifice the pass- 
 over unto the Lord thy God, of the flock 
 ' Chap. 12. and the herd, in the "place which the Lord 
 ^' shall choose to place his name there. 
 
 -■Exod. 12. s ^Thou shalt eat no leavened bread 
 '^' with it ; seven days shalt thou eat unlea- 
 
 vened bread therewith, even the bread of 
 affliction ; for thou earnest forth out of tlie 
 land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest re- 
 member the day when thou earnest forth out 
 of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. 
 L^""^' ^*' ■* ' And there shall be no leavened bread 
 seen with thee in all thy coast seven days ; 
 neither shall there o?ii/ thing of the flesh, 
 which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, 
 remain all night until the morning. 
 a Or, kill. Q Thou mayest not II sacrifice the pass- 
 over within any of thy gates, which the 
 Lord thy God giveth thee : 
 
 6 But at the place which the Lord thy 
 God shaU choose to place his name in, 
 there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at 
 even, at the going down of the sun, at 
 the season that thou camest forth out of 
 Egypt. 
 
 7 And thou shalt roast and eat it in 
 the place which the Lord thy God shall 
 choose : and thou shalt turn in the morn- 
 ing, and go unto thy tents. 
 
 8 Six days thou shalt eat unleavened 
 bread : and on the seventh day shall be a 
 
 fHeb. t solemn assembly to the Lord thy God: 
 thou shalt do no work therein. 
 
 Chap. XVI. ver. l6. Three times in a .year] These " three 
 times" are presently after specified to be " the feast of unleavened 
 bread," " the feast of weeks," and " the feast of tabernacles." 
 
 " The feast of unleavened bread" is that which is otherwise 
 called the feast of the passover, consisting of se\eii days. On the 
 evening before this solemn feast, was killed and eaten the Paschal 
 Lamb ; on the seven days following, sacrifices were offered, and 
 no other bread but unleavened bread was eaten ; and the first and 
 the last days were days of holy assemblies or convocations. 
 
 Tile feast of the passover was for a thankful remembrance of 
 their miraculous deliverance out of Egypt, where for haste they 
 were forced to carry away tlieir tlough unleavened ; and on the 
 evening before, the Lord, having slain all the firstborn of Egypt, 
 yet passed by them because of the blood of the Paschal Lamb 
 which He saw upon the ^.oor-posts of their iiouses. Therefore as 
 often as that happy time of year returned, they were commanded 
 to rejoice before the Lord their God, and to hallow it. 
 
 Instead of which feast the Christian Church commemorates our 
 deliverance from the liondage of sin, and Satan, and death, by the 
 passion and resurrection of that immaculate Lamb, who, in the 
 same month, and on the same day, was slain ujion the cross for 
 the sins of the wholfe world, whose blood, or the benefits of whose 
 death, whatsoever soul shall apply to itself by a true faith pro- 
 ducing obedience, God will spare it, and not desti-oy it. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 9 IT ^ Seven weeks shall thou number cmusT 
 unto thee : begin to number the seven 1451. 
 weeks from such, time as thou beginnest to 'Lev. 23. 
 put the sickle to the corn. '*• 
 
 10 And thou shalt keep the feast of 
 weeks unto the Lord thv God with II a tri- t Or, 
 bute of a freewill offeriiig of thine hand, "'■tfWd'"''- 
 which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy 
 
 God, according as the Lord thy God hath 
 blessed thee : 
 
 11 And thou shalt rejoice before the 
 Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thjr 
 daughter, and thy manservant, and thy 
 maidservant, and the Levite that is within 
 thy gates, and the stranger, and the father- 
 less, and the widow, that arc among you, 
 in the place which the Lord thy God hath 
 chosen to place his name there. 
 
 12 And thou shalt remember that thou 
 wast a bondman in Eg}^t : and thou shalt 
 observe and do these statutes. 
 
 \S% Thou shalt observe the feast of ta- 
 bernacles seven days, after that thou hast 
 gathered in thy t corn and thy wine : \ "'"^ ^ 
 
 14 And thou shalt rejoice m thy reast, "//.^ «,«. 
 thou, and tliy son, and thy daughter, and p^"- 
 thy mansei'vant, and thy maidservant, and 
 
 the Levite, the stranger, and the father- 
 less, and the widow, that are within thy 
 gates. 
 
 15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn 
 feast unto the Lord thy God in the place 
 which the Lord shall choose: because 
 the Lord thy God shall bless thee in 
 all thine increase, and in all the works of 
 thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely 
 rejoice. , ^^^ ^^ 
 
 Ifi % ^Three times in a year shall all thy H.434.23. 
 
 " The feast of weeks" was so called because it was kept at th* 
 end of seven ireeks, or of a ircek of wceLt, after the passover. It 
 was also called Pentecost, becauseit was fifty days after the pass- 
 over. This likewise lasted seven days, during which many sacri- 
 fices were offered, and the first and the last days were days of 
 holy assemblies. 
 
 This feast is supposed to have been instituted partly in remem- 
 brance of the Law, w hich at that time was given upon mount 
 Sinai ; and coiTCsponding to it is the festival which we observe 
 for the promulgation of the Gospel at tliat \ ery time of the year, 
 when, with a great sound from heaven, tongues of fire fell upon 
 tlie Apostles, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost. 
 
 " The feast of t;ibernacles" was a feast of eight days' continu- 
 ance in the seventh month, during which sacrifices also were con- 
 tinually offered ; and for the first seven daj s the people dwelt in 
 boot /is or tabernacles made of the branches of trees. The first and 
 the eighth day were here also days of a holy convocation, on 
 which no work might be done. 
 
 This fe.TSt was instituted for a memorial of their dwelling in 
 tabernacles for a long space of time in the wilderness, and of the 
 signs and wonders which were then wrought in their favour. 
 
 To this feast may be compared that w hich we celebrate in re- 
 membrance of our Saviour's nativity; " the Word," says St. John. 
 " was made flesh, aiid dwelt among us." The expression " he 
 
 5 B
 
 Of judges and justice. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 Of idolatry. 
 
 B*f«n males appear before the Lord thy God in 
 
 ^""1^^ the place which he shall choose; in the 
 
 feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast 
 
 of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: 
 
 » Eai" and ' they shall not appear before the Lord 
 
 " ^ einptv : , • i i 
 
 tHrtx 17'Everv man s/iall give t as he is able, 
 
 ;."ri;;f.yaccordinjr"to the blessing- of the Lord thy 
 ki,k...i. (j„j „,|,it^^i, |,t. hath priven tlice. 
 
 1 S f Judges and officers shall thou make 
 thee in all div gates, which the Loud thy 
 Gotl giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: 
 and they shall judge the people with just 
 judsrment. 
 
 I'i) Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou 
 ' ExoA OS. shalt not respect persons, ' neither take a 
 *■ gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the 
 
 II Or, ^visc, and pervert the il word< of the right- 
 
 viaitert. 
 
 eous. 
 tHcb. OQ tThat which is altogether just shalt 
 
 Std: thou follow, that thou niayest live, and in- 
 herit the land which the Lord thy God 
 giveth thee. 
 
 dtt/ell among us," if it were strictly translated, i^ " he hail his 
 tabernacle oinon't us." 
 
 From these religious institutions it may be observed, that the 
 hallowing unto God more (lays in the week than one, is not, as 
 jiome have fancied, against the design and meaning of the fourth 
 Commandment : for by these three solemn feasts, which were each 
 of them of a week'-: continuance at least, it is manifest, that " Si.\ 
 davs thou shalt labour" was no Commandment, but expressed 
 only an ordinary pennission of working; and to tliink that God 
 would contradict His own law by a contrary ordinance, is incon- 
 ceivable. As therefore, when He conmianded the Jews to give 
 Him the tenth part of their increase. He forbade not fieewill of- 
 ferings ; so when He enjoined them to keep holy one day in 
 seven, this hindered not, but tliat they might hallow unto Him 
 other tbiys even of the si.\. Dr. Jorliii. 
 
 all tliy males'] Males only were obliged to be present on 
 
 these occasions ; Ist, Because the weakness of the female sex dis- 
 abled them from bearing so long a journe)', without great danger 
 and fatigue : 2dly, Because their chastitj' might have been e.\j)os- 
 ed to many dangers in so vast a concourse of people : Sdly, Be- 
 cause the care of their families, and their domestick offices must 
 have been neglected. The chief intention of these solemnities 
 was to keep the Iswelites from corrupting their religion by idol- 
 atrous or superstitious rites: ;md the providence of God is remark- 
 able in defendipig their country during their absence at these sea- 
 sons : there having been scarce any instance of its being attacked 
 by their enemies, though nothing could have been more favoura- 
 ble to an incursion, tlian such an opjiortunity. Jos. Mcdc. 
 
 in Ihe i>lticc nliirii he shall ch<io.'>e ;] A principal reason, 
 
 for which these festivals were appointed, was to keep up peace 
 and friendsiiip and unity both in Church and State. Nothing is 
 more likely to conduce to this end than a religious association and 
 intercourse, and a participation of the same sacred rites. As the 
 nation was divide<l into tribes, each of which was in some respects 
 a little commonwealth, there was cause to fear that they should 
 fall out and se|)aratc in themselves into independent governments, 
 and have a religion anil ruler of their own. And in fact this be- 
 fell thetn in aftertimes : they became two kingdoms, and idolatry 
 and frequent w.-irs ensued. For the j)revention of these evils the 
 Israelites were cnjoinid to assemble together to serve the Lord in 
 tme place, which He should appoint. Dr. Jortin. 
 
 Olid ihn/ shall uol apitear before the Lord einpli/:'] It was 
 
 a custom in those parts of the world, when subjects came before 
 
 vJl % Thou shalt not plant thee a grove Before 
 of any trees near unto the altar of the christ 
 Loud thy God, which thou shalt make 
 thee. 
 
 '2'2 *" Neither shalt thou set thee up am/ 'Lev. 26.1. 
 II image ; w Inch tlie Loud thv God hateth. 11 ""■• 
 
 c> ' •' statue, or, 
 
 pitiar. 
 
 CHAP. xvn. 
 
 1 The things sacrijiced must be sound. 2 Idolaters must 
 be slain. 8 Hard controversies are to be determined 
 bi/ the priests and Judges. 12 The contemner of that 
 I'lelernnnation juust die. 14 The election, l6 and duty 
 of a king. 
 
 THOU shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord 
 thy God any bullock, or II sheep, where- U "'. ?.<"" 
 in is blemish, or any evilfavouredness : for 
 tiiat is an abomination unto the Loud thy 
 God. 
 
 iJ % If there be found among you, with- 
 in any of thy gates which the Loud thy 
 God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath 
 wrought wickedness in the sight of the 
 
 their king, to make him a present ; and even a little fruit, or a 
 single flower, was favoiirablj- accepted from one who was not in 
 circimistances to offer more. The Jews were commanded to bring 
 a j)resent ; not a burnt oHering, or a sacrifice by fire ; for these^ 
 though at the same time they were also required, yet were of an- 
 other nature, and for another end : but a heave offering, a free- 
 will offering, which was a tribute of thankfulness to God, and 
 likewise an acknowledgment of His supreme lordship and domi- 
 nion over all. Therefore this particular is added, " They shall 
 not appear before the Lord empty : every man shall give as he is 
 able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which He 
 hath given thee." 
 
 The people were commanded at these stated tunes to pay their 
 tithes of corn and cattle, wine and oil, to present sacrifices and 
 freewill offerings, and not to gather their fruits clean, but to 
 leave some upon the land, to which the poor might have free ac- 
 cess; and many other acts of charity were required from them. 
 
 Instead of which various ordinances and injunctions, the Gos- 
 pel gives us a precept in general terms, to ".do to otfiers as we 
 would they should do to us," and " as we ha\'e opportunitj^, to 
 do good unto all men, especially to our brethren in the faith :" 
 and thus much is evident from the tenour of the New Testament, 
 and the genius of our religion, that the Law can never be sup- 
 posed to surpass the Gospel in things relating to benevolence, 
 to comjiassion, and humanity, and that as much at least is to be 
 expected from Christians, as was formerly required of Jews. 
 Dr. Jortin. 
 
 18. — in all thi/ gales,"] The chamber over one of the prin- 
 cipal gates of each city was in ancient times the council chamljcr, 
 where the judges sat, and causes were tried. As in 2 Sam. xviii. 
 33; six. 8; Ps. Ixix. 12. And "to speak with the enemy in the 
 gate" is to plead against an adversary in court, Ps. cxxvii. .'>. So, 
 " to be crushed in the gate," and " to be afflicted in the gate," is, 
 to lose the cause, and to be condemned in court, Job v. 4 ; Prov. 
 xxii. 22. Pi/le. 
 
 21. Thuu shalt not plant ttiee a grove &c.] HoweTer innocent 
 the first use of groves may have been, they were soon polluted 
 with superstition and idolatrous rites ; and became the scenes of 
 all sorts of impurity. There seems to be a plain allusion to this 
 unprincipled abuse of them in the Jewish history, 1 Kings xiv. 
 23, 24. It was fit then to remove far from the altar of God such 
 abominations, as might lead the people into idolatrj', and all itit 
 profane and obscene consequences. Loivman. 
 
 \
 
 Hard controversies are to be 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 determined by the priests and judges. 
 
 chrTst ^^^ t'^y God, in transgiessing his cove- 
 1451. nant, 
 
 3 And hath gone and served other gods, 
 and worsliipped tliem, eitlier the sun, or 
 moon, or any of tlie host of heaven, which 
 I have not commanded ; 
 
 4 And it be told thee, and thou hast 
 heard of it, and enquired dihgently, and, be- 
 hold, it be true, and the thing certain, that 
 such abomination is wrought in Israel : 
 
 5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man 
 or that woman, which have committed that 
 wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that 
 man or that woman, and shalt stone them 
 with stones, till they die. 
 
 =■ Numb. (J ^ At the mouth of two witnesses, or 
 chapag.i.^. three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of 
 Maitii. IS. death be put to death ; but at the mouth 
 joiin 8. 17. of one witness he shall not be put to death, 
 scor.i.'j.i. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be 
 2s!^ '' ■ first upon him to put him to death, and af- 
 terward the hands of all the people. So 
 thou shalt put the evil away from among 
 you. 
 
 8 ^ If there arise a matter too hard for 
 thee in judgment, between blood and blood, 
 between plea and plea, and between stroke 
 and stroke, being matters of controversy 
 within thy gates : then shalt thou aiise, 
 and get thee up into the place which the 
 Lord thy God shall choose ; 
 
 9 And thou shalt come unto the priests 
 the Levites, and unto the judge that shall 
 be in those days, and enquire ; and they 
 shall shew thee the sentence of judgment : 
 
 10 And thou shalt do according to the 
 
 Chap. XV'II. ver.5. — //// tha/ dicP^ The Mosaick law, puni.sli- 
 ing idolatry with death, has been represented as unjust, and giv- 
 ing countenance to persecution for religious opinions. But the 
 Israelites were commanded to put to death only such Israelites as 
 apostatized to idolatry, and still remained members of their own 
 community ; and their government being a theocracj', idolatry 
 was in it sti'ictly the political crime of high treason, which, in 
 every state, is justly punisiiable with death. Dr. Gerard, Lvc/w, 
 Bp. Warburton. 
 
 8. — between blood and blood,'] That is, in the case of murder, 
 whether it was wilful or accidental. " Between plea and plea ;" 
 that is, in causes dejiending between the plaintiff and defendant. 
 " Between stroke and stroke ;" that is, in the case of wounds in- 
 flicted by one ma7i upon another. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 It. — / n'ill set a kiiig over me,'] Josephus and others have 
 ■with reason understood this passage to mean, not that God com- 
 manded the Israelites to make them a king, when they should be 
 settled in CanaiUi : but that God intended them to keep their pre- 
 sent government ; if however they would have a king, he should 
 be at first appointed immediately by God, who was their Supreme 
 Governour; and that afterwards they should be indispensiibly 
 obliged to elect one of the Israelitish nation, and not a Gentile. 
 Bp.^Patriek, Pi/le. 
 
 iti. — tie shall not imdtiply liorscii] L'.st he bring a burden 
 upon his people; or confide in the power of his liorsemen, more 
 than in God ; or, wliich Ls the chief reason, given by Moses him- 
 
 sentence, which they of that place which pu^^^cT 
 the Lord shall choose shall slle^v thee ; i4si. 
 and thou shalt obser\e to do according to 
 all that thev inform thee : 
 
 11 According to the sentence of the law 
 which they shall teach thee, and according 
 to the judgment which they shall tell thee, 
 thou shalt do : thou shalt not decline from 
 the sentence which they shall shew thee, 
 to the right hand, nor to the left. 
 
 12 And the man that will do presump- 
 tuously, t and will not hearken unto the + "<* 
 priest that standeth to minister there before Tearlen. 
 the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, 
 even that man shall die : and thou shalt 
 
 put aM'ay the evil from Israel. 
 
 13 And all the people shall hear, and 
 fear, and do no more presumptuously. 
 
 14 ^ When thou art come unto the land 
 which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and 
 shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, 
 and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like 
 as all the nations that are about me ; 
 
 15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king 
 over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall 
 choose : one from among thy brethren shalt 
 thou set king over thee : thou mayest not 
 set a stranger o\er thee, which is not thy 
 brother. 
 
 16 But he shall not multiply horses to 
 himself, nor cause the people to return to 
 Egypt, to the end that he should multiply 
 horses : forasmuch as the Lord hath said 
 unto you, Ye shall henceforth retiun no 
 more that way. 
 
 17 Neither shall he multiply wives to 
 
 self, lest the pcojile slioukl be tempted to maintu'n a commerce 
 with Egypt : with which country God commanded them not to 
 have any intercourse, at least while they should continue to be 
 idolaters. Bps. Palrick- and Kidder. 
 
 This law gi\cn to the kings ol" Israel, considered together wWi 
 the history of the nation, forms a veiy strong presmnption for the 
 divine original of the Law of Moses. For, supposing Moses to be 
 a mere hmuan legislator, like Solon or Lycurgus, what could 
 tempt him to forbid the princes of his country the use of horses 
 and chariots for their defence } Should sucli a law be proposed 
 for France or Gennany at this day, what would the world think 
 of it ? Or, suj)posing this law to be his own contriv.mce, how 
 comes it to pass, that the c\ent and success of things, through 
 many ages, doth so C'cactly correspond with tlie law } That the 
 princes prospered, and extended their dominion, over great coun- 
 tries, when they had neither chariots nor horses, and were runied 
 and undone, when they were strong in those forces ? Can it be 
 supposed, that the history of many ;iges, which relates to tlie af- 
 fairs not only of tlie prin'ces of Israel, but of other contemporary 
 kings, is all forged, and that merely to shew an agreement be- 
 tween the history and thi= particular law ? Or, how shall we ac- 
 count for the conduct of the Prophets, who sa\y the people ruined, 
 and instead of reproaching them with cowardice and a neglect of 
 tlieir necessary defence, reproach them with having been too 
 strong, too powerful in horses and ho^^emen } These appearances 
 can never be accounted ibr by any human contrivance, and tlicy 
 
 3 B '2
 
 The priests' and 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 Leviies' inheritance. 
 
 ■rf'w* liimself, that his lieart turn not away : nei- 
 ^"51*^ ther sliall ho greatly multiply to himself 
 silver ami gold. 
 
 IS And it shall be, when he sitteth up- 
 on the throne of his kingdom, that he siiall 
 write him a copy of this law in a book 
 out of l/iat nhich is before the priests the 
 Levites : 
 
 I!) And it siiall be with him, and he 
 sliall read therein all the days of his life: 
 that he may learn to fear the Lord his 
 God, to keep all tiie words of this law and 
 these statutes, to do them : 
 
 -^O Tliat his heart be not lifted up above 
 his brethren, and that he turn not aside 
 from the commambncnt, to the right hand, 
 or to the left : to the end that he may pro- 
 long /lis days in his kingdom, he, and his 
 children, in the midst of Israel. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 1 Tfif Lord is the priests' and Levitt.'.' inheritance. S 
 The priest's due. 6 The Levites portion. 9 The 
 nlximiniilions of the nations are to he avoided. \'i 
 Christ the Prophet is to be heard. 20 The presiimp- 
 tuuiis prophet is to die. 
 
 THE priests the Levites, and all the 
 tribe of Levi, ' shall have no part nor 
 chap^io. 9. inheritance with Israel : they " shall eat the 
 » I Cor. 9. ofterinss of the Lord made by fire, and his 
 inheritance. 
 
 '2 Therefore shall they have no inherit- 
 ance among their brethren : tlie Lord is 
 their inheritance, as he hath said unto them. 
 
 3 ^ And this shall be the priest's due 
 from the people, from them that offer a 
 sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep ; and 
 they shall give unto the jjriest the shoulder, 
 and the two checks, and the maw. 
 
 4 The fiistfruit also of thy corn, of thy 
 wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the 
 fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him. 
 
 5 For the Loud thy God hath chosen 
 him out of all thy tribes, to stand to min- 
 
 plainly shew that tlic haiul of Clod was in this thing from the l)e- 
 ginning to the end. Bp. Sherlock. 
 
 Chiip. XV III. Yer. 10. Tliere shall not be found among you any 
 one lliai maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the Jire^ 
 See the notes on Lev. xviii. 21 ; xx. 2. 
 
 or that vselh diviimtiun, &c.] In these two verses nre 
 
 specified various manners, in whicli inquisitive persons anciently 
 TOught information on subjects beyond the usual sight of men : 
 the names given to these juts most probably denote the different 
 modes or practices of their professors. Such arts appear to have 
 l>ecn practised in former times ; and Niebuhr mentions several 
 kinds of occidt science, still ext<int among the Ar.nbs ; some arisin" 
 froni sleight of hand ; others from ccstatick enthusiasm ; others 
 «s charms against evil ; and lastly a science, which is, says he, " as 
 described to me, witchcraft, or sorccrj'. It is said to be employed 
 only m hurtmg othtTs; wherefore those addicted to it are hated 
 
 ister in the name of the Lord, him and his „^'>°"™ 
 sons for ever. i4.5i. 
 
 G % Anil if a Levite come from any of 
 thy gates out of all Isnvel, where he so- 
 journed, and come with all the desire of 
 his mind unto the place which the Lord 
 shall choose ; 
 
 7 Then he shall minister in the name 
 of the Lord his God, as all his brethren 
 
 the Levites do, which stand there before ,» 
 
 the Lord. 
 
 8 They shall have like portions to eat, 
 beside t that which cometh of the sale of \^^^; , 
 
 ... Ills sales by 
 
 his patrimony. uiefntims. 
 
 9 IF When thou art come into the land 
 
 which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou i 
 
 shalt not learn to do after the abominations 5 
 
 of those nations. ;>, 
 
 10 There shall not be found among you i 
 ani/ one that maketh his son or his daugh- 
 ter ' to pass through the fire, or that useth ' Lev. is. 
 divination, or an observer of times, or an 
 enchanter, or a witch, 
 
 11 '' Or a charmer, or a consulter with '.^^*''-^- 
 familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a " necro- ' 1 Sam. 
 mancer. ~^- ''• 
 
 VZ For all that do these things arc an 
 abomination unto the Lord : and because 
 of these abominations the Lord thy God 
 doth drive them out from before thee. 
 
 13 Thou shalt be II perfect with the Lord U Or, 
 
 thy God. _ zi^:: -' 
 
 14 For these nations, which thou shalt 
 
 II possess, hearkened unto observers of times, |[9'''. 
 and unto diviners : but as for thee, the 
 Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to 
 do. 
 
 15 % ^ The Lord thy God will raise up 'Joi'" 1. 
 unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, Acts s. 22. 
 of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him &7. 37. 
 ye shall hearken ; 
 
 16 According to all that thou desiredst 
 of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day 
 
 and execrated by every honest Arab." Most of tiie kinds of ma- 
 gick, .specified by Moses, were probably of an injurious nature : 
 which accounts for their being connected with the practice of 
 making children " pass through the fire," if we suppose such 
 children to have been burnt alive : see the notes on Lev. xviii. 21. 
 Such arts are forbidden with tlie utmost propriety, ;is evil in the 
 disposition of mind which they betray ; at the sjniic time the pio- 
 hibition does not imply tliat an}' efficacy attended tlic exercise of 
 these arts. Script, itlust. See the note on Lev. xx. 27. 
 
 IS. Thou shall he jierfect vith the Lord thy God.~] See Gen. 
 xvii. 1 . The force of the expression, " i)e tlioii pei feet," in that 
 passage, may be illustrated by comparing it witii the present 
 verse ; in which, after a charge to the Isr.ic-lites, not to learn the 
 abominations of those nations, whom God sliould cast out before 
 them, it is immediately added, " Thou shall be perfect," or entire, 
 " with the Lord thy Gotl. ' Bp. Lo7vth. 
 
 1 j. — a Prophet'] He does not say, a priest, or a king, though
 
 Christ the true prophet. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII, XIX. 
 
 The cities of refuge. 
 
 Before of the asscmbly, saying, ^ Let me not hear 
 1451. again the voice of the Lord my God, nei- 
 « Exod. 20. ther let me see this great fire any more, 
 19- that I die not. 
 
 17 And the Lord said unto me, They 
 have well spoken that which they have 
 spoken. 
 ' John 1. 18 "^ I will raise them up a Prophet from 
 Acts 3. 22. among their brethren, like unto thee, and 
 & 7. 37. ^11 put^ my words in his mouth ; and he 
 shall speak unto them all that 1 shall com- 
 mand him. 
 
 19 And it shall come to pass, that who- 
 soever will not hearken unto my words 
 which he shall speak in my name, I will 
 require it of him. 
 
 20 But the prophet, which shall presume 
 to speak a word in my name, which I have 
 not commanded him to speak, or that shall 
 speak in the name of other gods, even that 
 prophet shall die. 
 
 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How 
 
 the Messiah was to be both: but he says, "a Prophet;" to teach 
 the people of Israel, not to mistake any of their priests or kings for 
 the Messiah; but to expect and regard less in His person, the ex- 
 ternal honour of Aaron's family, and the worldly grandeur of kings, 
 than the privilege of Divine inspiration, which was absolutely ne- 
 cessary to Him, as the founder of the true religion. Dean Allijr. 
 
 18.7 nill raise them up a Prophet ficc.^ The Jews term the 
 highest degree of inspiration, that which was afforded to Moses, 
 and enumerate several particulars, wherein that hath the preemi- 
 nence and advantage over all others. In consequence of this 
 prediction, that " a Prophet should arise among them like unto 
 Moses," a general expectation of some extraordinary Prophet pre- 
 vailed particularly about the time of our Saviour. The Jews tlien, 
 as well as since, understood and applied this prophecy to the 
 Messiah, the only Prophet whom they will ever allow to be as 
 great or greater than Moses. When our Saviour had fed five 
 thousand men, by a miracle like that of Moses, who fed the 
 Israelites in the wilderness, then those men said, " This is of a 
 truth that Prophet that should come into the world," John vi. 14. 
 St. Peter and St. Stephen directly apply the prophecy to Him, 
 Acts iii. 22, 23; vii. 37; and they may very well be justified for so 
 doing: for He fuUy answers all the marks and characters which 
 are here given of the " Prophet like unto Moses." He had im- 
 mediate communication with the Deity, and God spake to Him 
 " face to face," as He did to Moses. He performed " signs and 
 wonders," as great or greater than those of Moses. He was a 
 " lawgiver," as well as Moses. " I will raise them up a Prophet," 
 saith God: and the people glorified God, saying, " That a. great 
 Prophet is risen up among us," Luke vii. l6. "I will put My 
 words in His mouth," saith God: and our Saviour saith, " I have 
 not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave 
 Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I shoidd speak," 
 John xii. 49. Bj). Newton. This Prophet like unto Moses was 
 our Lord Jesus Christ; who was by birth a Jew, of the middle class 
 of the people, and resembled His pre<lecessor in personal inter- 
 course with God, miracles, and legislation, which no other Prophet 
 ever did, Deut. xxxiv. 10 — 12; and to whom God, at His trans- 
 figuration, required the world to " liearken," Matt. xvii. '>■ Whence 
 our Lord's frequent admonition to the Jewish Church, " He that 
 hath ears to hear, let him liear," Matt. xii. 15, &c. addressed also 
 by " the Spirit" to the Christian Churches of Asia Minor, Rev. 
 iii. 22. " The lamps" of both have been extinguished for their 
 apostasy, according to the tremendous denunciation of prophecy. 
 Rev. ii. 5. Heaven avert the ojnen from the " Itikewarm" churches 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 H51. 
 
 shall we know the word which the Lord 
 hath not spoken ? 
 
 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name 
 of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor 
 come to pass, that is the thing whicli the 
 Lord hath not spoken, Init the prophet hath 
 spoken it presumptuously : thou shalt not 
 be afraid of him. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 1 The cities of refuge. 4 The privilege thereof for the 
 manslat/er. 14 The landmark is not to be removed. 
 15 Two nilnesses at the least. 16 The punishment of 
 a false nitness. 
 
 WHEN the Lord thy God ' hath cut \^^=p- i2- 
 offthe nations, whose land the Lord 
 thy God giveth thee, and thou t succeedest t Heb. 
 them, and dwellest in their cities, and in jfrf,^^ 
 their houses; ««• 
 
 2 " Thou shalt separate three cities for * Eio<J. 21. 
 thee in the midst of thy land, which the if„„i,. 35. 
 Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it. 10. 
 
 3 Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and ^'^^' ^' ^' 
 
 of Europe, in this their day of trial! Rev. iii. 15, I6. Dr. Hales. 
 This propliecy is several times in the New Testament applied 
 to our Lord: and it has often been proved, that it cannot possibly 
 belong to any one else: for all the other Prophets were in many 
 respects inferiour to Moses. But the passage deserves particular 
 notice from another circumstance. There are instances of kings, 
 both Pagan and Jewish, who were named and described, long be- 
 fore their birth, by those holy men, whom the Lord inspired. 
 See Is. xliv. 28; 1 Kings xiii. 2. But among the Prophets them- 
 selves, we find not that any one was ever foretold by an antece- 
 dent Prophet: for it became the Promised Deliverer of Israel, in 
 this as in all things, to have the preeminence. Him therefore 
 Moses, the first and chief of the Prophets, here foreshewed as a 
 Prophet in dignity like to himself. Archdeacon Churtoti. 
 
 !<)• And it shall come to pass, &C.'} Several prophecies in the 
 Old Testament plainly ascribe the destruction of the Jewish 
 Church and nation, to their rejection, and putting to death, of the 
 Messiah. To this purpose, these words of Moses are very re- 
 markable: " It shall come to pass, that wliosoever will not 
 hearken unto My word.s, wliich He shall speak in My name, I 
 will require it of him:" or, " every soul, which wll not hear that 
 Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people." as .St. Peter 
 explains the sense of the prophecy. Acts iii. 23. Daniel expressly 
 -assigns their sin of " cutting off the Messiah," as the cause of tJie 
 destruction of their city and temple, Dan. ix. 20". And Zechariah, 
 who lived after the people's return from their fir-^t captivit^i-, de- 
 scribes the mourning of the whole nation for their sin of " pierc- 
 ing" or crucifying Christ, as a preparation to their general resto- 
 ration, Zech. xii. 10; xiii. 1. U'.Loirth. 
 
 Chap. XIX. Having sufficiently pressetl upon the people the 
 great commandment of loving God with all the heart and soul and 
 strength, and Him alone: Moses now proceeds to remind them of 
 other precepts belonging to the second table of the Command- 
 ments, but not in an exact method, nor without interposing some 
 matters of a ceremonial nature. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 Ver. 2. Thou shall separate three cities &c.] He begins with 
 the case of life and death, and charges them, as soon as they 
 should be settled in Canaan, to set out the cities of refuge as be- 
 fore prescribed, Numb. xxxv. 14, 15; Deut. iv. 41; adding now, 
 that tiie roads from everj- part of the country to these privilegetl 
 places should be kept dean, level, and in good rejiair, for the 
 easier and speedier flight of the unfortunate persons, wlio wanted 
 their protection. Pyle.
 
 Cilies ofrifuge 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 for the vianslayer 
 
 Brforc 
 CHRIST 
 
 HJI. 
 
 from v*!- 
 tfrdiii/ the 
 lAird day 
 
 I Hcb. 
 
 irari. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 JinJetk, 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 $mUe him 
 in li/'e. 
 tH(4>. 
 
 from ycs' 
 tcrilay the 
 third day. 
 
 ' Chap. 12 
 •JO. 
 
 divide the coasts of thy land, which the 
 Lord thy God givctli thee to inherit, into 
 tlirce parts, that every slayer may flee tlii- 
 ther. 
 
 4 f And this is tlie case of the slayer, 
 which shall flee thither, that he may live : 
 Wiioso killeth his neiglibuur ignorantly, 
 whom he hated not t in time past; 
 
 5 As when a man goetii into the wood 
 with his neighbour to hew wood, and his 
 hand fetcheth a stroke with the ax to cut 
 down the tree, and the t head slippeth from 
 the t helve, and t lightetli upon his neigh- 
 bour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of 
 those cities, and live: 
 
 6 Lest the avenger of the blood pursue 
 the slayer, while his heart is hot, and over- 
 take him, because the way is long, and 
 t slay him; whereas he am not worthy of 
 death, inasmuch as he hated him not t in 
 time past. 
 
 7 Wherefore I command thee, saying, 
 Thou shalt separate three cities for thee. 
 
 8 And if the Loku thy God ' enlarge thy 
 coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, 
 and give thee all the land which he pro- 
 mised to give unto thy fathers ; 
 
 !) If thou shalt keep all these command- 
 ments to do them, which I command thee 
 this day, to love the Lord thy God, and 
 to walk ever in his ways; '' then shalt thou 
 add three cities more for thee, beside these 
 three : 
 
 10 That innocent blood be not shed in 
 
 4. And this is the case of the sliii/er, &c.] As muriler implies the 
 hiphest depree of malignity to which human depravity can ascend, 
 *o it was |>ursued with just rif];our by the Jewish law. But the wis- 
 dom of the law, in securing a fair trial for this offence, so apt to rouse 
 immetliate revenjje, and in providing asylums f()r those who were 
 not guilty of deliberate murder, but of manslaughter, is so conspi- 
 cuous .-us to have attracted the notice of the most judicious modem 
 reasoners on iTiminal law. The sagacious Montesquieu observes, 
 " These laws of .Moses were perfectly wise: the man, who involun- 
 tarily kille<l another, was innocent, but he was obliged to betaken 
 away from before the eyes of the relatives of the deceased; Moses 
 flierefore appointed an asylum for such unfortunate persons : 
 great criminals deserved not a place of safety, and they liad none: 
 the criminals, who would resort to the temple from all parts, 
 might disturb Divine service: if persons, who had committed 
 manslaughter, iiad been driven out of the country, as was cus- 
 tomary among the Greeks, there was reason to fear they would 
 worship strange gwls. All these considerations made them estab- 
 lish cities of refuge, where they might remain until the death of 
 the high priest." Dr. Graves. 
 
 12. — the fWer.t of his cilif] As soon as the Hebrews began to 
 be fonned into a people, they were governed by " elders," so call- 
 ed because in general they were persons advanced in years. When 
 Moses returned into Egypt to promise tliem that God would set 
 them at liberty, he assembled "the elders " together, Exod. iv. 2y, 
 and performed the miracles, which were the proof of his ministrv' 
 m their presence. " All the elders of Israel" caine to the feast', 
 
 wkT f- l""*^* '"'■ •^^^''° '"* ^''^^'^^ '" '"^^■' E'^od- xviii 12. 
 ^\hen God thought fit to give him council to relieve him in 
 
 'Josh. 3a 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1151. 
 
 tHeb. 
 m life. 
 
 ' Chap, ir, 
 
 6. 
 
 Hcbr. 10. 
 
 2H. 
 
 Numb. Ji. 
 
 30. 
 
 Matth. n. 
 
 16. 
 
 John S. 17. 
 
 2Cor. ir,. 1. 
 
 II Or, 
 fullwg II- 
 way. 
 
 thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth 
 thee Jor an inheritance, and so blood be 
 upon thee. 
 
 11 if But if any man hate his neighbour, 
 and lie in wait for him, and rise up against 
 him, and smite him t mortally that he die, 
 and fleeth into one of these cities: 
 
 1'2 Then the elders of his city shall send 
 and fetch him thence, and deliver him into 
 the hand of the avenger of blood, that he 
 may die. 
 
 13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thon 
 shalt put away t/ie guilt of innocent blood 
 from Israel, that it may go well with thee. 
 
 14 ^ Thou shalt not remove thy neigh- 
 bour's landmark, which they of old time 
 have set in thine inheritance, which thou 
 shalt iidierit in the land that the Loud thy 
 God giveth thee to possess it. 
 
 15 ^ " One witness shall not rise up 
 against a man for any iniquity, or for any 
 sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the 
 mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth 
 of three witnesses, shall the matter be 
 established. 
 
 IG ^ If a false witness rise up against 
 any man to testify against him || that xchich 
 is wrong; 
 
 17 Then both the men, between whom 
 the controversy is, shall stand before the 
 Loud, before the priests and the judges, 
 which shall be in those days; 
 
 18 And the judges shall make diligent 
 inquisition : and, behold, if the witness be 
 
 governing that great people, " Gather unto me," .said He, " seventy- 
 men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders 
 of the people, and officers over them," Numl). xi. Iff. So that 
 they had already authority, before the law was given, and the 
 state had taken its form. Afterwards in the .Scripture, when 
 mention is made of assemblies and publick affairs, the elders are 
 put in the first place, and sometimes named alone. F/eitn/. 
 
 l*. Thou shalt not remove thi/ neighbour's landmark^ This pre- 
 cept is very seasonably subjoined to that of manslaughter and 
 murder; the removing of landmarks being an occasion of great 
 quarrels and bloodshed : and it was not to be allowed, inasmuch 
 as it was against the constitution of their forefathers, who divided 
 the sevca-al bounds of their inheritance by Divine direction, as is 
 intimated in the following words. Bp. Kidder. This precept wa.s 
 as necessary to be observed in all other countries, as in that which 
 was the projier inheritance of the Israelites: for, as Josephus 
 tndy observes, " Thej' that remove the bounds of lands, are not 
 very far from subverting all laws." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 15. One witness shall not rise up &c.] In civil or criminal mat- 
 ters, especially of a high or capital kind, less than two witnesses 
 were not allowed to convict any man. Though, in pecuniary 
 cases, one might be enough to bring the accused person upon his 
 oath. Ptjle. 
 
 1". Then l)oth the men, 8!.c.~\ Both the accuser and the accused 
 were to come in obscure cases to the supreme court, where the 
 sanctuary was settled. This court probably sat at the door of 
 the tabernacle in the time of Moses, chap. xvii. 8, 12, and so 
 might properly be said to try them " before the Lord." Bp. 
 Patrick.
 
 The priest's exhortation 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 the officers* proclamation. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 f Prov. 19. 
 
 5, 9. 
 
 Dan. G. 24. 
 
 a false witness, and hath testified falsely 
 against his brother ; 
 
 19 'Then shall ye do unto him, as he 
 had thought to have done unto his brother: 
 so shalt thou put the evil away from among 
 you. 
 
 20 And those which remain shall hear, 
 and fear, and shall henceforth commit no 
 more any such evil among you. 
 
 21 And thine eye shall not pity ; hiif 
 « Exod. 21. siife shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for 
 Lev. 24. 20. tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. 
 
 Matth. 5. 
 38. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 1 The jxriesl's exhoHation lo encourage the people to 
 battle. 5 The officers' proclamation rvho are to he 
 dismissed from the ivar. 1 How to use the cities 
 that accept or refuse the proclamation of peace. \G 
 What cities must be derated. 19 Trees of man's meat 
 ■must not be destrot/ed in the siege. 
 
 WHEN thou goest out to battle against 
 thine enemies, and seest horses, and 
 chariots, and a people more than thou, be 
 not afraid of them : for the Lord thy God 
 is with thee, which brought thee up out of 
 the land of Egypt. 
 
 2 And it shall be, when ye are come 
 nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall 
 approach and speak unto the people, 
 
 3 And shall say unto them. Hear, O 
 Israel, ye approach this day unto battle 
 against your enemies : let not your hearts 
 t faint, fear not, and do not t tremble, nei- 
 
 mX°/ia.rtf. ther be ye terrified because of them ; 
 
 fHeb. 
 be tender. 
 fHeb. 
 
 19. Then shall ije do vnto him, SiC.'2 The Law of Moses, which 
 condemns the crime of " false witness," inflicts upon it a very 
 suitable punisliment, namely, retaliation. He, who would thus 
 deprive another of his liberty, his property, or his life, was to suf- 
 fer the same evil, which he would unjustly bring upon liis neigh- 
 bour. This was a law of the Egyptians, and of other nations : 
 but it is so reasonable, that it may be accounted a law of nature, 
 and the voice of humanity and of common sense. Dr. Jortin. 
 
 21. And thine eye shall not pity ; &c.] Such is the rule of the 
 Mosaical Law : because by means of false witness the good name, 
 the property, the livelihood, the life of an innocent person may be 
 taken away ; the advantages of society defeated, nay, perverted 
 into mi.schiefs; and the very bonds of it dissolved. With us, in- 
 deed, the punishment extends not so far. But however mild 
 such persons may find the penalties of human laws to be, or how 
 artfully soever they may evade them, God hath declared, " A false 
 witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall 
 not escape," Prov. xix. 5. Abp. Seeker. See the note on Levit. 
 xxiv. 19. 
 
 Chap. XX. ver. 1. — horses, and chariots,^ The Israclitish ar- 
 mies consisted all of foot, and their law seems to ha\'e obliged 
 them to continue so, chap, xvii. I6, in order to a more entire re- 
 liance upon God. See the note there. While the Egyptians, Ca- 
 naanites, and other nations, had the advantage of horse and cha- 
 riots ; tliat is, chariots armed with scythes, to rush in among the 
 foot, and cut them down Uke grass. These are the chariots of iron, 
 mentioned in Josh. xi. 4 ; Judg. iv. 3. Pi/le. See the notes on 
 Exod. xiv. 7. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 t Heb. 
 made it 
 common: 
 See Ley. 
 19. 23. 
 
 = Chap. 2* 
 
 .4 For the Lord your God is he that 
 goeth with you, to "fight for you against 
 your enemies, to save you. 
 
 5 ^ And the officers shall speak unto the 
 people, saying, What man is there that hath 
 built a new house, and hath not dedicated 
 it ? let him go and return to his house, lest 
 he die in the battle, and another man dedi- 
 cate it. 
 
 () And what man is he that hath planted 
 a vineyard, and hath not yet + eaten of it ? 
 let him also go and return unto his house, 
 lest he die in the battle, and another man 
 eat of it. 
 
 7 " And what man is there that hath 
 betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? 
 let him go and return unto his house, lest 
 he die in the battle, and another man take 
 her. 
 
 8 And the officers shall speak further 
 unto the people, and they shall say, ''What 
 man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? 
 let him go and return unto his house, lest 
 his brethren's heart t faint as well as his 
 heart. 
 
 9 And it shall be, when the officers have 
 made an end of speaking unto the people, 
 that they shall make captains of the armies 
 tto lead the people. 
 
 10 ^ When thou comest nigh unto a city 
 to fight against it, then proclaim peace un- 
 to it. 
 
 1 1 And it shall be, if it make thee answer 
 of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall 
 
 • be not afraid of them :] The Israelites were trained up 
 
 'Judg. 7.; 
 
 t Heb. 
 melt. 
 
 t Hel). 
 to be m l/ie 
 /lead of ttie- 
 \teopU. 
 
 to confide in God, and not in horses, which tlieir counti-y did not 
 afford, and consequently they had no chariots ; nor in multitude 
 of soldiers. We find remarkable instances of this, particularly in 
 .I-ehoshaphat, 2 Chron. sx. 6, 1 7. He followed the example of 
 David, whose words arc most memorable : " Some trust in cha- 
 riots, and some in horses : but we will remember the name of the 
 Lord our God," Ps. xx. 7. See also Prov. xxi. 21. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — What man — hath built a new house, &c.] Probably be- 
 cause men in these circumstances would be apt to be entangled 
 with cares, and thereby rendered less ser\iccable in the war. See 
 2 Tim. ii. 4. Bp. Kidder. At the same time the indulgence ma- 
 nifests great tenderness and humanity towards tlie indi^■idual, 
 who was to profit by it ; and is one .imong.^t numberless instances 
 of the considerate benevolence of the Legislator. Edit. Some 
 think that this was not a precept, but a bare concession to such 
 persons ; who, if they could overcome their affection to all things 
 but the safety of their country, might remain in tlie cam|), and go 
 to battle. " Hath not dedicated it" means, hath not dwelt in it. 
 For on their first entrance into a hou.-^e to dwell in it, they made 
 a feast, wliich they called " dedication." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. IVhen thou comest nigh unto a citi/'] The Jewish writers 
 frequently mention two kinds of w;u-: tiiat which w.is particularly 
 commanded by God, as that against the nations, which the Israel- 
 ites were commanded to drive out: and that which was chosen by 
 the .lews on just provocation, or in their own defence against 
 other {)eople. These words, as well as the foregoing, refer to the 
 latter of the two, as appeai-s from ver. 15, compared with ver. 
 5 — S, and Numb, xxxii. 7. Bp. Kidder.
 
 Hqw to ttse lite cities thai DEUTERONOMY. refuse or accept the proclamation. 
 
 B^c be, tJiat all the people that is found thcre- 
 '^r^ in shall be tributaries unto thee, ami they 
 
 shall serve thee. 
 
 12 And if it will make no peace with 
 thee, but will make war against thee, then 
 thou shah besiege it : 
 
 13 And when the Lord thy God hath 
 delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt 
 smite every nuile thereof with the edge of 
 the sword : 
 
 It But the women, and the little ones, 
 
 •joA.8.2. and "the cattle, and ail that is in the city, 
 
 t Heb. even all the spoil thereof, shalt tlioii t take 
 
 ''""'' unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil 
 
 of thine enemies, which the Loud thy God 
 
 hath given thee. 
 
 1.5 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities 
 iJiich are very far off from thee, which are 
 not of the cities of these nations. 
 
 16 But of the cities of these people, 
 which the Lord thy God doth give thee 
 
 Jbr an inheritance, thou shalt save alive 
 nothing that breatheth : 
 
 17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them ; 
 namelj, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the 
 Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, 
 
 It). — thou shall save alive nothing that hrcallictli :'\ When God 
 for the wickedness of a people sends an earthquake, or a fire, or a 
 plague amonf^ them, there is no complaint of injustice, especially 
 when the calamity is known, or exjiressly declared beforehand, to 
 be inflicted for the wickedness of such people. It is rather re- 
 garded as an act of exemplary penal justice, and, as such, consist- 
 ent with the character of the moral Governour of the luiiverse. 
 There can be no objection therefore to the Canaanitisli nations 
 being destroyed, for when their national wickedness is considered, 
 and when that is expressly stated as the cause of their destruction, 
 the dispeniiation, however severe, will not be questioned ; but the 
 objection must be solely to the manner of destroying them. I 
 mean there is nothing left but the manner to be objected to : their 
 wickcilness accounts for the thing itself. To which objection it 
 may be replied, that if the thing itself be just, the manner is of 
 little signification : of little signification even to the sufferers them- 
 selves. I''or where is the great difterence, even to them, whether 
 they were destroyed by an earthquake, a pestilence, a famine, or by 
 the h;mds of an enemy .> Where is the difference, even to our imper- 
 fect apprehensions of Divine justice, provided it be, and is known 
 to be, for their wickedness that they are destroyed.^ But this de- 
 struction, it may be said, confounded the innocent with the guilty. 
 The sword of .Joshua and of the .lews spared neither women nor 
 children. Is it not the same with all national visit;itions .? Would 
 not an earthquake, or a fire, or a plague, or a fiunine amongst 
 them, have done the same? Even in an ordinary and natural 
 death, the same thing happens. God takes away the life He lends, 
 without re(r,vd, that we can pe»-ceive, to age, or sex, or character. 
 But after .ill, promiscuous m.issacres, the burning of cities, the lay- 
 ing w.Lstc of covmtries, are things dreailful to reflect upon. Who 
 doubts it ? So are all the judgments of Almighty God. The effect, 
 in whatever way it shows itself, must necessarily be tremendous, 
 *hen the Lord, as the Psalmist expresses it, " moveth out of His 
 place to punish the wicked." 15ut it ought to satisfy us ; at least 
 this is the point, upon which we ought to rest and fix our atten- 
 tion ; that it w:.s for excessive, wilful, and forewarned wickedness 
 Uiat all ihi^ befell them, and tliat it is all along so declared in the 
 history which recites it. Archdeacon Paleij. 
 
 . ^^:~ "' '*•■ ^-<"''' l/iy God halh commanded thcc:'\ If punish- 
 ing the devoted nations by the hitnd of the IsraeUtes, rather than 
 
 Or, 
 
 and the Jebusites -, as the Lord thy God ^^"^1%,-. 
 hatl) commanded thee : mji. 
 
 IS That they teach you not to do after 
 all their abominations, which they have 
 done unto their gods ; so should ye sin 
 against the Lord your God. 
 
 ly 1[ When thou shalt besiege a city a 
 long time, in making war against it to take 
 it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof 
 by forcing an ax against them : for thou 
 mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not 
 cut them down (11 for the tree of the field is .. „ 
 
 ,,.,-, ^, , . . JOT, O »ln>5. 
 
 man s itje) t to employ them in the siege : the tree ,</ 
 20 Only the trees which thou knowest ''"/<^''" 
 that they l/e not trees tor meat, thou shalt pinycHn 
 destroy and cut them down ; and thou '.*Hcfr' 
 shalt build bulwarks against the city that t» go from 
 maketh war with thee, until tit be subdued. J-^^l."'""' 
 
 CHAP. XXL Ir' 
 
 1 The expiation of an Jincertain murder. 10 The usage 
 of a captive taken to wife. 15 The Jirsthorn is Jiol to 
 be disinherited upon private affection. \S A stubborn 
 son is to be stoned to death. 22 The malefactor must 
 not hang all night on a tree. 
 
 IF oiie be found slain in the land which 
 the Lord thy God giveth thee to pos- 
 
 by a pestilence, an earthquake, a fire, or any other calamity, be 
 still an objection, we may perceive, I think, some reasons for tliis 
 method of punishment in preference to any other whatever : al- 
 ways however bearing in our mind, that the question is not con- 
 cerning the justice of the punishment, but the mode of it. It \» 
 well known, that the people of those ages were affected by no 
 proof of the power of the gods which they worshipped, so deeply, 
 as by their giving them victory in war. It was by this species of 
 evidence that the superiority of their own gods above the gods of 
 the nations, which they conquered, was, in their opinion, evinced. 
 This being the actual persuasion, which thpn p-evailed in the 
 world, no matter whether well or ill founded, how were the neigh- 
 bouring nations, for whose admonition this dreadful example was 
 intended, how were they to be convinced of the supreme power of 
 the God of Israel above the pretended gods of other nations, and 
 of the righteous character of Jehovali, that is, of His abhorrence 
 of the vices which prevailed in the land of Canaan ; how, I say, 
 were they to be convinced so well, or at all indeed, as by His en- 
 abling the Israelites, whose God He was known and acknowledg- 
 ed to be, to conquer under His banner, and drive out before them 
 those who resisted the execution of that commission, with whicli 
 the Israelites declared themselves to be invested ; namely, the ex- 
 pulsion and extermination of the Canaanitish nations } This con- 
 vinced surrounding countries, and all who were observers or spec- 
 tators of what passed, first, that the God of Israel was a real God ; 
 secondly, that the gods, which other nations worshipped, were 
 either no gods, or had no power against the God of Israel ; and 
 thirdly, that it was He, and He alone, who possessed botli the 
 power and the will, to punisli, to destroy, and to exterminate, 
 from before His face, both nations and individuals, who gave 
 themselves up to the crimes and wickedness, for which the 
 Canaanites were notorious. Nothing of tliis swt would have ap- 
 peared, or with the same evidence however, from an earthquake, 
 or a plague, or any natural calamity. These might not have been 
 attributed to Divine agency at all, or not to the interposition of 
 the God of Israel. Archdeacon Paley. 
 
 18. That theij teach ijou not &c.] See the note on chap. vii. 2. 
 
 Chap. XXI. ver. 1. If one bejound slain in the lamQ The in- 
 j mictions here given foUow very properly after the law Moses had
 
 Expiation of an uncerUmi murder. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 Usage of a captive taken to "wife. 
 
 CHRIST ^^^^ ^^' h'^^S ^" t^^^ ^e\A, and it be not 
 H3i. known who hath slain him : 
 
 '2 Then thy elders and thy judges shall 
 come forth, and they siiall measure unto 
 the cities which ore round about him that 
 is slain : 
 
 3 And it shall be, that the city ichich is 
 next unto the slain man, even the elders 
 of that city shall take an heifer, which hath 
 not been wrought with, and which hath not 
 drawn in the yoke ; 
 
 4 And the elders of that city shall bring 
 down the heifer unto a rough valley, which 
 is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike 
 off the heifer's neck there in the valley : 
 
 5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall 
 come near ; for them the Lord thy God 
 hath chosen to minister unto him, and to 
 bless in the name of the Lord ; and by 
 
 t Hci). their t word shall every controversy and 
 7nouiit. e\ery stroke be tried : 
 
 6 And all the elders of that city, that are 
 next unto the slain man, shall wash their 
 hands over the heifer that is beheaded in 
 the valley : 
 
 7 And they shall answer and say. Our 
 hands have not shed this blood, neither 
 have our eyes seen it. 
 
 8 Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy peo- 
 ple Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and 
 
 t Heb. lay not innocent blood tun to thy people of 
 inthemhist. Israel's charge. And the blood shall be 
 forgiven them. 
 
 9 So shalt thou put away the guilt of 
 innocent blood from among you, when thou 
 shalt do that which is right in the sight of 
 the Lord. 
 
 10 ^ When thou goest forth to war 
 
 just delivered, about making war, because then the bodies of dead 
 men are most frequently found. Tlie wisest lawgivers took the 
 greatest care that, when dead bodies were found, proper inquisi- 
 tion should be made when and how the persons were slain ; but 
 in no ancient law was such efTectual provision made for the dis- 
 covery of secret murders as in this of Moses. Plato, in his ninth 
 book of laws, has a law something resembling this, but falling far 
 short of it in solemnity. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10 — l?i. H'/itn thou goest fortlt to war SiC.~\ The law of Moses 
 by this ordinance softened the horrours of war in the treatment of 
 female captives especially, whom it protected from the insolence 
 and brutality of the conquerors. Pliilo justl}' commends this, as 
 an admirable ordinance ; on the one side, far from tolerating that 
 licentiousness, which the laws of war tolerated among other na- 
 tions, it kept the soldier in a state of constraint for thirty daj's : 
 during this interval, showing liim his captive, unattired and un- 
 adorned, and giving time for the first impulse of his passion to 
 cool. On the other side, it humanely respected the captive's 
 grief, at being torn from her parents, if a maid, and not indulged 
 with a husband of licr own choice. Dr. Hales. 
 
 li. — she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;"] Or rather, 
 
 as in the margin, " suffer her nails to grow :" to which is added, 
 
 " slie sliall put the raiment of her captivity from oft' her," that is, 
 
 the fine clothes, in wliich she is supposed to have been taken cap- 
 
 VoL. I. 
 
 against thine enemies, and the Lord thy I'^fo" 
 God hath delivered them into thine hands, '^"isl.^^ 
 and thou hast taken them captive, 
 
 11 And seest among the captives a beau- 
 tiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, 
 that thou wouldest have her to thy wife ; 
 
 12 Then thou shalt bring her home to 
 thine house ; and she shall shave her head, 
 and II t pare her nails ; | or. 
 
 13 And she shall put the raiment of her "f^" 
 captivity from off her, and shall remain in t Hti>. 
 thine house, and bewail her father and her 'j';^^,"' "'■ 
 mother a full month : and after that thou 
 shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, 
 
 and she shall be thy wife. 
 
 14 And it shall be, if thou have no de- 
 light in her, then thou shalt let her go whi- 
 ther she will ; but thou shalt not sell her 
 at all for money, thou shalt not make mer- 
 chandise of hei-, because thou hast hum- 
 bled her. 
 
 15 ^ If a man have two wives, one be- 
 loved, and another hated, and they have 
 born him children, both the beloved and 
 the hated ; and i/the firstborn son be her's 
 that was hated : 
 
 16 Then it shall be, when he maketh 
 his sons to inherit that which he hath, that 
 he may not make the son of the beloved 
 firstborn before the son of the hated, xi/iich 
 is i)ideed the firstborn : 
 
 17 But he shall acknowledge the son of 
 the hated for the firstborn, by giving him 
 
 a double portion of all t that he hath : for t Hi-b. 
 he is the beginning of his strength; \.hQ fXnd vUh 
 right of the firstborn is his. *"«• 
 
 18 ^ If a man have a stubborn and re- 
 bellious son, which will not obey the voice 
 
 tive ; instead of which she was to put on sordid apparel, or the 
 habit of mourners. The- intention of these things is thought to 
 have been, to take away from her all that was inviting, that so 
 such marriages might not be common. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. And it shall he, if thou have no delight in her, S^c] The li- 
 beration of the captive in this case was a just punishment on the 
 captor for his fickleness, and a consolatory recompense to her for 
 the affront of being rejected as his wife. And the design of the 
 law, according to K. Bechai, was, '• that the camp of the Israelites 
 should be holy, and free from the fornications and aI)ominations 
 usually committed in the c;mips of the heathens;" with whom it 
 was customary, not only to offer violence to their female captives, 
 but when tired of them, either to sell them, or give them to 
 their slaves. Dr. Hales. 
 
 18. //'fl man have a stiihhorn and reMlious son, &c.] This law 
 was designed for the regulation of families, by giving to parents 
 a well tempered power over extravagant and incorrigible children: 
 which was not to put the lives of children absolutely into the 
 hands of the parents, as the custom of ninny other countries did ; 
 but to direct them, when all means of admonition and correction 
 were lost upon anj' son, and they saw nt)thing but ruin to the 
 est;ite and family by his lewdness and debauchery, to make com- 
 plaint to the )nagi-tracy in court ; who, upon sufficient e\iJencc 
 given against him, sliould condemn him to death, as a terrible 
 
 •o C
 
 A rebellioua son is to be stoned. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 Of humanity toxvard brethren. 
 
 B«fere of his iUtlitT, or the voice of his mother, 
 *^"«!.^'^ and that, when they ha\e chastened him, 
 will not hearken unto them: 
 
 1!> Then shall his father and his mother 
 lay hold on him, and hring him out unto 
 the elders of his city, and unto the gate of 
 
 his place ; , , , r 
 
 i20 And they shall say unto the elders of 
 his citv. This bur son is stubborn and re- 
 bellious, he will not obey our voice ; he is 
 a glutton, and a drunkard. 
 
 '21 And all the men of his city shall 
 stone him with stones, that he die : so shalt 
 thou put evil away from among you ; and 
 all Israel shall hear, and fear. 
 
 22 % And if a man have committed a sin 
 worthy of death, and he be to be put to 
 death, and thou hang him on a tree : 
 
 23 His body shall not remain all night 
 upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise 
 
 •Gai.3.13. bury him tiiat day ; (for 'he that is hanged 
 t Hcb. is t accursed of God ;) that thy land be not 
 cw?'"''"-^tlefilcd, which the Lord thy God giveth 
 ihcojbr an inheritance. 
 
 CHAP. XXH. 
 
 1 Ofhumaniltf toirard brcthmi. 5 The sex is to be dis- 
 tinguished by apparel 6 The dam is not to be taken 
 with her young ones. 8 The Itouse must have battle- 
 
 example of disobedience to the laws of God and man. Pij/e. The 
 father and mother must botli consent in bringincr their son before 
 Uie judges, ver. 19, which the_v probably would not do, till he 
 was altogether incorrigible ; and could not do, till after they had 
 chastened him, ver. 1 8. lip. Kidder. 
 
 The paternal power, as it is the most ancient form of civil 
 government, so in ancient times it was very great, as it appears 
 from the old Roman laws, and in tlie laws and customs of some 
 other ])eople : it was even a power of life and death. The only 
 reason that could be offered in favour of such high privilege was, 
 that fathers might well be trusted on account ol"that tetiderness, 
 which they must have had for their offspring. But ailjitrary 
 power is a dangerous thing ; and as there are too often undutiful 
 children, there are sometimes unnatural parents. The law of 
 Moses very wisely limited this excessive power ; and provided, 
 that, if tile children proved wicked and undutiful, the parents 
 were to complain of tliem to the magistrates, and if the complaint 
 appeared just, they were to be put to death. Tliis law was 
 enacted by way of terrour to bad children. It is to be supposed, 
 that it was very seldom put in execution, and that few parents 
 could bring themselves to treat their children with such severity. 
 Dr. Jorliit. .See the note on Lev. xx. J). 
 
 2S. — and thou hang him on n tree ;] That is, after he had 
 been put to dealii. For hanging was not one of the capital 
 punishments, commonly used .imong the .lews : but the idolater, 
 and blasphemer, those accursed offenders, after they were stoned, 
 were or might be hanged up. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 23. — is accursed of Cod ;] .Such persons are said to be " ac- 
 cursed of (iod," because of fneir sin which deserved they should 
 be thus exposed : hanging \ip being a token that the man had 
 eommitted a horrid crime, whereby he had incurred the higli 
 iii>plea.sure of Almighty God. lip.' Patrick. 
 
 H.^inging was not properly one of the punishments inflicted by 
 the Jewish law: tliey were four; stoning, burning, beheading, 
 and rtrangluig the criminal as lie stood on the ground. But 
 
 :<)re 
 
 sr 
 
 mcnts. .9 Confusion is to be awidcd. 12 Fringes J?*^"" 
 
 upon the vesture. 13 The punishment of him that "^j 
 
 slandervth his wife. ^0,^2 Of adultery, ''25 of rape, 
 as and if fornication. 30 Incest. 
 
 THOU "shalt not see thy brother's ox 'ExoJ 
 or his sheep go astray, and hide thy- 
 self from them : thou shalt in any case 
 bring them again unto thy brother. 
 
 2 And if thy brother be not nigh unto 
 thee, or if thou know him not, then thou 
 shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it 
 shall be with thee until thy brother seek 
 after it, and thou shalt restore it to him 
 again. 
 
 3 In like manner shalt thou do with his 
 ass ; and so shalt thou do with his raiment ; 
 and with all lost thing of thy brother's, 
 which he hath lost, and thou hast found, 
 shalt thou do likewise : thou mayest not 
 hide thyself. 
 
 4 ^ Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass 
 or his ox fall down by the way, and hide 
 thyself from them : thou shalt surely help 
 him to lift them up again. 
 
 5 ^ The woman shall not wear that 
 which pertaineth imto a man, neither shall 
 a man put on a woman's garment : for all 
 that do so are abomination unto the Lord 
 thy God. 
 
 none were hanged, till they were dead. And, as the .Jewish 
 rabbies, and manj' Christian commentators, say, only idolaters 
 and blasphemers were so treated ; having been first stoned, which 
 was reckoned the most severe punishment of all. And as their 
 Climes were the most heinous and offensive to God, this addition 
 of h ingiiig them afterwards was appointed, as a token to denote 
 the Divine displeasure against those criminals; who are therefore 
 said to be " accursed of God," or " the curse of God," that is, 
 execrable to Him. And this treatment was designed to represent 
 them as the worst of men, fit neither to live, nor to enjoy the com- 
 mon privilege of burial when dead. From the nature of this pu- 
 nishment, and the character of those who were liable to it among 
 the Jews, St. Paul represents the wonderful condescension and 
 compassion of our .Saviour in submitting to die for us after the 
 manner of their greatest criminals. " Christ hath redeemed 
 us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is 
 written. Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree," Gal. iii. 1 3. 
 Dr. John Ward. 
 
 Chap. XXII. ver. 5. The woman shall not mear &c.|] It was an 
 idolatrous custom, for men to wear the flowered garments of wo- 
 men, when they worshipped Venus ; and for women to wear 
 a coat of mail and armour, when tliey worsliipped Mars ; these 
 dresses being accounted more pleasing to them, as better suiting 
 tlieir particular characters; for Venus was supposed to be the 
 goddess of pleasure and love, and Mars the god of arms and war. 
 Tile idolatrous notion of deities of different sexes was a great cor- 
 ruption of the knowledge of the true God ; and gave great occa- 
 sion for debaucher}' and impure rites, even in their religious wor- 
 ship. It was this custom which the present law was designed to 
 discountenance. Lonmian. 
 
 If there were no distinction of sexes, made by their habits, 
 it would open a door to all manner of impurity : for which rea- 
 son, if there were no other, this law was very wise and pious. 
 lip. Patrick.
 
 Confusion to be avoided. 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 The punishment for slander. 
 
 chrTst 6 1[ If a bird's nest chance to be before 
 1451. thee in the way in any tree, or on the 
 ground, xvhether they be young ones, or 
 eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, 
 or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the 
 dam with the young : 
 
 7 But thou shalt in any wise let the dam 
 go, and take the young to thee ; that it 
 may be well with thee, and that thou may- 
 est prolong thy days. 
 
 8 ^ When thou buildest a new house, 
 then thou shalt make a battlement for thy 
 roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine 
 house, if any man fall from thence. 
 
 9 IT Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard 
 t Heb. with divers seeds : lest the t fruit of thy 
 t'hylledf seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit 
 
 of thy vineyard, be defiled. 
 
 10 % Thou shalt not plow with an ox 
 and an ass together. 
 
 » Lev. 19. 11 IT ''Thou shalt not wear a garment 
 '^' of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen 
 
 = Numb together. 
 IS. 3s. 12 ^ Thou shalt make thee "^ fringes up- 
 
 6. If a bird's nest &c.] Another injunction now given was, 
 that when they took the eggs or young out of the nest of any 
 bird, whether for food or for sacrifice, they should never destroy 
 the old one along with them : God intending, by this emblema- 
 tical precept, to impress on the minds of His people, a sense of 
 His Divine providence and mercy, extending itself to all crea- 
 tures ; and chiefly, by exercising this pity towards other useful 
 and innocent animals, to oblige them to higher charity, love, and 
 compassion towards one another : for Moses tells them, that this 
 merciful temper was one of the conditions, on which they were 
 to expect the Divine blessing upon them in the land of promise. 
 See and compare the law, chap. xxv. 4, about " not muzzling the 
 ox that treadeth out the com," with 1 Cor. ix. 9, 10, which pro- 
 bably is one of the best keys to the interpretation of this law. 
 Pyle. 
 
 A Jewish commentator hath supposed the prevention of cruelty 
 to be the spirit and import of these laws, and thus interprets them: 
 As your Father in hea\'en is merciful, so be ye merciful upon 
 earth, and destroy not on the same day a beast and its young one. 
 Dr. Jortin. See the note on Lev. xxii. 28. 
 
 8. — thou sluilt make a battlement'^ The top of an Eastern 
 liouse, whicli is always flat, is covered with a strong plaister of 
 terrace ; from whence it has, in the Frank language, attained the 
 name of " the terrace :" a word, made use of likewise in se\eral 
 parts of these cotmtries. It is surroimded by two walls ; the out- 
 ermost of which is partly built over the street, partly makes the 
 partition with the contiguous terraces, being Frequently so low, 
 that one may climb over it. Tlie other, or the parapet wall, as 
 we may call it, hangs immediately over the court, being always 
 breast high, and answers to the word wliich we render " die bat- 
 tlements" in the Scriptures. On these terraces several offices of 
 the family are performed; such as the dr3'ing of linen, preparing 
 of figs and niisins ; here likewise they enjoy the cool refreshing 
 breezes of the evening, converse with one another, and offer up 
 their devotions. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 9- Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard &C.3 It was an idolatrous 
 rite to sow barley and dried grapes together : by which they sig- 
 nified, that their vineyards were consecrated to Ceres and Bac- 
 chus, and were recommended to their jjrotection. This law for- 
 bad such rites, as being a sort oi renunciation of the protection 
 and blessing of the true God, and a declaration of their hope in 
 
 on the four t quarters of thy vesture, where- christ 
 with thou coverest thyself 1451. 
 
 13 ^ If any man take a wife, and go in t Heb. 
 unto her, and hate her, '*'"«*■ 
 
 14 And give occasions of speech against 
 her, and bring up an evil name upon her, 
 and say, I took this woman, and when I 
 came to her, I found her not a maid : 
 
 15 Then shall the father of the damsel, 
 and her mother, take and bring forth the 
 tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the 
 elders of the city in the gate : 
 
 16 And the damsel's father shall say un- 
 to the elders, I gave my daughter unto this 
 man to wife, and he hateth her ; 
 
 17 And, io, he hath given occasions of 
 speech against her, saying, I found not thy 
 daughter a maid ; and yet these are the 
 tokens of my daughter's virginity. And 
 they shall spread the cloth before the 
 elders of the city. 
 
 18 And the elders of that city shall take 
 that man and chastise him ; 
 
 19 And they shall amerce him in an hun- 
 
 tlie favour of other gods besides Him. Lorvman. See also the 
 note on Lev. xi,\. I9. 
 
 10. Thou shalt not ploiv with an ox and an ass together.^ The 
 same aversion from mixture, which is noticed in the note on Lev. 
 xix. 19, seems to have dictated this prohibition. The precept 
 seems also to regard the unequal size and strength of these ani- 
 mals: it would be cruel to urge the weaker to the same exertions 
 as the stronger; while to laj' the whole burden on the stronger 
 is to derive no assistance from the weaker : not to mention the 
 different temper, paces, speed, height, &c. of the two unequal 
 yokemates. Some suppose, that the ox being a pure animal, 
 but the ass being impure, the import of the precept is, to forbid 
 the intimate association of clean and unclean; see 2 Cor. vi. 14. 
 An excellent moral use results from this view of the precept. 
 Script, illust. 
 
 13. If any man take a Jrifo, &C.3 The particularities mention- 
 ed in these verses are fullj' explained and vindicated by Xiebuhr: 
 who found the same principles still in force among the Arabs in 
 Yemen. He observes, that as the husband by presents, &c. pays 
 the father of his wife, and may be said to purchase his daughter 
 under a certain description and character, so far as she differs 
 from that character the husband is deceived and injured ; and 
 this deception justifies his returning his wile to her fatlier, and 
 redemanding his presents, &c. This, as may be supposed, must 
 vex and dishonour the whole family of the woman so repudiated ; 
 and were it a frequent occuiTence, must spread animosities and 
 jealousies throughout not a family only, but a country. Script, 
 illust. 
 
 18. — the elders — shall take that man and c/iastisc him;'] A 
 good name is too precious a thing to be left to the rude tongue of 
 every licentious person without a severe penalty for abusing it — 
 God had so signal a tenderness for the reputation of His |)eople, 
 tliiit in the first body of laws, which He condescended to deliver 
 to His people. He provided, that if a man traduced his own wife, 
 he was to be most severely punished. We never see any memo- 
 rable act of injustice and oppression done, but the person is first 
 much defamed, to make him the fitter to be injured, when he 
 seems unwortliy to be pitied. St. Paul therefore puts " backbiters" 
 and " haters of God" together, Rom. i. 30 ; as if they could not 
 love the Majesty of God, who are so uncharitable as to calimmiat? 
 their neighbour. Z,o/y/ Clarendon. 
 
 3C2
 
 Ofadultcrif, rape, S^c. mo ma,, 1 ) K U T E 11 O N O M Y. or maij not enter the congregation. 
 
 
 n,fo«. (ircd shekels of silver, and give them unto 
 
 "^"""■'■'^'^ the lather of the ilainsel, because he hath 
 
 lirouglit up an evil name u|)on a vngin oi 
 
 Israel : and she shall be his wife ; he may 
 
 not put her away all his days. 
 
 i>() But if this thing be true, and the 
 tolccns 0/ virginity be not found for the 
 
 damsel : , i i 
 
 'J I Then they shall bring out the damsel 
 lo Uie door of 'her father's house, and the 
 men of her city shall stone her with stones 
 that she die: because she hath wrought 
 Jbllv in Israel, to jjlay the whore in her la- 
 ther's house : so shalt thou put evil away 
 from among you. 
 ' Uv.'-o 'i^i If Ml' a man be found lying with a 
 '"• woman married to an husband, then they 
 
 shall both of them die, buth the man that 
 lay with the woman, and the woman : so 
 sh'alt thou put away evil from Israel. 
 
 '2.3^ If a damsel that is a virgin be be- 
 trothed unto an husband, and a man find 
 her in the city, and lie with her; 
 
 '21 Then ye shall bring them both out 
 unto the gate of that city, and ye shall 
 stone them with stones that they die ; the 
 damsel, because she cried not, hcing in the 
 city ; and the man, because he hath hum- 
 bled his neighbour's wife : so thou shalt 
 put away evil from among you. 
 
 25 % But if a man find a betrothed 
 H Or, damsel in the field, and the man || force 
 '"*<• """f her, and lie with her : then the man only 
 ^ '^' that lay with her shall die : 
 
 'J(i But unto the damsel thou shalt do 
 nothing; there is in the damsel no sin xcor- 
 ttii/ of death : for as when a man riseth 
 against his neighbour, and slayeth him, 
 even so is this matter : 
 
 27 For he found her in the field, and 
 
 2i.'. — Itiei/ shall holh of litem r/iV,] The Commandment, relat- 
 ing to .-idultery, is of the utmost conseq\ience to the jjeace of fii- 
 xnilies and to the welfare of society, and forl)ids an iniquity most 
 odious in the sight of Cod, an offence wliich all human laws con- 
 demn, but which they do not idw.iys punish as strictly as it 
 dewrvos. By the law of Moses death was the punishment of 
 lulultery ; and restitution, with a fine, was the i)unishraeiit of 
 thct>. But in Christian nations, I know not liow and wherefore, 
 this rule is inverted, and it is safer to commit adultery than to 
 steal : though surely it ought not to be so. Dr. Joiliii. 
 
 Chap. XXIII. ver. 1. — shitU not enter i/itu Ifie roHsrcgalioii of 
 c I^rd.^ The Israelitish nation being sejjarated from'the rest 
 nt the world, by laws and privileges peculiar to themselves, as 
 the worshippt-r, and church of the one only true Clod ; though 
 mcu of ail other nations were admitted and encoiuaged to be- 
 come prosc-lytes to their religion, and eiiioy the benefits of its 
 tnie worship ; yet the Divine wisdom thought it requisite, for 
 maint.unmg the honour and distinction of this His peculiar n-- 
 tion, not to ,ul,mt of intermaniages with all sorts of proselyted 
 pcop^, or to allow all such to be equally camble of being in- 
 
 Ific 
 ot 
 
 the betrothed damsel cried, and there 7cas ^Hu'isr 
 none to save her. i45k 
 
 '28 ^ *" If a man find a damsel that is a ' Exod. '."j. 
 ^■irgin, which is not betrothed, and lay '''" 
 hold on her, and lie with her, and they be 
 found ; 
 
 29 Then the man that lay with her shall 
 give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels 
 of silver, and she shall be his wife ; be- 
 cause he hath Inunbled her, he may not 
 put her away all his days. 
 
 30 % ^ A man shall not take his father's 'Lev. is.s. 
 wife, nor discover his father's skirt. 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 1 fVlio mai/ or mm/ not enter into llie congrcgntien. f) 
 i'/ieleaiiiie.ss to lie nroiiled in tlie Ito-st. l.'j Oj'iliefii- 
 gilirr .\erianl. 1" ())' Jillhincs.':. 18 Of cilutwi liable 
 xacrijiccs. I'J Uf iixiiry. iil Of vows, ili Of tres- 
 passes. 
 
 HE that is wounded in the stones, or 
 hath his privy member cut off, shall 
 not enter into the congregation of the 
 Loud. 
 
 2 A bastard shall not enter into the con- 
 gregation of the Loud ; even to his tenth 
 generation shall he not enter into the con- 
 gregation of the Loud. 
 
 3 ' An Ammonite or Moabite shall not « N«h. 13. 
 enter into the congregation of the Loud ; '• 
 even to their tenth generation shall they 
 
 not enter into the congregation of the 
 Loud for ever : 
 
 4 Because they met you not with bread 
 and with water in the way, when ye came 
 forth out of Egypt ; and ^ because they ^ Numb. 
 hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor ""' ^' ''■ 
 of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. 
 
 5 Nevertheless the Loud thy God would 
 not hearken unto Balaam ; but the Lord 
 
 corporatcd into its comnnmity and bearing offices in it. Moses 
 therefore now ordains, that the following sorts of people sliould, 
 though they turned proselytes, be excluded from these privileges. 
 Pjfe. 
 
 a. An .immonilc or Moabitc~\ The meaning of tliis law is, tliat 
 though an Ammonite or a Moabite should become a convert to 
 the Jewish religioii, and conform to their laws and ceremonies in 
 every respect, and become a complete member of the Jewish 
 Church; yet lie should not have ihe privilege of marrying with 
 an Israelite, but shoidd be debarred from it, he and his ])os- 
 terity, " for ten generations ;" which is interpreted in Neheiniali 
 to mean /or ever, chap. xiii. 1. Such was the mark set upon these 
 people for their offence in the matter of Balaam : and Balaam's 
 infamy is pei-j5etuated by the same law, being expressly men- 
 tioned in it as the man, who had been " hired to cur.se God's 
 people." /);■. Watcrlaud. 
 
 ■!■. — Mesopntntniaf\ This country had the same name among 
 the Hebrews as Syria, being called Aram, and also Padan-aram, 
 thougli sometimes it is more plainly distinguished from Syria, 
 by being c.nlled Aram-Naharaim, or Aram ol' the rivers. Bp. 
 Vococke,
 
 Lares concerning 
 
 Before 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 usury, vows, S^-c. 
 
 1451. 
 
 tHcb. 
 g-iod. 
 
 t Hell. 
 
 tUTttJ^th 
 
 tuicurd* 
 
 thy God turned the curse into a blessing 
 unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved 
 thee. 
 
 6 Thou shalt not seek their peace nor 
 their t prosperity all thy days for ever. 
 
 7 ^ Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; 
 for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor 
 an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger 
 in his land. 
 
 8 The children that are begotten of them 
 shall enter into the congregation of the 
 Lord in their third generation. 
 
 9 % When the host goeth forth against 
 thine enemies, then keep thee from every 
 wicked thing. 
 
 10 % If there be among you any man, 
 that is not clean by reason of uncleanness 
 that chanceth him by night, then shall he go 
 abroad out of the camp, he shall not come 
 within the camp : 
 
 11 But it shall be, when evening t Com- 
 eth on, he shall wash Mmself with water: 
 and when the sun is down, he shall come 
 into the camp again. 
 
 12 % Thou shalt have a place also with- 
 out the camp, whither thou shalt go forth 
 abroad : 
 
 13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon 
 thy weapon ; and it shall be, when thou 
 t wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig 
 therewith, and shalt turn back and cover 
 that which cometh from thee: 
 
 14 For the Lord thy God walketh in 
 
 p. — then keep ihcej'rom every nicked thing.'] This was a rule 
 to he observed at all times; but then especially, when they had 
 the greatest need of the Divine help, for which wicked people 
 could not reasoTiably hope; and when there was the greatest dan- 
 ger of being wicked, in a time of such licence as soldiers com- 
 monly take. Bp. Patrick. If, even with right on its side, a na- 
 tion would conquer and triumph, let it remember to prepare the 
 way by repentance and reformation. If thou desirest to become 
 great, let ambition first excite thee to be good. The qualities are 
 associated in the style imperial of heaven: " The Lord of Hosts : 
 the Holy One of Israel." The characters therefore of the war- 
 riour and the Christian are not incompatible. Bp. Home. 
 
 14. — therefore shall Ihi/ camp be holt/:] These directions were 
 given them, that they might the more easily understand, how 
 watchful they ought to be over themselves in all other cases, espe- 
 cially such as had in them any moral and inward impurity : and 
 to impress upon their uiinds a deeper sense of the majesty and 
 purity of the great God, whose servants they were, and upon 
 their due reverence and regard to whose Divine Presence amongst 
 them depended all the success of their undertakings. Pyle. 
 
 13. — t/ic servant which is escaped from his inasler'] That is, 
 the servant not of a Hebrew, but of an alien and stranger. Bp. 
 Kidder. A heathen soldier or servant, who deserted and came 
 over to the Israelites, with intent of turning proselyte to the true 
 religion. Pyle. 
 
 17- There shall be no whore &c.] These laws were given in re- 
 ference and opposition to the religious opinions and ceremonies 
 of itlolatrous nations; and are here to be imderstood, not only as 
 prohibitions of these crimes in general, but under pretence of re- 
 ligion : such practices being common in the worship of certain 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 sillest down. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 Hal. 
 
 t Ileb. 
 nakedncu 
 •fany 
 tiling. 
 
 t Heb. 
 is goodjlr 
 him. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 sodomitess. 
 
 ' Exoi 22. 
 
 •-'5. 
 
 Lev 25.36. 
 
 PmL 15. 5. 
 
 the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and 
 to give up thine enemies before thee ; 
 therefore shall thy camp be holy : that he 
 see no t unclean thing in thee, and turn 
 away from thee. 
 
 15 %, Thou shalt not deliver unto his 
 master the serv-ant which is escaped from 
 his master unto thee: 
 
 16 He shall dwell with thee, even among 
 you, in that place which he shall choose in 
 one of thy gates, where it t liketh him 
 best: thou shalt not oppress him. 
 
 17 ^ There shall be no II whore of the 
 daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the 
 sons of Israel. 
 
 18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a 
 whore, or the price of a dog, into the house 
 of the Lord thy God for any vow : for 
 even both these are abomination unto the 
 Lord thy God. 
 
 19 IT "^Thou shalt not lend upon usury 
 to thy brother; usury of money, usury of 
 victuals, usury of any thing that is lent 
 upon usury : 
 
 20 Unto a stranger thou mayest lend 
 upon usury; but unto thy brother thou 
 shalt not lend upon usury : that the Lord 
 thy God may bless thee in all that thou 
 settest thine hand to in the land whither 
 thou goest to possess it. 
 
 21 \\ '' When thou shalt vow a vow unto 
 the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to 
 pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely 
 
 heathen gods, and reckoned acceptable to them. Dean Spen- 
 cer. 
 
 18. Thoa shalt not bring the hire Sec.'] The heathens were 
 wont to consecrate to their gods some of the gains which they 
 received as the reward of their prostitution of themselves to ur>- 
 cleanness. See Mic. i. 7. See also Prov. vii. 14. God declares, 
 in opposition to the filthy practices of the heathen, that He will 
 not accept of this hire. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 or the price of' a dog,'] Because a dog was worshipped 
 
 by the Egyptians, God, to draw His people away from idolatry, 
 casts this contempt upon that creature, in refusing the price it 
 should be sold for. Bp. Kidder. The law probably intended to 
 denote to them, that even the dog, one oi' the vilest of animals, 
 is a fit comparison for, and put as it were in tlie same rank with, 
 openly unclean and debauched people. Pi/le. 
 
 20. — that the Lord thy God mui/ bless Ihcc] Charitj- to their 
 poor brethren had many promises of a great reward; and this law 
 was made peculiarly for their relief. It extended indeed to all ; 
 but chiefly it was designed, as a provision for tlie poor and needy; 
 whom they were not to neglect: for God ordered tliem all to 
 live together, as brediren, children of the same father; and 
 descended, as indeed they all were, from one and tlie same 
 original. To this end all those precepts were given, whicli re- 
 quire them to lend gratuitously to their poor brother; to restore 
 the pledge left with them; to leave tlie comers of their fields un- 
 reaped; not to gather the gleanings of the kirvest and \'intage; 
 to observe the year of release and of jubilee; and such like pecu- 
 liar prov isions for the comfort of the poorer sort, that they might 
 share in the happiness which God bjstowed upon His elect peo- 
 ple. Bp. PatricL 
 
 * Eccles. 5. 
 4.
 
 Of vows and uf trespass. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 Of divorce, of pledges; 
 
 require it ot thee; and it would be sm m 
 CHRIST . ' 
 HA I. thee. 
 
 '3»i But if tlioii slialt forbear to vow, it 
 siiall he no sin in thee. 
 
 23 That which is gone out of thy lips 
 thou shall keep and perform; even a free- 
 will otlering, according as thou hast vowed 
 unto the Loud thy God, which thou hast 
 promised with thy mouth. 
 
 'Ji % When thou comest into thy neigh- 
 bour's vinevard, then thou mayest eat 
 grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but 
 thou slialt not put any in thy vessel. 
 
 ■25 A\licn thou comest into the standing 
 ' Miiihcw corn of thy neighbour, "then thou mayest 
 M.rk2.23. phick thc cars with thine hand; but thou 
 Luke 6. 1, shalt not move a sickle unto thy neigh- 
 bour's standing corn. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 I Of divorce. 5 A new married man goetli tiol to war. 
 6, 10 Of pledget. 7 Of' manslcakrs. 8 Of lepro.ii/. 
 li 'f/ie hire is lu be given. 16 0/' justice. 19 Of 
 charily. 
 
 WHEN a ' man hath taken a wife, and 
 married her, and it come to pass 
 that she find no favour in his eyes, because 
 he hath found t some uncleanness in her: 
 then let him write her a bill of t divorce- 
 ment, and give it in her hand, and send 
 her out of his house. 
 
 '2 Antl when she is departed out of his 
 house, she may go and be another man's 
 wife. 
 
 3 And if the latter husband hate her, 
 
 chap. XXIV. ver. 1. — because he hath found some uncleanness 
 in her:'] That is, hath observed some light carriage, or some 
 other defect of mind, or disorder of body. For it is not to be 
 supposetl here, that she was guilty of adultery, whicli was pu- 
 nishable with death: or that the husband was jealous of her on 
 that account, in which case the law had made provision. Numb. 
 V. 12. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 — a bill of divorcement,'] The law rigorously enforced the 
 observance of whatever it enjoined, thoiigli some precepts were 
 framed with somewhat of lax and indulgent consideration of what 
 the perverse temper of the Israelites would be;ir. Thus, as they 
 had long been accustomed to divorces, it was judged right, rather 
 to restrict them by deliberate regulations, than entirely to abolish 
 them, which might have occasioned bad consequences. Dr. Gray. 
 This |)ermission was granted, whether it were that the Hebrew 
 nation had for some time been accustomed to t;ike the liberty of 
 putting away their wives upon reasons of dislike or aversion; or 
 that God foresiiw that hardness and severity of temper in them, 
 which, from an absolute restraint on such liberty, would have 
 produced greater inconvenience and distraction in many families. 
 See Matt xix. 8. Vf/le. 
 
 4. Her former husband, — mat/ not take her again"] This was 
 a just punishment for his levity. Besides, this prohibition was 
 ver>- reasonable on r^everal accounts. 1st, It would tend to re- 
 strain men Irom divorcing their wives rashly and for light causes. 
 -Uly, i he woman was thereby secured from coming again under 
 the same yoke. 3dly, It prevented the hateful practice of lending 
 
 • Miiihcw 
 5.31. & 19. 
 7. 
 Mark 10. 4. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 mntter nf 
 tiaketlneis. 
 t Hcb. 
 cutting off. 
 
 and write her a bill of divorcement, and 
 giveth it in her hand, and sendcth her out 
 of his house; or if the latter husband die, 
 which took her to be his wife; 
 
 4 Her former husband, which sent her 
 away, may not take her again to be his 
 wife, after that she is defiled; for that is 
 abomination before the Lord : and thou 
 slialt not cause the land to sin, which the 
 Lord thy God giveth thee for an inherit- 
 ance. 
 
 5 ^ ^ When a man hath taken a new 
 wife, he shall not go out to war, t neither 
 shall he be charged with any business: but 
 he shall be free at home one year, and 
 shall cheer up his wife which he hath 
 taken. 
 
 6 ^ No man shall take the nether or the 
 upper milstone to pledge: for he taketh a 
 man's life to pledge. 
 
 7 ^ If a man be found stealing any of 
 his brethren of the children of Israel, 
 and maketh merchandise of him, or sell- 
 eth him; then that thief shall die; and 
 thou shalt put evil away from among 
 you. 
 
 8 ^ Take heed in the " plague of leprosy, 
 that thou observe diligently, and do ac- 
 cording to all that the priests the Levites 
 shall teach you: as I commanded them, so 
 ye shall observe to do. 
 
 9 Remember what the Lord thy God 
 did '' unto Miriam by the way, afler that 
 ye were come forth out of Egypt. 
 
 10 ^ When thou dost t lend thy brother 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 " Chap. 20. 
 
 7. 
 fHeb. 
 
 7int ant/ 
 thing shali 
 pass upon 
 him. 
 
 ' Lev. 1 3. 
 2. 
 
 1490. 
 ^ Numb. 
 12. 10. 
 t Heb. 
 lend the 
 loan iifnny 
 thing to, &c. 
 
 out, or prostituting wives, and the many mischiefs, arising thence, 
 which might have been practised, had it not been for this pro- 
 Jiibition. For which reason the taking of her again is called 
 " abomination before the Lord;" as what might have served for 
 a pretext to very vicious practices. Bp. Kidder. Thus while 
 God, for particular reasons, gave them this indulgence in a thing 
 not agreeable to the original institution and design of marriage. 
 He so restrained it as to prevent its worst inconveniences. 
 Pijk. 
 
 The law tolerated polygamy, and divorce upon slight occasions, 
 two practices which, though not immoral in their own nature, 
 were attended with bad consequences, produced jealousy and 
 discord, hatred and malice in families, and made it exceeding 
 difficult for children to love their brethren and sisters, and to 
 honour their parents. This, as our Saviour obser\'es, was per- 
 mitted to the Jews, only to prevent greater mischiefs which would 
 have followed tlie prohibition. Thus God, when He condescended 
 to be their Legislator and their King, condescended to their im- 
 perfections, and acted as human governours are often obliged to 
 act, who account it wisdom, of two evils to permit the lesser, and 
 to connive at things which they disapprove. Dr. Joriin. 
 
 9. Remember ivhut thc Lord thy God did iinio Miriam'] This 
 seems to be mentioned, that they might submit witli patience to 
 the confinement and long discipline required for the cure of 
 leprosy, since so great a person as Miriam was excluded so long 
 from the society of God's people. And it may also be regarded 
 as an admonition, to take care lest they should " speak evil of
 
 ofmemteakrs; 8^x. 
 
 CHAP. XXn^ XXV. 
 
 Stripes must not exceed forty. 
 
 20, 
 
 chrTst ''i"y tiling, thou shalt not go into his house 
 1451. to fetch his pledge. 
 
 11 Thou shalt stand abroad, and the 
 man to whom thou dost lend shall bring 
 out the pledge abroad unto thee. 
 
 12 And if the man be poor, thou shalt 
 not sleep with his pledge : 
 
 13 In any case thou shalt deliver him 
 the pledge again when the sun goeth down, 
 that he may sleep in his own raiment, and 
 bless thee : and it shall be righteousness 
 unto thee before the Lord thy God. 
 
 14 % Thou shalt not oppress an hired 
 servant that is poor and needy, xvhether he 
 be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that 
 are in thy land within thy gates : 
 
 ' Lev. 19. 15 At his day ' thou shalt give him his 
 Tob. 4. 14. hire, neither shall the sun go down upon 
 t Heb. it ; for he is poor, and t setteth his heart 
 iouiunto it. upon it : lest he cry against thee unto the 
 
 Lord, and it be sin unto thee. 
 < 2 Kings IC ^ The fathers shall not be put to death 
 2*chron. ^^r the children, neither shall the children 
 25. 4. be put to death for the fathers : every man 
 30"^' ^ ■ " ' shall be put to death for his own sin. 
 Eiek. 18. 17 ^ Thou shalt not pervert the judg- 
 ment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; 
 nor take the widow's raiment to pledge : 
 
 18 But thou shalt remember that thou 
 wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord 
 thy God redeemed thee thence : therefore 
 I command thee to do this thing. 
 
 19 IT ^ When thou cuttest down thine 
 harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf 
 in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch 
 it : it shall be for the stranger, for the fa- 
 therless, and for the widow : that the Lord 
 
 dignities," which brought this punishment on Miriam. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 10. — thou shalt not go into his house &c.] How are the feel- 
 ings, as well as the wants, of the poor consulted in this precept ! 
 ns if the legislator had said. Intrude not into the abode of thy poor 
 brother, if he is not willing to expose to the stranger's eye the 
 humiliating circumstances of want and nakedness, which attend 
 his destitute state : or pei-haps there is some little moniunent of 
 bis better days, which he reserves to console his miser}', and 
 which he would not wish to be seen by the person from whom he 
 implores aid, li^st he should demand that in pledge; and either, if 
 denied, refuse lelief, or by tearing away tliis almost sacred relick, 
 to which his heart clings, embitter his distress. No, saj's the 
 law ; the hovel of the poor must be sacred as an holy asylum : 
 the eye of scorn and the foot of pride must not dare to intrude : 
 even the agent of mercy must not enter it abruptly and unbitl, 
 without considting the feelings of its wretched inhabitant. Dr. 
 Graves. 
 
 16. — even/ man shall be put to death for his own sin.'] The 
 penalty of " visiting the sins of the fr'thers upon the chih'ren," 
 Exod. XX. 5, was reserved to God Himself as the Supi erne .Judge ; 
 for no magistrate was allowed, in ordinary cases, to punish the 
 innocent for the guilty. Compare Ezek. xviii. i — 20. Dr. 
 Hales. 
 20. When thou beatest thine olive iree,2 This is the usual me- 
 
 «Lcv. 19.9. 
 & 23. 22. 
 
 thy God may bless thee in all the work of ^^"^^ 
 thine hands. ^^^^^ 
 
 ST 
 
 1451. 
 
 20 When thou beatest thine olive tree, 
 
 t thou shalt not go over the boughs an^ain : t Heb. 
 it shall be for the stranger, for the father- t/" 'S'it 
 less, and for the widow, a/ier thee. 
 
 21 When thou gatherest the grapes of 
 
 thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean ?7tafter- t Heb. 
 ward : it shall be for the stranger, for the °"^ " ""'' 
 fatherless, and for the widow. 
 
 22 And thou shalt remember that thou 
 wast a bondman in the land of Egx'pt : 
 therefore I command thee to do this 
 thing. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 1 Stripes must not exceed forty, i The ox is not to be 
 muzzled. 5 Of raising seed unio a brother, li Of 
 the immodest woman. 13 0/ ujijust weights. 17 The 
 memory of Amalek is to be blotted out. 
 
 IF there be a controversy between men, 
 and they come unto judgment, that the 
 judges may judge them ; then they shall 
 justify the righteous, and condemn the 
 wicked. 
 
 2 And it shall be, if the wicked man be 
 worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall 
 cause him to lie down, and to be beaten 
 before his face, according to his fault, by a 
 certain number. 
 
 3 ^ Forty stripes he may give him, ffwr/°2Cor. u. 
 not exceed : lest, ifhe should exceed, and 
 
 beat him above these with many stripes, 
 then thy brother should seem vile unto 
 
 thpp "iCor.O.S. 
 
 i-^i^*i- 1 Tim. 5. 
 
 4 % ''Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when 'f- 
 
 he t treadeth out the corn. »Ar«AeM. 
 
 thod of gathering the fruit of the olive tree. In the kingdom of 
 Naples, and in several other parts of Italy, they beat the branches 
 with long poles, in order to make the fruit fall. The ohves of 
 the Holy Land continue to be beaten down to this time. 
 Harmer. 
 
 Chap. XXV. ver. 3. Forty stripes tie may giw him,"} This law 
 forbad exceeding forty stripes : the rabbies decided for thirty- 
 nine : the manner of scourging with tliree thongs confined it to 
 this number. Dr. Gerard. 
 
 4. Thou shall not muzzle the ox &c.] Homer has described the 
 method of threshing corn by the feet of oxen, as practised in his 
 time and countrj'. The ancient Arabs, Syrians, Egyptians, and 
 Romans, threshed their corn in the same manner by the feet of 
 oxen. And " the Moors and Arabs," says Dr. Shaw, " continue 
 to tread out their corn after the jirimitive custom of the East. 
 Instead of beeves thev frequenth make use of mules and horses, 
 by tying in the like manner, by the neck, tlirec or fo\ir of them 
 together, and whipping them afterwards round about the thresh- 
 ingfloors, where the shea\ es lie open and exp:mded, in the same 
 manner as they are placed and prepared with us for tlireshing." 
 Tile import of the Commandment, which tiie Apostle applies to 
 Ministers of the Gospel, is. It is not fit, that he who contri- 
 butes to prepare food for others, should be denied a portion of 
 sustenance for himself; see Hosca xi. 4 : for it should appear.
 
 Tlw law of raising up seed. 
 
 D E U T E R O N O M Y, 
 
 Of unjust -weights. 
 
 lU-f.'rt 
 
 til a I ST 
 
 • M»ith. •-'-' 
 
 Mwk \2. 
 
 Lukr -20. 
 98. 
 I Or. 
 ntxt hns- 
 man. 
 
 Or. 
 tuxt Ai'iu* 
 
 'S Huth-I. 7. 
 
 tHeb. 
 a ttune nnd 
 
 a it one. 
 
 5 IF ' If brethren dwell together, and one 
 of them die, and have no child, the wife 
 of the dead siiall not marry without unto 
 a stranger : her II husband's lirother shall 
 go in unto her, and take her to him to 
 wife, and perform the duty of an hus- 
 band's brother unto her. 
 
 6 And it shall be, l/nit the firstborn 
 which she bcareth shall succeed in the 
 name of his brother xc/iic/i is dead, that 
 his name be not put out of Israel. 
 
 7 And if the man like not to take his 
 II brother's wife, then let his brother's wife 
 go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, 
 ^My husbaiurs brother refuseth to raise 
 up iuito his brother a name in Israel, he 
 will not peribrm the duty of my husband's 
 brother. 
 
 8 Then the elders of his city shall call 
 him, and speak unto him : and if he stand 
 to it, and sav, I like not to take her ; 
 
 <) Then 'shall his brother's wife come 
 unto him in the presence of the elders, and 
 loose his shoe from off" his foot, and spit in 
 his face, and shall answer and say. So shall 
 it be done unto that man that will not 
 build up his brother's house. 
 
 10 And his name shall be called in Is- 
 rael, The house of him that hath his shoe 
 loosed. 
 
 11 ^ When men strive together one with 
 another, and the wife of the one draweth 
 near for to deliver her husband out of the 
 hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth 
 forth her hand, and taketh him by the se- 
 crets : 
 
 12 Then thou shalt cut off her hand, 
 thine eye shall not pity her. 
 
 13 % Thou shalt not have in thy bag 
 t divers weights, a great and a small. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 th.it however, to this day, the oxen which " tread out com" are 
 not uuizzled, in other kinds of labour they were and still are. 
 Frapnenis to Calinel. God instructs His people, by shewing 
 mercy to their beasts, to be kind one to anotlier ; particularly to 
 their servants nnd labourers : but above all to those, who labour 
 in the work of tlie ministry for the salvation of souls : as St. Paul 
 argues, 1 Cor. ix. 9. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 We have here a sjrmbolical law ; and the meaning of it is, that 
 ■wliosoever is employed in labours beneficial to others, ought hini- 
 felf to partake of the profit. This law therefore recommends 
 humanrty to slaves and to hired servants, encouragement to the 
 industrioui;, liberality to the deserving, and publick rewards to 
 those who are useful to the publick. For this inteqiretation we 
 have the warrant nnd authority of St. Paul. Dr. Jortiii. 
 
 9- — lo(Uf his shoe from ojf his fool,'] Some think this was done 
 to signify the man's renouncing all rigiit and title to the woman. 
 But this meaning being countenanced by no parallel passage in 
 Scripture, or the like usage in any country that I know of, it is 
 most agreeable to the design of the law here given, to understand 
 It as an expression of ignominy and disgrace. Compare Is. xx. 3, 4. 
 Fyle. It may have been a mark of infamy for his want of natu- 
 
 14 Thou shalt not have in thine house 
 t divers measures, a great and a small. 
 
 15 But thou shalt have a perfect andtHci). 
 just weight, a perfect and just measure "J',aa'n'' 
 shalt thou have : that thy days may be epii"''- 
 lengthened in the land which the Lord 
 
 thy God giveth thee. 
 
 l(i For all that do such things, and all 
 that do unrighteous^, are an abomination 
 unto the Lord thy (lod. 
 
 17 % " Remember what Amalek did unto ' Exod. it. 
 thee by the way, when ye were come forth 
 
 out of Egypt ; 
 
 18 How he met thee by the way, and 
 smote the hindmost of thee, even all that 
 tverc feeble behind thee, when thou wast 
 faint and weary ; and he feared not God. 
 
 19 Therefore it shall be, when the Lord 
 thy God hath given thee rest from all 
 thine enemies round about, in the land 
 which the Lord thy God giveth thee for 
 an inheritance to possess it, that thou 
 shalt blot out the remembrance of Ama- 
 lek from under heaven ; thou shalt not 
 forget it. 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 1 The confcsxion of him that offcreth the haskti nf Jirsl- 
 fniils. 12 The prai/cr of' him that giveth his third 
 year's tithes. 16 Tlie covenant between God nnd the 
 people. 
 
 AND it shall be, when thou art come 
 in unto the land which the Lord thy 
 God giveth thee for an inheritance, and 
 possessest it, and dwellest therein ; 
 
 y That thou shalt take of the first of all 
 the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt 
 bring of thy land that the Lord thy God 
 giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, 
 and shalt go unto the place which the 
 
 ral affection ; which made him unworthy to be reckoned among 
 free-men, and deserving rather of being thrust down into the 
 condition of slaves, who were wont to go barefoot. Bp. Patrick. 
 Concerning the otlier mark of contempt, see tlie note on Numb, 
 xii. 14. 
 
 1 3. Thou sJinlt not have in thij bag dii'ers treights,'] Besides what 
 every body calls theft, there are many practices, which amount 
 indirectly to much the same thing, however disguised in the 
 vorld under gentler names. Thus, in the way of trade and 
 business ; if the seller puts off any thing for better than it is, by 
 false assertions or deceitful arts : if he takes advantage of the 
 buyer's ignorance, or particular necessities, or good opinion of 
 him, to insist on a larger price for it than the current value : or 
 if he gives less in quantity than he professes, or is understood to 
 give : the frequency of some of these cases cannot alter the nature 
 of imy of them. No one can be ignorant that they are wrong, 
 but such as are wilfully or very carelessly ignorant : and the de- 
 claration of Scripture against the last of them is extended, in the 
 same place, to every one of the rest. " For all that do such 
 things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination imto the 
 Lord thy (Jod." .4bp. Sechr.
 
 The covfession of him 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 that qfferelh the Jirstfriuls. 
 
 ounTI-r Lord thy God shall choose to place his 
 1451. name there. 
 
 3 And thou shalt go unto the priest that 
 shall be in those days, and say unto him, 
 I profess this day unto the Loud thy God, 
 that I am come unto the country which the 
 Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us. 
 
 4" And the priest shall take the basket 
 out of thine hand, and set it down before 
 the altar of the Lord thy God. 
 
 5 And thou shalt speak and say before 
 the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to pe- 
 rish "was my father, and he went down into 
 Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, 
 and became there a nation, great, mighty, 
 and populous : 
 
 6 And the Egyptians evil entreated us, 
 and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard 
 bondage : 
 
 7 And when we cried unto the Lord 
 God of our fathers, the Lord heard our 
 voice, and looked on our affliction, and 
 our labour, and our oppression : 
 
 8 And the Lord brought us forth out of 
 Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an 
 outstretched arm, and with great terrible- 
 ness, and with signs, and with wonders : 
 
 9 And he hath brought us into this 
 place, and hath given us this land, even a 
 land that floweth with milk and honey. 
 
 10 And now, behold, I have brought the 
 firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, 
 hast given me. And thou shalt set it be- 
 fore the Lord thy God, and worship before 
 the Lord thy God : 
 
 1 1 And thou shalt rejoice in every good 
 tiling which the Lord thy God hath given 
 unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and 
 the Levite, and the stranger that is among 
 you. 
 
 Chap. XXVI. ver. 3. — I profess this daij &c.^ How suitable 
 is this profession to the offering of the firstfruits ! Here is an 
 acknowledgment of the goodness of God; of their own unworthi- 
 Hess to receive so great goodness; of the truth of God's promises, 
 and God's faithfulness, in fulfilling His covenant. What useful 
 instruction, what jjroper praise do tliese few words express ! 
 " Now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of tlie land, which 
 Thou, () Lord, hast given me." Loi'iimn. 
 
 5. — A Syrian ready lo peris/i was myfalher^ Jacob is called 
 " a Syrian," as being servant to Laban, wlui was a Syrian, Gen. 
 XXV. 20; consequently Jacob's mother was so, as were both his 
 ■wives, and all his children, w'ho were born tlierc, excej)t Benja- 
 min. Or else he is stjled " a Syrian," because Mesopotamia, or 
 Padan-aram, whither lie was forced to flee, as well as several 
 other adjacent countries, was comprehended anciently under the 
 name of Syria. Bp. Patrick, Pijk. 
 
 13. — / have brought away the hallowed things &c.] This profes- 
 sion was a wise provision, to keep in memory the goodness of 
 God to the Hebrew nation, and tlieir peculiar engagements to 
 the honour and service of Jehovah, the God of their fathers, as 
 the Abraliamick family. It was a wise means, by an offering to 
 Vol. I. 
 
 12 % When thou hast made an end of '''^'"^ 
 tithing all the tithes of thine increase the "Jsi.^ 
 third year, which is ' the year of tithing, » chap. m. 
 and hast given it unto the Levite, the ^^■ 
 stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, 
 
 that they may eat within thy gates, and be 
 filled; 
 
 13 Then thou shalt say before the Lord 
 thy God, I have brought away the hallow- 
 ed things out of mine house, and also have 
 given them unto the Levite, and unto the 
 stranger, to the fatherless, and to the wi- 
 dow, according to all thy commandments 
 which thou hast commanded me : I have 
 not transgressed thy commandments, nei- 
 ther have I forgotten the7)i: 
 
 14 I have not eaten thereof in my 
 mourning, neither have I taken away ought 
 thereof for a?ii/ unclean use, nor given 
 ought thereof for the dead : but I have 
 hearkened to the voice of the Lord my 
 God, and have done according to all that 
 thou hast commanded me. 
 
 15 i^Look down from thy holy habita- "isai.es. 
 tion, from heaven, and bless thy people 
 Israel, and the land which thou hast given 
 
 us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land 
 that floweth with milk and honey. 
 
 16 ^ This day the Lord thy God hath 
 commanded thee to do these statutes and 
 judgments : thou shalt tlierefore keep and 
 do them with all thine heart, and with aji 
 thy soul. 
 
 17 Thou hast avouched the Lord this 
 day to be thy God, and to walk in his 
 ways, and to keep his statutes, and his 
 commandments, and his judgments, and to 
 hearken unto his voice : 
 
 18 And "the Lord hath avouched thee ' ciwp. :. 
 this day to be his peculiar people, as he 
 
 Jehovali, attended with such a profession, to prevent the super- 
 stitions then gaining ground; as the Egyptians, says Bi>hop 
 Patrick, " when they offered the firstfruits of the earth, kept 
 the feast of Isis with doleful lamentations, and as by this nioiu-ij- 
 ing tliey acknowledged Isis, that is, the earth, to be the giver ol' 
 all these good things; so Jehovah required His people to bring 
 in their harvest with the greatest joy and tlianks to Him. As the 
 idolaters separated some part of the firstfruits for m;igical pur- 
 poses, and sometimes for carnal and filthy; (for in their feasts 
 great impurities were allowed and practised:) and as they wen- 
 used to honour the gods and heroes of their countJ-y publickly, 
 according to the laws of their country, anil privately, as much ;is 
 tliey were able, with speaking well of theiu, and with the fir.st- 
 fruits and annual offerings:" the ritu;il not only wisely dircLLs an 
 offering to Jehovah, the one true God, and a profession that the_\ 
 have not abused the fruits of the earth to any magical or un- 
 clean u.?e, or to the honour or worsliip of any departed souls, 
 become heroes since their death: but it was also a constant use- 
 ful exhortation to receive all their blessings as the gift of Je- 
 hovah, and to honour Him, and Him only, as their God. Lon- 
 man.
 
 The people air commanded to 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 xorile the law upon stones. 
 
 M<^ hath promised thee, and that thou should- 
 ^"-Sr^ est keep all his commandments; 
 
 ly And to make tliee high ahove all na- 
 tions which he hath made, in praise, and 
 in name, and in honour; and that thou 
 mayest be an holy people unto the Lord 
 thy God, as he hath sjjoken. 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 I The i>eoBk arc commanded to write the law upon stones, 
 5 and to bmid an altar of wluJc stones. 1 1 The tribes 
 divided on Oerizim and Ebal. U The curses pro- 
 nouiKed on mount Ebal. 
 
 AND Moses with tiie ciders of Israel 
 commanded the people, saying. Keep 
 all the commandments wiiich I command 
 you this day. 
 •Josh. 4.1. 2 And it shall be on the day " when ye 
 shall pa-ss over Jordan unto the land which 
 the Lord thy God giveth thee, that thou 
 shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister 
 them with plaister : 
 
 3 And thou shalt write upon them all 
 the words of this law, when thou art passed 
 over, that thou mayest go in unto the land 
 which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a 
 land tliat floweth with milk and honey; as 
 the Lord God of thy fathers hath promis- 
 ed thee. 
 
 4 Therefore it shall be when ye be gone 
 over Jordan, that ye shall set up these 
 stones, which I command you this day, in 
 mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them 
 with plaister. 
 
 5 And there shalt thou build an altar 
 unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones : 
 
 MElOi 20. b |.J,Qy gj^jjj^ jjQj. JJ£,. jjp ^J^y Jj.QJ^ fQQl yy^QXl 
 
 j<Mh.8.3i. them. 
 
 Chap. XXVII. ver. 1. And Moses with the elders &c.] Moses, 
 havinj; repeated and cxpliiined tlie law, which -was given at 
 Horeb, enifnges tlie people to obey it; and that he does by the 
 very same methods which he used, wlicn the law was first given 
 thcni. 1-t, He then built an altar according to the command 
 and direction given him, Exod. xxiv. 4; xx. 21, 25; and he takes 
 the same care here, ver. .^. 2dly, He then wrote the words of 
 the law, Exod. xxiv. 4; and here he tikej care it should be done, 
 ter. 3, 4. Sdly, He then took the people's profession of obe- 
 dience, Exod. xxiv. S; and he mentions the same profession here, 
 chap. xxvi. 17. 4thly, He then took care to confirm the covenant 
 between Go;! and the people by sacrifices, Exod. xxiv. 5 ; and now 
 he requires the very same kinds of sacrifices also, ver. G, 7- Sthly, 
 He then, after all his other care, set before them blessings and 
 riirses, I.ev. xxvi; and so he does here, ver. 12, 13, and chap, 
 txviii. Bji. Kidder. 
 
 2. — and pLtistcr Ihem &c.] That being plain and smooth, 
 thty might write on them what is here commanded; which some 
 suppose tu he the whole book of Deuteronomy; others, the ten 
 roii.mardnients, which were the principal " words of the cove- 
 nant," as Mows calls his bw, chap. xxix. 1. But Josephus is of 
 opinion, th.1t he means Uie curlings which follow from ver. 1 5, to 
 the end of the ch.ipter. This is not improbable; as they contain 
 srrrral felei t pretepts, ami the last of them seems to respect the 
 whole law of Mos^s. 
 
 6 Thou shalt build the altar of the Lord (,j^*,^7gT. 
 thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt h:-,i. 
 offer burnt offerings thereon luito the LoRp 
 
 thy God : 
 
 7 And thou shalt ofter peace offerings, 
 and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the 
 Lord thy God. 
 
 8 And thou shalt write upon the stofics 
 all the words of this law very plainly. 
 
 9 % And Moses and the priests the Le- 
 vites spake unto all Israel, saying. Take 
 heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou 
 art become the people of the Lord thy 
 God. 
 
 10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice 
 of the Lord thy God, and do his com- 
 mandments and his statutes, which I com- 
 mand thee this day. 
 
 1 1 5F And Moses charged the people the 
 same clay, saying, 
 
 12 These shall stand upon moimt Ge- 
 rizim to bless the people, when ye are 
 come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and 
 Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Ben- 
 jamin : 
 
 13 And these shall stand upon mount 
 Ebal t to curse ; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, t Hcb. 
 and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. {r-' ""^ 
 
 14 ^ And " the Levites shall speak, and ' D.in. o. 
 say unto all the men of Israel with a loud 
 voice, 
 
 15 Cursed be the man that maketh ani/ 
 graven or molten image, an abomination 
 unto the Lord, the work of the hands of 
 the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret 
 place. And all the people shall answer 
 and say, Amen. 
 
 Before the use of paper was discovered, the ancients, particu- 
 larly the Phenicians and Egj-ptians, were accustomed to write 
 upon stones: and the custom continued long after the invention 
 of paper, especially if they wished any thing to be commonly 
 known and conveyed down to posterity. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12, 13. — mount Gerizim — mount EbaF] Tliese two mountains 
 are situate in the tribe of Ephraira, near Shechem, in the province 
 of Samaria, and are only separated by a valley, of about 200 paces 
 wide: so that the priests, pronouncing the blessings and curses, 
 in a very loud and distinct manner, might be heard by the people 
 on the sides of the two hills: especially if tbey were advanced on 
 pulpits, as Ezra afterwards was, Nehem. viii. 4, and had their 
 pulpits placed at proper distances. Stackhouse. 
 
 15. — all the people shall answer and say, Aineri.'^ Amenj in 
 Hebrew, signifies true, faithful, certsun. It is understoml as ex- 
 pressing a wish, "Amen," so be it! or an affinnation, "Amen," 
 yes, I belieic it. The Hebrews end the five books of Psalms, 
 according to their distribution of them, with " Amen, amen;" 
 which the Greek and Latin versions render, " so he it !" The 
 Gospels, &c. are ended witli '' Amen." The Greek, Latin, and 
 other churches, preserve this v.-crd in their prayers, as well as 
 AUelujah, and Hii.sanna. At the conclusion of the publick pray- 
 ers, the people anciently answered with a loud voice. Amen. And 
 St. Jerome says, that at Rome, when tlie people answered Amen, 
 the sound was like a clap of tiiunder. Calmel. In this plaee tTie
 
 Curses pronounced 
 
 CHAP. XXVII, XXVIII. 
 
 on mount Ebai. 
 
 chrTst ^^ Cursed be he that setteth light by his 
 " H51. father or his mother. And all the people 
 shall say, Amen. 
 
 17 Cursed be he that removeth his 
 neighbour's landmark. And all the peo- 
 ple shall say. Amen. 
 
 48 Cursed be he that raaketh the blind 
 to wander out of the way. And all the 
 people shall say. Amen. 
 
 19 Cursed be he that perverteth the 
 judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and 
 widow. And all the people shall say, 
 Amen. 
 
 20 Cursed be he that lieth with his fa- 
 ther's wife ; because he uncovereth his 
 father's skirt. And all the people shall 
 say. Amen. 
 
 21 Cursed be he that lieth with any 
 manner of beast. And all the people 
 shall say. Amen. 
 
 22 Cursed be he that lieth with his sis- 
 ter, the daughter of his father, or the 
 daughter of his mother. And all the peo- 
 ple shall say, Amen. 
 
 ■word is an expression of consent. For sometimes, as the Tal- 
 mudists sav, it has the force of an oath; sometimes it only declares 
 consent and approbation ; and sometimes is used for tlie con- 
 firmation of any thing. An example of the first they think there 
 is in Numb. v. 22: they allege this place for an example of the 
 second : and for the third, Jer. xxviii. 6. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 16. Cursed be he that sdtclh light by his father &c.] The law 
 of Moses hath secured and enforced paternal authority in many 
 instances : the crimes also against God and man are enumerated in 
 it with sufficient accuracy, and proper pimishments are appointed 
 for them : and yet, what liath been observed concerning the laws 
 of Solon and of Romulus, the first an Athenian, the other a Roman 
 lawgiver, is also remarkable in the la\\s of Moses : namely, that 
 no mention is made of murderers of fathers or mothers ; as if it 
 were impossible, that any one could do so execrable a deed. But 
 he who struck, or he who cursed his father or mother, was to be 
 treated as he who cursed God and blasphemed His holy name ; 
 he was to be put to death. Afterwards, as iniquity abounded in 
 the world, murderers of fathers and mothers, as .St. Paid observes, 
 were no uncommon criminals, and severe laws were enacted by 
 the Romans and by other nations against such vile malefactors. 
 Dr. Jortiii. See the note on Lev. xx. 9- 
 
 18. Cursed be he thai makelh the blind to rvaiider &C.2 Among 
 several heinous crimes, such as idolatry, contempt of parents, 
 murder, rapine, and the like, is mentioned this of " causing the 
 blind to go out of their way :" a wickedness of a singular nature, 
 and which one would not expect to find in this list of vicious 
 actions. It is a crime, which is seldom committed ; there are few 
 opportunities for it ; there is little temptation to it ; it is doing 
 mischief for mischief's sake, an enormity to which few can easily 
 bring themselves. Blindness in all languages is put for errour, 
 and ignorance ; and in the stj'le of the Scriptures, ways and 
 paths, and walking, running, going, wandering astray, stumbhng, 
 falling, mean the actions and the behaviour of men. These ob- 
 vious observations wUl lead us to the moral, mystical, spiritual, 
 and enlarged sense of the law or commination ; and it is this : 
 Cursed is he, who imposeth upon the simple, the credulous, tJie 
 imwary, the ignorant, and tlie helpless ; and either hurts, or de- 
 frauds, or deceives, or seduces, or misinforms, or misleads, or 
 perverts, or corrupts, or spoils them. And if cursed be he that 
 maketh the blind to wander out of his way, then by the rule of 
 
 23 Cursed be he that heth with his mo- ^rfcre 
 ther in law. And all the people shall say, '^"«{.^'^ 
 Amen. 
 
 24 Cursed be he that smiteth his neigh- 
 bour secretly. And all the people shall 
 say. Amen. 
 
 25 "• Cursed be he that taketh reward to ' ^'=''- *-• 
 slay an innocent person. And all the peo- 
 ple shall say. Amen. 
 
 26 "^ Cursed be he that confirmeth not aU ' ^^- ' 
 the words of this law to do them. And all 
 
 the people shall say, Amen. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 1 The blessings for dialicnce. 1 5 The curses for dis- 
 obedience. 
 
 AND it shall come to pass, * if thou ' L"- i« 
 shalt hearken diligently unto the ^ 
 voice of the Lord thy God, to observe 
 and to do all his commandments which I 
 command thee this day, that the Lord thy 
 God will set thee on high above all na- 
 tions of the earth : 
 
 contraries, blessed is he who can say vnth Job, " I was eyes to 
 the blind, and feet was I to the lame," chap. x.\ix. 15. Dr. Jorlin. 
 26. Cursed be he that confinneth not &c3 The severe spirit, 
 which pervades the law, as shewn in the numerous exactions and 
 declaratory curses detailed in this book, was consistently contrived 
 to point out the rigorous character of the Divine justice, which, 
 in a covenant of stipulated obser\ances, necessarily required 
 punctilious and universal obedience. For though the Divine 
 mercy might compassionate the weakness of human nature, and 
 therefore it prescribed atonements not difficult to be paid ; yet 
 God could not, in conformity with His relation to tlic Israelites, 
 overlook even involuntary deficiencies, or casual defilements. Dr. 
 Gray. 
 
 After the pattern here set by God Himself, the Church of 
 England in her Commination Service places before her member> 
 the curses due to all sin, and puts them in mind of Ciod's dreadful 
 tribunal, where the impenitent shall be most certainly condemned. 
 Tliis pious office has been sometimes traduced, as if the saying of 
 " Amen" to these sentences of God's law were a cursing of our- 
 selves, and a wicked as well as a foolish thing. But probably it 
 is not considered, that God Himself commanded this manner of 
 answering. And the saying of Amen does not here signify 
 wishing, but affirming and declaring the truth of what God hatli 
 revealed. Thus Amen is often in the Gospel translated " verily;" 
 and Jesus, who is the Truth, is called " Amen ;" so lliat Auien is 
 no more than a declaration, that he, whom God blissetli, is 
 blessed, and he, whom God curseth, is cursed ; and these '• curses" 
 are like our Saviour's " woes" in the Gospel ; not procurers of 
 evil, but compassionate predictions of it, in order to prevent it. 
 Christ indeed has purchased forgiveness of sins by His death ; 
 yet repentance is necessary- to qualify us to receive the benefits of 
 It. Under the Gospel, no less than under the Law, sinners, im- 
 penitent sinners, are really accursed. To con\incc them of this, 
 and to make them own it, is the truest blessing that can be pro- 
 cured for them by tiie Church. And accordingly, to press all 
 Christians to a true and sincere repentance from the consideration 
 of God's dreadful wratli against unrepentcd sin, and so to lead 
 them tlu-ough His mercy to pardon and peace in this hfe, and 
 eternal happiness in the next, is the benefit which the Church 
 proposes by setting the curses of God's law before us. Nelson. 
 Chap, XXVIII. ver. 1. And it .^hall cvme to pass. &c,l Thf 
 3D2
 
 Blessings for obedience. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 Curses for disobedience. 
 
 Before 2 And all these blessings shall come 
 
 '"'Im'^^ on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt 
 
 hearken unto the voice of the Loud thy 
 
 God. , , 
 
 S Blessed shalt tiiou be ni the city, and 
 
 Messed shalt tliou be in the field. 
 
 4 Blessed shall be the tiuit of thy body, 
 and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit 
 of thv cattle, tiie increase of thy kme, and 
 the rfocks of thy sheep. 
 
 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy 
 B Or. II store. 
 
 win"''' <' Blessed shalt thou be when thou com- 
 t'^ugkT est in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou 
 goest out. 
 
 7 The LoKD shall cause thine enemies 
 that rise up against thee to be smitten be- 
 fore thy face:" they shall come out against 
 thee one way, and flee before thee seven 
 ways. 
 
 S The Lord shall command the blessing 
 
 a Or. upon thee in thy II storehouses, and in all 
 
 '"""• that thou settest thine hand unto; and he 
 
 shall bless thee in the land which the Lord 
 
 thy God giveth thee. 
 
 <) The Lord shall establish thee an holy 
 people unto himself, as he hath sworn un- 
 to thee, if thou shalt keep the command- 
 ments of the Loiiu thy God, and walk in 
 liis ways. 
 
 10 And all ])cople of the earth shall see 
 that thou art calleil by the name of the 
 'Chap.so. Loud; and they shall be afraid of thee. 
 U'or.' n And " the Lord shall make thee plen- 
 
 /orgoorf. teous II in goods, in the fruit of thy tbody, 
 \ciiy. and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the 
 
 prophecies of Moses may lie considered as supplemenUii-y to tliose 
 of .Facob and Balaam: furnishing a more detailed account of the 
 fortunes of the Israelites, and ;ilterwar(ls of the Jews. His pre- 
 dictions of the corruptions of his people after his drath ; of their 
 subsequent calamities under the judicial and regal --tites ; of the 
 horrours of the Assyrian and Babylonian, and after\< ards of the 
 Roman, captivity ; arc delivered with such plainness and preci- 
 sion, that they seem rather to be historical narratives of" past 
 transactions, than prophecies of future. In this n spect tliej- differ 
 from all others, excepting those of our Lord Himself; the predic- 
 tions of the rest being generally delivered in a figurative and 
 highly poetical style, very concise, and very obscure. Dr. Hales. 
 It is observable that the prophecies of >Tnses abound most in 
 the latter part of his writings. As he •!!. w ne.irer his end, it 
 ple.iscd Crod t<i open to him larger pro' j>icis of things. As he 
 was .".bout to take leave of the peo|)lr, ho was enabled to disclose 
 to them more particuLirs of their future stjite and condition. The 
 principal of thc.^e are contained in this chapter ; and we may see 
 the greater part of them accomplished in the world at this present 
 time. lip. Nin-lon. 
 
 2. And alt //ir.ve Uesnings &c.'] Moses here sets at large before 
 the people the blessings for obedience, and the curses for disobe- 
 <lience : and indeed he had foretold, at several times and upon 
 icvcral occasions, that they should be happy or miserable in the 
 world, i« tJiey were obedient or disobedient to the law that he 
 had given them. And could there be any stronger evidence of 
 
 tiuit of thy ground, in the land which the ch'rist 
 Loud sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 1151. 
 
 V2 The Loud shall open unto thee his 
 good treasure, the heaven to give the rain 
 unto thy land in his season, and to bless all 
 the work oi' thine hand : and " thou shalt ' cimp. is. 
 lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not *^' 
 borrow. 
 
 13 And the Lord shall make thee the 
 head, and not the tail ; and thou shalt be 
 above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; 
 if that thou hearken unto the command- 
 ments of the Loud thy God, which I com- 
 mand thee this day, to observe and to do 
 them : 
 
 14 And thou shalt not go aside from any 
 of the words which I command thee this 
 day, to the right hand or to the left, to go 
 after other gods to ser\e them. 
 
 15 ^ But it .shall come to pass, " if thou '' i-cv. ss. 
 wilt not hearken unto the voice of the j^a,,,. o. 17. 
 Loud thy God, to observe to do all his M"'- -• -■ 
 commandments and his statutes which I •io.™'^' 
 command thee this day ; tliat all these 
 curses shall come upon thee, and overtake 
 
 thee : 
 
 1() Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and 
 cursed shalt thou be in the field. 
 
 17 Cin-scd s/iall be thy basket and thy 
 store. 
 
 IS Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, 
 and the fruit of thy land, the increase of 
 thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 
 
 19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest 
 in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou go- 
 est out. 
 
 the Divine original of the Mosaical law .' and hath not the inter- 
 position of Providence been wonderfully remarkable in their good 
 or bad fortune.' and is not the truth of the prediction fully at- 
 tested by the whole series of their history from their first settle- 
 ment in Canaan to this very day ? But he is larger and more par- 
 ticular in recounting the curses than tlie blessings, as if he had 
 a prescience of the people's disobedience, and foresaw that a 
 larger portion and a longer continuation of the evil would fall to 
 their share, than of the good. Bp. Newton. 
 
 5. — lli>/ bushel and Ihy slore.'\ The word " basket " probably 
 means their travelling baskets; and " store" their leathern bags; 
 in both of which they were accustomed to carry things for travel- 
 ling. The former word occurs only in the account of tlio con- 
 venience, in which they were to cany their fir.stfruits to Jerusa- 
 lem : the other no where, but in the description of tlie hurrying 
 journey of Israel out of Egypt, where it means the uten.sil, in 
 wliich they then carried th«ir (lough. Probably the two words 
 denote vessels used for carrying things in travelling: and being 
 so understoiid, the passage promises Israel success in their com- 
 merce, as tlie next verse promises them personal safety in their 
 going out and in their return. Hurmcr. 
 
 1 2. — ill /lis season,'] The former and the latter rain, as the 
 .Scripture calls it. See the note on chap. xi. 14. These rains are 
 particularly distinguished, not because there was no more rain dur- 
 ing the whole winter, but because on the regular returns of these 
 the plenty of the harvests essentially depended. Dr. Blayney.
 
 Curses for 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 disobedience. 
 
 IG. 
 
 Before 20 Tlie Lord shall send upon thee 
 
 1451. cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that 
 
 + Heb. thou settest thine hand unto t for to do, 
 
 ""^""IkTdo ""*''^ '''^'^^ ^^ destroyed, and until thou 
 0. pgj.jgjj quickly J because of the wickedness 
 
 of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken 
 
 me. 
 
 21 The Lord shall make the pestilence 
 
 cleave unto thee, until he have consumed 
 
 thee from off the land, whither thou goest 
 
 to possess it. 
 ' Lev. 2G. 22 ^ The Lord shall smite thee with a 
 
 consumption, and with a fever, and with 
 
 an inflammation, and with an extreme 
 !l ^'■' burning, and with the || sword, and with 
 " "" " blasting, and with mildew ; and they shall 
 
 pursue thee until thou perish. 
 
 23 And thy heaven that is over thy head 
 shall be brass, and the earth that is under 
 thee shall he iron. 
 
 24 The Lord shall make the rain of thy 
 land powder and dust : from heaven shall 
 it come down upon thee, until thou be de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 25 The Lord shall cause thee to be 
 smitten before thine enemies : 'thou shalt 
 go out one way against them, and flee seven 
 
 •f Hcb. ways before them : and shalt be t removed 
 
 for a re- 
 
 into all the kingdoms of the earth. 
 
 22. — Tvith a consumption, &C.3 Sclieuchzcr thinks this list of 
 diseases comprises those of an inflammatory nature. That ren- 
 dered " consumption" is perhaps a pestilential swelling, rising for 
 tlie most part under the arm, many instances of which are noticed 
 in Dr. Russell on the I'lague. " Tile sword," should probably be 
 " thirst, or burning drought;" see the margin. If these diseases 
 be such as arise from a violently lieated state of the atmosphere, 
 from a want of cooling rains and refreshing dews, then we see the 
 connexion and climax of the whole, in the following verses, " Thy 
 heaven over thy head shall he brass," &c. Script, illust. 
 
 blasting, and with inildeiv ,] These two relate to the de- 
 struction of tlieir corn, and the fruits of the earth, which follows 
 on the corruption of the air, as famine follows on the corruption 
 of the fruits of the earth. The former word appears to signify, 
 as the Greek version translates it, l>/ig/iti)ig either by sharp winds, 
 or by heat. And the other seems properly rendered by a Greek 
 word signifying paleness: for corn, grass, and herbs turn pale 
 and wan for want of moisture. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 23. And tilt/ heaven — shall be brass, and the earth — iron.'2 
 That is, as free from moisture as brass ; as hard and impenetrable 
 as iron. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 24'. — the rain of thij land powder and dust :] Sometimes in 
 India the wind blows very higli in those hot and dry seasons ; 
 raising up into the air a very great height thick clouds of dust and 
 sand. These dry showers most grievously annoy all those among 
 whom they fall ; enough to smite them all with a present blind- 
 ness ; filling tlieir eyes, ears, nostrils ; and their mouths are not 
 free, if they be not also well guarded, &c. Sir T. Roc's Embassi/. 
 Last night we crossed over an inhospitable sandy desert, where, 
 here and there, we beheld the ground covered with a loose and 
 flying sand, which by the furv of tlie winter weather is accu- 
 mulated into such heaps, as upon any great wind the track is lost, 
 and passengers (too oft) overwhelmed and stifled : yea camels, 
 horses, mules, and other beasts, though strong, swifl, and steady 
 in their going, are not able to shift for themselves, but perish 
 witliout recovery: these rolling sands, when agitated by the 
 
 use It as 
 common 
 
 26 And thy carcase shall be meat unto before 
 all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts *^"f,{'^^ 
 of the earth, and no man shall fray them 
 
 away. 
 
 27 The Lord will smite thee with the 
 botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and 
 with the scab, and with the itch, whereof 
 thou canst not be healed. 
 
 28 The Lord shall smite thee with mad- 
 ness, and blindness, and astonishment of 
 heart : 
 
 29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as 
 the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou 
 shalt not prosper in thy ways : and thou 
 shalt be only oppressed and spoiled ever- 
 more, and no man shall save thee. 
 
 30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and an- 
 other man shall lie with iier : thou shalt 
 build an house, and thou shalt not dwell 
 therein : ' thou shalt plant a vineyard, and ' Cbap. 20. 
 shalt not t gather the grapes thereof. ^jj^^ 
 
 31 Thine ox shall be slain before thine /''o/a«<', or, 
 eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine 
 ass .shall he violently taken away fiom be- mem. 
 fore thy face, and t shall not be restored t Heb. 
 
 to thee : thy sheep shall he given unto ftu^'l 
 thine enemies, and thou shalt have none ">"• 
 to rescue them. 
 
 32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall he 
 
 winds, move and remove more like sea than land, and render the 
 way ver}' dreadful to passengers. Indeed in this place 1 thought 
 that curse fullilled, where the Lord, by Moses, threatens instead 
 of rain to give them showers of dust. Herbert. These instances 
 are in Persia. Tournefort mentions the s;ime sort of" tempests of 
 sand," in Arabia and in Egypt. Fragments to Calmet. And Bruce, 
 describing his journey over the desert between Sennaar and E- 
 gypt, says, " A little before twelve our wind at north ceased, and 
 a considerable quantity of fine sand rained upon as for an hour 
 afterwards." Edit. 
 
 26. And thji carcase shall be meat unto alljbivls &c.] Nothing 
 was accounted a greater calamity among the Jews, than to lia\e 
 their dead bo<lies lie exposed, to be devoured by the birds and 
 beasts. Therefore Jeremiah threatens it as the utmost punish- 
 ment of the king of Judah, chap. xxii. 19; xxxvi. 30; and the 
 Psalmist bewails it as one of the sorest judgments that had be- 
 fallen them, Ps. Ixxix. 2, 3. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. Thine ox shall be slain &c.]] All these are but particular 
 instiinces of the grievous oppressions which they liave suffered 
 in all countries, -irhere their goods have been confiscated, debts 
 due to them cancelled, &c. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 32. Till/ sons and tki/ dnnghlers Sec.'] After specifying the 
 blessings attached to their obedience, ver. 1 — 14, and the curses 
 to their disobedience, ver. 15 — 31, in their own land, the enlight- 
 ened Prophet proceeds to delineate their capti\ ities in foreign 
 lands. I. The passages that follow, particularly in the 32d, 33d, 
 36th, 37th, tTth, and 48th verses, are remarkably descriptive of 
 the captivities of the ten tribes carried away by the Assyrians, 
 and transplanted in Media, and the remotest jjarts of the empire ; 
 and of the two remaining tribes of Judah and Benjamin, by the 
 Babylonians. These captivities were not to take place until their 
 rejection of the primitive constitution of "judges," and rebellious 
 choice of" kings," during their " regal" state, which is here fore- 
 told : and also that these captivities were to be " by land," as 
 marked in the original expression ; " The Lord shall cause thee 
 to walk," or "shall lead thee on foot," ver. 36. The true import
 
 Curses for 
 
 DEUTERONOMY, 
 
 disobedience. 
 
 Beforr givon uiito another people, and thine eyes 
 - '1 "I^"^ shall look, and fail uilh lunging for them all 
 the day long : and t/icre shall l>e no might 
 in thine hand. 
 
 33 The fruit of thy land, and all thy la- 
 bours, sludl a nation which thou knowest 
 not eat up; and thou shalt be only op- 
 pressed and crushed alway : 
 
 34. So that thou shalt be mad for the 
 sight of thine eyes \\ liich thou shalt see. 
 
 S5 The Lord shall smite thee in the 
 knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch 
 that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy 
 foot unto the top of thy head. 
 
 3ii The Lord shall bring thee, and thy 
 king which thou shalt set over thee, unto 
 a nation which neither thou nor thy fa- 
 thers have known ; and there shalt thou 
 serve other gods, wood and stone. 
 
 of tht?se passages is determined l)y the Prophet Jeremiali in the 
 following suitiinarj-: " Lo, I bring a nation upon j-ou from far, 
 O house of Israel, sjiith the Lord : it is a mighty nation, it is an 
 ancient nation, a nation whose language thou kitowcst iiol, neither 
 undtTstajidest what tliey say. Their (juivcr is an open sepulchre, 
 they are all mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest, 
 &c." .See Jer. V. 1 5 — IT. The remoteness of the Babylonians is 
 noticed. Is. v. 2(1, and the antiquity of " the land of Nimrod," 
 Mic. V. G, the Syriack language was not understood by the Jews, 
 'Z Kings xviii. 26. /Vnd their amis were chiefly bow and arrows, 
 Jer. vi. 23; xlix. 35 ; Is. l.Tvi. 19. II. The minute and circum- 
 stantial prophecy contained from the lyth to the 68th verse 
 was exactly fulfilled in all its branches by the Roman capti- 
 vity, and is still fulfilling at this very day. Its accomplish- 
 ment indeed is for " a .sign" of their rebellion against God, and 
 for " a wonder" of their preservation amidst all those dreadful 
 culamities, which they have sufiFered for so many hundred years. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 If we consider what providential reasons may be assigned for 
 the present condition of the Jews, we shall find th.it their num- 
 bers, dispersion, and adherence to their religion have furnished 
 every age and every nation of the world with the strongest argu- 
 ments for the Christian faith ; not only as these very particulars 
 are foretold of them, Irut as they themselves are the depositories 
 of these and all the other prophecies, which tend to their own con- 
 fusion. Their number furnishes us with a sufficient cloud of wit- 
 nesses, that attest the truth of the Old Testament. Their dis- 
 persion spreads these witnesses tlirough all parts of the world. 
 The adherence to their religion makes tlieir testimony unques- 
 tionable. Addison. 
 
 33. — thou .Khali he onfi/ oppressed and crushed alway ;] It is 
 meant that they should not be quite rooted out and destroyed, as 
 the .Am-ilckites and Canaanites were, of whom no footsteps now 
 remain ; but be scattered and tossed about through other na- 
 tions, remaining still as a testimony to the truth of God's re- 
 vealed religion ; and there only oppressed, crushed, and enslaved. 
 Fyle. 
 
 35. — with a sore batch &c.] This seems to be a correct de- 
 scription of the elephanlians : and of this the sacred ^vriter says, 
 it " cannot be healed." The elephantiasis is a kind of vehement 
 leprosy, in which the body becomes covered with a foul, ul- 
 I'erou.t, hardened skin, which resembles the skin of an elephant. 
 "In process of time, tumoiurs are formed in different jiarts of 
 u ''"'^ ' ""'I ^^*^^ tumours degenerate at length into incura- 
 hle .mres, which successively corrode deeply into the flesh." 
 Micliaelis. As no cure has hitherto been discovered for this dis- 
 ease. It agrees perfectly with the description of Moses. Scrinl. 
 iHutt. ' 
 
 37 And thou shalt become^ an astoni.sh- chr°ist 
 ment, a proverb, and a b) word, among all usi. 
 nations whither the Lord shall lead thee. " icings 
 
 38 "Thou shalt carry much seed out into jet'oj. o. 
 the field, and shalt gather but little in ; for f^*.- '■ 
 tlie locust shall consume it. 15. 
 
 39 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress H»g '•<'• 
 them, but shalt neither drink 0/ the wine, 
 
 nor gather the grapes ; for the worms shall 
 eat them. 
 
 40 Thou shalt have olive trees through- 
 out all thy coasts, but thou shalt not an- 
 oint thyself with the oil ; for tliine olive 
 shall cast his fruit. 
 
 41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, 
 
 but t thou shalt not enjoy them ; for they t "ei.. 
 shall go into captivity. ^ 'J^,;'-'/.. 
 
 42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land 
 shall the locust II consume. 
 
 jiossess. 
 
 36. The Lord .shall bring thee, and thy king Sec] This was ful- 
 filled literally, when Jclioiachin was carried captive to Babylon, 
 '2 Kings xxiv. 1 5 ; and afterwards Zedekiah, chap. xxv. 7 ; Jer. 
 xxxix. 7; Hi. 11. Bp. Patrick. It is a circumstance, which must 
 •strike every unprejudiced person, that this prophetick threat was 
 delivered at a time, when the Jews had not a king, nor were yet 
 constituted as a nation. Bryant. 
 
 there shalt thou serve other gods,"] Either .sottishly follow- 
 ing the example of the country to which they were carried, Jer. 
 xliv. 17, 18 ; or being compelled to it by their cruel tyrants, Dan. 
 iii. (). This was a just punishment of their folly in running after 
 idols, that they were sent into other countries to worship those 
 god-*, of w-hich they were so fond in their own. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 37- — Ihozt shalt become an astoyiishment, &c.] So that their 
 neighbours, who saw and heard of the greatness and strange- 
 ness of their various plagues, should be dismayed at the sight 
 and report of them ; wondering that a people, who had been so 
 flourishing, should be made so exceeding desolate, 1 Kings ix. 8; 
 Jer. xviii. 1{) ; xix. 8; and " a proverb and a byword;" so that 
 when men would speak of one extremely vile, they should say he 
 was a Jew. The same was threatened by God when He appear- 
 ed to Solpmon, 1 Kings ix. 7, and by Jeremi;ili, ch. xxiv p. And 
 it appears to have been fulfilled at their first captivity in Babylon; 
 see Lam. ii. 15, l6; as it hath notoriously been fulfilled since 
 the destruction of Jerusalem ajid of their temple by the Romans. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 38. Thou shalt carry nnich .feed &c.] This was fulfilled before 
 they were carried captive to Babylon, when God frequently sent 
 sore famine upon them: see Is. li. 19, and Jer. xiv. 1 — 3. The 
 like i.s often threatened by Ezekiel among other terrible judg- 
 ments, and by Jeremiah, chap. xxix. 17, 18. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 41. Thou shall beget sons &c.] The calamity here threatened 
 was threatened also in many places of the Prophets, and fulfilled 
 in several invasions of their neighbours: for the Syrians, no 
 doubt, carried captive more than one " little maid," like her who 
 waited on Naaman's wife, 2 Kings v. 2, and in other inroad? 
 upon them, till the captivity of the whole land ; we may be con- 
 fident tliat this was a frequent calamity, 2 Kings xiv. 26; xv. 37, 
 &c. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 42. All thy trees &c.] It is probable that these several judg- 
 ments fell upon them in the order in which they are here men- 
 tionetl in verses 38 — 42. There being first a great dearth, of 
 which we read 2 Kings viii. and Joel i. 10, &c. then many inva- 
 sions of their country, wherein several were carried captive, by 
 the bands of Moal) upon the Israelites, 2 Kings xiii. 20 ; and of 
 the Chaldeans, Syrians, and Ammonites, who came upon Judah, 
 ch. xxiv. 2. And we read expressly, that before this, in the days 
 of Ahaz, a great multitude were carried captive by the Syrians,
 
 Cursesjhr 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 disobedience. 
 
 ^"uT T '*^ '^'"'' stranger that is within thee shall 
 1451. get up above thee very high ; and thou 
 shalt come down very low. 
 
 44 He shall lend to thee, and tliou shalt 
 not lend to him : he shall be the head, and 
 thou shalt be the tail. 
 
 45 Moreover all these curses shall come 
 upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and over- 
 take thee, till thou be destroyed ; because 
 thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of 
 the Loud thy God, to keep his command- 
 ments and his statutes which he command- 
 ed thee : 
 
 46 And they shall be upon thee for a 
 sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed 
 for ever. 
 
 47 Because thou servedst not the Lord 
 thy God with joyfulness, and with glad- 
 ness of heart, for the abundance of all 
 tilings ; 
 
 48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine ene- 
 mies which the Lord shall send against 
 thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in na- 
 kedness, and in want of all things : and he 
 shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, 
 until he have destroyed thee. 
 
 49 The Lord shall bring a nation against 
 thee from far, from the end of the earth, as 
 
 l„r. ' swift as the eagle flieth ; a nation whose 
 t Hcb. tongue thou shalt not t understand ; 
 jhce!^ 50 A nation t of fierce countenance. 
 
 "2 Chron. xxviii. 5. After which more spoilers came upon them 
 in the clays of Jeremiah, chap. xii. 12, and a new famine, chap, 
 xiv. 1. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 49. The Lord shall bring a nation against thee &c.] The Ro- 
 mans are here described with the most characteristick precision, 
 above 800 years before their existence, as a nation. First, by 
 their coun'ry; " far" to the westward of Palestine ; from "the end 
 of the earth," er shores of the Atlantick ocean ; and it is remark- 
 able, that the armies of Titus and Adrian were principally com- 
 posed of Gauls, Britons, and Spaniards. (Vespasian and Adrian, 
 the two great conquerors and destroyers of the Jews, both came 
 from commanding here in Britain. Bp. Nenion.) ^. By the ra- 
 pidity of their marches, " swift as the eagle flieth ;" and their en- 
 signs too were eagles, expressive thereof. .'}. By their language, 
 Latin, which was not understood by the Jews, though Greek 
 was, from the time of Alexander's conquests in Asia. 4. By 
 their " fierce countenance," for which the Romans were distin- 
 guished, from the early periods of their republick. And, 5. By 
 their ferocity, or merciless disposition in war. Dr. Hales. 
 
 50. A nation of fierce countenance, ~\ How singularly applicable 
 this characteristick was of the Romans, may appear from the fol- 
 lowing instance out of many. In a war which broke out between 
 the Romans and Samnites, (year of Rome 412,) the latter attri- 
 buted their defeat, after a long and obstinate engagement, to the 
 
 Jierce looks of the Romans. They said, that " the eyes of the 
 Romans seemed to be on fire, their countenances were wild, and 
 their looks furious ; and that this excited more terrour in them 
 tlian any thing else. " Dr. Hales. 
 
 50, 51. — which shall not regard SiC.-^And he shall eat the 
 fruit &c.] Josephus, whose " Jewish war" is the best commen- 
 t;iry on this prophecj', relates the devastation of the country by 
 the Romans, that " in their rage they ceased not day nor night 
 
 belly. 
 
 which shall not regard the person of the p=<""«, 
 old, nor shew favour to the young : *^"«i.^' 
 
 51 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cat- 
 tle, and the fruit of thy land, tmtil thou be 
 destroyed : which aho shall not leave thee 
 either corn, wine, or oil, or tlie increase of 
 thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he 
 have destroyed thee. 
 
 52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy 
 gates, until thy high and fenced walls come 
 dowTi, wherein thou trustedst, throughout 
 all thy land : and he shall besiege thee in 
 all thy gates throughout all thy land, which 
 the Lord thy God hath given thee. 
 
 53 And ' thou shalt eat the fruit of thine ' ^^- 2«- 
 
 on 
 
 own t body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy 2 kings 
 daughters, which the Lord thy God hath ^ -^■ 
 
 ■ ® , ■ , . 1 • -^ 1 • Lam. 4. 10. 
 
 given thee, in the siege, and m the strait- Baruch2.3. 
 ness, wherewith thine enemies shall dis- t,^.***" 
 tress thee : 
 
 54 So that the man that is tender among 
 you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil 
 toward his brother, and toward the wife of 
 his bosom, and tow^ard the remnant of his 
 children which he shall leave : 
 
 55 So that he will not give to any of 
 them of the flesh of his children whom he 
 shall eat : because he hath nothing left 
 him in the siege, and in the straitness, 
 wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee 
 in all thy gates. 
 
 from ravaging the lands, plundering the goods, slaying all that 
 were of military age, and taking the weaker captives." He re- 
 lates the sieges of the principal towns taken by the Romans, Jo- 
 tapata, Gadara, Joppa, Tiberias, Tarichea, and Gadala ; at which 
 last town in particular, after a long and obstinate defence, " above 
 5,000 persons precipitated themselves from the walls into a decj) 
 valley beneath ; and tlie Romans spared not even the infants, but 
 slung them in numbers from the citadel." Dr. Hales. When 
 Vespasian entered Gadara, Josephus say.s, that " he slew all, man 
 by man, the Romans shewing mercy to no age." .Such had been 
 the Chaldeans, as tlie sacred history relates expressly, 2 Chron. 
 xxxvi. 17. Bp. Nenton. 
 
 52. And he shall besiege thee &c.] The Romans demolished se- 
 veral fortified places, before they besieged and destroyed Jeru- 
 salem. And the Jews may very well be said to have '' trusted in 
 their high and fenced walls," for they selilom ventured a battle 
 in the open field. Jerusalem was a very sti-ong place, and won- 
 derfully fortified both by nature and by art, according to the de- 
 scription of Tacitus, as well as of Josephus. Bp. Nc/rlon. 
 
 53, 54, 55. — ir. the siege, and in the straitness, &c.] The hor- 
 rours of the siege of Jerusalem, ;iggravated by an intestine war in 
 the city itself, by the three factions who occupied it, are depicted 
 in the most lively colours by t)ie Jewish historian ; and especially 
 the miseries of famine : when " wives snatched the food from 
 their husbands, children from their parents, and what was most 
 lamentable, mothers even from the mouths of their infants; 
 while thoy themselves were not allowed in quiet to devour the 
 prey; for tlie .^editions broke into any houses which they saw shut, 
 suspecting that provisions were co: cealcd therein ; and tore the 
 morsels from their very jaws. The old men were beaten, while 
 grasping the food; the'woiiien dragged hy the hair, while hiding 
 it in their hands. There was no pity for gray hairs nor infants ;
 
 Curses for 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 disobedience. 
 
 Btforc 5f) The tender and tlelicate woman a- 
 *^'i«i.^^ inong yon, which would not adventure to 
 set tlie sole of her foot upon the ground 
 for delicateness and tenderness, her eye 
 shall be evil toward llie husband of her 
 bosom, and toward her son, and toward 
 her daughter, 
 t iicb. 57 And toward her t young one that 
 
 .jitrbirth. conieti, out fiom between her feet, and to- 
 ward her children which she shall bear : for 
 she shall eat them for want of all things 
 secretlv in the siege and straitness, where- 
 with thine enemy shall distress thee in thy 
 gates. 
 
 .58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the 
 words ot' this law that are written in this 
 book, that thou mayest fear this glorious 
 and fearful name, THE LORD THY 
 GOD; 
 
 the children, clinging to the pieces of food, were lifted up and 
 (lashed .igainst the ground." Dr. Hales. 
 
 56, .i?- T/if IcHcliT and (Iclicale iromiin &c.] The following deed, 
 " horrible to relati", anil incredible to hear," occurred near the end 
 of the siege. Mary, the daugiiter of Elcazar, a woman of distin- 
 guishc<l rank .and fortune, at the breaking out of the troubles had 
 fled to .lerusiilem from Botliezob, the place of her residence be- 
 yond Jortbui, with the rcliques of her fortune, and -Hhatevcr stock 
 of provisions she could procure. But of these she was plundered 
 every day in the domiciliary visits of the soldiers. Provoked at 
 this, she often endeavoured to exasperate the plunderers by re- 
 proaches and imprecations to kill her ; but in vain. Being re- 
 duced at length to absolute want, she was driven by pressing 
 hunger to kill her suckling babe ; and when she had dressed it, 
 she ate the iialf of it, .and kept the remainder covered up. Im- 
 mediately the sedilioii.i came to her ; and attracted by the scent, 
 threatened to slay her instantly, unless she produced the provi- 
 sion, which she had prepared. .Vccordingly she uncovered what 
 was left of her son, telling them that she had reserved a good 
 share for them. .Struck with horrour and amazement at the spec- 
 tacle, they departed trembling, and with reluctance left the re- 
 mains to the wretched mother. Dr. Hulct. Moses saith, " The 
 tender anil delicate woman .among you, which would not adventure 
 to set the sole of her foot upon the groimd for delicateness and 
 tenderness :" and there cannot be a more natural and livelv de- 
 -scription of a woman, who was, according to Josephus, illustrious 
 for her fanuly and riches. Moses saith, " she shall eat them for 
 want of .ill dungs:" and according to Josephus, she had been 
 phmilered of all her substance and provisions by the tyrants and 
 soldiers. .Moses saith, that she should do it " secretly :" and ac- 
 cording to Josephus, when she had boiled and eaten half, she co- 
 vered up tile rest, and kept it for another time. Moses had fore. 
 told the .same thing before. Lev. xxvi. 2<). And it was fulfilled 
 .about fiOO years after liis time among the Israelites, when S.ama- 
 na was iH'sieged by the king of .Syria, 'i Kings vi. 28, 29. It was 
 fulfilled .-.gain about 90O years .after his time among the Jews in 
 the siege of Jerusalem before the Babylonish captivitv, Jer. iv. 10; 
 Bar. n. J, &c. .\gain it was fulfilled .about 1500 ye.ars .after his 
 time in the last siege of Jerusalem by Titus. At so many differ- 
 ent tunes and ilistjint periods hath this prophecy been fulfilled • 
 and one would have thought that such distress and horrour had 
 almost transcended imagination, and much less that any person 
 i-oiUd certainly have foreseen and foretold it. Bp. \ewlm 
 
 .58, &r. // tlwH tvilt nol ob.trrvc &c.] The s.ack of the temple- 
 qujuter ot the city is thus described by Josephus himself, an eye- 
 
 U^T r^ ■ 'Vi'7-'^"'^"'K •■'P^<^'--'^le : " Whilst the temple was 
 luiniin-, (to which one of the Roman soldics, moved bv a 
 Uivine impulse, set fire, coatrary to the wishes and the orders of 
 
 59 Then the Lono will make thy plagues chrTst 
 wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed,, hsi. 
 even great plagues, and of long conti- 
 nuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long 
 continuance. 
 
 GO Moreover he will bring upon thee 
 all the diseases of Egypt, which thou 
 wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto 
 thee. 
 
 61 Also every sickness, and every plague, 
 which is not written in the book of this 
 law, them will the Loud t bring upon thee, tHci,. 
 
 •11 1 1 i 1 o i causn la 
 
 until thou be destroyed. ascend. 
 
 62 And ye shall be left few in number, 
 whereas ye were ^ as the stars of heaven ' ciiap. 10. 
 for multitude ; because thou wouldest not 
 
 obey the voice of the Lord thy God. 
 
 63 And it shall come to pass, i/iat as the 
 Lord rejoiced over you to do you good. 
 
 Titus,) the sack of that qiutrter began : and the slaughter of 
 those, whom the soldiers found, was immense. There was no 
 pity shown to age, no respect to dignity, but )'oimg and old, the 
 profane vulgar, and the .sacred priesthood, wore jnit to death 
 alike. And the battle involved and invaded every sort, confound- 
 ing the suppliants with the defendants; and tiie crackling of the 
 wide-spreading fliimes resounded along with the groans of the 
 falling. And by reason of the height of the mount, and the 
 greatness of the fl.aming pile, you woiilil have tliought that the 
 whole city was on fire ; and nothing can be conceived grander 
 nor more terrible than that noise : for there was a shoutin^r of the 
 Rom.an ranks, coming to close cng.agement, and a cry of the scdi- 
 fioiix hemmed in by fire and sword. And the people, who were 
 left in the upper city, turned with dismay toward tlie enemy, and 
 groaned at the catastrophe, while the cry of the multitude in the 
 lower city conspired with those on the mount. .'Vnd now many 
 of those, that were famishing with hunger, and their lips closed, 
 when they saw the temple on fire, recovered full strength for 
 wailings and moans. These again were echoed from the suburbs, 
 and from the surrounding mountains, making the impression still 
 deeper on the mind; while the liavock increased the horrour of the 
 tumult. You would have thought that the temple mount was 
 burnt up from the very roots, it was so loaded with fire tlirough- 
 out. And yet, the blood was still more abundant than the fire, 
 and the slaughtered more than the slayers : for the ground was 
 no where clear of the de;id ; and the soldiers, mounting on heaps 
 of carcases, rushed upon the fugitives flying in every direction." 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 62. And ye shall he left few in numher,~\ Josephus reckons that 
 1,100,000 souls perished during the siege of Jerus.alem, by the 
 sword, pestilence, or famine; beside 97,000 whom they took cap- 
 tives. The greater part of these were of the same nation, but not 
 of the same country. For they had assembled from all parts, to 
 celebrate the feast of the passover, and were suddenly surrounded 
 by the Romans; and the whole of this v.ast multitude, composing 
 the wliole nation, shut up as it were in an inclosure by destiny. 
 
 In the ensuing rebellion, e.xcited by the impostor Barchocab, 
 signifying " son of the star," or Christ, so denominated in Balaam's 
 prophecies, Julius Severus, the general of Adrian, atx-ording to 
 Dio, destroyed .'580,000 Jews in the publick combats, beside an 
 innumerable multitude which perished by famine, misery, and 
 fire : so that xexy few of them escaped this war ; in which were 
 plundered and burnt fifty fortified castles, and 98 J towns, flourish- 
 ing and populous : and so general was the massacre of the in- 
 habitants, that .all Judea was in some measure left desolate, and 
 converted into a desert. Dr. Hales. 
 
 63, .and (J8. Ami it .shall come to pass, &c. And the Lord shall 
 bring thee into Egypt ^c] Of the captives, taken at the siege of
 
 The curses 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 for disohedience. 
 
 CHRIST ^"^ ^° multiply you; so the Lord will 
 
 1151. Rejoice over you to destroy you, and to 
 
 bring you to nought; and ye shall be 
 
 plucked from off the land whither thou 
 
 goest to possess it. 
 
 64 And the Lord shall scatter thee 
 among all people, from the one end of the 
 earth even unto the other; and there thou 
 shalt serve other gods, which neither thou 
 nor thy fathers have known, even wood 
 and stone. 
 
 Q5 And among these nations shalt thou 
 
 Jerusalem, above seventeen years of age, some were sent to Egypt 
 ill chains, to work in the mines, the greater part were distributed 
 through the provinces, to be destroyed in the theatres, by the 
 sword and by wild beasts: the rest, under seventeen, were sold 
 for slaves; and that, for a trifling sum, on account of the numbers 
 to be sold, and the scarcity of buyers. So that at length the pro- 
 phecy of Moses was fulfilled, " and no man shall buy." The part, 
 tiiat were reserved to grace the triumph of Vespasian and Titus at 
 Rome, chosen out of the most comely, were probably transported 
 to Italy " in ships," or by sea, to avoid a prodigious land journey 
 thither, through Asia and Greece: a circumstance, which distin- 
 guished this invasion and captivity from the preceding by the 
 Assyrians and Babylonians, which were solely by land. In the 
 ensuing rebellion, a part of the captives were sent by sea to 
 Egypt, and several of the ships were wrecked on the coast. Dr. 
 Hales. 
 
 and ye shall be plucked from off Ike land &c.] They were 
 
 so, when the ten tribes were carried captive into Assyria; and 
 when the two other tribes were carried captive to Babylon. They 
 were so again, when " the Romans took away their place and 
 nation." Afterwards when the emperour Ach-ian had subdued 
 the rebellious Jews, he published an edict forbidding them upon 
 pain of death to set foot in .Jerusalem, or even to a|)proach the 
 country round about it. From th.at time to this, their country 
 hath been in the possession of foreign lords and masters, few of the 
 Jews dwelling in it, and those only of a low servile condition. 
 In the 12th century Jerusalem was almost entirely abandoned by 
 tlie Jews, not above 200 living there, who were for the most part 
 dyers of wool. The rest of the Holy Land was still more depo- 
 pulated. Sandys says, " it is for the most part now inhabited 
 by Moors and Arabians; those possessing the valleys, and these 
 the mountains. Turks there be few: but many Greeks, with 
 other Christians of all sects and nations, such as impute to the 
 place an adherent holiness. Here be also some Jews; yet inherit 
 they no part of the land, but in their own country do live as 
 aliens." Bp. Neivlon. 
 
 64. Awl the Lord shall scalier thee &c.] Nehemiah confesseth 
 that these words were fulfilled in the Babylonish captivity, chap, 
 i. 8, 9; but they have more amply been fulfilled, since the great 
 dispersion of the Jews by the Romans. What people indeed have 
 been scattered so far and wide as they.'' and wliere is the nation, 
 which is a stranger to them, or to which they are strangers? They 
 swarm iia many parts of the East, are spread through most of the 
 countries of Europe an<l Africa, and there are several families of 
 them in the West Indies. They circulate through all parts, 
 where trade and money circulate; and are, as I may say, the 
 brokers of the world. Bp. Newton. 
 
 The dispersion of the Jews into all countries, from the rising 
 to the setting sun, and " the very long continuance of their 
 plagues" or sufferings in this captivity, intimated in the repeti- 
 tion, ver. 59, and now subsisting upwards of 1700 ye:u's, during 
 which they have still been preserved a distinct people, though 
 every where despised and persecuted, exhibits a standing miracle, 
 and fulfilment of prophecy, the most extraordinary and con- 
 vincing. Dr. Hales. 
 
 and there Ikou shalt serve other sods, — wood and stone.'] 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy before 
 foot have rest: but the Lord shall give ^"^"^ 
 thee there a trembling heart, and failing of 
 eyes, and sorrow of mind : 
 
 66 And thy life shall hang in doubt be- 
 fore thee; and thou shalt fear day and 
 night, and shalt have none assurance of 
 thy life : 
 
 67 In the morning thou shalt say. Would 
 God it were even ! and at even thou shalt 
 say, \¥ould God it were morning ! for the 
 fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt 
 
 It is too common for the Jews in popish countries to comply with 
 the idolatrous worship of the Church of Rome, and to bow dowa 
 to stocks and stones, rather than they themselves should be ba- 
 nished, and their effects seized and confiscated. Bp. Newton. 
 
 65 — 67. And among these nations shall thou find no ease, &c.l 
 Since their calamitous expulsion from their native territory, the 
 Jews have wandered over every portion of the globe, without na- 
 tional possessions, an acknowledged constitution, or independent 
 laws. They were represented by the Roman historian as actuated, 
 previously to their dispersion, by a spirit of hatred towards the 
 whole human race. Since that dreadful calamity they have lived 
 almost constantly in a state of reciprocal hatred -with mankind. 
 Though generally submissive to the laws, and strangers to poli- 
 tical intrigue, they have frequently been exposed to persecution 
 and plunder, even with tile connivance of governments, which in 
 all other instances have guarded as sacred the property of in- 
 dividuals. Though abundantly possessed of riches, which usually 
 command the respect of mankind, and ennoble even ignorance 
 and folly, they have been generallj' treated with contempt by the 
 powerful, and sometimes even followed with insult by the popu- 
 lace. They have been driven from city to city, from country to 
 country; even their children have sometimes been forcibly taken 
 from their parental protection, and educated in a religion, which 
 is the object of their hereditary aversion. Their lives have not un- 
 frequentl}- been estimated without any regard to the high import- 
 ance usually annexed to the existence of human beings. In Chris- 
 tian countries, and under regular governments, they have in some 
 instances been sacrificed to a wanton and unrelenting spirit of 
 cruelty, in violation of all laws human and di\iiie, and in opposi- 
 tion to the feelings of om- nature. They seem, as it were, to have 
 lost their rank in the creation, and to have sunk nearly below hu- 
 manity. Their fellow-creatures appear in many countries to have 
 refused to them alone the justice due to all, and the compassion 
 inherent in man. 
 
 Such is the faithful though melancholy picture of a people, 
 once distinguished by the peculiar favour of the yVlmighty; for 
 whom the sea was divided in Egypt, and the sun stood still upon 
 Gibeon ; who.se laws were brought down from heaven, and whose 
 ancestors walked with God. Richards. 
 
 67. — for the fear of thine heart &c.] It may be graciously 
 intended for our benefit, that in the present distressful state of 
 the chosen people, we should beholdanexampleof Divine justice, 
 faithfidly coinciding with our natural conceptions respectmg the 
 attributes of the Deity. The more forcible were their incentive* 
 to duty, the more heinous has been their crime of disobedience. 
 The more signal were the favours once indulged to them, tiie 
 more severe, it is natural to expect, would be the punishment, 
 with which their aggravated guilt should be visited. If the great 
 powers of nature were miraculously diverted from their course, 
 for the sake of animating and confirming their faith, it is not sur- 
 prising that the laws of social life should cease to operate, and the 
 natural feelings of benevolence be suspended, in order that an 
 extraordinary vengeance may be taken on them for the crucifixion 
 of the Lord of life, and for their long and stubborn rejection of 
 His Gospel. If once, while placed under the solemn trial of fide- 
 lity to their God, they appeared among mankind with His glory 
 
 3 E
 
 An exhortation 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 to obedience. 
 
 Drfot. fear, and lor the sight of thine eyes which 
 '^"i«l*^ tliou shall see. 
 
 (J8 And the Lord shall bring thee into 
 Egypt again with ships, by the way where- 
 ol" 1 spake uirto tliee. Thou shalt see it no 
 more again: and there ye shall be sold 
 unto your enemies lor bondmen and bond- 
 women, and no man shall buy you. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 I Moses cjhorlelh tlicm lu obedience, by the memory of 
 . Ihe works thni have seen. 10 All are presented be- 
 fore the LMrd to enter into his covenant. 18 The 
 great wrath on him that Jlatterelh himself in his nick- 
 edr.ess. i-'i) Secret things belong unto God. 
 
 THESE are the words of the covenant, 
 wliich the Lord commanded Moses 
 to make witli the children of Israel in the 
 land of Moab, beside the covenant which 
 he made with them in Horeb. 
 
 2 % And Moses called unto all Israel, 
 »iiod. 19. and said unto them, * Ye have seen all that 
 * the Lord did before your eyes in the land 
 
 of Egyi)t unto Pharaoh, and unto all his 
 servants, and unto all his land; 
 
 3 The great temptations whicli thine 
 eyes have seen, the signs, and those great 
 miracles : 
 
 4 Yet the Lord hath not given you an 
 heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and cars 
 to hear, unto this day. 
 
 5 And I have led you forty years in the 
 wilderness : your clothes are not waxen 
 old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen 
 old upon thy foot. 
 
 (j Ye have not eaten bread, neither have 
 ye drunk wine or strong drink : that ye 
 might know that I avi the Lord your 
 God. 
 
 7 And when ye came unto this place, 
 Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the 
 
 visibly ilisplayed before tlicir armies, and awfully present in their 
 teraple, it surely is consistent with the plan of Divine justice, that, 
 after a lenrthened course of rebellion and iniquity, they should 
 be exposed to the view of the human race, manifestly impressed 
 with the mark of His displeasure. This singular condition may 
 be intended for our admonition. The suffering Jew is a sensible 
 and most .«olemn e.xamplc to the careless Christian and the har- 
 dened Infidel. If upon the favoured people such a severe punish- 
 ment has been inflicted, the world at large can have no reasonable 
 lu>pe of escape. The guilt of their incredulity was aggravated in 
 proportion as their means of knowledge were more abundant. 
 And let him, who now perversely turns away from the volume of 
 Divine Revelation, while he beholds their calamity, reflect upon 
 it* cause; and prudently endeavour to " know the thin<j-s that 
 belong unto his peace, before they shall be finally hidden from his 
 eyes." Richards. 
 
 ^^P- XXIX. ver. 4. Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart 
 ftc] 1 hat IS, God hath thought fit, for j-our sins and provoca- 
 faons, to leave you to your own stupidity and blindness of heart. 
 Ood had done great things for them: " in His love and in His 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 H5l. 
 
 '•Cliap. ^.C 
 1 Kings 2. 
 
 josU. 1. 7 
 
 king of Bashan, came out against us unto 
 battle, and we smote them : 
 
 8 And we took their land, and gave it 
 for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, 
 and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe 
 of Manasseh. 
 
 y '' Keep therefore the words of this 
 covenant, and do them, that ye may pros- 
 per in all that ye do. 
 
 10 i[ Ye stand this day all of you before 
 the Lord your God; your captains of your 
 tribes, your elders, and your officers, wilh 
 all the men of Israel, 
 
 11 Your little ones, your wives, and thy 
 stranger that is in thy camp, from the 
 hewei of thy wood unto the draw^er of 
 thy water : 
 
 1'^ That thou shouldest tenter into co- tHcb 
 venant with the Lord thy God, and into ''""■ 
 his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh 
 w ith thee this day : 
 
 13 That he may establish thee to day for 
 a people unto himself, and i/ia/ he may be 
 unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, 
 and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to 
 Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 
 
 14 Neither with you only do I make 
 this covenant and this oath; 
 
 15 But with him that standeth here with 
 us this day before the Lord our God, and 
 also with him that is not here with us this 
 day : 
 
 16 (For ye know how we have dwelt in 
 the land of Egypt ; and how we came 
 through the nations which ye passed by; 
 
 17 And ye have seen their abominations, 
 and their t idols, wood and stone, silver 
 and gold, which nere among them :) 
 
 18 Lest there should be among you man, 
 or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart 
 
 t He).. 
 
 (JtUlL'l/ gOllt. 
 
 pity He redeemed them, &c. But they rebelled, and vexed His 
 Holy Spirit," Is. Ixiii. 9, 10. And that they were utterly inex- 
 cusable appears from the great and miraculous provision which 
 God had made for them. Bp. Kidder. They had not so con- 
 sidered and laid to heart God's wonderful works, as to have a 
 lasting sense of them bestowed upon them by God. He gives us 
 an understanding heart, but we must first consider what He hath 
 done for us, as the Apostle instructs us, 2 Tim. ii. 7. And He- 
 gives us, what we do not receive; and so in cftijct it is not given. 
 Thus He saith Himself, that He purged Israel; but they would 
 not be purged, Ezek. xxiv. 13. Bp. Patrick. The faculties and 
 advantages, God had given them, were lost upon them, as much 
 as if God had given them none at all. Or tlie passage may be 
 translated interrogatively, " And hath not the Lord given you an. 
 heart to perceive, and eyes to see.''" Pyle. 
 
 6. 1> have not eaten bread, &c.] Their ordinary food was the 
 heavenly manna, and their drink the water from the rock: so that 
 they were constantly supported by a miraculous supply from God, 
 who took care of them, and thereby laid them under a greatee- 
 obligation to be devoted to His service. Bp. Patrick.
 
 God's great wrath 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 on the impenitent. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 143J. 
 
 liOr, 
 
 a pois'iytful 
 
 herb. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 rash. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 iluhb:'rn- 
 ncss. 
 t Heb. 
 the drunken 
 to the 
 Ihirstr/. 
 
 tH*. 
 is written. 
 
 t Heb. 
 tvberewith 
 the LORD 
 hat It made 
 it sick. 
 
 turneth away this day from the Lord our 
 God, to go and serve the gods of these 
 nations ; lest there should be among you 
 a root that beareth || t gall and worm- 
 wood ; 
 
 19 And it come to pass, when he hear- 
 eth the words of this curse, that he bless 
 himself in his heart, saying, I shall have 
 peace, though I walk in the II imagination 
 of mine heart, to add t drunkenness to 
 thirst : 
 
 20 The Lord will not spare him, but 
 then the anger of the Lord and his jea- 
 lousy shall smoke against that man, and all 
 the curses that are written in this book 
 shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot 
 out his name from under heaven. 
 
 21 And the Lord shall separate him 
 unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, 
 according to all the curses of the cove- 
 nant that + are written in this book of the 
 law : 
 
 22 So that the generation to come of 
 your children that shall rise up after you, 
 and the stranger that shall come from a 
 far land, shall say, when they see the 
 plagues of that land, and the sicknesses 
 t which the Lord hath laid upon it ; 
 
 23 And that the whole land thereof is 
 
 18. — a root tlial beareth gall and wormwood ;~\ That isj an 
 evil principle, called " an evil heart of unbelief, in departing 
 from the living God," Heb. iii. 12. Such a principle will cor- 
 rupt and poison the mind, and produce the curses denounced, 
 which will be very bitter. Compai-e Acts \'iii. 23; Heb. xii. 15. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 Gall is an animal secretion, and therefore not properly attri- 
 buted to a vegetable, a root : yet, as some vegetables afford a juice 
 as bitter as gall, that juice may with propriety be associated with 
 wormwood. Script, illust. The Hebrew word, which we trans- 
 late " gall," properly signifies an herb, growing among corn, as 
 bitter as gall. In Hos. x. 4, we translate it " hemlock ;" and in 
 Scripture it is commonly joined with " wormwood," as it is here, 
 Jer. ix. 15; Lam. iii. ip; Amos vi. 12. Bp.Palrick. 
 
 19- — to add driinkcnne.^s to thirst ;] That is, to abound in all 
 manner of wickedness ; " to add sin to sin," Is. .xxx. 1, " and 
 drink it up like water," Job xxxiv. 7 : which course of wicked- 
 ness only begets a greater inclination to do wickedly still; as 
 drunkenness does not slake, but increase thirst. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 21. — the Lord shall separate him unto eviPl Whereas such a 
 sinner may think to escape in a crowd, and natter himself that 
 the blessings promised to God's people, among whom he lives, 
 shall be his portion, he shall be singled out, and rendered a mo- 
 nument of God's displeasure. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 23. — land thereof is brinistone, and salti^ See the note on 
 Jer. xvii. 6. 
 
 that it is not sown, &c.n The wickedness of the Jews was 
 
 the more provoking, because they had such an example of God's 
 vengeance, as the lake of Sodom, continually before their eyes, and 
 yet persevered in their evil ways, till they brought the like judg- 
 ment on all Judea. This was more exactly fulfilled in the last 
 destruction of the Jews by the Romans, than in their first by the 
 Babylonians. For the whole land was laid waste, and deserted 
 by its inhabitants, and made a den of thieves ; being brought to 
 desolation by repeated returns of war ; more especially in the time 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 • Gen. 19. 
 24, 25. 
 
 <1 King! 
 
 9. S. 
 Jer. 2». «. 
 
 9 Or, 
 
 who had 
 not given 
 to them any 
 portioa. 
 fHeb. 
 divided. 
 
 brimstone, and salt, arid burning, that it is 
 not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass grow- 
 eth therein, ' like the o\erthrow of Sodom, 
 and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboira, which 
 the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in 
 his wrath : 
 
 24 Even all nations shall say, " Where- 
 fore hath the Lord done thus unto this 
 land ? what meaneth the heat of this great 
 anger ? 
 
 25 Then men shall say. Because they 
 have forsaken the covenant of the Lord 
 God of their fathers, which he made with 
 them when he brought them forth out of 
 the land of Egypt : 
 
 26 For they went and served other gods, 
 and worshipped them, gods whom they 
 knew not, and || -xhom he had not t given 
 unto them : 
 
 27 And the anger of the Lord was 
 kindled against this land, to bring upon 
 it all the curses that are written in this 
 book : 
 
 28 And the Lord rooted them out of 
 their land in anger, and in wrath, and in 
 great indignation, and cast them into an- 
 other land, as it is this day. 
 
 29 The secret things belong unto the 
 Lord our God : but those things xchich are 
 
 of Adrian, when Julius Severus made such a devastation, that 
 the whole country was turned in a manner into a wilderness. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 25. — Because Ihetj have forsaken &c.] The Hebrew Prophets 
 rarelj- dwelt upon great political events, which should be favour- 
 able to their countrymen : they never even alluded to domestick 
 dissensions and civil animo.=ities, except in those instances, in 
 which tliey were occasioned by idolatrj-, and a spirit of stubborn 
 disobedience to the Lord of heaven and earth. They never com- 
 plained of the disrespect of the people to their sovereign, of their 
 inattention to the laws of their country, or of their refractoiy and 
 mutinous spirit towards their military leaders in the camp. Their 
 threats were almost invariably confined to a single species of guilt, 
 an ungrateful departure from the true God, and uie consequent 
 violation of His commandments. Richards. 
 
 29. The secret things belong unto the Lord &c.] This seems ta 
 he an answer to an inquiry, which tlie people of Israel might 
 naturally have made, in consequence of the foregoing se\ere 
 threatenings. Shall we ever be i-o wicked, they niiglit liavc said 
 to Moses, after all the corrections we have undergone, and all the 
 mercies which we have received, and all tlie miracles which we 
 have seen, as to provoke God to destroy us ? Shall our posterity 
 become so profligate, as to bring down upon themselves such 
 terrible punishments, such unexampled calamities, as tliou hast 
 described ? To a question of this kind tlie words of the text ap- 
 pear a proper reply : " The secret tilings belong unto the Lord 
 our Gotl." Such events are hidden in the dark recesses of fu- 
 turity, and it concerns not you to know them. It is enough for 
 you to know this : that both you and your posterity, if you do 
 well, shall be rewarded, and, if you do ill, shall be punished. The 
 promises and threatenings of God are conditional, and it is in 
 your power to deserve the one or the other : the execution of them 
 depends upon your own behaviour, and 3'our behaviour upon 
 your own choice. The passage then contains in it this doctrine, 
 that there are things, which a man ought to know, namely, the 
 3E 2
 
 Mercy yromhed 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 to tJie jyenitent. 
 
 Brfur. revealed belong unto us aiid to our chil- 
 ^"ifii.*^ dren for ever, that we may do all the words 
 of tliis law. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 1 Great mercies promised unto the rcpenlaiU. 11 The 
 commandment is manifest. 15 Death and life are set 
 before them. 
 
 AND it shall come to pass, when all 
 these things are come upon thee, the 
 blessing and the curse, which I have set 
 before thee, and thou shalt call them to 
 mind among all tlie nations, whither the 
 Lord thy God hath driven thee, 
 
 2 And shalt return unto the Lord thy 
 God, and shalt obey his voice according to 
 all that I command thee this day, thou and 
 thy children, with all thine heart, and with 
 all thy soul ; 
 
 3 That then the Lord thy God will turn 
 thy captivity, and have compassion upon 
 
 truths vliich Ood hath revealed, and the duties which he requires; 
 and that there arc things, whic-li men cannot discover, or ought 
 Dot to know, and that they must not busy themselves in inquirieii 
 after them. Dr. Jurlin. 
 
 thai we may do all the words of this law.'] Here the know- 
 ledge of God's revealed will is rej)rebented as of the greatest use 
 and imjxirtance, but it is represented as an active knowledge, in- 
 fluencing the behaviour. " Those things which are revealed belong 
 unto us." As how? He says not, that we may knan', but " that we 
 may do all the words of this law." Our Saviour, though He was 
 the greatest encourager and most assiduous teacher of useful know- 
 ledge, yet always discouraged and disappointed inquiries of mere 
 cunositj-. \A'hm He was asked, at what time His second coming 
 should be, antl the kingdom should be restored to Israel, and how 
 long one of His disciples should live ; when these and other ques- 
 tions of the like nature were put to Him, His answer was, " It is 
 not for you to know these things. What is that to thee .' Follow 
 thou Me." But when He was asked, " What shall I do, that 1 may 
 inherit eternal life ? " He gave a direct answer. The knowledge of 
 our duty then is knowledge in the truest and most excellent sense: 
 and it is a practical knowledge, and consists in action more than 
 in specidation. It may be obtained by every one who seeks it; 
 we have all of us natural abilities to acquire it in such a degree as 
 is necessary for us ; we were made for this end and purpose ; and 
 b«»sides our inward powers we have the revealed will and assist- 
 ance of God. Dr. Jortin. 
 
 Chap. XXX. ver. 1. And it shall come to pass, &c.] Here the 
 restoration of the Jews to their own countrj' is plainly predicted, 
 at the destine<l end of their captivity. But it should seem that 
 their conversion to Christ is to be the preliminary condition of 
 their acceptance with God ; for so long as their nation continues 
 ma state of rebellion against Christ, they are not fit to be re- 
 deemed. And in conformity with Moses, our Lord declared to 
 the unl)eheving Jews, " Behold, your house" of the Lord " is left 
 unto you desolate : for I say unto you. Ye shall not see Me hence- 
 forth, till ye shall say," with hearty repentance and true faith, 
 " Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord," Matt, .\xiii. 
 38, 39. Dr. Hides. Amidst multiplied instances of oppression, 
 nuserj-, and contempt, the Jews have resolutely continued through 
 »e\-enteen hundred years a separate and distinct people. Their 
 WKl hath not cast them away, nor abhorred them, " to destroy 
 tnem utterly," Lev. xx^•^. 41; their great and wonderful plagues, 
 which were to be "of long continuance," still remain, Deut.xtvlii 
 39; the curses are yet upon them, which, in the strong language 
 of Scripture, were u> be " for a ,ign and for a wonder," upon th^ 
 
 Ik-forc 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 14£1. 
 
 thee, and will return and gather thee from 
 all the nations, whither the Lord thy God 
 hath scattered thee. 
 
 4 •" If anj/ of thine be driven out unto ' Nch. i. 9. 
 the outmost parts of heaven, from thence 
 
 will the Lord thy God gather thee, and 
 tiom thence will he fetch thee: 
 
 5 And the Lord thy God will bring thee 
 into the land which thy fathers possessed, 
 and thou shalt possess it ; and he will do 
 thee good, and multiply thee above thy 
 fathers. 
 
 6 And the Lord thy God will circum- 
 cise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, 
 to love the Lord thy God with all thine 
 heart, and with all thy soul, that thou 
 mayest live. 
 
 7 And the Lord thy God will put all 
 these curses upon thine enemies, and on 
 them that hate thee, which persecuted 
 thee. 
 
 and their seed for ever, Deut. xxviii. 46, 59. Not mingled and 
 lost among the kingdoms, over which they have been scattered, 
 they retJiin the means, upon their returning obedience, of behold- 
 ing " their captivitj- turned," and of being " gathered from the 
 nations," and restored to " the land of their fathers." No cause, but 
 the Divine interposition, can satisfactorily explain this extraor- 
 dinary condition of a whole people. Their continuance in such 
 a situation is unexampled, and we may even venture to pronounce 
 it miraculous. Richards. 
 
 5. Atid tlie Lord thy God will bring thee into the laniT] The 
 promised restoration of the Jewish nation was, in many in- 
 stances, fulfilled at and after the return from Babylon, as may 
 be seen in the book of Ezra, cli. i. 1,4; Zech. viii. Hag. ii. 18, 19; 
 Hos. i. 10 ; and elsewhere. But there are in this and in several 
 other prophecies concerning this matter such magnificent de- 
 scriptions, as appear to be by no means sufficiently accomplished 
 in any restoration yet past ; and therefore they are to be inter- 
 preted of a more complete one, stiU to come, after the conversion 
 of that j)eople to the Christian religion by faith in their own 
 Messiah. Pyle. 
 
 6. — circumcise thine hecoi,] This is to be understood of that 
 spiritual circumcision, whereby the filthy inclination of the mind 
 to evil is removed. The Chaldee expresses it by removing the 
 
 folli/ of the heart : and the Greek, by cleansing it, Col. ii. 11; 
 Uom. ii. 29- Bp. Kidder. By the singular blessings bestowed 
 upon them at their return from the Babylonish captivity, God 
 designed to take away the stubborn refractoriness of their spirits, 
 called " hardness of heart," chap. xxix. 19 ; and to cut off all their 
 wicked incUnations to idolatry and superstition, which had been 
 their ruin: this is called " humbling their uncircumcised heart," 
 Lev. xxvi. 41. But though God circumcised their hearts, yet 
 they might remain imcircumcised, as appears from ch. xxix. 3, 4. 
 See the note there. And therefore He calls upon them to cir- 
 cumcise their hearts themselves, ch. x. l6, by laying to heart His 
 benefits, and following the motions of His grace and Holy Spirit, 
 which thereby He put into their hearts : and their neglect of this, 
 and reliance on the mere circumcision of the flesh, was that which 
 ruined them again. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7- — will put all these curses upon thine enemies,] We have ex- 
 amples of this in Nebuchadnezzar, in Belshazzar, and in Antio- 
 chus Epiphanes, who were the three most rem;u-kable oppressors 
 of the Jewish nation. Fi^le. Jacob in his prophecy figuratively 
 foretold the retaliation of Divine vengeance upon the persecutors 
 of the Jews, Gen. xlix. 1 1 : Balaam concisely foretold it in his last 
 prophecy. Numb. xxiv. 24 : and Moses more plainly in this pas- 
 sage : but it was reserved for the ensuing ode to describe these
 
 The commandment is manifest. 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 Life and death proposed. 
 
 Before g And thou shalt return and obey the 
 1451. voice of the Lord, and do all his command- 
 ments which I command thee this day. 
 » Chap. 28. 9 " And the Lord thy God will make 
 "■ thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, 
 
 in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of 
 thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for 
 good : for the Lord will again rejoice over 
 thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy 
 fathers : 
 
 10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice 
 of the Lord thy God, to keep his com- 
 mandments and his statutes wliich are 
 written in this book of the law, and if thou 
 turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine 
 heart, and with all thy soul. 
 
 11 ^ For this commandment which I 
 command thee this day, it is not hidden 
 from thee, neither is it far oif. 
 
 « Rom. 10. 12 ^ It /*■ not in heaven, that thou 
 *'' "■ shouldest say. Who shall go up for us to 
 
 heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may 
 
 hear it, and do it ? 
 
 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that 
 
 thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the 
 
 sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we 
 
 may hear it, and do it ? 
 
 judgments in all their terrours. See chap, xxxii. S6, and follow- 
 ing verses. Dr. Hales. 
 
 11. — this commandmenl which I command thee &c.] Those 
 moi-;il commands of the love of God, and of your neighbour, and 
 of sobriety with respect to yourselves, which are, even now, the 
 main and substantial points of your law, and which God intends 
 hereafter to improve and make the only conditions of your salva- 
 tion, under the more perfect dispensation of Jesus Christ, your 
 Messiah, are things no way difficult and burdensome. Pyle. They 
 arc not " hidden," that is, abstruse and hard to be understood ; 
 nor " far off," that is, out of thy reacli, so that thou canst pretend, 
 thou canst not attain to them. They are not " in heaven," that 
 IS, locked up there as a secret, but revealed from thence : nor 
 " beyond the sea," that is, at such a dist;mce as will expose men 
 to great danger to arrive at them. But they are " very nigh" 
 thee indeed, as that which thou ownest with " thy mouth," and 
 dost with " thy mind" assent to. Bp. Kidder. The word was 
 brought " very nigh unto them," even to their very doors, by 
 Moses the servant of God, who now delivered to them the Divine 
 will ; as the Son of God Himself did afterwards, when He came 
 and dwelt among them : and it was made so familiar to them, 
 that they might always have it in their common discourse, to 
 teach it their children ; and it had now been so often repeated, 
 that it might well be laid up in their memory, never to be forgot- 
 t^. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Since God Himself pronounces His " commandment" so easy 
 to be observed, because it was " not hidden from them, neither 
 far off," it must have been the Israelites' own inexcusable fault 
 and a voluntary rejection, if, having life and deatli set before 
 them, they would not choose life, it being absolutely in their own 
 clioice : and our task is yet so much more easy than theirs was, 
 besides our being freed from the ceremonial law, in that we have 
 no temptation to that crying sin of idolatry, which was their de- 
 struction. Lord Clarendon. ■ 
 
 14. — that thou maijcit do it."] The duties of life are so obvious 
 and familiar, and so agreeable to the nature of all reasonable 
 minds, tliat God can no sooner enjoin them, but we must needs 
 
 14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, ^«*'°" 
 in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou ^"«f.^^ 
 mayest do it. 
 
 15 ^ See, I have set before thee this 
 day life and good, and death and evil ; 
 
 16 In that I command thee this day 
 to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his 
 ways, and to keep his commandments and 
 his statutes and his judgments, that thou 
 mayest live and multiply : and the Lord 
 thy God shall bless thee in the land whither 
 thou goest to possess it. 
 
 17 But if thine heart turn away, so that 
 thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn 
 away, and worship other gods, and serve 
 them ; 
 
 18 I denounce unto you this day, that 
 ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not 
 prolong 7/our days upon the land, whither 
 thou passest over Jordan to go to possess 
 it. 
 
 19 '' I call heaven and earth to record 'ChH". <• 
 this day against you, that 1 have set before 
 
 you life and death, blessing and cursing : 
 therefore choose life, that both thou and 
 thy seed may live : 
 
 20 That thou mayest love the Lord thy 
 
 apprehend and approve them, and have nothing to do but honestly 
 and sincerely to perform them. Fijle. To cooperate with outward 
 means of instruction, God hath placed a faithful witness and mo- 
 nitor of His truths in every breast ; and therefore the want of 
 outward helps can never justify transgressors. What Moses said 
 in God's name to the Jews is true in its relation to all men: " The 
 commandment which I connnand thee this day is not hidden 
 from thee, neither is it far off; but the word is very nigh unto 
 thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it." 
 And wliat Isaiah said of Christianity, holds in proportion of natu- 
 ral conscience, " An highway shall be there ; and it shall be call- 
 ed The way of Holiness ; the wayfaring men, though fools, shall 
 not err therein," Is. xxxv. 8. The duties of mankind are not so 
 intricate and perjilexed, but that a good heart, without a very sa- 
 gacious head, may citsily find its way through them. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 19. — therefore choose /;/l',] The same term is employed by Jo-- 
 shua, ch. xxiv. 22, " Ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve Him:" 
 and by the Apostle to the Hebrews, " Choosing rather to suffer 
 affliction with the people of God, &c." chap. xi. 25, and by our 
 Saviour, "One thing is needful: and Mary hatli cho.<!cn that good 
 part," Luke x. 42. Our ability and " sufficiency ' to please God 
 by works of piety and goodness are most imdeniably " of God." 
 But it rests with us, whether or not we will make use of the aids 
 and powers which He graciously affords us ; whether we will, or 
 will not, " receive His grace in "vain." The question is not, what 
 God can do ? but, what He will do ? He can, if He pleases, 
 " raise up children out of the stones" of the street. He can com- 
 pel the vilest sinners to be obedient and h::ppy. But this is not 
 the manner, in which He deals with the sons of Adam. He in- 
 vites, but does not force, us into His service. " He has showed 
 us what is good," and enabled us to perform it, so far as is con- 
 sistent with this state of frailty and imperfection. He has " set 
 before us," as He set before the Israelites, " life and death, blessing 
 and cursing:" it remains for us to "choaie," whether we will obey 
 and be saved, or disobey and perish Waldo. 
 
 Though speaking of His absolute power, God can compel nnd 
 necessitate the will of man, and so we do not make him tlronn^er
 
 V 
 
 Mosfs cncourageth 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 the people. 
 
 A= 
 
 Brf« God, and that thou niavest obey his voice, 
 ^"uiV^ and that tliou mayest cleave unto him : for 
 he is tliy lite, and the length of thy days : 
 that thou niayesl dwell in the land which 
 the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abra- 
 ham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 1 Moses eucmragelh the i>eople. 7 He encourageth 
 Joshua. 9 Hi- ddiifrellt l/ic law unto the priests to 
 read it in the scicnih i)car to the people. 14 God 
 giveth a charge to Joshiin, 1<) and a song to testify 
 asainst the jieo/Je. 2+ Mo-ies delivereth the book of 
 the law to the Levites to keep. 28 He makcth a pro- 
 testation to the ciders. 
 
 ND Moses went and spake these words 
 ^ unto all Israel. 
 
 2 And he said unto them, I am an hun- 
 dred and twenty years old this day ; I can 
 no more go out and come in : also the 
 
 • Numb. Lord hath said unto me, ^ Thou shalt not 
 rt.p\ 27. go over this Jordan. 
 
 3 The Lord thy God, he will go over 
 before thee, and he will destroy these na- 
 tions from before thee, and thou shalt pos- 
 sess them : and Joshua, he shall go over 
 
 "t!"""!*^ before thee, '' as the Lord hath said. 
 
 titan God, as is very weakly concluded by some ; yet He will not, 
 because He will not violate that order, which He hath set in our 
 creation. He made man after His own image, invested him with 
 a reasonable soul, having the use of understanding and the free- 
 dom of will: He endowed him with a power to consider and de- 
 liberate, to consult and choose ; and so by consequence He gave 
 him dominion over himself and his own actions ; that being made 
 lord of the whole world, he might not be a slave to himself, but 
 might first exercise his sovereignty in the free possession of his 
 own mind. To force his will were to destroy the nature of His 
 •creature, which grace is not designed to do, but only to heal and 
 assist it ; and therefore God deals with man, as a free agent, by 
 instructions and commands, by promises and threatenings, by al- 
 lurements and reproofs, by rewards and punishments. So true is 
 the saying of Tertullian, " No man is made good against his will." 
 Up. IVomack. 
 
 Chap. XXXI. ver. 2. — / can no mure go out and come in :'] I 
 can no longer discharge the office of your govemour and leader, 
 Numb, xxvii. 17. This was not because he wanted vigour, either 
 ot" body or of mind, for his strength and faculties were not decay- 
 ed, chap, xxxiv. 7, but because God had decreed and declared 
 Uiat he should not conduct them into Cana;in. Bp. Patrick 
 Pule. 
 
 — the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jor- 
 dan."] Moses speaks of himself with the same impartiality which 
 he used towards the people. Though he mentions that he was 
 highly favoured of God, yet he more tlian once owns that he was 
 near forfeiting this blessing. He confesses his diffidence and 
 want of faith, and his neglect of some essential duties, by which 
 he grievously offended the Deity. He tells us, that the conse- 
 quence was fatal, as he was not, on account of these offences 
 pcmutted to enter the land of promise ; but, like the rest, died 
 by the way, having had only a distant view. He scruples not to 
 disclose the failings of his brother, and of his sister Miriam, and 
 the rebellion of others, to whom he was nearly related. He 
 writes in the spirit of truth, without the least prejudice or par- 
 tioLty, suppressing nothing, that was necessary to be known 
 
 4 And the Lord shall do unto them as Christ 
 he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the U5i 
 Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom 
 
 he destroyed. 
 
 5 And " the Lord shall give them up 'cii»p.7.2 
 before your face, that ye may do unto them 
 according unto all the commandments 
 which I have commanded you. 
 
 6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear 
 not, nor be afraid of them : for the Lord 
 thy God, he it is that doth go with thee ; 
 he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 
 
 7 % And Moses called unto Joshua, and 
 said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be 
 strong and of a good courage : for thou 
 must go with this people unto the land 
 which the Lord hath sworn unto their 
 fathers to give them ; and thou shalt cause 
 them to inherit it. 
 
 8 And the Lord, he it is that doth go 
 before thee ; he will be with thee, he will 
 not fail thee, neither forsake thee : fear 
 not, neither be dismayed. 
 
 9 1[ And Moses wrote this law, and deli- 
 * vered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, 
 
 which bare the ark of the covenant of the 
 Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel. 
 
 though to his own prejudice and discredit. And when he has af- 
 forded a just historj' of the people's ingratitude and disobedience 
 while he surs'ived, he proceeds to anticipate what is to come, and 
 gives strong intimation of their future apostasy and rebellion : " I 
 know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, &c." 
 ch. xxxi. 29. And he farther assures them of the vengeance that 
 should ensue: " Cursed shalt thou be, ficc." ch. xxviii. 19, 25, ."7- 
 He denounces many other evils, which were to come upon this 
 rebellious nation ; and which did come, as he foretold, but many 
 of them ages afterwards : to the principal of which the Jews at 
 this day remain a living testimony. And what the Prophet says 
 upon these occasions is not attended with resentment and bitter- 
 ness ; on the contrary, he shews the most affecting tenderness and* 
 concern for them, and a true zeal for their welfare. We may 
 therefore be assured, that things must have happened as he de- 
 scribes them ; and nothing but duty- and conviction could have 
 made him ti-ansmit these truths. Bryant. 
 
 6". — he jcill nut fail thee, nor forsake thee.] This promise, 
 which is here general, is in the 8th verse particularly made to 
 Joshua, and renewed to him by God Himself after the death of 
 Moses, when they were about to enter into the land of Canaan, 
 Josh. i. 5. It is applied by the Apostle to all faithful Christians, 
 to encourage their hope of being conducted through all difficulties 
 and dangers unto their heavenly inheritance, Heb. xiii. 5. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 9- — Moses wrote this law,] That is, the whole bodif of the law, 
 contained in the five books of Moses. The Scripture calls all, 
 that is contained in these books, by the name of " the Law." St. 
 Paul, in Gal. iv. 21, asks this question, " Do ye not hear the Law?" 
 and tlien quotes what we read in Genesis, chap. xvi. 1, &c. Nehe- 
 miah saitli, chap. x. 34,, S5, that they brought firstfruits unto God, 
 " as it is written in the law," namely in Exodus, ch. xiii 12; .xxiii. 
 1 9- Josiah put away the workers with familiar spirits, &c. " that he 
 might perform the words of the law," 2 Kings xxiii. 24, which 
 words we find in Leviticus, ch. xix. 31 ; xx. 6, 27. Hezekiah also, 
 2 Chron. xxxi. 3, appointed the daily oblations, and those requir- 
 ed at stated times to be offered, " as it is written in the law of the
 
 God giveth a charge to Joshua, 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 and a song. 
 
 Before \Q ^nd Moses Commanded them, saying, 
 1451. At the end of every seven years, in the 
 
 Chap. 15. solemnity of the ■* year of release, in the 
 
 ^- feast of tabernacles, 
 
 11 When all Israel is come to appear 
 before the Lord thy God in the place 
 which he shall choose, thou shalt read this 
 law before all Israel in their hearing. 
 
 12 Gather the people together, men, 
 and women, and children, and thy stranger 
 that is w ithin thy gates, that they may hear, 
 and that they may learn, and fear the Lord 
 your God, and observe to do all the words 
 of this law : 
 
 13 And that their children, which have 
 not known any thing, may hear, and learn 
 to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye 
 live in the land whither ye go over Jordan 
 to possess it. 
 
 14 ^ And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 Behold, thy days approacli that tliou must 
 die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in 
 the tabernacle of tlie congregation, that I 
 may give him a cliarge. And Moses and 
 Joshua went, and presented themselves in 
 the tabernacle of the congregation. 
 
 15 And the Lord appeared in the taber- 
 nacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar 
 of the cloud stood over the door of the ta- 
 bernacle. 
 
 16 ^ And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 t Hcb. Behold, thou shalt t sleep with thy fathers j 
 
 and this people will rise up, and go a 
 whoring alter the gods of the strangers of 
 the land, whither they go to be among 
 them, and will forsake me, and break my 
 covenant which I have made with them. 
 
 17 Then my anger shall be kindled 
 against them in that day, and I will forsake 
 them, and I wiU hide my face from them, 
 and they shall be devoured, and many evils 
 
 t Hei). and troubles shall t befall them; so that 
 they will say in that day. Are not these 
 evils come upon us, because our God is 
 not among us ? 
 
 IS And I will surely hide my face in that 
 
 Lord;" -whicii plainly refers to chapters xxviii. and xxix. of Kiim- 
 bers. And Joshua built an altar on mount Ebal, Josh. viii. 30, 
 31, "as it is written in the book of the law of Moses:" which we 
 find no where but in this book of Deuleronomi/, chap, xxvii. 4. 
 Bps. Kidder and Patrick. 
 
 10. — t/ie year of release, — the feasl of labemacles,^ " The 
 year of release," which was a time of religious feasting and re- 
 joicing: " the feast of tabernacles," which was after harvest, when 
 the people had ended the labours of the year, and were at leisure, 
 and assembled together at the stated national place of worship. 
 Pyle. 
 
 16. — thou shalt sleep with thy fathers /] " Sleep" is a common 
 word for death, either of good or bad men. It was not used 
 merely as a soft expression for that, which the heathens dreaded 
 
 ;«tii them. 
 
 day for all the evils which they shall have before 
 wrought, in that they are turned unto ^^«l.^^ 
 other gods. 
 
 1 9 Now therefore write ye this song for 
 you, and teach it the children of Israel : 
 put it in their mouths, that this sorig may 
 be a witness for me against the children of 
 Israel. 
 
 20 For when I shall have brought them 
 into the land which I sware unto their fa- 
 thers, that floweth with milk and honey; 
 and they shall have eaten and filled them- 
 selves, and waxen fat; then will they turn 
 unto other gods, and serve them, and pro- 
 voke me, and break my covenant. 
 
 21 And it shall come to pass, when many 
 evils and troubles are befallen them, that 
 
 this song shall testify t against them as a t "«»>• 
 witness; for it shall not be forgotten out '^'"'' 
 of the mouths of their seed: for I know 
 their imagination which they t go about, tHeb.<f». 
 even now, before I have brought them into 
 the land which I sware. 
 
 22 ^ Moses therefore wrote this song 
 the same day, and taught it the cliildren 
 of Israel. 
 
 23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun 
 
 a charge, and said, ° Be strong and of a ' Jo*- 1- <>• 
 good courage : for thou shalt bring the 
 children of Israel into the land which I 
 sware unto them : and I will be with thee. 
 
 24 ^ And it came to pass, when Moses 
 had made an end of writing the words of 
 this law in a book, until they were finished, 
 
 25 That Moses commanded the Levites, 
 which bare the ark of the covenant of the 
 Lord, saying, 
 
 26 Take this book of the law, and put 
 it in the side of the ark of the covenant of 
 the Lord your God, that it may be there 
 for a witness against thee. 
 
 27 For I know thy rebellion, and thy 
 stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive 
 with you this day, ye have been rebellious 
 against the Lord; and how much more 
 after my death ? 
 
 as the most terrible of all things; but perhaps to put the people 
 in mind, that death should not last always, but that they should 
 as certainly rise again, as they lay dotvn (for such is the word in 
 Hebrew) to " sleep with their fathers." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2fi. Take this book of the latv,~\ From this expression, " th« 
 book of the Law" in the singular number, and from our Lord's, 
 " Have ye not read in the book of Moses," Mark xii. 26, it may 
 not improbably be inferred, that Moses drew up the whole in one 
 continued book; and that it remained so, even till our Savio\ir's 
 time. The division into five books, which is noticed by Jo- 
 sephus, seems not to have generally obtained till the time of the 
 Jewisli historian. .'\nd to support this opinion, there are no title'^ 
 prefixed to the five books in the Hebrew text, which are diitin- 
 guished only by their initial words. Dr. Hairs.
 
 Moses' prokstatiov. 
 
 Hefor* 28 If Gather unto me all the elders of 
 *^"«1.^^ your tribes, and your officers, that I may 
 speak these words in their cars, and call 
 heaven and earth to record against them. 
 
 29 For I know that afler my death ye 
 will utterly corrupt j/ourselves, and turn 
 aside from the way which 1 have com- 
 manded you ; and evil will befall you in 
 the latter davs ; because ye will do evd 
 in the sight" of the Lokd, to provoke 
 liim to anger through the work of your 
 hands. 
 
 30 And Moses spake in the ears of all 
 tlie congregation of Israel the words of 
 this song, until they were ended. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 1 Mosrs' .long, which setUih forlh God's 7nerci/ and 
 ffiigcaiwe. 4() He exhorleth iheiii to set their hearts 
 upon it. 18 Goil seiidclh him up to mount Nebo, to 
 see the land, and die. 
 
 30. And Moses spake — the words of this song, &c.] The 
 liistorical prophecies of Moses grow cleiu-er and brighter towards 
 the close of his hte, and are crowned Ijy a poetical composition of 
 the most transcendent excellence, worthy indeed of its Author, 
 the Ciod of Israel, who dictated it to iMoses, shortly before his 
 dcajh, and commanded him to teach it to the children of Israel, 
 " that it might be a witness for Him against them," in future 
 times, " when many evils and troubles should befall them, for 
 breaking His covenant:" " for," added the Lord, " it shall not 
 be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed." Moses therefore 
 wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel, 
 by whom it is still rehearsed, above tliree thousand years since, 
 and shall be so to the end of time. Dr. Hales. 
 
 Chap. XXXII. ver. 1. Give ear, O tje heavens, &c.'] This pro- 
 phetical Ode or Song of Moses conbiinS a defence of God against 
 the Israelites, and unfohls the method of the Divine judgments. 
 Its opening is singularly elegant and magnificent ; its whole ar- 
 rangement ami structure is regular, easy, and adapted to the 
 nature of the subject, in an order nearly historical. It embraces 
 an incredible variety of the most importimt topicks ; the truth 
 and justice of God, His fatherly affection and most unwearied 
 lovingkindness towards His chosen people ; the ungrateful and 
 rebellious disposition of that people in return ; then the heat of 
 the Divine displeasure, and its most alanning menaces, delivered 
 in a noble personification, equal in grandeur to any thing which 
 exists in the choicest treasures of pt^try ; at the same time it re- 
 presents these very tides of indignation occasionally moderated 
 by mildness and compassion, and terminated at length in promises 
 and in consolation. xNot to dwell on the loftiness of the senti- 
 ments, the impetuosity of the passions, and the force of the figures 
 and the language, such is the nature of the subject, that it imitates 
 much of tlie style and colouring of the jwophetical poctrj-, so that 
 to all the vigour, and animation, and spirited boldness of the Ode 
 it unites Uiat distinguished variety and grandeur of imagery, 
 which is peculiar to the prophetical manner. Bp. Jxywih. 
 
 This majestick vindication of the tutelar God of Israel with 
 His chosen people and with their persecutors, consists of six 
 parts. The first opens with an animated summons to the inha- 
 bitants of heaven and earth, to angels and men, or the whole ra- 
 tional creation, to listen to the Prophet's wholesome and refresh, 
 ing discourse, contrasting the veracity and justice of God with 
 the iniquity and ingratitude of His people. This forms the pre- 
 cV '"'r°^""'°° t" the whole poem, from the first to the end 
 of the fifth verse. Dr. Hales. 
 
 2. M^ doctrine shaU drop as the rain,-] The counsels which I 
 Jive, and the things which I foretel, are as fitted to produce re' 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 Moses' song. 
 
 GIVE ear, O ye heavens, and I will c^^'il^ 
 speak ; and hear, O earth, the words 1451. 
 of my mouth. 
 
 2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, 
 my speech shall distil as the dew, as the 
 small rain upon the tender herb, and as 
 the showers u])on the grass : 
 
 S Because I will publish the name of the 
 Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 
 
 4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect : 
 for all his ways are judgment : a God of 
 truth and without iniquity, just and right 
 is he. 
 
 5 t They have corrupted themselves, t »* 
 
 II their spot is not the spot of his children : "^1^^ 
 they area perverse and crooked generation, tohinuei^. 
 
 6 Do ye thus requite the Lord, O fool- l,2.'iher 
 ish people and unwise ? is not he thy father arc not hi, 
 that hath bought thee ? hath he not made SJau/"" 
 thee, and established thee ? "'»'> W"»- 
 
 ligious wisdom and obedience in the minds of men, as the most 
 seasonable dews and showers are to fructify the earth. Is. Iv. 10, 
 11;! Cor. iii. C^ — 8. Bp. Kidder, Pijle. 
 
 4. He is the Rock,] The original word usually signifies " a 
 rock," and is figuratively applied to God, as expressing His sta- 
 bility and immutability, and the security of those who are under 
 His protection, as in the 15th and 37th verses, so finely expressed 
 by Isaiah, chap. xxvi. 4, " Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in 
 the Lord Jehovah is the Rock of ages" according to the marginal 
 rendering. Dr. Hales. 
 
 5. They have corrupted themselves^ They have sinned ; and 
 have been so far from imitating God, " whose work is perfect, 
 &c." that they have been most unlike Him : their crimes being of 
 so high a nature, that they speak them to be not His peculiar 
 people, but a perverse and crooked generation. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 The sudden and frequent change of persons in this Ode is re- 
 markable. Moses, having celebrated the truth and justice of God, 
 proceeds to inveigh against the perfidy and wickedness ol' the 
 people. He first speaks of them, as if they were absent, " They 
 have con'upted themselve.s, &c." then immediately he addresses 
 them : '•' Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and un- 
 wise ? &c." Afterwards, he beautifully amplifies God's indul- 
 gence and more than fatherly affection towards the Israelites, in 
 words not directed to them : whence, again filled with indignation 
 at the stupiditj' of this ungrateful and impious people, he thus 
 breaks forth : " But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked : thou art 
 waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness ; 
 then he forsook God which made him, &c." ver. 15. Wlicre, in 
 one short sentence, the discourse, being abruptly turned to the 
 Israelites, and then immediately from them, has great force. It is 
 fervid, veliement, pointed, and full of indignation. The Hebrew 
 poetry abounds with instances of this sudden change of persons, 
 which often adds great beauty, and is always to be carefully ob- 
 served. Bp. Lowth. 
 
 6. Do i/e thus rripdte the Lord.] The second part, reaching 
 to the end of ver. 1 4, recapitulates God's parental care and fos- 
 tering protection of the Israelites, from their earliest origin to 
 their complete settlement in the rich and fertile land of promise. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 that luith bought thee ?] That hath redeemed thee out of 
 
 Egj'pt See Exod. xv. l6. To this purpose the Psalmist says, 
 " Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old ; 
 the rod of thine inheritance, wliich thou hast redeemed," Ps. Ixxiv. 
 2. This was a great jiggravation of their sin, that " they denied 
 the Lord which bought them," 2 Pet. ii. 1. Compare Is. i. 3, and 
 1 Cor. vi. 20. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 nuide thee,] Or advanced thee (for so the Hebrew word
 
 Moses' song. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 Moses' song. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 + Heb. 
 
 generation 
 and gene- 
 ration. 
 
 + Heb. 
 cord. 
 
 II Or 
 
 compassed 
 Mm about. 
 
 7 ^ Remember the days of old, consider 
 the years of t many generations : ask thy 
 father, and he will shew thee ; thy elders, 
 and they wdll tell thee. 
 
 8 When the Most High divided to the 
 nations their inheritance, when he separat- 
 ed the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of 
 the people according to the number of the 
 children of Israel. 
 
 9 For the Lord's portion is his people ; 
 Jacob is the t lot of his inheritance. 
 
 10 He found him in a desert land, and 
 in the waste howling wilderness ; he II led 
 him about, he instructed him, he kept him 
 as the apple of his eye. 
 
 11 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, flut- 
 
 may be translated) to be a great and mighty people. God's cre- 
 ating them is implied in what was said before, that He was their 
 " Father." Bp. Kidder. 
 
 8. — he set the bounds of the people &c.] When the Lord scat- 
 tered mankind into several parts of the earth, and separated them 
 into diverse nations by confounding their language. He liad then 
 the children of Israel in His mind, before they were a nation ; and 
 made such a distribution to other people, pai-ticularly to the seven- 
 nations of Canaan, within such bounds and limits, that there might 
 be sufficient room for so numerous a people as the Israelites, when 
 they shoidd come to take po.ssession of Canaan. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The passage may be rciidered, " He assigned the boundaries 
 of the peoples (of Israel) according to the number of the sons of 
 Israel." This insertion of the words, (of Israel,) derived from the 
 succeeding verse, furnishes a plain and rational sense of one of 
 the most embarrassed and most contested passages in the whole 
 poem ; signifying, that the promised land was allotted to the livclve 
 ti'ibes of Israel, as being descended from his twelve sons: each of 
 which, from their extraordinary population, might be considered as 
 "a people" in itself; (and so the Ephraimites and Manassites repre- 
 sented themselves to Joshua, chap. xvii. 14 — 17 ;) while the aggre- 
 gate composed " His people," tlie most highly favoured of all the 
 nations of the earth, with ^vhom they are contrasted. Dr. Hales. 
 
 10. He found him in a desert land,'\ There He first took the 
 Israelites to be His peculiar people ; for so the word, rendered here 
 " found," frequently signifies. Bp. Patrick. Or, There He sus- 
 tained them, and made for them sufficient provision. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 he led him about, &c.] Irwin describes the mountains of 
 
 the desert of Thebais as sometunes so steep and dangerous, as to 
 induce even very bold and hardy travellers to avoid thera, bj' tak- 
 ing a large circuit ; and says, that, for want of a proper knowledge 
 of the way, such a wrong path may be taken as may on a sudden 
 bring them mto the greatest dangers : at other times a dreary 
 waste may extend itself so prodigiously, as to make it difficult, 
 without assistance, to find the way to a proper outlet. Tliis shews 
 the meaning of the words of Moses. God instructed Israel how 
 to avoid the dangers of the journey, by "leading the people 
 about" this and that dangerous precipitous hill, directing them 
 to proper passes through tlie mountiiius, and guiding them 
 through the intricacies of their difficult journey, wliich might have 
 confounded the most consummate Arab guides. Harmcr. 
 
 he kept, him as the apple of his eiyc] As the sight of tlie 
 
 «ye is by God's care and wise providence fenced about and pre- 
 served from harm by the eyelids, by its deep situation, and by 
 several other means ; so did He in the wilderness preserve Israel 
 from hann and danger. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 11. As an eagle ike r\ Tin's admirable similitude, so sublimely 
 beautiful, and yet so simple and natural, of the parent eagle, 
 training his young nestlings to fly ; first, " stirring tliem up," or 
 rousing them from the nest ; then " hovering about them," to 
 watch and encourage their tirait"; efforts ; " spreading abroad his 
 wings," to receive them, when drooping ; " taking them up, 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 tereth over her young, spreadeth abroad ^''"'T^-. 
 her wings, taketh them, beareth them on ^"{ji. 
 her wings : 
 
 12 So the Lord alone did lead him, and 
 there was no strange god with him. 
 
 13 He made him ride on the high places 
 of the earth, that he might eat the increase 
 of the fields ; and he made him to suck 
 honey out of the rock, and oil out of the 
 flinty rock ; 
 
 14 Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, 
 with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of 
 Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys 
 of wheat j and thou didst drink the pure 
 blood of the grape. 
 
 15 % But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kick- 
 
 carrying them on his shoulder," to ease them, when wearied and 
 exhausted by unusual efforts ; is probably painted from the life, 
 with so much circumstantial imagerj', from the scenes which Mo- 
 ses might often have witnessed in the deserts of Arabia Petrea. 
 God Himself had been pleasetl to employ this comparison, " I 
 bare you on eagles' wings," Exod. xix. 4. Dr. Hales. 
 
 12. — there tvas no strange god ivifh him.'J^ To helper assist him: 
 but by His Almighty power alone they were protected and pre- 
 served. This made their sin the more heinous in sacrificing to other 
 gods, ver. 1 7, as if they had been their benefactors. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 13. — ride on the high places of the carth,2 Or, of the land: 
 that is, conquer, and in a triumphant manner possess, Canaan, full 
 of lofty and fruitful hills. Dr. IVells. 
 
 suck honey out of the rock,"] That is, the country abounds 
 
 in wild bees, which, hiving in the rocks, furnish honey. See the 
 insUmcc of Jonathan, 1 Sam. xiv. 25. Hasselquist says, between 
 Acra and Nazareth, " gi-eat numbers of wild bees breed, to the 
 advantage of the inhabitants." Maundrell observes of the great 
 salt plain near Jericho, that " he perceived in it, in many places, 
 a smell of honey and wax, as strong as if he had been in an 
 apiar)'." See tlic account of the wild honey of John the Baptist, 
 Matt. iii. 4 ; Mark i. 6. Script, illti.il. 
 
 oil out of the flinti/ rock ;2 That is, the olive trees grow 
 
 in the crevices of rocks, and these yield oil. Hasselquist tells us, 
 that "he ate olives at Joppa, which were said to grow on the 
 mount of Olives near Jerusalem ; and that independent of their 
 supposed holiness, they were of the best kind he tasted in the 
 Levant." That Syria abounded in oil is evident, from its being 
 exported into Egypt, Hos. xii. 1 ; and we find William of Tyre, 
 in the time of the crusades, describing SjTia-Sobal as all thick set 
 with olive trees, making prodigious woods that covered the coun> 
 try, and afforded subsistence to tlie inhabitants. Script, illusl. 
 Some naturalists observe, that olive trees grow most prosperously 
 in stony and barren places. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 4. — rams of the breed of Bashan,'] Tliat is, of tlie fairest 
 and best kind. Bashan was "famous for cattle. Numb, xxxii. 4. 
 Bp. Kidder. 
 
 the fat qfkidncj/s of wheat ;] The Hebrews call the best 
 
 of every kind of thing, "tlie fat." And "the kidneys of wheat," 
 signifies liu-ge and plump corn, affording great plenty of flour. 
 It is a metaphorical expression ; there being some resemblance 
 between the figure of that grain, and the kidneys. Bjts. Patrick 
 and Kidder. This expression has been adopted by tlie Psalmist 
 twice, who speaks of "the fat of wheat," Ps. bcxxi. 10'; cxlvii. 14; 
 which our translation renders " the finest wheat. " Dr. Hales. 
 
 Some of the greatest delicacies in India are now made from the 
 rolong-flour, which is called the heart, or kidney, of tiie wheat. 
 Foibes's Oriental Memoirs. 
 
 the pure blood of the grape.] Most generous red wine ; 
 
 very clear and bright. ' Bp. Patrick. Red wine, in colour like 
 blood. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 15. But Jeshurun &c.1 The third pait of the song, to the end 
 
 8F
 
 Moses' soug. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 Moses' so7ig. 
 
 B«fof» cd: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown 
 *^""f^'^ Uiick, thou art covered v. ith fatness ; then 
 he forsook God 'dhich made him, and 
 lightly esteemed the Rock of his salva- 
 tion. 
 
 16 They provoked him to jealousy witli 
 
 strange gods, with abominations provoked 
 
 they him to anger. 
 
 I Or. 17 They sacrificed unto devils, II not to 
 
 which v,tn Q^jj . to gods whom tiiey knew not, to 
 
 ""' ^' new gods that came newly up, whom your 
 
 fathers feared not. 
 
 18 Of tlie Rock that begat thee thou art 
 
 that 
 
 otthc 1 8th verse-, describes the usual but ungenerous effect of 
 prosperity, upon " Jeshurun," or righteous Israel lieretofore, in 
 llieir adoption of the false jcods of the nei;,'hbouring nations, and 
 forgetfulness of the true God, their Creator and Protector. This 
 is expressed in the most animated and glowing apostrophes, or 
 changes of person, in which this most highly wrought lyrick com- 
 position abounds ; uniting all the fire :uid richness of orientil elo- 
 Hucncc, with the close and accurate reasoning of occidental com- 
 position. Dr. Hates. 
 
 Jcs/iiirun rrajrcd fat, and licked .] That is, Israel grew 
 
 rich. Sec. Jeshurun comes from a word, that signifies uprigitt ; 
 and it is evidently put for Israel, who were under great obligations 
 to be upright ; but instead of that, in their prosperity they re- 
 belletl against God, as a pampered horse kicks, lip. Kidder. 
 
 Moses, by Divine inspiration, perceiving that nefarious dere- 
 liction of the Divine worship, into which the Israelites would in 
 after times fidl, speaks of their crimes, as if already committed. 
 See also above, ver. .'>, " Tlicy have corrupted themselves, &c." 
 Nothing can represent events more clearly and evidently than 
 such anticipation ; and therefore in the writings of the Propliets 
 the use of it is most frequent. See Is. x. 28, SO. Bp. Lowth. See 
 Jer. ii. 15, and the note there. 
 
 rraxcd fnl, and kicked :"] As Israel, (whom God compares 
 
 to an heifer, fed in large and fruitful pastures,) enjoying always 
 a full range, grew fat, and wanton, and kicked with the heel ; so 
 arc we apt, the more pleiuifvdly Ciod heaj)eth His blessings upon 
 ns, the more wantonly U> follow the bent of our own hearts, and 
 the more contemptuously to spurn at His holy commandments. 
 Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 The Church teaches us to pray Gml to deliver us " in all time 
 of our tribulation, in all lime of our wealth ;" that is, as well in 
 our prosperity as adversity ; from the dangers and temptations 
 that beset us in every condition of life. A petition fur deliverance 
 in the time of wealth and jirosperity may appear to a wovldly- 
 minde<l person needless, if not absurd. But our blessed Lord 
 teaches us a verj- different lesson : warning us, in the strongest 
 terms, of the great danger attending a state of affluence; w hich 
 our daily experience and obser\'ation most abundantly confirm. 
 The .Tews of old were a remarkable instance of this: "Jeshurun 
 waxed fat, iS:c. then lie forsook God which made him, and lightly 
 Prtecmed the Rock of his .salvation." And the Prophet to the 
 name effect ; " They were filled, and their heart was exalted ; 
 M<T(-/i)rc have they forgotten Me," Hos. xiii. 6. If therefore to 
 forget and forsake God be too ofken the consequence of a pros- 
 perous condition, how earnestly ought we to pray for His o-race, 
 to deliver us from the power of its temptations ! Waldo. 
 
 In this and in the following verses Moses speaks in the pro- 
 phetick style, in which the past tense is frequently used for tlie 
 future ; and things to come reprcsenteil as already past, to denote 
 the certain event of the things predicted. Pyle. 
 
 , "'^ fiock of his sahalion.'] We have in Scripture several 
 
 instances of persons retiring to rocks for safety; and it appears 
 to^ rocks are still resorted to in the East, as places of security. 
 Before the mvention of gunpowder, and before its explosive pow cr 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 unmindful, and hast forgotten God 
 formed thee. 
 
 19 And when the Lord saw it, he II ab- n or, 
 horred thcni, because of the provoking of ''"/'"'■''■ 
 his sons, and of his daughters. 
 
 20 And he said, I will hide my face from 
 them, I will see what their end shall be : 
 for they are a very froward generation, 
 children in whom is no faith. 
 
 21 They have moved meto jealousy with 
 that nhich is not God ; they have provoked 
 
 me to anger w ith their vanities : and * I will " Rom. 
 move them to jealousy with those ivhich are "• 
 
 10. 
 
 was known, fastnesses of this kind were in a manner impregnable. 
 Hence we see the propriety of considering the protection of CJoil 
 as a " rock ;" which often occurs iu Scripture. Fragments to 
 Calmct. 
 
 17. — detils,'] The original word imports destroyers, as the 
 devil is called in tlie book of Revelation, chap. ix. II, evil spirits, 
 delighting in mischief, and leading their worshippers into perdi- 
 tion. Bp. Patrick. They sacrificed unto evil spirits, who seek 
 only their destruction, the wasters and destroyers of mankind ; 
 and not unto Gwl, their Saviour and Protector, who seeks only 
 their welfiire. Bp. Kidder, Dr. Wells, Pijtc. 
 
 gods whom they knew wo/,] Or, as the words may be 
 
 translated, "gods, who knew not them:" that is, from whom 
 they had received no benefits, as they had from the Lord, the 
 God of Israel. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 
 
 that came ncnly up,'\ New, and fresh invented imaginary 
 
 demons of the Gentiles, of whom their forefathers never heard so 
 much as the name. Pyle. Such as were lately, in compai'ison of 
 the sun and moon, &c. set up for gods, as were the demon-gods or 
 dead men deified. Dr. Wells. Tliey seem to have been the local 
 gods of the neighbourhood. Dr. Hales. 
 
 19. And nhen the Lord saw if, &c.] The fourth part, to the 
 end of the S.^lth verse, expresses the indignation of the Lord, and 
 His denunciations, that He would reject apostate Israel, and adopt 
 in their room the believing Gentiles ; according to the interpre- 
 tation of St. Paul, Rom. x. 19, citing ver. 21 ; and the parallel 
 prophecy of Isaiah, chap. Ixv. 1, 2. This part describes also, in the 
 glowing colours of the preceding prophecies, all the calamities of 
 the Babylonian and Roman captivities. Dr. Hales. 
 
 the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.^ For such 
 
 they -were, till they corrupted themselves, and thereby highly in- 
 censed Him iigainst them. For nothing can be so provoking a.s 
 the rebellion of children against a most indulgent parent. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 The " daughters" are here expressly named, because the wo- 
 men were notoriously guilty of provoking God by their idolatry-. 
 See Jer. vii. 18; xliv. 15 ; Ezek. viii. 14. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 20. — / icill .fee what their end shall be ;]] I will not cease My 
 judgments, till I have brought the sorest calamities upon tlieiu, 
 and made an end of their polity and government. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 21. — 7 «)/// 7nove them to jealou.y &c.] The meaning is, that 
 God would, by a people that was not peculiar to Him, as the 
 Israelites were, provoke them to jealousy. And this He fulfilled, 
 by delivering them to the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and their other 
 enemies, who were not His people ; and by rejecting llieni, and 
 t.iking the Gentiles into His favour and into the Church of Christ, 
 Rom. xi. Ik And to this purpose the Apostle ap))lies the words 
 of tlie Prophet, " I will call them My people, w hich were not My 
 people," Rom. ix. 25. Tliis greatly " provoked" the Jews, to see 
 " a foolish nation" taken into God's Church: for such the Gentiles 
 •were, while they served idols, and diverse lusts, Rom. i. 21, 22. 
 Compare Acts xi. 2, 3 ; 1 Thess, ii. 15, 16 ; Acts xxii. 21, 22. Bp. 
 Kidder.
 
 Moses* song. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 Moses* song. 
 
 Before not a peoplc ; I will provoke them to anger 
 
 1451. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 hath burn- 
 
 ed. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 hallt cim- 
 sumctl. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 fmrning 
 
 eoali. 
 
 t Heb. 
 Jrom. the 
 chambers. 
 tHeb. 
 
 bereave' 
 
 with a foolish nation, 
 
 22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, 
 and II shall burn unto the lowest hell, and 
 II shall consume the earth with her increase, 
 and set on fire the foundations of the moun- 
 tains. 
 
 23 I will heap mischiefs upon them ; I 
 will spend mine arrows upon them. 
 
 24 They shall be burnt with hunger, and 
 devoured with t burning heat, and with 
 bitter destruction : I will also send the 
 teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison 
 of serpents of the dust. 
 
 25 The sword without, and terror t with- 
 in, shall t destroy both the young man and 
 the virgin, the suckling also with the man 
 of gray hairs. 
 
 26 I said, I would scatter them into 
 corners, I would make the remembrance 
 of them to cease from among men : 
 
 22. For afire is kindled in mine ariger,"] Great and sore calami- 
 ties are compared to " fire" in Scripture, Ezek. xxx. 8. God here 
 threatens to send such calamities upon the Jews, as the woeful 
 effects of His heavy displeasure, which should never cease till 
 they were destroyed. For " hell" and " destruction" seem to be 
 the same, Prov. xv. 1 1 . And therefore " the lowest hell" signi- 
 fies tlie depth of misery. Bp. Patrick. This verse gives an ac- 
 count, in a figurative manner, of the destruction of the land, in 
 words which seem to import the total consumption of it. " Hell" 
 signifies the lower parts of the earth, Niunb. xvi. 30. Bp. Kidder. 
 Such a fire is threatened, as should not only bum the earth, but 
 penetrate the abyss below, and in its way consume the very 
 " foundations of the mountains." Edit. 
 
 24. — Ihc leet/i of beasls Sec.'] They were exposed to these 
 talamities, when they were forced to fly into wildernesses, and 
 hide themselves in dens and caves : where some of them could 
 not avoid being devoin-ed by wild beasts, and stung by ser- 
 pents, the sting of which is venomous, and which creep upon 
 •■•' the du.st." It has been observed, that this denunciation was 
 parti}' fulfilled, when the Jews were thrown by the Romans to 
 wild beasts in the theatre, as Josephus relates. Bp. Patrick. Or 
 the words may be a prophecy of the desolate state of the country, 
 which should be overrun with wild beasts and serpents. Edit. 
 
 Q6. I said, I would scatter them &c.] The fifth part, to the end 
 of ver. 35, states the wise and gracious reasons of the dispersion 
 of the Jews into all lands, rather than their confinement to one 
 comer, as in the Assyrian captivity : both for their preservation 
 from the collected force of their enemies ; and to prevent the 
 boasts of the latter, ascribing to themselves their destruction. 
 Dr. Holes. 
 
 27. IVere it not that I feared &c.] He, that is Omnipotent, is 
 not capable of fearing any thing : but He speaks in our language, 
 and gives this reason why He did not make them cease to be a 
 nation, because He would not have their enemies insult, and use 
 insolent language even against Himself. Of this we have an in- 
 stance. Is. xxxvii. 28, 29- Bp. Patrick. Fear is imputed to God 
 after the manner of men, who refrain from doing things from 
 that principle. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 28. — void of counsel, &C.3 He that considers the lives and 
 actions of the greatest part of men would verily think, that they 
 understood not that tliere is such a being as God, and that it is 
 their duty to demean themselves religiously towards Him. There- 
 fore the Scriptures represent wicked men as " without under- 
 standing:" not that they are destitute of the natural faculty of 
 understanding, but they tlo not use it as they ought : they are 
 not blind, but they wink ; they " hold the truth of God in un- 
 
 27 Were it not that I feared the wrath 
 of the enemy, lest their adversaries should 
 behave themselves strangely, and lest they 
 should say, || Our hand is high, and the 
 Lord hath not done all this. 
 
 28 For they are a nation void of coun- 
 sel, neither is there any understanding in 
 them. 
 
 29 O that they were wise, that they un- 
 derstood this, that they would consider 
 their latter end ! 
 
 30 How should '' one chase a thousand, 
 and two put ten thousand to flight, except 
 their Rock had sold them, and the Lord 
 had shut them up ? 
 
 31 For their rock is not as our Rock, 
 even our enemies themselves being judges. 
 
 32 For their vine II is of the vine of So- 
 dom, and of the fields of Gomorrah : their 
 grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are 
 bitter : 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1451. 
 
 li Or, 
 Out high 
 hand, and 
 not the 
 LORD, 
 hath done 
 all litis. 
 
 " Josh. 13. 
 10. 
 
 II Or, 
 is worse 
 than the 
 vine nf 
 Sodom, &c 
 
 righteousness, and though they know God, yet they do not glo- 
 rify Him as God," nor suffer the apprehensions of Him to have a 
 due influence upon their hearts and lives. A/>p. Tillotson. 
 
 30. How should one chase a thousand, &-c.] ^^'^lence should 
 such an amazing change proceed, that the Israelites, who formerly 
 with an handfiU of men put vast armies to flight. Lev. xx\'i. 8, 
 should now, though never so numerous, be beaten by one or two 
 of their enemies, and flee when none pursued them ? Bp. Patrick. 
 The Prophet here states the true rea.son of the timidity of the 
 Israelites, so that a thousand would flee from one enemy; as God 
 had warned them repeatedly before in even stronger terms. See 
 Lev. xxvi. 17 — 36; Deut. xxviii. 25. Dr. Hales. 
 
 31. For their rock is vol &c.] This is a parenthetical obser^'a- 
 tion of Moses himself, introduced incidentally into the Divine 
 speech, stating the superiority of the God of Israel over the gods 
 of their enemies, even by their own confession. Thus Jethro 
 acknowledged it, Exod. xviii. 11; the Egyptians confessed it, 
 Exod. xiv. 25; Balaam, Numb, xxiii. 19 — ~3 ; the Canaanites, 
 Josh. ii. 11; the Gibeonitcs, Josh. ix. 9 — 24'; the Philistines, 
 1 Sam. iv. 7 ; Nebuchadnezzar, the haughty king of Babylon, 
 Dan. iii. 29 ; iv. 37 ; Darius the Mede, Dan. vi. 26, 27 ; Cyrus, 
 king of Persia, Ezra i. 3 ; Artaxerxes Longimanus, Ezra vii. 23. 
 And Pliilostratus has preserved a remarkable declaration of Titus, 
 modestly attributing his conquest over the Jews to the Divine 
 assistance : " That he was only an instrument in the hand of God, 
 whose wrath had been so signally manifested against them." Dr. 
 Hales. 
 
 32. For their vine Sic] The Prophet next proceeds to state, 
 that the enemies of the Jews had no claim to the Divine assist- 
 ance from any superiour merits of their own : for that, on the con- 
 trary-, their idolatries and corruptions were still more abominable 
 than those of the Jews ; not only compelling them in their cap- 
 tivities to serve their gods, by tlie most dreadful persecutions, 
 such as those of Nebuchadnezzar, Dan. iii. 8 — 28 ; of Antiochus 
 Epiphanes, 1 Mace. i. 41 — C-t; of the Romans, &c. Dan. xi. 35; 
 xii. 1 ; but corrupting the whole world by their mischievous ex- 
 ample and influence. Thus Babylon is represented as making 
 all the nations of the earth drunken and mad with the rrine of 
 her idolatrous ibrnication, Jer. li. 7 ; iunl the mystiail Babylon, 
 or Rome Imperial and Papal, likewise. Rev. xvii. 2; xviii. 3. Thtr 
 bitter and poisonous ingi-edicnts of which are here emphatically 
 described. Of all t!iese7God declares in the sequel, that He will 
 keep an account, or registry, and severely punish them in the day 
 of vengeance. Dr. Hales. 
 
 the vine of Sodom,] This is a vine of a plant from Sodcm, 
 
 which brings oiily bitter and useless grapes; wine as bad or 
 
 3 F 2
 
 Moses' song. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 Moses' 
 
 B<rorr 
 CIIKIST 
 
 • E«r 
 
 SS. I. 
 
 Rom. IL'. 
 19. 
 
 Ilchr. I a 
 90. 
 
 fHrb. 
 
 hand. 
 
 S3 Tlieir wine is the poison of dragons, 
 and the cruel venom of asps. 
 
 ;U Is not this hiid up in store with me, 
 and sealed up among my treasures? 
 
 35 To me Monget/i ' vengeance, and re- 
 compence ; their foot shall slide in due 
 time : for the day of their calamity is at 
 hand, and the things that shall come upon 
 them make haste. 
 
 30 For the Loud shall judge his people, 
 and repent himself for his servants, when 
 he seeth that /fieir t power is gone, and 
 t/iere is none shut up, or letl. 
 
 37 And he shall say, Where are their 
 gods, f/icir rock in whom they trust- 
 ed, 
 
 38 "Which did eat the fat of their sacri- 
 fices, and drank the wine of their drink 
 
 tk-ailly as tlie {rail "f " st-rpcnt; fjrnpes as bitter as gnll ; the fruits 
 which j^row about the Ucail sea are said to be rotten within, and 
 only full of dust. Calnicl. 
 
 ;j;j. — //if poison of drugnns,'] An the Hebrew word signifies 
 any kind of serpent, so it is certain tliat the dragons of Africa and 
 Arabia had in them a deadly poison, though those of (Ireece had 
 not, as Bochart observes. l"he poison of asps is called " cruel," 
 because it is accounted particularly acute, inst;uitly penetrating 
 into the vital parts : whence the proverb, ihc biting of asps, for an 
 incurable wound. Those, wlio are bitten by an asp, seldom escape 
 with life ; as many naturalists observe. Bp. Palrich. 
 
 It is probable that by the word, rendered " dragons" in this 
 place, is to be understixid a species of lizard, called Gclcko, ex- 
 tremelj' venomous and deadly. This reptile yields in malignity 
 to no serpent whatever: he inhabits Cairo, and the country of 
 Kgypt, so that he could not have been unknown to Moses : nor 
 is he confined to desert places, but visits houses, and makes his 
 abode in them, so that the peo])le of Israel, to whom Moses speaks, 
 may have been well accjuainted with him. His poison, for its nox- 
 ious qualities, is justly associated with the cruel venom of asps: his 
 slaver, &c. being collected for the express purpose of smearing ar- 
 rows, and rendering the wounds made by tliem fatal. Script, illu.st. 
 
 34. Is not this laid up in store with mr, &c.] That is, Is not 
 tins vengeance, with which I now threaten them, though tlicy 
 flatter themselves in their present impunity, reserved for them, 
 and kept in store for them against the time, when their iniquities 
 fcliall be full and shall require it .' lip. Kidder. 
 
 3li. For Ihc Lord .s/uill Judge &c.'] Tile sixtii and last part of 
 the song rehearses the consolation of Israel, and signal i>uiii>h- 
 ment of tlu-ir foes. It b;'guis with CJod's expostulation with His 
 people, when reduced to their lowest state of desolation, referring 
 tlicm for relief, ironicdly, to the vain idols in which they had 
 trusted, and to which they had sacrificed ; and by an admirable 
 contrast describing His own self-existence, as " living for ever- 
 more ;" and His sole and exclusive power " to kill" anel " to make 
 alive," to " wound" untl to " heal." Hence the captivity is called 
 the wound of Israel, which ib to be healed at the restoration of 
 Israel, Is. xxx. 2G: while His power to " kill" or destroy His 
 adversaries, as a mighty warriour, with " sword and arrows," or 
 the miseries of war. forms tl»e concKif ion of it Dr. Hales. 
 
 .^hall judge his people, &c.] After having punished them, 
 
 *' the Lord shall judge" or plead the cause of " His people," anil 
 act as one that " repents himself" for the evils which He has been 
 oblipetl in justice to bring upon " His servants;" " when H^ sees 
 that their power is gone," so that they cannot help themselves; and 
 tlwt '• there is none shut up or left ;" that is, that they have neither 
 p-irn-'onx nor army left sufficient for their deliverance. Dr. fCelts. 
 ■K). For I up. up mit hand &c.] In Scripture tliere are two 
 AXTcmanie* HieuUutied " of swearing. One, of putting the hand 
 
 offerings ? let them rise up and help you, 
 and be t your protection. 
 
 39 See now that I, evoi I, am he, and 
 there is no god with me : "I kill, and I 
 make alive ; I woiuid, and I lieal : neither 
 is there am/ that can deliver out of my hand. 
 
 10 For I lift up my hand to heaven, and 
 say, I live for ever. 
 
 41 If I whet my glittering sword, and 
 mine hand take hold on judgment ; I will 
 render vengeance to mine enemies, and 
 will reward them that hate me. 
 
 4'-2 1 will make mine arrows drunk with 
 blood, and my sword shall devour flesh ; 
 and that with the blood of the slain and of 
 the captives, from the beginning of re- 
 venges upon the enemy. 
 
 43 II " Rejoice, O ye nations, mth his peo- 
 
 S07ig, 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 14.51, 
 
 t Hil). 
 nn hilling 
 for yoii. 
 •■ 1 Sam. ;: 
 G. 
 
 Tob. 1 3. C. 
 Wisd. 16 
 l;i. 
 
 li Or, 
 Prnise hit 
 pco/itt*. yc 
 nnlions. ()), 
 Sinn yc. 
 ' Matt. 7. C. 
 Rom. 1 5. 10. 
 
 under the thigh of him to whom the oath was made, Clen. x.\iv. 2, 
 and xlvii. Sy. The other was by lifting up the hand to hea- 
 ven. Gen. xiv. 22. Thus God, condescending to the manner 
 of men, expresses Himself in this place. In allusion to this cus- 
 tom the Psalmist describes the perjured person, " whose mouth 
 speaketh vanity, and whose right hand is a right hand of fals»- 
 hood," Ps. cxli'v. 8. Ahp. Tillolson. 
 
 This verse is connected with the two next, and the sense of the 
 whole is as follows : " For I lift up My hand to hea\'en, and say. 
 As I live for ever," (the ceremonial and form of the oath,) " If 
 I whet My glittering sword, ^-c. I will render vengeance to Mine 
 enemies, and will reward them that hate Me; I will make Mine 
 arrows drunk with blood, &c." Edit. 
 
 •12. — from Ihc beginning of revenges'] That is, from such time 
 as I shall begin to take vengeance. Bp. Kidder. Instead of the 
 received translation of the last line, " From the beginning of re- 
 venges upon the enemy," until their final completion, in which 
 the rendering of the original word by '' revenges" is unsupported 
 by any of the ancient versions, the phrase may be translated 
 " hairy head :" and by adjusting the order of the lines, the whole 
 verse will run thus : '• I will make Mine arrows drunk with blood, 
 with the blood of tiie slain and of the captives ; and My sword 
 .shall devour flesh, from the hairi/ head of the enemy." The literal 
 expression " head of lock.s," remarkably corresponds to " .scalp of 
 hair," or " hairy scalp," in the following parallel passage : " Go;l 
 shall wound the /tct/doi'His enemies, and the /lairi/ scalp ot' such an 
 one ns gortli on still in his trespas-se.*^," Ps. Ixviii. 21. Dr. Hales. 
 
 ■t.j. Rejoice, O ye na!ions, with his people .-^ Tliis last verse 
 terminates the whole song with the joint exultation of the Gen- 
 tile with the .lewish converts to Christianitj', arising from the 
 prospect of the approaching judgments of God to be inflicted 
 both upon His adversaries and the persecutors of His servants. 
 .St. Paul has cited this verse to prove the future conversion of the 
 .lews and of the Gentiles to Christ, Rom. xv. 10 — 12, supported 
 by the parallel prophecies of Psal. cxvii. 1; Is. xi. 1 — 10. 
 
 Theodoret has well paraphrased the last verse : " The Gentiles 
 and the Jews, the people of God, migiit Mell rejoice together : 
 for even among the Jews there were >n.-tny myriads who be/ieved 
 (early) in Christ, Acts xxi. 20, as well as by far the greatest part 
 of the Gentile world. But the heathens were indebted to the 
 Jewish believers for their knowledge, and received the principles 
 and prccei)ts of the Christian religion solely from them : for the 
 holy Apostles were Jews. The Prophet therefore, enjo3'ing a cle.".:' 
 view of this great period, exults, " Rejoice, O ye n:itions, with 
 His people," the converted he.ithens with the believing Jews. 
 
 Such was the extensive range of prophetick vision vouchsafed 
 
 to the great lawgiver of tiie Jews, comprising the whole fortunes 
 
 of tlieir state, from the first redemption, afler the Eg) jHian bond- 
 
 I age, until the last, on their final return to their owii land, after
 
 Moses* sono;. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII, XXXIII. God sendeth him up to motmt Nebo. 
 
 27. 12. 
 
 chrYst P^^" ^°^" ''^ ^^'^^ avenge the blood of his 
 1451. servants, and will render vengeance to his 
 
 adversaries, and will be merciful unto his 
 
 land, and to his people. 
 
 44 ^ And Moses came and spake all the 
 
 words of this song in the ears of the peo- 
 n Or, pie, he, and li Hoshea the son of Nun. 
 Joshua. ^^ ^j^ j^ Moses made an end of speaking 
 
 all these words to all Israel : 
 f Chap G. 4Q An J l^e said unto them, ' Set your 
 
 6. & 11. 18. , 11 1 1 1 • 1 T •<• 
 
 hearts unto ail the words which 1 testiiy 
 among you this day, which ye shall com- 
 mand your children to observe to do, all 
 the words of this law. 
 
 47 For it is not a vain thing for you; 
 because it is your life : and through this 
 thing ye shall prolong _?/o?/r days in the land, 
 whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. 
 « Numb. 48 ^ And the Lord spake unto Moses 
 that selfsame day, saying, 
 
 49 Get thee up into this mountain Aba- 
 rim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land 
 of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and 
 
 tlie long-continued Roman desolation, which it is the business of 
 the succeeding Prophets, under the former dispensation, and of 
 our Lord and His Apostles, under the new, to imfold more e,\- 
 plicitly and circumstantially. Dr. Hales. 
 
 It would be endless to quote the various passages in the Old 
 Testament, in which the Gentiles are called upon to glorify God 
 for His mercy. St. Paul in Rom. xv. points out some of the most 
 remarkable; in particular this from Moses. The prophecy of 
 Isaiah is full of them: and the Psalmist, in many of his divine 
 hymns, no less cleai-ly declares those " glad tidings of great joy 
 which shall be to all people." " Rejoice in the Lord" is the lan- 
 guage of the inspired writings throughout: '■' Rejoice in the Lord 
 alway," says the Apostle; "and again I say, rejoice," Phil. iv. 4. 
 Exhortations of this kind, one would think, were needless to those 
 who live under the light of the Gospel, and steadfastly believe tiie 
 promises of God in Clirist Jesus. Can they, who are redeemed 
 from endless death and misery, and made capable of obtaining 
 everlasting life and happiness, want motives or persuasions to 
 rejoice? Can the " light afflictions" of this world, " whicii are but 
 for a moment," depress the spirits, or abate the joy, of those, who 
 firmly expect '• an eternal weight of glory.'" Does our gracious 
 and merciful God require us to be joyful and happy, and shall we 
 refuse to obey so pleasing a command.'' Yet, if one might judge 
 from the gloomy and dejected appearance of many Christians, 
 one would imagine that they thought it their duty to be melan- 
 choly, and to make themselves unhappy. So prevalent is the 
 force of superstition and enthusiasm against the plainest dictates 
 of reason and religion. IVatdo. 
 
 50. Ami die in the mounf] It was no small favour, tliat God 
 warned Moses of his end. He that had so often apprized Moses 
 of what He meant to do to Israel, would not now do aught to 
 himself, without his knowledge. Expectation of any important 
 event is a great advantage to a wise heart. God forewarns one 
 by sickness, another by age, another by His secret instincts, to 
 prepare for their end: if our Iieart be not now in readiness, we 
 deserve to be surprised. Bp. Hall. 
 
 51. Bceause ye trespassed uguiitsl me^ Death, though it were 
 to Moses an entrance into glory, }et was also a chastisement of 
 his infidelity. How many noble proofs had he given of Iiis 
 courage and strength of faith ! How many gracious services had 
 he done to his Master! Yet for one act of distrust he must be 
 gathered to his fathers. All our acts of obedience cannot bcir out 
 one sin against God. How vainly shall we hope to make amends 
 
 behold the land of Canaan, which I give "'^'"'"^ 
 unto the children of Israel for a possession : ^"i^i.^^ 
 
 50 And die in the mount whither thou 
 goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; 
 
 as "Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, ' N""*"'- 
 and was gathered unto his people : Ik'^^'-M.' 
 
 51 Because ' ye trespassed against me ■ Numb. 
 among the children of Israel at the waters ^st'h'' 
 of II Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of a o^ 
 Zin ; because ye sanctified me not in the 'i^^^," 
 midst of the chikhen of Israel. 
 
 52 Yet thou shalt see the land before 
 thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the 
 land which I gi\e the children of Israel. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 1 The majesty of God. 6 The blessings of the twelve 
 tribes. 26 The excellency of Israel. 
 
 AND this is the blessing, wherewith 
 Moses the man of God blessed the 
 children of Israel before his death. 
 
 2 And he said. The Lord came from ''i^'- 
 Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them ; he 
 
 to God for our fornier trespasses by our better behaviour, when 
 Moses hath this one sin laid to his charge, after so many and 
 worthy testimonies of his fidelity! When tve ha\e forgotten our 
 sins, yet God remembers them; and although not in anger, yet 
 He calls for payment. Alas, what shall become of thfw, with 
 whom Crod hath ten thousand times greater quarrels: who, 
 amongst many millions of sins, have scattered some few acts of 
 formal services! If Moses must die the first dealli for one fault, 
 how shall they escape the second for sinning alwaj's.' Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XXXIII. vcr. 1. ylnd this is the blessing, &c.] As Jacob 
 blessed his children at his departure out of the world, when God 
 had begun to fulfil the promise to .Vbraham of gi^^ng him a nu- 
 merous offspring; so Moses, having seen them va.stly increased, 
 and ready to enter upon the promised land, tiikes his farewell of 
 them with a blessing pronounced upon the people in general, and 
 upon each tribe in particular. This blessing is in part propheti- 
 cal, as that of Jacob wa.«, and deli\ered in the prophetick style; 
 and consequently it is not without some difficulty and obscurity. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 As Moses had before composed a song, to celebrate the Kii- 
 racalous passage of the Israelites through the Red sea, so his view 
 in this song seems to have been, to commemorate CJotl's gracious 
 dealings with them since that time. A more projier subject could 
 not have been thought of, in order to awaken their attention, and 
 raise a due sense of gratitud* in all Israel, before the several tribes 
 heard, from the mouth of their great Prophet now speaking for 
 the last time, what Providence intended to do farther for each of 
 them. Dr. Diirell. 
 
 2. — The Lord came from Sinai, &c.] God, like a glorious sun, 
 imparted His beams unto Israel: beginning His course r.t their 
 first entering into tlie wilderness, and still " rising up" to tiiem 
 by the proof of His gootlness, in their passage through the land 
 of Edom : He " shined forth" brightly, as at noonday, to them, 
 when He blessed the elders of Israel with a large portion of His 
 Spirit ; and He guarded His people with " ten thousands" of His 
 powerfid angels; in whose presence He did, in fire, deliver His 
 law majestically and terribly to Israel. Bp. Hall. 
 
 As if he had said. This is the favourite natio:i, to whom God 
 was pleased with most dreadful solemnity, with tlje appearance of 
 innumerable hosts of angels, attending the symbols of His Divine 
 presence, to deliver His laws; and take the people into special 
 covenant with Himself at mount Sinai. Whom, by the same cloud 
 of glory, He saiely and miraculously conducted through the
 
 The blessitigs of 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 the ticehe tribes. 
 
 — — shined forth from mount Paran, and he 
 *^"«i'^ came with ten thousands of saints: from 
 t iieb. his right liand xcciil t a fiery law for them. 
 ">"'/ 3 Yea, he loved the people; all his saints 
 '"*'■ arc in thy hand: and they sat down at thy 
 
 feet; nvry 07ie shall receive of thy words. 
 
 4 Moses commanded us a \a\v, even the 
 inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. 
 
 5 And he was king in Jesluirun, when 
 the heads of the people and the tribes of 
 Israel were gathered together. 
 
 6 IF Let Reuben live, and not die; and 
 let 7iot his men be few. 
 
 7 ^ And this is the blessing of Judah: 
 
 Arabian desert, tlie wilderness of Paran, and the borders of Idu- 
 luca; preserving them, as His peculiar and holy people, and in- 
 structinj; them by His own word and precepts. Pytc. 
 
 he came wilh Icn l/iousaiids of' saiiils:2 Or, " of holy an- 
 
 jjels." The law, which He gave, as men do wlien with their 
 " right hands" they deliver their gifts, is called "a fiery law;" 
 because Ciotl spake the words thereof " out of the midst of tlie 
 fire," Dent. v. 2'2. Up. Kidder. 
 
 3. — all his .raiiils are in tJii/ /land:'] He hath a special care of 
 the Israelites, that " /loli/ nation," Exod. xix. 6, who sat at His 
 feet, and promisetl subjection and obedience to Him. Bp. Kidder. 
 The change of the person from /lix to //;// is very frequent in the 
 Hebrew language. See particularly Dan. ix. t. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 lliei/ sal down at thy feet i] Meaning, they received in- 
 struction from Thee. To the same effect St. Paul says, " I was 
 brought up at the feel of Gamaliel," Acts xxii. 3. If tlie same 
 mode of sitting prevailed .anciently in the East, as now prevails, 
 in respect of master and scholars, the phrase is very descriptive 
 and accurate. For the master is seated on a carpet spread on 
 the ground with his books before him ; and around him, at a little 
 distance, beyond his books, sit his scholars in a circle, attending 
 to his instructions. Fragments to Calmet. 
 
 4. Maw commanded us a law,] Josepluis remarks, that the 
 Greek legislators were modem in comparison of Moses; and that 
 the .ancient Greeks were unacquainted wilh the very term(Xomos) 
 Law. It is not in Homer, the most ancient Greek writer. Calmet. 
 
 .V — he n-as king in Jeshiirnn,'] Many persons are called kings 
 in Scripture, whom we should rather denominate chiefs or leaders. 
 Such is the sense of the word in this passage. Moses was the 
 rhief, the leader, the giiide of his jicople, fulfilling the duties of a 
 " king:" but he was not king in the same .sense as David, or Solo- 
 mon, was af^erw.irds. This remark reconciles Gen. xx.xvi. 31, 
 •• These kings reigned in Edom, before there reigned any king 
 over the children of Israel:" for Moses, though he was king in an 
 inferiour .sense, yet did not reign, in the stronger sense, over tlie 
 ehildren of Israel, their constitution not being monarchical under 
 him. Calmet's Dictionary. Moses was king; that is, under God 
 the supreme ruler and govemour of Israel. Bp. Patrick, Dr. 
 Wells. Moses was a prince or govemour, he gave laws and ruled 
 the people. Bp. Kidder. W.is appointed of God the leader and 
 govemour of the Israelites. Pylc, Bp. Hall. 
 
 G. Let Reuben live, &c.] Though it was formerly prophesied 
 of this tribe, that, in punishment of the sin of iu founder, it should 
 not be so honourable or .so numerous as several of the rest, yet 
 shall it continue in some measure to flourish. Pi/le. In the' last 
 clause of this verse, the word not is wanting in the original. The 
 words may be thus translated exactly: " Let Reuben live and not 
 <lie, though his men be few:" which seems to be a confirmation of 
 Uie prophecy of Jacob, Gen. xlix. 4, " that he should not excel," 
 ana yet sliould live and not perish: that is, that he should be in 
 wme measure a flourishing tribe, though not so numerous as 
 same others. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ■—— '.''<^' ""'.{ lot die;] When a thing is intended to be de- 
 scribed in a stribng manner, it is usual in Hebrew to repeat the 
 
 and he said, Hear, Lord, the voice of Ju- chrTst 
 dah, and bring him imto his people: let his i4ii. 
 hands be suHicicnt for him; and be thou 
 an help to him from his enemies. 
 
 8 % And of Levi he said, » Let thy Thum- ' E^od. js. 
 niLm and thy Urim he with thy holy one, 
 whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with 
 whom thou didst strive at the waters of 
 Meribah ; 
 
 9 Who said tnito his father and to his 
 mother, I have not seen him; neither did 
 he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his 
 own children: for they have observed thy 
 word, and kept thy covenant. 
 
 same terms, a little varied; or to express the sentiment botli af- 
 finiiativcly and negatively, as here and in other places: see Gen. 
 xliii. 8: Ps. cxviii. 7; Is. xxxviii. 1. Dr. Diirell. 
 
 7. And this is the blessing of Judah:] He speaks of .Tudali 
 next, as that which was to be the royal tribe in time, and the 
 principal tribe in the wars all along after: he therefore says, 
 " Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah," when he calls for Thy help at 
 going out to war before his brethren ; " and bring him home unto 
 his people" again, safe and victorious. Dr. Hells. 
 
 This benediction cannot relate to the time when it was given ; 
 for then .lud.ah's " hands" were verj' "sufficient for him," this 
 being by far the greatest of the twelve tribes; see Numb. i. and 
 xxvi; and there was more reason to put up this petition for seve- 
 ral other tribes than for Judah. It is to be referred therefore to 
 the prophecj' of .lacob, and to the continuance of the sceptre of 
 Judah, after the destruction of tlie other tribes. Judah, in Moses's 
 time, consisted of 74,600, reckoning only those of twenty years 
 old and upwards. Numb. ii. 4. But on the return from Babylon, 
 Judah, with Benjamin, the Levites, and the remnant of Israel, 
 made only 42,360, Ezra ii. 64; and they were in so weak a state, 
 that Sanballat in great scorn said, " What do these feeble .lews?" 
 Neh. iv. 2. Now Moses, in the spirit of prophecy, seeing the de- 
 solation of all the tribes; seeing the tribes of the children of 
 Israel carried away by the Assyrians, the people of Judah by the 
 Babylonians; seeing that Judah should return weak, harassed, 
 and scarcely able to maintain himself in his own country, con- 
 ceives for him this prophetick prayer, " Hear, Lord, the voice of 
 Judah, and bring him unto his people, &c." Bp. Sherlock. 
 
 In these benedictions no notice is taken of .Simeon. This tribe 
 was, by way of judgment upon Simeon's act of crueltj', mixed and 
 scattered among the rest, having not so distinct and honourable a 
 settlement, as each of them had, according to Jacob's prediction. 
 Gen. xlix. 5, 7- But as the greatest part of their inheritance was 
 amongst the sons of .ludah. Josh. xix. 1, it is probable that the 
 tribe of Simeon is here included in that of Judah. Pijle. 
 
 8. — Let till/ Thvmmim and thy Urim &c.] Continue in this 
 tribe the high dignity of consulting with Thee, and receiving di- 
 rections from Thee, by the high priest, concerning the publick 
 safety. Aaron is called " the saint of the Lord," Ps. cvi. l6. Bpt 
 Patrick. 
 
 Be gracious to the tribe of Levi, and furnish Thou Thy high 
 priest, whom Tliou hast chosen out of it, with those excellent 
 graces, whidi Thou hast figured in his breastplate, with perfec- 
 tion of knowledge, and sanctity. Thus do Thou bless the son of 
 that Thy servant Aaron, whom Thou provedst at Massaii, &c. 
 Bp. Halt. 
 
 with whom thou didst strife] Whom Thou tlidst punish 
 
 and chastise, as the Hebrew word signifies, but didst not deprive 
 of the dignity of the priesthood. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 9- W7(o said unto his father &:c.J We have in general the most 
 concern for those, of whom we have the most knowledge. Hence, 
 in the sacred books, knowing or owning any person signifies hav- 
 ing a regard for him: and denying or disowning any one, the 
 contrary. I'hus: wicked men are said to " deny God, while they
 
 The blessings of 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 the twelve tribes. 
 
 as 
 
 Before iQ \\ They sliall teach Jacob thy judg- 
 ^^451.^^ ments, and Israel thy law : || they shall put 
 U Or, incense t before thee, and whole burnt sa- 
 UHcu'Tc crifice upon thine altar. 
 II Or,' 11 Bless, Lord, his substance, and ac- 
 
 \'nc^e. ''"' cept the work of his hands : smite through 
 fHei). the loins of them that rise against him, 
 at ihy now. ^^^ ^f ^j^gj^ ^j^^^. j^jj^g j^jj^^ ^Yvz.^ ^Yiey rise 
 
 not again. 
 
 12 ^ And of Benjamin he said, The be- 
 loved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by 
 him ; and the LORD shall cover him all 
 the day long, and he shall dwell betAveen 
 his shoulders. 
 » Geu. 49. 1,3 ^ And of Joseph he said, " Blessed 
 of the Lord be his land, for the precious 
 things of heaven, for the dew, and for the 
 deep that coucheth beneath, 
 
 14 And for the precious fruits brought 
 
 profess to know Him," Tit. i. \6, and our Saviour in return will 
 deny them at the great day, saying, " I never knew you ; depart 
 from Me," Matth. vii. 23 ; Luke xiii. 25, 27. Thus in the Old 
 Testament, when the children of Levi had suppressed a rebel- 
 lion of the people against God and their lawful governours, by 
 falling without distinction upon all whom they found engaged 
 in it, Moses describes the heroick beliaviour of that tribe in 
 these terms : " Who said imto his father and to his mother, I 
 have not seen him ; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, 
 nor knew his own children : for he observed Thy word and kept 
 Thy covenant :" that is, they preferred their duty to Heaven and 
 the publick, before the tenderest private regards. So also Job : 
 " Though I were perfect," which he had just been disclaiming, 
 " yet woidd I not know my soul," Job ix. 21. Were I freer 
 from faults than I am, it should not tempt me to self-partiality. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 10. Theii shall teach Jacob Iki/ judgments, &c.] The Levites 
 were not only commissioned to instruct the people in the law of 
 Moses, but w^ere also appointed bj' that law to be judges and in- 
 terpreters of it in civil, as well as in religious cases. Lev. x. 1 1 ; 
 Deut. xvii. 8, 9; xix. 17; xxiv. 8. They actually enjoyed this 
 power in its full extent for many centuries, 2 Chron. xxx. 22 ; 
 xxxi. 2 ; XXXV. 3. And though they were abridged of it after- 
 wards in some respects, they still had a considerable share of it 
 about the time of the dissolution of their national polity; as ap- 
 pears by many instances in the New Testament, John xviii. 31 ; 
 Acts xxiii. 3. To " put incense before tlie Lord" was another 
 part of the priest's office. Dr. Durcll. 
 
 12. And of Benjamin he said,'] He mentions Benjamin next 
 to Levi, because the temple, in which the priests officiated, was 
 partly situated in his lot. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The beloved of the Lord shall dnrll &c.'] Benjamin, fa- 
 voured of God, shall have his inheritance in a safe place ; namely, 
 about Jerusalem the holy city, and the temple, or place of God's 
 special residence among'the Israelites. Compare Josh, xviii. 11, 
 28. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 he shall direll betneen his shoulders.] That is. The Lord's 
 
 temple shall be situated in his land. Bp. Kidder. " Between his 
 shoulders," or, by his sides or borders : so the word, translated 
 " shoulders," is used in Numb, xxxiv. 1 1 . And it is plain that 
 the lot of Benjamin touched on that of Judah, at Jerusalem : the 
 temple being included within the limits of Benjamin's tribe. Bp. 
 Patrick, Pi/)e. 
 
 It is with reference to this circumstance, tliat what Moses here 
 predicts of Benjamin, is to be understood : namely, that God's 
 providence would remarkably continue over liim until the disso- 
 lution of their state ; and that He would, for a season, vouchsale 
 
 forth by the sun, and for the precious things ^h RVst 
 tput forth by the t moon, 1451. 
 
 15 And for the chief things of the an- ^Heb. 
 cient mountains, and for the precious ""«")>«*- 
 things of the lasting hills, toots'. 
 
 16 And for the precious things of the 
 earth and fulness thereof, and for the good 
 will of him that dwelt in the bush : let the 
 blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and 
 upon the top of the head of him that xcas 
 
 " separated from his brethren. '*''"• *''■ 
 
 17 His glory /.!> lihe the firstling of his 
 bullock, and his horns are like the horns 
 of unicorns : with them he shall push the 
 people together to the ends of the earth : 
 and they are the ten thousands of E- 
 phraim, and they are the thousands of 
 Manasseh. 
 
 18 ^ And of Zebulun he said. Rejoice, 
 
 to dwell by His visible representation in the inheritance of Ben- 
 jamin. Dr.Durell. See the note on Gen. xlix. 27; latter part 
 of the verse. 
 
 13. And of Joseph he said,8:c.] Joseph's tribe shall have a 
 country fall to its share, most plentifully blest with every 
 thing, that can render it fruitful and pleasant : with seasonable 
 rains, dews, and convenient springs of water: witli a soil yield- 
 ing the fattest crops, and fairest fruits. Such will be the ancient 
 and famous hills and valleys of Ephraim, Samaria, and Bashan. 
 
 •Py'e- .... 
 
 Whether we consider Joseph, with respect to his situation m 
 the land of Canaan, or to the eminent dignity by which his 
 descendants were distinguished, he is here in his proper rank. 
 Moses in blessing him copies after Jacob, Gen. xlix. 22 — 26. 
 Dr. Durell. 
 
 the deep that coucheth beneath,] Springs of water which 
 
 burst out of the bowels of the earth. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14.. — fruits — bi/ the .lun,] Whose kindly heat brings them 
 forth and makes them grow to maturity. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 put forth by the moon.'] And for those precious fruits 
 
 which are brouglit forth by the warmth of the sunbeams, and by 
 the kindly moisture of the night, under the influence of the moon. 
 Bp. Hall. Or by this may be meant, what most of the ancient 
 versions understand, what is produced every month, or several 
 times in the year, as grass, and herbs; in opposition to what 
 comes but once in the year, as corn, &c. implied in the fruits of 
 the Sim. Dr. Durcll. 
 
 1 6. _ the earth and fulness thereof] " Earth," being here op- 
 posed to " hills" and " mountains," seems to imply a champign 
 country ; and " the fulness thereof" to signify a most jjlentiful 
 champaign country. This sense will appear more probable from 
 the event : for besides the great plain near Jordan, w;luch Joseph 
 had in common with some" other tribes, and tlie plain of Sharon 
 near the Mediterranean sea, there seems to ha^e been anotlicr 
 great plain near Samaria, which Josephus calls the great plain of 
 Samaria; and near mount Ephraim was the valley oj' fatness. 
 
 Dr. Durell. ^, ^ 
 
 17. — unicorns:] See note on Numb. x.\ni. 22. The Jerusa- 
 lem Targum expounds this verse of the victories gained over the 
 Canaanites by Joshua and Gideon, who were both of this famdy ; 
 to whom, for the same reason, might have been added Jephthah, 
 who distinguished himself signally in the war against the Am- 
 monites. Dr. Durell. 
 
 18. —Be juice, Zebulun, in thi/ going out ; &.C.] Zebulun and 
 Issachar are here joined together ; they were brothers by the same 
 mother; but the disposition of their respective posterities was to 
 be very difFerent : the former, it is intunated, would delight m
 
 The blessings of 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 the twelve tribes. 
 
 B.forr Zebulim, in Ihv 2:010"; out ; and, Issachar, 
 
 CHKIST . ., . . • ^ " 
 
 Hi, ni thv tents. 
 
 11/ They shall call the people unto the 
 mountain ; there they shall orter sacrifices 
 of righteousness : for'they shall suck o/'the 
 abundance of the seas, and o/'trcasures hid 
 in the sand. 
 
 20 % And of Gad he said, Blessed be he 
 that enlargoth Gad : he dwelleth as a lion, 
 and teareth the arm villi the crown of the 
 head. 
 
 '21 And he provided the first part for 
 himself, because there, in a portion of the 
 t Hcb. lawgiver, xcas he t seated ; and he came 
 with the heads of the people, he executed 
 the justice of the Loud, and his judgments 
 with Israel. 
 
 commerce, and the latter in ajrriculture. Hy trade and nianu- 
 fictures the descendants of Zebuliin would enrich themselves, as 
 the others miftht by disposing of the produce of their fanns ; by 
 which means they might be enabled to offer larfrc burnt offerings 
 at tlie solemn festivals, and liospitahly receive the people, whom 
 they invited to go up with them to Jerusalem. Dr. Diirell. 
 
 IJ). Thet/ shall call the people unto the mountain ;] Here Moses 
 predicts, that the house of God sliould be set upon a mountain ; 
 to which Zubulun should invite tiie rest of the tribes, by their 
 forwardness and zeal, to go up and worship God at the three 
 great testivals. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 they shall suck of the ahumlance of the seas, &c.] They 
 
 shall grow ricli by importing abundance of commodities, par- 
 ticularly gold, silver, and precious stones, which are dug out of 
 the earth. Dr. If'ells, Bp. Patrick. Or, tlie former clause in this 
 passage may have a particular reference to the produce of the seas, 
 especially the shell-fish, called murcx, tlie use of which is well 
 known in dying of a purple colour ; and the latter clause may 
 refer to the art of making glass from sand. Jonathan in his para- 
 phrase thus explains it : " They shall dwell near the sea, and feast 
 on the tunny fish, and catch the chalson, (or mure.x ;) with the 
 blood of which they will die of a puqile colour the threads of 
 their cloths ; and from the sand they will make looking-glasses 
 and utensils of glass." It is certain from various authors, that 
 pur[)le was found on the coast of T>Te, adjoining to Zebulun ; 
 and that gbiss was made from the sand of the river Belus, which 
 ran by the border of this tribe. Dr. Durcll. 
 
 20. — Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad :] That is. Blessed be 
 God, who hath allotted to him such a large inheritance, which he 
 afterwards further enlarged, 1 Chron. v. 20. " He dwelleth as a 
 Hon ;" lives secure and fearless, though encompassed by enemies : 
 " and teareth the arm with the cro^vn of the head ;" kills the 
 princes with their kings : for by " arms" are meant men of strength 
 and poner; and by " the crown of the head" is properly to'be 
 understood the chief commander, ruler, or king. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 21. And he provided the ^/irst part for hinuelf,'] That is, he 
 chose his inheritance with the first on this side Jordan, Numb. 
 xx.\ii. I , " in a portion of the lawgiver ;" that is, that part of the 
 country, which Moses the lawgiver entered upon, and which he 
 divided. Numb. x.xxii. 3;3. " And he came, &c." that is, after 
 he had made provision for the safety of his family and cattle, he 
 accompanied the leaders and captains of the people ; and assisted 
 Uiera in conquering the land, and destroying the inhabitants, who 
 •were justly devoted by Go<lto destruction. Josh. i. U. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 22. — Dan is a lion's whelp:'] The Danites w ill be eminent 
 •or stratagems .and strength of w.ar ; and may be compared with 
 Uie lions ot Bashan, which was celebrated for its breed of very 
 fierce ones, th|it leap upon their prey with great force and subtilty. 
 1 his Wi^ eminenUy verified in Samson, who was of the tribe of 
 Dan. Pyle, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Qo ^ And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's g/j^^^g^. 
 whelp : he shall leap from Bashan. hsi." 
 
 23 il And of Naphtali he said, O Naph- 
 tali, satisfied with favour, and full with 
 the blessing of the Lord : possess thou the 
 west and the south. 
 
 24 if And of Asher he said. Let Asher 
 be blessed with children ; let him be ac- 
 ceptable to his brethren, and let him dip 
 his foot in oil. 
 
 25 II Thy shoes shall be iron and brass ; ii Or, 
 and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. ^^".''/'hai'i 
 
 2G ^ There is none like unto the God leiron. 
 of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven 
 in thy help, and in his excellency on the 
 sky. 
 
 27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and 
 
 23. — possess thou the irest and the soiilh.^ The tribe of Nepli- 
 thali lay north and east : yet it was so situated, that by Zebulun, 
 which lay ne.xt him, and upon the coast of the Great sea, he could 
 easily be possessed of the commodities of the sea, which we here 
 translate •' west :" and lying on the river Jordan, Josli. xix. 33, lie 
 had tlie advantage of enjoying those commodities, which came by 
 that river from the " southern" paints of the land. Bp. Kidder, 
 Pi/lc. 
 
 24. — Let Asher he blessed &c.^ Ma}' the tribe of Asher truly 
 answer the meaning of its name, '• Happy," by being blessed with 
 a numerous posterity, and with a plenty of such products of the 
 country where they live, that they may oblige the rest of the neigh- 
 bouring tribes. God will plant them in a soil, where the choicest 
 oil, and such like good things, shall be in the utmost fulness ; and 
 useful metals be dug from the bowels of their hills. Pyle. 
 
 let him dip his foot in o//.^] This figurative expression is 
 
 allowed to denote such plenty, that oil would be very little re- 
 garded in this tribe ; as in Jacob's prophecy, where it is said of 
 Judah, " he washed his garments in wine," it is understood to 
 signify that wine should be as plentiful as water. VVitli respect to 
 this promise it may be observed, not only that Asher's portion was 
 generally fertile in oil, as in corn, wine, &c. ; but during a famine 
 of three years and a half, when the Prophet Elijah wanted sus- 
 tenance, he was directed by the Holy Spirit to go to a poor widow 
 at Sarepta, in whose house he was supplied with bread and oil. 
 Sarepta was a town of this tribe. Dr. Durell. 
 
 25. Till/ slioes shall be iron and brass;'] This verse informs us, 
 that shoes clouted, as the old English expression is, were used as 
 early as the days of Moses. We know that the Roman soldiers 
 used brascn or copper soles to their shoes; and clouted shoes, that is, 
 shoes well coated with iron, were anciently part of a soldier's dress 
 in this country, from which, shoes well filled with nails, &c. for 
 strength, are now called clouted. Script, illusl. In the East at 
 this day, all the people, both rich and poor, wear iron plates at 
 the heels and toes of their shoes. Calmct. 
 
 as thy days, so shall thy strength be.] Thy strength shall 
 
 bear proportion to thy days. That shall be great ; and these shall 
 be many. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 26. There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun,'] Moses, hav- 
 ing made an end of declaiming to each tribe some oi the particular 
 circumstances, which would distinguish them from the rest, and 
 having prayed for their respective prosperity, now concludes the 
 whole with a general benediction. Dr. Durcll. 
 
 n'ho rideth upon the heaven in thy help,] Who command- 
 
 eth in the heavens, as well as in the earth ; and sends help and 
 succour to thee from thence by thunder, lightning, and hailstones. 
 Thus had God done, Exod. ix. 23, and thus did He do afterwards, 
 Josh. X. 10, 11. Compare Ps. xviii. 9, 10; Ixviii. 33, 34. Bps. 
 Patrick and Kidder. The Supreme Being is frequently described 
 as " riding on the skies, and making the clouds His chariot," in
 
 The excellency of Israel. 
 
 A' 
 
 CHRIST '^'^derneath are the everlasting arms : and 
 1451. he shall thrust out the enemy from before 
 thee ; and shall say, Destroy them. 
 * isT. 23. 6. 28 "* Israel then shall dwell in safety alone : 
 the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land 
 of corn and wine ; also his heavens shall 
 drop down dew. 
 
 29 Happy art thou, O Israel : who is 
 
 like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, 
 
 the shield of thy help, and who is the sword 
 
 11 Or, of thy excellency ! and thine enemies || shall 
 
 thaii be be found liars unto thee ; and thou shalt 
 
 tread upon their high places. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 1 Moses from mount Kebo vieivcth the land. 5 He 
 dieth there. 6 His burial. 7 His age. 8 Thirty 
 days' mourning for him. 9 Joshua succeedetk him. 
 10 The praise of Moses. 
 
 ND Moses went up from the plains of 
 ^ _ Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to 
 hiu.'' ' the top of II Pisgah, that is over against Je- 
 ' ciiap. 3. richo. And the Lord shewed him ° all the 
 2 Mac. 2. 4. land of Gilead, unto Dan, 
 
 condescension to the gross conceptions of a carnal people, who 
 were unable to consider the attributes of the Lord Jehovah ab- 
 stractedlj'. Dr. Durell. 
 
 27. — underneath are the everlasting arms ;] To support all 
 those with an unwearied power and care, who commit them- 
 selves unto Him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 28. Israel then shall dwell in safety alone :~\ The Israelites were 
 separated from the rest of the world by their peculiar institutions, 
 religious and civil; and they were sufficiently secure under the 
 theocracy without entering into leagues, offensive or defensive, 
 with any power. This seems to be an allusion to Balaam's pro- 
 phecy. Numb, xxiii. 9- Dr. Durell. 
 
 the fountain of Jacob'\ That is, his posterity ; who were 
 
 derived from him, as a river from a fountain. Is. xlviii. 1 ; li. 1. 
 Bp. Patrick. Or, " the fountain" is taken literallj-, and opposed to 
 " dew :" and the expression implies, that the land of Jacob should 
 be a land of fountains, of corn, &c. according to the description 
 of it, chap. viii. 7, 8. Dr. Durell. 
 
 2g. — thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee ;] Shall be 
 so afraid, that with feigned stories they shall court their friend- 
 ship, as the Gibeonites did : or, more simply, shall submit to 
 them, tliough not heartily, 3-et out of fear, Ps. xviii. 44 ; l.wi. 3. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The last verse of this concluding benediction answers to the 
 first, ver. 26 : God is there said to have none like Him ; so is Is- 
 rael here : He is superiour to all created beings, because the whole 
 creation obeys Him ; the Israelites are superiour to every other 
 nation, because He has saved them : in both places they are re- 
 presented as being under His particular providence, assisted by 
 Him in conquering their enemies, and admitted by Him into their 
 country. Dr. Durell. 
 
 Chap. XXXIV. ver. 1 . — unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of 
 Pisgah,2 The mountains Xebo, Pisgah, and Abarim make but 
 one chain of mountains, in the country of Moab, near mount Peor, 
 over against Jericho. Calmet. 
 
 Danf] It has been said, that some names, used in the 
 
 Pentateuch, were not applied to the places which they describe 
 till after the death of Moses. If the truth of this remark could 
 be proved, we might suppose the modern names to have been 
 substituted by Ezra, or by some Prophet, posterior to Moses, for 
 the information of later times. But the assertion often proceeds 
 Vol. I. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. XXXIV. Moses' death, burial, and age. 
 
 2 And all Naphtali, and the land of E- ^<'f°" 
 
 phraim, and Manasseh, and aJJ the land of '^"4^^^^ 
 Judah, unto the utmost sea, 
 
 3 And the south, and the plain of tjie 
 valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, 
 unto Zoar. 
 
 4. And the Lord sard unto him, " This » Gen. 12. 
 is the land which I sware unto Abraham, ''■ * '*■ '*• 
 unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will 
 give it unto thy seed : I have caused thee 
 to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not 
 go over thither. 
 
 5 ^ So Moses the servant of the Lord 
 died there in the land of Moab, according 
 to the word of the Lord. 
 
 6 And he buried him in a valley in the 
 land of Moab, over against Beth-peor : 
 but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto 
 this day. 
 
 7 IT And Moses n-as an hundred and 
 twenty years old when he died : his eye was ^ h*. 
 not dim, nor his t natural force t abated. mauture. 
 
 8 If And the children of Israel wept for )"*' 
 
 from mistake, and from a want of distinction : for instance, the 
 Dan, spoken of by Moses, might be different from the place af- 
 terwards so named in Judges xviii. 29. Josephus conceives it 
 to have been a river, one of the sources of the Jordan. Dr. 
 Gray. 
 
 3. — the city of palm /rew,] Several of the ancient writers de- 
 scribe Jericho and its neighbourhood as abounding with palm 
 trees. Several of tliese trees still remain there ; for there is the 
 convenience they require of being often watered ; tlie climate 
 likewise is warm, and the soil sandy, and such as they delight to 
 grow in. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 5. So Moses — diedj The account of the death and burial of 
 Moses, and some other seemingly posthumous particulars de- 
 scribed in this chapter, have been produced to prove, that it could 
 not have been written b}' Moses : and in all probability these cir- 
 cumstances may have been inserted by Joshua, to complete the 
 history of this illustrious Prophet ; or were afterwards added by 
 Samuel, or some Prophet who succeeded him. They were .ad- 
 mitted by Ezra as authentick, and we have no reason to question 
 the fidelity of the account. Dr. Gray. It is an opinion, which 
 seems very consonant to reason, that the book of Deuteronomy 
 ended with the prophetick blessing of Moses upon the twelve 
 tribes. Before the invention of sections and other divisions, and 
 when sometimes several books were connected together, and fol- 
 lowed each other upon the same roll, according to the ancient 
 method of writing, it is no hard matter to conceive how ea.sily the 
 beginning of one book may have been transferred to the end of 
 another ; so that in process of time that may have been reputed 
 the conclusion of Deuteronomy, which was originally intended 
 for the introduction to Josluia. Stackhouse. 
 
 6. And he buried him"] The same God, tliat by the hands of 
 His angels carried up the soul of Moses to His glory, dotli also 
 by the hand of His angels carry his body down into the valley of 
 Moab, to his sepulture. Those hands, which had received the 
 law from Him, those eyes that had seen His presence, those 
 lips that had conferred so often with Him, that face that did so 
 shine with the beams of His glory, may not be neglected when 
 the soul is gone : He, that took charge of his birth and preserva- 
 tion in the reeds, takes charge of his carriage out of the world ; 
 the care of God ceaseth not over His own, either in deatli, or after 
 it. Bp.Hall. 
 
 3 G
 
 Jushtta sttcccedelh Moses. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 T/ie praise of Moses. 
 
 Before Moscs ill tlif nUiins of Moab thirty days : 
 cHR|ST ^^ j,jg ^j.j^.^ ot weeping and mourning for 
 
 Moses were ended. 
 
 y % And Joshua the son of Nun was full 
 of the spirit of wisdom ; for Moses had laid 
 his hands upon iiim : and the cliildren of 
 Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the 
 Lord commanded Moses. 
 
 10 H And there arose not a prophet since 
 
 10. Ami there arose not a prophet— like unto Moses,^ Moses 
 was mighty both in words and dcc<b, Acts vii. •2-2. He excelled 
 in miracles and prophecies, and still more in legislation. His laws 
 and institutions have been admircti and adopted by the wisest 
 age.i of aiiticiuily. And upon the closest scrutiny, they breathe 
 a .spirit of the most exalted jiicty, the most extensive benevolence, 
 and the most enlightened policy, worthy indeed of the tutelar 
 God of Israel, by wlioni they were dictated to this most highly 
 favoured " man of God," because most " faithful servant of the 
 Lord ;" Deut. xxxiii. 1 ; Numb. xii. 7 ; Heb. iii. '2 ; with whom 
 God conversed '• face to face," or familiarly, " as a man speaketh 
 unto his friend," Kxod. xxxiii. 11. 
 
 The faculties of this illustrious legislator, both of mind and 
 bmlv, were unimpairetl at the age of 120 years, when he died. 
 " His eye was not dim, nor his natural strength abated," vcr. 7. 
 And the noblest of all his compositions was his Song, or the Di- 
 vine Ode, which Bisliop Lowth elegantly styles, "the dying swan's 
 oration." 
 
 His death took place after the Lord had shewn him from the 
 top of Pisgah a distant view of the promised land, throughout 
 its whole extent: and He then "buried his body in a valley 
 opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Moab ; but no man know eth 
 his sejjulchre unto this day," observes the sacred historian, who 
 anne\e<l the circumstances of his death to the book of Deute- 
 ronomy, ver. fi. From an obscure passage in the New Testament, 
 in which " Michael the jirchangel is said to have contended >vith 
 the devil, about the body of Moses," Jude 9, we may collect, that 
 he was buried by the ministry of angels, near the scene of the 
 idolatry of the Israelites ; but tliat the spot was pui-posely con- 
 cealed, lest his tomb might also be converted into an object of 
 idolatrous worsliip among the Israelites, like the brasen serpent. 
 Bcth-peor lay in tlie lot of the Reubenites, Josh. xiii. 20. His 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 H51. 
 
 in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord 
 knew lace to face, 
 
 11 In all the signs and tlie wonders, 
 wiiich the Lord sent him to do in the land 
 of Eoy])t to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, 
 and to all his land, 
 
 1'2 And in all that mighty hand, and in 
 all tlie great terror which Moses shewed in 
 tlie sight of all Israel. 
 
 death was announced by the Lord Himself to Joshua, " Moses 
 My servant is dead, &c." Josh. i. 2. So that there was no human 
 witness of his decease ; the account of wliich was jirobably added 
 by .Joshua from revelation. 
 
 The preeminence of his character is briefly described by the 
 sacred historian, Samuel or Ezra: "And there arose not a Pro- 
 phet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face 
 to lace, in all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent 
 him to do in the land of Egypt to Ph.nr.ioh, and to all liis servants, 
 and to all liis land, and in all that mighty hand, .and in all the 
 great teriour which Moses .shewed in the sight of all Israel." 
 
 The noblest trait in his moral character was his patriotick disin- 
 terestedness. He twice refused the tempting offer of the aggran- 
 dizement of his own fiunily, when God threatened to reject the 
 Israelites for their rebellions, and make of him "a great nation" 
 in their stead. And he left his sons, without rank or patrimony, 
 as private Lcvites, to subsist on the national bounty, in common 
 with their brethren ! — ,\nd, melancholy to relate, his gi-andson, 
 "Jonathan, the son of Gershom," and his family, became idola- 
 trous priests to tlie Dnnites, until the capture of the ark by the 
 Philistines, Judg. xviii. ;)0 ; where the Masorite doctors, to hide 
 the disgrace to his memory, changed " Moses" into " Mana.sses," 
 by interpolating the letter N in the present copies of the Hebrew- 
 text. The posterity of his son Ele;^zar were numerous in Solo- 
 mon's time, and some of them high in office, 1 Chron. xxiii. 14 
 — 17; xxvi. 24, 25. Dr. Hales. 
 
 Thus, with the death of this eminent Prophet and Lawgiver, 
 endeth the PENTATEuni : containing the sacred history of the 
 world, and of mankind in general, and of the .Abrahainick family 
 in particular, for the (iret two thousand, five hundred, and fifty- 
 three years: namely, from the Creation to the arrival of the 
 Israelites in tlie land of Canaan, rylc 
 
 The following are the Chapters from the Book ef Deuteronomy, appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holydays. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 V. 
 
 VI. , 
 
 VII. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 IX. 
 
 X. from ver. 1 2. - - - 
 
 XII. --.--.. . Sunday after Ascension-day, 
 
 XIII. Ditto,' 
 
 XVI. <o irr. 18. - . . . Whitsunday, . - - 
 
 XXX. ...-., , Tuesday in Whitsun week, 
 
 3rd Sunday after Easter, 
 
 Ditto, .... 
 
 4th Sunday after Easter, 
 
 Ditto, . . - - 
 
 ,ith Sunday after Easter, 
 
 Ditto, - - , - - 
 
 Ascension-day, 
 
 Circumcision, 
 
 Morning. 
 Evening. 
 Morning. 
 Evening. 
 Morning. 
 Evening. 
 Morning. 
 Evening. 
 Morning. 
 Evening. 
 Morning. 
 Evening.
 
 f! 
 
 [ILLUSTKATLSO THE BOOKS 
 
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 J IV PART 
 
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 Looyituae £■<! y from Grfr-owifh 
 
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 Raral I 
 
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 Common. 
 
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 ItWMsvn /
 
 THE BOOK OF 
 
 JOSHUA 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 AFTER the Pentateuch, we enter on those, which are commoiil}- called the Historical Books of the Oid Testament; comprising the 
 books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, the two books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles ; also those of Ezra, Neheniiah, and Esther. Tliese 
 books contain a compendium of tile Jewish history for a period of 1042 years: that is, from the death of Moses, in the year of the 
 ■world 2553, (before Christ 1451,) to the reformation established by Nehemiah, after the return from the captivity, in the year of the 
 •world 3595 (before Christ 409-) In these books, the object of the sacred historians is, to communicate instruction to mankind, and 
 to illustrate the nature of God's providence, in small as well as great occurrences; in particular instances as well as general appoint- 
 ments. They therefore often descend from the great outline of national concerns to the minute details of private history. The rela- 
 tions however of individual events occasionally interspersed are highly interesting : and admirably develop the designs of the 
 Almighty, and the character of tliose times to which they are respectively assigned. Those seeming digressions too, in wliich the 
 inspired writers have recorded such remarkable events as related to particular personages, or such occurrences in foreign countries as 
 tended to affect the history of the Jews, are not only valuable for the religious spirit which they breatlie, and the incidental evidence 
 of authenticity which tliey afford, but are to be admired, as strictly consistent with the sacred plan. These books therefore consti- 
 tute an important part of the sacred volume; furnishing a complete code of instructive lessons, conveyed under every form, diversi- 
 fied with every style of composition, and enlivened with various illustrations of circumstance and character. 
 
 The book of Joshua continues the sacred history from the death of Moses to the deaths of Joshua am; Eleazar, a space of about thirty 
 years. It contains an account of the conquest and division of the land of Canaan, the renewal of the covenant with the Israelites, 
 and the death of Joshua. There are two passages in this book which shew that it was written by a person, who liveii at the time 
 when the events happened. In the 1st verse of chap, v, the author speaks of him.self as being one of those who passed into Canaan, 
 by using the expression, " Until we were passed over." And in the 2.)th verse of the following cliapter, it ajipears that the book 
 was written when Rahab was alive : for it is said of her, " she dwelleth in Israel unto this <lay." There is not a perfect agreement 
 among the learned, respecting the author of this book : but by far the most general o|)iriion is, that it was written by Joshua himself 
 The live last verses, giving an account of the death of Joshua, were added by one of h:s successors, probably by Phineas or Samuel. 
 Dr. Cray, Bp. Tomline. 
 
 c^tisT ^ CHAP. I. 
 
 1)51. 1 The Lord appoinlet/i Jos/iiia to succeed Moses. 3 The 
 borders of the prmnised laud. 5, 9 Cod proniiselh to 
 assist Joxhua. 8 He givcth him instructions. 10 lie 
 prepareth the people to pass orcr Jordan. 12 Joshua 
 pntteth the two tribes and half in mind of their prv- 
 7nise to Moses. I6 They promise him fealtij. 
 
 Clnp. I. ver. 1. — Joshua the son of Nun,"] His original name 
 was Hoshea or Oshea, Deut. xxxii. 44, which Moses, whose 
 minister lie was, Exod. xxiv. 13, changed into Jehoshua, Numb, 
 xiii. 16; and by contraction, Joshua or Jcshua, or Jesus, (ac- 
 cording to the Greek pronunciation,) Acts vii. 45 ; Hebr. iv. 8 ; 
 signifying " Saviour." He therefore was a type of Christ, both 
 in his name and in his actions, as well as Moses. The first 
 notice of him is on tlie occasion of the Amalekite wai", Exotl. 
 xvii. 9, where he was appointed captain of a chosen party to 
 repel their attack, at which time he was about forty-four years 
 of age, and was called a young man, Exod. xxxiii. 11. Even 
 then he w;is pre-ordained by tlie Lord to put the Israelites in 
 
 NOW after the death of Mo.ses the ser- 
 vant of the Lord it came to pass, 
 that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son 
 of Nun, Moses' ^minister, saying, 
 
 2 Moses my servant is dead; now there- 
 fore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 Hal. 
 
 • Deut. 1. 
 
 38. 
 
 possession of the promised land, ;ls appears from the injunction 
 to Moses to record in a book tlie aggression of the Amalekites, 
 and tiie decree of their extennination, and to rehearse it in the 
 ears of Joshua, as a memorial to him and the future judges, 
 Exod. xvii. 14. The Lord appointed him to succeed Moses, at 
 Numb, xxvii. 18. Joshua was about the age of eighty-four- 
 when, on the present occasion, after Moses's death, he was com, 
 manded to pass over Jordan and take possession of the promised 
 land. Dr. Hales. 
 
 •i. — this Jordan,"] VVitliin sight of which they lay encamped, 
 and which flowed between them and tlie land of Canaan. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 aGn
 
 God promiseth to assist Joshua. 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 The tribes promise obedience. 
 
 c 
 
 Mil. 
 » PCUL II. 
 
 94. 
 
 ch»i>. H. 9. 
 
 •" Dcuu 31 
 
 '.'3. 
 II Or. 
 thnu sitiilt 
 came III it 
 peojile tt 
 inherit the 
 land. Sec. 
 
 • Dciit. 5. 
 S2. & JS. 
 14. 
 II Or, 
 Hii tritely. 
 
 iMoTt all this people, unto the land which I do 
 HuisT ^.^.^ ^^ ^j^gj^^ ^^^^ j^ ^^l^g children of Israel. 
 
 3 " Every place that the sole of your foot 
 shall tread upon, that have I given unto 
 you, as I said unto Moses. 
 
 4 From the wililerness and this Lebanon 
 even unto the great river, the river Eu- 
 phrates, all the land of the Hittites, and 
 unto the great sea toward the going down 
 of the sun, shall be your coast. 
 
 5 There shall not any man be able to 
 stand before thee all the days of thy life : 
 as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: 
 
 ' Hcbr.13. ' I „.ji| not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 
 
 (j '' Be strong and of a good courage : for 
 II unto this people shalt thou divide for an 
 inheritance the land, which I sware unto 
 their fathers to give them. 
 
 7 Only be thou strong and very cou- 
 rageous, that thou mayest observe to do 
 according to all the law, which Moses my 
 servant commanded thee : ' turn not from 
 it to the right hand or to the left, that thou 
 mayest II prosper whithersoever thou goest. 
 
 8 This book of the law shall not depart 
 out of thy mouth ; but thou shalt meditate 
 therein day and night, that thou mayest 
 observe to do according to all that is writ- 
 ten therein : for then thou shalt make thy 
 way prosperous, and then thou shalt jj have 
 good success. 
 
 9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong 
 and of a good courage ; be not afraid, nei- 
 ther be thou dismayed : for the Lord thy 
 God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. 
 
 lU % Then Joshua commanded the offi- 
 cers of the people, saying, 
 
 1 1 Pass through the host, and command 
 the people, saying. Prepare you victuals ; 
 for within three days ye shall pass over this 
 Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which 
 the Loud your God giveth you to possess it. 
 
 •*. From Ihe wilderness &c.] From the wilderness of Zin, which 
 was the boundary on the south, and this mountain, Lebanon, 
 (so higli tliat the top of it was seen from the place where they 
 then were,) which was the boundary on the north, to the river 
 Euphrates, wliich bounded the extent of the dominions of the 
 Israelites on the east, (which afterwards came to pass in the days 
 of David and Solomon,) and to the Mediterranean sea, which 
 bounded it on the west, or towards the going down of the sun. 
 Dr. IVcUs. *" ^ 
 
 ———the Hitlites,'] As these were a very powerful people in- 
 habiting the country, some of which were of the race of the giants; 
 they are tlierefore particularly mentioned, to sliew that the most 
 terrible people should not stand before Joshua. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6.^ Be .Hrong and of a good courage:'} He commands Joshua to 
 be " strong and courageous," not only against the heathen, who 
 "i^f^ h's outward enemies, but also in steadily persevering to 
 obey the Divine commands, and to enforce similar obedience in 
 tbosc who were placed under his govenuncnt. Dr. Wdlt. 
 
 II Or, 
 <lu teittly. 
 
 12 f And to the Reubenites, and to the ch''^''[st 
 Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, hsi. 
 spake Joshua, saying, 
 
 13 Remember 'the word which Moses 'Numb. 
 the servant of the Lord commanded you, 
 saying. The Lord your God hath given 
 
 you rest, and hath given you this land. 
 
 14< Your wives, your little ones, and 
 your cattle, shall remain in the land which 
 Moses gave you on this side Jordan j but 
 ye shall pass before your brethren t armed, t He''. 
 all the mighty men of valour, and help 1^}','". ' 
 them ; 
 
 15 Until the Lord have given your bre- 
 thren rest, as he hath given you, and they 
 also have possessed the land which the 
 Lord your God giveth them : then ye sliall 
 return unto the land of your possession, 
 and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord's ser- 
 vant gave you on this side Jordan toward 
 the sunrising. 
 
 16 ^ And they answered Joshua, saying, 
 All that thou commandest us we will do, 
 and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will 
 go. 
 
 17 According as we hearkened unto 
 Moses in all things, so will we hearken 
 unto thee : only the Lord thy God be 
 with thee, as he was with Moses. 
 
 18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel 
 against thy commandment, and will not 
 hearken unto thy words in all that thou 
 commandest him, he shall be put to death : 
 only be strong and of a good courage. 
 
 CHAP. U. 
 
 \ Rahah receivelh and conccaleth Ike two .ipies sent from 
 S/iiltim. 8 The covenant between her and them. 23 
 Their return and relation. 
 
 A 
 
 saying. 
 
 ND Joshua the son of Nun sent out 
 
 of Shittim two men to spy secretly. 
 
 Go view the land, even Jericho. 
 
 7. — turn not from it &c.] This is a metaphor taken from men 
 on a journey, who go straight forward in the plain highway, and 
 turn not aside into by-paths, which lead they know not whither. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11. — within three dai/\^ The Hebrew word may be rendered, 
 and ought to be rendered, after three days, for it is evident from 
 chap. iii. 2, that the Israelites passed not over Jordan till afler 
 three days, viz. the next day after. Dr. JVells. 
 
 14. — all the mighti/ men} It appears that Joshua picked out 
 the ablest warriours ; for it is evident they did not all go over, but 
 only 40,000 of them. See Josh. iv. 13. The rest, though fit for 
 war, were left to defend their wives, children, and flocks, while 
 those mighty men of valour went to help their brethren. Bp. 
 PatiicL 
 
 Chap. II. ver. 1. And Joshua — sent out of Shittim} Rather, 
 had sent, before the directions given to the officers, as mentioned 
 in the last chapter. This best agrees with ver. 22 of this chap-
 
 Rahab receiveth and 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 concealeth the spies. 
 
 Before And they went, and * came into an harlot's 
 ^^451.^^ house, named Rahab, and t lodged there. 
 » Hebr. 11. 2 And it was told the king of Jericho, 
 ^1- saying, Behold, there came men in hither 
 
 f HebWfly.' to night of the children of Israel to search 
 out the country. 
 
 3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Ra- 
 hab, saying. Bring forth the men that are 
 come to thee, which are entered into thine 
 house : for they be come to search out all 
 the country. 
 
 4. And the woman took the two men, 
 and hid them, and said thus. There came 
 men unto me, but I wist not whence they 
 were : 
 
 5 And it came to pass about tJie time of 
 shutting of the gate, when it was daik, that 
 the men went out : whither the men went 
 I wot not : pursue after them quickly ; for 
 ye shall overtake them. 
 
 6 But she had brought them up to the 
 
 ter, and with the rest of the narrative. Shittim was in the plains 
 of Moal), where the IsraeHtes now hiy encamped, and where they 
 had remained about two months, ever since the conquest of Sihon 
 and Og. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 into an harlot's house, named Iiahah,~\ Rahab probably 
 
 kept a piiblick house or inn, for the entertainment of strangers, 
 by going into which the spies thought that they would be less 
 suspected of any design. Bp. Patrick. She is called harlot either 
 because persons who kept publick houses in those days often 
 made their persons as common as their houses, or because Rahab 
 had formerly been of this description, although she was now con- 
 verted to better sentiments. Pyle. It cannot be denied, that in 
 ancient times there was great affinity between the business of an 
 hostess and an harlot ; for this reason perhaps it is, tliat in the 
 Hebrew tongue the same word denotes persons of both professions. 
 For the same reason, the Septuiigint, or (jreek translators, have 
 given Rahab the appellation of a harlot ; and the two Apostles, St. 
 Paul and St. James, (Heb. xi. 31, and .lam. ii. '2o,) make use of 
 the same expression, from this translation. It is to be observed 
 however, that, as the expression is capable of another sense, the 
 Chaldee paraphrast calls her by a word whicii signifies a woman 
 who keeps a puhlick house, without any mark of infiuny. There- 
 fore, charity should incline us to think the best of a person, whom 
 both these Apostles have ranked witli Abraham, the father of tlie 
 faithful, and propounded as an example of faith and good works. 
 Rahab was afterwards married to Salmon, a prince of Judah ; 
 and king David descended from her: so that Jesus Christ did 
 not disilain to reckon this Canaanitish woman among His an- 
 cestors. Stackhousc. 
 
 4. — / n'ist not tvlience the)/ were :'} In judging of Rahab's con- 
 duct on this occasion in telling an untruth, we should remember, 
 that she had sufficient intimations of what God intended for His 
 people Israel ; and she expressed her faith in Him, by s.iying, 
 " The Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and in earth 
 beneath." See ver. 11. She was deeply sensible, that the high 
 Lord of heaven and earth had given that land to Israel, and she 
 acted under a full persuasion of it ; which faith of her's is tliat 
 commended at Heb. xi. Therefore, not doubting but that the 
 Gotl of the universe had an uncontrollable right to set up, or to 
 pull down ; and to dispose of all kingdoms and countries, accord- 
 ing to His good pleasure, she judged it reasonable to obey God 
 rather than man ; and therefore she endeavoured, as much as in 
 her lay, to deliver up the land to the true owners, to those whom 
 God had made the rightful proprietors. She would have been 
 
 roof of the house, and hid them with the purist 
 stalks of flax, which she had laid in order h5i. 
 upon the roof. 
 
 7 And the men pursued after them the 
 way to Jordan unto the fords : and as soon 
 as they which pursued after them were 
 gone out, they shut the gate. 
 
 8 ^ And before they were laid down, she 
 came up unto them upon the roof; 
 
 9 And she said unto the men, I know 
 that tlie Lord hath given you the land, 
 and that your terror is fallen upon us, and 
 that all the inhabitants of the land t faint t Heb. 
 because of you. "*'"" 
 
 10 For we have heard how the Lord 
 ''dried up the water of the Red sea for^Exod. u. 
 you, when ye came out of Egypt ; and cimp. 4. 23. 
 what ye did unto the two kings of the 
 Amorites, that icere on the other side Jor- 
 dan, " Sihon and Ok, whom ye utterly ' N'"n>i>. 
 
 , ' , ^ •' •'21. 24. 
 
 destroyed. 
 
 treacherous both to God and to tliem, if slie had not done it, 
 when she knew, as she expressly saj-s, that the Lord had given 
 them the land. Dr. Waterland. On the supposition that Rahab 
 acted on this occasion in conformity with the intimation she had 
 received of God's design towards the inliabitants of Canaan, her 
 whole conduct will not only stand clear of every criminal im- 
 putation, but be highly commendable, and justly deserve a rank 
 among those illustrious patterns which the Apostle proposes to 
 our imitation, as being a person justified not only by her faith, 
 but also by her works, James ii. 25. Stackhousc. 
 
 It is probable that Rahab was informed by an express reve- 
 lation ©f the will of God on this occasion, and acted in obedience 
 to it, or she could not have been an instance of the faith, which 
 the inspired writer mentions in the Epistle to the Hebrews. If 
 she had proceeded only on a general report respecting the people, 
 who were invading the land, being raised up and supported by 
 the miraculous power of God, her conduct would not have been 
 justified; her concealment of the spies would have been treachery 
 to her country, and might at last have proved an unavailing as 
 well as a wicked action. But, on the other hand, if the design 
 of God towards the inhabitants of Canaan had been made known 
 to the king and people of Jericho ; and he aiul they, though suffi- 
 ciently warned to save tliemselves from destruction, refused to be 
 guided by the warning, while Rahab on their refusiU believed, 
 and obediently acted according to what was retjuired of her, her 
 whole behaviour will then stand clear of every imputation, and 
 her faith will be such as tlie Apostle might justly commend. 
 Shuck ford. 
 
 a, 1_ /(, ihc roof of the hnu.te,'] The houses in Eastern countries 
 had flat roofs, so that men might walk or lie upon them. The 
 stalks of flax were either newly cut and laid upon the roof of the 
 house to be dried by the sun, till they were fit to be peeled ; or 
 they had been cut the year before, and were now made use of by 
 Rahab to make the king's officers think that nobody had gone 
 upon the roof where the stalks were. Bp. Patrick. In tlie East, 
 they still use tlie roofs of their houses for drying raisins, flowers, 
 &c. Ilarmer. 
 
 <). — / know that the Lord &c.] She here tells them the reasons for 
 which she had ventured on an action so contrary to the common 
 interests of her native country, .ind to the duties of a subject 
 towards her prince : namely, that in reality she was a servant of the 
 same one Almighty God with themselves: for that the plain and 
 evident demonstrations of His power and justice in the deliver- 
 ance of the Israelites from Egypt, &c. had fully convinced he
 
 The covenant het-ceen 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 Rahab and the spies. 
 
 Bofori- 
 
 cHuisr 
 
 1431. 
 t Heb. 
 
 t Ilel.. 
 iitilead i>f 
 tfi)U iv tin. 
 
 II Ami as soon as ue had heard these 
 thiii{is, our hearts did melt, neither t did 
 there remain any more courarre in any 
 man, because of you : tor the Lord your 
 (iod, he is God 'in heaven above, and in 
 earth beneath. 
 
 1'.' Now therefore, I pray you, swear 
 unto me bv the Loiiu, since I iiave sliewcd 
 you kindness, that ye will also shew kind- 
 ness unto my tather's house, and give me 
 a true token : 
 
 \S And thntyQ. will save alive my father, 
 and mv mother, and my brethren, and my 
 sisters," and all tliat they have, and deliver 
 our lives from death. 
 
 14 And the men answered her, Our life 
 t for your's, if ye utter not this our busi- 
 ness. And it shall be, when tlie Louu 
 hath given us the land, that we will deal 
 kindly and truly with thee. 
 
 1,-5 Then she let them down by a cord 
 through the window : for her house xvas 
 upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon 
 tile wall. 
 
 1(5 And she said unto them. Get you to 
 the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you ; 
 and hide yourselves there three days, until 
 the ])ursuers be returned : and atlerward 
 may ye go your way. 
 
 17 And the men said unto her, We a/// 
 be blameless of this thine oath which thou 
 hast made us swear. 
 
 18 Behold, xvhen we come into the land, 
 thou shalt bind this line of scailct thread 
 in the wimlow wliich thou didst let us 
 down by : and thou shalt t bring thy fa- 
 ther, and thy mother, and thy brethren, 
 and all thy father's houshold, home unto 
 thee. 
 
 19 Anil it siiall be, that whosoever shall 
 go out ot" the doors of thy house into the 
 
 that the same irresistible arm would undoubtedly give the whole 
 i-nuntry into the hands of His chosen people, as a punishment on 
 the sins ot" these Canaanitish nations. /''//<'• 
 
 11. — i.v Goil in lieave>r\ This is a plain confession of the true 
 (rod, the Creator of heaven and earth ; wherein Herule.s and •Go- 
 verns ;J1 things according to His |)lcasure. I'his is her faith, ce- 
 lebrated by the Apostle to the Hebrews, which moved her to en- 
 tertain the spies, and to preserve them with the danger of her own 
 bfe, if she had been discovered, lip. Patrick: 
 
 14. — Our life fur i/imr's,^ 'I'hey here pledge their lives for 
 her's (swearing to her, as appears from ver. 1 7,) and wish they 
 might perish themselves if they periornied not wliat she desired ; 
 provided, on the other hand, she and lier kindred did not make 
 known the business tliev came about, and tlie agreement they had 
 made with her. Dr. lielh: 
 
 1.1 she dtrelt upon llie trail.'] The meaning probably is, that 
 
 the apartment she reserveil to herself was next to the wall, and 
 built upon it ; the rest of her house towards the street being kept 
 
 Before 
 - , , CHRIST 
 
 and whosoever uii. 
 
 tHeK 
 
 gather. 
 
 tHelx 
 
 melt. 
 
 street, his blood shall be upon bis head, 
 
 and we xdll he guiltless 
 
 siiall be with thee in the house, his blood 
 
 shall be on our head, if any hand be upon 
 
 him. 
 
 '^0 And if thou utter this our business, 
 then we will be quit of thine oath which 
 thou hast made us to swear. 
 
 '21 And she said, According unto your 
 words, so be it. And she sent them away, 
 and they departed : and she bound the 
 scarlet line in the window. 
 
 2!2 And they went, and came unto the 
 mountain, and abode there three days, un- 
 til the pursuers were returned : and the 
 pursuers sought them throughout all the 
 way, but found them not. 
 
 'J3 ^[ So the two men returned, and de- 
 scended from the mountain, and passed 
 over, and came to Joshua the son ot" Nun, 
 and told him all things that befell them : 
 
 !24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the 
 Lord hath delivered into our hands all the 
 land ; for even all the inhabitants of the 
 country tlo t faint because of us. 
 
 CHAP. HI. 
 
 1 Joshua comelh to Jordan. 2 The officers iii.tlrucl the 
 people J'or the passage. 7 The jMrd encourageik 
 Joshua. <) Joshua ciicouragelh the people. 14 The 
 it'alers of Jordan are divided. 
 
 AND Joshua rose early in the morning ; 
 and they removed from Shittim, and 
 came to Jordan, he and all the children of 
 Israel, and lodged there before they passed 
 over. 
 
 2 And it came to pass after three days, 
 that the officers went through the host ; 
 
 3 And they commanded the people, say- 
 ing, When ye see the ark of the covenant 
 of the Lord your God, and the priests the 
 
 for strangers. This gave her the fair opportunity, witliout any 
 noise, to let them down. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 17. — "e will he blameles.'T] Meaning, that the fault should 
 not be their's, if this oatli were not duly kept. Bp. Palrieh: 
 
 18. — scarlet threacF] It is probable tliat this was something 
 more tlian a mere thread or line, as it was distinguished from a 
 distance when hung in a window, and as it was used for lower- 
 ing the men. I>e Clerc would translate it, " this tissue of scarlet 
 thread." .Script, ilhist. 
 
 Chap. III. ver. 1. — carli) in the morning ;] The morning of 
 the last of the three days mentioned at chap. i. 11. 
 
 The dist;mce from Shittim to Jordan is, according to most 
 opinions, seven miles. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 3. — priests the I.evitesi Those of the tribe of Levi, who were 
 priests. The Kohathites had generally the cliarge of the ark. 
 Numb. iii. 28 ; iv. 1,5; but now, on this occasion, the priests are 
 appointed to it. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells.
 
 The Lord encourageth Joshua. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The "waters of Jordan aiviue. 
 
 'Before Leyites bearing it, then ye shall remove 
 1451. from your place, and go after it. 
 
 4 Yet there shall be a space between you 
 and it, about two thousand cubits by mea- 
 sure : come not near unto it, that ye may 
 know the way by which ye must go : for 
 t Heb. ye have not passed tlds way t heretofore. 
 7u'i/'^a27he 5 And Joshua said unto the people, 
 MrddHy. =" Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the 
 Numb. 11.' Lord will do wonders among you. 
 IL •'13 ^ "^"'^ Joshua spake unto the priests, 
 1 Sam. ic. saying. Take up the ark of the co\'enant, 
 ^- and pass over before the people. And they 
 
 took up the ark of the covenant, and went 
 before the people. 
 
 7 IF And the Lord said unto Joshua, 
 This day will I begin to magnify thee in 
 the sight of all Israel, that they may know 
 
 ^ Chap. I. t],at, ^ as I was with Moses, so 1 will be 
 with thee. 
 
 8 And thou shalt command the priests 
 that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, 
 When ye are come to the brink of the 
 water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in 
 Jordan. 
 
 9 IF And Joshua said unto the children 
 of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words 
 of the LoRO your God. 
 
 10 And Joshua said. Hereby ye shall 
 know that the living God is among you, 
 and t/iat he will without fail drive out from 
 
 3. — and go after it."^ The ark, which in their former marche-s 
 ■was generally wont to go in the middle of the camp. Numb. ii. 
 17, &c- is now iip))ointed to go in front, to lead and direi't their 
 cour.se, in the same manner as the cloud of glory (which had now 
 left them) used to do ; and, as the cloud was wont to keep at some 
 distance before tiie camp, so it was now ordered, tiiat the ark 
 should be followed at the distance of i2()00 cubits, (about 800 or 
 1000 yards,) as the only remaining sj'mbol of the Divine guidance 
 through tlie unknown passages of the ri\'er. Piilc. 
 
 5. — Sanctify i/uur.Kliics :^ They were commanded to prepare 
 themselves, by the means of sanctification, usual on extraordinary 
 occasions, (see Xumb. xi. 18; Exod. xix. 10,) for receiving the 
 Divine benefits with proper feelings and meditations. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 10. — Hcrehy Iff .sliiill know that Ike liriiig God &c.] Hereby, 
 that is, by the miraculous passage Ciod is about to make for jou 
 through Jordan, ye shall know that the living God, that is, the 
 only true Ciod, who has life of Himself, and is the Fountain or 
 Giver of life to all things, is among j'ou. Dr. Wells. 
 
 13. — (7 sliull come to /)«*.9,] He tells them t)f the miracle be- 
 forehand, that they might not attribute it to any accidental cause, 
 but solely to God's jirovidence and power. Dr. S. Clarke. 
 
 15. — harvc.'!l,'\ This is meant of barley harvest, which began 
 about the passover : the snows now melted from the neighbour- 
 ing moimtains, particularly of Lebanon, at the foot of which are 
 the springs of Jordan. By this overflowing of the river, the mi- 
 racle was increased. Bp. Patrick. No modern trax eller has seen 
 the Jordan in its state of overflowinsr. Mr. Maundrell observed 
 that this river has two banks, the first and outermost of which 
 appears to be that to which the overflow reaches. He says, that, 
 after having ilescended the outermost bank, they had to go about 
 a furlong on the level strand, before they came to tlie immediate 
 
 before you the Canaanites, and the Hit- ''*'°'^* 
 tiles, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, 
 
 H51. 
 
 and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, 
 and the Jebusites. 
 
 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of 
 the Lord of all the earth passeth over be- 
 fore you into Jordan. 
 
 12 Now therefore take you twelve men 
 out of the tribes of Israel, out of every 
 tribe a man. 
 
 13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as 
 the soles of the feet of the priests that 
 bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all 
 the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jor- 
 dan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut 
 offjrotu the waters that come down from 
 above; and they ''shall stand upon an l^'"'- ""'• 
 heap. 
 
 11" ^ And it came to jiass, when the 
 people removed from their tents, to pass 
 over Jordan, and the priests bearing the 
 '^ ark of the covenant before the people ; * Ac's'- 
 
 15 And as they that bare the ark were 
 come unto Jordan, and the feet of the 
 priests that bare the ark were dipped in 
 the brim of the water, (for "^ Jordan over- J^' ^'"'"• 
 floweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) EicI" 24. 
 
 IG That the waters which came down -^• 
 from above stood and rose up upon an 
 heap very far from the city Adam, that is 
 beside Zaretan : and those that came down 
 
 bank of the river. Now, as the river certainly formed the outer- 
 most bank by its inundiition, this bank is a lasting testimony that 
 it sometimes overflows. As each bank is about a furlong from the 
 bed of the river, and the river about twenty yards across, we tlms 
 get the breatlth of water crossed by the Israelites. In proportion 
 as the swelling of Jordan was rare, and the security of the Canaan- 
 ites increased by it, the p;issage of the ri\er by the Israelites was 
 a more illustrious instance of Divine interposition. Script, illiist. 
 
 16. — rose up upon an heap'] The waters above were made to 
 stand still, rising in a heap, as if they were congealed. Bp. Patrick. 
 As it is usual for waters to do when they are stopt by any com- 
 mon dam. Dr. Jf'ells. The passage of this deep and rapid, 
 though not wide river, at the most imf ivourable season, was more 
 manifestly miraculous, if possible, than that of tlie " Red sea." 
 It seems therefore to ha\e been providentially designed to silence 
 cavils respecting the former ; and it wa* dune in the noond.ay, in 
 the f-.u-e of the sun, and in the presence, we may be sure, of the 
 neighbouring inhabitants ; and struck terrour into the kings of 
 the .Vmorites and Camiiuiites, westwanls ol' the river, whose 
 " heart melted, neither was there spirit in them .-my more, because 
 of the children of Israel," Josh. v. 1. Dr. Ilnlrs. 
 
 It requires no argument to prove that this tact was miraculous : 
 it was not accidental, or it could not have been foreseen, ver. 5, 
 10, &c. : it was not natural, for the river was at its heigiit, vcr. 
 1 5 : and the waters, that had been descending, stood on an heap, 
 ver. Hi: it was not the ctTcct of art, for any artificial alteration of 
 the channel tlie people must have known ; and besides, tlie effect 
 could not have been insUmtiUieous. Dr. Grair.i. 
 
 Ad/im, — Zaretan ;] The waters rose in a heap " very 
 
 far from the city Adam, " which was probably situated at a short 
 distance above the place where the ark was. As this was but a 
 small place, its situation is further described by adding, " that is
 
 The people pass 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 over Jordan. 
 
 12. 
 
 Before toward the sea of the plain, even the salt 
 '^"«i.'^ sea, failed, ami were cut oft": and the peo- 
 j)le passed over rijjht against Jericho. 
 
 17 And tilt- ))riests that bare the ark of 
 the covenant ol" tiie Lord stood firm on 
 dry ground in tlic midst of Jordan, and all 
 the Israelites passed over on dry ground, 
 until all the people were passed clean over 
 Jordan. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 1 Tnelie men are appointed lo luhc Itiche sluiiex fur a 
 viemorial onl of Jordan. Q Tnelve other stones are 
 set up in l/ie widst of Jordan. 10, 19 The people 
 pass over. 1 4 ("W vwgni/iclh Joshua. '20 The twelve 
 stones are pitched in Gilgal. 
 
 AND it came to pass, when all the peo- 
 ple were clean passed •" over Jordan, 
 Chap. 3. that the Lord spake unto ''Joshua, saying, 
 
 2 Take you twelve men out of the peo- 
 ple, out of every tribe a man, 
 
 3 And command ye them, saying. Take 
 you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out 
 of the place where the priests' feet stood 
 firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry 
 them over with you, and leave them in the 
 lodging place, where ye shall lodge this 
 night. 
 
 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, 
 whom he had prepared of the children of 
 Israel, out of every tribe a man : 
 
 .5 And Joshua said unto tiiem. Pass over 
 before the ark of the Lord your God into 
 the midst of Jordan, and take you up every 
 man of you a stone upon his shoulder, ac- 
 cording unto the number of the tribes of 
 the children of Israel : 
 
 6 That this may be a sign among you, 
 that when your cliildren ask their fathers 
 
 t Heb. t in time to come, saying. What mean ve 
 by tliese stones? 
 
 7 Theii ye shall answer them. That the 
 waters of Jordan A\ere cut off before the 
 ark of the covenant of the Lord ; when 
 it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jor- 
 
 bcside Zaretan," beinp a place of gre.iter note. 7)r. Wells. Tlie 
 place where the Israelites pa.ssc(l the Jordan was called Bethabara, 
 or " the place of passage," in our Saviour's time, John i. 28 Bn 
 Patrick. ' ' 
 
 Chap. IV. ver. a.— Take you — oiU of the midst of Jordan,— 
 tn'tlre stonet,'} It appears that the Jordari continued perfectly dry 
 for some time after the Israelites had passed over; that is, till the 
 priests removed from the place where they stood. They were to 
 take twelve stones— great stones, as the Hebrew word imports 
 as big as they coidd well lift, and carry them to their lodging- 
 p act- that IS, to Gilgal, the place where they lodged that nicht 
 lip. Patrick. ' D b • 
 
 i)— set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan,! By alterint; a 
 letter in the Hebrew text, this verse may be rendered, agreeably 
 
 dan were cut off: and these stones shall- ^"^^o™^ 
 be for a memorial unto the children of Is- hsi. 
 rael for ever, 
 
 8 And the children of Israel did so as 
 Joshua commanded, and took up twelve 
 stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the 
 Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the 
 number of the tribes of the children of 
 Israel, and carried them over with them 
 unto the place where they lodged, and laid 
 them down there. 
 
 9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in 
 the midst of Jordan, in the place where 
 the feet of the priests which bare the ark 
 of the covenant stood : and they are there 
 unto this day. 
 
 10 ^ For the priests which bare the ark 
 stood in the midst of Jordan, until every 
 thing was finished that the Lord com- 
 manded Joshua to speak unto the people, 
 according to all that Moses commanded 
 Joshua : and the people hasted and passed 
 over. 
 
 11 And it came to pass, when all the 
 people were clean passed over, that the ark 
 of the Lord passed over, and the priests, 
 in the presence of the people. 
 
 12 And " the children of Reuben, and the ° Numb, 
 children of Gad, and half the tribe of Ma- 
 nasseh, passed over armed before the chil- 
 dren of Israel, as Moses spake unto them : 
 
 13 About forty thousand || prepared for II Or, 
 war passed over before the Loud unto bat- "^'"^ '"^'"' 
 tie, to the plains of Jericho. 
 
 14 ^ On that day the Lord magnified 
 Joshua in the sight of all Israel ; and they 
 feared him, as they feared Moses, all the 
 days of his life. 
 
 15 And the Lord spake unto Joshua, 
 saying, 
 
 16 Command the priests that bear the 
 ark of the testimony, that they come up 
 out of Jordan. 
 
 17 Joshua therefore commanded the 
 priests, saying. Come ye up out of Jordan. 
 
 to some ancient translations, " Joshua set up twelve stones /ro;« 
 out of the midst of Jordan, from under the place, &c." Josephus 
 seems to hare had no notion of any more than one monument set 
 up on this occasion. Shuc/ford. 
 
 and they are there unto this day."] The stones remained 
 
 until the time when this book was written, that is, till a short 
 time before Joshua's death, when he is thought to have composed 
 it. Dr. Wells. Many a great work had God done for Israel which 
 was now forgotten. Joshua therefore will have monuments of 
 God's mercy, that future ages might be both witnesses and ap- 
 plauders of the great works of their God. Bp. Hall. 
 
 12. — Reuben, 8ic.'\ They were the first that passed over (ac- 
 cording to their engagement. Numb, xxxii. 20, 21, 27, of which 
 Joshua put them in mind, Josh. i. 13,) ready to encounter any 
 enemy that might have opposed their landing. Bp. Patrick.
 
 The twelve stones are pitched. 
 
 CHAP. IV, V. 
 
 The Canaanites are qfrcdd. 
 
 chpTst ^^ "^"'^ '*" ^^'"^ ^^ P^'^^' when the priests 
 
 14.51. that bare the aik of the covenant of the 
 
 Lord were come up out of the midst of 
 
 Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet 
 
 tHeb. were t lifted up unto the dry land, that the 
 
 iiucked up. waters of Jordan returned unto their place, 
 
 fHeb. and t flowed over all his banks, as theij did 
 
 went. X c ' .J 
 
 betore. 
 
 19 IF And the people came up out of 
 Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, 
 and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border 
 of Jericho. 
 
 20 And those twelve stones, which they 
 took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in 
 Gilgal. 
 
 21 And he spake unto the children of 
 Israel, saying, When your children shall 
 
 + Heb. ask their fathers t in time to come, saying, 
 '" '""'"•■""'• What mean these stones ? 
 
 22 Then ye shall let your children know, 
 saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry 
 land. 
 
 23 For the Lord your God dried up the 
 waters of Jordan from before you, until ye 
 
 18. — flowed over all his banks, '\ All this is so particularly taken 
 notice ot", to shew that the passafje of the Israelites was piu-ely 
 owing to the miraculous power of God ; and that the miracle was 
 the greater, on account of the passage being made when the river 
 vas in this state. Dr. Wells. 
 
 ig. — the tenth daij of the — month,"^ In which same month 
 they came out of Egypt, on the fifteenth day : so that there 
 ■wanted just five days of forty years since their coming from 
 thence. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. And those, twelve stones — did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.~\ We 
 find many publick memorials of the most signal miracles, which 
 are recorded in the Jewish history, not only in the names given 
 to the places whore they had been wrought, from the event, and 
 at the time, but in sensible objects and monuments, set up at the 
 moment the mii-acles had taken place, and constantly preserved 
 ■with the most rehgious reverence. Thus the tables of stone in 
 the ark were a monument of tlie miraculous deUverance of the 
 Law at Sinai : the vessel of manna, of the miraculous food in tile 
 wilderness : Aaron's rod that budded, and the censer of Korah and 
 his company, formed into large plates for covering the altar, as a 
 memorial to the children of Israel of their offence, and miraculous 
 punishment. The brasen serpent, by looking on which God or- 
 dered the people should be healed of the bites inflicted by the ser- 
 pents in the wilderness, was preserved even to the days of king 
 Hezekiah. Thus also twelve stones were taken out of the midst 
 of Jordan, at the time of the miraculous passage over it, and set 
 up by Joshua at Gilgal, as a memorial unto the children of Israel 
 for ever. The setting up of these stones at the very time of the 
 performance of the miracle, and the ordinance to the people to 
 teach their children from age to ago, and to instruct them in the 
 meaning of this monument, ai-e an incontestible proof of the 
 reality of the fact, which tiie monument ■was raised to commemo- 
 rate. Leslie, Dr. Graces. 
 
 23. — which he dried up from before «.?,] His use of the word 
 " us" is remarkable ; lie means himself and Caleb, the only two 
 who were now alive of those wlio passed tlie Red sea. Dr. Wells. 
 
 24. Tliat all the people vf the earth &c.]] These two great mi- 
 racles were wrought by God, that all the nations romid about 
 might acknowledge the power of the God of Israel, and that the 
 people of Israel especially, for whom these wonders were wrought, 
 might fear, that is, religiously worshij) and serve Him for ever. 
 Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 were passed over, as the Lord your God «''<'<"* 
 did to the Red sea, - which he dried up "^"."f" 
 liom before us, until we were gone over: " ExoJ. h. 
 
 24- That all the people of the earth "'• 
 might know the hand of the Lord, tliat it 
 is mighty : that ye might fear the Loud 
 your God t for ever. t h*. 
 
 alt dayt. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 1 The Canaanites are afraid. 2 Joshua renetvelk dr.. 
 cumcision. 10 The passover is kejU cU Gilgal. 12 
 Manna ccaseih. 13 An Angel appear eih to Joshua. 
 
 AND it came to pass, when all the kings 
 of the Amorites, which uere on the 
 side of Jordan westward, and all the kings 
 of the Canaanites, which inere by the sea, 
 heard that the Lord had dried uji the wa- 
 ters of Jordan from before the children of 
 Israel, until we were passed over, that their 
 heart melted, neither was there spirit in 
 them any more, because of the children of 
 Israel. ""^f""^ 4. 
 
 2 ^ At that time the Lord said unto H on, 
 Joshua, Make thee » || sharp knives, and^^ir^ 
 
 Chap. V. ver. 1. — Amorites, — Canaanites,'] Under the 
 Amorites and Canaanites are here included the several other 
 nations of Canaan, as the Hittites, Hivites, &c. these two being 
 the most powerful nations. The Amorites on the side of Jordan 
 " westward" are distinguished from the Amorites eastward of 
 Jordan, whom the Israelites had subdued ah-eady. The Canaan- 
 ites " by the sea," that is, by the Mediterranean sea, are the 
 nation more properly called by this name, of which, however, 
 there were colonies in other parts. In the consternation, or 
 " melting of hearts," of this people, here mentioned, the provi- 
 dence of God is very discernible, since, by this means, the Israel- 
 ites were securely circumcised, (as is now to be related ,) whereas, 
 if the people of Canaan had been at this time comageous and vigi- 
 lant, they might have taken them at an advantage, as appears 
 from the story of the Shechemites, Gen. xxxiv. 25. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 7intil n-e were passed wer,] The use of the word " we" 
 
 proves that this book was written by Joshua, or by some one else 
 aUve at the time. Bp. Tondine. 
 
 2. — Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again &c.] Make 
 to thee knives of flints, literally : at this day they circumcise in the 
 East with knives made of stone. The great number of stone 
 hatchets and knives foimd in Britain leaves no room to doubt that 
 stones may be sharpened to answer all tJie purposes of metal ; 
 and that stone knives, similar to those in the East, were formerly 
 used in our own country. Script, illust. See the note on Exod. 
 iv. 25. " Circumcise again," that is, renew the rite of circum- 
 cision. This does not imply that those who had l)een already 
 circumcised were now to be circumcised again, but tliat anotlier 
 general circumcision was to be held of tliose, on whom the rite 
 had been omitted. It is probable that the first general circum- 
 cision had been held at mount Sinai, in the first month of the 
 second year, after they came out from Egypt, when they 
 kept the passover. Numb. ix. 1 — 3. The re.ison of the omis- 
 sion of tliis rite during the last forty years, is given at ver. 6. 
 As they were then in a wandering condition, and wholly lui- 
 certain at what time the remov.-U of the cloud would summon 
 them to proceed on their journey, they would have endangered 
 their lives by submitting to an operation which rendered them 
 incapable of moving inunediately witli safety. Bp. Patrick. The 
 Israelites, on tlie present occasion, gave a signal proof of their 
 faith, in submitting to this painful operation in the face of their 
 
 3 H
 
 Joshua renrweth circumcision. 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 The manna ceaseth. 
 
 Bffor* 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 14JI. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 CU'<ak- 
 kaanUvth. 
 
 » Numb. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 vhcH the 
 }xil>te hml 
 maiU an 
 crul to he 
 CTTciimcu- 
 td. 
 
 circumcise again the children of Israel the 
 second time. 
 
 3 And Joshua made him sliarp knives, 
 and circumcised the children of Israel at 
 II the hill of the foreskins. 
 
 4 And this is the cause why Joshua did 
 circumcise : All the people that came out 
 of Egypt, that 'd'crc males, even all the men 
 of war, died in the wilderness by the way, 
 at\er they came out of Egypt. 
 
 5 Now all the people that came out were 
 circumcised : but all the people that were 
 born in the wilderness by the way as they 
 came forth out of Egypt, them they had not 
 circumcised. 
 
 6 Eor the children of Israel walked forty 
 years in the wilderness, till all the people 
 that 'uere men of war, which came out of 
 Egypt, were consumed, because they obey- 
 ed not the voice of the Lord : unto whom 
 the Lord sware that '' he would not shew 
 them the land, wiiich the Lord sware unto 
 their fathers that he would give us, a land 
 that Howetii with milk and honey. 
 
 7 Ami their children, uho7n he raised up 
 in their stead, them Joshua circumcised : 
 for they were uncircumcised, because they 
 had not circumcised them by the way. 
 
 8 And it came to pass, t when they had 
 done circumcising all the people, that they 
 
 enemies, rcljiiig on the Divine protection till they were healed ; 
 for Gilgal w.is only two miles from Jericho. Dr. Hales. 
 
 3. And Joshua — circumci.'ied the. children of Israel^ No person, 
 left to himselt", could have acted as Joshua did. He was arrived 
 in an enemy's country, and it was necess;iry for him to keep the 
 people upon tlicir guard, as they had powcrf'id nations to en- 
 counter. What then was his first action when he came amon>r 
 them ? He made tlie whole army undergo an operation, which 
 rendered every person in it incapable of acting. The people of 
 the next hamlet might have cut them to pieces ; see Gen. 
 xxxiv. 2.5. The history tells us, that it was by Divine appoint- 
 ment, and 80 it must necessarily have been. The Go<l, who insist- 
 ed upon this in.stance of obedience and faith, would certainly pre- 
 serve them for the confidence and duty which they shewed. But 
 this was not in the power of their leader : the same conduct in 
 him would have been madness. Jhyanl. 
 
 at Ihc hill of the furcs/iins.'] Some under.-tand the Hebrew 
 
 words thus translated, Gibeah-ha;iraloth, to be the name by 
 ■which the place where they were circumcised was afterwards 
 called. Rp. Patrick. 
 
 ■i. — //// Ihc people that came o«/] Namely, all that were then 
 twenty years ot age ; for such only were reputed men of war, and 
 were guilty of the sedition mentioned at Numb. xiv. for which they 
 were doomcil to perisli in the wilderness. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 9. — have I rullcd away the reproach of Egi/pt from off i/oii.'} I 
 have rolled away that which yo\i esteemed the reproach of all 
 other nations, and more particularly of the people of Egypt, among 
 ■whom you lived, namely, uncircumcision. Shuck ford, Dr. U'dls. I 
 have taken away from you that your uncircumcision, which you 
 have kept all this while, out of that irreligious carelessness, which 
 your fathers broujjht a\ ith you out of Egypt. Bp. Hall. The re- 
 proat-li of Egypt is supposed by some to relate to the reproaches 
 wluch Uie Egyptians cast upon the Israelites during their wander- 
 mgs in the w Jderness, from which God now delivered them by the 
 
 abode in their places in the camp, till they chrTsi 
 were whole. hsi. 
 
 9 And the Lord said unto Joshua, This 
 day have I rolled away the reproach of 
 Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name 
 
 of the place is called || Gilgal unto this n That is. 
 day. '""'"«• 
 
 10 ^ And the children of Israel encamp- 
 ed in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the 
 fourteenth day of the month at even in tlie 
 plains of Jericho. 
 
 1 1 And they did eat of the old com of 
 the land on the morrow after the passover, 
 unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the 
 selfsame day. 
 
 12 ^ And the manna ceased on the 
 morrow after they had eaten of the old 
 corn of tlie land ; neither had the chil- 
 dren of Israel manna any more ; but they 
 did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan 
 that year. 
 
 13 ^ And it came to pass, when Joshua 
 was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes 
 
 and looked, and, behold, there stood ' a ° Exod 23. 
 man over against him with his sword drawn '^" 
 in his hand : and Joshua went unto him, and 
 said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our 
 adversaries ? 
 
 14 And he said, Nay ; but as II captain || Or, 
 of the host of the Lord am I now come. '"■""^''• 
 
 assurance conveyed in the renewal of circumcision. But the most 
 common opinion is, that by the reproach of Egypt is meant no- 
 tliing else but uncircumcision, with which the Israelites always 
 upbraided other people, and particularly the Egyptians, with 
 whom they had lived long, and were best acquainted. Slack- 
 house. 
 
 10. — and kept the passover'^ The Israelites, having become 
 circumcised, were now qualified to celebrate the passover, which 
 had been omitted from the second time of their observance of that 
 rite at Sinai, in consequence of tlieir rebellions; {Dr. Hales;) and 
 also on account of the want of unleavened bread, and other things 
 retjuired for the proper celebration of it. Stackhonse. 
 
 11. — thei) did cat of tlie old cum &c.] '• Old corn ;" that which 
 the inhabitants left in their biinis when they fled into Jericho 
 and other strong holds. Bp. Patrick. Or the Hebrew word 
 may signify, the ripe corn then standing on the ground. Shuck- 
 ford. 
 
 12. And the manna ceased^ Now that the Israelites had ar- 
 rived in a country where was a sufficient supply of natural food, 
 God ceased to supply them with manna, which had been their con- 
 stant food for forty years, wanting about a month. Pi/le. We are 
 supplied by the example here afforded witli a jiroof that God, in 
 His dispensations to His creatures, vouchsafes not miracles and 
 extraordinary means, when ordinary means are sufficient. Although 
 the manna had been daily showered from heaven during their 
 long sojourning in a barren and dry wilderness, yet from the day 
 they ate of the old corn of Canaan, that is, when they began to 
 enjoy common sustenance, and were enabled, by their owr. care 
 and industry, to provide themselves with it for the future, their 
 feeding on a daily miracle ceased together with that necessity 
 whicli called for it. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 13. — a man'\ One whom he took to be a man. Bp. Patrick. 
 It. — captain of the host of the Lord'} By "host of the Lord" 
 may be denoted the angels of heaven, and also the whole body of
 
 Jericho is shut up. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Joshua instructed korc to besiege it. 
 
 emu ST ^^^ Joshua fell on his face to the earth, 
 1451. and did worship, and said unto him, What 
 saith my lord unto his servant ? 
 
 15 And the captain of the Lord's host 
 < Exod. 3. said unto Joshua, * Loose thy shoe from off 
 Acu 7. 33. thy foot ; for the place whereon thou stand- 
 est is holy. And Joshua did so. 
 
 CHAP. VL 
 
 I Jericho is shut up. 2 God inslruclclh Joshua how io 
 besiege il. 12 The city is compassed. 17 /' ""'*' be 
 accursed. 20 The walls fall doivn. 22 Rahab is 
 saved. 26 The builder of Jericho is cursed. 
 
 t Hob. 'VTOW Jericho t was straitly shut up be- 
 »:L"'Z''''' iN cause of the children of Israel: none 
 thut up. went out, and none came in. 
 
 2 And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, 
 I have given into thine hand Jericho, and 
 the king thereof, and the mighty men of 
 valour. 
 
 3 And ye .shall compass the city, all 7/e 
 men of war, a7id go round about the city 
 once. Thus shalt thou do six days. 
 
 4 And seven priests shall bear before the 
 ark seven trumpets of rams' horns : and 
 the seventh day ye shall compass the city 
 
 the Jewish people, whom God led forth from Egj'pt. Dr. Wells, 
 Bp. Patrick. Commentators have not been agreed who this per- 
 son was, that appeared to Joshua, Some have supposed him to 
 be a created angel ; but there are several reasons for believing him 
 to be a divine, and not a created being. For, besides his assum- 
 ing the title of the " captain of the host of the Lord," he is called 
 directly Jehovah or the Lord at ver. 2 of the next chapter, allow- 
 ing that text to refer to the same Divine appearance; and Joshua's 
 falling down and worshipping him, not only without being re- 
 proved for doing him too much honour, but, on the contrary, 
 with a command to do him more, by loosing his shoe from his 
 foot, ver. 15, (which was the highest acknowledgment of a Divine 
 presence customary among Eastern nations,) is a circumstance 
 which affords the surest evidence of the divinity of his person. 
 Stackhouse. That he who thus appeared as a warriour, and called 
 himself captain of the Lord's host, was no other than " the Word," 
 was plainly tlie sense of the ancient Jewish church. Dean AUix. 
 It was the Son of God, it is conceivetl, who appeared to Joshua, 
 as captain of the Lord's host, whom Joshua worshipped with the 
 most profound prostrations, and who made the ground holy, 
 whereon he stood. Dr. Woodward. 
 
 The design of this appearance was to assure Joshua, that the 
 •lanie God, who had appeared to Moses, ordering him to pull off 
 his shoes, because he stood on holy ground, had now appeared to 
 him : and to serve as an encouragement to him in the war, in 
 which he was about to engage with many nations ; as a confirm- 
 ation of his faith; and as a lesson to him to obey in all things the 
 commands of God, and to give the glory of his conquests to the 
 Author of them, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Bp. 
 Watson. 
 
 Joshua was now encouraged by the appearance of tlie " captain 
 of the Lord's host," with a drawn sword in his hand, the same 
 •who appeared to Moses in the bush at Horeb ; as appears to 
 follow from the sameness of the injunction, " Loose thy shoe from 
 off thy foot ; for the place whereon thou standest is holy," ver. 
 13—15. 
 
 And most signally did He fight for Israel: 1st, In the mira- 
 culous downfal of the walls of Jericho, chap. vi. 20. 2dly, In de- 
 
 sr 
 
 seven times, and the priests shall blow with ^'^'^^ 
 the trumpets. ^"Si.^ 
 
 5 And it shall come to pass, that when 
 they make a long blast with the ram's horn, 
 and when ye hear the sound of the trum- 
 pet, all the people shall shout with a great 
 shout ; and the wall of the city shall fall 
 down t flat, and the people shall ascend up t h*. 
 every man straight before him. « o-i* 
 
 6 ^ And Joshua the son of Nun called 
 the priests, and said unto them, Take up 
 the ark of the covenant, and let seven 
 priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns 
 before the ark of the Lord. 
 
 7 And he said unto the people, Pass on, 
 and compass the city, and let him that is 
 armed pass on before the ark of the Lord. 
 
 8 ^ And it came to pass, when Joshua 
 had spoken unto the people, that the seven 
 priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' 
 horns passed on before the Lord, and blew^ 
 with the trumpets : and the ark of the co- 
 venant of the Lord followed them. 
 
 9 ^ And the armed men went before the 
 priests that blew with the trumpets, and tHeb. 
 the t rereward came after the ark, the b^t.'"''" 
 
 stroying the confederated southern nations with hailstones in their 
 flight, chap. X. 11. 3dly, In prolonging the day of battle to an 
 unusual length, at Joshua's petition, by making the sun and moon 
 stand still about a whole day, chap. x. 12 — 2'7. And 4thly, By 
 driving out some of the nortJiem nations by the hornet or gad-Jit/, 
 chap. xxiv. 12, as foretold by Moses, Exod. xxiii. 28; Deul. vii. 20. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 Chap. VI. ver. 2. And the Lord saidl This seems to be the 
 same Divine Person who is called in the foregoing chapter, the 
 captain of the Lord's host, and is here called the Lord or Jehovah ; 
 {Bp. Patrick;) at the same place of interview; {Pyle ;) while 
 Joshua was standing barefoot. Dr. Wells. 
 
 3. And ye shaN compass &c.2 Instead of a formal siege they 
 are commanded to use only some particular circumstances and 
 forms, which might sliew the more plainly the subversion of 
 that idolatrous place to be from the miraculous hand of God. 
 Pyle. We must suppose that»-the people of Jericho had pre- 
 viously refused offers of peace, which God had directed to be 
 made by the Israelites to their enemies, Deut. xx. 10. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 4. — trumpets of rams' horns ;] The inside of the ram's horn is 
 by no means hard, and may e.isily be taken out, except about four 
 or five inches at the point, which was to be sawed off, in order to 
 proportion the aperture to the mouth ; after which the rest is 
 easily pierced. Trumpets thus made are used by the shepherds 
 in the south of Gennanj'. Universal History. 
 
 5. — shall Jail — fat J Or fall under il, as it is in the He- 
 brew ; which seems to signify, that the foundations of the wall 
 were subverted, so that it sunk and fell into the ditch. The 
 whole wall did not fall, as afterwards appe.-u-s, ver. 22 ; for Ra- 
 hab's house stood, which was upon tlie wall ; but such wide 
 breaches were made every where round about, that the Israelites 
 went straight forward, and found an easy entrance into the city. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 9. — the rerercard came afer"} That is, such of the people as 
 attended unarmed ; old men, women, and children, who came in 
 the rear of the ark. Dr. Wells. 
 
 3H2
 
 Jericito is compassed. 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 The xcallsfall doTn. 
 
 ^ priests going on, and blowing with the 
 nii. trumpets. 
 
 10 And .Joshua had commanded the peo- 
 f Heb. pie, saying, Yc shall not shout, nor tmake 
 "^'/o iT any noise with your voice, neither shall afiij 
 htunt. word proceed out of your mouth, until the 
 
 day I bid you shout ; then shall ye shout. 
 
 11 So the ark of the Lord compassed 
 the citv, going about it once : and they 
 came into the" camp, and lodged in the 
 
 camp. . 
 
 1'2«[ And Joshua rose early m the morn- 
 ing, and the priests took up the ark of the 
 
 LOKU. 
 
 liJ And seven priests bearing seven trum- 
 pets oi rams' horns before the ark of the 
 Lord went on continually, and blew with 
 the trumpets : and the armed men went 
 before them ; but the rereward came after 
 the ark of the Lord, the p-iests going on, 
 and blowing with the trumpets. 
 
 14 And the second day they compassed 
 the city once, and returned into the camp : 
 so they did six days. 
 
 15 And it came to pass on the seventh 
 day, that they rose early about the dawn- 
 ing of the day, and compassed tlie city after 
 the same manner seven times : only on that 
 day they compassed the city seven times. 
 
 It) And it came to pass at the seventh 
 time, when the priests blew with the trum- 
 pets, Joshua said unto the people. Shout ; 
 for the Loud hath given you the city. 
 
 L?ld. ^7 ^ ■^"'^ the city shall be II accursed, 
 
 even it, and all that (nr therein, to the 
 Lord : only Rahab the harlot shall live, 
 she and all that are with her in the house, 
 
 •cbap.2.4. becmigg > g]^g i,j(^ ^^jjg messengers that we 
 
 sent. 
 
 18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves 
 from the accursed thing, lest ye make your- 
 selves accursed, when ye take of the ac- 
 cursed thing, and make the camp of Israel 
 a curse, and trouble it. 
 
 1 7- — the cilif shall be accursed^ Shall be devoted to perpetual 
 destruction. Dr. tVells. This word cherem, (which we translate 
 uccursed,) signifies sometimes the gift itself which is devoted to 
 God for His uses, Lcvit. xxvii. 28 ; sometimes th.rt which is de- 
 voted to perpetual destruction, by tlie right which God has to 
 punish capital enmities to Him, r.s here in this j)lacc. Bp. Putrid;. 
 The city shall be devoted to an absolute destruction, and all the 
 nving creatures that are in it ; and sequestered to a revenge and 
 «tirpation from the Lord. Bp. Hall. 
 
 18. Ami tje, in m,y irise keep yourselves &c.] Take hectl lest 
 you meddle with any of the spoils which are devoted to Gotl, and 
 "PP''°P"'»te them to your own use, lest you bring yourselves un- 
 der the same senUnce of being devoted to destruction, and, more 
 than that, lest ye expose the camp to the same danger. Bp. Pa- 
 
 20. — the wall fell donrq This stupendous miracle, at the 
 
 19 But all the silver, and gold, and ves- ^^'j^^^.j, 
 sels of brass and iron, arc t consecrated i^si. 
 unto the Lord: they shall come into the .^Heb. 
 treasury of the Lord. hoimas. 
 
 '20 So the people shouted when the priests 
 blew with the trumpets : and it came to 
 pass, when the people heard the sound of 
 the trumpet, and the people shouted with 
 a great shout, that ''the wall fell down "Hcbr, ii. 
 t flat, so that the people went up into the ^ii^^,, 
 city, every man straight before him, and ^nuer u. 
 they took the city. 
 
 21 And they utterly destroyed all that 
 u^as in the city, both man and woman, 
 young and old, and ox, and sheep, and 
 ass, with the edge of the sword. 
 
 22 But Joshua had said unto the two 
 men that had spied out the country. Go 
 into the harlot's house, and bring out 
 thence the woman, and all that she hath, 
 
 ' as ye sware unto lier. \f^'^^ " 
 
 23 And the young men that were spies Hd.r. ii. 
 went in, and brought cut Rahab, and her '"■ 
 father, and her mother, and her brethren, 
 
 and all that she had ; and they brought 
 
 out all her t kindred, and left them with- tWei.. 
 
 out the camp of Israel. ji^'us. 
 
 24 And they burnt the city with fire, 
 and all that teas therein : only the silver, 
 and the gold, and the vessels of brass and 
 of iron, they put into the treasury of the 
 house of the Loud. 
 
 25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot 
 alive, and her father's houshold, and all 
 that she had ; and she dwelleth in Israel 
 even unto this day ; because she hid the 
 messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out 
 Jericho. 
 
 26 % And Joshua adjured tlte7n at that 
 
 time, saying, '' Cursed be the man before '' i King* 
 the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this 
 city Jericho : he shall lay the foundation 
 thereof in his firstborn, and in his young- 
 est son shall he set up the gates of it. 
 
 beginning of the war, was well calculated to terrify the devoted 
 nations, and to encourage the Israelites, by shewing that the 
 loftiest walls and the strongest barriers afforded no prelection 
 against tlie Almighty God of Israel. Dr. Hales. 
 
 23. — Ic/i them wilhoul the camp'] It was not lawful to bring 
 them into the camp, as it was rendered holy by the special pre- 
 sence or ark of the Lord, till they had abjured their heathenism 
 and idolatiy, and been admitted into the body of the Israelites. 
 Dr. lVeU.1. 
 
 26. — Joshua (uljured Ihenf] He made all tlie people bind them- 
 selves by a solemn oath, adding thereto this curse on themselves, 
 and tlieir posterity, if any of them broke the oath. Dr. Wells. 
 
 he shall laij the foundation thereof in his Jirstborn,~\ He 
 
 shall lose his firstborn on beginning the work. In the progress 
 of it, the rest of his children siiall die ; and when he has finished 
 it, (which is, when he has " set up the gates,") he shall lose the
 
 The Israelites smitten at At. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 B' 
 
 chrTst .-"^.^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^'^^ '^^''^ Joshua; and 
 1451. Jiis fame was noised throughout all the 
 country. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 1 The Israelifes are smitten al At. 6 Joshua's complaint. 
 10 God ijislructelh him what to do. Id Acluin i.i taken 
 by the lot. ly His confession. 22 He and all he had 
 are destroyed in the valley of Achor. 
 
 »UT the children of Israel committed a 
 
 trespass in the accursed thing : for 
 
 • Chap. 22. " Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of 
 
 Tciiron. 2. Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of 
 
 7. Judah, took of the accursed thing : and 
 
 the anger of the Lord was kindled against 
 
 the children of Israel. 
 
 2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to 
 Ai, which in beside Beth-aven, on the east 
 side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, say- 
 ing. Go up and view the country. And 
 the men went up and viewed Ai. 
 \imlt -iooo 3 And they returned to Joshua, and said 
 mm,m, uuto him. Let not all the people go up; 
 'men, but let t about two or three thousand men 
 
 last of tliem. This was punctually fulfilled in the reign of Ahab, 
 upon Hiel, who ventured to rebuild it, 1 Kings xvi. 34. Bp. 
 Patrick. This remarkable prophecy, concerning the fate of those 
 who should rebuild Jericho, was fulfilled near 600 years after 
 the time of its delivery. The prophecy and its completion are 
 so plain in sacred history, tJiat it is merely necessary to compare 
 tlie words of Scripture here and at 1 Kings xvi. 34, to perceive its 
 full force. Whiston. This curse was pronoiuiced on the huilder of 
 Jericho, not on those who might inhabit it after it was built : for 
 in aftertimes it was inhabited without scruple. Indeed this place 
 was afterwards famous on many accounts. Here the Prophet 
 sweetened the waters of the spring that supplied it and the neigh- 
 bouring countries ; here Herod lauilt a sumptuous palace : this 
 was the dwelling-place of Zaccheus, and was honoured with the 
 presence of Christ, who vouchsafed to work some miracles here. 
 Bp. Patrick, Stackhotise. 
 
 The time will come, when every power of the world shall fall 
 before the true Jesus, represented in the person of Joshua, whose 
 name is also called Jesus in the Epistle to the Hebrews. As the 
 wicked Canaanites were driven out of their land, when the mea- 
 sure of their iniquities was filled up; so shall the wicked be 
 driven out of the earth, when that vengeance of God shall over- 
 take them, which they have so long held in contempt and derision. 
 The world itself shall be surrounded by the Son oi' God, as " the 
 Captain of our salvation," and the army of saints and angels, 
 which shall attend upon Him at His coming. The " last trumpet" 
 shall sound, and the world shall be overthrown, as Jericho fell 
 fl."»t, wlien it had been compassed about seven days by the priests 
 and ministers of God. When the priests blew, as they were 
 commanded, at the time appointed, and all " the people shouted 
 with a great shout," the fortifications of that proud city sunk at 
 once into a heap of ruins. With reference to which history, we 
 are reminded, tliat " the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven 
 with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the 
 trump of Gotl," 1 Thess. iv. l6. Jones of Nayland. 
 
 Chap. VII. ver. 1. But the children of Israel'] That is, one 
 among them committed a trespass : it is not an imusual form of 
 speech in the Holy Scriptiu-es, to ascribe tliat to many indefinitely, 
 wherein one alone is concerned. " Took of the accursed thing:" 
 that is, Achan purloined to his own use some of the spoils which 
 were devoted to destruction, or appropriated to C'od's treasury. 
 
 Joshua* s complaint. 
 
 go up and smite Ai ; and make not all the «'•'■<'"' 
 people to labour thither; for they are but ^""P"^ 
 few. "^ 
 
 4 So there went up thither of the people 
 about three thousand men : and they fled 
 before the men of Ai. 
 
 5 And the men of Ai smote of them 
 about thirty and si.\ men : for they chased 
 them from before the gate even unto She- 
 barim, and smote them || in the going down : || Or, 
 wherefore the hearts of the people melted, '•' ""'^■ 
 and became as water. 
 
 6 f And Joshua rent his clothes, and 
 fell to the earth upon his flicc before the 
 ark of tlie Lord until the eventide, he and 
 the elders of Israel, and put dust upon 
 their heads. 
 
 7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, 
 wherefore hast thou at all brought this 
 people over Jordan, to deliver us into the 
 hand of the Amorites, to destroy us .' would 
 to God we had been content, and dwelt on 
 the other side Jordan ! 
 
 Bp. Patrick. The Greek translation renders " took ol' the ac- 
 CTirsed thing," by words which signify " purloined the accursed 
 thmg," or " the thing tliat was consecrated to God," as was all the 
 silver and gold, chap. vi. ig; and, when God relates to Joshua 
 the sin of Israel, as the reason of their flying before their enemies, 
 He represents Achan's crime as sacrilege, combined with theft 
 and dissembling. Jos. Mede. 
 
 2. —from Jericho to Ai,] The distance from Jericho to Ai 
 was three leagues, according to Masius. Dr. Wells. 
 
 5. — smote them in the going down ;] In the descent from the 
 hill on which .Vi stood, to the plains of Jericho. Dr. Wells. 
 
 6. And Joshua rent his clothes, &c.] The behaviour of the 
 people here is very remaikable. Ai could not muster much above 
 6,000 men ; against whom were to be opposed all the myriads of 
 Israel. But an advancetl body was defeated, and thiitj-si.t of the 
 Israelites slain : upon w)iich it is said, " the hearts of" the people 
 melted, and became as water. And Joshua rent his clothes, and 
 fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the 
 eventide, he and the ciders of Israel, and put dust upon their 
 heads." But wherefore was all this humiliation shewn .' .and why 
 this general consternation at so inconsiderable a loss i* This was 
 the people, who were led on with a prospect of gaining the land 
 of the Hivites and Amorites, and other powerful nations; and 
 who were to be opposed to the sons of Anak, men of great stature 
 and prowe.=s, that had cities walled to heaven. We see that they 
 faint at the first check. How could any leader, with such people 
 and under such circumstances, entertain the least views of con- 
 quest? There were certainly none entertiincd by their leader, 
 cither from himself, or from his people. All his confidence was 
 in the God of his fatliers ; and the %vhole history must be set 
 aside, unless the interposition of the Deity be admitted. All the 
 operations, wliich at first sight may appear strange, are calculated 
 for this pui-pose, to shew throughout that God was the chief 
 agent. This was particulai-ly effected in the downfid of the city 
 of Jericho, which was brought about merely by the priests of 
 God, and the people going in procession round it for seven days, 
 without the least military operation of the arm}-. By these two 
 events, they were shewn plainly the great object to which they 
 were to trust ; not to tlie prowess of man, but to the living God. 
 Bryant. 
 
 7. — wherefore hast thoif] This is not a sinful expostulation 
 with God, but only a confession of his ignorance why tnese events
 
 God inslrucleth Jus/ma. 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 Achan is taken by lof. 
 
 fiitttt. 
 
 B«fc»c 8 O Lord, what shall I sav, when Israel 
 
 *^'uVi^^ tiirneth then- 1 backs before "their enemies 1 
 
 \) t'or the Canaanites and all the inhabit- 
 
 \<cku ants of the land sliall hear of if, and shall 
 
 environ us round, and cut oft" our name 
 
 from the earth: and what wilt thou do 
 
 unto thy {jreat name ? 
 
 10 H'And the Loiin said unto Joshua, 
 ♦ Htb. Qp^ ji^gjj up . wherefore t liest thou thus 
 
 upon thy face ? 
 
 11 Israel hath sinned, and ihey have al- 
 so transgressed my covenant which I com- 
 manded them: for they have even taken 
 of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, 
 and dissembled also, and they have put it 
 even among their own stuft". 
 
 12 Therefore the children of Israel coidd 
 not stand before their enemies, httt turned 
 Iheir backs before their enemies, because 
 they were accursed : neither will I be with 
 you any more, except ye destroy the ac- 
 cursed from among you. 
 
 13 Up, sanctify the people, and say. 
 Sanctify yourselves against to morrow : for 
 thus saith the Lord God of Israel, IViere 
 is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, 
 O Israel : thou canst not stand before thine 
 enemies, until ye take away the accursed 
 thing from among you. 
 
 14 In the morning therefore ye shall be 
 brought according to your tribes : and it 
 shall be, t/iat the tribe which the Loud 
 taketh shall come according to the families 
 thereof; and the family which the Lord 
 shall take shall come by housholds ; and 
 the houshold which the Lord shall take 
 shall come man by man. 
 
 15 And it shall be, that he that is taken 
 •with the accursed thing shall be burnt with 
 
 •were pemutted. " Would to God," he adds, " we had been con- 
 tent." As far as he could apprehend, they had better have rested 
 satisfieil with what they had in possession, than be thus defeated 
 in the attempt to acquire more. Up. Pnlrick. 
 
 0- — i^hcl "'ill lltoii do unto thy great name ?] He feared that 
 Gotl would suffer the glory of all His miracles to be lost, and be 
 thou<;ht unable to accomplish what He had begun to do to His 
 people. Bp.'Patriclc. If tliose who had experienced so many 
 miracles ot God's mercies, and were the pecidiar people whom 
 He vouchsafed to love, should be driven back by a nation which 
 knew not, or cared not for, His name and religion, Joshua could 
 not see how Gotl's own honour could be preserved. From such 
 jealousy and apprehensions proceed all the passion and impatience 
 which good and pious men express in great calamities. For this 
 will always be a prevailing motle of reasoning, as it was in the 
 days of Joshua. There will always be too many who will ([ues- 
 tion God's providence from what He suffers His children to un- 
 dergo. Lord Clarendon. 
 
 }*• — "'f trUie nhich the Lord taketh^ It is probable that 
 this was done by lot, though it is not expressly so stated. The 
 Jews affirm, that all the tribes were made to pass before the ark, 
 and that the culpable tribe remained immovable : but the casting 
 
 fire, he and all that he hath : because he Christ 
 hatli transgressed the covenant of the 1451. 
 Loud, and because he hath wrought || folly \\ Or, 
 
 T I tvickcdncis. 
 
 in Israel. 
 
 iG % So Joshua rose up early in the 
 morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; 
 and the tribe of Judah was taken : 
 
 17 And he brought the family of Judah; 
 and he took the family of the Zarhites : 
 and he brought the family of the Zarhites 
 man by man ; and Zabdi was taken : 
 
 18 And he brought his houshold man by 
 man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son 
 of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of 
 Judah, was taken. 
 
 19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My 
 son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Loud 
 God of Israel, and make confession unto 
 him ; and tell me now what thou hast done; 
 hide it not from me. 
 
 20 And Achan answered Joshua, and 
 said. Indeed I have sinned against the 
 Loud God of Israel, and thus and thus 
 have I done : 
 
 21 When I saw among the spoils a good- 
 ly Babylonish garment, and two hundred 
 shekels of silver, and a t wedge of gold of l^^^^i 
 fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, 
 
 and took them ; and, behold, they a?'e hid 
 in the earth in the midst of my tent, and 
 the silver under it. 
 
 22 ^ So Joshua sent messengers, and 
 they ran unto the tent ; and, behold, it was 
 hid in his tent, and the silver under it. 
 
 23 And they took them out of the midst 
 of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, 
 and unto all the children of Israel, and 
 tlaid them out before the Lord. fUeb. 
 
 24- And Joshua, and all Israel with him, '""'"''■ 
 
 of lots is frequently mentioned in Scripture on similar occasions, 
 as in the election of .Saul^ 1 Sam. x. 20 ; and in the affair ot" 
 Jonathan, 1 Sam. xiv. H ; also in the distribution of the lands 
 of Canaan. Calmet. 
 
 19. — give — glory to the Lord Goir\ By acknowledging that 
 nothing can be hid from Him who knoweth the greatest secrets. 
 Bp. Patrick. As thou hast offended and dishonoured God by thy 
 sin, so now give honour to His onmiscience and justice, wlio hath 
 found thee out in thy sin, by acknowledging this heinous offence, 
 whereby thou hast provoked God's anger against His people. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 We give glory to God, not only when we promote His honour, 
 and acknowledge His supreme dominion, but also, when we confess 
 to Him our past sins, with true himiiliation, and a just sense of the 
 miworthincss and ungratefulness of sin. Thus in the words of 
 Joshua to Achan ; the sense of which is, " Acknowledge that 
 nothing can be hid from God's all-seeing eye, and that to Him 
 there is no secret nor shadow of darkness, where the workers of 
 iniquity may hide themselves." Dr. S. Clarice. 
 
 21. — a soodly Babi/loiiiih garment,'^ There was anciently a eity 
 called Arec-h, situated in Babylonia on the Tigris, and famous for 
 weaving; here perhaps this garment was made. Fragm. to Calmet.
 
 and put to death. 
 
 CHAP. VII, VIII. 
 
 The stratagem for taking At. 
 
 ' Deut. 1. 
 
 ei.&T. 18. 
 
 -h'^'^'st ^^^^ Achau the son of Zerah, and the silver, 
 "^ 1451. and tiie garment, and the wedge of gold, 
 and his sons, and his daughters, and his 
 oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his 
 tent, and all that he had : and they brought 
 them unto the valley of Achor. 
 
 25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou 
 troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee 
 this day. And all Israel stoned him vk^ith 
 stones, and burned them with fire, -after 
 they had stoned them with stones. 
 
 26 And they raised over him a great 
 heap of stones unto this day. So the Loud 
 turned from the fierceness of his anger. 
 Wherefore the name of that place was call- 
 
 LIw!-* '"' ed. The valley of II Achor, unto this day. 
 
 CHAP. VIIL 
 
 1 Cod encoiiragelh Joshua. 3 The gtratagem nhereby 
 Ai was lal<cn. 29 The king thereof is hanged. 30 
 Joshua bnildeth an allur, S2 wrilctli the laiv on stones, 
 2(i propoundeth blessings and cursings. 
 
 AND the Lord said unto Joshua, " Fear 
 not, neither be thou dismayed: take 
 all the people of war with thee, and arise, 
 go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy 
 hand the king of Ai, and his people, and 
 his city, and his land: 
 
 2 And thcai shalt do to Ai and her king 
 
 24. — his sons, and his daughters,'^ These were punished, be- 
 cause, perhaps, they were privy to their father's stealth, and 
 concealed it. But some think Achan alone was stoned, (as we 
 read in the next verse, " all Israel stoned him with stones,") and 
 that liis children were brought forth to be spectators of it; and 
 when it is said, in the conclusion of the next verse, " they stoned 
 them with stones," it relates to his oxen, asses, and sheep, which 
 were stoned with him. Bp. Patrick. The actor alone does not 
 smart witli sacrilege; all that concerns him is enwrapped in 
 judgment. Those that defile their hands with holy things, are 
 enemies to their own flesh and blootl. God's first revenges are 
 so much the more fearful, because they must be exemplary. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 25. — troubled^ Joshua, by the Hebrew word Achar, which 
 signifies " to trouble," alludes to the name of Achan: from hence- 
 forward they called him Achar, the troubler of Israel. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 Joshua, that true captain and faithful judge, made petition in 
 his anguish and distress to Almighty God to shew him the cause 
 of His wrath towards him, when his army was smitten and jilagued. 
 He obtained his prayer, and learnt that for one man's fault all the 
 rest were punisljed. For the covetousness of Achan, who hid 
 his money, as he thought, from God, many thousands were in 
 agony, and fear of death. As soon as Joshua knew it, he straight- 
 •»vay purged bis army, and took away " the evil thing out of 
 Israel," that is, wickethiess from the people. For he called Aciian 
 before the people, and said, " Give glory to God, and make con- 
 fession unto Hiin;" and forthwith he told the truth, and then lie 
 and his whole house suffered death. A godly ensample tills, for 
 all magistrates to follow. Joshua was the pattern of a true judge; 
 he was no gift-taker; he was no winker; he was no by-walker. 
 Bp. Latimer. The history of the foregoing chapter furnishes lis 
 with several us. ail reflections. 1st, In Achan, who, contrary to 
 the most express prohibition, took of the accursed or devoted 
 tiling, we have an instance of the iatal effects of the love of riches. 
 
 as thou didst unto *' Jericho and her king : Before 
 only the spoil thereof, and ^ the cattle there- ^"«}.^^ 
 of, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: " chap.c. 
 lay thee an ambush for the city behind ?'• 
 
 ji •' D«ut. 90. 
 
 '^' 14. 
 
 3 if So Joshua arose, and all the people 
 of war, to go up against Ai : and Joshua 
 chose out thirty tliousand mightv men of 
 valour, and sent them away by night. 
 
 4 And he commanded them, saying, Be- 
 hold, ye sliall lie in wait against the city, 
 even beliind the city : go not very far from 
 the city, but be ye all ready : 
 
 5 And I, and all the people that are with 
 me, will approach unto the city: and it 
 shall come to pass, when they come out 
 against us, as at the first, that we will flee 
 before them, 
 
 6 (For they will come out after us) till 
 
 we have + drawn them from the city; for tHeh. 
 they will say, Tliey flee before us, as at the '"'"''' 
 first: therefore we will flee before tliem. 
 
 7 Then ye shall rise up from the am- 
 bush, and seize upon the city: for the 
 Lord your God will deliver it into your 
 hand. 
 
 8 And it shall be, when ye have taken 
 the city, that ye shall set the city on fire : 
 according to the commandment of the 
 
 and a proof that nothing is sacred to those who are slaves to this 
 pqssion. 2dly, The defeat of the children of Israel before Ai, 
 occasioned by Achan's sacrilege, proves that the sin of one man 
 may bring down the curse of God upon the publick, and that in- 
 justice and sacrilege deprive men of the Divine protection. 3dly, 
 The wonderful manner of discovering Achan by lot must needs 
 have filled the iieople with dre;id, anil proves that no sin can 
 escape the knowledge and the vengeance of the Almighty. 4thly, 
 The tragical end of Achan shews that ill gotten weiJth is never 
 long possessed, and that a curse attends tlie sacrilegious and 
 unjust. 5thly, This instance of severity must be considered as 
 necessary to teach the children of Israel, that, if they did not re- 
 verence the laws of God, they would be severely punished; and 
 to inspire them with reverential fear at a time \vhen tliey were 
 likely to be exposed to great tempUitions by their victories. 
 Oslcrvald. 
 
 Chap. VIII. ver. 2. — onli/ the spoil thereof:^} Only with this 
 difference, that, whereas they were not to meddle with any of the 
 spoil of Jericho, for their own use, in this instance they were 
 permitted to take it for a prey unto themselves. P.i/le. 
 
 behind !/.] On the west of it; for they were now in 
 
 GiIg;J, which lay eastward. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — thirli) thousand mighli/ nicn'^ Some tliink that thirty thou- 
 sand men were all that were employed in this cxpetlition, and 
 that the five thousand men (ver. i2) fomieti the whole of those 
 placed in ambush: o.ccordiiig to which they understand in this 
 verse, that he " sent away by night," not the whole thirty 
 thousand, but a part of them ; namely, tlie five thousand for the 
 ambush; and in the 1st verse, by " all the men," they understand 
 the choicest and most valiant of them. Others consider the thirty 
 thousand men to havL- been sent to lie in ambush, and tlie five 
 thousand mentioned it ver. 1-2, to be a distinct party sent out for 
 another purpose. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells, P'/le. 
 
 S, — set the cili/ oiijire.-'j Set on fire some parts of the city.
 
 Ai is taken. 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 owrf the Icing thereof hanged. 
 
 Bcfort Lord shall ye do. See, I have command- 
 cuRisr , ■' 
 
 Hji. eel j'oii. 
 
 [) % Joshua therefore sent them forth : 
 and they went to lie in ambush, and abode 
 between Beth-el and Ai, on tlie west side 
 of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among 
 
 the people. 
 
 10 And Joshua rose up early in the 
 morning, and numbered the people, and 
 went up, he and the elders of Israel, be- 
 fore the people to Ai. 
 
 11 And all the people, even the people 
 of war that u-ere with him, went up, and 
 drew nigh, and came before the city, and 
 pitched on the north side of Ai: now there 
 •was a valley between them and Ai. 
 
 V2 And he took about five thousand 
 men, and set them to lie in ambush be- 
 I Or. tween Beth-el and Ai, on the west side II of 
 '^'^'- the city. 
 
 13 And when they had set the people, 
 even all the host that KOi- on the north oi' 
 
 tHeb. the city, and t their liers in wait on the 
 ilZJt^ west oi" the city, Joshua went that night 
 into the midst of the valley. 
 
 14 % And it came to pass, when the king 
 of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up 
 early, and the men of the city went out 
 against Israel to battle, he and all his peo- 
 ple, at a time appointed, before the plain ; 
 but he wist not that there -d'ere liers in am- 
 bush against him behind the city. 
 
 15 And Joshua and ail Israel made as if 
 they were beaten before them, and fled by 
 the way of the wilderness. 
 
 16 And all the people that "iVere in Ai 
 were called together to pursue after them : 
 and they pursued after Joshua, and were 
 drawn away from the city. 
 
 17 And there was not a man left in Ai 
 or Beth-el, that went not out after Israel : 
 and they left the city open, and pursued 
 after Israel. 
 
 18 And the Lord said unto Joshua, 
 Stretch out the. spear that is in thy hand 
 toward Ai; for I will give it into thine 
 hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear 
 that he had in his hand toward the city. 
 
 as m token they were possessed of it. For they were to take 
 the spoil of the city before they burnt it, ver. 28. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 13. -— H-enl I hat nig/U into the midxt of the vallei/.'] He went 
 apart, it is probable, to pray to God for a blessing on his enter, 
 prise. In the next verse, " when the king of Ai saw it," means, 
 " when he was iufornud tliat tl^e city was invested on the north 
 side." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18 ttrelched out the spear'] Joshua hoisted up a spear 
 
 (most probably with a flag upon the top of it, so a.s to be visible 
 «t a distance,) as the signal Ibr the ajnbuacade to enter the town • 
 
 19 And the ambush arose quickly out of chutist 
 their j)lace, and they ran as soon as he had nsi. 
 stretched out his hand: and tiiey entered 
 into the city, and took it, and ha.sted and 
 set the city on fire. 
 
 ^0 And when the men of Ai looked be- 
 hind them, they saw, and, behold, the 
 smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, 
 and they had no t power to flee this way tHeb. 
 or that way : and the people that fled to 
 the wilderness turned back upon the pur- 
 suers. 
 
 21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw 
 that the ambush had taken the city, and 
 that the smoke of the city ascended, then 
 they turned again, and slew the men of 
 Ai. 
 
 22 And the other issued out of the city 
 against them; so they were in the midst 
 of Israel, .some on this side, and some on 
 that side : and they smote them, so that 
 
 they '' let none of them remain or escape. "Dent 7.2. 
 
 2.3 And the king of Ai they took alive, 
 and brought him to Joshua. 
 
 2 1 And it came to pass, when Israel had 
 made an end of slaying all the inhabitants 
 of Ai in the field, in the w ilderness where- 
 in they chased them, and when they were 
 all fallen on the edge of the sword, until 
 they were consumed, that all the Israelites 
 returned unto Ai, and smote it with the 
 edge of the sword. 
 
 25 And so it was, that all that fell that 
 day, both of men and women, xcere twelve 
 thousand, even all the men of Ai. 
 
 2G For Joshua drew not his hand back, 
 wherewith he stretched out the spear, until 
 he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants 
 of Ai. 
 
 27 ' Only the cattle and the spoil of that [^'^f';^^ 
 city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, 
 according unto the word of the Lord 
 which he ' commanded Joshua. ' Verses. 
 
 28 And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it 
 an heap for ever, even a desolation unto 
 this day. 
 
 29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a 
 tree until eventide : and as soon as the sun 
 
 God giving direction as to the very point of time wlien to put it 
 in execution. Pijle. 
 
 25. — were twelve thousand,'] The men of Beth-el teem to be 
 included in this number, agreeably to the report of the spies, 
 chap. vii. 3. The folly of these people in attempting with so 
 small a number to oppose the Israelites, is hence more apparent: 
 the Deity in His wisdom commanded that the Israelites should 
 subdue them, not by force, but by stratagem, in order to make 
 them ascribe the glory to Him to whom it was due, and not to 
 themselves. Masins. 
 
 29. — the king of Ai he hanged &c.] Being the head of a
 
 The altar is built in Ebal. 
 
 CHAP. VIII, IX. 
 
 The kiiifi-s combine diiainst IsMel. 
 
 chrTst ^^^* down, Joshua commanded that they 
 
 1451. should take his carcase down from the 
 
 tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate 
 
 e Chap. 7. ^^ ^"^^ ^^^Y^ ^"'^ ^ '"***<^ thereoH a great heap 
 '25. of stones, thai remaineth unto this day. 
 
 30 ^ Then Joshua built an altar unto the 
 Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal, 
 
 31 As Moses the servant of the Lord 
 commanded the children of Israel, as it is 
 
 » Exod. 20. written in the "" book of the law of Moses, 
 Deut27.5. *" ^^^ar of wholc stones, over which no 
 man hath lift up any iron : and they offer- 
 ed thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, 
 and sacrificed peace offerings. 
 
 32 % And he wrote there upon the stones 
 a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote 
 in the presence of the children of Israel. 
 
 33 And all Israel, and their elders, and 
 officers, and their judges, stood on this 
 side the ark and on that side before the 
 priests the Levites, which bare the ark of 
 the covenant of the Lord, as well the 
 stranger, as he that was born among them ; 
 half of them over against mount Gerizim, 
 and half of them over against mount Ebal ; 
 
 '>'!'& 07' '" '^^ Moses the servant of the Lord had com- 
 12! " ' manded before, that they should bless the 
 people of Israel. 
 
 34 And afterward he read all the words 
 of the law, the blessings and cursings, ac- 
 
 very wicked people, he was fit to be made a publick spectacle of 
 God's displeasure. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 30. Then Joshua bidlt an altar] As mount Ebal, on which 
 he built this altar, was near to Sliechem, and a great way distant 
 from Ai, therefore we must suppose that what is related was not 
 done till they possessed the country about Shechem. Bp. Patrick. 
 After the conquests related in chapters x, .\i, and all that hap- 
 pened in chapters xv, xvi, and xvii. Dr. IVell.i. 
 
 32. — ivrote — upon the stones a copy of the laTvl He wrote the 
 chief heads of the law upon them, with the blessmgs and curses. 
 Pi/le. It is doubtful whether the " copy of the Law" here men- 
 tioned means the five books of Moses, or the book of Deuterono- 
 my only, or the Ten Commandments. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 33. — as well the stranger,'] " The stranger" here, and " the 
 strangers conversant among them," ver. 35, are proselytes to the 
 Jewish religion, who had undertaken to observe this law, and 
 were to be made acquainted witli it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 35. There was not a word of' all that Moses commanded. Sec] 
 Such was the solemn promulgation of the Mosaick Law, at the 
 very commencement of the settlement of the Jews in the land of 
 their inheritance ; and in every subsequent transaction of Joshua, 
 we find he acted according to the same Law. See chap. xi. 1 5 ; see 
 also chap. xiv. 2; xx. 2; xxii. 1 ; xxiii. 6; and the whole of the 
 asd and 24th chapters. " The book of the Law of God," or " of 
 Moses," several times spoken of, is undoubtedly the same, of wliich 
 it is said, that " when Moses had made an end of writing the 
 words of the Law in a book, until they were finished, lie com- 
 manded the Levites, saying. Take this book of the Law, and 
 put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, 
 that it may be a witness against you," Deut. xxxi. 24^26 : 
 that book, which he commanded to be " read before all Israel, at 
 the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of re- 
 lease, in the feast of tabernacles," ver. 10, U. This surely was 
 Vol. I. 
 
 cording to all that is written in the book „J?^?|* 
 of the Taw. ^«,^jst 
 
 35 There was not a word of all that Mo- 
 ses commanded, which Joshua read not be- 
 fore all the congregation of Israel, " with the * Deut 31. 
 women, and the little ones, and the stran- '" 
 gers that t were conversant among them. ^ ha. 
 
 vatkei. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 I The kings combine against Israel. 3 The Gibeoniles 
 bi/ crajl obtain a league. \6 For tvkich they are con' 
 demned to perpetual bondage. 
 
 AND it came to pass, when all the kings 
 which xvere on this side Jordan, in the 
 hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts 
 of the great sea over against Lebanon, the 
 Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, 
 the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, 
 heard thereof; 
 
 'it That they gathered themselves toge- 
 ther, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, 
 with one t accord. t Heb. 
 
 3 f And when the inhabitants of Gibeon ""^"'• 
 heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho 
 and to Ai, 
 
 4 They did work wilily, and went and 
 made as if they had been ambassadors, and 
 took old sacks upon their asses, and wine 
 bottles, old, and rent, and bound up ; 
 
 5 And old shoes and clouted upon their 
 
 the same with that which the Jews have received from the pre- 
 sent hour back to the Babylonish captivity ; which must have 
 preceded that event, because it is also received by the hostile 
 Samaritans, who were planted in Judea at the commencement of 
 the captivity ; which must have preceded the division of the 
 kingdoms of Judah and Israel, because it wa.« acknowledged in 
 both ; which nmst have preceded the establishment of the kings, 
 because it supposes no such form of government, but rather con- 
 demns it : in a word, that " book of the Law," whicli every wri- 
 ter and every sect amongst the Jews have quoted and acknow- 
 ledged, in every possible form of quotation and acknowledgment, 
 from the present period back to the immediate successor of Moses 
 liimself, who solenmly attests its authenticity and divine originaL 
 Dr. Graves. 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. 3. — the inhabitants of Gibeon] Gibeon was a 
 town not far from Ai, to the westward : its inhabitants were a 
 part of the Hivite Canaanites. Pi/lc. 
 
 4.. — made as if they had been ambassadors,] They pretended 
 they were sent on an embassy from some distant countiy. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 nine bottles, old, and rent,] Tlie Arabs, and all those wJio 
 
 lead a wandering life, still keep their water, milk, and other li- 
 quors, in leathern bottles, which are generally made of gojitskins. 
 The liquors thus keep more fresh tli;in they would otherwise do. 
 These nations never go a journey without a small leatliern bottle 
 of water hanging by tlieir side like a scrip. When tliese bottle* 
 are old and much used, they mend them cither by sewing in a 
 piece, or by gathering up the broken place in tlie manner of a 
 purse. Sir J. Chardin. 
 
 5. — old shoes and clouted] Shoes which had the appearance 
 of being worn out by long travel, and were patched up. Bp. Pa» 
 trick. 
 
 8 I
 
 The Gibeonitcs by craft 
 
 Btton feet, and old garments upon them ; and all 
 i^]^^ the broad of their provision was dry and 
 mouldv. 
 
 () And they went to Joshua unto the 
 camp at Ciilgal, and said unto him, and to 
 the men of Israel, We be come from a far 
 country : now therefore make ye a league 
 
 with us. 
 
 7 And the men of Israel said unto the 
 Hivites, IVradventure ye dwell among us; 
 and how shall we make a league with you? 
 
 8 And tlicv said unto Joshua, We are 
 thv servants. And Joshua said unto them. 
 Who arc ve ? and from whence come ye ? 
 
 9 And they said unto him, From a very 
 tiir country thy servants are come because 
 of the name of the Lord thy God : for we 
 have heard the fame of iiim, and all that he 
 did in Egypt, 
 
 10 And all that he did to the two kings 
 of the Aniorites, that nere beyond Jordan, 
 to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king 
 of Bashan, wliich teas at Ashtaroth. 
 
 11 WJieretbre our elders and all the in- 
 liabitants of our country spake to us, say- 
 
 tHei). inir, Take victuals t witJi you for the jour- 
 ney, and go to meet thorn, and say inito 
 them, We are your servants : therefore 
 now make ye a league with us. 
 
 I'i This our bread we took hot Jbr our 
 provision out of our houses on the day we 
 came forth to go unto you ; but now, be- 
 hold, it is dry, and it is mouldy : 
 
 13 And these bottles of wine, which we 
 filled, ucre new ; and, behold, they be rent : 
 and these our garments and our shoes are 
 become old by reason of the very long 
 journey. 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 obtain a leagud. 
 
 Aanci. 
 
 "i- — PLrfidrniltirr Scc.^ Their first question is, wlietlier they 
 were not of tlic country of Canaan, and belonged not to any of 
 those idolatrous princes, >v ho had already refused terms of peace ; 
 for if they were, it was expressly against the Law of God to 
 make any alliance, or have any dealings with them. See Exod. 
 x.\iii. .SS ; xxxiv. 13 ; Dpui vii. 2, 3. &c. with other places. P,/k. 
 
 .0. — From a ten/ far rn,'„in/ &c.] Tiie Ciibconites, cunningly 
 frvuing their answer, avoid making mention of any particidaV 
 country froni whieh tliey come, and pretend religion for the 
 canst of their joumry, which they knew woidd ensure them a fa- 
 vourable lie.-iring: in reciting too" the wonders which the God of 
 Israel had wrought for His people, ver. 10, they prudently con- 
 c««l their knowledge of the taking of Jericho and Ai, because 
 thty would have it supposed tliatllie tidings of these events could 
 not have reached their distant country. Dr. ti'dh, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1+. .hul Ih.e mat look of Ihcir vkhiah,'} That is, they ate with 
 Oicm probably in token of friendship and by way of covenant 
 iMckc. 
 
 . ~~r "'^'<f "^ coun-tel at the mouth of the Lord.l In this con- 
 »i«to<l the fault of the Israelites on tliis occasion, that they de- 
 pom «l on their own judgment, and did not consult the Divine 
 oracle, which was at hand. It is no wonder that God should 
 wfliT them to be deluded by the Gibeonites, when they had an 
 
 M And II the men took of their victuals, (.^r^Jst 
 and asked not counsel at the mouth of the hsi. 
 Loud. S Or, 
 
 15 And Joshua made peace with them, td'^,,"",'^; 
 and made a leagiie with them, to let them h/remonnf 
 live : and the princes of the congregation ''J^'' "'^'"' 
 sware unto them. 
 
 16 ^ And it came to pass at the end of 
 three days after they had made a league 
 with them, that they heard that they uere 
 their neighbours, antl l/iat they dwelt among 
 them. 
 
 17 And the children of Israel journeyed, 
 and came unto tlieir cities on the third day. 
 Now their cities xvere Gibeon, and Chephi- 
 rah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim. 
 
 18 And the children of Israel smote them 
 not, because the princes of the congrega- 
 tion had sworn unto them by the Lord 
 God of Israel. And all tiie congregation 
 murmured against the princes. 
 
 ly But all the princes said unto all the 
 congregation, We have sworn unto them 
 by the Lord God of Israel : now therefore 
 we may not touch them. 
 
 20 This we will do to tliem ; we will 
 even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, 
 because of the oath which we sware unto 
 them. 
 
 21 And the princes said unto them, Let 
 them live ; but let them be hewers of wood 
 and drawers of water unto all the con- 
 gregation ; as the princes had * promised ' Ver. is, 
 them. 
 
 22 ^ And Joshua called for them, and 
 he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore 
 have ye beguiled us, saying, W^e are very 
 far from you ; when ye dwell among us? 
 
 infallible Director so near to them, and yet, in a matter of such 
 moment, as that of entering on a national treaty, never once 
 thought of consulting Him. Stackhouse. 
 
 15. And Joshua made peace with tkeiit^ By concluding this 
 treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites unadvisedly brouglit 
 themselves into a great strait : they had been commanded to take 
 away from the people of Canaan both their " place and nation," 
 and to divide their lands and cities among their own tribes. 
 Now they bound themselves to stop the war when they came 
 to the cities of the Gibeonites ; they thus disarmed themselves, 
 and ^vere not at liberty to smite or destroy this people, because 
 of the oath they had sworn ; :ind yet they could not perform 
 what they had sworn without a manifest neglect and violation of 
 what God had in the strictest manner required. Shuckford. 
 
 17. And the children of Israel jottrneycd,~\ \ party oilhe Israel- 
 ites journeyed, being sent to understand the truth. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Gibeon, &c.i] Gibeon was the capital city on which the 
 
 three others were dependent. 
 
 21. — unto all the congregation ;~\ They were not to he hewers 
 of wood and drawers of water for every private person, but for 
 tlie benefit of the whole congregation ; see ver. 23 ; for the service 
 of God at the tabernacle, for which they were bound to find wood 
 and water. Bp. Patrick. See note at 1 Chion. ix. 2.
 
 Five kings war against Giheon. 
 
 CHAP. IX, X. 
 
 Joshua rescueth it. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST ^'^ -^^^ therefore ye are cursed, and 
 1451. there shall t none of you be freed from 
 
 fHeb. being bondmen, and hewers of wood and 
 
 "^fffroT di-awers of water for the house of my God. 
 
 you. 24 And they answered Joshua, and said, 
 
 Because it was certainly told thy servants, 
 
 » Deut. 7. how that the Lord thy God " commanded 
 his servant Moses to give you all the land, 
 and to destroy all the inhabitants of the 
 land from before you, therefore we were 
 sore afraid of onr lives because of you, and 
 have done this thing. 
 
 25 And now, behold, we are in thine 
 hand : as it seemeth good and right unto 
 thee to do unto us, do. 
 
 26 And so did he unto them, and de- 
 livered them out of the hand of the chil- 
 dren of Israel, that they slew them not. 
 
 27 And Joshua made them that day 
 hewers of wood and drawers of water for 
 the congregation, and for the altar of the 
 Lord, even unto this day, in the place 
 which he should choose. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 1 Five kings war against Gibcon. 6 Joshua rescueth 
 it. 10 Godjighieth against them with hailstones. 12 
 The sun and moon stand still at the word of Joshua. 
 16 The Jive kings are mured in a cave. 21 They are 
 brought forth, 24 scomfulli) used, 26 and hanged. 
 28 Seven kings more are conquered. 43 Joshua re- 
 iurneth to Gihal, 
 
 N 
 
 OW it came to pass, when Adoni- 
 zedec king of Jerusalem had heard 
 
 how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly 
 ' Chap. 6. destroyed it ; 'as he had done to Jericho 
 u Chan. 8. ^"^ '^^^ king, so he had done to ''Ai and 
 3. her king ; and how the inhabitants of Gi- 
 
 beon had made peace with Israel, and were 
 
 among them ; 
 t. ?«''• 2 That they feared greatly, because Gi- 
 
 ki^dm"" beon -ivas a great city, as one of the t royal 
 
 23. — cursed,'} Though they escaped the common doom of 
 being cut off with the rest of the Canaanites, yet there was a 
 curse still reserved for them ; namely, a certain degree of servi- 
 tude to be entailed on them and their posterity. Pj/le. They 
 were subjected to certain personal servitude: whereas, had tliey 
 but actetl sincerelj-, they might have been received upon the 
 footing of simple tributaries. Grotius. 
 
 27. — in the place n-hich he should choose.'} In the place which 
 the Lord should choose for His tabernacle ; {Dr. Wells y) which was 
 now at Gilgal, afterwards at Shiloh, &c. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. X. ver. 1. — king of Jerusalem"} It is thought that this 
 city retained the name of Salem, which it had in the days of 
 Abraham, till the Israelites came into the land of Canaan ; and 
 that it was called Jerusalem by them, when they first took pos- 
 session of it. Bp. Patrick. This city is called Jebus at 1 Chron. 
 xi, ,4. It is very frequently called the " Holy city," Isai. xlviii. 
 2 ; Dan. ix. 24, &c. because the Lord cliose it to place there His 
 
 cities, and because it teas greater than Ai, Be'"*. 
 and all the men thereof aere mighty. ' ^^^P^ 
 
 3 Wherefore Adoni-zedec king of Jeru- 
 salem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, 
 and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto 
 Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir 
 king of Eglon, saying, 
 
 4 Come up unto me, and help me, that 
 we may smite Gibeon : for it hath made 
 peace with Joshua and with the children of 
 Israel. 
 
 5 Therefore the five kings of the Amo- 
 rites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of 
 Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of 
 Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered them- 
 selves together, and went up, they and all 
 their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, 
 and made war against it. 
 
 6 ^ And the men of Gibeon sent unto 
 Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying. Slack 
 not thy hand from thy servants ; come up 
 to us quickly, and save us, and help us: 
 for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell 
 in the mountains are gathered together 
 against us. 
 
 7 So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, 
 and all the people of war with liim, and all 
 the mighty men of valour. 
 
 8 ^ And the Lord said unto Joshua, 
 Fear them not : for I have deUvered them 
 into thine hand ; there shall not a man of 
 them stand before thee. 
 
 9 Joshua therefore came unto them sud- 
 denly, and went up from Gilgal all night. 
 
 10 And the Lord discomfited them be- 
 fore Israel, and slew them with a great 
 slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them 
 along the way that goeth up to Beth- 
 horon, and smote them to Azekah, and 
 unto Makkedah. 
 
 11 And it came to pass, as they fled 
 from before Israel, and were in the going 
 
 name, His temple, and His worship, Deut. xii. 5 ; xjr. 23 ; and 
 to be the centre of union in religion and govermiient for all the 
 tribes of Israel. The name " Jerusalem" signifies " they shall 
 see peace," derived probably from the name given by Abraliam lo 
 mount Calvary, after his intended sacrifice of his son. Dr. Hales. 
 Or else the name signifies " the vision of peace," or " the pew* 
 session," or " the inheritance of peace." Cabnet. 
 
 2. — as one of the royal cities,'} Was as a royal city, that 
 is, was not properly a royal city, naving no king, but was, not- 
 withstanding, equal to those cities which had kings. Bp. Pa. 
 trick. 
 
 5. — Jive kings of the Amorites,} Called " of the Amorites," 
 because these, being the most powerful people in Canaan, gave 
 name to the rest; perhaps had brought the rest under their power. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 0. — that goeth up to Beth-horon,} To the place afterwards 
 called by tliis name ; the place itself was not built till tlie Is. 
 raelites were settled in Canaan. See 1 Chron. vii. 24. 
 
 3 I 2
 
 Godji^hteth against the Jive kings 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 •with hailsto7ies. 
 
 lufore tjown to Beth-lioron, that the Lord cast 
 ^*i«iV^ down greut stones from heaven upon them 
 unto Azekah, and they died : t/iej/ iren' 
 niore which died witli hailstones than t/iei/ 
 whom the chiUlrcn of Israel slew with tlie 
 sword. 
 
 II. the Lord cast down great sloiicsl Great " hailstones," 
 
 ft» is explained in the succeeding part of the verse. In working 
 miracles, Oo<l usually employs natural causes and productions. 
 1 le does not create any tiling new for the purpose, but makes use 
 of what was already createtl in a new and extraordinary manner ; 
 and therefore, though the sliower of hail, and probably the wind 
 too, which made it tall with such imj)etuosity, were both of them 
 n.itural ; yet, in sending them at this very instant of time, and 
 directing them to fall upon the enemy only, tliere was manifestly 
 the hand of God, and sometlung supernatural. SlackliouK. Jo- 
 shua fought, but Gotl discomfited the Amoritcs : the praise is to 
 the Workman, not to the instrument. Bp. Hii/I. 
 
 12. Then spake Joshua to the Lord^ He preferred an earnest 
 petition to God to grant what he was now about to desire for the 
 completion of liis victorj-. Dr. Wells. 
 
 Sun, stand thou still upon Gihcon; &C.3 Ab Joshua is 
 
 SJiid to have " gone up from Clilgal all night," ver. J), it is probable 
 that the events now related took place in the morning. The sun 
 appeared to rise over Gibeon, which lay to the east of the Is- 
 raelites, and the moon to be about setting over Ajalon, which lay 
 to the west of them, towards the Meiliterranean sea. In this 
 situation, Joshua, moved by a divine impulse, uttered this in- 
 vocation in the sight of Israel ; and, in consequence, the sun 
 " hasted not to go down about a nholc dai/," that is, in that cli- 
 mate, near the venial equinox, about 13 hours; and thus about 
 twenty-six hours of day-light were afforded them for the de- 
 struction of their enemies, during which they took the city of 
 Makkedali, and slew the five kings who hid themselves in a cave 
 near it, ver. i*l, &c. Dr. Dales. 
 
 This signal miracle seems to have been pai'ticularly directed 
 against the prevailing worship of " the host of heaven ;" and 
 nothing surely could be more strikingly calculated to correct this 
 idolatry, than to behold "the sun and the moon stand still" aX. the 
 command of the general of the armies of the God of Israel, " the 
 Lord of heaven and earth." Bp. Tomline. 
 
 The sun and the moon were the ordinary gods of the heathen 
 world ; and who amongst them could not but think that tlicir 
 standing still but one hour woidd be the ruin of nature } But now 
 all the heathen could well see that there is a higher than tlieir 
 highest ; that their go<ls are but the servants to the God whom 
 they themselves should adore, and whose will all nature obeys. 
 Bp. Hall. ' 
 
 A miraculous perversion of tiie course of nature, such as this, 
 instead of being properly brought forward a.s an objection, is a 
 great argument of the almighty power of God : for, to cause 'he 
 «un " not to haste to go down," that is, to stop the diumyl course 
 of the globe for some hours, and then again to give it tlie same 
 motion, required the same infinite power, which gave this vast 
 globe its motion at the first. Dr. Derham. 
 
 It c.in never be afiirmed, that the miracle here recorded of the 
 sun standing still is impossible or incredible, since it is certain and 
 self-evident that tlie great Author of nature, who gave being and 
 motion to the sun aiul stars., may stop that motion when and as 
 long as He pleases, especially when their rest will contribute to 
 His glory, (as was the case in the present instance,) a-s much as 
 their continued motion does. We talk of greater and lesser mi- 
 racles, when, in reality, to the almighty power of God all thinf 5 
 are equally easy. The motion and other properties of all created 
 beings were at first impressed by Him ; and, with the same 
 f*cility, H- can retard or suspend their operations, for they have 
 no power of resisting the first movement of His will Since 
 tberelore every thing, Uiat is contrary to the ordinary course of 
 nature, requu-cs the interposiUon of an Almighty power and 
 Whatever is not impossible in itself, is equally possible with God • 
 
 12 % Then spake Joshua to tlie Lord chIiist 
 in the day when the Lord delivered up hsi. 
 the Amorites before the children of Israel, ^isa>. 28. 
 and he said in the sight of Israel, " Sun, KJcr' 4g. 
 t stand thou still upon Gibeon j and thou, "»■ 
 Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. beiLni. 
 
 with Him there can be no difference between stopping the waters 
 of Jordan, and drying up the Red sea ; between drawing water 
 from the stony rock, and ju-resting the sun in the firmament of 
 heaven ; for " whatsoever He pleascth, that He doeth, in heaven 
 and in earth, in the sea and all deep places." Stackhousc. 
 
 It should well be observed, how remarkably pertinent this mi- 
 racle was to the circumstances of the persons concerned in it. 
 The sun, moon, and lights of heaven, were the deities at that 
 time worshipped by the inhabitants of Canaan; but the Israelites 
 were the servants of the true God, by whose command, and under 
 whose protection, they were to wiir against these nations, and 
 against their gods ; and what greater demonstration could be 
 given of the power of their God to support them, and of the ina- 
 bility of tlie false deities of the Canaanites to assist their wor- 
 shippers, than to see that the God of Israel could cause these to 
 contribute to, instead of preventing, the ruin that was coming on. 
 those who served them? We cannot imagine that Joshua should, 
 without a special intimation from heaven, have addi'essed to Gotl 
 the prayer concerning the sun and moon, which he is recorded 
 to have made in the sight of all Israel, ver. 1 2 ; for of how great 
 extravagance would he have been proved guilty, if no effect had 
 followed from his prayer ? Or how could he be so wild as to think 
 of an accomplishment of so strange an expectation, as this would 
 have been, had the wish for it been only the private thought of 
 his own heart? Unquestionably, the same Lord, who spake unto 
 him before the battle, who bade him not fear the armies of the 
 Canaanites, who assured liim that they sliould not be able to stand 
 before him, directed him to ask for this wonderful miracle ; and, 
 in granting what he had asked for, gave a full testimony, both to 
 the Israelites and their enemies, that the gods of the heathen 
 were but idols ; and that it is the Lord that made, and that ruleth 
 in the heavens. 
 
 It is remarkable, that the terms, in which this event is recorded 
 in the sacred writings, do not agTee witli what is now known 
 concerning the motions of the heavenly bodies; for, whereas it is 
 recorded, that the sun and moon were made to stop for a whole 
 day, it is now sufficiently known that day and night arc not caused 
 by any motion of the sun, but by the rotation of the earth on its 
 own axis. It sliould be remembered, however, tliat, as in those 
 early ages men had not the slightest notion of the modern dis- 
 coveries in astronomy, it was unavoidably necessary that the 
 event should be described according to the knowledge which 
 then obtJiined. If God had dictated to Joshua to record the mi- 
 racle in terms suitable to the modern discoveries in astronomy, 
 Joshua would have appeared to express it in a manner directly 
 contrary to all rules of science then known : and his account 
 of what had happened would have been objected to, as faLe 
 in astronomy. It would have appeared rather a wild fiincj', or a 
 gi'oss blunder of his own, than a true account of a real miracle; 
 and so would have been received with little attention by the per- 
 sons for whom it was written. Thus, when God directed Joshua 
 to record this mirack. He did not direct him to record it in a 
 manner more agreeable to true astronomy ; because, if He had 
 done so, unless He inspired the world at the same time with a 
 true knowledge of astronomy, the account would rather have 
 tended to raise amongst those who read it and heard of it, disputes 
 and " oppositions of science falsely so called," than have promoted 
 the great ends of religion intended by it Shiickford. 
 
 A confused tradition concerning this miracle of the sun standing 
 still, and a similar one in the time of Ahaz, when the sun went back 
 ten degrees, had been preserved amongst one of the most ancient 
 nations, as we are informed by one of tlie most ancient historians. 
 Herodotus, speaking of tlie Egyptian priests, says, " They told 
 me that the sun has four times deviated from his course, having
 
 The sun and moon stand still. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 The Jive kmgs are hanged. 
 
 chrTst ^^ ^^^^ *'^^ ^"" stood still, and the 
 1451. moon stayed, until the people had avenged 
 
 themselves upon their enemies. /* not 
 ^^uri-'ht *^^^ written in the book of llJasher? So 
 
 the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, 
 
 and hasted not to go down about a whole 
 
 day. 
 
 14 And thei'c was no day like that be- 
 fore it or after it, that the Lord hearkened 
 unto the voice of a man : for the Lord 
 fought for Israel. 
 
 15 ^ And Joshua returned, and all Israel 
 with him, unto the camp to Gilgal. 
 
 16 But these five kings fled, and hid 
 themselves in a cave at Makkedah. 
 
 17 And it was told Joshua, saying, The 
 five kings ai-e found hid in a cave at Mak- 
 kedah. 
 
 18 And Joshua said, Roll great stones 
 upon the mouth of the cave, and set men 
 by it for to keep them : 
 
 19 And stay ye not, but pursue after 
 + Heb. your enemies, and t smite the hindmost of 
 ^tttii"^"'" them ; suffer them not to enter into their 
 
 cities : for the Lord your God hath de- 
 livered them into your hand. 
 
 20 And it came to pass, when Joshua 
 and the children of Israel had made an 
 end of slaying them with a very great 
 slaughter, till they were consumed, that 
 the rest tiJiich remained of them entered 
 into fenced cities. 
 
 21 And all the people returned to the 
 camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace : 
 none moved his tongue against any of the 
 children of Israel. 
 
 22 Then said Joshua, Open the mouth 
 of the cave, and bring out those five kings 
 unto me out of the cave. 
 
 twice risen where he uniformly goes down, and twice gone down 
 where lie uniformly rises. Thi.s, however, had produced no al- 
 ter.ition in the climate of Egypt ; the fniits of the earth, and the 
 phenomena of the Nile, had been always the same." The last 
 part of this observation confirms the conjecture that this account 
 of the Egyptian priests had a reference to the two miracles re- 
 specting the sun mentioned in Scripture ; for they were not of 
 that kind which could introduce any change in climates or sea- 
 sons. I think it idle, if not impious, to undertake to explain how 
 the miracle was performed ; but one who is not able to explain 
 the mode of doing a thing, argues ill if he thence infers that the 
 thing was not done. The machine of the universe is in the hand 
 of (iod : He can stop the motion of any part, or of the whole, 
 with less trouble, and less danger of injuring it, than any of us 
 can stop a watch. Bp. Wul.ion. 
 
 13. — irrilten in Ike book of Jashcr ?"} Respecting the book of 
 Jasher, which name means " the book of upright or righteous 
 men," the opinions of the learned are much divided. We find 
 mention of it no where else except at 2 SaiJi. i. 18 ; and there, on 
 account of a song made by king David, -which he caused to be 
 recorded in this book. It probably contained an account of the 
 lives, and some particular adventures of eminent Jewish worthies, 
 and of all remarkable things wliich befell the nation. Some have 
 
 23 And they did so, and brought forth Be*"""^ 
 those nve kings unto him out of the cave, mi. 
 the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, 
 
 the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, 
 and the king of Eglon. 
 
 24 And it came to pass, when they 
 brought out those kings unto Joshua, that 
 Joshua called for all the men of Israel, 
 and said unto the captains of the men of 
 war which went with him. Come near, put 
 your feet upon the necks of these kings. 
 And they came near, and put their feet 
 upon the necks of them. 
 
 25 And Joshua said unto them. Fear 
 not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of 
 good courage : for thus .shall the Lord 
 do to all vour enemies against whom ye 
 fight. 
 
 26 And afterward Joshua smote them, 
 and slew them, and hanged them on five 
 trees : and they were hanging upon the 
 trees until the evening. 
 
 27 And it came to pass at the time of 
 the going down of the sun, th(tt Joshua 
 commanded, and they "*took them down ''Deut.21. 
 off the trees, and cast them into the cave chap. 3. 29. 
 wherein they had been hid, and laid great 
 stones in the cave's mouth, u/iic/i remain 
 
 until this very day. 
 
 28 ^ And that day Josluia took Mak- 
 kedah, and smote it with tlie edge of the 
 sword, and the king thereof he utterly de- 
 stroyed, them, and all the souls that XL-ere 
 therein ; he let none remain : and he did 
 
 to the kinff of Makkedali ' as he did unto ' Chap. s. 
 the king of Jericiio. 
 
 29 Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, 
 and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and 
 fought against Libnah : 
 
 supposed it to be a collection of versec, which the Israelite^? word 
 used to learn by heart, tile better to remember the miracles whicli 
 God had been pleased to work in their favour. Slackhousc, Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 1 .'). And Joshua returned, — unto the camp to Gilgal.'] Joshnn 
 did not return to Gilgal till the completion of the whole expedi- 
 tion, ver. 4^3 : the meaning probably is, that he was about to re- 
 turn, when he heard of the five kings, and of se%'eral ot!>ers of 
 tlie enemy remaining. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 l(j. __ hid tliemselves in a care'] Caves, dug in the rocks, are very 
 common in tliose countries : they are pbces of retrc.it, and forts, 
 whither the people retire at the time of war and inv.ision. Reland: 
 
 iil . And all the people returned — in peace:] Returned without 
 meeting any enemy to attack them. Dr. Wells. "' None moved 
 liis tongue against any of them ;" an expression of the complcte- 
 nes.s of their victory, and of the great tranquillity in which they 
 were. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 •2 1. — put i/onrfeet upon the necks of these king.i.'] .Tosh\ia gave 
 this command, not from insolence and pride, but in token of tlie 
 complete fulfilment of the Divine promise, in bringing these kings 
 .ind their countries under absolute subjection to the Israelitcj. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ^9. Makkedah, — Libnah,] For the situation of these and
 
 Seven kings more 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 are conquered. 
 
 1431. 
 
 B«f<« 30 And the Lord delivered it also, and 
 CHBisT ^1^^^ ^jj^^ thereof, into the hand of Israel ; 
 and he smote it with the cda;eof the sword, 
 and all the souls that xccre tiic-cin ; he let 
 none remain in it ; but did unto the knig 
 thereof as lie did unto the kinp: of Jericho. 
 SI f And Joshua passed from Libnah, 
 and all Israel with him, unto Lachisii, and 
 encamped against it, and ibught against 
 
 it : , T 1 • I • 
 
 SS And tiie Loud delivered Lachish in- 
 to the hand of Israel, which took it on 
 the second day, and smote it with the edge 
 of the sword,' and all the souls that 'ucre 
 therein, according to all that he had done 
 to Libnah. 
 
 33 f Then Horam king of Gezer came 
 up to help Lachish ; and Joshua smote him 
 and his people, until he had left him none 
 remaining. 
 
 a-i if And from Lachish Joshua passed 
 unto Eglon, and all Israel with him ; and 
 they encamped against it, and fought a- 
 gainst it : 
 
 35 And they took it on that day, and 
 smote it with the edge of the sword, and 
 all the souls that awe therein he utterly 
 destroyed that day, according to all that 
 he had done to Lachish. 
 
 36 And Joshua went up from Eglon, 
 and all Israel with him, unto Hebron ; and 
 they fought against it : 
 
 37 And they took it, and smote it with 
 the edge of the sword, and the king there- 
 
 other places, the reader is referred to the map of Canaan, illus- 
 trating the books of Joshua and Judges. 
 
 37. — llie kiiii; Ihereof','] The king of Hebron had been before 
 mentioned as one of the five whom Joshua recently slew ; it ap- 
 pears lliat the inhabitants l»ad now set up a new king : Hebron 
 wa« a place of note, as we read in this verse of " the cities there- 
 of," that is, of other cities dependent on it. Bp. Palricl: 
 
 40. — Ihc country of the hills, ami of the south,'\ The country 
 of the hills ercn ot the south; that is, the hill country lying in 
 the south part of Canaan. " The country of tlie vale and of the 
 springs," tnat is, the vale countrj- atljoining, abounding more with 
 springs. Dr. U'elU. 
 
 utterly destroyed all (hat breathed,'] This must be restrain- 
 ed to mankind, for they kept the cattle for a prey unto them- 
 selves. It is here exjircssly a<l(led, that they did this " as the Lord 
 God of Israel commande<l ;" this being a complete justification of 
 the Israelites from all imputation of cruelty or severity ; in fact, 
 they only executed a Divine sentence against the Canaanites for 
 their abomiiiabic wickedness, with which they themselves were 
 in danger of Iieing infected. Bp. Patrit^. God Himself being, 
 all tliis time, the Supreme Director and Author of Joshua's suc- 
 cess, by whose special command he executed these severities 
 against ilolatroiis nations, now by an incurable <legree of wicked- 
 ness become ripe fur exemplary destruction. Pyle. 
 
 If it be maintained, that it is contrary to God's moral jus- 
 tice to doom t« destruction the crying or smiling infants of the 
 Canaanites; why do we not maintain it to be equally contrary 
 to His moral justice, that He should suffer crj-ing or smiling 
 bfants to be swallowed up by an earthquake, drowned by an 
 
 of, and all the cities thereof, and all the (,j'^J°i''st 
 souls that were therein ; he left none re- un. 
 maining, according to all that he had done 
 to Eglon ; but destroyed it utterly, and all 
 the souls that xcere therein. » 
 
 38 IF And Joshua returned, and all Is- 
 rael with him, to Debir ; and fought a- 
 gainst it : 
 
 39 And he took it, and the king thereof, 
 
 and all the cities thereof; and they smote ■ 
 
 them with the edge of the sword, and ut- | 
 
 terly destroyed all the souls that were 
 
 therein ; he left none remaining : as he 
 
 had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, 
 
 and to the king thereof; as he had done 
 
 also to Libnah, and to her king. 
 
 40 ^ So Joshua smote all the country of 
 the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, 
 and of the springs, and all their kings : he 
 left none remaining, but utterly destroyed 
 all that breathed, as the Lord God of Is- 
 rael ' commanded. ' Deut2&. 
 
 41 And Joshua smote them from Ka- ' 
 desh-barnea even unto Gaza, and all the 
 country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon. 
 
 42 And all these kings and their land did 
 Joshua take at one time, because the Lord 
 God of Israel fought for Israel. 
 
 43 And Joshua returned, and all Israel, 
 with him, unto the camp to Gilgal. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 1 Divers kings overcome at the ri'atcrs of Mcrom. 10 
 Hazor is taken and burnt. 16 ./// the cvuntri/ taken 
 bi) Joshua. 21 The Anakims cut off. 
 
 inundation, consumed by a fire, starved by famine, or destroyed 
 by a pestilence. Perhaps it may lie replied, that the evils which 
 the Canaanites suffered from the express command of God were 
 different from those which are brought on mankind by the 
 operation of the laws of nature. Different in what ? Not in the 
 magnitude of the evil, not in the subjects of sufferance, not in 
 the Author of it: for my philosophy at least instructs me to 
 believe that God not only primarily formed, but that He hath 
 through all ages executed, the laws of nature ; and that He will 
 through all eternity administer them for the general happiness 
 of His creatures, whether we can, on every occasion, discern that 
 end, or not. Bp. Watson. See the notes on Deut. vii. 2, 24 ; 
 ix. 5 ; XX. 16. 
 
 41. — country of Goshen,"] The Goshen liere mentioned was 
 in the tribe of Judah : it was probably so called from its excel- 
 lent pasture, as was also the other Goshen in Egypt. 
 
 43. A/ul Joshua relumed,'] From the account of all Joshua's 
 victories, and of his speedy conquest of the land of Canaan, we 
 learn that, while our success on every occasion depends on the 
 Divine assistance, it is our duty always to join our own care and 
 endeavours to our trust and confidence in God. We are hereby 
 convinced too of the truth of all the promises which God had 
 made to the children of Israel by Moses, that their enemies 
 should not stand before them, and that He would give them 
 their country and cities to dwell in. We are hence supplied 
 with a proof that God is ever faithful to His promises, that He 
 is almighty in fulfilling them, and that His blessing every where 
 accompanies those that trust in Him and obey His commands. 
 Oslervald., --' u -^
 
 Divers kin";s overcome. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 Hazor is taken and burnt. 
 
 A ND it came to pass, when Jabin king 
 
 Before 
 
 1450. -t\. of Hazor had heard t/tose things, that 
 he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to 
 the king of Shimron, and to the king of 
 Achshaph, 
 
 2 And to the kings that tvere on the 
 north of the mountains, and of the plains 
 south of Cliinneroth, and in the valley, and 
 in the borders of Dor on the west, 
 
 3 A7id to the Canaanite on the east and 
 on the west, and to the Amorite, and the 
 Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite 
 in the mountains, and to the Hivite under 
 Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. 
 
 4< And they went out, they and all their 
 hosts with them, much people, even as the 
 sand that is upon the sea shore in multi- 
 tude, with horses and chariots very many. 
 ^ "*''• , 5 And when all these kings were t met 
 
 iisscnMot 1 • 1 1 1 ,_ 
 
 ii</ appoint- together, they came and pitched together at 
 ment. |^]jg waters of Merom, to fight against Israel. 
 G ^ And the Lord said imto Joshua, Be 
 not afraid because of them : for to morrow 
 about this time will I deliver them up all 
 slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their 
 horses, and burn their chariots with fire. 
 
 7 So Joshua came, and all the people of 
 war with him, against them by the waters of 
 Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them. 
 
 8 And the Lord delivered them into the 
 hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased 
 
 H Or, zi- them unto II great Zidon, and unto II t Mis- 
 don^rnbbuh. rephoth-maim, and unto the valley of Miz- 
 saitpiis. peh eastward; and they smote them, until 
 J^*!'- „ they left them none remaininjr. 
 waters. 9 And Joshua did unto them as the 
 
 Lord bade him : he houajhed their horses, 
 and burnt their chariots with fire. 
 
 10 ^ And Joshua at that time turned 
 back, and took Hazor, and smote the king 
 
 Chap. XI. ver. 1. — Jabin king of Htizor] H;i2or, and the 
 other cities here mentioned, were in the northern p.irts of Ca- 
 naan. 
 
 2. — Chinnetvlh,~\ Or Gennesareth, an ancient city whicii 
 stoo<l 0)1 the sea of Chinneroth or Gennesareth, otherwise called 
 the sea of Galilee. Dr. Wells. 
 
 4. — chariots^ See the note on Exod. xiv. 7- 
 
 5. — pitched — al lite maters of Merom,^ These waters are 
 generally supposed by learned men to be the lake Senechon, 
 ^vhich lie- between the head of tlie river Jordan, and the lake of 
 Gennesareth. Stack/wiise. These waters are not so large as the 
 lake of Geimesareth, and the tract about them is marshy ground. 
 Dr. UtU.s. 
 
 6. — thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with 
 Jirc.'] This is not the conmion practice in war; nor do princes, 
 
 who want horses to mount their own troops, use to destroy those 
 taken from the enemy, or render them useless by hamstringing 
 tiiem. But Gud had forbidden the people to have horses and 
 chariots of war for their defence; see Deut. xvii. id; xx. 1; not 
 because they were thought useless in war, for it is well known 
 that the strength of the ancient militia consisted chiefly in them, 
 as appears in the Scriptuxe-history, and ia the oldest writers of 
 
 thereof with the sword: for Hazor before- ^^°'' 
 time was the head of all those kingdoms, ^""i.^^ 
 
 11 And they smote all the souls that 
 xvere therein with the edge of the sword, 
 utterly destroying them: there was not 
 
 t any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor ^ ^^-"^y 
 With hre. 
 
 12 And all the cities of those kings, and 
 all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and 
 smote them with the edge of the sword, 
 
 aiid he utterly destroyed them, ' as Moses * ^"J^"^ 
 the servant of the Lord commanded. DcutT.s. 
 
 13 But as for the cities that stood still ^,'-^- "^ 
 t in their strength, Israel burned none of tHd><"i 
 them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua "'"■■ *"^- 
 burn. 
 
 14 And all the spoil of tliese cities, and 
 the cattle, the children of Israel took for a 
 prey unto themselves; but every man they 
 smote with the edge of the sword, until 
 they had destroyed tliem, neither left they 
 any to breathe. 
 
 15 ^ ''As the Lord commanded ^Moses ^ Exod 34. 
 his servant, so " did Moses command i'jjj^u, -. 
 Joshua, and so did Joshua; t he left no- 2. 
 thing undone of all that the Lord com- l^^'J' 
 manded Moses. rw/Amg. 
 
 16 So Joshua took all that land, tlie hills, 
 and all the south country, and all the land 
 of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, 
 and the mountain of Israel, and the ^ alley 
 of the same; 
 
 17 Even from || the mount Halak, that « O'. 
 goeth up to beiv, even unto Baal-gad in the mountain. 
 valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: 
 
 and all their kings he took, and smote 
 them, and slew them. 
 
 IS Joshua made war a long time with 7111144:;. 
 all those kings. 
 
 19 There was not a city that made peace 
 
 profane story; but because He Himself had undertiken their 
 cause, and He wanted neither horse nor foot to fight Hi< battles. 
 There can be no foiuidation for the command to Joshua to destroy 
 the hor,-es, but this, that it was not lawfnl for him to keep them 
 for the reason here assigned. Bp. Sherlock. 
 
 S. — Zidun, — Misrephoth-maim, — Mizpch'\ Zidon, a city of 
 note, to the northwest of Cana;ui, on the Mediterranean sch. 
 The word Misrephotli-maim is understood by some to denote 
 " salt pits," by others, to signify " hot waters;" all agree in plac- 
 ing it near Zidon. The valley of Mizpeh must denote some valley 
 adjoining tc mount Gilead: as this lay " eastward," it appc;u^ that 
 the defeated Canaanites in their confusion fled, some to the cast, 
 and others to the west. Bp. Patrick, Dr. JVelL^. 
 
 1 3. — the cities that .stood still in their .itrcngth,2 It appears 
 tliat the Israelites forbore to destroy tliose cities, whose walls 
 were not battered down, or whicli were seated on an eminence, 
 and of greater strengtli; reserving them for habitations for them< 
 sehes. Dr. Jfclls. 
 
 1 7. — Halak, — Baal-gadl Halak, the boundary of the coun- 
 • of Edora, and consequently of Joshua's conquest, soutliward; 
 
 Baal-gad, the boundary northward. Dr. Wells. 
 
 18. Joshua made ivar a long time'} It is computed by many, 
 
 try
 
 The Amk'ims cut off. 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 Thirty-one Icings smitten by Joshua. 
 
 Bdbf. with the children of Israel, save '' the Hi- 
 *^"fsi*'^vites the inhabitants of Gibcon: all other 
 <cii»p.9.3. they took in battle. 
 
 '20 For it %sas of the Lord to harden 
 their hearts, that they should come against 
 Israel in battle, that he mis;ht destroy them 
 utterlv, and tliat tliey mioht have no fa- 
 vour, but that he mi^^ht destroy them, as 
 the Loiu) commanded Moses. 
 
 21 IT And at that time came Joshua, and 
 cut off* the Anakims from the mountains, 
 from Hebron, from Dchir, from Anab, 
 and from all the mountains of Judah, and 
 from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua 
 destroyed them utterly with their cities. 
 
 2i2 There was none" of the Anakims left 
 in the land of the children of Israel: only 
 in Gaza, in Gath, and in Aslidod, there 
 remained. 
 
 23 So Joshua took the whole land, ac- 
 cording to all that the Lokd said unto 
 Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inherit- 
 ance unto Israel " according to tlieir divi- 
 sions by their tribes. And the land rested 
 irom war. 
 
 ' Numb. 
 
 96. 5 1. 
 
 1«8. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 1 The two kings n-hosc countries Moses look anil disposed 
 of. 7 The one and thirty kings on the other side Jor- 
 dan which Joshua smote. 
 
 NOW these are the kings of the land, 
 which the children of Israel smote, 
 and possessed their land on the other side 
 Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from 
 the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and 
 all the plain on the east : 
 • Numb. 2 > Sihon kin<ij of the Amorites, who 
 bent. 3. 6. dwelt in lleshbon, and ruled from Aroer, 
 which is upon tiie bank of the river Arnon, 
 and from the middle of the river, and from 
 half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, 
 •which is the border of the children of Am- 
 mon; 
 
 3 And from the plain to the sea of Chin- 
 neroth on the east, and unto the sea of the 
 plain, even the salt sea on the east, the way 
 
 that Joshua spent six years in this war before he could finish it. 
 Bn. Patrick. Josephus reckons that it lasted five years. Dr. 
 Hales. God Himself assigns the reason at Exod. .\xiii. 29, why 
 the war was so long continued: " I will not drive them out from 
 before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, &c." 
 Stackhoiue. 
 
 20. — 1/ was of the Lord to harden their hearts,'} God left 
 these thoughtlesii ant! irreclaimable jHJople to the impulse of their 
 own {>assions, and tlie effects of those judgments which Moses 
 had formerly pronounced upon them. PyL: 
 
 .**• — "U Ihe muunlains of Judah, — of Israel:'] The moun- 
 tainous country which, in the distribution of lands made soon 
 after, fell to the tribe of Judah,— and to the rest of the tribes of 
 Israel. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 to Beth-jeshinioth; and from II the south, 
 under || ''Ashdoth-pisgah: 
 
 4 % And the coast of Og king of Bashan, 
 xfhich was of "^ the remnant of the giants, 
 that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, 
 
 5 And reigned in mount Hermon, and 
 in Salcah, and in all Bashan, unto the bor- 
 der of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, 
 and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king 
 of Heshbon. 
 
 (i Them did Moses the servant of the 
 LoKD and the children of Israel smite: 
 and '' Moses the servant of the Lord gave 
 it Jbr a possession unto the Reubenites, 
 and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Ma- 
 nasseh. 
 
 7 ^ And these are the kings of the 
 country which Joshua and the children of 
 Israel smote on this side Jordan on the 
 west, from Baal-gad in the valley of Leba- 
 non even unto ' the mount Halak, that go- 
 eth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto 
 the tribes of Israelyor a possession accord- 
 ing to their divisions; 
 
 8 In the mountains, and in the valleys, 
 and in the plains, and in the springs, and 
 in the wilderness, and in the south coun- 
 try ; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the 
 Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and 
 the Jebusites : 
 
 9 ^ "^ The king of Jericho, one; ^ the 
 king of Ai, which is beside Beth-el, one; 
 
 10 "The king of Jerusalem, one; the 
 king of Hebron, one; 
 
 11 The king of Jarmuth, one; the king 
 of Lachish, one; 
 
 12 The king of Eglon, one; 'the king 
 of Gezer, one; 
 
 13 "The king of Debir, one; the king 
 of Geder, one; 
 
 14< The king of Hormah, one; the king 
 of Arad, one ; 
 
 15 ' The king of Libnah, one; the king 
 of AduUam, one; 
 
 16 ""The king of Makkedah, one; the 
 king of Beth-el, one ; 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1452. 
 
 II Or. 
 Timan. 
 II Or, 
 
 (//f? springs 
 I if Pitgaft, 
 or tfti' hill. 
 ' Dout. 3. 
 17 & 4. 49. 
 "" Deut 3. 
 11. 
 
 cliap. 13. 
 li.'. 
 
 ' Numb 
 32. 29. 
 Dcut.3. 12. 
 chap. 13. 6. 
 
 ' Cliap. 11. 
 17. 
 
 nsi. 
 
 'Chap. 6. 2. 
 
 « Chap. 8. 
 
 29. 
 
 " Chiip. 10. 
 
 23. 
 
 i Chqp. la 
 
 33. 
 
 " Chap. 10. 
 38. 
 
 > Chap. 10. 
 
 29. 
 
 "* Cliap. id, 
 
 28. 
 
 22. — Gaza, — Gath, — Ashdod,'] Three cities of the Philis- 
 tines, wliose country the Israelites did not possess till the time of 
 David. 
 
 Chap. XII. ver. 1. Now these are the kings of the land, &C.] 
 The inspired author of this book, before he gives an account of 
 the division of the land, thinks fit to lay down, as in a table, be- 
 fore the re.-ider's eyes, the lands which had been conquered, and 
 were now to be divided. 
 
 8. In the mountains, and in the valleys, &c.] In the former part 
 of this verse, the country is described according to its face and 
 general condition : in the latter part, " the Hittites, Amo- 
 rites. &c." it is described according to its former inhabitants. 
 Dr. Wells. • ' '
 
 Bounds of the land not yet conquered. CHAP. XII, XIII. Inheritance of the ixcu tribes and half. 
 
 4 From the south, all the land of the ^«*'« 
 
 1445. 
 
 ^^J%rr 17 The king of Tapjiuah, one ; the king 
 1451. 01 lieplier, one ; 
 
 18 The king of Aphek, one ; the king 
 H Or, of II Lasharon, one ; 
 shar„n. 19 The king of Madon, one ; " the king 
 
 Cusp. 11. r* T T 
 
 10. or Hazor, one ; 
 
 1450. 20 The king of Shimron-meron, one ; 
 the king of Achshaph, one ; 
 
 21 The king of Taanaoh, one ; the king 
 of Megiddo, one ; 
 
 @2 The king of ;Kedesh, one ; the king 
 of Jokneam of Curmel, one ; 
 
 28 The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, 
 • Gen. H. one; the king of * the nations of Gilgal, 
 '• one ; 
 
 24 The king of Tirzah, one : all the kings 
 thirty and one. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 1 Tlie bounds of the land not yel conquered. 8 Tlie in- 
 heritance of the two tribes and half. J 4, 33 The Lord 
 and his sacrijices are tlie in/teritance of Levi. 15 The 
 Ijounds of the inheritance of Reuben. 22 Balaam 
 slain. 24 The bounds of tlie inheritance qf Ga4, 29 
 and of tlie IialJ tribe of Manasssh. 
 
 NOW Joshua was old and stricken in 
 years ; and the Lord said unto him. 
 Thou art old and stricken in years, and 
 t Heb. there remaineth yet very much land t to 
 ,o,,o.sc„u. be possessed. 
 
 2 This is the land that yet remaineth : 
 all the borders of the Philistines, and all 
 Geshuri, 
 
 3 From Sihor, which is before Eg}'pt, 
 even unto the borders of Ekron northward, 
 •which is counted to the Canaanite : five 
 lords of the Philistines ; the Gazathites, 
 and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the 
 Gittites, and the Ekronites ; also the Av- 
 ites : 
 
 23. — /i-ing of the nations of Gilgal,'] This does not mean the 
 Gilgal, where Joshua encamped when he first passed over Jordan. 
 It is by some supposed to mean the coiintry of Galilee. Bp. Pa- 
 trick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 24. — all the kings fliirti/ and one.] As so small a country was 
 divided among so many kings, it is evident that, by the tei-m 
 '■ kings," we ai-e merely to understand petty princes, or lords 
 perhaps of some single cities, with a few dependent villages, 
 whose inhabitants were their tenants. Bp. Patrick. See the note 
 on Deut. xxxiii. 5. 
 
 Chap. XIJI. ver. 1. Now Joshua mas old] To what age he was 
 now advanced we cannot certainly know, because we do not 
 know what his age was, when he came out of Egypt. Some 
 think he was then forty-three ; according to which he was 
 eighty-three when they came into Canaan ; and now, it may be 
 gathered from many probable conjectures, that he wanted not 
 much of a hundred. Since fi-om his declining years he could 
 not hope to conquer the " land which yet remained," he is 
 commanded now to beirin the business of dividing the land 
 of Canaan among the several tribos. It should be always re- 
 membered, that the promise made by God of driving out the 
 Vol. I. 
 
 Canaanites, and II Mearali that is beside ^^f ^^ 
 
 1145. 
 
 the Sidonians, unto Aphek, to the borders « Or, 
 of the Amorites : '*« "»'• 
 
 5 And the land of the Giblite.s and all 
 Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baal- 
 gad under mount Hermon unto the enter- 
 ing into Hamath. 
 
 6 All the inliabitants of the hill country 
 from Lebanon unto Misrephoth-maim, and 
 all the Sidonians, them will I drive out 
 from before the children of Israel : only 
 divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites 
 for an inheritance, as I have commanded 
 thee. 
 
 7 Now therefore divide this land for an 
 inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the 
 half tribe of Manasseh, 
 
 8 With whom the Reubenites and the 
 Gadites have received their inheritance, 
 
 * which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan * Numb, 
 eastward, even as Moses the servant of the ceul^s is 
 Lord gave them ; chap. 22. 4. 
 
 9 From Aroer, that is upon the bank of 
 the river Arnon, and the city that is in the 
 midst of the river, and all the plain of Me- 
 deba unto Dibon ; 
 
 10 And all the cities of Sihon king of 
 the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, 
 unto the border of the children of Am- 
 mon ; 
 
 11 And Gilead, and the border of the 
 Geshurites and Maachathites,and all mount 
 Hermon, and all Baslian unto Salcah ; 
 
 12 All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, 
 which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, 
 
 who remained of '' the remnant of the gi- » oeut s. 
 ants : for these did Moses smite, and cast ^^J^ , ^ 
 them out. ' *'"' 
 
 13 Nevertheless the children of Israel 
 
 old inhabitants, (" Them will I drive out," ver. 6 ;) was con- 
 ditional, and depended on the adherence of the Israelites to His 
 worship and service. Accordingly, in consequence of tiieir fla- 
 grant and repeated disobedience, they only partially deserved the 
 lulfilment of the promise. We do not read that the Sidonians, 
 ver. G, were ever conquered by the Israelites, and the people of 
 Lebanon were not made tributary till the diiys of David and So- 
 lomon. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 For the situation of the several tribes, and the boundiiries of 
 their different allotments, the reader is referred to the map of 
 Canaan, illustrating the book of Joshua, Sec. in which the places 
 here mentioned are laid down with as much accuracy, as our 
 knowledge of the geography of the Holy Land admits. 
 
 9. From Aroer, Sic] Joshua, having in the foregoing verses, 
 1 — 8, set down what command he had received from God, saw 
 fit to repeat here the division of the land east of Jordan, between 
 the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, in 
 order to prevent any future disputes about the matter, and to 
 preclude the possibility of undue cLums being set up by any of 
 the tribes to the allotments of the others, whether east or west of 
 Jordan. Accordingly, he begins with describing the extent of 
 the whole country beyond or east of Jordan. Dr. f Veils. 
 
 3 K
 
 Inheritance qflieubev, Gad, 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 and of the half tribe of Manasseh. 
 
 the 
 ites 
 
 Brfof exi)eIlod not the Gcshiirites, nor the Maa 
 *"'.""•"■ di'ithites : but the Geshurites and the 
 Maacliathites chvell among the Israehte! 
 until tliis day. 
 
 11. Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave 
 none inheritance ; the sacrifices of tlie 
 Loud (iod of Israel made by fire arc then- 
 inheritance, as he said unto them. 
 
 15 ^\ And Moses pave unto the tribe of 
 the children of Reuben inheritance accord- 
 ing to their families. 
 
 1() And their coast was from Aroer, that 
 is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the 
 city that is in the midst of the river, and 
 all the plain bv Medeba ; 
 
 17 llcshbon, and all her cities that are 
 B Or, tiu in the plain ; Dibon, and || Bamoth-baal, 
 ''Ta'aT' ""'^ Bcth-baal-meon, 
 "ind'homc 18 And Jahaza, and Kedemoth, and Me- 
 
 t'T'' pl>'iath, 
 
 19 And Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and 
 
 Zareth-sliahar in the mount of the valley, 
 •Dcui.3. i20 And Beth-pcor, and HI Ashdoth- 
 J'br, pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth, 
 ,,,r.n^,„f o\ And all the cities of the plain, and 
 fi'/hm."'' all the kingdom of Sihon king of the 
 
 Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, 
 * Numi.. whom Moses smote ^ with the princes of 
 '"•"• Midian, Evi, and llekcm, and Zur, and 
 
 llur, and lleba, xdiich xcere dukes of Sihon, 
 
 dwelling in the country. 
 
 2'2 % Balaam also tlie son of Beor, the 
 I Or, II soothsayer, did the ciiildren of Israel slay 
 
 Uiviner^ 
 
 with the sword among them that were 
 slain by them. 
 
 'J3 And the border of the children of 
 Reuben was Jordan, and the border there- 
 of This xcas tlie inheritance of the chil- 
 dren of Reuben after their families, the 
 cities and the villages thereof. 
 
 ^Z\ And Moses gave inheritance unto the 
 tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad 
 according to their families. 
 
 25 And their coast was Jazcr, and all 
 the cities of Gilead, and half the land of 
 the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that 
 is before Rabbah ; 
 
 26 And from Heshbon unto Ramath- 
 mi/peh, and Betonim ; and from Mahanaim 
 unto the border of Dcbir ; 
 
 27 And in the valley, Beth-aram, and 
 
 Chnp. XIV. ver. T. And lliae tire l/ie cwiiilriex'J This diaptcr is 
 a kind of prcl'acc to the 15th, iCth, &c. cii.ipters ; and the coun- 
 tries here meant are those of whicli the division is detailed in 
 them. 
 
 4. For Ihf children of Joseph n-ere two Iril/es,'] The privilege of 
 tlie firstborn was transferred from Reuben to Joseph, 1 Chron. 
 V. 1, 2 ; so tha.t a double portion was given to his descendants. 
 
 Beth-nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, (,j"*jj"[sx 
 the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of 1445. 
 Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even un- 
 to the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on 
 the other side Jordan eastward. 
 
 28 This is the inheritance of the chil- 
 dren of Gad after their families, the cities, 
 and their villages. 
 
 29 % And Moses gave i7iheritance unto 
 the half tribe of Manasseh: and-////.v was 
 the jwssession of the half tribe of the chil- 
 dren of Manasseh by their families. 
 
 30 And their coast was from Mahanaim, 
 all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of 
 Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which 
 are in Bashan, threescore cities : 
 
 ."31 And half (jilead, and Ashtaroth, and 
 Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in 
 Bashan, xoerc pertaining unto the children 
 of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to 
 the one half of the " children of Machir by ' Numi.. 
 their families. ^-- •'^'■ 
 
 32 These are tlie cotrntries which Moses 
 did distribute for inheritance in the plains 
 of Moab, on the other side Jordan, by Je- 
 richo, eastward. 
 
 33 ' But unto the tribe of Levi Moses 'Chap. is. 
 gave not any inheritance : the Lord God '■ 
 
 of Israel teas their inheritance, ^ as he said '/""g"'"" 
 unto them. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 1 Ttte nine Iribex and a half arc to have their inherit- 
 ance by lot. 6 Caleb by privilege oblainelh Hebron. 
 
 AND these are the countries vihxch the a'-o^'iiH- 
 children of Israel inherited in the 
 land of Canaan, ^ which Eleazar the priest, = Numb. 
 and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads ^i- '7. 
 of the fathers of the tribes of the chil- 
 dren of Israel, distributed for inheritance 
 to them. 
 
 2 '' By lot xcas their inheritance, as the ' Ni>mi). 
 LoHD commanded by the hand of Moses, ;;*!!m! 
 for the nine tribes, and/or the lialf tribe. 
 
 3 Eor Moses had given the inheritance 
 of two tribes and an half tribe on the other 
 side Jordan : but inito the Levites he gave 
 none inheritance among them. 
 
 4 For the children of Joseph were two 
 tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim : therefore 
 
 as two tribes spranp from his two sons, Manasseh and Eplirainr. 
 Thus there were still twelve tribes to share the land, with- 
 out reckoning Levi as one. The Levites, as it follows in this 
 verse, had no part in the land, except cities to dwell in : they 
 had them for a habitation, not for a possession, and could not 
 sell them, as the other tribes could their possessions. Bp. Pa- 
 trick.
 
 Caleb ohtaineth Hebron. 
 
 CHAP. XIV, XV 
 
 The borders of the lot ofjudah. 
 
 14. 24. 
 
 ■HR°rsT *^'^^y ^^^^ ""^ P^^^ ""^^ *^^*^ Levites in the 
 ^bout 1444. land, save cities to dwell in, with their 
 suburbs for their cattle and for their sub- 
 stance. 
 ■= Numb. 5 <^ x% the Lord commanded Moses, so 
 ■:.p. 21. 2. the children of Israel did, and they divided 
 the land. 
 
 6 ^ Then the children of Judah came 
 unto Joshua in Gilgal : and Caleb the son 
 of Jephunneh the Kenezite .said unto him. 
 Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said 
 unto Moses the man of God concerning me 
 and thee in Kadesh-burnea. 
 
 7 Forty years old "was I when Moses the 
 servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh- 
 barnca to espy out the land ; and I brought 
 him woid again as it 'ccas in mine heart. 
 
 8 Nevertheless my brethren that went 
 up with me made the heart of the people 
 
 ^xumb. melt: but I wholly "^ followed the Lord 
 ray God. 
 
 9 And Moses sware on that day, saying. 
 Surely the land whereon thy feet have trod- 
 den shall be thine inheritance, and thy 
 children's for ever, because thou hast 
 wholly followed the Lord my God. 
 
 10 And now, behold, the Lord hath kept 
 me alive, as he said, these forty and live 
 years, even since the Lord spake this word 
 unto Moses, while the children of Israel 
 + wandered in the wilderness: and now, 
 
 1444. lo, I avi this day fourscore and five years 
 old. 
 
 Eccr' 1 1 " As yet I am as strong this day as / 
 
 ivas in the day that Moses sent me : as my 
 strength Kas then, even so is my strength 
 now, tor war, both to go out, and to come 
 in. 
 
 12 !^^^ow therefore give me this mountain, 
 
 6. Then the children of Judah &c.]] Before the division of the 
 land began, (perhajjs before the conclusion of the wai-, as may 
 be inferred from the last words of this chapter,) the claim of 
 C'.ileb to a peculiar posses.sion is preferred by some of his bre- 
 thren, according to tlie promise made first by God Himself, 
 Numb. xiv. Si ; and repeated by Moses, Dent. i. oQ. Joshua 
 accordingly blessed him, vcr. 13, that is, acknowledged his 
 deserts, and besought God to prosper him in his uniiertak- 
 ing ; and gave him the moimtain, (or mountainous country,) 
 ver. 12, IJ, of Hebron, not the city of Hebron, for that was a 
 city allotted to the priests. Josh. xxi. IJ, \'3. Up. Patrick, Dr. 
 WelU. 
 
 10. — these forty and Jive i/ear.i,'^ The children of Israel wan- 
 dered in the wilderness thirty-eight years after the promise made 
 to Moses respecting Caleb. Hence it appears, that, at the time 
 when Caleb spoke this, seven years had passed since their first 
 arrival in Canaan. As to the time whidi followed, between the 
 complete division of the land, and tlie death of Joshua, it is not 
 set down in this book, nor have we any means of making a ))ro- 
 bable conjecture. It is said ind'ed at Josh, xxiii. 1, that a long 
 time after God had given rest luito Israel, .Joshua waxed old ; 
 >Tom which expression it niaj' well be inferred, that the period 
 
 T Heh. 
 
 ore 
 ST 
 
 whereof the Lord spake in tlial day ; for i^efoi 
 thou heardest in that day how the Anakims ^"«l' 
 xcere there, and that the cities u-ere great 
 and fenced : if so be the Lord rci/l be with 
 me, then I shall be able to drive them out, 
 as the Lord said. 
 
 13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave 
 unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron 
 for an inheritance. 
 
 14 'Hebron therefore became the in-'ciiap. 21. 
 heritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh I^mm. 2. 
 the Kenezite unto this day, because tliat *"• 
 
 he wholly followed the Lord God of Is- 
 rael. 
 
 15 And ^ the name of Hebron before 'Ch»p-i5. 
 xvas Kirjath-arba ; nhich Arba nas a great 
 
 man among the Anakims. And the laud 
 had rest from war. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 I The borders of the lot ofjudah. 13 Caleb's portion 
 and conquest. I6 Othniel,for his valour, hath Achsah, 
 Caleb's daughter, lo n'ij'c. 1 8 She obtaincth a blessing 
 of her father. 21 The cities ofjudah. 63 The 
 Jebusites not conquered. 
 
 rHIS then was the lot of the tribe of 
 the children of Judah by their fami- 
 lies ; " even to the border of Edom the * ^''"»''. 
 ^ wilderness of Zin southward "n-as the ut- i- Numb, 
 termost part of the south coast. ^^- ^*'- 
 
 2 And their south border was from the 
 shore of the salt sea, from the t bay that t Heb. 
 looketh southward : ""«'"• 
 
 3 And it went out to the south side to 
 
 II Maaleh-acrabbim, and passed along to II Or, 
 Zin, and ascended up on the south side YoAcnb-'' 
 unto Kadesh-barnea, and passed along to *""• 
 Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetch- 
 
 ed a compass to Karkaa : 
 
 should not be restrained to seven or ten years, but m.iy rather be 
 thought to extend to twenty, as Dupin computes. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 Chap. XN'^. ver. 1 . This then was the lot &C.3 In respect to the 
 division of the land of Canaan, it is well deserving of remark, that 
 as Jacob and Moses, at the approach of their deaths, foretold the 
 very soil and situation of every particidar coimtry that should 
 fall to each tribe, so, on this distribution of tlie lots, it actually 
 came to pass. To the tribe ofjudah, there fell a country abound- 
 ing with vines and pasture grounds, C^en. xlix. 11 ; to that of 
 Asher, one plenteous in oil, iron, and brass, Deut. xxxiii. 24- ; to 
 that of Naphtali, one extending from the west to the south of Ju- 
 dea, Deut. xxxiii. 23 ; to that of Ilenj.nmiii, one in which the tem- 
 ple was afterwards built, Deut. xxxiii. 12 ; to that of /ebuhm, a 
 countrj' abounding in sea jiorts. Gen. xlix. 13; to tiiose of Ephraim 
 and Manasseh, countries renowned for their precious fruits, Deut. 
 xxxiii. li; ;.nd to those of .Sin-eon and Levi, no particular coun- 
 tries at all, forasmuch as the former had a portion with Judah, 
 and the latter was dispersed through the several tribes. Since, 
 therefore, each pju-ticular lot answered so exactly to eacli predic- 
 tion, we are supplied with the most indisputable proof that tliere 
 
 3 K2
 
 The borders of the lot ofjiidafi. 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 Caleb's portion and conquest. 
 
 B«rurr 1 From tficnce it passed toward Azmoii, 
 ''"«i" rmd wiMit out unto the river of Ej?ypt ; and 
 the {goings out oi" that coast were at the 
 sea : this shall be your soutli coast. 
 
 5 And the east border u-as the salt sea, 
 even unto tlic end oi" Jordan. And t/ieir 
 border in the north quarter ~d-(is from the 
 bay of the sea at the uttennost part of 
 Jordan : 
 
 () And the border went up to Beth-hogla, 
 and i)assed along by the north of Betli-ara- 
 bah ; and the border went up to the stone 
 of Bohan the son of Reuben : 
 
 7 And tiic border went up toward Debir 
 from tlie valley of Achor, anil so north- 
 ward, looking toward Gilgal, that /a- before 
 the going up to Adummim, which is on 
 the south side of tlie river: and the bor- 
 der passed toward tlie waters of En-she- 
 niesh, and the goings out thereof were at 
 ' I King% ' En-rogel : 
 
 *■ ^' 8 And the border went up by the valley 
 
 of the son of Hinnom unto the south side 
 of the Jebusite ; the same is Jerusalem : 
 and the border went up to the top of the 
 mountain that lie/fi before the \alley of 
 Hinnom westward, which is at the end of 
 the valley of the giants northward : 
 
 9 And the border was drawn from the 
 top of the hill unto the fountain of the wa- 
 ter of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities 
 of mount Ephron ; and the border was 
 drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjath-jearim : 
 
 10 And the border compassed from 
 Baalah westward unto mount Seir, and 
 passed along unto tiie side of mount Jea- 
 rim, which is Chesalon, on the north side, 
 and went down to Beth-shemesh, and pass- 
 ed on to Tininah : 
 
 11 And the border went out unto the 
 side of Ekron northward : and the border 
 was dfawn to Shicron, and passed along to 
 mount Baalah, and went out unto Jabneel ; 
 and the goings out of the border were at 
 the sea. 
 
 1^2 And the west border xcas to the great 
 sea, and the coast thercoj'. This is the coast 
 of the children of Judah round about ac- 
 cording to their families. 
 
 ivas Divine inspiration in these pretlictions, aiid Divine direction 
 in the distribution of the lots. Slackhouse. 
 
 >-• — This it ihe coaxt of lite children of Jiidali'] Thus their 
 lot was lH«un(le<l on all sides, in the first draujjht of it : but beinn- 
 al\crwards found t<xi large, it was contracted into a narrower 
 rompn»5. that more room might be made for the tribe of Simeon, 
 who hiid part of this lot given to them ; and other places were 
 talwn out of it for the tribes of Benjamin luid Dan, as will appear 
 a» Josh. xix. I , ;», &c Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18. — the lighted off her ass ;] This was done in reverence to ' 
 
 IS % And unto Caleb the son of Jc- cj'J*J^[|.j. 
 phiiimeh he gave a part among the chil- 1444. 
 dren of Judah, according to the command- 
 ment of the Lord to Joshua, ewn '' II the ' ^'"'p- "• 
 city of Arba the father of Anak, which citj/ n br, 
 is Hebron. ^^''■ 
 
 14 And Caleb drove thence ' the three 'jniig. 1. 
 sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and '°- 
 Talmai, tlie children of Anak. 
 
 15 And he went up thence to the in>- 
 habitants of Debir : and the name of Debir 
 before was Kirjatli-sei)her. 
 
 10 ^ And Caleb said. He that smiteth 
 Kirjatli-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I 
 give Achsah my daughter to wife. 
 
 17 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the 
 brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him 
 Achsah his daughter to wife. 
 
 18 And it came to pass, as she came 
 unto him, that she moved him to ask of her 
 father a field : and slie lighted off licr ass ; 
 and Caleb said' unto her, What wouldest 
 thou ? 
 
 19 W[\o answered, Give me a blessing; 
 for thou hast given me a south land ; give 
 me also springs of water. And he gave 
 her the upper springs, and the nether 
 springs. 
 
 20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of 
 the children of Judah according to their 
 families. 
 
 21 And the uttermost cities of the tribe 
 of the children of Judah toward the coast 
 of Edom southward were Kabzeel, and 
 Eder, and Jagur, 
 
 22 And Kinah, and Dimonah, and Ada- 
 dah, 
 
 23 And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan, 
 21' Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth, 
 
 25 And Hazor, Hadattah, and Kerioth, 
 and Hczron, whicli is Hazor, 
 
 2() Amam, and Shema, and Moladah, 
 
 27 And Hazar-gaddah, and Heshmon, 
 and Beth-palet, 
 
 28 Antl Hazar-shual, and Beer-sheba, 
 and Bizjothjah, 
 
 29 Baalah, and lim, and Azem, 
 
 30 And Eltolad, and Chesil, and Hor- 
 mah. 
 
 her father. The alighting of those that ride is considered in the 
 East as an expression of deep respect. Pococke tells us, that they 
 descend from their asses in Kg3'pt wlien they come near some 
 tombs tiiere, and that Cin-istians and Jews are obliged to submit- 
 to thi.'i. Harmcr. Caleb's daughter asked him for " a blessing," 
 that is, for a gift or favour : he had given, as she describes, a 
 south l:md, that is, probably, a dry and moiintiiinous land to- 
 wards the south, exposed to the sun and scorching winds, and 
 she begs for a field with some springs of water. Caleb appears 
 to grant her more than she desired, both " the upper and nether
 
 The cities of Jiidah. 
 
 CHAP. XV, XVI. 
 
 The borders of the sans' of Joseph, 
 
 nSi°T%T 31 And Ziklag, and Madmannah, and 
 14 14. bansannaii, 
 
 32 And Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, 
 and Riinmon : all the cities are twenty and 
 nine, with their villages : 
 
 33 And in the valley, Eshtaol, and Zo- 
 reah, and Ashnah, 
 
 34 And Zanoah, and En-gaiinim, Tap- 
 puah, and Enam, 
 
 35 Jarmutli, and Adullam, Socoh, and 
 Azekah, 
 
 36 And Sharaim, and Adithaim, and 
 e Or, (.,•. Gederah, || a4id Gederothaim ; fourteen ci- 
 ties with their villages : 
 
 37 Zenan,and Hadashah,and Migdalgad, 
 
 38 And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Jok- 
 tiieel, 
 
 39 Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon, 
 
 40 And Cabboii, and Laliniam, and 
 Kithlish, 
 
 4-'l And Gederoth, Beth-dagon, and Naa- 
 mah, and Makkodah ; sixteen cities with 
 their villages : 
 
 42 Libnah, and Ether, and Ashan, 
 
 43 And Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and 
 Nezib, 
 
 44< And Keilah, and Achzil), and Mare- 
 shah ; nine cities with their villages : 
 
 45 Ekron, with her towns and her vil- 
 lages : 
 
 46 From Ekron even unto the sea, all 
 l^T' ^^^^ ^'^y ^ "^^^' A^'^'^^od, with their villages: 
 ^ *'""" 4y Ashdod with her towns and her vil- 
 lages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, 
 unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, 
 and the border theraf: 
 
 4<8 ^ And in the mountains, Shamir, and 
 Jattir, and Socoh, 
 
 49 And Dannah, and Kirjath-sannah, 
 which is Debir, 
 
 50 And Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim, 
 
 51 And Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh ; 
 eleven cities with their villages : 
 
 52 Arab, and Dumah, and Eshean, 
 
 g Or, 53 And HJunum, and Beth-tappuah, and 
 
 jmus. Aphekah, 
 
 f ciinp. 14. 51' And Humtah, and ^ Kirjath-arba, 
 
 which is Hebron, and Zior ; nine cities 
 
 with their villages : 
 
 15 
 
 springs," those which were iu the mountain and those which 
 wore below. Bp. Pabkl: 
 
 32. — all the cilie.i are twenty and nine,'] No less than thirty- 
 eight places have been mentioned. The difTerence is explained, 
 eitlier by supposing that twenty-nine only of the places mention- 
 etl could be called cities ; or that, of the thirty-eight here men- 
 tioned as first given to Judah, nine were afterwards given to 
 Simeon, Josh. .\ix. 2, 3 ; and so are considered in the general 
 amount, as belonging to that tribe. 
 
 ^Q- — fourteen citiesj Fifteen have been mentioned : the two 
 
 1ST 
 
 1414. 
 
 55 Maon, Carmei, and Ziph, and Jut- ^^JP'l 
 tab, 
 
 56 And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Za 
 noah, 
 
 57 Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah ; ten ci- 
 ties with their villages : 
 
 58 Halhul, Beth-zur, and Gedor, 
 
 59 And Maarath, and Beth-anoth, and 
 Eltekon ; six cities with their villages : 
 
 60 Kiijath-baal, which is Kirjath-jearim, 
 and Rabbah ; two cities with their vil- 
 lages : 
 
 61 In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Mid- 
 din, and Secacah, 
 
 C2 And Nibshan, arid the city of Salt, 
 and En-getli ; six cities with their vil- 
 lages. 
 
 63 ^ As for the Jebusites the inhabitants 
 of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could 
 not drive tliem out : but the Jebusites 
 dwell with the children of Judah at Jeru- 
 salem unto this day. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 1 The general borders of the sons of Joseph. 5 The 
 border of the inheritance of Ephi-aim. 10 T/ic Ca- 
 naanites not conquered. 
 
 AND the lot of the childi-en of Joseph 
 t fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto t Hei.. 
 the water of Jericho on the east, to the ^-'^"'f'^'''- 
 wilderness that goeth up from Jericho 
 throughout mount Beth-el, 
 
 2 And goeth out from Beth-el to ^ Luz, » judg. i. 
 and passeth along unto the borders of Archi -''■ 
 
 to Ataroth, 
 
 3 And goeth down westward to the 
 coast of Japhleti, unto the coast of Beth- 
 horon the nether, and to Gezer : and tile 
 goings out thereof are at the sea. 
 
 4 So the children of Joseph, Manasseh 
 and Ephraim, took their inheritance. 
 
 5 % And the border of the children of 
 Ephraim according to their families was 
 thus : e^en the border of their inheritance 
 on the cast side was Ataroth-addar, unto 
 Beth-horon the upper ; 
 
 6 And the border went out toward the 
 sea to Michmethah on the north side ; and 
 the border went about eastward unto Taa- 
 
 last are probably names of tile same place, Gederah, or Gedero- 
 thaim, as the margin gives it. 
 
 0'.'). — tite Jebusites dwelt] The Jebusites (descended from 
 Jebus, the son of Canaan) possessed the town of Jerusalem till 
 after the death of Joshua, Judg. i. S ; and the Ciistle till the reign 
 of David. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XV"I. ver. ]. — t/ic children of Joseph] That is, the 
 wliole tribe of Ephraim, and that half of the tribe of Manasseh,, 
 wliich had not been provided lor, east of Jordan. Dr. Wells:
 
 2'he lotofMattasscJi. 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 •Gen. 41. I 
 
 r I t. At: -*- 
 
 51. & 4fi. 
 
 Btfo" natli-sliiloli, and passed by it on the ca^t 
 CIIKIST ,,11 *■ •' 
 
 1U4. to Jaiiohali ; 
 
 7 And it went down from Janohah to 
 Ataroth, and to Naaiatli, ancl came to Je- 
 liclio, and went out at Jordan. 
 
 8 The bonier went out from Tappuah 
 westward nnto the river Kanali ; and the 
 jToiniTs out thereof were at tlic sea. This 
 )s tlie inlieritanee of tlic tribe of tlie chil- 
 dren of Ephraim by their faniiHes. 
 
 9 And the separate cities for the chil- 
 dren of Kphraiin 'xcrc among the inherit- 
 ance of the cliihheu of Manasseh, all the 
 cities with their villages. 
 
 lO'And they drave not out the Canaan- 
 ites that dwelt in Gezer : but the Canaan- 
 ites dwell among the Ephraimites unto tliis 
 day, and serve under tribute. 
 
 CHAP. xvn. 
 
 1 The lot (f Manasseh. 8 His const. 12 TJsc Canaan- 
 iles vol ilriven out. 11- The children of Joseph obtain 
 another lot. 
 
 nni'RE was also a lot for the tribe of 
 Manasseh; for he xca.^ the ^firstborn 
 2a*iu of Joseph; to xcif, for Machir the firstborn 
 Numb. 32. ^^ Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because 
 39. he was a man of war, therefore he had Gi- 
 
 lead and Bashan. 
 » Numb. o Xhere was also a lot for " the rest of the 
 children of Manasseh by their families ; for 
 the children of Abiezer, and for the chil- 
 dren of Heiek, and for the children of 
 Asriel, and for the children of .Shechem, 
 and for the children of Hepher, and for 
 the children of Shemida : these xix're the 
 male children of Manasseh the son of Jo- 
 seph by their families. 
 ' Numi,. S % But "^ Zelophehad, the son of He- 
 s?; kV P*^^'"' ^^^^ ^°" of Gilead, the son of Machir, 
 36. 2. the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but 
 daughters : and these mx' the names of his 
 daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, 
 Milcah, and Tirzah. 
 4 And tliey came near before Elcazar 
 
 9. -Ind the separate cj/i'm] That is, cities whicli were posse.'is- 
 ctl by the Ephraimitps, ahhoutrh they lay in tUe purtion of Ma- 
 nasseli ; on whieli account Uiey are here called separate cities. 
 Dr. Hells. 
 
 10. And thru drave not out &c.] See notes on Jtulg. i. The 
 conquot^t of Gezer, mentioned at Judg. i. ^£1, seeuis to be re- 
 pealeil from this place. .\s it is here said that " the Canaanitcs 
 serve under tribute itn/o this day," we are fin-ni.Hlied wiih an inci- 
 dental proof, if proof were wanting, tlut the author of this book 
 wrote before the conquest of Gezer by the king ot' Egypt, to 
 ^ve it as a jxirtion to liis daughter the wife of .Solomon, iKings 
 IX. 16. Caimd. 
 
 Ch.ip. XVII. vcr. 1. —for lie was the firstborn of Joseph;!, The 
 Hebrew particle, translated /ur, may bo translated /AoMg/i ; thtn 
 
 His coast. 
 
 litfoi-e 
 
 the priest, and before Joshua the son of ^j^^^g^ 
 Nun, and belbre the princes, saying, The, hi*. 
 Loud commanded Moses to give us an in- 
 heritance among our brethren. Theiefore 
 according to the commandment of the 
 Lord he gave them an iidicritance among 
 the brethren of their father. 
 
 5 And there fell ten jjortions to Manas- 
 seh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, 
 which xccrc on the other side Jordan ; 
 
 (i Because the daughters of Manasseh 
 had an inheritance among liis .sons : and 
 the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land 
 of Gilead. 
 
 7 ^ And the coast of Manasseh was 
 from Asher to Michmethah, that lielli be- 
 fore Shechem ; and the border went along 
 on the right hand unto the inhabitants of 
 En-tappuah. 
 
 8 ^oiv Manasseh had the land of Tap- 
 puah : but Tappuah on the border of 
 Manasseh belonged to the children of 
 Ej)hraim ; 
 
 9 And the coast descended unto the 
 
 II river Kanah, southward of the river : f ^f' ^ 
 these cities of Ephraim are among the recus. 
 cities of Manasseh : the coast of Manas- 
 seh also xvas on the north side of the 
 ri\er, and the outgoings of it were at the 
 sea: 
 
 10 Southward it xvas Ephraim's, and 
 northward it xcas Manasseh's, and the sea 
 is his border ; and they met together in 
 Asher on the north, and in Issachar 011 
 the east. 
 
 11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and 
 in Asher Beth-shean and her towns, and 
 Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants 
 of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants 
 of En-dor and her towns, and the inhabit- 
 ants of Taanach and her towns, and the in- 
 habitants of Megiddo and her towns, even 
 three countries. 
 
 12 Yet the children of Manasseh could 
 not drive out the inhabitants o/'those cities; 
 
 the meaning is plain, that the lot of Manasseh came up after that 
 of Ivphraim, not before it, thou<rh he was the firstborn of Joseph, 
 for Jacob had preferred Ephraim before him, Gen. xlviii. I9, 20. 
 The other half of tlie tribe of Manasseh, the descendants of Ma- 
 chir, Manasseh's eldest son, had received their portion before- 
 hand, on tlie eastern side of Jordan, because Machir " was a man 
 of war." Up. Patrick, Pile. 
 
 5. — there fell ten jMrlions to Manasseh,! It appears that the 
 lot was dividcil into six parts, according to tlie six sons of Manas- 
 seh, mentioned at ver. 2 ; and one of these parts, that assigned to 
 Hepher, was again divided iato five parts for the five daughters 
 mentioned .it ver. 3. Thus, on the whole, there were ten por- 
 tions. Dr. Wells. 
 
 12. — co«W not drive out the inhabitants &c.'] They could not 
 dri\e them out, Uirough want of faith in God, and of zeal to per- 
 
 I
 
 Joseph* s children obtain anothei' lot. CHAP. XVII, XVIII. 
 
 The tabernacle set up at Shiloh. 
 
 .^wo°r^-T- l^ut the Canaanites would dwell in that 
 
 CHKIoX I . 
 
 J414. land. 
 
 18 Yet it came to pass, when the chil- 
 dren of Israel were waxen strong, that they 
 put tlie Canaanites to tribute j but did not 
 utterly drive them out. 
 
 14 And the children of Joseph spake 
 unto Joshua, saying. Why hast thou given 
 me but one lot and one portion to inherit, 
 seeing I am a groat people, forasmuch as 
 the Lord hath blessed me hitherto ? 
 
 15 And Joshua answered them, If thou 
 he a great people, then get thee up to the 
 wood country, and cut down for tliyself 
 there in the land of the Perizzites and of 
 
 II Or. the II giants, if mount Ephraim be too nar- 
 row for thee. 
 
 IC And the children of Joseph said. The 
 hill is not enough for us : and all the Ca- 
 naanites that dwell in the land of the valley 
 have chariots of iron, both they who are of 
 Beth-shean and her towns, and they who 
 are of the valley of Jezreel. 
 
 17 And Joshua spake unto the house of 
 Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, 
 saying. Thou art a great people, and hast 
 great power : thou shalt not liave one lot 
 only : 
 
 18 But the mountain shall be thine ; for 
 it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down : 
 and the outgoings of it shall be thine : for 
 thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though 
 
 form His commands. Here the fountain of all tlie evils which 
 afterwards befell the Israelites, begins to be opened, in that, either 
 through sloth or covetousness, or distrust of God's power, they 
 did not attempt to drive out those people that were stronger than 
 ordinary ; or, tlirough want of faitii in God, failed in the attempt. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 13. — t/iet/ put the Canaanites to tribute;'^ Herein they griev- 
 ously offended against the Divine command; see Deut. xx. 16', 
 17 ; by which they were peremptorily commanded to destroy the 
 Canaanites when they were able. In thus putting them to tri- 
 bute, they were probably influenced by motives of indolence and 
 gain. Bp. Patrick. This early degree of sloth and worldly mind- 
 edne.ss, at\erwards displayed in other instances, Judg. i. 28, laid 
 the foundation of all the ensuing cidamities which befell the peo- 
 ple. Pyle. 
 
 14. — I'Vliif /last thou given me but one lot &c.] Tlie children 
 of Joseph, that is, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, coraphun 
 to Joshua of the narrowness of their allotment, which was in- 
 creased by the Canaanites still retaining so large a portion of it. 
 Joshua, though a descendant himself of Joseph, remained per- 
 fectly impartial ; and told them, they must enlarge the country 
 by tiieir valour, by tlriving out their enemies from the woody and 
 mountainous parts, and thus making them habitable for them- 
 selves. Pylc. 
 
 It appears that the children of Joseph, consisting of a tribe and 
 a half, and in all respects a flourishing people, had only one lot or 
 portion assigned to them in the division ; whereas, according to 
 the rate at which the lauds were assigned to the other tribes, they 
 ought to have had one portion and a half. SImckJhrd. 
 
 1 8. But the mountain shall be thine ;] Joshua consents to add 
 " tlie mountain" to their portion, wliich, as it was settled by a 
 
 they have iron chariots, and thoueh they ^Jl^lT. 
 be strong. 
 
 ST 
 
 1444. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 1 The tabei-nacle is set up at Sliiloh. 2 The renminder 
 of the land is (le.tcrilied, and divided into seven parts. 
 1 Jusliua divideth it hj lul. 1 1 I'he lot and border 
 of Benjamin. 21 Their cities. 
 
 AND the whole congregation of the 
 children of Israel a.ssembled together 
 at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the 
 congregation there. And the land was 
 subdued before them. 
 
 2 And there remained among the chil- 
 dren of Israel seven tribes, which had not 
 yet received their inlieritance. 
 
 3 And Joshua said unto the children of 
 Israel, How long are ye slack to go to pos- 
 sess the land, whicli the Lord God of your 
 fathers hath given you ? 
 
 4 Give out from among you three men 
 for each tribe . and I will send them, and 
 they shall rise, and go through the land, 
 and describe it according to the inherit- 
 ance of them ; and they shall come again 
 to me. 
 
 5 And they shall divide it into seven 
 parts : Judah shall abide in their coast on 
 the south, and the house of Joseph shall 
 abide in their coasts on tlie north. 
 
 6 Ye shall therefore describe the land 
 into seven parts, and bring tlie description 
 
 Divine decree, they, could not enlarge in any other way. " The 
 outgoings" of this were to be their's, meaning probably the pas- 
 sages to, from, and about it, and the places bordering on it Bp. 
 Hull. He concludes with an assurance, that, notwithsUinding the 
 great force and numbers of the enemies who now possessed it, 
 they should be able, with God's help, to drive them out. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XVin. ver. 1. — at Shiloh,2 This place was situated in 
 the south part of the tribe of Ephraim ; according to some, it 
 la}' about two hours' journey from Jerusalem. Tile ark, which 
 was now removed to this place, continued there, not only dur- 
 ing the remainder of Joshua's life, but also during all the times 
 of tiie judges of Israel, to the time of S;imuel tlie Prophet, and 
 just before the death of Eli the priest, ;is appeai-s from 1 Sara. iv. 
 0, fiC. Some suppose, from what is said at Deut. xii. 10, 11, that 
 the ark was placed here by the immediate direction nf God ; but 
 this seems ratlier to refer to Jerusalem, which is throughout 
 Scri])ture mentioned, as the place where God caused '' His name 
 to dwell." The real reason of the .ark being placed in the 
 tribe of Epiiraim for so long a time, was probably no other than 
 this, that Joshua himself belonged to this tribe; and as he w.as, 
 during his life, the chief administrator of tlie government, it was 
 proper that the tabernacle and ark should be in tlie same tribe. 
 It is further to be remarked, that, together with the tabernacle 
 and ark, the camp of the Israelites was now removed from Gilgal 
 to Shiloh, that is, the camp of the seven remaining tribes ; for it 
 has appeared, that two tribes and a half hati already received 
 their inherit-ince. Dr. JVclls. The whole period, during which 
 the tabernacle remained at Shiloh, is thought to be 350 yeai-s, 
 Bj). Patrick.
 
 TliC remainder of the land 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 divided by lot. 
 
 Before hither to me, thai I may cast lots for yon 
 *^"i«l" Iiere before the Loitn oiir God. 
 
 7 But the Lcvitcs Iiave no part among 
 you ; for the ])riesthood of tlie Loud is 
 their inheritance : ami Gad, and llenben. 
 and half tl>e tribe of Manasseh, liave re- 
 ceived their inheritance beyond Jordan om 
 the east, which Moses the servant of tlic 
 Loun gave thcni. : 
 
 8 ^ And the men arose, and went away: 1 
 and Joshua charged tlieni that went to i 
 describe the hind, saying. Go and walk 
 tluou'^h the land, and describe it, and 
 come a<niin to me, that 1 may here cast ; 
 lots for you before the Lord in Shiloh. 
 
 9 And the men went and passed through 
 the land, and described it by cities into 
 seven parts in a book, and came again to 
 Joshua to the host at Sliiloh. 
 
 10 il And Joshua cast lots for them in 
 Shiloh before the Lord : and there Joshua 
 divided the land unto the children of Is- 
 rael according to their divisions. 
 
 11 i[ And the lot of the tribe of the 
 children of Benjamin came up according 
 to their families : and the coast of their 
 lot came forth between the children of 
 Judah and the children of Joseph. 
 
 1'2 And their border on the north side 
 was from Jordan ; and the border went up 
 to the side of Jericho on the north side, 
 and went up through the mountains west- 
 ward ; and the goings out thereof were at 
 the wilderness ot" Beth-aven. 
 
 13 And the border went over from thence 
 toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is 
 Beth-el, southward ; and the border de- 
 scended to Ataioth-adar, near the hill that 
 licth on the south side of the nether Beth- 
 horon. 
 
 14 And the border was drawn thence, 
 and compassed the corner of the sea south- 
 ward, from the hill that Uclh before Beth- 
 horon southward ; and the goings out 
 thereof were at Kirjath-baal, which /,v Kir- 
 jath-jearim, a city of tlie children of Judah: 
 this uas the west quarter. 
 
 15 And the south quarter uas from the 
 end of Kirjath-jeariin, and the border went 
 
 9. — and described it — iulo .tercit parts in a book,'} The He- 
 brew words may siRiiify " cleline.ited it — in a b(K)k or map." 
 It is probable that they made a map of the country, drawn on a 
 conMderable scale, shewing every city and its boundaries, in 
 seven parts, which, united togetlier, formed a book. Scrivt 
 lUutl. ^ ' 
 
 U. — compa.\sed the corner of the sea soitlhnard,! It is certain 
 that the bonkr of the tribe of Benjamin did not compass any 
 comer of the Meditrrranenn sea, nor come near to it. On this 
 account il should be obscr%ed, that the Hebrew word translated 
 
 out on the west, and went out to the wdl chuTst 
 of waters of Nephtoah: imi. 
 
 16 And the border came down to 'the 
 end of the mountain that licth before the 
 vallev of the son of Hinnom, and which is 
 in tlie valley of the giants on the north, 
 and descended to the valley of Hinnom, 
 to the side of Jebusi on the south, and de- 
 scended to En-rogel, 
 
 17 And was drawn from the north, and 
 went Ibrth to En-shemesh, and went forth 
 toward Geliloth, which is over against tUe 
 going up of Adummim, and descended to 
 
 " tlie stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, * Oiap. li. 
 
 18 And passed along toward the side 
 over against 11 Arabah northward, and went 1 Or, 
 down unto Arabah : ' epnm. 
 
 19 And th.e border passed along to the 
 side of Bet'.i-hoglali northward : and the 
 outgoings o! the border were at the north 
 
 i bay of the salt sea at the south end of" t h<^'>- 
 Jordan : ihi;> zvas the south coast. tonauf. 
 
 20 And Jordan was the border of it on 
 the east side. This ti'as the inheritance of the 
 children of Benjamin, by the coasts thereof 
 round about, according to their families. 
 
 yi Now the cities of the tribe of the 
 children of Benjamin according to their 
 families were Jericho, and Beth-hoglah, 
 and the valley of Keziz, 
 
 22 And 13eth-arabah, and Zemaraim, 
 and Beth-el, 
 
 23 And Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah, 
 
 24 And Chephar-haammonai, and Oph- 
 ni, and Gaba ; twelve cities with their vil- 
 lages : 
 
 25 Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth, 
 
 26 And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and 
 Mozah, 
 
 27 And Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah, 
 
 28 And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which 
 is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kirjath ; four- 
 teen cities with their villages. This is the 
 inheritance of the children of Benjamin 
 according to their families. 
 
 CHAP. XLX. 
 
 1 Tfic lot of Simeon, \0 of Zchulun, noflssachar, 
 2-1 ofAsher, 32 of Nuphtuli, 40 of Dan. 46 The 
 children of Israel give an inheritance to Joshua. 
 
 i 
 
 " sea," may be understood to mean " the west," on which side the 
 sea (that is, tlie Great or Mediterranean sea) lay : so the same 
 word is translated in ver. 12. Thus the plain meaning of the 
 expression, " compassed the comer of the west," seems to be, that 
 the western border there made an angle or corner, as was reallv 
 the case. Dr. Wells. ^ 
 
 21. — Jericlio,'^ As the city itself had been destroyed, the 
 territory, probably, which was named from the city, is here 
 meant; or perhaps a few houses and walls were still standing in 
 the city. Bp. Patrick. **
 
 I 
 
 The lot of Simeon, Zebtdim, 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Issachar, and Asher. 
 
 leforc 
 RIST 
 
 A' 
 
 ND the second lot came forth to Si- 
 meon, even for the tribe of the chil- 
 dren of Simeon according to their fami- 
 lies: and their inheritance was within the 
 inheritance of the children of Judah. 
 
 2 And they had in their inheritance 
 Beer-sheba, Sheba, and Moladah, 
 
 3 And Hazar-shual, and Balah, and A- 
 zem, 
 
 4 And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, 
 
 5 And Ziklag, and Beth-marcabotli, and 
 Hazar-susah, 
 
 6 And Beth-lebaoth, andSharuhen; thir- 
 teen cities and their villages: 
 
 7 Ain, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan; 
 four cities and their villages: 
 
 8 And all the villages that lecre round 
 about these cities to Baalath-lieer, Ramath 
 of the south. This is the inheritance of 
 the tribe of the children of Simeon accord- 
 ing to their families. 
 
 9 Out of the portion of the children of 
 Judah lias the inheritance of the children 
 of Simeon: for the part of the children of 
 Judah was too much for them: therefore 
 the children of Simeon had their inherit- 
 ance within the inheritance of them. 
 
 10 if And the third lot came up for the 
 children of Zebulun according to their fa- 
 milies : and the border of their inheritance 
 was unto Sarid : 
 
 11 And their border went up toward the 
 sea, and Maralah, and reached to Dabba- 
 sheth, and reached to fhe river that is be- 
 fore Jokneam ; 
 
 12 And turned from Sarid eastward 
 toward the sunrising unto the border of 
 Chisloth-tabor, and then goetli out to Da- 
 berath, and goeth up to Japhia, 
 
 13 And from thence passeth on along 
 on the east to Gittah-Jicpher, to Ittah-ka- 
 zin, and goeth out to Remmou-llmethoar 
 to Neah ; 
 
 14 And the border compasscth it on the 
 north side to Hannathon : and the out- 
 
 Chap. XIX. ver. 2. — Beer-xheba, Sheba,'] Beer-sheba, ur 
 leba; different names for the same place: it is necessary tlius 
 understand, in order to make the innnber of places thirteen, as 
 tied at ver. 6. Dr. Lightfoot. 
 
 9. — the part qflhe children of Judah was loo much for them:'] 
 hose persons who were now .sent to make a new survey of the 
 hole land, found that those who had surveyed it formerly had 
 )t measured it exactly, but made one division, wliich fell to the 
 ibe of Judah, too large in proportion to the rest. A portion 
 tcordingly was taken from them, and given to the tribe of Si- 
 eon. On this account the boundaries of the tribe of Simeon, 
 1 every side, are not described, as Iiad been done with respect 
 the other tribes, because the boundaries of .ludali's possession 
 1(1 ab-eady been given, and the same cities, which, at chap. xv. 
 i— .iS, were allotted to the tribe of Judali, are iji this chapter, 
 Vol. I, 
 
 goings thereof are in the \'alley of Jiph- Before 
 thah-el: ^"«i.^^ 
 
 15 And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shim- 
 ron, and Idalah, and Beth-lehem: twelve 
 cities with their villages. 
 
 IG This is the inheritance of the children 
 of Zebulun according to their families, these 
 cities with their villages. 
 
 17 IT And the fourth lot came out to 
 Issachar, for the children of Issachar ac- 
 cording to tlieir families. 
 
 18 And their border was toward Jezreel, 
 and Chesulloth, and Shunem, 
 
 19 And Haphraim, and Shihon, and 
 Anaharath, 
 
 20 And Rabbith, and Kishion, and 
 Abez, 
 
 21 And Remeth, and En-gannim, and 
 En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez; 
 
 22 And the coast reacheth to Tabor, 
 and Shahazimah, and Beth-shemesh ; and 
 the outgoings of their border were at Jor- 
 dan : sixteen cities with their villages. 
 
 23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of 
 the children of Issachar according to their 
 families, the cities and their villages. 
 
 24 ^ And the fifth lot came out for the 
 tribe of the children of Asher according to 
 their families. 
 
 25 And their border was Helkath, and 
 Hali, and Beten, and Achshaph, 
 
 26 And Alammelech, and Amad, and 
 Misheal; and reacheth to Carmel west- 
 ward, and to Shihor-libnath; 
 
 27 And turneth toward the sunrising to 
 Beth-dagon, and reacheth to Zebulun, and 
 to the valley of Jiphthah-el toward the north 
 side of Beth-emek, and Neiel, and goeth 
 out to Cabul on the lefl hand, 
 
 28 And Hebron, and Rehob, and Ham- 
 mon, and Kanah, even unto great Zi- 
 don; 
 
 29 And then the coast turneth to Ramali, 
 
 and to the strong city t Tyre ; and the coast t ">*■ 
 turneth to Hosah ; and the outgoings there- ^'"'" 
 
 ver. 2 — S, assigned to the tribe of Simeon, lip. Patrick, Dr. 
 WeUs. 
 
 15. — twelve cities] More than twelve have been named; 
 therefore some of them are probably only mentioned as bouiula- 
 ries of the country. In the same manner, at ver. 30, the cities 
 are said to be twenty-two, although more than twenty-two have 
 been mentioned; and the same at ver. 38. 
 
 20". — Carmd ivestward,] Or Carmel iy the sea, to distin- 
 guish it from another Carmel in the tribe of Judah, near Hebron. 
 Bp. Patrick: 
 
 29. — the strong city Tt/re;] A strong and celebrated city, 
 called by the Hebrews Tsor or Zor, whence it is thought tli^t llie 
 whole adjoining country had the name of Syria gi\en it by the 
 Greeks. Dr. IVells. Its Hebrew name Tsor or Zor signifies « 
 rock. Calmet. 
 
 3L
 
 The lot ofNaphtali and Dan. 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 Joshua's inheritance. 
 
 Brf"« of are at the sea from the coast to Adi- 
 eu hist ., 
 
 .SO I'mmah also, aiul Aplick, and Reliob: 
 tweiityaiul two cities willi tiieir villafres. 
 
 31 Tliis is the inheritance of the tribe of 
 the children of Ashcr according to their fa- 
 milies, these cities with their villages. 
 
 32 % The sixth lot came out to the chil- 
 dren of Naphtali, even for the children of 
 Naphtali a'-cording to their families. 
 
 33 Anil their coast was from Heleph, 
 from AUon to Zaanannim, and Adanii, 
 Nekeb, and Jabneel, unto Lakum; and 
 the outgoings thereof were at Jordan: 
 
 31- And l/ufi the coast turneth westward 
 to Aznoth-tabor, and goeth out from thence 
 to Ilukkok, and reacheth to Zebulun on the 
 south side, and reacheth to Asher on the 
 west side, and to Judah upon Jordan to- 
 ward the sunrising. 
 
 35 And the fenced cities are Ziddim, 
 Zcr, and Hammath, Rakkath, and Chin- 
 nereth, 
 
 30 And Adamah, and Ramah, and Ha- 
 zor, 
 
 37 And Kedesh, and Edrei, and En- 
 hazor, 
 
 38 And Iron, and Migdal-el, Horcm, 
 and Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh ; nine- 
 teen cities with their villages. 
 
 39 This is the inheritance of the tribe 
 of the children of Naphtali according to 
 their families, the cities and their villages. 
 
 •1-0 % And the seventh lot came out for 
 the tribe of the children of Dan according 
 to their families. 
 
 •ll And the coast of their inheritance 
 was Zorali, and Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh, 
 
 .•'<*• — 'o Judah upon Jordan'] Tliis cannot be meant of the 
 tribe of Judah, which lay at a considerable distance from the bor- 
 der of Naphtali ; it st-ems therefore most easy and natural to un- 
 derstand it of a place so named, lying on the river Jordan, whicii 
 will account for ita beinu called,' by way of distinction, "Judah 
 ujxin Jordan." Dr. If'eUs. 
 
 46. — the border before Ja])ho.'\ This place afterwards became 
 celebrated under the name ot Joppa, and continues to this day re- 
 taining the name of Japha or Jaffa, which in Hebrew signifies 
 fair or beauliful. lip. Patrick. By comparing the cities just men- 
 tioned with those at Josh. xv. 33, it appears that many of those 
 whicil were at first .assigned to Judah, were aftenvards allotted to 
 Dan: henc-c it is reasonably supposed, that the inheritance of the 
 tribe of D.in was witliin the inheritance of the tribe of Judah- 
 this tribe is therefore, with universal .igreement, placed by geo^ 
 graphcrs in the western part of tlie portion, at first allotted to the 
 children of Judah. Dr. IVeU.i. 
 
 ♦"■ — ''«• CO"*' e/" '/'C children of Dan went out loo little for 
 Virmn In the Hebrew the words run thus: The coast of the 
 children of Dan ,re„t mil from them; that is they w'ere disposst^s- 
 !! r" '°j*"I"*' P^' ''>' their powerful neighbours the Amorites, 
 >»tiT forced them into the mountains. Bp. Patrick. The children 
 ot Uan therefore fought against, and took Leshem, a city not far 
 ttvm Jordan, cJlcd Lai.h iii the book of Judges; in aUertimes 
 
 42 And Shaalabbin, and Ajr.lon, and cjuu'si 
 Jethlah, 1444 
 
 43 And Elon, and Thimnathah, and 
 Ekron, 
 
 4t And Eltckeh, and Gibbcthon, and 
 Baalath, 
 
 45 And Jehud, and Bene-berak, and 
 Gath-rimmon, 
 
 4() And Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with 
 the border II before || Japho. « O'- »'«' 
 
 47 And the coast or the children or Dan ifor. 
 went out loo Utile for them: therefore the AcTg-sa 
 children of Dan went up to fight against 
 Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the 
 edge of the sword, and possessed it, and 
 dwelt therein, and called Leshem, ' Dan, 'J"<ise»i« 
 after the name of Dan their father. 
 
 48 This is the inheritance of the tribe 
 of the children of Dan according to their 
 families, these cities with their villages. 
 
 49 % When they had made an end of 
 dividing the land for inheritance by their 
 coasts, the children of Israel gave an in- 
 heritance to Joshua the son of Nim among 
 them : 
 
 50 According to the word of the Lord 
 they gave him the city which he asked, 
 even '' Timnath-serah in mount Ephraim : "Chap. « 
 and he built the cit}^ and dwelt there- 
 in. 
 
 51 'These are the inheritances, which 
 Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of 
 Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the i''^^ 
 tribes of the children of Israel, divided for 
 
 an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the 
 Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the 
 congregation. So thev made an end of 
 dividing the country. 
 
 30. 
 
 Numb. 
 , 34. 17. 
 
 Cesarea Philippi. They dwelt therein, or remained in iindisturb 
 ed possession of it, .ind gave it the n.ime of Dan; all this wa 
 done after Joshua's death, and is related more largely in the bool 
 of Judges, chap, xviii. It is supposed that Ezra, or some othei 
 thought good in aftertimes to insert this verse here, in order t 
 complete the account of the Danites' possession. Bp. Patrick 
 Shuckford. 
 
 50." Accmding to the word of the Jxn-J] It hence appears, al 
 though it is no where else expressed, that the Lord granted \ 
 Joshua a peculiar privilege of choosing liis portion, as He hki 
 done to Caleb. Dr. Wells. 
 
 51. — Solhey made an end of dividing the country.'] It may ge 
 nerally be remarked, that, of the midland region to the nortl 
 whicli was allotted to the tribes of Ephraim, Issachar, and Napli 
 tali, and the half of Manasseh, the lot of the sons of JosepI; 
 especially that of Ephraim, was the richest and most considerablf 
 reaching from the Jordan eastwards, to the Mediterranean se 
 westward. The remainder of the maritime coast, westward, ws 
 allotted to D.an, Zebulun, and Asher, from the Philistine horde 
 southward, to Zidon northward: for Zebulun was foretold to be 
 maritime tribe by Jacob, Gen. xlLx. 13, and Dan and Asher ar 
 declared to be so by Deborah, Jndg. v. 17. Of the souther 
 tribes, the most powerful was Judah ; of the northern, Ephraim 
 I whence originated a jealousy between the two, which broke ov
 
 The six cities 
 
 CHAP. XX, XXI. 
 
 of refuge appointed. 
 
 Kctore 
 
 ;hkist 
 
 1444. 
 
 ^ Exod. 21. 
 !■■!. 
 
 Numb. 3.'i. 
 C. 11,14. 
 Dtut. 19. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 1 God commandcih, 7 and Ike children of Israel appoint 
 tlie six cities of rejuge. 
 
 THE LolU) also spake unto Joshua, 
 saying, 
 
 2 Speak to the children of Israel, say- 
 ing, ' Appoint out for you cities of refuge, 
 whereof 1 spake unto you by the hand of 
 Moses : 
 
 3 That the slayer that killetli ani/ per- 
 son unawares and unwittingly may flee 
 thither : and they shall be your refuge 
 from the avenger of blood. 
 
 4 And when he that doth flee unto one 
 of those cities shall stand at the entering 
 of the gate of the city, and shall declare 
 his cause in the ears of the elders of that 
 city, they shall take him into the, city unto 
 them, and give him a place, tliat he may 
 dwell among them. 
 
 5 And if the avenger of blood pursue 
 after him, then they sliall not deliver the 
 slayer up into his hand ; because he smote 
 his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him 
 not beforetime. 
 
 6 And he shall dwell in that city, until 
 he stand before the congregation for judg- 
 ment, and ^ until the death of the high 
 priest that shall be in those days : then 
 shall the slayer return, and come unto his 
 own city, and unto his own house, unto 
 the city from whence he fled. 
 
 7 IF And they + appointed Kedesli in Ga- 
 lilee in mount Naphtali, and 8hechera in 
 mount Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba, which is 
 Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. 
 
 8 And on the other side Jordan by Jeri- , 
 cho eastward, they assigned " Bezer in the ! 
 wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe 
 of Reuben, and Ramoth in GUead out I 
 of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan ; 
 out of the tribe of Manasseh. i 
 
 9 These were the cities appointed for all ' 
 the children of Israel, and tor the stranger ' 
 that sojourneth among them, that whosoever 
 
 early, and laid the foundation of that fatal schism, which took 
 place on the death of Solomon, by the revolt of the ten tribes 
 under Jeroboam an Ephraimite. JJr. Hales. 
 
 Chap. XX. ver. 7. And they appointed Kedcsh &c.] It has been 
 remarked, that not only were these cities of refuge seated on high 
 and eminent phices, so that tliey might be seen afar oft", but they 
 were appointed at such di:ttances from eacli otlier, that all the 
 country might more easily have tlie benefit of one or the other of 
 them. Kedesh was in tlie north, Hebron in the south, and She- 
 chem between both. The cities on tlie otlier side Jordan, Bezer, 
 Ramoth, and Golan, had been assigned by Moses, Deut. iv. 43, 
 but did not, until now, obtain tlie privilege of cities of refuge. 
 All these fities of refuge belonged to the Levites. The expres- 
 
 * Xural). 
 as. 25. 
 
 tHcb. 
 
 sanctified. 
 
 ' Deut. 4. 
 
 43. 
 
 1 ChroB. G. 
 
 78. 
 
 Kumb. 
 
 killeth anay person at unawares might flee chr'ist 
 thither, and not die by the hand of the 1444. 
 avenger of blood, until he stood before the 
 congregation. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 1 Eii^hl and forty cities given l>i/ lot, out rif llie other 
 tribes, unto the Levites. 43 God gave the land, and 
 rest unto the Israelites, according to his promise. 
 
 THEN came near the heads of the fa- 
 thers of the Invites unto Eleazar the 
 priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, 
 and unto the heads of the fathers of the 
 tribes of the children of Israel ; 
 
 2 And they spake unto them at Shiloh 
 in the land of Canaan, saying, * The Loud ■ 
 commanded by the hand of Moses to give ' 
 us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs there- 
 of for our cattle. 
 
 3 And the children of Israel ^ave unto 
 the Levites out of their inheritance, at the 
 commandment of the Lord, these cities 
 and their suburbs. 
 
 4 And the lot came out for the families 
 of the Kohathites : and the children of 
 Aaron the priest, which rva'e of the Levites, 
 had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and 
 out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the 
 tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities. 
 
 5 And the rest of the children of Kohath 
 had by lot out of the families of the tribe 
 of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, 
 and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten 
 cities. 
 
 6 And the children of Gershon had by- 
 lot out of the families of the tribe of Issa- 
 char, and out of the tribe of Aslier, and 
 out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the 
 half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen 
 cities. 
 
 7 The children of Merari by their fa- 
 milies had out of the tribe of Reuben, and 
 out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the 
 tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. 
 
 8 And the children of Israel gave by lot 
 
 sion, ver. 8, " on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward,'' 
 means, " on the other si«le of Jordan, and to the east of Jericho." 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXI. ver. 1. Then came near the heads of tlie fathers 
 of the Levites'} Although no division of the land was assign- 
 ed to the tribe of Levi, yet abundant compensation w;is made 
 to them, in having the priesthoo<l of the Lord for their inhe- 
 ritance : and they were wisely distributed among the rest of the 
 tribes, in order to maintain the national worship, and to super, 
 intend tlie education of youth. Thus forty-eight cities were 
 appro])riated throughout sill the tribes, for the residence of the 
 three tamilies of the Levites, Koliath, Gershon, and Merork 
 Dr. Hales.
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 FJght and fort 1/ cities 
 
 M^* lujto the Lcvitcs thei5e cities with their 
 *^'{<'i{" suburbs, as tlie Lonu commanded by the 
 hand of Moses. 
 
 D ii And they gave out of tlie tnbe ot 
 the children of Judah, and out of the tribe 
 ol" tlic children of Simeon, these cities 
 t Hcb. which are here t mentioned by name, 
 caiM. 10 ^Vhich the children of Aaron, being 
 
 of the families of the Kohathites, tt7/o •iverc 
 of the children of Levi, had : for their's 
 was the first lot. 
 I Or. n And they gave them lithe city ot 
 
 .i^""" Alba the father of Anak, which citt/ is He- 
 bron, in the hill countri/ of Judah, with the 
 suburbs tlicreof round about it. 
 
 12 But the fields of the city, and the 
 
 » ch.p. M. villages thereof, gave they to " Caleb the 
 
 1 oiion 6 son of Jci)luinneh for his possession. 
 
 66. ""' ' 13 % Thus they gave to the children of 
 
 Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, 
 
 to be a. city of refuge for the slayer j and 
 
 Libnah with her suburbs. 
 
 It And Jattir with her suburbs, and 
 Eshtemoa with her suburbs, 
 
 15 And Holon with her suburbs, and 
 Debir with her suburbs. 
 
 It) And Ain with her suburbs, and Jut- 
 tah with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh 
 with her suburbs ; nine cities out of those 
 two tribes. 
 
 17 And out of the tribe of Benjamin, 
 Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba Avith her 
 suburbs, 
 
 18 Anathoth with her suburbs, and Al- 
 mon with her suburbs ; four cities. 
 
 19 All the cities of the children of Aa- 
 ron, the priests, "were thirteen cities with 
 their suburbs. 
 
 20 ^ And the families of the children 
 of Kohath, the Levites which remained 
 ol" the children of Kohath, even they had 
 the cities of their lot out of the tribe of 
 Ephraim. 
 
 21 For they gave them Shechem with 
 her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city 
 of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with 
 her suburbs, 
 
 IS. — to the children of Aaron'^ Of the forty-eight Levitical 
 cities, thirteen, ver. 13 — 19, were properly sacerdotal, being as- 
 signed to the sons of Aaron, to whom the priesthood was excUi- 
 sively confined. Altliough the cities were all assigned by lot, yet 
 it w.-is (Urected by a special Providence, that the share which fell 
 Iti Uic priests should hv in the tribes nearest to the great citj', 
 which God intended Uiould be the fixed place of His worship, to 
 the end that the priests miglit be always ready to give their 
 •tteniiance. Ep. Patrick. 
 
 It i? remarkable, that .all the cities of tlie priests laj* within 
 the Mjuthcm tribes ; eight belongijig to Judah, four to Benjartin, 
 and only one to Simeon. This was wisely allotted by Provi- 
 
 are given to the Levites. 
 
 ?2 And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and chrTst 
 Beth-horon with her suburbs ; four cities. 1444. 
 
 23 And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh 
 with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her 
 suburbs, ' 
 
 24- Aijalon with her suburbs, Gath-rim- * 
 
 mon with her suburbs ; four cities. 
 
 25 And out of the half tribe of Manas- 
 seh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gath- 
 rimmon with her suburbs ; two cities. 
 
 26 All the cities xcere ten with their 
 suburbs for the families of the children of 
 Kohath that remained. 
 
 27 1[ And unto the children of Gershon, 
 of the families of the Levites, out of the 
 other half tribe of Manasseh they gave 
 Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a 
 city of refuge for the slayer ; and Beesh- 
 terah with her suburbs ; two cities. 
 
 28 And out of the tribe of Issachar, 
 Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with 
 her suburbs, 
 
 29 Jarmuth with her suburbs, En-gan- 
 nim with her suburbs ; four cities. 
 
 30 And out of the tribe of Asher, Mi- 
 shal with her suburbs, Abdon with her 
 suburbs, 
 
 31 Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob 
 with her suburbs ; four cities. 
 
 32 And out of the tribe of Naphtali, 
 Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be 
 a city of refuge for the slayer ; and Ham- 
 moth-dor with her suburbs, and Kartan 
 with her suburbs ; three cities. 
 
 S3 All the cities of the Gershonites 
 accordinsr to their families toere thirteen 
 cities with their suburbs. 
 
 34 % And unto the families of the 
 children of Merari, the rest of the Le- 
 vites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jok- 
 neam with her suburbs, and Kartah with 
 her suburbs, 
 
 35 Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal 
 with her suburbs ; four cities. 
 
 36 And out of the tribe of Reuben, 
 Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with 
 her suburbs, 
 
 dence, to guard, as it were, against the evils of schism between the 
 southern and northern tribes. For, by this arrangement, all these 
 cities, except one, lay in the faithful tribes of Judah and Benja- 
 min, to keep up tlie national worship in tliem, in opposition to 
 the apostasy of the other tribes ; and that one may have remain- 
 ed under the control of Judah, as being situated on his frontier. 
 Otherwise, the kingdom of Judah might have experienced a 
 scarcity of priests, or have been burdened with the mainte- 
 nance of those who fled from the kingdom of Israel, 2 Chron. xi. 
 13, 14, when the base and wicked policy of Jeroboam made 
 priests of the lowest of tlie people, without le.iming or religion, 
 to officiate in their room. Dr. Hales.
 
 God giveth the Israelites rest. 
 
 CHAP. XXI, XXII. 
 
 cukTst ^'^ Kedemotli with her suburbs, and 
 nii. Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities. 
 
 38 And out of the tribe of Gad, llamoth 
 in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of 
 refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with 
 her suburbs, 
 
 3d Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer 
 with her suburbs; four cities in all. 
 
 40 So all the cities for the children of 
 Merari by their families, wliich were re- 
 maining of the families of the Levites, were 
 by their lot twelve cities. 
 
 41 All the cities of the Levites within 
 the possession of the children of Israel icere 
 forty and eight cities with their suburbs. 
 
 42 These cities were every one with their 
 suburbs round about them: thus xvere all 
 these cities. 
 
 43 % And the Lord gave unto Israel all 
 the land which he sware to give unto their 
 fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt 
 therein. 
 
 44 And the Lord gave them rest round 
 about, according to all that he sware unto 
 their fathers: and thei'e stood not a man 
 of all their enemies before them ; the 
 Lord delivered all their enemies into their 
 hand. 
 
 * Oiap. 23. 4,5 <: There failed not ought of any good 
 thing which the Lord had spoken unto the 
 house of Israel; all capne to pass. 
 
 CHAP. XXIL 
 
 \' The tn>o tribes and half nitk a blessing are sent home. 
 9 They huild the altar of testimony in their journey. 
 1 1 The Israelites are offended thereat. 21 They give 
 them good saiisjaction. 
 
 THEN Joshua called the Reubenites, 
 and the Gadites, and the half tribe of 
 Manasseh, 
 
 2 And said unto them. Ye have kept all 
 that Moses the servant of the Lord com- 
 manded you, and have obeyed my voice in 
 all that I commanded you : 
 
 43. — the Lord gave unto Israel all the land^ He gave them a 
 right to the whole country, which was distributed among them, 
 as He appointed, by a lot wluch He ordered and directed; and 
 He gave them the actual possession and enjoyment of the greater 
 part of it, with power to subdue the rest, provided they continued 
 in obedience; according to this understanding, " there iailed not 
 ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the 
 house of Israel," ver. i5. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 44. And the Lord gave them rest^ That is, He permitted them 
 to enjoy the undisturbed possession of their lands, witliout any 
 molestation, and " delivered their enemies into their hand;" 
 which is not to be understood, as if all the people of Canaan were 
 actually under their power, but that, as long as Joshua lived, not 
 a man appeared to fight against them, who was not delivered into 
 their hands. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The two tribes and halfretwm^^ 
 
 3 Ye have not left vour bretjjren these »<*>« 
 many days unto this day, but have kept ^"^^^ 
 the charge of the commandment of the "'' 
 Lord your God. 
 
 4 And now the Lord your God hath 
 given rest unto your brethren, as he pro- 
 mised them : therefore now return ye, and 
 get you unto your tents, a?Hl unto the land 
 
 of your possession, » which Moses the ser- * Numb, 
 vant of the Lord gave you on tiie other dfa,f% 
 Side Jordan. s. 
 
 5 But take diligent heed to do the com- 
 mandment and the law, which Moses the 
 servant of the Lord charged you, ''to love "P^ut lo. 
 the Lord your God, and to walk in all his '*' 
 ways, and to keep his commandments, and 
 
 to cleave unto him, and to sei-ve him with 
 all your heart and with all your soul. 
 
 6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them 
 away: and they went unto tlieir tents. 
 
 7 IF Now to the 07ie half of the tribe of 
 Manasseh Moses had given possession in 
 Bashan: but unto the other half thereof 
 gave Joshua among their brethren on this 
 side Jordan westward. And when Joshua 
 sent them away also unto their tents, then 
 he blessed them, 
 
 8 And he spake unto them, saying, Re- 
 turn with much riches unto your tents, 
 and with very much cattle, with silver, 
 and with gold, and with brass, and with 
 iron, and with very much raiment: divide 
 the .spoil of youi- enemies with your bre- 
 thren. 
 
 9 IT And the children of Reuben and 
 the children of Gad and the half tribe of 
 Manasseh returned, and departed from the 
 children of Israel out of Shiloh, which ^5 in 
 the land of Canaan, to go unto the country 
 of Gilead, to the land of their possession, 
 whereof they were possessed, according to 
 the word of the Lord by the hand of 
 Moses. 
 
 10 % And when they came unto the bor- 
 ders of Jordan, that are in the land of Ca- 
 
 Chap. XXI I. ver. 3. — the.te many days'] For tlie space of 
 seven years at least, some think as many more, they had conti- 
 nued in the service of their brethren, until they saw tliem settled 
 in quiet possession of tlieir lots. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — take diligent heed] He exhorts them, like a \v-ise and re- 
 ligious governour, to improve the experience they had of the 
 great providences of God towards themselves and their whole na- 
 tion, into a constant and dutiful observ.mce of the laws He hdd 
 prescribed in common to them all, as the only condition of all 
 their future enjo)-ments. Pyle. 
 
 9- — the country of Gilead,] The countrj' of Gilead, here put 
 for the whole country possessed by the Israelites, to the east of 
 Jordan: so called from Gilead, the son of Machir, and grandson 
 of Manasseh. Stackhm(se. 
 
 10. — came unto the borders of Jordan,^- in the land of Canaan,]
 
 Contention bettcecn 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 the tribes. 
 
 iwor, naan, tlic children of Reuben and the chil- 
 
 ^Vi^^^ drcn of Gail and tin- half tribe of Manasseh 
 
 built there an altar by Jordan, a cjreat altar 
 
 to see to. 
 
 11 f And the children of Israel heard 
 sav, Behold, the children of Reuben and 
 the children of Gad and the half tribe of 
 Manasseli have built an altar over against 
 the land of Canaan, in the borders of 
 Jordan, at the passage of the children of 
 Israel. 
 
 1« And when the children of Israel 
 heard (>/' it, the whole congregation of the 
 childreii of Israel gathered themselves to- 
 gether at Sliiloh, to go up to war against 
 them. 
 
 Id And the children of Israel sent unto 
 the children of Reuben, and to the chil- 
 dren of Gad, and to the half tribe of Ma- 
 nasseli, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas 
 the son of Eleazar the priest, 
 
 11. And with him ten princes, of each 
 
 t Heb. f chief house a prince throughout all the 
 
 /oM^. ' ' tribes of Israel ; and each one "iicas an head 
 
 of the house of their fathers among the 
 
 thousands of Israel. 
 
 1.5 % And tliey came unto the children 
 of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, 
 and to the half tribe of Manasseh, unto the 
 land of Gilead, and they spake with them, 
 saying, 
 
 1(3 Thus saith the whole congregation of 
 the Lord, What trespass is this that ye 
 have committed against the God of Israel, 
 to turn away this day from following the 
 Lord, in that ye have builded you an altar, 
 that ye might rebel this day against the 
 Lord? 
 
 This expression ■» ould seem to import, that they built the altar in 
 the land of Canaan, l>eforc they went over Jordan: but this is by 
 no means probable; onA indceil is contradicted by the next verse, 
 which Siiys tliat they built it over against Jordan. The meaniufr 
 must be. that, wi\en they came to the borders of Jordan, and 
 then paJ^eU into their own country, they staid there to build the 
 altar. /?/>. Patrick. 
 
 prnil altar to see to.] Namely, an altar which made a 
 
 jri-at ihcw, beinfr built very liigli, .so that it might be seen afar 
 ofl", but al\er the pattern of the altar of tlie burnt offering at the 
 tilwrnaclc. Dr. II ells. Thoir purpose was no more than to erect 
 this a.s a monumental record to posterity: by raising it in the par- 
 ticular shajx; of an altar, they intended it as a memorial of die near 
 relation, close friendship, and perfect unity of religion, that sub- 
 sittcd between them anil their brethren in western Canaan. Pi/k. 
 A memorial, that, though they were parted by the river, yet they 
 were of the same religion and extraction with the other tribes and 
 had an equ.il right to the tabernacle of Sliiloh, and tlie worshin 
 o» Cod there pertonned. .Slackhouse. 
 
 ^•■—fl/iertd l/iemsehrs losctlier'} The tribes now lived sepa- 
 f« tc, ha vmg gone to settle in their several possessions. 
 • ~~'° f "/"<"'"'•] ToconsultJibout going to war: for thev 
 unoguied them to be apostates from their reLgion, which rec^uir. 
 
 17 Is the iniquity 'of Peor too little for j^.^'jf,''^^ 
 us, from Avhich we are not cleansed until 1444. 
 this day, although th.ere was a plague in ' Nnmu. 
 the congregation of the Loud, -^''*' 
 
 18 But that ye must turn away this day 
 from following the Loud? and it will be, 
 ■seeing ye rebel to day against the Lord, 
 that to morrow he will be wroth with the 
 whole congregation of Israel. 
 
 19 Notwithstanding, if the land of your 
 possession be unclean, t/ieji pass ye over ' 
 unto the land of the possession of the i 
 Lord, wherein theLouD's tabernacle dwell- | 
 etli, and take possession among us : but ' 
 rebel not against the Lord, nor rebel a- 
 
 gainst us, in building you an altar beside ; 
 
 the altar of the Lord our God. 
 
 '20 " Did not Achan the son of Zerah ' C'lap r. 
 commit a trespass in the accursed thing, '"'■ 
 and wrath fell on all the congregation of 
 Israel ? and that man perished not alone in 
 his iniquity. 
 
 21 ^ Then the children of Reuben and j 
 the children of Gad and the half tribe of 
 Manasseh answered, and said unto the 
 
 heads of the thousands of Israel, 
 
 22 The Lord God of gods, the Lord 
 God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he 
 shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in 
 transgression against the Lord, (save us 
 not this day,) 
 
 23 That we have built us an altar to turn 
 from following the Lord, or if to offer 
 thereon burnt offering or meat offering, or 
 if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the 
 Lord himself require it; 
 
 24 And if we have not rather done it 
 
 for fear of this thing, saying, t In time to r<, morro\v. 
 
 ed them to worship the Lord alone, and at no other place but 
 that which He Himself had chosen. Bp. Patrick. They thought 
 this altar to be built, either in imitation of heathen high places, 
 or as a separate place of sacrifice and publick worship, distinct 
 from that of the tabernacle, and consequently to imply a plain re- 
 volt from the express law of God. Pyle. 
 
 1 7. Is the iniquitt/ of Peor too little &C.3 Is the iniquity, of which 
 so many of us were guilty in worshipping Peor, too small a pro- 
 vocation committed by us towards God, from which we are not 
 cleansed until this day ? there being some remaining, they fear- 
 ed, infected with those idolatrous inclinations, whom God might 
 justly cut off, although " there was" on the former occasion " a 
 plague" which destroyed 24,000, Numb. xxv. 9. Bp. Patrick, 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 19. — if the land of your possession be unclean,^ If you think 
 that the land of your possession is unclean, or less holy, for want 
 of an altar among you, then " pass ye over" unto our land. Dr. 
 Hells. This expresses a wonderful zeal for God and the common 
 good, wherewith they were now possessed, Avhich made them ra- 
 ther desire to give up some of their own lands to the tribes east 
 of Jordan, than suffer them to " rebel against the Lord," and 
 thereby break the common bond, which bound the tribes to each 
 other as well as to God. Bp. Patrick.
 
 The report ()f the deputies 
 
 CHAP. XXII, XXIII. 
 
 satisficlh the people. 
 
 curiIt ^^"^"^ yo"^' children might speak unto our 
 J44!. children, saying, What have ye to do with 
 the Lord God of Israel ? 
 
 23 For the Lord hath made Jordan a 
 border between us and you, ye children of 
 Reuben and children of Gad ; ye have no 
 part in the Lord : so shall your children 
 make our children cease from fearing the 
 Lord. 
 
 26 Therefore we said, Let us now pre- 
 pare to build us an altar, not for burnt of- 
 fering, nor for sacrifice : 
 «^Gcii. 31. Qj g^j^ ^j^^^ -^ ^^^^^ ie ' a witness between 
 
 chap. 24. US, aiid you, and our generations after us, 
 vcr. 31. that we might do the service of the Lord 
 before him with our burnt offerings, and 
 with our sacrifices, and with our peace 
 offerings ; that your children may not say 
 to our childj"en in time to come. Ye have 
 no part in the Lord. 
 
 28 Therefore said we, that it shall be, 
 when they should so say to us or to our ge- 
 nerations in time to come, that we may say 
 again. Behold the pattern of the altar of 
 the Lord, which our fathers made, not for 
 burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices ; but it is 
 a witness between us and you. 
 
 29 God forbid that we shoidd rebel 
 against the Lord, and turn this day from 
 following the Lord, to build an altar for 
 burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for 
 sacrifices, beside the altar of the Lord our 
 God that is before his tabernacle. 
 
 SO % And when Phinehas the priest, and 
 the princes of the congregation and heads 
 of the thousands of Israel w hich xvere with 
 him, heard the words that the children of 
 
 25. — i/e have no part in the Lord :~] Ye are none of the Lord's 
 people, as not living within the bounds of the promised land. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 28. — Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord,'] Tl»ey could 
 not have exactly imitated the pattern of the true altar of God, if 
 they had not attended it, as a place of worship, together with their 
 brethren ; on which account their altar woidd be " a witness" 
 that they (the Eastern tribes) had a right to approach the taber- 
 nacle, as well as the Western. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 29. God forbid that ne should rebel against the Ij)rd,~\ We can- 
 not have a stronger proof of the zeal of the whole nation for the 
 observance of the Divine law, than this transaction between tlie 
 two tribes and a half, and the remaining tribes. Here we see the 
 two tribes and a half building an altar at the passage of Jordan, a 
 pattern, or after the pattern, of the altar of the Lord. The re- 
 maining congregation, alarmed at the idea of this being a rebel- 
 lion against God, who had commanded tliat there shoidtl be only 
 one altar for His people, prepared to punish it by instant war. 
 But, on their sending ambassadours to expostulate, the two tribes 
 ;md a half shew, by the earnestness of their answer, " God forbiil 
 that we should rebel &c." that the impression was indeed most 
 deep, which the judgments of God had made on the whole na- 
 tion, that they were animated with the most watcliful anxiety to 
 fulfil the Law, and to avoid the wrath of Jehovah, at once their 
 Sovereign and their God. Dr. Graves. 
 
 Reuben and the children of Gad and the ^"^"'^ „ 
 children of Manasseh spake, t it pleased 1444, 
 them. ^H^„. 
 
 31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the •' »"«?<""'« 
 priest said unto the children of Reuben, '""""^"• 
 and to the children of Gad, and to the 
 children of Manasseh, This day we per- 
 ceive that the Lord is among us, because 
 
 ye have not committed this trespass a- 
 gainst the Lord : t now ye have delivered t ha. 
 the children of Israel out of the hand of """" 
 the Lord. 
 
 32 ^ And Phinehas the son of Eleazar 
 the priest, and the princes, returned from 
 the childi-en of Reuben, and from the chil- 
 dren of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, un- 
 to the land of Canaan, to the children of 
 Israel, and brought them word again. 
 
 33 And the thing pleased the children 
 of Israel ; and the children of Israel bless- 
 ed God, and did not intend to go up 
 against them in battle, to destroy the land 
 wherein the children of Reuben and Gad 
 dwelt. 
 
 3i And the children of Reuben and the 
 children of Gad called the altar || Ed : for II That is, 
 it shall be a witness between us that the "'^ """"*■ 
 Lord is God. 
 
 CHAP. XXIIL 
 
 1 Joshua's exhortation before his death, 3 hi/ former be- 
 nejits, 5 by promises, 1 1 and hi/ threateuings. 
 
 AND it came to pass a long time after about 1427. 
 that the Lord had given rest unto 
 Israel from all their enemies round about, 
 that Joshua waxed old a7id t stricken in t Heb. 
 
 2 And Joshua called for all Israel, and 
 
 come into 
 rfnys. 
 
 34. — that the Lord is God."] That tlie Lord is our God, that 
 we own no other God, and will wor.ship Him only; and conse- 
 quently that we have a right to serve Him at His tabernacle as 
 well as they. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 Chap. XXHL ver. 1. — a long time after] According to Abp. 
 Usher, this happened seventeen years after the dixision of the 
 land. See the dates in the margin of the Bible. 
 
 Joshua waxed old] This liad been said of him before tlie 
 
 division of the land took place. Josh. xiii. 1 ; and, since that time, 
 he built a city on his own allotment. It i< probable that he was 
 now in the last year of his life. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. And Joshua called for all Israel, &c.] In tin's and the follow- 
 ing chapter, Joshua appears a true imitatur of Moses, concluding 
 Jiis book and his life with a pious exhortation to the duties of re- 
 ligion, as the only means of procuring ;uid perpetu.iting the bless- 
 ings of Heaven. We also see in him a worthy pattern for every 
 parent to follow in life, to lead his children by a holy example ; 
 and, at the end thereof, to recommend to them, wiili his l.ist 
 breath, the love and service of God. Such ad\'ice is the best 
 legacy, the fairest portion, and most eftectual blessing he can 
 leave them. In this great man wc likewise beliold a noble in- 
 stance of that happy, calm, and sweet composure of mind, which 
 attends the death of the righteous man ; in his last moments, he 
 shews no concern for the parting with life, or tlie approacli of
 
 Joshua's rihorlation 
 
 3 O S H U A. 
 
 before hh death. 
 
 B«fo« for their elders, and for their heads, aud 
 
 fb!:!,!*/" for their judges, and for their officers, and 
 
 said unto them, I am old and stricken m 
 
 "s And ve have seen all that the Lord 
 your (iod'hath done unto all these nations 
 • E.0.1 II. because of voii ; for the » Lord your God 
 '*• is he that hath fought for you. 
 
 4 Hehold, I have divided imto you by 
 lot these nations that remain, to be an in- 
 lieritancc for yoin- tribes, from Jordan, 
 with all the nations that I have cut off, 
 t Heb. even unto the great sea + westward. 
 Mihenn- 5 ^^j x\\ti LoRU your God, he shall ex- 
 pel them fiom before you, and drive them 
 iiom out of your sight ; and ye shall pos- 
 sess their land, as the Lord your God hath 
 promised unto you. 
 
 G Be ye therefore very courageous to 
 
 keep and to do all that is written in the 
 
 >- Deui. 5. book of the law of Moses, " that ye turn 
 
 .12. 4 '.'8. ,^Qt aside therefrom to the right hand or to 
 
 the left ; 
 
 7 That ye come not among these na- 
 tions, these that remain among you ; nei- 
 ' p«L 16. thcr '■■ make mention of the name of their 
 gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither 
 serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them : 
 g Or, 8 II But cleave unto the Loud your God, 
 
 fm'LlZ as ye have done unto this day. 
 &c- 9 II For the Lord hath driven out from 
 
 TAffl! iht before you great nations and strong : but 
 LORD mil as for you, no man hath been able to stand 
 
 before you unto this day. 
 '^Ler.aB. 10 '' One man of you shall cha.se a thou- 
 i)«iL32. sand: for the Lord your God, he it is 
 ***• that fightcth for you, as he hath promised 
 
 you. 
 
 1 1 Take good heed therefore unto your- 
 tiub. t selves, that ye love the Lord your God. 
 I'J Else if ye do in any wise go back, 
 
 —hIs. 
 
 (Inith. All his care i» for the honour of God, and the true happi- 
 ness of those he leaves behind. H'ogan. 
 
 5. — Ihe Lord i/oiir Ood, lie sliall expel ihern] This relates to 
 the ("anannites vet roniainiiif^ unsulxlued, whom the Israelites, 
 provided they faitlifuily adhered to the worship of the true God, 
 woulfl certainly be enabled to conquer. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — licit iter nude mrntiun of' the name of their gods,"] That is, 
 do not mention their names, as objects of worship, with any sort 
 of reverence. 
 
 nor cause to .ttrear lii/ lhem.'\ This beinp a peculiar mark 
 
 f>f respect, as implying an acknowledgment that he, in wliosc 
 name the oath was taken, had power to punish those who for- 
 swore themselves. Dr. Wells. 
 
 !). — Ihf Ijjrd hath driufti out fee.'] The literal meaning is plain 
 and easy ; the Lord made good His promise to those Israelites to 
 whom the wonls were spoken, brought them into Canaan, and cast 
 out tlie heathen. If these were strong motives to that people of 
 gratitude and obedience, how much more are we bound to be 
 grateful and obedient, by the far greater victories, which our hea- 
 renly Joshua, the blessed Jesus, hath obtained for us over our 
 
 and cleave unto the remnant of these na- cmu7st 
 tions, even these that remain among you, ai,ou«M'j7. 
 and shall make marriages with them, and 
 go in unto them, and they to you : 
 
 l.'i Know for a certainty that the Lord 
 your God will no more drive out am/ of 
 these nations from before you ; 'but they *Exod. 23. 
 shall be snares and traps unto you, and Kumi,. 33. 
 scourges in your sides, and thorns in your ^J- 
 eyes, until ye perish from off this good 
 land which the Loud your God hath given 
 you. 
 
 1 i And, behold, this day I «??« going the 
 way of all the earth : and ye know in all 
 your hearts and in all your souls, that ' not 'Ciiap. 21. 
 one thing hath failed of all the good things 
 which the Lord your God .spake concern- 
 ing you ; all are come to pass unto you, 
 a/id not one thing hath failed thereof. 
 
 15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that 
 as all good things are come upon you, 
 which the Lord your God promised you ; 
 so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil 
 things, until he have destroyed you from 
 off this good land which the Lord your 
 God hath given you. 
 
 16 When ye have transgressed the cove- 
 nant of the Lord your God, which he 
 commanded you, and have gone and serv- 
 ed other gods, and bowed yourselves to 
 them ; then shall the anger of the Lord 
 be kindled against you, and ye shall perish 
 quickly from off the good land which he 
 hath given unto you. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 1 Joshua nssemhlelh the tribes at Shechem. 2 A brief 
 history of God's benefits from Tcrah. 14 He rcnerv- 
 cth the covenant betrveen them and God. 26 A stone 
 the witness of the covenant. Sy Jos/iua's age, death, 
 and burial. 32 Joseph's bones are buried. 33 Elea- 
 :ar dietk. 
 
 spiritual enemies, and which He still daily performs for us ; for 
 those, who are erdisted under His banner, are indeed enabled to 
 " chase a thousand," not indeed by their own strength, but.by the 
 power of Christ. Wogan. 
 
 13. — the Lord your God will no more drive out any oftliese na- 
 tions'] Thus the promise which CJod had made to the Israelites 
 was conditional : and, as they manifestly forfeited their part of the 
 obligation, by engaging first in affinity, and afterwards in idol- 
 atry with the nations which they were bound to destroy, so God 
 would no longer grant them success and erdargement of their 
 boundary ; but, as they had been the ministers of His vengeance 
 in punishing the disorders of the Canaanites, so the Canaanites 
 were now, in their turn, to be made the instruments of His chas- 
 tising the disobedience of His own people. Staclchouse. 
 
 they shall be snares and traps unto you^ They shall re- 
 main in the land to seduce and inveigle you to further im- 
 piety. 
 
 and scourges in your sides,"] They shall be the means of 
 
 bringing the sorest chastisements and most grievous afflictions 
 upon you. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells.
 
 The tribes assembled at Shechem. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 God's benejils to Israel. 
 
 ^5*T??e-r AND Joshua gathered all the tribes of 
 
 bout 1427. XjL 
 
 Before 
 
 about 1427. Jl\. Israel to Shechem, and called for the 
 elders of Israel, and for their heads, and 
 for their judges, and for their officers ; and 
 they presented themselves before God. 
 
 2 And Joshua said unto all the people, 
 ' Gen. n. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, * Your 
 Judith 5. fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood 
 «• 7. in old time, even Terah, the father of A- 
 
 braham, and the father of Nachor : and 
 they served other gods. 
 
 3 And I took your father Abraham 
 from the other side of the flood, and led 
 him throughout all the land of Canaan, 
 
 • Gen. 21. and multiplied his seed, and " gave him 
 
 Isaac. 
 ^ Gen. 25. 4, And I gavc uuto Isaac "Jacob and 
 < Gen. 36. Esau : and I gave unto '' Esau moiuit Seir, 
 f-^ to possess it ; " but Jacob and his children 
 
 * Gen. 46. ^ • . -r^ 
 
 6, went dowm into Lgypt. 
 
 ' Erod. 3. 5^1 sent Moses also and Aaron, and I 
 plagued Egypt, according to that which I 
 did among them : and afterward I brought 
 you out. 
 
 « Exod. 12. 6 And I ^ brought your fathers out of 
 
 '^" Egypt : and ye came unto the sea ; and 
 
 the Egyptians pursued after your fathers 
 
 » Exod 14. with chariots and horsemen unto *" the Red 
 
 ^' sea. 
 
 7 And when they cried unto the Lord, 
 he put darkness between you and the E- 
 gyptians, and brought the sea upon them, 
 and covered them ; and your eyes have 
 
 Chap. XXIV. ver. 1. And Joshua\ It is probable that Josliua, 
 having his life prolonged beyond wliat he had expected when he 
 made the foregoing speech, called the tribes again together, for 
 the purpose of giving them wholesome admonitions. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 to Shechem^ Two Greek MSS. read Shiloli here, instead 
 
 of Shechem. Shechem was distant about ten miles from Shiloh, 
 according to .St. Jerome. As it is here said that they presented 
 themselves " before God," it appears that tlie holj- tabernacle was 
 at hand. Allowing tlien the received reading, we must under- 
 stand, either tliat Joshua, being old and infirm, caused the ark on 
 this occasion to be brought from Sliiloh to Shechem, being nearer 
 to his own residence, {Bp. Palrich-,') or that Shiloh is here calletl 
 Shechem, because it was in tlie territor)' of Shechem, {Dr. li'clls,) 
 or that all tlie tribes were assembled at Sheclicra, whence the 
 beads, officers, &c. went to present themselves before the ark at 
 Shiloh, as occasion required. Shuckford. 
 
 S. —-from the other side of the flood,'] From the other side of 
 the river Euphrates. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. And I sent the hornet before you,] The sting of the larger 
 v\asp or hornet is in hot Eastern climates extremely venomous 
 and even deadly, as mav be collected from tlie effects of it here 
 iiUiided to. Parkhurxt. The meaning may either be, tliat, before 
 the Israelites came into those parts, God sent hornets which so 
 infested them, that many of the inhabitants were forced to leave 
 I'le country and fly into other parts ; or that, when the Israelites 
 were come into the country, these hornets, by assailing and infest- 
 ing the inhabitants, facilitated the victory over them. God had 
 before promised to " send the hornets" at Exod. xxiii. 28 ; Deut. 
 vii. 20; and here Joshua recites how faithful He had been to His 
 Vol. I. 
 
 seen what I have done in Eg}'pt : and ye ^«'"'^ 
 dwelt in the wilderness a long season. a^b^ut^^Hl^ 
 
 8 And I brought you into the land of 
 the Amorites, which dwelt on the other 
 
 side Jordan ; ' and they fought with you : ■ Numi,. 
 and I gave them into your hand, that ye ■'■'^■ 
 might possess their land ; and I destroyed 
 them from before you. 
 
 9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of 
 Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and 
 
 '^ sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to ' Numb. 
 curse you: feui23.4. 
 
 10 But I would not hearken unto Ba- 
 laam ; therefore he blessed you still : so I 
 delivered you out of his hand. 
 
 1 1 And ye went over Jordan, and came 
 unto Jericho : and the men of Jericho 
 fought against you, the Amorites, and the 
 Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the 
 Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, 
 and the Jebusites ; and I delivered them 
 into your hand. 
 
 12 And ' I sent the hornet before you, 'Eiod. 23. 
 which drave them out from before you, j^^.^^ . 
 even the two kings of the Amorites { but 20!"' 
 not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. 
 
 13 And I have given you a land for which 
 ye did not labour, and cities which ye built 
 not, and ye dwell in them ; of the vine- 
 yards and oliveyards which ye planted not 
 do ye eat. 
 
 14 ^ Now therefore fear the Lord, and 
 serve him in sincerity and in truth : and 
 
 promise. In the book of Wisdom, cliap. xii. 8, tlie wasps or hor- 
 nets are called " the forerunners of G'ocl's host." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 We have no account of the actual expulsion of the inhabitants 
 by means of hornets, among the events related in tlie book of 
 Joshua. On whicli accoimt, it is more probable that this Divine' 
 visitation upon them took place before the Israelites Gime iut« 
 the land. Ma.»us. 
 
 The manner, in which Joshua here mentions the sending of the 
 hornets, shews that he is alluding to a real event, well known to 
 all whom he was addressing. It may appear incredible at first 
 sight that any insects sliould have the effect of ilriving n people 
 from their country ; it should be recollected however, tliat, in hot 
 climates, such animals are far more fatal and venomous than in 
 colder climates ; and historians have preserved to us a number of 
 instances of similar events. Among others, it is recorded that the 
 people of Chalcis were driven from tlieir country by Hit> ; tiiat 
 certain inhabitants of Ethiopia were forced from tlieir couiitrj- by 
 scorpions whicli infested them, as were the Mysians also by a sort 
 of large {\y, and those of Phaselis by swarms of wasps. Calmet. 
 
 14. Son- therefore fear the Lord,] Joshua, in this solemn assem- 
 bly, the last he was to see, expresses the strongest solicitude for 
 what he knew would constitute tlie publick happiness, the pre- 
 servation of true religion, and consequently of \ irtue, in opposi- 
 tion to the superstitious lollies and shocking vices of the nations 
 around them. To promote this end, he recounts to them, by the 
 especial direction of Heaven, the miriiculous and gracious dispen- 
 sations ot' Providence, which their fathers and tlicy had expe- 
 rieiK'ed, and of which he had so long been a witness, concluding 
 the liistory with their j)resent happy condition ; and his inference 
 from the whole is, " Now tJierefore tear tlic Loid." Abp, Seeker.
 
 Joihua raicxiXlh a covenant 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 between Israel and God. 
 
 Defore put awiiv tlic f^ods wliicli voih" fathers 
 ^^Ivl scrvccl oil the other side of the Hood, and 
 iu Kgypt ; and sen-e ye the Loud. 
 
 \o And if it seem evil unto you to serve 
 the LoHD, clioose you tliis day whom ye 
 will serve ; whether the gods which your 
 fathers served that were on the other side 
 of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, 
 in whose land ye dwell : but as for me and 
 my house, we will serve the Lord. 
 
 16 And the people answered and said, 
 God forbid that we should forsake the 
 Lord, to serve other gods ; 
 
 17 For the Lord our God, he it is that 
 brought us up and our fathers out of the 
 land oi' Egypt, from the house of bondage, 
 
 x/otir fathers scrreir\ Idolatry was the religion of their fa- 
 thers, and had sjiread itself over the greatest and most ancient na- 
 tions in the world ; and those too, most famous for learning and 
 arts. So that Joshua represents the heathen religion with all its 
 btrengtli and advantage, luid does not dissemble its confident pre- 
 tension to antiquity and universality, whereby they would also in- 
 sinuate the no\e]ty and singidarity of the worship of the God of 
 Ismel. It is worthy of observation, that one or both of these have 
 always been the exceptions of false religions (especially of idol- 
 atry and superstition) against the true religion. They have been 
 urged by the ancient idolaters against the true religion of the Is- 
 raelites ; by Jews and Heathens against Christianity ; and, in later 
 times, by Roman Catholicks against Protestants. Ahp. Tillotson. 
 
 1 5. — ;/' (7 seem evil unto you lo serve the Lord,'] He could not 
 tliink they would turn Atheists, and have no Gotl at all ; and he 
 w.-is unwilling to suppose they would prefer any other God to 
 Him who had obliged them by so many benefits. He expresses 
 tiiis in a rhetorical foi-m of speech, which is as much as to say. 
 If ye like not Gotl's service, tell me wliom ye will serve. Bp. 
 Patrick. As if lie had said, I leave it to your own conscience, 
 whether a people in your circumstances should suffer it to remain 
 a. question, what God you should serve, and to what religion you 
 should adhere. I't/le. 
 
 Being sensible that mankind are strangely apt to think them- 
 selves not in a good state when they are in the best, he proceeds 
 to entreat them, that, if any are dissatisfied with the fruits of ob- 
 scr\ mg their present religion and laws, tlicy would consider well, 
 under what other, on the whole, they would rather wish to be ; 
 tor under some they must be. They might, if they pleased, after 
 all he had said, try a change, and take the consequences : but he 
 had seen too much of the benefit of adhering to God, to have the 
 least desire ol expenencing what would be the effect of forsaking 
 Him ; and his prayer .ind endeavour, he affirms, shall be, that all 
 under his mfluencc may tread for ever in the same steps. Abv. 
 Seeker. ^ 
 
 He does not insinuate tliat thev were at liberty whether thev 
 should serve the true God or not ; but he intimates, that religion 
 otight to be tlieir ti-ee choice ; and hkewise, that true religion has 
 those real advantages on its side, that it may be safely referred to 
 any considerate man's choice. " If it seem evil unto you •" as if he 
 had said. If all the demonstrations which God has given of His mi- 
 raculou^ presence ainon^ you, and the mighty obligations He has 
 laid upon you, by bringing you out of Egyptian bondage with so 
 streu-hed out an ann, and by driving out the nations before you- 
 i», alter aU this, you can think it fit to quit the service of God and 
 to worship tlic ulob, those vanquished and baffled deities of the na- 
 Uon* whom you have subducd-if you can think it reasonable so to 
 ao, but surely you cannot, then take your choice. Mp. Tillotson 
 • J- '°* >"'' '"^ "'"' "'.'/ Iiouse, ne will serve the Lord.l A reso- 
 
 Hhich wc have a double pattern for us; fir*t, ot'the brave resjl 
 
 and which did those great signs in our (.^r^sx 
 sight, and preserved us in all the way about i42t. 
 wherein we went, and among all the people 
 through whom we passed : 
 
 18 And the Lord drave out from before 
 us all the people, even the Amorites which 
 dwelt in the land : therefore will we also 
 serve the Lord ; for he is our God. 
 
 19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye 
 cannot serve the Lord : for he is an holy 
 God ; he is a jealous God ; he will not for- 
 give your transgressions nor your sins. 
 
 20 If ye forsake the Lord, and serve 
 strange gods, "then he will turn and do "Chap. 23. 
 you hurt, and consume you, after that he 
 
 hath done you good. 
 
 lution of 8 good man, namely, that, if there were occasion, and 
 things were brought to tliat extremity, he would stand alone in 
 the profession and practice of true religion. Secondly, of the 
 pious care of a good father and master of a family, to train up those 
 under his charge in the true religion and worship of God. From 
 the first, we should learn to hold fast the profession of our faith, 
 and to take up the same pious resolution which Joshua did, under 
 any trials to which God may be pleased to expose us ; from the 
 second, to exert tlie greatest possible diligence to make our "houses 
 serve the Lord," to have our children carefully educated, and our 
 families regularly and religiously ordered. Abp. TilloUon. 
 
 This was a noble resolution, formed by a very eminent person, 
 on a very solemn occasion. The last words of any man are usual- 
 ly listened to with attention, as likely to be words of truth and 
 importance. But the last words of a veteran officer like Joshua, 
 under whom the Israelites had fought and conquered, of a wise 
 and Hea\Tn-directed ruler, by whom tlicy had been settled, ac- 
 cording to their tribes, in pleasant and peaceftil habitations, must 
 above all others deserve to be heard and remembered for ever. 
 After reminding the people of the various mercies they had ex- 
 perienced, Joshua drew his instructions and admonitions to a 
 point, and thus left his testimony recorded on the behalf of him- 
 self and his family : " As for me and my house, we will serve the' 
 Lord." Bp. Home. 
 
 19. — Ye cannot serve the Lord :'\ The inference intended 
 from the expression, " Ye cannot serve the Lord," is. Therefore 
 give the more diligence, and use the more care and endeavour, to 
 serve God as ye ought. Dr. Lighlfoot. This expression is far 
 from implying an utter impossibility of their serving God ; but is 
 employed to intimate, that, such was their extreme proneness to 
 idolatry, they would never be able to persevere steadfast in their 
 resolution, unless they constantly reflected upon, and laid to heart, 
 the many great considerations, which obliged them to implicit 
 obedience. Bp. Patrick. For " He is an holy God," or One who 
 has no equal ; " a jealous God" who endures no rival ; " He will 
 not forgive your transgressions" in giving to another the worship 
 due solely to Him. Dr. Wells. 
 
 It appears that the point debated on this occasion between 
 Joshua and his people, was not, whether tlie Israelites should re- 
 turn to God, as having rejected and forsaken Him ; but whether 
 they shoidd serve Him onl)', or, as Joshua expresses it, " serve 
 Him in sincerity and in truth :" for, on their exclaiming against 
 tlie impiety of rejecting Him, " God forbid that we should for- 
 sake tlie Lord, we will serve Him ;" (meaning, along with other 
 gods ;) their leader replies, " Ye cannot serve the Lord, for He is 
 an holy God ; He is a jealous God ;" that is. As a holy God, He 
 will not be served with the lewd and polluted rites of tlie nations; 
 and, as a jealous God, He will not sufler you to serve idols of wood 
 and stone witli His rites. The consequence is, you must serve 
 Hun alone, and only with that worship which He has appointed. 
 Bp. Warhurton.
 
 A stone th6 witness of it. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 Joshua's age, death, and buriaL 
 
 Before 21 And the people said unto Joshua, 
 about 1427. Nay; but we will sen^e the Lord. 
 
 22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye 
 are witnesses against yourselves that ye 
 have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. 
 And they said, We are witnesses. 
 
 23 Now therefore put away, said he, the 
 strange gods which are among you, and in- 
 cline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel. 
 
 24 And the people said unto Joshua, 
 The Lord our God will we serve, and his 
 voice will we obey. 
 
 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the 
 people that day, and set them a statute and 
 an ordinance in Shechem. 
 
 26 ^ And Joshua wrote these words in 
 the book of the law of God, and took a 
 great stone, and set it up there under an 
 oak, that "was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 
 
 27 And Joshua said unto all the people. 
 Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto 
 us; for it hath heard all the words of the 
 
 21 . — Najj ; but we will serve the Lordr^ It is not to be doubt- 
 ed that very many amongst mankind are as well inclined to the 
 service of God as were the IsraeliteSj and ready to make the same 
 declaration which they did. They are so sensible of the folly and 
 mischievous consequences of a sinful life, and the infinite obliga- 
 tion which God has laid upon them to live virtuously and religi- 
 ously, that they fully purpose, with the grace of God, to quit all 
 evil courses, and devote themselves to God's service; to forsake 
 the idol gods which men of the world worship, and, as Joshua 
 expresses it, ver. 14, " to serve the Lord in sincerity and in 
 truth." But it is fit that all should be well forewarned, as Joshua 
 insinuates to the Israelites, how much easier a matter it is to make 
 resolutions about serving God, than to perform them after they 
 are made; and consequently they, who mean to have their reso- 
 lutions come to any effect, should take especial care to use their 
 utmost prudence and consideration in the forming of them, and 
 their utmost diligence in adhering to them afterwards. Abp. 
 Sharp. 
 
 23. Notv therefore put away — tlic strange gods~^ These are the 
 very same words, which Jacob used to iiis household, when he 
 suspected them of idolatry. Gen. xxxv. 2; although none was 
 openly practised among them. Bp. Patrick. Joshua knew, by 
 Divine inspiration, wiiat was the inward disposition of the peo- 
 ple, and their secret affection to idols; and that some amongst 
 them worshipped false gods in private. Dr. Wells. 
 
 25. So Joshua made a covenant &c.] So Joshua renewed the 
 covenant by which the Israelites had before bound themselves, 
 both in the time of Moses, and in his time: and " he set before 
 them a statute," that is, he read, or ordered to be read unto them 
 the several precepts of the law, which were the conditions of the 
 covenant then renewed. Dr. Wells. 
 
 26. — in the book of the laiv of God,~\ The book which was laid 
 up by Moses, in the side of the ark, Deut.xxxi. 24 — 26". Bp. Patrick. 
 
 attd took a great stone,2 This was an ancient way of pre- 
 serving the memory of past transactions, as appears from wliat 
 Jacob did. Gen. xxviii. 18, and from what they themselves had 
 done. Josh. iv. 3, 20. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 under an oak, — by the sanctuary2 It was forbidden to 
 
 jilant a grove of trees neai- the sanctuary, Deut. xvi. 21 ; but this 
 did not render it unlavjrful to set up the sanctuary, for a short 
 time especially, imder a tree planted before. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 under an oa/c,] This was probably the place (called, 
 
 Gen. xii. 6, " the place of Sichem") where Abraliam first sat down, 
 and where, on the Lord's first appearing to him, he erected his firiit 
 
 Lord wliich he spake unto us: it shall be 
 therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny 
 your God. 
 
 28 So Joshua let the people depart, every 
 man unto his inheritance. 
 
 29 % And it came to pass after these 
 things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the 
 servant of the Lord, died, being an hun- 
 dred and ten years old. 
 
 30 And they buried him in the border 
 of his inheritance in "Timnath-serah, which 
 is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of 
 the hill of Gaash. 
 
 31 And Israel served the Lord all the 
 days of Joshua, and all the days of the 
 elders that t overlived Joshua, and which 
 had known all the works of the Lord, that 
 he had done for Israel. 
 
 32 ^ And ° the bones of Joseph, which 
 the cliildren of Israel brought up out of 
 Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a par- 
 cel of ground which Jacob bought of ■" the 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about H27. 
 
 about 1426 
 
 "Chap. 1 9 
 50. 
 Judg. 2. 9 
 
 I Ileb. 
 
 ptoftinged 
 
 ttttif days 
 
 (ijler Jo- 
 
 situa. 
 
 " Gen. SO. 
 
 25. 
 
 Exod. 13. 
 
 19. 
 
 " Geu. 33. 
 
 19. 
 
 altar in the land of Canaan: for the words at Gen. xii. 6, " unto 
 the plain of Moreh," arc sometimes rendered, " imto the oak of 
 Moreh." See note on Gen. xii. C. And what place could be 
 more proper for Abraham's posterity to renew a covenant with 
 their God, than that, where their God first made His covenant 
 with Abraham their father. Jos. Mede. 
 
 27. — for it hath heard all the words'] By a figiu-e of speech, 
 the stone is said to have heard what had passed, because it would 
 remain to all posterity to testify the engagements there contract- 
 ed. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Nothing is more frequent in Scripture than expressions, which 
 cannot be understood in a literal, and therefore must be in a me- 
 taphorical or figurative sense: of which this language of Joshua 
 is an example. Lord Clarendon. 
 
 29. And it came to pass] These five last verses were c^'idently 
 not written by .Joshua. It is probable they were written by Phi- 
 nehas, or rather by Samuel, who, being a Prophet, was moved 
 and directed by God to continue the history of this people from 
 the death of Joshua to his own time. Dr. Graij. 
 
 that Joshua — died,"] Tl>e Son of Sirach gives a long com- 
 mendation of Joshua at Ecclus. xlvi. 1, &c. Josephus, giving his 
 character concisely, says, that he was a man of political prudence, 
 and endued also with singular felicity of popular eloquence in ex- 
 pressing his thoughts; brave and indefatigable in war, and no less 
 just and dexterous in peace; in short, tliat he was a person quali- 
 fied for all great purposes. Stackhousc. 
 
 It should be well remarked, what pious conclusion Jo.shua m.vle 
 of a useful life, and how carefully he provided, that, aller his de- 
 cease, his people should be steadfast in his religion, and unmove- 
 able in their adherence to the Divine Law. Such religious and 
 zealous exhortations of governours to their people are highly 
 commendable upon several accounts: tliey are very pleasing to 
 God, and a proper means to derive His blessing on the govern- 
 ment; they are apt to affect the people's hearts with a sense of the 
 Divine Majesty, and a love and reverence of His holy name; and 
 if enforced by the zealous example of tlie persons tliemselves who 
 deliver them, must have the greatest effect in reclaiming the bad, 
 and in promoting righteous practice. Heading. 
 
 31. — the elders that overlived Joshua,] Men of distinguished 
 piety, who " had known all the works of the Lord," that is, had 
 not only seen, but observed and kept in mind, the wonderful 
 works of God, and put others in mind of them, and taught them 
 to serve and obey the Lord. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 32. — the bones of Joseph, — buried they in S/techem,'] It is 
 
 S M 2
 
 Joseph's bones arc buried. 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 Eleazar d'lelh. 
 
 Bdbr. sons of Hainor the fiither of" Sliechem for 
 ^'um^^ an liimdrcd II pieces of silver: and it be- 
 , Or. i':""^' the inheritance of the children of 
 
 tamhi. Josej)h. 
 
 probable that the h-raelitcs buried the bones of Joseph thirin^ the 
 liCctime of .Toshua; but, as the event was not recorded by Joshua 
 him«lf, the account was adde<l alter liis death. Dr. Wells. The 
 tirtiini<!t;mcc of the Israelites bringing the bones of Joseph from 
 Fijvpt is mentioned at Exod. xiii. l.<>. j • , 
 
 ihc arms of the Israelites prevailed every where, during the 
 vigorous administrations of Moses and Joshua, who enforced obe- 
 dience to the Law, and were jealous to prevent the introduction 
 of idolatry: but, as will afterwards appear, when the tribes began 
 to be settled, they were so intent on the operations of agriculture, 
 anil on their own separate concerns, that the stronger tribes neg- 
 lectetl to assist the weaker in the reduction of the several " fenced 
 cities" or fortresses which still held out; and so by their divisions 
 they weakened the force of the whole nation. Hence the history 
 of the judges is what might naturally be expected to follow from 
 
 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; ch'rist 
 and they buried him in a hill that pertained about n^a 
 to Phinehas his son, which was given him 
 in mount Ephraim. 
 
 such neglect of the common interest. The native powers gradu- 
 ally recruited their strength, revolted, and, in their turn, subdued 
 and oppressed the Israelites, either totally or partially. 
 
 However, even in Joshua's time, the Israelites were not purged 
 of the idolatries of their ancestors in Mesopotamia, which he 
 warned thein to put away; declaring the resolution of himself and 
 his family to serve the Lord wholly, chap. xxiv. 14, 15. And, like 
 Moses, he predicted their relapse into the idolatries of the Amor- 
 ites and the surrounding heathens: " Ye cannot serve the Lord: 
 for He is a holy God; (and His ordinances are too pure for your 
 observance;) He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your trans- 
 gressions nor your sins," chap. x,\iv. 19> 20; and the two last chap- 
 ters in general contain an admirable and affectionate exhortation 
 to obedience, and denunciations of the punishments of disobedi- 
 ence, in the true spirit of Moses' disciple. Dr. Hales. 
 
 The following Chapters from the Book of Joshua are appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holydays. 
 
 Chap. X. - 
 
 — xxin. 
 
 1st Sunday after Trinity, 
 Ditto, ... 
 
 Morning. 
 Evening.
 
 THE BOOK OF 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THIS book has been variously attributed to Samuel, to Phinehas, to Hezekiah, to Ezekiel, and also to Ezra, wlio is supposed by some 
 to have collected it from the memoirs, which the several judges respectively furnished of their own government. It seems howe\-er 
 most probable, that Samuel was the author ; who, being a Prophet or seer, and described in the book of Clironicles as an historian, 
 may reasonably be supposed, as he was the last of the judges, to have written this part of the Jewish historj-, since the inspired wri- 
 ters alone were permitted to describe those relations, in which were interwoven the instructions and judgments of the Lord. That 
 it was certainly written before the reign of David is proved from the following passage, chap. i. ver. ^1, " The Jebusites dwell with 
 the children of Benjamin unto this day ;" for it is certain, 2 Sam. v. 6, that the Jebusites were driven out of that city early in the 
 reign of David. 
 
 The history of this book may be divided into two parts ; the first, containing an account of the judges from Olhniel to Samson, ending 
 at the l6th chapter. The second part describing remarkable particulars which occurred not long after tlie death of Joshua, which 
 are placed towards the end of the book, in the 17th and following chapters, that they may not interrupt the course of the history. 
 What relates to the two last judges, Eli and Samuel, is recorded in the 1st book of Samuel. It comprehends a period of about 309 
 years from the death of Joshua to that of Samson ; but there is great difficulty in settling the precise chronology of the several facts 
 related in it, because many of them are reckoned from different eras, which cannot now be exactly ascertained. This book gives an 
 account of the farther conquests of the Israelites in the land of Canaan, of their disobedience to the commands of God, and of their 
 consequent subjection to the king of Mesopotamia. Bj). Tomiine, Dr. Gray. 
 
 CHRIST CHAP. I. 
 
 »bout 1425. 1 Xhe ads ofjudah and Simeon. 4 Adoni-bezeh justly 
 requited. 8 Jerusalem taken. 10 Hebron taken. 11 
 Olhniel hath Achsah to wife for taking of Dcbir. 1 6 
 The Kenites dtvell in Judah. 17 Hormah, Gaza, 
 Askelon and Ekron taken. 21 The acts of Benjamin. 
 2-2 Of ike house of Joseph, n-ho take Beth-el. 30 Of 
 Zebulun. 31 Of Ashcr. 33 Of Naphtali. 34 Of 
 Dun. 
 
 NOW after the death of Joshua it came 
 to pass, that the children of Israel 
 asked the Lord, saying, Who shall go up 
 for us against the Canaanites first, to fight 
 against them ? 
 
 Chap. I. ver. 1. Koiv after the death of Joshia^ Joshua deviated 
 from the example of his illustrious predecessor, in not applying, 
 like him, to the Lord to appoint a successor to lead the people. 
 Numb, xxvii. 17. What were liis reasons for this remarkable 
 omission, which made an essential breach in the constitution of 
 the government, and led to all the disorders of anarchy, is not 
 noticed in Scripture, and can only be supplied by conjecture. 
 Perhaps the rising jealousy and rivalsliip of the northern and 
 southern states, headed by the tribes of Ephraim and Judah, 
 may have prevented their uniting in the choice of a judge for the 
 common weal ; and God may have left them to themselves, to 
 follow their own imaginations, in politicks and in religion, in or- 
 der to prove them, and to humble their pride, and to chastise them 
 
 2 And the Lord said, Judah shall go Christ 
 up : behold, I have delivered the land into ahoutuji. 
 his hand. 
 
 3 And Judah said unto Simeon his bro- 
 ther, Come up with me into my lot, that 
 we may fight against the Canaanites ; and 
 I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. 
 So Simeon went with him. 
 
 4 And Judah went up ; and the Lord 
 delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites 
 into their hand : and they slew of them in 
 Bezek ten thousand men. 
 
 5 And they found Adoni-bezek in Be- 
 
 for their good : as also, for these wise reasons. He left a remnant 
 of the devoted nations, and part of the land, unsubdued by Joshua, 
 " without hastily driving them out," Judges ii. 20 — 23; iii. 1 — 4. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 It is probable that, after the de.ith of Joshua, every tribe was 
 governed by its respective head, or elder ; (which form of govern- 
 ment subsisted about thirty years ;) and that, in their wars with 
 the Canaanites, they made these their commanders. Stackhouse. 
 
 3. — ■ Judah said unto Simeon his brother.'] Simeon and Judah 
 were brethren by the same father and motlier ; and the tribes de- 
 scended from them were also joined together in situation, tlie lot 
 of Simeon being taken out of the lot of Judali, Josh. xk. 9. Bp. 
 Patrick.
 
 Jentsalenu Hebron, 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 Hormah, Gaza, ^c. talcen. 
 
 Ik-Torr 
 CHKIST 
 
 about l-IJ.). 
 
 tHr<<. 
 
 tflhnr 
 k'lndi and 
 mflkrirfftl. 
 1 Or, 
 gltaned. 
 
 • Jodi. la 
 M. & 11. 
 SI. & \y 
 1% 
 
 jOr. 
 
 fry. 
 
 *loA. 15. 
 
 IS. 
 
 m^. 
 
 zck : and tlipy fought again.«;t him, and 
 thcv slew the' Canaanitcs and the Periz- 
 zifes. 
 
 a But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pur- 
 sued a(Ver him, and caught him, and cut 
 off his thumbs and his great toes. 
 
 7 And Adoni-hezek said, Threescore and 
 ten kings, having t tlieir thumbs and their 
 great toes cut oft', II gatlicred their meat 
 under my table: as I liave done, so God 
 hath requited me. Ami they brought him 
 to Jerusalem, and there he died. 
 
 8 Now tiie children of Judah had fought 
 against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and 
 .«:mitten it with the edge of the sword, and 
 eet the city on fire. 
 
 9 % ' And afterward the children of Ju- 
 dah went down to tight against the Canaan- 
 ites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the 
 south, and in the || valley. 
 
 10 And Judah went against the Canaan- 
 ites that dwelt in Hebron : (now the name 
 of Hebron before rvas ^ Kirjath-arba :) and 
 theyslew Sheshai, and Aliiman, and Talmai. 
 
 11 And from thence he went against 
 the inhabitants of Debir : and the name of 
 Debir before 'was Kirjath-sepher : 
 
 1'2 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kir- 
 jath-seplier, and taketh it, to him will I 
 give Achsah my daughter to wife. 
 
 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Ca- 
 leb's younger brother, took it : and he gave 
 him Ach.sah his daughter to wife. 
 
 14 And it came to pass, when she came 
 to him, that she moved him to ask of her 
 father a field : and she lighted from off 
 her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What 
 wilt thou? 
 
 15 And she said unto him, Give me a 
 
 6. — Oil off" his thumbs and his great toes.^ They did this, to 
 render him incnpable of any warlike action in future, and in just 
 retaliation of his pride and cruelty towards others, as follows in 
 the next verse ; {Pi/lc ;) to render him unable to handle amis by 
 reason of tlie loss of his thumbs, or to run swiftly (which was a 
 notable qualitj- in a warriour of those days) from the loss of his 
 great toes. Up. Patrick: 
 
 7- — as I have donr, so God hath requited jnc] Thus does the 
 •ulTering of punishment extort the confession of guilt. Adoni- 
 berek, who scarcely Iwlieved, or at least not well remembered, 
 there was a God till now, is liere forced to confess. The irresis- 
 tible GikI, who cruslieth down the proud. He liath requited me 
 Jot. Mcdc. 
 
 \2. And Caleb said, &c.] This and the tliree followinff verses 
 occurred before at Josh. xv. l6: they seem to have bew there 
 inwrutl from this place, for the jiurpose of brinmng together 
 ^1 more fully illustraUng, all tliat related to the tribe of Ju- 
 
 16. -- the chiUreii of the Kcnilc, Moses' father in latv.l We read 
 at Numb. X. 39, that Hobab, the son of Jethro, was invited bv 
 Moses to accompany him to the land of Cajiaan ; and the offer it 
 appears, was accepted. Bp. Patrick: "^e oner, it 
 
 Before 
 CHllIST 
 
 atiout 112,'). 
 
 ' Kiiml>. 
 21. 3. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 he jiassesitd 
 
 the mouH' 
 
 blessing : for thou liast given me a south 
 land ; give me also springs of water. And 
 Caleb gave her the upper springs and the 
 nether springs. 
 
 IG H Antl the children of the Kenite, ai'o»tH-'3 
 Moses' father in law, went up out of the 
 city of palm trees with the children of Ju- 
 dah into the wilderness of Judah, which 
 lieth in the south of Arad ; and they went 
 and dwelt among the people. 
 
 17 And Judah went with Simeon his 
 brother, and they slew the Canaanitcs that 
 inhabited Zcphath, and utterly destroyed 
 it. And the name of the city was called 
 ' Hormah. 
 
 18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast 
 tlicreof, and Askelon with the coast there- 
 of, and Ekron with the coast tliereof. 
 
 19 And the Lord was with Judah ; and 
 II he drave out the inhabitants o/'the moun- 
 tain ; but could not drive out the inha- 
 bitants of the valley, because they had """ 
 chariots of iron. 
 
 20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, 
 
 ■* as Moses said : and he expelled thence '' N.-mb 
 the three sons of Anak. josh i-». 
 
 21 And the children of Benjamin did 13. &is. 
 not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited 
 Jerusalem ; but the Jebusites dwell with 
 
 the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto 
 this day. 
 
 22 % And the house of Joseph, they also 
 went up against Beth-el : and the Lord 
 •was with them. 
 
 23 And the house of Joseph sent to de- 
 scry Beth-el. (Now the name of the city 
 before leas ' Luz.) j^*^"- ^s- 
 
 24> And the spies saw a man come forth 
 out of the city, and they said unto him, 
 
 — — the city of palm trees'^ Meaning Jericho, about which 
 grew a number of palm trees. They probably dwelt in the terri- 
 tory round it, lor the city itself was destroyed by Joshua : pro- 
 bably, however, some fortifications and houses remained ; for we 
 read, at chap. iii. 13, that the Moabites took it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 9. — cmdd not drive out the inhabitants of ttte vaUey,'] Here 
 now began to be opened the fountain of all the evils that after- 
 wards befell the Israelites ; in that, either through sloth or covet- 
 ousness, or distrust of God's power, or forgetfulness of His pro- 
 mise, or more lenity than the Law of Moses allowed, they did 
 not attempt to subdue those people who were stronger than ordi- 
 nary ; or, being unfaithful to God, failed in the attempt ; or, 
 having some success, only brought them under tribute. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. They feared, or cared not, to attack the inhabitants of the 
 low country " because they had chariots of iron," because they 
 were foi-midable from their numbers, strength, and instnmients 
 of war. Br. Wells, Pyle. 
 
 21. — did not drive out the Jebusites'^ They probably did not 
 attempt to drive them out, from a similar distrust of the power of 
 God. Dr. fVelli. 
 
 22 the house of .Joseph,'} Meaning the tribe of Ephraim ; for 
 
 Manassehj Joseph's other son, is mentioned at ver. 27. Bp. Patrick.
 
 The Canaanites 
 
 CHAP. 1, ir. 
 
 are not "wholly driven out. 
 
 chrTst ^^^^^^ "s» "w^ P^^y ^h^^» *^he entrance into 
 about i4_'5. the city, and ' we will shew thee mercy, 
 f joih. 2. 25 And when he shewed them the en- 
 "• trance into the city, they smote the city 
 
 with the edge of the sword ; but they let 
 go the man and all his family. 
 
 26 And the man went into the land of 
 the Hittites, and built a city, and called the 
 name thereof Luz : which is the name 
 thereof unto this day. 
 • Josh. 17. 27^ ^Neither did Manasseh drive out 
 the inhabitants o/"Beth-shean and her towns, 
 nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inha- 
 bitants of Dor and her towns, nor the in- 
 habitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the 
 inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns : but 
 the Canaanites would dwell in that land. 
 
 28 And it came to pass, when Israel was 
 strong, that they put the Canaanites to tri- 
 bute, and did not utterly drive them out. 
 Mosh. 16. 29 ^ " Neither did Ephraim di'ive out the 
 Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer ; but the 
 Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. 
 
 30 % Neither did Zebulun drive out the 
 inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants 
 of Nahalol ; but the Canaanites dwelt a- 
 mong them, and became tributaries. 
 
 31 ^ Neither did Asher drive out the in- 
 habitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of 
 Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of 
 Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob : 
 
 27. — the Canaanites ivould dwell in that land.'] That is, they 
 were content to pay tribute, rather than be driven out : so the He- 
 brew word, which we translate 7vould, may signify. Dr. Wells. 
 
 28. — Iheii put the Canaanites to trihule,] This early degree of 
 sloth and worldtimindedness laid the foundation of all the ensu- 
 insj calamities which befell the people. Pi/le. Herein tlie Israel- 
 ites acted conti-ary to the Divine Law, by which they were per- 
 emptorily commanded to destroy the Canaanites when they were 
 able. They were probably influenced by motives of indolence 
 and gain. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 32. — the As/ic rites dwelt among the Canaanites, "2 It appears 
 from this expression that the tribe of Asher did not even make 
 the Canaanites tributarj-, but entered into a league of friendship 
 with them, and mixed with them, as if they had been one nation. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 S6. — from the rock,~] The Hebrew word here is Selah ; as 
 some think, the name of a city in Edom, called Petra by the 
 Greeks and Romans. The limits of the country are here laid 
 down, to which the Amorites were now confined by tlie Israel- 
 ites. Dr. IVells. 
 
 The situation of the Jewish nation, diu-ing the government of 
 its judges, seems calculated to promote the efficacy of that system 
 of discipline, imder which it was placed, by the very circumstance 
 whicli at first sight seems most repugnant to it, tlie want of a close 
 union and common interest between the several tribes. If, on 
 the one hand, this prevented them from regulaily uniting under 
 a common leader, except when such an one was pointe<l out by 
 some clear manifestation of the Divine will in his apjjointment, 
 and Divine aid in his support, and thus left them, both as tribes 
 and individuals, to do " what was right in their own eyes," with- 
 out any immediate, visible, and regular control ; on the other 
 hand, this veiy circumstance enabled the Deity to exhibit more 
 conspicuously the operation of that particular Providence, which 
 
 32 But the Asherites dwelt among the p'?''"°l;t;T 
 Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land : for abott hU 
 they did not drive them out. 
 
 33 % Neither did Naphtali drive out the 
 inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inha- 
 bitants of Beth-anath ; but he dwelt among 
 the Canaanites, the inliabitants of the land : 
 nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-she- 
 mesh and of Beth-anath became tributaries 
 unto them. 
 
 34. And the Amorites forced the children 
 of Dan into the mountain : for they would 
 not suffer them to come down to the 
 valley : 
 
 35 But the Amorites would dwell in 
 mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaal- 
 bim : yet the hand of the house of Jo- 
 seph t prevailed, so that they became tri- t ha. 
 butaries. ^>h.^vy. 
 
 3Q And the coast of the Amorites "teas 
 from II the going up to Akrabbim, from the H O""- 
 rock, and upward. AMMm. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 1 An angel rebuketh the people at Bochim. 6 The nick- 
 edness of the new generation qfier Joshua. 14 God's 
 anger and pity towards them. 20 The Canaanites are 
 left to prove Israel. 
 
 AND an II angel of the Lord came up 11 Or, 
 from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I 
 made you to go up out of Egypt, and have 
 
 He had declared should distribute temporal prosperity and cala- 
 mity, according to the degree of obedience or disobedience to the 
 Mosaick Law, which not only the people collectively, but each dis- 
 tinct tribe and family, should manifest ; and thus gradually to 
 imprint more deeply on the whole nation the necessity of obedi- 
 ence to the Divins will, bj- examples witliin their immediate ob- 
 servance, the full force of which they could distinctly appre- 
 hend. Of the plan of distributing prosperity or calamity to the 
 chfferent tribes, according to their good or ill conduct, we have 
 numerous instances. Thus Judali and Simeon, Judg. i. went to 
 attack and dispossess the Canaanites, who were remaining in 
 the territor)' allotted to their inheritance, and the Lord was with 
 them, and gave their arms success, as far as thev continued their 
 confidence in the Divine aid. A similar observation is made 
 with regard to the tribe of Joseph ; while five otlier tribes are 
 enumerated, who, indulging their own indolence, or destitute of 
 sufficient faith in tlie Divine aid, would not drive out the Canaan- 
 ites, but were satisfied witli making them tributarj- ; and the 
 subsequent history she\vs, tliat this was the cause of the severest 
 calamities to these tribes : those nations soon becime " thorns in 
 theii- sides," Judg. ii. 3 ; the instrmnents of the Divine chastise- 
 ments, merited by this disobedience, and by tlie subsequent idol- 
 atries to which it leil. Dr. Graves. 
 
 Chap. II. ver. 1. — an angel of the Lord] From the words 
 which follow, " I made you to go up out of Eg)-pt," it appears 
 that this was not a created, but an uncreated angel, '• the Angel of 
 the covenant," the same which appeared to Joshua near Jericho,- 
 Josh. v. lo, which, as was there shewn, was the Son of God 
 Himself. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 came up from Gilgal to Bochim,] The Divine Person 
 
 spake first perhaps to some considerable persons at Gilgal, and 
 then to the whole assembly at Bocliim, Pi/le. In all probability. 
 
 messtngtr.
 
 The Israelites rebuked at Bochm. 
 
 J r D G E S. 
 
 Their wickedness after Joshua. 
 
 Bttxn broiifrht yf>" »nit<^ the land wliicli I swaie 
 ^uilJ. unto your tatliers ; and 1 said, 1 will never 
 
 break my covenant with you. 
 •DcutT.j. i2 Anil 'ye shall make no leap;iie with 
 * Deui. u'. the inhabitants of this land; 'ye shall throw 
 '■ down their altars : but ye have not obeyed 
 
 my voice : wliv have ye done this ? 
 "3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive 
 
 them out from before you ; but they shall 
 ' Ji-h .2.1. be ' as thorns in your sides, and their gods 
 'EioAas. shall be a "snare unto you. 
 8S.AS4. 4 And it came to pass, when the angel 
 "" of the LoRn spake these words unto all the 
 
 children of Israel, that the people lifted up 
 
 their voice, and wept. 
 .5 And they called the name of that place 
 I ■"'»' »• II Bochim : and they sacrificed there unto 
 
 wttjttn. . ^ '' 
 
 the Lord. 
 *hout 1 in. 6 ^ And when Joshua had let the people 
 go, the children of Israel went every man 
 unto his inheritance to possess the land. 
 7 And the people served the Lokd all 
 
 the liittcr place was Sliiloh, m liere tlie peojilc of Israel were wont 
 to as.>«'ml>Ie, and which was now called Bochim. Bp. Patrick. 
 Or else it lay near to Sliiloh. Dr. Wdls. 
 
 ;}. H'/iiriJ'ure I also said,! " I said" means " I resolved." Dr. 
 WelU. 
 
 G. .ind trhen Joshua luid &c.] The inspired ■writer here repeats 
 what had before been mentioned in the book of Joshua ; probably 
 in order to shew that the Israelites went to their possessions well 
 disposed, altliough their love of the world and study of their own 
 private advantages so increased, .as to make them forget the piib- 
 Jick good, and tiike little care of their religion. Bp. Patriclc. 
 
 7. — serfcd the Lord all the dai/.t of Joshua,'] The .lews were 
 strictly commanded to complete the expulsion of the Canaanites, 
 fully empowered to do to, and warned of the guilt of neglectitig 
 it ; of the temptation to which that neglect would expose them, 
 and the certain punishment which would aw.iit their trans<Tes- 
 sion. On their di.sobeying the Divine command, an angel was 
 Kcnt to remind them of their duty, and of the danger they incur- 
 red. Notwithstmding, however, their repeated and flagrant dis- 
 obedience, the wonders they had .ilready seen, and the discipline 
 under which they had been trained, prfxluced on that generation 
 a decisive and jiermanent effect, for " Israel served the I.ord 
 all the days of Josluia, and of the elders that outlived Joshua." 
 Dr. Gravis. 
 
 10. — ir/iich hierr not the Lorrf,] VMiich did not regard the 
 Lorti, nor cleave to His religion. ;};,. PalricL Which had not 
 been eyewitnesses of the before-mentioned miracles, and there- 
 fore were tlioughtless of Gotl, and careless of their duty tow;u-ds 
 Hun. Dr. U'llls. 
 
 The Jews were, at this period, mere children in moral and re- 
 ligious conduct : they were very inattentive to the history of past 
 transactions, s') that many of the very next generation after Joshua 
 " knew not," that is, considered not, and therefore acted as if they 
 had not known, the wonders which God had wrought for Israel. 
 1 he tempuitions to intermarry with their neighbours, and adopt 
 their ni.Tnners and worship, were too powerful for their unsteady 
 lUK carnal minds : the beauty of the women of Canaan, the pomp 
 anil Ruety of their festivals, the voluptuousness of their impure 
 ntes, the hope of gratifying their curiosity by idolatrous divina- 
 uons, the overpowering fe.ars impressed on their souls by idola- 
 trous superstition ; Uieir anxiety to conciliate the favour of those 
 m^'ill'whi.'l^,'''"' ^^P'^"^'"'*^ "^ 'h« peculiar gods of the coun- 
 ^t^US i'P;^"''."«'«ly ^-ttled; these and other similar 
 moUves demanded a strict and immediate discipline to counteract 
 
 the days of Joshua, and all the days of ^^^^'^^ 
 the elders that t outlived Joshua, who had ai,out im. 
 seen all the great works of the Lord, that f hci,. 
 he did for Israel. Tv'rXl. 
 
 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the ser- j,,;/,„a. 
 vant of the Lord, died, being an hundred "'•""'hsr 
 and ten years old. 
 
 9 And they buried him in the border of 
 hfs inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the 
 mount of Ephraim, on the north side of 
 the hill Gaash. 
 
 10 And also all that generation were ga- 
 thered unto their fathers : and there arose 
 another generation after them, which knew 
 not the Loun, nor yet the works which he 
 had done for Israel. 
 
 11^ And the children of Israel did evil 
 in the sight of the Lohd, and served Baa- 
 lim : 
 
 12 And they forsook the Lord God of ^i^o"* "<»^ 
 their fathers, which brought them out of 
 the land of Egypt, and followed other gods. 
 
 their influence, and to pre-wrve amidst this back.sliding anct 
 unstable people the main principles of religion and morality. 
 Dr. Graves. 
 
 11. — served Baalim:'] The idol gods or deified men of tlie 
 Canaanites and other nations. The word Baal, in Hebrew, signi- 
 fies " Lord," and was applied as a general name to the idols of 
 Syria, Palestine, and the neighbouring nations. Bp. Patrick, Dr. 
 Well.i. " Baal and Ashtaroth," ver. \?>, the sun and the moon. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 12. And thci/ forsook the Lord God of their fathers,"] It ha.s 
 sometimes been asserted, that the repeated relapses of the Jewn 
 into idolatry, at various periods of their history, render the reality 
 of the Mosaick miracles suspicious : for, according to those who 
 thus argue, it is not credible that the witnesses of such stupen- 
 dous miracles, or their immediate posterity, should liave so soon 
 forgotten the Divine power thus plainly manifested, or apostatize 
 from a religion thus awfiilly enforced. But these reasoners en- 
 tirely misfcike the nature of this apostasy, and forget the character 
 of the people among whom, and the period when, it took place. 
 These relapses into idolatry never implied a rejection of Jehovah, 
 as their God, or a doubt of the truth of the Mosaick Law. The 
 Jewish idolatry consisted for the most part in worshipping the 
 true God by images and symbols; or in worshipping Him in 
 forbidden places, on high hills, and under groves ; or in com- 
 bining idolatrous rites with the Mosaick appointment, and 
 joining together the worship of God and idols, none of which 
 imply any doubt of the existence of the true Jehovah, but arose 
 from their proneness to imitate the superstitions of the neigh- 
 bouring nations. Even when they gave way to that most fla- 
 grant species of idolatry, the worship of idols without God ; yet 
 even then they did not so much reject the true God, as conceive 
 that there were intermediate and subordinate deities, with whom 
 they had more immediate concern. In truth, the temptations to 
 some or all of these kinds of idolatry were so powerful, from er- 
 rours in opinion widely spread, and sanctioned by the Egyptians 
 and Canaanites, and strengthened by the habitual attachment of 
 the Jews to the idols, the symbols, and the rites of Egypt, as well 
 as the sensual allurements of idolatrous worship, and the over- 
 powering terrours of idolatrous superstition ; that we have rather 
 reason to wonder that the .Jews, dull, sensual, and stubborn a« 
 they were, could by any system of discipline be corrected, than to 
 doubt that such Divine superintendence and control was actually 
 exercised, because they relapsed go frequently into their idolatries. 
 Dr. Graves.
 
 God's anger and piti/ toxcards them. 
 
 CHAP. ir. 
 
 The Canaanites left to prove Israel. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 ' Vi*. 4 1. 
 
 12. 
 
 Isa. .50. I. 
 
 ' Lev. 26. 
 Deut.28. 
 
 + Heb. 
 
 of tlie gods of the people that tvere round 
 IboutV406. about them, and bowed themselves unto 
 them, and provoked the Lord to anger. 
 
 13 And they forsook the Lord, and 
 served Baal and A.shtaroth. 
 
 14 ^ And the anger of the Lord was hot 
 against Israel, and he delivered them into 
 the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and 
 " he sold them into the hands of their ene- 
 mies round about, so that they could not 
 any longer stand before their enemies. 
 
 15 Whithersoever they went out, the 
 hand of the Lord was against them for 
 evil, as the Lord had said, and ^ as the 
 Lord had sworn unto them : and they were 
 greatly distressed. 
 
 16 ^Nevertheless the Lord raised up 
 judges, which t delivered them out of the 
 hand of those that spoiled them. 
 
 17 And yet they would not hearken un- 
 to their judges, but they went a whoring 
 after other gods, and bowed themselves 
 unto them : they turned quickly out of 
 the way which their fathers walked in, 
 obeying the commandments of the Lord ; 
 but they did not so. 
 
 18 And when the Lord raised them up 
 judges, then the Lord was with the judge, 
 and delivered thetn out of the hand of their 
 enemies all the days of the judge : for it 
 
 14, 15. And the anger of tlie Lord was hot &c.] The Divine 
 vengeance soon began to repay them the effects of their folly and 
 ingratitude ; the Canaanites became their masters, and treated 
 them on all sides with desolation, insolence, and slaverj'. Thus 
 God fulfilled His tlireatenings, Deut. xxviii ; and, in proportion 
 to the increase of their iniquities, they became weak and destitute, 
 .•md a perfect prey to their enemies. P'/lc. 
 
 \6. — Judges,"] These were extraordinary rulers, inspired with 
 courage and wisdom for their deliverance from slavery, and for 
 effecting their reformation. Pyle. They appear to ha\e had au- 
 thority chiefly in time of war, so that, commonly, when they liad 
 wrought the delivcrajice for the people, and the army was dis- 
 missed, they became private persons again : still some had an 
 established authority for their life, not o\er the whole common- 
 wealth of Israel, but over that part of it whicli they rescued from 
 slavery. Tha constant plirase concerning these great men, is, 
 "that the Lord raised them up ;" that is, stirred them, by an ex- 
 traordinary motion, to undertake things beyond the reach of hu- 
 man wisdom or power. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 They were governours, possessing a power between that of a 
 king and an ordinary magistrate ; inferiour to tliat of the former, 
 and superioiir to the latter. Scripture tells us, that Ciod " raised 
 them up ;" that is, communicated to them gifts, natural and super- 
 nat\iral, according to the exigencies of the people ; and, in all their 
 encounters with their enemies, attended them with a peculiar pro- 
 vidence. They were appointed by God; being, liowever, only 
 marked out for the office by the gifts with which He invested 
 them, and the exploits which He enabled them to perform. They 
 were, in tact, God's vicegerents for the government of the people : 
 every attempt at raising themselves to the regal dignity was deenv- 
 ed an usurpation on His right, who was the only Sovereign of the 
 Hebrews ; and therefore we find Giileon refusing this supreme 
 autliority when it was offered to him. chap. viii. 23. In short. 
 Vol. f. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1406. 
 
 «Ch^. a 
 12. 
 II Or. 
 were cor., 
 rupt. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 lltcif lei no- 
 
 IhingfaUef 
 
 their. 
 
 II Or, 
 nffrred. 
 
 repented the Lord because of their groan- 
 ing.s by reason of them that oppressed them 
 and vexed them. 
 
 19 And it came to pass, ^ when the judge 
 was dead, tliat they returned, and II cor- 
 rupted themselves more than their fathers, 
 in following other gods to serve them, and 
 to bow down unto them ; t they ceased not 
 from their owTi doings, nor from their stub- 
 born way. 
 
 20 ^ And the anger of the Lord was 
 hot against Israel ; and he said. Because 
 that this people hath transgressed my co- 
 venant which I commanded their fathers, 
 and have not hearkened unto my voice ; 
 
 2L I also will not henceforth drive out 
 any from before them of the nations which 
 Joshua left when he died : 
 
 22 That through them I may prove Is- 
 rael, whether they will keep the way of the 
 Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did 
 keep it, or not. 
 
 23 Therefore the Lord || left those na- 
 tions, without driving them out hastily ; 
 neither delivered he them into the hand of 
 Joshua. 
 
 CHAP. m. 
 
 1 The nations which were hft to jirore Israel. 6 By 
 communion with them they commit idolatry. 8 0th' 
 
 tliese judges were by office the protectors of the laws, the de- 
 fenders of religion, and the avengers of all crimes, particularly of 
 idolatry. It must be owned, that, as the power of working niira« 
 cles is not necessarily accompanied witli a holy life, so the per- 
 sons, thus employed by Go<l, did not always lead lives answerable 
 to this high character : thej- were men of the same passions and 
 infirmities with others; and the great advantages wliicli, under 
 Ciod, they procured for the Israelites, did not exempt tlicm from 
 that frailtj', which is incident to all things human. Slackhouse. 
 They were raised up by God, not in regular succes.sion, but as 
 emergencies required, when the repentance of the Israelites in- 
 fluenced Him to compassionate their distress, and to afford them 
 deliverance from their dangers. Thej- frequently acted by a Di- 
 vine suggestion, and were endowed with preternatural .strength 
 and fortitude. Some reckon, on the whole, fifteen, and some six- 
 teen, judges. Dr. Gray. God raised up vnrious judges .md king* 
 and Prophets to deliver, to instruct, and to govern His people ; 
 and Hega\e them such aids of valour, prudence, knowledge, and 
 such a degree of success, as were sufficient for the purposes they 
 were necess.irily to answer; but He did not make them, or the 
 nation at large, infallible or incapable of .sinning : the judges 
 often fell into errours .md crimes; Samson abused his superna- 
 tural strength ; as in af\ertimes, David's piety and virtue m c-r<- 
 overpowered by criminal desire acquiring an undue asci'iulaiicy ; 
 and Solomon, notwithstanding his extraordinary wisdum, was 
 corrupted by sensuality, and fell into idolatry- But this doe» 
 not render it at all incredible that they were actually employed 
 by Go<l to effect His purposes, and were, on particular occasions, 
 assisted with extraordin:iry aid. Dr. Graves. 
 
 18. — for it repented the Lord} That is, God altered tlie course 
 of His providence towards them, when llu-y groaned under their 
 oppressions, and cried to Him for help with tiie promise of anieHd- 
 ment, chap. iii. 9) 1*; >"'• 7, 8. Bp. Palrivk. 
 
 3N
 
 The vat'iovs left to proxe Israel. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 Otfmiel delivereth Israel. 
 
 Effort Hiil Mwrrtih ihcin from ChusliaH'Tinhathaim. 12 
 
 CHRIST yjiud from KeUm. ' 31 Shamgar from the Phi. 
 
 NOW these are the nations which the 
 Loud left, to prove Israel by them, 
 even as many of Israel as had not known 
 all the wars of Canaan ; 
 
 2 Only that the generations of the chil- 
 dren of Israel might know, to teach them 
 war, at the least such us before knew 
 nothing thereof; 
 
 S Naviely, five lords of the Philistines, 
 and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, 
 and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Le- 
 banon, from mount Baal-hermon unto the 
 entering in of Hamath. 
 
 4 And they were to prove Israel by them, 
 to know whether they would hearken unto 
 the commandments of the Lord, which he 
 commanded their fathers by the hand of 
 Moses. 
 
 5 % And the children of Israel dwelt 
 among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amo- 
 rites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Je- 
 busites : 
 
 C And they took their daughters to be 
 their wives, and gave their daughters to 
 their sons, and served their gods. 
 iboutHoc. 7 And the children of Israel did evil 
 in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the 
 Lord their God, and served Baalim and 
 the groves. 
 
 8 ^ Therefore the anger of the Lord 
 
 Chap. III. ver. 2. — that the generations — vtight knorv, to teach 
 ihcm fi'nr,] Anotlier reason is here piven for a portion of the Ca- 
 naanites Ijoinj: left among the Israelites ; namely, to keep up their 
 ■warlike discipKne and disposition, to prevent their growing slug- 
 gish from the want of occasions to exercise their courage, and to 
 make them feel more sensibly their continued dependence on the 
 power of God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — look their dannhlcrs to be their wivesA Which w.is a much 
 more flagrant breach of the law of God, than the mere making 
 leagues with them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — and lie groves.'] By " groves" we are here to understand 
 the images of their gods in the groves. Selden. Or, the idols fixed 
 in temples, which were siirrounde<l anciently with trees, to make 
 the piace^ more solemn and awful. Pt/le. Some take the expression 
 of " serving the groves," to mean, literally, worshipping the trees 
 themselves, which were sometimes consecrated to particular dei- 
 ties. Bp. Patrick. .See 2 Kings xvii. 10; xxi. 7; xxiii. 4, 6, 7, 1-i, 1 5. 
 
 8. — he sold them into the hancF] Brought them under tribute, 
 and forced them to buy their peace on hard terms. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Mesopotamia :] The country which lay between the 
 
 rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. • — the iipirit of the Lord came upon kirn,"] He had an cx- 
 traordinarj- impulse "from God to take upon him the government of 
 the countr)-. anil to Judge Israel, that is, to rectify what was amiss, 
 wid (.rpecially to bring them back to the true worship of God 
 Bp. Pntnck, Dr. IVclls. " The Spirit of the Lord," by which he 
 w.v< said to be inspired, here and in many other parts of the Old 
 lestament. mtiraates the spirit of fortitude, or extraorcUnary cou- 
 n^ ts opposed to the sjjirit of fear or faintness of heart. Dr 
 
 was hot against Israel, and he sold theip 
 into the hand of ChusJian-rishathaim king 
 of t Mesopotamia : and the children of 
 Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight 
 years. 
 
 y And when the children of Israel cried 
 unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a t de- 
 liverer to the children of Israel, who deli- 
 vered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, 
 Caleb's younger brother. 
 
 10 And the Spirit of the Lord t came 
 upon him, and he judged Israel, and went 
 out to war : and the Lord delivered Chu- 
 shan-rishathaim king of t Mesopotamia into 
 his hand ; and his hand prevailed against 
 Chushan-rishathaim. 
 
 11 And the land had rest forty years. 
 And Othniel the son of Kenaz died. 
 
 12 ^ And the children of Israel did evil 
 again in the sight of the Lord : and the 
 Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab 
 against Israel, because they had done evil 
 in the sight of the Lord. 
 
 18 And he gathered unto him the chil- 
 dren of Ammon and Amalek, and went and 
 smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm 
 trees. 
 
 14 So the children of Israel served Eg- 
 lon the king of Moab eighteen years. 
 
 15 But when the children of Israel cried 
 unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up 
 a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, || a Ben- 
 jamite, a man t lefthanded : and by him 
 
 Bifoi* 
 CIIRISf 
 about 140S. 
 
 t Htb. 
 
 ./Iram-na- 
 
 liiiraim. 
 
 about HOS. 
 
 t Heb. 
 xnviour. 
 about li>94. 
 
 fHcb. 
 was. 
 
 t Heb. 
 ytrum. 
 
 about 135^ 
 
 about 133^. 
 II Or, 
 thr 3on of 
 Jemini. 
 fHeb. 
 «Au« nfhis 
 right kanil. 
 
 12. And the children of Israel did ei'il again^ No sooner " had 
 Israel rest," than it is added, " they did evil again." Thus the 
 security of any people is too often the cause of their corruption. 
 While the Israelites were exercised with war, how scrupulous 
 were they of the least intimation of idolatry : the mere news of 
 an altar beyond Jordan, Josh. xxii. 1 5, &c. drew them together 
 for a revenge ; now when they are at peace witli their enemies, 
 they become at variance with God. Bp. Hall. 
 
 The most remarkable circumstance in the various Jewish apo- 
 stasies seems to be this; that it was only in their prosperity the 
 Mosaick Law was neglected and violated; in adversity, when re- 
 flection was awakened, and seriousness restored, they always cried 
 to their God, as the only sure source of deliverance, and as uni- 
 formly received the deliverance they sought. Surely this can be 
 accounted for, only on the supposition that the Mosaick Law was 
 really dictated by a Divine authority, and continually supported 
 by a Divine interposition. Dr. Graves. 
 
 From the circumstance of the Israelites being most prone to 
 idolatry in prosperous times, and generally returning to the God 
 of their fathers at the season of adversity, we are suppUed with a 
 clear proof that their defection from the true God was not any 
 doubt of His goodness or power, but a wanton abuse of His bless- 
 ings. If they had doubted the truth and Divine authority of their 
 Law, their behaviour would have been naturally otherwise : they 
 would have adhered to it in times of prosperity, and would have 
 left it in adversity and trouble. Bp. Warburton. 
 
 1.3. — nent and smote Israel,"] That part of Israel which lived 
 east of Jordan ; and also, passing over Jordan, took the city and 
 territory of Jericho in the tribe of Benjamin. Dr. Wells. 
 
 15. .— a man lefihandcd :'] The Hebrew word is thought to
 
 Ehud k'tlkth Eglon. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The Moahites subdued. 
 
 chrTst ^^^ children of Israel sent a present unto 
 «bout 133C. Eglon the king of Moab. 
 
 16 But Ehud made him a dagger which 
 had two edges, of a cubit length ; and he 
 did gird it under his raiment upon his riglit 
 thigh. 
 
 17 And he brought the presentunto Eglon 
 king of Moab : and Eglon 'was a very fat man. 
 
 18 And when he had made an end to 
 offer the present, he sent away the people 
 that bare the present. 
 
 19 But he himself turned again from the 
 II Of- II quarries that "were by Gilgal, and said, I 
 f««5rt. have a secret errand unto thee, O king : 
 
 who said, Keep silence. And all that 
 stood by him went out from him. 
 
 20 And Eliud came unto him ; and he 
 J ^*^- \vas sitting in ta summer parlour, which 
 "fJiing"' he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, 
 
 I have a message from God unto thee. 
 And he arose out of his seat. 
 
 21 And Ehud put forth his left hand, 
 and took the dagger from his right thigh, 
 and thrust it into his belly : 
 
 22 And the haft also went in after the 
 blade ; and the fat closed upon the blade, 
 so that he could not draw the dagger out 
 
 8 Or, of his belly ; and || the dirt came out. 
 auiufTrl 23 Then Ehud went forth through the 
 finment. porch, and shut the doors of the parlour 
 upon him, and locked them. 
 
 24 When he was gone out, his servants 
 
 mean, properly, one who could wield a sword equally with either 
 hand ; could use both his hands as his right. Bp. Patrick, Pyle- 
 
 16. — upon his right thigh.'^ As men usually wear their swords 
 on the left thigh, this was done to avoid suspicion, and also to 
 draw it out the more readily with his left hand. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18. — made an end to offer the present,'} There is still presen-ed 
 in the East a great deal of pomp and parade in presenting their 
 gifts ; they frequently load on four or five liorses what might 
 easily be carried on one. Something of this pomp is referred to, 
 in the account of the present made by Ehud, when we read of a 
 number of persons who conveyed it, and of their " making an 
 end of offering the present." Harmer. 
 
 19. — the quarries} It is doubtful what is meant by this word ; 
 some understand a place where stones were dug ; others, the 
 twelve stones which Joshua set up in Gilgal ; others, again, (as 
 in our margin,) graven images, or idols set up by the Moabites, 
 the sight of which, it is thought, stirred up Ehud to revenge the 
 affront to his God. Bp, Patrick. 
 
 20. — / have a message from GudT} This in some sense was true, 
 but not in the sense in which the king understood it. He proba- 
 bly thought that Ehud had met with some Divine apparition, or 
 had been to consult some oracle. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 he arose out of his seat.'] Out of reverence to the name of 
 
 God, whose words he supposed he was to hear. This is a re- 
 markable instance of the ancient veneration which men paid to all 
 that carried the name and authority of God, and reproaches those 
 who ncnv behave themselves irreverently in the Divine worship 
 :ind service. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 We cannot but wonder at the devout reverence of this heathen 
 prince : no sooner does he hear news of a message from God, than 
 he rises up from his throne, and reverently attends the tenour 
 tbcr^oC Though he had no superiour tQ control him, yet ho 
 
 came ; and when they saw that, behold, the c^aisT 
 doors of the parlour ttere locked, they said, about loie. 
 Surely he || covereth his feet in his summer p or, 
 chamber. uothku 
 
 25 And they tarried till they were a- 
 shamed : and, behold, he opened not the 
 doors of the parlour ; therefore they took 
 a key, and opened them .- and, behold, their 
 lord xvas fallen down dead on the earth. 
 
 26 And Ehud escaped while they tarried, 
 and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped 
 unto Seirath. 
 
 27 And it came to pass, when he was 
 come, that he blew a trumpet in the moun- 
 tain of Ephraim, and the children of Is- 
 rael went down with him from the mouiil, 
 and he before them. 
 
 28 And he said unto them. Follow after 
 me : for the Lord hath delivered your ene- 
 mies the Moabites into your hand. And 
 they went down after him, and took the 
 fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered 
 not a man to pass over. 
 
 29 And they slew of Moab at tliat time 
 about ten thousand men, all t lusty, and t Htb. 
 all men of valour ; and there escaped not a''"'' 
 man. 
 
 30 So Moab was subdued that day un- 
 der the hand of Israel. And the land had 
 rest fourscore years. 
 
 31 ^ And after him was Shamgar the 
 son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines 
 
 could not bear to be unmannerly in the presence of God. Tliis 
 man was an idolater, a tyrant ; yet what outward respect docs he 
 pay to the true God ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 21. And Ehud put forth &c.]] This would have been a very un- 
 justifiable act, if he liad not i)een specially excited to it by an ex- 
 press order from God, for the punishment of so oppressive and 
 wicked a tyrant. Py/f. How far such an assassination was justi- 
 fiable, we cannot presume to say : Scripture barely states the fact, 
 without anv comment : the case is not to be judged by oi-dinary 
 rules, nor drawn into a precedent in otlier times. Dr. Hales. The 
 text at chap. iii. 15, expressly says, that " tlie Lord raised up 
 Ehud :" it is well known that all the deliverances which the Jews 
 had under the judges were directed and conducted by the inime« 
 diate hand of God, accoi'ding as the people, by tlieir re))entance, 
 became fit to receive them. Ehud was under a special direction 
 of Heaven, and proceeded under a Divine warrant, which is a 
 clear foundation of action ; but this can never be drawn into a pre- 
 cedent by others, who have no warrant to act upon. Dr. U'atcrland. 
 Or it may be sufficient to understand tli.-»tGo<l made u^e of I'.huii 
 as an in.<;trunient ; not by ins])iring him witli a disposition to kill 
 Eglon, but by giving him, whoii found vith such a. dispusitiuii, 
 power to execute his purpose. Edit. 
 
 as. — the porch,} There is imcertyinty in the word thus trajis- 
 lated : some understand the guard chamber, or place where the 
 king's servants sat, through which Ehud boldly passed. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 24. — he covereth his feci} Or 'ic is hiid down to sleep; they 
 were wont in those countries to sleep in the heat of the day, and 
 tlien, lying down iii their clothes, covered their feet with them. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 27. — Jrvm the inmnt,2 From the mountainous country of 
 Ephraim. Dr. ff'clls. 
 
 S N 2
 
 Istael bpJ>r)Mi^d by Jah'm mul Siscra. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 Dehurah and Barak 
 
 ^k 
 
 six hiiiulred men with an ox goad : and he 
 
 ■bout i3i>;. 
 
 A^ 
 
 ^^^. also deHvered Israel. 
 
 CHAP, IV. 
 
 I Dehoiah and Barak deliver than Jrom Jabin and 
 Sutra. 18 Joel kilkth Stscra. 
 
 \D the chihlren of Israel again did 
 evil in the sight of tlie Loiiu, when 
 Ehud was dead. 
 
 '2 And the Lord sokl them into tlic 
 liand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned 
 in Hazor ; the captain of whose host xcas 
 Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the 
 Gentiles. 
 
 3 And the children of Israel cried unto 
 the Lord : for he had nine hundred cha- 
 riots of iron ; and twenty years he iniglitily 
 oppressed the children of Israel. 
 
 31 . — fiith w/i cu goad :1 Tlie ^oiid oC Palestine is of enormous 
 size, and weU calcufnteci'Tor n niilitiiry oftc-iisive weapon, accord- 
 ing to the description ofUlitiiiilelli-jent Maiindrcll, who observes 
 in his (liarv, " At Kane Leban, (a [jlace about a day's journey from 
 .lerusaleiu^) the country people were, at tiie time when I was tiiere, 
 plouglu'ng every where in tlie fields. It was observable, that in 
 plouV^liiufj they used goads of an extraordinary size : I found 
 some of theo^, on measuring, to be eight feet long, and at the 
 bigger end, sIk inches in circumference. They were armed at 
 the lesser end with a sliorp prickles for driving the oxen ; and, at 
 the other end, with a small spade or paddle of iron, strong and 
 massy, for cleansing the pldtighfrom the clay which encumbers 
 it in working. May we not hence conjecture, that it was with 
 8uch a goad as one of these, that Slianigar made that prodigious 
 slaughter ? I am confident that whoever should sec one of these 
 Instruments, which are commonly used in all these parts, would 
 jmlgL'.it to be a weapon, not less fit, perhaps fitter tlian a sword, 
 for sue!) an execution." It is probable tliat the policy of disarm- 
 ing the Israelites, mentioned in Saul's time, 1 Sam. xiii. 19, was 
 now intro<hiced by their eneinies ; and that Shamgar, for want of 
 other weapons, had recourse to an ox goad, which was left for 
 puqjoses of agriculture. J)r. Hales. 
 
 Clmp. IV'. vcr. 1. — Ihe children of I.<trnd again did'evir] Well 
 might we wonder at the frequent relapses of the children of Is-, 
 rael into idolatry, did we not find the same evil propensity in our- 
 selves, the same pronencss to forsake CJod, and idolize the crea- 
 ture. Ease and prosperity .ire apt to produce in us as ungrate- 
 ful returns to our great Benefactor^ as they did in the Jews. No 
 sooner were they delivered from ttie smart of punishment, but 
 the next accomit of tliem is, that^they " did evil again." Again 
 they are punished ; again they, cry to God ; again they are de- 
 hvcred. Thus, likewise, when affliction presses us sore, we cry 
 unto the Ix)ril in our trouble, and He saveth us from our dis- 
 tress, 'i et no sooner are our fears and dangers over, than we 
 abufc the mercy, and start aside like a broken bow. Thus our 
 hvrs are made up, .-is w;us the histoi7 of the Jews, of acts of diiso- 
 b«licnce and of repejitances ; of judgments and mercies ; che- 
 quered, as it were, with sin and punishment, with forgiveness 
 anil sin. U'ogan. 
 
 been now rebuilt, or the natne Hazor applies not to the city, but 
 to the neij.'hbouring country, lip. Palrick. 
 
 ——- Harofheil, of the Gentiles.'} So called jierhaps because 
 people of many different naUons dwelt there under Jabin's pro- 
 tection. Pp. Vntrick. r^k. See the note on Gen. xiv. 1. 
 
 1. 5F And Deborah, a prophetess, the p/j'^T^T. 
 wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that nbom isic. 
 time. 
 
 5 Antl she dwelt under the palm tree of 
 Deborah between Ilamah and Beth-el in 
 mount Ephraim : and the children of Israel 
 came up to her for judgment. 
 
 (j And she sent and called Barak the son about 12%. 
 of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and 1 
 
 said unto liim, Hath not the Loan God of | 
 
 Israel commanded, .saj/ivg, (io and draw '[' 
 
 toward mount Tabor, and take with thee 
 ten thousand men of the children of Naph- 
 tali and of the children of Zebulun ? 
 
 7 And I will draw unto thee to the ' river ' Ps. fs. r, 
 Kislion Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, '°- 
 with his chariots and his multitude ; and I \ 
 
 will deliver him into thine hand. 
 
 4. — Dc/iorah, a prophelcss^ The term prophetess is apjilied to 
 Deborah in tin; same sense as it was to Miriam ; meaning that 
 she was endued with Divine gifts to instruct, direct, and govern 
 others, and also excited by God's Holy Spirit to declare His will 
 to the people ; which was the peculiar office of a prophet. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 Tiie words piuphct and projt/teless are of ambiguous significa- 
 tion in both Tcstjunents. Sometimes they denote persons extra- 
 ordinarily inspired by God, and endued with the power of work- 
 ing miracles, and foretelling things to come; and sometimes they 
 are used for persons endued with special, though not miraculous 
 gifts or graces, for the better understanding the word of God. 
 As we read nothing of any miraculous action which Deborali per- 
 fonned, she perhaps was only a woman of eminent holiness and 
 prudence, and knowledge of the Scriptures, by which she was 
 singularly (lualificd to "judge the people," that is, to determine 
 causes and controversies among them, according to the word of 
 God. Slackhoiise. See the note on Numb. xi. 25. 
 
 the wife of Lapidoth.'} Some understand Lapidoth to be a 
 
 place, and translate a woman of Lapidoth. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 she Judged IsraeF] Possessed the supreme authority, 
 
 being so well known to be divinely inspired as to procure for 
 her universal reverence, and submission to her judgment. Bp. 
 Patrick. , , . .' • 
 
 r>. — diveli under ike palm tree'} She sat under the- palm tree 
 \yhen she administered judgment. Bp. Patrick. '■. « 
 
 6. — Ilalh not the Lord God'} A form of expression, which sign" 
 nifics, " Assuredly He hath commanded." Dr. Wells. 
 
 mount Tabor,} A famous mountain in Galilee, in Ihe 
 
 tribe of Zebulun. It appears to have been a rtinarkably comibio- 
 dious place for the rendezvous of Barak's forces, since it stood 
 upon the confines of so liiany f^^ferent fribes, was not accessible 
 by the enemy's horses and chariotij'-ind had on its top a spacioue 
 plain, where lie could conveniently disei])Hne his troops. What 
 modern travellers tell us of this mountain. is much to the same- ■ 
 purpose ; " After a very laborious ascent (Sdys Maundrell) we 
 reached the highest parts of the mountain, whicli has a plain area 
 at top, fertile and delicious, about a furlong in length, and two 
 in breadth. The top of this mountain was anciently environed 
 with w-alls, trenches, and other fortifications, of whicli some 
 remains are still visible* . It has generally been believed that 
 our Saviour's transfiguration took place on this mountain. Htuck- 
 
 hoil.KC. ' ■ ;,> 
 
 7. — / n'ill dtnw JiHio thee} These Jire the words of God,- pro- 
 nounced by Deborah, signifying that He would by His secret 
 providence incline Sisera to come within his power, so as to.be 
 destroyed. Pp. J'alrick.. . , % 
 
 river Kishou} This-.riyer rises out of mount Tabor, and, 
 
 flowing westward, empties itself TOto the Mediterranean sea, neaf 

 
 deliver Israel. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Jael killeth Sisera. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 129G. 
 
 ^' Ninnb. 
 
 10. 'jy. 
 
 t IIuI). 
 
 I^nthcred hif 
 cry, or, pro- 
 duvialion. 
 
 8 And Barak said urito her, If thou wilt 
 go with me, then I will go : but if thou 
 wilt not go with me, the7i I will not go.. 
 
 9 And she said, I will surely go with 
 thee ; notwithstanding the journey that 
 thou takest shall not be for thine honour ; 
 for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand 
 of a woman. And Deborah arose, and 
 went with Barak to Kedesh. 
 
 10 If And Barak called Zebulun and 
 Naphtali to Kedesh j and he went up with 
 ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah 
 went up with him. 
 
 11 Now Heber the Kenite, 'wliich was of 
 the children of ''Hobab tiie father in law of 
 Moses, had severed himself from the Ken- 
 ites, and pitched his tent unto the plain 
 of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. 
 
 12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak 
 the. son of Abinoam was gone up to mount 
 Tabor. 
 
 13 And Sisera t gathered together all 
 his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of 
 iron, and all the people that xvere with him, 
 from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the 
 river of Kishon. 
 
 14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up ; 
 for this is the day in which the Lord hath 
 delivered Sisera into thine hand : is not 
 the Lord gone out before thee ? So Barak 
 went down from mount Tabor, and ten 
 thousand men after him. 
 
 mount Carmel. Dr. Wells. Mr. Maundrell says, tliat when he 
 saw it, its waters were inconsiderable ; but it had the appearance 
 of being liable to excessive swellings on sudden rains, chap. r. 21. 
 Stacklioiise. 
 
 8. — If thou ivUt go with me,'\ Barak is commended for hi.s 
 faith in God by the Apostle, Hebr. xi. 32, though it was so weak 
 and imperfect, that he matle conditions witli God's messenger, 
 and absolutely refused to obey till they were granted. He seems 
 to have wanted the advice of Deborah in doubtful matters, and 
 her authority also to keep the soldiers in good order, and inspire 
 fliem vn^i courage. Bp. Patrick. Barak's answer is faithful, 
 though cdnditionate ; Jle' does not so much intend to refuse to 
 go with her, as to biA^ her to aftbrd her presence with liim. Bp. 
 "all. \ ' ■'-. 
 
 11. Nmv Heierihe Ke/iilfii^'^^i'hat is related 'in this verse seems 
 inserted to explain\haV which follows conc^nihig 'Jael, who was 
 Heber's wife. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Heber was of the posterity of Hobab, the son of Jethro, father 
 in law of Moses, and is here called a Kenite, because originally lie 
 descended from tiiose people who dwelt westward of the Dead 
 .^a, and extended themselves pretty far into Arabia Petrea. 
 These Kenites were some of the people, whose lands God had 
 promised to the descendants of Abraham ; nevertheless, in consi- 
 deration of J«;thro, all that submitted to the Israelites were per- 
 mitted to live in their own country. Though they were prose- 
 Ij-tes,. aiid. worshipped the. true Ciod according to the Mosoick 
 I-awVy^t, being strangers by birth, and so not pretending to any 
 right or jptle to the land of Canaan, they held it their best policy, 
 ip those jroublesomc times, to observe a neutrality^ and maintain 
 tjcace, a*' well as they could, bpth with the Israelites an<J Canaau- 
 
 15 AndMh^ LojRD discomfited Sisera, c^^p"/!.!. 
 and all his chariots, and all his host, ■with, about laas. 
 the edge of the sword before Barak ; so ' P«ai. 83. 
 that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and '"' 
 fled away on his feet. 
 
 IG But Barak pursued after the chariots, 
 and after the host, unto Harosheth of the 
 Gentiles : and all the host of Sisera fell 
 upon the edge of the sword ; a7t(l there was 
 not t a man left. t Heb. 
 
 17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet ""'" ""'" 
 to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the 
 Kenite : for there "was peace between Jabin 
 
 the king of Hazor and the house of Heber 
 the Kenite. 
 
 18 ^ And Jael went out to meet Sisera, 
 and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn 
 in to me ; fear not. And when he had 
 turned in unto her into the tent, she co- 
 vered him with a || mantle. L.t/oM*//. 
 
 19 And he said unto her. Give me, I 
 pray thee, a little water to drink ; for I am 
 thirsty. And she opened a * bottle of milk, ^Chap-s. 
 and gave him drink, and covered him. 
 
 20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the 
 door of the tent, and it shall be, when any 
 man doth come and enquire of thee, and 
 say. Is there any man here ? that thou shalt 
 say. No. 
 
 21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of 
 
 the tent, and t took an hammer in her t w^b. 
 hand, and went softly unto him, and smote ^'"• 
 
 ites. Thus it probably happened that there was peace at this 
 time between Jabin and the house of Heber, vir. 17, and that 
 Sisera in his distress fled to Heber's tent for protection. Slack- 
 house, Howell. 
 
 l-t. — hath delivercir] Hath in purpoxc delivered. Dr. Welh. 
 She speaks of the victory as already gained, that she might work 
 in him a more perfect assurance of it. Bp. Patrick. Tlie faith of 
 Deborah and Barak was not appalled by the world of adversa- 
 ries opposed to them. They knew whom they had believed, 
 ;uk1 how little the ann of fle.sh can do against tlie God of hosts. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 19. — she opened a bottle of milk,'\ Out of respect to Sisera, 
 she brought him the best liquor she possessed, and of the best 
 sort. Bp. Patrick. Among the later Arabs, to give a person 
 (Jrink is thought to be the strongest assurance of receiving him 
 \uider protection : hence we may infer, that the conduct of Jael, 
 iii destroying Sisera after shewing him this mark of hospitality, 
 was such, as would, under ordinary circumstances, have been 
 deemed most treacherous and dishonourable. Harmcr. 
 
 21. _ Jael — took a nail of the tent,'} One of the great pins 
 by which the tent was fastened to tlie ground. Bp. Patrick. 
 'I'hese tents (of the Bedoween Arabs) are kept firm and steady, 
 by bracing or stretching down their eves with conls tied down 
 to hooked wooden pins well pointed, which they drive into the 
 ground with a mallet ; one of these pins answering to the nail, as 
 the mallet does to the hammer, wliieh Jael used m fastening to 
 the ground the temples of Sisera. !:ihaip. Jael was movc<l pro- 
 bably to this action by some extraordinary and overruling im- 
 pulse, making her the mstruraent of Di\ ine vengeance : this can 
 alone justify that otherwise unaccountable breach of hospitality-.
 
 The song ^ 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 Deborah and Barak. 
 
 iM-orr the nail into liis temples, ami fastened it 
 Li'ulVsU iuto the ground : for lie was fast asleep and 
 weary, -"^o ''t' died. 
 
 il-2 Aud, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, 
 Jael came out to meet him, and said unto 
 him, Come, and I will shew thee the man 
 whom thou seekest. And wiien he came 
 into her teut, behold, Sisera lay dead, and 
 the nail nv/.v in his temples. 
 
 'iS So God subdiieil on that day Jabui 
 tlie king of Canaan before the children of 
 
 Israel. 
 
 iil And the hand of the chddren ot Is- 
 rael t prospered, and jjrevailed against Jabin 
 the king of Canaan, until they had destroy- 
 
 fHtb. 
 
 ami iwu 
 hanl. 
 
 ed Jabin king of Canaan. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 The song of Deborah and Barak. 
 
 5i>outu9c. rr^HEN sang Deborah and Barak the son 
 X of Abinoam on that day, saying, 
 
 '2 Praise ye the Loud for the avenging 
 of Israel, when the people willingly oftered 
 tiiemselves. 
 
 which is held so sacred among the Arabs, that a violation of it is 
 the bitterest reproach that can be applied to any person in their 
 Iaii<;uago. This case, like that of Ehud, is not to be judged by 
 ortlinary rules. Dr. Hales. Although there is no necessity of 
 justifying the conduct of Jael, and it may be sufficient to under- 
 stand that God usetl her as an instrument for accomplishing His 
 purpose ; yet it can scarce be doubted, but that she had some Di- 
 vine direction or impulse to stir her up to do what she did. The 
 enterprise was exceeding bold and hazardous, above the courage 
 of her sex : the resolution she took appears very extraordinary, 
 and so has the marks and tokens of its being from the exti'aordinary 
 hand of Oo<l. In this view, all is clear and right ; she ought to 
 obey God rather than man, and all obligations to man cease, 
 when brought in competition with our higher obligations towards 
 God. Dr. H'aterland. 
 
 U should be observed, that many actions here recorded were 
 justifiable only on the supposition of Divine warrant, which sn- 
 persedcd all general rules of conduct. Williout this, the deeds 
 of F.huU and of Ju^l would lie pronomiced censurable for their 
 treachery, however prompted by commendable motives. Dr. 
 Oral/. 
 
 Chap. W ver. 1. Then sang Deborah &c.] On occasion of the 
 foregoing deliverancp, DcborTJi, by the assistance of prophetick 
 mspinition, composed the following elegant and inujestick hymn ; 
 wliii-li Burak the general, in conjunction with her authority, or- 
 dered to be sung by the j>eop!e, in religious comnjemoratiou of so 
 signal a mercy, jind for preserving in the minds of the Israelites 
 a sense of their future duty, an<l of their gratitude. I'tjle. This 
 liynin it> evidently e.>;pressed in another kind of language than 
 the hintorical part of the book ; and in such variety of elegant 
 figures, and such native expressions of those affections which the 
 "ceaaioii require*!, that none of th:> ancient Greek or Latin poets 
 hax e ever equalled. Hence it appears, that there was a most ex- 
 cellent spirit of poetry among tne Hebrews, especially among 
 Rich ol them as \verc divinely inspired, when the Greeks Liy in 
 dark ignorance. Dp. Patrick. 
 
 The design of this beautiful hymn, which breathes the cha- 
 racteristivk soUnesj; and luxuriance of female composition, seems 
 to be twotold : TcUjious, .ind political : Hist, to thauk God for the 
 reccm victory and delivcrwice of Israel tsasa CaQaanilisli bondage 
 
 3 Hear, O ye kings ; give car, O ye Christ 
 princes ; I, even I, will sing unto the Loud; about ijgo. 
 1 will sing praise to the Loud God of 
 Israel. 
 
 4 Lono, ' when thou wcntest out of ' Dem. t. 
 Seir, when thou marchedst out of the "' 
 field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the 
 heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped 
 water. 
 
 5 " The mountains t melted from before ^p»' ^''■ 
 the Lord, even " that Sinai from before the t Hei>- 
 Loud GotI of Israel. >^;;^ ,^ 
 
 G In the days of '' Shamgar the son of i8. 
 Anath, in the days of "Jael, the highways '^^'-'hsp.'s. 
 were unoccupied, and the t travellers walk- " Ch»p. i, 
 ed through t byways. ^^iit\>. 
 
 7 The inhabitants of the villages ceased, u'Men „j 
 they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah '^'neb. 
 arose, that I arose a mother in Israel. crookea 
 
 8 They chose new gods ; then xoas war """"'■ 
 in the gates : was there a shield or spear 
 seen among forty thousand in Israel ? 
 
 9 My heart is toward the governors of 
 Israel, that offered themselves willingly 
 among the people. Bless ye the Loud. 
 
 and oppression ; and next, to celebrate the zeal and alacrity with 
 which some of the tribes volunteered their services against the 
 common enemy ; and to censure the lukewarmness and apathy of 
 others, who staid at home, and thus betrayed the publick cause. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 +. — 7vhen thou nientest out of Seir, — Edom,'2 This is but a 
 repetition of the same thing : Edom and Seir signifying the 
 country where the posterity of Esau dwelt, who refused to givt 
 Israel a passage through their land, as the Lord led them unto 
 Canaan : and therefore He conducted them another way, and 
 made them encompass the land. Numb. xxi. 4- ; Deut. ii. 1. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 the earth trembled, &c.] These are poetical expressions, to 
 
 denote the great consternation in which all those countries were, 
 when they saw Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og the king of 
 Bashan, suddenly overthrown by the Israelites, Numb. xxi. 21. 
 Bji. Patrick. 
 
 It should be observed, that Deborah, on praising God for pre- 
 sent mercies, begins higher, and takes occasion to conmiemorate 
 the more wonderful instance of His goodness to them, in their 
 deliverance from Egj^itian bondage, and His protection of them 
 in the wilderness. Thus every pious soul shoidd t;ike occasion, 
 from every particular act of Divine mercy, to reflect on the much 
 greater work of our redemption, to praise God for the favours 
 shewn to His church, and the inestimable benefit of salvation. 
 Jl'ogan. 
 
 5. The mountains melted^ All the inhabitants of the mountains 
 melted with fear. Dr. Wells. 
 
 6. — the highways mere unoccupied,'^ The people, being cor- 
 rupted in their religion, broke out into all manner of \iolence, 
 and turned highway robbers, so that men durst not travel on the 
 common roads. Bp. Patrick. A strong expression of the miser- 
 able calamities, under which the people lately laboured, as the 
 just reward of their folly, vice, and depravity. Pijle. 
 
 ~. The inhabitants of the villages ceased,"^ Men were forced to 
 forsake the villages, and fly into walled towns and fortified jjlaces. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 a mother in Israel.'] A judge or ruler : as good rulers and 
 
 deliverers are called fathers of their country, .so Deborah citU-i 
 herself "a mother in Israel" Bp. Patrick.
 
 Theiong of 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Deborah and Barak, 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1296. 
 
 n Or. 
 ikditiUe. 
 
 + He!). 
 
 ^''Siei of 
 
 .he LORD. 
 
 V Heb. 
 
 dravj tdth 
 tfiepen, &C. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 his feet. 
 B Or. 
 
 in the divi' 
 3ions, &c. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 imitressiont. 
 
 10 II Speak, ye that ride on white asses, 
 ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the 
 way. 
 
 11 They that are delivered from the noise 
 of archers in the places of drawing water, 
 there shall they rehearse the t righteous 
 acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts 
 toward the inhabitants of his villages in Is- 
 rael : then shall the people of the Lord go 
 down to the gates. 
 
 12 Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, 
 awake, utter a song : arise, Barak, and 
 lead thy captivaty captive, thou son of 
 Abinoam. 
 
 13 Then he made him that remaineth 
 have dominion over the nobles among the 
 people : the Lord made me have domi- 
 nion over the mighty. 
 
 14 Out of Ephraim rvas there a root of 
 them against Amalek ; after thee, Ben- 
 jamin, among thy people ; out of Machir 
 came dovm governors, and out of Zebulun 
 they that t handle the pen of the writer. 
 
 15 And the princes of Issachar were with 
 Deborah ; even Issachar, and also Barak ; 
 he was sent on t foot into the valley. II For 
 the divisions of Reuben there were great 
 t thoughts of heart. 
 
 16 Why abodest thou among the sheep- 
 folds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks ? 
 
 10. — ye that ride on tvhite asses^^ Contemptible as this animal 
 may at present appear, from the beginning it was not so. In 
 many coimtries, and particularly in Judea, persons of the highest 
 distinction were usually so mounted. The govemours of Israel 
 
 I are so described here : and the thirty sons of Jair, who was judge 
 and prince over Israel twenty-two years, are said to ride on thirty 
 asses, chap. x. •}■: and another judge of Israel is recorde<l to have 
 had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on seventy ass colts, 
 chap. xii. 14. It would be easy to confirm this observation with 
 1 many more authorities. Bp. Sherlock. 
 
 She calls on govemours and great men. There were no horses 
 i in Judea, .so that the greatest persons rode on asses : these ani- 
 I xnals, in this countrj% were generally of a reddish colour, and 
 I therefore asses of a colour tending to white were highly esteemed 
 I for their rarity, and used only by honourable persons. Bp. Patrick. 
 I Others think, that the expression " white asses," refers to the 
 I white garments which were spread upon them for the accommo- 
 dation of the riders ; none but white garments being used by per- 
 sons of distinction, or on days of publick rejoicing. Burder. 
 
 and jvalk by t/ie iray.^ Merchants who now travel in safety, 
 
 which they durst not do before their deliverance. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11. They that are deticereiQ The shepherds, who, before their 
 deliverance, were disturbed by robbers shooting at them, when 
 they went to water their flocks. Bp. Patrick. There is a beauti- 
 ful rill in Barbary, received into a large bason, which bears a name 
 signifying, " Drink and away," from the great danger of meeting 
 there with rogues and assassins. Shaw. 
 
 12. — lead thy captivity captive,"^ Lead in triumph, to the ho- 
 nour of God, the principal persons and spoils taken from the 
 enemy. Dr. Wells. 
 
 14,15. Out of Ephraim 9iC.~\ Here follows a catalogue of those 
 Israelites who bravely assisted in the war. " Out of Ephraim 
 was there a root of them," namely, a small portion of them eanie 
 from Ephraim. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Befiire 
 CHRIST 
 about 1 39C. 
 
 II Or, in. 
 
 i Or, port. 
 i| Or, 
 creeks. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 exposed lt> 
 reproacli. 
 
 t Hell. 
 paths. 
 
 li Or, 
 
 tramplings. 
 or, plunt- 
 
 II For the divisions of Reuben there were 
 great searchings of heart. 
 
 17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and 
 why did Dan remain in .ships ? Asher con- 
 tinued on the II sea shore, and abode in his 
 II breaches. 
 
 18 Zebulun and Naphtali were a people 
 that t jeoparded their lives unto the death 
 in the high places of the field. 
 
 19 The kings came and fought, then 
 fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by 
 the waters of Megiddo ; they took no gain 
 of money. 
 
 20 They fought from heaven ; the stars 
 in their t courses fought against Sisera. 
 
 21 The river of Kishon swept tiiem away, 
 that ancient river, the river Kishon. O rny 
 soul, thou hast trodden down strength. 
 
 22 Then were the horsehoofs broken by 
 the means of II the pransings, the pransings 
 of their mighty ones.' 
 
 23 Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the 
 Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants 
 thereof J because they came not to the 
 help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord 
 against the mighty. 
 
 24 Blessed above women shall Jael the 
 wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall 
 she be above women in the tent. 
 
 25 He asked water, and she gave him 
 
 16. — For the divisions of lieiihen there mere great tearchings qf 
 heart."] For the division of counsels among tlie Reubenites, and 
 their separation from the rest of their brethren, there were many 
 sad thoughts among the other tribes. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 17. — in his breaches.'] Or, in his creeks, as in the margin; 
 that is, only minded his sea commerce. Dr. Wells. 
 
 20. They fought from heaven ;] On the other hand, the angels 
 of God fought for the Israelites, sending thunder, rain, &c. to 
 discomfit their enemies. Dr. Wells. 
 
 the stars in their courses Sec] Either literally, by yielding 
 
 light after it became night to the Israelites to pursue their victory; 
 {Dr. Wells;) or figuratively, to express that God gave so entire 
 a victory, as if the skies and stars had been tlicir confederates 
 against the infidel general and his arm)-. Pyle. Or, the expres- 
 sion is poetical ; the meaning may be, that, by mighty and sud- 
 den rains, which the common opinion ascribed to die speci.il influ- 
 ence of the planets, the river of Kishon, near which Sisera's amiy 
 lay, was so raised and swoln, as to drown the greatest part of that 
 huge host. Abp. Tillotson. 
 
 21. — my soul, thou hast &c.'] This is an elegant tinning of 
 her speech to herself, whose happiness s!ie .ipplauds, in beholding 
 the most powerful enemies quite vanquished by her cormnission 
 from God, and her prayers to Him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 23. — Meroz,] Probably a city not I'ar from mount Tabor, or 
 the river Kishon; near which the battle was fought. Dr. Wells. 
 
 It seems to be a notable effect of this curse, that the name of 
 this city is blotted out, and not the least remains of it lell upon 
 earth. Reading. 
 
 24. Blessed above women &c.] The action of Jael is not written 
 for our imitation, but instruction. See notes on chap. iv. 21. But 
 there is another point of useful instruction to be drawn from this 
 passage ; which is, that we should be very cautious how we con- 
 demn or approve what God has not condemned or approved. 
 Wogart.
 
 The song of Deborah and Barak. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 The Midianiles opjyrcfs Israel. 
 
 Il<-f<>rt 
 
 CHUIST 
 sboiitisr*. 
 
 kiimmered. 
 
 tHrl>. 
 Briireen. 
 
 t H*K 
 
 wcnU- 
 
 t Hch. 
 la the head 
 rfa man. 
 
 tHeb. 
 f'irthrnnli 
 if the ijml. 
 
 milk ; she brought forth butter in a lordly 
 dish. 
 
 i>e) She put her hand to the nail, and her 
 right iiand to the workmen's hammer ; and 
 with the hammer she + smote Sisera, she 
 smote off his head, when she had pierced 
 and stricken tlirough his temples. 
 
 27 t At her feet ho bowed, he fell, he lay 
 down : at her feet he bowed, he fell : where 
 he bowed, there he fell down t dead. 
 
 28 The mother of Sisera looked out at a 
 window, and cried through the lattice, Why 
 is his chariot .vy long in coming? why tarry 
 the wheels of his chariots ? 
 
 29 Her wise ladies answered her, yea, 
 she returned t answer to herself, 
 
 30 Have they not sped ? have they not 
 divided the prey ; t to every man a damsel 
 or two J to Sisera a prey of divers colours, 
 a prey of divers colours of needlework, of 
 divers colours of needlework on both sides, 
 7neet t for the necks of them that take the 
 spoil ? 
 
 31 So let all thine enemies perish, O 
 Lord: but let them that love him be as the 
 .^un when he goeth forth in his might. 
 And the land had rest forty years. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 1 The I.traelilat for their sin arc oppressed l>i) Miiliaii. 
 8 A prophet rehuliclh them. 11 An angel .leiidelh 
 Oideuii /'or their deliverance. 17 Gideon's present is 
 lon.Kumed trilh Jire. 2i Gideon destrot/eth Baal's al- 
 tar, and off'ereth a sacrifice upon the altar Jchovah- 
 shalom. 28 .Joash defendeth his son, and callelh him 
 Jcruhbaal. 3.3 Gideon's armi/. 36 Gideon's si^^ns. 
 
 25. — butler in a lordJt/ di.ih.'} Butter, or buttermilk, wliich is 
 still esteemed a great treat anioiif; the Arabs. Dr. Holes. 
 
 Dr. Pix-ocke, giving an actount of an Arab's entertaining hiin 
 in the Holy Land, says, that, among other things, they served him 
 n itli some sour butterniilk. The Kasteni way of churning is, by 
 putting the creain into a goat's skin turned inside out, which the 
 Ar.ibs suspend in their tents, and then press it to and fro, in 
 one uniform direction ; tluis a separation of tiie parts is quickly 
 occ.Tsioned, and butter is produced. Ilanner. 
 
 iK. The inot/iir of Sisera &c.] In the passage which follows 
 is afforded an admirable representation of the impatience of the 
 mother of Sisera at Ills delay in returning, and her sanguine anti- 
 cipation of his success ; in wliieh she dwells, not upon the great- 
 ness of his exploits, or the slaughter of his enemies, but upon 
 the circumstances most likely to engage a light female mind; 
 such .IS captive d;uiiscls, and embroidered garments, the spoils of 
 tictory, which she repeats and amplifies with much grace and 
 elegance. Dr. Hales. 
 
 How exquisitely just a <lescription have we here of a mother, 
 longing for the return of her beloved .son ; nay, impatient not 
 only to sec him safe, and crowned with victory,'but lo.ided M-ith 
 cpoils. Tlie s-poils too arc such as most affected a female passion ■ 
 damsels, to set off the pomp and sjilcndour of her retinue, vests of 
 iicctllework of divers colours, and curiously wrought on both sides 
 to adorn her person. This w.-.s the gaudy prey she longed to see 
 brouglit by her son in triumph. How natural are these oenti- 
 mcnu . the tenderness of a mother ob one hand, the foible and 
 vanity of the fenuile breast on the other. How very aptly applied 
 
 II Or, jour. 
 
 about mil. 
 
 AND the children of Israel did evil in cH'insT' 
 the sight of the Lord: and the Lord nimui'visc 
 delivered them into the hand of Midian 
 seven yeafs. 
 
 2 And the hand of Midian t prevailed t "••'• 
 against Israel : and because of the Midian- ^"'"'''''"^• 
 ites the children of Israel made them the 
 
 dens which are in the mountains, and caves, 
 and strong holds. 
 
 3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, 
 that the Midianites came up, and the -\ma- 
 lekites, and the children of the east, even 
 they came up against them ; 
 
 4 And they encamped against them, and 
 destroyed the increase of the earth, till 
 thou come unto Gaza, and left no suste- 
 nance for Israel, neither 11 sheep, nor ox, 
 nor ass. 
 
 .5 For they came up with their cattle and 
 their tents, and they came as grashoppers 
 for multitude ; fur both they and their 
 (*amels were without number : and they 
 entered into the land to destroy it. 
 
 6 And Israel was greatly impoverished 
 because of the Midianites ; and the chil- 
 dren of Israel cried unto the Lord. 
 
 7^ And it came to pass, when the chil- 
 dren of Israel cried unto the Lord because 
 of the Midianites, 
 
 8 That the Lord sent ta prophet unto fUcb. 
 the children of Israel, which said unto ,,„;./!«. 
 them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, 
 
 I brought you up from Egj'pt, and brought 
 you forth out of the house of bondage ; 
 
 9 And I delivered you out of the hand 
 
 by a woman to one of her own sex ; to the mother of Sisera, by a 
 mother in Israel. U'ogan. 
 
 29- Her irise ladies'^ The ladies of her court. P,yle. 
 
 31. So let all thine enemies perish, Lord :'\ This abrupt and 
 unexpected apostrophe, which concludes the poem, tacitly insi- 
 nuates the utter disappointment of tiieir vain hopes of conquest 
 and spoils more fully and forcibly than any express declaration 
 of words ; while it marks the author's piety and sole reliance on 
 God's protection of His people, and the glorious prospect of a 
 greater and future deliverance, perhaps by the Sun of righteous- 
 ness, Mai. iv. 2. Dr. Hales. 
 
 Chap. VI. ver. Z. — the children of the east,'] Meaning, pro- 
 bably, the Arabians who inhabited Arabia Deserta, from the 
 coimtry of the Moabites and Ammonites, as far as the Euphrate.". 
 Cabnet. 
 
 The children of the Fast included the pos-terity of Abraham's 
 sons by Keturah, of whom the Midianites were the principal. 
 Gen. XXV. 6. It also included the Ishmaclites, Judg. viii. 24, 
 who were settled near the Midianites, Gen. xx.wii. 28, in the 
 wilderness of Paran, Gen. xxi. 21. Dr. Hales. 
 
 4. — till Ihou come unto Gaza,2 That is, they made an uni- 
 versal devastiition from one end of the country to the other : for 
 they came from the F.a.st,and de.stroyed as far as Gaza, which was 
 on the western coast. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — 03 srashopperir] Rather, as locusts, which had their 
 name in Hebrew from their prodigious numbers and increase. 
 Parkhurst. .'see notes on Exod. x.
 
 Gideon is sent 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 /o deliver /hem. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 ahout 1249. 
 
 ' 2 Kings 
 17. 35, 38. 
 Jer. 10. 2. 
 
 »Hebr. 11. 
 f>2. called 
 Gedeiin. 
 fHel). 
 to cause it 
 to flee. 
 
 of the Egj'ptians, and out of the hand of 
 all that oppressed you, and diave them 
 out from before you, and gave you their 
 land ; 
 
 10 And I said unto you, I am the Lord 
 your God ; * fear not the gods of the Amo- 
 rites, in whose land ye dwell : but ye have 
 not obeyed my voice. 
 
 11 ^ And there came an angel of the 
 Lord, and sat under an oak which xvas in 
 Ophrah, tiiat pertained unto Joash the 
 Abi-ezrite : and liis son " Gideon threshed 
 wheat by the winepress, t to hide it from 
 the Midianites. 
 
 12 And the angel of the Lord appeai'ed 
 unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is 
 with thee, thou mighty man of valour. 
 
 13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my 
 Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is 
 all this befallen us P and where be all his 
 miracles which our fathers told us of, say- 
 ing, Did not the Loud bring us up from 
 Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken 
 us, and delivered us into the hands of the 
 Midianites. 
 
 14 And the Lord looked upon him, and 
 said. Go in this thy might, and thou shalt 
 save Israel from the hand of the Midian- 
 ites : have not I sent thee ? 
 
 15 And he said unto him, O my Lord, 
 wherewith shall I save Israel ? behold, 11 my 
 family is poor in Manasseh, and I arn the 
 least in my father's house. 
 
 16 And the Lord said unto him. Surely 
 I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite 
 the Midianites as one man. 
 
 17 And he said imto him. If now I have 
 
 1 0. — fear not the gotW^ Rather, worship not the god?. Dr. Welts. 
 
 11. — there came an angel of the I^rd,'J There came " Ihc Angel 
 of the Lord," many years after His appearance at Bocliim, to de- 
 liver His people, when they cried to Him, from their oppressors. 
 Dr. Hales. That He was not a mere created angel, is plain from 
 the incommunicable name .lehovah, which He assumes, and by 
 which He suffers Himself to be frequently called, ver. It, l6, 23, 
 24, &c. Therefore the Jews, according to their Targum, which 
 styles Him the tVord of the Lord, look upon this angel not merely 
 as a heavenly messenger sent from God, but as the Son of God 
 Himself, appearing in the form of an angel. Bp. Vatrkk, 
 Stachhoiise. 
 
 Ophrah, — Gideo'i] Gideon was of the family of Abi-eier, 
 
 of the tribe of Manasseh ; and so the Ojihrah, where he dwelt, 
 must be understood to be situated in the half tribe of Manasseh, 
 on the west side of Jordan; and for this reason it is styled "Ophrah 
 of the Abi-ezrites," chap. viii. 52, to distinguish it from another 
 Ophrali, which lay in the tnbe of Bcniamin. Dr. Wells. 
 
 threshed wheal by the ivineprex.s,'\ The common mode of 
 
 threshing corn was by treading it with oxen. The word here 
 used signifies to thresh out with a stick. This Gideon did " to 
 hide it from the Midianites ;" and " by the winepress," where 
 none would suspect his threshing of corn. Bp. Patrick. 
 ■ 13. — if the Lord he with us, why then i.s all this befallen us ?"] 
 The valiant man is hei'e weak j weak in faith, weak indiscoiurse; 
 Vol. I. 
 
 11 Or, my 
 
 fhousund is 
 the mean' 
 est. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 a kid uf the 
 
 goatt. 
 
 found grace in thy sight, then shew me a christ 
 sign that thou talkest with mc. about i24>.'. 
 
 18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until 
 I come unto thee, and bring lortli iny li pre- II Or, 
 sent, and set it before thee. And he said, i^l' ' 
 I will tarry until thou come again. 
 
 19, 1[ And Gideon went in, and made 
 ready t a Icid, and unleavened cakes of an 
 ephah of flour : the flesh he put in a basket, 
 and he put the broth in a pot, and brought 
 it out unto him under the oak, and pre- 
 sented //. 
 
 20 And the angel of God said unto him. 
 Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, 
 and lay them upon this rock, and pour out 
 the broth. And he did so. 
 
 21 % Then the angel of the Lord put 
 forth the end of the staff' that n-as in his 
 hand, and touched the flesh and the un- 
 leavened cakes ; and there rose up fire out 
 of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the 
 unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the 
 Lord departed out of his sight. 
 
 22 And when Gideon perceived that he 
 was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, 
 Alas, O Lord God ! ' for because I have 
 seen an angel of the Lord face to face. 
 
 23 And the Lord said unto him. Peace 
 be unto thee ; fear not : thou shalt not die. 
 
 24 Then Gideon built an altar there 
 unto the Lord, and called it || Jehovah- 
 shalom : unto this day it is yet in Ophrah 
 of the Abi-ezrites. 
 
 25 % And it came to pass the same night, 
 that the Lord said unto him. Take thy fa- 
 ther's young bullock, II even the second « Or, n,ui. 
 bullock of seven vcarsold, and throw down 
 
 ' Exod. SS. 
 20. 
 chap. 13. 
 
 U That ii. 
 The LORD 
 send peace. 
 
 while he argues CJod's absence by affliction. His presence by dc- 
 liverances, and the improbability of success by his owni disability. 
 All these are gross incon>equences. He should rather have in- 
 ferred God's presence with the Israelites from the correction which 
 they suffered : for, wheresoever God chastisetli, there He is ; yea, 
 there He is in mercy : nothing more proves us His, than His stripes ; 
 He liestows not correction wliere He loves not; Bp. Hall. 
 
 15. — O my Lord, wherenith shall I saw Israel?^ Humility is 
 both a sign of future glory, and a way to it, and an occasion of 
 it. Vain glory aud height (if spirit v ill not avail with God : none 
 have ever been raised by Him, but those who have formerly de- 
 jected themselves ; none have been confounded by Him that are 
 abased in themselves : it is immediately on Gideon's using tlie.se 
 words, that God says to him, ver. lt>, " Surely I wUl be with 
 thee." Bp. Hall. 
 
 22. — Alas, Lord God .'] He speaks as a person under great 
 alarm, and breaks off liis discourse abruptly. Bi). Patrick: 
 
 25. — throw down the altar of BaaF] Haul's alfca: must first be 
 destroyed, ere God's be built Tboth cannot stand together: the 
 true God will have no society with idols, neitlier will He allow it 
 to us. In this instance, He does not ilcsire to have consecrated to 
 Himself, the altar which had been abused to Ba;»l ; but, as one 
 whose holy jealousy will admit no worship, till there be no idol- 
 atr>'. He first conuu'ands there to destroy the monuments of super, 
 stition, and then enjoins His own service. Bp. Hall. 
 
 SO
 
 Gideon destroytth BaaVs altar. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 Gideon* s signs. 
 
 Bcf»« tlie altar of Baal that thy father hath, ami 
 ij^lV tl c'lt tlovvii the grove that is by it : 
 
 l2G And build an altar unto the Loud 
 tHcb. thy God upon the top of this t rock, || in 
 "r"^ the ordered place, and take the second 
 p oi; bullock, and oiier a burnt sacrifice with the 
 
 xnnn.nkr. ^^.^^ j ^^. ^^^^ ^^^.^ wllicll tllOU slialt CUt 
 
 down. 
 
 27 Then Gideon took ten men of his 
 servants, and did as the Loud had said 
 unto him : and so it was, because he feared 
 his father's houshold, and the men of the 
 city, that he could not do it by day, that 
 he did // by night. 
 
 28 i[ And when the men of the city 
 arose early in the morning, behold, the al- 
 tar of Baal was cast down, and the grove 
 was cut down that "was by it, and the se- 
 cond bullock was offered upon the altar 
 that was built. 
 
 29 And they said one to another, "WTio 
 hath done this thing ? And when they en- 
 quired and asked, they said, Gideon the 
 son of Joash hath done this thing. 
 
 SO Then the men of the city said unto 
 Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: 
 because he hath cast down the altar of 
 Baal, and because he hath cut down the 
 grove that xvas by it. 
 
 31 And Joash said unto all that stood 
 against him. Will ye plead for Baal ? will 
 ye save him ? he that will plead for him, 
 let him be put to death whilst it is yet 
 morning : if he be a god, let him plead for 
 himself, because one hath cast down his 
 altar. 
 
 32 Therefore on that day he called him 
 
 26. — i;i Ihe ordered place,"] Where the flesh and cakes were 
 l&id in onlcr on the rock, ver. 20. Or the words may signify, as 
 in the margin, " in an orderly manner." Although Gideon was 
 no priest, yet he was here required to offer a burnt sacrifice, by 
 God's special order ; which would have been otherwise a pre- 
 sumptuous sin. The command was extraordinary. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 SI • — if he be a god, lei him plead for himself,'] Let the injured 
 god, he tells them, avenge his own cause : if B;ial be what he has 
 bct>n supposed to be, you may safely trust to him to maintain his 
 own honour. Pyle. 
 
 33. — in the ralliy ofJezreel.J The city of Jezreel (which gave 
 name to the valley) belonged to the half tribe of Manasseh, on the 
 west of Jorflan. In the nistory of the kings of Israel, this city 
 i» frequently mentioned, as, by reason of the pleasantness of the 
 tituation, some of ihem had a royal palace there, though their ca- 
 pital wa-i Samaria, Tlie vale of .lezreel is, according to Mr. Maun- 
 drell, of a vast e.\tent, very fertile, but uncultivated, and only 
 serving the Arabs for pasture. Some have supposed, however, 
 that llic valley of Jearctl, here mentioned, denotes some lesser 
 valley, between moinit Hermon and mount Gilboa. Dr. Wells. 
 
 ^*- — Ihe Spirit of the I^rd came upon Gideon,'] Exciting him 
 now to put in execution the commission which God had given 
 him to deliver Israel, and filling hin> witli an extraordinary de- 
 gree of courage for such an imdertaldng. Dr. JVells. The Spirit 
 
 Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against cSr'ist 
 him, because he hath thrown down his about i ."19. 
 altar. 
 
 33 IF Then all the Midianites and the 
 Amalekites and the children of the east 
 were gathered together, and went over, 
 and pitched in the valley of Jezreel. 
 
 34 But the Spirit of the Lord t came t Heb. 
 upon Gideon, and he '' blew a trumpet; iNumbia 
 and Abi-ezer t was gathered after him. ^■ 
 
 35 And he sent messengers throughout \ Heb. 
 all Manasseh : who also was gathered after "" "^"""^ 
 hmi : and he sent messengers unto Asher, 
 
 and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali j and 
 they came up to meet them. 
 
 30 ^ And Gideon said unto God, If thou 
 wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast 
 said, 
 
 37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in 
 the floor ; a7id if the dew be on the fleece 
 only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, 
 then shall I know that thou wilt save Is- 
 rael by mine hand, as thou hast said. 
 
 38 And it was so : for he rose up early 
 on the morrow, and thrust the fleece to- 
 gether, and wringed the dew out of the 
 fleece, a bowl full of water. 
 
 39 And Gideon said unto God, * Let * Gen. is. 
 not thine anger be hot against me, and I ^^' 
 will speak but this once : let me prove, I 
 
 pray thee, but this once with the fleece ; 
 let it now be dry only upon the fleece, 
 and upon all the ground let there be 
 dew. 
 
 40 And God did so that night: for it 
 was dry upon the fleece only, and there 
 was dew on all the ground. 
 
 of the Lord, by which Gideon was animated to undertake the de- 
 li^•erance of his country, was a spirit of fortitude and prudence, 
 and of all the virtues requisite in a commander. Dr. Hates. 
 
 36. — Iflliou ivilt save Israel, — as thou hast said,] He desires 
 another miracle to confu-m liis faitli, perhaps for the sake of those 
 that were to follow him ; or perhaps, wishing to know by a sign 
 whether God would make him victorious at that particular time. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Of all the instruments which God used in so great a work, we 
 find none so weak as Gideon. The former miracle was strong 
 enough to carrj- him through his first exploit, of ruining the idola- 
 trous grove and altar : but now, when he saw the swarm of the 
 Midianites and Amalekites approaching, he called for new aid ; 
 and, not trusting to his thousands of Israel, flew to God for a fur- 
 ther assunmce of victory. The refuge was good, but the manner 
 of seeking it savours of distrust. Bp. Hall. 
 
 39- — let it now be dri/ only upon the fleece, &c.] If we under- 
 stand that the miracle of the dew on the fleece was a kind of pub- 
 lick testimony to satisfy the officers and people under him, we 
 then see the reason of its repetition, with the opposite variation : 
 for, if there were any of his adherents who suspected deception 
 in the first instance, when the threshingfloor was dry, and the 
 fleece wet with dew.they might be convinced by the contrary ef- 
 fect, when the fleece was dry, and the threshingfloor wet with 
 dew. Script, illust.
 
 Gideon's army reduced 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 to three hundred. 
 
 CHAP. VH, 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1249. \ Gideon's army of tiro and thirty thousand is brought to 
 three kundred. 9 He is encouraged hi/ the dream and 
 interpretation of the barley cake. l6 His stratagem of 
 trumpets and lamps in pitchers. 24 The Ephraimiles 
 fake Oreb and Zeeb. 
 
 IHEN Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and 
 all the people that "joere with him, rose 
 up early, and pitched beside the well of 
 Harod : so that the host of the Midianites 
 were on the north side of them, by the hill 
 of Moreh, in the valley. 
 
 2 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The 
 people that are with thee are too many for 
 
 , me to give the Midianites into their hands, 
 
 lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, 
 saying. Mine own hand hath saved me. 
 
 3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the 
 »Deut.2o. ears of the people, saying, ^Whosoever is 
 **• fearful and afraid, let him return and depart 
 is. early from mount Gilead. And there re- 
 turned of the people twenty and two thou- 
 sand ; and there remained ten thousand. 
 
 4 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The 
 people are yet too many ; bring them down 
 unto the water, and I will try them for thee 
 there : and it shall be, that of whom I say 
 unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same 
 shall go with thee ; and of whomsoever I 
 say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, 
 the same shall not go. 
 
 5 So he brought down the people unto 
 the water : and the Lord said unto Gideon, 
 Every one that lappeth of the water with 
 his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou 
 set by himself; likewise every one that 
 boweth down upon his knees to drink. 
 
 6 And the number of them that lapped, 
 putting their hand to their mouth, were 
 three hundred men : but all the rest of the 
 people bowed down upon their knees to 
 drink water. 
 
 Chap. VII. ver. 2. — lest Israel vaunt themselves'] God knew the 
 disposition of the Israelites, and foresaw that, from motives of va- 
 nity, they would be disposed to ascribe the victory to their own 
 power and prowess, and not to Him: whereas He intended to shew 
 to all the world that it was His miraculous work. Bp. Vulrick. 
 
 3. — from mount Gilead.^ Not the mountain of that name, 
 often mentioned in Scripture, which was east of Jordan ; but 
 another, on the west side of Jordan, in the tribe of Manasseh. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — The people are yet too many ;] If human strength were 
 to be opposed, there should have needed an equality of strength ; 
 but now that God meant to give the victory, His care was not 
 how to get it, but how not to lose the glory of it. He was 
 willii'.g to give deliverance unto Israel, but the praise of the de- 
 liverance He would keep to Himself: it was the same with 
 Him to save with many as with few ; but he ratlier chose to 
 save by few, that all the victory might redound to Himself. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 5. — Every one that lappeth &C.3 We may well suppose they 
 
 7 And the Lord said unto Gideon, By c„r7|t 
 the three hundi'ed men that lapped will I about 1249. 
 save you, and deliver the Midianites into 
 
 thine hand : and let all the other people go 
 every man unto his place. 
 
 8 So the people took victuals in their 
 hand, and their trumpets : and he sent all 
 the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, 
 and retained those three hundred men : 
 and the host of Midian was beneath him in 
 the valley. 
 
 9 IT And it came to pass the same night, 
 that the Lord said unto him. Arise, get 
 thee down unto the host ; for 1 have de- 
 livered it into thine hand. 
 
 10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou 
 with Pl;urah thy servant down to the host: 
 
 11 And thou shalt hear what they say ; 
 and afterward shall thine hands be strength- 
 ened to go down unto the host. Then 
 went he down with Phurah his servant imto 
 
 the outside of the li armed men that were II O'- , 
 HI the host. Jive. 
 
 12 And the Midianites and the Ama- 
 lekites and ** all the children of the east lay '' Chap. g. 
 along in the valley like grashoppers for ^^' 
 multitude ; and their camels "were without 
 number, as the sand by the sea side for 
 multitude. 
 
 13 And when Gideon was come, behold, 
 there icas a man that told a di"eara unto his 
 fellow, and said. Behold, I dreamed a dream, 
 and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled 
 into the host of Midian, and came unto a 
 tent, and smote it that it fell, and over- 
 turned it, that the tent lay along. 
 
 14 And his fellow answered and said, 
 This is nothing else save the sword of Gi- 
 deon the sou of Joash, a man of Israel :Jbr 
 into his hand hath God delivered Midian, 
 and all the host. 
 
 15 ^ And it was so, when Gideon heard 
 
 were thirsty with the heat of the weather, and with tlie march ; 
 which made them greedily betake themselves to the water. Bp. 
 Patrick. It has been variously conjectured, what sj-mptonis of 
 courage or cowardice were collected from these different ways of 
 drinking amongst the soldiers ; some supposing that the snatching 
 it up with the hand denoted a fearful temper ; others, on the con- 
 trary, supposing that this way of drinking betokened courage, or 
 a temperate and hardy disposition. It is more probable, tliat the 
 manner of drinking was a symptom of neitlier ; but that God, fore- 
 knowing all things, chose this manner of pitching on the sm;dler 
 number, without any regard to their personal valotu-. Pylc. 
 
 The true reason and design of this method seems to be this : 
 God was minded to reduce tlie army of Gideon to a very small 
 number, which, it was jirobable, would be effected by this means; 
 for as the season was hot, and tJie generality of the soldiers wearj-. 
 tliirsty.and faint, it was most probable that they would lie down, 
 (as indeed they did,) and refresh themselves plentifully ; and it 
 was scarcely to be expected that any great number would deny 
 themselves in tliis matter. Slackhousc. 
 
 SO'i
 
 The Midianites are put tojlight. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 Oreb and Zeeb are taken. 
 
 CHKIST 
 itetu UVJ- 
 t H(b. 
 
 lk< trtnk- 
 ing tlUrtaf. 
 
 trum/'tts in 
 lilt taiid 'J 
 all <f then. 
 I l>r. 
 firthmHtUt 
 or, lurchei. 
 
 ' lita. 1. -t. 
 
 iOr, 
 
 I'MTOrdi. 
 
 the tolliiijr of the dream, and t the inter- 
 pretation thereof, that he worshipped, and 
 returned into the host of Israel, and said, 
 Arise ; for the Loud hath delivered into 
 your hand tlie host of Midian. 
 
 It) And lie ilividcd the three hundred 
 men hitu three companies, and he put t a 
 trumpet in every man's liand, witli empty 
 pitchers, and il lamps within the pitchers. 
 
 17 And he said unto them. Look on me, 
 and do likewise : and, behold, when I come 
 to the outside of the camp, it shall be t/iat, 
 as I do, so shall ye do. 
 
 18 When I blow with a trumpet, I and 
 all that are with me, then blow ye the 
 trumpets also on every side of all the camp, 
 and say, The sxcord of the Lord, and of 
 Gideon. 
 
 19 f So Gideon, and the hundred men 
 that were with him, came unto the outside 
 of the camp in the beginning of the middle 
 watch ; and they had but newly set the 
 watch : and they blew the trumpets, and 
 brake the pitchers that icere in their hands. 
 
 20 And the three companies blew the 
 trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held 
 the lamps in their lefl hands, and the 
 trumpets in their right hands to blow 
 icithal : and tliey cried, The sword of the 
 Lord, and of Gideon. 
 
 21 And they stood every man in his 
 place round about the camp : and all the 
 host ran, and cried, and fled. 
 
 22 And the three hundred blew the 
 trumpets, and " the Lord set every man's 
 sword against his fellow, even throughout 
 all the host : and the host fled to Beth- 
 shittah II in Zererath, and to t the border of 
 Abcl-meholah, unto Tabbath. 
 
 1 5. — ifuU he worshijiped,'] Gave humble thanks to God for 
 His goodness, in Riving tJiis new encouragement to proceed in his 
 undertaking. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 K). — irilh cmpli/ pitchers,"] Earthen pitchers. Bp. Patrick. 
 Thougli leathern liittles were much used by the people of the 
 East, earthen jars or pitchers were soir.etinies used also. Dr. 
 Chandler mentions liaving used an earthen jar for carrying water 
 in travelling through Asia Minor. If this was the practice in 
 Gideon's time, it could not be difficult for him to collect three 
 hundrc<l water jars from an:ong ten thousand men. Manner. 
 
 /jm;)i] Ilallier, torches, which were concealed in tlie 
 
 pitchers, lip. Patrick. 
 
 Thimgh ( iml had promised by these three hundred men to 
 chase tlif Midianites, yet Gideon neglected not w^i.^e stratagems to 
 secure the vii-tory. To wait for God's performance, and do nothing, 
 is to abuse tiiat Divine providence, which will always so work, as 
 not to allow us to remain in inactivity. Bp. I fall. 
 
 >8. — The sirord of the Lord, and of Gideon.'] This watchword 
 was uken from the interpretation of the Midianites' dream, a.-j re- 
 ferring to "the sword of Gideon," ver. 1+ ; to which Gideon 
 piously prefixiil " the sword of the Lord," as the Autiior of the 
 XtnUgem, of the dream, and of its interpretation. Dr. Hales. 
 
 "■athered Refnre 
 
 ' Psal 83. 
 
 II. 
 
 Isai. 10. C6. 
 
 23 And the men of Israel 
 themselves together out of Naphtali, and ^.IilitVs^. 
 out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and 
 pursued after the MicUanites. 
 
 24 If And Gideon sent messengers 
 throughout all mount Ephraim, saying. 
 Come down against the Midianites, and 
 take before them the waters unto Beth- 
 barah and Jordan. Then all the men of 
 Ephraim gathered themselves together, 
 and took the waters unto Beth-barah and 
 Jordan, 
 
 25 And they took " two princes of the 
 Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb ; and they slew 
 Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they 
 slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued 
 Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb 
 and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side 
 Jordan. 
 
 CHAP. VIIL 
 
 1 Gideon pacijielh the Ephraimitcs. 4 Succoih and 
 Pcniiel refuse to relieve Gideon's army. 10 Zehah 
 and Zalmunna arc taken. 13 Succoih and Penitel are 
 destroyed. 17 Gideon revengeth his brethren's dcatli 
 on Zcbah and Zalmunna. 22 He refuscth government. 
 2-t His ephod cause of' idolatry. 28 Midian subdued. 
 29 Gideon's children, and death. 33 The Israelites' 
 idolatry and ingratitude. 
 
 AND the men of Ephraim said unto 
 him, t Why hast thou served us thus, t Heb. 
 that thou calledst us not, when thou went- uthHiZ 
 est to flght with the Midianites ? And they '"■" <'"•« 
 did chide with him t sharply. ^"hci')!' 
 
 2 And he said unto tiiem. What have I '"■"'■e'y- 
 done now in comparison of you ? Is not 
 
 the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim bet- 
 ter than the vintage of Abi-ezer ? 
 
 3 God hath delivered into your hands 
 the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb : and 
 what was I able to do in comparison of 
 
 ig. — in the beginning of the middle watch;'] The Hebrews and 
 other Eastern nations divided the night into three parts, which 
 were called the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd watthes; because the guards or 
 watches were changed three times. Tlie Romans, and from them 
 the Jews in later times, divided the night into four watches; 
 whence we read in the Gospel of the -itli watch. Lewis. 
 
 24. — took the waters unto Beth-barah and Jordan.] That is, they 
 secured all the fords or passes along the river Jordan, from Beth- 
 barah, (which is thoiight to be the same as Bethabara, mentioned 
 by St. John,) lying near the south end of the river Jordan, to 
 the beginning of Jordan, or its issuing from the sea of Galilee. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 25. — the rock Oreb,] Tlie rock, called Oreb in future times, 
 from the event here related. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. VIII. ver. 2. — Is not the gleaning &c.] A common pro- 
 verb, probably, in those days, by which they were wont to com- 
 mend the smallest action of one, as superiour to the greatest of 
 another. It is as if he had said. These scattered parties, which 
 you have gleaned and picked up at the fords of Jordan, are far 
 more than those which I and ray whole host have destroyed. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 «
 
 Zebah and Zalmumia are taken. 
 
 CHAP. vm. 
 
 Succoth and Penuel are destroyed. 
 
 t Heb, 
 tkresk. 
 
 CHRIST ^*^"'' Then their t anger was abated to- 
 about 1S49. Ward him, when he had said that. 
 fHeb. 4 ^ And Gideon came to Jordan, and 
 
 ''""'' passed over, he, and the tiiree hundred 
 men that "were with him, faint, yet pur- 
 suing them. 
 
 5 And he said unto the men of Succoth, 
 Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the 
 people that follow me; for they be faint, 
 and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zal- 
 munna, kings of Midian. 
 
 G ^ And the princes of Succoth said, 
 Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna 
 now in thine hand, that we should give 
 bread unto thine army ? 
 
 7 And Gideon said, Therefore when the 
 Lord hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna 
 into mine hand, then I will t tear your 
 flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and 
 with briers. 
 
 8 % And he went up thence to Penuel, 
 and spake unto them likewise : and the 
 men of Penuel answered him as the men 
 of Succoth had answered him. 
 
 9 And he spake also unto the men of Pe- 
 nuel, saying, \Vhen I come again in peace, 
 I will break down this tower. 
 
 10 ^ Now Zebah and Zalmunna awe in 
 Karkor, and their hosts with them, about 
 fifteen thousand men, all that were left of 
 all the hosts of the children of the east : 
 
 ' ^l' , J for there fell 1| an hundred and twenty 
 
 an hundred i , 1 , i "' 
 
 ajid twenty thousaud men that drew sword. 
 
 thousand, 1 J «r ^,-,^1 Gideon went up by the way 
 
 eiiery one r- i i i i • i /•• 
 
 drawing a oi them that dwelt in tents on the east or 
 swjrii. Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host : 
 for the host was secure. 
 
 12 And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, 
 he pursued after tliem, and took the two 
 kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and 
 tanjiej- + discomfited all the host. 
 
 5. — Succolh,'] See Gen. xxxiii. 17- 
 
 (5. — Are the hands &c.'] They bid him first take those kings 
 captive, and brir.g them with their hands bound behind them, 
 before he jiiade anj- demands upon them. It is a bitter sort of 
 taunt, arising from irreligion, which made them doubt whether 
 the hand of God was in the victoi-y, and whether Gideon would 
 be able to perfect it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 g. — this totrerJ] The tower of their citj', in which they con- 
 fided, .and to which perhaps they pointed when they gave this rude 
 answer. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 16. — with them he taught the men of Succoth.'] With them he 
 beat the elders of the city, for a warning luito the men of Suc- 
 coth ; who by their example were taught how dangerous it is to 
 slight the agents of God. Bp. Hall. 
 
 19. — if.i/e had saved them alive, I would not slat/ iiou.~\ As they 
 were not Canaanites, he was not obliged to kill them ; but, as they 
 liad slain his brethren in cool blood, he was by law the avenger 
 of their blood. Pode. 
 
 21. — as the man is, so is his strength.'] They thought it more 
 honourable to die by the hand of Gideon, who was a man of as 
 
 13 5[ And Gideon the son of Joash re- chrTst 
 turned from battle before the sun was about 1249. 
 up, 
 
 M And caught a young man of the men 
 of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he 
 t described unto him the princes of Sue- tHcb-Kw. 
 coth, and the elders thereof, eve7i three- 
 score and seventeen men. 
 
 15 And he came unto tlie men of Suc- 
 coth, and said. Behold Zebali and Zal- 
 munna, with whom ye did upbraid me, 
 saying. Are the hands of Zebah and Zal- 
 munna now in thine hand, that we should 
 give bread unto thy men that are weary? 
 
 16 And he took the elders of the city, 
 and thorns of the wilderness and briers, 
 
 and with them he t taugiit the men of t Heb. 
 Succoth. Z"^" 
 
 know. 
 
 17 And he beat down the tower of * Pe- ' 1 Kiags 
 nuel, and slew the men of the city. '^ "" 
 
 18 ^ Then said he unto Zebah and Zal- 
 munna, ^Vliat manner of men Xi:ere they 
 whom ye slew at Tabor? And they an- 
 swered, As thou art, so "were they ; each 
 
 one t resembled the children of a king. t Heb. 
 
 19 And he said. They xcere my brethren, "hejhr^"' 
 even the sons of my mother : as the Lord *'=• 
 liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would 
 
 not slay you. 
 
 20 And he said unto Jether his firstborn. 
 Up, a?id slay them. But the youth drew 
 not his sword : for he feared, because he 
 rcas yet a youth. 
 
 21 Then Zebah and Zalmimna said. Rise 
 thou, and fall upon us : for as the man is, 
 so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and 
 slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away 
 the II ornaments that xce7-e on their camels' 1 ''/I 
 necks. 
 
 22 % Then the men of Israel said unto 
 Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and 
 
 great strength as dignity ; and would sooner despatch them than 
 a stripling could do. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ornaments &c.] The Hebrew word used here is found 
 
 no where else but at ver. 26, and in Is. iii. 18 : our margin trans- 
 lates, " ornaments like the moon," as it was an ancier.t custom to 
 wear ornaments of this figure. Bp. Patrick. These were probably 
 chains, like those which Bp. Pococke saw in Egypt, hanging from 
 the bridles of the agas of the seven military bodies of that coun- 
 try to the breastplates of the animals on which tliey rode, in 
 the grand procession of the caravan, about setting out for Mecca. 
 They were midoubtedly marks of distinction and grandeur. 
 Harmer. 
 
 They were golden ornaments, perhaps crescents, consecrated to 
 the moon, which was worshipped in tliat neighbourhood before 
 Abraham's days. These crescents are still in \ise among the Arabs, 
 and even among the Malionietans in general, however scrupulous 
 about images ; being evidently a remnant of that ancient piigan 
 superstition of the worship of the !:cavenly bodies, which too of- 
 ten infected the extraneous posterity of the faithful Abvaliam, and 
 even the Israelites themselves. Dr. Hales. 
 
 ornamenli 
 like the
 
 Gideon's ephod a cause of idolatry. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 Gideon^ s children, and death. 
 
 Brf« thy son, and thv son's son also: for thou 
 
 S^ustl hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. 
 
 ^iS And (iideon said unto them, I will 
 
 not rule over you, neither shall my son 
 
 rule over you :' the Lord shall rule over 
 
 you. 
 
 ^24 % And Gideon said unto them, I 
 would desire a request of you, that ye 
 would give nic every man the earrings of 
 his prey. (For they had golden earrings, 
 because they 'icrc Ishmaelites.) 
 
 25 And tiiey answered. We will willingly 
 give them. And they spread a garment, 
 and did cast therein every man the ear- 
 rings of his prey. 
 
 yO And the weight of the golden car- 
 rings that he requested was a thousand 
 and seven hundred shekels of gold ; beside 
 a Or, ornaments, and II collars, and pur])le rai- 
 n>t€tjtvMt. „^g„^ ^i,jj. ,j.(ig o„ tiie kings of Midian, and 
 
 beside the chains that v:ere about their 
 camels' necks. 
 
 •27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, 
 and i)ut it in Jiis city, even in Oj)hrah : and 
 all Israel went thither a whoring after it : 
 wliith thing became a snare unto Gideon, 
 and to his house. 
 
 'J8 % Thus was Midian subdued before 
 the children of Israel, so that they lifted 
 up their heads no more. And the country 
 
 22. — for ihoit linst delivered us &c.] They pretended to make 
 this offer out of jjratitude to him ; but, in truth, they were dis- 
 posed now (as tlieir posterity were afterwards) to throw off the 
 Divine povenimt-nt, being desirous to set a king over them- 
 selves, like the res-t of the nations round about them: Gideon 
 absolutely rejected their offer, because he considered God as their 
 king, and .iccounted this an attempt to alter His gor^-ernment. 
 lip. Patrick. 
 
 'Hi. And Gideon said, — I trill not rule over you,"] There is no 
 jireatcr example of modesty than Gideon. WTien the angel spake 
 to hini, lie .il)a>ed himself before all Israel: when the Ephraimites 
 contended with him, he preferred their gleanings to his vintage, 
 and cast his honour at their feet : and now, when Israel proffered 
 him that crown which he had merited, he refused it. He that in 
 overcoming would allow them to cry, " The sword of the Lord, 
 and of Ciideon," chap. vii. IH ; in governing will have nothing but 
 •• the sword of the Lord." Bp. Hull. 
 
 St. — Itecauxe ihn/ ncrr J.ihmaelites.'l The Chaldee Paraphrase 
 says. Because they were Arabians : called " children of the Kast," 
 ihap. vi. X it being the general custom of all those people to 
 wear earrings, lip. Patrick: 
 
 26. — a tlioit.utud and .H-i.n hundred shekels^ In the same man- 
 ner Hannibal, af\er the battle of Cannap, measured the gold rings 
 of the Roman knights by bushels. Dr. (f'all. 
 
 purple rni'mcw/] Purple seems anciently to have been 
 
 ajipronriatctl to kin^^s, and to those on whom kings bestowed it. 
 It is here mentioned by the sacred historian, as bein" found 
 on the Midianitish kings. " A garment of fine linen and purple" 
 is ^iven to a favourite by king Ahasuerus, Esther viii. 1 j. The 
 Jews made a decree that Simon should we.T ))urple and gold 
 andthut noneof tlie people should wear it without his permission. 
 Buriler. 
 
 «?• And Gideon made an ephod Sicl Gideon had no other view, 
 in asking these gold earrings and jeweb of the soldiery, but to 
 
 was in quietness forty years in the days of p,?';("" _ 
 Gideon. ai,out 1-249. 
 
 Of) ^ And Jcrubbaal the son of Joash 
 went and dwelt in his own house. 
 
 30 And Gideon had threescore and ten 
 sons t of his body begotten : for he had t "'h 
 
 gnine nut of 
 
 many wives. hUMgii.'^ 
 
 31 And his concubine that xcas in She- 
 chem, she also bare him a son, whose name 
 
 he t called Abimelech. t Heb. ../. 
 
 3'i if And Gideon the son of Joa.sh died 
 in a good old age, and was buried in the "''<*"' ^^°* 
 sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of 
 the Abi-ezrites. 
 
 33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gi- 
 deon was dead, that the children of Israel 
 turned again, and went a whoring after 
 Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god. 
 
 34- And the children of Israel remem- 
 bered not the Lord their God, who had 
 delivered them out of the hands of all their 
 enemies on every side : 
 
 35 Neither shewed they kindness to the 
 house of Jerubbaal, navielij, Gideon, ac- 
 cording to all the goodness which he had 
 shewed unto Israel. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 1 Abimelech by conspiracy with the Shechemilcs, and 
 murder of his brethren, is made king. 7 Jolham by a 
 
 furnish out a costly and magnificent trophy or ensign, as a mo- 
 nument of this signal victory wrought by his hands. He accord- 
 ingly made it in the form of an ephod, or long robe, to be himg- 
 «p, and displayed like a military standard; and suspended it in his 
 own house, or in some large and spacious place built on purpose 
 for it, in the town where he lived. But, whether Gideon himself 
 meant any ill by it or not, the Israelites afterwards made a vile 
 and superstitious use of it, paying regards to it as to a .sacred thing, 
 consulting it in a religious way, as they used to do the holy ephod 
 in the tabernacle ; in derogation to the true worship and honour 
 of God. So that the successors of Gideon's family, taking no care 
 to abolish this impious abuse, soon fell to decay, and his name 
 became as it were extinct. Pyle. He intended the ephod merely . 
 as a monument of victory, but in aftertimes it came to be per- 
 verted to a bad iise, gave occasion to a fresh apostasy, and proved 
 the ruin of Gideon's family. Slackhouse. 
 
 29- And JerubbaaQ Jerubbaal being another name for Gideon, 
 chap. vii. 1. 
 
 31. — whose name he caUed Abimelech r\ His name is here set 
 down, when nothing is said of the names of the rest, because the 
 story of the following chapter depends upon it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 S3. — Baal-berith'] A new god, not known to them before, 
 and mentioned only here and in the next chajiter ; reputed, as 
 some think, the god that punished those who broke their cove- 
 nants and contracts ; or so called, as others think, because his 
 servants covenanted to maintain his worship and service. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 3i. — remembered not the Lord their God,] It is a sore aggra- 
 vation of sin, when it is committed after great mercies and de- 
 liverances vouchsafed to us ; because it is an argument of great 
 ingratitude. Thus we find it here recorded as a heavy charge 
 upon the people of Israel, that they " remembered not the Lord 
 their God," " neither shewed kindness," ver. 35, to Jerubbaal, 
 w ho had been their deliverer. Abp. Tilhtson.
 
 Abirnelech made king. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Jothani's parable of the trees. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 ibout 1209. 
 
 f Heb. 
 
 Ifliut is 
 tiood ? whe- 
 ther, &c. 
 
 Heb. 
 
 2fler. 
 
 paruile rebukelh Ifiem, and fwetclklh their ruin. 22 
 Gual conspireth wilk the Shcchemiles against him. 
 30 Zebtil revealeth it. 31 Abirnelech overcomelh 
 thevt, and soweth the citi/ with salt. 4C He burneth 
 the hold of the god Berilh. 50 At Thebez he is 
 slain by a piece of a milslone. 3Q Jotham's curse is 
 fulfilled. 
 
 AND Abirnelech the son of Jerubbaal 
 went to Shechem unto his mother's 
 brethren, and communed with them, and 
 with all the family of the house of his 
 mother's father, saying, 
 
 2 Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all 
 the men of Shechem, t Whether is better 
 for you, either that all the sons of Jerub- 
 baal, Xi'hich are threescore and ten persons, 
 reign over you, or that one reign over you ? 
 remember also that I am your bone and 
 your flesh. 
 
 3 And his mother's brethren spake of 
 him in the ears of all the men of Shechem 
 all these words : and their hearts inclined 
 t to follow Abirnelech; for they said, He 
 is our brother. 
 
 4 And they gave him threescore and ten 
 pieces of silver out of the house of Baal- 
 berith, wherewith Abirnelech hired vain 
 and light persons, which followed him. 
 
 5 And he went unto his father's house 
 at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons 
 of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten per- 
 sons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet 
 Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was 
 left; for he hid himself. 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. 2. — / am your bone and your fesh^ Meanii\<T, 
 your fellow-citizen, and belonging to the same tribe. Bp. I'atrirk. 
 
 4. — vain and light persons,'^ The Hebrew word, which we 
 translate vain, signifies empty; that is, poor and needy persons: 
 and that translated light, signifies idle vagabond fellows, of looje 
 lives, who could settle to no business. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — and sleiv his brethren'^ There was never such a pattern 
 of unthankfulness, as these Israelites: they, wlio lately, chap. viii. 
 22, thought a kingdom too small a recompense of Gideon and his 
 sons, now think it too much for his seed to live; and take life 
 away from the sons of him, who gave them both life and liberty. 
 If this had been done some long time afterwards, when the me- 
 mory of Gideon was worn out, it might have borne a better ex- 
 cuse; but, ere their deliverer was cold in his coffin, to pay his be- 
 nefits with the extirpation of his posterity, was more than savage. 
 What can be looked for from idolaters? If a man has cast oft' his 
 God, he will easily cast off his friends. When religion is once 
 gone, humanity will not stay long after. Bp. Hall. 
 
 upon one stone :'^ This stone some will have to be an altai*, 
 
 which Abirnelech dedicated to the idol Berith, and erected in the 
 saine place where his father Gideon had destroyed his altar before: 
 and so they account, that this slaughter of his sons was designed 
 for an expiatory sacrifice of their father's pretended crime, in de- 
 mohshitig the altar and grove dedicated to that idol. Stackhouse, 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — all tlie house of Millo,2 The word Millo, it is probably 
 ihought, is derived from a Hebrew word which signifies, " to be 
 .LiO or filled." Many learned persons consider it to denote in the 
 
 icred writings a large capacious place, which was designed for 
 ,) iblick meetings. Accordingly, in this place, by " all the house 
 
 6 And all the men of Shechem gathered 
 together, and all the house of Millo, and 
 went, and made Abirnelech king, || by the 
 plain of the pillar that was in Shechem. 
 
 7 f And when they told it to Jotham, 
 he went and stood in the top of mount 
 Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, 
 and said unto them. Hearken unto me, ye 
 men of Shechem, that God may hearken 
 unto you. 
 
 8 The trees went forth on a time to 
 anoint a king over them; and they said 
 unto the olive tree. Reign thou over us. 
 
 9 But the olive tree said unto them. 
 Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by 
 me they honour God and man, and || go to 
 be promoted over the trees ? 
 
 10 And the trees said to the fig tree. 
 Come thou, and reign over us. 
 
 11 But the fig tree said unto them. 
 Should I forsake my sweetness, and my 
 good fruit, and go to be promoted over the 
 trees ? 
 
 12 Then said the trees unto the vine, 
 Come thou, and reign over us. 
 
 13 And the vine said unto them. Should 
 
 I leave my wine, which cheereth God and 
 man, and go to be promoted over the 
 trees ? 
 
 14 Then said all the trees unto the 
 
 II bramble. Come thou, and reign over us. 
 
 15 And the bramble said unto the trees. 
 If in truth ye anoint me king over you. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1209. 
 
 II Or, 
 b^ Ifte oak 
 of tlic pil- 
 lar. 
 
 Sec Josh, 
 24. 26. 
 
 II Or, go 
 
 u/> and 
 duKfiJhr 
 other trees. 
 
 U Or, 
 t/tisUe. 
 
 of Millo," are meant all the principal inhabitants who were wont 
 to assemble in the publick townhouse; and who on this occasion 
 consented to the setting up of Abimelech aa king. Dr. Wells. See 
 note on 2 Sam. v. Q. 
 
 b>i the plain of the pillar'] Our margin translates, " by the 
 
 oak of the pillar," which refers us to the stone set up by Joshua, 
 under the oak in Shechem. Jay. Mcdc. See the note on Gen. xii. 6. 
 
 7. — the top of mount Gcrizi7n,'] ^^^lich overlooked the city of 
 Shechem. Deut. xxvii. 12, i:?. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. The trees went forth &c.] It hence appears, that such fictions 
 as these, wherein the most serious truths are represented, were in 
 use among the Jews in ancient times, as they are stiU in Eastern 
 countries. They seem to have made choice of theifi for two reasons ; 
 1st, Because men would suflfer themselves to be reproved in this 
 manner, when they would not endure plain words; 2nd, Because 
 they heard these fictions with delight and pleasuie, and more ea- 
 sily remembered them than a rational discourse. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 13. — wine, which cheereth God and man,"] A poetical expres- 
 sion, denoting the common custom of the world, of offering up 
 and drinking wine to the honour of their gods. Pi/le. The words 
 in the original may be rendered in the plural, "gods and men;" 
 according to which we must suppose, tliat Jotham speaks of 
 " gods" because he was addressing himself to the idolatrous She- 
 chemites, and adapted his discourse to their notions. Dr. Water- 
 land. Again, the words Elohim and anasim, translated God and 
 man, may mean only " kings, and men of inferiour quality," " high 
 and low." Dr. Wall. " Prince and peasant." Script, illust. 
 
 1-i. — the bramble,'] The meanest of all trees, good for notliing 
 but to be burnt; aptly representing Abimelech, from whom they 
 could receive no benefit, but much trouble and vexation.
 
 The Shec/iemitcs' nun foretold. 
 
 J U D G IC S. Thej/ conspire •with Gaal against Ahimekch. 
 
 tuton then come and put your trust in my sliadow : 
 TbiioiJ aiui if not, let Hrc come out of the bramble, 
 aiul devour tlie cedars of Lebanon. 
 
 10 Now therefore, if ye have done truly 
 and sincerelv, in tiiat ye have made Abi- 
 inelech king", and if yc have dealt well with 
 ,Icrubl)aal and his hoiise.and iiave done unto 
 liim according to the deserving of his hands; 
 
 17 (For mv father fought for you, and 
 t He).. t adventurcd'his life far, and delivered you 
 cauhuhf,. jj^j ^^^jijg j,a„,i of Midian : 
 
 18 And ye are risen uj) against my fa- 
 ther's house this day, and have slain his 
 sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one* 
 stone, and have made Abinielech, the son 
 of ins maidservant, king over the men of 
 Slu'cliem, because he is your brother;) 
 
 11) if ye then have dealt truly and sin- 
 cerely with Jerubbaal and with his house 
 this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and 
 let him also rejoice in you : 
 
 '20 But if not, let fire come out from 
 Abimelech, and devour the men of She- 
 chem, and the house of Millo; and let fire 
 come out liom the men of Shechem, and 
 from the house of Millo, and devour Abi- 
 melech. 
 
 21 And Jotham ran away, and fled, and 
 went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of 
 Abimelech his brother, 
 about I90C. oo «[ W'lien Abimelech had reigned three 
 } ears over Israel, 
 
 23 Then God sent an evil spirit between 
 
 15. — ;»(/ your trust in mi/ s/iadow :'] By this is admirably re- 
 prcsontcd how ridiculous Abimelech v.as, in imagining that he 
 should bu able to maintain the authority of a king; for a bramble 
 doc< not i-pread itself out, so as to afford any shallow or shelter. 
 Bp. Pat lick. 
 
 niitt ilnoiir the cedars ^c] Hy which is represented the 
 
 vengeance which Abimelech would take of tlie greatest of them, 
 if they proved unfaithful to him. Ih). Patrick. The preceding 
 fable of ilic trees choosing a king, is the oldest and most beautiful 
 extant. .Iiilhara pointedly contrasts, with the mild and unassum- 
 ing <li>po.-^itions of his pious and honourable brethren, (represented 
 hy the olive tree, the fig tree, .and the vine,) the iijjstart ambition 
 and ;im>gnnce of die wicked and turbulent .\bimekch, represented 
 by Uic bniuible; inviting his new and nobler subjects, the cedars 
 of Lebanon, to put their trust in his pigmy shadow, which they 
 did not want, aiitl he was unable to afford them; and threatening 
 thein imperiously, on their refusal, to send forth a fire from him- 
 self, and devour those cedars; whereas the fire of the bramble was 
 •Jiort and momentary, even to a proverb, I's. U iii. y. Br. Hales. 
 
 20. Jiitt if HO/, Ul/irc came out «ce.] This is not a prediction, 
 but an execration or curse, as appears from tlie opposition to the 
 foregoing verse, ami froin ver. r>T, where it is called Jotham's 
 c*u^. Bp. Pairick. The meaning of the expression, " let fire 
 coiue out," is. May you prove a mutual destruction to each 
 oUier. Dr. Wells. 
 
 Sa. — iiod sail an eml spirit &c.] God so ordered things in His 
 providence, that Uiey grew jealous and distrustful of each other, 
 and tell mto discords and dissensions: by which means He in- 
 tended to pumsh Abimelech for the cruel murder of his bretliren, 
 aHU the inen ot Shechem for assisting him in Uie commission of 
 
 Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and pj^^Tsr 
 the men of Shechem dealt treacherously ai>outi •.'«;. 
 with Abimelech : 
 
 24 That the cruelty do7ie to the three- 
 score and ten sons of Jerubbaal might 
 come, and their blood be laid npon Abi- 
 melech their brother, which slew them; 
 and upon the men of Shechem, which 
 
 t aided him in the killing of his brethren. t Ht>j. 
 
 25 And the men of Shecheni set liers in fdhhiuuij^ 
 wait for him in the top of the mountains, '"*'«• 
 and they robbed all that came along that 
 
 way by them: and it was told Abimelech. 
 2fi And Gaal the son of Ebed came with 
 his brethren, and went over to Shechem: 
 and the men of Shechem put their confi- 
 dence in him. 
 
 27 And they went out into the fields, 
 and gathered their vineyards, and trode 
 
 the grapes, and made || merry, and went II Or, 
 into the house of their god, and did eat "'"''' 
 and drink, and cursed Abimelech. 
 
 28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said. Who 
 is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we 
 should serve him ? is not he the son of 
 Jerubbaal ? and Zebul his officer ? serve 
 the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: 
 for why should we serve him ? 
 
 29 And would to God this people were 
 under my hand ! then would 1 remove A- 
 bimelech. And he said to Abimelech, In- 
 crease thine army, and come out. 
 
 30 ^ And when Zebul the ruler of the 
 
 that wickedness. Bp. Patrick. The meaning is, as it is explained 
 in the following words, God permitted Abimelech to be deceived 
 and dealt treacherously with by the men of Shechem, that his 
 cruelty, and the blood which he had shed, might come upon him. 
 It is nothing more than an acknowledgment of the justice and 
 wisdom of Providence, in suffering wicked men to be judicially 
 blinded, that they may fall according to their own deserts. Dr. S. 
 Clarke. Tliis is an usual form of speech in Scripture, and denotes, 
 not any positive action, but a permission only, or at most a direc- 
 tion from God. Stack/imtse. 
 
 the men of S/iecftem dealt ireacheroiish/ n-ilh Abimcltrh:^ 
 
 How could Abimelech hope for fidelity from them, whom he had 
 made and found traitors to his father's blood? He, that has been 
 unfaithful to one, knows the way to be perfidious, and is only fit 
 to be trusted by him, who deserves to be deceived. l"he friend- 
 sliip that is begun in evil cannot stand: wickedness, both of its 
 own nature, and through the curse of God, is ever unsteady; 
 whereas that affection which is knit in God is indissoluble. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 26. — Gaal tlie son ofEbedl Gaal was probably a known ene- 
 my of Abimelech's, wlio, heanng that the men of Shechem were 
 on tenns of difference with him, came to offer them his service 
 against him. Bp. Pairick. 
 
 27. — trode the grapes,2 In the East they still tread their 
 grapes after the ancient manner. Dr. Chandler, in his Ti-avels, 
 says, " The vintage (near Smyrna) was now begun; the juice of 
 the grapes was expressed for wine: a man with his feet and legs 
 bare was treading the fruit in a kind of cistern, with a hole or 
 vent near the bottom, and a vessel beneath to receive the liquor." 
 Burder.
 
 Ahhnelech overcometh them. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 and sotoeth the city mth salt. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 aliuut I '-'OG. 
 II Or, hot. 
 
 f Hcb, 
 critftili/t or, 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 as t/tiru 
 hand shall 
 ■find. 
 
 city heard the words of Gaal the son of 
 Ebed, his anger was || kindled. 
 
 31 And he sent messengers unto Abi- 
 melech t privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the 
 son of Ebed and his brethren be come to 
 
 «■ r..m«/.. Shechem ; and, behold, they fortify the 
 city against thee. 
 
 32 Now therefore up by night, thou and 
 the people that is with thee, and lie in wait 
 in the field : 
 
 33 And it shall be, that in the morning, 
 as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise 
 early, and set upon the city : and, behold, 
 •wheji he and the people that is with him 
 come out against thee, then mayest thou 
 do to them t as thou shalt find occasion. 
 
 34 ^ And Abimelech rose up, and all the 
 people that were with him, by night, and 
 they laid wait against Shechem in four 
 companies. 
 
 35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, 
 and stood in the entering of the gate of 
 the city : and Abimelech rose up, and the 
 people that were with him, from lying in 
 wait. 
 
 36 And when Gaal saw the people, he 
 said to Zebul, Behold, there come people 
 down from the top of the mountains. And 
 Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the sha- 
 dow of the mountains as if they were 
 men. 
 
 37 And Gaal spake again and said. See 
 there come people down by the t middle of 
 the land, and another company come along 
 by the plain of II Meonenim. 
 
 38 Then said Zebul unto him, WTiere is 
 now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst. 
 Who is Abimelech, that we should serve 
 him ? is not this the people that thou hast 
 despised ? go out, I pray now, and fight 
 with them. 
 
 39 And Gaal went out before the men 
 of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. 
 
 40 And Abimelech chased him, and he 
 fled before him, and many were overthrown 
 and wounded, even unto the entering of 
 the gate. 
 
 41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah : 
 and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, 
 that they should not dwell in Shechem, 
 
 42 And it came to pass on the morrow. 
 
 45. — sowed it with sall.^ As the last insult of a triumphant 
 and enraged enemy. Salt lands are barren : thus, though the 
 mere sowing a place with salt is not sufficient to make it perpe- 
 tually barren, yet this action was a token of the conqueror's in- 
 dignation, and implied his wishes for its utter desolation. Pyle. 
 See the note on Jer. xvii. 6. 
 
 53. — and all to brake his scuU.'] " All-to" or " al-to" is en- 
 Vol. I. 
 
 t Hel>. 
 
 navel. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 the regard- 
 ers of times* 
 
 that the people went out into the field; ^''°'"' 
 and they told Abimelech. ^uumI 
 
 43 And he took the people, and divided 
 them into three companies, and laid wait 
 in the field, and looked, and, behold, the 
 people wer-e come forth out of the city ; 
 and he rose up against them, and smote 
 them. 
 
 44 And Abimelech, and the company 
 that was with him, rushed forward, and 
 stood in the entering of the gate of the 
 city : and the two other companies ran upon 
 all the people that were in the fields, and 
 alew them. 
 
 45 And Abimelech fought against the 
 city all that day ; and he took the city, and 
 slew the people that was therein, and beat 
 down the city, and sowed it with salt. 
 
 46 ^ And when all the men of the tower 
 of Shechem heard that, they entered into an 
 hold of the house of the god Berith. 
 
 47 And it was told Abimelech, that all 
 the men of the tower of Shechem were ga- 
 thered together. 
 
 48 And Abimelech gat him up to mount 
 Zalmon, he and all the people that were 
 with him ; and Abimelech took an ax in 
 his hand, and cut down a bough from the 
 trees, and took it, and laid it on his 
 shoulder, and said unto the people that were 
 with him. What ye have seen t me do, t H*b. 
 make haste, and do as I have done. ihaveA«„. 
 
 49 And all the people likewise cut down 
 every man his bough, and followed Abime- 
 lech, and put them to the hold, and set the 
 hold on fire upon them ; so that all the men 
 of the tower of Shechem died also, about a 
 thousand men and women. 
 
 50 ^ Then went Abimelech to Thebez, 
 and encamped against Thebez, and took it. 
 
 51 But there was a strong tower within 
 the city, and thither fled all the men and 
 women, and all they of the city, and shut 
 it to them, and gat them up to the top of 
 the tower. 
 
 52 And Abimelech came unto the tower, 
 and fought against it, and went hard unto 
 the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 
 
 53 And a certain woman * cast a piece • 2 Sam. 
 of a milstone upon Abimelech's head, and "•*'• 
 all to brake his scull. 
 
 tirely. Various instances occur in Chaucer and Speneer, and 
 in later writers, as in Milton also. T. fl'itiion. See Judges ix, 
 5.'}. " And a certain woman cast a piece of a milstone upon 
 Abimelech's head, and all-to brake his scull :" for so it should 
 be printed. Some editions of the Bible corruptly read, " all 
 to break," placing the verb improperly iii the infinitive mood. 
 Todd. 
 
 3?
 
 Abimelech is slain. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 The Philistines, S;c. oppress Israel, 
 
 Brf>» 54 Then he called hastily unto the 
 
 CHHj'.^ younjT man his armourbearcr, and said un- 
 
 ' to him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that 
 
 men say not of me, A woman slew him. 
 
 And liis young man thrust him through, 
 
 and he died. 
 
 55 And when the men of Israel saw that 
 Abimelech was dead, they departed every 
 man unto his place. 
 
 56 % Thus God rendered the wickedness 
 of Abimelecli, which he did unto his father, 
 in slaving his seventy brethren : 
 
 57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem 
 did God render upon their heads: and 
 upon them came the curse of Jotham the 
 son of Jerubbaal. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 1 Toia jitdgflh Israel in Shamir. S Jair, whose thirty 
 sons had tliirly cities. 6 The Philistines ami Ammon- 
 ites oppress Israel. W In their miserif God sendeth 
 them to their false gods. 15 I'lMH their repentance he 
 pitieth than. 
 
 •boutiioe. A ND after Abimelech there arose to 
 jc\. II t defend Israel Tola tlie son of 
 Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; 
 and he dwelt in Shamir in mount E- 
 phraim. 
 
 2 And he judged Israel twenty and 
 three years, and died, and was buried in 
 Shamir. 
 
 3 ^ And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, 
 and judged Israel twenty and two years. 
 
 4 And he had thirty sons that rode on 
 thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, 
 
 Or, 
 •ttltier. 
 t Htb. 
 
 •bout 1 1 83. 
 
 3G. Thus God rendered &c.] Here is the concluding lesson of 
 the ^receding story : that thus Providence returned upon the head 
 of this man the pro]ier reward of his insatiable ambition and 
 cruelty towards the house of his own father ; causing him, and the 
 ungrateful and vain people which set him up, to become in a short 
 space of time the instruments of each other's ruin and destruction. 
 Pi)U. How sure and just are the retaliations of God ! Gideon's 
 ephml is punished with the bloo<l of his sons ; the bloo<l of his 
 wins u shed by the procurement of the Shechemites ; the blood of 
 the Shechemites is shed by Abimelech ; the blootl of Abimelech 
 is shed by a woman. The tyrant now has his payment ; and that 
 time, which he should have bestowed in calling for mercy on God, 
 and in washing his soul with the last tears of contrition, he vain- 
 ly spends in deprecating an idle reproach, " Slay me, that men 
 say not of me, ,\ woman slew him ;" — a fit conclusion for such a 
 life. Bp. Hall. 
 
 The whole history of the manner in which " Gotl rendered the 
 wickethicss of Abimelech, &c." supplies a further striking instance 
 of the method of the Divine administration, now carried on towards 
 His people. The apparent severity in some of these instances 
 aruse from the operation of human passions in the agents em- 
 ployeil, or permitte<l, to execute the judgments, without being 
 directly controlleti in their conduct ; or if in any case the severity 
 w«» ilirectly commanded, we may he well assured it was indis- 
 pensiil>ly necessary Ui effect tlie purposes of the Divine economy, 
 when even that geverity was not sufficient entirely to prevent 
 subsequent offences. Dr. Graves. 
 
 Befnre 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1 183. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 Tkc villages 
 *tf Jair. 
 about I161r 
 ' Chap. 2. 
 ll.it 3.7. 
 & 4. l.&Tu 
 1.& i:j. 1. 
 " Chap. 2. 
 13. 
 
 about net. 
 
 t Heh. 
 cruilttd. 
 
 which are called II Havoth-jair unto this 
 day, which are in the land of Gilcad. 
 
 5 And Jair died, and was buried in 
 Camon. 
 
 6 ^ And 'the children of Israel did evil 
 again in the sight of the Lord, and served 
 Baalim, and " Ashtaroth, and the gods of 
 Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods 
 of Moab, and the gods of the children of 
 Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, 
 and forsook the Lord, and served not 
 him. 
 
 7 And the anger of the Lord was hot 
 against Israel, and he sold them into the 
 hands of the Philistines, and into the hands 
 of the children of Ammon. 
 
 8 And that year they vexed and top- 
 pressed the children of Israel eighteen 
 years, all the children of Israel that were 
 on the other side Jordan in the land of the 
 Amorites, which is in Gilead. 
 
 9 Moreover the children of Ammon pass- 
 ed over Jordan to fight also against Judab, 
 and against Benjamin, and against the 
 house of Ephraim ; so that Israel was sore 
 distressed. 
 
 10 ^ And the children of Israel cried 
 unto the Lord, saying. We have sinned 
 against thee, both because we have forsaken 
 our God, and also served Baalim. 
 
 11 And the Lord said unto the children 
 of Israel, Did not 1 deliver you from the 
 Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from 
 the children of Ammon, and from the 
 Philistines ? 
 
 Chap. X. ver. 1. — after Abimelech there arose &C.3 Abimelech 
 was no judge or governour of God's appointment, but an usurper 
 and a tyrant : these, who succeeded, appear to have arisen by Di- 
 vine instigation and appointment ; keeping the Israelites in the 
 worship of the true God, maintaining their laws, and defending 
 them from their enemies, without assuming over them a mo- 
 narchical power. Dr. IVells, Pijlc. 
 
 i. — that rode on thirty ass colts,~\ It is probable that this cir- 
 cumstance is here mentioned, because these persons were ordered 
 by their father to ride circuit up and down the country, to ad- 
 minister justice according to the law, as Samuel did when he 
 judged Israel, 1 .Sam. vii. 16. Bp. Patrick. As in those days the 
 Israelites had but few chariots, and were not allowed to keep 
 many horses ; the most honourable of them were used to be 
 mounted on asses, which, in Eastern countries, were much higher 
 and more beautiful than tiiey are with us. Stackhoitse. See the 
 note on Numb. xxii. 2 1 . 
 
 Havoth-jair'] Other towns had been called bj' the same 
 
 name. Numb, xxxii. 41 ; Deut. iii. 14; by a former Jair, an ances- 
 tor probably of the person here mentioned. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7- — Philistines, — children of Ammon.'] The Ammonites vexed 
 them on the east, and the Philistines on the west : thus, by the in- 
 vasion of their enemies on both sides, their punishment increased 
 with their idolatry. The two oppressions seem to have happened 
 at the same time ; but, to avoid confusion. Scripture first gives 
 an account of the war with the Ammonites, managed by Jephthah, 
 ch. xi, xii. then of that with the Philistines, ch. xiii. Bp. Patrick.
 
 God pitieth them. 
 
 CHAP. X, XI. 
 
 Jephthak is chosen captain. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1161. 
 
 Dent. 32. 
 
 i,5. 
 
 Jcr. 2. 13. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 f's ^ood in 
 ■•hine eyes. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 strangers. 
 tHeb. 
 
 •yaj short- 
 ■ned. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 .rifd tugC' 
 
 Chap. 11, 
 
 'Hebr. 11. 
 .■52. called 
 Jephlhae, 
 
 12 The Zidonians also, and the Anialek- 
 itcs, and the Maonites, did oppress you ; 
 and ye cried to me, and I delivered you 
 out of their hand. 
 
 13 •= Yet ye have forsaken me, and serv- 
 ed other gods : wherefore I will deliver you 
 no more. 
 
 14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye 
 have chosen ; let them deliver you in the 
 time of your tribulation. 
 
 15 ^ And the children of Israel said 
 unto the Lord, We have sinned : do thou 
 unto us whatsoever t seemeth good unto 
 thee ; deliver us only, we pray thee, tliis 
 day. 
 
 16 And they put away the t strange gods 
 from among them, and served the Lord : 
 and his soul t was grieved for the misery 
 of Israel. 
 
 17 Then the children of Ammon were 
 t gathered together, and encamped in Gi- 
 lead. And the children of Israel assem- 
 bled themselves together, and encamped 
 in Mizpeh. 
 
 18 And the people and princes of Gilead 
 said one to another. What man is he that 
 will begin to iight against the children of 
 Ammon ? he shall '' be head over all the 
 inhabitants of Gilead. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 1 The covenant helween Jcphlhah and the Gileadile.t, 
 thai he should be I heir head. 12 The treaty of peace 
 bclmeai him and the Ammonites u in vain. 29 Jeph- 
 thah's vow. 32 His conquest of the Ammonites. 34 
 He perj'ormeth his vow on his daughter. 
 
 NOW 'Jephthah the Gileadite was a 
 mighty man of valour, and he was 
 
 12. — the Maonites,! Anotlier n.ition of tlie children of the 
 East, that, together with the Anialekites, assisited the Midian- 
 ites. Dr. Wells. 
 
 14. Go and cry unto the gods"^ After reproaching them for tlieir 
 vile stupidity and ingratitude, luider the course of His mercies, 
 forgivenesses, and deliverances ; He bids them go and seek their 
 refuge from the senseless idols, which they had worshipped so 
 long, and so often. Pyle. It was an argument of a most i)erverse 
 and incon'igible temper, and that which made the sin of the chil- 
 dren of Israel so sinful above .ill mexsure, that, after so many 
 signal deliverances, and so many terrible judgments, they fell 
 into the same again. This circumstance it was which incensed 
 God against them so highly on this occasion, and made Him up- 
 braid them so severely. Abp. Tillolson. 
 
 1 6. And they put away the .if range gods'2 This is the most re- 
 markable repentance and reformation, of which we read in tlie 
 history of the judges ; and it seems to be so serious, that, in the 
 time of the three judges who succeeded Jephthali, we read nothing 
 of their relapsing into idolatry. As their rcpentiuicc was sincere, 
 80 the expression of the Divine compassion towards them, namely, 
 " that His soul was grieved for tlie misery of Israel," is the strong- 
 est that we meet with ; although every one knows that the Di- 
 vine nature is not capable of grief, properly so called ; but the 
 meaning is, that He quite altered His former intention, and in 
 
 the son of t an harlot : and Gilead begat ^*''°" 
 
 T 1 .1 1 ° CHRIST 
 
 Jephthah. .boutuoi. 
 
 2 And Gilead's wife bare him sons ; and f neb. 
 his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust " ^•""^n. 
 out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou "" 
 shalt not inherit in our father's house ; 
 
 for thou art the son of a strange woman. 
 
 3 Then Jephthah fled tfrom his brethren, tHcb. 
 and dwelt in the land of Tob : and there ;^;;^" "" 
 were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and 
 went out with him. 
 
 4 ^ And it came to pass t in process of jLJ'*'l 
 time, that the children of Ammon made " ""'' 
 war against Israel. 
 
 5 And it was so, that when the children 
 of Ammon made war against Israel, the 
 elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah 
 out of the land of Tob : 
 
 6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come, 
 and be our captain, that we may fight with 
 the children of Ammon. 
 
 7 And Jephthah said unto the elders of 
 Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me 
 out of my father's house ? and why are ye 
 come unto me now when ye are in dis- 
 tress ? 
 
 8 And the elders of Gilead said unto 
 Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee 
 now, that thou mayest go with us, and 
 fight against the children of Ammon, and 
 be our head over all the inhabitants of 
 Gilead. 
 
 9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of 
 Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight 
 against the children of Ammon, and the 
 Lord deliver them before me, shall I be 
 your head ? 
 
 10 And the elders of Gilead said unto 
 
 much mercy resolved, upon their repentance, to deliver them. 
 Stackhonse. See the note from Stackhouse on Gen. vi. 6. 
 
 his soul teas grieved for the misery of Israel.'] God had 
 
 compassion on the miseries which the Israelites brought on them- 
 selves by their idolatry. Bp. Hall. 
 
 17. ^ in Mizpeh.] There were several towns of this name 
 in Canaan ; this was on the cast of Jordan, in Gilead, under 
 mount Hermon ; mentioned before at Josh. xi. 3. Dr. Wall, 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18. — the peopk and princes of Gilead] Me.-ming the Gaditcs 
 and Manassites, who inhabited the land of Gilead. Bjk Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 Chiip. XI. ver. 1. — of an harlot:] Called "a strange woman," 
 ver. 2, a concubine-wife, or one who was a stranger, of a different 
 nation. Pyle, Dr. Wells. Among the Jews, if persons of a foreign 
 nation enibraced the law, their children were not stained ; and on 
 this account Jephthah complains of the injustice of hi» expulsion, 
 ver. 7- Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — i/,e land of Tob :] This name occurs only here, and at 
 ver. 5 : it is conjectured to be the same with Ish-tob, mentioned 
 at 2 Sam. x. 6: according to which, the country would lie not far 
 from Gilead, the country of Jephtliiih. Dr. Wells. 
 
 — — ram men] liathcr, poor and needy men. Bp. Patrick 
 3P2
 
 Jephthah's fruitless embassy 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 to the king of the Ammonites. 
 
 B.<o« Jephthah, The Loud t be witness between 
 "-."iVbu us, if we do not so according to thy 
 
 c 
 
 mboi 
 
 f Mth. 
 
 it L'lt hnr- 
 
 erkttvuc* 
 
 about IMS. 
 
 » Numb. 
 21. 13. 
 
 D«ut. : 
 
 * Numb. 
 20. M. 
 
 • Numb. 
 SI. 13.^ 
 21. 24. 
 
 words. 
 
 11 Then Jephthah went with the elders 
 of Gilead, and the people made him head 
 and captain over them : and Jephthah ut- 
 tered all his words before the Lord in 
 Mizpeh. 
 
 \Z % And Jephthah sent messengers 
 unto the king of the children of Ammon, 
 saying, What hast thou to do with me, 
 that thou art come against me to fight in 
 my land ? 
 
 13 And the king of the children of Am- 
 mon answered unto the messengers of 
 Je])htiiaii, '' Because Israel took away my 
 land, when they came up out of Egypt, 
 from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto 
 Jordan : now therefore restore those lands 
 again peaceably. 
 
 It And Jephthah sent messengers again 
 unto tlie king of the children of Ammon : 
 
 15 And said unto him, Thus saitli Jeph- 
 thah, ' Israel took not away the land of 
 Moab, nor the land of the children of 
 Ammon : 
 
 IG But when Israel came up from Egypt, 
 and walked through the wilderness unto 
 the Red sea, and came to Kadesh ; 
 
 17 Then '' Israel sent messengers unto 
 the king of Edom, saying. Let me, I pray 
 thee, pass througli tliy land : but the king 
 of Edom would not hearken thereto. And 
 in like manner they sent unto the king of 
 Moab : but he would not consent : and Is- 
 rael abode in Kadesh. 
 
 18 Tiien they went along through the 
 wilderness, and compassed the land of E- 
 dom, and the land of Moab, and came by 
 the cast side of tlie land of Moab, and 
 pitched on the other side of Arnon, ' but 
 came not within the border of Moab : for 
 Arnon was the border of Moab. 
 
 11. — Htttred all his teords before the Lord^ He appears to 
 have I.iid I)cfore God, in a solemn address or prayer, all that he 
 had said to the Gileadites, imploring, probably. His approbation 
 and direction. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 2. And Jeplahah scnl messengers^ Jephthah was noted for his 
 valour, yet he tre.itetl with Ammon "before he fought ; it was only 
 when reason would not prevail, that he l)et<)ok hihiself to the 
 sword. To make war any other than our last reme<ly, is not cou- 
 rage, but cruelty and rashness. Bn. Hall- 
 
 24. M'i// nut Ihou possess that n-hich Chemosh thy god &c.] He 
 appeals to themselves, whether, as they a-scrihed'their victories 
 Mid possessions to their supposetl deity Chemosh, the Israelites 
 have not the same right and duty to what their God had bestow- 
 ed upon them. PiiU: 
 
 It cannot possibly be thought that Jephthah, a judge in Israel, 
 iJitcnde<l by these words to acknowledge the real divinity of the 
 Ammoni'ish idol. He is evidently luing an argument formed 
 
 19 And ' Israel sent messengers unto ch^^'YIj. 
 Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of about 1143. 
 Heshbon ; and Israel said unto him. Let ' Deut. 2. 
 us pass, we pray thee, through thy land ''^*'' 
 into my place. 
 
 20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass 
 through his coast : but Sihon gathered all 
 his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, 
 and fought against Israel. 
 
 21 And the Lord God of Israel deliver- 
 ed Sihon and all his people into the hand 
 of Israel, and they smote tliem : so Israel 
 possessed all the land of the Amorites, the 
 inhabitants of that country. 
 
 22 And they possessed all the ^ coasts * J'*"'' "* 
 of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto 
 Jabbok, and from the wilderness even un- 
 to Jordan. 
 
 23 So now the Lord God of Israel hath 
 dispossessed the Amorites from before his 
 people Israel, and shouldest thou possess 
 it? 
 
 24 Wilt not thou possess that which 
 Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess ? 
 So whomsoever the Lord our God shall 
 drive out from before us, them will we 
 possess. 
 
 25 " And now art thou any thing better » Numb. 
 than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Mo- Dcift. 23. 4. 
 ab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did J"*'', ^i.*. 
 he ever fight against them, 
 
 26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and 
 her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, 
 and in all the cities that be along by the 
 coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why 
 therefore did ye not recover them within 
 that time ? 
 
 27 Wherefore I have not sinned against 
 thee, but thou doest me wrong to war 
 against me : tlie Lord the Judge be judge 
 this day between the children of Israel and 
 the children of Ammon. 
 
 28 Howbeit the king of the children of 
 
 upon the principles of his adversaries, and therefore conclusive to 
 them. As if he had said, " You deem yourselves entitled to any 
 j)ossession, acquired, as you imagine, by the assistance of him, 
 whom you call your god ; and you cannot reasonably expect us 
 to yield that, which we know the Lord our God has awarded to 
 us." Jephthah, in a negociation with the Ammonites, had no oc- 
 casion to discuss the subject of their idolatry, or to tell them what 
 he thought of Chemosh ; but states the matter according to their 
 own ideas, supposing them, for a moment, to be true, although 
 he knew them to be false. Bp. Hor?ie. 
 
 Chemosh thy god^ Otherwise Chamos, the god of the 
 
 Ammonites, supposed by some to be the sun. Calmet. 
 
 27. — the Lord the Judge be judge &c.] He concludes by com- 
 mitting his cause to God, me righteous Judge of the whole world, 
 who, he had no doubt, would decide, by the event of the war, on 
 the justice of his cause. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 i
 
 His rash vote. 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 He overcometh the Ammonites. 
 
 chr'ist A™'"on hearkened not unto the words of 
 aijoiitiHs. Jephthah which he sent him. 
 
 29 IT Then the Spirit of the Lord came 
 upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, 
 and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of 
 Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he 
 passed over imto the children of Ammon. 
 
 30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto 
 the Lord, and said. If thou shalt without 
 fail deliver the children of Ammon into 
 mine hands, 
 
 L^v'hich ^^ Then it shall be, that t whatsoever 
 ameih cometli forth of the doors of my house to 
 {w/' '"" '' "i^^t me, when I return in peace from the 
 forth. children of Ammon, shall surely be the 
 Ir^il'iiiof. Lord's, || and I will oifer it up for a burnt 
 fer it, &.C. offering. 
 
 Sa % So Jephthah passed over unto the 
 
 children of Ammon to fight against them ; 
 
 and the Lord delivered them into his 
 
 hands. 
 
 29. Theyi the Spirit of the Lord came~\ God now publickly de- 
 clared His approbation of the people's choice, by making Jephthah 
 their judge, as He had done others before, chap. iii. 10; and by 
 endowing him with an extraordinary measure of courage, wisdom, 
 and all other qualities necessarj' to render him fit to be the ruler 
 of His people. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 30. And Jephthah vowed a vorvl^ He appears not to have had 
 any doubt of the victory, but still to have thought he might be 
 the more assured of it, if he made a religious vow beforehand, of 
 being very grateful to God for it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 If thou shalt — deliver the children of Ammon~\ Jeph- 
 thah began his war, in craving victory from God, and pouring out 
 (lis vow to Him : while his hand took hold of his sword, his 
 heart cleaved to God. He who is especially commended for his 
 strength, dared trust in none but the arm of God. If Jephthah 
 had not looked upwards for his victory, in vain had the Gilead- 
 ites looked up to him. And this is the disposition of all good 
 hearts: they look to their sword or their bow, as servants, not as 
 patrons; and, while they use them, trust in God. If men would 
 do so in all their actions, they would have more joy in their suc- 
 cess, and less discomfort in their miscarriage. Bp. Hall. 
 
 31. — shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it «/j] The 
 more true translation of these words may be, " Shall be the 
 Lord's, or else I will offer it up for a burnt offering," for so the 
 Hebrew particle is often used. See the margin. "I'he sense of 
 the vow will then be. Whatsoever cometh out of the house to 
 meet me shall be the Lord's ; if it be a human person, servant, 
 &c. it shall be dedicated to His service; or, if it be a beast fit to 
 be offered, it shall be offered for a burnt offering. Pylc, Dr. Wall. 
 
 34. — came out to meet hi!U~\ To congratulate him on his vic- 
 tory, witlj musick and dancing: such was the ancient custom, 
 Exod. x\'. 20, which continued afterwards, 1 Sam. xviii. 6. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 So. — thou hast brought me very low, — for I have opened my 
 mouth &c.] Thou art unwittingly a cause of much sorrow and 
 affliction to me; for I have made a vow unto God, and camiot re- 
 verse it. Bp. Hall. 
 
 SG. — do to me according to &c.] Many a daughter would have 
 dissuaded her father with tears, and would have wished rather 
 Jier father's impiety than her own prejudice: but she sues for the 
 per.brmance of her father's vow. We learn how obsequious chil- 
 dren ought to be to their parents, when we see this holy maid 
 willing to abandon the world on the rash vow of a father. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 It has been the subject of endless controversy, whether Jeph- 
 
 33 And he smote them from Aroer, even b^'°« 
 till thou come to Minnith, even twenty fb^,uHl 
 cities, and unto || the plain of the vine- 11 Or. 
 yards, with a very great slaughter. Thus ^**'' 
 the children of Ammon were subdued be- 
 fore tlie children of Israel. 
 
 34 % And Jephthah came to jVIizpeh 
 unto his house, and, behold, his daughter 
 came out to meet him with timbrels and 
 with dances: and she Xi-as fits only child; 
 
 II t beside her he had neither son nor |( Or. 
 dauojhter. *" '""' ""^ 
 
 00 And :t came to pass, when he saw diherson 
 her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, ;H?bf" "* 
 my daughter! thou hast brought me very •fhmiuif. 
 low, and thou art one of them that trouble 
 me: for 1 have opened my mouth unto 
 the Lord, and I cannot go back. 
 
 3Q And she said unto him. My father, 
 if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the 
 Lord, do to me according to that which 
 
 thah did really offer up his daughter " for a burnt offering" to 
 the Lord, or only devote her to perpetual virginity, which might 
 be considered as a sacrifice in those times, especially when every 
 womtm looked forward to the production of the promised Seed. 
 The Jews, and early Christian Church, believed that Jephthah ac- 
 tually sacrificed his daughter; and the compilers of the Homilies 
 of our Church agree in substance witii the same opinion. On the 
 other hand, there are some strong objections to this opinion; for 
 the terms of the vow do not necessarily imply that he reall}' sa- 
 crificed her: see note on ver. 31 : also human sacrifices were so for- 
 bidden by the Jewish law, and declaretl so abominable to God, 
 that it is scarcely possible to believe Jephthah would have been 
 guilty of so great a crime. Again, the consequence of the vow 
 recorded at ver. 3Q, that " she knew no man," seems to imply that 
 she was devoted to perpetual virginity; and the excessive l;imen- 
 tations on the occasion may be sufficiently accounted tor, by the 
 prevailing ideas in those times respecting a state of celibacy. 
 Stackliouse, Dr. Gray, Pyle. 
 
 Jephthah's extreme grief on the occasion, and the request of his 
 daughter for a respite of two months to bewail her virginitj', are 
 both perfectly natural. Having no other issue, he could only 
 look forward to the extinction of his name or family ; and a state 
 of celibacy, which is reproachful among women every where, waa 
 peculiarly so among the Israelites, and was therefore no ordinary 
 sacrifice on her part, who, though she generously gave up, could 
 not but regret the loss of becoming " a mother in Israel." That 
 Jephthah could not possibly have sacrificed his daughter, (accord- 
 ing to the vulgar opinion founded on incorrect translation,) may 
 appear from the following considerations, among others. 1 . The 
 sacrifice of children to Moloch was an abomination to tlie Lord, of 
 which, in numberless passages. He expresses His detestation; it 
 was also prohibited by an express law, under pr.in of death, Lev. 
 XX. 2, 3. 2. No father, merely by his own authority, could put an 
 offending, much less an innocent, child to death, upon any ac- 
 count, without the sentence of the magistrates, and the consent of 
 the people, Deut. xxi. IS — 21. Dr. Hales. 
 
 However the more disputable points be determined, it can Viever 
 be infen-ed that the God of Israel commanded or countenanced 
 human sacrifices. Those diat interpret the vow in the liarshest 
 sense, call it rash, and censure Jephthah as ignorant of the Law 
 of God. Others, who think the vow capable of a milder con- 
 struction, acquit the Scripture and Jcphtliah of any imputation in 
 the affair. What is most probable is, that Jephthah did not sacri- 
 fice his daughter, nor intend any such thing. Dr. U'aterland. 
 
 From this history of Jephthali's vow, we should be led to copy
 
 The issue o/Jephthah's rash vow. 
 
 Before hath proceeded out of thy moutli ; foras- 
 Hfnl much as the Loud liath taken vengeance 
 for thee of thine enemies, even of the chil- 
 dren of Amnion. 
 
 37 And slie said unto her father, Let 
 this tiling be done for nic : Let me alone 
 
 tHrt.. two montiis, that 1 may go t up and do\yn 
 ffsumipc ^ jjjp ,„oiintaiii.s, and bewail my vir- 
 "'"•• I . , , ,•11 
 
 ginitv, I and mv lellowi,. 
 
 38 And he said. Go. And he sent her 
 away Jbr two months : and she went w ith 
 her companions, and bewailed her vir- 
 ginity upon the nioiuitains. 
 
 39' And it came to pass at the end of 
 two months, that she returned unto her 
 fatiier, who did with her according to his 
 vow which he had vowed : and she knew 
 no man. And it was a II custom in Israel, 
 
 M) T/iat the daughters of Israel went 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 His death. 
 
 i Or. 
 urdinanc*. 
 
 tHeb- f ycarlv II to lament the daughter of Jeph- 
 i^yiar. thah the Gdeadite four days ni a year. 
 
 |6r. 
 
 !• talk wilH. 
 
 t lltb. 
 vtre caUetL 
 
 CHAP. xn. 
 
 1 The Ep/irainiiles, auarrdling nilh Jcphlhnh, and dis- 
 cmietl by Shihholelh, are slain hi/ l/ir Gi/radiles. 
 7 Jcphlliah diftli. 8 Ihzan, trim hud Ihirty sons and 
 thirty dnnghlers, I 1 aud F.lun, 1 3 and Ahdun, who had 
 Jorli) sons and thirty nrphen's, Judged Israel. 
 
 AND the men of Ephraim t gathered 
 themselves together, and went north- 
 ward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore 
 passedst thou over to fight against the 
 children of Ammon, and didst not call us 
 to go with thee ? we will burn thine house 
 upon thee with fire. 
 
 after the faith, the piety, the strict sense of honour, and religion, 
 so eminently con»picuous in Jephthah and his daughter. As, on 
 the one hand, we should be rautious how we make rash vows, 
 which may involve us in difficulty and perplexity ; so, on the 
 other hand, let us neither seek nor admit of any pretences for 
 dispensing with our duty. Let no distresses or difficulties shake 
 our consuncy, or prevail with us to go back from the paths of 
 virtue niul religion ; but let us prefer our duty and our honour to 
 all considerations of intercbt or affection. Let us " ever follow- 
 that which is gootl," " abstaining from all appearance of evil," 
 and " keeping a conscience void of offence towards God and 
 man." Dr. lianddph. 
 
 40. —nent yearly to lament'] Went yearly to talk with, as in 
 the margin ; or, as the Hebrew word mav also be rendered, to 
 male presents to, the daughter of .Jephthah. .And according' to 
 cither of these significations, it will be evident that she must have 
 survived the completion of her father's vow. Dr. Randolph. 
 
 Chap. XII. ver. 1. And the men of Ephraim &c.] The Ephraim- 
 rtes at this time seem to have been a haughtv and quarrelsome 
 people ;llicy had before envied Gideon his glorv, chap. viii. ], &c. 
 tlvough it tended so much to their common advantage; and now 
 when .lephth.ih returned victorious, quarrelled with him on the 
 pretence <it his not having consulte<l them in tlie war. Pule 
 
 —— "■<■'" northward,! To the country of Manasseh, east of 
 Jordan, towards the nortli. Bp. Patrick. , <«i oi 
 
 y/'~! ''"' '"■' ''fi '" ™y hands,] Meaning, ' I exnosed mv 
 life to the utmost liazard -for he ^ad but a^inall pLtof Z 
 
 2 And Jephthah said unto them, I and ch'iust 
 my people were at great strife with the about ma. 
 cliildren of Ammon ; and when I called 
 
 you, ye delivered me not out of their 
 hands. 
 
 3 And when I saw that ye delivered me 
 not, 1 put my life in my hands, and passed 
 over against the children of Ammon, and 
 the Loud delivered them into my hand : 
 wherefore then are ye come up unto me 
 this day, to fight against me ? 
 
 4 Then Jephthah gathered together all 
 the men of Gilead, and fought with E- 
 phraim : and the men of Gilead smote 
 Ephraim, because they said. Ye Gileadites 
 are fugitives of Ephraim among the E- 
 phraimites, and among the Manassites. 
 
 5 And the Gileadites took the passages 
 of Jordan before the Ephraimites : and it 
 was so, that when those Ephraimites which 
 were escaped said. Let me go over; that 
 the men of Gilead said unto him. Art thou 
 an Ephraimite ? If he said. Nay ; 
 
 6 Then said they unto him. Say now 
 Shibboleth : and he said Sibboleth : for he 
 could not frame to pronounce it right. 
 Then they took him, and slew him at the 
 passages of Jordan : and there fell at that 
 time of the Ephraimites forty and two 
 thousand. 
 
 7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years. 
 Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was 
 buried in one o/'the cities of Gilead. about 1137. 
 
 8 ^ And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem 
 judged Israel. 
 
 people of Israel with him, to fight with their powerful oppressors. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 G. — Say now Shibboleth :'] To find out whether they spake 
 the truth, they put them to the test of pronouncing the word 
 Shibboleth ; which the people of Ephraim, having a pronunciation 
 different from the other tribes, were accustomed to speak as Sib- 
 boleth. This word was chosen, probably, as being fit for the pur- 
 pose : Shibboleth means Jioods of water; so that tiie test to which 
 they put them was this, to make them say, " Let us pass over the 
 waters." Bp. Patrick. Nothing is more notorious, than that the 
 people of the same nation, who speak the same language, differ 
 very much in tlieir pronunciation of it, in different parts of the 
 same coantry. In Palestine, the people of Galilee, and those that 
 lived at Jerusalem, spake the same tongue ; and yet in the time 
 of Christ, the latter could say to St. Peter, " Thy speech bewray- 
 eth thee," Matth. xxvi. 73. In Greece all spake Greek, yet the 
 lonians, Atticks, &c. spake very differently. And here, though 
 the Gileadites and Ephraimites were of the same nation, yet the 
 latter could not pronounce the Hebrew letter schin, the first in 
 Shibboleth. Stackhouse. 
 
 and there fell — of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.'] 
 
 This was a terrible slaughter for one tribe to make of another ; 
 but the Ephraimites seem to have deserved it, as a just punish- 
 ment of their pride and insolence, in despising so great a man as 
 Jephthah, who had saved all the people of Israel, and tlireatening 
 to destroy his house after so glorious a victory; also in reviling 
 their brethren, invading them without a cause, and attempting to 
 tbive them out of the country. Stackhouse.
 
 Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon judge Israel. CHAP. XII, XIII. 
 
 An angel appeareth. to Manoah. 
 
 CHiusT ^ "^"^ ^^ '^^'^ thirty sons, and thirty 
 
 about 1137. daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took 
 in thirty daughters from abroad for his 
 sons. And he judged Israel seven years. 
 
 10 Then died Ibzan, and was buried at 
 Beth-lehem. 
 
 »boutu3o. 11 If And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, 
 judged Israel ; and he judged Israel ten 
 years. 
 
 12 And Elon the Zebulonite died, and 
 was buried in Aijalon in the country of 
 Zebulun. 
 
 «b9utii2o. 13 ^ And after him Abdon the son of 
 Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel. 
 
 14< And he had forty sons and thirty 
 
 t Heb. t nephews, that rode on threescore and 
 
 sons' jom. ^^^ ^^^ colts : and he judged Israel eight 
 years. 
 
 ^iK)ut 1112. 15 And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pi- 
 rathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon 
 in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of 
 the Amalekites. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 1 Israel is in the hand of the Philistines. 2 An angel 
 appeareth to Manoah's wife. 8 The angel appeareth 
 to Manoah. 1 5 Manoah's sacrifice, whereby the angel 
 is discovered. 24 Samson is born. 
 
 about 1161. A ND the children of Israel t^did evil 
 iMed'tn -^-^ again in the sight of the Lord ; and 
 comniiv.Ac. the LoRD delivered them into the hand of 
 iKftV?. the Philistines forty years. 
 &4. 1. &6. 2 ^ And there was a certain man of 
 *"■ Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose 
 name was Manoah ; and his wife was barren, 
 and bare not. 
 
 3 And the angel of the Lord appeared 
 unto the woman, and said unto her, Eehold 
 now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but 
 thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. 
 
 9. — whom he sent abroad,"] That is, whom he disposed of in 
 marriage, and sent to their husbands' houses. These circum- 
 stances seem mentioned to shew the great blessing of" God on 
 Ibz.m and his family. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. — that rode &c.] See the note on chap. x. 4. 
 
 Chap. XIII. ver. 1. And the children of Israel &c.] The sacred 
 historian, having detailed tlje events which regartled the Am- 
 monite oppression, now proceeds to that of the Philistines. See 
 chap. X. 7- 
 
 4. — drink not nine &c.] The child which was conceived in 
 her was to be a Nazarite, ver. H ; and on this account she is de- 
 sired to live as the Nazarites did, while she bare him in her womb. 
 A Nazai'ite (see Numb. vi. 2, 3) was one, who, under the Leviti- 
 cal Law, either to attain the favour of God, or to avert His judg- 
 ments, or to acknowledge His mercies, vowed a vow of particular 
 purity, and was separated in an extraordinary manner to the ser- 
 vice of God. Samson's Nazaritism, to which he was consecrated 
 bj' his parents, was to last the whole term of his life; but his fre- 
 quent intercourse with the Philistines, and the great havock and 
 slaughter which he so often made among them, render it probable 
 that he had a particular ilispensation, exempting him from the ob- 
 servation of many of the rules. Slackhousc, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, ^''^°" 
 and " drink not wine nor strong drink, and fb^ufuGL 
 eat not any unclean thing : '■Numb. e. 
 
 5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear ^' ^■ 
 
 a son; and "^no rasor .shall come on his 'Numb.c. 
 head : for the child shall be a Nazarite ^v^^ , 
 unto God from the womb : and he shall u. 
 begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of 
 the Philistines. 
 
 6 ^ Then the woman came and told her 
 husband, saying, A man of God came unto 
 me, and his countenance was like the coun- 
 tenance of an angel of God, very terrible : 
 but I asked him not whence he was, neither 
 told he me his name : 
 
 7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou 
 shalt conceive, and bear a son ; and now 
 drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat 
 any unclean tM7ig : for the child shall be a 
 Nazarite to God from the womb to the day 
 of his death. 
 
 8 ^ Then Manoah intreated the Lord, 
 and said, O my Lord, let the man of God 
 which thou didst send come again unto us, 
 and teach us what we shall do unto the 
 child that shall be born. 
 
 9 And God hearkened to the voice of 
 Manoah ; and the angel of God came again 
 unto the woman as she sat in the field : 
 but Manoah her husband was not with 
 her. 
 
 10 And the woman made haste, and ran, 
 and shewed her husband, and said unto 
 him. Behold, the man hath appeared unto 
 me, that came unto me the other day. 
 
 11 And Manoah arose, and went after 
 his wife, and came to the man, and said 
 unto him, Art thou the man that spakest 
 unto the woman ? And he said, I am. 
 
 a. — he shall begin to deliver Israel] Samson, as will appear, 
 did not perfectly deliver the Israelites from the yoke of the Philis- 
 tines, for this was not accomplished till after his death, by Sa- 
 muel, who put an end to their tyranny by his victorj' at Eben- 
 ezer, 1 Sam. vii. 13; but Samson put a check to them by the 
 damage and slaughter which he wrought among them. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 6. — A man of God] She took him probably for a Prophet 
 sent from God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 like the countenance of an angel] Of a form and counte- 
 nance perfectly angelick, mixe<l up with terrour ami sweetness, 
 plainly bespeaking something more than human. Pylc. 
 
 8. — and teach its wliat we shall do unto the child] When we 
 see the strength of Mano.ih's faith, we cannot marvel that lie had 
 a S.imson for his son. He saw not the messenger, he heard not 
 the errand, he examined not the circumstances ; yet now he took 
 thought, not whether he should have a son, but how he should 
 order the son whom he should have : he sued to God, not for the 
 son whom as j'et he h.id not, but for the direction of governing 
 him when he should be. " Blessed iu-e they that have not seen, 
 and yet have believed," John xx. 29- True faith takes all for 
 granted, yea for performed, which is once promised. Bp. HalL
 
 Mcmoah's sacrifice. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 Samson is boiyi. 
 
 TWfpM 
 CHUIST 
 ■bout 1161. 
 f Hcb 
 
 mot thKit 
 
 it iMf iiuin- 
 
 g Or. what 
 tkallktdor 
 tilrb. 
 wb» OuU 
 
 t Hrf>. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 wonderfid. 
 
 \Q And Manoah said, Now let thy words 
 come to pass, t How shall we order the 
 cliild, and II t hoiv shall we do unto him ? 
 
 13 And the angel of the Lohu said unto 
 Manoah, Of all that 1 said unto the wo- 
 man let her heware. 
 
 11. She may not eat of any thing that 
 Cometh of the vine, neither let her drink 
 wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean 
 ///;«"• : all that I commanded her let her 
 observe. 
 
 15 % And Manoah said unto the angel 
 of the Lord, 1 pray thee, let us detain 
 thee, until we shall have made ready a kid 
 t for thee. 
 
 16 And the angel of the Lord said unto 
 Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not 
 eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a 
 burnt ori'ering, thou must offer it unto the 
 Lord. For Manoah knew not that he was 
 an angel of the Lord. 
 
 1 7 And Manoah said unto the angel of 
 the Lord, What is thy name, that when 
 thy sayings come to pass we may do thee 
 honour ? 
 
 18 And the angel of the Lord said unto 
 him, Why askest thou thus after my name, 
 seeing it is \\ secret ? 
 
 19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat 
 offering, and offered it upon a rock unto 
 the Lord : and the angel did wonderously ; 
 and Manoah and his wife looked on. 
 
 20 For it came to pass, when the flame 
 went up toward heaven from off" the altar, 
 that the angel of the Lord ascended in the 
 flame of the altar. And Manoah and his 
 
 l6. — if thou mill offer a burnt offering,'^ If thou wilt offer a 
 burnt offering to expresii thy thaiikhihiess to God for the favour 
 vouctisafed unto thee, thou must offer it wholly unto the Lord. 
 J>r. WtUs. 
 
 17- — f^'ial w thy name, &c.] Manoah, still taking him for a 
 Prophet, probably asked him his name, in order that he might 
 •hew bis gratitude by making him some suiuble present. Bv- 
 Patrick. ' 
 
 1 8. — // is secret ?"} Rather, as in the margin, " it is wonderful," 
 or admirable. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 \9- — did n-onderouxly ;] Wrought a great miracle, according to 
 tlie name, wliich he had just given himself; for he caused fire 
 from heaven to consume the provisions, as an acceptable offering 
 to C;o(l, and then ascended up himself in tlie flunie, and vanished 
 out of sight Pyle. 
 
 Tliis wxs a significant sign to this pious couple, that He was 
 tlie Angel of the Lord Himself, ver. I (i, who formerly had appear- 
 ed to GiileoK, and set fire to his sacrifice upon the rock, and now 
 vanished in the flame, by a fuller manifestation of His divinity. 
 His naini- tvoHderfut is repeated ainong the magnificent titles, ap- 
 plie<l ill propliecy to the gre.it Deliverer of the faithful, when His 
 future birth was announcetl by Isiiiah : " His name shall be called 
 N\.«..lerful,&c.- I,ai. W. f) ; or " He -h.-ill be great," a.s in the ap- 
 pUcation ot this pr.-phecy to Christ, by the angel Gabriel, Luke 
 1. 3-., at the annunciation of the Virgin Mary. And from the 
 ifit ot death expressed on Keing Him by Manoah, ver. 22, and 
 
 wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to ,,^''^71^ 
 the ground. about iisi. 
 
 21 But the angel of the Lord did no 
 more appear to Manoah and to his wife. 
 Then Manoah knew that he aas an angel 
 of the Loud. 
 
 22 And Manoah said unto his wife, ** We ■'Eiod. si. 
 shall surely die, because we have seen '^' g g" 
 God. 
 
 23 But his wife said unto liim, If the 
 Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not 
 have received a burnt offering and a meat 
 offering at our hands, neither would he 
 have shewed us all these things, nor would 
 as at this time have told us sucli things as 
 these. 
 
 24 ^ And the woman bare a son, and 
 called his name Samson : and the child 
 grew, and the Lord blessed him. 
 
 25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to 
 move him at times in the camp of Dan be- 
 tween Zorah and Eshtaol. 
 
 CHAR XIV. 
 
 1 Samson desirelh a wife of the Philistines. 6 In his 
 joiirnci) he killeth a lion. 8 I?i a second journey he 
 Jindvth honey in the carca.^e. 1 Samson's marriage 
 feast. I'J His riddle by his ti'ife is made knoKti. 19 
 
 He simileth thirty Phili.ili»es. 20 His wife is married 
 
 to another. 
 
 AND Samson went down to Timnath, »boutii4i, 
 and saw a woman in Timnath of the 
 daughters of the Philistines. 
 
 2 And he came up, and told his father 
 and his mother, and said, I have seen a 
 woman in Timnath of the daughters of the 
 
 intimated by Gideon before, chap. vi. 22, 23, it appears that He 
 was the same God who told Moses, " There shall no man see Me 
 and live," Exod. xxxiii. 20.— or, the Son of God. Dr. Hales. 
 
 23. — If itie hard tvere pleased'] She argued that such gracious 
 appearances, on so comfortable a message, with so wonderful and 
 kind an acceptance of their offering, plainly bespoke the favour, 
 not the anger, of God ; and therefore they might rest assured with 
 the hope of the promise being fulfilled. Pyle. 
 
 24. — Samson :'] The meaning of this name is uncertain : it is 
 probably derived from the Hebrew Shemesh, the sun, denoting 
 him to be the light and strength of Israel. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2.i. — the Spirit of the Lard began to move hiin] To perform cx- 
 traordinarj' tilings, as specimens of singular strength and valour. 
 Dr. mih. 
 
 in the camp of Dan between Zorah &c.] The sense is, " In 
 
 the camp of Dan, and between Zorah and Eshtaol :" for that place 
 did not lie near the two latter, but in or near the tribe of Judah. 
 Pyle. The camp of Dan was so called from the Israelites en- 
 catnping there in their expedition against Laish : it is the same as 
 Mahaneh-dan, chap, jtviii. 12. Dr. fVeHs. 
 
 Chap. XIV. ver. 1. — to Timnath,'] Timnath was a city in the 
 tribe of Dan, but had fallen, it is probable, into the possession of 
 the Philistines, (netu- to whose country it lay,) who at this time 
 oppressed the Israelites, and made them their tributaries. Bp. 
 Patrick. ^
 
 t.iu.u.i bu ir-' ll.wuh.-H KA 
 
 Ei%ijni\ Yti hi- _R ' . S'tirt^. 
 
 
 l.olui.m,ruhti.i'hfJ hi/ thf ^^^*'irfV tor fvonuifinif l^hvb'iW atitwUtUf Jaf :^i:
 
 (Hi 
 
 III 
 
 u 

 
 Samson Jcilleth a lion. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 His riddle. 
 
 t» meeting 
 him. 
 
 r^A^'l-r Philistines : now therefore get her for me 
 
 •bout 1141. to Wire. 
 
 3 Then his father and his mother said 
 unto him, Is there never a woman among 
 the daughters of thy brethren, or among 
 all my people, that thou goest to take a 
 wife of the uncircumcised Philistines ? And 
 Samson said unto his father, Get her for 
 
 fHfb. me ; for t she pleaseth me well. 
 
 inmiZ''' 4 But his fiither and his mother knew 
 
 '!/«'• not that it liris of the Loud, that he sought 
 
 an occasion against the Philistines : for at 
 that time the Philistines had dominion over 
 Israel. 
 
 5 % Then went Samson down, and his fa- 
 ther and his mother, to Timnath, and came 
 to the vineyards of Timnath : and, behold, 
 
 t Heb. a young lion roared t against him. 
 
 6 And the Spirit of the Lord came 
 mightily upon him, and he rent him as he 
 would have rent a kid, and he had nothing 
 in his hand : but he told not his father or 
 his mother what he had done. 
 
 7 And he went down, and talked with 
 the woman ; and she pleased Samson well. 
 
 8 ^ And after a time he returned to take 
 her, and he turned aside to see the carcase 
 of the lion : and, behold, there was a swarm 
 of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. 
 
 9 And he took thereof in his hands, and 
 went on eating, and came to his father 
 and mother, and he gave them, and they 
 did eat : but he told not them that he 
 had taken the honey out of the carcase of 
 the lion. 
 
 10 % So his father went down unto the 
 woman : and Samson made there a feast ; 
 for so used the young men to do. 
 
 1 1 And it came to pass, when they saw 
 him, that they brought thirty companions 
 to be with him. 
 
 .t. — /() take a ivife ^cl The Israelites were forbidden by 
 I ir Jaw to intermarry with any inhabitants of Canaan, Exotl. 
 viv. l6; Deut. vii. 3. Though the Philistines were not of the 
 .en nations of Canaan, yet they were under the same condem- 
 , ton, and their land was given to the Israelites. Bp. Patrick. 
 1 all the deliverers of Israel, there is none, of whom are report- 
 I td so many weaknesses as Samson; all his strength begins in in- 
 firmity. One maid of the Philistines overcomes the eliampion, 
 V Iio was destined to overcome the Philistines. Bp. Hall. 
 
 V. — l-nrti' not that it was of the I.ord,'\ The expression, " it was 
 of the Lord," probably means, that God intended to fetcli good 
 out of Samson's evil ; not to approve that for good in his conduct, 
 wliich seems to have been really evil. Bp. Hall. 
 
 (). — the Spirit of the Lord cavit: — upon him,'] The Lord en- 
 dued him suddenly with an extraordinary measure of strength. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 8. — a swarm of bees — in the carcase of the Uon.~\ It is observ- 
 ed by some naturalists, that bees abhor stinking smells, and ab- 
 si.iin from flesh ; on which account it may be thought strange 
 that a swarm of bees should be found in tlie carcase of the lion. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 12 f And Samson said unto them, I B'^f" 
 will now put forth a riddle unto you: ifa^iTuuuK 
 ye can certainly declare it me within the 
 seven days of the feast, and find it out, 
 then I will give you thirty |i sheets and II Or, 
 thirty change of garments :' '*"""• 
 
 ^S But if ye cannot declare it me, then 
 shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty 
 change of garments. And they said unto 
 him. Put forth thy riddle, that we may 
 hear it. 
 
 14 And he said unto them. Out of the 
 eater came forth meat, and out of the 
 strong came forth sweetness. And they 
 could not in three days expound the 
 riddle. 
 
 15 And it came to pass on the seventh 
 day, that they said unto Samson's wife. 
 Entice thy husband, that he may declare 
 unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and 
 tliy father's house with fire : have ye called 
 
 us t to take that we have ? is it not no? t Heb. 
 
 16 And Samson's wife wept before him, 'v""^"'". 
 said, Ihou dost but hate me, and lov- vctishui? 
 
 est me not : thou hast put forth a riddle 
 unto the children of my people, and hast 
 not told it me. And he said unto her. Be- 
 hold, I have not told it my father nor my 
 mother, and shall I tell it thee ? 
 
 17 And she wept before him il the seven y or, 
 days, while their feast lasted : and it came the rest of 
 to pass on the seventh day, that he told ^'^Xl 
 her, because she lay sore upon him : and 
 
 she told the riddle to the children of her 
 people. 
 
 18 And the men of the city said unto 
 him on the seventh day before the sun 
 went down, What is sweeter than honey ? 
 and what is stronger than a lion ? And he 
 said unto them. If ye had not plowed with 
 my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle. 
 
 It may be well supposed, however, that cither time may ha\e 
 consumed, or birds and beasts devoured, all the flesh, so tliat only 
 the skeleton was left. Slackhousc. 
 
 10. — for so used the young mni] This was according to the 
 custom of all countries ; the feast was called by the Jews the 
 nuptial joij, with whicli no other was to be intermixed ; and all 
 labour ceased as long as it lasted. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. — / mil now put forth a riddle] This .shews how ancient 
 was the custom, which we find afterwards amongst the Greeks, 
 of proposing questions to be resolved in tlieir festival meetings, 
 in order to exercise and sharpen Uie wits of the company. Bp. 
 Patrick. This riddle of Samson is an instance from Scripture 
 of a custom common in the Kast ; the proposing of ambiguities 
 and enigmas for solution to a party met for merriment. Script, 
 illiist. 
 
 17- — she lay sore upon him :] Made him uneasy by her im- 
 portunities. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 18. — If y^ had not plowed with viy heifer,] If j-e had not 
 tampered with my wife. Dr. Hales. Used the means of my wife 
 for tlie knowledge of tliis secret. Bp, Hall. 
 
 sq
 
 Samtoa is denied his uife. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 He burneth the Philistines' corn. 
 
 ,0, 
 
 fHeb. 
 lei hcT bt 
 thinf. 
 
 iwbw ij) f And the Spirit of the Lord came 
 ^Viil upon liim, uiul he went clown to Ashkelon, 
 ami slew thirty men of them, and took their 
 II spoil, and gave change of garments unto 
 them which expounded the riddle. And 
 his anger was kindled, and he went up to 
 his father's house. 
 
 VC) lUit Samson's wife was given to his 
 comp;uuon, whom lie had used as his 
 friend. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 1 Samson is di-nieit his n-ijf. :i He burnelh the Philis- 
 Itnti cvrn ivith foxes andjircbrands. 6 His ivife and 
 her father are' burnt by the Philistines. 7 Samson 
 miielh them hip and thieh. 9 He is bound by the men 
 ofj'idtth, and delivered 'to the Vhiliitines. 14 He kill- 
 eth them niih a jawbone. IS God ntakelh thefounlain 
 En-hakkore for him in Lehi. 
 
 tboutiiio. Tr>UT it came to pass v^ithiQ a while 
 XJ after, in the time of wheat harvest, 
 that Samson visited his wii'e with a kid ; 
 and he said, I will go in to my wife into the 
 chamber. But her father would not suflFer 
 liim to go in. 
 
 '2 And her father said, I verily thought 
 that thou hadst utterly hated her ; there- 
 fore I gave her to thy companion : is not 
 her younger sister fairer than she ? t take 
 her, I pray thee, instead of her. 
 D Or, 3 ^ And Samson said concerning them, 
 
 fe w.!i"«f il Now shall I be more blameless than the 
 fromtke Philistines, though I do them a displea- 
 iiwug'i,ikc sure. 
 
 19. — n-enl up to liis fatlier's house."} Left his wife with her 
 own relations, and went to live at home with his father. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 '20. But Samsnn'.i wife was given to his companion,'] We can no 
 more justify Sanision in the leaving of his wife, tlian in choosing 
 her. He chose her, because she pleased him ; and because she 
 deceived him, he left her. Tliough Iut fear made her false to 
 him in his riddle, yet she was true to his bed ; that weak trea- 
 chery was worthy of a check, not of a desertion. Slight occa- 
 sions may ncit break the knot of matrimonial love ; and, if any 
 just offence have slackened it on either part, it must be fastened 
 again by speedy reconciliation. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XV. ver. I. — n-itb a kid ;"] Tliis w;is no contemptible 
 present, as apjx^ars from the story of .Tudah and Tamar, Gen. 
 xxxviii. 17- The flesh of a kid was esteemed delicious food, not 
 only in Judca, but in other countries. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — AW sknit I he more blameless'] He seems to have turn- 
 ed away in scorn and indignation, without making any reply to 
 his father in law; excl.-timing aloud, or revolving in his mind, that 
 lie would be revenged of the Pliilistines for the wrong that liad 
 been done him, and that they would have to blame themselves 
 for the mischief he intended them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 *• — Ikree hundred foxes,] Some have made a difficulty of tliig 
 passage, on the ground that so large a number of foxes are not 
 eaaily caught, h should be considerefl, however, that this coun- 
 try abounded, if not with foxes, yet w ith other creatures, very 
 hkc the fox. called thocs, or jackalls, which go together in large 
 herds ; so that, as good authors report, two hundre<l of them have 
 been seen m a company together : that he may have caught them 
 
 Uifore 
 CHRIST 
 
 4 And Samson went and caught three 
 luindred foxes, and took || firebrands, and abm."mo. 
 turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in [\ or, 
 the midst between two tails. ""''"'• 
 
 5 And when he had set the brands on 
 fire, he let ihe7n go into the standing corn 
 of the Philistines, and burnt up both the 
 shocks, and also the standing corn, with 
 the vineyards and olives. 
 
 6 % Then the Phihstines said. Who hath 
 done this? And they answered, Samson, 
 the son in law of the Timnite, because he 
 had taken his wife, and given her to his 
 companion. And the Philistines came up, 
 and burnt her and her father with fire. 
 
 7 ^ And Samson said unto them. Though 
 ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of 
 you, and after that I will cease. 
 
 8 And he smote them hip and thigh with 
 a great slaughter : and he went down and 
 dwelt in the top of the rock Etam. 
 
 9 5F Then the Philistines w^ent up, and 
 pitched in Judah, and spread themselves 
 in Lehi. 
 
 10 And the men of Judah said. Why are 
 ye come up against us ? And they answer- 
 ed, To bind Samson are we come up, to 
 do to him as he hath done to us. 
 
 11 Then three thousand men of Judah 
 
 t went to the top of the rock Etam, and f Hcb. 
 said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the '""'"'''«"»• 
 Philistines are rulers over us ? what is this 
 t/iat tliou hast done unto us ? And he said 
 
 in sniires and nets, with the assistance of servants and neighbours, 
 and not at one time or in a single day, but in a considerable space 
 of rime. Bp. Patrick. There is reason to beheve that there was 
 nothing new or uncommon in this operation of Samson's. Both 
 Koman and Greek authors have allusions to mischief done to stand- 
 ing corn, by sending into it different animals, and foxes among 
 others, with firebrands tied to them. Bryant. Particularly Ovid, 
 the Roman poet, (Fasti iv. 681,) mentions a custom observed at 
 Rome every year, of turning out foxes into the circus, with burn- 
 ing torches on their backs ; which custom Bochart derives from 
 this very exploit of Samson. Parkhurst. The fox is an animal 
 not common in Judea ; but the animal, called the lesser jackaU, 
 bearing a great resemblance to the fox, is very abundant. These 
 jackalls go in droves, in troops, so that Samson might easily pro- 
 cure as many as he chose ; they enter gardens, villages, tents, and 
 houses in the night time, so that they would carry the (ire with 
 them to all quarters. Fragments to Calmet. 
 
 S. — smote them kip and thigh"] It is not easy to determine 
 the sense of this phrase. The Chaldee Paraphrast interprets it, 
 that he smote both horsemen and footmen. They, that think this 
 to be forced, take the meaning to be, that he smote them both on 
 their legs and thighs, as they fled away, so as to disable them 
 from any service. Bp. Patrick. By the supernatural strength 
 with which he was endued, he killed some, wounded and disa- 
 bled others, by bn.iising and breaking their legs and thighs with 
 the violence of' his strokes. Pijle. Or literally, "hip upon tJiigh," 
 a proverbial phrase to express an utter rout. Edit. 
 
 9- — in Lehi.] This word signifies a jawbone: the place wap 
 ?o called afterwards from the jawbone witli wliich Siuuson smote 
 the Philistines; ver. 16. Bp. Palriek.
 
 He killeth a thousand of the Philistines. CHAP. XV, XVI. He carrieth away the gates of Gaza. 
 
 c"hRi8T ""^° them, As they did unto me, so have 
 about 1140. I done unto them. 
 
 12 And they said unto him, We are come 
 down to bind thee, that we may deliver 
 thee into the hand of the Philistines. And 
 Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, 
 that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. 
 
 13 And they spake unto him, saying. 
 No; but we will bind thee fast, and de- 
 liver thee into their hand : but surely we 
 Avill not kill thee. And they bound him 
 with two new cords, and brought him up 
 from the rock. 
 
 14 % And when he came unto Lehi, the 
 Philistines shouted against him: and the 
 Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon 
 him, and the cords that -were upon his arms 
 became as flax that was burnt with fire, 
 and his bands t loosed from off his hands. 
 
 15 And he found a t new jawbone of an 
 ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, 
 and slew a thousand men therewith. 
 
 16 And Samson said. With the jawbone 
 of an ass, t heaps upon heaps, with the jaw 
 of an ass have I slain a thousand men. 
 
 17 And it came to pass, when he had 
 made an end of speaking, that he cast 
 away the jawbone out of his hand, and 
 
 g Tbat Ls called that place || Ramath-lehi. 
 up'lfti'e^ 18 ^ And he was sore athirst, and called 
 jawbone, or, qxi the LoRD, and said, Thou hast given 
 way"fthe this great deliverance into the hand of thy 
 jawbone, servant: and now shall I die for thirst, 
 
 and fall into the hand of the uncircum- 
 
 cised ? 
 
 t Heb. 
 v>ere malted. 
 t Heb. 
 moist. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 an heap, 
 two heaps. 
 
 15. -^ slew a thoitmnd meii^ To such a miraculous degree did 
 God enlarge, and continue his activity, strength, and swiftness; 
 without -which no human power could have done the like in the 
 same space of time. Pijlc. This \'ictory was not in the weapon, 
 was not in the arm ; it was in the Spirit of God, which moved 
 the weapon in the arm. O God, if the means be weak, yet Thou 
 art strong ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 16. And Samson said, &c.] On this victory Samson composed 
 R short song of praise and triumph, and called the place Ramath- 
 lehi, as much as to say, the lifting up or casting utvay of lite juni- 
 bone: but it commonly went by the name otLehi or the jawbone. 
 Pyle. 
 
 19. — clave an hollow place that ivas in the jam,'] Rather, 
 clave a hollow place in the groiuid or rock, which bore the name 
 of Lehi, Ike jawbone. Bp. Patrick, Abp. Usher, Dr. ff'ells, Dr. 
 Wall, Dr. Hales, &c. 
 
 Those who have travelled through this part of Palestine inform 
 us, that, in the suburbs of Eleutheropolis, where Lehi very pro- 
 bably stood, there is a fountain called to this day the Fountain 
 of the Jaw, supposed to be that which rose on this occasion. 
 Slackliou.te. 
 
 Chap. XVI. ver. 1. — to Gaza,] This city was made by Jo- 
 shua part of the tribe of Judah ; but, after him, it fell into the 
 hands of the Pliilistines, being situated towards the southern ex- 
 tremity of the promised land. The advantageous situation of 
 this place was the cause of its becoming subject, in Jbllowing 
 times, to many revolutions. Stackhouse. 
 
 — saw there an harlot,] The genial corruption and de- 
 
 o luoTnnn an 
 harlot. 
 
 19 But God clave an hollow place that before 
 •was in li the jaw, and there came water ab«utii4o. 
 thereout; and when he had drunk, his n or, ie*,. 
 spirit came again, and he revi\ed: where- 
 fore he called the name thereof 11 En-hak- i That is, 
 kore, which is in Lehi unto this day. A.m"L< 
 
 20 And he judged Israel in the days o£ <:°"<^< "t^ 
 the rhiiistines twenty years. 
 
 CHAP. XVL 
 
 1 Samson at Gaza escapelh, and carrietk away the gales 
 of the city. 4 Delilah, corrupted by the Philistines, 
 enticelh Samson. 6 Thrice she is deceived. 15 At 
 last she uvercomelh him. 2 1 The Philistines take him, 
 and put out his eyes. 22 His strength renening, he 
 pullelh down the house upon the Philistine*, and 
 dielh. 
 
 ^HEN went Samson to Gaza, and saw ai>outu2o. 
 there t an harlot, and went in imto t Heb. 
 her. 
 
 2 And it -joas told the Gazites, saying, 
 Samson is come hither. And they com- 
 passed him in, and laid wait for him all 
 night in the gate of the city, and were 
 
 t quiet all the night, saying, In the morn- t Heb. 
 ing, when it is day, we shall kill him. "''""'• 
 
 3 And Samson lay till midnight, and 
 arose at midnight, and took the doors of 
 the gate of the city, and the two posts, 
 
 and went away with them, t bar and all, t Heb. 
 and put them upon his shoulders, and car- "^* ""*"■• 
 ried them up to the top of an hiU that is 
 before Hebron. 
 
 4 ^ And it came to pass afterward, that 
 
 he loved a woman II in the valley of Sorek, !I Or, 
 whose name v:as Delilah. iyM«6r«*. 
 
 bauchery of manners, spreading through the Israelitish nation, 
 discovered itself but too much in Samson himself. \^'hile he ap - 
 peared among the Philistines as an instrument of special Pro\-i- 
 dence for giving a check to their oppressive power, he suffered 
 liimself to become a slave to the inordinate love of women, and 
 that without any distinction between those which were Israelites, 
 or the daughters of idolaters. Pylc. We cannot wonder more at 
 Samson's strength than his weakness: he that began to cast away 
 his love ujwn a Philistine wife, went on to mispend his time on a. 
 Philistine harlot. His affections blinded him first, ere the PhHis- 
 tines could do it. Would he else, after the effusion of so much 
 of their blood, have suffered his passions to carrj- him within their 
 walls, as one that cared more for his pleasure than for his life .* 
 How easily do vigour of body and infinnity of mind lodge under 
 one roof ! Samson's victories subdued him, and made him first a 
 slave to lewd desires, then to the Philistines. Bp. Hall. 
 
 5. — hill that is before Hebron.] Meaning, " that is in the 
 way leading from Gaza to Hebron:" Hebron was distant twenty 
 miles from Gaza. Bp. Patrick, Dr. If'elL. 
 
 4. — in the valley of Sorek,] Or, as in the margin, " by the 
 brook of Sorek:" it was a brook which passed tlirough the tribe 
 of Dan. Eusebius says, there was in his time a town called Ca- 
 phar Sorek, or tlie town of Sorek, near Zorah, where Samson was 
 born. Calmct. 
 
 Delilah.] It is not mentioned whether she was an Israel- 
 
 itisli woman, or a daughter of the Philistines; nor whether Sam- 
 son was married to her, or kept company with her, ;is an harlot: 
 the story which foUows proves that she had not the affection of a 
 
 3Q S
 
 Delilah's falsehood 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 to Samson. 
 
 1 
 
 IWfirc 
 C-HHIST 
 aboui I Ilia 
 
 I Or. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 n/if cords, 
 t Hrb. 
 
 i 1Kb 
 
 t litb. 
 
 smtllttli. 
 
 f HeU 
 
 u-ktreu'iih 
 
 imt. 
 
 5 And the lords of the Philistines came 
 up unto her, and said unto licr, Entice 
 hini, and see wherein his great strength 
 licth, and by wliat means we may prevail 
 against him, tluit we may bind him to 
 II afflict him: and we will give thee every 
 one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. 
 
 (j % And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, 
 I pray thee, wherein thy great strength 
 licth, and wherewith thou mightest be 
 bound to afflict thee. 
 
 7 And Samson said imto her, If they 
 bind me with seven II t green withs that 
 were never dried, then shall I be weak, 
 and be as t another man. 
 
 S Then tlie lords of the Philistines 
 brought up to her seven green withs which 
 had not been tkied, and she bound him 
 with them. 
 
 9 Now there ivere men lying in wait, 
 abiding with her in the chamber. And 
 she said imto him, The Philistines he upon 
 thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as 
 a thread of tow is broken when it t touch- 
 eth the fire. So his strength was not 
 known. 
 
 10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Be- 
 hold, thou hast mocked me, and told me 
 lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith 
 thou mightest be bound. 
 
 11 And he said unto her, If they bind 
 me fast with new ropes t that never were 
 occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as 
 another man. 
 
 1'2 Delilali therefore took new ropes, 
 and bound him therewith, and said unto 
 him. The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. 
 And there -were liers in wait abiding in the 
 
 wife towards him, and that she was a mertenary woman, who 
 ■would do any thing to obtain mi>iiey. Bp. Palrirl:. 
 
 St. Cl.ry«.stom and others are of opinion that he was married 
 to her; hut, had this been the case, it is prol)able some mention 
 would have been made of liis marrin-re crremonics, in tliis as in 
 hiR former wife's case. It appears from lier whole behaviour that 
 she was a most mercenary woman, and accordingly Josephus calls 
 her a connnon prostitute of the Philistines. Slack/iousc 
 
 ^- — '^'■'' '"'■• — I'/'freiii till) t:ieal xlrenslh lieth.l Was ever 
 such a request made to a reasonable man ? "Who would not have 
 spurned fiich a s„,u,r out of tloorsr Vet he, that killed the thou- 
 rand 1 hilistiiif.s tor coming to bind him, endured this harlot of the 
 Phi istine* enticing him to his ruin; and when, upon the trial of 
 a tulse answer, he saw such manifest treacherj-, yet wilfully be- 
 trayed his life by her to his enemies: all sins and passions have 
 power to infatuate a man, but lust most of all. Bp. Halt. 
 
 t "' T '^"""' '"'"' ""■ ^'^•^ ^^^ Pi-obably suspected something 
 trom her last words, and was now too wise to trust her with so 
 importjint a secret : and therefore either intended to tell her a (ii- 
 
 Ih^«lh '1^1' '"■ P'^'-irr*! «^'^'.h^'-'/'**^ini,' it impossible that 
 »ne could take so improbabV a thing for tmth. Bp. Patrick 
 
 ■ iy- ~ "?"' ''" '^. t pro'/ //,e<;l She probably did not sav this 
 ponunity, when Samson had ceased to susjiect bcr. 
 
 chamber. And he brake them from off his (.^",^"[5^ 
 arms like a thread. about ii^o. 
 
 13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hi- 
 therto thou hast mocked me, and told me 
 lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be 
 bound. And he said unto her. If thou 
 weavest the seven locks of my head with 
 the web. 
 
 It And she fastened it with the pin, and 
 said unto him. The Philistines be upon thee, 
 Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, 
 and went away with the pin of the beam, 
 and with the web. 
 
 15 % And she said unto him, How canst 
 thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is 
 not with me ? thou hast mocked me these 
 three times, and hast not told me wherein 
 thy great strength lieth. 
 
 lb And it came to pass, when she pressed 
 him daily with her words, and urged him, 
 so that his soul was t vexed unto death ; t Hei>. 
 
 17 That he told her all his heart, and '^'"""'''• 
 said unto her. There hath not come a rasor 
 
 upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite 
 unto God from my mother's womb: if I 
 be shaven, then my strength will go from 
 me, and I shall become weak, and be like 
 any other man. 
 
 18 And when Delilah saw that he had 
 told her all his heart, she sent and called 
 for the lords of the Philistines, saying. 
 Come up this once, for he hath shewed me 
 all his heart. Then the lords of the Phi- 
 listines came up unto her, and brought 
 money in their hand. 
 
 19 And she made him sleep upon her 
 knees; and she called for a man, and she 
 caused him to shave off the seven locks of 
 
 13. — If thou 7veave.it ike — lock.<! of my head^ Samson, being 
 a Nazarite, never cut his hair, but curled it up in locks, or plaited 
 and braided it, after the manner of a chain. He seems to direct 
 Delilah to wrap these (seven) locks about a weaver's beam^ (as 
 the Chaldee understands it,) or to weave them one within another, 
 so that they should be but one lock. Bp. Patrick. Asa hood- 
 winked man sees some glimmering of light, but not enough to 
 guide him, so was the case with Samson, who hul reason enough 
 left to make trial of Delilah by a crafty misinformation, but not 
 enough, upon that trial, to distrust and hate her: he had not re- 
 solution enough to deceive her thrice, nor wit enough to keep 
 himself from being deceived by her. It is not so great wisdom 
 to prove those, whom we distrust, as it is folly to trust those whom 
 we have found treacherous. Thrice had he seen the Philistines in 
 his chamber ready to surprise him, yet will he needs continue a 
 slave to his traitor. Warning not taken is a certain presage of 
 destruction. Bp. Hall. 
 
 16. — his sold was vexed unto death ;~] He was so racked 
 by two contrary passions struggling within him, love of De- 
 lilah, and regard for his own life and strength, that he became 
 weary of life, and careless what became of him : God now- for- 
 sook him because he abandoned himself to sensual pleasure; and 
 his love of the harlot prevailed over hi$ care of himself. Bj). 
 Patrick.
 
 He is made blind, and imprisoned. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 His 
 
 strength is renexved. 
 
 CH kTst ^^''^ ^^^^ ' ^""^ ^'^^ began to afflict him, and 
 about 1120. his strength went from liim. 
 
 20 And she said, The Philistines be upon 
 thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his 
 sleep, and said, I will go out as at other 
 times before, and shake myself. And he 
 wist not that the Lord was departed from 
 him. 
 
 21 ^ But the Philistines took him, and 
 T Heb. f put out his eyes, and brought him down 
 
 to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of 
 brass ; and he did grind in the prison 
 house. 
 
 22 Howbeit the hair of his head began 
 II Or, to grow again || after he was shaven. 
 
 as when he ^g Then the lords of the Philistines ga- 
 
 was s aoen. ^j^gj-g^j them together for to offer a great 
 sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to re- 
 joice : for they said. Our god hath deliver- 
 ed Samson our enemy into our hand. 
 
 24 And when the people saw him, they 
 praised their god : for they said. Our god 
 hath delivered into our hands our enemy, 
 
 t Heb. and the destroyer of our country, t which 
 
 and who gigw many of us. 
 
 TuVXin. 25 And it came to pass, when their 
 
 21. — and he did grind in the prison house. "2 Before the inven- 
 tion of mills turned by wind and water, men made use of hand- 
 mills to grind their corn. This being laborious work, was assign- 
 ed to malefactors and slaves ; and probably in this prison where 
 Samson was confined, a publick mill was placed, to be worked 
 by those who were imprisoned. From this and other circum- 
 stances we collect, that the Philistines' purpose was, not to put 
 Samson to death, but to punish him in a manner more severe and 
 mtolerable than death itself. Le Clerc. 
 
 22. — ike hair of his head began to grow'] In his present mise- 
 rable condition, he probably passed his time in deep penitence 
 and sorrow for his folly and disregard of God's laws, deploring 
 his ingratitude, and begging to be restored to the favour of 
 Heaven ; till the Divine majesty was reconciled to him, and 
 restored his former strength as his hair was renewed. Bp. Pa- 
 trick; Pj/le. 
 
 The Gotl of mercy looked upon the blindness of Samson, and 
 in his fetters enlarged his heart from the worse prison of his sin. 
 God's merciful humiliations of His servants are sometimes so se- 
 vere, that they seem to differ little from desertion ; yet still He 
 loves them, and, when they have smarted enough, will make His 
 love manifest. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Samson's strength was evidently miraculous, and was with- 
 di-awn when the Lord forsook him for his vices : but along with 
 his repentance in adversity, and the growing of his hair, God was 
 pleased to renew his strength. Dr. Hale.i. It is not necessary 
 to suppose that Samson's strength literally resided in his hair. 
 When, in compliance with his harlot, he suffered l)is hair to be 
 cut off, he broke the covenant between God and him, the sign of 
 wliich covenant was his hair ; and, forfeiting his spirit of strength 
 and courage, was left to his own natural weakness. \A'hen con- 
 fined in prison, he began to repent of his folly, and, praying to 
 God to be pardoned for having broken his vow of Nazitfitism, he 
 was restored to the Divine favour ; and, iu proportion with his 
 hair, his strength began to grow. Slachhuusf. 
 
 23. — Dagoii] The name of this image signifies " a fish :" and 
 its figure is represented to have been tliat of a man from tlie 
 navel upwards, and that of a fish downwards. Pyl-e. 
 
 hearts were merr}', that they said, CaW for jurist 
 Samson, that he may make us sport. And about 1120. 
 they called for Samson out of the prison 
 house ; and he made t them sport : and t Heb. 
 they set him between the pillars. be/nrahem. 
 
 20 And Samson said unto the lad that 
 held him by the hand, Suffer me that I 
 may feel the pillars whereupon the house 
 standeth, that 1 may lean uporf them. 
 
 27 Now the house was full of men and 
 women ; and all the lords of the Phili.stines 
 •were there ; and there rcere upon the roof 
 about three thousand men and women, that 
 beheld while Samson made sport. 
 
 28 And Samson called unto the Lord, 
 and said, O Lord God, remember me, I 
 pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, 
 only this once, O God, that I may be at 
 once avenged of the Philistines for my two 
 eyes. 
 
 29 And Samson took hold of the two 
 middle pillars upon which the house stood, 
 and II on which it was borne up, of the one II Or, 
 with his right hand, and of the other with 1',^"'^ 
 his left. , jj^^ 
 
 30 And Samson said, Let t me die with „,y,„«/. 
 
 27. — there were upon the roof Sec."} E\ery' one knows that the 
 roof of the houses and temples in those countries was flat, so that 
 men might st:md -or walk there. Bp. Patrick. The Eastern me- 
 thod of building may assist us in accounting for the particular 
 structure of the temple or house of Dagon, and the great inimber 
 of persons that were buried under it, by pulling down the two 
 principal pillars. The palaces ;md courts of justice, in those 
 countries, are frequently built with a court or enclosure, sur- 
 rounded entirely, or in part, with some plain or cloistered build- 
 ings : in these, on their times of festival and publick rejoicing, 
 the wrestlers, &c. perform in the area, while the roof of the clois- 
 ters round about is crowded with spectators. In such open struc- 
 tures as these, in the midst of their guards and counsellors, are 
 the bashaws and other great officers assembled to distribute jus- 
 tice, and transact publick business. Here likewise they have their 
 publick entertainments, as the lords of the Philistines had in tlie 
 house of Dagon. On the supposition, therefore, tliat in the house 
 of Dagon there was a cloistered structure of this kind, the pulling 
 down of the front or centre pillars only, which supporte<l it, 
 would be attended w ith the cat;istrophe wliich befell tlie Philis- 
 tines. Dr. Shun'. 
 
 It is remarkable that the exploits of Samson against the Philis- 
 tines were performed singly, and without any cooperation from 
 his countrymen to vindicate their liberties : whether it w:is, that 
 the ann of the Lord might be more visibly revealed in him, or 
 that his countrymen wore too much depressed by the severity of 
 their servitude,' to be animated by his example. They seem .dso 
 to have feared him almost as much as they did the Phili-tines: 
 else why should 3000 men of Judah have gone to i^evsuaile him 
 to surrender himself to tlie Phihstines ; when, with such a leader, 
 they might naturally expect to be invincible. Or why, when he 
 destroyed a thousand Philistines with so simple a weapon, did 
 they not join in the pursuit of the rest ? So true was the predic- 
 tion of the angel to his mother, that he should only begin to de- 
 liver Israel. The case of Samson aftbrds an instructive and aw- 
 ful example, that extraordinary gifts of the Spirit are not always 
 accompanietl with corresponding graces, or fruits of the Spiriu 
 Dr. Hales.
 
 Samson's death. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 Micah's idolatry. 
 
 ibeut 1406. 
 
 A' 
 
 the Philistines. And he bowed himself 
 CHR'»T ^^.|^,^ ^^,1 1,;^ „iigi,t ; and the house fell upon 
 the lords, and upon all the people that -were 
 therein. So the dead which he slew at his 
 death were more than they which he slew 
 
 in his life. 
 
 31 Then his brethren and all the house 
 of his father came down, and took him, 
 and brought him up, and buried him be- 
 tween Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying- 
 place of Manoali his father. And he judg- 
 ed Israel twenty years. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 1 Oflhc monni that Mtcah frst stole, then retlored, his 
 motlier viaketh images, 5 and he ornaments for than. 6 
 He hireth a Levile to be his priest. 
 
 ND there was a man of mount E- 
 _ phraim, whose name ivas Micah. 
 '2 And he said unto his mother, The 
 eleven hundred shekels of silver that were 
 taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, 
 and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, 
 the silver is with me ; I took it. And his 
 mother said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, 
 my son. 
 
 S And when he had restored the eleven 
 hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his 
 mother said, I had wholly dedicated the 
 silver unto the Lord from my hand for my 
 son, to make a graven image and a molten 
 image : now therefore I will restore it unto 
 thee. 
 
 Chap. XVII. Here begins the second part of this book, which 
 jjives an account of several memorable transactions, in or about 
 the time of the judges ; the history of whom the WTiter was un- 
 willing to interrupt, and accordingly reserved these events to be 
 related ap.-ut by themselves, in tlie five following chapters. In the 
 present chapter, he relates the manner in which idolatry first crept 
 into tlie tribe of Ephraim. Bp. Patrick: After the tenth verse of 
 the second chapter is Uie proper place and order of these chapters: 
 for, though they be laid at tlie end of the book, yet the events 
 mentioned in them occurred in the beginning of their wcked- 
 nc»s, after the death of Joshua and the elders. Dr. Lightfoot. 
 
 \'cr. 2. — about vhich thou cnrsedst,"] Meaning, that she ad- 
 jured all her family to discover the money, witli a curse upon them 
 if they knew where it was, and concealed it. 
 
 3. — to make a graven image~\ To make some resemblance of 
 C;o<l for the convenience of Micah and his family, that he might 
 worship at home, without the trouble of going on all occasions to 
 the tabernacle of .Shiloh. For it appears by the name " Lord," 
 (Jehovah,) to which she consecrated the silver, that she did not 
 intend to forsake the God of Israel, but only to worship Him by 
 an image : to this practice the IsraeUtes had very early inclined, 
 Exod. xxxii. and they afterwards, in the days of Jeroboam, gene- 
 rally rcLipised into it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — liait an house of gods,"^ The Hebrew words should rather 
 be translated, " a house of God ;" for his intention was, to make, 
 at his own home, an imitation of the house of God at Shiloh : still 
 itu not improper to say, (as we translate,) "an house of gods," 
 because, whatiocver his intention was, to worship God by images 
 WM accounted the worshipping of other gods. To increase diis 
 resemblance to the true Divine service, he caused priestly garments 
 
 4 Yet he restored the money unto his ch'uist 
 mother ; and his mother took two hundred about hos. 
 shekels of silver, and gave them to the 
 founder, who made thereof a graven image 
 
 and a molten image : and they were in the 
 house of Micah. 
 
 5 And the man Micah had an house of 
 gods, and made an ' ephod, and " tcraphim, ^Chap ». 
 and t consecrated one of his sons, who be- b gj„. 3,. 
 came his priest. hos 3 < 
 
 6 ' In those days there ivas no king in ^ hc,)." 
 Israel, but every man did that which was f"^<"'" 
 right in his ow^n eyes. ■^cimp. is. 
 
 7 % And there was a young man out of i-& 21.25. 
 Beth-lehem-judah of the family of Judah, 
 
 who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 
 
 8 And the man departed out of the city 
 from Beth-lehem-judah to sojourn where 
 he could find a place : and he came to 
 mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, t as Ulwicwg 
 he journeyed. '•" ""y- 
 
 9 And Micah said unto him, Whence 
 comest thou ? And he said unto him, I am 
 a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to 
 sojourn where I may find a place. 
 
 10 And Micah said unto him. Dwell 
 with me, and be unto me a father and a 
 priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of 
 silver by the year, and || t a suit of apparel, II or, 
 and thy victuals. So the Levite went in. "u'C^'e. 
 
 1 1 And the Levite was content to dwell t Heb. 
 with the man ; and the young man was game,!!^,. 
 unto him as one of his sons. 
 
 to be made, especially an cphod, (like that which the high priest 
 wore ;) and teraphim, or images, by means of which probably he 
 thought he might consult God ; and consecrated one of his sons 
 to be priest. Bp. Patrick. His intention was to set up an oracle 
 in his own house in imitation of the sanctuary of Moses ; and, to 
 make the resemblance the greater, he appears to have erected a 
 kind of ark, on which he placed his two teraphim, (in imitation 
 perhaps of the two cherubim in the tabernacle,) and caused the 
 priest, who officiated for him, to wear an ephod, in the manner of 
 the high priest when he consulted God. Since the laws of God 
 condemn the making of images of any kind, as objects of ado- 
 ration, it is certain that Mic3i was guilty of a violation of these 
 prohibitions, and cannot be excused from the crime of idolatry. 
 'Slack/iousc. 
 
 6. In those dat/s tJiere was no king"^ That is, this was before the 
 time of the judges, who had a sovereign power to correct abuses, 
 and especially to suppress idolatry. Bp. Patrick. It is thoug?it to 
 have been between the death of those elders that outlived Joshua, 
 and the first oppression of Israel by Cushan. Dr. Wells. It is 
 well seen that there was then no king in Israel, when the laws of 
 God were thus violated : if Moses or Joshua had been their king, 
 their sword would have awed them ; if any other, the courses of 
 Israel could not have been so heedless. We are beholden to go- 
 vernment for order, for peace, for religion. Bp. Hall. 
 
 8. — to sojourti where hc could Jind a place Q By this it ap- 
 pears, that he rambled about from place to place to find a subsist- 
 ence. Sufficient provision was made for the Levites by the tithes 
 of the land ; but we may suppose they were not well paid in a 
 time of such confusion, when there was no supreme authority. 
 Bp. Patrick.
 
 The Danites send spies to Laish. 
 
 CHAP. xvm. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about I40C. 
 
 12 And Micah consecrated the Levite ; 
 and the young man became his priest, and 
 was in the house of Micah. 
 
 13 Then said Micah, Now know I that 
 the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a 
 Levite to my priest. 
 
 CHAP. XVHL 
 
 1 The Danites send five men to seek out an inheritance. 
 3 At the house of Micah they consult with Jonathan, 
 and are encouraged in llieir nay. 7 They search 
 Laish, and bring back news of good hope. 1 1 Six 
 hundred men are sent to surprize it. 14 In the way 
 they rob Micah of his priest and his consecrate things. 
 27 They win Laish, and call it Ban. 30 They set 
 up idolatry, whereijt Jonathan inherited the priest- 
 luxid. 
 
 -^Chap!!^ T^ * those days there "was no king in Is- 
 c& 21.25. A rael : and in those days the tribe of the 
 Danites sought them an inheritance to 
 dwell in ; for unto that day all their inherit- 
 ance had not fallen unto them among the 
 tribes of Israel. 
 
 2 And the children of Dan sent of their 
 fHeb. family five men from their coasts, t men of 
 "'"■ valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to 
 
 spy out the land, and to search it ; and 
 they said unto them. Go, search the land : 
 who when they came to mount Ephraim, to 
 the house of Micah, they lodged there. 
 
 3 When they were by the house of Mi- 
 cah, they knew the voice of the young man 
 the Levite : and they turned in thither, 
 and said unto him. Who brought thee hi- 
 ther ? and what makest thou in this place ? 
 and what hast thou here ? 
 
 4 And he said unto them. Thus and 
 thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired 
 me, and I am his priest. 
 
 5 And they said unto him, Ask counsel, 
 we pray thee, of God, that we may know 
 whether our way which we go shall be 
 prosperous. 
 
 6 And the priest said unto them. Go in 
 peace : before the Lord is your way where- 
 in ye go. 
 
 7 IF Then the five men departed, and 
 
 13. — Now hiow I &c.] By this it is evident, that he did not 
 intend to forsake the Lord ; but was so blinded by false notions, 
 that he took one small benefit for a sufficient sign of His favour, 
 when he was guilty of such great offences ; first, in making idols, 
 then in appointing one of his sons a priest, and afterwards in tak- 
 ing upon him to consecrate a Levite to be priest, of which office 
 he was not capable. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XVin. ver. 1. — sought them an inheritance^ They had 
 an inheritance allotted to them like the rest of the tribes, Josh. 
 xix. 40, &c. but, from their own sloth, and the want of that bro- 
 therly assistance which the other tribes should have afforded 
 them, they could not get possession of a considerable part of it, 
 being forced by the Amorites to inhabit the mountainous part of 
 
 Sij: hundred inen sent to surprize it. 
 
 tore 
 ST 
 
 came to Laish, and saw the people that i^'f"' 
 xvere therein, how they dwelt careless, after ^^fi^. 
 the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and se- 
 cure ; and there li-as no t magistrate in the t Heb. 
 land, that might put them to shame in any CZ7r'„f 
 thing ; and they were far from the Zido- reuruinl 
 nians, and had no business with a7ty man. 
 
 8 And they came unto their brethren to 
 Zorah and Eshtaol : and their brethren said 
 unto them, What say ye ? 
 
 9 And they said, Arise, that we may go 
 up against them : for we have seen the 
 land, and, behold, it is very good : and are 
 ye still ? be not slothful to" go, and to enter 
 to possess the land. 
 
 10 When ye go, ye shall come unto a 
 people secure, and to a large land : for 
 God hath given it into your hands ; a place 
 where there is no want of any thing that is 
 in the earth. 
 
 11^ And there went from thence of the 
 family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out 
 of Eshtaol, six hundred men t appointed t Heh. 
 with weapons of war. ^""'^"'" 
 
 12 And they went up, and pitched in Kir- 
 jath-jearim, in Judah : wherefore they call- 
 ed that place Mahaneh-dan unto this day : 
 behold, it is behind Kirjatb-jearim. 
 
 15 And they passed thence unto mount 
 Ephraim, and came unto the house of 
 Micah. 
 
 14 ^ Then answered the five men that 
 went to spy out the country of Laish, and 
 said unto their brethren, Do ye know that 
 there is in these houses an ephod, and tera- 
 phim, and a graven image, and a molten 
 image ? now therefore consider what ye 
 have to do. 
 
 15 And they turned thitherward, and 
 came to the house of the young man the 
 Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and 
 
 t saluted him. L"^,,„ 
 
 16 And the six hundred men appointed «/ peace. 
 with their weapons of war, which were of 
 
 the children of Dan, stood by the entering 
 of the gate. 
 
 the country. Mention was before made at Josh. xi.\. 17, 48, of 
 the expedition of the Danites, which now follows. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — Ask counsel, — of God,2 By this it appears, that they 
 were as ignorant or regardless of true religion as the Levite and 
 Micah, in thinking that God would answer them as well there as 
 at His own tabernacle. Dr. Wells. 
 
 7. — they were fur from the Zidonians,'] And therefore could 
 not obtain assistance from them on any sudden invasion. 
 
 14. — consider what ye have to do.] They desire them to con- 
 sider, whether it might not be expedient to carry those sacred 
 things along with them, which, they seem to have supposed, 
 would afford an assurance of the Divine presence witli them ; 
 and by means of which they appear to have thought tiiat the Le- 
 vite had before given them an answer. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Micah is roh/xrd of his idols. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 Idolatry is set up in Dan. 
 
 Before 17 And the five men that went to spy 
 SiLu^ out tlie laiul went up, and came in thither, 
 and took the pravcn imajre, anil the cphod, 
 and the terapiiim, and tlic molten image : 
 and the priest stood in the entering of the 
 gate with the six hundred men that u-ere 
 appointed with weapons of war. 
 
 18 And these went into Micah's house, 
 and fetched the carved image, the cphod, 
 and the tcraphim, aiid the molten image. 
 Then said the priest unto them, What do 
 
 ve? 
 
 19 And they said unto him, Hold thy 
 • peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and 
 
 go with us, and be to us a father and a 
 priest : is it better for thee to be a priest 
 unto the house of one man, or that thou 
 be a priest unto a tribe and a family in 
 Israel ? 
 
 20 And the priest's heart was glad, and 
 he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and 
 the graven image, and went in the midst 
 of the people. 
 
 21 So they turned and departed, and put 
 the little ones and the cattle and the car- 
 riage before them. 
 
 '2'-2 % And when they were a good way 
 from the house of Micah, the men that 
 uere in the houses near to Micah's house 
 were gathered together, and overtook the 
 children of Dan. 
 
 23 And they cried unto the childi'en of 
 
 Dan. And they turned their faces, and 
 
 tHri.. said unto Micah, What aileth thee, tthat 
 
 mr'gaiZr- thou comcst witli such a company ? 
 
 oito-itMer' 24 And he said, Ye have taken away my 
 
 gods which I made, and the priest, and ye 
 
 are gone away : and w'hat have I more ? 
 
 and what is this that ye say unto me, What 
 
 aileth thee ? 
 
 2,5 And tlie children of Dan said unto 
 
 l"rV ^"'"' ^^* "°^ *^'Y ^°^^^ ^^ heard among us, 
 M^yt. lest + angry fellows run upon thee, and 
 
 .•50. — si-l tip the grairn iwa^e ;] Thus was tliis kind of siiper- 
 .stitious worsllip introducetl into the tribe of Dan, and by these 
 means it spread and was propagated through the country, the 
 town of Dan long continuing the seat of this impiety. Py/c 
 This false worship continued in this place, notwithstanding the 
 zeal of many judges, who were gootl men and great reformers, 
 but could not extend their authority to the very skirts of the 
 country, where idolatry still lurked. And it was probably owing 
 to tliis place being much addicted to idolatrous worship, that 
 when Jeroboam set up his golden calves, he erected one of them 
 here at Dan, as the other at Beth-el. Lewis. 
 
 Now the wildfire of idolatry, which was confined before to the 
 private hall of Micah, flew furiously through all the tribe of Dan, 
 who, like to thitves that have carried away contagious clothes^ 
 have miiensibly infected themselves and their posterity to death' 
 Heresj- and superstition have small beginnings, dangerous pro^ 
 ceedingt, pemicioua conclusions. This contagion is like a canker- 
 
 (liou lose thy life, with the lives of thy chuTst 
 
 houshold. about 1106. 
 
 26 And the children of Dan went their 
 way : and when Micah saw that they were 
 too strong for him, he turned and went 
 back unto his house. 
 
 27 And they took the things which Mi- 
 cah had made, and the priest which he had, 
 and came unto Laish, unto a people that 
 ti'ere at quiet and secure : and they smote 
 them with the edge of the sword, and burnt 
 the city with fire. 
 
 28 And there was no deliverer, because 
 it 7cas far from Zidon, and they had no 
 business with a?}i/ man ; and it w as in the 
 valley that lieth by Beth-rehob. And they 
 built a city, and dwelt therein. 
 
 29 And they called the name of the 
 
 "city Dan, after the name of Dan their "josu.!*. 
 father, who was born unto Israel : howbeit ■•"• 
 the name of the city was Laish at the first. 
 
 30 ^ And the children of Dan set up the 
 graven image : and Jonathan, the son of 
 Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his 
 sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until 
 the day of the captivity of the land. 
 
 31 And they set them up Micah's graven 
 image, which he made, all the time that the 
 house of God was in Shiloh. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 1 A Lei'ile goclh io Belh-lehem lu fetch home his wife. 
 l6 Ah old man entertainclh him at Gibcah. 22 The 
 Giheonites ahuse his concubine to death. 29 He di~ 
 videlh her into twelve pieces, to se?id tliem to the twelve 
 tribes. 
 
 AND it came to pass in those days, 
 " when there was no king in Israel, " ciiap. n. 
 that there was a certain Levite sojourning & * .'fj.'' 
 on the side of mount Ephraim, who took 
 to him ta concubine out of Beth-lehem- I"','j;„„ 
 
 judah. • concubine, 
 
 2 And his concubine played the whore "ncJ^e." 
 
 at first it is scarcely visible, afterwards it eats away the flesh and 
 consumes the body. Bp. Hall. 
 
 until the day of the captivilif] Some have endeavoured to 
 
 frame an argument from this passage, that this book was written 
 in later times, after the ten tribes were carried away by Shalma- 
 neser ; but it is highly improbable that these images should have 
 been suffered to continue so long, especially through tlie reign of 
 David. It is therefore with the greatest reason concluded, that 
 by " the captivity of the land," is meant the taking of the ark by 
 the Philistines, and the carrying of it captive into the temple of 
 D.igon, 1 Sam. iv. 1 1 , &c. This inteqjretation is confirmed by 
 the next verse, which says, that the images remained dui-ing the 
 continuance of the ark and sanctuary at Shiloh ; which continu- 
 ance ended in Eli's time, when tlie ark was taken by the Philis- 
 tines, and never after carried back to Shiloh. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XIX. ver, 1. — a concubine'} A concubine-wife j one
 
 A Levite goeth to Beth-lehem. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 He is entertained at Gibeah. 
 
 Befcire 
 CHRIST 
 
 ahout HOa. 
 
 II 0^ , 
 
 a j/ettr and 
 
 four 
 
 vionths. 
 
 f Hel). 
 
 tlnys, J'our 
 
 monlfn. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 fy ker heart. 
 
 \ Heb. 
 
 Strengthen. 
 
 + Ileb. 
 fdl the flat/ 
 4ecHncd* 
 
 t Ilcb. 
 (S weak. 
 t Heb. 
 
 It is the 
 
 /titcfltllg 
 
 lime <iflhc 
 f.'ny. 
 f Mc-b. 
 
 against him, and went away from him unto 
 her father's house to Beth-lehem-judah, and 
 was there II t four whole months. 
 
 3 And her husband arose, and went after 
 her, to speak t friendly unto her, and to 
 bring her again, having his servant with 
 him, and a couple of asses : and she brought 
 him into her father's house : and when the 
 fa,tlier of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced 
 to meet him. 
 
 4 And his father in law, the damsel's 
 father, retained him ; and he abode with 
 him three days : so they did eat and drink, 
 and lodged there. 
 
 5 % And it came to pass on the fourth 
 day, when they arose early in the morning, 
 that he rose up to depart : and the damsel's 
 father said unto his son in law, t Comfort 
 thine heart with a morsel of bread, and 
 afterward go your way. 
 
 6 And they sat down, and did eat and 
 drink both of them together: for the dam- 
 sel's father had said unto the man. Be con- 
 tent, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and 
 let thine heart be merry. 
 
 7 And when the man rose up to depart, 
 his father in law urged him : therefore he 
 lodged there again. 
 
 8 And he arose early in the mornmg on 
 the fifth day to depart : and the damsel's 
 father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray 
 thee. And they tarried t until afternoon, 
 and they did eat both of them. 
 
 9 And when the man rose up to depart, 
 he, and his concubine, and his servant, his 
 father in law, the damsel's father, said luito 
 him, Behold, now the day t draweth to- 
 ward evening, I pray you tarry ail night : 
 behold, t the day groweth to an end, lodge 
 here, that thine heart may be merry ; and 
 to morrow get you early on your way, that 
 thou mayest go t home. 
 
 who was really his wife, but was taken without a dowry, and had 
 nothing to do with the government of his family. Dr. ll'ells. 
 
 2. — ivoil aivay from Aiw] To escape the punishment to which 
 •ihe was liable as an adulteress. 
 
 f). — the day draweth toirard ei-eniiig^ In the Hebrew the 
 words are, (as stated in the margin,) " It is tlie pitcliing time ot 
 the da}'." The term pitching, here used, undoubtedly refers to 
 tents, and intimates that the day is so far advanced, as to make it 
 proper to pitch a tent, and halt for the night. So it is said, in 
 Dr. Shaw's Travels, " Our constant practice was to rise at break 
 of day, set forward with the sun, and travel till the middle of the 
 afternoon : at which time we began to look out for the encanij)- 
 ments of the Arabs ; who, to prevent such parties as ours from 
 living at free charges upon them, take care to pitch in woods, val- 
 leys, or places the least conspicuous." Manner. 
 
 12. — the city of a sfra7iger,2 Jebus or Jerusalem was now oc- 
 cupied by its old inhabitants, and the cliildren of Israel had little 
 or no power there. Bp. Patrick. It was the faidt of Israel tliat a 
 Vol. I. 
 
 Before 
 
 10 But the man would not tarry that 
 night, but he ro.se up and departed, and SoulV^^ 
 
 4U6. 
 
 came t over against Jebus, which is Je- f Heb. 
 rusalem J and there "were with him two '" .°"'^'' "" 
 asses saddled, his concubine also rvas with f^"" ''" 
 him. 
 
 11 Jnd when they rvere by Jebus, the 
 day was far spent; and the servant said 
 unto his master. Come, I pray thee, and 
 let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, 
 and lodge in it. 
 
 1'2 And his master said unto him. We 
 will not turn aside hither into the city of a 
 stranger, that is not of the children of Is- 
 rael ; we will pass over to Gibeah. 
 
 13 And he said unto his servant. Come,- 
 and let us draw near to one of these 
 places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in 
 Ramah. 
 
 14 And they passed on and went their 
 way ; and the sun went down upon them 
 ti'hen tliey "were by Gibeah, which belo7tgeth 
 to Benjamin. 
 
 15 And they turned aside thither, to go 
 in ayid to lodge in Gibeah : and when he 
 went in, he sat him down in a street of the 
 city : for there xvas no man that took them 
 into his house to lodginnj. 
 
 16 ^ And, behold, there came an old 
 man from his work out of the field at even, 
 which icas also of mount Ephraim ; and he 
 sojourned in Gibeah : but the men of the 
 place "were Benjamites. 
 
 17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, 
 he saw a wayfaring man in the street of 
 the city : and the old man said. Whither 
 goest thou ? and whence comest thou ? 
 
 18 And he said unto him. We are pass- 
 ing from Beth-lehem-judah toward the side 
 of mount Ephraim ; from thence am I : 
 and I went to Beth-lehem-judah, but I arn 
 noiv going to the house of the Lord ; and 
 
 heathenish town stood yet in tlie centre of the tribes, and tliat 
 .febus was not turned to Jerusalem ; it was owing to their lenity 
 and neglect, that no man could pass from Beth-lcliem-judah to 
 mount Ephraim, excejrt by tlie city of the Jebusites, who were 
 strangers. Bp. Hall. 
 
 15. — he sat him doivn in a slreel of the c»Vy:] See tlie note on 
 Gen. xix. 2. 
 
 1 6. — there came an old man from his Tvork'] This good old 
 man, seeing one who was a stranger, an Israelite, a Levite, an 
 Ephraimite, and that in his way to the house of God, proffered 
 him the kindness of his houserooni. Industrious spirits are the 
 fittest receptacles of kind emotions ; whereas those, who give 
 themselves to idle and loose courses, are careless even of them- 
 selves. U'e hear but of one man at his work in all Gibeah, the 
 rest were quaffing and revelling. This one man ends liis work 
 with a charitable action, the others end their play in brutality and 
 violence. Bp. Hall. 
 
 IS. —soin^ to the liouse of the Lord;~\ To Shiloh, where the 
 3 R
 
 Tfie Levite's concubine abused. JUDGES. 
 
 is no man that t recciveth me to 
 
 He divide th he?' into twelve pieces. 
 
 n»forc there 
 
 CIIIUST , 
 
 •bout 1 406. house 
 
 t llrU 
 gmtJureth. 
 
 » C«n. 19. 
 8. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 lAr mntter 
 *f this folly. 
 
 19 Yet there isbotli straw and provender 
 for our asses ; and there is bread and wine 
 also for mc and for thy handmaid, and for 
 the young man xiliicli is with tiiy ser\ants : 
 i/iere is no want of any tiling. 
 
 '20 And tlie oUl man said, Peace be with 
 thee ; liowsoever tel all thy wants lie upon 
 me ; only lodge not in the street. 
 
 21 So he brought him into his house, and 
 gave provender unto the asses : and they 
 washed their feet, and did eat and drink. 
 
 '22 % Xow as they were making their 
 hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, 
 certain son's of Belial, beset the house 
 round about, and beat at the door, and 
 spake to the master of the house, the old 
 man, saying, Bring iorth the man that 
 came into thine house, that we may know 
 him. 
 
 23 And " the man, the master of the 
 house, went out unto them, and said unto 
 them, Nay, my brethren, ?mij, I pray you, 
 do not .so wickedly ; seeing that this man is 
 come into mine liouse, do not this folly. 
 
 21< Beiiold, //t/T ?',$ my daughter a maiden, 
 and his concubine ; them I will bring out 
 now, and humble ye them, and do with 
 them what seemeth good unto you : but 
 unto this man do not t so vile a thing. 
 
 25 But the men would not hearken to 
 him : so the man took his concubine, and 
 brought her fortii unto them ; and they 
 knew her, and abused her all the night 
 until the morning : and when the day be- 
 gan to spring, they let her go. 
 
 20 Then came the woman in the dawn- 
 ing of the day, and fell down at the door 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about HOC 
 
 house of God was settled, in the tribe of Ephraim: he was per- 
 haps poing tliither, either to return thanks for the restoration of 
 his wife, or to offer an expiation for her sin. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 21. — and tliry washed their fed ^ As was the custom in tliose 
 countries, after travelling. .See the note on Gen. xviii. 7. 
 
 25. — so the man took his concuhiite,'] This was done probably 
 with the consent of herself and of her husband, as the least of the 
 evils between which they had to choose. lip. Patrick. 
 
 atul abused her"] How just and even is tiie course which 
 
 the Almighty Judge hohls in all His retributions. This woman 
 had shamed the bed of a Levitc by her former wantonness, and 
 had thus far gone away smoothly with her sins. Now, when 
 the world h.id forgotten her offence, God called her to reckoning, 
 and punishetl her with her own sin. Adultery was her sin, adul- 
 trry was her death. lip. Hall. 
 
 ~^- — .fell dim-ii at the rfwjr] Fell down dead, probably with 
 pief and thamo, and tlie injury she liad received. 
 
 29. — divided her, — nith her bones, into Inelve pieces,^ That 
 evCTy tribe, Benjamin not excepted, might have a portion of her 
 body : he hoped that there would be found among tliem some 
 who would resent so foul an act, though committed by their own 
 brethren. Bp. Patrick. The ancicflts Jiad several ways of uniUng 
 
 of the man's house where her lord "was, 
 till it was light. 
 
 27 And her lord rose up in the morning, 
 and ojiencd the doors of the house, and 
 went out to go his way : and, behold, the 
 woman his concubine was fallen down at 
 the door of the house, and her hands xcere 
 upon the threshold. 
 
 28 And he said unto her. Up, and let 
 us be going. But none answeretl. Then 
 the man took her up upon an ass, and the 
 man rose up, and gat him unto his place. 
 
 29 1[ And when he was come into his 
 house, he took a knife, and laid hold on 
 his concubine, and divided her, together 
 with her bones, into twelve pieces, and 
 sent her into all the coast of Israel. 
 
 30 And it was so, that all that saw it 
 said. There was no such deed done nor 
 seen from the day that the children of Is- 
 rael came up out of the land of Egypt unto 
 this day : consider of it, take advice, and 
 speak your minds. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 1 The Lcvite in a general assembly dcclareth his wrong. 
 8 The decree of the a-isembli/. 12 The Benjamites, 
 being cited, make head against ike Israelites. 15 
 The Israelites in two battles lo.ie forty thousand. 26 
 They deitroy by a stratagem all the Benjamites, except 
 six hundred. 
 
 THEN all the children of Israel went 
 out, and the congregation was ga- 
 thered together as one man, from Dan 
 even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gi- 
 lead, unto the Lord in Mizpeh. 
 
 2 And the chief of all the people, even 
 of all the tribes of Israel, presented them- 
 selves in the assembly of the people of 
 
 themselves together in strict ties, which lasted for a stipulated 
 time: amongst these it was very common to sacrifice a bullock or 
 other animal, and to distribute the pieces of the body to different 
 persons ; who hereby entered into a strict engagement to espouse 
 the interests of the person concerned. The conduct of the Levite 
 on this occasion seems to have had a reference to this established 
 usage; and to have been intended to bind the several tribes by 
 an indissoluble engagement, to see justice done him for the injury 
 he had received. Burder. 
 
 Chap. XX. ver. 1. — all the children of hraef] Except the 
 people of Jabesh-gilead, chap. xxi. 5, 8, and the tribe of Benja- 
 min, lip. Patrick. 
 
 —— from Dan even to Beer-sheba,"] See note at Gen. xxi. 31. 
 The city Dan was the utmost of all Israel to the north or north- 
 east, as Beer-sheba was to the south or southwest : hence this 
 expression is frequently used to denote the length of the land of 
 Israel. 
 
 unto the Lord in Mizpeh.] To the tabernacle which was 
 
 in Shiloh, to consult the Lord, and to encamp together in Mizpeh, 
 which was near Shiloh, on the coalwies of Judah and Benjamin. 
 Dr. Wells.
 
 The Let'tte declareth his wrong. 
 
 humbled. 
 
 chrTst Cfod, four hundred thousand footmen that 
 
 aimutHOG. drew sword. 
 
 3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard 
 that the children of Israel were gone up 
 to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of 
 Israel, Tell us, how was this wicked- 
 ness? 
 
 f Hcb. 4 And t the Levite, the husband of the 
 
 the man the , , . i i • i 
 
 Leinte. woman that was slain, answered and said, 
 I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Ben- 
 jamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. 
 
 5 And the men of Gibeah rose against 
 me, and beset the house round about upon 
 me by night, and thought to have slain me : 
 
 fHeh. and my concubine have they t forced, that 
 she is dead. 
 
 6 And I took my concubine, and cut 
 her in pieces, and sent her throughout all 
 the country of the inheritance of Israel : 
 for they have committed lewdness and 
 folly in Israel. 
 
 7 Behold, ye are all children of Israel; 
 give here your advice and counsel. 
 
 8 % And all the people arose as one man, 
 saying. We will not any of us go to his 
 tent, neither will we any of us turn into 
 his house. 
 
 9 But now this shall be the thing which 
 we will do to Gibeah ; "we ivill go t/p by lot 
 against it; 
 
 10 And we will take ten men of an hun- 
 di'ed throughout all the tribes of Israel, 
 and an hundred of a thousand, and a thou- 
 sand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual 
 for the people, that they may do, when 
 they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, accord- 
 ing to all the folly that they have wrought 
 in Israel. 
 
 1 1 So all the men of Israel were gather- 
 t Hcb. ed against the city, t knit together as one 
 
 man. 
 
 12 ^ And the tribes of Israel sent men 
 through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, 
 
 J^dlowu 
 
 10. — that they may do, &c.]] One man in evei-y ten was se- 
 lected to provide forage for the arniy, in order that the rest 
 might be wholly intent on punishing the inhabitants of Gibeah 
 according to their deserts. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 16. — seven hundred chosen men lefthanded ;"] It is probable, 
 as commentators observe, that when the Philistines had disarmed 
 the Israelites of swords and spears, as we read they did, this op- 
 pressed people became so much the more diligent in the exercise 
 of tlie sling, which could not be taken from them. Many ancient 
 nations were trained to peculiar skill in the sling; among others, 
 it is said that the Baleares, or ancient inhabitants of Majorca and 
 Minorca, bred their children to this exercise from their cradles, 
 and that tlieir mothers used to set up the food of their children as 
 a mark, which they were obliged to strike with a sling before 
 they were pemiitted to eat. Reading. 
 
 — — kfthanded;'} Who could use tlie left hand as well as the 
 
 CHAP. XX. The Beryamites go against the Israelites. 
 What wickedness is this that is done among I'*'"'-'- 
 
 vnii ^ ^^^ RIST 
 
 o XT about 1406. 
 
 13 Now therefore deliver us the men, 
 the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, 
 that we may put them to death, and put 
 away evil from Israel. But the children of 
 Benjamin would not hearken to the voice 
 of their brethren the children of Israel: 
 
 14 But the children of Benjamin gather- 
 ed themselves together out of the cities 
 unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against 
 the children of Israel. 
 
 15 And the children of Benjamin were 
 numbered at that time out of the cities 
 twenty and six thousand men that drew 
 sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, 
 which were numbered seven hundred cho- 
 sen men. 
 
 16 Among all this people there xvere 
 seven hundred chosen men ' lefthanded; 'Chap.s. 
 every one could sling stones at an hair '*" 
 breadth, and not miss. 
 
 17 And the men of Israel, beside Ben- 
 jamin, were numbered four hundred thou- 
 sand men that drew sword : all these "were 
 men of war. 
 
 18 ^ And the children of Israel arose, 
 and went up to the house of God, and 
 asked counsel of God, and said, Which of 
 us shall go up first to the battle against the 
 children of Benjamin ? And the Lord said, 
 Judah shall go up first. 
 
 19 And the children of Israel rose up in 
 the morning, and encamped against Gi- 
 beah. 
 
 20 And the men of Israel went out to 
 battle against Benjamin; and the men of 
 Israel put themselves in array to fight 
 against them at Gibeah. 
 
 21 And the children of Benjamin came 
 forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down 
 to the ground of the Israelites that day 
 twenty and two thousand men. 
 
 right, in any exercise. See chap. iii. 15. So expert, that they 
 could even witli their left hand wield their weapons. Bp. Hall. 
 
 21. — twenli/ and two thousand »«?«.]] In just punishment for 
 the general vices and idolatrous practices of the whole nation, 
 God suffered the Benjamites to gain this signal victory over 
 them. Pi/fe. 
 
 Their errour consisted in this, that, from an excessive confidence 
 in the goodness of their cause, and their superiority of numbers, 
 when they went to consult God, they only inquired of Him, 
 which of the tribes should lead tlie van, without placing their 
 confidence in Him, or depending on His assistance for success, 
 which repeated disasters soon brought to their recollection: be- 
 fore the tliird engagement, tlierefore, they humbled themselves, 
 ver. 26, before Gotl in a proper manner. Stacthouse. They' 
 fought in a holy quarrel, but with confidence in themselves: for, 
 as presuming of victory, they asked of God, not what should be 
 
 3R2
 
 The Israelites lose forty thousand. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 They destroy all the Benjamites, 
 
 Brfof» 2i And the people the men of Israel 
 ibiliuwl encouragcil themselves, and set their battle 
 again in array in the place where they put 
 themselves in arrav the first day. 
 
 '2:3 (And the children of Israel went up 
 and wept before the Lord until even, and 
 asked counsel of the Loud, saying. Shall 1 
 go up again to battle against the children 
 of Benjamin my brother ? And the Lokd 
 said, Go up against him.) 
 
 2+ And the children of Israel came near 
 against the children of Benjamin the se- 
 cond day. 
 
 '25 And Benjamin went forth against 
 them out of Gibeah the second day, and 
 dcstroved down to the "round of the chil- 
 dren of Israel again eighteen thousand 
 men; all these drew the sword. 
 
 i2t) % Then all the children of Israel, and 
 all the people, went up, and came unto 
 the house of God, and wept, and sat there 
 before the Loud, and fasted that day until 
 even, and offered burnt oft'erings and peace 
 offerings before the Loud. 
 
 27 And the children of Israel enquired 
 of the Lord, (for the ark of the covenant 
 of God xvas there in those days, 
 
 28 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, 
 the son of Aaron, stood before it in those 
 days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to 
 battle against the children of Benjamin my 
 brother, or shall I cease? And the Lord 
 said. Go up; for to morrow I will deliver 
 them into thine hand. 
 
 29 And Israel set liers in wait round 
 about Gibeah. 
 
 30 And the children of Israel went up 
 against the children of Benjamin on the 
 tiiird day, and put themselves in array 
 against Gibeah, as at other times. 
 
 tHei.. ^^ And the children of Benjamin went 
 
 to, milt of out against the people, and were drawn 
 tu::i'^\, ^^'^y ^'oi" the city; and they began t to 
 ./..jc. smite of the people, and kill, as at other 
 
 tlicir success, hut who should be their captain. Xumber and in- 
 nocence made tlicin too secure: it was just tlierefore with (iod to 
 let them feel, that even ^oo<l ze.al cannot bear out presumption, 
 and that victory lies not in the cause, but in the God that owns 
 it Bp. Hull. 
 
 27. — OKfuired of the Lord,^ They had inquired of the Lord 
 before, but not as they ought to have done, and therefore no men- 
 tion IS made idl now of the presence of Cod continuinir among 
 them; i-onfiding ui the justice of their cause and their vast forces 
 Uicy seem to have matie but slight and hasty addresses to God 
 before Uuy undertook the war. lip. Patrick. 
 
 It might have been feared that tliis double discomfiture would 
 h?,r\.'!}? T'} I'"'" •l'^"-"^'f"l <"• ^■'^^ of a good cause; 
 Nov, th. 'f . ^^"^ ",° '^*' courageous, with more humility. 
 Novr they tut, weep, and sacrifice. These weapons would have 
 
 Before 
 CHUIST 
 about H0<>. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 licik-d 
 
 times, in the highways, of which one goetli 
 up II to the house of God, and the other to 
 Cribcah in the field, about thirty men of 
 Israel. 
 
 32 And the children of Benjamin said. 
 They are smitten down before us, as at the 
 first. But the children of Israel said, Let 
 us flee, and draw them from the city unto 
 the highways. 
 
 S3 And all the men of Israel rose up 
 out of their place, and put themselves in 
 array at Baal-tamar: and the liers in wait 
 of Israel came forth out of their places, 
 even out of the meadows of Gibeah. 
 
 34 And there came against Gibeah ten 
 thousand clio.sen men out of all Israel, and 
 the battle was sore: but they knew not 
 that evil xvas near them. 
 
 S5 And the Lord smot6 Benjamin before 
 Israel : and the children of Israel destroyed 
 of the Benjamites that day twenty and five 
 thousand and an hundred men: all these 
 drew the sword. 
 
 36 So the children of Benjamin saw that 
 they were smitten: for the men of Israel 
 gave place to the Benjamites, because they 
 trusted unto the liers in wait which they 
 had set beside Gibeah. 
 
 37 And the liers in wait hasted, and 
 rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait 
 II drew themselves along, and smote all the 
 city with the edge of the sword. 
 
 38 Now there was an appointed II sign 
 between the men of Israel t and the liers 
 in wait, that they should make a great 
 t flame with smoke rise up out of the 
 city. 
 
 39 And when the men of Israel retired 
 in the battle, Benjamin began t to smite 
 and kill of the men of Israel about thirty 
 persons: for they said, Surely they are 
 smitten down before us, as /« the first 
 battle. 
 
 4)0 But when the flame began to arise 
 
 been victorious in their first assault. Benjamin would never liave 
 been in danger of pride for overcoming, if this humiliation of Is- 
 rael had preceded the fight. Bp. Hall. 
 
 28. And Phine/uis, — .stood licfore it'} To stand before the ark, 
 means, to miiiister to God before the ark; see Deut. x. 8; xviii. 7. 
 The fact of Phinehas being the per.son who now ministered, shews 
 that the time, when the war now related took place, was not long 
 subsequent to the death of Joshua. Bp. Patriclc. 
 
 29. And Israel set liers in wail^ This seems to intimate that, 
 in the former onsets, they had relied too much on their numbers: 
 but now, though they were encouraged by God Himself, they 
 grew more humble, and less audacious in their enterprise, laying 
 ambushes secretly in several places. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. — Gibeah in the field, '^ So called to distinguish it from. 
 Gibeah on the liill, the place which they were now attacking. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 vuide a lon^ 
 sound with 
 the trum- 
 pet. 
 
 [| Or, time. 
 t Heb. 
 with 
 f Heh. 
 eUvatioiXt 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 to smite the 
 tvomukil.
 
 except six hundred. 
 
 CHAP. XX, XXI. 21ie Benjamites^ desolation betvailed. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 ■liollt 1 40G. 
 
 fHeb. 
 Ihg whole 
 contumji- 
 tioiu 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 touched 
 them. 
 
 !l Or, 
 
 froniilA HU' 
 chah. ic. 
 t He!.. 
 unto liver 
 tiaainst. 
 
 up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, 
 the Benjamites looked behind them, and, 
 behold, t the flame of the city ascended up 
 to heaven. 
 
 41 And when the men of Israel turned 
 again, the men of Benjamin were amazed : 
 for they saw that evil t was come upon 
 them. 
 
 42 Therefore they turned thei)' backs be- 
 fore the men of Israel unto the way of the 
 wilderness ; but the battle overtook them ; 
 and tliem which came out of tlie cities they 
 destroyed in the midst of them. 
 
 43 T/ius they inclosed the Benjamites 
 round about, and chased them, and trode 
 them down || with ease t over against Gi- 
 beah toward the sunrising. 
 
 44 And tlifie fell of Benjamin eighteen 
 thousand men ; all these were men of 
 valour. 
 
 4.5 And they turned and fled toward the 
 wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon : and 
 they gleaned of them in the highways five 
 thousand men ; and pursued hard after 
 them inito Gidom, and slew two thousand 
 men of them. 
 
 46 So that all which fell that day of 
 Benjamin were twenty and five thousand 
 men that drew the sword ; all these wey^e 
 men of valour. 
 
 47 " But six hundred men turned and 
 fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rim- 
 mon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four 
 months. 
 
 48 And the men of Israel turned again 
 upon the children of Benjamin, and smote 
 
 48. And the men of Israel turned again &e.] Notwithstanding 
 the laws against idolatry were so very severe, Deut. xiii. 8, yet, 
 in the case of Micali and tlie tribe of Dan, the rulers of Israel 
 were so far from putting the laws in force, that they appear to 
 bave connived at it. Therefore God took occasion, from this 
 quarrel between the other tribes and the tribe of Benjamin, to use 
 the latter as scourges to punish the base connivance of the former. 
 And, after He had twice employed them for this purpose. He in- 
 verted the fate of war, and in so doing made the confederate army 
 of Israel the instruments of His terrible vengeance on the Ben- 
 jamites. Such is the wonderful wisdom of God's providence, to 
 employ the passions of men to His purposes, and to make one 
 wicked set of people the instruments for punishing another. 
 Slackhouse. 
 
 Chap. XXI. ver. 3. — whi) is this come to pass &c.] This is an 
 usual way of expressing great grief: they now bewail the melan- 
 choly prospect of the loss of a whole tribe, as there were no wo- 
 men remaining with whom the few remaining Benjamites might 
 marry ; and they had bound themselves by oath not to give them 
 any of their own daughters. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Commiseration of their brethren now led them to publick re- 
 pent-mce. Even the most just revenge of men is capable of pity. 
 Charit.ible minds ai-e grieved to see that done, which they would 
 not wish undone. God Himself takes no pleasure in the deatli of 
 a sinner, yet loves the punishment of sin : as a good parent cor- 
 
 Chap. 21. 
 
 13. 
 
 them with the edge of the sword, as well before 
 the men of every city, as the beast, and all ?t^ufi\ll 
 that t came to hand : also they set on fire t Heb. 
 all the cities that t they came to. + ii^""^' 
 
 wcrejiund. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 I The people bewail the desolation of Benjamin. 8 By 
 the destruction of Jabesh-gilead they provide litem four 
 hundred wives. l6 They advise them to surprize the 
 virgins that danced at Shiloh. 
 
 NOW the men of Israel had sworn in 
 Mizpeh, saying. There shall not any 
 of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to 
 wife. 
 
 2 And the people came to the house of 
 God, and abode there till even before 
 God, and lifted up their voices, and wept 
 sore ; 
 
 3 And said, O Lord God of Israel, why 
 is this come to pass in Israel, that there 
 should be to day one tribe lacking in Is- 
 rael ? 
 
 4 And it came to pass on the morrow, 
 that the people rose early, and built there 
 an altar, and offered burnt offerings and 
 peace oflTerings. 
 
 5 And the children of Israel said. Who 
 is there among all the tribes of Israel that 
 came not up with the congregation unto 
 the Lord ? For they had made a great oath 
 concerning him that came not up to the 
 Lord to Mizpeh, saying. He shall surely 
 be put to death. 
 
 6 And the children of Israel repented 
 them for Benjamin their brother, and said, 
 
 rects his child, yet weeps himself. There is a measure in punish- 
 ment, however just; when this is exceeded, mercy is lost in the 
 pursuit of justice. Bp. Hall. 
 - 4. — built there an allar,~\ They probably erected, on this 
 occasion, a new altar besides the usual one; as they intend- 
 ed to offer such a midtitude of sacrifices, that the ordinarj- altar 
 would not be sufficient to contain them. Thus Solomon did, 
 when he dedicated the temple, 1 Kings viii. 64. Bn. Patrick, 
 Dr. IVelh. 
 
 6. — repented them for Benjamin'] Lamented their tcxj great se- 
 verity towards Benjamin. The concern w hich tlie Israelites ex- 
 pressed at tlie havock made among tlictr brctliren of the tribe of 
 Benjamin, in their late defeat, should teach us never to rejoice at 
 any advantage we gain when others suffer by it, though they 
 should have brought the evil upon themselves by their own fault. 
 We should likewise learn from this history, never to give way to 
 resentment, how just soever it may appear, nor to chastise the 
 guilty witli too much severity ; lest, in our anger, we commit a 
 deed of which we may have reason afterwards to repent. This 
 was the case with the Israelites, who, instead of using their vic- 
 tory over the Benjamites with moderation, made too great a 
 slaughter of them ; and, when they perceived tliat one of the 
 tribes was almost extinct, were deeply concerned at it. Again, 
 as the Israelites laboured to recover the tribe of Benjamin, huma- 
 nity and charity require us to contribute all in our power to the 
 relief and comlbrt of the miserable, especially of our brethren, and
 
 Jf'ives are provided for 
 B<-ror» There is one tribe cut ofl' from Israel this 
 
 CHRIST , 
 
 ■ImuI HOJ. Oil_>. . „ . r- .1 
 
 7 How shall we do for wives for them 
 that remain, seeinpf we have sworn by the 
 Lord tliat we will not gi\e them of our 
 daughters to wives ? 
 
 8 IF And they said, What one is there of 
 the tribes of Israel that came not up to 
 Mi/peh to the Loito ? and, behold, there 
 came none to the camp from Jabesli-gilead 
 to the assembly. 
 
 9 For the people were numbered, and, 
 beiiold, //icre were none of the inhabitants 
 of Jabesh-gilead there. 
 
 10 And the congregation sent tliitber 
 twehe thousand men of the valiantest, and 
 commanded them, saying. Go and smite 
 the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the 
 edge of the sword, with the women and 
 the children. 
 
 11 And this is the thing that ye shall do, 
 'Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and 
 every woman that t hatli lain by man. 
 
 1-2 And they found among the inhabit- 
 ants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred t young 
 virgins, that had known no man by l}ing 
 witii any male : and they brought them 
 unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the 
 land of Canaan. 
 
 13 And the whole congregation sent 
 
 t Hcb. and some t to speak to the children of Benjamin 
 
 ''Jw."'"' that -vere in the rock Rinnnon, and to || call 
 
 II Or, jjcaccably unto them. 
 
 prvraim j^ ^^^^ Benjamin came again at that 
 time ; and they ga\e them wives which 
 thoy had saved alive of the women of Ja- 
 besh-gilead : and yet so they sufficed them 
 not. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 the Benjamites that escaped. 
 
 • Numl>. 
 31. IT. 
 tHcb. 
 knowcth the 
 lying with 
 man* 
 tHd>. 
 young wo- 
 mcn virgins. 
 
 peace. 
 
 when the glory of God and the good of religion require it at our 
 hnn(l«. Ostervald. 
 
 11. — IV uluill ultcrlii destroy even/ mnlr,'^ Tiie massacre of the 
 people of Jabesh-frilc.nl was a cruel expedient to extricate the Is- 
 raelites from a difficulty, in which their superstitious observance 
 of an unlawfid oath had involved them ; and is a sad instance 
 of the iniquity and barbarity of the times. If it be said that 
 the cherem or sentence of utter execration was pa.ssed upon them, 
 it does not appear with what justice the virgins, ver. 12, could 
 be spared, unless we suppose tliat God signified His intention of 
 dispensing with tlie full execution of tlie sentence, by reason of 
 publick necessity. Slack/muse. 
 
 The indiscriminate massacre of the people of Jabesh-gilead, 
 and the rape of the virgins at ."^hiloli, were certainly stamped 
 with marks ol" injustice and cruelty ; and must be condenmcd on 
 tliosc principles, which the Scriptures liave elsewliere furnished, 
 though, in the brevity of tlie sacred history, they are liere record- 
 ed without comment. Dr. Gray. 
 
 Ifi. — the iMrd had made a breach'^ It appears that the punish- 
 ment of the crime of the Benjamites was approved by God al- 
 though the Israelites had executed it with too much se\eritv 
 lip. Patrick. •'' 
 
 ''—'''■{•"■'• '""sl be an inAcnVnncc] In the Hebrew the word.s 
 ■e, 1 he inlientance of them that are escaped is for Benjamin." 
 
 sunrism^. 
 H Or, on. 
 
 are, 
 
 15 And the people repented them for ^hri'st 
 Benjamin, because that the Lord had made oiiout hoc, 
 a breach in the tribes of Israel. 
 
 16 ^Then the elders of the congrega- 
 tion said. How shall we do for wives for 
 them that remain, seeing the women are 
 destroyed out of Benjamin ? 
 
 17 And they said. There must be an in- 
 heritance for them that be escaped of Ben- 
 jamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of 
 Israel. 
 
 18 Howbeit we may not give them wives 
 of our daughters : for the children of Is- 
 rael have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that 
 giveth a wife to Benjamin. 
 
 19 Then they said. Behold, there is a 
 feast of the Lord in Shiloh t yearly in a tWeb. 
 
 f I'l- 1 i*i/» -r* 1 1 jrom year 
 
 place which is on the north side or Beth-el, <« ,/<.<»-. 
 II on the east side || of the highway that |'„,J^^;,,, ^^^ 
 goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on 
 the south of Lebonah. 
 
 20 Therefore they commanded the chil- 
 dren of Benjamin, saying. Go and lie in 
 wait in tiie vineyards ; 
 
 21 And see, and, behold, if the daugh- 
 ters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, 
 then come ye out of the vineyards, and 
 catch you every man his wife of the daugh- 
 ters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Ben- 
 jamin. 
 
 22 And it shall be, when their fathers or 
 their brethren come unto us to complain, 
 that we will say unto them, II Be favourable 
 unto them for our sakes : because we re- 
 served not to each man his wife in the war : 
 for ye did not give unto them at this time, 
 that ye should be guilty. 
 
 2.3 And the children of Benjamin did so. 
 
 That is, those of the Benjamites which remain must still pos- 
 sess the lot of inheritance which was given to their tribe. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 19. — a feast of the Lord in Shiloh'} All the tliree great festi- 
 vals were to be observed in the place where God settled His ha- 
 bitation, which was now at Shiloh. It is thought by many, that 
 the feast now mentioned is the feast of tabernacles, whicli was 
 the season of harvest and vintage, and a time of great joy and 
 festivity. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It is more probable that this was some festival peculiar to tlie 
 people of Shiloh, of which the Benjamites knew nothing, and were 
 therefore put in mind by the "elders of the congregation." Jo- 
 sephus tells us, it was celebrated thrice a year. It might be cus- 
 tomary, on this festival, for the }'oung women to go out into the 
 fields, to dance by themselves, which afforded those who had de- 
 signs upon them the very opportunity they wanted. Lc Clerc. 
 
 '-'1. — come nut to dance'} As it was probable that they would 
 express their joy in this customary manner. By " daughters of 
 Shiloh" are perhaps meant, not only those who lived in that city, 
 but in the neighbouring country. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 _22. — for ye did not give unto them &c.] They tell them, they 
 might salely acquiesce without incurring the guilt of breaking 
 their oath, as they did not willingly give the wives, but yielded 
 them by force. Dr. Wells. 
 
 !l Or, 
 Gratify nz 
 in them. 
 
 
 «ii'
 
 Tlie Benjamites and Israelites 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 return to their inheritance. 
 
 chrTst ^^^ ^^^^ ^^''^'^ wives, according to their 
 
 about 1406. number, of them that danced, whom they 
 
 caught : and they went and returned unto 
 
 their inheritance, and repaired the cities, 
 
 and dwelt in them. 
 
 24. And the children of Israel departed 
 
 25. In those days &c.]] Thus ended tliis bloody and desperate 
 civil war amongst God's own people, being the effect of that lewd- 
 ness and degeneracy of manners th.it spread itself through the 
 nation during the forementioned periods of time ; when God, in 
 His just indignation at their idolatrous practices, gave them up to 
 themselves, and left them without any extraordinary governours, 
 to keep them under restraint, and vindicate either their private or 
 publick wrongs. Pyle. 
 
 The book of Judges, on the whole, furnishes a lively descrip- 
 tion of a fluctuating and unsettled nation ; a striking picture of 
 the disorders and dangers which prevailed in a repubUck without 
 magistracy, when " the highways were unoccupied," chap. v. ft; 
 when few Prophets were appointed to control the people, (for we 
 read of only two Prophets in this book, chap. iv. 4 ; vi. 8,) and 
 " every man did that which was right in his own eyes," chap, 
 xvii. 6. It exhibits the contest of true religion with superstition, 
 displays the beneficial effects which flow from the former, and re- 
 presents the miseries and evil consequences of impiety. From the 
 scenes of civil discord and violence which darken this history, the 
 Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews hath presented us, Heb. 
 xi. 32, with some illustrious examples of faith in the characters of 
 Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah. Dr. Gray. 
 
 That the system of Divine administration over the Jews, under 
 
 thence at that time, every man to his tribe chkist 
 and to his family, and they went out from about noe. 
 thence every man to his inheritance. 
 
 25 '' In those days there teas no king in >chap.i7. 
 Israel : every man did that which was light ?• * "*• '• 
 in his own eyes. 
 
 their judges, was as effectual in securing their obedience to the 
 Divine Law, as from their situation and character we could rea- 
 sonably expect, may appear when we recollect, that, of 450 years 
 which elapsed from the settlement of the Israelites in Canaan by 
 Joshua, to the first election of a king in the person of Saul, when 
 taken together, distinct from the intervals of occasional relapses 
 into idolatry, above 350 seem to have passed under the govern- 
 ment of the various judges, whom God raised up at various times, 
 to recall the people from their errours, and retain them in the ob- 
 servance of His law : and that, during the lives of each of these 
 judges, there was no material apostasy from the national religion, 
 and no material interruption of the publick tranquillity and pros- 
 perity, by the punishments which always attended such apostasy. 
 It is peculiarly necessary to notice this circumstance, because, by 
 a superficial reader of sacred history, the whole period under 
 the judges may be easily mistaken as one uninterrupted series of 
 idolatries and crimes : from his not observing that the lapses 
 which incurred punishment, and the Divine deliverances which 
 attended repentance, are related so fully and distinctly, as to oc- 
 cupy almost the entire narrative ; while very long periods, when 
 under the government of their judges the people followed God, 
 and the land enjoyed peace, are passed over in a single verse, as 
 productive of no occurrence which requiretl a particular detail. 
 Dr. Graves. 
 
 The following are the Chapters from the Book of Judges, appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holydays. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 V. 
 
 Second Sunday after Trinity, 
 Ditto, - . . - 
 
 Morning. 
 Evening'.
 
 THE BOOK OF 
 
 RUTH 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE book of Kuth i< so called from the name of the person, a native of Moab, whose history it contains. !t may be considered as a 
 supplement to the book of Judges, to which it was joined in the Hebrew canon, and the latter part of which it greatly resembles, 
 beiii-' a detached story belonging to tlie same period, lluth had a son called Obed, who was Uie grandfather of David ; which cir- 
 cunistance probably occasioned her history to be written, as the genealogy of David, from Pharez the son of Judah, from whom the 
 IMessiah was to spriii"- is here given : and some commentiUors have tliought the descent of our Saviour from Ruth, a Gtntile woman, 
 to be an intimation of 'the comprehensive nature of the Cliristian dispensation. We are no where informed when Rutli lived ; but, 
 as kin"- David was licr threat grandson, we may place her history about 1'250 years before Christ. This book was certainly written 
 after the birth of David? chap. iv. aa, and probably by the Prophet Samuel, though some have attributed it to Ilezekiah, and otiiers 
 to Ezra The subject of it is of so private a nature, that, at the time of its being written, the generality of people might not have 
 thought it wortli recording : but we Christians may plainly see the wisdom of God in liaving done it. It had been foretold to the 
 Jews" that the Messiah should be of tile tribe of Judah, and it was afterwards revealed further, that He should be of tlie family of 
 David. It was therefore necessary, for the full understanding of these prophecies, that the history of the family of David in that 
 tribe should be written before tliese jirophecies were revealed, tliat so tliere might not be the least suspicion of fraud or design. And 
 tlius this book, these prophecies, and the accomplishment of them, serve to illustrate and explain each other. 
 
 In this history, we have to remark the merciful providence of God towards the afflicted, the widows and the fatherless ; the reward of 
 constancy imd obedience ; and the blessing of heaven upon those who fear God and trust in Him. Bp. Tomline, Bedford, Lewis. 
 
 Befo", CHAP. I. 
 
 C H It 1 ST 
 
 about 1322. 1 EUmclech driven hij famine, into Moah, dieth there. 4 
 Mahlon and Cliilion, Inning married wives of Moah, 
 die also, (i Naomi returning homeward, 8 dissnadelh 
 her Ino danghters in law from going with her. 14 
 Orpah leavclh her, but Ruth with great constancy 
 accompnnieih iter. If) Thef/ two come to Belh-lehem, 
 where Ihci/ arc gladly received. 
 
 tHcb. 
 
 :,„l,;;l. 
 
 Now it came to pass in the days when 
 the judges t ruled, that there was a 
 I'aniine in the land. And a certain man 
 ofBeth-lehcm-judah went to sojourn in the 
 country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his 
 two sons. 
 
 Chap. I. ver. 1. — in the days when the judges niled,'^ It is un- 
 certain under what judges the events here recorded happened : 
 Archbishop Usher conjectures, under Ehud or Shamgar ; Bp. Pa- 
 trick inclines to thiiili, that the events occurred in the days of 
 Gideon, from the fact of there being a famine in the land, for this 
 is the only perioil in the history of the judges, respecting which 
 a famine is recorded, Judg. vi. 3, 4. Dr. JVellx. 
 
 -■ — Ej)hralhite.f of Bah-lehem-judah.l Ephratah was another 
 name for Beth-lehem-judah : they are described as Eplirathites, 
 besides being called of Beth-lehem-judah, perhaps, because they 
 were not only bom, but also bred up, and had uniformly lived, in 
 the same place with their father. Bp. Putricl:. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 were. 
 
 2 And the name of the man "dims Elime- (.hr'ist 
 lech, and the name of his wife. Naomi, and. about 1222. 
 the name of" his" two sons Mahlon and 
 Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-leliem-judah. 
 And they came into the country of Moab, 
 and + continued there. 
 
 3 And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; 
 and she was left, and her two sons. 
 
 4 And they took them wives of the 
 women of Moab ; the name of the one 
 "was Orpah, and the name of the other 
 Ruth : and they dwelled there about ten 
 years. 
 
 4. — they fool- them tvives^ It is uncertain whether Mahlon 
 and Clulion did evil or not in taking these wives, inasmuch as it 
 is not evident whether these wives became proselytes or not to 
 the Jewish religion, previously to their marriage. If they did 
 become previously proselytes, nothing unlawful was done in mar- 
 rying them. But from the expression, ver. 15, "thy sister in 
 law is gone back unto her gods," it would appear that they were 
 not previously proselytes to the Jewish religion ; in which case 
 Naomi's sons committed evil in marrying them, which might be 
 the cause of God's shortening their days by way of punishment. 
 Dr. Wells.
 
 Naomi returnethjrom Moab. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Naomi and Ruth come to Beth-lehem. 
 
 chrTst ^ ^"'^ Mahlon and Chilion died also 
 about 1322. both of them; and the woman was left of 
 
 her two sons and her husband. 
 about 1312. 6 ^ Then she arose with her daughters 
 in law, that she might return from the 
 country of Moab : for she had heard in 
 the country of Moab how that the Lord 
 had visited his people in giving them 
 bread. 
 
 7 \^^^erefore she went forth out of the 
 place where she was, and her two daughters 
 in law with her; and they went on the way 
 to return unto the land of Judah. 
 
 8 And Naomi said unto her two daugh- 
 ters in law, Go, return each to her mother's 
 house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as 
 ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. 
 
 9 The Lord grant you that ye may find 
 rest, each of you in the house of her hus- 
 band. Then she kissed them; and they 
 lifted up their voice, and wept. 
 
 10 And they said unto her. Surely we 
 will return with thee unto thy people. 
 
 11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my 
 daughters: why will ye go with me? are 
 there yet any more sons in my womb, that 
 they may be your husbands? 
 
 12 Turn again, my daughters, go your 
 *way ; for I am too old to have an husband. 
 
 ff/wfre ^^ ^ should say, I have hope, || ij\ should 
 vAthunhMs- have an husband also to night, and should 
 *"'"'• also bear sons ; 
 
 + Heb. Vd Would ye t tarry for them till they 
 
 '"'/'«• were grown ? would ye stay for them from 
 
 having husbands? nay, my daughters; for 
 t Heb. t it grieveth me much for your sakes that 
 to"^«r'' the hand of the Lord is gone out against 
 
 me. 
 
 14 And they lifted up their A-oice, and 
 
 7. — lo return unio the land of Juduli.^ How miserable do we 
 now find poor Naomi, left destitute of her country, her husband, 
 her children, and lier friends; and turned loose and solitary to the 
 mercy of the world; yet, out of these hopeless ruins, God will 
 raise comfort to His servant. She, that came from Beth-lehem, 
 under the protection of her husband, attended by her sons, stored 
 with substance, resolves now to measure all that way alone. 
 Her adversity had stript her of all but a good heart; that re- 
 mained with her, and bore her up in the deepest of her extre- 
 mity. True Christian fortitude wades through all difficulties. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 9. — Ji'id rest, each of you in the house of her husband.'] May 
 be happily settled with husbands in houses of your own, enjoying 
 peace and quietness. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11. — are there yet any more sons &c.] She sa)'s this, because, 
 when a person died leaving no issue, his brothers were under an 
 obligation of marrying his widow, Deut. xxv. 5. As this expres- 
 sion is used by Naomi to her Moabite daughters in law, it hence 
 appears, that this custom obtained among nations which had no 
 connexion with the Jews, and were not descended from Abraham. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 13. — that the hand of the Lord is gone out agaiiut itu."] The 
 Vol. I. 
 
 wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother , Before 
 in law; but Ruth clave unto her. about 1312. 
 
 15 And she said. Behold, thy sister in 
 law is gone back unto her people, and unto 
 her gods: return thou after thy sister in 
 law. 
 
 16 And Ruth said, II Intreat me not to II Or, 
 leave thee, or to return from following ^'"f "- 
 after thee: for whither thou goest, I will 
 
 go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: 
 thy people shall he my people, and thy God 
 my God: 
 
 17 ^^^lere thou diest, will I die, and 
 there will I be buried: the Lord do so to 
 me, and more also, if ought but death part 
 thee and me. 
 
 18 When she saw that she t was sted- ^^^\^ 
 fastly minded to go with her, then she left 'educr^. 
 speaking unto her. 
 
 19 IT So they two went until they came 
 to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when 
 they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the 
 city was moved about them, and they said, 
 7* this Naomi ? 
 
 20 And she said unto them, Call me not 
 
 il Naomi, call me 11 Mara: for the Almighty 1^^,'*'J'' 
 hath dealt very bitterly with me. n That is, 
 
 21 I went out full, and the Lord hath '""'^• 
 brought me home again empty: why then 
 call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath 
 testified against me, and the Almighty hath 
 afflicted me ? 
 
 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the 
 Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, 
 which returned out of the country of JNIoab: 
 and they came to Beth-lehem in the begin- 
 ning of barley harvest. 
 
 CHAP. n. 
 
 1 Ruth glcanclh in the Jields of Boaz. 4 Boaz faking 
 
 meaning is, " that God has reduced me to such mean circimi- 
 stances, that I can do nothing for you." Dr. Wells. 
 
 17. — the Lord do so to me, &c.] This is a form of im- 
 precation, in which Ruth begged that Go<l would punish her 
 in the severest manner He thought proper, if she were wanting 
 to her promise. There is a similar form at 2 Sam. xix. l;>. Calmel. 
 
 20. — Call me not Naomi, call me Mara ;] Call me not any 
 longer Naomi, that name signifying one of a comely presence, or 
 beautiful aspect, and therefore not suitable to me; but call me 
 Mara, which signifies " bitter," and is a proper name for me now. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 Ten years have turned Naomi into Mara. What assurance b 
 there of these earthly things, whereof one hour may strip usi* 
 What man can say of the years to come, "Thus I will be." Bp.Hall. 
 
 The virtue and piety of Naomi are well deserv ing of attention, 
 who, when she had lost her husband ;md her two sons in a strange 
 land, preserved a tender affection for her two daughters in law, 
 though they were women of Moab; and bore with patience and 
 resignation the several afflictions with which the Lord was pleased 
 to visit her, in the loss of her husband and sons, and returned to 
 her own countr)', as soon as she could, to worship God according 
 to the law. Ostervald, 
 
 3S
 
 il 
 
 Ruth frleaneth in the fields of Boas. 
 
 RUTH. 
 
 Boaz sheweth her great favour. 
 
 Bcfora 
 CHKIST 
 
 «boui 13V2- 
 
 18 
 
 A= 
 
 I Callnl, 
 Muth. 1 
 t. £00:. 
 
 hiotiledi:e of her, 8 shcncth her ereai favour. 
 That iihich she got, she currielh to Naomi. 
 
 ND Naomi had a kinsman of her 
 luisband's, a mighty man of wealth, 
 of the family of Elimelech; and his name 
 uas Boaz. 
 
 2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Na- 
 omi, Let me now go to the field, and glean 
 ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall 
 find grace. And she said unto her, Go, 
 my daughter. 
 
 3 And she went, and came, and gleaned 
 t HcbAo,. in the field after the reapers: and her t hap 
 *"«•"'«'• \vas to ligiit on a part of the field belong- 
 ing unto II Boaz, who was of the kindred of 
 Elimelech. 
 
 4 IF And, behold, Boaz came from Beth- 
 lehem, and said unto the reapers. The Lord 
 be with you. And they answered him. The 
 Lord bless thee. 
 
 5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that 
 was set over the reapers. Whose damsel is 
 this ? 
 
 6 And the servant that was set over the 
 reapers answered and said. It is the Moab- 
 itisn damsel that came back with Naomi 
 out of the country of Moab : 
 
 7 And she said, I pray you, let me glean 
 and gather after the reapers among the 
 sheaves: so she came, and hath continued 
 even from the morning until now, that she 
 tarried a little in the house. 
 
 8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest 
 thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean 
 in another field, neither go from hence, but 
 abide here fast by my maidens: 
 
 9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they 
 do reap, and go thou after them: have I 
 not charged the young men that they shall 
 
 Chap. 11. ver. 2. — in whose sight I shall find grace.^ It would 
 seem from tins verse, and ver. 7, that either she did not know that 
 poor strangers had a right to glean, as well as the poor in Israel, 
 Levit XIX 9; or, out of her great pietv, she would not challenge 
 It as a right, but request it as a favour, which she would thankfully 
 .icknowledge. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. Then said Boaz unto his servant &c.] It appears he had a 
 servant who during his absence watched over his harvest. Such 
 were the manners of ancient times, when agriculture was deemed 
 an employment honourable for the greatest men. In the same 
 manner Homer describes " a king standing in the middle of his 
 reapers with a sceptre in his hand, looking on in silence, and re- 
 joicc<l to see the abundant harvest." Culmet. 
 
 U. — // haihfulhi been shewed me, &c.] It here appears, that 
 Boaz shewe<l kindness to RuUi because he liad been informed of 
 her pious behaviour to her mother in law, and of her earnest de- 
 sire to U- joined to the people of God, which she shewed in leav- 
 mg the land of her nativity. This is an evident proof that Boaz 
 ^ZZi T 1° ">•■'". "fvirtue, and marrie.1 Ruth afterwards be- 
 ^u^ he had conceived an esteem for her. And, since it was 
 f^l tl.""''"'"""." ^^"'^^ occasioned these marks of kind.7ess 
 from Boaz, we should consider Ruth's good fortune as a reward 
 
 Before 
 
 not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, Christ 
 go unto the vessels, and drink of that which stout 1312. 
 the young men have drawn. 
 
 10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed 
 herself to the ground, and said unto him, 
 Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that 
 thou shoiddest take knowledge of me, see- 
 ing I am a stranger ? 
 
 11 And Boaz answered and said unto 
 her. It hath fully been shewed me, all that 
 thou hast done unto thy mother in law 
 since the death of thine husband : and ho'w 
 thou hast left thy father and thy mother, 
 and the land of thy nativity, and art come 
 unto a people which thou knewest not 
 heretofore. 
 
 12 The Lord recompense thy work, and 
 a full reward be given thee of the Lord 
 God of Israel, under whose wings thou art 
 come to trust. 
 
 13 Then she said, || Let me find favour in 
 thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast com- 
 forted me, and for that thou hast spoken 
 t friendly unto thine handmaid, though I t Hcb. 
 be not like unto one of thine handmaidens. "'*«''""■'• 
 
 14. And Boaz said unto her, At meal- 
 time come thou hither, and eat of the 
 bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. 
 And she sat beside the reapers: and he 
 reached her parched corn, and she did eat, 
 and was sufficed, and left. 
 
 15 And when she was risen up to glean, 
 Boaz commanded his young men, saying. 
 Let her glean even among the sheaves, and 
 
 t reproach her not: t Hcb. 
 
 16 And let fall also some of the handfuls ^T""' 
 of purpose for her, and leave them, that she 
 
 may glean them, and rebuke her not. 
 
 17 So she gleaned in the field until even. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 JJirulfa. 
 
 1 I 
 
 II 
 
 of her prudent behaviour, and an instance of that blessing from 
 the Lord, which attends those who seek Him, and particularly 
 those who faithfully discharge their duty to their parents. Oster- 
 vald. 
 
 12. — under whose wings thou art cmne to trust.l To whose 
 protecting care and good providence thou art come to commit 
 thyself. The phrase of trusting under the wings of the Divine 
 Majesty is often used by the Psalmist, Ps. xvii. 8; xxxvi. 7, &c 
 and IS taken from the protection afforded to young birds under 
 the wings of their mother. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells 
 
 14 — eat of the bread, ~ the vinegar.-} Under the name of 
 bread is comprehended all the provision which was made for the 
 reapers; vinegar was used for sauce, being very cool and refresh. 
 ^?i;r,V 7"P*"f«- Pp- P""ieL Perhaps we are not to under- 
 noH?nn f ,"Tl'' 'If^^' ^"^ °f ^^"egar mingled with a smaU 
 portion of oil. The Algerines at this day indulge their captives 
 vith a sma 1 portion of oil to the vinegoi- they dlow them'^with 
 be m. nt I "77 ^^ ^^ '^' ^^"«' translated vinegar may 
 frl^entn^pw'" • "".'' °'' '''"''^^y fermented wine, of which 
 
 parched corn,} See the note on 2 Sam. xviL 28.
 
 That which she got, she carrieth to Naomi. CHAP. II, III. 
 
 Before a,^j beat out that she had gleaned : and it 
 about 1312. was about an ephah of barley. 
 
 18 ^ And she took it up, and went into 
 the city : and her mother in law saw what 
 she had gleaned : and she brought forth, 
 
 ' and gave to her that she had reserved after 
 
 she was sufficed. 
 
 19 And her mother in law said unto her, 
 ^Vhere hast thou gleaned to day ? and 
 where wroughtest thou ? blessed be he 
 that did take knowledge of thee. And she 
 shewed her mother in law with whom she 
 had wrought, and said. The man's name 
 with whom I wrought to day is Boaz. 
 
 20 And Naomi said unto her daughter 
 in law, Blessed he he of the Lord, who 
 hath not left off his kindness to the living 
 and to the dead. And Naomi said unto 
 
 H Or. her. The man is near of kin unto us, II one 
 
 'hath right of our next kinsmen. 
 
 t, redeem. (^\ And Ruth the Moabitess said, He 
 said unto me also. Thou shalt keep fast by 
 my young men, until they have ended all 
 my harvest. 
 
 22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her 
 daughter in law. It is good, my daughter, 
 that thou go out with his maidens, that 
 
 II Or, they II meet thee not in any other field. 
 
 faii^up^n 23 gp gj^g j.gp^ f^g^ jjy ^}jg maidens of 
 
 Boaz to glean unto the end of barley har- 
 vest and of wheat harvest j and dwelt with 
 her mother in law. 
 
 17. —an ephah"] Esteemed to be about a bashel of our mea- 
 sure. 
 
 20. .^ The man is — one of our next kinsmen.] In the Hebrew, 
 " is one of our redeemers ;" which means a person who has the 
 right of purchase on the fields of one of his family, wiio has alien- 
 ated his patrimony, or who has sold liis liberty : and denotes here 
 a person who was obliged by law and custom to marry the widow 
 of his brother or near relation, who had died without children. 
 She does not say absolutely " he is our redeemer," but " he is one 
 of our redeemers." Many think that Boaz was nephew of Elime- 
 lech, son of his brother. Calmet. 
 
 21. — by mif young men,] The Hebrew word here used sig- 
 nifies not young men merely, but all young people, and particu- 
 larly the maidens, with whom she was desired to remain, ver. 8. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. ni. ver. 1. — shall I not seek rest for thee,] Shall I not 
 proaire for thee a settlement in a house of thy own, so that 
 thou mayest live more comfortably than thou canst with me? 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Naomi's heart was now set on providing her daughter with a 
 husband, in order to lay a foundation for recovering the prosper- 
 ous condition of her decayed family. And the kindness and 
 generosity of Boaz encouraged her to hope, that he might be 
 disposed to assist her in this matter, either in his own person, 
 or by some relation. Accordingly, she puts Ruth on the conduct 
 ■which follows. Pyle. 
 
 2. — is not Boaz qf^our kindred,] By the Jewish law (Levit. 
 ixv. 25; Deut. xxv. 5) it belonged to the nearest of kin to re- 
 deem the land of a deceased brother, and to raise up his name, 
 by marrying his widow. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Ruth lieth at Boaz's feet. 
 
 r K A P TIT Before 
 
 ^.tlAf. 111. CHRIST 
 
 1 By Naomi's instruction, ,5 Ruth lieth at Bom's feet, abmit 1312 
 8 Boaz ucknowledgcth the right of a kinsman. 1 4 He 
 sendelh her away with six measures of barley. 
 
 THEN Naomi her mother in law said 
 unto her, My daughter, shall I not 
 seek rest for thee, that it may be well with 
 thee ? 
 
 2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, 
 with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, 
 he winnoweth barley to night in the thresh- 
 ingfloor. 
 
 3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint 
 thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and 
 get thee down to the floor : but make not 
 thyself known unto the man, until he shall 
 have done eating and drinking. 
 
 4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, 
 that thou shalt mark the place where he 
 shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and II unco- | Or, ^^^ 
 ver his feet, and lay thee down ; and he ^mZ 'thn> 
 will tell thee what thou shalt do. °^y" *" 
 
 5 And she said unto her. All that thou 
 sayest unto me I will do. 
 
 6 % And she went down unto the floor, 
 and did according to all that her mother 
 in law bade her. 
 
 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, 
 and his heart was merry, he went to lie 
 down at the end of the heap of corn : and 
 she came softly, and uncovered his feet, 
 and laid her down. 
 
 2. — he winnoweth barley to night] The manner of winnowing 
 corn in wai-m climates is to throw it up in the air when the wind 
 is brisk ; the grain then falls, and the w ind carries away the husk. 
 In Palestine, as in other countries bordering on the sea, a breeze 
 usually springs up from the sea every evening ; and this accounts 
 for the expression which we have here, of winnowing barley to- 
 flight. Culmet. 
 
 7. — at the end of the heap of corn :] A striking reprcsenta- 
 tioii this of the simplicity of living in those ancient timi-s, when 
 the most wealthy persons looked after their own business, both 
 at home and in "the field. It appears that Boaz spent the niglit 
 in his threshingfloor, the better to preserve his corn from de- 
 predators, till it might be carried home and lodged in safety. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and laid her down.] Though the action of Ruth, here 
 
 set forth, seems at first sight hardlv consistent with decency ; yet, 
 if we consider the simplicity of those times, it will appear very 
 excusable : to which if we add the virtuous character of the wo- 
 man, the age of Boaz, the manner of his addressing her when he 
 first perceived her, the testimony he bore to her prudence and 
 Uood conduct, the publick proceedings before the wedding, and 
 the several other circumstances of this history, tliere is not the 
 least ground to suspect the virtue of eidier of them ; and there is 
 nothing but the purest innocence in the whole transaction. Os' 
 tervald. If we consider the end, the motives, and the cii-cum- 
 stances of tliis action, we shall not pass on it an unfavourable 
 judgment. Ruth had a riglit to pretend to marriage with Boaz, 
 whom Naomi seems to have thoiiglit her nearest of kin. She en- 
 deavours to discover some means of making him acquainted with 
 her desire to take advantage of this right : she well knew the 
 justice, the probity, (lie age of Boaz ; and was resolved on het 
 
 O J 1^
 
 Boa: 
 
 Before 
 CHKIST 
 abuul ISli! 
 
 I Or. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 hallt riifht 
 Id rtdtfm. 
 
 acknoxdc-(l<^eth the right of a kinsman. RUTH. He calleth into judgment the next Icinsman. 
 
 1 1 Kb. 
 fatt. 
 
 8 % And it came to pass at midniglit, 
 tliat tlio mail was afraid, and || turned him- 
 self: and, helioki, a woman lay at his feet. 
 
 9 And he said, Who art thou ? And she 
 answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid : 
 spread therefore thy skirt over thine hand- 
 maid ; for thou art II a near kinsman. 
 
 10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the 
 Lord, my daughter : for thou hast shewed 
 more kindness in the latter end than at the 
 beo-inning, inasmuch as thou foUowedst not 
 young men, whether poor or rich. 
 
 1 1 And now, my daughter, fear not ; 1 
 will do to thee all that thou requirest : for 
 all the t city of my people doth know that 
 thou art a virtuous woman. 
 
 1'2 And now it is true that I am thy near 
 kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer 
 than I. 
 
 13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in 
 the morning, that if he will perform unto 
 thee the part of a kinsman, well ; let him 
 do the kinsman's part : but if he will not 
 do the jKUt of a kinsman to thee, then will 
 I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the 
 Lord liveth : lie down until the morning. 
 
 II ^ And she lay at his feet until the 
 morning : and she rose up before one could 
 know another. And he said, Let it not be 
 known that a woman came into the floor. 
 
 15 Also he said, Bring the II vail that 
 thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And 
 when she held it, he measured six mea- 
 sures of barley, and laid it on her : and she 
 went into the city. 
 
 IG And when she came to her mother 
 in law, she said, Who art thou, my daugh- 
 
 part, with the assistince of God, which she could best hope to 
 ensure by dutiful obedience to Naomi, to form no connexion with 
 him, except by the ties of lawful marriage. Boaz regarded her 
 conduct .IS flowing from a virtuous principle, and dictated of the 
 desire of becoming a goml Israelite, by giving birth to children 
 who might revive the name of her deceased husband ; and spoke 
 to licr ill the terms of commendation recorded at vcr. 10. In fact, 
 fhc sutficieiuiy displjiyed the uprightness of her intentions, by not 
 attaeliing herself to young men, as he there expresses it, but to 
 an oil! man, who was of an age to be a father to her. Calmet. 
 
 p. — spread therefore thy skirl'\ In the Hebrew, spread thy 
 nitig : a phrase which imports the taking a jierson under protec- 
 tion ; and here not a common, but a matrimoni.:!, protection. 
 Hence, at this day, >vhen two persons arc married among the 
 Jews, the man throws the skirt of his robe over his spouse, and 
 covers her head with it. Bp. Patriel;. 
 
 10. — he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord,"] Nothing can be 
 more honourable than the testimony whicli Boaz gives in this 
 and the next verse to the character of Ruth ; w iiich, while it re- 
 inoves all suspicions from her reputation, proves at the same time 
 that Boaz himself acted upon principle, and v\as a man of true 
 (uscvrnment and real piety. 
 
 thou liasl shewed more kindness &c.] This last kindness of 
 
 yours sur,«.,,es that which you shewed at ffrst. Your attachment 
 to yoiu- husband when alive, and to your mother in law, are most 
 
 { Or, iheel, 
 or, apron* 
 
 ter? And she told her all that the man (-h'r'ist 
 had done to her. about isis. 
 
 17 And she said, These six measures of 
 barley gave he me ; for he said to me, Go 
 not empty unto thy mother in law. ^ 
 
 18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, 
 until thou know how the matter will fall : 
 for the man will not be in rest, until he 
 have finished the thing this day. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 1 Boa: calleth into judgment the Jiext kinsman. 6 He re- 
 ftiseth the redeinption according to the manner in Israel. 
 9 Boaz biiycth the inheritance. 1 1 He marrielh Ruth. 
 1.3 She bcarelh Obed the grandfather of' David. 18 
 The generation of Pharez. 
 
 THEN went Boaz up to the gate, and 
 sat him down there : and, behold, 
 the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came 
 by ; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one ! 
 turn aside, sit down here. And he turned 
 aside, and sat down. 
 
 2 And he took ten men of the elders of 
 the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And 
 they sat down. 
 
 3 And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, 
 that is come again out of the country of 
 Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which rvas 
 our brother Elimelech's : 
 
 4 And 1 1 thought to advertise thee, say- ^ Hcb. 
 ing. Buy it before the inhabitants, and be- ^ '""' ^ 
 fore the elders of my people. If thou wilt Tathine'ear. 
 redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not 
 redeem it, then tell me, that I may know : 
 
 for there is none to redeem it beside thee ; 
 and I am after thee. And he said, I will 
 redeem //. 
 
 praiseworthy : but the desire which you have shewn of reviving 
 the name and memory of your husband, by marrying one of his 
 relations, displays more manifestly your steady and generous at- 
 tachment, since you have preferred this to a youthful attachment, 
 more suitable to your age. Calmet. 
 
 15. — the vniQ Tlie Hebrew word for this is variously inter- 
 preted ; it seems to signify any kind of covering ; some translate 
 an apron or kirtle : but it appears most properly rendered by us a 
 vail, with which modest women cover their faces. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 sijr measures of barley,"^ It should be considered, that, in 
 
 those countries, barley was a more valuable sort of corn than in 
 other parts of the world ; for bread was commonly made of it, 
 not only by the poor, but also by persons of better condition ; of 
 which we find several e.\amples both in the Old and New Testa- 
 ment. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. IV. ver. I . Then went Boaz np to the gate,~\ We here see 
 the simple manner in which judicial proceedings took place in 
 those times. The judge sat in the gate, the place of resort in 
 every city where publick business was transacted ; no writings 
 were employed or tedious formalities observed, but the party was 
 merely summoned to make his appearance. In this instance 
 Boaz probably summoned the person by name, although the sa- 
 cred writer has not expressed the name, but has merely used the 
 general words wliich we translate " Ho, such a one !" Calmet.
 
 He marrieth Ruth. 
 
 CHRIST ^ '^^^ ^*'^ ^°^^' ^^^^^ ^'^y ^^^^^^ buyest 
 About 1312. the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must 
 
 buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife 
 of the dead, to raise up the name of the 
 dead upon his inheritance. 
 
 6 ^ And the kinsman said, I cannot re- 
 deem it for myself, lest I mar mine own in- 
 heritance : redeem thou my right to thy- 
 self; for I cannot redeem it. 
 ' Deut. 25. 7 * Now this wos the manner in former 
 ■^' time in Israel concerning redeeming and 
 
 concerning changing, for to confirm all 
 things ; a man plucked off his shoe, and 
 gave it to his neighbour : and this ^us a 
 testimony in Israel. 
 
 8 Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, 
 Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe. 
 
 9 If And Boaz said unto the elders, and 
 unto all the people. Ye are witnesses this 
 day, that I have bought all that teas Elime- 
 lech's, and all that ivas Chilion's and Mah- 
 lon's, of the hand of Naomi. 
 
 10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the 
 wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my 
 wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon 
 his inheritance, that the name of the dead 
 be not cut off from among his brethren, 
 and from the gate of his place : ye are wit- 
 nesses this day. 
 
 11 And all the people that were in the 
 
 5. Then said Boaz, &c.] It should be well observed, that Boaz, 
 before he took Ruth to wife, applied to one who was more nearly 
 related to her than himself, to know whether he would make use 
 of his right of redemption ; and did not marry her till this man 
 had refused to do it. This publick proceeding before the judges, 
 with all the formalities usual on the like occasion, proves the up- 
 rightness and purity of Boaz's conduct. Oslervald. 
 
 6. — / cannot redean it for myself, &c.] The Chaldee para- 
 phrases thus : " I cannot redeem it upon this condition, because 
 I have a wife already, and do not choose to bring another into my 
 house, lest quarrels and divisions arise in it, and lest I hurt my 
 own inheritance." 
 
 7. Nom this was the manner &c.] The manner and ceremony 
 of conveying over a title and estate amongst the ancient Israelites, 
 was this ; the person who sold or conveyed over his title pulled 
 off one of his shoes, and in open court delivered it to the pur- 
 chaser, thereby signifying that he had full right to walk, enter 
 into, or tread upon the land, &c. as his own proper and entire 
 possession. Pijle. The Targurn, instead of the shoe, mentions the 
 right-hand glove, it being then the custom perhaps to give that 
 instead of the shoe : in later times the Jews deliver a handker- 
 chief for the same purpose. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11. — The Lord mate the woman — like Rachel and like Leah,'2 
 Sucli a solemn benediction of those who were going to be mar- 
 ried was very ancient, as we learn from Gen. xxiv. ()0. The Jews 
 continue the practice to this day ; which, they say, is always in 
 the presence of ten grave persons at the least, conformable to this 
 example of Boaz, ver. 2, and the eldest of them pronounces the 
 benecliction, wliich is a sort of ratification of the engagement en- 
 tered into. The elders here pray that the Lord may make her 
 " like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of 
 Israel ;" tliat is, fruitful as they, who were blessed with a numer- 
 ous offspring. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. — be like the house of PIuirez,'\ Both Boaz .ind all the 
 
 CHAP. IV. She beareth Obed the grandfather of Dcaid. 
 gate, and the elders, said. We are witnesses. „5*'"'*- 
 
 The Lord make the woman that is come about irtis. 
 into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, 
 whicii two did build the house of Israel : 
 and II do thou worthily in Ephratah, and D °''' 
 t be famous in Beth-lehem : nv/,«%r. 
 
 12 And let thy house be like the house ^T^ 
 of Pharez, ''whom Tamar bare unto Judah, proclaim 
 of the seed which the Lord shall give thee l' '^"°'^g 
 of this young woman. 29. 
 
 13 ^ So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his J *^™"- »• 
 wife: and when he went in unto her, the Lord »iatih.i. s. 
 gave her conception, and she bare a son. 
 
 14 And the women said unto Naomi, 
 Blessed be the Lord, which hath not tleft +""''• 
 thee this day without a || kinsman, that his ceme un<» 
 name may be famous in Israel. '/'o,.^ 
 
 15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer rcifemer. 
 of thy life, and t a nourisher of t thine old ]^^ri,u. 
 age : for thy daughter in law, which loveth t ««'>• 
 thee, which is better to thee than seven ^hun!^" 
 sons, hath born him. 
 
 16 And Naomi took the child, and laid 
 it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. 
 
 17 And the women her neighbours gave 
 it a name, saying. There is a son born to 
 Naomi ; and they called his name Obed : 
 he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 
 
 18 ^ Now these are the generations of' chroo. 
 Pharez : ''Pharez begat Hezron, >iatih. i.j. 
 
 Beth-lehemites derived their original from Pharez, whose family 
 was very illustrious in Israel ; and therefore they could not have 
 wished Boaz a greater blessing, than to have as noble an issue a§ 
 he was to Judah. Bp. Patrick. This benediction was fulfilled in 
 David and his royal progeny, and most eminently in the Messiah. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 14. — Blessed be the Lord, &c.] Now is Mara turned back 
 again to Naomi ; and Orpali, if she hear of this in Moab, cannot 
 but envy at her sister's happiness. O the sure and bountiful pay- 
 ments of God ! Who ever came imder His wing in vain ? \\'lio 
 ever lost by trusting Him } Who ever forsook the Moab of this 
 world for the true Israel, and did not at last rejoice in the change? 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 15. — rvhicli is better to thee than seven sons,'] Which by her 
 kindness and affection to thee contributes more to thy comfort 
 and happiness than any number of sons, wliich are usually ac- 
 counted the greatest blessings. Edit. 
 
 17. And the women &c.] It did not belong to the neighbours, 
 but to the father or mother, to give the name to the child : it 
 seems they suggested to Naomi to call it by a name suitable to 
 their foregoing discourse. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 he is thefother of Jesse, &c.]] The sacred historian points 
 
 out to us in these words what appears to have been the principal 
 design of this book : namely, to inform us of the origin of the famif 
 ly of David, and consequently of that of the Messiah ; on which 
 account the following genealogy is annexed. Lord Clarendon. 
 
 This circumstance alone is sufficient to render this little history 
 of inestimable value and esteem, that it delivers down to us the 
 original of Christ according to the flesh, whose derivation was 
 not only from such a particular tribe of Israel, Gen. xlix. 10, in 
 confirmation of the indubitable prophecies concerning Him, but 
 partly also from a \irtuous Gentile woman ; denoting that all 
 nations were to share in Him and have just hopes in His mercy. 
 Pule.
 
 The generation 
 
 RUTH. 
 
 ofPharez. 
 
 Bdbr* 19 And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram 
 *ii' f isl-^ beeat Amminadab, 
 
 " '20 And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and 
 
 n Or, 
 
 Nahshon begat II Salmon, 
 
 5, 22 — Salmon — Dfl.irf.] Salmon married Rahab, ami 
 therefore" lived at the time of tlie Israelites' first entrance mto 
 Canaan Now between this periwl, an.l the birth of David, are 
 computed -m year«. Thus, as only (our generations are men- 
 tioneil we must cither suppose that some names of persons, who 
 come between, arc omitted, (for which we have no warrant,) or 
 that, as is more probable, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, and Jesse, all had 
 their children bom to them at a very advanced period of their 
 lives. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The »tory related in thi» book is extremely interesting. The 
 
 21 And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz (^h^T"!™ 
 begat Obed, about 1312. 
 
 22 And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse be- 
 gat David. 
 
 widowed distress of Naomi, her affectionate concern for her daugh- 
 ters, the reluctant departure of Orpah, the dutiful attachment of 
 Ruth, and the sorrowful return to Beth-lehem, are very beautifully 
 told. The simplicity of manners, likewise, which is shewn in the 
 account of Ruth's industry and attention to Naomi, of the elegant 
 charity of Boaz, and of his acknowledgment of his kindred with 
 Ruth, affords a very pleasing contrast to the turbulent scenes 
 which have been described in the preceding book. The respect 
 also, which the Israelites paid to the Mosaick Law, chap. iv. 5, 
 10, and their observance of ancient customs, chap, iv. 7, are re- 
 presented in a very lively and animated manner. Dr. Grat/,
 
 THE FIRST BOOK OF 
 
 SAMUEL, 
 
 OTHERWISE CALLED, 
 
 THE FIRST BOOK OF THE KINGS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE two books of Samuel are stjled, in the Vulgate or old Latin translation, the first and second books of Kings; as being two of 
 those four books which contain the history of the kings of Israel and Judah. In the Hebrew, they are considered as forming only 
 one book. 
 
 The Hebrews suppose that Samuel wrote the twenty-four first chapters of the first book, and that the rest were added by the Prophets 
 Gad and Nathan. This opinion is founded on these words in the first book of Chronicles, chap. xxix. 29, " Now the acts of David 
 the king, fir-t and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the Prophet, and in the 
 book of Gad the seer;" and it is approved by many Avriters of considerable authority. We may therefore assent to this general opi- 
 nion, that Samuel was the author of at least the greater part of the first book, and that he probably composed it towards the latter end 
 of his life. Certain it is, that, from its admission into the canon, as well as from the predictions which it contains, the book was the 
 production of a Prophet; not to mention that it is referred to by our Saviour in vindication of his disciples. Matt. xii. 3, 4. 
 
 The first book of Samuel opens with an account of the birth of Samuel. It describes his consecration to the ministry, and his appoint- 
 ment to the prophetical office; the capture of the ark, and the completion of God's judgments on Eli's house; the curse on those who 
 possessed the ark; its return, and the signal punishment of those who daringly profaned its sanctity; the election of Saul to be king; 
 the wars and evils, which arose, as had been foretold, in consequence of this change of government; the sins and rejection of Saul; 
 the anointing of David, and the first display of his piety and heroism; the disinterested friendship of David and Jonathan; tlie un- 
 generous suspicions of Saul; the death of Samuel; the appearance of his spirit, denouncing God's judgments against the impiety of 
 Saul; in the accomplishment of which the book terminates, with the accoujit of the miserable fate of Saul and his sons. The 
 sacred writer illustrates the characters, and describes the events of his history in the most engaging manner. The weak indulgence 
 of Eli is well contrasted with the firm piety of Samuel. The rising virtues of David, and &e sad depravity of Saul, are strikingly 
 opposed. The sentiments and instructions scattered through the work are excellent, and the inspired hymn of Hannah furnishes 
 us with a grand prophecy of Christ, who is here for the first time in Scripture described as the Messiah, or the Anointed of the Lord. 
 Dr. Gray. 
 
 .SiT.-r CHAP. I. 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1171. J £ikanah a Levile,havingtn)o wives, worshippelh yearly 
 at Shiloh. 4 He cherisketh Hannah, ihough barren, 
 and provoked by Peninnah. 9 Hannah in grief pray^ 
 eihjor a child. 12 Eli Jirst rebuking her, afterwards 
 blesseik her. IQ Hannah having born Samuel, slayeth 
 at home till he be weaned. 24 She presenleih him, ac- 
 cording to her vow, to the LORD. 
 
 Chap. I. ver. l. — his name was Elkanah,"] It appears from this 
 genealogy, compared with 1 Chron. vi. 33, that Samuel was by 
 descent a Levite, of the branch of the Kohathites. 
 
 2. — had two wives;'] Hannah seems to have been his first 
 wife; and, on her proving ban-en, his earnest desire to have chil- 
 
 N'OW there was a certain man of Ra- chrTIt 
 mathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, about utj. 
 and his name was Elkanah, the son of Je- 
 roham, the son of EHhu, the son of Tohu, 
 the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite : 
 
 2 And he had two wives; the name of 
 the one icas Hannah, and the name of the 
 
 dren moved him to take another, as Abraham had done by Sarah's 
 consent. This practice was not in those times disallowed by God, 
 who saith Himself, tliat He had given to David many wives, 
 2 Sam. xii. 8; which shews that it was not then a sin to have 
 more than one. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Iluimalt prai/ilhfor a child. 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 Samuel is horn. 
 
 Brfurc other Pciiiniuili : and Peninnah had cliil- 
 Si-LlVm dreii, but Hannah liad no cliildren. 
 
 3 And this man wont up ont of his city 
 • Drtii. 16. • f yearly to \vorshi|) ami to sacrifice unto 
 |W the Louu of hosts in Shiloh. And the two 
 fromytar ^0,,^ of Eli, Iloplnii and Phinchas, the 
 "'^'"' priests of the Louu, -dcrc there. 
 
 4 f And when the time was that Elkanah 
 oflered, he fjave to Peninnah his wife, and 
 to all her sons and her daughters, por- 
 tions : 
 
 I Or. 5 But unto Hannah he gave II a worthy 
 
 '^°^' portion; for he loved Hannah: but the 
 
 Louu had shut up her womb. 
 t n*b (J And her ailversary also t provoked 
 
 nn~,Ttdhrr. j^^^ ^^^^^ ^.^^ ^^ ^^^j.^ j^^^. ^^^^^ becausc the 
 
 Loan had shut up her womb. 
 I Or, 7 And as he did so year by year, || t when 
 
 •^/**f, she went up to the house of the Lord, so 
 •*'•*' she provoked her; therefore she wept, and 
 
 f Ilcb. 1-1 . 
 
 from her did not eat. 
 
 giHHsvp- y Then said Elkanah her husband to 
 her, Hannah, why weepest thou ? and why 
 eatest thou not? and wliy is thy heart 
 grieved? am not I better to thee than ten 
 sons? 
 
 9 ^ So Hannah rose up after they had 
 eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. 
 Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a 
 post of the temple of the Lord. 
 fHeb. iQ And she xvas t in bitterness of soul, 
 
 and i)rayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. 
 11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O 
 Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on 
 the affliction of thine handmaid, and re- 
 member me, and not forget thine hand- 
 maid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid 
 tttdofmen. t a man child, then I will give him unto 
 ►Numb. 6. the Lord all the days of his life, and " there 
 Jiidg. 1S.S. shall no rasor come upon his head. 
 
 I- — .I'lic lo Peninnah — /wWion^s:] The males only were re- 
 quired to appiar before Cnwl at these lebtivals; but devout persons 
 were wont to bring their wives and daughters with them. The 
 nortiuns liere mentioned are the parts of the peace offerings, which 
 btlongitl to the person wlio offered tliem, and on which he was 
 wont to feast with his family; thereby imparting to them a com- 
 munion with the Lord, in partjiking of the sacrifice which had 
 liecn ciffered at His altar. Bp. Pcilrick. 
 
 5. — bill thf lAjrd had shut «/>] Or, though the Lord had shut 
 up, &c. — Meaning, tliat her hurcnness did" not make him love 
 her less, b\it rather more, because he would support and comfort 
 her under that affliction. /'ly/f. 
 
 9- — upon a xcal hy a po.ti^ The Hebrew word signifies, vjMi 
 a throne: menning, a scsit r.-;isetl to some height, so that he might 
 tee, and be ^t\n by, all that came to the tabernacle; and that, 
 by hi, presence and eye overUwking them, he might the more 
 easily pr«?ser\e order and regularity; for which purpose his throne 
 was placed by " n post," at Uie entrance of the tabernacle, or 
 " l«rraple," as it is here called. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 II. .Ud the tvwed a votv, and said, &c.] She that could not 
 hiKl comfort m the loving persuasions of her husband, seeks it in 
 
 Uller of 
 Mil/. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 12 And it came to pass, as she t con- c^^^°i|.i. 
 tinned praying before the Lord, that Eli about ini. 
 marked her mouth. ^ Hcb. 
 
 13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; "i"'"/''"'' 
 only her lips moved, but her voice was not " ''""'' 
 heard: therefore Eli thought she had been 
 drunken. 
 
 It And Eli said unto her, How long 
 wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine 
 from thee. 
 
 15 And Hannah answered and said. No, 
 my lord, I am a woman t of a sorrowful t "»''• 
 spirit : I have drunk neither wine nor spirit! 
 strong drink, but have poured out my soul 
 before the Lord. 
 
 16 Count not thine handmaid for a 
 daughter of Belial: for out of" the abun- 
 dance of my II complaint and grief have I II o^ . 
 
 , 1 • , 1 , meditattDn. 
 
 spoken hitherto. 
 
 17 Then Eli answered and said. Go in 
 peace: and the God of Israel grant thee « 
 thy petition that thou hast asked of him. 
 
 18 And she said, Let thine handmaid 
 find grace in thy sight. So the woman 
 went her way, and did eat, and her coun- 
 tenance was no more sad. 
 
 19 H And they rose up in the morning 
 early, and worshii)ped before the Lord, a.id 
 returned, and came to their house to Ka- 
 mah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; 
 and the Lord remembered her. 
 
 20 Wherefore it came to pass, when 
 t the time was come about after Hannah t Hcb. 
 had conceived, that she bare a son, and '',j-a"y'"' 
 called his name II Samuel, satjing. Because about ini 
 I have asked him of the Lord. Lm*/'' 
 
 21 And the man Elkanah, and all his ^o'^- 
 house, went up to offer unto the Lord the 
 yearly sacrifice, and his vow. 
 
 22 But Hannah went not up; for she 
 
 her prayers. There she pours out her prayers and supplications. 
 Whatsoever the complaint be, there is the remedy. When all 
 other helps fail, this remains to us. Bp. Hall. 
 
 / mil give him wito the LorcQ The Levites were not 
 
 bound to serve at the tabernacle till they were twenty-five years 
 old, and not after tliey were fifty: but she devoted her future son 
 to the ministry tliere from his childhood, as long as he lived; 
 from his earliest youth till the day of his death ; and she vowed 
 also to make liim a Nazarite. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. — Eli marked her mouth.'] The inward anguish of hersoiJ, 
 it is probable, made the motions of her mouth and countenance 
 very different from what was usual. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 19. — tu Ramah:~\ From comparing this with ver. 1, it ap- 
 pears, that tliis Ramah was also called Ramathaim-zophim ; proba- 
 bly to distinguish it from other places bearing the name of Ramah. 
 It seems undoubted that this is the place wliich still goes under 
 the name of Rama, lying in the usual road taken by pilgrims from 
 Jojjpa or Jaffa to Jerusalem. It is still a considerable town, con- 
 taining about 3000 inhabitants. It is supposed to be the Arima- 
 thea of the New Testament. Br. Wells. 
 
 21. — and his ww.J A vow which he made, probably, either
 
 Hannah presenteth Samuel, 
 
 CHAP. I, ir. 
 
 according to her vcw, to the Lord. 
 
 Before 
 
 al>out 1165. 
 
 CHRIST ®^^^ ""*° ^^^^ husband, I mil not go up 
 •boutuTi. until the child be weaned, and theii I will 
 bring him, that he may appear before the 
 Lord, and there abide for ever. 
 
 23 And Elkanah her husband said unto 
 her, Do what seemeth thee good ; tarry 
 until tliou have weaned liim ; only the 
 Lord establish his word. So the woman 
 abode, and gave her son suck until she 
 weaned him. 
 
 24« ^ And when she had weaned him, 
 she took him up with her, with tliree bul- 
 locks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle 
 of wine, and brought him unto the house 
 of the Lord in Shiloh : and the child 5x^5 
 young. 
 
 22 And they slew a bullock, and brought 
 the child to Eli. 
 
 26 And she said, O my lord, an thy soul 
 liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood 
 by thee here, praying unto the Lord. 
 
 27 For this child I prayed ; and the 
 
 when he found that his wife was likely to bear a child, or per- 
 haps before, when she told him what hope she had of her prayer 
 being heard. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 22. — there abide fur et'cr.] That is, for the natural term of 
 his life. Dr. Berriman. 
 
 2-J.. — tvilh three bullocks,'^ Several versions give here, " one 
 bullock of three years old:" and, as one bullock only is men- 
 tioned in the next verse, perhaps this reading may be preferable. 
 Hoiibigant. 
 
 28. — / have lent hinr] Rather, I have given him : so the He- 
 lirew word ought to be here rendered. Dr. Wells. I have, upon 
 my vow, returned him to the Lord, as formerly consecrated to 
 Him by me. Bp. Hall. 
 
 The character of Hannah well deserves a place in the sacred 
 writings, ftjr the sake of many excellent instructions which it 
 affords ; for, in her we see the reward of temperance and sanc- 
 tity ; also of a patient trust and dependence on God. Though 
 the accomplishment of her praj-er for a cliild was long deferred, 
 yet this delay did not discourage her from continuing instant in 
 her prayers, which were answered at last to her ftill satisfaction. 
 In her too we see the advantages of a meek and quiet spirit, 
 which sufTercth injuries, and is not easily provoked. She had 
 abundance of mortifying treatment from her rival, yet she en- 
 dured all with meekness, and returned not the same behaviour 
 to her insulting adversary. She committed her cause to God, 
 who, she knew, in His good time could make the barren to fill 
 tiie house ; being persuaded, as she afterwards expressed in her 
 thanksgiving song, that God alone is the Autlior of all good 
 tilings. Reading. 
 
 We should observe the piety of this holy woman, which ap- 
 peared in her prayers to God in Shiloh ; in her humble and re- 
 spectful answer to Eli, who accused her of being drunk ; in the 
 vow she made to dedicate the child to God, and in the care she 
 took to fulfil that vow, by carrying the young child to Shiloh. 
 This is a noble example of piety and meekness, which is particu- 
 larly calculated to teach parents, and mothers especiallj-, to bring 
 up their children in the fear of the Lord, and devote them to His 
 service. Ostervald. 
 
 Chap. n. ver. 1. And Hannah prai/ed,2 On the occasion of the 
 birth of so eminent a son, Hannah composed the following inspir- 
 ed and prophetick hymn. To the composition of such hymns, 
 holy souls were sometimes raised by Divine inspiration, in their 
 .devout meditations on the extraordinary goodness of God towai'd* 
 Vol. L 
 
 Lord hath given me my petition which I 
 asked of him : 
 
 28 Therefore also I have II lent him to 
 the Lord ; as long as he liveth || he shall 
 
 be lent to the Lord. 
 the Lord there 
 
 And he worshipped 
 
 CHAP. n. 
 
 1 Hannah'.t song in thankfulness. 12 The sin of Eli's 
 sons. 18 Samuel's ministry. 20 By FJi's blessing 
 Hannah is more fruitful. 22 Eli reproveth his sons. 
 2S A prophecy agai?ist Eli's house. 
 
 AND Hannah prayed, and said. My 
 heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine 
 horn is exalted in the Lord ; my mouth is 
 enlarged over mine enemies ; because I 
 rejoice in thy salvation. 
 
 2 There is none holy as the Lord : for 
 thei'e is none beside thee : neither is there 
 any rock like our God. 
 
 3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly ; 
 let wo^tarrogancy come out of your mouth: 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 abnut IIC5. 
 II Or, re- 
 turned /tim, 
 wlivin I 
 /lai-c f'btain-' 
 ed by peti- 
 tion, to the 
 LORD. 
 D Or, 
 
 tie whom I 
 have ob- 
 tained by 
 petition 
 shall be 
 returned. 
 
 tllcb. 
 hard. 
 
 them. Indeed this was the most ancient way of preserving the 
 memory of things to posteritj', poets being more ancient than his- 
 torians or orators. Bp. Patrick, Pylc. Tliis admirable Iiymn ex- 
 cels in simplicity of composition, closeness of connexion, and uni- 
 formity of sentiment ; breathing the pious effusions of a devout 
 mind, deeply impressed with a conviction of God's mercies to 
 herself in particular, and of His providential go\ernment of the 
 world in general ; in exalting the poor in spirit, or the humble- 
 minded, and abasing the rich and arrogant, rewarding the righte- 
 ouj, and punishing the wicked. Hannah was a prophetess of the 
 first class. Besides predicting her own fruitfulness, ver. 5, she 
 foretells not only the more immediate judgments of God on the 
 Philistines, during her son's administration, but His remoter judg- 
 ments on " the ends of the earth," ver. 10, in the true spirit of the 
 prophecies of Jacob, Balaam, and Moses. Like them, she de- 
 scribes the promised Saviour of the world, as a King, before there 
 was any king in Israel : and she first applied to Him the remark- 
 able epithet Messiah in Hebrew, Christ in Greek, and Anointed 
 in English ; which was adopted by all the succeeding Prophets of 
 the Old Testament, and by the Apostles and Prophets of the New. 
 Dr. Hales. The ancient Jews refened this hymn of Haimah to 
 the times of the Messiah. Dean Allix. 
 
 mine horn is exalted &c.] I am now powerfully deli\ er- 
 
 cd from the reproach of ban-enness ; I can lift up my head with 
 comfort. Bp. Jlilson. How transported was this holy matron 
 V. ith the sense of the Divine goodness ! the humbler Avas the 
 sense she entertained of her own unworthiness, the more higli- 
 ly she admired the greatness of the mercy she had received. 
 fVogan. , 
 
 As the principal defence of homed beasts consists in their horns, 
 we continually find the horn mentioned in Scripture as the sym- 
 bol of strength. Thus it is said in various passages, " that the 
 Lord exalteth the horn of David, the horn of His people, &c. that 
 He breaketh the horn of the ungodly." Calnict. 
 
 There is something remarkable in tlie headdress of the gover- 
 nours of provinces in Abyssinia. A large broad fillet is bound 
 upon tlieir foreheads, and tied behind the head. In die middle of 
 this is a horn, or a conical piece of silver, gilt, about four inches 
 long, much in the shape of our common candle extinguishers. 
 This is called kirn or horn, and is onlj- worn in reviews or parades 
 after victory. This, I apprehend, like all their other usages, is 
 taken from the Hebrews ; and there appear to be several allusions 
 to the practice in Scripture, where mention is made of " exalting" 
 or " lifting up tlie horu." Bruce. 
 
 ST
 
 Jlarmah's song of thanksgiving. 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 The sin of Eli's sons. 
 
 ta 
 
 B«-f"« for the Loud is a God of knowledge, and 
 ^nill bv liini actions are weigliod. 
 
 ''I Tlio bows of tlie mighty men are 
 broken, and they that stumbled are girded 
 with strengtii. 
 
 5 Thcif that vae full have hired out 
 themselves for bread ; and tha/ that uere 
 hinigry ceased : so that the barren hath 
 born seven ; and slie that hath naany chil- 
 dren is waxed feeble. 
 
 • Dent 3i (i ' The Lord killeth, and maketh alive : 
 \vM 16. be bringeth down to the grave, and bring- 
 13 ^ eth up. 
 
 Tob. 13. 2. ^ r|,j^^ Lord maketh poor, and maketh 
 
 rich : lie bringeth low, and lifteth up. 
 M'tti. lis. 8 He " raiseth up the poor out of the 
 ^- dust, afid lifteth up the beggar from the 
 
 dunghil, to set them among princes, and to 
 make them inherit the throne of glory : for 
 the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and 
 he hath set the world upon them. 
 
 9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and 
 the wicked shall be silent in darkness ; for 
 by strength shall no man prevail. 
 ' 10 Tlie adversaries of the Lord shall be 
 
 • Ch«p. 7. broken to pieces ; ' out of heaven shall he 
 thunder upon them : the Lord shall judge 
 the ends of the earth ; and he shall give 
 strength unto his king, and exalt the horn 
 of his anointed. 
 
 11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his 
 
 4. Tfie lions of the mig/ilif men &c.] The great sense she had 
 of Gml's power now branches out into an humble acknowledg- 
 ment of this gh)rious attribute in several instances, as in van- 
 quishing the victorious, turning the course of human afiairs, &c. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. Thi-i/ that were full &.C.'] The rest of this song bears so near 
 a resemblance to the hymn of the Blessed Virgin, Luke i. 46, &c. 
 that we may well conceive the design and import of both to be 
 the same ; namely, not only to set forth the general providence 
 of Go<l in the goveniment of mankind, but to magnify, more par- 
 ticularly, the grace of (iod to His Church, and its superiour ad- 
 vantage over all temporal blessings whatsoever. Wogan. 
 
 6. The Ixjrd killeth, &c.]] We learn particularly from this song, 
 that Providence overrules all things; that God confounds the 
 proud, tlwt He takes care of the w eak and afflicted who fear Him, 
 that He protects them and hears their prayers. This is a doctrine 
 full of consolation to good men ; supporting them in their trials, 
 and leading them to iiolincss, and trust in God. Ostcrr^d. 
 
 10. — the iMrd shall judge &c. — the /torn of liis aiioiuled.'] As 
 
 this may l>e imderstood in a primary sense of God's judging and 
 
 gulnluing the Philistines, and all the otiier enemies of Israel that 
 
 joined on to thiir country, and of His exalting David to the throne, 
 
 and giving him great success and victory, and thereby enlarging 
 
 his dominion : so, in a secondary sense, it is to be understood of 
 
 " the Anointed" most eminently' so called, tliat is, the Messiah or 
 
 Christ, alluding to the great success of the Gospel, and to Christ's 
 
 being cxalu <1 to the right hand of Gotl ; there to sit as King and 
 
 Judge of the world. Dr. Ilelh. This is the first time th^t the 
 
 name of the Mi-S-siah (or the .\nointed) is found in Scripture, there 
 
 l)emg no such word in .-uiy of the preceding books. " \Vho doth 
 
 not see," with .«;t. Austin, "that the spirit of Hannah prophesied of 
 
 the Christian religion, the city of Go<l ; whose King and Founder 
 
 u Chnst : and of the grace of God, from which the proud are 
 
 house. And the child did minister imto p^'^T^.^ 
 the Lord before Eli the priest. aiwunies. 
 
 1'2 i[ Now the sons of Eli were sons of 
 Belial ; they knew not the Lord. 
 
 13 And the priest's custom with the 
 people was, that, when any man offered sa- 
 crifice, the priest's servant came, w hile the 
 flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of 
 three teeth in his hand ; 
 
 14 And he struck it into the pan, or 
 kettle, or caldron, or pot ; all that the 
 fleshhook brought up the priest took for 
 himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all 
 the Israelites that came thither. 
 
 15 Also before they burnt the fat, the 
 priest's servant came, and said to the man 
 that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the 
 priest ; for he will not have sodden flesh 
 of thee, but raw. 
 
 IG And if any man said unto him, Let 
 them not fail to burn the fat t presently, t Heb. «« 
 and t/ien take as much as thy soul desireth; '"'"•"''f- 
 then he would answer him, Naj/ ; but thou 
 shalt give it vie now : and if not, I will 
 take it by force. 
 
 17 Wherefore the sin of the young men 
 was very great before the Lord : for men 
 abhorred the offering of the Lord. 
 
 18^ But Samuel ministered before the 
 Lord, beijig a child, '' girded with a linen " EioA ss. 
 ephod. 
 
 estranged, but with whiclj the humble are filled." This indeed 
 is the chief import of this hymn, the words of which are too mag- 
 nificent to be confined to so low a sense, as that of the cirumstances 
 which immediately respected Hannah. Bp. Fatrick. 
 
 12. — were so)i.<! of Belial ;"] Very wicked men, Deut. xiii. 13; 
 being covetous, guilty of violence, and filthy lusts, who " knew 
 not the Lord ;" that is, did not mind the Divine service, nor take 
 care to do honour to God. B/). Patrick. 
 
 Though they were the children of a holy man, of a priest of 
 God, themselves priests, yet " they knew not the Lord." Virtue 
 is not always hereditary, nor jjiety the necessary privilege of a 
 .sacred office. These young men had grown wicked, for want, 
 not of instruction, but of seasonable restraints and necessary cor- 
 rection. Too great lenity and indulgence had defeated all the 
 benefit of a pious education. JVosan. 
 
 tliei/ kneni not the Lord."] They did not acknowledge the 
 
 Lord by a dutiful regard to His service: they were not carefuFto 
 do Him honour. Locke. 
 
 1 3 — 1 6. And the priest's custom &C.3 Whereas the law had par- 
 ticularly fctiited the parts and portions of all the peace offerings 
 which belonged to the priests and to the oflTerers ; these profane 
 wretches introduced many new and arbitrary claims and customs, 
 such as are here mentioned, to the great scandal of God's reh'gion. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 17. — men abhorred the offering] That is, the worship of Go<l 
 was brought into discouragement and contempt by these prac- 
 tices. Py/e. 
 
 1 8. — girded with a linen cpliod.] We do not read of any pe- 
 culiar garments for the Levites in their ministration, but only for 
 the priests. The ephod here mentioned was probably an hono- 
 rary vestment, resembling in some sort that of the high priest, 
 and worn by the other priests, in order to iiicike them more re- 
 spected ; and Eli perhaps directed the child Samuel to wear it.
 
 Eli reproveth his sons. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 A prophecy against his house. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1 1 C5. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 jtetiti'm 
 which he 
 atked, &c 
 
 t Hcb. 
 tissetnbled 
 6y tniops* 
 
 I Or, 
 / heur evil 
 words of 
 
 U Or, 
 
 fo cry out. 
 
 19 Moreover his mother made him a 
 little coat, and brought it to him from year 
 to year, when she came up with her hus- 
 band to offer the yearly sacrifice. 
 
 20 If And Eli blessed Elkanah and his 
 wife, and said. The Lord give thee seed of 
 this woman for the II loan which is lent to 
 the Lord. And they went unto their own 
 home. 
 
 21 And the Lord visited Hannah, so 
 that she conceived, and bare three sons 
 and two daughters. And the child Samuel 
 grew before the Lord. 
 
 22 % Now Eli was very old, and heard 
 all that his sons did unto all Israel ; and 
 how they lay with the women that t as- 
 sembled at the door of the tabernacle of 
 the congregation. 
 
 23 And he said unto them, Why do ye 
 such things ? for 1| I hear of your evil deal- 
 ings by all this people. 
 
 24 Nay, my sons ; for it is no good re- 
 port that I hear : ye make the Lord's peo- 
 ple II to transgress. 
 
 25 If one man sin against anotlier, the 
 judge shall judge him : but if a man sin 
 against the Lord, who shall intreat for 
 him ? Notwithstanding they hearkened not 
 
 ns a peculiar privilege, because he saw in him so great an appear- 
 ance of the grace of God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 21. — grew before the Lord.'] Not in stature only, but in wis- 
 clom also and virtue. Of so great moment is it to season the 
 minds of children early with a sense of God and of religion, which, 
 it is probable, wiU continue in them, and improve, as they grow 
 in years. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 23. — f^hy do ye such thingsf] Their notorious wickedness 
 should have moved him to greater severity than merely to reprove 
 them with such gentleness and lenity, as these and the following 
 words import : this proceeded, probably, partly from the coldness 
 of ohl age, and partly from his too great indulgence to his chil- 
 dren. Bp. Patrick. Nothing but age can plead for Eli, that he 
 was not the first accuser of his sons. Now, when tlieir enormities 
 came to be the voice of the multitude, he must hear it perforce ; 
 and doubtless he heard it witli grief enougii, but not with anccr 
 enough : he, that was the judge of Israel, siiouid have judged im- 
 partially his own flesh and blood. Indulgent parents are cruel to 
 themselves and their posterity. Eli could not have devised any 
 way to have plagued himself and his house so much, as by his 
 kindness to his children's sins. Bp. Hall. 
 
 It is a great fault in a parent to use mildness towards his chil- 
 dren, in the case of a wilful and heinous sin ; especially if it be of 
 extensive example and publick influence. To rebuke gently on 
 .such an occasion, is rather to countenance the fault ; and seems to 
 argue a want of sufficient detestation of it. Such cold reproof, as 
 that whicli Eli gave his sons, where the crime was so great and 
 notorious, was in some measure a participation of it. It was so 
 interpreted by God, who calls it, ver. 29, " a kicking at His sacri- 
 fice ;" and on this very account threatens Eli with most terrible 
 judgments. Ahp. Tillotson. 
 
 25. — because the Lord would slay t/iem.] The Hebrew words 
 may be rendered, " Therefore the Lord would slay tliem :" that 
 is, on accomit of their hardness. He deteniiined to tleliver tliem up 
 to an untimely death. Pyle, Dr. Watcrland. But according to 
 our translation, the sense is right enough : for when men have 
 
 unto the voice of their father, because the r^'^l%-t 
 Lord would slay them. about no 
 
 26 And the child Samuel grew on, and 
 was in favour both with the Lord, and al- 
 so with men. 
 
 27 IF And there came a man of God un- 
 to Eli, and said unto him. Thus saith the 
 Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house 
 of thy father, when they were in Eg}'pt in 
 Pharaoh's house? 
 
 28 And did I choose him out of all the 
 tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer 
 upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear 
 
 an ephod before me ? and ' did I give ' Lev- lo. 
 unto the house of thy father all the offer- '*' 
 ings made by fire of the children of Is- 
 rael ? 
 
 29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice 
 and at mine offering, which I have com- 
 manded in my habitation ; and honourest 
 thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat 
 with the chiefest of all the offerings of Is- 
 rael my people ? 
 
 30 Wherefore the Lord God of Israel 
 saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the 
 house of thy father, should walk before me 
 for ever : but now the Lord saith. Be it 
 far from me ; for them that honour me I 
 
 long sinned grievously against many admonitions, whereby they 
 become incurable, God deprives them of that prudent considera- 
 tion and discretion, which would save them from destruction. 
 Bp. Patrick. The reason here assigned, " because the Lord 
 would slay them," answers exactly to that expression in modem 
 language. Because they were abandoned, graceless, or profligate. 
 In which manner of speaking, nobody understands want of grace 
 to be a charging of any defect on Gotl's part, but a describing of 
 the persons themselves to be worthy of destruction. Dr. S. 
 Clarke. 
 
 27. — a man of God] A Prophet, who was divinely inspired 
 to deliver the following message to him. 
 
 Did I plainly apjKar unto the house of thy falher,'] The 
 
 passage should ratlicr be translated, " Did not I plainly appear 
 Ike." According to the manner in which the saine expression is 
 rendered in 2 Sani. xxiii. 17, " Is not this the blood of the men.?" 
 W. Lon-th. 
 
 29. Wherefore kick ye at my .mcrijice~\ An expression signify- 
 ing tlie highest irreverence and contempt of Goil's authority : it is 
 taken from refractory oxen, which are wont to kick, when prick- 
 ed with tlie goad. 
 
 30. — / said indeed that thy house, &c.] God here revokes the 
 decree He hatl made in favour of him and his family, of being 
 high pi-iests throughout all generations. This office was first 
 settled upon Eleazar, tlie eldest son of Aaron ; thenc* came to 
 Phinehas, the eldest son of Eleaaar : was transferred from him, 
 probably for some sin or other, to Eli, a descendant of .Varon's 
 youngest son Ithamar, as it is now transferred back to the family 
 of Eleazar, on account of the horrid sins of the sons of Eli. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 them that honour me I fi'ill honour,'] I will distinguish 
 
 with suitable marks of favour them that honoiu- Me ; that is, them 
 that obey My commandments, ^^'e best testify our veneration for 
 God, by obeving His commandments; and the honour which we 
 tlius give to His laws. He is pleased to accept, as done immedi- 
 ately to Himself. Dr. S. Clarke. We have here a fair and full 
 
 3 T2
 
 A prophecy against Eli's house. 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 How the word of the Lord 
 
 Be^"* will honour, and thoy that despise me shall 
 2'u!VuI be lifil.tly ostccmc-d. 
 
 31 Behold, the days come, that I will 
 cut ort' tliine arm, and the arm of thy fa- 
 ther's house, that there shall not be an old 
 man in thine house. 
 I Or. 3-2 And thou shalt sec II an enemy in mi/ 
 
 '^■S.ouZ habitation, in all the xcealth which God shall 
 'Lcu.fur give Israel: and there shall not be an old 
 ^*i man in thine house tor ever. 
 wh,ck c-hI 3:3 And the man of thine, whom I shall 
 ;^w. not cut off from mine altar, 5/w// be to con- 
 sume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart : 
 and all the increase of thine house shall die 
 tHAm,,,. f i„ t],e flower of their age. 
 
 31. And this shall be a sign unto thee, 
 that shall come upon thy two sons, on 
 Hoi)hni and Phinehas ; in one day they 
 shall die both of them. 
 
 35 And I will raise me up a fliithful 
 priest, that shall do according to that \\\\\c\\ 
 is in mine heart and in my mind : and I 
 
 assurance from CuvX Himself, tJiat the benefit of our seeking our 
 Master's glory redounds most abundantly on ourselves ; that wlien 
 we unleigncJly seek His glory, we do infallibly procure our own. 
 By doing Hiui service, we best serve ourselves; there accrueth 
 no advantage to Him thereby, the gain is solely ours. Bp. San- 
 derson. 
 
 To those who honour God here, that is, who reverence His 
 holy name, His holy word, and His holy places; who willingly 
 ancl carefully practise all piety and virtue for conscience sake, 
 and in avowed obedience to His holy will, and for the promotion 
 of His glory ; He hath reserved an honour infinitely great and 
 excellent, in comparison with which all honours here are but 
 dreams, the loudest acclamations of men are but empty sounds, 
 the l)rightest glories of this world are but duskish and fleeting 
 shadows ; an honour most solid, most durable, an eternal w-eight 
 of glory. They shall in tJie face of idl the world be approved by 
 the unquestionable sentence of their most righteous Judge; they 
 f\\a\\ be esteemed in llie unanimous o])inion of angels and saints ; 
 they shall be appl uided by the general voice and attestation of 
 Heaven ; they shall then be seated upon immovable thrones, 
 their heads encircletl with unfading crowns, their faces shining 
 with rays of inconceivable glorj' and majesty. The less of honour 
 they have received here in this transitory moment of life, the more 
 shall they enjoy in that future eternal state, where, witii Him 
 who through the whole course of His life sought not His own 
 honour, but the honour of Him that sent Him ; with all those 
 who have consecrated their endeavours, and sacrificed their lives 
 to the promoting of God's honour, they shall possess everlasting 
 glory. Dr. I. Barroic. 
 
 3~. — Ihoii shah see an encmi/ in nii/ /labilation,'] The marginal 
 translation seems most literal, " Thou shalt see the affliction of 
 the tabcniaclc." Bp. Patrick. Thou shalt live to know that an 
 enemy (the I'hilistnie) hath taken possession of My ark and ta- 
 bernacle. Bp. Hall. 
 
 S;">. — a faithful prie.U,l This seems to be meant of Zadok, 
 anointed in the place of Abiathar, 1 Chron. xxix. 22, in whose line 
 the high pricsthoml continued till the Babylonish captivity. Pro- 
 eupius here notes, that though this according to the history is 
 meant of Zadok, yet it belongs to none in the highest sense but 
 unto our Lord Jesus Christ, who offered Himself to tlie Father 
 for u«, and is our great High Priest for evermore. Bp. Patrick: 
 •'*'{• — ^"' "If, / prill/ t'/ue, &c.] This seems to have been ful- 
 filletl m the days of Abiathar, w ho for treason was not only put 
 out ol his office, but deprived of the portion given to the priests 
 
 will build him a sure house; and he shall Christ 
 walk before mine anointed for ever. about ugs. 
 
 36 And it shall come to pass, that every 
 one that is left in thine house shall come 
 and crouch to him for a piece of silver and 
 a morsel of bread, and shall say, + Put nie, tHeb. 
 I i)ray thee, into || one of the priests' offices, ]["or, 
 that I may eat a piece of bread. somewhat 
 
 •^ ' uboul the 
 
 CHAP. III. j.rUMo.d. 
 
 1 Hon' ihc word of llic Lord was first revealed to Sa- 
 muel. 1 1 God tclletk Samuel the destruction iif Eli's 
 hoii.ie. 15 Samuel, though lulh, telleth Eli the vision. 
 1<) Samuel groivelh in credit. 
 
 AND the child Samuel ministered unto 
 the Lord before Eli. And the word 
 oi" the LoKD was precious in those days ; 
 there was no open vision. 
 
 y And it came to pass at that time, »''"'" "<'• 
 when Eli was laid down in his place, and 
 his eyes began to wax dim, that he could 
 not see ; 
 
 3 And ere the lamp of God went out in 
 
 in the temple, 1 Kings ii. 2fi, 27. Bj' this means, his posterity 
 fell into extreme want ; in which the just jiulgment of God may 
 be obser\'ed, that the children of those, who were .so wanton that 
 they could not be content unless they had the choicest part of the 
 sacrifice, should fall into so low a condition as to beg their bread. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 We see here another instance, among the many we meet with 
 in Scripture, of God's punishing in kind the notorious crimes of 
 men. The offence of Eli was prostituting the authority of his 
 age and office, his paternal and sacerdotid power, to the profane 
 licentiousness of his two wicked sons ; his not punishing, at least 
 not restraining, their scandalous practices. For this reason, the 
 ju.-t judgment of God threatens, that none of his family should 
 ever after live long enough to arrive at the venerable authority of 
 old age, which he had nvisused : nor be invested with the highest 
 order of priesthood, which he had profaned. Again, as his sons, 
 by their profligate lives, and he by his inexcusable lenity, had 
 brought a scandal on religion, and abused the plenty and affluence, 
 as well as the honour, of their high station, to the vices of lust 
 and intemperance, not only they are doomed to untimely ends, 
 but their family and posterity are condemned to the want of 
 bread : yea, the tjibernacle, which had been profaned by them, 
 was to be stripped of its glory, and the very ark of God's presence 
 to be delivered into the hands of an enemy. (lod bears long, and 
 is provoked every day : but flagrant crimes will not always go 
 unpunished ; and no sins are niore provoking than those which 
 bring disgrace on God and His Church. Wogan. 
 
 Chap. III. ver. 1. — the word of the Lord tvas precious'} Mean- 
 ing, that God very rarely, in those days, revealed His mind to any 
 person. " There was no open vision :" here vision includes all the 
 ways, by which God revealed Himself to men ; which He did 
 then so seldom, that whatsoever revelation there might be pri- 
 vately to some pious jjcrsons, there was no one publickly acknow- 
 ledged to be a Proi)het, unto whom the people might resort to 
 know the mind of Ciod. Bp. Patrick. Or no open vision may 
 mean. No manifestation of His presence, since that recorded to 
 Manoah and his wife, seventy years before. Dr. Hales. 
 
 2. — rvas laid down in his place,'] Was laid down for repose in 
 the court of the tabemacle, where were divers rooms for the uses 
 of the priests. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — ere the lamp of God went out] This seems to im])ly that 
 the lamp was extinguished in the morning : on the other hand, it 
 is said. Lev. xxiv. 2, that the hunps were to bum continually. It
 
 •!' 
 
 
 I In- J.SM;>ln KJ. 
 
 Eiuffwrtt by UJiuir^i. 
 
 Sx\Ml'EL TKL.1.1.-- .: iiu-j \ i 5 1 U .^' TO EJLl. 
 
 ruM-'Iml /n rtir .>",><»<T> tnr fiymoliiiii Oiri.-tlnin Knuulnlt/r . Sr/>.uSl.i. 
 
 J Siimiiri iyi.j.iT.i5.
 
 •A 
 
 lift 
 
 I Or, 
 
 ■Ml 
 
 
 -1
 
 ivasjirst revealed to Samuel. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Samuel telleth Eli the virion. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 11 -11. 
 
 !|Or, 
 
 Til us did 
 
 SaTiiite/j he' 
 ^vre he 
 knew the 
 LORD, 
 anil htj'orc 
 the wurd of 
 the LOUD 
 xtias re* 
 vented unto 
 hull. 
 
 the temple of the Lord, where the ark of 
 God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 
 
 4 That the Lord called Samuel : and he 
 answered, Here am L 
 
 5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here 
 am I ; for thou calledst me. And he said, 
 I called not ; lie down again. And he 
 went and lay down. 
 
 6 And the Lord called yet again, Sa- 
 muel. And Samuel arose and went to Eh, 
 and said. Here am I ; for thou didst call 
 me. And he answered, I called not, my 
 son ; lie down again. 
 
 7 II Now Samuel did not yet know the 
 Lord, neither was the word of the Lord 
 yet revealed unto him. 
 
 8 And the Lord called Samuel again 
 the third time. And he arose and went to 
 Eli, and said. Here am I ; for thou didst 
 call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord 
 had called the child. 
 
 9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, 
 lie down : and it shall be, if he call thee, 
 that thou shalt say. Speak, Lord ; for thy 
 servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay 
 down in his place. 
 
 10 And the Lord came, and stood, and 
 called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. 
 Then Samuel answered. Speak ; for thy 
 servant heareth. 
 
 11^ And the Lord said to Samuel, Be- 
 
 is probable that some lamps were kept always burning, and otliers 
 extinguished in the day time. Dr. Berrimait. 
 
 4. — and he answered. Here am /.] We should note the ready 
 obedience of Samuel, for our instruction and example. In him 
 we observe a quick attention and unwearied diligence ; he hears 
 and runs at every call ; he stays not to be twice called, before lie 
 goes. We see here the greatest simplicity of mind, and a most 
 perfect liumility of will. He murmurs not ; he argues not ; he 
 complains not ; he delays not ; at every call lie rises from his bed 
 and runs. It is to such a child as this our Lord requires us to be 
 like, "for of such is the kingdom of God," Mark x. 14. Wogaii. 
 
 10. — Speak ; for Ihy servant liearcth.'\ Such was the pious an- 
 swer of the Proi)het Samuel, then only a youth, on his receiving 
 a message from the Lord. It implies his entire readiness to ol)ey 
 the commands of God, in whatever way those commands shoiikl 
 be made known to liim. To him they were conveyed in a \i- 
 sion ; a mode of ctmveying the commands of God, which hath 
 ceased since the establishment of the Gospel. But there arc va- 
 rious other ways, in which the Almighty speaks to man ; espe- 
 cially, by the works of creation, b\' their consciences, and by the 
 Scriptures. In whatever manner He addresses us, it is our duty 
 obediently to reply, " Speak, Lord ; for Thy servant heareth." 
 
 GillMH. 
 
 U. — at which both the ears — shall linglc^ AMiich shall stun 
 and amaze all that hear it. This was fulfilled when the doleful 
 news came, that the ark was taken, and both Eli and his sons 
 slain, &c. Bp. Tairick. 
 
 13. — / will judge his house for evcr'^ " For ever" signifies here, 
 as in several other places of Scripture, " for many successive ge- 
 nerations." Dr. S. Clarke. 
 
 18. And Samuel laid him every }vhil,2 Tlic behaviour of Sa- 
 muel, who at first was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said 
 iiDto liim, but, when he was called upon to do it, concealed no- 
 
 hold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which 
 both the ears of ' every one that heareth it 
 shall tingle. 
 
 l^ In that day I will perform against Eli 
 all things which I have spoken concerning 
 his house : t when I begin, I will also make 
 an end. 
 
 13 ir For I have told him that I will judge 
 his house for ever for the iniquity which he 
 knoweth ; because his sons made themselves 
 II vile, and he + restrained them not. 
 
 14 And therefore I have sworn unto the 
 house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's 
 house shall not be purged with sacrifice 
 nor offering for ever. 
 
 15 ^ And Samuel lay until the morning, 
 and opened the doors of the house of the 
 Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the 
 vision. 
 
 IG Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Sa- 
 muel, my son. And he answered. Here am I. 
 
 17 And he said. What is the thing that 
 the LORD hath said unto thee ? I pray 
 thee hide it not from me : God do so to 
 thee, and t more also, if thou hide afij/ 
 II thing from me of all the things that he 
 said unto thee. 
 
 IS And Samuel told him t every whit, 
 and hid nothing from him. And he said, 
 It is the Lord : let hiin do what seemeth 
 him good. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1 141. 
 * 2 Kings 
 21. 12. 
 
 t Ilcb. 
 f'filiuiung 
 and eliding. 
 1) Or, 
 
 And I uUl 
 tell himjKc. 
 '' Chap. 2. 
 29, f30, 31, 
 Ac. 
 II Or, 
 accursed. 
 t Heb. 
 jTrowned not 
 upon them* 
 
 t Hch. 
 $0 add, 
 « Or, 
 
 word. 
 
 t Hel). 
 
 all the 
 thinss, or, 
 words. 
 
 thing from him, is a beautiful example of modesty, .-uid at the 
 same time of courage and resohition. Let us always be thus 
 loth to speak disagreeable truths ; yet, wlien we are called to 
 it, neither shame nor fear should hinder us from doing it. Os- 
 tervald. 
 
 Il is the Lord : let hint do &c.] Eli hears with an unmoved 
 
 patience and humble submission the sentence of beggary, deatli, 
 and desolation, denounced against his family. His words express 
 an admirable faith and more than human constancy, worthy of the 
 aged president of ShUoh, worthy of a heart sacrificed to that God, 
 whose justice had refused to expiate liis sin bj- sacrifice. If Eli 
 was a bad father to his sons, yet he is a good son to G<k1, and is 
 ready to kiss the very rod with which he was to smart. It is the 
 Lord, iie says, whom I have ever fomid holy, just, and gracious, 
 and He cannot but be Himself : let Him do what seemeth Him 
 good ; for whatsoever seemetii good to Him, cannot but be good, 
 however it seems to me. Eveiy man can open his liand to (jod 
 while He blesses ; but to expose oursehes willingly to tlie afflict- 
 ing hand of our Maker, and to kneel to Him while He scourges 
 us, is pecidiar only to the fmthfid. Bp. Hall. 
 
 This answer of Eli was truly humble ; and humility never ap- 
 pears more sincere, than when it disposes us, with an unreserved 
 submission, and periect resignation, to accept whatever God is 
 pleaded to inflict upon us for our sins. In the mouth of Eli, this 
 declaration seems a.s sincere as it was humble. For altliough he 
 had grievously oiTended God, by conniving at his son's abomina- 
 ble actions, and not restraining them by his judicial or jiatcrnal 
 authority, nevertlicless, the meek submission lie expresses for tlie 
 Divine sentence pronounced against himself and his family, and 
 the testimony he afterwards gave of his much greater concern for 
 the taking of God's ark, than for the death of the two sons whom 
 he had so mucli indulged, makes it probable that, thougli a weak 
 man, he was truly humble and pious. JVogaii.
 
 The Israelites are overcome. 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 They fetch the ark. It is taken. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 came t* 
 
 B^"" 19 1[ Anil Samuel jrrcw, and the Lord 
 TbliiriMK was with him, and cliii let none of his words 
 fall to the ground. 
 
 'JO And all Israel from Dan even to 
 Beer-sheba knew that Samuel xcas II esta- 
 blished /o At- a prophet of the Lord. 
 
 21 And the Loun appeared again in 
 Shiloh : for the Loud revealed himself to 
 Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the 
 Lord. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 \ The hraeUtes are overcome htj Ihe Pliilislines at Kben- 
 ezer. 3 T/icy J'tich Ihe ark unto the terror of the 
 Phtlisliiies. 10 They are smi/len again, Ihe ark 
 taken, lloplmi and Phinehas are slain. 12 FAi at 
 Ihe iienn, J'al/ini! Lack ward, breakelh his neck. 19 
 Phinehas' wife, discouraged in her travail rritk I-cha- 
 bod, dielh. 
 
 AND the word of Samuel II t came to all 
 Israel. Now Issrael went out against 
 t"Hct.. the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside 
 ""'■ Eben-ezer : and the Philistines pitched in 
 
 Aphek. 
 
 '■> And the Philistines put themselves in 
 tH»b. array against Israel : and when t they join- 
 tkei»Mtie pd battle, Israel was smitten before the 
 tTiJb'"" ' Philistines : and they slew of t the army in 
 thtarrai,. ^j^g f^gjj about four thousand men. 
 
 3 ^ And when the people were come 
 into the camp, the elders of Israel said, 
 Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to 
 
 tj^*-'"*' day before the Philistines ? Let us t fetch 
 the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of 
 Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among 
 us, it may save us out of the hand of our 
 enemies. 
 
 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they 
 
 21. — bif the word of the iMrd.'] Not by dreams or visions, but 
 by spcakitiR tn him in an audible voice. lip. Patrick. " By the 
 word lit" the I.ord," means very probably that Jehovah made His 
 revelations by Mis Wonl the .Son, who arted all things in the Fa- 
 ther's name, and l)ore His authority, title, and cliaracter. Pylc. 
 
 This ]fas!iage nuist be understotKl of the Son, by whom alone 
 the I>or«i has been pleased to reveal Himself to any ot us. It is 
 on this accoiuit that we only find Him called "the Word," with 
 respect to the beginninir of the cre.ition, when Go<l spake all 
 thiuf^s out of nothing, or else with respect to the revelations which 
 He l\ath made of Himself to the world. Bp. Beveridge. See the 
 uote on (Jen. xv. 1 . 
 
 Ch.ip. IV. ver. 1. And the word of Samuel came'} The word or 
 the revelations of God grew frequent in Israel by means of .Sa- 
 muil. Up. Patrick. The word or will of the Lord by Samuel 
 oinie. or was ma<le known to all or any of Israel, that consulted 
 Samuel, to that purpose, on any occasion. Dr. Jl'ril.t. 
 
 : /»ru</ fri;i/ oHi'] Probably w ithout consulting Samuel. 
 
 Dr. U'rIU. This was in the middle of tliat fortv years' dominion, 
 wh\ch the Philistines had over the Israelites, mentioned Jud". xiii! 
 1 , unto which they were encouniged, perhaps, by the death of the 
 orJs of the Philistines, and by the great slaughter which Samson 
 Had made ot ihera at his death, Judg. xvi. 27, &c. Bp. Patrick 
 
 might bring from thence the ark of the (, j^'j^","^,. 
 covenant of the Lord of hosts, which about im. 
 dwelleth between the chenibims : and the 
 two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, 
 uerc there with the ark of the covenant of 
 God. 
 
 5 And when the ark of the covenant of 
 the Lord came into the camp, all Israel 
 shouted with a great shout, so that the 
 earth rang again. 
 
 6 And when the Philistines heard the 
 noise of the shout, they said. What meaneth 
 the noise of this great shout in the camp 
 of the Hebrews ? And they understood 
 that tlie ark of the Lord was come into 
 the camp. 
 
 7 And the Philistines were afraid, for 
 they said, God is come into the camp. 
 And they said, Woe unto us ! for there 
 hath not been such a thing t heretofore. t Heb. 
 
 8 Woe unto us ! who shall deliver us 'CtTfaL 
 out of the hand of these mighty Gods ? <t<^<j- 
 these are the Gods that smote the Egypt- 
 ians with all the plagues in the wilder- 
 ness. 
 
 9 Be strong, and qin't yourselves like 
 men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not ser- 
 vants unto the Hebrews, ' as they have > judg. isl 
 been to you : t quit yourselves like men, \^^ 
 
 and fight. he mm. 
 
 10 4 And the Philistines fought, and Is- 
 rael was smitten, and they fled every man 
 into his tent : and there w^as a very great 
 slaughter ; for there fell of Israel thirty 
 thousand footmen. 
 
 11 And the ark of God was taken ; and 
 the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, 
 
 + were slain. jm. 
 
 ,3, — Let us fetch the ark~\ Their defeat threw them into a great 
 consternation, but had no better effect than to direct them to a 
 project still more foolish and unwarrantable. They trusted little 
 to real religion, and had scarcely any of it left .-miong them : so 
 they vainly relied on the external symbols of the Divine presence, 
 and resolved to carry the ark into the field to give them deliver- 
 ance, little dreaming that they were doomed to destruction by 
 Him, for whose s;ike alone the ark was to be had in veneration. 
 Pylc. They seem to have brought out the ark in imitation of 
 Joshua, who marched with the ark against Jericho : but he had 
 Divine authority for doing it, and they had none ; and their act- 
 ing without any warrant from God, provoked His anger instead 
 of procuring His favour. Bp. Patrick. Who gave them authority 
 to command the ark of God at their pleasure ? Here was no con- 
 sulting of the ark which they were about to fetch, no inquiry of 
 Samuel whether they should fetch it, but a headstrong resolution 
 of presumptuous elders to force God into the field, and to chal- 
 lenge success. B]). Hall. 
 
 8. — these mighty Gods ? &c.] The Hebrew words, which we 
 translate mighty dod.^, are translated bj' Theodoret the .ttrong God, 
 which agrees with what goes before, God is come into the camp. 
 So the following words would be trans^ated, " this is the God," 
 instead of" these are the Gods." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11. — the two sons of Eli, — slain.} The defeat of the Israel-
 
 Eli's death. 
 
 CHAP, n^ V. 
 
 Ph'mehas* uife dieth. 
 
 I the thing. 
 
 chrTst ^~ T ^^^ there ran a man of Benjamin 
 about! HI. out of the army, and came to Shiloh the 
 
 same day with his clothes rent, and with 
 
 earth upon his head. 
 
 13 And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon 
 a seat by the wayside watching: for his 
 heart trembled for the ark of God. And 
 when the man came into the city, and told 
 it, all the city cried out. 
 
 14 And when Eli heard the noise of the 
 crying, he said. What meaneth the noise of 
 this tumult? And the man came in hastily, 
 and told Eli. 
 
 15 Xow Eli was ninety and eight years 
 » Chap. 3. 2. old; and '' his eyes t were dim, that he 
 
 t Heb. 1 J I 
 
 itMd. could not see. 
 
 16 And the man said unto Eli, I am he 
 that came out of the armv, and I fled to 
 day out of the army. And he said. What 
 
 t Heb. t is there done, my son ? 
 
 17 And the messenger answered and 
 said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, 
 and there hath been also a great slaughter 
 among the people, and thy two sons also, 
 Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the 
 ark of God is taken. 
 
 18 And it came to pass, when he made 
 mention of the ark of God, that he fell 
 from otf the seat backward by the side 
 of the gate, and his neck brake, and he 
 
 ites, the death of Eli's sons, and of Eli himself, were proofs of 
 God's wrath against the peopW of Israel and the family of Eli, 
 and the completion of those threateninjrs which had been de- 
 nounced bj' God against that priest. The threatenings of the 
 Lord never fail to be executed ; and sooner or later His judgments 
 fall on a guilty people, upon families where vice prevails, and es- 
 pecially u])on the ministers of reliirion w ho neglect their duty and 
 disgrace their character by iiTegular lives. Oitervald. 
 
 is. — rvbeii lit wade nienlion of the ark of God, &c.] Eli, though 
 too indulgent a father, was highly coramenilable in tliis, that lie 
 was not so much affectetl with the slaughter of his sons and of his 
 people, as with the los.^ of the ark of God; he kept up his cou- 
 rage and did net fall, till he heard that mentioned. Bp. Patrick. 
 The good old man hears the other intelligence, tlioiigh with sor- 
 row, yet with patience: but, when the messenger tells him of the 
 ark of God taken, he can live no longer; that word strikes him 
 backward from his throne, and kills him in the fall: no sword of 
 a Philistine could have slain him more painfully. Up. Had. The 
 sacred historian has offered some extenuation of Eli"s offence by 
 staling that he was very old when he heard of his sons' doings; 
 he was then eighty-eight years old. He appears to have been a 
 religious man himself, but of too easy a disposition for a judge, 
 or watcher over Isi-ael, appointed to warn and punish tlie wicked, 
 under the awful responsibility of having their blood required at 
 his hand, even though they die in their own sins, Ezek. iii. 1 7, 20. 
 Dr. Hale.i. 
 
 The history of Eli is so fully set forth in Scripture, in order to 
 teach us, that, if we govern those committed to our charge with 
 such partial affections as are subversive of the Divine law, we 
 teach rebellion against our Supreme Father, and bring ruin on 
 those whom we foolishly indulge. This history shews us, that 
 such indulgence is real hatred under the false appearance of love: 
 Eli and his children might have gone to tlie grave in peace, and in 
 the favour of God, if he had brought them up under proper nur- 
 
 died: for he was an old man, and heavy. ^"^""^ 
 
 m f^ II IV I C '^ 
 
 And he had judged Israel forty years. ai»uiiMi. 
 
 19 IF And his daughter in law,' Phinehas' 
 wife, was witli child, near II to be deh'vered: '' "'^' 
 and when slie heard the tidings that the ark """ '""' 
 of God was taken, and that her father in 
 
 law and her hu.sband were dead, she bowed 
 herself and travailed; for her pains t came fHeb. 
 upon her. "j^' '""" 
 
 20 And about the time of her death the 
 women that stood by her said unto her. 
 Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But 
 
 she answered not, t neither did she regard t Heb. 
 
 jf set not her 
 
 21 And she named the child II I-chabod, p That is, 
 saying, The glory is departed from Israel : l"jZi'"? 
 because the ark of God was taken, and be- or, Tiierei* 
 cause of her father in law and her husband. ""«'"">• 
 
 22 And she said. The glory is departed 
 from Israel : for the ark of God is taken. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 1 The Philistines having hroitght the ark into Ashdod, 
 set it in the hou\e of Dagon. 3 Dagon is smitten 
 down and cut in pieces, and thei/ of Aslidod smitten 
 with aiicrods. 8 So Cod dealeth with litem of Gath, 
 when it was brought thither: 10 and so with them of 
 Ekron, when it teas brought thither. 
 
 AND the Philistines took the ark of 
 God, and brought it from Eben-ezer 
 unto Ashdod. 
 
 ture and discipline. By neglecting this, he was sadly ansvrcr- 
 able for their conduct and their sufferings, and himself was pu- 
 nished by the revelation of that tragical sentence whicli he lived 
 to see executed upon them. Heading. 
 
 21. — .'.aying. The ghrt/ is departed Jrom Israel : &C.^ She is 
 insensible of the death of her father, her husband and herself, in 
 comparison with the loss of the ark of God; calls her (then un- 
 seasonable) son I-chabod, or, " There is no glory;" and says with 
 her last breath, " The glory is departed from Israel." She cares 
 nothing for a posterity, which was to want the ark of God: she 
 cares nothing for a son, come into the world of Israel, when God 
 was gone from it; and she departs willingly from them, from 
 whom God was departed. Not outward magnificence, nor wealth, 
 nor the favour of the mighty, but the presence of God in His 
 ordinances, were the glorj' of Israel; the withdrawing of which 
 was a greater judgment than destruction. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. V. ver. 1 . And the Philistines took the ark &c.] The rea- 
 sons why Gotl permitted the ark of His presence to be taken by 
 the Philistines appear to have been these; that the Israelites had 
 presumed to send for it, without ever consulting God, as tliey used 
 to do on all momentous affairs; that the iniquities of the people 
 had become so enormous, as to deserve no longer the Divine pre- 
 sence among them ; and that the flagitiousness of the priests (who 
 were killed in defending the ark) had for a long time called for 
 some judgment upon them; so that it was more inconsistent with 
 the honour of the Deity to continue His assistance to the wickeil 
 and presumptuous, than to admit of the profimation of even the 
 most sacred things. We may further suppose, from what after- 
 wards follows, that God's design in permitting the capture of His 
 ark, was to demonstrate His power among the heathen, and to let 
 the Philistines know tliat His dominion reached every where, that 
 He wiis equally Lord, both of the conquerors and of the con- 
 quered ; and that the pretended deities, whom they adored, were.
 
 DagonfaUcth before the ark. 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 IVie ark is sent to Ekroii. 
 
 Vtfon 
 CHUIST 
 (buui IHI. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 thtjijiy 
 fart. 
 
 ' P-jU 
 
 6C. 
 
 (2 When the Philistines took the ark of 
 God, tlicy brouglit it into the house of 
 Dagon, aiul set it by Dagoii. 
 
 3 II And when they of Aslidod arose 
 early on the morrow, behold, Dagon uns 
 fallen upon his face to the earth before the 
 ark of the Louu. And they took Dagon, 
 and set him in his place again. 
 
 4. And when they arose eaily on the 
 morrow morning, behold, Dagon -was fallen 
 upon his face to tlie ground before the ark 
 of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and 
 both the j)alms of his hands xvcre cut oft' 
 upon the threshold; only || the stump of 
 Dagon was left to him. 
 
 5 Tiicrefbrc neitiier the priests of Da- 
 gon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, 
 tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod 
 unto this day. 
 
 G But the hand of the Loud was heavy 
 upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed 
 them, and smote them with " emerods, even 
 Ashdod and the coasts thereof. 
 
 7 And when tlie men of Ashdod saw that 
 it was so, they said, The ark of the God of 
 Israel shall not abide with us : for his hand 
 is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god. 
 
 8 Tiiey sent therefore and gathered all 
 the lords of the Philistines unto them, and 
 said. What shall we do with the ark of the 
 
 in comparison with Hiin, powerless, and tilings of nought. Stack- 
 houtc. 
 
 On this occasion God, by permitting the Israelites to be de- 
 feated and His ark taken, ])iini.shed their presumption in relying 
 on His protection witiiout repenting of tlieir crimes: while on the 
 idol of the PhiHstines and his worshippers He inflicted such signal 
 chastisement, without any intervention of human agency, as seems 
 admirably adapted, ni.t only to piniisli, but to reform their idol- 
 atry. Yet nil was in vain. At that period the human mind appears 
 to have been incapable of being thus reformed. The deluded 
 Philistines acknowledgeil the resistless power of Jehovah, but 
 they were merely stimulated by it to remove the immediate pres- 
 sure of tliat power from their idols and themselves. Tliey never 
 once ti It tlie rciisonablcness of forsaking such base absurdities and 
 adhering steadily to the worship of tlie God of Israel. Dr. Graves. 
 
 ./i/iiW.] A place lying on the shore between Gaza and 
 
 Joppa, the same which is called Azotus iii the New Testament, 
 Acts viii. 40. Dr. Wells. 
 
 •■'■ — Dngon nasfalLti &c.^ In a posture of the most humble 
 adoration, hereby acknowledging die God of Israel to be above 
 all gmls. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 5. — Ircad on the ihrcshdtl &c.] So foolishly did they pervert 
 the meaning of God, that, instead of concluding Dagon to be no 
 god, they honoured tho vcrj- threshold of his temple, as if it had 
 some divinity in it. Up. Palrick. Hence the phrase of " those 
 that leap on the tlireshold" was afterwards used to signify the 
 Philistines, as in Zephan. i. g. Py/,.-. 
 
 unto this dmj.2 The day when Samuel wrote tiiis book: 
 
 when the evenU liapi)ened he was a youth, but the book was 
 wntten when he was advanced in years. Bp. Patrick. 
 I **' T "^'l'' "'"^'■<^^' ^'^•3 -'^ sudden and violent disease in their 
 boweU. which occasioneil great pain and torture. Pi/le. 
 
 ^:/*^'fTr '''x£'\-°'!-^ V'^'y ''■'" ^'>'" '"■'' '" I'-'^''""' 3S being the last 
 CJtJ ol tUc 1 hilisUacs,lying in the north border of Judah. Dr WcUs 
 
 (Jod of Israel? And they answered. Let (.j^',^";^,. 
 tlie ark of the God of Israel be carried about im. 
 about imto Gath. And they carried the 
 ark of the God of Israel about thither. 
 
 \) And it was so, that, after they had 
 carried it about, the hand of the Lord was 
 against the city with a very great destruc- 
 tion: and he smote the men of the city, 
 both small and great, and they had emerods 
 in their secret parts. 
 
 10 If Therefore they sent the ark of God 
 to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark 
 of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites 
 cried out, saying. They have brought about 
 the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay 
 us and our people. 
 
 1 1 So they sent and gathered together 
 all the lords of the Philistines, and said. 
 Send away the ark of the God of Israel, 
 and let it go again to his own place, that 
 it slay us not, and our people: for there 
 was a deadly destruction throughout all 
 the city; the hand of God was very heavy 
 there. 
 
 12 And the men that died not were 
 smitten with the emerods: and the cry of 
 the city went up to heaven. 
 
 CHAP. VL 
 
 1 After seven monlks the Pliilisliries lake counsel how to 
 
 11. — the hand of God was vert) heavy therc.~\ How miserable 
 was the estate of these Philistines ! Every man was eitiier sick or 
 dead; those that were still living, through their extremity of 
 pain, envied the dead, and the cry of their whole cities went up to 
 heaven. It is happy that God hath such store of plagues and 
 thunderbolts for the wicked: if He had not a fire of judgment, 
 wherewith tlie iron hearts of men might be made fle.vible, He 
 would want obedience, and the world would want peace. Bp. 
 Hall. The Philistines, on taking the ark of the God of Israel, 
 j)laced it in the temple of tlieir god Dagon, under the idea that 
 the worship of the two might be carried on in common; but they 
 were soon taught, by fearful experience, that the true God en- 
 dured no alliance with the gods of the Gentiles. From this time 
 we hear no more of any attempts of the Gentiles to join the 
 Jewish worship with their own. But they considered tlie God of 
 Israel as a tutelary God, altogetiier unsocialile, and therefore in 
 this respect different from all the otlier tutelary gods, each of 
 which was supposed to live willingly in commtuiity with all the 
 rest. Bp. JVar/mrton. All this happened to prevent the Phi- 
 listines from insulting the God of Israel, because they had takon 
 His ark and defeated His people; and to convince them, tliat the 
 gods they worshipped were weak and dead idols, and tlie God of 
 Israel the only true and almigiity God. Thus does God secure 
 His own glory; and, if He sometimes suffers His enemies to get 
 the better, and things to fall out, which seem to interfere with 
 His glory. He at last exerts His power to the confusion of those 
 that offend Him, and to the honour of His holy name. Os- 
 tcrvald. 
 
 12. — the en/ of the citi/ went up to tieaven^ In this chapter .ire 
 displayed all the attributes of God: His justice in punishing His 
 own people; His goodness in -thus manifesting Himself to those 
 who knew Him not; His power in making the idols fall before 
 Him; His truth in vindicating Himself upon the Israelites for 
 their sins, and upon tlie Philistines for their idolatry. Bp. Wilson.
 
 The Philist'mes take counsel 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 fioxv to send back the ark. 
 
 on a new cart 
 
 Before send hack the ark. 10 They bring it en a new care 
 
 CHKIST fj.ji/^ „„ offering unto Beth-shemcsh. 19 The people 
 ,,l>out 1 140. „^^ <!mitten for^lookiiis into the ark. 2 1 They send to 
 
 null an ojrering unto netn-snemcsn. i;; i ne people 
 are smitten for looking into the ark. 2 1 They send to 
 them nf Kirjath-jearim to fetch it. 
 
 Hcb. 
 
 AND the ark of the Lord was in the 
 country of the Philistines seven 
 months. 
 
 2 And the Philistines called for the 
 priests and the diviners, saying, What 
 shall we do to the ark of the Lord ? tell 
 us wherewith we shall send it to his place. 
 
 3 And they said, If ye send away the 
 ark of the God of Israel, send it not 
 empty ; but in any wise return him a tres- 
 pass offering : then ye shall be healed, and 
 it shall be known to you why his hand is 
 not removed from you. 
 
 4 Then said they, WTiat shall he the 
 trespass offering which we shall return to 
 him? They answered. Five golden emerods, 
 and five golden mice, according to the num- 
 ber of the lords of the Philistines : for one 
 plague xvas on t you all, and on your lords. 
 
 5 Wherefore ye shall make images of 
 your emerods, and images of. your mice 
 that mar the land ; and ye shall give glory 
 unto the God of Israel : peradventure he 
 will lighten his hand from off" you, and 
 from off" your gods, and from off" your land. 
 
 6 Wherefore then do ye harden your 
 hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hard- 
 ened their hearts ? when he had wrought 
 11 wonderfully among them, ' did they not 
 let t the people go, and they departed ? 
 
 7 Now tlierefore make a new cart, and 
 fHei.. take two milch kine, on which there hath 
 them. come no voke, and tie the kine to the 
 
 Chap. VI. ver. 1. — in the country of the Phili.itines] The He- 
 brew word, wliich we translate country , signifies aho field: whence 
 some think, that the Philistines, being so plagued on account of 
 the ai'k in their cities, sent it into the open Jields; but were still 
 disappointed of their hope, for mice sprang up from the groimd 
 
 I and wasted their com and fi-uits, (see ver. 5,) and accordingly they 
 determined to send the ark quite away. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. — priests and the diviners^ The priests who were best skilled 
 in their sacred ceremonies ; and the diviners, who pretended to 
 know the will of God, and foretell future events. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 o. — a trespass offering .•] Designed as an aeknowledgment 
 that they had offended the God of Israel by bringing His ark 
 from its proper place, for which offence they begged forgiveness 
 by this offering. This was in conformity with the notions of tlie 
 heathens, who all thought their gods were to be appeased by 
 honorary gifts. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — Five golden emerods, and Jive golden mice,'} This was also 
 a custom among the ancient heathens, to consecrate to their gods 
 such monuments of their deliverances, as represented the evils 
 from which they were freed. Tavernier relates, that tills is still 
 practised among the Indians : In says, that when anj' pilgrim 
 
 I goes to a pagod for the ciu-e of disease, he brings the figure of 
 the limb or part of the body which is affected, made either of 
 
 I gold, sih-er, or copper, according to his qualitj', which he offers 
 
 ' to his god, and then begins to sing, as all otliers do, after tliey 
 Vol. 
 
 Or, 
 ■ ExoA 12. 
 
 cart, and bring their calves home from chuTst 
 them: aiwutuw. 
 
 8 And take the ark of the Lord, and 
 lay it upon the cart ; and put the jewels of 
 gold, which ye return him^r a trespass 
 offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; 
 and send it away, that it may go. 
 
 9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of 
 
 his own coast to Beth-shemesh, tJwji II he g Or. it. 
 hath done us this great evil : but if not, 
 then we shall know that it is not his hand 
 that smote us ; it -was a chance that hap- 
 pened to us. 
 
 10 % And the men did so: and took 
 two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, 
 and shut up their calves at home : 
 
 11 And they laid the ark of the Lord 
 upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice 
 of gold and the images of their emerods. 
 
 12 And the kine took the straight way 
 to the way of Beth-shemesh, a7id went 
 along the highway, lowing as they went, 
 and turned not aside to the right hand or 
 to the left ; and the lords of the Philistines 
 went after them unto the border of Beth- 
 shemesh. 
 
 13 And thei/ o/" Beth-shemesh "aere reap- 
 ing their wheat harvest in the valley : and 
 they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, 
 and rejoiced to see it. 
 
 14 And the cart came into the field of 
 Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, 
 where there teas a great stone : and they 
 clave the wood of the cart, and offered the 
 kine a burnt offering unto the Lord. 
 
 15 And the Levites took down the ark 
 of the Lord, and the coffer that xvas with 
 
 have offered. Mr. Selden also has observetl, that mice were use<l 
 among the ancient heathen for lustration and cleansing. Bp. 
 Patrick. A similar practice of hanging up figures of the limbs 
 or pai-ts afflicted with disease, still prevails in churclies of tlie 
 Romish communion. 
 
 What was the shape of these emerods which were offeretl, ha* 
 been the subject of considerable doubt. The prevailing opinion 
 has been, that they were made in the shape of the part of the hu- 
 man body which was diseased. Pole's Syn. Crit. 
 
 7. — two mikh kine, on which there hath come no yoke,'] The 
 priests and diviners seem to have directed the Philistines to take 
 milch kine, which had never before been yoke(', to draw the cart, 
 for the purpose of ascertaining whether the hand of God was con- 
 cerned in what had befallen them. It would be impossible that 
 these animals should draw jointly together, should not either im- 
 mediately return home, or, when there were so many different 
 ways, should go directly towards Judea, without .-uiy manner of 
 deviation, unless there was a speci;d Providence concerned in di- 
 recting them. Slack/iouse. 
 
 9. — i;y t/ie way of his own coast] By the coast of the land of 
 Israel, to Beth-shemcsh, a city of Judiili. Dr. Ji'ells. 
 
 10. — and shut up their calves at home:'] Natural instinct 
 would have undoubtedly made the milch knie return home to 
 their calves, if tJic haiid of God had not led thmi in a contrary 
 direction. 
 
 3\3
 
 The fccyfU smiltenfor looking into the ark. I. SAMUEL. It is brought into the house ofAbinadab 
 
 B.fore it, wlierein the jewels of gold ivere, and 
 
 ^r/m put them on the groat stone : and tlie men 
 
 of Beth-shemesh offered bnrnt offerings 
 
 and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto 
 
 the LoKU. 
 
 IG And when the five lords of the Phi- 
 listines had seen it, they retuined to Ekron 
 the same dav. 
 
 17 And these are the golden emerods 
 whicli the Philistines returned for a tres- 
 pass offering unto the Loud ; for Ashdod 
 one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for 
 Gath one, for Ekron one ; 
 
 18 And the golden mice, according to 
 the niunber of all the cities of the Phi- 
 listines belonging to the five lords, both of 
 fenced cities, and of country villages, even 
 
 t Of, unto the II great stone of Abel, whereon 
 peat ,tont. jj^gy 5gj_ dowu tlic ark of the Lord : "xhich 
 
 stone ranaineth unto tliis day in the field of 
 
 Joshua, the Beth-shemite. 
 
 19 ^ And he smote the men of Beth- 
 shemesh, because they had looked into the 
 ark of the Lord, even he smote of the 
 people fifty thousand and threescore and 
 ten men : and the people lamented, be- 
 cause the Lord had smitten many of the 
 people with a great slaughter. 
 
 20 And the men of Beth-shemesh said. 
 Who is able to stand before this holy Lord 
 
 19- — because Ihet) had looked into the ark] God had stricdy 
 forbidden this, not only to the common people, but also to the 
 sons of Levi, Numb. iv. 20. In this instance, their curiosity 
 made them forget their duty ; being desirous perhaps to discover 
 whether the Philistines had taken out the tables of the covenant, 
 or wishing to have a view of such an ancient sacretl monument, 
 written by God's own hand. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It was a particular prohibition. Numb. iv. 20, that not only 
 the common people, but even the Levites themselves, should not 
 dare to look into the ark, or any other of the holy utensils be- 
 longing to tlie service of God, upon pain of death ; and the seve- 
 rity of this law will not seem unreasonable,'when it is considered, 
 how much, in every nation, it has been accounted the greatest 
 profaneiiess to obtrude into the mysteries of religion : and if the 
 Philihtines, for their irreverence to the ark, were treated with less 
 rigour than the Beth-shemites, it should be remembered, that the 
 former were not instructed in the laws of God, nor placed under 
 an obligation to observe them. Slackhouse. The ark dealt blows 
 and death on every side; to Philistines, to Israelites; to both of 
 them for profaning it, the one with their idol, the other with 
 their eyes. It is a feirfid thing to use the holy ordinances of 
 God with an irreverent boldness ; fear and trembling become us 
 in our access to the majesty of die Almighty. Bp. Hall The 
 punishment which befell the men of Beth-shemesh for looking 
 into the ark, tendetl to produce in the Israelites reverence and 
 fear ; and to make them sensible, that, if the Lord returned to 
 dwell among them, they should take care not to provoke Him to 
 wiaUi, lest His presence might become as fatal to them, as it was 
 to the Philistines. It is a great advantage to have God present 
 •mong us, m the signs of His covenant, and pledges of His grace 
 ma tavour : but this engages us to reverence that holy and right- 
 «>us Oml, lest by offending Him we expose ourselves to His 
 Ttngeance. Oitcmald. 
 
 Md thousand and threescore and ten men .] This txans- 
 
 God? and to whom shall he go up from ^hiust 
 
 lis? about lUft 
 
 21 ^ And they sent messengers to the 
 inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The 
 Philistines have brought again the ark of 
 the Lord ; come ye down, and fetch it up 
 to you. 
 
 CHAP. VIL 
 
 1 Thci/ of Kirjath-jearim bring the ark into the fiouse 
 ofAbinadab, and sanctifif Eleazar his sun to keep it. 
 2 After tn-enti/ years 3 the Israelites, bi/ Samuel's 
 means, solemnly repent at Mizpeh. 7 H hile Samuel 
 prw/elh and sacrijiceth, the Lord discomfitclh the Phi- 
 listines by thunder at Eben-ezcr. 1 3 The Philistines 
 are .vibdiied. 15 Samuel peaceably and religiously 
 judgeth Israel. 
 
 AND the men of Kirjath-jearim came, 
 and fetched up the ark of the Lord, 
 and brought it into the house of Abinadab 
 in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to 
 keep the ark of the Lord. 
 
 2 And it came to pass, while the ark 
 abode in Kirjath-jearim, that tiie time was 
 
 long; for it was twenty years: and all the about iiaa 
 house of Israel lamented after the Lord. 
 
 3 % And Samuel spake unto all the house 
 
 of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the ^ j^sh. 24. 
 Lord with all your hearts, then ^put away '5.23. 
 the strange gods and ^ Ashtaroth from n." ^'^' 
 among you, and prepare your hearts unto 'Dent 6.4. 
 the Lord, and ' serve him only: and he Luke 4! s.' 
 
 lation seems evidently wrong, and is caused by a transposition 
 of the words. As Beth-shemesh was but a small village, it is 
 improbable that it should contain as many inhabitants as are 
 here mentioned to be slain. The interpi-etation of Bochart is far 
 more reasonable, He smote threescore ami ten men, ^fifly out of a 
 thousand : meaning, that God was so indidgent as not to slay all 
 that were guilt)', but only seventy of them ; observing this pro- 
 portion, that, out of a thousand offenders. He smote only fifty 
 persons ; that is, the twentieth part. Bp. Patrick. Or it may 
 be rendered. He smote threescore and ten men out of Jifty thou- 
 sand ; that is, not of the Beth-shemites only, but of other Is- 
 raelites, who out of the neighbouring tribes were assembled to- 
 gether from curiosity to the number of .")0,000, to see the ark. 
 Dr. Walerland, Le Clerc. Josephus, relating this event, men- 
 tions that seventy men, and no more, were slain. Dr. Wall. 
 The reading of the Syriack and Arabick versions is 5070 men. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 Chap. VII. ver. 2. — mhile the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, &c.] 
 This is not to be understood of the whole time that the ark re- 
 mained there; for it continued in this place till the time of David, 
 2 Sam. vi. 3, about forty-six years. Thus the expression, " it was 
 twenty years," refers to the time when " the house of Israel la- 
 mented after the Lord," that is, were awakened to some sense of 
 their duty, and began to seek the favour of God, and to lament 
 their apostasy from Him. Bp. Patrick. Kirjath-jearim is express- 
 ly reckoned among the cities of Judah at Josh. xv. 60 ; lying in 
 the north border of that tribe : the name means " the city of 
 Jearim," being taken from mount Jearim, upon or near which it 
 lay. Dr. Wells. 
 
 the house of Israel lamented after the Lord."] The house 
 
 of Israel, being humbled by their servitude under the Philis- 
 tines, matle great lamentation to God for remission and favour. 
 Bp. Hall.
 
 The Israelites repent at Mtzpeh. 
 
 CHAP. VII, VIII. 
 
 The Philistines are subdued. 
 
 chrTst y!^^ deliver you out of the hand of the 
 
 I Judg. 2. 
 
 11 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 Be twt si- 
 lent/rum 
 usjrtm 
 crying. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 »nsKered. 
 
 about 1 120. Philistines. 
 
 4 Then the children of Israel did put 
 away " Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served 
 the Lord only. 
 
 5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to 
 Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the 
 Lord. 
 
 6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, 
 and drew water, and poured it out before 
 the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said 
 there. We have sinned against the Lord. 
 And Samuel judged the children of Israel 
 in Mizpeh. 
 
 7 And when the Philistines heard that 
 the children of Israel were gathered to- 
 gether to Mizpeh, the lords of the Phi- 
 listines went up against Israel. And when 
 the children of Israel heard «7, they were 
 afraid of the Philistines. 
 
 8 And the children of Israel said to 
 Samuel, t Cease not to cry unto the Lord 
 our God for us, that he will save us out of 
 the hand of the Philistines. 
 
 9 IF And Samuel took a sucking lamb, 
 and offered it for a burnt offering wholly 
 unto the Lord : and Samuel cried unto 
 the Lord for Israel j and the Lord || heard 
 him. 
 
 10 And as Samuel was offering up the 
 burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to 
 battle against Israel : but the Lord thun- 
 dered with a great thunder on that day 
 upon the Philistines, and discomfited them ; 
 and they were smitten before Israel. 
 
 11 And the men of Israel went out of 
 Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and 
 smote them, until they came under Beth-car, 
 
 12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it 
 
 5. — to Mizpeh,'] There were two or three places of this name, 
 Josh. XV. 38 ; xviii. 26. This is supposed to have been in the 
 confines of Benjamin and Judah. Dr. Wells. 
 
 6. — drav water, and poured it out'] As this sentence refers to 
 a day of humihation and prayer, intei-preters commonly expound 
 the pouring out of water in connexion with the same. But con- 
 jectures about the meaning are various. Some think that they 
 washed their bodies in water, signifying the purification of their 
 bodies from the filtliiness of sin ; others, that this water was 
 poured on the ground, in token of the expiation of their sin, 
 which they hoped might be remembered no more, as water poured 
 on the ground could no more be seen. However, it seems more 
 probable that they poured out water in token of joy, at\er they 
 had fasted and confessed their sins, as they were wont to do in 
 the feast of tabernacles : to this custom Isaiah refers. Is. xii. 3, 
 " With joy shall ye di'aw water out of the wells of salvation." 
 There is the greater reason in this interpretation, because Samuel 
 had just conveyed to them a promise of deliverance from the Phi- 
 listines, on condition of their repentance ; which made them re- 
 joice in hope of it, because tliey did now sincerely turn to God. 
 Bp. PutricL; Dr. Wells. 
 
 9- — and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel;'} It is here 
 
 between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the ^'■°'« 
 name of it || Eben-ezer, saying. Hitherto a^b^uuila 
 hath the Lord helped us. h That is, 
 
 13 f So the Philistines were subdued, JJ!'J'^ 
 and they came no more into the coast of "''' 
 Israel : and the hand of the Lord was 
 against the Philistines all the days of Sa- 
 muel. 
 
 14 And the cities which the Philistines 
 had taken from Israel were restored to 
 Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath ; and 
 the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of 
 the hands of the Philistines. And there was 
 peace between Israel and the Amorites. 
 
 15 And Samuel judged Israel all the 
 days of his life. 
 
 16 And he went from year to year tin tHeb. 
 circuit to Beth-el, andGilgal, and Mizpeh, cuil"'" 
 and judged Israel in all those places. 
 
 17 And his return icas to Ramah ; for 
 there was his house ; and there he judged 
 Israel ; and there he built an altar unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 CHAP. vm. 
 
 1 By occasion of the ill government of Samuel's sons, the 
 Israelites ask a king. 6 Samuel praying in grief, is 
 comforted by God: 10 He telleth the manner of a 
 king. 19 God milleth Samuel to yield unto the im- 
 portunity of the people. 
 
 AND it came to pass, when Samuel was about iii'.v 
 old, that he made his sons judges 
 over Israel. 
 
 2 Now the name of his firstborn was 
 Joel ; and the name of his second, Abiah : 
 they were judges in Beer-sheba. 
 
 3 And his sons walked not in his ways, 
 
 but turned aside after lucre, and * took ' Deut. is. 
 bribes, and perverted judgment. *®* 
 
 related, that the people, terrified at the approach of the Philistines, 
 had recourse to the intercession of Samuel ; and he, by his inter- 
 cession and prayers, obtained a miraculous victory. The greatest 
 blessing that any people can enjoy, is to have wise rulers, and 
 such as fear God : the prayers of good men, and of the faithl'ul 
 servants of God, are of great efficacy ; and, for iheir sakes, God 
 often spares and blesses a nation. Oxicrvald. 
 
 15. — all the days of his lifi'.] As Samuel was the author of 
 this book, he could not speak literally of " all the days of his 
 life :" the sense probably is, that he was so diligent in the dis- 
 charge of his office, that he ga\e himself no re,-.t, but sat to 
 judge causes every daj'. Bp. Patrick. All that the text says 
 comes to this; that Samuel dischai'ged his office with the great- 
 est exactness, and that he employed himself in it every day of 
 his life. IxKke. ~~' 
 
 17. — there he built an altar] No doubt, by God's direction 
 or permission for the present ; as He had made no declaration 
 where He wishetl the ark to be fixed, after it was taken from Shi- 
 loh ; and as it was fit that there should be an altar where Samuel 
 himself resided, for the purjjose of invoking God's direction and 
 blessing, when the people came to consult the Divine majesty 
 through hiiu. Dr. Wells. ' 
 
 3U2
 
 The Israelites ask a king. 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 Samitd telkth the vianner of a king. 
 
 Mo.e .1 Then all tlic elders of Israel pjathered 
 ^u^I tiK-msolves together, and came to Samuel 
 unto Kamal), 
 
 5 Aud said unto him, Behold, thou art 
 old, and thy sons walk, not in tiiy ways : 
 now ^ make us a king to judge us like all 
 
 the nations. 
 
 GIF But the thing t displeased Samuel, 
 
 > Ho*. IS. 
 
 10. 
 
 Actt 13.31. 
 
 flltb 
 
 M* J.'o} when they s;iid, Gi\e us a king to judge us 
 
 %eiu evil in 
 the eyes 
 SamueL 
 
 I Or, rtAry. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 miluill,- 
 standitijZf 
 v'lm liitnt 
 hailsnlcmn- 
 ly pruitucd 
 ngaintt 
 Ihem-, llien 
 Ihtiu thait 
 ihev, Jj[c. 
 
 And Sanuiel prayed unto the Lord. 
 
 7 And the Loud said unto Samuel, 
 Hearken unto the voice of the people in 
 all tiiat they f;ay unto thee : for they have 
 not rejected tliec, but they have rejected 
 me, that I should not reign over them. 
 
 S According to all the works which they 
 have done since the day that I brought 
 them up out of Egypt even unto this day, 
 wherewith they have forsaken me, and 
 served other gods, so do they also unto 
 thee. 
 
 9 Now therefore || hearken unto their 
 voice : II howbcit yet protest solemnly unto 
 them, and shew them the manner of the 
 king that shall reign over them. 
 
 10 ^ And Samuel told all the words of 
 the Lord unto the people that asked of 
 him a king. 
 
 1 1 And he said. This will be the manner 
 of the king that shall reign over you : He 
 
 Chap V'lII. vcr. 5. — make us a ling lo Judge its'] The incon- 
 venience, which the Isrsiclitcs allege, arising from tlie age of Sa- 
 muel, and the misconduct of his son.s, was so plainly temporary 
 and ea-sily removable, that it could have been but a mere pre- 
 tence. The real motive undoubtedly was, that they should be 
 irovcmed " like all the (other) nations :" a motive originating in 
 their not sufficiently attending to the Divine interpositions of the 
 jvulges, but yielding to their ardent .md culpable fondness for the 
 ra.inncrs and customs of the surrounding idolatrous states; a 
 fonchiess they were restrained from indulging, by the control of 
 tliat theocracy c?tablishe<l by the Mosaicli Law ; w hich control 
 they in all probability secretly hoped would be less strict, if they 
 changed the form of their civil government. This criminal dis- 
 position God exposes and reprobates, \-cr. 7. Dr. Graves. It is 
 generally thought, that the circumstance which made the Israel- 
 ite* so urgent .it this time for a king, was a present strait, into 
 which they had fallen, for want of an able leader, when Kahash 
 king of the .Vmorites came up against Jabesh-gilead. But their 
 duty -was to inquire of the Lord, as at other times, who it was 
 that He would be pleased to constitute their general in this e\\- 
 ^cncy, to lead out their forces against their enemies. Stack- 
 
 llQIliC. 
 
 7. — Hearken unto the voice Sec.'] God grants their desire of 
 having a king, not as approving tlieir request, but, on the con- 
 trary, that it might turn to their punishment, as is affirmed, 
 Ho«. xiii. 1 1. /)r. PVelh. C^od was unwilling to exercise such a 
 resislle.« control, as totally to disregard the choice of His people, 
 and chain down their freewill: this would have been inconsistent 
 witl, His character as a moral Governour. He indeed commanded 
 His I rophct solemnly to protest to them, <leclaring His con- 
 demn.ition of their criminal desires, and w.vning them of the va- 
 rious mconvcniencics which would attend the kingly government 
 \et, on theu- pcr*i.ting in their demand, ver. 19, he is comi 
 
 will take your sons, and appoint them for chr'Ist 
 himself, for his chariots, and lu he his about 1095. 
 horsemen ; and some shall run before his 
 chariots. 
 
 1'2 And he will appoint him captains 
 over thousands, and captains over iifties ; 
 and will set them to ear his ground, and to 
 reap his harvest, and to make his instru- 
 ments of war, and instruments of his 
 chariots. 
 
 13 And he will take your daughters to 
 be confectionaries, and to he cooks, and to 
 be bakers. 
 
 14 And he will take your fields, and 
 your vineyards, and your oli\'eyards, even 
 the best of them, and give them to his ser- 
 vants. 
 
 15 And he will take the tenth of your 
 seed, and of your vineyards, and give to 
 
 his t officers, and to his servants. tHcb. 
 
 lu And he will take your menservants, 
 and your maidservants, and your goodliest 
 young men, and your asses, and put them 
 to his work. 
 
 17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: 
 and ye shall be his servants. 
 
 18 And ye shall cry out in that day be- 
 cause of your king which ye shall have 
 chosen you ; and the Lord will not hear 
 you in that day. 
 
 manded to hearken unto their voice, and set a king over tlicni. 
 Dr. Graves. No government can certainly be imagined more 
 happy, more safe, more free, .nnd more honourable, than th.it, in 
 which He, who is the fountain of all wisdom and power, of all 
 justice and goodness, presided. The least, therefore, that we can 
 say of the Israelites in desiring to change this tbrm for an abso- 
 lute and despotick monarchy, such as the nations around them 
 had, where the princes were tyrants, and the subjects all slaves, 
 is, that their conduct argues a high degree of folly and indis- 
 cretion, an ingratitude of temper, a spirit of rebellion, and a se- 
 cret attachment to the idolatries of those people, whose govern- 
 ment they were eager to imitate. The manner too in which they 
 demanded a king was no less blamable than the end proposed : 
 for, instead of consulting God in an affair of this consequence, 
 they went hastily to Samuel ; and when, by fair remonstrances, 
 he attempted to dissuade them from so dangerous an enterprise, 
 tliey turned impetuously upon him, insisting that they " would 
 have a king." Stackliouse. 
 
 11. — This nill he the manner of the king &c.] He proceeds 
 to shew them, that tlie sufferings, into which they were about to 
 run, were much greater than those of which they complained ; 
 tliat, in subjecting themselves to an arbitrary prince, they would 
 lie at the mercy of one who would have the power, and perhaps 
 the disposition, to treat them rather as slaves than as subjects; 
 and who would hold at his disposal their persons, estates, time, 
 and labour. Py/e. 
 
 15. — the tenth'] It was p.irt of the ro3'al riglit in Eastern 
 comitries, to have the tenth part of the fruit of the land for the 
 king's share ; and, if they contented themselves with this portion, 
 they were accounted good kings. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18. — the Lord will not hear i/oii'] He will rather leave you t<? 
 continue under the heavy yoke of such a king, as a just punish- 
 ment for your not Ucivrkening to all that is now laid before you by 
 
 II
 
 Samuel yieldeth to the people. 
 
 CHAP. VIII, IX. 
 
 Saul sent to seek his father's asses. 
 
 Before ^9 % Nevertheless the people refused to 
 »boutio95. ohey the voice of Samuel; and they said. 
 Nay J but we will have a king over us; 
 
 20 That we also may be like all the na- 
 tions; and that our king may judge us, and 
 go out before us, and fight oiu- battles. 
 
 21 And Samuel heard all the words of 
 the people, and he rehearsed them in the 
 ears of the Lokd. 
 
 22 And the Lord said to Samuel, 
 Hearken unto their voice, and make them 
 a king. And Samuel said unto the men 
 of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 1 Saul despairing to find his father's asses, 6 by the 
 counsel of his servant, 1 1 and direction of young 
 maidens, 15 according to God's revelation, 18 cmneth 
 to Samuel. 19 Samuel entertainetli Saul at the feast. 
 Z.'i Samuel, after secret communication, bringeth Saul 
 on his may. 
 
 ■ Cbap. 14. 
 1. 
 1 Chron. 8. 
 
 NOW there was a man of Benjamin, 
 whose name "cvas " Kish, the son of 
 Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Be- 
 
 His merciful order, in order to prevent your subjecting yourselves 
 to this heavj' yoke. Dr. Wells. 
 
 20. That we also may be like all the nations;2 Blinded by a 
 strange infatuation, they did not see that it was their singular 
 happiness to be in this respect unlike to other nations; and that 
 God, who was their peculiar Governour, never failed to raise up, 
 in time of need, men of wonderful merit to be their deliverers. 
 It was their vainglorious humour which made them think they 
 were inferiour to other nations, unless they saw a prince set over 
 them, shining in gold and jewels, living in a sumptuous palace, 
 and attended with the pomp and state of numerous guards. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 The establishment of the kingly form of government in Judea 
 forms a distinguished era in the history of the chosen people. 
 This change had been provided for in the Divine economy, hav- 
 ing been foretold in the prophetick declaration of Meses, deli- 
 vered to the assembled nation shortly before his death, Deut. xvii. 
 14, in such a manner as supplies a striking proof of the autlien- 
 ticity of the Pentateucli. It was not however established till four 
 Tiundred years after the prediction was delivered. But the late- 
 ness of the introduction of the kingly government supplies in it- 
 self considerable ewdence of the Divine original of the Mosaick 
 Law. Had this form of government been established from tiie 
 first, it would have been difBcult to remove the suspicion that 
 temporal motives and political arts had contributed to give a 
 factitious Divine authority to a code of laws, which an able legis- 
 lator had contrived, and a series of powerful kings had maintained. 
 But in the existing case all such suspicion is precluded, as the 
 Law must have been universally recognised before tlie establish- 
 ment of that regal authority: it was therefore not luiproductive of 
 advantage to the permanent interests of religion, that this great 
 change was delayed by Pro\idence till the Mosaick Law had sub- 
 sisted long enough to prove, that its first establishment had not 
 originated in any human policy, and that its subsequent support 
 was independent of any human power. Dr. Craves. 
 
 22. — Hearken unto their voice, &c.] We perceive from this 
 history, that God may yield to our importunities, and satisfy our 
 •longings, when He is not pleased with our requests. We must 
 therefore not consider every thing we obtain as a mark of Uie 
 Divine favour, but must reflect with what mind we have sohcited 
 for it, and what steps we have taken in the pursuit of it. If we 
 
 chorath, the son of Aphiah, || a Benjamite, chr*i1t 
 a mighty man of || power. about 1095. 
 
 2 And he had a son, whose name •was y or, . 
 Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: """^Z^" 
 and there icas not among the children of ^^i." 
 Israel a goodlier person than he: from his U ^'^ 
 shoulders and upward he Xias higher than 
 
 any of the people. 
 
 3 And the asses of Kish Saul's father 
 were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, 
 Take now one of the servants vith thee, 
 and arise, go seek the asses. 
 
 4 And he passed through mount E- 
 phraim, and passed through the land of 
 Shalisha, but they found them not : then 
 they passed through the land of Shalim, 
 and there theij v:ere not: and he passed 
 through the land of the Benjamites, but 
 they found them not. 
 
 5 And when they were come to the land 
 of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that "was 
 with him. Come, and let us return; lest 
 my father leave caring for the asses, and 
 take thought for us. 
 
 are as headstrong and violent as these Israelites, we may possibly 
 prevail ; but it would ha\e been far better for us, if we had not 
 prevailed, and if we Jiad calmly awaited the Divine dispensations. 
 Reading. 
 
 The king which God consented to give the Israelites was only 
 His viceroy or deputy; and on that account he was not left to 
 the people's election, but was chosen by Himself: the only dif- 
 ference between God's appointment of the judges and of Saul 
 being this, that they were stirred up by internal influence, he 
 chosen by outward designation. Bp. Warburton. When the Is- 
 raelites persisted in asking a king, God ordered Samuel to set 
 one over them; but first warned them by him of the many in- 
 conveniences which would be the consequence of this change of 
 government. God, in love to men, makes known to them His 
 will and their duty; and forewarns tliem of the misfortunes they 
 will bring upon themselves by following the guidance of their 
 own will, rather than His. But when tliey will not follow His 
 wholesome coimsels, and are obstinately bent on their own resolu- 
 tions. He hinders them not. By which means God permits many 
 tilings to be done which He does not approve: and men are always 
 the authors of all the evils which befall them. Ostervald. 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. 1. — a mighty man qfpower.^ This seems to be 
 meajit of his great bodily strength and courage; for Saul himself 
 describes his family to be " die least of all the famihes of Ben- 
 jamin," ver. 21. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. — a choice young man,'] In this choice of Saul, for the come- 
 liness and stature of his person, God had regard to the opinion ' 
 of the Israelites, in conmion with the rest of the Eastern nations, 
 who prided themselves in princes of a stately mien and counte- 
 nance. Pytc. It should be observed, that God, who permitted 
 tlie people of Israel to have a king over them, cUd not leave them 
 at liberty to take whom they pleased, but gave tliem one Himself. 
 (;od always, as ui this instance, disposes all things for the execu- 
 tion of His designs, and brings them about by unforeseen ways. 
 His providence ruleth over dl, and by Him, in particular, kings 
 govern. Ostervald. 
 
 5. — the land of Zuph, &C.3 A territory in the tribe of E- 
 pliniim, where some c»" Samuel's ancestors had lived, chap. i. 1 ; 
 and wliere Ramah, Samuel's present abotlc, seems to have been. 
 Bp. Patrick.
 
 ami 
 
 IMora 
 CHIII8T 
 
 jbout lO-JI. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 is poru tmt 
 nf. Sic 
 t Heb. 
 is with UJ / 
 
 tHcb. 
 tkere it 
 found in my 
 hawl. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 Tht/ uvrxl 
 u rood. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 inthe ascent 
 ^tke cU</. 
 
 by the counsel of his servant, 
 
 6 And he said unto him, Behold now, 
 there is in this city u man of God, and he 
 is an honourable man; all that he saith 
 cometh surely to pass: now let us go thi- 
 ther j peradventure he can shew us our 
 way that we should go. 
 
 7 Then said Saul to his servant. But, 
 behold, if we go, what shall we bring the 
 man ? for the bread t is spent in our ves- 
 sels, and there is not a present to bring to 
 the man of God: what t have we? 
 
 8 And the servant answered Saul again, 
 and said, Behold, t I have here at hand 
 the fourth part of a shekel of silver : that 
 will I give to the man of God, to tell us 
 our way. 
 
 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man 
 went to enquire of God, thus he spake. 
 Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that 
 is now called a Prophet was beforetime 
 called a Seer.) 
 
 10 Then said Saul to his servant, t AVell 
 said; come, let us go. So they went unto 
 the city where the man of God ivas. 
 
 1 1 i[ And as they went up t the hill to 
 the city, they found young maidens going 
 out to draw water, and said unto them. Is 
 the seer here? 
 
 12 And they answered them, and said, 
 
 1. — rvhal shall rvc bring l/ie man ?'] It was not only the an- 
 cient custom in Eastern countries to approach men of rank with 
 presents of some kind or other, but the custom is preserved with 
 great strictness to this day. Mr. Maundrel) says, " He visited no 
 bashaw or great person without this previous re.spect, as it was ac- 
 counted uncivil in those countries, to make such a visit without 
 an offering in hand. All such persons expect it, as a tribute due 
 to their character, deeming themselves affronted, and even de- 
 frauded, when this compliment is omitted. Even in familiar 
 visits among inferiour people, you seldom observe them coming 
 witliout bringing some flower or orange, or other token of respect 
 to the person visited. Tlie Turks in this respect keep up the an- 
 cient Oriental custom hinted in 1 Sam. ix. 7, which is to be un- 
 derstootl in conformity to this usage, as denoting a token of re- 
 spect, and not a price of divination." Pj/lc. Presents are consi- 
 dered essential to humane and civil intercourse in the East: whe- 
 ther they consist of dates or of diamonds, they form so customary 
 a part of Eastern manners, that without them an inferiour will 
 never be at peace in his own mind, or think that he has hold of 
 his superioiu- for protection. Bruce. 
 
 9- — .for he lliat is now called a Prophet &c.] The word tiow 
 refers to the time when this book was written, probably the latter 
 part ot Samuel's life. The verse explains that, at the time when 
 baul was appointed king, the Hebrew word Roeh, " a seer of 
 •«a«t tlungs," was usually applied to inspired persons; but that 
 atlcrwanls the word Nabi, or '■ prophet," (which had been very 
 anciently known, as appears from tlie books of Moses,) came into 
 common use Bp. Patrick, P,,U. The word Nabi, "prophet," was 
 in use m the tmie of Moses or Abraham; see Gen ix ?• but 
 then It only unplied, a man favoured of God: whereas, in the 
 IvI?." i?'")"'''' '^ '?' appropriated to one who foresaw future 
 CNenLs. Dr. Gr«y. It is remarkable, that the title 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 and direction of young viaidens. 
 
 Before 
 
 seer occurs 
 
 prineipllj, if not altogether, under the regalgovernment o? Ts! 
 
 ',n ^.l^T ^'l '"f * '"* '^ •"-''"« '» 'J^'* passage, with 
 to the Prophet Samuel. Fragments to Calmet. 
 
 rael ; ihe first time w 
 reference 
 
 He is; behold, /le is before you: make p„pjg_. 
 haste now, for he came to day to the city; about 1095. 
 for there is a II sacrifice of the people to day n or, 
 in the high place: f'"''- 
 
 13 As soon as ye be come into the city, 
 ye shall straightway find him, before he go 
 up to the high place to eat: for the people 
 will not eat until he come, because he doth 
 bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat 
 that be bidden. Now therefore get you 
 
 un : for about t this time ye shall find t Heb. 
 him. ■^ 
 
 14 And they went up into the city: and 
 when they were come into the city, be- 
 hold, Samuel came out against them, for 
 to go up to the high place. 
 
 15 ^ "Now the Lord had t told Samuel "Chsp. 15. 
 in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, ^^^^ ^^ 
 
 16 To morrow about this time I will 21. 
 send thee a man out of the land of Benja- l^lauaih^ 
 miu, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain ear "/st- 
 over my people Israel, that he may save my ™"''" 
 people out of the hand of the Philistines: 
 
 for I have looked upon my people, because 
 their cry is come unto me. 
 
 17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the 
 Lord said unto him, Behold the man 
 whom I spake to thee of! this same shall 
 
 t reign over my people. tstrlinm. 
 
 12. — a sacrifice — to daii] Either at some solemn festival, 
 (some imagine that of the new moon,) or upon some special occa- 
 sion of prayer and thanksgiving to God. 
 
 — in the high place:"] Or greatest eminency of the hill, on 
 which the city stood; where it is probable that Samuel built, by 
 God's direction, the altar mentioned at chap. vii. I7. Dr. f fells. 
 The sacrifices were to be offered regularly, in the place which the 
 Lord should choose. But while this choice remained suspended, 
 because Shiloh was laid desolate, and no other place was ap- 
 pointed, the sacrifices were offered in places where was neither 
 tabernacle nor ark. Aflerwards, when the ark was settled, it be- 
 came unlawful to offer sacrifices in high places. In several places 
 of Scripture the Canaanites are said to have had their high places, 
 on which they worshipped their idols; but this is the first in- 
 stance of any belonging to the people of God. It is the opinion 
 of some learned persons, that this appointment of a private place 
 of worship, by so gi-eat an authority as that of Samuel, gave rise 
 to the institution of synagogues in aflertimes. Bp. Patrick. , . 
 
 13. — doth hless the sacrifice;] The feast after the sacri- 
 fice: the greater part of tliat which was offered belonged to him 
 who made the offering, and on this he entertained his friends. 
 The expression of " blessing the sacrifice" alludes to the custom 
 among the Hebrews, of giving thanks before their meals. Locke. 
 
 lO". — that he matj save my people] Saul, as will appear in 
 1 Sam. xiii. xiv. gained great advantages over the Philistines in thfe 
 beginning of his reign, and prevented their giving disturbance to 
 the Israelites. He also waged successful war against the Am- 
 monites, Anialekites, Moabites, &c. Calmet. 
 
 17. — shall reign] The word which we translate reign sig- 
 nifies something of coercion and restraint, as is observed in the 
 margin: it denotes, that he should rule them with an absolute 
 uncontrollable power, sternly and rigidly, after the manner of 
 the Eastern monarchs; which was designed to punish them for 
 throwing off the mild and gentle government of God. Bp. Pa* 
 trick.
 
 cometh to Samtiel. 
 
 CHAP. IX, X. 
 
 Samuel anointeth Saul» 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 according to 
 *UU word ? 
 
 Before 18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in 
 Sw>uo95. the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, 
 where the seer's house is. 
 
 19 And Samuel answered Saul, and said, 
 I am the seer : go up before me unto the 
 high place ; for ye shall eat with me to 
 day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and 
 will tell thee all that is in thine heart. 
 
 20 And as for thine asses that were lost 
 t Heb. t three days ago, set not thy mind on them ; 
 
 the desire of Israel ? Is it not on thee, and 
 on all thy father's house? 
 
 21 And Saul answered and said, Am not 
 I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes 
 of Israel ? and my family the least of all 
 the families of the tribe of Benjamin ? 
 wherefore then speakest thou t so to me ? 
 
 22 And Samuel took Saul and his ser- 
 vant, and brought them into the parlour, 
 and made them sit in the chiefest place 
 among them that were bidden, which -were 
 about thirty persons. 
 
 23 And Samuel said unto the cook. 
 Bring the portion which I gave thee, of 
 which I said unto thee, Set it by thee. 
 
 24 And the cook took up the shoulder, 
 and that which was upon it, and set it be- 
 fore Saul. And Samuel said. Behold that 
 which is II left ! set it before thee, and eat : 
 for unto this time hath it been kept for 
 thee since I said, I have invited the people. 
 So Said did eat with Samuel that day. 
 
 25 ^ And when they were come down 
 from the high place into the city, Samuel 
 communed with Saul upon the top of the 
 house. 
 
 20. — on tvliom is all the desire &c.] The meaning is, All Israel 
 ilesire a king, and there is none fitter for it than thyself, and God 
 is resolved to advance thy family. Bp. Patrick. The word "de- 
 sire" is used ^or that affection with which the people are actuated 
 towards an intended king or govemour, even before they have 
 any actual knowledge of his person. Dr. Berriman. 
 
 i2-i. — took up the shoulder^ The shoulder of a lamb is esteem- 
 ed a peculiar delicacy in the East : Josephus says, that it was 
 called the royal portion. It is there eaten covered over tvith butter 
 imd milk. The sacred historian perhaps alludes to this, when he 
 mentions " that which was upon it," an expression which an Eu- 
 ropean reader may well be at a loss to understand. Harmer. 
 
 '25. — communed — upon the top of the house.^ This passage is 
 perfectly agreeable to Eastern customs. See note on Deut. xxii. 8. 
 It appears that Samuel conversed with Saul for coolness on the 
 housetop in the evening ; and in the morning, ver. 26, he called 
 •Saul, who lodged there ail night, and was not stirring. Harmer. 
 
 Chap. X. ver. 1. — took a vial of oil,"] Samuel did this, appa- 
 rently, not from any special command, but either in compliance 
 with the customs of other nations in anointing their kings, or ac- 
 cording to the ancient usages of his o^vll nation, in the designation 
 of things or persons to any particular and extraordinary purposes. 
 Thus pillars were anointed, as reverential memorials. Gen. .\xviii. 
 . S, and XXXV. 14. So the priests were anointed, also the sacred 
 
 ij Or, 
 re$erved. 
 
 26 And they arose early : and it came to ^*'"'^„ 
 pass about the spring of the day, that Sa- about 1095. 
 muel called Saul to the tjop of the house, 
 sajnng, Up, that I may send thee away. 
 
 And Saul arose, and they went out both of 
 them, he and Samuel, abroad. 
 
 27 And as they were going down to 
 the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, 
 Bid the servant pass on before us, (and 
 
 he passed on,) but stand thou still tatHeb. 
 while, that I may shew thee the word of '"'''''' 
 God. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 I Samuel anoinleth Saul. 2 He conjirmeth him hy pre- 
 diction of three signs. 9 SauUs heart is changed, and 
 he prophesieth. 1 4 He cmtceuleth the matter of the 
 kingdom from his uncle. 1 7 Saul is chosen at Miz- 
 peh by lot. 26 The different affections of his sub' 
 jecls. 
 
 THEN Samuel took a vial of oil, and 
 poured it upon his head, and kissed 
 him, and said. Is it not because the Loed 
 hath anointed thee to be captain over his 
 inheritance ? 
 
 2 When thou art departed from me to 
 
 day, then thou shalt find two men by ' Ra- * Gen- 35. 
 chel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin 
 at Zelzah ; and they will say unto thee, 
 The asses which thou wentest to seek are 
 found : and, lo, thy father hath left t the t Heb. the 
 care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, *^'""* 
 saying. What shall I do for my son ? 
 
 3 Then shalt thou go on forward from 
 thence, and thou shalt come to the plain 
 of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three 
 men going up to God to Beth-el, one car- 
 
 utensils of the tabernacle, and accordingly kings ; not by any ex- 
 press command, but by an usage, as expressive of the foremen- 
 tioned purpose. Pylc. Though we read of no express command 
 for the anointing of kings, yet it is plain, from the parable of Jo- 
 tham, Judg. ix. 8, that this was a custom 200 years before tlus 
 time. As Samuel was no priest, it is probable that he made use 
 of common oil, and not of the sacred oil, on tliis occasion. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 kissed him,"] In token of subjection or reverence to him : 
 
 according to the custom of the most ancient times. Gen. xli. 40 ; 
 and of those which followed, Ps. ii. 12. The Jews call it the kiss 
 of homage. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. Ulien thou art departed itc] To confirm the truth and au- 
 thority of what he said and did, Samuel tells him what was to 
 happen to him in the way home to his father, in several instancet. 
 Pyle. 
 
 by BacheFs sepulchre^ It is related at Gen. xxxv. 20, that 
 
 Jacob raised a pillar over the grave of Rachel. We neetl not in- 
 fer tliat tliis same pillar was actually standing in the days of Sa- 
 muel, but only that the place retained the name of Rachel's sepul- 
 chre. Dr. Wells. See note at Gen. xxxv. 20. 
 
 3. the plain of Tabor,'^ N'ot near the famous mountain of 
 
 that name, but a place called Elon-tabor, southeast of Ramali. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 Bcth-el/} This had been a religious place ever since tho
 
 ^uPs heart is changed, 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 and he prophesieth. 
 
 ndon 
 CHKI8T 
 
 ■tioul lO'Ji. 
 
 t Hob. 
 nt^ like* <•/ 
 ftace. 
 
 ryinfT three kills, and another oarrjnnp three 
 loaves ot l)re;ul, and another carrying a bot- 
 tle of wine : 
 
 4 And they will 1 salute thee, and give 
 thee two /uaics ol' bread ; which thou shall 
 receive ol" their iiands. 
 
 5 /Uter that tJiou shall come to the hill 
 of God, where is the garrison of the Phi- 
 listines : and it shall come to pass, when 
 thou art come thither to the city, that thou 
 shall meet a company of proj)hets coming 
 down from the high place with a psaltery, 
 and a tabret, and a pipe, and a liarp, before 
 them ; and they shall prophesy : 
 
 6 And the Spirit of the Lord will come 
 upon thee, and thou shall prophesy with 
 them, and shall be turned into another man. 
 
 7 And t let it be, when these signs are 
 come unto thee, t Ihat thou do as occasion 
 serve thee ; for God is with thee. 
 
 8 And thou shall go down before me to 
 Gilgal ; and, behold, I will come down un- 
 to thee, to ofl'er burnt oflerings, and to sa- 
 crifice sacrifices of peace otlerings : '^ seven 
 days shall thou tarry, till I come to thee, 
 and shew thee what thou shall do. 
 
 9 % And it was su, thai when he had 
 turned his t back lo go from Samuel, God 
 t gave him another heart : and all those 
 signs came to pass that day. 
 
 lU And when they came thither to the 
 hill, behold, a company of prophets met 
 In'm ; and the Sj)iril of God came upon 
 him, and he ])rophesied among them. 
 
 11 And it came to pass, when all that 
 knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he 
 
 (lays of Jacob, as if, by God's appearance to him there, it liad 
 been consecrated to prayer and sacrifice. As the ark was now 
 without any detennined place, they sacrificed here, as well as in 
 other high places. Bp. Valrick. 
 
 5. — the hill of GimI,'\ So called, because they were wont to sa- 
 crifice tliere ; or because a school of tlie Prophets, called the men 
 of God, was tlierc. 
 
 a compaiiii of prophets coyning doivn'] By prophets are 
 
 meant, persons settled for the instruction of youth in the laws of 
 God, and the (hities of religion. They were probably returning 
 from sacrifice, praising God for His benefits with variety of in- 
 stnnnental musick, as the word urophccu sometimes signifies. 
 Dp. Palrlek. i r :> o 
 
 It hence appears, that the great estimation in which the mini- 
 xters of their religion were held among tlie Jews, was derived from 
 them to their enemies the Philistines, who dwelt upon their 
 skirts; insomuch that, in a garrison of the Philistines, there was 
 a cjillegc of Prophets, newly instituted by Samuel, unharmed and 
 undiiturbcd, though they were enemies to the nation : also, wlien 
 David fled from Saul, 1 Sun. xix. 18, he came to Naioth, where 
 the Prophets dwelt, iind thought to take sanctuary there, knowing 
 rt was a privil^-ged place, lip. Jer. Tai/lor. 
 
 ly —■ Ihju .ihalt prophesy with them,l thou shalt be suddenly in- 
 T ';','■'.""'■■'' thoughts and atfections, as to become like one of 
 tiiein; able m an instiut to compose hymns in honour of God, 
 
 tHcb. 
 
 U nhall e^me 
 to paUt tftat 
 when these 
 tignt, &c. 
 f Hub. 
 dofvr thee 
 ns thine 
 hand shalt 
 fnd. 
 
 » Ch»p. 13. 
 8. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 shnulder. 
 t Hib. 
 turned. 
 
 prophesied among the prophets, then the chrTst 
 peoj)le said t one to another. What is this about 1095. 
 that is come unto the son of Kish ? "Js Saul t "ei.. 
 also among the prophets ? ^--^.f 
 
 12 And one tot the same place an- 'cimp. 19. 
 swered and said, But who is their lather ? i^eb. 
 Therefore it became a proverb. Is Saul also fi'»ntiitnce. 
 among the prophets ? 
 
 13 Aud when he had made an end of 
 prophesying, he came to the high place, 
 
 11'^ And Saul's uncle said unto him 
 and to his servant. Whither went ye ? And 
 he said. To seek the asses : and when we 
 saw that the^ •were no where, we came to 
 Samuel. 
 
 15 And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray 
 thee, what Samuel said unto you. 
 
 IG And Saul said unto his uncle, He 
 told us plainly that the asses were found. 
 But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof 
 Samuel spake, he told him not. 
 
 17 IF And Samuel called the people to- 
 gether unto the Loud to Mizjjeli ; 
 
 18 And said unto the children of Israel, 
 Thus .saith the Lokd God of Israel, 1 
 brought up Israel out of Egypt, and de- 
 livered you out of the hand of the Egypt- 
 ians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, 
 and of them that oppressed you : 
 
 19 And ye have this day rejected your 
 God, who himself saved you out of all 
 your adversities and your tribulations ; and 
 ye have said unto him, Naij, but set a king 
 over us. Now therefore present yourselves 
 before the Lord by your tribes, and by 
 your thousands. 
 
 and to adapt them to melodies, which thou hast never leamt. 
 Bp. PatricL 
 
 9. — gave him another heart :~\ Wrought a sensible change inhinl 
 by these new abilities which He infiised into his heart. Bp. Hall. 
 
 10. — the Spirit o^ God came upon lum,'\ It is worthy of ob- 
 servation, that " the Spirit of tlie Lord, which came upon Saul, 
 and turned him into another man," as foretold by Samuel, ver. C, by 
 no means interfered with his freewill or free agency ; he was still 
 free "to act as occasion should serve," or require, eha]). x. 7; and 
 accordingly, when his uncle wanted him to tell what the Prophet 
 had said unto him, he mentioned the finding of the asses, but "of 
 the matter of the hingrlom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not," 
 chap. X. 16. He followe<l the dictates of his own prudence on this 
 occasion, as afterwards, in "holding his peace," when insulted by 
 the seditious. But he was still at liberty to "grieve the Spirit," •• 
 and even to " quench the Sjjirit," and to be possessed, on the con- 
 trarj', with an evil spirit from the Lord, when he lost that modesty 
 and humility which first recommended liim, and became envious, 
 jealous, cruel, and tyrannical. T)r. Hales. 
 
 12. — But 7rho is their father ?'] Their wonder w.is presently 
 satisfied by a j)nident person among them, who bade them con- 
 sider who it was th;it inade the Prophets ; not men, npr education 
 merely, but God jilone; who, b^ing the Father of all the children 
 or disciples of the Prophets, could impart the ipirit of prophecy 
 to any one whom He pleased. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Saul is chosen at Mizpeh by lot. 
 
 CHAP. X, XI. Nahash offereth a reproachful condition. 
 
 Lei the king 
 
 chrTst ~^ ^^'^ when Samuel had caused all the 
 1095. tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of 
 Benjamin was taken. 
 
 21 When he had caused the tribe of 
 Benjamin to come near by their families, 
 the family of Matri was taken, and Saul 
 the son of Kish was taken : and when they 
 sought him, he could not be found. 
 
 2^ Therefore they enquired of the Lord 
 further, if the man should vet come thither. 
 And the Lord answered, Behold, he hath 
 hid himself among the stuff. 
 
 23 And thev ran and fetched him thence : 
 and when he stood among the people, he 
 was higher than any of the people from his 
 shoulders and upward. 
 
 24- And Samuel said to all the people. 
 See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, 
 that there is none like him among all the 
 people ? And all the people shouted, and 
 •f Hci). said, tGod save the king. 
 
 25 Then Samuel told the people the 
 manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a 
 book, and laid it up before the Lord. And 
 Samuel sent all the people away, every man 
 to his house. 
 
 26 ^ And Saul also went home to Gi- 
 beah ; and there went with him a band of 
 men, whose hearts God had touched. 
 
 27 But the childi-en of Belial said. How 
 shall this man save us ? And they despised 
 
 xhoush he him, and brought him no presents. But 
 Jen/.""' II he held his peace. 
 
 20. — tlie tribe of Benjamin mas talcen.'^ A similar phrase was 
 used at Josh. vii. 16, respecting the discovery of tlie person who 
 had offended in the accursed thing ; and it is generally supposed 
 to have been done by the casting of lots. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 25. — and wrote if in a book,'] Josephus says, that Samuel here 
 •wrote down the evils which were to befall the Israelites in conse- 
 quence of their choosing a king, and laid up the writing in the ta- 
 bernacle, to be a memorial of the truth of his predictions to future 
 «g{:s. Some think that he merely recorded the solemn election of 
 Saul ; and others, (with more probability perhaps.) that he re- 
 corded the rules and principles, according to which the king was 
 constitutionally to govern. Calmet. 
 
 26. — went /tome to Gibcah;'} Called Gibeah of Benjamin, 
 being in the tribe of Benjamin ; and Gibeah of Saul, being the 
 native jilace of Saul, and afterwards his royal seat. It lay north 
 of Jerusalem between twenty and thirty furlongs. It stood on a 
 hill, as the name im]5orts. Dr. Wells. 
 
 , whose licarts God had touched.'] Whom God inclined to 
 
 follow him as hi.s guard : or w^ho were moved perhaps by the au- 
 thority of Samuel (the man of God) to go and attend him. 
 
 i!7. — children of Belial] Some lewd wicked men, who had 
 no regard to the Divine appointment, and either haled all govern- 
 ment, or, being men oi' quality themselves, ajid ])roud, were vexed 
 to see one of so mean a family set up for king. Dr. IVells. 
 
 brotight him no presents.] It was a constant custom among 
 
 the Eiistern niitions, and is even to this day, whenever they ap- 
 proach the prince, to make him some present ; and especi;illy 
 this was the proper method of recognising Saul on his first acces- 
 sion to the throne. Staclliaiise. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 « Or, 
 he Ufus as 
 
 CHAP. XL r.M°'' 
 
 »r , , ~ CHRIST 
 
 1 JSa/ias/i offereth them of .Tahesh-gilcad a reproachful 1095. 
 condition, -i Theij send messengers, and are delivered 
 hi/ Saul. 1 2 Saul l/ierebt/ is coiifirmed, and his king- 
 dom renewed. 
 
 THEN Nahash the Ammonite came up, 
 and encamped against Jabesh-gilead : 
 and all the men of Jabesh said unto Na- 
 hash, :Make a covenant with us, and we will 
 serve thee. 
 
 2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered 
 them, On this conditio7i will I make a co- 
 venatit with you, that I may thrust out all 
 your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach 
 upon all Israel. 
 
 3 And the elders of Jabesh said unto 
 him, t Give us seven days' respite, that we t neb. 
 may send messengers unto all the coasts of ■'''"■''""■ "' 
 Israel : and then, if there be no man to 
 
 save us, we will come out to thee. 
 
 4 % Tlien came the messengers to Gi- 
 beah of Saul, and told the tidings in the 
 ears of the people : and all the people lift- 
 ed up their voices, and wept. 
 
 5 And, behold, Saul came after the herd 
 out of the field ; and Saul said, AVliat aiktk 
 the people that they weep ? And they told 
 him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. 
 
 6 And the Spirit of God came upon Saul 
 when he heard those tidings, and his anger 
 was kindled greatly. 
 
 7 And he took a yoke of oxen, and 
 hewed them in pieces, and sent t/iem 
 
 Chap. XI. ver. 2. — thrust out all your rig/il ei/es,] The rea- 
 son why Naha.sh thrust out their right eyes was, not only to 
 bring a reproach on Israel, as himself declares, but also to dis- 
 able them from ser\ing in war ; for, as the manner of fighting 
 in those days was chiefly witli bow and arrow, sword and shield, 
 the loss of the right eye made them incapable of either. Yet 
 this barbarous king thought it not proper to put out both their 
 eyes, for then he would have made them less serviceable to him- 
 self as slaves, and less able to pay him the tribute which he 
 expected. Stackhonse. The loss of eyes is a punishment regu- 
 larly inflicted in the East on rebels, &c. to tliis day. Mr. Han- 
 way, in his journey in Persia, gives verj' striking instances of 
 tliis practice. Fragments to Calmet. See Jer. xxxix. 7, and the 
 note there. 
 
 The king of the Ammonites attacked the Israelites most un- 
 justly, and wislied to impose on them the most barbarous and 
 shameful conditions; but God punished, ver. 11, the haughtines.s 
 and cruelty of that prince, and proved that His providence hum- 
 bles the proud and the oppressor. Osiervald. 
 
 5. — came after tlie herd out of the afield ;] It hence appears, 
 tliat .Saul now lived retired in rustick occupations, exercising no 
 authoi-ity over the people, but leaving all to the management of 
 Samuel. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1. — tie took a yoke of a.rcn, cic] Saul on this occasion gives 
 proof of his resolution, and assumes, for the first time, the exer- 
 cise of his authority, which was not acknowledged by "the chil- 
 dren of Belial," chap. x. -2~, till he enforced it by his determined 
 conduct, and by his threatening to destroy the oxen of those who 
 did not support him. 
 
 JX
 
 2V/t Ammonites are smitten. 
 
 I. SAiMUEL. 
 
 Samuel testifieth his integrity. 
 
 CHKIST 
 10». 
 
 fllrb. 
 
 n$ ^nr man' 
 
 D Or, 
 
 tliroiigliout all the coasts of Israel by the 
 haiuls of messengers, saying, Whosoever 
 coHK-th not forth after Saul and after Sa- 
 nuiel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. 
 And the fear of the Loud fell on the people, 
 and they came out t with one consent. 
 
 8 And when he nundjcred them in Be- 
 zek, the children of Israel were three hun- 
 ilred thousand, and tlie men of Judah thirty 
 thousand. 
 
 9 And they said unto the messengers 
 that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men 
 of Jabesh-gilead, To morrow, by that time 
 the sun be hot, ye shall have II help. And 
 
 dciiterance. ^^^ messcugers camc and shewed it to the 
 men of Jabesh; and they were glad. 
 
 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said. 
 To morrow we will come out unto you, 
 and ye shall do with us all that seemeth 
 good unto you. 
 
 11 And it was so on the morrow, that 
 Saul put the people in three companies ; 
 and they came into tiie midst of the host 
 in the morning watch, and slew the Am- 
 monites until the heat of the day : and it 
 came to pass, that they which remained 
 were scattered, so that two of them were 
 not left together. 
 
 S. — the men of JudaliJ It is observable, that the tribe of Ju- 
 dah are here mentioned separately from the rest ; this appears to 
 be a )H'culiar honour done to this tribe, as having preeminence 
 over the rest. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 13. — not a man be put to rfcaM] An instance this of great 
 mo<leration, and fit to be imitated by all who have enemies in 
 their power. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 1 4. — renew the kitit;dom there.'} There ratify and establish 
 Saul in the posse<ision of his throne. Pi)le. 
 
 15. — Ihei/madc Saul king] The mode in which Saul was made 
 kinp is peculiarly remarkable; the people retained such reverence 
 for their God, and such confidence in their Projihet, that they did 
 not .-ittempt to elect a king themselves, but waited for the Divine 
 appointment. In this appointment, care was taken to preserve in 
 its full force the Divine governnient originally established over 
 the Jews. A king was elected by the cx})ress declaration of the 
 Divine oracle, rai.sed from an obscure family, chap. ix. 21, so that 
 he himself, as well as tlie entire nation, shoidd know and feel, that 
 he derived his authority solely from that appointment, chap. x. 2.'}. 
 The rules and forms too of the regal government were prescribed 
 by the Projjhet ; wliith proves that tlie executive power alone was 
 confided to tliis vicegerent of Jehovah, who still reserved to Him- 
 self all legislative authority. Nor was the solemn inauguration 
 of the new monarch completed, until God by a miracle had con- 
 vinced the people of His displeasure at the criminal motives in 
 which their demand of a king liad originated, cliap. xii. 1 6'; and 
 thus filled them with terrour, humbled them to repentance, and 
 led them to confess their crime, and implore pardon and a conti- 
 nuance of the Divine protection. Dr. Graves. 
 
 Chap. XII vcr. 1. And Samuel said unto all Isracn Samuel's 
 »pinte,l justification of his conduct before all Israel is an admira- 
 of onTr -'"""r ^' '^"^ challenges them to adduce any instance 
 rael " Km T' V^' °' ^"^'^y- °" ^''' P^''' ^'''^'^ he judged Is- 
 Dublick r.i;'^ his eons both stood before the tiibunarof Uie 
 pubhck, ready to await their sentence: and when the people ex- 
 
 l'2i[ And the people said unto Samuel, 
 Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over 
 us ? bring the men, that we may put them 
 to death. 
 
 13 And Saul said, There shall not a 
 man be put to death this day : for to day 
 the LoHD hath wrought salvation in Israel. 
 
 It Then said Samuel to the people, 
 Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew 
 the kingdom there. 
 
 15 And all the people went to Gilgal ; 
 and there they made Saul king before the 
 Lord in Gilgal ; and there they sacrificed 
 sacrifices of peace oflierings before the 
 Loud ; and there Said and all the men oi 
 Israel rejoiced greatly. 
 
 Hcfore 
 C Hit 1ST 
 
 U)95. 
 
 CHAP. XIL 
 
 1 Samuel testi/ieth his integrity/. {] He rcproveth the people 
 o/' ingratitude. \G lie terrifieth them with thunder in 
 harvest time. 20 He coniforlclh them in God's merct/. 
 
 AND Samuel said unto all Israel, Be- 
 hold, 1 have hearkened unto your 
 voice in all that ye said unto me, and have 
 made a king over you. 
 
 2 And now, behold, the king walketh 
 before you: and I am old and grayheaded; 
 and, behold, my sons are with you : and I 
 
 pressly aclaiowlcdged his integri*j', he then reminded them of the 
 servitudes they had incurred lor forgetting or forsaking God ; and 
 the deliverers, whom God, on their repentance, occasion illy raised 
 up to them, such as Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel. 
 And he concluded by threatening them with the Divine chastise- 
 ments upon them and their king, whom the Lord had granted to 
 them, if they should rebel any more against Him : and to mark 
 the Divine displeasure at tlieir proceedings, and also his own 
 power with God, he called down thunder and rain from heaven 
 at the unusual season of wheat harvest. And when " all the peo- 
 ple greatly feared the Lord and Samuel" His Prophet, and be- 
 sought him to intercede for them, that their lives might be spared, 
 he kindly encouraged them to trust in the Lord, notwithstanding 
 this additional crime of asking a king ; and he still assured them 
 of liis intercession in their behalf, and of his services as their civil 
 judge and teacher, for that the omission would be a sin on liis o\vn 
 part. This illustrious Prophet, like his predecessor Moses, was 
 mighty to intercede for his backsliding people, and has placed 
 the duty of publick intercession on its firmest basis, tlie sin in- 
 curred by neglecting it on the part of the ministers of religion, 
 and of the guardians of the state. Dr. Hales. The bright exam- 
 ple of Samuel's integrity, in the execution of his office as a magis- 
 trate, appears in the confident but modest appeal which he makes 
 to the people, touching his conduct; but more especially in that 
 publick and unanimous testimony by them given to tlic iipright7 
 ness and justice of his administration, and tlie unspotted purity 
 of his life. In the excellent but uncommon example of Samuel's 
 resigning his office with a clear conscience rjid unblemished repu- 
 tation, everj' private Christian may also find a noble pattern for 
 his imitation. No man, in God's family, is without some office; 
 every one is cither in, or under authority, either as a magistrate 
 to command and govern, or as a subject to obey. And whereas 
 e\'ery relation infers a duty peculiar thereto, so the faithful dis- 
 charge of that duty is the obedience we owe to our common Lord 
 and >Iaster. Wogan. 
 
 2. — behold, my sons are Ktth you .-^ He seems to mean, that
 
 He reproveth the people of ingratitude ; CHAP. XII. 
 
 and terrifieth them ivith thunder. 
 
 Or, 
 
 iiade. 
 
 ^ Heb. 
 •xsses, or, 
 r Heb. 
 
 Before have Walked before you from my childhood 
 
 CHRIST J. J.1- J ■' "^ 
 
 10D5. unto this day. 
 »Eccr'4G. 3 Behold, 'here I am: witness against 
 '3- me before the Lord, and before his anoint- 
 
 ed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass 
 ha^e I taken? or whom have I defrauded? 
 whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand 
 ' Heb. have I received any t bribe II to blind mine 
 "or, eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. 
 '/"f..._, 4 And they said. Thou hast not de- 
 •lineajcs irauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast 
 """"'• thou taken ought of any man's hand. 
 
 5 And he said unto them. The Lord is wit- 
 ness against you, and his anointed is witness 
 this day, that ye have not found ought in my 
 hand. And they answered, He is witness. 
 
 6 ^ And Samuel said unto the people, 
 It is the Lord that || advanced Moses and 
 Aaron, and that brought your fathers up 
 out of the land of Egypt. 
 
 7 Now therefore stand still, that I may 
 reason with you before the Lord of all the 
 t righteous acts of the Lord, which he did 
 t to you and to your fathers. 
 
 8 ^ When Jacob was come into Egypt, 
 ,,,^, and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then 
 ; ^«" '•s- the Lord " sent Moses and Aaron, which 
 
 Exod. 4. brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, 
 '"• and made them dwell in this place. 
 
 9 And when they forgat the Lord their 
 ' Judgis 4. God, '' he sold them into the hand of Sisera, 
 " captain of the host of Hazor, and into the 
 
 hand of the Philistines, and into the hand 
 of the king of Moab, and they fought 
 against them. 
 
 10 And they cried unto the Lord, and 
 said, We have sinned, because we have for- 
 saken the Lord, and have served Baalim and 
 
 tiie sons of whom they complained (see chap. viii. 5) are now in 
 I'neir hands, deprived of their publick station, reduced to the rank 
 
 jf subjects to the king, like the rest of the people, and jniiiisliable 
 before his tribunal according to their deserts. Dr. Wall. 
 
 ^. Behold, here I am : >riliie-K agahnt yne"] Wliile we contem- 
 plate the unspotted conduct of tlie Projihet, even from his cliild- 
 liood to hia gray hairs, we cannot but admire the undaunted cou- 
 rage of his innocence; and how liappy must that man be, to whose 
 integrity both his conscience and the world bear testimon}'. IVoi^an. 
 7. — righleons acls^ Ry " rigiitcoiis acts" arc here meant the 
 
 icts of grace and favour which God had shewn towards them in 
 all His dispensations, even those of correction and judgment. His 
 severest judgments are intended to reform \ice, and to confirm 
 virtue; not to destroy His people, but to amend them; to improve 
 their graces and to increase their rewards. Jl'ngan. 
 
 W." — and Bedan,2 It is remarkable that there is no such 
 name as Bedan mentioned in the book of Judges. Bp. Patrick. 
 Perhaps Barak may be meant. Dr. Hales. 
 
 17. Li it not wheal harie.it to dayf] The harvest in Judea be- 
 
 : m about the end of June or the beginning of July, in which 
 
 •cason thunder and rain were never known: the seiisons of rain 
 
 are only in the spring and autumn, the one called the former, the 
 
 ther the latter rain. ,Therefore Samuel, by this preamble, " Is it 
 
 lit wheat harvest to day?" meant to signifj' the greatness of tlic 
 
 Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the ^^^°" 
 hand of onr enemies, and we will serve thee. ^^^5.^^ 
 
 11 And the Lord sent Jerubbaal, and 
 Bedan, and ' Jephthah, and Samuel, and ' Ji^dg. u. 
 delivered you out of the hand of your ene- '' 
 mies on every side, and ye dwelled safe. 
 
 12 And when ye saw that Nahasli the 
 king of the children of Amnion came 
 against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a 
 king shall reign over us: when the Lord 
 your God Tvas your king. 
 
 13 Now therefore behold the king whom 
 ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! 
 and, beliold, the Lord hath set a king over 
 you. 
 
 14 If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, 
 and obey his voice, and not rebel against the 
 
 t commandment of the Lord, then shall both t Hd.. 
 ye and also the king that reigneth over you '''^''' 
 t continue following the Lord your God : t Heb. 
 
 15 But if ye will not obey the voice of *"'^"^- 
 the Lord, but rebel against the command- 
 ment of the Lord, then shall the hand of 
 
 the Lord be against you, as it ■•t'as against 
 your fathers. 
 
 16 ^ Now therefore stand and see this 
 great thing, which the Lord will do before 
 your eyes. 
 
 17 Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will 
 call unto the Lord, and he shall send 
 thunder and rain ; that ye may perceive 
 and see that your wickedness is great, 
 which ye have done in the sight of the 
 Lord, in asking you a king. 
 
 IS So Samuel called unto the Lord; 
 and the Loud sent thunder and rain that 
 day : and all the people greatly feared the 
 Lord and Samuel. 
 
 miracle which God was about to work; namely, that He could in 
 an instant, and at a time when they least of all expected it, deprive 
 them of all the comforts of life, as they justly deserved, for tlieir 
 great wickedness in rejecting Him and His Prophet. Stackhouse. 
 
 The former rain is the first that falls in autumn after a long 
 summer's drought, which is usually terminated in Judea and 
 the neighbouring coimtries by heavy showers that last for some 
 days. In Judea, according to Dr. Shaw, who must have learnt 
 it by inquiries from the inhabitantj^ of tlie countrj-, the beginning 
 of November is the time of the first descent of rain ; though in 
 other parts of SjTia it happens sooner. The latter rain is that 
 which generally comes about the middle of April; after which it 
 seldom or never rains during the whole summer. And therefore 
 when, at the prayer of Samuel, the Lord sent thunder and rain in 
 the time of wheat harvest, such an unusual phenomenon, happen- 
 ing immediately according to the Prophet's pretliction, was justly 
 considered as an authentick sign of his having spoken by the Di- 
 vine autiiority. Dr. Blaipicj/. 
 
 your irickedness is sreat,"^ See note from Bp. Horsley on 
 
 Hosca xiii. 1 1 . 
 
 18. — feared the Lord and Samueh'\ They feared lest God 
 should destroy them for their presumption, and lest Samuel 
 should not intercede for them, on account of the aflront they had 
 put upon him bv asking a king. Dr. Wclh. 
 
 .1X2
 
 Samiiel cumforteth the people. 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 Saul's selected hand. 
 
 Before \i] Aiid all tlic peoplc said unto Samuel, 
 
 ^"Sm'*^ Pray lor thy servants unto the Lord thy 
 
 God, that we die not: for we have added 
 
 unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. 
 
 W % And Samuel said unto the people, 
 Fear not: ye liave done all this wickedness: 
 yet turn not aside from following the Lonn, 
 but serve the Loud with ail your heart; 
 
 21 And turn ye not aside: for then 
 should ye go after vain things, which can- 
 not profit nor deliver; for they are vain. 
 
 Q'l For the Lord will not forsake his 
 people for his great name's sake: because 
 it hath pleased the Lord to make you his 
 people. 
 
 '23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that 
 
 I should sin against the Lord t in ceasing 
 to pray for you : but I will teach you the 
 good and the right way: 
 
 24 Only fear the Lord, and serve him 
 in truth with all your heart: for consider 
 
 II how great things he hath done for you. 
 95 But if ye shall still do \vickedly, ye 
 
 shall be consumed, both ye and your king. 
 
 CHAP. XIIL 
 
 1 SauFs selected band. S He callelh the Hebrews to 
 Gitgal against the Philistines, whose garrison Jona- 
 than had smitten. 5 The Philistines' great host. G 
 The distress of the Israelites. 8 Saul, weari/ of 
 staying for Samuel, sacrificcih. 1 1 Samuel reproveih 
 him. 17 The three spoiling bands of the Philistines. 
 19 The policy of the Philistines, to suffer no smith in 
 Israel. 
 
 " O AUL t reigned one year; and when he 
 O had reigned two years over Israel, 
 
 t Hi'b. 
 JTrvm ctat- 
 
 I Or, 
 
 wkata 
 great tiling, 
 Ac. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 tlte son of 
 9ne year 1 
 Ail reign. 
 
 IJ)- — n-e have added — this evil, to ask us a ting.'^ How 
 clearly does the whole transaction respecting the Israelites' asking 
 a king illustrate in all its circumstances the nature of that govern- 
 ment, which God exercised over His people, and shew how ad- 
 inirably it was adapted to their situation and cliaracter ! It ex- 
 hibits, not the overwhelming violence of resistless power, but the 
 steady, yet mild control of parental autliority, correcting this 
 waywiu-d people with necessary strictness, yet attentive to their 
 feelings, indulgent even to their weaknesses, ever ready to hear 
 their supplications, and accept their penitence. While in the 
 peoplc we perceive a puerile turn of mind, easily caught by out- 
 warcl .shew, and breaking fortli into tumultuous applause, at be- 
 holding the stature and beauty of their new sovereign, chap. x. 23, 
 i!4; rather weak and inconstant in their moral ancl religious cha- 
 racter, than obstinately impious and depraved; often inattentive 
 to the guardian hand of Providence, but never deliberately re- 
 jecting the authority of tlieir heavenly King. On the contrary, 
 when tlieir reflection is roused, and their seriousness awakened, 
 by a sensible proof of the Divine displeasure, chap. xii. 16— 1<), 
 they, as it should seem, humbly confess and deeply lament their 
 transgressions, ackiiowledge gratefully tiic past mercies of their 
 God, deprecate Hi, wrath with heartfelt terrour, and engage for 
 their own future obedience with heartfelt sincerity. .Such ap- 
 pears the real characu-r of the Jewish people; such the nature of 
 that <li»ciphne, and the degree of that control which the wisdom 
 ot OcKl exercisecl over them, as sufficient for securing the great 
 objecUofthcU.vine dispensations. Dr. Graves. 
 ' ' • — '<"'' '/>'"gs,'} False gods or idob. 
 
 2 Said chose him three thousand tnen of (,j^'^°[|y 
 thousand were with 
 
 Israel ; iihereof two 
 Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth-el, 
 and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gi- 
 beah of Benjamin: and the rest of the 
 people he sent every man to his tent. 
 
 3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of 
 the Philistines that teas in || Geba, and the 
 Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the 
 trumpet throughout all the land, saying. 
 Let the Hebrews hear. 
 
 4 And all Israel heard say that Saul 
 had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, 
 and that Israel also t was had in abomi- 
 nation with the Philistines. And the peo- 
 ple were called together after Saul to Gil- 
 gal. 
 
 5 ^ And the Philistines gathered them- 
 selves together to fight w-ith Israel, thirty 
 thousand chariots, and six thousand horse- 
 men, and people as the sand which is on 
 the sea shore in multitude: and they came 
 up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward 
 from Beth-aven. 
 
 C When the men of Israel saw that they 
 w'ere in a strait, (for the people were dis- 
 tressed,) then the people did hide them- 
 selves in caves, and in thickets, and in 
 rocks, and in high places, and in pits. 
 
 7 And some of the Hebrews went over 
 Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. 
 As for Saul, he xcas yet in Gilgal, and all 
 the people t followed him trembling. 
 
 8 % "And he tarried seven days, accord- 
 ing to the set time riiat Samuel fiad ap- 
 
 10<>3. 
 
 II Or. 
 /At- hill. 
 
 t Hel>. 
 did stiiiSr. 
 
 t Hel>. 
 trembled 
 after him. 
 '' Cliap. 10. 
 8. 
 
 23. — God forbid that I should sin — in ceasing to pray for 
 you:'] Samuel counted it a sin to cca.sc to pray, even for those 
 who had entreated him ill. His love and zeal for them were 
 not diminished, but increased, by their ingratitude. He saw it 
 the more necessary to " teach them the good and right way," be- 
 cause they had forsaken it, and to offer up his prayers for them, 
 because they had offended God and done wickedly. Christian 
 parents and masters, as well as Christian priests and divines, 
 should study and practise this excellent pattern. They should ■ 
 reprove, if it be necessary, those under their care, with sharpness 
 and authority; but at the same time, in the spirit of the good Sa- 
 muel, should never cease to instruct them and to pray lor them. 
 Wogan. 
 
 Chap. XIII. ver. 1. Saul reigned one year; &c.] Interpreters 
 are much divided in their interpretation of this passage. The 
 sense seems to be this: that Said had reigned one year when 
 that happened which is related in the foregoing chapter; namely, 
 Samuel's convening the people, and reproving them. Then the 
 histoi-y proceeds to relate what afterwards passed; namely, that 
 when he had reigned two years, he " chose three thousand men 
 &c." Wogan. 
 
 5. — thirty thousand ckariot.t,'] This number appears prodi- 
 gious: the Syriack and Arabick Versions have 3000, instead of 
 30,000, which is probably the true reading; and even then we 
 must suppose, that under the name of chariots are included car- 
 riages of every descriptiou which attended the army. Bp. Pa- 
 trick, Dr. Wells.
 
 Saul sacrificeth. 
 
 CH:AP. XIII. 
 
 Samuel reproveth Mm. 
 
 bless him. 
 
 ^'^^'^ pointed ~r but Samuel came not to Gil- 
 1033. gal ; and the people were scattered from 
 him. 
 
 9 And Saul said, Bring hither a biu-nt 
 offering to me, and peace offerings. And 
 he offered the burnt offering. 
 
 10 And it came to pass, that as soon as 
 he had made an end of offering the burnt 
 offering, behold, Samuel came ; and Saul 
 
 t Heb. went out to meet him, that he might t sa- 
 lute him. 
 
 11^ And Samuel said, What hast thou 
 done ? And Saul said, Because I saw that 
 the people were scattered from me, and 
 that thou earnest not Avithin the daj^s ap- 
 pointed, and that the Philistines gathered 
 themselves together at Michmash ; 
 
 12. — / forced myself therefore, &c.] This excuse of Saul's 
 carries a plausible appearance ; but, at the bottom, it is nothing 
 more than his setting up his own discretion and conduct against 
 the positi\e command of God : for God was Governour in chief 
 of the affairs of Israel, and Saul had nothing to fear from the 
 Philistines, so long as he obej'ed His orders. Saul's piety on this 
 occasion was merely pretended : for when he prayed to God to 
 prosper his imdertaking in a way which was contrai-y to His own 
 clear revelation, his conduct was so far from deserving the name 
 of piety, that it was a direct affront on His infinite wisdom. 
 Heading. 
 
 13. — Thou hast done foolishly : &c.] The command which Sa- 
 muel had given to Saul when he anointed him, chap. x. 8, was, to 
 come to Gilgal to offer sacrifice, to wait for him there seven days, 
 and to act by his direction. Saul transgressed every part of this 
 command, in offering the sacrifice liimself which slioidd have 
 been offered only by the Prophet ; in not waiting till tlie end of 
 the seventh day, but offering on the morning of that day ; and 
 in intending to begin the war without any direction from Sa- 
 muel. Thus he broke the commandment of God, which was ex- 
 pressly given to prove his trust in Clod's word, and his obedience 
 to the law, and obtruded himself, without authority, on the office 
 of the priest ; herein giving proof of a presumptuous and impa- 
 tient temper. Bp. Patrick, Dr. U'elh. Probably Samuel came 
 not within the time appointed, on purpose, perhaps, to prove the 
 faith and patience of Saul. Dr. Hales. Saul, impatient and weak 
 in faith, snatched at the seeming advantage of the moment, and 
 shrunk not from purchasing it at the price of disobedience. He 
 called for burnt offerings and peace offerings. Scai-cely had he 
 made an end of offering when Samuel arrived. Saul endeavoured 
 pai-tly to extenuate, partly to vindicate, his conduct, and pleaded 
 the critical emergency. The Prophet cut off at once all excuses 
 by a declaration, to which the understanding and conscience of 
 the king immediately bore witness, " Thou hast done foolishly." 
 Gisborne. God would have us adhere inviolably to what He 
 commands, and not depart from it on any pretence whatever. 
 We must never seek excuses or make use of pleas when God com- 
 mands ; for nothing is more offensive to Him than disobedience 
 to His orders. Ostcrvald. 
 
 for ever."^ Not strictly for ever, but for a long time, 
 
 or as long as his posterity should remain : for God could not 
 intend to establish the kingdom in Saul for ever, without 
 contradicting the prophecy of Jacob, Genesis xlix. 10, who 
 had promised the sceptre to the tribe of Judah. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 14. — the Lord hath .wught him a man after his onn heart, ~\ 
 God had not yet commanded David to lead His people, but He 
 fully intended so to do, if Saul did not repent and olitain a par- 
 don of Him for his offence: he had not yet provoked Him so fiir, 
 as to have an irreversible sentence passed upon him : but the sen- 
 
 12 Therefore said I, The Phihstines will chrYst 
 come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I 1093. 
 have not t made supplication unto the t Heb. 
 Lord : I forced myself therefore, and of- "^"""^ 
 fered a burnt offering. 
 
 13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast 
 done foolishly : thou hast not kept the com- 
 mandment of the Lord thy God, which he 
 commanded thee : for now would the Lord 
 have established thy kingdom upon Israel 
 for ever. 
 
 14 But now thy kingdom shall not con- 
 tinue : the Lord hath sought him a man 
 after his own heart, and the Lord hath 
 commanded him to be captain over his 
 people, because thou hast not kept that 
 which the Loud commanded thee. 
 
 tence might have been revoked if he had not persisted in his fol- 
 ly, and committed a much gi'eater offence against the Divine Ma- 
 jesty in his war against Amalek. Bp. Patrick. David is licre 
 called " a man after God's own heart," because he acted in con- 
 formity to the main purpose of God's heart. He is so called, not 
 on account of his private virtues, but of his publick conduct; not 
 for a spotless purity of manners, but for his abhorrence of idola- 
 try, and his strict adherence to the civil and religious laws of his 
 country. Whoever exerted himself vigorously and effectually in 
 upholding true religion, which was the great end and main de- 
 sign of the Divine government establislied over the Jews, niiglit 
 with tile strictest propriety be called a man after Gwl's own 
 heart. Now this was the distinguishing excellence of David's 
 life: he was a sincere and hearty lover of his country, a zealous 
 observer of its laws in opposition to all idolatrj', from which he 
 kept himself and his people at the utmost distmce. If any 
 Christian writers have supposed that this tide was the mark of 
 moral perfection, and, in consequence of that, have exalteil Da- 
 vid's character into a standard of virtue, tliey have, with a very 
 good meaning perhaps, done a very injudicious thing. Bp. Por- 
 teus. Whoever observes the occasion of this expression wdl fintl, 
 that it ouglit to be taken principally in a comparative sense, and 
 in reference to the conduct of Said, whose transgression, in spar- 
 ing Amalek, the Prophet Samuel was then reproving ; it means, 
 that, in executing God's decrees against the idolatrous nations 
 round about him, David would be more punctual, and not so 
 remiss as S;uil had been, and in tliis respect would confomi to 
 the Divine will, or be " the man after God's own hsart." Stack, 
 house. " The man after God's own heart" stands in opposition 
 to the character of Saul, who is described as acting foolishly, by 
 breaking the commandment of God, and rejected by Him ; that 
 is, deprived of the succession to tlie crown in his family, on ac- 
 count of his folly, presumption, and disobedience. It therefore 
 means, one who woidd act prudently, and obey the commandments 
 of God delivered to him by His Prophets, and whom therefore 
 God would thus far approve and continue to favour. There are 
 therefore two senses, which are evidently implied in this chjvracter 
 of a man after God's own heart ; a man who would faithfully exe- 
 cute the will of God according as he was comroandetl ; and one 
 who, on that account, and so tar, would be the object of His a\y. 
 probation. In one or other, or both, of these senses, we find the 
 expression always used. Dr. Cha-idler. In a general and in- 
 definite way of speaking, where the subject treate<l of is only the 
 general relation of man to God, no one cnn be called " a man 
 after God's own heart," but he who uses his best endeavours to 
 imitate God's purity, as far as humanity will allow, in the uni- 
 form practice of every virtue : but, in tlie case of David, this 
 character was not given for his private morals, but for his publick 
 conduct, for his zeal especially m advancing the glory of the Di- 
 vine govenunent. Bp. Warbialon.
 
 The polin/ of the Pkilhtines. 
 
 I. S A M U E L. Jonathan smitcth the Philistines' garrison. 
 
 Before 
 
 ciinis 
 
 1093. 
 
 fllcU 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 aJiU with 
 mout/ii, 
 f Hcb. 
 tu tet. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 standing 
 
 camp. 
 
 1.5 And Samuel arose, and gat him up 
 
 '" from Gili^al unto (Jibcah of Benjamin. 
 
 And Saul luimhored the peoi)le that icere 
 
 t present with him, about six hundred 
 
 men. 
 
 10 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and 
 the people that iva-e jircscnt with them, 
 abode in (iibeah of BenjamiM : but the 
 Philistines encamped in Michmash. 
 
 17 % And the spoilers came out of the 
 camp of the Philistines in three companies: 
 one company turned unto the way t/utt 
 Icadcth to Oplirah, unto the land of Shual : 
 
 IS And another company turned the 
 way to Bcth-iioron : and another company 
 turned to tlie way of the border that look- 
 eth to the \alley of Zeboim toward the 
 wilderness. 
 
 19 H Now there was no smith found 
 throughout all the land of Israel : for the 
 Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make 
 them swords or spears : 
 
 '20 But all the Israelites went down to 
 the Philistines, to sharpen every man his 
 share, and his coidter, and his ax, and his 
 mattock. 
 
 21 Yet they had t a file for the mattocks, 
 and for the coulters, and for the forks, and 
 for the axes, and tto shaqien the goads. 
 
 22 So it came to pass in the day of 
 battle, that there was neither sword nor 
 spear found in the hand of any of the peo- 
 ple that tcere with Saul and Jonathan : but 
 witii Saul and with Jonathan his son w^as 
 there found. 
 
 23 And the || garrison of the Philistines 
 went out to the passage of jMichmash. 
 
 . CHAP. XIV. 
 
 1 Jonathan, unmtting to his father, the priest, or l/tc 
 people, goeth and miraculoui,hj smiteth the Philistines' 
 garrison. 1.5 ,1 divine terror maketh tliem Iieut tliem- 
 scli'cs. 1" Saul, Wit slaying the priest's answer, set- 
 teth on them. 21 The caplivnted Hebrews, and the 
 hidden Israelites, join again.it them. 24 SauFs un- 
 advised adjuration hindereth Ike victory. 32 He re- 
 slraineth l/ie people from eating hlood. .35 He buildeth 
 an altar. 3G Jonathan, taken by lot, is saved by the 
 .people, n Saul's strength andfamih/. 
 
 19. — there teat no smith found &c.] .Sucli w.i.s die miserable 
 condition to which the tyranny of the Philistines had reduced the 
 Israelites. By a similar policy the Chaldeans took away the 
 smiths of the Uraelitos, -J Kinjj.s xxiv. 14 ; Jer. xxiv. 1 ; xxix. 2 ; 
 ■nd Porsemia obli;;ed. by covenant, the Roman people to use no 
 won, except m tilling tlieir fields, lip. ralrielc. 
 
 '^0. —rfuHm to the Philistines, &c.j Not to the countni of the 
 
 I lulistuies. which was distant, but to the garrisons which the Phi- 
 
 listmet held amonR tiiem. Bp. Patriek. 
 
 m'u~"."" /v'.wfl^'c of Michmash.2 The passage which led to 
 
 ir^r '^*"*^ '* '*■*' '^""^'*' necessary to secure. Dr. 
 
 there was a 
 day. 
 
 Chap. 4. 
 
 21. 
 
 NOW II it came to pass upon a day, that pj^^jj7|.r 
 Jonathan the son of Saul saitl unto about iost. 
 the young man that bare his armour, II or. 
 Come, and let us go over to the Philis- 
 tines' garrison, that is on the other side. 
 But he told not his father. 
 
 2 And Saul tarried in the uttermost 
 part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree 
 which is in Migron : and the people that 
 zcere with him rcere about six hundred 
 men ; 
 
 3 And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, *I- 
 chabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the 
 son of Eli, the Lord's priest in Shiloli, 
 wearing an ephod. And the people knew 
 not that Jonathan was gone. 
 
 1- % And between the passages, by which 
 Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philis- 
 tines' garrison, there tc'a.5 a sharp rock on 
 the one side, and a sharp rock on the other 
 side : and the name of the one "was Bozez, 
 and the name o*' the other Seneh. 
 
 5 The tforei'ront of the one ti'as situate t""!'- 
 northward over against Michmash, and the 
 othei' southward over against Gibeah. 
 
 6 And Jonathan said to the young man 
 that bare his armour, Come, and let us go 
 over unto the garrison of these uncircum- 
 cised : it may be that the Lord will work 
 for us : for there is no restraint to the 
 Lord '' to save by many or by few. 
 
 7 And his armourbearer said unto him. 
 Do all that is in thine heart : turn thee ; 
 behold, I am with thee according to thy 
 heart. 
 
 8 Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will 
 pass over unto these men, and we will dis- 
 cover ourselves unto them. 
 
 9 If they say thus unto us, + Tarry until t Hci.. 
 we come to you; then we will stand still ^"""• 
 in our place, and will not go up unto them. 
 
 10 But if they say thus. Come up unto 
 us ; then we will go up : for " the Lord 
 hath delivered them into our hand : and 
 this shall be a sign unto us. 
 
 11 And both of them discovered them- 
 selves unto the garrison of the Philistines : 
 
 Chap. XIV. ver. 1. — that is on the otJicr .w/c] On the other 
 side of " the passage of Michmasli," mentioned in the last verse. 
 This attempt of Jonathan's would have been rash-.nnil criminal, 
 as he had no orders from his fatlier, who conim.'.n<k*d the army, 
 if he liad not been stirred to it by a. Divine impulse. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. •- 
 
 10. — this shall he a sign unto vs.'^ This shall be a watchword 
 to us, presaging our certain victory. Bp. Hall. Hence it appears, 
 that the undertaking of Jonathan proceeded wholly from a Di- 
 vine instinct, which had suggested to him what is contained in 
 this and the foregoing verse, as a sign of what they were to do. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 " '2 Chion. 
 14.111. 
 
 ' 1 M.-.a-. 
 4. 30.
 
 A divhie terror seizeth them. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Saul* s unadvised adjuration. 
 
 c^rTt ^"^ *^^ Philistines said, Behold, the He- 
 about 10S7. brews come forth out of the holes where 
 they had hid themselves. 
 
 12 And the men of the garrison an- 
 swered Jonathan and his armourbearer, 
 and said, Come up to us, and we will shew 
 you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his 
 armourbearer. Come up after me : for the 
 Lord hath delivered them into the hand 
 of Israel. 
 
 13 And Jonathan climbed up upon his 
 hands and upon his feet, and his armour- 
 bearer after him : and they fell before Jo- 
 nathan ; and his armourbearer slew after 
 him. 
 
 14 And that first slaughter, which Jona- 
 than and his armourbearer made, was about 
 
 n Or, twenty men, within as it were II an half 
 half afar- ^cre of laud, which a yoke of oxen might 
 
 TOW uf nit ' J .J a 
 
 acrcofland. pl0U\ 
 
 15 And there was trembling in the host, 
 in the field, and among all the people : the 
 garrison, and the spoilers, they also trem- 
 
 t Hcb. bled, and the earth quaked : so it was t a 
 ^fGoii. very great trembling. 
 
 16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah 
 of Benjamin looked ; and, behold, the mul- 
 titude melted away, and they went on beat- 
 ing down one another. 
 
 17 Then said Saul unto the people that 
 •were with him. Number now, and see who 
 is gone from us. And when they had 
 numbered, behold, Jonathan and his ar- 
 mourbearer "were not there. 
 
 18 And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring 
 hither the ark of God. For the ark of 
 God was at that time with the children of 
 Israel. 
 
 19 ^ And it came to pass, while Saul 
 talked unto the priest, that tlie II noise that 
 was in the host of tlie Philistines went on 
 and increased : and Saul said unto tlie 
 priest, Withdraw thine hand. 
 
 20 And Saul and all the people that xvere 
 
 15. — and the earth quaked :'\ Some think there was a real 
 earthquake, whicli increased their fear ; but it may be no more 
 than a metaphorical expression for the great tumult into which 
 they were thrown. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 16. — the multitude melted away,'\ The multitude of the Phi- 
 listines grew less and less, from the confusion into which they 
 were thrown. Dr. Wells. 
 
 18. — Bring hither the ark of God.'} The ark mentioned 
 here, as also at 2 Sam. xi. 11, is understood not to mean the ark 
 of the covenant which contained the tables of the Decalogue, but 
 another ark or chest, wliich was made for the conveniency of 
 carrying about the sacred ephod with the Urim and Tliummim, 
 that they might be able to consult God on any sudden emer- 
 gency. Dr. Berriman. 
 
 23. — the battle passed over unto Belh-avcii.'} These words seem 
 to imply that the fight continued till they came to this place, 
 ■which lay westward from Michmash, chap. siii. 5 ; and there the 
 
 1! Or, 
 
 tumult. 
 
 with him t assembled themselves, and they Christ 
 came to the battle : and, behold, ■* every about los?. 
 man's sword was against his fellow, a)idfHeh. 
 there was a very great discomfiture. Z^ih^'' 
 
 21 Moreover the Hebrews that were •■ J"dg- 7. 
 with the Philistines before that time, sOiron. 
 which went up with them into the camp 20.23. 
 
 Jrovi the country round about, even they 
 also turiied to be with the Israelites that 
 were with Saul and Jonathan. 
 
 22 Likewise all the men of Israel which 
 had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, 
 when they heard that the Philistines fled, 
 even they also followed hard after them in 
 the battle. 
 
 23 So the Lord saved Israel that day : 
 and the battle passed over unto Beth- 
 aven. 
 
 24 ^ And the men of Israel were dis- 
 tressed that day : for Saul had adjured the 
 people, saying. Cursed be the man that 
 eateth any food until evening, that I may 
 be avenged on mine enemies. So none of 
 the people tasted a^iy food. 
 
 25 And all they of the land came to a 
 wood ; and there was honey upon the 
 ground. 
 
 26 And when the people were come into 
 the wood, behold, the honey dropped ; but 
 no man put his hand to his mouth : for the 
 people feared the oath. 
 
 27 But Jonathan heard not when his 
 father charged the people with the oath : 
 wherefore he put forth the end of the rod 
 that was in his hand, and dipped it in an 
 honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth j 
 and his eyes were enlightened. 
 
 28 Then answered one of the people, 
 and said, Thy father straitly charged the 
 people with an oath, saying. Cursed be the 
 man that eateth any food this day. And 
 the people were II faint. 
 
 29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath 
 troubled the land : see, I pray you, how 
 
 Or, 
 
 mart/. 
 
 Philistines threw down their arms, and fled as fast as they could 
 to their own country. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 24. _ for Saul had adjured} As Saul's intention m making 
 this adjuration was good, namelj', to execute vengeance on the 
 enemies of God and His people; so the matter of the obligation 
 was not in itself unlawful, if he had not been so rigorous in the 
 exclusion of food, without any exception for cases of necessity, 
 and in obliging tlie people to it under pain of an accursed death, 
 which was a punishment far exceeding the fault. Poole. 
 
 2,5. there was honci/ upon the ground.} ^Vhich drop]>ed from 
 
 the hollow trees or the clefts of rocks, where bees make their combs 
 in tliat country, as they do sometimes on the ground. Wild lio- 
 ney was so copious there, and flowed so plentifully, that it gave 
 occasion to the hyperbolical expression in the book of Job, chnp. 
 XX. 17, of brookx'or torrent.^ ofhonei) and butter. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 07. n7id his eyes were enlishtened.} He received new strength, 
 
 by which all his senses were dieered and revived. Bp. Halt.
 
 Tlie people restrained from eating blood. 
 
 B»f..rr mine eyes have been enlightened, because 
 Zn\ll I tastea a little of this honey. 
 
 30 How much more, il liaply the people 
 had eaten freelvto dav of the spod of then- 
 enemies which' thev found? for had there 
 not been now a much greater slaughter 
 among the Philistines:-' 
 
 31 And they smote the Phdistuies that 
 day from Michmash to Aijalon : and the 
 people were very iaint. 
 
 3^2 And the people flew upon the spoil, 
 and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and 
 slew l/iem on the ground : and the people 
 . Le^ 7 did eat t/ian ' with the blood. 
 26.&I9. 33 f Then they told Saul, saying, Be- 
 D«.t.i2. Iiold, the people sin against the Lord, in 
 •6. that they eat with the blood. And he said, 
 
 I Or, Ye have II transgressed : roll a great stone 
 ^':^r unto me this day. 
 
 31. And Saul said. Disperse yourselves 
 among the people, and say unto them, 
 IJring me hither every man his ox, and 
 every man his sheep, and slay t/ietii here, 
 and eat ; and sin not against the Lord in 
 eating with the blood. And all the people 
 fiw.. brouglit every man his ox t with him that 
 inhuhami. night, uud slcw tJient there. 
 
 35 And Saul built an altar unto the 
 
 I Hcb. Lord : t the same was the flrst altar that 
 
 "<"' "'""• he built unto the Lord. 
 
 tu?Z.'.:' 36 % And Saul said, Let us go down 
 
 "" -ty^-o- after the Philistines by night, and spoil 
 
 them until the morning light, and let us 
 
 not leave a man of them. And they said. 
 
 Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. 
 
 Then said the priest, Let us draw near 
 
 hither unto God. 
 
 37 And Saul asked counsel of God, 
 Sliall I go down after the Philistines? 
 wilt thou deliver them into the hand of 
 
 32. — did eal litem with llic hlood."^ For want of patience to dress 
 tlieir provisions in due lorni, tlicy eat their flesh, half boiled and 
 half roasted, willi the Mood not duly drained from it, contrary to 
 the express injunction of their law, Lcvit. vii. 26; xix. SiC; Dent. 
 XV. 'J;; ; xii. l6. Pi/lc. It seems probable, that on this occasion 
 the jK-ople, in tlieir iiaste to satisfy tlieir hunger, began eating the 
 .inimals while there was sonic natural warnitli in them, and the 
 possibility of hie remaining. Dr. J. Clarke. 
 
 33. — roll a great stone unto me this iloi/.'] He desires them to 
 roll a f^cat stone unto him, for the purpose of building an alt;ir, 
 as is related at ver. .'Jj, in order that they might slaughter their 
 Animals on it before (Jo<l, and under \\\^ own view ; or else that 
 the bloiKl of the animal slaughtered might sooner runoff, by its 
 head han^jing from the sUine ; for, before, they had been slaugh- 
 tering their animals on tlie level ground, by which means the 
 blo<xl was so long in running off, that, in the impatience of their 
 huof^er, they could not wait for it. — " This day," means " now," 
 •' at this time." Poole's Vyn. Critic. 
 
 ■*■'■ ~ ^.'"^ "" "'''"■ '">'" "'« I^rd :2 To offer sacrifices of 
 peace oficrings, and to give thanks to God for this great victory ; 
 though other's ihiuk it was a inouument in the form of an altar, 
 
 L SAMUEL. 
 
 Jonathati taken by lot. 
 
 Israel? But he answered him not that j, B'jf""^ 
 
 Jgy^ sbout 1087. 
 
 38 And Saul said. Draw ye near hither, 
 
 ^lU the t chief of the people: and know and ; J>«ig- 20 
 see wherein this sin hath been this day. fHeb. 
 
 39 For, as the Loud liveth, which sav- <•'"•'»"■»• 
 eth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my 
 
 son, he shall surely die. But there "was not 
 a man among all the people that answered 
 
 him. 
 
 40 Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye 
 on one side, and I and Jonathan my son 
 will be on the other side. And the people 
 said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good 
 unto thee. 
 
 41 Therefore Saul said unto the Lord 
 God of Israel, II Give a perfect lot. And II Oi, 
 Saul and Jonathan were taken : but the ^f,^„'*' '"' 
 people t escaped. t "e^. 
 
 42 And Saul said, Cast lot^ between me """'•^'"■' '' 
 and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was 
 taken. 
 
 43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me 
 what thou hast done. And Jonathan told 
 him, and said, I did but taste a little honey 
 with the end of the rod that 'was in mine 
 hand, and, lo, I must die. 
 
 44 And Saul answered, God do so and 
 more also : for thou shalt surely die, Jona- 
 than. 
 
 45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall 
 Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great 
 salvation in Israel ? God forbid : as the 
 Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his 
 head fall to the ground ; for he hath 
 wrought with God this day. So the peo- 
 ple rescued Jonathan, that he died not. 
 
 46 Then Saul went up from following 
 the Philistines : and the Philistines went 
 to their own place. 
 
 in remembrance of the Divine mercy in the late deliverance. lip. 
 Patrick. 
 
 .S8. — wherein this sin hath hecn~\ From God's not regarding 
 his sup])lication, he concluded that some sin had been committed, 
 which had jirovoked His displeasure. Bji. Patrick. 
 
 41. — Give a perfect lot.'] The word " lot" is not in the ori- 
 ginal : but the Hebrew words signify give perfect, tiiat is, declare 
 nlio is innocent. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4.5. — So the people rescued Jotiatluui,'] By tlieir petition to 
 Saul, and also by earnest prayers to God, vho jierhaps signified 
 to the high priest that He approved the pcojile's desire, and an- 
 nulled Saul's oath as rash and inconsiderate. Dr. Wells. 
 
 Saul's conduct on this memorable day was rash and impolitick 
 in the extreme. Instead of tru.sting in the Lord to avenge him of 
 his enemies, like his pious son Jonathan, he cursed any of the 
 people, who would cat food until the e\ening, that nothing might 
 interrupt the slaughter: but he " troubled the land" thereby, for 
 the people, growing faint with hunger, were I'orccd to transgress; 
 and Jonathan would have suffered death for inadvertently incur- 
 ring the curse, had not the people interfered in his favour. Ih.. 
 Hales.
 
 SauPs strength and family. 
 
 CHAP. XIV, XV 
 
 Saul is sent to destroy AmaleTt. 
 
 chrYst '^^ ^ '^° '^^"' *°"^ *^^ liingdom over Is- 
 
 »boutio37. lael, and fought against all his enemies on 
 
 every side, against Moab, and against the 
 
 children of Ammon, and against Edom, 
 
 and against the kings of Zobah, and a- 
 
 gainst the Philistines : and whithersoever 
 
 he turned himself, he vexed therru 
 
 \vol!-'ht *^ '^"'^ ^^ " gathered an host, and smote 
 
 mt^iaiii/. the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of 
 
 the hands of them that spoiled them. 
 
 49 Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, 
 and Ishui, and Melchi^shua: and the names 
 of his two daughters iiere these; the name 
 of the firstborn Merab, and the name of 
 the younger Michal: 
 
 50 And the name of Saul's wife isoas 
 Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and 
 the name of the captain of his host "i^as 
 Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle. 
 
 51 And Kish "ieas the father of Saul; 
 and Ner the father of Abner li-as the son 
 of Abiel. 
 
 52 And there was sore war against the 
 Philistines all the days of Saul : and when 
 Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant 
 man, he took him unto him. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 1 Samuel sendeth Saul to dcxirotj Amalek. 6 Sniil fit- 
 vourelh the Keniles. 8 He sparelh Agag and the best 
 of the spoil. 10 Samuel Henonnceth unto Saul, com- 
 mending and ejccusing himself, God's rejection of him 
 for his disobedience. 24 Saul's humiliation. 32 Sa- 
 muel hilleth Agag, 34 Samuel and Saul part. 
 
 52. — he took him unto him.^ That is, he chose the best men 
 for strength and courage to be his guards, and to be preferred in 
 the army. Pyle. 
 
 Chap. XV. ver. 3. — go and smite Amalek, &c.] This heavy sen- 
 tence was pronounced against the Amalekites long ago, Kxod. xvii. 
 14; and renewed at the entrance of the Israehtes into Canaan, with 
 a charge not to forget it, Deut. xxv. 19: the order is now gi\-en to 
 put it in execution. Bp. Patrick. It may justly be esteemed a 
 question of some difficulty, whence it might come to pass that God 
 should give so very severe a command. There certainly cannot 
 happen any case, wherein it would be justifiable for any mortal 
 power, upon his own authority, to take ii))on him to deal in such 
 a manner with any enemy whatever. But Cjod, who is the su- 
 preme Author and Ix^rd of all, and who has an unquestioned right 
 to take away that life which He Himself at first freely gave, and 
 who alone can without errour judge when a nation has filled up 
 tile measure of their iniquit}', and who in the life to come can with- 
 out respect of persons distinguish equitably the case of every in- 
 dividual person, which in the exemplary severity of a national 
 judgment was not proper to be distinguished here; He may, very 
 consistently with justice and equity, command such univers;d 
 judgments to be inflicted, when and wjiere He thinks fit: there 
 being in reality no difference whether he conmiands a whole na- 
 tion, without distinction of persons, to be destroyed in war, as in 
 tlie present case of Amalek and that of the nations of Canaan; or 
 whether He consumes them by a flood, as at the univer.sal de- 
 luge; or by fire from heaven, as in the case of Sodom; or by 
 a sudden earthquake, or by pestilential diseases, or by a natural 
 death. All these tilings in the hand of God, who rvjetli over all, 
 Vol. I. 
 
 s 
 
 AMUEL also said unto Saul, ' The (.^^"'It 
 Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king about 1079. 
 over his people, over Israel : now therefore ^ chap. 9. 
 hearken thou unto the voice of the words '^■ 
 of the Lord. 
 
 2 llius saith the Lord of hosts, I re- 
 member that which Amalek did to Israel, 
 ^ how he laid Xiait for him in the way, when » Exod. 17. 
 he came up from Effvpt. ^ , . 
 
 n XT " 1 • "^ ' A 11 1 , Numb. 24. 
 
 6 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly 20. 
 destroy all that they have, and spare them 
 not; but slay both man and woman, infant 
 and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 
 
 4 And Saul gathered the people together, 
 and numbered them in Telaim, two hun- 
 dred thousand footmen, and ten thousand 
 men of Judah. 
 
 5 And Saul came .to a city of Amalek, 
 and II laid wait in the valley. u Or, 
 
 6 % And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go,-^''"^*'- 
 depart, get you down from among the A- 
 malekites, lest I destroy you with them: 
 
 for ye shewed kindness to all the children 
 of Israel, when they came up out of Eg}-pt. 
 So the Kenites departed from among the 
 Amalekites. 
 
 7 And Saul smote the Amalekites 
 from Havilah tnittl thou comest to Shur, 
 that is over against Eg}pt. 
 
 8 And he took Agag the king of the 
 Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all 
 the people with the edge of the sword. 
 
 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, 
 
 and who hath an undoubted power and right over that life which 
 He Himself gave, and who in the world to come can make that 
 exact distinction of persons, which there is no necessity should be 
 made here; in His hand (I say) all these things are equally pro- 
 per instruments of justice; and without all question He may de- 
 stroy a wicke<l nation by what means He Himself thinks tit. Dr. 
 S. Clarke. The severity of this sentence has given offence to in- 
 fidels and filse philanthropists; but without any just ground. 
 The Amalekites had all along shewn the most determined and 
 inveterate hostility towards the Israelites, by waylaying tlicm, 
 and prematurely attacking tliem, and joining their enemies, Deut, 
 xxv. 18; Numb. xiv. 43; Judg. iii. 13, &c.; and, besides, were 
 great sinners themselves, 1 Sam. xv. 18: but they were not cut 
 oft' till their iniquity had come to the fullj as was the case of the 
 devoted nations in general, Gen. xv. 16; and after a respite of 
 more than 400 years from tlio time when their sentence was first 
 pronounced, Exod. xvii. 8; of wliicli they could not be ignorant, 
 but which they might have averted by repentance. They were 
 therefore fit objects of the vengeance of the righteous Judge of all 
 the earth, to be inflicted by the sword of the Israelites, the exe- 
 cutioners of His decrees. Dr. Hales. 
 
 7. —from Havilah &c.] That is, the whole extent of 
 tlie country of Arabia, of which Havilali was the boundary 
 on the northeast, and Shur on the southwest. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 9. — spared Asai;, &C.3 In this Saul disobeyed the command- 
 ment of God, and "followed his own fancy and affection, being 
 either struck with admiration of the personal appearance of Agag, 
 or else intending to lead him in triumph. Bp. Patrick. Here 
 Saul was guilty of two very great fiiults: 1st, of covetousness, in 
 
 3 Y
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 i Or, 
 
 4lht u- 
 
 God*s i-ejection of Saul 
 
 M!»>r and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, 
 ^!^l ami il of the fatJings, and the lambs, and all 
 iJiai :iV7.v good, and would not utterly de- 
 stroy them: but every thing t/iol Tvas vile 
 and" refuse, that they destroyed utterly. 
 
 10 If Then came "the word of the Lord 
 unto Samuel, saying, 
 
 11 It rcpenteth me that I have set up 
 .Said lu be King: for he is turned back from 
 following me, and hath not performed iny 
 conunandments. And it grieved Samuel ; 
 ond he cried unto the Loud all night. 
 
 1^2 And when Samuel rose early to meet 
 Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, 
 saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, 
 he set him up a place, and is gone about, 
 and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 
 
 13 And Samuel came to Saul : and Saul 
 said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord : 
 1 have performed the conunandment of 
 the Lord. 
 
 14 And Samuel said, "What meaneth then 
 this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and 
 the lowing of the oxen which I hear ? 
 
 15 And Saul said, They have brought 
 them from the Amalekites: for the people 
 spared the best of the sheep and of the 
 oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; 
 and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 
 
 16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, 
 
 preserving for liimself the best of all those spoils which God had 
 expressly commanded to be utterly destroyed; 2dly, of vanity 
 and ostentation, in taking Agag the king of Amalek alive, and 
 bringing him with him in triumph, when God had peremptorily 
 commanded him to destroy them all. Dr. S. Clarke. 
 
 11.// repenteth me thnt I have set up &c.] Meaning, that He 
 had resolved to cast him down from the throne. Repentance in 
 God implies only a change in His dispensation towards His crea- 
 tures: it is ascribed to God when He alters His course and me- 
 thod of dealing, and treats a person as if He indeed repented of 
 the kindness He had shewed him. Bp. Patrick. God speaks as a 
 man, to make Himself understood of men. U'ogan. See notes at 
 Gen. vi. (j. 
 
 and hath not performed my cmnmandments.'} This very king 
 
 Saul, but a little time before, would have put his brave son Jo- 
 nathan to death only for tasting a little honey, contrary to his 
 comm.nul. Behold here the pride and impiety of man's heart, 
 full of resentment, if his own unreasonable will be not in all 
 things complietl wiili, and quite negligent and forgetful of the 
 holy will of Go<l! Whereby he plainly honours himself far above 
 hisNIaker, expecting the greatest deference to his own word, 
 while nt the same time he pays little or no reverence to that of 
 the Most High. Heading. 
 
 IZ came to Carmel,^ Not the famous mountain so called, 
 
 but .-i city m the south part of the tribe of Judali, mentioned Josh. 
 XV. 55, which seems to have given name to the territory round it. 
 Eusi'bms and St. .lerome mention, that there was in their time a 
 town called Carmelia, ten miles from Hebron to the east, in which 
 the Itonians kei,t a garrison, which might very well be the same 
 with the CanncI here mentioned. Dr. » f//j. 
 
 : '"' f ' '"'"' "/' " placcl Meaning either that he encampctl 
 liiere lor the night, or that lie erected a triumphal arch in cele- 
 braUon ol his victory. Dr. UelU. 
 
 IJ. — Blc,H-d be thou of the Lwrf;] A form of salutation, 
 
 Jbr his-disohedienci. 
 
 and I will tell thee what the Lord hath ^.j^'^TI^p 
 said to me this night. And he said unto rvboutio7i». 
 him. Say on. 
 
 17 And Samuel said, "WHien thou loast 
 little in thine own sight, wast thou not 
 made the head of the tribes of Israel, and 
 the Lord anointed thee king over Israel ? 
 
 18 And the Lord sent thee on a journey, 
 and said, Go and utterly destroy the sin- 
 ners the Amalekites, and fight against 
 them initil t they be consumed. t Hei"- 
 
 19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey 'iuie'hem. 
 the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon 
 
 the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the 
 Lord ? 
 
 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I 
 have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and 
 have gone the way which the Lord sent 
 me, and have brought Agag the king of _ 
 Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the 
 Amalekites. 
 
 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep 
 and oxen, the chief of the things which 
 should have been utterly destroyed, to sa- 
 crifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. 
 
 22 And Samuel said. Hath the Lord as 
 great delight in burnt offerings and sacri- 
 fices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? i. 
 Behold, " to obey is better tlian sacrifice, ""=<'• ^• 
 
 1 1 1 1 /• . i' Matth. 9. 
 
 and to hearken than the lat oi rams. ixa 12. 7. 
 
 wishing liim all happiness from God; who had ordered him to 
 undertake this service. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 / have petjormed &c.] It might seem from this confident 
 
 address to tlie Prophet, that Saul expected praise and not reproof 
 for M'hat he had done; but, as appears from the Prophet's answer, 
 while the sinner neither saw nor heard his sins, they cried aloud 
 in the cars of God. We cannot but notice here tlie strange blind- 
 ness of a carnal and worldly heart; wc are all too apt, like .Saul, 
 to mistake a part for the whole of our duty, and even to pride 
 ourselves in such a partial obedience, as if it was uniform and 
 complete. Wugan. 
 
 15. — the people spared^ This was a mean excuse, to tlirow 
 all the blame upon the people, when he himself was principally in 
 fault, and when lie had it in his power to govern the people bet- 
 ter. Bp. Patrick. As one sin naturally draws on another, Saul, 
 having first transgressed in the principal action, falls into other 
 continual provocations. On Samuel's coming to meet him, ver. 13, 
 he first presumptuously declares that he had obeyed the com- 
 mandment of the Lord. WTien the falsity of this declaration was 
 immediately laid open, by the spoils which he had taken being 
 present before him, he endeavours to transfer the fault from him- 
 self to others, ver. 15, as if what the people did was not done by 
 his direction and authority. This being too apparent to be de- 
 nied, he next adds an excuse drawn from a pretence of religion; 
 wliich was as much as to say, we have disobeyed the command- 
 ment of God in order to serve Him. Dr. S. Clarke. 
 
 22. — Behold, to obeii is better than sacrifice, &c.]] The mean- 
 ing is, that a virtuous and good life is better, not only than Jew- 
 ish rites and ceremonies, but better even than the best of any 
 other worship that is paid to God, either on earth or in heaven. 
 Nevertheless, as the one ouglit above all things to be done, so the 
 other ought not by any means to be left undone; nay, the wor-. 
 shipping Him is part of that very obedience, and a means to 
 enable meij to perform more acceptably the other parts of their
 
 Saul's fruitless 
 
 CHAR^XV. 
 
 ' hwniliatiofk 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1079. 
 t Heb. 
 fJivinntioHt 
 
 23 For rebellion is as the sin of twitch- 
 craft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and 
 idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the 
 word of the Lord, he hath also rejected 
 thee from being king. 
 
 24 % And Saul said unto Samuel, I have 
 sinned : for I have transgressed the com- 
 mandment of the Lord, and thy words : 
 because I feared the people, and obeyed 
 their voice. 
 
 25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon 
 my sin, and turn again with me, that I may 
 worship the Lord. 
 
 2G And Samuel said unto Saul, I will 
 
 obedience to Him. Dr. S. Clarke. In the case of sacrifice, and aJl 
 other ritual observance.^, it was the inward principle of humble and 
 dutiful obedience which made them acceptable : the outward ob- 
 servance, when separate from that, is vain and insignificant. Dr. 
 Bcrriman. There can be no excuse for swerving from the precise 
 rule which God hath prescribed to us ; nor must we propound a 
 religion out of the good purposes and intentions of pietj' and de- 
 votion, for our convenience, while for the present we decline a 
 fundamental point of our religion, obedience to what He has com- 
 manded. We are not judges what is to be preserved, or which 
 is the way of preser\ ing. It may be God thinks it fit that our 
 estates, liberties, and lives, should be sacrificed to His truth, 
 and for the defence of it ; and tlien, the redeeming eitlier 
 by artifices or compliances is no less than sacrilege. What 
 He hath determined shall be destroyed or utterly lost to us, 
 must not be kept for sacrifices ; and what He hath appointed 
 for sacrifice to Him, must not be preserved to ourselves. Lord 
 Clarendon. 
 
 2,3. — rebellion is as the sin of tvilchcraft, &c.] The word we 
 here render " witchcraft," signifies the following of divinations 
 and enchantments, which were superstitions forbidden witli the 
 severest penalties under the law, and were justly looked upon as 
 a renouncing of God, in having recourse to other real or imagi- 
 nary powers in opposition to Him. When therefore a crime is -said 
 to be " as the sin of witchcraft," the meaning is, that it is a fault 
 of so deep a dye, of so heinous and provoking a nature, that the 
 obstinate commission of it is altogether inconsistent with all true 
 principles of religion, and, in effect, a total renimciation of them. 
 The word " iniquity," in the latter part of the verse, is ini- 
 quity towards God, the forsaking His worship, the denying 
 Him His true honour, the turning from Him to false gods, or 
 joining them with Him ; and therefore it is expressed by two 
 words together, iniquity and idolatry. The latter part of the 
 verse is only a repeating and strengthening of the assertion 
 laid down in the former part : rebelling by obstinate disobe- 
 dience against the true God, is like serving a false one ; and 
 stubbornness in obeying (Jod partially, or serving Him only after 
 our own way or hmnour, is the same thing as not serving Him 
 at all. Dr. S. Clarke. 
 
 God considers all opposition against lawful authority as a sin 
 against Himself. He declare^, that " rebellion is as the «in of 
 witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry :" the 
 meaning of which is this ; that if a man were a Jew, and yet a 
 rebel, he might as well be an heathen : if he were too stubborn 
 to .submit to the ordinances of God, ho might as well be 
 a sorcerer, or serve idols. And it is worthy ot oDservation, 
 that this severe sentence is against .Saul, a king, who usurpeil 
 the authority of the priesthood, and pleaded a godly reason for it. 
 But so jealous is God, for the wisest ends, upon this subject, that 
 no dignity of person, no appearance of reason, is admitted in ex- 
 cuse for the sin of reliellion. We therefore rightly pray in the 
 Liturgy of the Church of England, that God would deliver lis 
 from rebellion in the state and schism in the church ; and in order 
 
 BeFore 
 CHRIST 
 
 alxjut 1079. 
 
 not return with thee : for thou hast re- 
 jected the word of the Lord, and the 
 Lord hath rejected thee from being king 
 over Israel. 
 
 27 And as Samuel turned about to go 
 away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his 
 mantle, and it rent. 
 
 28 And Samuel said unto him, The 
 Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from 
 thee this day, and hath given it to a neigh- 
 bour of thine, that is better than thou. 
 
 29 And also the || Strength of Israel will fl O'v 
 not he nor repent: lor he ts not a man, or, nVfory 
 that he should repent. 
 
 to this we should also pray, that He would deliver us from the 
 principles out of which they proceed ; for none of our reasonings 
 will prevail in this case. Jones of Nayland. 
 
 he hath aho rejected thee from being kingi^ The ungrate- 
 ful monarch, stubborn in rebellion against the will of his heaven- 
 ly Benefactor, is now decisively informed tliat God had rejected 
 him. At first, with daiing falsehood he steadily averred to Sa- 
 muel, that he had obeyed the commandment of the Lord. Then 
 he charged the disobedience on the people ; then pretended that 
 the sheep and oxen were saved for purposes of sacrifice. Driven 
 from evasion to evasion, he could no longer dissemble his guilt, 
 but was constrainetl to confess that he had feared the people in- 
 stead of God, had obeyed their voice instead of tlie voice of God. 
 The extreme solicitude with which, after his confession, he im- 
 portuned Samuel to turn with him and honour him before the eld- 
 ers of the people, shewed that the respect of men was still the 
 darling object of his heart. To the conduct of Saul, in the whole 
 of this transaction, can a name more appropriate than Folly be as- 
 cribed ." Can any fact be more clearly ascertauicd tlian that sin 
 and folly are the same ? Gisborne. 
 
 24. — because I feared the people,'] It is probable that in this 
 Saul only prevaricated, and endeavoured to dissemble with God ; 
 his authority was so great and absolute, that he had no occasion 
 to fear the people ; and his own covetousness certainly made him 
 readily consent to the people and army, even if, as does not ap- 
 pear, the first motion came from them! Dr. Wells. If this excuse 
 had been true, it would have been rather an aggravation, than a 
 diminution of his crime. To fear the people whom he ought to 
 command, wa« a weakness unworthy of a king. To dispense 
 ■with a positive commend of God, was an impious^ presumption ; 
 to obey man rather than Go<l, was wicked and profane. Woi:an. 
 
 28. — The Lord halh rent &c.] God was not moved with Saul's 
 expressions of repentance, because his repentance was not sin- 
 cere ; and the fear of being deprived of his kingdom was his 
 chief motive. For this reason, Sanmcl insisted tJiat GikI had re- 
 jected him, and would never see him more. The sorrow of the 
 wicked is not always true repcnt.-uice ; it is ot\en nothing but a 
 worldly sorrow ; and therefore Gtxl, who knoweth the heart, dis- 
 regards it, and forsakes tlieni when the measure of their iniquity 
 i- full. Ostcrvald. 
 
 ep. _ the Strength of Israel &c.] He tells him it must be una- 
 vailing for him to" importune any farther, for that it w;is not with 
 the great and .-dl-wise CJod as with hasty and irresolute men ; and 
 it was His unalterable decree to transfer the crown from him, and 
 give it to one of less passion and more piety. Pylc As any judge 
 or inferiour magistrate would deserve to >ufter death, who 
 should neglect his duty to his sovereign, when peremptorily com- 
 manded to execute justice in any matter ; so, considering the in- 
 finite dilference between God and man, and the long train of 
 wickedness into which Saul afterwards ran, the severity of GoJ. 
 can hardly be thought excessive, in punishing his contempt of 
 this great command by the iUienation of the crown from his fa- 
 mily. StackhoHsc. 
 
 V, Y 2
 
 Snmuel and Saul part. 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 Samuel anoinicth David. 
 
 Bcfor. so Tlicn lie said, I have sinned : yel 
 ftouIVw'T lionoiir me now, 1 pray thee, before the 
 
 elders of niv pcopio, and before Israel, 
 
 and turn again with me, that I may wor- 
 ship the Loud thy Ciod. 
 
 S\ So Samuel turned again after Saul; 
 
 and Saul worshipped the Lord. 
 
 3-2 H Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither 
 
 to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. 
 
 And Agag came unto him delicately. 
 
 And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of 
 
 death is past. 
 *Eioa.i7. 3S And Samuel said, " As thy sword 
 Kumb. II. hath made women childless, so shall thy 
 *^- mother be childless among women. And 
 
 Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the 
 
 Lord in Gilgal. 
 
 34 % Then Samuel went to Ramah ; and 
 Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of 
 Saul. 
 
 35 And Samuel came no more to see 
 Saul until the day of his death : neverthe- 
 less Samuel mourned for Saul: and the 
 Lord repented that he had made Saul king 
 over Israel. 
 
 CHAP. XVL 
 
 1 Samuel sent by God, under ■pretence of a sacrifice, 
 Cometh to Beth-leliem. 6 His human judgment is re- 
 proved. 11 He anoinicth David. 15 Haul sendelh 
 for David to quiet his evil spirit. 
 
 about 1063. A ^Y) the Lord said unto Samuel, How 
 ±\. long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing 
 I have rejected him from reigning over 
 Israel ? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I 
 ■will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite : 
 for I have provided me a king among his 
 sons. 
 
 2 And Samuel said, How can I go ? if 
 Saul hear //, he will kill me. And the 
 
 t^Htb. Lord said. Take an heifer t with thee, and 
 hand. say, I am come to sacrifide to the Lord. 
 
 3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I 
 will shew thee what thou shalt do: and 
 
 .-50. — ycl honour me — before the cldcm of m>/ people,'] Saul, 
 thoujrh he used no diligence "to regain the favourof God, was yet 
 very solicitous tliat his honour might be preserved in tiie opinion 
 of the people. Thus do too many Ciu-e little for their consciences, 
 yet stand much upon their credit. They are loth to leave their 
 sins, and as loth to own them : therefore they try to tiirow a 
 cloak over them, that the outside may look comely, and the dis- 
 honour that is underneath may not be seen. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 .is. — came unto him dilivateti/.] Not like an offender exjiect- 
 inf? sentence of death, but in the garb and gesture which became 
 ms kmgly quality. Puole. 
 
 •^"['^'.V Ihe l>itlcrncssS<c.~\ Having been spared by Saul and 
 
 ni.s army, he now appreiienilcd no hurt from Samuel. 
 
 33. -- .iud Samuel hrn-ed] Caused it to be done by the publick 
 executioner. It appears from Samuels words to Aga- that he 
 was not cut off merely for the sins of his ancestors, but also for 
 hii own merciless cruelties. Bp. Patrick 
 
 thou shalt anoint unto me fiim whom I Christ 
 name unto thee. about io63. 
 
 4 And Samuel did that which the Lord 
 spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the 
 elders of the town trembled at his t coming, 1",,"*),^. 
 and said, Comest thou peaceably ? 
 
 5 And he said. Peaceably : I am come 
 to sacrifice unto the Lord : sanctify your- 
 selves, and come with me to the sacrifice. 
 And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and 
 called them to the sacrifice. 
 
 6 If And it came to pass, when they were 
 come, that he looked on Eliab, and said. 
 Surely the Lord's anointed is before him. 
 
 7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look 
 not on his countenance, or on the height 
 of his stature ; because I have refused 
 him : for t/ie LORD seeth not as man 
 seeth ; for man looketh on the t outward + Heb. 
 appearance, but the Lord looketh on the ''^"' 
 'heart. I,' ,^."™"- 
 
 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made Psai.7. 9. 
 him pass before Samuel. And he said, i^i'v.'io!"* 
 Neither hath the Lord chosen this. & 20. 12. 
 
 9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. 
 And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen 
 this. 
 
 10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons 
 to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said un- 
 to Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. 
 
 11 And Samuel said luito Jesse, Are 
 here all thij children ? And he said, There 
 remainetli yet the youngest, and, behold, 
 he kecpeth the sheep. And Samuel .said 
 
 unto Jesse, ^ Send and fetch him : for we "■ 2 Sam. 7. 
 will not sit t down till he come hither. P5ai.78.70. 
 
 12 And he sent, and brought him in. t^'^^'- 
 Now he ivas ruddy, and withal t of a beau- "iieb. 
 tiful countenance, and goodly to look to. f"''' "f^'J'^ 
 And the Lord said. Arise, anoint him : for 
 
 this is he. 
 
 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, 
 and anointed him in the midst of his bre- 
 
 Chap. XVI. ver. 2. — and say, J am come to sacrifice] Though 
 the principal design of Samuel's journey to Betli-lehem was to 
 anoint the son of Jesse, yet there was no falsehood in saying, ac- 
 cording to the instruction given liim, that he came to sacrifice. In 
 fact, he did offer sacrifice as the Lord commanded, ver. .O. It is 
 true, he had a further intention, but he was under no obligation to 
 disclose this ; and the concealing one design by going upon an- 
 other can never be matter of blame, when concealment tends to 
 good. Dr. Waterland. 
 
 4. — Comest thou peaceahlij ?~] They suspected that the pur- 
 pose of his coming might be, to reprove them ibr some mi.sde- 
 meanor, or to pronounce some judgiuent on thenr. for it. Py/c 
 
 13. — anointed hitn] He did not Iiereby invest him actually 
 with the kingly power, but only marked him out to succeed Saul 
 after his death. Thus David always understood it, looking upon 
 Saul, as long as he lived, as the Lord's anointed, or as king of 
 Israel.
 
 Saul sendethjhr Datid 
 
 CHAP. XVI, xvir. 
 
 to quiet his ex.il spirit. 
 
 speech. 
 
 ^^j^°j'|^ thren : and the Spirit of the Lord came 
 ibout 10G5. upon David from that day forward. So 
 Samuel rose up, and went to llamah. 
 
 14< ^ But the Spirit of the Lord depart- 
 ed from Saul, and an evil spirit fiom the 
 unified. Lord || troubled him. 
 
 15 And Saul's servants said unto him. 
 Behold now, an evil spirit from God troii- 
 bleth thee. 
 
 16 Let our lord now command thy sei'- 
 vants, ivhich are before thee, to seek out a 
 man, "who is a cunning player on an harp : 
 and it sliall come to pass, when the evil 
 spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall 
 play with his hand, and thou slialt be well. 
 
 17 And Saul said unto his servants. Pro- 
 vide me now a man that can play well, and 
 bring him to me. 
 
 18 Then answered, one of the servants, 
 and. said, Behold, I have seen a son of 
 Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in 
 playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a 
 
 II O'-. man of war, and prudent in 1| matters, and 
 a comely person, and the Lord is with 
 him. 
 
 19 IT Wherefore Saul sent messengers 
 unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy 
 son, which is with the sheep. 
 
 20 And Jesse took an ass laden with 
 
 in the midst of his brethren :] It should have been trans- 
 
 \a.ied,from the miiUt of his hrcthrcn ; that is, he singled him out 
 from the rest, and iirivately anointed him. For it is manifest that 
 Samuel was afraid to have it known, and therefore did not anoint 
 him publickly in the midst of his bretliren. And by Eliab's 
 treatment of David after this, chap. xvii. 28, it j)lainly enough 
 appears that he did not know hun to be the king elect of God's 
 people. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 the Spirit of the Lord came upon DaviJ^ God, by the in- 
 fluence of His power and Spirit, inspired a disposition into David, 
 as He had before inspired into Saul, after his consecration, worthy 
 of royalt)^ He no longer considered himself as a shepherd, but as 
 destined to be a king ; mid was endued with courage, resolution, 
 and prudence to fit him for the events which awaited him, and 
 for the government of God's people, whenever he should be pro- 
 moted to that dignity. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 The Spirit of the Lord coming upon David, accounts for the 
 extraordinary effects and endowments, which immediately follow- 
 etl after his designation to the throne : otherwise it would indeed 
 be difficult to explain, how a designation to empire, which in com- 
 mon circumstances is too apt to debase, coiTupt, and overset with 
 vanity, should raise an ob.^cure uneducated youth, in an obscure 
 age and country, without the advantage either of instruction or 
 example, into the greatest musician, the noblest poet, and the 
 most consummate hero of all antiquity. Slaclihouse. 
 
 14. — an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.^ An evil spi- 
 rit, by permission of God, troubled him by causing in him, or 
 putting into his mind, suspicious, timorous, envious, and melan- 
 choly thoughts. Dr. Wells. The obstinate infatuation, afterwards 
 displayed by Saul, savours of something more than common 
 frenzy or madness ; it seems similar to the case of Pharaoh, atler 
 he had resisted all tiie means of grace, when the Lord at length 
 hardened his heart to his destruction. The " e\ il spirit from the 
 Lord" which actuated Saul strongly resembles the demoniacal 
 possessions of the New Testament ; for the persons, so possessed 
 
 bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and c^^jg^ 
 sent them by David his son unto Saul. about iocs. 
 
 21 And David came to Saul, and stood 
 before him : and he loved him greatly j 
 and he became his armourbearer. 
 
 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying. Let 
 David, I pray thee, stand before me ; for 
 he liath found favour in my sight. 
 
 23 And it came to pass, when the evil 
 spirit from God was upon Saul, that Da\id 
 took an harp, and played with his hand : 
 so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and 
 the evil spirit departed from him. 
 
 CHAP. XVH. 
 
 1 The armies of the Israelites and Philistines being rea- 
 dy to battle, 4 Goliath cometh proudly forth to challenge 
 a combat. 12 David, sent by his father to visit his 
 brethren, takcth the challenge. 28 Eliab chidcth him. 
 30 He is brought to Saul. 32 He sheweth the reason 
 of his confidence. 38 Without arnumr, armed by faith, 
 he slaycth the giant. 55 Saul laketh notice of David. 
 
 NOW the Philistines gathered together 
 their armies to battle, and w'ere ga- 
 thered together at Shochoh, which belong- 
 eth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh 
 and Azekah, in |i Ephes-dammim. fh?^coaa of 
 
 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were DlmmL' 
 gathered together, and pitched by the val- 
 
 of devils, raved on several occasions in a manner much resem- 
 bling the conduct of Saul. Dr. Hales. Or perhaps it is meant, 
 that the remorses of his conscience, the menaces of Samuel, Go<l's 
 rejection of him, and his continual apprehensions of being de- 
 throned by his competitor, exasperated his natural temper, gener 
 rated a melancholy habit of mind, and caiTied him by fits into ac- 
 tual madness. Slackhouse. The evil spirit that came on hira 
 from, or by permission of, the Lord, was the evil spirit of melan- 
 choly, jealousy, envy, and cruelty : such an evil spirit will, in the 
 nature of things, banish the spirit of a sound mind, mo<leration, 
 equity, and every princely virtue ; introduce an almost perpetual 
 gloom, and dispose men to the most unwarrantable and criminal 
 excesses. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 23. — the evil spirit departed from him.'] The bad effects of the 
 melancholy and disorder caused by the evil spirit departed from 
 him for a time, being removed by the alteration which the musick 
 made in his animal spirits. Dr. Wells. 
 
 The original use of musick was probably to compose the spirit-S, 
 and to render the mind sedate, at the solemnities of religion, sa- 
 crifice, &c. ; afterwards, to soothe and tranquillize the imagina- 
 tion and the fancy, for purposes of repose: and this appears 
 still to be the character in which Eastern musick excels, where 
 not science, but expression pre\ails. Saul was at this time m hy- 
 pochondriack, whose low spirits were relieved by the cheerful and 
 animating vibrations of the young shepherd's careless h.irp ; and 
 it may easily be conceived how well adapted to such a purpose 
 were the unstudied strains of David, wliich were bold aiid 
 free from his courage, and sedate through his piety. Script. 
 illust. 
 
 Chap. XVII. ver. 1. — Shochoh and A:ekah,l These places 
 lay to the south of Jerusalem, and east of Beth-lehem ; about four 
 leagues from the former, and five fiom the latter. Calmct. 
 
 o. _ i„j the valleij ofElah,2 " After some miles of hard jouniey 
 over hills and rocks^ we entered the famous Tcrebinthine valS,
 
 Bttorr 
 CUBIST 
 
 •bout lIXiJ. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 ritnftH the 
 battle. 
 
 tHrb. 
 
 clitthtiL 
 
 i Or. 
 gorget. 
 
 Goliath defieth Israel. 
 
 Icy of Eluli, and t sci the battle in array 
 against the Philistines. 
 
 3 And the Philistines stood on a monn- 
 tain on the one side, and Israel stood on a 
 mountain on the other side : and t/ierc um 
 a valley between them. 
 
 4 f And there went out a champion out 
 of the camp of the Philistines, named Go- 
 liath, of Gath, whose height -was six cubits 
 
 and a span. 
 
 5 And he had an helmet of brass upon 
 his head, and he xcas t armed with a coat 
 of mail ; and the weight of the coat xvas 
 five thousand shekels of brass. 
 
 (J And he had greaves of brass upon his 
 legs, and a II target of brass between his 
 shoulders. 
 
 7 And the staff of his spear "was like a 
 weaver's beam ; and his spear's head ti-eigh- 
 ed six hundred shekels of iron : and one 
 bearing a shield went before him. 
 
 8 And he stood and cried unto the ar- 
 mies of Israel, and said unto them, Why 
 are ye come out to set j/02«- battle in array? 
 am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to 
 Saul? choose you a man for you, and let 
 him come down to me. 
 
 9 If he be able to fight with me, and to 
 kill me, then will we be your servants : but 
 if I prevail against him, and kill him, then 
 shall ye be our servants, and serve us. 
 
 10 And the Philistine said, I defy the 
 armies of Israel this day ; give me a man, 
 that we may fight together. 
 
 11 When Saul and all Israel heard those 
 words of the Phil stine, they were dismay- 
 ed, and greatly afraid. 
 
 11% Now David "xas ' the son of that 
 Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah, whose 
 name ivas Jesse ; and he had eight sons : 
 
 renowned for centuries as the field of the victory gained by David 
 over the uncircumcised Philistine. Kothinfr has occurred to alter 
 the face of the country. The very brook whence David cliose the 
 five sinoolli stones lias been noticed by many a thirsty pilgrim, 
 journeying from Jaffa to Jerusalem, all' of whom must pass it in 
 their way. The ruins of goodly edifices indeed attest the reli- 
 gious \er.eration, ei\tcrtaiiied in laU-r periods for the hallowed 
 spot; but even these are now become so insignificant, that they 
 are scarcely discernible ; and nothing can be Siiid to interrupt the 
 native dignity of this memorable scene." Dr. E. D. Clarke. 
 4 St.! ciiLUs and a span.'^ Above eleven feet, according to 
 
 Bp. Cumberland. 
 
 5 nus ftKQ thousand shekcl.'T] The estimate of this weight 
 
 ilepcnds on that of the shekel ; it could hardly be less than 1 50 lbs. 
 
 nor more than 200. The weight of his spear's head, ver. 7, 000 
 
 »hckels, was probably from l(] to 2 tlbs. Script. illii.il. 
 '• — gteavcs of brass~\ These were neci 
 
 and 
 
 gall 
 
 ury lurniturc.rtndcred" necessary by the artiSccs of the'cont^ndl 
 ing parties. Burdcr. 
 
 I. :>AMUEL. 
 
 David takelh the challenge. 
 
 I. 
 
 Chip. Hi, 
 
 and the man went among men^r an old 
 man in the days of Saul. 
 
 13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse 
 went and follow ed Saul to the battle : and 
 the names of his three sons that went to 
 the battle xterc Eliab the firstborn, and 
 next unto him Abinadab, and the third 
 Shanunali. 
 
 11. And Da\ id -was the youngest : and 
 the three eldest followed Saul. 
 
 15 But David w^nt and returned from 
 Saul to feed his father's sheep at Beth-le- 
 hem. 
 
 1(3 And the Philistine drew near morn- 
 ing and evening, and presented himself 
 forty days. 
 
 17 And Jesse said unto David his son, 
 Take now for thy^ brethren an ephah of 
 this parched coiiiy and these ten loaves, 
 and run to the camp to thy brethren ; 
 
 18 And carry these ten t cheeses unto 
 the t captain of their thousand, and look 
 how thy brethren fare, and take their 
 pledge. 
 
 19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men 
 of Israel, xcerc in the valley of Elah, fight- 
 ing with the Philistines. 
 
 20 % And David rose up early in the 
 morning, and left the sheep with a keep- 
 er, and took, and went, as Jesse had com- 
 manded him ; and he came to the || trench, 
 as the host was going forth to the II fight, 
 and shouted for the battle. 
 
 21 For Israel and the Philistines had put 
 the battle in array, army against army. 
 
 22 And David left t his carriage in the 
 hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran 
 into the army, and came and t saluted his 
 brethren. 
 
 23 And as he talked with them, behold, 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 abuut 10C3. 
 
 Il 
 
 t Hel>. 
 
 clin'ses tj 
 ■milk. 
 fHcb. 
 cnptain ofet 
 thiiusdmi. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 place fifths 
 curriaj^c, 
 II Or, 
 
 htitttrarrnyt 
 or, ^}ic\oi of 
 fight. 
 t Heb. 
 tlie vessels 
 fmm upon 
 him. 
 t Hob. 
 fmheU his 
 lirelkrat 'i, 
 peace. 
 
 17. — Take now for thy brethren &c.] It is reasonably sup- 
 posed, that, in those days, the soldiers went to war at their own 
 charge, or found ihemselves in provisions. Dr. H'ells. It is ob- 
 servable, ihat David himself was not at first concerned in tlie war, 
 and only went to the army apjiarently by accident. In all tJiis, the 
 particular hand of Providence is visible, which thus disposed cir- 
 cumstances for the exaltation of David, when he thought nothing 
 of it; and, from the lowly condition of life in which he had been 
 brought up, made Jiim the deliverer of his people, .ind afterwards 
 their king. Onlervald. 
 
 18. — take their pledge.'^ The meaning of this phrase is not 
 clear. According to some, it means that lie .should bring some- 
 thing from tliem which might certify Jesse of their health. Others 
 translate the word, not pledge, but business; and understand the 
 sense to be, Bring me word what they do, how they behave them- 
 selves, with whom they associate, &c. lip. Patrick. Perhaps tlie 
 pledge is meant which they gave for the purchase of this food. 
 Houbigant. 
 
 22. — Icfi his carriage^ In which lie had brought the pro- 
 vision sent by his father. Bp. Palrick.
 
 EUab ckideth him. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 He sheweth the reason of his confidence. 
 
 Before tlierc Came up the champion, the Philis- 
 ^fioel tine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the 
 armies of the PhiHstines, and spake accord- 
 ing to the same words : and David heard 
 them. 
 
 24 And all the men of Israel, when they 
 t Heb. saw the man, fled t from him, and were 
 
 Sr ''" so'"e afraid. 
 
 25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye 
 seen this man that is come up ? surely to 
 defy Israel is he come up : and it shall be, 
 that the man who killeth him, the king will 
 
 » Jojii. \3. enrich him with great riches, and ''will give 
 *«• him his daughter, and make his father's 
 
 house free in Israel. 
 
 26 And David spake to the men that 
 stood by him, saying, What shall be done 
 to the man that killeth tliis Philistine, and 
 taketh away the reproach from Israel ? for 
 who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he 
 should defy the armies of the living God ? 
 
 27 And the people answered him after 
 this manner, saying, So shall it be done to 
 the man that killeth him. 
 
 28 ^ And Eliab his eldest brother heard 
 when he spake unto the men ; and Eliab's 
 anger was kindled against David, and he 
 said. Why camest tlfou down hither? and 
 with whom hast thou left those few sheep 
 in the wilderness? 1 know thy pride, and 
 the naughtiness of thine heart ; for thou 
 art come down that thou mightest see the 
 battle. 
 
 29 And David said. What have I now 
 done ? Is there not a cause ? 
 
 25. — make his father's house free~\ Free from tribute and 
 taxes: this was a royal privilege, and ennobled the family on 
 which it was conferred. Dr. Wells. 
 
 26. — What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, 
 &c.] The workings of David's modesty and valour are finely 
 painted in these questions. His modesty would not suffer him 
 directly and openly to accept the challenge, and profess himself 
 Goliath's antagonist ; and yet the fortitude of his own beating 
 breast, and the glory of the undertaking, left him wholly at a 
 loss why others should decline it. Dr. Delaney. 
 
 28. — and Eliab's anger was kindled^ Eliab, who knew David's 
 spirit, soon perceived his design ; and, filled with indignation 
 lest David should achieve what he himself had not dared to un- 
 dertake, reproved him with the most taunting questions, as if 
 nothing but vanity and a vicious curiosity had drawn him thither. 
 Dr. Delanetj. 
 
 29. — is there not a cause ?] Is there not just cause for my 
 ofTering myself to encounter this giant, since none other is bold 
 enough to take away this reproach from Israel, .ind our God.'' 
 Dr. Welts. David has first to overcome his brethren's envy, be- 
 fore he engages the proud Philistine ; but his greatest victory is 
 over himself. His meekness does this; his faith and love to God 
 did the other. His mild answer, " Is there not a causer"" im- 
 plied both, and shewed at once his virtue and his piety. He is 
 fittest to be God's champion, who has learnt to master his o^vn 
 passions. Wogan. 
 
 33. — Thou art not able to go'\ Meaning, " Thou mayest not 
 go;" " It is not fitting thou shouldest go." Bp. Kidder. 
 
 30 % And he turned from him toward ^^^'^.^ 
 another, and spake after the same t man- ahout iocs, 
 ner : and the people answered him again t ucb. 
 after the former manner. """'''• 
 
 31 And when the words were heard 
 which David spake, they rehearsed them 
 before Saul : and he t sent for him. t neb. 
 
 32 f And David said to Saul, Let no '""* ''"^ 
 man's heart fail because of him ; thy ser- 
 vant will go and fight with this Philistine. 
 
 33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not 
 able to go against this Philistine to fight 
 with him : for thou art but a youth, and he 
 a man of war from his youth. 
 
 34 And David said unto Saul, Thy ser- 
 vant kept his father's sheep, and there came 
 
 a lion, and a bear, and took a II lamb out of " ^' *"'' 
 the flock : 
 
 35 And I went out after him, and smote 
 him, and delivered it out of his mouth : 
 and when he arose against me, I caught 
 him by his beard, and smote him, and 
 slew him. 
 
 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and 
 the bear : and this uncircumcised Philistine 
 shall be as one of them, seeing he hath de- 
 fied the armies of the living God. 
 
 37 David said moreover. The Loud that 
 delivered me out of the paw of the lion, 
 and out of the paw of the bear, he will de- 
 liver me out of the hand of this Philistine. 
 And Saul said unto David, Go, and the 
 Lord be with thee. fHcb. 
 
 38 IF And Saul t armed David with his ^.j;;'^;^,,-^";; 
 armour, and he put an helmet of brass c/o/am. 
 
 34. _ Thy scrcant kept his father s sheep, &c.] This relation 
 of David's is admirable for its artless simplicity, and for tho unit- 
 ed dignity and humility of mind which it displays. Self-praise 
 is, for the most part, offensive to the human ear, as proceeding 
 from self-love and intemperate vanity ; but yet when it is extort- 
 ed, as it was on this occasion, nothing can be more becoming or 
 more noble : it is then adorned with all the dignity of self-defence, 
 under a false imputation of the heaviest guilt. And David's tern- 
 perance and modesty in reciting his own praises are remarkable. 
 He describes his combat witli the lion in the shortest and simplest 
 nan-ation that ever was made of such a combat, and, as it' to avoid 
 dwelling on his own exploits, says no more of his combat with 
 the bear, than merely that he slew him ; and as if this had been 
 too much, he concludes all in the stjle of a man, who had been 
 delivered by God, not who had conquered by his own prowess. 
 Dr. Delanei/. . 
 
 S6. — seeins he hath defied &c.]] Here we see that Davids 
 confidence of "success is founded on Goliath's blasphemy ; he 
 felt assured that God would prosper him in his combat with 
 such a blasphemer, as foi-merly witli the Uon and the bear. Dr. 
 
 Dclaneu. , , • .. T^ -j 
 
 31. — The Lord that delivered me &C.3 The zeal which David 
 evinced on this occasion, his noble confidence before Saul in the 
 Divine protection, his trusting aftersvards solely to his shep- 
 herd's sling, and his boldly foretelling the destruction of the 
 Philistine, altogether afford the finest illustration of that " Spirit 
 of the Lord," chap. xvi. 13, by whicli he was then so fully actu- 
 .^ted. Dr. Hales.
 
 D(tvi(f, xv'tthout amtovr, 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 slayelh the giant. 
 
 tatley. 
 t Ileb 
 trutl. 
 
 iwrore ,|j)i)ti his head ; also he armed him with a 
 
 ^r/Ji nn.t of mail. 
 
 .'JiJ And David girded Ins sword upon 
 his armour, and he assayed to go ; for he 
 had not proved it. And Da\id said unto 
 Saul, 1 cannot -go with these ; for I have 
 not proved l/iem. And David put them 
 oiY liim. 
 
 40 And he took his staff in his hand, and 
 chose him five smooth stones out of the 
 
 I Or. II brook, and put them in a shepherd's 
 t bag which lie iiad, even in a scrip ; and 
 liis sling xcas in his hand : and he drew 
 near to the Philistine. 
 
 41 And the Philistine came on and 
 drew near unto David ; and the man that 
 bare the shield xvent before him. 
 
 42 And when the Philistine looked 
 about, and saw David, he disdained him : 
 for he was bul a youth, and ruddy, and of 
 a fair countenance. 
 
 43 And the Philistine said unto David, 
 Am 1 a dog, that thou comest to me with 
 staves? And the Philistine cursed David 
 by his gods. 
 
 44 And the Philistine said to David, 
 Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto 
 the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of 
 the field. 
 
 45 Then said David to the Philistine, 
 Thou comest to me with a sword, and 
 with a spear, and with a shield : but I 
 come to thee in the name of the Lord of 
 hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, 
 whom thou hast defied. 
 
 t net.. 4G This day will the Lord i deliver thee 
 
 Shut tne^ . , . . •* , 1 -r •!» 
 
 ,p. into mme liaiid ; and I will smite thee, 
 
 and take thine head from thee ; and I 
 will give tlie carcases of the host of the 
 Philistines this day unto the fowls of the 
 air, and to the wild beasts of the earth ; 
 
 3y. — /or he had not provctl (/.] He liad not been accustomed 
 \o use arms ot this description, and therefore requested pennis- 
 sion to lay them aside, as rather likely to encumber lum than to 
 lacihtatc his enterprise, lip. Palrick. 
 
 ■i<i. This dai/ mil the Lord deliver Ihre into mine hund ;T In 
 -Mying this, Dav-ul dc«s not vainly and rashly boast beforehand of 
 the victor)-, as Goliath hath done ; but, being full of faith, he 
 I>rai.«l the Divme Omnipotence, and prophesied of an assured 
 victory. Dp. Patrick. 
 
 David excelled not only king Saul, but perhaps aU other kings 
 «^at ever reigned, in this ; that, as he rejoiced to do the will of 
 
 .iri'.r , ^ '^ "'* ^^"^^*' ^" •'« ^•''"t »'^°"t his ^'ork with a 
 H^lZ f'^'' " '"^'^ellous affiance in God, and dependence on 
 boLth^ nf ?v^Tu?"' •-'''f «"ce. When he heanl the proud 
 bo^t ng, ot this Philistine, his zeal was fired for God and his 
 
 ^Uw or .^^"""i"'^'' '"' g'K»"tifl< enemy no otherwise than 
 by Z cen^ri 'l' " 'T" *° ''"■""■■ '"^ ""'•'^- "'= "^"ew that 
 dLnu'lTo!]! "'•'"'' '''"'^"'■'^ "*■ <^'"'l t'^« Philistines were 
 dm-n Vh bv ^h""'""' "":' 'l^^ ^'"•'"^'' ''«'! ">»^e particularly 
 aestnta it, bj ike reproa^ic, ;uid rcnilings ^^hich be had cast on 
 
 that all the earth may know that there is a (.J^*^''J^st 
 (lod in Israel. about toes. 
 
 47 And all this assembly shall know ^ 
 that the Lord saveth not with sword and 
 
 spear : for the battle is tlie Lord's, and he 
 will give you into our hands. 
 
 48 And it came to pass, when the Phi- 
 listine arose, and came and drew nigh to 
 meet David, that David hasted, and ran 
 toward the army to meet the Philistine. 
 
 49 And David put his hand in his bag, 
 and took thence a stone, and slang it, and 
 smote the Philistine in his forehead, that 
 the stone sunk into his forehead ; and he 
 fell upon his face to the earth. 
 
 50 So ' David prevailed over the Phi- ' EccI- 
 listine with a sling and with a stone, and i jjat. 4. 
 smote the Philistine, and slew him ; but "■''• 
 tliere xvas no sword in the hand of David. 
 
 51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon 
 the Philistine, and took his sword, and. 
 drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew 
 him, and cut ofl" his head therewith. And 
 when the Philistines saw their champion 
 was dead, they fled. 
 
 52 And the men of Israel and of Judah 
 arose, and shouted, and pursued the Phi- 
 listines, until thou coifie to the valley, and 
 to the ijates of Ekron. And the wounded 
 of the Philistines fell down by the way 
 to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto 
 Ekron. 
 
 53 And the children of Israel returned 
 from chasing after the Philistines, and they 
 spoiled their tents. 
 
 54 And David took the head of the Phi- 
 listine, and brought it to Jerusalem ; but 
 he put his armour in his tent. 
 
 55 ^ And when Saul saw David go forth 
 against the Philistine, he said unlo Abner, 
 the captain of the host, Abner, whose son 
 
 God and His people. He therefore entered the lists, as one who 
 fought under the banners of the God of Israel, and appeared in 
 vindication of His honour and glory. Ecadim;. 
 
 47. — for the battle is the Lord's, &c.] What a strain of piety 
 pervades these words of David ! How it must liave filled the 
 hearts of the people with inexpressible joy, to hear their young 
 shepherd speak so like a prophet, priest, and king; so incompa- 
 rably beyond any thing they could expect from his age and ex- 
 perience ! It is plain that, even at this time, David was inspired 
 with a large measure of the Spirit of God. Readinix. 
 
 51. — cut off Ids ttead~\ This was customary in those countries. 
 Niebuhr presents us with a similar scene, M-here he relates, that 
 the son of an Arab chief killed his father's enemy and rival, and, 
 according to the custom of the Arabs, cut off his head and cai- 
 ried it in triumph to his father. He adds in a note, cutting off 
 the head of a slain enemy, and carrying it in triumph, is an an- 
 cient custom. Biirder. 
 
 54. — put hit urniuur in his tcnt.'\ The armour was afterwards 
 in the holy tabernacle, as was the gword, to remain there for a 
 tiophy. Bp. Patrick.
 
 '-^^^^^t^^:^ 
 
 Faiitbrd hv Otrlo Mtwrattt . 
 
 Enarturai bvBJic 
 
 DAVllD WITH T!I![:E HEAD OF GOLHATH. 
 
 iSttmuei dft.17.rr 53. 
 htlflishri/ hv tfte S<vtrtt ftV prvmotiiuf (7trtytia/i ShoM-Zexit'c May i.idi^.
 
 Saul taketh notice of David. 
 
 CHAP. XVII, XVIII. 
 
 Jonathan lovetk David. 
 
 CHRIS! ^^ *^^^ youth ? And Abner said, As thy 
 about 10C3. soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. 
 
 56 And the king said. Enquire thou 
 whose son the stripling is. 
 
 57 And as David returned from the 
 slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took 
 him, and brought him before Saul with the 
 head of the Philistine in his hand. 
 
 58 And Saul said to him. Whose son art 
 thou, thou young man? And David an- 
 swered, / am the son of thy servant Jesse 
 the Beth-lehemite. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 1 Jonathan loveth David. 5 Saul envielh hh praise, 
 10 seekclh (o kill him in his fury, 12 feareth him for 
 his good success, 17 offereth him his daughters for u 
 snare. 22 David persuaded to be the king's son in 
 
 58. — Whose son art thou, thou young man ?] It may seem 
 extraordinary that Saul should know nothing of David, who had 
 so very lately attended on him at his court. It should be ob- 
 served, liowever, that Saul does not ask who David himself is, for 
 he and those about him perhaps sufficiently knew his person: but 
 what Saul really asks is, \\Tiose son is David.' which he and Ab- 
 ner might well forget. If this be observed, all difficulty respect- 
 ing tlie order of events in these two chapters ceases at once. Dr. 
 Hells. Or David's adventure with Goliath was perhaps prior in 
 time to his solacing .Saul with his musick; and the latter story is 
 given by anticipation in chap, xvi, the historian bringing toge- 
 tlier the effect of Saul's rejection, and the endowment of David 
 with various graces, among which was his skill on the har|i. 
 Bps. Warhurton and Hcdl. David was at this time twenty-two 
 years of age. Bedford. 
 
 While we cannot fail to admire the resolution and courage of 
 )avid, in offering to encounter Goliath, and, above all, his reli- 
 :iious trust in Ahnighty God, we must be particularly struck with 
 his wonderful success, in sla3'ing the giant with such a weapon 
 «s a sling. In all this it visibly appears that God assisted David 
 in an extraordinary manner, and also that He was pleased to vin- 
 dicate His own honour, which Goliath had attacked, and make 
 those idolaters sensible that He was the Almighty God. Thus 
 we likewise see, how God helps those that trust in Him, and 
 makes use of means, in appearance very weak, to bring down the 
 pride of the wicked, and to destroy those powers which seem to 
 be most formidable. Oslervald. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. ver. 1. — Jonathan loved him as his own sotd.~\ 
 There is no Instance in history of two persons being joined 
 together in close friendship, comparable to that of Jonathan and 
 David; who entered into the most sacred bonds of mutual as- 
 sistance and defence to their very death, and of kindness to 
 their posterity, even after either of them should be dead. Jona- 
 than in particular, through the whole storj', shews towards David 
 a greatness of soul, a constancy of mind, and disinterestedness 
 of heart, of which few romances can produce an example. 
 Cahnet. 
 
 Jonathan's love to David sprang from a nobler principle tlian 
 that which binds one brave soldier to another. David's combat 
 ■with Goliath had shewed him in a more exalted character than 
 that of a soldier: the pretensions he set forth before he engaged, 
 and the success he met with, shewed him to be a favourite ser- 
 vant of the Lord's; and there was a principle of religion, as well 
 as a military sympathy, which knit the soul of Jonathan to the 
 soul of David. How much better did Jonathan reason on the dis- 
 covery of God's favour to David, than Saul did! Saul ventured 
 to be angry with God's choice, and made David the object of his 
 hatred, lor a reason which entitled him to his esteem. So rash 
 
 \'0L. I. 
 
 about 1063. 
 
 Ia7v, giveth two hundred foreskins of the Philistines Before 
 for Michal's dowry. 28 Saul\s haired, and Davids CHRIST 
 glory increaseth. '*""'* '"'='" 
 
 AND it came to pass, when he had made 
 an end of .speaking unto Saul, that 
 the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul 
 of David, and Jonathan loved him as his 
 owTi soul. 
 
 2 And Saul took him that day, and 
 \yould let him go no more home to his 
 father's house. 
 
 3 Then Jonathan and David made a 
 covenant, because he loved him as his 
 own soul. 
 
 4< And Jonathan stripped himself of the 
 robe that was upon him, and gave it to 
 David, and his garments, even to his sword, 
 and to his bow, and to his girdle. 
 
 and so wicked is envy, that it sets our weak and unreasonable 
 wishes in opposition to the Divine wisdom, and lif\s up an arm 
 of flesh against the resistless arm of the Almighty. Jonathan 
 reasoned better, although his circumstances as fitly led him to 
 envy David, as did Saul's, had he been liable to the same dispo- 
 sition. In God's designation of David to fill the throne of Israel, 
 he saw what was contrary to his own natural expectations; for his 
 birth and character might naturally point him out as his father's 
 successor. But when he was led to conclude, by David's con- 
 duct and success, that God had designed it otherwise, he had pru- 
 dence and religion enough to submit to the appointment; ami, 
 instead of hating a man who was to set him aside from his fa- 
 ther's throne, he loved the man who was qualified to fill it, and 
 fixed his esteem where Gotl had fixed His dioice. Dr. H. Sleb- 
 bing. 
 
 It is here related, that " when David had made an end of speak- 
 ing unto Saul," Jonatlian from that moment conceived for him the 
 tenderest and strongest affection. There is inexpressible dignity 
 in the silence of Scripture on this and other such occasions. Mi- 
 nute description would bring the narrative down too near the 
 level of ordinary history; wliereas, in the present management, 
 the writer's end is fully answered, by a short account of the ef- 
 fects of this conversation on the heart of a pious, intelligent, and 
 heroick youth. We now behold this part of sacred history in all 
 the dignity of a noble portrait; in which David, bending to his 
 prince, and having laid the head of his fiercest foe at his feet, ap- 
 
 Eears in the fairest light, and noblest attitude, in which youthful 
 ero was ever drawn. H:u'd indeed woiUd it be fullj' to paint 
 the congenial joy, the glowing gladness of Jonathan's generous 
 heart upon the success of so much piety and virtue; and aa hard 
 perhaps to shew the seci'et workings of Saul's growing en\v, un- 
 der all the outward semblance of complacence and applause. Dr. 
 Dclaney. 
 
 .". — made a covenant, "} Entered into a solemn league of mu- 
 tual friendship. 
 
 4. — stripped himself of the rol'C i^-c] He did this, that his 
 singular affection to David might be known to all, and that they 
 might appear the more closelj- uiiiteil into one. This was a cus- 
 tomary method of testilying afl'cclion. Wo read in Tavernier of 
 a Nazar, whose virtue and behaviour so pleased a king of Persia, 
 after being put to the test, that he caused himself to be dis- 
 apparcUed, and gave his habit to the N'azar; which is the greatest 
 honour that a king of Persia can bestow on a subject. The giving 
 a girdlCj in particulai', was deemed a token of the greatest confi- 
 dence and affection: in some r.ises it w;is considered an act of 
 adoption. In regai'd to the sword and the bow, it has been cus- 
 tomary in all countries to make such miliUiry presents as these to 
 brave adventurers: of which instances occur in Greek aud Ro- 
 I man writers. Frasmciils to Calmel. 
 
 3Z
 
 Saul eniieth Daxid's pram: 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 He qfferetli him his daughters. 
 
 Bi-fof* 
 C II III ST 
 
 about 1063. 
 
 pmpfrrJ. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 Philiitinet- 
 
 III rtt tiring- 
 td iiu/ru- 
 mnitf. 
 • Chmp. '.'I. 
 11. A-.n. 5. 
 
 Eccl- 
 C. 
 
 •17. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 vaa rvtl in 
 {,u et/a. 
 
 5 % And David went out whithersoever 
 Saul sent him, and II behaved liimself wise- 
 ly: and Saul set him over the men of war, 
 and he was accepted in the sight of all the 
 j)eoj)le, and also in the sight of Saul's ser- 
 vants. 
 
 And it came to pass as they came, 
 when David was returned from tlie slaugh- 
 ter of the II Philistine, that the women came 
 out of all cities of Israel, singing and danc- 
 ing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with 
 joy, and with t instruments of musick. 
 
 7 And the women answered one another 
 as they played, and said, " Saul hath slain 
 his thousands, and David his ten thou- 
 sands. 
 
 8 And Saul was very wroth, and the 
 saying t displeased him ; and he said, They 
 have ascribed unto David ten thousands, 
 and to me they have ascribed but thou- 
 sands: and uhat can he have more but the 
 kingdom ? 
 
 9 And Saul eyed David from that day 
 and forward. 
 
 10 ^ And it came to pass on the mor- 
 row, that the evil spirit from God came 
 upon Saul, and he juophesied in the midst 
 of tiie house: and David played with his 
 hand, as at other times: and there was a 
 iavelin in Saul's hand. 
 
 11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, 
 I will smite David even to the wall xcith it. 
 And David avoided out of his presence 
 twice. 
 
 G. — the n-oincn came otil'] It appeared before, from Exod. .xv. 
 ^0, that it was customary for women to sing the praises of God 
 in piiblick on remarkable occasions ; and, as is there related, Mi- 
 riam and the women then answered one another as ihey played, as 
 they do in the present instance. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 J). — eifcd DavifT] Looked upon him, as one whom he envied, 
 hated, and feared. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — the evil itpiritfrom Gorf] The evil spirit which had for- 
 merly haunted him, and now, by his discontent, anger, and me- 
 lancholy, was brought upon him again. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and he propheneJ] He used in his fits of distraction such 
 
 expressions and gestures, as if he had been possessed with a pro- 
 phctick impulse, above the power of his own mind to direct and 
 restrain. PifU. Or he sung some sacred songs; which he did 
 the rather, that David might suspect no danger from him: jjcr- 
 haps too, his mind being disturbed with various roving thoughts 
 about his own condition and about David, he was made by God 
 to foretell that David would be heir of his kingdom. Bp. Patrick. 
 The Hebrew word will admit of being translated " he howled 
 .ind grumbled" in his frenzy, no uncommon effect of a melan- 
 choly, disordered mind. Dr. Chatuller. Saul's disease seems to 
 have been a true mailness, and of the melancholy kind; the fits 
 retumetl upon him at uncertain periods, as is frequently the case 
 m this sort of disease. The remedy which was applied, playintr 
 on the harp was an extremely proper one for this disease: foT 
 physicuins have long since taught us, that symphonies, and mu- 
 ^^IxT^'S^'m^j °*" "^"'^^ ^^"^' dissipating melancholy 
 12. — Saui ao, afraid of David,-} Saul's envy of David now 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 ouuul lUOd, 
 
 jirospeicd. 
 
 12 % And Saul was afraid of David, be- 
 cause the LoiiD was with him, and was de- 
 parted from Saul.^ 
 
 l.'i Therefore Saul removed him from 
 hiiu, and made him his captain over a thou- 
 sand; and he went out and came in before 
 the people. 
 
 14 And David 11 behaved himself wisely II ^^ 
 in all his ways; and the Lord teas with him 
 
 15 Wheretbre when Saul saw that he 
 behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid 
 of him. 
 
 l(i But all Israel and Jiidah loved David, 
 because he went out and came in before 
 them. 
 
 17 % And Said said to David, Behold my 
 elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee 
 
 to wife: only be thou t valiant for me, and J^,'"^;,. ^ 
 fight the Lord's battles. For Saul said, "uBr! 
 Let not mine hand be upon him, but let 
 the hand of the Philistines be upon him. 
 
 18 And David said unto Saul, Who am 
 I? and what is my life, or my father's fa- 
 mily in Israel, that I should be son in law 
 to the king ? 
 
 19 But it came to pass at the time when 
 Merab Saul's daughter should have been 
 given to David, that she was given unto 
 Adriel the Meholathite to wife. 
 
 20 And Michal Saul's daughter loved 
 Da^id: and they told Saul, and the thing 
 t pleased him. 
 
 21 And Saul said, I will give him her, 
 that she may be a snare to him, and that 
 
 t Hcl>. 
 
 HOJ right IS 
 liis cyei. 
 
 began to be mixed with terrour; for that he, so skilful at his wea- 
 pons, should twice miss his aim, and at so near a distance, had 
 surely something very extraordinary. It was natural for him 
 to think tJiis could not be without a Divine interposition, and for 
 some extraordinary end; and what end could this be, but Davids 
 designation to royalty ? Dr. Delaney. 
 
 1 .'i. — Tvent out and came in before the people.'} " Went out" on 
 the expeditions to which Saul commanded him, and " came in" 
 from them with success, "before the people;" who took great no- 
 tice of his prudent and successful conduct. Dr. WeUs. 
 
 17. — /"■'■ nill I give thee to wife:} He now bethinks himself 
 of his promise publickly made (chap. xvii. 25) to him tliat should 
 kill Goliath; but still retains the insidious design of taking away 
 David's life, by his dangerous expeditions against the enemy. 
 He afterwards offered a most high affront to David, by giving his 
 daughter to another; an act of gi'eat injustice and perfidy: ac- 
 cordingly, this marriage was accursed by God, and tile children 
 begotten in it were by Divine appointment cut off, 2 Sam. xxi. 
 Poole. 
 
 and fight the Lord's battles.} Maintain the cause of the 
 
 Lord in defending His people against their enemies. The wars 
 of the Hebrews, as long as they were undertaken and conducted 
 by the orders of God, truly deserved the name of " the Lord's bat- 
 tles." But, when they were carried on from a love of conquest 
 and a spirit of domination, they ceased to deserve this nioiic, and 
 became mere wars of profane ambition. Calmct. 
 
 21. — that she may be a snare to him,} That he might perish 
 in some of the dangers, to which he was to be exposed, as jjie 
 condition of having her to wife. Bp. Patrick.
 
 David matTietk Michal. 
 
 CHAP. XVm, XIX. 
 
 Saul purposetfi to kill David. 
 
 Aer.(^rdin» 
 to these 
 Vntrd). 
 
 CHRIST ^^^ hand of the Philistines may be against 
 sbout 1053. him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou 
 
 shalt this day be my son in law in the one 
 
 of the twain. 
 
 22 % And Saul commanded his servants, 
 saying. Commune with David secretly, and 
 say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, 
 and all his ser\'ants love thee : now there- 
 fore be the king's son in law, 
 
 23 And Saul's servants spake those words 
 in the ears of David. And David said, 
 Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a 
 king's son in law, seeing that 1 am a poor 
 man, and lightly esteemed ? 
 
 24 And the servants of Saul told him, 
 ^Heb. saying, tOn this manner spake David. 
 
 25 And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to 
 David, The king desireth not any dowry, 
 but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, 
 to be avenged of the king's enemies. But 
 Saul thought to make David fall by the 
 hand of the Philistines. 
 
 26 And when his servants told David 
 these words, it pleased David well to be 
 the king's son in law : and the days were 
 
 t ^^- not t expired. 
 
 27 Wherefore David arose and went, he 
 and his men, and slew of the Philistines 
 two hundred men ; and David brought 
 their foreskins, and they gave them in full 
 tale to the king, that he might be the 
 king's son in law. And Saul gave him 
 Michal his daughter to wife. 
 
 28 % And Saul saw and knew that the 
 
 in the one of the Itvaiii.'] By marrying one of his two 
 
 /iJfiUed. 
 
 daughters : for, though Da^-id was disappointed in one of them, 
 yet Saul's promise was fulfilled if he married the other. Bp. 
 Patrick. The Hebrew expression means literally, " in the twain," 
 and so some translations render it; but it is doubted whether it 
 refers to his two daughters, Merab and Michal, one of whom was 
 betrothed to David, and the other should actually be given to him ; 
 or to David's two claims of merit, in having killed Goliath, and in 
 slaughtering the required number of the Philistines. Poole's St/n. 
 Crit. 
 
 25. — not any dorvri/, but an haiidred foreskins of the Philistines,'^ 
 This condition was imposed by Saul witli an insidious design ; 
 but the custom hath prevailed in many countries, to give their 
 daughters in marriage to tlie most valiant men, or to those who 
 might bring so many head? of their enemies. Particularly, it was 
 the custom among a people in Carmania, that, if any were desir- 
 ous of marrying, it was necessary he should first bring to the 
 king the head of an enemy. As to dowries, it was customary 
 among the Hebrews for the husband to endow the wife, and to 
 receive nothing at all with her. Bp. Patrick. Saul seems to have 
 mentioned the foreskins, and not the heads ot the Philistines, by 
 ■waj' of reproach upon them, as an uncircumcised and infidel peo- 
 ple. Pijle. Or rather, to prevent any cheat or collusion in the 
 matter, and to enable him to be sm-e that they were Philistines 
 only whom he killed ; for the Philistines were the only neigh- 
 bouring people who were uncircumcised. Cahnel. 
 
 27- — Attd Saul gave kirn Michal — to irife.l This whole history 
 «bews, that, notNvith^taiidiiig all which was done by Saul for the 
 
 Lord was with David, and that Michal r^^Hj. 
 Saul's daughter loved him. jo^jut loea. 
 
 2Q And Saul was yet the more afraid of 
 David ; and Saul became David's enemy 
 continually. 
 
 30 Then the princes of the Philistines 
 went forth : and it came to pass, after they 
 went forth, thai David behaved himself 
 more wisely than all the ser\ants of Saul ; 
 so that his name was much t set by. + ^*''- 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 1 Jonathan discloseth his father's purpose to kill David. 
 4 He permadeth his father to reconciliation. 8 Bu 
 reason of David's good success in a new war, Sauis 
 malicious rage breaketh out against him. 12 Michal 
 deceivelh her father n-ilh an image in David's bed. 
 18 David comelh to Samuel in Naiotli. 20 SauCt 
 messengers sent to lake David, 22 and Saul himself, 
 prophesy. 
 
 AND Saul spake to Jonathan his son, 
 and to aU his servants, that they 
 should kill David. 
 
 2 But Jonathan Saul's son delighted 
 much in David : and Jonathan told David, 
 saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: 
 now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to 
 thyself until the morning, and abide in a 
 secret place, and hide thyself: 
 
 3 And I will go out and stand beside 
 my father in the field where thou art, and 
 I will commune with my father of thee j 
 and what I see, that I will tell thee. 
 
 4 ^ And Jonathan spake good of David 
 unto Saul his father, and said unto him. 
 Let not the king sin against his senant. 
 
 destruction of David, he was forced to give him his daughter Mi- 
 chal ; that God blessed David e\er3' day with some new success ; 
 and that the snares laid by Saul turned to his ovn\ confusion, and 
 to David's glory, and served to endear him more and more to the 
 people. Thus we sec, that nothing can hurt those whom God 
 loves ; that He always watches over them for good; and turns all 
 that the wicked undertake against them to their real welfare and 
 advantage. Ostervald. 
 
 2f). — Said became David's cnemtf] Such strange infatuation 
 did Saul's anger, hatred, and other bad passions, bring upon liim, 
 that he set himself against the man, whom he saw and knew had 
 God for his friend. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XIX. ver. 4. — Let not the king sinl Jonathan, on this 
 occasion, shewed himself an admirable son, thus solicitous to pre- 
 serve his father's honour ; and an incomiiarable friend, thus to 
 plead for liis innocent injured friend, even in op|K)sition to the 
 tyrant who was bent on his destruction. Dr. Chandler. Jonathan's 
 friendship now set itself at work, and shewed that true manage* 
 ment which real friendship as naturally deserves on one side, as 
 it suggests on tlie other. His courage led him to undertake Da- 
 vid's defence before his father. His good sense directed him t6 
 ground his defence on such topicks as placed the merit of his 
 friend in its proper light, and at the s,-irae time disposed Saul to 
 see and acknowletige it. Friendship is never more amiablj- en- 
 gaged than when it is defending a good cause, ^^'hoever steps 
 forth in the defence of virtue, seciu-es commendation by the 
 choice he makes of his party ; and whoever succeeds iu his de-
 
 Saul again seeketh to slay David. 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 MichaVs artifice to save him. 
 
 nof..rc against David ; because he hath not sinned 
 ^ut'Vc^I against thee, and because his wurks have 
 
 been to thee-ward very good : 
 •judg«9- 5 For he did put his Mife in his hand, 
 !hip*iH;*and slew the Philistine, and the Lord 
 *'• wTOUjilit a great salvation for all Israel : 
 
 Pkal 119. " " ii'i •• 1 
 
 109.' thou sawest //, and didst rejoice: where- 
 fore then wilt thou sin against innocent 
 blood, to slay David without a cause ? 
 
 t) And Saul hearkened unto the voice of 
 Jonathan : and Saul sware, As the Lord 
 liveth, he shall not be slain. 
 
 7 And Jonathan called David, and Jo- 
 nathan shewed him all tiiose things. And 
 Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he 
 
 fHeb. was in his presence, as tin times past. 
 
 •jA%7rf«y. 8 % And there was war again : and David 
 
 about io«2. went out, and fought with the Philistines, 
 and slew them with a great slaughter j and 
 
 t Hcb. they fled from t him. 
 
 9 And the evil spirit from the Lord was 
 upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his 
 javelin in his hand: and David played with 
 his hand. 
 
 10 And Saul sought to smite David even 
 to the wall with the javelin ; but he slipped 
 away out of Saul's presence, and he. smote 
 the javelin into the wall : and David fled, 
 and escaped that night. 
 
 11 Saul also sent messengers unto Da- 
 vid's house, to watch him, and to slay him 
 in the morning : and Michal David's wife 
 told him, saying, If thou save not thy life 
 to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain. 
 
 12 ^ So Michal let David down through 
 
 hitface. 
 
 fence, reaps a double reward from the thanks of the publick and 
 the thanks of his friend. Dr. H. Stebbing. 
 
 .lonathiin gave noble proofs indeed of his friendship for Da- 
 vid, and of his virtue, when he used his utmost endeavours to 
 pacify his father, and spake with so much respect and resolu- 
 tion in behalf of his friend, to reconcile his father to him. By 
 this means, he discharged his duty to his friend, and at the same 
 lime to his father, by inspiring him with more just sentiments. 
 Thus o\ight we ever to take part with the innocent when perse- 
 cuted unjustly, never to be backward in our good offices towards 
 others, and to use all means of appeasing those that are enraged. 
 Oslervaid. 
 
 5. — and shw the PhUistine, &c.] In all the seeming sim- 
 plicity of tills plain and short intercession, we perceive all the 
 strength of reasoning, and all the skill and delicacy of address, 
 whicii could possibly be crowded into so few words. Jonatlian 
 had much more to say in David's favour; but he well knew, that 
 to enumerate Da\-id"s merits, would be to inflame liis fatlier's en- 
 mity : and therefore, though he mentioned David's merits in ge- 
 neral, yet he insisted only on that single point, in which Saul 
 himsclt liad some merit and much complacence ; and he well 
 knew, that the hare remembrance of it would bring back to his 
 lathers mind the greatness and generosity of the prize proposed, 
 >«h.ch excitetl Davnd's valour, and led to that happy event, in 
 which Saul himself was so greatly a partaker. Dr. Delancu. 
 10. And Sau sought to .mite David &c.] How sad and shocking 
 
 snguiah of Saul, and Saul lu the same instant meilitaUng his Uc 
 
 a window : and he went, and fled, and Christ 
 escaped. _ about loo:. 
 
 13 And Michal took an image, and laid 
 it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats* 
 hair for his bolster, and covered it with a 
 cloth. 
 
 14 And when Saul sent messengers to 
 take David, she said. He is sick. 
 
 15 And Saul sent the messengers again 
 to see Da\id, saying. Bring him up to me 
 in the bed, tiiat I may slay him. 
 
 l(j And when the messengers were come 
 in, behold, there was an image in the bed, 
 with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster. 
 
 17 And Saul said unto Michal, Why 
 hast thou deceived me so, and sent away 
 mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Mi- 
 chal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let 
 me go ; why should I kill thee ? 
 
 18 ^ So David fled, and escaped, and 
 came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him 
 all that Saul had done to him. And he 
 and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. 
 
 19 And it was told Saul, saying. Behold, 
 David is at Naioth in Ramah. 
 
 '20 And Saul sent messengers to take 
 David : and when they saw the company 
 of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel 
 standing as appointed over them, the Spirit 
 of God was upon the messengers of Saul, 
 and they also prophesied. 
 
 21 And when it was told .Saul, he sent 
 other messengers, and they prophesied like- , 
 
 wise. And Saul sent messengers again the 1 
 
 third time, and they prophesied also. 
 
 struction ! sitting sullen and determined, with his javelin in hia 
 hand, watching his opportunity, and waiting perhaps till the 
 power of musick had so far calmed his spirits as to steady his 
 hand. On the failure of tlie attempt, we cannot fail to adore the 
 providence of Clod, by which David was once more so signally 
 protected and delivered. Dr. Delaiiey. 
 
 15. — saying, Bring him vp to mc~\ Such was his insatiable 
 rage, that he could not stay to see the event of David's supposed 
 sickness ; but, when he was able to make no resistance, resolved 
 to despatch him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 17- — He said unto me, Let me go; &c.] The conjugal fidelity 
 and affection displayed by Michal on this occasion are much ob- 
 scured by this falsehood, which she told, to the disgrace of her 
 husband, to excuse herself to her father. Dr. Dclanei/. 
 
 20. — sent messengers to take David :~\ His implacable hatred 
 to David had abolished all respect and reverence to Samuel, (un- 
 der whose protection David now was,) and to the college of Pro- 
 phets, which was a kind of sanctuary to those who fled to it. Bp. 
 Patrick. Envy is too hard to be subdued, although it is some- 
 times weak enough to be diverted : Saul's envy had only dropt 
 its present purpose by his reconciliation with David ; the pas- 
 sion was ready to resume its strength on another occasion of its- 
 being excited. Dr. H. Stebbing. 
 
 they also prophe.ned.'] They no sooner arrived, and heard 
 
 the Prophets singing their Divine hymns, with Samuel at their 
 head, than they were inspired with the same Spirit, sang the 
 praises of God in the same strain, and had no inclination left ta 
 meddle with David. Pyle.
 
 Smil projihesietk. 
 
 CHAP. XIX, XX. 
 
 David and Jonathan considl. 
 
 11 
 
 chrTst ^^ '^^^" ^^"* ^^^ ^^^^ *° Ramah, and 
 about loG'j. came to a great well that is in Sechu : and 
 
 he asked and said, Where «?r Samuel and 
 
 David ? And one said, Behold, thei/ be at 
 
 Naioth in Ramah. 
 
 23 And he went thither to Naioth in 
 Ramah : and the Spirit of God was upon 
 him also, and he went on, and prophesied, 
 until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 
 
 24- And he stripped off his clothes also, 
 
 and prophesied before Samuel in like man- 
 
 t Hcb. ner, and t lay down naked all that day and 
 
 "^"chap. 10. ^'^ t'^^t night. Wherefore they say, ^ Is 
 
 Saul also among the prophets ? 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 1 David consiillclh milk Joiiatlicm fur Ids safehj. 1 1 
 Jonalhan and David renew their covenant by oath. 
 1 8 Jonathan's luhen to David. 2-1 Saul, missing 
 David, scckclh to kill Jonalhan. 35 Jonathan loving- 
 ly takclh his leave of David. 
 
 AND David fled from Naioth in Ramah, 
 and came and said before Jonathan, 
 ~ What have I done ? what is mine iniquity? 
 and what is my sin before thy father, that 
 he seeketh my life ? 
 
 2 And he said unto him, God forbid ; 
 thou shalt not die: behold, my father will 
 do nothing either great or small, but that 
 
 23. — he went on, and prophesied,"] So strangely obstinate 
 and wicked was Saul, that he not only contended with the Spirit 
 of God in sending others, but resolved at the last to go himself, 
 as if he could oppose the Spirit of God : on the waj', however, 
 he was inspired by God, and he sang praises, as did the Pro- 
 phets. This was to convince him that he laboured in a vain pur- 
 suit after David, whom the Spirit of God powerfully defended. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and prophesied,] See note on Numb. xi. 25. This is a 
 
 word of extensive signification, and may denote sometimes those 
 actions, motions, and distortions, which Prophets in their inspira- 
 tions were wont to exhibit. But the generality of interpreters 
 take prophesying, in this place, to signify Saul's singing of psalms, 
 or hymns of thanksgiving and praise ; which he was compelled 
 to do, even against his will, to teach him the vanity of his designs 
 against David, and to shew that, in them, he fought against God. 
 Stackhousc. It is to little purpose to inquire what was the sub- 
 ject of Saul's prophesying. For what reason he and his messen- 
 gers were seized with a prophetick spirit is most evident; namely, 
 to prevent their intended violence to David. And tiiis good effect 
 was worthy the good Spirit of the Lord to produce. The circum- 
 stances here recorded afford a most pleasing instance, to a gene- 
 rous compassionate mind, of the care of Proxidence over perse- 
 cuted virtue, and of the impotence of human malice towards thase 
 whom God is determined to preserve. Dr. Chandler. Mark the 
 peculiar interposition of God on this occasion. He withheld 
 Saul's hand from villany, and employed his tongue in such acts 
 of devotion as he least intended : so that this incident served only 
 to advance his shame and David's lionour. Dr. H. Stcbhing. 
 
 24. — lai) down nuked] In this expression, and others of the 
 same import, (Is. xx. 2 ; Mic. i. 8,) we are not to understand that 
 the persons were entu-ely naked, but only that they took off some 
 external habit, or upper garment, which they were wont to wear 
 when tliey went abroad, or that tliey had some part of their body 
 uncovered. The word in the original aibiiits this meaning. Utack- 
 
 he will t shew it me : and why should my 
 father hide this thing from me ? it is not 
 so. 
 
 3 And David sware moreover, and said, 
 Thy father certainly knoweth that I have 
 found grace in thine eyes ; and he saith, 
 Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be 
 grieved : but tridy as the Loud liveth, and 
 as thy soul liveth, there is but a step be- 
 tween me and death, 
 
 4 Then said Jonathan unto David, 
 II Whatsoever thy soul t desireth, I will 
 even do it for thee. 
 
 5 And David said unto Jonathan, Be- 
 hold, to morrow is the new moon, and I 
 should not fail to sit with the king at meat: 
 but let me go, tliat I may hide myself in 
 the field unto the third dat/ at even. 
 
 6 If thy father at all miss me, then say, 
 David earnestly asked leave of me that he 
 might run to Beth-lehem his city: for there 
 is a yearly || sacrifice there for all the fa- 
 mily.' 
 
 7 If he say thus, It is well ; thy servant 
 shall have peace : but if he be very wroth, 
 the?i be sure that evil is determined by 
 him. 
 
 8 Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with 
 thy servant 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1062. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 uncover 
 mine ear. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Say whnt U 
 tliy mind, 
 and I will 
 do, &c. 
 t Heb. 
 spealcet/i, or, 
 thinkfth. 
 
 OT,fe<ul. 
 
 for " thou hast brought tliy 
 
 ' Chap. 18. 
 2. & 23.18. 
 
 /ioi4se. He had taken off his outward garment, his military habit 
 and royal robe, and thus appeared like the rest of the Prophets, 
 a plain, disarmed, and therefore naked, man. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 Wherefore they say. Is Saul also &c.] This was men- 
 tioned as a proverb, by anticipation, at chap. x. 11, 12 ; but it is 
 evident that the original of the proverb was this second prophe- 
 sying among the Prophets; because Saul was not at that time 
 kno^vn among the people, and because the origin of the proverb 
 is here expressly referred to his second prophesying. This pro- 
 verb was used to express any thing unlocked for, and improba- 
 ble. The meaning is, Is Saul, who throughout his whole reign 
 hath so much slighted and contemned the law, and would con- 
 duct his actions by the mere rules of human jjolicj', is he at 
 length become studious of, :uul zealous for, the law of God.* 
 Bp. Warburton. 
 
 Chap. XX. ver. 2. — behold, my father will do nolhing &c.] 
 Jonathan might well say this, when he had his father's oath to 
 support his opinion. As many an honest man does, he judged of 
 anotlier's sentiments by liis own ; and, if he judged better of his 
 father than he deserved, by firmly believing that he would not 
 falsify his oath, the mistake turned to his own honour, as it shewed 
 his own regard to such a religiou* obligation. Dr. H. Stebbing. 
 
 5. -_ to morrow is the new moon,] A solemn sacrifice, attend- 
 ed by a feast, took place every new moon ; and on such an occi- 
 sion Da^nd, as one of the king's family, was wont to eat witii him. 
 Bp. Patrick. The Jewish months were lunar, and never began 
 before the new moon appearetl above the horizon : for which 
 purpose persons were stationed upon the mountains, some time 
 before the new moon was ex-pected, to give notice by the sound 
 of a horn when it first appeared, that so the intelligence might be 
 immediately carried to Jerusalem. Calmet. 
 
 8. — J'or thou hast brought thy servant] It was at Jonathan's 
 instigation that they first made a solemn covenant of mutual 
 friendship before God. Bp. Patrick,
 
 Jonathan and David renew their covenant. I. S A M U E L. 
 
 His token to David. 
 
 ihine etir. 
 
 ucfurt servant into a covenant of the Lord witli 
 S,^uIVw-. thee : notwithstanding, if there be in me 
 ' iniquity, slay me thyself; for why should- 
 est thou bring me to thy father? 
 
 I) And Jonathan said, Far be it from 
 thee : for if I knew certainly tliat evil w^ere 
 determined by my father to come upon 
 thee, then would not I tell it thee? 
 
 10 Then said David to Jonathan, Who 
 shall tell me ? or what //thy father answer 
 thee roughly? 
 
 11 ^ And Jonathan said unto David, 
 Come, and let us go out into the Held. 
 And they went out both of them into the 
 Held. 
 
 12 And Jonathan said unto David, O 
 tHtb Loud God of Israel, when I have t sound- 
 ed my father about to morrow any time, 
 or the third daij, and, behold, if there be 
 good toward David, and 1 then send not 
 
 t HeU unto thee, and t shew it thee ; 
 
 13 The Lord do so and much more to 
 Jonathan : but if it please my father to do 
 thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and 
 send thee away, that thou niavest go in 
 peace : and the Lord be with thee, as he 
 hath been with my father. 
 
 ll And thou shalt not only while yet I 
 live shew me the kindness of the Lord, 
 that I die not : 
 
 1.5 But cdsu thou siialt not cut off thy 
 kindness from my house for ever : no, not 
 when the Lord hath cut off the enemies 
 of David every one from the face of the 
 earth. 
 tH.i..n,(. If) So Jonathan t made a covenant Wi\\\ 
 the house of David, saying. Let the Lord 
 even require it at the hand of David's 
 enemies. 
 
 \i. — the kindness of I lie Lord, '2 The kindness covenanted be- 
 tween us bel'on- the Lord. Dr. IVelU. 
 
 1 5. — thon iltiill nut cut off tin/ kindness from mj) housed Jona- 
 ihans submission to the will of CJod in the designation of David 
 ♦or the throne, as it proni])ted him to see, so it entitled him to ask 
 for, tlic benefits attending his advancement: and, finding that 
 (io<l h.id tnuisferred the protection to other hands, he shewed 
 that obe<lience to his heavenly Ruler, and tiiat jrenerous care for 
 his ovnx posterity, to seek protection where God had placed it. 
 />.//. SliUing:. * 
 
 From what passed between Jonathan and David, it appears 
 that Jcn.itliun was persuaded David would one day sit ujx)n the 
 throne, and yet he wa.-< not in the least jealous of him, because he 
 knew It was tlie will of Gotl. These sentiments of Jonathan ex- 
 prcja the sreatness of his soul, and give proof of his piety. True 
 iuul s«.lid friendship is founded upon virtue ; aiid, instead of be- 
 ing jealous of tile advantaires of our friends, makes their happi- 
 ne*, ,,,ir joy ami satisfaction. Osttrmld. How tender a sense had 
 Jonatlun o! that friendship which he thus wishes to perpetuate ' 
 How unspeakable a Rcnerosity to stipulate for his own life with 
 111 'hf,"nTn*r '"^ -'f "''^" absolutely in his ,K>wer, interceding 
 th.,t h.s ciuKIren might not be considered as enemies to him" 
 
 Before 
 
 17 And Jonathan caused David to swear c^j^jg^ 
 again, || because he loved him: for he loved about loe-j. 
 him as he loved his own soul. il Or, 
 
 18 Then Jonathan said to David, To 'Zj;!^^'" 
 morrow is the new moon : and thou shalt a™ 
 
 be missed, because thy seat will be t empty. t^J^^^ij- 
 
 ly And ichen thou hast stayed three "" 
 days, then thou shalt go down lit quickly, P^Or,^^^ 
 and come to the place where thou didst | hch. ^' 
 hide thyself t when the business was in «'-^^'^/- 
 hand, and shalt remain by the stone || Ezel. i„me>iayar 
 
 20 And I will shoot three arrows on the '''«^'^"»'""«- 
 side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. tiiut titew- 
 
 21 Antl, behold, I will send a lad, saj/- ^A"««"'y- 
 ing. Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly 
 
 say imto tlic lad. Behold, the arrows are 
 on this side of thee, take them ; then come 
 thou : for Ihcrx' is peace to thee, and t no t Hcb. 
 hurt ; as the Lord liveth. "tTn^^ 
 
 22 But if I say thus unto the young 
 man, Behold, the arrows arc beyond thee ; 
 go thy way : for the Lord hath sent thee 
 away. 
 
 23 And as totiching the matter which 
 thou and I have spoken of, behold, the 
 Lord be between thee and me for ever. 
 
 24 % So David hid himself in the field : 
 and when the new moon was come, the 
 king sat him down to eat meat. 
 
 25 And the king sat upon his seat, as at 
 other times, even upon a seat by the wall : 
 and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by 
 Saul's side, and David's place was empty. 
 
 26 Nevertheless Saul spake not any 
 thing that day: for he thought. Some- 
 thing hath befallen him, he is not clean ; 
 surely he is not clean. 
 
 27 And it came to pass on the morrow, 
 'which was the second day of the month, 
 
 concluding with that remarkable and undistingwishing impreca- 
 tion, " Let the Lord require it at the hand of David's enemies." 
 Dr. Delaneif. 
 
 23. — the Lord he IteliveeR Ihec and me~\ As a witness and 
 avenger, if we keep not the covenant we have made of perpetual 
 friendship. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 25. — upon a scat hi) the mall :] It is conjectured from this ex- 
 pression, that the table was in a half circle, and that Saul's .seat 
 was in the middle, which in the nature of things was next to the 
 wall. Dr. Delfiiiet/. 
 
 and Dat'id'i place n-as empii/.'] It may seem a little 
 
 strange that Saul, who had so often endeavoured to kill David, 
 should ever exjiect to see liim at his table any more : but perhaps 
 he thought that David migJit be disposed to o\'erlook all that had 
 passed, as the effect of his frenzy and melancholy, and to consi- 
 der him now as retixnied to a sound mind : also, that because 
 David had ventured into his jiresence again, after the first jave- 
 lin was thrown at him, he might for tlie future be guilty of the 
 same indiscretion. Calmel. 
 
 26. — he is not clean ;'\ He thought that he had fallen into 
 some legal uncleanness, whicli prevented him from appearing. 
 I'yle. *
 
 Saul seelceth to hill Jonathan. 
 
 CHAP. XX, XXI. Jonathan taheth his leave of David. 
 
 /-S^ut'cp that David's place was empty : and Saul 
 about 1062. said uiito Jonathan Ins son, Whereiore 
 Cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, nei- 
 ther yesterday, nor to day ? 
 
 28 And Jonathan answered Saul, David 
 earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth- 
 lehem : 
 
 ii9 And he said. Let me go, I pray thee; 
 for our family hath a sacrifice in the city ; 
 and my brother, he hath commanded me to 
 be there : and now, if I have found favour 
 in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, 
 and see my brethren. Therefore he com- 
 eth not unto the king's table. 
 
 30 Then Saul's anger was kindled against 
 B Of; "^''"^ Jonathan, and he said unto him, || t Thou 
 rellr'" son of the perverse rebellious woman, do 
 + Hd). j^Q^ J ]^now that thou hast chosen the son 
 
 bni itj per- ,, _. . . r • i 
 
 verse rebel- OX JCSSC tO tlimC OWU COUIUSlOn, aud UUtO 
 
 '"'"• the confusion of thy mother's nakedness ? 
 
 31 For as long as the son of Jesse liveth 
 upon the ground, thou shalt not be esta- 
 blished, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now 
 
 t Hci.. send and fetch him unto me, for he t shall 
 
 IS the son <tf 1 T 
 
 death. surely die. 
 
 32 And Jonathan answered Saul his fa- 
 ther, and said unto him, Wherefore shall 
 he be slain ? what hath he done ? 
 
 33 And Saul cast a javelin at him to 
 smite him : whereby Jonathan knew that 
 it was determined of his father to slay Da- 
 vid. 
 
 34 So Jonathan arose from the table in 
 fierce anger, and did eat no meat the se- 
 cond day of the month : for he was grieved 
 for David, because his father had done him 
 shame. 
 
 35 % And it came to pass in the morn- 
 ing, that Jonathan went out into the field 
 
 30. — Thou son of the perverse rebellions n'oma)i,~\ The Hebrew 
 should rather be rendered. Thou son of perverse rebellion j that 
 is. Thou most perverse rebel. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 mdo the confusion of thy mother's nakedness ." ] For the 
 
 world would think that he was not tlie son of Saul, because he 
 loved so greatly a person whom Saul thoroughly hated. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. Or the meaning is, This tliy favour to David will be to 
 thy own wrong an^l shame, by depriving thee of the kingdom, 
 as if thou wert base-born : and to the shame of tliy mother, who 
 •will by this act be proclaimed an adulteress, and a dishonourer of 
 my bed. Bp. Hall. 
 
 33. And Saul cast a Javelin at hini^ If it be asked. How it came 
 to pass, that Saul had always a javelin in his hand (on this and 
 other occasions) to execute his evil purposes .' the answer is, that 
 spears were frequently the sceptres of those ages, which kings al- 
 ways carried in their hands. Stackhouse. By liis spear is to be 
 understood his sceptre, according to the phv:ise of those times. 
 Justin says of the early Romans that their kings had spears or 
 javelins for signs of royal authority ; and Pausanias sa3's, that the 
 kings of Argos called their sceptres, spears. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 40. — his artillertf] His weapons, his bow and arrows. Dr.JVelh. 
 
 41. — a place lon'ard Ike soiith,'J Probably on the south of the 
 stone Ezel before mentioned. 
 
 at the time appointed with David, and a ^•^'"' 
 little lad with him. l«f /^i; 
 
 36 And he said unto his lad, Run, find 
 out now the arrows which I shoot. And 
 
 as the lad ran, he shot an arrow t beyond t "«•». 
 
 him. ;,;.i:~ 
 
 37 And when the lad was come to the 
 place of the arrow which Jonathan had 
 shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and 
 said. Is not the arrow beyond thee ? 
 
 38 And Jonathan cried after the lad, 
 Make sjjced, haste, stay not. And Jona- 
 than's lad gathered up the arrows, and 
 came to his master. 
 
 39 But the lad knew not any thing : 
 only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 
 
 40 And Jonathan gave his t artillery t •'<=•• 
 unto t his lad, and said unto him. Go, '^2' 
 carry thetn to tlie city. t h^- 
 
 41 ^ A7id as soon as the lad was gone, Aii'.'"^"' 
 David arose out of a j^lace toward the 
 south, and fell on his face to the ground, 
 
 and bowed himself three times : and they 
 kissed one another, and wept one with an- 
 other, until David exceeded. 
 
 42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in 
 peace, !| forasmuch as we have sworn both U Or, tit 
 of us in the name of the Lord, saying, i'ifni^of' 
 The Lord be between me and thee, and '•">» «'*''^*' 
 between my seed and thy seed for ever. 
 
 And he arose and departed : and Jonathan 
 went into the city. 
 
 CHAP. XXL 
 
 1 David at Nob obtaineth of Ahimelech halloned bread. 
 7 Doeg was present. 8 David laketh Goliath's sword. 
 10 David at Galhfeigneth Itimself mad. 
 
 THEN came David to Nob to Ahime- 
 lech the priest : and Ahimelech was 
 
 until David exceeded.'^ Pi'oceeded to an excess of grief. 
 
 being about to become an exile from his friend, his wife, his kin- 
 dred, and people, and tlie sacred solemnities of liis religion. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 We may readily pronounce, that it was the sense, not of Iiis 
 own distress, but of Jonathan's generosity, which now overvvhehn- 
 ed David. He was leaving, perhajis taking liis last Ica^e of, tliat 
 man, who, though he knew David stood between him and ^hc 
 throne, jxt had often saved his life, and was now just come from 
 saving it again, at tlie imniinent hazard of his own. And how 
 was he leaving this invaluable friend ? He was leaving him to the 
 rage of a furious incensed father, who would not fail to destroy 
 him for the very kindness he was then shewing David, if it ever 
 came to his knowledge. Jonathan was too delicate and too gene- 
 rous not to see all the movements of David's litart on this dis- 
 tressful occasion ; and seeing them, he repressed his own grief, 
 for fear of sinking his friend too much by excess of tenderness. 
 This niatle him conclude the conference in that religious and 
 Cidni manner recorded in the next verse, " Go in peace, forasmuch 
 as tkc." Dr. Dclaneif. 
 
 Chap. XXI. ver. I. — to Nob'^ A city in the tribe of Benja- 
 min, one of the cities assignea to the priests, as appears froiu
 
 David obtaincth haUou-ed bread. 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 He talceth Goliath's s-a)ord. 
 
 CHHIST 
 
 alH>ut lOCi. 
 
 t lUh. 
 Jmni. 
 
 • Eiod. 25. 
 30i 
 
 I,CT. 24. 5. 
 MMth. 12. 
 
 4. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 especially 
 when this 
 (/ay there it 
 etlier tnnc- 
 tifieJ m the 
 veitel. 
 
 afraiii at tlio meeting of David, and said 
 iinto liini, \\'liy art tlioii alone, and no man 
 with thee? 
 
 'J And David said unto Aliinielech the 
 priest, Tlie kinp: hath commanded me a 
 business, and liatli said unto me, Let no 
 man know any thing of tlie business where- 
 al)out I send thee, and what I have com- 
 manded thee : and I have appointed ?H7/ 
 sei\ants to sucli and such a place. 
 
 3 Now therefore what is under thine 
 hand? give me ti\e loaves of bread in mine 
 hand, or what there is t present. 
 
 4 And the priest answered David, and 
 said, latere is no common bread under 
 mine hand, but there is " hallowed bread ; 
 if the young men have kept themselves at 
 least from women. 
 
 5 And David answered the priest, and 
 said unto him, Of a truth women have been 
 kept from us about these three days, since 
 I came out, and tlie vessels of the young 
 men are holy, and the bread is in a manner 
 common, || yea, though it were sanctified 
 this day in the vessel. 
 
 6 So the priest gave him hallowed bread : 
 for tliere was no bread there but the shew- 
 bread, that was taken from before the Lord, 
 to put hot bread in the day when it w'as 
 taken away. 
 
 7 Now a certain man of the servants of 
 
 chap. .\xii. 19, ■''Iso from Nchem. xi. 32, where we find it reckoned 
 among the Lcvitical cities. Dr. Wcll.i. 
 
 Ahimdecli the prie.il ;] The hijrh priest. David intended 
 
 perhaps, by coining to him, to recommend liimself and his cause 
 to (io<l, and to beg His direction and protection. Bp. PalAck. 
 
 y. — The king hiilh cummamlcd mc &c.] It is evident from this 
 passage how far excessive fear may make even an otherwise good 
 man forget his (hitj- of liaving a strict regard to trutii. Dr. Wells. 
 W'v are not hence to fcike an example of speaking untruths, but 
 to ilcplore the wickedness of the world ; since tlie niost excellent 
 men iiave sometimes been induced to tell a falsehood, for the 
 purpose of preserving their lives. Bp. Patrick. It is thought by 
 some, that, in compunction for his guilt on this occasion, David 
 utters that lamental)le complaint in Ps. cxix. 28, 29, " My soul 
 mclteth away — Take from me the way of lying." All persons 
 however do not see Iiis conduct in so unfavourable a light, consi- 
 dering that his intention was innocent, and that he industriously 
 concealed his condition from the high priest, in order to keep 
 him clear from all suspicion and charge of having combined with 
 him against .S;ml. Dr. Delatiei/. 
 
 i. — hnllmred bread ;] The shewbread on the tabic of the ta- 
 bernacle, wliich was to be eaten by none but the priests and their 
 femilics ; and which Ahimelech permits David and his soldiers 
 to eat, provided they were in the same state of legal cleanness 
 ■which was required of the priests. 
 
 5. — i/,-rt, thiju^h it were sanctified lhi.<! day in the ves.tel.^ The 
 marginal transl.ition is more plain, enpeciafly when this day there 
 >3 other .innctijicd. He means, new bread was set upon the table 
 of the Lord, «o that no wrong was done to Him. By the vessel is 
 meant, the dish on which tiie bread was placed, mentioned at 
 Ex«l. XXV. 29. Dp.PnIriek. 
 
 6. So the priett gave him &c.] In this, neither Ahimelecli nor 
 David comm.tteil any sin : for invincible necessity dispensed with 
 
 ' Chap. 17. 
 
 Saul ■a-as there that day, detained before j-h^Ist 
 the Loud; and his name was Doeg, an about loey. 
 Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that 
 bcloii^icd to Saul. 
 
 8 % And David said unto Ahimelech, 
 AnJ is there not here under thine hand 
 spear or sword ? i'or I have neither brought 
 my sword nor my weapons with me, be- 
 cause the king's business required haste. 
 
 9 And the priest said, The sword of Go- 
 liath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in 
 '' the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrap- 
 ped in a cloth behind the ephod : if thou 
 wilt take that, take it : for there is no other 
 save that here. And David said, There is 
 none like that ; give it me. 
 
 10 ^ And David arose, and fled that day 
 for fear of Saul, and went to Achisli the 
 king of Gath. 
 
 11 And the servants of Achish said unto 
 him. Is not this David the king of the land? 
 did they not sing one to another of him in 
 dances, saying, •= Saul hath slain his thou- 
 sands, and David his ten thousands ? 
 
 12 And David laid up these words in his «. 
 heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the 
 king of Gath. 
 
 13 And he changed his behaviour before 
 them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, 
 and II scrabbled on the doors of the gate, 
 and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 
 
 ' Cliap. 18. 
 7. & 2y. .•;. 
 Eccl"' 47. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 made 
 7nnrks. 
 
 all these ritual laws, as the Jews themselves confess. An argu- 
 ment respecting the sabbatli is founded on this passage by our Sa- 
 viour. See Matt. xii. .3, 4, &c. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — detained before tlie Lord ;] Detained at the tabernacle by 
 some vow which he had upon him, or other religious perform- 
 ance, to whicli he had obliged himself. Bp. Patrick. The cir- 
 cumstance of Doeg's being present is here mentioned, with re- 
 ference to his afterwai'ds accusing Ahimelech for what now pass- 
 ed, as is related at ch. xxii. 9- 
 
 9. — The sword of Goliath the Philistine — is fierr'] As it was 
 an ancient custom among the Jews to hang up in the temple arms 
 taken from their enemies, so the heathens were wont to do the 
 same in their temples : it was in conformity with this custom 
 that David dedicated to the Lord the sword with which he cut 
 otl' Goliath's head, and delivered it to the priest, as a monument 
 of his victory and the Israelites' deliverance. Calmct. 
 
 10. — tvcnt to Achish the king tifGalh.'] Such was his miserable 
 condition, to be forced to flee for protection to tiiose wliom he 
 had reason to think were his bitter enemies : Gath was the citj 
 of Goliath, whose sword David now had about him. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 11. — king of the land?"] The person who sways so much in 
 Israel. Bp. Hall. Either they meant, a chief commander; or 
 tlicy had heard of his being designed to be king instead of Saul. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 \3. — and feigned himself mad^ David's counterfeiting mad- 
 ness, when he was discovered by the Philistines in the city of 
 Gath, must be considered as a weakness not altogether free from 
 sin ; since he shewed thereby that he did not sufficiently depend 
 upon the promises of the Lord. This is a warning to us, never 
 to have recourse to evil means, or do any thing unworthy of our 
 character, to deliver ourselves from the dangers which threaten 
 us. Oiicnald.
 
 II 
 
 Companies resort unto David. 
 
 CHAP. XXI, XXII. 
 
 Doeg accusefk Ahimelech. 
 
 D 
 
 'irTst ^^ Then said Achish unto his servants, 
 
 ■lit 1062. Lo, ye see the man || is mad: wherefore 
 
 )r, theii have ye brought liim to me ? 
 
 y.v'i the 15 Have I need of mad men, that ye 
 
 have brought this fellow to play the mad 
 
 man in my presence? shall thisJe/Zott- come 
 
 into my house ? 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 1 Compajiies resort unto David at AdiiUam. 3 At Miz- 
 peh he cummendeth his parents nnlo the king of Moab. 
 5 Admonished by Gad, he comelh to Harelh. 6 Saul 
 going to puisne him, complaineth of his servants' iin- 
 faithfiilncss. 9 Doeg accitselh Ahimelech. 1 1 Saul 
 commandcth to kill the priests. 17 The footmen re- 
 fusing, Doeg execiitelh it. 20 Abialhar escaping, 
 bringcth David the ncivs. 
 
 AVID therefore departed thence, and 
 escaped to the cave Adullam : and 
 when his brethren and all his father's house 
 heard it, they went down thither to him. 
 
 2 And every one that ivas in distress, and 
 : Heb. every one that t was in debt, and every 
 ii'r.r? ""' one that was t discontented, gathered them- 
 Miei). selves unto him; and he became a captain 
 
 ' °-^ over them : and there were with him about 
 four lumdred men. 
 
 3 % And David went thence to Mizpeli 
 of Moab: and he said unto the king of 
 Moab, Let my father and my mother, I 
 pray thee, come forth, afid be with you, 
 till I know what God will do for me. 
 
 4 And he brought them before the king 
 of Moab : and they dwelt with him all the 
 while that David was in the hold. 
 
 5 ^ And the prophet Gad said unto 
 David, Abide not in the hold ; depart, and 
 get thee into the land of Judah. Then 
 David departed, and came into the forest 
 of Hareth. 
 
 Chap. XXII. ver. 1. — the cave Adullam:^ A strong hold, 
 1 Chron. xi. 15, in the tribe of Judah, Josh. xv. ."j; to which 
 tribe as David belonojed, he might hope to find some friends 
 tliorc. Bp. Patrick. It was on David's happy escape from the 
 Philistines on this occasion, that he wrote the xxxivth psalm. 
 Di: Chandler. 
 
 •i. — evcrtf one that ?vas in debt, &c.] David probably felt him- 
 I self forced to tiike this coarse in his defence, that he might not 
 I be suddenly surprised by any party Saul might bring against 
 him; and he seems to have adopted it, without the least inten- 
 tion of raising a rebellion against .Saul, or of doing him an injury; 
 I much less of injuring his countrj'. Dr. Wells. A most injurious 
 I imputation has sometimes been cast upon David, for his beha- 
 viour on this occasion, as if he was attempting to raise a rebellion 
 rig.iinst his sovereign. But his whole conduct shews that lie 
 ,uted entirely upon a principle of self-defence. He never op- 
 posed or disturbed the government of Saul; never endeavoured 
 t(i excite a spirit of discontent, or entered into a conspiracy to 
 dithrone him, or forcibly levied contributions on his subjects, or 
 jiiiued the enemies of his country to invade it; or even availed 
 iiiiiiself of oi)portunitIes offered, to seize his person, or destroy 
 hiui; but, during his whole life, beliaved with all the submission 
 Vol. 1. 
 
 6 % When Saul heard that David was Christ 
 discovered, and the men that xvere with about iocs, 
 him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under II a n or, 
 tree in Ramah, ha\ing his spear in his hand, f T V» " 
 
 Till- ]• 1 '"?'' I'lO^t- 
 
 and all his servants xvere standing about 
 him;) 
 
 7 Then Saul said unto liis servants 
 that stood about him. Hear now, ye Ben- 
 jamites; will the son of Jesse give every 
 one of you fields and vineyards, a7id make 
 you all captains of thousands, and captains 
 of hundreds ; 
 
 8 That all of you have conspired against 
 
 me, and there is none that t sheweth me t ^^^'' 
 that my son hath made a league with the mine tar. 
 son of Jesse, and there is none of you that 
 is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that 
 my son hath stirred up my servant against 
 me, to lie in wait, as at this day ? 
 
 9 IT Then answered Doeg the Edomite, 
 which was set over the servants of Saul, 
 and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to 
 Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 
 
 10 And he enquired of the Lord for 
 him, and gave him victuals, and gave him 
 the sword of Goliath the Philistine. 
 
 11 Then the king sent to call Ahime- 
 lech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all 
 his father's house, the priests that were in 
 Nob : and they came all of them to the king. 
 
 12 And Saul said. Hear now, thou son 
 
 of Ahitub. And he answered, t Here I ^^*^; ^^ 
 am, my lord. 
 
 13 And Saul said unto him. Why have 
 ye conspired against me, thou and the son 
 of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, 
 and a sword, and hast enquired of God for 
 him, that he should rise against me, to lie 
 in wait, as at this day ? 
 
 that became him, as a dutiful son-in-law to his father, and a 
 good subject to his prince. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 3. — ftie king of Moab,"] He applied to the king of Moab, 
 not only as being at variance with Saul, chap. xiv. 47, but also, 
 probably, because he himself was descended from a Moabite, by 
 his mother's side; especially if Ruth tho Moabitess were of the 
 royal family, as the Jews imagine. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — tvas in the hold.'} Was forced to keep himself in some 
 strong place, not easy of access. Dr. Wells. 
 
 (). — under a tree in Ramah,'] Or, in a high place, as Ramali 
 signifies: otherwise the first words nmst be translated, near Gi- 
 beah, or in the tcrritori) of Gibeah. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. Tliat all of you I'urve conspired against nic, &c.] If this com- 
 plaint of Saul's had been just, he would indeed have been to be 
 pitied: to be betrayed by his own servants and his own tribe, in fa- 
 vour of a fellow-servant and one of another tribe; to be betrayed 
 by his son in favour of his servant; nay, to have that servant excited 
 against iiim by his son; this were indeed a lamentable condition. 
 But the truth'is, Saul had no ground for his suspicion, except the 
 consciousness of having deserved what he dreaded. Dr. Dclaney. 
 
 g. — the son of' Jesse"] He seems to use this as a muiie of re- 
 proach; the son of an obscure mean person. Dr. Delaney. 
 
 4 A
 
 Doe^ kiUeth the priests. 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 Abiathar escapelh. 
 
 btUe or 
 
 |T CTl 
 
 nworr 14 Then Ahimclech answered the kintj, 
 
 ^IVmI and said, And who is so faithful amonpr all 
 
 thy senants as David, whicii is the kiiiji's 
 
 son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and 
 
 is honourable in thine house ? 
 
 15 Did I then begin to enquire of God 
 for him? be it far from me: let not the 
 king impute aui/ thing unto his servant, 
 Mor'to all the house of my father: for thy 
 t Hrfx servant knew nothing of all this, t less or 
 more. 
 
 l(j And the king said, Thou shalt surely 
 die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's 
 house. 
 I Or, 17 f And the king said unto the II t foot- 
 
 ♦"ha "1<^" ^''^* ^^^^^ ''^'^'^"^ '""^' Turn, and slay 
 runnel,, the pHests of the Lord ; because tiieir hand 
 also is with David, and because they knew 
 when he fled, and did not shew it to me. 
 But the servants of the king would not put 
 forth their hand to fall upon the priests of 
 the Lord. 
 
 18 And the king said to Doeg, Turn 
 thou, and fall upon the priests. And 
 Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell 
 upon the priests, and slew on that day 
 fourscore and five persons that did wear 
 a linen ephod. 
 
 l[) And Nob, the city of the priests, 
 smote he with the edge of the sword, both 
 men and women, children and sucklings. 
 
 1 ,■>. Did I then degin &(:.l He says, that, in consulting the ora- 
 cle then, he did no more than what he had often done before, in 
 duty to Saul, without being blamed; for he conceived that David 
 his servant and son was employed on his business. Dr. Wells. 
 Or, the words may very naturally be interpreted, so as to convey 
 an absolute denied of the charge: " Did 1 then begin to inquire 
 of God for him?" I never did it l)efore, nor did I begin to do it 
 now. Doeg charged him with consulting f ;o<l for Da\id, but, as 
 it should seem, fakely and maliciously. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 18. — And Doeg — fell upiin the priest s,2 We cannot but ob- 
 lerve ui>on the wickedness and cruelty of Doeg, who, when he 
 had prejudicetl .Saul against the innocent, and found his guards 
 refuse to lay their hands on the Lord's ministers, slew them him- 
 self. .Such is the cliaracter of wicked men: they stick at nothing; 
 and, by their false accusations, lay themselves under a fatal ne- 
 cessity of committing every enormity, for the purpose of sup- 
 porting their calumnies, ami destroying the innocent. Ostervald. 
 
 ly. .ind Xoh, the citi/ of the priests, &c.] Saul's fury transported 
 him to deal worse with the city of the priests than he did with 
 the .\malekites, some of whom he spared, though God com- 
 mands! him to destroy them all. In this destruction of the 
 prieit- was fulfilled the word of God against the house of Eli, 
 a» mentioned in chap. ii. and iii. of this book. Bp. Patrick. In 
 this case he let none escape, in order to deter others from giving 
 the least shelter or assistance to David, and to incite them the ra- 
 ther to come and give him information respecting his haunts and 
 lurWingplaccs. Sluekhouse. His barbarity on tliis occasion wa,5 
 •uch, aa many a savage would have abhorred to commit, or even 
 to palliate or excuse. Dr. Clmndtcr. 
 
 Such was.Uie strange and irregular temper of this unhappy 
 pnncr that he destroyed the inn(x^ent and sp.-.red the guilty 
 tiirough exc«s of zeal, he exterminated those whom he was ob- 
 
 and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the ""■'orf 
 
 , t* .\ 1 CHRIST 
 
 edge ot the sword. about loc. 
 
 20 % And one of the sons of Ahimelech 
 the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, es- 
 caped, and fled after David. 
 
 21 And Abiathar shewed David that 
 Saul had slain the Lord's priests. 
 
 '2'2 And David said imto Abiathar, I 
 knew // that day, when Doeg the Edomite 
 zcas there, that he would surely tell Saul: 
 I have occasioned the death of all the per- 
 sons of thy father's house. 
 
 '23 Abide thou with me, fear not : for he 
 that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but 
 with mc thou shalt be in safeguard. 
 
 CHAP. xxm. 
 
 1 David, enquiring of the Lord by Abiathar, rescueth 
 Keilah. 7 God shelving him the coming of Saul, 
 and the treachery of the Keililes, he escapelh from 
 Keilah. 14 In Ziph Jonathan cometh and comjorleih 
 him. 19 The Ziphites discover him to Sanl. S.? At 
 Maon lie is rescued from Saul by the invasion of the 
 Philistines. 29 He dwellcth at En-gedi. 
 
 THEN they told David, saying, Behold, 
 the Philistines fight against Keilah, 
 and they rob the threshingfloors. 
 
 2 Therefore David enquired of the Lord, 
 saying, Shall I go and smite these Phi- 
 listines? And the Lord said unto David, 
 Go, and smite the Philistines, and save 
 Keilah. 
 
 liged by the oath of God to protect; and, for want of zeal, he 
 thewed mercy to the Anialekites, whom Gotl had commanded 
 him to destro}-. But, howsoever faulty and strange this conduct 
 may seem in him, the case is too frequently not unlike with us 
 all. How apt are we to gratify our passions at the expense of 
 our duty! How earnest to serve the world, our lusts, ana our in- 
 terests; but how cold, languid, and jiartial, in olx-ying the most 
 positive commands of Gotl! How often do we sacrifice the priests 
 of God and spare the Amalekites; how often shew more favour 
 to the enemies than to the friends of God ! How apt to be mer- 
 ciful when we should be severe; severe and cruel when we ought 
 to be merciful ! A conduct and spirit, from which the most .se- 
 rious professors of religion are not wholly free. Wngan. .Saul at- 
 tained two ends by this massacre: he weakened the power of 
 the priests, whom he had made his enemies by slaying so many 
 of them, and stripping them of their possessions; and he strenrth- 
 ened the hands of his own family by conferring those possessions 
 upon them. We should not dismiss this subject without remark- 
 ing, that we have here a remarkable instance of Gotl's turning 
 the worst devices of the wicked to the purposes of His provi- 
 dence. In consequence of Eli's grievous offence, God had de- 
 nounced that his race should be cut off" by a sudden and surpris- 
 ing destruction, 1 Sam. ii. ; and now, by Saul's unparalleled cru- 
 elt}', this denunciation is fulfilled. Dr. Dcliuuy. 
 
 Chap. XXIII. ver. 1. T/ten they told Duvid,2 Or, " Now they 
 had told Da\'id;" for this was done before Abiathar caine to tell 
 David, ver. 6, of the slaughter of the priests. Dr. JFalerland, 
 Locke. Keilah was a city in the tribe of Judah, Josh. xv. ^-t. 
 
 t/iei/ roll the Ihreshingjluors.'] The threshingfloor was com- 
 monly without the citj', lor the convenience of wind to separate 
 the chaff from the coru. See Uuthiii. 3, 15. lip. Patrick.
 
 David rescueth Keilalu 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 Jonatlian cometh and comforteth him. 
 
 chrTst ^ ^"^^ David's men said unto him, Be- 
 about 10C2. hold, we be afraid here in Judah : how 
 much more then if we come to Keilah 
 against the armies of the Philistines ? 
 
 4 Then David enquired of the Lord yet 
 again. And the Lord answered him and 
 said. Arise, go down to Keilah ; for I will 
 deliver the Philistines into thine hand. 
 
 5 So David and his men went to Keilah, 
 and fought wth the Philistines, and brought 
 away their cattle, and smote them with a 
 great slaughter. So David saved the in- 
 habitants of Keilah. 
 
 6 And it came to pass, when Abiathar 
 • ctap. 2?. the son of Aliimelech ^ fled to David to 
 ^- Keilah, that he came down "with an ephod 
 
 in his hand, 
 •irtutioci. 7 ^ And it was told Saul that David was 
 come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath 
 delivered him into mine hand ; for he is 
 shut in, by entering into a town that hath 
 gates and bars. 
 
 8 And Saul called all the people to- 
 gether to war, to go dowr to Keilah, to 
 besiege David and his men. 
 
 9 *', And David knew that Saul secretly 
 practised mischief against him ; and he 
 said to Abiathar the priest, Bring liither 
 the ephod. 
 
 10 Then said David, O Lord God of 
 Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard 
 that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to 
 destroy the city for my sake. 
 
 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me 
 up into liis hand ? will Saul come do^^^^, as 
 thy sersant hath heard ? O Lord God of 
 
 5. — So David saved tlie inhabitants of Keilafu] This was a 
 noble proof, as Grotius justly obsenes, of David's love for his 
 country, that, though he was proscribed as a rebel by the king, 
 he was so far from injuring his countrj-, that he zealous!}* ser%-ed 
 it at the cost of his enemies. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 This is one of the noblest adventures of David's life. Another 
 man in his place would have rejoiced at this invasion, and per- 
 haps encouraged it, and this both from self-preser\-ation and po- 
 licy ; because he had nothing to fear for himself while Saul had 
 such an enemy on his hands, and because the distress of tlie 
 country was most likely to bring Said to reason. But Da\'id was 
 governed by no such narrow ^iews ; and neither safety nor ho- 
 nour was desirable to Iiim, when purcliased by the distress of his 
 Country and liis friends. Dr. Delancy. 
 
 6. — yriih an epkof] Rather, with the ephod : namely, that of 
 the high priest. It seems that, when Ahimelech and the rest of 
 the priests were slain, Abiathar, who had been left to keep the 
 sanctuary, took the principal vestment of the high priest, the 
 ephod, with the breastplate, and Urim and Thunimim annexed* 
 and carried them to David. Bp. Palrich. Thus one consequence 
 of Saul's slaughter of the priests was, that he deprived himself for 
 ever of the protection and counsel of God, the ephod and oracle 
 being now transferred to Da\nd. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 1 (i. — strengthened his hand in God.'2 Encouraged him to trust 
 in trod, notNvitlistandiiig his present afflictions : for that God 
 
 Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. ^^^ 
 And the Lord said. He will come down, .boutioei. 
 _ 12 Then said David, Will the men of 
 Keilah t deliver me and my men into the t ba. 
 hand of Saul ? And the Lord said. They **"'*^- 
 will deliver thee up. 
 
 13 ^ Then David and his men, x/wc/t 
 uere about six hundred, arose and de- 
 parted out of Keilah, and went whither- 
 soever they could go. And it was told 
 Saul that David was escaped from Keilah ; 
 and he forbare to go forth. 
 
 14 And David abode in the vi"ildemess 
 in strong holds, and remained in a moim- 
 tain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul 
 sought him every day, but God delivered 
 him not into his hand'. 
 
 15 And David saw that Saul was come 
 out to seek his life : and Da\-id zcas in the 
 wilderness of Ziph in a wood- 
 
 IG % And Jonathan Saul's son arose, 
 and went to David into the wood, and 
 strengthened his hand in God. 
 
 17 And he said unto him. Fear not : for 
 the hand of Saul my father shall not find 
 thee ; and thou shalt be king over Israel, 
 and I shall be next unto thee ; and that 
 also Saul my father knoweth. 
 
 18 And they two made a covenant be- 
 fore the Lord : and David abode in the 
 wood, and Jonathan went to his house. 
 
 19 ^ Then came up the Ziphites to Saul 
 
 to Gibeah, sa>"inff. Doth not David hide ••■ ^*- . . 
 hmiseli with u> m strong holds m the umL 
 wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is ' ^^^j^^^ 
 t on the south of U Jesliimon ? near 
 
 would eertainlv make good His promises at last, and enable him 
 to prevail over his enemies. Dr. n'ells. 
 
 The conduct of Jonathan in this remarkable transaction is truly 
 disinterested, generous, and great. He could not now be igno- 
 rant of David's destination to the throne of Israel by the will of 
 God, and knew that nothing could prevent his successioD to it; 
 as God had appointed it. In such a situation, how does he act? 
 He scorns by fraud and violence to attempt the life of a man whom 
 God had fixed on to be king, even in preference to himself; but 
 seeks him out in the wilderness, where his lather was hunting him 
 to destruction, and " strengthened his hand in God,' not by mo- 
 ney, forces, or any military aid ; not by promiiing to as^st in dis- 
 turbing his father's government, nor bj- any plot or conspiracy 
 against his father's interest and h<Hiour ; but by comforting him 
 under his cruel persecution, and assuring him of God's protection, 
 of his future advancement to the throne, and of his own confi- 
 dence in his David's future friendship. Dr. ChoMdlcr. 
 
 17. — Fear ^to^:'\ It were hard to determine whidi we oogfat 
 most to admire on this occasion, the moderation, the friend- 
 ship, the piety, or the unexampled generosity of Jonathan. To 
 be able to resign a kingdcsu with that cahnness, that frankness, 
 that tender love and inviolable fidelity to his rival, and that 
 steady submission to the will of God, seems to have something 
 in it' infinitely beyond all the other praises of henHsm. Dr. 
 Delanev. 
 
 4AS
 
 The Ziphites discover David to Said. I. S A M U E L. 
 
 David culk'th off Said's skirt. 
 
 B»fo« 20 Now therefore, O king, oonic clown 
 ,*bJI.uMK according to all the desire of thy soul to 
 come down ; and our part shall be to de- 
 liver him into the i<ing's liand. 
 
 21 And Saul said, IJlcssed be ye of the 
 
 Lord ; for ye have compassion on me. 
 
 2'2 Go, 1 pray you, prepare yet, and 
 
 t Heb. know and sec his place where his t liaunt 
 
 /"•"*""*'• is, and who hath seen him there : for it is 
 
 told me that he dcaleth very subtilly. 
 
 23 See therefore, and take knowledge of 
 all the lurking places where he hideth him- 
 self, and come ye again to me with the cer- 
 tainty, and I will go with you : and it shall 
 come to pass, if he be in the land, that I 
 will search him out throughout all the 
 thousands of Judah. 
 
 24 And they arose, and went to Ziph 
 before Saul : but David and his men iverc 
 in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on 
 the south of Jeshimon. 
 
 25 Saul also and his men went to seek 
 him. And they told David : wherefore he 
 came down into a rock, and abode in the 
 wilderness of INIaon. And when Saul 
 heard that, he pursued after David in the 
 wilderness of Maon. 
 
 2G And Saul went on this side of the 
 mountain, and David and his men on that 
 side of the moimtain : and David made 
 haste to get away for fear of Saul ; for Saul 
 and his men compassed David and his men 
 round about to take them. 
 
 27 % But there came a messenger unto 
 
 Saul, saying. Haste thee, and come ; for 
 
 t ii«b. the Philistines have t inv-^ded the land. 
 
 'th^hti ~S Wherefore Saul returned from pur- 
 
 u;..n,>stc suing after David, and went against the 
 
 27. — there came a messenger^ By the sing\ilar providence of 
 God, which stirred the Philistines up at this very time to make 
 an irruption into the land of Israel, for the preservation of David, 
 when he was in extreme danger. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2.0. — Ea-gedi.'} A place in the tribe of Judali, not far from 
 the Dead sea. As the country around it abounded with moun- 
 tains, and tljose mountains had plenty of vast caves in them, it 
 was a verj- commodious place, where David might retire and 
 conceal himself Slackliousc. En-gedi is fciken notice of, Cant. i. 
 14, for its camphire, or (as others render it) cypress. St. Jerome 
 tells us, that it was remarkable for opobalsamiim, (supposed to be 
 what we now call balm of Gilead ;) also that it w;is a great tow n 
 in his days. Dr. tfelh. 
 
 The name En-gedi signifies in Hebrew " the kid's fountain ;" 
 and the place was probably so called, because the inhabitants of 
 the country used to water their flocks there. It is now called 
 Anguedi. Dr. Dclaney. 
 
 Chap. XXIV. ver. 2. — tvhere was a cate,] Many of the 
 cives m Palestine are extremely large. We visited one, in which 
 David and his men might have been hid, and not seen by Saul. 
 Bp. Pocockc. ■' 
 
 . „.,„/ ,■„ ,0 cover his feel .] Went in to take some sleep. 
 
 nee note on Judg. m. 2-1. 
 
 Philistines: therefore they called that place chr7It 
 II Scla-hammalilekoth. about io6i. 
 
 29 % And David went up from thence, ii That h, 
 and dwelt in strong holds at En-gedi. ^' ' 
 
 The rock af 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 1 David ill a cave at F.ii-gedi, /laving cut off' Saril's 
 skirt, spurctli his life. 8 He xhcivelh therein/ his 
 iiinocciici/. l(j Saul, acknowledging his fault, tal:cth 
 an oath of David, and dcparteth. 
 
 AND it came to pass, when Saul was 
 returned from t following the Phi- J "*• 
 listines, that it was told him, saying. Be- 
 hold, David is in the wilderness of En- 
 gedi. 
 
 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen 
 men out of all Israel, and went to seek 
 David and his men upon the rocks of the 
 wild goats. 
 
 S And he came to the shcepcotes by 
 the way, where xvas a cave ; and Saul went 
 in to cover his feet : and David and his men 
 remained in the sides of the cave. 
 
 'I And the men of David said unto him. 
 Behold the day of which the Loud said 
 unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine 
 enemy into thine band, that thou maycst 
 do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. 
 Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of 
 t Saul's robe privily. t Hoi>. 
 
 5 And it came to pass afterward, that "''"''' 
 David s heart smote hun, because be had SuuVi. 
 cut off Saul's skirt. 
 
 G And he said unto his men. The Lord 
 forbid that I should do this thing unto my 
 master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch 
 forth mine hand against him, seeing he is 
 the anointed of the Lord. 
 
 I 
 
 1 ! 
 
 5. — David's heart smote him,'2 He was inwardly troubled at 
 having done an evil thing, it being deemed an indignity to a 
 prince to liave his royal robe so disfigured. Bp. Patrick. Tfiis 
 one example of David's, under ;ill the provocations he received 
 from Saul, abundantly shews us tliat the persons of kings are sa- 
 cred and inviolable. Stackhouse. 
 
 6. — The Lord forbid &c.] Here was a noble instance of 
 David's moderation and forbearance, as well as greatness and 
 generosity of mind. 'I'lie feelings which restrained him were 
 worthy of a brave and generous man ; a man of honour, re- 
 ligion, and virtue. He durst not stretch forth his hand against 
 his master, and " the Lord's anointed." Under this sacred 
 character, he forgot that Saul was his implacable enemy, and 
 instantly sacrificed his resentment to his conscience and duty : 
 and hereby acted with a goodness and elevation of mind, which 
 Saul himself thought no one besides liim would liai'e displayed. 
 Dr. Chandler. 
 
 Let us learn to frame our lives after the noble example of king 
 David, who, when he had many occa.sions given to work evil for 
 evil towards king Saul, yea, and many times had opportmiity to 
 perform mischief and to slay him ; nevertheless, fearing God, 
 would not follow his fleshly affections, and walk inordinately 
 without the will of God's word, which he confessed always to be 
 his direction. Bp. Latimer.
 
 He sheweth thet^ehij his innocency. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 Saul ackno'diledgeth Ids fault. 
 
 CHRIST ^ '^^ David t stayed iiis servants with 
 about 1061. tliese words, and suffered them not to rise 
 t Heb. against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the 
 cut off. cave, and went on his way. 
 
 S David also arose afterward, and went 
 out of the cave, and cried after Saul, say- 
 ing. My lord the king. And wlien Saul 
 looked behind him, David stooped with his 
 face to the earth, and bowed himself. 
 
 9 IF And David said to Saul, Wherefore 
 hearest thou men's words, saying. Behold, 
 David seeketh thy hurt ? 
 
 10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen 
 how that the Lord had delivered thee to 
 day into mine hand in the cave : and some 
 bade me kill thee : but 7Jii?ie eye spared 
 thee ; and I said, I will not put forth mine 
 hand against my lord ; for he is the Lord's 
 anointed. 
 
 11 Moreover, my father, see, yea, see 
 the skirt of thy robe in my hand : for in 
 that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and 
 killed thee not, know thou and see that 
 there is neither evil nor transgression in 
 mine hand, and I have not sinned against 
 thee ; yet thou huntest my soul to take 
 it. 
 
 12 The Lord judge between me and 
 thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee : 
 but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 
 
 13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, 
 
 1 a. — TVickedne.ix procccdclh itc] He means to say, If I were 
 so wicked as I have been thoiiglit by thee, I sliould not have he- 
 sitated to kill thee : but I am no such jierson, and therefore my 
 hand shall not be upon thee. Dr. Jl'clls. Guilt is tlie consequence 
 and fruit of guilt : if I had been guilty of conspiring against thee, 
 I should have crowned that guilt by killing thee, when thou ^ve^t 
 in my power. Dr. Delanei/. 
 
 14. — after a dead dog, &c.] One of the meanest and weakest 
 of his subjects; of no more consideration and strength, in com- 
 parison of the king of Israel, than a dead dog or a contemptible 
 tica. Dr. Chandler. David represents liimself to be as con- 
 temptible as possible, that he might convince .Sa\d it was not for 
 his honour to take so much pains to kill him. Bp. Patrklc. 
 
 16. — Saul lifted up his voice, and wept."] Saul himself, with 
 all his rage and malice, could not withstand this instance of gene- 
 rosity in David, but melted and sunk under it ; instead of les- 
 sening the merit of it with an unrelenting heart, he " lift up his 
 voice, and wept," and with his tears acknowledged David's inno- 
 cence, and his own guilt ; and even prayed to God to reward that 
 very person, whom, but the moment before, he was pui'suing to 
 destruction. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 ig. — if a man find his encmi/. Scc.^ Saul was now convinced 
 of David's integrity, when he did not tjikc advantage of him in 
 the cave, where he might have securely destroyetl him. He was 
 never so confounded with the shame of his own jealousy and ma- 
 lice, as by this act of piety and magnanimity in David : though 
 he had long known that David was anointed, and appointed by 
 God to reign as king after him, yet he did not so thoroughly be- 
 lieve it, till this great instance of the temper of liis mind, and of 
 his relying on God's puqiose so entirely, that he would not, by an 
 net of his own, endeavour to bring that honour on liimself sooner 
 than the Di\ine wisdom intended it for him. He kiiew that God 
 
 Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked : chrTs r 
 but mine hand shall not be upon thee. about iwi. 
 
 14- After whom is the king of Israel 
 come out ? after whom dost thou pursue ? 
 after a dead dog, after a flea. 
 
 1.5 The Lord therefore be judge, and 
 judge between me and thee, and see, and 
 plead my cause, and t deliver me out of t Hek 
 thine hand. •'"'•'• 
 
 16 ^ And it came to pass, when David 
 had made an end of .speaking these words 
 unto Saul, that Saul said. Is this thy voice, 
 my son David.? And Saul lifted up his 
 voice, and wept. 
 
 17 And he said to David, Thou art 
 more righteous than I : for thou hast re- 
 warded me good, whereas I have reward- 
 ed thee evil. 
 
 18 And thou hast shewed this day how 
 that thou hast dealt well with me : foras- 
 much as when the Lord had t delivered t.^*''" 
 me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. * " "'' 
 
 19 For if a man find his enemy, will he 
 let him go well away? wherefore the Lord 
 reward thee good for that thou hast done 
 unto me this day. 
 
 20 And now, behold, I know well that 
 thou shalt surely be king, and that the 
 kingdom of Israel shall be established in 
 thine hand. 
 
 21 Swear -now therefore unto me by the 
 
 would not have given to any man such a dominion over all his 
 passions and aff'ections, except He had resolved to establish hira 
 for the future in security and glory. We can never receive a 
 greater earnest that He will wonderfully help us, than when He 
 gives us grace not to heli» ourselves by any ill means that are of- 
 fered us. Lord Clarendon. 
 
 n-hercforc the Lord reward thee gootF] Saul's feeling of 
 
 David's generosity must indeed be strong, when he beseeches 
 God to reward it. Indeed, Saul had no equivalent to give David 
 for the kindness shewn him ; and therefore he refers him to God 
 for retribution. For if, after this, he could e^en save David's 
 life, he could only save the lil'e of his best benefactor ; whereas 
 David both spared and saved the life of his moital enemy. 
 Dr. Dclanaj. 
 
 20. — / know well that thou shaft .mreli/ he king,^ How won- 
 derful it is, that Saul should so often have atteiupted to destroy 
 David, with this knowledge of his high destination. He surely 
 would not have done so, if he had always continued in his reason- 
 able hours. But what will not a man 'do, when his passions de- 
 stroy his reason, and when he is stimulated with tlie evil spirit of 
 ambition, envy, rage, and malice.' It was this which made the 
 unhappy king regardless of God and man, and e.\cited him to 
 fight against heaven and earth. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 21. Swear now therefore unto me'} David, by sparing his enemy, 
 now found himself possessed of the proudest pleasure which hu- 
 man vanity could wish : to see his prince his petitioner, his enemy 
 liis suppliant, conscious and confessing his own guilt, and David's^ 
 superiority, and begging that mercy to his issue which he himself 
 had just e.\perieuced aiid had not deserved. Who would not, 
 like David, spare an enemy for tlie sake of so glorious a triumph? 
 Dr. Delanei/.
 
 Samuel dicth. 
 
 I. SAMUKL. 
 
 David scndcth a message to Kahal. 
 
 Before Lord, tliat thou uilt not cut off my secil 
 ^uu^l aiter mo, and tluil thou wih not destroy 
 luv name out of my father's house. 
 
 ■'2-2 And David swarc unto Said. And 
 Saul went home ; but David and his mcMi 
 gat them up unto the hohl. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 1 Samuel dielh. i» David in Pnraii seiulclh In Xiihnl. 
 10 I'rovnkid />i/ XaM's churlishncin, he miiidd/i to 
 dcslrot/ him. ' 1 4 Ahigail iindcrstamliii;^ tlicreof, 1 8 
 lakclh a prcsnil, ■23 nnd hif her irisdoiii .'J'J pnri/ielh 
 David. .•?()' S'ahal healing Ihcrcof dielh. ?,\) David 
 irkelh .ibigail and Ahinoam lo lie his trivcs. 41 Mi- 
 chal is given lo Phalli. 
 
 about loeo. 
 ■ Ch»p. 28. 
 fl. 
 
 Ecd" 46. 
 13,2a 
 
 II Or, 
 kuiintn. 
 
 AND * Samuel died ; and all the Israel- 
 ites were i!:athered together, and la- 
 mented him, and buried him in his house 
 at llamah. And David arose, and went 
 down to the wilderness of Paran. 
 
 2 And there teas a man in Maon, whose 
 II possessions icere in Carmcl ; and the man 
 uus very great, and he had three thousand 
 sheep, ancl a thousand goats : and he was 
 shearing his sheep in Carmel. 
 
 3 Now the name of the man teas Nabal ; 
 and the name of his wife Abigail : and she 
 •u-as a woman of good understanding, and 
 of a beautiful countenanee : but the man 
 
 22. And David .tn-itre unto Saul.^ David generously took the 
 oalli, and honourably and rcMifiiously pcrfbnned it. The whole 
 address ol" Saul to David on this occasion was the natural efl'ect 
 of the various tlioufjht.s and passions which then agitated his 
 breast The lull conviction he had of David's innocence^ the 
 proof now given him of the greatness of his temper, some re- 
 mains of generosity in his own breast, tlie consciousness of the 
 falsehood of his own suspicions, and of his own injurious and un- 
 grateful conduct, the recollection of David's being appointed to 
 Ducceed him, the vanity of opposing the order of God, the tender 
 concern he had for the fate of his family under David's reign ; all 
 these considerations, and the various passions arising from them, 
 crowding on his mind, and uniting their forces, drew forth an ac- 
 knowledgment and a request, which nothing else could have 
 forced from him. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 Chap. XXV'. ver. 1. And Samuel died;'] The Jew.= are of 
 opinion, that Samuel died .only four months before Saul : but, by 
 the generality of Christian chronologers, he is supposed to have 
 di«l about two years before the death of that prince, and in the 
 ninety-eighth year of his age ; twenty years of which had been 
 spent in the government of Israel before Saul's inauguration, after 
 wliich he lived eighteen. He was, while he lived, an excellent 
 govimour, and, through his whole administration, superiour to 
 vanity, corruption, or any private \iews. Those who attend to 
 his life may obser\e, tliat he was modest without meanness, mild 
 without weakness, firm without obstinacy, and severe without 
 liarshncss : a fine eulogy of him is given by the author of Ecclesi- 
 BsUcus, ch. xlvi. 13, &c. Besides the things recorded of him in tiiis 
 b«)ok, there are other matters related of him in the firet book of 
 Chronicles ; as tliat he enriched the tabernacle witli sjjoils taken 
 froni the enemies of Israel, chap. xxvi. 28 ; that he assisted in re- 
 guUung the distribution of tlie Levites for the service of the tem- 
 ple, chap. IX. 22 ; and l.istly, that he wrote the historv- of David in 
 conj.uirt.on w4th tlu- I'rophets .Vathan and (lad. But, as he died 
 before DaviU omie to the tluoue. tliis cau ouly be meant of the 
 
 Pc'forc 
 CHRIST 
 about lOSa 
 
 t IIol). 
 nsk him lit 
 vti/ nanict'/' 
 
 xcds churlish and evil in his doings ; and he 
 Vds of the house of Caleb. 
 
 4 % And David heard in the wilderness 
 that Nabal did shear his shec]). 
 
 5 And David sent out ten young men, 
 and David said unto the young men, Ciet 
 you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and 
 t greet him in my name : 
 
 (i And thus shall ye say to him that liv- 
 cth hi pro.sperifi/. Peace Ijc both to thee, i^acn 
 and peace be to thine house, and peace be 
 unto all that thou hast. 
 
 7 And now I have heard that thou hast 
 shearers : now thy shepherds which were 
 with us, we t hurt them not, neither was + "'•'; 
 
 ... 1 II 1 siiiimcd. 
 
 there ought nussuig unto them, all the 
 while they were in Carmel. 
 
 8 Ask thy young men, and they will 
 shew thee. Wherefore let the young men 
 find favour in thine eyes : for we come in 
 a good day : give, I pray thee, whatsoever 
 Cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, 
 and to thy son David. 
 
 9 And when Da\ id's young men came, 
 they spake to Nabal according to all those 
 words in the name of David, and t ceas- t ha. 
 ed. 
 
 10 ^ And Nabal answered David's ser- 
 
 Tcsled. 
 
 heginning of that history, which might be continued by the others. 
 There is great probability that he composed the twenty-four first 
 chapters of tliis first book of Samuel, cont;iining historical facts 
 in wliich he had so large a share. Slaclchouse. 
 
 How singular was the character and piety of Samuel ! devoted 
 to God from the womb, and wortiiy to be so ! Early dedicated to 
 the Divinity, and hallowed by His influence ! Descended from 
 Prophets, himself a greater ! "The service of God made the early 
 business of his life ; nor was ever interrupted by any thing but 
 the service of his country. Exalted to supreme power, without 
 ambition ; exerting it without ojipression or avarice, and resign- 
 ing it without reluctance, when his God commanded! Illustrious 
 in the splendour of a throne, and yet more so in the shade of a 
 cell ; so far from envying his successor to the supreme power, 
 that he pitied and prayed for him ! It were hard to determine 
 which was happiest, his life or his death. He lived to tlie noblest 
 purposes, the glory of God, and the good of his country ; he 
 died full of years and honours, universally lamented. Such vmn 
 Samuel ! such always were, and such always will be, in a good 
 measure, all those, whose beginnings are laid in true religion, 
 whose (luty is their delight, and their God their glory! Dr. 
 Delancy. 
 
 5. — and greet him in my name :~\ This message of David to 
 Nabal affords a fine picture of ancient and true politeness. The 
 message is directed " to him that liveth ;" that is, that livelh in 
 prosperity : in Scripture, living, and being happy, are frequently 
 synonymous ; and now, David's benevolent spirit suggested to 
 him, tliat, being hajipy ourselves, we should endeavour to make 
 others share in our happiness. The great beauty and ])ropriety 
 of that ancient Eastern sjilutation, " Peace be to thee," is very 
 emphatical, inasmuch as the best blessings of life, and all the so- 
 cial affections, attend upon peace : the modesty too of the mes- 
 sage is verj' remarkable ; for, though David liad much real merit 
 towards Nabal, yet he puts his request on having no demerit to- 
 wards him ; and at the same time referring him to his servants for 
 fuller information. Harmer. 
 
 \ 
 
 \
 
 David mindeth to destroy him. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 Abigail taJceth him a present. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about loco. 
 
 t Hel). 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 jlew upon 
 them. 
 
 t Ileb. 
 thamed. 
 
 I Or, 
 lunijfs. 
 
 vants, and said, Who is David? and who ^5 
 the son of Jesse ? there be many sei'vants 
 now a days that break away every man 
 from his master. 
 
 11 Shall I then take my bread, and my 
 water, and my t flesh that I have killed 
 for my sliearers, and give it unto men, 
 whom I know not whence they he ? 
 
 12 So Da\ id's young men turned their 
 way, and went again, and came and told 
 him all those sayings. 
 
 13 And David said unto his men, Gird 
 ye on every man his sword. And they 
 girded on every man his sword; and Da- 
 vid also girded on his sword: and there 
 went up after David about four hundred 
 men; and two hundred abode by the 
 stuff. 
 
 14 ^ But one of the young men told 
 Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, Da- 
 vid sent messengers out of the wilderness 
 to salute our master; and he trailed on 
 them. 
 
 15 But the men leere very good unto us, 
 and we were not t hurt, neither missed we 
 any thing, as long as we were conversant 
 with them, when we were in the fields : 
 
 16 They were a wall unto us both by 
 night and day, all the while we were with 
 them keeping the sheep. 
 
 17 Now therefore know and consider 
 what thou wilt do; for evil is determined 
 against our master, and against all his 
 houshold: for he is such a son of Belial, 
 that a man cannot speak to him. 
 
 18 ^ Then Abigail made haste, and took 
 two hundred loaves, and two bottles of 
 wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and 
 five measures of parched com, and an hun- 
 dred 11 clusters of raisins, and two hundred 
 cakes of figs, and laid the7n on asses. 
 
 10. — there he maiii/ servants now a days &c.] This was one of 
 the most atrocious reproaches tliat could he cast upon a well-born 
 and innocent man ; implying those crimes, on account of which 
 bad servants become fugitives from their masters. Dr. Chandler. 
 Nabal's answer was agreeable to his character, rude and sullen; 
 a strong image of imgoverned brutality, and very natural to that 
 insolence, wliicli Avealth is too apt to dictate to undisciplined 
 spirits. Dr. Delancy. 
 
 11. — my bread, and i);i/ malcr,'} Water is considered as an 
 important part of the provision made for a repast in Eastern coun- 
 tries, and is sent as such to sheai-ers and reapers in particular. 
 The words of Nabal, in rej)ly to David's messengers, are not in 
 the least surprising. The Ibllowing p;vssage from Drummond's 
 Travels affords proof of their ])ropricty : " The men and women 
 were then cmplo3ed in rea))ing: other females were emploj'ed 
 in carrijhig water to the reapers; so that none but infants were 
 unemployed." Harmer. 
 
 1 3. — abode hij the stuff.'} Remained in tlje wilderness to guard 
 theii- property. Dr. Wells. 
 
 19 And she said unto her servants, f.^^l\y 
 Go on before me ; behold, I come after about lofio. 
 you. But she told not her husband Na- 
 bal. 
 
 20 And it was ■<>o, as she rode on the ass, 
 tliat she came down by the covert of the 
 hill, and, behold, David and his men came 
 down against her ; and she met them. 
 
 21 Now David had said. Surely in vain 
 have I kept all that this^//o» hath in the 
 wilderness, so that nothing was missed of 
 all that pertained unto him : and he hath 
 requited me evil for good. 
 
 22 So and more also do God unto the 
 enemies of David, if I leave of all that per- 
 tain to him by the morning light any that 
 pisseth against tlie wall. 
 
 23 And when Abigail saw David, she 
 hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell be- 
 fore David on her face, and bowed herself 
 to the ground, 
 
 24 And fell at his feet, and said, Upon 
 me, my lord, 2/po7i me let this iniquity he : 
 and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak 
 
 in thine t audience, and hear the words of ^ ^^^ 
 thine handmaid. 
 
 25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, t regard t Hei.. 
 this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his [Zll"''" 
 name is, so is he ; Nabal is his name, and 
 
 folly is with him : but I thine handmaid 
 saw not the young men of my lord, whom 
 thou didst send. 
 
 26 Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord 
 liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the 
 Lord hath withholden thee from coming 
 
 to shed blood, and from t avenging thyself t H^h- 
 
 .,,. , , II- savins tlty- 
 
 with thme own Jiand, now let tlune ene- tcif. 
 mies, and they that seek evil to my lord, 
 be as Nabal. 
 
 27 And now this 11 blessing which thine n Or, 
 handmaid iiath brought unto my lord, let /"■"""• 
 
 1 7. — siieh a son of Belial/] So wilful and obstinate. Bp. 
 Patriek. 
 
 18. — two bottles of wine,'] It must be obvious to every reader, 
 that two bottles of wuie could not possibly supply the e.xigencies 
 of David's army, if we understand such bottles as are now in 
 use : but it is rather meant, two skin.i or leathern bogs of wine, 
 whicli were used in Eastern countries, being carried on asses 
 and camels. It is manifest, that two such vessels as these might 
 hold a quantity of \> ine proportioned to tlie rest of the present. 
 Ulackkoiise. 
 
 oo. _ ,j- J l^ai-e — to him &c.] If I leave to him am/ male 
 alive. Bp. Patrick. If I leave so much as a dog alive. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 -2.'>. — as his name is, so is he ;] She represents hira as a man 
 that offended rather out of folly than from malice, which might 
 plead some excuse for his rudeness. Nabal in Hebrew signifies 
 " a foolish man." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 27. ihis blessing] This present or gift. The same phrase is 
 
 at 1 Sain, xxx, 26; "ti Kings v. 15.
 
 iN^tiil pactfieth Daxitl. 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 Nahal liearhtg thereof clieth. 
 
 "fa tting. 
 
 f Ilrk 
 
 iicfur. it even be given unto the voimg men that 
 ^'m.;'^ t follow my l(.rd. ^ . ^, ^ . 
 
 tH.b. '2.S I pray thee, forgive the trespass of 
 
 ,r.tt««M« t|„„e handmaid: for the Loitn will cer- 
 jcti-f.sc. ^^^.^^1^ ^^_^^^ ^^^^ j^^.^j ^ ^^ij.^, iiouse; be- 
 cause niv lord 'fightcth the battles of the 
 Lord, and evil hath not been found m 
 thee all thy days. 
 
 '2!) Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, 
 
 and to seek thv soul : but the soul of my 
 
 lord shall be bound in the bundle of life 
 
 with the Loud thy God; and the souls of 
 
 tHArn (i,jnp enemies, them shall he sling out, tfl5 
 
 ;i;'i:;f;i;^o«/of the middle of a sling. 
 
 .iO And it shall come to pass, when the 
 Lord shall have done to my lord accord- 
 ing to all the good that he hath spoken 
 concerning thee, and shall have appointed 
 thee ruler over Israel ; 
 
 31 That this shall be t no grief unto 
 thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, 
 either that thou hast shed blood causeless, 
 or that my lord hath avenged himself: but 
 when the Loud shall have dealt well with 
 my lord, then remember thine handmaid. 
 
 .'{'J % And David said to Abigail, Blessed 
 f/c the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee 
 this day to meet me : 
 
 33 And blessed be thy advice, and blessed 
 be thou, which hast kept me this day from 
 
 •j;). — x/itill lie buuiid in the hiniillc nf lifc'J Tliat is, shall be 
 preserved; for we are wont to bind up in bundles those tilings 
 which we would not h:ne lost or scattered about. " And tlie 
 souls of thine enemies, them shall He sling out;" an expression 
 which implies, that they shall be cast away out of sight, or de- 
 stroyctl. lip. Patrick: 
 
 3,S. — hlesned be thi/ adricc, 8iC.'] We must attribute David's 
 «\esign of destroying Nabal's family to his sudden tr.insport of 
 passion, exasperated perhaps by the' instigations of his followers. 
 Although in this we cannot commend him, yet certainly there is 
 something extremely praiseworthy in his speedy reconciliation, 
 on Abigail's first address and application. Slackhoii.se. The reso- 
 lutiim against Nabal was the resolution of a mortal, not to say of 
 a military man, too much injured and provoked, and urged by 
 necessity and .self-preservation. The change and the thanks- 
 givmg, upon being diverted from evil, were the sentiments of a 
 hero and a saint. Dr. Delaiicy. 
 
 3+. — the iMrd God — irhich hiilli kepi me hack from hurting 
 lhee,'\ David knew full well that he durst not trust his own 
 he.irt ; and, being jealous over himself with a godly jealousy, 
 ever made (IckI his refuge. In this instance, when he had been 
 kept back from sin, on an opportunity provoking him thereto, he 
 blcsse<l God for it, ver. .'JS ; for he saw that it was CJod's doing, 
 more ih^m his own. Thus, without Gods help and blessing, all 
 human endeavours are vain : His help and blessing must there- 
 tore be especially sought for by prayer. Up. Sanderson. 
 
 W ho wou d not think tiiat Uie ungr.iteful conduct of Nabal, 
 hciRhlencd by reproachful langiuige, would have warranted the 
 sharpest revenge ; such as began to boil and burn in the breast 
 «!• .1 KJf^^^""-'""--? But vengeance is sf, much the prerogative 
 ot the .Mmightv, so absoluUly the peculiar of Heaven, that no 
 consideration whatever can warrant the be..t of nun in indulging 
 On this occasion, David, being prevented, bv " 
 
 Before 
 
 tiieh 
 
 feeling. 
 
 l^m -cl seasonable V^^^^J^^^:^^^^! 
 
 coming to shed blood, and from avenging j-Hmsj 
 mvself with mine own hand. abuutioco. 
 
 'si For in very deed, as the Lord God 
 of Israel livcth, which hath kept me back 
 from hurting thee, except thou hadst hast- 
 ed and come to meet me, surely there had 
 not been left unto Nabal by the morning 
 light any that jjisseth against the wall. 
 
 35 So' David received o\' her hand that 
 which she had brought him, and said unto 
 her. Go up in peace to thine house; see, I 
 have hearkened to thy voice, and have ac- 
 cepted thy person. 
 
 S(S ^ And Abigail came to Nabal; and, 
 behold, he held a feast in his house, like 
 the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart ivaa 
 merry within him, for he -was very drunken : 
 wherefore she told him nothing, less or 
 more, until the morning light. 
 
 37 But it came to pass in the morning, 
 when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and 
 his wife had told him these things, that liis 
 heart died within him, and he became as a 
 stone. 
 
 38 And it came to pass about ten days 
 after, that the Loud smote Nabal, that he 
 died. 
 
 30 ^ And when David heard that Nabal 
 was dead, he said. Blessed be the Loud, 
 that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach 
 
 which he was entering, and so turning liis eyes from the baseness 
 of him, who had stin-ed up his revenge, to the goodness of that 
 God who had i)reveiitcd it, breaks forth into the triumphant 
 praises and thanksgivings here expressed; whicli serve to teach 
 us the important truth, that prevention of sin is one of the greatest 
 mercies which God can vouchsafe to us in this world. Dr. South. 
 'Mi. — and have accepted thy person.'\ I have accepted thj' in- 
 terjiosition for Nabal, and for thy sake will not execute my in- 
 tended vengeance. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 37. — he became as a stone.'] He was struck with such astonish- 
 ment, according to Josej)hus, that he fell into a dead numbness 
 all over his bodj'. Stackhovsc. 
 
 38. — the Lord smole Nabal, that he died.'] The history is here 
 not recording a miracle, but only the man's being struck with 
 a mortiU disease. This and other such expressions are frequently 
 nothing more than figurative acknowledgments of the universal 
 superintendency of Providence over all hmnan events. Dr. S. 
 Clarke. 
 
 There are two reflections to be made on tlie history of Nabal. 
 1. The example of Nabal, who, bj' his greediness and churl- 
 i.shness, well nigh caused the ruin of his whole family, should 
 teach us, that covetousness and ill nature may bring upon us 
 great evils : we learn also from Nabal's death, that avarice, 
 anger, anil drunkenness, are generally attended with fital conse- 
 quences, and even sometimes occasion the death of those who 
 run into these excesses. 2. From tlie conduct of David, who, in a 
 transport of rage, vowed to destroy him and his whole family, 
 ■we may learn how dangerous it is to suffer oursehes to be car- 
 ried away by passion and resentment; that what is done in anger 
 often occasions repentiince and remorse of conscience, and that 
 we ought to thank C>od when He keeps us from offending against 
 His laws, and executing our evil intentions, (hiervald. 
 
 .'if). — Ble.\sed be the Lord,] David does not rejoice in the 
 death of Nabal, who vas a worthless wretch; but in the justice
 
 David marrieth Abigail and Ahinoam. 
 
 CHAP. XXV, XXVI. 
 
 Saul cometk asainst David. 
 
 (^hrTst ^*"^'" ^^^^ '^^"^ of Nabal, and hath kept his 
 about loea servant from evil : for the Lord hath re- 
 turned the wickedness of Nabal upon his 
 own head. And David sent and connmun- 
 ed with Abigail, to take her to him to 
 wife. 
 
 40 And when the servants of David 
 were come to Abigail to Carmel, they 
 spake unto her, saying, David sent us 
 unto thee, to take thee to him to wife. 
 
 41 And she arose, and bowed herself on 
 her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let 
 tliine handmaid be a servant to wash the 
 feet of the servants of my lord. 
 
 42 And Abigail liasted, and arose, and 
 rode upon an ass, with five damsels of her's 
 
 t Hl!>. that went + after her ; and slie went after 
 " '"■-'"''• the messengers of David, and became his 
 
 wife. 
 ".lo^ii 15. 43 David also took Ahinoam " of Jez- 
 
 reel ; and they were also both of them his 
 
 wives. 
 '^ '2 Sam. 3. 4,4 ^ gut Saul had given " Michal his 
 
 daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son 
 
 of Laish, which was of Gallim. 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 1 Saul, hy the discovery of the Ziphitcs, cmnelh to Ha- 
 cldlah against David. 4 David conmig into the 
 trench stayeth Ahishai from killing Saul, hut taketh 
 his spear and cruse. 1.'3 David reprcweth Aimer, 
 18 and cxhortelk Saul. 21 Saul acknowkdgeth his 
 sin. 
 
 AND the Ziphitcs came unto Saul to 
 Gibeah, saying, * Doth not David 
 '■'• hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, tichich 
 
 is before Jeshimon ? 
 
 of God, who shewed in this instance that riglit will be done to 
 men, provided they have patience, without their tjiking vengeance 
 into their own hands. Bp. Patrick. In the whole of this affair 
 with Nabal, it must be allowed, that David's passion, and his 
 oath to destroy Nabal and his family, are by no means to be vin- 
 dicated : although the provocation given him was of the highest 
 nature, particularly to a military man, and aggravated by circum- 
 Htances of outrage, yet the oath was rash and the resolution cruel. 
 Still, as the most generous minds ai'e apt to be soonest irritated 
 ind most easily pacified, David was quickly sootlved by Abigail's 
 prudence ; and then blessed the Lord God of Israel for sending 
 her, blessed her advice, and blessed herself for keeping him from 
 bloodshed : all this indicated an ingenuous disposition, and great 
 moderation and humanity of temper. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 How fine a lesson is this to mankind to forgive injuries, to re- 
 tVr themselves and their concerns to the providence of God, to 
 i|iiell the spirit of revenge in the haughty heart, and to recede 
 from rash and wicked resolutions ! Dr. Delaney. 
 
 l-t. But Saul had given^ Rather, For Saul had given : it is 
 assigned as a reason for David's taking another wife, that Saul 
 had deprived liim of his former wife. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXVI. ver. 2. Then Saul arose,"] The inconstancy, false- 
 [ ness, and implacable rage of this prince, are really inconceivable. 
 Not long before, he Ivacl been indebted to David fur hi« life, had 
 Vol. I. 
 
 2 Then Saul arose, and went down to (.S'^Vly. 
 the wilderness of Ziph, having three tliou- about loeo. 
 sand chosen men of Israel with him, to 
 
 seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. 
 
 3 And Saul pitched in the hill of Ha- 
 chilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the 
 way. But David abode in the wilderness, 
 and he saw that Saul came after him into 
 the wilderness. 
 
 4 David therefore sent out spies, and 
 understood that Saul was come in very 
 deed. 
 
 5 ^ And David arose, and came to the 
 place where Saul had pitched : and David 
 beheld the place where Saul lay, and '' Ab- ^ff'^i'^'*' 
 ner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: 55. 
 
 and Saul lay in the || trench, and the people J.^jJ; „/•,„•,. 
 pitched round about him. carriages. 
 
 G Then answered David and said to A- 
 himelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the 
 son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, -saying, 
 Who will go down with me to Saul to the 
 camp ? And Abishai said, I will go down 
 with thee. 
 
 7 So David and Abisliai came to the 
 people by night : and, behold, Saul lay 
 sleeping within the trench, and his spear 
 stuck in the ground at his bolster: but 
 Abner and the people lay round about 
 him. 
 
 8 Then said Abishai to David, God 
 hath t delivered thine enemy into thine t Heb. 
 hand this day : now therefore let me smite ' "' "'"' 
 him, I pray thee, with the spear even to 
 
 the earth at once, and I will not S77iite him 
 the second time. 
 
 acknowledged his own errour, and made David SAvear he would 
 \k kind to his posterity : yet here he openly declares himself his 
 enemy .ngain, and seeks to take hL< life. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 r>. — lay in llic trench,] Or rather, in hit chariot ; for so the 
 Greek translators have rendered the Hebrew word here. Bp. 
 Patrick. Perhaps a place surrounded rvith the carriages. Dr. 
 Wells. 
 
 the people pitched round about him.] An Arab c.iiiip i* 
 
 always round, when the disposition of the ground will admit it ; 
 the prince being in the middle, and the Arabs about him at a 
 respectful distance. Their lances are fixed near them in tha 
 ground all the day, ready for action. D'Arvieu.T'.t Travels in Pa- 
 lestine. We have several representations in Homer of the chiefs 
 sleeping, surrounded by their captains and soldiers, with tlieir 
 spears stuck in the ground. Dr. Delaney. 
 
 7. So David and .Abishai came — by night :] This may seem a 
 strange and bold attempt, for two persons to go into the midst of 
 an army of 3000 chosen men. It should be considered, however, 
 that while historians relate something- similai- of several gallant 
 men, David had throughout an assurance given him, that GocI 
 would preserve him in all dangers to succeed to the kingdom ; 
 and tliat, at this time, he may have had a particular unijulse and 
 incitement from God, in order that he might have a second op- 
 portunity of manife.«ting to Saul his innocence, and the justice of 
 hi« cau'se. Dr. Ddaney, Slaekhouse. 
 
 4B-
 
 David r<proveth Abner, 
 
 I. SAMUEL. 
 
 v.:'4 ^^J^ 
 
 <^>^A!^mMk^Mi 
 
 Bfibre 9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy 
 S^unc^ him not : for %vho can stretch forth his 
 hand against the Lord's anonited, and be 
 guiltless^ 
 
 10 David said furthermore, Js the Lord 
 liveth. the Lord shall smite him ; or his 
 day shall come to die ; or he shall descend 
 into battle, and perish. 
 
 11 The Lord torbid that I should stretch 
 forth mine hand against the Lord's anoint- 
 ed : but, I pray thee, take thou now the 
 spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse 
 of water, and let us go. 
 
 12 So David took the spear and the 
 cruse of water from Saul's bolster; and 
 they gat them away, and no man saw it, 
 nor knew it, neither awaked : for they 
 -uxre all asleep ; because a deep sleep from 
 the Loud was fallen upon them. 
 
 13 ^ Then David went over to the other 
 side, and stood on the top of an hill afar 
 oft"; a great space being between them : 
 
 ' 14 And David cried to the people, and 
 to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest 
 thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered 
 and said, Who art thou that criest to the 
 
 .king? 
 
 ^ 15 And David said to Abner, Art not 
 
 ^thou a valiant man ? and who is like to thee 
 in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not 
 kept thy lord the king ? for there came 
 one of the people in to destroy the king 
 thy lord. 
 
 ^"'16 This thing is not good that thou hast 
 
 ■it .bBut 
 
 Q. — tvlio can stretch furth his hand against the Lord's anointed,^ 
 Althougli David was liimgelf anoiiited king, and cruelly perse- 
 ciitwl by Saul ; and though he might have pleaded necessity and 
 providence as mux:h as any persons ever could, (when Saul was 
 thus strangely delivered into his hands,) yet we see what opinion 
 ,he lind ot" tlie sacrcdness of the person of even a bad king. It 
 was not his modesty or policy which kept him from injuring 
 Saul ; for he expressly declares, that it was tlie sin of so doing 
 which kept him from it. He knew it was sufficient (as he states 
 in the next verse) to leave the judgment of Saul's conduct to God. 
 Bp. SliUiagJitct. 
 
 David before had Saul at a similar advantage in the cave at 
 F,n-gedi: then it was proposed to David to destroy liim himself; 
 but nis answer was, God Ibrbid ; I will not do it. " Now Abishai, 
 knowing from the former instance that David would not do it, 
 offers himself to perform the deed. What is Jiis answer now? 
 " Destroy him not." The short is. Neither waking-, as at first, 
 nor sleeping, as now ; neither by day, as tlicn, nor by night, as 
 now ; neither by himself, nor by otiier, will David endure to do 
 it or have it done. But, in one and tlie other case, first and last, 
 still and e\ er, his words are, Saul die Lord's anointed must not 
 be destroyed. Bp. Andrcicts. David rightly apprehended llic t/ung 
 I'i*:^", tlie offering violence to the Lord's anointed, tobeuttedy 
 unlawful, and thi» it was which staid his baud : that unlawfulness 
 alone he opposed to all probable advantages and seemiiig expe- 
 diencie8»,.is a sufficient answer to tliem all. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 '■'•r- Iflhc Lord &c.] If God hath excited you against" me, 
 un the ^re of any guilt for which I deserve to die, bdiold, here 
 I am icady to be sacrificed in atonement for it. J:>r. Delane^. 
 
 "Iff- 
 
 done. As the LoiiD liveth, ye are t'WOTthy ^^^^ 
 
 to die, because ye have not kept your raas- about iobo. 
 
 ter, the Lord's anointed. And now see ^ iVek 
 
 where the king's spear is, and the cruse "fii""/ 
 
 , " I'll ■ ' ■ <«"'"• 
 
 ol water that was at his bolster. 
 
 17 And Saul knew David's voice, and 
 said. Is this thy voice, my son David? 
 And David said, // is my voice, my lord, 
 O king. I , , ., ,,j ..„, 
 
 18 And lie said. Wherefore doth- my 
 lord thus pursue after his servant? for 
 what have I done ? or what evil is in 
 mine hand ? 
 
 19 Now therefore, I pray thee, let my 
 lord the king hear the words of his servant. 
 If the Lord have stirred thee up against 
 
 me, let him t accept an offering : but if ]^^^' 
 tlmj be the children of men, cursed be they 
 before the Lord ; for they have driven me 
 out this day from t abiding in the inherit- tJ^*J^- 
 ance of the Lord, saying. Go, serve other 
 gods. 
 
 ^0 Now therefore, let not my blood fall 
 to the earth before the face of the Lord : 
 for the king of Israel is come out to seek a 
 flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in 
 the mountains. 
 
 21 ^ Then said Saul, I have sinned : re- 
 turn, my son David : for I wil] no more do 
 thee harm, because my soul was precious 
 in thine <jyes this day : behold, I have 
 played the fool, and have erred exceed- 
 ingly- 
 
 22 And David answered and said, Be- 
 
 Others under-staad the words as expressive of David's readiiie^-s 
 to offer up any sacrifice ; for God is not implacable, but willing 
 to be reconciled, when an offence is committed agaimt Him. Bp. 
 Patrick. ' , 
 
 sayiiis, Go, serve other gods."^ This was the effect of what 
 
 his enemies did, although they did not say so in express, words : 
 for they banished him into a nation of another religion.. Jvs. 
 Mcdc. The adoption of the local gods of any nation, as weJ(l as of 
 their rites, was so general, that David makes liis being,, driven 
 unjustly into an idolatrous laud, the sajue thiijg. as, beiug tiffped 
 to serve idolatrous gods. Bp. IVarburlon. ..a;, ^q, 
 
 20. — to seek ajlea,'] To kill a person, from whose destruction 
 could be derived neither profit nor glory. Bp- P-cttriGk. ,.,;; 
 
 as when one doth hunt a partridge^ The account given by 
 
 Dr. Shaw of the manner of hunting partridges and other, birds by 
 the Arabs, affords an excellent commetxf on these ^vords;. " The 
 Arabs have another though more laborious metliod of. catch- 
 ing these birds ; for, observing that lliey, be<{9me languid and 
 fatigued after they have been hastily put iip twioe^or thrice, they 
 imraechately nm in upon them, ami kiujclf them down with their 
 bludgeons." It was precisely in this maijincr that Saul hunted 
 David, coming hastily upon oJm, ancl putting him up from time 
 to time, in hope that he should i^t length, by frequent repetitions 
 of it, be able to destroy him. Harmer. ..^ , , ,, ., <,,/. .. ; ,._ 
 
 2.1.-1 have sinned: &c.l Tli^e di^tji aiaa,S|^ipfijS^n„9f^.|^vid 
 jK)t only softened, but hutnbled the^Jiaughty anil hjtfd heart of 
 .Saul; humbletl it, if not into a, thorough pe;niten(^eoi|fp»>iwi, jit 
 least into 4n open, acknowledgment <jf giulLaiid iofe-*, 4l'f^rP^~ 
 
 .i3W<^,.,,, ,_; ,;,■ . . ;. ,.-r ^^,^j;jo3 ,. -rjj, „
 
 Saitl achno'soledgeth his «w» 
 
 CHAP.^^iVI, XXVII 
 
 ' and M'oiie of 'th'e 
 
 Mjout 1058. 
 + Heb. 
 • consum- 
 
 j,^»/|.j, hold the king's spear _ ....... ... 
 
 atwutioso. young men come over and ftt'dh.'rt.' ,.' ''] 
 
 23 The Lord render to everj' itl^n his 
 ""iiii.v righteousness and his faithfulViess : for the 
 
 Lord delivered thee into wz/ hand to day, 
 but I would not stretch forth mine hand 
 against the Lord's anointed. 
 
 24 And, behold, as thy life was much 
 set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life 
 be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, 
 and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. 
 
 25 Then Saul said to David, Blessed be 
 thou, my son David : thou shalt both do 
 great things, and also shalt still prevail. 
 So David went on his way, and Saul re- 
 turned to his place. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIL 
 
 1 Saul hearing David to be in Gath seeketh no more for 
 j^\i • him. 5 David beggeih Ziklag of Achish. 8 He, in- 
 vading other countries, persvadcth Achish he fought 
 against Judah. 
 
 AND David said in his heart, I shall 
 now t perish one day by the hand of 
 Saul : there is nothing better for me than 
 that I should speedily escape into the land 
 of the Philistines ; and Saul shall despair 
 of me, to seek me any more in any coast of 
 Israel : so shall I escape out of his hand. 
 
 2 And David arose, and he passed over 
 with the six hundred men that "were with 
 him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king 
 of Gath. 
 
 3 And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, 
 
 25. — So David went on his reay,"} Through the whole of the 
 jidventure related in this chapter, what propriety of character, 
 what justness of sentiment, what tenderness of address do we 
 find ! Abishai appears, what he was, a soldier, warm and thirsty 
 of revenge. David is resolute and brave, calm and steady, full 
 of loyalty to his prince, of affection and duty to his father, and 
 reverence for his God. Saul shews himself cruel, inconstant, and 
 relenting : falls under conviction, owns his fault, justifies his son- 
 in-law, promising in his present disposition to injure him no 
 more ; and in spite of all his faults moves our compassion towards 
 liim. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 Chap. XXVII. ver. 1. — / shall now perish one dap] DaVid, 
 weary of wandering, weary of struggling with Saul's implacable 
 spirit, and of obtaining a precarious subsistence by the spoils of 
 (lis enemies, or the bountj- of his friends, resolves at last to quit 
 his country, and throw himself once more on the protection of 
 his enemies. This resolution has been censured, on the ground 
 that he should not have left the land of Judah to go into a 
 ipathen country, without the Divine command or pennission. 
 •Vherefore the generality of writers ascribe this resohrtion to a 
 want of Divine grace, and of a proper confidence in the protec- 
 tion of that God, who had so often and so signally delT%ered him 
 under the greatest exigencies. Dr. Delancv. 
 
 These words seem to have been spoken by David in a mdan- 
 
 choly fit, when he wa-s under some great depression of spirit; for, 
 
 4S he fiad God's promise that he should become king of Israel, he 
 
 ' hdd tlie sh'ottgest possible reason to believe, that Saul-w-onld never 
 
 be able to compass his design against him. He was aware that 
 
 Befi>T4 
 CHRIST 
 
 aU>ut WJ'i. 
 
 David b<^gM^£mVYM^^- 
 
 no\(\,ei'kn Daxld with His' tw6wives^ Ahi 
 noaiii the' Jidi^re^litess,' and'Abigail''^eXJar- 
 melitess, Nabal's wife,..-:, f ._ -_ ..^'^' ," '"^ 
 
 4 And It was told Sauj;ji^k'.David was - 
 fled to Gath : and he §6iight no more again 
 
 for him. -- --^-.-^ .„...i .... 
 
 5 f And David. .said.'iftitaMi^; If I 
 have now found grace; in. 'tj(ine" eyes, let 
 them give me a place irh some,tewTi in the 
 country, that I may dwell there :, for wliy 
 should thy servant dwell in the royal ciiy 
 with thee? '* 
 
 6 Then Achish gave him Ziklag that 
 day : wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the 
 kings of Judah unto this day,. _. 
 
 7 And tthe time that David 'dwelt in tHcb. 
 the country of the Pliilistines was ta full %\J'^J^'"' 
 year and four months. t Hcu.' 
 
 8 ^ And Da\'id and his men went up, ^^^'"'^ 
 and invaded the Geshurites, and the 11 Gez- II "Or, 
 rites, and the Amalekites : for those nations ^"■=""- 
 •were of old the inhabitants of the land, as 
 
 thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of 
 
 9 And David smote the land,' and left 
 neither man nor woman alive, and took 
 away the sheep, and the oxen, and the 
 asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and 
 returned, and came to Achish, ,. 
 
 10 And Achish said, 11 Whither have ye 8 Or, 
 made a road to day ? Arid David said, £fi[^<a 
 Against the south of Judah, and against >•'""'. *=• 
 
 Saul's heart was not altered, although he had fek and expressed 
 some compunction for his past conduct. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — Achish gave him Ziklag^ Ziklag was situate m the ex- 
 treme parts of Judah to the south. In the division of the land, it 
 was first given to the tribe of Judah, Josh. xv. 31 ; and afterwards 
 to that of Simeon, Josh. xix. 5 ; but the Philistines seem all along 
 to ha\'e kept possession ; so that it never came into the hands of 
 either tribe, till, by the gift of Achish, it became the peculiar in- 
 heritance of David and his successors. Stnrkhmisc. 
 
 8. — the Geshurites, and the Gezrites,!) Of these we know little, 
 only that they were neighbours of the .\malekites, living in the 
 same territorj' with them, and were therefore, with the other n.v. 
 tions, to be extirpated by the Israelites who were to possess their 
 land. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 — — the Amalekites ;] Some that had escaped from the sTaTig*;- 
 ter of Saul, or that were living afar off at the time. And the fol- 
 lowing words (ver. 11, of David's killing them all) must he ur;- 
 derstood, that he left none alive whom he found in these parts ; 
 for there were still Amalekites in other places, 1 Sam. xxx. 1. 
 Bp. Patrick. The people whom he inv.ided were most probably 
 the remains of the Canaanites and the Amalekites, whom God 
 had commanded to be destroyed. And therefore, as David had 
 greater obligations to the King of heaven than to the kmg of 
 Gath, he acted as a good man ought to act. Dr. JVaterlarJ. 
 
 10. — a road^ Or an excursion. Dr. Wells. 
 
 Against Ihe south of Judah, &c.] He answers Achish art- 
 fully in these ambigtious words ; that he might understand him to 
 have as.sa«lted the land of Judah itself, whereas he had in re.-.lity 
 assaulted the people who bonlered on the parts he mentions. 
 
 4 6 J
 
 Achtsh puiteth confidence in David. I. S A M U E L. 
 
 Saul, forsaken of God, 
 
 B^»« the south of the Jerahineclitcs, and against 
 *^"Mj6l the south of the Keuitos. 
 
 1 1 And David saved neither man nor 
 woman ahve, to bring tidings to Gath, say- 
 ing, Lest thoy should tell on us, saying. 
 So did David, and so «•/// be his manner all 
 the while he dwellcth in the country of 
 the Philistines. 
 
 12 And Achish believed David, saying. 
 He hatli made Iiis people Israel t utterly 
 to abhor him; therefore he shall be my 
 servant for ever. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 1 Achish puUeth confidence in David. 3 Saul, having 
 dcstroi/i'il Ihc tiilclies, 4 and now in hU fear forsaken 
 of C<ud, 7 scckcth to a witch. 9 The witch, eiwou- 
 ra^ed iq Satd, rai.sclh up Samuel la Saul, hearing 
 his ruin, fainklL 2 1 The wonuin with his scnarUs 
 refresh htm wilh meal. 
 
 f Htlk 
 lo Mink 
 
 •bout 105k'. 
 
 AND it came to pass in those days, that 
 the Philistines gathered their armies 
 together for warfare, to fight with Israel. 
 And Achish said unto David, Know thou 
 
 Bp. Patrick. It is hard to reconcile tliis management with jus- 
 tice, truth, or gmtitude ; ncitlier are we bound to justify or ap- 
 prove all the actions even of good men recorded in Scripture. 
 Dr. Wall. 
 
 David's answer was ambiguou?, but true ; for all those people 
 whom he iTieiitions actually dwelt on the south of Judah : but 
 Achi.<h undertitood the answer as implying that the innirsion was 
 made on Judoh, which David did not assert. If he was to be 
 blamed, it was for giving an ambiguous answer to a question 
 which he was not oblige<l to answer directly. Dr. Chandler. Da- 
 vid's conduct does not seem to admit strictly of defence, for he 
 certainly practisetl a deception : and it must be allowed, that all 
 habits of deception have a natural tenilcncy to bias the mind, 
 and warp it from truth ; they should therefore be avoided, even 
 where the purpose of the deception is innocent, as was the case 
 here. Dr. Detauey. 
 
 Chap. XXVIII. vcr. '2. — keeper of mine head'] Meaning, 
 captain of his guard, or some great officer near his person. Bp. 
 Patrick. ' ' 
 
 n. — put awaii tlicse Ihal liad familiar spirits.'] This was ac- 
 cording to the Divine command, Ixivit. xx. 27; Dcut. xviii. 10, 11 : 
 it was pro»)3bly done by Saul, in the bcjfiiming of his reign, when 
 he was guided by Samuel ; and i.s mentioned here to prepare the 
 way for what follows concerning the witch of En-dor, and to shew 
 the wickedness of Saul in resorting to a person of that description, 
 all of whom (iod Jnul conunanded to be cut off. Dr. Wells. Or 
 it was done by Saul in a lucid interval, perhaps, when he wished 
 to make some atonement for his crimes. Dr. Hales. 
 4. — in Shuiiem ;] A city in the tribe of Is.sachar. 
 
 — Ciiiboa.] \ ridge of mountiins, according to Euscbjus 
 
 and St. .(cTomo, about six miks from Betli-shan, chap. xxxi. 10 • 
 among them was a city of the same name. Dr. Wells. 
 
 O. — when .S„ul enquired vf the LonI,] Obser^ c how careless 
 «nrt untlunkmg men are apt to l>e in their prosperity, and till the 
 hour of (hstress comes on. Saul was a man of as much coldness 
 and indiflerence m religion as any man could be ; swayed for 
 tne mort part, by l.is own humour and vanity. He never thought 
 rh..tT" '"•' ^"^■°' '"'^'"•■^ directions frou. Him, all the time 
 1^ IrnnX '*■?■'■"""» righuous Davi.l from city to citv, hunt- 
 ing Inm tbiough every quarter ot the kingdom, and driv'iug him 
 
 Hefore 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 105(>. 
 
 assuredly, that thou slialt go out with me 
 to battle, thou and thy men. 
 
 2 And David said to Achish, Surely 
 thou shalt know what thy servant can do. 
 And Achish said to David, Therefore will 
 I make thee keeper of mine head for ever. 
 
 3 1[ Now ^ Samuel was dead, and all Is- ' Chap. 25. 
 rael had lamented him, and buried him in 
 Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul 
 
 had put away those that had familiar spi- 
 rits, and the wizards, out of the land. 
 
 4 And the Philistines gathered them- 
 selves together, and came and pitched in 
 Shunem : and Saul gathered all Israel to- 
 gether, and they pitched in Gilboa. 
 
 .5 And when Saul saw the host of the 
 Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart 
 greatly trembled. 
 
 G And when Saul enquired of the Loud, 
 the Lord answered him not, neither by 
 dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. 
 
 7 ^ Then said Saul tnito his servants. 
 Seek me a woman that hath a familiar 
 spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire 
 
 out into a strange land. He never tliought of consulting Go<l, 
 when he barbarously undertook to murder the Lord's priests, in- 
 nocent men, who had deser\'ed no evil at his hands. But now. 
 at last, when he perceived his own life to be in danger, as if that 
 alone were precious in God's sight, or that alone worthy of the 
 Divine care and notice ; then he began to apply to Ciod, and ple- 
 tended a respect and reverence for Him, altliough, all the time, 
 his heart was far from Him. Danger and distress will sometimes 
 frighten and dismay a hardened sinner ; but tliat is all ; for it is 
 not a real sorrow for his sins that troubles him, but the sense of 
 what ho apprehends of the pain and the destruction just falling 
 upon him. Dr. Waterland. 
 
 the Lord answered him not,'] In such cases, as this of 
 
 Said, God very justly turns away His e;ir, and will V()uch^afe no 
 answer in the ordinary way, to such grievous offenders. There 
 is a certain degree of longsuffering and forl)earance, beyond 
 which even the Di^'ine goodness will not extend. Provocations 
 may proceed to such a height as to leave no room for further 
 mercy. Patience long abused will at last give way to vengeance. 
 God will then withdraw His grace, and lock up His favours, de- 
 serting the impenitent hardened wretch, and abandoning him to 
 the wild pursuit of liis own inventions. This is a matter of 
 dreadful consideration to all inveterate impenitent offenders ; and 
 j'et it should not be a discouragement to any man against repent- 
 ing : because the very disposition or inclination to repentance is 
 a hopeful .symptom and a promising argiunent in his favour, that 
 his day of grace is not past, and that it is not too late to returji. 
 Dr. Waterland. 
 
 7. — Seek tne a woman &C.3 Said, when he was now reduced 
 to extremities, instead of humbling himself before God, fell into 
 another sin, in having recourse to a person that j)ractised forbid- 
 den arts, which he himself, agi-eeably to the law of God, had for- 
 bidden under pain of death. This proceeding of Saul prove.-: 
 that he had not consulted God with sentiments of tiiie repent- 
 ance. This is the true character of sinner.s, who fdl up gradually 
 the measure of their iniquities, committing new and greater, 
 aliominations, at the very time that the severest judgments are 
 about to fall upon them. Ostervahl. 
 
 a woman that hath a familiar spirit,] A woman famed 
 
 for raising up ghosts (as the world believed) by her sorceries and 
 enchaotments. It is not material here to enquire into the myste-
 
 seeketh to a "uilch; 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 CHRIST ^^^^^^' ^""^1 ^"•'' servants said to him, Be- 
 about ioso. hold, there is a woman that hath a famiJiar 
 spirit at En-dor. 
 
 8 And Saul disguised himself) and put 
 on other raiment, and he went, and two 
 men with him, and they came to the wo- 
 man by night: and he said, I pray thee, 
 divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and 
 bring me /tint up, whom I shall name unto 
 thee. 
 
 9 And the woman said unto him. Be- 
 hold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, 
 how he hath cut off those that have fa- 
 miliar spirits, and the wizards, out of the 
 land: wherefore then layest thou a snare 
 for my life, to cause me to die ? 
 
 10 And Saul sware to her by the Lord, 
 saying. As the Lord liveth, there shall 
 no punishment happen to thee for this 
 thing, 
 
 11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I 
 
 ries of that art to whicli she pretended. It is sufficient that fame 
 reported this woman to have this power, and Saul believed it; 
 and the woman, trusting to her art, undertook the thing, but God 
 Himself, as it seems, interposed, and both conducted and govern- 
 ed the whole transaction. Dr. IVaterland. 
 
 there is a tvoman &C.3 It hence appears, that althougli 
 
 this sort of divination was not pubhckly practised, yet it was 
 known there were some who privately continued the practice of 
 professing to have familiar spirits. In having recourse to such a 
 person, Saul acted like a distracted person. He had banished all 
 wizards and sorcerers out of his kingdom, as a dangerous sort of 
 people, who made profession of a wicked and unwarrantable art; 
 yet now he puts his whole confidence in one, as capable of allay- 
 ing the uneasiness of his mind, or securing him from the appre- 
 hension of danger. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Ell-dor.'^ A place in the tribe of Manasseb, west of Jor- 
 dan, Josh. x\'ii. 11. JDr. Welh. 
 
 12. And ti'lien the woman saw Samuel, &c.] Respecting tJiis 
 history of the raising of Samuel, there have been three different 
 opinions: 1st, It has been supposed that there was no real appa- 
 rition, but that a delusion was practised on Saul by some person 
 acting in concert witli the woman, and making responses to him 
 in a feigned voice; in support of which opinion it is observefl, 
 that the history does not say, Saul actually .saw Samuel, but 
 " Saul perceived that it was Samuel," ver. 14; that is, knew him 
 by the description which the woman gave. 2d, It has been con- 
 jectured, that some evil spirit appeared with the body and man- 
 tle of Samuel, spake articulately, and held tliis conversation witli 
 Saul, being etialjled, by some knowledge of future events, to 
 make those predictions wiiich are contained in liis answer. Si\, 
 It is thought tliat the ajjijeart.nce of Samuel was re;U ; God per- 
 mitting it to take place for wise purposes of His providence; 
 the womati herself crying in alarm " with a loud voice" at the 
 sight of Samuel, as she only intended a delusion. Siack/iouse. 
 That God should permit evil spirits, employed by a wretched 
 woman, to summon at pleasure His departed servants from the 
 uther -world, is not to be imagined. It remains, therefore, eitlier 
 that the whole affair of Siunuel's appeai-ance was a contrivance; 
 (ir that, by the interposition of God, there was a real appeai- 
 ance, whicli the enchantress did not expect, and could not have 
 effected. The surprise and alarm occasioned in her seem to fa- 
 vour the latter supposition. Thus it is probable, that when Saul 
 ^^•as hoping to receive some kind answer from Samuel, and 
 would liave received a favourable one from some pretended Sa- 
 muel; God was pleased to disappoint both the sorceress and 
 
 H'/io raisetk up Samuel. 
 
 bring up unto thee? And he said. Bring me "«'''<"•= 
 up Samuel. ^}^^}^1 
 
 1 All atx>ut lOaS. 
 
 1^ And when the woman saw Samuel, 
 she cried with a loud voice: and the wo- 
 man spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou 
 deceived me ? for thou art Saul. 
 
 13 And the khig said unto her, Be not 
 afraid: for what sawest thou? And the 
 woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascend- 
 ing out of the earth. 
 
 14- And he said unto her, t What form tHcb. 
 is he of? And she said, An old man com- j^V""' 
 eth up; and he is co\ered with a mantle. 
 And Saul perceived that it "was Samuel, 
 and he stooped with his face to the ground, 
 and bowed himself. 
 
 15 % And Samuel said to Saul, Why 
 hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? 
 And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; 
 for the Philistines make war against me, 
 and God is departed from me, and answer- 
 
 him, by sending the true Samuel, with a true and faithful mes- 
 sage, quite contrary to what the woinan and Saul had expected ; 
 which so confounded and disordered liim, that he instantly fell 
 into a swoon, and could no longer bear up against the bitter ago- 
 nies of his mind. Bp. Home. The most probable, and best sup- 
 ported opinion is, that Gotl suffered Samuel's departed spirit, or a 
 miraculous representation of his person, to appear to Saul, and, 
 as a punishment for his presumptuous impiety, to disclose his im- 
 pending fate. The text positively calls him Samuel, (Samuel 
 " himself" in the original,) and wliat he prophesied proved true: 
 for " on tlie morrow," that is, soon after, Sau) and his sons were 
 slain, and the host of Israel defeated. The woman was herself 
 terrified at a real appearance, when probably slie designed a de- 
 ception, and was prepai-ing her incantations. Dr. Gray. The 
 gravity and suitableness of the answer shew that it was the spirit 
 of Samuel himself: and the event shews that it was from God. 
 Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Tlie Son of Sirach, who seems to have had as much wisdom, 
 penetration, and piety as any critick that came after him, is 
 clearly of opinion with the sacred historian that it was Samuel 
 himself who foretold the fate of Saul and his house, ver. 19, in 
 this interview: and it is no imfair presumption, that such was 
 also the judgment of the Jewish Church in his time. It should 
 be well observed, that, whereas it has been ni.ide a question 
 whether the Jews believed the existence of the soul after <lcath; 
 this Jiistoiy affords a full decision on this point; and perhaps 
 the establishment of that truth on sensible evidence was one of 
 the purposes of Samuel's appearance on tliis occasion. Dr. De- 
 laney. 
 
 IS. — I saw gods ascending'] The Hebrew word Elohim (here 
 translated gods) is often taken in the singular a god, or a sreal 
 person; and so it sliould have been renilered here. Dr. )l'a/f. 
 Others translate the words, I saw a Judge. Bp. Patrick, Locke. 
 A person like a judge. Dr. IVelU: Or, if the plural be retained, 
 we must suppose that, in order to raise Saul's attention, and his 
 opinion of her art and power, she pretends that she saw •' gods" 
 rising out of the earth, as if she had brought up several ghosts by 
 her enchantments. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 15. — and Cod is departed from wie,] We should well observe, 
 from the history now before us, how miserable, how melancholy 
 a thing it is, for a man to have sinned to such a degree, as to be 
 entirely abandoned by God, aiul to have the best friend in the 
 world become his enemy. There is no condition so disconsol.ite, 
 so deplorable, as that is ; there is no expedient that can help him, 
 when $0 circiuustaxLced, uo conU'ivauce that will not turn against
 
 J!«rf,J-*rtt)i^ m^ -rttiii,fatri^th. 
 
 -^^1?'' S^j4*fUt4,M-> '^''^'Tmnsimtshrlej^ami'iifBadim 
 
 tH<4>. 
 
 /■y |A(- knnd 
 li/'ltrojtfiill. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 /!>r kinuelf. 
 * Chip. 1.1. 
 2». 
 
 fHcb. 
 miiu hand. 
 
 t IIili. 
 vmdt haste 
 nndftU 
 mth the 
 J'ulneu if 
 hit ilnlure. 
 
 cth me ho more, neither t by jirbfihets, nor 
 by dreams: therefore I have called thee, 
 that thou mayest make known unto me 
 what T shal! do. 
 
 '"Ifi 'riici\' said Snmdel, Whqrcfore then 
 do^t thou ask of mc, seeing the LonO is 
 de]>rtrted from thee, and is become thine 
 enemy ? 
 
 'IT* 'And the Lord hath done II to him, 
 "As he -spake by tme: for the Loun hath 
 rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and 
 given it to tliy neighbour, even to Da- 
 
 IS Because iHiou obeyedst not the voice 
 of the LoKD, nor cxecutedst his fierce wrath 
 upon Amalck, therefore hath the Lord 
 done this thing unto thee this day. 
 
 19 Moreover the Lord will also deliver 
 Israel with thee into the hand of the Phi- 
 listines: and to morrow sfialt thou and thy 
 sons he with mc: the Lord also shall de- 
 liver the host of Israel into the hand of the 
 Philistines. '^■' ' ' '■ ^ '"' 
 
 20 Then Saul + fell straightway all along 
 on the earth, and was sore afraid, because 
 of the words of Samuel : and there was no 
 strength in him ; for he had eaten no bread 
 all the day, nor all the night. 
 
 21 if And the woman came unto Saul, 
 and saw that he was sore troubled, and said 
 unto him. Behold, thine handmaid hath 
 obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life 
 in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy 
 words which thou spakest unto me. 
 
 22 Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken 
 thou also unto the voice of thine hand- 
 maid, and let me set a morsel of bread be- 
 fore thee ; and eat, that thou mayest have 
 strength, when thou goest on thy way. 
 
 23 But he refused, and said, I will not 
 eat. But his servants, together with the 
 
 liini, and increase his misery instead of relieving it. What could 
 unhappy Saul do, under liis pressing difficulties? God would 
 not assist him, and no one else could. He might think of his 
 court-flatterers, and of his ablest counsellors, and of his troops 
 and armies; but nothing in thi.s world could give him comfort, 
 or affonl him relief Then he thought of deceased Samuel, 
 whom he had often slighter] and despised, when alive; and was 
 even foolish enough to imagine, that he could steal a favour from 
 (Jods servant Samuel, when he could not obtain one from God 
 HnnscH. Let this .cad example convince every man who attends 
 to It, how impossible, how impracticable it is, to lay any scheme 
 of happiness tiiat shall at all answer, without first taking care to 
 ma.ic C.<k1 his friend. Without this, every toil and endeavour 
 must come to nothing. What can any man do, when God be- 
 come* his enemy, or but ceases to be his friend? Though he 
 srareh the whole universe for a moment's protection, yet all is 
 «> no purpose: for all is in God's h^tnds: to Him all "creatures 
 l^ntertnH/''^ submits to His will and pleasure. Dr. 
 
 19-/0 morrow shali thou &c.] '■ To morrow," that is, not the 
 
 w'on^hi, comptnictt'l^im; and he hearken- ch'^'JIt 
 ed unto their voice. So he arose from the about io.56. 
 earth, a'nd sat upon the bed. 
 
 24 And the woman had a fat calf in the 
 hou.se; and she hasted, and killed it, and 
 took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake 
 imleavcned bread thereof: 
 
 2.5 And she brought it before Saul, and 
 before his servants; and they did eat. 
 Then they rose up, and went away that 
 night. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 1 David marching tri/k (lie Pliilislincs, 3 t.t disallonctl 
 bij their princes. 6 Aviiisli dismisselh liim, with com- 
 vicndations of liisjidelily. 
 
 NOW the Philistines gathered together 
 all their armies to Aphek: and the 
 Lsraelites pitched by a fountain which is in 
 Jezreel. 
 
 2 And the lords of the Philistines passed 
 on by hundreds, and by thousands: but 
 David and his men passed drt ill th^ rqre- 
 ward with Achish. '' '"' '' 
 
 3 Then said the princes of the Philis- 
 tines, What do these Hebrews here? And 
 Achish said unto the princes of the, Philis- 
 tines, Is not this David, the s^iVant of 
 Saul the king of Israel, which hath been 
 with me these days, or these years, and I 
 have found no fault in him since he fell 
 unto vie unto this day? ' 
 
 4 And the princes of the Philistines were 
 wroth with him; and the princes of the 
 Philistines said unto him, ' Make this fel- 
 low return, that he may go again to his 
 place which thou hast appointed him, and 
 let him not go down with us to battle, lest 
 in the battle he be an adversary to us: 
 for wherewith should he reconcile himself 
 
 • 1 Cbron. 
 12. 19. 
 
 next day, but very shortly, shalt thou and thy sons be as I am, or 
 amongst the dead. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 21. — / hare put mt/ life in vii/ harid,^ I have exposed my 
 life to hazard, by letting thee know I practise arts of divination. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 Chap. XXIX. ver. 1. — to Aphelc:'^ There were three places 
 of this name: that in the tribe of Judab seems here meant. Dr. 
 Well.?. 
 
 pitched hi/ a fouHtaiiil^ It is related by William of Tyre, 
 
 that the C!".rist:an kings of Jerusalem used to assemble their 
 forces at ,i fountain between Nazareth and Sophoris, which was 
 greatly celebrated on that account. He mentions also another 
 fountain, near a town called Little Gerinum, which he says was 
 the ancient Jezreel. Near this fountain Saladinc pitched his 
 camp, for the benefit of its waters; while Baldwin king of Jeru- 
 salem had, a.s usual, assembled Jiis army at the first tn£utioned 
 place. This solicitude in the princes of these sultry plimates to 
 encamp near fountains, and, partipularly the me»tj\pjvj>f one liear 
 .Jezreel, serve to «j[ive p expelieiiVJUustratiifin of thy Passage; be-, 
 fore us. Ilarnier. '"' '" " "
 
 Ach,kk dismisseth him "with commendatioiis. CHAP. XXIX, XXX. 
 
 \The Amakkites spoil Ziklag. 
 
 Befoie 
 CHBjlST 
 aboiit lOStf. 
 
 '' Chap. 18. 
 7. & 21. 11. 
 
 + Ileb. 
 
 tlwu art not 
 good in the 
 eyes of the 
 lords. 
 tHeb. 
 do not evil 
 in the eyes 
 of the lords. 
 
 t Hel). 
 be/hre thee. 
 
 unto his master.' should it not be with the 
 ^jeads of these men ? 
 
 5 Is not this David, of whom they sang 
 one to anothei' in dances, saying, '' Saul 
 slew his thousands, and X|avid his ten 
 thousands? r,*,.'. '" 
 
 6 ^ Tlien Achish called David, and said 
 unto him, Surely, as the Lord liveth, thou 
 hast been upright, and thy going out and 
 thy coming in with me in the host is good 
 in my sight : for I have not found evil in 
 thee since the day of thy coming unto me 
 unto this day : nevertheless t the lords fa- 
 vour thee not. 
 
 7 Wherefore now return, and go in 
 peace, that thou t displease not the lords 
 of the Philistines. 
 
 8 ^ And David said unto Achish, But 
 what have I done? and what hast thou 
 found in thy servant so long as I have 
 been t with thee unto this day, that I may 
 not go fight against the enemies of my 
 lord the king ? 
 
 9 And Achish answered and said to Da- 
 vid, I know that thou art good in my sight, 
 as an angel of God : notwithstanding the 
 princes of the Philistines have said, He 
 shall not go up with us to tiie battle. 
 
 10 Wherefore now rise up early in the 
 morning with thy master's servants that 
 are come with thee : and as soon as ye be 
 up early in the morning, and have light, 
 depart. 
 
 11 So David and his men rose up early 
 to depart in the morning, to return into 
 the land of the Philistines. And the Phi- 
 listines went up to Jezreel. 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 1 The Amakkilcs .ipoil ZiLlag. 4 David asking counsel 
 ■■is encouraged hy Gml to pursue them. 11 Bi) the 
 means of a revived Egi/plian he is brought to the ene- 
 mies, and rccoverelh all the sjioil. 22 David's law to 
 
 8. — But what have I done? &e.] David's answer was a pru- 
 dent one, and such as became the circumstances in which lie was 
 placed ; for he promised nothing, and laid himself under no sort 
 of engagement : he neither denied what the Philistines suspected, 
 that he would fall off to Saul in the battle, nor made the least 
 mention of his readiness to fight with the Philistines against the 
 Hebrews. He merely asked why he should be refused to fight 
 against the enemies of the king. Dr. Chandler. 
 ' 9. — as a?i angel of God ;] Meaning, that he looked upon Da- 
 rid as a man sent down to him from heaven. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 '11. So David and his men'] We may easily apprehend to what 
 str&its David was reduced, on Achish insisting that he must 
 g^ with him against Saul. He was now imder the necessity of 
 VParring against his country, or betra3'ing his benefactor. The 
 alternative was indeed distressful : to Achish he owed allegiance ; 
 for protection exacts allegiance — but to Saul he owed more. Dr. 
 Deidney. What peculiar providence was here, that Da\ id should 
 be delirered out of his great strait^ of either being tulse , to Itig 
 
 alioutJQiie. 
 
 t Ilcl). 
 bitter. 
 
 but David encouraged himself in the 
 
 divide tie spoil equally betneen them ,lh<d.JLgbt and Uefpr* 
 them that keep the stuff. 26 He sendelh presents to CHRIST 
 his friend.. "^ •" ' iU yo ='-- '"^« 
 
 AN D it came to pass, when David and 
 his men were come to Ziklag on the 
 third day, that the Amalekites had invaded 
 the south, and Ziklag, and smitten ZikJag, 
 and burned it with fire ; 
 
 2 And had taken the women captives, 
 that were therein : they slew not any, ei- 
 ther great or small, but carried them away, 
 and went on their way. 
 
 3 5r So David and his men came to the 
 city, and, behold, it teas burned with fire ; 
 and their wives, and their sons, and their 
 daughters, were taken captives. 
 
 4 Tlien David and the people that rvere 
 with him lifted up their voice and wept, 
 until they had no more power to weep. 
 
 5 And David's two wives were taken 
 captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and 
 Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 
 
 6 And David was greatly distressed ; for 
 the people spake of stoning him, because 
 the soul of all the people was t grieved, 
 every man for his sons and for his daugh- 
 ters ' — - - 
 Lord his God. 
 
 7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, 
 Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me 
 hither the ephod. And Abiathar brqugj^ 
 thither the ephod to David. ysrfo 
 
 8 And David enquired at the LoRD,"say- 
 ing. Shall I pursue after this troop ? shall 
 I overtake them ? And he answered him, 
 Pursue : for thou shalt surely overtake 
 therri, and without fail recover all. 
 
 9 So David went, he and the six hun- 
 dred men that Xi'cre with him, and came to 
 the brook Besor, where those that were 
 left behind stayed. j^j.,^._,^.: -j 
 
 10 But David pursued, tie and four hun- 
 dred men : for two hundred abode behind, 
 
 patron, or fighting against Saul and his own nation ! Bp. Wil- 
 son. 
 
 Chap. XXX. ver. S. And David enquired at the Lord,'] David 
 on this occasion shewed his piety in consulting the Lord to know 
 what he was to do. And God tia\ ing ordoretl him to pursue tlie 
 Amalekites, he recovered all that they had taken away, delivered 
 his wives, and took from them a considerable booty. By tliese 
 means the evil that befell David tui-ned to his advantnge, and to 
 liis Teater glory ; and thus, those who in their troubles moke the 
 ■will of God their rule and guide, never fail to experience His 
 favour and protection. Osiervald. 
 
 Pursue : for thou shall sureli/ overtake'} At the tinae when 
 
 this answer was given, the accomplishment of it was highly im- 
 probable : for the Amalekites were greatly superiour in number 
 to David's forces : the route which they had taken was uncertain, 
 and tlie chance of recovering tlie booty they had taken very 
 small ; stin the oracle was positive, full, and express, ^nd thz 
 success was answerable. . £>r. Chaiidlct.
 
 I.SAM U E L. 
 
 David recoiereth all the spoil, 
 
 Brf<m- wliicli were so faint that they could not '^o 
 L"..f.'u1-I over the brook Bcs<,r. ,, ,- • 
 
 11 i[ And they found an Lffvptian in 
 the field, and brouplit him to David, and 
 pave him broad, and ho «hd oat ; and tlicy 
 made him drink water ; 
 
 12 And they pave him a piece ot a cake 
 of figs, and two chisters of raisins : and 
 when^ he had eaten, his spirit came again 
 to him : for he had eaten no bread, nor 
 drunk any water, three days and three 
 nights. 
 
 13 And David said unto him, To whom 
 helmgest thou ? and whence art thou ? And 
 he said, I am a young man of Egypt, ser- 
 vant to an Amalekite ; and my master left 
 nie, because three days agone I fell sick. 
 
 l-t Wo made an invasion upon tlie soutli 
 
 of the Cheretlrites, and upon the coast 
 
 ' which bdongeth to Judah, and upon the 
 
 soutli of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag 
 
 with fire. 
 
 1.5 And David said to him, Canst thou 
 bring me down to this company? And he 
 said, Swear unto me by God, that thou 
 wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into 
 the hands of my master, and I will bring 
 tiioo down to this company. 
 
 \C)% And when he had brought him 
 down, behold, they xvcre spread abroad up- 
 on all the earth, eating and drinking, and 
 dancing, because of all the great spoil that 
 tiiey had taken out of the land of the Phi- 
 listines, and out of the land of Judah. 
 
 17 And David smote them from the twi- 
 t Hi-b. light even unto the evening of t the next 
 
 day: and there escaped not a man of them, 
 save four hundred young men, which rode 
 upon camels, and fled. 
 
 18 And Da\id recovered all that the 
 Amalekites had carried away : and David 
 rescued his two wives. 
 
 19 And there was nothing lacking to 
 them, neither small nor great, neither sons 
 nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing 
 that they had taken to them : David reco- 
 vered all. 
 
 12. — a cake of figs, aiui Inu clustrn of raisins s"] In the his- 
 tory of tlic piratical states ol' Burbary, it is said, concerning an 
 ex|ieditiun of M)rae of tlie natives, " Tlieir temperance is admir- 
 able : some me.il, a few Ji^s and ruiiins, which tliey carry in a 
 goat's skin, serve tiicm a seven or eight days' journey." This is 
 umilar to the account here given by the sacred writer, of the 
 proytiiions carried by David and his men in their expedition 
 •gainst the Amalekites, as appears by what tl»ey gave the poor 
 famished Egyptian. Tlie braid of the Israelites answers to the 
 mtal of Barbary ; and the Jii;s and raisins are wliat the Moors 
 Ciury at this day. Ilarmer. " 
 
 14. — M< soiuh of Ca/f6;] We read no where else of tliit 
 
 and sendeth jtresents to his fric7ids. 
 
 tttfir m<ir- 
 
 '20 And David took all the flocks and the f-uuT sr 
 herils, tchich they drave before those othei^ about ioj(i. 
 cattle, and said. This is David's spoil. 
 
 '21 % And David came to the two hun- 
 dred men, which were so faint that they 
 couKl not follow David, whom they had 
 made also to abide at the brook IJcsor : 
 and they went forth to meet David, and to 
 meet the people that xcerc with him : and 
 when David came near to the people, he 
 II saluted them. Lm ,/„„, 
 
 Q2 Then answered all the wicked men "mthey"' 
 and 7ncn of Belial, of t those that went ^"Jj^j^ 
 with David, and said. Because they went men.''' 
 not witii us, we will not give them ought 
 of the spoil that we have recovered, save 
 to every man his wife and his children, 
 that they may lead them away, and de- 
 part. 
 
 23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, 
 my brethren, with that which the Loun 
 hath given us, who hath preserved us, and 
 delivered the company that came against 
 us into our hand. 
 
 21< For who will hearken unto you in 
 this matter ? but as his part is that goeth 
 down to the battle, so sliall his part be that 
 tanieth by the stuff: they sliall part alike. 
 
 '2.5 And it was so from that day t for- \\i<A^.ani 
 ward, that he made it a statute and an or- •''""""■ 
 dinance for Israel unto this day. 
 
 2G 1[ And when David came to Ziklag, 
 he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Ju- 
 dah, even to his friends, saying. Behold a 
 t present for you of the spoil of the ene- 1,"*'*'. 
 mies of the Lord ; 
 
 27 To them which icere in Beth-el, and 
 to the7n which xvere in south Ramoth, and 
 to thou which rcere in Jattir, 
 
 28 And to lhe7n which -dfere in Aroer, 
 and to them which xcere in Siphmoth, and 
 to them which xccre in Eshtemoa, 
 
 29 And to them which rcere in Rachal, 
 and to them which xce?-e in the cities of the 
 Jerahmeelites, and to them Avhich Xi^ere in 
 the cities of the Kenites, 
 
 30 And to t/ietn which xvere in Hormah, 
 
 land : it ineiins, probably, the soutli part of Judah, which wa.* 
 given to Caleb, Josh. xiv. 13. Bp. Falrick. 
 
 23. — Ye shall jioI do su, »ii/ brel/iren,'] The humanity and jus- 
 tice of David are here displayed to great advantage, in his equitable 
 distribution of the booty taken froi -i the enemy, by ordering, that 
 those who were disabled from actual fighting should share equally 
 with the rest. Dr. Chandler. This determination of David's be- 
 came a law among the Israelites from that day, ver. 25, till the 
 time when this history was written : and we have reason to be- 
 lieve tliat it lasted after this, as long as the Jewish polity conti-" 
 nued, and was restored with it: and it is generally understood to 
 have been practised by the Maccabees, 3 Mac. viii. Dr. Delanei/.
 
 Saul and his armourbearer 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 kill tfiemselves. 
 
 chrTst ^^^ ^^ '^'^^ which were in Chor-ashan, and 
 1056. to them which •were in Athach, 
 
 31 And to them which were in Hebron, 
 and to all the places where David himself 
 and his men were wont to haunt. 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 1 Saul having lost his armif, and his sons slain, he and 
 his armourbearer kill themselves. 7 The Philistines 
 possess the forsaken lonrns of the Israelites. 8 They 
 triumph over tlie dead carcases. 11 They of Jabesh- 
 gilead, recovering the bodies by nigtU, burti ihem at Ja- 
 besh, and mournfully bury their bones. 
 
 \q. I:''"'"* XT^"^ * ^h^ Philistines fought against Is- 
 JL^ rael : and the men of Israel fled from 
 II Or, before the Philistines, and fell down || slain 
 munued. jjj ^^^^^ Gilboa. ' 
 
 2 And the Philistines followed hard upon 
 Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines 
 slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchi- 
 shua, Saul's sons. 
 
 3 And the battle went sore against Saul, 
 t Heb. and the t archers t hit him ; and he was 
 
 shooters* i i /* j i i 
 
 men mth sore woundcd or the archers. 
 
 ^Hb ^ Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, 
 
 fijund'him. Draw thy sword, and thrust me through 
 
 therewith ; lest these uncircumcised come 
 5 Or, and thrust me through, and 11 abuse me. 
 mock me. g^^ j^-g armourbearcr would not; for he 
 
 was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a 
 
 sword, and fell upon it. 
 
 Chap. XXXI. ver. 2. — slew Jonathan,'] It was certainly no 
 small grief to David, to hear of Jonathan's death, as well as a 
 trial of his patience and resignation to the Divine will : yet still 
 there seems to be a direction of Providence in suffering him to 
 be slain, that David might more easily come to the throne. For, 
 though Jonathan might have made a voluntary surrender of the 
 throne, yet, as he was the people's favourite, there might have 
 been some who would not allow of it. Stackhouse. 
 
 In the story of Jonathan and David, we see an instance of 
 friendship properly founded and animated with warmth and ten- 
 derness ; conducted too with prudence as well as warmth. Jo- 
 nathan saw enough, in the virtues and distresses of David, to 
 excite his love and pity ; yet he conducted himself, not only 
 with a friendly regai'd to the merits and distresses of David, but 
 witli a filial regard to him who was the author of that distress. 
 He followed the call of friendship, but not beyond the call of al- 
 legiance to his father. We hear little more of Jonathan, after his 
 separation from David when in exile : but it is easy to conclude, 
 that, by remaining with his father, he had more opportunities 
 of serving him than if he had followed him into exile. If he had 
 gone to David, he must have struggled, not only with the envy 
 of a jealous king, but with the resentment of an injured father ; 
 and would have lost the merit of his friendship in the guilt of 
 rebellion against his father. By remaining at home, he could 
 watch his father's heart, improve every favourable sentiment he 
 saw rise within it, and soften, if not suppress the malignant ones. 
 In short, Jonathan chose, not only the most honourable, but the 
 most important, post of friendship, from whence he could dis- 
 pense the several benefits which flow from the united character 
 of a great man, a true subject, and a faithful friend. Dr. H. 
 Stebbing. Who can fail to drop a tear over the faithful, the amia- 
 ble, the excellent Jonathan ! There are few cliaracters among 
 men more amiable or more extraordinary : he wa* endowed wil£ 
 Vol. I. 
 
 5 And when his armourbearer saw that 8«*»« 
 Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his *^^ow." 
 sword, and died with him. 
 
 6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and 
 his armourbearer, and all his men, that same 
 day together. 
 
 7 IF And when the men of Israel that 
 were on the otlier side of the valley, and 
 they that were on the other side Jordan, 
 saw that the men of Israel fled, and that 
 Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook 
 the cities, and fled ; and the Philistines 
 came and dwelt in them. 
 
 8 And it came to pass on the morrow, 
 when the Philistines came to strip the slain, 
 that they found Saul and his three sons 
 fallen in mount Gilboa. 
 
 9 And they cut off" his head, and strip- 
 ped off his armour, and sent into the land 
 of the Phihstines round about, to publish 
 it in the house of their idols, and among the 
 people. 
 
 10 And they put his armour in the house 
 of Ashtaroth : and they fastened his body 
 to the wall of Beth-shan. 
 
 11 ^ And when the inhabitants of Ja- 
 besh-gilead heard || of that which the Phi- n Or, 
 listines had done to Saul ; concerning 
 
 12 All the vahant men arose, and went 
 all night, and took the body of Saul and 
 
 fortitude, fidelity, magnanimity, a soul susceptible of the most re- 
 fined friendship, yet superiour to all the temptations of ambition 
 and vanity ; and all these crowned with the most resigned sub- 
 mission to the will of God. Dr. Delaney. 
 
 4. — 7mto his armourbearer,'] It is the constant tradition of the 
 Jews, that this armourbearer was Doeg. Dr. Delaney. 
 
 lest these uncircumcised come &c.] He was afraid they 
 
 might put him to some ignominious death, or make sport with 
 him, as they did with Samson. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. So Saul died,] There is nothing to commend in the man- 
 ner of Saul's death. He died, not gallantly fighting, but by his 
 own hand ; he died, not as a hero, but as a deserter. Self-mur- 
 der is manifestly the effect of cowardice, and it is as irrational 
 and iniquitous as it is base. God, whose creatures we are, is llie 
 sole Arbiter, as He is the sole Author of life : our lives are His 
 property, and He has given us our country, our family, and our 
 friends : tlius, besides tlie injury done to our fellow creatures in 
 a variety of relation, the act of self-murder incurs the heavy guilt 
 of desertion of the post assigned to us by God, and of rebellious 
 disobedience to His commands. Dr. Delaney. 
 
 9. — in the house of their idols,] That they might give thank* 
 to their gods for the victory tliey had obtained. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — in the house of Ashtaroth ;] The custom of dedicating to 
 the gods the spoils of a conquered enemy, and placing them in 
 their temples as a trophy of victory, is extremely ancient. Fre- 
 quent instances of it are mentioned in tlie Greek and Roman 
 writers. See note at chap. xxi. 9. 
 
 and they fastened his body] To expose it to publick shame 
 
 and reproach, as we do the bodies of great malefactors. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 —— Beth-shan.] A city in the tribe of Manasseh : to tlm 
 place the people of Jabesh might march (ver. 12) in the course 
 of a night. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4C
 
 The Jal>esh-gileadites recover the bodies, I. SAMUEL. 
 
 and mournfiiUy hury their hones. 
 
 Brfo" the bodies of his sons from the wall of 
 *^"(S"^ Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and " burnt 
 » jcr. 3-t 5. them there. 
 
 13. — foittd tevtn dai/s.2 As a token and expression of great 
 sorrow. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The death of Saal is well deserving of our serious attention. 
 This prince, who had been chosen by God to the throne, and 
 who began his reign so well, made a miserable end ; and the 
 threaU-nings denounced against him by God on several occasions 
 wire fully put in execution. Thus it always has been, and al- 
 ways will be, with the Divine denunciations, whether against 
 particular persons, or against sinners in general. This event 
 ought to inspire us with a wholesome fear, and to impress us 
 
 13 And they took their bones, and "^bu- c^pTIt 
 ried them under a tree at Jabesli, and fasted lose. 
 seven days. '2Sam.2.4. 
 
 with the conviction, that those, who are enriched by God with 
 blessings, and who abuse those blessings, are at List abandoned 
 by Him, and made examples of His indignation. When we see 
 tile sons of Saul, and Jonathan in particular, a man of so much 
 piety and virtue, perish with him, we are made to call to mind 
 now often the innocent are involved with the guilty in temporal 
 judgments ; a dispensation, which Gotl ordains for wise and just 
 reasons, and with the view of promoting the real welfare of His 
 faithful servants. Oslervald. 
 
 The following Chapters from the first book of Samuel are appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holydays. 
 
 CuAP. II. ... - 3rd Sunday afler Trinity, .... Morning. 
 
 III. .... Ditto, - ...... Evening. 
 
 _— XII. - . - . 4th Sunday after Trinity, .... Morning. 
 
 XIII. .... Ditto, - ...... Evening. 
 
 XV. .... 5th Sunday after Trinity, .... Morning. 
 
 XVII. .... Ditto, - ...... Evening. 
 
 XlX-rer. 18. ... WTiit-Tuesday, Morning.
 
 THE SECOND BOOK OF 
 
 SAMUEL, 
 
 OTHERWISE CALLED, 
 
 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE Second book of Samuel bears an exact relation to the preceding history, and is likewise connected with that which succeeds. The 
 history contains a period of near forty years, from about A. M. 2948 to 2988. It describes the establishment and prosperitj' of 
 David's reign ; which he deserved, as well by his generous respect for the memory of Saul, as by the excellency of those many qua- 
 lities which his maturer piety displayed. It relates the extinction of Saul's family, and David's grateful and unsuspicious kind- 
 ness to the surviving son of Jonathan. Tlie inspired author then records the fall of David ; and exhibits a sad proof of the un- 
 happy depravity to which the noblest minds may be seduced by passion. He represents to us God's anger softened, but not 
 appeased, by David's repent;mce ; who was soon after punished by the death of the child, and many domestick calamities. The 
 transgression of Amnon was the first consequence of his bad example ; and " evil rose up against him out of his own house" (Na- 
 than's prophetick threat, chap. xii. 11) in the ambitious intrigues and rebellion of Absalom. We .soon behold him a degraded and 
 fugitive sovereign, reviled by his meanest subjects, and severely punished for his conduct towards Uriah, by the incestuous outrage 
 of Ills son, chap. xvi. 21, 22. The submissive repentance, however, and restored virtues of David, procured his pardon and reesta- 
 blishment on his throne ; which he dignified by the display of the greatest moderation, justice, and piety. If in the exultation of his 
 recovered prosperity, God suffered him (chap. xxiv. I ; and 1 Chron. xxi. 1 ) to be beti-ayed into an o.stentatious numbering of the 
 people, " his heart smote him" to immediate repentance, and he piously threw himself on God's mercy, and entreated that he only 
 might suffer from the indignation which he had provoked. The vicissitude of events which the book describes, the fall and restora- 
 tion of David, the eff"ects of his errours, and his return to righteousness, are represented in the most interesting manner, and furnish 
 valuable lessons to mankind. The author, in the concise style of sacred history, selects only the most striking features of character, 
 and the most importcnt incidents of those revolutions of which he treats ; and among the conspicuous beauties of the book, we can 
 never sufficiently admire the feeling lamentation over Saul and Jonathan, the expressive parable of Nathan, and the triumphant 
 hymn of David. 
 
 psalm, chap, xxii ; by whom the " Spirit of the Lord spake," assuring him of an everlasting covenant, chap, xxiii. 2, 5. Dr. Gray. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 10.5C. 
 
 ' 1 Sam. 
 iO. IT. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 1 The Amalekiie, who brought tidings of the overthrow, 
 and accused himself of Saul's deatli, is slain. 17 Da- 
 vid lainentelh Saul and Jonathan with a song. 
 
 NOW it came to pass after the death of 
 Saul, when David was returned from 
 ' the slaughter of the Amalekites, and Da- 
 vid had abode two days in Ziklag ; 
 
 2 It came even to pass on the third day, 
 that, behold, a man came out of the camp 
 from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth 
 upon his head : and so it was, when he 
 came to David, that he fell to the earth, 
 and did obeisance. 
 
 3 And David said unto him, From 
 whence comest thou ? And he said unto 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1056. 
 
 Chap. I. ver. 2 and earth upon his head:^ As a token of mourning, Josh. vii. 6 ; 1 Sam. iv. 12 ; Job iL 12. 
 
 4" w *
 
 The Amalekite, "who accused himself II. SAMUEL. 
 
 of Saul's death, is slain. 
 
 Hrfurc 
 CHKIST 
 
 lOifi. 
 
 f Heb. 
 Ac 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 IJehuid mt\ 
 
 II Or, 
 
 my colli \tf 
 mat/, or, my 
 embroitUr- 
 eti coat hin- 
 dereth rm, 
 thai my, 
 &C 
 
 him, Out of the camp of Israel am I es- 
 caped. 
 
 4 And David said unto him, t How went 
 the matter ? I pray thee, tell me. And he 
 answered. That the people are fled from 
 the battle, and many of the people also 
 are fallen and dead ; and Saul and Jona- 
 than his son are dead also. 
 
 5 And David said unto the young man 
 that told him, How knowest thou that Saul 
 and Jonathan his son be dead ? 
 
 6 And the young man that told him said. 
 As I happened by chance upon mount Gil- 
 boa, beliold, Saul leaned upon his spear; 
 and, lo, the chariots and horsemen follow- 
 ed hard afler him. 
 
 7 And when he looked behind him, he 
 saw me, and called unto me. And I an- 
 swered, t Here am I. 
 
 8 And he said unto me. Who art thou ? 
 And I answered him, I am an Amalek- 
 ite. 
 
 9 He said unto me again. Stand, I pray 
 thee, upon me, and slay me : for 11 anguish 
 is come upon me, because ray life is yet 
 whole in me. 
 
 10 So I stood upon him, and slew him, 
 because 1 was sure that he could not live 
 after that he was fallen : and I took the 
 
 6. — SatU leaned upon his spear y] Ratlicr, perhaps, " Saul had 
 fallen on his spear ;" for it is nientionetl at ver. 10, that he was 
 now fallen. It appears from 1 Sam. x.xxi. 4, tliat when Saul fell 
 upon his spear, his amioiirbearer thought him immediately dead ; 
 but it seems he was not quite dead when tliis Amalekite came up ; 
 and desired to be killed outright. Thus Josephus relates the 
 event. Dr. Walt. Or else, from the want of consistency between 
 this account, and th.it of 1 Sam. xxxi, we must suppose that the 
 Amalekite contrived u false account, perhaps to ingratiate him- 
 self with David, if he approved the fact. Dr. IVvlls, Bp. Patrick. 
 It is by no means probable that the main circumstance told by 
 this Amalekite could be true. According to the account of Saul's 
 desith, given in the course of the history, 1 Sam. xxxi, Saul desires 
 his armourl)earcr to kill him, but he refuses: he then falls on his 
 own sword ; and his servant, seeing him dead, does the same. 
 Now, where is the interval or opening for tlie scene between Saul 
 and the Amalekite to take place > or, would tlie armourbearer, 
 who refused to kill Saul, stand by, and suffer an Amalekite to 
 kill him ? Bp. Home. 
 
 f). — anptish is come iijmn ine,2 There is no certainty about 
 the Hebrew word, triuislated anguish : many persons understand 
 the V ord to me:m some article of dress, and therefore prefer the 
 translation of our margin, " my embroidered coat (or coat of mail) 
 IS upon me ;" meaning, that it prevented the spear from pene- 
 trating his body. Bp. Pnlrick, Pylc. 
 
 12. And they mourned, and wqit,'} We may observe here the 
 piety and honest heart of David, who behaved on this occasion 
 with the same temjier towiu-ds Saul, which he had borne in his 
 lifetime, and was thus tleeply concerned at his death, although it 
 raui^-d him to ascend the throne, and secured him from any fur- 
 ther persecutions. Thus does every man of sincere piety and 
 solid virtue behave. Whatever injuries his enemies have done lo 
 him, l|,,w wicked soever their lives have been, he never exults 
 over their misfortunes, but rather grieves at them. Osfcrvald 
 15. — he smote him that he digd.^ This he did, to punish liis 
 
 Before 
 OH U 1ST 
 
 lOiC. 
 
 ' Cliai> 3. 
 31. & 13. 
 31. 
 
 ' Psal. 105 
 15. 
 
 crown that v:as upon his head, and the 
 bracelet that teas on his arm, and have 
 brought tliem hither unto my lord. 
 
 1 1 Tiien David took hold on his clothes, 
 and "^ rent them ; and likewise all the men 
 that were with him : 
 
 Vi And they mourned, and wept, and 
 fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jona- 
 than his son, and for the people of the 
 Lord, and for the house of Israel ; because 
 they were fallen by the sword. 
 
 13 % And David said unto the young- 
 man that told him, Whence art thou ? And 
 he answered, I «w< the son of a stranger, an 
 Amalekite. 
 
 14 And David said unto him, ' How wast 
 thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand 
 to destroy the Lord's anointed ? 
 
 15 And David called one of the young 
 men, and said. Go near, and fall upon him. 
 And he smote him tiiat he died. 
 
 16 And David said unto him. Thy blood 
 be upon thy head ; for thy mouth hath tes- 
 tified against thee, saying, I have slain the 
 Lord's anointed. 
 
 17 IF And David lamented with this la- 
 mentation over Saul and over Jonathan his 
 son: 
 
 18 (Also he bade them teach the chil- 
 
 rashness and presumption, in laying hands upon a prince spe- 
 cially appointed by God, and under the immediate direction of 
 His providence. Pt/le. This self-convicted wretched Amalekite 
 died for a crime which he had not committed ; yet he well de- 
 served to die, for taking the guilt of it upon him. David riglitly 
 judged that Saul had no power over his own life, and conse- 
 quently should not have been obeyed in such a command : God 
 and the state had as much right to his life when he was weary of 
 it, as wlien he most loved it. Besides, it behovetl David to vin- 
 dicate his own innocence to the world by this publick execution, 
 since otherwise he might have been branded with the guilt of 
 employing that wretch to murder his persecutor. Dr. Delaney. 
 No doubt this wretch intended to make a merit of this affair, and 
 to ingratiate himself with David, by telling him that he had de- 
 stroyed Saul, and by presenting him with the spoils of royalty, 
 of which he had stripped him. But, alas ! he knew not David. 
 He knew not that a crown would be unwelcome to him at the 
 price of treason, and that a throne would not be tempting to him, 
 if purchased with pjuricide. Dr. Chandler. David evidently saw 
 thi-ough the character of the man, and perhaps concluded, from 
 his forward officiousness in the affair, that he had taken some un- 
 due advantage of Saul in his wounded state ; and slain him on 
 purpose that he might find favour with his successor, by bringing 
 him all this welcome intelligence. This may be inferred from 
 David's words at 2 Sam. iv. 10. Bp. Horne. 
 
 17- A/ul David lamented — over Saul and over Jonathan'^ This 
 is the first specimen afforded us of David's poetical talents : it is 
 elegant, tender, and pathetick. Dr. Hale.t. 
 
 1 8. (^Also he bade them teach &C.3 This comes in, as a paren- 
 thesis, iietween the former verse and that which follows, to shew 
 the early endeavours of David to promote the good of his people; 
 and his care of the living, amidst his lamentations for the dead. 
 He ordered that the children of Judah should be immediately 
 better instructed in the use of the bow and arrow, in order more 
 effectually to contend with the Philistines. Bp. Patrick.
 
 David lamenteth Saul and 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 CHRIST ^^^ ^^ Judah tfie use of the bow : behold, 
 
 1056. it is written '' in the book of || Jasher.) 
 « Josh. 10. 19 The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy 
 l\ ^^S^ places: how are the mighty fallen ! 
 cftktup-' 20 'Tell it not in Gath, pubHsh it not in 
 ^iMh 1. *^^^ streets of Askelon ; lest the daughters 
 10. of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daugh- 
 
 ters of the uncircumcised triumph. 
 
 21 Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be 
 no dew, neither let there he rain, upon you, 
 nor fields of offerings : for there the shield 
 of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield 
 of Saul, a^ though he had not been anointed 
 with oil. 
 
 22 From the blood of the slain, from the 
 fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan 
 turned not back, and the sword of Saul 
 returned not empty. 
 
 23 Saul and Jonathan were lovely and 
 II pleasant in their lives, and in their death 
 
 U Or, 
 
 sweet. 
 
 behold, it is n'rilteif] That is, the fact of his having given 
 
 this order for teaching the chihlren of Judah the use of the bow, 
 " is written in the book of Jasher ;" respecting which see note at 
 Josh. X. 13. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 19. — lio'v are the mighttj fallen I'y What a slaughter is made 
 among the valiant men of the army ; the flower of the nation, the 
 choicest of its young men, lost, together with Saul and his sons ! 
 Bp. Patrick. This exclamation, with which three stanzas are 
 marked, ver. 25, 27, seems to be the simple dictate of sorrow on 
 the several topicks of lamentation which presented themselves. 
 It is therefore to be considered as a kind of burden to the song. 
 David knew that the death of these mighty men, with the flower 
 of the army, as it was matter of reproach to the nation, so would 
 be the subject of exultation to their enemies ; and, not being able 
 to endure the thought of this, breaks out into that beautiful apo- 
 strophe, " Tell it not in Gath," the chief city of the Philistines, 
 &c. Dr. Delaney. 
 
 21. — nor Jields of offerings :'^ Meaning fruitful fields, from 
 which offerings might be brought to the house of God. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. There seem to have been fruitful fields about Gilboa, 
 which, by the large increase they produced, afforded very libe- 
 rally firstfruits for offerings to the Lord. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 the shield of the mighty is vilely cast arvay,"^ Even " the 
 
 shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil ;" that 
 is, as if he had not been a king, but a common soldier. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. The thro-\ving away the shield was matter of the highest 
 reproach among all nations of antiquity ; and this, in the practice 
 of so brave a prince as Saul, was an example of terrible conse- 
 quence, and therefore must not go unreproved, especially in a 
 song which soldiers were to learn. Dr. Delaney. Or it may be 
 meant, that, after the death of Saul, his shield was " vilely cast 
 away" without any regard to the sacred character of the owner. 
 
 23. — in their death they were not divided:^ This is said in the 
 true spirit of friendship, and in one of its finest distresses ; he con- 
 gratulates Saul and Jonathan on that happy circumstance of their 
 friendship, that they were undivided in death. Dr. Delaney. 
 
 27. — the weapons of war perished .Q All military glory is gone 
 from Israel. Bp. Patrick. Or, the weapons and armour of the slain 
 are taken away by the Philistines in triumph. Dr. Wells. 
 
 Let any man but read over this admirable ode of David, than 
 which there is nothing more elegant and passionate in all anti- 
 quity, and he will find in it all the marks of a generous grief, and 
 the utmost decency and propriety in the expressions of it. In the 
 encomiums passecl respectively on Saul and Jonathan, there is 
 nothing but what became the character of both, and suited the 
 situation of him that gave them. He celebrates Saul for his fonner 
 victories, and sheds a tear over him for his defeat, and the indig> 
 
 Jonathan "with a song. 
 they were not divided : they were swifler ^efor* 
 
 111 CHRIST 
 
 than eagles, they were stronger than li- lose. 
 ons. 
 
 24 Ye daughters of Israel, weep over 
 Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other 
 delights, who put on ornaments of gold 
 upon your apparel. 
 
 25 How are the mighty fallen in the 
 midst of the battle ! O Jonathan, thou wast 
 slain in thine high places. 
 
 26 I am distressed for thee, my brother 
 Jonathan : very pleasant hast thou been 
 unto me : thy love to me was wonderful, 
 passing the love of women. 
 
 27 How are the mighty fallen, and the 
 weapons of war perished ! 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 1 David, hy God's direction, with his company goeth up 
 to Hebron, where lie is made king of Judah. 5 He 
 
 nities offered to him after his death ; but without a single re- 
 flection on his past injustice and cruelty towards himself. And as 
 to Jonathan his friend, the sorrow he expresses for him is most 
 tender and pathetick. The lamentation over the slain heroes of 
 Israel in the beginning, and several times repeated ; the manner 
 in which he expresses his grief at the thought of the defeat's being 
 published among the Philistines ; his passionately wishing that 
 neither dews nor rains might ever fall on the mountains of Gilboa 
 and the fields surrounding them; his recounting the past victories 
 of Saul and Jonathan, who never drew a bow or brandished a 
 sword without its proving fatal to their enemies, to set forth in a 
 more lively manner the reverse of their condition; his honour- 
 able mention of their mutual affection while they lived, and their 
 dying bravely together in the field of battle ; his exclamation to 
 the daughters of Israel to mourn over Saul ; his celebration of 
 the mutual tender friendship between himself and Jonathan ; in 
 a word, his whole elegy, both in sentiment and expression, hath 
 all the charms with which the spirit of poetry can adorn it, shews 
 the richness of David's genius, and will be a moniunent to his 
 praise through all generations. Dr. Chandler. This ode is a la- 
 mentation equally pathetick and heroick, the lamentation of a 
 brave man over brave men. The bursts of sorrow in it are so 
 strong and sudden ; so short, various, and unconnected, that never 
 perhaps was grief painted in more living and lasting colours. It 
 affords a beautiful proof that David's heart was so softened and 
 melted by grief, as to lose every trace of Saul's cruelty to him. He 
 remembered nothing in him now but the brave man, the valiant 
 leader, tlie magnificent prince, the king of God's appointment, his 
 own once indulgent master ; the father of his Michal and his Jona- 
 than; of his beloved wife and his lamented friend. Dr. Delaney. 
 Noble ideas aggrandize the soul of him, who writes with a true 
 taste of virtue. David's lamentation over Saul and Jonathjin is 
 peculiarly pleasing, in that there is such an exquisite sorrow ex- 
 pressed in it, without the least allusion to the difficulties from 
 which David was extricated by the fall of those great men in his 
 way to empire. When he receives the tidings of Saul's death, 
 his generous mind has in it no reflection upon the merit of the un- 
 happy man who was taken out of his way, but what raises in him 
 sorrow, instead of giving him consolation. How beautiful is the 
 more amiable and noble part of Saul's character, represented by 
 a man whom that very Saul pursued to death ! But when he 
 comes to mention Jonathan, the sublimity ceases; and, not able 
 to mention his generous friendship and the most noble instance* 
 ever given by man, he sinks into a fondness that will not admit 
 of high language or allusions to the greater circumstances of their 
 life, and turns only upon their familiar convers* : " I am distress- 
 ed for thee, &c." See ver. 26. Sttele.
 
 David is made king oj Judah. 
 
 II. SAMUEL. Abner maketh Ish-bosheth King of Israel. 
 
 Ho fun; 
 CHKIST 
 
 1056. 
 
 ■)x>ut 1055. 
 • I Mac. 2. 
 67. 
 
 »lSam.31. 
 13. 
 
 fHeh. 
 ** ye the 
 torn ofi'a' 
 
 comnuiidelh l/iem of Jaftesh-gilead for their kindness to 
 Saul. 8 Aimer vuiketh I.ih-lioshrth king of Israel. 
 ]J .1 mortal skirmish behreen twelve of Abner' s and 
 twelve of Joab's men. 18 Asahel is slain. 25 At 
 Abner s' motion Joab soundcth a retreat. 32 Asahel's 
 buriaL 
 
 AND it came to pass after this, that 
 David enquired of tlie Lord, saying, 
 Shall I go up into any of the cities of Ju- 
 dah? And the Loud said unto him, Go up. 
 And David said. Whither shall 1 go up ? 
 And he said. Unto Hebron. 
 
 i2 So David went up thither, and his two 
 wives also, Ahinoani the Jezreelitess, and 
 Abigail Nabal's wife the Carmelite. 
 
 3 Anil his men that -were with him did 
 David bring up, every man with his hous- 
 hold: and they dwelt in the cities of 
 Hebron. 
 
 1. ' And the men of Judah came, and 
 there they anointed David king over the 
 house of Judah. And they told David, 
 saying, That " the men of Jabesh-gilead 
 uere theif that buried Saul. 
 
 5 ^ And David sent messengers unto 
 the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said unto 
 them. Blessed he ye of the Lord, that ye 
 have shewed this kindness unto your lord, 
 even unto Saul, and have buried him. 
 
 6 And now the Lord shew kindness and 
 truth unto you : and I also will requite 
 you this kindness, because ye have done 
 this thing. 
 
 7 Therefore now let your hands be 
 strengthened, and t be ye \aliant : for 
 your master Saul is dead, and also the 
 
 Chap. 1 1 . ver. 1 . — Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah ?] 
 Thoiigli Daviil well knew that his head was long before anointed, 
 and though he liad lieard Saul himself confidently affinning his 
 succession, yet he will not stir till he has consulted the Lord. It 
 did not content him that he had God's warrant for the kingdom, 
 l)ut he must have His instructions for Uking possession of it. 
 How safe and happy is the man that is resolved to do nothinff 
 without God ! Up. Hall. ® 
 
 ^"[o Hebron.'} As Hebron was situate in the midst of 
 
 the tribe of Judah, and a very- ancient city, the metropolis of the 
 vhole tribe, and the possession of those priestly families, who 
 ^poused David's interest, it was a very commodious city for 
 hmi to make the place of his residence at this juncture; as he 
 was not msensible that the determination of the metropolis in liis 
 favour wouUl be of great weight to influence the whole tribe : 
 and accordingly we find, that he was soon invested with the so- 
 vereignty of It. Dr. Delam-i). Hebron seems now to have been 
 the capital city of Judah ; Jerusalem, or at least the fortress of 
 mount Sion, that commanded it, being at this time in the hands 
 ol the Jebusites. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 *.~ there they anointed David"} As he had before been pri- 
 yatelj; anointed by Samuel, when he was first marked out for 
 me kingtlora ; so he was now publickly anointed by way of in- 
 augurauon on assuming the royal office. The men of Judah 
 knnVi^"^ >ndependently for themselves, did not presume t<; 
 know the sense of the other tribes of Israel, but trusted they 
 
 V. 3 B^p^wa^"" "^ '^^^'' ^ ^ ''^^ *^y '"d, cS 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1055. 
 
 tHeb. 
 the liost 
 which was 
 Saul's. 
 
 1055. 
 
 f Heb. 
 
 number of' 
 days. 
 
 about 1053. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 them (tf- 
 gcther. 
 
 house of Judah have anointed me king 
 over them. 
 
 8 % But Abner the son of Ner, captain 
 of t Saul's host, took Ish-bosheth the son 
 of Saul, and brought him over to Maha- 
 naim ; 
 
 9 And made him king over Gilead, and 
 over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and 
 over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and 
 over all Israel. 
 
 10 Ish-bosheth Saul's son was forty years 
 old when he began to reign over Israel, 
 and reigned two years. But the house of 
 Judah followed David. 
 
 1 1 And the t time that David was king 
 in Hebron over the house of Judah was 
 seven years and six months. 
 
 12 ^ And Abner the son of Ner, and 
 the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, 
 went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 
 
 13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and 
 the servants of David, went out, and met 
 t together by the pool of Gibeon : and 
 they sat down, the one on the one side 
 of the pool, and the other on the other 
 side of the pool. 
 
 1 1< And Abner said to Joab, Let the 
 young men now arise, and play before us. 
 And Joab said. Let them arise. 
 
 15 Then there arose and went over by 
 number twelve of Benjamin, W'hich per- 
 tained to Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and 
 twelve of the servants of David. 
 
 IG And they caught every one his fellow 
 by the head, and thrust his sword in his 
 
 8. — Abner — took Ish-bosheth the .iwi of Saul,} If Abner had 
 acted on principles of justice, and as a faithful friend to the suc- 
 cession of Saul's house, he would have advanced to the crown, 
 not Ish-bosheth, but Mephiboshetli, Jonathan's son, to whom, if 
 the cro^vn was to descend by hereditary right, it certainly be- 
 longed. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 brought him over to Mahanaim ;} Brought him over 
 
 Jordan to Mahanaim, a place in the tribe of Gad, so called from 
 the appearance of angels to Jacob, Gen. xxxii. 1, 2. Abner's rea- 
 sons for retreating hither seem to have been, to secure the people 
 on that side of Jordan, who were generally attached to Saul's 
 family, to prevent the Philistines from falling on the king whom 
 he had under his protection, and chiefly to be at a greater dis- 
 tance from David. Slackhouse. 
 
 9- — over all Israel.} Over all the tribes on the western side 
 Jordan, save the tribe of Judah. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. — and play before !/*.] While the two armies faced one 
 another, on different sides of the pool, Abner desires that some 
 soldiers may be picked out, to make sport for the two armies, 
 and to undergo a trial of their strength and courage. Bp. 
 Patrick. Abner seems to have meant, not that they should fall 
 upon, and destroy one another, but merely that they should 
 practise a little their military exercises, to divert the spectators. 
 Slackhouse. 
 
 16. — they caug/U every one &c.] The sense seems to be, that 
 the servants of David thrust a sword into each of the Benjamites, 
 so that the twelve men of Benjamin fell down dead together. Bp. 
 Patrick, Dr. Wells. The sense is uncertain : either all the Ben-
 
 Asahel is slain. 
 
 CHAP. II, III. 
 
 Joah soundeth a retreat. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1053. 
 
 II That is 
 Tke field of 
 strong men. 
 
 fHeb. 
 of hU feet. 
 tHeb. 
 
 as one of the 
 roes that is 
 in the field. 
 
 tHeb. 
 from after 
 Abner. 
 
 (Or, 
 tpoil. 
 
 fellow's side ; so they fell down together : 
 wherefore that place was called ll Helkath- 
 hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. 
 
 17 And there was a very sore battle that 
 day ; and Abner was beaten, and the men 
 of Israel, before the servants of David. 
 
 18 ^ And there were three sons of Ze- 
 ruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asa- 
 hel : and Asahel was as light t of foot t as 
 a wild roe. 
 
 19 And Asahel pursued after Abner ; 
 and in going he turned not to the right 
 hand nor to the left from t following Ab- 
 ner. 
 
 20 Then Abner looked behind him, and 
 said. Art thou Asahel ? And he answered, 
 I am. 
 
 21 And Abner said to him, Turn thee 
 aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and 
 lay thee hold on one of the young men, 
 and take thee his || armour. But Asahel 
 would not turn aside from following of 
 him. 
 
 22 And Abner said again to Asahel, 
 Turn thee aside from following me : where- 
 fore should I smite thee to the ground? 
 how then should I hold up my face to Joab 
 thy brother ? 
 
 23 Howbeit he refused to turn aside : 
 wherefore Abner with the hinder end of 
 the spear smote him under the fifth rib, 
 that the spear came out behind him ; and 
 he fell down there, and died in the same 
 place : and it came to pass, that as many 
 as came to the place where Asahel fell 
 down and died stood still. 
 
 24 Joab also and Abishai pursued after 
 Abner : and the sun went down when they 
 were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth 
 before Giah by the way of the wilderness 
 of Gibeon. 
 
 25 ^ And the children of Benjamin ga- 
 thered themselves together after Abner, 
 and became one troop, and stood on the 
 top of an hill. 
 
 26 Then Abner called to Joab, and said, 
 iShall the sword devour for ever ? knowest 
 thou not that it will be bitterness in the 
 latter end ? how long shall it be then, ere 
 thou bid the people return from following 
 their brethren ? 
 
 jamites fell by the hand of David's men, or the whole twentj'-four 
 fell by tlie hands of each other. P^le. 
 
 23. — Abner iriik the hinder end of the spear &c.] These 
 words should rather be rendered, "Abner smote him in the belly, 
 turning his spear backwards." As Abner was the foremost, he 
 liirned liis spear backward, and so killed Asaliel. Houbigant. 
 
 27 And Joab said, ^.9 God liveth, unless c^r/It 
 thou hadst spoken, surely then tin the about 1053. 
 morning the people had || gone up every t Heb. 
 one from following his brother. from the 
 
 t^ T 111 morning. 
 
 28 bo Joab blew a trumpet, and all the u Or, 
 people stood still, and pursued after Israel ^'^'"^y- 
 no more, neither fought they any more. 
 
 29 And Abner and his men walked all 
 that night through the plain, and passed 
 over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, 
 and they came to Mahanaim. 
 
 30 And Joab returned from following 
 Abner : and when he had gathered all the 
 people together, there lacked of David's 
 servants nineteen men and Asahel. 
 
 31 But the servants of David had smitten 
 of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, so that 
 three hundred and threescore men died. 
 
 32 ^ And they took up Asahel, and bu- 
 ried him in the sepulchre of his father, 
 which "was in Beth-lehem. And Joab and 
 his men went all night, and they came to 
 Hebron at break of day. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 1 During the war David still 7vaxetk stronger. 2 Six 
 sons were born to liim in Hebron. 6 Abner, displeased 
 ivith Ish-bosheth, 12 revolteth to David. 13 David 
 requireth a condition to bring him his rvife Miclial. 
 17 Abner, having communed with the IsraeJites, is 
 feasted by David, and dismi.ised. 22 Joab, returning 
 from battle, is displeased with the king, and killeth Ab- 
 ner. 28 David curseth Joab, 31 and moumeth for 
 Abner. 
 
 NOW there was long war between the 
 house of Saul and the house of David: 
 but David waxed stronger and stronger, 
 and the house of Saul waxed weaker and 
 weaker. 
 
 2 ^ And unto David were sons born in 
 Hebron : and his firstborn was Amnon, of 
 Ahinoam the Jezreelitess ; 
 
 3 And his second, Chileab, of Abigail 
 the wife of Nabal the Carmelite ; and the 
 third, Absalom the son of Maacah the 
 daughter of Talmai king of Geshur ; 
 
 4 And the fourth, Adonijah the son of 
 Haggith ; and the fifth, Shephatiah the 
 son of Abital ; 
 
 5 And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah Da- 
 vid's wife. These were born to David in 
 Hebron. 
 
 as many as came — .ttood still."] They ceased from the 
 
 pursuit, fearing perhaps the same fate. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 27. — tmless thou hadst spoken,"] " Unless thou liadst sent the 
 challenge," mentioned at ver. li. Dr. Wells. Unless thou hadst 
 provoked me to battle. Locke.
 
 Abner recolteth to David. 
 
 II. SAMUEL. He is feasted by David, and dismissed. 
 
 lU 
 
 ik-for,- c IT And it came to pass, while there 
 ^f/^J was war between the house of Saul and 
 the house of David, tliat Abner made hun- 
 self strong for the house of Saul. 
 
 7 And Saul had a concubine, whose 
 • chjp.si. name "was ' Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah : 
 
 and Ish.boshcth said to Abner, AVherefore 
 hast thou gone in unto my father's concu- 
 bine ? 
 
 8 Then was Abner very wroth for the 
 words of Ish-bosheth, and said. Am I a 
 dog's head, which against Judah do shew 
 kindness this day unto the house of Saul 
 thy lather, to his brethren, and to his 
 friends, and have not delivered thee into 
 the hand of David, that thou chargest me 
 to day with a fault concerning this woman? 
 
 9 So do God to Abner, and more also, 
 except, as the Lord hath sworn to David, 
 even so I do to him ; 
 
 10 To translate the kingdom from the 
 house of Saul, and to set up the throne of 
 David over Israel and over Judah, from 
 Dan even to Beer-sheba. 
 
 11 And he could not answer Abner a 
 word again, because he feared him. 
 
 i<M8. 12 ^ And Abner sent messengers to 
 David on his behalf, saying, ^Vl^ose is 
 the land ? saying also, Make thy league 
 with me, and, behold, my hand shall be 
 with thee, to bring about all Israel unto 
 thee. 
 
 1.3 ^ And he said. Well ; I will make a 
 league with thee : but one thing I require 
 
 t Heb. of thee, t that is. Thou shalt not see my 
 face, except thou first bring Michal Saul's 
 daughter, when thou comest to see my 
 face. 
 
 14 And David sent messengers to Ish- 
 bosheth Saul's son, saying, Deliver me my 
 
 *'**^7. '^^'^^'^ Michal, which I espoused to me ''for 
 
 18. 25,27. 
 
 an hundred foreskins of the Philistines. 
 
 Chap. III. ver. 7. — gone in unto my father's concubine ?]] It was 
 in those clays looked upon as an insiilt to the royal family, and a 
 proof of aspiring to the kingdom, to have any intercourse with 
 the_ relicts of princes, of what denomination soever they were. 
 This is exemplified in the case of Adonijah, 1 Kings ii. ] 7, &c. 
 Stackhouse. 
 
 8. — Am la doe's head,"} He thought Ish-bosheth used him, 
 not as captain of the host of Israel, but as if he had been keeper 
 of his dogs. Bp. Patrick. Or else, " Am I as insignificant and 
 ^TortMess as a dog's head ?" Dr. Chandler. 
 
 9- So do God to Abner, &c.n These words shew that he 
 *?«■*, ^erj- well God had unalterably resolved to bestow the 
 kingdom of Israel upon David ; and yet his ambition led him 
 
 PalTk' ^ °^^°^ "°* °"^^ ^^^'*'^' ^"^ ^^ ^"^ Himsell". Bp. 
 
 12. — saying, niiose is the land ?! Acknowledging, by these 
 
 ^rords, that he owned David to be lord of all the roimtty, by 
 
 15 And Ish-bosheth sent, and took her (,5^0^ 
 from her husband, even from ' Phaltiel the about io4». 
 son of Laish. • ' i Sam. 
 
 16 And her husband went with her ^pl^' 
 t along weeping beliind her to Bahurira. t "«•»• 
 Then said Abner unto him. Go, return. tt^„7' 
 And he returned. 
 
 17 ^ And Abner had communication 
 with the elders of Israel, saying. Ye sought 
 
 for David t in times past to be king over you : + Heb. 
 
 18 Now then do it: for the Lord hath !;:J'.^T' 
 spoken of David, saying, By the hand of "" "«>'' 
 my servant David I will save my people ''"^' 
 Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, 
 
 and out of the hand of all their enemies. 
 
 19 And Abner also spake in the ears of 
 Benjamin : and Abner went also to speak 
 in the ears of David in Hebron all that 
 seemed good to Israel, and that seemed 
 good to the whole house of Benjamin. 
 
 20 So Abner came to David to Hebron, 
 and twenty men with him. And David 
 made Abner and the men that wei'e with 
 him a feast. 
 
 21 And Abner said unto David, I will 
 arise and go, and will gather all Israel unto 
 my lord the king, that they may make a 
 league with thee, and that thou mayest 
 reign over all that thine heart desireth. 
 And David sent Abner away ; and he went 
 in peace. 
 
 22 ^ And, behold, the servants of Da- 
 vid and Joab came from pursuing a troop, 
 and brought in a great spoil with them : 
 but Abner was not with David in Hebron ; 
 for he had sent him away, and he was gone 
 in peace. 
 
 23 When Joab and all the host that was 
 with him were come, they told Joab, say- 
 ing, Abner the son of Ner came to the 
 king, and he hath sent him away, and he 
 is gone in peace. 
 
 God's special gift. Bp. Patrick. Abner, in his behaviour on this 
 occasion, cannot be excused from a treacherous inconstancy. If 
 Saul's son had no true title to the crown, why did he maintain 
 it ? If he had, why did he forsake the cause and person ? Had 
 Abner withdrawn his hand, out of remorse for furthering a false 
 claim, I know not wherein he could be blamed, except for not 
 doing it sooner ; but now, to withdraw his professed allegiance 
 upon a private revenge, was to take a graceless leave of a bad 
 action. Bp. Hall. 
 
 1 8. — the Lord hath spoken of David, &c.] Abner knew be- 
 fore full well that God had destined the kingdom for David ; yet 
 then he was well content to smother a known truth for his own 
 turn : but now that the publication of it may turn for his ad- 
 vantage, he wins the heart of Israel, by shewing God's charter 
 for him whom he had so long opposed. Hypocrites make use of 
 God for their own purposes, and care only to make Divine au- 
 thority a colour for their own designs. Bp. Hall,
 
 'J-.
 
 k ■
 
 Jodh Jdlleth Abfier. 
 
 OH A P. III. 
 
 David mournethfor him. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 Hboiit 1048, 
 
 ' I Kings 
 J. 5. 
 Or, 
 
 . rciccaltii/. 
 
 Chap. 2. 
 
 Hcb. 
 
 Hel). 
 cut uff. 
 
 24> Then Joab came to tlie king, and 
 said, What hast thou done ? behold, Abner 
 came unto thee ; why is it that thou hast 
 sent him away, and he is quite gone ? 
 
 25 Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, 
 that he came to deceive thee, and to know 
 thy going out and thy coming in, and to 
 know all that thou doest. 
 
 26 And when Joab was come out from 
 David, he sent messengers after Abner, 
 which brought him again from the well of 
 Sirah : but David knew it not. 
 
 27 And when Abner was returned to 
 Hebron, Joab "^ took him aside in the gate 
 to speak with him || quietly, and smote him 
 there under the fiftli rib, that he died, for 
 the blood of ' Asahel his brother. 
 
 28 ^ And afterward when David heard 
 if, he said, I and my kingdom a7-e guiltless 
 before the Lord for ever from the t blood 
 of Abner the son of Ner : 
 
 29 Let it rest on the head of Joab, and 
 on all his father's house ; and let there not 
 tfail from the house of Joab one that hath 
 an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth 
 on a staff, or that falleth on the sword, or 
 that lacketh bread. 
 
 26. — the well of Sirah ;] Probably not far from Hebron : Jo- 
 sephus says, twenty furlongs from it. 
 
 27. — ill the gitle'2 As this was a publick place, where men 
 met to transact business, and tlie courts of justice sat, Abner 
 suspected no danger there. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 — smole him there — thai he died,'] Who can but glorify 
 God in His justice, when he sees the bitter end of this treacher- 
 ous dissimulation ! David might deservedly welcome a guest who 
 undertakes to bring all Israel under allegiance to himself; but 
 God never meant to use so unworthy means for so good a work. 
 Joab returns from pursuing a troop ; and, finding Abner dis- 
 missed in peace and expectation of beneficial return, follows him; 
 and, whether out of envy at a new rival of honour, or from a 
 desire of revenging Asahel, he repays him both dissimulation and 
 death. God does most justly by the hand of Joab, that which 
 Joab did for himself most unjustly. Bp. Hall. This murder of 
 Abner by Joab is allowed to be a base piece of treachery : thouoli 
 his pretence for this villanous action was to revenge the dcatli 
 of his brother Asahel, yet undoubtedly his princijjal reason was, 
 his jealousy of Abner, and his fear of losing the first post imdcr 
 the king. Dr. Chandler. How cnipt}' and ill-founded arc the 
 purposes of vain man ! Abner, who promises kingdoms, (vrr. 10,) 
 cannot secure to himself one certain hour of life. David luid 
 sent him awav, and he departed in peace; but, being called 
 back by Joab, he fell. Envy, doubtless, and jealousy of Abner's 
 merit with David, in gaining over the tribes to liim, were tlic 
 principal motives to this base action, as well as revenge for the 
 blood of Asaliel. Dr. Delaiiei/. 
 
 29. Let it rest on the head of' Joab, &c.] These, and the follow- 
 ing words, must be looked upon rather as a propiietical pre- 
 diction, than as a j>rivate imprecation ; or else, as the expres- 
 sions of violent passion, since he thought tliat the pimishment 
 for so horrid a crime could not be too severe or too lasting. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 that falleth on the sword,] That connnits suicide out of 
 
 some discontent or disturbance of mind. Dr. IVells. 
 
 31. — the bier.] The word here translated, " the bier," is iu 
 the original, " the bed," on which persons of quality were wont 
 Vol. I. 
 
 30 So Joab and Abishai his brother slew 'Scforc 
 Abner, because he had slain their brother STuuws^ 
 ^ Asahel at Gibeon in the battle. , cb»p. c. 
 
 31 f And David said to Joab, and to all 2J. 
 the people that xvere with him. Rend your 
 clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and 
 mourn before Abner. And king David 
 hiniselj' i'oWowcA the t bier. t ha. hrd. 
 
 32 And they buried Abner in Hebron : 
 and the king lifted up liis voice, and wept 
 at the grave of Abner ;' and all the people 
 wept. 
 
 33 And the king lamented over Abner, 
 and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth ? 
 
 34. Thy hands -jcere not bound, nor thy 
 feet put into fetters : as a man falleth be- 
 fore t wicked men, so fellest thou. And t h* 
 all the people wept again over him. mftT* ""^ 
 
 35 And when all the people came to 
 cause David to eat meat while it was yet 
 day, David sware, saying. So do God to 
 me, and more also, if 1 taste bread, or ought 
 else, till the sun be down. 
 
 36 And all the people took notice of it, 
 
 and it t pleased them : as whatsoever the t Heb. 
 king did pleased all the people. wnsgooc/.n 
 
 37 For all the people and all Israel un- '^"' 
 
 to be carried forth to their graves, as ordinarjr people were upon 
 that which we call a bier. Kings were sometimes carried out on 
 beds richly adorned and gilt, as Josephus tells us was the case 
 with Herod. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 S3. — Died Abner as a fool dieth ?] Died he by the hands of 
 justice for some folly or wickedness .' No such matter. Dr. ll'cUs. 
 Or, " Died he as a worthless vile fellow dieth .'" so the Hebrew 
 word properly signifies. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 The word, translated " fool," seems to signify a man of blasted 
 character or morals ; or perhaps one, who by his misdemeanor 
 has forfeited the privileges of a citizen, and rendered himself ob- 
 noxious to publick justice ; in short, " a rogue," or " felon." No 
 doubt such depravity implies /b/Ziy in the extreme; but by "fool" 
 we generally understand, not one who goes wilfully wrong, but 
 one who has a natural defect in the understanding. For this 
 reason the present passage is perhaps not properly understood in 
 general. I'lie meaning is this : David is represented as I.nnent' 
 uig over llio death oi Abner, and doing justice at once t^i tlie 
 character of tliat great general, jmd to his own innocence of any 
 share or concern in the murder. His words properly imder- 
 stood are as follow ; " Died Abner, as a felon or malefactor 
 dieth?" No, for if lie had, the circumstances of his death would 
 ha\e been different : he would h.ive been led, as such persons 
 used to be, ))ound hand and foot, to the place o{ execution. 
 But, continues the king, '" Tiiy hands were not bound, nor 
 thy feet put into fetters : as a man falleth before wicked men, 
 so fellest thou." That is, thou sufteredst not bj' a legal sentence; 
 but, as jnany good and virtuous men have done besides, thon 
 fellest by the hand of envious and ruffiarilike assassins. Dr. 
 Blaynei/. 
 
 .'>;). — came to cause David to eat meal &c.] This was a cus. 
 tomary practice among the Hebrews, whose friends were wont 
 to come, atter the funeral was over, to comfort those who had 
 buried tlicir dead, and send in provisions to make a feast ; it 
 being supposed that they tliemsclves were so sorrowfiil, as not to 
 be able to tliink of their necessary food. See Jerem. xvi. 5, T, 8 ; 
 Ezek. xxiv. 17. Bp. Patrick. See the note ou the above jwssage 
 of Jeremi^lv, 
 
 4D
 
 Jiaanah atid Rechab slay Ish-boxhetfi. II. S A M U E L. 
 
 David causeth them to be slain. 
 
 Drf"" derstood that day that it was not of the 
 ".r/c^ king to slay Abner the son of Ner. 
 
 y8 And the king said unto his servants, 
 Know ye not that there is a prince and a 
 great man fallen this day in Israel ? 
 
 S9 And I am this day t weak, though 
 anointed king ; and these men the sons of 
 Zeniiah l>€ too hard tor me : the Lord shall 
 reward the doer of evil according to his 
 
 c 
 
 .ibOBt 
 
 t Hfb. 
 
 lendrr. 
 
 wickedness. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 
 1 The Israelites being troubled at the death of Aimer, 
 2 Baanah and Rechab slay Ish-bosheth, and bring liis 
 head to Hebron. 9 David causeth them to be slain, 
 and Ish-bo.sheth's head to be buried. 
 
 AND when Saul's son heard that Abner 
 was dead in Hebron, his hands were 
 feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled. 
 
 '2 And Saul's son had two men that v.ere 
 captains of bands : the name of the one 
 was Baanah, and the name of the t other 
 Rechab, the sons of llimmon a Beerothite, 
 of the children of Benjamin : (for Beeroth 
 also was reckoned to Benjamin : 
 
 3 And tlie Beerothites fled to Gittaim, 
 and were sojourners there until this day.) 
 
 'I- And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son 
 that icas lame of his feet. He was five 
 years old when the tidings came of Saul 
 and .Jonathan out of Jczreel, and his nurse 
 took him up, and fled : and it came to pass, 
 as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and 
 became lame. And his name ivas Mephi- 
 bosheth. 
 
 5 And the sons of Rimmon the Beeroth- 
 
 38. — there is a prince and a great man fallen'} The fall of a 
 great m.in like Abner niiist inspire every mind with grave and 
 serious reflections. A great man fallen ! and fallen by so unex- 
 pected and so surprising a treachery, and in the very moment of 
 his returning to his duty, and in the juncture of a great revolu- 
 tion, seemingly depending on his fate ; but then this great man 
 sported with tlie hves of his brethren, and perhaps deliberately 
 opposeil himself to the dictates of his known duty to God, for a 
 series of years. It is true, Abner was now returned to his duty; 
 but it is as true, tliat he returned to it now, as he departed from 
 it before, upon a pique, and from motives of ambition, interest, 
 and revenge. He well knew the purposes and declarations of 
 Got! in relation to David, and yet he deliberately opposed him- 
 self to them. And it is but just in the appointments of Provi- 
 dence, (and nothing is more conspicuous in His government of 
 the world,) not to permit tlie wicked to effect that good from 
 wrong motives, which they once obstructed from the same mo- 
 tives. The occasions of duty, once notoriously neglected, seldom 
 return, at least to equal advantage. Let no man decline the good 
 that IS within his power; if he once does so, he is no more worthy 
 •f ^^*»e happy instrument of effecting it in the hand of God. 
 Dr. Dtlanei/. 
 
 • L?~^""*"'"<'''.V'ifa*,&c.] That is, he was not so established 
 in his new kingdom, as to deem it prudent to punish Joab and Abi- 
 ehai.jn the manner they deserved, Tor so base a fact. Dr. Wells. 
 
 Before 
 
 cnuisT 
 
 ite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came 
 
 about the heat of the day to the house of rbo'ut"io48, 
 
 Ish-bosheth, who lay on a bed at noon. 
 
 () And they came thither into the midst 
 of the house, as thoitgli they would have 
 fetched wheat ; and they smote him under 
 the fifth rib : and Rechab antl Baanah his 
 brother escaped. 
 
 7 For when they came into the house, 
 he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and 
 they smote him, and slew him, and be- 
 headed him, and took his head, and gat 
 them away through the plain all night. 
 
 8 And they brought the head of Ish- 
 bosheth unto David to Hebron, and said 
 to the king. Behold the head of Ish-bosli- 
 eth the son of Saul thine enemy, whicli 
 sought thy life ; and the Lord hath aveng- 
 ed my lord the king this day of Saul, and 
 of his seed. 
 
 9 IF And David answered Rechab and 
 Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon 
 the Beerothite, and said unto them. As 
 the Lord liveth, who hath redeemed my 
 soul out of all adversity, 
 
 10 When ^one told me, saying. Behold, 
 Saul is dead, t thinking to have brought 
 good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew 
 him in Ziklag, 11 who thought that I would 
 have given him a reward for his tidings : 
 
 11 How much more, when wicked men 
 have slain a righteous person in his own 
 house upon his bed ? shall I not therefore jir'his'rid- 
 now require his blood of your hand, and "'s' 
 take you away from the earth? 
 
 i 
 
 ' Oiap. I. 
 I.'). 
 
 t Htb. 
 he ivas in 
 his mm ei/es 
 as a hrin2ei\ 
 .Sec. 
 
 II O'. 
 H'/iic/< was 
 the reward 
 J "avr. him 
 
 12 And David commanded his 
 
 young 
 
 Chap. IV. ver. l. — his hands mere feeble,"^ He despaired of 
 his cause, knew that he had no strength to sH])port his interest, 
 and gave up all for lost. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 2. — of the children of Benjamin r^ It is specially mentioned 
 that Rechab and Baanah were Benjamitc?, because, being of the 
 same tribe with Saul, they had stronger ties upon them to be ho- 
 nest and faithful to his family. It is thus shewn more fully how 
 vile and ungrateful they were, and how justly they deserved the 
 severe but exemplary punishment which David inflicted on them. 
 Stachhouse. 
 
 for Beeroth also &c.]] Though this place was now in the 
 
 hands of the Philistines, yet it belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, 
 Josh, xviii. 25. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — who lay on a bed at noon."] As the custom was, and still 
 continues to be, in all hot climates. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 6. — as though tliri/ would have fetched nheat /^ In the He- 
 brew, "carrying wheat:" which they either brought into the 
 king's granaries for the use of his household ; or carried forth for 
 the supply of the soldiers, who were maintained at the king's 
 charge. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — through the plain'] The flat country between Mahanaim 
 and Hebron. 
 
 12. And David commanded his young men, Sec] The behaviour 
 of David on this occasion is well worthy of attention. It is a 
 proof of his virtue and integrity, and of his detestation and abhor-
 
 David anointed Icin^ oifer Israel. 
 
 CHAP. IV, V. 
 
 He taheth Zionfrom the Jebtisites. 
 
 Before meti, and they slew them, and cut off their 
 
 ^^uo48. hands and their feet, and hanged them up 
 
 over the pool in Hebron. But they took 
 
 the head of Ish-bosheth, and buried it in 
 
 • Chap. 3. the " sepulchre of Abner in Hebron. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 1 The Irihes come to Hebron to anoint David over Israel. 
 4 David's age. 6 He taking Zionfrom the Jebtisites 
 dwelleth in it. 11 Hiram sendeth to David. 13 Ele- 
 ven sons are born to him in Jerusalem. 1 7 David, di- 
 rected by God, smiteth the Philistines at Baal-perazim, 
 22 and again at the mulberry trees. 
 
 THEN * came all the tribes of Israel to 
 David unto Hebron, and spake, say- 
 ing, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. 
 
 2 Also in time past, when Saul was king 
 over us, thou wast he that leddest out and 
 broughtest in Israel : and tiie Lord said 
 to thee, ^ Thou shalt feed my people Is- 
 rael, and thou shalt be a captain over Is- 
 rael. 
 
 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the 
 king to Hebron ; and king David made a 
 league with them in Hebron before the 
 LoHD : and they anointed David king over 
 Israel. 
 
 ■ I Chron. 
 
 n. 1. 
 
 ■ l'»a!. 78. 
 
 71. 
 
 rciKe of treachery and cruelty, when, instead of approving and 
 rewarding those who had killed their king Ish-bosheth, as they 
 e.Kpected, he put them to death, though the death of that prince 
 secured tlie kingdom to him. This teaches us in general, that we 
 ought, not only to do no hurt to oiu- enemies, but also that we 
 ought in no instance to countenance injustice and vice in any de- 
 gree, whatever advantage we may derive from them. Ostervald. 
 
 cut off their hands and their feet,'\ It is still the custom 
 
 in Turkey, when the ministers of state incur the displeasure of 
 the people, to cut off their hands, head, and feet, and throw them 
 before the palace gate. Thus were the sons of Rimmon served 
 tor slaying Ish-bosheth. Harmer. 
 
 hanged them up over the jmoF] As a publick mark of 
 
 greater ignominy, and of David's strong detestation of what they 
 had done. Dr. Wells. David's behaviour in this treatment of 
 the murderers of Ish-bosheth was highly commendable, not only 
 us it was an act of justice in itself, but as it ptiblickly de- 
 clared that he would never be served by treacherj' and murder, 
 nor ever forgive sucii crimes, however tlic pretence for commit- 
 ting them might be for his own interest and service. The con- 
 ic*-n he expressed for tlie death of Ish-bosheth, especially for the 
 manner of it, " in his own house upon his bed," argued humanity 
 and honour, and an utter abhorrence of villains and their crimes. 
 Dr. Chojidler. 
 
 CJiap. V. ver. 1.— ive are thj/ bone and thy flesh."] Meaning, 
 that they were of the same blootl with him, bemg descended from 
 their common I'athcr, Israel ; and that he was tiierefore qualified 
 by tiie law of God, Deut. xvii. 15, to be their king. Bp. Pal rich. 
 
 •2. — Thou shalt feed nii/ people Israel.] This e.xpre.ssion seems 
 rather made use of, to put David in mind tliat he was created a 
 king, not so much for the advancement of his own honour ;ind in- 
 terest, a.s for the good and benefit of the community, which he 
 Wiui to rule with all tenderness, and watcli over witliall diligence, 
 riie very iii;uuier of the expression implies, that kings ought to 
 have tiie .same care of their people, a.s the shephertl lias of his 
 flock ; and th.it, as tlie shepherd is not the owner of the sheep he 
 '.•ep.«, so should a king consider his subjects as a flock commit- 
 
 4 ^ David was thirty years old when he 
 began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 
 
 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah " se- 
 ven years and six months : and in Jerusa- 
 lem he reigned thirty and three years over 
 all Israel and Judah. 
 
 6 ^ And the king and his men went to 
 Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabit- 
 ants of the land : which spake unto David, 
 saying. Except thou take away the bUnd 
 and the lame, thou shalt not come in hi- 
 ther : II thinking, David cannot come in 
 hither. 
 
 7 Nevertheless David took the strong 
 hold of Zion : the same is the city of Da- 
 vid. 
 
 8 And David said on that day, Whoso- 
 ever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth 
 the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, 
 that are hated of David's soul, "^ he shall he 
 chief and captain. \\ Wherefore they said. 
 The blind and the lame shall not come in- 
 to the house. 
 
 9 So David dwelt in the fort, and called 
 it the city of David. And David built 
 round about from Millo and inward. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 atwiit 1043. 
 
 ' Chap. 2. 
 11. 
 
 B Or, 
 
 snyinf^t Dti- 
 vid shnlt 
 not, &c. 
 
 " 1 Chroo. 
 11. G. 
 II Or, 
 Because 
 they bad 
 snid, aea 
 the blind 
 and the 
 lame. He 
 shall not 
 come int9 
 the house. 
 
 ted to his care by the only true Lord of mankind, to whom he 
 must give an account of his administration. Stac/c/iouse. 
 
 This is the first time that we meet with any description of a 
 ruler or governour of a people characterized under the idea of a 
 shepherd ; and it is remarkable, that the first person so character- 
 ized was at first in fact a shepherd. How fine an instruction doei 
 this expression convey to princes, that they are not, in the inten- 
 tion of Providence, the tyrants, but the guardians of their people ; 
 and that their business is the preservation and well-being of their 
 flock, from the duty which they owe to the great Lord and Owner 
 of both ! Dr. Delaney. 
 
 6. — Except thou take atvay the blind and the lame,"] This is 
 said by way of scorn and contempt : they imagined their fortress 
 to be so impregnable, that they told him the blind and the lame 
 were able to defend it against him and all his forces. Bp. Patrick, 
 Drs. IVells and Chandler. 
 
 8. — Whosoever getteth up &C.3 There is some uncertainty .i.*' 
 to the construction of this sentence. Tiie words, " he shall be 
 chief and captain," are supplied in our translation from the ac- 
 count of the same event at 1 Chron. xi. 6. The words of tiie ori- 
 ginal Hebrew, when taken in their order, admit of the following 
 sense: " He that smiteth tlie Jebusites, let him throw down into 
 the ditch both the blind and the lame, which David extiemely 
 hates;" which seems a preferable sense to that of our translation. 
 Bp. Patrick, Bocharl. They were hated by David, not only as 
 being Jebusites, a people accursed of God, but also .-us possessing 
 a place which David knew to be designed lor God's solemn woi-. 
 ship, and as having insolently defied tiie annies of Israel. Poolr. 
 
 Wlwrefore they said,] Here the reading of the margin is 
 
 the best ; according to which, '• the house " means the very fort 
 w Inch the Jebusites held. Bp. Patrick, Pyle, Dr. Wells. 
 
 (). — from Millo] From the place where Solomon afterward.* 
 built Millo; for it appears from 1 Kings ix. 15, that it was not 
 built till Solomon's reign. Respecting Millo. see note at Judg. ix.6. 
 It W.1S probably a house for publick aflairs ; that is, where those, 
 who formed the chief assembly in a country or city, met together 
 to consult of publick affairs. To this sense agrees Judg. ix. 6,where 
 the word first occurs, as also 2 Kings xii. 20. It may further ba 
 
 4D2
 
 Hiram sendelh lo David. 
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 The Philistines are smitten. 
 
 Bafore 
 CHIIIST 
 
 ahout 10^!^. 
 
 t Hell. 
 
 and gr-m- 
 
 alnut lfM3. 
 • 1 Clirun. 
 M. I. 
 t lltb. 
 iit-ucrs n/' 
 
 tkf iii'Wf* o/' 
 
 the u(ilt. 
 
 ' I Chroiu 
 a 9. 
 
 * 1 Chron. 
 ±5. 
 
 » I Chron. 
 II. IG. & 
 H. h. 
 iai7. 
 
 10 And David t went on, and grew 
 o-reat, and the Lord God of hosts was with 
 
 him. ^ 
 
 11 ^ And • Hiram king ot Tyre sent 
 messengers to David, and cedar trees, and 
 carpenters, and t masons : and tliey built 
 David an house. 
 
 1 '2 And David perceived that the Lord 
 liad established him king over Israel, and 
 that he had exalted his kingdom for his 
 people Israel's sake. 
 
 13 if And ' Da\ id took fiim more concu- 
 bines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he 
 was come from Hebron : and there were 
 yet sons and daughters born to David. 
 
 14 And ^ these he tlie names of those 
 that were born unto him in Jerusalem ; 
 Shammuah, and Shobab, and Nathan, and 
 Solomon, 
 
 \5 Ibhar also, and Elishua, and Nepheg, 
 and Japhia, 
 
 16 And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eli- 
 pliaict. 
 
 17 ^ " But when the Philistines heard 
 that they had anointed David king over 
 Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek 
 David; and David heard (yfit, and went 
 down to the hold. 
 
 18 The Philistines also came and spread 
 themselves in the valley of Rephaim. 
 
 10 And David enquired of the Lord, 
 .•i.iying. Shall I go up to the Philistines ? 
 wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? 
 
 inferretl from 2 Chron. xxxii. .";, that this publick house of state, 
 which Millo was, wa*. also a sort of armoury, or at least a place 
 of more than ordinai-y strength ; for it is mentioned, that among 
 the means used by Hezekiah to fortify Jerusalem against Sen- 
 nacherib, was the rejwiring of Millo. Dr. Wells. Millo was pro- 
 bably situated on the cast side of mount Zion, and separated it 
 from moimt Moriah, on wliich the temple stood. Bp. Pocockc. 
 
 10. And DavUl went on, and grew great,'} This happy conclu- 
 sion of all David's troubles shews us, that God is ever faitliful to 
 His promises ; that, thoucjh He defers the completion of them. He 
 never fails in the execution, but always delivers those whom He 
 loves; and that, after He has made His children pass through di- 
 vers trials, He at length grants tliem the rest and prosperity He had 
 promised them. Let us learn from hence to resign oiu-selvcs into 
 the hand of Providence, and faitlifuUy to discharge our duty to- 
 wards Him, being fully assured tliat, as He was vigilant for the 
 welfare and happiness of David, so He will always be towai'ds His 
 faithful and obetlient .servants. Ostervald. 
 
 13. — David touk him more concubines and tvives} David ap- 
 pears to have Uken this great number of wives and concubines 
 principally for two reasons, from the desire of issue, and from mo- 
 tives of policy. He had no child by either of his wives, Michal, 
 Aliinoam, or Abigail, for several years. He knew of what im- 
 porumce the mcrease of liis family would be to his establishment 
 on the Oiroue. God had promised to establish the kingdom, not 
 onij m his own person, but in that of his posterity ; and for the 
 purpose of procuring the fulfilment of this promise, he adopted 
 tne most probable means of procuring children. Policy, again, 
 required David to strengthen fiis unsettled state by new aUiaSces 
 
 Before 
 
 CHUIST 
 
 1047. 
 
 ' Isai. 2S. 
 'Jl. 
 
 II That is. 
 The plain 
 of brcacttes. 
 I" 1 Chron. 
 14. 12. 
 
 II Or. 
 look them 
 atcny. 
 
 And the Lord said unto David, Go up : 
 lor 1 will doubtless deliver the Philistines 
 into thine hand. 
 
 ^20 And David came to ' Baal-perazim, 
 and David smote them there, and said. 
 The Lord hath broken tbrtli upon mine 
 enemies before me, as the breach of wa- 
 ters. Therefore he called the name of 
 that place 11 Baal-perazim. 
 
 ^1 And there they left their images, and 
 David and his men "^ II burned them. 
 
 'i'Z ^ And the Philistines came up yet 
 again, and spread themselves in the vaUev 
 of Rephaim. 
 
 23 And when David enquired of the 
 Lord, he said. Thou shalt not go up ; bi/l 
 fetch a compass behind them, and come 
 upon them over against the mulberry trees. 
 
 24( And let it be, when thou hearest the 
 sound of a going in the tops of the mul- 
 berry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thy- 
 self: for then shall the Lord go out before 
 thee, to smite the host of the Philistines. 
 
 25 And David did so, as tlie Lord had 
 commanded him ; and smote the Philistines 
 from Geba until thou come to Gazer. 
 
 CHAP. VL 
 
 1 David fctchelh tlie ark from Kirjath-jeariin on a nctf 
 cart. 6 Uzzak is smillen at Perez-uzza/u Q God 
 blesselh Obed-edom for the ark. 12 David bringing 
 the ark into Zion with sacrifices, dancelk before it, for 
 which Michal dcgpiseth him. 17 He placelh it in a 
 
 and no more effectual method of attaining this end presented it- 
 self, than by forming matrimonial connexions with persons of the 
 greatest power and credit in the country. Tliesc considerations 
 prevent our viewing David's pol}'gamy as proceeding from li- 
 centiousness, but rather place it on grounds of prudence, and, as 
 some think, of pietj'. Still his conduct may justly be considered 
 as proceeding from too w^orldly an intention of bringing the pur- 
 poses and promises of God in his favour to a full and timely ac- 
 complishment. Dr. Delanci/. 
 
 there mere i/et sons &e.] It was considered matter of po- 
 licy in princes to have many children, that, by matching them 
 into great families, they might strengtiien their interest, and liave 
 more supporters of their authority, Jip. Patrick. 
 
 17. — to the hold.'J " To a hold" or strong place. 
 
 18. — the valleif o/' Rephaim.} Which, at Josh. xv. 8, we trans- 
 late the valley t>f the giants, lying not far from Jerusalem. The 
 road from Jerusalem to Beth-lehem,as Mr. Maundrell informs us, 
 lies through this valley, famous for being the scene of several vic- 
 tories obtained by David over the Philistines. Dr. Wells. 
 
 21. — their imngcs,~\ AVhich they had brought into the field, 
 to be carried before their armies, as a token of the presence of 
 their gods among them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 24. — the sound of a going in the tops Sec.} A sound in the 
 mulberry trees, as a signal of David's going against the enemy. 
 Pi/le. Or it may be rendered, A sound in the beginning of the 
 mulberry trees ; tliat is, in the entrance of the place where tlie 
 mulberry trees are planted, God intending to make there a sound, 
 as if a vast number of men were marching upon the Philistir\es. 
 Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells.
 
 
 I
 
 I'he arh fetched from Kirjath-jearim. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Uzzah is smitten. 
 
 ' 1 Clirou. 
 
 13.5, e. 
 
 Before tabernacle with great jotf and feasting. 20 Micltal 
 
 *r^^?/->^J reproving David for his rdigious joy is childless to 
 about 10-12. 1 J ,1 ■' "' 
 
 her death. 
 
 AGAIN, David gathered together all the 
 chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 
 
 2 And ^ David arose, and went with all 
 the people that "were with him from Baale 
 of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark 
 
 11 o^. of God, II whose name is called by the 
 n^meX^ien naHic of the LoRD of hosts that dwelleth 
 ''f^Y'^^vf betweefi the cherubims. 
 
 3 And they t set the ark of God upon a 
 new cart, and brought it out of the house 
 of Abinadab that zcas in || Gibeah: and 
 Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, 
 drave the new cart. 
 
 4 And they brought it out of '' the house 
 of Abinadab which V-'as at Gibeah, t ac- 
 companying the ark of God: and Ahio 
 went before the ark. 
 
 5 And David and all the house of Israel 
 played before the Lord on all manner of 
 instruments made qfftr wood, even on harps. 
 
 ofhusts was 
 called itpitn. 
 t Heb. 
 mad^ la 
 ride. 
 11 Or, 
 the hilt. 
 
 ' 1 Sam. 7. 
 
 2. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 with. 
 
 Chap. VI. ver. 2. — David — went with all the people"] The 
 reason why David summoned so many of his principal ministers 
 and officers to accompany him in the expedition probably was, 
 to possess the young people, who perhaps had heard nothing of 
 the ark, on account of its long absence, with a mighty veneration 
 for it, when they saw the king, and so many of the chief nobihty 
 waiting on it, with such variety of musick, and such publick de- 
 monstrations of joy. Stack-house. During all the preceding pe- 
 riods of the Hebrew republick, the ark had no settled or fixed 
 habitation, but removed from place to place, as convenience or 
 necessity required. In this imsettlcd state of things, many great 
 inconveniences must have arisen, and many important solemnities 
 of the national religion must have been neglected. The honour 
 of making the necessary settlement, and thereby perfecting the 
 ceremonial of the Hebrew worship, was reserved for David, who, 
 having taken Jerusalem, and adorned it with magnificent build- 
 ings, immediately formed the design of transferring the ark of God 
 into it, that this emblem of God's immediate presence might be 
 perpetually near him, and that the affairs in general of the whole 
 kingdom relating to religion and justice might be conducted for 
 the future with regularity, order, and dignity. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 frotn Baale ofjiidah,] Which is the same with Kirjath- 
 jearim, 1 Chron. xiii. 6"; called also Kirjath-baal, Josh. xv. 60; 
 hence Baalah, Josh. xv. 9, and Baale, of Judah, or belonging ta 
 that tribe. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — upon a ?ieti! carl,] It had been expressly commanded 
 that the ark should be carried on the shoulders of the Kohathites, 
 Numb. vii. Q. They seem to have acted on the present occasion 
 from forgetfulness; perhaps inadvertently following the example 
 of the Philistines, who had put the ark of God in the same man- 
 ner, in a new cart, 1 Sam. vi. 7, 8. Bp. Patrick. The word " cart" 
 in our translation conveys a degrading idea; it was probably a 
 magnificent carriage provided by David. Dr. Chandler. This re- 
 markable case shews how dangerous it is to follow good inten- 
 tions, and do any thing in God's service without His express 
 word; a consideration worthy of the attention of all self-called 
 labourers in the vineyard: the instance of Uzzah, ver. 7, also 
 proves, that sins of ignorance are punishable, where the errour is 
 not invincible. Dr. Hales. 
 
 6. — fur the oxen .tliook it.] Or " stumbled," as in our marginal 
 translation : it is probable, that, by some accident occurring to 
 the oxen which drew tlie ark, it was in danger of being over- 
 turned. Bp. Patrick, 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1042. 
 
 * 1 Chron. 
 13. 9. 
 
 H Or, 
 
 stumlled. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 rus/iTi<st. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 brfjkeri' 
 
 II That is. 
 The /.reach 
 
 and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on 
 cornets, and on cymbals. 
 
 6 f And ' when they came to Nachon's 
 threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to 
 the ark of God, and took hold of it; for 
 the oxen || shook it. 
 
 7 And the anger of the Lord was kin- 
 dled against Uzzah; and God smote him 
 there for his \\ error; and there he died by 
 the ark of God. 
 
 8 And David was displeased, because 
 the Lord had t made a breach upon Uz- 
 zah: and he called the name of the place 
 II Perez-uzzah to this day. 
 
 9 And David was afraid of the Lord 
 that day, and said. How shall the ark of 
 the Lord come to me ? 
 
 10 So David would not remove the ark 
 of the Lord unto him into tlie city of Da- 
 vid: buj; David carried it aside into the 
 house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 
 
 1 1 And the ark of the Lord continued 
 in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite 
 
 7. — smote him there for his error;] Or, for /us rashness, in 
 touching the ark: his erroiir consisted, 1st, in not carrjing the ark 
 upon his shoulders, together with his brethren. 2dly, in touch- 
 ing it, which he ought not so much as to have seen: the priests 
 were to cover it, and the Levitcs to take hold of the staves, for 
 the purpose of carrying it, Numb. iv. 15, (Uzzah was a Levite, 
 being the brother of Eleazar, who was consecrated to the office 
 of a Levite, 1 Sam. vii. 1,) but, principally, in wanting faitli in 
 God, who, he ought to have known, was able to support His ark 
 without human help. Bp. Patrick. The ark at this time had con- 
 tinued so long in obscurity, that the people had in a manner lost 
 all sense of a Divine power residing in it, and approached it with 
 irreverence. What wonder then if God, intending to testify His 
 immediate presence with the ark, to retrieve the ancient honour 
 of that sacred vessel, and to curb all licentious profanations of 
 it for the future, should single out one, the most culpable aC 
 all, to be a monument of His displeasure, against either wilful 
 ignorance, or a rude contempt of His precepts: that thus He 
 might inspire both priests and people with a sacred dread of 
 His majesty, and a profound veneration for His mysteries. 
 Stackhoiise. 
 
 Although it was the office of the Kohathites of the tribe of Levi 
 to carry the ark upon their shoulders. Numb. vii. 9; 2 Chron. 
 XXXV. 3; yet it was death for them to touch it, Nimtib. iv. 1.5. 
 Uzzah therefore, although he was probably a Levite, acted con- 
 trary to an express law in touching the ark. His crime seems 
 to have been the greater, after what had happened to the Beth- 
 shemites for looking into the ark, 1 Sam. vi. 19. Indeed the 
 conveying of the ark in a cart, instead of on men's shoulders, 
 was doubtless a fault: and David seems to own this by the 
 manner in which he ordered it to be carried from the house 
 of Obed-edom, 1 Chron. xv. And wlicn it is said, 2 Sam. vi. S, 
 that " David was displeased" at what befell Uzz;ih ; it means, ac- 
 cording to the Greek Version, he was afflicted, or dismayed and 
 terrified: which seems to agree with what follows, that he 
 would not then venture to carry the ark to his own habitation. 
 Upon the whole, all the company being guilty, it was great 
 clemency in God to punish only the most criminal. Dr. John 
 Ward. 
 
 8. — ivas displeased,] Was afflicted and struck with this ex- 
 emplary judgment. Pifle. 
 
 a breach upon Uzzah:] A breaking forth of the Divine 
 
 anger upon Uzzah. Dr. Wetls. '
 
 David bringeth the ark into Zion. 
 
 II. SAMUEL. Michal reproveth him for his religioitsjoy. 
 
 B«r"n' three months: and the Lord blessed Obed- 
 fbl^iniH-I cdoin, and all his houshold. 
 
 VI IF And it was told king David, say- 
 ing. The Lord hath blessed the house of 
 Obed-edoin, and all that pertaincth unto 
 *\ chron. \^\m, because of the ark of God. '' So Da- 
 "■'^' vid went and brought up the ark of God 
 from the house of Obed-edom into the city 
 of David with gladness. 
 
 13 And it was so, that when they that 
 bare the ark of the Loud had gone six 
 paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. 
 
 14 And David danced before the Lord 
 with all his might; and David 'dias girded 
 with a linen ephod. 
 
 15 So David and all the house of Israel 
 brought up the ark of the Lord with shout- 
 ing, and with the sound of the trumpet. 
 
 16 And as the ark of the Lord came in- 
 to the city of David, Michal Saul's daugh- 
 ter looked through a window, and saw 
 king David leaping and dancing before the 
 Lord; and she despised him in her heart. 
 
 17 ^ And they brought in the ark of the 
 Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst 
 
 t Hti). of tlie tabernacle that David had t pitch- 
 ""'""'■ ed for it: and David offered burnt offer- 
 ings and peace ofierings before the Lord. 
 
 13. — he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.'] As a thanksgiving to 
 God for the hope now afforded, that His former displeasure re- 
 specting tlie removal of the ark had ceased, and they might bring 
 it s.ife to Jerusalem without a similar disaster. Dr. Wells. The 
 Hebrew word, translated /a//iMirf, is of uncertain sense: some take 
 it for a ram or lamb: Bochart thinks it means a kind of bullock. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1'*- — David na3 girded with a linen ephod."} He was so clothed 
 on this solemnity, both out of reverence to God, and for conve- 
 nience, as his royal robes were too cumbersome. Dr. Chandler. 
 He laid aside his royal majesty and dress, as being in the imme- 
 diate presence of God. Grotius. 
 
 15. — trtlh shouting, and trith the sound of the trumpet.'] It is 
 no wondrr that David and his people should be transported with 
 joy at this great event, as they could not but consider themselves 
 arrived at that liappy period, when all tlie affairs of religion and 
 poveniincnt were to be placed on a durable foundation. These 
 things heighten the glory of David's reign, shew him to be " a 
 man after God's own heart," every way fitted for the purpose, for 
 which he w?.s exalted; demonstrate the piety and goodness of his 
 heart, and clothe him with a glory, in which no prince could ever 
 rival or equal him. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 I ri. — saw iing David leaping and dancing'} It was customary 
 among the Greeks and other nations, to use musick and dancing 
 m religious processions. .\nd it does not appear that David's be- 
 iiaviour on this occasion was .-my dispaiagement of his royal dig- 
 nity. His dancing (by whidi is meant, his moving to certain se- 
 rious an<l solemn measures, with musick of the same character .wd 
 tendency) was an e.xercise highly conducive to purposes of piety • 
 and his mixing with the publick festivities of his people was a 
 condescension not unbecoming the greatest monarch. Slackhouse. 
 , "TI- d<.:<tp,scd him ut her heart.'] Imagining that he de- 
 im"!'™^"' ^y ^".PPi"8 himself of the onL,e,fts of majesty. 
 
 »"^^<lancirig among tlie en 
 'toil' glorious Sic_^ 
 and contempt "" Bp. Patric/i. 
 
 u.m uuncing among the common people. Bp. Patrick 
 
 *>f drriTn i^'"™"* ^"^^ '^'^'^ "''^ *Pf'^=* ironicaUv, by way 
 M atrision and contomnt R„ n„t..;„i. •' ^ •' 
 
 18 And as soon as David had made an f.^f^^l.J. 
 end of offering burnt offerings and peace about 1042. 
 offerings, ' he blessed the people in the ' i chron. 
 name of the Lord of hosts. '^- ^• 
 
 19 And he dealt among all the people, 
 even among the whole multitude of Israel, 
 as well to the women as men, to every one 
 a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, 
 and a flagon qficine. So all the people de- 
 parted every one to his house. 
 
 •20 % Then David returned to bless his »i>out 1012. 
 houshold. And Michal the daughter of 
 Saul came out to meet David, and said. 
 How glorious was the king of Israel to 
 day, who uncovered himself to day in the 
 eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as 
 one of the vain fellows |! shamelessly unco- U *'■■■ 
 vereth himself! "rent/. 
 
 21 And David said unto Michal, It was 
 before the Lord, which chose ine before 
 thy father, and before all his house, to ap- 
 point me ruler over the people of the Lord, 
 over Israel: therefore will I play before 
 the Lord. 
 
 22 And I will yet be more vile than 
 
 thus, and will be base in mine own sight: Iftu'ehnnd' 
 and II of the maidservants which thou hast """''^ "f 
 spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour, "int^' 
 
 ss one of the vain fellon\i] The haughty woman in the 
 
 contemjjt of her heart calls the Levites, the bearers of the ark, 
 " vain I'ellows," rather, "empty, low, worthless jjeople;" and li- 
 kens David to them, because he discovered himself as they disco- 
 vered themselves; that is, appeared in the same habit, and played 
 ami danced just as they did. Dr. Chandler. She, probably, in a 
 fit of passion, aggravates David's conduct as mean and below 
 himself, intimating that he immodestly exjjoscd himself as shame- 
 less fellows do, which is very incredible; for, no doubt, he kept 
 within the rules of modesty, being employed updh a sacred busi- 
 ness, and obeying the command of Cod, who required the Israel- 
 ites to rejoice in their feasts, Deut. xii. 7; xvi. 11. Bp. Patrick. 
 Though his putting off his royal robes might give some occasion 
 to Michal's expression of his " uncovering himself," yet this op- 
 probrious term proceeded from nothing but the overflowing spleen 
 of a proud passionate woman. Stnckhoiise. 
 
 22. — / vill t/et be more vile Sec] He intimates, that he tliinks 
 nothing too mean for him to stooj) to, provided he did honour to 
 God; and that the more he humbled himself for that purjiose, 
 the more he would be honoured and esteemed by the people. Dr. 
 IVelU. 
 
 The vile insinuated reproach was absolutely false, and D.ivitl 
 knew that all his peojjle knew it to be so. Therefore he gave 
 himself no trouble to refute it; but barely contented himself with 
 retorting the only truth contained in it, that is, his having unco- 
 vered or disrobed himself of his royalty, allowing that he had so 
 done, but affirming that it w.as for the honour of God. His an- 
 swer was truly worthy a great king, who knew so well haw to 
 unite the hiunility of a saint with the majesty of a monarch. Dr. 
 Dclaneij. 
 
 and of the maidservants &c.] The more he humbled him- 
 self to do honour to God, the more, he Avas confident, he should 
 be had in honour by the people; the esteem of the meanest of 
 whom he more valued than I'tiy praises Michal might bestow, 
 for taking state upon him and neglecting God's service. Bp. Pq' 
 trick.
 
 David is forbidden 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 to build God an house. 
 
 ' 1 ChroD. 
 17. 2. 
 
 chr7st ^^ Therefore Michal the daughter of 
 1042. Saul had no child until the day of her death. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 1 Nalhan first approving the purpose of David to hiiild 
 God an house, 4 after hy the word of' God forbiddeth 
 him. 12 He promisclh him benefits and blessings in 
 his seed. 1 8 David's prayer and thanksgiving. 
 
 AND it came to pass, ' when the king 
 sat in his house, and the Lord had 
 given him rest round about from all his 
 enemies ; 
 
 2 That the king said unto Nathan the 
 prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of 
 cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within 
 curtains. 
 
 3 And Nathan said to the king. Go, do 
 all that is in thine heart ; for the Lord is 
 with thee. 
 
 4 % And it came to pass that night, that 
 the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, 
 saying, 
 
 f Heb. 5 Go and tell t my servant David, Thus 
 
 Wnf/tr saith the Lord, Slialt thou build me an 
 David. house for me to dwell in ? 
 
 6 "Whereas I have not dwelt in any house 
 since the time that I brought up the chil- 
 dren of Israel out of Egypt, even to this 
 day, but have walked in a tent and in a 
 tabernacle. 
 
 7 In all the places wherein I have walk- 
 ed with all the children of Israel spake I 
 
 II 1 Chron. a word with || any of the tribes of Israel, 
 Ifi'L""^ whom I commanded to feed my people Is- 
 judges. rael, saying. Why build ye not me an house 
 of cedar ? 
 
 1 23. — had no chilfF] Either David resented this usage so far 
 
 j as to forsake her bed, or this was a judgment sent upon her for 
 I her insolence. Pyle. 
 
 Chap. VII. ver. 2. — See now, I dwell &C.3 Like a religions 
 : prince, David spent much of his time in pious meditations ; and, 
 I among other things, reflected on the meanness of God's habita- 
 tion, in comparison with the splendour of his own palace. This 
 I he thought ought not to be endured, and therefore resolved to 
 I build a stately house for God's ark to dwell in. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The pious intention of David to build a temple, as soon as he 
 was placed in peaceable possession of the kingdom, teaches us, 
 that we should shew more zeal for the honour of God than for 
 our own private interest ; and that the best use we can make of 
 the goods and advantages which God bestows upon us, is to em- 
 ploy them for His service and glory. Oslervald. 
 
 a. — Shalt thou build me an house'] That is, How canst thou 
 design to build me an house .' It is intended as a reproof for his 
 forwardness in making a vow to this effect, without asking God's 
 consent. Dr. Wells. 
 
 13. — / ivill stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.] These 
 vords in their primary sense relate to the terrestrial kingdom of 
 David's family, and the long duration of it, enough to justify the 
 expression " for ever," taken in a less strict signification. But if 
 we take it in a more sublime and absolute sense, it can belong to 
 none but that Son of David, to whom God the Father gave an 
 
 Kings 
 . 5. & G. 
 
 8 Now therefore so shalt thou say unto ruitilT 
 my servant David, Thus saith the Loud of jo4i 
 hosts, " I took thee from the sheepcote, » i s»m. 
 
 t from following the sheep, to be ruler L'^'" 
 
 , <^ T ,' ' PsaL 78.70 
 
 over my people, over Israel : t Hei>. 
 
 9 And I was with thee whithersoever -''"'" ''-'^'^■ 
 thou wentest, and have cut off all thine 
 enemies t out of thy sight, and have made t Heb. 
 thee a great name, like unto the name ot'-^J^'^^^" 
 the great 77ie)i that ore in the earth. 
 
 10 Moreover I will appoint a place for 
 my people Israel, and will plant them, that 
 they may dwell in a place of their own, 
 and move no more ; neither shall the chil- 
 dren of wickedness afflict them any more, 
 as beforetime, 
 
 11 And as since the time that I com- 
 manded judges iu be over my people Israel, 
 and have caused thee to rest from all thine 
 enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that 
 he will make thee an house. 
 
 12 1[ And ' when thy days be fulfilled, ' 1 Kings 
 and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I ®' "°' 
 will set up thy seed after thee, which shall 
 proceed out of thy bowels, and I will esta- 
 blish his kingdom. 
 
 13 "* He shall build an house for my " i 
 name, and I will stablish the throne of his %^ 
 kingdom for ever. i chna. 
 
 14 ' I will be his father, and he shall be « kebr. i. 
 my son. ' If he commit iniquity, I will f- 
 chasten him with the rod of men, and with 31, sa. 
 the stripes of the children of men : 
 
 15 But my mercy shall not depart away 
 from him, as I took it from Saul, whom 1 
 put away before thee. 
 
 eternal kingdom (properly so called) over all things in heaven 
 and in eartii ; which, though it was not so well known in the 
 times when the prophecy was uttered, was by subsequent event* 
 made clear and evident. Stackhousc, Le Clerc. 
 
 14. / will be his father, Sec] These words, being applied Heb. 
 i. ,') to Christ, plainly shew, that this, like many other prophecies, 
 is of a mixed nature, partly belonging to Christ, and partly to 
 Solomon, and his successors in the temporal kingdom of Israel. 
 And it is manifest that Christ is solely intended in these words, 
 " the beloved Son, in whom God is well pleased." Z)/». Patrick. 
 The Prophet intimates, that, as Da\id would be succeeded by a 
 son who would erect a temple to God, and in whose family the 
 crown would continue, amidst occasional cha.stisement for their 
 sins ; so God, at His appointed season, would raise the jiromised 
 Seed and Saviom, who would erect a nobler and more lasting 
 spiritual kingdom for governing the hearts and lives of men ; and, 
 though the subjects of this kingdom should in like manner have 
 a Divine hand of correction held over them for their negligence 
 and disobedience, should undergo persecutions and calamities in 
 this life, which would darken the outw.ard prosperity of Christ's 
 kingdom and church ; yet should the kingdom or religion itself 
 never be quite destroye<l out of tlie world, but should continue 
 and last, till time should be no more. Pylc. 
 
 / will cha-itcn him with the rod of men,] I will chastise him 
 
 gently and favourably, as loving parents use to correct their 
 dearest childrep. Bp. Hall.
 
 David's prai/er 
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 and thanksgiving. 
 
 fHeb. 
 Urn. 
 
 » D*ut 1. 
 
 iwf.« Ui And thine liousc and thy kingdom 
 
 JL^uHW'^ shall be estabUslied for ever before thee : 
 
 " thv throne shall be established for ever. 
 
 '17 According to all these words, and 
 
 according to all this vision, so did Nathan 
 
 speak unto David. 
 
 18 % Then went king David in, and sat 
 before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, 
 O Lord God ? and what is my house, that 
 thou hast brouglit me hitherto? 
 
 19 And tiiis was yet a small thing in thy 
 sight, O Lord God ; but thou hast spoken 
 also of thy servant's house for a great while 
 to come. " And is this tlie t manner of man, 
 O Lord God ? 
 
 liO And what can David say more unto 
 thee? for thou. Lord God, knowest thy 
 servant. 
 
 '21 For thy word's sake, and according 
 to thine own heart, hast thou done all 
 these great things, to make thy servant 
 know tlicm. 
 
 !2'2 Wherefore thou art great, O Lord 
 God : for there is none like thee, neither 
 is there aiiy God beside thee, according to 
 all tliat we have heard with our ears. 
 
 23 And ^ wliat one nation in the earth is 
 like thy people, even like Israel, whom God 
 went to redeem for a people to himself, and 
 to make him a name, and to do for you 
 great tilings and terrible, for thy land, be- 
 
 10". — //('/ t/ironc shall he eslahlishcd for evcr.'^ If these strong 
 and emph.itical expressions were applied only to David's tem- 
 poral successors, they would be confuted by the event. What 
 can we then collect, but that, though his temporal kingdom 
 would be cut ofl", tliere would arise in due time one of his pos- 
 terity, in whom this promise of an everlasting kingdom Avould be 
 prmctually fulfilled? Dr. Bcrriman. 
 
 18. — sat before the I^rd,"] That is, before the ark, where was 
 the symbol of the Divine presence. Bp. Patrick. " Sat," re- 
 mained in a due posture of kneeling or lying prostrate on the 
 grotmd, praying or returning thanks to God. Dr. Wells. 
 
 David, aiXcT he had received the foregoing gracious promise 
 from the I'rophet, ofltred up this excellent prayer to God, and 
 returned most hearty thanks ; expressing liis faith and firm de- 
 pendence on the promises of God, his great zeal for His glory, 
 his joy and gratitude, and, above all, his profound humility. In 
 this prayer he likewise implores, with great fervency of devotion, 
 the Divine blessing on himself and on his family. This ex- 
 ample should incite us to celebrate the goo<lness of the Lord 
 towards us, with hearts sincerely sensible of His mercies, and of 
 our own unworthiness ; and continually to implore the Divine 
 favour and benediction with all tlie fervency of true devotion. 
 OttcnaU. Though his request had been refused, yet the refusal 
 was sol\ened with tlie kindest promises and assurances, by pro- 
 uttises of signal and long continuing favours to his jjcsterity, long 
 continuing in earthly splendour and authority, and concluding 
 in an eternal dominion over the church and people of God. Ac- 
 cordingly, as soon as Nathan had delivered the Divine message, 
 David, overwhelmed at once with gratitude and astonishment 
 at the infinite bounty of Gotl to him, hastened to the tabernacle 
 and jfwured out liis acknowledgments to his Divine benefactor! 
 fJr. Dtianeif. 
 
 ly'ho am I. Lord God? &c.] He begins his address, as 
 
 Before 
 CHRISt 
 about 104-^ 
 
 » John l*; 
 17. 
 
 fore thy people, which thou redeemedst to 
 thee from Lgypt, from the nations and 
 their gods ? 
 
 21" For thou hast confirmed to thyself 
 thy people Israel to he a people unto thee 
 for ever : and thou, Lord, art become their 
 God. 
 
 25 And now, O Lord God, the word 
 that thou hast spoken concerning thy ser- 
 vant, and concerning his house, establish 
 it for ever, and do as thou hast said. 
 
 26 And let thy name be magnified for 
 ever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the 
 God over Israel : and let the iiouse of 
 thy servant David be established before 
 thee. 
 
 27 For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of 
 Israel, liast t revealed to thy servant, say- fHeb. 
 ing, I will build thee an house : therefore "f^'""^ ' 
 hatii thy servant found in his heart to pray 
 this pi-ayer unto thee. 
 
 28 And now, O Lord God, thou art 
 that God, and " thy words be true, and 
 thou hast promised this goodness unto thy 
 servant : 
 
 29 Therefore now t let it please thee to t "«''• 
 bless the iiouse of thy servant, that it may pie„s"i aw'. 
 continue for ever before thee : for thou, O ««»• 
 Lord God, hast spoken it : and with thy 
 blessing let the house of thy servant be 
 blessed for ever. 
 
 best became liim, with a most profound debasement of himself, 
 and confession of his own unworthiness ; and continues through- 
 out to acknowledge, in strains of the utmost gratitude and thank- 
 fulness, the special and unexampled favours and mercies of God, 
 exceeding the highest of his wishes, and suri)assing all his power 
 to express. Bp. Patrick, Pi/le. 
 
 19. — but thou hast spoken — for a great while to come.~\ He 
 magnifies tlie kindness of God, who did not think it enough, 
 that he had made him a great king ; but also promised that his 
 posterity, and at last the Lord Christ, should sit upon his 
 throne. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 29. — for thou, Lord God, hn.it spoken it :'] We cannot but 
 notice the exemjilary piety, gratitude, modesty, and himiility of 
 this great and excellent prince, upon the receipt of God's gracious 
 message. Beginning with expressing a strong sense of his own 
 unwortliincss, he wants words to express his gratitude for the 
 Divine goo<lne.s.s, and appeals to the heart-searching God for the 
 sincerity of his gratitude, acknowledging that all is owing to the 
 mere motion of His goodness, and for demonstrating His truth 
 in the performance of His promises. How natural, after this, is 
 the adoration of God, as supremely great and good ; and th« 
 prayer which concludes the whole ! 1'hose, wlio cannot see the 
 heart in this solemn address to Go<l on this signal occasion, must 
 be void of all that sensibility, which both dictates devotion, and 
 greatly heightens the pleasure of it. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 In my opinion, the workings of a brea.st opprc^ssed and over- 
 flowing with gratitude are painted stronger in this prayer than I 
 ever observed in any otlier instance. It is ea.sy to see that 
 David's heart was wholly possessed with a subject which he did 
 not know how to quit, because he did not know how to do justice 
 to his own seiise of the inestimable blessings poured do« n upon 
 himself, and promised to his posterity, and much less to the 
 infinite bountv of his Benefactor. Dr. Dclauei/.
 
 David subdueth his enemies. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Tot sendeth presents to him. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 ■bout lOiO. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Bavid suhduelk the Philistines and the Moabitcs. S 
 He smiteth Hndadezer, and the Si/rians. f) Toi send- 
 eth Joram with presents to hiess him. 1 1 The presents 
 and the spoil David dedicaleth to God. 1 4 He pulteth 
 garrisons in Edom. l6 David's officers. 
 
 A' 
 
 ND ' after this it came to pass, that 
 
 li Or, </ 
 
 tiis. 
 
 II As 1 Chr. 
 
 18,4. 
 
 ' 1 Chron, 
 
 I'sai.'eo^ -^^ David smote the Philistines, and sub- 
 L^dteof ^^^^^ ^^^"^ • ^"^ David took ||Metheg-am- 
 AmZxh. mah out of the hand of the Phihstines. 
 
 2 And he smote Moab, and measured 
 them with a line, casting them down to the 
 ground ; even with two lines measured he 
 to put to death, and with one full line to 
 keep alive. And so the Moabites became 
 David's servants, and brought gifts. 
 
 3 ^ David smote also Hadadezer, the 
 son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went 
 to recover his border at the river Eu- 
 phrates. 
 
 4 And David took || from him i. thousand 
 II chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, 
 and twenty thousand footmen : and David 
 houghed all the chariot horses, but reserv- 
 ed of them yor an hundred chariots. 
 
 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus 
 came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, 
 David slew of the Syrians two and twenty 
 thousand men. 
 
 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of 
 
 Chap. VIII. ver. 1. — Metheg-amtnah'^ This name is variously 
 understood by expositors ; some taking- it for an appellative, 
 others for a proper name. It is evident, by comparing I Chron. 
 xviii. 1. with this passage, that the writer of Chronicles under- 
 Stood by it " Gath and her towns." Dr. WeVs. 
 
 2. — measured them 7iith a /we, &c.] Having conquered the 
 whole country, he took an exact survey of it, lajing level tlieir 
 Strong holds and fortified places. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 n'ith two lines &C.3 I-t means, that he divided the country 
 
 into three parts, condemning two of them to he destroyed ; and 
 preserving one, that the country might not 1>e quite dispeopled. 
 This severity he exercised for the implacable enmity shewn by 
 the Moabites against the Israelites. Thus was fulfilled the pro- 
 phecy of Balaam, Numb. xxiv. 17. Bp. Patrick. These words 
 seem to allude to a custom amongst the kings of the East, when 
 they were thoroughly incensed against any people : namely, to 
 make the captives come together in one place, and prostrate them- 
 selves upon the ground ; tliat, being divided into two parts, as it 
 were with a line, their conqueror might appoint wliich part he 
 pleased (determined sometimes by lot) for life or for death. Stacl:- 
 house. 
 
 3. — Hadadezer, — k-in'; of Zohah,'} It appears from 2 Sam. 
 X. 19, that Hadadezer ha(t several kings tributary to him; and it 
 is probable, that he was the most powerful prince of those parts. 
 From comparing together the several texts of Scripture where tlie 
 kingdom of Zobah is mentioned, it seems clear that it lay on the 
 borders of Xephtali and the half tribe of Manassch beyond Jor- 
 dan, and so between the land of Israel and the river Euphrates, 
 stretching from the neighbourhood of the Annnonites to the land 
 ■ f Hamath. Dr. JVells. 
 
 to recover his border at the river Euphrates.'] In the pa- 
 rallel place at 1 Chron. xviii. 3, the words are, " to stablish his 
 dominion by the river Euphrates." He wished to extend his do- 
 VoL. I. 
 
 Damascus: and the Syrians became ser- 
 vants to David, and brought gifts. And 
 the Lord preserved David whithersoever 
 he went. 
 
 7 And David took the shields of gold 
 that were on the servants of Hadadezer, 
 and brought them to Jerusalem. 
 
 8 And from Betah, and from Berothai, 
 cities of Hadadezer, king Da\id took ex- 
 ceeding much brass. 
 
 9 % When Toi king of Hamath heard 
 that Da\ id had smitten all the host of Ha- 
 dadezer, 
 
 10 Then Toi sent Joram his son unto 
 king David, to t salute him, and to bless 
 him, because he had fought against Ha- 
 dadezer, and smitten him : for Hadadezer 
 thad wars with Toi. And Joram t brought 
 with him vessels of silver, and vessels of 
 gold, and vessels of brass : 
 
 1 1 Wliich also king David did dedicate 
 unto the Lord, with the silver and gold 
 that he had dedicated of all nations which 
 he subdued ; 
 
 12 Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the 
 children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, 
 and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Ha- 
 dadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 
 
 13 And David gat ///m a name when he 
 returned from t smiting of the Syrians in 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about IU40. 
 
 t Heb. 
 ask tiin ef 
 peace. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 was u man 
 of wart 
 Willi. 
 t Heb. 
 in fiis tiand 
 were. 
 
 f Heb. 
 
 fiis imiting. 
 
 minions to the Euphrates; and in order to it, designed to invade 
 those of David which lay nearest to tliat river. David tlierefore 
 had a right to prevent it by force. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 4. — a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen,"] The 
 word " chariots" is supplied from 1 Chron. xviii. 4, in whidi 
 book many things are explained, which are here briefly related : 
 the number of horsemen too, there, is stated at 7000, instead of 
 700. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and David /loushed all the chariot horses,"] Agreeably to 
 
 a general precept of tne law in Deut. xvii. 1(5, and to a special 
 command to Joshua, chap. xi. 6. See the notes on those two places. 
 When David had taken a thousand chariots with their horses, by 
 destroying nine out of ten, he shewed plainly that he had no 
 thoughts of raising a military force of this kind. Probably he re- 
 tained the others for his state, and might do it lawfully, without 
 incurring the guilt of " multiplying horses;" which arc the terms 
 in which the law is conceived. Certain it is, he made no use of 
 them in war, and so far he complied with the true sense and spirit 
 of the law. Bp. Shcrloclc 
 
 5. — the Syrians of Daiim.tcus] Tlie Syrians who dwelt in and 
 near Damascus. Wc do not read in Scripture of a king of Da- 
 mascus till the reign of Solomon. It is probable tliat Damascus 
 was at tliis time tributary to Hadadezer ; and that the kingdom 
 of Damascus may have been one and the same with tlie kingdom 
 of Zobah, which formerly had Zobali, and at\erwards Damascus, 
 for its seat of empire. Dr. Jfcll.t. 
 
 9. — Toi king of Hamath] The city Hamath was probably 
 the same as that called Epipliania by Uic Greeks. The kingdom 
 of Hamath appears to have extended itself from tlie land of Ca- 
 naan southward, to the city of Hamath northward, and how much 
 higher is uncertain ; and from the coast of the Mediterranean sea 
 w cstwiird, to the kingdom of Damascus (or Syria more properly 
 called) eastward. Dr. Wells. 
 
 4E
 
 DaxUVs officers. 
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 He sendetlifor Alephibosheth, 
 
 II Or. 
 frm'm- 
 brancer, or 
 nriltT of 
 chntniclet. 
 I! Or. 
 ttcreiary. 
 >■ 1 Chron. 
 18. 17. 
 
 B Or, 
 ptincti. 
 
 iwfcr. the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand 
 
 CHIUST 
 
 14 f And he put garrisons in Ldom ; 
 tliroughout all Edom ])iit he garrisons, and 
 all tliev of Eilom became David's servants. 
 And the Loud prcscr\cd David whither- 
 soever he went. 
 
 1.-5 And David reigned over all Israel j 
 and David executed judgment and justice 
 unto all his people. 
 
 1() And Joab the .son of Zeniiah "xas over 
 the host ; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahi- 
 lud xi'as II recorder j 
 
 17 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and 
 Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, wtre the 
 priests; and Seraiah "Vi'as the Hscribe ; 
 
 18 ''And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada 
 'was, over both the Cherethites and the 
 Pelethites ; and David's sons were II chief 
 rulers. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 1 David by Ziba saidelkfor Mephiboshiih. 7 For Jo- 
 nalhan's sake he cnlertaineth him at his table, and re- 
 itoreth him all that ivas Saul's, i) He maketh Ziba his 
 J'armer. 
 
 AND David said, Is there yet any that 
 is left of the house of Saul, that I may 
 shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake ? 
 
 2 And there xms of the house of Saul a 
 servant whose name xcas Ziba. And when 
 they had called him unto David, the king 
 said unto him. Art thou Ziba.' And he said, 
 Thy servant is he. 
 
 S And the king said, Is there not yet 
 any of the house of Saul, that I may shew 
 
 13. — valley of salt, 2 Either the Salt sea, otherwise called the 
 Dead sea ; {Dr. Wells ;) or a valley with salt springs in the coun- 
 trj- of F.dom. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 • bein^ eighteen tlwusand wicn.] The word " being" should 
 
 not be in^iertcd in our translation : he slew 18,000 men, who were 
 Edomites, not Syrians, as we read expressly at 1 Chron. xviii. 12. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Ifi. — recorder ;^ This word in our translation is given, in the 
 niarpni.il note, ranembranccr, or writer of chronicles ; an employ, 
 ment of no mean estimation in the Eastern world, where it was 
 ciistoinary with kings to keep daily registers of all tlie transactions 
 of their reigns: whoever discharged this trust with effect, it was 
 necessary, shoidd l>e let into the true springs and secrets of action, 
 and consequently be received into the greatest confidence. Dr. 
 Dclaney. 
 
 *7. — the scribe r^ The pnblick secretary, one who registered 
 all publick acts and decrees. Bp. Patrick, Dr. JVclls. 
 
 18. — Cherethites and the Pelethites ;2 Probably the constant 
 gu.irds about David's person, his household troops. WTio they 
 were, and why so calletl, is variously conjectured : they were pro- 
 bably naraetl either from the place of their birth, or of their resi- 
 dcnce, or perhaps from their captain or comm.-inder. Stackhoiise. 
 The Cherethites and Pelethites were the body guard who con- 
 stantly attended the person of the Jewish king. 'Tliey had a pe- 
 culiar commander over them, and were selected as men of robust 
 Indies and ot approved fidelity. It is probable they were se- 
 «!^P ."H! , ='.P^'^'.«^"''»'- people or family: for the Cherethites 
 Wire a people inhabitmg a part of Palestine ; and the Pelethites, 
 
 the kindness of God unto him ? And Ziba f.^f'^l^. 
 said unto the king, .Jonathan hath yet a about umo. 
 son, xchich is ' lame on /lis feet. *cb»p.4.4. 
 
 4 And the king said unto him, Where is 
 he ? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, 
 he is in the house of Machir, the son of 
 Ammiel, in Lo-debar. 
 
 5 if Then king David sent, and fetched 
 him out of the house of Machir, the son of 
 Ammiel, from Lo-debar. 
 
 6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son 
 of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come 
 
 unto David, he fell on his face, and did - 
 
 reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. 
 And he answered, Behold thy servant ! 
 
 7 ^ And David said unto him. Fear not: 
 for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jo- 
 nathan thy father's sake, and will restore 
 thee all the land of Saul thy father ; and 
 thou shalt eat bread at my table continu- 
 ally. 
 
 8 And he bowed himself, and said,WTiat 
 is thy servant, that thou shouldest look 
 upon such a dead dog as I mn ? 
 
 9 IT Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's 
 servant, and said unto him, I have given 
 unto thy master's son all that pertained to 
 Saul and to all his house. 
 
 10 Thou therefore, and thy sons, and 
 thy servants, shall till the land for him, 
 and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy 
 master's son may have food to eat: but 
 Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat 
 bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had 
 fifteen sons and twenty servants. 
 
 it is supposed, were a family in Israel, for we find two of the 
 name of Peleth mentioned in Scripture, one of the tribe of Reu- 
 ben, another of Judah. Their arms, it is supposed, were bows, 
 arrows, and slings. The number of them niny be conjectured 
 from the targets and shields of gold which Solomon made, which 
 were 500, and for the use of his guard. They were properly the 
 king's domcsticks, and lay in a guard chamber, .it the entrance of 
 the palace, to be ready at the least notice, and on the most sud- 
 den occasions. Lewis. 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. 1. — Is there yet any that is left (f the house of 
 Saul,'^ David was not only a wise and good prince in publick ad- 
 ministration, but a faithfid and generous friend in private life. 
 As he had great obligations to Jonathan, neitlier the splendour of 
 his victories, nor the pleasures of prosperity, could nmke him un- 
 mindful of his covenant and oath with his former friend. There- 
 fore, he had no sooner established peace with his enemies, than 
 he inquired, if he could shew kindness to any of .Saul's house. 
 This was great generositj', to be thus solicitous for the welfare of 
 an enemy's family, and to form the resolution of advancing ta 
 riches and lionour any surviving branch of it, without considering 
 whether such a step might prove dangerous to his own security. 
 Dr. Chandler. 
 
 3. — the kind7iess of God'] That is, great kindness, or the 
 kindness tliat he solemnly before God promised to Said, and es- 
 pecially to Jonathan. Dr. Wclb. " That I may shew the kind- 
 ness of God unto him ;" that is, " that I may treat him kindly with 
 
 God's assistance." 
 
 HmbiganL
 
 and ynalceih Ziha his farmer. 
 
 CHAP. IX, X. David's messengers abused btf Hftmn. 
 
 chrTst ^^ Then said Ziba unto the king, Ac- 
 •bout 10401 cording to all that my lord the king hath 
 commanded his servant, so shall thy ser- 
 vant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the 
 king, he shall eat at my table, as one of 
 the king's sons. 
 
 12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, 
 wliose name was Micha. And all that 
 dwelt in the house of Ziba icere servants 
 unto Mephibosheth. 
 
 13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: 
 for he did eat continually at thie king's ta- 
 ble ; and was lame on both his feet. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 1 David's messengers, sent to comfort Hanun the son of 
 Nahash, are villainously entreated. 6 The Ammonites, 
 strengthened hy the Syrians, are overcome by Joab and 
 Ahisliai. 15 Shobach, making a neiv supply of the 
 Syrians at Helam, is slain by David. 
 
 •bout 10^7. A j^D jt came to pass after this, that the 
 19! i^"""' -^^ ' ^"^S of the children of Ammon died, 
 and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 2 Then said David, I will shew kindness 
 unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his fa- 
 ther sliewed kindness unto me. And Da- 
 vid sent to comfort him by the hand of his 
 servants for his father. And Davjd's ser- 
 vants came into the land of the children of 
 t Hei.. Ammon. 
 
 ^^;*^«;j 3 And the princes of the children of Am- 
 David? mon said unto Hanun their lord, tThink- 
 
 13. — and was lame ok both his feet. "^ See the cause of his 
 lameness related at 2 Sam. iv. 4. The conduct liere detailed of 
 David, in taking care of Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, his 
 dear friend, and giving him all that belonged to Saul, shews that 
 Ke was a man of great equity and uprightness, as well as kind 
 and affectionate. He would not suffer Mephibosheth to be de- 
 prived of that which justly belonged to him ; he preser\ed in the 
 midst of his prosperity a tender remembrance of Jonathan, his 
 intimate fi-iend, and religiously performed his promise of taking 
 care of his family. From hence we learn, that promises ought to 
 be religiously observed; that the duties of friendship are sacred 
 and inviolable ; that true and sincere friends remember those for 
 ■ivhoni they have affection, even after dejitli ; and that they ex- 
 press their affection to them by their care of their posterity. Fur- 
 ther, the e.\ample of D.u id, in doing good to Mephibosheth, who 
 was left destitute, and at the same time weak and infirm, teaches 
 us, that those who are in prosperitj* should always look on those 
 who are injured and afflicted ; and that we should ever be ready 
 to comfort the miserable, and to do good to all. OstcrvakL 
 
 Chap. X. ver. 2. — as his father shewed kindness'] In what 
 this kindness consisted, is not related : probably in offering 
 liim protection and assist.uice, while persecuted by Saul. Bp. 
 Patricl;. 
 
 4. — shaved off' the one half of their beards,"] This was one of 
 the highest indignities that the malice of man could invent in 
 those countries, where all people thought their hair the greatest 
 ornament : insomuch that they never shaved their heads or their 
 beards, except in case of mourning; and even in that case it was 
 forbidden to the Israelites, Levit. xix. 27 ; Deut. .xiv. 1. Thus 
 when the Ammonitea had caused one half of tjifir beards, to be I 
 
 est thou that David doth honour thy fa- Before 
 ther that he hath sent comforters unto ^.^uf/o'-! 
 thee ? hath not David rather sent his ser- 
 vants unto thee, to search the city, and to 
 spy it out, and to overthrow it ? 
 
 4> "Wherefore Hanun took David's ser- 
 vants, and shaved off the one half of their 
 beards, and cut off their garments in the 
 middle, even to their buttocks, and sent 
 them away, 
 
 5 When they told it unto David, he sent 
 to meet them, because the men were great- 
 ly ashamed : and the king said. Tarry at 
 Jericho until your beards be grown, and 
 thefi return. 
 
 6 ^ And when the children of Ammon 
 saw that they stank before David, the chil- 
 dren of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians 
 of Beth-rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, 
 twenty thousand footmen, and of king 
 Maacah a thousand men, and of Ish-tob 
 twelve thousand men. 
 
 7 And when David heard of it, he sent 
 Joab, and all the host of the mighty men. 
 
 8 And the children of Ammon came 
 out, and put the battle in array at the en- 
 tering in of the gate : and the Syrians of 
 Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ish-tob, and Maa- 
 cah, Tvere by themselves in the field. 
 
 9 When Joab saw that the front of the 
 battle was against him before and behind, 
 he chose of all the choice men of Israel, 
 
 shaven, they abhorred to cut the other ; which made them look 
 ridiculously. It was one of the most infamous punishments of 
 cowardice in Sparta, that those who turned their backs in the day 
 of battle were obliged to appear abroad with one half of their 
 beard shaved, and the other half unshaved. It is still a great 
 mark of intamy among the Arabs to cut off the beard. Many peo- 
 ple would prefer death to this kind of treatment. As they would 
 think it a grievous punishment to lose the beard, they carry 
 things so far as to beg for the sake of it; as, " By yourbeard," 
 " God preserve your blessed beard :" and when tliey would ex* 
 press the v;dui- of any thing, they say, It is worth more than his 
 beard. Bp. Patrick, Harmer. 
 
 cut off their garment.^] The Hebrews, like other Eastern 
 
 nations, wore long flowing garments ; so that scarcely any tlu'ng 
 could be conceived more disgraceful, than tlie cutting off their 
 clothes, and thus exposing their persons. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 6. — saw that they stank before David,] Saw that they had 
 highly provoked Da%'id, (Dr. Jf'cUs,) and were became very 
 odious to him. Bp. Patrick . 
 
 the Syrians of Bcth-rchol>,] Beth-rehob, or Rehob, seems 
 
 to have been situated in the north part of the tribe of Asher, on 
 the west of Laish, or Dan, wliich is said at .ludg. xviii. 28. to be 
 " in Uie valley that lieth by Betli-rehob." Thus it was within the 
 land of Canaan ; and tlie inhabitants are here called Syrians, either 
 because the Syrians had really disjwssessed tlie Canaanites, or be- 
 cause tlie inhabitiuits, although Canaanites, were in confederacy 
 with the Syrians, and were therefore considered as Syrians by the 
 Israelites. Dr. Wells. 
 
 9. — that the front of the battle rras &C.] Tliat the enemy wa» 
 drawn up, so as to have a double front against him, the Syrians 
 beiniT before Itim, and the Ammonites behind him. Dr. Wells. 
 
 4Ee
 
 The Syrians and Ammonites 
 
 II, SAMUEL. 
 
 are defeated. 
 
 against 
 
 tlie Sy. 
 
 ■bout 103C. 
 
 Brfort jiiu! put them in arrav 
 
 CHKIST . ■ 
 
 about 1037. nans . i i i i- 
 
 10 And the rest of the people he deliver- 
 ed into the hand of Abishai his brother, 
 that he might put them in array against the 
 chihlren of Amnion. 
 
 1 1 And he said, If the Syrians be too 
 strong for me, then thou shalt help me : 
 but if the chihhen of Ammon be too strong 
 for thee, then I will come and help thee. 
 
 12 Be of good courage, and let us play 
 the men for our people, and for the cities 
 of our God : and the Lord do that which 
 seemeth him good. 
 
 13 And Joab drew nigh, and the people 
 that li-ere with him, unto the battle against 
 the Syrians : and they fled before him. 
 
 14 And when the children of Ammon 
 saw that the Syrians were fled, then fled 
 they also before Abishai, and entered into 
 the city. So Joab returned from the chil- 
 dren of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem. 
 
 15 ^ And when the Syrians saw that 
 they were smitten before Israel, they ga- 
 thered themselves together. 
 
 1 () And Hadarezer sent, and brought out 
 tlie Syrians that were beyond the river : 
 and they came to Helam ; and Shobach 
 the captain of the host of Hadarezer went 
 before them. 
 
 17 And when it was told David, he ga- 
 thered all Israel together, and passed over 
 Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Sy- 
 
 IZ. — plat) the men^ Fight like valiant men. Dr. Wells. 
 
 16. — Hadarezcr~\ He had before been called Hadadexer, 
 chap. viii. 3. The two Hebrew letters which correspond to d and 
 r are so similar, that they are very easily mistaken by transcribers. 
 Dr. Dulancy. 
 
 heifond the river :] Euphrates, which was the bound of 
 
 their territories eastward. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 _— — Helam ;] This Helam is probably thought to be the same 
 •m'\\\\ a place called Alamatha, mentioned by Ptolemy. Dr. Wells. 
 
 19. — nhen all the kiiies &c.] Thus the arms of David were 
 blessed, and Go<l accomplished the promises which He had made 
 to Abr.-iham, and renewed to Joshua, Gen. xv. 18; Jo.sh. i. 2, 4. 
 Thus, in the space of nineteen or twenty years, David had the 
 good fortune to finish gloriously eight wars, all righteously under- 
 taken, and all honourably terminated. What glory for the mo- 
 narch of Israel, had not the splindour of this illustrious era been 
 obscured by a complication of crimes, (see the next chapter,) of 
 which no one coul<l have supposed him capable ! Dr. Delaney. 
 
 The period which had now elapsed of David's reign compre- 
 hends .T sjwce of alwut twenty years ; during which he had waged 
 several w:u-s, all rigliteously begun, and successfully ended. He 
 had fought no battle during that period which he did not win, 
 and assaultetl no city which he did not take. In a civil war of 
 ■five vears' continuance iie never once lifted up his sword against 
 a subject ; and, at tlie end of it, he punished no rebel, he remem- 
 bered no offence, he revenged no injury, but the murder of his 
 rival. To crown dl, with all his rare and true felicities, their 
 oqly sure source and security, his religion and his innocence, still 
 remained with hiui: and, h.-id his innocence still remained with 
 hun, his liappiness wouia liave continued also. But a new and 
 
 Before 
 CHHIST 
 
 about 1036. 
 
 aliout lew. 
 t Hcb. at 
 the return 
 
 20. 1. 
 
 rians set themselves in array against David, 
 and fought with him. 
 
 18 And the Syrians fled before Israel; 
 and David slew tJie men of seven hundred 
 chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand 
 horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain 
 of their host, who died there. 
 
 19 And when all the kings that "were 
 servants to Hadarezer saw that they were 
 smitten before Israel, they made peace 
 with Israel, and served them. So the Sy- 
 rians feared to help the childi^en of Am- 
 mon any more. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 1 While Joab besieged liahbali, David commilteth adul- 
 tcri) with Bath-sheha. 6" Uriah, sent for by David to 
 cover the adulteri/, would not go home neither sober nor 
 drunken. It He carriclh to Joab the letter of his 
 death. 1 8 Joab sendeth the news thereof to David. 
 26 David takelh Bath-sheba to jvife. 
 
 AND it came to pass, t after the year 
 was expired, at the time when kings 
 go forth to battle, that * David sent Joab, i^/jfj^"""' 
 and his servants with him, and all Israel ; 
 and they destroyed the children of Ammon, 
 and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried 
 still at. Jerusalem. 
 
 2 ^ And it came to pass in an evening- 
 tide, that, David arose from off his bed, and 
 walked upon the roof of the king's house: 
 and from the roof he saw a woman washing 
 herself; and the woman xvas very beautiful 
 to look upon. 
 
 sad scene, very different from the past, is now to be opened. Dr. 
 
 Delaney. 
 
 Chap. XI. ver. 1. — after the year was €rpired2 In the He- 
 brew, n< the return of the year; in the spring time, the season 
 most fit for action. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Rabbah.~\ The capital city of the Ammonites. 
 
 2. — in an eveninglide, &c.] In the afternoon, when the sun 
 was declining, he rose from the bed where he had lain down to 
 sleep during the heat of the day, as was the manner in those 
 countries. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 walked upon the roof of the king's house :'^ The manner of 
 
 building in all Eastern countries was to have the houses flat 
 roofed, with a terrace and parapet wall, for the convenience of 
 walking in the cool air ; see note on Deut. xxii. 8: and, as David's 
 palace was built on one of the highest places of mount Zion, he 
 might easily look down on the lower parts of the town, and take a 
 view of all the gardens that were within a due distance. Le Clerc. 
 
 the woman was very beautiful to look upon.'\ David at first 
 
 violated only the rules of decency, which lie might easily have 
 observed, by turning away his eyes from an improper object. 
 This, which doubtless he was willing to think a verj' pardon- 
 able gratification of nothing worse than curio.sity, carried him on 
 far beyond his first intention, to the heinous crime of adultery. 
 There imdoubtedly he designed to .stop, and keep what passed 
 secret from all the world ; but, after he had in vain tried to con- 
 ceal his adultery, he was driven to the moat horrible of all wick- 
 edness, murder ; and a murder too, accompanied witli the hea- 
 viest aggravations, deliberately plamied and brought about by 
 treachery. In tliis dreadful manner was one, who had been till 
 
 i
 
 David's adultery 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 "iiith Uriah's 'wife. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1035. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 and when 
 she had pu- 
 rijit'd her' 
 self, Ac. she 
 returned. 
 * Lev. 15. 
 19.&1S.19. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 •^ the peace 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 vjent out 
 mfier him. 
 
 3 And David sent and enquired after the 
 woman. And one said, Is not this Bath- 
 sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of 
 Uriah the Hittite ? 
 
 4 And David sent messengers, and took 
 her ; and she came in unto him, and he 
 lay with her ; || for she was " purified from 
 her uncleanness : and she returned unto 
 her house. 
 
 5 And the woman conceived, and sent 
 and told David, and said, I am with child. 
 
 6 % And David sent to Joab, saying. 
 Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab 
 sent Uriah to David. 
 
 7 And when Uriah was come unto him, 
 David demanded (yf him t how Joab did, 
 and how the people did, and how the war 
 prospered. 
 
 8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to 
 thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah 
 departed out of the king's house, and there 
 t followed him a mess of meat from the king. 
 
 then of an excellent character, hurried on, from a single, and 
 eeemingly slight, indulgence, into the depth of the gros.sest and 
 most shocking villanies. And in the like manner may any one, 
 if he be not on his guard against the deceitfulness of sin, be hur- 
 ried unawares to his final destruction. Abp. Seeker. How natu- 
 rally do men forget themselves, and their God, and His favours, 
 when they are in prosperity as David was ! We often know not 
 what we pray for, and wish, when we seek to be free from trouble, 
 care, and danger. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 3. — the Hittite ?] He was either a Hittite by descent, but a 
 proselyte to the Jewish religion ; or, as he was one of the king's 
 body guard, who were all natives, and of the tribe of Judah, it is 
 possible that this name may have been given him for some gal- 
 lant action achieved against the Hittites. Stackhonsc. 
 
 4. — sent messengers, and look her /^ Notwithstanding he was 
 informed slie was another man's wife, he sent messengers to her, 
 to invite her to his palace, into which he received her. This was 
 a very great crime, committed deliberately and advisedly ; and is 
 here recorded for several great ends and purposes : among others, 
 to make the best of men sensible, in what need they stand conti- 
 nually of Divine assistance ; for which they should therefore ear- 
 nestly pray, lest they fall into temptations : also to shew us, that 
 those are but men whose examples are set before us, and therefore 
 ■we must live by rule, not merely by example. Bp. Patrick. With 
 what reluctance, wth what dread do I look upon the miscarriage 
 of the man after God's own heart ! O holy Prophet, who can pro- 
 mise himself always to stand, when he sees thee fallen and maim- 
 ed with the fall ? who can assui-e himself of an immunity from the 
 foulest sins, when he sees thee offending so heinously, so bloodily.? 
 Let profane eyes behold thee as a pattern, as an excuse for sinning : 
 I shall never look upon thee, but through tears, as a woful spectacle 
 of human infirmity ! Bp. Hall. Tlie design of God in recording the 
 sins and miscarriages with which the best of men are sometimes 
 overtaken, is, to admonish us all of the frailty of our nature, and 
 the deceitfulness of our hearts ; and to represent to the best of 
 men how much it concerns them to be constiuitly on their guard, 
 and never to permit themselves in the omission of any religious 
 duties, lest Satan, who always lies in wait to surprise them, should 
 get an advantage over them by his temptations. Reading. We must 
 not look upon the sin which David at this time committed, as one 
 of those which good men fall into through weakness and in- 
 firmity, and which are not inconsistent with a state of piety : it 
 was a sin of the most heinous nature ; and the more so, as it was 
 cojumitted by a person well acquainted with his duty, greatly en- 
 
 about lOSi. 
 
 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the Before 
 king's house with all the servants of his ^^hRIst 
 lord, and went not down to his liouse. 
 
 10 And when they had told David, say- 
 ing, Uriah went not down unto his house, 
 David said unto Uriah, Camcst thou not 
 from M^ journey? why then didst thou not 
 go down unto thine house ? 
 
 1 1 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, 
 and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents ; and 
 my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, 
 are encamped in the open fields ; shall I 
 then go into mine house, to eat and to 
 drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou 
 livest, and as thy soul liveth, 1 will not do 
 this thing. 
 
 12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here 
 to day also, and to morrow I will let thee 
 depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that 
 day, and the morrow. 
 
 13 And when David had called him, 
 he did eat and drink before him ; and 
 
 lightened, and enriched with Divine graces. We must remember 
 therefore, that, if he had not recovered by a sincere and publick 
 repentance, proportioned to the greatness of his sins, he would 
 finally have perished. So that we ought not to make an evil use 
 of this example ; but, on the contrarj-, should watch o\ er ourselves 
 with greater care : especially because sins of this nature are much 
 more enormous iu Christians, than they were in David ; and it is 
 consequently more hard for them to repent and to obtJiin pardon. 
 Ostervald. It were an act of charity to ca.st a mantle over the 
 nakedness of God's chosen servants, where the facts will with anj 
 tolerable construction bear an excuse. Yet, since all things that 
 are written are written for our learning, and it pleased the wisdom 
 of God, for that very end, to leave so many of their failings on re- 
 cord, as glasses to represent to us our common frailties, and as 
 moniunents and marks to point out to us tliose rocks on which 
 others have been shipwrecked ; it becomes us duly to notice thera, 
 and to make the beet use of them we can for our spiritual advan- 
 tage. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 5. — sent and told David,"] She was afraid of infamy, and per- 
 haps of the severity of her husband, who might cause her to be 
 stoned : and therefore prayed David to consult her honour and 
 safety. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. — Go down to Ihy house, and wash Iky feet.] In those coun- 
 tries, where it was not the custom to wear shoes, but sandals, and 
 sometimes to go barefoot, to wash the feet was the greatest re- 
 freslmient after a journey. The same was usually done before 
 they sat down to meat. 
 
 9. — u'cnt not down to his hottse.] It seems to have been a sin- 
 ful contrivance of David, that, by UriaJi's holding intercourse with 
 his wife, the child, which was conceived, might be thought to be 
 his. But Uriali either suspected how the matter was, or else 
 things were so ordered by the providence of God, that the crime 
 of David should not be concealed, as he intended. Bp. Patrick. 
 David's intention hitlierto appears to have been, neither to mur- 
 der Uriah nor to marry his wife, but only to screen her honour, 
 and his own crime. Slackhoiise. 
 
 11. — The ark, — abide in tents;] It appears hence, that they 
 still continued the custom, of which we read 1 Sam. iv. !■, of carrj-- 
 ing the ark into the field, as a token of the Divine presence and 
 favour towards them ; also for the purjiose of their consulting the 
 Divine Majesty in any cUfficult cases. Bp. Patrick. There is no 
 appearance, from any thing in the history, that Uriah had as yet 
 any suspicion of what had passed between David and liis wife. 
 Dr. Chandler.
 
 LYtah is slaiiu 
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 David takcth BaiJi-sheha to xvife. 
 
 BW..-C he made him drunk : and at even he went 
 mil 1ST ,,„t to lie on his bed with the servants of 
 **""' ***** Ins lord, but went not down to his house. 
 11 % And it came to pass in the morn- 
 ing, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and 
 sent /■/ bv tlie iiand of Uriah. 
 
 15 Ami he wrote in the letter, saying, 
 fBeb. Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the t hot- 
 t H"b. test battle, and retire ye t from him, that 
 fnm «fttr j^g ,^gy \yQ smitten, and die. 
 ***■ 1() And itcamc to pass, when Joab observ- 
 
 ed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a 
 place where he knew that valiant men ivere. 
 
 17 And the men of the city went out, 
 and fonglit with Joab : and there fell some 
 of the people of the servants of David ; and 
 Uriah the Hittite died also. 
 
 18 ^ Then Joab sent and told David all 
 the things concerning the war ; 
 
 19 And charged the messenger, saying, 
 "When thou hast made an end of telling the 
 matters of the war unto the king, 
 
 '-20 And if so be that the king's wrath 
 arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore ap- 
 proached ye so nigh unto the city when ye 
 did fight ? knew ye not that they would 
 shoot fiom the wall ? 
 'J..dge5 9. 21 Who smote ' Abimelech the son of 
 Jerubbesheth ? did not a w^oman cast a 
 piece of a milstone upon him from the 
 wall, that he died in Thebez ? why went 
 ye nigh the wall ? then say thou. Thy ser- 
 vant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 
 
 53. 
 
 1 S. — he made him drunk :] Such are the low and scandalous 
 shifts, to which the consciousness of guilt reduces men ! David 
 hoped that Uriah, when inflamed with liquor, would return to 
 his house and cohahit with his wife, wliich he had refused to do 
 nhen sober. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 but nciil nol dutrn lo hit house.'} How great must have 
 
 been David's disappointment on receiving this intelligence ! He 
 had inji\red a brave man ; and all that he could do was, to hide the 
 mjury, and not aggravate by exposing it. He had done all in his 
 power to effect this concealment, but to no purpose. Dr. Delaneij. 
 
 15. _ Set ye Uriah &c.] Thus does one sin beget another, 
 depnvnig men of the use of their understanding: now, that Da- 
 vid had given himself up to sensuality, his eyes were blinded, his 
 rery nature changed, and become base and degenerate. He who 
 had formerly spared Saul when lie might have destroyed 'him, 
 f '' i"r",'r •"" '^"''*'"'ffe of any one, now seeks tlie death of a 
 taithful friend in a most unworthy manner. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 It has appeared a difficulty to some, that persons r.-u'sed up, 
 eidcd, inspired, directed or assisted by Cod, should have been 
 guilty ot sucli crimes as David, such idolatries as Solomon, such 
 weaknesses as Sjunson, such apostasies and cruelties as the Jewish 
 nation in general To this it may be answered, tliat it is perfectly 
 cretl.ble that they should be raised up for particular purposes ; aided 
 .n effecting a particular object ; inspired with a certain degree of 
 an,rvM ';r .T''^'' 1- ir*."'^"'--?"- I'^'-i"'^^' ^"'' '" ••» special manner; 
 I^n nUt; 'i^'Vl -'""'^ }^'\'^^r' ""'""' ^•'i="-''«". their extemai 
 RUlan u, and crimes which gave so much offence. To ask whv 
 greater degree oi supernatural control Uian die peculiar pu^Josw 
 
 22 % So the messenger went, and came Before 
 and shewed David all that Joab had sent fJJ„f /oi^ 
 him for. 
 
 23 And the messenger said unto David, 
 Surely the men prevailed against us, and 
 came out unto us into the field, and we 
 were upon them even unto the entering of 
 the gate. 
 
 21' And the shooters shot from off" the 
 wall upon thy servants ; and some of the 
 king's servants be dead, and thy servant 
 Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 
 
 25 Then Da\id said unto the messenger. 
 Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not 
 this thing t displease thee, for the sword ^ Hpi,. 
 devoureth tone as well as another : make i>cnuin 
 thy battle more strong against the city, and \ Hcbf " 
 overthrow it : and encourage thou him. s.,nn,i mcL 
 
 20 % And when the wife of Uriah heard 
 that Uriah her husband was dead, she 
 mourned for her husband. 
 
 27 And when the mourning was past, 
 David sent and fetched her to his house, 
 and she became his wife, and bare him a 
 son. But the thing that David had done 
 t displeased the Lord. t Heb. 
 
 CHAP. xn. '*^'^"°^ 
 
 1 Nathan's parable of the ewe lamb cnuscth David to be 
 his oivn judge. 7 David, reproved by Nathan, con- 
 fc.sscth his sill, and is pardoned, lo David mourneth 
 and prayclh for the child, while it lived. 21 Solomon 
 is born, and named Jedidinh. 26 David takcth Ilab- 
 bah, and tortureth the people thereof. 
 
 of Providence required ? a question as absurd as it is presump- 
 tuous. Dr. Graves. 
 
 David, now reduced to the utmost distress by the failure of hi.s 
 arts to cover his guilt, thought there was only one waj' left to 
 prevent the discovery he dreaded ; and that was, to murder the 
 unhappy husband. The measure was resolved upon, and trea- 
 cherously executed. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 17. — Uriah the Hittite died also.} Thus fell this brave man ; 
 a sacrifice to his own heroick virtue, and to his prince's giiilt. 
 Dr. Delanet/. .. 
 
 21. — son of Jerubbesheth?} Jerubbesheth, another name for 
 •lerubbaal or Gideon. There are other Hebrew names which end 
 indifferently in Beshethor Bosheth, and Baal; as Ish-bosheth, call- 
 ed Esh-ba;d at 1 Chron. viii. 3.3; and Mephibosheth, called Merib- 
 baal at 1 Chron. viii. Si. Bp. Patrick. The reason assigned for the 
 Hebrews altering the termination Baal in names, is, that they did 
 not care to pronounce this word, being the name of idols which 
 they held in abomination. Calmel. 
 
 27. — irhen the mourning was past,} No time for the mourn- 
 ing of widows is prescribed by the law. Bath-sheba probably 
 mourned according to the custom of the countrj', which is com- 
 monly supposed to be, bj' keeping a fast for se\en da3's succes- 
 si\'ely, eating nothing each day till the sun was set. See 1 Sam. 
 xxxi. IJ. Dr. Delanet/. 
 
 displea.<:ed the Ixird.} Cod resolved to shew His abhorrence 
 
 of tlie crime, to execute on David a vengeance proportionable to 
 the heinousness and guilt of it, and tliei'eby to rouse his con- 
 science, and bring him to tliose acknowledgments of his sin which 
 might prepare him for that forgiveness, of which he was now 
 greatly unworthy, h( jver much he needed it. Dr. Chandler.
 
 Nathan* s parable of the exce lamb. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 He appUeth the parable to David. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 A' 
 
 tHeb. 
 morsel. 
 
 ND the Lord sent Nathan unto Da- 
 atiout 1034. X a. vid. And he came unto hnn, and 
 said unto him, Tliere were two men in one 
 city ; the one rich, and the other poor. 
 
 2 The rich 77ian had exceeding many 
 flocks and herds : 
 
 3 But the poor jnan had nothing, save 
 one little ewe lamb, which he had bought 
 and nourished up : and it grew up together 
 vnth him, and with his children ; it did eat 
 of his own t meat, and drank of his own 
 cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto 
 him as a daughter. 
 
 4 And there came a traveller unto the 
 rich man, and he spared to take of his own 
 
 ' flock and of his own herd, to dress for the 
 wayfaring man that was come unto him ; 
 but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed 
 it for the man that was come to him. 
 
 5 And David's anger was greatly kindled 
 against the man ; and he said to Nathan, 
 
 is«,w%(o ^5 the Lord liveth, the man that hath 
 
 • E o<i "" ^^"^ ^^^^^ thi?ig II shall surely die : 
 
 1. ^ • ""■ 6 And he shall restore the lamb ' four- 
 
 Chap. XII. ver. 1. — There iverc tivo men &c.] This parable, 
 in which Nathan conveyed his message from God, is dressed up 
 with all the circumstances of art, tenderness, and delicacy, to 
 move compassion, and at the same tune to force from lum that 
 dreadful sentence of his own condemnation, ver. 5, even before he 
 perceived it. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 5. And David's anger was greatly kindled^ How partial does 
 self-love make us to our own faults ! David had forgiven himself 
 the double guilt of adultery and murder; but with the utmost in- 
 dignation passes a sentence of death on the rich man, " because 
 he had no pity." Wogan. 
 
 6. — restore — fourfold^ This was agreeable to the Levitical 
 law, Exod. xxii. 1. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.'2 How sur- 
 prising a blow must this have been ! In the midst of his wrath, 
 •when, forgetful of his owni iniquity, he had not onl}' adjudged a 
 person much less culpable to pay the legal penalty of a fourfold 
 restitution, but, from excessive detestation of his crime, had even, 
 contrary to law, passed sentence of death upon him : — then to be 
 told, "Thou art the man !" — Let us often think of this ; and as 
 often remember, that, with equal truth, though God forbid that 
 it should be with equal measure, the same thing holds concerning 
 every one of us. We all know our duty, or easily may : we are 
 all abundantly ready at seeing and censuring what others do 
 amiss ; and 3'et we all continue, more or less, to do amiss our- 
 selves, without regarding it But, in however strong delusion 
 men may remain at present, ere long remorse may seize them, 
 an adversary expose them, a friend rebuke them ; one way or 
 other, the case of David, who doubtless tliought he was exceed- 
 ingly safe, may become theirs ; and some voice proclaim aloud to 
 them, what they are afraid of wliispering to themselves, " Thou 
 .art the man !" Abp. Seeker. 
 
 How must David have been confounded when the Prophet an- 
 swered him in these words ! He had never looked into his otvn 
 heart while the Prophet was speaking to hiin. He saw not that 
 the guest coming to the house of the rich man was his own base 
 passion, that his poor neighbour was Uriah, and the ewe-lamb 
 his wife. His thoughts were entirely occupied with what he 
 thought the case of another sinner ; and he remained blind to 
 his own crime, which w.is much more heinous than that, against 
 which he had pointed a most righteous sentence. This story of 
 .David is one of the strongest instances of self-deceit, aud shguld 
 
 fold, because he did this thing, and because "^^'"'^ 
 he had no pity. ^.ouuo^ 
 
 7 % And Nathan said to David, Tliou 
 art the man. Thus saith the Lord God 
 
 of Israel, I "anointed thee king over Is- "isam-ie. 
 rael, and I delivered thee out of the hand '^' 
 of Saul ; 
 
 8 And I gave thee thy master's house, 
 and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and 
 gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; 
 and if that had been too little, I would 
 moreover have given unto thee such and 
 such things. 
 
 9 Wherefore hast thou despised the com- 
 mandment of the Lord, to do evil in his 
 sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite 
 with the sword, and hast taken his wife to 
 be thy wife, and hast slain him with the 
 sword of the children of Ammon. 
 
 10 Now therefore the sword shall never 
 depart from thine house ; because thou hast 
 despised me, and hast taken the wife of 
 Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 
 
 11 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will 
 
 make us seriously consider our aptness to delude oiu'selves, and 
 the danger which attends such conduct. Gilpin. 
 
 8. — and thy master's whm] Polygamy, which had been in- 
 troduced into the world before the deluge, was tolerated by God 
 under the Jewish dispensation, although it was contrary to the 
 first institution of marriage. It was allowed to the Jews in the 
 same manner as divorces, on account of the hardness of their 
 hearts. Concubine wives were for the most part slaves, and 
 were less solemnly married ; but the lawful wives had no other 
 advantage over them than tlie honour of having their cliildren 
 preferred to the inheritance. Fleury. 
 
 Q. Wliereforc liast thou dc.ipised &C.3 This remonstrance of 
 Nathan with David was worthy the dignity of a Prophet's cha- 
 racter and station, and such as became tlie majesty of him to 
 whom it was given. It was .grave, strong, affecting, and insi- 
 nuating. But how did the unhappy offender receive the remon- 
 strance? He immediately fell under conviction, acknowledged his 
 offence, and owned himself wortliy of death. The psalms which 
 he now composed shew his deep sense of guilt, and will be an eter- 
 nal memorial of the sincerity of his repentance. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 10. Non^ therefore the sttord .f/iall never depart from thine house, -^ 
 Meaning, that, as long as he Uved, there should be slaughters in 
 his family : which was fulfilled in the violent deatlis of his chil- 
 dren, Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijali. See chapters xiii, xviii, 
 and 1 Kings ii. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 As all vice is disobedience, and disobedience against God, 
 whose laws are transgressed by it, vice is not left to its natural 
 effects, though these are sufficiently disastrous, but calls dnwn va- 
 rious kinds of punishment from God. David fell in an evil hour 
 into the sins of adultery and murder: of his guilt ho was for 
 awhile insensible, till he was alaj-med by a message from Nathan 
 the Prophet ; anel from that time forward he saw no more happi- 
 ness and peace in this world : his life w.is disturbed witli tumults 
 and rebellions : always do we find him either flying from danger, 
 or weeping with sorrow. Let no man then consider the example 
 of David, as an encouragement to sin ; the miserable consequences 
 of sin were never more displayed than in the history of that man. 
 He was a sinner for a comparatively short periotl ; and he was 
 a sorrowing, afflicted, and tortured penitent for tlie rest of his 
 life. " The sword did never depart from his heuse." Jones of 
 Nayland. 
 
 11.— X nill raise up evil^-I tvill take Uiy reives &C.3 It should
 
 Dctid humble th hmsetf, 
 
 Hcfnre ,;,iso lip cx il agaiiist thcc out of thine own 
 l^lol liouso, and I will ' take thy wives before 
 'D,ut.28. thine eyes, and give them unto thy tieigh- 
 ^ hour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the 
 
 VL Sight of this sun. 
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 and is pardoned. 
 
 be well ronicmbcrcd, tliat thc«p expressions do not denote any- 
 positive .nctions of C<(k\, as if He prompted wicked men to do 
 the things with which He threatens David. Such a construction 
 as this is injurious to the Divine attributes, and makes God the 
 author of evil. The tnu- meaning is. that God, at that time, saw 
 the p«Tverse di- position of one of David's sons, and the crafty 
 disposition of one of his counsellors, which, if left unrestrained, 
 would not fail to cause David much inicasiiiess. Therefore, be- 
 cause David bad violated the Divine law, and committed adultery 
 and murder, God would not intcrjiose, but suffered the tempers 
 of these two wicked persons to follow their own course : wliere- 
 upon the one, bein;r ambitions of a crown, endeavours to depose 
 his father ; and the other, willing to make the breach irreparable, 
 advised the most detestctl thing he co\ild think of Thus, from 
 these .Scripture phrases, we are not to infer that God cither docs 
 or can do evil ; but only, that He permits evil to be done, which 
 His omnipotence might have prevented : or, in other terms, that 
 He suffers men naturally wicked to follow the bent of their 
 tenijjcrs, without any inteqiosition of His providence to restrain 
 them. Sliicklioiise. 
 
 As Nathan foretold to him, so a world of mischief and misery 
 fell out to liim from this one presumptuous act: his daughter 
 defiled by her brother ; that brotlier slain by another brother ; a 
 strong conspiracy raised against him by his own son ; liis concu- 
 bint'n <)|K"nly ilefiled by the same son ; himself afflicted by the 
 untimely death of that son, who was his darling ; reviled and 
 cursed to his face by a base unworthy companion ; besides many 
 other affronts, troubles, and vexations. So truly David felt, by 
 sad ex))erience, what woe is brought on by presumptuous sin. 
 Jij). Scindrrison. 
 
 in the sight of this sunr\ ^fcining, he shall do it openly, 
 
 so as to be visible to all. lip. Vococke. Absalom had a tent 
 snread on the house top, and there went in unto David's wives, 
 tliap. xvi. v!!, 22 ; also David fled from his son, and left his con- 
 cubines behind him, chap. xv. 11 — l(i. Bp. Pntnck: 
 
 13. — / have sinned ngninsl the Lord.l Here the example of 
 David begins to be as useful for our imiUtion, as it had before 
 been for our warning. Struck to the very heart with the sense 
 of so many and heinous iniquities, crowding in at once upon his 
 mind ; and al)horring himself for being able, first to commit, and 
 then to overlook tliein, he cries out, " I have sinned against the 
 I.onl." Few words indeed; but greatly expressive, and the more 
 so, lor bemg few. Astonishment, confusion, terrour, might well 
 stop the utterance of more for the present, and for no small time. 
 Allerwards, his sorrow obtained the relief of free vent : and his 
 penitent ps-ilms, especially the .'ilst, composed on this very occa- 
 sion, express most pathetically the depth of his humiliation, and 
 the e.-UTiestness of his entreaties for pardon, even after he had 
 been assured of it ; for still the consciousness that he was un- 
 worthy to receive it, would prompt him continually to pray for 
 It. Let all of us then, who like David have sinned", in whatever 
 instance it be, greater or less, repent like David too ; and, instead 
 of perversely defending ourselves bv the bad part of his example 
 resolve immediately to reform ourselves according to the good' 
 Abp. Scckfr. 
 
 It well iM-comes us to reflect seriously on David in his present 
 fallen condition. Heboid the greatest monarch of the earth thus 
 
 humbled for his 
 
 before Go<l ; confessing his shame with 
 e«ntrition and confusion of face, calling out for mercy and im- 
 ploring pardon in the presence of his meanest subjects ; as appears 
 rom the p^hns he composed on this occasion, and especially from 
 tl,^ ',J * , '' Vt ■^"rP"«"'. I'f caused to be publickly sun- in 
 the Ub.m.ade. There fs something in this iniage of penitence 
 mon- fitted to strike tlie soul with a drea.l and abhorrence of !",Tt 
 than It 1. iH>s.ible to express: something more edifying, more 
 
 1'3 For thou didst il secretly : but I will ct'SuTt 
 do this thing before all Israel, and before about ioj4. 
 the sun. 
 
 13 And David said unto Nathan, I have 
 sinned against the Lord. And Nathan 
 
 adapted to human infirmities, and more powerful to reform them, 
 than the most perfect example of unsinning obedience : — and from 
 the ()<}th psalm we see what reproach and insults he brought on 
 himself, even by his repcntiince and humiliation before God and 
 the world. What must we think of the fortitude and magna- 
 nimity of that man, who could endure what is there described for 
 a series of years .■' Or rather, how shall we adore that unfailing 
 mercy and all-sufficient goodness, which could support him thus, 
 under the quickest sense of shame and infamy, and deepest com- 
 punctions of conscience; which could enable him to bear up steadily 
 against guilt, infamy, and the evil world united, from a principle 
 of true religion, and, in the end, even rejoice in his sad estate, 
 inasmuch as he jilainly perceived it must finally tend to promote 
 the true interest of virtue and glory of God, that is, must finally 
 tend to promote that interest, which was tlie gi-eat governing 
 principle, and main purpose of his life .> Dr. Dc/anci/. 
 
 It is hardly possible for language to express greater agony of 
 mind than that shewn by David in his penitential psalms, Ps. xxv, 
 xxxviii, li, Ixix, written on this occasion. No one surely that 
 reads them can wish to undergo the misery there described. It 
 is impossible for any one of a sound mind to make so wretched a 
 bargain for himself, as voluntarily to plunge into such crimes, 
 that he may afterwards taste the bitter fruits of such repentance ; 
 or, what is still worse, that he may die witliout repenting, and 
 rush into endless torments. Bp. Porteus. 
 
 .4nd Nalhnn .said vnto David,'] It was, probably, not im- 
 mediately after David's confession of his guilt, but after he had 
 bewailed his sins so bitterly that his repentance appeared to be 
 hearty, that Nathan pronounced an absolution upon him ; and as- 
 sured him of the pardon of his guilt, and the remission of part of 
 the punishment, so that he should not die, either eternally, or in the 
 present world by an untimely death. Bj>. Patrick. It may very well 
 be asked, how it could happen, that Gotl so readily forgave l)avid 
 on his acknowledging his transgression, and yet did not forgive 
 Saul, though he made the same confession, " I have sinned?" But 
 the answer is obvious, that, be the form of expression what it will, 
 unless it proceeds from real sincerity of heart, the great Searcher of 
 hearts will not regard it. The true reason therefore, why Saul could 
 not obtain a revocation of his sentence of rejection was, that his 
 repentance was not sincere, that it did not proceed from an humble 
 and contrite spirit : at the same time that he acknowledged his sin, 
 he desired Samuel to honour him before the people, 1 Sam.xv. 30, 
 and persisted in his disobedience ever after : whereas David, on the 
 contrary, humbled himself, wept, and lamented for his sin, and, 
 in his psalm (li.) composed on this occasion, has left us an eternal 
 monument of his sincere repentance. Stackhousc. The fall of Da- 
 vid is one of the most instructive and alarming recorded in that 
 most faithful and impartial of all histories, the Holy Bible. The 
 transgression of one idle and nngarded moment pierced him 
 through with many sorrows, and embittered the remainder of his 
 life, giving occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme on 
 account of this crying offence of the man after God's own Iieart. 
 When he only cut off the .skirt of Saul's robe, his heart smote him 
 for the indignity thus offered to his master ; but when he trea- 
 cherously murdered a faithful and gallant soldier, who was fight- 
 ing his battles, after having defiled his bed, Iiis heart sinote him 
 not: we read at least of no compunction or remorse of conscience, 
 till Nathan was sent to reprove him. Then indeed his soitow 
 was extreme, and the psalms wliich lie composed on this oc- 
 casion express, in the most pathetick strains, the anguish of a 
 wounded .spirit, and the bitterness of his repentance. Still, the 
 rising again of David holds forth no encouragement to sinners 
 who may wish to shelter themselves under his example, or 
 flatter themselves with the hope of obtaining similar forgiveness ; 
 for, though his life was spared, yet God inflicted those tenu
 
 The child is stricken of God. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Solomon is horn. 
 
 chr'ist ^^'"^ ^^^^^ David, "^ The Lord also hath put 
 about 1031. away thy sin ; thou shalt not die. 
 * Ecci"' 47. 14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou 
 "■ hast given great occasion to the enemies of 
 
 the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that 
 is born unto thee shall surely die. 
 
 15 ^ And Nathan departed unto his 
 house. And the Lord struck the child 
 that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it 
 was very sick. 
 
 16 David therefore besought God for the 
 t Hei). child ; and David t fasted, and went in, 
 r«rf. and lay all night upon the earth. 
 
 17 And the elders of his house arose, 
 atid went to him, to raise him up from the 
 earth : but he would not, neither did he 
 eat bread with them. 
 
 18 And it came to pass on the seventh 
 day, that the child died. And the servants 
 of David feared to tell him that the child 
 was dead : for they said, Behold, while the 
 child was yet alive, we spake unto him, 
 and he would not hearken unto our voice : 
 
 Miei>^^^ how will he then tvex himself, if we tell 
 him that the child is dead ? 
 
 19 But when David saw that his servants 
 whispered, David perceived that the child 
 
 pnral judgments, which the Propliet denounced, that his soul 
 might be saved in the day of the Lord, and that others, admon- 
 islied by his example, might be more afraid to offend. Tlie re- 
 mainder of !iis days was as disastrous, as the beginning had been 
 prosperous. Rape, incest, murder, and rebellion, raged among 
 nis children : he was deserted by his friends, reviled by his ene- 
 mies, banished from his capital, plunged into the deepest affliction 
 by the ingratitude and death of his favourite and rebellious son 
 Absalom ; and, to fill up tlie measure of his calamities, had a 
 dreadful plague brought upon his subjects by his last offence ; so 
 that he died, exhausted at seventy years of age, still older in con- 
 stitution than in years. Dr. links. 
 
 After all, we know very well, that, notwitlistanding the miscar- 
 riages here placed before us, David was one of tlie greatest of God's 
 servants, an excellent king, and a most Divine Prophet, endued 
 with a wonderful measure of the Spirit of God, and one of the 
 greatest pilUirs of His church, in whose words the whole cliurcli 
 militant on earth daily offers up her prayers and praises. Let us 
 not then dishonour his memory by any light or indecent remarks 
 on his miscarriages, but let us consider him as one wlio highly de- 
 serves the character of a holy man. Let us take warning by his 
 miscarriages, not to provoke God by any similar sins ; and, when- 
 ever we may have fallen into transgression, let us imitate him in 
 a serious repentance, that so, making our timeh' peace with God 
 in this life, we may happily be restored to His favour, and num- 
 bered with His saints in glory everlasting. Reading. 
 
 The Lord also /talk put airai/ tin/ .tin ;] VV'e learn from 
 
 the case of David, that Ciod can punish, and that He can forgive, 
 at the same time. Punithinent from Him, when it falls upon 
 good men, is not the p:;nislmient of wrath and vengeance, but 
 tliat of love and correction : it is therefore a si<;n that He forgives, 
 and it ought to be so understood. Wlien Nathan said to David, 
 " The sword shall nevtr depart from thy iiouse ;" he said at the 
 same time, " The Lord hatli put away tliy sin ; tliou shalt not die." 
 God therefore forgives while He punishes, and punishes because 
 He forgives. It may possibly be a privilege of tlie godly to suffer 
 under Him; and every wi.'^e Christian will j)rav, as nianv liave been 
 Vol. L 
 
 was dead : therefore David said unto his ^^''°" 
 servants. Is the child dead ? And they It"ufio3i^ 
 said. He is dead. 
 
 20 Then Da\id arose from the earth, 
 and washed, and anointed himself, and 
 changed his ap})arel, and came into the 
 house of the Loud, and worshipped : then 
 he came to his own house ; and when he 
 required, they set bread before him, and 
 he did eat. 
 
 21 Then said his servants unto him, 
 What thing is this that thou hast done ? 
 thou didst fast and weep for the child, 
 li:hile it -was alive ; but when the child was 
 dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. 
 
 22 And he said. While the child was yet 
 alive, I fasted and wept : for I said. Who 
 can tell iclwther God will be gracious to 
 me, that the child may live ? 
 
 23 But now he is dead, wherefore should 
 I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall 
 go to him, but he shall not return to me. 
 
 24 ^ And David comforted Bath-sheba loss. 
 his wife, and went in unto her, and lay 
 
 with her: and '^ she bare a son, and "^he ' Ma"h. i 
 called his name Solomon : and the Lord ,', ci„on 
 loved him. 22.9. 
 
 known to do, that lliey may have all their punislmient in tbu 
 world. Jones of Nayland. 
 
 14.. — the child also thai is born uulo thee shall sitreli/ die.l In 
 tlie very .same breath that Nathan tells David, " The Lord hath 
 put away thy sin ;" he tells him also of a trj-ing affliction, and a 
 very trying one it proved, that lie sliould immediately undergo, 
 on account of that sin. Nor could the most fervent intercessions 
 of the roj-al penitent reverse the decree. Thus does Providence 
 ordain the course of events to this day, partly to complete the hu- 
 miliation of the sinner, partly that others may " hear and fear." 
 Long after peace of mind has been restored to the sinner, whicli 
 yet will ne\er be so restored to great offenders as not to leave 
 matter of melancholy reflection ; long after penitents are at exse 
 with respect to their future state ; afflicting consequences, with 
 respect to the present, will flow from their evil deeds. These arc 
 indeed considerations, under whicli no sinner shonUl dcspor.d ; 
 but surely others should take warning from them, and le;u-n of 
 how unspeakable value it is, to keep innocency from the first. 
 Alip. Seeker. 
 
 20. — David arose from Ike earlh,'J Sir J. Cliardin informs us, that 
 it is usual in the East to leave a near relative of a person deceased 
 to weep and mourn, till, on the third or fourth day at fartliest, tlie 
 otiier relations and friends go to see him, cause him to eat, lead 
 him to a bath, and cause him to put on new vestments, he ha\iiig 
 before thrown himself on the ground. Tlie surprise of David's 
 servants, who had seen his bitter anguisli while tlie child was sick, 
 was excited at his doing that himself, which it was customary for 
 the friends of mourners to do for them. Harmer. 
 
 2','. While the child nas yet alive, &c.] Tliis answer of Da- 
 vid's is the most truly heroick, philosophick, and religious, of any 
 recorded in history. It is, I venture to aflirm, the noblest lesson 
 on all that is reasonable and religious in grief that ever was 
 penned. Dr. Dclaney. 
 
 04. — called his name Solomon .] A name which signifies 
 peaceable ; forasmuch as God would give peace to Israel in those 
 days. Dr. Wells. 
 
 and (he Lord Imcd him.2 As this son was conceived in 
 
 4F
 
 David taketh Rahbali. 
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 Amnon in love ivith Tamar. 
 
 Tichn 25 And lie sent by the hand of Nathan 
 ^'V^^^ the propliet ; and lie called his name ||Je- 
 m„.is didiah, because of the Lord. „,^, 
 
 fwwr ijG<[[ And Joab fought against Kabbah 
 .HcLOKD. ^j. ji^g cliildren of Amnion, and took the 
 
 roval citv. . 
 
 '27 Aiid Joab sent messengers to David, 
 and said, I have fought against Kabbah, 
 and have taken the citv of waters. 
 
 '28 Now therefore gather the rest of the 
 people togetlier, and encamp against the 
 city, and take it : lest I take the city, and 
 
 f iieu t it be called atler my name. 
 
 ^cau"^! 2i^ And Da\id gathered all the people 
 
 vpm it. together, and went to Kabbah, and tbught 
 against it, and took it. 
 1 chn-n. 30 s And he took their king's crown from 
 
 -■" ^' oft" his head, the weight whereof uas a ta- 
 lent of gold with the precious stones : and 
 it was set on David's head. And he brought 
 
 t iifb. forth the spoil of the city t in great abun- 
 
 31 And he brought forth the people that 
 xcere therein, and put t/tem under saws, 
 and under liarrows of iron, and under axes 
 of iron, and made them pass through the 
 brickkiln : and thus did he unto all the 
 cities of the cluldren of Ammon. .So Da- 
 Dvid and all the people returned unto Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 CHAP. XIIL 
 
 1 Amnon loving Tamar, hif Jonadab's connxcl feigning 
 hiinteif sick, ravislulk her. 15 He hutclli her, and 
 
 innocence, in the happy se.ison of God's reconciliation with his 
 parents, and of their ostabhslimcnt in tnir religion by sincere re- 
 pentance and humiliation before Him, it pleased Go<l to accept 
 him in n singular manner. And, to manifest His favour to him, 
 for the consolation of David, He conveyed His benediction to tlie 
 son by the same hand which had before conveyed His chastise- 
 ment to the father; He sent Nathan to David to bestow on his 
 ton, in His n.unr.the most blessed of all earthly, the most blessed 
 biit one of all heavenly appellations, Jcdidiah, or " the beloved 
 of the Lord." Dr. Deiantyf. 
 
 27. — hatf lahn Ike rill/ of mnler.^.'] That part of the city 
 « hich lay upon the water ; the other part, which was the heart 
 of the city, being yet unsrihdued. Rp. Pa/rick. Some are of opi- 
 nion, that this roynl city of Kabbah was called the cili/ of water.';, 
 either because it stood on a river, or was encompassed with water 
 for its «lcfence. Btit .luin'iis renders the words, " he cut off the 
 waters which supplie<l the town ;" which translation Josephus 
 M-ems to approve, by telling us, that Joab seized on all the aque- 
 ducts which led to the city. Stackhouse. Rabbah was the prin- 
 rinal <ir\- of the Ammonites, situ.ated on the river .labboh. 'I'he 
 name Mgnifies " great" or " populous," and is applied to other ci- 
 ties: hence tliis is styled, for distinction's sake, at Deut. iii. 11, 
 " IVibhah of the children of .\mmon." Dr. IVeU.i. 
 
 •"<". — the neighl n'hfrcff wot &c.] Rather, the price or I'aliie, 
 as the Hebrew word often signities: f>r the tveight of a talent 
 could not be borne on a man's hea<l. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31 . — brought forih ihe penple vS;c.] These dreadful punishments 
 were intended to terrify other countries from violating the laws 
 of nations, by abusing publick ambassadoiirs. .Some have deemed 
 tl«ese punishment.s too severe, and have therefore supposed tliat 
 
 shamefully liirnclh her an ay. 19 Absalom entertain- Before 
 eth her, and coticealclh his purpose. 23 At a sheep- ^^'^.'J^J 
 shcarins, among all the ki'ig's sons, he hilleth Am- 
 non. iiO David grieiing at the vcn-s is comforted hy 
 Junadab. 37 Absalom Jiieih to I'almai at Geshur. 
 
 AND it came to pass after this, that 
 Absalom the son of David had a fair 
 sister, whose name tvas Tamar ; and Am- 
 non the son of David loved her. 
 
 'i And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell 
 sick for his sister Tamar ; for she was a 
 virgin; and t Amnon thought it hard for f"*^''- 
 im to do any tiung to iier. nUout, or, 
 
 3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name *"'''<^" '« 
 xcas Jonadab, the son of Shimcah David's Am,wn. 
 brother : and Jonadab rcas a very subtil 
 man. 
 
 4 And he said unto him. Why art thou, 
 
 being the king's son, tlean ttiom day to tHeb.«/,m. 
 day ? wilt thou not tell me ? And Am- ]„jrli'„g i-y 
 non said unto him, I love Tamar, my bro- m»r»in:;- 
 ther Absalom's sister. 
 
 5 And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee 
 down on thy bed, and make thyself sick : 
 and when thy father cometh to see thee, 
 say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister 
 Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress 
 the meat in my sight, that 1 may sec it, 
 and eat it at her hand. 
 
 if So Amnon lay down, and made 
 himself sick : and when the king was 
 come to see hiin, Amnon said unto the 
 king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister 
 
 David acted thus in his state of impenitence, when tlie mild and 
 gentle Spirit of God had departed from him, and he was become 
 cruel and furious as well as lustful. ' Bp. Patrick. If any apology 
 for David's conduct be deemed necessary, it should be recollected, 
 that these Ammonites were monsters of barbarity, as appears from 
 the conditions they offered to the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilcad, 
 1 Sam. xi. 2 : and the punishments here mentioned were inflicted 
 by the Ammonites themselves, on those .Jews whom they took 
 prisoners. David, therefore, when he conquered their countr} , 
 and reduced their capitiil city, used thenn with the s.ime cruelty ; 
 not every one of them indiscriminately, but such only as appeared 
 in arms against him, and had cither atlvised, or approved the ad- 
 vice of putting such a disgrace on his messengers. Stackhouse. 
 But the v/ords admit of being translated. " He put them to tht 
 saw, to iron mines, .and to iron axes, and transported them to the 
 brickkilns ;" meaning, that he reduced them to slavery, and put 
 them to hard dnidger}'. This intertjretition, if it be admitted, 
 vindicates David from the inhumanity, which, as many conceive, 
 attaches to the sense of the common translation. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 Chsp. XHI. ver. 1. And it came to pass~\ Xow began a sad 
 scene to be opened of the calamities, which, Nat!)an had foretold, 
 ch. xii. 10, should befall the house of Da>fid. Tamr.r was David's 
 daughter b}' the sjime mother with Absalom, and therefore espe- 
 cially called his sister. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. And Jonadab .said unto him, &e.] Tlie advice of Jonadab 
 was execrably wicked, thus to indulge a most criminal piission in 
 his friend, and suggest the means by which he might accomplish 
 it, at the expense of his own lionour and his sistci-'s innocence. 
 Dr. Chandler. 
 
 t
 
 He first ratishethy 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 and then hateth her. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 paste. 
 
 chr'ist ^°'"^» ^"^ make me a couple of cakes in 
 about 1032. my sight, that I may eat at her hand. 
 
 7 Then David sent home to Tamar, 
 saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon's 
 house, and dress him meat. 
 
 8 So Tamar went to her brother Am- 
 non's house; and he was laid down. And 
 she took II flour, and kneaded it, and made 
 cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes. 
 
 9 And she took a pan, and poured them 
 out before him; but he refused to eat. 
 And Amnon said. Have out all men from 
 me. And they went out every man from 
 him. 
 
 10 And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring 
 the meat into the chamber, that I may eat 
 of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes 
 which she had made, and brought them in- 
 to the chamber to Amnon her brother. 
 
 11 And when she had brought them un- 
 to him to eat, he took hold of her, and 
 said unto her. Come lie with me, my sister. 
 
 12 And she answered him. Nay, my bro- 
 iHei.. ther, do not t force me; for * t no such 
 i L^^^r' thing ought to be done in Israel : do not 
 9- thou this folly. 
 
 u oul'iit n..< 13 And I, whither shall I cause my 
 so to be shame to go ? and as for thee, thou shalt 
 ""'' be as one of the fools in Israel. Now there- 
 fore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for 
 he will not withhold me from thee. 
 
 14( Howbeit he would not hearken unto 
 her voice : but, being stronger than she, 
 forced her, and lay with her. 
 f Heb. 15 % Then Amnon hated her t exceed- 
 
 tJt'reT'' ingly; so that the hatred wherewith he 
 greatly. haled her was greater than the love where- 
 with he had loved her. And Amnon said 
 unto her, Arise, be gone. 
 
 12. — for no such thing ought to be done^ She entreats him 
 not to defile the Cliurch of God with such forbidden practice.s, 
 whatever may be done in other nations; to consider also the foul- 
 ness of the sin, which would highly provoke the Divine majest}'; 
 the disgrace which the act woidd bring upon her, wlio would be 
 weighed down with shame; anil the loss of reputation which 
 would ensue to him, who would be looked upon as a man devoid 
 of all sense of religion, honour, and humanitj-. lip. Patrick. 
 
 13. — thoH shnlt be as one of the fools in Israel.'] Everj' one in 
 Israel that hears of this foul act shall condemn thee of great wick- 
 edness and folly. Bp. Hall. 
 
 for he will not withhold me from thee.] She seems to have 
 
 said this merely as coming first into her miiul, which she thought 
 might deliver her from the present danger: (Bp. Patrick:) for 
 she could not but know that her marriage with lier half brother 
 was forbidden by law. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 15. — hated her exceed i iigl i/ ;] Tlie villany was no sooner com- 
 mitted, than shame and vexation, the nntural attcTidants of exor- 
 bitant vices, changed his burning love into tlie contrary ex- 
 treme of an i\iiplacable hatred. Pi/le. It is no uncommon thing 
 for men of violent and irregular passions to pass from one ex- 
 treme to ajiothcr. The shame which accompanies a bad action, 
 
 16 And she said unto him. There is no . ''efore 
 cause: this evil in sending me away is Swufuwl 
 greater than the other that thou didst 
 
 unto me. But he would not hearken un- 
 to her. 
 
 17 Then he called his servant that mini- 
 stered unto him, and said, Put now this 
 xvoman out from me, and bolt the door af- 
 ter her. 
 
 18 And she had a garment of divers co- 
 lours upon her: for with such robes were 
 the king's daughters that were virgins ap- 
 parelled. Then his servant brought her 
 out, and bolted the door after her. 
 
 19 ^ And Tamar put ashes on her head, 
 and rent her garment of divers colours that 
 xvas on her, and laid her hand on her head, 
 and went on crying. 
 
 20 And Absalom her brother said unto 
 her. Hath Amnon thy brother been with 
 thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: 
 
 he is thy brother ; t regard not this thing, t Heb. 
 So Tamar remained t desolate in her bro- w/."*'"* 
 ther Absalom's house. t Heb. 
 
 21 ^ But when king David heard of all /"l'""" 
 these things, he was very wroth. 
 
 22 And Absalom spake unto his brother 
 Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absa- 
 lom hated Amnon, because he had forced 
 his sister Tamar. 
 
 23 % And it came to pass after two full 
 years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in 
 Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and 
 Absalom invited all the king's sons. 
 
 24 And Absalom came to the king, and 
 said. Behold now, thy servant hath sheep- 
 shearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and 
 his servants go with thy servant. 
 
 25 And the king said to Absalom, Nay, 
 
 the remorse, repentance, and many bad consequences which im- 
 mediately pursue it, make a recoil in every man's temper. Am- 
 non now hated his sister when he should have hated himself: 
 and, as his outrageous treatment of her made it imjjossible for 
 his guilt to be concealed, so Go<l seems to have ab.indoned him 
 to the tumult of his intemperate mind, on purpose to make His 
 punishment of David's adultery more marked, and the Prophet's 
 prediction of raising up evil to In'm out of his own Iiouse, diap. 
 xii. 11, more conspicuous. Stackhouse. 
 
 l6. — //(/* evil — i.i greater] Not a greater sin, but a greater 
 mischief to her, as it published her shame to all. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 19. — laid her hand on her head,] Probably, co\ered her face 
 with her hands, as ashamed to be seen, after the dishonour done 
 to her by her brother. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 20. — but hold no)v thy peace,] He seems to desire her to put 
 up with the injury in silence, that it might not bring too nmch 
 disgrace on the fimily; but, in truth, that he might the better 
 dissemble the revenge he intended. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 23. — had sheepshearers] The time of sheepshearing was, in 
 those countries, a time of rejoicing, and a feast was held at it. 
 We read of it at Gen. xxxviii. 12; and it was at such a time tliat 
 David sent to Nabal for assistance, 1 Sam. xxv. 8. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4 F 2 
 
 1030.
 
 Absalom killeth Amnon. 
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 Ilejlkth to Talmai al Geshur. 
 
 lOTO. 
 
 B,f..r. my son, let us not all now po, lest we be 
 ^ '"^'^'"^ rliarpeable unto thee. And he pressed 
 liim: howbeit lie would not go, but bless- 
 ed him. 
 
 'ib Then said Absalom, If not, I pray 
 thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. 
 And the king said unto him. Why should 
 he go with thee? 
 
 •27 But Absalom pressed him, that he let 
 Amnon ajul all the king's sons go with him. 
 28 % Now Absalom had commanded his 
 servants, saying, Mark ye now when Am- 
 non's heart is merry with wine, and when 
 I sav unto you. Smite Amnon ; then kill 
 htm,' fear not: II have not I commanded 
 you ? be courageous, and be t valiant. 
 
 '29 And the servants of Absalom did 
 unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. 
 Then all the king's sons arose, and every 
 man + gat him up upon his mule, and fled. 
 SO ^ And it came to pass, while they 
 were in the way, that tidings came to Da- 
 vid, saying, Absalom hath slain all the 
 king's sons, and there is not one of them 
 left. 
 
 31 Then the king arose, and tare his 
 garments, and lay on the earth; and all 
 his seiTants stood by with their clothes 
 rent. 
 
 .'j'2 And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah 
 David's brother, answered and said. Let 
 not my lord suppose that they have slain 
 all the young men the king's sons; for 
 Amnon only is dead: for by the t ap- 
 pointment of Absalom this hath been II de- 
 termined from the day that he forced his 
 sister Tamar. 
 
 33 Now therefore let not my lord the 
 king take the thing to his heart, to think 
 
 I Or, 
 
 since I have 
 commanded 
 you f 
 fHtb. 
 joni ofva' 
 tour. 
 t Ilcb. 
 rode. 
 
 t Heb. 
 mouth. 
 (Or, 
 lellltd. 
 
 20. -— upon Ai.f mule,'] Mules began to be used about the time 
 of Davitl, who ordered Solomon to be carried on his own mule, 
 1 Kings i. SS. A present of mules was made to Solomon, 1 
 Kings X. 25; and these animals were used for burdens and for 
 carriages, 1 Chron. xii. 40; Is. Ixvi. 20. Bucharl. 
 
 SO. — hntli slain all Ihe king's sons,"^ The messenger coming 
 away in .ilarm when Amnon was killed, thought that all the 
 king'; sons were killed also. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 37. Bui Ahs<ilumfc(l,2 As he hatl committed a wilful murder, 
 he could have no city of refuge in his own country; and there- 
 fore he fltd out of the kingdom to hi« mother's father. Thus did 
 fjoil, by leaving Amnon a prey to his own passions, " raise up 
 ••vil to David out of his own house:" a daughter ravished by her 
 own brother; that brother murdered by another brother; and 
 tl>.it c ther in exile on this very account, and destined soon to 
 pi- '- by a fate which would have been more deplorable, if it 
 hiid been less deser\ed. Dr. Del am i/. 
 
 -• Talmai, — king of Geshur.'} Tahiiai was Absalom's 
 crancUather on the mothers side, chap. iii. ti. Geshur seems to 
 h.ive Wn the c.-.pital of a small kingdom, and to have lain with- 
 .n the borrhTs „f the land of Israel: it wa.s probably in the half 
 tnbe of .Maii;i,-:ieh, which »as on the east of Jordan. ' Dr. Wdls 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1030. 
 
 t Hell. 
 
 accordin^U 
 the M-ord iif 
 
 that all the king's sons arc dead: for Am- 
 non only is dead. 
 
 \},\ But Absalom fled. And the young 
 man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes, 
 and looked, and, behold, there came much 
 peoi)le by the way of the hill side behind 
 him. 
 
 35 And Jonadab said unto the king, Be- 
 hold, the king's sons come: t as thy ser- 
 vant said, so it is. 
 
 '6^^ And it came to pass, as soon as he "'•J' ««""«<• 
 had made an end of speaking, that, behold, 
 the king's sons came, and lifted up their 
 voice and wept: and the king also and all 
 his servants wept t very sore. t Heb. 
 
 37 IT But Absalom fled, and went to ^^lej^m^"* 
 Talmai, the son of II Ammihud, king of A'"""i'- 
 Geshur. And David mourned for his son u or, 
 every day. Ammihur. 
 
 38 So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, 
 and was there three years. 
 
 39 And the soj/l of king David tl longed U O""- 
 to go fortii inito Absalom: for he was com- tumeu. 
 forted concerning Amnon, seeing he was 
 dead. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 1 Joal), suhorning a widow of Tckoah, hj a parable to 
 incline the king's heart to fetch home Absalom, bringeth 
 him to Jerusalem. 25 Absalom'.i beauli/, hair, and 
 children. 28 After two years, Absalom by Joab is 
 brought into the king's piesence. 
 
 OW Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived 
 that the king's heart was toward Ab- 
 salom. 
 
 2 And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched 
 thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I 
 pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, 
 and put on now mourning apparel, and 
 anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a wo- 
 
 39. — he teas comforted concerning Amnon,'} As Amnon could 
 not be recovered to life, his grief for him gradually subsided, and 
 his affection for his banished son began to revive; and he wished 
 to discover some method by which a reconciliation might be 
 brought about. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 Chap. XIV. ver. 2. — sent to Tekoah,} A place to the south 
 of Beth-lehem, about nine miles distant from it. Dr. Jl'ells. 
 
 a wise iroman,} That is, a prudent sensible woman. 
 
 who was able to manage such a matter properly. Dr. JVells. 
 Herein does Joab's cunning appear not a little, that he made 
 choice of a woman, rather than a man, as being likely sooner to 
 gain pity in lier miseries; a widow, which was a condition of 
 life more proper for raising compassion; a grave novum, (as Jo- 
 sephus calls her,) which made her better fitted for addressing 
 the king; and a wornan, dwelling in some distiuit part, and not 
 known in Jerus;dem; for the case, whicli she was to represent, 
 might not admit of being too readily investigated. Stack- 
 house. 
 
 anoint not thyself n'ith oil,} Ointments, mixed with per- 
 fumes, were in constant use among the ancients for the purpose 
 of cleanliness, ami to give a grateful oilour to the body. In 
 
 N' 
 
 1027. 
 
 
 I 
 
 \
 
 fninUd bif J^orth,-i>tr . 
 
 EnantftU hy (iff.'CiU'W 
 
 THE l)'ISOBF.i:)lF,"^T PROPHET.
 
 1 : i \JJ It: 
 
 n ii 
 
 tot Ijemiiom snin 
 t dfiol. ofc 
 
 i 10 m 
 
 h 9 ^ 
 
 •rtj rmo 119(1 
 
 i 
 
 luow UOiM
 
 JooVs artifice 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 to bring Absalom home. 
 
 < moTIt "1^" tliat had a long time mourned for the 
 I 1027. dead : 
 
 3 And come to the kinff, and speak on 
 this manner unto him. So Joab put the 
 words in her mouth. 
 
 4 ^ And when the woman of Tekoah 
 spake to the king, she fell on her face to 
 the ground, and did obeisance, and said, 
 
 t Hei.. t Help, O king. 
 
 ^"'* 5 And the king said unto her, What 
 
 aileth thee ';' And she answered, I am in- 
 deed a widow woman, and mine husband is 
 dead. 
 
 C And thy handmaid had two sons, and 
 they two strove together in the field, and 
 
 t Heb. there was t none to part them, but the one 
 
 Zween"" ^^^^^ ^^6 Other, and slew him. 
 
 ('•em. 7 And, behold, the whole family is risen 
 
 against thine handmaid, and they said. De- 
 liver him that smote his brother, that we 
 may kill him, for the life of his brother 
 whom he slew ; and we will destroy the 
 heir also : and so they shall quench my 
 coal which is left, and shall not leave to 
 my husband neither name nor remainder 
 
 I Hcb. t upon the earth. 
 
 face of the ^ ^ud the king said unto the woman, 
 
 mith. Go to thine house, and I will give charge 
 concerning thee. 
 
 9 And the woman of Tekoah said unto 
 the king. My lord, O king, the iniquity be 
 on me, and on my father's house : and the 
 king and his throne be guiltless. 
 
 10 And the king said, Wliosoever saith 
 ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he 
 shall not touch thee any more. 
 
 11 Then said she, I pray thee, let the 
 t Heb. king remember the Lord thy God, t that 
 ^vengerlf thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of 
 umddonot blood to destroy any more, lest they de- 
 lieJZf." stroy my son. And he said. As the Lord 
 
 times of distress, they neglected their persons, and abstained 
 from anointinff themselves. Dr. Chandler.' 
 
 5. — / am indeed a widow woman, &c.] The art and contri- 
 vance of this widow's speech is very remarkable. There is a 
 great deal of policy in her not making the resemblance of the 
 case she feigns, to that of Absalom, too close and perceptible, 
 lest the king should discover the drift of her petition, before she 
 had obtained a grant of pardon for her son, and before she made 
 the application of what she represented, to the king's own si- 
 tuation. Bp. Patrick, Slackhouse. 
 
 g. — the iiiiquilij be on me, &C.3 She prays that, if she re- 
 presente<l her case wrong, the gidlt might rest on herself and her 
 family, and the king remain innocent. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 II. — remember the Lord l/ii/ God,'] She begs him to " remem- 
 ber," or " mention," the name of God ; that is, to confirm what he 
 said by an oath. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 13. — n'hercfore then lutst Ikon lliought &c.] Here she dis- 
 covers Iier real intention ; and, from the concessions which she 
 had drawn in the king to make, in favour of her son, she argues 
 the propriety and reasonableness of his making the eame in favour 
 
 liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son r^ rTst 
 fall to the earth. 
 
 1027. 
 
 12 Tlien the woman said. Let thine 
 handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word 
 unto my lord the king. And he said, 
 .Say on. 
 
 13 And the woman said, Wherefore then 
 hast thou thought such a thing against the 
 people of God ? for the king doth speak 
 tin's thing as one which is faulty, in that 
 the king doth not fetch home again his 
 banished. 
 
 14 For we must needs die, and are as 
 water spilt on the ground, which cannot 
 
 be gathered up again ; II neither doth God H Or, 
 resj)ect atii/ person : yet doth he devise /,„,* wt 
 means, that his banished be not expelled '/-^en nwatf 
 
 r. , . h's life, he 
 
 from him. haihaito 
 
 15 Now therefore that I am come to '''^j"'*^ 
 speak of this thing unto my lord the king, '^'""' 
 it is because the people have made me 
 afraid : and thy handmaid said, I will now 
 speak unto the king ; it may be that the 
 
 king will perform the request of his hand- 
 maid. 
 
 16 For the king will hear, to deliver his 
 handmaid out of the hand of the man that 
 •would destroy me and my son together out 
 of the inheritance of God. 
 
 17 Then thine handmaid said. The word 
 
 of my lord the king shall now be t com- t Hcb. 
 fortable : for as an angel of God, so is my •^'"' ""' 
 lord the king t to discern good and bad : t^H«^_^ 
 therefore the Lord thy God will be with 
 thee. 
 
 18 Then the king answered and said 
 unto the woman. Hide not from me, I 
 pray thee, the thing that I sliall ask thee. 
 And the woman said. Let my lord the 
 king now speak. 
 
 19 And the king said, Is not the hand of 
 
 of his own son, from the regard he had to the desires and incli- 
 nations of the people. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 1 4. For we must need.'! die,^ She pleads for further pity for 
 him from the consideration of our common mort.-ility. 
 
 neither dolh God respect any person :'} If this be a right 
 
 translation, the meaning is, that David, though a great king, was 
 also mortal : but the Hebrew words will be better translated, Goil 
 docs not lake anai/ the soul, {or life ;) according to which she ar- 
 gues, from the sparing mercy of God, that He does not immedi- 
 ately inflict death on those wlio have deserved it, but (as follows) 
 He devisclh means, hy providing cities of refuge, to which the 
 slayer may flee, and be in safety. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 15. — because the people &c.] Rather, " though the people 
 have made me afraid ;" that is, tliey had discouraged her from the 
 bold attempt of so approaching the king. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 17. _ „s an angel of God,] The knowledge of God's will, 
 possessed by Uie blessed inliabit-onts of heaven, is clear and dis- 
 tinct : on which account, the highest character given of human 
 wisdom is, to be " as an angel of God, to discern good and bad." 
 Al/p. Sci;ker.
 
 Joab hringelh Absalom to Jerusalem, 1 1. S A M U E L. 
 
 and into the hing's presence. 
 
 » Hell. 
 
 I Or, (Ay. 
 
 n.ro,. Joab « iti. thee in all this ? Aiul the woman 
 ciiiiisr ;,„swcroil ami said, As tliy soul hvoth, my 
 '"-' lor.l the king, none tan turn to the rigiit 
 haiul or to the lefl from onght that my 
 lor.l the King hath spoken : I'or thy servant 
 Joab, he bade me, and he put all these 
 words in the month of thine handmaid: 
 
 'JO To letch abont this form of speech 
 hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and 
 my loril is wise, according to the wisdom 
 of an angel of (iod, to know all things that 
 arc in the earth. 
 
 i21 % And tlie king said nnto Joab, Be- 
 hold now, I have done this thing: go 
 therefore, bring the young man Absalom 
 again. 
 
 " '^'2 And Joab fell to the ground on his 
 fiice, and bowed himself, and t thanked the 
 king : and Joab said, To day thy servant 
 knoweth that I have found grace in thy 
 sight, my lord, O king, in that the king 
 hath fiilrilled the request of 11 his servant. 
 
 'J.J So ,loab arose and went to Geshur, 
 and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 
 
 'Jl- And the king said, Let him turn to 
 his own house, and let him not see my 
 face. So Absalom returned to his own 
 house, and saw not the king's face. 
 
 '2.5 % t But in all Israel there was none 
 to be so much praised as Absalom for his 
 beauty : from the sole of his foot even to 
 the crown of his head there was no blemish 
 in him. 
 
 2(5 And when he polled his head, (for it 
 was at every year's end that he polled it : 
 because the hair was heavy on him, there- 
 fore he polled it :) he weighed the hair of 
 his head at two hundred shekels after the 
 king's weight. 
 
 27 And unto Absalom there were born 
 three sons, and one da\ighter, whose name 
 Krt5 Taniar : she was a woman of a fair 
 countenance. 
 
 28 ^ So Absalom dwelt two full years in 
 Jerusalem, and saw not the king's face. 
 
 I Htb. 
 /fnd 111 Jh- 
 salom there 
 va$ ri>>/ a 
 haiutif'ni 
 vtnn in nil 
 Jtrnci til 
 ]*raue 
 grtrlly. 
 
 1 <). — none can turn &c.] No evasion whatever can conceal 
 the truth from my lord tile king. Dr. Chaitdlcr. 
 
 '2(1 — at every years eiiiT] The Hebrew should rather be 
 rondtred, " at stated times ;" tor it is a mistake to suppose tliat 
 Absiilom polled his head rcgidarly every year: the natural sense 
 IS, that he polled it at certain seasons, when it was " heavy 
 on him," in order to deliver himself from the weicht Iloubi- 
 pant. " 
 
 -- — at liro Itimdrcd slickcL'Tl In those days long hair was 
 rcckonc<l die greatest ornament : it was the custom to anoint it 
 WiUj fragrant ods of mjTrh, cinnamon, and the like and to 
 pow, er It wuh dust of gold ; so that it is not incredible tliat it 
 .hou a wcMgh two hundred shekels, as is here stilted. B,,. Palrick. 
 Or Uie racanmg may be, tluit Uie value of his hair was two hun- 
 
 29 Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to Bifore 
 have sent him to tiie king; but he would ^'j^^^''" 
 not come to him: and when he sent again 
 
 the second time, he would not come. 
 
 30 Therefore he said unto his servants. 
 See, Joab's field is t near mine, and he hath f h-i,. 
 barley there ; go and set it on fire. And "','^^"'^ 
 Absalom's servants set the field on fire. 
 
 31 Then Joab arose, and came to Absa- 
 lom luito his house, and said unto him. 
 Wherefore have thy servants set my field 
 on fire ? 
 
 S'Z And Absalom answered Joab, Be- 
 hold, I sent unto thee, saying. Come hi- 
 ther, that I may send thee to the king, to 
 say. Wherefore am I come from Geshur? 
 it had been good for me to have been there 
 still : now therefore let me see the king's 
 face ; and if there be any iniquity in me, 
 let him kill me. 
 
 33 So Joab came to the king, and told 
 him : and when he had called for Absalom, 
 he came to the king, and bowed himself on los.s 
 his face to the ground before the king: 
 and the king kissed Absalom. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 1 Ahsatom, 1)1/ fair xprec/ies and courlesie.i, slcaleth the 
 licai 1.1 III Israel. 7 Under prelence of a voir tie ob- 
 tainelli leave In go to Hebron. 10 He muketli there 
 a great eon.ij)iraci/. 1 .'J David upon the fieirs Jleetli 
 frotn Jerusalem. IJ) Iltal iroidd not leave him. 24 
 Zadok and Abiathnr arc sent back with the ark. 30 
 David and his company go up mount Olivet weeping. 
 31 He eurscth Altitltopliel s coiimeL 32 Hitshai is 
 
 sent back with inslrnctions. 
 
 - . , f i ■ 
 
 AND it came to pass after this, that 1024. 
 Absalom prepared him chariots and 
 horses, and fifty men to run before him. 
 
 2 And Absalom rose up early, and stood 
 beside the way of the gate : and it was so, 
 that when any man that had a controversy 
 t came to the king for judgment, then Ab- fUei. 
 salom called unto him, and said, Of what '" """■ 
 city art thou ? And he said, Thy servant 
 is of one of the tribes of Israel. 
 
 dred shekels : it should be observed, that it is not his whole head 
 of hair ; but the pollings of it, or the quantity taken from it, 
 which is thus estimated. Script, illi/st. 
 
 33. — and the king kis.tcd Ab.wlom.'^ We should here consider 
 the kindness of David, .and his tenderness towards his son Ab- 
 salom. Though the event proved that he was deceived in con- 
 ceiving him to be returned to his duty, yet what he did was 
 praiseworthy ; and we ought, after his ex.ample, readily to pardoq 
 thoge tluit have offended us, especially when they appear to feel 
 concern for their faults. Ostervald. 
 
 Chap. XV. ver. 2. — beside the way nf the gate :'\ The gate of 
 the palace, prob.ibly, where the king "used to sit to administer 
 justice. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Absalom's conspiracy. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 David Jleeth from Jerusalem. 
 
 1033. 
 
 chrTst ^ ^"^^ Absalom said unto him, See, thy 
 1024. matters are good and right; but IU//ere is 
 II Or, no man deputed of the king to hear thee. 
 w/t" "^ Absalom said moreover. Oh that I 
 frmiihe were made judge in the land, that every 
 Amg^dnwn- ^^^^ which hath any suit or cause might 
 come unto me, and I would do him jus- 
 tice ! 
 
 5 And it was so, that when any man 
 came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he 
 put forth his hand, and took him, and 
 kissed him. 
 
 6 And on this manner did Absalom to all 
 Israel that came to the king for judgment : 
 so x\bsalom stole the hearts of the men of 
 Israel. 
 
 7 IT And it came to pass after forty 
 years, that Absalom said unto the king, I 
 pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, 
 which I have vowed unto the Lord, in 
 Hebron. 
 
 8 For thy servant vowed a vow while I 
 abode at Geshur in Syria, saying. If the 
 Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jeru- 
 salem, then I will serve the Lord. 
 
 9 And the king said unto him. Go in 
 peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron. 
 
 10 ^ But Absalom sent spies throughout 
 all the tribes of Israel, saying. As soon as 
 ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye 
 shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. 
 
 11 And with Absalom went two hun- 
 dred men out of Jerusalem, that tcere call- 
 ed ; and they went in their simplicity, and 
 they knew not any tiling. 
 
 12 And Absalom sent for Aliithophel the 
 Gilonite, David's counseller, fi-om his city, 
 even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. 
 And the conspiracy was strong ; for the 
 
 6. — so Absalom stole the /tearts"] The name of David's son 
 carries tlie Israelites against tlie fatlier of Alisalom ; and now 
 they are unwittingly made loyal rebels. Tlieir hearts arc free 
 from conspiracy ; and they mean nothing but fidelit}', in the at- 
 tendance of a traitor. How manj' thousands are thus ignorantly 
 misled into a train of en'our. Their simplicity is as worthy of 
 pity, as their misguidance is of indignation. Bp. Hall. 
 
 7. — ojlcr forty years,'\ It has been a difficulty with com- 
 mentators to know \\ here to date the beginning of these forty 
 years. Some compute them from the time when the Israelites 
 first demanded a king of Samuel ; otliers, from the time when 
 David was first anointed king. Others again conjecture, tliat 
 an errour has crept into the Hebrew to.xt, and that instead of 
 
 forli/ should be read /o«r yeare ; that is, four years after Ab- 
 salom was reestablished in Jerusalem, and had used all his al- 
 luring arts to gain the affections of the nation. Siuckhoiise, Bp. 
 Patrick: 
 
 10. — As soon as ye hear tlie sotnid of the trumpet, '2 It wottld 
 appear from this, that Alj-alom had planted trumpeters at proper 
 distances to take the sound from one to another, aTid disperse it 
 over all the kingdom, that so all the friends to his cause might 
 instantly resort to his assistance. Stackkouse. 
 
 people increased continually with Absa- ^'f"™ 
 
 l/srvi CHRIST 
 
 102S. 
 
 lorn 
 
 13 •!" And there came a messenger to 
 David, saying, The hearts of the men of 
 Israel are after Absalom. 
 
 11- And Da\id said unto all his servants 
 that tvere with him at Jerusalem, Arise, 
 and let us flee ; for we shall not eke es- 
 cape fi-om Absalom : make speed to de- 
 part, lest he overtake us suddenly, and 
 t bring evil upon us, and smite the city t Hcb. 
 with the edge of the sword. ^''""'■ 
 
 15 And the king's servants said unto 
 the king, Behold, thy servants are ready 
 to do whatsoever my lord the king shall 
 t appoint. t Heb, 
 
 lb And the king went forth, and all his "*""■ 
 houshold t after him. And the king left t "eb. 
 ten women, 'ischich ae/'e concubines, to keep "' ''"f"*"' 
 the house. -• •^"*'* ' =''"'' ' 
 
 17 And trie Hn^'W^^ foi^th, and all the 
 people after him. and tarried in a place 
 that was far oflT.' ^'-'^ ■; '^ ^"''} - ,- 
 
 18 And all TifJ s^fvSftt§'|Jdssecl on iS'eside 
 him ; and all the Cherethites, and all the 
 Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred 
 men which came after him from Gath, 
 passed on before the king. ''' '' , ' 
 
 19 IT Then said the king to Ittai the 
 Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with 
 us ? return to thy place, and abide with 
 the king : for thou art a stranger, and also 
 an exile. 
 
 20 Whereas thou camest but yesterday, 
 should I this day tmake thee go up and tHeb, 
 down with us ? seeing I go wliither I may, " '' ' 
 return thou, and take back thy brethren : 
 mercy and truth be with thee. 
 
 21 And Ittai answered the king, and 
 
 l"?. — The hearts of the inen of Israel are after Absalom.'] If it 
 sliould be deemed surprising that Absalom should so easily draw 
 the Israelites into rebellion against David ; it should not be Jbr- 
 gotten, that the providence of God permitted the conspiracy to 
 go on without discovery, and rise to that height of driving D.-v- 
 vid from his throne, in order to bring on the punishments de- 
 nounced against hiui by Xathan, for his conduct respecting Batli- 
 sheba and L'riah. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 1 i. — Arise, and let ii.^ flee ,-J A more moving spectacle could 
 not be exhibited than this of a king, venerable for his years and 
 victories, sacred in the characters both cf his piety and of pror 
 phecy, renowned for prowess and revered for wisdom, thus re- 
 duced to the condition of a fugitive, to a sudden and extreme 
 necessity of flying for his life, from the presence and by tiie re- 
 bellion of his own son, his darling and delight ; and a whole 
 country loudly lamenting his fate. Dr. Dclancy. 
 
 IS. — all the Gittites, Sec] The Gittites were either proselytes 
 born in Gath of the Philistines, who came with Ittui to David ; 
 or Israelites who fled to David in hLs exile at Gath. For the 
 Cherethites and Pelethites, see note at ch. A-iii. 18. 
 
 tQ. — return to tliii place, &c.] Return to Jerusalem and abide 
 with Absalom, who is king by usurpation. Ji^. i'alrick. 
 
 make thet 
 wander ia 
 
 e'in^r
 
 TJtc ark is sent back. 
 
 II, SAMUEL. 
 
 Hiishai is sent back xvith instructions. 
 
 >■«■ 18. I 
 Cfdran. 
 
 BW.« said, As the Lord liveth, and ^5 my lord 
 *^""?'^ the king liveth, surely in what place my 
 lord the king shall be, whether ni death or 
 lite, e\en there also will thy servant be. 
 
 2'i Anil David said to Ittai, ('O and pass 
 over. And Ittai the Giltite |)as>ed over, 
 and all his men, and all the little ones that 
 ZLcrc with him. 
 
 '23 And all the country wept with a loud 
 voice, and all the people passed over : the 
 king also himself passed over the brook 
 II Kidroti, and all the people passed over, 
 toward the way of the wilderness. 
 
 '2+ 1; And lo Zadok also, and all the Le- 
 \ites nerc with him, bearing the ark of the 
 covenant of God : and they set down the 
 ark of God; and Abiathar" went up, imtil 
 all the people had done passing out of the 
 city. 
 
 •25 And the king said unto Zadok, Carry 
 back the ark of Ciod into the city : if I 
 shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, 
 he will bring me again, and shew me hot/i 
 it, and iiis iiabitation : 
 
 '2() Hut if he thus say, I have no delight 
 in thee ; behold, /lere am I, let him do to 
 me as seemeth good unto him. 
 
 27 The king said also unto Zadok the 
 
 9. 
 
 I s»m <i. priest, Art not thou a * seer ? return into 
 the city in peace, and your two sons with 
 you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the 
 son of Abiathar. 
 
 28 See, I will tarry in the plain of the 
 wilderness, until there come word from 
 you to certify nie. 
 
 23. — the Kay of the nildcntess.'] The wilderness that lay be- 
 tween Jerusalem and .Jericho. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2,';. — Carry back the ark of God^ David may have ordered 
 the ark to be carried back, for several reasons : because lie did 
 not tliink it decent to have so sacred a thing exposed to hazard 
 and inconvenience; liecause this might have argued an imdue 
 distrust of the goodness and providence of God ; and principally, 
 perhaps, because the priests and Levites, of whose fidelity he was 
 satisfied, could do him more service by remaining in Jerusalem, 
 than by attending in his camp. Stac'klumsc. 
 
 2G. — /<■/ him do to mc as sccmcth g(Hxr\ This language shews 
 with what profound humility David received the chastisement of 
 tlie Lord, and with what resignation he submitted to the Divine 
 will. Thus ought all, whom GoA afflicts, and esjjccially great 
 sinners, to humble themselves under His hand, and bow to His 
 supreme will. Oslervald. 
 
 28. — to certify mer\ To certify him of Absalom's designs, in 
 order that he might direct his course accordingly. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 •29. Zadok therefore and Abiathar'] Abiathar was the high 
 Driest, and Zadok only the second i)riest ; but Zadok seems to 
 have been the greatest favourite with David, and to have acted 
 •» the principal, being always spoken of first. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 •M. — by the ascent of mount Olivet,'] Mount Olivet or the 
 mount ol Olives, was a short distance from Jerusalem towards 
 
 JorC' Dr C/.r,-;)/'"'*'' '''"" "*■ "" '^"'"'^ ""'' '^' ^""^^ °' 
 his head cmered. _ barefoot ;] Covering the head was used 
 
 29 Zadok therefore and Abiathar car- ^.^^''^ll.^ 
 ried the ark of God again, to Jerusalem: iojs 
 and they tarried there. 
 
 30 If And David went up by the ascent 
 
 o( mount Olivet, tand wept as he went up, t Hci- 
 and had his head covered, and he went ^',j"^,,"^^,. 
 barefoot : and all the people that -was with '"s 
 him covered every man his head, and they 
 went up, weeping as they went uj). 
 
 31 If And one told David, saying, Ahi- 
 thophel is among the conspirators with 
 Absalotn. And David said, O Lord, I 
 pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophcl 
 into foolishness. 
 
 32 ^ And it came to pass, that xvhen 
 David was come to the top of the mount, 
 where he worshipped God, behold, Ilushai 
 the Archite came to meet him with his coat 
 rent, and earth upon his head : 
 
 33 Unto whom David said. If thou pass- 
 est on with me, then thou shalt be a bur- 
 den unto me : 
 
 34 But if thou return to the city, and 
 say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, 
 O king ; as I have been thy father's servant 
 hitherto, so "ivill I now also be thy servant : 
 then mayest thou for me defeat the coun- 
 sel of Ahithophel. 
 
 35 And hast thoti not there with thee 
 Zadok and Abiathar the priests ? therefore 
 it shall be, that what thing soever thou 
 shalt hear out of the king's house, thou 
 shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the 
 priests. 
 
 36 Behold, they have there with them 
 
 by persons in great distress, or when they were loaded with dis- 
 grace and infamy, Esther vi. 12; 2 Sam. xix. 4; Ezck. xii. 6. 
 To walk " barefoot," also, was an indication of great distress. In 
 ancient times, the shoes of great and wealthy persons were made 
 of very rich materials, and ornamented with jewels, gold, and 
 silver. When any great calamity befell them, either publick or 
 private, they not only stripped themselves of these ornaments, 
 but of their very shoes, and walked barefoot. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 31. — turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.'] It is 
 worthy of observation, that, when i)avid prayed to the Lord, it 
 was not against Ahithophel, but against his counsel. Dr. Hales. 
 
 S3. — thou shall be a burden unto me :'\ As he was no soldier, 
 he could not be useful in the field, and would contribute to dis- 
 tress David for provisions. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 34. — say unto .Absalom, I n-ill be thy .tervrrnt, 6cc.] This conduct 
 of David may appear perfidious, in advising Hushai to offer his 
 service to Absalom, for the purpose of betraying him. We should 
 recollect, however, that Absalom, as a traitor, a murderer, and a 
 rebel, had forfeited all the rights of society ; and that David could 
 be no more guilty of perfidy in forming such a design to supplant 
 him, than any man would be, who should deceive a madman, so 
 as to prevent his murdering his friends. Slackhou.ic. 
 
 Absidom was an unnatural rebel, and Ahithophel a traitor ; and 
 on the quashing of their rebellious plans depended the religion 
 and prosperity of the kingdom. Accordingly, David only di sired 
 that of Hushai, which every good subject, that wished well to hi.^ 
 king and country, was in duty bound to do. Dr. Cliandkr.
 
 Ziba*s falsehood. 
 
 CHAP. XV, XVI. 
 
 Shimei curseth David. 
 
 CHeTst ^^^^^ ^^^ ^°"^' -^^^^^^ Zadok's son, and- 
 1023. Jonathan Abiathar's son; and by them ye 
 shall send unto me every thing that ye can 
 hear. 
 
 37 So Hushai David's friend came in- 
 to the city, and Absalom came into Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 1 Ziba, by presents and fahe suggestions, obtaineth his 
 master's inheritance. 5 At Bahurim Shimei curseth 
 David. 9 David with patience abstaineth, and re- 
 straiTieth others, from revenge. 15 Hushai itisifiu- 
 ateth himself into Absalom's counsel. 20 Ahithophel's 
 counsel. 
 
 AND when David was a little past the 
 top of the hill, behold, Ziba the ser- 
 vant of Mephibosheth met him, with a 
 couple of asses saddled, and upon them 
 two hundred loaves of bread, and an hun- 
 dred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of 
 summer fruits, and a bottle of wine. 
 
 2 And the king said unto Ziba, What 
 meanest thou by these? And Ziba said. 
 The asses be for the king's houshold to 
 ride on j and the bread and summer fruit 
 for the young men to eat ; and the wine, 
 that such as be faint in the wilderness may 
 drink. 
 
 3 And the king said. And where is thy 
 master's son? And Ziba said unto the king, 
 Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem : for he 
 said. To day shall the house of Israel re- 
 store me the kingdom of my father. 
 
 4 Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, 
 thine are all that pertained unto Mephibo- 
 sheth. And Ziba said, 1 1 humbly beseech 
 thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my 
 lord, O king. 
 
 Heb. 
 
 r do obei- 
 
 Chap. XVI. ver. 1. — the top of the hill,^ Mount Olivet, 
 chap. XV. 30. 
 
 — — a bottle of wine.~^ A leathern bottle or vessel, made of a 
 large hide, holding probably a considerable quantity. See note 
 on 1 Sam. xxv. 18. 
 
 S. —for he said. To day shall the house &c.T This seems to be 
 a fiction of Ziba's, but well contrived ; for, the family of David 
 being now broken, Mephibosheth might think that the crown of 
 his grandfather Saul might descend to him. On this occasion, 
 however, David seems to have been too credulous, and rashly to 
 have condemned Mephibosheth, before he was heard in his de- 
 • fence, not imagining that Ziba would come to him with a noto- 
 rious falsehood. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — he came forth, and cursed &C.3 With a heavy heart and a 
 covered head, and a weeping eye, and bare feet, David had gone 
 away from Jerusalem. Never had he approached it with more 
 joy than now he left it with sorrow. How could he do otherwise, 
 when the insurrection of his own son drove him out from his 
 Jjouse, from his throne, from the ark of God .'' And now, when 
 the depth of this grief deserved nothing but compassion, the foul 
 mouth of Shimei entertains David with curses. In all the time 
 of David's prosperity, we heard no news of Shimei ; his silence 
 and colourable obedience made him pass for a true subject : yet, 
 .all this while, his heart was unsound .ind ti'aitorous. Peace and 
 good success hide many a false heart : adversity will not deceive 
 Vol. I. 
 
 5 f And when king David came to Ba- 
 hurim, behold, thence came out a man of 
 the family of the house of Saul, whose name 
 •was Shimei, the son of Gera : || he came 
 forth, and cursed still as he came. 
 
 6 And he cast stones at David, and at 
 all the servants of king David : and all the 
 people and all the mighty men tcere on his 
 right hand and on his left. 
 
 7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, 
 Come out, come out, thou t bloody man, 
 and thou man of Belial : 
 
 8 The Lord hath^returned upon thee all 
 the blood of the house of Saul, in whose 
 stead thou hast reigned ; and the Lord 
 hath delivered the kingdom into the hand 
 of Absalom thy son ; and, t behold, thou 
 art taken in thy mischief, because thou art 
 a bloody man. 
 
 9 IF Then said Abishai the son of Ze- 
 ruiah unto the king. Why should this "dead 
 dog curse my lord the king? let me go 
 over, I pray thee, and take off his head. 
 
 10 And the king said. What have I to 
 do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah ? so let 
 him curse, because the Lord hath said 
 unto him. Curse David. AMio shall then 
 say. Wherefore hast thou done so ? ' 
 
 11 And David said to Abishai, and to 
 all his servants. Behold, my son, which 
 came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: 
 how much more now mai/ this Benjamite 
 du it? let him alone, and let him curse; 
 for the Lord hath bidden him. 
 
 12 It may be that the Lord will look on 
 mine II t affliction, and that the Lord will 
 requite me good for his cursing this day. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1023. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 he stilt came 
 J'orlh and 
 cuTseit. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 man of 
 Mood. 
 
 tHeb. 
 IkIioIiI thee 
 in thy evU. 
 
 • 1 Sam, 
 
 24. 14. 
 chap. 3. 8. 
 
 n Or, 
 teart. 
 f Htb. eye. 
 
 us, but will make a true report, as of our own power, so of die 
 disposition of others. Bp. Hall. 
 
 10. — the Lord hath said unto /«'w!,] He means, that the Lord 
 had given hun an opportunity of venting his rage and malice, as 
 a punishment on David. In humbly submitting to this con- 
 temptuous abuse, which he considered as dispensed by God, 
 David's virtue was admirable : for it is hard indeed to stifle all 
 motions to revenge, when the provocation is great, and the means 
 of gratifying it at h;md. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 In this expression, and that which follows, ver. 11, " The Lord 
 hath bidden him," it is not meant that God put any wickedness 
 into Shiraei's heart, but that He left him to his own wickedness ; 
 took a%vay that prudence which should h.ive restrained him from 
 such hazardous conduct, and brought David into so distressed a 
 situation, that he was exposed to such scorn and insolence. In 
 short, David considered Shimei as an instrument in tlie hand of 
 Providence, and endured his abuses patiently out of a conscious- 
 ness of his.o'ivn sinfuhiess, and a reverence for that Deity who 
 had brought him tlius low. Slack-house. 
 
 12. // 7Hat/ be that the Lord will look Scc.l This answer of 
 David, while it shews his high reverence for God, and his con- 
 sciousness that all Shimei's reproaches were undeserveil, marks 
 the generosity of his temper, and his humble hope that God 
 would reward him for his patient submis&ioa to the puni^ihnient 
 now allotted to him. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 4G
 
 JIushai comelh to Absalom. 
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 AJiilhopheVs counsel. 
 
 Vi-ft>rv 
 
 cii itrsT 
 
 I 1Kb. 
 duMiid tiitn 
 vuk Uuit. 
 
 t Ilcb. 
 1^1 the 
 
 k\n^ /lit". 
 
 13 And as David and liis men went by 
 tlic wav, Shimci went along on tlie hill's 
 side over against him, and cursed as he 
 went, and tlucw stones at liini, and + cast 
 
 dust. 
 
 14 And the king, and all the peojde that 
 vere with him, came weary, and refreshed 
 themselves there. 
 
 15 % And Absalom, and all the people 
 the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and 
 Ahithophel with him. 
 
 l(i And it came to pass, when Hiishai 
 the Archite, David's friend, was come un- 
 to Absalom, that Hushai said unto Ab- 
 salom, + God save the king, God save the 
 king. 
 
 17 And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this 
 thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest 
 thou not with thy friend ? 
 
 18 And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; 
 but whom the Lord, and this people, and 
 all the men ol" Israel, choose, his will I be, 
 and with him will I abide. 
 
 19 And again, whom should I serve? 
 should 1 not sct~ve in the presence of his 
 son ? as I have served in thy father's pre- 
 sence, so will I be in thy presence. 
 
 '20 % Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, 
 Give counsel among you what we shall 
 do. 
 
 How atlmirablp was the meekness on this occasion of that holy 
 king and I'rojjhet David ! When he was reviled by Shimei in 
 the presence of all his hast, he took it patiently, ami reviled not 
 again ; hut, as confessing C!od to be the autiior of iiis innocency 
 and good name, resigned himself to His good pleasure. Let him 
 alone, he says, for Clod hath commanded him to curse David; 
 and jicrhaps God intt^ndeth thereby to render me some good turn 
 for these cursings this day. Clmrch Homilies. 
 
 13. — and cast diisl.^ Sir J. Chardin has made an observation 
 ■which may illustrate this : he says, that in almost all the East, those 
 who accuse a criminal, or demand justice against him, throw dust 
 upon hini ; as much as to say, he deserves to be put under ground: 
 and It is a common imprecation of the Turks and Persians, Be 
 emercd u ilh earth. So Shimei may have designed to declare, by 
 what he did, that David was unworthy to live. Harmcr. 
 
 Whether Shimei had been a personal sufferer in the fall of 
 Sauls fiundy, or wiiat else had exasperated him against David, 
 does not a^ipear ; but it seems as if he had conceived some most 
 flagrant otlence against him, when neither the presence of a king, 
 nor the terrour of his guards, could restrain him from such be- 
 haviour. It is a proof too how much the king had fallen into 
 contempt, when a private person could vent his malice in so gross 
 a manner w iih impunity. Stuckhouse. 
 
 .i.V\T- ?"'■" !'"'" "'.VJ"""-'-'^ concubines,-} It appears from this, 
 that Ahithophel was a profane politician, who tUd not regard bv 
 how wKke<l means he accomplished his ends. His intention iii 
 pving this advice apj^ars from what follows to have been to 
 make the lather and son irreconcileabie enemies, and to convince 
 wipcr^n, that they could never come to an accommodation. Bn. 
 
 i fil^h in , "" .^"'"""'""J ''y Absalom with his father's wives is 
 a iresh instance ot the impiety and wickedness of this wretched 
 
 Dav d L hU u '^"''-; V™'' =* J"*' "<lgment of God upon 
 il.2 V^k u ."'\">' ''"'' ^^^ accomplishment of what the Pro- 
 phet Nathan had Uueatenetl him with, that God would Ud.eWs 
 
 Bif.re 
 
 21 And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, j,j,j^isp 
 Go in unto thy father's concubines, which loss. 
 he hath left to keep the house ; and all Is- 
 rael shall hear that thou art abhorred of 
 thy father : then shall the hands of all that 
 arc with thee be strong. 
 
 ^2^2 So they spread Absalom a tent upoti 
 the top of the house : and Absalom went 
 in unto his father's concubines in the sight 
 of all Israel. 
 
 23 And the counsel of Ahithophel, 
 which he counselled in those days, rvas as 
 if a man had enquired at the t oracle of t Heu. 
 God : so "d'as all the counsel of Ahithophel 
 both with David and with Absalom. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 I Ahilhophel's counsel is overthrown by Ilvshai's, ac- 
 cording to God's appointment. 15 Secret intelligence 
 is sent unto David. 23 Ahithophel hangelh himself. 
 25 Amasa is made captain. 27 David at Mahanuim 
 is furnished with jn-cnision. 
 
 MOREOVER Ahithophel said unto 
 Absalom, Let me now choose out 
 twelve thousand men, and I will arise and 
 pursue after David this night : 
 
 2 And I will come upon him while he is 
 weary and weak handed, and will make 
 him afraid : and all the people that are 
 with him shall flee ; and 1 wUl smite the 
 king only : 
 
 wives and give them to one of his own house: and as Absalom 
 committed this detestable action by the counsel of Ahithophel, 
 whose purpose was to support the cause in which he was en- 
 gaged, and carry things to that extremity, that a peace between 
 l)avid and Absalom might be utterly impossible, we learn how 
 much evil may ai-ise from wicked counsels; and that which hap- 
 pened afterwards both to Absalom and Ahithophel proves that, 
 sooner or later, snch counsels are fatal to those that give them, 
 and to those that follow them. Ostervald. 
 
 23. And the counsel of Ahithophel, — tvas as if a man had en- 
 quired at the oracle of God ;] The counsel of Ahithophel was es- 
 teemed so sure and safe, that it was commonly followed, without 
 any doubt of the success. Bp. Patrick. It is often found too true 
 by experience, that persons of superiom* penetration and wisdom 
 are of bad intentions: they see further than other men, and are un- 
 der a temptiition to turn their minds to the overreaching of others, 
 and effecting of mischief: their ability in accomplishing wickedness 
 is a snare and a temptation to them; they find they can do it, and 
 therefore are ready and willing to do it. Such was the case with 
 Ahithophel. If any man was at a loss, here was one who could 
 tell liim how to act for the best : he was like an oracle : his judg- 
 ment was never under a mistake ; but he made a great mistake in 
 one respect — he left God out of the question. Providence made 
 no part of his plan. He had no regard to the ways of God, or 
 the laws of God : for he advised Absalom to commit such hor- 
 rible wickedness against his father's house, as coidd never be 
 forgiven, that the people might be sure there could never be a 
 reconciliation between them, and thereby might be c<jnfirmed in 
 their rebellion. All this he did without scruple, as a wise po- 
 litician ; and his advice, though very wicked in itself, was good 
 advice for promoting the ends he iiad in vTew. So practically 
 and experimentally true is it, that " the children of this world 
 
 I are in their generation wiser than the children of light," Luk« 
 
 I xvi. 8. Junes of Nat/land,
 
 // is (yverthrotDH hy Hushai. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 Secret intellwaice is sent unto David. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1023. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 vias right in 
 the eyes of, 
 &c. 
 
 f Heb. 
 
 what is in 
 hit mouth. 
 
 fHeb. 
 word, 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 counselled. 
 
 t Heb 
 bitter of 
 
 soul. 
 
 fHeb. 
 fallen. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 that thy 
 face, or, 
 presencego, 
 &c. 
 
 3 And I wiU bring back all the people 
 unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is 
 as if all returned: so all the people shall 
 be in peace. 
 
 4 And the saying t pleased Absalom 
 well, and all the elders of Israel. 
 
 5 Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai 
 the Archite also, and let us hear likewise 
 t what he saith. 
 
 6 And when Hushai was come to Absa- 
 lom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, Ahi- 
 thophel hath spoken after this manner: shall 
 we do after his t saying? if not; speak thou. 
 
 7 And Hushai said unto Absalom, The 
 counsel that Ahithophel hath t given is 
 not good at this time. 
 
 8 For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy 
 father and his men, that they be mighty 
 men, and they be t chafed in their minds, 
 as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: 
 and thy father is a man of war, and will not 
 lodge with the people. 
 
 9 Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or 
 in some other place: and it will come to 
 pass, when some of them be t overthrown 
 at the first, that whosoever heareth it will 
 say. There is a slaughter among the people 
 that follow Absalom. 
 
 10 And he also that is valiant, whose 
 heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly 
 melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy fa- 
 ther is a mighty man, and they which be 
 with him are valiant men. 
 
 11 Therefore I counsel that all Israel be 
 generally gathered unto thee, from Dan 
 even to Beer-sheba, as the sand that is by 
 the sea for multitude ; and t that thou go 
 to battle in thine own person. 
 
 1 2 So shall we come upon him in some 
 place where he shall be found, and we will 
 
 Chap. XVII. ver. 4. — the saying pleased Absalom'] The abo- 
 minable behavioxir of Absalom at this period shews to what a 
 height of wickedness every man may proceed, who has provoked 
 God to leave him to himself. WTien men are engaged in rebel- 
 lion, there is no wickedness at which they will stop. Bp. Wilson. 
 Absalom here approved of the detestable counsel of Ahithophel, 
 and consented to the murder of his father. This horrid circum- 
 . stance shews that this unnatural son was now filling up the mea- 
 sure of his iniquity, and was prepared for every extreme of wick- 
 edness. And such is unhappily too often the case of those who 
 have once embarked in an evil course, and stifled the voice of 
 conscience. Oslervald. 
 
 8. — as a bear robbed of her rvhelps~\ The female bear is in- 
 tensely fond of her young, and is dreadfully furious when de- 
 prived of them: in fact, she ventures her life to avenge her loss. 
 Script, illust. 
 
 12. — as the dewfalleth &c.] This is very beautiful and e.\- 
 pressive. The dew in Palestine, as well as in several other warm 
 climates, falls fast and sudden, and is therefore a proper emblem 
 of an active expeditious soldiery. Also the dew falls upon every 
 spot of ground, not a blade of grass escaping: a numerous anny 
 
 light upon him as the dew falleth on the ^'^fote 
 ground: and of him and of all the men wz]^ 
 that are with him there shall not be left so 
 much as one. 
 
 13 Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, 
 then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, 
 and we will draw it into the river, until 
 there be not one small stone found there. 
 
 l^ And Absalom and all the men of Is- 
 rael said. The counsel of Hushai the Arch- 
 ite is better than the counsel of Ahitho- 
 phel. For the Lord had t appointed to t Hei,. 
 defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to ^;"'"'"*^ 
 the intent that the Lord might bring evil 
 upon Absalom. 
 
 15 ^ Then said Hushai unto Zadok and 
 to Abiathar the priests. Thus and thus did 
 Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the eld- 
 ers of Israel; and thus and thus ha\e I 
 counselled. 
 
 16 Now therefore send quickly, and tell 
 David, saying, Lodge not this night in the 
 plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass 
 over; lest the king be swallowed up, and 
 all the people that are with him. 
 
 17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed 
 by En-rogel; for they might not be seen 
 to come into the city: and a wench went 
 and told them; and they went and told 
 king David. 
 
 18 Nevertheless a lad saw them, and 
 told Absalom: but they went both of 
 them away quickly, and came to a man's 
 house in Bahurim, which had a well in his 
 court; whither they went down. 
 
 19 And the woman took and spread a 
 covering over the well's mouth, and spread 
 ground corn thereon; and the thing was 
 not known. 
 
 20 And when Absalom's servants came 
 
 may be compared to it in this respect, being able to carry the 
 strictest search into every part. Dr. Delanei/. 
 
 13. — shall all Israel bring ropes~\ An hj'perbolical way of 
 speaking, whicli implies, that the army would be sufficiently nu-. 
 merous to pull down with ropes tlie walls and houses oi a forti- 
 fied city, into the ditch whicli surrounds it. Some, however, by 
 the Hebrew word which we translate ropes, understand troops or 
 bands of men, who would batter down walls and houses witJi 
 macliines. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. — For the Lord liad appointed] God had so blinded tlieir 
 eyes, and infatuated tlieir judgments, tliat they could not discern 
 what was best, but took that coiu^e which was to ruin Absalom. 
 Such is the wonderful overruling providence of God, acting, in 
 a variety of instances, unknown to us. Bp. Pairick. Go<l made 
 use of a wicked son to ])unish the father's oftences, and then cut 
 off the very instrument of His vengeance, who, by the meajis lie 
 took to distress and destroy his father, had rendered himself the 
 abhorrence of God and man. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 16. — speedili/ pass over;] Over tlie river Jordan: he feared 
 that Absalom might change his resolution, and iiicUue again to 
 the counsel of Ahithophel. Bp. PaJricL 
 
 4GS
 
 AliUhophel hangtth himself. 
 
 Before to the woman to the house, they said, 
 C'lJ^^sT ^y|n,re is Ahimauz and Jonathan ? And 
 Uie woman said unto them, They be gone 
 over the biool< of water. And when they 
 had sought and could not Had them, they 
 returned to Jerusalem. 
 
 21 And it came to pass, after they were 
 departed, that they came u]) out of the well, 
 and went and told king l)a\id, and said 
 unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over 
 the water: for thus hath Ahithophel coun- 
 selled against you. 
 
 22 Then David arose, and all the peojjlc 
 that li'cre with him, and tliey passed over 
 Jordan: by the morning light there lacked 
 not one of them that was not gone over 
 Jordan. 
 
 23 % And when Ahithophel saw that his 
 t Hell. counsel was not t followed, he saddled his 
 "'"'"' ass, and arose, and gat him home to his 
 Vt^'tiar.. ho"se, to his city, and t put his houshold 
 i"lc^nh°g in order, and hanged himself, and died, and 
 Usiuute. ^ygj. bi,ri(,ti in the sepulchre of his father. 
 
 '21' Then Da\id came to Mahanaim. 
 And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and 
 all the men of Israel with him. 
 
 25 % And Absalom made Amasa captain 
 of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa 
 Tins a man's son, whose name was Ithra 
 
 2."?. And ivhen Ahithophel saw &c.] The pride, the vanity, and 
 the ambition of Ahithophel, w ere all disappointed. He knew he 
 had given the best atlvice for the destruction of the king and his 
 party ; but he found that the worse advice was preferred, and 
 foresaw that it would be the ruin of Absalom, and of liis cause. 
 He had enteretl into the conspiracy with a persuasion, that his 
 advice would be taken, that he should continue to be the great 
 " oracle" he had hitherto been; but his purpose was frustrated: 
 that hurt his pride; and when the worse counsel was preferred 
 to the better, that opened a dreadful prospect; for in case of a 
 mi.souTiage, which he now considered as unavoidable, all his 
 golden hopes were blasted. His ambition had promised itself 
 we;ilth and honour; instead of which, the disgrace, infamy, and 
 punishment, due to his treason, presented themselves to his mind 
 And perhaps he now began to see, for the first time, that, as he 
 liad been agamst God, God was against him, and, accordino- to 
 the prayer ot David, was " turning his counsel into foolishnelis." 
 Lnder this calamity, what had he to support himself? Nothino' 
 but tlwt policy of a wicked man, which never supported any man 
 long It may work for a time, and seem to prosper; but when 
 It falls. It lalls to rise no more. In the trouble of a righteous 
 man there is hope; but in the trouble of the wicked there is none 
 He had no courage to make any farther trial; but, mvma the 
 whole matter up for lost, to avoid an ignominious death, which he 
 knew was what he merited, he went home to put an end to his 
 Iile, as many others have since done under the like circum- 
 rtanccs. Jones of Xaj/laud. 
 
 xhZr, ''"T'' '"""''f' "'"^ ''''^''•1 The wretched end of Ahi- 
 tho hel who was esteemed as the oracle of God for the wisdom 
 Uas Th ' ''m '^" ^f\ Puni^I'ment of his treason. Dr. 
 itaus. rhc providence ot the wisest men bein^ too short to 
 
 ot 'hS' ice t^""' 'T"i' "^'^•'"" P"--^^^"™!'*!"". as well as 
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 David is furnished with ])ro'vision. 
 
 an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the ^hrTsx 
 daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Jo- 1023. 
 ab's mother. 
 
 26 So Israel and Absalom pitched in the 
 land of Gilead. 
 
 27 IF And it came to pass, when David 
 was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son 
 of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of 
 Amnion, and Machir the son of Ammiel 
 of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite 
 of Rogelim, 
 
 28 Brought beds, and ll basons, and ear- i| Or, tupt. 
 then vessels, and wheat, and barley, and 
 
 flour, and parched cotm, and beans, and 
 lentiles, and parched pulse, 
 
 29 And honey, and butter, and sheep, 
 
 and cheese of kine, for David, and for the , 
 
 people that were with him, to eat: for they i 
 
 said. The people is hungry, and weary, and ' 
 
 thirsty, in the wilderness. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 1 David vieu!i?ig the armies in their march givelh tkem 
 charge oj' Absalom. 6 The Israeliles are sore smitten 
 in the wood of Ephraim. 9 Absalom, hanging in an 
 oak, is slain by Joah, and cast into a pit. 18 AbsU' 
 lotn's place. 19 Ahimaaz and Cushi bring tidings to 
 David. 33 David mournethfor Absalom. 
 
 AND David numbered the people that 
 were with him, and set captains of 
 
 It was a severe misfortune to Ahithophel, that he kept bad 
 company; that he associated with persons of that description and 
 character, which from time to time have helped to bring ruin upon 
 many a man. A leader of sedition, let him be never so wise, has 
 bad designs: to the execution of bad designs bad people are ne- 
 cessary; and therefore a person of this sort soon finds himself 
 in the midst of them: they encourage him, and he makes his use 
 of them, and so they work together to fulfil some wise ends of 
 Providence, which it is hard for us to understand, till it pleases 
 God to bring the authors of evil to destruction. No man that 
 has the fear of God will unite himself with such a party; his 
 conscience will keep him from it: but, if that were not sufficient, 
 the expectiition of wrath and vengeance woidd deter him from 
 the undertaking. He that joins the wicked will come to the end 
 of the wicke<l. Let us beware then how we join any bad party. 
 Let no Absalom beguile us with fair and flattering speeches. He 
 is in the way to ruin himself; and we may soon be ruined along 
 with him. Absalom and Ahithophel both perished in a strange 
 manner: the judgment of God hanged up the one in a tree by the 
 hair of his head, and the other died by his own hand. Jones of 
 Nuifland. 
 
 25. — Ithra an Israelite,^ Called an Ishmeelite at 1 Chron. ii. 1 7. 
 Probably, in this place, the word has been altered by the errour 
 of transcribers, for some copies have " Ishmeelite." Had he been 
 an Israelite, there would have been no occasion to mention his 
 nation. Dr. Wall. 
 
 28. — parched coi-n,'^ Parched corn is a kind of food still re- 
 tained in the East. Hasselquist mentions, that, in the road be- 
 tween Acre and Seide, he saw a herdsman eating his dinner, con- 
 sisting of half-ripe ears of wheat, which he roasted and ate with 
 a good appetite. In Egypt, similar food is much eaten by the 
 poor, consisting of the ears of maize, or Turkish wheat, and a kind 
 of millet. With the Moors of West Barbary, the flour of parched 
 bariey is the principal diet, both at home and when they travel. 
 Harmer. 

 
 His charge concerning Absalom. 
 
 CHAP. xvm. 
 
 Absalom is slain hy Joab. 
 
 Before tliousands and captains of hundreds over 
 ''^^}J:' them. 
 
 2 And David sent forth a third part of 
 the people under the hand of Joab, and a 
 third part under the hand of Abishai the 
 son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third 
 part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. 
 And the king said unto the people, I will 
 surely go forth with you myself also. 
 
 3 But the people answered, Thou shalt 
 not go forth : for if we flee away, they will 
 
 t Hcb. not t care for us ; neither if half of us die, 
 heaHonui. ^^ they care for us: but now thou art 
 t Heb. f worth ten thousand of us : therefore now 
 tawiofus. it is better that thou t succour us out of 
 fUeb. the city. 
 
 cuur^'^' 4 And the king said unto them, What 
 seemeth you best I will do. And the king 
 stood by the gate side, and all the people 
 came out by hundreds and by thousands. 
 
 5 And the king commanded Joab and 
 Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for 
 my sake with the young man, even with 
 Absalom. And all the people heard when 
 the king gave all the captains charge con- 
 cerning Absalom. 
 
 6 ^ So the people went out into the field 
 against Israel : and the battle was in the 
 wood of Ephraim ; 
 
 7 Where the people of Israel were slain 
 before the servants of David, and there was 
 there a great slaughter that day of twenty 
 thousand men. 
 
 8 For the battle was there scattered over 
 the face of all the country : and the wood 
 
 t Heb. t devoured more people that day than the 
 Z'^d^mf. sword devoured. 
 
 9 % And Absalom met the servants of 
 
 Chap. XVIII. ver. 5. — Deal gently — rvilh the young man,2 
 This kind charge respecting his rebel son shews with what re- 
 luctance David drew his sword against him and a part of his own 
 subjects. He desires his captains to deal gently with the yoi/ng 
 man, as if all his faults were more those of his youth than of his 
 nature : but, at the same time that his people could not but dis- 
 cern in these words the excess of his weakness for that profligate 
 son, they could not but observe in them also a calm presage and 
 assurance of their success against their enemies. Dr. Ddana/. 
 
 6. — against Israel :'} Against the army of Absalom, which, 
 being composed of men who lived westward of Jordan, and in the 
 land of Israel properly so called, is here noted by the name of 
 Israel. Dr. Wells. 
 
 in the wood ofEphraim;'\ Not a wood belonging to Ephraim, 
 
 for this tribe had iio possessions beyond .Jordan ; but so named 
 by the Gileadites in memory of the great slaughter wliich Jeph- 
 thah here made of the Ephr;iimites, judg. xii. Bp. Patrick. Or 
 perhaps from lying over against the tribe of Ephraim. Dr. Wells. 
 
 8. — and the wood devoured &C.3 That is, more were slain in 
 their flight through this wood, and in endeavouring to hide them- 
 selves in it, than in the fight of the open field adjoining. Dr. Wells. 
 Josephus says, the field of battle was a plain, with a wood conti- 
 guous to it : and therefore, when Absalom's army was put to the 
 rout, and went to the wood for refuge, their pursuers made a 
 
 David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, .B^f""; 
 and the mule went under the thick boughs '"^'.^^ 
 of a great oak, and his head caught hold of 
 the oak, and he was taken up between the 
 heaven and the earth ; and the mule that 
 xvas under him went away. 
 
 10 And a certain man saw it, and told 
 Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom 
 hanged in an oak. 
 
 11 And Joab said unto the man that told 
 him. And, behold, thou sawest him, and 
 why didst thou not smite him there to the 
 ground ? and I would have given thee ten 
 shekels of silver, and a girdle. 
 
 12 And the man said unto Joab, Though 
 
 I should t receive a thousand shekels of sil- t Heb. 
 ver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth ^j^^/X"* 
 mine hand against the king's son : for in 
 our hearing the king charged thee and 
 Abishai and Ittai, saying, t Beware that + Heb. 
 none touch the young man Absalom. whUs'^er 
 
 13 Otherwise I should have wrought ye be <./, 
 falsehood against mine own life : for there 
 
 is no matter hid from the king, and thou 
 thyself wouldest have set thyself against 
 me. 
 
 14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus 
 
 t with thee. And he took three darts in t Hcb. 
 his hand, and tlirust them through tlie ''^"■"*"- 
 heart of Absalom, while he xvas yet alive 
 in the t midst of the oak. t Heb. 
 
 15 And ten young men that bare Joab's 
 armour compassed about and smote Absa- 
 lom, and slew him. 
 
 16 And Joab blew the trumpet, and the 
 people retvu-ned from pursuing after Israel: 
 for Joab held back the people. 
 
 17 And they took Absalom, and cast him 
 
 liearl. 
 
 greater slaughter of them there, than they would otherwise have 
 done, because they could not escape in the wood, as rapidly as 
 they would have done in the open field. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 g. — his head caught hold of the oak,'^ Let no man think to 
 prosper by rebellion : the very thickets, and stakes, and pits of 
 the woods shall conspire for the punishment of traitors. Among 
 other instances, see how a fatal oak has singled out the ringleader 
 of this hateful insurrection ; and will at last serve for iiis hang- 
 man and galloAVS, by one of those spreading arms snatching liim 
 away to speedy e.xecution. Bp. Hall. 
 
 11. — a girdle.'] A military belt, wliich was much esteemed, 
 1 Sam. xviii. l. 
 
 13. — / should have ivrought falsehood against mine own life:'] 
 He means, that he would have brought his own life into dan- 
 cer, and therefore would not have been true to himself. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 14. Then said Joab, &.C.'} Joab was probably influenced to kill 
 Absalom by the desire of revenging tlie wrongs he had received 
 from him, and by the fear that Da\ iil, in his fondness and affec- 
 tion for him, might restore him to his favour, and give him fur- 
 ther opportunities of causing publick disturbances. Still, though 
 -Absalom well deserved death, .Joab was not to be justified in in- 
 flicting it, contrary to the king's positive order to spaie him. Dr. 
 Chandler.
 
 Tidings of Absalom's death 
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 brought to David. 
 
 ■ f Heb. 
 
 jwtgeii him 
 [from the 
 hatutiStc 
 
 f Ileb. 
 
 Mor* into a jrreat pit in the wood, and laid a very 
 CHKisT g^j,.jj |,p.jp of Stones upon Imn : and all Is- 
 rael Hod every one to his tent. 
 
 18 if Now Absalom in his lifetime had 
 taken and reared up for himself a pillar, 
 • G.n. n. which is in " the king's dale : for he said, I 
 "■ have no son to keep my name in remem- 
 
 brance : and he called the pillar after his 
 own name : and it is called unto this day, 
 Absalom's place. 
 
 11) % Then said Ahimaaz the son of Za- 
 dok, Let me now run, and bear the king 
 tidings, how that the Lord hath t avenged 
 him of his enemies. 
 
 20 And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt 
 T x.cu. not t bear tidings this day, but thou shalt 
 '^^'.""""^heav tidings another day : but this day thou 
 "'"*'' shalt bear no tidings, because the king's 
 
 son is dead. 
 
 21 Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the 
 king what thou hast seen. And Cushi 
 bowed himself unto Joab, and ran. 
 
 22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok 
 yet again to Joab, But t howsoever, let me, 
 I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And 
 Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my 
 
 g Or, son, seeing that thou hast no tidings II rea- 
 
 ttnvetiienlf Jy ? 
 
 23 But howsoever, said he, let me run. 
 And he said unto him. Run. Then Ahi- 
 maaz ran by the way of the plain, and 
 overran Cushi. 
 
 24 And David sat between the two 
 gates : and the watchman went up to the 
 roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted 
 up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man 
 running alone. 
 
 25 And the watchman cried, and told 
 the king. And the king said, If he be 
 alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And 
 he came apace, and drew near. 
 
 t Hell. 
 i* what 
 may. 
 
 17. — laid a ven/ ercal heap of stones upon him :] Stoning^ to 
 death was the punishment prescribed by the law for rebellion 
 against parents, Dcut. xxi. 20, 21. Thus perhaps they who 
 could not inflict this punishment on him, while living, for his re- 
 bellious conduct, now branded him dead, as he deserved. Dr. 
 Delaney. 
 
 18. — reared up for himself a pillar,'] Thouorh this pillar has 
 been lost for many ages, Absalom has, by his enormous and un- 
 paralleled crimen, erected a standing monument to his own wicked- 
 nes.<, which will ever be preserved in the faithful records of his- 
 tory. Br. Chandler. But, according to Sandys, this pillar is still 
 •Unding ; and the Turks, when they pass it, throw a stone at it, 
 to that it is half covered, in abhorrence of his unnatural rebellion' 
 lip. tyUsoii. 
 
 . — ~~ '"" ■"''<'. I have no son] We read l)efore, at chap. xiv. 2 
 
 1 , !i"' *'''^* ***'" '^^'^ °"« daughter ; but these were all no 
 dead. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2 i. — bcln-een Ihc two gales .] " The gate of the city" was a 
 very large pUce, having an inward and an outward door; be- 
 
 h 
 now 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1023. 
 
 t Heb. 
 / sec Ihc 
 running. 
 
 II Or, PeaC€ 
 lie to thee, 
 t Heb. 
 Pence. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 :ihut up. 
 
 t Hcl>. 
 Is Uiere 
 pence ? 
 
 t Heb. 
 Tiilings t!- 
 brought. 
 
 26 And the watchman saw another man 
 runnin"- : and the watchman called unto 
 the porter, and said. Behold another man 
 running alone. And the king said, He 
 also bringeth tidings. 
 
 27 And the watchman said, t Mc think- 
 eth the running of the foremost is like the 
 running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. 
 And the king said. He is a good man, and 
 Cometh with good tidings. 
 
 28 And Ahimaaz called, and said unto 
 the king, || t All is well. And he fell down 
 to the earth upon his face before the king, 
 and said, Blessed be the Lord thy God, 
 which hath t delivered up the men that 
 lifited up their hand against my lord the 
 king. 
 
 29 And the king said, tls the young 
 man Absalom safe ? And Ahimaaz answer- 
 ed. When Joab sent the king's servant, and 
 me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I 
 knew not what it was. 
 
 30 And the king said unto him, Turn 
 aside, ayid stand here. And he turned 
 aside, and stood still. 
 
 31 And, behold, Cushi came ; and Cu- 
 shi said, t Tidings, my lord the king : for 
 the Lord hath avenged thee this day of all 
 them that rose up against thee. 
 
 32 And the king said unto Cushi, Is 
 the young man Absalom safe ? And Cu- 
 shi answered. The enemies of my lord 
 the king, and all that rise against thee 
 to do thee hurt, be as that young man 
 is. 
 
 33 ^ And the king was much moved, 
 and went up to the chamber over the gate, 
 and wept : and as he went, thus he said, 
 O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absa- 
 lom ! would God I had died for thee, O 
 Absalom, my son, my son ! 
 
 tween which it appears David sat to hear the news. Bp. Pa* 
 Irick. 
 
 33. — would God I had died for thee, Sec] Absalom's rebel- 
 lion ended with his life ,■ but his father's sorrow ended not here : 
 the news of his death went so near to David's lieart, that it almost 
 strangled him with grief, and overwhelmed him with tears ; and 
 he professed, he woidd have gladly sacrificed his kingdom and 
 his life, for the saving of his son Absalom. Yet how unworthy 
 was this son of such a father ! Absalom had no recommendation, 
 but that of personal beauty ; and the ornaments of his body were 
 horribly sullied by the corruptions of his mind, which made him 
 as great a monster as any we read of in history : for he was guilty 
 of the worst enormities, in assassinating his brother and rebeUing 
 against his father ; committing both offences too under many great 
 aggravations. Reading. 
 
 O Absalom, my son, my son .'] These are words which go 
 
 to every parent's heart that has experienced the same misfortune, 
 and speak to it with a force and eloquence that has never yet beer\ 
 aqualled. Bp. I'orteus.
 
 David ceasetk his mourning. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 A' 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1023. I Jon/> causeth the king to cease his mourning. Q The 
 Israelites arc earnest to bring the king hack. 1 1 Da- 
 vid sendelh to the priests to incite ihcm of Jiidah. IS 
 Shimei is pardoned. 2t Mephiiiosheth e.rcu.sed. 32 
 Barzillni dismissed, Chimham his son is taken into the 
 king's family. 41 The Israelites expostulate with Ju- 
 dahfor bringiitg home the ki?ig without them. 
 
 ND it was told Joab, Behold, the king 
 
 weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. 
 
 t Heb. 2 And the t victory that day was turned 
 
 m^det^er- '"^^ mouming unto all the people : for the 
 
 once. people heard say that day how the king 
 
 was grieved for his son. 
 
 3 And the people gat them by stealth 
 that day into the city, as people being 
 ashamed steal away when they flee in bat- 
 tle. 
 
 4 But the king covered his face, and the 
 king cried with a loud voice, O my son 
 Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son 1 
 
 5 And Joab came into the house to the 
 king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day 
 the faces of all thy servants, which this 
 day have saved thy life, and the lives of 
 thy sons and of thy daughters, and the 
 lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy 
 concubines ; 
 
 ^S^f': 6 t In that thou lovest thine enemies, 
 
 &e. '"'"'^' and hatest thy friends. For thou hast de- 
 t Heb. clared this day, t that thou regardest nei- 
 •r servnntt thcr princes nor servants : tor this day 1 
 '1%""' '" perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and 
 all we had died this day, then it had pleas- 
 ed thee well. 
 
 Chap. XIX. ver. 1. — Behold, the king weepeth &c.] The 
 gi'ief of David was as immoderate as it was unseasonable, and 
 shewed the intemperate passionate affection he bore to the un- 
 natural and impious youth. It damped the common joy of his 
 friends and soldiers for the glorious victory, to hear the excessive 
 grief he expressed for his son, insomuch that they almost repent- 
 ed of their success, and stole into the city where David was, as if 
 they had been dishonourably defeated. Dr. Chandler. The king's 
 command to spare Absalom was indeed an extraordinary instance 
 of mercy ; yet is to be accounted for from his fatherly fondness, 
 and the benignity of his nature. But there is something astonish- 
 ing in this excess of grief for such a reprobate, and utterly un- 
 accountable, perhaps, from any other principle, except the sad 
 and shocking reflection of his having died with all his sins upon 
 his head. Dr. Delaney. So strong is the affection of parents ; the 
 sins, the ingratitude of children, cannot root it from their hearts ; 
 and they who fear God are then most inconsolable, when their 
 childi-en ai-e engaged in a course of sin, and they see them die in 
 a state of condemnation. Ostervald. 
 
 5. — Thou hast shamed this dai/ SiC.'] Joab, instead of sym- 
 pathizing with his sovereign in the bitterness of his grief, and 
 tenderly representing to him the ill consequences that might 
 arise, upbraided him in this insolent manner. His remonstrance 
 was no less imperious and haughty, than injurious to the king. 
 It was plainly justifying to his face the murder of his son, telling 
 him that he was above his reach, and fearless of his displeasure. 
 Dr- Chandler. 
 
 8. Then the king arose,2 Instead of resenting tlie insolent be- 
 
 C H A P. XIX. The Israelites are earnest to bring bim back 
 
 7 Now therefore arise, go forth, and '^^fore 
 speak t comfortably unto thy servants: for ^'^^l^^ 
 I swear by the Loud, if thou go not forth, ^ Hib. 
 there will not tarry one with thee this '" ''" '"^'"■' 
 night: and that will be worse unto thee .^n^r"" 
 than all the evil that befell thee from thy 
 youth ur.til now. 
 
 8 Then the king arose, and sat in the 
 gate. And they told unto all the people, 
 saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the 
 gate. And all the people came before the 
 king : for Israel had fled every man to his 
 tent. 
 
 9 IF And all the people were at strife 
 throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying. 
 The king saved us out of the hand of our 
 enemies, and he delivered us out of the 
 hand of the Philistines ; and now he is fled 
 out of the land for Absalom. 
 
 10 And Absalom, whom we anointed 
 over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore 
 why t speak ye not a word of bringing the t Heb. 
 king back ? 
 
 are ye 
 'S '-"*'-"■• ^ silent f 
 
 11 ^ And king David sent to Zadok and 
 to Abiathar the priests, saying. Speak un- 
 to the elders of Judah, saying. Why are ye 
 the last to bring the king back to his house? 
 seeing the speech of all Israel is come to 
 the king, even to his house. 
 
 12 Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones 
 and my flesh : wherefore then are ye the 
 last to bring back the king ? 
 
 13 And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not 
 of my bone, and of my flesh ? God do so 
 
 haviour of Joab as it deserved, David accepts it as part of his 
 punishment from God ; at least, as a seasonable check to that 
 pride, which might otherwise have arisen in his heart, on gaining 
 this decisive victorj'. Wogan. 
 
 9. — were at strije] Strove who should be most forward to 
 bring back the king, blaming one anotlier's slackness in it. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 10. — why speak i/e not — of bringing the king back ?] David, 
 now victorious over a rebel army, had it in his jwwer to tike 
 ample revenge on all those wliose treacherj' and bad faith well 
 deserved to be chastised ; and if lie had possessed anj- malicious 
 or sanguinary feelings, he could now wiuit no pretext for in- 
 dulging them. But he was goverried by very different principles: 
 he knew his son's rebellion to be the effect of his own guilt, and 
 his recent success to be the fruit of his penitence and humiliation 
 before God ; he tlierefore was moved to no other conduct than 
 prayer and repentance, gratitude and thanksgi\'ing, and a patient 
 humble expectation of God's disposal of the event. Nor did he 
 fail of his reward : for it seemed good to the great Governour of 
 the world to turn the hearts of David's subjects, as it were, in an 
 instant, in his favour ; insomuch that they now returned to their 
 duty with as much eager zeal, as they had but a few days before 
 rushed into rebellion against him. Dr. Delami/. 
 
 1 a. And say ye to Ainasa,^ Who, though he was David's uncle, 
 (and therefore " of his bone and of his flesh,") was generid of 
 Absalom's forces, and who therefore might be both ashamed and 
 afraid to look David in the face, till encouraged by some kind 
 message. Dr. ■ Jiclh:
 
 S/iimei h pardoned. 
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 Mephibosheth exaised. 
 
 Brf"« to me, and more also, if thou be not cap- 
 '^""'i^^ tain of the host before me continually in 
 the room of Joab. 
 
 11 Anil he bowed the heart of all the 
 men of Judah, even as the heart of one 
 man ; so that they sent this word unto the 
 king, Return thou, and all thy servants. 
 
 15 So the king returned, and came to 
 Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go 
 to meet the king, to conduct the king over 
 Jordan. 
 •1 Kings i(j ^ And ' Shimei the son of Gera, a 
 '■ *■ Benjamite, which teas of Bahurim, hasted 
 and came down with the men of Judah to 
 meet king David. 
 
 17 And there xcere a thousand men of 
 'Chap. 16. Benjamin with him, and " Ziba the servant 
 
 of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons 
 and his twenty servants with him ; and 
 they went over Jordan before the king. 
 
 18 And there went over a ferry boat to 
 carry over the king's houshold, and to do 
 
 L^*^ in "*" ^^''^^*^ ^^ thought good. And Shimei the 
 Aij eyes. SOU of Gera fell down before the king, as 
 he was come over Jordan ; 
 
 19 And said unto the king. Let not my 
 lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do 
 
 ^ Chip. 16. thou remember 'that which thy servant 
 did perversely the day that my lord the 
 king went out of Jerusalem, that the king 
 should take it to his heart. 
 
 20 For thy servant doth know that I 
 have sinned : therefore, behold, I am come 
 the first this day of all the house of Joseph 
 to go down to meet my lord the king. 
 
 21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah an- 
 swered and said, Shall not Shimei be put 
 to death for this, because he cursed the 
 Lord's anointed? 
 
 22 And David said, \\Tiat have I to do 
 with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should 
 
 14. And fui botred the hcarQ That is, " Amasa" bowed the 
 heart, &c Dr. ChandJer. 
 
 22. — IV/uil have I to do with you,] David, though warm in his 
 temper, could not be vindictive: accordingly he rejected the ad- 
 Tice ot Abiihai, as that of an enemy rather than a friend, and as 
 tending to a degree of severity, which, now that he was restored, 
 was wholly unnecessary. Dr. Chandler. David knew as well as 
 ADi.,nai, Uiat bhimei's submission proceeded from mere worldly 
 policy, to prevent the punishment he deserved. But he, who 
 fi7^v.r*' *°^»'^«"'^^ fr"-" God, judged piously that a like 
 Z^vV, K •"' '"™y """'"^ ""' ""'y ^' - ^••^onable act of 
 weU^'. . • """* P^P^' station of the Divine goodness, as 
 
 ^ "pe'nirnr^iv::.''""''"*'' "^ ^^ ""''''' °^ ^ »- -- 
 
 ^ to th^wL ,^^e most heinous uijunes, and not to give 
 whole people ^dth°^ •"*^,' ""' °( T P^^' ''"* "^ ^^ 
 
 this day be adversaries unto me? shall there ^hIiust 
 any man be put to death this day in Israel? loss. 
 for do not I know that I am this day king 
 over Israel ? 
 
 23 Therefore the king said unto Shimei, 
 Thou shalt not die. And the king sware 
 unto him. 
 
 21 If And Mephibosheth the son of Saul 
 came down to meet the king, and had nei- 
 ther dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, 
 nor washed his clothes, from the day the 
 king departed until the day he came again 
 in peace. 
 
 25 And it came to pass, when he was 
 come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that 
 the king said unto him. Wherefore wentest 
 not thou with me, Mephibosheth ? 
 
 26 And he answered. My lord, O king, 
 my servant deceived me : for thy servant 
 said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may 
 ride thereon, and go to the king ; because 
 thy servant is lame. 
 
 27 And '^he hath slandered thy servant ^ciiap.i«. 
 unto my lord the king ; but my lord the "'" 
 king is as an angel of God : do therefore 
 
 what is good in thine eyes. 
 
 28 For all of my father's house were but 
 
 t dead men before my lord the king : yet t Hei>. 
 didst thou set thy servant among them that '^at/if 
 did eat at thine own table. What right 
 therefore have I yet to cry any more unta 
 the king? 
 
 29 And the king said unto him, Why 
 speakest thou any more of thy matters ? I 
 have said. Thou and Ziba divide the land. 
 
 30 And Mephibosheth said unto the 
 king. Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as 
 my lord the king is come again in peace 
 unto his own house. 
 
 31 if And Barzillai the Gileadite came 
 down from Rogelim, and went over Jordan 
 
 sovereign, and he felt that mercy and forgiveness are the noblest 
 privileges of sovereignty. Dr. JDehney. 
 
 2-i. — had neither dressed his feel, 2 He had wholly neglected 
 his person, as was customary in times of publick sorrow : had 
 neither dressed (or washed) his feet, as the Jews were accus- 
 tomed to do very frequently ; nor trimmed his beard, the custom 
 of the Jews being, not to shave off their beards, but to cut them 
 partially ; nor washed his clothes. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 26. — my servant deceived me ;] Mephibosheth means, that he 
 had ordered an ass to be made ready for him, to carry him to 
 David ; instead of which, Ziba saddled it for himself, and went 
 with the false story, mentioned ch. xvi. S. 
 
 29- — / have said, Thou and Ziba &c.] This is probably the 
 same order that David gave before, (ch. ix,) that Ziba should still 
 take care of Mephibosheth's estate, as he was formerly desired. 
 Dr. Lightfoot. 
 
 30. — lea, let him take all,2 Nothing could be more gene- 
 iflusly spoken, nor signifying greater affection ; than that he him- 
 self was content to be a beggar, now that the king was restored to 
 his kingdom. Bjj. Patrick.
 
 Barzillai dismissed. 
 
 CHAP. XIX, XX. The Israelites expostulate toith Judah. 
 
 CH 
 
 1023, 
 
 my 
 
 Before ^ff\^\y t^e king, to conduct him over Jor- 
 dan. 
 
 32 Now Barzillai was a very aged man, 
 • Chap. 17. even fourscore years old : and ' he had pro- 
 *'■ vided the king of sustenance while he lay 
 
 at Mahanaim j for he avzs a very great 
 man. 
 
 33 And the king said unto Barzillai, 
 Come thou over with me, and I will feed 
 thee with me in Jerusalem. 
 
 34 And Barzillai said unto the king, 
 fHeb. t How long have I to live, that I should 
 "aytuT^ go lip with the king unto Jerusalem? 
 ■eyenrs nf 35 \ am this day fourscore years old : and 
 " can I discern between good and evil ? can 
 
 thy servant taste what I eat or what I 
 drink ? can I hear any more the voice of 
 singing men and singing women? where- 
 fore then should thy servant be yet a bur- 
 den unto my lord the king ? 
 
 36 Thy servant will go a little way over 
 Jordan with the king : and why should the 
 king recompense it me with such a reward ? 
 
 37 Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn 
 back again, that I may die in mine o^\'n 
 city, and be buried by the grave of my fa- 
 ther and of my mother. But behold thy 
 servant Chimham ; let him go over with 
 my lord the king ; and do to him what 
 shall seem good unto thee. 
 
 38 And the king answered, Chimham 
 shall go over with me, and I will do to him 
 that which shall seem good unto thee : and 
 
 + Heb. whatsoever thou shalt t require of me, that 
 will I do for thee. 
 
 39 And all the people went over Jordan. 
 And when the king was come over, the 
 king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him ; and 
 he returned unto his own place. 
 
 iiliuose. 
 
 35. / am ikis day fourscore years old : &C.3 The loyalty and 
 affection which Barzillai shews to David are truly admirable. 
 I He adhered to him in his lowest estate, and provided him and 
 his army with sustenance; yet now refuses any other recom- 
 pense of his great and faithful services, but the pleasure and sa- 
 tisfaction of having done his duty. He only begs leave to retire, 
 that he may die at home. He is also an excellent e.vample to 
 «nen in years, to retire, some time before they die, from the cares 
 and vain pleasures of the world, that they may the better prepare 
 for another, and may have nothing else to do, when death comes, 
 than to depart in peace. IVogan. 
 
 The resolution of the venerable Barzillai was doubtless record- 
 ed as a pattern, that the aged should withdraw themselves from 
 the delights and pretensions that are become unsuitable to their 
 years, and leave them willingly to the succeeding generation. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 40. — half the people of Israel.^ That is, half the elders sent 
 by the other tribes of Israel ; David, it seems, to gratify his own 
 tribe, continued his march, and did not wait for the arrival of the 
 ciders from the other tribes. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4.1. — stulen thee arvay,'} Taken thee clandestinely, as it were, 
 from the rest of their brethren. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 ■in. — is near of kin^ Is of our tribe, and therefore we have 
 Vol. I. 
 
 40 Then the king went on to GilgaJ, £,^^^"[^5,. 
 and Chimham went on with him : and all 1023. 
 the people of Judah conducted the king, 
 
 and also half the people of Israel. 
 
 41 % And, behold, all the men of Israel 
 came to the king, and said unto the king, 
 Why have our brethren the men of Judah 
 stolen thee away, and have brought the 
 king, and his houshold, and all David's 
 men with him, over Jordan ? 
 
 42 And all the men of Judah answered 
 the men of Israel, Because the king is near 
 of kin to us : wherefore then be ye angry 
 for this matter? have we eaten at all of 
 the king's cost? or hath he given us any 
 gift? 
 
 43 And the men of Israel answered the 
 men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts 
 in the king, and we have also more right in 
 David than ye : why then did ye t despise t Hei). 
 us, that our advice should not be first had 'f^i^ "' 
 in bringing back our king ? And the words 
 
 of the men of Judah were fiercer than the 
 words of tlie men of Israel. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 1 By occasion of the quarrel, Shcha makelk a party in 
 Israel. 3 David's ten concubines are shut up in per' 
 petual prison. 4 Amasa, made captain over Judah, is 
 slain by Joab. 14 Joab pursueth Sheba unto Abel. 
 \Q A wise n'oman saveth the city by Sheba' s head. 23 
 David's officers. 
 
 AND there happened to be there a man »boutio2:. 
 of Belial, whose name aai Sheba, the 
 son of Bichri, a Benjamite : and he blew a 
 trumpet, and said. We have no part in Da- 
 vid, neither have we inheritance in the son 
 of Jesse : every man to his tents, O Israel. 
 2 So every man of Israel went up from 
 
 a peculiar interest in him. "\Mierefore then be ye angrj' for 
 this matter," especially as we have put the king to no expense 
 for our attendance, and received nothing from him, in return for 
 our zeal to serve him ? Dr. Chandler. 
 
 43. — tvere fiercer'^ More vehement ; or, more weighty m 
 argument. As David did not think fit to interpose, the men of 
 Israel thought that he favoured Judah ; and hence arose a new 
 rebellion. Bp. Patrick. From this contest, which arose between 
 the men of Israel and the men of Judah, on the subject of the 
 king's restoration, we see the unhappy effects of pride and 
 jealousy, when they nii.x with the duties of pubhck or private 
 life: whereas the affair of peace and charity should ever be 
 transacted with the spirit of peace and a charitable temper. 
 Wogan. 
 
 Chap. XX. ver. 1. — ^Ve liave no part in David,'] As much a« 
 to say. Let the men of Judali have him for themselves ; he cares 
 not for us, and we care not for him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. So evert/ man of Israel — followed Sheba] This rebellion of 
 Sheba was a new chastisement of God upon David : and here 
 we are most seriously to consider, to how many calamities this 
 prince was exposed, and how the judgments of God pursued him, 
 after he had defiled himself by adultery, and the murder of 
 
 4H
 
 ilwriliT. vmde captain over Judah, 
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 VIM 
 
 •is slain hj Jmh. 
 
 IWfon- 
 CHKIST 
 
 • Ch»p. 16. 
 
 fHcb. 
 n houtr -J" 
 ward. 
 fHeb. 
 htund. 
 t Hth. in 
 widotrhifod 
 ofl.f.: 
 
 t H«l). 
 CuU. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 deliver him' 
 u- If J Tom 
 our fyes. 
 » Chap. 8. 
 18. 
 
 after Ua\'id, and followed Shcba tlie son of 
 Bichri : but the men of Judah clave unto 
 tJieir king, from Jordan even to Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 3 % And David came to his liouse at 
 Jenisalem ; aiul the kiiiff took the ten wo- 
 men his "concubines, whom he had left to 
 keep the house, and put them in tward, and 
 fed them, but went not in unto them. So 
 they were tshut up unto the day of their 
 death, t li\ing in widowhood. 
 
 •i % Then said the king to Amasa, t As- 
 semble me the men of Judah within three 
 days, and be thou here present. 
 
 5 So Amasa went to assemble the men oj 
 Judah : but he tarried longer than the set 
 time which he had appointed him. 
 
 6 And David said to Abishai, Now shall 
 Sheba the son of Biclui do us more harm 
 than did Absalom : take thou thy lord's 
 servants, and ])ursue after him, lest he get 
 him fenced cities, and + escape us. 
 
 7 And there went out after him Joab's 
 men, and the " Cherethites, and the Pe- 
 lethites, and all the mighty men : and they 
 went out oi" Jerusalem, to pursue after 
 Sheba the son of Bichri. 
 
 8 AVhen they were at the great stone 
 which /,$ in Gibeon, Amasa went before 
 them. And Joab's garment that he had 
 put on was girded unto him, and upon it a 
 girdle xiitli a sword fastened upon his loins 
 in the sheath thereof j and as he went 
 forth it fell out. 
 
 I'nnh. By tlie various afflictions with which the history records 
 U«.nt he was visited, we arc tiiiglit how greatly (;o<l abhors those 
 crimes of which he was guilty, and with what severity He 
 puiiishes those who commit them. We must remember never, 
 thclcss, that God sent these evils upon David, for the purpose of 
 humbbng bun, and making him sensible of his sin : that with the 
 same design He chastises .ill sinners ; and when they improve 
 by His correcuons, He will pardon them as He pardoned David. 
 
 3. — mui Ihc king took &c.] David's reason for clearinff the 
 place of the concubines which had been defiled by Absalom and 
 j^hutting them up m doje and pen.etual retirement, seems to have 
 been, that they mi^rht no more be seen abroad, to revive the me- 
 mory of his son's wickedncsf and impurity. Pi/le 
 
 y ,ooi Anmm I,;, Uw hrurd} This is still the" custom among 
 Uie Eastern people, who take one another by the chin or beard 
 when they would give a hearty s^.lute. Bp. Patrick. The kissin-i 
 the beard itsell too is customary. D'Arvieu.x, describing the as". 
 sembling together ofsevcr.il petty Arab princes, mentions, among 
 other ciyd.ties and caresses, the kissing, of the heard and of the 
 
 i^d di!)^i',^ ^ h"^ °"^ ^''^ '^"'^ ''""■*^" according to his rank 
 ancl dignity. Hamirr. ° 
 
 was^a mn'i' '" """"" *"'i' "'"■""i'^^ This, .is Josephus observes, 
 was a most impious and execrable action, thus to murder a rela- 
 
 9 And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in 
 health, my brother ? And Joab took Amasa 
 by the beard with the right hand to kiss 
 him. 
 
 10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword 
 that was in Joab's hand : so he smote him 
 therewith in the fifth r-ib, and shed out his 
 bowels to the ground, and t struck him not 
 again ; and he died. So Joab and Abishai 
 his brother pursued after Sheba the son of 
 Bichri. 
 
 1 1 And one of Joab's men stood by him, 
 and said. He that favoureth Joab, and he 
 that is for David, let him go after Joab, 
 
 12 And Amasa wallowed in blood in the 
 midst of the highway. And when the man 
 saw that all the people stood still, he re- 
 moved Amasa out of the highway into the 
 field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he 
 saw that every one that came by him stood 
 still. 
 
 13 When he w^as removed out of the 
 highway, all the people went on after Joab, 
 to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. 
 
 14 ^ And he went through all the tribes 
 of Israel unto Abel, and to Beth-maachah, 
 and all the Berites : and they were gather- 
 ed together, and went also after him. 
 
 15 And they came and besieged him in 
 Abel of Beth-maachah, and they cast up a 
 bank against the city, and || it stood in the 
 trench : and all the people that were with 
 Joab t battered the wall, to throw it down. 
 
 16 ^ Then cried a wise woman out of 
 
 Before 
 CHKIST 
 
 about 1022. 
 
 t Ilel). 
 
 doubttid not 
 his stroke. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 it ttood n- 
 gainst the 
 outmost 
 watt. 
 t Heb. 
 mai-i-ed to 
 throw </ii«m. 
 
 looked to the lips, not to the hand, of his secret enemy. These 
 lips were smooth, wliile the hand was bloody. This liand knew 
 well this way unto death, having now let out, with the same 
 kind of wound, the souls of two great men, Abner and Amasa, 
 both of whom were smitten by Joab, under the mask of friend- 
 ship. Tliere is no enmity so dangerous, as that which comes 
 masked with love. Open hostility calls us to our guard ; but 
 there is no fence against a trusted treachery. M"e need not be 
 warned to avoid an enemy, but who would run away from a 
 friend ? Bp. Hall. 
 
 12. — all the people stood 51111,"] As many aa saw it, would 
 move no further, till the body was removed out of the w^ay. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 14. — u7tlo Abel, and to Beth-maachah,'] Rather, unto Abel 
 Beth-maachah, or Abel of Beth-maachali ; for they were one and 
 the same place, as .ippears from the next verse. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Berites :] The inhabitants of Beeroth, a city in the tribe 
 
 of Benjamin. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and ihcf) were gathered together,] Most interpreters refer 
 
 these words to the Berites and others who followed .Sheba : but I 
 apprehend they are a description of Joab's men warmly pursuing 
 that rebel. Dr. Cliaiidler. 
 
 1 ,5. — and it stood in the trench :] Tliat is, Joab's army had ad- 
 vanced so far in their works, as to have filled up the trench, and 
 stand at the veiy foot of the wall. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 IG. Tlieii cried a mise woman out of the city,] It seems not' 
 improbable that this woman was governess in the city ; for there 
 want not instances, as in the case of Deborah, Judges iv. 4, and 
 queen Athaliah, 2 Kings xi, 3, of women who have been employed
 
 SJieba is beheaded. 
 
 CHAP. XX, XXI. 
 
 David's officers. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 «lx)ut 1022. 
 
 TAst/ plain- 
 ly spake iti\ 
 the begin- 
 ning, sat/' 
 ing, Surely 
 they wilt 
 ««i of Abel, 
 uwl sv 
 tnake an 
 end. 
 
 ■ fHeb. 
 it/hisjuime. 
 
 the city, Hear, hear ; say, I pray you, unto 
 Joab, Come near hither, that 1 may speak 
 witli thee. 
 
 17 And when he was come near unto 
 her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And 
 he answered, I am he. Then she said unto 
 him. Hear the words of thine handmaid. 
 And he answered, I do hear. 
 
 18 Then she spake, saying, II They were 
 wont to speak in old time, saying, They 
 shall surely ask counsel at Abel : and so 
 they ended the tnatter. 
 
 19 I am one of them that are peaceable 
 arid faithful in Israel : thou seekest to de- 
 stroy a city and a mother in Israel : why 
 wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of 
 the Lord ? 
 
 20 And Joab answered and said, Far be 
 it, far be it from me, that I should swallow 
 up or destroy. 
 
 21 The matter is not so : but a man of 
 mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri 
 t by name, hath lifted up his hand against 
 the king, even against David : deliver him 
 only, and I will depart from the city. 
 And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, 
 his head shall be thrown to thee over 
 the wall. 
 
 22 Then the woman went unto all the 
 people in her wisdom. And they cut oft 
 the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and 
 
 in the administration of civil affairs. If she was invested with civil 
 authority, she was the properest .person to desire a parley wth the 
 general, knowing that the people were desirous of peace, and re- 
 strained only bj- Sheba's authority. Slackhousc. 
 
 18. — Tliey were wont to speak in old time, &C.3 The meaning 
 is by no means clear: the best sense seems to be, The inhabitants 
 of the city spake in the beginning of the siege, saying, Sureh^ 
 they (Joab and his army) will ask lis whether we will make 
 peace before proceeding to hostilities ; and so will quickly end 
 the matter on our coming to an agreement with them. Dr. 
 Wells. 
 
 23. Noni Joah was over all the host &c.'] It has been made 
 matter of reproach against David, that he suffered Joab to con- 
 tinue in the command, after the atrocious murder of Amasa, as if 
 he acquiesced in that murder. But that David greatly resented 
 that murder, is evident from his last advice to Solomon, in which 
 he nobly recommends, and gives it in charge to him, to do justice 
 on the assassin Joab. The fact seems to have been, tiiat Joab 
 was at this time too powerful a subject to be brought to any ac- 
 count ; and he seems to have usurped tlie command of the forces, 
 in defiance of his master's inclinations, and without his order or 
 appointment. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 Chap. XXI. ver. 1. — and David enquired of the Lord. 2 Who 
 can but wonder, both at David's slackness m consulting with 
 God, and God's speed in answering so slow a demand ! He that 
 so well knew the whj to God's oracle, suff'ered Israel to be three 
 years pinched with famine, before he asked why they sufliered. 
 Even the best hearts niay be overtaken with dulness in holy 
 things ; but marvel! JUS is the mercy of God, wliicli takes not 
 advantage of oar weakiesses. Bp. Hall. 
 
 — — because he skw iJ^e Gibeonitcs.'} This be did, at the Ume 
 
 cast it out to Joab. 
 
 a prince. 
 
 And he blew a trum- (.S^U'l'^y 
 pet, and they t retired from the city, every about .o.^^. 
 man to his tent. And Joab returned to t" :• 
 Jerusalem unto the king. Tr^j.'"'" 
 
 23 f Now ' Joab xvas over all the host " chap. s. 
 of Israel : and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada '^' 
 K'ff.5 over the Cherethites and over the Pe- 
 lethites : 
 
 2t And Adoram was over the tribute : 
 and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was 
 II recorder : II O'- 
 
 25 And Sheva was scribe : and Zadok brancer. 
 and Abiathar were the priests : 
 
 2G And Ira also the Jairite was II a chief ! ~ 
 ruler about David. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 1 The three years' famine for the Gibeonitcs ceaselh, by 
 hanging seven of Saul's sons. 10 Rizpah's kindness 
 nnto the dead. 1 2 David burieth the bones of Saul 
 and Jonathan in his father's sepulchre. 1 5 Four battles 
 against the Philistines, wherein four valiants of David 
 slay four giants. 
 
 THEN there was a famine in the days 1021. 
 of David three years, year after year ; 
 and David t enquired of the Lord. And ]",^gt/',»e 
 the Lord answered. It is for Saul, and for./hce.&.c 
 his bloody house, because he slew the Gi- 
 beonitcs. 
 
 2 And the king called the Gibeonites, 
 and said unto them •, (now the Gibeonites 
 were not of the children of Israel, but ' of 
 
 • Josli. 9. s, 
 
 16, 17. 
 
 when he destroyed the whole city of Nob, where the Gibeonites 
 lived, and served as hew.ers of wood and drawers of water to the 
 priests, whom Saul then cut off", 1 Sam. xxii. 18, 19; they being a 
 part of the Amorite race, as stated in the ne.vt verse, whom Joshua 
 and the whole nation (Josh. ix. 19, &c.) had solemnly promised 
 to protect. Bp. Patrick, Pi/le. Why this transgression was pu>. 
 nished so long after, is hidden among the mysteries of Providence. 
 Perhaps the punishment was sent at this juncture, to visit the 
 nation for their recent rebellions against God and the king, in 
 which the house of Saul took an active part. Dr. Hales. 
 
 We know not how many, or who, were confederate with Saul 
 in murdering the Gibeonites, or guUty in not hindering it ; how 
 many made the crime their own, by approving it afterwards ; 
 what share of guilt might be derived upon the whole nation for 
 suffering so much imiocent blood to be shed, or for not expressing 
 tlieu- detestation of it by some publick act. We know not, fur- 
 ther, what other sins the people may have committed, so as to 
 deserve the famine ; or how far such an act of discipline at tliat 
 time might be necessary, to prevent the like" murders in time to 
 come. In fact, we know not the depths of the Divine counsels, 
 nor die smallest jiai-t of the reasons which an atlwise God might 
 have : it belioves us therefore in all such cases to be modest and 
 resen'ed in our censures, remembering that God is in heaven, and 
 that we dwell in dust ; that He knows all things, and we nothing 
 in comparison. But if it could be supposed tliat the people of 
 that generation were ever so innocent, yet Gotl had an absolute 
 ri"-ht over the lives of all, and could demand them when Ha 
 pleased: and, if the thing was just, considered merely as an act 
 of dominion, it could not but be consistent both with justice and 
 benevolence, by being made at tlie same time an act of discipline, 
 for the punishment of sin, and the promotion of godliness. Dr. 
 
 Walerland, 
 
 iH2
 
 Set'en of f^nul's sons hanged. 
 
 n SAMUEL. 
 
 liizpah's kindness unto the dead. 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 lO-.'l. 
 
 I Or, 
 It n nM 
 
 iitvfT ni^r 
 gaiil thnS Kt 
 have to <h 
 U'ltH .Sju/ 
 er All house, 
 «<T/AiT per- 
 tains i( to 
 1)1 tti kill, 
 &c 
 n Or, 
 cm w off. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 ckoien of 
 #; LVRD. 
 
 18. 3. & 2a 
 S, 42. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 ificAa/'l 
 
 t Heb. 
 hare to A' 
 drirl. 
 
 the remnant of the Amorites ; and the chil- 
 dren of Israel had sworn inito them: and 
 Saul sought to slay them in Ms zeal to the 
 children of Israel and Judah.) 
 
 S Wherefore David said unto the Ui- 
 beonites, What shall I do for yon ? and 
 wherewith shall I make the atonement, that 
 ye mav bless the inheritance of the Lord ^ 
 
 4 And the Gibeonites said unto him, 
 II We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, 
 nor of his house ; neither for us shalt thou 
 kill any man in Israel. And he said. What 
 ye shall sav, t/iat will I do for you. 
 
 5 And t"he\- answered the king, The man 
 that consumed us, and that || devised against 
 us Ihat we should be destroyed from re- 
 maining in any of the coasts of Israel, 
 
 6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered 
 unto us, and we will hang them up unto 
 the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, 1! xvhom the 
 Lord did choose. And the king said, I 
 will give them. 
 
 7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, 
 the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, be- 
 cause of " the Lord's oath that v;as be- 
 tween them, between David and Jonathan 
 the son of Saul. 
 
 8 But the king took the two sons of Riz- 
 pah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare 
 unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth ; and 
 the five sons of II Michal the daughter of 
 Saul, whom she t brought up for Adriel 
 the son of Barzillai the Meholathite : 
 
 4. — neither for us shall thou kill any man'] Except those men- 
 tioned in the next verse. 
 
 6. — in Gibeah of.SViH/.T To make the punishment more re- 
 markable and shameful ; this beinjj the city where Saul lived, both 
 before and after he was king, 1 Sam. x. 26; xi. l. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 the kill" said, I will give them.^ This seems to be con- 
 trary to the Divine law at Deut, xxiv. Ifi, which forbids that the 
 son should die for the father's fault : but that law relates to pro- 
 ceedings in human courts, not to Divine judgments ; for God vi- 
 iits the sins of fathers upon the children, in many temporal cala- 
 mities, Exod. XX. 5. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — because of the Ixjrd'.s oalli^ It would appear from this ex- 
 pression, that reasons of state, and the security of his throne, would 
 have movetl David to put ^fephibosheth to death, but that he 
 spared him from resjiect to hi-* oath, which he sware to .Jonathan 
 a long time before. This strongly shews what respect he bore to 
 an oath, as adding confirmation to his word. Ahp. Tillotsoii. 
 
 9- — and they hanged thein &c.] It was perhaps ordained by 
 God that they should suffer by this publick kind of death, to the 
 end that His disple;isure against truce-breakers and tyrants might 
 be more remarkable, and that all might see and fear, and do no 
 more wickedly. We should observe in this event a special re- 
 tribution of Divine justice, in reudiating on Saul's posterity the 
 measure he dealt to others. H'ogan. 
 
 iH the hill before the Lord :'] Probably on a hill near to 
 
 Gibeah, and before an altar which was built upon it ; or, by the 
 expressjon, " they hanged them l)cfore the Lord," it may be 
 meant, that they put them to death, as \-ictims of expiation, to 
 appease the Divine wrath. Calmet. 
 and they fell all seveti togetlier, &c.'} The evident intention 
 
 [) And he delivered them into the hands ^,^''^''[5^ 
 of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them 1019. 
 in tiie hill before the Lord : and they fell 
 all seven together, and were put to death 1 
 
 in the days of harvest, in the first dai/Sy in j 
 
 the beginning of barley harvest. } 
 
 10 If And ' Rizpah the daughter of Aiah 'Chap. s. 
 took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon '" 
 
 the rock, from the beginning of harvest 
 until water dropped upon them out of hea- 
 ven, and suffered neither the birds of the 
 air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts 
 of the field by night. 
 
 11 And it was told David what Rizpah 
 the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of 
 Saul, had done.! 
 
 12 ^ And David went and took the 
 bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan 
 his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, 
 which had stolen them from the street of 
 Beth-shan, where the ** Philistines had j 1 sara. 
 hanged them, when the Philistines had ^'- '"• 
 slain Saul in Gilboa : 
 
 13 And he brought up from thence the * 
 bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan 
 
 his son ; and they gathered the bones of 
 them that were hanged. ^ 
 
 14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan 
 his son buried they in the country of Ben- 
 jamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish 
 his father : and they performed all that the 
 king commanded. And after that God was 
 intreated for the land. 
 
 of God, in ordering the death of this part of Saul's family, was, to 
 give a publick attestation of His abhorrence of Saul's perfidy and 
 cruelty, to strike a terrour into the princes his successors, and 
 caution them against committing the like offences. The death of 
 these seven persons, therefore, supposing them all innocent, was, 
 in this view, no punishment inflicted personally on them by God, 
 but an appointment of God in virtue of His sovereign right over 
 the lives of all men ; to teach princes moderation and equity, and 
 to prevent the commission of those enormous crimes, which are 
 inconsistent with tlie welfare of all civil government. Accord- 
 ingly, God dealt with these persons, exactly as if, in the course of 
 His providential dispensations, He had cut them off by a natural 
 death. That chikh-en do very frequently suffer and die for the 
 sins of tiieir parents, in which they have had no share, is evident 
 from history and the constant experience of all ages and nations. 
 Dr. Chandler. 
 
 1 0. — took sackcloth, avd spread it — until naier dropped^ It 
 is probable she made a tent of sackcloth, and spread it on the 
 ground to lie upon ; and this she continued to do till it appeared 
 God was appeased, by sending plentiful showers of rain upon 
 the earth. Rizpah is a remarkable instance of maternal affection : 
 her lo\ e to her children continued undiminished even after death. 
 Their bodies, which were now no more than the miserable remains 
 of a shameful death, are yet guarded with the same tender and 
 watchful care which she bestowed on them when alive. JVogan. 
 12. A/id David went and took the bones'^ David was pleased 
 with this praiseworthy conduct of Rizpah, and was induced by it 
 to do honour to the bodies of her sons, and to the whole house of 
 Saul ; thereby demonstrating that be had no personal enmity to 
 liis family. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Four giants slain. 
 
 CHAP. XXI, XXII. David's psalm of thanksgiving 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1018. 
 
 « Or. 
 
 Rni'lia. 
 tHeb. 
 the slajjf, or, 
 the head. 
 
 1-Heb, 
 
 ctindie-i or, 
 tamp- 
 * 1 Chron. 
 20. 4, 
 
 D Or, 
 
 Bapha. 
 
 « See 1 Chr. 
 
 aas. 
 
 lOr, 
 
 Bapha. 
 a Or, 
 
 reproached, 
 « 1 Sam. 
 IC. 9. 
 
 » Psal. 18. 
 
 15 if Moreover the Philistines had yet 
 war again with Israel ; and David went 
 down, and his servants with him, and 
 fought against the Philistines : and David 
 waxed faint. 
 
 16 And Ishbi-benob, which was of the 
 sons of II the giant, the weight of whose 
 t spear weighed three hundred shekels of 
 brass in weight, he being girded with a 
 new sicord, thought to have slain David. 
 
 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah suc- 
 coured him, and smote the Philistine, and 
 killed him. Then the men of David sware 
 unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more 
 out with us to battle, that thou quench not 
 the t light of Israel. 
 
 18 ' And it came to pass after this, that 
 there was again a battle \vith the Philis- 
 tines at Gob : then Sibbechai the Hushath- 
 ite slew Saph, which -was of the sons of 
 II the giant. 
 
 19 And there was again a battle in Gob 
 with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son 
 of Jaare-oregim, a Beth-lehemite, slew ' the 
 brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of 
 whose spear was like a weaver's beam. 
 
 20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, 
 where was a man o^ great stature, that had 
 on every hand six fingers, and on every 
 foot six toes, four and twenty in number ; 
 and he also was born to II the giant. 
 
 21 And when he II defied Israel, Jona- 
 than the son of ^ Shimeah the brother of 
 David slew him. 
 
 22 These four were born to the giant in 
 Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and 
 by the hand of his servants. 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 A psalm of thanksgiving for God's powerful deliverance, 
 and manifold blessings. 
 
 AN D David spake unto the Lord the 
 words of this song in the day t/iat the 
 Lord had delivered him out of the hand 
 of all his enemies, and out of the hand of 
 Saul : 
 
 2 And he said, * The Lord is my rock, 
 and my fortress, and my deliverer ; 
 
 15. David wa.xed faint.'} Being now in his declining years, 
 
 and much worn out by various troubles and afflictions. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 17. _ ihat thou quench not the light of Israel.} This expression 
 is very beautiful and significant ; for good kings are in Scripture 
 justly called the " light" of the people, 1 Kings xi. 36; Ps.cx.\xii. 
 17 ; because the beauty and glory, the conduct and direction, the 
 comfort, safety, and welfare of a people depend upon them, and 
 are derived from them. Poole. 
 
 18. at Gob ;] It is said at 1 Chron. xx. 4, that these battles 
 
 were fought at Gezer ; whence it is inferred, either that Gob and 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 101«. 
 
 3 The God of my rock ; in him will I 
 trust : he is my shield, and the horn of my 
 salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, 
 my saviour; thou savest me from violence. 
 
 4 I will call on the Lord, who is worthy 
 to be praised : so shall I be saved from 
 mine enemies. 
 
 5 When the II waves of death compassed 1 Or, 
 me, the floods of t ungodly men made me f"Heb. 
 afraid ; ^''"''• 
 
 6 The II sorrows of hell compassed me !i or. 
 about ; the snares of death prevented me ; 
 
 7 In my distress I called upon the Lord, 
 and cried to my God : and he did hear my 
 voice out of his temple, and my cry did en- 
 ter into his ears. 
 
 8 Then the earth shook and trembled ; 
 the foundations of heaven moved and 
 shook, because he was wroth. 
 
 9 There went up a smoke t out of his t Heb 
 nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devour- 
 ed : coals were kindled by it. 
 
 10 He bowed the heavens also, and came 
 down ; and darkness was under his feet. 
 
 1 1 And he rode upon a cherub, and did 
 fly : and he was seen upon the wings of the 
 wind. 
 
 12 And he made darkness pavilions round 
 about him, t dark waters, and thick clouds 
 of the skies. 
 
 13 Through the brightness before him 
 were coals of fire kindled. 
 
 14 The Lord thundered from heaven, 
 and the most High uttered his voice. 
 
 15 And he sent out arrows, and scat- 
 tered them ; lightning, and discomfited 
 them. 
 
 16 And the channels of the sea appeared, 
 the foundations of the world were discover- 
 ed, at the rebuking of the Lord, at the 
 blast of the breath of his nostrils. 
 
 17 He sent from above, he took me ; he 
 drew me cit of II many waters ; 
 
 18 He delivered me from my strong 
 enemy, and from them that hated me : for 
 they were too strong for me. 
 
 19 They prevented me in the day of my 
 calamity : but the Lord was my stay. 
 
 t Heb. 
 bintling t^ 
 
 li Or, 
 
 great. 
 
 Gezer were the same place, or that they were so near to each 
 other, that the battles might be incUscriniinately named from 
 either. Dr. Wells. 
 
 Chap. XXII. ver. 1. — in the dai/ that the Lord had delivered Sec.} 
 It is probable that David composed the following hymn in his 
 younger days, under the troubles and difficulties to wliich he was 
 exposed by the persecution of Saul ; and that, having composed 
 it, he was wont to sing or speak it by way of a thanksgiving 
 to God. Dr. Wells. As this hymn forms tlie eighteenth psalm, 
 the notes wliich occur u{K)n it will be given in the book of I'salms.
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 lOIS. 
 
 f llel>. 
 
 /j him* 
 
 t Hell. 
 ttfjltre hii 
 
 I Or 
 wrftlU. 
 Pul. 18. 
 36. 
 
 B Or. 
 
 crvndlf. 
 
 Q Or. 
 hrnifn a 
 
 iTKup. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 Ttjinttl. 
 
 t Hib. 
 riitiUth, or 
 ttintrtli, 
 t Ilek 
 njuaUtth, 
 t Hc'b. 
 
 t Jlel). 
 multiplietl 
 
 t U>b. 
 
 \tifjJianksginng 
 
 ^ He brought me forth al.so into a large 
 place : lie ilelivercti me, because he de- 
 lighted in nie. 
 
 'il The LoKD rewarded me according to 
 mv riixhteousness : according to the clean- 
 ness of my liands hath lie rccomj)ensed 
 
 ^■2 For 1 have kept the ways ot the 
 Loud, and ha\e not wickedly dej)arted 
 from my God. 
 
 Q3 For all his judgments tccre before 
 me: and.(7^,/(^r his statutes, I did not de- 
 part from them. 
 
 ''I- I was also upright t before him, and 
 have kept myself from mine iniquity. 
 
 '25 Therefore the Loud hath recompens- 
 ed me according to my righteousness ; ac- 
 cording to my cleanness tin his eye sight. 
 
 •Hi ^^'ith the merciful thou wilt shew thy- 
 self merciful, rt/;r/ with the upright man thou 
 wilt shew thyself upright. 
 
 27 With the pure thou wilt shew thy- 
 self pure ; and with the froward thou wilt 
 II shew thyself unsavoury. 
 
 28 And the afflicted people thou wilt 
 save : but thine eyes are uj)on the haugh- 
 ty, ///«/ ihou mavest brine: t/ion down. 
 
 2U For thou art my || lamp, O Lord : 
 and the Lord will lighten my darkness. 
 
 30 For by thee I have II run through 
 a troop : by my Goil have 1 leaped over a 
 wall. 
 
 31 As fur God, his way is perfect ; the 
 word of the Lord is \\ tried : he is a buck- 
 ler to all them that trirst in him. 
 
 32 For who is God, save the Lord ? and 
 who is a rock, save our (lod ? 
 
 33 God is my strength and power : and 
 he t makcth my way perfect. 
 
 3t He tmaketh my feet like hinds' feet: 
 and sotteth me upon my high places. 
 
 35 He teacheth my hands t to war ; so 
 that a bow of steel is broken by mine 
 arms. 
 
 3(J Thou hast also given me the shield 
 of thy salvation : and thy gentleness hath 
 t made me great. 
 
 37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under 
 me ; so that my t feet did not slip. 
 
 38 I have pursued mine enemies, and 
 
 Jbr God's jwicerful delivei^ance. 
 
 Btfiire 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1018. 
 
 Chap. XXin vcr. 1. _ ihese he the last words^ Some of the 
 ^«t word, which he spake on the approach of .leath ; or the last 
 JW ^^^^^ ^^ ^'""^ '"sP'ration of God. Dr. Wells, 
 
 How glorioug a conclusion of so noble an office is this • to re- 
 collect G.h1 s signal mercii s and blessinjrs bestowed upon him 
 W exalta.^ to royalty from a low esUU^ and his ^.i^oi' ^^^ 
 phecj, iioctrj-, and harmony ; His special command to him as a 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 enuscd I* 
 liuni. 
 
 destroyed them; and turned not again un- 
 til 1 hiid consumed them. 
 
 3i) And I have consumed them, and 
 wounded them, that they coiJd not arise: 
 yea, they are fallen under my feet. 
 
 10 For thou hast girded me with strength 
 to battle: them that rose up against nie 
 hast thou t subdued under me. 
 
 11 Thou hast also given rae tlie necks 
 of mine enemies, that I might destroy them 
 that hate me. 
 
 42 They looked, but there xvas none to 
 save; even unto the Loud, but he answered 
 them not. 
 
 43 Then did I beat them as small as the 
 dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the 
 mire of the street, a?id did spread them 
 abroad. 
 
 44 Thou also hast delivered me from the 
 strivings of my people, thou hast kept me 
 to l)e head of the heathen : a people "which 
 I knew not shall serve me. 
 
 4.5 t Strangers shall || t submit them- 
 selves unto me : as soon as they hear, they 
 shall be obedient unto me. 
 
 46 Strangers shall fade away, and they 
 shall be afraid out of their close places. 
 
 47 The Lord liveth ; and blessed he my 
 rock ; and exalted be the God of the rock 
 of my salvation. 
 
 48 It is God tliat t avengeth me, and 
 that bringeth down the people under me, 
 
 49 And that bringeth me forth from 
 mine enemies : thou also hast lifted me up 
 on high above them that rose up against 
 me : thou hast delivered me from the vio- 
 lent man. 
 
 50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, 
 
 Lord, among '' the heathen, and I will 
 sing praises unto thy name. 
 
 51 He is the tower of salvation for his 
 king : and sheweth mercy to his anointed, 
 unto David, and " to his seed for evermore. 
 
 CHAP. xxm. 
 
 1 David, in his last words, prqfesseih his faith in God's 
 promises to he bn/ond sense or experience. 6 The dif- 
 ferent slate of the wicked. 8 A catalogue of David's 
 mighli) men. 
 
 NOW these he the last words of David. 
 David the son of Jesse said, and the 
 
 king, and His eternal covenant wilh him and his seed ; the conti- 
 nuance of his temporal kingdom, but with i.o increase of gran- 
 deur, in his posterity ; tlieir sure salvation and protection while 
 they continued in the covenant made witli Uieir father ; the 
 final reprobation and destruction of the wickeil ; ;iik1, above all, 
 that blessed and jicrmanent assurance to the faithful, that " the 
 Spirit of the Lord spake by him, and His word was in his 
 tongue;" thus sealing the truth and certainty of his divine in- 
 
 t Hcl.. 
 
 So)is 'if ittc 
 strannei: 
 
 II Or: 
 
 yield ^fiZyi- 
 ed ohedi- 
 enre. 
 t Hcb./i>. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 uivelh a- 
 rengemerit 
 far me. 
 
 ^ Rom. 15. 
 9. 
 
 ' Chap. 7. 
 13.
 
 David's last Huords. 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 A catalogue of his migJity men. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1018. 
 
 II Or, 
 Be tftnii 
 niler, &c. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 JUled. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Josheb-has- 
 scbct ike 
 Tuchmon- 
 tte, head of 
 Vie three. 
 U See ) Chr. 
 11. U. 
 t Heb. 
 stain. 
 ' 1 Chrpn. 
 11. 12. 
 
 man 's.ho was raised up on high, the anoint- 
 ed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet 
 psalmist of Israel, said, 
 
 2 The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, 
 and his word xcas in my tongue. 
 
 3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of 
 Israel spake to me, II He that ruleth over 
 men rmtst Z'e just, ruling in the fear of God. 
 
 4 And he shall be as the light of the 
 morning, when the sun riseth, even a morn- 
 ing without clouds; as the tender grass 
 springing out of the earth by clear shining 
 after rain. 
 
 5 Although my house be not so with God ; 
 yet he hath made with me an everlasting co- 
 venant, ordered in all things, and sure: for 
 this is all my salvation, and all mi/ desire, 
 although he make it not to grow. 
 
 6 ^ But the sons of Belial shall be all of 
 them as thorns thrust away, because they 
 cannot be taken with hands : 
 
 7 But the man that shall touch them 
 must be t fenced with iron and the staif of 
 a spear; and they shall be utterly burned 
 with fire in the same place. 
 
 8 % These be the names of the mighty 
 men whom David had: II The Tachmonite 
 that sat in the seat, chief among the cap- 
 tains; the same was Adino the Eznite: 
 II he lift up his spear against eight hundred, 
 t whom he slew at one time. 
 
 9 And after him was ^ Eleazar the son of 
 Dodo the Ahohite, ot^e of the three mighty 
 men with David, when they defied the Phi- 
 listines that were there gathered together 
 
 spiration, and, in consequence of that, the sacred authority of 
 bis writings to endless generations. Dr. Dehtnci/. 
 
 the sweet psalmist of Israel,~\ This title seems most emi- 
 nently to belong to David, as he was the person who liad 
 brought to perfection the musick of the Jewish service, having 
 not only composed the psalms, but the musick also, and hav- 
 ing prescribed to the perfoi-mers their several parts, &c. Dr. 
 Gray. 
 
 2. The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, &c.] That is, it was 
 by the Divine inspiration that I composed my various psalms, 
 and now speak this. Dr. JVelk. 
 
 3. — He that nileth &c.] Or, as in the margin, Be thou ruler over 
 &c. which the Chaldee expounds of the Messiah in this manner; 
 The faithful God spake, I will constitute to Me a king, He is the 
 Messiah, who shall arise and reign in the fear of the Lord; but this 
 relates first to David, the type of Christ, who was taught to rule 
 justly, and in the fear of God. Bp. Patrick. Or, retaining the pre- 
 sent translation, the words are an illustrious assertion of that king- 
 dom and government, which Christ the rigliteoiis even then ad- 
 ministered over men. Bp. Beveridge. 
 
 5. Although mi/ house be not so &c.] My liouse or kingdom is 
 not so with Gotl; that is, is by God's appointment destined to 
 excel the forementioned comparisons taken from natural things: 
 for they are none of them stable and constant; whereas He, 
 namely, God, hath made with nie an everlasting covenant, (a co- 
 venant of an everlasting as well as blessed ami glorious kingdom,) 
 ordered in all things ai-ight and sure ; which is to be chiefly un- 
 
 to battle, and die men of Israel were gone chiuIt 
 away: joig. 
 
 10 He arose, and smote the Philistines 
 until his hand was weary, and his hand 
 clave unto the sword : and the Lord 
 wrought a great victory that day; and the 
 people returned after him only to spoil. 
 
 11 And after him was ^ Shammah the 'i chron. 
 son of Agee the Hararite. And the Phi- "' ^^' 
 listines were gathered together II into a !i Or, 
 troop, where was a piece of ground fnW-^jf'"'''^' 
 of lentiles: and the people fled from the 
 Philistines. 
 
 12 But he stood in the midst of the 
 ground, and defended it, and slew the 
 Philistines : and the Lord wrought a 
 great victory. 
 
 13 And II three of the thirty chief went " o^- 
 down, and came to David in the harvest captaml 
 time unto the cave of Adullam: and the '"f "■« 
 troop of the Philistines pitched in the val- '"^^ 
 ley of Rephaim. 
 
 14 And David was then in»an hold, and 
 the garrison of the Philistines was then in 
 Beth-lehem. 
 
 15 And David longed, and said, Oh that 
 one would give me drink of the water of 
 the well of Betii-lehem, which is by the gate! 
 
 16 And the three mighty men brake 
 through the host of the Philistines, and 
 drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, 
 that was by the gate, and took //, and 
 brought it to David : neveitheless he 
 would not drink theieof, but poured it 
 out unto the Lord. 
 
 derstood, and is fully true, of Uie kingdom of Christ. For this 
 kingdom of Christ that is to descend from me, is that wherein is 
 founded all mj- salvation, and all ray desire. Dr. Wells. Other- 
 wise the sense may be. Although I ha\e not in every jx)int been 
 answerable to that which God hath required of me, and foretold 
 concerning me, yet in His great mercy He hath made an ever- 
 lasting covenant with me. Bp. Hall. 
 
 8. These be the ?iames'^ Here follows a catalogue of those va- 
 liant men, who helped to raise David to his dignity, and to pre- 
 serve him in it, being continually with him in bis wars. 
 
 The Tachmonite^ Called Jashobeam at 1 Chron. xi. 11: he 
 
 sal in the seal, probably in the comicil of war. 
 
 13. And three of the thirty chiefs Rather, (as in the margin,) 
 three captains over the thirty. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 the cave of Adullam:^ A place wliere be had hid him- 
 self under tlie persecution of Saul, 1 Sam. xxii. 1, and where he 
 now fortified himself against the Philistines. 
 
 I .",. — the nell of Beth-lehem,'] There is still shewn in tlie 
 neighbourhood of Beth-lehem a well, called the " well of David," 
 and supposed to be that here mentioned. MniindrtlL 
 
 1(3. — nevertheless he would not drink thereof,'} David, thougli 
 longing with an earnest appetite, woiUd not ta.ste a drop of the 
 water brought to him; but, in condemnation of the inordinancy 
 of his appetite, which had exposed such worthy persons to the 
 hazard of their lives, " poured it out unto the Lord." What a 
 mass of sin and misery would he have escaped, if he could have 
 so denied himself in the matter of Uriali! Bp. Sanderson.
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ' I Chroo. 
 II. ja 
 
 f Ilrt 
 
 A catalogue of David" >i 
 
 17 And lie said. Be it far from me, O 
 L<nii), tliat 1 sluHilcl do this: is not this the 
 blood oi tlie men that went in jeopardy of 
 their lives? therefore he would not drink 
 it. These things did these three mighty 
 
 men. 
 
 18 And ' Abishai, the brother ot Joab, 
 the son of Zeruiah, was chief among three. 
 And he lifted np ins sj)ear against three 
 hundred, t and slew them, and had the 
 name among tlirce. 
 
 IIJ Was he not most honourable of three ? 
 therefore he was their captain: howbeit he 
 attained not unto \.\\c first three. 
 
 'JO And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the 
 son of a valiant mail, of Kabzeel, t wiio had 
 done many acts, he slew two t lionlike men 
 of iMoab: he went down also and slew a 
 
 II. SAMUEL. 
 
 mighty men. 
 
 t IKt>. 
 
 grrat •'/ 
 itctt. 
 t Hd) 
 
 •^ It 
 
 in time of 
 
 fHeU 
 a man ■»/' 
 €ounii- 
 Hance, or, 
 iU'/</: 
 railed, 
 1 Cbnjn. 
 11. 23, 
 o man nf 
 gremt sfu- 
 lurr. 
 
 Or. 
 (im-'iig the 
 
 Vt.rltf. 
 
 1 Or. 
 f.>unri7. 
 t Hd.. 
 
 at hit Ciim- 
 mnnd- 
 
 * Chap. 2. 
 IB. 
 
 * 1 Chron. 
 
 11.27. 
 
 ion in the midst of a pit 
 snow : 
 
 i21 And he slew an Egyptian, ta goodly 
 man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his 
 hand; but lie went down to him with a 
 stiiff, and plucked the spear out of the E- 
 gyptian's hand, and slew him with his own 
 spear. 
 
 a These things did Benaiah the son of 
 Jehoiada, and haid the name among three 
 mighty men. 
 
 ^3 He was II more honourable than the 
 thirty, but he attained not to ihejirst three. 
 And David set him over his II t guard. 
 
 i24 ** Asahel the brother of .loab ttfl.y one 
 of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of 
 Beth-lehem, 
 
 25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the 
 Haiodito, 
 
 '20 Helez the ' Paltite, Ira the son of Ik- 
 kesh tlie Tekoite, 
 
 27 Abiezer the Anethothite, Mebunnai 
 the Hushathite, 
 
 '2S Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the 
 Netophathitc, 
 
 2f) Heleb the son of Baanah, a Neto- 
 
 I ". — /.« not litis the blood &c.] He considers the water brought 
 at such hazard, a.s l>loo(l, which by comniatul of God was to be 
 poiircfl on the ground. 
 
 39. — Ihirhi ami seven in alt.'] Only thirty-.six are named ; 
 therefore .loab, wlio was the head of them all, should be included, 
 to complete the number. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 Chap. XXI\'. ver. 1. — irns kindled asainxl Israel,'} Probably 
 for the pineral hixiirj-, pride, and unthoughtfulncss, which in a 
 time ot pence and plenty overspread the kingdom. Pyle. 
 
 .~ — " "."'' '"■ ""«■'■'' Daiid against llieml Rather, as the Hebrew 
 will admit, " David was moved against them;" namely, by Satan 
 
 L^LTT^ f "'."' ' ^'''"'"- ""'• '• ^P- ^"'"■'•*- i»°">- trans- 
 lator, t«d rendered it " David was movi-d," they would better 
 have exprosK^l the true meaning. Ep. Kidder. 
 
 By comparmg this passage with 1 Chron. xsi. 1, it evidently 
 
 phathitc, Ittai the son of Ribai out of Gi- ^hrTst 
 beah of the children of Benjamin, 101a. 
 
 30 Benaiah the Pirathouite, Hiddai of 
 the II brooks of Gaash, IJj- 
 
 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth 
 the Barhumite, 
 
 32 Eliahba the Sliaalbonite, of the sons 
 of Jashen, Jonathan, 
 
 33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the 
 son of Sharar the Hararite, 
 
 34. Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son 
 of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahi- 
 thophel the Gilonite, 
 
 35 Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Ar- 
 bite, 
 
 36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Ba- 
 ni the Gadite, 
 
 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Nahari the 
 Beerothite, armourbearer to Joab the son 
 of Zeruiah, 
 
 38 Ira an Ithrite, Gareb an Ithrite, 
 
 39 Uriah the Hittite : thirty and seven 
 in all. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 1 David, templed by Satan, furcelh Joali to number the. 
 people. 5 The captains, in nine vionfhs and trvcnty 
 days, bring the muster of' thirteen hundred thousand 
 Jig/iting men. 10 David, hating three plagues pro- 
 pounded by Gad, repenlctlt, and chooseth the three days' 
 pestilence. 15 Afler the death of threescore and ten 
 thousand, David by repentance preventeth the destruc- 
 tion <}f Jerusalem. 18 David, by Gati's direction, piir- 
 c/iaselh Araimah's threshingjloor ; where having sacri- 
 Jiced, the plague slayeth. 
 
 AND again the anger of the Lord was loir. 
 kindled against Israel, and II he mov- | ^"'""i , 
 ed David against them to say. Go, number 21. 1. 
 Israel and Judah. 
 
 2 For the king said to Joab the captain 
 of the host, which was with him, || Go now 
 through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan 
 even to Beer-sheba, and number ye the 
 people, that I may know the number of the 
 people. 
 
 appears, that God's moving David, or Satan's provoking him, 
 or his own distrustful heart tempting him, to number the people, 
 are all phrases having one and the same meaning. Dr. S. Clarke. 
 
 Nothing is more common with the sacred writers than to re- 
 present Ciod as doing that which, in the course of His provi- 
 dence, and for the purposes either of mercy or judgment. He per- 
 mits to be done by the instrumentality of second causes, animate 
 or inanimate, corporeal or spiritual. Thus the meaning of these 
 different expressions, when put together, is, according to a fair 
 explanation, that God, for gootl and sufficient reasons known to 
 Himself, permitted Satan to tempt, and David to yield to the 
 temptation, in the present instance. Bp. Home. 
 
 2. — thai I may know the number Sec.'] David's prosperity had 
 at this time too much elated him ; and, being advised by some 
 rash and impi-udent courtiers to take the number of his people, 
 that he might the better know his strength, his vanity got the 
 
 Or, 
 
 Com]m$s,
 
 David forceth Joab 
 
 CHAR XXIV. 
 
 to number the people. 
 
 Before 3 ^^(j Joab Said unto the king, Now the 
 1017. Lord thy God add unto the people, how 
 many soever they be, an hundredfold, and 
 that the eyes of my lord the king may see 
 it : but why doth my lord the king delight 
 in this thing ? 
 
 4 Notwithstanding the king's word pre- 
 vailed against Joab, and against the captains 
 of the host. And Joab and the captains of 
 the host went out from the presence of 
 the king, to number the people of Israel. 
 
 5 ^ And they passed over Jordan, and 
 pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the 
 city that lieth in the midst of the 11 river of 
 Gad, and toward Jazer : 
 
 6 Then they came to Gilead, and to the 
 II land of Talitim-hodshi ; and they came 
 to Dan-jaan, and about to Zidon, 
 
 II Or, 
 
 valley. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 netlu'r land 
 fiewiy in- 
 hubited. 
 
 better of his duty, on which God was pleased to check the rising 
 l)iesuniption of his heai-t, by letting him see how vain his de- 
 pendence on his forces was, and to punish him and them for their 
 violation of a law, ^vhich He had ordered to be observed under 
 tlie severest penalty. For it had been expressly commanded, 
 i;.\od. xxx. 12, "When thou takest the sum of the children of 
 1-rael, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul," 
 \c. David, either not thinking of this command, or deeming 
 liimself, as king of Israel, exempt from it, ordered the people to 
 be numbered, without exacting the ransom from each of them. 
 This was one of the highest stretches of authority ; an assumption 
 of a prerogative which God reserved to Himself, and a violation 
 of a standing law of the kingdom, which was specially ordained 
 as a memorial of God being their supreme Governour and King. 
 It appears that this action of David was looked upon as a very re- 
 prehensible step even by Joab, who remonstrated again.st it, being 
 apprehensive of the bad consequences which would ensue. Dr. 
 (handkr. The numbering of the people was one of the last and 
 most reprehensible acts of David, about two years before his 
 (loath. From the expressions used at 2 Sam. xxiv. 1, and 1 Chron. 
 xxi. 1 , we may collect, that God |)ermitted Satan to tempt David 
 to the commission of a crime, which would draw down punish- 
 ment on himself and his people, as He afterwards permitted the 
 ■-ame evil and lying spirit to seduce the Prophets of Ahab, 
 I Kings xxii. 22, and the disciple of Christ, Luke xxii. 3. The 
 ruling passion by which tlie tempter assailed David was the pride 
 / life, which, though checked and mortified by the wholesome 
 restraints of adversity, broke out again in the sunshine of pros- 
 (leritv. David's offence seems chiefly to have consisted in his 
 persisting to require a muster of all his subjects able to bear arms 
 without the Divine command, without necessity, in a time of 
 profound peace, to indulge an idle vanity and jiresuniptioii, as if 
 lie put his trust more in the number of his sulyects than in the 
 Divine protection; and the offence of his people may have been 
 .-.iniilar, always elated, as they were, in prosperity, and provoking 
 'he anger of the Lord bj' their forgetfuhiess of Him. Dr. Holes. 
 loses numbered the people by (!od's authority, to shew that they 
 Mere all His sufjjects: David seems to have numbered them to 
 sJRv/ that they were his own people, and to display his own sove- 
 jiignty ; which provoked God. Bj). Jliltuii. 
 
 :i. And Joab xaid S:e.]] Thougii pride is so impej-ceptible 
 iClen to ourselves, it is commonly obvious to others. E\en 
 i(iab saw it in David: a wicked man discerned it in a saint. 
 H'ogtin. 
 
 5. And iliei/ passed over Jordan, &c.] The com'se, which the 
 officers took, was this. Setting out from Jerusalem, they passed 
 over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the river Arnon, or " the 
 river of Gad ;" this place is called " in the midst of the river," 
 probably because it was, in whole or in part, situated on a spot of 
 Vol.. L 
 
 7 And came to the strong hold of Tyre, £,^^^"1!,. 
 and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of 1017. 
 the Canaanites : and they went out to the 
 
 south of Judah, eveji to Beer-sheba. 
 
 8 So when they had gone through all 
 the land, they came to Jerusalem at the 
 end of nine months and twenty days. 
 
 9 And Joab gave up the sum of the 
 number of the people unto the king : and 
 there were in Israel eight hundred thou- 
 sand valiant men that drew the sword ; 
 and the men of Judah were five hundred 
 thousand men. 
 
 10 ^ And David's heart smote him after 
 that he had numbered the people. And 
 David said unto the Lord, I have sinned 
 greatly in tliat I have done : and now, I 
 beseech thee, O Lord, take away the ini- 
 
 ground surrounded by the river : they thence went northward to 
 Jazer, to Tahtim-hodshi, or the netherland netvly inhabited, a 
 marshy tract on the river Jordan ; and to Dan-jaan, the same as 
 Dan, lying at the head of Jordan : from Dan-jaan they went to 
 the cities or countries of Tyre and Zidon, on the northwest of 
 Canaan; thence, turning southward, they came to Beer-sheba, the 
 most southerly city of Canaan, and thence back to Jerusalem. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 9. — in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men &c.] On 
 comparing this account with 1 Chron. xxi. .5, we find an im- 
 portant difference; for there the men of Israel are said to be 
 .'iOO,000 more than they are here, and the men of Judah 30,000 
 less. As to the former difference, we may account for it by sup- 
 posing, that, in the smn given in this book of Samuel, the stand- 
 ing legions (which amounted in all to 288,000 men) are not in- 
 cluded, though they are in Chronicles : and, as to the latter dif- 
 ference, we may add 24,000 legionary soldiers to the tribe of 
 Judah, and the difficulty is removed ; unless in tliis latter case it 
 be deemed sufficient to say, that the computation is made in very 
 round numbers, without strict attention to accuracy. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 1 0. — David's licart smote A/m] He was now sensible that he 
 had numbered the people out of fleshly vanity and jjride, and as 
 one who relied on his own strength and the number of his forces 
 for the support of his kingdom, rather tlian on God, who can save 
 by few as well as by many. Dr. J fells. Here needetl no Nathan 
 to bring David to a sight and knowledge of his sin. Tiie heart 
 of the penitent supplied the place of the Prophet. No other 
 tongue could smite so deep as his own thoughts. Bp. Halt. 
 
 / have iiiiiied grealli/ in lltat I have done ;] This last of- 
 fence of David is still more astonishing and ahunning than the 
 first. This was an offence committed immediately aa;iinst (lod. 
 It is almost inconceivable, ami jiltogether frightful, to consider, 
 how "the light of Israel," ;ui inspired Prophet the most highly 
 gifted, favoured with such abuiul.tnce of revelations concerning 
 the Messiali, and His future di, , eusation of grace to mankind, 
 could be so exalted abo\e measure by the inborn pride and 
 naughtiness of his heart, ( 1 Sam. xvii. 28,) as to forget , not merely 
 for a moment, but for nine months and twenty days, (the time 
 employed in nudving the return,) tlie Lord his strength ami his 
 redeemer, unmoved by the representations and remonstrances of 
 his most faithful friends, who forewaj-ned him of the Divine dis- 
 pleasure. Most strongly indeed does his fall on this occasion urge 
 tlie necessity of vigilance and pr.iycr, to correct the deceitfulness 
 of the hum.an heart, and to counteract the subtlety of tlie devil 
 working against us; while his rising again furnishes an abundant 
 source of consolation to all returning penitents, never to despair 
 of the riches of Divine mercy, from a sense of tlieir own un- 
 wortliiness and manifold demerits. Dr. Haks. 
 
 41
 
 Daiid chooscth the three days' pestilence. II. SAMUEL. 
 
 Jerusalem is saved. 
 
 I0i7. 
 
 Brfoi* (luitv of tliy servant; for I have done very 
 
 -"«'«■' Ibolishly. 
 
 11 For when D;ivid was up in the morn- 
 iiiir, tlic word of the Loud came unto the 
 prophet Gad, David's seer, sayinpj, 
 
 I'i Go and say unto David, Thus saith 
 the LoHD, I offer thee thr-.-e things ; choose 
 thee one of thcMn, that I may do it unto thee. 
 
 13 So Gad came to David, and told him, 
 and said unto him, Sliall seven years of fa- 
 mine come unto tlice in thy hind ? or wilt 
 thou Hce three months before thine ene- 
 mies, wiiilc they pursue thee ? or that there 
 be thr.3e days' pestilence in thy land ? now 
 advise, and see what answer I shall return 
 to him that sent me. 
 
 14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a 
 great strait : let us fall now into the hand 
 
 l.S. — Sliall .frrcn years of fu mine come wilo thee in On/ land?'] 
 There is a ilitfert-ncc between the account given here, and that in 
 the book of Chronicles, w here the fiimine is said to be for tliree 
 years, not for seven, 1 Chron. xxi. 12. Some have imagined that 
 seven is in thix place aJi errour which has crept into the text. 
 But the difference may be explained in another manner ; by 
 supposing that the author of Chronicles speaks of those years 
 of famine, which were to come for David's sin only, while the 
 author of the book of Samuel speaks also of those years which 
 were sent for Saul's sin, 2 Sam. xxi. David's sin in numbering 
 the people took place within one year after the famine sent for 
 Saul's sin ; the intermediate year was perliaps the sabbatical year, 
 in which the people neither sowed nor reaped, or a year of such 
 excessive drought tliat the crops came to nothing. Upon either 
 of tliese accounts, it might properly enough be said that there 
 would be seven years of famine, three being added to four which 
 had preceded. Slackhouse. According to this e.xplanation, the 
 Prophet's words may be the same as " Wilt thou have t/iree addi- 
 tional years of famine .'" which removes all apparent contradic- 
 tion. Bp. Ilornc. 
 
 There is not another instance recorded in Scripture of any man's 
 being left to the choice of his own pimishment. " The man after 
 God s own heart" is the only one to whom this singular favour is 
 shewn : and the Divine condescension towards him was not lost 
 or abused. David, in the choice which he made, directed himself 
 probably to that which he thought would, under the hand of a 
 just Ood laU with less severity on His people, and with heavier 
 on himself, as the principal and sole offender. How humble, how 
 gei,erous and benevolent a choice was this; and, therefore, how 
 pious and wise! It disarmetl the destroying angel, brought the 
 Lord Himsell "to repent" and to stay His hand. When we 
 meekly submit om-seves to the Divine correction, not only mercy, 
 but justice Itself, will say, " It is enough." Uomn. 
 
 1 i. — Ul in fall nan- into tlie hand of il,e Lord;! Of the three 
 purushments offered, David chose the plague, probably from re- 
 collecting that this was the very punishmTnt threatened by God, 
 for t^,e viol;.tion ol this statute, concerning the numbering the 
 people. ExotL XXX. 12. Dr. Chandkr. 
 
 calkHl'^,^^ '" ""'^^'■''*^"''' r ^^'^^ amount the pestUence is 
 
 otfier calamities proceed from causes ■•■-■•'- ■ " ■ ' 
 
 noiu- sees or " 
 
 visible to all men ; whereas 
 
 dalsjTor'^vJ; '\7"T'T'^a'^ ^'"' *? ^^ ^"'^ "f *^ three 
 .««„. .fL,."\^^ »'>« Lord repented Him of the evil:" it 
 
 evening prayer, that is. 
 
 • 1 Sam.lJ. 
 11. 
 
 means. 
 
 of the Lord; for his mercies are II great: chhIist 
 and let me not fall into the hand of man. 1017. 
 
 15 ^ So the Lord sent a pestilence upon || Or, 
 Israel from the morning even to the time "*""'"' 
 ap])ointed : and there died of the people 
 from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thou- 
 sand men. 
 
 1() And when the angel stretched out his 
 hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, "the 
 Lord repented him of the evil, and said to 
 tlie angel that destroyed the people, It is 
 enough : stay now thine hand. And the 
 angel of the Lord was by the threshing- 
 place of Araunah the Jebusite. 
 
 17 And David spake unto the Lord 
 when he saw the angel that smote the 
 people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I 
 have done wickedly : but these sheep, what 
 
 about the ninth hour of the day ; according to which sense the 
 plague lasted nine hours, lip. Palrick. 
 
 tliere died — scventi) thousand men.] If it should be 
 
 thought strange that Gotl should destroy 70,000 men of Israel 
 for David's fault, it should be recollected, that God has an ab- 
 solute right over the lives of all His creatures ; and that, if ever 
 He does any thing seemingly hard. He knows how to make them 
 ample amends. But " the anger of the Lord was (also) kindled 
 against Israel," ver. 1 ; the people themselves had sins many and 
 great, which deserved punishment, and for which they would 
 probably have been before punished, had it not been for God's 
 favour towards David, who would have suffered in Common with 
 them : now, therefore, when both king and people had deserved 
 a correction or judgment, God was pleased to let loose His anger 
 against both. Dr. Waterland. 
 
 16. — the Lord repented hiin~\ God did not change His mind, 
 but only revoked that which He had decreed on a certain con- 
 dition : which was, that three days' pestilence should come 
 upon the country, unless David and his people repented. Bp. 
 Palrick. 
 
 the angel — was by the thre.ihingplace'\ That is, the pes- 
 tilence had spread in Jerusalem to this point. It is agreed by the 
 learned, that tliis threshingfloor was situated upon mount Moriah, 
 whereon Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac, and whereon 
 Solomon afterwards built the temple. Dr. IVells. 
 
 of Araunah the Jebimte.^ As Araunah is called a Jebu- 
 site, it thus appears that all the Jebusites were not at this time 
 expelled from Jerusalem. Dr. Wall. 
 
 17. — but these sheep,] A noble example of the tenderness 
 which kings should have for their subjects. Bp. Wilson. How 
 sensibly was David affected with his people's sufferings under 
 that pestilence, which his imprudence and their neglect had 
 brought upon them ! How tenderly and affectionately does he 
 plead with God in their behalf! What a noble instance of pub- 
 lick spirit, and generous concern for the safety of his people, does 
 this moving and pathetick expostulation manifest ! Here is the 
 real language and spirit of a genuine shepherd of his people, will- 
 ing to devote himself and his family to God, for the preserva- 
 tion of his subjects. Dr. Chandler. Although David, like a true 
 patriot king and most affectionate father, intercedes for his people, 
 and desires to receive in his own person and family the stroke 
 that was ready to descend on them, yet it should seem that the 
 people were by no means without fault ; for (as was noted at ver. 1) 
 " the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel;" and, as a 
 consequence of this, David was excited to number the people. 
 The offences of the people Cidled for punishment ; and, on the 
 numbering the people, an opportunity was taken to inflict it 
 Bp. Hurne.
 
 Araunah's generous offer. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 The plague is stayed. 
 
 chrTst '^^^^ they done? let thine hand, I pray 
 :oi7. thee, be against me, and against my fa- 
 ther's house. 
 
 18 ^ And Gad came that day to David, 
 and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar 
 unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of A- 
 raunah the Jebusite. 
 
 19 And David, according to the saying 
 of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. 
 
 20 And Araunah looked, and saw the 
 king and his servants coming on toward 
 him : and Araunah went out, and bowed 
 himself before the king on his face upon 
 the ground. 
 
 21 And Araunah said, Wlierefore is my 
 lord the king come to his servant? And 
 David said, To buy the threshingfloor of 
 thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that 
 the plague may be stayed from the peo- 
 ple. 
 
 22 And Araunah said unto David, Let 
 
 23. — did Araunah, as a king, givej^ As a king ; that is, in a 
 bountiful and royal manner. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Si. — bought — for Jiftfi shekels of silver. 2 Here again this 
 book differs from that of Chronicles, 1 Chron. xxi. 25, where it is 
 said, that David bought the threshingfloor, &c. for six hundred 
 shekels of gold, instead of fifty shekels of silver. It is generally 
 supposed that, in the whole, David made two purchases ; first, he 
 bought the threshingfloor and oxen, for which he paid fifty she- 
 kels of silver ; and afterwards, he bought all the ground about it, 
 (out of which the courts of the temple were made,) which cost 
 him six hundred shekels of gold. Up. Patrick. 
 
 The conduct of David on this occasion should be a warning to 
 all men, to keep their hearts with all diligence, so that they be 
 not overcome with pride, and the love of worldly things. For, if 
 these sinful affections could break into the heart of such a holy 
 man as David, what victories will they be apt to gain over others, 
 who are not so vigilant ! Too often, alas, do they alienate men 
 from the love of God, and provoke Him to punish them with the 
 want of even necessary things ; for the case of David is the case 
 of too many amongst mankind. When they are exalted to ho- 
 nours, they forget themselves, and grow proud and insolent. 
 When riches increase, their sensual lusts and corrupt manners 
 
 my lord the king take and offer up what pJ?^*",'!-!. 
 seemeth good unto him : behold, here be ion. 
 oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing 
 instruments and other instruments of the 
 oxen for wood. 
 
 23 All these things did Araunah, as a 
 king, give unto the king. And Araunah 
 said unto the king, The Lord thy God ac- 
 cept thee. 
 
 24- And the king said unto Araunah, 
 Nay ; but I will surely buy it of thee at a 
 price : neither will I offer burnt offerings 
 unto the Lord my God of that which doth 
 cost me nothing. So David bought the 
 threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty she- 
 kels of silver. 
 
 25 And David built there an altar unto 
 the Lord, and offered burnt offeiings and 
 peace offerings. So the Lord was intreat- 
 ed for the land, and the plague was stayed 
 from Israel. 
 
 commonly increase in the same proportion, ^^'hen they dwell 
 securely in fuU peace and health, they put away far from them 
 the evil day, hving as if they should never die, and should never 
 appear before God to give an account of all their works. Read- 
 ing. 
 
 David's crime in numbering the people appears to have con- 
 sisted in a want of confidence in God. Had he acted in tlie true 
 spirit of a king of Israel, he would have been less solicitous about 
 the number of his forces, and would have trusted God with tlie 
 work which He had undertaken, and which He had constantly, 
 and in David's case in a very particular manner, discharged 
 faithfully. Read the promise in the law : " When thou goest 
 out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, 
 and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the Lord 
 thy God is with thee." And consider, what but distrust in God 
 could tempt David to number his forces ? Happy had it been for 
 him and the people, had he then reflected, that " God hath no 
 pleasure in the strength of an horse, neither deUghteth He in any 
 man's legs." He ought to have remembered, what liis own ex- 
 perience had taught him, that God wanted not the assistance of 
 horse and foot to execute the designs of His providence. Bp. 
 Sherlock. 
 
 The following Chapters from the second book of Samuel are appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holydays. 
 
 Chap. XII. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 6th Sunday after Trinity, 
 Ditto, ... 
 
 7th Sunday after Trinity, 
 Ditto, . . - 
 
 Morning. 
 Evening. 
 Morning. 
 'Eveoiag. 
 
 4le
 
 THE FIRST BOOK OF THE 
 
 KINGS, 
 
 COMMONLY CALLED, 
 
 THE THIRD BOOK OF THE KINGS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE two books of Kings formed only one in the Hebrew canon. They cannot be positively ascribed to any particular author ; 
 some have ascribed them to Jeremiah, some to Isaiah ; and some, again, with more probability, suppose them to have been 
 compiled l)y Ezra, from the records which were regularly kept, both in Jerusalem and Samaria, of all publick transactions. These 
 records appear to have been made by the contemporary Prophets, and frequently derived their names from the kings whose history 
 they contain. They are mentioned in many parts of Scripture : thus, in the first book of Kings, we read of the Book of the Acts of 
 Solomon, which is supposed to have been written by Nathan, Ahijah, and Iddo. We elsewhere read, that Shemaiah the prophet, 
 and Iddo the seer, wrote the acts of Rehoboam ; that Jehu wrote the acts of Jehoshaphat, and Isaiah those of Uzziah and Hezekiah. 
 We may therefore conclude, that from these publick records, and other authentick documents, were composed the two books of 
 Kings;' and the uniformity of their style favours the opinion of their being put into their present shape by the same person. Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 The first book of Kings comprises a period of 126 years, from the death of David, in the year of the world 2()8,0, to that of Jeho- 
 sliaphat. After the description of the decay and death of David, we are presented with a most striking history of the reign of 
 Solomon; of his wisdom and magnificence; of the building of the temple; of his extended commerce to Ophir; and of the visit of 
 the queen of Shcba. To tliis succeeds an account of the miserable dotage and apostasy of Solomon ; and of his death, preceded by 
 a prospect of that threatened rending of the kingdom which should take place under his son. Afterwards are related the accession 
 of Rehoboam ; his rash and impolitick conduct,, and the consequent separation of the ten tribes, which happened about tlie year of 
 tlie world 3029. This is followed by a concise sketch of the history of the two kingdoms, in which particular periods are charac- 
 terized by very animated relations ; as that of the disobedient Prophet ; of the widow of Zarephath; of Elijah and the prophets of 
 Baal ; of Benhadad's pride and defeat ; of Ahab's injustice and punishment. In the course of these events we contemplate the exact 
 accomplislmient of God's promises and threats, tlie wisdom of His dispensations, and the mingled justice and mercy of His govern- 
 ment. The book is stamped with the intrinsick m.vks of inspiration : of the prophecies which it contains, some were speedily com- 
 pletetl ; but tliat which foretold that " Josiah should be born unto the house of David, and slay the priests of the high places," was 
 
 , not fulfilled till above 350 years after it was delivered. Both the books of Kings are cited as authentick and canonical by our Saviour 
 and His Apostles. Dr. Gray. 
 
 It is sufficient to establish tlie authority and just esteem of these books, to consider that we owe them to the especial providence of God, 
 as designed by Him for our great benefit and instruction ; and that, by all circumstances compared together, we find them to have 
 been collected by persons of unsuspected ability, care, and honesty, and handed down to us with as much purity and uncorniptedness 
 in the copies, as the nature of such tilings eould possibly bear. Pyk. ' 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1015. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Ati'nhag chcrishelh David in his extreme age. 's Ado- 
 nijuh, David's darling, vsurpelh Ihc kiiisdmn. 1 1 Bij 
 the counsel of Xalhan, 1 5 Bath-sheba mweth the king, 
 22 and Nathan sccondelh her. 28 David renervclh his 
 oath to Bath-shcbn. 32 Solomon, by David's appoiiU- 
 meiU, being anointed king by Zado'k and Nathan, the 
 
 people triumph. 41 Jonathan bringing these nctvs, Ado- Before 
 nijah's guests fly. 50 Adonijah, flying to the horns of ^^^^^"^ 
 the altar, upon his good behaviour is disynissed btj So- 
 lomon. 
 
 1015. 
 
 Heb. 
 
 NOW king David was old and t stricken + 
 in years ; and they covered him with 2^1""'"" 
 clothes, but he gat no heat. 
 
 Chap. I. ver. 1 — David wot old and stricken in years ;2 He was now seventy years old, as we coUect from 2 Sam. v. 4, 5. Bp. Patrick.
 
 AdoJiijah usurpeth the kingdom. 
 
 unto him- 
 
 chrTst ^ Wherefore his servants said unto him, 
 1015. tLet there be sought for my lord the king 
 t Heb. t a young virgin : and let her stand before 
 Xe< ikeni ^^6 king, and let her t cherish him, and let 
 t Heb. her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king 
 
 a damsel, ^^y „g^ J^gj^^^ 
 
 t Heb. he 3 ho they sought for a fair damsel 
 ackeriskcr throughout all the coasts of Israel, and 
 
 found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought 
 
 her to the king. 
 
 4 And the damsel "was very fair, and 
 cherished the king, and ministered to him : 
 but the king knew her not. 
 
 5 ^ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith 
 t Heb. exalted himself, saying, I will t be king : 
 "'°"' and he prepared him chariots and horse- 
 men, and fifty men to run before him. 
 
 6 And his father had not displeased him 
 f-Heb. f at any time in saying. Why hast thou 
 days. '" done so ? and he also "dcas a very goodly 
 
 man; and /nsmotherha.re him after Absalom, 
 t Hob. 7 And t he conferred with Joab the son 
 
 'wJe^M of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest : 
 jotth. and they t following Adonijah helped him. 
 
 hefped'a/ier ^ ^ut Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the 
 Adonijah. son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, 
 
 ST 
 
 2. — let her cherish him, &c.] Interpreters are much divided 
 in opinion whether Abishag was the wife of David or not: some 
 maintaining that she was truly his lawful wife; and others, that 
 she was nothing more than a servant, or at most a concubine wife. 
 Calmet. 
 
 5. Then Adonijah — exalted himself,'] This attempt of Ado- 
 nijah was another trial for David. Providence suffered this 
 to happen, whilst David was yet alive, that Adonijah's pai'ty 
 might be ruined and dispersed, and Solomon established in the 
 kingdom; that so the promises made in favour of Solomon might 
 be accomplished, and that the pride, and ambition, and conspiracy 
 of Adonijah, might only hasten the exaltation of Solomon, and 
 strengthen him in the kingdom. This is one of those examples 
 which prove that God brings down the high looks of the proxid, 
 and generally confounds them in their own haughtines.s ; that 
 nothing can hinder the execution of the designs of Providence; 
 that whatever men do to prevent them, only serves to hasten 
 tliem; and that criminal attempts turn to the confusion of the au- 
 thors. Ostervald. 
 
 6. — his father hail not displeased him &c.3 It appears from 
 this expression that Adonijah was a great favourite with his fa- 
 ther, as Absalom had been before, whom he resembled in am- 
 bition and in beauty. Dr. Hales. Extraordinary indulgence to 
 his children seems to have been one of David's great faults: he 
 appears to have been so fond of them that he overlooked their 
 errours, and never chided them for what they did amiss: now iu 
 his old age this weakness was more apparent, as he naturally 
 grew more remiss, careless, and sluggish. Bp. Patrick. Adonijah, 
 as well as Absalom, had been the darling of his father. I'heir 
 father had not displeased them from their childhood; therefore 
 they both displeased him in his age. The excessive indulgence 
 of parents at last pays them home in cr<3sscs. Bp. Hall. David 
 had nobody to blame but himself for this misconduct of his son. 
 It was his own excessive indulgence which led to this extrava- 
 gance. Strange weakness in parents and cruelty to their cliil- 
 dren, to suffer them to become incon-igible in errour, or invete- 
 rate in vice, rather than restrain them, while correction is kind- 
 ness ! Dr. Delaney. 
 
 CHAP. I. Nathan's advice to Balh-sheba thereupon. 
 
 and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men before 
 which belonged to David, were not with ^"mL^ 
 Adonijah. 
 
 9 And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen 
 and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, 
 which is by || En-rogel, and called all his II Or, the 
 brethren the king's sons, and all the men "'" ^''''■'• 
 of Judah the king's servants : 
 
 10 But Nathan the propliet, and Benaiali, 
 and the mighty men, and Solomon his 
 brother, he called not. 
 
 11^ Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath- 
 sheba the mother of Solomon, saying. Hast 
 thou not heard that Adonijah the son of 
 ' Haggith doth reign, and David our lord ' 2 Sam. 3. 
 knoweth it not ? ^' 
 
 12 Now therefore come, let me, I pray 
 thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest 
 save thine own life, and the life of thy son 
 Solomon. 
 
 13 Go and get thee in unto king David, 
 and say unto him. Didst not thou, my lord, 
 O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, 
 Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign af- 
 ter me, and he shall sit upon my throne ? 
 why then doth Adonijah reign ? 
 
 9- — which is hy En-rogel,"] En-rogel lay not far from Jerusa- 
 lem, to the east or northeast of it. Dr. IVells. Josephus says, that 
 En-rogel means "the fountain in the king's garden." Dr. Hales. 
 
 1 1 . Wherefore Nathan spake &c.] The word " wherefore" is 
 not in the Hebrew ; where the words are, " And Nathan spake." 
 The insertion of the word " wherefore" in our translation has 
 sometimes given birth to a very unfounded insinuation against 
 Nathan, as if a feeling of resentment for the neglect she«-n to 
 him by Adonijah, as mentioned in the preceding verse, was the 
 cause of his discovering the plot to David ; whereas there can be 
 no doubt that Zadok and Nathan were actuated by loyalty and 
 affection to the king, and by the desire of having the succession 
 to the crown settled by his appointment and authority. Dr. 
 Chandler. 
 
 Nathan was the man by whom God liad sent to David that 
 message of assurance, that his son Solomon should reign and 
 prosper : yet now, when Adonijah's plot was on foot, he did not 
 sit still and depend upon tile issue of God's decree, but bestirred 
 himself in the business, and consulted with Bath-sheba how at 
 once to save their lives, and defeat Adonijah and advance Solo- 
 mon. If we would not have God wanting to us. Me must not be 
 wanting to ourselves. Bp. Hall. 
 
 12. — and the life of thy son Solomon.] For, if Adonijah had 
 succeeded in his treason, Solomon, as being the rival of his throne, 
 would have fallen an immediate sacrifice. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 13. — Didst nut thou — sn'ear unto thine handmaid, Sic] ^^'e 
 read no wliere else of this oath ; but, no doubt, David hud so- 
 lemnly sworn to Iier, that her son should be made his successor. 
 It appears from 2 Sam. vii. 12, that God had designed him for 
 that honour ; for He there promises to David, by Nathan, to set 
 upon his throne a son that sliould proceed from him, which 
 plainly signifies, that none of his sons .ilready born should suc- 
 ceed him. But more plainlj', at 1 Ciiron. \xii. 8, 9. David de- 
 clares, that God had told him his son Solomon should reign after 
 him and build Him a house. All this, we may well suppose, was 
 known to Adonijah, whicli makes his crime the greater, in settmg 
 himself against the decree of Heaven, as he himself indeed con- 
 
 I fesses in the next chapter, ver. 15. Bp. Patrick,
 
 Bdlhsfieba moirtk the king. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 He reneweth his oath to her. 
 
 H'hal 10 
 Uaf 
 
 luton H Behold, while thou yet talkest there 
 
 *^""i.*^ with the kiiij::, I also wifl come in after 
 
 t Hrti. thcc, and t coiitinn thy words. 
 
 ^"r- 15 f And Bath-sheba went in unto the 
 
 king into the chamber : and the king was 
 
 verv old ; and Abishag tiie Shnnammite 
 
 ministered inito tlie king. 
 
 K) And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obei- 
 sance unto the king. And the king said, 
 t Htb. f What wouldest thou ? 
 
 17 And she said unto him, My lord, thou 
 swarest by the Loud thy God unto thine 
 handmaid, saying; Assuredly Solomon thy 
 son shall reign after me, and he shall sit 
 upon my tiirone. 
 
 18 And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; 
 and now, my lord the king, thou knowest 
 it not : 
 
 19 And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle 
 and sheep in abundance, and hath called 
 all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the 
 priest, and Joab the captain of the host : 
 but Solomon thy servant hath he not 
 called. 
 
 20 And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes 
 of all Israel a7'e upon thee, that thou 
 sliouldcst tell them who shall sit on the 
 throne of my lord the king after him. 
 
 ^1 Otherwise it shall come to pass, when 
 my lord the king shall sleep with his fa- 
 thers, that I and my son Solomon shall be 
 t Heb. counted t offenders. 
 
 "■'""'• 2^2 f And, lo, while she yet talked with 
 
 the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. 
 
 23 And they told the king, saying. Be- 
 hold Nathan the prophet. And when he 
 was come in before the king, he bowed 
 himself before the king with his face to the 
 ground. 
 
 24. And Nathan said, My lord, O king, 
 hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after 
 me, and he shall sit upon my throne? 
 
 25 For he is gone down this day, and 
 hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in 
 abundance, and hath called all the king's 
 sons, and the captains of the host, and 
 
 deVh 7 /'""•*' """f'! HC'-"^'''*! Shall be deemed guilty of 
 death, ^,r aimmg at the kingdom. lip. Patrick. ^ 
 
 -0 Uut ,„c, even mc Ih., servant, _ hath he m,t caUed.l Na- 
 
 the nXti" i.Ti:r'i'^ h-mself kmg. and his assumption of 
 Chapter! ^' '^""'^ '•>' ^^ •""g» CO"*e"t ^"i order ? Dr. 
 
 "s u=., that It WM a capiud crmie to rid« upon the king's 
 
 Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat ch'rist 
 and drink before him, and say, t God save lois. 
 king Adonijah. f Heb. 
 
 2G But me, even me thy servant, and :^".^"s-^- 
 
 , . 1 T^ • 1 1 n donijah live, 
 
 Zadok the priest, and benaiah the son or 
 Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath 
 he not called. 
 
 27 Is this thing done by my lord the 
 king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy 
 servant, who should sit on the throne of 
 my lord the king after him ? 
 
 28 ^ Then king David answered and 
 said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came 
 
 t into the king's presence, and stood before + "«>'■ 
 the kuig. i,„g. 
 
 29 And the king sware, and said. As the 
 Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul 
 out of all distress, 
 
 30 Even as I sware unto thee by the 
 Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly So- 
 lomon thy son shall reign after me, and he 
 shall sit upon my throne in my stead j even 
 so will I certainly do this day. 
 
 31 Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face 
 to the earth, and did reverence to the king, 
 and said. Let my lord king David live for 
 ever. 
 
 32 if And king David said, Call me Za- 
 dok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, 
 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they 
 came before the king. 
 
 33 The king also said unto them, Take 
 with you the servants of your lord, and 
 cause Solomon my son to ride upon t mine + Hch. 
 own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: ion^rthTo 
 
 34. And let Zadok the priest and Nathan me° 
 the prophet anoint him there king over 
 Israel : and blow ye with the trumpet, and 
 say, God save king Solomon. 
 
 35 Then ye shall come up after him, 
 that he may come and sit upon my throne; 
 for he shall be king in my stead: and I 
 have appointed him to be ruler over Israel 
 and over Judah. 
 
 36 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada 
 answered the king, and said. Amen: the 
 
 ass or mule, to sit upon his throne, or to handle his sceptre, without 
 his order: on the contrary, to ride on the king's beast, by his per- 
 mission, was deemed the highest honour among the Persians, as 
 appears from the story of Mordecai, Esther vi. 8, iScc. Dr. 
 Chandler. 
 
 bring him down to Gihon ;] It is not agreed whether this 
 
 word denotes a hill, or a fountain: some think it was the name 
 of a fountain, and also of an adjoining hill. Its situation is gene- 
 rally assigned near mount Zion, and on the west side of it. Dr. 
 IVdU. 
 
 Sti. — answered the king, and said, Amen:'^ Benaiah gave his 
 consent, in the name of all the rest, and promised a ready execu- 
 tion of the decree, with his prayers and wishes for all increase of
 
 Solomo7i anot7ited king. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Adonijah dismissed by Solomori. 
 
 flutes. 
 
 1015. too. 
 
 37 As tlie Lord hath been with my lord 
 the king, even so be he with Solomon, and 
 make his throne greater than the throne of 
 my lord king David. 
 
 38 So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the 
 prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, 
 and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, 
 went down, and caused Solomon to ride 
 upon king David's mule, and brought him 
 to Gihon. 
 
 39 And Zadok the priest took an horn 
 of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed 
 Solomon. And they blew the trumpet ; 
 and all the people said, God save king So- 
 lomon. 
 
 40 And all the people came up after him, 
 II Or, and the people piped with || pipes, and re- 
 joiced with great joy, so that the earth rent 
 with the sound of them. 
 
 41 % And Adonijah and all the guests 
 that were with him heard it as they had 
 made an end of eating. And when Joab 
 heard the sound of the trumpet, he said. 
 Wherefore is this noise of the city being in 
 an uproar? 
 
 42 And while he yet spake, behold, Jo- 
 nathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: 
 and Adonijah said unto him, Come in ; for 
 thou art a valiant man, and bringest good 
 tidings. 
 
 43 And Jonathan answered and said to 
 Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath 
 made Solomon king. 
 
 44 And the king hath sent with him Za- 
 dok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, 
 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the 
 Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they 
 
 providential blessings on the new king, and his successors for 
 ever. P^le. 
 
 39. — look an horn of oil out of the tabernaclef] Took a vessel 
 of oil; the vessel being made of the horn of an ox, as was usually 
 done. The unction of Solomon was rendered more solemn, and 
 his person more sacred, by the circumstance of the oil employed 
 being the holj' oil, or that " taken out of the tabernacle ;" though 
 the Jews ai-e generally of opinion, that it was by no means ne- 
 cessary to anoint their kings with this holy oil made by Moses. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 42. — for thou art a valiant man,~\ Rather, " for thou art a 
 vu-tuous man ;" thus the word we here translate valiant is ren- 
 dered at Prov. xii. 4. The Chaldee renders it, '■' Thou art a man 
 that fearest to sin." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 46. — also Solomon sitteth on the throne'] That is, as partner 
 with David ; for it does not appear that David resigned his crown 
 during his life. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 47. — the king bowed himself upon the bed.'] It may appear 
 singular that David at this first anointing of Solomon should 
 be in his chamber, and on his bed, and exceedingly decrepit; 
 and yet, at his second anointing, should be in the midst of his 
 princes and counsellors, aud standing on his feet, 1 Chi-on. xxviii. 
 
 have caused him to ride upon the king's Christ 
 mule : ,0,5. 
 
 45 And Zadok the priest and Nathan the 
 prophet have anointed him king in Gihon : 
 and they are come up from thence rejoic- 
 ing, so that the city rang again. This is 
 the noise that ye have heard. 
 
 46 And also Solomon sitteth on the 
 throne of the kingdom. 
 
 47 And moreover the king's servants 
 came to bless our lord king David, saying, 
 God make the name of Solomon better 
 than thy name, and make his throne great- 
 er than thy throne. And the king bowed 
 himself upon the bed. 
 
 48 And also thus said the king, Blessed 
 be the Lord God of Israel, whicli hath 
 given one to sit on my throne this day, 
 mine eyes even seeing it. 
 
 49 And all the guests that xcei'e with 
 Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and 
 went every man his way. 
 
 50 ^ And Adonijah feared because of 
 Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught 
 hold on the horns of the altar. 
 
 51 And it was told Solomon, saying, Be- 
 hold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon : for, 
 lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the 
 altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto 
 me to day that he will not slay his servant 
 with the sword. 
 
 52 And Solomon said, If he will shew 
 liimself a worthy man, there shall not an 
 hair of him fall to the earth : but if wick- 
 edness shall be found in him, he shall 
 die. 
 
 53 So king Solomon sent, and they 
 brought him down from the altar. And 
 he came and bowed himself to kinfj Solo- 
 
 2. But we should consider that David's present infirmity was 
 probably not sickness, but the coldness and numbness of old 
 age. He was heart-whole, and head-whole, but old and af- 
 flicted with palsy. Therefore, though his most usual and com- 
 modious posture was in his chamber on his couch, j-et, upon 
 such an occasion as the cro^vning of Solomon again before all 
 Israel, he wa.s able to come forth, and stand upon his feet, 
 and give his advice respecting future proceedings. Dr. Light' 
 foot. 
 
 50. — caught hold an the horns of the altar.] Conscious of the 
 crime he had committed, he fled to tlie altar for safety and pro- 
 tection, as that was a privileged place, not by the appointment 
 of the law, but by the custom of all n.itions. It is a question 
 to what altar he fled ; whether to that at the tabernacle in Gi- 
 beon, or to that newly built in the threshingfloor of .Araunah : 
 the latter is most probable, as it was nearest. Bp. Patrick. It 
 should be observed, that the .lewish law gave no asylum of 
 the altar to those who had become guilt}' of a voluntary crime. 
 Wilful miu-derers might be torn from the altar in order to be 
 put to death, E.vod. xxi. 14. According to the custom of almost 
 all nations, altars aud temples have been considered as asyliuns. 
 Calmet.
 
 David ghttJi a chari^e 
 
 ^^'— moil : aiul Solomon said unto him, Go to 
 *^'lml" thine liouse. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 I Dai id, liaiiiis ff'if'i a c/mrse to Suloinuii, 3 ofreli- 
 piousitess, 5 v./""''. 1 of fiai-.Mil, iio/'Shimd, 10 
 ilieth. \2 Solomon suan-dclh. IS Adomjnli,wovtng 
 lialh-sheha to xiie unto Solomon fur .Ihlx/wi:, if put to 
 death. 2() Aliiatluir, liaviiiii his life icivrn him, is de- 
 prived of the pricilhiHxL -'S Jo<ih Jliciiii: to the hums 
 of the allnr is then- slain. S't Uenuiah is put in Jo- 
 ah's room, and Zadok in Ahiathars. 30" Sliimei, con- 
 fined to Jerusalem, by occasion of going thence to Gal/i, 
 is pnt to dtiilh. 
 
 NOW the days of David drew nigh tliat 
 he shouhl'the ; and lie charged Solo- 
 mon his son, saying, 
 
 !2 I go tlie way of all the earth : be thou 
 strong theretbre, and shew tliyself" a man ; 
 a And keep the charge of the Lord thy 
 God, to walk in his ways, to keep his sta- 
 tutes, and his commandments, and his 
 judgments, and his testimonies, as it is 
 •^ D«uL 29. ^^.^itten in the law of Moses, that thou 
 Josh. 1. 7. mayest ^ il prosper in all that thou doest, 
 J.uir/y. and whithersoever thou turnest thyself : 
 
 Chap. II. ver. 1. — and he charged Solomon his son,2 Many 
 pfKxl counsels had David given to his Iieir ; now he sums them 
 up at tlic end. Dying words are wont to be the weightiest ; the 
 s«)ul, when it is entering into glorv, breathes nothmg but divine. 
 Dp. Hall. 
 
 The exhortations to the I'ear of Cod which David gave to his 
 son Solomon before he died, are a mark oi' his piety, and of his 
 nflection for his son. In imit;ition of this example, parents ought 
 above all things to recommend to their children the fear of the 
 Lord, while they are with them, and before they leave this world; 
 which is the true way to secure Uie blessing of God to their fa- 
 milies. Ostcrvald, 
 
 3. And keep the charge of the Lord thy God,~[ The best legacy 
 that David leaves to his heir, is the care of piet}-. Himself had 
 found the sweetness of a good conscience, and now he commends 
 it to his successor. Here was the father of a king charging the 
 king his son to keep the statutes of the King of kings : as one 
 who kijcw Uiat greatness could neither exempt from obedience 
 nor privilege sin; as one who knew that the least deviation from 
 the greatest and highest career is more perceived, and therefore 
 ni(i.-t d;uigerous. Thus he charges liis son not to look for any 
 prosperity, save only, from well doing. That hapjiiness is built 
 upon s-uid, which is raised upon any foundation besides virtue. 
 If .Solomon, when old, liad well remembered the counsels of Da- 
 vid, he would not have so foully miscamed. lip. Hall. 
 
 5. — thuu Icnunest alio what Joab the son of Zcniiah &C.3 David 
 
 has been censured for betraying a vindictive spirit in his dying 
 
 aiivice to Solomon respecting Joab and Shimei ; but his conduct 
 
 «Pl.ears to be perfectly justifiable. In regard to Joab, he does 
 
 uot advise .Solomon absolutely and unconditionally to put him to 
 
 dy.ith, but tells him to " do according to his wisdom ;" he says to 
 
 mm, " Though you ha\e now pardoned Joab through jwlicy, as 
 
 1 was compelled to do myself by the exigency of the times, and 
 
 the predommaiU influence of the sons of Zeruiah ; yet should he 
 
 offend again, act according to your discretion, and then punish 
 
 mm as a hoary-headed murderer, and a confirmed traitor with 
 
 death." Dr. HaUs. ' 
 
 The advice now given by David cannot be deemed inconsistent 
 d.'; hlLir ^'ll-' "' ""^"^''ly o'"^ ju^t and religious prince on his 
 diathbed. t u tn.e that lorgiveness of enemies is a dutv : but 
 no man IS obhged, by any law that we know of, so to forgi e an 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 to Solomon. 
 
 4 That the Lord may continue his word chrTst 
 which he spake concerning me, saying, If 1015. 
 thy children take heed to their way, to 
 
 walk before ine in truth with all their 
 
 heart and with all their soul, "there shall '^ssam.?. 
 
 not tfail thee (said he) a man on the throne +Heb. 
 
 „f Tcrat^l lie cut off 
 
 or ISiatl. from thee 
 
 5 Moreover thou knowest also what /«»» //,« 
 Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, 077(1 """""■ 
 what he did to the two captains of the 
 
 hosts of Israel, unto " Abner the son of ° 2 Sam. 3. 
 Ner, and unto '' Amasa the son of Jether, OQSam.co. 
 whom he slew, and t shed the blood of war '"• 
 in peace, and put the blood of war upon "^ ''""' 
 his girdle that was about his loins, and in 
 his shoes that u^er-e on his feet. 
 
 6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom, 
 and let not his hoar head go down to the 
 grave in peace. 
 
 7 But shew kindness unto the sons of 
 'Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of gSSam.i;). 
 those that eat at thy table : for so they 
 
 came to me when I fled because of Absa- 
 lom thy brother. 
 
 enemy, continuing such, as not to take the proper methods to 
 guard against the effects of his enmity, and to biiiig him to 
 justice, if no other method will prove effectual. Much less is 
 a j)rince obliged so to forgive an implacable enemy to liis crown 
 and government, and one who is likely to disturb the settlement 
 of the crown in his successor, as not to advise his successor to be 
 on his guard against him, and to punish him, when gm'lty, ac- 
 cording to liis demerits. Such precaution as this he oves to his 
 people ; and he may die, as a private person, in charity with all 
 mankind, and forgive every private injury against himself; and 
 yet, as a prince, he may advise wliat is necessary for the publick 
 good, and even the execution of particular persons, in case tliey 
 should, by abusing the lenity of government and the respite they 
 once obtained, become guilty of new and capital offences. Dr. 
 Chandler. How would David have been acquitted of the charge 
 of injustice, if he had suffered sucli publick and crying offences 
 to pass wholly unpunished ? He discharges his conscience by 
 the advice which he gives to Solomon. Not having been able 
 in his lifetime to complete all that justice required of him, he 
 charged his son to execute what remained. He spoke as a king 
 and as a judge, whose duty it was to punish crime, not as a 
 private individual following the dictates of revenge. Joab liad 
 been so powerful a man with the army, that David during his 
 lifetime durst not call him to account; but, when Solomon 
 began to reign, the continuance of profound peace had im- 
 piiired his power, by rendering his services useless. Solomon 
 therefore had no rea.son to dread his influence, and was enabled 
 to bring liim to that pmiishment which justice demanded. Cal- 
 met. 
 
 did to me,"] Joab had alwav-s conducted liimself with 
 
 great insolence to David, especially under his hea\ iest affliction,' 
 2 Sam. xix. 7, and lately had set up Adonijah to reign, while he 
 was yet aii\e. lip. Patrick. Also he had stabbed .\bsalom, con- 
 trary to David's immediate orders. Dr. Chandler. 
 
 put the blood of ivnr upon his girdle'] The plain mean-' 
 
 ing is, that he stained his clothes and armour with the blood 
 of Abner and ..'Vrnasa, his own countrymen and fellov.-soldiers. 
 Pyk. 
 
 7- — shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai] David's grati- 
 tude to Barzillai is very remarkable, which extended itself to his 
 sons as well as to himself. Bp. Patrick.
 
 David's charge concerning Shimei. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 His death. 
 
 ^^i°ll^ 8 And, behold, thou hast with thee ' Shi- 
 1015. mei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Ba- 
 lsam, le. hurim, which cursed me with a t grievous 
 t Heb. curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim : 
 sirong. but he came down to meet me at Jordan, 
 «2Sam. 19. and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, ^I 
 -3 will not put thee to death with the sword. 
 
 9. Now fherefore hold him not guiltless :] It has been asserted, 
 that the advice here given to Solomon respecting Shimei was a 
 breacli of the oath which he formerly took respecting him. This 
 however was by no means the case. When Abishai asked for 
 permission to put Shimei to death, 2 Sam. xix. 23, " the king 
 gaid unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die ; and the king sware unto 
 him :" meaning, that he should not die on that day, as appears 
 from the context : and when David here says, ver. 8, '■ I sware 
 to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death 
 ■with the sword," he means, by the sword of Abishai, who wanted 
 immediately to kill him. The oath therefore, in strictness, was 
 nothing more than a respite from death that dm/, and did not 
 preclude his future punishment, if he should deserve it by a 
 fresh offence, as he probably did in Adonijah's rebellion ; for 
 it was not till after the execution of Adonijah and Joab, that 
 Solomon sent for Shimei, and ordered him to reside in Jerusalem, 
 and not to quit the city, under pain of death on the day that he 
 ihould pass over the brook Kidron, ver. 37. A condition which 
 Shimei tliankfully accepted: " The saying is good: as my lord 
 the king hath said, so wiJl thy servant do," ver. 38. And this 
 measure was evidently dictated by David's advice; on the mean- 
 ing of which, therefore, it forms the best comment: " And, behold, 
 thou hast with thee Shimei &c. — now therefore hold him not 
 guiltless ;" but guard him as a disaffected and dangr-rous Ben- 
 jamite, and keep him with thee still, or confine him to Jerusalem, 
 lest he kindle rebellion among the tribes, by stirring up their 
 minds, like Sheba : " for thou art a wise man, and knowest what 
 thou oughtest to do unto him," as well as to Joab, in order to 
 prevent his cabals ; and if he offend again, " bring down his 
 Iioar head to the grave with blood," for your own security, and 
 the peace of your kingdom ; for his crimes deserve death. 
 
 Shimei afterwards transgressed the convention, and went to 
 Gath, a suspicious quarter, ver. 40; upon which Solomon, after 
 taxing him with the breach of his oath, put him to death. " So the 
 kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon," ver. 4(3, after 
 the death or banishment of those foes, who were most dangerous, 
 from their rank, wisdom, and consequence. Dr. Hales. 
 
 10. So David slept nith his fathers,'] David appears to have 
 survived, the coronation of Solomon half a year ; for though he 
 reigned seven years and six months over Judah, and thirt3--three 
 years over all Israel, yet his reign is reckoned only forty years, 
 2 Sam. v. 4, r>; 1 Chron. xxix. 97- This interval he seems to have 
 employed in the publick acts and regulations contained in the 
 fi\e last chapters of the first book of Chrom'cles. Dr. Hales. 
 
 was buried in the city of Daiid.~\ Was buried in that part 
 
 of the city of Jerusalem which, he himself had taken from the Je- 
 busites, and called afttr his own name. The sepulchre of David 
 ■was always held in great veneration by the Jews. It remained 
 in St. Peter's time, for so he tells the people, Acts ii. 2p. St. Je- 
 rome relates, that he himself used frequently to f^o and pray at it. 
 It is however somewhat unaccoimtable that the place of this 
 prince's sepulchre, which both the Chaldeans and the Romans, 
 ■when .they took Jerusalem, thought proper to spare, should now 
 be so entirely lost, that modern travellers cannot find tlie least re^ 
 mains of it. Stackhouse, Calmet. 
 
 David, as Josephus says, was a most excellent person, and 
 possessed every virtue that became a king, and one who liad the 
 welfare of so many nations committed to him. He was eminently 
 distinguishetl for his valour; in all his wars on behalf of his sub- 
 jects, he himself rushed into dangers; and, by undergoing all the 
 difficulties of warfare, encouraged his soldiers to noble actions, 
 fatlier than commanded them as a sovereign. He had an excel- 
 VoL. I. 
 
 9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless : 
 for thou a?-t a wise man, and knowest what 
 thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar 
 head bring thou down to the grave with 
 blood. 
 
 10 So " David slept with his fathers, and 
 was buried in the city of David. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 lOli. 
 
 ' ActJ 2. 
 20. & 13. 
 3C. 
 
 lent faculty of considering and discerning how to provide for fu- 
 ture events, and of managing those that were actually present. 
 He was sober, mild, kind to those in distress, just, and humane. 
 As king of Israel he administered justice and judgment to all his 
 people, was a prince of courage, and great militarj' prudence and 
 conduct. Though his crimes were heinous and highly aggra- 
 vated, in the affairs of Uriah and Bath-sheba, he patiently endur- 
 ed reproof, hiunbly submitted to the pimishment appointed him, 
 atoned for his sins, as far as he could, by a sincere repentance, 
 and obtained mercy and forgiveness from God, though not with- 
 out some severe marks of His displeasure, for the grievous offences 
 of which he had been guilty : he professed the greatest regard 
 for every appearance of virtue and holiness, and gave the most 
 indisputable and shining proofs of an undissembled reverence for, 
 and sincere piety to, God ; ever obeying the direction of His Pro- 
 phets, worshipping Him alone throughout the whole of his life, 
 and making the wisest settlement to perpetuate the worship of 
 the same God, throughout all succeeding generations. Such wa.T 
 " the man after God's own heart ;" whom God Himself called to 
 be king over Israel ; who faithfully answered the purposes foi* 
 which God raised him; in whose family He established the 
 throne ; with whom He made an everlasting covenant, and who 
 was the great progenitor of the Messiah Himself, who now reigns 
 over all, and " must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His 
 feet." Dr. Chandler. 
 
 David had, as his inimitable writings abundantly testify, a most 
 ardent spirit of devotion, and a boundless zeal for the honour of 
 God, and the interests of His religion ; and the general tenour of 
 his conduct, when left to its own natural course, very clearly 
 evinces, that he was upon the whole a conscientious obser\'er, and 
 a strenuous asserter of the Divine laws ; a most disinterested and 
 active patriot ; the tenderest of parents, and the most affectionate 
 of friends. At the same time, however, that we do justice to the 
 virtues of king David, we must acknowledge and lament his 
 faults, which were undoubtedly great ; and in one flagrant in- 
 stance, more especially, justly subject him to the severest re- 
 proach. But while we censure him on this account, as he de- 
 serves, it will be our wisdom to look well also to ourselves. To 
 the infidel it is matter of unspeakable triumph, that " the man 
 after God's own heart" should fiave been betrayed into such dread- 
 ful crimes; but to the Christian it must be a subject of most serious 
 concern and alarm, to observe so striking a proof of the frailty 
 and weakness of human nature, even when strengthened by 
 mature years, and confirmed by early habits of virtue and re- 
 ligion. ' But above all things let us beware of perverting the 
 example of David to our own ruin, and of considering his de- 
 viations from duty, not, as they truly are, a warning to us ag.iinst 
 danger, but as an encouragemtnt to us to tread in the Siune un- 
 hall(iwe<l paths of vice. Let us not flatter ourselves, that because 
 he, so devout, so religious, so distinguished by the favour of 
 Heaven, was once most fatally seduced into sin, we may therefore 
 commit the same, or similar crimes, with impunity. On the con- 
 trary, if these crimes appear so o<lious and detestable, even in a 
 Jewish monaich, who had to plead in his excuse (though all ex- 
 cuse was vain) tlie temptations of a court, the manners of the 
 times, the peculiarity of his owu circumstances, and the liberties 
 too often taken by men in his situation; they must assume a 
 much more frightful aspect in a private Christian, who h:»s none 
 of those mitigating pleas to offer, who lives in much more en- 
 lightentd and civilized times, lias much stricter rules of moral 
 conduct presented to him in the Gospel, is called to a much higher 
 deeree of purity and holia«;Ss, has far more powerful aid from 
 
 4 K
 
 ^lihetM succeedeth. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 A donijah is put io Bcath . 
 
 i..'.lr].'And the days that David 'reigned 
 *'!S1''^ over Israel v-ere forty years : seven years 
 
 'SSoni 
 
 esLi: 
 
 1011. 
 
 reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three 
 
 •,'r \ ears reigned he in Jerusalem. 
 
 [%tT-i:. 12 11 ''Then sat Solomon upon the throne 
 
 •^«c|i~n. ^f David his lather; and his kingdom was 
 
 established greatly. 
 
 18 H And Adonijali the son of Haggith 
 
 came to Bath-shebathe mother of Solomon. 
 
 And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And 
 
 he said. Peaceably. 
 
 It He said moreover, 1 have somewhat 
 
 to say unto thee. And siie said, Say on. 
 
 15 And he said, Thou knowest that the 
 kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set 
 their faces on me, that I should reign : how- 
 beit the kingdom is turned about, and is 
 become my brother's: for it was his from 
 
 (the Lord, j iiol <fn c.. licc;. <-; j^a.<,.oi: 
 
 16 And now I aftk one petitioh of tTiee, 
 iH«b. tdenv me not. And she ^id unto him, 
 t:.7^"Sayon.- J Jf eafiq ot amto n bnA tife ^ 
 face. , 17 And he'Ratd, Speak, T pray- tKee,'uii{o 
 
 iSolomon the king, (for he will not say thee 
 ■dky,) that he give me Abishag the Shu- 
 nnammite to wifci 
 
 18 And Bath-sheba said, Well} I will 
 ?8p(sak for thee unto the kin^r ^"/^ ^^' 
 >!' 19 H Bath-slieba therefor'6 weiit unto 
 ikxn^ Solomon, to speak unto hiln for Ado- 
 
 nijah. And the kiilg rose up to meet her, 
 land bowed him^lf unto her, and sat down 
 a on his throne, and caused a seat to be set 
 
 Heaven t«-jtt{kpott hinl in kib duty, more terrible punishments to 
 work upon ^^ feqrs, «nd more glorious rewards to animate his 
 hopes. Bp. Porteuju 
 
 12. Thm tki S(jfonioH &-C.] The age of .Solomon at his ac- 
 rejsion to:the cxQvm is not noticed in Scripture; but, that he was 
 then twenty jears ol'^e, neither more nor less, may be collected 
 from several iiK^lental circumstances. Dr. Mules. 
 
 1^- — i'omcst ihou j)raccabli/?J She liad some reason to dis- 
 trust him, because she had beeii the means of his losing the king- 
 dom. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 " 15. i^rrfe kmgdoni tvtu m1iie;j-TJe ineins, that the kingdom 
 wa.s hij by right of primogeniture; and he pretends that the king- 
 dom ■w.n.aLy'his by the inclination of the generality of the people 
 lowardshitn^aJi successor to David. lipTl'alrick. 
 
 18- —:^^"l^ ■^Jx^'lKfi"- '*'•<• "nto the king.-] It would seem that 
 both Adonqah and Bath-sheba thought tliat, because David's mar- 
 ri.ige with Abishag was not Consummated, therefore she was not 
 to be lodkedupoti as his wife; for they could not be ignorant that 
 rt was imlawful for any 0T)e to marry his father's wife. It ap- 
 pears .-ftso that Bath-sheba did not perceive the drift of Adoniiah's 
 request. Th. fVdU. See the note on ver. 22. 
 
 19- —for the SiDg:i 7ni>lfur;l The title of " king's mother" 
 wems to have been a title of dignity in itself, like the title of queen 
 dowager, tragmeyits to Calmct. 
 
 ^■^~7'.t'"'J"' °" ''" '"'S'", '""'''-3 The highest mark of dignity 
 ^^-1, i" ,?"' monarch^ Conferretl on the person, whom they 
 «toemeda.,d favoured most, w.is plachv; him, on occasions of so- 
 th?il'i i!^ '^ "^'[''^'^'': the second in honour was next to 
 ce^^l'Z""' '*'' '*',' «th^«"le; a>'il the rest of the court suc- 
 feedcd m the same order. Thus king Solomon caused a ^eat to 
 
 for the king's mother; and she sat on his ^i^^s'f 
 right hand. ion 
 
 '20 Then she said, I desire one small pe- 
 tition of thee ; / prai/ thee, say mc not nay. 
 And the king said unto her. Ask on, my 
 motiier : for 1 will not say thee nay. 
 
 21 And she said, Let Abishag the Shu- 
 nammite be given to Adonijah thy brother 
 to wife. 
 
 22 And king Solomon answered and said 
 unto his mother. And why dost thou ask 
 Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah ? 
 ask for him the kingdom also ; for he is 
 mine elder brother ; even for him, and for 
 Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son 
 of Zeruiah. 
 
 23 Then king Solomon sware by the 
 Lord, saying, God do so to me, and more 
 also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word 
 against his own life. 
 
 24 Now therefore, as the Lord liveth, 
 which hath established me, and s6t me on 
 the throne of David my father, and who 
 
 hath made me an house, as he 'promised, i2Siiin.7. 
 Adonijah shall be put to death this day. '^' '*• 
 
 25 And king Solomon sent by the hand »om. 
 of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada ; and he fell 
 upon him that he died.'^f * ^''^' '^'^ ''"' 
 
 26 IT And unto Abid^dr''tHe*^esf said 
 the king. Get thee to Ahathoth, unto thine 
 own fiejds ; for thou art t worthy of death : t H(^l^ 
 but I will not at this time put thee to death, ^^^ "-^ 
 because thou barest the ark of the Lord 
 
 Ttr 
 
 -t- 
 
 be set for his mother, " and she salt att his right hand." And 
 when the sons of Zebedee»had by mistake imagined the kingdom 
 of our Saviour to be like one of this world, their petition was, 
 " that they might sit, the one on His right hand, and the other on 
 the left in His kingdom," Matt. )tx. 21. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 22. — ask for him i/ie kingdom a/lw;]] Solomon gently repre- 
 hend.s her ignorance; but bis answer means. Do you call this a 
 small petition ? You might as well ask the kingdom for him. 
 For the laws and constitution of the government made it illegal 
 for any one, besides the king and his successors, to take to him- 
 self any of the royal widows, concubines, servants, or any thing 
 else appropriated to the priiice. Solomon theretbre considered 
 this as a new scheme on whicli Adonijah had been put by Joab, 
 in order to carry on again his designs.against iimsdf and his go- 
 vernment. Pyle. 
 
 26. — io AnathothP^ This was one of the cities of the priests, 
 (Josh. xxi. 1 8,) distant, as Eusebius and St. Jerome say, only tliree 
 miles from Jerusalem to the north. Dr. Wclh. 
 
 / 7viU. not at this time put thee to death,'] Solomon seems 
 
 only to reprieve liim for the present, tliat he might keep him on 
 his good behaviour : and he is induced thus to spare him, because 
 he had been faithful to David in the rebellion of Absalom^ when 
 he brought out the ark from Jerusalem to accompany him, (2 
 Sam. XV. a-l,) and because he underwent all the hardships that 
 David endiured, dm'lng the whole time of liis exile under Saul, 
 1 Sam. xxii. 20. Bp. Pulrick. Or perliaps, tliis was a younger 
 Abiathar than he who fled to Daviil under Saul's persecution, 
 and then the aftiiction here aliuded to refers tp the rebellion of 
 Absalom. Dr. Wall. \, : , ■, --.,,. ,.:.,.; 
 
 He was " worthy of death" for being concerned in the rebellioa
 
 Jo(i^Js slain, ,^jj^swo\>K 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Shimei is con/med torjetnisalem. 
 
 CiiuTsT ^^^ b.€fore David my father, and because 
 4di4. thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my 
 fath,er was, afflicted. 
 
 27 So Solomon tlurustout Abiathar from 
 being priest unto the Lord ; that he might 
 
 31 '3^5"'' ' "^"^"^ ^^^ word of the Lord, which he spake 
 concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. 
 
 28 ^ Then tidings came to Joab: for 
 Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he 
 turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled 
 unto the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught 
 Ijold on the horns of the altar. 
 
 29 And it was told king Solomon that 
 Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the 
 
 , Lord; and, behold, he is by the altar. 
 
 I Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Je- 
 
 hoiada, saying. Go, fall upon him. 
 
 30 And Benaiah came to the tabernacle 
 of the Lord, and said unto him, Thus saith 
 the king. Come forth. And he said, Nay; 
 but I will die here. And Benaiah brought 
 
 ,,the king word again, saying. Thus said 
 Joab, and thus he answered me. 
 
 31 And the king said unto him. Do as 
 he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury 
 him; that thwi m^yest take away the in- 
 nocent blood, which Joab shed, fromi^ me, 
 and from the house of my father. ,f nofM 
 
 32 And the Lord shall return his blood 
 ^ypon his own head, who fell upon two men 
 
 ^„ ^ . pipre righteous and better than he, and slew 
 
 them with tlie swprd, my father David not 
 
 2 Sam. 3, knowing tJiereqf, to wit,, ° Abner the son of 
 
 Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and 
 
 •2S«m.3o. ° Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the 
 
 : Jiost of Judah. 
 
 .! ' 33 Their blood shall therefore return 
 
 ' ■" - - ' upon the head of Joab, and upon the head 
 
 01 JUS seed for ever: but upon David, and 
 
 ,»iqo- upon his seed, and upon his house, and 
 
 sfiir upon his throne, shall there be peace for 
 
 ever frpm the Lord. 
 
 \\ii\ I 
 
 iOii'^<Vi,jX jLil L.- 
 
 i!0bl3j't 
 
 with Adonijah, (chap, i.) and it was ati instance of merciful kind- 
 ness in Solomon to change his punishment into banishment ; and 
 this shews the respect he had for the priest of ( iod. Up. ti'ihon. 
 
 28. — cqiii^hl hold on the horns of the altar.'] It is declared at 
 Exod. xxi. 14, tliat, if a man committed a presumptuous murder, 
 he should be taken even from the altar and put to death. It is 
 therefore a question how Joab could think to find shelter there, 
 being a wilful murderer. The Jew.s conjecture, tliat he I)oi)ed 
 thereby to save his estate, which would have l)een otherwise for- 
 feited ; others, that he hoped to obtain burial by this means. Bp. 
 Patrick. Perhaps he hoped to obtain a pardon, as Abiathar had 
 done, by consecrating himself to God and His service, which he 
 did by this solemn ceremony. Dr. Light foot. 
 
 Joab now takes sanctuary in tlie tabernacle of God, and ]>laces 
 all his hopes of defence in the horns of the altar. If he liad for- 
 merly .sought for counsel from the tabernacle, he would not now 
 have needed to fly to it for refuge. If his devotions had not been 
 wanting to tliat altar, he would not have needed it for a shelter. 
 
 34' So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went ^^"« 
 up, and fell \ipon him, and slew him: and '^"^.^^ 
 he was buried in hisiowa^faouse in,'tli£ii!wil- 
 derness. '<<T -., ... r)?''>;;?Y ^ir'^ 
 
 35 % And the king put Benaiah the son 
 of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and 
 Zadok the priest did the king put m the 
 room of Abiathar. i:unohf- nr.A > 
 
 36 % And the king «ent and^^^called for 
 Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an 
 house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and 
 go not forth thence any whither. 
 
 37 For it shall be; that on the day thou 
 goest out, and passest over the brook Ki- 
 dron, thou shalt know for certain that thou 
 shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon 
 thine own head- .1 f;ii,h nu 
 
 38 And >Shimei said uatorfthe^king. The 
 saying is good: as my lord the king hath 
 said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei 
 dwelt in Jerusalem many days. '" 
 
 39 And it came to pass at the end of loii- 
 three years, that two of the servants of 
 Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maa- 
 chah king of Gath. And they told Shi- 
 
 mei, saying. Behold, thy aervanta be in 
 Gath. 
 
 40 And Shimei arose, and saddled his 
 ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek 
 his servants: and Shimei went,*ad brot^t 
 his servants from Gath. Hj fcnA fiiiya 
 
 41 And it was told SolomOli 'that SWmef 
 had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was 
 
 come again 
 
 H 
 
 42 And the king sent and cafled^ for 
 Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not makfe' ^ 
 thee to sM-ear by the Lord, and protested 
 unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on 
 the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad 
 any whither, that thou shalt sureily die? and 
 thou saidst unto me, Tlie word that I have _ ,. ^ 
 heard is good. mirf ibut* 
 
 \ ' vr. ' 
 
 V- 
 
 i . : rrcA'i 
 
 rr 
 
 It IS the fashion of our fooh'sh presumption to look for protect)i?H 
 where we have not cared to yield obedience. Bp. Hall. 
 
 31. — Do 03 he hath saidj " Kill him at the very altar whore 
 he resolves to die;" after which he would not deny him burial 
 suitable to his quality. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 34. So Beiiaiah — sletv him:'\ The honest simplicity of tho^jp 
 times knew not of any infamy in the execution of justice. Be- 
 naiah, wlio was the great marshal under Solomon, tliinka not his 
 hands detiled by that fatal stroke. In this one act Solomon ha» 
 a[)p)ovcd himself Iwth a good magistrate and a good son, fulfilling 
 at once the will of a father, and the cliarge of God; concluding, 
 upon this just execution, that " upon David, and upon his seed, 
 tliere shall be peace for ever from the Lord," and inferring, that 
 without this there could have been no peace. Bp. Hall. 
 
 in hit orvn hottsc in the n:ildancss.2 He was probably 
 
 buried in some ground belonging to his own house: they calletl 
 by the name of " the wilderness" tliosc parts of the country which 
 were thinly iuliabited. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ■ 4Ke
 
 i is put to death. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 Solomon, preferring zvisdoni, 
 
 .■ fcfor. 4S Why then hast thou not kept the 
 ^"""^ oath of the Lord, ami the commandment 
 that I have charged thee with i-' 
 
 n The king said moreover to Shimei, 
 Tliou knowest all the wickedness which 
 thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to 
 David my father: therefore the Louo shall 
 return thy wickedness ujjon thine own 
 
 head ; 
 
 45 And king Solomon shall be blessed, 
 and the throne of David shall be establish- 
 ed before the Lord for ever. 
 
 40 So the king commanded Benaiah the 
 
 son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell 
 
 '2Ch,on. upon him, that he died. And the ^kiiig- 
 
 '■ > dom was established in the hand of Solo- 
 
 mon. 
 
 CHAP. in. 
 
 1014. 
 • Ch»j>. 7. « 
 
 1 Soiomon marrieUi Pharaoh's daughter. 2 High places 
 beiii" in use, Solomon sacrificilh nl G'lbeon. 5 Solo- 
 mon at Gibeon, in the cliuice which God gave him, pre- 
 ferring wisdom, ohtaiiieih wisdom, riches, and honour. 
 l6 Sulomu»'s judgment Let ween the two harlots makcth 
 him renoivned. 
 
 AN D ' Solomon made affinity with Pha- 
 raoh king of Egypt, and took Pha- 
 raoh's daughter, and brought her into the 
 city of David, until he had made an end of 
 building his own house, and the house of 
 
 43. Why then hast thou not kept the oa/A] If this act of Shimei's 
 was small, yet the circumstances were deadly: the commands of 
 •ovcreipn authority make the slightest duties weighty. If his jour- 
 ney was harmless, yet his disobedience was far otherwise. It is 
 not for subjects to poise the prince's charge in the scale of their 
 weak coiibtructions. But besides the command, here was a mu- 
 tual adjuration. .Shimei swore that he would not go: Solomon 
 swore his death if he went. If Shimei was false in offending, 
 Solomon will be just in punisliing. Now therefore the tongue 
 that ciu'sed the Lord's anointed receives its requital, ^'^engeance 
 against rebels may sleep, but it cannot die; a sure, if late, judg- 
 ment attends those who dare lift up the hand or tongue against 
 .the sacred persons of God's vicegerents. How much less will the 
 Gotl of heaven suffer, unrevenged, the insolcncies and blasphemies 
 against Hia own sacred majesty ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. HI. ver. I. — made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt,'] 
 Solomon, having secured his kingdom at home by cu'tting oif the 
 lieads of the opposing faction, now bethought himself to strength- 
 en his interest /ibroad by foreign alliances. It may seem some- 
 what strange, tliat, from the time of Moses till this of Solomon, 
 no mention is made, in :dl the historj- of the Jews, of the kings of 
 ^pyP'j '"r which we must account, by concluding that then- ac- 
 tkwi. were unconnected with the history of the chosen people. 
 All lh«se kings bore the name of I'haraoh, which was rather a 
 title of dignity, than a proptr name, for they had each a proper 
 name besides. Slackhouse. See note on Gen. xii. 15. 
 
 , »""' '" had uuxde an cud Sic.l He first built " the hou.se 
 
 ot the Loni.and then the house f^r his wife to dwell in- see 
 1 Kings ix. Zi- 2 Chron. viii. 11. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 t. 0«/j, Me ptopl, sacrijiced &c.] The only blemish in Solo- 
 •^s government for a long time was, that lie indulged the 
 Pe'ipte m Uuir ancient, though now fr.rbidden, custom of sacri- 
 ncinc upon such hills or high plices as were near at baud, to 
 • JuUi tliey «tre the rather iacUned, trom the unsetUed condition 
 
 the Loud, and the wall of Jerusalem round c^^^"j'*.f 
 about. toil. 
 
 Q, Only the people sacrificed in high 
 places, because there was no house built 
 unto the name of the Lord, until those 
 days. 
 
 3 And Solomon loved the Lord, walking 
 in the statutes of David his father: only 
 he sacrificed and burnt incense in high 
 places. 
 
 4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacri- 
 fice there; for that "was the great high 
 place : a thousand burnt ofterings did Solo- 
 mon offer upon that altar. 
 
 5 ^ In Gibeon the Lord appeared to 
 Solomon in a dream by night: and God 
 said. Ask what I shall give thee. 
 
 6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed 
 unto thy servant David my father great 
 
 II mercy, according as he walked before 1'^°'' 
 thee in truth, and in righteousness, and 
 in uprightness of heart with thee; and 
 thou hast kept for him this great kind- 
 ness, that thou hast given him a son to 
 sit on his throne, as it is this day. 
 
 7 And now, O Lord ray God, thou hast 
 made thy servant king instead of David 
 my father: and I am hut a little child: I 
 know not Aow to go out or come in. 
 
 of the tabernacle, and the continued want of a fixed temple. In 
 this Solomon was the more blamable, because David had, dm-ing 
 his reign, restrained the people from such practices. Pj/le. 
 
 i. — ivenl to Gibeon; — Jor that was the great high place;"] Gi- 
 beon was the proper place of worship, and is called " tlie great 
 high place," because there the original tabernacle and altar, that 
 were made in the wilderness, were kept. Solomon shewed a 
 proper sense of religion in deeming it his first duty there to ad- 
 dress himself to God in prayer and sacrifice, in acknowledgment 
 of His kindness in placing him on his father's throne. It has been 
 considered a difficulty how such a number of beasts could be con- 
 sumed upon the altar here spoken of, which is the brasen altar, 
 within the period of such a festival. This has been solved by 
 supposing that all the sacrifices were devoted at Gibeon, but that 
 a considerable part of them were completed afterwards at Jeru- 
 salem. It has also been suggested, that, although a thousand 
 burnt offerings are mentioned, yet it is only necessary to under- 
 stand by the term, some great and unusual number, as it is a 
 customary mode of expression in Scripture to denote any extra- 
 ordinary number of things by some determinate sum, which often 
 greatly exceeds the real number. Stackhouse, Pi/le. 
 
 6. — T/tou hast shewed unto thy servant David — great mercy,] 
 Solomon here affords an admirable example to those who make 
 petitions to God, that they should in the first place thank Him 
 i'or the great benefits they have received. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — / am but a Utile child: &i.c.] Some persons have con- 
 cluded from these words that Solomon was not more than twelve 
 years of age when he mounted the throne; but this is wrongly 
 inferred. Solomon calls himself a child, only in respect to his 
 skill in the management of publick afliiirs, as is signified in the 
 last words, " I know not how to "o out &C.'' that is, how to 
 govern so great a people, for want ol experience. Thus Benjamin 
 is called a child, Gen. xliv. 20; although he was then abo\^ thirty 
 years old. Rp. Patrick. See also Jer. i. 6, and the note there. 
 
 to go out or come in.'^ Thia is a Hebraism frequent in
 
 obtameth tolsdom, riches, and honour. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 His judgment between the two harlots. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIS 
 1014 
 
 » 2 ChroB. 
 1. 10. 
 t Heb. 
 hearing. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 many dayi 
 
 fHeb. 
 t* hear. 
 
 8 And thy servant is in tlie midst of thy 
 people which thou hast chosen, a great peo- 
 ple, that cannot be numbered nor counted 
 for multitude. 
 
 9 *" Give therefore thy servant an t un- 
 derstanding heart to judge tiiy people, that 
 I may discern between good and bad : for 
 who is able to judge this thy so great a 
 people ? 
 
 10 And the speech pleased the Lord, 
 that Solomon had asked this thing. 
 
 11 And God said unto him. Because 
 thou hast asked this thing, and hast not 
 asked for thyself t long life ; neither hast 
 asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the 
 life of thine enemies ; but hast asked for 
 thyself understanding t to discern judg- 
 ment ; 
 
 12 Behold, I have done according to thy 
 words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an 
 understanding heart ; so that there was 
 none like thee before thee, neither after 
 thee shall any arise like unto thee. 
 
 13 And I have also *" given thee that 
 which thou hast not asked, both riches, 
 and honour : so that there II shall not be 
 any among the kings like unto thee all thy 
 days. 
 
 14- And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to 
 keep my statutes and my commandments, 
 as '' thy father David did walk, then I will 
 lengthen thy days. 
 
 15 And Solomon awoke ; and, behold, it 
 was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, 
 
 the sacred writings, and seems here to refer to the condition of 
 A young child, yet unable to walk firmly, and ignorant of every 
 thing ; such as Solomon professes himself to be, as ruler of so 
 great a people. Houbiganl. 
 
 9- — an understanding heart lo Judge thif people^ Hereupon 
 some Jewish annotators have observed, that, though Solomon in 
 his grent modesty might request of God no more than the gift of 
 government, yet God out of His abundant grace gave him a 
 general knowledge of all other things. Still, though his know- 
 ledge was thus infused by immediate inspiration from God, yet 
 we cannot suppose that he neglected the ordinary means of 
 knowledge, study and observation. We arc told indeed at 
 Eccles. i. 13, that " he gave his heart to seek and search out all 
 things under heaven," so that he endeavoured by application and 
 experience to perfect what he had so advantageously received at 
 the hands of God. Bp. Patrick, Calrnct. If Solomon hat! not 
 been wise before, he would not have known the worth of wisdom. 
 He was a great king, and saw that he had power enough ; but 
 M-ithal he found that royalty without wisdom was but eminent 
 dishonour. Because Solomon made so prudent a choice, God will 
 give him both that which he asketl, and that which he asked not; 
 riches and honour will be given liim in addition. God so loves a 
 good choice, that He recompenses it with overgiving. Had Solo- 
 mon made wealth his boon, he would have failed both of honour 
 and wisdom. Now he asks the best, and all speeds well. They 
 are in a fair way of happiness who can pray aright, Bp. Hall. 
 
 The story of Solomon's choice not only instruct* us in that 
 point of historj', but furnishes out a very line moral to us, narae- 
 
 ' Matth. 6. 
 S3. 
 
 Wisd. 7. 1 1 
 II Or, 
 hath not 
 Ocen. 
 
 * Qiap. 15. 
 
 and stood before the ark of the covenant of -J^YsT 
 the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, loi*. 
 and offered peace offerings, and made a 
 feast to all his servants. 
 
 IG If Then came there two women, that 
 xverc harlots, unto the king, and stood be- 
 fore him. 
 
 17 And the one woman said, O my lord, 
 I and this woman dwell in one house ; and 
 I was delivered of a child with her in the 
 house. 
 
 18 And it came to pass the third day 
 after that I was delivered, that this woman 
 was delivered also: and we Tvere together ; 
 there icas no stranger with us in the house, 
 save we two in the house. 
 
 19 And this woman's child died in the 
 night ; because she overlaid it. 
 
 20 And she arose at midnight, and took 
 my son from beside me, while thine hand- 
 maid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and 
 laid her dead child in my bosom. 
 
 21 And when I rose in the morning to 
 give my child suck, behold, it was dead : 
 but when I had considered it in the morn- 
 ing, behold, it w^as not my son, which I did 
 bear. 
 
 22 And the other woman said, Nay; but 
 the living is my son, and the dead is thy 
 son. And this said. No ; but the dead is 
 thy son, and the living is my son. Thus 
 they spake before the king. 
 
 23 Then said the king. The one saith, 
 This is my son that liveth, and thy son is 
 
 ly, that he, who applies his heart to wisdom, does at the same 
 time take the most proper method of gaining long life, riches, 
 and reputation, which are very often not only the rewards, but 
 the effects of wisdom. Addison. After the example of Solomon, 
 we should all leani to labour after, and beg of God, in the first 
 place, true wisdom, which consists in fearhig Him, and the gifts 
 and graces of the Spirit necessary to that end. Osteri'ald. 
 
 1 5. — and, behold, it nas a dream.^ He found the impressions 
 he had felt in his sleep to be so clear and strong, as to convince 
 him it was a Divine N-ision, and not a mere ordinary dream ; ac- 
 cordingly he renewed his thankfulness to God, in i'easting and 
 sacrifices, on his return to Jerusalem. P^le- 
 
 It was no discomfort to Solomon that he awaked and found 
 it a dream : for he knew this dream was divine and oracular ; 
 and he already found, on his first waking, the real performance 
 of what was promised to him sleeping ; such inward illumination 
 did he sensibly find in his soul. Xo wonder that, on returning 
 from the tabernacle to the ark, he tc^^lified his joy and thankful* 
 ness by burnt offerings and publick feasting?. Bp. Hall. 
 
 ] 6. — that vere harlots;'] See the notes respecting Rahab, 
 Josh. ii. 1. They probably kqn houses of publick entertain- 
 ment ; the Jews suppose they were not Israelites, but strangers. 
 Bp. Patrick: 
 
 2.^. Then said the king. The one saith, &c.'\ What is there now 
 to lead the judge, sincethere is nothing, either in the act, or cir- 
 cumstances, or "evidence, which can sway the sentence? Solomon 
 well saw that, when all outward proofs failed, there was an in- 
 wanl affection, wliich, if iX could be brought out, would certainly
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 Solomon's uisdom renoxcned. 
 
 »••<" the dead : and the other saith, Nay ; but 
 ^loll''" thy son is tlie dead, and my son is the liv- 
 
 '.'1. And the king said, Bring me a 
 sword. And they brought a s\\ ord before 
 the king. . 
 
 'J,5 And the king said, Divide the hving 
 child in two, and give half to the one, and 
 half to the other. 
 
 '26 Then spake the woman whose the 
 living child u-as unto the king, for her 
 tH*. bowels t yearned upon her son, and she 
 "■^*°'- said, O mv lord, give her the living child, 
 and in nowise slay it. But the other said, 
 Let it be neither mine nor thine, hut di- 
 vide //. 
 
 '27 Then the king answered and said. 
 Give her the living child, and in no wise 
 slay it : she is the mother thereof. 
 
 48 And all Israel heard of the judgment 
 which the king had judged ; and they fear- 
 ed the king : for they saw that the wisdom 
 fHeb. of God was t in him, to do judgment. 
 
 in tht miihl 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 1 Solomon's princes. 7 His twelve officers for provision. 
 20, 24 The peace and largeness of his kingdom. 22 
 His daily provision. 26" His slables. 29 Hit iris- 
 dom, 
 
 SO king Solomon was king over all Is- 
 rael. 
 
 His princes. 
 
 Iwtrav tlie real motlier. He knew that sorrow could be more easily 
 dissembled th.in natural love. Both sorrowed for their own; both 
 could not love one, as their own. To draw forth, therefore, this 
 true proof of motherhood, Solomon calls for a sword. Doubtless, 
 »omc of the wiser hearers smiled upon each other, and thought in 
 them-i<-lvc», what will the young king smite at hazard, without 
 conviction? The actions of wise kings are riddles to vulgar con- 
 strurtiond. Neither is it for tlie shallow capacities of the mul- 
 titude to fathom tlu- deep projects of sovereign authority. That 
 ■:word, which had served ftir execution, will now serve for tria]. 
 Divide the Ii%-ing child in two, and give half to the one, and 
 half to the other." O divine oracle of justice, commanding tliat 
 which it would not have done, that it might find out that which 
 could not be discovered ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 26. Tlifn sjtakc the woman kc.'] On Solomon's ordering the 
 child to be divided in two, the real mother begs that the child 
 may be Bavwt, even though it be given to her adversary ; but the 
 prrlcHded mother is clearly for dividing it : this gave Solomon a 
 full conviction that she who expressed tenderness and compassion 
 lor tlie child, wiis its true mother, and accordingly he ordered it 
 to be given to her. Slackltousc. 'Ihis sword has already pitrcetl 
 the br«Mt of the true mother, and divided her heart with" fear and 
 «rief at so killing a sentence. I'here needs no other rack to dis- 
 cmer nature ; and now, while she thinks on the cruelty of such a 
 •cnunce, she sues to that suspected mercy of her just judge, " O 
 my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise sLiv it;" a« 
 Wmkinp, " If he live, he will but change hi^ mother ; if he die, 
 ms mother loses a son : while he lives, it shall be my comfort that 
 nave a «on, though I may not call hbii so : if he were to die, he 
 would pcn&h toboth of us: it is better he should live to a wrone 
 mother tlian to neither." On the contrary", her envious competi- 
 tor, u hoUUng herseU- weU satisfied that her neighbour should be 
 
 '2 And these were the princes which lie chrTIt 
 had ; Azariah the .son of Zadok the II priest, ioh. 
 
 ;j Klihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shi- „ or. 
 sha, II scribes ; Jehoshaphat the son of A- '^'f.^^^''f 
 hilud, the II recorder^ i, or? 
 
 4. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada "was ''•'^'•^'""«- 
 over the host : and Zadok and Abiathar „mrai- 
 Ticre the priests : '""""'•• 
 
 5 And Azariah the son of Nathan was 
 over the officers : and Zabud the son of 
 Nathan was principal officer, and the king's 
 friend : 
 
 () And Ahishar was over the houshold : 
 and ' Adoniram the son of Abda was over * cimp. 5. 
 the II tribute. g ot.iny. 
 
 7 % And Solomon had twelve officers 
 over all Israel, which provided victuals for 
 the king and iiis houshold : each man his 
 month in a year made provision. 
 
 8 And these are their names : II The son « ^■'•^ 
 of Hur, in mount Ephraim : 
 
 9 II The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in II O'- ^ 
 Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon- 
 beth-hanan : 
 
 10 II The son of Hesed, in Aruboth ; to |,°';,_.„^ 
 him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of 
 Hepher : 
 
 11 II The son of Abinadab, in all the l^^^f;^;,,^, 
 region of Dor ; which had Taphath the dab. 
 daughter of Solomon to wife : 
 
 l^ Baana the son of Ahilud ; to him per- 
 
 ns childless as her.self, can say, " Let it be neither mine nor tliine, 
 but divide it." Well might Solomon and every hearer conclude, 
 that either she was no mother, or a monster, that could be con- 
 tent with the murder of her child ; and that, if she could have 
 been the true mother, and yet have desired the blood of her in- 
 fant, «he would have deserved as much to have been stripped of 
 her child for her unnatural disposition, as the other would have 
 deserved to possess him for her honest compassion. Not more 
 justly, therefore, than wisely, doth Solomon trace the true mother 
 lay the footsteps of love and pity, and adjudge the child to those 
 bowels that had yearned at his danger. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. IV. ver. 2. — Azariah the son of Zadok the priest,"} He 
 was the son of AhiiiKuiz the son of Zadok, and therefore was 
 grandson of Zadok, 1 Chron. vi. 8, 9, but such are frequently 
 called sons in Scripture. It is not here distinctly said what office 
 Azariah held ; but it seems probable that he, Elihoreph, and 
 Ahiah were all three scribes or secretaries. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. .— Zadok and Ahiathar n-crc the priests ;] It is matter of 
 doubt with commentiitors whether this is the same Abiathar whom 
 Solomon ejected from the office of high priest, chap. ii. 3o. If it 
 is the same, he was probably *uffered to retain the name and title 
 of high priest, while Zadok enjoyed the office, and perhaps oc- 
 casionally to minister ; or j>erliaps he is here mentioned, because, 
 in the beginning of .Solomon's reign, he did discharge the office 
 of high priest. Bp. Patrick. Or it is meant that Zadok was the 
 high priest, and Abiathar his deimty. Pi/le. 
 
 11. — which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon~] .Solomon 
 had no daughters marriageable when these officers were appoint- 
 ed : we must understaiul therefore, that this person in aftertimes 
 had Solomon's daughter to wife, probably in reward of good be- 
 liaviour in his office. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 >l
 
 .'^^ 
 
 fiQVllA .1 
 
 .lo^WEOKyt moVtivtf t'MOJ«o\oE 
 
 -Tnw . ^'' '*'>''*''' a^onnq aiii y\v» saarfj fcnA S 
 ■ I 'qii 9/lt >fohKX fo noF, 9xf} rlcnssA ; bfixf 
 ...■ lo eno<< 'ifl) ''"^■'•' bur. dqsioriilJI b 
 A. to aoe srfi fyf. ; gsdno^' i ,Bd' . 
 
 r-TjhioDSi II sri^f ,bi;firi 
 Jib (iBi&neQ. ha A i- 
 '\ htm ■ izoA 9di i9vr, 
 
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 ^B'iy £bj5iofh 
 
 ^0 no? s 
 'gnrjl 9r 
 
 f)Io{f?>uorI Of 
 13V0 in'iJ £{kj 
 
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 loi elauior/ bshi . 
 •ii[ nxjm ii}ii'i L. 
 
 .noiervoiq abi. 
 « noz 3ilTll 89nu 
 
 A f,.- 
 
 'i (II bar, .sciffiM nj ,ii;dt>Ci lo no^ 
 •noIH biii. .riisrasrig-iiJoH ' 
 
 ^^3 oJ ^ liiodoiA ni .b^g^H to nor adX 
 to bnBl sriJ iifc has ,dot\-joC V isuftVx 
 
 iud {YbI^ .riii^B MriJo sri^ bnj> : busb silt . TM',^ 
 •vxl 9dJ ?,\ noB ym brui bsfeb oili m no? y'^' 
 
 H 9ffi gnha ,biR? gnjil sAi hn/ 
 o^'ff biovr oidysriibnA .browg 
 
 . ino arit oJ tJeri ^vij^ bn* ,owi ni ttinio 
 vorfw nsmo?^ '»ri* ^M 
 
 arit i9fl 'jvij< ,; 
 .1} JuH .Ji y&k 
 'oa snim "^ 
 
 un* i T^niii 9ttr 
 
 ' 3jU to hii - 
 
 _.. - ..ubm: ;b9^b.. , _,... ' '- 
 
 mobeiw &{\i iniii y/£<i T^arfj lot 
 
 fnemjibuj ob ol .miil oi t ijw? boo Jo 
 
 -VI -*rAH'> 
 
 9rii 1. 
 iJ nj£nq£i iiijl noiaif , lovi ;- 
 : 9liw oJ nomoloii i<> i'? 
 ^^;\ ms^ 0^ ; bxilirfA io noe silj cnci- 
 
 iir» lilies .<. 
 
 dS no: 
 
 el ik 7970 snij/ g£w noraofo^. anii O"^ 
 
 .bxn 
 
 8 
 
 ^niril ion snim isrljisa ^d Ji tsJ " t788 nno .ttoeMif 
 
 ?'.' > .'.iDoo ads 'li 
 -nr 7sri lo boold 'i 
 
 9rfi 8c ,r- '.rinii loff 
 
 siorn .ro/1 i;o;s<:r,q(noT 
 iirfjora 9inl 9ili ^ofT' 
 seod) oJ bliib ad' 
 
 iacs 9-Join sd Wuoi wotto* J«d» w^nJ sH 's^dtam Im »d) 'inj > 
 
 '■{bnOUpSTl iTC d-jT;- 'ni^ " 
 3r(ffio iK.dvr J ir • 
 bn« dq'norfi! f 
 
 - !»})A(n ?i 'T 
 modw lEdjr.id/ 
 
 till ?" i' r:.<.- 
 
 ^Fju bnf. •nv 
 
 - -y trr V ^H" 
 
 '1 
 
 :Ti ! ?rft 1^.1113^10 f'no.Ti V 
 
 f)b 
 
 ■J; 
 
 08 
 
 h 
 
 at 
 
 b. 
 
 lut 
 
 ■»ri} saw 
 ffomolo'^ '"r.ojnoV 
 
 t 
 
 
 Ml I 3^ 
 
 ow
 
 The grandeur of his kingdom. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 His daily provision. 
 
 11 Or. 
 JJen-gelier. 
 
 nor, 
 
 U Mahn- 
 
 chrTst ''^"'^^ Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth- 
 ion, shean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jez- 
 reel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, even 
 unto the place that is beyond Jokneam : 
 
 13 II The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gi- 
 iead ; to him pertained the towns of Jair 
 the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; 
 to him also pertained the region of Argob, 
 which is in Bashan, threescore great cities 
 with walls and brasen bars : 
 
 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo had \\ Ma- 
 hanaim : 
 
 15 Ahimaaz xvas in Naphtali ; he also 
 took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to 
 wife : 
 
 16 Baanah the son of Hushai "was in 
 Asher and in Aloth : 
 
 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Is- 
 sachar : 
 
 18 Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin : 
 
 19 Geber the son of Uri was in the 
 country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon 
 king of the Amorites, and of Og king of 
 Bashan ; and he was the only officer which 
 was in the land. 
 
 20 % Judah and Israel were many, as the 
 sand which is by the sea in multitude, eat- 
 ing and drinking, and making merry. 
 
 21 And '' Solomon reigned over all king- 
 doms from the river imto the land of the 
 
 "» Eccl" 
 -17. 15. 
 
 19- — he 7vas the only officer — in the land^ The only officer 
 in that pnrt of the land, though it was much greater than the 
 other parts. Dr. Wells. 
 
 20. — eating and drinking, &c.] Living in perfect plenty and 
 seciu-ity, and being highly satisfied with their situation. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 21. — from tfie river unto the land of the Philistine.v,'] The 
 boundaries of Solomon's kingdom were, the Euphrateis to the 
 east, (that river being here, as in other places of Scripture, called 
 the river by way of eminence, without any addition ;) the country 
 of the Philistines, which bordered on the Mediterranean sea, to 
 the west ; and Egypt, to the south : so that he had tributary to 
 him the kingdoms of Syria, Damascus, Moab, and Ammon, which 
 lay between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean sea. Siack- 
 house. See the note on Numb, xxxiv. 2. 
 
 22. — threescore measures of rneal^ By meal is meant a coarser 
 sort of flour for inferiour servants : the measure here spoken of 
 contained about ten ephahs, each eph;Ui being about equal to a 
 bushel of our nieasiu-e. It is computed that here was bread 
 enough provided for 3000 persons. Bp. Patrick, Pylc. 
 
 24. — from Tiphsah even to Azzah,"] It is very probably 
 thought that Tiphsah is the same with Thapsacus, a considerable 
 city lying on the Euphrates, and frequently mentioned by hea- 
 then writers : Azza is the same as Gaza, the Philistine city often 
 mentioned, lying in the southwest corner of the land of Israel. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 25. — under his vine and under his Jig trec,2 These expressions 
 are used, to shew the great plenty of corn, and wine, and oil, as 
 well as of cattle and other things. Vines and fig trees are parti- 
 cularly mentioned, because they were planted in Judea more than 
 any other trees, for the sweetness of their fruit and the benefit of 
 •their shade. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ?6. — fvrti/ thousand stalls of horses'] In 2 Chron. ix. 25, the 
 
 Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: r^'i'sx 
 they brought presents, and served Solomon 1014. 
 all the days of his life. 
 
 22 ^ And Solomon's t provision for one t Hcti. 
 day was thirty t measures of fine flour, and | Hii. 
 threescore measures of meal, '^'■' 
 
 23 Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out 
 of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, be- 
 side harts, and roebucks, and fallow deer, 
 and fatted ibwl. 
 
 24 For he had dominion over ail t/ie re- 
 gion on tills side the river, from Tiphsali 
 even to Azzah, over all the kings on this 
 side tiie river : and he had peace on all 
 sides round about him. 
 
 25 And Judah and Israel dwelt t safely, t Heb. 
 every man under his vine and under his fig ""•^"" " 
 tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the 
 
 days of Solomon. 
 
 26 ^ And ' Solomon had forty thousand ' 2 Chron. 
 stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve ^•^^• 
 thousand horsemen. 
 
 27 And those officers provided victual 
 for king Solomon, and for all that came 
 unto king Solomon's table, every man in 
 his month : they lacked nothing. 
 
 28 Barley also and straw for the horses 
 and 11 dromedaries brought they unto the ji Or, 
 place where the officers were, every man JJ^^^';^ 
 according to his charge. 
 
 number is stated at four thousand : which is supposed to relate to 
 the stalls or stables only, while the number here relates to the 
 horses contained in them. However, it is thought by some that 
 the Hebrew word here used will admit of being translated four, 
 as well as forty. In excuse for Solomon's having so great a num- 
 ber of war horses, (contrary to the law in Deut. xxiL 16,) it is 
 alleged, that he kept them, not out of pride or vanity, but merely 
 as a necessary guard to his kingdom against the incursions of the 
 Philistines. Perhaps, however, though this account is given in 
 the beginning of his reign, it refers to what took place towards 
 the latter parts of it ; so that it may have been aa great a fault in 
 him to multiply horses, as to multiply wives and concubines ; 
 both being done at the same time of his life, and prohibited in 
 the sjiine law, Deut. xvii. 16, 17- -PW*- 
 
 One reason of the law, given at Deut. xvii. 16, not to multiply 
 horses was, as is there expressed, of a reUgious nature, because 
 the multiplying of horses could not be effected M-ithout sending 
 into Egypt, with which the Lord had forbidden any communica- 
 tion, as being of all foreign commerce the most dangerous to true 
 religion. When Solomon had violated this law, and multiplied 
 horses to the excess here described, it was soon attended with 
 those fatal consequences which the law had foretold. Bp. War- 
 burton. See the note on chap. x. 28. 
 
 28. — straw for the horses] Probably not straw, with which 
 to litter them ; for in these countries it is not now used for that 
 purpose ; but to be chopt and eaten togetlicr with the barley. 
 They litter at present with dung dried in the sun. Harmer. 
 
 —— and dromedaries'] There are doubts about the meaning 
 of the Hebrew word translated "dromedaries." Some take them 
 for mules, as our margin gives the translation. Bochart thinks it 
 certain that this word imports a kind of horse. Bp. Patrick. The 
 Hebrew word seems to mean in general " working cattle," cattle 
 which earn their living by their labour. Parkkurtt.
 
 Suloinoii's 'jiisdom. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 Hiram sendeth to congratulate Solomoti. 
 
 II. I.V 16. 
 
 «<*«> <2i) f And *• (iiotl ga\'c Solomon wisdom 
 ^"w!^^ and iinderstandinp exccedinp; much, and 
 . larjreno.ss of heart, even as the sand that is 
 on tlie sea shore. 
 
 30 And Solomon's wisdom excelled the 
 wisdom of all the children of the east coun- 
 try, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 
 
 31 For he was wiser than all men ; than 
 Ethan the Ezrahite, and Henum, and Chal- 
 col, and Darda, the .sons of Mahol: and his 
 fame was in all nations round about. 
 
 Sa And he spake three thousand pro- 
 verbs : and his songs were a thousand and 
 five. 
 
 33 And he .spake of trees, from the cedar 
 tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hys- 
 sop that springeth out of the wall : he spake 
 also of bea.sts, and of fowl, and of creeping 
 things, and of fishes. 
 
 34 And there came of all people to hear 
 the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of 
 the earth, which had heard of his wisdom. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 1 Hiram, sending to coitgralulale Solomon, is certified of 
 
 5}). — largeness of heart, even as the sand &c.] Moaning, tliat 
 til* iiist-incc9 of ]iis wisdom were as nunierous* as the sand on 
 the ne.isliore. Stackhousc. Otherwise, as one cannot count tlie 
 luinibcr of the sands, so neither could one compreliend the 
 (Icptli and extent of his wisdom. Calnul. Yei all these riches 
 and this wisdom became a snare and ruin to Solomon, as soon 
 as he fiirgat God : so dangerous are riches and other favours 
 ■when al)uscd ; and all men ought to receive them witli fear. Bp. 
 H'ilson. 
 
 30. — all llie children of the cast countri),'] There were three 
 nations e.ist of Can.aan, wliich were very famous for their wisdom 
 ■nd erudition ; the Chaldeans beyond the Euphrates, the Persians 
 beyond the Tigris, and tlie Arabians on the nearer side of the 
 Euphrates, a little towards the soutli. Wliich of these nations 
 was most celebrated for learning in S<ilomon's time is much 
 doubted liy commentators : the book of Job, however, sufficient- 
 ly shews that the Arabians were famous for their learning in 
 ancient times. Up. Patrick. The original station allotted to man 
 hy his Creator w.is in the mild and fertile regions of the East. 
 There the human race began its career of improvement; and from 
 the remains of sciences, which were anciently cultivated, as well 
 «' of arts, which were anciently exercised in India, we may con- 
 clude It to be one of the first countries in which men made any 
 considerable progress in that career. The wisdom of the East 
 was early celebrated, ami its productions were early in request 
 among distant nations, Gen. xxxvii. l'5. Dr. Robertson. 
 
 — — and all the nisdom of Ksypl.'] It appears from Acts vii. 
 23, tliat Egypt was celebrated for wisdom in the time of Moses. 
 Ihis country has been called "the mother of the arts." There 
 Have been great disputes respecting tile claims of the Egyptianii 
 and Clialdeans to the earliest advances in learning. Bp. Patrick 
 •^taclilioiise. ■* 
 
 31. _ he n>at tpiser — than Elhan-\ He was wiser than all his 
 contemporaries; than Ethan, author of the 89th Psalm, than He- 
 m«, author ot the 88th nnd their brothers, Chalcol and Darda, 
 «»« ot Mahol, or " the choir." Dr. Hales. 
 TfS^Zyt^T'" ""■^'['^"'""'Ip'-^^erbs .]' Of these all that are 
 
 ^coUeci^ t wV^^l '-"T ^''"^ ^^"t<^"ces, out of which 
 «rp couectfid Uio«e which in the b««k of hi« proverbs are reserv- 
 
 Uefore 
 
 his purpose to build the temple, and desired to furnish 
 him nith timhc, thereto. 1 Iliram, blessing God for CHRIST 
 Solomon, and requesting food for his family, furnish- '*"'^' 
 clh him with trees. IS '1 he number of Solomon's work- 
 men and labourers. 
 
 AND Hiram king of Tyre sent his ser- 
 vants unto Solomon ; for he had heard 
 that they had anointed liim king in the 
 room of his father : for Hiram was ever a 
 lover of David. 
 
 2 And " Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, ' 2 Chro«, 
 
 3 Thou knowest how that David my fa- "• ^• 
 ther could not build an house unto the 
 name of the Lord his God for the wars 
 which were about him on every side, until 
 the Lord put them under the soles of his 
 feet. 
 
 4 But now the Lord my God hath given 
 me rest on every side, so that t/icrc is nei- 
 ther adversary nor evil occurrent. 
 
 5 And, behold, 1 t purpose to build an t H*. wv- 
 house unto the name of the Lord my God, 
 
 " as the Lord spake unto David my father, Kysam.:, 
 saying. Thy son, whom I will set upon thy 's. 
 throne in thy room, he shall build an house 22, io°"" 
 unto my name. 
 
 ed to tlie use of posterity, as the sacred monuments of his divine 
 ■wisdom. Bp. Hall. 
 
 his .wngs were a thousand andjive."^ In ancient times wi.«e 
 
 men were wont to convey their instructions in songs, to the end 
 that the}' might be more easily remembered. None of these com- 
 positions of Solomon were thought to be divinely inspired, but 
 the Song of Songs, which has therefore been joined to the sacred 
 books. Bji. Patrick. 
 
 .^.'J. — from the cedar tree — nnto the hyssop'] That ii«, all sorts 
 of plants, from the greatest to the smallest. Instead of the hyssop, 
 some think the herb mint to be understood ; wliich suits better to 
 be opposed to the cedar, as the hyssop is a plant with a stalk, and 
 sometimes of great strength. Bp. Patrick. It seems clear that 
 the hyssop cannot be meant, for this plant does not spring out of 
 the wall, as is here described. Script, illusl. 
 
 We see here that God raised Solomon to a very gr^t pitch of 
 glory, granting him riches and power, which distinguished him 
 from the greatest princes, and withal such wisdom, and prudence, 
 and knowledge, which made him very superiour to tne wisest 
 men that were then in the -H-orld. Thus God fulfilled the pro- 
 mises He made to David, to give him a son whose kingdom should 
 be very glorious : anil thus He rewardctl the piety of Solomon, 
 and the zeal he then shewed for His service. However, it must 
 be remembered, that this great wisdom, and the riches and the 
 graces Solomon had received, were profitable to him only whilst 
 he used them as he ought ; but as soon as he abused them, they 
 became a snare and rain to him. This shews how dangerous the 
 possession of riches is, and how mucli we ouglit to fear abusing 
 God's gifts and graces. Ostervald. 
 
 Chap. V. ver. 1 . — Hiram king of Tyre] Tliis Hiram ■was pro- 
 bably the son of the other Hiram, who sent to David timber and 
 artificer.^ to build his palace, 2 .Sam. v. 11: for, according to Jo- 
 sephus, the temple was built in the fourth year of Solomon's 
 reign, and the time when David took Jerusalem, and built his 
 palace, was thirty-three years before the beginning of Solomon's 
 reign. Slackhouse. 
 
 S. — could not build an house — for the mars] This ■was one 
 reason, but not the chief; for God commanded him to desist 
 when he had it in design, 2 Sam. vii. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 I
 
 llejurnisheth Solomon ivilh trees. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Solo7no7i's -aorkmen and ^labourera. 
 
 Itfard. 
 
 Before g Now therefore command thou that 
 
 •ir^ 11 T? X Q T^ 
 
 loH. they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon ; 
 and my servants shall be with thy ser- 
 vants : and unto thee will I give hire for 
 thy servants according to all that thou 
 t Heb. saj/. shalt t appoint : for thou knowest that 
 i/iere is not among us any that can skill to 
 hew timber like unto the Sidonians. 
 
 7 IT And it came to pass, when Hiram 
 heard the words of Solomon, that he re- 
 joiced greatly, and said. Blessed be the 
 Lord this day, which hath given unto Da- 
 vid a wise son over this great people. 
 
 8 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I 
 1 Heb. have t considered the things which thou 
 
 sentest to me for : and I will do all thy de- 
 sire concerning timber of cedar, and con- 
 cerning timber of fir. 
 
 9 My servants shall bring them down 
 from Lebanon unto the sea : and I will 
 convey them by sea in floats unto the 
 
 l^u^ place that thou shalt t appoint me, and 
 will cause them to be discharged there, 
 and thou shalt receive them : and thou 
 shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food 
 for ray houshold. 
 
 10 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees 
 and fir trees according to all his desire. 
 
 11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty 
 
 G. — that they hem me cedar trees out of Lebanon yj The whole, 
 or a great part, of Lebanon, was within the dominions of Solo- 
 mon ; so that he does not ask the trees of Hii\im, but only the 
 assistance of his servants in hewing and preparing them for use, 
 which tliey better understood than his own servants. In the time 
 of Moses there had been excellent workmen among the Hebrews; 
 but, as Scripture acquaints us, these derived their skill imme- 
 diately from God, and it docs not appear that they had any suc- 
 cessors. After the Hebrews were settled iu Canaan, tjiey seem to 
 have applied themselves not at all to the aj'ts, but entirelj' to 
 agriculture and pasturage ; so that, in Solomon's time, there were 
 no professed artists who could undertake the work of the tem- 
 ple. The people of Tyre and Sidon were always famous for 
 their skill. Homer calls them " excellent artists iti several kinds 
 of work." Bp. Patrick. The quantity of the cedar wood of 
 Lebanon in Solomon's temple was so great, that the temple it- 
 self is called Lebanon at Zech. xi. 1 ; " Open thy doors, O Leba- 
 non." Calmet. This noble tree, the cedar of Lebanon, has a gene- 
 ral character of growth so peculiar to itself, that no other tree can 
 be mistaken for it. The leaves nmch resemble those of a larch, 
 but are somewhat longer and closer set, and perpetually green. 
 Its sturdy arms grow in time so weighty, tliat they often bend 
 the very stem and main shaft. Many wonderful properties are 
 ascribed to the wood of this celebrated tree, such as resisting pu- 
 trefaction, destroying noxious insects, remaining sound a thou- 
 sand or two years, yielding an oil famous for preserving books 
 and writings, &c. The wood is extremely hard, which caused 
 the ancients to believe it incapable of decay. 
 
 Very few cedars now remain on mount Lebanon. Rauwolf, 
 in 1.575, saw there only twenty-four sound trees, and two old de- 
 cayed ones. Maundrell, in 1696, could reckon only sixteen large 
 ones, but many smi^l. He measured one of the largest, which he 
 found to be twelve yards six inches in girt, yet sound. The few 
 cedars still remaining on Lebanon are preserved with a religious 
 strictness. On the day of the Transfiguration, the Patriarch of 
 Vol. I. 
 
 thousand t measures of wheat /or food to ^.^''!^'^..n 
 his houshold, and twenty measures of pure 1014. 
 oil : thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by ^ Heb. 
 year. ""• 
 
 12 And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, 
 
 " as he promised him : and there was peace ' ch«p. 3. 
 between Hiram and Solomon ; and they 
 two made a league together. 
 
 13 ^ And king Solomon raised a tlevy fUtb. 
 out of all Israel ; and the levy was thirty '2^' " 
 thousand men. 
 
 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten 
 thousand a month by courses : a month 
 they were in Lebanon, and two months at 
 
 home : and '' Adoniram was over the levy. ' Chai..-i.6. 
 
 15 And Solomon had threescore and ten 
 thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore 
 thousand hewers in the mountains ; 
 
 16 Beside the chief of Solomon's officers 
 which were over the work, three thousand 
 and three hundred, which ruled over the 
 people that wrought in the work. 
 
 17 And the king commanded, and they 
 brought great stones, costly stones, and hew- 
 ed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. 
 
 18 And Solomon's builders and Hiram's 
 builders did hew them, and the II stone- Wj:^^ ^ 
 squarers : so they prepared timber and Ezck.27.9. 
 stones to build the house. 
 
 that country repairs in procession to these trees, and celebrates a 
 festival called the feast of cedars. Miller's Diclioiiary. 
 
 9. — / will convey them by sea in floats'] They conveyed the 
 pieces of timber from the high parts of the mountains to the river 
 Adonis, or to the plain of Biblos ; thence they conveyed them to 
 the seaport, wliere they were placed on rafts to be carried by sea 
 to the port of .Joppa, which was the nearest port to Jerusalem. 
 Cahiict. By " floats" is probably meant, that the pieces of timber 
 were bound together, and so drawn through the rivers and the 
 sea. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 II. — iwciily lliousaiid' ineasures of wheat Sic] It is stated at 
 2 Chron. ii. 10, that Solomon was to give " 20,000 measures of 
 beaten wheat, and 20,000 measures of barley, and 20,000 baths 
 of wine, and 20,000 baths of oil." It is possible that some of the 
 numbers may have been mistaken by transcribers : the quantity 
 seems very great to be exported at one time ; and we may, at all 
 events, understand by the expression, " Solomon gave year by 
 year," tliat he stipulated to send the whole sum, but sent it by 
 portions, " year by year," during each of tlie seven years w hen 
 the temple was building. Pyk. Or perhaps at 2 Chron. ii. is 
 mentioned the provision made by Solomon for the workmen, 
 which is distinct from the remuneration paid to Hiram for the 
 g»"ant of their services. Script, iltiisl. 
 
 15. — fourscore thou.mnd hewers in the inon?ilaii>.<! ;'} That is, 
 Iiewers of stone ; for Hiram's ser\ants hewetl the timber. Tliese 
 were not Israelites, but strangers from other nations, as may be 
 collected from ch. ix. 21, 22. It may seem strange to some, that 
 so vast a number of men should be employed about tlie building 
 of a place, compal•ati^■ely speaking, so small as the temple. It 
 should be remembered, however, tliat there were many other 
 works wliich Solomon designed and finished, (ch. ix. 1 ;>,) for whidi 
 we read of no other preparations thiui those now made. In tlie next 
 \ ersp, there are said to be .S.JOO overseers, but at 2 Chron. ii. 18, 
 the number is stated at 3600. The additional 300 were probably 
 superiour officers, who were to oversee the rest. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4L
 
 The building of Solomon's Icmpft. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 God's promise unto ih 
 
 Btfnre 
 CIIKIST 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 • i Oiron. 
 3. I. 
 1012. 
 
 t Ilcb. 
 
 g Or. 
 
 hroafi 
 within, UK 
 
 nnrriuf 
 vithAut: 
 
 and tl 'ltd. 
 
 
 I The iMildimg of Solomons temple. 5 The chamhers 
 Ihernif. 11 Oods promise unto it. IS The cieUiig 
 and iuiorning of it. '23 The cherubims. 3} The doors. 
 Sti The court. 31 The time of building tt. 
 
 AN D * it came to pass in the four hun- 
 ilred and eightieth year after the 
 cliiUlreii of Israel were come out of the 
 land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solo- 
 mon's reign over Israel, in the month Zit, 
 which is the second month, that he t be- 
 gan to build the house of the Lord. 
 
 '2 And the house which king Solomon 
 built tor the Loud, the length thereof Ha* 
 threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof 
 twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty 
 cubits. 
 
 3 And the porch before the temple of 
 the house, twenty cubits xvas the length 
 thereof, according to the breadth of the 
 house ; and ten cubits a-fls the breadth 
 thereof before the house. 
 
 4 And for the house he made U windows 
 of narrow lights. 
 
 5 IT And |i against the wall of the house 
 he built t chambers round about, against 
 the walls of the house round about, both of 
 the temple and of the oracle : and he made 
 t chambers round about : 
 
 The nethermost chamber teas five cu- 
 bits broad, and the middle xcas six cubits 
 broad, and the third was seven cubits broad : 
 for without in the •wall of the house he made 
 t narrowed rests round about, that the beams 
 should not be fastened in the walls of the 
 house. 
 
 7 And the house, when it was in build- 
 ing, was built of stone made ready before 
 it was brought thither ; so that there was 
 
 Ctiaj). VI. ver. 1. — in the fourth year of Solomon's reipi} It 
 ha.s U-cii a.«ko(l, why Solmnon did not bogin the work" imme- 
 dlntclv. at the commenceinent of his rcipn, according to tlie com- 
 mand of hi.v fiithtT Da\ id .> It is prcbable that lie began his pre- 
 panitioiis i in I nod lately ; and that the tour first years were spent 
 in prcK'uriiijf the timber :.nt4 stones, and in the necessary previous 
 labours which were mentioned in the List chapter. 
 
 2. — the house nhich king Solomon builtl The house, or temple 
 itself, profR-rly so called, was but a small pile of building ; its 
 length and breadth being only twice as f;reat as those of the ta- 
 bernacle built by Moses ; the former being sixty cubits long and 
 twenty broiul, whereas the latter was thirty cubits long and ten 
 broad. Pifle. 
 
 r,. — he made chambers round about :'] In tlie Hebrew, he made 
 " ribs," by which some understand galleries, encompassing tlie 
 above-mentioned chambers, so as to afford a convenient passage 
 to them. The chambers were made fur the convenience of tlie 
 pnou, where they might refresh themselves, change tlieir dress 
 eat^of the sacrifices, »:c. Bp. Patrick. ' 
 
 "'• — k° '*"' ^^"^ " "^ neither hammer nor ax &c.] The sense is 
 plain, that the stones were laid without any noise, there beintr 
 "oUung to be done but to join them together. Bp. Patrick. All 
 
 jmnuic to. 
 
 fHcb. 
 Jtotirs. 
 
 t Hib. 
 
 nb). 
 
 tHrf>. 
 ft, rttxUe- 
 
 Beforc 
 CHRIST 
 
 10112. 
 
 t llcl.. 
 sfiouljcr. 
 
 1005. 
 
 II Or, 
 the ranlt- 
 bcams nnil 
 the cietin^s 
 with cc'i/ur. 
 
 ' 2 Sara. 7. 
 
 13. 
 
 1 Chron. '2>, 
 
 10. 
 
 neither hammer nor ax nor any tool of 
 iron heard in the house, while it was in 
 building. 
 
 8 The door for the middle chamber tcrt.f 
 in the right t side of the house : and they 
 went up with winding stairs into the mid- 
 dle chamber, and out of the middle into the 
 third. 
 
 •) So he built the house, and finished it ; 
 and covered the house II with beams and 
 boards of cedar. 
 
 10 And then he built chambers against 
 all the house, five cubits high : and they 
 rested on the house with timber of cedar. 
 
 1 1 if And the word of the Loud came to 
 Solomon, saying, 
 
 12 Concenmtg this house which thou art 
 in building, if thou wilt walk in my sta- 
 tutes, and execute my judgments, antl keep 
 all my commandments to walk in them ; 
 then will I perforin my word with thee, 
 *" which I spake unto David thy father : 
 
 13 And I will dwell among the children 
 of Israel, and will not forsake my people 
 Israel. 
 
 14 So Solomon built the house, and 
 finished it. 
 
 15 And he built the walls of the house 
 within with boards of cedar, || both the floor 
 of the house, and the walls of the cieling : 
 and he covered them on the inside with 
 wood, and covered the floor of the house 
 with planks of fir. 
 
 16 And he built twenty cubits on the 
 sides of the house, both the floor and the 
 walls with boards of cedar : he even built 
 them for it within, even for the oracle, even 
 for the most holy place. 
 
 17 And the house, that is, the temple 
 before it, was forty cubits long. 
 
 the materials, whether of wood or stone, were so adapted and pre- 
 pared beforehand, that they were put together with great quick- 
 ness, little trouble, and very little or no noise of workmanship. 
 Pyle. 
 
 12. Concerning this house &c.j WTiile Solomon was laying the 
 foundation, and raising the building very firm and strong, which 
 would last for many generations, God conveys this intimation 
 to him, that he should not presume upon its duration, unless he 
 and the people of Israel continued in obedience; and therefore 
 that he had better not proceed in his work, nor incur furtlier 
 charges respecting it, unless he firmly intended to lead a reli- 
 gious life, and observe all the Divine laws. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 15. — the walls of the house^ He here speaks, ver. 15, l6, of 
 the most holy place, which, of all parts of the temple, was pro- 
 perly called " the house," because here the Divine glory dwelt, 
 and here answers were given from the oracle of God. It is called 
 " the house within," ver. 19, probably on account of its being 
 farthest from the entrance into the whole building. 
 
 17. — the hou.ie, that is, the temple before ;7,] He here speaks 
 of the holy place, or that part of the house, which was before the 
 most holy place ; the former being forty cubits in length, and the 
 latter twenty. Bp. Patr'icL 
 
 II Or, 
 Jrom the 
 fioor of the 
 
 house unto 
 
 the walls, 
 
 &C. 
 
 and so ver. 
 
 16. 
 
 I
 
 The ornaments of the te^nple. 
 
 CHAP. Vl. 
 
 The time of building it. 
 
 CHRIST ^^ "^""^ *'^^ ^^^^^ °^ ^^^ house \Within 
 1005. 'was carved with || knops and t open flow- 
 H Or, ers : all xcas cedar ; there was no stone 
 fHet seen. 
 
 tpcningsof 19 And the oracle he prepared in the 
 i/,.uvT». house within, to set there the ark of the 
 covenant of the Lord. 
 
 20 And the oracle in the forepart was 
 twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits 
 in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height 
 
 ^imui' thereof: and he overlaid it with t pure 
 gold ; and so covered the altar which was 
 of cedar. 
 
 21 So Solomon overlaid the house within 
 with pure gold : and he made a partition 
 by the chains of gold before the oracle ; 
 and he overlaid it with gold. 
 
 22 And the whole house he overlaid with 
 gold, until he had finished all the house : 
 also the whole altar that was by the oracle 
 he overlaid with gold. 
 
 23 ^ And within the oracle he made 
 t Heb "'''"' *^^° cherubims ^y || t olive tree, each ten cu- 
 irejofou. bits high. 
 
 24 And five cubits was the one wing of 
 the cherub, and five cubits the other wing 
 of the cherub : from the uttermost part of 
 the one wing unto the uttermost part of 
 the other were ten cubits. 
 
 25 And the other cherub was ten cu- 
 bits : both the cherubims were of one 
 measure and one size. 
 
 26 The height of the one cherub was ten 
 cubits, and so was it of the other cherub, 
 
 27 And he set the cherubims within the 
 ^Exod. 23. inner house: and ' II they stretched forth 
 5 Or, iiie the wings of the cherubims, so that the 
 cherubims ■wing of the one touched the one wall, and 
 
 jori\ t/uir the wiug of the other cherub touched the 
 
 mngs. other wall ; and their wings touched one 
 
 another in the midst of the house. 
 
 1 9- yi'id the oracle he prepared &c.j] The inmost or holiest room 
 (agreeably to that in the tabernacle) was the place where the ark 
 (or oracle) was to stand, whence the whole room is called the 
 oracle, ver. 20. This room was plated every where with beaten 
 gold, ver. 20, as was also the altar (of incense) that stood before 
 the ark. The holy place, and the most holy, ver. 21, 22, were 
 parted by a large costly vail ur curtain, hung upon golden chains ; 
 the partition itself, as far as the curtain, was overlaid with gold, 
 as was also the whole of the sanctuary or holy place. Pi/lc. 
 
 23. — two cherubims of- olive tree^ These were different from 
 the cherubims constr\icted by Moses, which were of solid gold, 
 rising out of each end of the mercy seat, and looking towards 
 each other, Exod. xxv. 18, 19. But these were of a much lai-ger 
 size, and made of olive woocL Thus, in the most holy place of 
 Solomon's temple, there were four cherubims ; two lesser niatle by 
 Moses of massy gold, and two larger made by Solomon, overlaid 
 with gold. Those constnicted by Moses fomied jjai't of the 
 mercj' seat, and were inseparable from it ; these of Solomon seem 
 to have spread their wings over it, being added only for the 
 greater ornament and glory of Gotl's house. It is generally 
 agreed, that, by the cherubims which were so plentifully deli- 
 
 28 And he overlaid the cherubims with '^^"'^ 
 
 gold. 'CHRIST 
 
 29 And he carved all the walls of the 
 house round about with carved figures of 
 cherubims and palm trees and t open flow- t Heb. 
 ers, within and without. openir<gs of 
 
 Jtoujers* 
 
 30 And the floor of the house he over- 
 laid with gold, within and without. 
 
 31 ^ And for the entering of the ora- 
 cle he made doors of olive tree : the lin- 
 tel and side posts were II a fifth part of the H ^'■ 
 wall. ' 
 
 32 The II two doors also were of olive II Or, 
 tree ; and he carved upon them carvings ',Z"f"" 
 of cherubims and palm trees and t open t Hek 
 flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and ^m.' '^ 
 spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon 
 
 the palm trees. 
 
 33 So also made he for the door of the 
 temple posts of olive tree, II a fourth part I O'- 
 
 Oftiie wall. f^ursiuare. 
 
 34 And the two doors were of fir tree : 
 the two leaves of the one door were fold- 
 ing, and the two leaves of the other door 
 were folding. 
 
 35 And he carved thereon cherubims 
 and palm trees and open flowers : and 
 covered them with gold fitted upon the 
 carved work. 
 
 36 ^ And he built the inner court with 
 three rows of hewed stone, and a row of 
 cedar beams. 
 
 37 IT In the fourth year was the founda- 
 tion of the house of the Lord laid, in the 
 month Zif : 
 
 38 And in the eleventh year, in the n Or. 
 month Bui, which is the eighth month, "^T„;""u,. 
 was the house finished II throughout all the '"•«««» 
 parts thereoti and according to all the 'J^uMOie 
 fasliion of it. So was he seven years in '"■<unani:cs 
 
 building it. 
 
 tkerfof^ 
 1005. 
 
 neated in every part of this holy place, the hosts of angels were 
 represented, there attending on the Divine Majesty, as ministers 
 to execute His pleasure. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 36'. — he built the inner coiirt'^ Meaning the court of the priests, 
 or that in which they were to jierform their services ; and which, 
 a.s here described, was piu-tcd from the court of the people by a 
 low wall faced with wood, so that the people might see what the 
 priests did, and the priests could address the people for any pur- 
 pose which tliey might wish. Pifle. 
 
 38. — .So teas he seren ijears in biiildihg it.'] He was seven 
 years and a half in building it, but the half year is omitted to ex- 
 press the time in round numbers. Bp. PatricL: This builtUng of 
 the temple was a work of extiaordinarj' despatch, if we consider 
 its magnitude, vai-iety, and minuteness. The siunmit of the rocky 
 limestone mount of Moriah was first to be le\ elled, and hollows 
 and inequalities to be filled up, in order to form a sufficient area 
 or platl'orm for the temple itself, its courts, porticoes, and sur- 
 rounding offices, which altogether composed a prodigious pile of 
 building, the most splendid and magnificent, perhaps, that the 
 world ever saw ; worthy of the Divine Architect who planned, 
 and of the w^ise and opulent prince who executed it. Dr. Halei>. 
 
 4L2
 
 The building of Solomon's house. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 The porch of pilkirs, ^'Cr 
 
 Brtorr 
 
 cunisT 
 
 liil>5. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 1 T/ie building of SoloiiiuHt fioiisc. 2 Of lite liuusf of 
 lAanon. 6 Of the porch of pillars. 7 Qf I'le porch 
 of iuili^mrnt. 8 Ofihe house for Pharaohs daughter. 
 i:i Hiram s work uft/ie two pillars. 23 Of the moUcn 
 sea. -i: Of the ini hases. 38 Of the ten lavers, 40 
 and all the vcssclf. 
 
 10(V.. 
 till 9y.'. 
 'Chap. V. 
 
 B 
 
 t Het.. 
 riJj. 
 
 f IleU 
 n'^A/ a- 
 
 lUT Solomon was biiililinpr liis owm 
 house 'thirteen years, and lie finished 
 all his house. 
 
 '2 IF He built also the house of the forest 
 of Lebanon ; the lenoth thereof icas an 
 hundred cubits, and tiie breadth thereof 
 fifty cubits, and tiic height thereof thirty 
 cubits, uj)on four rows of cedar pillars, with 
 cedar beams upon the pillars. 
 
 3 And // Kfl.v co\ered with cedar above 
 u})on the t beams, that laij on forty five 
 pillars, fifteen in a row. 
 
 4 And there 'icere windows m three rows, 
 "tinu'ngki. and t light teas against light in three ranks, 
 
 Thoiigli die tcm|ile itself was a small edifice, yet the many conrts 
 and ortiies about it made the whole a vast pik; and the exquisite- 
 ness of the art, and tlie small number of the artists that could be 
 em])loyetl, rendered a long time necessary for the construction. 
 It must be owned, however, that, considering all things, singular 
 dcs|)ati'h was used ; for, if the building of Diana's temple at 
 F.plu-sus employed all Asia for 200 years ; and if no less than 
 3oO,()()0 men were employed for twenty years in erecting one 
 pjTamid, (as Pliny affirms,) no reasonable man can wonder that 
 the ti'mple was seven years and a half in building. Slackhuuse. 
 
 The folliTwing is a further account of Solomon's temple, given 
 by Calmet, from whom the plan of the sti-ucture which accom- 
 panies tlii.-; work i» taken. 
 
 The place pitched upon for the erectioa of this magnificent 
 structure was on one side of mount Sion, called Moriah. Its 
 entrance or front stood towards the ea.st, and the most holy 
 and most retired part was towards the west. In the books of 
 Kings and Chronicles we have chiefly a description of the tem- 
 ple properly so called, that is, the holy place, the most holy, 
 und the apartments belonging to them, also the vessels, im- 
 plements, and omaniciits of the temple; without much descrip- 
 tion of the coiuls and open areas, which however made a prin- 
 cipal part of the grandeur of this august edifice. But Ezekiel 
 has supplied the defect by the exact plan which he has delineated 
 of these parts. It must be owned that the temple, as described 
 by Ezekicl, was never restored after the BabyU)nish captivity, 
 according to the model and mensurations which that Prophet has 
 given of it. But as the measures which he sets down for the 
 holy and most holy places are nearly the same as those of the 
 temple of Solomon, and as this Prophet, -who was himself a 
 priest, had seen the first temple, it is to be sxipposcd that the de- 
 •cription which he gives us of the temple of Jerusalem, is that of 
 the temple of Solomon. 
 
 'rhe ground-plot on which the temple was built was a square 
 of (ion cubits, Ezek. xlv. 2. This space was encompassed with 
 a wall of the height of six cubits, and of the same breadth. Be- 
 yond this wall w;ls the court of the Gentiles, being fifty cubits 
 wide. After this was seen a great wall, which encomp;i.sscd the 
 whole court of the children of Israel. This court of the children 
 of Israel was 500 cubits in square, and was encompassed all round 
 with magnificent galleries, supported by two or three i-ows of 
 pillars. It had four gates or entrances, to the east, west north 
 ««1 BouUi, respectively. They were all of the same form and 
 r^v^w'^.r ' ^?'' --"i -lucent of seven steps. The court was 
 [hi ~J1^^ ^"^^^ "^ ^''"'' '■"'''"'^' ■■»"'! '"''1 no covering; but 
 Uie people, m case of need, could retire under the galleries that 
 
 Before 
 Oil III ST 
 
 1(X)5. 
 11 Or, 
 
 iijiaces aiid 
 pillars wer* 
 sqiutre in 
 prospect. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 ticcorilinu: 
 to them. 
 
 II O--: . 
 
 to tttciiu 
 
 f Heb. 
 
 Jroni Jttmr 
 tojhor. 
 
 » Chap. 3. U 
 
 5 And all the II doors and posts "were 
 square, with the windows : and light teas 
 against light in three ranks. 
 
 6 % And he made a porch of pillars ; the 
 leno'th thereof rcas fifty cubits, and the 
 breadth thereof thirty cubits : and the 
 porch was \\ before them : and the other 
 ])illars and the thick beam zcere II before 
 them. 
 
 7 % Then he made a porch for the throne 
 where he might judge, evc7i the porch of 
 judgment : and it teas covered with ce- 
 dar t from one side of the floor to the 
 other. 
 
 8 ^ And his house where he dwelt had 
 another court within the porch, -which was 
 of the like work. Solomon made also an 
 house for Pharaoh's daughter, " whom he 
 had taken to tvife, like unto this porch. 
 
 D All -these ncere of costly stones, ac- 
 cording to the measures of hewed stones, 
 
 were round about it. The court of the priests was placed in the- 
 middle of the court of the people, and was a perfect square, having 
 each side 100 cubits. It was encompassed without by a great 
 wall, having various covered galleries and apartments round about. 
 These apartments we're for the lodging of the ju-iests, and for lay- 
 ing up such things as were necessary for the use of the temple. 
 There were but three ways of entrance, to the east, north, and 
 south, and there was an ascent to it of eight steps. Before, and 
 over-against the gate of the conrt of the priests, in the court of 
 Israel, was erected a throne for the king, being a magnificent al- 
 cove, where the king seated himself when he came into the tem- 
 ple. Within the court of the priests, and over-against the same 
 eastern gate, was the idtar of burnt offerings, of twelve cubits 
 square, according to Ezek. xliii. 12, 13, or often cubits high, and 
 twenty broad, according to 2 Chron. iv. 1 ; the ascent to it was by 
 stairs on the eastern side. Beyond this, and to'the west of the 
 altiir of burnt offerings, was the temple properly so called, that is, 
 the most holy place, the holy place, and the porch or entrance. 
 The porch was twenty cubits wide, and six cubits deep. The 
 holy place was forty cubits wide, and twenty deep. There stood 
 the golden candlestick, the table of shewbread, and the golden, 
 altar upon which the incense was offered. The most holy place 
 was a square of twenty cubits. There was nothing in it but the 
 ark of the covenant, including the tables of the law ; the high 
 priest entered into it only once a year; and none else was per- 
 mitted to enter. Solomon embellished the inside of this most 
 holy place with palm trees in relief, and cherubims of wood co- 
 vered with plates of gold, and in general the whole of it was 
 .adorned, and, as it were, overlaid with plates of gold. Round the 
 holy and most holy places were tliree stories of chambers, to the 
 number of thirty-three. Ezekiel makes them only four cubits 
 wide ; but, according to 1 Kings vi. 5, 6, five cubits were allowed 
 to the first story, six to the second, and seven to the third. 
 
 Chap. VII. ver. 1. — was building his otvn house thirteen years,"^ 
 It ajjpears that he did not begin to build his own house till he 
 had finished the house of God ; for it is stated at chap. ix. 10, that 
 he was twenty years in building the two. The house here men- 
 tioned w;»s in Jerusalem. It appears from the next verse, that he 
 also built another house for himself, called " the house of the 
 forest of Lebanon." ^Ve are not to suppose from this name that 
 it was built in the forest of Lebanon, which was in the very ex- 
 tremity of Solomon's kingdom ; it was probably built in the 
 neighbourhood of Jerusalem,' and derived its name, perhaps, from 
 being built on a cool and shady mountain, and surrounded witlt 
 lofty trees. Bp. PatricL
 
 Hiram^s ivork of the two pillars. 
 
 CHAP. vir. 
 
 Of the molten sea. 
 
 Before 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 the son of i 
 ividow U'o- 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 J'&ihioncd. 
 
 CHRIST ^f'^^'^^ with saws, within and without, even 
 1005. from the foundation unto the coping, 
 and so on the outside toward the great 
 court. 
 
 10 And the foundation "dcas of costly 
 stones, even great stones, stones of ten cu- 
 bits, and stones of eight cubits. 
 
 11 And above xvei^e costly stones, after 
 ' the measures of hewed stones, and ce- 
 dars. 
 
 12 And the great court round about was 
 with three rows of hewed stones, and a row 
 of cedar beams, both for the inner court of 
 the house of the Lord, and for the porch 
 of the house. 
 
 13 ^ And king Solomon sent and fetch- 
 ed Hiram out of Tyre. 
 
 , 14 He was t a widow's son of the tribe 
 of Naphtali, and his father was a man of 
 Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled 
 with wisdom, and understanding, and cun- 
 ning to work all works in brass. And he 
 came to king Solomon, and wrought all his 
 work. 
 
 15 For he t cast two pillars of brass, of 
 eighteen cubits high apiege: and a line of 
 twelve cubits did compass either of them 
 about. 
 
 16 And he made two chapiters o/'molten 
 brass, to set upon the top's of the pillars: 
 the height of the one chapiter was five cu- 
 bits, and the height of the other chapiter 
 was five cubits: 
 
 17 And nets of checker work, and 
 wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters 
 which were upon the top of the pillars j 
 seven for the one chapiter, and seven for 
 the other chapiter. 
 
 18 And he made the pillars, and two 
 rows round about upon the one network, 
 to cover the chapiters that were upon the 
 top, with pomegranates: and so did he for 
 the other chapiter. 
 
 19 And the chapiters that were upon the 
 top of the pillars were of lily work in the 
 porch, foiu- cubits. 
 
 10. — stones of ien cubits, &c.] The size of these stones has been 
 justly deemed matter of surprise, their measure being from se- 
 venteen to eighteen feet. All surprise, however, at these will 
 cease, on the mention of what is related by Volney, concerning 
 the ruins of Balhec, that there are stones amongst them of fifly- 
 eight feet in length and twelve feet in thickness. What means 
 the ancients had of moving such enormous masses, is ■wholly un- 
 known. Fragments to Calmct. 
 
 1.5. — he cast two pillars &c.] The first piece of workmanship, 
 in which the new artist was engaged, was the construction of two 
 brass pillais of large dimensions at the entrance of the temple 
 porcli, with a fine wrought chapiter or head border on the top of 
 each, the whole being covered all over with artificial wreathings, 
 flowerings, and netw-orks. To these pillars Solomon gave tlie 
 
 20 And the chapiters upon the two pil- chrYst 
 lars had pomegranates also above, over a- loos. 
 gainst the belly which was by the network : 
 
 and the pomegranates were two hundred 
 in rows round about upon the other cha- 
 piter. 
 
 21 " And he set up the pillars in the ' 2 chron. 
 porch of the temple: and he set up the "' *^' 
 right pillar, and called the name thereof 
 
 II Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and II Tiiatis, 
 called the name thereof 11 Boaz. "tMuL 
 
 22 And upon the top of the pillars was II That is, 
 lily work : so was the work of the pillars urmg^i,, 
 finished. 
 
 23 5r And he made a molten sea, ten cu- 
 bits t from the one brim to the other :// + ^*''-. 
 
 1 1 • 1 • 1 jTiimhit 
 
 was round all about, and his height was onm lo lUs 
 five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did ^'"'• 
 compass it round about. 
 
 24 And under the brim of it round a- 
 bout their were knops compassing it, ten 
 
 in a cubit, ^ compassing the sea round a- 4,^3^™°" 
 bout: the knops were cast in two rows, 
 when it was cast. 
 
 25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three 
 looking toward the north, and three look- 
 ing toward the west, and three looking to- 
 ward the south, and three looking toward 
 the east: and the sea was set above upon 
 them, and all their hinder parts were in- 
 ward. 
 
 26 And it was an haaid breadth thick, 
 and the brim thereof was wrought like the 
 brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it con- 
 tained two thousand baths. 
 
 27 ^ And he made ten bases of brass; 
 four cubits zvas the length of one base, and 
 four cubits the breadth thereof, and three 
 cubits the height of it. 
 
 28 And the work of the bases was on 
 this manner: they had borders, and the 
 borders were between the ledges : 
 
 29 And on the borders that were between 
 the ledges were lions, oxen, and cheru- 
 bims : and upon the ledges there was a 
 base above: and beneath the lions and 
 
 names of Jachin and Boaz, which signify " direction" and 
 " strength;" perhaps he designed them to bear allusion to the two 
 memorable pillars of fire and of the cloud which conducted the 
 Israelites from Egypt. P.'/t<!- 
 
 26. it contained two thousand baths.'} A bath (the same as 
 
 the ephali) is thought to have contained eight gallons, so that 
 this sea contained about five hundred barrels. At 2 Chron. iv. 
 5, it is stated that " it received and held three thousand baths;" 
 it' is probably meant, that it would contain this quantity, although 
 the former quantity was that which was usually put into it. The 
 use of this " brasen sea" was for the priests to w;u«h tlieir hands 
 and feet at their first enti-ance into tlie temple, i Chron. iv. (i. 
 Bj). Patrick, Pjjle.
 
 m 
 
 Of I he ten bases, ^-c. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 ajid all the vessels. 
 
 f Hcb. 
 in the bate. 
 
 oxen tvere certain additions made of thm 
 
 loo*. work. u 1 r u 
 
 81) And every base had four brascn 
 wheels, and plates of brass: and the four 
 corners thereof had undersetters: under 
 the la\er zcere undersetters molten, at the 
 side of every addition, 
 
 31 And the mouth of it within the cha- 
 piter and above 'xas a cubit: but the mouth 
 thereof uas round after the work of the 
 base, a cubit and an half: and also upon 
 the mouth of it u-ere gravings with their 
 borders, foursquare, not round. 
 
 32 And under the borders rvere four 
 wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels 
 n-ere \ joined to the base: and the height 
 of a wheel "was a cubit and half a cu- 
 bit. 
 
 33 And the work of the wheels icas like 
 the work of a chariot wheel: their axle- 
 trees, and their naves, and their felloes, 
 and their spokes, "nere all molten. 
 
 34- And there icerc four undersetters to 
 the four corners of one base : a7id the un- 
 ilersetters icere of the very base itself. 
 
 35 And in the top of the base ivas there 
 a round compass of half a cubit high: and 
 on the top of the base the ledges there- 
 of and the borders thereof "were of the 
 same. 
 
 36 For on the plates of the ledges there- 
 of, and on the borders tliereof, he graved 
 cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according 
 to the t proportion of every one, and addi- 
 tions round about. 
 
 37 After this maimer he made the ten 
 bases: all of them had one casting, one 
 measure, and one size. 
 
 38 •[ Then made he ten lavers of brass: 
 one laver contained forty baths: and every 
 laver was four cubits: and upon every one 
 of the ten bases one laver. 
 
 39 And he put five bases on the right 
 t side of the house, and five on the left 
 side of the house: and he set the sea on 
 the right side of the house eastward over 
 against the south. 
 
 10 •[ And Hiram made the lavers, and 
 the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram 
 made an end of doing all the work that he 
 
 nnkednui. 
 
 t Heb. 
 thouliier. 
 
 46. — did the king cast them,'] He had them cast in moulds of 
 clay, in a part of tlie couiitrj- where the soil was fit for the pur- 
 pose. Plflc. ^ 
 
 48. — the altar ofgolcir[ That is, the altar of incense wliich 
 •toed in the holy place before tlie oracle. 
 
 ~~ — "'.''' ""■ '"'''<■ ifgotd,"] He made ten tables according to 
 2 Chron. iv. 8, on one of which, it is probable, being more costly 
 ^^'J^^P'endid than the rest, the shewbread was placed. Bp. 
 
 t Heh. 
 
 vindetfrigfitt. 
 
 made king Solomon for the house of the chrTIt 
 Loud : 1005. 
 
 41 The two pillars, and the two bowls of 
 the ciiapiters that rcere on the top of the 
 two pillars; and the two networks, to cover 
 tlie two bowls of the chapiters which were 
 upon the top of the pillars ; 
 
 i-^ And four hundred pomegranates for 
 the two networks, even two rows of pome- 
 granates for one network, to cover the two 
 bowls of the chapiters that were t upon the t H<=b^^ 
 
 pillars; face «/ the 
 
 43 And the ten bases, and ten lavers on '""'"■*• 
 the bases; 
 
 44 And one sea, and twelve oxen under 
 the sea; 
 
 4.5 And the pots, and the shovels, and 
 the basons: and all these vessels, which 
 Hiram made to king Solomon for the house 
 of the Loud, were ufi bright brass. 
 
 4fi In the plain of Jordan did the king 'm'scured. 
 cast them, t in the clay ground between t^"*'^;^;^^. 
 Succoth and Zarthan. vess if the 
 
 47 And Solomon left all the vessels tm- «'''"""' 
 weighed, t because they were exceeding ^^^^^^^^^ 
 many : neither was the weight of the brass cmiins 
 
 t found out. ™f/^;'''' 
 
 48 And Solomon made all the vessels searcheu, 
 t\\a.t pertained unto the house of the Lord: 
 
 the altar of gold, and the table of gold, 
 whereupon the shewbread was, 
 
 49 And the candlesticks of pure gold, 
 five on the right side, and five on the left, 
 before the oracle, with the flowers, and the 
 lamps, and the tongs of gold, 
 
 50 And the bowls, and the snuffers, and 
 
 the basons, and the spoons, and the t cen- t Hcb. 
 
 11 111- ^' 1 J ash pons. 
 
 sers of pure gold; and the hinges oj gold, 
 both for the doors of the inner house, the 
 most holy ])lace, a?id for the doors of the 
 house, to wit, of the temple. 
 
 51 So was ended all the work that king 
 Solomon made for the house of the Lord, 
 
 the t things t Heh. 
 
 And Solomon brought in 
 
 'which David his father had dedicated; !!/■/)"'>/"' 
 
 hnfr/ t/iintr^ 
 
 1 
 
 eveti the silver, and the gold, and tlie ves- ' - ^'""" 
 sels, did he put among the treasures of the 
 house of the Loud. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 1 The feast of the dedication of the temple. 12, 54 
 
 51. — And Solomon brought in &c.] It is probably meant, that 
 all the remaining nilver and gold which David liad prej)ared, and 
 which was not spent in this work, Solomon did not employ to his 
 own uses, but religiously preserved in the treasury of the temple. 
 Bp. Palrich: 
 
 Chap. VIII. This chapter is to be compared with 2 Chion. v, 
 vij and vii. 

 
 The feast of the dedication 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 q/'tJie temple. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1005. 
 
 " 2 Chron. 
 5.2. 
 
 t Heb. 
 princes. 
 
 1004. 
 
 Solomon's blessing. 22 Sutomoti's prai/er, 62 His sa- 
 crijicc of pence offerings. 
 
 HEN 'Solomon assembled the elders 
 of Israel, and all the heads of the 
 tribes, the tchief of the fathers of the chil- 
 dren of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jeru- 
 salem, that they might bring up the ark of 
 the covenant of the Lord out of the city 
 of David, which is Zion. 
 
 2 And all the men of Israel assembled 
 themselves unto king Solomon at the feast 
 in the month Ethanim, -which is the seventh 
 month. 
 
 3 And all the elders of Israel came, and 
 the priests took up the ark. 
 
 4- And they brought up the ark of the 
 Lord, and the tabernacle of the congrega- 
 tion, and all the holy vessels that were in 
 the tabernacle, even those did the piiests 
 and the Levites bring up. 
 
 5 And king Solomon, and all the congre- 
 gation of Israel, that were assembled unto 
 him, xvere with him before the ark, sacri- 
 ficing sheep and oxen, that could not be 
 told nor numbered for multitude. 
 
 6 And the priests brought in the ark of 
 the covenant of the Lord unto his place, 
 into the oracle of the house, to the most 
 holy place, even under the wings of the 
 cherubims. 
 
 7 For the cherubims spread forth their 
 two wings over the place of the ark, and 
 the cherubims covered the ark and the 
 staves thereof above. 
 
 8 And they drew out the staves, that the 
 
 3. — the priests took up tfie ark.'J The ark had been carried by 
 the priests three times before this ; when they went over Jordan, 
 when they encompassed the walls of Jericho, and when David 
 sent it back at the time that he fled from Absalom, 2 Sam. xv. 29> 
 30. It was the office of the Levites to carry the ark upon their 
 shoulders, except on special occasions ; but now they could not, 
 because it was not lawful for them to enter into the holy place, 
 into which it was to be carried, and then into the most holy. It 
 is said indeed at 2 Chron. v. 4, that " the Levites took it up ;" but 
 the meaning is, that they took it up and carried it to tlie temple, 
 and then the priests took it up, ver. 7, and cai-ried it into the 
 most holy place. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — the Uibernaclc of' the congregation^ It has been made a 
 question what tabernacle is here meant, whether that made by 
 Moses, which was now at Gibeon, (2 Chron. i. 3,) or that made by 
 David, which was at Jerusalem, 2 Sam. vi. 1 7. But, as the taber- 
 nacle made by David was only a plain tent set up for temporary 
 convenience, it seems to admit of little doubt that the Mosaick ta- 
 bernacle is that here intended : this, for the prevention of all 
 schism, and to make the temple the centre of devotion, was now 
 taken down, and laid by in the treasury or storeliouse ; there it 
 remained until the taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, when 
 Jeremiah, as Josephus informs us, was admonished by God to take 
 it, the ark and the altar of incense, and hide them in some secret 
 places, for fear of profanation ; and it is doubted whether they were 
 ever removed from thence. Calmct, Stack-house. They brought the 
 iu-k from mount Sion, the tabernacle from Gibeon. Dr. Wall. 
 
 t ends of the staves were seen out in the 
 II holy place before the oracle, and they 
 Avere not seen without : and there they are 
 unto this day. 
 
 9 There was nothing in the ark ^ save 
 tlie two tables of stone, which Moses put 
 there at Horeb, || when the Lord made a 
 covenant with the children of Israel, when 
 they came out of the land of Egypt. 
 
 10 And it came to pass, when the priests 
 were come out of the holy j^lace, that the 
 cloud ' filled the house of the Lord, 
 
 11 So that the priests could not stand 
 to minister because of the cloud : for the 
 glory of the Lord had filled the house of 
 the Lord. 
 
 12 ^ Then spake Solomon, The Lord 
 '' said that he would dwell in the thick 
 darkness. 
 
 13 I have surely built thee an house to 
 dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide 
 in for ever. 
 
 14 And the king turned his face about, 
 and blessed all the congregation of Israel : 
 (and all the congregation of Israel stood;) 
 
 15 And he said, Blessed be the Lord 
 God of Israel, which spake with his mouth 
 unto David my father, and hatli with his 
 hand fulfilled it, saying, 
 
 16 Since the day that I brought forth 
 my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no 
 city out of all the tribes of Israel to build 
 an house, that my name might be therein ; 
 but I chose * David to be over my people 
 Israel. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1004. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 /leads. 
 
 II Or, art: 
 
 as 2 Cbron, 
 
 5.9. 
 
 » Deut. 10. 
 
 5. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 where. 
 
 'Exoi4a 
 
 34. 
 
 " 2 Chron. 
 G. 1. 
 
 ' 2 Sam. 7. 
 8. 
 
 5. — that could not be told — for multitude.'^ Meaning, that tlie 
 number was very great. 
 
 g. — nothing — save the two tables of stone,'} The jiassage in 
 Hebrews ix. 4, appears to be inconsistent witll this, wliere it is 
 affii-med, that in this ark " was the golden pot that had manna, 
 and Aaron's rod that budded," as well as " the tables of the co- 
 venant." To explain this, some learned persons understand, in 
 the passage in the Hebrews, that the golden pot, &c. were not 
 placed in the ark, but bij it, or near it ; which the word in 
 the original language warrants. Others understand, tliat, be- 
 fore the ark had any fixed and settled abode, all these tilings 
 were placed in it ; but that, at the time w hen it was carried 
 to the temple, the two tables only were left in it, every thing 
 else being carried to tlie treasury of the temple. Bp. Patrick; 
 Calmet. 
 
 1 0. — the cloud ^filled the limisc} The cloud of glory which for- 
 merly resided in the labemacle, descended now into die temple,^ 
 filling the whole house, first with inexpressible darkness, out of 
 which afterwards brake forth a light unbearable by the priests, 
 who were therefore forced to withdraw, and could not continue 
 the service till it abated. P//tc. The Lord's acceptance of Solo- 
 mon's temple, and of the dedication which he was now about to 
 make of it, was siiewn, 1st, by "the glory of the Lord" filling the 
 house or inner temple, as here related : and, 2d, by the fire of the 
 Lord coming down from heaven, as soon as Solomon had ended 
 his prayer of dedication, and consuming the burnt offering and the 
 sacrifices, 2 Chron. viL 1. Dr. Hales.
 
 Solomon's 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 prayer. 
 
 Brfor. 17 And it was in the heart of David my 
 ^"^.^^ father to build an house for the name of 
 the Lord God of Israel. 
 
 IS And the Lord said unto David my 
 father, Whereas it was in thine heart to 
 build an house unto my name, thou didst 
 well that it was in thine heart. 
 
 li) Nevertheless thou shait not build the 
 liousc ; but thy son that shall come forth 
 out of thy loins, he shall build the house 
 unto my name. 
 
 '20 And the Lord hath performed his 
 word that he spake, and I am risen up in 
 the room of David my father, and sit on 
 the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, 
 and have built an house for the name of 
 the Lord God of Israel. 
 
 21 And I have set there a place for the 
 ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, 
 which he made with our fathers, when he 
 brought them out of the land of Egypt. 
 
 2'2 % And Solomon stood before ' the 
 altar of the Lord in the presence of all the 
 congregation of Israel, and spread forth his 
 hands toward heaven : 
 
 '■ZS And he said, ^ Lord God of Israel, 
 tliere is no God like thee, in heaven above, 
 or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant 
 and mercy with thy servants that walk be- 
 fore thee with all their heart : 
 
 24 Who hast kept with thy servant Da- 
 vid my father that thou promisedst him : 
 thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast 
 fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this 
 day. 
 
 '2 Chron. 
 6. 13. 
 
 •SMocc 
 
 as. 
 
 2,-). — Lord God of Israel, &c.] This prayer of Solomon on 
 the dethcation of the temple is one of the noblest and most sub- 
 lime compositions in the Bible, exhibiting the most exalted con- 
 ceptions of the omnipresence of the Deity, and of His superintend- 
 ing providence, and of the peculiar protection He afforded to the 
 Igrailite nation, from the time that they came out of Egypt • and 
 imploring forgiveness for all their sins and transgressions in the 
 laiid and during their ensuing captivities, in the prophetick spirit 
 of Moses. Dr. Halof. ^ 
 
 a4. If'/io /lasl kept nilh thy servant David Sic.^ This relates to 
 that part ot God's promises to Davitl, whicii had respect to his 
 son's bujlding for Him a house. The fulfilment of this .Solomon 
 looked upon as an earnest, \'er. 5, that Ciotl would also fulfil the 
 other great promises of kindness to his posterity, made to liim at 
 the same time, 2 Sam. vii. 12, 13. lip. Patrick. 
 
 27. B,U Hill God indeed dwell &c.] As if he had said. Let it 
 be ).-u- from us to imagine either that Thy infinite and unbound- 
 etl presence should be confined to any one jjlace, or that the 
 mere outward grandeur and splendour of any temple should 
 be enough to gain Thy favour towards worshippers, regard- 
 V^ T-l u''""\''''^-'"'T' ""'• '■^''' ends of religious worship. 
 rnVj:^ .• . V f, '■"' J'''"'^'*^'' ^ "PI"''"' "» ''"e the place and 
 manner ot miblickly ser^ing Thee, grant us acceptance of all the 
 devouons. duly directed toward the sacred ark of Thy residence 
 J?ns.""5l7« ^""y '-^''^'^^' '^'^ "•''-•"-g 'he parC of 0"; 
 
 tJuTK \Ve°'iav!'K"'"'" "".'f.''^''^' »f 1'eaven, cannot contain 
 */«*«. J \t have here a striking description of tlie immensity 
 
 25 Therefore now. Lord God of Israel, 
 keep with thy servant David my father 
 that thou promisedst him, saying, " t There 
 shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit 
 on the throne of Israel ; t so that thy chil- 
 dren take heed to their way, that they walk 
 before me as thou hast walked before me. 
 
 26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy 
 word, 1 pray thee, be verified, which thou 
 spakest unto thy servant David my father. 
 
 27 Btit will God indeed dwell on the 
 earth ? behold, the heaven and heaven of 
 heavens cannot contain thee ; how much 
 less this house that I have builded ? 
 
 28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer 
 of thy servant, and to his supplication, O 
 Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry 
 and to the prayer, which thy servant pray- 
 eth before thee to day : 
 
 29 That thine eyes may be open toward 
 this house night and day, even toward the 
 place of which thou hast said, ' My name 
 shall be there : that thou mayest hearken 
 unto the j)rayer which thy servant shall 
 make II toward this j)lace. 
 
 30 And hearken thou to the supplication 
 of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, 
 when they shall pray 11 toward this place : 
 and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling 
 place : and when thou hearest, forgive. 
 
 31 ^ If any man trespass against his 
 neighbour, t and an oath be laid upon him 
 to cause him to swear, and the oath come 
 before thine altar in this house : 
 
 32 Then hear thou in heaven, and do, 
 
 Rcfnrf 
 CHRIST 
 
 1004. 
 >■ Chap. 2. 
 4. 
 
 2 Sam. 7. 
 12. 
 
 t Ilch. 
 There shall 
 not be cut 
 off unto thee 
 a mnnjrom 
 tny sight. 
 t Heb. 
 only if: 
 
 '• Ccut. 12. 
 11. 
 
 II Or, in 
 thi^ place. 
 
 II Or, in 
 this place. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 imd he re* 
 fjuire on 
 oath (yfhini. 
 
 and omnipresence of God. We have frequent expressions in 
 Scrijjture of God being " in heaven :" the meaning of which is, 
 not that He who is in all places can be confined to any, or that any 
 proper habitation can be ascribed to Him, whom, as Solomon de- 
 clares, the " heaven of heavens cannot contain ;" but tiicy are in- 
 tended to represent His amazing height and dignity, not in place, 
 but in power. Thus, when we speak of God, the supreme invisi- 
 ble Father, as being " in heaven," we must be understood to ex- 
 press, that He is exalted over all in sovereignty and dominion; thai 
 He is the high and holy One; great, glorious, and supreme abo\e 
 all. There is also another reason of the expression of (iod's being 
 " in heaven ;" and that is, to signify that, though of His real actual 
 presence there is no confinement, yet of His glory and majesty 
 there is in the heavens a particular manifestation. There it is 
 that His glory is declared, and there the righteous shall sec His 
 face, and be blessed with the peculiar manifestation of His power 
 and majesty. In like manner, here upon earth ; in tho.>;e places 
 where He has been pleiised more particularly to manifest His 
 glory, to place His name and to receive the homage of His ser- 
 vants, there God, in Scripture-phrase, is said to be. Thus, in the 
 temple at .Jerusalem, He, whom the " heaven of heavens cannot 
 contain," did at this time deign to dwell, having appointed there 
 to receive His tribute of worship. Dr. S. Clarke. 
 
 :ii. If am/ 7naii Irespms &c.] In any great debates of right, 
 injury, or trespass, between man and man, when an appeal is made 
 by oath before Thy sacred altar ; do Thou, who alone knowest 
 the heart, clear the innocent, and punish the guilty, in ways most 
 suitable to Tliy all-wise providence. Pi/le.
 
 Solomon^s 
 
 CHAP. vm. 
 
 l)rayer. 
 
 towftrds. 
 
 i 
 
 CHRIST ^'^'^ j^i^g^ *hy servants, condemning the 
 1004. wicked, to bring his way upon his head ; 
 and justifying the righteous, to give him 
 according to his righteousness. 
 
 33 % When thy people Israel be smitten 
 down before the enemy, because they have 
 sinned against thee, and shall turn again to 
 thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and 
 
 ft Or, make supplication unto thee II in this house: 
 
 34 Then hear thou in heaven, and for- 
 give the sin of thy people Israel, and bring 
 them again unto the land which thou gav- 
 est unto their fathers. 
 
 35 ^ When heaven is shut up, and there 
 is no rain, because they have sinned against 
 thee ; if they pray toward this place, and 
 confess thy name, and turn from their sin, 
 when thou afflictest them : 
 
 3Q Then hear thou in heaven, and for- 
 give the sin of thy servants, and of thy 
 people Israel, that thou teach them the 
 good way wherein they should walk, and 
 give rain upon thy land, which thou hast 
 given to thy people for an inheritance. 
 
 37 IF If there be in the land famine, if 
 there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, lo- 
 cust, or if there be caterpiller ; if their 
 enemy besiege them in the land of their 
 
 jl Or, li cities ; whatsoever plague, whatsoever 
 ^iurudiction. sickness there be ; 
 
 38 What prayer and supplication soever 
 be made by any man, or by all thy people 
 Israel, which shall know every man the 
 
 ^ plague of his own heart, and spread forth 
 his hands toward this house : 
 
 39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwell- 
 ing place, and forgive, and do, and give to 
 
 35. IVlien heaven is nhnt up, SiC.'] WJiatever judgments Thou 
 thalt most righteously inflict upon them, in degrees answerable 
 to their transgressions, whether it be famine, war, or pestilence ; 
 let their true repentance never be too late to recover Thy lost fa- 
 vour : let not the penitent continue in sufferings for the sake of 
 the obstinate ; but remove Thy judgments for the honour of Thy 
 Name, and for the continuance of Thy true religion amongst us. 
 Pylt. 
 
 By these several instances we may learn that all things are un- 
 der the dispensation of Divine Providence ; that war, famine, 
 pestilence, &c. are by God's permission ; that the only remedy 
 for all evil is by prayer to God ; and, lastly, that He will hear 
 the prayers of men, and will help them, when they truly repent 
 .of those sins for which judgments are sent into the world. Bp. 
 Wilson. 
 
 35" thai Ihou teach ,them the good way~\ These words are 
 
 feettcr translated at 2 Chron. vi. 27, (where the words ai-e the 
 very same in the Hebrew,) " When Thou hast taught them the 
 £ood way, wherein they should walk." He does not desire their 
 -pardon tiU their affliction had taught them better obedience. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 at. If there be in the land famine, &c.] From the whole of 
 
 the passage which follows in this admirable prayer of Solomon's, 
 
 we have the truth forcibly impressed upon us, that, in any case of 
 
 publick judgment or comity, the humUiation and repentance of 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 j every man according to his ways» whose b«''o« 
 heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou ^"wl^^ 
 only, knowest the hearts of all the children 
 of men ;) 
 
 40 That they may fear thee all the days 
 that they live in the land which thou gav- 
 est unto our fathers. 
 
 41 Moreover concerning a stranger, that 
 is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out 
 of a far country for thy name's sake ; 
 
 42 (For they shall hear of thy great 
 name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy 
 stretched out arm ;) when he shall come 
 and pray toward this house ; 
 
 43 Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling 
 place, and do according to all that the 
 stranger calleth to thee for : that all peo- 
 ple of the earth may know thy name, to 
 fear thee, as do thy people Israel ; and that 
 they may know that t this house, which I t,"^"*- 
 have builded, is called by thy name. catud'^o'n 
 
 44 f If thy people go out to battle '*"*<"«^- 
 against their enemy, whithersoever thou 
 
 shalt send them, and shall pray unto the 
 Lord t toward the city which thou hast t p''- 
 chosen, and torcard the house tliat I have ti,e^y. 
 built for thy name : 
 
 45 Then hear thou in heaven their prayer 
 and their supplication, and maintain their 
 
 li cause. II O'- "«*'• 
 
 46 If they sin against thee, (" for there is ' 2 chron. 
 no man that sinneth not,) and thou be an- kmL.7. 
 gry with them, and deliver them to the 22. 
 enemy, so that they carry them away cap- $, 10.° 
 tives unto the land of the enemy, far or ^ Heb. 
 near; bring hack 
 
 47 Yet if they shall t bethink themselves hear" 
 
 a nation must begin with particular persons. The individuals 
 whicli compose the nation must humble themselves before God, 
 every one for his own personal sins and miscan-iages, by which 
 they have provoked God and increased the publick guilt, before 
 God Mill hear the praj-ers and forgive the sins of the nation. 
 'There cannot be a general reformation without tlie reformation of 
 particular persons, which constitute and make up the generality. 
 .ibp. TiUotsun. 
 
 41 . — coHccrni)ig a stranger, &-c.J Concerning " a stranger" that 
 " cometh out of a far country" to be a proselyte to the true religion, 
 and worship God alone, though he he not circumcised, and tliere- 
 by bound to keep the whole law. .Such strangers came to pray at 
 the temple, though they might not offer any sacrifice except only 
 a burnt oH'cring; tlicre w;u< a court in tlie temple, tailed the court 
 of tile Gentiles, beyond that of the Israelite's, which was designed 
 entirely tor the Gentile jiroselytes. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4,'). — that this house — is called by thy iwrncT^ That is, " that 
 it is Thif house." Ijocke. 
 
 44. — whithersoever thou shah send them,'] It is here to be ob- 
 served, that the Israelites were not to make war, without a warrant 
 and commission from God, upon the neighbouring nations ; not 
 for the satisfying of their ambition and \ainglory, but by His 
 command, and for just and necessary reasons, which would war- 
 rant them to implore and expect God's ilessings on tlieir arms. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4M
 
 Solomon's prayer. 
 
 Mc» in the land whither they were carried cap- 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 His sacrifice of peace offerings. 
 
 'r^'' t.ves 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Tisht. 
 
 'E10AI9. 
 
 6. 
 
 „.,,, and repent, and make supphcatnm 
 unto thee in tlie hmd of them that earned 
 them captives, saying, We have snined, and 
 have done per^'erscly, we have committed 
 wickedness ; . 
 
 48 And so return unto thee witli all their 
 heart, and with all their soul, in the land of 
 their enemies, which led them away cap- 
 tive, and pray unto thee toward their land, 
 which thon gavest unto their fatliers, the 
 citv which thou hast chosen, and the house 
 wli'ich I liave built for thy name : 
 
 49 Then hear thou their prayer and their 
 supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, 
 and maintain tlieir || cause, 
 
 50 And forgive thy people that have 
 sinned against thee, and all their trans- 
 gressions wherein they have transgressed 
 against thee, and give them compassion 
 before them who carried them captive, that 
 they may have compassion on them : 
 
 51 For they he thy people, and thine in- 
 heritance, which thou broughtest forth out 
 of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace oS 
 iron : 
 
 52 That thine eyes may be open unto 
 the supplication of thy servant, and unto 
 the supplication of tliy people Israel, to 
 hearken luito them in all that they call for 
 unto thee. 
 
 53 I'or thou didst separate them from 
 among all the people of the earth, to be 
 thine inheritance, ' a'S thou spakest by the 
 hand of Moses thy servant, when thou 
 broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O 
 Lord God. 
 
 54 And it was so, that when Solomon 
 had made an end of praying all this prayer 
 and supplication unto the Loud, he arose 
 irom before ,the altar of the Lord, from 
 
 t 
 
 fallen. 
 
 kneeling on his knees with his hands spread ^h "uisx 
 up to heaven. 1004. 
 
 55 And he stood, and blessed all the 
 congregation of Israel with a loud voice, 
 saying, 
 
 5() Blessed be the Lord, that hath given 
 rest unto his people Israel, according to all 
 that he promised: there hath not t failed tHou 
 one word of all his good ])roniise, which he 
 promised by the hand of Moses his ser- 
 vant. 
 
 57 The Lord our God be with us, as he 
 was with our fathers : let him not leave us, 
 nor forsake us : 
 
 58 That he may incline our hearts unto 
 him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep 
 his conmiandments, and his statutes, and 
 his judgments, which he commanded our 
 fathers. 
 
 59 And let these my words, w-herewith 
 I have made supplication before the Lord, 
 be nigh unto the Lord our God day and 
 night, that he maintain the cause of his 
 servant, and the cause of his people Israel 
 
 t at all times, as the matter shall require : + iiei.. 
 
 60 That all the people of the earth may "if,^ 
 know that the Lord is God, and that there it":/. 
 
 is none else. ; 
 
 (!l Let your heart therefore be perfect 
 with the Lord our God, to walk in his sta- 
 tutes, and to keep his commandments, as 
 at this day. 
 
 62 If And ""the king, and all Israel with "achron. 
 him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. 
 
 G'3 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of 
 peace offerings, which he offered unto the 
 Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and 
 an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. 
 So the king and all the children of Israel 
 dedicated the house of the Lord. 
 
 64 " The same day did the king hallow ■:,'^. 
 
 I 
 
 48. — and pray unto thee totvard their land, &c.] The very 
 lookinjf towards this place, with earnest imploriiiu of the mercy 
 of Grxl, and desire of His help, was to own Him that dwelt here, 
 and to acknowleiige Him alone for their God, whicii was a means 
 of prcserviiifi them from idolatrj-. All other nations of the world 
 turned their faces towards the east when they worshipped; but 
 the ,Icwt (when they were in capti\ity) to the west, where the 
 holy temple was. And for this cause, whi'n the temple and the 
 holy city were destroyed, and the ark of the testimony gone, yet 
 Rood men looked and prayed towards the place where it used to 
 be, as appears by the Prophet Daniel. Dean Allix. 
 
 5* "'^f Solomon had made an end of praying'] From this 
 
 prayer of Solomon we le.irn, that all eveiits proceed from God • 
 that war pestilence, famine, and other judgments, are inflicted 
 oy His hand, when men provoke Him by their sins • that to 
 have recourse to God by prayer, confession of sins, ana ^rue re- 
 «,„. ^'i" ^''^^•■'y 'o ■■'■medy these evils; and that He is A- 
 ways ready to hear and to deliver those who call upon Him in 
 
 h;rl I'Th'"- ""k' T"'/" "^'^'^ ^^^^ ^""^ unto'^Him We 
 nere sec, lastly, with what fervency and joy Solomon gave thanks 
 
 to God, and implored His blessing in behalf of all the people. 
 Let us join with him in both these duties ; praising Go<l for all 
 His blessings, and especially for spiritual mercies ; above all, witli 
 fervent devotion, beseeching Him to turn om- hearts towards Him, 
 that we may keep His commanchnents faithfully and with per- 
 severance. Oslervnld. 
 
 63. — Iti'o and twenty thousand oxen, &:c.] We must not sup- 
 pose that all these were offered in one day, much less on one altar. 
 The continuance of this solemn meeting was for fourteen days ; 
 seven in the feast of tabernacles, and seven in the feast of dedi- 
 cation, ver. 65 : and " because the brasen altar that was before 
 the Lord was too little to receive the burnt offerings, &c." ver. 6% 
 Solomon, by a special licence from God, " hallowed the middle of 
 the court &c." that is, ordered other altars to be erected in the 
 court of the priests, and perliaps in other places, which were t» 
 serve only during this present solemnity, when sucii a vast num- 
 ber of sacrifices were to be offered. At other times, no other 
 altir was to be allowed but the brasen altar which Solomon had 
 made. Bp. Patrick, Slackhotisc. 
 
 64. — did the king hallow the middle of the court'\ It does not
 
 God's covenant 
 
 CHAP. VIII, IX. 
 
 in a vision with Solomon. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1004. 
 
 II Or, 
 thanked. 
 
 the middle of the court that "was before the 
 house of the Lokd : for there he offered 
 burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and 
 the fat of the peace offerings: because the 
 brasen altar that "was before the Lord "was 
 too little to receive the burnt offerings, 
 and meat offerings, and tlie fat of the 
 peace offerings. 
 
 65 And at that time Solomon held a 
 feast, and all Israel with him, a great con- 
 gregation, from the entering in of Hamath 
 unto the river of Egypt, before the Lord 
 our God, seven days and seven days, eveii 
 fourteen days. 
 
 6G On the eighth day he sent the peo- 
 ple away : and they 11 blessed the king, and 
 went iu4to their tents joyful and glad of 
 heart for all the goodness that the Lord 
 had done for David his servant, and for 
 Israel his people. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 1 God's covenant in a vision with Solomon. 10 The 
 mutual presents of Solomon and Hiram. 15 In So- 
 lomon's ti'orks the Gentiles rvere his bondmen, the Is- 
 raelites honourable servants. 24 Pharaoh's daughter 
 removelk to her house. 25 Solomon's yearly solemn 
 sacrijices. 26 His navy fetcheth gold Jrom Ophir. 
 
 about 992, 
 • 2 Chron. 
 7.11. 
 
 A 
 
 ND * it came to pass, 
 
 * Chap. 8, 
 29. 
 
 when Solomon 
 had finished the building of the house 
 of the Lord, and the king's house, and all 
 Solomon's desire which he was pleased to 
 do, 
 
 2 That the Lord appeared to Solomon 
 * Chap. 3. 5. the second time, "as he had appeared unto 
 
 him at Gibeon. 
 
 3 And the Lord said unto him, I have 
 heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that 
 thou hast made before me : I have hal- 
 lowed this house, which thou hast built, 
 ' to put my name there for ever; and mine 
 eyes and mine heart shall be there perpe- 
 tually. 
 
 4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as 
 
 mean that he consecrated it, for this had been done before ; but 
 he treated it as a sacred place, and shewed his reverence for it by 
 religious acts there performed. Jos. Mede. 
 
 65. — from the entering in of Hamath &C.3 From the northern 
 to the southern extremity of the land of Israel. For Hainath see 
 note on 2 S.im. \iii. 9; and for the river of Egypt, see the note on 
 Gen. xv. 18. 
 
 66. On the eighth day he sent the people an-ai/:'] It is added at 
 2 Chron. vii. 10, that this was the twenty-thircl day of tiie seventh 
 month. It would thus appear, that tlie fourteen days of the feast 
 ■were not all kept together ; for the great day of expiation was on 
 the tenth of this month. It is probable, therefore, that before 
 this daj' the seven daj-s of the dedication were kept ; and that 
 afterwards they rested till the lotli, when the feast of tabernacles 
 began ; so that the whole feast ended on the 2Jd day of tlie 
 montli. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 David thy father walked, in integrity of 
 heart, and in uprightness, to do according 
 to all that I have commanded thee, and 
 wilt keep my statutes and my judgments : 
 
 5 Then I wiU estabhsh the throne of thy 
 kingdom upon Israel for ever, "* as I pro- 
 mised to David thy father, saying. There 
 .shall not fail thee a man upon the throne 
 of Israel. 
 
 6 But if ye shall at all turn from follow- 
 ing me, ye or your children, and will r^ot 
 keep my commandments and my statutes 
 which 1 have set before you, but go and 
 serve other gods, and worship them: 
 
 7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the 
 land which I have given them ; and this 
 house, which I have hallowed ' for my 
 name, will I cast out of my sight ; and 
 Israel shall be a proverb and a byword 
 among all people : 
 
 8 And at this house, 'diltich is high, every 
 one that passeth by it shall be astonished, 
 and shall hiss ; and they shall say, ^ Why 
 hath the Lord done thus unto this laud, 
 and to this house ? 
 
 9 And they shall answer, Because they 
 forsook the Lord their God, who brought 
 forth their fathers out of the land of E- 
 g}'pt, and have taken hold upon other gods, 
 and have worshipped them, and served 
 them : therefore hath the Lord brought 
 upon them all this evil. 
 
 10 ^ And ^ it came to pass at the end of 
 twenty years, when Solomon had built the 
 two houses, the house of the Lord, and tlie 
 king's house, 
 
 11 {No-j} Hiram the king of Tyre had 
 furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir 
 trees, and with gold, according to all his 
 desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hi- 
 ram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 
 
 12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to 
 see the cities which Solomon had given 
 him ; and they t pleased him not. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 992. 
 
 •> 2 Sara, 7. 
 
 12. 
 
 1 Chron. 
 
 22. 10. 
 
 • Jcr, 7. 1 4. 
 
 < DeuL 29. 
 
 21. 
 
 Jer. 22. 8. 
 
 992. 
 « £ Chron. 
 8.1. 
 
 t Heb. 
 were rutl 
 light in his 
 ei/cs. 
 
 Chap. IX. This chapter is to be compared with 2 Chron. vii. 
 12, to the end, and chap. viii. 
 
 A'er. 1. — nhen Solomon had Jinished the building'^ It is 
 meant, after he had not only finished the building, but completed 
 also the festival of the dedication, and the prayer, which has 
 been detailed in the last chapter : tJiis appears from ver. 3. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 i. — if thou will walk before me, &c.] In this passage it is 
 strikingly expressed how much the safety, welfare, and happi- 
 ness of kincfs and people depend entirely on their obedience to 
 the laws of God. Bp. U'il.wn. 
 
 11. — twenty cities^ These were not cities in the land of 
 promise, which, as being Go<rs gitl to His people, could not be 
 alienated ; but were cities conquered by David, and not yet in- 
 habited by Israel. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 4M2
 
 Solomon imiUieth divers cities. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 The Gentiles wert his hondmeiu 
 
 Befiirt 13 And lie said, What cities are these 
 
 *^"""'^ which thou hast given me, my brother? 
 
 I, Tb.. iv. And he called them the land of || Cabiil 
 
 disiJi-aung, unto this ilay. 
 
 or.j.r»y. J ^ ^^^^j Hiram sent to the king sixscorc 
 talents of gold. 
 
 15 1[ And this is the reason of the levy 
 wliich king Solomon raised ; for to build 
 the house of the Lokd, and his own house, 
 anil Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and 
 
 .bout 992. Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gczer. 
 
 l(j Fur Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone 
 up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with lire, 
 and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the 
 
 •boutioM. city, and given it fur a present unto his 
 daughter, Solomon's wife. 
 
 17 And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth- 
 horon the nether, 
 
 18 And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wil- 
 derness, in the land, 
 
 1.1. — he called litem the land of CabiiF] It is commonly thought 
 th.it Iliram called them by wny of derision Cabul, which signifies 
 " a chrty country," or " tlis])Ie.ising," iis our margin translates; 
 but otiicrs understand the woi-d to signify " a boundary," as tliis 
 wa« the trac-t oC land which bounded the Jower Galilee. Bp. 
 Patrick. The reason of Hiram's refusing these lan(ts probably 
 was, that the Tyrians, being verj' commodiously situated for navi- 
 gation, were in a uwnner wholly addicted to it, and were there- 
 fore unwilling to remove from the seacoast, and settle in a country 
 where they cotJd only live by the hard lal)otu-s t)f agriculture, to 
 which they were little accustomed. Bcdfurd. The (ireek trans- 
 lators render Cabul by a word which signifies " a bound or coast," 
 but Hebrew writers by no means give that sense to the word. 
 Josephus says, Cabul signifies, in the Phenician tongue, " that 
 which doi's not please." Dr. JJghlfool. 
 
 According to another conjecture", Cabul signifies " bond land," 
 land granted in discharge oi" a debt; and the name was sarcasti- 
 cally impo.scd by Hiram, to express how ill Solomon had dis- 
 charged his obligation to him. Mlchaelis. 
 
 Respecting the situation of this " land of Cabul," opinions have 
 difleretl ; but the prevailing one has been, that it was in the im- 
 inetiialc neighbourhood of Tyre. Calmet. 
 
 1 5. — and Ihc wall of Jerusalem,] There are said to have been 
 three walls, one withm another ; the inner wall compassing the 
 house of God, and the house of the king ; the middle wall com- 
 passing the houses of the Prophets and great persons ; and the 
 third c-ompa^siiifT the houses of all the people. /};,. Patrick 
 
 ■ ^T r*^'","* — ''«'' — '«/•■<•« (^^czcr,-] It appeared from Josh. 
 x\i. 10, that when the Ephraimites took possession of Gezer, they 
 buflerei the Canaanites to dwell in it, who atlerwards cave them 
 no small disturbance; when therefore Pharaoh contracted an al- 
 h.mce with Solomon, he thought that he could not do him a more 
 acceptable ser^^ce, than by expelling the Canaanites from Gezer 
 
 , „^'""V J" "^y- *"." P''"'^"' "■"'' '""^ daughter. Stackhouse. ' 
 
 18. — Jadmor in the nildcrnes.,,^ Tadmor w;i.s a very famous 
 
 eity kno«T, among the Greeks by the name of Palmyra, situated 
 
 in the wildcme.ss oi Syria, on the borders of Arabia Deserta in- 
 
 £Z V"""'i'- "'" ^''^^'''- •^'»^^''"« Pl««« it two da"' 
 in7,?x ^J"-^^' •^•"Z' °"„" day's journey from the Euphrates, 
 »n(l »"t lays journey from Babylon. If we may cuess bv the 
 ruins which later travellers describe of this citv, it^?,s one of he 
 x^. i"^u- '"^'fi'^"' i" the East ; and it i, somewlm sur! 
 dtti ^TV''°t' t' "^ '° >'""^<= account when or by 
 
 l«««oiy u»e conunodiousnesB of its situation, to cut off all 
 
 19 And all the cities of store that Solo- (^^'j^^^., 
 mon had, and cities for his chariots, and about 9y2. 
 cities ibr his horsemen, and t that which t Hcb. 
 Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, 's'l^f^^l'J "-^ 
 and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his whkh lu- 
 
 d' .. ' „ « desired. 
 
 ominion. 
 
 '■2i) And all the people that "were left of 
 the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, 
 and Jebusites, which icere not of the chil- 
 dren of Israel, 
 
 21 Their children that were left after 
 them in the land, whom the children of Is- 
 rael also were not able utterly to destroy, 
 upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of 
 bondservice unto this day. 
 
 22 But of the children of Israel did So- 
 lomon " make no bondmen : but they xvere ' Lev. 2,';. 
 men of war, and his servants, and his ^^" 
 princes, and his captains, and rulers of 
 
 liis chariots, and his horsemen. 
 
 commerce between the Syrians and Mesopotamians, and to prevent 
 their caballing and conspiring against him, as they had done 
 against his father David. Stackhouse, Dr. Wells. 
 
 From the earliest times there seems to have been some com- 
 munication between Mesopot;uiiia an<l other provinces on the 
 banks of the Euphrates, and those parts of Syria and Palestine 
 which lay near the Mediterranean. The migration of Abram 
 from Ur of the Chaldees to Sichem in the land of Canaan, is an 
 in.stanco of this. Gen. xi, xii. The journey through the desert,, 
 which separated these countries, was much facilitated by its af. 
 loi'ding one station aboxmding wnth water, and capable of culti- 
 vation. As the intercourse increased, the possession of this 
 station became an object of so much importance, that Solomon, 
 when he turned his attention towards the extension of commerce 
 amongst his subjects, built a fenced city there. Its Syrian name 
 of " Tadmor in the wilderness," and its Greek name of Palmyra, 
 are both descriptive of its situation, in a spot adorned with palm 
 trees. Tliis is not only plentifully supplied with water, but sur- 
 rounded by a portion of fertile land, which, though of no great 
 extent, renders it a delightful habitation in the midst of barren 
 sands, and an inhospitable desert. Its happy po-sition, at the dis- 
 tance, according to M. D'Anville, of sixty miles from the Eu- 
 phrates, and 203 from the Mediterranean, or, according to Major 
 Rennell, of eighty-five miles from the Euphrates, and about 117 
 from the nearest coast of the Mediterranean, induced its inha- 
 bitants to enter with ardour into the trade of conveying commo- 
 dities from one of these to the other. Its opulence and power in- 
 creased rapidly; and, from the peculiar advantages of its situa- 
 tion, as well as the spirit of its inhabitants, it long maintained it* 
 independence, though surrounded by powerful and ambitious 
 neighbours. Towards the close of the seventeenth century,, 
 some gentlemen of the English factory at Aleppo, incited by 
 what they heard in the East concerning the wonderful ruins of 
 Palmyra, ventured, notwithstanding the danger and fatigue of a 
 journey through the desert, to visit them. To their astonishment 
 they beheld a fertile spot of some miles in extent, arising like an 
 island out of a vast plain of sand, covered with the remains of 
 temples, porticoes, aqueducts, and other publick works, which in 
 magnificence and splendoui", and some of them in elegance, were 
 not unworthy of Athens or of Rome, in their most prosperous 
 state. Palmyra owed its aggrandizement to the opulence ac- 
 quired by extensive commerce. After its conquest by Aurelian, 
 trade never revived there. At present a few miserable huts of 
 beggarly Arabs are scattered in the courts of its stately temples, 
 or deform its elegant porticoes ; and exhibit an humiliating con» 
 trast to its ancient magnificence. Dr. Robertson.
 
 the Israelites ho7iourable servants. 
 
 CHAP. IX, X. 
 
 His navy fetcheth gold from Ophir. 
 
 «t. 11. 
 
 vpun it. 
 
 chr'Tst ^^ These were the chief of the officers 
 about 99.'. that were over Solomon's work, five hun- 
 dred and fifty, which bare rule over the 
 people that wrought in the work. 
 ' 2 chron. 24 % But ' Pharaoli's daughter came up 
 out of the city of David unto her house 
 which Solomon had built for her : then did 
 he build Millo. 
 
 25 ^ And three times in a year did So- 
 lomon offer burnt offerings and })eace offer- 
 ings upon the altar which he built unto the 
 
 tHeb. Lord, and he burnt incense t upon the 
 altar that was before the Lord. So he 
 finished the house. 
 
 26 % And king Solomon made a navy of 
 ships in Ezion-geber, which /s beside Eloth, 
 
 23. — Jive hundi'ed and Jifly,~\ At 2 Chron. viii. 10, the num- 
 ber is stated at 250. The most probable solution is, that there 
 were 250 set over those who wrought in the temple; and the rest 
 had the superintendence of publick works in other places. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 26. — Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth,"} We read at Numb, 
 xxxiii. 35, that one of the encampments of the Israelites was at 
 Ezion-gaber ; and both Eloth and Ezion-gaber are mentioned at 
 Deut. ii. 8. It is clear from Scripture tliat Ezion-geber was on 
 the Red sea, but its exact situation is matter of dispute. Dr. 
 Wells: 
 
 The chief foundation of riches to the Jews was the trade which 
 they carried on by the Red sea, to the coasts of Africa on the west, 
 and also to those of Arabia, Persia, and India, on the east. King 
 David was the first who began it ; for, liaving conquered the 
 kingdom of Edom, and reduced it to be a province of the empire, 
 2 Sam. viii. 14, he thereby became master of these seaports, 
 Eloth and Ezion-geber, and seeing the advantage which might 
 be made of these two places, he wisely took advantage of it, and 
 there began the traffick. Solomon, not being perplexed with 
 wars as his father David was, had greater leisure for commercial 
 pursuits, and he much improved this trade, as well by his greater 
 application to it, as by his superiour wisdom. For the better 
 settling of it, he went to Eloth and Ezion-geber in person, 2 
 Chron. viii. 17, and planted in these towns such inhabitants as 
 might best be able to further his designs, bringing many from 
 the seacoasts of Palestine, and being furnished with Tyrians by 
 Hiram his friend and ally^ 1 Kings ix. 27; 2 Chron. viii. 18. As 
 the use of the compass was then unknown, navigation was carried 
 on entirely by coasting, which made that to be a voyage of three 
 years which would now be completed in three months. How- 
 ever, under the wise management of Solomon, this trade grew to 
 such a pitch, that he drew to these ports, and thence to Jerusalem, 
 all the trade of Africa, Arabia, Persia, and India, which was the 
 chief source of the immense wealth he acquired, and in which he 
 surpassed all the kings of his time as much as he did by his wis- 
 dom ; so that he made silver to be at Jerusalem as the stones of 
 the street, chap. x. 27, by reason of its great abundance there 
 during his reign. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 28. And they came to Ophir,} It is agreed by all writers, that 
 the trade carried on under Solomon was the same as that wliich 
 is now in the hands of our East India merchants ; yet there are 
 great disputes among learned men, in wliat parts of the Eastern 
 world Ophir and Tharshish, the two places of resort mentioned 
 in Scripture, lay. Some suppose Ophir to have been the island 
 of Socotra, which lies on the eastern coast of Africa, a little with- 
 out the straits of Bal)el-mandel. Others contend for the island of 
 Ceylon, which supposition is thus far confirmed, that an ancient 
 author, Eupolemus, states Ophir to have been an island. But we 
 have no certain means of information ; we have no account in 
 Scripture of the situation of Ophir, or of the length of the voyage 
 to it, only we are told that there were brought from it " gold, 
 
 on the t shore of the Red sea, in the land before 
 of Fdnm CHRIST 
 
 VI l^ClOm. about 992. 
 
 27 And Hiram sent in the navy his ser- t Heb. np. 
 vants, shipmen that had knowledge of the 
 
 sea, with the servants of Solomon. 
 
 28 And they came to Ophir, and fetched 
 from thence gold, four hundred and twenty 
 talents, and brought it to king Solomon. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 1 The queen of Sheba admireth the wisdom of Solomon. 
 14 Solmnon's gold. l6 His targets. IS The throne 
 
 of ivory. 21 His vessels. 2i His presents. 26 His ' o chron. 
 chariots and liorse. 28 His tribute. 9. l. 
 
 Matth. 12. 
 
 AN D when the ' queen of Sheba heard '^'^• 
 of the fame of Solomon concerning 3" ' 
 
 almug trees, and precious stones," chap. x. 1 1 ; therefore any 
 place in the Southern or Indian oceans which could furnish these 
 may be supposed to be the Ophir of Scripture. This however 
 should be remarked, that if the southern part of Arabia furnished 
 the world in those times with the best gold, and in the greatest 
 quantity, as many authors affirm, those who assert Ophir to have 
 been there situated seem to have the best reason for their con- 
 jecture. Dean Prideaux. On the other hand, the authors of th» 
 Universal History deem it the most probable conjecttu-e, that 
 Ophir was in some of those remote rich countries of India 
 beyond Ganges, and perhaps as far as China or Japan ; which 
 last still abounds with the finest gold, and with several other 
 commodities in which Solomon's fleet dealt, as silver, precious 
 stones, ebony, &c. 
 
 In what region of the earth we should search for the famous 
 ports of Tharshish and Ophir, is an inquiry which has long exer- 
 cised the industry of learned men. They were early supposed to 
 be situated in some part of India, and the Jews were held to be 
 one of the nations which traded with that country. But the opinion 
 more generally adopted is, that Solomon's fleets, after passing the 
 straits of Babel-mandel, held their course along the southeast 
 coast of Africa, as far as the kingdom of Sofala, a country cele- 
 brated for its rich mines of gold and siher, (from which it has 
 been denominated the Golden Sofala by Oriental writers,) and 
 abounding in all the other articles which composed the cargoes of 
 the Jewish ships. This opinion, which the accurate researches of 
 M.|D'Anville rendered highly probable, seems now to be establish- 
 ed witli tile utmost certainty by a late learned traveller, Mr. Bruce ; 
 who, by his knowledge of the monsoons in the Aral)ian gulf, and 
 his attention to the ancient mode of navigation, both in that sea, 
 and along the African const, has not only accovmted for the 
 extraordinary length of time which the fleets of Solomon took 
 in going and returning, but has shewn, from circumstances men- 
 tioned concerning the voyage, that it was not made to any place 
 in India. This commercial effort, which the Jews made in the 
 reign of Solomon, was merely a transient one ; and they quickly 
 returned to their former state of unsocial seclusion from the rest 
 of mankind. Dr. Robertson. 
 
 sold, four hundred and twcntt/ talents,"] It is said at 
 
 2 Chron. viii. 18, that they brought 450 talents: a difference 
 which is of little importance, whether we attribute it to a varia- 
 tion in the value of the talent, or in the quantity of the metal, 
 the one referring to the quantity of piu-e gold, the other of gold 
 with alio}' ; or whether we suppose 450 talents to be the gross 
 produce of the voyage, 420 the produce with the deduction of ex- 
 penses. Bj). Patrick. 
 
 Chap. X. This chapter is to be compared with 2 Chron. i. 
 and ix. 
 
 Ver. 1. — the queen of Sheba'] It has been a great subject of 
 dispute, what was the situation of this She' a. Some writers, and 
 among these Josephus, place it iii Africa ; but the best supported
 
 Th^^icen ofShclxt 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 admrcth the xvmlom ofSolonio?}. 
 
 tHc(> 
 
 ttvri/i. 
 
 t JKh. 
 stumUiig. 
 
 D Or, 
 tttlUrs. 
 
 tlldi. 
 
 Iforrf. 
 D Or. 
 
 iwv.rr the iiaiiip of tlio Lord, she came to prove 
 M';l'Tl..mwitlilK.rd(|.iestioiis 
 
 •_> Ami sla> ramc to Jerusalem with a 
 verv great train, witli camels tliat bare 
 spices, and very mucli gold, and jirecions 
 stones : and when she was come to Solo- 
 mon, she communed with him of all that 
 was in licr heart. 
 
 S And Solomon tolil her all her t ques- 
 tions : there was not a/u/ thing hid from 
 the king, which he told her not. 
 
 4 And when the queen of Sheba had 
 seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house 
 that he had built, 
 
 5 And the meat of his table, and the sit- 
 ting of his servants, and the t attendance 
 of "his ministers, and their apparel, and his 
 II cupbearers, and his ascent by which he 
 went up imto the house of the Loud ; there 
 was no more spirit in her. 
 
 G And she said to the king, It was a true 
 t rejjort that I heard in mine own land of 
 tljy II acts and of thy wisdom. 
 
 7 Howbeit I believed not the words, 
 until I came, and mine eyes had seen it : 
 and, beliold, the half was not told me: 
 
 opinion is, that the kingdom ot" Shcba lay in the south part of 
 Arahia Felix. This accords with the title ot" " queen of the south" 
 ^ven by our Saviour, Matt. xii. i'2, to the queen of Sheba ; Ara- 
 bia Felix too aboundetl very mucli in gold and spices, which were 
 brought by tl»at queen to Solomon. Dr. Wells. 
 
 concerning the name of the I^ril,'] The most natural mean- 
 ing is, »hc had heard of his fame concerning matters of religion, 
 or with respect to religious knowledge in general, and particu- 
 larly to the temple, built with such splendour and magnificence, 
 for the honour of (lotl's name, and the maintenance of true reli- 
 gion. I'l/le. If this princess came from Arabia, she may have been 
 ilcsceniled from .\braham, by his wife Keturah, one of whose sons 
 begat Shcb!^ the first planter of this country ; and consequently 
 she may have had some knowledge of revealed religion, by tradi- 
 tion at least, from her piou^ ancestors. Accordingly, it was Solo- 
 mons fune concerning " the name of the l.ord," that is, concern- 
 ing his knowledge of the Supreme Being, and the proper manner 
 «.f worshippmg Him, which excited her to take so long a journey. 
 And tlierefore our Saviour says, that, as she came so far to " hear 
 his wisdom," (his wisdom, no doubt, concerning the nature and 
 worship of Almighty God,) Matt. xii. 42, she woidd, at the day 
 ot juilgmcnt, •• rise up" against that generation which had refused 
 to listen to Hira. SlaMionsc. .Sec 'J thron. ix. 8, and the note. 
 
 '"""'<' 'o /"oif him nilh hard (/iicsliun.^.^ Came to try whe- 
 ther hi. wistlom wa-s so great as was reported, by proposing to 
 him hard questions, /);•. Hells. .• r i o 
 
 'i. — she commnncd nilh him of all &c.] She had the liberty of 
 propounding to him all questions respecting which she desired a so- 
 luuon, probably either in natural or divine things, lip. Patrick. 
 :,. — there ,ras no mure spirit in her.-] She was transported 
 
 «.^r kJ^^^^-Ik'"",' »''"^i"ti""- «/'• fl""- -She was perfectly 
 astonished. This phrase very properly denotes a very hieh de- 
 gree ol astonishment. Pi/le. ° 
 
 9. -- to do judgment and jiisliccl This was a most excellent 
 irZTl' ^"^ ^ ">* P^'P'^ =""' «» th'- king ; tlTat the peSe 
 
 ^I'l L ^ '"" '''°"*'* remember the end for which Go<l had 
 mack hun king, to be. to govern hi. people justly. Jip.PaHct 
 
 t thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the ,.j^^['™x 
 fame which I heard. .vi.nut992. 
 
 8 Happy arc thy men, happy are these r Heb.^ 
 
 thv servants, which stand continually be 
 
 lidded wis- 
 dom and 
 
 fbie thee, (tnd that hear thy wisdom. 
 
 !) Blessed be the Lord thy God, which defame. 
 delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne 
 of Israel : because the Loud loved Israel 
 for ever, therefore made he thee king, to 
 do judgment and justice. 
 
 10 And she gave the king an hundred 
 and twenty talents of gold, and of spices 
 very great store, and precious stones : 
 there came no more such abundance of 
 spices as these which the queen of Sheba 
 gave to king Solomon. 
 
 11 And the navy also of Hiram, that 
 brought gold from Ophir, brought in from 
 Ophir great plenty of alniug trees, and 
 precious stones. 
 
 12 And the king made of the almug 
 
 trees II t pillars for the house of the Lord, || Or.rmVj. 
 
 and for the king's house, harps also and I j,^ll,[ 
 
 psalteries for singers : there came no such 
 
 " almug trees, nor were seen unto this ' 2 ciiron. 
 
 day. 
 
 1 1. And the navjf also of Hiram^ There seems reason to con- 
 jecture that verse 1. '5 ought to come before these two verses, 11 
 and 12: that so all that relates to the queen of Sheba may be 
 concluded without any break. Houbigani. 
 
 The Phenicians are some of the most early navigators mentioned 
 in history. Kvery circumstance in their character and situation 
 was fovourable to the commercial spirit. The territory which 
 they possessed was neither large nor fertile. It was from com- 
 merce only that they could derive either opulence or power. Ac- 
 cordingly the trade carried on by the Phenicians of Sidon and 
 Tyre was extensive and adventurous ; not long confined to the 
 countries bordering on the Mediterranean, but enlarged by the 
 eai-ly acquisition of ports in the Arabian gulf: and both in their 
 manners and policy they resembled the great commercial states of 
 mwlern times more than any people in the ancient world. The 
 Jews, by their vicinity to Tyre, had such an opportunity of ob- 
 serving the wealth, which flowed into that city from the lucrative 
 commerce carrie<l on by the Phenicians from their settlements in 
 the Arabian gulf, as incited them to aim at obtaining some share 
 in it. This they effected wider the prosperous reigns of David 
 and Solomon. Dr. Rohcrtion. 
 
 great pleiili/ of almug trces,~\ It is not well ascertained 
 
 what description of tree is meant by this name. The Latin 
 translators call it thyiiie irood. Respecting which Thenphrastus 
 says, that the thyon or thya tree grows near the temple of Jupiter 
 Ammon in Africa, that it resembles tlie cypress tree in its boughs, 
 leaves, stalks, and fruit ; and that its wood never rots. It was in 
 high esteem among the heathen, who frequently made of this 
 wood the doors of their temples, and the images of their gods. It 
 should be observed, however, that Josephus calls the almug trees 
 of Solomon " pitch or torch trees :" but cautions us against sup- 
 posing that the wood of them was like what was known in his 
 time by that name ; for it was, saj-s he, rather like that of the fig 
 tree, but more white and shining. Parkhurst . 
 
 12. — pillars for the house of the Lord,'^ Or rather, "rails," 
 (as we translate in the margin of our Bibles,) which were made 
 on cither side of the causeway, which went up from the king's 
 house to the house of the Lord. Bp. Patrick,
 
 Solomon's gold. 
 
 His targets. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 992. 
 
 fHeh. 
 
 ticciiTdhig to 
 the hiind of 
 king Soli)- 
 
 II Or, 
 
 aiplains. 
 
 • Chap. 7. 
 
 2. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 on the khi' 
 fter part 
 thcreiif. 
 
 13 And king Solomon gave unto the 
 queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever 
 she asked, beside that which Solomon gave 
 her t of his royal bounty. So she turned 
 and went to her own country, she and her 
 servants. 
 
 14 ^ Now the weight of gold that came 
 to Solomon in one year was six hundred 
 threescore and six talents of gold, 
 
 15 Beside that he had of the merchant- 
 men, and of the traffick of the spice mer- 
 chants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and 
 of the II governors of the country. 
 
 16 ^ And king Solomon made two hun- 
 dred targets of beaten gold : six hundred 
 shekels of gold went to one target. 
 
 17 And //e made three hundred shields of 
 beaten gold; three pound of gold went to 
 one shield: and the king put them in the 
 " house of the forest of Lebanon. 
 
 18 ^ Moreover the king made a great 
 throne of ivoiy, and overlaid it with the 
 best gold. 
 
 19 The throne had six steps, and the 
 top of the throne "was round t behind : and 
 
 13. — all her desire, whatsoever she asked,'] That the queen of 
 Sheba should have asked for presents may appear strange at first 
 sight; but the circumstance is perfectly agreeable to modem 
 Eastern customs, which are derived, it is probable, from remote 
 antiquity. Irwin and many other travellers have related, that 
 principal persons in those countries not only expect presents, but 
 will often, directly and without ceremony, ask for any thing 
 which happens to please them; expecting that their request should 
 be immediately complied with; and this practice is by no means 
 held to be degrading, or a mark of rapacious meanness. Hanner. 
 
 14. Now Ike nelgltt of gold &c.] It has pleased God, in tliese 
 instances of Solomon's greatness, honour, and riches, to convey 
 to us the most sensible instruction; to point out the danger of 
 riches, to sliew how apt they are to become temptations to luxury 
 and pride, how naturally they lead men to forget and forsake 
 their God; and, in consequence, to teach us that they must ever 
 be received with fear, and used with great caution, and to good 
 purposes; or they will prove the destruction of those who possess 
 them, as was unhappily the case with Solomon and his iamily. 
 Bp. Wilson. 
 
 18. — made a great throne of ivori/,'] We never read of ivory 
 till about the time of Solomon, who perhaps brought elephants 
 from India, or, at least, caused great quantities of ivory to be im- 
 ported from thence. At this time it was as precious as gold: we 
 must not suppose, therefore, that this throne of Solomon's was 
 entirely overlaid witli gold, but only in particular places, that so 
 the mixture of gold and ivory, which gave a lustre to each other, 
 might make the throne look more beautiful. " There was not 
 tlie like made in any kingdom," ver. 20; of course, the sacred 
 writer means, in those days. In afterages we read that the 
 throne of the Parthian kings was of gold encompassed with four 
 golden pillars beset with precious stones, and that the Persian 
 kings sat in judgment under a golden vine, the bunches of whose 
 grapes were made of several sorts of precious stones. This serves 
 to illustrate the splendour of Eastern monarchs. Stackhouse, Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 and overlaid it witJi the best gold."] It is by no means pro- 
 bable that he covered the ivory with gold; for in that case any 
 common wood would have answered the purpose as well as ivory. 
 It seems to be meautj that he inlaid it witli gold, ornamentixig 
 
 "The throne of ivory. His vessels. 
 
 there -were t stays on either side on the ^'""'e 
 place of the seat, and two lions stood be- a^msfa 
 ^^'^^the stays. ^^^^ 
 
 UO And twelve lions stood there on the *«"'''• 
 one side and on the other upon the six 
 steps : there was not t the like made in t Heb. .». 
 any kingdom. 
 
 21 ^ And all king Solomon's drinking 
 vessels xcere o/gold, and all the vessels of 
 the house of the forest of Lebanon -xere of 
 pure gold; || none were of silver: it was II Or, 
 nothing accounted of in the days of Solo- "'^'^,"'^ 
 
 ^ J ^../v^xv yjy silver in 
 
 mon. them. 
 
 22 For the king had at sea a navy of 
 Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once 
 in three years came the navy of Tharshish, 
 bringing gold, and silver, || ivory, and apes, u Or, 
 and peacocks. euphamt' 
 
 23 So king Solomon exceeded all the 
 kings of the earth for riches and for wis- 
 dom. 
 
 24 f And all the earth t sought to Solo- t Heb. 
 mon, to hear his wisdom, which iGod bad%"fV''' 
 put in his heart. 
 
 25 And they brought every man his pre- 
 
 and embossing parts of it; but not so as to conceal the whole. 
 Script, illust. 
 
 20. And twelve lions stoodT] An account is given by Sir Thomas 
 Roe of a throne of the Mt^ul, much resembling tliis of Solomon: 
 " He hath at Agra a most glorious tin-one within Jiis palace, the 
 ascent to which is by divers steps, co\ered with plates of silver; 
 on the top of the ascent stand four lions upon pedestals of marble, 
 which lions are all of massy silver, in part gilt. These lions sup. 
 port a canopy of fine gold, under which the Mogul sits when he 
 appears in his greatest state and glory." Fragments to Calmet. 
 
 21- — Solomon's drinking vesseljt were of gold,'} The magni- 
 ficence of the modem kings of Persia is astonishing, but perhaps 
 not exceeding tliat of Solomon. One of them, Shah Abbas, 
 caused gold to the amount of forty-two Jewish talents to be 
 melted into royal drinking vessels; and we may well suppose 
 that those of Solomon were equally weighty, when we read, ver. 
 1 6, that his 200 targets were little less. Harmer. 
 
 22. — a navif of Tharshish] In regard to the situation of 
 Tharshish, we ai-e here told that " the navy of Tharshish came 
 once in three years, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, &c." there- 
 fore any place in the Southern or great Indian ocean, at the dis- 
 tance of three years' voyage from Ezion-gaber, according to the 
 navigation of those times, which could best furnish tJie merchants 
 with these commodities, may be guessed to be the Tharshish of 
 the Holy Scriptures. Dean Prideau.r. By the cij-cumstance of the 
 navy of Tharshish being here mentioned as joinetl with the na\-v 
 of Hiram, (from Tyre,) and by the fact of Jonah's taking ship at 
 Joppa, to go to Th;u-shish, many conclude that Tharshish was in 
 the Mediten-anean, or, at least, in the .Vtlantick, sea. They that 
 hold this opinion, suppose tliat either Carthage, or else Tarte?«us 
 in Spain, was the old Tharshish. From Tartessus the merchants 
 might fetch gold and silver, (for some hills and some ri\ers in 
 Spain did, in those early times, prwhice gold,) and from Carthage 
 the ivory, apes, and peacocks; and this trading from port to port 
 might, in those times, make a three years' voyage. But there are 
 other passages, as cha)). x.\ii. 48, and 2 Chron. x.\. 36. from which 
 it would seem that Tharshish is spoken ol" in the Indian sea. Dr. 
 Halt. 
 
 peacocks.] Some Inve rather understootl the Hebrew 
 
 word.to mean " parrots." Buxlorf.
 
 Sohmon's chariots and horsemen. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 His tribtite. 
 
 < 9 CkroD. 
 J. H. 
 
 Wo" sent, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, 
 ^"i'7 and garments, and armour, and spices, 
 ■ horses, and mules, a rate year by year. 
 <26 % ' And Solomon gathered together 
 chariots and horsemen : and he had a thou- 
 sand and four hundred chariots, and twelve 
 thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in 
 the cities for chariots, and with the king at 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Ti And the king t made silver to be in 
 Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he 
 to be as the sycomore trees that are in the 
 vale, for abundance. 
 
 !28 If ' t And Solomon had horses brought 
 l^i;^/;- out of Egypt, and linen yarn : the king's 
 
 flleb. 
 
 • ! CljroB 
 I. 16. & 9. 
 28. 
 
 f Hel>. 
 Jlnd thega- 
 
 the hiyrsfs 
 mkich was 
 
 a^mtnH. price 
 
 merchants' received the linen yarn at 
 
 ij6. — chariols and horsemen .] It appears evident that, in Da- 
 vid's time, lior>os were not used in Israel ; for Absalom, when he 
 linil lost the battle, fled upon a mule, to make his escqie ; and Da- 
 vid ordered his own mule to carry Solomon to be anointed. It 
 seems tliat the countrj- did not produce horses ; but Solomon, be- 
 ing able to afford large e.xpcnses, procured them from Egypt, and 
 nuiinlained, as is here mentioned, a great number of chariots and 
 horsemen. Bp. Patrick. See notes at ver. 28, anil chap. iv. 26. 
 
 27. — made silver to be — as stones,^ To be as common as 
 pebbles. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 to be as the sijcomorc trees'] By the sycomore is here 
 
 meant, a tree called the Egyptian fig ; its njmic denotes it to par- 
 take of the nature of the fig tree and the mulberry tree. It re- 
 Bombles the nmlberry tree in its leaves, and the fig tree in its 
 fruit. Its fruit resembles the fig in shape and size, and its taste 
 is pretty much that of the wild fig. These sycomores were 
 very common in Egypt, also in Judea ; we read, Luke xi.x. 4, 
 that Zacclieus climbed up into a sycomore tree, to see Jesus as He 
 fMtased by. Sycomore trees appear to have furnished the more 
 ordinary timber, as cedars did the most precious. See Isai. ix. 10. 
 Calmel. 
 
 28. And Solomon had horses brought out of Egifpt,] See Deut. 
 xvii. l(i, and the note there. It is very much to be remarked, 
 lliat, from the coming out of Egypt to the end of David's reign, 
 the people of Israel never suffered (or want of force and strength 
 m war. Troops, few in number, and seemingly unfit for action, 
 supported neither by chariots nor by horsemen, proved an over- 
 match for royal armies. This may be verified in the instances of 
 Gideon, Harak, .Icphth.ili, and Samuel, and of all others called 
 forth by Go<l to save His people. During this period also the 
 kuigdoni of Israel was carried to its utmost height by David. 
 He held the kings about him, how gallantly hoever they and 
 their tr<mps were mounted, under tribute and' subjection, though 
 he hunstll' nxle on a mule, and provide<l no better equipage for 
 his son on his coronation day; see ch. i. 3,i, .'it. When David look- 
 ed back ai\d meditated on this state of things, he might well say, 
 "Some trust in chariot.*, and some in horses: but we will remem- 
 ber the name of the Lord our God," Ps. xx. 7- In the reign of 
 fwlomon thuigs quickly changed. He married the daughter of 
 
 1 i."^ "' ^*^P'' "'^*' "P*""*^! » commerce between that couiitrj' 
 
 ^l! If ""*" ■ ^"'^ ^^^ "*''* "*^*'^ "^^ •"■'"■ "*" ^''"' '■"' ''!<■»' ''<' 
 ' ha»l forty thoiisiuid stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve 
 Ihousan,! horsemen,' chap. iv. 26. They who succeeded him fol- 
 w^eU his example ; and from his time the kings of Judah and 
 W»el had, whenever they were able to keep them, a strength of 
 coanou and horsemen. Let us now sec what they got by this 
 oZZ\ ^T,"'" '■""'^ *" ^ kingdom firmly established, the 
 Crrr . "• TV.^ t^hutirj' to him, and those at a distance 
 "««i ana aclmireti hira : but troubles soon overtook him ; the 
 tUomiie on one ade, the king of Damascus on the other, insulted 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 29 And a chariot came up and went out ^^^^^_^^ 
 of E""ypt for six hundred shekels of silver, 'iboutggal 
 and an horse for an hundred and fifty : and 
 so for all the kings of the Hittites, and lor 
 the kings of Syria, did they bring them out 
 t by their means. 
 
 t Heb. 
 by their 
 liand. 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 ] Solomon's wires and concubines. 4, In his old age they 
 draw him to idoUilrij. 9 God Ihrcatenelh him. l* 
 Solomon's adversaries irere Hadud, ivho was enter' 
 tained in Egi/pt, 23 Rczon, who reispied in Damas- 
 cus, 26 iiiid Jeroboam, to irhom Ahijah prophesied. 
 41 Solomon's acts, reign, and death: Rciwboam suc- 
 cecdeth him. 
 
 BUT king Solomon loved " many strange 
 women, |i together with the daughter 
 
 ' Deut. 17. 
 17. 
 
 Eccl"' 47. 
 19. 
 
 II o>-. 
 
 besides. 
 
 him : nor was he able witli all his new forces to quell these up- 
 start enemies. But the most remarkable event, and that which 
 seems designed by Providence to humble the pride of Israel, was 
 the division of the kingdom upon the death of Solomon, which, 
 produced a war of many years' continuance between Israel and 
 Judah, whereui tlicir forces were employed, with various success, 
 in weakening and destroying one another. During this time the 
 king of Egypt, the country which had furni.shed Solomon with all 
 his horses, came up against Jerusalem, and took it, and carried 
 away all the treasures of the temple, and of the royal palace, 
 which had been long gathering by David and Solomon : and 
 Rclioboam, the son of Solomon, became servant to the king of 
 Egypt, 2 Chron. xii. 8, 9. Thus did Solomon ami his house 
 prosper with their great strength of chariots and horses. Indeed 
 we may from this time date the ruin of Israel. Bp. Sherlock. See 
 Is. ii. 7 ; xxxi. 1 ; Hos. xiv. 3. 
 
 the king's merchants received &c."] It is acknowledged by 
 
 all interpreters that these words, and those which follow in the 
 next verse, are very obscure. Bochart seems to have thrown the 
 greatest light ujion them, by taking the Hebrew word, translated 
 linen yarn, to signify the toll or custom wliich was paid for horses 
 brouglit out of Egypt. He translates the whole thus : " Horses 
 were brought up to Solomon out of Egypt ; and as to the toll or 
 custom, the merchants of king Solomon hired it at a price, (that 
 is, paid constantly a certain sum for it to the king of Egypt ;) and 
 a chariot coming out of Egypt went out for 600 shekels of silver, 
 and a horse for 150 : and so to all the kings of the Hittites, and 
 for the king of Syria, did they bring by their hands." The sense 
 of which words is plainly this, that good horses being found in 
 those times in few countries but Egypt, Pharaoh would not suffer 
 them to be c;irried from thence without a great tribute. Solomon 
 tlierefore, bringing many thousand horses out of Egyjit, prevailed 
 with his father-in-law to free him from this grievous tribute, and 
 to accept a fixed annual sum instead of it. Bp. Patrick. This in- 
 terpretation of Bochart gives an easy sense to this otherwise very 
 obsciu-e passage. Pyle. 
 
 Chap. XI. ver. 1. — loved mamj strange women,'] Solomon 
 committed no fault in marrying Pharaoh's daughter, as she was a 
 proselyte, according to the common opinion, to the Jewish reli- 
 gion. But, in marrying so many other women besides, he com- 
 mitted two sins against the law, the one in multiplying wives, aixl 
 the other in marrying those of strange nations, who still retained 
 their idolatrous religion. The Jews were permitted to marry 
 wives of other nations, provided they embraced the Jewish reli- 
 gion ; but they were most expressly forbidden to marry from the 
 seven Canaanitish nations, even if they did embrace that religion, 
 lest the venom of idolatry might lurk amongst them, and at la8t 
 break out and infect them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It was the charge of God to the kings of Israel, before they ess-
 
 Solomon's mves and concubines. 
 
 CHAP. XI. In his old age they draK him to idolatry. 
 
 16. 
 
 Before of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Am- 
 aiima 992^ monites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; 
 
 2 Of the nations concerning which the 
 •• Exod. 34. Lord said unto the children of Israel, *' Ye 
 
 shall not go in to them, neither shall they 
 come in unto you : for surely they will 
 turn away your heart after their gods : So- 
 lomon clave unto these in love. 
 
 3 And he had seven hundred wives, 
 princesses, and three hundred concubines : 
 and his wives turned away his heart. 
 
 about 984. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon 
 was old, that his wives turned away his 
 
 isted, that they should not multiply wives. Solomon had gone 
 beyond the law, and now is ready to lose himself amongst a mul- 
 tiplicity of wives. O Solomon, where was thy wisdom, when 
 thine affections ran away with thee into such wild voluptuous- 
 ness? WTiat availeth it thee to discourse of all things, when thou 
 knowest not thyself? It is not of so much consequence to take 
 heed, how the soul is informed, as how it is disciplined : the light 
 of knowledge doeth well ; but the due ordering of the affections 
 doeth better. No man ever knew so mucli as Solomon ; yet 
 many, who have known less, have had more command of them- 
 selves. A competent estate well husbanded is better than a vast 
 patrimony neglected. Bp. Hall. Solomon had long worshipped the 
 true God, and revered the law of Moses as divine ; and he is one 
 of the most clear and impressive teachers of religious truth and 
 moral duty that ever enlightened mankind : yet, in the decline of 
 life and of reason, excessive sensuality, inflamed by tlie long en- 
 joyment of royal power and uninterrupted prosperity, lulled to 
 sleep the vigilance of his piety, and betrayed him into guilt. 
 Such, as is a melancholy but certain truth, is the weakness and 
 corruption of human nature ! Every reader of Scripture should 
 again and again be warned against adopting a notion, very in- 
 jurious to the cause of religion with unthinking minds, that all 
 the individaals, whom God made use of for the deliverance of 
 His people, are brought forwai-d to our notice in Scripture, as de- 
 serving of Divine favour, and fit models for our imitation, in tlie 
 entire tenour of their lives. They generally indeed possessed the 
 important and praise- worthy qualities of zeal and intrepidity in 
 defence of their national religion and constitution, and were active 
 and effective instruments in restoring the worship of Jehovali ; 
 and thus, in the main, forwarded the interests of virtue and re- 
 ligion. Hence God frequently assisted their efforts with mira- 
 culous aid, or is said to have raised them up, or to have been with 
 them, as judges or kings of Israel ; but we must by no means 
 conceive this to imply that the Divine approbation attended all 
 their conduct. The excesses of Samson, the rasli vow of Jeph- 
 thah, the excessive indulgence of Eli to his profligate sons, the 
 crimes of David and of Solomon — all these facts supply abundant 
 proofs that, as in the people, so in tiie chiefs, there was a mixture 
 of weakness and unsteadiness, an immaturity of intellect, and 
 dulness of sentiment, as to morality and religion, which, though 
 controlled and overruled by Providence, so as to prevent them 
 from defeating the great objects of the Divine dispensations, yet 
 should always prevent us from considering them to be held forth 
 in Scripture, as in every instance of their conduct, favoured by 
 God, and to be imitated by man. We are rather called upon to 
 compare their conduct with the perfect model of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, and by this comparison judge to what ex- 
 tent they are deserving of our imitation. Dr. Graves. 
 
 2. — he had seven hundred tvives, &c.'] It was matter of sumptu- 
 ousness and pomp witii Eastern princes to have a great number of 
 ■wives and concubines. Among others, Darius Codonutrmus was 
 wont to carry in his camp 350 concubines in time of war. Thus 
 we may probably account for tlie excessive nurjibcr of wives here 
 recorded of Solomon, by liis desire of suqiassing .ill hii con- 
 temporaries in this as well as in other kinds of pomp and mag- 
 ' Vol. I. 
 
 heart after other gods : and his heart was Before 
 not perfect with the Lord his God, as was about ys-i. 
 the heart of David his father. 
 
 5 For Solomon went after "^ Ashtoreth ' JuJg- 2. 
 the goddess of the Zidonians, and after '^' 
 Milcom the abomination of the Ammon- 
 ites. 
 
 6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of 
 
 the Lord, and t went not fuUy after the t Heb. 
 Lord, as did David his father. •(^!""'"' 
 
 7 Then did Solomon build an high place 
 for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in 
 the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for 
 
 nificence. Siacklwuse. As to the sins and debaucheries of Solo- 
 mon, we have nothing to do with them but to avoid them ; and to 
 give full credit to his experience when he preaches to us liis ad- 
 mirable sermon on the vanity of <!very thing but piety and virtue. 
 Bp. Watson. 
 
 4. — when Solomon jvas old,"] This great offence of Solomon 
 took place, it is thought, about the thirty-fourth year of his reign, 
 when he was about fifty-four years of age. Dr. Hales. 
 
 How many have begun and proceeded well, who, like Solomon, 
 have yet shamed themselves in the last stage. If God uphold us 
 not, we cannot stand ; if God uphold us, we caimot fall. When 
 we are at the strongest, it is best to be weak in ourselves ; and, 
 when at our weakest, strong in Him, in whom we can do all 
 things. Bp. Hall. 
 
 4. — his 7vivcs turned away his heart~\ Here Solomon himself 
 gives an unhappy example of idolatry in Ins omti person, being 
 seduced to idols by the charms and sofuicsses of his many heathen 
 women. So fatal an evil is lust to the best understandings, which, 
 whensoever it possesses them, it perfectly besots, and reigns over 
 them with uncontrolled power. Ahp. Tenison. 
 
 Solomon's wives, gaining an ascendant over him, might abate his 
 zeal against idolatry, and prevail with him for a publick toleration 
 of their religion ; they might obtain money of him for the making 
 of their idols, the support of their priests, and the expense of tlieir 
 sacrifices ; nay, and perhaps might sometimes persuade him, in 
 complaisance, to go with them to their worship, or to partake of 
 their lewd and riotous feasts : but that they should ever be able to 
 alter his notions concerning the true God, or prevail with him to 
 believe, that the images they worshipped, were informed with any 
 kind of di\inity, is a thing incredible. Sldckhoiisc. 
 
 We shoidd seriously consider how lamentably this prince, who 
 had been enriched with so many graces, who had been so wise 
 in his youth, and who had dedicated the temple of Jerusalem 
 with so gi-eat zeal and devotion, forsook God in liis old .nge, and 
 fell into idolaU-y ; he built temples to the idols which his wives 
 adored ; in these temples he worshipped false gods himself, and 
 drew his subjects into the same sin. If the wisest of men so 
 greatly erred, who dare be off" their guard? Even those who have 
 received the gi-eatest favours from God ought to improve by this 
 exiunple, and confess, that, notwithstanding all these advantages, 
 they may fall into the greatest disorders, and become wholly cor- 
 rupt ; those especially, who in their youth have had, through the 
 grace of God, sentiments of piety and virtue, ought to preserve 
 them with great circ, le^t they lose them, and God entirely for- 
 sake them. Oslervald. 
 
 his heart was not perfect uith the Lordl This expression 
 
 means, not that he neglected to serve the Lord at all, but that he 
 did not serve Him solely and entirely. Jos. Mede. 
 
 The meaning is, not that he forsook the true God, (see ver. 6,) 
 but that he joined with His worsliip the worship of false gods. 
 This no m.in of common sense could have done, who had so lately 
 acknowledijed in his prayer that there was no other God but the 
 Lord, if his mind had not been enerv.ited, and his understandijig 
 darkened by sensual pleasures. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — the hill thai is before Jerusalem,! The piount of Olives, 
 4 N
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 God thnaiencth Solomon. 
 
 iwb« Mok'ch, the abomination of the children of 
 S!ll'l?7 Amnion. 
 
 8 And likoxvisc did he for all his strange 
 wives which burnt incense and sacrificed 
 unto their gods. • , e , 
 
 ;> f And the Lord was angry with .Solo- 
 mon, because his heart was turned from 
 'Ch.p.i the Loud God of Israel, ^ which had ap- 
 .V i 9. i ppaiej imto him twice, 
 •ch.p.6. 10 And ' had conunanded him concern- 
 '" ing this thing, that lie should not go after 
 
 other gods : but he kept not tiiat which the 
 Loiiu commanded. 
 
 1 1 Wherefore the Lord said unto Solo- 
 t Hcb. mon, Forasmuch as this t is done of thee, 
 itwUkiuc. jjj^^i j|^y„ |,jjg^ jjo|. i^qjt „iy covenant and 
 
 my statutes, which I have commanded 
 ' Chrvp.i2. thee, ' I will surely rend the kingdom from 
 '*■ thee, and will give it to thy servant. 
 
 12 Notwithstanding in 'thy days I will 
 not do it for David thy father's sake : hut 
 I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. 
 
 13 Howbeit I will not rend away all the 
 kingdom ; hut will give one tribe to thy 
 son for David my servant's sake, and for 
 Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen. 
 
 14 ^ And the Lord stirred up an ad- 
 versary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edom- 
 ite : he icas of the king's seed in Edom. 
 
 •2Sam.8. 15 ^ For it came to pass, when David 
 '■*■ was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the 
 
 host was gone up to bury the slain, after 
 
 he had smitten every male in Edom ; 
 10 (For six months did Joab remain 
 
 there with all Israel, until he had cut off 
 
 every male in Edom :) 
 
 17 That Hadad fled, he and certain E- 
 domitcs of his father's ser\'ants with him, 
 to go into Egypt j Hadud hcing yet a little 
 child. 
 
 18 And they arose out of Midian, and 
 came to Paran : and they took men with 
 them out of Paran, and they came to E- 
 gypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt-, which 
 ga\ e him an house, and appointed him vic- 
 tuals, and gave him land. 
 
 ili-itint about half a mile from Jerusalem to the east; so close to 
 it, that all tlie inhabitants of the city could see what he did. Bd. 
 Patrick. ' 
 
 p. — tehich had appeared iiiilo him twive^ It is a sore aggra- 
 vation of sin, when it is committed after great mercies and de- 
 liverances vouchsafed to us, becau^^e this is an argument of great 
 ingratitude. Gotl is greatly displeased when we are unthankful 
 to the instnuuents of our (leliverancc, but much more, when we 
 ire ungrateful to Him, the Author of it. On this account. His 
 
 Solo7non's adversaries. 
 
 aripiT was the greater against Solomon, for turning away from 
 Umi.who had " appeared unto him twice." AL'p. Tillotsoii. 
 
 ' " iuiclt) rend tiw kingdom from Ihcc, See.'] How is 
 vise Solomon fallcu ! How shoidd all men, and 
 
 19 And Hadad found great favour in the Before 
 sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to S,"ufy8^J 
 w ife the sister of his own wife, the sister of 
 Tahpencs the queen. 
 
 20 And the sister of Tahpenes bare him 
 Genubath his son, whom Talipenes weaned 
 in Pharaoh's house : and Genubath was in 
 Pharaoh's houshold among the sons of 
 Pharaoh. 
 
 21 And when Hadad heard in Egypt 
 that David slept with his fathers, and that 
 
 Joab the captain of the host was dead, Ha- ^ 
 
 dad said to Pharaoh, t Let me depart, that + "*''• 
 
 , ' Send me 
 
 1 may go to mnie own country. amt>,. 
 
 22 Then Pharaoh said unto him. But 
 what hast thou lacked with me, that, be- 
 hold, thou seekest to go to thine own 
 country? And he answered, t Nothing : tHeb.iV««. 
 howbeit let me go in any wise. 
 
 23 *|[ And God stirred him up another 
 adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which 
 fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zo- 
 bah : 
 
 24 And he gathered men unto him, and 
 became captain over a band, *■ when David " 2 Sam. a 
 slew them ofZohah .- and they went to Da- ^-^ '"•'•' 
 mascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in 
 Damascus. 
 
 25 And he was an adversary to Israel all 
 the days of Solomon, beside the mischief 
 that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, 
 and reigned over Syria. 
 
 26 % And ' Jeroboam the son of Nebat, * 2 Chron. 
 an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's ser- *^•^• 
 vant, whose mother's name zvas Zeruah, a 
 widow woman, even he lifted up his hand 
 against the king. 
 
 27 And this rms the cause that he lifted 
 up his hand against the king : Solomon 
 built Millo, and t repaired the breaches of t Heb. 
 the city of David his father. 
 
 28 And the man Jeroboam was a mighty 
 man of valour : and Solomon seeing the 
 young man that he t was industrious, he t Hd>. 
 made him ruler over all the t charge of the fHebT ' 
 
 house of Joseph. burden. 
 
 especially men of light and knowledge above others, take warn- 
 ing by this example, lest they also fall when they think they 
 stand ! Bp. JVilsun. Solomon here exhibits an instance of the 
 most lamentable fall that ever was, excepting that of the fallen 
 angels. Dr. Wall. 
 
 1 5. — nhcn David nas in Edom,"] For tlie purpose of con- 
 quering the country, '2 Sam. viii. 14. 
 
 '25. — he was an adversary — all (he days of Sulwnon,'] This 
 is not to be understood of the whole reign of Solomon, which was 
 for the most part peaceable; but of all the days which now re- 
 mained of his life, from the time that his wives publickly exer- 
 cised their idolatry, unto the day of his death. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 28. — made him ruler over all the — house of Joseph.'^ Solomon
 
 Solomon's adversaries. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 His acts and reign. 
 
 CHRIST ^^ -^"^ ^* ^^^^ *^ P^^^ ^* *^^* ^'"^^ when 
 •bout 980. Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the 
 
 prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in 
 
 the way J and he had clad himself with a 
 
 new garment; and they two were alone in 
 
 the field: 
 
 30 And Ahijah caught the new garment 
 that was on him, and rent it in twelve 
 pieces : 
 
 31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee 
 ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the 
 God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the king- 
 dom out of the hand of Solomon, and wUl 
 give ten tribes to thee: 
 
 32 (But he shall have one tribe for my 
 servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's 
 sake, the city which I have chosen out of 
 all the tribes of Israel:) 
 
 33 Because that they have forsaken me, 
 and have worshipped Ashtoreth the god- 
 dess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of 
 the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the 
 children of Ammon, and have not walked 
 in my ways, to do that which is right in 
 mine eyes, and to keej) my statutes and my 
 judgments, as did David his father. 
 
 34 Howbeit I will not take the whole 
 kingdom out of his hand: but I will make 
 him prince all the days of his life for David 
 my servant's sake, whom I chose, because 
 he kept my commandments and my sta- 
 tutes: 
 
 appointed him to superintend the revenue of " the house of Jo- 
 seph," that is, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The He- 
 brew writers say, that this advancement made hitn the more pre- 
 sumptuous in instilling discontent into the people, who were 
 needlessly burdened to support Solomon's vanity, in the vast 
 buildings wliich he undertook. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 29- — Ahijah the Shilonite] Ahijah was a native of Shiloh, 
 and one of those who wrote the annals of king Solomon's reign, 
 2 Chron. ix. 29: he is thought to have been the person who spake 
 twice to Solomon from God; once when he was building the 
 temple, at wliich time He promised Jiim His protection, 1 Kings 
 vi. 12; and at another time when he had fallen into all his irregu- 
 larities, and God expressed His indignation against him in bitter 
 threats and reproaches, 1 Kings xi. 11. Calmet. 
 
 30. — and rent it in twelve pieces:] By this action, the Pro- 
 phet conveyed his meaning more forcibly than by words. This 
 is the first symbolical action we meet with in any Prophet; but 
 in afterages, instances of this kind became more frequent. The 
 people of the East, especially tliose who took upon them the 
 character of Prophets, were fond of discovering their minds 
 in signs and emblematical actions; because they looked upon 
 such representations to be more lively and affecting than any, 
 that proceeded from the mouth only, could be. Stack-house. 
 
 36. — that David — may have a light uhvuy before me] Mean- 
 ing, that the posterity of David may not be entirely extinct, tliat 
 -his race may not remain in obscurity and obUvion. By " a light," 
 or " a lamp," in Scripture, is sometimes signified a posterity, Ps. 
 cxxxii. 17; Prov. xiii. 9; and sometimes reputation, glory, king- 
 dom, 2 Kings viii. 19; 2 Sam. xxii. 29. Calmet. 
 
 40. Solomon sought therefom &c.] How Solomon became ac- 
 quainted with what had passed between Ahijah 5»nd Jeroboam, is 
 
 35 But " I will take the kingdom out of 
 his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, 
 even ten tribes. 
 
 36 And unto his son will I give one 
 tribe, that David my servant may have a 
 t light alway before me in Jerusalem, the 
 city which I have chosen me to put my 
 name there. 
 
 37 And I will take thee, and thou shalt 
 reign according to all that thy soul desir- 
 eth, and shalt be king over Israel. 
 
 38 And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken 
 unto all that I command thee, and wilt 
 walk in my ways, and do that is right in 
 my sight, to keep my statutes and my com- 
 mandments, as David my servant did ; that 
 I will be with thee, and build thee a sure 
 house, as I built for David, and will give 
 Israel unto thee. 
 
 39 And I will for this afflict the seed of 
 David, but not for ever. 
 
 40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jero- 
 boam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into 
 Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and 
 was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. 
 
 41 5F And the rest of the || acts of Solo- 
 mon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, 
 are they not written in the book of the acts 
 of Solomon ? 
 
 42 And the t time that Solomon reign- 
 ed in Jerusalem over all Israel was ' forty 
 years. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 980. 
 
 ' Chap. 
 15. 
 
 , v. 
 
 t Heb. 
 tamp, or, 
 candle. 
 
 about 98a 
 
 II Or, 
 
 words, 
 thinss. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 days. 
 
 ' •-' Chron. 
 
 9. 30. 
 
 a question of no great importance: perhaps the Prophet made no 
 scruple of reporting what he had dope in the name of the Lord; 
 and perhaps Jeroboam himself, being puffed up with this as- 
 surance, could not refrain from telling what had happened to some 
 of his friends, who spread it abroad. Slackhouse. 
 
 xmto Shishak king of Egypt,] Egypt appears to have 
 
 been at this time a common place of refuge for cUscontented per- 
 sons. All the kings of Egypt had the general title of Pharaoh, 
 from the time of Abraliam; and this is the first instance of any 
 one being called in Scripture by his proper or individual name, 
 to distinguish him from the other Pharaohs. It is thought by 
 some learned persons that the Shishak here mentioned is the 
 famous Sesosti-is, who, having subdued Ethiopia, cxtendetl his 
 conquests into Asia, as far as the Assyrians and .Medes. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 41. — in the book of' the acts of Solomon ?] The kings of Is- 
 rael were accustomed to maintain some wise persons, who com- 
 mitted to writing all that p^issed in their reign. Perhaps this 
 practice was begun by Solomon ; for we read not of any book of 
 the acts of David. Out of these annals, the sacred writer of this 
 book took what he thought most useful, and omitted tlie rest, 
 which he did not judge so necessary and instructive. Bp. Pa-, 
 trick. 
 
 It should be well observed, that the matters related in tliese 
 historical books of Scripture entirely agree with the publick re- 
 cords which were extant among the people: this is manifest, if 
 we consider how otYen the sacred penmen refer us to the histories 
 and annids of those kings of whom they speak, and of whom they 
 only quote the j)rincipal stories in short, while they pursue their 
 mam design, of bringing under one view the state of religion: 
 and govenunent among the Jews. Dea>i AUix, 
 
 4N2
 
 Solomon"! death. liehohoam succeeds. I. KINGS. 
 
 He refttseth the old men^s counsel, 
 
 43 And Solomon slept with his fathers, 
 ^u*J»^y and was buried in (he city of David his fa- 
 -M,iu..i. ther: and » Kehoboam his son reigned in 
 T, e«iit<i bis stead. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 1 The hrarUtes, assaubkd at Shcchem to crown Reho- 
 boam, btj Jeroboam make a siiit of' rclaxdtion viito him. 
 6 lithoboam, refusing the old men's connscl, bt/ Ihe ad- 
 vice of young men, ansirerclh Ihcm ronghli/. 1 6 Ten 
 tribes rcvolltng, till Adoram, ami make Ueholmam to 
 flee. 21 Hchoboavi, raising an armi/, is forbidden bij 
 '.Shemaiah. 25 Jcrohoam sirenglhemih himself by ci- 
 lies, 26 ami by the idolatry of the two calves. 
 
 AND ' Rehoboam went to Shechem: for 
 all Israel were come to Shechem to 
 make him king. 
 
 2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam 
 ►jChap.!!. the i^on of Xebat, who was yet in '' Egypt, 
 
 heard of it, (for he was fled from the pre- 
 sence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam 
 dwelt in Egypt;) 
 
 3 That tliey sent and called him. And 
 Jeroboam and all the congregation of Is- 
 rael came, and spake unto Kehoboam, say- 
 ing. 
 
 • ■_> Cliron. 
 
 la I. 
 
 4a 
 
 ' Ch»p. 4. 
 
 4 Thy father made our " yoke grievous : 
 
 43. And Solomon tlqit tvith his fathers,'] He is thought to have 
 l)€en about fifty-eight years of age when he died. Stackhouse. He 
 lost the great privilege of long lite, which God promised, if he 
 |)crfomied such sincere obedience as David did, unto whose age 
 he did not attain. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Thus ended the reign of tJiis prince, so remarkable for an un- 
 common degree of abilities and greatness; yet stained and tar- 
 niihed witli the foulest vices and imprudences. Pi/le. 
 
 Solomon in wisdom iind knowledge surpassed all his con- 
 temporaries; he was a poet, a natural and experimental philo- 
 sopher, and a p>litical and moral philosopher. Unhappily he did 
 not practise hunself all the excellent rules which he delivered to 
 others. He violated the laws of Moses, especially in taking 
 pagan and idolatrous wives and concubines, the number of whom 
 aUowas highly scsmdalous and immoral; and when he grew old, 
 these women seducL-d him so far as to set up the worship of their 
 false gads in his dominions. Tor these transgressions God pu- 
 nished him, and raised him up enemies to disquiet him at the 
 latter end of his rcign; and when he died, he left behind him a 
 (hsconu-nted people, and a foolish son and successor, who soon 
 lost more tlian half of the kingtiom. One would think it im- 
 possible that Solomon could c\ er have committed such errours and 
 .such crimes. He had received his crown directly from tlie hand 
 ot God, wlio ha<l preferred him to it, tiiougli a younger son; he 
 had been favoured with Divine revelations; he had been ap- 
 pointed to build a magnificent temple for the service of Go<l- he 
 had receive<l promises of wisdom, knowledge, wealth, a-U,rv 
 peace, power prosperity, and everj- temporal blessing: and'these 
 promises h.id been signally accomplished. How could such a 
 prince shut his eyes against such evidence ! How could lie be 
 guilty of such monstrous forgclfiilness and ingratitude' It is too 
 ^ ^n, as in his instance, that the follies of men of uncommon 
 Erlrf '""" "■ ff'^^'f ,''r those of men of mean 
 ^Inlc rf '""• "P^<^'»^'; and Solomon stands a memorable 
 
 JorliT ^^'^^ P°*'" ='"'^ prosperity. Dr. 
 
 I now therefore make thou the grievous ser- Christ 
 vice of thy father, and his heavy yoke which 975." 
 he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve 
 thee. 
 
 5 And he said unto them, Depart yet 
 for three days, then come again to me. 
 And the people departed. 
 
 G 5F And king Rehoboam consulted with 
 the old men, that stood before Solomon his 
 father while he yet lived, and said, How 
 do ye advise that I may answer this peo- 
 ple? 
 
 7 And they spake unto him, saying. If 
 thou wilt be a servant unto this people this 
 day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, 
 and speak good words to them, then they 
 will be thy servants for ever. 
 
 8 But he forsook the counsel of the old 
 men, which they had given him, and con- 
 sulted with the young men that were 
 grown up with him, and which stood be- 
 fore him : 
 
 9 And he said unto them. What counsel 
 give ye that we may answer this people, 
 who have spoken to me, saying. Make the 
 yoke which thy father did put upon us 
 lighter ? 
 
 Chap. XH. This chapter is to be compared with 2 Chron. x. 
 and xi. 
 
 Ver. 1 . And Rehoboam went to Shechem ;] It is unknown whe- 
 ther Solomon had any other children besides Rehoboam and the 
 two daughters mentioned at chap. iv. 11, 15; if he had any 
 other children, the sacred writer does them not the honour to 
 mention them, but passes them by in silence. Relioboam, as it 
 afterwards appears, (chap. xiv. 21, 31,) was the son of an Am- 
 monitish woman; however, though he was not entirely an Is- 
 raelite, he pretended to the kingdom, being certainly the eldest 
 if not the only son of Solomon, to whom it belonged by the law, 
 which was then established, and which ever after continued in 
 Judali. The people came to Shechem to make him king, because 
 this was the most convenient place, being in the middle of 
 the kingdom ; or, as others think, because it was in the tribe of 
 Ephraim, where they could speak their minds more freely than 
 they durst at Jerusalem, which was in the tribe of Judah. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 4. Thy father made otir yoke grievous:'] We may gather from 
 1 Kings iv. 7, &c. that the particular grievances of which the 
 people complained were the tributes exacted by Solomon for his 
 buildings, the expenses of his family, and the maintenance of his 
 chariots and horses; which ought perhaps to have been borne 
 more contentedly by a people enjoying so large a share of peace 
 and plenty, and from a prince who liad brought in such vast 
 riches to his subjects. But people are too often more sensible of 
 their pressures than of their enjoyments, and feci the least bur- 
 dens when they are most at ease. It is observable however, that, 
 among all their complaints, they take no notice of Solomon's 
 idolatry, or the strange worship which he had introduced, though 
 this, it might be thought, should have been reckoned among the 
 greatest of their grievances. Or, if the complaints of Solomon's 
 hard usage were indeed well founded, it is probable that he fell 
 into tyrannical behaviour towards his subjects, at the time when 
 he was seduced into avarice and id(^lat?y, and the love of strange 
 women. Bp. Patrick, Stackhouse.
 
 MIOlAirTTKS 
 
 31 
 
 l/mmn ttitJer the Arr^tk^n nf' ftE ArrowcHillk 
 
 lu/'/tjhfU t.-w t^• .r.Mwrv riw 
 
 (:fc-wtt« ^'-6.1?* iy Jfci>r Jb«i«7tov .fTTW^ <*«* ft»rf J
 
 and constilteth "with the young men. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Ten tribes revolt. 
 
 ^^l°ll.^ 10 And the young men that were grown 
 
 CHRIST '' ^ . ^ 
 
 97S. up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus 
 shalt thou speak unto this people that spake 
 unto thee, saying, Thy tather made our 
 yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto 
 us ; thus shalt thou say unto them. My 
 little ^??^"er shall be thicker than my fa- 
 ther's loins. 
 
 1 1 And now whereas my father did lade 
 you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your 
 yoke : my father hath chastised you with 
 whips, but I will chastise you with scor- 
 pions. 
 
 12 ^ So Jeroboam and all the people 
 came to Rehoboam the third day, as the 
 king had appointed, saying, Come to me 
 again the third day. 
 
 13 And the king answered the people 
 t Heb. t roughly, and forsook the old men's coun- 
 '""''"y- sel that they gave him ; 
 
 14 And spake to them after the counsel 
 of the young men, saying. My father made 
 your yoke heavy, and 1 will add to your 
 yoke : my father also chastised you with 
 whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 
 
 10. — the young men that mere grown vp with kini^ Though 
 they are called " young men," they were probably of an age to 
 have acted with more discretion: for Rehoboam was forty-one 
 years old when he began to reign, chap. xiv. 21 ; and, as these 
 men had grown up with him, they were probably about the same 
 age. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Mif Utile finger &c.] " The easiest impositions that I shall 
 
 lay upon you, shall be more grievous than the heaviest that you 
 complain of from my father." Bp. Hall. 
 
 11. — rvilh scorpions.'] That is, with briers tied to whips, or 
 with whips full of iron rowels in them, to prick and tear the 
 flesh. It is a figure to denote the extremest punishment and op- 
 pression. Pyle. 
 
 15. — for the cause was from the Lord,'] It was thus that Pro- 
 vidence pemiitted the jiassionate and corrupt temper of this 
 princ* to produce that fatal distraction in the nation, whereby 
 was completed the threatening made against Solomon, and the 
 prediction to Jeroboam, chap. xi. P^le. The tribe of Ephraim, 
 to which Jeroboam belonged, had all along envied Judah her pre- 
 cedence ; and God now made them the instruments of correction 
 to both. For " the cause was from the Lord" to fulfil His threat 
 to Solomon, and His promise to Jeroboam. Such are the inci- 
 dental traits that distinguish sacred liistory from profane. In the 
 latter, revolutions of states are usually attributed to human saga- 
 city and secondary causes ; in the former, tliey are uniformly 
 attributed to the Supreme Governour of the universe, guiding and 
 directing the operations of all inferioui- agents, according to His 
 sole will and pleasine. Dr. Hales. 
 
 l6. — neither have ire inheritance in the son of Jesse:"] They 
 hereby renounce all subjection to the posterity of David, whom, 
 by way of contempt, they call the son of Jesse, referring to the 
 meanness of his origin. Dr. Wells. 
 
 18. — sent Adoram, ri'ho was over the tribute ;"] It was certainly 
 an act of imprudence to send any one to treat with persons so 
 highly exasperated ; but to send one who was already obnoxious, 
 as having the principal care of the veiy tributes of which they 
 complained, was perfect infatuation ; because nothing is so natu- 
 ral as tliat men should hate those who are the real or supposed 
 instruments of their oppression. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 19- f>o Israel rebelled against the house of David] The separa- 
 
 ST 
 
 15 Wherefore the king hearkened not ^rf**^ 
 unto the people; for the cause was from ^"^5.^ 
 the Lord, that he might perform his say- 
 ing, which the Lord "spake by Ahijah the "Chap. 11. 
 Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Ne- "' 
 bat. 
 
 16 ^ So when all Israel saw that the 
 king hearkened not unto them, the people 
 answered the king, saying. What portion 
 have we in David ? neither have n-e inhe- 
 ritance in the son of Jesse : to your tents, 
 O Israel : now see to thine own house, 
 David. So Israel departed unto their 
 tents. 
 
 17 But as for the children of Israel 
 which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Reho- 
 boam reigned over them. 
 
 18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, 
 who "was over the tribute ; and all Israel 
 stoned him with stones, that he died. 
 Therefore king Rehoboam t made speed t Heb. 
 to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Je- ^S'^y:" 
 rusalem. 
 
 19 So Israel li rebelled against the house U o^. 
 of David unto this day. 
 
 Jill awmj. 
 
 tion of the ten tribes from the house of David, and their estabhslT. 
 ment in a separate kingdom under Jeroboam, is an event which, 
 at first view, may appear to indicate a total contempt of the 
 Mosaick law, since it was attended witli a deplorable schism and 
 idolatrous corruption in the Jewish church — a corruption, which, 
 as it was supported by worldly policy in the monarchs, and by 
 tlie propensity to self-indulgence and idolatrj' in the mass of the 
 people, was unhappily permanent ; for everj- king of Israel, how- 
 ever praiseworth}- in other respects, adhered to " the sin of Jero- 
 boam, who made Israel to sin." A close attention, however, to 
 the circumstances of this event will shew, that it is perfectly con- 
 sistent with the reality of that Divine su)ierintendence, which 
 directed the Jewish dispensation. The origin of this separation 
 is declared to have been a Divine judgment on the house of Da- 
 vid, in consequence of the idolatrous worship introduced bj' the 
 foreign wives of Solomon, and criminally permitted or partaken 
 of by that prince. Had this offence remained unpunished, so 
 contagious an example would have probably infectetl the whole 
 mass of the people, who would thus have irretrievablj' sunk into 
 idolatry and vice : and does it not appear probable, that, so long 
 as the whole nation continued united imder one sovereign, this 
 danger might frequently recur.' Does not this division of the 
 people, under tn-o monarchs, appear, even to our short-sighted 
 views, not only a just punishment for the crimes of Solomon, but 
 the most probable method of preventing that univcrtal apostasv, 
 caused by similar misconduct in fiitiu'e, wliich might have entirely 
 defeated the design of the Jewish dispensation .' Thus we must 
 consider this revolution in its first origin as a providential dispen- 
 sation. Yet it was not brought about by any resistless operation 
 of Divine power ; human passions and human agencv were, in 
 appeai'ance, its only effective cause. The im])rudent and tvranni- 
 cal answer of Rehoboam to the demands of the Jewish people for 
 a redress of grievances, at the commencement of his reign, (see 
 ver. 8, &c.) was its immediate occasion ; but, when the king of 
 JucLih made preparations to reduce the revolted tribes, the Deity 
 interposed to prevent the miseries of civil war, in opposition to a 
 measure origin::ting in His decree, and commanded by His Pro- 
 phet, "Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren, for this 
 thing is from Yie," ver. 24. Nor should it i)e forgotten, that this 
 schism and i^iolatry of the ten tribes gave occasion for the most
 
 neholtoam, raising an arm/, 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 is forbidden hy Shemaiah. 
 
 Mo- -iO And it came to pass, when all Israel 
 ^""'^^ heard tliat Jeroboam was come again, tliat 
 *'* they sent and called him unto the congre- 
 gation, and made him king over all Israel: 
 Uiere was none that followed the house of 
 •Cll»^ II. David, but the tribe ofjudah ' only. 
 '>■ Qi ^ And when Kehoboam was come 
 
 to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house 
 of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an 
 hundred and fourscore tliousand chosen 
 men, wiiich were warriors, to fight against 
 the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom 
 again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 
 '•Oiron. 2'J But ^the word of God came unto 
 "■- Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 
 
 Q3 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of 
 Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the 
 house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the 
 remnant of the people, saying, 
 
 24. Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go 
 
 •ignal displ.-iys of Divine power, and the most emphatick denun- 
 ciations and manifesUtions of Divine justice, in the correction and 
 Rovcmnient of this perverse race and their guilty monarchs. The 
 miraculous reprtxjf and punishment of Jeroboam himself, the death 
 gfhis favourite son, the utter destruction of the three royal houses 
 of Jrrol>oam, of Baasha, and of Ahab, all foretold by the Prophets, 
 niforded awful examples of the Divine vengeance. Among these 
 ten tril)e8 also were exhibited the miracles of Elijah and Elisha; 
 concerning them too and their kings were pronounced some of 
 ihc most distinguished prophecies of Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah ; 
 and, finally, after a series of striking and instructive chastise- 
 ments, God executed His final judgment on this deluded and cor- 
 ruptctl race, for He " removed Israel out of His siglit, &c." i 
 Kings xvii. 1 8. Nor were corresponding effects wanting from this 
 schism on the remaining two tribes; for it proved the most pow- 
 erful means of preserving in tiiem whatever degree of attention 
 to the Divine law subsisted among them. It made it the obvious 
 political interest of the kings of judaii, to ailhere with strictness 
 to the law of Moses, and to promote its observance amongst tlieir 
 subU'cts ; a line of conduct which became the boasted distinction 
 of these kings, and the popular topick by which they maintained 
 their superiority over the kings of Israel. Dr. Graves. 
 
 22. — Shemaiah the man of God,'] This Prophet was very well 
 known in the reign of Reholjoam. He is supposed to have writ- 
 ten the annals of that prince. What authority he possessed in 
 Judali, we may gather from this passage, where it is related, that 
 he prevailed with the king and 180,000 men to lay down their 
 wins, and return home, merely by declaring that the separation 
 which had taken place was by the order and appointment of 
 Go<l. Cahnet. 
 
 24. — for Ihis thing Is fivm tne.^ " I have ordered and con- 
 trived this matter for the just punishment of thy father's defection 
 from Me." Bp. Hall. 
 
 25. — built Sheclwiii &c.] He enlarged and beautified both 
 Sh«;hem and Penuel for his own residence, cither out of love for 
 Tariety and grandeur, the very fault upon which he was wont to 
 raise his insinuation:) against his master Stilomon ; or else to the 
 end that, by fortifying these two places, one in the east, and the 
 other in the west part of his dominions, he might keep his sub- 
 ject* in letter awe and dominion. Pi/le. 
 
 26. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Nt»v sludl the Ungdom return 
 to the hoHte of David : &c.] Jeroboam, from the name of a person 
 lK*canK the character of impiety, is reported to posterity eminent, 
 or rather uilainous, for two things: usurpation of government and 
 innovalion of religion. It is confessed, the former is expressly 
 Mid lo have beeu from God : but since God may turn to His pur- 
 
 Before 
 
 up, nor fight against your brethren the cnijjs.j 
 children of Israel : return every man to his 975. 
 house ; for this thing is from me. They 
 hearkened therefore to the word of the 
 Lord, and returned to depart, according 
 to the word of the Lord, 
 
 25 % Then Jeroboam built Shechem in 
 mount Ephraim, and dw-elt therein ; and 
 went out from thence, and built Penuel. 
 
 2G And Jeroboam said in his heart. 
 Now shall the kingdom return to the house 
 of David : 
 
 27 If this people go up to do sacrifice 
 in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, 
 then shall the heart of this people turn a- 
 gaiu unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam 
 king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and 
 go again to Rehoboam king ofjudah. 
 
 28 Whereupon the king took counsel, . 
 and made two calves o/'gold, and said unto 
 
 poses actions which He does not approve, the design of the first 
 cause does not excuse the malignity of tlie second. However, 
 from his attempts upon the civil power, Jeroboam proceeds to in- 
 novate in God's worship; and, from the subjection of men's bodies 
 and estates, to enslave their consciences, as knowing that true reli- 
 gion is no friend to an unjust title. Foolishly thinking policy the 
 best piety, he thus argues: "If this people go up to do sacrifice" 
 &c. see ver. 27. As if he should have said. The true worship of God, 
 and the conversation of those who use it, dispose men to a consi- 
 derate lawful subjection ; and, therefore, I must take another course: 
 my practice must not be better than my title; what was won by 
 force must be continued by delusion. Thus sin is usually seconded 
 with sin, and a man seldom commits one sin to please himself, 
 but he conmiits another to defend himself. Dr. South. 
 
 27. If this people go up to do sacrifice &c.] Jeroboam easily fore- 
 saw, that, when the people should go up to the temple at Jerusa- 
 lem, whither their religion obliged them to repair; when they 
 should attend the appointed Divine service, and hear the priest 
 expound the law of (jod to them, they would quickly recoUect 
 themselves, and their consciences would smite them for witlxlraw- 
 ing from their God by withdrawing from their king. Rebellion 
 never did, never can, take deep root, while Scripture is hearkened 
 to, and the priests put the people in mind of those parts of Scrip- 
 ture which relate to this subject, and enforce their true sense on 
 their understandings and consciences. Lord Clarendon. 
 
 28. — made two calves of gold, ~\ It is not improbable, as some 
 learned men have conjectured, that Jeroboam made two calves for 
 idolatrous worship, in imitation of the Egyptians, amongst whom 
 he had lived, who had two oxen, the objects of their idolatry: one 
 called Apis, at Memphis, the metropolis of Upper E|;ypt ; the 
 other called Mnevis, at Hierapolis, which was the chief city of 
 Lower Egypt. Bp. Patrick. Jeroboam being bom an Israelite, 
 and bred in the court of a Solomon, could not but know tlie ex- 
 press charge of God against the making of images, and the erec- 
 tion of any rival altars to that of Jerusalem ; yet now he sets up 
 images and altars when he sees that both these will avail to advance 
 his ambitious project. Wicked men hesitate not to make bold 
 with God in cases of their own advantage ; if the laws of their 
 Maker lie in the way of their profit or promotion, they spurn them 
 away, and tread upon them at pleasui-e. Bp. Hall. 
 
 JeroboaiTi, by a wicked policy, in order to prevent the reunion 
 of the ten tribes to Judah, 1st, detached them from the national 
 worship prescribed by the law of Moses, saying to the people, 
 " It is too much for you, &c. behold thy gods, O Israel, which 
 brought thee up out of the land of Egypt," repeating the pi"o- 
 clomation of Aai;on, Exod. xxxiL 4. 2d, Kejecting those priests
 
 Jerohomn selteth up 
 
 CHAP. XII, XIII. 
 
 the two golden calves. 
 
 Before them, It is too much for you to go up 
 ^"975?^ to Jerusalem : ^behold thy gods, O Israel, 
 e E,joj_ 30 which brought thee up out of the land of 
 8. """Egypt. 
 
 29 And he set the one in Beth-el, and 
 the other put he in Dan. 
 
 30 And this thing became a sin : for 
 the people went to tcorship before the one, 
 evejfi unto Dan. 
 
 31 And he made an house of high places, 
 and made priests of the lowest of the peo- 
 ple, which were not of the sons of Levi. 
 
 32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in 
 the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of 
 the month, like unto the feast that is in 
 
 i Of. Judah, and he || offered upon the altar. So 
 ^keaiiar," did he iu Beth-el, li sacrificing unto the 
 *«• calves that he had made : and he placed in 
 
 to sacrifice. Beth-el the priests of the high places which 
 he had made. 
 
 and Levites who refused to confoiin to his idolatrous worship, he 
 appointed " the lowest of the people," who had neither learning 
 nor religion, to be priests of the high places which he had made. 
 3d, He changed the feast of tabernacles from the seventh month, 
 as prescribed by the law of Moses to the eighth mionth, (ver. 32,) 
 " even in the month which he had devised with his own heart." 
 And, 4th, On this festival he acted as high priest himself, ver. 3S. 
 Dr. Hales. This piece of false policy proved the ruin of Jeroboam 
 and of his family, which, had he trusted in God and not in his 
 own wisdom, would have been established in the kingdom. Bp. 
 Wilson. 
 
 — ^— behold thy gods, O Israel, Sec."] As if he had said, " God 
 is every where in His essence, and cannot be included in any 
 place ; He dwells among you here, as well as at Jerusalem ; and, 
 if you require any symbols of His presence, behold here they are 
 in these calves, which I have set up." For they could not be so 
 stupid as to believe that the idols, t.^ken just before out of the fur- 
 nace, had been their deliverers so many ages ago. It is evident 
 that the worship of these calves was not looked upon by the sacred 
 \vriters, and by the Prophets, as an absolute heathen idolatry, but 
 only as a separation, which was indeed very criminal in itself, but 
 did not come up to the degree of a total apostasy ; for the history 
 of the revolt of the ten tribes introduces Jeroboam speaking, not 
 like a person whose intention was to make the people change their 
 religion, but as representing to them that the true God was every 
 where, was not confined to any certain place, and therefore might 
 be worshipped by them, as well in Dan and Beth-el, as at Jerusa- 
 lem. Lewis. 
 
 This conduct of Jeroboam, though it proves a most criminal in- 
 attention to the injunctions of the Mosaick law, yet implies no deli- 
 berate disbelief of its Divine original, or rejection of its authority, 
 either in the monarch, or in the people; on the contrary, it bears the 
 strongest attestation to the Divine authority of tliat law. Appre- 
 hensive as he was, lest the observance of its ordinances should se- 
 duce his subjects, and endanger his crown, yet he attempts not to 
 dispute its authority, or discredit its rites ; he merely introduces an 
 innovation as to the place where these rites were to be observed, and 
 the persons by whom tliey were to be performed : he endeavours 
 to captivate a people addicted to idolatrous emblems, by intro- 
 ducing the same symbols of the Divine presence which the Jews 
 had compelled Aai-on to set up, and to wliich he himself had been 
 fiimiliarized in Egypt: he yet declares them the symbols of that 
 Divinity, who had delivered the nation out of Egypt, thus ac- 
 knowledging the reality of that Divine interjjosition on which the 
 Mosaick law was founded ; and still more, he appoints a feast, 
 similar to the feast of tabernacles at Jerusalem, wluch solemnly 
 
 33 So he II offered upon the altar which Before 
 he had made in Beth-el the fifteenth day ^^^^l^"^ 
 of the eighth month, even in the month ,, ^j. 
 wliich he had devised of his own heart ; 'uent 'up to 
 and ordained a feast unto the children of ^'^'^^ "'""■• 
 Israel : and he offered upon the altar, tand t iieb. 
 burnt incense. cJiir'"' 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 1 Jeroboam's hand, that offered violence to him that pro- 
 phesied againtt his altar at Beth-el, tvithereth, 6 and 
 at the prayer of the prophet is restored. 7 The pro- 
 phet, refusing the king's entertainment, dejyirlelhfrom 
 Beth-el. 11 An old prophet, seducing him, hringeth 
 him hack. 20 He is reproved by God, 23 slain by a 
 lion, 26 buried by the old prophet, 31 who conjirmcth 
 his prupltecy. 33 Jeroboam's vbsliiuicy. 
 
 AN D, behold, there came a man of God 
 out of Judah by the word of the 
 Lord unto Beth-el : and Jeroboam stood 
 by the altar II to burn incense. („ offer. 
 
 recognised the abode of the Jews in the wilderness, and all the 
 miracles which attended it. Dr. Graves. 
 
 Jeroboam first rebels against his king, then forsakes the true 
 worship of his God. His revolt from tlie house of David tempts 
 him also to divide from the church of Jerusalem : and his impious 
 policy proceeds to establish idolatry bj' law, a^ a necessary expe- 
 dient for securing his new acquisition and ill-gotten power. Thus 
 irreligious princes do often prefer reasons of state to the concerns 
 of religion : thus prejudice and pride are the first steps to schism, 
 and worldly interests confirm and establish it. Wogan. 
 
 29. And he set the one — in Dan.'] He set tliem up at Dan and 
 Beth-el, the former as being in the north pai-t, tlie latter in the 
 south pai't, of the kingdom of Israel. 
 
 31. — and made priests of' the Imvest of the people^ The He- 
 brew words properly signify " out of all the people," and not 
 " the lowest of the people:"' the meaning therefore seems to be, 
 not that Jeroboam employed the refuse of the peoi)Ie only, but 
 that he employed any persons whatever to ofliciate as priests, 
 though they were not of the trilie of Levi, and though they had 
 no qualifications to recommend them. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 Jeroboam having procured his people gods, the next thing was 
 to provide priests. Hereupon, after having set up the calves, he 
 achnits the meanest and lowest of the people to minister in that 
 service. Thus did he take the surest means to ruin the civil 
 power, by destroj-ing the worship of God in the right exercise of 
 religion ; and the most effectual way to destroy religion, by de- 
 basing the teachers and dispensers of it Dr. South. 
 
 The impenitence of Jeroboam is very striking. Like a true 
 politician of this world, he hai-dened himself against all these un- 
 deniable warnings of Gotl, not reforming any one enormity which 
 he had committed, but going on to make priests of the meanest of 
 the people, without ;my regard to tribe, family, or condition of 
 the persons ; wliich was such a flagrant dishonour of God, and 
 contempt of His law, that it provoked Him to send dreadful judg- 
 ments on Jeroboam aud his people. Reading. 
 
 Chap. XIII. ver. 1. — there came a manofGod^ That is, a 
 Prophet; for none are called men of God, but Prophets. Bp. 
 Patrick. Behold the patience and mercy of om- long-suffering 
 God ! He will not strike even a Jeroboam unwarned. Bp. 
 
 Hall. ^ ^ 
 
 and Jeroboam .<ilno<l by the altar to burn mcensc] Jero- 
 boam having perfected divin"e worship, and prepared both gods 
 and priests, (see the end of the last chapter,) in the next place, 
 that he might the better teach his false priests the way of their 
 new worship, he begins tlie service himself, and so countenances
 
 Jeroboam's hatid wUhercth, and 
 
 I. KINGS. at the prayer of the jtrophet is restored. 
 
 B^, Q And lie cried against the altar in the 
 
 CHRIST ^ord of the Lokd, and said, O altar, altar, 
 
 '^*" thussaith the Lord ; Behold, a child shall 
 
 'sKmg. be born unto the house of David, ' Josiah 
 
 "• '•• by name ; and upon thee shall he offer the 
 
 priests of the high places that burn incense 
 
 upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt 
 
 upon thee. 
 
 3 And he gave a sign the same day, say- 
 ing. This in the sign which the Lord hath 
 spoken ; Behold, the altar shall be rent, 
 and the ashes that are upon it shall be 
 poured out. 
 
 4. And it came to pass, when king Jero- 
 boam heard the saying of the man of God, 
 which had cried against the altar in Beth- 
 el, that he put forth his hand from the 
 altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his 
 
 by his example, what he had enjoined by his command. " Bufn- 
 inp of inei'iise" was then part of the ministerial office, as preach- 
 ing is now amongst us : so that, to represent the nature of Jero- 
 boam's action, it was as if in a Christian nation the chief gover- 
 nour ohould authorize and encourage all the scum and refuse of 
 the j>eoplc to preach, and call them to the ministry by using to 
 preach and invade the ministerial function himself. Dr. SoulJi. 
 
 Not only did Jerobo.ini ordain base priests out of undue tribes, 
 to offer uiito God ; but he himself also presumptuously took upon 
 him the execution of those sacred functions; he therefore stood 
 before the altar to bum incense. Bp. Haft. 
 
 2. — Behold, a child shall hr born, — Josiah b)/ name ;~\ This 
 is one of the most remarkable prophecies that we have in Scrip- 
 ture. It foretells an action that exactly came to pass above 340 
 years afterwards. It describes the circumstances of the action, 
 and specifies the name of the person that wa.s to do it ; and there- 
 fore every Jew, wlio lived in the time of its accomplishment, 
 must have been convinced of the Divine authority of a religion 
 founded on such prophecies as tliis, since none but God could 
 foresee, and conseiiuently none but God could foretell, events at 
 a distance. Slackhousc. 
 
 This prediction is set forth in such particular circumstances, as 
 nothing but the wisdom of God could delineate so long before- 
 hand. For He alone sees things that are not, as if tb.ey were 
 actually existing ; whereas the most subtil of His creatures can 
 but niakc random conjectures at things which are much nearer 
 the birth. This prophecy therefore is a noble argument, that 
 the whole hook was written by the inspiration of the Spirit of 
 (-od : .-md though there are many other good uses to be made of 
 It, vet It well dl■ser^•ed to be recorded, had it been for no other 
 end, but to confirm <nir faith in the word of Ood. Rmdiii-r. 
 
 — — uponthcc sh„!l he offer the priests .tc] The meaning is, 
 not that he should bum the priests alive, but, as is exi)lained in 
 the execution of this prophecy, that he should slay the priests of 
 tlie high places, and then burn their bones, as he did the bones of 
 iliMc that had been buried, and thereby defile this altar. See 
 2 Kingi xxiii. I .-,, ^S:c. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 V-*'' P"l.f"'-th his hand from the aliar, sayins:, Lay hold on him.-\ 
 Jei»*K>«m wiu. not content with his invasion of the ministerial func- 
 linn ; but, while he wacbusy in his work.and aProjihet, immediate- 
 ly sent bv God.declared against his idolatry, he endeavours to seize 
 upon and commit lum. Thus we have him completinff his sin 
 nn< pcr«^n.ting the true Prophet., as well as ordainin- false 
 iiut It WM a natural transition ; and no w.iy wonderful to ^ee 
 niro. Who stood affronting G..d with false incense in the right 
 
 d .ibetting tl 
 the other. I)r. South. 
 
 I J . s '■■•>. .mil lai^t- inii-iise in tne ri 
 
 ii«i.d. r>7*^uung with the left ; and .ibetting the idolatry of i 
 *™, with the violence of the other. Dr. SmUh. ^ 
 
 ">y<"5, Lrtj, hold on Aim.] So for from repentance was 
 
 hand, which he put forth against him, dried Before 
 up, so that he could not pull it in again to '^"..^s'*^ 
 him. 
 
 5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes 
 poured out from the altar, according to the 
 sign which the man of God had given by 
 the word of the Loed. 
 
 And the king answered and said unto 
 tlie man of God, Intreat now the face of 
 the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that 
 my hand may be restored me again. And 
 the man of God besought tthe Lord, and t Hd.. 
 the king's hand was restored him again, ','i''/losi>. 
 and became as it "was before. 
 
 7 And the king said unto the man of 
 God, Come home with me, and refresh 
 thyself, and I will give thee a reward. 
 
 8 And the man of God said unto the 
 
 Jeroboam, that his pride and resentment overcame all conviction 
 of conscience, and all fear of God's judgments. He rather me- 
 ditates war against Heaven, and presumes to lift up his hand 
 against that God who had given him his being and his crown. 
 But his impiety and ingratitude, his folly and madness, are re- 
 buked by the withering of his hand : — a gentle, but significant 
 reproof! to convince the proudest sinner ot God's power and his 
 own weakness. Wogan. How easy is it for God to cool the cou- 
 rage of proud Jeroboam ! The hand, which his rage stretches 
 out, dries up, and cannot be pulled back again : and now stands 
 the king of Israel in a posture of impotent endeavour; so disabled 
 from hurting the Prophet, that he has no conunand over his own 
 limb. What are the gi-eat potentates of the world, in the power- 
 ful hand of the Almiglity I Bp. Hall. 
 
 6. — Intreat vow the face of the Lord &'C.] A marvellous 
 change • lie that just before threatened, now humbly supplicates 
 the Prophet who smote him. Convinced that healing must come 
 from that hand which gave the wound, he knew it was in vain to 
 have recourse now to his idols. Bp. Patrick. This wtcked prince 
 is compelled to own the power of God, and to sue for His mercy ; 
 yet too proud to give glory to either. He feels the stroke of God's 
 justice, yet will not submit ; he receives the favour he petitioned 
 for, yet will not be thankful. Wogan. 
 
 And the man of God besought the Lord,'J In the Prophet's 
 
 ready intercession for .leroboam, we see the benign temper and spi- 
 rit of a true "man of God;" and how very different it is from that 
 of the wicked, or the men of the world. A good man is kinder to 
 his enemy, than bad men are to their friends. He prays for his 
 persecutor, and intreats for the hand that was stretched out for 
 his ruin. In a word, a good man is like his Master; merciful as He 
 is merciful : he hates no enemies but those of his soul ; he fears 
 no power but that of God. He pities, rather than resents, the 
 ill usage of man ; and sees no danger while God is on his side. 
 fVogan. It well becomes the Prophets of God to be merciful. 
 This Pi*ophet does not upbraid Jeroboam, but unmediately sues 
 for his cure : and, that God might abundantly magnify both His 
 power and mercy, he is heard and answered with success. We 
 do not savour of heaven, if we have not learned to return good 
 for evil. Bp. Hall. 
 
 7. — Come home tvith me, and refresh thyself,'] Though a cure 
 had been wrought on the body of Jeroboam, his mind remained 
 insensible to those feelings which ought to have been excited by 
 this event. Instead of promising reformation in his conduct, he 
 only invited the Prophet to a banquet and .i present. P^. 
 However unthankful he may have been to the Author oi his reco- 
 very, he is at least thankful to the instrument. He now kindly 
 mvites him who.n he had before threatened ; offers a gift where he 
 had endeavoured to punish. If'ogan,
 
 The prophet is seduced. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 God's judgment against him. 
 
 chrTst '''°?' If t^^o" wilt give me half thine house, 
 375. I will not go in with thee, neither will I 
 eat bread nor drink water in this place : 
 
 9 For so was it charged me by the word 
 of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor 
 drink water, nor turn again by the same 
 way that thou earnest. 
 
 10 So he went another way, and re- 
 turned not by the way that he came to 
 Beth-el. 
 
 11^ Now there dwelt an old prophet in 
 Beth-el; and his sons came and told him 
 all the works that the man of God had 
 done that day in Beth-el: the words which 
 he had spoken unto the king, them they 
 told also to their father. 
 
 12 And their father said unto them. 
 What way went he ? For his sons had seen 
 what way the man of God went, which 
 came from Judah. 
 
 13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle 
 me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: 
 and he rode thereon, 
 
 14 And went after the man of God, and 
 found him sitting under an oak: and he 
 said unto him. Art thou the man of God 
 that camest from Judah ? And he said, I 
 am. 
 
 15 Then he said unto him. Come home I 
 with me, and eat bread. 
 
 16 And he said, I may not return with 
 thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I 
 eat bread nor drink water with thee in this 
 place : 
 
 17 For t it was said to me by the word 
 
 t Heb. 
 a word was. 
 
 9- — nor turn again hy the same way] The reason is obvious 
 why this Prophet was forbidden to eat or drink with the people of 
 Beth-el, because he wa« to have no familiarity with idolaters; but 
 why he should not " return by the same way" is not quite so evi- 
 dent. Perhaps God gave this injunction to the Prophet for the 
 purpose of concealment, lest Jeroboam, intending to do him some 
 mischief for his severe denunciations against his altar and methf>d 
 of wi»«hip, might send men after him to bring him back. Stuck- 
 hcnuo. Or else, because, as the way by which he came to Beth-el 
 was polluted with objects of idolatry, God marked His ablior- 
 rence of these idolatries by forbidding His Prophet to retrace his 
 steps in the same way. Pole's Sun. Crit. 
 
 i 1 . — on old prophet in Beth-el, 2 Probabl)' one who for many 
 years had been a Prophet before this apostasy, a worshipi^er of 
 the true God, though dwelling among this idolati-ous people. He 
 was originally of Samaria, as we learn from 2 Kings xxiii. 1 8, but 
 remwe*! to Beth-el, it is probable, since this revolution, that he 
 might see what Jeroboam designed. Bp. Patrick-. 
 
 It is somewhat obscure, whether this old Prophet of Beth-el was 
 a true or a false prophet, a good one, or a bad one. If a true Pro- 
 phet, why did he lie to him? ver. 18. If a false one, how could 
 he foretell him of his end ? He was probably a true Prophet, and 
 the other good man knew that he was a true Prophet; and the lie 
 which he told was not perhaps with the intention of doing him an 
 injury, but an officious lie, to persuade him to go home with him. 
 He desires to have the company of this good man ; and, seeing 
 no arguments will persuade him, invents a falsehood of an angel 
 iiaving spoken to him, and commanded him to brinx him back; 
 Vol. I. 
 
 of the LoHD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor ^^'"'""^ 
 drink water there, nor turn again to go by ^"75.^^ 
 the way that thou camest. 
 
 18 He said unto him, I am a prophet 
 also as thou art; and an angel spake unto 
 me by the word of the Lord, saying. Bring 
 him back with thee into thine house, that 
 he may eat bread and drink water. But 
 he lied unto him. 
 
 19 So he went back with him, and did 
 eat bread in his house, and drank water. 
 
 20 ^ And it came to pass, as they sat at 
 the table, that the word of the Lord came 
 unto the prophet that brought him back : 
 
 21 And he cried unto the man of God 
 that came from Judah, saying. Thus saith 
 the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast dis- 
 obeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast 
 not kept the commandment which the 
 Lord thy God commanded thee, 
 
 22 But camest back, and hast eaten 
 bread and drunk water in the place, of the 
 which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no 
 bread, and drink no water; thy carcase 
 shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy 
 fathers. 
 
 23 % And it came to pass, after he had 
 eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that 
 he saddled for him the ass, to -dif, for the 
 prophet whom he had brought back. 
 
 24 And when he was gone, a lion met 
 him by the way, and slew him: and his 
 carcase was cast in the way, and the ass 
 stood by it, the lion also stood by the car- 
 case. 
 
 and so the poor man is deceived and undone. Dr. Lig/ilfoof. 
 Doubtless he was a Prophet of God, but corrupt; he held the 
 truth, but in unrighteousness; had knowledge, but without zeaL 
 The spirit of prophecy does not necessarily imply sanctity, ll'o- 
 gan. It does not follow, that, because he was honoured witlj die 
 gift of prophecy, he became from thenceforward incapable of sin- 
 ning. God bestows His gifts for publick use, and does not al- 
 ways approve of what men so gifted may do. Dr. U'aterltind. 
 
 18. — But he lied unto him.'2 It should here be well observed, 
 how great the guilt, and how fatal the effect of lying is. Not 
 only the command of God is here violated by a bold lie, but die 
 life of one Prophet is destroyed by its means, and the souls of 
 both the deceiver and deceived are exposed to the danger of eter- 
 nal death: of the one for his lie; of the other for believing it. 
 This shews the great reason onr Lord had for joining the liiir and 
 the murderer in the character of the devil, John viii. 44. Satan's 
 lie betrayed all mankind to death, as the old Prophet's did lii&too 
 credulous brother. This latter, indeed, had not the same malice, 
 yet it had the s;ime unhappy effect — even die death of him that 
 was deceived thereby. Wogaa, 
 
 24. — a lion — .flciv him:! It raiglit appear that the offence of 
 the Prophet hardly deserveu so severe a fate ; but then we should 
 do well to consider, that whenever God in an extraordinarj- maimer 
 discovers His will to a Prophet, He always makes such a sensible 
 impression on his mind, th.it he cannot but perceive himself actu- 
 ated by a Di\-ine .spirit, and consequently cannot but be as>ure<l 
 of the evidence of his own revelation. This evidence the Prophet 
 that was sent to Beth-cl Jiad ; for, as he was able by the power 
 
 t O
 
 The prophet is slain by a lion. 
 
 Brfor. 05 And, behold, men passed by, and saw 
 •^""'^^ the carcase cast in the way, and the lion 
 standing by the carcase: and they came 
 and told it in the city where the old pro- 
 phet dwelt. 
 
 26 And when the prophet that brought 
 him back from the way heard thereof, he 
 said, It is the man of God, who was diso- 
 bedient unto the word of the Loud: there- 
 fore the Loud hath delivered iiim unto the 
 
 t ">*• lion, which hath t torn him, and slain him, 
 ''~*"'' according to the word of the Lord, which 
 he spake unto him. 
 
 27 And he spake to his sons, saying, 
 
 L KINGS. 
 
 The old prophet burieth him. 
 
 that was given him to work miracles, he could not but be sensible 
 that he had a Divine mission, and that the particular injunction of 
 not viit'wfr or drinkinjj in the town of Beth-cl, was as much the 
 will of ( io*! as any other part of his commission. Slackhimsc. There 
 are several aggravations of the Prophet of Judah's crime. He 
 Kufftred himself to be imposed upon by a .stranger, by one whom 
 he did not know, and against the express command of God, whom 
 lie did know ; this stranger too, one of whose honesty he had no 
 ii»urance, and who might probal)ly have corrupt views in the 
 business. Again, besides the fact that no good end was answered 
 by his returning with the old Prophet, there was a marked differ- 
 ence in the manner in which the two opposite commands were 
 conveyed to him. Tlie one came directly from God, or from an 
 angel of God ; the other from a man only. There ought to have 
 been the same proof and certainty of a Di\-ine repeal, as there liad 
 before been of a Divine command. A Prophet might lie; God Him- 
 self, or an angel of God, could not. The man of God should have 
 insisted on a sign to prove this Prophet's commission for saying 
 what he did; or should have waitetl till God Himself might direct 
 what he shoulil do. It is remarkable, that the Jecciiiiig Prophet was 
 not punislutl, but the deceived one was. And we are taught from 
 tliis instance not to pass luiy judgment, as to God's final favour or 
 tlisfa\our, from His outward dis])ensations, any farther than we 
 h<ivc s|tecial grounds for it The Prophet that was spared ap- 
 pears to have been a much worse man in every view tlian the Pro- 
 jihet th.-it was punished. But lii.i account was adjourned to an- 
 othtT time, or another world. Every history supplies us with 
 many simdar instances of the best men being taken off first, and 
 the worst being left behind, to live longer and repent, or to meet 
 with a severer doom. Whatever the reason be, the fact is certain, 
 that 80 it often is. And it is no more an argument against Scrip- 
 ture, than it is against the being and providence of God ; that is, 
 it is none at all; for a life to come will adjust every seeming in- 
 i-quality, and set all things right. Dr. WaterlaNd. 
 
 The Prophet, who had a Divine direction given to himself bv a 
 revelation, of tJie truth whereof he was perfectly assured, both by 
 the internal conviction of his own nn'nd, and by the outward tes- 
 timony of a miracle added to it, ought not to have suffered him- 
 self to be countermanded, even by one who had the reputation of 
 • true Prophet, without as great or greater c\idence, that God had 
 discharged him from the first command. The subject of the com- 
 mand, indeed, does not appear to have been in its own n.iture in- 
 disjicnsable, and therefore might liave been superseded by the 
 same autlinrity which gave it: but then he ought to have liad as 
 plain and lull an assurance of its revocation, as he had at first of 
 thu command; without this, to disobey was a manifest transgres- 
 »i<'n of a known dutv. Whetlier he had an inclination to stay and 
 «x- entertiime 1 at Beth-el. which might make him desirous to have 
 the comimuid relaxed, and, therefore, too rcadv to believe it so- 
 or, wliether he had only too implicit a confidence in the old Pro- 
 phet, l>ecau.sc of his age and authority, and therefore did not .^ive 
 hun.eU time to weigh the evidence for and against his pretended 
 message, is not very material. Certain it is, that his conduct was 
 
 Saddle me the ass. And they saddled _5l(7c^ 
 him. 975. 
 
 28 And he went and found his carcase 
 cast in the way, and the ass and the lion 
 standing by the carcase: the lion had not 
 eaten the carcase, nor t torn the ass. t Heb. 
 
 29 And the prophet took up the carcase '"""*''"■ 
 of the man of God, and laid it upon the 
 
 ass, and brought it back: and the old pro- 
 phet came to the city, to mourn and to 
 bury him. 
 
 30 And he laid his carcase in his own 
 grave; and they mourned over him, saying, 
 Alas, my brother ! 
 
 blaniable in being determined by a less evidence against a greater, 
 in a matter of Divine revelation. Bp. Leng. 
 
 If thy heart be moved, sinner, to dispute against the severity of 
 God in this case, let me say this to calm thee. But thou art yet 
 alive, who art as great a transgressor as the Prophet of Judah. He 
 was a good man, a holy man, a holy Prophet, and yet was so fear- 
 ftiUy cut off for violating but one command, and being {Icceived 
 too in that miscan-iage. And how many coniinands hast thou 
 broken, knowingly, wittingly, wilfully: and how far, how many 
 degrees art thou short of the holiness of this man, and 3et alive ! 
 Hast thou any heart to complain of the severity of God against 
 this poor man.'' look home and see what cause tliou hast to stand 
 amazed at His patience towards thee. He for breaking one com- 
 mand — How many hast thou broken? Nay, if God had reckoned 
 to cut thee off at the hundredth or the tliousandth breach of His 
 commands, had not the account been a hundred or a thousand 
 times over.' And yet thou art here. Dr. Lig/itfool. 
 
 28. — Uie ass and the lion s/aiiding by the carcase:'] This cir- 
 cumstance seems to be mentioned, to shew that the lion acted by 
 a supernatural direction. In the ordinary course of things, this 
 animal would not have attacked the man, unless impelled by the 
 cravings of hunger; and, that this was not the case in the present 
 instance, is proved by the fact of its having remained for a con- 
 siderable time without touching the carcase of the ass. Again, 
 the ass seems to have acted under supernatural direction in not 
 attempting to escape, as if convinced that the fury of tlie lion was 
 only directed against one object. 
 
 the lion had not eaten tlie carcase, &c.] Though God so 
 
 severely punished the Prophet of Judah unto death, yet He shewed 
 a miracle for him when he was dead. This shews that God had 
 not cast away all cai-e of him, though lie punished liira so sorely, 
 and may be a fair sign that He did not suffer his soul to be cast 
 away. It is true, indeed, that he died for transgi'essing God's 
 command; but had he not repented of tiiat tran.sgression? It is ob- 
 servable, as is related at ver. 21, that the old Prophet " cried unto 
 the man of God," whom he had brought back. When God re- 
 ■vealcd to him what wrong he had done in Ijing to the unhappy 
 Prophet, and making him transgress the Divine command, and 
 hmv sad a fate would befall hiin for his transgression, he cried out 
 with sadness and affection, and told him how it would fare with 
 him. And can we think that the good man, having his sin so laid 
 before him, and his ilreadful punishment, was not deeply touched 
 with the sense of his sin, and with all earnestness prayed to God 
 for pardon? We ma\' not judge of him by ourselves: we little 
 take to heart what we have misdone, and what is denounced 
 by God against our sinning; but a holy Pi'ojiJiet was of belter 
 temper, and of a tenderer heart, and deeply sorrowed, no dtmbt, 
 for his transgression when he was convinced of it; souglit pardon 
 f<)r it, and obtained it: so that though he died for his sin, yet he 
 died not in it. Dr. Light fool. ' 'ic 
 
 30. — Alas, mil hroiherQ He and his sons made the<'«Snal 
 lamentations over the deceased Prophet, of which this was- the 
 form in aftertimes, as we find at Jer. xsii. 1 S. Bp. Patrick.^r
 
 Jerohoam still persisteth 
 
 CHAP. XIII, XIV 
 
 in his evil courses. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 975. 
 
 about 974. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 returned 
 and made, 
 fHeb. 
 jUled his 
 hand. 
 
 31 And it came to pass, after he had 
 buried him, that he spake to his sons, say- 
 ing, When I am dead, then bury me in the 
 sepulchre wherein the man of God is bu- 
 ried ; lay my bones beside his bones : 
 
 32 For the saying which he cried by the 
 word of the Lord against the altar in Beth- 
 el, and against all the houses of the high 
 places which are in the cities of Samaria, 
 shall surely come to pass. 
 
 33 ^ After this thing Jeroboam returned 
 not from his evil way, but t made again of 
 the lowest of the people priests of the high 
 places : whosoever would, he t consecrated 
 him, and he became one of the priests of 
 the high places. 
 
 31. — lay my hones beside his hones ;] This he seems to have 
 said, partly out of affection to the Prophet, and partly because, 
 being assured that the words of the Prophet denounced against 
 the altar and the priests and false prophets, ver. 2, would punc- 
 tually come to pass, he hoped that, when the officers came at that 
 time to dig up the bones of such offenders, in order to bum them, 
 his own might escape together with this true Prophet's, with 
 whose they would lie mixed, and out of respect to whose cha- 
 racter that sepulchre would escape from being rifled. Nor did 
 his hopes deceive him, as appears from 2 Kings xxiii. 15, &c. 
 Bp. Patrick, Pijle. 
 
 This aged seducer hath yet so much truth as to make a right 
 comment upon what had happened : he shewed the danger of dis- 
 obedience, and confirmed the certainty of that judgment which 
 his late guest had denounced against Israel. Thus it pleases the 
 wisdom of God sometimes to express His will, and justify His 
 proceedings, by the tongues of evil men. We see also he had so 
 much faith and courage, as to fetch the carcase from the lion; so 
 much pity and compassion, as to weep for the man of God, and 
 to inter him in his own sepulchre ; so much love, as to wish him- 
 self joined in death to that body, whose death he had procured. 
 Few men are so absolutely wicked, as not to shew some marks of 
 grace ; some tokens of humanity. But it is a cruel courtesy to 
 betray a man to death, and then to bedew him with tears ; and 
 yet how common ! Do not fond parents so destroj', and then be- 
 wail their children ? Do not friends often kill with kindness, and 
 then lament .'' " The (very) mercies of the wicked ai-e cruel," 
 Prov. xii. 10. Wogan. 
 
 52. — iihich are in the cities of Samaria,~\ The city of Samaria 
 ■was not built at this time, nor had the separate kingdom of Jero- 
 boam yet obtained that name ; so that the author or compiler of 
 this book, who lived later, writes of places and things by the 
 names which they l>ore iji his days, in order to make himself 
 more intelligible to his readers. Calinel. 
 
 53. — Jeroboam rehtrned not &c.] The foregoing instance, re- 
 lated at ver. 4, &c. of Divine severity, tempered witli mercy, had 
 no influence on the corrupt heart of this prince. He persisted in 
 his evil ways, which brought down destruction on himself and liis 
 famil)'. Dr. Hales. 
 
 We may observe in the character of Jeroboam, that men of 
 proud hearts, although they smart under the visible tokens of 
 God's displeasure, yet liave not grace to repent, and to forsake 
 the sin that has provoked liim to punish them. Jeroboam felt 
 both the wrath and the goodness of God, in the widiering and 
 subsequent restoring of liis arm : he had gratitude enough to offer 
 the Prophet a reward for the mercy received, yet still persisted in 
 his sin ; still remaining ungrateful to tliat God, whose fa\our liad 
 raised him to a tlurone, whose vengeance he had sensibl)' ex- 
 perienced, and v/hose mercy he had so undeservedly obUiined. 
 After so remarkable a vicissitude of judgment ;uid mercy, who 
 would not expect tliat Jeroboam should immediately turn peni- 
 
 34 And this thing became sin unto the e«'<"'« 
 house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and ^bJ,!^974T 
 to destroy it irom off the face of the earth. . 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 1 Abijak being sick, Jeroboam scndeth his wife disguised 
 Kith presents to the prophet Ahijah at Shiloh. !> Ahi- 
 jah, Jbren-arned hij God, denounceth God's judgment. 
 1" Ahijah diclh, and is buried. 19 Nadab succeedeth 
 Jeroboam. 21 Rehoboam's wicked reign. 25 Shishak 
 spoileth Jerusalem. 29 Abijam succeedeth Relioboam. 
 
 AT that time Abijah the son of Jero- 95c. 
 boam fell sick. 
 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, 
 I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou 
 be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam ; 
 and get thee to Shiloh : behold, there is 
 
 tent ? And yet we find he goes on in his old course, as if nothing 
 had happened, and lives and dies a rank idolater. Wogan. 
 Jeroboam perseveres in his former courses, as if God had nei- 
 ther done hin=i good nor evil. Thouirh his hand was amended, 
 his soul is not ; that continues still dry and inflexible. No 
 stone is more hard or insensate than a sinful heart. The changes 
 of judgment and mercy do but harden it, instead of melting. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 3i. And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam,'^ If 
 we lay together all the particulars that have been enumerated in 
 the latter part of the last and tiie beginning of this chapter con- 
 cerning Jeroboam, and consider the parts, rise, and degrees of 
 his sin, we shall find, that it was not for nothing that the Spirit 
 of God so frequently and bitterly in Scripture stigmatizes this 
 person : for it represents him first encroaching upon the civil go- 
 vernment, thence changing the religion of his country, debasing 
 the office tliat God had made sacred, introducing a false waj- of 
 worsliip, and destroying the true. And in this we have a full 
 and fair description of a foul king ; that is, of an usurper and an 
 unpostor : or, to use one word more comprehensive than both, of 
 " Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin." Dr. South. 
 
 Chap. XIV. ver. 2. — Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, 
 &c.] The motive of Jeroboam in sending his wife to consult the 
 Prophet probably was, that he wished the proceeding to be com- 
 pletely secret ; for, had it been publickly known that he himself 
 had no confidence in his own senseless idols, and that, in any 
 matter of importance, he applied to the Prophet of the true God, 
 the confidence of his subjects in his government would have 
 been materially shaken, and they would have returned to the 
 worship of that true God whom they had imprudently forsaken. 
 His wife then was the only person, in whom he could confide; he 
 knew that, as a mother, she would be diligent in her inquir)-, 
 and as a wife, faithful in her report. And he desii-ed her to dis- 
 guise herself, probably because he was aware that the Prophet 
 was offended with him for his gross idolatries, and therefore 
 thought that he would not admit his wife to considt him, know- 
 ing her to be such. But herein consisted his strange infatuation, 
 that he should think the very person whom he deemed capable 
 of resolving the fate of his son, unable to see through all this guile 
 and disguise. Stackhou.sc. 
 
 O the gross folly mixed with the craft of wickedness ! Could 
 Jeroboam think that the Pro))het could know the event of his 
 son's disease, rnul did lie think that he could not know the dis- 
 guise of his wife ? The one was present, the other future ; this 
 was but wrapt up in a cloak, that event was wrapt up in the 
 counsel of God : yet this politick head presumes, that the greater 
 shall be revealed while the lesser shall be hid. There was never 
 wicked man that was not infatuate; and in nothing more than 
 in those things wherein he hoped most to surpass the reach of 
 others. Bp. Hall. 
 
 4 O ,>
 
 Ahyahyfurcuamed }y God, 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 denounceth God's judgment. 
 
 BrfitT 
 
 ' Chap. U 
 
 91. 
 
 t Hrt io 
 
 tUmt kuwl. 
 
 I Or. calirt 
 
 I Or, »j<«/». 
 
 t llrb. 
 
 Ail 4iMn- 
 ntu, 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 Ahijiili the prophet, which told me that '/ 
 slmtld be kiiit!: over this people. 
 
 8 Ami take t with thee ten loaves, and 
 !l cracknels, and a II cruse o\^ honey, and go 
 to him : he shall tell thee what shall be- 
 come of the child. 
 
 4 And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, 
 and went to Shiloh, and came to the house 
 of Ahijah. Hut Ahijah could not see ; for 
 his eves t were set by reason of his age. 
 
 5 <[[ And the Loud said unto Ahijah, 
 Behold, the wife o^ Jeroboam cometh to 
 ask a thing of thee for her son ; for he is 
 sick : thus and thus shalt thou say unto 
 her : for it shall be, when she cometh in, 
 that she shall feign herself to be another 
 xcoman. 
 
 (J And it was so, when Ahijah heard the 
 sound of her feet, as she came in at the 
 door, that he said. Come in, thou wife of 
 Jeroboam ; why feignest thou thyself to be 
 another? for I am sent to thee toith t heavy 
 tidings. 
 
 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the 
 Lord God of Israel, Forasmuch as I ex- 
 alted thee from among the people, and 
 made thee prince over my people Israel, 
 
 8 And rent the kingdom away from the 
 house of David, and gave it thee : and yet 
 thou hast not been as my servant David, 
 who kept my commandments, and who fol- 
 lowed me with all his heart, to do that only 
 'iVhich was right in mine eyes ; 
 
 3. — take nUh thee ten loaves, Sec.'] He seems to have desired 
 her to carry with her these presents, that the Prophet might take 
 her for some countrywoman, and not for the wife of the king. 
 Bp. Patrick. The Eastern custom required her to bring some 
 prcsciU on consulting the Propiiet. 
 
 ■ cntckneh,'] The word in the original is thought to mean 
 
 k dcscnption of cake marked with small holes, or else spotted 
 With seeiU- as of sesamum, coriander, &c. Purkhurst, Simonis. 
 takes of tlie latter description, according to travellers, are now 
 much in use m these countries of the East. Harmer. 
 
 n criisc of lioiicy,'] See the note on chap. xvii. 12. 
 
 /ir .thaU tell llicc w/iul shall become of the child:] Nature 
 
 wrouglit in Jerobo.-un, not grace. He is troubled by his son's 
 disease, but not bettered by it. I would have heard him say 
 " G.xl foUows me with afflictions; it is for mine impiety: what 
 other measure can I expect from His justice .>" These thouglits 
 were tiK> good for his obilurate heart. He is sorrowful for^hi< 
 sick son ; but, as an amazed man seeks to go forth at the wrong 
 door. Ills distraction sends him to a false help. He thinks not of 
 , ,; •'<" ••|'"ks of His Prophet: he thinks^of the Prophet that 
 T u o .^"" ''*■ ''^""''^ ^^ ^ •''"g ; he thinks not of the God 
 of that Prophet who had made him king. It is the property of 
 a cirnal heart, to confine both its obligations and i{s hopes to 
 the means, not regarding the .\uthor, of all good. A'ain is the 
 
 cI'T/lw " ^''^" '" ^^ ""'""''' *''"'' ^^ '"''^'^'" ^' despised. 
 
 DhrLr ^f ^' "^-^T •^T"*'^'" &C-] R«chart thus para- 
 Mp^or frU "" f ^"'.'""^ "^'^'■^' "'^^' "■'^^■"'" I'e be a 
 
 Before 
 
 ciinisT 
 
 956. 
 
 about 956. 
 <> CImp. 15. 
 29. 
 
 y But hast done evil above all that were 
 before thee : for thou hast gone and made 
 thee other gods, and molteu images, to 
 provoke me to anger, and hast cast me 
 behind thy back : 
 
 10 Therefore, behold, '' I will bring evil 
 upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut 
 off i'rom Jeroboam " him that pisseth against « chap. ei 
 the wall, and him that is shut up and lefl ^ 'king'; 
 in Israel, and will take away the remnant y. s. 
 
 of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh 
 away dung, till it be all gone. 
 
 11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the 
 city shall the dogs eat ; and him that dieth 
 in the field shall the fowls of the air eat : 
 for the Loud hath spoken it. 
 
 12 Arise thou therefore, get thee to 
 thine own house : and when thy feet enter 
 into the city, the child shall die. 
 
 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, 
 and bury him : for he only of Jeroboam 
 shall come to the grave, because in him 
 there is found some good thing toward 
 the Lono God of Israel in the house of 
 Jeroboam. 
 
 14 Moreover the Lord shall raise him up 
 a king over Israel, who shall cut ofi' the 
 house of Jeroboam that day : but what '* 
 even now. 
 
 15 For the Lord shall smite Israel, as a 
 reed is shaken in the water, and he shall 
 root up Israel out of this good land, which 
 he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter 
 
 him thai is shut up &c.] As well him who for his more 
 
 sure defence hath shut himself up within the strong walls of 
 your cities, as him that is left at liberty in the fields and villages. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 12. — the child shall die.'] What a mixture is here of severity 
 and favour in one act ; favour to the son, severity to the father. 
 Severity to the father, that he must lose such a son ; favour to the 
 son, that he shall be taken from such a father. Jeroboam is wick- 
 ed ; therefore he shall not enjoy an Abijah; Abijah has some 
 good qualities, therefore he shall be removed from the danger of 
 the depravation of Jeroboam. Sometimes God strikes in favour, 
 but more often forbears out of severity. The best are fittest for 
 heaven, the earth is fittest for the worst. This is the region of 
 sin and misery, that of immortality. It is no argument of disfa- 
 vour to be taken early from a well-spent life ; as it is no proof of 
 a))probation to be permitted to live to advanced years in sin. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 13. — because in him there is found some good thing &c.] It 
 hence appears, that Abijah was a young prince of promising 
 lio])cs, and it is supposed that he had shewn himself averse to his 
 father's idolatry. Though he is called " a child," ver. 12, it is 
 j)robablc tliat he was now somewhat advanced in years. Slac/t'' 
 house, Pi/le. 
 
 It. — the Lord shall rai.K him up a king] This king was 
 Baasha, chap. xv. 27. He w^as to cut off Jeroboam on "that day," 
 namely, as soon as he was made king, chap. xv. 29. " But what?" 
 adds the Prophet, " even now." What did I say .'' On that day ? 
 It shall be even now ; it is as sure as if it were already done. 
 Bji. Patrick. 
 
 1 5. — lie shall root up Israel &c.] This He began to do, first, by
 
 Rehohoam's kicked reign. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Shishak spoileth Jerusalem. 
 
 CHRIST *^^"™ beyond the river, because they have 
 95C. made their groves, provoking the Lord to 
 anger. 
 
 16 And he shall give Israel up because 
 of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and 
 who made Israel to sin. 
 
 17 ^ And Jeroboam's wife arose, and 
 departed, and came to Tirzah : and when 
 she came to the threshold of the door, the 
 child died ; 
 
 18 And they buried him ; and all Israel 
 mourned for him, according to the word of 
 the Lord, which he spake by the hand of 
 his ser\'ant Ahijah the prophet. 
 
 19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, 
 how he warred, and how he reigned, be- 
 hold, they are written in the book of the 
 chronicles of the kings of Israel. 
 
 20 And the days which Jeroboam reign- 
 ed ijsere two and twenty years : and he 
 
 +Hcb. t slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son 
 '"•" 954"" reigned in his stead. 
 
 21 ^ And Rehoboam the son of Solo- 
 's Chron. mon reigned in Judah. " Rehoboam tvas 
 '^975. forty and one years old when he began to 
 
 ireign, and he reigned seventeen years in 
 -Jerusalem, the city which the Lord did 
 choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put 
 his name there. And his mother's name 
 •was Naamah an Ammonitess. 
 972. 22 And Judah did evil in the sight of 
 
 the Lord, and they provoked him to jea- 
 lousy with their sins which they had com- 
 mitted, above all that their fathers had 
 done. 
 II Or, 23 For they also built them high places, 
 
 Handing and ll images, and groves, on every high 
 «tn°a<»'. " ' hill, and under every green tree. 
 
 Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, 2 Kings xv. 29, and then finished 
 it by Shalinaneser, 2 Kings xvii. 5, 6. " And shall scatter them 
 beyond the river ;" that is, the river Euphrates, for they were 
 carried into the country of the Medes. 
 
 17. — came to Tirzah .•]] This city is frequently mentioned iu 
 Scripture, because it appears to have been for a long time the re- 
 gal city of the kings of Israel. Jeroboam, the first king, though 
 he dwelt for some time at Shechem, yet appears, from this passage, 
 to have fixed in his latter days his royal residence at Tirzah. The 
 succeeding kings kept their residence in the same city, till Omri, 
 after reigning six years at Tirzah, removed the royal seat to Sa- 
 maria, ch. xvi. 'i\, where it afterwards continued till a final period 
 was put to the kisigdom of Israel. It appe;u-s from Cant. vi. 4, 
 that this was a very beautiful city, and pleasant to dwell in; on 
 ■which accoimt, probably, it was selected for the royal seat. No- 
 thing is said about this place in Scripture irom which we can de- 
 termine its situation, nor is any light afforded us on the subject 
 by any writer of authority. Thus we can rest only on conjec- 
 - ttures ; biit, as Jeroboam was of the tribe of Ephraim, and might 
 vlherefore be disposed to fix his residence there, it is inferred, with 
 ^nPonie probabihty, that Tirzah was situated somewhere within that 
 tribe. Dr. Wdh. 
 
 19. •«- Ml the book of the chronicles^ -^ot the book or books of 
 
 lO 
 
 24 And there were also sodomites in the rS^ax 
 land : and they did according to all the a- 97a 
 bominations of the nations which the Lord 
 
 cast out before tlie children of Israel. 
 
 25 % And it came to pass in the fifth 9"- 
 year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king 
 of Egypt came up against Jerusalem : 
 
 26 And he took away the treasures of 
 the house of the Lord, and the treasures 
 of the king's house; he even took away all: 
 and he took away all tlie shields of gold 
 
 " which Solomon had made. ' *^' ^^ 
 
 27 And king Rehoboam made in their 
 stead brasen shields, and committed them 
 unto the hands of the chief of the t guard, t H^b. 
 which kept the door of the king's house. """^*- 
 
 28 And it was so, when the king went 
 into the house of the Lord, that the guard 
 bare them, and brought them back into the 
 guard chamber. 
 
 29 IT Now the rest of the acts of Reho- 
 boam, and all that he did, are they not 
 written in the book of the chronicles of 
 the kings of Judah ? 
 
 30 And there was war between Reho- 
 boam and Jeroboam all their days. 
 
 31 And Rehoboam slept with his fa- 958- 
 thers, and was buried with his fathers in 
 
 the city of David. And his mother's name 
 •was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abi- 
 jam his son reigned iu his stead. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 1 Ahijam's wicked reign. 7 Asa succeedeth him. 9 Asa's 
 good reign. 16 'I'he war between Baoiha and him 
 causelh him lo make a league with Ben-hadad. 23 Jc- 
 hoshaphat succeedeih Asa. 25 Nadab's tvicked reign, 
 27 Baas/ia conspiring against hint ejceculelh Ahijah's 
 prophecy. 31 Nadab's acts and death. 33 Baaslta's 
 wicked reign. 
 
 Chronicles, which we now have in our Bibles, but some other re- 
 cords or p\jblick registers of the nation : and this the reader must 
 take notice to be the meaning of the phrase in several other pas- 
 Kiges. Pi/le. 
 
 20. — and he slept with his fathers,! This phrase seems merely 
 to imply that he died, as all before him had done ; for it is not 
 probable that he was actually buried with his fathers, as he was a 
 king, and they only private persons. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 27. — made in their stead brasen shields,"] This shews to what 
 a low condition, iu point of wealth, tlie kingdom of Judah was 
 now reduced ; since, though these shields were immediately con- 
 nected with their grandeur, as well as their religion, they were 
 unable to replace them of gold, as before, though the charge would 
 not have been very considerable. Bedford. 
 
 30. — there was war &c.] God commanded Rehoboam, at 1 
 Kings xii. 23, not to make war upon the Israelites : still, of course, 
 he was permitted to defend his own people, in case they were at- 
 tacked ; and, as the two nations were now rivals, it was scarcely 
 possible but that frequent acts of hostflitj- should take place upon 
 their ^borders. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Clkp. X\'. This chapter is. tq,,bej^^mpared with 2 ChJ-cn. 
 iii, xiv, XV, and xvi.
 
 Abijam's xcicled reign. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 Asa*s good reign. 
 
 Won xTO^^ '" *''^ eighteenth year of king 
 
 ^" ii*^ IN Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned 
 
 Abijam over Judah. 
 
 'J Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. 
 
 • i chron. a ^„^j \y^^ mother's name teas Maachah, the 
 
 "' **■ dauglitcr of Abishalom. 
 
 3 And he walked in all the sins of his 
 father, which he had done before him : and 
 his heart was not perfect with tiie Loud 
 liis God, as the heart of David his father, 
 •t Nevertheless for Da\ id's sake did the 
 Lord his God give iiim a lllamp in Jerusa- 
 lem, to set up liis son after liini, and to cs- 
 tablisli Jerusalem : 
 
 5 Because David did that icitich was 
 right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned 
 not aside from any thing that he corn- 
 's Sun. u. manded him all the days of his life, '•save 
 ■* * ''' '■ only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 
 
 b And there was war between Reho- 
 boam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. 
 7 Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, 
 and all that he did, are they not written in 
 the "^book of the chronicles of the kings of 
 
 I Or. 
 
 caiulU. 
 
 ' 2 Chron 
 13. 3. 
 
 \'er. 1 . — in I fie eighteenth year of Icing Jeroboavi^ It is here 
 Stated, that Abijam began to reign in the eighteenth year of Jero- 
 boam, antl reigned three years ; which may seem to (hsagree with 
 the statement at ver. (), that in the twentieth year of Jeroboam 
 Asa reigned over Judah. Rut it is usual in Scripture, as in other 
 writings, to take a part of the year for the wliolc. Thus Abijam 
 began to reign in some part of Jeroboam's eighteentli year, and 
 died in some part of the twentietli, and thus was reckoned to 
 have reigned tliree years. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. — ivas Maachah, the daughter of Abiihalom^ It is thought 
 by some, that Abishalom here is another way of spelling Absalom, 
 and that this Maachah was the grandaiightcr of Absalom by la- 
 mar his daughter ; for a grandaughter in Scripture is frequently 
 called a daughter. Br. Wall. 
 
 4. — give him a lump in Jcrnsalcin,'] The meaning of this ex- 
 pression is, tiint He continued the kingdom in the posterity of 
 David. /}/). Patrick. See note at chap. xi. 36, where is a similar 
 expression. 
 
 5. — lurncJ not aside fiC.'] He was not carried into any heinous 
 and enonnous crime, by which his profession was notoriously ble- 
 mished, all the days of his life, excepting into that murder of 
 Lriali the Hittite, and the sins whieli flowed from it. Bp. Hall. 
 
 David, witliout all doubt, was guilty of many other sins, besides 
 the murder of Uriah, many of which are recorded in Scripture; 
 as in the matter of Nab.il and Mephibo^licth, and tlic niunbering 
 of the jieople, for which God was so angry w ith him, that He 
 punisheil him witli a severe plague among the i)co])le he had 
 numberetL But for these and otlur such sins, he had brought his 
 trespass offerings, and so they were atoned and expiated, and 
 therefore imputed to him no longer : as it is particularly recorded 
 m that of 111* numbering the people ; for he no sooner offered his 
 burnt offerings and peace offerings, but " tlie Lord was intreated 
 tor the bind," ■i Sam. xxiv. 2.5. And, therefore, notwithstanding 
 Ins other sni<, he was looked upon, in the eye of the law, as not 
 having " turned aside," save only in the matter of Uriah. This 
 latter sm, mdecd, was so heinous, that the law had provided for 
 It no propitiatory sacrifice, as he himself confesses in the exercise 
 his ijpcntmce for it. Psalm 11. l6, " Thou delightest not in 
 
 of 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 955. 
 
 •i 1» Chroii. 
 14. 1. 
 
 II That is, 
 grandmo- 
 ther's. 
 
 about 051. 
 
 ' 2 Chroii. 
 15. IC. 
 
 t Htb. 
 cut off. 
 
 great that nothing less than •' a broken spirit and a contrite heart" 
 « ill be accepted a, a sacrifice for them, ver. 17. Bp. Beverid^e 
 
 Judah ? And there was war between Abi- 
 jam and Jeroboam. 
 
 S And Abijam slept with his fathers; 
 and they buried him in the city of David : 
 and '' Asa his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 9 ^ And in the twentieth year of Jero- 
 boam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. 
 
 10 And forty and one years reigned he 
 in Jerusalem. And his II mother's name 
 was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. 
 
 11 And Asa did that rchich was right in 
 the eyes of the Lord, as did David his fa- 
 ther. 
 
 12 And he took away the sodomites out 
 of the land, and removed all the idols that 
 his fathers had made. 
 
 13 And also ' Maachah hi,s' mother, even 
 her he removed from imng queen, because 
 she had made an idol in a grove ; and Asa 
 t destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the 
 brook Kidron. 
 
 14 But the high places were not remov- 
 ed : nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect 
 with the Lord all his days. 
 
 Many sins and miscarriages are registered of David, as well as this 
 matter of Uriah ; yet, as if all these were nothing in comparison 
 of this one, this one alone is put in by the Holy Ghost, by way of 
 exception, and so inserted as an exception in the tcstinioiiy w hich 
 we find given of him in the passage before us. " He turned not 
 aside from any thing, &e." that is, he turned not aside so foully 
 and so contemptuously, so presumptuously and so provokingly, in 
 any other thing, as he did in that business of Uriah. All his ig- 
 norances and negligences, and inconsiderations and infimnities, are 
 passed over in silence ; only this great presumptuous sin standeth 
 up as a pillar, or monument, erected to his perpetual shame in that 
 paiticular, by which all succeeding generations might take warn- 
 ing and example. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 13. — Asa dexiroyed her idol, &c.] This was a strong proof of 
 his pious disposition, that he would not suffer so near a relation to 
 retain her idols, or to remain with any authority in the state ; 
 " he cut down her idol, and burnt it ;" that is, treated it with the 
 utmost contempt. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. — the high pUtccs mere not reniarrd :'} What high places? 
 There were some dedicated to the wor.ship of false gods ; these 
 Asa took away; see 2 Chron. xiv. 3 : there were others misdevoted 
 to the worship of the true God ; these he suffers to stand. There 
 was gross idolatry in the former, there was weak will-worsliip in 
 the latter. While he opposes impiety, lie winks at errour. Yet 
 "nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect." God overlooks weaknesses 
 where he sees truth. How pleasing a thing is sincerity, when, in 
 favour of it, the mercy of our just God passes over many an errour. 
 O God, let our hearts be upright, tliough our feet slide. The fall 
 cannot, through thy grace, be deadly, however it may shame or 
 pain us. Bp. Hall. 
 
 A.ia's heart iras pcrfect~\ See the notes on Gen. vi. 9 ; 
 
 Deut. xviii. 13. A " perfect heart" in Scripture means, a heart 
 not perfect in respect of degrees, for such a perfection is not at- 
 tainable in this life, but perfect in respect of parts : an entire heart, 
 a heart wherein no part is wholly wanting, howsoever weak and a 
 great deal short of due proportion. Thus .Joshua says, " Now 
 therefore fear the Lord, and ser\e Him in sincerity and in truth:" 
 (according to the Hebrc^v, in pcrfectness and truth :) " and put 
 away the gods which your fathers served," Josh. xxiv. 14 : which 
 was as much as to say, Sei-ve the Lord wholly, and quite renounce 
 all service to others. So Hezekiah in his sickness, " Lord, I have
 
 The war beirveen Baasha and him. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 NadaVs mclced reisn. 
 
 Before 15 And lie brought in the t things which 
 
 ai)out95i. his father had dedicated, and the things 
 
 tHeb. which himself had dedicated, into the 
 
 ho!;/. house of the Lord, silver, and gold, and 
 
 vessels. 
 
 16 ^ And there was war between Asa 
 and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 
 
 17 And Baasha king of Israel went up 
 against Judah, and built Raraah, that he 
 might not suffer any to go out or come in 
 to Asa king of Judah. 
 
 18 Then Asa took all the silver and the 
 gold that were left in the treasures of the 
 house of the Lord, and the treasures of 
 the king's house, and delivered them into 
 the hand of his servants : and king Asa 
 
 «2Ci.ron. sent them to ^ Ben-hadad, the son of Ta- 
 '"•-• brimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, 
 that dwelt at Damascus, saying, 
 
 19 Ther^e is a league between me and 
 thee, flwrf between my father and thy father: 
 behold, I have sent unto thee a present of 
 silver and gold; come and break thy league 
 with Baasha king of Israel, that he may 
 
 t Heb. t depart from me. 
 
 go up. 2Q g^ Ben-hadad hearkened unto king 
 
 Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts 
 which he had against the cities of Israel, 
 and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth- 
 maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the 
 land of Naphtali. 
 
 21 And it came to pass, when Baasha 
 heard thereof, that he left off building of 
 Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. 
 
 22 Then king Asa made a proclamation 
 j;-ee^ ' throughout aU Judah ; none -was t exempt- 
 
 walked before Thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have 
 done that which is ffood in Thy sight," 2 Kings xx. 3. He does 
 not say he had done perfect actions, or performed perfect service, 
 for who can do such? but yet that he walked with a perfect heart, 
 that is, with a loyal heart, before God. So it is here said, that 
 though Asa failed in his reformation, and "the high places were 
 not removed, nevertheless his heart was perfect," that is, loyal 
 " with the Lord all his daj's." Jos: Mede. See notes at 1 Kings 
 xi. 4. 
 
 17. — and built Ramah, ~\ It appears that, after Asa's great vic- 
 tory over the Ethiopians, (see 2 Chron. xi v. and xvi.) a considerable 
 number of the Israelites fell off from Baasha, who thereupon re- 
 solved to make war upon Judah, and prevent a further defection 
 of his subjects; accordingly he fortified Ramah, a city in the tribe 
 of Benjamin, lying on the confines of tiie two kingdoms, that he 
 might hinder all communication between his people and the people 
 of Judah. Bp. Vat rick. 
 
 1 8. Then Asa look all the silver &c.] In cases of extreme dan- 
 ger, it was always held lawful to emploj' sacred things in the 
 defence of one's country ; but in this case tliere was no such ne- 
 cessitj-; God had appeared wondeifullv in Asa's defence against an 
 enemy much more powerful than I?.-uisha, (see 2 Chron. as above,) 
 and had promised him jirotection under all circiuTistances, if he 
 would but adJiere to His service. Yet forgetting all this, and be- 
 traying a distrust of that God whose power and goodness he had 
 lately experienced, he stript the temple of its treasures, and bribed 
 
 ed : and they took away the stones of Ra- Bef"™ 
 mah, and the timber thereof, wherewith ^^Z^lf^. 
 Baasha had builded ; and king A.sa built 
 with them Geba of Benjamin, and Miz- 
 pah. 
 
 23 The rest of all the acts of Asa, and 
 all his might, and all that he did, and the 
 cities Vvhich he built, are they not written 
 in the book of the chronicles of the kings 
 of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his 
 old age he was diseased in his feet. 
 
 24 And Asa slept with his fathers, and 
 was buried with his fathers in the city of 
 David his father: and " Jehoshaphat his "Matth.i. 
 son reigned in his stead. }„ w"^ 
 
 25 ^ And Nadab the son of Jeroboam 954. 
 t began to reign over Israel in the second t Heb. 
 year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned '■^^"^''■ 
 over Israel two years. 
 
 26 And he did evil in the sight of the 
 Lord, and walked in the way of his father, 
 and in his sin wherewith he made Israel 
 to sin. 
 
 27 IF And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of 
 the house of Issachar, conspired against 
 him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, 
 which belonged to the Philistines ; for Na- 
 dab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. 
 
 28 Even in the third year of Asa king 
 of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned 
 in his stead. 
 
 29 And it came to pass, when he reign- 
 ed, that he smote all the house of Jero- 
 boam ; he left not to Jeroboam any that 
 breathed, until he had destroyed him, ac- . 
 cording unto ' the saying of the Lord, lo. ^^'^*' 
 
 a heathen prince to come to his assistance, and break his league 
 with another, to whom he stood engaged. He was reproached 
 for his conduct by the Prophet Hanani, as is related at 2 Chron. 
 xvi. 7, &c. Stackhouse. 
 
 29. — he left not lo Jeroboam any that hrealhed,'\ This was the 
 just judgment of God upon the family of Jeroboam, who, liaving 
 set up an idolatrous worship in the kingdom of the ten tribes, was 
 punished in the persons of his family ; as Solomon, who liad been 
 guilty of a like sin, was punished in the person of Ijis son Reho- 
 boam : but with this difference, tliat God preser\ed the family of 
 Solomon upon the tiirone, while that of Jeroboam w;is extinguish- 
 ed ; Baaslia having destroyed the whole house of that prince, with- 
 out leaving one person alive, as the Prophet Ahijah had foretold. 
 This curse, which so visibly full upon the famil)- of Jerobo;un, was 
 to the Israelites an evident proof that God greatly abhorred the 
 idolatry which Jeroboam had intrwluced, and lliat tiie family of 
 David should always subsist. God takes severe vengeance on 
 those who cause iniquity to abound ; their glory never lasts long; 
 the wrath of God pursues them, and even often falls heavy upon 
 their posterity. Ostcrvald. 
 
 according unto the sai/ing &c.] Providence hereby ful- 
 filling the prediction concerning Jeroboam .-uid his family, as a 
 just reti-ibution for his luipandkled wickedness, idolatry, and in- 
 justice. Pyle. But, as Baasha himself " walked in the way of 
 Jeroboam," ver. S-i, it is sufficiently evident tliat he had not cut 
 off Jeroboam's family from any religious motive or hatred of
 
 Jehu's prophecy against Baasha. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 Zimri executeth it. 
 
 whicli he spake by his servant Ahijah the 
 
 cHKi'sT vjhilonite: 
 
 30 Because of the sins of Jeroboam which 
 he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, 
 hv his provocation wherewith he provoked 
 the LoKD God of Israel to anger. 
 
 31 f Now the rest of the acts of Na- 
 dab, and all that he did, are they not writ- 
 ten in the book o\' the chronicles of the 
 kings of Israel ? 
 
 3-2 And there was war between Asa and 
 Baasha king of Israel all their days. 
 
 SS In the third year of Asa king of Ju- 
 dali began Baasha the son of Ahijah to 
 reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and 
 four years. 
 
 34." And lie did evil in the sight of the 
 Lord, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, 
 and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to 
 
 953. 
 
 sm. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 sboul 936. 
 
 1, 7 Jehu's propheci/ asninst Bnnsha. 5 Elah succeed- 
 •dh him. 8 Zimri conspiring against Elah succeedelh 
 kim. 11 Zimri ejreciilelh Jehu's prophecy. 15 Omri, 
 made king by the soldiers, forceth Zimri desperately to 
 bum himself. 21 The kingdom being divided, Omri 
 prevaileth against Tibni. tJ.S Omri buildeth Samaria. 
 25 His wicked reign. 27 Ahab .vicceedeth him. 2[) 
 Ahab't most wicked reign. 34 Joshua's curse upon 
 Hid the builder of Jericho. 
 
 'HEN the word of the Lord came to 
 Jehu the son of Hanani against Baa- 
 sha, saying, 
 
 2 Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of 
 the dust, and made thee prince over my 
 people Israel ; and thou hast walked in the 
 way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people 
 Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with 
 their sins ; 
 
 3 Behold, I will take away the posterity 
 of Baasha, and the posterity of his house ; 
 
 idolatn', but merely out of >worldly policy to secure himself in his 
 usuqx'd throne. lip. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XVI. ver. 2. Forasmuch as I — made thee prince over 
 mi/ people^ It has been asked, how Baasha's exaltation to the 
 kmjfdom can be ascribed to God, when he manifestly obtained it 
 by cruelty ant] treachery. But it shoidd l)e considered, not only 
 VjiJit by the permission of God only can the wicked designs of 
 men ever siicceed, but also that, though the manner of invading 
 the kingdom wa.s from himself and his own wicked heart, yet the 
 trmnsfvrring of the kingdom from Nadab to him was from God, 
 who by His providential decree disposed of all occasions, and of 
 the h«irts of the soldiers and people so, that Baasha might have 
 the opportunity of executing His judgments on Nadab, and of ob- 
 taining a quiet succession to the kingdom. Slackhmise. 
 
 S. — mnke tht/ house like the house of Jeroboam'] This threat 
 W.T.S remarkably executed : for, as Nadab the son of .Icroboam 
 reigned but two years, (chap. xv. 25,) so Elah the son of Baasha 
 rogned no more, ver. 10; and, as Nadab was killed with the 
 sword, so was Elah. Thus there was a wonderful resemblance 
 Between Jeroboam and Baa.«ha, in their lives and in their deaths 
 in their sons and in their tamily. Jip. Patrick 
 
 and will make thy house like ^ the house of Before 
 Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ^Zutlll 
 
 4 >> Him that dieth ol Baasha in the city , j,,,^p ,, 
 shall the dogs eat ; and him that dieth of 29. 
 
 his in the fields shall the fowls of the air j^'-'p'^- 
 
 eat. 
 
 5 Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, 
 and what he did, and his might, arc they 
 
 not written in the " book of the chronicles ' 2 Chron. 
 of the kings of Israel ? ""• '• 
 
 6 So Baasha slept with his fathers, and sm 
 was buried in Tirzah : and Elah his son 
 reigned in his stead. 
 
 7 And also by the hand of the prophet 
 Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of 
 the Lord against Baasha, and against his 
 house, even for all the evil that he did in 
 the sight of the Lord, in provoking him to 
 anger with the work of his hands, in being 
 like the house of Jeroboam ; and because 
 he killed him. 
 
 8 % In the twenty and sixth year of Asa om 
 king of Judah began Elah the son of 
 Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two 
 years. 
 
 9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half 
 his chariots, conspired against him, as he 
 was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in 
 the house of Arza t steward of his house t Hcb. 
 
 rry. -1 which was 
 
 in lirzan. o^^^. 
 
 10 And Zimri went in and smote him, »29. 
 and killed him, in the twenty and seventh 
 year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in 
 his stead. 
 
 11^ And it came to pass, when he be- 
 gan to reign, as soon as he sat on his 
 throne, that he slew all the house of Baa- 
 sha : he left him not one that pisseth a- 
 gainst a wall, || neither of his kinsfolks, nor L/, aw 
 
 of his friends. kinsmen 
 
 12 Thus did Zimri destroy all the house f"'ien"s. 
 
 7. And also bj/ the hand of the prophet Jehu &c.] The command 
 having been given to Jehu, it is here related that he executed it, 
 and delivered the message to Baasha, some time before he died : 
 which is said to have been done " by the hand of Jehu," because 
 he was the minister of God in this business. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. Thus did ZAmri destroy all the house of Baasha,'] We see 
 clearly, in the series of all these kings of Israel, that Divine ven- 
 geance pursues the wicked, and particularly wicked princes. 
 When God has made use of them to do justice, and to execute 
 the decrees of His providence. He cuts them off and destroys them 
 one by the other. But we must take notice, that all these kings, 
 notwithstanding the warnings given them by CJod, and the ex- 
 amples they had before their eyes, continued to offend Him, by 
 keeping up idolatry in their kingdom for reasons of state, and on 
 principles of false policy. AMien men do only consult their pa-s- 
 sions and their interest, and worldly considerations prevail with 
 them, nothing can overcome their obstinacy ; the most express 
 warnings and the most remarkable instances of Divine justice 
 are useless and unprofitable, and therefore the Lord is at length 
 provoked to cast them oS, and forsake them utterly. Ostir- 
 • vald. ^
 
 Zimri bumeth himself. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Omri*s and Ahab's 'wicked reigns. 
 
 sag. 
 
 m. 
 
 chrTst °^ Baasba, according to the word of the 
 929. Lord, which he spake against Baaslia t by 
 fHeb. fty Jehu the prophet, 
 nu hand of. j3 p^^. ^jj ^j^g gjj^g q£. gj^^ha, and the 
 
 sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, 
 and by which they made Israel to sin, in 
 provoking the Lord God of Israel to an- 
 ger with their vanities. 
 
 14 Now the rest of the acts of Elah, 
 and all that he did, are they not written 
 in the book of the chronicles of the kings 
 of Israel ? 
 
 15 % In the twenty and seventh year of 
 Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven 
 days in Tirzah. And the people zvere en- 
 camped against Gibbethon, which belonged 
 to the Philistines. 
 
 16 And the people that "were encamped 
 heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath 
 also slain the king : wherefore all Israel 
 made Omri, the captain of the host, king 
 over Israel that day in the camp. 
 
 17 And Omri went up from Gibbethon, 
 and all Israel with him, and they besieged 
 Tirzah. 
 
 18 And it came to pass, when Zimri saw 
 that the city was taken, that he went into 
 the palace of the king's house, and burnt 
 the king's house over him with fire, and 
 died, 
 
 19 For his sins which he sinned in doing 
 evil in thesight of the Lord, in walking in 
 the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which 
 he did, to make Israel to sin. 
 
 20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, 
 and his treason that he wrought, are they 
 not written in the book of the clu'onicles 
 of the kings of Israel ? 
 
 21 ^ Then were the people of Israel 
 divided into two parts : half of the 
 people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, 
 to make him king; and half followed 
 Omri. 
 
 2'2 But the people that followed Omri 
 
 24,, — called the name — Samaria^ From this time, Samaria 
 became the royal or capital city of the kingdom of Israel, till its 
 filial period ; and the kingdom was in consequence frequently 
 called the kingdom of Samaria. This city underwent two im- 
 portant sieges under Ben-hadad and Shalmaneser. In aftertimes, 
 Herod the Great rebuilt and enlarged the city, so that it is con- 
 jectured to have exceeded Jerusalem in extent. There now re- 
 main of it only a few cottages, and convents inhabited by Greek 
 mqnks. Dr. Wells. 
 
 29. — in the thirly ami dghlh year of Asa king of JuiUik'] It 
 (should be observed, that Asa king of Jmlah had now seen no less 
 tlian six kings of Israel dead, some by a natiu-al death, but in 
 creat ignominy and reproach, by tlie courses of a vicious life; 
 and others destroyed, with theu- whole families, by the hands of 
 Uiurjpers, as lewd and wicked as tliemselves, all suffering tlie just 
 recompense of their ingratitude and disobechence against tlie laws 
 Vol. I. 
 
 prevailed against the people that followed p^**^!-, 
 Tibni the son of Ginath : so Tibni died, 925. 
 and Omri reigned. 
 
 23 % In the tliirty and first year of Asa 
 king of Judah began Omri to reign o\ er 
 Israel, twelve years : six years reigned he 
 in Tirzah. ' 
 
 24 And he bought the hill Samaria of 
 Shemer for two talents of silver, and built 
 on the hill, and called the name of the city 
 which he built, after the name of Shemer, 
 owner of the hill, t Samaria. tHeb. 
 
 25 ^ But Omri wrought ca il in the eyes 
 of the Lord, and did worse than all that 
 nere before him. 
 
 26 For he walked in all the way of Je- 
 roboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin 
 wherewith he made Israel to sin, to pro- 
 voke the Lord God of Israel to anger with 
 their vanities. 
 
 27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri 
 which he did, and his might that he shew- 
 ed, are they not written in the book of the 
 chronicles of the kings of Israel ? 
 
 28 So Omri slept with his father.^, and 
 was buried in Samaria : and Ahab his son 
 reigned in his stead. 
 
 29 % And in the thirty and eighth year "'» 
 of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son 
 
 of Omri to reign over Israel : and Ahab 
 the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Sa- 
 maria twenty and two years. 
 
 30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil 
 in the sight of the Lord above all that 
 were before him. 
 
 31 And it came to pass, tas if it had been + neb. 
 
 a light thing for him to walk in the sins of ""f,"i* , 
 Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took &c. 
 to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal 
 king of the Zidonians, and went and serv- 
 ed Baal, and worshipped him. 
 
 32 And he reared up an altar for Baal 
 in the house of Baal, which he had built 
 in Samaria. 
 
 of Heaven, while he had enjoyed, all the while, a reign of thirty- 
 eight years, in such blessings of peace as are the usual con?en 
 quences of equitable and religious government. Pylc- 
 
 30. And Ahab — did evil ^c] Jeroboam's crimes were little 
 in comparison of those of this monster of iniquity. Jeroboani 
 did not absolutely renounce the true GckI, but only worshipped 
 Him with superstitious inventions of his own ; but Ahab set 
 Him in a manner at defiance, and even abolished His worship, 
 maiTying Jezebel, one of tlie j-oung princesses of the Zidonians, 
 who, a.s will appear in tlie historj-, was a woman of so impetuoii* 
 and ungovernable a spirit, as to hurry him into the commission 
 of the most tyrannical actions against his subjects, and to erect 
 an itlol-temple, witli its altars and priests, in the roytil city, and 
 to establish the open and professed service of the worst ilegreo* 
 of idolatry, which he encouraged by his own example and th.tt 
 of his whole court. Pule. 
 
 4P
 
 * Jotli. 6- 
 96. 
 
 AND t Elijah the Tishbite, -d'ho was of 
 tlie inhabitants of Gilead, said unto 
 
 Joshua's curse upon IJiel. 
 
 nrfort d.S And Aliab made a grove ; and Ahab 
 *^'Vi'/^^ did more to provoke tlie Lord God of Is- 
 rael to anger than all the kings of Israel 
 that were before him. 
 
 SI f In his davs did Hiel the Beth- 
 eUte biiild Jericho :" he laid the foundation 
 thereof in Abirani his firstborn, and set up 
 the gates thereof in his youngest son Se- 
 gnb, '^ according to the word of the Lord, 
 which he spake^by Joshua the son of Nun. 
 
 • C H A P. XVII. 
 
 1 Eli/afi, liavim; prop/iexicd against Aliah, it sent to C/ie- 
 ril/i, when- the ravent jLcd him. 8 //(' ix ie»t to the 
 widow of y.arephnlh. 1 7 He laiseth the widow's son. 
 24 The woman belieucth him. 
 
 about Dia 
 
 tHri.. 
 
 tl^J^ Almb, 'Js the LoRO God of Israel liveth, 
 Eii"'.^^ before whom I stand, there shall not be 
 •^Ecci- 4?. ^j^^^. ^^^^ ^^-^^ these years, but according to 
 
 Jaiiie.5.1- niy v\ord. 
 
 34. In hi.i dai/s did Hicl — build Jericho:^ See notes on Josh, 
 vi. 2(). Hiel, being an inhabitant of Beth-el, lived in the very seat 
 ot'idolatr)', and was probably deeply infected with it. He either 
 did not know (because ignorant of the law, which was now little 
 re.id) the judgments of God denounced against the rebuilder of 
 Jericho, or he was so im))ious as not to regard them, believing no 
 other God but Hiud. He soon however found those judgments to 
 be true. This is a most remarkable instance of the certainty of Di- 
 vine threatening?, as the sentence, though proiiouiu'cd 440 years 
 before, wiis now fulfilled in all its circinnstances : and assuredly 
 it ought to ha\e been an awful warning to the whole nation, not 
 to despise the loiigsufFering and patience of God, who, though He 
 had not yet carrietl them out of tlieir good land, (according to the 
 word of Aliijah, chap. xiv. 15,) would c«rtainly do it, if they con- 
 tinued in hardened impenitence. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XVII. ver. 1. — Elijah the Tishbite,^ This Prophet, 
 callcil Elias in the New Testament, was probably denominated 
 " the Tishbite," from Thesbe, a town on the other side of Jor- 
 dan, in the tribe of Gad, and the land of Gilead, where he was 
 bom, or at least lived for a considerable time. Respecting the 
 birth and parentage of Elijah, .Scripture is silent; the Jews 
 have many conjectures on tJie subject, which are fanciful and 
 of no aulliority. He was one of the chief, if not the prince, of 
 the Prophets of his age ; was a man of a great and elevated soul, 
 ofa generous and undaunted spirit, a zealous defender of the laws 
 of God, and a just avenger of the violations of His honour. 
 Calmel. This ilhistrious Prophet was the greatest, " in words and 
 in deeds," that had appeared since the days of Moses. Dr. Hales. 
 These tinies were fit for an Elijah ; an Elijah was fit for them. The 
 most eminent Prophet is reserved for the corruptest a<Te. Israel 
 had never such a king as Ahab for impiety, never so "niraculous 
 a Prophet as Elijah ; this Elijah is addressed to this Ahab. The 
 God of spirits knows how to proportion men to the occasions. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 — — tlure .fhall wjl be dew nor rain &c.] Elijah here boldly 
 pttdictc<l a long drought to Ahab, not to be removed " but ac- 
 coriUng to his word," that is, by his intercession. He seems to 
 lw\c apprehcndetl that the idolaU-ies of the nation would draw 
 down ilcstruction from God, and therefore praved for a lesser 
 ( cluwtisemcnt to work it"! reformation. And when that end was 
 accompl,>hed. he prayed ag.iin for its remission. So it is under- 
 stool by the Sm of Sirach, Ecclus. xlviii. 10; and also in the New 
 1 c3t.uiient, " F.has prayed earnestly that it might not rain.— he 
 prayed agau., and the heaven gave rain, &c." James v. 17, 18. Dr. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 Elija]i is Jed hi/ ravens. 
 
 2 And the word of the Loud came unto f,y^l"[\y 
 him, saying, ii.out sio. 
 
 S Get thee hence, and turn thee east- 
 ward, and hide thyself by the brook Che- 
 rith, that is before Jordan, 
 
 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink 
 of the brook; and I have commanded the 
 ravens to feed thee there. 
 
 5 So he went and did according unto the 
 word of the Loud: for he went and dwelt by 
 the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 
 
 (j And the ravens brought him bread 
 and flesh in the morning, and bread and 
 flesh in the evening ; and he drank of the 
 brook. ,;,- 
 
 7 And it came to pass t after a while, fHi-b. 
 that the brook dried up, because there liad ^jtyl'"' 
 been no rain in the land. 
 
 8 ^ And the w^ord of the Loud came 
 
 luito iiim, saying, 'r'"'^'i a 
 
 9 Ai"ise, get thee to '' Zarephath, which 'sarq,ia. 
 
 Hales. The Prophet acted no farther part in tliis matter than as 
 he was the minister of God, and His messenger, to declare His 
 ])urj)ose of bringing famine on the land : all judgments of this 
 kind are the immediate work of God. Slackhouse. 
 
 Being grieved to see such a general apostasy from the true re- 
 ligion, he prayed earnestly to God that He would lay bare His 
 arm, and shew some visible token of His displeasure against so 
 wicked a people. Though this calamity is said to have been pro- 
 cured by Elijah's prayers, we must remember, that the prayers 
 were uttered from a feeling of necessity, and of charity to the 
 offenders ; to the end that, by the sharp and long affliction which 
 they produced, the honour of the Deity, and the tiiith of Hia 
 word and threatenings, which were now universally contemned, 
 might be vindicated ; and that the Israelites, whose present im- 
 punity hardened them in their idolatry, might thereby be a- 
 wakened to see their wickedness, their dependence on God, and 
 the necessity of their returning to His religion and worship. 
 Stackhouse. 
 
 3. — the brook Cherith,'] Concerning this brook, nothing is 
 known, but that it ran into the river Jordan ; whether on the 
 east or the west side, authors differ : but from the command here 
 given to Elijali to turn " eastward" towai-ds the brook Cherith, 
 it is rather inferred that it ran into Jordan on the east side. Dr. 
 Wells. 
 
 6. And the ravens brought — bread &c.] These creatures are 
 voracious, and said to be unnatural to their young ; yet, the more 
 unfit instruments they seemed to be, the more they magnified the 
 almighty power of Him, who controlled their natural appetites 
 while He employed them. Stackhou.K. God could have conveyed 
 to him the food in any other way, but He chose to send it by these 
 rapacious birds, for the greater illustration of His absolute com- 
 mand over all the creatures, and to give us a full evidence that He 
 is able to succour and preserve, by the most improbable means, all 
 those who put their trust in Him. We need go no further to in- 
 quire whence tlie ravens had this food ; it is enough if we believe 
 that they brought it to Elijah ; for then we must allow, that they 
 acted by the Divine direction, and that tlie food was of God's ))ro- 
 viding. Reading. Who can make question of the means which 
 God possesses of providing for His creatiu-es, when he sees the 
 vei-y ravens forget their own hunger, and bring food to Elijah ! 
 Let not our faith be wanting in God; His care will never be 
 wanting to us. Bp. Hall. 
 
 .9- — get thee to Zarephath,] Zarephath is a town called Sa- 
 repta in the New Testament, Luke iv. 26, " which belongeth to 
 Zidon," or is within the jurisdiction of the Zidonians. Dr. WelU.
 
 He Is sent to the rcidow of Zarephath. CHAP. XVII. 
 
 He raiseth the •ti.'ido'w's son. 
 
 CHiiTsT *^''o"&^'''' to Zidon, and dwell there: be- 
 •ijout9io. hold, I have commanded a widow woman 
 there to sustain thee. 
 
 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. 
 And when he came to the gate of the city, 
 behold, the widow woman xca.s there gather- 
 ing of sticks: and he called to her, and 
 said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water 
 in a vessel, that I may drink. 
 
 11 And as she was going to fetch it, he 
 called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray 
 thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. 
 
 12 And she said, As the Lord thy God 
 liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful 
 of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a 
 cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two 
 sticks, that I may go in and dress it for 
 me and my son, that we may eat it, and 
 die. 
 
 13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; 
 go and do as thou hast said: but make me 
 tliereof a little cake first, and bring it unto 
 me, and after make for thee and for thy 
 son. 
 
 14 For thus saith the Lord God of Is- 
 rael, The barrel of meal shall not waste, 
 neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the 
 
 rt is probably the same as a place now called Sarphaii, distant about 
 tliree hours' journey from Sidon towards Tyre: it at present con- 
 sists only of a few houses on the tops of the mountains, about half 
 a xiiile from the sea; but it is probable that the principal part 
 of the city stood below, in the space between the hills and the 
 sea, as ruins to a considerable extent are still seen there. Maun- 
 drcll. 
 
 behold, I have commanded a ividorv woman &c.] God gave 
 
 the widow woman no express command to tin's effect, but ap- 
 pointed and disposed her to sustain Elijah, by the dispensations 
 of His providence, as He had before disposed the ravens. Tliat 
 no express command was given to her, appears from ver. 12. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 12. — As the Lord thy God liveth,'] It appears hence, that she 
 knew the name of the Lord God of Israel, and that she also knew 
 Elijah to be a Prophet, or at least one of His worshippers. 
 Bp. Patrick: Though she lived without the boimds of Israel, she 
 had gained so much by her neighbourhood to it, to know an Is- 
 raelite and a Prophet by his habit; to know that the only living 
 God was the God of that Prophet, the God of Israel. Bp. Hall. 
 
 in a barrel,] It is related by Sandys, that tlie inhabiumts 
 
 of these countries now keep the corn they are using in pots or jars, 
 long vessels of clay; a precaution which is necessary to j)re\ent 
 its being eaten by worms. Of tliis description, probably, was 
 the " barrel" here spoken of. Harmer. 
 
 a little oil in a cruse:] Our translators have rendered by 
 
 the word " cruse" three different Hebrew words, which no doubt 
 describe different utensils. The first occurs in 1 Sam. xxvi. 11, 
 where we read of Saul's " cruse of water;" and in 1 Kings xix. 6, 
 where " a cruse of water" stood at the head of Elijah. "The same 
 word is used in this place; so that the vessel here designed was 
 used for either oil or water. In 1 Kings xiv. 3, we read of" a cruse 
 of honey;" but the original word is different; honey not being 
 nearly so fluid as water, a different vessel might contain it: this 
 should perhaps be rendered jar, or pot of honej'. In 2 Kings ii. 
 20, Elisha says, " Bring me a new cruse:" this vessel is described 
 by a word different from either of the other; and one which, in 2 
 Chron. xxxv. 13, appears to denote a vessel wherein the sacrifices 
 
 t Hub. 
 
 ifif ti'.e finn'f 
 
 day that the Lord t sendeth rain upon the "«'■'"« 
 
 earth CHRIST 
 
 15 And she went and did according to tHeb. 
 the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and s"'"'- 
 her house, did eat II ma7ii/ days. n Or, 
 
 16 A7td the barrel of meal wasted not, "f^^H""-- 
 neither did the cruse of oil fail, according 
 to the word of the Lord, which he spake 
 t by Elijah. 
 
 17 ^ And it came to pass after these 
 things, that the son of the woman, the mis- 
 tress of the house, fell sick; and his sick- 
 ness was so sore, that there was no breath 
 left in him. 
 
 18 And she said unto Elijah, What have 
 I to do with thee, O thou man of God? 
 art thou come unto me to call my sin to 
 remembrance, and to slay my son? 
 
 19 And he said unto her, Give me thy 
 son. And he took him out of her bosom, 
 and carried him up into a loft, where he 
 abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 
 
 20 And he cried unto the Lord, and 
 said, O Lord my God, hast thou also 
 brought evil upon the widow with whom I 
 sojourn, by .slaying her son ? 
 
 21 And he t stretched himself upon the ],"u]ured. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 were boiled; but elsewhere a vessel, a dish, brought to table, con- 
 taining food, 2 Kings xxi. 1.'5; Prov. xix. 24; xxvi. 15. Script, illii.tl. 
 
 15. — and did according to the saying of Elijah:] We cannot 
 but observe how noble, how generous a faith this was of the poor 
 widow! she had but one handful of meal in a barrel, and but a 
 little oil in a cruse, and yet is hospitable to the stranger: nay, on 
 his bare request, served the Prophet out of that small pittance, 
 even before herself, yea, even before her own son ; and that with- 
 out money and without price. Such is the faitli, and such the 
 obedience, that most recommends us to Gotl. If we so trust Him 
 as she did, and even part with our all for His sake, we shall be no 
 losers, but infinite gainers: we may not only be assured of more 
 grace, but depend on His kind providence for the supply of all 
 our necessary wants: our bread and our oil shall never fail. Our 
 alms and liberalities shall not lessen but increase our store, fi'ogan. 
 Tiie consideration of this woiiderful instance of God's care and 
 concern for His distressed servants, should strongly influence and 
 turn our hearts to regard Him as the fountain of all goodness, wlio 
 . ecs our necessities, and is able to supply them in all extremities. 
 And it should convince us, that it is oin- wisest and best policy to 
 secure to ourselves the favour of such an omnipotent Benefactor, 
 by rendering Him the homage of our praj'ers, the confession of our 
 lips, the obedience of our whole lives, against all tlie temptations of 
 worldly fear or favoiu- which can be offered to per\'ert us. Prading. 
 
 1(). And the barrel of meal na.fted not,] Happv was it for this 
 widow that she did not shut her hand to the man of God, that she 
 was no niggard of her last handful. Never corn or oli\e did so 
 increase in growing, as here in consuming. Who can fe.u" want 
 by a merciful liberality, when he sees how the widow of Sarepta 
 must have famished if she had not given, and bj' giving aliound- 
 cd.'' With what thankful devotion must this woman have looked 
 daily upon her barrel and cruse, wherein she saw the mercy of 
 God renewed to her continuallj' ! Doubtless, her soul was no less 
 fed by faith, than her body with this supernatural provision. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 19. — into a loft,] An upper room of the house, where Elijali 
 slept, and which probably he had to himself for study, medita> 
 tion, and prayer. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4 P 2
 
 The xcoman Mieveth Elijah. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 Klijn/t is sent to Ahab. 
 
 Brw cliilil three times, aiul cried unto tlie Lord, 
 ^„fi.aana said, O Loud my (khI I prav tl.ee. 
 tH*. Ii't this child's soul come t uito him a- 
 
 iii<u kit in- jT^i n , 
 
 «n<;,«r«. & ^,^^, ^^^^j ^j^^, j ^j,^,, |,^.,j,.,l ^j^^. yOlCC of 
 
 Elijah; and the soul ot the child came into 
 him again, and he revived. 
 
 i.'.3 And Elijah took the child, and 
 brought him down out of the chamber into 
 the house, and delivered him unto his mo- 
 ther: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. 
 
 'Jt 1i And tiie woman said to Elijah, 
 Now b\ this 1 know that thou art a man of 
 God, and that the word of the Lord in thy 
 mouth is truth. 
 
 CHAP. XVIIL 
 
 1 In the exlremili) of famine Elijah, sent to Ahal), meel- 
 etlt good Obadia'/i. ' 9 Obadia/i f>riiigelh Ahab to Eli- 
 jah. 17 Elijah, reproving Aliab, bfi fire from heaven 
 coiwincclh Boa/",? pronhels. 41 Elijah, by prayer ob- 
 taining rain,Jollowetn Ahab to Jezreel. 
 
 ibouigw A ^Y) it came to pass after many days, 
 J\ that the word of the Lord came to 
 
 24. — Notv by this J knoiv] The woman had sufficient reason 
 
 to believe that Elijah was a Prophet, or person sent from God, 
 
 when she >aw the miraculous increase of tlie meal and oil: it 
 
 geems, however, that, upon his not curing her sick son, so as to 
 
 save his life, her faith began to droop; but, upon seeing him 
 
 brought to life, her faith revived; and, through the joy of having 
 
 him restored to her again, she accounted the latter miracle much 
 
 greater than the former. Slackhoiise. We are not to interpret 
 
 these words so, as if the woman was now first ap])rized upon this 
 
 occasion that Elijah was a Prophet of the true God. For he was 
 
 made known to her long before by a special revelatioTi ; nor was 
 
 it possible for them to live so long together upon the miraculous 
 
 Rupply. which Elijah had foretold and promised in the name of 
 
 the Lord, without the woman's being persuaded that his mission 
 
 was from Heaven. But the raising her son from the dead, a 
 
 thing which was never heard of before in all the world, made the 
 
 strongest impression upon her mind, filled her with an excess of 
 
 joy, and obliged her to make a more particular acknowledgment 
 
 of that, which no doubt she had confessed in other words before, 
 
 that Elijah's works proved him to be a servant of the most high 
 
 Hiid holy Goil. Reading. The end of miracles is a confirmation 
 
 of the truth. It seems that, had this widow's son ctmtinued dead, 
 
 her belief would have been buried in his grave. Notwithstanding 
 
 her meal and oil, her soul would have languished. The mercy 
 
 of God is fain to provide new helps for our infirmities, and gra- 
 
 riously condescends to our own tenns, that we may work out our 
 
 £iith and s^dvation. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XVIU. ver. 1. — i;i the third year,'] Rather, " after the 
 diird year," as the Hebrew words may be translated; and so it is 
 iiecessair)' to undersUmd it, as botli our Saviour and St. James 
 (Luke iv. 25, and .James v. 17,) say that the (b-ought continued 
 three years and si.\ months. P^le. 
 
 Go, shew thyself unto A/iab;'] The king and people must 
 
 be witnesses that God will make good the word, tlie oath of His 
 I'rophtU If the rain had fallen in Elijah's absence, who woidd 
 have known it was by liis procurement.' God holds the credit of 
 His .nessengers precious, and neglects noUiing tiiat may n-race 
 Ihcm m die eyes of tlie world. Up. Hail. " 
 
 2. Ami Elijah went to shew himself unto Aliab.l Behold the 
 
 rn-.r,gc ol a true servant of Go<l! No one was so odious to A- 
 
 ■"■ '^riP^V ^^'i^^'- To him they ascribed all their 
 
 nuurj-. fcuU the Prophet was not slack, Uiough at the perU of 
 
 Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew cj^^f[|T 
 thyself unto Ahab; and 1 will send rain about -jofi. 
 u})on tiie earth. 
 
 2 And Elijah went to shew himself unto 
 Ahab. Anil there xcas a sore famine in Sa- 
 maria. 
 
 3 And Ahab called t Obadiah, which f J''^^''- 
 7cas t the governor of his house. (Now O- ^ I'iVb.'" 
 badiah feared the Loud greatly. ^^^---j'" 
 
 'I. Eor it was so, when + Jezebel cut off |"i'i"i,. 
 the prophets of the Loud, that Obadiah ^ ''"' 
 took an hundred prophets, and hid them 
 by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread 
 and water.) 
 
 5 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into 
 the land, unto all fountains of water, and 
 unto all brooks: peradventure we may find 
 'j-rass to save the horses and mules alive, 
 
 t that we lose not all the beasts. t J^-;*) 
 
 6 So they divided the land between n",JffoL- 
 them to pass throughout it: Ahab went J^^7'£™" 
 one W'ay by himself, and Obadiah went an- 
 other way by himself. 
 
 his life, to carry a message of mercy to his bitterest enemies-. 
 Wogan. 
 
 —— a sore famine in Samaria.'] In the city of Samaria, and 
 in the whole kingdom of Israel. Samaria is often put, generally, 
 for all the country which was subject to the kings of Israel. It 
 seems that this drought and dem-th prevailed in the territories of 
 Ahab only, or at the most, in the country immediately adjoining. 
 Calmel. 
 
 3. — Obadiah, tv/iich mas the governor of his house.] That is, 
 chief steward of his household. Pylc. Some writers, both Jews 
 and Christians, have thought that this was Obadiah the Prophet; 
 but there are no sufficient grounds for this opinion. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 — — Now Obadiah feared the Lard] From the instance of O- 
 badiah, we perceive how possible it is to preserve our virtue in 
 the worst of limes, and amid the most corrupt company; yea, to 
 maintain the truth of religion in the midst of a profane and idola- 
 ti'ous court It is a great happiness to a nation when God is 
 pleased to raise the virtuous, yea, one virtuous man, to honour 
 and dignity in the state. Wogan. 
 
 4. — ivhen Jezebel cut off the prophets] It is probable that thers 
 were schools of the Prophets still remaining in Israel till the time 
 of Jezebel; which schools are meant not of persons endued with 
 an extraordinary spii'it of prophecy, but of persons bred up to 
 instruct the people in true religion, or of disciples of the Prophets 
 and candidates for that office. Jezebel certainly looked upon 
 these " Prophets" as enemies to her idolatry, and possibly per- 
 suaded her husband that they were disaffected to his government, 
 and favourers of the kings of Judah, because they worshipped the 
 same God, and deemed Jerusalem to be the proper place of His 
 worship. On this account, so mucli the greater was the piety 
 and courage of Obadiah, in rescuing so many victims from the 
 hands of this furious and enraged woman. Bp. Patriate, Staclc- 
 liotise. 
 
 with bread and mater.] Used generally for meat and 
 
 drink. Bp. Pococke. 
 
 5. — unto all fountains of water,] This direction of Ahab to 
 Obadiah to search for grass by the brooks and fountains of water 
 perfectly agrees witli Dr. Russell's account of a common Syrian 
 summer; at which time the country is all entu-ely parched up, 
 except in tlie vicinity of springs of water. So Sir j". Chardin savs, 
 " In every place where there is water, there is always glass and 
 verdure in the East, for water makes there every thing to grow." 
 Harmer.
 
 Oladiah bringeth Ahah to Elijah. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. Elijah's sign to determine the true God. 
 
 Before 7 % And as Obadiah was in the way, 
 ^b"m 90 '^ behold, Elijah met him : and he knew liim, 
 and fell on his face, and said, Art thou 
 that my lord Elijah ? 
 
 8 And he answered him, I am : go, tell 
 thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. 
 
 9 And he said, AVhat have I sinned, that 
 thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the 
 hand of Ahab, to slay me ? 
 
 10 As the Lord thy God liveth, there is 
 no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath 
 not sent to seek thee : and when they said. 
 He is not there; he took an oath of the king- 
 dom and nation, that they found thee not. 
 
 11 And now thou sayest. Go, tell thy 
 lord. Behold, Elijah is here. 
 
 12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as 
 I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the 
 Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; 
 and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he 
 cannot tind thee, he shall slay me : but I 
 thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. 
 
 13 Was it not told my lord what I did 
 when Jezebel slew the prophets of the 
 Lord, how 1 hid an hundred men of the 
 Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed 
 them with bread and water ? 
 
 14 And now thou sayest. Go, tell thy lord. 
 Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. 
 
 1.5 And Elijah said. As the Lord of hosts 
 liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely 
 shew myself unto him to day. 
 
 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and 
 told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 
 
 10. — look an oath, — that they found thee not.'^ Made them 
 declare by oath that they knew not where to find thee. It is 
 probable tliat by the terms " kingdom" and " nation," are merely 
 meant the tribes and governments of his own dominions, since 
 his power of binding by oath extended only to his own subjects. 
 Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 
 
 18. — / have not troubled Israel;'^ We see not here the Pro- 
 phet throwing himself at the king's feet, suing for mercy or 
 making mean submissions, but boldly and undauntedly deUvcring 
 his message as the ambassadour of a superiour power, a greater 
 King, the Lord of hosts. He preserves the dignity of his office 
 and character; and, with as m.ueh freedom as truth, charges the 
 king himself, and his idolatrous family, as the true authors of all 
 the troubles the nation groaned under. He is not afraid to tax 
 their crimes, as the real cause of all their sufferings : so far was 
 the holy Prophet from judging vice to be a publick benefit, as some 
 moderns have maintained, that he roundly pronounces the publick 
 calamity to be owing to the violation of God's commandments. 
 With him therefore we may assuredly conclude, that tlie only 
 tlisturber of men, of famUies, cities, kingdoms, worlds, is sin: that 
 there is no such troubler, no such traitor to any state, as the wil- 
 fully wicked man : no such enemy to the publick, as the enemy 
 of God. Wogan. 
 
 19- — which eat at Jezebel's lable.2 This circumstance seems 
 mentioned to shew how high esteem she had for these prophets, 
 that she kept a table on purpose for them, in order to do thera ho- 
 nour before the people. Bp. Patrick. It perhaps is not meant 
 that they ate at the table where Jezebel herself dined, but that 
 they were fed from her kitchen. Fragments to Calmel. 
 
 17 IF And it came to pass, when Ahab Before 
 saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him. Art a^ulo^ 
 thou he that troubleth Israel ? 
 
 18 And he answered, I have not trou- 
 bled Israel ; but thou, and thy father's 
 house, in that ye have forsaken the com- 
 mandments of the Lord, and thou hast 
 followed Baahm. 
 
 19 Now therefore send, and gather to 
 me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the 
 prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, 
 and tlie prophets of the groves four hun- 
 dred, whicli eat at Jezebel's table. 
 
 20 So Ahab sent unto all the children 
 of Israel, and gathered the prophets toge- 
 ther unto mount Carmel. 
 
 21 And Elijah came unto all the people, 
 and said. How long halt ye between two 
 
 II opinions ? if the Lord be God, follow 'l^''' 
 him : but if Baal, then follow him. And 
 the people answered him not a word. 
 
 22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, 
 even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord ; 
 but Baal's prophets are four hundred and 
 fifty men. 
 
 23 Let them therefore give us two bul- 
 locks ; and let them choose one bullock 
 for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and 
 lay it on wood, and put no fire under : and 
 I will dress the other bullock, and lay // on 
 wood, and put no fire under : 
 
 24 And call ye on the name of your 
 gods, and I will call on the name of the 
 Lord : and the God that answereth by 
 
 21. .— How long hall ye between two opinions ?"] This was sa}'- 
 ing in effect. How long will ye act the base disingenuous part of 
 attempting to serve two masters, to worship at once the Lord and 
 Baal ? The Lord is a jealous God. He demands your whole af- 
 fection ; He wiU not be served by halves ; He will not accept of a 
 divided empire with Baal. Choose ye then whom je will sen-e, 
 and no longer halt between two directly opposite and inconsistent 
 opinions. If you are persuaded (and never had any people more 
 reason to be persuaded) that the Lord Jehovah, the great Creator 
 of heaven and earth, is the only true God, act agreeably to such a 
 persuasion ; follow Him and Him only; serve Him sincerely, uni- 
 fomily, and entirely, witli all jour heart, and soul, and mind, and 
 strength, and live a life of virtue and holiness, in obedience to His 
 commands. But if, on the contrary, you can, in opposition to the 
 plainest and strongest evidence, bring yourselves seriously to be- 
 lieve that Baal is God, follow him ; follow him (if your nature re- 
 coil not at it) through all those impure and detestable practices, 
 which his worsliip authorizes and requires. But come not thus 
 reeking with idolatry to the altar of the Lord. He will accept of 
 no sacrifices from such polluted hands. Baal is then your god, 
 and you are his people. To him alone offer your vows ; from him 
 alone expect the supply of your wants, and deliverance from all 
 your calamities. One topick of serious instruction should be de- 
 rived from this passage by Christians ; that, as Go<l would not aU 
 low a partial worship under the Mosaick dispensation, so neither 
 will He admit of partial faith and partial obedience under the 
 Christian covenant. Bp. Porlciis. 
 
 24. — the God that answereth byfre,'\ It was an ancient and 
 well known tukeu of God's acceptance of a sacrifice, if the wood
 
 Baal's prophets invoke him in vain. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 Elijah praying is answered 
 
 ^w. 
 
 % Or, 
 ■ luutr. 
 nor. 
 
 kearJ. 
 .1 Or. 
 lettftM up 
 nwt liown 
 ml ilie allot 
 t Hcb. 
 
 Mo» fire, let liim be God. And all the people 
 CHRIST answered and said, t It is well sjwken. 
 •^""°"' '2o And Elijah said unto the prophets of 
 V"tr^i. BaaJ, Choose you one bullock for your- 
 seh es, and dress it first ; for ye are many ; 
 and call on the name of your gods, but put 
 no fire under. 
 
 -2(5 And thev took the bullock which was 
 given them, aiid they dressed //, and called 
 on the name of Baal from morning even 
 until noon, saying, O Baal, II hear us. But 
 there uas no voice, nor any that II answer- 
 ed. And they II leaped upon the altar 
 which was made. 
 
 '27 And it came to pass at noon, that 
 Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry t aloud : 
 .w,."*'"" ior he is a god; either ||he is talking, or 
 II Or, he t is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or 
 *,-^m«tta/- pgi-adventure he sleepeth, and must be 
 t Heb. awaked. 
 kaik . pur. gg ^^^ ^^^^ cTied aloud, and cut them- 
 
 nn the alur that was to consume !t, took fire in a miraculous man- 
 ner, without any human application to kindle it. Thus God is 
 mpposetl to have testifietl His acceptance of the sacrifices of Abel, 
 Noah, and Abraham. Thus He certainly approved the sacrifices of 
 Moses, Gideon, David, and Solomon ; and thus, at the dedication 
 of the tabernacle, Levit ix. 24, " there came out fire from before 
 the Lord, and consumed tlie burnt offerinfr." Heading. If Elijah 
 had not, by Divine instinct, been assured of the event, he dur.st 
 not have j)ut religion upon such hazard. I'ndoubtedly God com- 
 manded him this trial, intending confusion to the authors of idol- 
 atr)', and victory to the truth. Bp. Hall. 
 
 '26. — lliei/ leaped upo7i llie altar^ They ran and danced about 
 the altar, as men in an ecstacy, and threw themselves into un- 
 couth and disorderly motions. It is thought that this leaping or 
 dancing was a rite used in the idolatrous worship of the sun. 
 Up. PalriiL. The words translated " they leaped upon the altar," 
 will admit of being rendered, " they danced about tlie altar." 
 Pi/U. 
 
 27. — Elijah mocked them, and .said, &c.] He did not think it 
 unseemly to mock them and their god, that he might better 
 ■waken them out of their stupidity, and expose tlicm^to all the 
 by-standers a? oorru])ters of religion and decei\ ers of the people. 
 Up. ralriik. \Vc are not to blame this raillery of the Prophet 
 but rather commend it, as justly due to that bold and impious 
 compotiUon nito which these idolaters presumed to enter, on be- 
 half of their Baal, against the Almighty God of israel. JVosnn. 
 Irony is the keenest weapon of the orator. The moralists, those 
 lumuiaries of the Gentile world, have made it the vclrcle of their 
 gravest lessons ; and Christ, our great Teacher, upon just occasions 
 was not sparing in the use of it. A remarkable instance, but of 
 the mildest kind, occurs in His conversation with Nicodem'us In 
 tlie prophetical writings of the Old Tcst^imcnt, exami)les of a more 
 austere irony abound. There is always more or less of severity in 
 this ironical language.by which it stands remarkably distin<.uis'hed 
 from the levity of ridicule, and is particularly adapted to the pur- 
 poses of invective and rebuke. It denotes conscious superiority 
 sointUmes indignation, in the person who employs it • it excites 
 shame. contuMon and remorse, in the person against whom it is 
 emnloyerl ; in a third person, contempt and abhorrence of him who 
 isUie object of It. These being the affections which it expresses 
 Wd denotes, ,t can mno case have any tendency to move lau-rh. 
 ter: be who 
 heart- 
 
 neirer, ^r, ""*"% 'V '' ''^''fP ?^"""' ^''"'^eU, and makes 'hi= 
 nplLty ■ 'PP''"' " ""''^ P''°P"^'y '"'' address. 
 
 28. - cut themtelvts _ nilh kmves and lancetsj However 
 
 Rpforc 
 CHRIST 
 
 alioiit <)(x;. 
 
 t Hcl.. 
 
 hliHtd upon 
 them. 
 t Heb. 
 
 t Hell. 
 attention. 
 
 " Gen. 3». 
 28. 
 
 2King«17. 
 34. 
 
 selves after their manner with knives and 
 lancets, till t the blood gushed out upon 
 them. 
 
 29 And it came to pass, when midday 
 wa.-. past, and they prophesied until the 
 time of tJie t offering of the evening sacri- 
 fice, that there -fas neither voice, nor any 
 to answer, nor any t that regarded. 
 
 30 And Elijah said unto all the people. 
 Come near unto me. And all the ])eople 
 came near unto him. And he repaired the 
 altar of the Lord that was broken down. 
 
 .'31 And Elijah took twelve stones, ac- 
 cording to the number of the tribes of the 
 sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the 
 Lord came, saying, * Israel shall be thy 
 name : 
 
 32 And with the stones he built an al- 
 tar in the name of the Lord: and he made 
 a trench about the altar, as great as would 
 contain two measures of seed. 
 
 strange this metliod may appear of obtaining the favour of their 
 gods, yet we find that this barbarous custom has been very com- 
 mon in the idolatrous rites of many nations. Among other in- 
 stances, we are informed that the priests of Bellona used to smear 
 their victims with their ow^n blood ; that the Persian magi pre- 
 tended to appease tempests by making incisions in their flesh : 
 and it is related by modem travellers, that in Turkey, Persia, 
 and several parts of India, there are fanalicks who think they do 
 a thing very acceptable to the Deity when they cut and mangle 
 their own flesh. Stackfimi.ve. See the note on Lev. xix. 28. This 
 conduct of the priests of Baal appears to be an instance of ear- 
 nest entreaty and conjuration by the most powerfiil marks of 
 affection. As if they had said. Dost thou not see, O Baal, with 
 what passion we adore thee ? How we give thee most decisive 
 marks of our affection ? We shrink at no pain, we decline no dis- 
 figurement, to demonstrate our love to thee ; and yet thou answer- 
 est not ! by eveiy token of our regard, answer us ! by the freely- 
 flowing blood we shed for thee, answer us ! &c. They certainly 
 demonstrated their attachment to Baal ; but Baal did not testify 
 his reciprocal attachment to them in proof of his divinity, which 
 was the article in debate between them and Elijah. Fragmciiti to 
 Calmcl. • 
 
 29. — Iket/ prophesied until the lime &c.] Tliey ran up and 
 down in a furious, raving, and distracted manner, until the time 
 that the evening sacrifice was, by God's appointment, wont to be 
 offered. Bp. Hall. 
 
 .30. — he repaired the altar of the LortQ That, which is here 
 called " the altar of tiie Lord," Avas undoubtedly one of those 
 which were built in the time of the judges, and the first kings of 
 Israel, when, for want of a fixed place of worship, such structures 
 were pemiitted. In subsequent times, we read of an altar on mount 
 Carmel. Historians relate, tliat, when \'espasian was in Judea, he 
 went to consult " the God of Cai-mel," at which time there was 
 neither temple nor statue on the mountain, but one altar onlj', 
 plain, and very venerable for its antiquity. Calmet. 
 
 31. — twelve slone.t, according to the mnnhcr of the trihef\ There 
 were present in this assembly only the subjects of Ahab, and con- 
 sequently not more than ten tribes: still Elijah takes twelve 
 stones to build the alt;u-, to shew- that he was about to sacrifice in 
 the name of all the race of Israel, and to mark out the conformity 
 of religious worship which ought to prevail amongst them. The 
 general laws f5rbi(kling the erection of altars did not apply on the 
 present occasion, since Elijah was acting under special direction, 
 for the purpose of bringing back all Israel to the true worship of 
 God. Calmet.
 
 hy fire from heaven. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 He giveth Ahab notice of rain. 
 
 chrTst ^^ "^"^^ ^'^ P"^ ^'^^ ^^^'^ "' order, and 
 
 ai.out^9oe. cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on 
 
 the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with 
 
 water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, 
 
 and on the wood. 
 
 34 And lie said. Do it the second time. 
 And they did it the second time. And 
 he said. Do it the third time. And they 
 did it the third time, 
 t Heb. 35 And the water ran t round about the 
 
 altar ; and he filled the trench also with 
 water. 
 
 3Q And it came to pass at the time of the. 
 offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah 
 the prophet came near, and said. Loud 
 God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let 
 it be known this day that thou art God in 
 Israel, and that 1 am thy servant, and that 
 I have done all these things at thy word. 
 
 37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that 
 this people may know that thou art the 
 Lord God, and that thou hast turned their 
 heart back again, 
 
 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and 
 consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the 
 wood, and the stones, and the dust, and 
 licked up the water that was in the 
 trench. 
 
 39 And when all the people saw it, they 
 
 33. — Fill four harrels with mater, &c.] He comraanded the 
 water to be poured three several times, in order to prevent all 
 suspicion that the sacrifice could possibly be burnt by any com- 
 mon fire, and to make the miracle, now to be wrought, the more 
 remarkable and convincing. Pi/le. 
 
 38. Then the Jire of tlic Lord Jell, "^ The series of miracles here 
 detailed was designed to recover the ten tribes from their idola- 
 trous worship, and to preserve the knowledge of the true God in 
 that kingdom, which would otherwise have been almost entirely 
 extinguished under the reign of Ahab. The Apostle St. James, 
 chap. V. ifi, makes a particular reflection on the heavens being 
 shut and opened by Elijah's prayers. Oslcrvakl. 
 
 40. — Take the prophets <>f' Baal ;'] Elijah, as an extraordinary 
 minister of God's vengeance upon sinners, executed the sentence 
 of death passed upon the false prophets by the Lord of life and 
 death, as perverters of the law, and teachers of idolatry ; as au- 
 thors of cruelty, and inciters of Jezebel to murder t/ie Prophets of 
 Ike Lord, and as cheats and impostors, to whose execution the 
 people concurred, their princes gave tlieir consent, and their king 
 (as astonished at the late stupendous miracle) could make no op- 
 position. Slackhouse. It was the ancient and peremptory charge 
 of God, that the authors of idolatry and seduction should die the 
 death ; no eye, no hand might spare them. It is a merciful and 
 thankworthy severity to rid the world of the ringleaders of wick- 
 edness. Bp. Hall. 
 
 41. — Gel thee up, eal and drink f\ They had, it appears, been 
 fasting and praying all the day, till the evening sacrifice was over, 
 either for the purpose of procuring rain, or with the hope of ob- 
 taining success in their controversy. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 42. — ami put his face between his knees,'^ He fell on his knees 
 and bowed his head to the very gi-ound, so that it touched his 
 knees ; in token of great humility, and of his eariijest desire that 
 God would remember His people, and send them rain. Bp. 
 Patrick. God had said before, " I will send rain upon the earth ;" 
 yet Elijah must pray for what God did promise. The promises 
 
 fell on their faces: and they said,The Lord, ^.^^^Hj. 
 he in the God ; the Lord, he is the God. «bout ooa. 
 
 40 And Elijah said unto them, 11 Take p or, 
 the prophets of Baal ; let not one of them yfi'V"'"'"'- 
 escape. And they took them : and Elijah 
 brought them down to the brook Kishon, 
 
 and slew them there. 
 
 41 ^ And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get 
 thee up, eat and drink ; for the7-e is \\ a i *^' 
 sound of abundance or rain. „ noise .j- 
 
 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to druik. ''""' 
 And Elijah went up to tlie top of Carniel ; 
 and he cast himself down upon the earth, 
 and put his face between his knees, 
 
 43 And said to his servant. Go up now, 
 look toward the sea. And he went up, 
 and looked, and said. There is nothing. 
 And he said. Go again seven times. 
 
 44 And it came to pass at the seventh 
 time, that lie said. Behold, there ariseth a 
 little cloud out of the sea, like a man's 
 hand. And he said, Go up, say imto 
 Ahab, t Prepare thi/ chariot, and get thee + '^*''- 
 down, that the rain stop thee not. mnd.^' 
 
 45 And it came to pass in the mean 
 while, that the heaven v/as black with 
 clouds and wind, and there was a great 
 rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 
 
 46 And the hand of the Lord was on 
 
 of the Almighty do not discharge our prayers, but suppose them. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 43. — look toward the sea.'] The MediteiTanean sea, from which 
 mount Carmel was not far distant- Stackhoii.w. 
 
 44. — like a mail's hand.] Great storms in the East are wont 
 to begin with a small cloud of this description, and it is particu- 
 larly a sign of them at sea. Sir J. Chardin. In Abj-ssinia the 
 morning is often clear, and the sun shines; about nine, a small 
 cloud appears in tlie east, whirling violently round, as if upon an 
 axis ; when arrived near the zenith, it first abates its motion, then 
 loses its form, and extends itself greatly, and seems to collect va- 
 pours from all opposite quarters. These clouds, having attained 
 nearly the same height, rush against each other with great vio- 
 lence, and put me always in mind of Elijah's foretelling rain on 
 mount Carmel ; violent rain, attended with thunder, soon follows. 
 Bruce. 
 
 45. — the heaven vms black n-ith clouds and nind,! This expres- 
 sion is illustrated by the cii-cumstance, common in tne East, of the 
 wind taking up such quantities of sand as to darken the sky ; and 
 a squall of wind of this description usually precedes rain. Dr. 
 Russell speaks of both as common at Aleppo, though this place i« 
 not in the immediate \icinity of any desert. Hanner. 
 
 Ahab — went to Jezreel.] It appears from ch. xxi. 1 , that 
 
 he had a palace there ; and he probably went there, rather tlian to 
 Samaria, on account of its being nearer. 
 
 46. — the hand of tlie Lord was on Elijah ;] Perhaps we ought 
 to understand by this, that God stirred him up to compose and 
 sing some hj'nms proper for the occasion ; and, if this be the true 
 sense, we must suppose tliat he ran before Ahab for the purpose 
 of chanting such hjmns, or of joining liimself to other chanters. 
 That Ahab may have had chanters of this description preceding 
 him, is thus far rendered probable, that it is now sometimes the 
 custom in the East for great chiefs to be preceded by a train of 
 persons chanting moral sentences, and intermixing occasional en- 
 comiums. Harmer.
 
 Jezebel threnteneth Elijah. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 He is comforted hy an angel. 
 
 ii«forc Elijah ; and lie ginlcil up his loins, and 
 ^^JoL^ ran before Ahab tto the entrance of Jcz- 
 
 •bout goc. 
 
 tH<b. 
 
 Mthort 
 tomt to 
 JnrttI 
 
 reel. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 1 Elijah, threatened by Jezebel, fleclh to Bcer-slieba. 
 4 In the niliiemess, being teeari/ of his life, he ix com- 
 forted />v an angel. <) At Horeh dotl (ipjH-arclh titilo 
 him, scmling him to anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Klisha. 
 19 Elisha, taking leave of his J'riemix, J'oUon-elh Eli- 
 jah. 
 
 AND Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah 
 had done, and withal how he had 
 slain all the prophets with the sword. 
 
 Q Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto 
 Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, 
 and more also, if I make not thy life as the 
 life of one of them by to morrow about 
 this time. 
 
 3 And when he saw that, he arose, and 
 went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, 
 which belongeth to Judah, and left his ser- 
 vant there. 
 
 4 ^ But he himself went a day's jour- 
 
 he girded up hix loiii.t, &c.J In this country it was the 
 
 custom to wear loose and lon^ fjanncnts ; so that wlien tliey liad 
 occasion to run, they pirded them up, that they mi.^ht not be im- 
 peded by them. It would ajipear from the exi>ression, " the hand 
 of the Lord was on Elijah," that more than his natural strength 
 was ^anteil to him on this occasion. His reason for thus running 
 liefore Ahab probably wis, to shew that he was ready to do the 
 king all possible honour, tliat he was far from being his enemy, 
 and only desirous to make him become a worshipper of the true 
 God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XIX. ver. 2. Then Jezebel .leiil^ In tliis conduct of Je- 
 lebel, we see tlie sad condition of the wicked, who are sometimes 
 the more hardened by those ver)- means which should convince 
 them of their sins. Bp. Wilxon. This resolution of Jezebel's shews 
 the extreme witkednes^s and hardness of her heart. Thus, when 
 licrsons are once arrived at a certain degree of wickedness, they 
 prow more and more obstinate ; and that which ought to soften 
 tluir hearts, and humble them, only ser\es to make them more 
 msolcnt. Ostcrvuld. 
 
 X And when he .laiv that, he arose, &c.] If, in the last chapter, 
 the character o» Ob.-uliah was a contrast to set off that of Elijah 
 m Uns, we mav say, the I'rophefs conduct is a kind of shade to 
 his own example. How changed do we find him here ! How dif- 
 ferent IS the gri.at lllijah from himself! then his faith feared not 
 a kmg and all h.s guards ; a king « ho had sworn his destruction: 
 here he is frightened at the threaU of a woman, and flies for his 
 life Here then we see the frailty of human nature in the best 
 and greatest of men, when left to itself: and may learn bv the 
 .ense of our ovm, weakness, to ascribe our strensrth wholly to God's 
 
 tZn U Z^^"" '' "";^n ' 'H? '•"'"'' ''""^ "°'^t" f«i"l «■ despair, 
 wtien He sutlers us to fiill. ffusan. 
 
 .\t'i^A^'n'''':u"'t"- "/"'"'' *'''V^"' loJvdah.2 As Beer-sheba was 
 extend to It and the Prophet was safe there. Bp. Patrick 
 
 4. — for I am not better than m,, fathrrs.l To whose aire he 
 
 Wer U? ^"'J'' P'-*'''^"*! t" "O virtues which sLuUl entail a 
 
 ™Tl 1 °" '"'" '''"'^ '"* predecessors had enjoyed or that he 
 
 firmn.^ .SoJfi r ■ ''?"v^-^?'''- "" ""^ '^^'^i°"' Elijah's 
 
 E1^ iu" IV-''".;" *" r^'vi^e protection seem to haveVor. 
 
 mm , ju,ai, ^,^ ^ AposUe's observation, suggested proba. 
 
 iiey into the wilderness, and came and sat (,^','^1!^ 
 down under a juniper tree: and he re- about oog. 
 (juested + for himseli' that he might die ; t Heb. 
 and said, It is enough ; now, O Lokd, take-^"'''"'i^'- 
 away my life ; for 1 am not better than my 
 fathers. 
 
 5 And as he lay and slept under a jimi- 
 ])er tree, behold, then an angel touched 
 liim, and said unto him, Arise and eat. 
 
 G And he looked, and, behold, there Teas 
 a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of 
 water at his t head. And he did eat and t ""''• 
 drink, and laid him down again. 
 
 7 And the angel of the Lord came 
 again the second tinae, and touched him, 
 and said, Arise and eat ; because the jour- 
 ney is too great for thee. 
 
 8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, 
 and went in the strength of that meat for- 
 ty days and forty nights unto Horeb the 
 mount of God. 
 
 9 1[ And he came thither unto a cave, 
 and lodged there ; and, behold, the word 
 
 blj' thereby, ■' Elias was a man subject to like passions as we 
 are," James v. I7. Dr. Hales. What is this we hear? Elijah faint- 
 ing and giving up; tliat heroical spirit dejected and prostrate .!* 
 He who durst say to Ahab's face, " It is thou and thy father's 
 house that troubletli Israel ;" he that could raise the dead, open 
 and shut the heavens, fetch down both fire and water, with Iiis 
 prayers ; he that durst chide and contest with aU Israel, that durst 
 kill the four hundred and fifty Baalites with the sword — does he 
 slirink at the frowns and threats of a woman > Does he wish to 
 be rid of his life, because he feared to lose it 'f Who can expect an 
 undaunted const^incy from flesh and blood, when Elijah fails .> 
 The strongest and holiest saint upon eartli is subject to somt; 
 qualms of fear and infirmity. To be always and unchangeably 
 good, belongs only to the glorious spirits in heaven. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 5. — an angel touched him, &c.]j,To strengthen his faith and 
 to reward his sufferings in the cause of the God of Israel, whoso 
 honour he had so zealously vindicated, Elijah was encouraged by 
 the angel of the Lord to undertake " a great journey " to the 
 mount of God, Horeh, where the Divine presence had been mani- 
 fested to Moses, the great founder of the law, and was now, pro- 
 bably, promised to be manifested again to this great restorer of 
 the law. Of the invigorating virtue conmiunicated by the Di\inc 
 touch, we have instances afterwards in the cases of the Prophet 
 D.-iniel, ch. x. 10, and of the Apostle John, Rev. i. 17, to enable them 
 to sustain the glory of the Divine presence. Moses, Elijah, and 
 Jesus, all fasted forty days in the wilderness, perhaps to intimatt 
 tlie likeness of their commissions, to propose, to restore, and to 
 perfect the law by God's last and best gitl, the Gospel ; of which 
 they also were witnesses with Christ at His transfiguration. Matt. 
 xvii. 4. Br. Hales. 
 
 6- — baken on the coals,'} The words should rather be trans- 
 lated, " baken upon hot stones." Bochart. 
 
 8. — wito Horeb the moiiitt of God.'\ The direct di.stance from 
 Beer-sheba to Horeb is not above 150 miles, which might be tra- 
 velled by a person of ordinary strength in five or six daj-s : aa 
 therefore he spent forty days on the journey, he must have tra- 
 velled by a circuitous route. Dr. Hales. In the very same mount 
 where Moses first saw God, does Elijah see Him. One and the 
 same cave, as is very probable, was the receptacle to both. It 
 could not but be a great confirmation of Elijah, to renew the sight 
 ?. those sensible monuments of God's favour and protection t» 
 his faithful predecessor. Bp. Hall.
 
 God appeareth to Elijah 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 at Horeh. 
 
 Before of the LoRD camc to him, and he said unto 
 ^b"Ji to/ him, What doest thou here, Elijah ? 
 
 10 And he said, I have been very jea- 
 lous for the Lord God of hosts : for the 
 children of Israel have forsaken thy cove- 
 nant, thrown down thine altars, and slain 
 
 • Rom. 11. thy prophets with the sword; and * I, even 
 
 * I only, am left ; and they seek my life, to 
 take it away. 
 
 11 And he said, Go forth, and stand 
 upon the mount before the Lord. And, 
 behold, the Lord passed by, and a great 
 and strong wind rent the mountains, and 
 brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; 
 hut the Lord -jcas not in the wind : and 
 after the wind an earthquake ; but the 
 Lord ■kos not in the earthquake : 
 
 12 And after the earthquake a fire ; but 
 the Lord was not in the fire : and after 
 the fire a still small voice. 
 
 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, 
 that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and 
 
 9- — What doest thou here, Elijah P~\ This question of God 
 seems to carry in it a gentle reproof for his too hasty flight and 
 fears. It was a weakness to be terrified at the threats of Jezebel, 
 to place his safety in flight ; and much more, to wish for death. 
 Yet God indulges His servant's infirmity, and fortifies him with 
 miraculous food for Iiis journey : nevertheless He taxes him with 
 ft defect of faith, and with desertion of his proper station. We see 
 herein the gentleness and mercy of the Divine nature, and the 
 frailty and frowardness of our own. Wogan. 
 
 10. — / have been very jealous &c.J He professes that he had 
 not wantefl zeal for the serince of the Lord, but had been moved 
 with great indignation against idolatry. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 throrrn down thine altars,'] When Elijah thus complains 
 
 that the children of Israel had thrown down God's altars, and 
 slain His Prophets, we must not imagine that the altar at Jeru- 
 salem, and the Prophets of Judah, were destroyed by them ; for 
 they were in a flourishing condition at that time, under Jehosha- 
 phat, a very good king. The altars then, which Israel threw 
 down, were such as they found in their own countr}', such as had 
 been built by the patriarchs and holy men before the foundation 
 of the temple at Jerusalem. Of these we read, that there was one 
 at Raniah, another at Mizpeh, a third at Gilgal, a fourth at Beth- 
 lehem, a fifth at Carmel; and there might be more in other places. 
 On these the pious people of the ten tribes offered their sacrifices 
 when they were not permitted to go up to Jerusalem to worship. 
 Jeroboam had forbid them to go thither, and now Ahab deprived 
 them of these last reserved comforts. Reading. 
 
 11. — Ayid. behold, the Lord passed by, &c.] The first har- 
 binger of the Divine presence, " who maketh the winds His mes- 
 sengers, and flaming fire His ministers," Psalm civ. 4, controlling 
 all the elements of nature, was " a great and strong wind, which 
 rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks; but the Lord 
 was not in the wind." This was succeeded by " an earthquake ; 
 but the Lord was not in the earthquake." And this again by " a 
 fire ; but the Lord was not in the fire." At the last came " a still 
 small voice, (and the Lord was there;) and when Elijah heard it, 
 (the same, probably, in which the oracle had before accosted him, 
 and which therefore he knew,) he wrapped his face in his mantle, 
 (in token of awe and reverence^ and went out, and stood in the 
 entering in of the cave." Dr. Hales. 
 
 Elijah being now come to the same place where God had de- 
 livered the Law to His servant Moses, God was minded to com- 
 ;nunicate the like favour to His servant the Prophet ; namely, to 
 Vol. I, 
 
 went out, and stood in the entering in of Before •• 
 the cave. And, behold, there came a voice ^'^^^7 
 unto him, and said. What doest thou here, "'^^' 
 Elijah ? 
 
 14 And he said, I have been very jea- 
 lous for the Lord God of hosts : because 
 the children of Israel have forsaken thy co- 
 venant, thrown down thine altars, and slain 
 thy prophets with the sword ; and I, even 
 1 only, am left ; and they seek my life, to 
 take it away. 
 
 15 And the Lord said unto him. Go, re- 
 turn on thy way to the wilderness of Da- 
 mascus : and when thou comest, anoint 
 Hazael to be king over Syria : 
 
 16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt 
 thou anoint to l)e king over Israel : and 
 
 " Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meho- " Luke 4. 
 lah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy ^/J;^]*** 
 room. 
 
 17 And " it shall come to pass, that him ' 2 Kings 
 that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Eci'As.s. 
 
 unvail His majesty to him, and give him some signal of His im- 
 mediate presence. Various are the speculations which this ap- 
 pearance of the Divine Majesty hns suggested to interpreters. 
 The generality of them have looked upon this as a figure of the 
 Gospel dispensation, which came, not in such a terrible manner, 
 as the law did, with stoi-ms, thunders, h'ghtnings, and earth- 
 quakes, Exod. .\ix. 16; but with great lenity and sweetness, 
 wherein God speaks to us by His Son, who makes use of no- 
 other but gentle argimients and sotl persuasions. But if we 
 take this to be a sj-mbolical admonition to Elijah, according to 
 the circumstances he was then in, we may reasonably suppose, 
 that herein Got! intended to shew him, that, though He had all 
 the elements ready armed at His command to destroy idolaters, 
 if He pleased to make use of them, yet He had r:ithcr attain His 
 end by patience, and tenderness, and longsuffering, (signified by 
 that " still small \oice," wherein the Deity e.xhibited Himself,) and 
 consequently, tliat the Prophet should hereby be incited to imi- 
 tate Him, bridling that passionate zeal to which his natural com- 
 plexion excited Iiim. Stackhouse. 
 
 14. — / have been very jealous Sic] The Prophet does not 
 give a direct answer to the demand of God : his guiltiness would 
 not let him speak out all. He would rather saj', " I have been 
 very jealous for the Lord God," than " I was fearf\il of Jeze- 
 bel." We are all willing to make the best of our own case. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 15. — anoint Hazael to he king SiC.] It may perhaps be doubt- 
 ed, whether Hazael was ever actually anointed king; for the word 
 " anoint" may signify no more than "appoint" him king: the 
 kings in Israel were appointed by the ceremony of anointing; and 
 hence the word became applied to signify generally the prefer- 
 ment of great men to dignities. Neither did Elijah himself im- 
 mediately anoint Jehu, but he ordered it to be done by his succes- 
 sor Elisha. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Anointing in this passage perhaps signifies no more than de- 
 signing or recording in the Prophet's own mind by the order of 
 Go<l : he is commanded in this manner to record him, in a pro- 
 phetick view, as a person who, according to Gotl's foreknowledge 
 or decree, was to be king over Syria. Dr. Watcrlaud. 
 
 17. — him that escapeth the sword &c.] This is not to be imder- 
 stood, as if the sworcl of Hazael should do execution before the 
 sword of Jehu, and the sword of Jehu before that of Elisha; but 
 only tliat God in His providence had appointed three persons ta 
 puni.sh tlie Isi-aelites according to their deserts. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4Q
 
 Elishafolloxceth Eltjah. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 abou 
 
 'R4)m. II. 
 
 4. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 / will Itaie. 
 
 t Ilel). 
 G» remrn 
 
 Befcn Ji'liij slay: and him that escapeth from 
 cHKi^sT jj^j. j,^^.,„.j1 of Jehu shall Elisha slay. 
 ,boui!«H,. ^^ J ^,^^ 1^ J |^_^^^^ j^^.^ ^^^ seven thousand 
 
 in Israel, all the knees which have not 
 bowcil unto Baal, and every mouth which 
 iiath not kissed him. 
 
 If) i" So he departed thence, and found 
 Elisha the son of Shaphat, who n-as plow- 
 ing uith twelve yoke of oxen before him, 
 and he with the twelfth : and Elijah passed 
 by him, and cast his mantle upon him. 
 
 '20 And he left the oxen, and ran after 
 Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss 
 mv father and my mother, and them I will 
 follow thee. And he said unto him, tGo 
 back again : for what have I done to 
 thee ? 
 
 21 And he returned back from him, and 
 took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and 
 boiled their flesh with the instruments of 
 the oxen, and gave unto the people, and 
 they did eat. Then he arose, and went 
 after Elijah, and ministered unto him. 
 
 CHAR XX. 
 
 1 Ben-hadad, not rontenl with Aliab's fio?migc, hesiegetk 
 Samaria. IS By the direction of a prophet, the Sy- 
 rians arc slain. 22 As the prophet Jorenariied Ahab, 
 the Syri/tns, Inisting in the valleys, come against him 
 in Apltck. 28 By the word of the prophet, and Go£s 
 Judgmetd, the Syrians are smitten again. 31 The Sy- 
 rians submitting themselves, Ahab scndeth Ben-hadad 
 airay trilh a covenant. 35 The prophet, under the pa- 
 rable of a jiri.ioner, making Ahab to judge fiimself, de- 
 noanceth God's Judgment against him. 
 
 AN D Ben-hadad the king of Syria ga- 
 thered all his host together: and tfiere 
 
 901. 
 
 shall Elisha slay.'] We do not read in Scriptnre that Eli- 
 sha actually slew any persons, except the children of Beth-el, 
 2 Kings ii. 24. Perhaps it is best to understand the expression 
 in this manner: " It" the vengeance which Hazael shall take of 
 these wicked people shall not be sufficiently great, Jehu shall 
 supply it ; and if Jehu does not fulfd My purposes, Elisha shall 
 coraplete them." In the event, Hazael and Jehu left nothing to 
 be executed by the zeal of Elisha. Calmet. 
 
 1 8. Yd I have left me seven thousand &c.] This appears to be 
 a correction of Elijah's mistake, in imagining that he himself was 
 the only worshipper of the true God remaining in Israel, ver. 10 • 
 or perhaps it refers to what had just gone before, respecting 
 the general destnulion of the Israelites ; for as God had a great 
 number left (seven thousand being put indefinitely for many 
 thousand) of pious people in Israel, who had never worshipped 
 Baal, these would not be hurt by Hazael, or any one else. Bp. 
 I alnck. Or it may have been the intention of God to con-ect 
 by a gentle rebuke, the assertion of Elijah, ver. 10, as shewing 
 something of pride and censoriousness. The meaninrr then may 
 be, " 'i ou imagine yourself to be the only good man, the only 
 true ser%ant I have m Israel ; but you are mistaken ; I have left 
 to Me ,000, as faithful as yourself: you judge too rashly of 
 others, I.k) favourably of yourself." H'osan. 
 
 wilhTlZ"' T"!'- "'^'.r'' '""* ""' '••'■'"^ '"■'"0 It was usual 
 
 wo^htTe ^Hot'^lii^t'^ TrZfe. "'" -''' "*■ '^"^^°"^ 
 
 19. - plowing p,uh twelve yoke of oxen-] Tills circumstance 
 
 Ben-hadad besie<feth Samaria. 
 
 thirty and two kings with him, and 
 
 saying, 
 saying. 
 
 •were tniriy ana two Kings wiin imii, auu Before 
 horses, and chariots : and he went up and yy,. 
 besieged Samaria, and warred against it. 
 
 2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king 
 of Israel into the city, and said unto him. 
 Thus saith Ben-hadad, 
 
 3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine ; thy 
 wives also and thy children, even the good- 
 liest, ai'e mine. 
 
 4 And the king of Israel answered and 
 said, My lord, O king, according to thy 
 saying, I am thine, and all that I have. 
 
 5 And the messengers came again, and 
 said. Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, 
 Although I have sent unto thee. 
 Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy 
 gold, and thy wives, and thy children j 
 
 6 Yet I will send my servants unto thee 
 to morrow about this time, and they shall 
 search thine house, and the houses of thy 
 servants ; a^d it shall be, that whatsoever 
 
 is t pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it t H^b. 
 in their hand, and take it away. 
 
 7 Then the king of Israel called all the 
 elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray 
 you, and see how this man seeketh mis- 
 chief: for he sent unto me for my wives, 
 and for my children, and for my silver, and 
 
 for my gold ; and 1 1 denied him not. X^fl' ^t 
 
 8 And all the elders and all the people backfrom 
 said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor '""'• 
 consent. 
 
 9 Wherefore he said unto the messen- 
 gers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king. 
 All that thou didst send for to thy servant 
 at the first I will do : but this thing I may 
 
 was so far from being any argument of Elisha's poverty, that in 
 reality it was a token of his wealth ; for it was the custom among' 
 the Hebrev s, as well as among other nations of antiquity, for per- 
 sons of conrlition in life to employ themselves in agricultural con- 
 cerns ; and he who could plough with twelve yoke of oxen was 
 by no means an inconsiderable person. Stackhmise. 
 
 cast his mantle upon him.'] The mantle was a proper ha- 
 bit of Prophets, (2 Kings ii. 8,) and therefore Elijah's casting his 
 mantle on Elisha seems to be the ceremony here used for his in- 
 auguration. Staclihou.ie. It appears by what follows that Elisha, 
 by Divine suggestion, understood the sign. 
 
 20. — for what have I done to thee ?] Have I obliged thee to 
 follow me ? It is for thee to consider what thou shovddest do, and 
 what God requires of thee. Calmet. 
 
 Chap. XX. ver. 1. — Ben-hadad the king of Syria] Ben-hadad 
 means, " the son of Hadad." He was probably descended from 
 that Hadad, who escaped into Egypt when David slew all the 
 males in Edom, chap. xi. 15, &c. The father of this king had 
 taken several cities from the Israelites, (ver. 34; chap. xv. 20,) and 
 perhaps had made them tributaries to the Syrians. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — Mark, I pray you, and see] On this occasion, Ahab ap- 
 pears to have displayed some sparks of publick virtue ; for when 
 Ben-hadad required all that he had at his disposal, that is, all his 
 private goods, he consented to it ; but when all the people and the 
 publick good were concerned, he would do nothing without theiv 
 consent. Bp. Patrick.
 
 By the directio7i of a prophet. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 the Syrians are slain. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 901. 
 
 tHeb. 
 are nt mt/ 
 feet. 
 
 + Heb. 
 word. 
 
 J Or, tenl$. 
 1! Or, 
 Place the 
 engines : 
 And they 
 placed en- 
 gines, 
 t Heb. 
 itpproaclied. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 senanta. 
 tHeb. 
 imrf, or, tie. 
 
 not do. And the messengers departed, and 
 brought him word again. 
 
 10 And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and 
 said. The gods do so unto me, and more 
 also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for 
 handfuls for all the people that t follow 
 me. 
 
 1 1 And the king of Israel answered and 
 said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on 
 his hariiess boast himself as he that putteth 
 it off: 
 
 12 And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad 
 heard this t message, as he was drinking, 
 he and the kings in the || pavilions, that he 
 said unto his servants, || Set yourselves in 
 array. And they set themselves in array 
 against the city. 
 
 13 ^ And, behold, there t came a pro- 
 phet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, 
 Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all 
 this great multitude? behold, I will deliver 
 it into thine hand this day ; and thou shalt 
 know that I «?n the Lord. 
 
 14 And Ahab said. By whom ? And he 
 said. Thus saith the Lord, Even by the 
 II young men of the princes of the pro- 
 vinces. Then he said. Who shall t order 
 the battle ? And he answered. Thou. 
 
 15 Then he numbered the young men 
 of the princes of the provinces, and they 
 were two hundred and thirty two : and 
 after them he numbered all the people, 
 even all the children of Israel, bei?ig seven 
 thousand. 
 
 16 And they went out at noon. But 
 Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in 
 the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty 
 and two kings that helped him. 
 
 17 And the young men of the princes 
 
 10. — if the dust of Samaria shall suffice &c.] He wishes he 
 may perish if he did not bring such an army against the king of 
 Israel, that, if every soldier were to take a handful of the dust of 
 the land, the whole dust of the land would not be sufficient. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 11. — Let not him that girdeth &c.] The meaning is, Let not 
 Ben-hadad boast of a victory before he has obtained it. th: Wells. 
 
 13. — there came a prophet unto Ahab'] We are no where in- 
 formed in Scripture who the Prophet was, that, upon this message, 
 and another afterwards, was sent to Ahab. It is singular that, 
 during this whole war with Ben-hadad, neither Elijah nor Elisha, 
 the two principal Prophets of Israel, should appear, though other 
 Prophets (of whom there appear to have been a considerable 
 number) make no scruple of executing their office. It is possible 
 that this war began before Jezebel's persecution of the Prophets ; 
 or tuat this impious queen abated her persecution, and let them 
 have some respite, when she supposed she had exterminated Eli- 
 jah. Calmel. 
 
 14. — the young men of the princes of the provinces.'] These 
 were to be the instruments in attaining this victory. The He- 
 brew word has some ambiguity in it, and may signify cither the 
 sons or the servants of the princes or governours of tlie provinces. 
 
 of the provinces went out first ; and Ben- ^^f"" 
 hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, 901. 
 There are men come out of Samaria. 
 
 18 And he said. Whether they be come 
 out for peace, take them alive ; or whe- 
 ther they be come out for war, take them 
 alive. 
 
 19 So these young men of the princes 
 of the provinces came out of the city, and 
 the army which followed them. 
 
 20 And they slew every one his man : 
 and the Syrians fled ; and Israel pursued 
 them : and Ben-hadad the king of Syria 
 escaped on an horse with the horsemen. 
 
 21 And the king of Israel went out, and 
 smote the horses and chariots, and slew the 
 Syrians with a great slaughter. 
 
 22 % And the prophet came to the king 
 of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen 
 thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: 
 for at the return of the year the king of 
 Syria will come up against thee. 
 
 23 And the servants of the king of Sy- 
 ria said unto him, Their gods are gods of 
 the hills ; therefore they were stronger 
 than we ; but let us fight against them in 
 the plain, and surely we shall be stronger 
 than they. 
 
 24 And do this thing. Take the kings 
 away, every man out of his place, and put 
 captains in their rooms : 
 
 25 And number thee an armv, like the 
 army t that thou hast lost, horse for horse, + Heb. 
 and chariot for chariot : and we will fight j^^'J^"* 
 against them in the plain, and surely we 
 shall be stronger than they. And he 
 hearkened unto their voice, and did so. 
 
 26 And it came to pass at the return 
 of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the 
 
 900. 
 
 either young noblemen or their fathers' servants, who had been 
 brought up delicately, and quite unaccustomed to war. By these 
 young men, unaccustomed to war, and not by old experienced 
 officers, the battle was to be obtained, that it might appear how 
 entirely the victor}' was owing to God's gracious and powerful 
 providence, and not to the valour or fitness of the instnunents. 
 Stackhouse. 
 
 15. — all the children of Israel,] That is, all that were in that 
 place, and fit for war; for it is impossible to suppose that the 
 whole force of tlie Israelites amounted to no more Uian 7000 men. 
 Pyle. 
 
 23. — Their gods are gods of the hills ;] They vainly and su- 
 perstitiously im'agined, tliat the Hebrew country being moun- 
 tainous, anil their towns built generally upon hills, tlie Israelites 
 might l)e under the special protection of such deities as were 
 guardians of those places; especially considering that their places 
 of worship were usually erected on such high grounds, and that, 
 as they ni.iy have heard, their law was originally delivered from a 
 mountain. Accordingly they detennined to fight no more on the 
 hills, but on the open plain, especially perhaps considering that 
 the .Syrian horse and chariots would thus have greater advantage. 
 Pyle. 
 
 4Q2
 
 The Syriam are smitten again. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 They mhmit themselves. 
 
 yon. 
 
 f lleh. 
 (u /»<• mr 
 vil'i I trail. 
 I Or. 
 «y^f vie- 
 tuatltU. 
 
 SvriaB-s and went up to Aphek, tto tiglit 
 ^""'"aiainst Israel. 
 
 ','7 And the children of Israel were num- 
 bered, and II were all present, and went 
 against them : and the children of Israel 
 pitched before them like two little flocks 
 of kids ; but the Syrians filled the country. 
 
 i^S % And there came a man of God, 
 and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, 
 Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians 
 have saiil, The Lord is God of the hills, 
 but he is not Ciod of the valleys, therefore 
 will I deliver all this great multitude into 
 thine hand, and ye shall know that I «m 
 the Lord. 
 
 29 And they pitched one over against 
 the other seven days. And so it was, that 
 in the seventh day the battle was joined : 
 and the children of Israel slew of the Sy- 
 rians an hundred thousand footmen in one 
 day. 
 
 30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the 
 city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and 
 seven thousand of the men that a-ere left. 
 And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the 
 
 iniiariiam- citv, II t iuto an iuuer chamber. 
 
 ciami^r"" 31 If And his servants said unto him, 
 
 t Or, 
 
 J'rom ehtim- 
 btr to cUam- 
 ttr. 
 
 26. lo Aphek,'] A city in the tribe of Asher, not far from the 
 
 plains of Galilee, where Ben-hadad intended to fight. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 28. — The Lord is God of the kills, — not God of the valleys,'] 
 How strikingly is here displayed the vanity of idolatry ! The 
 Syrians believed in gods of the hills, not of the valleys ; that is, in 
 beings only of a limited power and presence, in reality of no 
 power or dominion at all, mere fictions and imaginations' of men ; 
 ties and liiins vanities, as Scripture fi-equently styles them. But 
 the true God, who made heaven and earth, and all things that are 
 therein, does by His presence and power inspect and govern all 
 tilings, in the whole heavens, and in the tvhole earth. Dr. S. Clarke. 
 2y. — and the children of Israel sleni of the Si/rians] We are 
 here to observe, that though Ahab was an idolatrous and wicked 
 kinii, yet Go<l granttd to him twice the victory over the Syrians. 
 This He probalily did to punish the pride of Ben-hadad and the 
 Syrians, l)ecause they had unjustly attacked him, and, above all, 
 because they had blasphemed the God of Israel. He did it, like- 
 wise, to pive Ahab proofs of His goodness and longsuffering, and 
 to teach him and all the people how much they were to blame for 
 continuing in idolatry, and for not worshipping the Lord alone, 
 who thus displayetl His power in their favour. This history 
 shews that Go<l confounds the proud, and punishes those who fall 
 on others unjustly ; and that He gives marks of His bounty even 
 to the greatest sinners, to invite tliem to repentiuice. Ostervald. 
 
 30. — a trail feW] The wall of the city, under which they 
 probably lay, ready to defend it, fell down. Bp. Patrick. The 
 expression means, not that the wall fell on every indi^'idual, but 
 on the main body of the 27,000, killing some and maiming others. 
 Slackhouse. It was probably a large and long wall, with towers 
 in it, into which they fleil. Dr. Wall, 
 
 31. — put sackcloth on our loins,'] This was the habit and guise 
 of suppliants in those countries when thoj' petitioned for mercy. 
 The sackcloth on their loins was a token of great sorrow for what 
 they hatl done ; and the hatters about their necks, a token of their 
 wilhngness to submit to any punishment Ahab might think fit to 
 inflict upon them. Bp. Patrick. 
 —— and ropes upon our heads,] The approaching persons with a 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 90(>. 
 
 Behold now, we have heard that the kings 
 of the house of Israel are merciful kings : 
 let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our 
 loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go 
 out to the king of Israel : peradventure he 
 will save thy life. 
 
 32 So they girded sackcloth on their 
 loins, and put ropes on their heads, and 
 came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy 
 servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let 
 me live. And he said, Is he yet alive ? he 
 is my brother. 
 
 33 Now the men did diligently observe 
 whether ani/ thing would come from him, 
 and did hastily catch it : and they said. 
 Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said. 
 Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came 
 forth to him ; and he caused him to come 
 up into the chariot. 
 
 34 Arid Ben-hadad said unto him. The 
 cities, which my father took from thy fa- 
 ther, I will restore ; and thou shalt make 
 streets for thee in Damascus, as my father 
 made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will 
 send thee away with this covenant. So he 
 made a covenant with him, and sent him 
 away. 
 
 sword hanging about the neck is still customary in the East, as a 
 token of humility and submission. Among other instances, Theve- 
 not mentions, that, when Bagdat was besieged by the Turks in 
 1 638, the governour of the city went to the grand vizier with a 
 scarf about his neck, and his sword wreathed in it, as a mark of 
 submission, begging pardon and mercy. If this custom of later 
 times may be brought in explanation of those in ancient times, we 
 may suppose that the ropes, which Ben-hadad's servants put on 
 their heads, were those from whieh they suspended their swords. 
 Harmer. 
 
 34. — thoH shall make .itrcels for t/iee in Damascus,] The learned 
 are by no means agreed what we are to understand by " streets" 
 in this passage. Some suppose that courts of judicature are 
 meant, where Ahab was to maintain a jurisdiction over Ben-hadad's 
 subjects. Others think that they were publick market-places, 
 where commodities were sold, and the toll of them paid to Ahab ; 
 but the most general opinion is, that they were citadels or fortifi- 
 cations, to be a bridle or restraint upon this chief city of the Sy- 
 rians, that they might make no new irruptions into the land of Is- 
 rael. This was a great privilege, and such that Ben-hadad, when he 
 found himself set at liberty, refused to comply with it. Stackhoiise. 
 Or, by the expression of " making streets" in Damascus, we may 
 understand, that Ben-hadad proposed to grant in that city a quar- 
 ter for Ahab's subjects to live in, where he should enjoy the same 
 jurisdiction as he did over the rest of the kingdom. Ahab's father, 
 as is here expressed, had given to the Syrians such a jurisdiction 
 in Samaria ; and it was an expression of very abject adulation in 
 Ben-hadad, to propose to give Ahab a like power in Damascus. 
 It a])pears from the relation of William of Tyre, that it was, in 
 tile time of the Crns.ides, the custom to assign churches, and to 
 give streets, in the towns and cities of the Holy Land, to foreign 
 nations, together with great liberties and jurisdictions in those 
 streets. Thus he tells us, that the Genoese had a street in Accon, 
 or St. John d'Acre, together with a full jurisdiction in it ; the Ve- 
 netians also had a street in the same city, where, among other pri- 
 vileges, they had the power of judging causes for themselves, to- 
 gelher with as complete a jurisdiction over all that dwelt in their 
 gU-eet, as the king of Jerusalem had over the rest. Harmer. 

 
 The prophet denouncetk 
 
 CHAP. XX, XXI. 
 
 God's judgment against Ahah. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 90(). 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 tmiling and ■, , . 
 
 wounding. ^1 fllTn 
 
 35 ^ And a certain man of the sons of 
 the prophets said unto his neighbour in the 
 word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. 
 And the man refused to smite him. 
 
 36 Then said he unto him. Because thou 
 hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, be- 
 hold, as soon as thou art departed from me, 
 a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he 
 was departed from him, a lion found him, 
 and slew him. 
 
 37 Then he found another man, and 
 said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man 
 smote him, t so that in smiting he wound- 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 weigh. 
 
 38 So the prophet departed, and waited 
 for the king by the way, and disguised 
 himself with ashes upon his face. 
 
 39 And as the king passed by, he cried 
 unto the king: and he said. Thy servant 
 went out into the midst of the battle ; and, 
 behold, a man turned aside, and brought a 
 man unto me, and said. Keep this man: if 
 by any means he be missing, then shall thy 
 life be for his life, or else thou shalt + pay 
 a talent of silver. 
 
 40 And as thy servant was busy here 
 
 S5. — said unto his neighhour^ Unto hh fellow, that is, to one 
 of his fellow Prophets; for indeed it is improbable that he should 
 transact this with a common man, and not rather with one who 
 was acquainted with the manner and usage of Prophets in con- 
 vincing people that he had a commission from God. Pi/li'- 
 
 Smile me, I pray (hce.~\ His intention was, that, from the 
 
 circumstance of being wounded, he might obtain the freer access 
 to Ahab, as a soldier well deserving, and that lie might the better 
 feign his story; for, in such a matter, Ahab was not to be dealt 
 with in plain and direct words. Bp. Patrick. The Prophet, know- 
 ing the evil and desperate temper of the king against any that 
 brought evil tidings, would not do it in a downright manner, but 
 by such a method as would gain the greater attention from him, 
 6o as to make a deeper impression. P,yle. 
 
 Sd, — a lion — sleiv Jiim.^ If this punishment should seem too 
 severe, it should be recollected, that the Prophet had addressed 
 himself, not to an ordinary man, but to a Prophet bred in the same 
 school with himself, and that he required him to smite " by the 
 word of the Lord," that is, not by his own private motion, but 
 because God enjoined it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 38. — disguised himself with ashes'^ Besprinkled liimself with 
 ashes in the manner ot' a criminal and suppliant. Pi/le. The 
 Hebrews understand that he covered his face with a handkerchief 
 or fillet, to shew that he was wounded. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3Q. — he cried unto the king: and he said, &c.] The story which 
 he feigns is, that, being a soldier in the late battle, a certain ofiicer 
 had delivered into liis custody a prisoner of note taken from the 
 enemy, with a strict charge to hold him safe, upon pain of death, 
 and a severe fine. But I being eager, says he, in the glorious piu-- 
 suit of the vanquished foe, my prisoner made his escape, and I 
 am likely to undergo the last extremity for my misfortune. The 
 king told him, in answer, it was no more than he deserved, from 
 his breach of orders. Pi/le. 
 
 42. — therefore thy life shall go for his &c.] If it should be 
 asked, wherein lay Ahab's great offence, for which God tlireatens 
 to punish him so severely.? the answer is, That it consisted in suf- 
 fering so horrid a blasphemer, as Ben-hadad was, to go unpunisii- 
 ed, which was contrary to an express law, Lev. xxiv. it). If it 
 fihould be urged, that this was nothing to Ben-hadad, since the law 
 
 and there, the was gone. And thfliking c5*r7Ix 
 of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judg- 900. 
 ment be; thyself hast decided it. | Heb. 
 
 41 And he hasted, and took the ashes '" "*^ "'"• 
 away from his face; and the king of Israel 
 discerned him that he was of the prophets. 
 
 42 And he said unto him, Thus saith 
 
 the Lord, * Because thou hast let go out '^*p- *^- 
 of thi/ hand a man whom I appointed to 
 utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go 
 for his life, and thy people for his people. 
 
 43 And the king of Israel went to his 
 house heavy and displeased, and came to 
 Samaria. 
 
 CHAP. XXL 
 
 1 Ahah being denied Naboth's vineyard is grieved. 5 Je- 
 zebel writing letters against Nabolh, he is condemned 
 of blasphemy. 15 Ahab taketli j)Ossession of the line- 
 yard. 17 Elijah denouncetk judgments against Ahab 
 and Jezebel. 25 Wicked Ahab repenting, God dijer~ 
 reth the judgment. 
 
 AND it came to pass after these tilings, 
 that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vine- 
 yard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the pa- 
 lace of Ahab king of Samaria. 
 
 concerned the Israelites only; the reply is. That the law extended 
 not to those only that were born in the land, but (as is there ex- 
 pressed) to strangers likewise, that were amongst them and in 
 their power, as Ben-hadad certainly was. God had delivered him 
 into Ahab's hands for his blasphemy, as He had promiscil, 1 Kings 
 XX. 28, and therefore this act of Providence, compared with the 
 law, did plainly intimate, that he was appointed by Go<l for de- 
 struction: but so far was Ahab from punishing him as he de- 
 served, that he treats him like a friend and a brother, dismisses 
 him upon easy terms, and takes his bare word for the perform- 
 ance, without the least care for the reparation of God's honour. 
 Stackhousc. 
 
 Chap. XXI. ver. 1. And it came to pass after these things,"^ After 
 the signal and repeated instances of Gotl's goodness to Ahab, so 
 far was he from true contentinent; so far from enjoying the abun- 
 dance he possessed; that here we find this mighty monarcli turn 
 slave to his impotent desires, and fall a victim to the most abject 
 vice of covetousness. He could not be satisfied with all tlie plenty 
 that royal wealth could bestow, or conquest acquire, while one 
 poor spot of ground, his neighbour's vineyard, was looked upon 
 with a longing eye, as a necessary addition and impnn craent to 
 his cstJite. What avails it then to increase our store, if concu- 
 piscence also increase? This insatiable passion, we see, will niako 
 the greatest princes poor; so that, not he who has mucli, but lie 
 who covets little, is the true rich man. A competency therefora 
 is the only wealth; and the best way to obtain it, is rather to 
 contract our desires, than to enlarge our estates. Jl'ogan. 
 
 hard by the palace of .4hab^ We must suppose, that, be- 
 sides the palace in Samaria^ Ahab had another palace at Jezreel ; 
 or rather, as may be collected from 2 Kings ix. 21, that the palace 
 here spoken of was the residence of queen .lezebel, and that it was 
 for her pleasure, and at her instigation, that .\hab was so con- 
 cerned to procure this vineyard. Pyle. The account of Ahab's 
 coveting Naboth's vineyard is iimnediately set atler his treatment 
 of Ben-hadad, to shew his extremely great wickedness in sparing 
 him, (as Saul did Agag, king of the Amalekites.) and killing Na- 
 both, that he might get possession of his vineyard: for this was an 
 high aggravation of his crime, that he basely murdered a just Is- 
 raelite, and let an impious enemy escape. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Aliab is denied XaboUi's vinej/ard. 
 
 KINGS. Jezebel writing letters against Nabothy 
 
 nrforr o Aiiil Aliab spake unto Xaboth, sayin<r, 
 
 *^" M**^ Give me tliy vineyard, that I may have it 
 
 lor a garden of herbs, because it is near 
 
 unto my house: and I will give thee for it 
 
 tHc*.. a better vineyard than it; or, if it t seem 
 
 SuSf « good to thee," I will give thee the worth of 
 
 it in money. 
 
 3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord 
 forbid it me, that I sliould give the inhe- 
 ritance of my fatliers unto thee. 
 
 1- And Aliab came into his house heavy 
 and displeased because of the word which 
 Nabotli tiic Jezreelite had spoken to him: 
 for he had said, I will not give thee the in- 
 heritance of my fathers. And he laid him 
 down upon his bed, and turned away his 
 face, and would eat no bread. 
 5 ^ But Jezebel his wife came to him, 
 • and said ujito him. Why is thy spirit so 
 sad, that thou eatest no bread ? 
 
 3. — The Lord forhid it wic,] As it is natural to all men to 
 value the ancient possessions that have been in their farail)', so 
 tlic law of Moses prohibitcil the alienation of lands from one tribe 
 or family to anotlicr, unless a man was reduced to poverty; in 
 which case he mijjht sell it till the jubilee; but tlien it was to re- 
 turn to him. :S€e Levit. xxv. 15, 25, 28. Now as Naboth was in 
 no nec<l, so he considered that if he should, out of respect to the 
 king, and merely to do him a pleasure, part with his vineyard, he 
 should never get it out of his liands at the jubilee, being; made 
 part of the fjround belonjriii<T to the royal palace. Thus, by such 
 an act, he would both offend against the law, and injure his pos- 
 terity, which, being an uprigljt and religious man, he was most 
 unwilling to do. Bp. Piilrick: 
 
 This consideration throws light on the conduct of Ahab in the 
 first instance. As king of Israel, especially obliged and solemnly 
 pletlged to observe and mainUiin tiie laws, it was his duty to se- 
 cure the i>(>sses3ion of projierty in its legitimate course, instead of 
 endeavouring to divert it into improper channels by alienating it 
 from one family into another. In obedience to the law, Naboth 
 refused to sell the inheriUuu-e of his fathers. If he was praise- 
 worthy for his refusal, Ahcib was culpable for his request: for that 
 which the subject could not conscientiously concede, the sove- 
 reign could not conscientiously require. Mant. 
 
 4. — came into his house heavy and displeased^ How precarious 
 and fleeting is the happiness' of the greatest and wealthiest of 
 men, it founded only on this world's enjoyments! And yet how 
 real and sincere is the pain which a disappointment brings! 
 Here a mighty king counts himself miserable, because he cannot 
 have his garden enlarged: this one cross blasts all his blessings. 
 '> o!;an. 
 
 The conduct of Ahab upon this occasion may warn us against 
 the (Linger of brooding over our disappointment, when we fail of 
 attaining the object of our wishes; and may prompt us to turn 
 our eves aside to those instinces of mercv. which a bountiful 
 rrovidencc has been pleased to exert in our" behalf. It was but a 
 short time alter a wonderful and special display of power, wiiich 
 Ood had manifested in delivering Ahab and his people from an 
 invadmg enemy, and crowning them «ith a complete victory, that 
 v,t, Tv". .'"""?["'' V""'--^'^'^'» Ihe wish of possessing the vine- 
 >anl ..I Naboth. On the disappointment of his hope, instead of 
 engaging m the active concerns of his kingdom, or eniovin" the 
 ^eatand manifold blessings with which it had pleas d^ I 2 S! 
 
 faTid w 1 Y ^"" 1°^^","P'"' ''i^ »^ed. and turned away his 
 «-«,iT x"^^ """ "" ^'"'^^"'•" 'f '"^ t^-npter profited bv the 
 
 r.ccue them, and to make them grow. Let us beware not to 
 
 6 And he said unto her, Because I spake p^„°[|y^ 
 luito Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto 899. 
 him. Give me thy vineyard for money; or 
 
 else, if it ])lease thee, I will give thee an- 
 other vineyard tor it: and he answered, 1 
 will not give thee my vineyard. 
 
 7 And Jezebel his wife said unto him. 
 Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Is- 
 rael? arise, and eat bread, and let thine 
 heart be merry: I will give thee the vine- 
 yard of Naboth the Jezreelite. 
 
 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, 
 and sealed them with his seal, and sent the 
 letters unto the elders and to the nobles 
 that were in his city, dwelling with Na- 
 both. 
 
 9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, 
 Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth t on high t Heb. 
 
 ,1 I ° in the top of 
 
 among the people: ihepeoj'ic' 
 
 10 And set two men, sons of Belial, be- 
 
 brood in disappointment over a desire -which we find a difficulty 
 in gratifying, or vvliich we know ought not to be gratified. Let 
 our thoughts be occupied on useful, or at least harmless, subjects ; 
 let them be turned to the business of our calling; let them be lift- 
 ed up in thankfulness to the Giver of all good for the blessings 
 which He permits us innocently to enjoy, and in devout prayer 
 for the aid of His grace, to enable us to resist temptation, and to 
 deliver us from evil. Let us " draw nigh to God, and He will 
 draw nigh to us:" let us "resist the devil, and he will flee from 
 us," James iv. 7, 8. Maul. 
 
 6. And lie said unto her, Because I spake &c.J How tenacious 
 is the heart of a purpose which it has once fomied for its grati- 
 fication ! How totally will it suffer the ddsappointment of its 
 wishes, even in a case comparatively insignificant, to jjoison all the 
 enjoyment it might derive from other soui'ccs, however ample and 
 numerous they may be! What was the vineyard of Naboth the 
 Jezreelite, to Ahab king of Samaria.^ What was it in comparison 
 of the ten tribes of Israel, over which he bore sway.'' What was it 
 in comparison of the hosts of Syria, over whom he had recently 
 triumphed ? Established in his dominion at home, triumphing 
 over his enemies abroad, encircled w ith every enjo)'ment which 
 empire and victory can bestow, Ahab languishes for " a garden 
 of herbs!" Mant. 
 
 7- — Dost thou nom govern — Israel ?] Is it for thee, that art 
 the king of Israel, to take a denial of so mean a suit, and to be so 
 affected with the rejection? Bp. HalL 
 
 9- — Proclaim a fast,'] She commands them to proclaim a fast, 
 as if some great crime had been committed, or some grievous ca- 
 lamity had befallen them. By this means she intimated to the 
 Jezreelites that they had some accursed thing among them, which 
 was ready to draw down the Divine vengeance, and that there- 
 fore it was their business to purge themselves effectually from 
 those sins, which provoked the anger of God. As therefore these 
 days of fasting were employeil in punishing offences, ailminister- 
 ing justice, and imploring God's pardon, there was afforded to the 
 elders of the city an occasion of convening an nsjembly, and to 
 the false witnesses an opportunity of accusing Naboth before it. 
 Bp. Patrick; A« Clerc. 
 
 set Nahoth on higlf] The meaning of tliis expression is, 
 
 either that Nal)oth should have one of the most honourable places 
 in this asseml)ly, being a person of an illustrious hou^e, that so it 
 might be thought they condemned him impartially, and without 
 any disrespect to his person and character; or else, that he should 
 be set in a remarkable place, to prevent his escape, if he should 
 get intelligence of the design; or, lastly, thai he should stand in 
 the place peculiar Ui criminal or accused persons, where all might 
 see liim, and hear the evidence given against him. Pyle.
 
 he is condemjied of blasphemy. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 Ahab takelh possession of the tineyard. 
 
 Before fore him, to bear witness against him, say- 
 899. ing, Thou didst blaspheme God and the 
 
 king. And then carry him out, and stone 
 
 him, that he may die. 
 
 11 And the men of his city, even the 
 elders and the nobles who were the inha- 
 bitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent 
 unto them, and as it "was written in the let- 
 ters which she had sent unto them. 
 
 12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Na- 
 both on high among the people. 
 
 13 And there came in two men, chil- 
 dren of Belial, and sat before him : and 
 the men of Belial witnessed against him, 
 even against Naboth, in the presence of 
 the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme 
 God and the king. Then they carried him 
 forth out of the city, and stoned him with 
 stones, that he died. 
 
 899. 14, Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, 
 
 Naboth is stoned, and is dead. 
 
 io % And it came to pass, when Jezebel 
 heard that Naboth was stoned, and was 
 dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, 
 take possession of the vineyard of Naboth 
 the Jezreelite, which he refused to give 
 thee for money : for Naboth is not alive, 
 but dead. 
 
 10. — Thou didst blaspheme God and the king.~\ By the law of 
 Moses it was death to blaspheme God, Levit. xxiv. l6; and by 
 custom it was death to revile the king, Exod. xxii. 28. Thus, in 
 order to make the matter sure, the witnesses were instructed to 
 accuse Naboth of both these crimes, that the people might be the 
 better satisfied to see him stoned. There was this difference, also, 
 between the two crimes — that, when a man was convicted of 
 blasphemy, his goods came to his heirs ; but, when a man was 
 executed for treason, his estate was forfeited. Thus the latter 
 accusation greatly facilitated the plan of enabling Ahab to get 
 possession of the vineyard. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 then carry him out,'\ Not merely out of the assembly, 
 
 but out of the gate of the city ; by so doing, they meant to tes- 
 tify that they took away the evil from the midst of them. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 11. And the men of his city — did as Jezebel had sent unto lhem,~\ 
 It seems not a little strange that Jezebel could have the assurance 
 to propose to a whole body of magistrates so flagrant an iniquity, 
 so barbarous a design. But it appears much more surprising, that 
 a grave senate, even all the elders and nobles of a city, should so 
 implicitly comply with her bloody commands, and execute a com- 
 mission so notoriousl}' cruel and unjust. But Jezebel knew her 
 men, and whom she wrote to. Evil princes never want wicked 
 instruments to execute their will. As their example spreads a 
 general degeneracy of manners among the people, so it is their 
 policy to fill all places of trust and power with none but men of 
 profligate and corrupt principles, whose conscience cm bend to 
 their interest, and whose obedience will conform to the most 
 enormous crimes. Wogan. 
 
 The manner of compassing Naboth's destruction was detestiible. 
 It was by the corruption of a whole court of judicature, and by 
 subornation of witnesses. And so all the magistrates of Jezreel, 
 at the instigation of Ahab's wife, and to serve her wicked pur- 
 poses, were drawn into the horrible guiit of wilful (jerjur}- and 
 deliberate murder. It was one dismal circimistance in this tra- 
 gedy, that it was acted under the mask of religion, and with high 
 pretences to vindicate the honour of God. It was introduced 
 
 16 And it came to pass, when Ahab ^hrTst 
 heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab- gyg. 
 rose up to go down to the vineyard of 
 Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession 
 
 of it. 
 
 17 IT And the word of the Lord came 
 to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 
 
 18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king 
 of Israel, which is in Samaria : behold, he 
 is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is 
 gone down to possess it. 
 
 19 And thou shalt speak unto him, say- 
 ing. Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, 
 and also taken possession ? And thou shalt 
 speak unto him, saying. Thus saith the 
 Lord, In the place where dogs licked the 
 blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, 
 even thine. 
 
 20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou 
 found me, O mine enemy ? And he an- 
 swered, I have found thee : because thou 
 hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight 
 of the Lord. 
 
 21 Behold, ^ I will bring evil upon thee, ^Chap. u. 
 and will take away thy posterity, and will jkiiigsaa. 
 cut off from Ahab " him that pisseth against ^i/^"''"^- 
 the wall, and *= him that is shut up and left ' chap-H. 
 in Israel, 
 
 10. 
 
 with a fast, to implore the Divine assistance and direction in the 
 great cause they were entering upon ; and the first article in Na- 
 both's accusation was, that he had blasphemed the great Majesty 
 of Heaven. What a mysterj' of iniquity is the heart of man, 
 where such black viUanies are hatched and wrapt up, and 
 transacted under the specious colours of zeal and devotion ! Hy- 
 pocrisy is odious in the lowest of the hirnian race, but much more 
 in a king, who punishes with death the counterfeiting of his seal, 
 and abusing of his image and superscription to any fraudulent 
 piupose, as being highlj^ dishonourable to him ; and yet is not 
 ashamed to counterfeit the great seal of Heaven, and profane the 
 most sacred things of God, to give authority to his infernal ma- 
 chinations. Reading. 
 
 \Q. — In the place where dogs licked &c.] The words should 
 rather be ti-anslated, " As the dogs licked," or, " In like manner as 
 the dogs licked." He declares the cause of the judgment upon 
 Ahab, but does not assign the place; for it was in Samaria tliat 
 the dogs licked tlie blood of Ahab, chap. xxii. ;;8. Bp. Pa/rick. 
 Or, if the sense in our translation be retained, by -Ahab's blood 
 must be understood the blood of his wife, children, and kindred, 
 for Jezebel and her son Jehoram, 'J Kings ix. 25, were both slain 
 in Jezreel. Pyle. . , , . 
 
 20. — Hast thou fmind me, mine enemy?'] \\\\\\e Ahab is 
 rejoicing in the success of his plot, Elijah comes, sent from God, 
 ■with an errand of vengeance. Methinks I see how the king's 
 countenance clianged, with what aghast eyes and pale cheeks 
 he looked upon that unwelcome Prophet. Little pleasure took 
 he in his prospect, while it was clogged \\ ith such a guest ; yet 
 his tongue begins first, " Hast thou found me, O mine enemy ?" 
 Great is the power of conscience. Ahab's continuing idolatrj-, 
 now seconded by blood, bids him look for nothing but frowns 
 from Heaven. A guilty heart can never be at peace. If Ahab 
 had not known how ill he had deserved of God, he would 
 never have saluted God's Prophet by the name of an enemy. 
 He would never have been troubled at being found by Elijah, 
 if his own breast bad not fouud him out for an enemy to God. 
 Bp. HaU.
 
 CB 
 
 ' Clui> I J- 
 
 19. 
 
 ' Chtf. IC. 
 
 S 
 
 9. tMS. 
 
 g Or, ^c* 
 
 t Or, 
 ■itaini* 
 
 rtfeiilin^, 
 
 2< And will Juake thine house like the 
 housi- o»" JiToboam the son of Nebat, and 
 hkc the house of Uaasha the son ot'Alii- 
 jah, for the provocation wherewith thou 
 hast provoked me to anger, and made Is- 
 rael to sin. 
 
 23 And 'of Jezebel also spake the Lord, 
 saying, The dogs sliall eat Jezebel by the 
 II wall of Je/.reel. 
 
 2-4. Him tliat dieth of Ahab in the city 
 the dogs shall eat ; and him that dieth in 
 the field shall the fowls of the air eat. 
 
 '2J i[ IJut there was none like unto Ahab, 
 which did sell himself to work wickedness 
 in the sight of the Loiin, whom Jezebel his 
 wife li stirred uj). 
 
 26 And lie did a ery abominably in fol- 
 lowing idols, according to all thhigs as did 
 the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out be- 
 fore the children of Israel. 
 
 27 And it came to pass, when Ahab 
 heard those words, that he rent his clothes, 
 
 25. Bui there nas none like unlo Ah(ih,'\ The particle liere ren- 
 der«l •• but," should be rendered perhaps " indeed," or " because;" 
 and instead of " there was," it may be best translated, " there is 
 none like unto Ahab :" s<> Ui.it tlle^e two verses may give a state- 
 ment of the cause of the judgments denounced agaijist Ahab. 
 Pyle. 
 
 tchom Jnehrl his trife stirred up.'] The example of Ahab 
 
 may be a cautioii to us whom we admit to be our companions, 
 
 especially whom we take to be the partner of our counsels, the 
 
 friend of our inmost heart. It is recorded as a signal instance of 
 
 depravity in his nefarious career, that he united himself by the 
 
 closest and tciidercst bond to an idoLitrous and unprincipled 
 
 woman, cliap. xvi. 31. The consequence was deplorable, but na- 
 
 turaL His own inclination to evil received a fresli impulse from 
 
 hcr» : corrupt himself, he became more and more hardened by 
 
 the accession of her corrupt passions: instigated by her, in the 
 
 particular ejtample that hiis now been passing before our eyes, as 
 
 well as in the general tenour of his life, he proved himself an 
 
 apostate from (icxl, and, by natural consequence, (for religion is 
 
 the only sure foundation of morality,) the enemy of man ; and he 
 
 ha.s left behind him a fatal memorial of the powerful influence of 
 
 \ ice on social intercourse, in the testimony of the sacred historian, 
 
 that " there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to 
 
 work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife 
 
 stirred up." Manl. 
 
 27- — and trcnt softly^ All the expressions in this verse are 
 expression* of grc.it .sorrow and heaviness. These hist words are 
 commonly understiKxl to mean, that he went about with a slow 
 pace, which shewed that he was reduced to great weakness and 
 feeblene-s of binly by fasting and grief; and that his heart sunk 
 w ithin him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 29. — heciiiue he humhleth himself &C.3 Though tliis repent- 
 ance of Ahab was far from being smcere, yet God was plea.sed so 
 far to reganl it, as to respite tlie worst degrees of threatening pro- 
 nouncetl, and not to execute it fully, till the reign of his son Jo- 
 ram, as will appear, 2 Kings ix. and x. Pyte. Or perhaps Ahab's 
 rej)entanct at this time was true though imperfect, and his sorrow 
 wincerc, though of no long continuance ; and that, had he persisted 
 in tJie pu<)d resolutions he had then taken up, God would have 
 remitted to him. not only the temporal, but the eternal punish- 
 ment likewise, that was due to his sin. In the mean time, this 
 instance of the Divine lenity is left upon record to encourage the 
 first cdsays of our repentance, and to give us the assurance, that 
 our gooil and gracious G.)d, who kecpeth mercy for thousands, 
 
 L KINGS. 
 
 God deferreth the judgment 
 
 upon his flesh, and 
 sackcloth, and went 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 899. 
 
 and put sackcloth 
 f;isted, and lay in 
 
 softly. 
 
 'JS And the word of the Lord came to 
 Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 
 
 '29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth him- 
 self before me? because he humbleth him- 
 ;;clf belbre me, I will not bring the evil in 
 his days : but in his son's days will I bring 
 the evil upon his house. 
 
 CHAP. XXIL 
 
 1 Ahab, seduced by false prophets, according to the v>ord 
 of Micaiah, is slain at Ilnmolh-gUead. UJ The dogs 
 iicli up his blood, and A/uiziah succeedcth him. 41 jc- 
 hoshaphat's good reign. 45 His acts. 50 Jchoram 
 succeedeth him. 51 Ahaziah's evil reigii. 
 
 AND they continued three years with- 
 out war between Syria and Israel. 
 2 And it came to pass in the third year, 897. 
 that * Jeho-shaphat the king of Judah came 'scbron. 
 down to the king of Israel. 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 18. 1, &c. 
 
 and forgiveth iniquity, transgression, and sin, will rwt break the 
 bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax, but bring forth judg- 
 ment unto truth. Slackhouse. 
 
 In the person of Ahab we see a most enormous criminal ; yet 
 a pardon is obtained on a shew of repentance. In God's dealings 
 with him, we have therefore an instance of the wise measures 
 wherewith His mercy and His justice are dispensed. Notwith- 
 standing the heinousness of Anab's faults, he finds niercj', upon 
 his humiliation and repentance. Now as the t-ole motive of his 
 penitence and humiliation was the dread of those judgments he 
 had been threatened with, rather than any sorrow for, or hatred 
 of, his sins; his pardon for that reason is only temporal, and 
 merely a reprieve for the term of liis own life. " I will not bring 
 the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil 
 upon his house." Had his repentance been perfect and sincere, 
 it would have prevailed to reverse tlie whole sentence, as well as 
 to respite his doom. The very repric\e is, indeed, an encourage- 
 ment to the greatest sinners to repent. But, at the same time, 
 such a mercy ought to appeal' terrible to those who stop short in 
 their course of penitence, and suffer it not to have a perfect 
 work. Wogan. 
 
 Gotl, seeing the humiliation of Ahab, told him, he would not 
 bring the evil upon his house in his daj's. This is a very remark- 
 able circumstance, an example of the infinite goodness of God to- 
 wards the greatest sinners, when they humble themselves before 
 Him. Here let us take notice, that, if the repentance of Ahab 
 appeased the Lord for a time, because there was something of sin- 
 cerity in it, though it was not of long continuance ; much more, 
 may we imagine, will those who repent with all their heart, and 
 persevere in their repentance, infallibly obtain from the Divine 
 mercy the pardon of their sins. Ostervald. 
 
 Although Ahab, by the wicked counsels of Jezebel his wife, 
 had committed shameful murder, and against all right disinhe- 
 rited and dispossessed for ever Xabotli's family of their vineyard; 
 yet, upon his humble submission in heart unto God, which he 
 declared outwardly by putting on of sackcloth and by fasting, 
 God changed his sentence, so that the punishnit nt wliicli He bad 
 determined fell not on Ahab's liouse in his time, but wa* deferred 
 unto the days of Joram his son. Here we may see of what force 
 our outward fast is, when it is accompanied with the inward fast 
 of the mind, that is, a sorrowfulness of heart, detesting and be- 
 wailing our sinful doings. Church Homilies. 
 
 Chap. XXn. ver. 2. — came dmvu to the king ^Israel.'} Tliere
 
 Ahah is seduced by false prophets. 
 
 tHAP. XXII. 
 
 Micaiah is sentjbr. 
 
 cHuTsT ^ ^^^ ^^^ '^*"» °^ Israel said unto his 
 897. ^ servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead 
 t Hei). is our's, and we be t still, and take it not 
 IllinlT o»t of the hand of the king of Syria? 
 
 4 And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt 
 thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-gi- 
 lead ? And Jehoshaphat said to the king 
 
 •> 2 King! of Israel, ^ I am as thou art, my people as 
 thy people, my horses as thy horses. 
 
 5 And Jehoshaphat said unto the king 
 of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word 
 of the Lord to day. 
 
 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the 
 prophets together, about four hundred men, 
 and said unto them. Shall I go against Ra- 
 moth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear ? 
 And they said, Go up ; for the Lord shall 
 deliver it into the hand of the king. 
 
 7 And Jehoshaphat said. Is there not 
 here a prophet of the Lord besides, that 
 we might enquire of him ? 
 
 8 And the king of Israel said unto Jeho- 
 shaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah 
 the son of Imlah, by whom we may en- 
 quire of the Lord : but I hate him ; for he 
 doth not prophesy good concerning me, 
 but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not 
 the king say so. 
 
 8 Or, 9 Then the king of Israel called an || of- 
 
 tonac/i. ficer, and said. Hasten hither Micaiah the 
 son of Imlah. 
 
 wns an affinity between Jehoshaphat and Ahab, 2 Chron. xviii. 1, 
 Jelioshaphat's son having married v^hab's daughter, '-2 Kings viii. 
 18. This affinity with the idolatrous Ahab was the capital errour 
 iif Jehoshaphat's reign, proving mischievous to himself and ruin- 
 ous to his family. It took place about the thirteenth year of his 
 reign. Dr. Hales. 
 
 3. — R<imoth in GileacT] Or Ramoth-gilead. It is probably 
 tlie same as " Ramath-mizpeh," mentioned at .losh. xiii. 26; 
 tlic names Gilead and Mizpeh being added to the name " Ra- 
 moth," to distinguish this Ramoth, as being in the land of 
 fiilead or Mizpeh, from other places of the same name. Dr. 
 IVelU. 
 
 6. — the •prophets, — ahout four hundred m(tt,~\ These were 
 cither prophets of the groves, who were not slain with the pro- 
 ]ihets of Baal, ch. xviii. 19 ; or perhaps there were schools of the 
 prophets kept up still in Israel, in imitation of tliose of .Tuduh, 
 wherein men were hreil up who pretended to have this gift. It 
 is plain they were false prophets, for Micaiah calls them, ver. 23, 
 " Ahab's prophets." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 These were pi-obably pretended prophets, whom Ahab had set 
 lip by rewards and promises, and who accordingly knew how to 
 suit his humour and flatter his vanity, all agreeing in the same 
 fawning compliances, and the same treachen)us counsels, which 
 pleased for the present, but proved fatal in the end ; they are 
 emphatically called the prophets of Ahab, not of the Lord, ver. 22, 
 by Micaiah, although they professed to be tlie Lord's prophets, 
 prophesying in His name. That such false prophets should have 
 existed at that time, is what might be expected. Prophet is a 
 title of honour, and carries dignity with it ; therefore where there 
 are true Prophets, there will be pretenders also, raised up perhaps 
 by their own vanity or avarice, or otlier comijjt motives. Where 
 there are Prophets and pastors to guide and instruct honest and 
 faithful men, there will be pretending prophets and pastors, to 
 Vol. J. 
 
 10 And the king of Israel and Jehosha- BeJbre 
 phat the king of Judah sat each on his ^^"897^^^ 
 throne, having put on their robes, in a 
 
 t void place in the entrance of the gate of t Hcb. 
 Samaria ; and all the prophets prophesied "'''""^' 
 before them. 
 
 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah 
 made him horns of iron : and he said, Thus 
 saith the Lord, With these shalt thou push 
 the Syrians, until thou have consumed 
 them. 
 
 1^ And all the prophets prophesied so, 
 saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and pros- 
 per : for the Lord shall deliver it into the 
 king's hand. 
 
 13 And the messenger that was gone to 
 call Micaiah spake unto him, saying. Be- 
 hold now, the words of the prophets de- 
 clare good unto the king with one mouth : 
 let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word 
 of one of them, and speak that which is 
 good. 
 
 14 And Micaiah said. As the Lord liv- 
 eth, what the Lord saith unto me, that 
 will I speak. 
 
 15 ^ So he came to the king. And the 
 king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go 
 against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we 
 forbear? And he answered him. Go, and 
 prosper : for the Lord shall deliver it into 
 the hand of the king. 
 
 misguide and seduce those that will be misled by them. As long 
 as the world loves flattery and deceit, there will be flatterers and 
 deceivers. Besides, from the time that king .Jeroboam had dra\TH 
 the ten tribes into a revolt, and, to prevent their return, had set 
 up altars at Dan and Beth-el, in opposition to the temple at Je- 
 rusalem, there was altar erected against altar, and priests against 
 priests, to enndate the service and worship of the house of Ju- 
 dah : and, as the true Prophets of the Lord were all against the 
 idolatry of the golden calves, therefore the ten tribes, with their 
 kings, were under the stronger temptation to set up and encou- 
 rage false prophets, as ri\als of the true ones, thereby to carry 
 an appearance at least of outvying the otlier two tribes. Dr. >f n- 
 terland. 
 
 ] 0. — in a void pliice'] Or " floor," as in the margin. The 
 Eastern threshingfloor was a level smooth area, inclosed by mud- 
 brick walls, having a proper opening for entrance, and on one 
 side of it the barn or garner. A })lace of this description wa.s very 
 proper for such an attendance a.s is noticed in the text ; and veiy 
 convenient, not merely to accommodate the two kings and their 
 courtiers, but also to separate them from the populace, the maiS 
 of the armv, &c. Frai^inenls to C.almet. 
 
 11. — made him horn.s o/' iron :] This seems to have been the 
 manner of Prophets in ancient times, to represent, by outward 
 signs, the future events which they foretold: as Isaiah and .Tere- 
 miah continued to do in aftcragcs, Isai. xx. 2 ; Jereni. xxvii. 2. 
 Dp. Patrick. 
 
 !;>. — Go, and prosper:"] His meaning is, What necdcst thon 
 to ask me this question ? Thy prophets have assuretl thee suffici- 
 ently already : go up as tliey have bidden tliee ; no doubt thou 
 shalt prosper, thou hast their word for tliy securitj-. Up. 
 Hall. 
 
 These words were spoken ironically, and in mocker}- of the 
 promises which the other prophets made to .Vhab. It evidciitlf 
 
 4 R
 
 Micaiuhfuretdklh Aluih's death. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 He is ill treated. 
 
 M„ Hi And the king said unto hini, How 
 cnHisTn,^„y times sliall I adjure thee that thou 
 ""'■ tell ine nothinj,' but )/ial iv/mh is true in 
 tlie name of the Lord? 
 
 17 And he said, I saw all Israel scatter- 
 ed upon the hills, as sheep that have not a 
 bhepherd : and the Lord said, These have 
 no master: let them return every man to 
 his iiouse in peace. 
 
 18 And the king of Israel said unto Je- 
 hoshaphat, Did 1 not tell thee that he 
 would i)rophesy no good concerning nie, 
 but evil ? 
 
 19 And he said, Hear tliou therefore the 
 word of the Louu : I saw tlie Lord sitting 
 on his throne, and all the host oi' heaven 
 standing by him on his rigiit hand and on 
 his lelt. 
 
 I Or. <io And the Loud said, Who shall llper- 
 
 ^"'"'' snadc Ahab, that lie may go up and fall at 
 
 1 
 
 ajipcafi, from Ahab's reply, that he suspected Micaiah's sincerity, 
 and Cf>llrcte<l from his manner of speakinp, tlxat he intended ti> 
 ridicule the answers ol' the t'ahf prophet.-;. Slac/i/ioiisc. He pro- 
 bably spake to them with such a look and gesture, and tone of 
 voire. a> shewed th.^t he intended nothinji; more than to ridicule 
 and miniick the pretended prophets. Hauling. 
 
 If). — / sail' l/u- Luril tilling &c.] Micaiah, like an honest man 
 and a faithful couusellor, discovered the whole secret, that those 
 four hundred pretended prophets were all deceivers, and all actu- 
 ated by the same spirit of lyinjj. Only, instead of bluntly telling 
 the kinjj that they were all liars, he takes up his parable, a.s the 
 l'ro])heti were used to do, dcclarinf; what he had seen in a pro- 
 phctick vision, which was the method that CJod had chosen for 
 opening the matter to him. Micaiah had before .said, ver. 17, "I 
 nw all Israel scattered &c." which can only be understood of what 
 he saw in prophetick \ibion, presignifying the real fact that should 
 follow after ; for tlie thing that lie then saw was not yet come to 
 pa»s. Micaiali saw what he there relates, just as .St. Peter, Acts 
 X. 11, "saw heaven opened, &c. ;" not that any thing which 
 St. I'eter saw was real, excepting that such ideas or appearances 
 were really formed on his mind as he lay in a trance. The like 
 representation was matle to Micaiah in a vision, signifying what 
 was doing in the niatU-r of Ahab, and what the event would be. 
 The moral or meaning of all was, that as Ahab loved to be cajoled 
 anil flattered, so Cod permitted those four hundred men, pretend- 
 ing to be prophets, U> abuse and impose upon him, which, in 
 conclusion, wduld prove f.ital to him. Dr. Wakrland. This is a 
 j«nil>olical speech, signifying that there was a greater King than 
 Aluib, who would Judge him according to his works. In that 
 which follow.s, ver. iiO, it is not to be thought that there was any 
 consultation l)efore tlie Divine Majesty ; but tluse representations 
 are made to bring invisible things down to the level of men's ca- 
 pacities. " And one said on this manner, &c." This is intended 
 to signify, that Gotl luis many various ways of bringing men to 
 rum, when He decrees it. " And there ciune forth a spirit, &c." 
 ver. 21. This again is not to be understootl literally, but as sig- 
 niiying generally that tliere are evil spirits ever forward to entice 
 men to their ilestructiou, and having power so to do if the Lord 
 do not hinder them. " And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith >" 
 ver. vi. G<mI wiis not ipiionmt of what he could, and intended 
 to (b ; but this is said to represent more familiarly to common 
 undersUn.lings, by what means Almb was led into destruction. 
 ' An.1 he said. Go fortli, and do so." CJod jiermitted this lyinjr 
 spirit to lollow his own inclinations, which He knew would have 
 MHc.^s, and prevail with Ahab to lielieve he should prosper in 
 tlu war. whercm it was the intention of Go<l to visit hin, with 
 <le*uuction. It was in this sense that " the Lord put a lying 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 «'J7. 
 
 Ramoth-gilead ? And one said on this man- 
 ner, and another said on that manner. 
 
 'il Andvthere came forth a spirit, and 
 stood before the Lord, and said, 1 will per- 
 suade him. 
 
 '22 And the Lord said unto him, Where- 
 with ? And he said, I will go forth, and 
 I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all 
 his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt 
 persuade him, and prevail also : go forth, 
 and do so. 
 
 23 Now therefore, behold, the Lord hatii 
 put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these 
 thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken 
 evil concerning thee. 
 
 24 But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah 
 went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, 
 
 and said, ' Which way went the Spirit of ' 2 chron. 
 the Lord from me to speak unto thee ? '** ^*' 
 
 25 And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt 
 
 spirit" in the mouth of the prophets, ver. S.*? ; that is, permitted 
 them to mislead Ahab, concerning -whom " the Lord had spoken 
 evil ;" that is, had decreed that he should perish in this war. lip. 
 Palrick. We cannot but infer, that Micaiah's speech is nothing- 
 more than a parabolical representation of a certain event, which 
 not long after came to pass ; that several of the circumst-inces 
 which are thrown into it are in a great measure ornamental, and 
 designed only to illustrate the narrative, and that therefore they 
 are not to be taken in a lilernl sense, but in such a manner as other 
 parables are, where the end and design of the speaker is chiefly to 
 be considered ; which in Micaiah's case was, to shew the reason 
 why so many of the prophets declared what was false upon this 
 occasion, even because they were moved, not by the spirit of 
 Inilh, but by that of adulation. Stackhouse. This whole represen- 
 tation is highly figurative, and by no means to be understood lite- 
 rally. The meaning is, that God justly punishes wicked men 
 when they obstinately refuse to hear Him, pennitting them to be 
 deceived l>y the evil one to tlieir own destruction. Dr. S. Clarke. 
 The substance of what the Prophet says is this ; It is certainly re- 
 vealed to me by an infallible vision from God, that He in His just 
 judgment hath decreed to give power to an evil spirit to delude 
 these thy four hundred prophets with lies, and to give thee over 
 to be misled by their delusions, to thine own destruction ; and 
 this I do as surely know, as if I had seen the Lord sitting on His 
 throne, and consulting upon the way and the means of exposing 
 thee to these seducements, and giving permission to an evil spirit 
 to work this mischief unto thee. Dp. Hall. 
 
 2'2. — go forth, and do so.'\ It is a known Hebraism to express 
 things in an imperative and active form, which are to be under- 
 stood only pennissively. Thus the expression here implies only 
 a permission, not a command. Abp. Tillolion. 
 
 2.'i. AW therefore, — the Lord hath put a lying spirit &c.] 
 We must always bear in mind, that it is frequent in Holy Scrip- 
 ture to call that the Lord's doing, which He only permits to be 
 done, because He has the supreme direction of all things, and 
 governs the event. Wicked devices proceed from wicked men ; 
 but that they prevail and take effect, is owing to the hand of God 
 directing and ordering what shall be the issue of them. In the 
 present instance the words of the original will admit of being 
 translated, " the Lord hath pcrrnittcd a lying spirit in the mouth 
 &c." Dr. IVaterland. 
 
 2.5. — Behold, thuu .shall see in that dat/, &c.] In answer to 
 the false prophet's question, uttered by way of scorn and re- 
 jiroach, Micaiah answers, he shall know when the battle is 
 over, when he shall be forced to conceal himself for fear of being 
 executed for a false prophet, and a beU-ayer of his king and coun- 
 try. Pylc,
 
 Ahab goeth in disguise to the battle. 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 He is slain. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 897. 
 
 a Or, 
 
 from chanX' 
 bertochani- 
 hcr. 
 tHel>. 
 a cJiamher 
 in a chant' 
 ktr. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 Vihenhe KOi 
 to disguise 
 himselj\and 
 tnter intt 
 tht haute. 
 
 see in that day, when thou shalt go || into 
 t an inner chamber to hide thyself. 
 
 26 And the king of Israel said, Take 
 Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon 
 the governor of the city, and to Joash the 
 king's son ; 
 
 27 And say, Thus saith the king, Put 
 t\\i?, fellow in the prison, and feed him with 
 bread of affliction and with water of afflic- 
 tion, until I come in peace. 
 
 28 And Micaiah said, If thou return at 
 all in peace, the Lono hath not spoken by 
 me. And he said. Hearken, O people, 
 every one of you. 
 
 29 So the king of Israel and Jehosha- 
 phat the king of Judah went up to Ra- 
 moth-gilead. 
 
 30 And the king of Israel said unto Je- 
 hoshaphat, || I will disguise myself, and en- 
 ter into the battle; but put thou on thy 
 robes. And the king of Israel disguised 
 himself, and went into the battle. 
 
 31 But the king of Syria commanded his 
 thirty and two captains that had rule over 
 his chariots, saying, Fight neither with 
 small nor great, save only with the king of 
 Israel. 
 
 32 And it came to pass, when the cap- 
 
 84. — drew a bow at a venture,'^ Thus what men do at a ven- 
 ture, that is. without any certain design, God directs to certain 
 ends, to serve His own glory. Bp. Wilsnn. 
 
 between the joints of the harness:'^ Between the joints of 
 
 " the armour ;" in which sense the word " harness" was Ibrnierly 
 used. 
 
 Ahab had concealed himself from the knowledge of men, hut 
 not from the eyes of God : He directed a random shot to find out 
 a passage through the joints of his armour into his body, where it 
 gare him his death's wound. Reading. 
 
 O the just and mighty hand of that Divine Providence, which 
 directs all His actions to His own ends ; which orders where every 
 shailt shall light, and guides the arrow of the strong archer into 
 the joints of Ahab's harness! It was shot at a venture; it falls by 
 a destiny, and there falls where it may carry death to a hidden 
 debtor. In all actions, both voluntary and casual. Thy will, O 
 God, shall be done by us, with whatever intentions, l-ittle did 
 the Syrian know whom he had stricken, no more than the arrow 
 with which he struck. An invisible hand disposed of both, to 
 the punishment of Ahab, to the vindication of Micaiah. How 
 worthily art Thou, O God, to be adored in Thj' justice and wis- 
 dom ; to be feared in Thy judgments ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 37. So the Icing died,'\ Thus ended the life and reign of king 
 Ahab ; but this was only the beginning of those sufferings which 
 were afterwards accomplished in his wife and children, an<l the 
 more remote branches of his family. To die, as he did, in the 
 field of battle would scarce have deserved the name of a Divine 
 judgment, if he had not gone to the war in contempt of Ciod's 
 warnings by the mouth of His Prophet. It certainly was a pu- 
 nishment which bore no manner of proportion to the black guilt 
 of liis sins : for he sinned more than all the kings of Israel that 
 went before him. He so filled the land with idolatries, that the 
 gin of .Jeroboam was but a small one in comparison with his. By 
 trampling on the law of God, demolishing His altirs, and killing 
 or banishing His Prophets continually, he seemed to make it the 
 full puj-pose of hi» heart, and Uusinesii of his life, to root out the 
 
 Before 
 
 ciraisT 
 
 8il7. 
 
 t Heh. 
 
 in his sim- 
 plicitx/. 
 t Hob. 
 joints and 
 the breast- 
 jilnle. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 made sick. 
 t Hit). 
 atccniied. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 hit$om. 
 
 t HeW. 
 cnme. 
 
 tains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that 
 they said. Surely it is the king of Israel. 
 And they turned aside to fight against 
 him : and Jehoshaphat cried out. 
 
 33 And it came to pass, when the cap- 
 tains of the chariots perceived that it was 
 not the king of Israel, that they turned 
 back from pursuing him. 
 
 34 And a certain man drew a bow t at a 
 venture, and smote the king of Israel be- 
 tween the t joints of the harness : where- 
 fore he said luito the driver of his chariot. 
 Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the 
 host ; for I am t wounded. 
 
 35 And the battle t increased that day : 
 and the king was stayed up in his chariot 
 against the Syrians, and died at even : and 
 the blood ran out of the wound into the 
 t midst of the chariot. 
 
 S6 And there went a proclamation 
 throughout the host about the going down 
 of the sun, saying. Every man to his city, 
 and every man to his own country. 
 
 37 IF So the king died, and twas brought 
 to Samaria ; and they buried the king in 
 Samaria. 
 
 38 And one washed the chariot in the 
 pool of Samaria ; and the dogs licked up 
 
 religion which he found established, and introduce paganism in 
 the room of it. Let us carry in our minds as just an estim.nte as 
 we can of Ahab's guilt, while we read the history of himself and 
 his family, and then we shall not wonder at the sanguinary exe- 
 cutions, which were done upon him, root and branch, untU a 
 full end was made of him ; for it was fit that his puni.shment 
 should be as notorious, as his enmity to God had been extreme. 
 Heading. 
 
 38. — and the dogs licked up hi.f blood ;] From the narrative 
 of the guilt and punishment of .\hab let us learn the awakening 
 doctrine of retributive justice, which the Scriptures uniformly in- 
 culcate, and be persuaded, that, whatever be the circumstances of 
 the sinner, sooner or later " the wickedness of the wicked shall 
 be upon him." In elder times, when the providence of Go<l was 
 specially manifested in the government of His peculiar people, an 
 immediate temporal punishment was often inflicted in proportion 
 and suitable to the offence. " In tlie portion of .lezreel," where 
 the murder of Nabotli was committed, " did dogs eat the flesh of 
 Jezebel :" " as dogs had licked the blood of Xaboth, so tlogs licked 
 the blood of Ahab," who was the occ-uion of Naboth's being shed. 
 In these latter days, when the Almighty lias ceasetl to interpose 
 so conspicuously in the moral government of the world, the tem- 
 poral punishment does not often appear so well adaptetl to the 
 offence. But let not the sinner presume to flatter himself that ho 
 shall eventually escape the judgment of God. Whether he has 
 been " drawn away by his own lusts and enticed," or been 
 tempted by the allurements of others, whom he has jiermitted to • , 
 " stir him up" to wickedness, " the provocation, wherewith lie 
 hath provoked God to anger," shall not be forgotten. In the pu- 
 nishments of a temporal kind, which befell the sinful Israelites, he 
 may perceive an emblem of the miseries, with which his sins will 
 hereafter be visited. And as surely as dogs did lick the blood of 
 Ahab, and eat the flesh of Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, so 
 surely shall " indign.ition and wrath, tribulation and .■inguish," be 
 poured out upoii the impenitent sinner, " according to liis deeds." 
 Mant. 
 
 4 Re
 
 Jehoshaphat's good reign. 
 
 I. KINGS. 
 
 Ahaziah*s evil reign. 
 
 19. 
 
 ton. 
 
 01 -1. 
 
 • « Cliron. 
 «X 31. 
 
 nrfofT his blood ; and they washed his armour ; 
 •^'V"^^ according " unto the word of the Lord 
 which he spake. 
 
 3[) Now tlie rest of the acts of Ahab, 
 and all that he did, and the ivory house 
 which he made, and all the cities that he 
 built, are they not written in the book of 
 the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 
 
 i-U So Ahab slept with his fathers ; and 
 Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 41 IF And "^ Jehoshaphat the son of Asa 
 beo^an to reign over Judah in the fourth 
 year of Ahab king of Israel. 
 
 4'J Jehoshaphat -sas thirty and five years 
 old when he began to reign ; and he reign- 
 ed twenty and five years in Jerusalem. 
 And his mother's name was Azubah the 
 daughter of Shilhi. 
 
 4^ And he walked in all the ways of 
 Asa his father -, he turned not aside from 
 it, doing that xihich was right in the eyes 
 of the Lord : nevertheless the high places 
 were not taken away ; Jbr the people offer- 
 ed and burnt incense yet in the high places. 
 
 44 And Jehoshaphat made peace with 
 the king of Israel. 
 
 45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehosha- 
 phat, and his might that he shewed, and 
 how he warred, are they not written in the 
 book of the chronicles of the kings of Ju- 
 dah? 
 
 47- TluTC nas then no kiiig in Edom ;] The Edomites con- 
 tinued subject to the kingdom of Judah from the days of David, 
 who bega:j tliis dominion, 2 Sam. viii. 14, till the authority was 
 lost by Jt-hdsiuphat's son, 2 Kings viii. 21. It appears that at 
 this time tlic king of Judali appointed a deputy, who was king in 
 his iiteail. Dp. Patrick. 
 
 ♦8. — ihips of Tharshishl Probably so called from their form ; 
 Wing made allter the model of those that used to trade to that 
 place. Bp. Patrick, 
 
 46 And the remnant of the sodoniite.s, chiust 
 which remained in the days of his father 914. 
 Asa, he took out of the land. 
 
 47 The7-e was then no king in Edom : a 913. 
 deputy -icas king. 
 
 48 Jehoshaphat || made ships of Thar- II Or, 
 slush to go to Ophir for gold : but they j^y,'" 
 went not; for the ships were broken at 
 Ezion-geber. 
 
 49 Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab 
 unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go 
 with thy servants in the ships. But Jeho- 
 shaphat would not. 
 
 50 ^ And Jehoshaphat slept with his fa- 
 thers, and was buried with his fathers in 
 the city of David his father : and Jehoram 
 his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 51 ^ Ahaziah the son of Ahab be- 
 gan to reign over Israel in Samaria the 
 seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king 
 of Judah, and reigned two years over 
 Israel. 
 
 52 And he did evil in the sight of the 
 Lord, and walked in the way of his father, 
 and in the way of his mother, and in thfe 
 way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who 
 made Israel to sin : 
 
 53 For he served Baal, and worshipped 
 him, and provoked to anger the Lord God 
 of Israel, according to all that his father 
 had done. 
 
 49. — Bid Jehoshaphat would uol.'2 Jehoshaphat had before 
 contracted alliance with this king, 2 Chron. xx. 35, but, 
 being now better instructed by his ill success, and by the 
 reproof of a Prophet, he would not continue this league with 
 him. 
 
 51. — two years'] Not two years complete; for Ahaziah died, 
 2 Kings iii. 1, before the second year was ended. Bp. Po- 
 trick. 
 
 »«9. 
 
 898. 
 
 The following Chapters from the first book of Kings are appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holydays. 
 
 Chap. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 iXII. 
 
 8th Sunday after Trinity, 
 Ditto, ... 
 
 9th Sunday after Trinity, 
 Ditto, ... 
 
 10th Sunday after Trinity, 
 Ditto, ... 
 
 Morning. 
 Evening. 
 Morning. 
 Evening. 
 Morning. 
 Evening.
 
 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE 
 
 KING S, 
 
 COMMONLY CALLED, 
 
 THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE KINGS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE history contained in this book records the government and actions of many successive kings of Judah and Israel, for the space of 
 about 300 years: from the death of Jehoshaphat, in the year of the world 3115, to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, 
 3416. The connexion and occasional quarrels which subsisted between the two nations during part of this time, till the conquest of 
 Samaria by Shalmaneser, seem to have induced the saci-ed writers to blend the two histories, as in some measure treating of the same 
 people. Both nations appear to have departed witli almost equal steps from the service of the true God ; and in the history of each 
 we are presented with a succession of wicked and idolatrous kings till each had completed the measure of its iniquity. 
 
 Both Israel and Judah, though they invariably experienced prosperity and affliction in proportion to their obedience and disobedience, 
 were infatuated by their perverse inclinations : and in a long series of their respective sovereigns we find a few only who were awak- 
 ened by God's judgments to a sense of their true interest and duty. The whole period seems to have been dark and guilty ; the 
 glory of the kingdom being eclipsed by the calamities of the division, and by the increased miseries of idolatrj' and ambition. Suc- 
 cessive tyrannies, treasons, seditions, and usurpations, and the instant punishment wliich they produced, serve at once to illustrate 
 the evil character of the times, and the vigilant equity of the Divine government. The events are described witli great simplicity ; 
 though in themselves highly interesting and important. Tlie account of Elijah's assumption into heaven, of Elisha's succession to 
 his ministry, and of the series of illustrious miracles performed by Elisha; the story of Naaman, and of the.panick fright of th« 
 Syrians ; the history of Ben-hadad and Hazael ; of the predicted death of Jezebel, and Ahab's children ; and of the destruction 
 of Baal's prophets, are all pregnant witli instruction, and have furnished theme for frequent dissertation. We perceive, in these im- 
 pressive histories, the characters and qualities of men painted with great fidelity ; and the attributes of God displayed -with great 
 effect. The particulars and circumstances are sketched out with a brief and lively description, and the imagination lingers with 
 pleasure in filling up those striking outlines that are presented to our view. The sacred author, regardless of minute order, and of 
 the succession of events, seems sometimes desirous only of furnishing us with a view of the state of religion among the people, and of 
 illustrating the genealogy of Christ. In particular, we observe how tlie revolt of the ten tribes, and their subsequent c-iptivity, con- 
 tributed to keep up the distinction of the tribe of Judah ; and to make the prophecies, which foretold that the Messiali should de- 
 scend from this branch, more conspicuously accomplished. 
 
 The predictions described as delivered and fulfilled in this book, are those which foretold the death of Ahaziah, chap. i. l6; the birth 
 of a son to the Shunammite, chap. iv. IG; the recovery of Naaman, chap. v. 10; plenty in Samaria, chap. vii. 1 ; the crimes and 
 cruelty of Hazael, chap. viii. 10, 12; the success of .Toash, chap. xiii. 19; the defeat of Sennacherib, chap. xix. 6, 7, 28, 29, 33; 
 the prolongation of Hezekiah's life, chap. xx. 6; the Babylonish captivity, chap. xx. 17, 18; and the peaceful reign of josiah, 
 chap. xxii. 20. 
 
 After the captivity of the ten tribes, the colony brought up from Babylon and other places adopted the Hebrew religion, and blended 
 it with their o^vn idolatries ; and henceforward, in point of time, we hear little of tiie inhabitants of Samaria. Tlie kingdom of 
 Judah still continued for above a century to provoke God's anger bj- its disobedience and idolatry, notwithstanding Isaiali and many 
 other Prophets conspired, during all this period, to exhort the people to repentance. In' every motive of interest and fear. The good 
 reign of Hezekiah, tiiough lengthened by Divine Providence, was too soon succeeded by the " evil days of Manassch," in whose 
 time the temple, and even the volume of the law, seem to have been almost entirely neglected. In the reign of Josiah, religion for 
 a short time revived; the publick copy of the law was discovered, and read, chap. xxii. S; xxiii. 2 ; and idolatry for a few months 
 suppressed : but the tide of iniquity hax ing rolled back with accumulated force, Jenisalem is besieged and taken, the city and temple 
 spoiled, and the noblest of the nation led captive to Bab3'lon. 
 
 The book concludes with the account of the second siege by Nebuchadnezzar, which happened about eighteen years after the first ; 
 then the city and temple were burnt ; and, soon after, the whole destruction was completed by the massacre or flight of the remnant 
 which had been left amidst the ruined cities of Judea. Dr. Gray. 
 
 The beginning and end of these Jewish kingdoms are eminent demonstrations of the wisdom and justice of Providence, and of the 
 truth of the many promises and threats made to the people of Israel ; they are a great confirmation of the Mosaical history, and of 
 our whole religion, as completed by Jesus Christ. Pj/lc.
 
 Ahasiah'sjudgmeiU h\j Elijah. 
 
 n. KINGS. 
 
 Elijah ttiicc bringeth Jtre from heaven 
 
 ' 
 
 Bcfun 
 CHRIST 
 
 ilwut )<!>«. 
 
 CHAP. 1. 
 
 Mwb TtbeUclh. '2 Ahaziab, tending to BaaUzebtih, 
 halh his judgnu-nl Ai/ Elijah. 5 KUjah twice bringelh 
 fire from heaven u/ion them whom Ahaziah sent to o/>- 
 'prehend him. 1.'! He pilielh the third captain, and, 
 encouraged bij an aiisci, tellclh the king oj his death. 
 1 7 Jehoram succeedeth Ahaziah. 
 
 I HEN Moab rebelled 
 
 against Israel 
 
 TH 
 •after the death of Ahah 
 'i And Aliaziali fell down through a lat- 
 tice in his upper chamber that XLas in Sa- 
 maria, and was sick : and he sent messen- 
 gers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of 
 Baal-zebiib the god of Ekron whether I 
 shall recover of this disease. 
 
 3 Hut the angel of the Lord said to Eli- 
 jah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the 
 messengers of tiic king of Samaria, and say 
 unto them. Is it not because there is not 
 a (lod in Israel, that ye go to enquire of 
 Baal-zebub the god of Ekron ? 
 
 4 Now therctbre thus saith the Lord, 
 
 Chap. I. viT. I. Thai Moab rebelled^ The Moabltes had 
 •wnetl tlie dominion of Israel ever since the days of David, 2 
 J<am. viii. i. 
 
 iJ. — through a lattice in his upper chamber'] As it was the 
 curtom in the Ka*t to walk on tlic flat roofs of the houses, it is 
 probable that Ahaziah either fell from the parajjet wall with 
 whicii the riKif wa< surrouiuled, or else throiiffh an opening in 
 tlie roof w hich was (lesiffned to give light to the apartments in 
 tlie house below. Sluckliouse. 
 
 _ — ; — of Baal-zchub the god of Ekron"] The word Baal-zebub 
 signifies the " god of flies ;" but, how this idol came to obtain that 
 name, it is not so ejisy a matter to discover. Several are of 
 opinion that this go<l was called Baal-semin, tlie Lord of Heaven, 
 but that the Jews, by way of contempt, gave it the name of Baal- 
 r.<-bub, or the lord of a fly, a god that was nothing worth, or (as 
 others say) whose temple was filled with flics ; whereas the temple 
 of Jeni>iilem (notwithst;inding all the .sacrifices that were daily 
 offcrwl) never once had a fly in it, as their doctors relate. The sa- 
 cred writings indeed, when they speak of the gods of the heathens, 
 vcrj- fre<,uenlly call them in general, idols, vanity, abominations, 
 \c. luit they never change their proper names in'to such as are of 
 an opprobrious imjiort ; neither can we think it likely, that the 
 king of Israel would have called the god of Ekron, for wliom he 
 had so high a veneration, as to consult him in his sickness, by any 
 appcl ation of contempt, \Vhoever considers what troubl^ome 
 and destnictive creatures (es-pecially in some hot countries) flies 
 •re known to be ; in wliat vast swarms they sometimes settle, and 
 not only devour all the fruits of the earth.'but in many places oc- 
 CBsuu, a noisome pestilence ; may rea.sonably suppose, that the 
 hKilhens h.-ul a proper deity, to whom they made their adtbesses, 
 
 either for the — .: - , .. ■ . > 
 
 Jews, under t.... .-.t.. i trsiuiiicni., caiieii ■• tne prince 
 >il»" by this same n^une of B;ial-ztbub. Stackhousc. 
 
 the prevention or removal of this sore plague. The 
 cr the New Testament, called " the prince of the de- 
 . lis same n.une of B;ial-ztbub. Stackhouse. 
 It may ap,H.ar suqirising that the presenation from flies should 
 be deemetl by the ...habitants of Ekron of so great importance, 
 that a name shcuM be giv.n to the idol they worshipped, e.xpresl 
 •ne ot this property ; but tliere arc accounts of the effect ot' flies 
 .n that onin.ry, which may tend to lessen that surprise In mr 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 89C. 
 t Hel). 
 
 Tlie lied, 
 whither 
 thou nrt 
 gone !/;>, 
 thou shaft 
 Tiat come 
 downj'rom 
 it. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 H'ltiil was 
 the mnnner 
 of the man? 
 
 t Thou shalt not come down from that bed 
 on which thou art gone up, but shalt sure- 
 ly die. And Elijah departed. 
 
 5 ^ And when the messengers turned 
 back luito him, he said unto them, Why 
 are ye now turned back? 
 
 () And they said unto him, There came 
 a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, 
 turn again luito the king that sent you, and 
 say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Is it 
 not because there is not a God in Israel, 
 that thou sendest to enquire of Baal-zebub 
 the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not 
 come down from that bed on which thou 
 art gone up, but shalt surely die. 
 
 7 And he said unto them, t What man- 
 ner of man was he which came up to meet 
 you, and told you these words ? 
 
 8 And they answ^ered him, He was an 
 hairy man, and girt w ith a girdle of leather 
 about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah 
 the Tishbite. 
 
 flying about like sparks, which they called Cincinellse. With 
 these the whole neighbouring countrj' around was filled. These 
 most wretchedly infested the pilgrims, piercing with great smart- 
 ness the hands, necks, throats, faces, and every part that was un- 
 covered ; a most violent burning tumour following the punctures 
 made by them, so that all whom they stung looked like lepers." 
 He adds, that they could with difficulty guard themselves from 
 this most troublesome vexation, by covering their heads and 
 necks with vails. This description refers to a country not very 
 far from Ekron, and much resembling it in its general character, 
 being a plain not far from the seacoast. It cannot be wondered 
 that the inhabitants of these countries should have attached great 
 importance to an idol, who possessed the supposed power of 
 preserving them from such a grievous visitation. Harmer. See 
 the notes on Exotl. viii. H. 
 
 The department of several of the heathen deities was to ward 
 off those natural evils, to which their votaries were liable. The 
 province allotted to several deities was particularly to drive away 
 We read of Jupiter under several titles, all conferred upon 
 
 flies. 
 
 • Jtrusalcm. were assailed by 
 
 set- 
 
 y a most minute kind of fly. 
 
 him from a supposition of his clearing his temples from these in- 
 sects. He was worshipped under this character at Elis, as Her- 
 cules was at Rome. Bryant. 
 
 Ekron] This place being situated in the country 
 
 of tiie Philistines, near the Mediterranean sea, in a moist and 
 hot soil, was liable to be veiy much infested with flies. Cat- 
 met. 
 
 He thus upbraids them with their 
 
 S. — Is it not because &-c.' 
 stupid unthoughtfulness of the great Jehovah, and their impious 
 irrational regard to a mere imaginary deity. Pyle. 
 
 ■!•• — Thou shall not come down from that bedT] This expression 
 of coming dmvn from the bed is illustrated by some modem cus- 
 toms. In the chambers of the Moorish houses in Barbary, there 
 is generidly at one end a little gallery, raised three, four, or fivt 
 feet above the floor, with a few steps leading up to it, and in this 
 they place their beds. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 8. — an hair;/ man,] Meaning probably, either that he wore a 
 long beard and hair about his head, or that he was covered with 
 a hairy giirment, which Prophets were wont to use, as appears 
 from Isai. xx. 2 ; Zech. xiii. 4 ; Matth. iii. 4. The leatliem 
 girdle makes the last explanation the most jirobable. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. He was a man roughly did, as one that professed to 
 be a messenger of penitence and humiliation to the world. 
 Bp. Hatl.
 
 upon those that come agatmt him. 
 
 CHAP. I, II. 
 
 Jekoram succeedeth AJiaziah. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 towed. 
 
 Before 9 Then the king sent unto him a captain 
 
 aboutfsG. of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to 
 
 him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an 
 
 hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man 
 
 of God, the king hath said, Come down. 
 
 10 And EHjah answered and said to the 
 captain of fifty, If I &<? a man of God, then 
 let fire come down from heaven, and con- 
 sume thee and thy fifty. And there came 
 down fire from heaven, and consumed him 
 and his fifty, 
 
 11 Again also he sent unto him another 
 captain of fifty with his fifty. And he 
 answered and said unto him, O man of 
 God, thus hath the king said, Come down 
 quickly. 
 
 12 And Elijah answered and said unto 
 them. If I 6e a man of God, let fire come 
 down from heaven, and consume thee and 
 thy fifty. And the fire of God came down 
 from heaven, and consumed him and his 
 fifty. 
 
 13 % And he sent again a captain of the 
 third fifty with his fifty. And the third 
 captain of fifty went up, and came and t fell 
 on his knees before Elijah, and besought 
 him, and said unto him, O man of God, I 
 pray thee, let my life, and the life of these 
 fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. 
 
 14 Behold, there came fire down from 
 heaven, and burnt up the two captains of 
 the former fifties with their fifties : therefore 
 let my life now be precious in thy sight. 
 
 15 And the angel of the Lord said unto 
 Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid 
 of him. And he arose, and went down 
 with him unto the king. 
 
 It is remarkable that the dervises in this countrj-, in motlern 
 times, go clothed as Ehjah did, wearing a hairy garment, and 
 girded with a leathern girdle. Sir J. C/iardiu. 
 
 g. — Tbmi man of God,'J Thou that pretendest to be a man of 
 God. Bp.HalL 
 
 10. — Id fire come down from }ieaven,'\ This was not done 
 from a revengeful feeling, but to convince a wicked prince and 
 an idolatrous people, that Jehovah was the true God, and that He 
 alone ought to be applied to in the time of trouble. Bp. fVilson. 
 
 and consj/med him and liis Jiflj/-'} What is man in the 
 
 hands of his Maker! One flash of lightning has consumed tliis 
 one and fifty. And if aU the hosts of Israel, yea, of the world, 
 had been in their place, there had needed no other force. What 
 madness is it for him, whose breath is in his nostrils, to contend 
 with the Almighty ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 Though Elijah consumed by fire from heaven the captains and 
 soldiers whom the king sent to take him, he did it not out of a 
 spirit of revenge, or of his own accord, but by a Divine impulse 
 and command. God wrought the miracle to secure the Prophet, 
 and to punish the idolaters, to put a stop to the fury of Ahaziah, 
 and to teach that prince and his subjects to fear the true God. 
 Oslenald. 
 
 God destroyed tlie two captains and their companies, by fire 
 from heaven, because they came to take His Prophet rudely and 
 by force, God will have His Prophets reverenced, and not af- 
 
 89C. 
 
 16 And he said unto him, Tlius saith p^rTcx 
 the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast sent about sge. 
 messengers to enquire of Baal-zebub the 
 
 god of Eki'on, is it not because t/iere is no 
 God in Israel to enquire of his word? 
 therefore thou shalt not come down off that 
 bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt 
 surely die. 
 
 17 1[ So he died according to the word 
 of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. 
 And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the 
 second year of Jehoram the son of Jehosha- 
 phat king of Judah ; because he had no son. 
 
 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah 
 which he did, are they not Avritten in the 
 book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 
 
 CHAP. IL 
 
 1 Elijah, taking his leave of Eli ska, with his mantle divid- 
 eth Jordan, 9 and, granting Elisha his request, is taken 
 up hxj a fieri) chariot into heaven. 12 Elisha, dividing 
 Jordan irith Elijah's mantle, is acknmvledged his suc- 
 cessor. i6 The young prophets, hardly obtaining leave 
 to seek Elijah, could not Jind him. 19 Elisha ivith 
 salt healeth the unwholesome maters. 23 Bears destroy 
 the children that mocked Elisha. 
 
 AND it came to pass, when the Lord 
 Mould take up Elijah into heaven by 
 a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha 
 from Gilgal. 
 
 2 And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry 
 here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent 
 me to Beth-el. And Elisha said 2i?ito him^ 
 As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, 
 I will not leave thee. So they went down 
 to Beth-el. 
 
 3 And the sons of the prophets that were 
 at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said 
 
 fronted, because thej' are allied to Him; and every affront offered 
 to them is justly resented as an indignity to Himself. But He 
 made a distinction, even in this case, between rude and reverent 
 behaviour; therefore tlie third captain and his company, ver. 
 13, since they had been taught some modesty and good man- 
 ners towards so eminent a Prophet of God most High, were used 
 with tenderness, and came off unhurt. Dr. JVaterland. 
 
 15. — and tvent don-n with him unto the king."^ Here is a strik- 
 ing instance of the Prophet's faitli and obedience to God. He had 
 the greatest reason to be afraid of the king and Jezebel, hii\ing, 
 besides other unwelcome things, so lately executed a terrible 
 judgment on two of his captains and their companies. But now, 
 having an express command from God, he boldly goes to the king, 
 and confirms with his own mouth that ungrateful truth, whicll he 
 had already delivered to him by his messengers. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 17. — because he had no son.'] He was succeeded by his brother 
 Jehoram, " because he had no son." 
 
 Chap. II. ver. 2. — Tarry here, I prat/ thee;'] Elijah seems to 
 have said this to trj' Elisha; for he did not intend to concejj his 
 assumption into heaven, and to have no witnesses of it. His hu- 
 mility indeed was great; but it was not fit to conceal the glory of 
 God, which herein miraculously appeared. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. And the sons of lite prophets'} By "the sons of the Prophets," 
 we are to understand the scholars of the Prophets, such as they
 
 Ehja/i uith his mantle divideth Jordan, II, KINGS. 
 
 and is taken up into heaven. 
 
 IlrConr \\niO 
 CHRIST 
 SiX. 
 
 tHcb. 
 
 m tifhl, 
 or. 'Ji-rr 
 
 liini, Knowcst thou that the Loud 
 will take away thy master from thy head 
 to day? Ami lie saiii, Yea, I know it; hold 
 ye your peace. 
 
 4 And Elijaii said unto him, Elisha, 
 tarry iiere, I pray thee; for the Lord hath 
 sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the 
 Lord livcth, and as thy soul liveth, I will 
 not leave thee. So they came to Jeri- 
 cho. 
 
 5 And the sons of the prophets that xvere 
 at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto 
 him, Knowcst thou that the Lord will take 
 away thy master from thy head to day? 
 And he answered. Yea, 1 know it; hold ye 
 your jjcace. 
 
 G And Elijah said unto him. Tarry, I 
 pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent 
 me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord 
 liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not 
 leave thee. And they two went on. 
 
 7 And tifty men of the sons of the pro- 
 phets went, and stood t to view afar off: 
 and they two stood by Jordan. 
 
 ulufatctl and trained up in rcli;jion and virtue, upon wliom God 
 by di'firecs bestowed the spirit of propliec.v, and whom the supe- 
 riour I'rophets employed in the suue capacity as tlie Apostles ditl 
 the Kvanjjelists, namely, to ))ul)libh their prophecies and instruc- 
 tions to tlie people, in the places where tht nisei ves could not no. 
 Nor is it any small testimony ot'Cuxl's love to an apostate people, 
 that, in these corrupt times, and in that very place where the 
 }j')lden calves were wor.-hippcd. He still contiinied the schools of 
 the Prophets, in order to recover them from idolatry. Nay, (what 
 is very remarkable.) there were I'rophcts of "greater excellency 
 for their miracles in Israel than in Judah, because they needed 
 thiin more, both to turn their h.irdencd hearts from the worship 
 ol idols, and to preserve the pious persons that remained among 
 them from tlcserting their religion. lip. Patrick- 
 
 It appears that the Jews, though they enjoyed the advant;iges 
 of immediate inspiration, yet had their school's of the Prophets, 
 (ipnomted, as is most probable, by the immediate direction of 
 (Jotl Himself,) where the youth were instructed in the principles 
 of religion, and. by a virtuous and liberal education, both qualified 
 to disch.irgc the ordinary functions of the ministry, and also bet- 
 ter di»po»t-d to receive the extraordinary gi»\s of prophecy and 
 miracles. The sons of the Prophets hero mentioned are such per- 
 sons .-IS received their education in these publick schools. From 
 the short and scattered accounts which we find in .Scripture re- 
 5pectmg them, we collect, that the sons of the Prophets were here 
 «lucated, under the superintendence of the most eminent Pro- 
 jiheto, in the study of true religion and useful learning, and em- 
 ployed in coiujKJsing hymns, singing forth the praises of (Jod and 
 otJier religious exercises; that they lived together in societies, and 
 were .subject to st-iteil rules of government. Dr. liandolnh. 
 
 - — laU- uim;i thii muster from Ihii lieadl^ This is an allusion 
 to tlie manner ol teachnig in the prophetiek schools, where the 
 sthclars sat at the feet of the master, and he just over their heads 
 Ihus, to take away a master from the head of a person, sicnifies 
 to deprive him ot his instructions. Vjlc. See the note on Deut! 
 
 5. Ami the suns of the prophets'^ At Jericho, it appears there 
 pheUaU robe, Jon J, .U. ti. The Greek translators rendw ft by^ 
 
 8 And Elijah took his mantle, and wrap- 
 ped it together, and smote the waters, 
 and they were divided hither and thi- 
 ther, so that they two went over on dry 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 896. 
 
 groinid 
 
 9 ^ And it came to pass, when they 
 were gone over, that Elijah said unto Eli- 
 sha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I 
 be taken away from thee. And Elisha 
 said, I pray thee, let a double portion of 
 thy spirit be upon me. 
 
 10 And he said, t Thou hast asked a 
 hard thing : nevertheless, if thou see me 
 ivlie7i I am taken from thee, it shall be 
 so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be 
 so, 
 
 11 And it came to pass, as they still 
 went on, and talked, that, behold, there 
 airpeared a chariot of fire, and horses of 
 fire, and parted them both a.sunder; and 
 " Elijah went up by a whirlwind into hea- 
 ven. 
 
 12 5F And Elisha saw it, and he cried, 
 " My father, my father, the chariot of Is- 
 
 t Heb. 
 Thnu ftnig 
 done hard 
 in asking. 
 
 ' Eccl" 4S, 
 
 9. 
 
 1 Mac. 3. 
 
 58. 
 
 ' Chap. IS. 
 
 14. 
 
 word which signifies a robe made of lambskins. It is supposed 
 to have been an upper gamient thrown over the shoulders, and 
 reaching down to tlie heels. Dp. Patrick: 
 
 y. — A.tic ii'hnl I .ihall do for thee, before I be taken aivay'\ We 
 are here supplied with a strong and conclusive argument against 
 the practice in the Romish cliurch of praying to deceased saints 
 and martyrs. Elijah, in uttering these words, clearly intimates . 
 to Elisha that then was the last opportunity of asking any thing 
 from iiim. But if Elijah had understood the matter as thechurcli 
 of Home does now, he would ratlier have directetl him to pray to 
 him while he was in heaven, where- he might then have a more 
 powerful interest, and be more able to render him service. It is 
 true the church of Rome gives as a reason why prayer was not 
 addressed to saints in the Old Testament, that they were not then 
 admitted into heaven; but tliis will not hold with respect to Eli- 
 jah, who was taken up into lieaven, and therefore as much in 
 circumstances to admit of being prayed to, as any saints and 
 martyrs who have died in subsequent times. Abp. Tillotson. 
 
 kl a double portion ofthi/ xpirit be upon jwr.] Elisha prays 
 
 that a larger portion of the prophetical spirit might be communi- 
 cated to him than to the other Prophets. There would be an 
 appearance of arrogance in liis request, if it were supposed to be 
 intended for ,1 double portion of the spirit, which Elijah himself 
 had. Stachhon.ic. Tlie request may be, to have a double share, 
 compared with that wiiicli was gi\en to the rest of the Propliets. 
 " When thy sj>irit is divided aniong the sons of tlie Prophets, let 
 me have two shares." Bp. Wilson. His request may be thus pa- 
 raphrased: " As thou hast chosen me to stand in a nearer relation 
 to thee than the rest of the sons of the Prophets, so give me tliis 
 prerogative, that I may ha\e a double portion to theirs of that 
 spirit ami those powers wliich are in thee." Bp. Hall. 
 
 12. — My father, my father, the chariot of I.^rucl, iSrc] They 
 used to call by the name of father their masters and instructors. 
 This expression of Elisha, alluding to the appearance of the chariot 
 ami horses, which he liad just beheld, seems to imply that Elijah, 
 by his example, and prayers, and power with God, did more for 
 the defence and preservation of Israel, than all their chariots and 
 horses, and other warlike provisions. We must suppose that this 
 ■was an abrupt speech, which Elisha, from the consternation he 
 was in, left unfinished, and so the sacred history has recorded it. 
 Poole, Le Clerc. Of all the events recorded in the Old Testa- 
 ment, we meet with none more remarkable than the translation of
 
 EUsha succeedeth Elijah. 
 
 CHAP. 11. 
 
 He healeth the unwholesome 'waters. 
 
 Before rael, and the horsemen thereof. And he 
 
 *^%9c^^^ saw him no more : and lie took hold of his 
 
 own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. 
 
 13 He took up also the mantle or Elijah 
 that fell from him, and went back, and 
 
 t Hebj//.. stood by the t bank of Jordan ; 
 
 14 And he took the mantle of Elijah 
 that fell from him, and smote the waters, 
 and said, Where is the Lord God of Eli- 
 jah ? and when he also had smitten the 
 waters, they parted hither and thither : 
 and Elisha went over. 
 
 15 And when the sons of the prophets 
 'Ver. 7. which xvere "to view at Jericho saw him, 
 
 they said, Tlie spirit of Elijah doth rest on 
 Elisha. And they came to meet him, and 
 bowed themselves to the ground before 
 him. 
 
 16 ^ And they said unto him. Behold 
 now, there be with thy servants fifty 
 
 t Hcb. t strong men ; let them go, we pray thee, 
 ZTm'th. ^^^ ?ieek thy master: lest peradventure the 
 
 Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and 
 f Hei). cast him upon t some mountain, or into 
 one of the ggj^g valley. And he said, Ye shall not 
 
 send. 
 
 17 And when they urged him till he was 
 
 Enoch in the times before the flood, and of the Prophet Elijah 
 under the dispensation of the law. In regard to Elijali, as he had 
 been a zealous advocate for God, and a strenuous opposer of idol- 
 atry, an implacable enemy to Baal's priests, an undaunted re- 
 prover of the wickedness of princes, and a severe inflictcr of the 
 Divine vengeance on the cliildren of disobedience ; we may pre- 
 sume that God designed his exaltation, not only as a recompense 
 for his past services, which were great, but as an encouragement 
 also to other remaining Prophets to be strong in the Lord, to bear 
 witness boldly against the corruption of the age in which they 
 lived, and, in the execution of their office, to fear the face of no 
 man. Slackhousc. 
 
 The author of the book of Ecclesiasticus, chap, xlviii. 1 — 12, 
 has described tlie life and character of Elijah, and written an en- 
 <;oimum to his memor}-. 
 
 The taking up of the Prt)phet Elijah into heaven is a miracu- 
 lous event, in which we see how God was pleased to reward the 
 extraordinary zeal of this great Prophet, and to teach men at the 
 same time that He reserves in heaven a blessed state for those 
 that shall have served Him faithfully. Besides this, we have in 
 the ascension of Elijah a type of tiiat of .Jesus Christ, which 
 is yet a stronger proof to us that there is a better life after this 
 prepared for the righteous. ()sl(rvald. See the note on Gen. 
 V. 24. 
 
 There are three bodily inhabitants of heaven, Enoch, Elijah, 
 our Saviour Christ : the first, before the law ; the second, under 
 the law; the third, under the gospel: all three in a several form 
 of translation. Our blessed Saviour raised Himself to and above 
 the heavens by His own immediate power : He ascended as the 
 Son ; tliejf, as servants : He, as God : they, as creatures. Elijah 
 ascended by the visible ministry of angels ; Enoch, insensibly. 
 Wherefore, O Ciod, hast Thou done this, but to give us a taste of 
 what we shall be ; to let us see that heaven was never shut to the 
 faithful ; to give us an assurance of the future glorification of this 
 mortal and corruptible part } Even thus, O Sa\ iour, when Thou 
 shalt descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the 
 archangel, and with the tmmp of God, we that are alive and re- 
 iiiain shall be caught up, together with tjie raised bodice o.f Thv 
 
 \6L. 1. 
 
 mucarry. 
 
 ashamed, he said. Send. They sent there- Before 
 fore fifty men ; and they sought three days, ^^^^"^ 
 but found him not. 
 
 18 And when they came again to him, 
 (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto 
 them. Did I not say unto you, Go not ? 
 
 19 IT And the men of the city said unto 
 Ehsha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation 
 of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth : 
 but the water is naught, and the ground 
 
 t barren. t Heb. 
 
 20 And he said. Bring me a new cruse, ""''"^ '* 
 and put salt therein. And they brought it 
 to him. 
 
 21 And he went forth unto the spring 
 of the waters, and cast the salt in there, 
 and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have 
 healed these waters ; there shall not be 
 from thence any more death or barren 
 land. 
 
 22 So the waters were healed unto this 
 day, according to the saying of Elisha 
 which he spake. 
 
 23 % And he went up from thence unto 
 Beth-el : and as he was going up by the 
 way, there came forth little children out of 
 the city, and mocked him, and said unto 
 
 saints, into the clouds, to meet Thee in the air, to dwell with Thee 
 in glor}'. Bp. Hall. 
 
 rent them in Itvo pieces. 2 In token of the heavy loss he 
 
 had sustained, and of the sorrow wliich he felt for it. Bp. WiL 
 son. 
 
 13. He took up also the mantle ofElijafi'} Along with his falling 
 mantle, Elisha received that double portion of the spirit and of 
 the power of Elijah, which Go<l granted to the pious request of 
 this most faithful servant, whom nothing could separate from his 
 master, to reward his tried affection and persevering patience with 
 the choicest gifts of the Spirit. Dr. Hales. 
 
 1 i. ^ Where is Ike — God of Elijah?'] The more complete 
 translation of the Hebrew is this, "Where is the God of Elijah .'' 
 Surely, He is," or " is still the same." It is an earnest prayer 
 that God would assist him with His power, as He had formerly 
 assisted Elijali, and an expression of his religious confidence that 
 He would do so. Pi/le. 
 
 1 6. — lei them go, — and seek- Ihi/ tnaslcr:] Ha\ing but an im- 
 perfect notion of Elijah's translation, they imagined, it appears, 
 that he might be taken away only for a time ; or that, though his 
 soul was taken up into heaven, his body might be left upon some 
 neighbouring mountain, or in some valley. Tiiey imjwrtuned 
 Elisha so long, that he wan forced to comply with their foolish 
 humour, for fear, perhaps, lest they might re]iresent him as too 
 forward to enter on his master's place, and aa wanting in regard 
 and love to him. Pijle. 
 
 17. And — he said, .Send.] " Since your importunity will take 
 no denial, please yourselves, try the event, send your messengers." 
 B]i. Hall. Compare Numb. xxii. 20. 
 
 21. — and east the salt in there.] The manner in whicli Elisha 
 sweetened the fountain, and made the soil fruitful, was by casting 
 salt into the water, to make the miracle more conspicuous ; for 
 salt is a thing which of all others makes water less fit to drink, 
 and the ground more barren. Staekhoitse. 
 
 o,<5. — came forth little children'] The children probably acted 
 by die instigation of their jiarents. This town of Beth-el was one 
 of the principal nurseries of Ahab's idolatry, ajid the people so 
 degenerate, as to have, a perfect contempt of all such Prophets a= 
 
 4 S
 
 Elisha is mocked of the children. 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 He obtaineth "water. 
 
 »\t6. 
 
 N' 
 
 BA« him, Go up, thou bald head ; go up, thou 
 C".!"*^ bald head. 
 
 'Ji And he turned back, and looked on 
 them, and cursed them in the name of the 
 LoKU. And tliere came forth two she bears 
 out of the wood, and tare forty and two 
 children of them. 
 
 i.'.5 And he went from thence to mount 
 C'armel, and from thence he returned to 
 tJaniaria. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 1 Jehoram's reign. 4 Met/ia rebellclh. 6 Jehoram, rvith 
 Jehoshaphat,(intl the king of Edoin, being distrctsed 
 J'urtvant of naler, by Elisha oblaindh water, and pro- 
 mise ofviclori/. '21 The Muii/iiles, deceived % ihe co- 
 lour of Ihe water, coming to spoil, are overcome. 26" 
 The ting of Moab, by sacri^cing the king of' Edom's 
 ton, raiseth the siege. 
 
 OW Jehoram the son of Ahab began 
 to reign over Israel in Samaria the 
 •96. eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Ju- 
 dah, and reigned twelve years. 
 
 '2 And he wrought evil in the siglit of 
 the Lord ; but not like his father, and like 
 tHcb. his mother: for he put away the t image 
 """"'■ of Baal tiiat lu's father had made. 
 
 3 Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins 
 of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made 
 Israel to sin ; he departed not therefrom. 
 4> ^ And Mesha king of Moab was a 
 
 reprovetl them for their flagrant vices. Pyle. We should not un- 
 derstand them to be literally children, hut jrrown up youths ; the 
 term ''child" being applied in the Hebrew language to grown up 
 persons. The provocation Elisha received was an insult offered to 
 him, not as a man, but as a Prophet ; and it was in his character 
 of a Prophet that he cursed them, which was followed by the 
 Divine infliction of destruction on the offenders. What effect this 
 •ignnl judgment had on the idolatrous inhabitants of the land, is 
 no where stated ; but it is probable that it was not witliout a eood 
 effect, lip. Watson. ® 
 
 The infliction of immediate punishment on these " chikh-cn" 
 was a pro|HT rebuke to the )>coplc of Hcth-cl for their irreverence 
 aiul uisiilt upon a Prophet of God, and therein upon God Himself. 
 They might derive from it instruction to train up their children 
 in future to good manners, and to the fear of God : and for the 
 present tliey might see how Go<l detests scoffers and mockers, 
 anil what re\ereiue He expects to be paid to His holy Prophets! 
 Dr. Hatcrland. O fearful example of Divine justice! This was 
 not the revenge of an angry I'rophet ; it was the punishment of 
 a righteous Judge. G(xl and His seer looked through these chil- 
 dren at the parents, at all I^Tael. He would punish the parents- 
 bat! ed.icalion of their children to the contemptuous usage of a 
 Prophet, with the death of those children whom they raistauo-ht. 
 1 !c would teach Israel what it is to misuse a Prophet ; and, if He 
 would not endure such conduct unrevenged in the young, what 
 vengeance was enough for aged persecutors ! lip. Hall. 
 
 — — Ihmbald head.-] Perhaps it was usual for a Prophet to 
 go with us he«l bare. The Eastern dervises do so at this day 
 oir J. (_ hardin. ■' 
 
 K.bl'^rKoVl '"■ *.■ ~!" f"' ""'"y ""' '""'.«'' <>f^'"'r\ It is pro- 
 he iudl^r."'°K 'I -'r.'^l";^'--^ "■''" '' Wn'^'^lf.^vi alarmed at 
 tUc judgmenu which God had sent upon the family, and was 
 
 sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king ^'■f"" 
 of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and ygg 
 an hundred thousand rams, with the wool. 
 
 5 But it came to pass, when * Ahab was •ciup.i.i. 
 dead, that the king of Moab rebelled a- 
 gainst the king of Israel. 
 
 6 % And king Jelioram went out of Sa- 
 maria the same time, and numbered all Is- 
 rael. 
 
 7 And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat sas. 
 the king of Judah, saying, The king of 
 Moab hath rebelled against me : wilt thou 
 
 go with me against Moab to battle ? And 
 he said, I will go up : ^ I api as thou art, >• i Kings 
 my people as thy people, afid my horses as °^' '*" 
 thy horses. 
 
 8 And he said, Which way shall we go 
 up ? And he answered, The way through 
 the wilderness of Edom. 
 
 9 So the king of Israel went, and the 
 king of Judah, and the king of Edom : and 
 they fetched a compass of seven days' jour- 
 ney : and there was no water for the host, 
 
 and for the carttle t that followed them. t Hcb. 
 
 10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! "'"""-f'^'- 
 that the Lord hath called these three kings 
 together, to deliver them into the hand of 
 Moab! 
 
 11 But Jehoshaphat said. Is there not 
 here a prophet of the Lord, that we may 
 
 therefore now content to worship Baal in private. Perhaps, too, 
 Jehoshaphat refused to assist him in his war with the Moabites, 
 till he had renounced the publick profession of idolatry. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 4. — was a sheepmaster,'] In ancient times, as has been before 
 observed, the riches not only of private persons, but also of kings, 
 consisted very mucli in sheep and cattle : and such is the mean- 
 ing of the expression here, that Mesha was " a sheepmaster," that 
 is, a great possessor of slieep. The number of sheep wliich, as is 
 stated in this verse, he "rendered" to the king of Isrnel, appears 
 to be prodigious; but then it should be considered, that sheep in 
 those countries were far more abundant than is consistent with 
 our experience. Also, this does not appear to be stated as an an- 
 nual tribute, but a satisfaction for the damage the Israelites had 
 sustiiinetl in the wai- with them, and by the revolt from them. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — The way through the wilderness of Edom.] Tiieir nearest 
 and most direct way to invade Moab, which l;;y over Jorilan, was 
 through the tribe of Reuben, or the south part of the country be- 
 yond Jordan ; but they fetched a compass through the wilderness 
 of Edom, which probably lay on the southwest of the Salt sea, 
 and so invaded Moab on those pai-ts, which were most distant 
 from Israel, and on which, in consequence, they least expected to 
 be invaded. Dr. Wells. 
 
 9. — - the king of Edom :] That is, the vicer&y appointed by the 
 king of Judah: it appears from 1 Kings xxii. 47, that there was 
 no kuig of Edom. 
 
 1 0. — Alas ! tliut the Lord hath called &c.] Jehoram has so 
 much grace as to confess the impotcncy of those he trusted, and 
 the power of that God whom he h.id neglected. Every sinner 
 cannot see and acknowledge the hand of God in his sufferings. 
 Already has the distressed prince gained something by bis mi- 
 sery. Bp.Uull. •
 
 ahd promise ofticlory. 
 
 CHAP. m. 
 
 Tlie MoaUtes are overc(me. 
 
 ■HRisT ^"<l"^r^ of the Lord by him? And one of 
 
 i9^. the king of Israel's servants answered and 
 
 said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, 
 
 which poured water on the hands of Eli- 
 
 j'ah. 
 
 12 And Jehoshaphat said, The word of 
 the Lord is with him. So the king of Is- 
 rael and Jehoshaphat and the king of E- 
 dom went down to him. 
 
 13 And EHsha said unto the king of Is- 
 rael, What have I to do with thee ? get 
 thee to the prophets of thy father, and to 
 the prophets of thy mother. And tlie king 
 of Israel said unto him. Nay : for the Lord 
 hath called these three kings together, to 
 deliver them into the hand of Moab. 
 
 14 And Elisha said. As the Lord of 
 hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, 
 were it not that I regard the presence of 
 Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would 
 not look toward thee, nor see thee. 
 
 15 But now bring me a minstrel. And 
 it came to pass, when the minstrel played, 
 that the hand of the Lord came upon 
 him. 
 
 16 And he said. Thus saith the Lord, 
 Make this valley full of ditches. 
 
 17 For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not 
 see wind, neither shall ye see rain ; yet 
 that valley shall be filled with water, that 
 ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, 
 and your beasts. 
 
 18 And this is but a light thing in the 
 
 11. — which poured natcr un (he hands of Elijah.'^ Which -was 
 his servant, mid ministered unto him. Bp. Patrick. The expres- 
 sion, " to pour water on the hands of a person," signifies, in allu- 
 sion to a Jewish custom, " to minister unto," or " to serve." As 
 this phrase is not understood in English, perhaps it were better 
 to translate, " who attended upon," or " ministered unto" Elijah. 
 Pilkinglon. 
 
 13. — Nay: for the Lord hath called these three liings~\ Tlie 
 king of Israel means to say, " However I may have deserved to be 
 disregarded in this suit, yet have pity on these other princes, who 
 are joined with me ; let us not, for the mere want of water, be 
 delivered into the hand of Moab." Bp. Hall. 
 
 15. But now bring me a minslreir\ He sent for a minstrel to 
 compose his spirits by musick, so much was his indignation roused 
 at Jehoram's behaviour, and ))articularly at the irreligious expres- 
 sions which he used, ver. 10. Pfjle. Who wonders not to hear a 
 Prophet call for a minstrel, in the midst of that mournful distress 
 of Israel and Judah } It was not for their ears, it was for his own 
 bosom, that Elisha called for musick, that his spirits, after their 
 Eealous agitation, might be sweetly composed, and put into a 
 meet temper for receiving the calm visions of God. Perhaps it 
 was some holy Levite, following the camp of Jehoshaphat, whose 
 minstrelsy was required for so sacred a purpose. None but a 
 quiet breast is capable of Divine revelation ; and nothing is more 
 powerful to settle a troubled heart, than a melodious liarmony. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 Mucii the same effect appears to have been produced in this 
 Instance of Elisha by the soothing, the tranquillizing jjower of 
 musick, as in the instance of the hypochondriack Saul. The Pro- 
 phet's miiid was agitated, vexed, and mortified at what he saw 
 
 sight of the Lord : he will deliver the 
 Moabites also into your hand. 
 
 19 And ye shall smite every fenced city, 
 and every choice city, and shall fell every 
 good tree, and stop all wells of water, and 
 tmar every good piece of land with stones. 
 
 20 And it came to pass in the morning, 
 when the meat offering was offered, that, 
 behold, there came water by tlie way of E- 
 dom, and the country was filled with water. 
 
 21 ^ And when all the Moabites heard 
 that the kings were come up to fight a- 
 gainst them, tliey t gathered all that were 
 able to t put on annour, and upward, and 
 stood in the border. 
 
 22 And they rose up early in the morn- 
 ing, and the sun shone upon the water, and 
 the Moabites saw the water on the other 
 side as red as blood : 
 
 23 And they said. This is blood : the 
 kings are surely t slain, and they have smit- 
 ten one another : now therefore, Moab, to 
 the spoil. 
 
 24 And when they came to the camp of 
 Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the 
 Moabites, so that they fled before them : 
 but II they went forward smiting the Moab- 
 ites, even in their country. 
 
 25 And they beat down the cities, and 
 on every good piece of land cast every 
 man his stone, and filled it ; and tliey 
 stopped all the wells of water, and felled 
 all tlie good trees : t only in Kir-haraseth 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 895. 
 
 t Ild.- 
 grine. 
 
 t Hel). 
 
 were crifi 
 touflher. 
 t Hcb. 
 gird Itimtelf' 
 with a 
 girdle. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 destroyet. 
 
 H Or, 
 tlicy smoie 
 in it ci-en 
 smiting. 
 
 tHeb. 
 utiiU lielefi 
 the stones 
 tliere^J'in 
 Kir-hara* 
 telk. 
 
 around him : thus uneasy and bewildered, he felt Iiimself unfit for 
 supplication to God, or for receiving communication from Him. 
 To acquire that self-collection, that self-possession, which is of the 
 essence of devotion, the Prophet has recourse to musick. A sa- 
 cred song by its sentiments, a sacred air by its association of idea.«, 
 recalls the wandering thought, the roving mind, and fixes tliem on 
 that object which is the most interesting to devout contemplation. 
 Script, illitst. Ejrpos. Iiid. 
 
 the hand of the Lord'] The power of the Lord, a Divine 
 
 inspiration. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 17. — Ye shall not see n-ind,] It is very common in these 
 Eastern countries for a squall of wind to precede rain ; on 
 which account he says, " Ye shall not see wind." Harmer. The 
 circumstances here mentioned deserve attention, and furnish a 
 certain proof of a miracle. It commonly happens in diese coun- 
 tries, after a long drought, that the rains are accompanied with 
 violent winds, which break the clouds against each other; and 
 without rain tlie rivers do not overflow. But, on this occasion, 
 witliout wind or niin, '• there came water by the way of Edom," 
 (that is, down the rocks and mountains of Edom.) Thus it 
 issued by the express command of God from the bowels of 
 the earth, and flowed into the camp of the allied princes. 
 Scheitchzer. 
 
 ig. _ shall fell everi/ good lre£,2 This is a mode of distressing 
 an enemy still practised in this country. The .Arabs of the Holy 
 Land, in" the present times, make war on each other b)- burning 
 the corn, cutting down the olive trees, carrying off the sheep, and 
 doing all possible damage of tills description. Harmer. 
 
 stop all n'cils of nater,] See the note on Gen. xxvi. 1 .i. 
 
 2.5. — onli/ in Kir-liaraseth] They left no walls standing, ex» 
 4.S2-
 
 The king of Monbraiscth the siege. JI. KINGS 
 
 EUsha multiplieth the u^ido-w's oil. 
 
 n.for, left they the stones thereof; ho\ybeit the 
 *"",!,',' ""^ sliiigcrs went about it, and smote it. 
 
 '2(i if And when the king of Moab saw 
 that the battle was too sore for him, he 
 took with him seven hundred men that 
 drew swords, to break through et'CJi unto 
 the king of Edom : but they could not. 
 
 '^7 Then he took his eldest son that 
 should have reigned in his stead, and of- 
 fered him /or a burnt offering upon the 
 wall. And there was great indignation 
 against Israel : and they departed from 
 him, and returned to their oun land. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 1 Eli f ha muUiplielh the widows oil. 8 He giveth a son 
 tu Ihc good Shunammite. 18 Ht raiselh again her 
 dead wn. .S8 At Gilgal he healelh the deadly pottage. 
 ♦2 He sathjieth an hundred men with tivcnly loaves. 
 
 ^^O^V there cried a certain woman of 
 ^ the wives of the sons of the prophets 
 unto Elisha, saying. Thy servant my hus- 
 band is dead ; and thou knowest that thy 
 ser\ant did fear the Lord : and the cre- 
 ditor is come to take unto him my two 
 sons to be bondmen. 
 
 2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall 
 I do for thee ? tell me, what hast thou in 
 the house ? And she said. Thine handmaid 
 hath not any thing in the house, save a pot 
 of oil. 
 
 S Then he said. Go, borrow thee vessels 
 
 ceptiiig in tlie royal city, where they were exceedingly strong, 
 \ta.\. xvi. 7, 11. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 27- Then he took his eldest son &c.] He sacrificed his son as a 
 last desperate .ict We find, not only from the Scriptures, but 
 Irom several heathen wTiters, that it was customary among the 
 heathens, on some occasions, to sacrifice to tjieir gods whatsoever 
 was most dear to tlitiu. Cesar tells us, among otliers, that when 
 tlie GuiiU were afflicted with grievous diseases, or in time of 
 war and grciit danger, they offered men for sacrifices, or matle 
 vows to that ilTctt. It has been supposed by some writers, that 
 the king uf Nlaib, in this uistmce, sacrificed his son to the God 
 of Igrael, Ijoping to appeaj-e His wrath, and to move the compas- 
 sion of tlu- kiii.{s w ho were besieging him : but it is more probable 
 that he olFtred the siicrifice to some false deity, perhaps to Cheraosh 
 the national goil. Stadhouse. Or the meaning may be, that he 
 sacrifiecil die king of Edom's eldest son, whom perhaps he had 
 taken pri-^oucr in Ins late desperate sally. Bps. Wilson and Hall. 
 
 there kus great indignation against Israel :2 TJiese words 
 
 should be truii.-lated, " there was great remorse in Israel," or 
 " there was great indignation in Israel;" for the Hebrew words will 
 bear either set.se. The signt of tliis sacrifice w as so sliocking, and 
 «o moved the licarU of tlie kings cf Israel and Judah, that they 
 raised die siege by commoa consent, and returned home. Pylc. 
 
 Chap. IV. ver. 1. — the creditor is come to take — m>/ two som^ 
 The .Icwisli b.w Kxjked upon clultlrcn as the proper goods of their 
 pwenu, wlio liaJ power to sell them for seven years, as tlieir cre- 
 uilors h.»cl to compel tlicm to do it, in order to i)ay their debts; 
 am from the Jews this custom was propagated to tlie Athenijuis! 
 and trom them t.. the Romans. It seemed a little liard that the 
 cmiuren of a poor man, who have no maimer of inheritance left 
 
 Before 
 
 abroad of aU thy neighbours, even empty Christ 
 vessels ; II borrow not a few. syo. 
 
 4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt n or, 
 shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, *'^""* ""'• 
 and shalt pour out into all those vessels, 
 
 and thou shalt set aside that which is full. 
 
 5 So she went from him, and shut the 
 door upon her and upon her sons, who 
 brought the vessels to her ; and she poured 
 
 out. 
 
 6 And it came to pass, when the vessels 
 were full, that she said unto her son. Bring 
 me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, 
 There is not a vessel more. And the oil 
 stayed. 
 
 7 Then she came and told the man of 
 God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and 
 
 pay thy || debt, and live thou and thy chil- |!^°J;^^ 
 dren of the rest. 
 
 8 IF And t it fell on a day, that Elisha t Heb. 
 
 " .' Ihn-c was 
 
 passed to bhunem, where "was a great wo- „ u«y. 
 man ; and she t constrained him to eat t Heb. 
 bread. And so it was, that as oft as he "ni>in. 
 passed by, he turned in thither to eat 
 bread. 
 
 9 And she said unto her husband. Be- 
 hold now, I perceive that this is an holy 
 man of God, which passeth by us conti- 
 nually. 
 
 10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray 
 thee, on the wall ; and let us set for him 
 there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a 
 
 them, slioidd be compelled into slavery, in order to pay their de- 
 ceased father's debts ; and yet tliis was the custom, as appears from 
 this passage, wherein the Prophet does not pretend to reprove the 
 creditors, but only puts the woman in a method to pay the debts. 
 Calmet. 
 
 How thick did the miseries of this poor afflicted woman light 
 upon her; her husband lost, her estate clogged with debts, her 
 children ready to be taken for slaves ! Her creditors are cruel, 
 and rake in the half-closed wounds of her sorrow, passing an arrest 
 worse than death upon her sons. Widowhood, poverty, servitude, 
 have conspired to make her perfectly miserable. Bp. Hall. 
 
 7. Then she came and told the man of God.'] While slie is justly 
 affected by the sight, she is not transported from her duty. We 
 do not see her running forth into the street to proclaim her store, 
 nor calling in lur neighbours, either to admire or to bargain. 
 We see her running immediately to the Prophet's door, gratefully 
 acknowledging the favour, and depending on his directioiis; ass 
 not daring to dispose of that which was so wondrously given 
 her, witliout the advice of him by whose powerful means she had 
 received it. Bp. Hall. 
 
 8. — Hhiinem, whure was a great woman ;] Shunem was a city 
 in the tribe of Issachar, " where was a great woman," one who 
 had a great estate, and probably kept a great house. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 she constrained him~\ Meaning, she prevailed upon him by 
 
 importunity and earnestness. Dr. S. Clarke. 
 
 10. — a little chamber — on ihc wall;] A private room, re- 
 mote from the huuse; where he might retire, and without noise 
 or disturbance gi\ e himself to prayer and meditation, and follow 
 his sacred studies. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 To most of the houses in the East there is usually a small back 
 house amjexcd, in which strangers Are generally lodged and enter-
 
 He giveth a son to the Shunammite. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 The child dieih. 
 
 10. 
 f Hel). 
 
 -. iV time. 
 
 Before candlestick : and it shall be, when he 
 ^"95!^^ Cometh to us, that he shall turn in thi- 
 ther. 
 
 11 And it fell on a day, that he came 
 thither, and he turned into the chamber, 
 and lay there. 
 
 12 And he said to Gehazi his servant. 
 Call this Shunammite. And when he had 
 called her, she stood before him. 
 
 13 And he said unto him, Say now unto 
 her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us 
 with all this care ; what is to be done for 
 thee ? wouldest thou be spoken for to the 
 king, or to the captain of the host ? And 
 she answered, I dwell among mine own 
 people. 
 
 14 And he said, What then is to be done 
 for her ? And Gehazi answered. Verily she 
 ha^h no child, and her husband is old. 
 
 15 And he said. Call her. And when 
 he had called her, she stood in the door. 
 
 ■"Gen. 18. 16 And he said, ^ About this t season, 
 according to the time of life, thou shalt 
 embrace a son. And she said. Nay, my 
 lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto 
 thine handmaid. 
 
 17 And the woman conceived, and bare 
 a son at that season that Elisha had said 
 unto her, according to the time of life. 
 
 18 ^ And when the child was grown, it 
 fell on a day, that he went out to his fa- 
 ther to the reapers. 
 
 19 And he said unto his father. My 
 head, my head. And he said to a lad. 
 Carry him to his mother. 
 
 20 And when he had taken him, and 
 
 taine(l,and whither men retire from the hurry and noise of their 
 families, to be more at leisure for meditation or diversion. " The 
 little chamber" built by the Shunammite for Elisha may have pro- 
 bably been of this description. Dr. Shaw, Harmer. 
 
 a bed,'] The beds of the Hebrews were nothing more 
 
 -than couches without curtains; except indeed they had light co- 
 verings, which the Greeks called ca«ci/;/e*, because they served to 
 keep off the gnats. Fletirij. 
 
 and a stool,'] The ancient inliabitants of the East did not 
 
 universally sit on the floor on some m?' or carpet, as do the 
 modems ; they sometimes sat on a sort of throne, or seat more or 
 less resembling our chairs, often raised so high as to rec|uire a 
 footstool. But it was considered as a piece of splendour, and of- 
 fered as a mark of particular respect. The seat prepared by the 
 Shunammite for the Prophet was probably designed as a mark of 
 respect, and therefore is le>s properly called "a stool" in our 
 traUKlation. Harmer. 
 
 \S. — / dwell among mine own peopk.] She answers, tliat she 
 lived very quietly and contentedly on her own means of subsist- 
 ence, and had no favours to beg of any body. Pj/lc. I have no 
 occasion to complain, or to seek redress, nor do I want any thing. 
 Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Id. — Abonl this .reason, according to the time of life,] About 
 the set time, according to the orduiary time of conception and 
 birth. Bp.Hall. 
 
 22. — iliat I maij run to the man of God,'] The good Sljunam- 
 
 brought him to his mother, he sat on her Before 
 knees till noon, and theii died. ^^^l^^ 
 
 21 And she went up, and laid him on 
 the bed of the man of God, and shut the 
 door upon him, and went out. 
 
 22 And she called unto her husband, 
 and said. Send me, I pray thee, one of the 
 young men, and one of the asses, that I may 
 run to the man of God, and come again. 
 
 23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go 
 to him to day ? // is neither new moon, nor 
 sabbath. And she said, // shall be t well, t Heb. 
 
 24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to '""""■ 
 her servant. Drive, and go fonvard ; t slack t Heb. 
 not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. ;:"™i'^r 
 
 25 So she went and came unto the man "'' 
 of God to mount Carmel. And it came to 
 pass, when the man of God saw her afar 
 off, that he said to Gehazi his servant. Be- 
 hold, yonder is that Shunammite : 
 
 26 Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, 
 and say unto her, Is it well with thee ? is 
 it well with thy husband ? is it well with 
 the child ? And she answered, // is well. 
 
 27 And when she came to the man of 
 God to the hill, she caught t him by the t Hob. 
 feet : but Gehazi came near to thrust her '^ i^'M- 
 away. And the man of God said, Let her 
 alone ; for her soul is t vexed within her : t huj. 
 and the Lord hath hid it from me, and *'"'"'• 
 hath not told me. 
 
 28 Then .she said, Did I desire a son of 
 my lord.' did I not say. Do not decei\'e me? 
 
 29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy 
 loins, and take my staff" in thine hand, and 
 go thy way : if thou meet any man, salute 
 
 mite had lost her son ; she had not lost her faith. Sorrow had not 
 robbed her of her wisdom. Her strong faith could not be dis- 
 couraged by the seizure and continuance of death : raising up her 
 heart still to an expectation of that life, wliich to the eyes of na- 
 ture had been impossible, irrevocable. O mfinite goodness of 
 tlic Almighty, that would not suffer such faith to be frustrate, 
 that would rather reverse the laws of nature, in returning a guest 
 from heaven, and raising a coi-pse from death, than disappoint the 
 confidence of a believing heart ! Bp. Hai'. 
 
 23. — // is neither new moon, nor sahhath.] It appears by this that 
 the Prophets were the publick instructors of the people: and their 
 houses were a kind of scliool or synagogue, unto which the people 
 resorted, ujion the days here mentioned, to be taught their duty 
 out of the law of God, and to be resohed in their doubts. And 
 the Prophets accordingly were constantly in some certain place 
 upon these days, to give the people their instruction. Bp. Patrick, 
 
 24. — Drive, and go forward;] It is the modem custom in 
 these countries of the East, when a female rides, for a servant to 
 follow on foot, and to drive, (as tlie e.xpression here is,) and not 
 lead, the animal. Harnis'r. 
 
 26". — .•■he answered. It is wcll^ It ajjpears she did not think 
 fit to tell Gehazi all tlie truth, but chose rather to deliver it to the 
 Prophet himself Bp. Patrick. It is well; trouble not thyself 
 with tliis question, I will gi\e an account of it to thy master; in 
 the mean time rest thou contented. Bp. Hall. 
 
 ~9- •"- if thou meet any man, suliilc him not;] The salutations
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 £lisfin raiselh the Shunammitc's son. 
 
 nrfofr him not ; and if any salute thee, answer 
 CHRIST |,in^ „ot again : and lay my staft'upon the 
 face of the cliild. 
 
 30 And the mother of the child said, As 
 the Lord li\ eth, and as thy soul liveth, I 
 will not leave thee. And he arose, and 
 followed her. 
 
 31 And Gehazi passed on before them, 
 and laid the statliipon the face of the child; 
 
 t "•«>• but there vas neither voice, nor t hearing. 
 
 aitmu.m. -^viierefore he went again to meet him, and 
 
 told him, saving, The child is not awaked. 
 
 3'2 And when Elisha was come-into the 
 
 house, behold, the child was dead, and laid 
 
 upon his bed. 
 
 3S He went in therefore, and shut the 
 door upon them twain, and prayed unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 34. And he went up, and lay upon the 
 child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, 
 and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands 
 upon his hands : and he stretched himself 
 upon the child ; and the flesh of the child 
 waxed warm. 
 
 35 Then lie returned, and walked in 
 
 t "»'•• the house t to and fro ; and w cnt up, and 
 
 Zion^"' stretched himself upon him: and the child 
 
 tkHher. sneezed seven times, and the child opened 
 
 his eyes. 
 
 3<) And he called Gehazi, and said, Call 
 this Shiuiammite. So he called her. And 
 when she was come in unto him, he said, 
 Take up thy son. 
 
 37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, 
 
 and bowed herself to the ground, and took 
 
 up her son, and went out. 
 
 riiow89i. 3s % And Elisha came again to Gilgal : 
 
 and there xcas a dearth in the land ; and 
 
 of llie East consist of a great number of formalities, and often take 
 up a coiisidi-rablc time. Tlius Klisha's enjoining Gehazi not to 
 salute any tliat he met, is strongly expressive of the haste he was 
 in to recover tlie child. Harmer. 
 
 31 . — /'(// Ihcrc n-as neither voice, nor liearing.'] Respecting the 
 cau«" of this failure, learned men are disided in opinion. Some 
 dttributc tlie fault to Gehazi, who <lid not accurately follow Eli- 
 sha's commands : others think that it was owing to a want of faitli 
 in the woman, which was siicwn in her determination not to quit 
 the I'rophet, ver. 30. Others again suppose, that the Prophet sent 
 his staff to recover the child, entirely from the suggestion of his 
 own mind, and that he was not moved to it by the Spirit of God. 
 C'd/mr/. 
 
 37. Then she it etil in, — and tool: up her soii,2 God, after He had 
 iven a son to tlie Shunammite, was pleased that this son should 
 lie, that He might restore him to her by a miracle. The pro- 
 cevdiiig of this woman, who, its soon as fier son was dead, went 
 imnieiliately to seek for Elisha, shews her surprising faith, and her 
 hope that the same Prophet, who had promised 3ie birth of the 
 chiUl, would restore him to life; and she was not disappointed of 
 her hope. God often afflicts His children in the most sensible 
 manner, that He may afterwards give them stronger tokens of 
 Hia love, by delivering them, and giving them a happy issue out 
 
 He healeth the deadly pottage. 
 
 d: 
 
 in his scrijir 
 armfiit. 
 
 the sons of the prophets were sitting before ch'rist 
 him: and he said unto his servant. Set on about 891. 
 the o-reat pot, and seethe pottage for the 
 sons of the prophets. 
 
 39 And one went out into the field to 
 gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and 
 gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, 
 and came and shred them into the pot of 
 pottage : for they knew them not. 
 
 40 So they poured out for the men to 
 eat. And it came to pass, as they were 
 eating of the pottage, that they cried 
 out, and said, O thou man of God, there is 
 death in the pot. And they could not eat 
 thereqjl 
 
 41 But he said. Then bring meal. And 
 he cast it into the pot ; and he said, Pour 
 out for the people, that they may eat. And 
 there was no t harm in the pot. t Hob. 
 
 42 % And there came a man from Baal- ^'' "''"' 
 shalisha, and brought the man of God bread 
 
 of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, 
 and full ears of corn || in the husk thereof, il Or, 
 And he said. Give unto the people, that o", 
 they may eat. 
 
 43 And his servitor said, A\liat, should 
 I set this before an hundred men? He said 
 again, Give the people, that they may eat : 
 
 for thus saith the Lord, "They shall eat, "joimfk 
 and shall leave thereof. ''" 
 
 44 So he set it before them, and they did 
 eat, and left thereof, according to the word 
 of the Lord. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 1 Naamiin, //y (he report of a captive maid, is sent to 
 Samaria to be cured of his leprosj/. 8 Elislta, sending 
 him III Jordan, cnrelh him. 1,5 He refusing Naaman's 
 
 of their afflictions, and making those afflictions confirm them in 
 the faith and fear of the Lord. Oslervald. 
 
 39. — gathered thereof wild gourds~\ The "wild gourd" here is 
 thought to have been a herb called coloquintida, which has a 
 leaf much resembling that of the vine, and which therefore might 
 easily be mistaken for it. This herb is a strong purgati\e, and is 
 a poison, if not qualified and taken in a moderate quantity. As it 
 is bitter and distasteful, they concluded immediately, ver. 40, that 
 there was some venomous herb in the pot. When the Prophet 
 took away the poisonous quality by putting meal into the pot, 
 ver. 41, we are not to suppose that there was any virtue in the 
 meal itself, but the whole event w-as miraculous, brought about 
 by the immediate power of God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The Hebrew word which we render " vine," may be taken as 
 extensively as our word " bine," (bind,) for a creeping plant : thus 
 it may include melons, pumpkins, gourds, &c. ; and it might be, 
 tliat a ))erson, designing to gather melons or cucumbers, should 
 mistake a wild gourd, or the bitter cucumber, or coloquintida, for 
 a plant of that kind, though it has no resemblance to the fi-uit of 
 the vine. When it is said, that " they knew them not," it is pro- 
 bably meant, that they distinguished them not : there being many 
 wild herbs gathered on this occa-sion, and slired together, this pass- 
 ed without being observed or detected. Script, illusl. Expos. Jnd.
 
 1; > 
 
 -S 
 
 3
 
 i
 
 Naaman is sent to Samaria 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 to be cured of his leprosy. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 •Ixnit fe'j4. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 be fur e. 
 llOr, 
 grnci'tus* 
 t Heb. 
 lifted up, 
 or, accfpttU 
 in count C' 
 nance. 
 l|Or, 
 vicUrrif. 
 ■f Hei.. 
 v:as before. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 ht^vre. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 gather in. 
 
 ■fHeb. 
 
 in hishnnii* 
 
 gifts granlelh him some of the earth. 20 Gehazi, 
 ab>.(sins his master's name unto Naaman, is smitten 
 with lepra^y. 
 
 NOW Naaman, captain of the host of 
 the king of Syria, was a great man 
 t with his master, and || t honourable, be- 
 cause by him the Lord liail given II dehver- 
 ance unto Syria : he was also a mighty man 
 in valour, but he teas a leper. 
 
 2 And the Syrians had gone out by com- 
 panies, and had brought away captive out 
 of the land of Israel a little maid ; and she 
 t M'aited on Naaman's wife. 
 
 3 And she said unto her mistress, Would 
 God my lord wer-e t with the prophet that 
 is in Samaria ! for he would t recover him 
 of his leprosy. 
 
 4 And o?ie went in, and told his lord, 
 saying, Thus and thus said the maid that 
 is of the land of Israel. 
 
 5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, 
 and I will send a letter unto the king of 
 Israel. And he departed, and took t with 
 him ten talents of silver, and six thou- 
 sand pieces of gold, and ten changes of 
 raiment. 
 
 6 And he brought the letter to the king 
 of Israel, saying. Now when this letter is 
 come unto tliee, behold, I have therenith 
 
 Chap. V. ver. 1. — but he was a leper.'\ The lepro.^y tlid not, 
 it is probable, excUide liim from the society of men in that coun- 
 try, where the Jewish law was not in force ; but the di>ease was 
 a great calamity to him, and likely to prove fatal, as no cure for 
 it was known. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — IVoidJ God mij lord Jtere tril/i the prnphel'] It is probable 
 from hence that Elisha had before cured others, not set down in 
 this history, of such disorders ; otherwise this maid would scarce- 
 ly have thought of making this suggestion to her mistress. Bp. 
 Wihon. 
 
 7. — Am I God, &c.] The king of Israel had forsaken the 
 true God, and therefore never thought of His almighty power, 
 nor of His Prophet. For this reason, he cannot read the letter 
 without amazement of heart, without rending his clothes, and cry- 
 ing out in the manner here described. Jf'ogaii. It is a trouble to 
 a well-affected heart to recei^'e impossible commands. To require 
 that of an inferiour which is proper to the Most High, is a dero- 
 gation from that Supreme Power whcse property it is. Still, had 
 Jehoram been tridy religious, the injury done to his Maker in this 
 request, as he took it, would have more afflictetl him than the 
 danger of his own quarrel. Bp. Hall. 
 
 10. And Elisha sent a messenger uitlu him, 8cc.~\ It is observable, 
 that lie does not speak to Naaman himself, but sends to him by 
 a messenger. It did not misbecome him upon tliis occasion to 
 take some state upon him, and to support the character and dig- 
 nity of a Prophet of the most High God, e^;)ecially as this might 
 be a means of raising the honour of his religion and ministry, and 
 of giving Xaaman a more just idea of his miraculous cure, when 
 he tound that it was neitlier by the prajer nor presence of the 
 Prophet, l)ut by the Divine power and goodness, that it was ef- 
 fected. Slac/c/wu.se. 
 
 wa.ih in Jordan seven times,"] Thus, according to the law 
 
 of Mosesj lepers were sprinkled seven times, Levit. xiv. 7, &c. 
 Bp. PalricL 
 
 11. But Naaman was wroth,] It is not always in man to per- 
 
 sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou 
 mayest recover him of his leprosy. 
 
 7 And it came to pass, when the king of 
 Israel had read the letter, that he rent his 
 clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to 
 make alive, that this man doth send unto 
 me to recover a man of his leprosy? where- 
 fore consider, I pray you, and see how he 
 seeketh a quarrel against me. 
 
 8 ^ And it was so, when Elisha the man 
 of God had heard that the king of Israel 
 had rent his clothes, that he sent to the 
 king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy 
 clothes ? let him come now to me, and he 
 shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 
 
 9 So Naaman came with his horses and 
 with his chariot, and stood at the door of 
 the house of Elisha. 
 
 10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto 
 him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven 
 times, "and thy flesh shall come again to 
 thee, and thou shalt be clean. 
 
 11 But Naaman was wroth, and went 
 away, and said. Behold, t II I thought, He 
 will surely come out to me, and stand, and 
 call on the name of the Lord his God, and 
 t strike his hand over the place, and re- 
 cover the leper. 
 
 12 Are not || Abana and Pharpar, rivers 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about S9+. 
 
 t Heb. 
 / said. 
 II Of, /sairf 
 tritlt myself. 
 He kUI 
 siireti/ C'jmc 
 .tut.kc. 
 fHeb. 
 vv^ve uy 
 arul duitnu 
 II Or, 
 Amun/t, 
 
 ceive the fitness of tliose means which God uses to obtain Hi» 
 ends ; though there can be no doubt they ;u-e the fittest that can 
 be iinagined. How indignant was tiiis mighty Syrian, when he 
 was told that, in order to be cured of his lepro:;}-, he must wash 
 himself seven times in Jordan! He expected sonietliing very dif- 
 ferent from this — " Behold, I tliought, &c." — So reasoned this 
 man, wise in his own conceit, and so would many wise men of 
 modern times have reasoned on the occasion. But it proved in 
 this, as it will prove in everj- instiu-.ce, that " the foolishness of 
 God was wiser tlian men." He washed in Jordan and was clean. 
 Bp. Porteiis. 
 
 12. Are not Abana and Pharpar, &c.] Naaman could not ap- 
 prehend what virtue there was in the waters of Jordan, more than 
 in other rivers, and was therefore unwilling to incur the trouble 
 of going to v.ash in them. His mistxike lay in tliis ; he thought 
 the cure must be perfonned by natural means, which was to be 
 effet-ted in a miraculous manner. Dt: Ibbot. 
 
 He understood not that the Prophet designed to restore him, 
 :uit by any healing virtue in the waters of Jordan, but by the 
 power of God ; tliat the form or manner in which the cure was 
 wrought, was perfectly iuditferent, whether by message, or by 
 personal attendance ; whether with one ceremony or another. He 
 considered not that the Prophet knew^ best the extent of his own 
 conmiission, and the designs of his lieavenly Master. He proudly 
 refused to accept the blessing which he desired, because it w^s 
 offered to liim in a manner, which his own imagination had not 
 suggested, or did not approve. Dr. Napleton. 
 
 We should apply the ex.imple of Naaman to ourselves; we 
 sl'.ould be cautious how we despise tiie ordinances enjoined upon 
 us because they are common, easy, and plain ; and should rather 
 persuade ourselves, that the plainness and easiness of these ordi- 
 nances, should be a great inducement to us to join in them, and 
 to try what benefit we can derive from them. How can these 
 waters of Jordan cleanse my leprosy ? said Naani-vi. How can 
 the water of baptism, and the bread and wine in the other sacra-
 
 ^ 
 
 Eliiha cureth Xaammi. 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 He refuseth NaamarCs presents. 
 
 ' Luke 4. 
 «7. 
 
 »— of Damascus, better tliaii all the waters 
 ^"i" of Israel ? may I not wash in them, and 
 be clean ? So i)e tiiriieil ami wont away ni 
 
 a ni^e. 
 
 IH And his servants came near, and 
 spake unto him, and said, My father, if 
 the i)rophet had bid thee do some great 
 thiufjj, wouldest thou not have done it? 
 how much rather then, when lie saith to 
 thee. Wash, and he clean ? 
 
 1 i Then went ho down, and dipjjcd him- 
 self seven times in Jordan, according to 
 the saying of the man of God : and his 
 flesh came again like unto the flesh of a 
 little child, and ' he was clean. 
 
 15 IT And he returned to the man of 
 God, he and all his company, and came, 
 and stood before him: and he said, Behold, 
 now I know that there is no God in all the 
 eartii, but in Israel ; now therefore, I pray 
 thee, take a blessuig of thy servant. 
 
 mcnt, thf Christian is too apt to ask, produce those great effects 
 for which they arc instituted? Tlie answer is, by virtue of this 
 Tery institution ; because our great I'ropiiet, the Divine Autlior 
 of our religion, has blessed them, and appointed them to be the 
 means of salvation. If He had enjoined us to perlbrm much 
 harder seri ices for the attainment of His promises, common pru- 
 dence would have told us, it was our best way to obey Him. 
 But now, that He has made these small and easy observances 
 the conditions of our happiness, how much more readily should 
 ■we hearken to Him, how nmch more punctually perform what is 
 eonimanded ! lirctHin^. 
 
 Abnmi and P/iarpar,'] The valley of Damascus, which 
 
 lay between Libanus and Antillbanus, was washed by five rivers, 
 the two j)rincii)iil of which descended from mount Hermon, name- 
 ly, .\baiui and Pharpar ; the last of which flowed by the walls of 
 Damascus, and the other flowed through the city and divided it 
 into two parts. Bp. PalricL: These rivers are not now to be dis- 
 tinguished. Nfaundrell supposes they were branches of the Bar- 
 rady, which waters Damascus. Script, il/ii.sl. E.i])ai. Ind. 
 
 IS. — Mif Jallicr, if the propliel had bid thee &c.] Here was 
 the language of reason and kindness. The language of reason, 
 unaccompanied by kindness, will often fail of making an impres- 
 sion ; it h.xs no effect on the miderst;mding, because it touches not 
 the lic;u1. The language of kindness, unassociated with reason, 
 will frequently be unable to pcrsuaile ; because, tliough it may 
 gain ujKjn the afTcctions, it wants that whicli is necessary to con- 
 vince Uic judgment. But let reason and kindness be united in a 
 discourse, and seldom » ill even pride or prejudice find it easy to 
 resist. Thus it w.ls with N'aaman. Gishornc. 
 
 15. — Pkiioii' that there is no Gud in all the earth, &C.3 O happy 
 Syrian, that was cured at once of his leprosy, and of his want of 
 faith in God ! N;uiman w;is too wise to think that cither the wa- 
 ter had cured him, or the man ; he saw a Divine power working 
 in Ixrfh, such as he had vainly .sought from his heathen deities ; 
 with the heart therefore he believes, with the mouth he confesses. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 'fl^'" n hlrssing^ A token of my gratitude to thee, and to 
 
 Gotl. Bp. H'iUon. 
 
 Ciratitude is a most natural virtue, a most rational duty, and 
 ought to bear proportion to the favour received. Yet nothing is 
 wore rare to be found, csiKcially towards Gotl, and that, too 
 Mien, among those who are of the houshold of faith. In this 
 instance, a .SjTi.-ui sUanger is thankful for his double cure of his 
 Jepro^y and idolatrj- ; but we hear not of one Israelite who pro- 
 ttfU by iLe iwracle, or by the example. Hoaan. 
 
 16 But he said, As the Lord liveth, be- cntl'sx 
 fore whom I stand, I will receive none, about 894. 
 And he urged him to take it; but he re- 
 fused. 
 
 17 And Naaman said, Shall there not 
 then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant 
 two mules' burden of earth ? for thy ser- 
 vant will henceforth offer neither burnt 
 offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but 
 unto tlie Lord. 
 
 18 In this thing the Lord pardon thy 
 servant, that when my master goeth into 
 the house of Rimmon to worship there, 
 and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow 
 myself in the house of Rimmon : when 
 I bow down myself in the house of Rim- 
 mon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this? 
 thing. 
 
 19 And he said unto him. Go in 
 peace. So he departed from him ta lit- ^"^^'''; 
 tie way. 
 
 a little piecv 
 iifgrotmd. 
 
 1 6. But he .said, As the Lord liveth, — / will receive no«e.] Naa- 
 man, in the fervour of gratitude and piety, was eager to load 
 Elisha with costly gifts. But Elisha sought not, by healing Naa- 
 man, to enrich himself. His object was to promote the glory of 
 God. Urged again and again therefore witli tJie most importunate 
 earnestness, he steadily refused to receive a rewai-d. Gishornc. 
 
 17. — Shall there not — be given — two mules' burden of'earth?^ 
 He intended to employ this in erecting an altar, on which he would 
 sacrifice to no other but the God of Israel. He judged it reason- 
 able to have an allar out of the land of Israel, because he saw that 
 God peculiarly dwelt there ; and he appears to have desired to 
 have it a gift Iroin the Prophet, under the idea that it would de- 
 rive greater virtue from his blessing. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The Mahometans in later times are accustomed to take " sacred 
 eai'th" from places which they esteem sacred, of whicli they make 
 their beads, and before a small portion of which they bow them- 
 selves when they pray. Sir J. Chardin. 
 
 18 — n-hen im/ master goeth'] Naaman pleads for permission 
 to attend his master only in a civil capacit}-, to the house of Rim- 
 mon, which he thinks might well be allowed, while he publickly 
 professed himself a worshipper of the God of Israel, and offered 
 sacrifices and burnt offerings only to Him. Iloubignnt. Had not 
 Naaman thought this a fault, he would not have craved a pardon. 
 His heart told him that a perfect convert should not have abided 
 the roof, tlie sight, the air of Rimmon ; that his observance of an 
 earthly master should not draw him to tlie semblance of an out- 
 wai'd observance towards the rival of his Master in heaven ; that 
 a sincere detestation of idolatry could not stand with so unseason- 
 able a courtesy. Bp. Hall. 
 
 in the house of Riji/mon:'] It is thought by the generality 
 
 of interpreters, that as the Syrians were great worshippers of the 
 sun, this god is the same ; and that the name Rimmon, or high, 
 is given him, by reason of his elevation. According to others, 
 tlie word Rimmon is the name that the .Syrians give to pome- 
 granates ; and tiierefore, as their country was full of pomegranate 
 trees, whose fruit is v.ot only of a delicious fcistc, but of great use 
 likewise on account of the excellent liquor wliich it jirjduces, they 
 gave perhaps the name of Pomegranate to their god, in the same 
 manner that the Greeks and Latins gave that of Ceres to the god- 
 dess of com. Stack-house. 
 
 1 9. — Go in peace.] God speed thee well ; go and do that 
 which may best suit with the peace of a good conscience. I give 
 thee no warrant or dispensation for it. Bp. Hall. 
 
 In this answer, the Prophet thinks fit to make no objection to 
 Naaiiian's requeit. Pijle. An Israelite was forbidden to bow be-
 
 Gehazi, abusing his master^ s name. 
 
 CHAP. V, VI. 
 
 is smitten iLith leprosy. 
 
 Brfore 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ^ ^^^ Gehazi, the servant of Elisha 
 irtwBt 894. the man of God, said, Behold, my master 
 hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not re- 
 ceiving at his hands that which he brought: 
 but, as the Lord liveth, I will run after 
 him, and take somewhat of him. 
 
 21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. 
 -^nd when Naaman saw him running after 
 him, he hghted down from tJie chariot to 
 
 t Heb. meet him, and said, Ms all well? 
 
 li'.aceV 2^ And he said, All is well. My master 
 
 hath sent me, saying. Behold, even now 
 there be come to me from mount Ephraim 
 two young men of the sons of the prophets: 
 give them, I pray tiiee, a talent of silver, 
 and two changes of garments. 
 
 SS And Naaman said. Be content, take 
 two talents. And he urged him, and bound 
 two talents of silver in two bags, with two 
 changes of garments, and laid them upon 
 two of his servants ; and they bare tliem 
 before him. 
 
 Ij Or. KCTci 24 And when he came to the (I tower, he 
 
 ^'"^'' took them from their hand, and bestowed 
 thejn in the house : and he let the men go, 
 and they departed. 
 
 fore an idol, whatsoever his mind or intentiojj might hs ; but a 
 stranger was not bound by this law : therefore, because Naaman 
 wished to go into the temple of Rimmon, not to pay adoration, 
 but merely to perform his duty in waiting on his master, himself 
 b«ng a worshipper of the most high God alone, his request seems 
 to have been made without offence to the Divine Majesty. Bp. 
 Patrick. It was not out of condescension to any sinful infirmity 
 that Elisha dismissed Naaman with the blessing of peace. It 
 woiild have been a contradiction to his general character, if he 
 had neglected to assert any part of the honour of God, when a 
 case was proposed that affected it, and he had so fair an oppor- 
 tunity to declare his judgment upon it. His answer implied that 
 all would succeed well: the Prophet desired him in it to set his 
 heart at rest, and not to trouble himself with imaginary hardships. 
 Reading. 
 
 22. — there be come to me — (ivo young men^ What a sound 
 tale has the crafty Gehazi devised ; of the number, the place, the 
 quality, the age of his master's guests, that he might set a fair 
 colour on that pretended request, so proportioning the value of 
 his demand, that he might botli enrich himself, and yet well stand 
 with the moderation of liis master. Bp. Hall. 
 
 24. — came to the towcr,'\ To the place wliere Elisha lodged ; 
 or, some understand, to a secret place, where Geliazi laid up wliat 
 he had obtained. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2o. — Thij servant went no whither.'] He that began a lie to 
 Naaman, ends it to his master. He, who once lets his tongue 
 loose to a wUful untruth, soon grows impudent in multiplying 
 falsehoods. Bp. Hall. 
 
 26. — IVent not mine heart ivith thee,"] Couldest thou vainly 
 hope to elude a Prophet of the Most High ? Had I not notice 
 from God of all tlie way that thou wentest, and of all tin' be- 
 Jiaviour towards Naaman .'' &c. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Is it a time to receive move)/, &c.] Is this a time to think 
 
 of purchasing and getting riches, &c. when this nation fof its sins 
 is about to be carried away captive ? of which, it is probable, 
 Elisha had often informed Gehazi. Bp. JVihon. 
 
 Miserable Gehazi! how didst thou now stand pale and trembling 
 before the dreadful tribunal of thy severe master ; looking for the 
 Tvoftil sentence of some grievous judgment for sp heinous an of- 
 VoL. I. 
 
 2.5 But he went in, and stood before his ^^'^°'' 
 master. And Elisha said unto him,Whence atou^sl,^ 
 cn/]test thou, Gehazi ? And he said, Thy 
 servant went t no whither. t Heb. 
 
 26 And he said unto him, Went not TrA^^^' 
 mine heart xcith thee, when the man turned 
 again from his chariot to meet thee ? Is it 
 
 a time to receive money, and to receive 
 garments, and oli\eyards, and vineyards, 
 and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and 
 maidservants ? 
 
 27 'fhe leprosy therefore of Naaman 
 shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed 
 for ever. And h$ went out from his pre- 
 sence a leper as u-hite as snow. 
 
 C H A P. VI. 
 
 1 Elisha, giving leave to the young prophets to enlarge 
 their dwellings, causeth iron to swim. 8 He discloscth 
 the king of .Syria's counsel. 13 The army, which tvas 
 sent to Dothan to apprehend Elisha, is smitten with 
 blindness. 19 Being brought into Samaria, they are 
 dismissed in peace. 24 The famine in Samaria causeth 
 women to eat their own children. 30 The king sendelh 
 to slay Elis/ta. 
 
 AND the sons of the prophets said unto about 8>j3, 
 Elisha, Behold now, the place where 
 we dwell with thee is too strait for us. 
 
 fence ! " Is this a time to receive money, and (which thoa hadst 
 purchased in thy own conceit) olivej'ards, and vineyards .' &c." 
 Did / refuse, that thy hands should take ? Was I so careful to 
 win honour to my God, and credit to my profession, by denying 
 these Syrian presents, that thou mightest destroy both in receiv- 
 ing them.' Was there no way to enrich thyself, but by belying 
 thy master, and disparaging his holy function, in the sight of a 
 new convert? Bp. Hall. 
 
 27- — unto thy seed for ever.'] " Unto many generations," as 
 the expression " for ever" frequently signifies in Scripture. Bp. 
 Patrick. He justly deserved the punishment here inflicted, for 
 he was guilty of a complication of crimes ; a greedy covctousness, 
 a profanation of God's name, with a contempt of His omniscience 
 and justice, deliberate falsehood and thefl, and a reproach wrong- 
 fully cast on the Prophet and his religion. Stackhouse. 
 
 In this action of Gehazi, and the piuiishment which followed, 
 we may learn in general the nature and effect of covctousness. 
 The Prophet had looked with contempt and indifference on the 
 Syrian's wealth; Gehazi, with admiration and a greed}- eye. The 
 Prophet retAised a present that he might do the greater honour to 
 God and His religion ; Gehazi thought of nothing but himself, 
 and his own interest, of " oliveyards and vineyai'ds, &c." And, 
 as the miser thinks not of God, he forgets that God sees and ob- , 
 serves him. He can lie, and swear too, " as the Lord liveth," to 
 gain his knavish ends, without the least thought that the God, by 
 whom he sweifrs, liears his false oath, and will avenge the fraud. 
 Avarice never lodges alone in any he;u1 : Gehazi first breaks the 
 tenth commandment, and immediately we find liim breaking all 
 the rest. The judgment which fell upon Gehazi for his wicked- 
 ness, ought to warn us, not only of tlie curse which cleaves to ill- 
 gotten wealtii ; but, above all, of the Di\ane vengeance which 
 pursues all those who, for purposes of worldly gain, bring a scan- 
 dal and a reproiich on their religion. H'ogan. 
 
 Chap. VI. ver. 1. And the sons of the prophets said &C.3 The 
 end of the miracles here recorded, as wrought by Elisha, was to 
 preserve among the Israelites the knowledge of the God of their 
 fathers, and to keep up the fear of Him in the hearts of tho.'e 
 good men who still remained in the kingdom. OstervM. 
 
 •i T
 
 i:ii,ha dt^ctosdh the king of Syria's counsel, II. KINGS. 
 
 and smiteth his arviy icith blindness. 
 
 i 
 
 II Or, en 
 
 Bcfurc '2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, 
 ^'u^m'' and take thence every man a beam, and 
 Jet us make us a place there, where we may 
 dwell. And he answered, Go ye. 
 
 3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, 
 and go with thy servants. And he an- 
 swered, I will go. 
 
 t So he went with them. And when 
 they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. 
 
 5 But as one was felling a beam, the 
 HIfb.iron. tax head fell into tlie water: and he cried, 
 
 and said, Alas, master ! for it was borrow- 
 ed. 
 
 6 And the man of God said, Where fell 
 it? And he shewed him the place. And 
 he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither ; 
 and the iron did swim. 
 
 7 Therefore said he. Take it up to thee. 
 And he put out his hand, and took it. 
 
 8 1i Then the king of Syria warred 
 against Israel, and took counsel with his 
 servants, saying. In such and such a place 
 shall be my II camp. 
 
 9 And the man of God sent unto the 
 king of Israel, saying. Beware that thou 
 pass not such a place ; for tliither the Sy- 
 rians are come down. 
 
 10 And the king of Israel sent to the 
 place which the man of God told him and 
 warned him of, and saved himself there, 
 not once nor twice. 
 
 1 1 Therefore the heart of the king of 
 Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and 
 he called his servants, and said unto them, 
 Will ye not shew me which of us is for the 
 king of Israel ? 
 
 Vi And one of his servants said, t None, 
 my lord, O king : but Elisha, the prophet 
 that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel 
 tl\c words that thou speakest in thy bed- 
 chamber. 
 
 13 % And he said. Go and spy where he 
 
 li. — but FJiihn, the prophet'] It is probaWc that Nannian, on 
 }iL< return to Samarui, spread tlie fame of Etisha so much in the 
 court of .Syria, that some of the great men might have tlie curi- 
 osity to make further inquiries respecting him ; and, hearing of 
 several of his miraculous works, they might thence conclude, that 
 he could tell the greatest secrets, as well as perform such wonders 
 as were relatetl of him ; and that therefore, in all probability, he 
 was the inrson who gave the king of Israel intelligence of all the 
 schemes which Itad been contrived to entrap him. Dp. Patrick. 
 
 l.j. — in liolhan.'] A city in the tribe of Manasseh, not far 
 from Samaria. 
 
 l6. And he unttvered. Fear «o/;] How undaunted is the cou- 
 rage of faith I Elisha sees all this, and yet sits in his chamber so 
 Kcure, as if the hosts which sun-oundcd him had been only tlie 
 guard of Israel for his safe protection. Jip. Hall. 
 
 '7. — l^rd. I prai/ thee, pjk-ii his n/cs.^ O Lord, do Thou so 
 give light and strength to the eyes of this my scr\ ;int, that he may 
 discern this spiritual aiil, which Thou hast provided for our suc- 
 cour and rescue. Bp. Hal/. 
 
 t Hcb. K' 
 
 Before 
 CHIUST 
 
 about 8M, 
 
 t Hcb. 
 tteaiy. 
 
 II Or, 
 nunixter' 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 C'imc ye af- 
 ter vtr. 
 
 is, that I may send and fetch him. And 
 it was told him, saying. Behold, he is in 
 Uothan. 
 
 I't Therefore sent he thither horses, and 
 chariots, and a t great host : and they came 
 by night, and compassed the city about 
 
 15 And when the 11 servant of the man 
 of God was risen early, and gone forth, be- 
 hold, an host compassed the city both with 
 horses and chariots. And his servant said 
 unto him, Alas, my master ! how shall we 
 do? 
 
 l(j And he answered. Fear not : for 
 * they that be with us are more than they ' 2 ChroiL 
 that be with them. 
 
 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, 
 I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. 
 And "the Lord opened the eyes of the 
 young man ; and he saw : and, behold, the 
 mountain xi'as full of horses and chariots of 
 fire round about Elisha. 
 
 18 And when they came down to him, 
 Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said. 
 Smite this people, I pray thee, with blind- 
 ness. And he smote them with blindness 
 according to the word of Elisha. 
 
 19 ^ And Elisha said unto them. This is 
 not the way, neither is this the city : t fol- 
 low me, and i will bring you to the man 
 whom ye seek. But he led them to Sa- 
 maria. 
 
 20 And it came to pass, when they were 
 come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, 
 open the eyes of these 7)ie)i, that they may 
 see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and 
 they saw ; and, behold, they rcere in the 
 midst of Samaria. 
 
 21 And the king of Israel said unto 
 Elisha, when he saw them, My father, 
 shall I smite them? shall I smite them? 
 
 22 And he answered. Thou shalt not 
 smite tliem : wouldest thou smite those 
 
 Elisha prayed to God to give his servant a sight of tlie heaven- 
 ly powers that were placed in his defence ; when immediately the 
 man saw his master and himself surrounded with a vast angelick 
 host, like a train of fiery chariots and horses, to destroy his ene- 
 mies. P'//p. 
 
 18. — smote them with bUndnesi'] Such a blindness that 
 they could only see to a short distance before them. Bp. Wil- 
 son. 
 
 22. — Thou shall not smite them :~\ As if he had said. These 
 are God's captives, not thine ; and, if they were thine own, their 
 blood could not have been shed without cruelty. Though in the 
 hot chases of war, executions may be justifi.able, yet, in the cool- 
 ness of deliberation, it can be no other than inhuman to fcike those 
 lives which have been yielded to mercy. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Besides the humanity and charity of the advice here given by 
 Elisha, there was this prudence and policy in the kind treatment 
 of the Syrians, that, by this means, their hearts might be softened 
 towards the Israelites, so that upon their return they might pro- 
 claim the power and goodness of the God of Israel ; and not only
 
 /tp'eatjnmtne in Samaria. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 The king sendetk to slay Elisha. 
 
 CHRIST ^^^0"^ tho" ^^^st taken captive with thy 
 :bout893. sword and with tliy bow? set bread and 
 water before them, that they may eat and 
 drink, and go to their master. 
 
 23 And he prepared great provision for 
 them : and when they had eaten and drunk, 
 he sent them away, and they went to their 
 master. So the bands of Syria came no 
 more into the land of Israel. 
 *b«it892. 24 €]■ An J it came to pass after this, that 
 Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his 
 host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. 
 
 25 And there was a great famine in Sa- 
 maria: and, behold, they besieged it, until 
 an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces 
 of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of 
 dove's dung for five pieces of silver. 
 
 26 And as the king of Israel was passing 
 I Or, by upon the wall, there cried a woman un- 
 LORoltte ^^ ^™' saying, Help, my lord, O king. 
 tktc. 27 And he said, || If the Lord do not 
 
 be afraid themselves, but dissuade others from opposing a people 
 who had so invincible a Protector. Stackhouse. 
 
 set bread and water before tkeni,'^ O noble revenge of 
 
 Elisiia, to feast his persecutors, to jjrovide a table for those who 
 had provided a grave for him ! These Syrians had come full of 
 bloody purposes against Elisha. He sends them back full of good 
 cheer and j oil it)'. Thus should a Prophet punish his pursuers. 
 No vengeance Ijut this is fit for Christian imitation. Bp. Hall. 
 
 23. — the bands of Syria came no morc^ It appears from the 
 next verse, that the king of Syria soon afterwards brought his 
 hosts to besiege Samaria: so that the meaning of this expression 
 must be, either tliat for the present they quite retreated and laid 
 aside the thoughts of war, though afterwards they broke out again 
 into hostilities j or (which is the plainest sense) that their bands 
 made no more incursions and inroads, but resolved to come and 
 fall upon tliem, not in small parties, and by ambushes, but with a 
 formed and regular army, with which they laid siege to Samaria. 
 Bp- Patrick. 
 
 2.5. — an ass's head — for fourscore pieces of silver,"] If we 
 reckon these pieces of silver, or shekels, at fifteen pence a piece, 
 they amount to five pounds sterling; a vast price for so small a 
 quantity of meat, and that unclean, according to the law, Levit. 
 xi. 26. However, in times of famine and extreme necessitj', the 
 Jews themselves were absolved from the observation of the law. 
 There do not want instances in history, where other people, on 
 similar occasions, have been reduced to the like distress, if that be 
 true which Plutarch relates, that, in Artaxerxes's war with the 
 Cadusii, an ass's head could scarcely have been purchased for 
 sixty drachms, or two pounds five shillings of our money. Slack- 
 house, Calmet. 
 
 the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung] The cab is one of 
 
 the smallest measures among the Hebrews. The Hebrew word, 
 translated " dove's dung," is so rendered by a great number of 
 the old versions; but it is hard to believe that such can be the true 
 sense; and Bochart has rendered it extremely probable, that_/"/cA<?* 
 or lentiles are here meant, whicli, although a very common food, 
 were yet sold at tliis dear price. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Or, allowing the received translation, it may be supposed that 
 the dove's dung was used as a manure, which was useful in pro- 
 ducing vegetables. Sir J. Chardin tells us, that in Persia they 
 Jjave a multitude of dove-houses, which they keep up, more for 
 the manure which they produce, than for any thing else. Har- 
 mer. 
 
 The general opinion of WTiters, since Bochart, has been, that a 
 kind of chickpea or tare is here meant, which has very much the 
 appearance of dove's dung, and may thence have received its name. 
 
 help thee, whence shall I help thee? out chrTt 
 of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress? .boutsss. 
 
 28 And the king said unto her. What 
 aileth thee? And she answered, This wo- 
 man said unto me, Give thy son, that we 
 may eat him to day, and we will eat my 
 son to morrow. 
 
 29 So ''we boiled my son, and did eat 'Dem. 2». 
 him: and I said unto her on the t next f^jj^^ 
 day. Give thy son, that we may eat him: other. 
 and she hath hid her son. 
 
 30 ^ And it came to pass, when the king 
 heard the words of the woman, that he rent 
 his clothes; and he passed by upon the 
 wall, and the people looked, and, behold, 
 he had sackcloth within upon his flesh. 
 
 31 Then he said, God do so and more 
 also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of 
 Shaphat shall stand on him this day. 
 
 32 But Elisha sat in his house, and the 
 elders sat with him; and the king sent a 
 
 In Arabick writers, the words Kali and Ugnen signify both the 
 dung of pigeons, and chickpeas. Great quantities of chickpeas 
 are sold in Cairo to the pilgi-ims going to Mecca. Fragments to 
 Calmet. 
 
 Otherwise, by the term translated " dove's dung," may be meant 
 a plant, called by botanists Ornithogalum, (ornithogalum umbel- 
 latum,) and by us Beth-lehem's Star. This plant bears a flower 
 which resembles in colour the dung of doves and other birds, and 
 it thence has its botanical name Ornithogalum, which signifies 
 bird's milk. It is very abundant in Palestine, and it thence ob- 
 tains its English name of Beth-lehem's Star. And the root of this 
 plant is a common article of food in those countries, among the 
 jxwrer people especially, to this day. These circumstances imited, 
 give a considerable degree of probability to this conjecture. Lin* 
 ncpus. 
 
 In the relation of the dreadful famine in Samaria, we see th* 
 judgments of God on that city, and the accomplishment of the 
 curses that Moses had denounced against the Israelites, par- 
 ticularly where he sa3-s, that mothers should eat tlieir own chil- 
 dren in the time of the siege and straitness with which their ene. 
 mies should distress them. Oslcrvald. 
 
 29. So ire boiled &c.] The circumstances here relate<l were a 
 terrible effect of the Divine vengeance, which Moses had long 
 before told the Israelites was to fall upon them, Deut. xxviiL 53, 
 &c. if they rebelled against God. Stncklioiise. 
 
 30. ' — /(« rent his clothes; &C.3 He did this, out of excessive 
 grief and horrour at the woman's recital. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. — if the head of Elisha] He thus vents his anger against 
 Elisha, probably because he supposed he had not made use of his 
 interest and prayers to God, to free them from this sad calamity. 
 Bp. Wilson. Instead of being penitent, Jehoram is furious, and 
 turns his rage from his own sins against the holy Prophet. But 
 what had the rigliteous Elisha done? Perhaps, tliat we may ima- 
 gine some colour for this displeasure, he had forethreatened this 
 judgment; but the Israelites justly desen-ed it. Perhaps he might 
 have averted it by his prayers, but their want of repentance dis- 
 abled him. Perhaps he persuaded Jehoram to hold out tlie siege, 
 though through severe suffering, but he himself foresaw the deli- 
 verance. In all this, how had Elisha forfeited his head? But such 
 is the fashion of the world: the wicked blame the innocent, and 
 will revenge their own sins on others' uprightness. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Elisha the son of Shaphat] He calls him tluis by way of 
 
 contempt, as meaning to say. This worthless fellow of a mean fa- 
 mily. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Si. — Elisha sat in his house,] By " his house," some inter- 
 preters understand the school where the sons of the Prophets met 
 
 4T2
 
 c 
 
 KUtha frophenelh iucredibk plenty. II. K I 
 
 Brfof. man Ironi before him: but ere the nies- 
 ^'m!" senger came to him, he said to the elders 
 Sec ye how this son of a murderer hath 
 sent to take away mine liead? look, when 
 the messenger comctii, shut the door, and 
 hold him fast at the door: is not the sound 
 of his master's feet behind him ? 
 
 i^ And while he yet talked with them, 
 behold, the messenger came down vuito 
 him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of 
 the Louu; what should I wait for the 
 Lord any longer ? 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 1 Hisha prc^hesielh incredihlr plaily in Samaria. ." 
 Fuur lepers, venturing on the host of the Syrians, hriiig 
 tidings of their /light. 12 The lii'ng, fnding hy .ynes 
 the tieus to hc'truc, sjioiUth the tents of the St/nans. 
 1 7 The lord, who would not believe the prnpheey of 
 plenlif, having the charge of the gate, is trodden to 
 death in the press. 
 
 •bout 894. npHEN Elisha said, Hear ye the word of 
 JL the Lokd; Thus saith the Lord, To 
 morrow about this time shall a measure of 
 fine Hour be sold for a shekel, and two mea- 
 sures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of 
 Samaria. 
 t iici.. 'J Then t a lord on whose hand the king 
 
 ^1^1"^"^! leaned answered the man of God, and said, 
 ifciting, Behold, {/the Loud would make windows 
 t^nAii i" heaven, might this thing be? And he 
 *jfu/. said. Behold, thou shalt see it with thine 
 eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. 
 
 to be instructed ; and by " tlie elders," his cliief scholars, who 
 under his instructions applied tlieniselves to the study of Divine 
 things. But by " the ciders," it seems more reasonable to under- 
 sUntl some principal persons of the city, who were sitting with 
 him, either to receive comfort and counsel from him in this dis- 
 tresai-d lime, or to solicit him to use his power with God for their 
 relief. Slack-house. 
 
 33. — cuul he said, Behold, this evil &c.]] Either the messenger 
 •pake in the name of the king, or Uie king himself may have come 
 and spoken for himself. He said, he could not but acknowledge 
 that tne Lord had brought them into this distress: but impatiently 
 addetl, he Ihul waite<l so long in vain, that he had no hope left, 
 tince they were driven to such extremities. Bp. PalricL He an- 
 iwcred in a despairing manner. Do you not see to what height 
 of misery we are come? it is the hand of God which h:is brought 
 Mi to tliis extremity; worse we cannot be: to what purpose is it 
 to expect any favour from Him, who has thus plagued us, and 
 lutTered us, without relief, to fall into so hopeless a condition - 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. ^''^. ver. }. — To morrow about this time &C.2 God was 
 pleaaed that Elisha siiould foreUU this deliverance and tliis plen- 
 ty, that all might know they proceeded from God, and that the 
 inhabitants of .Siunaria might give to God the glory. This was 
 also a very extraordinary instance of the Divine goodness and 
 lonpuBonng towards the people engaged in idolatry, and a cruel 
 and impions prmcc. OstenaU 
 
 NGS. 
 
 JPowr lepers bring tidings 
 
 f^-ZL? t''.^!'"'^"'. '"'.'"^ 'A'' ^'"S Ifincdl A lord, who was a 
 
 cd with a sneer of de- 
 
 principal favourite witli tJic kig, answere 
 ruion ° 
 
 3 f And there were four leprous men at ^^f^y 
 the entering in of the gate: and they said about 892. 
 one to another, Why sit we here until we 
 
 die? 
 
 4 If we say, we will enter into the city, 
 then the famine is in the city, and we shall 
 die there: and if we sit still here, we die 
 also. Now therefore come, and let us fall 
 unto the host of the Syrians: if they save 
 us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, 
 we shall but die. 
 
 5 And they rose up in the twilight, to 
 go unto the camp of the Syrians : and when 
 they were come to tlie uttermost part of 
 the camp of Syria, behold, there was no 
 man there. 
 
 6 For the Lord had made the host of 
 the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and 
 a noise of horses, even the noise of a great 
 host: and they said one to another, Lo, 
 the king of Israel hath hired against us the 
 kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the 
 Egyptians, to come upon us. 
 
 7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the 
 twilight, and left their tents, and their 
 horses, and their asses, even the camp as it 
 was, and fled for their life. 
 
 8 And when these lepers came to the 
 uttermost part of the camp, they went into 
 one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried 
 thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and 
 went and hid it; and came again, and en- 
 
 if the Lord would make ivindoms in hearreti^ It is a fbolisia 
 
 and injurious infidelity, to question a possibility, when we know 
 the message is from God. How easy is it for that Almighty hand 
 to effect those things which surpass all the reach of human con- 
 ceit ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 thou shalt see it, — hut shall not eat~\ The Almighty hates- 
 
 to be distrusted. This lord of Israel will rue his unbelief: the 
 sight will be yielded to him for conviction^ the enjoyment will be 
 denied to him for punishment. Bp. Hall. 
 
 a. — there were four leprous meii^ Lepers were thrust out of 
 the city, as anciently out of the camp, Levit. xiii. 46; xiv. 3; but 
 they placed themselves as near to the gate of the city as they 
 could, for fear of the enemy. It hence appears, that, although 
 these Israelites were gross idolaters, they yet observed the cere- 
 monial law. In cases of extreme necessity, lepers might enter 
 into the city, as appears from ver. 4. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. For the Lord had made SiC.'J This is a striking proof, that 
 God has always in readiness the means of executing His pur- 
 poses, however difficult in all human appearance. 
 
 How easily can the Almighty confound the power of the strong, 
 the policy of the wise! God strikes apanick terrour into the hearts 
 of these Syrians. He will not vouchsafe to use any substantial 
 stratagem against them. Nothing but an empty sound scatters 
 them, and sends them home, deprived of their property, laden 
 with shame, half dead with fear. Bp. Hall. 
 
 kings of the Hittites,'} Though the greatest number of 
 
 these people liad been destroyed by the Israelites under Joshua, 
 yet many had fled to remote parts, and some to the countries bor- 
 dering on Canaan, where in process of tiajie they grew mimerousf 
 ajid powcrfuL
 
 of the flight of tJte Stfrians. 
 
 CHAP. VII, VIII. 
 
 The Sinmmmmk^s land restored. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 tve shall 
 find pu- 
 mshment. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 in it. 
 
 Before tcrcd into another tent, and carried thence 
 about 892. also, and went and hid it. 
 
 9 Then they said one to another. We do 
 not well : this day is a day of good tidings, 
 and we hold our peace : if we tarry till the 
 morning light, t some mischief will come 
 upon us : now therefore come, that we may 
 go and tell the king's houshold. 
 
 10 So they came and called unto the 
 poiter of the city : and they told them, 
 saying, AV^e came to the camp of the Sy- 
 rians, and, behold, there was no man there, 
 neither voice of man, but horses tied, and 
 asses tied, and the tents as they xvere. 
 
 11 And he called the porters; and they 
 told it to the king's house within. 
 
 12 % And the king arose in the night, 
 and said unto his servants, I will now shew 
 you what the Syrians have done to us. 
 They know that we be hungry ; therefore 
 are they gone out of the camp to hide 
 themselves in the field, saying. When they 
 come out of the city, we shall catch them 
 alive, and get into the city. 
 
 13 And one of his servants answered and 
 said. Let some take, I pray thee, five of the 
 horses that remain, which are left + in the 
 city, (behold, they are as all the multitude 
 of Israel that are left in it : behold, / say, 
 tbey are even as all the multitude of the 
 Israelites that are consumed :) and let us 
 send and see. 
 
 14 They took therefore two chariot 
 horses ; and the king sent after the host 
 of the Syrians, saying, Go and see. 
 
 15 And they went after them unto Jor- 
 dan : and, lo, all the way "was full of gar- 
 ments and vessels, which the Syrians had 
 cast away in their haste. And the mes- 
 sengers returned, and told the king. 
 
 16 And the people went out, and spoiled 
 the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of 
 fine Hour was sold for a shekel, and two 
 measures of barley for a shekel, according 
 to the word of the Lord. 
 
 17 ^ And the king appointed the lord 
 on whose hand he leaned to have the 
 charge of the gate : and the people trode 
 upon him in the gate, and he died, as the 
 man of God had said, who spake when the 
 king came down to him. 
 
 18 And it came to pass as the man of 
 
 13. — behold, they are as all the multitude &C.3 He means to 
 say, that the remaining horses were almost consumed with hun- 
 ger, and must shortly die ; as liad already happened to tlie greater 
 part of them : therefore, if these horses (and men) were taken by 
 the Syrians, there would be no gi-eat loss of them, for.theyvyouM 
 soon be lost if they remained in Samaria. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 God had spoken to the king, saying. Two ^^{ti: 
 measures of barley for a shekel, and a «bout 802. 
 measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be 
 to morrow about this time in -the gate of 
 Samaria : 
 
 19 And that lord answered the man of 
 God, and said. Now, behold, if the Lord 
 sliould make windows in heaven, might 
 such a thing be? And he said. Behold, 
 thou shalt see it with thine eyes,' but shalt 
 not eat thereof. 
 
 20 And so it fell out unto him : for the 
 people trode upon him in the gate, and he 
 died. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. ^'^^'^"^'^ 
 
 1 The Sliiinammite, haviug left her country t^even years, 
 to avoid the forewarned famine, JorEii.slui.t miracle 
 sake liaih her laml restored by the king. 7 Hazael, 
 being sent ivilh a present by Ben-hadad lo EJislia at 
 Damascus, after he had heard the propliecy, killelh his 
 master, and .mcceedeth him. l6 Jihoram's nicked 
 reign in Jiidah. 20 Edom and Libnak revolt. 2^ 
 Aliaziah succeedelh .tehoram. 25 Ahazialt's wicked 
 reign. 28 He visiteth Jehoram wounded, at JezreeL 
 
 THEN spake Elisha unto the woman, about 691. 
 "" whose son he had restored to life, ' Chap. 4. 
 saying. Arise, and go thou and thine hous- ''^ 
 hold, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst 
 sojourn : for the Lord hath called for a 
 famine ; and it shall also come upon the 
 land seven years. 
 
 2 And the woman arose, and did after 
 the saying of the man of God : and she 
 went with her houshold, and sojourned in 
 the land of the Philistines seven years. 
 
 3 And it came to pass at the seven =«'>«"' 8«5. 
 years' end, that the woman returned out 
 
 of the land of the Philistines : and she 
 went forth to cry unto the king for her 
 house and for lier land. 
 
 4 And the king talked with Gehazi the 
 servant of the man of God, saying. Tell 
 me, I pray thee, all the great things that 
 Elisha hath done. 
 
 5 And it came to pass, as he was telling 
 the king how he had restored a dead body 
 to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son 
 he had restored to life, cried to the king 
 for her house and for her land. And Ge- 
 hazi said. My lord, O king, this w the 
 woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha 
 restored to life. 
 
 Chap. VIII. ^'er. 1. — it shall also come upon the land seven 
 years.'2 As the iniquities of the Jews increased, so did their 
 punishments. The famine in the days of Ahab continued 
 three years and a half; and this was to continue ;t]vipe as long. 
 Bp. Patrick.
 
 Uamef kilU-th his master. 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 Mtd Sitcceedeth hm. 
 
 tunitelt. 
 
 tii. 
 
 t HeU 
 Id hit hand. 
 
 (J Aiid wlieii tlic kinj» askcil tlie woman, 
 
 CHBIST ^^^ j^i^j ,,i„,_ So the king appointed unto 
 , o'r" ' iicr a certain II oHicer, saying, Restore all 
 that uas iier's, aiul all the iVuits of the held 
 since the day that she left the land, even 
 until now. 
 
 7 f And Elisha came to Damascus ; and 
 Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick ; and 
 it was told him, saying, The man of God is 
 come hither. 
 
 8 And the king said unto Hazael, lake 
 a present in tliine liantl, and go, meet the 
 man of God, and enquire of the Loud by 
 him, saying. Shall I recover of this dis- 
 ease ? 
 
 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took 
 a present t with him, even of every good 
 thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, 
 and came and stood before him, and said, 
 Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent 
 me to thee, saying. Shall I recover of this 
 disease ? 
 
 10 And Elisha said unto him. Go, say 
 unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover : 
 howbeit the Loiiu hath shewed me that he 
 shall surely die. 
 
 9. — furty camels' biirflcn,^ There is gre.it pomp in the manner 
 of ofTerinp presents in the Kast ; see Jiiilg. iii. 18. Perhaps it is 
 hero meant, not that " the go(Kl things of Damascus" were sent 
 to an amount which fully loiulcd forty camels, but that they were 
 distriluiti-d on forty camels for the jjiirpose of making a magni- 
 ficent appearance. Harmer. 
 
 10. — Thou mayest ceiiuinli/ recover:! This disease, he inti- 
 mates, w-i-s not of such a nature as would endanger his life, if he 
 did not lose it by other means, as tlie I'rophet foresaw that he 
 certainly would. .loscphus says, his disease was only a deep me- 
 Imcholy, into whicli he fell, on the shameful flight of his army, 
 which affctte<l liis hoAy, and took away his appetite. Bp. Patrick. 
 H must not be supjioscd that the Prophet deceived Hazael in this 
 answer ; for his meaning was, that Ben-hadad would recover of 
 his disease, or that his sickness was not mortal, whicli was per- 
 fectly true. Dr. H'nlcrlnnd. 
 
 It ought to be mentioned, that the Hebrew text here has .in- 
 other reading, of which the translation is, " (Jo, say, Thou shalt 
 surely not live; for the Lord hath shewed nie, &c." According 
 then to this reading, the I'rophet foretold Ben-liadad's death : but 
 Hazael, being a wickeil man, went and told him quite the con- 
 trary, (ver. 1 1,) and then murdered him. Interpreters have been 
 very much divided between these two readings. Drs. Waterland 
 snd Kiiiiiicutl. 
 
 1 1 . And /if settled his coiiitlcnancc &c.] Elisha looked earnestly 
 on H,-izael, till he (Hazael) wa.s ashamed, or put out of counte- 
 nance ; and Elisha fell a weejjing. Dr. Wells. 
 
 1 3. — Bui irlial, is Ihi/ servant a do^,'^ Hazael strongly dis- 
 claims such barbarity, which he abhorred as only becoming a brute 
 aninial. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 We are here supplied with a striking instance of the deceitful- 
 ncss of the human heart. Hazael, not knowing himself, as Elisha 
 knew him by a light darted into his mind from Heaven, was 
 »tanlc»i ami an^az«l at what was predicte<l concerning him, and 
 could not believe it jrassible that a man of his disposition could 
 ever ru\i uiu> such enormous instances of cruelty and inhumanity. 
 ^ el. at thjit very time, he actually was the very"m.in that he could 
 rot "''«g>ne himself lo be ; for we find him, on the very next 
 day alter his return, murdering his royal master in a treacherous 
 
 11 And he settled his countenance tsted- c^'^"i|t 
 fastly, initil he was ashamed : and the man 885. 
 of God wept. t Hel.. 
 
 12 And Hazael said. Why weepeth my ""'^ '" "• 
 lord? And he answered. Because I know 
 
 the evil that thou wilt do unto the children 
 of Israel : their strong holds wilt thou set 
 on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay 
 with the sword, and wilt dash their children, 
 and rip up their women with child. 
 
 13 And Hazael said, But what, is thy 
 servant a dog, that he should do this great 
 thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord 
 hath shewed me that thou shalt be king 
 over Syria. 
 
 14< So he departed from Elisha, and came 
 to his master ; who said to him, What said 
 Elisha to thee ? And he answered, He told 
 me that thou shouldest surely recover. 
 
 15 And it came to pass on the morrow, 
 that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in 
 water, and spread it on his face, so that he 
 died : and Hazael reigned in his stead. 
 
 16 ^ And in the fifth year of Joram the 
 son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat 
 
 $S»2. 
 
 " 2 Chroa. 
 
 being then king of Judah, " Jehoram the 21. 4. 
 
 manner, and usurping his kingdom : which was but a prelude to 
 the sad tragedy, which he afterwards acted upon the people of 
 Israel. The case of Hazael is the case of too many amongst man- 
 kind. Of the many proud, ambitious, revengeful, envious, and 
 ill-natured persons in the world, few indeed look into themselves 
 with an impartial eye ; and few indeed, if they were told by some 
 person of a discerning spirit, of all the evil and absurd actions 
 into which their vicious hearts would at one time or other betray 
 them, would not believe as little, and be astonished as much, as 
 Hazael was in the instiuice before us. Dean Snift. Wicked men 
 are carried into those heights of impiety which they could not, in 
 their better mood, have possibly believed. How many, from 
 honest beginnings, have risen to incredible licentiousness; whose 
 lives are now such, that it were as hard to believe they had ever 
 been good, as it would have been once to persuade them they 
 could prove so desperately bad ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 15. — and .spread it on his face,] So as to stifle his breath. 
 He adopted this method of putting him to deatli, to prevent 
 all appearance of marks of violence : for, had the people in 
 the least suspected tliat Ben-hadad was murdered, we may con- 
 clude that Hazael would not so easily have succeeded to the 
 throne. Calmel. 
 
 O Hazael, thou shalt not thus easily stop tlie mouth of thy own 
 conscience : that shall call thee traitor, even in thy chair of state ; 
 and shall check all thy royal triumphs with " Tliou hast founded 
 thy throne in blood !" Sovereignty is painful upon the fairest 
 terms ; but, upon treachery and murder, tonnenting. Woful is 
 the case of tliat man, whose publick cares are aggravated with 
 l)riv.ite guiltiness ; and happy is he that can enjoy a little with 
 the peace of an honest heart ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 1 6. And in the JIflh year &C.3 All the seeming contradictions 
 between this verse .ind chap. i. 17, and chap. iii. I, are thus briefly 
 reconciled by Huetius. Jehoram beginning to reign with his 
 father Jehoshaphat in his seventeenth year, and Joram king of 
 Israel in his eighteenth ; the first year of Joram king of Israel 
 will fall out in the second year of Jehoram king of Judah, whose 
 father dying in the twenty-second year of his reign, Jehoram 
 king of Jud.ih began to reign alone' in the fifth year of Jorara 
 king of Israel Bp. Patrick.
 
 Jehoram's xvicked reign. 
 
 CHAP. VIIJ, IX. 
 
 Ahati<ik*s 'wtctced ?*««•».-- 
 
 chrTst ^^^ ^^ Jehoshaphat king of Judah t began 
 
 syj. to reign. 
 t Hci>. 17 Thirty and two years old was he when 
 
 rei-ntd. he begaii to reign ; and he reigned eight 
 ygars in Jerusalem. 
 
 ,,18 And he walked in the way of the 
 kings of Israel, as did the house of A- 
 hab : for the daughter of Ahab was his 
 wife : and he did evil in the sight of the 
 Lord. 
 
 19 Yet the Lord would not destroy Ju- 
 ^2 Sam. 7. dah for David his servant's sake, ''as he 
 i "iiei.. promised him to give him alway a t light, 
 
 um'.'' *"' ^"^^ ^^ ^"■'^ children. 
 
 20 ^ In his days Edom revolted from 
 under the hand of Judah, and made a king 
 over themselves. 
 
 21 So Joram went over to Zair, and all 
 the chariots with him : and he rose by 
 night, and smote the Edomites which com- 
 passed him about, and the captains of the 
 chariots : and the people fled into their 
 tents. 
 
 22 Yet Edom revolted from under the 
 hand of Judah unto this day. Then Lib- 
 naJi revolted at the same time. 
 
 23 And the rest of the acts of Joram, 
 and all that he did, are they not written in 
 the book of the chronicles of the kings of 
 Judah ? 
 
 24< And Joram slept with his fathers, 
 and was buried with his fathers in the city 
 •■ 2 chron. of David : and " Ahaziah his son reigned 
 " 885. in his stead. 
 
 25 5F In the twelfth year of Joram the 
 son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the 
 son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to 
 reign. 
 
 26 Two and twenty years old was Aha- 
 ziah when he began to reign ; and he 
 reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his 
 
 21. — - to Zair,~\ This place seems, from the circumstances of 
 this story, to be in or near the land of Edom. Dr. Wells. 
 
 22. — uido this (/ay.] Unto the time ^vllen this book was 
 ■written, which was not long after this revolt. 
 
 — Then Libnah revolted^ Which was the reason perhaps of 
 Joram not pursxiing the victory over the Edomites, and regain- 
 ing their country. It is probable that the neighbouring cities 
 followed the example of Libnah; and the reason why they re- 
 volted was, tliat he attempted to set up his idolatrous worship 
 among them, contrary to the law of CJotl and of the kingdom. 
 .See 2 Chron. xxi. 1 0, 1 1 . Bp. Patrick. 
 
 26. Two ami trventi/ years- old was A/iazia/i'] At 2 Chron. xxii. 2, 
 his age is stated Rtforfij and two years ; but several ancient ver- 
 sions read there twenty-two years, the same as here. Dr. Utiles. 
 
 2S. And he went with Joram &c.] As is related more particu- 
 larly in the next chapter ; also at 2 CIn-on. xxii. o. 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. 1. Ami Elislut the proj)het &c.] The Prophet 
 Elijah was commanded to do this which Elisha was now about to 
 
 mother's name r^as Athaliah, the daughter Before 
 of Omri king of Israel. -"«|J^^ 
 
 27 And he walked in the way of the- 
 house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of 
 the Lord, as did the house of Aliab: for 
 he "was the son in law of the house -of 
 Ahab. lijr ? \ 
 
 28 ^ And he went witli Joram the^sbtv 884. 
 of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of 
 Syria in Ramoth-gilead j and the Syrians 
 wounded Joram. 
 
 29 And king Joram went back to be 
 healed in Jezreel of the woun'ds t which tHeii. 
 the Syrians had gi\en him at Kamah, when ''/'^J"™!"' 
 
 1 r J A • TT 11- r. . 'lie Syrians 
 
 he lougnt aganist Hazael king or Syria. An</ic.-«nd- 
 
 And Ahaziah the son of Jehoftm king *''■ 
 
 of Judah went down to see Joram the 
 
 son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was 
 
 t sick. + Hcb. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 1 Elisha sendelh a i/oung prophet ivith instructions (a 
 anoint Jehu at Ramolh-gilead. 4- The prophet having 
 done his message Jleeth. 1 1 Jehu, l)eing made king Sy 
 the soldiers, killelh Joram in the field vf' Nuboth. 27 
 Ahaziah i.i .slain at Gur, and buried at Jerusalem. 30 
 Proud Jezebel is thrmvn down out of a n-indow, and 
 eaten by dogs. 
 
 AN D Elislia the prophet called one of ssi. 
 the children of the prophets, and said 
 unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this 
 box of oil in thine hand, and go to lla- 
 moth-gilead : 
 
 2 And when thou comest thither, look 
 out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the 
 son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him 
 arise up from among his brethren, and 
 
 carry him to an t inner chamber ; l^mhcn,, 
 
 3 Then ^ take the box of oil, and pour j c''i>i"i'c,: 
 it on his head, and say. Thus saith the i;!. ig"*** 
 
 do ; but Ahab's humihation had moved Got! to defer tlie judg- 
 ment pronounced upon him and his famil}' ; and so the execution 
 of it was left to Elisha, who did not go himself became lie was 
 better known, and this business required secrecy ; or being old, 
 he was unfit for such a journey : for the last time we read of him 
 he was at Damascus. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 lake this box of oif] The Jews think that none of the 
 
 kings of Israel were anointed, excepting at the first promotion of 
 a family to the throne, or when there was a question about the 
 succession. The reason why Jehu was anointed at this time was, 
 because the succession was to be transferred out of the right line 
 of the house of Ahab into his family, which had no right to the 
 kingdom, but merely by the Divine appointment. lieadins- 
 
 It should be well observed, tjiat Jehu, in all that follows, acted 
 under an express Divine commission. Without this, all his acts 
 agiiinst the house of Ahab would have incurred the guilt of trea- 
 son and murder ; and, notwithstanding the demerits of die suf- 
 ferers, we should have viewed the executioner with abhorrence. 
 Reading.
 
 Tkcfropket's menage lo Jehu. 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 He is made king by the soldiers. 
 
 > I King* 
 21. 15. 
 
 MK 
 14.1 
 SI. •.'!. 
 
 Lo»i>, 1 liave anointed Uiee kijig over Is- 
 CUBI9X j..^^i xiie,, open the door, and Hee, and 
 
 tarry not. 
 
 4' % So the young man, even the young 
 man the jjropliet, went to Kamoth-gi- 
 
 lead. 
 
 5 And when he came, behold, the cap- 
 taiu.s of the host uere sitting; and he said, 
 1 have an errand to thee, O captain. And 
 Jelm said. Unto which of all us ? And he 
 said. To thee, O captain. 
 
 6 And Jic arose, and went into the 
 house ; and he poured the oil on his head, 
 and said unto him, Thus sailli the Lord 
 God of Israel, I have anointed thee king 
 over the people of the Lohd, even over Is- 
 rael. 
 
 7 And thou shalt smite the house of 
 Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the 
 blood of my servants the prophets, and the 
 blood of all the servants of the Lord, ^ at 
 the hand of Jezebel. 
 
 8 For the whole house of Ahab shall pe- 
 CinaQ rish : and * I will cut oft" from Ahab him 
 ,*J^*^tbat pissetJi against the wall, and him that 
 
 is shut up and left in Israel : 
 
 9 And I will make the house of Ahab 
 « 1 King? like the house of "^ Jeroboam the son of 
 sKss.* Nebat, and like the house of ' Baasha the 
 • 1 King* son ol' Aliijah : . *' . 
 
 10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the 
 portion of Jczreel, and there shall be none 
 
 8. — the whole house ofAluib thall perish :] The severe judg- 
 ment horc pronoiiiicpd ajiniBst Ahab and his bouse had been de- 
 nouiicc<l before by Elijah, 1 Kinps x.xi. 21, ancfis now to be exe- 
 cuted ill lull iiiensurc, because, tliat family did not take warning 
 and repent. Thus God auffereth long and is kind ; in forbearing 
 He waits to be gracious. But, if the wicked will not turn from 
 his evil way when he has been warned, repeatedly warned, Di- 
 vine justice will not be mocked ; God will whet His sword. He 
 h.ith b'.nt His Ihjw, anil made it ready. By His sparing Ahab 
 on his outward, though not genuine, humiliation, and suspending 
 the punishment so long, we are taught how ready and desirous 
 God is to pardon and forgive the greatest of sinners, if they re- 
 pent But if tliey do not, the judgment which has been deferred 
 will fall s-o much the heavier. Wogan. 
 
 him Ihal is thul up and left] See note at 1 Kings xiv. 10. 
 
 In exj)knation of the term " shut up," it may be added, that, ac- 
 corcUng to Eiistem histories, when a successful prince has endea- 
 voured to extirpate a preceding royal family, some who have 
 e4ca|)ed have generally secured themselves in some impregnable 
 fortress or place of great secrecy ; and to this circumstance tlie 
 term "shut up" may allude. IJarmer. 
 
 H. — nhercjore came this mad/ellowl They call hiin so, eitlier 
 from the abruptness of his arrival and departure, and from ap- 
 pearances of Jigturbance in his mind ; or else, as being proiane 
 luol.itcrs, they spake the,-e words in scorn and derision. Jehu 
 think i to s;iii,fy their imjuirj- by a general answer, which not 
 "^ng suffidcnt, he discloses to them the truth. Bp. Patrick. The 
 officers who were in company with Jehu might easily perceive by 
 •tie habit, .-uid air, anil manner of speech of the person who accost- 
 «t JtUu so boldly, and when he had done his business vanished 
 so suiKIeuly, tb*i ho was a Prophet ; but then there might be seve- 
 
 BefoM 
 CHRIST 
 
 tiS4. 
 
 t Ilcb. 
 reignelh. 
 
 ' Chap. 8. 
 •20. 
 
 t Heb. 
 Jehonim. 
 t Heb. 
 smote. 
 t Heb. 
 let no es- 
 caper go. 
 
 to bury her. And he opened the door, and 
 
 fled. 
 
 11 f Then Jehu came forth to the ser- 
 vants oi' his lord : and o?ie said unto him, 
 J.s all well ? wherefore came this mAdJellow 
 to thee ? And he said unto them. Ye know 
 the man, and his communication. 
 
 12 And they said, It is false; tell us 
 now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he 
 to me, saying. Thus saith the Lord, I hava 
 anointed thee king over Israel. 
 
 13 Then they hasted, and took every 
 man his garment, and put it under him on 
 the to]) of the stairs, and blew with trum- 
 pets, saying, Jehu t is king. 
 
 14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the 
 son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. 
 (Now Joram had kept Ramoth-gilead, he 
 and aU Israel, because of Hazael king of 
 Syria. 
 
 15 But ' king t Joram was returned to 
 be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which 
 the Syrians t had gi\'en him, when he 
 fought with Hazael king of Syria.) "And 
 Jehu said,- If it be your minds, l/ien t let 
 none go forth 7ior escape out of the city to 
 go to tell // in Jezreel. 
 
 16 So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went 
 to Jezreel ; for Joram lay there. And Aha- 
 ziah king of Judah was come down to see 
 Joram. 
 
 17 And there stood a watchman on the 
 
 ral reasons wliich might induce men of their profession to liave 
 a contemptible opinion of men of that order. The rigid and ob- 
 scure course of life which the Prophets led, their neglect of them- 
 selves and of the things of this world, might pass with tliem for 
 a kind of infatuation ; and the holy exercises to which they de- 
 voted themselves, for no more than a religious frenzy. Besides 
 this, the I'alse prophets which they had seen in the court of Ahab 
 had given just offence, and by their affected gestures and studied 
 contortions (whereby they thought to recommend their crude en- 
 thusiasm) made them justly ridiculous and contemptible. Slack- 
 house. 
 
 1 3. — took every man his garmeiU,'] They spread their garments 
 under his feet in the council-room, or else raised w;ith them a kind 
 of throne, on which he might sit. P^le. . . 
 
 on the top of the stairs,'] They did not stay till they came 
 
 down into the street, but forthwith, upon the very top of the 
 stairs of the place where they were sitting, acknowledged him for 
 their sovereign: or the meaning has been conjectured, that these 
 were winding stairs in a turret, on the top of which they placed 
 Jehu, that all the people might see liim and hear him proclaimed 
 their king. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1.1. — let none go forth nor escape out of llie citf] Tliis seems 
 to shew that Ramoth-gilead was in the possession of the Israel- 
 ites. Bp. Patrick. Or the words may be translated, " from be- 
 fore the city ;" that is, out of the camp or army which was besieg- 
 ing it. Perhaps too the Israelites may, at this time, have had the 
 suburbs, or outbuildings belonging to the city, in their possession, 
 from whence orders may have been given, that none should be 
 permitted to move. Stackhouse. 
 
 17. — ihere stood a natchmaii] These watchmen seem to have 
 been set on high places, in time of peace as -well as war, wherever
 
 Jehu killeth Joram 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 m the field ofNaboth. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST tower in Jezreel, aud he spied the com- 
 S84. pany of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a 
 company. And Joram said, Take an horse- 
 man, and send to meet them, and let him 
 say. Is it peace ? 
 
 18 So there went one on horseback to 
 meet him, and said. Thus saith the king. 
 Is it peace? And Jehu said. What hast 
 thou to do with peace ? turn thee behind 
 me. And the watclnnan told, saying. The 
 messenger came to them, but he cometh 
 not again. 
 
 19 Then he sent out a second on horse- 
 back, which came to them, and said. Thus 
 saith the king. Is it peace ? And Jehu an- 
 swered, What hast thou to do with peace ? 
 turn thee behind me, 
 
 20 And the watchman told, saying, He 
 came even unto them, and cometh not 
 
 X^nhin ^o^^^ * and.the II driving is like the driving 
 of Jehu the son of Nimshi ; for he driveth 
 
 t ^^''•, t furiously. 
 
 fHeu 21 And Joram said, t Make ready. And 
 
 •*'^- his chariot was made ready. And Joram 
 king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah 
 went out, each in his chariot, and they 
 
 the king was, that he might not be surprised. For David at Je. 
 rusalem was admonished by the watchmen that his sons were safe, 
 when he feared they had been lost, 2 Sam. xiii. S4 ; as afterward, 
 that news was coming from the army that fought against Absalom, 
 2 .Sam. xviii. 24, 25. 
 
 18. — What /last thou to do fvilh peace f ] As if he had said. 
 Trouble not thyself to ask any questions, for thou shall carry no 
 answer back ; but turn thee behind, and follow me. Dr. IVells. 
 
 21. — in the portion of Naboth'\ This wa.s by the special pro- 
 vidence of God that brought them together in that place. 
 
 22. — What peace, so long as the irhoredoms &c.] What possi- 
 bility is there of holding good terras with thee, so long as the 
 abominable idolatries and superstition of thy mother Jezebel both 
 remain, and are maintsined and countenanced by thee ? Bp. Hall. 
 He upbraids Jehoram with his mother's sins, not with his own, 
 because hers were the most notorious and infamous, and whicli, 
 by his connivance, he had made his own ; and becaiise tiiey were 
 the principal reason of God's inflicting, and Jehu's being commis- 
 sioned to execute, these judgments. Slackhousc. 
 
 23. — There is trcachcrt/,'] Too late now does wretched Jeho- 
 ram turn his chariot and cry. Treason, O Ahaz.iah. There wa.s 
 treason before, O Jehoram : thy treason against the majesty of 
 God,is now revenged by the treason of Jehu against thee. That 
 fatal shaft, notwithstanding the swift pace of both the chai-iots, is 
 directed to the heart of Jehoram. There is no erring of those ar- 
 rows which are guided by the hand of God. Bp. Hall. 
 
 2.'). — ca.ft him in the poll ion of tlie field of Kaholh"] How just 
 are the judgments of God ! It was in the field of Naboth that Je- 
 horam met with Jehu ; that very ground called to liim lor blood. 
 And now tliis new avenger remembers that prophecy which lie 
 heard from the mouth of Ehjah, in that very place, following the 
 heels of Ahab, and is careful to perfoi-m it. Little did Jehu think, 
 when he heai'd that message from Elijali, tliat his hands should 
 act it : now, as if zealous of accomplishing the word of a Prophet, 
 lie gives chai-ge to Bidkar his captain, that the bleeding carcase 
 of Jehoram should be cast upon that very plat of Naboth. O Na- 
 both's blood well paid for ! Ahab's blood is licked up by dogs in 
 tlie very place where dogs licked N&both's. Jehoram's blood shall 
 loannre that ground which was wrung from Naboth, and Jeiebel 
 Vol. I. 
 
 went out against Jehu, and tmet him in the ^^"'^ 
 portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. ^"84!^^ 
 
 22 And it came to pass, when Joram tH.i.. 
 saw Jehu, that he said. Is it peace, Jehu?-^'"""'- 
 And he answered. What peace, so long as 
 
 the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebeland 
 her witchcrafts are so many ? 
 
 23 And Joram turned his hands, and 
 fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is trea- 
 cheiy, O Ahaziah. 
 
 24- And Jehu t drew a bow with his full t H<"b- 
 strength, and smote Jehoram between hisS«^A. 
 arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, '""^^ 
 and he t sunk down in his chariot. t Heb. 
 
 25 Then said Jehu to Bidkar his cap- *"""'" 
 tain. Take up, and cast him in the portion 
 
 of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite : for 
 remember how that, when I and thou rode 
 together after Ahab his father, « the Lord ' ' k™?- 
 laid this burden upon him ; ^' ^'" 
 
 26 Surely I have seen yesterday the 
 
 t blood of Naboth, and the blood of his t Heb. 
 sons, saith the Lord ; and I will requite *'*"^' 
 thee in this II plat, saith the Lord. Now II Ot. 
 therefore take OTid cast him into the plat of"*^' 
 ground, according to the word of the Lord. 
 
 shall add to its manuring. O garden of herbs dearly bought ! 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 jfken I and thou rode together^ When we rode with the 
 
 rest of .^hab's guard, when he went to take possession of Xaboth'g 
 vineyard. In the Hebrew the words are exactly thus : " Remera- 
 ber, thou and I were amongst those who rode two and two toge- 
 ther with Ahab ;" that is, Ahab was attended by his guard, who 
 were wont to ride in pairs, two and two ; and jehu and Bidkar, 
 riding together at that time, heard Elijah's words, in which " the 
 Lord laid this burden upon him. " By " burden" is here meant 
 the punishment denounced against him, and which by the Pro- 
 phets is frequently callwl " a" burden," Isa. xiii. 1. These very 
 words of Elijah, mentioned in the next verse, are not recorded at 
 1 Kings xxi. 1 9 ; but probably he said more tlian is there set 
 down, which Jehu remembered. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 26. — and theJ>/ood of his sons,'} It is to b« observed, that, in 
 the history of Kaboth. (recorded at 1 Kings xxi,) we find no 
 mention made of the death of his sons ; but it is no unusual thing 
 for the Scriptures to supply in one place that which has been 
 omitted in another. It is therefore not improbable, tliat, as Na- 
 both was accused of high treason, all his family was involved in 
 lii.s ruin, and all his estate confiscated to the king's treasuni'. 
 And this opinion seems to be confirmed by the fact, that we do 
 not once find Elijah putting Ahab in mind to restore the vineyard 
 to Naboth's children, nor the king, in the time of his repentance, 
 ever once thinking to do so. Stachhouse. 
 
 AW therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground."] 
 
 We here observe, in tiie story of Joram's rash conduct and im- 
 happy fate, the imcrring superintendence of Divine Providence, 
 the truth of God's word, the exact measures of His justice, and 
 most punctual accomplishment of His will in every the minutest 
 circumstance of time and place. It was not chance, but the over- 
 ruling power of Heaven, which directed this whole transaction ; 
 which sent Jehu, and which conducte<l Joram, to that very plat 
 which had been decreed to be the place of his execution. The 
 purchase of Ahab's covctousncss and murtler was tlie theatre of 
 his punisliment, and of his son's deatli. This ,Iehu called to mind, 
 and remembered, as the burden laid upon Ahab, " I will requite 
 thee ia this pl*t, saith tlie Lord. " Had Joram remembered or 
 
 4U
 
 Jezebel is kilted. 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 and eaien by dogs. 
 
 urforr qj % Biit when Ahaziah the king of Ju- 
 *^"m^*'" dah saw l/iis, h'e fled by the way ol" the gar- 
 den house. And Jehu followed after him, 
 and said, Smite him also in the chariot. 
 And tlu-y did so at the going up to Gur, 
 which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Me- 
 giddo, and died there. 
 
 28 And his servants carried him in a 
 chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in 
 his sepulchre witli his fathers in the city of 
 
 David. 
 
 ^boutSM. «9 And in the eleventh year of Joram 
 
 the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign 
 
 over Judah. 
 «boutM-«. ^0 if And when Jehu was come to Jez- 
 t Heb. reel, Jezebel heard if it ; and she + painted 
 wT^^ILi^! her face, and tired her head, and looked 
 
 out at a window. 
 
 81 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, 
 
 she said. Had Zimri peace, who slew his 
 
 master ? 
 
 32 And he lifted up his face to the win- 
 dow, and said, "WTio is on my side? who? 
 And there looked out to him two or three 
 II eunuchs. 
 
 33 And he said. Throw her down. So 
 they threw her down : and some of her 
 blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the 
 horses : and he trode her under foot. 
 
 |l Or, 
 
 ckamiKr~ 
 tuliu. 
 
 minded that prophecy, he might have escaped. There is no v/ay 
 to prevent tlie stroke of Divine justice, but by taking heed to the 
 word of God, and a timely repentance. JVugan. 
 
 27- — and died there.'] Not at Megiddo ; for it appears from 
 2 Chron. xxiL 9, that, bemg searched for and taken in Saraaj-ia, 
 he was brought to Jehu, (at Jezreel probably,) who commanded 
 him to be slain. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 30. — she painted her face,"] The words in the original import, 
 " She put her eyes in paint ;" that is, she used stibium, or anti- 
 mony made into powder, to make her eyes and eyebrows look 
 black and large, which in several countries was esteemed a great 
 beauty. .Sec F.2ck. xxiii. tO; Jcr.iv. 30. Slackhouse. She had no 
 intention of tempting Jehu by her beauty, but was merely actu- 
 atc<l by motives of pride and vanity to keep up her stjite and dig- 
 nity to the last. Bp. PalAck. How finely is the haughty and in- 
 flexible spirit of Jezebel here marked ! with the utmost composure 
 she adorns her jierson, as on an occi'.sion of state ; instead of seek- 
 ing concealment, .she places herself at a window, and proudly 
 encoimters with reproaches (ver. ai) the successful rebel. 
 
 ^•- — fl'>d Zimri peace, &c.'] Zimri slew his master Elah, and 
 was himself destroyed by Omri. See 1 Kings xvi. Cabnet. 
 
 31. — and bxiri/ her :'\ Death puts an end commonly to the 
 highest displeasure. He that was severe in the execution of the 
 livuig, is merciful in the sepulture of the dead. She that up- 
 braidctl Jehu with the name of Zimri, is interred by Jehu, as the 
 daughter-in-law of Omri, as a Sidonian princess. Somewhat 
 must be yielded to humanity, somewhat to state. Bp. Hall 
 
 35. — ihei/ found no wore of her than the skull, Scc.l The dogs 
 nave prev eiited .Iihu in his purpose, and have given to Jezebel a 
 Uying u.mb, more ignoble than the worst of the earth. Only the 
 "Xm u • u' """^ *f'-'* "'' ^"^ vanished carcase yet remain: the 
 
 a^d fe!!!t kT "^^ T'' °^ •''" '^^ '^'"^^^«> 'l^"^^ ; the hands 
 ^ «ert. which were the executioners. Thus Jezebel is become 
 
 imrged, JAo u> «alou9 ; aftd, in all, God is just Bp. Hall. 
 
 34 And when he was come in, he did chuTst 
 eat and drink, and said. Go, see now this about ss-i. 
 cursed xvoman, and bury her : for she is a 
 king's daughter. 
 
 35 And they went to bury her: but 
 they found no more of her than the skull, 
 and the feet, and the palms of fier hands. 
 
 36 Wherefore they came again, and told 
 him. And he said, This is the word of the 
 Lord, which he spake t by his servant Eli- t ii;^^y 
 jah the Tishbite, saying, " In the portion u i King* 
 of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jeze- 2'- -'3- 
 
 bel: 
 
 37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be 
 as dung upon the face of the field in the 
 portion of Jezreel ; so that they shall not 
 say, This is Jezebel. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Jehu, by his letters, cajcseth seventy of Ahal's children 
 to be beheaded. 8 He exciiseth the fuel by the prophe- 
 cy of Elijah. 12 At the shearing house he slayelh two 
 and forty of Ahaziah's brethren. 15 He iuketh Jcho- 
 nadab into his company. \8 By subtilty he destroyetk 
 all the worshippers of Baul. 29 Jehufoltoweth Jero- 
 boam's sins. 32 Hazael vpprcsseth Israel. Si Jchoa- 
 haz succeedeth Jehu. 
 
 A 
 
 ND Ahab had seventy sons in Sama- 
 ria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent 
 
 8S4. 
 
 Thus must pride fall ! Insolent, idolatrous, cruel Jezebel be- 
 sprinkles the walls and pavement with her blood : she who de- 
 vised mischief against the servants of God, is dashed upon the 
 stones ; and she that insulted upon the Prophets, is trampled upon 
 by horses' heels. Bp. Hall. We should reflect properly on the 
 end of Jezebel. It was no protection to her that she was the 
 daughter, the wife, the mother of kings. She probably reckoned 
 on her advantages of birth and wealth, thought that she was 
 above the control of laws, and that she might, whenever she 
 pleased, bring the idols of her own country into the land of Is- 
 rael. Perhaps too she despised the Divine threatenings denounced 
 against herself and her family, and deemed the execution of them 
 to be impossible. And she triumphed for some years in doing 
 her own pleasure. But how bitter was all this in the end ! The 
 severe threatenings were brought to full execution at the last, 
 with as much shame and ignominy as could have fallen on the 
 meanest family ; and a sore aggravation of the calamity was, that 
 it was executed by the hands of her own subjects. Reading. 
 
 Chap. X. ver. 1. — Ahab had seventy sotif] It is probable that 
 grandsons are comprehended under the name of sons, as is usual 
 in Scripture. Bp. Patrick. The time was now come that the 
 sentence of God's judgment should be executed on the poste- 
 rity of the wicked Ahab. It had been respited during his own 
 life, in regard to that humiliation he had shewn on hearing it 
 denounced, 1 Kings xxi. 27; but was now inflicted, in full weight, 
 by the hand of Jehu, who slew all that remained of the house of 
 Ahab, until he left him none remaining. How terrible, and yet 
 how forbearing, are Thy judgments, O God ! the slenderest mo- 
 tions of godly sorrow, and most imperfect symptoms of repent- 
 ance, are not rejected of Thee: the bruised reed and smoking 
 flax shall stay Thy hand awhile ; for Thou waitest to be gracious. 
 But justice will not always be mocked ; whom mercy by sparing 
 does not reform, judgment, without mercy, shall finally destroy. 
 Wos.au.
 
 Ahab's seventy sons beheaded. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 CHRIST *^ Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to 
 884. the elders, and to t them that brought up 
 
 t Heb. Ahab's children, saying, 
 
 rumriihers. 2 Now as soon 38 tiiis letter Cometh to 
 you, seeing your master's sons are with 
 you, and tliere are with you chariots and 
 horses, a fenced city also, and armour; 
 
 3 Look even out the best and meetest 
 of your master's sons, and set him on his 
 father's throne, and fight for your master's 
 house. 
 
 4 But they were exceedingly afraid, and 
 said, Behold, two kings stood not before 
 him: how then shall we stand? 
 
 5 And he that 'was over the house, and 
 he that ixa* over the city, the elders also, 
 and the bringers up of the children, sent to 
 Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will 
 do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not 
 make any king: do thou that "which is good 
 in thine eyes. 
 
 6 Then he wrote a letter the second 
 t Heb. time to them, saying, If ye be t mine, and 
 
 if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye 
 the heads of the men your master's sons, 
 and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow 
 this time. Now the king's sons, being se- 
 venty persons, xvere with the great men of 
 the city, which brought them up. 
 
 7 And it came to pass, when the letter 
 came to them, that they took the king's 
 sons, and slew seventy persons, and put 
 tlieir heads in baskets, and sent him them 
 
 »to Jezreel. 
 
 rvrole letters — to Samaria, tinto the rulers of Jezreel,"^ The 
 
 ST 
 
 expression is remarkable, that lie wrote to Snmaria, to the rulers 
 of Jezreel. It seems probable that the great men of the court at 
 Jezreel, on hearing that Jehu had slain jehoramj took the children 
 for fear they might fall into his hands, and fled with them to Sa- 
 maria, as the capital, and the strongest place in the kingdom. 
 Stackkouse. 
 
 5. — We are thy servants, &c.] How worthy were Ahab and 
 Jezebel of such friends! They had ever been false to God; how 
 should men be tnie to them? They had sold themselves to work 
 wickedness, and now they are requited with a mercenary ndeUty. 
 On the first application from Jehu, these persons sell aU the heads 
 of Ahab's posterity. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Q. — take ye the heads of the mcii^ Besides the accomplishment 
 of the Divine decree, Jehu had this further design in requesting 
 this cruel service of the rulers and elders, and gi-eat men of the 
 nation, namely, that thereby he might engage them in the same 
 crime and conspiracy with himself. For by prevailing witli them 
 to murder Ahab's kinsmen in this manner, he tied them to his 
 interest so closely, tliat if any of the inferiour people had wished 
 to oppose his designs, they were by this means deprived of any 
 man of figure and distinction to head them; and not only so, but 
 by this expedient Jehu thought likewise that he might in a great 
 measure justify, at least lessen, the odium of his own cruel and 
 perfidious conduct. Calmet. 
 
 7- — and slew seventy persons,"^ In these rulers, and their 
 putting to death the children of Ahab, whom they had under 
 their charge, we cannot but see the hand of Divine retributive 
 justice: these were the men who through fear of wicked Jezebel 
 
 and all his kindred, ^. destroyed. 
 
 8 ^ And there came a messenger, and ^^^'"^ 
 told him, saying, They have brought the '^^^l^ 
 heads of the king's sons. And he said, 
 
 Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering 
 in of the gate until the morning. 
 
 9 And it came to pass in the morning, 
 that he went out, and stood, and said to all 
 the people. Ye be righteous : behold, I con- 
 spired against my master, and slew liim: 
 but who slev/ all these ? 
 
 10 Know now that there shall fall unto 
 the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, 
 which the Lord spake concerning the house 
 of Ahab: fortlie Lord hath done ///a/ which 
 
 he spake ' t by his servant Elijah. * i Kings 
 
 11 So Jehu slew all that remained oifueh.b,j 
 the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his ii"handof. 
 great men, and his || kinsfolks, and his II O'- <"'■ 
 priests, until he left him none remain- ?'""'^'"^-'- 
 ing. 
 
 12 ^ And he arose and departed, and 
 came to Samaria. And as he xvas at the 
 
 t shearing house in the way, t Heb. 
 
 13 Jehu t met with the brethren of Aha- '^'^^'^^ 
 ziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? td,uiing 
 And they answered. We are the bretlu-en f^;, 
 of Ahaziah; and we go down t to salute y^"""* 
 the children of the king and the childien m^^o«V; 
 of the queen. &c 
 
 14 And he said. Take them alive. And 
 they took them alive, and slew them at 
 the pit of the shearing house, even two 
 and forty men; neither left he any of 
 them. 
 
 had condemned and stoned the innocent Naboth; these are now 
 the executioners of God's vengeance for that barbarous murder on 
 the devoted family of Ahab. But in neither of these actions were 
 they governed by conscience, or the fear of God: they were 
 moved only bj- the fear of man. IVogan. 
 
 8. — Lay ye them in two heaps &a] This he did to the end 
 that, being so exposed to publick view, every one might know 
 there was none of Allah's sons remaining to reign over them; and 
 also to remind the people how completely God had hereby ful- 
 filled what He had foretold. Dr. Wells. 
 
 9- — Ye he righteous: &c.] His meaning is, You ought not to 
 impute the destruction of Ahab's family to me, as if it proceeded 
 from my own private revenge or ambition, since you see the chief 
 heads of the nation are luianimous in it along with me; and 
 therefore you should esteem it the special work of Divine Provi- 
 dence, pursuant to the severe threats you have all heard to have 
 been pronounced by the Prophet Elijali against that wicked house. 
 Pylc. 
 
 10. — there shall fall unto the earth"] That is, there shall re- 
 main unfulfilled. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 12. — at the shearing house~\ In the Hebrew the words are, 
 " in the house of the shepherds' binding;" that is, in the place 
 where the shepherds of Samaria were wont to bind their sheep 
 when they sheared them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. — neither left he any of them.] That the brethren of Aha- 
 ziah should, at so critical a juncture, fall in Jehu's way, and be 
 ignorant of the fate of Ahaziah, and of those they were going to 
 salute, was another remarkable act of Divine Providence, which 
 gathered, as it were, together all that bore. any relation to Ahab; 
 
 4 U 2
 
 Jthu taktih Jehvnadab into his company. II. KINGS 
 
 Bij siMUy Jehu destroycth 
 
 t Htb. 
 
 "f H*. 
 
 Itnv': 
 
 iMb« 15 f Ami when Ik" was departecl thence, 
 "*^y^^^ he flighted on Jehonfulab the son of Re- 
 chab cuvmi; to moot him: and lie t sahitcd 
 him, and said to liim, Is thine lieart rigl\t, 
 as my heart is with thy heart? And Jeho- 
 Tifldab answered, It i'^. If it be, give me 
 thine hand. And he gave him his hand; 
 and he took him up to him into the cha- 
 riot. 
 
 16 And he said, Come with me, and see 
 niv zeal tor the Lord. So they made him 
 ride in iii-^ chariot. 
 
 17 And when lie came to Samaria, he 
 slew all that remained unto Ahab in Sama- 
 ria, till he had destroyed him, according to 
 the saying of the Loud, which he spake to 
 Elijah". 
 
 18 If And Jehu gathered all the people 
 together, and said unto them, Ahab served 
 Baal a little; but Jehu shall sei-ve him 
 much. 
 
 19 Now therefore call unto me all the 
 
 {)rophets of Baal, all his ser\'ants, and all 
 lis priests; let none be wanting: for I 
 have a great sacrifice to do to Baal ; who- 
 
 that they also might meet the doom pronounced against that 
 whole liimitj'. These youtij» princes were not strictly brethren, 
 but kiiisineii of Aliaziah, and related to the house of Ahab by that 
 unhappy alH.mCe made ss'ixh his family, by the marrijige of his 
 lister Athaliah to the king of Judah, chap. viii. 26. So fatal is it 
 to match into wicked and ungodly families. Ruin, destruction, 
 and a curse, are the usual dowries whicli such wives as Jezebel 
 :ind Athaliah bring with them, and entail on their posterity. 
 IVogan. This is the third family of the kings of Israel which 
 was utterly extinct. The family of Jeroboam was first destroyed, 
 then tliat of Baasha, and afterwards that of impious Ahab; and 
 all of them by the just judgment of God for their idolatry. Os- 
 Icrvald. 
 
 , 15. — Jehonadiib the son of Rechab'] He was a most pious and 
 Jkudent person, aa appears by his precepts to his sons in Jer. 
 »xxv. Hearing what Jehu had done, he came, it is probable, to 
 concratulnte him on his happiness in fulfilling tlie commands of 
 GckT, and to encourage him in his proceedings for the destruction 
 of idolatr)-. Hp.Patncl:. Rechab was descended from Jcthro the 
 father-in-law of Moses; and being a person eminent for his piety 
 and great strictness of life, gave name to the Rcchabitcs, of 
 ,»hom the Prophet Jeremiah makes mention, chap. xxxv. His 
 son Jtlionadab, here spoken of, was he that prescribed that as- 
 cctick and severe life to his children and descendants, " to drink 
 iiq wins, nor to build houses, Sic." The constant and strict ob- 
 jicrvance of this their ancestor's command, is highly commended 
 of God by the Prophet, as a worthy pattern of filial duty and 
 obedience. The respect wherewith Jehu treated .lehonadab, and 
 the particular regard he paid to his approbation of the measures 
 he wa.s taking to cxtirjiate idolatry, not only shews the esta- 
 bluhed character of that goo<l man. but sets before us an amiable 
 View of the intrinsick excellence and re.al worth of true virtue, 
 .yi ,nltracting veneration and esteem, even from superiours. JFo^ 
 
 - — ^ Jfjl f>e, ^iitc me thine /tand.J To give the hand sigtiifies 
 to promise." Thus when Jehu asks Jehonadab to give him his 
 hand we are not to suppose that it was merely that he might as- 
 M.t him m gettmg into the cliariot, but that Jehonadab might 
 give hnn an assurance that he would ajsi.st him in the prosecution 
 of hv, designs, rilhngton. This giving liim the hand appear* 
 
 soever shall be wanting, he shall not live. chrTst 
 But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent ssi. 
 that he might destroy the worshippers of 
 
 '•Jo And Jehu said, t Proclaim a solemn t h^'J'- 
 assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed 
 
 21 And Jehu sent through all Israel: 
 and all the worshippers of Baal came, so 
 that there was not a man left that came 
 not. And they came into the house of 
 Baal ; and the house of Baal was H full from B Or, 
 
 ' , , so full, mat 
 
 one end to another. tjicy stood 
 
 22 And he said unto him that tvas over ™^>^j|| '» 
 the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all ""'" '" 
 the worshippers of Baal. And he brought 
 them forth vestments. 
 
 23 And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the 
 
 son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and ^ 
 
 said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, 
 and look that there be here with you none 
 of the servants of the Lord, but the wor- 
 shippers of Baal only. 
 
 24 And when they went in to offer sa- 
 crifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed 
 
 __j___ 
 
 not to have been the expression of private friendship, but the so- 
 lemn acknowledgment of him as king over Israel : for it seems 
 probable tliat Jenonadab came to compliment Jehu on being ac- 
 knowledged king of the country. In modern times, the taking 
 an Eastern prince by the hand is done in acknowledgment of his- 
 princely character. D'Herbelot, in explaining an Eastern term, 
 which he tells us signifies the election of a caliph, the .supreme 
 head of the Mahometans, both in civil and ecclesiastical matters, 
 tells us, that this ceremony consisted in stretching RSkh a per- 
 son's hand, and taking that of him whom they acknowledged for 
 caliph. This was a sort of doing homage, or swearing fealty to 
 him. Harmer. 
 
 19. — But Jehu did it in siibiilfy,'] Jehu ought not to have 
 taken this indirect course to ftilfil t^ie will of Goth he made bold 
 to use deep dissimulation for the service of God, in M'hich he can- 
 not be excused. God does not stand in need of any man's sin to 
 compass His ends. Bp. Patrick. The worshippers of Baal -were 
 judicially condemned to death by the Mosaick law, and compre- 
 hended within the commission with which Jehu, the minister of 
 Divine vengeance, was invested. But how does he proceed to 
 execute his purpose? Not in the plain track of sincerity, not by- 
 proclaiming his own detestation of idolatry, the sentence de- 
 nounced against idolaters, and his special obligation to carry the 
 sentence into effect; but by having recourse to the most igno- 
 minious deceit. " Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel," 
 ver. 28: he inflicted the merited punishment on these criminals, 
 not by a fearless application of the law, or a pious discharge 
 of the regal office, but by perfidious subtilty and idolatrous hy- 
 pocrisy. Gisborne. We may commend the zeal of Jehu, we can- 
 not commend his fraud. Men may come to good ends by too 
 crooked ways. He who bade Jehu smite for Him, did not bid 
 him lie for Him. Falsehood is never approved by tlie God of 
 truth. If policy allows officious untruths, religion never does. 
 Bp.HaU. ■ 
 
 22. — Bring forth vestments'] It was the custom of almost all 
 idolaters to be extremely curious about the external pomp of their 
 ceremonies, wherein indeed the chief part of their worship con- 
 sisted. All the priests of Baal were clothed in fine linen; and 
 their chief priests, no doubt, had some particular ornaments to 
 distinguish them. Stackhmiae^
 
 all the "xorsliippers ofBaat 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Jehufollo'weth Jeroboam's shis. 
 
 Befi 
 CH 
 
 884, 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 the mouth. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 statues. 
 
 Bfi're fourscore men without, and said, If zny of 
 8^^^^ the men whom I have brought iiito your 
 
 hands escape, he that letteth him go, his Hfe 
 
 shall be for the life of him. 
 
 25 And it came to pass, as soon as he 
 had made an end of offering the burnt of- 
 fering, that Jehu said to the guard and to 
 the captains, Go in, ayid slay them ; let 
 none come forth. And they smote them 
 with t the edge of the sword ; and the 
 guard and the captains cast them out, 
 and went to the city of the house of 
 Baal. 
 
 26 And they brought forth the t images 
 out of the house of Baal, and burned them. 
 
 27 And they brake down the image of 
 Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, 
 and made it a draught house unto this 
 day. 
 
 98 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Is- 
 rael. 
 
 29 IF Howbeit^'om the sins of Jero- 
 boam the son of Nebat, who made Israel 
 to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, 
 to wit, the golden calves that were in Beth- 
 el, and that xeei-e in Dan. 
 
 30 And the Lord said unto Jehu, Be- 
 cause thou hast done well in executing that 
 •which is right in mine eyes, and hast done 
 unto the house of Ahab according to all 
 
 '1 i' -M 
 
 29- Howbeit from the sin.i &c.] Nevertheless, that part of idola- 
 try which consisted in the false worship of the true God, (brought 
 in by Jeroboam in those golden calves of Dan and Beth-el,) Jehu 
 did not at all oppose, but rather countenanced and practised it. 
 Bp. Hull. Jehu had done well in cutting off the house and pos- 
 terity of Ahab, and destroying the worship of B.ial; yet he con- 
 tinued the same schism and idolatry which Jeroboam had set up, 
 and for the same political reasons. Whence it plainly appears, that 
 the zeal of which he boasted proceeded not from the love of Go<l, 
 but was the effect of his own private views and worldly interests. 
 .Wosan. Here the motives which influenced Jehu stand displayed. 
 Though raised to the throne by the hand of God, he now looked 
 for the security of it to his own policy. Destitute of faith in Him 
 to whom he was indebted for all, he trusted not to the King of 
 kings for the pennanence of the gifts which He bestowed. Desti- 
 tute of gratitude to his gracious Benefactor, he returned for im- 
 merited kindness habitual and presumptuous disobedience. While 
 regard to the commandments of God conducted him in the path 
 of advancement, he was eager to obey : but now, to liis worldly 
 apprehension, obedience and interest ceased to coincide. He who 
 had been exalted to sovereign power for the express purpose of 
 annihilating idolaters, converted his authority and e.xauiple into 
 instruments of upholding and perpetuating idolatry among his 
 subjects. Nor was his dereliction of God the crime of a moment, 
 or the errour of sudden surprise. During a reign of twenty-eight 
 years, unmoved by the judicial calamities with which the Lord 
 " cut Israel short," this obdurate monarch bowed down, together 
 with his people, before the images erected in violation of God's 
 commands, before altars reared in express opposition to His holy 
 temple. Gisborne. A loyal heart, as it hates all sins, so it hates 
 them at all times. Sometimes tlie unsound heart will hate sin, 
 .'■when there is no benefit by it ; but if it chance to be once bene- 
 ficial, to. oiirselres, then ■yvelove it. Plere is tlie trial of a loyal 
 heart to God, to prefer virtue before vice then, when. in human 
 
 that xcas in mine heart, thy children of the 
 fourth generatio?i shall sit on the throne of 
 Israel. 
 
 31 But Jehu t took no heed to walk in 
 the law of the Lord God of Israel with all 
 his heart: for he departed not from the 
 sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to 
 sin. 
 
 32 ^ In those days the Lord began t to 
 cut Israel short : and Hazael smote them 
 in all the coasts of Israel ; 
 
 33 From Jordan t eastward, all the land 
 of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reuben- 
 ites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which 
 is by the river Arnon, || even Gilead and 
 Bashan. 
 
 34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and 
 all that he did, and all his might, are they 
 not written in the book of the chronicles 
 of the kings of Israel ? 
 
 35 And Jehu slept with his fathers : and 
 tliey buried him in Samaria. And Jeho- 
 ahaz his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 36 And t the time that Jehu reigned 
 over Israel in Samaria wets twenty. ajod 
 eight years. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 884. 
 
 fHeW. 
 
 elserved 
 nut. 
 
 about SCO. 
 t Hell. 
 /.. cut ,ff 
 the ends, 
 
 t Hell. 
 tou-arU the 
 rising of the 
 sun. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 even to Gi" 
 lead'and 
 Bttshun. 
 
 &i6. 
 
 t Heb. 
 the days 
 were. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 1 Jettoash, being saved bij Jefios/ieba his aunt from Atha- 
 liah's massacre of the seed roi/al, is hid six years ui 
 the house o/' God. -1 Jehoiada, giving order to the cap- 
 
 reason virtue shall be the loser, vice the gainer. This mark disco- 
 vered Jehu, who destroyed the worship of Baal with a great show 
 of zeal; but at the same time allowed the worship of Jeroboam's 
 calves, lest it miglrt prove dangerous to his kingdom, if the Israel- 
 ites should go and worship at Jerusalem. Jos. Mede. How many 
 Jehus have we known and heard of amongst ourselves, violent jfcr 
 some things in religion, which have promoted their interests, and 
 mere libertines in all the rest ! VMiat reward can such men hope 
 for, who use religion for a cloak of hypocrisy ; and, while with 
 Jehu they make ostentation of zeal for God, sit down in the 
 avowed and known breach of His most sacred laws ? They may 
 be as successful as he was in gaining some temporal advantages 
 by such conduct, but from his example they liave no encourage- 
 ment to hope for God's blessing along with them. Reading. 
 
 30. — //;y children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne'^ 
 So great is the bounty of God, that a partial obedience may be 
 rewarded with a temporal blessing : as Jehu's severity to Ahab 
 will carry the crown to his seed for four generations. But we 
 can never have any comfortable assurance of an eternal retribu- 
 tion, if our hearts and w.ays be not perfect with God. We shall 
 everlastingly depart from Thee, O God, if we depart not from 
 every sin. Thou hast purged our hearts from the Baal of our 
 gross idolatries. O clear us from our other corruptions also; 
 that Thou mayest take pleasure in our uprightness, and we may 
 reap the sweet comforts of Thy glorious remuneration ! Bp. 
 HalL 
 
 32. — to cut Israel short .-^^ "Tiis expression is fully explained 
 in the next verse, where it is said, that Hazael took from them 
 all their country that was beyond Jordan. Thus those countries, 
 which were the first that the Israelites conquered, were the first 
 which tliey lost. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 
 Uiiii. 
 
 This cliapter is to be compared with 2 Chron.
 
 jehoash saved from Athaliah'smassaax: II. KINGS. 
 
 He is anointed king. 
 
 luftve tains, in the seienlh year anohiletli him kinp. \S Alha- 
 
 CHRWT Uuh U tlaiH. 17 Je/iuinda rtntonlh the norsliip if 
 »«< Guti 
 
 ■ t Chroo. 
 ^ la 
 
 t Hrb. 
 kinfdom. 
 
 878. 
 k S Giron. 
 fiS.1. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 fVi/m l/reak- 
 ing u/i. 
 I Or. 
 companUi- 
 t Hrfi. 
 haitds. 
 
 AN D when ' Athaliah the mother of 
 Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, 
 she arose and destroyed all the t seed 
 royal. 
 
 -2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of king 
 .loram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the 
 son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among 
 the king's sons xvfiich -cere slain ; and they 
 hid him, even him and his nurse, in the 
 bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was 
 not slain. 
 
 3 And he was with her hid in the house 
 of the LoKD six years. And Athaliah did 
 reign over tiie land. 
 
 4 i[ And " the seventh year Jehoiada 
 sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, 
 with the captains and the guard, and 
 brought them to him into the house of the 
 LoKD, and made a covenant with them, 
 and took an oath of them in the house of 
 the LoKD, and shewed them the king's 
 son. 
 
 5 And he commanded them, saying, 
 This is the thing that ye shall do ; A third 
 part of you that enter in on the sabbath 
 shall even be keepers of the watch of the 
 king's house ; 
 
 f) And a third part sfiall be at the gate 
 of Sur ; and a third part at the gate be- 
 hind the guard : so shall ye keep the 
 watch of the house, || that it be not broken 
 down. 
 
 7 And two 11 1 parts of all you that go 
 
 ^'e»;- 2. — Jehoshehu, the daughter of king Joram,"] Not by 
 Athaliah, but by another wife. 
 
 in the txtdchamlinl It .ippears from the next verse, that 
 
 thin iKilehnniber was " in tlie house of tlie Lord," that is, in the 
 temple ; the won! l>eii<.R used in its larger sense to comprehend 
 all tlie courts and biiilduia* belon^inp to the temple. Jehosheba 
 had the opi>oilunity of doing this, as she was married to Je- 
 hoiada the high jiriest. lip. Patrick. 
 
 5- — A Ihird pari — l/ial enter in &c.] The priests and Levites 
 took their turns in their attendance at the temple, and their 
 course was fniished in the space of a week. In every week, one 
 wmrse went out and another came in. On this occasion those, 
 who now enteretl on their week of attendance, which was on tlie 
 eve of the sabbath, were divided by Jehoiada into three parts : 
 one of them he here orders to guard the king's house, or that part 
 of the U-mplc on the north, w here he was educated ; anotlicr, 
 " the gate of Sur," ver. 0', that is, the east gate of the temple 
 towards the city, which was the principal entrance, called at 
 8Chron.xxin. 5, "the gate of the foundation;" and the third di- 
 vision " at the gate behind the guard," or the south gate, which 
 looked towards the royal palace, and through which Athaliah 
 «;*• wont to come, and where in consequence she had a guard 
 lhe»e were •' to ktep Uie watch of tlie house that it be not broken 
 rf thl V'J' ' "• "■"'' '" ^^"^ 'P'^'^'a' ^^'■e "'at the house 
 «me ni;^ T'^v " u '" u "^ ^'^^ V'^°>^^ed, suffering none to 
 come nearer to ,t than they ought, and parUcularly watching 
 
 forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep B'f<"^ 
 the watch of the house of the Lord about ^"„p 
 the king. 
 
 8 And ye shall compass the king round 
 about, every man with liis weapons in his 
 hand : and he that cometh within the 
 ranges, let him be slain : and be ye with 
 the king as he goeth out and as he cometh 
 in. 
 
 9 And the captains over the hundreds 
 did according to all things that Jehoiada 
 the priest commanded : and they took 
 every man his men that were to come in 
 on the sabbath, with them that should go 
 out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada 
 the priest. 
 
 10 And to the captains over hundreds 
 did the priest give king David's spears and 
 shields, that were in the temple of the 
 Lord. 
 
 11 And the guard stood, every man 
 with his Aveapons in his hand, round about 
 
 the king, from the right t corner of the t Heb. 
 temple to the left corner of the temple, '''""'''"■• 
 along by the altar and the temple. 
 
 12 And he brought forth the king's son, 
 and put the crown upon him, and gave him 
 the testimony ; and they made him king, 
 and anointed him ; and they clapped their 
 hands, and said, t God save the king. 
 
 13 ^ And when Athaliah heard the 
 noise of the guard a7id of the people, she 
 came to the people into the temple of the 
 Lord. 
 
 14 And when she looked, behold, the 
 king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, 
 
 those out of the palace that they did not defile it. Bp. Pa-^ 
 trick. 
 
 6. — that it he not broken don)n.~\ That none may enter by force, 
 or for purposes of mischief. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 8. — thai cometh within the range,!,'] That is, within the ranks 
 of men set on the outside of the temple. Dr. Wells. 
 
 10. — king David's spears and shields,"] David had erected a 
 kind of sacred armoury in one of the apartments of the temple, in 
 which were deposited the weapons and other trophies which he 
 and several other generals had gained from their enemies, and de- 
 dicated to the Lord, as monuments of their victory. It appears 
 that the captains and other officers came into the temple unarm- 
 ed, from the fear of exciting suspicion, and were supplied from 
 this armoury. Stackhouse. 
 
 12. — and gave him the testimouy ;~\ Having put the crown 
 on the head of Joash, " he gave him the testimony," or put the 
 book of the law into his hand, according to Deut. xvii. 18, 19, 
 which is called the testimony, because God therein testified 
 what was His will, and what the duties of men. There 
 has existed a doubt, however, respecting the meaning of the 
 Hebrew word translated " testimony :" some have supposed it 
 to mean a royal ornament ; perhaps a bracelet, which Jehoi- 
 ada put on the young king, together with the crown. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 14. — the king stood by a pillar,] Probably by one of the pil- 
 lars mentioned at 1 Kings vii. 21. Stackhouse. 
 
 + Heb. 
 Let tlie kin; 
 live.
 
 Athaliah is slain. God's worship restored. CHAP. XI, XII. 
 
 Jehoash rei<ineth well. 
 
 iJef"™ and the princes and the trumpeters by the 
 878. king, and all the people of the land re- 
 joiced, and blew with trumpets : and Atha- 
 liah rent her clothes, and cried. Treason, 
 Treason. 
 
 15 But Jehoiada the priest commanded 
 the captains of the hundreds, the officers 
 of the host, and said unto them. Have her 
 forth without the ranges : and him that 
 foUoweth her kill with the sword. For the 
 priest had said, Let her not be slain in the 
 house of the Lord. 
 
 16 And they laid hands on her; and 
 she went by the way by the which the 
 horses came into the king's house : and 
 there was she slain. 
 
 17 ^ And Jehoiada made a covenant 
 between the Lord and the king and the 
 people, that they should be the Lord's 
 people ; between the king also and the 
 people. 
 
 18 And all the people of the land went 
 into the house of Baal, and brake it down ; 
 his altars and his images brake they in 
 pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the 
 priest of Baal before the altars. And the 
 
 fHeb. priest appointed t officers over the house 
 .:fficcs. Qf ^jjg Lord. 
 
 19 And he took the rulers over hun- 
 dreds, and the captains, and the guard, 
 and all the people of the land ; and they 
 brought down the king from the house of 
 the Lord, and came by the way of the 
 
 and Athaliah rent her clothes,'J She now rends her clothes. 
 
 and cries. Treason, treason, as if that voice of hers could stiU 
 command aU hearts and hands, as if one breath of hers were 
 powerful enough to blow away all these new designs. O Atha- 
 liah, to whom dost thou complain thyself? They are thy just ex- 
 ecutioners with whom thou art encompassed. The treason has 
 been thine, the justice is theirs. The time of thy reckonings for 
 all the royal blood of Judah, which thine ambition shed, is now 
 come. Wonder rather at the patience of this long forbearance, 
 than at the rigour of this execution. Bp. Halt. 
 
 15. — him ihatfoUomeih her'} For tlie purpose of assisting or 
 saving her. 
 
 16. — a7id there was she slain.2 They took her out of the sa- 
 cred ground of the temple before she was slain. Slockhoiise. How 
 like is Athaliali to her mother Jezebel ! as in conditions and be- 
 haviour, so even in death ; both violently killed, both killed im- 
 der their own walls; both slain with treason in their mouths; 
 both slain in a revolution of the government ; one trodden on by 
 the horses, the other slain in the horse-gate. Both paid with 
 their own blood for the innocent blootl of otliers. Bp. Hall. We 
 learn from the history of the reign of Athaliah, who by her cru- 
 elties procured the crown, that God sometimes permits the en- 
 terprises of the wicked to succeed, and usurpers to take possession 
 of states and kingdoms : but in the same liistory we remark, that 
 He sets bounds to their wickedness, and delivers the oppressed. 
 Oslervald. 
 
 17. — Jehoiada made a covenant &c.'] Jehoiada made it his first 
 business to cause the people to enter into a fresh and solemn en- 
 gagement to stand by their ancient laws, and revive the true re- 
 
 gate of the guard to the king's house. 
 And he sat on the throne of the kings. 
 
 20 And all the people of the land re- 
 joiced, and the city was in quiet : and they 
 slew Athaliah with the sword beside the 
 king's house. 
 
 21 Seven years old uas Jehoash when 
 be began to reign. 
 
 CHAP. XIL 
 
 1 Jehoash reigneth well all the days (if Jehoiada. 4 He 
 givcth order for the repair of' the teviple. 1 7 Hazael 
 is diverted from Jerusalem btj a present of the /uillowed 
 treasures. 19 Jehoa.ik being slain by his servants, 
 Amaziah succcedelh him. 
 
 IN *the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash be- 
 gan to reign ; and forty years reigned 
 he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name 
 zvas Zibiah of Beer-sheba. 
 
 2 And Jehoash did that ichich teas right 
 in the sight of the Lord all his days where- 
 in Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 
 
 3 But the high places were not taken 
 away : the people still sacrificed and burnt 
 incense in the high places. 
 
 4 ^ And Jehoash said to the priests, 
 All the money of the || t dedicated things 
 that is brought into the house of the Lord, 
 even the money of every one that passeth 
 the account, t the money that every man is 
 set at, and all the money that t cometh 
 into any man's heart to bring into the 
 house of the Lord, 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 876. 
 
 «78. 
 ' 2 Cbrott- 
 24. 1. 
 
 11 Or, 
 
 Italy t!:ings. 
 fHeb. 
 hotinesses. 
 fHeb. 
 llie mo/wy 
 nfihe iouls 
 iftth eali- 
 Tuatioiu 
 fHeb. 
 iiscendeth 
 up'in the 
 heart of a 
 mu7i. 
 
 ligion and worship : at the same time he fully covenante<l with 
 them, on the king's behalf, that he should govern tliem with jus- 
 tice, equity, and law. Pyle. 
 
 Chap. XII. This chapter is to be compared with 2 Cliron. xxiv. 
 
 Ver. 2. — all his days wherein Jehoiada — instructed him.'} Je- 
 hoiada, wlio was the tutor of his infancy, was tlie counsellor of 
 his riper age, and was equally happy in both. Bp. Hall. This 
 historj' shews of what advantage it is to ha\e good instructors and 
 counsellors about a king. Jehoiada preserved Joash in virtuous 
 courses while he hved ; but, when he was dead, Joasli entirely 
 changed his manners, and was persuaded, by the flatteries of some 
 of his courtiers, to fall into idolatry; and, as is related at 2 Chron. 
 xxiv. 1 7, 2 1 , he killed the son of this pious Jehoiada, who reproved 
 him for it. Still " the high places (ver. 3) were not taken away;" 
 meaning the private altars on which they worshipped the true 
 God, which were not removed by the best of their kings till the 
 reign of Hezekiah. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — All the money of the dedicated things &c.] The first good 
 thin" he did was to repair the temple, which had been suffered to 
 run to decay under the wicked reigns of Athaliah and her son. 
 In order whereimto, he appointed all the priests to make exact 
 and speedy collection of the several monies due from the people 
 by way of tax, redemption, vow, or free gift, lor the repairs of the 
 temple, a<;reeably to the law in those cases, some of which pay- 
 ments having been greatly neglected in the late times of idolatry, 
 the collectors were not to stay till the people brought them in, but 
 to go about and gather them, in the several to\vns where they 
 hved, and bring them into the treasury. Pyle.
 
 Jehoaih givelh order 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 for the repair of the temple. 
 
 ttton 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ITS. 
 
 tH«b. 
 
 inlkelmrtf 
 
 litik y<(tr 
 
 nnii Ikird 
 ytnr. 
 
 tUfi). 
 
 I Or, 
 
 utrttnry. 
 fHtb. 
 i*imd m;>. 
 
 t Heb. 
 frrtfucAf it 
 firth. 
 
 5 Let the priests take ii to tlieni, every 
 man of his iicquaintance : and let tlieni 
 repair the breaches of the house, wlierc- 
 socvor any breach shall be found. 
 
 G But It was so, that t in the three and 
 twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests 
 had not repaired the breaches of the 
 
 iiouse. Til 
 
 7 Then king Jehoash called for .Tehoiada 
 the priest, and the olha- priests, and said 
 unto them, AVhy repair ye not the breaches 
 of the house? now therefore receive no 
 7itore money of your acquaintance, but de- 
 liver it lor "tlie breaciies of the house. 
 
 S And the priests consented to receive 
 no nwre money of tlic people, neither to 
 repair the breaches of the house. 
 
 9 But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, 
 and bored a hole in tlie lid of it, and set it 
 beside the altar, on the right side as one 
 Cometh into the house of the Lord : aiid 
 tlie priests that kept the t door put therein 
 all the money that xcas brought into the 
 house of the Loud. 
 
 lU And it was so, when they saw that 
 there tius much money in the chest, that 
 the king's llscribe and the high priest came 
 up, and they t put up in bags, and told 
 tiie money that was found in the house of 
 the Lord. 
 
 1 1 And they gave the money, being 
 told, into the hands of them that did the 
 work, that had the oversight of the house 
 of the Lord : and they t laid it out to the 
 carpenters and builders, that wrought upon 
 the house of the Lord, 
 
 1^ And to masons, and hewers of stone, 
 
 Btihre 
 CHRIST 
 
 •'■■ — '<•' llii^ii repair the brcachr.i of the hoiisc,'] It is probable 
 tliat the temple had been entirely neglected in tlic time of the 
 idolatrmis kings, his predecessors : he therefore, in gratitude to 
 GotI, and from re^•erence to the sacred place Mhere his life was 
 savcil, set about the work of repairing it. Bp. U'ilsoii. 
 
 6. — tlir priests had not repaired the hre/ichcsl They were di- 
 latory hikI careless in collecting the money, 2 Chron. xxiv. ."), and 
 did not bring in what they had gathered, to begin the work. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 9. — put therein all the monei/ — brought &C.3 A more full 
 description is given at 2 Chron'. xxiv. 9, where it is stated, that 
 procl.imation was made for all the people to bring in their half 
 shekel, which Mose.s commanded every one of a certain age to 
 WV. This lluy brought to the priests, who stood at tlie door that 
 led into ilieir court, and saw them put into the chest. 
 
 in. — thry put up in line;s,'] It appears to have been usual in 
 the Eavt for money to lie jiut in bags ; which being ascertained as 
 to the exact sum depasited in each, were sealed, atui labelled pro- 
 bably, and thus piL'i.sed currently. We arc informed by Major 
 H^-hikH. that in the I'.Lst, in the present times, a b.ig of money 
 I' "">'■ tJmc .It least) currently from hand to hand, under 
 
 ^ A "^ * bankers seal, without any examination of its 
 
 contents. Burder. 
 
 15. —they rcckomtd not niih the mw,] These overseers were 
 
 and to buy timber and hewed stone to re 
 pair the breaches of tiie house of the Lord, ^"sss. 
 and for all that t was laid out for the house t nei.. 
 to repair it. ..«.</.r//,. 
 
 \S Howbeit there were not made for 
 the house of the Loud bowls of silver, 
 snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of 
 gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that 
 •was brought into the house of the Lord : 
 
 11. But they gave that to the workmen, 
 and repaired therewith the house of the 
 Lord. 
 
 15 Moreover they reckoned not with 
 the men, into whose hand they delivered 
 the money to be bestowed on workmen : 
 for they dealt faithfully. 
 
 16 The trespass money and sin money 
 was not brought into the house of the 
 Lord : it was the priests'. 
 
 17 ^ Then Hazael king of Syria went "i-o"' s^" 
 up, and fought against Gath, and took 
 
 it : and Hazael set his face to go up to 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 18 And Jehoash king of Judali took all 
 the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and 
 Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings 
 of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hal- 
 lowed things, and all the gold that was 
 found in the treasures of the house of the 
 Lord, and in the king's house, and sent it 
 
 to Hazael king of vSyria: and he t went fUeh. 
 away from Jerusalem. "'"" ">'■ 
 
 19 1[ And the rest of the acts of Joash, 
 and all that lie did, a7'c they not written in 
 the book of the chronicles of the kings of 
 Judali ? 
 
 20 And his servants arose, and made a **'-'• 
 
 persons of such known fidelity, and the workmen did their parts 
 so honestly, that the high priest had no difficulty in their accounts 
 with them, but, in great measure, trusted to their integrity. As 
 to the trespass money, ver. 16, spoken of at Levit. v. J 5, IG, it 
 was given to the priests to buy sacrifices with, for the oft'erers, 
 and none of it applied to the temple-building. Pyle. 
 
 18. — Jeltnash — look all the hallowed thing.fj He was forced 
 to buy his peace at the expense of all the treasures dedicated to 
 the temple by his forefathers and himself, and stript even the 
 royal palace to make up the sum demanded by his imperious 
 enemy. Pyle. It is probable that, besides the present of gold 
 which Joash sent to Hazael, in order to bribe him to withdraw 
 his army, he made him also a promise of an aimual tribute, and 
 that, upon his refusal to pay tlii.s, the Syrian army took the fiekl 
 the next year ; and, as the expression is at 2 Chron. xxiv. 21., 
 " executed judgment against Joash." Calmet. 
 
 20. And his servants arose, &c.] .See 2 Chron. xxiv, where 
 further i)articular3 are given, of his having been struck witli a 
 lingering and uncommon disease, .-md ;ifter some time murdeml 
 by his own subjecte, in revenge for his barbarous treatment of 
 the son of that very high priest, who had been his best friend 
 and i)reserver. Joash, in the conclusion of his life, affords a sad 
 ex.imple of the effects of wilful impiety, followed in spite of the 
 advantages of good counsel and a pious education, Pi/le.
 
 Jehoahaz's tviclced reign. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 He dieth. Joash srtcceedeth him. 
 
 Before ^ conspifacy, and slew Joash in || the house 
 839. ' of Millo, which goeth down to Silla. 
 n Or, 21 For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, 
 
 Beik-miUo. ^nd Jchozabad the son of Shomer, his ser- 
 vants, smote him, and he died ; and they 
 S39- buried him with his fathers in the city of 
 David : and Amaziah his son reignea in 
 his stead. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 1 Jehoahnz'g wicked reign. 3 Je/wakaz, oppressed bif 
 Hazael, is relieved by prayer. 8 Joask succeedelh 
 bim. 10 His wicked reign. 12 Jeroboam succeedeth 
 him. J <■ Elishn dying j/rophesielh to Joask three vic- 
 tories over the Syrians. 20 The Moahites invading 
 the land, Elisha's bones raise up a dead man. 22 Ha- 
 zael dying, Joash getleth three victories over Ben- 
 hadad. 
 
 85G. 
 fHeb. 
 
 the iwcn- 
 tieth ycaT 
 aitd third 
 !/'<"■■ 
 
 t Heb. 
 walked 
 mfler. 
 
 about 849. 
 
 about 842. 
 
 IN tthe three and twentieth year of Joash 
 the son of Ahaziah king of Juilah Jeho- 
 ahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over 
 Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen 
 years. 
 
 2 And he did that "which was evil in the 
 sight of the Lord, and t followed the sins 
 of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made 
 Israel to sin ; he departed not therefrom. 
 
 3 % And the anger of the Lord was 
 kindled against Israel, and he delivered 
 them into the hand of Hazael king of 
 Syria, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the 
 son of Hazael, ail their days. 
 
 4> And Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and 
 the Lord hearkened unto him : for he saw 
 the oppression of Israel, because the king 
 of Syria oppressed them. 
 
 5 (And the Lord gave Israel a saviour, 
 so that they went out from under the hand 
 
 Chap. XIII. ver. 4. And Jehoahaz besought the Lord,'] These 
 miserable calamities brought the king to ha\e recourse to God by 
 prayers and fastings ; and God was pleased, in the next reign, to 
 srant them a deliverance, not out of respect to him, but in regard 
 to the piety of the famous ancestors of this people, to grant them 
 a deliverance from this ruinous war ; for, notwithstanding all these 
 prayers and tears, no reformation was begim, but all manner of 
 superstitions and irregidaritie«, first introduced by Jeroboam, 
 were continued and encouraged. Pyle. 
 
 and the Lord hearkened unto him :"] Not for his own sake, 
 
 but for the sake of the pious ancestors of tliat people, and of His 
 promise to them. Wicked men have recoiu-se to God in their 
 afflictions ; but, as soon as they are over, they forget Him, and 
 return to their sins, as this prince did. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 5. — a saviour,^ Either some extraordinary captain, whom 
 Clod raised up to fight their battles with success ; or else, as it is 
 lid ver. 22, that while Hazael lived he oppressed them, it seems 
 more reasonable to im<lerstand by this saviour, the son of Je- 
 hoahaz, who, when Hazael was dead, delivered them from their 
 bondage. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — had made them like the dust"] Had, as it were, Ijcaten the 
 nation to dust, killing many, carrying away many ca])tive, and 
 thus mightily dispeopling the kmgdom of IsraeL Dr. H'elh. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 of the Syrians : and the children of Israel runrsr 
 dwelt in their tents, t as beforetime. 342. 
 
 6 Nevertheless they departed not from + Heb. 
 the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who ^'J'^' 
 made Israel sin, but t walked therein ; and third da^. 
 there t remained the grove also in Sa- J^"^^<j. 
 maria.) t Heb. 
 
 7 Neither did he leave of the people to ''""' 
 Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten cha- 
 riots, and ten thousand footmen ; for the 
 king of Syria had destroyed them, and had 
 made them like the dust by threshing. 
 
 8 % Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, 
 and all that he did, and his might, are they 
 not written in the book of the chronicles 
 of the kings of Israel ? 
 
 9 And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers ; 839. 
 and they buried him in .Samaria : and Jo- 
 ash his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 10 ^ In the thirty and seventh year of 84i. 
 Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the 
 
 son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in 
 Samaria, ««</ reigned sixteen years. 
 
 1 1 And he did that which was evil in the 
 sight of the Lord; he departed not from all 
 the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who 
 made Israel sin : but he walked therein. 
 
 12 And the rest of the acts of Joash, and ^ 
 all that he did, and his might wherewith he 
 fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are 
 
 they not written in the book of the chro- 
 nicies of the kings of Israel ? 
 
 13 And Joash slept with his fathers; and «25. 
 Jeroboam sat upon his throne : and Joash 
 
 was buried in Samaria with the kings of 
 Israel. 
 
 14 If Now Elisha was fallen sick of his 'boutsso 
 sickness whereof he died. And Joash the 
 
 14. Now Elisha was fatten jicA] Good Elisha, who had now 
 lived some ninety years, a wonder of Prophets, and had outworn 
 many successions in the thrones of Israel and Judah, is now coit 
 upon the bed of his sickness ; yea, of his death. His verj- age 
 might seem a disease, which yet is seconded by a languisliiiig 
 distemper. It is not in the power of any holiness to privilege us 
 from infirmity of body, from final dissolution. He that stretched 
 himself upon his bed over the dead body of the Shunammite's son, 
 and revived it, must now stretch out his own limbs on his sick 
 bed and die. He, who had seen his master Elij^ih rapt up sud- 
 denly from the eartli, and fetched by a fiery chariot from this vale 
 of mortahty, himself must leisurely wait for his last pangs, in 4. 
 lingering passage to the same glory. J 
 
 There are several ways appointed to us by the Divine Pro- 
 vidence unto one common blessedness. One has more pain^^ 
 another passes off with more speed: violence snatches awaj , 
 one; another, by an insensible pace, draws every day nearer 
 to his term. Happy is he, that, after due preparation, is passed 
 through the gates of death, ere he be aware ! Happy too is 
 he, who, by the holy use of long sickness, is taught to see the 
 gates of death afar off, and is prepared for a resolute passage ! 
 The one dies like Elijah, the other like Elisha; both blessedly. 
 Bp. HalL
 
 Eliilia prophesieth three vtctories 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 over the Syrians. His death. 
 
 lliulll 8 i-f. 
 
 t Heb. 
 Unke thine 
 ttand tij 
 ride. 
 
 iwforr kiiiK of Israel came down unto him, and 
 ciiHJST ^^,^^^ ^^^j. ,,is face, and said, C) my father, 
 my father, the chariot of Israel, and the 
 horsemen thereof. .r , i 
 
 15 And Elisha said unto hnn, lake bow 
 and arro^ss. And he took unto huii bow 
 
 and arrows. . , • v t i 
 
 16 And he said to the kuig of Israel, 
 t Put thine hand upon the bow. And he 
 put his hand upon it : and Ehsha put his 
 hands upon the king's hands. 
 
 17 And he said, Open the window east- 
 ward. And he opened it. Then Ehsha 
 said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said. 
 The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and 
 the arrow of deliverance from Syria : for 
 thou shall smite the Syrians in Aphek, till 
 thou have consumed them. 
 
 18 And he said. Take the arrows. And 
 he took them. And he said unto the king 
 of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he 
 smote thrice, and stayed. 
 
 19 And the man of God was wroth with 
 him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten 
 five or six times ; then hadst thou smitten 
 Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas 
 now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. 
 
 „ept over his face,'] He lanipnted at the i<l«a of losing a 
 
 perRoii, who had bceii the hope aiul support of the nation, by liis 
 prayiTs and miracles and after wliose death nothing was to be 
 exp'ifteil but hpli)Iess ruin and calamity. Pyle. How sensible 
 nhould wf be of the loss of lioly men, when a Joash spends liis 
 tears ui>on Klisha ! lip. Hall. 
 
 ///,• chariot of l.fnwl, and the Iwrsemcn thereof.'^ These are 
 
 the same words wliiih Elisha uttered concerning Elijah, when he 
 was taken up to heaven, (2 Kings ii. li,) signifying the great au- 
 thority he hod maintained among them, included in the word 
 " father," and the many glorious victories lie had obtained for 
 ihcm by the efficacy of nis counsels and prayers, signified by the 
 words " the chariot of Israel and the horsemen." Bp. Pntrick. 
 
 15. — Take bow and arron<s7\ This was a symbolical action, 
 by which the Proj>hct intendetl to represent the victory, which he 
 hail promised the king of Israel against the Syrians, more fully 
 .^nd plainly to him. His shooting the first arrow eastward, or to 
 that part of the country which the Syrians had taken from his an- 
 cestors, was a declaration of war against them for so doing ; and 
 his striking the other arrows against the ground was an indication 
 how many victories he was to obtain ; but his stopping his hand 
 too soon, denoted tlie imperfection of his conquests. Stack- 
 himtc. 
 
 If). And the man of God ivns wroth rvith Aim,] The king, not 
 
 givi)ig due attention, or perhaps not nmch credit, to this cm- 
 
 blcinatick sort of reasoning, .stnick three times only, and left off: 
 
 on which the Prophet blanieil him for his neglect, telling him that, 
 
 had he done it with more earnestness and \igour, his conquests 
 
 f-hould have been complete, but that now he must be contented 
 
 with only three victories. l';ik. It is probable the Prophet had 
 
 spoken »o to him as to give him to understand that he intended 
 
 he should smite several times. And he was angrj- at his sloth and 
 
 unlitVicf, which made him sto)> at the third stroke, lip. Patrick: 
 
 It is not difficult to apprehend, that when the Prophet, by God's 
 
 command, directed the king to perform a significative action, 
 
 whose meaning God had beforehand explained to His servant; he 
 
 bad himself been informed of this among other particulars, that 
 
 I 
 
 the t Hcb. 
 
 vent dow! 
 » Eccr' 
 48. 14. 
 
 20 IT And Elisha died, and they buried (.^uist 
 him. And the bands of the Moabites in- about sss. 
 vadcd the land at the coming in of the 
 
 year. 
 
 21 And it came to pass, as they were 
 burying a man, that, behold, they spied a 
 band of men; and they cast the man into 
 the sepulchre of Elisha : and when the 
 t man was let down, and touched 
 bones of Elisha, ' he revived, and stood 
 up on his feet. 
 
 22 ^ But Hazael king of Syria oppressed 
 Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 
 
 23 And the Lord was gracious unto 
 them, and had compassion on them, and 
 had respect unto them, because of his co- 
 venant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
 and would not destroy them, neither cast 
 
 he them from his t presence as yet. t Heo. 
 
 24 So Hazael king of Syria died; and -^i^out 839. 
 Ben-hadad his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 25 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz 
 
 t took again out of the hand of Ben-hadad t Heb. 
 the son of Hazael the cities, which he had imdtoou. 
 taken out of the hand of Jelioahaz his fa- about aae. 
 ther by war. Three times did Joash beat 
 him, and recovered the cities of Israel. 
 
 the Syrians would be smitten ns often as the king .smote upon the 
 ground, when the Prophet shoidd order him (only in general 
 words) to smite it. Heme the Prophet's anger, occasioned by his 
 love to his country, on the kiii_ij;'s stopping after he had smitten 
 thrice. Bp. Warhurloii. The slack hand of the king smites but 
 thrice : so apt are we to be wanting to ourselves ; so coldly do avc 
 execute the commands of God. Tlie sick Prophet is not more 
 grieved than angry at this dull negligence. Bp. Hall. 
 
 20. — at the coming in qft/ie year.^ Whether this was the next 
 year after his death, or some years after, has been doubted. The 
 words seem plainly to import the next spring. From the ex- 
 pression in the next verse of " the bones of Elijah," many persons 
 have inferred that the miracle at his sejjulchre took place some 
 years after. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 21. — he revived, and stood up on his feet.'] By this miracle, 
 God did the highest honour to the Prophet, and confirmed both 
 the truth of what he had promised to the king of Israel, and the 
 belief of a future state : for tlie miracle was greater than Elisha 
 liad done in Jiis lifetime, when he could not raise the child to life 
 again, without many ))rayers, and stretching himself with much 
 application on his body ; whereas now, upon the mere touch of his 
 dead body, God restored the man to life in an instant, so that he 
 stood upon his feet. Bp. Patrick. This miracle is a symbol and 
 prophecy of the resurrection of Jesus Christ ; there being this im- 
 portant difference, that l^lisha raised a dead body without raising 
 himself, while Jesus Christ not only raised Himself, but gives life to 
 all those that believe in Him. Calmet. This miracle was the im- 
 mediate work of God, and concurred with the translation of Elijah, 
 to keep alive and confirm, in a degenerate and infidel age,tlie grand 
 truth of a bodily resurrection, which the translation of Enoch was 
 calculated to produce in the antediluvian world, and which the re- 
 surrection of Christ, in a glorified body, fully illustrated. Dr. Hales. 
 
 The memoiy of the holy Prophet Elisha ought to be esteemed 
 blessed in the church : his zeal and other virtues ought to be our 
 example, and to animate all Christians, especially those who are 
 in any ofticc in the church, to serve God faithfully' in their seveial 
 stations. Ostervald.
 
 Amaziah's good reign. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 His challenge to the king of Israel. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 I Amaziah's good reign. 5 His justice on the murder- 
 ers of hus father. 7 His victori/ over Edoni. 8 Ama- 
 ziak, provoking Jehoask, is overcome and spoiled. 1 5 
 Jeroboam sncccedclh Jehonsh. 17 Amaziak slain hy 
 a conspiracy. 21 Azariak .succccdeth him. 23 Je- 
 roboam's nicked reign. 28 Zachariah succeedeth him. 
 
 IN the second year of Joash son of Jeho- 
 ahaz king of Israel reigned * Amaziah 
 '^^' '■ the son of Joash king of Judah. 
 
 2 He was twenty and five years old 
 when he began to reign, and reigned 
 twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And 
 his mother's name "aas Jehoaddan of Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 3 And he did iJial xchich n-as right in the 
 sight of the Loud, yet not like David his 
 father : he did according to all things as 
 Joash his father did. 
 
 4 Howbeit the high places were not 
 taken away : as yet the people did sacrifice 
 and burnt incense on the high places. 
 
 5 •[ And it came to pass, as soon as tiie 
 kingdom was confirmed in Ids hand, that 
 
 'Ciiap. 12. he slew his servants ''which had slain the 
 ^" king his father. 
 
 6 But the children of the murderers he 
 slew not : according unto that which is 
 written in the book of the law of Moses, 
 wherein the Lord commanded, saying, 
 
 Deut.24. ' The fathers shall not be put to death for 
 Ezck. 18. the children, nor the children be put to 
 -o- death for the fathers ; but every man shall 
 
 be put to death for his own sin. 
 ibout 827. 7 He slew of Edom in the valley of salt 
 J Or, ten thousand, and took || Selah by war, and 
 
 called the name of it Joktheel unto this 
 
 day. 
 
 8 ^ Then Amaziah sent messengers to 
 
 Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, 
 
 Chap. XIV. This chapter is to be compared witli 2 Cliron. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Ver. 5. — he slew his servants'] While Amaziah began his reign 
 by executJDg justice on those servants who had been concerned in 
 assassinating his father, (chap. xii. 20,) he spared their children 
 out of regard to the law, that forbids (Deut. x.viv. 16) in such 
 cases to punish children for their father's transgressions. Pj//c. 
 
 7. — and took Selah bi/ war,] A more particular account of 
 thes-e transactions is given at 2 Chron. xxv. For the valley of 
 ^alt, see note at 2 Sam. viii. 13. The name of the city Selah sig- 
 nifies in Hebrew " a rock," and thus exactly answers to the 
 Greek word Petra, which also signifies " a rock." On this ac- 
 count, it is agreed by commentators, not without reason, that this 
 Selah was the same city as that called Petra by the Greeks and 
 I.atins, lying in Arabia Petrea. Some have supposed that the 
 country was called Petrea from this its chief city ; but it is more 
 probable, that, as the city had its name from its situation on a 
 rock, so tiie adjacent tract of country was called Arabia Petrea, 
 from its being overspread with such rocks or rocky hills. Dr. 
 Hells. 
 
 called tlte name of it Joktheer\ This name import? " obe- 
 
 f.he »L>cA-. 
 
 king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look Before 
 one another in the face. ^m^c^ 
 
 9 And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to 
 Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle 
 that xms in Lebanon sent to the cedar that 
 ivtis in Lebanon, saying. Give thy daughter 
 to my son to wife : and there passed by a 
 wild beast that tvas in Lebanon, and trode 
 down the thistle. 
 
 10 Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and 
 thine heart hath lifted thee up : glory of 
 this, and tarry t at home : for why should- t Hcb. 
 est thou meddle to % hurt, that thou "'""^ *""''■ 
 shoiildest fall, erew thou, and Judah with 
 
 thee ? 
 
 11 But Amaziah would not hear. There- 
 fore Jehoash king of Israel went up ; and 
 he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one 
 another in the face at Beth-shemesh, which 
 belongetk to Judah. 
 
 12 And Judah twas put to the worse twcb. 
 before Israel ; and they fled every man to ""'""""^"• 
 their tents. 
 
 13 And Jehoash king of Israel took 
 Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash 
 the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and 
 came to Jerusalem, and brake down the 
 wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim 
 unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits. 
 
 14 And he took all the gold and silver, 
 and all the vessels that were found in the 
 house of the Lord, and in the treasures of 
 
 the king's house, and hostages, and return- about sss. 
 ed to Samaria. 
 
 15 ^ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash 
 which he did, and his might, and how he 
 fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are 
 they not written in the book of the chro- 
 nicles of the kings of Israel ? 
 
 16 And Jehoash slept with his fathers. 
 
 dience of God," or "to God." He so called it, as some imagine, 
 because, when he had taken the place, he settled in it tlie laws and 
 statutes of Moses ; or rather, he acknowledged, by giving it this 
 name, that the possession of the place was a reward of his obedi- 
 ence to the man of God, who required him to dismiss all the forces 
 he had hired of the Israelites. See 2 Chron. xxv. 10. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — let us look one another in the face.] Being fluAetl with 
 his great success against the Edomites, and incensed bj' the da- 
 mages the Israelites had done him, (2 Chron. xxv. 13,) he sent tliis 
 challenge to the king of Israel, meaning, Let us set our armies in 
 array against each other, and try our strength. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 g. — The thistle that rras in Lebanon sent to the cedw] Fables 
 or apologues of this description were suited to the taste of Fastem 
 people. There was an instance of them before at J\idges ix. 7- 
 Joash king of Israel could not have availed himself of a more in- 
 genious device, or one more proper for humbling Amaziah, than 
 comparing him to a thistle, which made pretensions to rival the 
 cedar : at the same time he laised himself above him, and made 
 him feel the vanit}' of his pretensions. Calmct. This transaction 
 shews the great superiority of the kingdom of Israel over that of 
 Judah at that time. 
 
 4X2
 
 Amaziah slain by a conspiracif. 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 Azariafi's good rciisn. 
 
 thout S'.'J. 
 
 • ••• Chron 
 
 iia 
 
 urftrr ami was buried in Samaria with tlie kings 
 (HRisr f jj.,.j,g| and Jeroboam his son reigned in 
 
 his stead. 
 
 17 *[ And Amaziah the son of Joash 
 kingof Jiidah lived after the death of Je- 
 hoash son of .Tchoaha^ king of Israel fif- 
 teen years. 
 
 18 And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, 
 arc they not written in the book of the 
 chronicles of the kings of Judah? 
 
 1<J Now ''they made a conspiracy against 
 him in Jerusalem : and he fled to Lachish ; 
 but they sent after him to Lachish, and 
 slew him there. 
 
 i^O And tliey brought him on horses : 
 and he was buried at Jerusalem with his 
 fathers in the city of David. 
 
 21 ^ And all the people of Judah took 
 2i??heU * Azariah, which rcas sixteen years old, and 
 
 made him king instead of his father Ama- 
 ziah. 
 
 22 He built Elath, and restored it to 
 Judah, after that the king slept with his 
 fathers. 
 
 23 if In the fifteenth year of Amaziah 
 the son of Joash king of Judah Jeroboam 
 the son of" Joasii king of Israel began to 
 reign in Samaria, aiid reigned forty and one 
 years. 
 
 24 And he did tliat "xhich ivas evil in the 
 sight of the Lord : he departed not from 
 all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, 
 who made Israel to sin. 
 
 25 He restored the coast of Israel from 
 the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the 
 plain, according to the word of the Lord 
 God of Israel, which he spake by the hand 
 
 w!^^^. °^ *"^ ser\ant ' Jonah, the son of Amittai, 
 •d'^M,. the prophet, which v:as of Gath-hepher. 
 
 2() For the Lord saw the affliction of 
 
 cmllcd Ot 
 
 »25. 
 
 822. 
 
 I J). — they made a commiracy cijiainsl him'] He was probably 
 hated by the peciple for the great calamities and shame brouRht 
 upon them through his folly. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 21. — Jzariah,'] Called Uzziali in tlje next chapter, ver. 30 
 andat 2 Chroii. xxvi. I. ' 
 
 2-2. He built FJalh,'} Respecting Elath, see note at 1 Kings 
 UL 20. He appciu-s to have fomid Elath in a ruined state, and to 
 have rebuilt it. At 2 Kings xvi. (i, we re.id that " llezin king of 
 Syria recovered Elath to .Syria." The particular mention of these 
 circumstances shews of what importance it w:is deemed in those 
 timM to jHjssess a pUce near the Red sea, for the purposes of 
 traffitk. Harmcr. 
 
 25. He restored the coast of Israel &c.] .\s Joash his father 
 had restoretl many ciUes which Ben-ha<lad had taken, so Jero- 
 boam restored a large territory which other kings had t.iken from 
 them ; namely, iill the country from Libanua on the north, to the 
 
 For'Hl! .K^ '" "' '*"^ ^J^'^ '^' **" '^^ '•'"*'>• BP- P»l»ck. 
 ror Hamath, see note on 2 Sam. viii. 9. 
 
 tluTp^^K T:"'" "^T*'^ "^^^ °"^>' mention which we have of 
 uiis l-rophet, 1, ,„ the present passage, and in the account of his 
 famous message to Nineveh. What *e prophecies were bywhich 
 
 Israel, that it ivas very bitter : for there was Before 
 not any shut up, nor any left, nor any ^"fi^^ 
 helper for Israel. 
 
 27 And the Lord said not that he would 
 blot out the name of Israel from under hea- 
 ven : but he saved them by the hand of 
 Jeroboam the son of Joash. 
 
 28 ^ Now the rest of the acts of Jero- 
 boam, and all that he did, and his might, 
 how he warred, and how he recovered 
 Damascus, and Hamath, xchich belonged to 
 Judah, for Israel, are they not written in 
 the book of the chronicles of the kings of 
 Israel ? 
 
 29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, tsi 
 even with the kings of Israel ; and Zacha- 
 riah his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 1 Azariah's good reign. 5 He dying a leper, Jol/iam 
 siicceedeth. 8 Zachariah, the last of' Jehu's genera- 
 tion, reigning ill, is slain by Sliallum. 13 ■Shallmn, 
 7'eig7iing a month, is slain by Menahem. IG Menahem 
 .•tireiigthencth himielfby Pal. 21 Pekahiah siwccedeth 
 him. 23 Pekahiah is slain by Pekah. 27 Pekah is 
 oppressed by Tiglatk-pileser, and slain by Hoshea. 
 32 Jolham's good reign. 3(i Ahaz succeedeth him. 
 
 IN the twenty and seventh year of Jero- 
 boam king of Israel began Azariah son 
 of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. 
 
 2 Sixteen years old was he when he be- 
 gan to reign, and he reigned two and fifty 
 years in Jerusalem. And his mother's 
 name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. 
 
 3 And he did that which was right in the 
 sight of the Lord, according to all that his 
 father Amaziah had done ; 
 
 4 Save that the high places were not re- 
 moved : the people sacrificed and burnt 
 incense still on the high places. 
 
 5 ^ And the Lord smote the king, so 
 
 about 810. 
 
 about 7C5. 
 
 he encouraged Jeroboam to proclaim war against the king of Sy- 
 ria, we find no where recorded: but not only do we not possess 
 all which the several Prophets wrote; but, in many instances, they 
 did not commit tlicir predictions to writing. From this instance, 
 however, wc may learn, that God was very merciful to the unde- 
 serving Israelites, in continuing a race of Prophets to tliem, even 
 after Elisha was dead. Stackhouse. 
 
 oj Gath-hepher.] It is expressly said by Eusebius and 
 
 St. Jerome, that this place was situate in the tribe of Zebulun : the 
 latter says, that it was no considerable place, and that the sepul- 
 chre of Jonah was sliewn there in his time. It may have been 
 the same with Gitt:ih-hepher, mentioned as lying in the eastern 
 coast of Zebulun, Josh, xix.' 1 3. Dr. Wells. 
 
 Chap. XV. The seven first verses of this chapter are to be com- 
 pared with 2 Chron. xxvi, as are the seven last with 2 Chion.xxvii. 
 
 Ver. 5. And the Lord smote the kin^,] The cause of this stroke 
 of leprosy is related at 2 Chron. xx vi.'l 6, &c. By the word which 
 we translate " a several house," the Jews imderstand a house in 
 the counti-y, where he might have liberty to take his pleasure, 
 but not to meddle in publick affairs. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Jotham succeedeth. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 Shallum is slain by Metiahem. 
 
 about 758. 
 
 about 773. 
 
 CHRIST ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ * leper unto the day of his 
 about 765. death, and dwelt in a several house. And 
 Jotham the king's son was over the house, 
 judging the people of the land. 
 
 6 And the rest of the acts of Azariah, 
 and all that he did, are they not written in 
 the book of the chronicles of the kings of 
 Judah ? 
 
 7 So Azariah slept with his fathers ; and 
 they buried him with his fathers in the 
 city of David : and Jotham his son reigned 
 in his stead. 
 
 8 ^ In the thirty and eighth year of 
 Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the 
 son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Sa- 
 maria six months. 
 
 9 And he did that which was evil in the 
 sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done : 
 he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam 
 the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. 
 
 10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh con- 
 spired against him, and smote him before 
 the people, and slew him, and reigned in 
 his stead. 
 
 11 And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, 
 behold, they are written in the book of the 
 chronicles of the kings of Israel. 
 
 12 This was * the word of the Lord 
 which he spake unto Jehu, saying. Thy 
 sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto 
 the fourth generation. And so it came to 
 pass. 
 
 about 772. 13 ^ Shallum the son of Jabesh began 
 to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of 
 " Uzziah king of Judah ; and he reigned 
 + a full month in Samaria. 
 
 14 For Menahem the son of Gadi went 
 up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and 
 
 »bout 772. 
 
 ^ Chnp. 10. 
 
 » Matt. 1. 9. 
 «allcd Ozius. 
 t Heb. 
 « month of 
 dayi. 
 
 12. This roas the nord of the Lord &c.] How unfaithful soever 
 the Israelites proved to God, He faithfully kept His promise which 
 He made to Jehu : whose sons Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam, and 
 Zachariah, succeeded him in the throne of Israel. But Shallum, 
 •who is mentioned in the next verse, put an end to his family. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 l6. — Tiphsah,'] This Tiphsah must be different from that 
 mentioned at 1 Kings iv. 24. According to the circumstances of 
 the story, it must have been situate not far from Tirzah, and so 
 on the west side of Jordan in the land of Israel. Dr. JVelh. 
 
 and all the women &C.3 By this barbarity, no doubt, he 
 
 thought to terrify the whole kingdom, so that none might dare to 
 withstand him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 19. — Pill the king of Assyria'] This is the first mention that 
 we find in Scripture'of the kingdom of Assyria, since the days of 
 jSinirod, who erected a small kingdom here, Gen. x. 11; and Pul 
 is the first monarch of th.it nation who invaded Israel, and began 
 tlie transportation of the inhabitants out of it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The ancient empire of the Assyrians, which had governed Asia 
 for above 1300 years, being dissolved on the death of Sardanapalus, 
 there arose up two empires in its stead ; the one founded by Ar- 
 baces governour of Media, and the other by Belesis governour of 
 Babylon, who were the two principal commanders that headed 
 
 smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Sa- p^"^°j*s^ 
 maria, and slew him, and reigned in his -72. 
 stead. 
 
 15 And the rest of the acts of Shallum, 
 and liis conspiracy which he made, behold, 
 they are written in the book of the chroni- 
 cles of the kings of Israel. 
 
 16 ^ Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, 
 and all that were therein, and the coasts 
 thereof from Tirzah : because they opened 
 not to him, therefore he smote it ; and all 
 the women therein that were with child he 
 ripped up. 
 
 17 In the nine and thirtieth year of Aza- 772. 
 riah king of Judah began Menahem the 
 
 son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reign- 
 ed ten years in Samaria. 
 
 18 And he did that which was evil in the 
 sight of the Lord : he departed not all his 
 days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of 
 Nebat, who made Israel to sin. 
 
 19 And <^ Pul the king of Assyria came ' 1 chron. 
 against the land : and Menahem gave Pul 
 
 a thousand talents of silver, that his hand 
 might be with him to confirm the kingdom 
 in his hand. 
 
 20 And Menahem t exacted the money t Heb. 
 of Israel, even of all the mighty men of "ome forth. 
 wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, 
 
 to give to the king of Assyria. So the 
 king of Assyria turned back, and stayed 
 not there in the land. 
 
 21 If And the rest of the acts of Mena- 
 hem, and all that he did, are they not writ- 
 ten in the book of the chronicles of the 
 kings of Israel ? 
 
 22 And Menahem slept with his fathers j 
 and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 the conspiracy, whereby the former empire was brought to an 
 end ; they having on tlit-ir success parted the kingdom among 
 themselves, Belesis had Babylon, Chaldea, and Arabia ; and Ar- 
 baces had all the rest. Arbaccs is in Scriptiu-e called Tiglath- 
 pileser, ver. 29 ; also 2 Kings xvi. 7, 10. He fi.ved his royal seat 
 at Nineveh, the same place where the former Assyrian kings had 
 their residence, and there he governed his new-created empire 
 nineteen years. Belesis is the same with Xabonassar, from the 
 beginning of whose reign at Babylon commences the famous cs- 
 tronomical era, called from him the Era of Xabonassar. He is 
 called in Holy Scripture Baladan, Isai. xxxix. 1 , being the father 
 of Merodach, who sent an embassy to king Hezekiah to congra- 
 tulate him on his recovery from sickness. And these two empires 
 God was pleased to raise up to be His instruments in their turns 
 to punish the iniquities of His own people ; the first for the over- 
 throwing of the kingdom of Israel, and the other for the over- 
 throwing of the kingdom of Judah, as will hereafter appear. 
 Dean Prideuux. 
 
 It has been supposed by some that Pul, mentioned in this verse, 
 was the same as Belesis ; but it is more probable that he was the 
 father of Sardanapalus, and that he was the same king of Assyria 
 who, when Jonah preached against Nineveh, gave such great 
 tokens of humiliation and repentance. Stachhouse.
 
 Pckaluah is slain hij Pekah. 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 Ahaz's wicked reign. 
 
 Ml. 
 
 fwfor. i2S IT In tiic fiftieth year of Azariah king 
 '""'" of Jialah IVkiihiah the son of Menahem 
 began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and 
 leigtieH two years. 
 
 '21 Anil he did thiit xchic/i was evil in the 
 sight of the Loud : he departed not from 
 the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who 
 made Israel to sin. 
 
 '^3 Bnt Pekah the son of Kemaliah, a 
 captain of his, conspired against him, and 
 smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the 
 king's house, with Argoh and Arieh, and 
 with him fitly men of the Gileadites: and 
 he killed him, and reigned in his room. 
 
 •20 Anil tlie rest of the acts of Pekahiah, 
 and all that he did, beholil, they are writ- 
 ten in the book of the chronicles of the 
 kings of Israel. 
 
 '.'7 ^ In the two and fiftieth year of 
 Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of 
 Kemaliah began to reign over Israel in Sa- 
 maria, and reigned twenty years. 
 
 48 And he did that xihich u-as evil in the 
 sight of the Louu : he departed not from 
 the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who 
 made Israel to sin. 
 
 '29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel 
 came Tiglatli-pileser king of Assyria, and 
 took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and 
 Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gi- 
 lead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, 
 and carried them captive to Assyria. 
 
 80 And Hoshea the son of Elah made a 
 conspiracy against Pekah the son of Ke- 
 maliah, and smote him, and slew him, and 
 reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year 
 of Jotham the son of Uzziah. 
 
 31 And the rest of the acts of Pekah, 
 and all that he did, behold, they are writ- 
 ten in the book of the chronicles of the 
 kings of Israel. 
 
 32^, In the second year of Pekah the 
 son of Ilenialiah king of Israel began " Jo- 
 tham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to 
 reign. 
 
 :io. 
 
 T3». 
 
 759. 
 
 ' 2 Oiron. 
 
 »7. I. 
 
 .9 —anne Ttglath-ptleKr] Thia was tlie second invasion of 
 the Assynans on this sinful people. Ti^^lath-pilc^cr sent a nu- 
 merous army which swept all the country of the two tribes and 
 .1 halt ea-st of the river Jordan, and some of the northern parts of 
 the western Canaan, and carried off the inhabitants into Assyria. 
 .;? 1 iRlath-pilcser was the same as Arbaces ; see note on ver. 
 19. Dran Pridcnux. 
 
 ^^?J~1''J'", '"'™''"'' Vf^ if Jolham-] These words have 
 rrealert a difficulty ; for it is said at ver. .33, tliat Jotham reigned 
 
 th.,'7T' ^^"'- T^^ •''■"" ^''y °»" ^"^^■'"K '^ '■'' by supplsin<r 
 Bp. I'nlri^ '^'^" *""'■ """ "'"'■^ ^■^'"■' '' '* •"'" *■=''*'«'■ Azariali! 
 
 difficuki'^*""i!!T'"l*^\'*^*'''^' '^"'^' ^^°"^^ t''«'-«^ •■•'•<' 'several 
 k n^o M,D^^ ^i"*; '}l ^^^^o\ogy given in Scripture of the 
 Wing, of Israel and Judah; yet the whole or the greater part of 
 
 33 Five and twenty years old was he (,^^7|f 
 when he began to reign, and he reigned tss. 
 sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mo- 
 ther's name xcas Jerusha, the daughter of 
 Zadok. 
 
 31- And he did that "which was right in 
 the sight of the Lord: he did according 
 to all that his father Uzziah had done. 
 
 35 ^ Howbeit the high places were not 
 removed : the people sacrificed and burn- 
 ed incense still in the high places. He 
 built the higher gate of the house of the 
 Lord. 
 
 36 ^ Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, 
 and all that he did, are they not written in 
 the book of the chronicles of the kings of 
 Judah ? 
 
 37 In those days the Lord began to send about 742, 
 against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and 
 Pekah the son of Kemaliah. 
 
 38 And Jotham slept with his fathers, 
 and was buried with his fathers in the city 
 
 of David his father : and Ahaz his son 745. 
 reigned in his stead. 
 
 CHAP. XVL 
 
 1 Ahaz's nicked reign. 5 Ahaz, assailed by Rezin and 
 Pehtili, hirellt Tiglalk-pilcscr as;ainst them. 10 Ahaz, 
 sending a pattern of an altar Jrom Damascus to Uri^ 
 j'ah, diuertelh the brasen altar to his own devotion. 
 17 He spoilcth the temple. I9 Hezekiah mcceedeth 
 him. 
 
 IN the seventeenth year of Pekah the son about 74^'. 
 of Kemaliah " Ahaz the son of Jotham ' 2 chron. 
 king of Judah began to reign. 
 
 2 Twenty years old was Ahaz when he 
 began to reign, and reigned sixteen years 
 in Jerusalem, and did not that which was 
 right in tlie sight of the Lord his God, 
 like David his father. 
 
 3 But he walked in the way of the kings 
 of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass 
 through the fire, according to the abomi- 
 nations of the heathen, whom the Lord 
 cast out from before the children of Is- 
 rael. 
 
 these difficulties may be explained by the circumstance, which 
 frequently took place in those times, of" the father and son reign- 
 ing together for some years. Stackhouse. 
 
 Chap. XVI. This chapter is to be compared •with 2 Chron. 
 .\xviii. 
 
 Ver. 3. — made his son to pass through the ^ fire, "^ Ahaz was 
 far more wicked than any of the preceding kings of Israel, for 
 he imitated those abominable idolaters whom God rooted out of 
 the land of Canaan, who sometimes burnt their children in the 
 fire, as sacrifices to their gods, Deut. xii. .31, &c. Whether 
 Ahaz really did this, or only made his son pass through the 
 fire by way of lustration, cannot be determined. Bp. Patrick. 
 Concerning these impieties, see notes at Levit. xviii. 21, and 
 Deut. xviii. 10. 
 
 2S. I.
 
 Tiglath-pileser takcth Damascus. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Ahaz maketh a new altar. 
 
 chrTst "^ ^^'^ ^^ sacrificed and burnt incense 
 71J. in the high places, and on the hills, and 
 
 under every green tree. 
 742. 5 ^ ^ Then Rezin king of Syria and Pe- 
 
 *"■ ''' '' kah son of Remahah king of Israel came 
 up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged 
 Ahaz, but could not overcome him. 
 
 6 At that time Rezin king of Syria re- 
 covered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews 
 from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, 
 and dwelt there unto this day. 
 
 7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath- 
 pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy 
 servant and thy son: come up, and save 
 me out of the hand of the king of Syria, 
 and out of the hand of the king of Israel, 
 which rise up against me. 
 
 T40. 8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that 
 
 was found in the house of the Lord, and in 
 the treasures of the king's house, and sent 
 it for a present to the king of Assyria. 
 
 9 And the king of Assyria hearkened 
 unto him: for the king of Assyria went 
 
 t Hcb. i,p against t Damascus, and took it, and 
 carried the j'eople qfit captive to Kir, iand 
 slew Rezin. 
 
 10 % And king Ahaz went to Damascus 
 to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, 
 and saw an altar that teas at Damascus: 
 and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the 
 fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, 
 according to all the workmanship thereof. 
 
 4'. — burnt incense in ihe high places, &c.] We read that, even 
 in the reigns of good kings, (see chap. xii. 3; xiv. 4; xv. 4,) the 
 people sacrificed in high places; but we do not fintl in any former 
 instance that the kings tliemselves did so. Ahaz liowever gave 
 countenance to the j)ractice by his own example, and thereby 
 strengthened this licence of private sacrifice, contrary to the law 
 of God; and, what was worst of all, of sacrificing to other gods; 
 lor it is highly probable that they fancied some deity to reside in 
 these high places, and " under every green tree." lip. Patrick. 
 
 6". • — recovered Elath to Syria,"^ As IClatli was situate on the 
 Red sea, and was the port for trading to the East, this loss was of 
 the greatest impoitance to the Jews: for it included the whole 
 trade of India, Persia, Africa, and Arabia. This trade they had 
 not indeed carried on always with the same success, as in the days 
 of Solomon ; but still they derived from it very considerable ad- 
 vantage. After that Hezin thus dispossessed them of Elath, the 
 merchandise which used to be carried to Jerusalem was conveyed 
 to other parts, and the Jews never afterwards recovered the trade. 
 Dean Pritleaiix. 
 
 Ihe Jen:f\ The Hebrews are here for the first time called 
 
 Jews, being so named from the tribe of Judah, from which tribe 
 the Messiah was to spring. This trilic returned from the Baby- 
 lonish captivity in the most flourishing condition; the other ten 
 tribes never returning again. Bp. llilsoti. 
 
 7- — / am thif servant and tliy son:'] He means, that he put 
 liimself under his protection, and made himself his subject to hold 
 all that he had by his ftivour. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 I). — tu Kir,] A place in Media. We read of a city called 
 Cyrene, and Cyropolis, mentioned by writers as lying in those 
 ))arts, which, it is thought, with some ])robability, was the place 
 to which the Syrians were carried captive. Dr. Wells. 
 
 11 And Urijah the priest built an altar (.^'^"[g^ 
 according to all that king Ahaz had 740. 
 sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest 
 
 made // against king Ahaz came from 
 Damascus. 
 
 12 And when the king was come from 
 Damascus, the king saw the altar: and 
 the king approached to the altar, and of- 
 fered thereon. 
 
 13 And he burnt his burnt offering and 
 his meat offering, and poured his drink of- 
 fering, and sprinkled the blood of t his +,""''• 
 
 ^ n- ■ 11 uAicA were 
 
 peace ofienngs, upon the altar. /m. 
 
 14 And he brought also the brasen altar, 
 which was before the Loud, from the fore- 
 front of the house, from between the altar 
 and the house of the Lord, and put it on 
 the north side of the altar. 
 
 15 And king Ahaz commanded Urijah 
 the priest, saying, Upon the great altar 
 burn the morning burnt offering, and the 
 evening meat offering, and the king's burnt 
 sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the 
 burnt offering of all the people of the land, 
 and their meat offering, and their drink 
 offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the 
 blood of the burnt offering, and all the 
 blood of the sacrifice : and the brasen altar 
 shall be for me to enquire hy. 
 
 16 Thus did Urijah the priest, according 
 to all that king Ahaz commanded. 
 
 17 ^ And king Ahaz cut oft" the borders 7^9. 
 
 ]0. — saw an altar that was at Damascus:'] Ahaz on this oc- 
 casion shewed himself lost to all sense of honour, reason, and true 
 religion: for the mortal enmity which subsisted between him and 
 the Syrians, did not hinder him from worshipping their idols, 
 after they were a beaten and miserable jieople. His corrupted 
 fancy being struck with great admiration of the beauty and form 
 of a certain altar he saw there, he ordered a pattern of it to be 
 made by the high priest of .Jerusalem, on which he offered his 
 own sacrifices, not to the true God, but totlie idol? of Syria, even 
 though they had been found unable to defend their own wor- 
 shippers from destruction. P.y^f- 
 
 15. — the great altar] The new altar he had erected, which 
 was probablj- larger than the altar of God. 
 
 the brasen altar shall be for me to enquire bi/.] He would 
 
 not have it thought, that he intended wholly to lay aside the altar 
 made by Solomon, but rather to do it great honour by reserving 
 it for liis own private use, when he pleased to inquire of God by 
 it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 16. Thus did Urijah Ihe priest,] This compliance of a priest of 
 God with an idolatrous king, in setting up an altar of a false god 
 against the altar of tlie Most High, was most base, and deservedly 
 to be held in tletestation. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Impiety is still more odious in ministers of religion than in 
 princes: and tliey become exceeding guilty, when either fear, or 
 complaisance for the great men of the world, or any other consi- 
 deration whatever, engages them to do what is contrary to the 
 law of God. Ostervald. 
 
 17. And king Ahaz cut off fic] To ingratiate himself still 
 more with the Assyrian king, by contemning the religion of his 
 own country, Ahaz, desperate in wickeihicss, defaced the very 
 vessels of the temple of God. J^^le.
 
 ylfiat spoileth the temple 
 
 Hefor. of the bases, and lemoveil the laver from 
 '^"fy'"" off them; aiul took down tlie sea iiom off 
 the biasen oxen tliat uere under it, aiid 
 put it upon a pavement of stones. 
 
 18 And the covert for tlie sabbath that 
 they had built in tlie house, and the king's 
 entry without, turned he from the house of 
 the Loiii) for the kin<^ of Assyria. 
 
 1!» % Now tiie rest of the acts of Ahaz 
 which he did, arc they not written in the 
 book of tlie chronicles of the kings of Ju- 
 
 dah ? 
 M« 20 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and 
 
 was buried with his fathers in the city of 
 David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in 
 his stead. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 1 Ilosheii's nicked rrign. 3 Bting siiMued by Shal- 
 mancier, he conspirctk against liim with So king of 
 Euj/pl. 5 .Samaria for llieir sins is captivated. 24 
 Tlir slrangr tialions, which were transplanted in Sa- 
 maria, being jtlagucH with lions, make a mixture <>f re- 
 ligions 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 Hoshea^s wicked reign. 
 
 in Samaria over 
 
 7sa 
 
 IN the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Ju- 
 dah began Hoshea the son of Eiah 
 
 IS. And the cot-ert for the sabbath"] This was probably a build- 
 ing or co\ cring made for the purpose, that, when on the sabbath 
 days the crowd of people was too great to be contained in the 
 IKjrcii, ihcy might reniaiu under shelter irom the injuries of the 
 weather. Locke. There is great difference of opinion about the 
 meaning of the word, which we translate " the covert for the 
 sablNith." The most probable notion is, that this was a coverad 
 place, where the king sat, in the porch of the temple, or at the 
 entrance of it, upon the sabbath, or other great solemnities. Ahaz 
 took this away, intending probably not to trouble himself any 
 more with coming to the temple, but to sacrifice elsewhere. It is 
 also a probable conjecture, that Ahaz did this with a further view 
 of ex.i)rcssing his hatred and contempt of the sabbath; for the 
 worship of idols and the violation of the sabbatli are frequently 
 joincil together in Scripture, especially in Ezek. xx. l6; xxii. 8, 
 9; xxiii. 37, 38. lip. Patrick. 
 
 1 1). Sow the rest of the acts of Ahaz} See more concerning 
 hull at a Chron. xxviii. 
 
 Chap. X\TI. ver. 2. — but not as the kings of Israel] For, 
 whereas the kings of Israel had hitherto maint;iined guards upon 
 Uieir frijiitiers, to hinder their subjects from going up to worship 
 at Jeru^Iem, Hoshea gave them all free liberty to worsliip there, 
 and probflbly encouraged them in <lemolishing the high places^ 
 t Chron. xxx, xxxi. On this account he has, as to religion, the 
 best character given him in Scripture of all that reigned before 
 him over Israel after the division of the kingdom; for, although 
 he was by no meins prfect in the true worship of God, yet his 
 ways were less offensive than the ways of any who had preceded 
 him iii that kingdom. Dean Prideaiu. 
 
 3. — Shalmancier] Tliis prince, called Enemcssar in Tobit 
 I. -', was the son and successor of Arbaces or Tifflath-nileser 
 SlackluMue. ' 
 
 .*• — '" •I" *"H? '.'/■ ^gyy/.] This So is the same with Sabacon 
 * "iJi r"'"^' "'*""''"^ '^y heathen authors, who, having in- 
 vaded K^jypt, and taken prisoner Boccliaris king of the country 
 caused hm. to be put to death with great cruelty, and then seized 
 on the kmgdom. Dean Prideaajc. 
 
 (). — and carried Israel anai/] Slialmaneser, thus fulfilline the 
 prophcce, ot Amos and other Prophets, transported the people of 
 the seven western tribe, beyond Assyria, and planted them in 
 
 Israel nine ^^f^^ 
 
 about 730. 
 
 ^iS 
 
 721. 
 Chap. 18. 
 
 to reign 
 years. 
 
 2 And he did that which rvas evil in the 
 sio-ht of the Lord, but not as the kings of 
 Israel that were before him. 
 
 3 % Against him came up Shalmaneser 
 king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his 
 servant, and't gave him II presents. t Hd. 
 
 4 And the king of Assyria found con- "o'T' 
 spiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent mes- tribute 
 sengers to So king of Egypt, and brought 
 
 no present to the king of Assyria, as he had 
 done year by year: therefore the king of 's^'- 
 Assyria shut him up, and bound him in 
 prison. 
 
 5 % Then the king of AssjTia came up 
 throughout all the land, and went up to 
 Samaria, and besieged it three years. 
 
 6 " if In the ninth year of Hoshea the , 
 king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried \o. 
 Israel away into Assyria, and placed them 
 in Halah and in Habor by the river of Go- 
 zan, and in the cities of the Medes. 
 
 7 For so it was, that the children of Is- 
 
 Media, whither his father had before transplanted the tribes cast 
 of Jordan, 2 Kings xv. 29. Dr. Hales. Thus in the course of 
 nineteen years was completed the captivity of the ten revolted 
 tribes. 
 
 in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan,~\ Halah, 
 
 otherwise written Chalach, is thought with great probability to 
 denote the country in the nortli of Assyria, called by Ptolemy 
 Calachene. Habor, otherwise Chabor, is thought to be a moun- 
 tainous country between Media and Assyria, called by Ptolemy 
 Chaboras. The river Gozan is thought by most writers to be 
 that which is also called Gauzanitis. Dr. Wells. 
 
 in the cities of the Medes.] It is probable that this co- 
 lony was placed in the mountainous part of Media, because it 
 was less peopled than the lower country. Strabo says, that 
 it was chiefly peopled by strangers and by colonies from abroad. 
 Slackhouse. 
 
 7. Foi- so it was, that 8iC.] Thus did the just providence of 
 Heaven withdraw its wonted protection from a nation which, 
 from the very first instances of its special ami miraculous favours, 
 and amidst a long succession of mercies and blessings, frustrated 
 the designs of what was done for them, by forsaking the laws of 
 true religion, and wandering into all the superstitious and idola- 
 trous rites of those very heathens, whom they saw destroyed for 
 similar practices, and whose country was given to the Israelites, 
 expressly for the punishment of their crimes. Pyle. Thus an end 
 was put to the kingdom of Israel. The ten tribes now can-ied 
 into captivity never returned. It is true that some of them took 
 advantage of the libertj' given to the Jews under Ezra, to return 
 to their land, and so returned together with the two tribes of 
 Judidi and Benjamin; but this never amounted to a full restora- 
 tion of the ten tribes, the main bulk of them continued in the 
 land of their captivity, where they are still to be found in great 
 numbers. Slackhoiise. 
 
 This entire destruction of the kingdom of Israel is one of the 
 most remarkable events recorded in the Old Testament. Scrip- 
 ture takes particular notice of the cause of this destruction, which 
 was owing not only to Hoshea's conspiracy against the king of 
 Assyria, but chiefly to the ingratitude and idolatry of the Is- 
 raelites, and tlieir other sins; especially their incorrigible hardness 
 of heart, and repeated contempt of the patience and long-suffering
 
 Israel is carried 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 into captivity. 
 
 ly. 
 
 Before rael had sinned affainst the Lord their 
 
 72,_ God, which had brought them up out of 
 
 the land of Egypt, from under the hand of 
 
 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared 
 
 other gods, 
 
 8 And walked in the statutes of the hea- 
 then, whom the Lord cast out fi-om before 
 the children of Israel, and of the kings of 
 Israel, which they had made. 
 
 9 And the children of Israel did secretly 
 those things that were not right against tlie 
 Lord their God, and they built them high 
 places in all their cities, from the tower of 
 the watchmen to the fenced city. 
 
 fr Heb. 10 And they set them up t images and 
 
 staiues. groves in every high hill, and under every 
 green tree : 
 
 11 And there they burnt incense in all 
 the high places, as did the heathen whom 
 the Lord carried away before them ; and 
 wrought wicked things to provoke the 
 Lord to anger : 
 
 V2 For they served idols, whereof the 
 Deut 4. Lord had said unto them, '' Ye shall not 
 do this thing. 
 
 13 Yet the Lord testified against Israel, 
 t Htb. and against Judah, t by all the prophets, 
 «/■!«. """ ^"^ % ^11 the seers, saying, "^Turn ye from 
 
 jer. IS. your evil ways, and keep my command- 
 
 k 'w. 15. ments and my statutes, according to all the 
 
 law which I commanded your fathers, and 
 
 which I sent to you by my servants the 
 
 prophets. 
 
 14 Notwithstanding they would not hear, 
 
 of God, and of the threati and remonstrances of His Prophets. 
 This example should teach all men, that obstinacy in sin, and 
 contempt of God's word, force Him, as it were, at last to execute 
 His threatenings ; and that tlie covenant which He makes with 
 any people, does not hinder Him from rejecting them, and pu- 
 nishing them with the greatest severity, if they continue to offend 
 Him. Ostervald. 
 
 How terrible was the example of vengeance upon that pe- 
 culiar people, which God had chosen for Himself, out of all the 
 world ! All the world had been witnesses of the favours of their 
 miraculous deliverances and protections. All the world have 
 been witnesses of their just confusion. What was it that caused 
 God to cast off His own inheritance? What, but tlie same 
 cause which made Him cast tlie angels out o{ heaven, even their 
 rebellious sins. Those sins dared to emulate in their enormity 
 the gi-eatness of His mercies, no less than they forced tlie seve- 
 rity of His judgments. What could the just hand of the Al- 
 mighty do less, than consume a nation so incorrigibly flagitious: 
 a nation so unthankful for mercies ; so impatient of remedies ; so 
 incapable of repentance ; so shamelessly, so lawlessly wicked ! 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 9. — from the tower of the ivalchmen &c.]] By " the tower of 
 the watchmen" is thought here to be meant small houses, built by 
 the country people, in wliich they might watch their flocks and 
 produce, and preserve them from wild beasts or robbers : thus the 
 expression of the text signifies that they built high places in all 
 parts, both in the country and in the cities. Bp. Patrick. Or the 
 meaning of the expression, " from the tower of the watchmen to 
 the fenced city," is " fi-om one side of the borders of the kingdom 
 Vol. I. ■ 
 
 but hardened their neck.s, hke to the neck ^^l^. 
 of their fathers, that did not beHeve in the *^ 721 
 Lord their God. 
 
 15 And they rejected his statutes, and 
 his covenant that he made with their fa- 
 thers, and his testimonies which he testified 
 against them ; and they tbllowed vanity, 
 and became vain, and went after the hea- 
 then that vsere round about them, co7ice7~n- 
 ing whom the Lord had charged them, 
 that they should not do like them. 
 
 16 And they left all the commandments 
 
 of the Lord their God, and '^ made them " e*""*'" 
 molten images, even two calves, and made 1 kingt 12. 
 a grove, and worshipped all the host of-" 
 heaven, and served Baal. 
 
 17 And they caused their sons and their 
 daughters to pass through the fire, and 
 used divination and enchantments, and 
 sold themselves to do evil in the sight of 
 the Lord, to provoke him to anger. 
 
 18 Therefore the Lord was very angry 
 with Israel, and removed them out of his 
 sight : there was none left but the tribe of 
 Judah only. 
 
 19 Also Judah kept not the command- 
 ments of the Lord their God, but walked 
 in the statutes of Israel which they made. 
 
 20 And the Lord rejected all the seed 
 of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered 
 them into the hand of spoilers, until he 
 had cast them out of his sight. 
 
 21 For he rent Israel from the house of 
 David ; and they made Jeroboam the son 
 
 to the other ;" no part of it, whether more solitary or more fre- 
 quented, being left free. Bp. Hall. 
 
 10. — and groves'] The Hebrew word, which w^e translate 
 " groves," ought to be rendered " idols of the groves :" for it sig- 
 nifies, not the grove itself, but the object of worship placed therein. 
 Sclden. Procopius observes, that though the word is translated 
 "groves" by the Greek translators, j'et in other ancient versions 
 it is rendered Ashtaroth. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 13. Yet tlie Lord tcslijied against Israel, See] What aggravated 
 the guilt of this people was, that tliey never were left without 
 continual warnings, persuasions, and threatenings from Hea\en, 
 bj' the mouth of inspired Prophets, during the whole course of 
 their impieties, to shew tliem their errours, convince them of their 
 danger, and lead them b.^ck to their true interest. But all was 
 in vain witli men, who, by the allurements of the pomp and pa- 
 geantry of heatlien worship, by the power of Inst and secular 
 views, suffered themselves to be at last abandoned to the worst of 
 those abominatii>ns that were most desti-uctive of the honour of 
 God, and the happy constitution of their own religion and go- 
 vernment. Pi/le. 
 
 1 8. Tltcrcjore the Lord Sec."] This course of wicked behaviour 
 at last induced Gml to abandon them, and deliver up so corrupt- 
 ed a branch of this once favomute nation into the hands of a fo- 
 reign power, while no part of it was left but the united tribes of 
 Judali and Benjamin, who had yet some further space given them 
 for repentance. Pj/le. 
 
 removed them out of his sight :] That is, from the Holy 
 
 Land where His temple wa*, in wliich He dwelt among tliem. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4 Y
 
 ttltwirange nations, 
 
 11. KINGS. 
 
 •which were transplanted in Samaria, 
 
 ofNcbatking: andJeioboam drave Israel 
 
 CHRIST <-_(,m foilowinff the Lord, and made them 
 
 7111. . . • 
 
 Sin a groat sm. 
 
 '2^2 For the children of Israel walked in 
 all the sins of Jeroboam which he did ; 
 they departed not from them ; 
 
 >iS Until the Lord removed Israel out 
 of his sight, as he had said by all his ser- 
 vants the prophets. So was Israel carried 
 awav out of their own land to Assyria unto 
 this day. 
 *haut 6TS. 24 4 And the king of Assyria brought 
 men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and 
 from Ava, and from Hamath, and from 
 Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities 
 of Samaria instead of the children of Is- 
 rael : and they possessed Samaria, and 
 dwelt in the cities thereof. 
 
 25 And so it was at the beginning of 
 their dwelling there, that they feared not 
 the Lord : therefore the Lord sent lions 
 among them, and slew som£ of them. 
 
 !26 Wherefore they spake to the king of 
 Ass}Tia, saying, The nations which thou 
 hast removed, and placed in the cities of 
 Samaria, know not the manner of the God 
 of the land : therefore he hath sent lions 
 
 2+. — from Cuthah, and from Ava, Sec.'] The Cuthah here 
 mentioned is supposed by many to be the same with Cush, 
 whicti is said by Moses to be encompassed by the river Gihon ; 
 accordingly it is much the same with the country called by the 
 Gneks Susiana, and which is said to this very day to bear the 
 name of Chusestan. It is difficult to give an account of the city 
 or country called Ava : perhaps it was the same as Ivah, men- 
 tioned at chap, xviii. 3i: the learned Grotius supposes it was 
 in Bactriana ; observing, that Ptolemy mentions a people there 
 under the name of Avadiae. Sepharvaim is thought to be a city 
 called Sipphara by Ptolemy : the word Sepharvaim has a plural 
 termination m the Hebrew, which belongs to it probably for this 
 reason, that as the river Euphrates ran through the place, it di- 
 TKle.1 It, as It were, into two cities. Dr. Welis. 
 
 25 — Ihcrefore the Lord .,e,U Hans ammg lhem^ If it should 
 be asked why these new inhabitants were thus punished for not 
 feant.^ :he Lord, while the Israelites, whose guilt was the same, 
 were not so punished: it may be answered, that the Israelites 
 were indeed addicted to idolatrj- ; but still they believed in the 
 one almighty eternal Go<l and were far from denying His power 
 and providence ; while these new inhabitants had no notions of 
 «^>'objecU of religious adoration beyond tlie empty idols which 
 they worshippetl. Sinckhotue. 
 
 2f5. -know not the manner of the God of tlie land:-] They 
 deemed the God of Israel to be of the same kind with tldir idols! 
 who prcsi,l«l over a particular country and people, and would 
 
 Lt X'XCnl" "'" ^'^•^'^ ""^ ^'^'^'^'^'^ ^» "-' 
 
 the 'lijr ""'['^'.^'""y "''">" one of the priests-} Accordingly, 
 
 W.lv "V/l ■■■"' '"''"^;^}' P"V'^iP='l Israelite iriests, and pr^ 
 
 Shabiunf i^^T- ""'^^ ^""' \^ ^^"' ^'"'^ ^ teach Jhese new 
 
 Ku^!; „ '■"•'^'"" ""' "°r=*h'pof the Israelites which might 
 
 5 ucWth? '"■ "PP°^V""^' "^^ ^■"b^=»'^i"g the true religion 
 
 .iLm /v'''"o,'" rfr °r«'"^«5/"'l ^OTC .incorrupt dispo- 
 
 ried^rl , ■« - "'^'•'^ P'"'-'" ^* '^'■=«J '^ appointed to be car- 
 
 3.^ G^ onSr r- '° f""^ '!" ^-^y"''" ^ A the fas£n"of 
 ^ °' *'"^ '=»"'' ' not for devotion, but for impunity. Vain 
 
 among them, and, behold, they slay them. Before 
 because they know not the manner of the ^"u^J^gl" 
 God of the land. 
 
 27 Then the king of Ass}Tia command- 
 ed, saying, Carry thither one of the priests 
 whom ye brought from thence ; and let 
 them go and dwell there, and let him 
 teach them the manner of the God of the 
 land. 
 
 28 Then one of the priests whom they 
 had carried away from Samaria came and 
 dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how 
 they should fear the Lord. 
 
 29 Howbeit every nation made gods of 
 their own, and put them in the houses of 
 the high places which the Samaritans had 
 made, every nation in their cities wherein 
 they dwelt. 
 
 30 And the men of Babylon made Suc- 
 coth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made 
 Nergal, and the men of Hamath made 
 Ashima, 
 
 31 And the Avites made Nibhaz and 
 Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their 
 children in fire to Adrammelech and An- 
 ammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 
 
 32 So they feared the Lord, and made 
 
 politicians think to satisfy God by patching up religions. Thus 
 the Assyrian priests teach and practise the worship of their own 
 gods : the Israelitish priest prescribes the worship of the true God; 
 the people will follow both, the one out of liking, the other out 
 of fear. Bp. Hall. Here began a new kind of religion, not unlike 
 that of the Israelites, consisting in the worship of the true God, 
 and of a number of false deities. Hence sprang that mutual 
 hatred between the Jews and Samaritans, the former abominating 
 even the name of the latter^ and the latter always disowning any 
 kindred with the former in time of adversity, though forward 
 enough to claim it in time of prosperity. Universal History. 
 
 30. — the men of Babijlon made Succoth-benoth,~\ The words 
 " Succoth-benoth" literally mean, " the tabernacles or tents of the 
 young women :" and it is supposed, with considerable probability^ 
 that these were the places where the young women exposed them- 
 selves to prostitution in honour of a Babylonish goddess, called 
 Mylitta. Herodotus gives a particular account of these abomi- 
 nable and detestable practices, which, there is reason to con- 
 clude from this passage, the Babylonians introduced into Judea. 
 Parklitirst, Calmct. 
 
 As to the names of the idols which follow, Nergal, Ashima, &c. 
 various conjectures have been formed; but no information can 
 be given respecting them with any tolerable certainty. 
 
 the vtcn of Hamath'} There were several cities and 
 
 countries of this name ; probably that which is here meant was a 
 province of .Sj-ria, lying on the river Orontes. Stackhoiise. 
 
 32. So thei/ feared the J^rd,} So they worshipped the Lord 
 God of Israel, together with their idols, making as strange a med- 
 ley and confusion of religions as the Israelites themselves had be- 
 fore practised in this very country. Pi/le. Making a foi-raal pro- 
 fession of serving the Lord, they continued the worship of their 
 own false gods. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Soon after the settlement of these people in Samaria, they were 
 taught the worship of the true God; but, retaining also the wor- 
 ship of their false deities, their religion was for some years a mix- 
 ture of heatlienish and Jewish. In process of time, however, 
 having many of the Israelites incoqiorated among them, and
 
 make a mixture of religions. 
 
 CHAP. XVII, XVIII. 
 
 Hezekiah's good reign. 
 
 chr'ist ""^^ themselves of the lowest of them 
 
 •bout 678. priests of the high places, which sacri- 
 ficed foi- them in the houses of the high 
 places. 
 
 «zeph.i.5. S3 ' They feared the Lord, and served 
 their own gods, after the manner of the 
 
 « Or. nations || whom they carried away from 
 
 luni carried . •' •' 
 
 them away tncnCC. 
 
 fromthence. 34 Unto this day they do after the former 
 manners : they fear not the Lord, neither 
 do they after their statutes, or after their 
 ordinances, or after the law and command- 
 ment which the Lord commanded the chil- 
 ^Geii. 32. (jj.gj^ of Jacob, ' whom he named Israel ; 
 1 kings 18. 35 With whom the Lord had made a 
 'Judges covenant, and charged them, saying, ^ Ye 
 e. 10. shall not fear other gods, nor bow your- 
 selves to them, nor serve them, nor sacri- 
 fice to them : 
 
 36 But the Lord, who brought you up 
 out of the land of Egypt with great power 
 and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, 
 and him shall ye worship, and to him shall 
 ye do sacrifice. 
 
 37 And the statutes, and the ordinances, 
 and the law, and the commandment, wliich 
 he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do 
 for evermore ; and ye shall not fear other 
 gods. 
 
 38 And the covenant that I have made 
 with you ye shall not forget ; neither shall 
 ye fear other gods. 
 
 having built a temple on mount Gerizim, like to that at Jerusalem, 
 they ajjpear to have abandoned all idolatry, and to have wor- 
 shipped only the God of Israel. Bp. Tumline. 
 
 34. Un(o this day ihexj do &c.] These and tlie following words 
 relate to the children of Israel, who, though carried away in cap- 
 tivity, were not at aU amended by tlieir calamities, but still neg- 
 lected the laws of God, and in this sense " feared not the Lord — 
 until this day," that is, until the day when this book was writ- 
 ten. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 41. So these nations feared the Lord, and served their graven 
 {mages,2 In the foregoing account of the colony planted in Sa- 
 maria by the king of Babylon, to supply the place of the ten 
 tribes, we have an instance of heathens, placed probably in the 
 most advantageous circumstances in whicli it was possible for 
 heathens to be placed, iu order to reclaim them from idolatry ; 
 inti'oduced to supply the place of one part of God's cliosen people 
 who had been expelled for their idolatries, thus brought into im- 
 mediate contact with the remaining part from whom tliey could 
 not but learn much of the wonders of Jehovah's power ; convinced 
 by their own experience of the necessity of conciliating Him as 
 the supreme guardian God of the country in which they were 
 newly settled, and compelled by their fears to solicit instruction 
 in His law : they received that instruction : tlie books were placed 
 in their hands, and were from that time uniforml}' acknowledged 
 by them as of Divine authority. Yet so deeply rooted were their 
 idolatrous propensities, that, although thus favourably circum- 
 stanced, with examples of Divijie punishment immediately under 
 tlieir observance, instructed in the tenour, and acknowledging the 
 authority of the Divine law, they could not be taught to discern 
 the folly and impiety, or forsake the practice, of associating the 
 worship of the basest idols with that of the great Jehovah. Dr. 
 Graves. See note on Ezra iv. 3. 
 
 39 But the Lord your God ye shall fear; Before 
 and he shall deliver you out of the hand of i^oullie^ 
 all your enemies. 
 
 40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but 
 they did after their former manner. 
 
 41 So these nations feared the Lord, 
 and served their graven images, both their 
 children, and their children's children : as 
 did their fathers, so do they unto this 
 day. 
 
 CHAP. XVIIL 
 
 1 Hezekiah's good reign. 4 He deslroyeth idolatry, and t 
 
 prospercth. 9 Samaria is carried captive for their 
 sins. 13 Sennacherib invading Judah is pacijied by 
 a tribute. 1 7 Rab-shakeh, sent by Sennacherib again, 
 reviletk Hczekiah, and by blasphemous persuasions so- 
 lid teth the people to revolt. 
 
 NOW it came to pass in the third year about 726. 
 of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, 
 Ihal ' Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of^^ciiron. 
 Judah began to reign. 29! 1. 
 
 2 Twenty and five years old was he when HeiscaUed 
 he began to reign ; and he reigned twenty juttt'l. 9. 
 and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's 
 
 name also was Abi, the daughter of Zacha- 
 riah. 
 
 3 And he did that which zios right in the 
 sight of the Lord, according to all that 
 David his father did. 
 
 4 5F He removed the high places, and 
 brake the t images, and cut down the t Heb. 
 groves, and brake in pieces the '' brasen J'i!fl|^i,<;rs 
 serpent that Moses had made : for unto 21. 9. 
 
 Chap. XV^III. This chapter is to be compared with Isaiah 
 XXX vi. and xxxvii. to ver. 21 ; also with 2 Chron. xxix, .xxx, xxxi, 
 xxxii, where is a fuller account of the reign of Hezekiah. 
 
 Ver. 1. — Hezekiah — began to reign.'^ After a race of kings, 
 the best of whom were but careless observers of God's law, and 
 the worst extremely flagitious, it must needs Iiave affected every 
 pious heart with joy and wonder to see such a king as Hezekiali 
 rise up, like a glorious sun after a long season of clouds and dark- 
 ness, who, though descended from such idolatrous ancestors, had 
 zeal and courage to reform the church and state of Judali, to re- 
 move the high places, break down tlie images, and cut down the 
 groves, and bring tl)c religion to the condition in wliich it was in 
 the time of David. Rending. How seasonably hath the provi- 
 dence of God kept tlie best man for tlie worst times ! ^^'hen God 
 has a great work to do, He always knows how to supply Himself 
 with instruments. Bj). Hall. 
 
 4. — brake in pieces the brasen serpenf] The reason assigned 
 for Hezekiah's destroying this serpent is, that " the children of 
 Israel burnt incense unto it." We are not to suppose, however, 
 that all along from the days of Moses this had been an object of 
 religious worship, since probably such princes as David and So- 
 lomon would not have ;dlowed it: the conmiencement of the 
 superstition must have been of much later date. One inducement 
 to the false worship of tliis image maj' probably liave been, a mis- 
 take of the words of .Moses. For whereas it was said at Xumb. 
 xxi. 8, that whosoever looked upon it should live ; some may liavc 
 imagined tliat they could obtain a blessing by means of it, and so 
 may have made it an object of superstitious worship. However, 
 we may imagine that their burning of incense unto it was at first 
 designed only in honour of the true God, by whose direction 
 Moses made it ; but that, in the process of superstition, tliey wor- 
 shipped the God of Israel under that image ; or, what was worse, 
 
 4 Y'2
 
 Samaria is carried captive for their sins. II. KINGS. 
 
 Semmcherib invade th Judah. 
 
 •koul 7VC. 
 
 tHeb. 
 fnm nfltT 
 Aim. 
 
 ■bout 725. 
 
 f Hel). 
 Aizak. 
 
 •Oiap. 17. 
 3. 
 
 ■bout 72 
 
 •Chip. 17. 
 
 C 
 
 B^" those day.s the chililren of Israel did burn 
 ^J'7.6^ incense to it : and he called it Nehushtan. 
 r> He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; 
 so that after him was none like him among 
 dl the kings of Judah, nor ani/ that were 
 before him. 
 
 G For he clave to the Lord, and depart- 
 ed not t from following him, but kept his 
 commandments, which the Lord com- 
 maiuled Moses. 
 
 7 And the Lord was with him ; and he 
 prospered whithersoever he went forth : 
 and he rebelled against the king of As- 
 syria, and served him not. 
 
 8 He smote the Philistines, ei^en unto 
 t Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the 
 tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. 
 
 9 ^ And ' it came to pass in the fourth 
 year of king Hezekiali, which ivas the se- 
 
 •i»ut723. venth year of Hoshea son of Elah king of 
 Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria 
 came up against Samaria, and besieged it. 
 
 10 And at the end of three years they 
 took it : even in the sixtli year of Heze- 
 kiah, that is " the ninth year of Hoshea 
 king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 
 
 11 And the king of As.syria did carry 
 away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in 
 Halah and in Habor h/ the river of Gozan, 
 and in the cities of the Medes : 
 
 12 Because they obeyed not the voice of 
 
 substituted a heathen god in His room, which they might the 
 more ea'^ily be induced to do, because it was the practice of some 
 neighbouring nations to worship their gods under the form of a 
 serpent. On tills account Hczekiah wisely chose rather to lose 
 this memorial of Clod's mercy to His people in tlie wilderness, 
 than to suffer it any longer to be abused to idolatrous purposes. 
 .'slackfiouse. 
 
 calletl il Xehiishtnii.'] Called it by way of contempt, as it 
 
 were, "a piece of brass." lip. Hall. " A brasen' bauble." Dr. Hales. 
 Hezcki.ih laboured under great discouragements to set about 
 the refomiatinn of religion. He had many idols and altars to 
 demolish, which he found established by long prescription under 
 the reigns of most of his predecessors. But herein he acted like 
 a king indeed : not like a .seri'ant of men, but a minister of God, 
 whose will he readily performed, as soon as he was invested with 
 power and authority to do it. How sweet is a zeal for the glory 
 of God in the spirit of princes ! How greatly does it add to their 
 lustre antl dignity, giving us the brightest idea of the Divine 
 image ! Reading. 
 
 5. — ajler him was none like him &c.] This character of Heze- 
 kiah relates perhaps to some particular virtue in which he stood 
 distinguished from the rest of the kings of Judah ; and that may 
 have been his trusting in the Lord God, (as is here stated,) and 
 not m the help of any foreign forces, as all the other kings are 
 known in some mea.-ure to have done. Calmel. 
 ■ ''v" ""'' ** rebelled a^aiii.U the king of As.iyria^ The meaning 
 i», that he owned not the authority "of the Assyrian kino- ove" 
 hun. to which Ahaz h.id Iwselv submitted, chap. xvi. 7; butTooked 
 upon himself as a free sovereign in his own kingdom, independent 
 
 m'^n,^'"K- ^*' I'i " P''^" ^'""^ '"• 1*' *l^^t he was not able to 
 manuam himself free from all subjection to the king of Assyria. 
 
 the Lord their God, but transgressed his ^hITst 
 covenant, and all that Moses the servant about 721. 
 of the Lord commanded, and would not 
 hear them, nor do thcjn. 
 
 13 IF Now 'in the fourteenth year of,„p["^' 
 king Hezekiah did t Sennacherib king of 32" 1. 
 As.syria come up against all the fenced ci- j^'^jil^^J * 
 ties of Judah, and took them. is. 
 
 14- And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to ^.„"^',';, 
 the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I 
 have offended; return from me: that which 
 thou puttest on me will I bear. And the 
 king oi' Assyria appointed unto Hezekiali 
 king of Judah three hundred talents of sil- 
 ver and thirty talents of gold. 
 
 15 And Hezekiah gave him all the silver 
 that was found in the house of the Lord, 
 and in the treasures of the king's house. 
 
 IG At that time did Hezekiah cut off the 
 gold from the doors of the temple of the 
 Lord, a.nA from the pillars which Heze- 
 kiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave 
 t it to the king of Assyria. t Hcb. 
 
 17 IF And the king of Assyria sent Tar- 'ab"ut7io, 
 tan and Ilabsaris and Rab-shakeh from 
 Lachish to king Hezekiah with a t great tHeh. 
 host against Jerusalem. And they went '"'"^" 
 up and came to Jerusalem. And when 
 they were come up, they came and stood 
 by the conduit of the upper pool, which is 
 in the highway of the fuller's field. 
 
 he. rebelled^ Though the word " rebellion" be now 
 
 generally taken in an evil sense, for a seditious insurrection 
 against lawful govemours, yet our translators did not design it 
 should be so taken in this place, but only to denote that this good 
 king would no longer acknowledge himself to be a tributary and 
 dependent of the king of Assyria, which is all the rebellion that 
 is here intended. Reading. 
 
 10. — al the C7id of three years'^ Meaning rather " in the third 
 year." It cannot be meant literally at the expiration of three 
 years ; for it is related that the siege began in the fourth year of 
 Hezekiah and ended in the sixth. Bp. Kidder. 
 
 13. — Sennacherib king of Assi/ria'] Sennacherib succeeded his 
 father Shalmaneser in the kingdom, after he had reigned about 
 eight years. He is the same whom the Prophet Isaiah (chap. 
 XX. 1) calls Sargon. Dean Prideaiix. 
 
 and took t/iem.'^ This God permitted, that Hezekiah might 
 
 be thereby led to have recourse to God, and that Ciod might exalt 
 more signally His own power and glory. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 15. — all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord,"] 
 How hard was good Hezekiah driven ere he would be thus bol<i 
 with his God ! Only necessity excuses that from being sacrilege 
 in the son, which was sacrilege in the father. Bp. Hall. 
 
 17._ And the king of Assyria sent &C.3 Having received the tri- 
 bute from Hezekiah, Sennacherib turned his arms against Egypt ; 
 and after a series of different successes, returned and invested 
 Lachish ; and thence, contrary to all faith, and to the agreement 
 subsisting between him and the kings of Judah, sent, as is here 
 related, to demand the surrender of Jerusalem. Stackhmise. 
 
 ■ by the conduit of the upper pool,'] By the conduit or canal 
 
 into which water was conveyed from the upper pool, which waa 
 in the highway to the field, where the fullers used to spread their 
 clothes for drying. Bp. Patrick.
 
 He sendeth Rab-shakeh, 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 "who insulteth Hezekiah. 
 
 chrTst ^^ ^^^ ^^'^^^" *^^y ^^^ called to the 
 
 about 710. king, there came out to them Eliakim the 
 
 son of Hilkiah, which was over the hous- 
 
 Ixrl'iary. ^^^^^' ^"'^ Shebtta the II scribe, and Joah the 
 
 son of Asaph the recorder. 
 
 19 And Rab-shakeh said unto them. 
 Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith 
 the great king, the king of Assyria, What 
 confidence is tliis wherein thou trustest ? 
 ■Melt. ~^ Thou II sayest, (but they are but t vain 
 
 t Hoi). words,) II / have counsel and strength for 
 1'^"^ '^"^' t'l*^ war. Now on whom dost thou trust, 
 I Or, 'mt that thou rebellest against me ? 
 ;;"™J/;a;e -l ^'o^' behoW, thou t trustest upon the 
 i-,r the vjur. staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, 
 ('-"?/( on which if a man lean, it will go into his 
 titee. hand, and pierce it : so is Pharaoh king of 
 
 Egypt unto all that trust on him. 
 
 ^2 But if ye say unto me, We trust in 
 the Lord our God : is not that he, whose 
 high places and whose altars Hezekiaii hath 
 taken away, and hath said to Judah and 
 Jerusalem, Ye shall Avorship before this 
 altar in Jerusalem ? 
 
 23 Now therefore, I pray thee, give 
 
 19- And Rab-shakeh said iiiUo them,'] The name of Rab-shakeh 
 imports that he was by office the king's cupbearer : by his ready 
 speaking of the Hebrew tongue, it seems probable that he was an 
 apo.<tate Jew, or else one of those who were made captive from 
 Israel. Dean Prideaux. See tlie note on Jer. x.\.\ix. 3. 
 
 21. — even upon Egypt,'} He thought it probable that Heze- 
 kiah would seek succour from Egypt, being a neighbouring coun- 
 try, and willing to give assistance, for the purpose of being re- 
 venged on the king of Assyria for his late invasion : but he re- 
 presents Egypt as weak, and unable to succour him. Bp. Patrick. 
 The comparison of the broken reed is excellent to denote an ally 
 that is not only weak and unable to help, but dangerous also to 
 those who rely upon him for succour. It has been supposed that 
 the Assyrian orator alludes to the canes or reeds M'hich grow on 
 tlie banks of the Nile, which, if it be a just idea, gives great beauty 
 to the similitude. Stackhouse. 
 
 22. But if t/e say unto me, &c.] He asks how they can place 
 any confidence in the God of their countiy, or expect any thing 
 but destruction from above, since Hezekiah had pulleil down 
 sacred groves and altars, and committed all manner of sacrilege, 
 in order to introduce a worship of his own. So ignorant was tliis 
 man, or else so audacious, tliat he called that a crime which was 
 the greatest virtue in Hezekiah. Pf/le. 
 
 23. Aow therefore, — give pledges to mii lord] These seem to 
 be words of high contempt, and undervaluing of Hezekiah's 
 power. He appears to challenge him to come out and fight 
 with his master, saying, that if lie would '• give pledges," or se- 
 curity so to use tliem, he would give him two thous;ind horses, 
 provided he was able to find the same number of men for them. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The interposition of Providence in the government of the Is- 
 raelites is at all times remarkable. During the period which 
 elapsed between the division of the kingdom, and the captivity of 
 Judah, we find that God had not utterly forsaken His people, but 
 oftentimes gave them very signal deliverances. But it is to be 
 observed, that these deliverances were not effected by their great 
 forces, but by the interposition of God, when their condition was 
 such, that they lost all hope in their own strength, and were will- 
 ing to rely on God. Thus was Hezekiah delivered at a time 
 when he was so weak, that the Assyrians insolently offered hini 
 
 ST 
 
 II pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, ^,^"^1%^ 
 and I will deliver thee two thousand ai,out7io. 
 horses, if thou be able on thy part to set n Or, 
 riders upon them. A«/nff«. 
 
 24- How then wilt thou turn away the 
 face of one captain of the least of my mas- 
 ter's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt 
 for chariots and for horsemen ? 
 
 25 Am I now come up without the Lord 
 against this place to destroy it? The Lord 
 said to me, Go up against this land, and 
 destroy it. 
 
 26 Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 
 and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rab-shakeh, 
 Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the 
 Syrian language j for we understand it : 
 and talk not with us in the Jews' language 
 in the ears of the people that ai'e on the 
 wall. 
 
 27 But Rab-shakeh said unto them. Hath 
 my master sent me to thy master, and to 
 thee, to speak these words ? hath he not 
 se7it me to the men which sit on the wall, 
 that they may eat their own dung, and t Hcb. 
 drink t their own piss with you ? their feJi? 
 
 " two thousand horses, if he on his part were able to set riders 
 upon them." The case will generally be found the same in other 
 instances. Bp. Sherlock. 
 
 25. Am I now come up wilhoitt tlie Lord] Rab-shakeh, whether 
 a Jew or not, had le;u-nt the name of their God, and pretended 
 his master had come up with a commission from Him. Bp. 
 Patrick. He affirms that " the Lord" was clearly on the side of 
 the Assyrians, from His having already delivered the kingdom of 
 Israel into their power, and subjecteti so many nations around to 
 the victorious h.md of Sennacherib. Pt)le. How fearful a word 
 was this to Htzckiah ! If Kab-shakeh could have been beheved, 
 Jerusalem must soon have fallen : for how could it stand out, no 
 less against God than men } Even tlius does the great enemy of 
 mankind : if he can but dishearten the soul from a dependence 
 on the God of mercies, the victory is his. Lewd miscreants care 
 not how they belie God for their own purposes. Bp. Hall. 
 
 He seems to speak of " the Lord," or Jehovah, as an inferiour 
 god, or the god of a particular country. He had before said, 
 ver. 22, that He would not assist them if He eould, because He- 
 zekiah had provoked Him ; and he afterwards insinuates, ver. S3, 
 &c. that He could not preserve them if He would, for that none 
 of the gods of the nations had been able to deliver their vo- 
 taries out of his master's hand. Again, Hezekiah accuses liim 
 of speaking blasphemy, which charge would have been ill-found- 
 ed, if he had merely asserted that "he was not come up against 
 the land, without " the GckI of the Jews ;' but was sufficiently 
 justified, on his implying that He whom Hezekiah called "the 
 Lord," was not the Supreme Deity, but only a god of a nation, 
 such a god as the gods of Hamath, Arpad, &c. which were bo 
 gods. Shuckford. 
 
 26. Then said Eliakim &c.] Hezekiah's commissioners, per- 
 ceiving, or at least suspecting, that these ranting expressions might 
 frighten the people that stood within hearing, desired Rab-shakeh 
 to speak in his own hmguage, since he was not sent to treat with 
 the jwpulace, but with the king and the court, who understood 
 well the Syrian tongue. P^le. The Syrian tongue was that which 
 we now call the Chaldee. Loirlh. 
 
 27. — that they may eat &c.] To make them know, that he 
 would reduce tliem to the greatest extremities, if they did not 
 submit to him. Bp. Patrick.
 
 RaUUakeh soliciteth the people to rn'ol,. II. KINGS. Hezelcialt mousing sendeth to Isaiah. 
 
 men Ueu 
 I Or, pil. 
 
 luferr 08 Then Rali-shakeh stood and cried 
 CJL'u^'io'" witli a loud ^ nice in the Je^vs' langnage, 
 and spake, saying, Hear the word ot the 
 great king, the king of Assyria : 
 
 29 Tluis saith the king. Let not Heze- 
 kiah decei\ e you : for he shall not be able 
 to deliver you out of his hand : 
 
 30 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust 
 in the Lord, saying. The Lord will surely 
 deliver us, and this city shall not be de- 
 livered into the hand of the king of 
 Assyria. 
 
 31 Hearken not to Hezekiah : for thus 
 I Or, &** saith the king of Assyria, II t Make an 
 m^favw. (irrreement with me by a present, and come 
 ''i^^mtk out to me, and then eat ye every man of 
 
 his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, 
 and drink yc every one the waters of his 
 ll cistern : 
 
 8<2 Until I come and take you away to a 
 land like your own land, a land of corn 
 and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a 
 land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may 
 live, and not die: and hearken not unto 
 Hezekiah, when Jie i| persuadeth you, say- 
 ing. The Lord will deliver us. 
 
 33 Hath any of the gods of the nations 
 delivered at all his land out of the hand of 
 the king of Assyria? 
 
 34 Where are the gods of Hamath, and 
 of Arpad ? where are the gods of Sephar- 
 vaim, Hena, and Ivah ? have they deliver- 
 ed Samaria out of mine hand ? 
 
 35 Who are they among all the gods of 
 the countries, that have delivered their 
 country out of mine hand, that the Lord 
 should deliver Jerusalem out of mine 
 hand ? 
 
 36 But the people held their peace, and 
 answered him not a word : for the king's 
 
 J Or. 
 
 itteiifth 
 
 saying. Answer him 
 
 Before 
 C H R I ST 
 about 710. 
 
 3'2. Vntil I conie and lake t/ou anaij &c.] He promises, that, if 
 they would seek the favour of the king of Assyria, by making him 
 a present, ami dehvering themselves up to his mercy, they should 
 be transported to a better country than that to which the Israelites 
 had been transported; and that, in the mean time, every one 
 •hould enjoy liis own possessions. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 33. Hath any of the pods of the nations &c.] He argues very 
 
 ponularly on the supposition "that the God of Israel, the great God 
 
 of heaven and earth, was like the idols of other nations, who were 
 
 8iI)>posed to preside over some one country or city. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 37- — n-illi their clotlies rent,'] To express their abhorrence at 
 
 these audacious insults on their Gotl and their religion. Piflc. 
 
 The insolent blasphemies of Sennacherib hastened his ruin, and 
 
 induced God to destroy him. God is jealous of His glory, and 
 
 revenges the insults offered to Him. \Vlion therefore we meet, 
 
 even among Christians, with impious wretches who openly insult 
 
 the Deity, we may be assured He will not fail to rebuke their 
 
 boldness, and to inflict severe punishment upon them. Ostervaid. 
 
 Chap. XIX. This chapter is to be compared with 2 Chron. 
 .xxxii. and with Isai. xxwii. 21, to the end. 
 
 commandment was, 
 
 37 Then came Eliakim the son of Hil- 
 kiah, which rvas over the houshold, and 
 Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of 
 Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with 
 their clotlies rent, and told him the words 
 of llab-shakeh. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 1 Hezekiah mourning sendeth to Isuiak to praji for than. 
 6 Ltaiah comfortith them. 8 Sennacherih, going to 
 encounter Tirhakah, sendeth a blasphemous letter to 
 Hezekiah. It Hezekiah' s pratfer. 20 Isaiah's pro- 
 pheci/ of the pride and destruction of Sennacherib, and 
 the good of Zion. 35 An angel slaycth the Assyrians. 
 JC Sennacherib is slain at Nineveh by liis own sons. 
 
 AND " it came to pass, when king He- 'isai^T.i. 
 zekiah heard it, that he rent his 
 clothes, and covered himself with sack- 
 cloth, and went into the house of the 
 Lord. 
 
 2 And he sent Eliakim, which ivas over 
 the houshold, and Shebna the scribe, and 
 the elders of the priests, covered with 
 sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son 
 of Amoz. 
 
 3 And they said unto him. Thus saith 
 Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, 
 and of rebuke, and || blasphemy : for the ii Or, 
 children are come to the birth, and there is '"■'"'"'"<'"'■ 
 not strength to bring forth. 
 
 4 It may be the Lord thy God will hear 
 all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the 
 king of Assyria his master hath sent to 
 reproach the living God ; and will reprove 
 the words which the Lord thy God hath 
 heard : wherefore lift up thi/ prayer for the 
 remnant that are t left. fH"'' 
 
 .5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came •^'""' 
 to Isaiah. 
 
 Ver. S. — for the children arc come to the birth, &c.]] He thus 
 represents the present danger of perishing in which they were, 
 unless speedily relieved, to be like that of a woman who, when 
 her child was come to the birth, was so spent that she had not 
 strength to bring forth. Bp. Patrick. The meaning is. It is with 
 us as with a woman in travail, who hath not strength to bring 
 forth her birth ; extreme calamity hath seized upon us, from which 
 we have no power to deliver ourselves. Bp. Hall. It is a pro- 
 verbial expression probably, denoting present death, or tlie ex- 
 tremity of danger. Lowth. 
 
 4. It may be the Lord thy God will hear Scc^j As if they had 
 said. We have no confidence in ourselves ; our arms or our walls 
 are too weak to secure us, and our fears are increased by the con- 
 sciousness of our guilt ; but, though our strength be small, and 
 our sins cry aloud for vengeance, why should the honour of God 
 be vilified and blasphemed ? If, therefore, not for our sakes, yet 
 for His own, it may be the Lord will avenge the insolent and pro- 
 fane message of the Assyn-iaii king, which God hath surely heard, 
 but which we tremble to repeat. Woaan. 
 
 lift up thy prayer for the remntnf] That Judah might not 
 
 be carried into captivity, as Israel had been.
 
 Isaiah returneth an answer of comfort. CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Hezekiah's prayer. 
 
 710. 
 
 CH rTst ^ ^ ^^^ " Isaiah said unto them, Thus 
 about 710. shall ye say to your master, TIuis saith the 
 " Luke 3. Lord, Be not afraid of the words which 
 £w'* thou hast heard, with which the servants 
 
 of the king of Assyria have blasphemed 
 
 me. 
 
 7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, 
 and he shall hear a rumour, and shall re- 
 turn to his own land ; and I will cause him 
 to fall by the sword in his own land. 
 
 8 ^ So Rab-shakeh returned, and found 
 the king of Assyria warring against Lib- 
 nah : for he had heard that he was departed 
 from Lachish. 
 
 9 And when he heard say of Tirhakah 
 king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to 
 fight against thee: he sent messengers again 
 unto Hezekiah, saying, 
 
 10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah 
 king of Judah, saying. Let not thy God 
 in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, 
 Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the 
 hand of the king of Assyria. 
 
 11 Behold, thou hast heard what the 
 kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by 
 destroying them utterly : and shalt thou be 
 delivered ? 
 
 12 Have the gods of the nations deli- 
 vered them which my fathers have de- 
 stroyed ; as Gozan, and Haran, and Re- 
 zeph, and the children of Eden which rcere 
 in Thelasar? 
 
 13 Where is the king of Hamath, and 
 
 6. — Be not afraid Stc.'] How ready is the Lord to shew 
 mercy ! He had furnished His Prophet with an. immediate 
 reply to the king's humble and pious address. He calms their 
 fearS; He assures their hopes, He animates their courage, and 
 takes the cause into His own hands ; " I will send a blast &c." 
 H'ogan. 
 
 TT Behold, I mill send a blasQ A pestilential blast, which de- 
 stroyed his army in one night, ver. 35. " And he shall hear a 
 rumour." Perhaps, after that stroke, the report was renewed, that 
 Tirhakah (who is mentioned at \er. 9) was coming against him ; 
 which made him hasten away with the small remains of his army 
 to his own country. Bp. Patrick. " He shall hear a rimiour." A 
 panick fear shall fall upon him, and he shall be alarmed with an 
 iincertain report that some enemy designs to fall upon hun, hav- 
 ing heard that his army is weakened with so great a loss as that 
 of 185,000 men. Loirt/i. 
 
 g. — king of Ethiopia,'^ Rather, king of the Cushites, in Ara- 
 bia. Slack/iotise. See the notes on Numbers xii. 1. 
 
 14. — and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, &c.] 
 Nothing composes the mind under all its trials like that great ex- 
 pedient of opening our grief to Him, who is able to help us, and 
 hath promised never to leave or forsake us. Great, and instruc- 
 tive in the issue of it, is the example of the good king Heze- 
 kiali, who, when he had received that letter of defiance and blas- 
 phemy from the king of Assyria, went into the temple, and " spread 
 it before tiie Lord ;" and by his prayer obtained a signal deliver- 
 ance to himself and his people. We cannot even present ourselves 
 before God, without tliis good effect, that Me are thereby instantly 
 detached from the world which troubles us. We dare not, we 
 
 the king of Arpad, and the king of the ^'°" 
 city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah ? ^^no^^ 
 
 14 % And Hezekiah received the letter 
 of the hand of the messengers, and read it: 
 and Hezekiah went up into the house of 
 the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 
 
 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the 
 Lord, and said, O Lord' God of Israel, 
 which dwellest beticeen the cherubims, thou 
 art the God, even thou alone, of all the 
 kingdoms of the earth ; thou hast made 
 heaven and earth. 
 
 16 Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: 
 open, Lord, thine eyes, and see : and hear 
 the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent 
 him to reproach the living God. 
 
 17 Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assy- 
 ria have destroyed the nations and their 
 lands, 
 
 18 And have toast their gods into the tH*. 
 fire : for they were no gods, but the work *'""' 
 of men's hands, wood and stone : therefore 
 they have destroyed them. 
 
 19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I 
 beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, 
 that all the kingdoms of the earth may 
 know that thou art the Lord God, even 
 thou only. 
 
 20 ^ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent 
 to Hezekiah, saying. Thus saith the Lord 
 God of Israel, That which thou hast pray- 
 ed to me against Sennacherib king of As- 
 syria I have heard. 
 
 cannot, give way to the weaknesses of our nature while His eye is 
 upon us to restrain us. Jones of Nai/land. 
 
 spread it before the Lord.'] Spread it before the sanctu- 
 ary, where the i-ymbol of God's presence resided. Bp. Patrick. 
 Hezekiah had before received an assurance of protection against 
 Sennacherib ; yet here we find he does not slight these repeated 
 threatenings, upon a presumption of his interest with God; but, 
 with a becoming modestj', and a humble fear, he lays the affair 
 again before God, and betakes himself to praj'er. This teaches 
 us in every emergency, however promising be our prospect of suc- 
 cess, not to be too secure, or too presuming; much less to ;rust to 
 any former acts of piety or devotion ; but still to commit all to 
 God by humble prayer. Wogan. 
 
 15. — thou art the God — of all the kingdoms of the earth ;] He 
 here directly opposes tlie blasphemous opinion of the Assyrians 
 before mentioned, (ch. xvii. 27 ; xviii. 35,) that the God of Israel 
 was only the particular Lord of that country, not the Creator and 
 Sovereign of the whole world. B]>. Patrick. 
 
 20. — That which thou hast prayed — / have heard."] If God 
 before was ready to give the messengers of Hezekiah, ver. 6, an 
 immediate answer by His Prophet, here He shews still greater 
 forwardness to hear and relieve His faithful servant. The king is 
 now favoured with an answer to his prayer ; he sends not to the 
 Prophet, but the Prophet sends to him. How great is the effect 
 of pious and repeated prayer ! how sweet the influence of Divine 
 mercy ! God verifies His attributes by relieving His people that 
 pray to Him ; and by a speedy return to their prayers, not only 
 confirms their faith, but improves it into a full assurance of His 
 favour and goodness. Wogan.
 
 Isaiah's prophecy concerning H- KING S. 
 
 21 TJiis is the word that the Lord hath 
 
 the destruction of Sennacherib, 
 
 }h(on _. _ _ 
 
 *^'m" spo'ken" concerning him ; The virgin thi 
 daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and 
 laughed thee to scorn ; the daughter of Je- 
 rusalem hath shaken her head at thee. 
 
 *>^Z Whom liast thou rei)roached and 
 blasphemed ? and against whom hast thou 
 exalted thij voice, and lifted up thine eyes 
 on high? Vrc/J against the Holy One of Is- 
 rael. 
 t H,b By 28 t By thy messengers thou hast re- 
 McAfln./^^. pi.^j.j^.l,j,j|'(l,g "LoRu, and hast said, With 
 the multitude of my chariots I am come up 
 to the height of tlie mountains, to the sides 
 of Lebanon, and will cut down t the tall 
 cedar trees thereof, and tiie choice fir trees 
 thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings 
 of his borders, and into II the forest of his 
 Carmel. 
 
 iJl- 1 have digged and drunk strange wa- 
 ters, and with the sole of my feet have 
 
 t iifti. 
 
 t>ie latlneis, 
 *c. 
 
 I Or. 
 Ihtftrett 
 *na kit 
 
 fruUfut 
 
 Jitld. 
 
 •i\. — The virgin the dnuahter of Zion &c.] By " the daiigJitfr 
 of Zion" he means the people that inhabited tlie upper part of tlie 
 city when- the king's jialace stood ; and by " the daughter of Je- 
 rusalem," tlie people of the lower city, and all that were not com- 
 prehended under the name of Zion. He calls the daughter of 
 Zion " u virgin, " because this fortress, since the conquest of it by 
 David, had remained inviolable, and had not been Uiken by any 
 enemy. Bp. Pnirick. 
 
 23. — li'itk the muUilude of my chariots &c.] This is an ad- 
 mirable description of the Ijo-T-stings of a king, puffed up with 
 great success, and is as much as if he had said, " What place is 
 there into whicli [ cannot make my way ; since I have gone, even 
 in my chariots, to the tops of high mountains? Who shall hinder 
 me from tutting down the tallest cedars and firs of Lebanon, 
 marching to the extreme borders of the land, and climbing up to 
 the top of Carmel, (or entering into all the fruitful places of the 
 countn,',) by making an entire conquest of it.'" f(jr Carmel often 
 signifies not the mountain of that name, but a fruitful field, in the 
 language of this Prophet; see Isai. x. 18; xvi. 10. Bp. Patrick. 
 Cities in the prophetical writings are sometimes metaphoric;Jly 
 represented by woods or forests, and the several ranks of inha- 
 bitants by tlie taller and lesser tiees which grow there ; see Isai. 
 xxxii. 19; X. 34. And this sense perhaps best agrees witli the. 
 scope of this passage, which is, to set forth the proud brags of the 
 Assyrian in a figure of pompous rhetorick, and to represent him 
 as tiireatening to take mo«int Zion and the capital city Jerusalem, 
 and destroy their principal inhabitants. iMwtli. 
 
 / trill enter into the lotlgings of his l/orders,'^ At Isai. xxxvii. 
 
 24, the words arc, " I will enter into the height of his border;' I 
 will take possession of die princip;d parts of his dominions: such 
 were Lebanon and Carmel esteemed. Ixmlh. 
 
 -the fore.it of hi.s Cannd.'] The woml or forest, which is " in 
 
 the midst of Carmel," Micali vii. 14, and which is there spoken 
 of as containing the choicest pastures of Camjel. In the margin 
 Carmel is translated " fruitful field," because, as Caimel w as a place 
 noted for great fertility, the word is sometimes taken to si"nifv 
 generally " a fruitfil field." Lonih. " 
 
 24. 1 have digged &c.] He boasts that he had marched through 
 k^"^' ^^''""^ '' ^'''' expected that his army would perish wftli 
 thirst. .111(1 yet even there he had digged and found w.iter ; imply- 
 ing that he had overcome dilBculties seemingly insuperable 
 «ul never failed in executing any design he had undertaken! 
 
 __. ,riih tlie sole of m,, feel have I dried up Scc.l Meaning, that 
 he had gone dry shod with Itis whole army over great rivers. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHHIST 
 
 710. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 fenced. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Hast thou 
 not heard 
 how / have 
 made it Lmg 
 
 • agoy and 
 
 Jormed it (\f 
 ancient 
 times ? 
 should I 
 now hring 
 it to he laid 
 waste J and 
 
 Jcnced cities 
 to I)C ruin- 
 ous heajis ? 
 t Hcb. 
 short of 
 hand. 
 
 II O""' 
 sitting. 
 
 I dried up all the rivers of II besieged 
 places. 
 
 !2J II Hast thou not heard long ago how 
 I have ilone it, and of ancient times that I 
 have formed it ? now have I brought it to 
 pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste 
 fenced cities into ruinous heaps. 
 
 yliy Therefore their inhabitants were tof 
 small power, they were dismayed and con- 
 founded ; they were as the grass of the 
 field, and as the green herb, as the grass on 
 the house tops, and as corn blasted before 
 it be grown up. 
 
 2/ But I know thy II abode, and thy go- 
 ing out, and thy coming in, and thy rage 
 against me. 
 
 28 Because thy rage against me and thy 
 tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore 
 I will put my hook in thy nose, and my 
 bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back 
 by the way by which thou earnest. 
 
 whose streams he had turned, and so had taken the strongest 
 fortresses. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 He seems to boast, that he could as easily turn the waters of 
 great ri\'ers, and cause their channels to become dry, as a gar- 
 dener stops water from flowing any longer in by the sole of his 
 foot. Thus the whole verse may be an allusion to the method of 
 watering by rills, customary in the East. " I have digged and 
 drunk, and caused tny army to drink, out of new made rivers, 
 into which I have conducted the waters that used to flow else- 
 where, and have laid those old channels dry with the sole of my 
 foot, with as much ease as a gardener digs channels in his garden, 
 and, directing the waters of a cistern into a new cJiannel, stops up 
 with iiis foot th.it in which it before ran." In confirmation of this, 
 it is related by Thevenot, that this method of watering by rills is 
 •Still in use in those countries from w hich Sennacherib came, con- 
 tinued down no doubt from ancient time.s, as it is in Egypt. 
 Harmcr. See the note on Deut. xi. 10. " Strange waters" are 
 those brought from distant parts by pijies or conduits, or by canals 
 dug for the purpose. Sennacherib is represented as boasting of 
 his power, " I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the 
 sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places," 
 or rather " of ernbanknient :" the meaning of which I conceive to 
 be, " I have caused waters to be brought from afar in canals, which 
 I have digged for the supply of my army, which was so numerous 
 as to dry up in its passage even such large rivers, as requiretl a 
 dyke or embankment to guard against tlieir inundations." Dr. 
 Blaynexf. 
 
 25. Hast thou not heard Sic.~\ These ai'e the words of God, in 
 answer to tlie boasts of the proud Assyrian, in which He puts him 
 in mind that all his successes ought to be ascribed to Cod, that 
 His jM-ovidcnce overruled these events, and brought them to pass 
 in their appointed time, and made him the instrument of veiige- 
 .nnce upon such cities as deserved utter destruction, and weakened 
 the inhabitants so that they were unable to defend themselves. 
 Loivth. 
 
 27. — / know thfi abode, &c.] God informs him that none of 
 his designs were hid from His all-scting eye; that He perfectly 
 knew how much ill will he bore against His city and sanctuary; 
 and as the successes he had obtained were owing to Him, so He 
 could put a stop to them when He pleased. The phrase of going 
 out and coming in, is frequently used in Sci ipture for leading out 
 armies to war, and bringing them home again. Loivth. 
 
 28. — therefore I will put my hook Sec.'] I have thee as much in 
 My power as the fisherman can manage the fish, when he has put 
 a hook into his jaws, (see Job xli. 2,) and as the rider can curb
 
 find Ike good qfZion. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 A7i angel slayeth the Assyrians. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 710. 
 
 fHel). 
 
 the escaping 
 <rf the hnuie 
 of Judah 
 thai re- 
 tnaineth. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 the etcap- 
 ing. 
 
 29 And this shall be a sign unto thee. Ye 
 shall eat this year such things as grow of 
 themselves, and in the second year that 
 which springeth of the same; and in the 
 third year sow ye, and reap, and plant 
 vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof. 
 
 30 And t the remnant that is escaped 
 of the house of Judah shall yet again 
 take root downward, and bear fruit up- 
 ward. 
 
 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a 
 remnant, and t they that escape out of 
 mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts 
 shall do this. 
 
 32 Therefore thus saith the Lord con- 
 cerning the king of Assyria, He shall not 
 come into this city, nor shoot an arrow 
 there, nor come before it with shield, nor 
 cast a bank against it. 
 
 33 By the way that he came, by the 
 
 the horse and turn him as he pleases, when the bit is in his mouth. 
 Lotvtk. 
 
 29> And this shall he a sign unlo thee^ The Prophet proceeds 
 to assure the king, that, although the Assyrian army had greatly 
 wasted his country and destroyed the fruits of it; and though the 
 ensuing year was the sabbatical year, in which they were neither 
 to sow nor reap, but to live on the natural produce of the ground; 
 yet they should have so good a self-sown crop, as to supply them 
 till they should sow and reap again with peace and plenty. Pyle. 
 How abundant is God's mercy to them that fear Him ! Here He 
 not only fights for His ancient people, and destroys their enemies, 
 but confirms His promise of mercy by another extraordinary mer- 
 cy : not only saves them from the misery of death, or captivity, but 
 also from famine and want; restoring the harvest, which the As- 
 syrian invasion had intercepted, and giving them two years' crop 
 for the loss of one; as a sign and a pledge of His future protection 
 and favour. Wogan. 
 
 30. — shall yet again take root downward, &c.] Signifying, that 
 the house of judah should have firm possession of their own 
 country, and therein increase and multiply and flourish exceed- 
 ingly. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 31. — ike zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.'^ His regard 
 for His own honour, and His great love to His people, shall do 
 these wonders; to vindicate His glory from that contempt which 
 was cast upon it by Sennacherib. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 32. — thus sailk the Lord —, He shall not come Sec."] Impotent 
 men, what are we in the hands of the Almighty.-' We purpose. He 
 overrules; we talk of great matters, and think we can perform 
 wonders ; He blasts our projects, and they vanish with ourselves. 
 Bp. HaU. 
 
 35. — the angel of the Lord went out, and smote"] How speedy 
 an execution was this, and how miraculous! No human arm shall 
 have the glory of this victory. It was God that was defied by this 
 presmnptuous Assyrian, it is Gotl that shall right His own wrongs. 
 Bp. Hall. Since it is no where expressed in Scripture in what 
 manner this Assyrian army was destroyed, some have tliought it 
 was done by a plague, others by thunder and lightning, others by 
 fire from heaven, others by a scorching wind, others by encoun- 
 tering each other in the obscurity of the night; but, by whatsoever 
 means the defeat was effected, we have the authority of Scripture 
 for saying, that it was done by the agency of a destroying angel. 
 Calmel. The destruction of the army was probably effected by 
 bringing on them the hot wind which is frequent in those parts, 
 and which often, when it falls on a multitude, destroys vast num- 
 bers in a moment, as frequently occurs to those great caravans of 
 Mahometans who go on annual pilgrimages to Mecca. The words 
 Vol. I. 
 
 same shall he return, and shall not come (.Jl^°"y 
 into this city, saith the Lord. tio. 
 
 S-i For I will defend this cit}, to save 
 it, for mine own sake, and for my servant 
 David's sake. 
 
 35 ^ And "it came to pass that night, 1.^^-f/*^- 
 that the angel of the Lord went out, and ecci'"' 4&' 
 smote in the camp of the Assyrians an ^i- 
 hundred fourscore and five thousand: and 41! '"^' 
 when they arose early in the morning, be- 'f ^^^'^- *• 
 hold, they were all dead corpses. 
 
 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria de- 
 parted, and went and returned, and dwelt 
 at Nineveh. 
 
 37 And it came to pass, as he was wor- 
 shipping in the house of Nisroch his god, 
 that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons 
 smote him with the sword: and they es- 
 caped into the land of t Armenia. And t Heb. 
 Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 70S. 
 
 jjrarat. 
 
 of Isaiah, ver. 7, which threatened Sennacherib with a blast, to 
 be sent upon his army by God, seems to denote that tliis was the 
 method of their destruction. Dean Pridcaua:. 
 
 The instrument of vengeance was probably the blast, or hot pes- 
 tilential south wind, blowing from the deserts of Libya, called the 
 Samum, or Simoom, which is tlius described by Mr. Bruce: 
 
 " This hot wind is called by the Arabs, Samum or Simoom. It 
 is generally preceded by an extreme redness in the aii', and usu- 
 ally blows from the S. E, or from the S, a little to the ea.st. It ap- 
 peared in the form of a haze, in colour like the purple part of a 
 rainbow, but not so compressed, or tliick: it was a kind of blush 
 upon the air. The guide warned the company upon its approach 
 to fall upon their faces, with their mouths close to tlie ground, 
 and to hold their breath as long as they could, to avoid inhaling 
 the outward air. It moved very rapidly, about twenty yards in 
 breadth, and about twelve feet liigh from the ground; so that, 
 says Bruce, I had scarcely time to turn about, and fall upon the 
 earth with my head to the northwai-d, when I felt the heat of 
 its current plainly upon my face. We all fell upon our faces, 
 until the Simoom passed on with a gentle ruffling wind. When 
 the meteor or purple Iiaze had passed, it was succeeded by a 
 light air, which still blew so hot as to threaten suflbcation, which 
 sometimes lasted tliree hours, and left the company totally ener- 
 vated and exhausted, labouring under astlunatick sensations, 
 weakness of stomach, and violent headaches, from imbibing tlic 
 poisonous vapour." It is remarkable that the blast which de- 
 stroyed the Assyrians happened at night; whereas the Simoom 
 usually blows in the daytime, and mostly about noon, being 
 raised by the intense heat of the sun. Dr. Hales. 
 
 and when they arose &c.] That is, when they wIjo sur- 
 vived this dreadful slaughter arose " in the morning," for all were 
 not slain, a small number were reserved to be the witnesses of a 
 judgment so tei-rible, of a power so invincible, a power so supe- 
 riour to Sennacherib, who had blasphemed the tnie Go<) ; a power 
 so mighty to save the good Hezekiah, who had tnistcd in Him. 
 The prodigious number of the slain were so many monuments of 
 mercy to His people, of justice to His enemies, of His eternal 
 power and Godheail to both. The few that remained were not 
 only eyewitnesses of this great victory ©f the true Ciod, and the 
 triumph of His people, but were sent back into tlieir own land, 
 to proclaim and preach it there. JVogan. 
 
 37. — smote him with the sword:] It appears from Tobit i. 18, 
 that Sennacherib, inflamed with rage for his loss and disappoint- 
 ment, grew cruel and tyrannical after his return, especially towai-d» 
 the Israelites, many of whom he caused every day to be slain, and 
 cast into tlie streets; and that it was his uitolerable cruelty which 
 
 4 Z
 
 Hezekiah hath his li/i' lengthened. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 2^he sun goeth backward for a sign. 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 71T 
 • 2 Chron. 
 32. S4. 
 U 38. 1. 
 
 t Ileb. 
 Gift charge 
 cvncenung 
 iMiu hnut. 
 
 fHcb. 
 with u p'tat 
 uttping. 
 I Or, 
 tily. 
 
 1 Hezekiah, havim received a vussage of death. Ay 
 pr„i/fr hiith his life lengthened. 8 The sun goeth ten 
 degrees backward/or a sign of that promise. 12 Be- 
 rodach-hnlndnn sending to visit Hezekiah, because of 
 the n-onder, hath notice of hit treasures. 1 4 Isaiah 
 understanding thereof forctellelh the Babylonian cap. 
 livity. 20 manasscli succcedelk Hezekiah. 
 
 IN * those days was Hezekiah sick unto 
 death. And the prophet Isaiah the son 
 of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, 
 Thus saith the Lord, t Set thine house in 
 order; for thou shalt die, and not live. 
 
 '2 Then he turned his face to the wall, 
 and prayed unto the Lord, saying, 
 
 3 I beseech thee, O Lord, remember 
 now how I have walked before thee in 
 truth and with a perfect heart, and have 
 done that which is good in thy sight. And 
 Hezekiah wept t sore. 
 
 4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was 
 gone out into the middle || court, that the 
 word of the Lord came to him, saying, 
 
 5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the 
 captain of my people. Thus saith the Lord, 
 
 at last made his own family conspire against him. They were 
 his t«-o eldest sons who slew him, and fled in consequence into 
 Armenia; so that Esarhaddon, his third son, reigned in his stead. 
 Dean Prideau.r. 
 
 Such wa.s the tnigical end of a king who had prospered to his 
 own ruin ; so intoxicatetl with his own success, and that of his 
 ancestor-;, as to fancy that all the powers of heaven and earth were 
 chained to his chariot wheels. Let every proud insolent blas- 
 jihcming wretch, who has used his mouth to pour out horrid 
 i)la.sphcmies against Heaven, look upon Sennacherib, and learn to 
 humble himself with the lowliest penitence and meekness before 
 that omnipotent Being, who is thus able to abase the loftiest of 
 the sons of men that shall presume to exalt, and magnify them- 
 selves against Him. God has declared in a most emphatical 
 manner, that, of all sorts of sinners. He beholds the proud with 
 peculiar indignation and aversion. And such proud men are all 
 they who profanely curse and swear, and treat the Deity and sa- 
 cre<l things with irreverent language. Such proud men are they 
 who, being often reproved, harden their hearts, hear the Divine 
 threatenings without receiving due impressions from them, reject 
 the laws of God to follow their owrn lusts, and do that which is 
 good in their own eyes. Such proud men are they who, being 
 considerable in this world, demean themselves as if they were 
 above the worship of God, and endeavour to persuade or ten-ify 
 other* to depart from ?ome duty of piety or virtue out of respect 
 to them; and so to please them rather than God. Such proud 
 men are they who depend, in any circumstances, on their arms, 
 their numbers, their wealth, their skill, or any creatiu-e, more than 
 their Creator, and are not careful to see that their undertakings 
 be pleasing to God, and to engage His assistance and blessing, as 
 their mam and first support. Let such look upon Sennacherib, 
 and learn to fear God. For they are in the same way of destruc- 
 tion with him: and, thmigh it may not overtake them in this 
 world It is rescr\ed for them in the next: for God beholdeth the 
 
 proud afar off; He will never suffer them to dwell in His presence. 
 
 - C* 
 
 Chap. XX. Tliis chapter is to be compared with 2 Chron. 
 ■XII. ■ii, &c. and Isaiah xxxviii. and xxxix. 
 
 nf hI' ^iJl ""^i ''"^^ "'"' Wf-f*'"/' *'c*i Though this sickness 
 of Hciekiah is thus placed after the defeat and death of Senna- 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 713. 
 
 wtx 
 V 
 
 the God of David thy father, I have heard 
 thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, 
 I will heal thee: on the third day thou 
 shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. 
 
 6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen 
 years; and I will deliver thee and this city 
 out of the hand of the king of Assyria; 
 and I will defend this city for mine own 
 sake, and for my servant David's sake. 
 
 7 And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. 
 And they took and laid it on the boil, and 
 he recovered. 
 
 8 % And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, 
 What shall he the sign that the Lord will 
 heal me, and that I shall go up into the 
 house of the Lord the third day ? 
 
 9 And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou 
 have of the Lord, that the Lord will do 
 the thing that he hath spoken: shall the 
 shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back 
 ten degrees? 
 
 10 And Heeekiah answered. It is a light 
 thing for the shadow to go down ten de- 
 grees: nay, but let the shadow return 
 backward ten degrees. 
 
 cherib, yet it plainly happened before that time; for the promise 
 is made at ver. 6, that Jerusalem should be delivered out of the 
 hands of the king of Assyria. It probably happened, indeed, in 
 the very same year; and the saa-ed writer deferred the account 
 of it in order that he might give the history of Sennacherib in one 
 continued view. Cnlmet. 
 
 2. — turned his face to the wall,'] The beds of the Hebrews 
 were placed with their sides against the wall of the chamber; 
 which illustrates this expression of Hezekiah's turning his face to 
 the wall to pray. Fleury. 
 
 S. — And Hezekiah wept .mre.] Hezekiah might be sufficiently 
 excused for his excessive grief on this occasion, from considering 
 how natural to man is the love of Ufe, and how deeply implanted 
 in our frame and constitution is the fear of death. But we should 
 further reflect, that the denunciation igainst him, " thou shalt 
 die," was not absolute and irreversible; it implied a tacit con- 
 dition that, provided he duly humbled himself and repented, the 
 time of his death would be deferred. Stackhouse. 
 
 The best of men cannot strip himself of some flesh; and, while 
 nature has an undeniable share in him, he cannot but retain some 
 sense of the sweetness of life, of the horrours of dissolution. Both 
 these were in Hezekiah, but neither of them could transport him 
 to such excess of gi-ief: they were higher feelings which swayed 
 so holy a prince; a tender care of the glory of God, a strong pity 
 for the church of God. Bp. Hall. 
 
 4. — into the middle court,'] Either the middle court of the 
 king's house, or the middle of the city, as in the margin: it is not 
 material which sense is taken. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — And they took and laid it on the boil,] Whatever may 
 have been Hezekiah's disorder, and whatever the quality of the 
 medicine applied, it is plain there was special Divine interposition 
 in the whole affair, both from the speediness of the cure, and the 
 nature of the sign which God gave Hezekiah, in order to convince 
 him of it. Stackhouse. 
 
 and he recovered.] In the speedy healing of Hezekiah, 
 
 and the miracles wrought by God in his behalf, we see the efficacy 
 of the prayers of good men, to procure the mercies of God and 
 revoke His threatenings. We likewise see how God keeps in 
 His own hand the lives of all men, and prolongs or shortens them 
 as He pleases. Ostervald.
 
 Berodach-baladan sendeth to Hezekiah. CHAP. XX. 
 
 The Babylonian captivity foretold. 
 
 Before 
 CHEIST 
 
 713. 
 * Is. 33. 8. 
 Eccl"' 48. 
 23. 
 
 t Heb. 
 degrees, 
 
 712. 
 « Is. 39. 1. 
 
 II Or. 
 spicery- 
 
 B Or, 
 
 jeweh. 
 fHcb. 
 vessels. 
 
 11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto 
 the Lord ; and " he brought the shadow 
 ten degrees backward, by which it had 
 gone down in the t dial of Ahaz. 
 
 12 ^ " At that time Berodach-baladan, 
 the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent 
 letters and a present unto Hezekiah : for 
 he had heard that Hezekiah had been 
 sick. 
 
 13 And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, 
 and shewed them all the house of his || pre- 
 cious things, the silver, and the gold, and 
 the spices, and the precious ointment, and 
 all the house of his lit armour, and all that 
 was found in his treasures : there was no- 
 thing in his house, nor in all his dominion, 
 that Hezekiah shewed them not. 
 
 14 % Then came Isaiah the prophet 
 unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, 
 What said these men? and from whence 
 came they unto thee ? And Hezekiah said, 
 They are come from a far country, eve7i 
 from Babylon. 
 
 15 And he said. What have they seen in 
 thine house ? And Hezekiah answered. All 
 tJie things that are in mine house have they 
 
 11. — ten degrees backward,'^ Ten ?neas«rej of some size; hours 
 or half hours, or, as some have thought, quarters of an hour. Bp. 
 Patrick. We cannot be certain what portion of time is meant by 
 these degrees ; for the division of the day into hours seems not 
 to have been so ancient. Lotvtk. It is as impossible to explain 
 this miracle on any known principles of astronomy and natural 
 philosophy, as the standing still of the sun and moon in Joshua's 
 time. Dr. Hales. See notes on Josh. x. 12. 
 
 in the dial of Aliaz.'] Probably a dial in Jerusalem, then 
 
 well known, which was called by the name of Ahaz. Bp. Hall. 
 It lias been the subject of much debate of what nature this sun- 
 dial of Ahaz was, and how far the knowledg« of astronom)' then 
 subsisting could have led to the construction of a regular sundial. 
 The word in Hebrew signifies properly steps or stairs ; and many 
 have supposed that it was a kind of ascent to the gate of the 
 palace, marked at proper distances with figures, shewing the 
 division of the day, rather than a regular piece of dial work. 
 Univ. Hist. 
 
 12. — sent letters and a present~\ This message seems to have 
 been sent principally for two reasons : first, to inquire about the 
 mii-acle of the sun's shadow going backward on the dial ; for the 
 Chaldeans, being above all other nations given to the study of as- 
 tronomy, were naturally very curious in their inquiries into such 
 matters : and, second, to enter into an alliance with him against 
 Sennacherib, whose growing power was feared with good reason 
 by the Babylonians, as well as the Jews. It appears to have been 
 for the purpose of making him set the greater value on his al- 
 liance, that Hezekiah shewed those ambassadours all the riches 
 of his house, his treasury, armour, and stores for war. Dean 
 Prideatix. 
 
 had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.'^ And most pro- 
 bably of the manner of his recovery, and of the miracle wrought 
 for the confirmation of it. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 15. — lhe>-e is nothing amonii my treasures'} This he did in " tlie 
 pride of his heart," mentionecl at 2 Chron. xxxii. 26, whicli occa- 
 sioned the Prophet to denounce against him the judgmt-iit which 
 follows. 
 
 O Hezekiah, what means this impotent ambition? Can thy 
 heart be so vain as to be thus lifted up with thy wealth ? Didst 
 
 1 Chap. 24. 
 13. & 25. 
 13. 
 
 seen : there is nothing among my trea- chrTst 
 sures that I have not shewed them. * 712. 
 
 16 And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear 
 the word of the Lord. 
 
 17 Behold, the days come, that all that 
 is in thine house, and that which thy fa- 
 thers have laid up in store unto this day, 
 " shall be carried into Babylon : nothing 
 shall be left, saith the Lord. 
 
 18 And of thy sons that shall issue from Jer.27.19. 
 thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they 
 
 take away ; and they shall be eunuchs in 
 the palace of the king of Babylon. 
 
 19 Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, 
 Good is the word of the Lord which thou 
 hast spoken. And he said, Wis it not good, || Or, 
 
 if peace and truth be in my days? no" bJpTace 
 
 20 IT And the rest of the acts of Heze- ""rf truth, 
 kiah, and all his might, and how he made about 710. 
 a pool, and a conduit, and brought water 
 
 into the city, are they not written in the 
 book of the chronicles of the kings of 
 Judah ? 
 
 21 And Hezekiah slept with his fa- about 69S. 
 thers : and Manasseh his son reigned in 
 
 his stead. 
 
 thou not see that heaven was at thy beck while thou wert hum- 
 bled ; and shall a little earthly di-oss have power over thy soul ? 
 Can the flattering applause of strangers let thee loose into a proud 
 joy, when the late message of Gods Prophet resolved thee into 
 tears ? O God, if thou keep us not, we are sure to perish. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 17. Behold, the days come, Sec.'] As Hezekiah, by this dis- 
 play of his wealtli, shewed much vanity and pride of mind, God 
 sends him this rebuking message, and at the same time a pro- 
 phecy of what the Babyloniims would afterwards do to his family, 
 in order to the humbling of that pride with which he was then 
 elated. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 18. — they .^hall he eunuchs Sic"] They shall wait upon the 
 king of Babylon as his servants. This was partly fulfilled in the 
 instance of Daniel and his companions, Dan. i. 1. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 19. — Good is the word of the Lord} Hezekiah received this 
 prediction with great humility and religious composure of mind ; 
 acknowledging the justice of the Divine judgment on so sinful a 
 nation, and owning he had reason to be thankfid that it was not 
 inflicted in his own time, and that he was favoured with the privi- 
 lege of living and dying in peace. Pyle. He acknowledges that 
 he had well deserved a speedy judgment on himself, in his own 
 person, although God in His mercy had not proceeded thus far 
 against Iiim, but, notwithstanding liis offence, had promised him 
 peace during his whole life, and a continuance of his wonted 
 grace. This rod was smart, yet good Hezekiah kisses it. His 
 own conscience sti-uck him no less than the mouth of the Pro- 
 phet : meekly therefore does he yield to tlie Divine correction. 
 He says to the Prophet, " Good is the word of the Lord which 
 thou hast spoken." Thou hast spoken the word, but from the 
 Lord. It is not thine, but His ; and being His, it must needs be, 
 like Himself, good : good because it is just, for I have deserved 
 more and worse ; good because it is merciful, for I suffer not ac- 
 cording to my deserts. Bp. Hall. 
 
 if peace and truth be in my days ?} At Isai. xxxix. 8, the 
 
 words are, " For there shall be peace and truth in my days. " He 
 esteemed it so great a favour that God delayed that punishment 
 which He might have inflicted presently, and prolonged for a con- 
 sideral)le time the tranquillitv of his kingdom. Lonih.
 
 Mmuisseh's uHcked reign 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 and great idolatry. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 •bout 69B 
 * .'Chion. 
 SS. I. 
 
 • Jer. 52. 
 
 34. 
 
 « J Sun. 7. 
 
 13. 
 
 ^.!"V<f • Manassfh; reign. 3 HU great idolatry 10 His 
 
 -•""■* '■"'■■ „.,VWn«.v causelh pwphcciex against Judah. 1 7 Amon 
 
 s^uceeileth him. 19 Anions wicked ragtu ^3 He 
 
 betng slain by his servants, and (hose murderers slain 
 
 hy llu- iKVjile, Josiah is made king. 
 
 MAN ASS EH * was twelve years old 
 when he began to reign, and reigned 
 fiHy and five years in Jerusalem. And his 
 mother's name xvas Hcphzi-bah. 
 
 i2 And he did l/cat n'/iich reas evil in the 
 sight of the Lord, after the abominations 
 of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out 
 before the children of Israel. 
 
 3 For he built up again the high places 
 » cii.p. 18. b which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; 
 *" and he reared up altars for Baal, and made 
 
 a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel ; and 
 worshipped all the host of heaven, and 
 served them. 
 
 4 And <= he built altars in the house of 
 the Lord, of which the Lord said, '' In Je- 
 rusalem will I put my name. 
 
 5 And he built altars for all the host of 
 heaven in the two courts of the house of 
 the Lord. 
 
 6 And he made his son pass through the 
 fire, and observed times, and used enchant- 
 ments, and dealt with familiar spirits and 
 wizards : he wrought much wickedness in 
 the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to 
 anger. 
 
 7 And he set a graven image of the 
 grove that he had made in the house, of 
 
 Chap. XXI. This chapter is to be compared with 2 Chron. xxxiii. 
 
 ^'er. 1 . Manasseh was twelve years old] As Manasseh was only 
 a minor of twelve years old when he canie to the throne, it was 
 prolwbly his misfortune to fall into the hands of guardians and 
 ministers who were ill affected to his father's reformation, and took 
 care to breed him up in the worst principles, as to religion and 
 government. Dean Prideatu:. 
 
 3. For he built up again the high places'] How dreadful are the 
 outrages of this wicked son of Hezekiah ! What liavock does he 
 make in the church of Ciod ! as if he had been bom to ruin reli- 
 gion ; as if his only happiness had been to tear in one day that 
 holy web which his father li.id been weaving nine and twenty 
 years. The zeal of Hezekiah in demolishing the high places had 
 nonouretl him above all his predecessors, and now the first act of 
 his son is to rebuild them. That mischief may be done in a day, 
 which many ages cannot redress. Bp. Hall. 
 
 4. — in the Lo-ise of the Lord,] In tile very sanctuary itself; 
 for the two courts of the Lord's house are mentioned in the next 
 verse. 
 
 9. — lo do more evil than did the nations] Thus under Ma- 
 nasseh lie wickedness of the Israelites grew to such a height, 
 that it exceeded all that had been done by the Canaanites, 
 whom God expelled to make room for these verv Israelites. Bn 
 Patrick. ' 
 
 10 — bif his servants the prophets,] The Prophets who arc sun- 
 poMtl to have bcf-n living in this king's reign, are Hosea, Joel, 
 ^a,ium, Habakkuk, and some say Obadiah ; and, who was the 
 greatest of all, Isaiah. Slackhouse. It is an anc-ient tradition 
 •inong the Jews, that die last of these Prophets suffered inartyr- 
 
 which the Lord said to David, and to chrTst 
 Solomon his son, ' In this house, and in about sss. 
 Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of ' i Ktngs 
 all tribes of Israel, vnll I put my name for 3] ;^.p* ^l 
 
 ever : "''■ 
 
 8 Neither will I make the feet of Israel 
 move any more out of the land which I 
 gave their fathers ; only if they will ob- 
 serve to do according to all that I have 
 commanded them, and according to all 
 the law that my servant Moses command- 
 ed them. 
 
 9 But they hearkened not : and Manas- 
 seh seduced them to do more evil than did 
 the nations whom the Lord destroyed be- 
 fore the children of Israel. 
 
 10 ^ And the Lord spake by his ser- 
 vants the prophets, saying, 
 
 1 1 ' Because Manasseh king of Judah ' ^*'- '^- '•• 
 hath done these abominations, and hath 
 
 done wickedly above all that the Amorites 
 did, which wtrre before him, and hath made 
 Judah also to sin with his idols : 
 
 12 Therefore thus saith the Lord God 
 of Israel, Behold, I aw bringing such evil 
 upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever 
 heareth of it, both ^ his ears shall tingle. ' 1 Sam. 5. 
 
 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem 
 the line of Samaria, and the plummet of 
 the house of Ahab : and I will wipe Jeru- 
 salem as a man wipeth a dish, t wiping it, t Heb. 
 
 J . . ., -J J r O ' he wipeth 
 
 and turning tt upside down. awitumeth 
 
 14 And I will forsake the remnant of jj "/"^' "'« 
 mine inheritance, and deliver them into 
 
 dom under this prince, by being cruelly sawn asunder: and, 
 whereas St. Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews, chap. xi. 37, 
 reckons among the torments undergone by the Prophets of old 
 times, that of being .sawn asunder, it has been generally thought 
 that he alludes to the death of Isaiah. Dean Prideaiix. 
 
 12. — both his cars shall tingle.] What ear can but tingle in- 
 deed at the mention of so dreadful a revenge.!" Can there be a 
 worse judgment than desolation, captivity, desertion, spoil and 
 torture of prevailing enemies ? However other cities and nations 
 may have undergone these disasters without wonder ; yet that all 
 this should befall Thy Jerusalem, O God, the place which Thou 
 hast chosen to Thysefif out of the whole earth, the lot of Thine 
 inlieritance, the seat of Thy Divine presence ; it is sufficient to 
 amaze all eyes and all ears ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 13. — / tvill stretch over Jerusalem Sec] This is a metaphor 
 taken from those who set out men's lots and portions by drawing 
 a line to divide them. The meaning is, that He would give to Je- 
 rusalem the same measure which He had given to Samaria. 
 
 the plummet of the house of Ahab :] Meaning that, as they 
 
 had imitated the sin of Ahab, so they should suffer his punish- 
 ment, whose house was utterly destroyed. It seems to be a me- 
 taphor taken from builders who measure with a line and plummet 
 what part of a building should stand and what be demolished. 
 Bp. Patrick. The meaning of the expressions in this verse is, I 
 will uke the same co\u-se with Jerusalem that 1 have taken with 
 Samaria, and wiUi the wicked house of Ahab, which I have ut- 
 terly rooted out from before Me. Bp. Hall. Respecting the exe- 
 cution of this threat, and other circumstances relating to Manasseh, 
 see 2 Chron. x.xxiii.
 
 Anion's xvicked reign. 
 
 CHAP. XXI, XXII. 
 
 Josiah^sgood reign. 
 
 33. 20. 
 
 Kcfore the hand of their enemies ; and they shall 
 ^w698^ become a prey and a spoil to all their ene- 
 mies ; 
 
 15 Because they have done that n'hich 
 was evil in my sight, and have provoked 
 me to anger, since the day their fathers 
 came forth out of Egypt, even unto this 
 day. 
 
 16 Moreover Manasseh shed innocent 
 blood very much, till he had filled Jerusa- 
 
 f Heb. ]gj^ I from one end to another : beside his 
 
 from moutk , ^ • i i i t i i ■ • 
 
 tu mouth, sm wherewith he made Judah to sm, m 
 doing that "which was evil in the sight of the 
 Lord. 
 
 17 ^ Now the rest of the acts of Ma- 
 nasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that 
 he sinned, are they not written in the book 
 of the chronicles of the kings of Judah ? 
 
 »2Ciiron. 18 And "Manasseh slept with his fa- 
 thers, and was buried in the garden of his 
 own house, in the garden of Uzza ; and 
 643- Anion his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 19 IT Amon was twenty and two years 
 old when he began to reign, and he reign- 
 ed two years in Jerusalem. And his mo- 
 ther's name was MeshuUemeth, the daugh- 
 ter of Haruz of Jotbah. 
 
 20 And he did that xvhich was evil in the 
 sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh 
 did. 
 
 21 And he walked in all the way that 
 his father walked in, and sei"ved the idols 
 that his father served, and worshipped 
 them : 
 
 22 And he forsook the Lord God of 
 his fathers, and walked not in the way of 
 the Lord. 
 
 23 if And the servants of Amon con- 
 spired against him, and slew the king in 
 his own house. 
 
 24 And the people of the land slew all 
 them that had conspired against king A- 
 mon ; and the people of the land made 
 Josiah his son king in his stead. 
 
 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon 
 which he did, are they not written in the 
 book of the chronicles of the kings of Ju- 
 dah ? 
 
 oil. 
 
 17. _ the rest of the acts of Manasseh,'] See particularly the 
 account of his beiiig carried to Babylon, and being afterwards re- 
 -itoretl to Jerusalem, at 2 Chion. x.\xiii. 1 1 — 19. &c. 
 
 Chap. XXII. This chapter is to be compared with 2 Chron. 
 xxxiv. 
 
 Ver. 3. — in the eighteenth year} The eighteenth year of his 
 reign, not of his age, as we are told at 'i Chron. xxxiv. 8. 
 
 7. — there n-as no reckoning made'] They were men of such ap- 
 proved honesty, that there was no need to call them to any account 
 -IS to their method of laying out the money. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 26 And he was buried in his sepulchre Before 
 in the garden of Uzza : and 'Josiah his son ^"4/.^^ 
 reigned in his stead. i jj,,,^. 1. 
 
 10. calltd 
 
 CHAP. XXIL ^'"^'■ 
 
 1 Josiah's good reign. 3 He lakelh care for the repair 
 of the temple. 8 Hilkiah having found a book of the 
 law, Josiah sendeth to Hiildah to enquire of the Lord. 
 15 Hiildah prophesieth the destruction of Jerusalem, 
 but respite thereof in Josiah's time. 
 
 JOSIAH ^was eight years old when he 64i. 
 began to reign, and he reigned thirty 3^^ ^^°*- 
 and one years in Jerusalem. And his mo- 
 ther's name was Jedidah, the daughter of 
 Adaiah of Boscath. 
 
 2 And he did that which was right in 
 the sight of the Lord, and walked in all 
 the way of David his father, and turned 
 not aside to the right hand or to the 
 left. 
 
 3 ^ And it came to pass in the eigh- about 624. 
 teenth year of king Josiah, that the king 
 
 sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son 
 of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of 
 the Lord, saying, 
 
 4 Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that 
 he may sum the silver which is brought 
 into the house of the Lord, which the 
 keepers of the t door have gathered of the t Heh. 
 people: '*^""'"- 
 
 5 And let them deliver it into the hand 
 of the doers of the work, that have the 
 oversight of the house of the Lord : and 
 let them give it to the doers of the work 
 which is in the house of the Lord, to re- 
 pair the breaches of the house, 
 
 6 Unto carpenters, and builders, and 
 masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone 
 to repair the house. 
 
 7 Howbeit there was no reckoning made 
 with them of the money that was deliver- 
 ed into their hand, because they dealt 
 faithfully. 
 
 8 if And Hilkiah the high priest said 
 unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the 
 book of the law in the house of the Lord. 
 And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, 
 and he read it. 
 
 8. — / have found the book of the law] Meaning, an authentick 
 copy of the law written by Moses, as is expressed at 2 Chron. 
 xxxiv. li; that copy probably wliich by God's command was laid 
 up in the most holy place, Deut. xxxi. 'U\; &c. Bp. Patrick. We 
 are not to conclude tliat the people had at this time no copies of 
 the law among them ; they probably had several, though some im- 
 perfect and corrupt : and the high (iriest rejoiced on finding the 
 original, because by it all the other copies might be corrected ; 
 and the more, because he had found it at a time when the king 
 was about to make a reformation in religion, and when there- 
 fore he could not but look upon it as a remarkable providence.
 
 The Unu read before Josiah. 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 Huldah prophesieth the destruction 
 
 „„„ 9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the 
 
 CHRIST jjj„g^ and brought the king word again, 
 
 H*r and said, Thy servants have t gathered the 
 
 mriud. money that was found in the house, and 
 
 have dehvered it into the hand of them 
 
 that do the work, that have the oversight 
 
 of the house of the Lord. 
 
 10 And Shaphan the scribe shewed the 
 king, saying, Hiikiah the priest hath deli- 
 vered me a book. And Shaphan read it 
 before the king. 
 
 1 1 And it came to pass, when the king 
 had heard the words of the book of the 
 law, that he rent his clothes. 
 
 1'2 And the king commanded Hiikiah 
 the priest, and Ahikam the son of Sha- 
 phan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, 
 and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a 
 servant of the king's, saying, 
 
 13 Go ye, enquire of the Lord for me, 
 and for the people, and for all Judah, con- 
 cerning the words of this book that is 
 found : for great is the wrath of the Lord 
 tlij^t is kindled against us, because our fa- 
 thers have not hearkened unto the words 
 
 Siacklwusr. It is probable, from tlie circumstances of tlie liistory, 
 that, at tliis time of finding tlie l)ook of the law by Hiikiah, copies 
 of tlie law -were verj' scarce ; and tliat this, to his surprise, was an 
 authentick and original copy. Dr, S. Clarke. The ignorance of 
 the law, which seems now to have prevailed, may be sufficiently 
 accounted for from the history of the preceding reigns; for Manas- 
 seh had been an idolatrous king for a long series of years, and he 
 wanted neither power nor inclination to destroy the copies of the 
 law, had they been secreted by the servants of the tnie God. The 
 law, after being so long concealed, would be unknown to very many 
 of the Jews ; and thus the solemn reading of it by Josiah would 
 awaken his own and the people's earnest attention. The copy 
 proiluced was probably tlie original, vvTitten by Moses, which 
 would excite still greater veneration. The distance of time was 
 not such as to make it incredible that the copy now found was 
 that written by Moses himself: for there was certainly not a 
 greater interval from the death of Moses to the death of Josiah 
 than 9;)0 years ; and we have manuscripts existing among us at 
 the present day of greater age than this. Dr. Ke7inicott. 
 
 11. — had heard the words of the iooi] It is generally agreed 
 that the part which Shaphan read to the king was taken out of 
 the book of Deuteronomy ; and it is supposed, not without pro- 
 bability, that chapters xxviii, xxix, and xxx, were those which he 
 turned to on this occasion ; for therein is contained a renewal of 
 the covenant which Moses, as mediator, had made between God 
 and the people of Israel at mount Horeb : and there are those 
 terrible threats against the transgressors of the law, whetlier 
 prince or people, which affected Josiah so much. Calmel. 
 
 that he rent his clothes.'] Being alarmed when he heard 
 
 the dreadful threatcnings against the transgressors of the law. 
 Bp. Patrick. By the behaviour of the king, as also of the high 
 priest, on this occasion, it might be thought to appear that neither 
 of tliem had seen a copy of the law before, which shews into how 
 o>rrupt a state the church of the Jews was then sunk, till this good 
 king refomiefl it. For although Hczekiah kept scribes on purpose 
 to collect and write out conies of the Holy Scriptures, yet, through 
 Uje miquity of the times that afterwards followed in the reijms of 
 Mana-sseh and Amon, tliev had either been so destroved or else 
 so neglected and lost, that there were none left in the land un- 
 less in a few pnvate hands, where they were kept and concealed. 
 
 of this book, to do according unto all that Before 
 which is written concerning us. *^^fi24!^^ 
 
 14 So Hiikiah the priest, and Ahikam, 
 and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, 
 went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife 
 of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of 
 Harhas, keeper of the t wardrobe ; (now t Hcb. 
 she dwelt in Jerusalem II in the college ;) f o^f""' 
 and they communed with her. m tiu ,e. 
 
 15 f And she said unto them, Thus saith ""''i'""- 
 the Lord God of Israel, Tell the man that 
 
 sent you to me, 
 
 16 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will 
 bring evil upon this place, and upon the 
 inhabitants thereof, even all the words of 
 the book which the king of Judah hath 
 read : 
 
 17 Because they have forsaken me, and '■' 
 have burned incense unto other gods, that 
 
 they might provoke me to anger with all 
 the works of their hands ; therefore my 
 wrath shall be kindled against this place, } 
 
 and shall not be quenched. j 
 
 18 But to the king of Judah which sent ^ 
 you to enquire of the Lord, thus shall ye 
 
 till this copy was found in the temple. Dean Prideaii-r. Or per- 
 haps we may conclude, that it was the great reverence which Jo- 
 siah bore to the original copy of the law written by Moses, as well 
 as the seasonable and remarkable finding of it at this time, that 
 awakened and quickened him to a more attentive consideration 
 of all the passages conUiined in it than he had ever bestowed be- 
 fore, cither in reading or hearing the ordinary copies of the law. 
 Stac/ckou.ie. As soon as the good king hears the words of the book 
 of the law, and especially those dreadful threats of judgment de- 
 nounced against the idolatries of his Judah, he rends his clothes, 
 to shew his heart rent with sorrow and fearful expectation of those 
 plagues, and washes his bosom with tears. He does but once hear 
 the law read, and is thus humbled ; humbled for his father's sins, 
 for the sins of his people : on the contrary, how many of us, after 
 the menaces of God's law have been frequently impressed upon 
 our guilty souls, continue yet insensible of our danger. The very 
 reading of the law thus affects Josiah ; the preaching of it stirs 
 not us. The sins of others struck thus deep upon him ; we are 
 not affected with our own sins. Bp. Hall. 
 
 14. — unto Huldah the prophetess,^ This is the only mention 
 we have of this prophetess. It certainly contributes much to her 
 renown that she was consulted on this weighty occasion, when 
 both Jeremiah and Zephaniah were Prophets alive at the same 
 time in Judah. Or perhaps these Prophets did not happen to be 
 at hand, so as to be applied to with sufficient despatch. Stack' 
 house. 
 
 i" the college;)'] The word which we translate " college," 
 
 is in the margin of the Bible rendered " the second part." For 
 there were three walls about Jerusalem ; within the first lived ar- 
 tificers and common people ; within the second, persons of better 
 sort, wise men. Prophets, &c. ; and within the third was the 
 mountain of the Lord. It is thought then that the sacred writer 
 speaks of the middle part as the residence of Huldah. Bp. 
 Patrick. •* 
 
 IG. — / will bring evil upon this place,] In how bad a case 
 men may be, and yet think themselves not only safe but happy ! 
 These Jews had forgotten their old revolts; and now, having 
 framed themselves to holy courses, promised themselves nothing 
 but peace, when the prophetess foresees and foretells their ap- 
 proaching ruin. Bp. Hall,
 
 of Jerusalem after Josiah's death. CHAP. XXII, XXIII. Josiah reneweth the covenant of the Lord. 
 
 h'rist ^^y ^° *^^™' ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^'^^ 'Lovi.ii God of 
 o24. Israel, As touching the words which thou 
 hast heard ; 
 
 19 Because thine heart was tender, and 
 thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, 
 when thou heardest what I spake against 
 this place, and against the inhabitants 
 thereof, that they should become a desola- 
 tion and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, 
 and wept before me ; I also have heard 
 thee, saith the Lord. 
 
 20 Behold therefore, I will gather thee 
 unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be ga- 
 thered into thy grave in peace ; and thine 
 eyes shall not see all the evil which I will 
 bring upon this place. And they brought 
 the king word again. 
 
 CHAP. XXIIL 
 
 1 Josiah causetk the book to be read i« a solemn assembly. 
 3 He reneweth the covenant of the Lord. 4 He de- 
 stroyeth idolatry. 15 He burnt dead men's hones upon 
 the altar of Beth-el, as nas foreprophesied. 21 He 
 kept a most solemn passover. 24 He put away witches 
 and all abomination. 26 God's Jinal wrath against 
 Judah. 29 Josiah, provoking Pharaoh-nechoh, is slain 
 at Megiddo. 31 Jehoahaz, succeeding him, is impri- 
 soned by Pharaoh-nechoh, who made Jehoiakim king. 
 36 Jehoiakim' s wicked reign. 
 
 AND " the king sent, and they gathered 
 unto him all the elders of Judah and 
 of Jerusalem. 
 
 2 And the king went up into the house 
 of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and 
 
 19. Because thine heart was tender, Sec.'] Some observe, that 
 here are four tokens mentioned of a true repentance and conver- 
 sion to God : first, softness of heart, which is opposed to the hard- 
 riess arising from disbelief of God's threatenings ; secondly, great 
 humility, arising from a sense of his own unworthiness. These 
 two are inward : the others were outward tokens of this inward 
 «ense ; the rending of his clothes, and the tears which he shed for 
 his own and the people's offences. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. — thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace f^ The phrase 
 of " going to the grave in peace," is of some latitude, admitting 
 of more constructions than one. Josiah died in peace during the 
 publick tranquillity, before the troubles of his nation came on ; he 
 lived not " to see the evil brought on this place." He was taken 
 away from the evil to come, was peaceably interred, and left his 
 nation in a peaceable condition. So much Huldah the prophetess 
 intended and signified ; and so much was actually fulfilled. Dr. 
 IVaterland. Though he was slain in battle, chap, xxiii. 29, yet 
 he went to his grave in peace, because, as the following words 
 explain, he did not live to see the calamities of the nation, but 
 left it in a peaceable condition. Bp. Patrick. Tliis answer of the 
 prophetess is deserving of particular attention. She informed the 
 king, that the iniquities of the Jews were come to such a height 
 that the Divine threatenings would soon be put in execution, and 
 that, before they were so, God would remove him from life. This 
 affords us these two lessons : the one is, that when the wickedness 
 of men is past remedy, neither the endeavoiurs nor the prayers of 
 the righteous can preventthe judgments of God from taking their 
 course ; the other is, that death is not alwaj-s a mark of God's 
 displeasure, and that He sometimes shortens the lives of those He 
 most loves, that they may not be involved in the judgments He iu- 
 
 ' 2 Chron. 
 
 ■4. 30. 
 
 all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, ruRTsT 
 and the priests, and the prophets, and all 024. 
 the people, t both small and great : and he t Heb. 
 read in their ears all the words of the book-Cr„T,f 
 
 n 1 1*1 ^en unto 
 
 or the covenant which was found in the great. 
 house of the Lord. 
 
 3 % And the king stood by a pillar, and 
 made a covenant before the Lord, to walk 
 after the Lord, and to keep his command- 
 ments and his testimonies and his statutes 
 with all their heart and all their soul, to 
 perform the words of this covenant that 
 were written in this book. And all the 
 people stood to the covenant. 
 
 4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the 
 high priest, and the priests of the second 
 order, and the keepers of the door, to bring 
 forth out of the temple of the Lord all the 
 vessels that were made for Baal, and for 
 the grove, and for all the host of heaven : 
 and he burned them without Jerusalem in 
 the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes 
 of them unto Beth-el. 
 
 5 And he t put down t the idolatrous t Heb. 
 priests, whom the kings of Judah had or- l"^_ 
 dained to burn incense in the high places t Heb. 
 in the cities of Judah, and in the places "^""'' 
 round about Jerusalem ; them also that 
 burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and g o^, 
 
 to the moon, and to the II planets, and to '««■'« 
 all the host of heaven. "^nieUu- 
 
 6 And he broujrht out the ''grove from {'"'f 
 
 o o b Chap ''I 
 
 the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, 7. 
 
 tends to pour down on the heads of the wicked. Ostervald. What 
 a gracious mixture was here of mercy with severity ; severity to 
 Judah, mercy to Josiah ! Judah will be plagued, and become a 
 desolation and a curse ; Josiah will be quietly housed in his grave 
 before this storm fall upon Judah. His eye will not see what his 
 people must feel. It is enough that the expectation of these e\'ils 
 afflicts him ; the feeling of them wDl not. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XXIII. This chapter is to be compared with 2 Chron. 
 xxxiv, XXXV, and xxxvi ; also with Jerem. xxv, xxvi, and xx\Ti. 
 
 Ver. 3. — stood by a pillar,"] To which his throne was adjoin- 
 ing; see chap. xi. 14. 
 
 and made a covenant before the Lord,] He that found 
 
 himself exempted from vengeance by his repentance and deep 
 humiliation, would fain find the same way for the deliverance of 
 his people. The same words of the law, therefore, which had 
 wrought on his heart, are bj- him caused to be publickly read in 
 the ears of Judah and Jerusalem. The assembly is universal, of 
 priests. Prophets, people, both small and great. Because the sin 
 was such, the danger was such ; that no man may complain that 
 he has wanted information, tlie law of God sounds in everj' ear. 
 The people want not an example, as of sorrow, so of amendment. 
 Good Josiah stands by the pillar and renews his solemn covenant 
 with God : the people cannot for shame refuse to second him. 
 Even they who expect destruction do not withdraw their obe- 
 dience. God's children may not be sullen under His corrections ; 
 but, whether they expect or feel coirection, must be no other than 
 dutiful to His awful hand. Bp. Hall. 
 
 6. — brought out the grove] That is, the image of the grove, or 
 the idol Ashtarotli ; see note at ch. xvii. 10. Having ground the
 
 Josiah destroyeth idolatry 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 hi Judah. 
 
 kntut. 
 
 B«f..rr unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at 
 ^"g"^.""" the brook Kidron, and stamped it snialJ to 
 i)o\vder, and cast the powder thereof npon 
 the graves of the cliildren of the people. 
 
 7 And he brake down tlie houses of the 
 sodomites, that xcere by the house of the 
 
 t Hri.. Lord, where the women wove t hangings 
 for the grove. 
 
 8 And he brought all the priests out of 
 the cities oi Judah, and defiled the high 
 places where the priests had burned incense, 
 from Geba to Beer-sheba, and brake down 
 the iiigh places of the gates that -were in the 
 entering in of the gate of Joshua the go- 
 vernor of the city, which "were on a man's 
 left hand at the gate of the city. 
 
 9 Nevertheless the priests of the high 
 places came not up to the altar of the 
 Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the 
 unleavened bread among their brethren. 
 
 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in 
 the valley of the children of Hinnom, that 
 
 ashes to powder, he threw them on the sepulchres of the dead, 
 which by law were accounted most unclean places, not to be 
 touched by any body, that so none might attempt to gather 
 them up, or keep any part as a sacred or superstitious relick. 
 Pt/le. . 
 
 It is quite amjizing to think how the whole kingdom could be 
 so overrun with wickedness and idolatry in the short time of 
 Amon's reign : yet so it happened ; and the Prophet Zephaniah 
 gives a dreadful catalogue of the licentiousness and irreligion 
 which then prevailed, iJephan. iii. 1 , &c. Univ. Hist. 
 
 7. — the ivomeu wove hangings'] To hide probably the unna- 
 tural and abominable ceremonies of their idolatrous worship. 
 Univ. Hist. 
 
 8. And he brought all the priests out of the eilies'] So great and 
 general had been the apostasy and falling away from the true re- 
 ligion in the preeeding reigns, that the very priests had joined in 
 the corruption of the times, and not only burnt incense in the high 
 places, contrary to the law of Moses, but even officiated in the 
 most impious rites of idolatry ; and so, instead of ministers of the 
 most high God, made themselves the ministers of devils. These 
 Josiah (lid not put to death, but (as it is said) " brought them out 
 of the cities of Judah." He took them as it were captive, and 
 brought them to Jerusalem. Then it is added, ver. 9, " They came 
 not up to the altar" that wa.s there; that is, they were not admitted 
 to the honour, nor restored to the full exercise of their functions, 
 but only to the most inferiour parts of their office, that so they 
 might " bear their iniquity," as Ezekiel expre,sses it, chap. xliv. 
 10 — 14; that is, might bear that mark of degradation as a pu- 
 nishment of their crime, and a perpetual badge of their infamous 
 fall. fVogan. 
 
 the high places of I fie gates] The high places of the gates 
 
 seem to have been erected there to offer incense to those tutelar 
 go<ls, unto whom their idolatrous kings had committed the pro- 
 tection of the city ; and there, it is thought, the governour of the 
 city had his private idol, and a jiortable altar for its worship. 
 This Josiah tlid not sp.-u-e, but made the greatest men see the im- 
 partiality of his zeal against idolatr)-. Up. Patrick: 
 
 9. Severlheless the pricstx &:c.]] As to such of the priests as 
 had been no further guilty than in worshipping tJie true God in 
 Uic unlawful way of private altars, &c. he mixed some mercy with 
 his severity ; for tliough he would not admit them for the future 
 to omciatc in the temple service, yet he allowed them to be main- 
 tainwl, wiih the other priests, out of the offerings, and otlier re- 
 venues of the altar. Pi/lc. 
 
 no man might make his son or his daugh- j,^^^'J'|.j, 
 ter to pass through the fire to Molech, 624. 
 
 1 1 And he took away the horses that the 
 kings of Judah had given to the sun, at 
 the entering in of the house of the Lord, 
 by the chamber of Nathan-melech the 
 
 II chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, II Or, ««- 
 and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. offic%°'' 
 
 12 And the altars that xvere on the top 
 
 of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the I 
 
 kings of Judah had made, and the altars 
 which •^ Manasseh had made in the two ' chap. 21. 
 courts of the house of the Lord, did the ^' 
 king beat down, and || brake ihon down n Or, ran 
 from thence, and cast the dust of them ^'■'""""""• 
 into the brook Kidron. 
 
 13 And the high places that xvere before '• 
 Jerusalem, which were on the right hand 
 
 of II the mount of corruption, which '' Solo- I) That i^ 
 mon the king of Israel had builded for o/ohv«.' 
 Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zido- " ' ^'"s» 
 nians, and for Chemosh the abomination of 
 
 10. — Topheth, — jVj the valley of the children of Hinnom,'} 
 The valley of the children of Hinnom was a pleasant place nigh 
 unto Jerusalem, dedicated to the idol Molech, where they used to 
 make their children pass through the fire. The spot where this 
 was done was called Topheth, signifying Tympanum, a tabor, or 
 kind of drum, because the priests of that idol played upon tabors 
 at the time of sacrificing, that so the children's cries and shrieks 
 might not be heard. Wogan. 
 
 Gehinnom, or the valley of Hinnom, having formerly belonged 
 to the sons of Hinnom, lay to the south, and perhaps to the east, 
 of Jerusalem, and was part of the bounds between the tribes of 
 Benjamin and Judah. This place became infamous on account 
 of the people passing their children here through the fire to Mo- 
 lech, the god of the Ammonites: it was also called Topheth, which 
 signifies some musical instrument, which they sounded, that the 
 cries of the children might not be heard ; and it is thought that 
 the name of Gehenna is given to hell from this place, on account 
 of the diabolical sacrifices that were offered here. Bp. Pococke. 
 
 11. — took away the hoi-scs &c.] What these horses and cha- 
 riots of the sun were, whether only statues or images of horses, 
 or real living ones ; or whether, if real ones, they were kept to be 
 sacrificed to the sun, or for some other pompous purposes relating 
 to the honour paid to the sun, is very much dispute<l amongst the 
 learned; and there is very little certainty to be gathered respecting 
 them from any ancient historians. Pyfc. The Persians consecrated 
 white horses and chariots to the sun : perhaps the Jews had now 
 adopted this among other heathenish idolatries. Univ. Hist. 
 
 12. — on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz,'] It appears 
 they were not satisfied with the publick altars they had made, in I 
 a vast number of high places ; but, the roofs of the houses being ^ 
 flat, they made altars tiiere ; see Jerem. xix. 1 3 ; xxxii. 29 ; and i 
 particularly on the king's palace, where they worshipped the sun, i 
 moon, and stars. But the altars were not spared by Josiah, even i 
 though they were on the king's house. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 3. — the mount of corruption,'] This is probably thought to i 
 mean (as the margin states) the mount of Olives, which, from the 
 notorious instances of idolatrous worship practised upon it, went by 
 the name of the mount of corruption. Some however understand 
 it to mean a different mount, lying on the south or southwest of 
 Jerusalem near mount Sion, and separated from it by the valley, 
 called in Scripture the valley of Hinnom. Dr. Wells. The mount 
 of Olives has three points or sununits, the centre of which, 
 being the highest, was set apart for the worship of Ashtaroth, 
 and other idols. Dr. E. D. Clarke.
 
 Josiah burnt dead men's hones at Belh-el. CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 He kept a most solemn passover. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 (524. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 i'.ntiies. 
 
 king 
 
 ' 1 Kings 
 IJ. t. 
 
 tH*. 
 
 £» escape. 
 
 the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomi- 
 nation of the children of" Ammon, did the 
 defile. 
 
 14 And he brake in pieces the t images, 
 and cut down the groves, and filled their 
 places with the bones of men. 
 
 15 ^ Moreover the altar that was at 
 Beth-el, and the high place which Jero- 
 boam tlie son of Nebat, who made Israel 
 to sin, had made, both that altar and the 
 high place he brake down, and burned the 
 high place, a7id stamped it small to pow- 
 der, and burned the grove. 
 
 16 And as Josiah turned himself, he 
 spied the sepulchres that were there in the 
 mount, and sent, and took the bones out 
 of the sepulchres, and burned them upon 
 the altar, and polluted it, according to the 
 ' word of the Lord which the man of God 
 proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. 
 
 17 Then he said. What title is that that 
 I see ? And the men of the city told him, 
 It is the sepulchre of the man of God, 
 which came from Judah, and proclaimed 
 these things that thou hast done against 
 the altar of Beth-el. 
 
 18 And he said. Let him alone ; let no 
 man move his bones. So they let his bones 
 t alone, with the bones of the prophet that 
 came out of Samaria. 
 
 l6. — took the bones out of the sepulchre^,'] In order to make it 
 »ure that the place might not be afterwards used as a place of 
 idolatrous worship, he caused the bones of all the men of note, whe- 
 ther priests, prophets, or others, who had been promoters of that 
 idolatry, to be dug out of their graves and thrown together upon 
 the place, to pollute it as much as possible, and render it odious 
 and contemptible. And thus was that remarkable prophecy, pro- 
 nounced about three hundred and fifty years before, concerning this 
 altar, (1 Kings xiii. 1, 2,) now exactly and literally fulfilled. Pt/le. 
 
 — tvhkk the man of God piocIa>nKd,~\ About 350 years be- 
 fore this happened, when Jeroboam first established his false wor- 
 ship in this place. Bp. Wilson. See note at 1 Kings xiii. 2. 
 
 19. — which the kings of Israel had made'] This reformation 
 Josiah extends to the kingdom of Israel as well as that of Judah. 
 As the ten tribes had now gone into captivity, the ancient right 
 which David and his posterity had to the whole kingdom of Israel 
 (before it was divided by Jeroboam) devolved upon Josiah. The 
 people who escaped the capti^^ty were united with his subjects, 
 and put themselves under his protection. It is true the kings of 
 Assyria were the lords and conquerors of the country ; but, from 
 the time of Manasseh's restoration, (2 Chron. xxxiii. 13,) they 
 seem to have conferred on the kings of Judah a sovereignty in all 
 the land of Canaan, as it was exercised in the days of David and 
 Solomon. Slackhouse. 
 
 20. — burned men's bones upon them,] Which, according to 
 the ideas then prevailing, was the highest pollution of their altars^ 
 ver. 13, 14. Ep. Palrich. 
 
 22. Surely there was not hoMen such a passover] These words, 
 taken in a literal sense, must denote that tliis passover, which was 
 celebrated by two tribes only, was more numerously attended and 
 more magnificent than all those that were observed in the days of 
 David and Solomon, in the most happy and flourishing state of 
 the Jewish monarchy, and when the whole twelve tribes were met 
 together to solemnize that feast. It m^y »ot be amiss therefore to 
 Vol. I. 
 
 19 And all the houses also of the high 
 places that -were in the cities of Samaria, 
 which the kings of Israel had made to 
 provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah took 
 away, and did to them according to all the 
 acts that he had done in Beth-el. 
 
 20 And he II slew all the priests of the 
 high places that -u'ere there upon the altars, 
 and burned men's bones upon them, and 
 returned to Jerusalem. 
 
 21 % And the king commanded all the 
 people, saying, ' Keep the passover unto 
 the Lord your God, «as it is written in 
 the book of this covenant. 
 
 22 Surely there was not holden such a 
 passover from the days of the judges that 
 judged Israel, nor in all the days of the 
 kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah j 
 
 23 But in the eighteenth year of king 
 Josiah, wherein this passover was holden 
 to the Lord in Jerusalem. 
 
 24 % Moreover the workers with familiar 
 spirits, and the wizards, and the II images, 
 and the idols, and all the abominations that 
 were spied in the land of Judah and in Je- 
 rusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might 
 perform the words of " the law which were 
 written in the book that Hilkiah the priest 
 found in the house of the Lord. 
 
 25 And like unto him was there no king 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 624. 
 
 II Or, 
 sacrificed. 
 
 I 2 Chron. 
 
 3.5. 1. 
 
 1 Es<Ll. I. 
 
 "Exod. 12. 
 
 3. 
 
 Deut 16. 2. 
 
 about 62S. 
 
 « Or, 
 lerapkim. 
 
 ' Ler. 20. 
 27. 
 
 Deut 18. 
 U. 
 
 allow, that, in these expressions, there is a kind of exaggeration 
 not unusual in sacred as well as profane authors. For it is a 
 usual form of expression to say, " Kever was so much splendour 
 and magnificence seen ;" when we mean no more than that the 
 thing we speak of was very splendid and magnificent. Unless 
 we suppose with some, that a preference is given to this passover 
 above the rest, in respect to the exact observation of the rites and 
 ceremonies belonging to it, which, at other times, were performed 
 according to custom, several things being either altered or omitted; 
 whereas, at this, every tiling was performed according to tlie 
 prescribed form of the law ; from which, since the finding of this 
 authentick copy of it, Josiah enjoined them not to vary one tittle. 
 Slackhouse. The piety of Josiah, in all that he now did, is the 
 more remarkable, as God had told him that the destruction of his 
 kingdom was determined, and that he himself should shortlv 
 die ; and yet he did not abate in his zeal, but still called upon 
 the people to return to the true service of God, and employed 
 the remainder of his daj's in acts of piety and reh'gion. Thus 
 every good man, in whatever circumstances he may be placed, 
 and whatever the event of things may be, takes care to be always 
 engaged in his duty, and dedicates liis whole life, and all the 
 powers which God has given liim, to promote His glory and the 
 publick good. OstcrvakL 
 
 25. — like unto him was there no king] Indeed no king that 
 ever sat upon the throne of Judah made such a speedy alteration 
 in the face of affairs as this prince did : his intentions were hearty 
 and serious toward a reformation, from tlie moment he was tho- 
 roughly informed in the truth of his religion from the autiientick 
 copy of the books of holy Scripture ; his prudence an<l courasrc 
 kept pace with his zeal, so that nothing was wanting on the part 
 of this consummate prince to render liis kingdom happy. Pule. 
 It maybe asked. Is it intended by tliis expression to prefer Josiah 
 before David and Hezekiah, who were incomparably the best 
 kings of all that went before him ? This perhaps may not be ia- 
 
 5 A
 
 God's Jinal uralh against Judah. 
 
 Mo,, before him, that turned to the Lord with 
 cnnisT^ll |,i>. iicm-t, and with all his soul, and 
 .bou.«^j. ^.^j^ ^u ,^j^ j^^-gjjj^ according to all the 
 
 law of Moses; neither after hnn arose 
 there anij like him. 
 
 -2(3 % 'Notwithstanding the Lonn turned 
 not from the fierceness of his great wrath, 
 wherewith his anger was kindled against 
 
 t Hcu Judah, because of all the t provocations 
 
 '"*'"■ that iSlanasseii had provoked iiim withal. 
 27 And the Lord said, I will remove 
 Judah also out of my sight, as I have re- 
 moved Israel, and will cast off this city 
 Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the 
 
 • I Kings 8. house of which I said, ' My name shall be 
 
 ch.p. -n. 7. there. 
 
 tcnilwl ; althoufth there are some blemislies recorded of David and 
 Hezekiah, while we read of none in the life of Josiah. But, if 
 we consider how horribly the people were corrupted in religion 
 «nd in nionJs when Josiah came to the throne ; how the usurping 
 idols had filled the very temple of God and the holy city with 
 their images aTid altars ; and how princes, priests, and all orders 
 of aicn were become their votaries ; if we compute the difficulties 
 with winch he had to struggle, and how quickly he surmounted 
 tlicm all, having fim'shcd the reformation of Israel and Judah at 
 an age when other kings usually began to reign, we may indeed, 
 with the greatest justice, and without lessening the character of 
 others, call Josiah an incomparable prince. Reading. 
 
 26". X lit withstanding the Lord turned not~\ Tiie great misfortune 
 was, that, as to the generality of the court and people, all this 
 seeming reformation was nothing but shew and pretence, a mere 
 compliance with the vigour and resolution of their prince: their 
 hearts were never firmly in it; but, as plainly appears by the 
 event, they were ready to revolt again into their old idolatry and 
 vice, upon the first opportunity. They complied with Josiah's 
 religion, but tlieir real inclinations were to the old corruptions of 
 Manasseh: for which reason Go<l still resolved to deliver up this 
 part of His chosen people also to the power of a foreign monarch. 
 Pyle. 
 
 29. In his days Pharaoh-nechoh — n-ent tip^ It was in the 
 thirty-first year of king Josiah, that Necho marchetl with a great 
 army towards the Euphrates, to make war on the Medes and 
 Babylonians, who had recently dissolved the Assyrian empire and 
 destroyetl Nineveh : his object appears to have been to put a stop 
 to thciv growing greatness, which had become so formidable as to 
 raise the jealousy of their neighbours. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 king Josiah went against /iim/] It has been thought by 
 
 »orne, that Josiah engagetl rashly and unadvisedly in this enter- 
 prise, from an excessive confidence in the merit of his own right- 
 eousness ; but this is a supposition unworthy of so religious a 
 prince. It is more probable that the kings of Judah had, from 
 the time of Manasseh's restoration, bound themselves by oath to 
 adhere to the kings of Babylon against all their enemies: and, in 
 recompense for this, they seem to have had conferred upon them 
 by the Assyrians the parts of the land of Canaan which had been 
 posse*se<l by the ten tribes. It seems certain that Josiah possess- 
 «1 the whole land of Israel, as David and Solomon possessed it, 
 before the separation of the ten tribes ; for his reformation ex- 
 tende<l through every part of it, and seems to have been every 
 where conduct, d with the same authority. It is remarkable too, 
 that the battle with the king of Egypt wa« fought at Megiddo, a 
 town of the tribe of Manasseh, Iving in the middle of the king- 
 •loin ot Israel, where Josi:ih would have had nothing to do if he 
 h«l not been king of that kingdom as well as of Judah. Allow- 
 k^. TiT 1" ,*'°"T'""' '" '"■''■ '"'I'si^ted between Josiah and the 
 li V i • 1, h V°"' '"^ ''■""''' ^''''^ '"'''" P'""v of a breach of (Ide- 
 
 IL KINGS. 
 
 Josiah is slain at Megiddo. 
 
 28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, c^',fi'|-j. 
 and all that he did, are they not written about «-•». 
 in the book of the chronicles of the kings 
 
 of Judah ? 
 
 29 ^ " In his days Pharaoh-nechoh king cio. 
 of Egypt went up against the king of As- 35^^™" 
 Syria to the river Euphrates : and king Jo- 
 siah went against him ; and he slew him at 
 Megiddo, when he had seen him. 
 
 30 And his servants carried him in a 
 chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought 
 him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his 
 
 own sepulchre. And ' the people of the 1 2 ciir«.> 
 land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and ^^- '• 
 anointed him, and made him king in his 
 father's stead. 
 
 It may be a doubt whether king Josiah was not guilty of a 
 want of trust in God, in his warlike preparations against the king 
 of Egypt. Josiah has so good a character in Scripture, that both 
 Jews and Christians have been at a loss to account for the un- 
 fortunate end he came to, being slain in battle against the king of 
 Egypt. The learned Dr. Prideaux has justified his conduct in 
 opposing the passage of the king of Egypt, because it was a ser- 
 vice due to the king of Assyria, to whom Josiah was a vassal. Be 
 it so ; yet his duty to the Icing of Assyria could not dissolve his 
 dependence on a higher Master: he went to war as vassal of the 
 king of Assyria, but ditl he ask counsel of God as King of Judahi" 
 Or was he attended to the war with such forces only, as tlie king 
 of Judah might lawftiUy use.> See Deut. xvii. 16 ; xx. 1 ; and the 
 notes there. That he had chariots and horsemen, appears plainly 
 from the account of his death, 2 Chron. xxxv. Si ; for he waa 
 wounded in one chariot, and removed into another to be carried 
 off: and it is very probable, that there were chariots and horsemen 
 many in his army, since there appears no scruple in him upon 
 this head. That this was the true, or the only cause of his mis- 
 fortune, I dare not affirm ; for I have no express authority to 
 support me in affirming it: but this I see, that he was found 
 in the day of battle, not with the equipage of a king of Judah, 
 but surrounded with forces, which the law of God had for- 
 bidden him to trust to, and which had often proved a strength 
 fatal to his ancestors. Bp. Sherlock. See the note on 1 Kings 
 x. 28. 
 
 — — slerv him at Megiddo,"] See the note at chap. xxii. 20. With 
 Josiah perished all the glory, honour, and prosperity of the 
 Jewish nation. For after that nothing else ensued but a dismal 
 scene of God's judgments on the land, till at length all Judah 
 and Jerusalem were swallowed up by them in a woful destruc- 
 tion. The death of so excellent a prince was deservedly la- 
 mented by all his people, and by none more than Jeremiah the 
 Prophet, who had a thorough sense of the greatness of the loss, 
 and also a full foresight of the great calamities that were after- 
 wards to follow upon the whole people of the Jews ; and there- 
 fore, while his heart was full with the view of both, he wrote 
 a song of lamentation upon tliis doleful occasion, as he after- 
 wards did another upon the destruction of Jerusalem. Dean 
 Prideaux. 
 
 Who doth not now pity and lament the untimely end of Josiah ? 
 Who will not be affected to see a religious, just, virtuous prince, 
 snatched away in the vigour of his age ? After all our lamentation, 
 Providence, that directed the shaft against him, intends the wound 
 for a stroke of mercy. The God, whom Josiah serves, looks 
 through his death at his glory ; and, by this sudden violence, 
 will deliver him from the view and participation of the misei'iea 
 of Judali. () the wonderful goodness of the Almighty, whose 
 judginents are always merciful ! How happily has Josiah gained 
 by this change ! Instead of a froward peoj)le, he is now associated 
 with saints and atigils. Instead of a fading and corruptible crown, 
 he now enjoys one that is eternal Bp. Hall.
 
 Jchoahas succeedeth Josiah. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ^ Jehoahaz was twenty and three 
 CIO. years old when he began to reign; and he 
 reigned three months in Jerusalem. And 
 his mother's name was Hamutal, the daugh- 
 ter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 
 
 32 And he did that which was evil in the 
 sight of the Lord, according to all that his 
 fathers had done. 
 
 33 And Pharaoh-nechoh put him in 
 bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, 
 
 B Or, he. II that he might not reign in Jerusalem ; 
 ^'"ned' 3,nd t put the land to a tribute of an hun- 
 I^Heb. dred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. 
 upo'LT/!'/' 34 And Pharaoh-nechoh made Eliakim 
 lund. the son of Josiah king in the room of Jo- 
 siah liis father, and turned his name to 
 1 "^^fd'' " J^'^oi^kim, and took Jehoahaz away: and 
 jm'ium.' he came to Egypt, and died there. 
 
 S5 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and 
 the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the 
 land to give the money according to the 
 commandment of Pharaoh : he exacted the 
 silver and the gold of the people of the 
 land, of every one according to his taxa- 
 tion, to give it unto Pharaoh-nechoh. 
 <ia 36 ^ Jehoiakim was twenty and five 
 
 years old when he began to reign ; and he 
 reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And 
 his mother's name was Zebudah, the 
 daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 
 
 37 And he did that which was evil in the 
 sight of the Lord, according to all that his 
 fathers had done. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 1 Jekoiakim,^]-st subdued by NcbiicJiadnexzar, then re- 
 belling against him, procurelh his own ruin. 5 Je- 
 hoiachin succeedeth him. 7 The king of Egypt is 
 vanquished by the king of Babylon. 8 Jehoiachin's 
 evil reign. 10 Jerusalem is taken and carried cap- 
 
 SS. — pill him in bands at Riblali^ As Riblah is mentioned to 
 be " in the land of Hamath," it could not be in Canaan, as some 
 have supposed. It may have been Antioch or Aparaea, or some 
 other place on the river Orontes. Dr. Wells. It appears from 5o- 
 I sephus, that Pharaoh-nechoh had good success against the Baby- 
 lonians; and, returning after three months, he dealt with Jehoa- 
 haz as is here related. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 34. — lurried his name to Jehoiakim,'^ It was no unusual 
 tiling for conquerors to change the names of ]>er8on3 whom they 
 had vanquished in war, in order to shew their absolute power 
 over them. But Archbishop Usher has remarked, that the king 
 of Egypt gave to Eliakim the name of Jehoiakim, thereby to 
 testify that he ascribed his victory over the Babylonians to Je- 
 hovah the God of Israel, by whose incitement (as he pretended, 
 2 Chron. XXXV. 21, 22,) he undertook the expedition. Stack- 
 house. 
 
 Chap. XXIV. This chapter is to be compared with 2 Chron. 
 xxxvi. and with Jer. xxv— xxviii. 
 
 Ver. 1. — Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon'^ He was son of 
 Nabo-polassar king of Babylon, and was taken by his father into 
 partnership of the empire, for the purpose of conducting an »rmy 
 
 CHAP. XXni, XXIV. Jehoiakim subdued hy Nebuchadnezzar. 
 
 live into Babylon. 17 Zedekiah is made king, and Before 
 reigneth ill unto the utter destruction of Judah. CHRIST 
 
 IN his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Ba- 
 bylon came up, and Jehoiakim became ^^" 
 his servant three years: then he turned co.'j. 
 and rebelled against him. 
 
 2 And the Lord sent against him bands ^^■ 
 of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, 
 and bands of the Moabites, and bands of 
 the children of Ammon, and sent them 
 against Judah to destroy it, * according to ' Ch»P- ^o- 
 the word of the Lord, which he spake t by 27! * ^^' 
 his servants the prophets. + Heb. 
 
 3 Surely at the commandment of the^.""*"'^ 
 Lord came this upon Judah, to remove 
 thein out of his sight, for the sins of Ma- 
 nasseh, according to all tliat he did ; 
 
 4 And also for the innocent blood that he 
 shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent 
 blood; which the Lord would not pardon. 
 
 5 ^Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, 
 and all that he did, are they not written in 
 the book of the chronicles of the kings of 
 Judah ? 
 
 6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers : and 599. 
 Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 7 And the king of Egypt came not again 
 any more out of his land: for the king of 
 Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt 
 unto the river Euphrates all that pertained 
 to the king of Egypt. 
 
 8 ^ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old 
 when he began to reign, and he reigned in 
 Jerusalem three months. And his mother's 
 name was Nehushta, the daughter of El- 
 nathan of Jerusalem. 
 
 9 And he did that which was evil in the 
 sight of the Lord, according to all that his 
 father had done. 
 
 into Syria and Palestine, which revolted against his authority. 
 Stackhouse. 
 
 From this time, before Christ 606, (see the margin,) is to be 
 dated the commencement of the Babylonish captivity, which, ac- 
 cording to the prediction of Jeremiah, was to last seventy years. 
 This was about 1 1 5 years after the destruction of the kingdom of 
 Israel. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 2. — and sent them against Judah'] God is said to have sent 
 them against Judah, because they came up against it by His spe- 
 cial order and dispensation; as the next verse states. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — slept with his fathers:] This expression merely means, 
 that he died. It is not meant that he was buried with his fathers; 
 for he was not buried, as Jeremiali had foretold, chap. xxii. 18, 19. 
 See 2 Chron. xxxvi. 6. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 S. Jehoiachin was eighteen years oldT] There is a material dif- 
 ference between this verse and 2 Chron. xxxvi. 9, where it is 
 stated, that he was but eight yeai-s old when he began to reign. 
 But the two passages may be easily reconciled, as maj' many other 
 similar discrepancies, by supposing that his father took him to 
 reign together with him; and that, for the first ten years out of 
 the eighteen mentioned, he thus reigned in conjunction with his 
 father. Stackhouse. 
 
 6\ i
 
 Jerusalem is besieged and taken. 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 Jerusalem again besieged and taken. 
 
 Bcfot* 
 CHRIST 
 
 499. 
 •DULI. 1. 
 
 %V>. 
 
 I Or, n- 
 
 ■Oup. sa 
 
 17. 
 
 If. 39. 6. 
 
 * t Chron. 
 S6. 10. 
 Ettbcr 2. C 
 
 D Of. «- 
 nyc/is. 
 
 S9S>. 
 • Jer. S7. 1 
 li AS. 1. 
 
 10 if " At that time the servants of Ne- 
 buchadnezzar king of Babylon came up 
 against Jerusalem, and the city t was be- 
 
 ^' 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Baby- 
 lon came against the city, and his servants 
 
 did besiege it. r- t i i, 
 
 1-2 And Jehoiachin the king ot Judah 
 went out to the king of Babylon, he, and 
 his mother, and his servants, and his 
 princes, and his II officers: and the king 
 of Babvlon took him in the eighth year 
 of his reign, 
 
 13 " And he carried out thence all the 
 treasures of the house of the Lord, and 
 the treasures of the king's house, and cut 
 in pieces all the vessels of gold vs'hich Solo- 
 mon king of Israel had made in the temple 
 of the Lord, as the Lord had said. 
 
 14. And he carried away all Jerusalem, 
 and all the princes, and all the mighty men 
 of valour, even ten thousand captives, and 
 all the craftsmen and smiths: none re- 
 mained, save the poorest sort of the people 
 of the land. 
 
 15 And " he carried away Jehoiachin to 
 Babylon, and the king's mother, and the 
 king's wives, and his || officers, and the 
 mighty of the land, those carried he into 
 captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 
 
 16 And all the men of might, even seven 
 thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thou- 
 sand, all that were strong and apt for war, 
 even them the king of Babylon brought 
 captive to Babylon. 
 
 17 % And "the king of Babylon made 
 ' Mattaniah his father's brother king in his 
 
 stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah. 
 
 18 Zedekiah was twenty and one years 
 old when he began to reign, and he reign- 
 ed eleven years in Jerusalem. And his 
 
 17. — changed his name to Zedekiah."] The name Zedekiah sig- 
 nifies Ike Justice of the Lord. They intended by tliis name to put 
 him conunually in mind of the vengeance wliich he was to expect 
 from tlic justice of the Lord his God, if he violated that fidelity 
 which he had sworn, in the name of God, to observe towards his 
 conqueror. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 It is to this ilay the custom among the Eastern people to as- 
 sume a new and different name on particular occurrencea in their 
 life. llarmtT. 
 
 QO. For through the anger of the Lordf] God was so highly dis- 
 
 plea«Hl with thi< wicked people, that He permitted Zedekiah to 
 
 break hjs taith with Nebuchadnezzar, and to rebel against him. 
 
 toriietung tor what cause he changed his name. It is probable 
 
 tftat he was perMiaded to Ids revolt by the ambassadours which 
 
 U>e kings of Edom, Moiib, Ammon, Tyre, and .Sidon, sent to him, 
 
 to throw off the yoke of the king of Biibylon, .ler. x.xvii. 2—4. 
 
 ine king of Egjpt al.so, it is probable, promised him help- see 
 
 r.™1 «.V'i'i '^" '^'"^ H»n'i"'=A.a f->^^ pro,ihct, assured him'that 
 
 bjlon. and brmg back aU the vessels of the house of God, with 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 .S9P. 
 
 son 
 
 A 
 
 mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter 
 of Jeremiah of Libnah. 
 
 1 9 And he did that which was evil in the 
 sight of the Lord, according to all that 
 Jehoiakim had done. 
 
 20 For through the anger of the Lord 
 it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, 
 until he liad cast them out from his pre- 
 sence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the 
 king of Babylon. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 1 Jerusalem is besieged. 4 Zedekiah taken, his sons 
 slain, his eyes jrut out. 8 Ncbuzar-adan defaceth 
 the city, carricth the remnant, except a few poor la- 
 bourers, into captifily, 1." spoileth and carrie.tk anai/ 
 the treasures. 18 The iiobles are slain at Riblah. 
 22 Gcdaliah, who was set over them that remained, 
 being slain, the rest flee into Egypt. 27 Evil-mero- 
 dach adranceth Jehoiachin in his court. 
 
 N D it came to pass ^ in the ninth year , ^J>^-^ 
 of his reign, in the tenth month, in &52. 4. 
 the tenth dai/ of the month, that Nebu- 
 chadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and 
 all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched 
 against it; and they built forts against it 
 round about. 
 
 2 And the city was besieged unto the 
 eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 
 
 3 And on the ninth dai/ of the ^fourth >j.^*fi,5. 
 month the famine prevailed in the city, 
 
 and there was no bread for the people of 
 the land. 
 
 4 ^ And the city was broken up, and 
 all the men of war fled by night by the 
 way of the gate between two walls, which 
 is by the king's garden: (now the Chal- 
 dees were against the city round about:) 
 and the king went the way toward the 
 plain. 
 
 5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued 
 after the king, and overtook him in the 
 
 Jeconiah and all the captives; see Jer. xxviii. 1 — 4. Jeremiah 
 indeed proved that he made them trust in a falsehood, by pre- 
 dicting his death that very year, which accordin^y fell out, ver. 
 5, 16, 17- But they still persisted in their vainhopes, as ther« 
 were other deceivers, who " prophesied falsely in Gotl's name," 
 Jer. xxix. 8, 9. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXV. This chapter is to be compared with several 
 chapters of Jeremiah, particularly with xxxii, xxxiv, xxxvii. to 
 xlii, lii; and with 2 Chron. xxxvi. 
 
 Ver. 4. — bi/ the way of the gate between two nails,] In the relation 
 of the same event in Jeremiah, it is said, " They went by the way 
 of the king's garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls." It ap- 
 pears that the besieged made their escape by some way between 
 the wall and tlie outworks, which the enemy did not suspect It 
 is probable that the king's garden faced the country, and that 
 there was some private and imperceptible gate, in a part where 
 the besiegers kept a less strict watch, for the very reason of its 
 leading towards the plain, where their complete escape was the 
 less practicable. Htuckiiouse. See the note oo Jer. xxxix. 4.
 
 Nebuzar-adan defaceth the city, S^c. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 The nobles are slain at Riblah. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 £88. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 spakejtulg- 
 ment with 
 hirru 
 tHeb. 
 vitde blind. 
 
 y Or. 
 chief mur- 
 
 shnl. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 fallen away. 
 
 plains of Jericho : and all his army were 
 scattered from him. 
 
 6 So they took the king, and brought 
 him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah ; 
 and they t gave judgment upon him. 
 
 7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah 
 before his eyes, and t put out the eyes of 
 Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of 
 brass, and carried him to Babylon. 
 
 8 % And in the fifth month, on the se- 
 venth day of the month, which is the nine- 
 teenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king 
 of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, || captain 
 of the guard, a servant of the king of Ba- 
 bylon, unto Jerusalem : 
 
 9 And he burnt the house of the Lord, 
 and the king's house, and all the houses of 
 Jerusalem, and every great man's house 
 burnt he with fire. 
 
 10 And all the armv of the Chaldees.that 
 •were with the captain of the guard, brake 
 down the walls of Jerusalem round about. 
 
 1 1 Now the rest of the people thai xvere 
 left in the city, and the t fugitives that 
 fell away to the king of Babylon, with the 
 remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzar- 
 adan the captain of the guard carry away. 
 
 12 But the captain of the guard left of 
 the poor of the land to be vinedressers and 
 husbandmen. 
 
 13 And *" the pillars of brass that were 
 in the house of the Lord, and the bases, 
 and the brasen sea that zvas in the house 
 of the Lord, did the Chaldees break in 
 pieces, and carried the brass of them to 
 Babylon. 
 
 6. — thei/ gave judgment upon him.~\ A great council, it is pro- 
 bable, was called, who passed a soleinn sentence upon him, in 
 condemning him as a rebellious subject. Tlius was fulfilled the 
 prophecy of Jeremiah, that he should see the kmg of Babylon 
 and speak with him, Jer. .\xxii. 4 ; xxxiv. .3. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. — and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, ~\ Thus were consistently 
 fulfilled the two seemingly different and contrary predictions of 
 Jeremiali and Ezekiel concerning him: the one, tliat he should 
 be caiTied to Babylon, Jer. xxxii. 5 ; the other, tliat he should twt 
 see Babylon, Ezek. xii. 13. — for he was carried thither blind. Ft/le. 
 
 On this event Josephus thus remarks : This may serve to con- 
 vince, even the ignorant, of the power and wisdom of God, and 
 of the constancy of His counsels through all the various ways of 
 His operations. It may likewise shew us, tliat God's foreknow- 
 ledge of things is certain, and His providence regular in the or- 
 dering of events. The example of Zedekiah, besides, holds forth to 
 us a most instructive proof of the danger of our giving way to the 
 notions of sin and infidelity, which deprive us of the means of dis- 
 cerning God's judgments, even though ready to fall vipon us. 
 
 }». And he burnt the house of the Lord,"} What pity it was to see the 
 Holy of Holies, into which" none might enter but tlie high priest 
 once a year, now thronged with Pagans, the vails rent, the sacred 
 ark of God violated and defaced, the tables overturned, the altars 
 broken down, the pillars demolished, the pavements digged up, 
 vea, the very ground wliere that famous pile stooil, deformed ! 
 ■i^our hundred and thirty-six years liad that '.emple stood and 
 
 ' Cbap. M. 
 
 17. 
 
 Jer. 27. 22. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 ti.f ine KB. 
 
 1 Kiugs 
 
 7. 15. 
 Jer. 52. 21. 
 
 14 And the pots, and the shovels, and 
 the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the 
 vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, 
 took they away. 
 
 15 And the firepans, and the bowls, and 
 such things as were of gold, in gold, and 
 of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard 
 took away. 
 
 16 The two pillars, t one sea, and the 
 bases which Solomon had made for the 
 house of the Lord ; the brass of all these 
 vessels was without weight. 
 
 17 " The height of the one pillar was 
 eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it 
 was brass : and the height of the chapiter 
 three cubits ; and tlie wreathen work, and 
 pomegranates upon the chapiter round a- 
 bout, all of brass : and like unto these had 
 the second pillar with wreathen work. 
 
 18 ^ And the captain of the guard took 
 Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the 
 second priest, and the three keepers of the 
 t door : 
 
 19 And out of the city he took an II of- 
 ficer that was set over the men of war, and 
 five men of them that t were in the king's 
 presence, which were found in the city, and 
 the II principal scribe of the host, which 
 mustered the ])eople of the land, and three- 
 score men of the people of the land that 
 were found in the city : 
 
 20 And Nebuzar-adan captain of the 
 guard took these, and brought them to the 
 king of Babylon to Riblah : 
 
 21 And tlie king of Babylon smote 
 them, and slew them at Riblah in the land 
 
 beautified the earth and honoured Heaven : now it is turned into 
 rude heaps. There is no prescription to be pleaded for the favour 
 of the Almighty. Only that temple, not made with hands, is 
 eternal in the hea\ens. Thither will He giaciously bring His 
 faithful servants, for the sake of that glorious Higli Priest, who 
 has once for all entered into that Holy of Holies. Bp. Hall. 
 
 13. And the pillars of brass SiC.'^ It appears that Nebuchadnez.- 
 zar carried away the riches and furniture of tlie temple at three 
 difltrent times : first, in the third year of Jelioiakim, Dan. i. 2, 
 these were the vessels which his son Bel.--haz2ar profaned, (Dan. 
 V. 2,) and which Cyrus restored to tlie Jews, (Ezra i. 7,) to be 
 set up in the temple wlien rebuilt; secondly, in the reign of Je- 
 hoiachin he again took the city, and cut in pieces a great pirt of 
 the vessels of gold which Solomon had made, 2 Kings x.xiv. 13; 
 thirdly, in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, as is here relatetl, he 
 pillaged the temple once more. It is somewhat strange that, 
 among the other furniture, we find no mention made of the ark 
 of the covenant, which of all other things was held most sacred; 
 but it was probalily burnt together wiUi the temple in this last 
 desolation. Slackhou.<ie. 
 
 1 8. — the second priest,'} \Miom the Jews call Sagan, who was 
 die deputy of the high priest in the case of sickness, or any thing 
 wliich made him incapable of officiating. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 21. — smote them, and slew them'\ He probably did this be- 
 cause he looked upon them as tlie king's principal counsellors, 
 who had advised him to rebel agaiust liiin. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 thrfsholtL 
 U Or, 
 
 €U7lUCk. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 saw the 
 kins^sjacfi- 
 II Or, 
 
 scribe aftht 
 cajitfiin if 
 tite host.
 
 Gedaliah is slain. 
 
 II. KINGS. 
 
 Evil-merodach advanceth Jehoiachin. 
 
 Brfon. oi' Hainath. So Judah was carried away 
 "\^.k'' out of their land. 
 
 • jcr HO 2'' ^ ' -^^"^^ ^^ •^'* *'^^ people that re- 
 *."' mained in the land of Judah, whom Nebu- 
 chadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even 
 over them he made Gedaliah the son of 
 Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler. 
 
 'j«.4o. 7. 23 And when all the 'captains of the 
 armies, they and their men, heard that the 
 king of Babylon had made Gedaliah go- 
 vernor, there came to Gedaliah to Miz- 
 pah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, 
 and Johanan the son of Careah, and Se- 
 raiah tlic son of Tanhumeth the Neto- 
 phathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maa- 
 chathite, they and their men. 
 
 i21. And Gedaliah sware to them, and to 
 
 their men, and said unto then). Fear not to 
 
 be the servants of the Chaldees : dwell in 
 
 the land, and serve the king of Babylon ; 
 
 and it sliall be well with you. 
 
 58*- 25 But it came to pass in the seventh 
 
 t Hch. month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, 
 
 dom.'"''^ the son of Ehshama, of the seed t royal, 
 
 • jer.41.2. came, and ten men with him, and ^ smote 
 
 25. — and smote Gedaliah, &c.J See these events more fully 
 related in Jtr. xl, xli, xlii, xliii. 
 
 27. And it came to nass &C.3 As a conclusion of the history of 
 the two kingdoms ol the Israelitish nation, there is here added 
 ■B-hat Iwfell .lehoiachin, the first captive king in Babylon after 
 the death of Nebuchadnezzar. That great ])rince was no sooner 
 dead, tlian his son and successor, Evil-merodach, "lifted up the 
 head of Jehoiachin ;" that is, released him out of prison, after a 
 melancholy confinement of thirty-seven years. Pi/le. 
 
 FAil-merndacltl His proper name was Merodach ; he 
 
 seems to have been called Evil-merodach, that is, " foolish Mero- 
 dach," because he was a very profligate and vicious prince. Dean 
 Pridcaus. 
 
 M. — all the days of his life.^ Evil-merodach made himself so 
 mtdWrablc in his government, that at length his own relations 
 conspired against him, and put him to death. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the wonder of all times, the paragon 
 
 of nations, the glory of the earth, the favourite of Heaven ; how 
 
 art thou now liecome an heap of ashes, a specUcle of desolation 
 
 a nicnuraent of ruin ! Thou hast drunk that bitter cup of God's 
 
 vengeance, it less early, yet no lets deeply, than thy sister city, 
 
 Nimann. How carefully had thy God forewarned thee : and lo, 
 
 jiulgmcnts, the fruits of thy iniquities, have now overtaken thee ! 
 
 Both cities he together in the dust ; both are made a curse to all 
 
 posterity. What place will the justice of God spare, if Jerusa- 
 
 T' ,^',^ J'^l'ght. perished and was cut off for her wickedness ! 
 lip. Uall. 
 
 Before 
 
 Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and 
 
 the Chaldees that were with him at Miz- "as 
 
 pah. 
 
 26 And all the people, both small and 
 great, and the captains of the armies, arose, 
 and came to Egypt : for they were afraid 
 of the Chaldees. 
 
 27 IF And it came to pass in the seven ss-- 
 and thirtieth year of the captivity of Je- 
 hoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth 
 month, on the seven and twentieth day of 
 
 the month, that Evil-merodach king of Ba- 
 bylon in the year that he began to reign 
 did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of 
 Judah out of prison ; 
 
 28 And he spake t kindly to him, and t Heb. 
 set his throne above the throne of the kings ^"m !*«'* 
 that "ivere with him in Babylon ; 
 
 29 And changed his prison garments: 
 and he did eat bread continually before 
 him all the days of his life. 
 
 30 And his allowance laas a continual 
 allowance given him of the king, a daily 
 rate for every day, all the days of his 
 life. 
 
 We have now seen the end of that glorious kingdom, and of 
 the entire Israelitish monarchy, after it had stood 46"8 years from 
 the time when David began to reign, 388 years from the revolt of 
 the ten tribes, and 1 S't years from the destruction of the divided 
 kingdom of Israel ; and after it had long continued under the 
 sunshine of the Divine protection, which nothing could have 
 eclipsed but their almost constant and horrid ingratitude, and 
 their invincible propensity to imitate the idolatries and witcheries 
 of other nations ; crimes which, though as abominable to Go<l as 
 they were universally practised by mankind, yet seemed to have 
 flowed from a purer source, though corrupted by degrees to 
 this vast height by the amazing degeneracy of mankind. Univ, 
 Hist. 
 
 Tlic most remarkable circumstance of all these events is, that 
 the holy temple itself was involved in this destruction; and that 
 God sufl^ered the Babylonians to profane and bum that house, 
 which was dedicated to Him, after they had spoiled it of its most 
 precious things. In this manner God was pleased to punish the 
 Jews, who had profaned the temple and His service ; and to shew 
 at the same time that the legal service which was there establish- 
 ed, was not always to subsist; and that the worship which was 
 then abolished for a time, should be for ever abolished at the 
 coming of the Messiah, by the last destruction of Jerusalem and 
 the temple, and by the dispersion of the Jews. Thus were at last 
 accomplished the threatenings which God had denounced against 
 His people ; a great example of His tremendous judgments on 
 those who abuse His patience and mercy, and obstinately persist 
 in their sins. Ostervald. 
 
 The foUowing Chapters from the second book of Kings are appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holydays. 
 
 ^"^^■^} Ascension Day, Evening. 
 
 TY - - - - nth Simday after Trinity, .... Morninff. 
 
 ~ X ' " ■ " °'''^c , Evenin|. 
 
 XVHI. '.'.'.[ l"th Sunday after Trinity, .... Morning. 
 
 ■ \ I Y " ^-'uio, --•«•__ Eveninff 
 
 kxiil. : : : : 13th Sunday after Trinity, .... Morning. 
 
 uiw), > . . . . . . Evening.
 
 THE FIRST BOOK OF THE 
 
 CHRONICLES. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE two books of Chronicles formed but one in the Hebrew canon, which was called the book of Diaries or Journals. In the Septu- 
 agint version they were called, the books of " things omitted ;" and they were first named the books of Chronicles by St. Jerome. 
 They are supposed to be designed as a kind of supplement to the preceding books of Scripture, to supply such important particulars 
 as had been omitted, because inconsistent with tlie plan of former books. They are generally, and with much probabUity, attributed 
 txj Ezra, whose book which bears his name is written with a similar style of expression, and appears to be a continuation of them. 
 Ezra may have compiled these books, by the assistance of Haggai and Nehemiah, from historical records, and the accounts of con- 
 temporary Prophets. The former part of the first book of Chronicles contains a great variety of genealogical tables, beginning with 
 Adam, and in particular gives a circumstantial account of the twelve tribes, which must have been very valuable to the Jews after 
 their return from captivity. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, from all of whom it was predicted that the 
 Saviour of the workl should be bom, are here marked with precision. These genealogies occupy the first nine chapters, and in the 
 tenth is recorded the death of Said. From the eleventh chapter to the end of the book, we have a history of the reign of David, with 
 a detailed statement of his preparations for the building of the temple, of his regulations respecting the priests and Le\'ites, and his 
 appointment of musicians for the publick service of religion. 
 
 The books of Chronicles, though they contain many particidars related in preceding books, and supply several circumstances omitted 
 in preceding accounts, are not to be considered merely as an abridgment of former histories, with some supplementary additions, but 
 as books written with a particular view ; in consistency with which, the author sometimes disregards important particulars in those 
 accounts from which he might have compiled his work, and adheres to the design proposed, which seems to have been to furnish a 
 genealogical sketch of the twelve tribes, deduced from the earliest times: in order to point out those distinctions which were neces- 
 sary to discriminate the mixed multitude that returned from Babylon ; to ascertain the lineage of Judah ; and to reestablish on their 
 ancient footing the pretensions and functions of each individual tribe. The authority of the books is establishetl by tlie accommoda- 
 tion of a prophetick passage selected from it to the character of our Saviour by St. Paul, 1 Chron. xvii. IS; xxii. 10; Heb. i. 5; and 
 by a positive prophecy of the eternity of 'Chfist's kingdom, 1 Chron. xvii. 14, as well as by other occasional predictions, chap, xxii, 
 9, 10. Dr. Gray, Bj). TuuUinc. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 •KKM, &c. 
 
 » Geo. 5. 
 5,9. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 1 Adam's line to Noah. 3 The sons of Japheth. 8 The 
 sons of Ham. 17 The sons of Shem. 2-1 Shcm's line 
 to Abraham. 29 Ishmael's sons. 32 The sons of 
 Keturah. Si The posteritij of Abraham by Esau. 
 43 The kings of Edom. 51 The dukes of Edam. 
 
 ADAM, ' Sheth, Enosh, 
 2 Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered, 
 3 Henoch, Methuselah, Laniech, 
 4< Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 
 
 Chap. I. ver. 1. Adam, Sheth, &c,] As it was one of the useful 
 
 designs of the following collection out of the Israelite histories, 
 first, to uphold the great fact of the creation of the world, and the 
 propagation of mankind as derived from tlie first pair ; and 
 secondly, to preserve the distinction of the Israelite tribes and 
 families, so as to set forth to posterity the genealogy of Christ tlie 
 
 5 ^ " The sons of Japheth ; Gomer, and 
 Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, 
 and Meshech, and Tiras. 
 
 6 And the sons of Gomer ; Ashchenaz, 
 and II Riphath, and Togarmah. 
 
 7 And the sons of Javan ; Elishah, and 
 Tarshish, Kittim, and || Dodanim. 
 
 8 ^ The sons of Ham ; Cush, and Miz- 
 raim. Put, and Canaan. 
 
 9 And the sons of Cush ; Seba, and Ha- 
 
 Befor* 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ^oo^, &C. 
 
 " Gen. la 
 
 "Or. 
 
 as it is ia 
 some co- 
 pies. 
 H Or, 
 
 according 
 to some 
 copies. 
 
 Messiah, in the lirje of David, agreeably to the ancient prophecies 
 concerning Him, and to make it appear that this genealogy of th« 
 Israelite nation has not been lost by their disper>ion during the 
 Baljylonish captivity ; it was tliought proper to begin this book 
 with giving an entire view of all that is necessary, in the descent 
 of mankind in generid, and of the Israelite lamiiies in particular.
 
 The sons of Ham and S/iem. 
 
 iwfon- vilah, and Sabta, and Raamali, and Sabte- 
 f^'*'/Jc-lia. And the sons of Raamah ; Sheba, 
 
 I. CHRONICLES. 
 
 The sons ofKetiirah, <5r. 
 
 4001, 
 
 ' Cto. I a 
 
 8. 
 
 * Dtut. J. 
 83. 
 
 • 0«n. la 
 123. dt 11. 
 
 la 
 
 jOr. 
 
 ilath. Gen. 
 10. S3. 
 
 g Thai iV 
 Division. 
 
 ' Gen. 10. 
 
 ec. 
 
 « Luke S. 
 
 t4. 
 
 » Gen. 11. 
 
 15. 
 
 'Gen.n.i, 
 
 ■ Gen. 21. 
 t,3. 
 
 ■ Geo. IC. 
 11. 
 
 "GtlLSS. 
 
 IS. to 17. 
 
 and Dedan. 
 
 10 And Cush " begat Nimrod : he be- 
 gan to be mighty upon the earth. 
 
 1 1 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and A- 
 naniini, and Lehabiin, and Naphtuhim, 
 
 VI And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (of 
 whom came the Philistines,) and " Caph- 
 
 thorim. , • /• . 
 
 IS And Canaan begat Zidon his first- 
 born, and Heth, 
 
 1 i The Jebusitc also, and the Amorite, 
 and the Girgashite, 
 
 15 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and 
 the Sinite, 
 
 IC And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, 
 and the Hamathite. 
 
 17 ^ The sons of ' Shem ; Elam, and 
 Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and A- 
 ram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and 
 II Meshech. 
 
 18 And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and 
 Shelah begat Eber. 
 
 ly And unto Eber were born two sons : 
 the name of the one was \\ Peleg ; because 
 in his days the earth was divided : and liis 
 brother's name was Joktan. 
 
 '^0 ' And Joktan begat Almodad, and 
 Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, 
 
 21 Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Dik- 
 lah, 
 
 22 And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, 
 
 23 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. 
 All these were the sons of Joktan. 
 
 24. ^ « Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, 
 
 25 " Eber, Peleg, Reu, 
 
 26 Serug, Nahor, Terah, 
 
 27 ' Abram ; the same is Abraham. 
 
 28 The sons of Abraham ; " Isaac, and 
 ' Ishmael. 
 
 29 H These are their generations : The 
 "" fir.stborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth ; then Ke- 
 dar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, 
 
 P}lle. The author mentions only their names briefly ; but, as it 
 is to be understood at the beginning that Adam begat Sheth, 
 Shcth begat Enos, &c. so of those which follow. Adam, it is 
 known from Genesis, had two sons liefore he had Sheth ; but, as 
 pne of them was murdered without issue, and the other accursed 
 «o that all his descendants perished in the flood, therefore Sheth 
 only, and those who came from him, are mentioned. Bp. Fa- 
 trick. 
 
 , '"• — <"^ Vz, and Hul, &c.'] These were not the sons of Shem, 
 but his grandsons, by .Vram his youngest son, as appears from 
 VTO. X. 2.3. However, it is extremely common, as has been re- 
 marked before, in Scripture, to call grandsons by the name of 
 »ons- Bp. Patrick. 
 
 84 .SAem, Arpha.rnd, &c.] These are repeated from ver. 17, 18 
 O^J?' purpose of shewing how Abraham was descended from 
 .>Deni, Who WM the most emineat of tl»e sons of Noah, and whom 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 185;t, 
 II Or, 
 ffadar. 
 
 Gen. 25. 14. 
 
 ■Gen. SC 
 
 9, 10. 
 
 II Or, 
 Zrjiha, 
 Gen. 'J6. 
 12. 
 
 SO Mishma, and Dumah, Massa, II Ha- 
 dad, and Tema, 
 
 31 Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These 
 are the sons of Ishmael. 
 
 32 ^ Now the sons of Keturah, Abra- 
 ham's concubine : she bare Zimran, and 
 Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and 
 Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jok- 
 shan ; Sheba, and Dedan. 
 
 33 And the sons of Midian ; Ephah, 
 and Epher, and Henoch, and Abida, and 
 Eldaah. AH these are the sons of Ketu- 
 rah. 
 
 34) And Abraham begat Isaac. The sons 
 of Isaac ; Esau and Israel. 
 
 35 ^ The sons of "Esau ; Eliphaz, Reuel, 
 and Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah. 
 
 36 The sons of Eliphaz ; Teman, and 
 Omar, II Zephi, and Gatam, Kenaz, and 
 Timna, and Amalek. 
 
 37 The sons of Reuel ; Nahath, Zerah, 
 Shammah, and Mizzah. 
 
 38 And the sons of Seir ; Lotan, and 
 Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, and Di- 
 shon, and Ezar, and Dishan. 
 
 39 And the sons of Lotan ; Hori, and 
 II Homani : and Timna was Lotan's sister. 
 
 40 The sons of Shobal ; || Alian, and 
 Manahath, and Ebal, || Shephi, and Onam. 
 And the sons of Zibeon ; Aiah, and Anah. 
 
 41 The sons of Anah ; ° Dishon. And 
 the sons of Dishon ; || Amram, and Eshban, 
 and Ithran, and Cheran. 
 
 42 The sons of Ezer j Bilhan, and Za- 
 van, and || Jakan. The sons of Dishan ; 
 Uz, and Aran. 
 
 43 ^ Now these are the ^ kings that 
 reigned in the land of Edom before ani/ 
 king reigned over the children of Israel ; 
 Bela the son of Beor : and the name of his 
 city xvas Dinhabah. 
 
 44 And when Bela was dead, Jobab the 
 son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his 
 stead. 
 
 he solemnly blessed, as the Messiah was to spring from him. Gen. 
 ix. 26. This promise of the Messiah was transferred from Adam 
 to Sheth, from Sheth to Shem, from Shem to Eber, from whom, 
 as some think, the Hebrew nation derived their name, and who, 
 above all nations in the world, had this gracious promise com- 
 mitted to their trust. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 .36. — Timna, and Amalek.^ Rather Timna-Amalek, in one 
 word, being the name of his son by Timna his concubine. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 43. Xcnv these are the kings that reigned'2 Esau's posterity, hav- 
 ing routed the clans or tribes, changed the government into a 
 monarchy, which lasted for a considerable time ; but when the 
 monarchy, in the turn of human affairs, was come to an end, ver. 
 a 1 , they still kept up a sort of government in the country, under 
 distinct lords or dukes over particular districts. See Gen. xxxTb 
 31-~1S. Pi/k. 
 
 y Or, 
 Hemaiit 
 Gen. 3(5. 22, 
 II Or, 
 
 AtviiUt 
 
 Geii.:;G e?, 
 
 I Or, 
 Shejiho, 
 Gen. .",6. '2S; 
 ° Chap. 2. 
 31. 
 
 U Or, 
 
 Hemdun, 
 
 Gen..'35.2i». 
 
 II Or, 
 Ackan, 
 Gen. 3(5 27. 
 about IQIG. 
 ' Gen. 3S. 
 31. 
 
 Pi
 
 The kings and dukes ofEdom. 
 
 CHAP. I, II. 
 
 The posterity qfjudah, Jesse, ^c. 
 
 CH hTst ^^ -^"^ when Jobab was dead, Husham 
 Kboiit 1S7C. of the land of the Temanites reigned in 
 his stead. 
 
 46 And when Husham was dead, Ha- 
 dad the son of Bedad, which smote Mi- 
 dian in the field of Moab, reigned in his 
 stead : and the name of his city -was Avith. 
 . 47 And when Hadad was dead, Samlah 
 of Masrekah reigned in his stead. 
 "Gen. 36. 48 " And when Samlah was dead, Shaul 
 of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his 
 stead. 
 
 49 And when Shaul was dead, Baal- 
 hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his 
 stead. 
 
 50 And when Baal-hanan was dead, 
 ^^mdiir " Hadad reigned in his stead : and the 
 Gen.3B.s9. name of his city -was \\ Pai ; and his wife's 
 Pa^'cen. i^^™6 wus Melietabcl, the daughter of Ha- 
 tred, the daughter of Mezahab. 
 
 51 ^ Hadad died also. And the ' dukes 
 of Edom were ; duke Timnah, duke Aliah, 
 duke Jetheth, 
 
 52 Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke 
 Pinon, 
 
 53 Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke 
 Mibzar, 
 
 54 Duke Magdiel, duke Iram. These 
 are the dukes of Edom. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 1 The sons of Israel. 3 The posterity of Jndak by Ta- 
 mar. 13 The children of Jesse. IS The posterity of 
 Caleb the son of Hezron. 21 Hezron's posteiity by 
 the daughter of Machir. 25 Jerahmeel's jmslerily. 
 34- Shcshan's posterity. 42 Another branch of Ca- 
 leb's posterity. .50 The posterity of Caleb the son of 
 Hur. 
 
 <HESE are the sons of || Israel ; * Reu- 
 
 ae. 39. 
 
 allOUt 149S. 
 ' Gen. 36. 
 ■Ii>. 
 
 1752, &c. 
 3 Or, 
 ,Jiist)h. 
 • Gen 29. 
 •S2. & .'?(). 5 
 & 35. IS, 
 •Ji!. & -IC. 
 S, ic. 
 » Gen. ns. 
 
 ben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issa- 
 char, and Zebulun, 
 
 2 Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, 
 Gad, and Asher. 
 
 3 1[ The sons of ^ Judah j Er, and O- 
 t?, & 4fi. i'.i. nan, and Shelah : -jrhich three were born 
 e Gg„ gg_ unto him of the daughter of " Shua the 
 •i' Canaanitess. And Er, tlie firstborn of Ju- 
 dah, was evil in the sight of the Loud; and 
 he slew him. 
 
 4 And ■* Tamar his daughter in law bare 
 him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of 
 
 • Oen. 38, 
 2H, 80. 
 Alutth. I. 3. 
 
 Judah xicre five. 
 
 Cliap. II. ver. 1 5. — David the secciith .-] It .ippcars from 1 .Sam. 
 xvi. 10, 11, that David was at that time the eighth son of Jesse. 
 It is probable that one of the sons vns dead Ijefore he came to 
 tJie kingdom. 
 
 IvS. — Caleb the so?t of IJezron'] It is evident that this is not 
 Vol.. I. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1752, *c 
 
 ' Uutb 4. 
 
 18. 
 
 II Or, Zabdi, 
 
 Josh. 7. 1. 
 
 ' 1 Kings 
 
 -1.31. 
 
 I) Or, 
 
 Dnrda. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Aclian. 
 
 « Josh. 6. 
 
 I9.&7. 1, 
 
 25. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Ar<tm, 
 
 Mattli. 1.3. 
 
 II Or, Caleti, 
 
 ver. IK 
 
 " Ruth 4. 
 
 19. 
 
 about 1090. 
 > 1 Sam. 16. 
 C. 
 
 I! O^ 
 Shammnh, 
 1 Sam. 16. 
 9. 
 
 5 The sons of " Pharez ; Hezron, and 
 Hamul. 
 
 G And the sons of Zerah ; || Zimri, ' and 
 Etiian, and Heman, and Calcol, and ll Dara : 
 five of them in all. 
 
 7 And the sons of Carmi; || Achar, the 
 troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the 
 thing ^ accursed. 
 
 8 And the sons of Ethan ; Azariah. 
 
 9 The sons also of Hezron, that were 
 born unto him ; Jerahmeel, and II Ram, 
 and II Chelubai. 
 
 10 And Ram " begat Amminadab ; and 
 Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the 
 children of Judah ; 
 
 1 1 And Nahshon begat Salma, and Sal- 
 raa begat Boaz, 
 
 12 And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed be- 
 gat Jesse, 
 
 13 ^ ' And Jesse begat his firstborn E- 
 liab,and Abinadab the second, and 11 Shim- 
 ma the third, 
 
 14 Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the 
 fifth, 
 
 15 Ozem the sixth, David the seventh : 
 
 16 Whose sisters a'ere Zeruiah, and Abi- 
 gail. And the sons of Zeruiah ; Abishai, 
 and Joab, and Asahel, three. 
 
 17 And Abigail bare Amasa: and the 
 father of Amasa aasjether the Ishmeelite. 
 
 18 ^ And Caleb the son of Hezron be- 
 gat children of Azubah his wife, and of 
 Jerioth : her sons are these ; Jesher, and 
 Shobab, and Ardon. 
 
 19 And when Azubah was dead, Caleb 
 took unto him Ephrath, which bare him 
 Hur. 
 
 20 And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat 
 " Bezaleel. 
 
 21 ^ And afterward Hezron went in to 
 the daughter of Machir the father of Gi- 
 lead, whom he t married when he teas 
 threescore years old ; and she bare him 
 Segub. 
 
 22 And Segub begat Jair, who had three 
 and twenty cities in the land of Gilead. 
 
 23 ' And he took Geshur, and Aram, 
 with the towns of Jair, from them, with 
 Kenath, and the towns thereof; eve7i three- 
 score cities. All these belotiged to the sous 
 of Machir the father of Gilead. 
 
 24 And after that Hezron was dead in 
 
 Calcl) whom Moses sent to search out tlie land of Canaan, for ho 
 ■was the son of Jeplmnneh, of whom an account is given below at 
 chap. iv. 1.^. This person is called Chelubai at ver. f) of this 
 ckapter. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ;tbout 1471. 
 
 31.2. 
 
 f Ileb 
 
 ' NHirb.32.- 
 
 41. 
 
 DeuL .3. 14.- 
 
 Josli. 13. 
 
 30.
 
 Jfra/iiiietl's posterity. 
 
 I. CHRONICLES. The poslerity of Caleb the son ofHttr. 
 
 iwor. Calcb-ephratali, then Abiali Ilezron's wife 
 ^""V-i*^ bare liim Asliur the tatlier of Tckoa. 
 ,bo«ii4, . ^^_^ ^ ,^,u| the sons of Jcrahmeel the 
 
 firstborn ot" Ilezron were, Ham the first- 
 born, aiul Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, 
 and Ahijaii. 
 
 '2») Jerahmcel had also another wife, 
 whose name xvas Atarah ; she ivas the mo- 
 ther of Onam. 
 
 •27 And the sons of Ram the firstborn 
 of Jeralimeel were, Maaz, and Jamin, and 
 Eker. 
 
 '28 And the sons of Onam were, Sham- 
 mai, and Jada. And the sons of Shammai } 
 Naciab, and Abishur. 
 
 '2<J And the name of the wife of Abi- 
 shur xi-as Abihail, and she bare him Aliban, 
 and Molid. 
 
 30 And the sons of Nadab ; Seled, and 
 Appaim : but Seled died without children. 
 
 S\ And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And 
 the sons of Ishi ; Sheshan. And the chil- 
 dren of Sheshan ; Ahlai. 
 
 30. And the sons of Jada the brother of 
 Sliammai ; Jether, and Jonathan : and Je- 
 ther died without children. 
 
 33 And the sons of Jonathan; Peleth,and 
 Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel. 
 
 3\> •[ Now Sheshan had no sons, but 
 daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, 
 an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha. 
 
 35 And Sheshan gave his daughter to 
 Jarha his servant to wife ; and she bare 
 him Attai. 
 
 3(i And Attai begat Nathan, and Nathan 
 Chv.n. begat " Zabad, 
 
 37 And Zabad begat Ephlal, and Eph- 
 lal begat Obed, 
 
 38 And Obed begat Jehu, and Jehu be- 
 gat Azariah, 
 
 39 And Azariah begat Helez, and He- 
 lez begat Eleasah, 
 
 10 And Eleasah begat Sisamai, and Si- 
 samai begat Shallum, 
 
 41 And Shallum begat Jekamiah, and 
 Jekamiah begat Elishama. 
 
 4'2 ^ Now the sons of Caleb the brother 
 of Jerahmeel xcere, Mesha his firstborn, 
 which uas the father of Ziph ; and the sons 
 of Mareshah the father of Hebron. 
 
 4^ And the sons of Hebron ; Korah, 
 and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema. 
 
 44 And Shema begat Raham, the father 
 of Jorkoam : and Rekem begat Shammai. 
 
 45 And the son of Shammai was Maon : 
 and Maon Teas the father of Beth-zur. 
 
 46 And Ephah, Caleb's concubine, bare 
 Haran, and Moza, and Gazez : and Haran 
 begat Gazez. 
 
 II 
 
 about 
 M7l,ic. 
 
 47 And the sons of Jahdai ; Regem, 
 and Jotham, and Gesham, and Pelet, and 
 Ephah, and Shaaph. 
 
 48 Maachah, Caleb's concubine, bare 
 Sheber, and Tirhanah. 
 
 49 She bare also Shaaph the father of 
 Madmannab, Sheva the father of Mach- 
 benah, and the father of Gibea: and the 
 daughter of Caleb "was " Achsa. 
 
 50 ^ These were the sons of Caleb the 
 son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah ; 
 Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim, 
 
 51 Salma the father of Beth-lehem, Ha- 
 reph the father of Beth-gader. 
 
 52 And Shobal the father of Kirjath- 
 jearim had sons ; || Haroeh, and || half of 
 the Manahethites. 
 
 53 And the families of Kiijath-jearim ; 
 the Ithrites, and the Puhites, and the Shu- 
 mathites, and the Mishraites ; of them 
 came the Zareathites, and the Eshtaulites. 
 
 54 The sons of Salma ; Beth-lehem, and 
 the Netophathites, || Ataroth, the house of 
 Joab, and half of the Manahethites, the 
 Zorites. 
 
 55 And the families of the scribes which 
 dwelt at Jabez ; the Tirathites, the Shi- 
 meathites, a7id Suchathites. These are the 
 ° Kenites that came of Hemath, the father 
 of the house of *" Rechab. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1471, &c. 
 
 •Josh. IS. 
 
 17. 
 
 nor, 
 
 Reaiak, 
 chap. 4. «. 
 II Or, 
 
 hulfnfthe 
 Menuchilcs, 
 ur, HiiUi- 
 hammenu- 
 cholh. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 jtlarilfs, or, 
 croivns etf 
 the house of 
 Joub. 
 
 •Judges 1. 
 
 16. 
 
 » Jer. 35. 2. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 1 The sont of David. 10 His line to Zedekiak. 17 The 
 successors of Jeconiah, 
 
 NOW these were the sons of David, 
 which were born unto him in He- 
 bron ; the firstborn * Amnon, of Ahinoam 
 the '' Jezreelitess ; the second ll Daniel, of 
 Abigail the Carmelitess : 
 
 2 The third, Absalom the son of Maa- 
 chah the daughter of Talmai king of Ge- 
 shur: the fourth, Adonijah the son of 
 Haggith : 
 
 3 The fifth, Shephatiah of Abital : the 
 sixth, Ithream by ' Eglah his wife. 
 
 4 These six were born unto him in He- 
 bron ; and there he reigned seven years 
 and six months : and in Jerusalem he 
 reigned thirty and three years. 
 
 5 '' And these were born unto him in 
 Jerusalem ; || Shimea, and Shobab, and Na- 
 than, and Solomon, four, of |1 Bath-shua 
 the daughter of || Ammiel : 
 
 6 Ibhar also, and li Elishama, and Eli- 
 phelet, 
 
 7 And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia, 
 
 8 And Elishama, and || EHada, and Eli- 
 phelet, nine. 
 
 alx>ut 
 10i3,Ar. 
 
 * 2 Sam. 3. 
 
 2. 
 
 " Josh. 15. 
 
 56. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 CUUta\ 
 
 2 Sam. 3.3. 
 
 ' 2 Sam. 3. 
 
 .■). 
 
 < 2 Sam. 5. 
 
 14. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Shiimmun, 
 
 2 Sam. 5. 
 
 14. 
 
 II Or, Bath- 
 
 thelm, 
 
 2 Sam. 11.3. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 2 Sam. U.S. 
 II Or, Eli- 
 skua, 
 2 Sam 5.15. 
 
 II Or, Beeli- 
 ttdn, chap. 
 14,7. 
 
 i
 
 David's lifte to Zedekiah. 
 
 CHAP. Ill, IV. 
 
 QfJabez, and his prayer. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST ^ These were all the sons of David, be- 
 105S, &C. side the sons of the concubines, and ' Ta- 
 ' 2 Sam. mar their sister. 
 
 f'l Kings ^^ ^ ^^^ Solomon's son was '^ Reho- 
 11.43.* boam, II Abia his son, Asa his son, Jeho- 
 Tor'.Abi. shaphat his son, 
 
 jini, 1 1 Joram his son, || Ahaziah his son, Joash 
 
 \^T}" l"s son, 
 
 Or, ^rn- 12 Amaziah his son, || Azariah his son, 
 2 chron. Jotham his son, 
 
 22. 6. & 13 Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Ma- 
 
 il Or, ux. nasseh his son, 
 "Kin J 15 ^"^ Amon his son, Josiah his son. 
 lo, '"e' • J J And the sons of Josiah a-ere, the first- 
 Of- J^'"'- born || Johanan, the second || Jehoiakim, 
 2 Kings 23. the third || Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. 
 30- 16 And the sons of ^ Jehoiakim : ll Jeco- 
 
 Eiinkim, niah his son, Zedekiah *■ his son. 
 2 Kings 23. ly ^ And the sons of Jeconiah ; Assir, 
 g Or, Mat. t Salathiel ' his son, 
 
 2"Krn's24 ^^ Malchiram also, and Pedaiah, and 
 17. ' Shenazar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Neda- 
 
 «Matt.l. biah. 
 
 n6r,j«Aoi- 19 And the sons of Pedaiah werey Ze- 
 "''^'J; 24. rubbabel, and Shimei : and the sons of Ze- 
 6. or. rubbabel ; MeshuUam, and Hananiah, and 
 jor."22. 24. Shelomith their sister : 
 » 2 Kingj 20 And Hashubah, and Ohel, and Bere- 
 ^Ipg^ij, chiah, and Hasadiah, Jushab-hesed, five, 
 uncle. 21 And the sons of Hananiah ; Pela- 
 
 \heauui. ti^h, and Jesaiah : the sons of Rephaiah, 
 ' Mutt. 1. the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, 
 the sons of Shechaniah. 
 
 22 And the sons of Shechaniah ; She- 
 maiah : and the sons of Shemaiah ; Hat- 
 tush, and Igeal, and Bariah, and Neariah, 
 and Shaphat, six. 
 
 23 And the sons of Neariah ; Elioenai, 
 t Heb. and t Hezekiah, and Azrikam, three. 
 ii„kijahu. 24 And the sons of Elioenai xvere, Ho- 
 
 daiah, and Eliashib, and Pelaiah, and Ak- 
 kub, and Johanan, and Dalaiah, and Anani, 
 
 seven. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 IflOO, Ac. 
 • Gen. 38. 
 29. & 46. 
 12. 
 II Or, 
 CItduhai, 
 chap. 2. 9. 
 or, Caleb, 
 chap. 2. 18. 
 II Or, 
 Haroeh, 
 chap. 2. 52. 
 
 1, 1 1 The posteritt) of Judah by Caleb the son of Hur. 
 5 Of Ashur the posthumous son of Hezron. 9 Qf Ja- 
 bez, and his prayer. 21 The posterity of Shclah. 
 24 The posterity and cities qf Simeon. 39 Their con- 
 quest qf Gedor, and of the Amakkites in mount Seir. 
 
 THE sons of Judah ; * Pharez, Hezron, 
 and II Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal. 
 2 And II Reaiah the son of Shobal begat 
 Jahath ; and Jahath begat Ahumai, 
 
 and 
 
 Lahad. 
 rathites. 
 
 These are the families of the Zo- 
 
 Chap. III. ver. l6. — Zedekiah his son.^ Zedekiah is called 
 the son of Jeconiah in a political sense, because he succeeded 
 
 3 And these were of the father of Etam ; ^f"" 
 Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash : and the ^no^'&J 
 name of their sister was Hazelelponi : 
 
 4> And Penuel the father of Gedor, and 
 Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the 
 sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the 
 father of Beth-lehem. 
 
 5 % And " Ashur the father of Tekoa ' chap. 2. 
 had two wives, Helah and Naarah. ^*' 
 
 6 And Naarah bare him Ahuzam, and 
 Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. 
 These were the sons of Naarah. 
 
 7 And the sons of Helah were, Zereth, 
 and Jezoar, and Ethnan. 
 
 8 And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, 
 and the families of Aharhel the son of Ha- 
 rum. 
 
 9 IF And Jabez was more honourable 
 
 than his brethren : and his mother called 
 
 his name || Jabez, saying. Because I bare II Th" ". 
 him with sorrow. 'orrovfui. 
 
 10 And Jabez called on the God of Is- 
 rael, saying, || Oh that thou wouldest bless t "«''• 
 me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that ^'""'"■*"' 
 thine hand might be with me, and that 
 
 thou wouldest t keep me from evil, that it t Hei>. 
 may not grieve me ! And God granted ''" "*" 
 him that which he requested. 
 
 11 f And Chelub the brother of Shuah 
 begat Mehir, which was the father of Esh- 
 ton. 
 
 12 And Eshton begat Beth-rapha, and 
 Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of || Ir- il Or, 
 nahash. These are the men oi" Rechah. Kaha^f 
 
 13 And the sons of Kenaz j Othniel, 
 and Seraiah : and the sons of Othniel ; 
 
 II Hathath. n Or, 
 
 14 And Meonothai begat Ophrah : and ZTMeono. 
 Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the II val- """• "•«> 
 ley of II Charashim ; for they were crafts- u'^o'! 
 
 I|]gp^ inhabitants 
 
 15 And the sons of Caleb the son of Je- I Thatis,'''" 
 phunneh ; Iru, Elah, and Naam : and the ^'-lO""'^ 
 sons of Elah, || even Kenaz. "Or. 
 
 16 And the sons of Jehaleleel; Ziph, and 
 Ziphah, Tiria, and Asareel. 
 
 17 And the sons of Ezra were, Jether, 
 and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon : and she 
 bare Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the 
 father of Eshtemoa. 
 
 18 And his wife || Jehudijah bare Jered i Or. 
 the father of Gedor, and Heber the father ' ""'"" 
 of Socho, and Jekuthiel the father of Za- 
 noali. And these are the sons of Bithiah the 
 daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took. 
 
 him, for he was really his uncle, 2 Kings xxiv. 17. Bp. Wil- 
 son. 
 
 5BS
 
 The poslei-ity and citiis of Simeon. 
 
 I. CHRONICLES. 
 
 Their conquest ofGedor, S;c. 
 
 Drforr 
 
 19 And the sons of his wife II Hodiah the 
 7i!i 'i? sister of Nahani, the father of Keilah the 
 ,^ Garmite, and Eshtcmoa the Maachath- 
 
 ZtT 20 And the sons of Shimon arr^-, Am- 
 non, and Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and lilon. 
 And tlie sons of Ishi ucrc, Zohcth, and 
 
 Bcn-zoheth, , . , „ c 
 
 'Gen. 58. o\ ^ The sons of Shelah the son ot 
 '••*• Judah u-ere, Er tlie father of Lecah, and 
 
 Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the 
 families of the house of them that wrought 
 fine hnen, of the house of Ashbca, 
 
 22 And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, 
 and Joash, and Saraph, who had the do- 
 minion in Moab, and Jasliubi-lehcm. And 
 these are ancient tilings. 
 
 23 These tce/e the potters, and those 
 that dwelt among plants and hedges : there 
 they dwelt with the king for his work. 
 
 I Or, 21 S Tli^ sons of Simeon -is:ere, ijNemuel, 
 
 oTtTie la and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul : 
 iuoA6.ii. 2j Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, 
 
 Mishma his son. 
 2t) And the sons of Mishma; Hamuel 
 
 his son, Zacchur his son, Shimei his son. 
 27 And Shimei had sixteen sons and six 
 
 daughters ; but his brethren had not many 
 
 children, neither did all their family multi- 
 tHeb. ply, tlike to the children of Judah. 
 "j^.19.2. 28 And they dwelt at ■* Beer-sheba, and 
 
 Moladah, and Hazar-shual, 
 I Or, 29 And at H Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at 
 
 fri9.3.1ITolad, 
 
 i Of. 30 And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and 
 
 jc»h. 19. 4. at Ziklag, 
 
 I Or, Ha. 31 And at Beth-marcaboth, and It Hazar- 
 jt»k"i9.'V susim, and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim. 
 
 |iOr.£.w. David 
 J. ■ 
 
 These Tiere their cities unto the reign of 
 " ivid. 
 
 32 And their villages were, \\ Etam, and 
 
 Jo^h 10. 7. 
 (Or, 
 
 Bnntoth. Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, 
 JoJi. 19.S. live cities: 
 
 L?*'' ^^ '^"'^ ^ ^^^^ villages that "wa-e round 
 
 nudihrn- about the same cities, unto || Baal. These 
 
 hl'.uam"r. '^'^'^ ^^^^^ habitations, and || their genea- 
 v,m. ° logy. 
 
 Chap. IV. ver. 39. — the entrance ofGedor,"] There was a place 
 nf this name l)elon<Tcd to .hidah, mentioned at Josh. xv. 58, and 
 another called Gedtrali, apiKruiiiing to the same tribe, mentioned 
 at ver. .'36 of the same chapter; out of which perhaps Judah had 
 not driven the old inhabitant's. But from the circumstance men- 
 Uonol i„ th,. next verse, that " they of H.im had dwelt there of 
 old, • Bochart wa« inclined to think that Gedor is some place in 
 Arabia, where, as he demonstrates, some of the posterity of Ham 
 •elllnl. pp_ I'airkk. 
 
 41. AiH ih,sr iriiltcn by name &c.] Their n.imes were recorded 
 . **'■• 34— 37 : now the time is mentioned when the events 
 took place, in the reign of Hezckiah king of Judah, that is, as 
 
 34 And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and ^^'ifi'sT 
 Joshah the son of Amaziah, isoo, >'vc 
 
 35 And Joel, and Jehu the son of Josi- 
 biah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel, 
 
 36 And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Je- 
 shohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesi- 
 micl, and Benaiah, 
 
 37 And Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son 
 of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of 
 Shimri, the son of Sheniaiah ; 
 
 38 These t mentioned by their names tHci.. 
 tcere princes in their families : and the "'""^'' 
 house of their fathers increased greatly. 
 
 39 ^ And they went to the entrance of •boutTi;- 
 Gedor, even unto the east side of the valley, 
 
 to seek pasture for their flocks. 
 
 40 And they found fat pasture and 
 good, and the land "was wide, and quiet, 
 and peaceable ; for they of Ham had dwelt 
 there of old. 
 
 41 And these written by name came in 
 the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and 
 smote their tents, and the habitations that 
 were found there, and destroyed them ut- 
 terly unto this day, and dwelt in their 
 rooms : because there "was pasture there for 
 their flocks. 
 
 42 And some of them, even of the sons of 
 Simeon, five hundred men, went to mount 
 Seir, having for their captains Pelatiah, and 
 Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the 
 sons of Ishi. 
 
 43 And they smote the rest of the Ama- 
 lekites that were escaped, and dwelt there 
 unto this day. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 1 The line of Reuben (tv/io lost his hirihrigJii) unto the 
 captivity. 9 Their habilution and conquest tif the Ha- 
 garites. 1 1 The chief men and habitations (>f Gad. 
 18 The number and conquest of Reuben, Gad, and the 
 half of Manasseh. 23 The hahitciiions and chief men 
 of that half tribe. 25 Their captivity fur their sin. 
 
 NOW the sons of Reuben the firstborn isoo, &.,. 
 of Israel, (for he was the firstborn ; but, 
 forasmuch as he * defiled his father's bed, " Gen. 35. 
 his birthright was given unto the sons of ^^' ^ ^^' *" 
 
 some understand it, a little before the ten tribes were carried into 
 Ciiptivity, or rather perhaps some time after it, when these Siraeon- 
 ites who were mixed with Judah, finding themselves much strait- 
 ened, eng.iged in this expedition. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ^i". And some of them, — went to mount Seir,] They settled 
 themselves in the country of the Edomites, near mount Stir, being 
 forced to seek for subsistence abroad, either when the Assyrians 
 invaded their countiy, or after that event They then smote the 
 Anialekites that were escaped, that is, who remained after the de- 
 struction of their nation by Saul and David ; and they " dwelt 
 there unto this day," the king of Babylon not disturbing them in 
 their new posseseious. Bp. Patrick.
 
 The line ofReuheyi unto the captivity. 
 
 CHAP. V. The number and conquest of Reuben, Gad, <§c. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 I:i00, &c. 
 
 » Gen. 49. 
 9, 10. 
 
 « Mic. h. 2. 
 JIatt. 2. «. 
 II Or, 
 prince. 
 " Gen. 4^. n. 
 Exod. B 14. 
 Js'um. 26. 5. 
 
 11 Or, 
 
 Tiiilath- 
 
 jjii>:ter, 
 
 *J Kings 1.5. 
 
 29. & 1G.7. 
 
 II Or, 
 S'lemniahj 
 Ttr^e 4. 
 • Josh. 13. 
 15, 16. 
 
 Joseph the son of Israel : and the genealogy 
 is not to be reckoned afler the birthright. 
 
 2 For '' Judah prevailed above his bre- 
 thren, and of him came the *" chief II ruler ; 
 but the birthright teas Joseph's :) 
 
 3 The sons, / saj/, of "^ Reuben the first- 
 born of Israel nere, Hanoch, and Pallu, 
 Hezron, and Carmi. 
 
 4 The sons of Joel ; Shemaiah his son, 
 Gog his son, Shimei his son, 
 
 5 Micah his son, Reaia his son, Baal his 
 son, 
 
 6 Beerah his son, whom || Tilgath-pilne- 
 ser king of Assyria carried away captive : 
 he tvas prince of the Reubenites. 
 
 7 And his brethren by their families, 
 when the genealogy of their generations 
 was reckoned, were the chief, Jeiel, and 
 Zechariah, 
 
 8 And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of 
 II Sliema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in 
 ' Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-meon : 
 
 9 And eastward he inhabited unto the 
 entering in of the wilderness from the river 
 Euphrates : because their cattle were mul- 
 tiplied in the land of Gilead. 
 
 10 And in the days of Saul they made 
 war with the Hagarites, who fell by 
 their hand : and they dwelt in their tents 
 t throughout all the east land of Gilead. 
 
 11 ^ And the children of Gad dwelt 
 over against them, in the land of ' Bashan 
 unto Salcah : 
 
 12 Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, 
 and Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan. 
 
 13 And their brethren of the house of 
 their fathers xcere, Michael, and Meshullam, 
 and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, 
 and Heber, seven. 
 
 14 These are the children of Abihail the 
 son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of 
 Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Je- 
 shishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz ; 
 
 15 Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of 
 Guni, chief of the house of their fathers. 
 
 Chap. V. ver. 2. — hut the birthright tras Joseph's :)2 As Reuben 
 was the eldest son of Jacob, his posterity were, in course, to have 
 enjovetl the privileges of seniority ; but he having forfeited tliat 
 claim by a crime against his father, the double portion which he 
 would have received was given to the two sons of Joseph. Still 
 the dignity and preeminence M-ere allotted to the famous tribe of 
 Judah. In this tribe was to be seen the long succession of 
 princes and rulers, and out of this was promised the greatest of 
 all princes, the Messiah. And this is the reason why Judah's ge- 
 nealogy was here first set down before those of either Reuben or 
 Joseph. Pj/le- 
 
 3. The sons, — of Reuben'] Among the sons of Reuben suc- 
 ceeded the following persons, who in their several ages were the 
 heads of the tribe ; for all in the succession are not mentioned. 
 
 fHeb. 
 •upon all the 
 J'ace of the 
 east 
 
 ^ Jo:.h. 13. 
 11. 
 
 • Gen. y3. 
 15. 
 
 t IIcI). 
 led ci'ptiifO* 
 
 sou is 
 
 mcv, a.s 
 Numb. SI. 
 
 16 And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, ^''""'^^ 
 and in her towns, and in all the suburbs of i^,yc 
 * Sharon, upon t their borders. ' chap. 27. 
 
 17 AH these were reckoned by genealo- ^Heb. 
 giesin the days of " Jotham king' of Judah, ""-ir going, 
 and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel. -^'sKing* 
 
 18 ^ The sons of Reuben, and the Gad- '^ ^- su- 
 ites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, t of t Hcu 
 valiant men, men able to bear buckler and Zur/""' 
 sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful 
 
 in war, were four and forty thousand seven 
 hundred and threescore, that went out to 
 the war. 
 
 19 And they made war with the Hagar- 
 ites, with ' Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab. 
 
 ^0 And they were helped against them, 
 and the Hagarites were delivered into their 
 hand, and all that were with them : for they 
 cried to God in the battle, and he was in- 
 treated of them ; because they put their 
 trust in him. 
 
 21 And they + took away their cattle; 
 of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep 
 two hundred and fifty thousand, and of 
 asses two thousand, and of t men an hun- ii\>^^>- 
 dred thousand. 
 
 22 For there fell down many slain, be- 
 cause the war was of God. And they dwelt 
 in their steads until the captivity. 
 
 23 % And the children of the half tribe 
 of Manasseh dwelt in the land : they in- 
 creased from Bashan unto Baal-hermon 
 and Senir, and unto mount Hermon. 
 
 24 And these 7i-e?-e the heads of the 
 house of their fathers, even Epher, and 
 Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, 
 and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men 
 of valour, t famous men, and heads of the 
 house of their fathers. 
 
 25 ^ And they transgressed against the 
 God of their fathers, and went a " whoring 
 after the gods of the people of the land, 
 whom God destroyed before them. 
 
 26 And the God of Israel stirred up the ,"^^^^1'^- 
 spirit of ' Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit 15. 19. 
 
 g. — the entering in of the wilderness from the river Euphrates :'] 
 The entrance of tlie wiUlerne-s of Kedemoth, Deut. ii. 2(), which 
 extended " from the river Euphrates." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — the Hagarites,'] The Ishmaelites descended from H;igar, 
 who inhabited Arabia Deserta. 
 
 17. All the.^e were reckoued] The short abs-tract here made of 
 their genealogies is taken out of the publick registers, or nni'iter- 
 rolls, made of this tribe, the one in the reign of Jeroboam, and the 
 other in that of Jotham. Pi/b: 
 
 U5. And thei) transgre.'i.icd Sec.'] These, together with the other 
 Eastern tribes, being probably the first beginners of the national 
 apostasy from the religion of the true God, and the ringleaders to 
 epidemical idolatiy, were tlie first who, in the just course of Provi- 
 dence, were delivired up to the ai-ms of the Assyrian monarchs. in 
 whose territories they he scattered up and down to this day. Pyle. 
 
 t Hell. 
 nun .J- 
 
 ' 2 Kings 
 17. 7.
 
 The line 
 
 Vdcn 
 (11 HIST 
 abuut 7K>. 
 
 " •! King* 
 IT. S. 
 
 qfthe priests unto the captivity. I. CHRONICLES. 
 
 The families o/Gershom, 
 
 1300, &c. 
 • Utn. 46. 
 II. 
 
 EindC. 16. 
 H Or, 
 twfrshom, 
 \et. IC. 
 
 >L«T. 1(M. 
 
 '2 Sam. IS. 
 
 t Ileb. 
 
 ' I Kingifi. 
 2 Oiron. 3. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 Mtt^vllam 
 chap. 9.11. 
 
 •Neh.Il. 
 11. 
 
 ' 2 Kings 
 33. 18. 
 
 of Tilpith-pilneser king of Assyria, and he 
 carriea tliein away, even the Reiibenites, 
 aiul the (iaclites, and the half tribe of Ma- 
 na.s.sch, aiui hioiij^lit them unto " Hahili, 
 and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Go- 
 zan, unto this day. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 1 The fotu of Ij-vi. 4 The line of the priesU unto the 
 caittivily. 1<) The families of Gershom, Meriin, and 
 Ko/iat/i 4.') The office of Aaron, and his line utUo 
 Ahimaaz. 54 The cities of the priests and Lcvites. 
 
 THE sons of Levi ; '||Gershon, Kohath, 
 and Mcrari. 
 
 'Z And the sons of Kohath ; Amram, Iz- 
 har, and Hebron, and Uzziel. 
 
 3 And the chiklren of Aniram ; Aaron, 
 and Moses, and Miriam. The sons also of 
 Aaron ; " Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and 
 Ithamar. 
 
 4. % Eleazar begat Phinehas, Phinehas 
 begat Abishua, 
 
 5 And Abishua begat Bukki, and Bukki 
 begat Uzzi, 
 
 \) And Uzzi begat Zerahiah, and Zera- 
 hiah begat Meraioth, 
 
 7 Meraioth begat Amariah, and Ama- 
 riah begat Ahitub, 
 
 8 And Ahitub begat Zadok, and " Zadok 
 begat Ahimaaz, 
 
 9 And Ahimaaz begat Azariah, and 
 Azariah begat Johanan, 
 
 10 And Johanan begat Azariah, (he it is 
 that e.xecuted the priest's office t in the 
 * temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem:) 
 
 11 And Azariah begat Amariah, and 
 Amariah begat Ahitub, 
 
 \1 And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok 
 begat II Shallum, 
 
 13 And Shallum begat Hilkiah, and Hil- 
 kiah begat Azariah, 
 
 1 4- And Azariah begat ' Seraiah, and Se- 
 raiah begat Johozadak, 
 
 15 And Jcliozadak went into captivity, 
 ' when the Lord carried away Judah and 
 Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnez- 
 zar. 
 
 Chap. VI. ver. 1. The sons of Levi;'] The genealopy of Levi 
 dindes itself into the branches 'derived from the three sons of that 
 patriarch, whose posterity were appropriated to the lioly s( rvices 
 of the ubemacle and temple. The chief heads, in the lines of 
 their several families, .ire here set down, .is recorde<l in the fore- 
 going books of tlie sacretl history, with such alterations and di- 
 ^k"iV "^ "'^*'*' ^ lenpfth of time, or the manner and custom of 
 the Hibrews, may be supposed to have produced, .uid such addi- 
 tion ot particulars, as the design of this historical collection re- 
 quir«L Piflf, 
 
 31. ^n,/ //,„e „re i/,ey „f,om David set &c.] Out of these Le- 
 yjtcs yavid, as soon as he had settled the afk at Jeruialem, chose 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1:100, Ac. 
 
 ' Exod. 6. 
 16. 
 nor. 
 Gershon, 
 verse I, 
 
 16 IF The sons of Levi; Ml Gershom, 
 Kohath, and Merari. 
 
 17 And these be the names of the sons 
 of Gershom ; Libni, and Shimei. 
 
 18 And the sons of Kohath were, Amram, 
 and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. 
 
 19 The sons of Merari ; Mahli, and 
 Mushi. And these are the families of the 
 Levites according to their fathers. 
 
 20 Of Gershom ; Libni his son, Jahath 
 his son, " Zimmah his son, 
 
 !^1 llJoah his son, || Iddo his son, Zerah 
 his son, Jeaterai his son. 
 
 22 The sons of Kohath ; || Amminadab 
 his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, 
 
 23 Elkanah his son, and Ebiasaph his 
 son, and Assir his son, 
 
 21< Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah 
 his son, and Shaul his son. 
 
 25 And the sons of Elkanah ; ' Amasai, 
 and Ahimoth. 
 
 26 As for Elkanah : the sons of El- 
 kanah ; II Zophai his son, and Nahath his 
 «on, 
 
 27 Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elka- 
 nah his son. 
 
 28 And the sons of Samuel ; the first- 
 born II Vashni, and Abiah. 
 
 29 The sons of Merari ; Mahli, Libni his 
 son, Shimei his son, Uzza his son, 
 
 30 Shimei his son, Haggiah his son, 
 Asaiah his son. 
 
 31 And these are they whom David set 
 over the service of song in the house of the 
 Lord, after that the " ark had rest. 
 
 32 And they ministered before the dwell- 
 ing place of the tabernacle of the congre- 
 gation with singing, until Solomon had 
 built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem : 
 and then they waited on their office ac- 
 cording to their order. 
 
 33 And these are they that t waited with 
 their children. Of the sons of the Kohath- 
 ites : Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the 
 son of Shemuel, 
 
 34 The son of Elkanah, the son of Jero- 
 ham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah, 
 
 a considerable number to be singers at the publick worship. 
 He divided them into three principal classes, electing a cer- 
 tain number out of each line of the sons of Levi, with a chief 
 master of the choir at the head of each class. To these he as- 
 signed their several distinct places at the tabernacle. The first 
 class was of the family of the famous Samuel, (Shemuel, ver. 33,) 
 who was of the line of Kohath, with Heman at their head. 
 The second class of the family of Gershom, with Asaph for 
 their chief The third of the line of Merari, with Ethan at their 
 head. In this order they continued in the tabernacle-service 
 under David, and afterwards in the temple built by Solomon. 
 
 '' Vent 42. 
 
 II Or, 
 ElUan, 
 verse '12. 
 
 II <>>:. 
 
 Adaicih, 
 verse 41. 
 
 II <)■•, 
 
 Izlmr, 
 ver. 2, IS. 
 
 ' See >cr. 
 
 Si, 36. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 1 Sam. 1.1. 
 
 11 Calk'd 
 aUo JvcU 
 verse .1;?. 
 & 1 Sam. 
 8. 2. 
 
 about 
 1280, &f, 
 
 » Chaj). 16. 
 1. 
 
 f Ileb.
 
 Kohath, and Merari. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 The cities of the jrriesis and Levites. 
 
 34, 
 
 Before 25 The soii of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, 
 i23o,&c. the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, 
 
 36 The son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, 
 the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, 
 
 37 The son of Tahath, the son of 
 Exod.6. Assir, the son of ' Ebiasaph, the son of 
 
 Korah, 
 
 38 The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, 
 the son of Levi, the son of Israel. 
 
 39 And his brother Asaph, who stood on 
 his right hand, even Asaph the son of Bera- 
 chiah, the son of Shimea, 
 
 40 The son of Michael, the son of Baa- 
 seiah, the son of Malcliiah, 
 
 41 The son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, 
 the son of Adaiah, 
 
 42 The son of Ethan, the son of Zim- 
 mah, the son of Shimei, 
 
 43 The son of Jahath, the son of Ger- 
 shom, the son of Levi. 
 
 44 And their brethren the sons of Me- 
 rari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son 
 
 I Or, of II Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Mal- 
 
 chap. 15. lUCh, 
 
 »'• 45 The son of Hashabiah, the son of 
 
 Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, 
 
 46 The son of Amzi, the son of Bani, 
 the son of Shamer, 
 
 47 The son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, 
 the son of Merari, the son of Levi. 
 
 48 Their brethren also the Levites xcere 
 appointed unto all manner of service of 
 the tabernacle of the house of God. 
 
 1+41, &c. 49 IT But Aaron and his sons offered 
 -Lev. I. a. " upon the altar of the burnt offering, and 
 • Eiod. 30. » on the altar of incense, and were appointed 
 for all the work of the pl(u:e most holy, and 
 to make an atonement for Israel, according 
 to all that Moses the servant of God had 
 commanded. 
 
 50 And these are the sons of Aaron; 
 Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua 
 his son, 
 
 51 Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah 
 his son, 
 
 52 Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, 
 Ahitub his son, 
 
 53 Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son. 
 
 54 ^ Now these are their dwelling places 
 throughout their castles in their coasts, of 
 
 49. But Aaron and his mw.v] As it was the prerogative of 
 Aaron's family to be appointed to the higher oflice of offering up 
 incense and sacrifices upon God's alt<ir, the priests in the great 
 court, and the high priest in the most holy place, as appointed 
 by the law of Mosesj so from Aaron, the first anointed high priest 
 for the tabernacle, to the time of David, (whose succession is the 
 principal subject of this history,) there were twelve high priests 
 in the line of Eleazar, as is here named. Pyk. 
 
 1. 
 
 the sons of Aaron, of the families of the ^J'^kTst 
 Kohathites: for their's was the lot. 1444, &c. 
 
 55 And they gave them Hebron in the 
 land of Judah, and the suburbs thereof 
 round about it. 
 
 56 But the fields of the city, and the 
 villages thereof, they gave to Caleb the son 
 of Jephimneh. 
 
 57 And to the sons of Aaron they gave 
 the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city 
 of refuge, and Libnah with her suburbs, 
 and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, with their sub- 
 urbs, 
 
 58 And II Hilen with her suburbs, Debir l^^'j^J: 
 with her suburbs, 21. 15. 
 
 59 And II Ashan with her suburbs, and I Ot, a;,,, 
 Beth-shemesh with her suburbs : ic. ' " 
 
 60 And out of the tribe of Benjamin; 
 Geba with her suburbs, and II Alemeth with Jl^^^'j^^ 
 her suburbs, and Anathoth with her sub- jwu. ii. 
 urbs. All their cities throughout their fa- '**• 
 niilies were thirteen cities. 
 
 61 And unto the sons of Kohath, which 
 were lefl of the family of that tribe, were 
 cities given out of the half tribe, namely, 
 
 out o/the half tribe of Manasseh, " by lot, °J««h 21. 
 ten cities. 
 
 62 And to the sons of Gershom through- 
 out their families out of the tribe of Is- 
 sachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and 
 out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of 
 the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen 
 cities. 
 
 63 Unto the sons of Merari were given 
 by lot, throughout their families, out of the 
 tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of 
 Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, 
 
 " twelve cities. 7"^^'''-'" 
 
 64 And the children of Israel gave to 
 the Levites these cities with their suburbs. 
 
 (55 And they gave by lot out of the tribe 
 of the childien'of Judah, and out of the 
 tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of 
 the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these 
 cities, which are called by their names. 
 
 Qio And the residue of the families of the 
 sons of Kohath had cities of their coasts 
 out of the tribe of Ephraim. 
 
 67 "And they gave unto them, o/'the ci- ' Josiusi. 
 ties of refuge, Shechem in moimt Ephraim ^^• 
 
 60. — were thirteen cities.'] The whole numlxr was tlurteen: 
 eleven only are mentioned here; two more, Juttali and Gibcon, 
 being added at Josh. xxi. 1(1, I". Bp. Patrick. . 
 
 61. And unlu the sons of Kohatli,] The names of the Levitical 
 cities foUuw to the cud of die chapter, the same as in Josh. xxi. 
 with such allowances for the alteration or different pronunciation 
 of the names of places, as length of time naturally produces m all 
 languages and coiuitries. Pifle.
 
 The cities of the priests and Lexites. 1. CHRONICLES. 
 
 The sons qflssachar, Benjamin, 
 
 BWbra 
 CIIKIST 
 
 with her suburbs; Uu'j/ gave also Gezer 
 ,H..A.. vvitli her suburbs, 
 
 (is AikI Jokmeam with her suburbs, ami 
 Bclli-lioroii with her suburbs, 
 
 69 And Aijalon with her suburbs, and 
 Gath-rimmon'with her suburbs: 
 
 70 And out of tlie lialt'trilie ot'Manasseh ; 
 Ancr with her suburbs, and Hileani with 
 her suburbs, for tlie i'aniily of the remnant 
 of tlie sons of Kohath. 
 
 71 Unto the sons of Gershom xcere uiren 
 nut of the iamily of the half tribe of Ma- 
 nasseh, (Jolan in" Bashan with her suburbs, 
 and Ashtarotli with her suburbs: 
 
 7'J And out of the tribe of Issachar; 
 Kedesh with her suburbs, Daberath with 
 Iier suburbs, 
 
 "3 And Uamoth with her suburbs, and 
 Anem with her suburbs: 
 
 71. And out of the tribe of Asher; Ma- 
 shal with her suburbs, and Abdon witli 
 her suburbs, 
 
 7.1 And Hukok with her suburbs, and 
 Reliob with lier suburbs: 
 
 76 And out of the tribe of Naphtali; 
 Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, and 
 Ilanimon with her suburbs, and Kiijathaim 
 with her suburbs. 
 
 77 Unto the rest of the children of Me- 
 rari uerc given out of the tribe of Zebulun, 
 llimmon with her suburbs. Tabor with her 
 suburbs: 
 
 7s And on the other side Jordan by Je- 
 richo, on the east side of Jordan, were given 
 ! «'• them out of the tribe of Reuben, II Bezer in 
 i'<^.''i\. the wilderness with her suburbs, and Jah- 
 ^- zah with her subinbs, 
 
 7i* Kedemoth also with her suburbs, and 
 Mcphaath with her suburbs: 
 
 80 And out of the tribe of Gad; Ra- 
 moth in Gilcad with her suburbs, and Ma- 
 hanaim with her suburbs, 
 
 SI And lleshbon with her suburbs, and 
 Jazer with licr suburbs. 
 
 CHAP. VH, 
 
 I Ttt€ mm nf Issnchar, 6 of Benjamin, \3 of Kiiphlnli, 
 U of Mauassi:li, '20, 24 and iif Ephraiii. 21 The 
 calamihj of Ephraim by the men of Galh. 23 Bcriah 
 U bom. 28 Epbraim's hiibilalions. 30 The sons of 
 Asher. 
 
 Ch«n. VII. ver. (3. The sons of Benjamin; — Ihreer^ In the 
 next chapter, ver. 1, 2, five sons of Benjamin are mentioned. 
 Tliey yivn ten in all. as we read at Gen. xlvi. 21. Thus either 
 five of tlwrni die<l wiiliout issue, or their families were extinct or 
 tlieir genealogies l,>>t. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 \i.~a,»i ll„sl.tm, the sons of Aher.'] The word Aher sijr- 
 wne. 'anothir • „, Hebrew; whence these words adiuit of being 
 
 N^ OW the sons of Issachar iiere, ' Tola, j^j^^",'!-!, 
 _ and Puah, Jashub, and Shiniirom, four, hm, &c. 
 
 'J And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and * Gen. 46. 
 Rei)haiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and N„,„b ge. 
 Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fa- jij. 
 ther's house, to uit, of Tola: they rcere 
 valiant men of might in their generations; 
 " whose number xcas in the days of Da\id "J ^'^ 
 two and twenty thousand and six hundred. 
 
 3 And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and 
 the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, and Oba- 
 diah, and Joel, Ishiah, five: all of them 
 chief men. 
 
 1. And with them, by their generations, 
 after the house of their fathers, tt'erc bands 
 of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand 
 men: for they had many wives and sons. 
 
 5 And their brethren among all the fa- 
 milies of Issachar were valiant men of 
 niiglit, reckoned in all by their genealogies 
 fourscore and seven thousand. 
 
 G ^ "J'he sons of " Benjamin; Bela, and ' Gen. 4c. 
 Becher, and Jediael, three. 
 
 7 And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and 
 Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, 
 five; heads of the house of their fathers, 
 might v men of valour; and were reckoned 
 by their genealogies twenty and two thou- 
 sand and thirty and four. 
 
 8 And the sons of Becher; Zemira, and 
 Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, 
 and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, 
 and Alaineth. All these are the sons of 
 Becher. 
 
 9 And the number of them, after their 
 genealogy by their generations, heads of 
 the house of their fathers, mighty men oi' 
 valour, lais twenty thousand and two hun- 
 dred. 
 
 10 The sons also of Jediael; Bilhan: and 
 the sons of Bilhan; Jeush, and Benjamin, 
 and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, 
 and Tharshish, and Ahishahar. 
 
 1 1 All these the sons of Jediael, by the 
 heads of their fathers, mighty men of va- 
 lour, li'cre seventeen thousand and tvo 
 hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and 
 battle. II Or. In, 
 
 12 Shnppim also, and Huppim, the chil- jj^or, ' 
 dren of 11 Ir, and Hushim, the sons of :^/"";'". 
 II Aher. .^_ 
 
 translated, " Hushim, son of another tribe or familj^" meaning 
 the tribe of Dan; for Hushim is mentioned as his only son. Gen. 
 xlvi. 23; and, unless the tribe of Dan is mentioned here, it is 
 wholly omitted in these genealogies, which is very improbable; 
 and this is the most proper place for mentioning that tribe, before 
 Naphtali, the brother of Dan by the same mother, Bilhah. . Bp. 
 Patrick; Dr. Wells, Pi/k.
 
 NnpJitali, Manasseh, and Ephraim. 
 
 CHAP. VII, VIII. 
 
 The sons ofAsJier. 
 
 '1 Sam. 12, 
 
 11. 
 
 Before 13 % The SODS of Naphtali ; Jahziel, and 
 ^Uil^ti,! Guni, and Jezer, and Shalliim, the sons of 
 ' ■ Bilhah. 
 
 14 ^ The sons of Manasseh ; Ashriel, 
 whom she bare: {but his concubine the 
 Aramitess bare Machir the father of Gi- 
 lead : 
 
 15 And Machir took to wife the sister of 
 Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister's name 
 tvas Maachah ;) and the name of the se- 
 cond -di-as Zelophehad : and Zelopheliad 
 had daughters. 
 
 16 And Maachah the v.'ife of Machir 
 bare a son, and she called his name Peresh ; 
 and the name of his brother xvas .Slicresh ; 
 and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 
 
 17 And the sons of Ulam ; " Bedan. 
 These "were the sons of Gilead, the son of 
 Machir, the son of Manasseh. 
 
 18 And his sister Hammoleketh bare 
 Ishod, and Abiezer, and Mahalah. 
 
 19 And the sons of Shemidah were, 
 Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and 
 Aniam. 
 
 20 ^ And the sons of Ephraim ; Shu- 
 thelah, and Bered his son, and Tahatli 
 his son, and Eiadah his son, and Tahath 
 his son, 
 
 21 ^ And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah 
 his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the 
 men of Gath that nrrc born in that land 
 slew, because they came down to take away 
 their cattle. 
 
 22 And Ephraim their father mourned 
 many days, and his brethren came to com- 
 fort him. 
 
 23 % And when he went in to his wife, 
 she conceived, and bare a son, and he 
 called his name Beriah, because it went 
 evil with his house. 
 
 24 CAnd his daughter u'as Sherah, who 
 built Beth-horon the nether, and the up- 
 per, and Uzzen-sherah.) 
 
 25 And Rephah xvas his son, also 
 Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan 
 his son, 
 
 26 Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, 
 Elishama his son, 
 
 27 II Non his son, Jehoshuah his son. 
 
 28 % And their possessions and habita- 
 
 (I Or, Nun, 
 Numb. 13. 
 9. 
 
 ] }.. — ivhom she hiirc Q Tliat is, whom his wile b.ire, for liis 
 concubine is opposed to her in the next words. Asriel was the 
 great grandson of Manasseli ; see Xumb. xxvi. 29, &c. 
 
 23. — because if went eiil &c.] For the name I3ei iah signifies, 
 " In an evil condition." Bp. Patrick: 
 
 28. — tnilo Gaza, and the towns'] Rather, as the margin gives, 
 unto " Ad.isa" and her towns ; for the border of Ephraim could 
 not reach to Gaza. Dr. Wall. 
 
 Chap. VIII. ver. 1. JSlow Benjamin legal Beta his ^rsl- 
 Vol. I. 
 
 tions icere, Beth-el and the towns thereof, 
 and eastward ' Naaran, and westward Ge- 
 zer, with the + towns thereof; Shechem 
 also and the towns thereof, unto || Gaza 
 and the towns thereof: 
 
 29 And by the borders of the children 
 of ^ Manasseh, Beth-shean and her towns, 
 Taanach and her towns, ^ Megiddoand her 
 towns. Dor and her towns. In these dwelt 
 the children of Joseph the son of Israel. 
 
 30 ^ " The sons of Asher ; Imnah, and 
 Isuah, and Ishuai, and Beriah, and Serah 
 their sister. 
 
 31 And the sons of Beriah ; Heber, and 
 Malchiel, who is the father of Birzavith. 
 
 32 And Heber begat Japhlet, and Sho- 
 mer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister. 
 
 33 And the sons of Japhlet ; Pasacli,and 
 Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the chil- 
 dren of Japhlet. 
 
 34 And the sons of Shamer ; Ahi, and 
 Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 
 
 35 And the sons of his brother Helem ; 
 Zophah, and Imna, and Shelesh, and 
 Amal. 
 
 36 The sons of Zophah ; Suah, and 
 Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and 
 Imrah, 
 
 37 Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and 
 Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera. 
 
 38 And the sons of Jether ; Jephunneh, 
 and Pispah, and Ara. 
 
 39 And the sons of Ulla; Arab, and 
 Haniel, and Rezia. 
 
 40 All these tccre the children of Asher, 
 heads of their fither's house, choice and 
 mighty men of valour, chief of the princes. 
 And the number throughout the genealogy 
 of them that were apt to the war attd to 
 battle "was twenty and six thousand men. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHItlST 
 
 H44, &c. 
 
 ' Johh. 16. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 dauchters. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Adatft, 
 
 1 aiac. 7. 
 
 45. 
 
 'Josh. 17. 
 
 7. 
 
 «Josh. 17. 
 
 11. 
 
 ' Gen.4C 
 
 17. 
 
 N 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 1 The tons and chief men of Benjamin. 33 The slock 
 of Saul and Jonathan. 
 
 OW Benjamin begat ' Bela his first- hoo,&c 
 born, Ashbel the second, and Aliarah ^i^*"'"*^- 
 the third. Numb. se. 
 
 2 Noah the fourth, and Rapha the ^' 
 fifth. 
 
 liurn,'] As tiic tribe of Benjamin was tliat from which Saul 
 tiie first king of Israel, .-md the predecessor of David, descend- 
 ed, whose particular family and succession to the throne form 
 tlie chief subject of this hi.story ; ;ind as this tribe alone was 
 united to the tribe of Judah, making up with it that monarchy 
 of Judah, -which was held by the line of David ; a more par- 
 ticular account of the genealogy of this tribe is here given, 
 especially in tliat line from which tlie race of Saul was derived. 
 Pyle. 
 
 5 C
 
 The sons nnri chief men 
 
 I. CHRONICLES. 
 
 of Benjamin. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 NuisU Ct>. 
 39. 
 
 it. 
 
 B,. ,r 3 Ami the sons of Bela were, || Addar, 
 C"""*' and Gera, and Abihiid, 
 
 Or w •'• ^^"^' Abishua, and Naanian, and A- 
 ci»n.<'. -.i. hoali, 
 
 .0 And Gera, and || Sliephuphan, and 
 
 llnrani. 
 
 6 And these are the sons of Ehud: these 
 arc the heads of the fathers of the inha- 
 bitants of Geba, and they removed them 
 to '' Manahath : 
 
 7 And Naaman, and Ahiah, and Gera, 
 he removed them, and begat Uzza, and 
 Ahihud. 
 
 8 And Sliaharaim begat children in the 
 country of Moab, after he had sent them 
 awav; Hushim and Baara rvei-e his wives. 
 
 9" And he begat of Hodesh his wife, 
 Jobab, and Zibia, and Mesha, and Mal- 
 cham, 
 
 10 And Jeuz, and Shachia, and Mirma. 
 These -were his sons, heads of the fathers. 
 
 11 And of Hushim he begat Abitub, 
 and Elpaal. 
 
 12 The sons of Elpaal ; Eber, and Mi- 
 shani, and Shamed, who built Ono, and 
 Loil, with the towns thereof: 
 
 IS Beriah also, and Shema, who were 
 heads of the fathers of the inhabitants of 
 Aijalon, who drove away the inhabitants 
 of Gat h: 
 
 14 And Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth, 
 
 15 And Zebadiah, and Arad, and Ader, 
 l(i And Micliael, and Ispah, and Joha, 
 
 the sons of Beriah ; 
 
 17 And Zebadiah, and MeshuUam, and 
 Hezeki, and Heber, 
 
 18 Ishmerai also, and Jezliah, and Jobab, 
 the sons of Elpaal •, 
 
 19 And Jakini, and Zichri, and Zabdi, 
 
 20 And Elicnai, and Zilthai, and Eliel, 
 
 21 And Adaiah, and Beraiah, and Shim- 
 Or. She. rath, the sons of |1 Shimhi ; 
 .. -rr.ia. 22 And Islipan, and Heber, and Eliel, 
 
 23 And Abdon, and Zichri, and Hanan, 
 
 21. And Hananiah, and Elam, and An- 
 tothijah, 
 
 25 And Iphedeiah, and Penuel, the sons 
 of Shashak ; 
 
 2() And Shamsherai, and Shehariah, and 
 Athaliah, 
 
 \i. — hmk Ono, and Led,'] These two cities are joined toff«- 
 lh«r 111 other places, being neighbouring cities ; see Ezra ii S3 ■ 
 I^^U^hlfJ'' ' *■■ ^^' ^"^ '" probably the same as Lydda! 
 
 •• o!tjr,h Tt""''? J^^ «P'-e«siou in the original here means, 
 U,en1^ ^ '^'^ ^ ^"^^ '^"** ^^'^ steel bows which were 
 uien m uie wtrc so strong as not to admit of being drawn bv the 
 lund3,but .t was the cu»to,„ for the person using them to S 
 
 Before 
 CHKIST 
 1400, &C-. 
 
 II Called 
 JekicI, 
 chap. a 35 
 •= Chap, 9. 
 35. 
 
 II Or, _ 
 Zechariah, 
 chap. 9. 37. 
 II Or, 
 Sliimeam, 
 chap. 9. yS. 
 " 1 Sam. 14. 
 51. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Ish-hnihetk, 
 2 Sam. 2. 8. 
 II Or,Mt. 
 ^ihifiiiskethf 
 2 Sara. 4, 4. 
 II Or, 
 Tnkrea, 
 chap. 9. 41. 
 
 27 And Jaresiah, and Eliah, and Zichri, 
 the sons of Jeroham. 
 
 28 These •were heads of the fathers, by 
 their generations, chief men. These dwelt 
 in Jerusalem. 
 
 29 And at Gibeon dwelt the ll father of 
 Gibeon ; whose ' wife's name was Maa- 
 cliah : 
 
 30 And his firstborn son Abdon, and 
 Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Nadab, 
 
 31 And Gedor, and Ahio, and || Zacher. 
 
 32 And Mikloth begat II Shimeah. And 
 these also dwelt with their brethren in Je- 
 rusalem, over against them. 
 
 33 % And " Ner begat Kish, and Kish 
 begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and 
 Malchi-shua,and Abinadab, and II Esh-baal. 
 
 34- And the son of Jonathan was || Merib- 
 baal ; and' Merib-baal begat Micah. 
 
 35 And the sons of Micah were, Pithon, 
 and Melech, and II Tarea, and Ahaz. 
 
 36 And Ahaz begat Jehoadah ; and Je- 
 hoadah begat Alemeth.'and Azmaveth, and 
 Zimri ; and Zimri begat Moza, 
 
 37 And Moza begat Binea : Kapha was 
 his son, Eleasah his Son, Azel his son : 
 
 38 And Azel had six sons, whose names 
 are these, Azrikani, Boc'heru, and Ishmael, 
 and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan. 
 All these were the sons of Azel. 
 
 39 And the sons of Eshek his brother 
 we)e, Ulam his firstborn, Jehush the se- 
 cond, and Eliphelet the third. 
 
 40 And the sons of Ulam w-ere mighty 
 men of valour, archers, and had many sons, 
 and sons* sons, an hundred and fifty. All 
 these are of the sons of Benjamin. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 I The original of Israel's and Jiidnh's genealogies. 2 
 The Israelites, 10 Ike priesis, 14 and the LcvUes, tvilh 
 Nethinims, which dwelt in Jerusalem. 27 The charge 
 of certain Leviles. 3.5 The slock of Said and Jona- 
 tlian. 
 
 SO all Israel were reckoned by genealo- 1200, &c. 
 gies ; and, behold, they were written 
 in the book of the kings of Israel and Ju- 
 dah, who were carried away to Babylon for 
 their transgression. 
 
 2 ^ Now the first inhabitants that dwelt about 536. 
 
 down and press them with his feet, pulling the arrow with both 
 his hands that it might fly with the greater force. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. 1. So all Israel SiC.'] Thus has been given a 
 brief genealogy of the whole Israelite nation, as it stood in the 
 ancient records of the two monarchies of Israel and Judah. 
 
 2. Now the first inhabitants that dweW] Here follows an ac- 
 count of those who returned into their own land with Zerubbabel,
 
 The Israelites, priests, and Levites, 
 
 CHAR IX. 
 
 xvhich drvelt in Jerusalem. 
 
 Before in their possessions in their cities were, 
 ^i?oS&l^ *^'^6 Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the 
 
 Netliinims. 
 •yeh.n.i. 3 And in » Jerusalem dwelt of the chil- 
 dren of Judah, and of the children of Ben- 
 jamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and 
 Manasseh ; 
 
 4 Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of 
 Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of 
 the children of Pharez the son of Judah. 
 
 5 And of the Shilonites ; Asaiah the 
 firstborn, and his sons. 
 
 6 And of the sons of Zerah ; Jeuel, and 
 their brethren, six hundred and ninety. 
 
 7 And of the sons of Benjamin ; Sallu 
 the son of Meshullam, the son of Hoda- 
 viah, the son of Hasenuah, 
 
 8 And Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, and 
 Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, 
 and Meshullam the son of Shephathiah, the 
 son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah ; 
 
 9 And their brethren, according to their 
 generations, nine hundred and fifty and six. 
 All these men were chief of the fathers in 
 the house of their fathers. 
 
 10 ^ And of the priests ; Jedaiah, and 
 Jehoiarib, and Jachin, 
 
 11 And Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the 
 son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the 
 son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the 
 ruler of the house of God ; 
 
 12 And Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the 
 son of Pashur, the son of Malchijah, and 
 Maasiai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahze- 
 
 upon the decree of Cyrus, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23. They were 
 divided, as is here expressed, into four descriptions of persons. 
 The first are Israelites, that is, some of the ten tribes who were 
 carried into Assyria and Media, and now chose to come back with 
 their brethren of Judah. The second and third sort were priest* 
 and Levites, whose ancestors formerly officiated in the temple at 
 Jerusalem. And the fourth were Nethinim, that is, »uch under 
 servants as David had appointed to assist the Levites in waiting 
 on the house of God. The word Nethinim signifies " persons 
 given or appointed." P^le. 
 
 — Netkiiiims.2 The Nethinim were originally the Gibeonites, 
 who, having obtained by artifice a league of peace with the Israel- 
 ites soon after they came into Canaan, were condemned by Joshua 
 to the lowest and most laborious offices belonging to the service of 
 the tabernacle, as drawing water, fetching wood for the service of 
 the altar, &c. Josh. ix. 23. We never find them called Nethinim 
 before David's time ; but afterwards, when the Israelites had en- 
 larged their conquests, and probably added persons from other 
 nations to these vassals of the sanctuary, they obtained this name. 
 They seem not to have been treated like slaves, but rather as the 
 lowest order of servants of the sanctuary, having no doubt em- 
 braced the Jewish religion. At their return from the Babylonish 
 captivity, (Nehem. xi. 3,) they were placed in cities with the Le- 
 vites. It appears, indeed, there were but few which chose to 
 return, probably on account of the lowncss of their condition 
 among the Israelites. We read of no more than 220 who came 
 with Ezra, (Ezra viii. 20,) and 392 with Zeruhbabel, (Ezra iL 5S;) 
 in which latter number are included " the cliUdren of Solomon's 
 servants." Ih: Jennings. 
 
 rah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Me- Before 
 shillemith, the son of Immer ; *^i2(» 4^J 
 
 13 And their brethren, heads of the 
 house of their fathers, a thousand and 
 seven hundred and threescore ; t very t Heb. 
 able men for the work of the service oi",}fJi'^"" 
 the house of God. 
 
 14 And of the Levites ; Shemaiah the 
 son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the 
 son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Me- 
 
 rari 
 
 15 And Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal, 
 and Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son 
 of Zichri, the son of Asaph ; 
 
 16 And Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, 
 the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun, and 
 Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of El- 
 kanah, that dwelt in the villages of the 
 Netophathites. 
 
 17 And the porters "were, Shallum, and 
 Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and 
 their brethren : ShaUum was the chief; 
 
 18 Who hitherto waited in the king's 
 gate eastward: they a-ere porters in the 
 companies of the children of Levi. 
 
 19 And Shallum the son of Kore, the. 
 son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and hi» 
 brethren, of the house of his father, the 
 Korahites, we?-e over the work of the ser- 
 vice, keepers of the t gates of the taber- + Heu 
 nacle : and their fathers, being over the '*'^"****'* 
 host of the Lord, were keepers of the 
 entry. 
 
 20 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar 
 
 3. — children of Ephraim, and Manatseh ,•] We have here a 
 plain proof that many out of those tribes returned from Babylon, 
 together with the tribe of Judah. Dr. Wall. 
 
 10. And of Ihe priests; &C.2 Tlie second description of persons 
 who returned were priests, several of the heads of whose tamiUes 
 are here named. These were persons of great skill in the services 
 and sacrifices of the Mosaical law, and of great courage to defend 
 it (ver. 1 3) against such enemies as were likely to oppose it on 
 their first return from captivity. One of these, Ahitub, was " the 
 ruler of the house of God," ver. 1 1 ; that is, though he was not 
 high priest, he was a man of eminent authority in that order. It 
 appears from Ezra iii. 2, Haggai i. 1, that Jeshua or Joshua was 
 high priest at the time. Pi/le. 
 
 17. And the porters^ Rather the guards, as the Hebrew word 
 more properly signifies. The next verse tells us, that they waited 
 " in the king's gate eastward," that is, where the king's gate for- 
 merly was. This shews that tlie tabernacle which they erected 
 since their return from the captivity was not on mount Moriah, 
 but in Sion. It is probable that they erected this tabernacle im- 
 mediately af\er their return, till the "temple could be built, being 
 unwilling to remain for any time without a place of publick wor- 
 ship. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar &c.] He " was the ruler 
 over them iu time past," that is, when they marched through the 
 wilderness, &c. before he was high priest; and " the Lord was 
 with him," so that even then he was held in great esteem. This 
 seems to be here noticed to shew that Shalltun's office was no 
 mean cfhcc. Dr. Wells. 
 
 5 C2
 
 The charge of certain Letiles. 
 
 I. CHRONICLES. 
 
 The stock of Saul and Jonathan. 
 
 JlttttultH. 
 I Or, Iruil 
 
 iuto,r was the ruler over them in time past, and 
 Vi!.'A"theLoia.aV7.vNvithl.im. . ., , , 
 
 '21 And Zocliaiiah the son of Mcshele- 
 niiuh uas porter of llic door of the taber- 
 nacle of the c()n^'^o,^ation. 
 
 'it2 All these a7'»V/t -'f'C chosen to be 
 porters in the gates urre two hmnlred and 
 twelve. These were reckoned by tlicir 
 Kcnealogy in their \illa-e.s, whom David 
 and Samuel the seer t did ordam in their 
 
 II set office. / , .1 
 
 23 So they and their children had^ the 
 overaight of the gates of the house of the 
 LoRu, namclij, the house of the tubernacie, 
 by warils. 
 
 ','t 111 four quarters were the porters, 
 toward the east, west, north, and south. 
 
 iiJ And their brethren, 'dhich were m 
 their villages, icere to come after seven 
 days from time to time with them. 
 
 •iij lor these Levites, the four chief 
 |Or.«ruii. porters, were in their II set oHice, and were 
 I Or. over the II chambers and treasuries of the 
 ^r^Aom... ijouseofGod. 
 
 i>7 IF And they lodged round about the 
 house of God, because tlie cliaige mis up- 
 on them, and the opening thereof every 
 morning pertained to them. 
 
 28 And certain of them had the charge 
 of tlie ministering vessels, that they should 
 t bring them in and out by talc. 
 
 iid Some of them also -were appointed to 
 oversee the vessels, and all the II instru- 
 ments of the sanctuary, and the fine flour, 
 and the wine, and the oil, and the frankin- 
 cense, and the spices. 
 30 And sojne of the sons of the priests 
 » Eiod. 30. made ^ the ointment of the spices. 
 ^ 81 And Mattithiah, 07ie of the Levites, 
 
 who was the firstborn of Shallum the Ko- 
 B Or, tTiui. rahile, had the || set ofiice over the things 
 I ^'■' "" that were made II in the pans. 
 " ' '"' 3'2 And other of their brethren, of the 
 sons of the Kohathites, were over the 
 t shewbread, to prepare it every sabbath. 
 
 S3 And these are the singers, chief of 
 the fathers of the Levites, who remaining 
 
 t nci>. 
 
 knng t/iem 
 IH fy talf, 
 unit enrrii 
 Iktm uut l>y 
 Itlt 
 I Or, 
 Kisr/i. 
 
 •r, ilitet. 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 tnlermg. 
 
 tHtl 
 
 upomhem. in tlie chambers were free : for t they 
 
 22. Alt lltcsc nhich mare chosen Scc.^ Thus, in tlie temporary 
 tal)em.icle erected aftf-r the return from captivity, all these Levites 
 littl their posts and offices atsi;j;iied to them, exactly in the same 
 mannei- as they had been arranged by David, with the advice of 
 the famous Pruphtt ."^.^muel. They had all, l)y a certain number 
 Ha time, thi ir .several charges, and were constantly relieved by 
 others that ranie <uil of the villages to supply their places " after 
 'oven d.iys from time to time," ver. 25. Pyle. 
 
 S.'.. Ami in Gihcon dncll &c.] The account now returns to 
 tno p nc.ilnpy of Sa„i . a„ij a repetition here takes place of what 
 tiaa btlote been given at chap. viiL '.'9, &c. It is supposed to be 
 
 were employed in that work day and ^ Bcfor^ 
 night. 
 
 sr 
 
 200, S.C. 
 
 ' Cliap. 8. 
 29. 
 
 SI These chief fathers of the Levites 
 were chief throughout their generations ; 
 these dwelt at Jerusalem. 
 
 35 if And in Gibeon dwelt the father 
 of Gibeon, Jehiel, whose wife's name was 
 ' iMaachah : 
 
 36 And his firstborn son Abdon, then 
 Ztir, and Kish, and Baal, and Ner, and 
 Nadab, 
 
 37 And Gedor, and Ahio, and Zecha- 
 riah, and Mikloth. 
 
 38 And Mikloth begat Shimeam. And 
 they also dwelt with their brethren at Je- 
 rusalem, over against their brethren. 
 
 39 " And Ner begat Kish ; and Kish be- ' ci.ap. s. 
 gat Saul ; and Saul begat Jonathan, and ' 
 Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Esh-baal. 
 
 40 And the son of Jonathan was Merib- 
 baal : and Merib-baal begat Micah. 
 
 41 And the sons of Micah xvere, Pithon, 
 
 and Melech, and Tahrea, ' and Ahaz. '^ ^hap. s. 
 
 4<'i And Ahaz begat Jarah ; and Jarah 
 begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimrij 
 and Zimri begat Moza ; 
 
 43 And Moza begat Binea ; and Re- 
 phaiah his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his 
 son. 
 
 44 And Azel had six sons, whose names 
 arc these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, 
 and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan : 
 these were the sons of Azel. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 I Saul's ovcrlliroiv and death. 8 The PkiUstines tri- 
 umph over Saul. 1 1 The Ichidness of Jabexli-gilead 
 tuivards Saul and /ti.i sons. 1." Saiil'.'i sin, for which 
 the kingdom was translated from him to David. 
 
 NOW ' the Philistines fought against io5«. 
 Israel; and the men of Israel fled '/^^•'""•^'• 
 from before the Philistines, and fell down 
 
 II slain in mount Gilboa. i Or, 
 
 2 And the Philistines followed hard """"''"'• 
 after Saul, and after his sons ; and the Phi- 
 listines slew Jonathan, and ll Abinadab, and I or, Mui, 
 Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 49^'""' '^" 
 
 3 And the battle went sore against Saul, 
 
 repeated in order to foi-m the connexion with the history of Saul 
 in the following chapter. Pi/lc. 
 
 Chap. X. ver. 1. Noiv tlie Philislines &c.] Here the author of this 
 book passes over all the time of Moses, Joshua, the .Judfres, and Sa- 
 muel, and begins at the death of Saul and reign of David. Dr. IVull. 
 
 The account of the death of Saul is here repeated, from 1 Sam. 
 xxxi, in the same words, and with very little difference. It is in- 
 troduced to make way for the history of David, (whicli is mainly 
 intended m the rest of this book,) who by Saul's death was ad- 
 vanced to the crown. Bjp. Patrick
 
 Saul's overthroxi) and death. 
 
 CHAP. X, XL 
 
 David is made king at Hebron. 
 
 chrTst ^"'^ ^'^^ t archers thit him, and he was 
 
 1356. wounded of the archers. 
 thZurs '^^ Then said Saul to his armourbearer, 
 
 "rShZnus. Draw thy sword, and thrust me through 
 t "'^''; . therewith ; lest these uncircumcised come 
 
 found htm* j ii i -r» i ■ . 
 
 Ij Or, and II abuse me. But his armourbearer 
 
 mock mr. would uot ; for he was sore afraid. So 
 
 Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. 
 
 5 And when his armourbearer saw that 
 Saul was dead, he fell likewise on the sword, 
 and died. 
 
 6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and 
 all his house died together. 
 
 7 And when all the men of Israel that 
 aere in the valley saw that they fled, and 
 that Saul and his sons were dead, then they 
 forsook their cities, and fled : and the Phi- 
 listines came and dwelt in them. 
 
 8 ^ And it came to pass on the morrow, 
 when the Philistines came to strip the slain, 
 that they found Saul and his sons fallen in 
 mount Gilboa. 
 
 9 And when they had stripped him, they 
 took his head, and his armour, and sent 
 into the land of the Philistines round a- 
 bout, to carry tidings Unto their idols, and 
 to the people. 
 
 10 And they put his armour in the house 
 of their gods, and fastened his head in the 
 temple of Dagon. 
 
 11 1[ And when all Jabesh-gilead heard 
 all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 
 
 12 They arose, all the valiant men, and 
 took away the body of Saul, and the bodies 
 of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, 
 and buried their bones under the oak in 
 Jabesh, and fasted seven days. 
 
 13 ^ So Saul died for his transgression 
 t Hell. which he t committed against the Loud, 
 transgress- ^ ^j,,^,^^ agaiust the word of the Lord, which 
 ■> 1 Sam. 15. lie kept not, and also for asking coimset of 
 •Vsain.28. 0116 that had a familiar spirit, ''to enquire of' 
 ''• it; 
 
 14< And enquired not of the Loud: there- 
 fore he slew him, and turned the kingdom 
 isau ' unto David the son of t Jesse. 
 
 13. So Saul died for his tran.<tgressioii\ Thus e.xpired tlie reign 
 and -succession of this unhappy prince, whose rasli and ungoverned 
 spirit led him into those impieties, for which God, in great justice, 
 transferred tlie crown from his family, to that of the very jjerson 
 from whom lie had received so great services, and whom notwith- 
 standinjT he treated with such unparalleled envy and oppression. 
 Pytc. Saul " died for his transgression :" his two greatest trans- 
 gressions (one against the express command of God delivered by 
 Samuel, and the other against a known law of Moses) were his 
 sparing the Amalekites, and his consulting the witch of En-dor; 
 which were plain proofs of his want of regard to God. For " he 
 inquired not of the Lord," as the next verse states, that is, he did 
 not pay that regard and reverence to Him which he ought; he 
 
 XL 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 1 David hy a genend consent is made king at Hebron. 
 4 He winneth the ca.ille of Zioii from l/ie Jelimiles liy 
 Joub's valour. 10 A catalogue of David's mighty 
 
 Before 
 CHUIST 
 
 1U4*. 
 
 THEN 'all Israel gathered themselves 'ssam.*. 
 to David unto Hebron, saying, Be- '' 
 hold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. 
 
 2 And moreover t in time past, even t ha. 
 when Saul was king, thou xvast he that led- f;^,f„"'|^ 
 dest out and broughtest in Israel : and the Mrdday. 
 Lord thy God said unto thee. Thou shalt 
 
 II feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be H Or, rw». 
 ruler over my people Israel. 
 
 3 Therefore came all the elders of Is- 
 rael to the king to Hebron ; and David 
 made a covenant with them in Hebron be- 
 fore the Lord ; and they anointed David 
 king over Israel, according to the w^ord of 
 
 the Lord t by " Samuel. t H«b. i^ 
 
 4 11 And David and all Israel 'went to ^sa^^i^ 
 Jerusalem, which is Jebus ; where the Je- is- 
 busites -wei-e, the inhabitants of the land. c."^"'** 
 
 5 And the inhabitants of Jebus said to 
 David, Thou shalt not come hither. Ne- 
 vertheless David took the castle of Zion, 
 which 25 the citv of David. a nt 
 
 o And David said, WTiosoe\er smiteth 
 the Jebusites first shall be t chief and cap- t Heb. 
 tain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went ''^"''' 
 first up, and was chief. 
 
 7 And David dwelt in the castle ; there- 
 fore they called || it the city of David. II That !s, 
 
 8 And he built the city round about, f'sain.s.7. 
 even from Millo round about : and Joab 
 
 t repaired the rest of the city. t Heb. 
 
 y So David t waxed greater and greater : '^^ull'. 
 for the Loud of hosts xlos with him. "';'" "• e'>- 
 
 10 •[[ ''These also are the chief of crmji'l^.'"* 
 the mighty men whom David had, who ^2Sam.23. 
 iJ strengthened themselves with him in his {or.heu 
 kingdom, and with all Israel, to make him '"■"''f'J' 
 kmg, accordmg to the word ot the Lord 
 concerning Israel. 
 
 * 11 And this is the number of the mighty 
 men whom David had ; Jashobeam, II an 'h^'cj, 
 
 II Or, son of 
 
 did in fact inquire of him, (I Sam. x.wiii. 6.) but not with a reli- 
 gious mintl. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XI. ver. 1. Then all Israel gatha-ed themselvcx^ Between 
 the death of Saul and tlie settlement of David on the throne, many 
 transactions took place which are recorded in '2 Sam. i, ii, iii, and 
 iv. .\t length, David received the addresses of the whole nation, 
 desiring that he would take tlie crown u}:on him in just reward 
 of his many eminent services, and agreeably to the predictions of 
 the I'rophet Samuel. Pi//e. 
 
 10. These — are the ciiiefoflhe ynighti/ mai^ The sacred writer, 
 having touclied upon David's promotion to the thn.ne, and his 
 settlement in Zion, thought fit next to record who those valiant
 
 A calalogue of 
 
 iwfo-c llachmonite. tlie chief of the captains : he 
 CH«Ji*T j.j^^.^j jijj i,jj. j;p^,.ir against three hundred 
 
 slain l>i/ him at one time. 
 
 V2 And alter him xcas Eleazar the son 
 of Dodo, the Ahohite, who ivas one of the 
 three niighties. „ „ j 
 
 iM- 13 He was with David at II Pas-dam- 
 ]^^ niim, and there the Philistines were ga- 
 I Sam. IT. thered together to battle, where was a par- 
 '• eel of ground full of barley ; and the peo- 
 
 ple tied from before the Philistines. 
 |Or,./o«/. 14, And they II set themselves in the 
 midst of Ihnt parcel, and delivered it, and 
 •2Sam.2:-. ^lew the ' Philistines ; and the Lord saved 
 j Or. them by a great || deliverance. 
 wJ.on. 15 ^ Now II three of the thirty captains 
 Ha'nl' went down to the rock to David, into the 
 nertht ^ave of Adullam ; and the host of the Phi- 
 '*"^'^" listincs encamped in the valley of Re- 
 phaim. 
 
 1(3 And David -was then in the hold, 
 and the Philistines' garrison 'was then at 
 Beth-lehem. 
 
 17 And David longed, and said, Oh 
 that one would give nie drink of the water 
 of the well of Beth-lehem, that is at the 
 gate! 
 
 18 And the three brake through the 
 host of the Philistines, and drew water out 
 of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the 
 gate, and took //, and brought it to David : 
 but David would not drink (^"it, but pour- 
 ed it out to the Lord, 
 
 19 And said. My God forbid it me, 
 that I should do this thing : shall I drink 
 
 tti* M ir ^^^ blood of these men t that have put 
 »««. their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeo- 
 pardy o/' their lives they brought it. There- 
 fore he would not drink it. These things 
 did these three mightiest. 
 
 20 ^ And Abishai the brother of Joab, 
 he was chief of the three : for lifting up 
 his spear against three hundred, he slew 
 them, and had a name among the three. 
 
 '^t W'.3. 21 r Q^ jj^g ^,^j.^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ honour- 
 able than the two ; for he was their cap- 
 tain : howbeit he attained not to the first 
 three. 
 
 22 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son 
 
 L CHRONICLES. 
 
 David* s mighty men. 
 
 men were that assisted l.im in his advancement, and helped to 
 rstablish him in his authority; of whom a particular account is 
 »Uo given at vi tjam. xxiii. 8, &c. lip. Patrick. 
 
 n. — hflcdup hi., .9pear ngnituf three hundred^ At 2 Sam. xxiii. 
 
 wk'L". ^^\ ^'" ■' ''*■ '''^ "P ^'* ''P^ "^"'"st <^'g/'< hundred, 
 *honi he slew at one time." Some have supposed that an errour 
 m the number has crept into one of the passajres ; or perhaps it 
 ^ S^e^r" '^ '"'iT^^'tJ^'^t he slew ,300 with his own hand, 
 
 i d^n^ T"^ *•' ""^y' *" ^'"'='' fl'g»^t 500 more were 
 Jiain during the pursuit. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 of a valiant man of Kabzeel, t who had chr''i"t 
 done many acts ; he slew two lionlikc men 1047. 
 of Moab : also he went down and slew a t Hei.. 
 lion in a pit in a snowy day. %'Xf 
 
 23 And he slew an Egyptian, ta man oft "eb. 
 great stature, five cubits high ; and in the l,ZZS. 
 E"-vptian's hand was a spear like a wea- 
 
 veT's beam ; and he went down to him 
 with a staff; and plucked the spear out of 
 the Egy})tian's hand, and slew him with his 
 own s})ear. 
 
 24 These things did Benaiah the son of 
 Jehoiada, and had a name among the three 
 mighties. 
 
 25 Behold, he was honourable among 
 the thirty, but attained not to the first 
 three : and David set him over his guard. 
 
 26 % Also the valiant men of the ar- 
 mies were, Asahel the brother of Joab, El- 
 hanan the son of Dodo of Beth-lehem, 
 
 27 Shammoth the || Harorite, Helez the II O"-- 
 Pelonite, 2 .sam. ss, 
 
 28 Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, "• 
 Abi-ezer the Antothite, 
 
 29 Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the 
 Ahohite, 
 
 30 Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the 
 son of Baanah the Netophathite, 
 
 31 Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah, 
 that pertained to the children of Benjamin, 
 Benaiah the Pirathonite, 
 
 32 Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel 
 the Arbathite, 
 
 33 Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba 
 the Shaalbonite, 
 
 34 The sons of Hashem the Gizonite, 
 Jonathan the son of Shage the Hararite, 
 
 35 Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, 
 Eliphal the son of Ur, 
 
 36 Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah 
 the Pelonite, 
 
 37 Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai the son 
 of Ezbai, 
 
 38 Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar 
 
 II the son of Haggeri, n Or, the 
 
 39 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the ""fi"^'- 
 Berothite, the armourbearer of Joab the 
 
 son of Zeruiah, 
 
 40 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 
 
 26. Also the valiant men &c.] The rest that liere follow 
 make up the tliirty famous soldiers in David's nrniy, with an 
 addition of some others, v^hose exploits made them worthy 
 to be left on record. There are some changes and additions, 
 with respect to the names of several of them, which must be 
 accounted for by length of time and accidental circumstanceg. 
 Pyk. 
 
 By comparing this list of names with the parallel list in 2 Sam. 
 xxiii, It 18 easy to perceive that several mistakes in regard to th« 
 proper names have been made by transcribers. Dr. Wells.
 
 The companies that came 
 
 CHAP. XI, XII. 
 
 to David at Ziklag. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 SItimrite, 
 
 chrTst 41 Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of 
 1047. Ahlai, 
 
 42 Adina the son of Shiza the Reuben- 
 ite, a captain of the Reubenites, and tliirty 
 with him, 
 
 43 Ha nan the son of Maachah, and Jo- 
 shaphat the Mithnite, 
 
 44 Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and 
 Jehiel the sons of Hothan the Aroerite, 
 
 45 Jediael the || son of Shimri, and Joha 
 his brother, the Tizite, 
 
 46 Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai, and 
 Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and 1th- 
 mah the Moabite, 
 
 47 EHel, and Obed, and Jasiel the JNIe- 
 sobaite. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 1 The companies that came to David at Ziklag. 23 The 
 armies thai came to him at Hebrun. 
 
 M°sira°o?' ^ ^^ ^ ^'^^^^ ^''^ t'^^y that came to 
 I. "■" ■ 1^ David to Ziklag, t while he yet kept 
 tHeb. himself close because of Saul the son of 
 
 being !/et j^ . , , , 
 
 situtiip. Kisli : and they were among the mighty 
 men, helpers of the war. 
 
 2 7'he^ were armed with bows, and could 
 use both the rigiit hand and the left in /lurl- 
 ing stones and shooting arrows out of a 
 bow, even of Saul's brethren of Benjamin. 
 
 3 The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, 
 II Or, the sons of il Shemaah the Gibeatliite; and 
 
 Jeziel, and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; 
 and Berachah, and Jehu the Antothite, 
 
 4 And Ismaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty 
 man among the thirty, and over the thirty; 
 and Jeremiah, and Jahaziel, and Johanan, 
 and Josabad the Gederathite, 
 
 5 Eluzai, and Jerimoth, and Bealiah, 
 and Shemariah, and Shephatiah the Ha- 
 ruphite, 
 
 6 Elkanah, and Jesiah, and Azareel, and 
 Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korhites, 
 
 Chap. XII. ver. 1. — they that came to David to Ziklag,~\ The 
 sacred writer, having now mentioned the principal commanders 
 of David's army, at and after the time of his accession to the throne, 
 and having; left their great acliievements on honourable record, 
 proceeds to do justice to the memory of those brave persons who 
 stood by him in his lowest condition, and joined him in his exile 
 during his persecution under Saul. Of these no mention has been 
 made in the books of Samuel or Kings. Pfile. 
 
 2. — even of Saul's brethren'] Tiie circumstance here mentioned 
 is remark'ble, that these persons who took part with David 
 were of the kiiidred of Saul. They were probably moved so to 
 act by Si)i.!e extraitrdinary cause, either by the great virtues of 
 David, or by abhorrence of the persecution raised against an in- 
 nocent m,jn, or by regard to the words of Samuel concerning 
 David's ri'.;ht to the kingdom. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. — into the hold', to the milderness'] There are several holds or 
 inaccessible places mentioned, where David secured himself from 
 Saul's persecution. See 1 Sain. xxii. 4; xxiii. 14; x.xiv. 22. Per- 
 
 7 And Joelali, and Zebadiah, the sons before 
 of Jeroham of Gedor. ZuolZ 
 
 8 And of the Gadites there separated 
 themselves unto David into the hold to 
 
 the wilderness men of might, and men t of + ^'*- 
 war ft for the battle, that could handle ''^""*'"'' 
 shield and buckler, whose faces were like 
 the faces of lions, and were t as swift as t h*. 
 the roes upon the mountains; up[nii"" 
 
 9 Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, muuniaim 
 Eiiab the third, ^"Jf ' 
 
 10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah 
 the fifth, 
 
 H Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, 
 
 12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the 
 ninth, 
 
 13 Jeremiah the tenth, Machbanai the 
 eleventh. 
 
 14 These were of the sons of Gad, cap- 
 tains of the host: || one of the least was II O""- 
 
 hi 1 1 il i i onethntwns 
 
 undred, and the greatest over a /,.„,/ could 
 
 thousand. resist nn 
 
 1.5 These are they that went over Jor- au'dfiL' 
 dan in the first month, when it had t over- 'J^'/f j* 
 flown all his " banks; and they put to flight tneb. 
 all them of the valleys, bu/h toward the east, •^j'^'^j^"^'^^ 
 and toward the west. 
 
 16 And there came of the children of 
 Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto Da- 
 vid. 
 
 17 And David went out t to meet them, tH<=b. 
 and answered and said unto them, If ye be "' ""' 
 come peaceably unto me to help me, mine 
 
 heart shall t be knit unto you: but ii't/e be t Heb. 
 C07ne to betray me to mine enemies, seeing 
 there is no || wrong in mine hands, the God j Or, 
 of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it. ""'^""■ 
 
 18 Then t the spirit came upon Amasai, tHcb. 
 xcho was chief of the captains, and he said, c'lotke" 
 Thine are xce, David, and on thy side, ^">'"''«- 
 thou son of Jesse : peace, peace be unto 
 thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy 
 
 haps however the text may still be referring to Ziklag. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 whose faces were like ttie faces qflions,~\ This expression 
 
 may be imderstood to signify the fierceness of tlieir countenances; 
 or rather perhaps, as is preferable, the luidauntedness of their 
 courage. P'lle. 
 
 \ 5. — that went over Jordan in the _ first month,] This is men- 
 tioned as a proof and instance of their undaunted valour, that they 
 ventured to swim over Jordan in the most dangerous season, and 
 " put to flight all them of the valKys, &c." that is, some of the 
 neighbouring people who had seized the opportunity of invading 
 and spoiling the land tliereabout, perhaps when Saul was engaged 
 in an enterprise against the Philistines, lip. Patrick. 
 
 18 Then the spirit came upon Amasai.] That is, God moved 
 him with an hemical bokiness antl resohition to profess, in the 
 name of tlicm all, tlieir fidelity to David in such pathetical words 
 as conviiiced him of their good intentions towards him. Bp. 
 Patrick.
 
 T. CHRONICLES. 
 
 v%r kctidt. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 71ie annii-i that came 
 
 i>^ Cwil I.clpetl. Ihce. Then David received 
 
 ?'!'':''' them, a.ui made them captains of the band. 
 
 j<) And there fell sowe of Manasseh to 
 
 David, when he came with the I'hdistines 
 
 against Saul to battle: but thev helped 
 
 them not: lor the lords ot the Phd.stines 
 
 upon advisement sent lum away, saving, 
 
 ' 1 s«» J9. ' \le will fall to his master Saul t to thejeo- 
 
 t\iA, -n parciu of our heads. c u .. 
 
 ^ Jm he went to Ziklag. there fell to 
 
 him of Manasseh, Adnah, and Jozabad, 
 and Jediael, and Michael, and Jozabad, 
 and Klihu, and Zillluii, captains of the 
 thousands that iCcrc of Manasseh. 
 
 521 And they helped David ll aganist the 
 
 ;u*.*-nJ. fj^ijj f^j- If,,, roicrs: for they zvere all 
 mighty' men of valour, and were captains 
 
 in tiie host. 
 
 '2.2 For at that time day by day there 
 came to David to help him, until it was 
 a great host, like the host of God. 
 
 tlS IT And these are the numbers of the 
 
 II t hands t/ial uvre ready armed to the war, 
 
 ' and came to David to Hebron, to turn the 
 
 kingdom of Saul to iiim, according to the 
 
 word of the Loud. 
 
 24. The children of Judah that bare 
 shield and spear uere six thousand and 
 eight hundred, ready 11 armed to the war. 
 
 25 Of the children of Simeon, mighty 
 men of valour for the war, seven thousand 
 and one hundred. 
 
 2G Of the children of Levi four thou- 
 sand and six hundred. 
 
 27 And Jehoiada u-as the leader of the 
 Aaronites, and with him uere three thou- 
 sand and seven hundred; 
 
 28 And Zadok, a young man mighty of 
 valour, and of his father's house twenty 
 and two captains. 
 
 29 And of tlie children of Benjamin, 
 the t kindred of Saul, three thousand: for 
 hitherto t the greatest part of them had 
 
 I mJiuu'U- kept the ward ol' the house of Saul. 
 ■fiKem. 3(j A„tj of the cliildren of Ephraim twen- 
 
 ty thousand and eight liundred, mighty 
 
 19. — hill ihfy helped them nol:'] See 1 Sam. xxix. 1, &c. where 
 it \* ri-l;itecl, that the Philistines refused the assistance of David 
 and his companions, from suspectinjj their jjood faith. 
 
 '20. Af he ttcM lo Ziklag, iS^c] Others of the tribe of Manasseh, 
 whose names are here mentioned,, joined him at the very point 
 of time when " the b.md of (.'\m:ilekite) rovers" had destroyed 
 lu4 fortunes and carried his family into slavery, which great 
 lo's these valiant commanders helped to repair. See 1 Sam. xxx. 
 
 22. For nl thai lime'] Namely, after the battle in which Saul 
 wa* slain. Dr. Weill. 
 
 Si. — nun that had iinderslanding of the /jW.t,] The meaning 
 of thc»e wordu has been the subject "of doubt Some have sup- 
 posed them to imply such a skill in computing the years and 
 
 to David at Hebron. 
 
 1048. 
 I Or. 
 
 captainSt or 
 
 t Hib 
 hendi. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 preparti. 
 
 t Hrf>. 
 
 hrel'irrn. 
 
 f IM>. 
 
 II Or, ran^. 
 
 «■■> 'fl'uule, 
 or, ranged 
 in ImtlU: 
 II Or, set 
 the battle in 
 
 men of valour, + famous throughout the chrTst 
 house of their fathers. about lo-is. 
 
 51 And of the half tribe of Manasseh t hci,. 
 eighteen thousand, which were expressed ^^£ 
 by name, to come and make David king. 
 
 32 And of the children of Issachar, 
 -which xvere men that had understanding of 
 the times, to know what Israel ought to 
 do; the heads of them -cccre two hundred; 
 and all their brethren 'arre at their com- 
 mandment. 
 
 Sii Of Zebulun, such as went forth to 
 battle, li expert in war, with all instruments 
 of war, fifty thousand, which could || keep 
 rank: thcij were t not of double heart. 
 
 34 And of Naphtali a thousand captains, 
 and with them with shield and si)ear thirty '""':"■'{■ 
 and seven tnousanu. wit/„n,t a 
 
 35 And of the Danites expert in war J;^;;;;; "'"' " 
 twenty and eight thousand and six hundred. 
 
 36 And of Asher, such as went forth to 
 battle, 11 expert in war, forty thousand. ii Or, keep- 
 
 37 And on the other side of Jordan, of •;^,Jl';''' 
 the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of 
 
 the half tribe of Manasseh, with all manner 
 of instruments of war for the battle, an 
 hundred and twenty thou.sand. 
 
 38 All these men of war, that could 
 keep rank, came with a perfect heart to 
 Hebron, to make David king over all Is- 
 rael: and all the rest also of Israel were of 
 one heart to make David king. 
 
 39 And there they were with David 
 three days, eating and drinking: for their 
 brethren had prepared for them. 
 
 40 Moreover they that were nigh them, 
 even unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naph- 
 tali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, 
 and on mules, and on oxen, a7id || meat, || or, 
 meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, XlT''^ 
 and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep 
 abundantly: for there was joy in Israel. 
 
 CHAP. xm. 
 
 1 David fclchelh the ark nilh great solcmnih/ from 
 Kirjfilk-jearim. 9 Uzza being smitten, the ark is left 
 at Ike hijiisc of Obed-edom. 
 
 months, as enabled them exactly to determine the time of all fes- 
 tivals, the new moons, the passover, &c. Hottbi^aiif. But a more 
 probable sense seems to be, that these men of Issachar now gave 
 proof of their knowledge of the times, or fit seasons of action, in 
 telling the rest of the nation that tliis was the proj^r season for 
 making David king, when Saul's fimily was dead; and that he 
 was the person most likely to subdue tlie Philistines, by whom 
 they had been so often beaten. Bp. Patrick, Pyle. Or generally, 
 men who had political prudence to discern and embrace the fit 
 seasons for all actions. S. Clarke. 
 
 40. — and on oj:en,'] The mention of oxen as beasts of burden 
 is remarkable; but the same custom still obtains in the East. 
 Dandini expresses surprise at seeing them so employed in the 
 neighbourhood of Tripoli in Syria. Harmer.
 
 The ark fetched from Kirjath-jearim. CHAP. XIII, XIV. 
 
 DavicPsfelicttt/ in people, ^c. 
 
 AND David consulted with the cap- 
 
 Before 
 
 *^^04i.^^ -^^ ta'"s of thousands and hundreds, and 
 with every leader. 
 
 2 And David said unto all the congre- 
 gation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, 
 t Heb. and that it be of the Lord our God, tlet 
 fvnh^i'' "s send abroad unto our bretiiren every 
 tend. where, that are left in all the land of Is- 
 rael, and with them also to the priests and 
 fHc!.. Levites Xi'hich ore tin their cities and sub- 
 o/MnrjLX urbs, that they may gather themselves 
 «"*>• unto us : 
 
 fHeb. 3 And let us t bring again the ark of 
 
 '"'"""'■ our God to us: for we enquired not at it 
 in the days of Saul. 
 
 4 And all the congregation said that 
 they would do so : for the thing was right 
 in the eyes of all the people. 
 » 1 Sam. 7. 5 So * David gathered all Israel toge- 
 s'sam. 6. 2. ther, from Shihor of Egypt even unto the 
 entering of Hemath, to bring the ark of 
 God from Kirjath-jearim. 
 
 6 And David went up, and all Israel, 
 
 » Josh. 15. to '' Baalah, that is, to Kirjath-jearim, which 
 
 helojiged to Judah, to bring up thence the 
 
 ark of God the Lord, that dwelleth between 
 
 the cherubims, whose name is called on it. 
 
 tiieb. 7 And they t carried the ark of God in 
 
 l^Vride ^ "^^^ ^^'"*' *'"*- ^^ ^^^^ house of Abinadab : 
 and Uzza and Ahio drave the cart. 
 
 8 And David and all Israel played be- 
 fore God with all their might, and with 
 
 fHeb. t singing, and with harps, and with psal- 
 *"*'■ teries, and with timbrels, and with cym- 
 bals, and with trumpets. 
 
 9 % And when they came unto the 
 II CaUed thrcshingfloor of II Chidon, Uzza put forth 
 s&ra.'e.e. liis hand to hold the ark ; for the oxen 
 n Or," ' II stumbled. 
 
 died against Uzza, and he smote him, be- 
 • Numb. 4. cause he put his hand to the "ark: and 
 "■ there he died before God. 
 
 11 And David was displeased, because 
 the Lord had made a breach upon Uzza : 
 
 t Heb. wherefore that place is called II Perez-uzza 
 
 12 And David was afraid of God that 
 
 Chap. XIII. ver. 3. — let us bring again the ark of our God^ It 
 is stated in 2 Sam. v, vi, that this took place after what is men- 
 tioned in the next chapter respecting the wars of Hiram and David 
 with the Philistines. And thus probably it happened ; only Da- 
 vid, as became a good king whose first care is about religion, took 
 advice, as soon as he came to the crown, of tlie elders of his peo- 
 ple, concerning the bringing up the ark of God, which was not 
 put in execution till some tune afterwards. 
 
 for rve enquired not at it in the days of Saul."] The words 
 
 in the Hebrew may be translated, " We enquired not about it in 
 the days of Saul :" meaning, that they were not solicitoua in those 
 Vol. I. 
 
 N 
 
 day, saying. How shall I bring the ark of Before 
 GoA home to mQ? ^^xmI^^ 
 
 IS So David t brought not the ark home tHeb. 
 to himself to the city of David, but carried '■"'««*<'• 
 it aside into the house of Obed-edom the 
 Gittite. 
 
 14 And the ark of God remained with 
 the family of Obed-edora in his house three 
 months. And the Lord blessed " the house ' As chap, 
 of Obed-edom, and all that he had. *" *' 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 I Hiram's kindness to David. 2 Davids felicity in peo^ 
 pie, wives, and children. 8 His two victories against 
 the Philistines. 
 
 OW * Hiram king of Tyre sent mes- about 1041. 
 sengers to David, and timber of ce- 'i{;|^^^' 
 dars, with masons and carpenters, to build 
 him an house. 
 
 2 And David perceived that the Lord 
 had confirmed him king over Israel, for his 
 kingdom was lifted up on high, because of 
 his people Israel. 
 
 3 ^ And David took tmore wives at Je- t Heb-y* 
 rusalem : and David begat more sons and 
 daughters. 
 
 4 Now these are the names of his chil- 
 dren which he had in Jerusalem ; Sham- 
 mua, and Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, 
 
 5 And Ibhar, and Elishua, and Elpa- 
 let, 
 
 6 And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Ja- 
 phia, 
 
 7 And Elishama, and II Beeliada, and II Or, 
 Eliphalet. f^ls. 
 
 8 ^ And when the Philistines heard that ig. 
 
 '' David was anointed king over all Israel, ' 2 sam 5, 
 all the Philistines went up to seek David. 
 And David heard of it, and went out 
 against them. 
 
 9 And the Philistines came and spread kht. 
 themselves in the valley of Rephaim. 
 
 10 And David enquired of God, saying, 
 Shall I go up against the Philistines ? and 
 wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? 
 And the Lord said unto him. Go up ; for 
 I will deliver them into thine hand. 
 
 11 So they came up to Baal-perazim ; 
 
 days to find a fit place for the residence of the ark of God, where 
 they might conveniently attend upon His worship and ser\ ice, 
 being hindered by perpetual wars, and not sufficiently concerned 
 about religion. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 For what follows in this chapter, see the notes on 2 Sam. vi. 
 
 Chap. XIV. ver. 4. — these arc the names of his children'} Two 
 more names are mentioned here than were given at 2 Sam. v. 
 Probably two of the children died in their infimcy, and on tli it ac- 
 count were not there mentioned. Pi/le. See the notes on 2 Sam. ▼. 
 for tlie rest of this chapter. 
 
 5 D
 
 I. CHRONICLES. 
 
 I That is 
 
 93. 
 
 The priests and Levitcs 
 
 M.r. and David smote them there. Then Da- 
 
 CHRIST ^.jj ^^i^)^ (jod hath broken in upon mine 
 
 "^" enemies by mine hand like the breaking 
 
 forth of waters : therefore they called the 
 
 name of that place || Baal-perazim. 
 
 V2 And when they had left their gods 
 there, David gave a commandment, and 
 they were burned with tire. 
 
 13 And the Philistines yet again spread 
 themselves abroad in the valley. 
 
 U Tiierefore Da\id enquired again of 
 God ; and God said unto him, Go not up 
 • J Sam. i. aflcr them ; turn away from them, ' and 
 come upon them over against the mul- 
 berry trees. 
 
 15 And it shall be, when thou shalt hear 
 a sound of going in the tops of the mul- 
 berry trees, that then thou shalt go out to 
 battle : for God is gone forth before thee 
 to smite the host of the Philistines. 
 
 16 David therefore did as God com- 
 manded him : and they smote the host of 
 the Philistines from Gibeon even to Gazer. 
 
 17 And the fame of David went out 
 into all lands ; and the Loud brought the 
 fear of him upon all nations. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 1 David, tuiving prepared a place for the ark, orderelh 
 the priests and Levites to bring il from Obed-edom. 
 25 He perfonnetk the sdemmty thereof with great joy. 
 29 Michal despiselh him. 
 
 ND David made him houses in the 
 ity of David, and prepared a place 
 for the ark of God, and pitched for it a 
 tent. 
 
 2 Then David said, t None ought to 
 carry the ' ark of God but the Levites : for 
 ki'^MAT them hath the Lord chosen to carry the 
 f<^«"- ark of God, and to minister unto him for 
 
 Numb. 4. 
 
 8, IS. ever. 
 
 abouUMt 3 And David gathered all Israel toge- 
 ther to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of 
 the Loud unto his place, which he had 
 prepared for it. 
 
 4 And David assembled the children of 
 Aaron, and the Levites : 
 
 bring the arlcfrom Obed-edont. 
 
 IW2. 
 
 ANi 
 Jrx. cit 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 It is Hot to 
 carry the 
 ark of G.xt 
 
 Vf. — into aU lands ;2 Into a great many lands; for in this 
 restrmnwl sense the Hebrew word rendered all is frequently used. 
 Dp. Fainck. ^ ' 
 
 Chap. XV. ver. 1. And David made him houses'] The history 
 
 now returns to the tran«ictions of David at Jerusalem, which were 
 
 en oS; at chap. uu. The kincc having " made him houses," that 
 
 ,'"n.r'."'? ^°"'P^'r' "^1' ^f- apartments of his pakce, ami prepared 
 
 thiUjCT J V^ " '"' •^^■'^^P^o" of the ark, resolved to move it 
 
 2- — SoHc ought to carry the ark — biU the Le\iitesr\ The 
 
 Of the sons of Kohath ; Uriel 
 I brethren an hundred 
 
 the Before 
 
 and c"'^i«'^ 
 
 about 1042. 
 
 , « Or. 
 the kinsmen. 
 
 and 
 
 the 
 and 
 
 chief, and his 
 twenty : 
 
 6 Of the sons of Merari ; Asaiah 
 chief, and his brethren two hundred 
 twenty : 
 
 7 Of the sons of Gershom ; Joel 
 chief, and his brethren an hundred 
 thirty : 
 
 8 Of the sons of Elizaphan ; Shemaiah 
 the chiefi and his brethren two hundred : 
 
 9 Of the sons of Hebron ; Eliel the 
 chief, and his brethren fourscqre : 
 
 10 Of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab 
 the chief, and his brethren an hundred and 
 twelve. 
 
 11 And David called for Zadok and 
 Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, 
 for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and 
 Eliel, and Amminadab, 
 
 12 And said unto them. Ye are the 
 chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctity 
 yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that 
 ye may bring up the ark of the I>ord God 
 of Israel unto the place that I have pre- 
 pared for it. 
 
 13 For because ye did it not at the first, 
 the Lord our God made a breach upon us, 
 for that we sought him not after the due 
 order. 
 
 14 So the priests and the Levites sanc- 
 tified themselves to bring up the ark of 
 the Lord God of Israel. 
 
 15 And the children of the Levites bare 
 the ark of God upon their shoulders with 
 
 the staves thereon, as " Moses commanded t Exod. 25. 
 according to the word of the Lord. ^*- 
 
 16 And David spake to the chief of the 
 Levites to appoint their brethren to be the 
 singers with instruments of musick, psal- 
 teries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by 
 lifting up the voice with joy. 
 
 17 So the Levites appointed •= Heman « chap. e. 
 the son of Joel ; and of his brethren, ^s. 
 
 '' Asaph the son of Berechiah ; and of the ■> cimp. 5. 
 sons of Merari their brethren, ' Ethan the ^S; 
 son of Kushaiah ; 
 
 4 
 
 Chap. a. 
 
 44. 
 
 former miscarriage, when they brought up the ark from Kir- 
 jath-jearim, had taught David to treat it with greater reve- 
 rence, and to have it carried on the shoulders of the priests, 
 according to the prescription of the law at Num. iv. 15. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 13- — for that rve sought him not after the due order.'] This good 
 king does not wholly excuse himself and lay all the blame upon 
 others, but places himself in the nimiber of those who were care- 
 less ill tliis matter. For it was his duty as well as theirs to give 
 due attention to the law, and to pray to God for His directioHv 
 Bp. Patrick.
 
 David's solemnity thereupon. 
 
 CHAP. XV, XVI. He ordereth a choir to sing thanksgiving. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1042. 
 
 g Oi-, on the 
 jeighth to 
 oversee. 
 
 II Or, was 
 Jvr the car' 
 riage : he 
 inslructed 
 about the 
 carnage. 
 tHeb. 
 lifling up. 
 
 18 And with them their brethren of the 
 second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, 
 and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, 
 Eliab, and Benaiah, and IMaaseiah, and 
 Mattithiah, and Ehpheleh, and Mikneiah, 
 and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the porters. 
 
 19 So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and 
 Ethan, -were appointed to sound with cym- 
 bals of brass ; 
 
 20 And Zechariah, and Aziel, and She- 
 miramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, 
 and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, witli psalteries 
 on Alamoth ; 
 
 €1 And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and 
 Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and 
 Azaziah, with harps II on the Sheminith to 
 excel. 
 
 22 And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, 
 II was for t song : he instructed about the 
 song, because he xvas skilful. 
 
 23 And Berechiah and Elkanah aerc 
 doorkeepers for the ark. 
 
 2i And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, 
 and Nethaneel, and Amasai, and Zecha- 
 riah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, 
 did blow with the trumpets before the ark 
 of God : and Obed-edom and Jehiah xce7'e 
 doorkeepers for the ark. 
 
 25 ^ So '^ David, and the elders of Is- 
 rael, and the captains over thousands, went 
 to bring up the ark of the covenant of the 
 Lord out of the house of Obed-edom with 
 
 joy- 
 
 26 And it came to pass, when God 
 helped the Levites that bare the ark of the 
 covenant of the Lord, that they offered 
 seven bullocks and seven rams. 
 
 27 And David xcas clothed with a robe 
 of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare 
 the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the 
 
 H Or. master of the || song with the singers : Da- 
 camage. ^.j j ^j^^ y^^^^ upou him an ephod of linen. 
 
 28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark 
 of the covenant of the Lord with shout- 
 ing, and with sound of the cornet, and 
 with trumpets, and with cymbals, making 
 a noise with psalteries and harps. 
 
 20. — trilJi psalteries on Alamoth ;'] Or the words may be trans- 
 lated, " together with Alamoth." \^^^at is meant by Alamoth is 
 uncertain ; but, from its being joined with psalteries, it is thought 
 to mean a musical instrument. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 21. — ivil/i harps on the Sheminith'} Or " together with the 
 Sheminith." The Hebrew Sheminith refers to the number eight, 
 •whence some understand by it an instrument with eight strings, 
 or an instrument which sounds the note called an octave by musi- 
 dans. Simonis. 
 
 26. — when God helped the Levites"} ^^^len God enabled them 
 to discharge their duty witliout any gross errour or disaster befall- 
 
 *2Sam.o. 
 
 12, 13, &c. 
 
 29 IF And it came to pass, as the ark of ^^"^'^ 
 the covenant of the Lord came to the city a^b^uwl 
 of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul 
 looking out at a window saw king David 
 dancing and playing : and she despised 
 him in her heart. 
 
 CHAP. XVL 
 
 1 David's festival sacrifice. 4 He ordereth a choir to 
 sing thanksgiving. 7 The psalm of thanksgiving. 37 
 He appointeth ministers, porters, priests, and musi- 
 cians, to attend continually on the ark. 
 
 SO ' they brought the ark of God, and j'*"' i(M2. 
 set it in the midst of the tent that Da- \l^'^^ 
 vid had pitched for it : and they offered 
 burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before 
 God. 
 
 2 And when David had made an end of 
 offering the burnt offerings and the peace 
 offerings, he blessed the people in the 
 name of the Lord. 
 
 3 And he dealt to every one of Israel, 
 both man and woman, to every one a loaf 
 of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a 
 flagon of "wine. 
 
 4 ^ And he appointed certain of the 
 Levites to minister before the ark of the 
 Lord, and to record, and to thank and 
 praise the Lord God of Israel : 
 
 5 Asaph the chief, and next to him Ze- 
 chariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Je- 
 hiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Be- 
 naiah, and Obed-edom : and Jeiel t with t Haii. 
 psalteries and with harps ; but Asaph made TlaJs^!./"" 
 a sound with cymbals ; psaUeHes 
 
 6 Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests "'"""'^'^ 
 with trumpets continually before the ark 
 
 of the covenant of God. 
 
 7 % Then on that day David delivered 
 first this psalm to thank the Lord into the 
 hand of Asaph and his brethren. 
 
 8 " Give thanks unto the Lord, call " p^«i« 
 upon his name, make known his deeds 
 among the people. 
 
 9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, 
 talk ye of all his wondrous works. 
 
 ing them. Pj/le. Or, when He encouraged tliem in theii- work 
 with some comfortable sign of His approbation. 5. Clarke. 
 
 Chap. XVI. ver. 8. Give thanks unto the Lord, &:c.] This hymn 
 is entirely made up of parts of three psalms which occur in the 
 book of Psalms, where the notes upon tliem will be given. Part 
 of Psalm cv. makes up all from ver. 8 to ver. 23 of this chap- 
 ter inclusively ; Psalm xcvi. makes up all from ver. 23 to 
 ver. 23 ; and Psalm cvi. ver. 1, 47, 48, makes up the three last 
 verses of this hymn, that is, ver. 34, 35, S6, of this chapter. Dr. 
 Wells.
 
 David's psalm ^' CHRO 
 
 ijrf.« 10 Glory ye in his holy name: let the 
 '■"'V^T heart of tliem rejoice that seek the Lord. 
 ***"" '^~ 1 1 Seek the Loud and his strength, seek 
 his face continually. 
 
 Vi Remcnibcr his marvellous works that 
 he hath clone, his wonders, and the judg- 
 ments of his mouth ; 
 
 18 O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye 
 children of Jacob, his chosen ones. 
 
 14. He is the Loud our God; his judg- 
 ments are in all the earth. 
 
 15 Be ye mindful always of his cove- 
 nant ; the word 'dchich he commanded to a 
 thousand generations ; 
 
 • Co. 17. l(i Even of the "covenant which he made 
 »*2Jj3- with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; 
 
 17 And hath confirmed the same to Ja- 
 cob for a law, and to Israel^or an everlast- 
 ing covenant, 
 
 18 .Saying, Unto thee will I give the 
 tH*. land of Canaan, tthe lot of your inherit- 
 
 tkicord. 
 
 ance ; 
 fHeb. 19 When ye were but tfew, "even a 
 
 !Z^. few, and strangers in it. 
 'Geiusi oy And Xilim they went from nation to 
 '°' nation, and from one kingdom to another 
 
 people ; 
 21 He suffered no man to do them 
 
 • Oen. 12. wrong : yea, he ' reproved kings for their 
 
 17. &20. 3. , * •' ^ ° 
 
 sakes, 
 ' PiaL 105. 22 Saying, ^ Touch not mine anointed, 
 
 and do my prophets no harm. 
 •p«i.06.i. 23 ^ Sing unto the Lord, all the earth ; 
 
 shew forth from day to day his sahation. 
 
 24 Declare his glory among the hea- 
 then ; his marvellous works among all na- 
 tions. 
 
 25 For great is the Lord, and greatly 
 to be praised: he also is to be feared above 
 all gods. 
 
 26 For all the gods " of the people are 
 idols : but the Lord made the heavens. 
 
 27 Glory and honour are in his pre- 
 sence ; strength and gladness are in his 
 place. 
 
 28 Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of 
 the people, give unto the Lord glory and 
 strength. 
 
 29 Give unto the Lord the glory due 
 unto his name : bring an offering, and 
 come before him : worship the Lord in 
 the beauty of hohness. 
 
 N I C L E S. 
 
 of thanksgiving. 
 
 » Ut. 19. 
 
 4. 
 
 3C. — all Ihc people said, Amen,'] At the conclusion of this 
 h)Tnn all the people e.xpressed their hearty concurrence in every 
 T«rt of It. and their -w ish that God might be for ever praised in 
 Uic ^a^lc manner, |.y saying Amen. Hence wc observe the "reat 
 ai.liqu.ty <.t U,u custom of saying Amen at the conclusion of our 
 prayers and benedictions. We find from Nehem. viii. 6, that this 
 
 30 Fear before him, all the earth: the c^ust 
 world also shall be stable, that it be not about 1012. 
 
 moved. 
 
 31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the 
 earth rejoice : and let rnen say among the 
 nations, The Lord reigneth. 
 
 32 Let the sea roar, and the fulness 
 thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that 
 is therein. 
 
 S3 Then shall the trees of the wood sing 
 out at the presence of the Lord, because 
 he cometh to judge the earth. 
 
 34, ' O give thanks unto the Lord; for he \^l''\i°][ 
 is good ; for his mercy endureth for ever. & ise. 1. 
 
 35 And say ye, Save us, O God of our 
 salvation, and gather us together, and de- 
 liver us from the heathen, that we may 
 give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in 
 thy praise. 
 
 3Q Blessed be the Lord God of Israel 
 for ever and ever. And all " the people ' °*"'- -^• 
 said, Amen, and praised the Lord. 
 
 37 % So he left there before the ark of 
 the covenant of the Lord Asaph and his 
 brethren, to minister before the ark conti- 
 nually, as every day's work required : 
 
 38 And Obed-edom with their brethren, 
 threescore and eight ; Obed-edom also the 
 son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be porters: 
 
 39 And Zadok the priest, and his bre- 
 thren the priests, before the tabernacle of 
 the Lord in the high place that 'was at Gi- 
 beon, 
 
 40 To offer burnt offerings unto the 
 Lord upon the altar of the burnt offering 
 continually t morning and evening, and to t"^''- 
 do according to all that is written in the 1"^ '„»""«' 
 law of the Lord, which he commanded Is- <*« evenmt. 
 rael ; 
 
 41 And with them Heman and Jedu- 
 thun, and the rest that were chosen, who 
 were expressed by name, to give thanks to 
 the Lord, because his mercy endureth for 
 ever; 
 
 42 And with them Heman and Jedu- 
 thun with trumpets and cymbals for those 
 that should make a sound, and with mu- 
 sical instruments of God. And the sons 
 
 of Jeduthun a'cre t porters. +Heb. 
 
 43 And all the people departed every ■'^'"''**'"*" 
 man to his house : and David returned to 
 
 bless his house. 
 
 i|S« 
 
 tilt 
 
 Ml 
 
 custom was continued after the captivity. Bp. Patriclc. See not* 
 on Deut. xxvii. 15. 
 
 42. And irilli ihciri Heman and Jeduthun tvilh tntmpets] It- 
 should be translated, " And with them (Heman and Jeduthun) 
 there were trumpets and cymbals." Bp. Patrick.
 
 He is forbidden to build God an house, CHAP. XVII. 
 
 but is promised blessings in his seed. 
 
 .Str.^ CHAP. XVII. 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 •bout 1012. 1 Nathan first approving the purpose of David, to build 
 God an house, 3 after hij the word oj Gotl J'lirliiddelh 
 hi?n. 1 1 He promisclh him blessings and benefits in 
 his seed. l6 David's prayer and t/ianksgiving. 
 
 •bout 1042. _. -../-v-nr i •, -r~v • i 
 
 •2 Sam. 7. [VT^^* ^^ Came to pass, as David sat 
 ^ *"• ±\ in his house, that David said to Na- 
 than the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house 
 of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of 
 the Lord remqineth under curtains. 
 
 2 Then Nathan said unto David, Do 
 all that is in thine heart ; for God is with 
 thee. 
 
 3 ^ And it came to pass the same night, 
 that the word of God came to Nathan, 
 saying, 
 
 4 Go and tell David my servant, Thus 
 saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me 
 an house to dwell in : 
 
 5 For I have not dwelt in an house 
 since the day that I brought up Israel unto 
 
 t Heb. tliis day ; but t have gone from tent to 
 hayc been, tent, and from one tabernacle to another. 
 
 6 Wlieresoever I have walked with all 
 Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges 
 of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my 
 people, saying, Wliy have ye not built me 
 an house of cedars ? 
 
 7 Now therefore thus shalt thou say 
 unto my servant David, Thus saith the 
 Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheep- 
 
 t Heb. cote, even t from following the sheep, that 
 fromnfier. ^J^Q^ shouldcst be ruler over my people 
 Israel : 
 
 8 And I have been with thee wliither- 
 soever thou hast \\alked, and have cut oft" 
 all thine enemies from before thee, and 
 have made thee a name like the name of 
 the great men that are in the earth. 
 
 9 Also I will ordain a place for my peo- 
 ple Israel, and will plant them, and they 
 
 Chap. XVII. ver. 5. — / — have gone from tent to lent, Scc.~\ 
 In the parallel place at 2 Sam. vdi. 6. it is said, " I have walked 
 ill a tent and in a tabernacle ;" the meaning of both is the same, 
 that the ark of the Divine Presence was kept in a moveable tent, 
 and not in a fixed temple. Bp. Patrick. The expression, '•' I have 
 gone from tent to tent," may allude to tlio removal of tlie tent 
 trora one place to another ; " I have gone from one place where 
 ihe tent was pitched, to another place where it was pitclied 
 again." Dr. Wells. 
 
 14. — in mine house and in my kingdom^ It is very observable, 
 that ill the paraUel passage at 2 Sam. vii. 1 6, God speaking to 
 David says, " thine house" and " thy kingdom ;" whereas here He 
 .-;;;ys, " Jline house" and " My kingdom." This confirms what was 
 there noted, that this passage principally refers to the Messiah, of 
 whom David was a tj'pe and figure. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The general meaning of this p-iissage (ver. 11 — 15) is. That 
 although, in order to shew Da^'id and the whole nation how little 
 desirous God was of having a temple, David should not be the man 
 to erect it, yet a commission to erect it should be given to his next 
 successor, whom Providence would bless with a numerous royal 
 
 shall dwell in their place, and shall be Christ 
 moved no more ; neither sliall the children about loii 
 of wickedness waste them any more, as at 
 the beginning, 
 
 10 And since the time that I command- 
 ed judges to be over my people Israel. 
 Moreox er I will subdue all thine enemies. 
 Furthermore I tell thee that the Lord will 
 build thee an house. 
 
 11 ^ And it shall come to pass, when 
 thy days be expired that thou must go to 
 be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy 
 seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; 
 and I will establish his kingdom. 
 
 12 He shall build me an house, and I 
 will stablish his throne for ever. 
 
 13 '' I will be his father, and he shall be ' ssam. 7. 
 my son : and I will not take my mercy ''*' ''' 
 away from him, as I took it from him that 
 
 was before thee : 
 
 14 But I will settle him in mine house 
 and in my kingdom for ever : and his 
 throne shall be established for evermore. 
 
 15 According to all these words, and 
 according to all this vision, so did Nathan 
 speak unto David. 
 
 IG ^ And David the king came and .sat 
 before the Lord, and said. Who am I, O 
 Lord God, and what is mine house, that 
 thou hast brought me hitherto ? 
 
 17 And i/et tliis was a small thing in 
 thine eyes, O God ; for thou hast also 
 spoken of thy servant's house for a great 
 while to come, and hast regarded me ac- 
 cording to the estate of a man of high de- 
 gree, O Lord God. 
 
 18 What can David speak more to thee 
 for the honour of thy servant ? for thou 
 knowest thy servant, 
 
 19 O Lord, for thy servant's sake, and 
 according to thine own heart, hast thou 
 
 issue, and from them would raise at the last that great Prince and 
 Saviour, whose dominion was to be endless, and of universal be- 
 nefit to mankind. Pi/lc. To which of all the sons of mortal man 
 can this promise be judged applicable ? Does it not naturally lead 
 us to acknowledge that singxilarly illustrious Person who was also 
 in a more eminent sense the Son of God.' Dr. Berriman. 
 
 16. — David the king came and sat before the Lord,'} Niebuhr 
 informs us, that '• ui pi'esencc of superiours, an Arab sits with his 
 two knees touching each other, and witli the weight of his body 
 resting upon his heels." This describes the attitude of David, 
 when he sat before tlie Lord. Fragments to Calmct. 
 
 17. — and hast regarded inc according to the estate See.} In the 
 parallel place at 2 Sam. vii. IV, instead of these words, it is ex- 
 pressed, " Is this the manner of men, O Lord ."" The meaning is, 
 that it was not after the manner of men to treat a poor shepherd 
 as if he were a prince ; but in this manner God had dealt with 
 David. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 In the remainder of this chapter the expressions are the same 
 as at 2 Sam. vii, with the exception of here and there a little- 
 vavi.ition.
 
 David's praye 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 iboul IM'J. 
 
 r and tlianhsgiv'tng. 
 
 in 
 
 I. CHRONICLES. 
 
 He smiteth the Syrians. 
 
 making known 
 
 done all this greatness, 
 aJI these t great things. 
 
 20 O Loud, there is none like thee, 
 neither is there any (iod beside thee, ac- 
 cording to all that we have heard with 
 our ears. 
 
 1\ And what one nation in the earth is 
 like thy people Israel, wiiom God went to 
 redeem to he his own people, to make thee 
 a name of greatness and terribleness, by 
 driving out nations fiom before thy people, 
 whom thou hast redeemed out of Egypt ? 
 
 '252 For thy fieople Israel didst thou 
 make thine own peoj)le for ever ; and thou. 
 Lord, becamest their God. 
 
 23 Therefore now. Lord, let the thing 
 that thou hast spoken concerning thy ser- 
 vant and concerning his house be esta- 
 bUshed for ever, and do as thou hast said. 
 
 2-l< Let it even be established, that thy 
 name may be magnified for ever, saying. 
 The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, 
 even a God to Israel : and let the house of 
 David thy servant be established before 
 thee. 
 
 25 For thou, O my God, t hast told thy 
 iHtkecarlf scrvant that thou wilt build liim an house : 
 ,k,j,mant. therefore thy servant hath found in his 
 
 heart to pray before thee. 
 
 26 And now. Lord, thou art God, and 
 hast promised this goodness unto thy ser- 
 vant : 
 
 27 Now therefore II let it please thee to 
 bless the house of thy servant, that it may 
 be before thee for ever : for thou blessest, 
 O Lord, and it shall be blessed for ever. 
 
 t Urb. 
 
 halt ra-enl- 
 
 i Or, it 
 
 Hatk pleas- 
 fd thtf. 
 
 »!>out 10-10. 
 ' 2 Sam. 8. 
 l.&c 
 
 CHAP. XVIIL 
 
 1 David suhduelh the PftUiMincs and the Moabites. 3 He 
 smilel/i Hadarezer and tlic Si/riaris. 9 Toii sendetli 
 Hadoram nil/i presents to Mess David. 1 1 The prc- 
 ienls and t/ie sfMil Darid dedicatelh to God. 13 He 
 pultetk garrisons in Edom. 14 David's officers. 
 
 NOW after this ' it came to pass, that 
 David smote the Philistines, and sub- 
 dued them, and took Gath and her towns 
 out of the hand of the Philistines. 
 
 2 And he smote Moab ; and the Moab- 
 ites became David's servants, and brought 
 gifts. ^ 
 
 Hadode^cr ^7^ ^"'^ ^^""'^^ ^^^^^ 'I Hadarezer king 
 
 ^s«n.8.3. of Zobah unto Hamath, as he went to sta- 
 
 blish his dominion by the river Euphrates. 
 
 4 And David took from him a thousand 
 
 10, 
 
 licularly For TmL T '''^''' ^•''""t.ons, as to names par- 
 
 ^^y- tor mitance, we have, ver. 1, •' Gath and her towns," 
 
 chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, 
 and twenty thousand footmen : David also 
 houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved 
 of them an hundred chariots. 
 
 5 And when the Syrians of t Damascus 
 came to help Hadarezer king of Zobah, 
 David slew- of the Syrians two and twenty 
 thousand men. 
 
 G Then David put garrisons in Syria- 
 damascus ; and the Syrians became David's 
 servants, and brought gifts. Thus the Lord 
 preserved David whithersoever he went. 
 
 7 And David took the shields of gold 
 that were on the servants of Hadarezer, 
 and brought them to Jerusalem. 
 
 8 Likewise from || Tibhath, and from 
 Chun, cities of Hadarezer, brought David 
 very much brass, wherewith " Solomon 
 made the brasen sea, and the pillars, and 
 the vessels of brass. 
 
 9 If Now when || Tou king of Hamath 
 heard how David had smitten all the host 
 of Hadarezer king of Zobah ; 
 
 10 He sent II Hadoram his son to king 
 David, II to enquire of his welfare, and t to 
 congratulate him, because he had fought 
 against Hadarezer, and smitten him ; (for 
 Hadarezer + had war with Tou ;) and 
 with him all manner of vessels of gold and 
 silver and brass. 
 
 11 ^ Them also king David dedicated 
 unto the Lord, w ith the silver and the gold 
 that he brought from all these nations ; 
 from Edom, and from Moab, and from the 
 children of Ammon, and from the Philis- 
 tines, and from Amalek. 
 
 12 Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah 
 slew of the Edomites in the valley of salt 
 eighteen thousand. 
 
 13 ^ And he put garrisons in Edom ; 
 and all the Edomites became David's ser- 
 vants. Thus the Lord preserved David 
 whithersoever he went. 
 
 1 i % So David reigned over all Israel, 
 and executed judgment and justice among 
 all his people. 
 
 15 And Joab the son of Zeruiah teas 
 over the host ; and Jehoshaphat the son of 
 Ahiiud, II recorder. 
 
 Ki And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and 
 IIAbimelech the son of Abiathar, Kere the 
 priests ; and || Shavsha was scribe ; 
 
 17 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada teas 
 over the Cherethites and the Pelethites ; 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about lOIO. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 Dnrmcstk. 
 
 II Ca'.k'd ;i> 
 
 the hook of 
 
 Samuel 
 
 BetuK and 
 
 Berutftai. 
 
 '' 1 Kings 
 
 7. 2,",. 
 
 2 Chron. -J 
 
 13. 
 
 II Or, To!, 
 
 2 Sam. H. 3. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 .7 ram, 
 ■2 Sam. 8. 
 10. 
 II Or, 
 to salute. 
 f Heb. 
 to hlcss. 
 t Heb. 
 wusthemayt 
 nfwars. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 remem- 
 
 hranccr. 
 
 II Called 
 
 Ahimetech., 
 
 £ Sam. 8. 
 
 17. 
 
 1 Called 
 Scriiiith, 
 
 2 Sam. 8. 
 17. 
 
 and5//ij/in. 
 I Kings 4. 
 3. 
 
 inste:,d of Metheg-ammah ; also, ver. 8, " Tibhath and Chun," 
 instead ot Betah and Beiothai ; in all which ca.ses we conclude 
 that the places were called by different names. Bp. Patridc.
 
 David's messengers are evil entreated. 
 
 CHAP. XIX, XX. 
 
 Shophach is slain. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1040. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 nt the hand 
 f the king. 
 
 about in:"!?. 
 ' 2 Sam. 10. 
 h&c. 
 
 t Hcb. In 
 thine fi/es 
 dath David, 
 ic. 
 
 and the sons of David "were chief t about 
 the king. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 1 David's viesserigers, sent to comfort Hannn the son of 
 Nakash, are villanmisly entreated. 6 The Ammonites, 
 strengthened by the Syrians, arc overcome by Joah and 
 Abishai. 16 Shophach, rnaking a new supply of the 
 Syrians, is slain by David. 
 
 NOW ' it came to pass after this, that 
 Nahash the king of the children of 
 Ammon died, and his son reigned in his 
 stead. 
 
 2 And David said, I will shew kindness 
 unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his 
 father shewed kindness to me. And Da- 
 vid sent messengers to comfort him con- 
 cerning his father. So the servants of Da- 
 vid came into the land of the children of 
 Amnion to Hanun, to comfort him. 
 
 3 But the princes of the children of 
 Ammon said to Hanun, t Thinkest thou 
 that David doth honour thy father, that he 
 hath sent comforters unto thee? are not 
 his servants come unto thee for to search, 
 and to overthrow, and to spy out the land? 
 
 4 Wherefore Hanun took David's ser- 
 vants, and shaved them, and cut off their 
 garments in the midst hard by their but- 
 tocks, and sent them away. 
 
 5 Then there went certain, and told Da- 
 vid how the men were served. And he 
 sent to meet them : for the men were 
 greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry 
 at Jericho until your beards be grown, and 
 then return. 
 
 6 ^ And when the children of Ammon 
 saw that they had made themselves t odious 
 to David, Hanun and the children of Am- 
 mon sent a thousand talents of silver to 
 hire them chariots and horsemen out of 
 Mesopotamia, and out of Syria-maacliah, 
 and out of Zobah. 
 
 7 So they hired thirty and two thousand 
 chariots, and the king of Maachah and his 
 people ; who came and pitched before Me- 
 deba. And the children of Ammon ga- 
 thered themselves together from their ci- 
 ties, and came to battle. 
 
 8 And when David heard of it, he sent 
 Joab, and all the host of the mighty men. 
 
 9 And the childi'en of Ammon came out, 
 and put the battle in array before the gate 
 of the city : and the kings that were come 
 were by themselves in the field. 
 
 Chap. XIX. ver. 7. — thirty and two thousand chariots,'] The 
 ;neaning must probably be, so many foot soldiers who fought in 
 chariots; for no soldiers are mentioned; and at 2 Sam. x. 6, it is 
 expressly stilted that they hired 20,000 footmen of Zobali, and 
 12,000 men of Ish-tob, which together make up the number 
 
 t Hcb. 
 ro itinlc. 
 
 about 10.')7 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1037. 
 
 tHeb. 
 the face nf 
 lite battle 
 was. 
 a Or, 
 
 yyytn^ men. 
 t Heb. 
 AlihaL 
 
 10 Now when Joab saw that t the battle 
 was set against him before and behind, he 
 chose out of all the It choice of Israel, and 
 put them in array against the Syrians. 
 
 11 And the rest of the people he deli- 
 vered unto the hand of t Abishai his bro- 
 ther, and they set themselves in array 
 against the children of Ammon. 
 
 12 And he said. If the Syrians be too 
 strong for me, then thou shalt help me : 
 but if the children of Ammon be too strong 
 for thee, then I will help thee. 
 
 13 Be of good courage, and let us be- 
 have ourselves valiantly for our people, 
 and for the cities of our God : and let the 
 Lord do that rvhich is good in his sight. 
 
 14 So Joab and the people that were 
 with him drew nigh before the Syrians unto 
 the battle ; and they fled before him. 
 
 15 And when the children of Ammon 
 saw that the Syrians were fled, they like- 
 wise fled before Abishai his brother, and 
 entered into the city. Then Joab came to 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 16 If And when the Syrians saw that 
 they were put to the worse before Israel, 
 they sent messengers, and drew forth the 
 Syrians that were beyond the il river : and 
 II Shophach the captain of the host of Ha- 
 darezer wetit before them. 
 
 17 And it was told David ; and lie ga- 
 thered all Israel, and passed over Jordan, 
 and came upon them, and set the battle in 
 array against them. So when David had 
 put the battle in array against the Syrians, 
 they fought with him. 
 
 18 But the Syrians fled before Israel; 
 and David slew of the Syrians seven thou- 
 sand men which fought in chariots, and 
 forty thousand footmen, and killed Sho- 
 phach the captain of the host. 
 
 19 And when the senants of Hadarezer 
 saw that they were put to the worse before 
 Israel, they made peace with David, and 
 became his servants : neither would the 
 Syrians help the children of Amnion any 
 more. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 1 Rabbah is besieged by Joab, spoiled by David, and aliotit 103.^ 
 the peoiile tlicrcqf toti'ured. i Three giants are slain ' -' Sam.U. 
 in three several overt krotvs of t lie Philistines. 
 
 aI>out lOHG. 
 
 II lliat is, 
 Euphrates. 
 r( Or, 
 S'tof'acht 
 1 .Sain. 10. 
 10. 
 
 A 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 N D ^ it came to iiass, that t after the «' ""^ :'■ 
 
 . 1 , . , turn ijlhe 
 
 year was expired, at tlie time that ,j,ar. 
 
 .■32,000. Bp. Falriek. The words admit of being translated 
 " thirty and two thousand with chaiiots." Dr. Waterland, Hou- 
 bigant. 
 
 Chap. XX. ver. 1 . And il came to pass, that after the year &c. J 
 In this part of the history, the account of David's adulterj- with
 
 Babbah is besieged. 
 
 I. CHRONICLES. 
 
 David nimbereth the people. 
 
 •hout 103S. 
 • vSuo. 1& 
 
 fHrti. 
 
 »hou! lom. 
 
 •yS«in.21. 
 
 IS. 
 
 (Or. 
 
 rtntintud. 
 
 t Mcb. 
 
 ttocd. 
 
 I Or, Oob. 
 
 J Or. 
 
 Rafha 
 
 I CtUnl 
 alto Jaarc- 
 arfgtm^ 
 3 Sam. 
 
 '.'1. 
 
 Pcfnr, kill'"! go out lo battle, Joab led forth the 
 
 CM u isr ^,^^^pr of the armv, ami wasted the country 
 
 ^u. iM. F^. ^j^^ (.|,iijrcn of Auimon, and came and 
 
 besieged Kabbah. But David tarried at 
 
 Jerusalem. And Joab smote Kabbah, and 
 
 destroyed it. i. ^u • 
 
 2 And David took the ''crown ot their 
 kin<T from oft' his head, and found it t to 
 weigh a talent of gold, and there xcere pre- 
 cious stones in it ; and it was set upon Da- 
 vid's head : and he brought also exceedmg 
 much spoil out of the city. 
 
 S And he brought out the people that 
 uere in it, and cut them with saws, and 
 with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even 
 so dealt David with all the cities of the 
 children of Ammon. And David and all 
 the people returned to Jerusalem. 
 
 4 ^ And it came to pass after this, 
 ' that there II t arose war at II Gezer with 
 the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai 
 the Hushathite slew Sippai, thatxcas of the 
 children of II the giant : and they were sub- 
 dued. 
 
 5 And there was war again with the 
 Phih\stines ; and Elhanan the son of II Jair 
 slewLahmi the brother of Goliath theGit- 
 tite, whose spear staff teas like a weaver's 
 beam. 
 
 6 And yet again " there was war at 
 Gatli, where was ta man o^ great stature, 
 whose fingers and toes «ere four and twen- 
 ty, six on each hand, and six on each foot : 
 and he also was t the son of the giant. 
 
 7 But when he II defied Israel, Jonathan 
 the son of II Shimea David's brother slew 
 him. 
 
 shnmmuh ^ Thesc wetB born unto the giant in 
 1 ■Cm.\L Gath ; and they fell by the hand of Da- 
 " vid, and by the hand of his servants. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 1 David, templed by Satan, forceth Joab to number the 
 
 Batli-sheba intervenes at 2 Sam. xi ; but, as that transaction is 
 there so fully related, it is in the book of Chronicles wholly 
 omitted. Up. Patrick. 
 
 3. — and cut litem iiith saws, &c.] It is not said that David did 
 thiij to .ill the people, nor is any thing more implied than that he 
 did thus to some of them ; and it is certain, from 2 Chron. xx. &c. 
 thill hf did not wholly extirpate the children of Aramon. It is 
 probable that David was thus remarkably severe on some of the 
 children of Ammon, as a retaliation or punishment for some hor- 
 rid crueltie.* of which they had been guilty towards his Israditish 
 •u'ljects. altliough we arc not particularly informed what these 
 cruelties were. It appeared from the notes on 2 Sam. xii. 3 1 , that 
 •omc lcari.i-d nun wisli to vindicate David from the charge of 
 cruelty, by explaining the text there in the sense of his piTtting 
 meni to labour under saws, &c. Those wlio favour this opinion 
 raux m the present passage, instead of " cut them with saws, &c." 
 lie ruled them by the saws, by the harrows, &c." that is, made 
 
 * 2 Sim. 21 
 
 SO 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 fmm ij" 
 mtaiure. 
 
 t IKl,. 
 born t<j the 
 fiant, or, 
 Ra/iha. 
 
 1 Or, 
 rrprvncficd 
 g CaUnl 
 Shnfnmah, 
 
 Bcfor« 
 
 1017. 
 
 " 2 Sam, 21. 
 1, &-C. 
 
 people. .'5 The numher of the people being brought, 
 David repeiileth of it. .0 David having three plagues CHRIST 
 proiHiiinded hy Gad chooseth the pciiilencc. \i After 
 the death of seven! ij thousand, David Ay repentance 
 prcvcnieth the destruction of Jerusalem. 18 David, by 
 Gad's direction, mirctia.ieth Oman's Ihreshingfloor : 
 trhcrc having built an aliar, God givcth a sign of his 
 favour bi/ /ire, and stai/eth the pbigiic. 28 Davul sa-^ 
 cri/iceth there, being rc.<:trainedfrom Gibcon by fear of 
 the angel. 
 
 AN D =" Satan stood up against Israel, 
 and provoked David to number Is- 
 rael. 
 
 2 And David said to Joab and to the 
 rulers of the people, Go, number Israel 
 from Beer-sheba even to Dan ; and bring 
 the number of them to me, that I may 
 know it. 
 
 3 And Joab answered, The Lord make 
 his people an hundred times so many more 
 as they be .■ but, my lord the king, are they 
 not all my lord's servants ? why then doth 
 my lord require this thing ? why will he be 
 a cause of trespass to Israel ? 
 
 4 Nevertheless the king's word prevail- 
 ed against Joab. Wherefore Joab depart- 
 ed, and went throughout all Israel, and 
 came to Jerusalem. 
 
 5 ^ And Joab gave the sum of the 
 number of the people unto David. And 
 all thei/ o/' Israel were a thousand thousand 
 and an hundred thousand men that drew 
 sword : and Judah xvas four hundred three- 
 score and ten thousand men that drew 
 sword. 
 
 6 But Levi and Benjamin counted he 
 
 a- 
 
 not among them 
 
 for the king's word was 
 
 abominable to Joab. 
 
 7 t And God was displeased with this t HcIj. 
 thing ; therefore he smote Israel. tuinZ' 
 
 8 And David said unto God, " I have eyes of the 
 sinned greatly, because I have done this concerning 
 thing : but now, I beseech thee, do away tus thing: 
 the iniquity of thy servant j for I have 24. lo"" 
 done very foolishly. 
 
 them slaves, and condemned them to these servile employments. 
 Parkhursl. 
 
 4. — that there arose n ar at Gezer Sue.'] At this place followed 
 the several transactions and disasters of David's affairs for the 
 space of about thirteen years, which are to be supplied from the 
 second book of Samuel, from chap. xii. to chap. xxL 15, &c. Pyle, 
 
 Chap. XXI. ver. 1. And Satan stood up Sec.'] See tlie notes at 
 2 Sam. xxiv. 1 . On the phrase " stood up against Israel," it 
 should be remarked, that standing up was the posture of those 
 >yho charged and accused any person of a crime in a court of jus- 
 tice; see 1 Kings xxii. 21. Thus the allusion here may be, that 
 Satan is represented as bringing some sin to the charge of the 
 Israelites, which he laid before God as a reason for punishing 
 them. For this is the manner of the holy Scriptm-e, thus to 
 bring things down, and accommodate them to the lowest capaci. 
 ties. Bp. Patrick.
 
 David cJiooseth the pestilence. 
 
 CHAP. XXL 
 
 God stayeth the plague. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST ^ .^ '^"'^ *^^ 'LoviTi spake unto Gad, 
 10 J 7. David's seer, saying, 
 
 10 Go and tell David, saying, Thus 
 + Heb. saith the Lord, I t offer thee three things : 
 sttetci nut. pjjQQgg ^i^gg Qj^g ^^ them, that I may do it 
 
 unto thee. 
 
 11 So Gad came to David, and said 
 t Heb. unto him. Thus saith the Lord, t Choose 
 
 " thee 
 
 fief. Liicc 
 
 12 Either three years famine ; or three 
 months to be destroyed before thy foes, 
 while that the sword of thine enemies over- 
 taketh thee ; or else three days the sword 
 of the Lord, even the pestilence, in the 
 land, and the angel of the Lord destroy- 
 ing throughout all the coasts of Israel. 
 Now therefore advise thyself what word 1 
 shall bring again to him that sent me. 
 
 13 And David said unto Gad, I am in 
 a great strait : let me fall now into the 
 
 I Or,ma»y. hand of the Lord ; for very || great are his 
 mercies : but let me not fall into the hand 
 of man. 
 
 14 ^ So the Lord sent pestilence upon 
 Israel : and there fell of Israel seventy 
 thousand men. 
 
 '9 Sam. 24. 15 And God sent an "angel unto Jeru- 
 ^*' salem to destroy it : and as he was de- 
 
 stroying, the Lord beheld, and he repented 
 him of the evil, and said to the angel that 
 destroyed. It is enough, stay now thine 
 hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by 
 '■'>'• the threshingfloor of II Oman the Jebusite. 
 -SanZsX 16 And David lifted up his eyes, and 
 '*• saw the angel of the Lord stand between 
 
 the earth and the heaven, having a drawn 
 sword in his hand stretched out over Jeru- 
 salem. Then David and the elders of Is- 
 rael, who "were clothed in sackcloth, fell 
 upon their faces. 
 
 17 And David said unto God, Is it not 
 1 that commanded the people to be num- 
 bered ? even I it is that have sinned and 
 done evil indeed; but «5^r these sheep, 
 what have they done? let thine hand, I 
 pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, 
 and on my father's house ; but not on thy 
 people, that they should be plagued. 
 
 9- 
 
 Gad, David's seer,'] See tlie note on 2 Chron. xxxiii. 
 
 19- 
 
 20. And Oman turned back, and saw the angel f] This book, 
 it will be observed, supplies many circumstances omitted in the 
 account given in the book of Samuel ; and amongst these is the 
 circumstance of Oman, or Araunah, having himself seen the an- 
 gel ; for there it was only mentioned that David saw him. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 23. — and the threshing instruments for jvood,"] That is, to bum 
 the sacrifice of the oxen. The threshing instrument used in the 
 East is not like a flail, but is a sledge, drawn by two oxen, and 
 Vol. I. 
 
 18 ^ Then the " angel of the Lord com- before 
 manded Gad to say to Da\ad, that David ^"ml.^^ 
 should go up, and set up an altar unto the " 2 chron. 
 Lord in the threshingfloor of Oman the ^- ' 
 Jebusite. 
 
 19 And David went up at the saying of 
 Gad, which he spake in the name of the 
 Lord. 
 
 20 II And Oman turned back, and saw II "r. »r*«n 
 the angel ; and his four sons with him ^^i bade 
 hid themselves. Now Oman was threshing ""^ "«'"'« 
 
 whpat angel, then 
 
 Wneai. he and Ills 
 
 21 And as David came to Oman, Ornan-^^[^'^^^ 
 looked and saw David, and went out of aenJeTvei. 
 the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to 
 David with his face to the ground. 
 
 22 Then David said to Oman, t Grant + ^*- 
 me the place of this threshingfloor, that I '^"'' 
 may build an altar therein unto the Lord : 
 thou shalt grant it me for the full price : 
 that the plague may be stayed from the 
 people. 
 
 23 And Oman said unto David, Take 
 it to thee, and let my lord the king do that 
 which is good in his eyes : lo, I give thee 
 the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the 
 threshing instruments for wood, and the 
 wheat for the meat offering ; I give it all. 
 
 24 And king David said to Oman, Nay; 
 but I will verily buy it for the full price : 
 for I will not take thai which is thine for 
 the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings without 
 cost. 
 
 25 So 'David gave to Oman for the •2 3Mn.24. 
 place six hundred shekels of gold by 
 weight. 
 
 26 And David built there an altar unto 
 the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and 
 peace offerings, and called upon the Lord; 
 and he answered him from heaven by fire 
 upon the altar of burnt offering. 
 
 27 And the Lord commanded the an- 
 gel ; and he put up his sword again into 
 the sheath thereof. 
 
 28 ^ At that time when David saw that 
 the Lord had answered him in the thresh- 
 ingfloor of Oman the Jebusite, then he sa- 
 crificed there. 
 
 driven by a man seated in a chair fixed on the sledge. Such in- 
 strimients as these might serve to accomplish the purpose of con- 
 suming the sacrifice, which our flails could not have done, unless 
 they were used in a verv great number. Fragments to Calmet. 
 
 25. — si.v hundred .thekels of gold] See note at 2 Sam. xxiv. 24. 
 
 26. — he answered him — hi/ ^fire] In a similar manner God 
 testified His acceptance of the "sacrifices of Gideon and Ehjah; and 
 this was the highest and plainest token of His gracious acceptance 
 of any sacrifice. Bp. Patrick, 
 
 28' — then he sacrijtced there.] David, finding how acceptable 
 to God this place was. concluded it was his duty to continue to 
 
 5E
 
 ^ 
 
 David's preparation for the temple. I. CHRONICLES. 
 
 His charge to Solomon, 
 
 Moft 29 For the tabernacle of the Lord, 
 ^"oVt^^ which Moses made in the wilderness, and 
 the altar of the burnt offering, 'fere at that 
 . ck.p. 16. season in the high place at ' Gibeon. 
 
 SO But David could not go before it to 
 enquire of God: for he was afraid because 
 of the sword of the angel of the Lord. 
 
 39l 
 
 S Cbron. 
 I. \ 
 I Kinp 
 •.4. 
 
 CHAP. xxn. 
 
 1 David, foreknoirins the place of the temple, prepareth 
 abundance for the building of it. 6 He tnstructeth 
 Solomon in God's promises, and his duty in building 
 the temple. 17 He chargeth the princes to assist his 
 ton. 
 
 THEN David said, This is the house of 
 the Lord God, and this is the altar of 
 the burnt offering for Israel. 
 
 2 And David commanded to gather to- 
 gether the strangers that ivere in the land of 
 Israel ; and he set masons to hew wrought 
 Btones to build the house of God. 
 
 3 And David prepared iron in abun- 
 dance for the nails for the doors of the 
 gates, and for the joinings ; and brass in 
 abundance without weight ; 
 
 4 Also cedar trees in abundance : for 
 the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought 
 much cedar wood to David. 
 
 ciup- 29- 5 And David said, * Solomon my son is 
 young and tender, and the house that is to 
 be builded for the Lord must be exceeding 
 magnifical, of fame and of glory through- 
 out all countries : I will therefore now 
 
 offer up such sort of sacrifices as tliese in it, since God had in a 
 manner consecrated it to His service by so special a testimony of 
 His Divine favour and acceptance. Accordingly, though the ta- 
 bernacle with the alur was still at Gibeon, yet the king made this 
 for the future the place of his worship. And here it was that he 
 appouited the temple to be built. See the next chapter, ver. 1, 2, 
 &c. and 2 Chron. iii. 1. Pyle. 
 
 30. — he nas afraid because of the sword of the angeQ As he 
 thoujrht that God had now consecrated to His service the thresli- 
 ■ngfloor o» .\raunah, he thought there might still be danger that 
 the aiigel might smite Jenisalem if he did not continue to wor- 
 ship Owl there, and if he went to the altar at Gibeon. The altar 
 which he had now erected was set up, by the express command 
 of God, ai well as that of Moses ; and he probably knew tliat God 
 intended a temple should be built on this spot to His perpetual 
 honour. £p. Patrick. * ' 
 
 Chap xxn. ver. \.— ri,is is the ho,ise2 This is the place 
 where the teniple must be built. Dr. Wall. From the tokens of 
 acceptance which God had been pleased to afford, David con- 
 cluded that this was the place in which " die house of the Lord 
 
 .n*? Z'^u ^ '"^*' ^^'^^ ^^ ^'^'^ purposed to erect himself, 
 and which was now to be intrusted to his son Solomon ; and that 
 m this place was ^ be "the altar of the burnt offering" which 
 »a» to be made. Dr. f\ ells. 
 
 Jetilh 'i.\i'Jr''^7 ""^ '"'" i"!'"" ^'"^^ '^^^ proselytes to the 
 Ss S"f '„''''° r'^^« f^bal^'y l^'^tter skilled in the arts and 
 works ^h.ch foUow, than the Israelites themselves. B,,. Patrick 
 
 )ao^^\^^Z^^"l' ^''X ^'.''^"'^^ ^PI^'*'-^' that it was well 
 Known he luten.led Solomon for his successor. Bp. Patrick. The 
 
 make preparation for it. So David pre- ^j^tisT 
 pared abundantly before his death. about 1017. 
 
 6 If Then he called for Solomon his 
 son, and charged him to build an house 
 for the Lord God of Israel. 
 
 7 And David said to Solomon, My son, 
 as for me, it was in my mind to build an 
 house unto the name of the Lord my 
 
 God: 
 
 8 But the word of the Lord came to me, 
 saying, " Thou hast shed blood abundantly, '^cbap.28. 
 and hast made great wars : thou shalt not y sain.7. 
 build an house unto my name, because ^^• 
 thou hast shed much blood upon the earth 
 
 in my sight. 
 
 9 Behold, a son shall be born to thee, 
 who shall be a man of rest ; and I will 
 give him rest from all his enemies round 
 about : for his name shall be II Solomon, II J^^^'J^- 
 and I will give peace and quietness unto '"'""" 
 Israel in his days. 
 
 10 He shall build an house for my name ; 
 and he shall be my son, and I will be his 
 father ; and I will establish the throne of 
 his kingdom over Israel for ever. 
 
 11 Now, my son, the Lord be with thee; 
 and prosper thou, and build the house of 
 the Lord thy God, as he hath said of 
 thee. 
 
 12 Only the Lord give thee wisdom and 
 understanding, and give thee charge con- 
 cerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the 
 law of the Lord thy God. 
 
 main considerations which, as David here states, determined him 
 to make this early provision for the building of the temple, were, 
 the great magnificence of the intended structure, and the un- 
 common care which would be required to accomplish it properly; 
 which he concluded would be too weighty a concern for so young 
 a prince as Solomon would be at his accession to the tlirone. 
 Pyle. 
 
 8. — because thou hist shed much blood upon the earllij Though 
 this reason for David's being forbidden to build the house of God 
 is not mentioned in the book of Samuel, (see 2 Sara. vii. 12, &c.) 
 yet it is recorded here, to shew perhaps that, although the wars 
 of David were warranted by God, and succeeded through His 
 gracious aid in an extraordinary manner, yet it did not so well 
 accord with the majesty of God, to have a temple built by one 
 w ho had shed so much blood, as by one whose reign passed in 
 quietness and peace. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 There is a particular reflection to be made on God's not ap- 
 proving of David's building the temple at Jerusalem, because he 
 had been a man of war, and had shed much blood. We may 
 hence conclude, tliat God, who is a God of peace, does not 
 delight in blood ; that e\en just and necessary wars are a 
 great evil; and that by peace and tranquillity, rather than by 
 confusion and trouble. His kingdom is promoted and advanced. 
 Ostcrvald. 
 
 10. — I mill establish the throne — for eufr.] In the proper 
 and full sense of the words, tliis can only belong to Christ : for 
 Solomon reigned only forty years ; and, after that, his kingdom 
 was torn to pieces. Accordingly the author of the Epistle to the 
 Hebrews applies this expression to Christ, Heb. i. 5. Bp. Pa- 
 trick.
 
 and to the princes. 
 
 CHAP. XXII, XXIII. 
 
 David maketh Solomon kins. 
 
 U Or, in 
 
 7ni/ itoverty. 
 
 As ver. 3. 
 
 11 Ti.at is, ^hgg jjj abundance, hewers and 
 
 Masons and n . i • i i ii 
 
 wTfcniirs. or stone and timber, and all manner 
 
 chrTst ^^ '^^^'^ ^^^'^ ^^^ prosper, if thou tak- 
 •bout 1017. est heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments 
 which the Lord charged Moses with con- 
 cerning Israel: be strong, and of good 
 courage; dread not, nor be dismayed. 
 
 14 Now, behold, II in my trouble I have 
 prepared for the house of the Lord an 
 hundred tliousand talents of gold, and a 
 thousand thousand talents of silver; and 
 of brass and iron without "^weight; for it 
 is in abundance : timber also and stone 
 have I prepared; and thou mayest add 
 thereto. 
 
 15 Moreover there are workmen with 
 
 workers 
 
 of 
 cunning men for every manner of work. 
 
 16 Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, 
 and the iron, there is no number. Arise 
 therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be 
 with thee. 
 
 17 If David also commanded all the 
 princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, 
 sai/itig, 
 
 18 Is not the Lord your God with you? 
 and hath he not given you rest on every 
 side? for he hath given the inhabitants of 
 the land into mine hand; and the land is 
 subdued before the Lord, and before his 
 people. 
 
 19 Now set your heart and your soul to 
 seek the Lord your God; arise therefore, 
 and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord 
 God, to bring the ark <5f the covenant of 
 the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, 
 into the house that is to be built to the 
 name of the Lord. 
 
 13. Then sliaU thou prosper, &c.] David here gives to his son 
 the truly valuable instruction to improve his happy advantages, 
 and to be discouraged by no difficulties in doing his duty; and 
 always to remember that his own, and the kingdom's prosperity, 
 depended solely and entirely on the piety and justice of his 
 government, and upon his and their scrupulous regard to the 
 laws of their religion. Pylf- 
 
 14. — in my trouble^ In my reign, which has been full of va- 
 rious troubles. Dr. Wells. 
 
 an htndred thousand talents of gold, &C.3 This sum, when 
 
 added to those of chap. xxix. 3 — 5, &c. is so prodigious, that 
 many judicious writers have come to the conclusion, either that 
 the talents here spoken of were another sort of talent, of far less 
 value than those mentioned by Moses, or else that some errour as 
 to the numbers may have been introduced into the text; for these 
 sums amount to no less than 800 millions sterling of our money. 
 Pylc. 
 
 The Hebrew word for " talent," signifies a cake or mass of me- 
 tal. Tlie account here given of the vast wealth prepared by Da- 
 vid appears incredible, if we allow the talent mentioned to be that 
 of which Moses speaks, and to be of the value which is commonly 
 supposed. As to an errour in the numbers, it should be mentioned 
 that Josephus, the Jewish historian, states them at 10,000 talents 
 of gold, and 100,000 talents of silver, which is a tenth part of 
 ■A hat we read in our present copies of this text. The Arabick 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1015. 
 
 son king over * Chap. ss. 
 
 1015. 
 
 about 1045. 
 " Numb. 4. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 (o oversee. 
 
 CHAP. xxm. 
 
 I David in his old age maketh Solomon king. 2 The 
 number and distribution of the Levites. 7 The fami- 
 lies of the Gershmites. 12 The sons of Kohath. 21 
 The sons of Merari. 24 The office of the I^ites. 
 
 SO when David was old and full of days, 
 he * made Solomon his son kine- over 
 Israel. 
 
 2 f And he gathered together all the 
 princes of Israel, with the priests and the 
 Levites. 
 
 3 Now the Levites were numbered from 
 the age of "thirty years and upward: and 
 their number by their polls, man by man, 
 was thirty and eight thousand, 
 
 4 Of which, twenty and four thousand 
 xcere || to set forward the work of the house 
 of the Lord ; and six thousand were officers 
 and judges: 
 
 5 Moreover four thousand were portei-s; 
 and four thousand praised the Lord with 
 the instruments which I made, said David, 
 to praise therewith. 
 
 6 And "David divided them into t courses 
 among the sons of Levi, iiamely, Gershon, 
 Kohath, and Merari. 
 
 7 IT Of the " Gershonites were. If Laadan, 
 and Shimei. 
 
 8 The sons of Laadan; the chief was 
 Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three. 
 
 9 The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and 
 Haziel, and Haran, three. Tliese were the 
 chief of the fathers of Laadan. 
 
 10 And the sons of Shimei wei'e, Jaliath, 
 
 II Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four 
 xcere the sons of Shimei. 
 
 11 And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah 
 
 version says, " Gold a thousand talents, and silver a thousand 
 talents." At the same time we should remember, that, in an age 
 when princes were accustomed to hoard up vast quantities of gold 
 and silver, as Eastern princes do still, it is by no means impro- 
 bable that David, in his many successful wars with various great 
 nations, might amass a quantity of treasure which to us appears 
 prodigious. Parkhursl. 
 
 Chap. XXIII. ver. 2. And he gathered together all the princes'] 
 He called together a general assemblj' of tl«j heads of the nation, 
 to whom he gave the scheme he had been formerly projecting for 
 the regular courses of the priests and Levites in tlie temple ser- 
 vice, as a method of preventing the inconveniences he had ob- 
 served in the usual manner of perfonning it. Py/c 
 
 David was well aware of what vast consequence the esbiblisli- 
 ment of tiie publick worship of God, in true piety and purity, was 
 to the virtue and happiness of a people; inasmuch as all religion 
 depends upon it, and would without it absolutely fail amongst 
 men, in the space of a few years. He therefore judged it advisable 
 to allure men to it, by all the advantages of a graceful, solemn, 
 and delightful magnificence; as the sacred writer proceeds to de- 
 scribe in this and the following chapters. Dr. Delancij. 
 
 3. Now the f.pviles were numbered^ It was appointed by law. 
 Numb. iv. 3; viii. 24, &c. that the Levites were to be called up 
 to enter on their duties at the age of twenty-five or thirty, and 
 were to be discharged at the age of fifty. Py/e. 
 
 S E 2 
 
 " Kxod. a. 
 
 16. 
 chap. C. I, 
 
 &C. 
 
 2 Chron. S. 
 
 14.&29.ai. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 divisiant. 
 
 " Chap. 2«. 
 
 21. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Lilmi, 
 
 chap. 6. 17:- 
 
 I Or, 
 Zisith, 
 nr. 11.
 
 The sons o/Kohath and Merarl. I. CHRONICLES. 
 
 The office of the Levites, 
 
 Bcf>.« the second: but Jeush and Beriah t had 
 i'^-MnZnot many sons; therefore they were in 
 one reckoning, according to their lather s 
 
 house. . ^ 
 
 Vi % The sons of Kohath; Amram, Iz- 
 
 liar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. 
 
 13 The sons of 'Amram; Aaron and 
 Moses: and 'Aaron was separated, that 
 he sliould sanctify the most lioly things, 
 he and his sons for ever, to burn incense 
 before the Lord, to minister unto him, 
 and to bless in his name for ever. 
 
 14 * Now concerning Moses the man of 
 God, his sons were named of the tribe of 
 Levi. 
 
 15 •" The sons of Moses were, Gershom, 
 and Eliezer. 
 
 l(j Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel 
 •was the chief. 
 
 17 And the sons of Eliezer were, ' Reha- 
 biah II the chief. And Eliezer had none 
 other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah 
 t were very many. 
 
 18 Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith the 
 chief. 
 
 19 Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the 
 first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the 
 third, and Jekameam the fourth. 
 
 '20 Of the sons of Uzziel; Micah the 
 first, and Jesiah the second. 
 
 21 ^ The sons of Merari; Mahli, and 
 Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and 
 Kish. 
 
 0,2 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, 
 but daughters : and their || brethren the 
 sons of Kish took them. 
 
 'ZS The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and 
 Eder, and Jereraoth, three. 
 »Nuo.b.io. 2}. ^ These xvere the sons of ' Levi after 
 the liouse of their fathers; even the chief 
 
 alx>ui IIHJ. 
 t Hrh. 
 
 nply wnj. 
 
 • Eiod. C. 
 
 9a 
 
 ' EioA i8. 
 1. 
 
 Hrbr. 5. 4. 
 
 •Exod.2. 
 
 »Exod. 18. 
 9,4. 
 
 > Chap.3S. 
 25. 
 II Or, 
 tUJirU. 
 
 t Heb. 
 Wfre highly 
 muU^ied. 
 
 I 
 
 Or, 
 
 lumfn. 
 
 1'-'. The suns of Kulialh;'] From the family of Kohath, t)ie 
 heati of the second class, (rescenihcl Mosts and Aaron: Aaron 
 and his jwsterity were honoured with the priesthood; but Moses, 
 ver. 1 i, tJiough the most eminent I'ropliet and govemour that 
 ever the Israelitish nation had, left his chilcben in no higher situ- 
 ation thjui that of simple Levites, who spread into numerous fa- 
 milies, the chief of which will be mentioned. Pi/le. 
 
 li. N(jir conccrniiii: Moses &c.] Such was the wonderful hu- 
 mility ami modesty of this great man, that he did not aim at ob- 
 taining high situations for his posterity: which circumstance is 
 perhaps here noted, to the end that none amongst the Israehtes 
 inight presume, on account of their noble descent, to meddle witli 
 the priesthood, which was settletl in the family of Aaron Bo 
 Ittlruk. ^' 
 
 2i. — as the,/ were counted —from ihc age oflweiUii years^ It 
 appears that the Levites were twice numbered and registered in 
 i« "Ti 1", Y"^' '^ ^*> *''"• anciently been in the time of Mo- 
 fiu",l.. 'r u' 1K.11 ver. .S, they were not t^.ken into tiie service 
 tm Uic age of thirty ; but alterwards, on the king considering that 
 uie «cTMce of the temple would require more hands than that of 
 
 licfore 
 CHlllST 
 about 1045. 
 
 ' Numb. 
 1. ^. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 anHhed'weU 
 letb in JerU' 
 snlem, &c. 
 
 about 101.1. 
 
 f Heb. 
 
 numbers. 
 
 t Heb. 
 their station 
 was at the 
 hand iifthe 
 Sam of 
 yiaron* 
 
 "' Chap. 9. 
 29, &c. 
 Lev. C. 21. 
 
 II Or, 
 fut platt. 
 
 of the fathers, as they were counted by 
 number of names by their polls, that did 
 the work for the service of the house of 
 tlie Lord, from the age of ' twenty years 
 and upward. 
 
 25 For David said. The Lord God of 
 Israel hath given rest unto his people, 
 II that they may dwell in Jerusalem for 
 ever: 
 
 26 And also unto the Levites: they 
 shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor 
 any vessels of it for the service thereof. 
 
 27 For by the last words of David the 
 Levites were t numbered from twenty years 
 old and above: 
 
 28 Because t their office was to wait on 
 the sons of Aaron for the service of the 
 house of the Lord, in the courts, and in 
 the chambers, and in the purifying of all 
 holy things, and the work of the service of 
 the house of God; 
 
 29 Both for the shewbread, and for ^ the 
 fine flour for meat offering, and for the 
 unleavened cakes, and for that which is 
 baked in the || pan, and for that which is 
 fried, and for all manner of measure and 
 size; 
 
 30 And to stand every morning to thank 
 and praise the Lord, and likewise at 
 even; 
 
 31 And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto 
 the Lord in the sabbaths, in the new 
 moons, and on the set feasts, by number, 
 according to the <5rder commanded unto 
 them, continually before the Lord: 
 
 32 And that they should keep the charge 
 of the tabernacle of the congregation, and 
 the charge of the holy place, and the charge 
 of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the 
 service of the house of the Lord. , 
 
 the tabernacle, and would at the same time be more light and 
 easy, from the circumstance of there being no ark and tabernacle 
 to carry about from place to place, he ordered, at the second poll, 
 all to be summoned from the age of twenty, in order that they 
 might be employed in some easy and familiar business, till they 
 were fit to go through all the offices that belonged to them. 
 Pyle. 
 
 25. — (Iwt'U ill Jerusalem for ever:"] It must always be re- 
 membered, that these expressions, of their dwelling in Jerusalem 
 " for ever," imply the condition of their continued obedience to 
 God, in which if they failed, they would be expelled from their 
 habitations. Bp. Falrick. 
 
 29- — for all manner of measure and size;"] The standards of 
 all measures and weights were kept in the sanctuary, in the cus- 
 tody of the Levites, of whom it was the duty to see that they 
 were kept with exactness. Hence we frequently read of " the 
 shekel of the sanctuary," by which is meant the shekel of the true 
 st-uidard. It should be observed, that in a similar manner the 
 standard weights and measures used anciently to be kept in Pagan 
 temples, and, in later times, in Christian churches. Bp, Patrick.
 
 The divisions of the sons of Aaron 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 into four and twenty orders. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST . . . ^ , 
 
 1015. 1 The divisions of the sous of Aaron by lot into four and 
 twenty orders. 20 The Kohathiles, 27 and the Me- 
 rariies divided by tot. 
 
 OW these are the divisions of the sons 
 
 * Lev. 10. 
 
 1. 
 
 ' Numb. 3. 
 4.&26.6I. 
 
 N 
 
 of Aaron. " The sons of Aaron ; Na- 
 dab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 
 
 2 But '' Nadab and Abihu died before 
 their father, and had no children : there- 
 fore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the 
 priest's office. 
 
 3 And David distributed them, both 
 Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahime- 
 lech of the sons of Ithamar, according to 
 their offices in their service. 
 
 4 And there were more chief men found 
 of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of 
 Ithamar ; and thus were they divided. A- 
 mong the sons of Eleazar there were six- 
 teen chief men of the house of their fathers, 
 and eight among the sons of Ithamar ac- 
 cording to the house of their fathers. 
 
 5 Thus were they divided by lot, one 
 sort with another ; for the governors of 
 the sanctuary, and governors of the house 
 of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and 
 of the sons of Ithamar. 
 
 6 And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel 
 the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them 
 before the king, and the princes, and Za- 
 dok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of 
 Abiathar, and before the chief of the fa- 
 thers of the priests and Levites: one tprin- 
 
 t Heb. cipal houshold being taken for Eleazar, and 
 father. One takcu tor Itliamar. 
 
 Chap. XXIV. ver. 1. Now these are the dirisions] David, hav- 
 ing settled the courses of the Levites, ordered, in much the same 
 manner, those of tlie priests, as their families were severally de- 
 rived from the only two sons of Aaron who survived, Eleazar 
 and Ithamar. Pyle. 
 
 These courses of the priests, many of the Hebrew doctors 
 assert, were first ordained by Moses, who, as they relate, esta- 
 blished them eight in number, four of the line of Eleazar, and 
 four of the line of Ithamar ; then Samuel added eight more, and 
 matle them sixteen ; and David added other eight, and made 
 them twenty-four. However, it is certain that the first time the 
 Scripture speaks of any courses, it makes mention of twenty- 
 four, and that David is recorded as the founder and distributor 
 of them. These courses served under the first temple, and con- 
 tinued in their ministry till the Babylonish captivity ; but it is 
 generally allowed that no more than tour of them returned from 
 that captivity. Every one of these courses ministered its week 
 from sabbath to sabbath. The course which went out did not 
 depart till the sabbath was over, and that which came in, entered 
 when it began. They served a week only at a time, so that the 
 attendance of each course was required twice in the year. As 
 these courses were determined by lot, so every particular priest 
 had his office appointed to him by the same method. Thus the 
 lot determined who should attend the altar of incense, who 
 should feed the fire, who carry out the incense; and so of all 
 other parts of the service. Lewis. 
 
 3. — Zadofc — , AhimelcchJ These two were the chief persons 
 
 7 Now the first lot came forth to Jehoi- c^rTst 
 arib, the second to Jedaiah, 
 
 1015. 
 
 8 The third to Harim, the fourth to 
 Seorim, 
 
 9 The fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to 
 Mijamin, 
 
 10 The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth 
 
 to'^Abijah, 'Luke 1.5. 
 
 11 The ninth to Jeshuah, the tenth to 
 Shecaniah, 
 
 12 The eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth 
 to Jakim, 
 
 13 The thirteenth to Huppah, the four- 
 teenth to Jeshebeab, 
 
 14- The fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth 
 to Immer, 
 
 15 The seventeenth to Hezir, the eigh- 
 teenth to Aphses, 
 
 16 The nineteenth to Pethahiah, the 
 twentieth to Jehezekel, 
 
 17 The one and twentieth to Jachin, 
 the two and twentieth to Gamul. 
 
 18 The three and twentieth to Delaiah, 
 the four and twentieth to Maaziah. 
 
 19 These were the orderings of them in 
 their service to come into the house of the 
 Lord, according to their manner, under 
 Aaron their father, as the Lord God of 
 Israel had commanded him. 
 
 20 ^ And the rest of the sons of 
 Levi were these .- Of the sons of Amram ; 
 Shubael : of the sons of Shubael } Jeh- 
 deiah. 
 
 21 Concerning Rehabiah : of the sons 
 of Rehabiah, the first was Isshiah. 
 
 in David's days of the posterity of those sons of Aaron, Eleazar 
 and Ithamar. 
 
 5. Thus were they divided by lot, &c.] To prevent all jealousy and 
 ground of complaint, the selection of persons was determined by 
 lot, the most usual and ancient method of choosing to sacred offices. 
 The " governours of tlie sanctuary" probably were the principal 
 ministers about holy things : in the expression " the governours 
 of the house of God," there is no word for house in Hebrew; they 
 seem to have been " the chief judges." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 This appointment of separate courses for the priests and Le- 
 vites, according to which they were to officiate by tunis, aimed 
 one great national advantage with it ; (and possibly many more 
 not now to be understood ;) namely, that this weekly circuhtion 
 of priests and Levites tended to diffuse a general acquaintance 
 .imongst the different inhabitants of the kingdom. 
 
 19. These were the orderings &c.] Thus were they ranged into 
 their weekly courses, under the high priest, the successor of 
 Aaron for the time l>eing, who had the inspection over them, 
 and took care that there should be no confusion or interfering 
 amongst them. Pi/lc. 
 
 20. And the re.f't of the sons of Levi &c.] The author here 
 speaks again of the Levites who were before named in chap, xxiii, 
 to distinguish them from the ]>riests, and to shew that they had all 
 their places assigned to ihem by lot. Some names are iiere men- 
 tioned as descended from Mera'ri, which are mentioned no wheie 
 else ; but we can ha\e no reasonable doubt, tiiat the author of this 
 book derived tliem from authentick records. Bp. PatricL
 
 The Kohathltes, ^r. divided hi, lot. I. C H R O N I C L E S. 
 
 The number of the singers. 
 
 B«r«« <^'2 Of the Izharites ; Shelomotli : of the 
 ''",01'" sons of Shelomoth ; .lal.ath. , . , , 
 
 ♦ oup.^. 'id Ami the sons of'Htbron; Jeriah the 
 if*'''' frst, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the 
 third, Jckameani the fourth. 
 
 24. Of tlie sons of Uzziel ; Michah : of 
 the sons of Michah ; Shamir. 
 
 i5 Tlie brotlicr of Michah xvas Isshiah : 
 of the sons of Isshiah ; Zechariah. 
 
 '26 Tlie sons oi' Merari uere Mahli and 
 Mnshi : the sons of Jaaziah ; Beno. 
 
 07 % The sons of Merari by Jaaziah ; 
 Beno, and Shohani, and Zaccur, and Ibri. 
 '28 Of iMahli came Eleazar, wlio liad no 
 sons. 
 
 '2!) Concerning Kish : tlie son of Kish 
 y:as Jerahnieel. 
 
 30 The sons also of Miishi ; Mahli, and 
 Kder, and Jerinioth. These were the sons 
 of the Levites after the house oi their fa- 
 thers. 
 
 31 These likewise cast lots over against 
 their brethren the sons of Aaron in the 
 presence of David the king, and Zadok, 
 and Ahinielech, and the chief of the fa- 
 thers of the piiests and Levites, even the 
 principal fathers over against their younger 
 brethren. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 1 The number and offices of the singers. 8 Their divi- 
 sion btf lot into four and twenty orders. 
 
 •»>^^o\5. TkyTOREOVER David and the captains 
 IVX of the host separated to the service 
 of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and 
 of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with 
 harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals : 
 and the number of the workmen accord- 
 
 i,oth«Tiru« ing to their service was : 
 
 cuodj.. c. Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and 
 Joseph, and Nethaniah, and H Asarelah, the 
 
 ikartlnh 
 M 
 
 .'U. — the princip<il filhert over apainst their younger brethren. 1 
 This is obscurely expressed ; but the meaning is, that the elder 
 and younger had their places by lot, not by seniority of houses : 
 they that were of greater dignity drew lots against those who 
 were of less ; and all were to take tlieir courses as they chanced 
 to fall, to the elder or to tJie younger tkniily. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXV. ver. 1. — the captains of the hosf] We cannot 
 understand by this expression tlic commanders in war since it 
 would be ab..iurd to Uiink that they interfered in arranging the 
 MJr.ice of the temple. We must therefore understand to be 
 ineaiit the companies of priests, who waited on the service of 
 0«1 at tlic temple ; tlie captains or eliitf leaders of whom to- 
 vt)"di<-r ''"' '^'^'"^"'^ ^''^ '"'^""' ^' '' ''«^reafter related. 
 
 wKTrn*"'.*""", P'-¥'"y &'••] Tliat is, should sing the psalms 
 which David .md other ProplieU composed. For these \^^l 
 men were not actually Prophet.; but are on tliis account ^d to 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1015. 
 
 t Hc-b. 
 by ihe hands 
 of the king. 
 II Or, Izri, 
 verse 11. 
 II With Shi- 
 mei men- 
 tioned, 
 verse 17. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Azureet. 
 verse 18. 
 II Or, 
 Shulmel. 
 verso 'JO. 
 
 H Or. 
 
 mutters. 
 
 t Hel.. 
 
 b'jthcltiiniSs 
 irftlte Icing. . 
 
 sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, 
 which prophesied t according to the order 
 of the king. 
 
 3 Of Jeduthun : the sons of Jeduthun ; 
 Gedaliah, and II Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hasha- 
 biah, and Mattithiah, || six, under the hands 
 of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied 
 with a harp, to give thanks and to praise 
 the Loud. 
 
 4 Of Heman : the sons of Heman ; Buk- 
 kiah, Mattaniah, li Uzziel, II Shebuel, and 
 Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, 
 Giddalti, and Roniamti-ezer, Joshbeka- 
 shah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth : 
 
 5 All these rvere the sons of Heman the 
 king's seer in the II words of God, to lift up 
 the horn. And God gave to Heman four- 
 teen sons and three daughters. 
 
 G All these "were under the hands of 
 their father for song in the house of the 
 Lord, with cymbals, psalteries and harps, 
 for the service of the house of God, t ac- 
 cording to the king's order to Asaph, Je- 
 duthun, and Heman. 
 
 7 So the number of them, with their bre- 
 thren that were instructed in the songs of 
 the Lord, even all that were cunning, was 
 two hundred fourscore and eight. 
 
 8 % And they cast lots, ward against 
 •ward, as well the small as the great, the 
 teacher as the scholar. 
 
 9 Now the first lot came forth for Asaph 
 to Joseph : the second to Gedaliah, who 
 with his brethren and sons rvere tv/elve : 
 
 1 The third to Zaccur, he, his sons, and 
 his brethren, laere twelve : 
 
 11 The fourth to Izri, he, his sons, and 
 his brethren, xverc twelve : 
 
 12 The fifth to Nethaniah, he, his sons, 
 and his brethren, xcere twelve : 
 
 13 The sixth to Bukkiah, he, his sons, 
 and his brethren, xvere twelve : 
 
 " prophesy," because they sang in the service of God those di- 
 vine prophetical hymns, which were composed by men divinely 
 inspired. " The number of the workmen according to their ser- 
 vice" should rather be translated, " The number of the men of 
 the ministry (that is, of those who ministered in singing and 
 playing on instruments) according to their service was as fol- 
 lows." Bp. Pairick. 
 
 3. — the sons of Jeduthun; — sij>,'] Only five names are 
 mentioned; that of Shimei (as the margin states) seems to 
 have been omitted by a transcriber, and is oriven at verse 17. 
 Dr. Wall. 
 
 •'5- — /" lift up the horn.~\ That is, at stated times to blow 
 aloud with trumpets made of horn : this seems to be the most 
 natural sense of the expression, though some have understood 
 It to mean figuratively the singing of hymns to magnify the 
 power, greatness, and exaltation of David's kingdom, as we find 
 power and exaltation frequently expressed in Scripture by a horn. 
 Bp. Patrick. -^ J I f J
 
 Their division into twenty-four orders. CHAP. XXV, XXVI. 
 
 The divisions of the porters. 
 
 CHRIST ^^ '^^^ seventh to Jesharelah, he^ his 
 •bout loij. sons, and his brethren, "were twelve : 
 
 15 The eighth to Jeshaiah, he, his sons, 
 and his brethren, icere twelve : 
 
 16 The ninth to Mattaniah, he, his sons, 
 and his brethren, were twelve : 
 
 17 The tenth to Shimei, he, his sons, 
 and his brethren, were twelve : 
 
 18 The eleventh to Azareel, he, his sons, 
 and his brethren, were twelve : 
 
 19 The twelfth to Hashabiah, lie, his 
 sons, and his brethren, were twelve : 
 
 20 The thirteenth to Shubael, he, his 
 sons, and his brethren, were tweh^e : 
 
 21 
 sons, 
 
 22 
 sons, 
 
 23 
 sons, 
 
 I! Or, 
 
 Sliekmhili, 
 Terse H. 
 I Or, 
 £f/iasaph, 
 ihap. 9. lU. 
 & 6. 37. 
 
 The fourteenth to Mattithiah, he, his 
 and his brethren, were twelve : 
 
 The fifteenth to Jeremoth, he, his 
 and his brethren, were twelve : 
 
 The sixteenth to Hananiah, he, his 
 and his brethren, were twelve : 
 
 24 The seventeenth to Joshbekashah, he, 
 his sons, and his brethren, were twelve : 
 
 25 The eighteenth to Hanani, he, his 
 sons, and his brethren, were twelve : 
 
 26 The nineteenth to Mallothi, he, his 
 sons, and his brethren, were twelve : 
 
 27 The twentieth to Eliathah, he, his 
 sons, and his brethren, were twelve : 
 
 28 The one and twentieth to Hothir, he, 
 his sons, and his brethren, were twelve : 
 
 29 The two and twentieth to Giddalti, 
 he, his sons, and his brethren, were twehe : 
 
 30 The three and twentieth toMahazioth, 
 he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve : 
 
 31 The four and twentieth to Romamti- 
 ezer, he, his sons, and his brethren, we}'e 
 twelve. 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 I The divisions of the porlers. 1 3 T!ie gates assigned 
 by lot. 20 The Levites that had charge of the trea- 
 sures. 29 Officers andjiidgei. 
 
 CONCERNING the divisions of the 
 porters : Of the Korhites was \\ Me- 
 shelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of 
 
 II Asaph. 
 
 Cliap. XXVI. ver. 1 . — of the porters ;] By these are meant, 
 the guards of the several outward gates aiid passages of the 
 teinple, who were to attend there in their several turns, to open 
 and shut them, to keep out all profane persons, and to prevent 
 any thing that might be done to the prejudice of the peace, 
 safety, and purity of that sacred place. Pi/le- The office of 
 these porters was not an ignoble one, as tlie use of the word 
 ■porter among ns might seem to imply ; they were a sort of 
 standing guai'd about the temple, who liad the care of its trea- 
 sures, as follows at ver. 20, 2(): officers and judges were chosen 
 from them, ver. 29, 30, which shews that they were eminent 
 per.sons, and some amongst them were wise counsellors, ver. 14. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 15. — the house of Asuppim.'] It is not to be determined 
 wliat is meant by " the house of Asuppim." A probable opinion 
 
 2 And the sons of Meshelemiah were, ^'f°" 
 Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, ^ufiml 
 Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, 
 
 3 Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, 
 Elioenai the seventh. 
 
 4 Moreover the sons of Obed-edom were, 
 Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the se- 
 cond, Joah the third, and Sacar the fourth, 
 and Nethaneel the filth, 
 
 5 Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, 
 Peulthai, the eighth : for God blessed jlhim. 1^^^" *'' 
 
 6 Also unto Shemaiah his son were sons edom, a* 
 born, that ruled throughout the house of f^'^- ^•'■ 
 their father : for they were mighty men of 
 valour. 
 
 7 The sons of Shemaiah ; Othni, and 
 Rephael, and Obed, Elzabad, whose bre- 
 thren were strong men, Elihu, and Sema- 
 chiah. 
 
 8 All these of the sons of Obed-edom : 
 they and their sons and their brethren, 
 able men for strength for the service, were 
 threescore and two of Obed-edom. 
 
 9 And Meshelemiah had sons and bre- 
 thren, strong men, eighteen. 
 
 10 Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, 
 had sons ; Simri the chiefj (for though he 
 was not the firstborn, yet his father mad» 
 him the chief;) 
 
 11 Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the 
 third, Zechariah the fourth : all the sons 
 and brethren of Hosah were thirteen. 
 
 12 Among these were the divisions of 
 the porters, even among the chief men, 
 having wards one against another, to min- 
 ister in the house of the Lord. 
 
 13 ^ And they cast lots, || as well the U o^ 
 small as the great, according to the house "/fe^i'/wlw 
 of their fathers, for every gate. jin-thegreat. 
 
 14 And the lot eastward fell to || Shele- II cm^ 
 miah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise aA%'^e"i. 
 counseller, they cast lots ; and his lot came 
 
 out northwiu-d. 
 
 15 To Obed-edom southward ; and to 
 
 his sons the house of t Asuppim. sathlringt. 
 
 is, that it was a treasury, because it comes from a word which 
 signifies " to gather or collect;" also because Obed-edom (whose 
 sons are here said to be placed at tlie house of Asuppim) is stated 
 in 2 Chron. xxv. 24, to liave the custody of tlie treasures of the 
 temple. As to its situation, there is reason to conclude that 
 Asuppim were two gates in the western wall of the temple, and 
 tliat the house of Asuppim was a large building, that ran between 
 them, containing various a})artments for laying up the treasure 
 and utensils belonging to the temple. It ought however to be 
 remai'ked generally, tliat it is a most difficult matter to ascertain 
 aright tlie iliflerent parts of the temple, the situation of its dif- 
 ferent buildings, the charges of the several porters, &c. ; there is 
 so much variety of expression respecting tliem in Scripture, ;md 
 so little explanation relating to them c;m be derived from other 
 writers. Dr. Lighlfool.
 
 4, II. 
 
 The keei)ers of the treasures. 
 
 iicf..rc U\ To Sluippiin and Ilosali the lot canie 
 ^'iwJ/orth westwaril, with the gate Shallecheth, 
 , Sec by the causewa) of the going II np, ward 
 1 Kiogi la against ward. 
 
 jChron. 'J. 17 Eastward n-eir six Levites, northward 
 four a day, soutluvard four a day, and to- 
 ward Asuppim two and two. 
 
 18 At I'arbar westward, four at the 
 causeway, and two at Parbar. 
 
 19 These are the di\ isions of the porters 
 among the sons of Kore, and among the 
 sons of Merari. 
 
 iiO % And of the Levites, Ahijah was over 
 the treasures of the house of God, and over 
 tlie treasures of the t dedicated things. 
 
 21 As co7icermng the sons of || Laadan ; 
 the sons of tlie Gershonite Laadan, chief 
 fathers, ei-eii of Laadan the Gershonite, 
 "d'ere llJehieli. 
 
 2'2 Tlie sons of Jehicli; Zetham, and Joel 
 his brother, v^hich "were over the treasures 
 of the house of the Lord. 
 
 ■23 Of the Amramites, and the Izharites, 
 the Hebronites, and tlie Uzzielites : 
 
 21< And Shebuel the son of Gershom, the 
 son of Moses, xvas ruler of the treasures. 
 
 25 And his brethren by Eliezer ; Reha- 
 biah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Jo- 
 ram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelo- 
 mith his son. 
 
 20 Which Shelomith and his brethren 
 xcere over all the treasures of the dedicated 
 things, which David the king, and the chief 
 fathers, the captains over thousands and 
 hundreds, and the captains of the host, had 
 dedicated. 
 
 l chronicles. 
 
 Officers and judges. 
 
 t I loll. 
 holv things. 
 II Or. 
 Libni, 
 chip. C. I T. 
 
 g Or, 
 
 Jchiet, 
 rhap. £3. «. 
 
 lb. — Ihe gate Shallecheth,'] The word Shallecheth signifies 
 liUTiilly " a casting up :" this gate is lieie stated to be " by the 
 causeway of the going up ;" whicli " going up" is probably the 
 ascent that Solomon made for his own pas.sage up to the temple, 
 1 Kings X. 5; 2 Chron. ix. 4; and the causeway is that which 
 .losephiis means when lie says, " a gate led to the king'sliouse 
 from the temple, the valley betwixt being filled up for the pas- 
 sage," which was a great work, from tlie extent and dej)th of the 
 vMey. Thus we may conclude that tlie gate was called Shalle- 
 cheth, or " the casting up," from the causeway that was cast up 
 to lead to It from the king's palace, this being his ordinary way 
 to tlie temple. Dr. Lighlfoot. ^ 
 
 18. 41 Parhar ueslnanl,] Many think the name of this gate 
 to be the same wiiji P.arvar, which betokens " suburbs," and that 
 It had Its name from leading to the suburbs of Zion, which were 
 tlisUnguislicd and parte<l from Zion by a wall. Dr Li^ht 
 Joot. ' '^ 
 
 ,\.^^^~""'J7-'''Z''" °^"'*^ '"""" ^''•') % " the treasures of 
 the hou.^e of God are meant such things as were of ordinary 
 use .-md einployment in the temple; together with money or 
 17,u '■" ""'^"'y ofl^'^1 f"r tlie repair of the house of God 
 and die advanc.-n.ent of the service there. ]5y the " treasures of 
 the dedicated U.iiigs" are meant all that tlie different kh^s and 
 commanders had consecrated and de.lic.ted to divine uses wWch 
 
 .1." BXtZV'"' ''"''''' '''' ''^ "'^"""-"^^ of IheirtiS 
 
 27 t Out of the spoils won in battles did cIrTst 
 they dedicate to maintain the house of the about lois. 
 Lord. tHeb- 
 
 28 And all that Samuel the seer, and Zuf^,^^ 
 Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son sjmis. 
 
 of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, had 
 dedicated; and whosoever had dedicated 
 a?!!/ thing, it xvas under the hand of Shelo- 
 mith, and of his brethren. 
 
 29 % Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and 
 his sons xcei'e for the outward business over 
 Israel, for officers and judges. 
 
 30 And of the Hebronites, Hashabiah 
 and his brethren, men of valour, a thou- 
 sand and seven hundred, were t officers + ^i*''- 
 among them of Israel on this side Jordan cl«,„t' 
 westward in all the business of the Lord, 
 
 and in the service of the king. 
 
 SI Among the Hebronites xvas Jerijah 
 the chief, eve7i among the Hebronites, ac- 
 cording to the generations of his fathers. 
 In the fortieth year of the reign of David 
 they were sought for, and there were found 
 among them mighty men of valour at Jazer 
 of Gilead. 
 
 32 And his brethren, men of valour, were 
 two thousand and seven hundred chief fa- 
 thers, whom king David made rulers over 
 the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half 
 tribe of Manasseh, for every matter per- 
 taining to God, and t affairs of the king. 
 
 t He!>. 
 tkiii^. 
 
 CHAP. xxvn. 
 
 The twelve captains for every several month. 1 6 T/ie 
 princes of Ihe twelve tribes. 23 T/ic niinihcriiig of the 
 people is hindered. 2.5 David's several officers. 
 
 24. — the son of Gershom, &c.] The de.scendant of Gershom, 
 &c. This is the only honour that we read of hitlierto, as con- 
 ferred upon any of the posterity of Moses. Shelomith, mentioned 
 at ver. 2(3, is another of his posterity, preferred to a great office. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 29. — were for the outward husines.^f] That is, the business 
 without the city of Jerusalem, as distinguished from that of the 
 other Levites, the singers, porters, &c. whose business was with- 
 in the city. Bp. Patrick. These were to be Levites of the 
 greatest ability and authority, who were to reside in the country, 
 to be a sort of magistrates, or assessors to the magistrates, in 
 each town, for the purjiose of contributing to the preservation of 
 good order, both in civil and religious matters. P_i/lc. 
 
 30. — in all Ihe business of the Lord,] " The business of the 
 Lord/' no doubt, was to take care of all things pertaining to re- 
 ligion ; among which divine employments, the chief probably 
 was, to judge the people according to the law of God, and to see 
 their sentence put in execution. The " service of the king" ap- 
 pears to mean, the collection of his tribute, and i)erhaps the pub- 
 lication of his orders and commands. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 32. And hi.s brethren, men of valour, &c.] Although the eastern 
 Canaan was much less in circumference than the \vestern ; yet, 
 as it lay at a greater distance from the capital, and the temple, 
 and might therefore be subject to greater neglects and more fre- 
 quent disorders, the number of Levite officers appointed to take 
 care of it amounted to the number of 2700. Pi/le.
 
 The captains for every month. 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 The pririces of the twelve tribes. 
 
 IVTOW the children of Israel after their 
 
 Ui. 
 
 Before 
 
 »bout 1015. -^ ^ number, to wit, the chief fathers and 
 captains of thousands and hundreds, and 
 their officers that served the king in any 
 matter of the courses, which came in and 
 went out month by month throughout all 
 the months of the year, of every course 
 were twenty and four thousand. 
 
 2 Over the first course for the first 
 month was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel : 
 and in his course were twenty and four 
 thousand. 
 
 3 Of the children of Perez was the chief 
 of all the captains of the host for the first 
 month. 
 
 4 And over the course of the second 
 1^0^' month was || Dodai an Aliohite, and of his 
 2 Sam. 23. course was Mikloth also the ruler : in his 
 »• course likewise were twenty and four thou- 
 sand. 
 
 5 The third captain of the host for the 
 third month was Benaiah the son of Je- 
 
 "n^ici™/ hoiada, a || chief priest : and in his course 
 Ijncer'" "^'ere twenty and four thousand. 
 
 io^aTa-^' ^ '^^'^ ^^ ^^'"^ Benaiah, who was ' mighty 
 chip. 11.' amojig the thirty, and above the thirty : 
 and in his course was Ammizabad his son. 
 
 7 The fourth captain for the fourth 
 month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and 
 Zebadiah his son after him : and in his 
 course were twenty and four thousand. 
 
 8 The fifth captain for the fifth month 
 was Shamhuth the Izrahite : and in his 
 course were twenty and four thousand. 
 
 9 The sixth captain for the sixth month 
 was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite : and 
 in his course tuere twenty and four thousand. 
 
 10 The seventh captain for the seventh 
 month was Helez the Pelonite, of the chil- 
 dren of Ephraim : and in his course were 
 twenty and four thousand. 
 
 Chap. XXVII. ver. 1. Now the children of Israel &c.] After 
 the settlement of ecclesiastical affairs, here i.s an account given how 
 the militia (if this tenn may be allowed) of the kingdom was set- 
 tled, in such an order as might be serviceable. They were distri- 
 buted into twelve legions, consisting each of 24,000 men, who 
 were commanded by one of the chief of the fatliers. Under 
 the.se were the captains of thousands, being twenty-four in every 
 legion : under these again, centurions or captains of hundreds, 
 under whom were inferiour officers. Each of these generals at- 
 tended with the legions one month, for the security of the king 
 and kingdom ; at the end of which they marched off, and another 
 legion with its general succeeded. Thus their course came round 
 but once a year, for one month, which was by no means burden- 
 some. It is thought that this order was instituted in the begin- 
 ning of David's reign, but was interrupted by the many foreign 
 wars in which he was engaged, and not renewed till his last years, 
 when he left the kingdom thus governed and arranged to his son 
 Solomon. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. Of the children of Perez~\ The above-mentioned Jashobeam 
 was of the children of Pharez, the son of Judali ; which tribe 
 Vol. J. 
 
 11 The eighth captain for the eighth Before 
 month was iSibbecai the Hushathite, of the ^"M^T 
 
 Zi •, 1 • 1 • about 1015. 
 
 arlutes: and m his course were twenty 
 
 and four thousand. 
 
 VZ The ninth captain for the ninth 
 
 month was Abiezer the Anetbthite, of the 
 
 Benjamites : and in his course were twenty 
 
 and foiu- thousand. 
 
 13 Tiie tenth captain for the tenth 
 month was Maharai the Netophathite, of 
 the Zarhites : and in his course xoere twen- 
 ty and four thousand. 
 
 14 The eleventh captain for the eleventh 
 month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the 
 children of Ephraim : and in his course 
 were twenty and four thousand. 
 
 15 The twelfth captain for the twelfth 
 month was \\ Heldai the Netophathite, of u or. 
 Othniel : and in his course were twenty ".''"^\, 
 and four thousand. so?'' 
 
 16 ^ Furthermore over the tribes of Is- 
 rael : the ruler of the Reubenites was Eli- 
 ezer the son of Zichri : of the Simeonites, 
 Shephatiah the son of Maachah : 
 
 17 Of the Levites, Hashabiah the son 
 of Kemuel : of the Aaronites, Zadok : 
 
 18 Of Judah, Ehhu, owe of the brethren 
 of David : of Issachar, Omri the son of 
 Michael : 
 
 19 Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of 
 Obadiah : of Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of 
 Azriel : 
 
 20 Of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea 
 the son of Azaziah : of the half tribe of 
 Manasseh, .Joel the son of Pedaiah : 
 
 21 Of the half ^n^t of Manasseh in Gi- 
 lead, Iddo the son of Zechariah : of Ben- 
 jamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner : 
 
 22 Of Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham. 
 These wei^e the princes of the tribes of Is- 
 rael. 
 
 therefore had tlie honour of having the first chief commander 
 cliosen out of it. Dp. Patrick. 
 
 o. — Benaiah, — a chief priest :'\ Ilather, a chief prince or ruler; 
 for it is certain that neither Benaiali nor his father was either 
 high priest or second priest ; but Abiathar and Zadok were in 
 those offices. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 l6. Furthermore over the tribes^ Besides tliese military com- 
 mands, there was a principal head over each tribe, who had the 
 chief autliority in it, under the king. The tribes are here reckon- 
 ed up according to tlie birthright of the patriarchs, from whom 
 thej' are named. Pylf- 
 
 22. — of the tribes of Israeli^ That is, of the above-mentioned 
 tribes. It is remarkable tliat the tribes of Gad and Asher are 
 omitted ; and of this circumstance no certain ascount can be given. 
 The most probable explanation is, that they were governed by 
 the r»iler of some neighbouring tribe : Asher, being a veiy small 
 tribe, might be put under the command of either Naphtali or Ze- 
 bulun, next adjoining to it ; and Gad might be laider that of Reu- 
 ben. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5 F
 
 David's snenil officers. 
 
 I. CHRONICLES. 
 
 He exhorteth to fear God. 
 
 Bcfbri 
 CM HI ST 
 
 .Jxnit 1013. 
 
 alout 1017 
 
 7. 
 
 ■J Sam. 2-1. 
 
 S. Ac. 
 
 t H«b. 
 
 tilcrtuU'L 
 
 •bMit lOlf. 
 
 t ITrfi. 
 
 nfiht wint* 
 yttnts. 
 
 nor, 
 
 wcrttnry. 
 I Or, 
 
 23 IT But David took not. the number of 
 tliein from tsvonty years old and under : 
 because tlie Loui) had siiid he would in- 
 crease Israel like to the stars of the heavens. 
 
 'J4 Joab the son of Zeruiah began to 
 number, but he finished not, because " there 
 fell wrath for it against Israel; neither 
 twas the number put in the account of 
 the chronicles of king David. 
 
 25 % And over the king's treasures "was 
 Azmavctli the son of Adiel: and over the 
 storehouses in the fields, in the cities, and 
 in the villages, and in the castles, Kas Je- 
 honathan the son of Uzziah : 
 
 '2(j Ami over them that did the work of 
 the fiekl for tillage of the ground was Ezri 
 the son of Chelub : 
 
 i37 And over the vineyards xt^as Shimei 
 the Ramatliite : t over the increase of the 
 vineyards for the wine cellars 'iims Zabdi 
 the Shiphmite : 
 
 •28 And over the olive trees and the sy- 
 comore trees that -vere in the low plains 
 •was Baai-hanan the Gederite : and over 
 the cellars of oil was Joash : 
 
 29 And over the herds that fed in Sha- 
 ron teas Shitrai the Sharonite : and over 
 the herds tluit icere in the valleys was Sha- 
 phat the son of Adlai : 
 
 30 Over the camels also teas Obil the 
 Ishmaelite : and over the asses zvas Jeh- 
 deiah the Meronothite : 
 
 31 And over the flocks xvas Jaziz the 
 Hagerite. All these were the rulers of the 
 substance which teas king David's. 
 
 32 Also Jonathan David's uncle was a 
 counseller, a wise man, and a 1| scribe : and 
 Jehiel the |1 son of Ilachmoni was with the 
 king's sons : 
 
 83 And Ahithophel was the king's coun- 
 seller: and Hushai the Archite was the 
 king's companion : 
 
 31. And after Ahithophel xcas Jehoiada 
 the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar : and tlie 
 general of the king's army was Joab. 
 
 "^- — from twenty ijears old atui under:'] King David never 
 atWinptctl to pet a perfect account of tlie wliole body of the 
 Isnichte ivation, but only endeavoured to obtain a list of those ca- 
 ivablc of bearing arms, contenting himself with the knowledge 
 tliat tluy were vastly numerous, agreeably to the Divine promise 
 made to Abraham, Gen. xv. 5. Even that muster-roll of liis, (see 
 the next verse,) of men of twenty years old and upwards, made 
 by Joab, chap. XXI, w.is very imperfect ; for it was left unfinished 
 
 .'. n "t ^^?^ '*•■" ''''■'^^'' *""■■ '"^ ^K'^'"'* I^''^!'^''" that is, because 
 the 1 rophet denounced the anger of Gotl on account of it ■ and 
 
 there never was any complete register of this kind entered on the 
 
 pubUk records of the kingdom. r,,le. 
 
 .Ini^' r °*r '.'"■ "''".".'^/'"'Ci D'- Chandler says, that the mo- 
 ocm i.rccks keep their oil in large earthen jars sunk in the 
 ground, m the areas before their houses. This custom, It may be 
 
 HOr, 
 cuttle. 
 
 II O'. 
 
 eunuchs.. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. emu ST 
 
 1 Ddiid in a solemn asscmblij having declared God's fa- »'"'"' '"'*• 
 im/r lu him, and promise to his sun Solomon, exhorteth 
 them to fear God. 9, 20 He encouragcth Solomon to 
 build the temple. 1 1 He ^iveth him patterns for the 
 form, and gold and silver Jor the materials. 
 
 AN D David assembled all the princes 
 of Israel, the princes of the tribes, 
 and the captains of the companies that 
 ministered to the king by course, and the 
 captains over the thousands, and captains 
 over the hundreds, and the stewards over 
 all the substance and || possession of the 
 king, and of his sons, with the || officers, 
 and with the mighty men, and with all the 
 valiant men, unto Jerusalem. 
 
 2 Then David the king stood up upon 
 his feet, and said. Hear me, my brethren, 
 and my people : As for me, I had in mine 
 heart to build an house of rest for the ark 
 of the covenant of the Lord, and for the 
 footstool of our God, and had made ready 
 for the building : 
 
 3 But God said unto me, " Thou shalt = 2 Sam. 7. 
 not build an house for my name, because ^'j^?; ^ ^ 
 thou hasl been a man of war, and hast shed 5. '"^' 
 
 t blood. fnit'^' 
 
 4 Howbeit the Lord God of Israel chose wowIj." 
 me before all the house of my father to be 
 king over Israel for ever : for he hath 
 chosen ^ Judah to he the ruler ; and of the i- ccn. 49. 
 house of Judah, the house of my father ; " g^^ j^ 
 and among the sons of my father he liked 13. 
 
 me to make me king over all Israel : ^l"'' ^"^ 
 
 5 'And of all my sons, (for the Lord 'ciiap.ss. 
 hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen '■ 
 Solomon my son to sit upon the throne 
 
 of the kingdom of the Lord over Is- 
 rael. 
 
 6 And he said unto me, " Solomon thy '^ 2 Sam. 7. 
 son, he shall build my house and my l^^, , 
 
 c t ^ i"^ !• . 2 Chron. l . 
 
 courts : tor 1 have chosen him to be my 9. 
 son, and I will be his father. 
 
 '(B 
 
 7 Moreover I will establish his kingdom 
 for ever, if he be t constant to do my com- \i 
 
 Heb. 
 
 strong. 
 
 thought from this passage, obtained among the Jews. It is cer- 
 tain from Jer. xli. 8, that they buried it sometimes in the earth, 
 in times of danger, for the purpose of concealment. Harmer. 
 
 Chap. XXVIII. ver. 2. — and for the footstool of our God,'] It 
 should rather be translated, "even for the footstool of our God," 
 the ark being so called, as being the resting place of the symbol 
 of His presence. Jos. Mede, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — of all my sons, — he hath chosen Solomon] Thus the choice 
 ot Solomon to the throne before his elder brothers proceeded en- 
 tirely from God, not from David or from the people, (see chap, 
 xxix. 1 ; 1 Kings viii. 20; 2 Chron. i. 1.) David clears up this 
 matter to the people, for the purpose of proving to them that the 
 fundamental law of natiu-e, the right of elder birth, was not alter- 
 ed by him, but by God, who took the matter into His own dis- 
 posal Bp. Wilson.
 
 He encourageth Solomon, and gtveth CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 him patterns, S^c.for the tempk. 
 
 him. 
 
 CHRIST ™a"dments and my judgments, as at this 
 •bout 1015. day. 
 
 8 Now therefore in the sight of all Is- 
 rael the congregation of the Lord, and in 
 the audience of our God, keep and seek 
 for all the commandments of the Lord 
 your God : that ye may possess this good 
 land, and leave it for an inheritance for 
 your children after you for ever. 
 
 9 ^ And thou, Solomon my son, know 
 thou the God of thy father, and serve him 
 with a perfect heart and with a willing 
 
 • 1 Sam. mind : for ' the Lord searcheth all hearts, 
 PsaL 139. and understandeth all the imaginations olF 
 2.&7. 9. the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be 
 & 17. io. found of thee ; but if thou forsake him, he 
 
 * 20. 12. -will cast thee off for ever. 
 
 10 Take heed now ; for the Lord hath 
 chosen thee to build an house for the sanc- 
 tuary : be strong, and do it. 
 
 11^ Then David gave to Solomon his 
 son the pattern of the porch, and of the 
 houses thereof, and of the treasuries there- 
 of, and of the upper chambers thereof, and 
 of the inner parlours thereof, and of the 
 place of the mercy seat, 
 IfM'that 1^ ^^^ ^he pattern tof all that he had 
 was with by the spirit, of the courts of the house of 
 the Lord, and of all the chambers round 
 about, of the treasuries of the house of 
 God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated 
 things : 
 
 13 Also for the courses of the priests 
 and the Levites, and for all the work of 
 the service of the house of the Lord, and 
 
 g. And thou, Solomon &c.|] David instructs his son to " know 
 the God of his father," that is, to acknowledge and to love Him ; 
 also to " serve Him with a perfect heart and a willing mind," 
 shewing him thereby that his love was to be expressed by obedi- 
 ence to God, and that entirely and cheerfully, out of choice, and 
 not by constraint ; not to gain the good opinion of men, but the 
 favour of God : for hearty piety, and not the outward appearance 
 of it merely, is the surest support of a prince's power and autho- 
 rity ; and will dispose his servants to love and reverence him as 
 sincerely as he does God. David proceeds to press him with two 
 arguments for sincerity in his obedience ; the first, because " the 
 Lord searcheth all hearts," that is, cannot be deceived with exter- 
 nal services, but looks into the heart, and discerns the nio»t secret 
 motions there ; the second, because " if thou seek Him He will 
 be found of thee," that is, God bestows His blessings on men, 
 only on the condition of their hearty obedience : as we behave to- 
 wards Him, so will He behave towards us. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 12. — the palleni of all that he had by the spirit,'] That is, of all 
 things inspired into him by the Spirit of God. As the temple was 
 to be sacred for the worship of the Supreme Being, and for tiie 
 residence of the symbol of His presence, it was fit that it should 
 not be merely of human, but of Divine contrivance, as was the ta- 
 bernacle built by Moses. On this account God suggested to David 
 by His Spirit, as appears from these words, the pattern according to 
 which He would have it constructed in all its parts. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18. — the chariot of the cherubims,'^ As God is represented in 
 Scripture, as sitting upon the ark, between the cherubim that co- 
 c^red it; and, in some passages, as riding upon the cherubim. 
 
 for all the vessels of service in the house Before 
 of the Lord. christ 
 
 14 He gcrce of gold by weight for things ""'"' '°" 
 of gold, for all instruments of all manner 
 
 of service; silver also for all instruments 
 of silver by weight, for all instruments of 
 every kind of service : 
 
 15 Even the weight for the candlesticks 
 of gold, and for theii- lamps of gold, by 
 weight for every candlestick, and for the 
 lamps thereof: and for the candlesticks of 
 silver by weight, both for the candlestick, 
 and also for the lamps thereof, according 
 to the use of every candlestick. 
 
 16 And by weight ht gave gold for the 
 tables of shewbread, for every table ; and 
 likewise silver for the tables of silver : 
 
 17 Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, 
 and the bowls, and the cups : and for the 
 golden basons he gave gold by weight for 
 every bason ; and likewise silver by weight 
 for every bason of silver : 
 
 18 And for the altar of incense refined 
 gold by weight ; and gold for the pattern 
 
 of the chariot of the ^ cherubims, that ' ' Sam. 
 
 4 4 
 
 spread out their wings, and covered the iKing* 
 ark of the covenant of the Lord. 6.2.^&e. 
 
 19 All this, said David, the Lord 
 made me understand in writing by his 
 hand upon me, even all the works of this 
 pattern. 
 
 20 And David said to Solomon his son. 
 Be strong and of good courage, and do it: 
 fear not, nor be dismayed : for the Lord 
 God, eve}i my God, will he with thee ; he 
 
 Ps. xviii. 10, which is of the same signification with His reigning 
 or ruling in majesty and triumph, Ps. xcix. 1 ; therefore these che- 
 rubim are called His chariot, and are described in Ezek. i. as hav- 
 ing wheels. It is possible that the sacred historian may here be 
 alluding to this last description. Pi/le. The Hebrew word trans- 
 latetl chariot signifies, generally, a vehicle, a thing to ride or sit 
 upon ; and the cherubim are so spoken of, because the symbol of 
 the Divine presence used to dwell upon them. Parkhurst. 
 
 19. All this, — the Lord made me understand in nritiiig'] There 
 seems to be no doubt from this expression that God inspired 
 David with the plan of the whole work of the temple, «ith all its 
 parts, dimensions, and utensils ; and there is reason to believe that 
 the Greek and Roman architecture, which is the most perfect that 
 human wisdom, invention, and industry have ever framed, was 
 derived from this Divine source, having the architecture of the 
 temple of Jerusalem for its model. Dr. Dclaney. 
 
 20. Be strong and of' good courage,'^ David now repeats his 
 
 earnest advice to Solomon, to prosecute this work witli unwearied 
 courage; not to be dismayed by terrours from enemies, either 
 abroad or at home, but to trust in the Divine Providence that all 
 his subjects, both ecclesiastical and civil, great and small, would 
 cheerfully unite in their endeavours to carry him through it. 
 Pi/lc. We still see David's great zeal for the service of God, in tlie 
 care he took before his death to give to the rulers of the kingdom, 
 and to Solomon his son, necessary instructions for the biulding 
 of the temple, and in the provision which he made of gold, silver, 
 and various necessary materials, for the execution of this pious 
 desi'rn. Let us all be animatetl with the same zeal, and contribute 
 
 5Fe 
 
 II
 
 David causeth the prinrex 
 
 I. CHRONICLES. 
 
 and people to ojfer willingly. 
 
 B»fo« will not fail flicc, nor forsake thee, until 
 2'u.'Vo?i^ thou hast riiiished all the work for tlie ser- 
 vice of the house of the Loitn. 
 
 21 And, behold, the courses of the 
 priests and the Levites, even thci/ shall be 
 uiUi thee for all the service of the house of 
 God : and there shall be with thee for all 
 manner of workmanship every willing skil- 
 ful man, for any manner of service : also 
 tlie princes and all the people taV/ be whol- 
 ly at thy commandment. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 I Diivifl, liy his example and iiilrcnli/, 6 causeth the 
 princes and people lo offer u-illinuh/- 10 David's 
 thanksgiving and prai/c'r. 20 The people, having 
 blessed God, and sacrificed, make Sulomori king. 20' 
 David's reign and death. 
 
 >o'i- TT^URTHERMORE David the king said 
 
 X? unto all the congregation, Solomon 
 
 my son, whom God alone hath chosen, is 
 
 » Chip. 22. j^et " young and tender, and the work is 
 
 *■ great : for the palace is not ibr man, but 
 
 lor the Loud God. 
 
 '2 Now I have prepared witli all my 
 might for the house oi' my God the gold 
 for things to be made of gold, and the silver 
 for things of silver, and the brass for things 
 of brass, the iron for things of iron, and 
 wood for things of wood ; onyx stones, and 
 stones to be set, glistering stones, and of 
 divers colours, and all manner of precious 
 stones, and marble stones in abundance. 
 
 3 Moreover, because I have set my af- 
 fection to the house of my God, I have of 
 mine own proper good, of gold and silver, 
 
 aecordinf; to our station and abilities, to the promoting and esta- 
 blishing of GotVs worship and service : and if the nature of that 
 worship, which the Gospel teaches us to pay to Gofl, does not re- 
 quire Midi Rrcat expense, we may employ our substance in works 
 of piety still more acceptable in the sight of God ; in procuring 
 the edification and instruction of our neighbours, in relieving thos^ 
 that are 111 necessity, and in labouring by all possible means, and 
 especially by our examples, to promote and advance the kingdom 
 of Jesus Christ OstervaliL * 
 
 Chap. XXIX. ver. I. — Solomon my son, n-hom Go<l alone hath 
 c/ioscN, Sic.2 DaMd iiroceeds to stir the people up to the assist- 
 ant ol his son, by these considerations, that he was a person 
 chosen by (Jml, not by him, for this work; that he was but a 
 youth, and therefore needed their assistance ; and that the work 
 was to be of extreme magnificence, being " not for man, but for 
 the Lord God, who was there to be peculiarly present by the 
 symbol of I^Iis glorious majesty. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 •nLr f'k'^ 7'"' '?"''*," =4 °f Ophir, ver. 4 ; so that Solomon 
 
 appears to have been not the first prince who tnvfficked to Ophir: 
 
 l^ffiJ . * "'»VDay..l procurcl this gold of Opliir by land 
 
 ^ffick, not by. navigation; for we read noUiing of his ships or 
 
 Ulows'^'r .K^Tf '"*\T,'' "' "»"8«'i°"- By " brass," which 
 Uve m'nenl brt i^^^'^^c^ ""derstand copper, which is a na. 
 ■Vcr^; £;i^ •r;^ f"™^'^ "^y ""-"g two different metals. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 101,5. 
 
 '' 1 Kings 
 9. 28. 
 
 -which I ha\-e given to the house of my God, 
 over and above all that I have prepared for 
 the holy house, 
 
 4 Even three thousand talents of gold, 
 of the gold of " Ophir, and seven thousand 
 talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls 
 of the houses uithal : 
 
 5 The gold for thi72gs of gold, and the 
 silver for thifigs of silver, and for all man- 
 ner of work to be made by the hands of ar- 
 tificers. And who then is willing tto con- tH«i.. 
 secrate his service this day unto the Loud? ^a^j/ 
 
 6 ^ Then the chief of the fathers and 
 princes of the tribes of Israel, and the 
 captains of thousands and of hundreds, 
 with the rulers of the king's work, ofiered 
 willingly, 
 
 7 And gave for the service of the house 
 of God of gold five thousand talents and 
 ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thou- 
 sand talents, and of brass eighteen thou- 
 sand talents, and one hundred thousand 
 talents of iron. 
 
 8 And they with whom precious stones 
 were found gave them to the treasure of 
 the house of the Lord, by the hand of Je- 
 hiel the Gershonite. 
 
 9 Then the people rejoiced, for that 
 they offered willingly, because with per- 
 fect heart they oftered willingly to the 
 Lord : and David the king also rejoiced 
 with great joy. 
 
 10 ^ Wherefore David blessed the Lord 
 before all the congregation : and David 
 said. Blessed be thou. Lord God of Israel 
 our father, for ever and ever. 
 
 onyx stones,"] The word o?iyx is equivocal, signifying, 
 
 first, a precious stone or gem, called onyx, in Greek onychion ; 
 secondly, a marble, very distinct from the nature of the former, 
 called in Greek onychites. Pliny mentions it as a stone of Cari- 
 mania. The onyx of the high priest's pectoral was no doubt the 
 gem onyx ; the stone prepared by David was the marble onyx, 
 or rather onychus. Some have thought, that as the pectoral was 
 ornamented with precious stones, so was the temple. It can 
 scarcely be supposed, however, that gems of any kind were used 
 externally to such a building, but variegated marble may reatlily 
 be admitted. Script, illu.it. Expos. Ind. 
 
 5. — lo consecrate his service] " To fill his hand," as it i» lite- 
 rally in the Hebrew ; a ]>hrase which signifies in that language 
 " to make an offering." Rp. Patrick. 
 
 .9- _ — and David the king also rejoiced Sec] It was a singular 
 comfort to him in his old age to see the people so well disposed, 
 and his exhortation so effectual on their heart ; which inspired 
 him with the pleasing hope that this great work could not fail of 
 being speedily accomplished. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — Blessed he thou, Lord God of Israel &c.] Here follows a 
 noble declaration of the sense king David had of the Divine ex- 
 cellencies and perfections, with a thankful acknowledgment of the 
 power, immensity, goodness, eternitv, and majesty, which are th« 
 properties and attributes of God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 This hymn of praise and thanksgiving, ver. 10— 19, may thus 
 be paraphrased : For ever blessed be the great God of Israel, the
 
 Daxid's thanksgiving 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 tntd prayer. 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ' Thine, O Lord, in the greatness, 
 1015. and the nower, and the gloiy, and the vic- 
 ' Maith.G. tory, ancl the majesty : for all that is in the 
 1 Tim. I heaven and in the earth i.s thine : thine is 
 it/"'* ■ the kingdom, C) Lord, and thou art exalt- 
 ReT.5. 1,',. ed as head above all. 
 
 12 Both riches ahd honour come of thee, 
 and tliou reignest over all ; and in thine 
 hand is power and might; and in thine 
 hand it is to make great, and to give 
 strength unto all. 
 
 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank 
 thee, and praise thy glorious name. 
 
 14 But who am I, and what is my peo- 
 t Heb. pie, that we should t be able to offer so 
 llTaPn "^' willingly 'after this sort ? for all things come 
 strength, of tliee, aud t of thine own have we criven 
 
 t Hel). ,1 '^ 
 
 of thine tnee. 
 
 uand. 15 for we are strangers before thee, and 
 
 <Psai.m sojourners, as were all our fathers: ^ our 
 
 Hell 11.13. days on the earth ai-e as a shadow, and 
 
 1 Pet. 2. II. there is none t abiding. 
 
 txpcciatim. 16 O Lord our God, all this store that 
 
 we have prepared to build thee an house 
 
 for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, 
 
 and is all thine own. 
 
 17 I know also, my God, that thou 
 • Chap. 28. « triest the heait, and hast pleasure in up- 
 1 Sam. 16. rightness. As for me, in the uprightness 
 ■'• of mine heart I have willingly offered all 
 
 one Lord of heaven and earth. Supreme Governoiir of all things. 
 Author of every blessing, and of every good and virtuous dis- 
 position ! Praised be Thy goodness in bestowing earthly riches 
 upon us, and then giving us an heart to pay back our tribute to 
 Thee, to whom we owe all that we .-u-e or can enjoy ! In thus 
 doing, we are far from being or esteeming oiirselves benefactors, 
 for all things are Thine ; we possess them here for a short du- 
 ration, through Thy Divine favour and bounty, and our largest 
 gifts and oiferings are no more than returning to Thee what is 
 Thy own. Graciously accept my sincere intentions toward Thy 
 honour and service, and the unfeigned joy of my heart to find 
 my subjects so well disposed to contribute their utmost toward so 
 great a purpose. But grant that neither I nor they, nor the king 
 my successor, nor any of their posterity after them, may vainly 
 boast and deceive themselves, in the mere external work of build- 
 ing their temple, or in the outward pomp of its services, but may 
 all ^v^th real and inward reverence of mind, and by actions truly 
 virtuous, glorify Thee their God, who art the searcher of hearts, 
 and canst not be deceived by any false appearance. Py/c. 
 
 The piety of David shines forth witli the greatest lustre in the 
 pr.iyer he made upon this occasion. Herein he acknowledges and 
 adores the majesty of God; with great liumility presents his offer- 
 ing before Him, and the offerings of the chief of the people ; offers 
 up ardent prayers for all the people, and for Solomon his son ; and 
 exhorts the whole congregation of Israel to join with him in bless- 
 ing and praising God. The humble and ardent devotion, and the 
 extraordinary spirit, which are diffused through every part of this 
 excellent prayer, should wonderfully animate us to the same du- 
 ties. Let us then discharge these duties with pleasure and a hoi}- 
 zeal : let us adore and praise the infinite power and majesty of 
 God : let us with profound humility acknowledge, that we are in 
 His sight but frail mortal creatures; that all we have comes from 
 Him, and that, wliatever we offer or do for His glory, >ve do but 
 offer Him His own, and what He has first given unto us. Let us 
 
 these things : and now have I seen with Before 
 joy thy people, which are || present here, to '^"o'}]^^ 
 offer wiUingly unto thee. 
 
 18 O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac/m-^*!' 
 and of Israel, our fatheis, keep this for 
 ever in the imagination of the thoughts of 
 
 the heart of thy people, and 1| prepare their ii or. 
 heart unto thee : stMuiu 
 
 19 And give unto Solomon my son a 
 perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, 
 thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to 
 do all these things, and to build the palace, 
 
 for the which I have made provision. 
 
 20 % And David said to all the congre- 
 gation. Now bless the Lord your God. 
 And all the congregation blessed the Lord 
 God of their fathers, and bowed down their 
 heads, and worshipped the Lord, and the 
 king. 
 
 21 And they sacrificed sacrifices unto 
 the Lord, and offered burnt offerings unto 
 the Lord, on the morrow after that day, 
 even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, 
 aiid a thousand lambs, with their drink of- 
 ferings, and sacrifices in abundance for all 
 Israel : 
 
 22 And did eat and drink before the 
 Lord on that day with great gladness. 
 And they made Solomon the son of David , ... 
 king the second time, and ' anointed ///;;/ \]^"^ 
 
 beseech Him to produce in us good dispositions, ever to maintain 
 them in us, and to turn our hearts and thoughts tow ards Him ; 
 let us excite our neighbours to join their praises with ours ; and 
 let us continually animate one another to bless and glorify His 
 holy name by our prayers and praises, by oiu- obedient conduct, 
 and by our steady application to His service. Ostcrvald. 
 
 14. Rut nlio am I, and what is vuj people,'^ We ficre perceive, 
 when David is making his most solemn acknowledgments to Gotl 
 for His great mercies towards him, how he abases liimself before 
 Him. In the same manner, in another place. Psalm ciii. 10, after 
 he had summoned all the powers and faculties of his soul to join 
 in the praises of God, he interposes this s-asonable meditation, 
 " He hath not dealt with us after our sins." The greater and more 
 lively sense we have of tiie goodness of God towards us, the more 
 we shall abhor ourselves in dust and ashes ; nothing being more 
 apt to melt us into tears of repentance, than the consideration of 
 great and undeserved mercies vouchsafed to us. Ahp. Tillolsou. 
 
 22. — iheif viade Solouwn — king the second liine,'\ It has been 
 supposed by some, that the anointing of Solomon here mentioned 
 took place after the death of David ; but this cannot be under- 
 stood without a very forceil construction of the, words of the 
 sacred histor}- ; for it is here stated, that the persons who had been 
 rejoicing and feasting were those wlio now made him king the 
 second time. The most clear method of imderstnnding the seve- 
 ral accounts of the consecration of Solomon to be king seems to 
 be this. He wa- first anointed (1 Kings i. 21, 27) on the aspiring 
 of Ad'inijah to be king, in the presence of a few, when David 
 wished to point out who was to succeed liim ; and this was con- 
 current or the same with the making him king, mentioned 
 1 Chron. xxiii. 1 ; but his second and more fonnal consecration 
 was that here mentioned, when he was anointed publickly before 
 all the nation in the midst of the princes and great commanders. 
 Perhaps David now resigned the entire' government into his 
 hands, finding tliat he had not long to live. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Solomon is made fctng. 
 
 I. CHRONICLES. 
 
 David* s reign and death. 
 
 lOiy 
 
 Brfor. unto tlie LoKD to be the chief governor, 
 <^»f "i""^ and Zadok to be priest. 
 
 "23 Tlieii Solomon sat on the throne of the 
 LoitD as king instead of David his father, 
 and prospered ; and all Israel obeyed him. 
 'Jt And all the princes, and the mighty 
 men, and all the sons likewise of king Da- 
 vid, t submitted themselves unto Solomon 
 the king. 
 
 25 And the Lord magnified Solomon 
 exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and 
 ' bestowed upon him such royal majesty as 
 
 s chron. I. had not been on any king before him in 
 Israel. 
 
 26 f Thus David the son of Jesse reign- 
 ed over all Israel. 
 
 t Il»h. 
 
 kmnd unA» 
 Soiumvn. 
 
 5. IS. 
 
 Ecclm. 
 
 9L 
 
 find Zailok to be priest.'] Zadok, it is meant, was ap- 
 
 pointe<i to be the next higli priest when a vacancy should occur ; 
 ibr Aliiathar continued in the office till the beginning of Solo- 
 mon's reign. Py/f. 
 
 23. — on the throne of the lAtrcT] Thus the throne of this king- 
 dom is called, because the land was God's peculiarly, and Israel 
 His people, and Solomon reigned over them, not by inheritance, 
 but by Flis special appointment Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2+. — submitted thanselves unto Solomon the king.'] In the ori- 
 ginal, as in the margin, "gave the hand." The putting of the 
 protester's hand into the hand of him who received the protesta- 
 tion, appears from Ockley's History of the Saracens to have been 
 in the East a customary token of acknowledgment and allegiance, 
 and to have conveyed the notion of an oath between the parties. 
 " Several Mahometan chiefs came to Ali, and desired him to accept 
 the government He resolved not to accept of their allegiance in 
 private ; for they proffered to give him their hands (the custo- 
 marj- ceremony tlien in use among them on such occasions) at his 
 own house, but would have irperforraed at the mosque. Telka 
 
 27 And the time that he reigned over Before 
 Israel was forty years ; seven years reigned *^"^j.^^ 
 he in Hebron, and thirty and three years 
 reigned he in Jerusalem. 
 
 28 And he died in a good old age, full 
 of days, riches, and honour : and Solomon 
 his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 29 Now the acts of David the king, first 
 and last, behold, they are written in the 
 
 II t book of Samuel the seer, and in the n Ot. 
 book of Nathan the prophet, and in the \''^2'. 
 book of Gad the seer, wordt. 
 
 30 With all his reign and his might, and 
 the times that went over him, and over 
 Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the 
 countries. 
 
 and Zobein came, and offered him their hands, as a mark or token 
 of their approbation. Ali bid them, if they did it, to be in good 
 earnest, otherwise he would give his own hand to either of 
 them that would accept of the government ; which they refused, 
 and gave him theirs." Again: " Telka, just before he died, saw 
 one of All's men, and asked him, if he belonged to the emperour 
 of the faithful } Being informed that he did. Give me then, said 
 he, your hand, that I may put mine in it, and by this action re. 
 new the oath of fidelity, which I have already made to Ali." 
 Fragments to Calinet. 
 
 29 — the book of Samuel the seer, &C.3 In the Hebrew, the 
 titles given to Samuel, Nathan, and Gad, which we translate 
 " seer, prophet, and seer," are three distinct titles ; but it is by no 
 means easy to determine whether or not they have distinct signi- 
 fications, denoting different ways of receiving Divine inspirations, 
 or different degrees of it. It is probable that Samuel began to 
 write a history of the life of David, which Nathan and Gad finish- 
 ed ; and out of this, the matters here recorded were extracted. 
 Bp. Patrick. See the note on 2 Chron. xxxiii. 19.
 
 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE 
 
 CHRONICLES. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE second book of Chronicles contains a brief sketch of the sacred history from the accession of Solomon to the throne, in the year 
 of the world 2989, (before Christ 1015,) to the return from captivity, in the year 3468, (before Christ 536.) It contains many things 
 omitted in the historical books which precede. It begins with a description of the reign of Solomon, and dilates with particular 
 exactness on the munificent piety of that monarch in the construction of the temple, minutely specifying its ornaments as typical of 
 spiritual decorations which were to embellish the Christian church; a subject highly interesting and usefid to the Jews, who, at the 
 time when this book was written, were preparing to rebuild the temple. Hence the account of the solemn consecration of the first 
 buUding; of the noble and comprehensive prayer of Solomon; and of the covenanted promises which God graciously imparted at the 
 dedication, must have furnished such consolation to the Jews, scarce yet reviving from the despondence of captives. Then is repeated 
 from the book of Kings, the representation of the magnificence and prosperity which Solomon enjoyed agreeably to God's promise, 
 chap. i. 11, 12. After this we are furnished with a recapitulation of the history of the kings of Judah, occasionally intermixed with 
 relations respecting Israel, when connected with Judah. Great part of this history is selected either immediately from the book of 
 Kings, or both Kings and Chronicles were copied from some larger annals, known under the title of the Books ot' Kings ; since fre- 
 quent references are herein made to some books of Kings, and sometimes for circumstances not e.xtant in the canonical books, chap. 
 xvi. 11 ; xxi; xxiv. 27; xxv. 26; xxvhi. 26; .\xxii. 32; xxxiii. 18; xxxv. 27. 
 
 These accounts however, in the books of Chronicles, are enriched with many additional particulars. The3' present us with a lively 
 picture of the state of the kingdom of Judah ; and of the various vicissitudes and revolutions which it sustained under different princes. 
 They serve, as the author seems to have designed, greatly to illustrate the necessity of depending on God for defence, without wliose 
 protection kingdoms must fall. The advantage derived from obedience to God, and the miseries that resulted from wickedness and 
 sin, are strikingly shewn. The book aboimds with usefid examples, and the characters are forcibly displayed by a contrasted succes- 
 sion of pious and depraved princes. The change and defection even of individual persons, and their decline from righteousness to 
 evil, are shewn with much effect. The rebellion of Israel, and the contest between the two kingdoms ; the preservation of Joash from 
 the destruction which overwhelmed the rest of the house of Judah ; the struggles between idolatry and true religion ; the seasonable 
 discovery of the copy of the law ; with many other interesting particulars which exhibit the intarposition of the Almighty defeating 
 evil, and effecting His concerted purposes, deserve to be considered with great attention. 
 
 Several predictions are scattered through the book : as the promises made to Solomon, chap. i. 12 ; vii. 17 — 22 ; to Jehoshaphat, xix. 2 ; 
 XX. 15, 17, 37; and to others, xxxiii. 8. Some sentiments appear to be transcribed from it into the New Testament. Compare 
 2 Chron. ii. 5, 6, with Acts vii. 48j 49, and xvii. 24 ; also 2 Chron. xix. 7, with 1 Peter i. 17. Dr. Gray. 
 
 urn 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1015. 
 
 ' 1 Kings 
 i. 46. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 1 The solemn offering of Solomon at Gibeon. 7 Solo- 
 mon's choice of rvisdom is blessed by God. 13 Solo- 
 mon's strength and wealth. 
 
 AND ''Solomon the son of David was 
 strengthened in his kingdom, and the 
 Lord his God n-as with him, and magnified 
 him exceedingly. 
 
 Chap. I. ver. 3. — went to the high place — at Gibeon ;] See 
 note at 1 Kings iii. 4. It is remarkable that the original taberna- 
 cle was at this time at Gibeon, while the ark was at Jerusalem. 
 On wliat account they were separated, so that the ark was with- 
 
 2 Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, 
 to the captains of thousands and of hun- 
 dreds, and to the judges, and to every go- 
 vernor in all Israel, the chief of the fa- 
 thers. 
 
 3 So Solomon, and all the congregation 
 with him, went to the hiffh place that was ' 
 at '' Gibeon ; for there was the tabernacle ojl 2a 
 
 Ilcfore 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1015. 
 
 ■> 1 Kings 
 r;. 4. 
 Chron. 
 G. 39. & 
 
 out the tabernacle and its vessels, and the vessels, altar, and taber- 
 nacle without the seat of the Divine glory, it is by no means ea-sy 
 to explain. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Solomon's choice o/wisdom. 
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 His strength and 'wealth. 
 
 CHKIST 
 
 < > Sam. 6 
 1 17 
 1043 
 
 « F.Md. m 
 I. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 wru tUrrt. 
 
 • 1 OiroB. 
 S8. i. 
 
 < I Kings 
 J. !). 
 
 t IMi. 
 mucA ai the 
 riuit '^fthe 
 txTtk 
 
 • I King« 
 S. II, I'.'. 
 
 * Numb. 
 S7. 17. 
 
 ' 1 Chmn. 
 99. -IS 
 
 fk«p. 9. iX 
 
 of the congregation of God, which Moses 
 the senant ol' the Lord had made in tlie 
 wihlcrness. 
 
 1. ' But tlie ark of (Jod had David 
 brought uj) from Kirjath-jearini to l/ie place 
 which DiiVid had prepared for it: for he 
 had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. 
 
 5 Moreover '' the braseu altar, that Be- 
 zalccl the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had 
 made, II he put before the tabernacle of the 
 Lord : and Sulomon and the congregation 
 sought unto it. 
 
 (j And Solomon went up thither to the 
 braseu altar before the Lord, which was at 
 the tabernacle of the congregation, and 
 offered a thousand burnt offerings upon 
 
 it. 
 
 7 f In that night did God appear unto 
 Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I 
 shall give thee. 
 
 8 And Solomon said unto God, Thou 
 hast shewed great mercy unto David my 
 father, and hast made me ' to reign in his 
 stead. 
 
 \) Now, O Lord God, let thy promise 
 unto David my father be established : '^for 
 thou hast made me king over a people 
 tlike the dust of the earth in multitude. 
 
 10 * Give me now wisdom and know- 
 ledge, that I mav '' go out and come in be- 
 fore this people : for who can judge this 
 thy people, that is so great ? 
 
 11 And God said to Solomon, Because 
 this was in thine heart, and thou hast not 
 asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the 
 life of thine enemies, neither yet hast ask- 
 ed long life -, but hast asked wisdom and 
 knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest 
 judge my people, over whom I have made 
 thee king : 
 
 12 Wisdom and knowledge is granted 
 vmto thee •, and 1 will give thee riches, and 
 wealth, and honour, such as ' none of the 
 kings ha\e had that have been before thee, 
 neither shall there any after thee have the 
 h'ke. 
 
 13 •[ Then Solomon canie./ro/» hisjour- 
 nty to the high place that am- at Gibeon 
 to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle 
 of the congregation, and reigned over Is- 
 rael. 
 
 ■ .'*•"" ""'"'^* f^' p/acprf in the chariot cj/ie.t,] Meaning those 
 cities where there was abundance of good pasturage for horses. 
 i'P- latnck. 
 
 Y>. — and linen t/arn .] See note at 1 Kings x. S8. 
 
 / "^P- ' • • "er- 5. — the house which I build is great .1 A tern- 
 plc, -^lomon HLjt, for the worship of the one infinite and aU-per- 
 t«.t tscing. ought to be as sumptuous and magnificent as possible • 
 
 Peforc 
 CHRIST 
 
 1015. 
 
 k I Kings 
 10. 2G,&c. 
 &. 4. 26. 
 
 I 1 Kings 
 10. 27. 
 chap. 9.27, 
 28. 
 
 t Heb. 
 gave. 
 
 " 1 Kings 
 10. 2S. 
 chap. 0.2R. 
 t Hch. 
 the filing 
 firlli if Ike 
 horscswhich 
 was Solii-' 
 Tnon'i. 
 
 t Hob. 
 Ijy their 
 haniL 
 
 1 1 " And Solomon gathered chariots and 
 horsemen : and he had a thousand and 
 four hundred chariots, and twelve thou- 
 sand horsemen, which he placed in the 
 chariot cities, and with the king at Jeru- 
 
 15 'And the kingtmade silver and gold 
 at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and ce- 
 dar trees made he as the sycomore trees 
 that are in the vale for abundance. 
 
 16 "And t Solomon had horses brought 
 out of Egj-pt, and linen yarn: the king's 
 merchants' received the linen yarn at a 
 price. 
 
 17 And they fetched up, and brought 
 forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hun- 
 dred shekels of silver, and an horse for an 
 hundred and fifty : and so brought they 
 out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, 
 and for the kings of Syria, t by their 
 means. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 1, 17 Solomon's labourers for the building of the temple. 
 3 His embassage to Hiiram for niorhnen and provision 
 of stuff. 11 lluram sendclk him a kind answer. 
 
 AND Solomon determined to build an 
 house for the name of the Lord, and 
 an house for his kingdom. 
 
 2 And Solomon told out threescore and 
 ten thousand men to bear burdens, and 
 fourscore thousand to hew in the moun- 
 tain, and three thousand and six hundred 
 to oversee them. 
 
 3 % And Solomon sent to || Huram the D Or, 
 king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal f^KWsS. 
 with David my father, and didst send him i. 
 cedars to build him an house to dwell 
 therein, eveti so deal with me. 
 
 4 Behold, I build an house to the name 
 of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to 
 him, and to burn before him t sweet in- t Heb. 
 cense, and for the continual shewbread, 1"J17'"^ 
 and for the burnt offerings morning and 
 evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new 
 moons, and on the solemn feasts of the 
 Lord our God. This is an ordinance for 
 ever to Israel. 
 
 5 And the house which I build is great : 
 for great is our God above all gods. 
 
 spiets 
 
 not that it is to be thought that God can receive pleasure from 
 any external pomp or ornaments of human services, or that His 
 presence can be confined to any place whatever, as He is immea- 
 surable in greatness, and equally diffused through every place. 
 But my only design is, to signify (as far .is outward things can 
 do so) a regard proportionate to the majesty of Him whom we 
 adore. Pyle. 
 
 \
 
 Solomon's embassage to Huram. 
 
 CHAP. II, III. 
 
 Huram sendeth him a kind ansxcer. 
 
 to grave 
 grnvingi. 
 
 ChrYst ^ 'But who t is able to build him an 
 1015. house, seeing the heaven and hea^•en of 
 • I Kings heavens cannot contain him ? who am I 
 %ill'.6.ii. *'^^"' *^^* I should build him an house, 
 t Heb. save only to burn sacrifice before him ? 
 Srf'tnt"' 7 Send me now therefore a man cunning 
 taine'd to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 
 ttrer,^h. ^^^ ^^ -^^^^^ ^^^ -^^ purplc, and crimson, 
 
 t Heb. and blue, and that can skill t to grave with 
 the cunning men that are with me in Ju- 
 dah aud in Jerusalem, whom David my fa- 
 ther did provide. 
 
 8 Send me also cedar trees, fii- trees, and 
 \i^u Hm, " ^^g^^^ trees, out of Lebanon : for I know 
 1 Kin|s 10. that thy servants can skill to cut timber in 
 "• Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall 
 
 he with thy servants, 
 
 9 Even to prepare me timber in abun- 
 dance: for the house which I am about to 
 
 I«afa«j ^^^^^ shall be + wonderful great. 
 uimUtr/ui. 10 And, behold, I will give to thy ser- 
 vants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty 
 thousand measures of beaten wheat, and 
 twenty thousand measures of barley, and 
 twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty 
 thousand baths of oil. 
 
 11^ Then Huram the king of Tyre an- 
 swered in writing, which he sent to Solo- 
 mon, Because the Lord hath loved his 
 people, he hath made thee king over 
 them. 
 
 12 Huram said moreover, Blessed be the 
 Lord God of Israel, that made heaven and 
 earth, who hath given to David the king a 
 t Hei>. wise son, t endued with prudence and un- 
 ^Tenfe dcrstauding, that might build an house for 
 awivnder. the LoRD, and an house for his kingdom. 
 uandms. jg j^^^ ^^^ j j^^^^g ^^^^ ^ cunniug mau, 
 
 endued with understanding, of Huram my 
 father's, 
 
 10. — / will give to thy servants,'} Or, as it may be rendered, 
 ■ I will give on account of thy servants." It is said at 1 Kings 
 V. 11, that Solomon gave these stores to Hiram: they were de- 
 signed probably in part for the subsistence of the workmen, and 
 the rest was sent to the king. Pyl^- 
 
 12. — Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,'} From these words 
 it has been inferred by some, that Hiram was a proselyte to the 
 true religion, because he here owns the God of Israel to be Jeho- 
 vah, the Maker of heaven and earth; because he congratulates the 
 Israelites on the happiness they enjoyed under such a king, which 
 was the effect of his love to God and His church, and because he 
 declared his love to God's chosen people, not only by embassies 
 and letters, but by real acts of kindness, sending to Solomon ma- 
 terials for building the house of God, and the best artificers in the 
 world. Bp. Patrick. Or perhaps these expressions respecting the 
 God of Israel are only used in compliment to Solomon, wlio, as 
 well as all the Israelites, as Hiram knew, delighted in hearing 
 terms of respect applied to the God of Israel. Pyle. 
 
 17. And Solomon numbered all the strangers &c.] By these 
 Jtrangers are probably meant those who reuuiiied of the Araorites, 
 Vol. I. 
 
 14 The son of a woman of the daugh- p^^"/!- 
 ters of Dan, and his father was a man of lois 
 Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, 
 
 in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, 
 in purple, in blue, and ir fine linen, and 
 in crimson; also to gra\e any manner of 
 graving, and to find out every device 
 which shall be put to him, with thy cun- 
 ning men, and with the cunning men of 
 my lord David thy father. 
 
 15 Now therefore the wheat, and the 
 barley, the oil, and the wine, which my 
 lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his 
 servants: 
 
 IG And we will cut wood out of Leba- 
 non, t as much as tliou shalt need: and t Heb. 
 we will bring it to thee in flotes by sea to "aiulfn!!!. 
 t Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Je- t Hob. 
 rusalem. 
 
 17 IT ''And Solomon numbered all t the " Asrer. 2. 
 strangers that were in the land of Israel, l^fm^jA^ 
 after the numbering wherewith David his sirangirt. 
 father had numbered them ; and they were 
 found an hundred and fifty thousand and 
 
 three thousand and six hundred. 
 
 18 And he set 'threescore and ten 'As it u 
 thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, ""' ^' 
 and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the 
 mountain, and three thousand and six hun- 
 dred overseers to set the people a work. 
 
 CHAP. IIL 
 
 1 The place, and time of building the temple. S Tlie 
 
 measure and ornaments of the house. 1 1 The cheru' 
 
 bims. li The vail and pillars. lO'-- 
 
 ^ • 1 King! 
 
 THEN ^Solomon began to build the b i,&c 
 house of the Lord at Jerusalem in li,i'l, „,„ 
 mount Moriah, il where the LORD appear- ^"^'^^''- 
 ed unto David his father, in the place that titer. ' 
 
 Hittites, &c. mentioned afterwards at chap, liii 7. It is probable 
 they were not idolaters, for, if they had been so, David woald not 
 have suffered tliera to remain in the land; but they were wor- 
 shippers of tlie true God, though not admitted into the Jewish 
 religion. Solomon numbered tliem on this occasion, " after the 
 numbering wherewith David had numbered them," that he might 
 know tlieir strength and condition; not from motives of vanity 
 and ostentation, but from a prudent care that he might distin- 
 guish them from the Jews, and that he might employ them in 
 such parts of his work as he did not think fit to assign to his 
 own people. Bp. Patrick; 
 
 Chap. III. ver. 1. — rn mount Moriah,'] See note at Gen. xxii. 
 
 2. It is generally admitted, as a well-grounded opinion, tliat 
 this mount Moriah, on which Solomon built his temple, was the 
 same as that to which Abraham w:is commanded to go to offer his 
 son Isaac, Gen. xxii. 2. Dr. ff'clL: 
 
 tvhere the Lord appeared unto David} ^^'here the angel 
 
 of the Lord appeared unto David, and commanded him to offer 
 sacrifice in the threshingfloor of Oman, or Araunah. Bp. Pairict. 
 
 5 G
 
 fkt measure, ^c of the home. 
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 The vail and j>illars. 
 
 CHItlST 
 
 I Or. 
 
 ■J Sun. V4. 
 
 I«. 
 
 I Ctiron. 
 
 81. 1-*. 
 
 * I Kingn 
 
 6.2. 
 
 t tieb. 
 
 ' I Kingt 
 8.3. 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 enered. 
 
 I Or, (<. 
 
 •onclliink) 
 ff moKoUe 
 
 Daviil had prepared in the threshingfloor 
 of II Oman the Jcbusite. 
 
 •2 And he began to build in the second 
 dai/ of the second month, in the fourth 
 year of his reign. 
 
 8 ii Now tliese are the things uhercin " So- 
 lomon was t instructed for the building of 
 the house of God. The length by cubits 
 after the first measure n«»- threescore cu- 
 bits, and the breadth twenty cubits. 
 
 4 And the " porch that was in the front 
 ofl/ie house, the length (fit was according 
 to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, 
 and the height was an hundred and twenty: 
 and he overlaid it within with pure gold. 
 
 5 And the greater house he cieled with 
 fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, 
 and set thereon palm trees and chains. 
 
 6 And he t garnished the house with 
 precious stones for beauty: and the gold 
 was gold of Parvaim. 
 
 7 He overlaid also the house, the beams, 
 the posts, and the walls thereof, and the 
 doors thereof, with gold; and graved che- 
 rubiras on the walls. 
 
 8 And he made the most holy house, 
 the length whereof was according to the 
 breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and 
 the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he 
 overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six 
 hundred talents. 
 
 9 And the weight of the nails was fifty 
 shekels of gold. And he overlaid the up- 
 per chambers with gold. 
 
 10 And in the most holy house he made 
 two cherubims || of image work, and over- 
 laid them with gold. 
 
 1 1 % And the wings of the cherubims 
 were twenty cubits long: one wing of t/ie 
 one chenth was five cubits, reaching to the 
 wall of the house : and the other wing was 
 Itkexvise five cubits, reaching to the wing 
 ot tiie other cherub. 
 
 1'2 And one wing of the other cherub 
 xcas five cubits, reaching to the wall of the 
 house: and the other wing was five cubits 
 also, joining to the wing of the other che- 
 rub. 
 
 13 The wings of these cherubims spread 
 
 j; — gold of Parvaim:] The situation of this i.lace, from wliich 
 P'l.l was procured, has been the subject of Lch d "i ss on 
 
 er^lby S..LTJ„ ~ut ;"'"''', "" "^^ "-f ^'•''■'''] The altar 
 
 Wgcr thi, S «W K ^. 1 k"'P''^ '•I ^^ described, was much 
 
 fc «un itu.t *hid» had been made for the tabernacle, Exod. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1012. 
 
 il Or, 
 
 toujard the 
 house, 
 " Matth. 
 27. 51. 
 t Heb. 
 caused to 
 ascend. 
 ''Jer.S'J.il. 
 I Kings 
 7. 15. 
 + Heb. 
 long. 
 
 ' I Kings 
 7. 21. 
 
 II That is, 
 he shall 
 establish. 
 II Tliati», 
 in it is 
 ttrengtk. 
 
 themselves forth twenty cubits: and they 
 stood on their feet, and their faces were 
 II inward. 
 
 14 ^ And he made the " vail of blue, 
 and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, 
 and t wrought cherubims thereon. 
 
 15 Also he made before the house ' two 
 pillars of thirty and five cubits t high, and 
 the chapiter that was on the top of each of 
 them was five cubits. 
 
 l(j And he made chains, as in the oracle, 
 and put them on the heads of the pillars; 
 and made an hundred pomegranates, and 
 put them on the chains. 
 
 17 And he ' reared up the pillars before 
 the temple, one on the right band, and the 
 other on the left; and called the name of 
 that on the right hand II Jachin, and the 
 name of that on the left ll Boaz. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 1 The allar of brass. 2 The molten sea upon tmetve 
 o.xen. 6 The ten lavers, candlesticks, and tables. 9 
 The coitrts, and the instruments of brass. 19 The 
 instruments of gold. 
 
 MOREOVER he made an altai- of 
 brass, twenty cubits the length 
 thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth 
 thereof, and ten cubits the height there- 
 of: 
 
 2 if " Also he made a molten sea of ten 
 cubits t from brim to brim, round in com 
 pass, and five cubits the height thereof;/™™^". 
 and a line of thirty cubits did compass it i^m. 
 round about. 
 
 3 ^ And under it was the similitude of " i Kings 
 oxen, which did compass it round about: '''^*' 
 ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round 
 about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when 
 
 it was cast. 
 
 4 It stood upon twelve oxen, three look- 
 ing toward the north, and three looking 
 toward the west, and three looking toward 
 the south, and three looking toward the 
 east: and the sea was set above upon them, 
 and all their hinder parts were inward. 
 
 5 And the thickness of it was an hand- 
 breadth, and the brim of it like the work 
 of the brim of a cup. It with flowers of li 
 
 • 1 Kings 
 7. 23, &c. 
 t Heb. 
 
 II Or, 
 like a lil</ 
 ' flower. 
 
 xxvii. 1 — ."5; as that was five cubits square, and three in heightj 
 whereas this was twenty cubits square, and ten in height. Though 
 it is said to be made of brass, it is thought to have been filled 
 within with rough stones, which were covered with thick plates 
 of brass: there was an easy ascent leading up to it on the east side. 
 The altai-, which was in the temple built after the return of the 
 Jews from captivity, consisted entirely of rough stones. Josephua 
 says, that the altar, which was in the temple in his time, consistedl 
 of rough stones, being fifteen cubits high, forty long, and as many 
 broad. Calmd.
 
 The ten lavers, <§'c. 
 
 CHAP. IV, V. 
 
 T/ie dedicated treasures. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1012. 
 
 t Hell. 
 
 (kg work of 
 burnt (]ffer- 
 inS, 
 
 n Or, 
 
 bowls. 
 
 BOr, 
 
 bowls. 
 t Heb. 
 
 Jiniihed to 
 make. 
 
 lies ; and it received and held three thou- 
 .sand baths. 
 
 6 ^ He made also ten lavers, and put 
 five on the right hand, and five on the left, 
 to wash in them : t such things as they of- 
 fered for the burnt offering they washed in 
 them J but the sea was for the priests to 
 wash in. 
 
 7 And he made ten candlesticks of gold 
 according to their form, and set them in 
 the temple, five on the right hand, and five 
 on the left. 
 
 8 He made also ten tables, and placed 
 them in the temple, five on the right side, 
 and five on the left. And he made an 
 hundred || basons of gold. 
 
 9 IF Furthermore he made the court of 
 the priests, and the great court, and doors 
 for the court, and overlaid the doors of 
 them with brass. 
 
 10 And he set the sea on the right 
 side of the east end, over against the 
 south. 
 
 11 And Huram made the pots, and the 
 shovels, and the || basons. And Huram 
 t finished the work that he was to make 
 for king Solomon for the house of God ; 
 
 12 To wit, the two pillars, and the pom- 
 mels, and the chapiters which were on the 
 top of the two pillars, and the two wreaths 
 to cover the two pommels of the chapiters 
 which were on the pillars ; 
 
 13 And four hundred pomegranates on 
 the two wreaths ; two rows of pomegra- 
 nates on each wreath, to cover the two 
 pommels of the chapiters which were t up- 
 on the pillars. 
 
 14 He made also bases, and U lavers made 
 he upon the bases ; 
 
 15 One sea, and twelve oxen under it. 
 
 16 The pots also, and the shovels, and 
 the fleshhooks, and all their instruments, 
 did Huram his father make to king Solo- 
 mon for the house of the Lord of t bright 
 brass. 
 
 17 In the plain of Jordan did the king 
 cast them, in the t clay ground between 
 Succoth and Zeredathah. 
 
 18 Thus Solomon made all these vessels 
 in great abundance : for the weight of the 
 brass could not be found out. 
 
 19 ^ And Solomon made all the vessels 
 that were for the house of God, the golden 
 altar also, and the tables whereon the shew- 
 bread was set ; 
 
 20 Moreover the candlesticks with their 
 
 l6. — did Huram his father make to king Solomoii^ The word 
 )translated "father" is perliaps a proper name; "did Huraiia 
 
 f Heb. 
 
 upon the 
 face. 
 II Or, 
 ealdrons, 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 madehright, 
 or, scoured. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 tkicknesses 
 of the 
 ground. 
 
 lamps, that they should burn after the man- ^'^'■'"■« 
 ner before the oracle, of pure gold ; '^"olz.^^ 
 
 21 And the flowers, and the lamps, and 
 
 the tongs, made he of gold, and that t per- + «€■•,. 
 feet gold ; '^^ 
 
 22 And the snuffers, and the II basons, II Or, 
 and the spoons, and the censers, <f pure *"""'*' 
 gold : and the entry of the house^ the in- 
 ner doors thereof for the most lioly place, 
 and the doors of the house of the temple, 
 were of gold. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 1 The dedicated treasures. 2 The solemn induction of 
 the ark into the oracle. 1 1 God being praised givelh 
 a visible sign of his favour. 
 
 THUS all the work that Solomon made loos 
 for the house of the Lord was finish- 
 ed : * and Solomon brought in all the things ' • King* 
 that David his father had dedicated ; and 
 the silver, and the gold, and all the instru- 
 ments, put he among the treasures of the 
 house of God. 
 
 2 ^ " Then Solomon assembled the elders ^ '"?♦• 
 of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, a.i.Si^ 
 the chief of the fathers of the children of 
 Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark 
 
 of the covenant of the Lord out of the 
 city of David, which is Zion. 
 
 3 ^VTierefore all the men of Israel assem- 
 bled themselves unto the king in the feast 
 which was in the seventh month. 
 
 4 And all the elders of Israel came; and 
 the Levites took up the ark. 
 
 5 And they brought up the ark, and the 
 tabernacle of the congregation, and all the 
 holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, 
 these did the priests and the Levites bring 
 up. 
 
 6 Also king Solomon, and all the con- 
 gregation of Israel that were assembled 
 unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep 
 and oxen, which could not be told nor 
 numbered for multitude. 
 
 7 And the priests brought in the ark of 
 the covenant of the Lord unto his place, 
 to the oracle of the house, into the most 
 holy place, even under the wings of the 
 cherubims : 
 
 8 For the cherubims spread forth their 
 wings over the place of the ark, and the 
 cherubims covered the ark and the staves 
 thereof above. 
 
 9 And they drew out the staves of the 
 ark, that the ends of the staves were seen 
 from the ark before the oracle ; but they 
 
 Abi make to kins; Solomon :" or it is a short mode of speaking, 
 " Hiram and Iiis father." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 j G 2 
 
 /.
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 Godg'Mtk a sign of his favour. 
 
 Brfor* were not seen without. And II there it is 
 •^•{Ji!'^ unto this day. . , , 
 
 , Or .v/ 10 There -u'as nothing in the ark save the 
 .«.»«-<,« (^^.Q tables whicli Moses 'put therein at 
 i^Kinps. j^^^^.,^^ II when the Lonn made a covenant 
 ' ^*"'- '°- with the cliiUhen oi' Israel, when they came 
 I Or. out of Kgypt. 
 
 "*"'• 11 •! And it came to pass, when the 
 
 priests were come out of the holy place : 
 I Hcb. (for all the priests thai tiere t j)resent were 
 •'"'"''* sanctified, and did not then wait by course : 
 MChron. I'j "^ Also tlie Le\ itcs xchich were the 
 "• '■ singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, 
 of Jeduthun, with their sons and their bre- 
 thren, /jcing arrayed in white linen, having 
 cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at 
 the east end of the altar, and with them 
 an hundred and twenty priests sounding 
 with trumpets:) 
 
 13 It came even to pass, as the trumpet- 
 ers and singers uere as one, to make one 
 sound to be heard in jjraising and thank- 
 ing the Lord ; and when they lifted up 
 their voice with the trumpets and cymbals 
 and instruments of musick, and praised 
 • r«i. 136. the Lord, saj/ing, ' For he is good ; for his 
 mercy endureth for ev'er : that then the 
 house was filled with a cloud, even the 
 house of the Lord ; 
 
 l-t So that the priests could not stand 
 to minister by reason of the cloud : for the 
 glory of the Lord had filled the house of 
 Gotl. 
 
 CHAP. VL 
 
 1 Solomon, having llessed the people, blesselh God. 1 2 
 
 Chap. y. ver. 9. — And there il ix unto this dai).'\ Or rather, as 
 till- marpn translates, " There they .ire (meaning the staves) unto 
 tlM> day ;■• for so the same wonls are translated at 1 Kings viii. 8. 
 Ami, when that book *aa written, they were exactly true; but, 
 when the autlior of this book of Chronicles transcribed them into 
 Jus book, .ilW the cnptivit)-, there were then neither staves nor 
 «rk remaining. See note on 1 Kings viii. 4. Therefore, it is here 
 only recited from the book of Kings, hon- Solomon settled thinjrs. 
 Bp. Patrick. ^ ^ 
 
 11 (^fur ail Ike priefit — were sanctified, &c.] This solem- 
 
 nity was performed, not by any particuiar course of the priests, 
 but the whole body of them attended the service, being purified 
 on purpose by solemn washings, Ike. And all the Levite mu- 
 »icu;is, ver. 12— U, pl.-iccd in their several desks, joined the 
 l)nosts ni playing the sacred hvmn in honour of God ■ which 
 vnA no sooner performed, than God, in testimony of His gracious 
 .acceptance of this teinple for the st^.ted place of His pubUck wor- 
 ship hUed the whole place with the same cloud of glorv which 
 used to reside in the tabernacle; which appeared with such a 
 mixture ot tremendous darkness and brightness, that the priests 
 ^c prevent«l from proceeding in the sacrifices till it was abated. 
 See 1 Kmgfi viii. lf>, &c. Pyte 
 
 ^AH^^^'^l'^ '" ''?;."' ^■"'^ "'^ P^OPI* i" the tabernacle 
 o t.M,««, so did It please Him to rest with them in the temi.le 
 
 uie mo=t magnificent sight that was ever presented to the eyes of 
 
 Solomon blesseth God. 
 
 Solomons prayer in the consecration of the tcmpk, ^^"1% 
 upon the l>rasa, scaffold. wm 
 
 ^HEN " said Solomon, The Lord hath • i Kings 
 said that he would dwell in the Hhick lll%_^ 
 darkness. 
 
 ;2 But I have built an house of habita- 
 tion for thee, and a place for thy dwelling 
 for ever. 
 
 3 And the king turned his face, and 
 blessed the w^hole congregation of Is- 
 rael : and all the congregation of Israel 
 stood. 
 
 4 And he said. Blessed he the I^ord God 
 of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled 
 that which he spake with his mouth to my 
 father Uavid, saying, 
 
 5 Since the day that I brought forth my 
 people out of the land of Egypt I chose 
 no city among all the tribes of Israel to 
 build an house in, that my name might be 
 there ; neither chose I any man to be a 
 ruler over my people Israel : 
 
 6 But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my 
 name might be there ; and have chosen 
 David to be over my people Israel. 
 
 7 Now " it was in the heart of David my ' 2 Sam. 7. 
 father to build an liouse for tlie name of i'chron. 
 the Lord God of Israel. ss. 3. 
 
 8 But the Lord said to David my father. 
 Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build 
 an house for my name, thou didst well in 
 that it was in thine heart : 
 
 9 Notwithstanding thou shalt not build 
 the house ; but thy son which shall come 
 forth out of thy loins, he shall build the 
 house for my name. 
 
 mortals. Let us imagine to ourselves a building, where scarce 
 any thing appeared less valuable than silver and gold ; a build- 
 ing, of which God Himself condescended to be the architect, and 
 which had therefore in the design and execution all the perfec- 
 tion that Infinite Wisdom could gi\e it. Before this building let 
 us think we see the nation of the Israelites assembled, encircling 
 their king, seated upon an exalted throne of burnished brass, 
 with all the ensigns of majesty and royalty ; while, amid the 
 harmony of different kinds of instruments, with the acclamations 
 of a whole people, joining in a grand chorus of praise and 
 thanksgiving, the glory of Jehovah, or a body of light above 
 the brightness of the sun, descends from heaven, and fills the 
 temple ! Imagination can hardly reach the amazing idea. But 
 this is the scene described by the sacred writer : " And it came 
 to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, &c." 
 ver. 11 — 14. Never, after this, let us entertain low notions of 
 God, or of the house where His glory dwelleth. Bp. Home. See 
 the note on chap. vi. 1 8. 
 
 Chap. VI. ver. 5. — neither chose I any man to he a riikr'] These 
 words differ from the parallel place at 1 Kings viii. l6, where it 
 is said, " But I chose David to be over My people Israel." The 
 meaning is, that till the time of David there was no settled suc- 
 cession of rulers, but God raised up judges out of what tribe and 
 family He pleased ; and, when He made Saul king. He did not 
 continue the dignity in his family, as was the case with David. 
 Bp. Patrici:
 
 f^Iis prayer at the 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 consecration of the temple. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ^^^^ 'Lo^T) therefore hath performed 
 1004. his word that he Jiath spoken : for I am 
 risen up in the room of David my father, 
 and am set on tlie tiirone of Israel, as the 
 Lord promised, and have built the house 
 for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 
 
 11 And in it have I put the ark, wherein 
 is the covenant of the Lord, that he made 
 with the children of Israel. 
 
 12 ^ And he stood before the altar of 
 the Lord in the presence of all the con- 
 gregation of Israel, and spread forth his 
 hands : 
 
 13 For Solomon had made a brasen scaf- 
 f Heb. fold, of iive cubits t long, and five cubits 
 «L5f&c. ^^9^*^' and three cubits high, and had set 
 
 it in the midst of the court : and upon it 
 he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees 
 before all the congregation of Israel, and 
 spread forth his hands toward heaven, 
 
 <Exodi5 ^^ ^^^ ^^^^' ^ Lord God of Israel, 
 II. •''■<* there is no God like thee in the heaven. 
 
 13. For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, &c.] This verse 
 is added to what we have in the book of Kings : it had been 
 stated in the last verse, that Solomon stood in the presence of all 
 Israel ; and here it is explained, that he was raised for that pur- 
 pose on a scaffold. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and kneeled down upon his knees &c.] The house of God 
 
 does not take its name from the practice of preaching there, but 
 from that of praying : " My house shall be called the house of 
 prayer," Matt. xxi. 18. Accordingly we find, that when the tem- 
 ple of Solomon was finished, it was immediately applied to its 
 proper use. We hear of no preaching on this great occasion, but 
 only of prayers and religious offerings. The king, the priests, 
 and all the people, attended at the solemn service of its dedica- 
 tion. Sacrifices were offered without number ; and the king, in 
 his capacity of a Prophet, prayed publickly for the blessing and 
 favour of God upon the house which he had built. His words 
 upon this occasion are very striking. Jones of Nai/land. 
 
 14. And said, Lord God of Israel, &C.3 See note at 1 Kings 
 viii. 23. 
 
 In his dedication-prayer, king Solomon, personating, as it 
 should seem, the great Mediator, states before God the various 
 wants and miseries of his people, requesting for those, who 
 should pray in or towards that temple, that they might be sup- 
 plied and relieved: see ver. 20, 21. Pardon for time past, and 
 grace for time te come, comprehend between them the spiritual 
 necessities of mankind ; and both are supposed to have been 
 justly and beautifully represented by the service and the furni- 
 ture of the tabernacle and temple of old : the former by the ac- 
 ceptance of sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood, witliout which 
 there is no remission ; the latter by the table of shewbread, the 
 golden candlestick with its lamps, and the altar of incense, denot- 
 ing the support of our spirits by the true bread wliich conieth 
 down from heaven, the instruction of our minds by the hght of 
 truth shining forth in the word of God, and the merits of a Re- 
 deemer ascending witli the prayers of the taitliful, to render 
 them acceptable at the eternal throne. Under the new law, in 
 like manner, at the baptismal ibnt, and at the holy table, are e.\- 
 liibited and communicated the Spirit purifying and cleansing 
 from sin, the body and blood of Christ strengthening and refresh- 
 ing the souls of men. Such are the benefits (and what greater 
 benefits can heart desire, or imagination conceive?) to be obtained, 
 through faith, in these holy places, where God is pleased to meet 
 us and to bless us, if indeed we are disposed to receive tlie bless- 
 ing, by turning every one of us from his iniquities. Bp. Home. 
 
 nor in the earth ; which keepest covenant, 
 and shewest mercy unto thy servants, tliat 
 walk before thee with all their hearts : 
 
 15 Thou which hast kept with thy ser- 
 vant David my father that which thou hast 
 promised him ; and spakest with thy mouth, 
 and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is 
 this day. 
 
 16 Now therefore, O Lord God of Is- 
 rael, keep with thy servant David my fa- 
 ther that which thou hast promised him, 
 saying, ' t There shall not fail thee a man 
 in my sight to sit upon the throne of Is- 
 rael ; ' yet so that thy children take heed 
 to their way to walk in my law, as thou 
 hast walked before me. 
 
 17 Now then, O Lord God of Israel, 
 let thy word be verified, which thou hast 
 spoken unto thy servant David. 
 
 18 But will God in very deed dwell with 
 men on the earth ? ^ behold, heaven ,and 
 the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee -, 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1004. 
 
 ' 2 Sam. 7. 
 
 12. 
 
 1 Kings 2. 
 
 4. & (i. 12. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 There shall 
 
 not a man 
 
 be cul off. 
 
 ' PsaL 1321 
 
 12. 
 
 ^Chap. 2.G. 
 Isai. CC. 1. 
 Acu 7. 49. 
 
 18. Bill will God in very deed dwell n^ith men on the earth? «Scc.] 
 This most awfij and important question seems to have almost 
 overwhelmed the vast and capacious mind of Solomon himself. 
 Certainlj' that which is without bounds cannot be comprehended 
 within that which has bounds, whether large or small ; and there- 
 fore, in a strict and proper sense, " tlie Most High dwelletli not 
 in temples made with hands;" see Acts vii. 48. But it is no less 
 certain, that there is a sense, agreeably to which it raaj' be truly 
 said, that the Most High does dwell in temples made with hands. 
 So Solomon asserts in this same prayer at the dedication of the 
 temple, ver. 1,2: and God Himself is introduced as saying the 
 same in the 132d Psalm, ver. 13, 14. Accordingly we read, that 
 " when the priests were come out of the holy place, the house of 
 the Lord was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not 
 stand to miiii>ter, &c." see chap. v. 11 — 14. I'he Master took 
 possession of His house, and for a time dispossessed even His own 
 servants, to show that he did so. As if He had said, " 'i'lie hou.^e, 
 which you have designed for My worship, I have designed for 
 your blessing : what you gave dedicated, I liave accepted : what 
 you have consecrated, I have hallowed : I have biken it for the 
 purpose you intended." Or, to use the far more emphatical words 
 of the sacred penman, " I have heard thy prayer and thy suppli- 
 cation, that thou hast made before Me : 1 have hallowed this 
 house, which thou hast built, to put My name there for ever ; and 
 Mine eyes and Mine heai-t shall be there peqietually." Thus, 
 notwithstanding the iniquities of mankind, and His own purity, 
 as well as incomprehensible majesty, has God been ple;i.sed to 
 " dwell indeed on earth," and to vouchsc-iie an especial manifesta- 
 tion of His presence in holy places, dedicated to His name, and 
 set apart for His worship. An liouse designed for that end is 
 therefore styled " the house of God," or place of His residence. 
 And let us not think that He is less present with us, than He was 
 with Israel. Is the Christian church k-.-ss favoured than the 
 Jewish church was ? Have we lost any thing by tlie incaruatioa 
 of Ids Son } Surely not. It may be said indeed, we do not see 
 Him as tlie Israelites did. But '" the glory," or body of light or 
 tire, wliich the Israelites saw, was only a sign or token of His 
 presence. " God is a Spirit, whom no man hatli seen, nor can 
 see." We do not see the souls of those who are assembled to 
 worship Him : yet are they present. The holy angels may be 
 present when we worship Him ; and God Himself, we trust, is 
 so by His Spirit. We know who has said, " Where two or three 
 are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of 
 them," Mattli. xviii. 20. Bp. Horn*.
 
 Solomon's prayer at the 
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 consecration of the temple. 
 
 how much less this house which I have 
 
 lOIM. 
 
 buih 
 
 1<) Have rospecl tlieiefore to the prayer 
 or thy servant, aiul to his supplication, O 
 Lord my (iod, to hearken unto the cry 
 anil the prayer which tliy servant prayeth 
 belbre thee : 
 
 20 That thine eyes may be open upon 
 this house dav and nij^ht, upon the place 
 wliereof thouliast said that thou wouldest 
 put thv name there ; to hearken unto the 
 prayer" which thy servant prayeth 1| toward 
 
 inikitrUut. jiijj; place. 
 
 21 Hearken therefore unto tiie suppli- 
 cations of tliy servant, and of thy people 
 Israel, wiiich tliey shall t make toward this 
 place : hear thou from thy dwelling place, 
 eien from heaven ; and when thou hearest, 
 forgive. 
 
 22^ If a man sin against his neighbour, 
 tand an oath be laid upon him to make 
 . _ him swear, and the oath come before thine 
 ixiih ii/'him. altar in this house; 
 
 '23 Then hear thou from heaven, and 
 do, and judge thy servants, by requiting 
 the wicked, by recompensing his way up- 
 on his own head ; and by justifying the 
 righteous, by giving him according to his 
 righteousness. 
 
 24. % And if thy people Israel II be put 
 to the worse before the enemy, because 
 they have sinned against thee ; and shall 
 return and confess thy name, and pray 
 and make supplication before thee II in this 
 house ; 
 
 25 Then hear thou from the heavens, 
 and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, 
 and bring them again imto the land which 
 thou gavest to them and to their fathers. 
 
 «0r. 
 
 
 tH«b. 
 
 and ht 
 
 I Or. 
 
 be tmilten. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 tvUfariL 
 
 20. Tfial thine ei/a may be open upon this house &C.3 In these 
 
 words the use of the temple is sigiufieil. This house was the 
 
 pUct? where God would give audience, and have respect to the 
 
 petition, out of regartl to the place in which it was offered. They, 
 
 who expect to be heard when they address a king, go into Ilia 
 
 court, ami present themselves in the projier place for an audience. 
 
 The temple was the court of the great King ; and, though He can 
 
 hear the voice of men in every place, yet it was expedient that one 
 
 place sJiould be honoiu-e<l above all others to stir up reverence in 
 
 men, and give them a reasonable ground of hope when they should 
 
 offer their petitions. It seems by the expression, that the people 
 
 were encouraged, not only to pray within the temple, but to have 
 
 Wpect to it, and to turn thenisthes toward it in their devotions, 
 
 eveti when they prayed to the Gwl of Israel in distant places: 
 
 Hearken unt.i the supplications of Thy people Israel, which they 
 
 ■owi make /o»nrrf tins place." And the practice was duly observed 
 
 ^Uaniel in his captivity at Babylon : it was his manner " to open 
 
 «?!« " /T ^""'^ Jen.s«lem, and to kneel and pray three times 
 
 to i^ JZ'^: '\l^- ,^'u ""r"' "■^'' '" '•'^ ''■'"P''' ; ^"'1 he held 
 
 In tWt'Xri "*:'' "^^ ^^^ ■■"'"' "<■ *^ '^ly "•'^'•e remaining. 
 
 in J«ct, the Ubemacle an<l temple were the places where the de- 
 
 vouon otthepeople. and the favour of Go<l, met togethei- Souse 
 
 26 IT When the " heaven is shut up, and 
 there is no rain, because they have sinned 
 against thee ; ,yet if they pray toward this 
 place, and confess thy name, and turn from 
 their sin, when thou dost afflict them ; 
 
 27 Then hear thou from heaven, and 
 forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy 
 people Israel, when thou hast taught them 
 the <'-ood way, wherein they should walk ; 
 and send rain upon thy land, which thou 
 hast given unto thy people for an inhe- 
 ritance. 
 
 28 IF If there ' be dearth in the land, if 
 there be pestilence, if there be blasting, 
 or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars ; if their 
 enemies besiege them t in the cities of 
 their land ; whatsoever sore or whatsoever 
 sickness there be : 
 
 29 Then what prayer or what supplica- 
 tion soever shall be made of any man, or 
 of all thy people Israel, when every one 
 shall know his own sore and his own grief, 
 and shall spread forth his hands || in this 
 house : 
 
 SO Then hear thou from heaven thy 
 dwelling place, and forgive, and render 
 unto every man according unto all his 
 ways, whose heart thou knowest ; (for 
 thou only " knowest the hearts of the chil- 
 dien of men :) 
 
 31 That they may fear thee, to walk in 
 thy ways, t so long as they live t in the 
 land which thou gavest unto our fathers. 
 
 32 % Moreover concerning the stranger, 
 ' which is not of thy people Israel, but is 
 come from a far country for thy great 
 name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and 
 thy stretched out arm j if they come and 
 pray in this house ; 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1()04. 
 
 » 1 Kings 
 
 17. 1. 
 
 ' Chap. 20. 
 
 9. 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 in the land 
 of their 
 gnteu 
 
 II Or, 
 
 toward thit 
 house. 
 
 ^ 1 Chron. 
 28.9. 
 
 fHeb. 
 all the dnyt 
 which. 
 t Hcb. 
 upon the 
 face if the 
 land. 
 
 ' John 12. 
 20. 
 Acts 8. 27. 
 
 of God was the common assembly of heaven and earth ; there 
 God was to be found, and there the people sought Him : there 
 Hannali, in the bitterness of her soul, offered up her devotions, 
 and her petition was granted. Yea, and Christ Himself allows, 
 Matth. xxiii. 17, that " the temple sanctified the gold" which was 
 offered in it : and, if it could sanctify the gold, it would rather 
 sanctify the more valuable offerings of prayer and thanksgiving. 
 This was known to that godly woman Anna the prophetess, who, 
 having devoted herself to God, departed not from the temple, but 
 served Him there with fastings and prayers night and day. There 
 the prayers of Simeon were granted, and the promise of God ful- 
 filled to him, when he took up the child Jesus in his arms, and 
 blessed God, who in the temple had indulged him with a sight of 
 what his eyes most desired to behold. Jones of Naijland. 
 
 28. — or caterpillers ;2 The Hebrew word here means some 
 small destructive insects. That they are liable tofthe ravages of 
 such animals in the East, appears from Sir J. Chardin, who says, 
 that Persia is subject to have its harvest spoiled by locusts and 
 small insects, which they call Sim; these are small white lice, 
 which fix themselves on the foot of the stalk of corn, gnaw it, 
 and make it die. It is rare for a year to be exempt from some 
 scourge of this description. Harmer.
 
 Solomon* s prayer at the 
 
 CHAP. VI, VII. 
 
 consecration of the temple. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 1004. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 thi/ name is 
 called upon 
 this house. 
 
 g Or, right. 
 
 " Proverbs 
 20. 9. 
 Eccles. 7. 
 21. 
 
 James 3. 2. 
 lJohnl.8. 
 t Heb. 
 t/iei/ that 
 take them 
 captives 
 carry them 
 away. 
 t Heb. 
 bring back 
 to their 
 heart. 
 
 fl Or, right. 
 
 33 Then hear thou from the heavens, 
 even from thy dwelling place, and do ac- 
 cording to all that the stranger calleth to 
 thee for ; that all people of the earth may 
 know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy 
 people Israel, and may know that tthis 
 house which I have built is called by thy 
 name. 
 
 34 If thy people go out to war against 
 their enemies by the way that thou shalt 
 send them, and they pray unto thee toward 
 this city which thou hast chosen, and the 
 house which I have built for thy name ; 
 
 35 Then hear thou from the heavens 
 their prayer and their supplication, and 
 maintain their || cause. 
 
 36 If they sin against thee, (for there is 
 ^ no man which sinneth not,) and thou be 
 angry with them, and deliver them over 
 before their enemies, and t they carry them 
 away captives unto a land far oif or near ; 
 
 37 Yet if they t bethink themselves in 
 the land whither they are carried captive, 
 and turn and pray unto thee in the land 
 of their captivity, saying. We have sinned, 
 we have done amiss, and have dealt wick- 
 edly : 
 
 38 If they return to thee with all their 
 heart and with all their soul in the land of 
 their captivity, whither they have carried 
 them captives, and pray toward their land, 
 which thou gavest unto their fathers, and 
 toward the city which thou hast chosen, 
 and toward the house which I have built 
 for thy name : 
 
 39 Then hear thou from the heavens, 
 even from thy dwelling place, their prayer 
 and their supplications, and maintain their 
 II cause, and forgive thy people wliich have 
 sinned against thee. 
 
 38. — atid pray toward their lantl,'] Thus both prince and 
 people were txi pray in this house, while tliey possessed the land 
 of Judea and the city where it stood ; to pray towards it when 
 they sojom-ned in foreign coasts, or were detained in the land of 
 their captivity ; to pray towards the place where it had stood, in 
 case it should be demolished. Thus Daniel did, (Dan. vi. 10,) 
 after this house, budt by Solomon, was burnt to the ground. 
 Dr. Jackson. 
 
 41. Now therefore arise, Lord God, &c.'] These words form 
 part of Psalm cxxxii. 8, J), with very Uttle variation. In them 
 he beseeches God to take up His habitation here, with " the ark 
 of His strength," so as to stir from hence no more ; and also so to 
 defend His priests who ministeretl to Him, that they might ob- 
 tain His blessings for others, and that all the people might rejoice 
 ill His great bounty. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. Vn. ver. 1. — l/iejtre came dotvn from heavcn,'\ God 
 had already given one gracious token of His acceptance of the 
 temple for the place of His holy residence and worship, by the 
 cloud of glory coming into it, chap. v. 13, li: and now, as a 
 further confirmation of it, the king's foregoing prayer was no 
 sooner ended, than the sacrifices were immediately bunit and 
 consumed by a flame, from the same cloud, upon the altar; ia 
 
 40 Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, p^'^'"'^-. 
 thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be i^.^ 
 attent t unto the prayer that is made in this t Heb. to 
 place. "'^r"^" 
 
 » T n 1 /> "' thir place. 
 
 41 Now therefore arise, O Lord God, " ^^^J- is^- 
 into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of ^" 
 
 thy strength : let thy priests, O Lord God, 
 be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints 
 rejoice in goodness. 
 
 42 O Lord God, turn not away the face 
 of thine anointed : remember the mercies 
 of David thy servant. 
 
 CHAP. VIL 
 
 1 God kavi7ig given leslimotiy to Sdomons prayer by fire 
 from heaven, and ghry in the temple, the people tvor^ 
 ship him. 4 Sulomoii's solemn sacrifice. 8 Solomon 
 having kept the feast of tabernacles, and the feast of 
 the dedication of the altar, dismisseth the people. 12 
 God appearing to Solomon giveth him promises upon 
 condition. 
 
 NOW ' when Solomon had made an end ' i ^"8' 
 of praying, the "fire came down from i'"Le^.9.'24. 
 heaven, and consumed the burnt offering 
 and the sacrifices j and the glory of the 
 Lord fiUed the house. 
 
 2 And the priests could not enter into 
 the house of tlie Lord, because the glory 
 of the Lord had filled the Lord's house. 
 
 3 And when all the children of Israel 
 saw how the fire came down, and the glory 
 of the Lord upon the house, they bowed 
 themselves with their faces to the ground 
 upon the pavement, and worsliipped, and 
 praised the Lord, saying. For he is good ; 
 for his mercy endureth for ever. 
 
 4 ^ Then the king and all the people 
 oflfered sacrifices before the Lord. 
 
 5 And king Solomon oflered a sacrifice 
 of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an 
 hundred and twenty thousand sheep : so 
 
 the same manner as it was at the consecration of the tabernacle. 
 Lev. ix. 24. Py/e. 
 
 The cloud, which denoted the presence of God, had already 
 filled the house, so that the priest could not stand to minister : 
 and in the ages after, as well as before, the Divine presence 
 was manifested about the ark, and between the cherul)im which 
 overshadowed it. On special occasions, it appeared in a visible 
 manner, under the symbol of a cloud, with a light or glor>' at- 
 tending it : and, when the cloud was not seen, the place was al- 
 ways understood as being inhabited in a particular manner by 
 the glory of the Godhead. Jwies of Nayland. 
 
 This kind of answer by fire was of the most satisfactory kind. 
 By this answer God determined the controversies between Elijah 
 and Baal's priests : by the like effects of fire from heaven, the 
 calling of Aaron to the priesthood was proved to be not by man, 
 but by God's immediate apjMintment. And so was the consecra- 
 tion of the .Son of Gml to His everlasting priestliood confii-med 
 by the visible appearance of the Holy Ghost in tongues of fire, 
 \vhich was the accomplishment of both the former miraculous 
 appearances from Iieaven, the one at the consecration of Aaron, 
 the other at the consecration of this material temple. Dr. Jack- 
 son.
 
 Solomon dimisseth the people. 
 
 IT. CHRONICLES. God*s second appearance to him. 
 
 Brfcr. the king and all the people dedicated the 
 '^^^:"" house of God. 
 
 .,o,«n. t) 'And the priests waited on their of- 
 xi. 16. fices • the Levites also with instruments of 
 musick of the Loud, which David the 
 king had made to praise the Lord, be- 
 cause his mercy endurelh for ever, when 
 t Hcb.*y David praised t by their ministry ; and the 
 ^nrhamu p^jests souiuled trumpcts before them, and 
 
 all Israel stood. 
 
 7 Moreover Solomon hallowed the mid- 
 dle of the court that rcas before the house 
 of the Lord : for there he offered burnt 
 offerings, and the fat of the peace offer- 
 ings, because the brasen altar which Solo- 
 mon had made was not able to receive the 
 burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, 
 and the fat. 
 
 8 IF Also at the same time Solomon kept 
 the feast seven days, and all Israel with 
 him, a very great congregation, from the 
 
 «joih.is.s. entering in of Hamath unto "the river of 
 Egypt. 
 
 9 And in the eighth day they made ta 
 solemn assembly : for they kept the dedi- 
 cation of the altar seven days, and the 
 feast seven days. 
 
 10 And on the three and twentieth day 
 of the seventh month he sent the people 
 away into their tents, glad and merry in 
 heart for the goodness that the Lord had 
 shewed unto David, and to Solomon, and 
 to Israel his people. 
 
 1 1 Thus ' Solomon finished the house of 
 the Lord, and the king's house : and all 
 that came into Solomon's heart to make in 
 the house of the Lord, and in his own 
 house, he prosperously effected. 
 
 12 % And the Lord appeared to Solo- 
 mon by night, and said unto him, I have 
 
 ^D«ut 12. heard thy prayer, ' and have chosen this 
 place to myself for an house of sacri- 
 fice. 
 
 13 If I shut up heaven that there be 
 no rain, or if I command the locusts to 
 
 t Heb. 
 • mlrainl. 
 
 • 1 Kings 
 ». I, &c 
 
 13. If I shut up heaven &c.] God here again declares to So- 
 lomon, that His dispensations of mercies or judgments would al- 
 ■ways l)e in proportion to the virtuous or disobedient behaviour of 
 the iieople ; that their conscientious regard to the laws of their 
 rehgion would never fail, to draw down upon them continued 
 blewrngs ; and their true repentance and reformation of life to 
 stop the misenes that at any time befell them : but th.it wh'eH- 
 ever they drgeneratcd into obstinate idolatry and irreligion nei- 
 ther the pn-mises made to David, nor the name of Israel' nor 
 the splendour of the temple, would screen them from the Divine 
 vengwnce; ihey should become wretcheil even to a proverb 
 «l!Ll :.? ^°'f"' ^ acknowledge that the slavery of the 
 
 whole nation, and the desolation of their sacred tempk are but 
 jurt retnbuuon. of Heaven for their bgratitude tmder the c to 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST? 
 
 1004. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 vjioJi whom 
 viy name is 
 cuUed. 
 
 « Chip. K. 
 
 40. 
 
 t Heb. 
 totUeprnyer 
 (ifthisplace, 
 » Chap. 6. 6. 
 
 ' Chap. 6. 
 
 16. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 There shiiU 
 not be cut 
 off to titer. 
 k Lev. 26. 
 14. 
 
 Deut. 2S. 
 15. 
 
 devour the land, or if I send pestilence 
 among my people ; 
 
 li If my people, t which are called by 
 my name, shall humble themselves, and 
 pray, and seek my face, and turn from 
 their wicked ways ; then will I hear from 
 heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will 
 heal their land. 
 
 15 Now ^ mine eyes shall be open, and 
 mine ears attent t unto the prayer that is 
 made in this place. 
 
 16 For now have " I chosen and sancti- 
 fied this house, that my name may be there 
 for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart 
 shall be there perpetually. 
 
 17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk 
 before me, as David thy father walked, and 
 do according to all that I have commanded 
 thee, and shalt observe my statutes and 
 my judgments ; 
 
 18 Then will I stablish the throne of thy 
 kingdom, according as I have covenanted 
 with David thy father, saying, ' t There 
 shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in 
 Israel. 
 
 19 " But if ye turn away, and forsake 
 my statutes and my commandments, which 
 I have set before you, and shall go and 
 serve other gods, and worship them ; 
 
 20 Then will I pluck them up by the 
 roots out of my land which I have given 
 them ; and this house, which I have sanc- 
 tified for my name, will I cast out of my 
 sight, and will make it to be a proverb and 
 a byword among all nations. 
 
 21 And this house, which is high, shall 
 be an astonishment to every one that pass- 
 eth by it ; so that he shall say, ' Why hath 
 the Lord done thus unto tliis land, and 
 unto this house ? 
 
 22 And it shall be answered. Because 
 they forsook the Lord God of their fa- 
 thers, which brought them forth out of the 
 land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, 
 and worshipped them, and sei-ved them : 
 
 favours and blessings, by forsaking the great God who so merci- 
 fully bestowed them. P^/le. 
 
 1 4. If mif people, — shall humble themselves, — and turn &c.] 
 Solomon is here instructed, that the only way, by whicli God 
 can be reconciled to a sinful people, is, by their prosecuting 
 their fasting and humiliation to the actual reformation and 
 amendment of their lives ; that it is ever the proper fruit of re- 
 pentance, to forsake our sins and become better for the future, 
 more pious and devout towards God, more sober and chaste with 
 regard to ourselves, more just and charitable, meek and humble 
 towards all men. Without this, humiliation and prayer will 
 signify nothing; sorrow and tears will have no avail to save 
 our o^vn souls, or to preserve our generation from destruction. 
 Abp. TiiloUon. 
 
 ' Deut. 39^ 
 
 24. 
 
 Jer. 22. ^- 
 
 9.
 
 Solomon's buildings. 
 
 CHAP. viir. 
 
 CHRi'sT therefore hath he brought all this evil up- 
 1004. on them. 
 
 CHAP. vni. 
 
 1 Solomon's buildings. 7 T/ie Gaifiles which were left 
 Solomon made trilmlaries ; but the Ismcliles rulers. 
 1 1 Pharaoh's daughter removeth to her house. 12 So- 
 lomon's ycarli) solemn sacrifices. 14 He appointcth 
 the priests and Lcvites to their places. 1 7 The navy 
 felcheth goldfrmn Ophir. 
 
 AND ^ it came to pass at the end of 
 
 desired to 
 iuild. 
 
 992. 
 
 a'io,'&^ -^~^ twenty years, wherein Solomon had 
 built the house of the Lord, and his own 
 house, 
 
 2 That the cities which Huram had re- 
 stored to Solomon, Solomon built them, 
 and caused the children of Israel to dwell 
 there. 
 
 3 And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, 
 and prevailed against it. 
 
 4 And he built Tadraor in the wilder- 
 ness, and all the store cities, which he 
 built in Hamath. 
 
 5 Also he built Beth-horon the upper, 
 and Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, 
 with walls, gates, and bars ; 
 
 6 And Baalath, and all the store cities 
 that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, 
 
 ^Hei>. and the cities of the horsemen, and tall 
 oiiihede.nre ^jiat Solomou dcsired to build in Jerusa- 
 
 <y Solomon , i-xi ii i ii 
 
 u'liiciihe lem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all 
 the land of his dominion. 
 
 7 % As for all the people that were left 
 of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the 
 Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebus- 
 ites, which xcere not of Israel, 
 
 8 Hut of their children, who were left 
 after them in the land, whom the children 
 of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon 
 make to pay tribute until this day. 
 
 9 But of the cliildren of Israel did So- 
 lomon make no servants for his work ; but 
 they wcf^e men of wai", and chief of his 
 captains, and captains of his chariots and 
 horsemen. 
 
 Chap. VIII. ver. 2. That the cities ivhich Huram had restored 
 &c.] Here is a short relation of what is told more largely at 
 1 Kings ix. 12, 13: only we are further informed in this place, 
 that Solomon rebuilt the cities, after they were restored to him 
 by Huram, so that his own subjects became the inhabitants. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — u'crd to Hamath-zobah,'] Probably the country lying be- 
 tween the Euphrates and Damascus. Bochart. Perhaps the coun- 
 try is so called, as being a part of the kingdom of Hamath, seized 
 on by the king of Zobah. Br. IVells. See notes at Numb. xiii. 21 ; 
 x-xxiv. 2; 2 Sam. viii. 9; and 1 Kings viii. 0"j. 
 
 11. — ,1/y n-ife shall not dwell in the house ofDarid] " The ark 
 
 of the Lord" had dwelt for a considerable time in the house of 
 
 David, where a tabernacle had been made on purpose for it. On 
 
 tliis account, Solomon thought that especial regard should be paid 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 His yearly solemn sacrifices. 
 
 10 And these icere the chief of king B<*>re 
 Solomon's officers, even two hundred and ^"^2^^^ 
 fifty, tliat bare rule over the people. 
 
 11 ^ And Solomon " brought up the " ' King* 
 daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of ^■'•*^•*• 
 David unto the house that he had built 
 
 for her : for he said. My wife shall not 
 dwell in the house of David king of Israel, 
 because the j^laces are t holy, whereunto \ Hcb. 
 the ark of the Lord hath come. Ao/w«i. 
 
 12 ^ Then Solomon offered burnt offer- 
 ings unto the Lord on the altar of the 
 Lord, which he had built before the 
 porch, 
 
 13 Even after a certain rate every "day, ' E10A29. 
 offering according to the commandment ^^' 
 
 of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new 
 moons, and on the solemn feasts, " three \f'^°^ ^^ 
 times in the year, even in the feast of un- Dem. ig. 
 leavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, *®" 
 and in the feast of tabernacles. 
 
 14 % And he appointed, according to 
 
 the order of David his father, the ' courses ' 1 ciiron. 
 of the priests to their service, and the Le- ^^' '" 
 vites to their charges, to praise and minis- 
 ter before the priests, as the duty of every 
 day required : the ^ porters also by their ' 1 Cbroa. 
 courses at every gate : for t so had David ^'ueb. 
 the man of God commanded. »<* ^"^ "'« 
 
 15 And they departed not from the wn"'o^ ' 
 commandment of the king unto the priests Oaiidti,e 
 
 ■I 1 ■ ■ manoJGad. 
 
 and Levites concerning any matter, or con- 
 cerning the treasures. 
 
 IG Now all the work of Solomon was 
 prepared unto tiie day of the foundation 
 of the house of the Lord, and until it was 
 finished. So the house of the Lord was 
 perfected. 
 
 17 ^ Then went Solomon to Ezion-ge- 
 ber, and to 11 Eloth, at the sea side in the II Ot, 
 land of Edom. Ueuus. s. 
 
 18 And Huram sent him by the hands 
 of his servants ships, and servants that had 
 knowledge of the sea ; and they went with 
 
 to a place, which had been employed for so sacred an end, and 
 would not sufter his Avife, who was a stranger, though a proselj-te 
 to the Jewish religion, to keep her court there : for she and her 
 servants might in many ways liave defiled a place, which had 
 been made sacred by the symbol of the Divine presence dwelling 
 there. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. — David the man of GocT] It is observable that David is 
 here called " the man of God" as Moses had been ; because, after 
 Moses, there was none like him divinely inspired, to raise the 
 publick worship to a higher pitch by his heavenly hymns ; and 
 to direct the manner of its performance in proper order. Solo- 
 mon was a very wise man in natural knowledge, and in political 
 affairs, and in moral and Divine things ; but he was much infe- 
 riour to David both in true piety, and in the gift of propbecy. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5 H
 
 The queen ofSheha admire th 
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 the "wisdom of Solomon. 
 
 B*rorc the servants of Solomon to Opliir, and 
 ^^'Va.'^"^ took thence four hundred and titty talents 
 of gold, and brought them to knig Solo- 
 mon. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 1 TIte queen of Slieba admirelh the wisdom of Solomon. 
 13 Solomon's soltl. 15 Hit largels. 17 The throne 
 ofiwni. »O^His vessels. i:3 His presents. 25 His 
 chariots and horse. 26 His tributes. 29 Hu reign 
 and death. 
 
 •bout 9<j:. 
 * 1 Kiugs 
 10. I.ic. 
 Malt 12. 
 
 Luke 1 1. 
 31. 
 
 g Or, 
 butlert. 
 
 AN D * when the queen of Sheba heard 
 of the fame of Solomon, she came to 
 prove Solomon with hard questions at Je- 
 rusalem, with a very great company, and 
 camels that bare spices, and gold in abun- 
 dance, and precious stones : and when she 
 was come to Solomon, she communed with 
 him of all that was in her heart. 
 
 2 And Solomon told her all her ques- 
 tions : and there was nothing hid from So- 
 lomon which he told her not. 
 
 3 And when the queen of Sheba had 
 seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house 
 that he had built, 
 
 4 And the meat of his table, and the sit- 
 ting of his servants, and the attendance of 
 his ministers, and their apparel ; his || cup- 
 bearers also, and their apparel ; and his as- 
 cent by which he went up into the house 
 of the Lord ; there was no more spirit in 
 her. 
 
 5 And she said to the king, It was a true 
 t report which I heard in mine own land 
 of thine II acts, and of thy wisdom : 
 
 G Howbeit I believed not their words, 
 until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: 
 and, behold, the one iialf of the greatness 
 of thy wisdom was not told me : Jbr thou 
 exccedest the fame that I heard. 
 
 7 Happy are thy men, and happy are 
 these thy servants, which stand continually 
 before thee, and hear thy wisdom. 
 
 8 Blessed be the Loud thy God, which 
 delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, 
 to be king for the Loud thy God : because 
 thy God loved Israel, to establish them for 
 ever, therefore made he thee king over 
 them, to do judgment and justice. 
 
 9 And she gave the king an hundred 
 and twenty talents of gold, and of spices 
 great abundance, and precious stones : nei- 
 ther was there any such spice as the queen 
 ot Sheba gave king Solomon. 
 
 «he^Sv; S-rh"- ^" "l"'"f '" "" ^■"-'^ "•" ^"'I'l In these words 
 
 fHeb. 
 word. 
 B Or, 
 
 takings. 
 
 10 And the servants also of Huram, and 
 the servants of Solomon, which brought 
 gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and 
 precious stones. 
 
 1 1 And the king made of the algum trees 
 II t terraces to the house of the Lord, and 
 to the king's palace, and harps and psalte- 
 ries for singers : and there were none such 
 seen before in the land of Judah. 
 
 12 And king Solomon gave to the queen 
 of Sheba all Tier desire, whatsoever she 
 asked, beside that which she had brought 
 unto the king. So she turned, and went 
 away to her own land, she and her servants. 
 
 13 % Now the weight of gold that came 
 to Solomon in one year was six hundred 
 and threescore and six talents of gold ; 
 
 14 Beside that which chapmen and mer- 
 chants brought. And all the kings of 
 Arabia and II governors of the country 
 brought gold and silver to Solomon. 
 
 15 ^ And king Solomon made two hun- 
 dred targets of beaten gold : six hundred 
 shekels of beaten gold went to one target. 
 
 16 And three hundred shields made lie 
 of beaten gold : three hundred shekels of 
 gold went to one shield. And the king 
 put them in the house of the forest of 
 Lebanon. 
 
 17 Moreover the king made a great 
 throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure 
 gold. 
 
 18 And there were six steps to the throne, 
 with a footstool of gold, which were fasten- 
 ed to the throne, and t stays on each side 
 of the sitting place, and two lions standing 
 by the stays : 
 
 19 And twelve lions stood there on the 
 one side and on the other upon the six 
 steps. There was not the like made in 
 any kingdom. 
 
 20 ^ And all the drinking vessels of king 
 Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels 
 of the house of the forest of Lebanon were 
 of t pure gold : || none were of silver ; it 
 was 720^ any thing accounted of in the days 
 of Solomon. 
 
 21 For the king's ships went to Tarshish 
 with the servants of Huram : every three 
 years once came the ships of Tarshish bring- 
 ing gold, and silver, || ivory, and apes, and 
 peacocks. 
 
 22 And king Solomon passed all the kings 
 of the earth in riches and wisdom. 
 
 Befure 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 992. 
 
 II Or, 
 stay/s. 
 t Hcb. 
 Itighwat/i. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 captiim ^ 
 
 fHeb 
 
 tiand'i^ 
 
 I 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 shut up, 
 II Or, 
 there was 
 no sitver 
 in them. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 ele/iltiints^ 
 teclh. 
 
 
 ledges Solomon to be made king " for the Lord his God ;" that'ls^ 
 not only to ride by His authority, and as His deputy ; but for Hi4 
 glory, and to promote His religion. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Solomon* s reign and death. 
 
 CHAP. IX, X. 
 
 Rehoboam his son succeeds. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 992. 
 
 ' 1 Kings 
 4. 26. 
 
 = Gen. 15. 
 18. 
 
 II That is, 
 jEupkrates* 
 t Heb. 
 gave. 
 
 ^ 1 Kings 
 
 10. 28. 
 iliap. 1. 16. 
 ' 1 Kings 
 
 11. 41. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 toortls, 
 
 ' Chap. 12. 
 15. 
 
 975. 
 
 " I King? 
 J2. 1, &c. 
 
 23 ^ And all the kings of the earth sought 
 the presence of Solomon, to hear his wis- 
 dom, that God had put in his heart. 
 
 24 And they brought every man his pre- 
 sent, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, 
 and raiment, harness, and spices, horses, 
 and mules, a rate year by year. 
 
 25 % And Solomon ^ had four thousand 
 stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve 
 thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed 
 in the chariot cities, and with the king at 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 26 ^ And he reigned over all the kings 
 " from the || river even unto the land of the 
 Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. 
 
 27 And the king t made silver in Jeru- 
 salem as stones, and cedar trees made he 
 as the sycomore trees that are in the low 
 plains in abundance. 
 
 28 '' And they brought unto Solomon 
 horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands. 
 
 29 IF Now the rest of the ' acts of Solo- 
 mon, first and last, ar-e they not written in 
 the t book of Nathan the prophet, and in 
 the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and 
 in the visions of ^ Iddo the seer against Je- 
 roboam the son of Nebat ? 
 
 30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem 
 over all Israel forty years. 
 
 31 And Solomon slept with his fathers, 
 and he was buried in the city of David his 
 father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in 
 his stead. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 1 The Israelites, assemhhd at SJiechem to crown Reho- 
 boam, by Jeroboam make a suit of relaxation unto him. 
 6 Rehoboam, refusing the old men's counsel, by the ad- 
 vice of young men answerctk them roughly. 16 Ten 
 tribes revolting kill Hadoram, and make Rehoboam 
 to fee. 
 
 AND " Rehoboam went to Shechem: 
 for to Shechem were all Israel come 
 to make him king. 
 
 2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam 
 the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, whi- 
 ther he had fled from the presence of So- 
 lomon the king, heard it, that Jeroboam 
 returned out of Egypt. 
 
 3 And they sent and called him. So 
 
 24. — and raiment,'] Presents of raiment are still frequently 
 made in these countries to the great. Thevenot tells us it was 
 the custom in Egypt, in his time, for the consuls of the European 
 nations to send to the basha and his officers valuable presents of 
 vestments, whene\ er a new basha arrived, or a new consul enter- 
 ed on his office. Harmer. 
 
 29. — in the book of Nathan the prophet, &c.] See note at 
 1 Kings xi. 41. It is there stated only generally, that his acts 
 were written in " the book of the acts of Solomon." We are here 
 told the particular books in which tliey were recorded. The last 
 
 Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to 
 Rehoboam, saying, 
 
 4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: 
 now therefore ease thou somewhat the 
 grievous servitude of thy father, and his 
 heaxy yoke that he put upon us, and we 
 will serve thee. 
 
 5 And he said unto them. Come again 
 unto me after three days. And the peo- 
 ple departed. 
 
 6 ^ And king Rehoboam took counsel 
 with the old men that had stood before 
 Solomon his father while he yet lived, say- 
 ing. What counsel give ye me to return 
 answer to this people? 
 
 7 And they spake unto him, saying. If 
 thou be kind to this people, and please 
 them, and speak good words to them, they 
 will be thy servants for ever. 
 
 8 But he forsook the counsel which the 
 old men gave him, and took counsel with 
 the young men that were brought up with 
 him, that stood before him. 
 
 9 And he said unto them. What advice 
 give ye that we may return answer to this 
 people, which have spoken to me, saying. 
 Ease somewhat the yoke that thy father 
 did put upon us ? 
 
 10 And the young men that were brought 
 up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus 
 shalt thou answer the people that spake 
 unto thee, saying. Thy father made our 
 yoke heavy, but make thou /'/ somewhat 
 lighter for us; thus shalt thou say unto 
 them. My \iX.i\e Jinger shall be thicker than 
 my father's loins. 
 
 1 1 For whereas my father t put a hea\T t "<*• 
 yoke upon you, I will put more to your 
 yoke: my father chastised you with whips, 
 
 but I xd'll chastise you with scorpions. 
 
 12 So Jeroboam and all the people came 
 to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king 
 bade, saying. Come again to me on the 
 third day. 
 
 13 And the king answered them rough- 
 ly; and king Rehoboam forsook the coun- 
 sel of the old men, 
 
 14 And answered them after the advice 
 of the young men, saying, My father made 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 975. 
 
 of these authors, Iddo, wrote also the acts of Rehoboam, chap. xii. 
 15; some suppose that he livwl till the time of Asa, chap. xv. 1, 
 where he is called Oded. We need not suppose that the three 
 %\Titers here mentioned joined to make one book; but they seve- 
 rally and distinctly gave an account of such things as occurred 
 to their knowledge; out of which, it is probable, the author of 
 these books of Chronicles took many thiugs which are here sup- 
 plied. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. X. For notes on this chapter, 8e«,tho9e on 1 Kings xii. 
 5H 2
 
 The toi tribes reiollfrom Rehohoam. II. C H R O 
 
 Brf- your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: 
 ""J,-7 inv 'iit'i^T chastised you with whips, but 1 
 
 NICLES. 
 
 He strengtheneth his kingdom. 
 
 c 
 
 tbuul V 
 
 ai7/ chastise you with scorpious. 
 
 15 So the king hearkened not unto the 
 people: for the cause was of God, that the 
 Louu might perform his word, which he 
 
 . I King, spake by the "^ hand of Ahijah the Shdonite 
 
 "•*'•'• to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 
 
 IG If And when ;dl Israel sa',i) that the 
 king would not hearken unto them, the 
 people answered the king, saying, What 
 portion ha\e we in David? and ae have 
 none inheritance in the son of Jesse: every 
 man to your tents, O Israel : and now, Da- 
 vid, see to thine own house. So all Israel 
 went to their tents. 
 
 17 But as for the children of Israel that 
 dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam 
 reigned over them. 
 
 18 Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram 
 that xvas over the tribute ; and the children 
 of Israel stoned him with stones, that he 
 
 t Hri.. died. But king Rehoboam t made speed 
 ",7htmM ^^ S^^ '"'" "P ^^ '"* chariot, to flee to Je- 
 rusalem. 
 
 19 And Israel rebelled against the house 
 of David unto this day. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 1 Rehoboam raising an army to subdue Israel, is forbid- 
 den bi/ Shcmaiah. 5 He strengtheneth his kingdom 
 with forts and provision. 1 3 The priests and Levites, 
 and such as feared God, forsaken by Jeroboam, 
 strengthen the kingdom of Judah. 18 The nives and 
 children of Rehoboam. 
 
 ' I Kinp AND' when Rehoboam was come to 
 J2.8i,ie. 2\ Jerusalem, he gathered of the house 
 of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and 
 fourscore thousand chosen ?«e«, which were 
 warriors, to fight against Israel, that he 
 might bring the kingdom again to Reho- 
 boam. 
 
 '2 But the word of the Lord came to 
 Shemaiali the man of God, saying, 
 
 3 Speak unto Rehoboam the son of So- 
 lomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in 
 Judah and Benjamin, saying. 
 
 Chap. XI. ver. G. He built cicn Beth-lehem, &c.] By " builcl- 
 inp" it is meant, here as in other passages, that he rep'aired and 
 fortified places which were built before. 
 
 1 3_ And the priests and the Levites &c.] The wicked changes 
 which Jeroboam had made in matters of religion, becam* a fur- 
 tlier addition of strength to Rehoboam; for the priests and Le- 
 vites were eitl.er expelled from tlicir habiutions amoiic the ten 
 tribes, or voluntarily deserted their habitations, and" came to 
 Jerusalem; Jeroboam having set up the worship of the golden 
 calvis, !ind made pnesLs out of the laity for the service of his 
 uIoU. pffle. 
 
 " ltC?v?^t '*','''^^'I1 The Hebrew word here signifies 
 d-T'L} 'fl'T'^ ''■'^' " '''™ fO">n'only used for demons or 
 ^£l t fu '^''""™'"«t"'"«: ^''o. according to the notions 
 pnrvaumg m those limes, wwe supposed to appear under this 
 
 4 Thus saith the Loud, Ye shall not go ^hrTst 
 up, nor fight against your brethren: return about »75. 
 every man to his house: for this thing is 
 
 done of me. And they obeyed the words 
 of the Lord, and returned from going 
 against Jeroboam. 
 
 5 % And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, 
 and built cities for defence in Judah. 
 
 6 He built even Beth-lehem, and Etam, 
 and Tekoa, 
 
 7 And Beth-zur, and Shoco, and Adul- 
 1am, 
 
 8 And Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph, 
 
 9 And Adoraim, and Lacliish, and Aze- 
 kah, 
 
 10 And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, 
 which a7'e in Judah and in Benjamin fenced 
 cities. 
 
 1 1 And he fortified the strong holds, and 
 put captains in them, and store of victual, 
 and of oil and wine. 
 
 12 And in every several city he put 
 shields and spears, and made them exceed- 
 ing strong, having Judah and Benja"min on 
 his side. 
 
 13 ^ And the priests and the Levites ^''*- 
 that were in all Israel t resorted to him out t Heb. 
 of all their coasts. «aIiL".'ii«« 
 
 14 For the Levites left their suburbs '"''"«• 
 and their possession, and came to Judah 
 
 and Jerusalem: for "Jeroboam and his 'Chap. is. 
 sons had cast them off from executing the 
 priest's office unto the Lord: 
 
 1.5 And he ordained him priests for the 
 high places, and for the devils, and for the 
 calves which he had made. 
 
 16 And after them out of all the tribes 
 of Israel such as set their hearts to seek 
 the Lord God of Israel came to Jerusa- 
 lem, to sacrifice unto the Lord God of 
 their fathers. 
 
 17 So they strengthened the kingdom of 
 Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of 
 Solomon strong, three years: for three 
 years they walked in the way of David 
 and Solomon. 
 
 shape. Pi/le. As we no where read of Jeroboam having set up 
 or allowed any other false worship than tlsat of the golden calves, 
 we may reasonably conclude t'lat by the word "devils" are meant 
 these idols: — perhaps it should be translated, " for devils, even 
 for tlie calves which he had made." Dr. Wells. See note at 
 Lev. .wii. 7. 
 
 !"• — '" the wail of David and Solomon.'] Although the num- 
 ber of people which came to him out of all the tribes added great 
 strength to Rehoboam's kingdom, yet his power was chiefly owing 
 to (Jod, who prelected and assisted" him as long as he and his peo- 
 ple continued in the way ■ .f his predecessors, Da\id and Solomon. 
 It is observable, that in these words Solomon is mentioned as an 
 example of true piety, as well as David: this is probably said with 
 reference to the greater part of his reign, before the period of his 
 old age, when he forsook the law of Moses. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Eehoboam's 'wives and children. 
 
 CHAP. XI, XII. 
 
 He is punished by Hhishck. 
 
 chkTst ^^ ^ ^^^ Rehoboam took him Maha- 
 974. lath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of 
 
 David to wife, and Abihail the daughter of 
 
 Eliab the son of Jesse ; 
 . 19 Which bare him children ; Jeush, 
 
 and Shamariah, and Zaham. 
 '- I King? 20 And after her he took " Maachah the 
 
 daughter of Absalom ; which bare him 
 
 Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelo- 
 
 mith. 
 
 21 And Rehoboam loved Maachah the 
 daughter of Absalom above all his wives 
 and his concubines : (for he took eighteen 
 wives, and threescore concubines ; and be- 
 gat twenty and eight sons, and threescore 
 daughters.) 
 
 22 And Rehoboam made Abijah the son 
 of Maachah the chief, to he ruler among 
 his brethren : for he thought to make him 
 king. 
 
 23 And he dealt wisely, and dispersed 
 of all his children throughout all the coun- 
 tries oi Judah and Benjamin, unto every 
 fenced city : and he gave them v'ictual 
 in abundance. And he desired t many 
 
 t Hel). 
 
 a multitude 
 
 af wives. WlVCS. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 1 Rehoboam, fursahing the Lord, is punished hy Shishak. 
 5 He and Ike priiices, repmting at the preaching of 
 Shemaiah, are delivered from destruction, but nut front 
 spoil. 13 The reign uml death of Rehoboam. 
 
 AND it came to pass, when Rehoboam 
 had established the kingdom, and had 
 strengthened himself, he forsook the law 
 of the Lord, and all Israel with him. 
 
 2 And it came to jjass, that in the fifth 
 year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of 
 1 Kings Egypt came up against Jerusalem, ' be- 
 cause they had transgressed against the 
 Lord, 
 
 972. 
 
 971. 
 
 14. '-'I, 2J. 
 
 21. — for he took eighteen ivives,'\ When we read of ihe man)' 
 instances which occur of the kings of Israel disobeying the law of 
 God, which commanded them not to multiply wives, we should 
 alw.-iys bear in mind that, in those days, the desire of having 
 abui'.'ljmce of children was extremely great, and that barrenness, 
 or tlie want of children, was esteemed tlie greatest possible un- 
 happmess. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 23. And he dealt wiseli/, and di.tpcrscd S:c.|] It seems probable 
 that, on his designing to make Abijah his son king, who was one 
 of his jounger sons, the other sons took great offence, and shewed 
 a disposition of rebellion ; and his method of preventing the ef- 
 fects of this was to send them away from court, and to disperse 
 them through the kingdom by preferring them to the govern- 
 ment of several small towns : and " he gave them victual in a- 
 bundance," that is, enabled them to live with splendour a*id 
 abundance. Pyle. 
 
 Chap. XII. ver. 1. — he forsook the law of the Lord, '2 As Reho- 
 boam's mother was an Ammonitess, it is probable that he received 
 an education ^vhich iiauirally led to idolatry, or to an indifference 
 to true religion. Rp. fVilson. 
 
 3 With twelve hundi-ed chariots, and »«'■""■« 
 threescore thousand horsemen : and the ^"^n!^^ 
 people Tvere without number that came 
 
 \yith him out of Egyyt ; the Lubims, the 
 Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians. 
 
 4 And he took the fenced cities which 
 pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusa- 
 lem. 
 
 5 ^ Then came Shemaiah the prophet 
 to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, 
 that were gathered together to Jerusalem 
 because of Shishak, and said unto them, 
 Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken 
 me, and therefore ha\e I also left you in 
 the hand of Shishak. 
 
 6 Whereupon the princes of Israel and 
 the king humbled themselves ; and they 
 said. The Lord is righteous. 
 
 7 And when the Lord saw that they 
 humbled themselves, the word of the Lord 
 came to Shemaiah, saying. They have hum- 
 bled themselves ; there/ore I will not de- 
 stroy them, but I will grant them II some I Or. « 
 deliverance ; and my wrath shall not be '""' '^'"^ 
 poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of 
 Shishak. 
 
 8 Nevertheless they shall be his ser- 
 vants ; that they may know my service, 
 and the service of the kingdoms of the 
 countries. 
 
 9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up 
 against Jerusalem, and took away the trea- 
 sures of the house of the Lord, and the 
 treasures of the king's house ; he took all: 
 he carried away also the shields of gold 
 which Solomon " had made. ' Chap. s. 
 
 10 Instead of which king Rehoboam '^" 
 made shields of brass, and committed them 
 to the hands of the chief of the guard, that 
 kept the entrance of the king's house. 
 
 2. — in the fifth iiear~\ Their apostasy took place in the fourth 
 year of Rehoboani's reign, (after tiiey had been tlu-ee years olie- 
 dient, chap. xi. 1" ;) thefer>)re God speedily corrected them, that 
 He might reduce Uiem to His service, before tliey were settled ia 
 their impiety. Bp. PalricI: 
 
 3. — the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians.^ The Lu- 
 bims were, no doubt, the people of Libya, a famous country in 
 Africa, bordering on Egypt. The Sukkiims are thought to have 
 lived near the Red sea, and to h«ve been so named from their 
 living in caves and (lens of the earth, the word from %vhich the 
 name is derived signifying a C3\-e or den ; hence they are tliought 
 to have been the same with a people called Troglodites, inhabit- 
 in" those parts, whose habits of life were of tl)is description. Th« 
 people called Cush, (which we translate Ethiopians,) were either 
 those to the south of Egj-pt, or in Arabia ; for, as has been ob- 
 served before, the name applied to botli. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. — that theif may knuw my service, &C.3 That they may feel 
 the difference between being under My protection, and being 
 abai^.doned by Me ; between the blessings which attend a true 
 course of piety, :md the wretclied effects of irreljgion and lewd-« 
 ness. Pylf-
 
 Rehobom's reign and death. 
 
 11. 
 
 CHRONICLES. Ah'yah maketk 'war against Jeroboam, 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 971. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 and yr< rn 
 Judak thtTC 
 vrrf iliKHi 
 (AlHjS. 
 
 ' 1 Kinp 
 M. ■2\. 
 
 t Or.Jlrn/. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 wrdt. 
 
 950. 
 * 1 Kinirs 
 IS. !,ic. 
 
 t H.h. 
 Mtr. 
 
 1 1 And when the king entered into the 
 house of the Lokd, the guard came and 
 fetched them, and brought them again 
 into the guaid clunnbor. 
 
 12 And when he humbled liunself, the 
 wrath of tlie Lono turned from him, that 
 he would not destroy hhn altogether : II and 
 also in Judah things went well. 
 
 13 ^ So king Rchoboam strengthened 
 iiimself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for 
 ' Rehoboam aa.? ouq and forty years old 
 when lie began to reign, and he reigned 
 seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city 
 which the Lord had chosen out of all the 
 tribes of Israel, to put his name there. 
 And his mother's name "was Naamah an 
 Ammonitcss. 
 
 11 And he did evil, because he || pre- 
 pared not his heart to seek the Loud. 
 
 15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and 
 last, are they not written in the t book of 
 Shcmaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the 
 seer concerning genealogies ? And tJiere 
 were wars between Rehoboam and Jero- 
 boam continually. 
 
 l(i And Rehoboam slept with his fa- 
 thers, and was buried in the city of Da- 
 vid : and Abijah his son reigned in his 
 stead. 
 
 CHAP. xm. 
 
 I Ahijak xucceeding makclh war against Jerolioavi. 4 
 He tieciareth the ri^lil of his cause. 13 Trnsling in 
 God he overcomeih Jeroboam. 21 The wives and 
 children of Ahijak. 
 
 NOW 'in the eighteenth year of king 
 Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over 
 Judah. 
 
 'Z He reigned three years in Jerusalem. 
 
 His mother's name also "was Michaiah the 
 
 daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there 
 
 was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 
 
 3 And Abijah t set the battle in array 
 
 1-- — and also in Judah ihiiiirs went well.'] Affairs began again 
 to prosper. But the words in tlie Hebrew are, " there were good 
 things in Judah," whieh may be understood of the reformation 
 matle in the whole kingfloin ; many good tilings being found 
 amongst them in the niid-t of their corruption. It is probable 
 th«t the priests kept up the worship of God in its purity, and 
 many pooil j>eop\e joined in it, especially those who had flal from 
 the uloJatries of Jerobo.Tm. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. — he did ci'il, because he prepared not &c.1 He did evil 
 
 agwn, because he set not his heart sincerely to seek or foUow the 
 
 Lortl. lYr. }\ ills, 
 
 iJ^]^f^\^-}- T- •■ ~ "" '^*<''"'* """^ — ^fichaiah the daudi- 
 Wnin"1^M ^' u"-'" f '^'^ •■^V^'^P- ^'- ■-«' 21. tliat his mother 
 
 .J; K x'?' " '^^""^ ^" "^e ^■•'« Ijoth Michaiah and Ma- 
 
 ' 1 Kings 
 12. 2S. 
 
 with an army of valiant men of war, even c^rTst 
 four hundred thousand chosen men: Je- sss. 
 roboam also set the battle in array against 
 him with eight hundred thousand chosen 
 men, being mighty men of \'alour. 
 
 1. ^ And Abijah stood up upon mount s"- 
 Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, 
 and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all 
 Israel ; 
 
 5 Ought ye not to know that the Lord 
 God of Israel gave the kingdom over Is- 
 rael to David for ever, eve7i to him and to 
 his sons by a covenant of salt ? 
 
 C Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the 
 servant of Solomon the son of David, is 
 risen up, and hath " rebelled against his ' i Ki"8^ 
 lord. 
 
 7 And there are gathered unto him 
 vain men, the children of Belial, and have 
 strengthened themselves against Rehobo- 
 am the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam 
 was young and tenderhearted, and could 
 not withstand them. 
 
 8 And now ye think to withstand the 
 kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the 
 sons of David ; and ye he a great multi- 
 tude, and there are with you golden calves, 
 which Jeroboam " made you for gods. 
 
 9 " Have ye not cast out the priests of the ^' chap.n. 
 Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, '''• 
 and have made you priests after the man- 
 ner of the nations of other lands ? so that 
 whosoever cometh tto consecrate himself t "eb. 
 with a young bullock and seven rams, the hand. " 
 same may be a priest of thtm that are no 
 
 gods. 
 
 10 But as for us, the Lord is our God, 
 and we have not forsaken him ; and the 
 priests, which minister unto the Lord, are 
 the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait 
 upon their business : 
 
 11 "And they burn unto the Lord 'Chap. 2.4. 
 every morning and every evening burnt sa- 
 
 4. — and said, Hear me, &c.] Of course it is not meant that 
 he addressed the whole army of Jeroboam, but that he entered on 
 a parley with Jeroboam and his principal officers, to see if matters 
 could be accommodated without bloodshed. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — a covenant of salt F"^ See notes on Levit. ii. 13 ; Numb, 
 xviii. 19. 
 
 7. — whe?i Rehoboam was i/ouvg and tenderhearted,'^ Not young 
 in years, but in the conduct of government, (for Rehoboam was 
 forty years old when he began to reign, chap. xii. 1 3.) The mean- 
 ing is, that Rehoboam acted at first as young and inexperienced 
 princes are wont to do. P,i/le. 
 
 11. And they burn unto the Lord even/ morning &c.] Abijah, in 
 his address to the Israelite army, is thus particular in detailing 
 these matter>, in order to put them in mind with what regidai-ity 
 and solemnity the worship of God was kept up in Judah, which 
 they had not seen for gome years, and perhaps had forgotten. 
 Bp. Patrick.
 
 and overcometh him. 
 
 CHAP. XIII, XIV. 
 
 Asa destroyelh idolatry. 
 
 CHR°isT ^^'ifi^^^ ^"'^ sweet incense : the '^shewbread 
 957. also set they in order upon the pure table ; 
 
 'Lev. 24. and the candlestick of" gold with the lamps 
 thereof, to burn every ev ening : for we 
 keep the charge oi the Lord our God ; 
 but ye have forsaken him. 
 
 12 And, behold, God himself is with us 
 for our captain, and his priests with sound- 
 ing trumpets to cry alarm against you. 
 O children of Israel, fight ye net against 
 the Lord God of your fathers ; for ye shall 
 not prosper. 
 
 13 if But Jeroboam caused an ambush- 
 ment to come about behind them : so they 
 were before Judah, and the ambushment 
 "was behind them. 
 
 14 And when Judah looked back, be- 
 hold, the battle ivas before and behind : 
 and they cried unto the Lord, and the 
 priests sounded with the trumpets. 
 
 15 Then the men of Judah gave a shout: 
 and as the men of Judah shouted, it came 
 to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and aU 
 Israel before Abijah and Judah. 
 
 16 And the children of Israel fled be- 
 fore Judah : and God delivered them into 
 their hand. 
 
 17 And Abijah and his people slew 
 them with a great slaughter : so there fell 
 down slain of Israel five hundred thousand 
 chosen men. 
 
 18 Thus the children of Israel were 
 brought under at that time, and the chil- 
 dren of Judah prevailed, because they 
 relied upon the Lord God of their fa- 
 thers. 
 
 857. 19 And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, 
 
 and took cities from him, Beth-el with 
 the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the 
 towns thereof, and Ephrain with the towns 
 thereof. 
 
 20 Neither did Jeroboam recover 
 strength again in the days of Abijah : and 
 the Lord struck him, and he died. 
 
 21 ^ But Abijah waxed mighty, and 
 married fourteen wives, and begat twenty 
 and two sons, and sixteen daughters. 
 
 H Or, com- 22 And the rest of the acts of Abijah, 
 mciunry. and liis wavs, and his sayings, are written 
 
 'Cliap.l2. . ,, _ ,. ^r' '_i-.U U„^ ETJJ„ 
 
 • Cliap. 
 15. 
 
 in the |i story of the prophet ^ Iddo. 
 
 >^"'i"f^ 
 
 jiii^ 
 
 13. Bui Jeroboam caused an amhushmeni &C.3 Jeroboam, it 
 appuars, made no reply to this address of Abijah ; but he seems 
 to have been so struck with the effect it might produce, that 
 he would not trust to his superiour numbers, but had recourse 
 to artifice for the purpose of conquering his enemy. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 15, -^md as the men of Judah shouted, &C.3 They gave a shout 
 for the purpose of terrifying their enemies with this mark of tlieir 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1 Asa succeeding dcstroi/elh idolatry. 6 Having peace, 955. 
 he strengthenelh his kingdom with forts andarmies. 
 9 Colling on Cod, he overthrowelh Zerah, and spoileth 
 the Ethiopians. 
 
 SO Abijah slept with his fathers, and '^^■ 
 they buried him in the city of David : 
 and * Asa his son reigned in his stead. In ' .' ^'"s^ 
 his days the land was quiet ten years. 
 
 2 And Asa did that ■which teas good and 
 right in the eyes of the Lord his God : 
 
 3 For he took away the altars of the »i^o"t osi. 
 strange gods, and the high places, and 
 brake down the t images, and cut down t Heb. 
 
 ,1 statue.'. 
 
 the groves : 
 
 4 And commanded Judah to seek the 
 Lord God of their fathers, and to do the 
 law and the commandment. 
 
 5 Also he took away out of all the cities 
 
 of Judah the high places and the t images ; ,„„ ,>,a»«. 
 and the kingdom was quiet before him. 
 
 6 % And he built fenced cities in Ju- 
 dali : for the land had rest, and he had no 
 war in those years ; because the Lord had 
 given him rest. 
 
 7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us 
 build these cities, and make about them 
 walls, and towers, gates, and bars, rvhile 
 the land is yet before us ; because we have 
 sought the Lord our God, we have sought 
 him, and he hath given us rest on every 
 side. So they built and prospered. 
 
 8 And Asa had an army of men that bare 
 targets and spears, out of Judah three hun- 
 dred thousand ; and out of Benjamin, that 
 bare shields and drew bows, two hundred 
 and fourscore thousand : all these iverc 
 mighty men of valour. 
 
 9 1[ " And there came out against them ^ ^^- ^^ 
 Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a s. 
 thousand thousand, and three hundred 
 chariots ; and came unto Mareshah. 
 
 10 Then Asa went out against him, and 
 they set the battle in array in the valley of 
 Zephathah at Mareshah. 
 
 11 And Asa cried unto the Lord his 
 God, and said. Lord, it is ' nothing witli '^^1 s™. 
 thee to help, whether with many, or with 
 them that have no power : help us, O Lord 
 
 our God J for we rest on thee, and in thy 
 
 confidence in the victory : and " God smote Jeroboam and all 
 Israel before Abijah and Judah ;" that is, tliey were struck with 
 such terroiu- that tb.ey fled without striking a blow, and suffered a 
 vast slaughter, such as is scarcely paralleled in history. Pi/lc. 
 22. — the prophet Iddo.2 See note at 2 Chron. ix. 29- 
 
 Chap. XIV. ver. 9. — the Ethiopian] Rather, the Arabian, king 
 of Arabian Ethiopia. See note at Numb, xii, 1.
 
 Mft, moved by Azariah, 
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 malceth a covenant mth God. 
 
 iwfur, name wc go ajrainst tl.is multitude. O 
 
 c'""^'" Loiu), thou art our God j let not || man 
 
 I o"^'" prevail a^'ainst thee. . 
 
 luric^imKi. ii> So the Lord smote the Ethiopians 
 
 befbre Asa, and belore Judah ; and the 
 
 Ethiopians Hod. 
 
 \3 And Asa and the people that ivere 
 with him pursued them unto Gerar : and 
 the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they 
 could not recover themselves; for they 
 A uri. were t destroyed before the Loud, and be- 
 *~*'* fore his host ; and they carried away very 
 much spoil. 
 
 11. And they smote all the cities round 
 about Gerar ; for the fear of the Lord came 
 upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; 
 for there was exceeding much spoil in them, 
 15 They smote also the tents of cattle, 
 and carried away sheep and camels in 
 abundance, and returned to Jerusalem. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 1 Asa iiiih Judah ami mami of Israel, moved hy the 
 prophecy of Axariah the sun of Oded, make a solemn 
 covenant with God. l6 He pulteth down Maiichah 
 his mother /or her idulalri/. 18 He briiigelh dedieaie 
 things into the house of God, and etijotjcth a long 
 ]>cace. 
 
 AND the Spirit of God came upon Aza- 
 riah the son of Oded : 
 
 '2 And he went out to t meet Asa, and 
 said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all 
 Judah and Benjamin ; The Loud is with 
 you, while ye be with him ; and if ye seek 
 him, he will be found of you ; but if ye 
 forsake him, he will forsake you. 
 
 3 Now for a long season Israel Jiath been 
 without the true God, and without a teach- 
 ing priest, and without law. 
 
 f Heb. 
 btforeJiu. 
 
 12. So Ike iMrd smote &.C.'] Asa had called upon the Lord 
 with profound humility and sure trust and confidence ; and the 
 Ethiopians were put to flijrht. Thus God blesses and protects 
 religious princes, and, in general, those who are truly zealous for 
 His giorj- ; and, if He suffers them to he exposed to great dan- 
 gers, He displays His power Jn their behalf, and delivers them. 
 Ottcrvald. 
 
 '*• —for ll'f fetir of the Lord came upon them ;] The inha- 
 bitants, seeing so vast a host defeatetl, had no courage to defend 
 themselves. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XV. ver. 2. — The T^rd is nith you, &c.] God hath been 
 pieas«l to bless you with a glorious victory over an enemy far su- 
 pcriour to you in number and strength, in reward for the justice 
 anil puty you have hitherto exercised ; and you may expect con- 
 limul successes, upon your cheerful perseverance in the wavs of 
 Urtue and religion. Pyle. This is a prophecy which is wcU'wor- 
 bJ. H-iwl°"* ""^"^ ""^ ^^ ^™^' ''"'^ ^>' "" "^^'on^ »n'l people. 
 
 do^ on!/'T " '""^ 'T^" ^^■'^ ^'■'"" ''"' *""<= ^^•'i''" tlie king. 
 ofJeroi!' T^T^ f'""™ ^''"'- ^''^'^'^'^ <-'■ -Ju'lah in the d.ys 
 
 ^S^Td"^:^-^ ^'^" "•^'°"' '^^ '™« ^od, and witiio .t 
 
 a teaching pnest, for they have not woraliippeJ the true God, 
 
 4 But when they in their trouble did ^hrTst 
 turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and 911. 
 sought him, he was found of them. 
 
 ^^ And in those times there was no peace 
 to him that went out, nor to him that came 
 in, but great vexations iiiere upon all the 
 inhabitants of the countries. 
 
 And nation was t destroyed of nation, t Heb. 
 and city of city: for God did vex them J;^™ "' 
 with all adversity. 
 
 7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not 
 your hands be weak : for your work shall 
 be rewarded. 
 
 8 And when Asa heard these words, 
 and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he 
 took courage, and put aw ay the t abomina- t iiei.. 
 ble idols out of all the land of Judah and "J'^^J^'"'"" 
 Benjamin, and out of the cities which he 
 
 had taken from mount Ephraim, and re- 
 newed the altar of the Lord, that was be- 
 fore the porch of the Lord. 
 
 9 And he gathered all Judah and Ben- 
 jamin, and the strangers with them out of 
 Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Si- 
 meon : for they fell to him out of Israel in 
 abundance, when they saw that the Lord 
 his God rcas with him. 
 
 10 So they gathered themselves together 
 at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fif- 
 teenth year of the reign of Asa. 
 
 1 1 And they offered unto the Lord 
 
 t tiie same time, of the spoil xc/iich they t "^''■ 
 had brought, seven hundred oxen and se- '" ' '"' "^' 
 ven thousand sheep. 
 
 1*2 And they entered into a covenant to 
 seek the Lord God of their fathers with 
 all their heart and with all their soul ; 
 
 13 That whosoever would not seek the 
 
 but the golden calves, and all the true priests have gone into the 
 land of Judah. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. But when they in their trouble did liirn~^ If we follow the 
 common inteqiretation which respects the present and ftiture state 
 of Israel, these words should rather be translated, " If in their 
 trouble they had turned, &c. they should have found Him." 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 These expressions in the iih, 5th, and fith verses, seem to be 
 applicable either to past or future times. Thus the general sense 
 may be. Take warning from the dealings of Providence with 
 the Israelites, either in ancient times, or in their present apostasy, 
 from God's worship; or with respect to what is threatened against 
 them, if they for the future should persist in their disobedience to 
 the Divine laws. You never saw, nor ever will see them given 
 up to idolatry and impiety, but you always did, and always will 
 find them embroiled in wars and confusion, and wretched be- 
 yond expression ; as, on the other hand, you will find the mercies 
 of Heaven extended towai-ds them upon their repentance and 
 reformation. Pylc. 
 
 8. — the prophecy of Oded} Probably a short expression for 
 " the prophecy of the son of Oded ;" although some think that 
 the father may have prophesied as well as the son, ami foretold 
 the same calamities. Bj). Patrick
 
 Asa putteth doum Maachah's idolatry/. CHAP. XV, X VI. 
 
 The building ofRamnh prevented. 
 
 15. 1:5. 
 
 horror. 
 
 chrTst ^^^^ God of Israel ^ should be put to 
 941. death, whether small or great, whether 
 »Dcut.i3. man or woman. 
 
 ^' 14 And they sware unto the Lord with 
 
 a loud voice, and with shouting, and with 
 trumpets, and with cornets. 
 
 15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath : 
 for they had sworn with all their heart, and 
 sought him with their whole desire ; and 
 he was found of them : and the Lord gave 
 them rest round about. 
 '1 Kings 16 ^ And also concer?iing ^ Maachah the 
 mother of Asa the king, he removed her 
 from being queen, because she had made 
 t Heb. an t idol in a grove : and Asa cut down 
 her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the 
 brook Kidron. 
 
 17 But the high places were not taken 
 away out of Israel : nevertheless the heart 
 of Asa was perfect all his days. 
 
 18 ^ And he brought into the house of 
 God the things that his father had dedi- 
 cated, and that he himself had dedicated, 
 silver, and gold, and vessels. 
 
 19 And there was no more war unto the 
 five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa. 
 
 CHAP. XVL 
 
 1 Asa, by the aid of the Syrians, diverleth Baasha from 
 building of Ramnk. 7 Being reproved thereof by Ila- 
 tiatii, he putteth him in prison. 1 1 Among his other 
 acts in his disease he seekcth ?iot to God, but to the 
 physicians. 13 His death and burial. 
 
 940. 
 = 1 Kings 
 1.',. 17. 
 
 IN the six and thirtieth year of the reign 
 of Asa ' Baasha king of Israel came up 
 
 17. — the high places were not taken away out (if Israel:'^ It 
 had been said twice in the preceding chapter, tliat Asa did take 
 away the high places, ver. 3, 5, but that related to Judah ; whereas, 
 out of the territories he had conquered iij tlie land of Israel, we 
 are here informed, he was not able to remove them. Or the 
 meaning may be, that he gave orders for the removal of the high 
 places, which were not obeyed. Or, as others think, he took 
 away the high places which were de^■oted to the service of idols, 
 but suffered those to remain which were employed in the worship 
 of the true God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.'] By comparing 
 these words with chap. xvi. 7. to the end, it plainly appears that 
 their meaning is nothing more than that Asa kept himself from 
 idolatry to the last ; though, in other instances, in the latter end 
 of his life, he w-as not so religious as he ought to have been. 
 Pyle. 
 
 ig. — there was no more irar] That is, as some interpret, there 
 was no more war with the Ethiopians, or other such people, 
 though with Baasha king of Isr.-iel he had perpetual wai-, 1 Kmgs 
 XV. 16. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XVI. ver. 1. In the .<!ix and thirtieth year of the reign of 
 Asa] A considerable difficulty arises from comparing this pas- 
 sage with 1 Kings xv. 3S ; for there it is said, that " in the third 
 year of Asa began Baasha to reign," and that he reigned " twent_y- 
 four year.s;" so that the last year of Baasha's reign must answer to 
 about the twenty-sixth year of Asa, and consequently Baasha 
 must have been dead about nine or ten years before the thirt}'- 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 against Judah, and built Ramah, to the in- Before 
 tent that he might let none go out or come ^^^V.^"^' 
 m to Asa king of Judah. 
 
 2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold 
 out of the treasures of the house of the 
 Lord and of the king's house, and sent to 
 Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at 
 
 t Damascus, saying, t Heb. 
 
 3 Tliere is a league between me and ■°''""«'*- 
 thee, as there u^as between my father and 
 
 thy father : behold, I have sent thee sil- 
 ver and gold ; go, break thy league with 
 Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart 
 from me. 
 
 4 And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king 
 Asa, and sent the captains of t his armies t Heb. 
 against the cities of Israel; and they smote '^^'''""" 
 Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the 
 
 store cities of Naphtah. 
 
 5 And it came to pass, when Baasha 
 heard it, that he left off building of Ra- 
 mah, and let his work cease. 
 
 6 Then Asa the king took all Judah; 
 and they carried away the stones of Ra- 
 mah, and the timber thereof^ wherewith 
 Baasha was building ; and he built there- 
 with Geba and Mizpah. 
 
 7 IT And at that time Hanani the seer 941. 
 came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto 
 him, Because thou hast relied on the king 
 
 of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy 
 God, therefore is the host of the king of 
 Syria escaped out of thine hand. ^Chap.i4. 
 
 8 Were not " the Ethiopians and the t Heb. 
 Lubims t a huge host, with very many cha- „"","" * 
 
 sixth year of Asa's reign. Of this difficulty, which has been 
 much discussed by learned men, two principal solutions have been 
 proposed. According to the one, which is supported by the au- 
 thority of Josephus, it is supposed that the transcribers of the 
 original copies have committed a mistake in the number, and that 
 it should be written the twenty-sixth year of Asa, instead of the 
 thirty-sixth, (as also at ver. I9 of the last chapter, the twenty -fifth 
 instead of thirty-fifth,) which will make it the last year of his 
 reign when Baasha " came up against Judah." According to the 
 other solution, we are to understand by the words, " In the thirty- 
 sixth year of the reign of Asa," not actually the thirty-sixth year 
 of Asa's reign, but the thirtj'-sixtli year of the kingdom of Judali 
 over whidi he reigned, that is, from the time of the separation 
 under Jeroboam ; agreeably to which the translation slwuld be, 
 " the thirtj'-sixth year of the kingdom of ,\sa," that is, tlie king- 
 dom of Judah. This method of solving the difficulty has a great 
 number of learned commentators for its support. Bp. Patrick, 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 3. There is a league between me and thee,'] Here was another 
 instance of false policy, to send to an infidel king, wlu-n God had 
 so lately rescued him from a much greater army. And, what 
 added to the sin, he gave him the treasure whicli he had devoted 
 to God. Bp. Wilson. These words may be translated, " Let there 
 be a league between me and thee." Houbigant. 
 
 7. — at that time Hanani the seer] Here follows a remarkable 
 history .-ulded to what we read in the book of Kings, (1 Kings xv.) 
 which relates the great weakness of Asa in his declining years, 
 and God's displeasHre at it. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Asa's death and burial. 
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 Jehoshaphat succeedeth him. 
 
 1 
 
 I Or 
 
 kM villi 
 
 l\c. 
 
 enuhtit. 
 
 nrror. riots and Iiorscmcn ? yet, because thou 
 *^",',V^^^ tliilst rely on the Loito, lie delivered them 
 into thine hand. 
 
 !» For the eves of the Lono run to and 
 fro throughout the whole earth, II to shew 
 himself strong in the behalf of ///m whose 
 heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou 
 hast done foolishly : therefore from hence- 
 forth thou shalt have wars. 
 
 10 Then Asa was wroth with the seer, 
 and put him in a prison house ; for he xcas 
 in a rage with him because of this thing. 
 And Asa t oppressed some of the people 
 the same time. 
 
 1 1 % And, behold, the acts of Asa, first 
 and last, lo, they are written in the book 
 of the kings of Judah and Israel. 
 
 1-2 And Asa in the thirty and ninth 
 year of his reign was diseased in his feet, 
 until his disease xcas exceeding great : yet 
 in his disease he sought not to the Lord, 
 but to the physicians. 
 
 13 f And Asa slept with his fathers, 
 and died in the one and fortieth year of 
 his reign. 
 
 14- And they buried him in his own s» 
 pulchres, which he had t made for himself 
 in the city of David, and laid him in the 
 bed which was filled with sweet odours and 
 divers kinds of spices prepared by the apo- 
 thecaries' art : and they made a very great 
 burning for him. 
 
 CHAP. XVH. 
 
 1 Jehoshaphat, siicceedins Asa, reigneth well, and pros- 
 lierelh. 7 He semklli Levites with the princes lo 
 
 914. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 diggeii. 
 
 9. Fur Ihc n/es of the Lord &C.3 The Prophet Hanani teaches 
 us, in these beautiful expressions, that God grants and continues 
 His favours only lo those who serve Him with an upright and sin- 
 cere heart. The change now wrought in Asa shews that it is of 
 no consequence to have bcf;un well, and to have done our duty for 
 «ome time, if w-e do not persevere. This is a warning to persons 
 of pious dispositions to be on their guard, lest, by growing care- 
 less and remi!,>;, they deprive themselves of the protection of God, 
 and the elTects of His love. Ostervald. 
 
 tlerdn thou hast done foolishli/ :'\ He was defective in his 
 
 inward tmst and confidence' in Goil, and " foolish" in relying 
 rather on the axm of man than on tlic Divine protection. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 . '*■ — ■^"' — 'i'"* dUeated in his feel,'] The diseases mentioned 
 in }H-riplurc are described by so few svmptoms, that physicians 
 hardly know how to determme them. ' Such is the case in this 
 instance of Asa. Script. iUiist. Expo.<!. I„d. 
 
 he sought not lo the Urd, but lu the physicians.l It is not 
 
 meant that he committed a fauH in desiring the help of the phv- 
 «ic.ans; but in trusting to their skill more than to the goodness 
 ma power ot God, to whom he did not address lii^ prayers b»it 
 PWr"c* "' '"°'™" '"''"^' "t" putting confidence in man. ' Bp. 
 
 . riin^whih l!'f. "^^ ''^.("^'•"■^,1 Such was the dark end of 
 Io3vSt « *^"" f "'^ ^""tmued for a series of years with 
 «o manj br.ghi virtue, and exceUencies. He died a melancholy 
 
 ' 1 Kings 
 15. 2'J. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 gone. 
 
 yi3. 
 
 II That is 
 was eitcow 
 raged. 
 
 912. 
 
 teach Jtidah. 10 His enemies being terrified by God, ^^<f^% 
 some of them bring him presents and tribute. 12 His ^^^^^l^'^ 
 greatness, captains, and armies. 
 
 AND 'Jehoshaphat his son reigned in 
 his stead, and strengthened himself 
 against Israel. 
 
 2 And he placed forces in all the fenced 
 cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the 
 land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, 
 which Asa his father had taken. 
 
 3 And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, 
 because he walked in the first ways of his 
 father David, and sought not unto Baa- 
 lim ; 
 
 4 But sought to the LORD God of his 
 father, and walked in his commandments, 
 and not after the doings of Israel. 
 
 5 Therefore the Lord stablished the 
 kingdom in his hand ; and all Judah 
 t brought to Jehoshaphat presents ; and he 
 had riches and honour in abundance. 
 
 G And his heart II was lifted up in the 
 ways of the Lord : moreover he took away 
 the high places and groves out of Judah. 
 
 7 ^ Also in the third year of his reign 
 he sent to his princes, eve^i to Ben-hail, 
 and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to 
 Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in 
 the cities of Judah. 
 
 8 And with them he sent Levites, cve?i 
 Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, 
 and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jeho- 
 nathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and 
 Tob-adonijah, Levites ; and with them Eli- 
 shama and Jehoram, priests. 
 
 9 And they taught in Judah, and had 
 
 instance of the weakness and depravity of human nature. How- 
 ever, from regard to h^p former services, he was honourably in- 
 teiTed in the royal sepulchre, (ver. 14,) in a vault which he had 
 made for himself, which he appointed to be decked and perfumed 
 with great art ; and the court celebrated his funeral with burn- 
 ing great quantities of spice, and other similar testimonies of re- 
 spect. P>/le. 
 
 1 4. — and divers kinds of spices^ The embalming of bodies 
 had been a very ancient custom, as it was adopted in the burial of 
 Jacob. Some think that the circumstance of his ordering his 
 body to be embalmed, and buried after the manner of the Gen- 
 tiles, is here mentioned as a blamable piece of vanity, in addition 
 to his other offences. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 they made a very great burning for him.'\ The burning 
 
 seems to have been not of his body, but of odours and spices at 
 his fimeral. Dr. Wall. 
 
 C^ap. XVII. ver. 7. — he sent to his princes, &c.'] To attain 
 more effectually his good end of establishing ti-ue religion, and 
 rooting out idolatry, he made it his early care to have a number 
 of priests and Levites (ver. 8) in all his chief towns, to read and 
 teach the law of God to the people, as it was laid down in the 
 original Scriptures ; and he appointed some of his " princes," that 
 IS, magistrates, to see it regularly done. Pyle. When princes 
 thus take care of religion and the service of God, they may ex- 
 pect the favour and protection of God, as this prince experienced 
 so eignally. Bp. fVitsoit.
 
 His greatness, captains, and armies. CHAP. XVII, XVIII, 
 the book of the law of the Lord with 
 
 He goeth against Ramoth-gHead. 
 
 tHeb, 
 wnt. 
 
 lOr, 
 
 palaces. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 nt his hand 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 912. them, and went about throughout all the 
 cities of Judah, and taught the people. 
 
 10 ^ And the fear of the Lord t fell 
 upon all the kingdoms of the lands that 
 •were round about Judah, so that they made 
 no war against Jehoshaphat. 
 
 11 Also some of the Philistines brought 
 Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; 
 and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven 
 thousand and seven hundred rams, and se- 
 ven thousand and seven hundred he goats. 
 
 12 ^ And Jehoshaphat waxed great ex- 
 ceedingly; and he built in Judah I castles, 
 and cities of store. 
 
 13 And he had much business in the ci- 
 ties of Judah: and the men of war, mighty 
 men of valour, tcere in Jerusalem. 
 
 14 And these are the numbers of them 
 according to the house of their fathers: 
 Of Judah, the captains of thousands; Ad- 
 nah the chief, and with him mighty men 
 of valour three hundred thousand. 
 
 15 And t next to him xvas Jehohanan 
 the captain, and with him two hundred 
 and fourscore thousand. 
 
 16 And next him "dcas Amasiah the son 
 of Zichri, who willingly offered himself 
 unto the Lord; and with him two hun- 
 dred thousand mighty men of valour. 
 
 17 And of Benjamin; Eliada a mighty 
 man of valour, and with him armed men 
 with bow and shield two hundred thou- 
 sand. 
 
 18 And next him teas Jehozabad, and 
 with him an hundred and fourscore thou- 
 sand ready prepared for the war. 
 
 19 These waited on the king, beside 
 those whom the king put in the fenced ci- 
 ties throughout all Judah. 
 
 CHAP. XVIIL 
 
 1 Jehoshaphat , joined in affinity with Ahah, is persuaded 
 to go with him against Ramoth-gilcad. 4 Ahah, se- 
 duced by false prophets, according to the word of Mi- 
 caiah, is slain there. 
 
 NOW Jehoshaphat had riches and ho- 
 nour in abundance, and joined affi- 
 nity with Ahab. 
 
 11. — the Philistines brought &c.] They voluntarily paid him 
 their tribute, which it is probable had been neglected in the time 
 of some of his predecessors, though imposed on them by David. 
 
 and the Arabians brought him flocks,'] The Arabians 
 
 courted liis favour, and made him rich presents of flocks, in which 
 their wealth principally consisted. Bp. Patrick, Pyle. 
 
 14. And these are the numbers &C.3 The names of tlie com- 
 manders are mentioned, and the number of tlieir troops. From 
 which it appears, that, so mightily did the nation prosper under 
 the religious administration of this king, that though he possessed 
 little more .than a third part of the ancient dominions of Israel, 
 
 897. 
 
 Before 
 
 ., , CHRIST 
 Ahab S97. 
 
 2 ' And t after certain years he went 
 down to Ahab to Samaria. And 
 killed sheep and oxen for him in abund- • i Kings 
 ance, and for the people that he had with ^-j,;,, 
 him, and persuaded him to go up -with him Itihe'enJ 
 to Ramoth-gilead. if;/ears. 
 
 3 And Ahab king of Israel said unto Je- 
 hoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go 
 with me to Ramoth-gilead? And he an- 
 swered him, I am as thou art, and my peo- 
 ple as thy people; and xi'e mil be with thee 
 in the war. 
 
 4 ^ And Jehoshaphat said unto the king 
 of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word 
 of the Lord to day. 
 
 5 Therefore the king of Israel gathered 
 together of prophets four hundred men, 
 and said unto them, Shall we go to Ra- 
 moth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? 
 And they said, Go up; for God will de- 
 liver it into the king's hand. 
 
 6 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not 
 here a prophet of the Lord t besides, that t Hd,. 
 we might enquire of him ? m'jr^' 
 
 7 And the king of Israel said unto Je- 
 hoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom 
 we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate 
 him; for he never prophesied good unto 
 me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah 
 the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, 
 Let not the king say so. 
 
 8 And the king of Israel called for one 
 
 of his II officers, and said, t Fetch quickly a Or, 
 Micaiah the son of Imla. ™1"J,*'- 
 
 9 And the king of Israel and Jehosha- Hasten. 
 phat king of Judah sat either of them on 
 
 his throne, clothed in their robes, and they 
 sat in a || void place at the entering in of H Or,/»«r, 
 the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets 
 prophesied before them. 
 
 10 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah 
 had made him horns of iron, and said, 
 Thus saith the Lord, With these thou shalt 
 push Syria until t they be consumed. t "<*• 
 
 11 And all the prophets prophesied so, ,amVr/i"m. 
 saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and pros- 
 per: for the Lord shall deliver it into the 
 
 hand of the kincr. 
 
 yet he was able to raise above a million of men capable of bear- 
 ing arms, which exceeded the proportion that even David had. 
 Pyle. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. ver. S. — J am as t/toit art, &c.] The Prophet 
 Hanani had before cautioned his father Asa against forming an 
 alliance with the king of Sj-ria, chap. xvi. 7; and Jehoshaphat 
 is afterwards reproved for it at chiap. six. 2; xx. 37- Bf- P"' 
 trick. 
 
 In all that follows in this chapter there is scarcely any thing 
 different from what occurs in the book of Kings. See 1 Kings 
 xxii. 
 
 .5 IS
 
 Ahah, seduced by false prophets, 11. CHRONICLES 
 
 Brf""! IC And the messenger tliat went to call 
 - . t, ■ ■ 
 
 1" 
 
 is slain at Ramoth-ffilead. 
 
 f Hi-I>. 
 mmlh. 
 
 g Or, 
 
 iulfuT tvil. 
 
 ^","7'^^ Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the 
 words of the prophets declare good to the 
 kinfj t witli one assent j let thy word there- 
 fore^ I pray thee, be like one of their's, and 
 speak thou good. 
 
 18 And Micaiaii said, As the Lord 
 liveth, even what my God saith, that will 
 I speak. 
 
 14 And when he was come to the king, 
 the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we 
 go to Rainotli-giiead to battle, or shall I 
 forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and pros- 
 per, and they shall be delivered into your 
 nand. 
 
 IJ Anc! the king said to him, How many 
 times shall I adjure thee that thou say no- 
 thing but the truth to me in the name of 
 the Lord ? 
 
 IG Then he said, I did see all Israel 
 scattered upon the mountains, as sheep 
 that have no shepherd: and the Lord 
 said. These have no master; let them re- 
 turn tliereforc e\ery man to his house in 
 peace. 
 
 17 And the king of Israel said to Jeho- 
 shaphat. Did I not tell thee that he would 
 not prophesy good unto me, II but evil ? 
 
 18 Again he said, Therefore hear the 
 word of the Lord; I saw the Lord sitting 
 upon his throne, and all the host of heaven 
 standing on his right hand and on his left. 
 
 19 And the Lord said. Who shall entice 
 Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up 
 and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spake 
 saying after this manner, and another say- 
 ing after that manner. 
 
 •Jul. 1.6. -20 Then there came out a " spirit, and 
 stood before the Lord, and said, I will en- 
 tice him. And the Lord said unto him, 
 « herewith ? 
 
 ;^1 And he said, I will go out, and be a 
 lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets 
 And the LORD said, Thou shalt entice 
 him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, 
 and do eien so. 
 
 2'-' Now therefore, behold, the Lord 
 hath put a lying spirit in the moutli of 
 these thy prophets, and the Lord hath 
 spoken evil against thee. 
 
 23 Then Zedekiah the son of Chena- 
 
 anah came near, and smote Micaiah upon 
 
 the cheek, and said. Which way went the 
 
 I Or. ^P'"t 01 the Lord from me to speak unto 
 fnmtkni. tuee? ^ 
 
 '^■""^ 24. And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt 
 see on that day when thou shalt go jj into 
 t an inner chamber to hide thyself? 
 ^o ihen the king of Israel said, Take y 
 
 t H*. 
 
 a Aambtr 
 in a cAam- 
 ter. 
 
 »e 
 
 Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the chr°ist 
 governor of the city, and to Joash the 8»7. 
 king's son; 
 
 26 And say. Thus saith the king, Put 
 i\ih fellow in the prison, and feed him with 
 bread of affliction and with water of afflic- 
 tion, until I return in peace. 
 
 27 And Micaiah said. If thou certainly 
 return in peace, then hath not the Lord 
 spoken by me. And he said. Hearken, all 
 ye people. 
 
 28 So the king of Israel and Jehosha- 
 phat the king of Judah went up to Ra- 
 moth-gilead. 
 
 29 And the king of Israel said unto Je- 
 hoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will 
 go to the battle; but put thou on thy 
 robes. So the king of Israel disguised 
 himself; and they \vent to the battle. 
 
 30 Now the king of Syria had com- 
 manded the captains of the chariots that 
 were with him, saying, Fight ye not with 
 small or great, save only with the king of 
 Israel. 
 
 31 And it came to pass, when the cap- 
 tains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that 
 they said, It is the king of Israel. There- 
 fore they compassed about him to fight: 
 but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord 
 helped him; and God moved them to de- 
 part from him. 
 
 32 For it came to pass, that, when the 
 captains of the chariots perceived that it 
 was not the king of Israel, they turned 
 back again t from pursuing him. t Hcb. 
 
 33 And a certain man drew a bow t at •^;;" •'^"' 
 a venture, and smote the king of Israel f ^:^''-. 
 
 t between the joints of the harness : there- j,!^''^.'""' 
 fore he said to his chariot man. Turn thine t Hcb. 
 hand, that thou mayest carry me out oi fXtiVid 
 the host ; for I am t wounded, between the 
 
 34- And the battle increased that day: fneb."''" 
 howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself """'^ '"''''• 
 up in his chariot against the Syrians until 
 the even: and about the time of the sun 
 going down he died. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 1 Jehoshaphat, reproved ly Jehu, visitclh hit kingdotn. 
 5 His insiruclions to llie judges, 8 to tlie priests and 
 Leviles. 
 
 AND Jehoshaphat the king of Judah 
 returned to his house in peace to Je- 
 rusalem, 
 
 2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer 
 went out to meet him, and said to king Je- 
 hoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the un- 
 godly, and love them that hate the Lord ? 
 
 sse.
 
 Jehoshapkai visiteth his Jdngdom. 
 
 CHAP. XIX, XX. 
 
 He proclaimeth a fast. 
 
 /M?n°/ST therefore is wrath upon thee from before 
 
 89C. the LiORD. 
 
 'Chap. 17. 3 Nevertheless there are 'good things 
 ^■^- found in thee, in that thou hast taken 
 
 away the groves out of the land, and hast 
 prepared thine heart to seek God. 
 
 4 And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem : 
 t Heb. and t he went out again through the peo- 
 uyi7wmt' pie from Beer-sheba to mount Ephraim, 
 •«<• and brought them back unto the Lord 
 
 God of their fathers. 
 
 5 % And he set judges in the land 
 throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, 
 city by city, 
 
 6 And said to the judges, Take heed 
 what ye do : for ye judge not for man, but 
 
 t Heb, for the Lord, who is with you t in the 
 
 in the mnl- • j , 
 
 ter ofjudg. judgment. 
 
 ment. J AVliercfore now let the fear of the 
 
 Lord be upon you ; take heed and do it : 
 for there is no iniquity with the Lord our 
 
 ' Deut. 10. God, nor '' respect of persons, nor taking 
 
 job M. 19. of gifts. 
 
 Acts 10. 54. 8 ^ Moreover in Jerusalem did Jeho- 
 
 Gai™2. 6. shaphat set of the Levites, and qf the 
 
 jPet. 1. 17. priests, and of the chief of the fathers of 
 Israel, for the judgment of the Lord, and 
 for controversies, when they returned to 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 9 And he charged tliem, saying. Thus 
 shall ye do in the fear of the Lord, faith- 
 fully, and with a perfect heart. 
 
 10 And what cause soever shall come to 
 you of your brethren that dwell in their 
 cities, between blood and blood, between 
 
 Chap. XIX. ver. 4. — he went out again through the people &c.] 
 Resolving to make tlie utmost amends for his miscarriage, by pro- 
 moting a further reformation in his kingdom, he made a progress 
 in person through all the principal towns, and settled the magi- 
 stracy with such care and exactness, that all irregularities, both 
 in sacred and civil matters, might be either prevented or duly 
 punished ; giving a severe charge to them to execute the laws 
 ■with perfect courage and impartiality, as they woidd answer it to 
 God, whose vicegerents they were. Pjjle. 
 
 8. — for the judgment of the Lord, and for controversies,'] These 
 words are variously expounded, some underst;uiding by the 
 " judgment of the Lord," causes about .sacred matters ; and by 
 " controversies," some imderstanding civil causes, others criminal 
 and capital. It is sufficient to say, that they tiied all sorts of 
 causes. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. And what cause soever shall come to >iou~\ It is meant, what- 
 soever cause shall come to you by way of appeal from the other 
 cities, in which it was the custom of the judges to refer matters 
 of great difficulty to this supreme court at Jerusalem. 
 
 between blood and blood,'] Probably meaning, in a question 
 
 of bloodshed, whether it was volunfciry or accidental. 
 
 ye shall even mam them that they trespass not] This seems 
 
 to be a command that they should not only pronounce a righteous 
 sentence in every cause that came before them ; but that they 
 should admonish him who was in the w'rong, and all other per- 
 sons in the like case, to beware of injuring their iieighboui'S in 
 the time to come. Bp.Efilrick. 
 
 law and commandment, statutes and judg- Before 
 ments, ye shall even warn them that they s-jg. 
 trespass not against the Lord, and so wrath 
 come upon you, and upon your brethren : 
 this do, and ye shall not trespass. 
 
 11 And, behold, Amariah the chief 
 priest is over you in all matters of the 
 Lord ; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, 
 the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the 
 king's matters : also the Levites shall he 
 officers before you. t Deal courageously, t Heb. 
 and the Lord shall be with the good. r^eanddo. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 1 Jehoshaphat in his fear proclaimeth a fast. 5 His 
 prayer. 1-i The prophecy of Jahaziel. 20 Jeho- 
 shaphat exhorleth t/ie people, and setteth singers to 
 praise the Lord. 22 The great overthrow of l/te ene- 
 mies. 26 The people, liaving blessed God at Bera- 
 cliah, return in triumph. 31 Jehoshaphat 's reign. 
 35 His convoy qfshi])s, ivhich he made with Ahaziah, 
 according to the prophecy of Eliezer, unhappily pe- 
 rished. 
 
 IT came to pass after this also, that the 
 children of Moab, and the children of 
 Ammon, and with them other beside the 
 Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to 
 battle. 
 
 2 Then there came some that told Jeho- 
 sliaphat, saying. There cometh a great 
 multitude against thee from beyond the 
 sea on this side Syria ; and, behold, they 
 he in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi. 
 
 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set 
 
 t himself to seek the Lord, and proclaim- t Heii. 
 ed a fast throughout all Judah. "f^ce. 
 
 11. — all matters qf the Lord ; &c.] Some imderstand by the 
 '' matters of tlie Lord," all sacred tilings ; and by " the king's 
 matters," all civil and political causes. Others conceive the former 
 to relate to those tilings which were defined by the law of God, 
 and were to be judged bj' that law ; and the latter, to those things 
 which, not being defined by the Divine law, were left to the 
 judgment of the king. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Deal courageously, and the Lord shall be with the good.'2 
 
 Administer justice impartially, and as persons who fe.ir not m:m 
 in the discharge of their duty to God; and the Lord will bless 
 and defend you, as long as you act like good and upright judges. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 Chap. XX. ver. 2. —from beyond the sea on this side Syria yj 
 From the Dead sea, whicli is on this (or tlie western) side of 
 Syria ; the Dead sea being the western boundary of that countrj-. 
 It seems that Jehoshaphat did not hear of the enemies' approach 
 till thev were actually in En-gedi, a place in the tribe of Ju- 
 dah. By comparing Gen. xiv. 7, with this passage, it appears 
 that Hazazon-tamar was an ancient name for En-gedi. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 3. — and proclaimed afi.ft] In important and perilous circum- 
 stances, the kings used to proclaim tasts in particular towns, or 
 tlu-ough the whole kingdom, according as tile case required. 
 Thus Jezebel proclaimed a fast in Jezreel, to procure the con., 
 demnation of Naboth, 1 Kings xxi. g. So the king of Nineveh or- 
 dained a fast in Jiis cipital, wlien lie was threatened with approach-
 
 t Hcb. 
 Ihtu. 
 
 Jehoshaphat's prtn/er. 
 
 nrf« t And JuJali gathered themselves toge- 
 ^""-'■^^ ther, to ask fielp of tlic Lord : even out of 
 '*" all the cities of Judah they came to seek 
 the Lord. . 
 
 5 % And Jehoshaphat stood m the con- 
 crregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in 
 The'^house of the Lord, before the new 
 
 court, 
 
 6 And said, O Lord God of our fathers, 
 art not tiiou God in heaven? and rulest 
 7wt thou over all tlie kingdoms of the hea- 
 then ? and in thine hand is there not power 
 and niiglit, so that none is able to with- 
 stand thee ? 
 
 7 Art not thou our God, t xcho didst 
 drive out the inhabitants of this land be- 
 fore tiiv people Israel, and gavest it to the 
 seed 0^ Abraham thy friend for ever? 
 
 8 And they dwelt therein, and have 
 built thee a sanctuary therein for thy 
 name, saying, 
 
 9 * If, xi'hcn evil cometh upon us, as the 
 sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, 
 we stand before this house, and in thy pre- 
 sence, (for thy name is in this house,) and 
 cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou 
 wilt hear and help. 
 
 10 And now, behold, the children of 
 Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom 
 
 ' ucuL !. thou *" wouldest not let Israel invade, when 
 they came out of the land of Egypt, but 
 they turned from them, and destroyed 
 them not ; 
 
 11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, 
 to come to cast us out of tliy possession, 
 which thou hast given us to inherit. 
 
 12 O our God, wilt thou not judge 
 them ? for we have no might against this 
 great company that cometh against us; 
 neither know we what to do : but our eyes 
 are upon thee. 
 
 13 And all Judah stood before the Loud, 
 
 IL CHRONICLES. 
 
 The prophecy ofjahaziel. 
 
 • Ch»p. fi 
 
 •8. 
 
 1 King! 
 
 K. :)7. 
 
 ing ruin, Jonah iii. 7. In this instance, as the danger concerned 
 the whole kingdom, a fast was proclaimed through the whole 
 kingdom. Calmct. 
 
 6. — O Lord God of our fathers, &c.] This is tlic most admir- 
 able prayer that we have recorded, as made by any of the kings. 
 Jehosluphat Ix-gins with an acknowledgment of Gods supreme 
 and irreMstibU- power, which extends over every creature in hea- 
 vcn and m earth. He then represents to his Maker, yer. 7 the 
 peculiar relation which the people of Israel had to Him.'and 
 Ujc promise of possession of their land, which they inherited from 
 Him, and the circumstance of their having built a sanctuary for 
 lis peculiar worship, ver. 8. He proceeds to represent, vef. 10 
 inc loul ingratitude and injustice of their enemies in invadinc 
 0>e.r country, when the Israelites had formerly gone out of the 
 
 11 Or, 
 vallty 
 
 with their little ones, their wives, and their cjirTst 
 children, or, ^^■ 
 
 14 ^ Then upon Jahaziel the son of Ze- 
 chariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of 
 Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the 
 sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord 
 in the midst of the congregation ; 
 
 15 And he said. Hearken ye, all Judah, 
 and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou 
 king Jehoshaphat, Tlius saith the Lord 
 unto you. Be not afraid nor dismayed by 
 reason of this great multitude; for the bat- 
 tle is not your's, but God's. 
 
 16 To morrow go ye down against them: 
 behold, they come up by the t cliff' of Ziz ; + He*, 
 and ye shall find them at the end of the "^"" 
 II brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 
 
 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this bat- 
 tle : set yourselves, stand ye still, and see 
 the salvation of the Lord with you, O Ju- 
 dah and Jerusalem : fear not, nor be dis- 
 mayed ; to morrow go out against them : 
 for the Lord will be with you. 
 
 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head 
 with his face to the ground : and all Judah 
 and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before 
 the Lord, worshipping the Lord. 
 
 19 And the Levites, of the children of 
 the Kohathites, and of the children of the 
 Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God 
 of Israel with a loud voice on high. 
 
 SO ^ And they rose early in the morn- 
 ing, and went forth into the wilderness of 
 Tekoa : and as they went forth, Jehosha- 
 phat stood and said. Hear me, O Judah, 
 and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem ; '^ Believe ' 
 in the Lord your God, so shall ye be esta- 
 blished ; believe his prophets, so shall ye 
 prosper. 
 
 21 And when he had consulted with the 
 people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, 
 and tthat should praise the beauty of holi- Iraisers. 
 
 9.— as lite sword, judgmcnl,~\ Some translate " the sword of 
 judgment." Bp. Patrick. Otherwise " the sword, or any other 
 judgment, even pestilence and famine, &c." Dr. Wells. 
 
 14. Then upon Jahaziel &c.] Jahaziel seems not to have been a 
 Pro{)het before this time, but now to liave received an immediate 
 inspiration from Gotl, for the purpose of giving comfort and as- 
 surance to the people before they stirred from the plac^ where 
 they prayed. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 16. — go ye Jo«i«] As Jerusalem was seated on an eminence, 
 they are said to " go down" from it, as their enemies are immedi- 
 ately after " to come up to it." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 SO. — Lclieve his prophets, &c.] Belief is in Scripture always 
 supposed to arise and begin from a willingness to know and be 
 informed in the will of God, and to end in actual obedience to His 
 commands so maile known. The meaning here is, " Observe and 
 obey His Prophets, obey the commandments which they deliver 
 you from God : so shall ye be partakers of the promises annexed." 
 Dr. S. Clarke. 
 
 liti. 7. 9.
 
 The great overthroiv of the enemies. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 CHRIST "^^^' ^^ *'^^7 '^^"^ ^"*^ before the army, and 
 896. to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy en- 
 dureth for ever. 
 ^J^t- .u 22 IF t And when they began t to sinff 
 
 And in the „ji • ,it "^ ~.. " 
 
 time that »"« to praise, the Lord set ambushments 
 
 +*Heb.°' ^g^'"^* the children of Ammon, Moab, 
 
 insilging and mount Seir, which were come against 
 
 V'qI'"''""- Judah ; and || they were smitten. 
 
 tkcj'smote 23 For the children of Ammon and 
 
 oneanother. Moab stood up against the inhabitants of 
 
 mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy 
 
 thevi: and when they had made an end of 
 
 the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped 
 
 t.Heb. t to destroy another. 
 
 Ztlction' 24 And when Judah came toward the 
 
 watch tower in the wilderness, they looked 
 
 unto the multitude, and, behold, they "were 
 
 IiilJetas ^^^^ bodies fallen to the earth, and t none 
 
 not an es- CSCaped. 
 
 ,:apius. 25 And when Jehoshaphat and his peo- 
 
 ple came to take away the spoil of them, 
 they found among them in abundance both 
 riches with the dead bodies, and precious 
 jewels, which they stripped off for them- 
 selves, more than they could cari"y away : 
 and they were three days in gathering of 
 the spoil, it was so much. 
 
 26 ^ And on the fourth day they as- 
 B Thatia, sembled themselves in the valley of II Be- 
 hiesnng. racliah ; for there they blessed the Lord: 
 
 therefore the name of the same place was 
 called. The valley of Berachah, unto this 
 day. 
 
 27 Then they returned, every man of 
 Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in 
 
 iiei>. the t forefront of them, to go again to Je- 
 rusalem with joy ; for the Lord had made 
 them to rejoice over their enemies. 
 
 28 And they came to Jerusalem with 
 psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the 
 house of the Lord. 
 
 29 And the fear of God was on all the 
 
 22. — the Lord set ambushments'^ The meaning seems to be, 
 that tlie ambushments which the Sj'rians had laid against Judah, 
 by a confusion among themselves, caused by the hand of God, 
 fell upon a part of their own amiy, mistaking them for their ene- 
 mies. Bp. Patricl: " The Lord" ordered tilings so, that the am- 
 bushments " which were come against .ludah," that is, which 
 were designed to fall unawares on the army of Judah, by some 
 mistake came against or fell upon the Syrians, so that they smote 
 each other. Dr. Wells. 
 
 23. — eiieri/ one helped to destroy another.'] They continued, it 
 appears, in the greatest confusion, each falling upon his neigh- 
 bour, and all imagining that they were destroying the army of 
 Judaii, which, according to the Prophet's direction, came upon 
 them early in the morning. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 27. Then they returned, — to go again to Jerusalem"^ This is a 
 further instance of then- gratitude to God for the victory, that they 
 did not return every man to his home, but went immediately to 
 Jerusalem to offer up their publick thanksgiving. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 As Jehoshaphat had called upon the Lord in the time of his 
 
 Jehoshaphat* s reign. 
 
 ettd. 
 
 ST 
 
 kmgdoms of those countries, when they ^^f°^ 
 had heard that the Lord fought against ^"s^/^ 
 the enemies of Israel. 
 
 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was 
 quiet : for his God gave him rest round 
 about. 
 
 31 ^"^And Jehoshaphat reigned over"! Kings 
 Judah: he -was thirty and five years eld 22-^'-*"=' 
 when he began to reign, and he reigned 
 twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And 
 
 his mother's name ivas Azubah the dauo-h- 
 ter of Shilhi. *= 
 
 _ 32 And he walked in the way of Asa 
 his father, and departed not from 'it, doing 
 that xvhich "was right in the sight of the 
 Lord. 
 
 33 Howbeit the high places were not 
 taken away : for as yet the people had not 
 prepared their hearts unto the God of their 
 fathers. 
 
 34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehosha- 
 phat, first and last, behold, they are written 
 
 in the tbook of Jehu the son of Hanani, t Heb. 
 ' who t is mentioned in the book of the ^'il'ings 
 kings of Israel. le. i. 
 
 33 IT And after this did Jehoshaphat t "t</e 
 king of Judah join himself with Ahaziali '" '""'"'• 
 king of Israel, who did very wickedly : 
 
 36 And he joined himself with him to 
 make ships to go to Tarshish: and they 
 made the ships in Ezion-gaber. 
 
 37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of 
 Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, 
 saying. Because thou hast joined thyself 
 with Ahaziah, the Lord hath broken thy 
 works. And the ships were broken, that 
 they were not able to go to Tarshish. 
 
 CHAP. XXL 
 
 1 Jchoram, succeeding •Jcho.ihaphat, slayeth his brethren. 
 .') His reicked reign. 8 Edom and Libnah revolt. 12 
 The prophecij of Elijah against him in writing. l6 
 
 distress, so he discharged the duty of gratitude in a very edifying 
 manner, rendering publick thanks to God on )n's return from the 
 war. On the whole, we draw the three following topicks of in- 
 struction from the events relating to Jehoshaphat here recorded : 
 first. That pi*ayer, fasting, and humiliation, are the most effectual 
 means to which we can have recourse in time of danger or neces- 
 sity, whether publick or private : secondly. That God can never 
 want the means to save and to deliver tliose who place their trust 
 in Him : tliirdly. That when God has heard our prayers, aiid grant- 
 ed our requests, we are bound to render Him our hearty and sin- 
 cere thanks and praise for His mercies towards us. Ostervald. 
 
 ^3. — for as yet the people had not &c.] The reason wliy the 
 high places were not taken away is here given ; namely, tliat the 
 people could not bear it ; for their hearts were not disposed to 
 serve God exactly according to the law of Moses ; they had re- 
 nounced indeed idolatry, but they still required the liberty of of- 
 fering sacrifices to God in the " high places," as well as in the 
 temple. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 50". — to go la Tarshish : &c.] See note at 1 Kings x. 2-2.
 
 Jeharam's nicked reign. 
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 Elijah's prophecy against him. 
 
 Heton 
 CHKIST 
 
 • I King» 
 M.50. 
 
 392. 
 
 • 2 Kingi 
 S. 1«, 17. 
 
 N9Z. 
 
 Chl^22. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 lamp, ur, 
 
 caniUe. 
 
 • 2 Sam. 7. 
 
 12. 13. 
 
 1 Kiagi 1 1. 
 
 36. 
 
 3 Kings 8. 
 
 19. 
 
 Piia.132. 
 
 II, &c 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 hand. 
 
 sa9. 
 • 2 Kings 
 S.2I. 
 
 Philislinft and Arnlnanx oppress him. 18 His incur- 
 ahlc disease, infamous death, and burial. 
 
 NOW ' Jeiioshaphat slept with his fa- 
 thers, and was buried witli his fathers 
 in the city of David. And Jehoram his 
 son II reigned in his stead. 
 
 2 And he had brethren the sons of Je- 
 hoshaphat, Azariah, and .leliiel, and Ze- 
 chariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and 
 Shephatiah : all these a-ere the sons of Je- 
 hoshaphat king of Israel. 
 
 3 And their father gave them great gifts 
 of silver, and of gold, and of precious 
 things, with fenced cities in .Judah : but 
 the kingdom gave he to II Jehoram ; be- 
 cause he teas the firstborn. 
 
 4 Now " when Jehoram was risen up to 
 the kingdom of his father, he strengthened 
 himself, and slew all his brethren with the 
 sword, and divers also of the princes of 
 Israel. 
 
 5 f Jehoram was thirty and two years 
 old when he began to reign, and he reigned 
 eight years in Jerusalem. 
 
 G And he walked in the way of the 
 kings of Israel, like as did the house of 
 Ahab: for he had the daughter of "^ Ahab 
 to wife : and he wrought that which teas 
 evil in the eyes of the Lord. 
 
 7 Howbeit the Loud would not destroy 
 the house of David, because of the cove- 
 nant that he had made with David, and as 
 he promised to give a t light to him and to 
 his '' sons for ever. 
 
 8 ^ In his days the Edomites revolted 
 from under the t dominion of Judah, and 
 made themselves a king. 
 
 9 Then Jehoram ' went forth with his 
 princes, and all his chariots with him : and 
 
 Chap. XXI. ver. 2. — Jehoxhaphat Icing nf I.tiacl.'} He was king 
 of JuiL-ili ; hut, as all the iril)es had the" common name of Israel, 
 he may here be called kinp of Israel, by a latitude of expression^ 
 as Asa also is at chap, xxviii. ly. /'(//,•. But almost all the an- 
 cient versions have " king of .Judah"" instead of " king of Israel," 
 and " Israel" seems here to have been written for " Judah" bya 
 mistake of transcribers. Huuhiganl. 
 
 a. — the kingdom gale he lo JchoramjJ Jehoram was made 
 partner of the kingdom with his father, 2 Kings viii. 16". After- 
 wards, at ver .'i, when Jehoram " began to reign," it is meant, in 
 consort with his father. Bp. Lloyd. 
 
 *ir '"■ V;.''"?'*^?''' '"'"'•"'i/'' "'"^ ^'<^ &c.] He first " strength- 
 CTcd himself that he might slay his brethren without danger to 
 nimselt, and then proceeded to the art itself. Bp. Patrick 
 
 11. — and emmd the inhabitants .^c] He not only gave his 
 thri!^" ^'^ .""""P'^' ""'' ^"''*"«' ^''^'" ^° idolati',^but by 
 coiuorm to his cvd cxann)le. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Flii!^ iTad WnTv " " '"'^"^ r '^"^'. ^''J"''^ ^* '^ '^'^^ that 
 t.njan had been t-iken up into hea\-en in the time of Jehoshanhat. 
 
 he rose up by night, and srnote the Edom- ^hrTst 
 ites which compassed him in, and the cap- sso. 
 tains of the chariots. 
 
 10 So the Edomites revolted from under 
 the hand of Judah unto this day. The 
 same time also did Libnah revolt from un- 
 der his hand ; because he had forsaken the 
 Lord God of his fathers. 
 
 1 1 Moreover he made high places in the 
 mountains of Judah, and caused the inha- 
 bitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, 
 and compelled Judah thereto. 
 
 12 ^ And there came a writing to him 
 from Elijah the prophet, saying. Thus saith 
 the Lord God of David thy father. Because 
 thou hast not walked in the ways of Jeho- 
 shaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa 
 king of Judah, 
 
 13 But hast walked in the way of the 
 kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and 
 the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whor- 
 ing, like to the whoredoms of the house of 
 Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of 
 thy father's house, which were better than 
 thyself: 
 
 14 Behold, with t a great plague will the t Hei». 
 Lord smite thy people, and thy children, Itrltt. 
 and thy wives, and all thy goods : 
 
 15 And thou shalt have great sickness 
 by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels 
 fall out by reason of the sickness day by 
 day. 
 
 IG ^ Moreover the Lord stirred up a- about ss:. 
 gainst Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, 
 and of the Arabians, that were near the 
 Ethiopians : 
 
 17 And they came up into Judah, and 
 brake into it, and t carried away all the t Heb 
 substance that was found in the king's Jivl! "^ "'^' 
 
 vcred to one of the Prophets, charging him to convey them in a 
 letter to Jehoram, when he arrived at that. pitch of impiety which 
 is here related, so that he might be affected by theirij as by a 
 message from heaven, and might be induced to repent. For the 
 words in the original admit tliis sense, that tlie writing was sent 
 as the writing of Elijah ; but they do not necessarily imply that 
 it came immediately from him. Some have supposed that, by a 
 mistake of transcribers, the name Elijah may h&xe been substi- 
 tuted for Elisha : but this is entirely conjectural. Bp. Patrick, 
 P//ff- And another supposition has been, that not Elijah the 
 Tislibite is meant, but some other Prophet of the same name, who 
 was then living. Dr. Wall. 
 
 14. — with a great plague will the Lord smile &c.] No cala- 
 mity can be thought of, which did not befall this wicked prince ; 
 his kingdom being destroyed and depopulated by the fiercest 
 nations, his treasures ransacked, his wives carried into captivity, 
 his children slain, himself labouring tor two years under a sore 
 disease, and deprived nt his death of' the honour of royal sepulture, 
 ver. 19. All these calamities were denounced aoainst him in 
 the writing sent to him in the name of Elijah, that he might not 
 think they came by chance, but by the special direction of Al- 
 mighty God, as a punishment for his impieties. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Ahuziali*s mcJced reisn. 
 
 CHAP. XXI, XXII. 
 
 He is slain by Jehu. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 887. 
 II Or, 
 Ahaziah, 
 chai>. 22. 1. 
 
 8S5. 
 
 t Het.. 
 
 iL-ithovt 
 desire. 
 
 », 
 
 house, and his sons also, and his wives ; so 
 that there was never a son left him, save 
 li Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. 
 
 18 ^ And after all this the Lord smote 
 bt,A%aTiak, him in his bowels with an incurable dis- 
 
 cliap. 22. e. 
 
 '^ ease. 
 
 19 And it came to pass, that in process 
 of time, after the end of two years, his 
 bowels fell out by reason of his sickness : 
 so he died of sore diseases. And his peo- 
 ple made no burning for him, like the 
 burning of his fathers. 
 
 20 Thirty and two years old was he when 
 he began to reign, and he reigned in Jeru- 
 salem eight years, and departed t without 
 being desired. Howbeit tliey buried him 
 in the city of David, but not in the sepul- 
 chres of the kings. 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 1 Ahaziah succeeding reigneth wickedly. 5 In his cott' 
 federacy with Joram the son of Ahah, he is slain by 
 Jehu. 10 Alkaliah, destroying all the seed royal, save 
 Joash, wham Jehoskabeath his aunt kid, usurpelh the 
 kingdom. 
 
 AND the inhabitants of Jerusalem made 
 * Ahaziah his youngest son king in his 
 stead : for the band of men that came with 
 the Arabians to the camp had slain all the 
 Chap. 21. ■• eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram 
 '■ king of Judah reigned. 
 
 2 Forty and two years old teas Ahaziah 
 when he began to reign, and he reigned 
 one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name 
 ciiap i'l. also "was "" Athaliah the daughter of Omri. 
 •• 3 He also walked in the ways of the 
 
 house of Ahab : for his mother was his 
 counseller to do wickedly. 
 
 4 Wherefore he did evil in the sight of 
 the Lord like the house of Ahab : for they 
 were his counsellers after the death of his 
 father to his destruction. 
 .«t84. 5 ^ He walked also after their counsel, 
 and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab 
 king of Israel to war against Hazael king 
 
 SRS. 
 2 Kings 
 , 24, &c. 
 
 19. — his boivelsfell out by reason of his sickness:'] As was ob- 
 served of the disease of Asa, ch. xvi. 12, so it may be observed on 
 this disease, that the symptoms related do not determine it. Some 
 physicians suppose it to have been the dysentery ; others have 
 suggested other disorders. Script, ilbist. Expos. Ind. 
 
 so he died of .sore diseases.] These words seem to imply 
 
 that he died of a complication of other diseases, besides a severe 
 dysentery by which his bowels fell out. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. — without beitig desired.] His people not desiring his 
 longer life, but rather being rejoiced that his reign was so short. 
 Dr. Wells. Without any loyal or grateful dispositions to his me- 
 mory. Dr. Berriman. 
 
 Chap. XXII. ver. 2. 
 at 2 Kings viii. 26. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 Forty and tfvo years old &C.3 See note 
 
 of Syria at Ramoth-gilead : and the Syrians 
 smote Joram. 
 
 6 And he returned to be healed in Jez- 
 reel because of the wounds t which were 
 given him at Ramah, when he fought with 
 Hazael king of Syria. And II Azariah the 
 son of Jehoram king of Judah went down 
 to !ree Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, 
 because he was sick. 
 
 7 And the + destruction of Ahaziah was 
 of God by coming to Joram : for when he 
 was come, he went out with Jehoram a- 
 gainst Jehu the son of Nimshi, "^ whom the 
 Lord had anointed to cut off the house 
 of Ahab. 
 
 8 And it came to pass, that, when Jehu 
 was executing judgment upon the house 
 of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah, 
 and the sons of the brethren of Ahazi- 
 ah, that ministered to Ahaziah, he slew 
 them. 
 
 9 ^And he sought Ahaziah: and they 
 caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) 
 and brought him to Jehu : and when they 
 had slain him, they buried him : Because, 
 said tliey, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, 
 who sought the Lord with all his heart. 
 So the house of Ahaziah had no power to 
 keep still the kingdom. 
 
 10 ^ * But when Athaliah the mother of 
 Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she 
 arose and destroyed all the seed royal of 
 the house of Judah. 
 
 11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of 
 the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, 
 and stole him from among the king's sons 
 that were slain, and put him and his nurse 
 in a bed chamber. So Jehoshabeath, the 
 daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Je- 
 hoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of 
 Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that 
 she slew him not. 
 
 12 And he was with them hid in the 
 house of God six years : and Athaliah 
 reigned over the land. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 884. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 vherewilh 
 theij wound- 
 ed him. 
 {{ Otlienrise 
 called Aha- 
 xia/i, ver. I. 
 & Jehoafiax, 
 chap. 2 1.1 7. 
 t Hcb. 
 treading 
 down. 
 
 ' 2 Kings 
 9.7. 
 
 ' 2 King» 
 9. 27. 
 
 ' 2 King* 
 11. 1. 
 
 The grandaughtcr of Omri ; for 
 
 the daughter of Ortiri.] 
 
 she was daughter of Ahab. 
 
 5 —Jehoram — Joram.] It should be observed, to prevent 
 confusion, that Jehoram and Joram are the same name ; and that 
 the Joram here mentioned was son of Ahab, and kmg ot Israel, 
 as another of this name, father of Azariah, ver. b, whose history 
 is given in chap, xxi, was king of Jud^. ^ , , . , « »_ 
 
 o. — (-for he n^as hid in Samaria,)] In the kingdom of ^- 
 maria, into which he had come from his mvn kingdom. The 
 place was Megiddo, 2 Kings ix. 27- Dr. ttal. 
 
 ^ a„d when they had slain him,] The circumstances of 
 
 Ahaziab'3 death are mentioned here a little more parUcularly 
 than in the book of Kings ; see 2 Kings >x. 2", 28. 
 
 11. — the duuirlUcr of the king,] The daughter of the former 
 king of Judah, Joram. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5 K
 
 Jehoiada maketit Joasli king. 
 
 11. CHRONICLES. 
 
 Allialiah is slain. 
 
 NsKinft 
 1 1. 4, 4C. 
 
 * 2 Sam. 7. 
 
 IS. 
 
 I Kin^i. 
 
 4. A 9. 5 
 
 f HcU 
 thraJuUU. 
 
 BWb« CHAP. xxni. 
 
 *^"»78.' ^^ 1 Jehoiada, having sit things in order, maketh Joash king. 
 le Alhaliah it slain. l6 Jehoiada reatvreth the icor- 
 tliif) uf' Cod. 
 
 AN D ' in tlie seventh year Jehoiada 
 stren^rtheiiecl himself, and took the 
 captains of hundreds, Azariali the son of 
 Jerohani, and Islimael the son of Jehoha- 
 nan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and 
 Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elisha- 
 phat the son of Zichri, into covenant with 
 him. 
 
 •2 And they went about in Judah, and 
 gathered the Levites out of all the cities 
 of .Iikhih, and the chief of the fathers of 
 Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 
 
 3 And all the congregation made a co- 
 venant with the king in the house of God. 
 And he said unto them, Behold, the king's 
 son shall reign, as the Lord hath ^ said of 
 the sons of Uavid. 
 
 4 This is the thing that ye shall do; A 
 
 4 7^18."' third part of you entering on the sabbath, 
 of the priests and of the Levites, shall be 
 porters of the t doors ; 
 
 5 And a third part shall be at the king's 
 house ; and a third part at the gate of the 
 foundation : and all the people shall be in 
 the courts of the house of the Lord. 
 
 G But let none come into the house of 
 the Lord, save the priests, and they that 
 minister of the Levites ; they shall go in, 
 for they arc holy : but all the people shall 
 keep the watch of the Lord. 
 
 7 And the Levites shall compass the king 
 round about, every man with his weapons 
 in his hand; and whosoever else cometh 
 into the house, he shall be put to death : 
 but be ye with the king when he cometh 
 in, and when he goeth out. 
 
 8 So the Levites and all Judah did ac- 
 cording to all things that Jehoiada the 
 priest had commanded, and took every 
 man his men that were to come in on the 
 sabbath, with them that were to go out on 
 the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dis- 
 missed not the courses. 
 
 9 Moreover Jehoiada the priest deliver- 
 ed to the captains of hundreds spears, and 
 bucklers, and shields, that had been king 
 David's, which -were in tlie house of God. 
 
 10 And he set all the people, every man 
 having his weapon in his hand, from the 
 
 &c^it^ il „r; ^Sv~ '^''■"'' *'?''""' *^"^-^^ ">l the people, 
 
 " ^-^^^^^^r.^l^X'^'- '^' l^f '^'^ covenant w J made 
 
 fecUy in aplJL"^ '"^K fK '"^ ^^ the people ;" ^vhich is per- 
 
 3 "^temem with this passage: for, Jehoiada the piiest 
 
 right t side of the t temple to the left side 
 of the temple, along by the altar and the 
 temple, by the king round about. 
 
 11 Then they brought out the king's 
 son, and put upon him the crown, and ^gave 
 him the testimony, and made him king. 
 And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, 
 and said, t God save the king. 
 
 12 ^ Now when Athaliah heard the noise 
 of the people running and praising the 
 king, she came to the people into the house 
 of the Lord: 
 
 13 And she looked, and, behold, the 
 king stood at his pillar at the entering in, 
 and the princes and the trumpets by the 
 king : and all the people of the land re- 
 joiced, and sounded with trumpets, also 
 the singers with instruments of musick, 
 and such as taught to sing praise. Then 
 Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, t Trea- 
 son, Treason. 
 
 14 Then Jehoiada the priest brought 
 out the captains of hundreds that were set 
 over the host, and said unto them. Have 
 her forth of the ranges : and whoso foUow- 
 eth her, let him be slain with the sword. 
 For the priest said. Slay her not in the 
 house of the Lord. 
 
 15 So they laid hands on her ; and when 
 she was come to the entering of the horse 
 gate by the king's house, they slew her there. 
 
 16 % And Jehoiada made a covenant 
 between him, and between all the people, 
 and between the king, that they should be 
 the Lord's people. 
 
 17 Then all the people went to the house 
 of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his 
 altars and his images in pieces, and * slew 
 Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. 
 
 18 Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of 
 the house of the Lord by the hand of the 
 priests the Levites, whom David had ' dis- 
 tributed in the house of the Lord, to offer 
 the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is 
 written in the Maw of Moses, with rejoic- 
 ing and with singing, as it was ordaiiied 
 t by David. 
 
 19 And he set the ^ porters at the gates 
 of the house of the Lord, that none u^hich 
 ■was unclean in any thing should enter in. 
 
 20 And he took the captains of hun- 
 dreds, and the nobles, and the governors 
 of the people, and all the people of the 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 878. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 shoulder, 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 hnuse^ 
 
 ' DeuL 17. 
 
 18. 
 
 t Heb. 
 Let the king 
 live. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 Conspiracy. 
 
 * Dent. 1 a. 
 9. 
 
 ' 1 CliroB. 
 
 24. I. 
 
 ' Numb. 28. 
 2. 
 
 f Heb. Ay 
 the hands 
 nf David. 
 ' 1 Chron. 
 26. l.&C. 
 
 sustaining the person of God, the covenant was made, not with 
 him, but with God. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 18. — the priests the Levites,! The priests and the Levites. 
 Houbigant.
 
 Joaslt giveth order 
 Before ]and, and brought down the kins' from the 
 
 CHR.TST ' *j o 
 
 878. house of the Lord : and they came tlirough 
 the high gate into the king's house, and set 
 the king upon the throne of the kingdom. 
 21 And all the people of the land re- 
 joiced: and the city was quiet, after that 
 they had slain Athaliah with the sword. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 1 Joask reignelh well all the dai/.i of Jelioiada. 4 He 
 giveth order far the repair of the temph. l.T Jehoiada's 
 death and honourable burial. 17 Joash, fulling to idol- 
 atry, slay el h Zetknriah the son of Jelioiada. 23 Joash 
 is spoiled hif the Syrians, arid slain by Zabad and Je- 
 hozabad. 27 Amaziah succeedeth him. 
 
 ai.out878. yOASH * was seven years old when he 
 12. if&?' J began to reign, and he reigned forty 
 
 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name 
 
 also icas Zibiah of Beer-sheba. 
 
 2 And Joash did that which was right in 
 the sight of the Lord all the days of Je- 
 hoiada the priest. 
 
 3 And Jehoiada took for him two wives; 
 and he begat sons and daughters. 
 
 4 ^ And it came to pass after this, that 
 t Heb. Joash was minded t to repair the house of 
 
 to renew. , i -r 
 
 the Lord. 
 856. 5 And he gathered together the priests 
 and the Levites, and said to them. Go out 
 unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all 
 Israel money to repair the house of your 
 God from year to year, and see that ye 
 hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites 
 haatened it not. 
 
 6 And the king called for Jehoiada the 
 chief, and said unto him. Why hast thou 
 not required of the Levites to bring in out 
 of Judah and out of Jerusalem the coUec- 
 
 » Exod. 30. tion, according to the commandment of ^ Mo- 
 12, IS. H. ggg ^i^g servant of the Lord, and of the 
 
 congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle 
 
 of witness ? 
 
 7 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked 
 woman, had broken up the house of God; 
 and also all the dedicated things of the 
 house of the Lord did they bestow upon 
 Baalim. 
 
 8 And at the king's commandment they 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 Jbr the repair ofiiic temple. 
 
 Chap. XXIV. ver. 3. And Jehoiada took for him two wives;'] 
 That is, recommended to the king, wheu he was come to an age 
 fit to marry, two wives. Dr. Wells. i ., v t 
 
 16. _ because he had done good in Israel,] " In Israel, that 
 is, in the part of the land of Israel, over which he reigned, 
 namely, Judah. This shews a good disposition then subsisting 
 in the king and his people, that they paid honour to the me- 
 mory of .Jehoiada, " because he had done good toward God, and 
 toward His house," having been the instrument of restoring the 
 Divine wor.^hip, and of repairing the decays which had taken 
 place in the temple, and furnishing it with vessels for the Di- 
 vine service. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 made a chest, and set it without at the gate ^^°" 
 ofthe house of the Lord. ^^'"^ 
 
 ST 
 
 856. 
 
 9 And they made t a proclamation tHeb. 
 through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in " '^^'"*^^- 
 to the Lord the collection that Moses the 
 servant of God laid upon Israel in the wil- 
 derness. 
 
 10 And all the princes and all the peo- 
 ple rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into 
 tlie chest, until they had made an end. 
 
 11 Now it came to pass, that at what 
 time the chest was brought unto the king's 
 office by the hand of the Levites, and when 
 they saw that there was much money, the 
 king's scribe and the high priest's officer 
 came and emptied the chest, and took it, 
 and carried it to his place again. Thus 
 they did day by day, and gathered money 
 in abundance. 
 
 12 And the king and Jehoiada gave it to 
 such as did the work of the service of the 
 house of the Lord, and hired masons and 
 carpenters to repair the house of the Lord, 
 and also such as wrought iron and brass to 
 mend the house of the Lord. 
 
 13 So the workmen wrought, and t the j^^^/^^ 
 work was perfected by them, and they set wnu'u"^ 
 the house of God in his state, and strength- ^/;°j^ ">^ 
 ened it. 
 
 14 And when they had finished it, they 
 brought the rest of the money before the 
 king and Jehoiada, whereof were made 
 vessels for the house of the Lord, even 
 vessels to minister, and II to offer xdthal, j|^,j^J;_ 
 and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. 
 And they offered burnt ofierings in the 
 house of the Lord continually all the days 
 
 of Jehoiada. 
 
 15 IF But Jehoiada waxed old, and was i^utsso. 
 full of days when he died; an hundred and 
 thirty years old was he when he died. 
 
 16 And they buried him in the city of 
 David among the kings, because he had 
 done good in Israel, both toward God, and 
 toward his house. 
 
 17 Now after the death of Jehoiada came about sm 
 the princes of Judah, and made obeisance 
 
 1- _ came the princes of Jtidah.l Some of the principal^ 
 men who in their hearts continued devoted to the worship ot 
 Baal', " made obeisance to the king;" that is, made their addi-esses 
 to hi'm with great reverence, pretending devotion to his service, 
 and requested leave to worship tlie idols which Jehoiada had 
 destroyed. Bp. Patrick. . , , , r u 
 
 The great change now wrought in Joash shews ot how CTeat 
 importance it is for men in eminent situations to have about them 
 wi^e and virtuous persons, and for the mimsters of religion to be 
 endued with zeal and prudence. The death of ijersons of this 
 character is a great loss; and evil counsels are ever fetal to those 
 who follow them. Ostervald. 
 
 5K2
 
 II. CHRONICLES, 
 
 Joash folk III lu idolatri/. 
 
 Brfo« to the king. Then the king hearkened 
 
 Amaziah beginneih to reign ticeU. 
 
 fUfb. 
 
 clothed. 
 
 na 
 
 ^ilu'li'a unto them. 
 
 18 And they left tlie house of the Lord 
 God of tlieir fathers, and sened groves 
 and idols: and wrath came upon Judah 
 and Jerusalem for this their trespass. 
 
 19 Yet he sent prophets to them, to 
 bring them again unto the Lord; and 
 they testified against them: but they 
 woidd not give ear. 
 
 20 And the Spirit of God t eame upon 
 Zechariali the son of Jehoiada the priest, 
 whicli stood above the people, and said 
 unto them, Thus saith God, Why trans- 
 gress ye the commandments of the Lord, 
 that ye cannot prosper? because ye have 
 forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken 
 you. 
 
 21 And they conspired against him, and 
 stoned him with stones at the commaad- 
 ment of the king in the court of the house 
 of the Lord. 
 
 22 Thus Joash the king remembered not 
 the kindness which Jehoiada his father had 
 done to him, but slew his son. And when 
 he died, he said, The Lord look upon it, 
 and require //. 
 
 23 % And it came to pass t at the end 
 of the year, that the host of Syria came up 
 
 hitumrfthe against him: and they came to Judah and 
 *""^^ Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of 
 the people from among the people, and sent 
 all the spoil of them unto the king of t Da- 
 mascus. 
 
 24 For the army of the Syrians came 
 witli a small company of men, and the 
 Lord delivered a very great host into their 
 hand, because they had forsaken the Lord 
 God of their fathers. So they executed 
 judgment against Joash. 
 
 25And when they were departed from 
 
 21. And t/,fy conspired agawst him, &c.] So degenerate was 
 Ih.s pnme prown, that he suffered that very temple, ^vhich he 
 himself had piously repaired, to be protwied with Uie blood of a 
 Tirtuom man, the son of his best benefactor,, to whom he owed 
 his hfe and his crown. Pi^le. 
 
 To what extremities of wickedness will not wretched man 
 procee*, when deserted by his Maker! King Joash is turned 
 not .dnlater only, but persecutor; yea, which fs more hor^ ble t„ 
 r«.h"' P"'"^:}'"' f }-^^ «on of that Jehoiada, to whom he 
 owed his own lite Zechariah, his foster brother, the only issue 
 ot those parents by whom Joash lived and reigned is for his 
 conscientious rebuke of the idolatry of prince fnd people un 
 SiLle'isir?'"/- ""■?*■■"' '7 '"^'^ --^^--^f-i hrnd.^ How 
 
 D ~ i. *^. *""'• '^^*^ ^'■'^ took upon it, and rentiim ii T TU^ 
 oS^CT' 'I' ""^'^ ''''''^'' a^y'th'tast' V Un.^vorS 
 
 future sen^Thc'llrdwfl T r^'^ '^ "I *° ^' *"'^^» >" ^ 
 . ^fic Lord wdllook upon It and require it." P^k. 
 
 840. 
 t HeU 
 
 in the rfx'O' 
 
 8S9. 
 
 t Heb. 
 Darmtuli 
 
 Before 
 
 tary. 
 
 839. 
 " 2 Kings 
 14. I, &c. 
 
 I 
 
 Hi 
 
 him, (for they left him in great diseases,) christ 
 
 his own servants conspired against him for 839. 
 
 the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, 
 
 and slew him on his bed, and he died: and 
 
 they buried him in the city of David, but 
 
 they buried him not in the sepulchres of 
 
 the kings. 
 
 26 And these are they that conspired 
 against him; II Zabad the sou of Shimeath ll^f;j^^^^^ 
 an Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of y kings 12. 
 II Shimrith a Moabitess. jj'i)^^ 
 
 27 i[ Now co7icer7iing his sons, and the siiumer. 
 greatness of the burdens laid upon him, ^^''• 
 and the t repairing of the house of God, t ][|,j'.;^ 
 behold, they are written in the 11 story of y'or,'"^* 
 the book of the kings. And Amaziah his ™;;;'''"- 
 son reigned in his stead. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 1 Amaziah tjeginnetJi to reign well. 3 He execuietli Jus- 
 tice on the traitors. 5 Having hived an army of Is- 
 raelites against t/ie Edomites, at the word of a prophet 
 he loselh the hundred talents, and dismissetli them. 1 1 
 He overt kromelh the Edomites. 10,13 The Israelites, 
 discontented ivith their dismission, spoil as they return 
 home, l* Amaziah, proud of his victory, servelh the 
 gods of Edom, and despiseth the admonitions of the 
 prophet. 17 He provokctk Joash to his overthrow, 
 25 His reign. 27 He is slain by conspiracy. 
 
 AMAZIAH ' was twenty and five years 
 old when he began to reign, and he 
 reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusa- 
 lem. And his mother's name was Jehoad- 
 dan of Jerusalem. 
 
 2 And he did that which was right in the 
 sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect 
 heart. 
 
 3 % Now it came to pass, when the king- 
 dom was t established to him, that he slew t Hei>. 
 his servants that had killed the king his ^^J^^f'n. 
 father. 
 
 4 But he slew not their children, but did 
 as it is written in the law in the book of 
 
 Assuredly, his zeal for justice, not the uncharitable thirst of 
 revenge, drew forth these words. God heard his dying words, 
 and soon called Joash to a severe account. His crime made 
 him odious when living, and deprived him, when slain, of the 
 sepulchre of his fathers, ver. 25; as if this last mark of royalty 
 were too good for him >vho had forgotten the law of humanity. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 23. — all the princes of the people^ Those who had advised 
 Joash to restore the worship of Baal. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 25. — buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.'\ Because 
 he had been a notorious idolater. Bp. Wilson. The fate of Joash 
 Avas like that of other bad kings. God delivered liim up to the 
 Syrians, though they " came with a small company of men," 
 ver. 24; he was killed in his bed by his own subjects, and buried 
 with disgrace: whence we are taught, that they who provoke the 
 wrath of God by their sins, will experience sooner or later the 
 severity of His judgments. Ostervald. 
 
 Chap. XXV. ver. 2. — hut not with a perfect heart.~\ It is said 
 at 2 Kings xiv. 3, that he did that which was right, but " not 
 like David his father." He did in fact what the law required, 
 but not with a sincere and solid piety. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 I
 
 He hireth an army 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 against the EdomUes. 
 
 chrTst Moses, where the Lord commanded, say- 
 839. ing, " The fathers shall not die for the 
 >'Deut.34. children, neither shall the children die for 
 2 Kings 14. the fathers, but every man shall die for 
 6- his own sin. 
 
 E^ek. 'iT' 5 f Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah 
 20- together, and made them captains over 
 
 thousands, and captains over hundreds, 
 according to the houses of their fathers, 
 throughout all Judah and Benjamin : and 
 he numbered them from twenty years old 
 and above, and found them three hundred 
 thousand choice men, able to go forth to 
 war, that could handle spear and shield. 
 
 6 He hired also an hundred thousand 
 mighty men of valour out of Israel for an 
 hundred talents of silver. 
 
 7 But there came a man of God to him, 
 saying, O king, let not the army of Israel 
 go with thee ; for the Lord is not with 
 Israel, to wit, with all the children of E- 
 phraim. 
 
 8 But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong 
 for the battle : God shall make thep fall 
 before the enemy : for God hath power to 
 help, and to cast down. 
 
 5. — three hundred thousand choice ■men,~\ We here discern 
 how much the iniquities of the people had now diminished their 
 numbers since the days of Jehoshaphat, that is, in the space of 
 about seventy years ; for this king could bring only 300,000 men 
 to the field, and Jehoshaphat brought nearly four times as many ; 
 see chap. xvii. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. He hired also — out of JsraeF] In hiring these Israelites, 
 the king acted rashly and presumptuously. For, in the first 
 place, he " enquiry not of the Lord" upon the occasion: see 
 Judges XX. 27; 1 Sam. xxiii. 2, 4; 2 Sam. ii. 1; v. 19, 23; 2 
 Kings xvi. 15; 1 Chron. x. 14, &c. He sought not, as, upon 
 concerns of importance, David and the other religious kings of 
 Judah had constantly sought, those special directions from God, 
 which, under the existing dispensation, a dispensation, into the 
 texture of which miracles were interwoven, were always to be 
 obtained by an immediate reference to the Most High before His 
 altar. And, in the next place, he knew that the people of Israel 
 had long been open idolaters; and that the heaviest calamities 
 had fallen upon his own ancestors, in consequence of connexions 
 which they had formed with idolatrous Israel. He could not 
 then look for the Divine blessing upon this proceeding : but he 
 had reason to expect that his sinful misconduct would be made 
 the instrument of his punishment. Gishorne. 
 
 7. — for the Lord is not with Israel, &c.3 The Prophet here 
 reprimands them sharply for entering into an alUance with the 
 Israelites, a people debauched by the wicked house of Jeroboam, 
 which was of the tribe of Ephraim. Pyle. 
 
 At the same time God, in great mercy, affords Amaziah both 
 opportunity and encouragement to stop short in the evil course 
 on which he had entered. Gishorne. 
 
 8. But if lliou wilt go, &c.] If thou wilt go to fight against 
 Edom, do it only with thine own men ; for, though they are not 
 a numerous army, yet God will make them to be strong enough 
 for the battle, so as to conquer the Edomites ; but, if thou take 
 the forces of Israel with thee, " God will make thee fall before 
 the enemy :" for God hath power to help or give thee victory by a 
 .small army, and to cast thee down or cause thee to be conquered, 
 even with the greatest army. Dr. Wells. 
 
 g. — But w/tal shall we do for the hundred talents kc.'] Araa- 
 
 9 And Amaziah said to the man of God, ^hrTst 
 But what shall we do for the hundred ta- 839. 
 lents which I have given to the t army of t Hei>. 
 Israel ? And the man of God answered, '^'"'• 
 The Lord is able to give thee much more 
 
 than this. 
 
 10 Then Amaziah separated them, to wit, 
 the army that was come to him out of E- 
 phraim, to go t home again: wherefore their t Heb. 
 anger was greatly kindled against Judah, piac"'' 
 and they returned home t in great anger, t Heb. 
 
 11 IF And Amaziah strengthened him- '"*"** "-^ 
 
 " o an f^cTt 
 
 self, and led forth his people, and went to aU)ut827. 
 the valley of salt, and smote of the chil- 
 dren of Seir ten thousand. 
 
 12 And other ten thousand left alive did 
 the children of Judah carry away captive, 
 and brought them unto the top of the rock, 
 and cast them down from the top of the 
 rock, that they all were broken in pieces. 
 
 13 ^ But tthe soldiers of the army which t h*. 
 Amaziah sent back, that they should not '1',','^^^ 
 go with him to battle, fell upon the cities 
 
 of Judah, from Samaria even unto Beth- 
 horon, and smote three thousand of them, 
 and took much spoil.; 
 
 ziah was confounded at the message of the Prophet. He could 
 not venture to retain the Israelites to go with him to the war, 
 when he was assured that his own destruction would be the con- 
 sequence. But he was far from possessing that singleness of 
 heart, that true and lively faith, which would have taught him 
 to obey the command of God instantly and cheei-fully, whatever 
 present sacrifice might be inseparable from obedience. His heart 
 hankered after the money which he had advanced. Was that to 
 be relinquished.'' If not, how was it to be recovered.' If com- 
 pliance with the Divine will would not have cost him any thing, 
 he would readUy have obeyed. But an expensive proof of obe- 
 dience was required. He pondered theriefore and hesitated; 
 and " said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the 
 hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel .>" 
 Gishorne. 
 
 The Lord is ahle to give thee much more than this.'] God, 
 
 who is the Lord of the wliole earth, has the earth, and every 
 thing which it contains, at His disposal. " Every beast of the 
 forest is His, and the cattle upon a thousand hills." " The 
 silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, saith the Lord of hosts," 
 Ps. 1. 10; Hag. ii. 8. He could have at once extended the do- 
 minions of Amaziah to the widest bounds promised to the chil- 
 dren of Israel ; from Lebanon to the confines of Egj-pt ; from 
 the Western sea to the great river Euphrates. He could have 
 rendered this king an object of respect, of acbniration, and of 
 dread, to all the suiToimding nations. At the present hour, all 
 the kingdoms of tlie earth, and the glory of them, ai-e at the 
 disposal of the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour. AH power 
 in heaven and in earth is given unto Him. Every article, in 
 which worldly prosperity consists; everj' event, which contri- 
 butes to worldly greatness ; every outward circumstance in any 
 respect advantageous to men, is in His hands. Well therefore 
 may we be assured, that whatever we lend to the Lord, by re- 
 signing it for His sake. He is able beyond measure to repay to us 
 again. Gishorne. 
 
 13. — the soldiers of the army] That is, the Israelite army. 
 
 and smote three thousand of thetn,'] Thus Amaziah was 
 
 punished for having entered into' an alliance with idolaters, al- 
 though at the Prophet's reproof he broke it off: and God, it is
 
 A,naziak scncth the go.ls of Eclo.u II. CHRONICLES 
 
 He is slain by conspiracy. 
 
 CHKIST 
 
 fHcb. 
 ttunmUtd. 
 
 R3A. 
 'SKinp 
 14. N». 
 
 n Or, 
 
 or, IhuTn. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 a Itnst of 
 Vufield. 
 
 1 J. f Now it came to pass, after that 
 \iiiaziali was come from the slaughter of 
 the tJomites, that he brought the gods 
 of the chiUiren of Seir, and set them up 
 to he his gods, and bowed downi hmiseli be- 
 fore them, and burned incense unto them. 
 
 15 Wherefore the anger of the Lord 
 was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent 
 unto him a prophet, whicli saul unto him, 
 Why hast tliou sought after the gods of 
 the people, which could not deliver then- 
 own people out of thine hand? 
 
 It) And it came to pass, as he talked 
 with him, tiiat the king said unto him, Art 
 thou made of the king's counsel? forbear ; 
 why shouldest thou be smitten ? Then the 
 propiict forbare, and said, I know that God 
 hath t determined to destroy thee, because 
 thou hast done this, and hast not hearken- 
 ed unto my counsel. 
 
 17 ^ Then ' Amaziah king of Judah 
 took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of 
 Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, 
 saying, Come, let us see one another in the 
 face. 
 
 IS And Joash king of Israel sent to 
 Amaziah king of Judah, saying. The II this- 
 tle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar 
 that iL-as in Lebanon, saying, Give thy 
 daughter to my son to wife : and there 
 passed by t a wild beast that 'was in Leba- 
 non, and trode down the thistle. 
 
 19 Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten 
 the Edomites ; and thine heart lifteth thee 
 up to boast : abide now at home ; why 
 shouldest thou meddle to thine hurt, that 
 thou shouldest fall, eveti thou, and Judah 
 with thee ? 
 
 20 But Amaziah would not hear; for it 
 
 prolwblc, also suffered this calamity to fall upon him, because he 
 used his victory over the Edomites with too much cruelty. Bv. 
 Patrick. " ^ 
 
 17. Then Amaiiah — took advice^ Although he would not 
 be advised by the Prophet, it appears that he consulted others, 
 who led him to destruction ; for he proceeded, without first de- 
 riring to have sutisfaction made for the injury done to him, to 
 make war on Joash king of Israel, and provoke him to battle. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 24. — rrith Obcd-edotn,'] Who had the chief care of the trea- 
 sures m the temple. Dr. f\'elL. 
 
 • ~2i ~ "-^'^ ''" '"'"' ""'' ^'""-'"^ ^^ ''"■" "I'oy &C.D He sur- 
 vived Joash several years; but it appears he j»rew more and 
 more hated by his subjects, and at enmity with God ; so that at 
 
 tast a conspiracy was formed against him, under which he feU. 
 
 rytc. 
 
 In obedience to the command of God, Amaziah resigned the 
 tabbed talents; yet he lived in calamity, and died by violence 
 ^It^"- ""* *^ Lo'^l G«l, the Go<l of gootlness and truth, 
 A^kJ' ^'^^l ^°= ^^'^ ^""^ '■"'^l' Ama;.iah, because 
 h^n^T.^'p^'" ^^^ ^''' ''''"='"^- Amaziah,'whenhe 
 id"L ^^Ik'',.^*'"?'*^'- ^'°"8ht with him to Jerusalem their 
 ' ' "^ ""^ ^« infatuation, which belongs to presumptuous 
 
 came of God, that he might deliver them 
 into the hand of their enemies, because they 
 souglit after the gods of Edom. 
 
 21 8o Joash the king of Israel went up ; 
 and they saw one another in the face, both 
 he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth- 
 shemesh, which belongeth to Judah. 
 
 22 And Judah was t put to the w-orse 
 before Israel, and they fled every man to 
 his tent. 
 
 23 And Joash the king of Israel took 
 Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, 
 the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and 
 brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down 
 the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of 
 Ephraim to t the corner gate, four hun- 
 dred cubits. 
 
 24 And he took all the gold and the sil- 
 ver, and all the vessels that were found in 
 the house of God with Obed-edom, and the 
 treasures of the king's house, the hostages 
 also, and returned to Samaria. 
 
 25 ^ And Amaziah the son of Joash king 
 of Jijjlah lived after the death of Joash 
 son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen 
 years. 
 
 26 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, 
 first and last, behold, are they not written 
 in the book of the kings of Judah and 
 Israel ? 
 
 27 % Now after the time that Amaziah 
 did turn away t from following the Lord 
 they t made a conspiracy against him in 
 Jerusalem ; and he fled to Lachish : but 
 they sent to Lachish after him, and slew 
 him there. 
 
 28 And they brought him upon horses, 
 and buried him with his fathers in the city 
 of II Judah. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 82fi. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 smitten. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 the gale of it 
 that looket/i. 
 
 810. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 from after, 
 t Heb. 
 cimspired a 
 conspiracy. 
 
 II That is, 
 
 the city nj" 
 
 David, 
 
 n% it is 
 
 2 Kings 14. 
 
 20. 
 
 wickedness, set them up to be his gods, and burned incense to 
 them, and worshipped them: yet the sword of Divine justice 
 paused in its scabbard. " Where sin abounded, grace did much 
 more abound." The Lord, instead of immediately cutting off the 
 king in the midst of his ingratitude and impiety, was mercifully 
 pleased to send a Prophet, to rebuke him and call him to repent- 
 ance, ver. 15. How did the king receive the message from God.!> 
 When the former Prophet had delivered his message, Amaziah 
 obeyed his command. But he now refused to humble himself 
 before his Maker. His heart was obstinately fixed in apostasy. 
 He charged the Prophet with insolent obtrusiveness for daring to 
 reprove him ; and ordered him to be silent on pain of punish- 
 ment, ver. 1 ti. Then the Prophet, perceiving him not to be re* 
 claimed, pronounced his doom, " I know that God hath deter- 
 mined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and Iiast not 
 hearkened unto my counsel." Hence followed the disastrous re- 
 sidue of his life, and his miserable end. And we may learn from 
 his example, that no former acts of righteousness, no former sa- 
 crifices of present interest for conscience sake, will avail us as an 
 excuse ibr indulging aftenvards in sin. Gisljorne. 
 
 28. — in the cily of Judah.'] In Jerusalem, " the city of Da- 
 ■•■* •' as it is stated at 2 Kings xiv. 20. Bp. Patrick. And as the 
 
 vid,' 
 
 old versions read in this place. Dr. Wells.
 
 Uzziah beginnetk 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 his remn 'well. 
 
 Before 
 CHEIST 
 
 810. 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 810. 
 ' 2 Kings 
 J4. 21. & 
 IS. 1. 
 UOr, 
 Aiariah, 
 
 ■j-Hcb. 
 in the see- 
 ing of God. 
 
 II Or,m the 
 country of 
 
 jishdod, 
 about 800. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 v>ent. 
 
 Vzziah silcceeditig, and reigning well in (he days of 
 Zeclwriah, prosperelh. 16 Waxing proud, he invadeth 
 the priest's office, and is smitten with Icprosi/. 22 He 
 diefh, and Jotham succeedeth him. 
 
 THEN all the people of Jiidah took 
 II Uzziah, who Xi:as sixteen years 
 old, and made him king in tlie room of his 
 father Amaziah. 
 
 2 He built Eloth, and restored it to Ju- 
 dah, after that the king slept with his fa- 
 thers. 
 
 S Sixteen years old "was Uzziah when he 
 began to reign, and he reigned fifty and 
 two years in Jerusalem. His mother's 
 name also 'uoas Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 
 
 4 And he did that xvhich rvas right in the 
 sight of the Lord, according to all that his 
 father Amaziah did. 
 
 5 And he sought God in the days of 
 Zechariah, who liad understanding t in 
 the visions of God : and as long as he 
 sought the Lord, God made him to pros- 
 per. 
 
 6 And he went forth and w^arred against 
 the Philistines, and brake down the wall of 
 Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall 
 of Ashdod, and built cities l! about Ashdod, 
 and among the Philistines. 
 
 7 And God helped him against the Phi- 
 listines, and against the Arabians that 
 dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Mehunims. 
 
 8 And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uz- 
 ziah : and his name t spread abroad even to 
 
 Chap. XXVI. ver. 5. — in the days of Zechariah,'^ This is not 
 the Zechariah, whose book of prophecies is extant in the Bible, 
 for he lived 300 years afterwards ; nor Zechariah the son of Je- 
 hoiada, who was slain some years before ; but probably the son of 
 the latter Zechariah, who was called after his father's name, and 
 was eminent for his divine wisdom. It is not here said that he 
 was a Prophet, but that he " had understanding in the visions of 
 God," by which is probably meant, that he was skilful in expound- 
 ing the ancient prophecies, and giving instruction out of them. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. And he went forth and warred &C.3 From this verse to the 
 15th, the sacred writer shews by several instances how excellent 
 a prince this was, and what prosperity God gave him while he was 
 truly religious : for he shewed extreme solicitude for the welfare 
 of his people; he was skilful in husbandry, but at the same time 
 extremely active in warlike affairs, inasmuch as he prudently de- 
 molished the fortifications of his enemies on the frontiers, and 
 provided his own frontiers with works, garrisons, arms, and en- 
 gines of war. Thus his power became so formidable, that the 
 Ammonites " gave gifts," ver. 8, to preserve liis friendship, and 
 " his name spread abroad," not only to die Philistines on the west,^ 
 but to the Arabians and others on the east, and to the borders of 
 Egypt on the south. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. Also he built towers'] It has commonly been supposed that 
 these towers were made for sheltering the shepherds from the 
 bad weather, or for defending them from the incursions of the 
 enemies. It may also be conjectured, that tliey were designed to 
 keep the iiohabitants who pastured there in subjection, and to in- 
 duce them to pay quietly their tribute. WilUam of Tyre men- 
 tions parts of the Eastern countries, inhabited by Armenian and 
 
 an army. 
 
 the entering in of Egypt ; for he strength- ^'^"^ 
 ened //im.5e//^exceedingly. ^"w!^^ 
 
 9 Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jeru- 
 salem at the corner gate, and at the valley 
 gate, and at the turning cf the vail, and 
 
 ll fortified them. y or. 
 
 10 Also he built towers in the desert, "■'""'"^''• 
 and II digged many wells : for he had much I! Or, au 
 cattle, both in the low country, and in the Z^" 
 plains : husbandmen ako, and vine dressers 
 
 in the mountains, and in || Carmel : for he II Or, 
 loved t husbandry. -f^^"^ 
 
 1 1 Moreover Uzziah had an host of t Heb. 
 fighting men, that went out to war by ^"""^ 
 bands, according to the number of their 
 account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe 
 
 and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of 
 Hananiah, one of the king's captains. 
 
 12 The whole number of the chief of the 
 fathers of the mighty men of valour were 
 two thousand and six hundred. 
 
 13 And under their hand Xias t an army, t Heb. 
 three hundred thousand and seven thou- t'Ct^"'^ 
 sand and five hundred, that made war with 
 mighty power, to' help the king against the 
 enemy. 
 
 14 And Uzziah prepared for them 
 throughout all the host shields, and spears, 
 and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, 
 
 and t slings ta cast stones. t Heb. 
 
 15 And he made in Jerusalem engines, jj,""""-^ 
 invented by cunning men, to be on the 
 towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot 
 arrows and great stones withal. And his 
 
 Syrian Christians, who fed there prodigious flocks and herds, but 
 were in subjection to the Turks, who, though few in number, )-et 
 lived in strong places, and thus kept the peasants in entire sub- 
 jection. Hanner. 
 
 14. And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, 
 &c.] It deserves notice, that here seems to be the earliest men- 
 tion on record of a magazine of military stores. Hcript. illiist. 
 Expos. Ind. 
 
 15. — engines, — to shoot arrows and great stones'] It appears 
 from this passage that those authors must be mistaken who attri- 
 bute the invention of the engine called tlie Balista, ;uid other 
 such, to the Greeks and Romans ; since we have here an instance 
 of their being employed in the East, before the Greeks had brought 
 the military art to any great perfection. Perhaps Uzziah was the 
 inventor of them, and on this account it is stated that " his name" 
 was " spread abroad." It appears that from this time they began 
 to be used in besieging and attacking towns; and therefore Eze- 
 kiel, when describing the future sieges of Jerusalem and Tyre, 
 makes mention of engines of war. Calmet. 
 
 This is probably the earliest description on record of those 
 engine*:, named by the Greeks and Romans Balistac and Cata- 
 pultjB; together with their use and application. Fragments to 
 Calmet. 
 
 It appears that some of these engines were employed to shoot 
 arrows, and others to cast great stones. The powers of various 
 engines of this sort, as described by the ancients, were very great. 
 Nonnius speaks of instruments, which threw stones of 100 or 120 
 pounds weight : Diodorus mentions a machine which threw stones 
 of 360 pounds. The distance, to which they threw, is also surpris- 
 ing, since they reached to tliree stadia, or furlongs ; perhaps even
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 f Hcb. 
 
 ^ Numb. 
 IS. 7 
 
 Vzziah is smitten 'vith Icproy/. 
 
 Mo., name t spread liir abroad ; for lie was niar- 
 '-.I'fir veUously lielpotl, till he Nvas strong. 
 
 16 f But when he was strong, his heart 
 was liiti'tl lip to hii clcstniclion : for he 
 tran.sgiosseil against the Loiii) his God, 
 ami went into the temple of the Lord to 
 burn incense upon the altar of incense. 
 
 r, And Azariali the priest went in after 
 iiiin, and with him ibiirscore priests of the 
 Loud, (hat xierc valiant men : 
 
 IS And they withstood Uzziah the king, 
 and said unto him, It " appertaineth not 
 unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto 
 'Eioijo. ti^e Loiu), but to the 'priests the sons of 
 '■ Aaron, that are consecrated to burn in- 
 
 cense : go out oi^ the sanctuary ; for thou 
 iiast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine 
 honour from the Lord God. 
 
 19 Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a 
 censer in his hand to burn incense: and 
 while he was wroth with the priests, the 
 leprosy even rose up in his forehead before 
 Uie priests in the house of the Lord, from 
 beside the incense altar. 
 
 20 And Azariali the chief priest, and 
 all the priests, looked upon him, and, be- 
 hold, he XL'as leprous in his forehead, and 
 
 to a mile distant: they could throw in one night ,600 stones, and 
 by (i.iy a 1000. They were employed likewise in battle. Tacitus 
 mentions a. battalion of the enemy, overthrown by a volley of 
 great stones. These machines had no need of stores of iron, 
 powder, sulphur, pitch, &c. but tor the most part could find am- 
 munition, wherever a fort was to be attacked, or a city besieged. 
 Script, illii.st. Exjm.t. Ind. 
 
 1(». But nlicii lie was strong, &c.] When the grandeur to which 
 he was raised dazzled liis eyes, and his pride in eartfily glories 
 made him forgetful of the laws of his infinite Bcnefiictor. Pyle. 
 How hard it is to bear great prosperity with moderation and 
 huml)le thankfulness ! Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Flow easy is it for the best of men to be swoln with admiration 
 of their own strength and glory : to be lifted up so high, as to 
 lose the sight both of the ground whence they rose, and of the 
 hand that advanced them ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 ami ireiit into Ike temple'} What could tempt him to this 
 
 folly, it is hard to e.v^lain : perlians he had a vain ambition of 
 imiuting heathen princes, wlio in many places executed the 
 priesthood. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18. — // appertaineth not unto thee, &C.3 Wliat religious heart 
 would not have relented at so faithful and just an expostulation 
 of the priests ! But how hard is it for great persons to yield to 
 those whom they have offended : Uzziah will not allow himself 
 to be faulty-; that which was done rashly, must be bonicout witli 
 power. Bp. Hall. 
 
 1 9. — anil nhile he was wroth, — the leprosy even rose upl While 
 LmiiJi yet spe.iks, God strikes. Ere the words of fury come out 
 ol his mouth, the leprosy appears in his forehead. Had it broken 
 lorth on his hand, or foot, or breast, it might have been hid from 
 Uie eyes ot men ; but now his forehead is smitten with this iudg- 
 ment.that Oo<l may proclaim to ,ill beholders, 'Thus shall it be 
 .lone to the man whose arrogance hath thrust him upon a sacred 
 
 ,r'^*- V" ^T\"^ ^*^ ^"^^ ""''' ''«"« "n ■•'" instant what the 
 longues of men had attempted in vain. Bp. Hall. 
 
 offico'.'t'.r''''" ?'?'''''^''f^ Kou'l "11 controversy concerning the 
 'Jtfcc ot the m.mstry, that " no man taketh it unto himself," Heb 
 
 but'thev cl^n t*^' , k"' *^-""' "^^i' n"«l''y a person for an office, 
 Dui iney cannot put hm, mto one. No man. however righteous 
 
 He dielh, and Jotham succeeds. 
 
 * 2 Kings 
 15. 32. 
 
 they thrust him out from thence ; yea, ^.^^^1%,^ 
 himself " hasted also to go out, because about 765. 
 the Lord had smitten him. " As^Esthcr 
 
 'il ' And Uzziah the king was a leper fg Kings 
 unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a 15. 5. 
 ' t several house, hei^ig a leper ; for he was ' Lev. is. 
 cut off from the house of the Lord : and jI^Heb. 
 Jotham his son was over the king's house, /-^e- 
 judging the people of the land. 
 
 2!^ % Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, 
 first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the 
 son of Amoz, write. 
 
 23 So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and 
 they buried him with his fathers in the 
 field of the burial which belonged to the 
 kings ; for they said, He is a leper : and 
 Jotham his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIL 
 
 1 Jotham reigning well prosperelk. 5 He subduetli the 
 Ammonites. 7 His reign. 9 Ahaz succcedeth /lim. 
 
 JOTHAM ' xvas twenty and five years 
 old wdien he began to reign, and he 
 reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His 
 mother's name also was Jerushah, the 
 daughter of Zadok. 
 
 and holy through faith and the sanctifying grace of the Holy 
 Spirit, can have authority to act in the name of Christ, till Christ 
 gives him that authority. Before that is done, let his life and 
 character be what they will, his ministrations can have no vali- 
 dity. Whatever he may be in other respects, in this particular he 
 is a grievous offender, and will be found guilty before God of sa- 
 crilegiously intruding into an office, to which he can have no pre- 
 tensions : a crime, for which " the leprosy" once " rose up in the 
 forehead" of a monarch ; and Korali and all his company, holy aa 
 they said they all were, " went down alive into the pit." And that 
 none in the Christian church might imitate the presumption of 
 Uzziah, or " go in the gainsaying of Korah," even Christ " took 
 not this honour unto Himself, nor glorified Himself to be made 
 an high priest," (for a glory it was to Him,) till He was " called 
 of God," by the visible descent of the Holy Ghost upon Him in 
 the presence of the people, and by the voice from heaven, saying, 
 " This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. — From 
 that time Jesus began to preach," Matth. iii. 17; iv. 17. Who 
 then is that follower of Jesus, that shall offer to begin before ? 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 21. — d7i'ell in a several house, &c.] He dwelt in a separate 
 house by himself, being excluded from all conversation with 
 others, and from all management of piiblick affairs ; thus " he was 
 cut off from the house of the Lord," that is, precluded from enter- 
 ing it for religious worship, as a just punishment for his daring en- 
 trance into the most holy place, and his attempt to perform there 
 what belonged to the high priest exclusively. Dr. Wells. Uzziah 
 withdraws with a dejected countenance and heavy heart; and 
 wishes to be hid no less from himself, than from others. How 
 easy is it for the God of heaven to bring down the highest pitch 
 of earthly greatness, and to humble the most stubborn pride! 
 Bp.Hall. 
 
 2,3. — in the field of the buriaf] He was buried in a sepulchre 
 by himself, and not in one where any former king had been bu- 
 ried ; (f)r. JVclls;) for it was not deemed proper or lawful to de- 
 file the royal sepulchres with a leprous body. Pyle. 
 
 The year of Uzziah's death was distinguished by the remark- 
 able vision of Isaiah, on his designation to the prophetical office, 
 Isai. vi. 1. Dr. Hales. ^ ^
 
 Jotham suhducth the Ammonites. 
 
 CHAP. XXVII, XXVIII. 
 
 Ahaz reigneth mchedly. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 the tower. 
 
 CHRIST ~ '^"'^ ^^ ^'"^ ^^"'^ tv/iich 'was right in tlie 
 
 758. sight of the Lord, according to all that 
 
 his father Uzziah did: howbeit he entered 
 
 not into the temple of the Lord. And 
 
 the people did yet corruptly. 
 
 3 He built the high gate of the house of 
 the Lord, and on the wall of II Ophel he 
 built much. 
 
 4 Moreover he built cities in the moun- 
 tains of Judah, and in the forests he built 
 castles and towers. 
 
 5 ^ He fought also with the king of the 
 Ammonites, and prevailed against them. 
 And the children of Ammon gave him the 
 same year an hundred talents of silver, and 
 ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten 
 thousand of barley, t So much did the 
 children of Ammon pay unto him, both 
 the second year, and the third. 
 
 6 So Jotham became mighty, because he 
 11 prepared his ways before the Lord his 
 God. 
 
 7 IT Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, 
 and all his wars, and his ways, lo, they are 
 written in the book of the kings of Israel 
 and Judah. 
 
 8 He was five and twenty years old when 
 he began to reign, and reigned sixteen 
 years in Jerusalem. 
 
 about 742. 9 IF And Jotham slept with his fathers, 
 and they buried him in the city of David : 
 and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 CHAP, xxvin. 
 
 1 Ahaz reigning very wickedly its grealb/ affiictcd h>j 
 ihe Syrians. 6 Judah being captivated by the Israel- 
 ites is sent home by ihe counsel of Oded the prophet. 
 l6 Ahaz sending for aid to Assyria is not helped 
 thereby. 22 In his distress tic groweth more idolatrous. 
 26 He dying, Hezekiah succeedeth him. 
 
 AHAZ ' xoas twenty years old when he 
 began to reign, and he reigned six- 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 T/iis. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 eatablifhed. 
 
 " 2 Kings 
 1«. '2. 
 
 Chap. XXVII. ver. 2. — howbeit lie entered not into the temple^ 
 It is the opinion of some, that he was so alarmed by the punish- 
 ment which had befallen Iiis fatlicr, that he did not so much as 
 enter into the court of the temple, or that he never offered sacri- 
 fices there, but only in high places. But a preferable meaning 
 seems to be, that he imitated his father in all that was good, but 
 did not profanely enter the temple to offer incense as he had done. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 And tlie people did yd corruptly.'] A better translation 
 
 may be, " Yet still the people did corruptly ;" that is, the gene- 
 rality of the nation could not be weaned from their old custona of 
 worshipping at their private altars in a superstitious manner. 
 Pyle. 
 
 8. — tlw wall of Ophel] The meaning of this is uncertain; 
 some understand by Ophel, " a palace;" others, " a high place or 
 cliff, where there was a tower;" and others again understand from 
 this expression, that he beautified and repaired the porch of the 
 house of the Lord. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — because tie prepared tiis ways before Itie Lord1\ Because he 
 Vol. I. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 741. 
 
 II Ot, offer- 
 eit tncrificc. 
 
 '' Lev. If;. 
 21. 
 
 about 741. 
 
 t Heb. 
 Darmcselc. 
 
 teen years in Jerusalem: but he did not 
 ttiat which was right in the sight of the 
 Lord, like David his father: 
 
 '2 For he walked in the ways of the 
 kings of Israel, and made also molten 
 images for Baalim. 
 
 3 Moreover he || burnt incense in the 
 valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt 
 '' his children in the fire, after the abomi- 
 nations of the heathen whom the Lord 
 had cast out before the children of Israel. 
 
 4< He sacrificed also and burnt incense 
 in the high places, and on the hills, and 
 under every green tree. 
 
 5 Wherefore the Lord his God deliver- 
 ed him into the hand of the king of Syria ; 
 and they smote him, and carried away a 
 great multitude of them captives, and 
 brought ifiem to t Damascus. And he was 
 also delivered into the hand of the king 
 of Israel, who smote him with a great 
 slaughter. 
 
 6 % For Pekah the son of Remaliali slew 
 in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand 
 in one day, which liere all t valiant men; 
 because they had forsaken the Lord God 
 of their fathers. 
 
 7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, 
 slew Maaseiah the king's son, and Azri- 
 kam the governor of the house, and Elka- 
 nah tliat icas t next to the king. 
 
 8 And the children of Israel carried 
 away captive of their brethren two hun- 
 dred thousand, women, sons, and daugh- 
 ters, and took also away much spoil from 
 them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. 
 
 9 But a prophet of the Lord was there, 
 whose name was Oded: and he went out 
 before the host that came to Samaria, and 
 said unto them, Behold, because the Lord 
 God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, 
 he hath delivered them into your hand, and 
 
 directed his counsels and actions according to the rule of God's 
 word. It 1ms been observed, that Jotliam is tlie only one of the 
 kings of .Judah who has not some evil laid to his charge. David, 
 Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Jehoshaphat, &c. all committed 
 some trespass of greater or less magnitude; but of Jotliani no fault 
 or errour is recorded. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XXVIII. ver. .■?. — of the son of Hinnom,] That is, of 
 Molech, who was so called as being worshipped in the valley of 
 Hinnom, close to Jerusalem. See note on 2 Kings xxiii. 10. 
 
 .5. — tlie Lord liis God] The Lord is called his God, from the 
 peculiar dominion which He exercised over the Israelite kings and 
 people, and from the kindness which He shewed to bun for his 
 father's sake. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 p. — becau.ie tlie Lord — ivas wroth with Judah,] He thu« 
 warns the Israelites not to be too much elated with the victory, 
 which was not to be ascribed to their valour and means of 
 strength, but to the anger of Go<l against tiic people of Judah, 
 which induced Him to abandon tliem to the fury of tlipir enemies. 
 
 .1 L 
 
 t Heb. 
 i'ns ofvtt- 
 li/ur. 
 
 t Heb. 
 tfiesecondio 
 ttic kins.
 
 Judah is captivated. 
 
 11. CHRONICLES. Ahaz sendethfor aid from Assyria. 
 
 Mo.' ve have skin tlicm irt a rage that reacheth 
 ^^JJIf."" up i'"t" i't-avou. 
 
 10 Ami now ye purpose to keep under 
 the chilthen of Jiulah ami Jerusalem for 
 bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but 
 arc there not with you, even with you, sins 
 against the Loui) your God ? 
 
 1 1 Now hear m'c therefore, and deliver 
 the captives again, which ye have taken 
 captive of your bretluen: for the fierce 
 wrath of the Loiuo is upon you. 
 
 I'J Then certain of the heads of the chil- 
 dren of Kphraim, Azariah the son of Jo- 
 hanan, Jkrechiah the son of Meshillemoth, 
 and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and 
 Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against 
 them that came from the war, 
 
 13 And said unto them. Ye shall not 
 bring in the captives hither: for whereas 
 we have ot!'ended against the Lord already, 
 ye intend to add more to oui- sins and to 
 our trespass: for our trespass is great, and 
 there is fierce wrath against Israel. 
 
 14 So the armed men left the captives 
 and the spoil before the princes and all the 
 congregation. 
 
 15 And the men which were expressed 
 by name rose up, and took the captives, 
 and with the spoil clothed all that were 
 naked among them, and arrayed them, and 
 shod them, and gave them to eat and to 
 drink, and anointed them, and carried all 
 
 n rage thai reacheth up unto h€aven7\ Meaning, a rage that 
 
 hath no measure, and tliat cneth to heaven for vengeance. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 10. — hut are there not n'lth you — sins~\ He desires them to 
 consider, that tliey, who tlioiight themselves (iotl's favourites be- 
 cause He lind made them victorious, liad sins enough to answer 
 for; for wl\ich, if He punished tliem as they deserved, they might 
 lie soon rethiced to tlie same condition with their brethren of Ju- 
 dah. lip. Patrick: 
 
 1 1. — thcjierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.^ It hence ap- 
 pears, tliat, though GikI uses one nation as tlie instrument of an- 
 otlier's putiishment, yet He docs not approve of the inhumanities 
 conunittetl by an enemy, lip. ll'ihon. 
 
 1 i. So the armed men &c.] Here was a wonderfid instance of 
 obe<lience, in restoring not only the captives which were valuable, 
 but all the sjxiil also which was no doubt considerable; and a re- 
 markable proof of tlie great jiowcr of the Prophet, that he turned 
 the iMirbarous cruelty of the Israelites to the tenderest humanity. 
 How lamenUible it is, that they were not to be so easily converted 
 from ulotitry, to which their inclination was so strong, that no- 
 thmg could persu.ide them to forsake it. lip. Patrick. Thus com- 
 passionate was OcKl towards the people of Judah, who so little de- 
 ieneA mercy at His hands. Pi/le. 
 
 1 <l. — hecoN.^ of .Uaz king of Israel ;2 King of Judah, which 
 ^ns n p,art ot Fsratl See note at chap. xxi. 2. We read six times 
 
 the k.ns of Israel ' thus put for " the king of Judah."—" For he 
 
 bv hiS . "^'" •''"' ''' 11'^'"'^ '' "'■ ^^ 1^'^'"« protection 
 u> his foul trinsgressinns. lip. Patrick. 
 
 ?"■ ■- ''"''•"wrf him, hnt .strengthened him not.l At 2 Kines 
 
 dShl'dUtlLT' H^lJ^-'r^-l"'-" '"d help h-im; how thfn 
 did he di,t,«5 him? Both Uiese are true; for, as he came to his 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 741. 
 
 ■^ Deut. 34. 
 3. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 (1 Cdptimty. 
 
 7401 
 
 the feeble of them upon asses, and brought 
 them to Jericho, " the city of palm trees, 
 to their brethren: then they returned to 
 Samaria. 
 
 16 IF At that time did king Ahaz send ahoi.t74i 
 unto the kings of Assyria to help him. 
 
 17 For again the Edomites had come 
 and smitten Judah, and carried away t cap- 
 tives. 
 
 18 The Philistines also had invaded the 
 cities of the low country, and of the south 
 of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, 
 and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho 
 with the villages thereof, and Timnah 
 with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and 
 the villages thereof: and they dwelt 
 there. 
 
 19 For the Lord brought Judah low be- 
 cause of Ahaz king of Israel ; for he made 
 Judah naked, and transgressed sore against 
 the Lord. 
 
 20 And Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria 
 came unto him, and distressed him, but 
 strengthened him not. 
 
 21 For Ahaz took away a portion out of 
 the house of the Lord, and out of the house 
 of the king, and of the princes, and gave 
 it unto the king of Assyria: but he helped 
 him not. 
 
 22 ^ And in the time of his distress did 
 he trespass yet more against the Lord: 
 this is that king Ahaz. 
 
 assistance against the king of Syria, so he took Damascus, carried 
 the people captive, and delivered Ahaz from the power of the 
 Syrians, 2 Kings xvi. 7, &c. But this was of little real avail to 
 Ahaz, for he assisted him not in recovering the cities taken from 
 him by the Philistines, nor did he lend him any forces, or enable 
 him to recruit liis strength, but rather weakened him by exhaust- 
 ing his treasures, and by destroying Samaria, by which the way 
 was opened for the more easy invasion of his country in the next 
 i-eign. Thus, in all ages of history, instances have occurred in 
 which the nations whicli have called in the assistance of foreign 
 princes, have been overrun and conquered by those who came for 
 purposes of friendship. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 22. — this is that king Ahazr\ The expression here in the He- 
 brew is an expression of great contempt, with which Ahaz well 
 deserved to be branded, as the most notorious offender that had 
 ever been among the kings of Judah. Bp. Patrick. In the dis- 
 astrous condition in which he was, lie was guilty of a piece of stu- 
 pidity, not to be paralleled in any otlier, except in the weakest 
 and wickedest of men, and took the most effectual .steps to inflame 
 the displeasure of God, ver. 24, and hasten the destruction of his 
 kingdom. Py/e. " This is that king Ahaz;" it seems to be a 
 particular brand set upon Ahaz, as a most grievous and notorious 
 sinner, because " in the time of his distress he trespassed yet 
 more," because affliction made him worse instead of better. Abp. 
 Tillotson. 
 
 Of all the kings of Judah hitherto, there is no one so dreadful 
 an example either of sin or judgment, as this son of good Jotham. 
 It is horrible to think that such a monster could descend from the 
 loins of David. Where should be the period of this wickedness? 
 He begins w ith the high places, thence he descends to the calves 
 of Dan and Bcth-el, thence he falls to a Syrian altar, to the Syrian
 
 He groweth more idolatrous. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII, XXIX. 
 
 Hezekiah restoreth religion. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIS 
 
 740. 
 + Heb. 
 
 Darmesek. 
 
 ;|Or, 
 ta offer. 
 
 72S. 
 
 ^ 23 For he sacrificed unto the gods of 
 t Damascus, which smote him : and he 
 said, Because the gods of the kings of Sy- 
 ria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to 
 them, that they may help me. But they 
 were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. 
 
 24 And Ahaz gathered together the ves- 
 sels of the house of God, and cut in pieces 
 the vessels of the house of God, and shut 
 up the doors of the house of the Lord, 
 and he made him altars in every corner of 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 25 And in every several city of Judah 
 he made high places || to burn incense un- 
 to other gods, and provoked to anger the 
 Lord God of his fathers. 
 
 26 ^ Now the rest of his acts and of all 
 his ways, first and last, behold, they are 
 written in the book of the kings of Jiidah 
 and Israel. 
 
 27 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and 
 they buried him in the city, even in Jeru- 
 salem : but they brought him not into the 
 sepulchres of the kings of Israel : and He- 
 zekiah his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 1 Hczekiah's good reign. 3 He reslorelh religion. 5 
 He cxhor/ti/i tlie Leiiiles. 1 2 They nanclify themselves, 
 and cleanse the house of God. 20 Hezekiah off'ereth 
 solemn sacrifices, wherein ihc Levites were more Jor- 
 nard tluin the pricsls. 
 
 HEZEKIAH "began to reign xihen he 
 •s-'as five and twenty years old, and 
 he reigned nine and twenty years in Jeru- 
 salem. And his mother's name ivas Abi- 
 jah, the daughter of Zechariah. 
 
 2 And he did that xchich xcris right in the 
 sight of tlie Lord, according to all that 
 David his father had done. 
 
 3 % He in the first year of his reign, in 
 the first month, opened the doors of the 
 house of the Lord, and repaired them. 
 
 god ; then, from a partnership, he falls to an utter exclusion of 
 the true God, and blocking up of His temple; and at last, as if 
 hell were broken loose upon God's inheritance, every several 
 city, every high place of Judah, hath a new god. No wonder 
 if he be branded by the Spirit of God with, " This is that kin-; 
 Ahaz." Bp.Hall. 
 
 27. — they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings'^ TIil- 
 Israelites were accustomed to honour, in a peculiai' manner, the 
 memory of their good kings ; but they inflicted mai-ks of posthu- 
 mous disgrace on their wicked kings, by not sufFei'ing them to be 
 interred in the usual sepulchres of the sovereigns. This custom 
 was singular ; the effect must have been powerful and influential; 
 it was doubtless intended to make a suitable impression on the 
 minds of the kings while living. The Egyptians had a custom 
 similar to this of holding an inquest on the bodies of persons when 
 dead. The sovereign himself was not exempt from this inquest : 
 as the publick peace was interested in their lives, it was deemed 
 for the publick welfare that they should suffer an impartial scrutiny 
 
 725. 
 = 2 Kings 
 IS. 1. 
 
 726. 
 
 4 And he brought in the priests and the ^ „''"'?'■ 
 Levites, and gathered them together into 72c. ^^ 
 the east street, 
 
 5 And said unto them, Hear mc, ye Le- 
 vites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify 
 the house of the Lord God of vour fa- 
 thers, and carry forth the filthiness out of 
 the holy place. 
 
 6 For our fathers have trespassed, and 
 done that xchich "was evil in the eyes of the 
 Lord oui" God, and have forsaken him, 
 and have turned away their faces from the 
 habitation of the Lord, and t turned their t Heb. 
 backs. S'"^ 
 
 7 Also they have shut up the doors of 
 the porch, and put out the lamps, and have 
 not burned incense nor offered burnt of- 
 ferings in the holy place unto the God of 
 Israel. 
 
 8 Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was 
 upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath 
 delivered them to t trouble, to astonish- t "'■'• . 
 ment, and to hissing, as ye see with your 
 eyes. 
 
 9 For, lo, our fatliers have fallen by the 
 sword, and our sons and our daughters and 
 our wives are in captivity for tin's. 
 
 10 Now it is in mine heart to make a 
 covenant with the Lord God of Israel, 
 that his fierce wrath may turn away from 
 us. 
 
 11 My sons, ||be not now negligent: for II Of. 
 the Lord hath '' chosen you to stand be- ulc'JIvt^""' 
 fore him, to serve him, and that ye should ' N""^- 
 minister unto him, and II burn incense. 2,6. 
 
 12 ^ Then the Levites arose, Mahath II or,../cr 
 the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of 
 Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites : 
 and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son 
 of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelcl : 
 and of the Gershonites ; Joah the son of 
 Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah : 
 
 by a publick trial ; and some of them were not ranked among 
 the honoured dead, and consequently were deprived of publick 
 burial. The conformity between this practice of the Egyptiaiis, 
 and the practice of the Israelites, iucidentaUy noticed in Scrip- 
 ture, is remarkable. Burder. 
 
 Chap. XXIX. ver. ^. — Hear mc, ye Levites,"] In this reli- 
 gious and patlietick address, Hezekiah exhorts the Levites and 
 priests to set immediately about cleansing the temple, and seeing 
 all its apartments, vessels, and utensils, made fit for use, calling 
 to their minds into what miseries and calamities the profaneness 
 of former times had plunged the whole nation, and how the con- 
 tempt of God and of holy duties had rendered die kingdom of 
 Judah the very scorn and derision of men ; and finally, how 
 highly it became them, who were God's ministers, to be pecu- 
 liarly zealous to unite all their endeavours with his for procuring 
 a refonuation, which was the only means of preventing their de- 
 struction. Pi/lc. 
 
 ,-. T, Q 
 
 , sucrifict. 
 
 II
 
 The house of God cleansed. 
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 Hezeldah qffereth 
 
 (Or. 
 ■ n tkf liun- 
 nrst i'/'llie 
 LORJ}. 
 
 72S. 
 
 Brforo \S And of the sons of Elizaphan ; Sliim- 
 CHKJST ^ .^i^^j j^,i^.| . j„,^i (,t' the sons of Asaph ; 
 
 Zechaiiah, and Mattaniah : 
 li^a* Anil of the sons of Heman ; Jehiel, 
 and Shiniei : and of the sons of Jediithun ; 
 .Shemiiiali, and U/.ziel. 
 
 15 And thev gathered then- bretliren, 
 and sanctified "themselves, and came, ac- 
 cordino- to tlie commandment of the king, 
 II by the words oi' the Lord, to cleanse the 
 honse of the Lord. 
 
 1(J And the jjriests went into the inner 
 part of the honse of the Lord, to cleanse 
 it, and bronglit out all the nnclcanness that 
 they fbinnl in the temple of the Lord into 
 the' court of the house of the Lord, And 
 the Levites took it, to carry // out abroad 
 into the brook Kidron.ldiij'.'j 
 
 17 Now they began on the first day of 
 the first month to sanctify, and on the 
 eiglith dav of the month came they to the 
 porch of the Lord: so they sanctified the 
 house of the Lord in eiglit days ; and in 
 the sixteenth day of the first month they 
 made an end. 
 
 18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the 
 king, and said. We have cleansed all the 
 house of the Lord, and the altar of burnt 
 offering, with all the vessels thereof, and 
 the sliewbread table, with all the vessels 
 thereof. 
 
 19 Moreover all the vessels, whicli king 
 Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his 
 transgression, have we prepared and sanc- 
 tified, and, behold, they are before the altar 
 of the Lord. 
 
 20 % Then Hezekiah the king rose early, 
 and gathered the rulers of the city, and 
 ■went up to the house of the Lord. 
 
 21 And thev brought seven bullocks, 
 and seven rams, and seven lambs, and se- 
 
 'i.f».-». 14. ven he goats, ibr a ' sin offering for the 
 kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for 
 .ludah. And he commanded the priests 
 the sons of Aaron to offer them on the 
 altar of the Lord. 
 
 22 So they killed the bullocks, and the 
 
 16. — into the inner part of the hoiisF} That is, into the holy 
 place, for into the mo«t holy none but the high priest might enter. 
 ny •• the court of the house of the Lord" is meant the court of the 
 priests, ■where the Levites attended upon them and ministeretl 
 unto them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 'I. — (0 ojlcr thnii on the altar'] There arc two laws in the 
 hooks of Mose?, requiring a sacritice to be offered for the sins of 
 ,'""''■ ^''tiffregatioii ; the one at Lev. iv. 1,3, 1 !•, where a bul- 
 K T^"^ '■f1U'Tt'<l for sins into which they had ignorantlv fallen • 
 a^J^" ''' ^"^^- ''''• '--• "■''"'^ ^^^ sacrifice of a goat as a sin 
 otfrting 1* commanded; together with that of a bullock as a burnt 
 offermg, when they had faUen into errour in the practice of ex- 
 
 21. 
 
 ' Lev. 4. 15 
 
 ' I Cliron. 
 IG. 4. & -i^. 
 6. 
 
 priests received the blood, and "sprinkled ^.^^''^[\^ 
 it on the altar : likewise, when they had -'js. 
 killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood "LeT.s. 
 upon the altar : they killed also the lambs, ^^'^tj. 
 and they sprinkled the blood upon the 
 altar. 
 
 23 And they brought t forth the he fHeb. 
 goats for the sin offering before the king """■■ 
 and the congregation ; and they laid their 
 ' hands upon them : 
 
 2 i And the priests killed them, and they 
 made reconciliation with their blood upon 
 the altar, to make an atonement for all Is- 
 rael : for the king commanded that the 
 burnt offering and the sin oftering shoidd 
 he made for all Israel. 
 
 25 ' And he set the Levites in the house 
 of the Lord with cymbals, with psalteries, 
 and with harps, according to the com- 
 mandment of David, and of Gad the 
 king's seer, and Nathan the prophet : for 
 
 so was the commandment t of the Lord fHeb. «y 
 
 , , , . 1 the hand oj 
 
 t by his prophets. me lord. 
 
 26 And the Levites stood with the in- t Heb. b,j 
 
 ^ T-v . , ,1 . . , the hund of. 
 
 strumeiits of David, and the priests with 
 the trumpets. 
 
 27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer 
 the burnt offering upon the altar. And 
 twhen the burnt offering began, the song fHeb. 
 of the Lord began also with the trumpets, '"""'''"'• 
 and with the t instruments ordained by Da- t Heb, 
 vid king of Israel. 
 
 28 And all the congregation worshipped, 
 and the t singers sang, and the trumpeters t Heb. 
 sounded : and all this continued until the ""'^' 
 burnt offering was finished. 
 
 29 And when they had made an end of 
 offering, the king and all that were tpre- fHeb. 
 sent with him bowed themselves, and wor-"^™'"" 
 shipped. 
 
 30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the 
 princes commanded the Levites to sing- 
 praise unto the Lord with the words of 
 David, and of Asaph the seer. And they 
 sang praises with gladness, and they bowed 
 their heads and worshipped. 
 
 31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, 
 
 temal rites. Now Hezekiah, being sensible that the people had 
 not only acted contrary to their religion, but had in ftict abo- 
 lished it, by closing the doors of their temple, and omitting the 
 appointed sacrifices, and every where exercising strange wor- 
 ship, appointed seven bullocks' for a burnt offering, and as many 
 goats for a sin offering, (though the law never required more 
 than one,) thinking that these numerous sacrifices (together with 
 the rams and lambs) were, if not necessary, at least very becom- 
 ing, on account of the great and long neglect of the Divine ser- 
 vice, and of the multitude and heinousness of their other sins 
 agamst the Lord, for which they now required forgiveness. Bp. 
 
 /lands (ifin- 
 strutnenU.
 
 solemn sacrifices. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX, XXX. 
 
 He prochiimeth a passover. 
 
 chrTst ^'^^^ y^ ^^^^ II consecrated yourselves un- 
 
 726. to the Lord, come near and bring sacrifices 
 
 II Or, and thank offerings into the house of the 
 
 ^/erfyour Lojjjj_ ^j^j ^j^g congregation brought in 
 
 sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many 
 as were of a i'ree. heart burnt offerings. 
 
 32 And the number of the burnt offer- 
 ings, which the congregation brought, was 
 threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred 
 rams, and two hundred lambs : all these 
 were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 
 
 S3 And the consecrated things -ivere six 
 hundred oxen and three thousand sheep. 
 
 34 But the priests were too few, so that 
 they could not flay all the burnt offerings: 
 
 t Heb. wherefore their brethren the Levites t did 
 *'7;w"' ^elp them, till the work was ended, and 
 until the other priests had sanctified them- 
 selves : for the Levites "were more upright 
 in heart to sanctify themselves than the 
 priests. 
 
 35 And also the burnt offerings nere in 
 abundance, with the fat of the peace offer- 
 ings, and the drink offerings for every 
 burnt offering. So the service of the house 
 of the Lord was set in order. 
 
 3Q And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the 
 people, that God had prepared the people : 
 for the thing was done suddenly. 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 1 Hezekiah proclaimelh a solemn passover ou ike second 
 jnonth for Judah and Israel. 13 The assembly, having 
 destroyed the altars of idolatry, keep the feast fourteen 
 days. 27 The priests and Levites bless the people. 
 
 31. — brought in sacrijices and thank offerings ;~\ The sacrifices 
 of expiation being now ended, the king desired the assembly to 
 present such other sacrifices as they had prepared, by way of 
 thanksgiving and acknowledgment to God, or for the entertain- 
 ment of themselves and their friends. Some of these were burnt 
 offerings, and, as such, were wholly consumed on the altar ; but 
 part of them were peace offerings, and feasted upon by the offer- 
 ers, as the law permitted. Pyle. 
 
 33. — the consecrated Ihings'J That is, the things otherwise de- 
 voted to the service of God. Dr. Wells. 
 
 34. — the priests were too few ^ The reason of this was, that a 
 great man}^ priests, tainted with the corruptions of the foregoing 
 reign, had neglected the king's order, and did not appear pre- 
 pared for the service ; whereupon, as the Levites were far more 
 zealous for the reformation, they were appointed to supply the 
 defects of the priests, at this time, by assisting in several matters 
 that usually belonged to the priests. Pyle. 
 
 Chap. XXX. ^ver,, 1. — lo Epkraim and MaHmseh,'^ This ex- 
 pression seems to imply that, while Hezekiah sent messages 
 to all the tribes, he sent more particularly to these two tribes, 
 being the nearest to him, and many of them having settled them- 
 selves in die land of Judah, hi the reign of Asa, chap. w. Q. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 .2. — to keep the pa.tsover in the second month.~\ The late king 
 had caused such confusion in religious matters, and many of the 
 priests and people had been so long unaccustomed to the holy ser- 
 vices, that the preparations for the passover could not be made by 
 
 AND Hezekiah sent to all Israel and ^^<^^ 
 f* TT p T C 'T' 
 Judah, and wrote letters also to E- 726. 
 phraim and Manasseh, that they should 
 come to the house of the Lord at Jerusa- 
 lem, to keep the passover unto the Lord 
 God of Israel. 
 
 2 For the king had taken counsel, and 
 his princes, and all the congregation in 
 Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the se- 
 cond ' month. * Ktunb. 9. 
 
 3 For they could not keep it at that '"' "• 
 time, because the priests had not sancti- 
 fied themselves sufficiently, neither had the 
 people gathered themselves together to Je- 
 rusalem. 
 
 4 And the thing t pleased the king and tHeb. 
 all the congregation. (*eey«,./ 
 
 5 So they established a decree to make '*«*"•«• 
 proclamation throughout all Israel, from 
 Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should 
 come to keep the passover unto the Lord 
 God of Israel at Jerusalem : for they had 
 
 not done it of a long ti77i€ in such sort as it 
 was written. 
 
 6 So the posts went with the letters 
 tfrom the king and his princes through- +^^''- 
 out all Israel and Judali, and according to a",S. 
 the commandment of the king, saying, Ye 
 children of Israel, turn again unto the 
 Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, 
 
 and he will return to the remnant of you, 
 that are escaped out of the hand of the 
 kings of Assyria. 
 
 7 And be not ye like your fathers, and 
 like your brethren, which trespassed against 
 
 the time appointed by the law, the first month, ver. 3 ; and ac- 
 cordingly it was resolve<l to defer it till the second, without the 
 least apprcliension of the displeasure of God, who, they knew, 
 had dispensed on like occasions with such ritual observances. See 
 Numb. ix. 11. Pylc- 
 
 Tlie ten tribes had never kept the passover, in such a manner 
 as the law prescribed, since the di\ ision of the kingdom under 
 Jeroboam; and it appears from ver. 26, that the tribe of Judah 
 had never kept it with such solemnity since the time of Solomon. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — proclamation throughout all Israel,'] We may reasonably 
 suppose that this took place with the consent of Hoshea king of 
 Israel ; for he has the best character given of him of all the 
 kings of Israel : and, though " he did evil in the sight of the 
 Lord," 2 Kings xvii. 2, yet it is added in the next words, '• but 
 not as the kings of Israel that were before him ;" which pro- 
 bably implies, that he did not prevent his subjects from attend- 
 ing "their Divine worship at .lernsalem, as otlier kings had done. 
 Ih-. Wells, ^^'e should remark, as an extraorilinary instance of 
 GikI's goodness to His sinful people in the ten tribes, that He 
 raised up at the very last, when they were ripe for destruction, 
 such a king to reign over them, who did not prevent those of his 
 subjects, M ho were disposed, from going to worship at Jerusalem. 
 Bp. Patrick. The two golden calves wliich Jeroboam had set up 
 were at this time taken away ; that at Dan by Tiglath-pileser, 
 and the other by Shalmaneser : on this account, the Israelites 
 were probably better di.'posed at this lime to go up to Jerusalem 
 for publick worship. Bp. Wilson.
 
 The assenibhf destroy 
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 the altars of idolatry. 
 
 \ 
 
 IWfort 
 
 CHUIST 
 
 7S6. 
 
 f He*-. 
 kartUn nft 
 
 your H£cku 
 
 t Hch. 
 giK Iht 
 ktnJ. 
 
 * Eiod. 3«. 
 6. 
 
 ' Chip. 28. 
 24. 
 
 t Heb 
 their stand- 
 ing. 
 
 the Lord God of their fathers, who there- 
 fore fjave them up to desolation, as ye see. 
 
 8 Now t be ve not stiff necked, as your 
 fathers uere, hut + yield yourselves unto 
 the Lord, and enter into his sanctuary, 
 w hich he hath sanctified for ever : and 
 serve the Lord your God, that the fierce- 
 ness of his wrath may turn away from you. 
 
 9 For if ve turn again unto the Lord, 
 your brethren and your children shall Jind 
 compassion before them that lead them 
 captive, so that they shall come again into 
 this land : for the Loud your God is " gra- 
 cious and merciful, and will not turn away 
 his face from you, if ye return unto him. 
 
 10 So the posts passed from city to 
 city til rough the country of Ephraim and 
 Manasseh even unto Zebulun : but they 
 laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. 
 
 11 Nevertheless divers of Asher and 
 Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled them- 
 selves, and came to Jerusalem. 
 
 VZ Also in Judah the hand of God was 
 to give them one heart to do the command- 
 ment of the king and of the princes, by 
 the word of the Lord. 
 
 13 ^ And there assembled at Jerusalem 
 much people to keep the feast of unlea- 
 vened bread in the second month, a very 
 great congregation. 
 
 14 And they arose and took away the 
 'altars tiuit xcere in Jerusalem, and all the 
 altars for incense took they away, and cast 
 them into the brook Kidron. 
 
 15 Then they killed the passover on the 
 fourteenth day of the second month : and 
 the priests and the Levites were ashamed, 
 and sanctified themselves, and brought in 
 the burnt ofterings into the house of the 
 Loud. 
 
 16 And they stood in t their place after 
 * their manner, according to the law of Mo- 
 ses the man of God : the priests sprinkled 
 the blood, Xihich they received of the hand 
 of the Levites. 
 
 17 For there v^ere many in the congre- 
 gation that were not sanctified : therefore 
 Uie Levites had the charge of the killino- 
 
 J 7 c" '?*: '"'^'^ ?^ '^'^ ^"^^ They considered the com. 
 mand of the king and the princes on this occasion to be .is a 
 Uivine comm.Y.d ; .-.nd so it .ippeared to be by the mighty power 
 Iy'v'm '^'""'^ *"""^' *° '"^ '^•^««^f"l obedience. 
 
 U. — /oot- awa,j the aUars-] They first destroyed all the su- 
 Mo^^°"^;t^ »■"' -«S- -»>i<^ -re used L purpot of 
 
 thaV m^v'tf tr'T "'T.^ '" "u ""•Srcgnlion &c.] It va.s found 
 icsuvai, nau, through long ignorance and disuse, 
 
 of the passovers for every one tkatn'as not chrTst 
 clean, to sanctify them unto the Lord. 726. 
 
 18 For a multitude of the people, ew7i 
 many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, 
 and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, 
 yet did they eat the passover otherwise 
 than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed 
 for them, saying, The good Lord pardon 
 
 eveiy one 
 
 19 That prepareth his heart to seek God, 
 the Lord God of his fathers, though he be 
 not cleansed according to the purification 
 of the sanctuary. 
 
 20 And the Lord hearkened to Heze- 
 kiah, and healed the people. 
 
 21 And the children of Israel that were 
 
 t present at Jerusalem kept the feast offHei*. 
 unleavened bread seven days with great •^"""'^' 
 gladness : and the Levites and the priests 
 praised the Lord day by day, singing with 
 tloud instruments unto the Lord. l^llmenu 
 
 22 And Hezekiah spake t comfortably of strength. 
 unto all the Levites that taught the good j;^,f^^„,.^ 
 knowledge of the Lord : and they did eat o/c.«,&c. 
 throughout the feast seven days, offering 
 peace offerings, and making confession to 
 
 the Lord God of their fathers. 
 
 23 And the whole assembly took coun- 
 sel to keep other seven days : and they 
 kept other seven days with gladness. 
 
 24. For Hezekiah king of Judah t did t ^eb. 
 
 1 • 1 J 1 1 liftedup,m, 
 
 give to the congregation a tiiousancl bul- i„ffered. 
 locks and seven thousand sheep ; and the 
 princes gave to the congregation a thou- 
 sand bullocks and ten thousand sheep : 
 and a great number of priests sanctified 
 themselves. 
 
 25 And all the congregation of Judah, 
 with the priests and the Levites, and all 
 the congregation that came out of Israel, 
 and the strangers that came out of the 
 land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, 
 rejoiced. 
 
 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem : 
 for since the time of Solomon the son of 
 David king of Israel there was not the like 
 in Jerusalem. 
 
 27 "^ Then the priests the Levites arose 
 
 forgotten to prepare themselves for it by certain ceremonial puri- 
 fications, required by the law ; but, as they appeared to come 
 with a sincere disposition of mind towards the service of God, 
 they were admitted to all the services, ver. 18, the king him- 
 self puHing up his prayers to God, to excuse them in this mat- 
 ter ; and accordingly their devotions were accepted, ver. 20. 
 Pylc. 
 
 20. — and Iienlcd the people^ That is, granted them pardon, 
 and freed them from the guilt of sin. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 27. — Ihe priests the Levites'] This expression seems here to 
 mean such of tlie Levites as were priests.
 
 The courses of the priests and Levites. CHAP. XXXI. The people'sforwardness in offerings, S;c. 
 
 chrTst ^"'^ blessed the people: and their voice was 
 heard, and their prayer came up to t his 
 
 726. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 tlie habUa- 
 tion of his 
 holiness. 
 
 holy dwelling place, even unto heaven. 
 
 f Hcb. 
 jvund. 
 ' 2 Kings 
 IS. 4. 
 f Heb. 
 statues. 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 1 The people is forward in deslroyiiig idolatry. 2 He- 
 xekiah ordereth I lie courses of the pric.its and Levilcs, 
 and providclhfor their work ajid maintenance. 5 The 
 people's forwardness in offerings and tithes. 1 1 He- 
 zekiah appoitiielk officers to dispose of the tithes. 20 
 The sincerity of Hezekiah. 
 
 NOW when all this was finished, all Is- 
 rael that were t present went out to 
 the cities of Judah, and * brake the t images 
 in pieces, and cut down the groves, and 
 threw down the high places and the altars 
 out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim 
 t Hd). un- also and Manasseh, t until they had utter- 
 aa end" ' ly destroyed them all. Then all the chil- 
 dren of Israel returned, every man to his 
 possession, into their own cities. 
 
 2 % And Hezekiah appointed the courses 
 of the priests and the Levites after their 
 courses, every man according to his ser- 
 vice, the priests and Levites for burnt of- 
 ferings and for peace offerings, to minister, 
 and to give thanks, and to praise in the 
 gates of the tents of the Lord. 
 
 3 He appointed also the king's portion 
 of his substance for the burnt offerings, to 
 ivit, for the morning and evening burnt of- 
 ferings, and the burnt offerings for the 
 sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for 
 
 »Niimb.2s. the set feasts, as it is written in the ''law 
 of the Lord. 
 
 4 Moreover he commanded the people 
 that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion 
 of the priests and the Levites, tliat they 
 might be encouraged in the law of the 
 Lord. 
 
 5 ^ And as soon as the commandment 
 t Heb. t came abroad, the children of Israel 
 brakefoTth. brought in abundance the firstfruits of 
 jl Or, corn, wine, and oil, and II honey, and of 
 
 all the increase of the field; and the tithe 
 of all things brought they in abundantly. 
 (3 And concerning the children of Israel 
 
 dnlcs. 
 
 Chap. XXXI. ver. 1. — the high places and the altars^ Those 
 probably which Ahaz had made in all the fenced cities of Judah, 
 chap, xxviii. 25. By destroying these monuments of idolati-y, 
 the Israelites shewed the good effects of the instruction they had 
 received at the celebration of the passover. Pyle. 
 
 2. — in the gates of the tents of the Lord.j That is, in the 
 Lord's house, which anciently was a tent. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. — to give the portion of the priests &c.] To pay punctually 
 the dues allotted to the support of the mini.sters at the temple, 
 "that they might be encouraged in the law of the Lord;" that 
 is, that they might not grow negligent in theii- holy duties, 
 through want and poverty. Pyle. 
 
 and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Ju- 
 dah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen 
 and sheep, and the " tithe of holy things 
 which were consecrated unto the Lord 
 their God, and laid them t by heaps. 
 
 7 In the third month they began to lay 
 the foundation of the heaps, and finished 
 them in the seventh month. 
 
 8 And when Hezekiah and the princes 
 came and saw the heaps, they blessed the 
 Lord, and his people Israel. 
 
 9 Then Hezekiah questioned with the 
 priests and the Levites concerning the 
 heaps. 
 
 10 And Azariah the chief priest of the 
 house of Zadok answered him, and said, 
 Since the people began to bring the offer- 
 ings into the house of the Lord, we have 
 had enough to eat, and have left plenty: 
 for the Lord hath blessed his people; and 
 that which is left is this great store. 
 
 11 ^ Then Hezekiah commanded to 
 prepare II chambers in the house of the 
 Lord; and they prepared them, 
 
 12 And brought in the offerings and the 
 tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: 
 over which Cononiah the Levite "tvas ruler, 
 and Shimei his brother ivas the next. 
 
 13 And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Na- 
 hath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Joza- 
 bad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Ma- 
 hath, and Benaiah, ivere overseers t under 
 the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his bro- 
 ther, at the commandment of Hezekiah 
 the king, and Azariah the ruler of the 
 house of God. 
 
 14 And Kore the son of Imnah the Le- 
 vite, the porter toward the east, xvas over 
 the freewill offerings of God, to distribute 
 the oblations of the Lord, and the most 
 holy things. 
 
 15 And t next him xcere Eden, and Mi- 
 niamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Ama- 
 riah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the 
 priests, in their II set office, to give to tlieir 
 brethren by course?, as well to the great as 
 to the small: 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 72C. 
 
 ' Lev. 27. 
 
 30. 
 
 Dcut. 14. 
 
 28. 
 
 + Heb. 
 
 henptlieafs. 
 
 U Or. 
 sturehiiuses. 
 
 t Heb. 
 at the hand. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 at /lis hanii. 
 
 II Or, 
 trust. 
 
 7 t/iey becan to lai/ the foundation of the heaps,^ They be- 
 gan' to bring in their offerings of firstfruits in the third month, 
 when their harvest began, and fini.shcd the tithing m the seventh 
 month, when the harvest was endeil, Exod. xxin. 1(). Bp. Patrick. 
 
 \3 —to 'rive to their brethren bi/ coiir.w, &c.] Tlie persons, 
 liere mentioned, were appointed to" give their due portion to their 
 bretliren, who staid in their cities - by courses," while the others 
 came to officiate at the temple, and that, as well to "the great 
 or elder, as to " the small" or younger. Except (as it proceeds 
 ver 16) such children as, by the genealogies of the males, whicli 
 were caiefully kept, appeared to be three years old and upwards; 
 for to their males " from three years old and upward," " even
 
 HezeliiaVs sincerity. 
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 Sennacherib tnvadeth Judah. 
 
 I Of, 
 
 mil. 
 
 B«f.ir» iC Beside their genealogy of males, from 
 nmsT ^j^^^,^ years old ami upward, even unto 
 everyone that cntoreth into the house of 
 the Lord, his daily portion for their ser- 
 vice in their charges according to their 
 courses ; 
 
 17 Both to the genealogy of the priests 
 bv the house of their fathers, and the Le- 
 vites from twenty years old and upward, in 
 their charges by their courses ; 
 
 18 And to the genealogy of all their lit- 
 tle ones, their wives, and their sons, and 
 their daughters, through all the congrega- 
 tion : for in their II set office they sanctified 
 themselves in holiness : 
 
 19 Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, 
 "U'hic/i u-cre in the fields of the suburbs of 
 their cities, in e^■ery several city, the men 
 that were expressed by name, to give por- 
 tions to all the males among the priests, 
 and to all that were reckoned by genealo- 
 gies among the Levites. 
 
 20 1[ And thus did Hezekiah through- 
 out all Judah, and wrought that xvhich xvas 
 good and right and truth before the Lord 
 his God. 
 
 21 And in every work that he began in 
 the service of the house of God, and in the 
 law, and in the commandments, to seek his 
 God, he did it with all his heart, and pros- 
 pered. 
 
 CHAP. xxxn. 
 
 1 Semiaclienb invadiiig Judali, Hezckiali forlifielh him- 
 
 
 (13- 
 
 C- 
 
 tlf, and aicoiira^'t'l/i /lis people, f) Auaiiisl l/ie hit 
 <hrmm of Seumiclierib, hi/ mes.<!(,^e ami iHtcr.i, lie. 
 hah and haiah pra,,. '2I A„^a„<;el dcslroiiclh the 
 lUKl of the Assynam, lo the tllori, of Hezekiah. 24 
 iy^^M/i i»ay,n!i in hi, siekne.s.^, God giuelh him a 
 s,fn of recover;,. Co //,- reaxing promt Is humbled by 
 t'Orf. 27 His wealth ami norks. .il ///, error in 
 
 7n. 
 
 * S King* 
 IK. 13,4c. 
 Imi. M. 1, 
 Ac. 
 
 or m 
 
 h 
 
 the <"nba>sn^e of Babylon. 32 He dying, Mamsseh 
 
 AFTE R ' these things, and the esta- 
 blishment thereof, .Sennacherib king 
 
 their eonrZXt ^ v t"t,.: t" ' "•' "l""' ^" ^■^'^ '" 
 
 •ver. Up Patrick. P"^""""! tor, the others being passed 
 
 th-rty year, „1.1. nS v " C n " V"^'"? *'" ^^^y ^^^^e 
 
 Ptridc. ^ vy.en\.y years, 1 Chron. xxiii. 27 Bp 
 
 of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, Before 
 and encamped against the fenced cities, ^"7",^^^ 
 and thought t to win them for himself, t Hei). 
 
 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Senna- !". '"'"''' 
 chenb was come, and that t he was pur- t Hei.. 
 posed to fight against Jerusalem, /m/«ce was 
 
 3 He took counsel with his princes and 
 his mighty men to stop the waters of the 
 fountains which xvere without the city; 
 and they did help him. 
 
 4 So there was gathered much people 
 together, who stopped all the fountains, 
 
 and the brook that t ran through the midst fHeb. 
 of the land, saying, Why should the kings "''''>""''• 
 of Assyria come, and find much water? 
 
 5 Also he strengthened himself, and 
 budt up all the wall that was broken, and 
 raised // up to the towers, and another wall 
 without, and repaired Millo in the city of 
 David, and made || darts and shields in 11 Or, 
 abundance. swords, or, 
 
 6 And he set captains of war over the """^""'' 
 people, and gathered them together to him 
 
 in the street of the gate of the city, and 
 
 t spake comfortably to them, saying, t Hei,. 
 
 7. Be strong and courageous, be not f;:;nt '^ 
 afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria 
 nor for all the multitude that is with him • 
 for there be more with us than with him • 
 
 8 With him is an " arm of flesh; but uj^^ n 5 
 with us IS the Lord our God to help us 
 and to fight our battles. And the people 
 t rested themselves upon the words oftHeb. 
 Hezekiah king of Judah. leaned. 
 
 9^_' After this did Sennacherib kinff of c , ''"• 
 Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, >» n'""' 
 (but h^ himself laid siege against Lachish, 
 and ail his t power with him,) unto Heze- + "^■''• 
 kiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah """""'""■ 
 that "were at Jerusalem, saying, 
 
 10 Thus saith Sennacherib 'king of As- 
 syna Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide « or, 
 II m the siege in Jerusalem 3 imhestmng 
 
 hold. 
 
 tlltfl^T *°. '^"'' ™'^^^ «"'» '^'''W""' of ^-hom (as it here 
 
 acc"^„f "to" /£"»'( "■^^ ""^ '"""'~fi"^ themselves &c.] Ratlier, 
 sSedthe,. 1 T;-'''" *^'''''" •" "^">> fidelity, they 
 
 nlisfy in t^ hmfsl of Cor";' I't "' '""'^ ^"'^"''«' "" ^h^" 
 sufficient m^^,UPn?n ^^',""* ^''"btmg but that a good and 
 
 n^^^^ Bpiat^k ^^^^ ^" P'"''''*^'^ ^"^ '^'"^ ^"d" their ft- 
 fili?pThe^wells and'fii.tr '" "'T '''"' T'"" of the fountains-] To 
 
 but the faithless A.s.sSriftert "T T'' "\*'''' '''■^* '"'*'""*^' 
 armyagainstthelandof {ufh 5' ^^^""'^^ '^"^ '''^ ^^l"'^' 
 foUo^^'bg, ver. 10^16 IS^ ^""' *he insulting message 
 
 k, ver. io_io, which is there given more at length.
 
 SennacheriV s blasphemous message. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 The Assyrian army cut off. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST ^^ Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to 
 
 710. give over yourselves to die by famine and 
 
 by thirst, saying, The Lord our God shall 
 
 deliver us out of the hand of the king of 
 
 Assyiia ? 
 
 12 Hath not the same Hezekiah taken 
 away his high places and his altars, and 
 commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying. 
 Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn 
 incens upon it? 
 
 13 Know ye not what I and my fathers 
 have done unto all the people of other 
 lands ? were the gods of the nations of 
 those lands any ways able to deliver their 
 lands out of mine hand ? 
 
 14 Who "was there among all the gods of 
 those nations that my fathers utterly de- 
 stroyed, that could deliver his people out 
 of mine hand, that your God should be 
 able to deliver you out of mine hand ? 
 
 15 Now therefore let not Hezekiah de- 
 ceive you, nor persuade you on this man- 
 ner, neither yet believe him : for no god 
 of any nation or kingdom was able to deli- 
 ver his people out of mine hand, and out 
 of the hand of my fathers : how much less 
 shall your God deliver you out of mine 
 hand? 
 
 16 And his servants spake yet more 
 against the Lord God, and against his ser- 
 vant Hezekiah. 
 
 17 He wrote also letters to rail on the 
 Lord God of Israel, and to speak against 
 him, saying, As the gods of the nations of 
 other lands have not delivered their people 
 out of mine hand, so shall not the God of 
 Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine 
 band. 
 
 18 Then they cried with a loud voice in 
 the Je\^s' speech unto the people of Jeru- 
 salem that were on the wall, to affright 
 them, and to trouble them; that they 
 might take the city. 
 
 19 And they spake against the God of 
 Jerusalem, as against the gods of the peo- 
 ple of the earth, 'which "were the work of 
 the hands of man. 
 
 20 And for this cause Hezekiah the 
 
 17. He wrote ulto letters^ One of these is detailed at 2 Kings 
 3ti\. 9 — 1*- 
 
 21. — the Lord sent an atigel,'] See note at 2 Kings xix. 35. 
 
 25. But Hezekiah rendered not again &c.] Hezekiah, though 
 lebeved from his dangerous sickness in a very extraordinary 
 manner, and with miracidous evidences of the hand of God in his 
 behalf, was not so humble, or so grateful for the Divine mercies 
 •she ought to have been; but imprudently boasted of his wealth, 
 and prided himself in the compliments of the king of Babylon. 
 Being however made sensible of the evil consequences of his folly 
 by a severe reproof ftom the Prophet, he repented heartily of it. 
 Vol. J. 
 
 king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of ^e^"j1^ 
 Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. 710. 
 
 21 % "And the Lord sent an angel, "2 King* 
 which cut off all the mighty men of valour, 's-^s.*^ 
 and the leaders and captains in the camp 
 
 of the king of Assyria. So he returned 
 with shame of face to his own land. And 
 when he was come into the house of his 
 god, tliey that came forth of his own bowels 
 t slew him there with the sword. t Heb. 
 
 22 Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah andj^"'""' 
 the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand 
 
 of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and 
 from the hand of all other, and guided 
 them on every side. „, p.„ 
 
 23 And many brought gifts unto the 710. 
 Lord to Jerusalem, and t presents to He- t Heb. 
 zekiah king of Judah : so that he was mag- a^/ 
 nified in the sight of all nations from 
 thenceforth. 
 
 24 ^ " In those days Hezekiah was sick to , ^ " '• 
 the death, and prayed unto the Lord : and 20. 1. 
 
 he spake unto him, and he II gave him a sign, j!*^'^^^' '' 
 
 25 But Hezekiah rendered not again ac- wrought « 
 cording to the benefit do?ie unto him ; for ^^'■^'"' 
 his heart was lifted up : therefore there was 
 wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Je- 
 rusalem. 
 
 26 Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled 
 himself for t the pride of his heart, both he t Heb. 
 and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that '^^'^'"^ 
 the wrath of the Lord came not upon them 
 
 in the days of Hezekiah. 
 
 27 % And Hezekiah had exceeding much 
 riches and honour : and he made himself 
 treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for 
 precious stones, and for spices, and for 
 shields, and for all manner of t pleasant t Hcb. 
 jewels ; ./</«,><■. 
 
 28 Storehouses also for the increase of 
 corn, and wine, and oil ; and stalls for all 
 manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks. 
 
 29 Moreover he provided him cities, 
 and possessions of flocks and herds in 
 abundance : for God had given him sub- 
 stance very much. 
 
 SO This same Hezekiah also stopped the 
 upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought 
 
 and died in peace. These particulars are more largely related at 
 2 Kings XX, and Isai. xxx\riii, xxxix. Pi/lc- 
 
 This is here particularly noticed as a great blot in the cha- 
 racter of Hezekiah. God takes very severe notice of all the un- 
 kind and imworthy returns that are made to Him for His good* 
 ness. Abp. TiUotson. 
 
 30. — stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon. ^ The sacred 
 writer perhaps speaks here of the same circujnstaiice which had 
 been mentioned at ver. 4 ; which, being a work of great labour 
 and art, he thinks fit again to notice among Hezekiab's memo- 
 rable works. It is not known whether Gihoa was a hill, or a 
 
 5 M
 
 MamsseVs wicked reign. 
 
 IT. CHRONICLES. 
 
 He setteth up idolatrrf. 
 
 7U. 
 fHcb. 
 inlcrprel- 
 m. 
 
 !0. I.'. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 kindneiies 
 
 II Or. 
 higlietl 
 
 con. 
 
 J»^~ it straight down to the West side of" the 
 ^"fa" citv of David. And Hezekiah prospered 
 in aJI his works. 
 
 31 f Howbeit in the business o/the+am- 
 bassadors of the princes of Babylon, who 
 ' sent unto him to enquire of the wonder 
 that was done in the land, God left hnn, to 
 try him, that he might know all that rvas in 
 his heart. 
 
 3Q % Now the rest of the acts of Heze- 
 kiah, and his t goodness, behold, they are 
 written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, 
 tlie son of Amoz, and in the book of the 
 kings of Judah and Israel. 
 
 33 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, 
 and they buried him in the || chiefest of the 
 sepulchres of the sons of David : and all 
 Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did 
 him honour at his death. And Manasseh 
 his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 J Manasseh's niicked reign. !i He sellcth up iilolalri/, 
 and noitld not be admonished. 1 1 He i.t carried into 
 Babylon. 12 Upon his prayer to God he is released, 
 and puttclh down idolatry. 1 8 His acts. 20 Fie dij- 
 ine, Amon succeedeth him. 21 Amon reigning wick- 
 edly is ilain by his servants. 25 The murderers being 
 slain, Josiah succcedelh him. 
 
 MANASSEH *was twelve years old 
 when he began to reign, and he 
 reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem : 
 2 But did tiiat which xoas evil in the 
 sight of the Lord, like unto the " abomi- 
 '^' nations of the heathen, whonj the Lord 
 
 had cast out before the children of Is- 
 
 t Ueb. '^^^' 
 
 ht Tdumtd 3 *[ For t he built again the high places 
 
 "/itiii^ ^-hich Hezekiah his father had ' broken 
 
 13. 4. down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, 
 
 ' SKingt 
 31. I,«i». 
 
 » Dctiu 18. 
 
 fountain, the head of a stream. Some think it wag the name not 
 only o» a fountain, but al«o of an adjoining hill; the situation of 
 which ij, Irom the passage now before us, generally assigned to 
 be near mount Zion, and on the west side of it. Dr. Wells. 
 
 •SI Hnn-beit in the business Ac] Wliich is mentioned at larjre 
 e Kmgs .\x. 12 ; Isai. x.xxix. 1. * ' 
 
 .~~,.^'^. '^ *""' '" '7 /"■'", &c.] God left him wholly to 
 the inchnations of his own heart, that he might have a trial of 'ts 
 corruption when left to itself, that so he might be led to enter- 
 tiin a humble opmion of hig own pictv, and to behave himself in 
 .1 lowly and thankful manner towards God, for all the good he 
 was enabletl to do. Dr. WeRs. I„ this circumstance of his life 
 WM the niost remarkable instance of Hezekiahs miscarriage ; a 
 a»f which tne,l h,s heart to the bottom, and may well seTve to 
 S^detJrr '••"^eatest men are to be dazzled by temporal 
 ^i y^k "*""*" """■* ''"'* watchfulness over them- 
 
 mirfirJ^h^ *'r'^ 7'"'* is, to shew him to himself, that he 
 migm se* iv» ^-^ weaknese, mit be more hmnbled. JS;,. Wilson. 
 
 Chap. XXXlll. ver, ^.-andlo donx^.e than tht heathen,-] A 
 
 ST 
 
 ' Psal. I as. 
 
 H. 
 
 and made groves, and worshipped all the j, before 
 host of heaven, and served them. eys. 
 
 4 Also he built altars in the house of the 
 Lord, whereof the Lord had said, " In Je- \^''^^- Je- 
 rusalem shall my name be for ever. i kings s. 
 
 5 And he biiilt altars for all the host of ^a* 9.3. 
 heaven in the two courts of the house of &?. ic. 
 the Lord. 
 
 6 And he caused his children to pass 
 through the fire in the valley of the son of 
 Hinnom : also he observed times, and used 
 enchantments, and used witchcraft, and 
 dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wi- 
 zards : he wrought much evil in the sight 
 of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. 
 
 7 And he set a carved image, the idol 
 which he had made, in the house of God, 
 of which God had said to David and to 
 Solomon his son. In ' this house, and in 
 Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all 
 tlie tribes of Israel, will I put my name for 
 ever : 
 
 8 ' Neither will I any more remove the 'esom. 7. 
 foot of Israel from out of the land which I 
 
 have appointed for your fathers ; so that 
 they will take heed to do all that 1 have 
 commanded them, according to the whole 
 law and the statutes and the ordinances by 
 the hand of Moses. 
 
 9 So Manasseh made Judah and the in- 
 habitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do 
 worse than the heathen, whom the Lord 
 had destroyed before the children of Is- 
 rael. 
 
 10 And the Lord spake to Manasseh, 
 and to his peojple : but they would not 
 hearken. 
 
 11^ Wherefore the Lord brought upon 67- 
 them the captains of the host t of the king + ^eb. 
 of Assyria, which took Manasseh among ^hTkin^s^ 
 
 most prodigious and unhappy change is this, from the height of 
 piety in the father's time, to the worst and most degrading im- 
 piety. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11. Wherefore the I,ord brougld upon them~\ These remarkable 
 circumstances in the life of Manasseh were not mentioned in the 
 book of Kings. In what year of his reign his captivity took place, 
 and what were the circumstances and duration of it, is not re- 
 lated. Thus much we find here recorded, that his adversity 
 opened his eyes to his miscarriages and impieties, and in the bit- 
 terness of his soul he sent up so many deep sighs and earnest 
 prayers to heaven, that he at length obtained liis pardon, and 
 a happy deliverance oxit of captivity. After this, (see ver. 1 2, &€.) 
 from the greatest sinner he became the greatest penitent; and 
 from the blootiiest tyrant, one of the bestof monarchs ; so that, 
 after his retiu-n, he bestowed his whole time and application in 
 repairing the damages which his impiety had caused, both inre- 
 ligion and in his government Universal Histort/. ' ; i. 
 
 took Manasseh among ihe iharns,'} Took him ia a thicket, 
 
 where he had bid himself after his defeat. Bp. Patrick. Some old 
 translations give the ecase, " Took Manasseh in chains, and bound 
 birawith letters, and caiTied liim to Babylon." TJiis sense is by
 
 His captivity, and return. 
 
 CHAP. xxxm. 
 
 He dying, Amqn succeedetk km. 
 
 CHftLST ^^^ tliorns, and bound hjm with, U/gtters, 
 
 &jfi. and carried him to Babykm. ^-vj^^rf to .+£ 
 II Or. 12 And when he was in affliction, "he 
 
 c4.mj. besought the Lord his God, and humbled 
 himself greatly before the God of his fa- 
 thers, 
 
 13 And prayed unto him : and he was 
 intreated of him, and heard his supplica- 
 tion, and brought him again to Jerusalem 
 into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew 
 that the Lord he was God. 
 
 14- Now after this he built a wall with- 
 out the city of David, on the west side of 
 Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering 
 in at the fish gate, and compassed about 
 
 &er. jl ^P}"^^' ^^"^ ''^'^^^ it up a very great 
 height, and put captains of war in all the 
 fenced cities of Judah. 
 
 15 And he took away the strange gods, 
 and the idol out of the house of the Lord, 
 and all the altars that he had built in the 
 mount of the house of the Lord, and in 
 Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city. 
 
 16 And he repaired the altar of the 
 Lord, and sacrificed thereon peace offer- 
 ings and thank offerings, and commanded 
 Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. 
 
 iraiiy supposed to be the true sense, from its being deemed im- 
 probable that such a circumstance as his being taken by his ene- 
 mies " among the thorns" should be mentioned in Scripture. 
 I>r. Wall. 
 
 12. — ivhen he was in affliction, he besought the LorcT^ Manas- 
 seh might now say ■with his grandfather David, " It is good for 
 me that I have been afflicted." His prison was now a more happy 
 place for him than his palace ; Babylon a better school than Je- 
 rusalem. What fools are we to frown on our afflictions ! These, 
 how severe soever, are our best friends. They are not indeed for 
 our present pleasure, but they are for our lasting profit. Bp. Hall. 
 
 13. — and he was intreated of him^ We wonder not at Ma- 
 nasseh sinning or repenting ; we wonder at the goodness of God, 
 ■who thus graciously called him to repent, and so received him 
 repenting ; that, as he had before been a most loathsome and 
 monstrous spectacle of wickedness, he now became a pleasing and 
 useful pattern of conversion. Who can despair of the mercy of 
 God that sees the tears of a Manasseh accepted .'' The wicked- 
 ness of men can never equal the goodness of God. Up. Hall. 
 
 Then Ma7iasseh knew that the Ijird he ivas God.'^ Foolish 
 
 sinners pay dear for their knowledge. Till his own smart and 
 cure, Manasseh knew not that the Lord was God. The Almighty 
 will be sure to be kno^wn for what He is, if not by His kindness, 
 at least by His severity. If our prosperity and peace and sweet 
 experience of His mercy can win us to acknowledge Him, it is 
 more for our ease ; but if we will needs be taught by stripes, it 
 is more for His glory. Bp. Hall. 
 
 The repentance of Manasseh should be well considered, as it 
 represents on one hand the necessity and advantage of afflictions, 
 and on the other affords us an extraordinary instance of God's 
 mercy to the greatest sinners, when they humble themselves and 
 make a good use of their corrections. Let us likewise seriously 
 attend to Manasseh's behaviour after his restoration, which was 
 directly opposite to his former conduct ; for diuring a long reign 
 he remedied the faults he had committed in his youtli. Tnie re- 
 pentance consists in removulg and reme<lying, as much as pos- 
 sible, the evil we have done, and in amending our lives. Tliat we 
 
 Kir . 
 
 -^ 
 
 •1 » 
 
 17 Neverthd^sstlie people did sacrifice ^f'JS.^ 
 still in the high places, yet unto the Lord ^^git^ 
 their God only. > . , 
 
 18 «[ Now the rest of the acts of Itfa. 
 nasseh, and his prater unto his God, and 
 the words of the seeis that spake to him in 
 the name of the Lord God of Israel, be- 
 hold, they are "written in the book of the 
 kings of Israel. ^.( v_. 
 
 19 His prayer also, and hoiv God was in- 
 treated of hini, and all his sins, and his 
 trespass, and the places wherein he built 
 high places, and set up groves and graven 
 images, before he was humbled : behold, 
 they are written among the sayings of II the u Or, 
 seers. ^'"'''• 
 
 20 ^ So Manasseh slept with his fathers, 
 and they buried him in his own house : and 
 Amon his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 21 ^ ^ Amon was two and twenty years • 2 Kmc. 
 old when he began to reign, and reigned ^iiSi&c- 
 two years in Jerusalem. 
 
 22 But he did that which was evil in the 
 sight of the Lord, as did Manasseh his fa- 
 ther : fox Amon sacrificed unto all the 
 Carved images which Manasseh his father 
 had made, and served them ; 
 
 may the better enter into these reflections, we should add to the 
 reading of this chapter, the prayer which Manasseh made while a 
 captive in Babylon, ■which we find in the Apocryphal books. 
 Ostervald. 
 
 15. — he took array the strange gods, &c.^ He had profaned 
 the house of the Lorcl, but had^ not shut the doors, as Ahaz did ; 
 therefore he is said only to have purged it from iilols, and not to 
 have opened it. " The idol" is that which he is related at ver. 7. 
 to have made. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 16. — commanded Judah to serve the LorcT] This was a proof of 
 the sincerity of his repentance, that he endeavonred to bring his 
 people back to the service of God, whom he himself had misled 
 to the service of idols. But, uidiappily, he was unable wholly to 
 undo the mischief he had caused : for the people still continued 
 their evil inclinations, and were not perfect in their obedience to 
 the Divine law, ver. 1 ". Bp. Patrick. 
 
 19. His prater also,"^ This evidently alludes to some prayer of 
 his composing, which was kept on recortl. Accwtlingly, we have 
 among the Apocryphal books of the Old Testament, " the Prayer 
 of Manasseh," which perhaps is that to which allusion is made ; 
 it expresses in the strongest possible terms the greatness of his 
 guilt, misery, and repentance. Unirersal History. 
 
 the sayings of the seers.'^ Bruce informs us, that in Abys- 
 sinia " the king has near his person an officer, who is meant 
 to be his historiographer. He is also keeper of his seal ; and is 
 obliged to make a journal oi' the king's actions, good or bad, with- 
 out comment of his own upon them. This, when the king dies, 
 or at least soon after, is dehvered to the council, who read it over, 
 and erase every thing false in it, whilst they 6uj)ply every mate- 
 rial fact that may have been omitted, whether purposely or not." 
 It is not improbable that " the king's seer," 1 Chron. xxi 9; 
 XXV. 5; 2 Chron. xxv. 1.5, &c, may have been the person who oc- 
 cupied the post of regal historiographer; whence other-writers of 
 memohrs might also be called " seers :" this opinion is corrobo- 
 ratetl by what is here said of Manasseli. It is remarkable that 
 the title " seer" occtu^ principally, if not altogether, under the 
 regal government of Israel Fragments to Cclmct. 
 5 M 2
 
 Josiah's i;ood reign. 
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 He repairelli the temple. 
 
 •77. 
 t Hcb 
 
 tTttl>au. 
 
 641. 
 
 *9Kiag> 
 
 S3. I.&c. 
 
 Bwwc QS And Immbled not himself before the 
 CHRIST I Q^o_ as Manasseh his fatlier had humbled 
 himself; but Anion t trespassed more and 
 
 more. 
 
 24 And his servants conspired against 
 him, and slew him in his own house. 
 
 "25 ^ But the people of the land slew all 
 them that had conspired against king A- 
 mon ; and the people of the land made Jo- 
 siah his son king in his stead. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 1 Josiah's good reign. S He dcslivi/cl/i idolatrtf. 8 He 
 laketh order for the repair of the temple. IJ' Hilkiak 
 having found a book of Ike law, Josiah sendcth to Hul- 
 dah to enquire of the Ixird. i2" Hiddah prop/ieiielh 
 the destruction of Jerusalem, but respite thereof in Jo- 
 siah's time. 29 Josiah, eausing it to be read in a so- 
 lemn assembly, renewetk the covenant with God. 
 
 JOSIAH ' joas eight years old when he 
 began to reign, and he reigned in Je- 
 rusalem one and thirty years. 
 
 2 And he did t/iat nhich teas right in the 
 sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways 
 oi' David his father, and declined neither 
 to the right hand, nor to the left. 
 
 3 5F I'or in the eighth year of his reign, 
 while he was yet young, he began to seek 
 after the God of David his father : and in 
 the twelfth year he began ''to purge Judah 
 and Jerusalem from the high places, and 
 the groves, and the carved images, and the 
 molten images. 
 
 4 "= And they brake down the altars of 
 Baalim in his presence ; and the || images, 
 that tvere on high above them, he cut 
 down ; and the groves, and the carved 
 images, and the molten images, he brake 
 in pieces, and made dust of tliem, and 
 strowed it upon the t graves of them that 
 had sacriticed unto them. 
 
 5 And he burnt the bones of the priests 
 upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 6 And so did tie in the cities of Manas- 
 seh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto 
 Naphtali, with their il mattocks round a- 
 bout. 
 
 7 And when he had broken down the 
 altars and the groves, and had beaten the 
 graven nnages + into powder, and cut down 
 all the idols throughout all the land of Is- 
 rael, he returned to Jerusalem. 
 
 8 % >Jow in the eighteenth year of his 
 reign, when he had purged the land, and 
 
 ' Jirf -'■■a ! 
 
 "it-mj Among the Genulcs, the altaTs frequently 
 
 6H. 
 
 ' 1 Kings 
 13. 2. 
 630. 
 
 ' L«v. 56. 
 
 sa 
 
 I Or. 
 
 fun inuget. 
 
 t H«b. 
 frattt. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 maWt. 
 
 t Iltb. 
 
 povxUr. 
 
 £24. 
 
 Chap 
 
 on hish 
 
 the house, he sent Shaplian the son of Aza- 
 liah, and Maaseiah the governor of the 
 city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the re- 
 corder, to repair the house of the Lord 
 his God. 
 
 9 And when they came to Hilkiah the 
 high priest, they delivered the money that 
 was brought into the house of God, which 
 the Levites that kept the doors had ga- 
 thered of the hand of Manasseh and E- 
 phraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, 
 and of all Judah and Benjamin ; and they 
 returned to Jerusalem. 
 
 10 And they put it in the hand of the 
 workmen that had the oversight of the 
 house of the Lord, and they gave it to the 
 workmen that wrought in the house of the 
 Lord, to repair and amend the house : 
 
 11 Even to the artificers and builders 
 gave they it, to buy hewni stone, and 
 timber for couplings, and || to floor the 
 houses which the kings of Judah had de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 12 And the men did the work faith- 
 fully : and the overseers of them "jcere Ja- 
 hath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons 
 of Merari ; and Zechariah and Meshullam, 
 of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it for- 
 ward ; and other of the Levites, all that 
 could skill of instruments of musick. 
 
 13 Also they xvere over the bearers of 
 burdens, and "tvere overseers of all that 
 wrought the work in any manner of ser- 
 vice : and of the Levites there were scribes, 
 and officers, and porters. 
 
 14 5r And when they brought out the 
 money that was brought into the house of 
 the Lord, Hilkiah the priest "* found a 
 book of the law of the Lord given t by 
 Moses. 
 
 15 And Hilkiah answered and said to 
 Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book 
 of the law in the house of the Lord. And 
 Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan. 
 
 16 And Shaphan carried the book to the 
 king, and brought the king word back 
 again, saying. All tliat was committed t to 
 thy servants, they do it. 
 
 17 And they have t gathered together 
 the money that was found in the house of 
 the Lord, and have delivered it into the 
 hand of the overseers, and to the hand of 
 the workmeru 
 
 18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the 
 king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 (,'11 
 
 & 
 CH 
 
 i 
 
 tft 
 
 |0- 
 iii 
 iKii 
 \i 
 
 H Or, 
 
 to Ttifter. 
 
 
 
 "2 King» 
 
 22. 8. &c. 
 t Heb. 4y 
 
 ike liund of, 
 
 t Heb. to 
 the Imnd of. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 poured out, 
 or, melted. 
 
 — ' A' .■. 
 
 ^.l'.''!^ ^^l^""*^,""^^ ■ to^tfe Ural's "tiieinselTCs; 9hi"c!i 'ii^(|r^^]F»l,acea 
 
 upon or above tlicm. Jos. Mede.
 
 A book of the IWdo found. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV, XXXV. 
 
 Josiah causeth it to be raad. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 624. 
 
 + Heb. 
 tn it. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 2 Kings 22, 
 12. 
 
 tjOr, 
 Harltns, 
 2 Kings 22. 
 14. 
 
 tHeb. 
 garments. 
 II Or, 
 
 intheschool, 
 OT,inlhe se- 
 cond jHirt, 
 
 me a book. And Shaphan read t it before 
 .the king. 
 
 19 And it came to pass, when the king 
 had heard the words of the law, that he 
 rent his clothes. 
 
 20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, 
 and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and II Ab- 
 don the son of Micah, and Shaphan the 
 scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king's, 
 saying, 
 
 21 Go, enquire of the Lord for me, and 
 for them that are left in Israel and in Jii- 
 dah, concerning the words of the book that 
 is found : for great is the wrath of the 
 Lord that is poured out upon us, because 
 our fathers have not kept the word of the 
 Lord, to do after all that is written in this 
 book. 
 
 22 And Hilkiah, and they that the king 
 had appointed, went to Huldah the pro- 
 phetess, the wife of Shallum the son of 
 Tikvath, the son of II Hasrah, keeper of the 
 t wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem 
 II in the college:) aud they spake to her 
 to that effect. 
 
 23 i[ And she answered them, Thus 
 saith the Lord God of Isiael, Tell ye the 
 man that sent you to me, 
 
 24 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will 
 bring evil upon this place, and upon the 
 inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that 
 are written in the book which they have 
 read before the king of Judah : 
 
 25 Because they have forsaken me, and 
 have burned incense unto other gods, that 
 they might provoke me to anger with all 
 the works of their hands; therefore my 
 wrath shall be poured out upon this place, 
 and shall not be quenched. 
 
 26 And as for the king of Judah, who 
 sent you to enquire of the Lord, so shall 
 ye say unto him. Thus saith the Lord God 
 of Israel concerning the words which thou 
 hast heard ; 
 
 27 Because thine heart was tender, and 
 thou didst humble thyself before God, 
 when thou heardest his words against this 
 place, and against the inhabitants thereof, 
 and humbledst thyself before me, and didst 
 rend thy clothes, and weep before me; 
 I have even heard thee also, saith the 
 Lord. 
 
 30'. — Ihe priesls, and the Leviles,] At 2 King.- xxiii. 2, it i3 
 said, " the priests and the Prophets;" probably it is meant, that all 
 the priesrs and Levites went, amongst whom were some Prophets. 
 Bp. Patrick. . 
 
 32. And he caused^ He induced by his example and authority. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 28 Behold, I will gather thee to thy fa- J^'^V' .^ 
 thers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy ^^^4.^ 
 grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes 
 
 see all the evil that I will bring upon this 
 place, and upon the inhabitants of the 
 same. So they brought the king word 
 again. 
 
 29 IF " Then the king sent and gathered ' 2 Kings 
 together all the elders of Judah and Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 30 And the king went up into the house 
 of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, 
 and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the 
 priests, and the Levites, and all the people, 
 
 t great and small: and he read in their t^^^''*^^^ 
 ears all the words of the book of the cove- even ta 
 nant that was found in the house of the '"^"' 
 Lord. 
 
 31 And the king stood in his place, and 
 made a covenant before the Lord, to walk 
 after the Lord, and to keep his command- 
 ments, and his testimonies, and his sta- 
 tutes, with all his heart, and with all his 
 soul, to perform the words of the covenant 
 which are written in this book. r" h 
 
 32 And he caused aU that were t pre- t Heb. 
 sent in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand •^""'"'" 
 to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem 
 
 did according to the covenant of God, the 
 God of their fathers. 
 
 SS And Josiah took away all the. abo- 
 minations out of all the countries thsA^ per- 
 tained to the children of Israel, and made 
 all that were present in Israel to serve, 
 even to serve the Lord their God. Arid 
 all his days they departed not tifroift fol-^,"f^„. 
 lo\ving the Lord, the God of their fa- 
 thers. 
 
 CHAP. XXXV. 
 
 1 Josiah keepelh a most solemn passover. 20 He, pro- 
 voking Pharaoh-necho, is slain at Megidda. 25 La- 
 menlations fur Josiah. 
 
 MOREOVER ' Josiah kept a passover t^^^^^^ 
 unto the Lord in Jerusalem: and 23.21,22. 
 they killed the passover on the " fourteenth 1^^°^- '- 
 day of the first montli. 
 
 2 And he set the priests in their charges, 
 and encouraged them to the service of the 
 house of the Lord, 
 
 3 And said unto the Levites that taught 
 all Israel, which were holy unto the Lord, 
 Put the holy ark in the house which Solo- 
 
 Chap. XXXV. ver. 1. — Josiah kept a passover'} This cele- 
 bration of the passover is here detailed at some lengdi, which 
 was briefly mentioned at 2 Kings xxiii. 21, 22. 
 
 3. — Put the holt) ark in the house} It is the opinion of some, 
 that Manasseh or his son Amon had removetl the ark from its 
 placcj among other enormilies of which they were guilty; anU
 
 Josiali keepcih 
 
 tlio son of Davkl V'ms. of Israel did 
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 a mosl solemn passover. 
 
 
 Kcforr 
 
 CHuisr 
 
 lUOH 
 
 build; 
 
 ' I Chroti 
 
 p. 10. A 
 
 1 Chron. 
 
 2.1. & M, & illL' 
 
 S.I. & »«. 
 
 « dup. 8. 
 
 II. 
 
 f Hcl.. 
 
 lit sons of 
 
 t llcb. 
 ofered. 
 
 ^ , // shall not l>c a burden upon .yowr 
 
 riioulders: serve )iow the Lord your God, 
 and his people Israel, 
 
 4. Anil prepare ,yywyt'/ttf* by the ' houses 
 of your fathers, alter your courses, accord- 
 to tiie writing of David king of Israel, 
 alia according to the ' writing of Solomon 
 his son. 
 
 5 And stand in the holy place according 
 to tlie di\isions of t the families of the fa- 
 
 it'J-Xf thers of your brethren t the people, and 
 t n"b. ' after the division of the families of the Le- 
 vites. 
 
 6 tio kill tlic passover, and sanctify your- 
 selves, and prepare your brethren, that they 
 may do according to the word of the Lord 
 by the hand of Moses. 
 
 7 And Josiah t gave to the people, of 
 the flock, lambs and kids, all for tlie pass- 
 over offerings, for all that were present, to 
 the number of thirty thousand, and three 
 thousand buUocLs: these were of the king's 
 .<;ubstance. 
 
 8 And liis princes t gave willingly unto 
 the people, to tlie priests, and to the Le- 
 vites: Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, 
 rulers of the house of God, gave unto the 
 ]>riests for the passover offerings two thou- 
 sand and six hundred small cattle, and three 
 hundred oxen. 
 
 9 Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Ne- 
 thanecl, his brethren, and Hashabiah and 
 Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, 
 t gave unto the Levites for passover offer- 
 ings five thousand small cattle, and five 
 hundred oxen. 
 
 10 JSo the service was prepared, and the 
 priests stood in their place, and the Levites 
 in their courses, according to the king's 
 commandment. 
 
 11 And they killed the passover, and 
 the priests sprinkled the blood from their 
 
 ^s« ci.«p. hand-s and the Levites ' flayed' thevi. 
 
 12 And they removed the burnt offer- 
 ings, that they might give according to the 
 divisions of the families of the people, to 
 
 t Hcl>. 
 
 t \\t\,. 
 
 ojfcrtit. 
 
 this may be ihe meaning of the words at 2 Chron. xxxiii 23 
 «r^M *"^«**^'*J^ "^f e '^J more." But it is perhaps a more 
 Kh ^Pl-^f "on, that Hilkiali himself lud rimoved the ark 
 >»mie the temple was repainnp, as the most holy place, as mcU as 
 
 U>e ark to be exposed to die workmen. Bp. Patrick. 
 V^Z £l TJ" P'"^''.'''^-^. '° '/""] This was the largest 
 rSw thlf^ ''T&'^ " ""'"^ ''^'^'^'^^ t» t»>e kings gene- 
 
 KitS? ' '';:■" «l^''^'»t'^'J. *■'<"« the first beginning of ^e 
 ph^ ^thtr^^'p" *M"-" f 'K'^'"'' S^uel?i.e rro! 
 
 people «d^c ™S n^n? ^r" ^'''^''^K-^ to numbers of 
 I- f i-wniices, J et none of them treated the people at their 
 
 mcidc tlicm 
 run. 
 
 staiinn. 
 e 1 Chron. 
 
 offer unto the Lord, as it is written in the ch^i|t 
 book of Moses. And so did they with tho about'ess. 
 
 oxen. ^' 
 
 13 And they ^ roasted the passover with ^ g"^"'" 
 fire according to the ordinance : but the 
 other holy offerings sod they in pots, and in 
 caldrons, and in pans, and t divided thein t Hei,. 
 speedily among all the people. 
 
 14. And afterward they made ready for 
 themselves, and for the priests: because 
 the priests the sons of Aaron aere busied 
 in offering of burnt offerings and the fat 
 until night; therefore the Levites prepared 
 for themselves, and for the priests the sons 
 of Aaron. 
 
 15 And the singers the sons of Asaph 
 tvere in their t place, according to the t H^b. 
 ^ commandment of David, and Asaph, and 
 Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer j and 25- 1. &c. 
 the porters "^ xmited at every gate; they ' • chror 
 might not depart from their service ; for gc. 14. 
 their brethren the Levites prepared, for 
 them. 
 
 16 So all the service of the Lord was 
 prepared the same day, to keep the pass- 
 over, and to offer burnt offerings upon the 
 altar of the Lord, according to the com- 
 mandment of king Josiah. 
 
 17 And the children of Israel that were 
 t present kept the passover at that time, tHej,. 
 and the feast of unleavened bread seven "^"'"''' 
 days. 
 
 IS And there was no passover like to 
 that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel 
 the prophet; neither did all the kings of 
 Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, 
 and the priests, and the Levites, and all 
 Judah and Israel that were present, and 
 the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 
 
 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign 
 of Josiah was this passover kept. ' " ^ "' 
 
 20 ^ ' After all this, when Josiah had 
 prepared the t temple, Necho king of E- 
 gypt came up to fight against Charchemish houii. 
 by Euphrates : and Josiah went out against 
 him. 
 
 21 But he sent ambassadors to him, say- 
 own cost, in so liberal and zealous a manner, as this prince did, 
 nor had the whole nation so unanimously concurring in the mea- 
 sure. Pifle. 
 
 20. After all this, &c.] Some time after this, when the temple 
 was repaired and made fit for the service of God, and the people 
 had a reasonable expectatioii of great happiness to ensue after 
 such pious work.s, there came a most imforeseen change, which is 
 here perhaps noted particularly to teach us, never to be too con- 
 fident, nor rashly to engage in any enterprise, bearing in mind 
 the uncertainty of all earthly affairs. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 -— C/uirchemish'} This is thought ta be a pkce known 
 
 «■ „*^ ^""^^^ *"^ Romans under the name o£. Circesium. Ik. 
 f yells. 
 
 610, 
 
 '• 2 Kings 
 2.3. 29. 
 t Hcb.
 
 He is slain at Megiddo. 
 
 CHAP. XXXV, XXXVI. 
 
 Jehoahaz made king. 
 
 my ViUT, 
 
 CHRIST '"^' ^^^^^ \^2MQ. I to do -With thee, thou 
 aboutcio king of Judah? / come not against thee 
 t Heb. this dav, but against t the house wherewith 
 '^'tuT"-^I liavewar: for God commanded me to 
 make haste: forbear thee from meddling 
 •with God, who is with me, that he destroy 
 thee not. 
 
 22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn 
 his face from him, but disguised himself, 
 that he might fight with him, and hearken- 
 ed not unto the words of Necho from the 
 mouth of God, and came to fight in the 
 valley of Megiddo. 
 
 23 And the archers shot at king Josiah ; 
 and the king said to his servants, Have me 
 away ; for I am sore t wounded. 
 
 24 His servants therefore took him out 
 of that chariot, and put him in the second 
 chariot that he had ; and they brought him 
 to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried 
 II in 07ie of the sepulchres of his fathers. 
 And " all Judah and Jerusalem mourned 
 for Josiah. 
 
 25 ^ And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah : 
 and all the singing men and the singing 
 women spake of Josiah in their lamenta- 
 tions to this day, and made them an ordi- 
 nance in Israel : and, behold, they are 
 ■written in the lamentations. 
 
 26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, 
 and his t goodness, according to that wJdch 
 •was written in the law of the Lord, ;^ ' -• 
 
 27 And his deeds, first and last, behold, 
 they are written in the book of the kings 
 of Israel and Judah. -^^'^^^^ ^ ^^'4- i 
 
 t Heb. 
 made sick: 
 
 II Or, 
 among the 
 sepulchres. 
 *■ Zech. 1-2. 
 II. 
 
 t Heb. 
 kindmsses. 
 
 €10. 
 ■ 2 Kings 
 23. 30, &c. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 1 Jehoahaz succeeding is deposed by Pharaoh, and car- 
 ried inio Esypf- 5 Jehmakim reigning ill is carried 
 bound into Babi/lon. 9 Jehoiachin succeeding rcignelh 
 ill, and is brought into Dabylun. 1 1 Zedekiah succeed- 
 ing reigneth ill, and despiselh the prophets, and rebel- 
 let h against Nebuchadnezzar. 14. Jerusalem, for the 
 sins of the priests and people, is ivholly destroyed. 22 
 The proclamation of Cyrus. 
 
 THEN ' the people of the land took Je- 
 hoahaz the son of Josiah, and made 
 
 21. — for God commanded me to make haste:'] Some think that 
 the king of Egypt made this pTetence because he knew that Josiah 
 had a great reverence towards God; and, in obedience to Him, 
 might desist from his purpose. Or perhaps he meant, that he felt 
 a sti-ong impulse to the undertaking, which he took to be from 
 God. Bp. Patrick. Or, by " God" he means the oracles which he 
 Mraself conaidted as divine. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 2r». — Ihei; are tvritlen in the lamentations^ The lamentations 
 here mentioned, written immediately after the death of Josiah, 
 are now lost. They a»e certainly not those which we now have 
 under the name of the " Lamentations of Jeremiah ;" for these 
 pliiinly rcier to the destruction of Jernsalem, and to Zedekiah, 
 not to Josiah. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 him king in his father's stead in Jerusa- 
 lem. 
 
 2 Jehoahaz icas twenty and three years 
 old when he began to reign, and he reign- 
 ed three months in Jerusalem. 
 
 3 And the king of Egypt t put him 
 down at Jerusalem, and t condemned the 
 land in an hundred talents of silver and a 
 talent of gold. 
 
 4 And the king of Egypt made Eliakim 
 his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, 
 and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And 
 Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and car- 
 ried him to Eg)-pt. 
 
 5 % Jehoiakim xcas twenty and five years 
 old when he began to reign, and he reigned 
 eleven years in Jerusalem : and he did that 
 •which rvas evil in the sight of the Lord his 
 God. 
 
 6 Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar 
 king of Babylon, and bound him in H fet- 
 ters, to carry him to Babylon. 
 
 7 '' Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the 
 vessels of the house of the Lord to Baby- 
 lon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. 
 
 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, 
 and his abominations which he did, and 
 that which was found in him, behold, they 
 are written in the book of the kings of Is- 
 rael and Judah : and ij Jehoiachin his son 
 reigned in his stead. 
 
 9 ^ " Jehoiachin ivas eight years old 
 when he began to reign, and he reigned 
 three months and ten days in Jerusalem : 
 and he did that xchich •a.as evil in the sight 
 of the Lord. 
 
 10 And t when the year was expired, 
 king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought 
 him to Babylon, with the t goodly vessels 
 of the house of the Lord, and made !i Ze- 
 dekiah his brother king over Judah and 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 11 «[ " Zf dekiah xvas one and twenty 
 years old when he began to reign, and 
 reigned eleven years In Jerusalem. 
 
 12 And he did t/tat -dchich xcas evil in the 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 GIO. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 remuted 
 him. 
 t Heh. 
 mulctrd. 
 
 GIO. 
 
 COT. 
 
 II Or, 
 clidins. 
 G06. 
 ' 2 Kings 
 24. 13. 
 Dan. 1.1,2. 
 
 599. 
 I! Or, 
 Jecaruah, 
 
 1 Chron. 3. 
 IC. or, 
 Coniah, 
 Jer. 22. 24. 
 ' 2 Kings 
 24. 8. 
 
 t Heb. at 
 llie return 
 of the year. 
 fHeb 
 vessels of 
 desire. 
 
 599. 
 11 Or, 
 itattaninli, 
 
 2 Kings '24. 
 17. 
 
 J«r. 37. 1. 
 
 <> Jer. 52. 1, 
 
 &c. 
 
 9 Kings 24. 
 
 18. 
 
 Chap. XXXVI. ver. 7. — carried of the vessels &C.3 He car- 
 ried away a ?reat many in the next king's reign, (2 Kings xxiv. 
 13, 14,) but he began to do it in tliis. The people, it appears, 
 were so hardened, as to believe those false prophet.^, whoas- 
 stired them these vessels would soon be brought ag.im from 
 Babylon, and to give no credit to Jeremiah, who, warning them 
 of the falsehood of what these prophets foretold, said, th.-il so 
 far would it be from happening that these vessels would be 
 brought back from Babylon, that the remaining Vessek sbou.d 
 be carried after them, and there remain till the day when (^od 
 ^-isited His people. See Jerem. xxvii. 16, 17,. 21, 22. Bp. 
 Patrick. i. • 
 
 9. ~ rriu eight ytan oU] See note at 3 Kings x«v. S.
 
 Jentsa/em is 
 
 II. CHRONICLES. 
 
 *wholly destroyed. 
 
 i9J. 
 
 iicf..rr sf^rht of the Lord his God, and humbled 
 " w'**^ not himself before Jeremiah the prophet 
 spcakiufi from the mouth of the Lord. 
 
 \S And he also rebelled against king 
 Nebuchadnezzar, who had made iiim swear 
 by (Jod : but he stiU'ened his neck, and 
 hardened his heart from turning unto the 
 Lord God of Israel. 
 
 14 ^ Moreover all the chief of the priests, 
 anil thi' people, transgressed very much 
 after all the abominations of the heathen ; 
 and polluted the house of the Lord which 
 he had hallowed in Jerusalem. 
 
 15 ' And the Loud God of their fathers 
 sent to thom + by his messengers, rising up 
 
 *yM^*an</ iiijetimes, and sending; because he had 
 " "^'' compassion on his people, and on his dwell- 
 ing place : 
 
 If) But they mocked the messengers of 
 God, and despised his words, and misused 
 his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord 
 arose against his people, till there ivas no 
 t remedy. 
 
 17 'Therefore he brought upon them 
 the king of the Chaldees, who slew their 
 young men with the sword in the house of 
 their sanctuary, and had no compassion 
 
 • Jcr. 25.n. 
 A .V. 15. 
 t Hcb 
 
 atttscrl. 
 I llial is. 
 Ctutinualiy 
 nnd care- 
 full!,. 
 
 t Iltli. 
 
 ' '2 Kings 
 2J. I. &C. 
 
 1 5. — ris'ine, up belivies,'] To " rise betimes" signifies in Scrip- 
 ture to do a thing with care, diligence, and affection r for good 
 fathers of faniilics. from whom this expression is taken, were wont 
 to get up early to look alter their business, and to quicken and 
 encourage tlieir servants to their duty. Such was the compassion 
 and c,ire of God for His people, that He gave them seasonable 
 and timely admonitions to their duty, and notice of their danger, 
 betVirc it was too late. To this compassion and care of (iod it was 
 owing that they were blessed with a succession of Prophets in the 
 rcign of every king, who most earnestly called upon them to re- 
 iorra. Yet, so strange was their unhappy propensity to idolatry, 
 that, even when, under a good king, they became a little better, 
 Ihey boon relapsed, on the succession of a wicked king, into their 
 former evil courses. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1|5. But they mocked the messengers of God, &c.n That which 
 made the calamities of the Israelites incurable, was their continual 
 mocking or despising the messengers of their peace, which God 
 Bcnt from Ume to time to heal them. So that the calamities 
 which ensued were not the end intended by God,*i.i seiidinc His 
 n.es«r>,^ers to them, but the fruit and effect of their mocking and 
 despising both physicians and medicines. Dr. Jackson 
 
 21.— unUl the land had enjoyed her sahballis :] During this 
 period, the land of Judah, together with that of Israel, whose in- 
 habitants had so grossly neglected to observe the sabbaths, and 
 other ordinances of their happy religion and constituUon. was 
 left to keep sabbaths in the melancholy sense of the word that 
 
 Jer^Ji^'hT ."ir^V" "^'^ ^'^ '"""' desolation, as the Prq^het 
 Jeremi.ih foretol.l, (Jer xxv. 9, 12, &c.) and as Moses had ong 
 ago foretold, Levit. xxvi. ■i2—Z5. Pyk ^ 
 
 It shouhl be observed, that in this' very expression of the land 
 enjoying her sabbaths, the promise of a'restioraUon is conveyed 
 
 ;t Zn.''"!"^. *"**'"^.] Thus was the land left desolate th^t 
 
 th7,Iiw dSutalT rf M^ d'sobed once of the Jews, fulfilling 
 
 Jcrmiaii, 2 E «v.^ oT^' ^*^^^''^^■• ^^' ^^nd the later of 
 
 ^^' ^'^"- "^''- 21 ; and It is truly remarkable, that 
 
 upon young man or maiden, old man, or 
 him that stooped for age : he gave them all 
 into his hand. 
 
 18 And all the vessels of the house of 
 God, great and small, and the treasui'es of 
 the house of the Lord, and the treasures of 
 the king, and of his princes ; all these he 
 brought to Babylon. 
 
 19 And they burnt the house of God, 
 and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, 
 and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, 
 and destroyed all the goodly vessels there- 
 of. 
 
 20 And t them that had escaped from 
 the sword carried he away to Babylon ; 
 where they were servants to hini and his 
 sons until the reign of the kingdom of 
 Persia : 
 
 21 To fulfil the word of the Lord by 
 the mouth of ^ Jeremiah, until the land 
 " had enjoyed her sabbaths : Jb^ as long as 
 she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil 
 threescore and ten years. 
 
 22 ^ ' Now in the first year of Cyrus 
 king of Persia, that the word of the Lord 
 spoken by the mouth of " Jeremiah might 
 be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 588. 
 
 588. 
 
 tHcb. 
 the remain- 
 der from 
 
 the sword. 
 
 « Jer. 25. 9, 
 12.&20.1O. 
 * Lev. 26. 
 34, 35, 43. 
 
 53(T. 
 ■ Eira 1. 1. 
 
 'Jer. 25. 12, 
 13. & 29.10. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar left it in that state, and did not attempt again 
 to people it, as the policy of the kings of Assyria had led them to 
 do in Samaria. The land therefore lay still vacant for theit re- 
 ception against their return ; the providence of the God of Judah 
 insensibly overruling the counsels and decrees of that haughty 
 and aiTogant conqueror, whom He had raised up to be the 
 scourge of His chosen people, when their apostasies and abomi- 
 nations rendered them unworthy of His tutelar care and protec- 
 tion ; and they were transported into captivity " for their good," 
 Jer. xxiv. 5. There they were cured of the idolatrous infection 
 they had imbibed in Egypt, and renewed in Canaan, in the 
 course of seventy years ; when the remnant that returned were 
 purified in the furnace of affliction, and had purged away a part 
 of their dross, Isai. i. 25. Dr. Hales. 
 
 to fulfil threescore and ten years.'] This calamitous punish- 
 ment was to continue for the space of seventy years, till the 
 period when the Babylonian empire was to end, and the Persian 
 to begin. Accordingly, on the very first year of the conquest 
 of Babylon (where the Jews remained captive) by the great 
 Cyrus, and of his residing in that city, ver. 22, 23, the just and 
 merciful Providence of Heaven so ordered it, from many con- 
 curring circumstances, that this emperour, being well inclined to 
 favour this captive people, issued a proclamation of licence 
 and authority for them all to return to their own country ; de- 
 claring himself obliged by the same great good-will of Heaven 
 which had bestowed the universal empire on him, to assist this 
 nation, restore them to their ancient habitation, and by bis pro- 
 tection enable them to rebuild their famous temple at Jerusalem. 
 Accordingly, he not only permitted, but encouraged the Jews of 
 all descriptions to return home and set about that work, with all 
 he.irty wishes for their prosperity therein. Pyle. 
 
 22. Now in the Jrsl year of Cyrus &c.] These last verses of 
 Chronicles are the same as those which begin the ensuing book of 
 Lzra. It seems probable that Ezra, having some years before 
 written the book that bears his name, and afterwards writing 
 these books of Chronicles, which contain the genealogies and his- 
 tory cndmg at the time when the other began, annexed to the 
 end of these books the first paragraph of that. Dr Wall
 
 The proclamation 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST ^P""^^ °^ Cyrus king of Persia, that he made 
 536. a proclamation throughout alJ his kingdom, 
 and put it also in writing, saying, 
 
 23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All 
 the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord 
 
 of Cyrus. 
 
 33G. 
 
 God of heaven given me; and he hath '^^'^ 
 charged me to build him an house in Jeru- ^"^^^^ 
 salem, which is in Judah. Who is there 
 among you of all his people ? The Lord 
 his God he with him, and let him go up. 
 
 The following is a list of the Kings of Israel and Judah, with Ike dates when they respectively began to reign. As has been 
 stated in the notes, there are some doubts with respect to the beginning and end of some of the reigns, principally owing 
 to the circumstance of the succeeding king being frequently associated in the kingdmn before the death of his predecessor. 
 
 Years 
 before Christ. 
 
 975 
 958 
 955 
 Q54 
 
 Years before Christ. 
 
 1095 
 :i055 
 1015 
 
 KINGS OF JUDAH. 
 
 Rehoboatn. 
 
 Abijam. 
 
 Asa. 
 
 KIN 
 
 GS OF THE TWELVE TRIBES. 
 Saul. 
 David. 
 •• Solomon. 
 
 KINGS OF ISRAEL 
 Jeroboam. 
 
 Nadab. 
 
 953 
 
 
 Baasha. 
 
 930 
 
 
 Elah. 
 
 92 Q 
 
 
 Zimri. 
 
 t)2Q 
 
 
 Omri. 
 
 Q18 
 
 
 Ahab. 
 
 91* 
 898 
 896 
 
 Jehoshaphat. 
 
 Ahaziah. 
 
 Jehoram (or Joram.) 
 
 892 
 885 
 884 
 878 
 856 
 
 Jehoram (or Joram.) 
 
 Ahaziah. 
 
 Athaliah, 
 
 Joash. 
 
 Jehu. 
 Jehoahaz. 
 
 841 
 
 
 Jehoash (or Joash.) 
 
 839 
 825 
 
 Amaziah. 
 
 Jeroboam II. 
 
 810 
 
 773 
 
 Azariah (or Uzziah.) 
 
 Zachariah. 
 
 772 
 
 
 Shallum. 
 
 772 
 
 
 Menahem. 
 
 761 
 
 
 Pekahiah. 
 
 759 
 
 
 Pekah. 
 
 758 
 
 742 
 740 
 
 Jothara. 
 Ahaz. 
 
 First Captivity of Israel by Tiglath-pileser. 
 
 
 
 An Interregnum. 
 
 730 
 
 
 Hoshea. 
 
 726 
 721 
 
 Hezekiah. 
 
 Second Captivity of Israel by Shahnaneser. 
 
 698 
 678 
 
 Manasseh. 
 
 Third Captivity of Israel by Esar-haddon. 
 
 643 
 641 
 610 
 610 
 606 
 599 
 
 599 
 599 
 588 
 
 Amon. 
 
 Josiah. 
 
 Jehoahaz. 
 
 Jehoiakim. 
 
 First Captivity of Judah. 
 
 Jehoiachin (otherwise Co- 
 niah and Jeconiah.) 
 
 Second Captivity of Judah. 
 
 Zedekiah. 
 
 Third and final Captivity 
 of Judah and of the re- 
 mains of Israel. 
 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 5 N
 
 EZRA. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THIS book derives its name from Ezr;i, the author of it. It begins with the repetition of the last two verses of the second book of 
 
 to the govmiiiicnt of Judca by Artaxerxes Longimanus; his journey thither from Babylon; the disobedience of the Jews; and the 
 rcfomi which ho inimediately effected among them. It is to be observed, that between the dedication of the temple and the departure 
 of Ezra, tliat is, between the O'th and 7th chapters of this book, there was an interval of about fifty-eight years, during which nothing 
 is here relatc<l concerning the Jews, except that, contrary to God's command, they intermarried with Gentiles. 
 
 This book is written in Chaldee from the 8th verse of the 4th chapter to the 27th verse of the 7th chapter. It is probable that the 
 sacred historian used the Clialdee language in this part of his work, because it contains chiefly letters and decrees written in that lan- 
 guage, the original words of which he might think it right to record ; and indeed the people, who were recently returned from the 
 Babylonian captivity, were at least as familiiu- with the Chaldee, as they were with the Hebrew tongue. 
 
 This b(K)k is written with all the spirit and fidelity that could be displayed by a writer of contemporary events. The sacred writers 
 pass over the time of the captivity as a sad period of affliction and punishment: during which, if the people were indulged in the 
 exercise of their religion, they had few historical events to record ; and therefore we have no general history of their circumstances ; 
 and must have recourse to tlie books of those illustrious Prophets who flourished among them in Assyria, for the only particulars that 
 can be obtained concerning their condition. 
 
 Ezra was of the sacerdotil family, a descendant of Seraiah in a right line from Aaron. He succeeded Zeiiibbabel in the government of 
 Jiiilea, by a commission which lasted twelve years, to the year of the world 35.58 ; at the expiration of which term, he either returned 
 to Babylon to give an account of the state of the province of Judea, or else retired into a private station in his own country ; cooperat- 
 ing, doubtless, in the pious designs of Nehemiah his successor, by whom he is related soon after to have produced and read the law of 
 Moses to the people. Ezra indeed appears to have been particularly well skilled in the law, to have given much attention to the study 
 of the Scriptures, .-uid to have been well versed in the inteqiretation of them. He styles himself a ready scribe, and professes to have 
 prepared himself to instruct the people in the statutes of God: the tradition, therefore, of his having made a collection of the sacred 
 writings is extremely probable. We know indeed from Josephus, that the Jewish priests after every important war were accustomed, 
 on tile establishment of peace, both at home and abroad publickly to ascertain, recognise, and copy out the registers of the priesthood, 
 by which we must either understand the Scriptures, or believe that the same practice prevailed as to them. 
 
 Erra was a most useful person to the Jews, who reverence his memory with a regard almost equal to that which they entertain for Mo- 
 ses. He is not p.irticul.irly styled a Prophet in Scripture ; but our Saviour makes no distinction between the authors of the sacred 
 books, except that of " .Moses and the Prophets." He was undoubtedly an appointed minister of God ; and he wrote under the in- 
 fluence c.f the Holy Spirit, or his book would not have been admitted into the Hebrew canon, or received as sacred from the earliest 
 ages ol die Christian church. He is reported by some traditionary accounts to liave died in the 120th year of his age, and to have 
 been buried at Jerusalem ; though others say that he died in Persia, and was buried on the banks of the river Semura; where his 
 tomb IS shewn. Bp. Tomline, Dr. Gray. 
 
 It was dunne the captivity of the Jews, and their consequent dispersion among the inhabitants of the most illustrious empire in the civil- 
 
 iz«l worm, that Oocl prmcjpally employed them as the means of exciting the attention of the heathen to His majesty and His provi- 
 
 ,,,,1 ,i,o;, V** P''°P''"'<^Vcnunciations of Jeremiah, which were so publick and decided as to attract the notice of the Assyrian army 
 
 R^ 7l frL ', ^' y^'"^' i^""; ""'''''' >^1. the captivity of Judah glorified God amongst the heathen, even at its commencement. 
 
 ^u.'..r h1 I • ''7^"";^"<^?' ^'"J '^"'ployed various means to convince the Gentiles of His universal providence, and his resistless 
 Dower, rle raised iin Il.anifl «.■ inco ri,.„.,),„» „i, ..■..■... __ i. i ■ • . , . . ... . . __.".. ' , „ . , 
 
 L"-.^ilion from hi Tl, T^ 1 uT '^"'*'' ^"'^ P"nished the proud impiety of Nebuchadnezzar by a seven years' insanity and 
 S Sm aid nohllS h^ T f, n T^Vi'^^T'^' ""'^ ^^^" ^'^h the return of his reason he became pious, and submitted to 
 C foiTl",e^iLcSl vp^T f U- ^."'^ °[ ''■■"f '^^''' ^^'"' ^' '^' '""'"^"t ^hen Belshazzar was instUting Jehovah, by bring- 
 wUl u,mmr ."sT^^^^ °^ "'f '""P'^ ^ ^J P''""*^'! ^y his profanation, the miraculous hand-writing on the wall mixed 
 
 oi^rXl .7tran Jet : "^^ own impending destruction, and the downfal of his empife. These were not 
 
 claimed thn,,>ch heir ^flP l!t'.n, 1 , • • ^ ^^^ authentick decrees of the most distinguished monarchs, were solem.dy pro- 
 Dari.:J itrt^t A^dl^^^^^^ particularly in the instances of Nebuchad^nezzar, Dan. iii. 29; iv. 1, 37; and of 
 
 Jehovah on the other from the most li tiZuh°p 1 "''"' T' interpositions on the one hand, and of publick homage to the majesty of 
 wi« .,0 fully persuaded of that^^nePr„5 '"""a'-chs of the Eastern world, the great Cyrus, founder of ?he Persian empire, 
 
 the particufar^^fof his sute" e Iha hot?'' ^'if'" '^P""'' '^"'^ ^'^^^^^ '^"^ prophecies, pointing out so clearly the progress, nay 
 
 ..leL and publiS tesSl^resTthe m .£tv o^X rll'Tf "T*""' \'^' ^^^'°'"^'°" °<" '^' ^'^°^^" P^°P^^ *" '^'^' '=''^"^^J'- '^^'''^ 
 country where the form of the covemmcnt ren LrP^l Vk 'T ' ""f ^''"^ contributed materially to check errour and idolatry, in a 
 
 must have gained to the Jews even in tl LT .^ the examples and opinions of the monarchs so powerful and operative. They 
 them to take pride in their religious suneri^itvT"'^ i '^^Sr^^^'^ sUite, much consideration and attention: and, as such a state led 
 of their religiL, so these events mSavLl^enwpM^ supenonty now left to them, and to exalt the Divine original and the wisdom 
 St evems must nave given weight and credibihty to these representations. Dr. Graves.
 
 The proclamation of Cyrus 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 for the building of the temple. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 » 2 Chron. 
 36. 22. 
 .ler. 25. 12 
 & 29. 10. 
 fHcb. 
 caused a 
 
 * Is, 44. 28 
 & 43. 1,13. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 536. 1 The proclamation of Cyrus for the building of (he 
 temple. 5 The people provide for the return. 7 
 Cyrus resloreth the vessels of the temple to Shesh- 
 bazzar. 
 
 i.^ Persia, that the word of the Lord 
 * by the mouth of Jeremiah might be ful- 
 filled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of 
 Cyrus king of Persia, that he t made a 
 proclamation throughout all his kingdom, 
 voicetopass. ^nd put it also in writing, saying, 
 
 2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The 
 Lord God of heaven hath given me all 
 the kingdoms of the earth ; and he hath 
 ''charged me to build him an house at 
 Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 
 
 3 Who is there among you of all his 
 people ? his God be with him, and let him 
 go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and 
 
 Chap. I. ver . 1 . Nmv in Ihefrst year of Cyncs &c.] This is that 
 famous Cyrus, who, 140 years before the temple was destroyed, 
 and 200 years before he was born, was mentioned by name in the 
 prophecy of Isaiah, as designed by God for the restoration of His 
 people, Isai. xliv. 28 ; xlv. 1 — 4. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The period of seventy years, the determined time of the Jewish 
 captivity under the Assyrian monarchy, being now expired, the 
 deliverance of that nation began to be wrought, agreeably to the 
 manner foretold by the Prophet Jeremiah, Jer. xxv. 1 2 ; xxix. 1 0. 
 For Cyrus the Great, having now subdued Babylon, and erected 
 the Persian empire on the destruction of that of Assyria, and, upon 
 the first year of his settlement in Babylon conversing with Daniel, 
 and being by his means acquainted with those prophecies of Isaiah, 
 in which he saw himself, by name, described as the instrument 
 of God for pulling down the Assyrian power, and restoring the 
 Jewish nation to their temple and to their ancient land again, 
 was so affected with the discovery, and so well disposed to the 
 captive people, that, the very same year, he issued a proclamation 
 in their favour. Pyle. 
 
 There are four decrees given by the kings of Persia in favour 
 of the Jews : The first by Cyrus in the year B. C. 536, Ezra i. 1 : 
 the second by Darius, Ezra vi. 8 : the third by Artaxerxes in the 
 seventh year of his reign, Ezra vii. 1 1 : the fourth by the same 
 Artaxerxes to Nehemiah, chap. ii. in the twentieth year of his 
 reign. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus~\ God, who had so 
 
 long designed him for this work, suggested these thoughts to him, 
 and excited him to prosecute them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 We may well conceive that Cyrus, having in his late expedition 
 into Syria and Palestine seen so large and good a country as 
 Judea lying wholly desolate, might justly be moved with the de- 
 sire of having it again inhabited. And who could be more pro- 
 per to plant again this desolated country, than its former inha- 
 bitants ? But, whatever second causes worked to this event, God's 
 overruling power, which turns the hearts of princes as He 
 pleases, brought it thus to pass, that, in the first year of Cyrus's 
 monarchy over the East, he issued his royal 'decree. Dean 
 Prideaux. 
 
 It is said that God " stirred up the spirit of Cyrus" to issue this 
 decree : we may conclude He did this by the wise counsel of Da- 
 niel ; first, to fulfil the jirophecy of Jeremiah, ch. xxv. 11, this be- 
 ing the year of the expiration of the captivity, which Daniel had 
 compnted before, Dan. ix. 2; and secondly, to fulfil the prophecy 
 of Isaiah respecting the rebuilding of the temple, ch. xliv. 28, to 
 which Cyrus in his decree manifestly alludes. Dr. Hales. We 
 have here a remarkable account of a heathen prince performing 
 
 build the house of the Lord God of Israel, f.^^^{\-^ 
 (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. 
 
 536. 
 
 4 And whosoever remaineth in anyplace 
 where he sojourneth, let the men of his 
 place t help him with silver, and with gold, t Heb. 
 and with goods, and with beasts, beside '^ '""* "^ 
 the freewill offering for the house of God 
 
 that is in Jerusalem. 
 
 5 ^ Then rose up the chief of the fa- 
 thers of Judah and Benjamin, and the 
 priests, and the Levites, with all them 
 whose spirit God had raised, to go up to 
 build the house of the Lord which is in 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 6 And all they that "were about them 
 
 II strengthened their hands with ve.ssels of u That«, 
 silver, with gold, with goods, and with '"'i'^^"^ 
 beasts, and with precious things, beside all 
 that was willingly offered. 
 
 7 IT Also Cyrus the king brought forth 
 
 God's will and decrees ; which should make us evermore depend 
 on His goodness, and on His promises of help to those who seek 
 Him in their distress. Bp. U'ilson. 
 
 2. — The Lord God of heaven'] It is observable, that whereas 
 before the captivity we find God usually stj'led in Scripture by 
 the name of " the Lord of hosts ;" so the constant style of the 
 holy books after the captivity is " the God of heaven," as here, 
 and chap. vi. 10; vii. 21. Jos.Mede. 
 
 It has been made a question, whether Cjtus himself wrote this 
 proclamation, in which the God of the Jews is acknowledged to 
 be " the Lord God of heaven," or whether it was drawn up by 
 some of the Jews who attended upon him. It seems by far the 
 most probable, that God, who raised up the spirit of Cyrus to be 
 a peculiar instrument in freeing his people from slavery, enlight- 
 ened his mind to understand that there was but one only God, 
 whom the Jews worshipped, and who spake in those holy books 
 which were shewn to him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 he hath cliarged me to build him an house'] So he under- 
 stood from Isaiah's prophecies ; and, most distinctly, from chap, 
 xliv. 28, " He shall say to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built ; and to 
 the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Since Daniel was at Babylon when Cyrus took possession of 
 that city, and is said to have prospered tliere, not only in the 
 reign of Darius, but also in that of Cyius tlie Persian, Dan. i. 21 ; 
 vi. 28; it is hardly possible to believe that the prophecies of 
 Isaiah here referred to were not shewn by him to the new mo- 
 narch. Bp. Horne. 
 
 4. — let the vien of his pkce] " Let ray officers there &c." 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 5. Then rose up the chief of &c.] On the proclamation of Cyrus, 
 a considerable number of the Israelites resolved to venture back 
 into the land of their fathers, out of love to their country, and zeal 
 for the true worship of God ; though the far greater part, being 
 settled in the Babylonish territories with their wives and fami- 
 lies, had not courage to venture on a journey into a land which 
 had so long lain waste and desolate. The principal heads of 
 those who now returned were of the tribes of Judah and Benja- 
 min, though there were some of the other tiibes mixed with 
 them. Pi/le. 
 
 7. Also Cyrus — brought forth the vessels'] It had l>een ex- 
 pressly foretold at Jer. xxvii. 22, that tlie sacred vessels should be 
 restored to the house of God. It happened by a singular pro- 
 vidence that these vessels had been preserved to this time ; they 
 were looked upon by Nebuchadnezzar as sacred things, which he 
 would not turn to his ovm private use, but dedicated to his gods ; 
 and this was the means of their preservation. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5N2
 
 Q/rus 
 
 Bc/"IT 
 
 CHBrtT 
 
 • ',' King* 
 S4. in. 
 9 Cbrvo. 
 96.7. 
 
 restorelh the vessels qf the temple. EZRA. 
 
 The 7itonbei' that return qfthe people. 
 
 ' Stt ctup. 
 i. 14. 
 
 t Hell. 
 
 the (rniw- 
 
 poTlali'/n. 
 
 ibont 53C. 
 
 •N«h.7.6, 
 
 I Of. 
 
 jtxttriaht 
 K*. 7. 7. 
 
 the ves.'iels of the house of the Lord, 
 c whicli Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth 
 out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the 
 
 house of his gods ; r n • 
 
 8 Even those did Cyrus king of Persia 
 
 bring fortli by the hand of Mithredath the 
 
 treasiu-er, and numbered them unto bhesh- 
 
 bazzar, the prince of Judah. 
 
 «J And this is the number of them: thirty 
 
 chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of 
 
 silver, nine and twenty knives, 
 
 10 Thirty basons of gold, silver basons 
 of a second sort four hundred and ten, and 
 other vessels a thousand. 
 
 1 1 All the vessels of gold and of silver 
 •were five thousand and four hundred. All 
 these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them 
 qf t the captivity that were brought up 
 from Babylon unto Jerusalem. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 1 The number Uuil return, of Ihe people, SGofllie priests, 
 W of the Lcvites, i^i of the Netkinims, 55 of Solomon's 
 servants, 62 of the priests which could not shew their 
 pedigree. 6i The mliole number of them, with their 
 substance. 6'8 Their oblations. 
 
 NO W » these are the children of the 
 province that went up out of the 
 captivity, of those which had been carried 
 away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of 
 Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, 
 and came again imto Jerusalem and Ju- 
 dah, every one unto his city ; 
 
 2 Which came with Zerubbabel : Jeshua, 
 Nehemiah, 1| Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, 
 Bilshan, Mizpar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. 
 The number of the men of the people of 
 Israel : 
 
 3 The children of Parosh, two thousand 
 an hundred seventy and two. 
 
 4 The children of Shephatiah, three hun- 
 dred seventy and two. 
 
 S. — Shr.Miiz:ar,2 The Babylonish name of Zerubbabel ; which 
 is found hy comparing Ezra v. 16, with Zech. iv. (J. It was com- 
 mon (lurini; the captivity for the principal Jews to bear two names, 
 the one Jewish, the other BabvlonLm. Daniel .was thus called 
 Belteshazzar ; and Hananiah, Mi.^haeJ, and Azariah received the 
 nAmes of Shadracii, Mesiiach, and Abed-nego, Dan. i. 7. Bp. 
 
 11. Ail the vessels — Jtve thousand and four hundred.'] Not so 
 many a« this nnraljer have been mentioned. It seems that only 
 those of (freater aize and ja-ice have been specified ; but here is 
 given the groea »uni of the whole. JSp. Pairiek. 
 
 Chap II. ver. 1. — the children of the province] The Jews are 
 nere «lle<l the " children of the province," either because they had 
 bwn for a long time part of the province of Babylon, in common 
 wuh the other wibiccts of Assyria ; or, as originally belonging to 
 Juaea, wtuch had been made an Assyrian provmce ever since the 
 captivity, p^ie, ' r «-« diiill luc 
 
 - of ikiise Kkkh had been carried anau,l Of those whose 
 partnta and ancestors h«l beea carried away.^ V ratrkL 
 
 5 The children of Arab, seven hundred 
 seventy and five. 
 
 6 The children of '' Pahath-moab, of the 
 children of Jeshua and Joah, two thousand 
 eio'ht hundred and twelve. 
 
 ^7 The children of Elam, a thousand two 
 hundred fifty and foiu-. 
 
 8 The children of Zattu, nine hundred 
 forty and five. 
 
 9 The children of Zaccai, seven hundred 
 and threescore. 
 
 10 The children of || Bani, six hundred 
 forty and two. 
 
 1 1 The children of Bebai, six hundred 
 twenty and three. 
 
 12 The children of Azgad, a thousand 
 two hundred twenty and two. 
 
 13 The children of Adonikam, six hun- 
 dred sixty and six. 
 
 14- The children of Bigvai, two thousand 
 fifty and six. 
 
 15 The children of Adin, four hundred 
 fifty and four. 
 
 16 The children of Ater of Hezekiah, 
 ninety and eight. 
 
 17 The children of Bezai, three hundred 
 twenty and three. 
 
 18 The children of II Jorah, an hundred 
 and twelve. 
 
 19 The children of Hashum, two hun- 
 dred twenty and three. 
 
 20 The children of y Gibbar, ninety and 
 five. 
 
 21 The cliildren of Beth-lehem, an hun- 
 dred twenty and three. 
 
 22 The men of Netophah, fifty and six. 
 
 23 The men of Anathoth, an hundred 
 twenty and eight. 
 
 24 The children of || Azmaveth, forty 
 and two. 
 
 25 The children of Kiijath-arim, Che- 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 536. 
 
 »Neh.7.U, 
 
 II Or, _ 
 Sinnw, 
 Neh.7.1S. 
 
 B Or, 
 
 Jlariph, 
 Neh. 7. 24. 
 
 B Or, 
 
 Gibeun, 
 Neh. 7. 25. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Sel/i-azmn- 
 velh. Neb. 
 7. 28. 
 
 2. — Jeshua, Nehemiah, &c.] Jeshua was the high priest, and, 
 as such, is mentioned before the rest ; he held the office by lineal 
 descent, being grandson of Seraiah, who was high priest when 
 Jerusalem was destroyed, and was put to death by Nebuchadnez- 
 zar. It is to he observed, tiiat Nehemiah and Mordecai, here 
 mentioned, were not the Nehemiah and Mordecai of whom we 
 read so much in the books of Nehemiah and Esther, but others 
 of the same names. Dean Prideauj:. 
 
 S. The children of Parosh, &c.] The numbers mentioned in 
 the ensuing catalogue belonged chiefly to the tribes of Judah and 
 Benjamin ; some of them being denominated from the cliief an- 
 cestors of their families, and others from the places or great towns 
 which they formerly inhabited in those two tribes. It is probable 
 tliat all who are here set down gave in their names as intending 
 to return to Judea, though some of them might change their 
 intentions, or die by the way ; and others, who are not in this 
 register, might afterwards join themselves to the number; 
 which is the most probable reason of the differences in the 
 numbers here given by Ezra, and those given by Nehemiah, 
 Neh. viL Pyk.
 
 priests, Levites, Nelhinims, 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Solomon's servants, i^c. 
 
 CHRIST P^'^^''^' ^^^ Beeroth, seven hundred and 
 «bout536. forty and three. 
 
 26 The children of Ramah and Gaba, 
 six hundred twenty and one. 
 
 27 The men of Michmas, an hundred 
 twenty and two. 
 
 28 The men of Beth-el and Ai, two 
 hundred twenty and three. 
 
 29 The children of Nebo, fifty and two. 
 
 30 The children of Magbish, an hundred 
 fifty and six. 
 
 31 The children of the other " Elani, a 
 thousand two hundred fifty and four. 
 
 32 The children of Harim, three hundred 
 and twenty. 
 
 33 The children of Lod, II Hadid, and 
 Ono, seven hundred twenty and five. 
 
 34 The children of Jericho, three hun- 
 dred forty and five. 
 
 S5 The children of Senaah, three thou- 
 sand and six hundred and thirty. 
 
 3G ^ The priests : the children of * Je- 
 daiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hun- 
 dred seventy and three. 
 
 37 The children of ' Immer, a thousand 
 fifty and two. 
 
 38 The children of ' Pashur, a thousand 
 two hundred forty and seven. 
 
 39 The children of * Harim, a thousand 
 and seventeen. 
 
 40 ^ The Levites: the children of Je- 
 shua and Kadmiel, of the children of || Ho- 
 daviah, seventy and four. 
 
 41 % The singers: the children of Asaph, 
 Neb!^43. «i^ hundred twenty and eight. 
 
 42 ^ The children of the porters: the 
 children of Shallum, the children of Ater, 
 the children of Talmon, the children of Ak- 
 kub, the children of Hatita, the children of 
 Shobai, in all an hundred thirty and nine. 
 
 43 *f[ The Nethinims: the children of 
 Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the chil- 
 dren of Tabbaoth, 
 
 44 The children of Keros, the children 
 of Siaha, the children of Padon, 
 
 SG. The priests: Ike children qfjedaiah, &C.3 It hence appears, 
 that^of the twenty-four courses of the priests that were carried 
 away to Babylon, only four returned, making a number of about 
 4289 persons; the rest being either extinct, or staying behind. 
 But, of these four which now returned, each subdivided them- 
 selves in such a manner, that the twenty-four courses were made 
 up again, and retained the same titles which were held before. 
 Dean Prideaux, Pyle. 
 
 43. The Nelhinom:~\ See note at 1 Quron. vx. 2. 
 
 55. The children of Solomon's servants :'\ These are supposetl 
 to have been descendants of artificers, who were employetl in the 
 building of Solomon's temple; and who, becoming proselytes, 
 were, with their children and posterity, appointed by Solomon 
 for its perpetual conservation and reparation. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 59. And these nere they &C.3 The persons here mentioned, as 
 
 ' See ver. 7. 
 
 B Or, 
 
 Harid, 
 as it is iu 
 some co- 
 pies. 
 
 * 1 Chron. 
 
 24.7. 
 
 » 1 Chron. 
 24. 14. 
 
 •iCbr n. 
 9. 12. 
 
 »I Chron. 
 34.8. 
 
 it©'. 
 
 chap. 3. 9. 
 called also 
 
 45 The children of Lebanali, the children 
 of Hagabah, the children of Akkub, 
 
 46 The children of Hagab, the children 
 of II Shalmai, the children of Hanan, 
 
 47 The children of Giddel, the children 
 of Gahar, the children of Reaiah, 
 
 48 The children of Rezin, the children 
 of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam, 
 
 49 The children of Uzza, the children 
 of Paseah, the children of Besai, 
 
 50 The children of Asnah, the children 
 of Mehunim, the children of Nephusira, 
 
 51 The children of Bakbuk, the children 
 of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, 
 
 52 The childi-en of || Bazluth, the chil- 
 dren of Mehida, the children of Harsha, 
 
 53 The children of Barkos, the children 
 of Sisera, the children of Thamah, 
 
 54 The children of Neziah, the children 
 of Hatipha. 
 
 5o H The children of Solomon's ser- 
 vants: the children of Sotai, tlie children 
 of Sophereth, the children of || Peruda, 
 
 56 The children of Jaalah, the children 
 of Darkon, the children of Giddel, 
 
 57 The children of Shephatiah, the chil- 
 dren of Hattil, the children of Pochereth 
 of Zebaim, the children of || Ami. 
 
 58 All the " Nethinims, and the children 
 of' Solomon's servants, xvere three hundred 
 ninety and two. 
 
 59 And these "were they which went up 
 from Tel-melah, Tel-harsa, Cherub, Addan, 
 and Immer: but they could not shew their 
 father's house, and their || seed, whether 
 they v:ere of Israel : 
 
 60 The children of Delaiah, the children 
 of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six 
 hundred fifty and two. 
 
 61 IT And of the children of the priests: 
 the children of Habaiah, the children of 
 Koz, the children of Barzillai: which took 
 a wife of the daughters of " Barzillai the 
 Gileadite, and was called after their name: 
 
 62 These sought their register among 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 53& 
 
 n Or. 
 
 Sham/ni. 
 
 II Or, 
 Bnzlith, 
 Neh. 7. 54. 
 
 II Or. 
 Peri.ln, 
 Neb. 7. 61. 
 
 ylmnit. 
 Nth. 7-59. 
 ' Josb, 9. 
 -I. 27. 
 1 Chron. 9. 
 2. 
 
 ' I Kings 3. 
 iil. 
 
 II Or, 
 paligTte, 
 
 k Sank 
 17. £7. 
 
 coming out from several towns of Chaldea or Mesopotamia, were 
 probably Israelites, descendants of some of the ten tribes, who, 
 having been carried away captive long before the captivity of Ju. 
 dah, had by length of time, or by some other misfortune, lost the 
 genealogy of their families, and so could not claim a settlement 
 and particular possessions in the land, as the other Israelites did; 
 but still were desirous of living amongst them, and of seeing the 
 worship of God restored. Pfile. 
 
 61. — and was called after their name:'] This person, it ap- 
 pears, thought it so great an honour to be descended from so no. 
 ble a family as that of Baraillai, that he chose to be called by that 
 name, which he preferreil to his own in the family of the priests; 
 by which vain ambition he lost his title to the priesthood, because 
 he could not regularly make out his descent from the line of the 
 priests. Bp. Patrick.
 
 The ufiole mniiber of the people, <§r. 
 
 EZRA. 
 
 Their oblations. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 gorrrnor. 
 
 > ElOfi. SH 
 
 9a 
 
 Bc'«.« tliose that were reckoned l)y genealogy, 
 ^"1^^ but they were not loiiiid: therefore t were 
 t lUblv they, a.; i)olhited, put from the priest- 
 
 wrrti^l-l- hood. 
 
 ;i^*^!' t)3 And the II Tirshatha said unto them, 
 that thev should not eat of the most holy 
 things, till there stood up a priest with 
 ' Urini and with Thunmiiin. 
 
 tit II The whole congregation together 
 Ttrt.v forty and two thousand three hundred 
 and threescore, 
 
 65 Beside their servants and their maids, 
 of whom there rcere se^•en thousand three 
 hundred thirty and seven: and there -were 
 among them two hundred singing men and 
 singing women. 
 
 66 Their horses tuere seven hundred 
 thirty and six; their mules, two hundied 
 forty and five; 
 
 67 Their camels, four hundred thirty 
 and five; their asses, six thousand seven 
 hundred and twenty. 
 
 68 % And some of the chief of the fa- 
 thers, when tliey came to the house of the 
 Lord which is at Jerusalem, offered freely 
 
 63. — the Tirs/ial/in'] Meaning Zcrubbabel, -whose title in the 
 Persian language was Tirshatha, that is, governour or judge. See 
 the margin. P>/le. According to some opinions, the meaning of 
 the w<ird is " cupbearer;" it is applied to Nehemiah, at Neh. vii. 
 70,- X. 1, &c. Calmcl. 
 
 I/tat l/iei/ shuiild not eat of the most holy tkings,2 That is, 
 
 that they should not partake of the sacrifices offered for sin, nor 
 of the right shoulder of the peace offerings, nor of the shewbread, 
 vhich were all most holy, and the portion of the priests alone. 
 This shews that " the Tirshatha" possessed great power and au- 
 tliority over them, being able to impose such a restraint on those 
 who had been reputed priests. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 . I'll 'Arre stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.'\ 
 
 Till there might stand up a priest who could pronounce whether 
 these persons were of the line of Aaron or not, from the revela- 
 tion of tlie Divine will by Urim and Thummim. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It is evident from this passage, that the Urim and Thummim 
 of the former temple were either burnt with it, or at least lost be- 
 fore this time: whether they were ever afterwards restored, that 
 IS, whether Cod ever raised up a priest after the captivity to whom 
 He declared His will by Urim and Thummim, we are no where 
 informed m holy writ. It is the general tradition of the Jews, 
 that Go<l never did declare His will in this way to any priest after 
 the Babylonish captivity. Dr. Wells. 
 
 64. The n-hole congregation togrt/ier n'as SiC.l The numbers be- 
 fore expressly detailed are considerably smaller than the general 
 sum here mentioned. The difference is probably to be explained 
 by the addition of those mentioned at ver. fil, 62, and others of 
 the common people of the twelve tribes, who could not make out 
 their ncdigree. Dr. [Veils. 
 
 It should be obser\ed, how small the sum total here mentioned 
 w, in comparison with the vast multitude which came out from 
 e^gypt: yet this number is more than the double of that which 
 WM carried away captive by Nebuchadnezzar. Bp. Patrick 
 J^^^t "?'"• ^t' "ot^i'hstanding the decree of Cyrus, 
 «d others by ^.bseqiicTit Persian kings, for the return of the Jews 
 
 mnh^T^"" °^ ^^™' ""'^ "^"nt'nued still in Chaldea, Assyria, 
 ^^ J^7/™1""« '' i^P'-°'-We too that those^who 
 wroXluu^ "n I'^r""' and wealthy, as it is natural to 
 •uppose itot such would be least willing to remove into a desolate 
 
 for the house of God to set it up in his 
 place: 
 
 6\) They gave after their ability unto the 
 " treasure of the work threescore and one 
 thousand drams of gold, and five thousand 
 pound of silver, and one hundred priests' 
 garments. 
 
 70 So the priests, and the Levites, and 
 some of the people, and the singers, and 
 the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in 
 their cities, and all Israel in their ci- 
 ties. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 I The altar is .ict up. 4 Offerings frequented. 7 Work' 
 men prepared. 8 The foundations of the temple are 
 laid in great Joy and mourning. 
 
 AND when the seventh month was 
 come, and the children of Israel 
 •were in the cities, the people gathered 
 themselves together as one man to Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 2 Then stood up || Jeshua the son of Jo- 
 zadak, and his brethren the priests, and 
 
 II Zerubbabel the son of * Shealtiel, and his 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 536. 
 
 " 1 Chron. 
 26. 20. 
 
 I! Or, 
 
 Joshua t 
 
 Hag. 1. 1. 
 
 II Called, 
 
 Ziirobatielt 
 
 Matt. I . ! 2. 
 
 & Luke 3. 
 
 27. 
 
 ' Matth. 1. 
 
 12.&Luke 
 
 3. 27, called 
 
 Snlathiel. 
 
 counti-y. If we may guess by the example of the family of Aaron, 
 we must conclude that those who staid were much more nume- 
 rous than those who removed to Judea; for, of the twenty-four 
 courses of the sons of Aaron, it is related at ver. 36, that four only 
 returned. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 69- — threescore and one thousand drams of gold,"] The richness 
 of these donations, and of those mentioned at chap. viii. 25, shews 
 that the captivity of tlie Jews in Babylon was not a state of 
 slavery, and that worldly prosperity continued within their reach. 
 The same appears also from the history of Daniel, Nehemiah, and 
 other Jews, who were promoted to great honour in the Assjrrian 
 and Persian courts. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 — — drams of gold, — pound of silver, "^ The " drams of gold" 
 being mentioned together with " pounds of silver," seem to con- 
 vey the idea of weight: whereas in fact these daraconim, drams, 
 were a Median coin, struck by one of the elder Darius's, and 
 named after him Daricks. The Scholiast on Aristophanes says, 
 " The st;iteras of gold are the Daricks; so called, not from Darius ■ 
 father of Xerxes, but from a more ancient king." This agrees 
 with the older account, 1 Chron. xxix. 6, 7, " the princes of Israel 
 gave — ten thousand drams of gold." These then were golden 
 Daricks, obtained from Persia by commerce. The word, render- 
 ed " pound" of silver, is mina, worth sixty shekels, Ezek. xlv. 12; 
 about £7. Script, illust. Expos. Ind. 
 
 and one liundred priests' garments.'\ Such presents of gar- 
 ments would appear singular to us; but, in the East, where to 
 give is to honour, such a present of garments, or of any other 
 usable commodities, is in perfect compliance with established 
 customs. Fragments to Calmet. 
 
 Chap. III. ver. 1. And when the seventh month mas cmne,'} We 
 are no where informed in what month they began their journey 
 from Babylon ; but, from chap. vii. 9, we understand it was a jour- 
 ney of four months from thence to Jerusalem ; so that we may 
 conclude they began their journey in the first or second month; 
 and, after they had spent some time in settling themselves in 
 their several cities, the seventh month approached or drew nigh, 
 (so the expression here may be rendered,) in which was the sea- 
 son of the first great feast, that occurred after they came to Ju- 
 dea: accordingly they assembled themselves to celebrate it at 
 Jenisalem. Bp. Patrick.
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 
 S 
 
 Si 

 
 The altar is set up. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The foundations of the temple are laid. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 536. 
 
 » Deut. 12. 
 5. 
 
 brethren, and builded the altar of the God 
 of Israel, to ofter burnt offerings thereon, 
 as it is ^ written in the law of Moses the 
 man of God. 
 
 3 And they set the altar upon his bases ; 
 for fear was upon them because of the 
 people of those countries : and they offer- 
 ed burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord, 
 even burnt offerings morning and even- 
 
 ing. 
 
 ' Numb. 
 29. 12. 
 " Exod. 23. 
 IG. 
 
 t Heb. 
 the matter 
 of the day 
 in his day. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 the temple of 
 the LORD 
 was not yet 
 Jliunded. 
 II Or, 
 workmen. 
 
 ' Acts 9. 
 36. 
 
 535. 
 
 4 They kept also the feast of tabernacles, 
 " as it is written, and ^ offered the daily 
 burnt offerings by number, according to 
 the custom, t as the duty of every day re- 
 quired ; 
 
 5 And afterward offered the continual 
 burnt offering, both of the new moons, 
 and of all the set feasts of the Lord that 
 were consecrated, and of every one that 
 willingly offered a freewill offering unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 6 From the first day of the seventh 
 month began they to offer burnt offerings 
 unto the Lord. But t the foundation of 
 the temple of the Lord was not j/et laid. 
 
 7 They gave money also unto the ma- 
 sons, and to the || carpenters ; and meat, 
 and di'ink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, 
 and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees 
 from Lebanon to the sea of * Joppa, ac- 
 cording to the grant that they had of Cy- 
 rus king of Persia. 
 
 8 % Now in the second year of their 
 coming unto the house of God at Jerusa- 
 
 2. — builded the altar — , to offer burnt offerings^ Thus tlie 
 first thing they did was to restore the altar of burnt offerings, (of 
 which see the description at 2 Chron. iv. 1.) By the expression of 
 the next verse, " they set the altar upon his bases," it seems cer- 
 tain that they rebuilt it on. the spot where it formerly stood ; and 
 it appears that they daily offered sacrifices upon it, even before 
 any of the rest of the temple was buUt. Dean. Prideau.v. 
 
 The first care of the Jews on their return is their publick sacri- 
 fice. That school of captivity in which they had been trained 
 had taught them to begin with God. A forced discontinuance 
 makes devotion more savoury and more sweet to religious hearts ; 
 whereas, in an open freedom, piety does too often languish. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 We should well observe, that, as soon as the Jews were return- 
 ed from Babylon, they set about rebuilding their altars and the 
 temple, in order to perform Divine service. This was the effect of 
 their piety, and especially of the zeal of their rulers. Christians 
 ought to display on all occasions a similar zeal ; the care of God's 
 worship should above all things possess their minds, and their 
 greatest joy should be, to see the kingdom of God established 
 and confimied. Ostervald. 
 
 ^ We have here a remarkable proof, tliat when Cod suffers His 
 children to be persecuted, it is not for their destruction, but for 
 their amendment, and to the end that He may establish tliem 
 again in His true worsliip. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 2. — /or fear was upon tkem'^ The Hebrew particle, wliich 
 we translate for, has also the sense of allhoush; and this seems 
 to be the meaning here ; implying that, although they were in 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 535. 
 
 ' 1 Chron. 
 
 6. 31. & 16. 
 
 7. & 25. 1. 
 
 lem, in the second month, began Zerub- 
 babel the son of Shealtiel, anc' Jcshua the 
 son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their 
 brethren the priests and the Levites, and 
 all they that were come out of the capti- 
 vity unto Jerusalem ; and appointed the 
 Levites, from twenty years old and up- 
 ward, to set forward the work of the house 
 of the Lord. 
 
 9 Then stood Jeshua xvith his sons and 
 his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the 
 sons of 11 Judah, t together, to set fonvard ii Or, 
 the workmen in the house of God : the ""^^f^'^o. 
 sons of Henadad, ivith their sons and their t HebT 
 brethren the Levites. "' °"'- 
 
 10 And when the builders laid the foun- 
 dation of the temple of the Lord, they set 
 the priests in their apparel witli trumpets, 
 and the Levites the sons of Asaph with 
 cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ' or- 
 dinance of David king of Israel. 
 
 1 1 And they sang together by course in 
 praising and giving thanks unto the Lord ; 
 because he is good, for his mercy endureth 
 for ever toward Israel. And all the people 
 shouted with a gi'eat shout, when they 
 praised the Lord, because the foundation 
 of the house of the Lord was laid. 
 
 12 But many of the priests and Levites 
 and chief of the fathers, tt'Ao 'were ancient 
 men, that had seen the first house, when 
 the foundation of this house was laid before 
 their eyes, wept with a loud \oice ; and 
 many shouted aloud for joy : 
 
 great fear of their evil neighbours, still they were unwilling to 
 desist from restoring the worship of God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. Thei/ kept also Ike feast (f tabernacles, 2 This seventh month, 
 being a month of many solemnities of worship appointed by the 
 Mosaical law, (Numb, xxi.x,) they began it by the feast of trum- 
 pets ; then the great day of expiation on the tenth, and tlie fea-st 
 of tabernacles on the fifteenth, till the whole was concluded ; 
 the morning and evening sacrifices ushering in e\ erj- day's so- 
 lemnity, and being constantly offered up from this time fonvard, 
 and every other festival of the year being punctually observed 
 agreeably to the law. Pi/le. 
 
 7. — to hrins cedar trees from Lebanoti &c.J See notes at 
 1 Kings V. 6. 
 
 according to the grant that they had of Cyrils'] Cyrus, 
 
 we may suppose, had specially commanded the inhabitiints of 
 Tyre and Sidon to afford them their assistance. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. — of their coming unto the hou.K of Gerf] To the place 
 where the house of God formerly stood. Tliey laid the founda- 
 tion of the temple, it appears, in the second month of the second 
 year, having of course employed tlie pre\'ious time in preparing 
 the ground and collecting their materials. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 g. — Jeshua] Xot the high priest, but the Levite mentioned 
 at chap. ii. 40. 
 
 12. But many of the priests and Levites — rrrpt tvith a loud 
 voice ;] What different affections do we see produced in men by 
 the same occasion ! The youiiirer Jews .shouted at tliis sight, tlie 
 elder wept. The younger shouted to see a new foundation, the 
 elder wept to remember the i-id. They who had seen no better,
 
 Jlie advefsaries endeavour 
 
 EZRA. 
 
 hcfoTT 13 So that the people could not discern 
 
 *^"5^*^ the noise of the shout of joy from the 
 
 noise of the weeping of tJie people : for 
 
 the people shouted with a loud shout, and 
 
 the noise was heard afar oft". 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 1 Tin- advtrsurics, hein^ not accepted in the huilding of 
 the temple n-lth the Jens; endeamitr to hinder it. 7 
 Their letter to Artaierxes. 17 The decree of Artax- 
 cries. 23 Tlu: building is hindered. 
 
 ^OW when the adversaries of Judah 
 Hch. J- ^ ^"'^ Benjamin heard that t the chil- 
 lie ton, rf dreii of the captivity builded the temple 
 «;,r;: unto the Lord God of Israel; 
 
 'J Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to 
 the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, 
 Let us build with you : for we seek your 
 
 N 
 
 thought this froo»lly ; they who had seen the former, tJioufrht this 
 mean and liomely, more sorrowing at what they had lost, than 
 rcjoicinjj at so unequal a repiiration. lip. Hall. 
 
 The old men, who hud seen the glory of the first temple, and 
 had no expectation that this, which wns now buildinjr by a few 
 poor exiles lately returned into their country, could ever equal 
 the former, which hail all the riches of David and Solomon, two 
 of the wealthiest princes of the East, expended in its erection, 
 wept at the remembrance of that which was gone, while others 
 rejoiced at the foundation of the new one. Indeed the difference 
 between the former temple and this which was now beginning 
 was so great, that God Himself tells the Prophet Haggai, (chap. 
 ii. 3,) that the latter was as nothing in comparison with the for- 
 mer. It is true that the dimensions of the two temples were the 
 same ; but in its ornaments, materials, and workmanship, Solo- 
 mon's temple was far superiour to the second temple ; and, what 
 was far more important, the second temple entirely wanted that 
 which constituted the main gloiy of Solomon's temple, the extra- 
 onliiiary marks of the Divine favour ; consisting especially in 
 the holy ark of the covenant, and the mercy seat wliich was 
 ui>on it, in the Shechinali or 9yml)ol of the Divine presence, in 
 the Urim and Thummini, and in the holy fire on the altar: but 
 all these wants and defects were afterwards abnndantly supplied 
 in the second temple, wlien the Desire of all nations came to this 
 temple, when Christ our Saviour, who was the most true Shechi- 
 Bah of the Divine Majesty, honoured it with His presence ; in 
 this respect the glory of the latter house did far exceed the glory 
 of the former ; and the pro])hecies of Haggai, who foretold that it 
 bhould be so, had a full completion. Dean Pridcaux. 
 
 Chap. IV. ver. 1. — the adversaries of Jutlah and Benjamin^ 
 The Samaritans: the people whom Shalmanescr and Esar-had- 
 don, kings of Assyria, had brought from Babylon, Ciithali, A va, 
 and other places, and had settled in parts of the counti-y formerly 
 inhabited by tlie ten tribes of Israel ; see ver. -i and 10. They 
 were called Samaritans, from having occupied tlie city of Samaria 
 and its neighlxjurhood, and were also called Cutheans, from the 
 country which some of them liad formerly inhabitetL See the 
 history of the captivity of the ten tribes, and of the settlement 
 of tl>e«« strangers in their inheritance, in 2 Kings xvii. Bp. Pa- 
 trick, Collyer. ^ 
 
 2. — ire seek your God,J This people had worshipped the 
 true God smce the time of Esar-haddon, when lions were sent to 
 Jufest their country as a chastisement for llieir idolatry : they had 
 moreover received instruction at that time, by their own desire 
 trom an Nraelue pnest: but they nevertheless continued to worl 
 «hip .mages j«mmg the service of God with idolatry ; and thus 
 d^ the^ children s children ; see 2 Kings xvii. Wl.en therefore 
 \ pwendtd to be of the same religion with the Jews thev 
 spoke deceitfuUy. Bp. Patrick. CoU„J. ' ^^ 
 
 " —\e have nothing to do with «*] You have no just claim 
 
 to hinder the work. 
 and we do sacrifice unto ^,^?{'?t. 
 
 534. 
 
 3. 
 
 God, as ye do; »..„ christ 
 
 him since the days of Esar-haddon king of about ers. 
 Assur, which brought us up hither. 
 
 3 Hut Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the 
 rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, 
 said unto them. Ye have nothing to do 
 with us to build an house unto our God ; 
 but we ourselves together will build unto 
 the Lord God of Israel, as king Cyrus the 
 king of Persia hath commanded us. 
 
 4 Then the people of the land weakened 
 the hands of the people of Judah, and 
 troubled them in building, 
 
 5 And hired counsellers against them, to 
 frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cy- 
 rus king of Persia, even until the reign of 
 Darius king of Persia. 
 
 to join with us in building a house to our God, nor can we by 
 our religion admit you so to do, as being worshippers of other 
 gods as well as of our God. Dr. Wells. 
 
 The Jews steadily rejected the proposal made by the Samati« 
 tans, to join with them in rebuilding the temple of the God of 
 Israel, and celebrating His worship ; and we can discern iinpor« 
 tant reasons, in consequence of which this rejection appears to 
 have been subservient to the purposes of the Divine economy. 
 The intermixture of the Samaritans with the Jews might have 
 rendered the accomplishment of the prophecies concerning the 
 family and birth of the Messiah less clear ; might have introduced 
 again idolatry among the restored Jews, now completely abhor- 
 rent from it, and in various ways defeated the grand objects of 
 Providence in selecting and preserving a peculiar people. In 
 consequence of this rejection, and the alienation it produced, the 
 Jews probably became more vigilant in preserving the strictness, 
 and the Samaritans more zealous in emulating the purity, of the 
 Mosaick ritual. They became hostile and therefore unsuspected 
 guardians and vouchers of the integrity of the sacred text, par- 
 ticularly of the Pentateuch. And while the Jews, in general 
 blinded by their national prejudices, could see in the promised 
 Messiah only a national and temporal deliverer ; the Samaritans 
 appear to have judged of His pretensions with more justice and 
 success. And though our Lord visited them only as it were in- 
 cidentally, yet he was able to declare to them His character, and 
 avow His dignity, without that mysterious reserve and jealous 
 caution, which the proneness of the Jewish midtitude " to take 
 Him by force and make Him a king" constantly required. And 
 it seems evident, that the Samaritans were predisposed and pre- 
 pared to. receive and diffuse the light of the Gospel more than any 
 other description of men, the pious and reflecting part of the 
 Jewish nation only excepted. And thus this circumstance, in 
 the progress of the Jewish dispensation, which at first view might 
 seem to prove it was peculiarly partial or confined, appears in its 
 final result to have materially facilitated the diffusion of true 
 religion in the world, and thus to have been subservient to the 
 general advantage of mankind. Dr. Graves. 
 
 5. — all the days of Cynis &C.3 Since by these underhand 
 and subtle dealings of the adversaries of the Jews, the work of 
 the temple was much retarded, and the effect of Cyrus's decree 
 defeated iu many particulars; this seems to have been the cause 
 why, in the third year of Cyrus, Daniel gave himself up to 
 mourning and fasting for three weeks together. Daniel died not 
 iong afterwards ; and in him the Jews lost a powerful advocate 
 at the Persian court. Still, though their enemies derived from 
 this circumstance greater advantage in their designs against 
 them, and though they prevailed to divert those encouragements 
 which Cyrus had ordered for the carrying on of the work, yet in 
 his reign they never were able to put a total stop to it. Lean 
 Prideaux. 
 
 *
 
 Their letter to Artaxerxes. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 His decree. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIS 
 
 529. 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 Ahashve- 
 roth. 
 
 522. 
 II Or. 
 in peace. 
 tHeb. 
 svcieties. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 secretary. 
 
 t Chald. 
 iocietUt. 
 
 about C78. 
 
 t Chald. 
 Cheeneih. 
 
 622. 
 
 I! Or, 
 
 Jinisked, 
 
 6 And in the reign of t Ahasuerus, in 
 the beginning of his reign, wrote they ufi- 
 to him an accusation against the inhabitants 
 of Jiidah and Jerusalem. 
 
 7 % And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote 
 lIBishlam, liithredath, Tabeel, and the rest 
 of their t companions, unto Artaxerxes king 
 of Persia ; and the writing of the letter taas 
 written in the Syrian tongue, and inter- 
 preted in the Syrian tongue. 
 
 8 Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai 
 the II scribe wrote a letter against Jerusa- 
 lem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort : 
 
 9 Then "wrote Rehum the chancellor, 
 and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of 
 their t companions ; the Dinaites, the A- 
 pharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Aphars- 
 ites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the 
 Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elam- 
 ites, 
 
 10 And the rest of the nations whom the 
 great and noble Asnapper brought over, 
 and set in the cities of Samaria, and the 
 rest that are on this side the river, and t at 
 such a time. 
 
 11 ^ This is the copy of the letter that 
 they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes 
 the king; Thy servants the men on this 
 side the river, and at such a time. 
 
 12 Be it known unto the king, that the 
 Jews which came up from thee to us are 
 come unto Jerusalem, building the rebel- 
 lious and the bad city, and have || set up 
 
 6. — in the reign of Ahasuerus,'} This Ahasuerus is known 
 in profane history by the name of Carabyses: he began to reign 
 B. C. 529. The name Ahasuerus seems rather to have been a 
 title common to several kings of Media and Persia, than a pro- 
 per name of any of them. It is evidently compounded of two 
 Persick words, which signify the great cliief or prince. Dr. 
 Jennings. 
 
 7. — in the days of Artaxerxes"] Otherwise called Sraerdis, 
 One of the magi who was made king, and reigned for a few 
 months only. Univ. Hist. 
 
 interpreted in the Syrian tongue.'} There have been va- 
 rious conjectures of learned men respecting this passage. A pro- 
 bable meaning of the words, " was interpreted in the Syrian 
 tongue," is, that it was translated out of the Syrian tongue into 
 the Persian, or that which was at this time used at the Persian 
 court : the Hebrew words admit of this sense. Pijle. 
 
 10. — jvhom the great and noble Asnapper} Some understand 
 Asnapper to be another name for Shalmaneser, or Esar-haddon, 
 who sent these colonies hither ; but perhaps it is more reasonable 
 to suppose he was some great commander, who was entrusted by 
 one or both of those kings to conduct them, and bring them oyer 
 the river, (Euphrates,) and see them settled in these countries. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 11.-^ Thy servants — on this side the river, and at suck a time.} 
 This is the title of the letter— the letter itself follows. " At sucli 
 a time." The time was expressed, no doubt, in the original letter ; 
 but here it is only noted in general, that the day and year were 
 mentioned when the letter was written. Bp. Patrick: 
 
 12. — building the rebellious and the bad city, &c.} The oppo- 
 sition of the Samaritans on this occasion was well-timed. Egypt 
 Vol. I. 
 
 the walls thereof, and t joined the founda- ^Sii'rlf 
 
 lions. about 522. 
 
 13 Be it known now unto the king, that, t Chaid. 
 if this city be builded, and the walls set up ^Xt.'"" 
 again, then will they not t pay toll, tribute, t chaid. 
 and custom, and so thou shalt endamage ^""' 
 the II revenue of the kings. * *'■'• 
 
 14 Now because twe have maintenance tchaid. 
 from the kinir^s palace, and it was not meet "'f "'^, ""■* 
 lor us to see the kmg s dishonour, there- saii ,fii,e 
 fore have we sent and certified the king; i"^""- 
 
 15 That search may be made in the 
 book of the records of thy fathers : so sixalt 
 thou find in the book of the records, and 
 know that this city is a rebellious city, and 
 hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that 
 they have t moved sedition t within the t Chaid. 
 
 for wliich cause was this 
 
 made. 
 t Chald. 
 in the midtt 
 
 same of old time 
 city destroyed. 
 
 16 We certify the king that, if this city ''"'"'■^■ 
 be builded again, and the walls thereof set 
 
 up, by this means thou shalt have no por- 
 tion on this side the river. 
 
 17 ^ Then sent the king an answer un- 
 to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai 
 
 the scribe, and to the rest of their t com- J^^^^"; 
 panions that dwell in Samaria, and unto tlie 
 rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such 
 a time. 
 
 18 The letter which ye sent unto us 
 hath been plainly read before me. 
 
 19 And tl commanded, and search hath t Ch.-,id. 
 been made, and it is round that this city creeisset. 
 
 had revolted from the Persian yoke immediately on hearing of 
 the death of Xerxes. The SamariUns therefore could not have 
 chosen a fairer opportunity to carry their point, or a stronger ar- 
 gument to work upon the king's fears, than the danger, which 
 might result from permitting the Jews to fortify their city, not 
 only of their following the rebellious example of Egj'pt in refus- 
 ing to pay tribute, but also of their obstructing the passage of the 
 Persian army to be employed in the reduction of Egypt, eithet 
 going or returning through Palestine. Dr. Hales. 
 
 13. —loll, tribute, and custom,} The distinction between these 
 words has been variously conjectured. One opinion is, that tlie 
 first word signifies the part which every man paid out of his es- 
 tate, according to the valuation ; the second, that which was paid 
 for every head ; and the third, that which was paid for merchan- 
 dise on the highway. H'itsius. , , ■ . 
 
 14. —because tve have maintenance Jrom the kiu^s palace.} 
 Literally in the original, " Because we are salted ^vilfi the salt of 
 the palace." As salt is reckoned among the principal necessaries 
 of life hence, by a very natural figure, it is used for food or main- 
 tenance in general. It is said to be still a common expression in 
 the East, to say, " I have eaten the salt of such a person ;" mean- 
 ing, " I have been fed by him." Parkhurst. 
 
 A modem Persi.w monarch said in a tone of indignation, re- 
 specting one of his servants who had attempted to deceive hun, 
 "I have then such ungrateful servants and traitors to eat my salt." 
 Sir J Chardin. Tamerlane, in his Institutes, speaking of a per- 
 son who had quitted his service, joined the enemy, and tought 
 against him, says, " At length my salt which he had eaten over- 
 whelmed him with remorse ; he again threw hiraseU at ray teet, 
 and humbled hinjself before me." Harmcr. 
 
 SO
 
 The building is hindered. 
 
 EZRA. 
 
 and renewed. 
 
 I ClulJ. 
 hfltd up U- 
 
 f ctuua. 
 
 Uakt a lU- 
 
 iwfor. of old time hath t made insurrection against 
 *^"i"i*^ kings, and that rebellion and sedition have 
 been made therein. 
 
 •20 There have been mighty kings 
 also over Jerusalem, which have ruled 
 over all countries beyond the river ; and 
 toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto 
 them. 
 
 21 t Give ye now commandment to 
 „, cause these men to cease, and that this 
 
 city be not builded, until another com- 
 mandment shall be given from me. 
 
 2'2 Take heed now that ye fail not to 
 do this : why should damage grow to the 
 hurt of the kings? 
 
 2d ^ Now when the copy of king Ar- 
 taxerxes' letter -d-as read before Rehum, 
 and Shimshai the scribe, and their com- 
 panions, they went up in haste to Jeru- 
 salem unto the Jews, and made them to 
 t Ouii cease t by force and power, 
 i^rmnnrf gi Thcu ccased the work of the house 
 s'jo. of God which /V at Jerusalem. So it ceas- 
 ed unto the second year of the reign of 
 Darius king of Persia. 
 
 21. Give yc now commandmciil &C.3 Artaxerxes, the king M-ho 
 now reignwl, hail been a chief leader of t!ie sect of the Magians, 
 to whom the religion of tile Jews was in the utmost degree op- 
 posed ; and the aversion, wliich he had to them on this account, 
 no doubt contributed to induce him to issue this decree against 
 ihcm. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 23. — and nuide them to cease ht) force and poirci:^ We learn 
 from hence, that God sometimes permits the most holy under- 
 takings to l)c retarded, and that His church has often had to con- 
 tend with artifice and violence. But the .sequel will shew us, 
 that He does at length confound the crafty designs of the wicked, 
 that He makes manifest the innocence of His chikhen, and that, 
 after He has tried them, He makes those, who had been their 
 greatest enemies, become their friend/;. Oslcrvald. 
 
 As we see, from this part of Scripture, that God sometimes 
 permitH the best undertakings to be opposed, and the best men 
 to l>e slandere<l ; we discover that it is no new thing to meet with 
 ™ch conduct and that good men should always bear it with pa- 
 tience, bj). /I iLom. ' '^ 
 
 24. The ceased the work ^c:] Artaxerxes, by whose decree 
 the work of the temple was thus stopt, reigned in all but seven 
 months, and was succeede<l by Darius, in whose second year the 
 buddmg was resumed : the work therefore ceased not longer 
 Ulan two years and seven months. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 of hte' f' k"' I'-'f-''''"''"'' "'' •«»' f Tddo,-] The grandson 
 of Iddo ; for his father's name wa.s Rerachiah. lip. Patrick 
 
 —-prophesied unto Ike ./f,,;..] [{ather, " prophesied asainst" 
 Si,^ """1' f *''^""K'"•■'' '^^-y >"= interpreted; for these 
 
 Thev ^thTT •'^"^ 'T"*"*" *'"^y '^"1 ""' ''"»'! 'he temple. 
 tVom J.'^'' '"^"P*^."'"! "\ the second year of Darius, as appears 
 from the b,.gmninp of the.r prophecies; one in the sixth the 
 rther ,n the eighth month. Pp. Ktrick.' We shodd 1 ere'take 
 
 -0^^' LIS ZK=,XV'tr"Sl.Tfe hT. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 520. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 1 Zcrubbahel and Jeshua, incited hy Haggai and Zecha- 
 riah, set forward the bttildi/ig of the temple. S Talnai 
 and Shciltar-boznai could not hinder the Jens. 6 Their 
 letter to Dariiis against the Jews. 
 
 THEN the prophets, '^ Haggai the pro- =Hag. i.i. 
 phet, and "Zechariah the son of Iddo, "Zech. i.i. 
 prophesied unto the Jews that tvere in Ju- 
 dali and Jerusalem in the name of the God 
 of Israel, even unto them. 
 
 2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of 
 Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, 
 and began to build the house of God which 
 is at Jerusalem : and with them were the 
 prophets of God helping them. 
 
 3 5r At the same time came to them 
 Tatnai, governor on this side the river, 
 and Shethar-boznai, and their companions, 
 and said thus unto them. Who hath com- 
 manded you to build this house, and to 
 make up this w^all ? 
 
 4 Then said we unto them after this 
 manner. What are the names of the men .|. chaid. 
 t that make this building ? "'«' *«'« 
 
 5 But the eye of their God was upon i^g?" 
 
 providence will give them a happy issue, though it seem contrary 
 to all appearance. Oslervald. 
 
 By the death of Artaxerxes, his edict prohibiting the building 
 of the temple became of no effect : still the Jews neglected to re- 
 sume the work, and on this account God smote their land with 
 barrenness, so that both the vintage and harvest failed them; 
 Hagg. i. 6, 11, &c. Haggai informed them of the cause of this 
 judgment, and exhorted them to perform their duty, which 
 would be the means of avertiiig it : accordingly they again set 
 about the work, and applied themselves with all diligence to pro- 
 vide the materials necessary for the purpose, Hagg. i. 14, 15. To 
 encourage them further in the prosecution of the work, another 
 message (Hagg. ii. I, &c.) came to them from God by the same 
 Prophet, not only assuring them of His presence therein to make 
 it prosper in their hands, but also promising that the glory of 
 the latter house, when built, should be greater than that of 
 the former ; which was accordingly accomplished when Christ 
 our Saviour came to this temple and honoured it with His pre- 
 sence. The word of the Lord came also to them by Zechariah 
 the Prophet, exhorting tlieni to repentance, and promising them 
 mercy and favour on their obedience, Zech. i. 1, &c. Dean 
 Prideau.r. 
 
 2. — began to build the house of Go(r\ The work had been 
 begun before, but made little progress, till these great men, en- 
 couraged by the Prophets, again set it in forwardness. En. 
 Patrick. ^ 
 
 3- — Talnai, governor on this side the river,"} That is, gover- 
 nour of the provinces of Syria and Palestine. Pyle. 
 
 4. Thm said we unto them &c.J In the Greek, Syriack, and 
 Arabick translations, the words are, " Then said they unto them ;" 
 that is, Tatnai and those with him said to the Jews. Dr. Welk. 
 If the word rve be the ti-ue reading, there should be no interroga- 
 tion ; but the sense must be, " We (the Jews) said or told unto 
 them after this manner, what were the names, &c." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. But the eye of their Goff] By the favour and good provi- 
 dence of God, the king's ministers in these parts became their 
 friends so far as not to prohibit their proceeding with their work, 
 but referred the matter to the consideration of Darius himself, 
 to whom they made a fair and honest report of the case. Bp. 
 Patrick. '
 
 Tattiai and Shethar-boznai's 
 
 CHAP. V, VI. 
 
 letter to Darius. 
 
 520. 
 
 519. 
 
 chrTst '-'^^ elders of the Jews, that they could not 
 cause them to cease, till the matter came 
 to Darius : and then they returned answer 
 by letter concerning this matter. 
 
 6 ^ The copy of the letter that Tatnai, 
 governor on this side the river, and She- 
 thai'-boznai, and his companions the Aphar- 
 sachites, which "m^ere on this side the river, 
 sent unto Darius the king : 
 t chaid. 7 They sent a letter unto him, t wherein 
 M/ieiw}" " was written thus ; Unto Darius the king, 
 all peace. 
 
 8 Be it known unto the king, that we 
 went into the province of Judea, to the 
 house of the great God, which is builded 
 
 t chaid. with t great stones, and timber is laid in 
 rXs""^ the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and 
 prospeieth in their hands. 
 
 9 Then asked we those elders, and said 
 unto them thus. Who commanded you to 
 build this house, and to make up these 
 walls ? 
 
 10 We asked their names also, to certify 
 thee, that we might write the names of the 
 men that were the chief of them. 
 
 11 And thus they returned us answer, 
 saying, We are the servants of the God of 
 heaven and earth, and build the house that 
 was builded these many years ago, which a 
 
 1 Kings great king of Israel builded ' and set up. 
 
 12 But after that our fathers had pro- 
 voked the God of heaven unto wrath, he 
 
 2 Kings gave them into the hand of "* Nebuchad- 
 nezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, 
 who destroyed this house, and carried the 
 people away into Babylon. 
 
 13 But in the first year of ' Cyrus the 
 Chap. 1. 1. j^jjjg of Babylon the same king Cyrus made 
 
 a decree to build this house of God. 
 f Chap. I. 14 And ^ the vessels also of gold and 
 8. & 6. 5. gjiygj- Qf j]^g house of God, which Nebu- 
 chadnezzar took out of the temple that 
 •was in Jerusalem, and brought them into 
 the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus 
 
 returned ansiver^ As follows at chap. vi. 
 
 8. — the house qf the great God,l Such was the expression of 
 the Jews, to distinguish their GocTfrom all idols, who W3re sup- 
 posed to be the gods of particular countries. Bp. Patrick 
 
 Chap. VI. ver. 2. — was found at Achmelha,'} It would seem 
 that they searched in vain at Babylon, and therefore searched at 
 this place, afterwards called Ecbatana, where the kings of Persia 
 sometimes held their court. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 3. — the breadth thereof threescore cubits;'] It has been before 
 stated at note on chap. iii. 12, that the dimensions of the new 
 temple were the same as those of Solomon's temple ; for the latter 
 seems to have been built on the very same foundations with the 
 former. Still it may seem that Cyrus's commission makes the 
 new temple broader, as it allows it sixty cubits in breadth, 
 whyeas Solomon's temple had only twenty cubits in breadth. It 
 
 6. 1. 
 
 24. 2. & 
 £5. 8, 
 
 536. 
 
 the king take out of the temple of Baby- ^^°^ 
 Ion, and they were delivered unto one, ^^s^l^^ 
 whose name am Sheshbazzar, whom he 
 had made || governor ; ii or, 
 
 15 And said unto him. Take these ves- ''^'^^• 
 .sels, go, carry them into the temple that is 
 
 in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be 
 builded in his place. 
 
 16 Then came the same Sheshbazzar, 
 and laid the foundation of the house of 
 God which is in Jerusalem : and since that 
 time even until now hath it been in build- 
 ing, and 1/et it is not finished. 
 
 17 Now therefore, if it seem good to the 
 king, let there be search made in the 
 king's treasure house, which is tliere at 
 Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree 
 was made of Cyrus the king to build this 
 house of God at Jerusalem, and let the 
 king send his pleasure to us concerning 
 this matter. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 1 Darius, finding the decree qf Cyrus, maJceth a netv 
 decree for the advancement of the building. 1 3 By 
 the help qf the enemies, atid the directions of the pro- 
 phets, the temple is finished. l6 The feast qf the de- 
 dication is kept, 19 and the passover. 
 
 THEN Darius the king made a decree, '''s- 
 and search was made in the house of 
 the t rolls, where the treasures were t laid t chaij. 
 up in Babylon. {"'ch;,!.! 
 
 2 And there was found at || Aclnnetha, "uuutode. 
 in the palace that is in the province of the ^ or,' 
 Medes, a roll, and therein rcas a record £<:'><•""*"< 
 
 .1 •, , or, i« a cpf- 
 
 thus written : fcr. 
 
 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king 
 the same Cyrus the king made a decree 
 concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, 
 Let the iouse be builded, the place where 
 they offered sacrifices, and let the founda- 
 tions thereof be strongly laid ; the height 
 thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth 
 thereof threescore cubits ; 
 
 4 With three rows of great stones, and 
 
 should be observed, however, that these measures seem to be ap- 
 plied to different parts of the two temples. The twenty cubits 
 breadth of Solomon's temple was only the breadth of the temple 
 proper, measuring from the inside of Uie walls. The sixty cubits 
 breadth, on the other hajid, mentioned in Cyrus's commission, 
 was the breadth, not of the temple proper, but of the whole 
 building enclosing it, containing different apartments and galle- 
 ries. The outward breadth of this whole building was seventy 
 cubits ; and thus, if we allow five cubits resj)ecti\ely for the 
 breadth of the outer walls, we obtain the breadth measured from 
 the inside of the walls to be such as is here described. Dean 
 Prideaux. 
 
 4. With three rotrs of great stones^ This agrees with tlie de- 
 scri))tion of Solomon's building his temple at 1 Kings vi. 36, Sue 
 for there seems no doubt that Cjtus gave his commission after 
 
 502
 
 Darius's decree in Hie Jews' favour. 
 
 EZRA. 
 
 The temple is finished. 
 
 Btfcrr 
 CHRIS 
 
 f Chilli 
 
 t CliiM 
 
 thfir ivctr 
 liei. 
 
 t Chaia. 
 t>\i me a 
 decree \i 
 made* 
 
 f Cliold. 
 mailt 10 
 Ctntt. 
 
 a row of new timber : and let the expences 
 ^ be L'iven out of the king's house: 
 
 5 And also let the golden and silver 
 vessels of the house of God, winch Nebu- 
 chadnezzar took forth out of the temple 
 which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto 
 Babvlon, be restored, and t brought again 
 unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, 
 eicni one to his place, and place them in 
 the house of God. 
 
 6 Now therefore, Tatnai, governor be- 
 yond the river, Shethar-boznai, and t your 
 coini)anions the Apharsachite», which are 
 bevoiul tiie river, be ye far from thence : 
 
 7 Let the work of this house of God 
 alone ; let the governor of the Jews and 
 the ciders of the Jews build this house of 
 God in this place. 
 
 8 Moreover 1 1 make a decree what ye 
 shall do to the elders of these Jews for the 
 building of this house of God : that of the 
 king's goods, even of the tribute beyond 
 the ri\ er, forthwith expences be given unto 
 these men, that they be not t hindered. 
 
 9 And that which they have need of, 
 both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, 
 for the burnt ofJerings of the God of hea- 
 ven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according 
 to the appointment of the priests which are 
 at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by 
 day without fail : 
 
 10 That they may offer sacrifices t of 
 sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and 
 pray for the life of the king, and of his 
 sons. 
 
 1 1 Also I have made a decree, that who- 
 soever shall alter this word, let timber be 
 
 that pattern, having probably consulted the Jews that were about 
 him r.ir that express purpose. Dr. Light/oof. 
 
 1 1. — nnit hail" set up, /»■( him be hanged ihereon;'] It is the 
 opinion of Minio. tliat these words should be translated, ajrreeably 
 to the sense of the Greek version, " and standing let him be beat 
 upon it," that is, according to the motlcm expression, " whipped 
 at the post," as was the manner among the Persians and other 
 nations. In the subsequent words it is ordered, that his house 
 when pulletl down should not be built up again, but the place 
 where it stood be made a dunghil. Thus it was customary 
 .inwtig the Romans to pull down the houses of very wicked per- 
 sons, for their greater disgrace. Bp. Pntrick. 
 
 12. — / Darius have made a decree;'] By virtue of this decree, 
 the Jews were not only fully authorized to go on with the build- 
 nig, but were also furnished with the expenses of it out of the 
 Uses of Uie jirovinee. This had been granted by Cyms in the 
 r«nner decree ; but, by the underhand dealings of the Samaritans 
 lUKl oOier enanies, in bribing those through whose hands the ad- 
 ininistration of publick affairs and the publick revenues passed 
 tills |iart of CyTus-s decree was renderecl ineffectual. For a lone 
 
 jmr, therefore, the Jews, being forced to carry on the work at 
 
 ,ftnr ^K " '■^'^"' "'"' '''''"6 '"• " '^*'' "*" g^'^'^t poverty so soon 
 .^ncr their return Irom captivity, made a very slow pro<n-ess 
 No*, however bemg largely assisted by the king's bountv'thev 
 .ngn^red m the building >viih such diligence, ^hat tWy soq^ 
 
 t Child. 
 tfrctt. 
 
 decree. 
 
 51S. 
 
 pulled down from his house, and being set ch'riIt 
 up, t let him be hanged thereon ; and let 519. 
 his house be made a dunghill for this. t Chaid. 
 
 12 And the God that hath caused his '^[^^^'/^^ 
 name to dwell there destroy all kings and 
 people, that shall put to their hand to alter 
 
 and to destroy this house of God which is 
 at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a de- 
 cree ; let it be done with speed. 
 
 13 if Then Tatnai, governor on this side 
 the river, Shethar-boznai, and their com- 
 panions, according to that which Darius the 
 king had sent, so they did speedily. 
 
 14 And the elders of the Jews builded, 
 and they prospered through the prophesy- 
 ing of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah 
 the son of Iddo. And they builded, and 
 finished it, according to the commandment 
 of the God of Israel, and according to the 
 t commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and t cimid. 
 Artaxerxes king of Persia. 
 
 15 And this house was finished on the 
 third day of the month Adar, which was in 
 the sixth year of the reign of Darius the 
 king. 
 
 16 ^ And the children of Israel, the 
 priests, and the Levites, and the rest of 
 
 t the children of the captivity, kept the t chaW. 
 dedication of this house of God with joy, \he TrTns- 
 
 17 And offered at the dedication of this ponation. 
 house of God an hundred bullocks, two 
 hundred rams, four hundred lambs ; and 
 
 for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he 
 goats, according to the number of the 
 tribes of Israel. 
 
 18 And they set the priests in their di- 
 visions, and the Levites in their courses, 
 
 brought it to a conclusion. The publication of this decree at Je- 
 rusalem may be reckoned the complete restoration of the Jewish 
 state. Dean Prideaux: We here see the happy issue which God 
 gives to those who wait on Him with patience and resignation. 
 Bp. Wilson. 
 
 14. — theu prospered through the prophesying &c.] That is, the 
 Prophets directed and encouraged them in the work. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 15. — the month Adar,'\ Adar was the twelfth month of the 
 ecclesiastical year among the Jews, answering to part of Febru- 
 ary and part of March. Lewis. 
 
 17- — twelve lie goats, according to the number of the Iribes] We 
 are here supplied with an additmnal proof that, on the return of 
 the tribes of Judah and Benjamin from the Babylonish captivity, 
 many also of each of the other tribes returned with them from 
 Assyria, Babylonia, and Media, whither tliey had been carried; 
 and, joining with them in the rebuilding of the temple, partook 
 in the solemnity of the dedication ; otherwise, there is no reason 
 why the sin offering should now be offered in behalf of all the 
 twelve tribes. Since, however, the greater part of those who re- 
 turned consisted of the tribe of Judah, their name swallowed up 
 the names of all the rest ; for, from this time, the whole people of 
 Israel, of what tribe soever they were, began to be called Jews, 
 and by that name they have been known ever since all the world 
 over. Dean Prideaiix.
 
 and dedicated. 
 
 CHAP. VI, VII. 
 
 Ezra goeth up to Jerusalem. 
 
 CHRIST ^^^ ^^^ service of God, which is at Jerusa- 
 515. lem ; t ' as it is written in the book of 
 t Chaid. Moses. 
 
 "heZriHn'g". 19 And the children of the captivity 
 "Numb. 3. kept the passover upon the fourteenth day 
 01 the nrst month. 
 
 20 For the piiests and the Levites were 
 purified together, all of them were pure, 
 and killed the passover for all the children 
 of the captivity, and for their brethren the 
 priests, and for themselves. 
 
 21 And the children of Israel, which 
 were come again out of captivity, and all 
 such as had separated themselves unto them 
 from the filthiness of the heathen of the 
 land, to seek the Loed God of Israel, did 
 eat, 
 
 22 And kept the feast of unleavened 
 bread seven days with joy: for the Lord 
 had made them joyful, and turned the 
 heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to 
 strengthen their hands in the work of the 
 house of God, the God of Israel. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 1 Ezra goeth up to Jernsahm. 
 mission of Artaxerxes to Ezra. 
 for Ms favour. • 
 
 11 The gracious com- 
 27 Ezra blesseth God 
 
 457. 
 
 N 
 
 OW after these things, in the reign of 
 Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the 
 
 21. — all such as had separated themselves unto thevf] That is, 
 proselytes who had forsaken their heathenish religion, and made 
 themselves entirely subject to the law of Moses; for such might 
 eat of the passover, Exod. xii. 48, 49. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 22. — the king of Assyria"^ The king of Persia; (Darius;) being 
 here called king of Assyria, as having conquered those countries 
 which formerly belonged to the kings of Assyria. Bp. Patrick. 
 Darius was a prince of great wisdom, clemency, and justice; and 
 has the honour to be recorded in Holy Writ as a favourer of God's 
 people, a restorer of His temple at Jerusalem, and a promoter of 
 His worship therein. God was pleased to make him His instru- 
 ment in all this work; and with respect to this it was, no doubt, 
 that He blessed him with a numerous issue, a long reign, and 
 great prosperity. Dean Prideanx. 
 
 In the change in the state of the Jews here related, we cannot 
 sufficiently admire the providence of God, and the care He takes 
 of His people: we see that God watches over the church, and 
 finds means to support it, even by idolatrous princes, and in places 
 where it has been most persecuted. Oslervald. 
 
 Chap. VII. ver. 1. Now after these things, in the reign of Ar- 
 taxerxes'^ The temple worship at Jerusalem, and the free enjoy- 
 ment of the Jewish religion, having now continued without any 
 considerable intemiption for nearly thi-eescore years, (fifty-eight 
 years, see the dates in the margin,) through the reigns of the Per- 
 sian monarchs, Xerxes and Darius; in the seventh year of the 
 next successor, Artaxerxes Longimanus, the Jews, as is here re- 
 lated, obtamed further favour and privileges from the Persian 
 crown, by means of Ezra, who was of the line of Aaron, de- 
 scended from the heads of that line who are mentioned in the 
 following verses. Pi/le. 
 
 son of Seraiah,'^ He was not immediately the son of Se- 
 
 raiah, but descended from him; perhaps his grandson, or gi-eat 
 grandson. Seraiah perished when Jerusalem was taken by the 
 
 son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son Christ 
 of Hilkiah, 457. 
 
 2 The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, 
 the son of Ahitub, 
 
 3 The son of Amariah, the son of Aza- 
 riah, the son of Meraioth, 
 
 i< The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, 
 the son of Bukki, 
 
 5 The son of Abishua, the son of Phine- 
 has, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron 
 the chief priest: 
 
 6 This Ezra went up from Babylon; and 
 he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, 
 which the Lord God of Israel liad given: 
 and the king granted him all his request, 
 according to the hand of the Lord his God 
 upon him. 
 
 7 And there went up some of the chil- 
 dren of Israel, and of the priests, and the 
 Levites, and the singers, and the porters, 
 and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the 
 seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, '*57. 
 
 8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth 
 month, which rcas in the seventh year of 
 the king. 
 
 9 For upon the first dai/ of the first "iwut^?. 
 month t began he to go up from Babylon, t&s]he 
 and on the first dat/ of the fifth month came foundoHon 
 he to Jerusalem, according to the good Ip. '^"'"^ 
 hand of his God upon him. 
 
 10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to 
 
 Chaldeans, 2 Kings xxv. 18, 21. Bp. Patrick. Ezra could not be 
 the immediate son of Seraiah; for, if he had been only one yeai- 
 old at his death, he woidd now have been aged 132; and we find 
 him alive in the time of Nehemiah, fifteen years afterwards. 
 
 3. — the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,"} In this genea- 
 logy six generations are omitted between Azariah and Meraioth, 
 which are to be supplied from 1 Chron. vi. 7, &c. These are pro- 
 bably omitted for the sake of brevity. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — he was a ready scribe'] He calls himself a scribe, from 
 his declaring and explaining the things contained in the Scrip- 
 tures. The word in the original signifies one skilled and leametl 
 in that which was the Book by way of eminence, a teacher and 
 expounder of it: and he was a ready scribe, because he was pe- 
 culiarly expert and understanding in the law, both in matters 
 which related to the priesthood, and to the civil authority. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 the king granted him all his request,"] It is scarcely proba- 
 ble that this uncommon favour was obtained by ordinary means; 
 and it seems to have been granted at the solicitation of Esther. 
 It was usual for the kings of Persia to allow, on some particular 
 occasions, their favourites to ask what boons they pleased; and 
 it is probable that, by the direction of Mordecai, she embraced 
 some favourable opportunity of asking this of the king. Bean 
 Prideaux. This observation supposes the history of the book of 
 Esther to refer to this period: respecting which see the Intro- 
 duction to that book. 
 
 according to the hand of the Lord his God] Meaning, that 
 
 God was so favourable to him as to incline the king to give a fa- 
 vourable answer to his petition. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 9. _ upon the first day ofthejrst month] On the first day of 
 the first month he went from Babylon to the river Ahava, 
 where he spent three days in taking a view of the people that 
 accompanied {Vim, chap. viii. 15. After eight days more, part of
 
 The "-racious commission 
 
 Brfor, seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and 
 
 ^""If.^ to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. 
 
 " ■■ 1 1 If Now this is the copy of the letter 
 
 tiiat the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra 
 
 the priest, the scribe, evcii a scribe of the 
 
 words of the commandments of the Lord, 
 
 and of his statutes to Israel. 
 
 I Or. 1(2 Artaxerxes, king of kings, II unto 
 
 '^Tn"" Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the 
 
 ;-^«' God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such 
 
 taw "f the a tune. 
 
 c«/,./»,a. Y3 I make a decree, that all they of the 
 
 S^''*^' people of Israel, and (f his priests and Le- 
 vites, in my realm, which are minded of 
 their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, 
 go with thee. 
 
 t Ottid. li Forasmuch as thou art sent t of the 
 •^"7.!^'" •*'ng» and of his ' seven counsellers, to en- 
 
 •E«hcri. quire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, 
 
 "■ according to the law of thy God which 
 
 15 in thine hand; 
 
 15 And to carry the silver and gold, 
 which the king and his counsellers have 
 freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose 
 habitation is in Jerusalem, 
 
 •Ch.p.8. ic "And all the silver and gold that 
 thou canst find in all the province of Ba- 
 bylon, with the freewill offering of the peo- 
 ple, and of the priests, offering willingly 
 for the house of their God which is in Je- 
 rusalem : 
 
 17 That thou mayest buy speedily with 
 this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their 
 meat offerings and their drink offerings, 
 and offer them upon the altar of the house 
 of your God which is in Jerusalem. 
 
 18 And whatsoever shall seem good to 
 thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the 
 rest of the silver and the gold, that do after 
 the will of your God. 
 
 10 The ves sels also that are given thee 
 
 vrhich Ihrv s,x.m ii, prayer and fasting, they proceeded on their 
 joumoy , chap. vni. 2 1 , 2i, 3 1 . Bp. Patrick. 
 
 yr:J'''"f':''"'' f^j"? of kings,-} Artaxerxes had several kings 
 subject to hun. lip. Patrick. " 
 
 __ at such a l,mc.} Here, as at chap. iv. 10, the time, we 
 must suppose was specified in the original instrument, although 
 It IS expressed generally. * 
 
 .uU^oriTv"!! ll*" T"" r''f '"■*'] ^''•^ '''■^'•^^ '^'«' the greater 
 S^i wIL .K '"^ '">■ '}' «''"<^« "f 1"^ ^«ven counsellers; for 
 
 ^ i u. b/S1! ™'^" "' '•^'^ ''"'«'"'"' =^ ^pp<^- fr- 
 
 of 'iut'^f aTf.'o'':!'''/"''' -^IvT'^ Amounting to the sum 
 tiWAe h;^! ' 'T ? '" ^"'^"P Cumberlan.l's computa- 
 
 ^^ wL mjr " I'""'*' '"■'' "'^^^'^^ '^^'^ "^^"y other 
 
 ■'Tiri ' *^"°t be a,-certained. JVe 
 
 on th. Ham7kil?if •T'^^' *^^ t 'fy "»S">t to be written 
 
 h.art., 7mC ^^thL Jith °^ ^'f-r^ "^"g^''^^" °" the 
 we iditMul with a pen ol adamant. So strong a 
 
 EZRA. 
 
 of Artaserxes to Ezra. 
 
 for the service of the house of thy God, ^hITst 
 those deliver thou before the God of Jeru- about 457. 
 salem. 
 
 20 And whatsoever more shall be need- 
 ful for the house of thy God, which thou 
 shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it 
 out of the king's treasure house. 
 
 21 And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, 
 do make a decree to all the treasurers 
 which are beyond the river, that whatso- 
 ever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law 
 of the God of heaven, shall require of you, 
 it be done speedily, 
 
 22 Unto an hundred talents of silver, 
 
 and to an hundred t measures of wheat, t ChaU. 
 and to an hundred baths of wine, and to '^''"" 
 an hundred baths of oil, and salt without 
 prescribing hoiv much. 
 
 23 t Whatsoever is commanded by the t Heb. 
 God of heaven, let it be diligently done for is 'oflhlVe- 
 the house of the God of heaven : for why "■««• 
 should there be wrath against the realm of 
 
 the king and his sons ? 
 
 24 Also we certify you, that touching 
 any of the priests and Levites, singers, 
 porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this 
 house of God, it shall not be lawful to im- 
 pose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them. 
 
 25 And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of 
 thy God, that is in thine hand, set magi- 
 strates and judges, which may judge all the 
 people that are beyond the river, all such 
 as know the laws of thy God; and teach 
 ye them that know them not. 
 
 26 And whosoever will not do the law 
 of thy God, and the law of the king, let 
 judgment be executed speedily upon him, 
 whether it be unto death, or t to banish- t ChaW- <» 
 ment, or to confiscation of goods, or to "'"'"e'""- 
 imprisonment. 
 
 27 % Blessed be the Lord God of our 
 
 sense of God's supreme authority do they express, and so cleai-ly 
 do they mark out the regard that is due from the greatest kings 
 and potentates to His most sacred commands. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 26. And wJuisoever will not do &c.] It appears from this verse 
 that Artaxerxes gave the Jews liberty to live by their own laws, 
 and to judge all causes according to them: also, that he gave 
 their magistrates the power of life and death over their own na- 
 tion. Dr. Wells. 
 
 and the law of the king,'} By the law of the king is here 
 
 meant tliis decree, which was now made in favour of the Jews, 
 giving them authority to exercise their own laws again. When 
 matters could not be determined by the Divine laws, they were 
 to be judged by the king's law. Bp. Pairick. 
 
 27. Blessed he the Lord GodT} Ezra, having recorded the gra- 
 cious edict which has just been given, was so penetrated with the 
 goodness of God in inspiring the Persian king with such a fa- 
 vourable disposition, that he could not refrain from breaking 
 ^"^ h"» expressions of thankfulness to God which here follow. 
 Ur. Hells Ezra's thanksgiving to God for putting it into the 
 heart of the king and his counsellers to favour the Jews, shews 
 how tuU ot piety and zeal was tliis worthy minister of religion.
 
 The companions of Ezra, 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 CHRIST f^th^i's> which hath put such a thing as this 
 about 457. in the king's heart, to beautify the house 
 of the Lord which is in Jerusalem : 
 
 28 And hath extended mercy unto me 
 before the king, and his counsellers, and 
 before all the king's mighty princes. And 
 I was strengthened as the hand of the 
 Lord my God "was upon me, and I gather- 
 ed together out of Israel chief men to go 
 up with me. 
 
 CHAP. VIIL 
 
 1 The companions of Ezra, who returned from Babylon. 
 15 He sendcth to Iddo for ministers for the temple. 
 21 He keepelk a fast. 24 He committeth the trea.mres 
 to the custody of the priests. 31 From Ahava they 
 come to Jerusalem. 33 The treasure is weighed in the 
 temple. 36 The commission is delivered. 
 
 about 457. rr^HESE are now the chief of their fa- 
 X. thers, and this is the genealogy of them 
 that Avent up with me from Babylon, in 
 the reign of Artaxerxes the king. 
 
 2 Of the sons of Pbinehas ; Gershom : 
 of the sons of Ithamar ; Daniel : of the 
 sons of David ; Hattush. 
 
 3 Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons 
 of Pharosh ; Zechariah : and with him were 
 reckoned by genealogy of the males an 
 hundred and fifty. 
 
 4 Of the sons of Pahath-moab ; Eliho- 
 enai the son of Zerahiah, and with him 
 two hundred males. 
 
 5 Of the sons of Shechaniah ; the son 
 of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred 
 males. 
 
 6 Of the sons also of Adin ; Ebed the 
 son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males. 
 
 Thus pious men give to God all the glory of the good which be- 
 falls them, and put their whole trust in Him, both in prosperity 
 and in adversity. Ostervald. 
 
 Chap. VIII. ver. 2. — Daniel Q Not the celebrated Prophet 
 of this name, but some eminent person of Ithamar's family. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 3. — by genealogy of the males^ The males only are here num- 
 bered, and no notice taken of the women and children, ver. 21, 
 which, without doubt, greatly increased the number. Pyle. 
 
 13. And of the last sons of Adonikam,~\ By "the last sons of 
 Adonikam" seem to be meant those of the descendants of Ado- 
 nikam who went up with Ezra, to distinguish them from others 
 of the same family who had before gone to Jerusalem. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 15. — the river tJiat runneth to Ahava ;] There seems to have 
 been a river of this name, ver. 21, as well as a to-jvn. The river 
 probably ran into the Euphrates, and the town stood where the 
 union of the two rivers took place. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 According to another opinion, the river Ahava is that which 
 ran along the Adiabene, where the river Diava or Adiava is 
 known to be, on which Ptolemy places the city of Abane or 
 Aavane. This is probably the country called at 2 Kings xvii. 24, 
 Ava, from which the kings of Assyria transferred the people 
 called Avites into Palestine. Ezra, intending to pick up as many 
 
 ivho returned from Bahjlon. 
 
 7 And of the sons of Elam ; Jeshaiah before 
 the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy ^"J^i/r!^ 
 males. 
 
 8 And of the sons of Shephatiah ; Ze- 
 badiah the son of Michael, and with him 
 fourscore males. 
 
 9 Of the sons of Joab ; Obadiah the son 
 of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and 
 eighteen males. 
 
 10 And of the sons of Shelomith ; the 
 son of Josiphiah, and \\^th him an hundred 
 and threescore males. 
 
 11 And of the sons of Bebai ; Zechariah 
 the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and 
 eight males. 
 
 12 And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan 
 
 II the son of Hakkatan, and with him an II Or, 
 hundred and ten males. '« i'om"'" 
 
 13 And of the last sons of Adonikam, 
 whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, 
 and Shemaiah, and wath them threescore 
 males. 
 
 14 Of the sons also of Bigvai ; Uthai, 
 and II Zabbud, and with them seventy ii Or, 
 
 15 ^ And I gathered them together to 
 the river that runneth to Ahava ; and there 
 
 II abode we in tents three days : and I view- ii Or, 
 ed the people, and the priests, and found ^'^''"^■ 
 there none of the sons of Levi. 
 
 16 Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, 
 for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for 
 Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, 
 and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, 
 chief men ; also for Joiarib, and for Elna- 
 than, men of understanding. 
 
 17 And I sent them with commandment 
 
 Israelites as he could to carry back to Judea, made a halt in the 
 country of Ava or Ahava, whence he sent emissaries into the 
 Caspian mountains, to in\'ite such Jews as might there be found 
 to come and join him. Calmet. 
 
 and there abode we in tents three days:'} In a similar man- 
 ner the caravans are wont to encamp four or five leagues from 
 Bagdad, upon an arm of the Tigris, for some days, to see whe- 
 ther they have got all things necessary for so long a journey, and 
 whether nobody is left behind. Sir J. Chardin. 
 
 found there none of the sons of Iati.'} No Levites, pro- 
 perly so called; none of the sons of Levi who were not priests: 
 the want of these to attend upon the priests was likely to prove a 
 great defect in the temple service. Pyle. 
 
 l6. Then sent I for Eliezer, Sec.} Accordinglj-, he sends eleven 
 of the principal persons of his company to Iddo, a very consider- 
 able man at Casiphia, a place of the Babylonish pro%'ince, where 
 he knew there were a great number of the families of the Levites 
 residing, desiring him to use all his influence to send a number 
 of j;hera, and the inferiour officers called Nethinim, to go with 
 him to Jerusalem. Pyle. 
 
 Or, by " the place Casiphia," ver. 17, may be meant, mount 
 Caspius, near the Caspian sea, between Media and Hyrcania, 
 where were many captives. Cahnet. 
 
 The Greek translators render it, " a place of silver ;" which 
 tlie Hebrew word signifies. Grotius.
 
 (>>ou 
 
 t UfiK I 
 
 in tkeir 
 
 mtitih. 
 
 • S«* chap, 
 8. 4J. 
 
 Ezra krepeth a fast. 
 
 iwf"" iiiito hlilo the chief at the place Casiphia, 
 ^.I'U.Y and t 1 tolil them what they should say 
 unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Netiii- 
 niins, at the phice Casipliia, that they 
 should bring unto us ministers for the 
 house of our God. 
 
 IS And by the good hand of our God 
 upon us they brouglit us a man of under- 
 standing, of the sons of Alahh', the son of 
 Levi, the son o? Israel ; and Sherebiah, 
 with his sons and iiis brethren, eighteen ; 
 
 1!) And Hashabiah, and with him Je- 
 shaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren 
 and their sons, twenty ; 
 
 ','0 ' Also of the Nethinims, whom Da- 
 vid and the princes had apj)ointed for the 
 service of the Levites, two hundred and 
 twenty Nethinims ; all of them were ex- 
 pressed by name. 
 
 21 ^ Then I proclaimed a fast there, at 
 the river of Ahava, that we might afflict 
 ourselves before our God, to seek of him 
 a right way for us, and for our little ones, 
 and for all our substance. 
 
 'i'2 For I was ashamed to require of the 
 king a band of soldiers and horsemen to 
 help us against the enemy in the way : be- 
 cause we had spoken unto the king, saying, 
 The hand of our God is upon all them for 
 good that seek him ; but his power and 
 his wrath is against all them that forsake 
 him. 
 
 '23 So we fasted and besought our God 
 for this : and he was intreated of us. 
 
 2+ ^ Then I separated twelve of the 
 chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, 
 and ten of their brethren with them, 
 
 2.5 And weighed unto them the silver, 
 and the pld, and the vessels, even the of- 
 termg ot the house of our God, which the 
 
 EZRA/ The holy treasures committed to the priests. 
 
 king, and his counsellers, and his lords, ch'riIt 
 and all Israel there present, had offered : about 457. 
 
 2() I even weighed, unto their hand six 
 hundred and fifty talents of silver, and sil- 
 ver vessels an hundred talents, and of gold 
 an hundred talents ; 
 
 27 Also twenty basons of gold, of a 
 thousand drams : and two vessels of t fine t Hcb. 
 
 1 • 1 J ucUow, or, 
 
 copper, t precious as gold. ,/„„i„g 
 
 28 And I said unto them. Ye are holy '"•«"■ 
 unto the Lord ; the vessels are holy also ; aesirMe. 
 and the silver and the gold are a freewill 
 offering unto the Lord God of your fa- 
 thers. 
 
 29 Watch ye, and keep them, until ye 
 weigh them before the chief of the priests 
 and the Levites, and chief of the fathers 
 of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of 
 the house of the Lord. 
 
 30 So took the priests and the Levites 
 the weight of the silver, and the gold, and 
 the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto 
 the house of our God. 
 
 31 ^ Then we departed from the river 
 of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first 
 month, to go unto Jerusalem : and the 
 hand of our God was upon us, and he de- 
 livered us from the hand of the enemyj 
 and of such as lay in wait by the way. 
 
 32 And we came to Jerusalem, and 
 abode there three days. 
 
 S3 % Now on the .fourth day was the 
 silver and the gold and the vessels weighed 
 in the house of our God by the hand of 
 Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and 
 with him icas Eleazar the son of Phinehas j 
 and with them was Jozabad the son of Je- 
 shua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Le« 
 vites •, 
 
 34 By number and by weight of every 
 
 Mlf„"the'Nefff ^'"''''""^' «'*<"« &c.] This is a clear account 
 TsMe itr, h, t ^'T' T h''''''' '^"'^ P^^l^^Wv not natural 
 
 22. For I n-a, ashamed Scc.^ Ezra had so openly declared 
 h.s de,K.n,1ence on Go<i for s^fe conduct on his iournev E 
 hr was ashanml to ask a guard of protectio.. from the^kW 
 Ir^^^ZfSeTZ^' 7 Divine^matters, mi,.u ha^e i2: 
 C^ th^ 1 ""'>■ '"'""'^ ^'?"i ''oa^ts of the favour of God 
 towards then, and ol the prophecies respecting their restora- 
 
 « the more necessarv tV,-,, L T i? ^"'^ then made 
 
 in which Ly rS ^l:^' ^^o"'-! appoint a solemn fast, 
 *"■ 21; llul^is rill , ^'^n^^'"'^" before their God," 
 
 -^-PU. Him to prosper ^^ 1 1 Vlt/% ^ 
 23. .9o trr fastrd axd hetmfhl <>.■,■ -\ Ti • l , . 
 
 fasting and prayer, might well serve to convince the idolatrous 
 people among whom they lived, that they had a perfect confi* 
 dence in the Divine protection. Thus good men ever trust in 
 God rather than in man ; they seek their principal security in 
 prayer, and God on His part hears their prayers and blesses 
 them, as He did Ezra. Oslcrvald. 
 
 26 six hundred and fifty laknls &c.] Making together a 
 
 million sterling of our money.' Bp. Wilson. 
 
 28. — Ye are holy unto the Lord; &c.] On delivering the 
 treasures into their custody, he solemnly charges them, that they 
 must remember they were God's priests and stewards, and the 
 treasures committed to them His peculiar right and property ; 
 and therefore, that no care, courage, pains, or hazard, could be 
 too great for keeping them safe, and delivering them justly and 
 punctually into the temple treasury at Jemsalem, where both 
 priests and Levites, and the whole comicil of the nation, would 
 be witnesses, either of their fidelity, or of their dishonesty, in dis. 
 charging this important trust. Pyle. 
 
 32. And we came to Jerusalem,-] It appeal's from chap. vii. % 
 that they came to Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month.. 
 mving spent four months in the journey
 
 Ezra moumeth for the qffinihj 
 
 CHAP. VIII, IX. 
 
 chrTst °?^ • ^"^ ^ ^'^^ weight was written at that 
 
 lij about 457. time. 
 
 35 Also the children of those that had 
 been carried away, which were come out 
 of the captivity, offered burnt offerings 
 unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for 
 all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and 
 seven lambs, twelve he goats for a sin of- 
 fering : all this was a burnt offering unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 36 ^ And they delivered the king's 
 commissions unto the king's lieutenants, 
 and to the governors on this side the river: 
 and they furthered the people, and the 
 house of God. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 1 Ezra moumeth for the uffinili) of the people with 
 
 of the people Kith strangers. 
 
 strangers, 
 of sins. 
 
 5 He prayeth unto God with confession 
 
 457. 
 
 NOW when these things were done, the 
 princes came to me, saying. The peo- 
 ple of Israel, and the priests, and the Le- 
 vites, have not separated themselves from 
 the people of the lands, doing according to 
 their abominations, even of the Canaanites, 
 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, 
 the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyp- 
 tians, and the Amorites. 
 
 2 For they have taken of their daugh- 
 ters for themselves, and for their sons : so 
 that the holy seed have mingled themselves 
 with the people of those lands : yea, the 
 hand of the princes and rulers hath been 
 chief in this trespass. 
 
 S6. — and they furthered the people,!^ The king's lieutenants 
 and governours fully obeyed the orders of the king, and contri- 
 buted every thing requisite for the temple and its services. Pyle. 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. 1. — doimr according to their abomiiintions, &c.] 
 This expression is commonly used in Scriptiu'e to signify the 
 j ■worshipping of idols ; but here signifies, in general, imitation of 
 the heathen in promiscuous marriages with any nation whatever, 
 which would soon lead to the commission of idolatry. The mar- 
 riages of the Jews with the seven nations had been expressly for- 
 bidden at Deut. vii. 2, 3; and the same law extended to all na- 
 tions not proselyted to the Jewish religion. Even before the law 
 of Moses it seems to have been deemed unlawftil, after they had 
 received the covenant of circumcision, to intermai-ry with ofher 
 nations that were uncircmncised. Gen. X2udv. ] 4. Bp. Palric/r. 
 
 All the nations then in the world, except the Jews, were 
 idolaters. Therefore, to forbid marriage with idolaters was the 
 same to the Jews, as to forbid marriage with any who were not 
 of their communion. That the prohibition to the Jews of qiar- 
 vying with the heathens was not on account of their nation, but 
 their religion, is proved by the fact, that this is the reason given 
 for the command, in almost every place where the command is 
 repeated. Leslie. 
 
 2. — the My seed^ The Jews are called " the holy seed," on 
 account of God's covenant with them, making them a peculiar 
 people separate from all other nations. Bp. Patrick. 
 - 3. — / rent my garment and my mantlet's I rent Iwth my upper 
 Vol. I. 
 
 3 And when I heard this thing, I rent ^^'''" 
 my garment and my mantle, and plucked ^^^^^^ 
 off the hair of my head and of my beard, 
 
 and sat down astonied. 
 
 4 Then were assembled unto me every 
 one that trembled at the words of the God 
 of Israel, because of the transgression of 
 those that had been carried away ; and I 
 sat astonied until the evening sacrifice. 
 
 5 % And at the evening sacrifice I arose 
 
 up from my || heaviness ; and having rent B Or. 
 my garment and my mantle, I fell upon "•^''"^♦• 
 my knees, and spread out my hands unto 
 the Lord my God, 
 
 6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed 
 and blush to lift up my face to thee, my 
 God : for our iniquities are increased over 
 our head, and our ll trespass is grown up U Or. 
 unto the heavens. °""^*^'^- 
 
 7 Since the days of our fathers have we 
 been in a great trespass unto this day; and 
 for our iniquities have we, our kings, and 
 our priests, been delivered into the hand of 
 the kings of the lands, to the sword, to 
 captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion 
 of face, as it is this day. 
 
 8 And now for a t little space grace t Heb. 
 hath been shexi'ed from the Lord our God, """^ " 
 to leave us a remnant to escape, and to 
 
 give us II a nail in his holy place, that our tiOr,a;.mr 
 God may lighten our eyes, and give us a f^^^^nt 
 little reviving in our bondage. andmre 
 
 9 For we ivere bondmen ; yet our God ''*°^'" 
 hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but 
 hath extended mercy unto us in the sight 
 
 and my inner garment, in token of my great grief and fear of 
 God's displeasure for sucli a sin ; " and plucked off the hair SiC." 
 as a still stronger token of my gi-ief and alarm ; " and sat down 
 astonied" that the people could have been guilty of such a fla» 
 grant sin, so shortly after their return from that captivity which 
 had been occasioned by similar sins in their ancestors. Dr. 
 Wells. 
 
 After the example of Ezra, all good men do confess and la- 
 ment, not only their own miscarriages, but those of others, and 
 implore God's pardon for tliem. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 4. — of those that had been carried anay;l Of those who had 
 been cai-ried in captivity to Babylon, and had now returned so 
 little amended ; he speaks of those who had returned some years 
 ago with Zerubbabel. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. — O mij God, I am ashamed and blush &c.] With what 
 ti-ouble and confusion does Ezra here acknowledge and bewail 
 the sins of his offending people ! and, in a similar maiuier, should 
 tlie people of all suiful nations, at the solemn appointed season* 
 of fasting and humiliation, set tlieir sins in order before them 
 with all tlieir heinous aggravations ; and l;iment and bewail with 
 bitterness of soul theii- offences against tlie Most High. Abp. 
 Tillotson. 
 
 8. — to give us a /laiF] To give us a fixed or settled abode, as 
 it is expkiiricd in the margin. Since the tents in which tlie He- 
 brews once lived were fastened down by nails or puis, therefore 
 " a nail" came to signify in their language '' a settled abode," 
 Bp. Patrick. See tlie note from Bp. Lowth on Isai. ?txiL 28. 
 
 5P
 
 Zzra prayeth imto God. 
 
 EZRA. 
 
 Shechaniah encourageth Ezra 
 
 Btton 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 437. 
 
 t» xt<tp- 
 
 hftkrknmt 
 
 •/"My t€T- 
 
 tantu 
 
 • EioA S3. 
 
 Si 
 
 IVut 7. 3. 
 
 t HcU 
 JTrom mnutA 
 ttmtuth. 
 
 t Hrb. 
 ikaU m'M- 
 kMbtiuath 
 CUT inujui- 
 tiei. 
 
 of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviv- 
 ine, to set up the house of our God, and 
 t to repair the desolations thereof, and to 
 rrivc us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. 
 
 10 And now, O our God, what shall we 
 say after this? for we have forsaken thy 
 commandments, , , . . 
 
 1 1 ^Vhich thou hast commanded_^ t by 
 thv servants the prophets, saying, 'The 
 land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an 
 unclean land with the filthiness of the peo- 
 ple of the lands, with their abominations, 
 which have filled it t from one end to an- 
 other with their uncleanness. 
 
 hZ Now therefore give not your daugh- 
 ters unto their sons, neither take their 
 daughters unto your sons, nor seek their 
 peace or their wealth for ever: that ye 
 may be strong, and eat the good of the 
 land, and leave it for an inheritance to 
 your children for ever. 
 
 13 And after all that is come upon us 
 for our evi? deeds, and for our great tres- 
 pass, seeing that thou our God t hast pu- 
 nished us less than our iniquities desen^e,a.nA 
 hast given us such deliverance as this ; 
 
 It Should we again break thy com- 
 mandments, and join in affinity with the 
 people of these abominations ? wouldest 
 
 9. — to give lit a reviving,'] The restoration of the Jews is 
 here called " a reviving." In a similar manner Ezekiel compares 
 them, when they were captive in Babylon, to the dry bones of 
 dead men, Ezek. xxxvii. 1. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jentsalem.'] This 
 
 expression is not to be understood literally : the oriffinal word, 
 translated " wall,'" signifies " the fence of a shephertl's fold ;" 
 it is here figuratively taken to express tlie establishment of the 
 Jews in their former land of Judah, and in their city Jerusalem. 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 13. — hasi jrimislifd us less than our iniquities deserve,"} The 
 Greek translation expresses it very emphatically, " Thou hast 
 cased us of our sins ;" that is, Thou hast not let the whole weight 
 of them fall on us. It is here only said with reference to the 
 Jews, that the punishment of a long captivity, which God had 
 inflicted on them, was Kneath the desert of their sins; but it is 
 universally true, that all temporal pimishments inflicted on men 
 are far less than their iniquities desene. Were it not for the 
 merciful mitigations of God's righteous displeasure, the sinner 
 would not be able to bear it, but would utterly sink under it. 
 Ahp. Tillolson. 
 
 ""^ **"' f tf ts such delitcrance as this;"] We here find 
 
 that, on the most solemn occasions of humiliation, good men have 
 always testified a thankful sense of the goodness of God to them. 
 Imleetl the mercy of God does then appear above measure mer- 
 crful, when the smner is most deeply sensible of his own vileness 
 and unworthmes. In this passage, Ezra has so strong a sense 
 of the greatness of their deliverance, that he hardly knows how 
 to express it. Abp. Tillolson. 
 
 14. — wiuldest not Ihou be angry &c.] These words, in the 
 Ji^K K l"^'^'"' ""'"^ a 'rtrong and peremptory affirmation; 
 "nclul th Tr' f ^" ^Tu " P^°^"«'ti°" ^t'^fe i^= fO'eat reason U^ 
 ^ Aiul^^ "^ ^°''^^ ^^ ""«^' ""''^ "' ''" "« had consumed 
 k is a f^r^M ' '""" '° ^ "^''" *"™"^ "-^^ e.xpression is, that 
 rt « a fearful aggravaUon of" s.n, and a sad presige of ruin to a 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 457. 
 
 not thou be angry with us till thou hadst 
 consumed us, so that there should be no 
 remnant nor escaping ? 
 
 15 O Lord God of Israel, thou art 
 righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as 
 it is this day : behold, we are before thee in 
 our trespasses : for we cannot stand before 
 thee because of this. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 1 Shechaniah encourageth Ezra to reform Ike strange 
 marriages. 6 Ezra mourning assembleth the people. 
 9 The j>eople, at the exhortation of Ezra, repent, and 
 promise amendment. 15 The care to peij'orm it. 18 
 The names of them which had married strange wives. 
 
 NOW when Ezra had prayed, and when 
 he had confessed, weeping and cast- 
 ing himself down before the house of God, 
 there assembled unto him out of Israel a 
 very great congregation of men and wo- 
 men and children : for the people t wept t Heb. 
 
 wept a great 
 
 very sore. Jepi4- 
 
 2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one 
 of the sons of Elam, answered and said un- 
 to Ezra, We have trespassed against our 
 God, and have taken strange wives of the 
 people of the land : yet now there is hope 
 in Israel concerning this thing. 
 
 3 Now therefore let us make a covenant ^ „ , . 
 
 ■ -1 *-< 1 I 11 1 • T Heb. to 
 
 With our God + to put away all the wives, bring fin/i. 
 
 people after great judgments and deliverances, to return to sin, 
 and especially to the same sins again. Abp. Tillolson. 
 
 1 5. — thou art righteous -.for fee remain ficc] It is of Thy long, 
 ■suffering that we are here permitted to live and to approach Thy 
 sacred presence ; and it can be nothing less than a wonderful 
 measure of compassion which can pardon our present guilt, and 
 save us from the punishment we deserve. Pifle. 
 
 The prayer which Ezra made on this occasion is very instruc- 
 tive. He herein acknowledges, with profound humility, that the 
 sins of the .Tews had obliged the Lord to chasti.se them, and had 
 reduced them to the servile condition in which they were. This 
 shews us that in the evils which we suffer we should always give 
 glory to God, and acknowledge the righteousness of His judg- 
 ments. And as Ezra, after he had confessed the sins of the Jews, 
 promised they should no more break the law of God, we must ac- 
 knowledge that the method of obtaining the return of God's grac« 
 and the remission of our past sins, is to forsake those sins by a 
 speedy and sincere conversion, and to take care not to fall into 
 them again. Ostervald. 
 
 Chap. X. ver. 1 . — there assembled unto Mm &c.] This prayer 
 being made at the time of evening sacrifice, when many assembled 
 for publick worship ; and being uttered with great passion, and 
 the highest expressions of grief and sorrow ; those who were pre- 
 sent were very much moved to see such a person as Ezra, a priest 
 of God, and a great ruler under the king of Persia, so dejected 
 with fear, confusion, and astonishment. The report of the cir- 
 ciBBfitance, it appears, was presently cai'ried through Jerusalem, 
 and the neighbouring places, which brought together a great num- 
 ber of persons of all descriptions, making great lamentations, and 
 considering themselves to be under the heavy displeasure of the 
 Ahnighty. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. — yet now there is hope in Israel] There is hope in God's 
 mercy that He will pardon us in tWs thinff, provided we truly 
 repent. Dr. Wells. 
 
 3. — let us make a conenant &c.] Let its, as a token of sincere
 
 to reform the strange marriages. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 The people promise amendmetit. 
 
 Before 
 
 I 
 
 CHRIST ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^*^ ^°^^ ^^ them, according 
 
 447. to the counsel of my lord, and of those 
 
 that tremble at the commandment of our 
 
 God; and let it be done according to the 
 
 law. 
 
 4 Arise; for this matter bclofigeth unto 
 thee : we also "will be with thee : be of good 
 courage, and do it. 
 
 5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chief 
 priests, the Levates, and all Israel, to swear 
 that they should do according to this word. 
 And they sware. 
 
 6 ^ Then Ezra rose up from before the 
 house of God, and went into the chamber 
 of Johanan the son of Eliashib : and -ccken 
 he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor 
 drink water: for he mourned because of 
 the transgression of them that had been 
 carried away. 
 
 7 And they made proclamation through- 
 out Judah and Jerusalem unto all the chil- 
 dren of the captivity, that they should ga- 
 ther themselves together unto Jerusalem ; 
 
 8 And that whosoever would not come 
 within three days, according to the coun- 
 sel of the princes and the elders, all his 
 substance should be t forfeited, and him- 
 self separated from the congregation of 
 those that had been carried away. 
 
 9 IF Then all the men of Judah and 
 Benjamin gathered themselves together 
 unto Jerusalem within three days. It tvas 
 the ninth month, and the twentieth daj/ of 
 the month; and all the people sat in the 
 street of the house of God, trembling 
 because of this matter, and for t the great 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 f Heb. 
 
 the sliuwers. 
 
 ram. 
 
 10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and 
 
 repentance, take a solemn oath in the name of God to put away 
 xiur wives, &c. Dr. Wells. 
 
 4. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto tkee:'^ "Arise" from 
 the ground on which thou liest prostrate; for the management of 
 this matter belongeth imto thee in chief, as not only best skilled 
 in the law, but also, as having full power from the king of Persia 
 to rectify every thing according to the law. Dr. Wells. 
 
 6. — and when he came (hither,^ The word " when" is not in 
 die Hebrew: the passage had perhaps better be translated, " tUl 
 he came thither, he had eaten no bread, &c." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. — all his substance should be fotfeited,~\ In the Hebrew, 
 " should be devoted." It signifies that his goods were to be so 
 forfeited, as to become sacred to God, and thus incapable of 
 being restored to the former owner, being placed in the treasury 
 of God's house. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 9. — sal in the street of the house of God,'] They sat probably in 
 the court of the people, where tliey worshipped; which lying open 
 to the air, and being not yet perhaps girt about with a wall, as 
 we may gather from Neh. ii. 8, is called " a street." They were 
 " trembling" because of the offence they had committed, and their 
 dread of its consequences; " and for the great rain," which fell at 
 the time, and which they believed to be a token of God's anger 
 against them, on account of their transgression. Bp. Patrick. The 
 
 said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and 
 t have taken strange wives, to increase the 
 trespass of Israel. 
 
 1 1 Now therefore make confession unto 
 the Lord God of yoiu: fathers, and do his 
 pleasure: and separate yourselves from the 
 people of the land, and from the strange 
 wives. 
 
 12 Then all the congregation answered 
 and said with a loud voice. As thou hast 
 said, so must we do. 
 
 13 But the people are many, and it is a 
 time of much rain, and we are not able to 
 stand without, neither is this a work of one 
 day or two: for II we are many that have 
 transgressed in this thing. 
 
 14 Let now our rulers of all the congre- 
 gation stand, and let all them which have 
 taken strange wives in our cities come at 
 appointed times, and with them the elders 
 of every city, and the judges thereof, until 
 the fierce wrath of our God || for this mat- 
 ter be turned from us. 
 
 15 ^ Only Jonathan the son of Asahel 
 and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah t were em- 
 ployed about this matter: and MeshuUam 
 and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. 
 
 16 And the chUdien of the captivity 
 did so. And Ezra the priest, aith certain 
 chief of the fathers, after the house of 
 their fathers, and all of them by their 
 names, were separated, and sat down in 
 the first day of the tenth month to exa- 
 mine the matter. 
 
 17 And they made an end with all the 
 men that had taken strange wives by the 
 first day of the first month. 
 
 18 ^ And among the sons of the priests 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 457. 
 
 t Heb. 
 hnte cauied 
 to dwelt, 
 or. have 
 brought 
 hnclf. 
 
 Ii Or, 
 
 we have 
 grealli/ if- 
 fendeii in 
 tJtii (Ain;. 
 
 !l Or. 
 
 till Ihit mut- 
 ter be dis- 
 patched. 
 
 t Heb. 
 it^yod. 
 
 45£. 
 
 rains of December are sometimes extremely cold in the Holy 
 Land. Hanner. 
 
 12. — As thou ha.H said, so must me do.] We should take 
 especial notice, with what readiness the Jews on this occasion 
 obeyed Ezra and the priests, by putting away the strange wives 
 they had married contrary to the command of God. As this obe. 
 dience must have been very grievous to them, especially since 
 several amongst them had children by these wives, (see ver. 44,) 
 it afforded a strong proof of tlieir submissive disposition, and of 
 the sincerity of their repentance. Thus sinners, who are truly 
 affected by their faults, and desire to obtain forgiveness of them, 
 scrupulously perform all that God commands, and are ever ready 
 to renounce" all that is most dear to them. Ostervald. 
 
 Magistrates should never be discouraged, however numerous 
 the offenders may be. Let them do their duty, and Gotl will bo 
 with them. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 15. — fvcre employed about this matter:] These words will ad- 
 mit of being translated, " stood against this matter;" according to 
 which the sense of the passage is, that the four persons here men- 
 tioned opposed the business of reformation on which they were 
 proceeding. Dr. Lightfoot. 
 
 17. — Ihejrsi dtu/ of the first month:] Of the ensuing year, 
 three months being spent in the investigation. 
 
 5 P2
 
 The names of them uho 
 
 Brfur, there were found that had taken strange 
 '^"^"o"'^ wives: mmelij, of the sons of Jeshua the 
 son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maasei- 
 ah, and Eliezcr, and Jarib, ami Gedahah, 
 
 1!) And they gave their hands that they 
 would put awav their wiva; and betyig 
 guilty, they ojercd a ram ol the flock for 
 their trespass. 
 
 '20 And of the sons of Lnmer; Hanani, 
 and Zebadiah. 
 
 Ql And of tlie sons of Harini; Maa- 
 seiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Je- 
 hiel, and Uzziah. 
 
 ^2 And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, 
 Maaselah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, 
 and Elasah. 
 
 23 Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and 
 Shimei,.and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) 
 Petliahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. 
 
 24- Of the singers also; Eliashib: and 
 of the porters; Shallum, and Teleni, and 
 Uri. 
 
 25 Moreover of Israel: of the sons of 
 Parosli ; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, 
 and Miamiii, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, 
 and Benaiah. 
 
 2(5 And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, 
 Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jere- 
 moth, and Eliah. 
 
 27 And of the sons of Zattu ; Elioenai, 
 Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and 
 Zabad, and Aziza. 
 
 EZRA. 
 
 had married strange mves. 
 
 19. — t/in/ gave their hands &c.] They solemnly engaged to 
 divorce their wives, openly acknowledged their crime, and offered 
 a sacrifice of atonement for it at the temple. Ptjlc. 
 
 85. Moreover of Israel:^ That is, of the rest of the people, 
 those who were not Levites. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ♦4. All these had taken &c.] Tiie most remarkable of those 
 vho had committed this offence are here set down. Whether 
 there might be more, whose names are not recorded, is \mcertain. 
 Thus this reformation was concluded, without which the priestlv 
 line would have been in a short time corrupted and confounded, 
 and the generality of the nation debauched into lewdness and 
 idolatrj-, to the entire loss of all the merciful ends and designs of 
 tlic late happy restoration. Pylc. 
 
 Ezra continued in the government of Judea till he was suc- 
 ceeded by Kehemiah, B. C. 446; and, by virtue of the commis- 
 noB he had from the king, he reformed the whole state of the 
 Jewish church, according to the law of Moses, in which he was 
 excellently learned, and settled it upon that foundation, on 
 »^ch It afterwards stood till the time of our Saviour. But 
 alter his government ceaseil, his labour to serve the church of 
 ^.o<l (l,d not also cease, for he still went on, as a preacher of 
 nnhteousness, aixl a skillul scribe of the law of God, to perfect 
 the reformation which he had begun, both in preparing for 
 
 bnnJ^7 11 ,T'"- "',!'"" K °^ '^^ Scriptures, and also in 
 brmgmg all things m church an<l state to a conformity with the 
 
 t^y be r;ext „i""" ^' T' ^•^"^""^Wy assisted and supported 
 imentr aud th. r* ' °i ^°™'"« '" ^^^^sahm with the same 
 -dtirie ofT'.^' ""^\^°'- irr^'^S tl'e honour of G«l 
 •lid, concumd °;,K^' P?°P^^,'" .J"''=* «nd Jerusalem, as Ezra 
 , concmcl vMth lum heartdy in the work, so that Ezra con- 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 456, 
 
 II Or, 
 Mabnade' 
 hai, accord- 
 ing to some 
 copies. 
 
 28 Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, 
 Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. 
 
 29 And of the sons of Bani ; Meshullam, 
 Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, 
 and Ramoth. 
 
 30 And of the sons of Pahath-moab; Ad- 
 na, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Matta- 
 niah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manas- 
 seh. 
 
 31 And o/'the sons of Harim; Eliezer, 
 Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 
 
 32 Benjamin, Malluch, aiid Shemariah. 
 
 33 Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, 
 Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Ma- 
 nasseh, and Shimei. 
 
 34 Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Am- 
 ram, and Uel, 
 
 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh, 
 3Q Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 
 
 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau, 
 
 38 And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei, 
 
 39 And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and 
 Adaiah, 
 
 40 II Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 
 
 41 Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, 
 
 42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. 
 
 43 Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Matti- 
 thiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Be- 
 naiah. 
 
 44 All these had taken strange wives: 
 and some of them had wives by whom they 
 had children. 
 
 tinned still to pursue the same measures by the authority of 
 the new government, which he before did by his own. And 
 by their thus joining together in the same holy undertaking, 
 and their mutual assisting of each other therein, it exceedingly 
 prospered in their hands, till at length, notwithstanding all op- 
 positions both from within and from without, it was brought 
 to full perfection forty-nine years after it had been begun by 
 Ezra. 
 
 The great business effected by Ezra was his collecting and set- 
 ting forth a correct edition of tlie holy Scriptures, in which he la- 
 boured mucl), and which he brought to considerable perfection. 
 Of this, both Jews and Cliristians allow him the honour. The 
 principal services, which he performed in this important work, 
 were these: 1. He corrected all the en-ours which had crept into 
 these copies, through the negligence or mistakes of transcribers. 
 2. He collected together all the books, of which the holy Scriptures ' 
 then consisted, and disposed them in their proper order, thus 
 settling the canon of Scripture. .S. He added in several places 
 throughout the books of this edition, what appeared necessary 
 for their illustration, connexion, or completion, in which he was 
 assisted by the same Spirit, by which they were at first written. 4. 
 He changed the old names of several places, that were grown out 
 of use, putting in their stead the new names by which the places 
 were then known, that the people might the better understand 
 them. In conducting this great work, and in restoring the observ- 
 ance of the Jewish law according to the ancient usages before the 
 captivity, lie had the assistance of the principal elders who lived \ 
 m his time: but the main conduct of the work, and the glory of 
 accomplishing it, was by the Jews chiefly attributed to him, un- 
 der whose presidency, as they infomi us, it was done; Dean 
 Pndeaux. -
 
 THE BOOK OF 
 
 NEHEMIAH. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE book of Nehemiah being subjoined in the Hebrew canon to that of Ezra as a continuation of his liistory, was often considered as 
 his work : and in the Latin and Greek Bibles it is called the second book of Ezra ; but it undoubtedly was written by Nehemiah, for 
 he professes himself the author of it in the beginning, and uniformly speaks in the first person. 
 
 Ezra appears to have continued near ten years in the government of Judea, after the reform which he mentions in the last chapter of his 
 book ; persisting probably in his endeavours to restore religion, and to promote the prosperity of his country. Circumstances were 
 however so unfavourable and adverse to his designs, that in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes Longimaniis, about the year of the world 
 3558, we find, from Nehemiah, that representations were made to him at Babylon of the afflicted state of the Jews, and of the ruinous 
 condition of their city, of which the walls were yet mirepaired. 
 
 This book begins with an account of Nehemiah's grief at this report ; of his application to Artaxerxes for permission to visit and rebuild 
 Jerusalem, " the place of hfe fathers' sepulchres." Nehemiah then relates his departure and arrival at Jerusalem with authority ; feel- 
 ingly describes the desolate state of Jerusalem, and his exertions to repair its dismantled walls. He records the names of those pa- 
 triotick men who assisted him on this occasion ; the conspiracy of the Ammonites, and other enemies, against the work, and the defeat 
 of their designs. After the finishing of the walls and fortifications, Nehemiah applied himself to other publick objects. The scarcity 
 of the inhabitants in the large city of Jerusalem first excited his attention. He fortunately at this time found a register of those per- 
 sons who returned from the captivity under Zerubbabel ; which he repeats in the 7th chapter, in order to complete the restoration of 
 their possessions to the respective tribes, and to provide that none but the Levites and descendants of Aaron might officiate in the ser- 
 vice of the temple, and of the priesthood. Nehemiah then describes the publick reading of the law to the people ; the celebration of 
 the feast of tabernacles, and other religious appointments, observed with a pathetick commemoration and thanksg^iving for God's former 
 mercies, as described in preceding books of Scriptiu-e. Then follows an account of tlie renewal of the covenant of obedience and re- 
 spect to God's law, recorded as a memorial, with the names of those who signed it ; also a catalogue of those who were appointed by 
 lot, or consented to live at Jerusalem, which was surromided by hostile neighbours ; and the book concludes with a description of the 
 reformation both civil and reUgious, which Nehemiah effected. Dr. Gray. 
 
 It hath been commonly said, that virtues are better taught, and better enforced, by example than by precept. If so, we have in the 
 person of Nehemiah an uistance of publick spirit, or the love of our country, which may be set against any thing that history can 
 produce, and which will suffer by no comparison : nor can Greece or Rome boast of a hero superiour to him in this great and good 
 quality. Dr. Jortin. 
 
 Before CHAP. I. 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 44C. j J^ehemiah, understanding by Hanani the misery of 
 Jerusalem, mournelh, fasteth, and prayelk. 5 His 
 prayer. 
 
 Chap. I. ver. 1. — Nehemiah Ike son of Hachaliah.'] We are 
 no where told of what tribe or family Nehemiah was. His father 
 Hachaliah seems to have been one of those Jews who, havmg ob- 
 tained a good settlement in the land of their captivity, chose ra- 
 ther to remain there, than to return to their own country when 
 leave was given. It is probable that he was an inhabitant of the 
 city of .Shushan, which circumstance gave him the opportunity 
 of procuring the advancement of his son to the office of king's 
 cupbearer, ver. 1 1 . Dean Prideaux. 
 
 The name Nehemiah signjlies " consolation." Dr. Gray. 
 
 THE words of Nehemiah the son pf ^,^0^™^ 
 Hachaliah. And it came to pass in about 44c. 
 the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, 
 as I was in Shushan the palace, 
 
 in the month Chisleu^ Answering to part of our Novem- 
 ber, and part of December. " In the twentieth year " means the 
 twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus. Dean 
 Prideaux. 
 
 in Shushan the palace,^ Shushan, Susan, or Suses was the 
 
 capital city of Susiana, or of the countr}- of Elam, that is, of Persia. 
 Thekings of Persia had a royal palace here ; and from the tmie of 
 Cyrus they adopted the custom of passing the winter here, and 
 the summer at Ecbatana. It was in this city that Daniel had his 
 vision, Dan. viii. 1, 2, and that tlie events related in the history ot
 
 Sehcmiah mourneth, faslcth. 
 
 NEHEMIAH. 
 
 and prayeth. His prayer. 
 
 Won q That Hanani, one of my brethren, 
 
 ^"!f/came. he and certain men of Judah ; and 
 
 I asked tlicni concerning- the Jews that had 
 
 escaped, wliich were left of the captivity, 
 
 and concerning Jerusalem. 
 
 .} And thev said unto me, The remnant 
 
 that are left of the captivity there in the 
 
 province are in great affliction and re- 
 
 ' 3 Kinp proacli : the wall of Jerusalem also " is 
 
 '■^ "" broken down, and the gates thereof are 
 
 binned with fire. 
 
 1- ^ And it came to pass, when I heard 
 these words, that I sat down and w^pt, 
 and mourned certain days, and fasted, and 
 pra} etl before the God of heaven, 
 •• iHn. 0. 5 And said, I beseech thee, " O Loud God 
 ■*' of heaven, tiie great and terrible God, that 
 
 keepeth covenant and mercy for them that 
 love liim and observe his commandments: 
 
 () Let thine ear now be attentive, and 
 thine eyes open, that thou niayest hear the 
 prayer of thy servant, which 1 pray before 
 thee now, day and night, for the children 
 oi' Israel thy servants, and confess the sins 
 of the children of Israel, which we have 
 sinned against thee : both I and my father's 
 house have sinned. 
 
 E>.ther took place. It is known in profane liistory by the name 
 of Susa. At this day it goes among the Persians by the name 
 of Sousthcr or Scliouster, and is the capital of Kusistan. Calmcl. 
 The outward gate of the eastern wall of the temple at Jerusalem 
 was called the gate of Shushan, and on this gate was carved the 
 figure of the city of Shushan, in acknowledgment of the decree 
 gantwl there by Darius, permitting the rebuilding of the temple. 
 
 3. — in Ihc province'] So Judea had been before called, Ezra v. 8. 
 
 — _ ihr irall of Jtrusnlem olsn ix broken down,! They mean, 
 that the walls and gates of the city lay as the Chaldeans had left 
 them »hv.. they destit.yed the city, and had not been repaired, 
 
 t i ,'h.\ uT'' ' *1? ■'■"^*'""'- ^1'- ^""''''■- They inform him 
 tl.at. the walls bemg still m many instances broken down, and the 
 gate. n. the same demolished state as when burnt by the Chal- 
 
 Z rV" t 'T""'°"' ""'^ '"^"^^'^ °f their enemies, but also to 
 the re,,ra-,ch and contempt of their neighbours, ;« a weak and 
 de.p.cahle pc-ople an,l that, on both these accounCthey were in 
 grvat afflKt.on and gr.ef of heart. Dean Pridcaux ^ 
 
 It ., supposed that the commissions hitherto given to the Jews 
 extend«l no farther U.an to the rebuilding of the temple .and thei^- 
 own pr.v„.e houses ; and therefore the walls and gates of he citv 
 contmue, in their ruinous condition. Slnckl,m.se ^ 
 
 nmJ^ litl rff l^'n "■'■/!''? ""*■ "^"^y ^""^ '^^^ tl'^'se ruins 
 
 endeavoun aTr«b«s .•;"''^'"\''*» f"^«"'-."ing i>* joined wiU, the 
 end thanTt^lf "^7V/,;; ""^ '^ ^^ gnef which has no other 
 
 the rtWwe me • hTch tiieTt- "?T' 7 '^'^ 8"*^^' '° ^''^^ "^ 
 
 7 We have dealt very corruptly against (^^^^''/It 
 thee, and have not kept the command- about 446. 
 nicnts, nor the statutes, nor the judg- 
 ments, which thou commandedst thy ser- 
 vant Moses. 
 
 8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word 
 that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, 
 saying, "^ I/ye transgress, 1 will scatter you ' B«ut- <• 
 abroad among the nations : 
 
 9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my 
 commandments, and do them ; " though ■• Deut. 30, 
 there were of you cast out unto the utter- "*• 
 most part of the heaven, yet will 1 gather 
 
 them from thence, and will bring them 
 unto the place that I have chosen to set 
 my name thei'e. 
 
 10 Now these are thy servants and 
 thy people, whom thou hast redeemed 
 by thy great power, and by thy strong 
 hand. 
 
 11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now 
 thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy 
 servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, 
 who desire to fear thy name : and prosper, 
 I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant 
 him mercy in the sight of this man. For I 
 was the king's cupbearer. 
 
 God, and especially those ■who are in aii exalted station, should^ 
 like Nehemiah, be more concerned for the church of God than 
 for any other thing ; should sympathize in the evils that befall it, 
 pray continually for it, and labour as much as possible to promote 
 its happiness and prosperity. Oslervald. 
 
 8. — the word that thou commandedst thy servant Jtfioses,] See 
 Deut. iv. 25, &c. ; xxx. 1 — 4. It is observable that Nehemiah 
 here frames his prayer to God, and directs his enterprise for the 
 restoration of Jerusalem according to the rule delivered by MoseS. 
 He saw the truth of that prediction confirmed by the king's dis« 
 position to grant his petition, and the speedy restoration of Je- 
 rusalem, although one who professed to be a prophet, chap. vi. 
 10, 11, dissuaded him from the enterprise, as likely to prove 
 dangerous to his person. Dr. Jackson. 
 
 Nehemiah is resolved to kneel to the king his master for the 
 repair of his Jerusalem ; but he dares not attempt his suit, till he 
 has begun with God. This good courtier knew well that the 
 hearts of these earthly kings are in the overruling hand of the 
 King of heaven, to incline whithersoever He pleaseth. Our 
 prayers are the only true means of making way for our success. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 11. — For I ivas Ihc king's cupbearer.^ This was a place of 
 great honour and advantage in the Persian coiu-t, on account of 
 the privilege it afforded of being daily in the king's presence, and 
 the opportunity it thereby gave of preferring a petition, and ob- 
 tiuning a favour. It was no doubt from the emoluments con- 
 nected with this place that he gained those immense riches, which 
 enabled him (see chap. v. U, &c.) to live in his government with 
 great splendour and expense, without burdening the people. 
 Dca?i Prtdeaux. 
 
 Nehemiah was cupbearer to the Persian king, which was a 
 place oi great honour, and of no less profit. He was highly in 
 iT.) ^"J."" " prince, and very rich, and, as to this world, had 
 
 M uiat tie could hope and wish. It was scarcely to be expected, 
 tliat one in his situation would bestow a thought upon liis remote, 
 ami poor, and desolate country; and not one of ten thousand in 
 tiis circumstances would have concerned himself about it. If at
 
 Artaxerxes sendeth Nehemiah 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 "with letters to Jerusalem. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 44,5. ^ Arlaxerxes understanding the cause of Nehemiah's 
 sadness sendelk him with letters and commission to 
 Jerusalem. Q Nehemiah, to the grief of the enemies, 
 Cometh to Jerusalem. 12 He vicweth secretly the 
 ruins of the rvalls. IJ He inciteth the Jews to build 
 in despite of the enemies. 
 
 AND it came to pass in the month Ni- 
 san, in the twentieth year of Arta- 
 xerxes the king, that wine was before him : 
 and I took up the wine, and gave it unto 
 the king. Now I had not been beforetime 
 sad in his presence. 
 
 2 WTierefore the king said unto me, Why 
 is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art 
 not sick ? this is nothing else but sorrow of 
 heart. Then I was very sore afraid, 
 
 3 And said unto the king, Let the king 
 live for ever : why should not my counte- 
 nance be sad, when the city, the place of 
 my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the 
 gates thereof are consumed with fire ? 
 
 4 Then the king said unto me, For what 
 dost thou make request? So I prayed to 
 the God of heaven. 
 
 5 And I said unto the king. If it please 
 the king, and if thy servant have found 
 favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest 
 
 that distance he had sent a generous relief to his brethren in 
 Judea, and performed such kind offices towards them, as he con- 
 veniently could, even this would have been a friendly and liberal 
 behaviour ; but he proposed to himself to do much more than 
 this. Dr. Jortin. 
 
 Chap. II. ver. 1. —in the month Nisan,~^ Four months after 
 he had heard of the desolate state in which Jerusalem lay ; pro- 
 bably, during this interval, his turn of waiting did not come, or 
 he had no favourable opportunity of speaking to the king. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 2. — fVkt/ is thy countenance sad,"^ When we see a heathen 
 master so tender of his servant's grief, how sensible, do we think, 
 the great Father of mercies must be of our soiTowful thoughts ; 
 and how ready should our tongues be, to lay open our cares to 
 the God of all comfort, when we see Neliemiah so quick in the 
 expressions of his sorrow to an uncertain ear. Bp. Hall. 
 
 S. — Let the king live for ever :] A common form of wishing 
 the king long life and happiness. Bp. Patrick. See the note on 
 Dan. ii. 4. 
 
 rvhy should not my countenance be sad,"] There is a pious 
 
 affection due to one's country, which cannot be extinguished by 
 the pleasure or plenty of any other. It is no weakness to be 
 deeply affected with the misfortunes, or for the death of our near- 
 est friends or relations, by whatever distance we may be separated 
 from them. Nor can any prosperity in another country hinder 
 or excuse a man for not beuig deeply afflicted for any calamity 
 that befalls his own. Nehemiah was in no mean station when he 
 was cupbearer to Artaxerxes, and probably had the honours and 
 preferments of that great empire at his command ; yet, when the 
 king discerned that there was sorrow of heart expressed in his 
 countenance, and demanded the reason of it, he made no other 
 excuse than " the place of my fathers' sepulchres lieth waste :" 
 and, when the king so graciously invited him to ask some favour 
 worthy of his royal bounty, he would ask nothing further than 
 " Send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, 
 that I may build it." A generous spirit can think of nothing but 
 
 send me unto Judah, unto the city of my before 
 fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. ab^u"^" 
 
 6 And the king said unto me, ("the 
 
 t queen also sitting by him,) For how long t Heb. 
 shall thy journey be ? and when wilt thou "'^'' 
 return? So it pleased the king to send mej 
 and I set him a time. 
 
 7 Moreover I said unto the king. If it 
 please the king, let letters be given me to 
 the governors beyond the river, that they 
 may convey me over till I come into Ju- 
 dah ; 
 
 8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper 
 of the king's forest, that he may give me 
 timber to make beams tor the gates of the 
 palace which appertained to the house, and 
 for the wall of the city, and for the house 
 that I shall enter into. And the king 
 granted me, according to the good hand 
 of my God upon me. 
 
 9 % Then I came to the governors be- 4ii. 
 yond the river, and gave them the king's 
 letters. Now the king had sent captains 
 
 of the army and horsemen with me. 
 
 10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and 
 Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard 
 of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there 
 
 relieving his country, while it is under a general misery or cala- 
 mity. Lord Claretidon. 
 
 i. .— So I prayed to the God of heaven."^ Meaning, tliat he 
 paused for a short time, so as to put up a short ejaculation to 
 heaven for a favourable answer. Pyle. 
 
 6. — (l/ie queen also sitting by"] Probably, the queen Esther. As 
 it is here particularly remarked, that the queen was sitting by the 
 king when Nehemiah obtained the grant, it is sufficiently impUed 
 that her favour assisted him in the business. Dean Prideaiix. 
 
 8. — of the king's forest, "} Perhaps of the forest of Lebanon, 
 from which the materials for publick buildings at Jerusalem were 
 brought. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 which appertained to the house,2 VVhich appertained to 
 
 the house of the Lord. Houbigant. 
 
 and for the house that I shall enter into.'\ For the build- 
 ing of a house, which might be the residence of himself and of 
 future govemours. 
 
 10. — Sanballat the Horonite, &c.] Horonaim was an eminent 
 city in the country of Moab, (Is. xv. 5 ; Jer. xlviii. 3, 5, 34,) so that 
 Sanballat was probably a petty prince in that country. From the 
 mention of this person and Tobiah the Ammonite, it is shewn 
 that the nations of Moab and Ammon were restored, as well as the 
 Jews, according to the Divine oracles, and were well known ; to 
 the end that their destruction by the people of God might be more 
 observable, which was in the time of the Maccabees, who subdued 
 those nations, according to the predictions of the several Prophets. 
 Tobiah is called " the servant, the Ammonite." It is probable tliat 
 he had been a slave from that countrj', but was now advanced 
 to some authority in these parts. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 it grieved them exceedingly^ The people of these neigh- 
 bouring nations were excited to their opposition, not only by the 
 ancient and bitter enmity which they bore to the whole Jewish 
 nation, on account of their chfference in manners and religion, 
 but, more especially, at this time, on account of their lands. It 
 is rel-ited by Josephus, tliat these nations, having seized the lands 
 of the Jews during their captivity, had been forced to restore 
 them on their return: thus they naturally endeavoured by all
 
 Xchmiah vicu^eth the ruins secretly, N E H E M I A H. 
 
 and inciteth the Jews to build. 
 
 Mm. was come a man to seek the welfare of the 
 •"'•J^"'" children of Israel. 
 
 11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was 
 
 there three days. . ,, t j 
 
 1'2 f And I arose in the night, 1 and 
 some few men with me -, neither tokl 1 ani/ 
 man what my God had put in my heart 
 to do at Jerusalem : neitiier -xas there any 
 beast with me, save the beast that I rode 
 
 upon. . , , , 
 
 13 And I went out by night by the gate 
 of the valley, even before the dragon well, 
 and to the dung port, and viewed the walls 
 of Jerusalem, which were broken down, 
 and the gates thereof were consumed with 
 
 fire. 
 
 U Then I went on to the gate ot the 
 fountain, and to the king's pool : but there 
 uas no place for the beast that um under 
 me to pass. 
 
 1,5 Then went I up in the night by the 
 brook, and viewed the wall, and turned 
 back, and entered by the gate of the val- 
 ley, and so returned. 
 
 16 And the rulers knew not whither I 
 went, or what I did ; neither had I as yet 
 told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor 
 to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the 
 rest that did the work. 
 
 17 % Then said I unto them. Ye see the 
 distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth 
 waste, and the gates thereof are burned 
 with fire : come, and let us build up the 
 wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a 
 reproach. 
 
 18 Then I told them of the hand of my 
 God which was good upon me ; as also the 
 king's words that he had spoken unto me. 
 
 means to prewenl their complete settlement, hoping that, if tliey 
 were kept in a depressed state, they might have an opporUinity 
 of recovering at some future time the prey they had lost. Dean 
 Prideaux. 
 
 14. — the gale of the founlain,'] The fountain either of Siloah 
 or of Gihon. Though the wall was broken down, the places 
 where tlie gates were, were probably known, and the names re- 
 tained. Bp. Palrkk. The position of the other places here men- 
 tioned is only known by conjecture. 
 
 18. Then 7 told them of the hand of my God &c.] He told them 
 how favourable God had been to liim," in disposing the king to 
 •wi«t him in his projccU 
 
 20 — The God of heaven, he will prosper us.l Professing his 
 conhc cnce m the God of heaven, in whose work he was now en- 
 gaged, he shakes off the impotent malice of his adversaries, and 
 goes on cheerfully to build. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Nehmiahs whole behaviour on this occasion shews his sincere 
 «hi'chCw'^'"^,^'''l''""'^"^^""'' courage; and the success 
 fori r.."'''*'''",'*^ V^'1 "^ ^^^ ^'^ ^^'''^' designs which are 
 dZ .hoLir* '"!'• ''."'^ '*'"' "^"*" ^•'^° •^^°'»^ ^promote His 
 £t«r S";'^.''' '^^^'^^ -I'^n ^ey are opposed by the 
 
 ychatt^ portion, ficc.Q You have no property, no right 
 
 And they said. Let us rise up and build. chrTst 
 So they strengthened their hands tor this 445. 
 
 good work. , TT 
 
 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, 
 and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, 
 and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they 
 laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and 
 said. What is this tiling that ye do ? will 
 ye rebel against the king ? 
 
 20 Then answered I them, and said 
 unto them. The God of heaven, he will 
 prosper us ; therefore we his servants will 
 arise and build : but ye have no portion, 
 nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The names and order of them, that builded the watt. 
 
 THEN Eliashib the high priest rose up 
 with his brethren the priests, and they 
 builded the sheep gate ; they sanctified it, 
 and set up the doors of it ; even unto the 
 tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the ^ 
 tower of * Hananeel. gs*'" 
 
 2 And t next unto him builded the men t Heb. 
 of Jericho. And next to them builded ""'"'"""'' 
 Zaccur the son of Imri. 
 
 3 But the fish gate did the sons of Has- 
 senaah build, who also laid the beams 
 thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the 
 locks thereof, and the bars thereof. 
 
 4 And next unto them repaired Mere- 
 moth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. 
 And next unto them repaired Meshullam 
 the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshe- 
 zabeel. And next unto them repaired 
 Zadok the son of Baana. 
 
 5 And next unto them the Tekoites re- 
 
 of any kind, 3'our names are not even registered, in Jerusalem ; 
 you have therefore no right to interfere in a concern exclusively 
 ours. 
 
 Chap. III. ver. 1. Then Eliashib the high priest &C.2 The names 
 of the persons and families, who repaired and finished the different 
 gates and parts of the wall mentioned in this chapter, are here 
 especially detailed, to the end tliat they, whose zeal for their coun- 
 try and for the true honour and wol-ghip of God was so eminent 
 and commendable, might have their names transmitted to poste- 
 rity, for honourable examples to all generations. Pyle. 
 
 and they builded llie sheep gale;'] The sheep gate is tlwught 
 
 to have been on the south side of the city, in that part of the val- 
 ley which looked towards the city of David and the temple ; and 
 to have been named from the circumstance of the sheep which 
 were intended for the sacrifices being led in at this gate, on which 
 account, it may be presumed, the priests undertook this part of 
 the work, as most proper for them. We read that after they had 
 completed it, " they sanctified it," that is, blessed it with solemn 
 prayers, and perhaps with sacrifices. This is the only part of the 
 w-ork which is said to have been tlius " sanctified," probably on 
 account of its being the priests' work, and of the relation whicli it 
 had to sacred uses. Bp. Patrick.
 
 The names and order of them 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 CHRi'sT P^ij"efl ; but their nobles put not their 
 445. necks to the work of their Lord. 
 
 6 Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoi- 
 ada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the 
 son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams 
 thereof, and set up the doors thereot; and 
 the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. 
 
 7 And next unto them repaired Melatiah 
 the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, 
 the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto 
 the throne of the governor on this side the 
 river. 
 
 8 Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son 
 of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next un- 
 to him also repaired Hananiah the son of 
 
 L?jen«« ^"^ of the. apothecaries, and they || fortified 
 
 uniuM^^iZ Jerusalem unto the broad wall. 
 
 broad. xu<,iu 9 And next unto them repaired Rephaiah 
 
 the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part 
 
 of Jerusalem. 
 
 10 And next unto them repaired Jedaiah 
 the son of Harumaph, even over against 
 his house. And next unto him repaired 
 Hattush the son of Hashabniah. 
 
 11 Malchijah the son of Harim, and 
 Hashub tlie son of Pahath-moab, repaired 
 
 t Heb. the t other piece, and the tower of the 
 
 seco>uimea- n '■ 
 
 sure. lumaces. 
 
 12 And next unto him repaired Shal- 
 lum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the 
 half part of Jerusalem, he and his daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 13 The valley gate repaired Hanun, and 
 the inhabitants of Zanoah ; they built it, 
 and set up the doors thereof, the locks 
 thereof, and the bars thereof^ and a thou- 
 sand cubits on the wall unto the dung 
 gate. 
 
 14 But the dung gate repaired Malchiah 
 the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of 
 Beth-haccerem ; he built it, and set up the 
 doors theieof, the locks thereof, and the 
 bars thereof. 
 
 15 But the gate of the fountain repaired 
 Shallun the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of 
 part of Mizpah ; he built it, and covered 
 it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks 
 thereof, and tlie bars thereof, and the wall 
 
 'John 0.7. of the pool of t' Siloah by the king's gar- 
 den, and unto the stairs that go down from 
 the city of David. 
 
 16 After him repaired Nehemiah the son 
 of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of 
 Beth-zur, unto the place over against the 
 
 7. — unto the throne of the governor] Unto the palace of the 
 govemour ; the -w-ord " throne" being used to signify any royal 
 abode. Harmer. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 that builded the wall. 
 
 ST 
 4-J.5. 
 
 ' 2 King* 
 
 sepulclu-es of David, and to the 'pool that «*«»» 
 was made, and uuto the house of the ^^^^^ 
 mighty. 
 
 17 And after him repaired the Levites, ^- ^ 
 Rehura the son of Bani. Next unto him 
 repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half 
 part of Keilah, in his part. 
 
 18 After him repaired their brethren, 
 Bavai the son of Heimdad, the ruler of the 
 half part of Keilah. 
 
 19 And next to him repaired Ezer the 
 son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, an- 
 other piece over against the going up to 
 the armoury at the turning of the iiall. 
 
 20 After hini Baruch the son of llZabbai I Or, 
 earnestly repaired the other piece, from ^"'""' 
 the turning of the li-all unto the door of 
 
 the house of Ehashib the high priest. 
 
 21 After him repaired Mereraoth the son 
 of Urijah the son of Koz another piece, 
 from the door of the house of Eliashib 
 even to the end of the house of Eliashib. 
 
 22 And after him repaired tlie piie&ts, 
 the men of the plain. 
 
 23 After him repaired Benjamin and 
 Hashub over against their house. After 
 him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah 
 the son of Ananiah by his house. 
 
 24 After him repaired Binnui the son of 
 Henadad another piece, from the house of 
 Azariah unto the turning of the -wall, even 
 unto the corner. 
 
 25 Palal the son of Uzai, over against 
 the turning of the 'wa/l, and the tower which 
 lieth out from the king's high house, that 
 
 Tt'os by the " court of the prison. After ' J"- "-■ ■ 
 him Pedaiah the son of Parosh. 
 
 2G Moreover tlie Nethinims dwelt in 
 ' II Ophel, unto the place over against the ' - Chnm. 
 water gate toward die east, and the tower f bt. 
 that lieth out. 
 
 27 After them the Tekoites repaired 
 another piece, over against the great tower 
 that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel. 
 
 28 From above the horse gate repaired 
 the priests, every one over against his 
 house. 
 
 29 Aftei- them repahed Zadok the son 
 of Immer o\er against his house. After 
 him repaired also Shemaiah the son of .She- 
 chaniali, the keeper of the east gate. 
 
 30 After him repaired Hananiah the son 
 of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of 
 Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired 
 
 l6. — ■ the house of the mighty.'] Perhaps where the king's guard 
 were lodged, who were all mighty uiea ot' valoui; Bp. Pa^ 
 
 trick. 
 
 the t<niKr.
 
 Nehcimah continucth the xcork. 
 
 NEHEMIAH. 
 
 He setteth a ivatch. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 Conur 
 €kmmhfr. 
 
 Before Mesluillani the son of Berechiah o^ er a- 
 *'"«"'" gai"st his cliambcr. ,„,,.,,. 
 
 ai After him repaired Malchiah the 
 .Toldsniitb's son unto the ])lace of the Ne- 
 Thininis, and of tlie merchants, over against 
 the gate Miphkad, and to tlie II going up 
 of the corner. , 
 
 8'J And between the going up ot the 
 corner unto the sheep gate repaired the 
 goldsmiths and the merchants. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 1 While the enemies scoff, Nehemiah prayelh and con- 
 tinueth Ihe rrork. 7 Understanding the mralh and 
 ttcnis of lite enemy, he scUcth a tvatch. 13 He arm- 
 eth the labourers, ig and giveth military precepts. 
 
 BUT it came to pass, that when Sanbal- 
 lat heard that we builded the wall, he 
 was wroth, and took great indignation, and 
 mocked tlie Jews. 
 
 2 And he spake before his brethren and 
 the army of Samaria, and said. What do 
 these feeble Jews? will they t fortify them- 
 selves ? will they sacrifice ? will they make 
 an end in a day? will they revive the stones 
 out of the heaps of the rubbish which are 
 burned ? 
 
 3 Now Tobiali the Ammonite "was by 
 him, and he said. Even that which they 
 build, if a fox go up, he shall even break 
 down their stone wall. 
 
 4 Hear, O our God ; for we are t de- 
 spised : and turn their reproach upon their 
 own head, and give them for a prey in the 
 land of captivity : 
 
 ' 5 And cover not their iniquity, and let 
 not their sin be blotted out from before 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 /rair to 
 tkrmulvtt. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 iitpte. 
 
 •''2. — the poing up of the corner unto the sheep gate"^ Thi» ac- 
 count had bcgim trom'the sheep gate, ver. 1 . Thus the relation 
 respecting the whole circuit of the walls is now completed. Dr. 
 Hells. ' 
 
 Chap. IV. ver. 2 »ri« ihe,/ revive the stones Sec.'] In his ex- 
 pression? of tlerision, he represents it to be impossible that they 
 should repair the wall, unless they could make the broken pieces 
 of stone which hail mouldered become whole stones acain En 
 Patrick. ^ ' ' 
 
 3- — if a fox go up, &C.3 If a fox (jackall) should endear 
 vour to force his way throiiRh, he would break down their stone 
 wall, designed to defend their capital city; a sarcastick expression 
 impljnng that it was not so strong as the wall of a vineyard or 
 garden. Manner. 
 
 5 And cover wrf their iniqitili,,^ There is a seeming harshness 
 m this prayer ; but Nehemiah should rather be considered, as 
 n>cakmg by the spirit of prophecy, as David did in the lOgth 
 rsalra ; and we should understand that, on account of the mali- 
 cious and implacable spirit wliich they shewed towards God and 
 Hisjx^ople, he foresaw they would never be capable of God's 
 mercy, but would be utterly destroyed by Him. There are seve- 
 ral prophecies nn which this prayer was founded • and it was 
 S^\teV'' 'destruction of /esc nations unde^ T aLc^! 
 "«^ ana their successors. Hp. Patrick. 
 
 J- — roc made our prayer unto our God, and set a Katch-} We 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 445. 
 
 t Ileb. 
 
 ascended. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 to matte an 
 error to it* 
 
 thee : for they have provoked thee to anger 
 before the builders. 
 
 6 So built wc the wall ; and all the wall 
 was joined together unto the half thereof: 
 for the people had a mind to work. 
 
 7 % But it came to pass, that when San- 
 ballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and 
 the Ammonites, and the Ashdoditcs, heard 
 that the walls of Jerusalem t were made 
 up, and that the breaches began to be stop- 
 ped, then they were very wroth, 
 
 8 And conspired all of them together to 
 come and to fight against Jerusalem, and 
 t to hinder it. 
 
 9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto 
 our God, and set a watch against them day 
 and night, because of them. 
 
 10 And Judah said. The strength of the 
 bearers of burdens is decayed, and thei'e is 
 much rubbish ; so that we are not able to 
 build the wall. 
 
 1 1 And our adversaries said, They shall 
 not know, neither see, till we come in the 
 midst among them, and slay them, and 
 cause the work to cease. 
 
 12 And it came to pass, that when the 
 Jews which dwelt by them came, they said 
 unto us ten times, ll From all places whence 
 ye shall return unto us they will be upon 
 you. 
 
 13 ^ Therefore set 1 1 in the lower places 
 behind the wall, and on the higher places, 
 I even set the people after their families 
 with their swords, their spears, and their 
 bows. 
 
 14 And I looked, and rose up, and said 
 unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to 
 
 are here supplied with a striking example that in all our dangers 
 we should have recourse to the Lord, without neglecting our own 
 labours and application, and all lawftil means of warding off the 
 evils which threaten us. Nehemiah, in the instance before us, 
 made his prayer to God, exhorted the people to feai- nothing, and 
 shewed by all he said that he put his whole confidence in God ; 
 but at the same time he gave necessary orders to prevent being 
 surprised by his enemies, and used every precaution which pru- 
 dence required. Oslervald. 
 
 Nehemiah did not order the people to go to prayers only, and 
 to confess their sins, and to commit their cause to Heaven ; but, 
 like a pious and brave man, he exhorted them to join with him 
 in supplication to God, and at the same time to put themselves 
 in a posture of defence. Dr. Jortin. 
 
 10. And Jiidah said,'\ That is, some of the Jews represented to 
 him, that, from the length and severity of the work, the labourers 
 were quite exhausted; and that, from the quantity of rubbish re- 
 maining, more than they were able to remove, it would be neces- 
 sary to desist, for the present at least, from building the wall : 
 they professed besides to have intelligence that their enemies 
 were meditating a secret attack, so that there would be no notice 
 ot their approach till they were actually in the midst of them. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 . 12. — they said unto us leu limes,! " Ten times" used for a 
 great many times. 
 
 II Or, 
 TJiatJrom 
 all places ye 
 must return 
 tu us. 
 tHeb. 
 from the 
 tower parts 
 of the place, 
 &c.
 
 He armeth the labourers. 
 
 CHAP. IV, V. 
 
 chrTIt *^^^ ^^^^ °^ ^^^ people. Be not ye afraid of 
 445. them : remember the Lord, xvhkh is great 
 and terrible, and fight for your brethren, 
 your sons, and your daughtei's, your wives, 
 and your houses. 
 
 15 And it came to pass, when our ene- 
 mies heard that it was known unto us, and 
 God had brought their counsel to nought, 
 that we returned all of us to the wall, every 
 one unto his work. 
 
 16 And it came to pass from that time 
 forth, that the half of my servants wrought 
 in the work, and the other half of them- 
 held both the spears, the shields, and the 
 bows, and the habergeons ; and the rulers 
 •were behind all the house of Judah. 
 
 17 They which builded on the wall, and 
 they that bare burdens, with those that 
 laded, every one with one of his hands 
 wrought in the work, and with the other 
 ha7id held a weapon. 
 
 18 For the builders, every one had his 
 t Heb. sword girded t by his side, and so builded. 
 onhtshvtt. ^j^j jjg jjj^^ sounded the trumpet was by 
 
 me. 
 
 19 IF And I said unto the nobles, and to 
 the rulers, and to the rest of the people. 
 The work is great and large, and we are 
 separated upon the wall, one far from an- 
 other. 
 
 20 In what place therefore ye hear the 
 sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither un- 
 to us : our God shall fight for us. 
 
 21 So we laboured in the work : and 
 half of them held the spears from the ris- 
 ing of the morning till the stars appeared. 
 
 22 Likewise at the same time said I un- 
 to the people, Let every one with his ser- 
 vant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the 
 
 14. — remember the Lord, &C.2 Nothing can so hearten us to 
 the encountering of any evil, as the remembrance of that infinite 
 power and wisdom, which can either avert it, or mitigate it, or 
 turn it to our good. We could never faint under calamity, if we 
 were not forgetful of God. Bp. Hall. 
 
 17. — erery one with one of his hands Sicl Meaning, that every 
 workman was prepared to work or to fignt, as occasion might 
 serve. Pi/l^- 
 
 23. — none of vs put off our clothes, &C.3 The description 
 here given affords a striking picture of the calamitous and un- 
 settled state of the country, and of their continual apprehension 
 of immediate attack, arising from the ill will of their neigh- 
 bours. 
 
 Chap. V. ver. 1. — there was a great cri/ of the peojde'] That is, 
 of the poor people and their wives, against their rich brethren, 
 the Jews. It appears that they were by no means cured of all 
 their sins by their long captivity ; for they married strange wo- 
 men, as we read in the book of Ezra, chap, ix, x, and, as is here 
 related, they oppressed the poor and needy, and that at a time 
 when their enemies were threatening the destruction of them all. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and giveth military precepts. 
 
 445. 
 
 night they may be a guard to us, and la- 1'=''°'^ 
 hour on the day. chris 
 
 23 So neither I, nor my brethren, nor 
 my servants, nor the men of the guard 
 which followed me, none of us put off our 
 clothes, II saving that every one put them U Or, 
 
 ST 
 
 oflffor washing. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 tvery ont 
 went reitlt 
 his weapon 
 Jot water. 
 
 1 The Jems complain of their debt, mortgage, and bon- 
 dage. 6 Nehemiak rebuketh the usurers, and causelh 
 them to make a cmenant of restitution. 1 4 Hefor- 
 beareth his own allowance, and keepeth lio.ipitality. 
 
 AND there was a great cry of the peo- 
 ple and of their wives against their 
 brethren the Jews. 
 
 2 For there were that said. We, our sons, 
 and our daughters, are many: therefore 
 we take up corn for them, that we may eat, 
 and live. 
 
 3 Some also there were that said. We 
 have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and 
 houses, that we might buy corn, because 
 of the dearth. 
 
 4 There were also that said. We have 
 borrowed money for the king's tribute, and 
 that upon our lands and vineyards. 
 
 5 Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our 
 brethren, our ciiildren as their children : 
 and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons 
 and our daughters to be servants, and some 
 of our daughters are brought unto bon- 
 dage already: neither is it in our power to 
 redeem them; for other men have our lands 
 and vineyards, 
 
 6 ^ And I was very angry when I heard 
 their cry and these words. ^ hci.. 
 
 7 Then 1 1 consulted with myself, and I ^v '"■"'' 
 rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and 'i^mt. ' 
 
 5. Yet 710W mtr Jleskis as thefeshofour brethren,^ There it 
 no difference in nature, in flesh or blood, between us and the rest 
 of Israel ; why then should we, without any fault on our part, be 
 placed in a condition so much worse than they i Bp. Hall. They 
 represent very pathetically that no difference subsisted between 
 them and their brethren, except that the one were poor, the other 
 rich ; for all were Jews of the same stock, the same by nature and 
 the favour of God, and therefore entitled to the enjoj-ment of the 
 same freedom. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 me bring into bondage our sons &c.] It was lawful so to 
 
 do in cases of extreme necessity, Exod. xxi. l,&c, but those per- 
 sons were very destitute of compassion who forced their brethren 
 to do what was so much against nature. Thus the condition of 
 these poor Jews was truly lamentable : none would lend them 
 money freely ; and to pay their usury they were forced to sell 
 their children, whom they had not power to redeem because their 
 lands were mortgaged to their oppressors. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. and I rebuked the nobles, &c.J Good Nehemiah could 
 
 not but be moved at the barbarous extortion practised on the 
 people : and now, like an impartial governour, he rebukes the 
 rulers and nobles, whose hands were tlius bloody with oppression. 
 It is indeed aji ill use of power when tlie weight of it serves only 
 
 5 Q 2
 
 2Ukamah rclukelh the usurers. 
 
 NEHEMIAH. 
 
 and canseth them to make restitution. 
 
 iwi« said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one 
 *^"'"*' of his brother. And I set a great assembly 
 a^inst them. 
 
 8 Anil I said unto them. We after our 
 •Uv.sj. ability have 'redeemed our brethren the 
 ** Jews, wiiich were sold unto the heathen ; 
 
 and will ye even sell your brethren ? or 
 shall they'be sold unto iIs ? Then held they 
 their peace, and found nothing to answer. 
 
 9 Also I said. It is not good that ye do : 
 ought ye not to walk in the fear of our 
 God because of the reproach of the hea- 
 tiicn our enemies ? 
 
 10 I likewise, and my brethren, and 
 my servants, might exact of them money 
 and corn : I pray you, let us leave off 
 this usury. 
 
 11 liestore, I pray you, to them, even 
 this day, their lands, their vineyards, their 
 olixc'vards, and their houses, also the hun- 
 dredth part of the money, and of the corn, 
 
 to cni-h the weak ; but, wlicn nobility does debase itself by any 
 foul act, it is so mueh more wortlij' oi' rebuke, as the person is of 
 Ju'ffher mark, and more extensive example. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Ye ejurt usuri/,'] This was a manifest breach of the law 
 
 of Vioil, p'wen bj' Moses, which forbade all the race of Israel to 
 take usury of their brethren, Exod. xxii. 25; Levit. xxv. 36^ 37; 
 Dout xxiii. 19. Dean Prirleaux. 
 
 / xel a srciU asseinbltj against Me/n.] I resolved to shame 
 
 them out of their scandalous proceeding in an open assembly of 
 magistrates and people, which I immediately called for that pur- 
 pose. I'l/te. 
 
 8. — He after our ability &c.] He speaks either of himself 
 in tlie plural number, which is a form often used by jjovernours 
 onil great men, or of hiuiself together with Ezra and other lovers 
 of tlioir country, and says, that they had redeemed their brethren 
 the Jews ; that is, had done their utmost to deliver them out of 
 Uie captivitj- of Biibylon, by which they were restored to their 
 country and tlieir liberty. Ep. Patiich. 
 
 9. _ o«W,/ ye Hoi Iv w/tlk &c.] He means to say, If we had 
 been dwelling alone on the earth, yet the fear of God ought to 
 overawe our ways ; bnt, now that we dwell in the midst of our 
 eneniu|f<, whose eyes are bent on all our actions, whose tongues are 
 r '^^''yi° '''"M«'"e God, as we unhappily are to offend Him, 
 how carefully should we avoid those sins which may draw shame 
 upon our profession ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 Neheniial. set the people an example of piety, and endeavoured 
 above all ihmgs to make them religious, and thereby to secure to 
 them tlie favour and protection of God. In this we should imi- 
 tate him, and wnthout this in vain do we pretend to love our 
 conntry. .\ pataot is a religious mar, who employs himself in 
 serving tlie publick: and a good citizen is one, who loves God 
 MMl his neighbour. \V hosoever neglects his duty to Go<l, cannot 
 perform his <luty to the publick in a complete and effectual m^- 
 ner. There are, as there ever have been, men who have little 
 rehgion and yet ,*me share of what we commonly call honour 
 ^d jKibhck .pint, who would not injure their nation for private 
 ^anUge, and would nsk their fortunes or their lives filr the r 
 ODunUj \,i these persons often do more harm another way 
 
 wr.^' L h n ' **^" *^y «"' ^-^Peiisate by intrepidity, ge! 
 "ml .n hTi""- • ?"* '" '•'^^"-^■' ^ P^t'-iot without relUion 
 »™i an honc-st m.in without the fear of God is one o( td. .1 
 
 il~aUo,he hundredth part 0/ the money,-} By the " hun- 
 
 the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of ^, ^^^^--^g^ 
 them. 4«. 
 
 12 Then said they. We will restore them, 
 and will require nothing of them ; so will 
 we do as thou sayest. Then I called the 
 priests, and took an oath of them, that they 
 should do according to this promise. 
 
 13 Also I shook my lap, and said, So 
 God shake out every man from his house, 
 and from his labour, that performeth not 
 this promise, even thus be he shaken out, 
 
 and t emptied. And all the congregation fHeb, 
 said. Amen, and praised the Lord. And 2!^' *"'' 
 the people did according to this promise. 
 
 14 % Moreover from the time that I was 
 appointed to be their governor in the land 
 of Judah, from the twentieth year even 
 unto the two and thirtieth year of Artax- 
 erxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and 
 my brethren have not eaten the bread of 
 the governor. 
 
 dredth part" is meant a particular sort of usury practised in those 
 countries, and afterwards among the Romans. It signifies, that 
 the hundredth part of the sum lent was to be paid as interest, 
 every month ; that is, in modern expression, an interest of one 
 per cent, every month, or of twelve per cent, every year. Bp. 
 Pal rick, Dean Prideaiix. 
 
 Respecting these same countries in modern times, we are in« 
 formed, that " nothing is more destructive to Syria than the 
 shameful and excessive usury customaiy there. When the pea- 
 sants are in want of money to purchase grain, cattle, &c. they 
 can find none but by mortgaging the whole or part of their fu- 
 ture crop greatly under its value. The danger of suffering 
 money to appear, closes tlie hand of all by whom it is possessed ; 
 and if it be parted with, it must be from the hope of a rapid and 
 exorbitant gain : the most moderate interest is twelve per cent. ; 
 the usual rate is twenty, and it frequently rises even as high as 
 thirty." Volneifs Travels. 
 
 13. Also I shook my lap, and said, &c.] I made use of the 
 common ceremony of rulHing and shaking the lap of my gar- 
 ment, in detestation of the crimes I had been representing to 
 them ; at the same time declaring, denouncing, and even praying 
 to God that He would in like manner punish and confound every 
 one of them in his fortune and estate, who did not perform hi» 
 word in forsaking such practices. Pyle. 
 
 14- — / and my brethren have not ealen the bread of the gover- 
 nor.'] I and my family have not taken tliat allowance which was 
 appointed for the governour : so that, though I held the office, I 
 forbore to take the maintenance allotted to it, both of money and 
 provision, in favour of the people, and from respect to the com- 
 mon good. Bp. Hall. 
 
 This conduct of Nehemiah deserves our most serious attention. 
 During the twelve years that he was governour of Jerusalem, he 
 would not insist upon the rights of his office, nor suffer his ser- 
 vants, and those that were under him, to oppress any, but gave up 
 his own dues, that he might not bring a burden upon the people 
 m that troublesome time ; he gave even part of his own substance 
 to supply the necessities of the publick, and relieve private per- 
 sons : all which he did, as he himself observed, because he feared 
 God. This was a noble example of equity, piety, and disinterest- 
 edness, well worthy to be imitated ; and this shews, how averse we 
 ought to be from oppression and injustice, since, in case of neces- 
 sity, we ought to give of our own, and even to dispense with our 
 right. The faithful discharge of these duties fills the mind witli 
 great confidence towards God, and enables a man to say, as Nehe- 
 miah said, with so much faith and piety, « Think upon me, my 
 God, tor good." Oslervakl. f ' f
 
 ■He keepeth fiospitaliti/. 
 
 CHAP. V, VI. 
 
 Sanballat practiseth to terrify him. 
 
 CHifisT ^^ ^"* ^^^ former governors that had 
 445. been before me were chargeable unto the 
 people, and had taken of them bread and 
 wine, beside forty shekels of sih-er; yea, 
 even their servants bare rule over the peo- 
 ple: but so did not I, because of the fear 
 of God. 
 
 16 Yea, also I continued in the work of 
 this wall, neither bought we any land: and 
 all my servants were gathered thither unto 
 the work. 
 
 17 Moreover there "were at my table an 
 hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, 
 beside those that came unto us from among 
 the heathen that are about us. 
 
 - 18 Now that which was prepared ^r me 
 daily taas one ox and six choice sheep ; also 
 fowls were prepared for me, and once in 
 ten days store of all sorts of wine : yet for 
 all this required not I the bread of the 
 governor, because the bondage was heavy 
 upon this people. 
 * Chap. 13. ig b -jj^jjj]^ upon me, my God, for good, 
 according to all that I have done for this 
 people. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 1 Sanballal pracliseth by craft, hy rumours, hy hired 
 prophecies, to terrify NeJicmiah. 1 5 The murk is fi- 
 nished to the terror of the enemies. 1 7 Secret intelli- 
 gence passeth between the enemies and tJie nobles of 
 Judak. 
 
 15. — beside forty shekels of silver;'] He probably means forty 
 shekels of silver every day, to make provision of other things at 
 his table. Bp Patrick. The words will admit of being trans- 
 lated, " And had taken from each of them, for bread and wine, 
 forty shekels of silver." Honbigant. 
 
 19. Think upon me, my God,] There is no reason for us to 
 think that Nenemiah extols himself and his own worthy acts too 
 much; for what he says is nothing more than was necessary in 
 8iich a state of things, that posterity might be furnished with an 
 excellent example of extraordinary virtue. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Nehemiah, it will be seen, frequently in this book (chap. xiii. 
 14; 22, 31) prays to God not to wipe out the good deeds which 
 he had done; this he does, rather in pious supplication to be re- 
 membered on that account, than in any arrogance of heart. To 
 have concealed the actions of his government, would have been 
 inconsistent with the office of a faithful historian, and would have 
 deprived posterity of an excellent example. The sacred writer>, 
 conscious of their own dignity, are equally superiour to disguise 
 or vanity. They record their own virtues and tlieir own failings 
 with equal sincerity. Dr. Gray. Nehemiah, having happily deli- 
 vered his people from a domestick captivity, commends liis set-vice 
 to the gracious remuneration of the Almighty. Had he taken a 
 temporary recompense, both he and it would have been forgotten: 
 now he has made a happy change for eternity, not tliat he pleads 
 his merit, but sues for mercy ; neither does he pray to be remeni- 
 hered for his work, but according to his work. Our good deeds, as 
 they are well accepted of God, ^o they shall not go unrewarded; 
 and what God will give, why may not we ask ? Doubtless, as we 
 may offer up our honest obedience to God, so we may expect and 
 beg his promised retributions; not out of a proud conceit of the 
 worth of our earnings, since we aie at the best but unprofitable 
 
 445. 
 
 NOW it came to pass, when Sanballat, Bcforo 
 and Tobiah, and Geshem the Ara- ^"'^^ 
 bian, and the rest of our enemies, heard 
 that I had builded the wall, and that there 
 was no breach left therein ; (though at that 
 time I had not set up the doors upon the 
 gates;) 
 
 2 That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto 
 me, saying, Come, let us meet together in 
 some one qjf the villages in the plain of Ono. 
 But they thought to do me mischief. 
 
 3 And I sent messengers unto them, 
 saying, I am doing a great work, so that 
 I cannot come doAvn : why should the 
 work cease, whilst I leave it, and come 
 down to you ? 
 
 4 Yet they sent unto me four times ai'ter 
 this sort; and I answered them after the 
 same manner. 
 
 5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto 
 me in like manner the fifth time with an 
 open letter in his hand; 
 
 6 WTierein was written. It is reported 
 among the heathen, and || Gashmu saith it, J Or, 
 that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for ^.[""P 
 which cause thou buildest the wall, that 
 thou mayest be their king, according to 
 these words. 
 
 7 And thou hast also appointed pro- 
 phets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, say- 
 ing, There is a king in Judah: and now 
 shall it be reported to the king according 
 
 servants, but from a faithful dependence on Him, who cannot be 
 less than His word. O God, if we do auglit tliat is good, it is 
 Thine act and not ours; crown Tliine own work in us, and take 
 Thou tlie glory of Thine own mercies ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. VI. ver. 2. — in the pUiin of Ono.] A place in the 
 tribe of Benjamin, chap. xi. S5; 1 Chron. viii. 12. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. — with an open letter in his hand;] .\s if tlie contents were 
 known to every bodj% and required no sort of secrecy. Pyle. Or 
 perhaps the circumstance of the letter being sent " open" is men- 
 tioned as ha\-ingbeen an affront offered to Nehemiah b_v Sanballat; 
 being an omission of good manners, since letters in the East are 
 always sent carefully enclosed; having also a tendency to influ- 
 ence the popiUace against liim, by attributing treason to him as 
 governour; and being perhaps also a mode of a\()itling the ad- 
 dressing Nehemiah as governour, and thereby acknowledging his 
 dignity and office. Fragments to Calmet. 
 
 It appears from Norden, tljat it is customary in modern times 
 in those countries to send letters to coimnon people open: but it 
 is not according to their usage to send them so to persons of dis- 
 tinction. Bishop Pococke gives us in one of his plates the figvire 
 of a Turkish letter, put into a satin bag, to be sent to a great man, 
 with a paper tied to it directed and sealed, and an ivory button 
 tied on the wax. Nehemiah, being a jierson of di.-tlnction in the 
 Persian court, and then governour of Judea, had reason to expect 
 this ceremony from Sanballat: and the omission of it was per- 
 haps the greater insidt, as insuuiating tliat, though Nehemiali 
 was, according to him, preparing to assume the royal dignity, he 
 should be so far from acknowledging him in that character, that 
 he would not even i)ay him the compliment due to every person 
 of distinction. Sir John Chardin gives a like account of the 
 Eastern letters. Script, illust. 
 
 ST
 
 N E H E M I A H. 
 
 SmbalhCs hired prophecies. 
 
 DWV-. to these words. Come now therefore, and 
 '■"'!"'■' let us take counsel together. 
 
 8 Then I sent unto him, saying, Ihere 
 are no such things done as thou sayest, but 
 thou feignest tliem out of thnie own heart. 
 <) For they all made us afraid, saying, 
 Their hands shall be weakened from the 
 work, that it be not done. Now therefore, 
 
 God, strengthen my hands. 
 
 10 Arterward 1 came unto the house ot 
 Shemaiah the son oi: Delaiah the son of 
 Mehetabeel, who nas shut up; and he said. 
 Let us meet together in the house of God, 
 within the temple, and let us shut the doors 
 of the temple: for they will come to slay 
 thee; yea, in the night will they come to 
 slay thoc. 
 
 11 And I said. Should such a man as I 
 flee ? and who is there, that, being as I am, 
 would go into the temple to save his life ? 
 
 1 will not go in. 
 
 12 And, lo, I perceived that God had 
 not sent him; but that he pronounced this 
 prophecy against me: for Tobiah and San- 
 ballat had hired him. 
 
 13 Tlierefore teas he hired, that I should 
 
 ". — Come now — , let us take cminseF] " Let us take counsel 
 how we may wipe off these suspicions, in case they should be put 
 into the king's mind ;" as according to his representation they pro- 
 bably would. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. — unto the house of Shemaiah'\ Shemaiah was a prophet by 
 profession, (as appears from \eT. VZ,) and probably one whom 
 Nehemiah took to be his friend; on which account he went to 
 consult with him at his hou^e. Bp. Palrick. I came, Nehemiah 
 says, to Shemaiah, who was, under pretence of devout humiliation 
 and prayer, '• shut up" in his house; and he, pretending a tender 
 care of mv jicrson, advised that we should shut ourselves up in 
 the temple. Bp. Hall. 
 
 in the house of God, within the temple,'] There seems to be 
 
 no reason to doubt that .Shemaiah means to advise Nehemiali to 
 retreat into the sanctuary, or most holy part of the temple, for 
 which he had goo<l pretence, as the place was strong, being de- 
 tindctl by a guard of Levites, and privileged from all rude ap- 
 proaches. But his real design appears to have been, not only to 
 (hsgRicc Nehemiah and dishearten the people, when they saw the 
 cowardice of their govcrnour, ver. 13, but also to prepare the way 
 tor an assault of the enemy on the city, when there was no leader 
 to oppose them. StacUiouse. 
 
 n. .hid I said. Should such a man as I flee?] The words of 
 Nehemiah on this occasion are very significant as well as ma<Tna- 
 nimous. " Should such a man as I flee.>" I, the chief govenfour 
 up<m whose presence, and counsel, and conduct, the very life and 
 Deing of the whole city and nation in great measure depend- I 
 *ho have protessed such resoTution, courage, and confidence in 
 v.o<i; 1, who have had such eminent experience of God's gracious 
 
 ^A'^Ztl ""''T"^'"^- ^\ *="""'« "^« *° ^'^ employment, 
 now ,^1 f r't"'™"^]; '*' *■^^" '»'^ '>'>"§" ^--^ g'-eater tha.^ 
 
 wdrit^of'riu""""' ^'"^ r* ^^liRi""' -nd betray U,e people 
 •nocity of God by my cowardice? Stackhoii.te. ^ 
 
 lh.s st^d.ness of mind should be imitated by all who are en- 
 
 The work isjinished. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 passing 
 Tobiah. 
 
 be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they ^^^^^^ 
 mi"ht have matter for an evil report, that ^'Vw' 
 they might reproach me. 
 
 14 My God, think thou upon Tobiah 
 and Sanballat according to these their 
 works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and 
 the rest of the prophets, that would have 
 put me in fear. 
 
 15 IF So the wall was finished in the about 445. 
 twenty and fifth day of the mouth Elul, in 
 
 fifty and two days. 
 
 16 And it came to pass, that when all 
 our enemies heard thereof, and all the hea- 
 then that icere about us saw these things, 
 they were much cast down in their own 
 eyes: for they perceived that this work 
 was wrought of our God. 
 
 17 IT Moreover in those days the no- 
 bles of Judah t sent many letters unto To- 1 Heb. 
 biah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto "IdrUtt'er^ 
 them. 
 
 1 8 For there "were many in Judah sworn 
 unto him, because he !X'«5 the son in law of 
 Shechaniah the son of Arab ; and his son 
 Johanan had taken the daughter of Me- 
 shuUam the son of Berechiah. 
 
 persons sacred, such as were privileged by blood and function. 
 And now what would the people say .'' What would become of us 
 while our governour hides his head for fear.^ Where shall we find 
 a temple to secure us, or how shall we depend on so cowardly a 
 leader? Well did Nehemiah forecast these circumstances; and, 
 resolving to distrust a prophet that persuaded him to the violation 
 of a law, reject the proposition with scorn. Bp. Hall. 
 
 1 4. My God, think thou &c.] Nehemiah takes not upon him- 
 self to judge them for their treacherous proceedings, but leaves 
 them to the just judgments of God. Pifle. 
 
 1 5. So the wall mas Jinished — in jijly and two days.] This 
 short space of time, employed in the completion, eminently shews 
 the zeal of the people employed upon it, the number of whom, 
 however, we must suppose to have been very great. It should be 
 remembered too, that the foundations of the wall had been left 
 by the Chaldeans: and probably many parts of tlie wall itself re- 
 mained standing. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 7. Moreover in those days &i.c.] During all this time, Nehe- 
 miah adds, the stratagems of our professed enemies were not so 
 dangerous or so mortifying as the treachery and baseness of many 
 of our own citizens. Some of the best quality having married into 
 Tobiah's family, (chap. xiii. 4 — 9,) espoused his interests both se- 
 cretly and openly, and informed him of all we said and did; so 
 that well might that haughty heathen threaten me with his let- 
 ters, when he knew there were people within our own bowels 
 who would second him in all his designs. Pyle. 
 
 In the account which Nehemiah gives ot' what happened to 
 hnn during his government, we may take notice, that good peo- 
 ple, and especially those who labour for the glory of God, are 
 exposed to many troubles, not only from their declared enemies, 
 who attack them with open force, or by craft and calumny, but 
 also from those whom they consider as their brethren; and that 
 even sometimes unworthy ministers of the Lord stir up those 
 troubles against them. It appears likewise, from the wise, steady, 
 and pious behaviour of Nehemiah, that those who labour for the 
 pubhck good should never be staggered by the threats and slanders 
 ot the wicked; and that, with the help of the Lord who watche? 
 over them, they may happily overcome aU opposition. Oslervald. 
 
 I,
 
 A register of the genealogy of 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 chrTIt , 39 Also they reported his good deeds 
 about 445. before me, and uttered my || words to him. 
 ImIIts ^"^ Tobiah sent letters to put me in 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 1 Kehemiah committeth the charge of Jerusalem to Ha- 
 nani and Hananiah. 5 A register rf the genealosy of 
 them which came at the Jirst out of Babylon, 9 rf the 
 people, 3Q of the jyriests, 43 of the Levites, 46 of the 
 Nethimms, 57 of Solomon's servants, 63 and of the 
 priests which could not find their pedigree. 66 The 
 whole number of them, with their substance. 70 Their 
 oblations. 
 
 NOW it came to pass, when the wall 
 was built, and I had set up the doors, 
 and the porters and the singers and the 
 Levites were appointed, 
 
 2 That I gave my brother Hanani, and 
 Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge 
 over Jerusalem : for he was a faithful man, 
 and feared God above many. 
 
 3 And I said unto them. Let not the 
 gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun 
 be hot ; and while they stand by, let them 
 shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint 
 watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
 every one in his watch, and every one to 
 be over against his house. 
 
 l^!din. ^ ^^^ ^^^ ^i*y '^''^'^ ^ large and great : 
 
 spaces. but the people "were few therein, and the 
 houses "were not builded. 
 
 5 *r And my God put into mine heart 
 to gather together the nobles, and the 
 rulers, and the people, that they might be 
 reckoned by genealogy. And I found a 
 register of the genealogy of them which 
 came up at the first, and found written 
 therein, 
 ^£^^2!!, .^ * These are the childien of the pro- 
 Ac. vince, that went up out of the captivity, of 
 those that had been carried away, whom 
 Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had 
 
 Chap. VII. ver. 2. That I gave my brother Hamni, &c.] The 
 fact of Nehemiah's appointing governoiirs of Jerusalem as soon as 
 the walls were built, seems evidently to imply, that he went away 
 from thence at this time ; and, as a set time of absence from Per- 
 sia appears to have been allowed him at liis departure, (chap. ii. 6,) 
 it is most probable that he returned to Persia at this time. Be- 
 sides, as the building of the walls was all tliat he required in his 
 first commission, fresh authorities were necessary to enable him to 
 eng^e in other proceedings which were required for the well 
 settling of the affairs of the country. It is probable that, on his 
 commg to the king, and giving an account how matters stood in 
 the province, he soon obtained permission to return there ; and 
 the shortness of his absence seems to be the reason that no notice 
 is taken of it in the text, although the circumstances detailed suf- 
 ficiently imply it. Dean, Pridcaut.. 
 
 3. — until the sun be hot /J Till some time after sunrise, 
 when the approach of an enemy might be clearly discerned, 
 
 those ivho relumed from Babylon. 
 
 carried away, and came again to Jeru- Befor. 
 salem and to Judah, every one unto his ^Ss^J 
 
 7 Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, 
 kehemiah, OAzanah Raamiah, Nahamani ii Or. 
 Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bijrvai Ne- ^"'"'"'^ 
 hum, Baanah. The number, / say, of the 
 men of the people of Israel uas this; 
 
 8 I he children of Parosh, two thousand 
 an hundred seventy and two. 
 
 9 The children of Shephatiah, three 
 hundred seventy and two. 
 
 10 The children of Arah, six hundred 
 nity and two. 
 
 11 The children of Pahath-moab, of the 
 children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand 
 and eight hundred and eighteen. 
 
 12 The chUdren of Elam, a thousand 
 two hundred fifty and four. 
 
 13 The children of Zattu, eight hundred 
 lorty and five. 
 
 14 The children of Zaccai, seven hun- 
 dred and threescore. 
 
 15 The children of || Binnui, six hun- n Or. 
 dred forty and eight. *"'"• 
 
 16 The childien of Bebai, six hundred 
 twenty and eight, 
 
 17 The cliildren of Azgad, two thousand 
 three hundred twenty and two. 
 
 18 The children of Adonikam, six hun- 
 dred threescore and seven. 
 
 19 The children of Bigvai, two thousand 
 threescore and seven. 
 
 20 The children of Adin, six hundred 
 fifty and five. 
 
 21 The children of Ater of Hezekiah, 
 ninety and eight. 
 
 22 The children of Hashum, three hun- 
 dred twenty and eight. 
 
 23 The children of Bezai, three hun- 
 dred twenty and four. 
 
 24 The children of || Hariph, an hun- n Or, 
 dred and twelve. •''''"'• 
 
 and all the people might be prepared in case of danger. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 6. These are the childrai of the province,'^ These are the very 
 words which we read at Ezra ii. 1 : Nehemiah seems to have 
 transcribed them from thence. Thus the register of which he 
 speaks, ver. 5, is the register first made in Babylon, which he now 
 caused to be exactly revised, and in which he made such altera- 
 tions as he was enabled to do by the advantage of time and new 
 accessions of people to Judea. He took tliis care to settle the 
 genealogies of the several tribes and families, now returned to Ju- 
 dea, in order to prevent that mixture and confusion which wmdd 
 have defeated one of the great purposes for which their nation 
 was chosen to be the sepai-ate and peculiar people of God. Pijle. 
 
 In the second chapter of Ezra wc have the old register made 
 by Zerubbabel ; and in this seventh of Nehemiah, jwe have a copy 
 of it as settled by Nehemiah, with some additions and alterations. 
 Dean Prideaux.
 
 A register of the genealogy of 
 
 N E H E M I A H. 
 
 those who returned from Bahylon. 
 
 Bcfiwe 
 ('MUIST f. .^ 
 
 I Or, 
 
 I Or. 
 
 jtnmv€th. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 •SwTcr 
 
 18. 
 
 •25 The children of II Giboon, ninety and 
 
 'jh The men of Betli-Iehem and Neto- 
 nhah, an iiinulred fowi-score and eight. 
 
 i?7 The men of Anathotli, an liundred 
 twenty and eiglit. 
 
 v?S "The men of II Betli-azmaveth, forty 
 anil two. 
 
 'JtJ The men of II Kiijath-jearim, Che- 
 pliirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred forty 
 and three. 
 
 30 Tlie men oi' Rauiah and Gaba, six 
 hundred twenty and one. 
 
 31 The men of Michmas, an hundred 
 and twenty and two. 
 
 32 The men of Beth-el and Ai, an hun- 
 dred twenty and three. 
 
 33 The men of the other Nebo, fifty and 
 two. 
 
 .34 The children of the other " Elara, a 
 thousand two hundred fifty and four. 
 
 35 The children of Harim, three hun- 
 dred and twenty. 
 
 36 The children of Jericho, three Inm- 
 dred forty and five. 
 
 37 The children of Lod, Hadid, and 
 Ono, se\en hundred twenty and one. 
 
 38 The children of Senaah, tlixee thou- 
 sand nine hundred and thirty. 
 
 39 1[ The priests : the children of ' Je- 
 daiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hun- 
 dred seventy and three. 
 
 40 The children of Immer, a thousand 
 fifty and two. 
 
 41 The children of Pashur, a thousand 
 two hundred forty and seven. 
 
 42 The children of Harim, a thousand 
 and seventeen. 
 
 43 % The Levites : the children of Je- 
 shua, of Kadmiel, and of the children of 
 11 Hodevah, seventy and four. 
 
 44 ^ The singers : the children of Asaph, 
 ILiiTs. an hundred forty and eight. 
 
 45 % The porters : the children of Shal- 
 lum, the children of Ater, the children of 
 Talmon, the children of Akkub, the chil- 
 dren of Hatita, the children of Shobai, an 
 hundred thirty and eight 
 
 4G % The Nethinims : the children of 
 Zilia, the chddren of Hashupha, the chil- 
 dren of Tabbaoth, 
 
 47 Tlie children of Keros, the children 
 ot Sia, the children of Padon, 
 
 hereafter ttT^; *f, J^J^ "'"f^^'' '^''' «"^^ ^ P"^'*' ^iH 
 
 their liuaiU^^ Z\.X , t^ ' '^'^ '""'P''^*" '^^ genealogies of 
 
 ^. U>o»6h others understand these wocds to i^iport. 
 
 ' I Chron 
 M. 7. 
 
 I Or. 
 HMavinht 
 Eira 2. 4a 
 
 48 The children of Lebana, the children ^^^[^.^ 
 of Hagaba, the children of Shalinai, obout.wi;, 
 
 4!i The ciiildren of Hanan, the children 
 of Giddel, the children of Gahar, 
 
 50 The children of Reaiah, the children 
 of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, 
 
 51 The children of Gazzam, the chil- 
 dren of Uzza, the children of Phaseah, 
 
 52 The children of Besai, the children 
 of Meunim, the children of Nephishesim, 
 
 53 The children of Bakbuk, the children 
 of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, 
 
 54 The children of Bazlith, the children 
 of Mehida, the children of Harsha, 
 
 55 The children of Barkos, the children 
 of Sisera, the children of Tamah, 
 
 50) The children of Neziah, the children 
 of Hatipha. 
 
 57 % The children of Solomon's ser- 
 vants : the children of Sotai, the childi'en 
 of Sophereth, the children of Perida, 
 
 58 The children of Jaala, the children 
 of Darkon, the children of Giddel, 
 
 59 The children of Shephatiah, the chil- 
 dren of Hattil, the children of Pochereth 
 
 of Zebaim, the children of || Amon. n Or, 
 
 60 All the Nethinims, and the children ^'"'• 
 of Solomon's servants, 'were three hundred 
 ninety and two. 
 
 61 '' And these were they which went up "Ezra 2. 59. 
 also from Tel-melah, Tel-haresha, Cherub, 
 Addon, and Immer : but they could not 
 
 shew their father's house, nor their It seed, n Or, 
 whether they were of Israel. pedigr$e. 
 
 62 The children of Delaiah, the chil- 
 dren of Tobiali, the children of Nekoda, 
 six hundred forty and two. 
 
 63 ^ And of the priests : the children 
 of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the chil- 
 dren of Barzillai, which took one of the 
 daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, 
 and was called after their name. 
 
 64 These sought their register among 
 those that were reckoned by genealogy, 
 but it was not found : therefore were they, 
 as polluted, put from the priesthood. 
 
 65 And II the Tirshatha said unto them, d or, ih, 
 that they should not eat of the most holy e"!"'""-- 
 things, till there stood up a priest with 
 Urim and Thummim. 
 
 66 5[ The whole congregation together 
 was forty and two thousand three hundred 
 and threescore, 
 
 I 
 
 that they should never exercise the priesthood any more ; and that 
 the expression, " tiU there shall stand up a priest with Urim and 
 1 numnimi," amounts to the same as " never," since the Urim and 
 iiuummm were now absolutely and for evejr lost. Di. Jennings.
 
 The religious manner of 
 
 CHAP. VII, VIII. 
 
 chrTst ^y Beside their manservants and their 
 
 ■j3ii. maidservants, of whom ttiere were seven 
 
 thousand three hundred thirty and seven : 
 
 and they had two hundred forty and five 
 
 singing men and singing women. 
 
 68 Their horses, seven hundred thirty 
 and six : their mules, two hundred forty 
 and five : 
 
 69 Their camels, four hundred thirty 
 and five : six thousand seven hundred and 
 twenty asses. 
 
 t Heb. 70 ^ And t some of the chief of the fa- 
 
 *"'' ■ thers gave unto the work. The Tirshatlia 
 
 gave to the treasure a thousand drams of 
 
 gold, fifty basons, five hundred and thirty 
 
 priests' garments. 
 
 71 And some of the chief of the fathers 
 gave to the treasure of the work twenty 
 thousand drams of gold, and two thousand 
 and two hundred pound of silver. 
 
 72 And that which the rest of the peo- 
 ple gave rvas twenty thousand drams of 
 gold, and two thousand pound of silver, 
 and threescore and seven priests' gar- 
 ments. 
 
 73 So the priests, and the Levites, and 
 the porters, and the singers, and sotne of 
 the people, and the Nethinims, and all Is- 
 rael, dwelt in their cities ; and when the 
 seventh month came, the children of Israel 
 tve}'e in their cities. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 1 The religious manner of reading and hearing the lain. 
 9 They comfort the people. 13 The forwardness of 
 them to hear and be instructed. IG They keep the 
 feast of tabernacles. 
 
 reading and hearing the Ian: 
 
 about 445. 
 
 AND all the people gathered them- 
 selves together as one man into the 
 
 70. — The Tirshafha gave to the treasure &c.] We have a 
 beautiful example of piety and liberality in the voluntary contri- 
 bution of Nehemiah, of some of the chief men, and of several pri- 
 vate persons, towards the temple of the Divine worship ; and this 
 example is the more instructive, as the Jews, generally speaking, 
 were then in a state of poverty, and the number of rich men 
 amongst them was comparatively few. Ostervald. 
 
 73. — ivhen the seventh month came, &C.3 When all the business 
 before mentioned was finished, the people were sent back, by Ne- 
 liemiah's direction, to the several cities to which they belonged, 
 where they remained till the seventh month, which was five days 
 after the wall was finished, chap. vi. 1 5. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. VIII. ver. 1. — Ezra the scribe^ It is thought that Ezra 
 had been at Babylon since his first coming to Judea, and was 
 Xiovi returned, beholding with great joy the wall of Jerusalem 
 built, as he had before seen the temple. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 to bring the book of the law 0/ Moses f\ Tlie people, it ap- 
 pears, called to mind that passage in Deut. xxxi. 10, 11, Sec. 
 where God requires the law to be publickly read eveiy seventh 
 year at the feast of tabernacles, which was appointed to be kept 
 in this month. This, no doubt, Ezra was ready to perform ; but 
 such was the forward zeal of the people at this time, that they 
 Vol. I. 
 
 ST 
 
 Street tliat rvas before the water gate; " and '''^''"™ 
 they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring ^.vullfs. 
 the book of the law of Moses, which the ^ Ezra 3. i. 
 Lord had commanded to Israel. *'c- 
 
 2 And Ezra the priest brought the law 
 before the congregation both of men and 
 women, and all t that could hear with un- t Heb. 
 derstanding, upon the first day of the se- '!',"!,i"'n"" 
 
 Venth month. Aeannj. 
 
 3 And he read therein before the street 
 that li-as before the water gate tfrom the tH*. 
 morning until midday, before the men sind{!lZ\"'^ 
 the women, and those that could under- 
 stand ; and the ears of all the people rcwe 
 atte7itive unto the book of the law. 
 
 4 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a t pid- t Hct.. 
 pit of wood, which they had made for the ['^l'^, -^ 
 purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, " '"'* 
 and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and 
 Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand ; 
 
 and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and ^Mishael, 
 and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashba- 
 dana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 
 
 5 And Ezra opened the book in the 
 
 t sight of all tlie people ; (for he was t Heb. 
 above all the people ;) and when he open- '^"■ 
 ed it, all the people stood up : 
 
 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great 
 God. And all the people answered. Amen, 
 Amen, with lifting up their hands : and 
 they bowed their heads, and worshipped 
 the Lord with their faces to the ground. 
 
 7 Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, 
 Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maa- 
 seiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, 
 Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the peo- 
 ple to understand the law : and the people 
 stood in their place. 
 
 8 So they read in the book in the law 
 
 anticipated him by their pious entreaties. Tliis took place ou the 
 first day of the seventh month, which was not indeed tlie time of 
 the feast of tabernacles ; but this whole month was in a manner 
 devoted to holy exercises. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. — upon the Jirst day of the swenth month.'] The seventh 
 month of the ecclesiastical year, M-hich was the first month of the 
 civil }'ear used by the Hebrews. The ecclesiastical year began 
 in the month Nisan, answering to the time of the vernal equinox; 
 and the seventh month of tin's, whicli was the first of the civil 
 year, took place about the time of the autumnal equinox. The 
 first day therefore of this seventh month « as, in a manner, their 
 new year's day, and was celebrated by a festival proclaimed by 
 the sound of trumpets, and tlience called the feast of trumpets, 
 Levit. XXV. 9. It was when the people were assembled for this 
 festival that the events now related took place. Dean Prideattx, 
 
 G. And Ezra blessed the Lord,] Ezra first began witji offering 
 up praises to God for the blessing of His revealed word, and for 
 all His mercies to the Israelite nation, in whicli the whole assem- 
 bly joined with strong expressions of de\ otion and re\erence. Pyk: 
 
 7. — caused the people to understand the la/v ;] The most pro- 
 bable meaning is, they translated or interpreted it out of Uie old 
 Hebrew, in which it was first written, into the Ch;Udee, whicU 
 was now the vulgar language of die people. Pylc, 
 5 R
 
 The people are comforted. 
 
 N E H E M I A H. 
 
 and instnicled oiU of the hxe. 
 
 I Or, 
 *U fC<r- 
 
 Brforr of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and 
 '^LWV caused them to understand the reading. 
 " " y f And Ncheniiah, which m II the Tir- 
 shatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and 
 the Levites that taught the people, said 
 unto all the people. This day h holy unto 
 the Lord your God ; mourn not, nor weep. 
 For all the people wept, when they heard 
 the words of the law. 
 
 10 Then he said unto them, Go your 
 way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and 
 send portions unto them for whom nothing 
 is prepared : lor tlm day is holy unto our 
 Lord : neither be ye sorry ; for the joy of 
 the Lord is your strength. 
 
 11 So thc'Levites stdled all the people, 
 saying. Hold your peace, for the day is 
 holy ; neither be ye grieved. 
 
 12 And all the people went their way 
 to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, 
 and to make great mirth, because they had 
 
 9. — For all the people ncpt, &'C.j] The people bewailed the 
 i/rnorance in ivliich they had lived, and the many violations of 
 the law of which they had been guilty; just as Josiah did when 
 he heard the words of the law read out of a book which he found 
 unexpectedly, 2 Kings xxii. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The tears which tlie Jews shed, and their being sensibly af- 
 fcctetl at the hearing of the law, shew the effect which the word 
 of Got! produces on well-disposed minds. Oslervald. 
 
 It is impossible for any person to read this remarkable passage 
 eonccming the bringing out of the book of the law, and reading 
 it in the ears of all the people, without being greatly moved and 
 affected by it ; as it shews us the religious affection and regard, 
 which the Jews had for the Holy Scriptures. The devout man- 
 ner of reading it, and the religious attention and becoming re- 
 verence with which it was heard, are excellently described in the 
 following words : '• And Ezra the scribe &c.'" ver. 4, 5, &c. But 
 the most moving circumstance of all is that which follows, that 
 "all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law." 
 JIappy were it for us, if we could persuade the generality of 
 thnsuans to have the same pious regard for the book of God • 
 tliat they would be often mindful to take it up, and read therein 
 with all devout attention, and lay up the words thereof in their 
 hearts jmd m their souls ! And may we not only lay up the word 
 ot Ood m our memories, but labour to bring forth the bapDv 
 ^uits thereot ni our lives and conversation ; that so that sacred 
 Book, which was given to make us wise unto salvation, may never 
 rise up against us, and condemn us at the last day ; when " the 
 books shall be opened, and the dead, both small and great shall 
 Oe ju(lge<l out of those things, which are written in the books 
 according to their works," Rev. xx. 12. Peters 
 
 «r"s ^h"? .1" "k"? ""'".!''""'. p« .'/«"• «'«.'/. &c.] It appears, 
 mL • .• .^^''.''•y ^^'^ ^'th his assistants continued from 
 njon, ng 1. 1 midday to read and explain to the people the lawTf 
 
 aerstand ,t ; hut at midday they dismissed them to eat and drink 
 Him ■ ^Lv r' " Tr ?"?^"-"t"l t« >>« thus kept ho y to 
 'k»v, and tn " 1 ^' »'^<^''"''"'.' to their manner on festival 
 
 ^^y'^^'^:^^'^^ ">- P-- •'-tU^^hat 
 
 ng tHrihef to read and explain to the people the 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 445. 
 
 II Or, 
 tliat titeij 
 nnt^ht in-' 
 struct in lite 
 words of the 
 tuu). 
 
 t Heb. b}i 
 tlie liand iff. 
 *■ Lev. 23. 
 34. 
 
 Deut. IG. 
 13. 
 
 understood the words that were declared 
 unto them. 
 
 13 ^ And on the second day were ga- 
 thered together the chief of the fathers of 
 all the people, the priests, and the Levites, 
 unto Ezra the scribe, even || to understand 
 the words of the law. 
 
 14 And they found written i?i the law 
 which the Lord had commanded t by Mo- 
 ses, that the children of L-,rael should dwell 
 in "booths in the feast of the seventh month: 
 
 15 And that they should publish and 
 proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusa- 
 lem, saying. Go forth unto the mount, and 
 fetch olive branches, and pine branches, 
 and myrtle branches, and palm branches, 
 and branches of thick trees, to make booths, 
 as it is written. 
 
 16 "If So the people went forth, and. 
 brought tliem, and made themselves booths, 
 every one upon the roof of his house, and 
 
 law of God, came to the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus, in 
 which is written the law of the feast of tabernacles ; and having 
 explained to them from thence the obligation under which they 
 were to observe this festival, and shewn that the fifteenth day of 
 the month was the day appointed for the beginning of it, an eager 
 desire was excited in all the people to fulfil the law of God in this 
 particulr.r. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 15. — fetch olive branches, &c.3 Josephus calls the feast of ta- 
 bernacles " the most holy of all." In Lev. xxiii. 40, are men« 
 tioiied " boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of 
 thick trees, and willows of the brook." We see by comparing 
 these passages, that, though the general purport of them is the 
 same, yet the particulars differ. Nehemiah was more attentive 
 to the spirit and meaning of the precept, than to its strict verbal 
 construction. Scrip, illusi. Expos. Ind. 
 
 branches of thick trees,"] These words seem to include all 
 
 handsome-looking trees, capable of forming a cool recess, or of 
 casting a salutary and grateful shade. Script, illusi. Expos. Ind. 
 
 16. — made themselves booths, evert/ one upon the roof of his 
 house, &c.] Dr. Russell, speaking of the religious ceremonies of 
 the Jevi s at Aleppo, gives a description of the feast of tabernacles, 
 which illustrates the narrative in the text. " The tabernacles are 
 variously constructed, and disposed in different situation.*, accord- 
 ing to the size and other circumstances of the house. They are 
 placed sometimes upon the small terraces in front of the upper 
 rooms ; most commonly in the court yards ; and, where several 
 families live in the same house, after every other place is occupied 
 below, they erect the tabernacles on the flat tops of the houses : 
 for each family, however poor, must have its own tabernacle. 
 The ordinary method of building them is, by fastening to tlie 
 corners of a wooden divan four slender erect posts, which serve 
 to support on all sides a reticulated work of green reeds, a space 
 only in front being left for the entrance. Tliis on the outside is 
 covered with fresh myrtle, and is hung on the inside with chintz 
 hangings; the roof is thatched with reeds not stripped of their 
 leaves, and their best cushions and carpets are employed to dress 
 the divan..... In .some of the principal houses a permanent wooden 
 kiosk, built upon a stone mustaby or platform in the middle of 
 the court, is made to serve the purpose, which, being already 
 latticed, is easily covered with reeds and myrtle branches. The 
 
 divan and hangings are here richer This festival in the eyes of 
 
 strangers appears more splendid than any of the others kept by 
 the Jews. They entertain hospitably at their houses ; send pre- 
 sents ot various sorts of sweetmeats to theii- friends ; and all busi- 
 ness IS suspended." Dr. Russell.
 
 They keep the feast of tahernacles. 
 
 CHAP. VIII, IX. A solemn 
 
 chrTst i" t^^^"' courts, and in the courts of tlie 
 about -145. house of God, and m the street of the 
 
 water gate, and in the street of the gate of 
 
 Ephraim. 
 
 17 And all the congregation of them 
 that were come again out of the captivity 
 made booths, and sat under the booths : 
 for since the days of Jeshua the son of 
 Nun unto that day had not the children of 
 Israel done so. And there was very great 
 gladness. 
 
 18 Also day by day, from the first day 
 unto the last day, he read in the book of 
 the law of God. And they kept the feast 
 
 \^^mm ^^T^ ^^^^ '■> ^"^^ ""^ th^ eighth day a-as ta 
 solemn assembly, according unto the man- 
 ner. . 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 I A solemn fast, and repenlance of the people. 4 The 
 Levites jnake a religious confession of God's goodness, 
 and their wickedness. 
 
 ^*^' IVT^^^ "^ *'^e twenty and fourth day of 
 »Chap.8.2. i>j a ^j^j^ j^^^^^,^ ^j^^ children of Israel 
 
 were assembled with fasting, and with 
 sackclothes, and earth upon them. 
 
 2 And the seed of Israel separated 
 
 17- — for since the days of Jeshua &c.] It can hardly be 
 thought that tlie feast of tabernacles had never been observed 
 since the time of Joshua, because, in fact, we read in the book of 
 Ezra that it was kept at the return of the Jews from Babylon ; 
 1 but the meaning is, that the joy ^^ith which it was celebrated 
 had never since that time been so great as upon this occasion : 
 for which the Jews assign this reason, that, in the days of 
 Joshua, they rejoiced because they had got possession of the 
 land of Canaan, and now they equally rejoiced, because they 
 ■were restored and quietlj' settled in it, after they had been so 
 long cast out. Bp. Patrick. We should remai-k, that the long 
 captivity of the Jews, and the afflictions which attended it, did 
 more towards effecting their reformation than all which their 
 Prophets and priests could do for a long series of years. Bp. 
 Wilson. 
 
 1 8. Also day by day, &c.] Although the law did not expressly 
 appoint that the book of the law should be openly read on every 
 day of this festival, Deut. xxxi. 10 — 12, yet now their zeal was so 
 wann, that they did it every day during the whole week's cele- 
 bration. Pyle. 
 
 Chap. IX. ver.- 1. Now in the twenty and fourth day &c.] As the 
 people, on perceiving in how many things they had transgressed 
 the conmiands of God, expressed great trouble and grief of heart, 
 chap. viii. 9, 12, Nehemiah and Ezra, finding them in so good a 
 temper, applied themselves to make the best improvement of it 
 they could, for the honour of God and the interest of rehgion. 
 Accordingly, they proclaimed a fast to be held the next day but 
 cne after the close of the festival, that is, on the 24th of the month, 
 to which, having called all the people, while the sense of tliese 
 things was fresh and warm in their minds, they excited them to 
 make a publick and solemn confession before God of all their sins, 
 and also to enter into a solemn vow and covenant to avoid them 
 for the future, and to hold themselves to a strict observance of all 
 the Divine laws. Dean Pridcaux. 
 
 2. And the seed of Israel separated themselves Sicr\ Those who 
 had been guilty of taking strange women to be their wives, and 
 wLo in souie instances seem to have taken theta back, although 
 
 \etieralfast and humiliatioti. 
 
 themselves from all t strangers, and stood Befo« 
 and confessed their sins, and the iniquities '^''i/^^ 
 of their fathers. ^ ^^' 
 
 3 And they stood up in their place, and "'''"'«' 
 read in the book of the law of the Lord '''"''* 
 their God o?ie fourth part of the day ; and 
 another fourth part they confessed, and 
 worshi])ped the Lord their God. 
 
 4 ^ Then stood up upon the || stairs, of « O'. 
 the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, ""■^"''^ 
 Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, a7id 
 Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto 
 
 the Lord their God. 
 
 5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kad- 
 miel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodi- 
 jah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand 
 up and bless the Lord your God for ever 
 and ever: and blessed be thy glorious 
 name, which is exalted above all blessing 
 and praise. 
 
 6 Thou, even thou, art Lord alone ; 
 ''thou hast made heaven, the heaven of ' Gen. i.i. 
 heavens, with all their host, the earth, and 
 
 all things that are therein, the seas, and all 
 that is therein, and thou preservest them 
 all ; and the host of heaven worshippeth 
 thee. 
 
 they had been forced by Ezra to put them away, now in token of 
 their true repentance " separated themselves" from them, that is, 
 stood or remained at a distance from them, to shew that they re- 
 nounced them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5. Then the Levilcs, &c.] After the Levites before mentioned 
 had cried to God for mercy, the people, as is probable, suing, 
 for it on their knees, anotlier company of Levites commanded 
 them to stand up and praise tlie Lord and give thanks. Bp. 
 Pa/rick. 
 
 6. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone;'] Tlie whole succeeding 
 part of this chapter contains a beautiful epitome of the history cS" 
 the Jews, raised and animated by a spirit of devotion, which ap- 
 pears in all that moving eloquence so well suited to the occasion, 
 and, at the same time, with all that chasteness and correctness of 
 thought and expression which so eminently distinguishes the 
 sacred writings of this sort. Peters. 
 
 The prayer which here follows is one of the finest in all the 
 Scriptures. What is chiefly to be observed in tin's prayer is a« 
 followi: The Jews adore the power and majesty of the most high 
 God ; solemnly acknowledge the mercies their nation had receiv- 
 ed from Him in Egypt, in the wilderness, and in the land of Ca- 
 naan, and His forbearance and longsufFering towards them ; they 
 confess their sins and rebellions, and their abuse of His favours f 
 they own too that God had justly cliastised them, by sending 
 them into captivity, and subjecting them to strange princes. 
 Lastly, they enter into a solemn engagement ne\er more to re- 
 turn to their old sins, but to keep inviolably the covenant which 
 they then renewed with the Lord. \Ac should make a useful ap- 
 plication to ourselves of all the parts of this excellejit prayer ; we 
 should frequently read it, and learn from it to praise and adore 
 God, to acknowledge the favours He bestows upon us all in ge- 
 neral, and upon every one in pai-ticular: they especially whose 
 circumstances somewhat resemble those of the Jews at that time, 
 and who have been made to pass through divers trials and aftlic. 
 tions, ought from hence to learn to confess their sins and ingrati- 
 tude, to celebrate His forbearance, to be more faithful to Him for 
 the time to come, and religiously to perform the conditions of 
 His covenant. Ostervald. 
 
 5 R2
 
 7.4 li. IK- 1 • 
 
 4,7.7,8. nim 
 
 *m. 
 
 The Leiites make a religious 
 
 Wor* 7 Tlioii art the Loud the God, who 
 ^"^J^^ diiLst choose ' Abrani, and broughtest him 
 . c... 'ii. fbrth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest 
 .11.4 I'-M. |^i,„ ti,e „;iiiic of Abraham ; 
 ?GJLfi.6. 8 And foinulcst his heart " faithful be- 
 Ccn.12. fore thee, and madest a 'covenant with 
 
 to give the hind of the Canaanitcs, the 
 
 iiittites the Amorites, and the Perizzites, 
 and the Jebiisites, and the Girgashites, to 
 give ;7, I sai/, to hi.s seed, and hast per- 
 formed thy words ; for thon art rigliteous: 
 ' EioA :). 9 ' And did.st see the affliction of onr 
 '■* "■ '"■ fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by 
 the Red sea ; 
 
 • Eiod.7. 10 And ^ shewedst signs and wonders 
 *M.'^^ upon Pharaoh, and on all liis servants, and 
 
 on all the people of his land : for thou 
 knewest that thej' dealt proudly against 
 them. So didst thou get thee a name, as 
 it is this day. 
 » Eiod. 11. 1 1 " And thou didst divide the sea be- 
 fore them, so that they went through the 
 midst of the sea on the dry land; and their 
 persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, 
 ' Eiod.ij. as a stone into the 'mighty waters. 
 •Eiodix 12 Moreover thou "leddest them in the 
 2'- day by a cloudy pillar ; and in the night 
 
 by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the 
 way wherein they should go. 
 ' Eiod.2o. 13 ' Thou camest down also upon mount 
 "■ ^' Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, 
 Iw'^f ^"'' gavest them right judgments, and ttrue 
 tZ'i,: laws, good statutes and commandments : 
 It And madest known unto them thy 
 holy sabbath, and commandedst them pre- 
 cepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of 
 Moses thy servant : 
 's^lVc ^^ ^"'^ "gavest them bread from hca- 
 Numb. 2a" ven for their hunger, and broughtest forth 
 »• water for them out of the rock for their 
 
 thirst, and promisedst them that they 
 •D*ut I. should "go in to possess the land t which 
 t Heb. thou hacist sworn to give them. 
 
 www'; , ^^ ^l''l ^^'^y '^"^^ «i"- ^"^thers dealt proud- 
 MintAomj ly, and hardened their necks, and heark- 
 <.«u*</im. ened not to thy commandments, 
 
 • }^ A"'^ refused to obey, neither were 
 mindful of thy wonders that thou didst 
 among them ; but hardened their necks. 
 
 ^Numbu. and in their rebellion appointed ° a captain 
 
 tHcb T ^r^"? ^° ^^^^^'" ^^"^lage : but thou art 
 
 .c^^ Ta Uod ready to pardon, gracious and 
 
 p.rd^. merciful, slow to anger, and of great kind- 
 
 • ExoA "^*^' forsookest them not. 
 
 ^E«A3i 18 Yea ^ when they had made them a 
 
 bro lw''l ' '"'^ ''''^' '^''"^ " '^'y Go^l that 
 
 t2 t L '. "^ ""' "^" ^Sypt, and had 
 ^Mougllt great provocations ; 
 
 19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies 
 
 N E H E M I A H. 
 
 confession of God's goodtiess. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 445. 
 
 forsookest them not in the wilderness: the 
 " pillar of the cloud departed not from 
 them by day, to lead them in the way ; ' Exod. i3. 
 neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew f;^^^ j^_ 
 them light, and the way wherein they it. 
 
 1 1 1 „„ 1 Cor. 10. 1, 
 
 should go. 
 
 20 Thou gavest also thy ' good spirit to 'Numku, 
 instruct them, and withheldest not thy 
 
 ' manna from their mouth, and gavest ' Exod. ic. 
 them water for their thirst. joii,. 5. is^ 
 
 21 Yea, forty years didst thou sustain 
 them in the wilderness, so tliat they lacked 
 nothing; their 'clothes waxed not old, 'Dcut.8.4. 
 and their feet swelled not. 
 
 22 Moreover thou gavest them king- 
 doms and nations, and didst divide them 
 into corners : so they possessed the land of 
 
 " Sihon, and the land of the king of Hesh- "Niimb.21. 
 bon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. ' " 
 
 23 Their children also multipliedst thou 
 as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them 
 into the land, concerning which thou hadst 
 promised to their fathers, that they should 
 go in to possess it. 
 
 24 So the children went in and possess- 
 ed the land, and thou subduedst before 
 them the inhabitants of the land, the Ca- 
 naanites, and gavest them into their hands, 
 with their kings, and the people of the 
 land, that they might do with them t as t Heb. 
 they would. ';^<^:<' 
 
 25 And they took strong cities, and a 
 fat land, and possessed houses full of all 
 goods, II wells digged, vineyards, and olive- II Or, 
 yards, and t fruit trees in abundance : so | Heb!' 
 they did eat, and were filled, and became t>eeoffood. 
 fat, and delighted themselves in thy great 
 goodness. 
 
 26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, 
 and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law 
 behind their backs, and slew thy ^ prophets ' • Kings 
 which testified against them to turn them to ^^' ^°' 
 thee, and they wrought great provocations. 
 
 27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into 
 the hand of their enemies, who vexed them : 
 and in the time of their trouble, when tjiey 
 cried unto thee, thou heardest them from 
 heaven ; and according to thy manifold 
 mercies thou gavest them saviours, who sav- 
 ed them out of the hand of their enemies. 
 
 28 But after they had rest, t they did t "eb. 
 evil again before thee: therefore leftest fc?;,;" 
 thou them in the hand of their enemies, so 
 
 that they had the dominion over them : yet 
 when they returned, and cried unto thee, 
 thou heardest them from heaven ; and many 
 times didst thou deliver them according to 
 thy mercies ; 
 
 29 And testifiedst against them, that 
 
 
 i
 
 and of the people's mckedness. 
 
 CHAP. IX, X. The names of them that sealed the covenant. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 445. 
 
 t Ilel). 
 
 ikey f^ave a 
 icit/idra w- 
 iji!T shuul' 
 der. 
 t Hel). 
 protract 
 uuer them, 
 " 2 Kings 
 17. 13. 
 2 Chron. 
 3S. 1,5. 
 t Heb. 
 in the hand 
 
 '/■% ;"■"- 
 
 I'hets. 
 
 ' Esod. 04. 
 C 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 weariness. 
 t Heb. 
 thai hath 
 J'imnd us. 
 
 thou mightest bring them again unto thy 
 law : yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened 
 not unto thy commandments, but sinned 
 against tliy judgments, (which if a man do, 
 he shall live in them ;) and t withdrew the 
 shoulder, and hardened their neck, and 
 would not hear. 
 
 30 Yet many years didst thou t forbear 
 them, and testifiedst " against them by thy 
 spirit tin thy prophets: yet would they 
 not give ear : therefore gavest thou them 
 into the hand of the people of the lands. 
 
 31 Nevertheless for thy great mercies' 
 sake thou didst not utterly consume them, 
 nor forsake them ; for thou art a gracious 
 and merciful God. 
 
 32 Now therefore, our God, the great, 
 the ' mighty, and the terrible God, who 
 keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the 
 t trouble seem little before thee, t that hath 
 come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, 
 and on our priests, and on our prophets, 
 and on our fathers, and on all thy people, 
 since the time of the kings of Assyria unto 
 this day. 
 
 33 Howbeit thou art just in all that is 
 brought upon us ; for thou hast done right, 
 but we have done wickedly : 
 
 34 Neither have our kings, our princes, 
 our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, 
 nor hearkened unto thy commandments 
 and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst 
 testify against them. 
 
 35 For they have not served thee in 
 their kingdom, and in thy great goodness 
 that thou gavest them, and in the large 
 and fat land which thou gavest before 
 them, neither turned they from their wick- 
 ed works. 
 
 3Q Behold, we are servants this day, and 
 
 30. — testifiedst against them hy thy spirit in thy prophets :] 
 " Prophecy," as St. Peter observes, "came not in old time by the 
 vill of man : but holy men of God spake as they were moved by 
 the Holy Ghost," 2 Peter i. 21. Accordin2;l_y we find in multi- 
 tudes of places, from the earliest book of Scripture to the latest, 
 supernatural impulses and illuminations ascribed to the Spirit of 
 God : Gen. vi. 3 ; xli. 38 ; Numb. xi. 25, 26 ; xxiv. 2 ; 1 Sam. x. 
 10; 2 Kings ii. 9, &c.; 1 Chron. xii. 18; 2 Chron. xv. 1 ; Nehem. 
 ix. 30; Ezek. ii. 2; Zech. vii. 12; Rev. i. 10; ii. 7; iv. 2, &c. : 
 nor can we doubt, therefore, but they proceeded from Him al- 
 ways, though sometimes it is not expressly affirjned. So that we 
 are to honour the third Person as the immediate inward instructor 
 of men from the foundation of the world ; as Him, who hath 
 admonished, reproved, and striven witli the wicked ; who hath 
 warmed and cheered the hearts of the jiious in all times witii 
 manifestations of God's will, with declai-ations of His favour, with 
 precautions against unseen dangers, with promises of deliverance 
 from the heaviest afflictions, with His presence and guidance in 
 the most intricate difficidties. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 37. — they have doniinioni over our bodies, &C.3 Tliough the Jews 
 were permitted to live by their own Liws, as we read in the book 
 
 for the land that thou gavest unto our fa- 
 thers to eat the fruit tliereof and tlie good 
 thereof, behold, we are servants in it : 
 
 37 And it yieldeth much increase unto 
 the kings whom thou hast set over us be- 
 cause of our sins : also they have dominion 
 over our bodies, and over our cattle, at 
 their pleasure, and we are in great distress. 
 
 38 And because of all this we make a sure 
 covenant, and write it ; and our princes, 
 Levites, and priests, t seal unto it. 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 44i. 
 
 t Heb. arc 
 at the seat- 
 ing, ur, 
 sealed. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 II '^'■• 
 
 the gover- 
 nor. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 1 The names of them that sealed the covenant. 29 The 
 points of the covenant. 
 
 N' OW t those that sealed rcere, Nehe- t "-- 
 miah, || the Tirshatha, the son of Ha- °',j*' ""•' 
 chaliah, and Zidkijah, '""" 
 
 2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 
 
 3 Pashur, Amariah, Malchijah, 
 
 4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 
 
 5 Harim, Meremotb, Obadiah, 
 
 6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 
 
 7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 
 
 8 Maaziah, Bilgai, SJiemaiah : these tvere 
 the priests. 
 
 9 And the Levites : both Jeshua the son 
 of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, 
 Kadmiel ; 
 
 10 And their brethren, Shebaniah, Ho- 
 dijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 
 
 11 Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah, 
 
 12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 
 
 13 Hodijah, Bani, Beninu. 
 
 14 The chief of the people ; Parosh, 
 Pahath-moab, Elam, Zatthu, Bani, 
 
 15 Biinni, Azgad, Bebai, 
 
 16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 
 
 17 Ater, Hizkijah, Azzur, 
 IS Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai, 
 
 of Ezra, which was a great privilege, yet they lay under hea\'y 
 publick burdens, and were compelled to bear tliem ; in particular, 
 their persons were liable to be pressed to serve in the king's wars, 
 or in his works, and their cattle to be employed on his business, 
 whenever he had occasion. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 38. — jve make a sure covenant, and n'rile it ;] In consideration 
 of all which they had stated, they resolved to renew their cove- 
 nant of better obedience, which they promised under their hands 
 and seals, as the only remedy to procure perfect deliverance ; and 
 this they declare in the presence of Go<l at the close of the fore- 
 going confession and prayer. Bp. Patrick. This renewal of tlie 
 covenant was a very interesting and important transaction. It 
 was in fact the solemn assent of the whole nation to the covenant 
 which made them the chosen people of God, and secured to them 
 the possession of the promised land. And it was their obser\'- 
 ance, however imperfect, of this covenant, which maint;iined 
 them in possession^ till their outrageous violence rejected the 
 Messiah their lawful king. 
 
 Chap. X. ver. 1. — Nchemiah, the Tirshatha,"] Xehemiali, the 
 governour under the king of Persia, and tlierefore the principal 
 person in the country, who led the way to the rest.
 
 I 
 
 The points 
 
 N E H E M I A H. 
 
 of the covenant. 
 
 CHKIST 
 44i. 
 
 19 
 •20 
 
 21 
 oo 
 
 43. 
 
 Haiipli, Analliotli, Xcbai, 
 Maupiasli, Mc.shiillani, Hezir, 
 Mesliczabcfl, Zailok, Jaddiia, 
 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiab, 
 2;3 Ilosliea, Ilaiianiah, Hashub, 
 St Hallohcsli, rileba, Sbobek, 
 25 llebum, Ihisbabnab, Maaseiah, 
 2() Ami Abijab, Hanan, Anan, 
 
 27 iSIaUucb, Ilarim, Baanab. 
 
 28 1[ * And tbe rest oH tbe people, the 
 priests, tlie Levites, the porters, tbe sing- 
 ers, tbe Xetiiiniins, and all tbcy that bad se- 
 parated tliemselves from tiic people of the 
 lands unto tlie law of God, their wi\ es, their 
 sons, and their daughters, every one having 
 knowledge, and having understanding ; 
 
 29 They clave to their brethren, their 
 nobles, and entered into a curse, and into 
 an oath, to walk in God's law, which was 
 given +by Moses tbe servant of God, and 
 
 k.viA«/.and ^Q observe and do all tbe commandments 
 
 of tbe Lord our Lord, and his judgments 
 
 and his statutes ; 
 »Eio4 34. SO And that we would not give ""our 
 iS^ut.7. 3. daughters luito the people of the land, nor 
 
 take their daucfliters for our sons : 
 • Exod 20. 31 ' And //the people of tbe land bring 
 uv.23.3. ^^■^'■e or any victuals on the sabbath day to 
 i>cut5.ij. sell, tliat we would not buy it of them on 
 *i.4t^ the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that 
 
 \\c would leave the seventh year, and the 
 
 ** exaction of t every debt. 
 32 Also we made ordinances for us, to 
 
 charge ourselves yearly with tbe third part 
 
 of a shekel for the service of the house of 
 
 our God ; 
 
 t Hell. 
 
 * Dcul. 15. 
 & 
 
 Lot. 25. *. 
 t H«h. 
 
 mien) hand, 
 
 29. Thn, clave to their brethren, &c.] They, the bulk of the 
 people, took a solemn oath to do tlie same as those wlio had 
 M-rittcn their names had agreed to do, that is, to live in careful 
 obedience to the laws of Moses, and i)articiilarly not to intermarry 
 with any heathen families, promiMiig to oblige all tliat belonged 
 to Uiem, tliat were of age of discretion, to do the same; and enter, 
 ing into "a curse," that is, wisiiing that all the curses written in 
 the law miglit fall upon thein, if they did not perform all that the 
 law required in these matters. Pyk, Bj>. Pnlrick. 
 
 The observances to which they chiefly obliged themselves in 
 ini3 covenant were, first, Not to make intermarriages with the 
 Oentiles either by giving theii- daughters to Uiem, or by taking 
 any of their daughters to themselves; secondly, to observe thi 
 «obaths and sabbatical years ; thirdly, to pay their annual tribute 
 to the temple for the reparation of it, and for tile procurement of 
 Silt L7nr'"' "^P"Wick service; and,if«u.^hly, to pay the 
 ^and firstfruits to the priests and Levites As these parti- 
 
 S^Zinrr"^ """^i '"u''l" '^r'^"^"^' ^^ ^'^-^ learn what 
 wwe divine laws are. of which they had been most neglectful 
 ««« Ihcir return from captivity. Dea„ Prideaux. "^^lecUul 
 r.«,em,ah was ruler of a nation; and, as such, can be no exam 
 
 -•X.trrwhrif'^r^' \^^ ^" ^"^^"^"^ °- "p^n^ 
 
 .ct .^ he^d • For tho 2' ^■°", '! ^' f^'^^'"^^ ^ ^^ >^as, must 
 
 by many way, vet res^o^ 7 '"'^ P""^*-""" """y ^'^ "^^'^^'ned 
 
 ^sers-^S them^ But^t^^l reputation c.u, only be acqu red by 
 
 b em. But the subrausion, which the sober and reli- 
 
 Beforo 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 445. 
 
 ' See 
 Nuinb. 2S. 
 & 29. 
 Exod. 2<I. 
 19. 
 Lev. 19.23. 
 
 33 For tbe shewbread, and for the con- 
 tinual meat offering, and for the continual 
 burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new 
 moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy 
 Ihhigs, and for the sin offerings to make an 
 atonement for Israel, and^r all the work 
 of the bouse of our God. 
 
 34 And we cast the lots among the 
 priests, the Levites, and tbe people, for tbe 
 wood offering, to bring it into tbe bouse of 
 our God, after the bouses of our fathers, 
 at times appointed year by year, to burn 
 upon the altar of the Lord our God, as it 
 is written in the " law : 
 
 35 And to bring the firstfruits of our 
 ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all 
 trees, year by year, unto the house of the 
 Lord : 
 
 36 Also the firstborn of our sons, and of 
 
 our cattle, as it is written ^ in th '-iw, and 'Exod. is. 
 the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, Lev, 23. 17. 
 to bring to the house of our God, unto the ^'"TV'''" 
 priests that minister in the house of our 12, &c 
 God: 
 
 37 And that we should bring the first- 
 fruits of our dough, and our offerings, and 
 the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and 
 of oil, unto tbe priests, to the chambers of 
 the house of our God ; and tbe tithes of 
 our ground unto the Levites, that tbe same 
 Levites might have the tithes in all the ci- 
 ties of our tillage. 
 
 38 And the priest the son of Aaron 
 shall be with the Levites, ^ when the Le- 
 vites take tithes : and the Levites shall 
 bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the 
 
 «Numb.t«. 
 2C. 
 
 gious part of the Jews paid to Nehemiah, is an ex.imple to us how 
 we should behave ourselves to good kings and rulers, and indeed 
 to all who have authority over us. We .should willingly obey and 
 assist them, shew them the respect due to their station, neitlier say 
 nor do any thing that may lessen their character and weaken their 
 authority, and pray for their peace and prosperity, upon which in- 
 deed our own depends, and with which it is connected. Dr. Jortin. 
 3-i. ■ — for ike mood qff'erlng,~\ It seems that till this time, or at 
 least till the time of the Babylonish captivity, it was the office of 
 the Nethinim, or the servants of the temple, to furnish the wootl 
 necessary for maintaining the sacred fire on the altar, and gene- 
 rally for the uses of the temple. But, since the return from the 
 captivity, the number of servants being small, the priests, Le- 
 vites, and rest of the people cast lots for supplying and preparing 
 the wood. The people, divided into portions, provided it and 
 brought it every year by lot. The Nethinim, aided by the Le- 
 vites, received it, placed it in the temple, and prepared it for use. 
 1 he priests put it on the altar, and took care to maintain the per- 
 petual fire, according to the law, Levit. vi. Q. All these different 
 tunetions were regulated by lot. In later times the Jews had a 
 testival, called Xylophoria, or " carrying of wood," because on it 
 tney carried with some solemnity the wood for the use of the 
 temple, it appears from Josephus, that the time of celebratmg it 
 ^^as the month ot August. Cahnel. 
 I 38. And the priest — shall be m/k the Levites, &c.l As the 
 people gave the tithes of their land to tlie Levites, so the Levitct
 
 The names of the persons who dxcelt 
 
 CHAP. X, XL 
 
 I 
 
 chr'/st ^°"^^ "^ ^"^' ^od, to the chambers, into 
 i4<5. the treasure house. 
 
 39 For the children of Israel and the 
 children of Levi shall bring the offering of 
 the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, 
 unto the chambers, where are the vessels 
 of the sanctuary, and the priests that min- 
 ister, and the porters, and the singers: 
 and we will not forsake the house of our 
 God. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 1 The rulers, voluntary men, and the tenth man chosen by 
 lot, dwell at Jerusalem. 3 A catalogue of' their names. 
 20 The residue dwell in other cities. 
 
 AND the rulers of the people dwelt at 
 Jerusalem : the rest of the people 
 also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell 
 in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts 
 to dwell in other cities. 
 
 2 And the people blessed all the men, 
 that willingly offered themselves to dwell 
 at Jerusalem. 
 
 3 % Now these are the chief of the pro- 
 vince that dwelt in Jeiiisalem : but in the 
 cities of Judah dwelt every one in his pos- 
 session in their cities, to tvit, Israel, the 
 priests, and the Levites, and the Nethi- 
 nims, and the children of Solomon's ser- 
 vants. 
 
 4 And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the 
 children of Judah, and of the children of 
 Benjamin. Of the children of Judah ; A- 
 thaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zecha- 
 riah, the son of Amariah, the son of She- 
 phatiah, the son of Mahalaleel, of the chil- 
 dren of Perez ; 
 
 5 And Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the 
 son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the 
 son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son 
 of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni. 
 
 6 All the sons of Perez that dwelt at 
 Jerusalem xvere four hundred threescore 
 and eight valiant men. 
 
 gave a tithe of the tithes to the priests. And when the people 
 brought them to the Levites, one of the priests was appointed to 
 be present to inspect them, and to see that they justly allotted to 
 the priest the tenth of what they had received : this portion l)c- 
 longing to the priests was brought and deposited in the chambers 
 of the temple. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. XI. ver. 1. And the rulers of the people &c.] Although 
 the city was now fortified by a wall, yet it was very thinly inha- 
 bited ; and the neighbouring nations continuing restless in their 
 designs of demolishing the works again, so as to terrify many of 
 the Jews from residing there, it was necessary to take measures 
 for the better security of the place. Accordingly tlie chief ma- 
 gistrates of the other towns, who were eminent for valour mi<l 
 discretion, agreed to come and dwell at Jerusalem, and the com- 
 mon people consented to send one out of ten for the same pur- 
 pose. But, besides those whose lot it was to remove thither, there 
 were otliers (ver. 2) who " willingly offered themselves ;" whom 
 
 at Jerusalem after the captivity. 
 
 7 And these are the sons of Benjamin ; before 
 Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of ^"t^.^"^ 
 Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Ko- 
 
 laiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of 
 Ithiel, the son of Jesaiah. 
 
 8 And after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine 
 hundred twenty and eight. 
 
 9 And Joel the son of Zichri ku9 their 
 overseer : and Judah the son of Senuah 
 "jcas second over the city. 
 
 10 Of the priests : Jedaiah the son of 
 Joiarib, Jachin. 
 
 11 Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son 
 of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son 
 of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, laas the 
 ruler of the house of God. 
 
 12 And their brethren that did the work 
 of the house were eight hundred twenty 
 and two : and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, 
 the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the 
 son of Zechariah, the son of Pashur, the 
 son of Malchiah, 
 
 13 And his brethren, chief of the fa- 
 thers, two hundred forty and two : and 
 Amashai the son of Azareel, the son of 
 Ahasai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son 
 of Immer, 
 
 14 And their brethren, mighty men of 
 valour, an hundred twenty and eight : and 
 their overseer was Zabdiel, II the son of orie II Or, 
 
 _c, 1 , tlie son of 
 
 ry^the great men. Haggedt 
 
 15 Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the '""• 
 son of Hashub, the son of Azrikam, the son 
 of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni ; 
 
 16 And Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the 
 chief of the Levites, fhad the oversight of t^^''''- 
 the outward business of the house of God. 
 
 17 And Mattaniah the son of Micha, 
 the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was 
 the principal to begin the thanksgiving in 
 prayer : and Bakbukiah the second among 
 his brethren, *nd Abda the son of Sham- 
 mua, the son of Galal, the son of Jedu- 
 thun. 
 
 " the people blessed," that is, highly commended and favoured 
 with their good wishes, for their seasonable zeal for tlie safety of 
 the chief city and tlie temple of God. Pyle. 
 
 3. Now these are the chief of the province &c.] Now these arc 
 the chief of the Israelites who came from Babylon, &-c. into " the 
 province" of Judea, that dwelt at Jerusalem, namely, those who 
 ;u-e mentioned at ver. 4, and the following. As to the rest,, tlie 
 writer says, it is enough to state hi general, that they dwelt eveiy 
 one in his possession in their cities, who may be distinguished^ 
 into the following sorts ; that is, Israel, or the common people of 
 all the tribes, the priests, the Levites, the N'cthinim, and the chil- 
 dren of Solomon's servants. Dr. IVclls. For the last, see note at 
 Ezra ii. l>j. 
 
 (J. — nere four hundred &c.] It is uncertain whether the 
 numbers here" specified be meant of th.ise only who voluntarily 
 came and resided at Jerusalem, or of all those who came by lot 
 and otherwise. Pyle.
 
 The residue dzcell in other ctlies. I^ L a L m i ^^ n i 
 
 Mo^ IS All the Le\ ites in the holy city -were 
 *'"""'■ two hurulrctl fourscore and four. 
 
 10 Moreover the porters, Akkub, lal- 
 , iicb. mon. and their brethren that kept t the 
 .,<*f«n»*» ^aj,,^^ j..^,,.^ an hundred seventy and two. 
 ^ '20 IF And the residue of Israel, of the 
 priests, and the Levites, v:cre in all the ci- 
 ties of Judah, every one in his inheritance. 
 • scciup. oi ^ But the Nethinims dwelt in llOphel: 
 Yoi. an J Ziha and Gispa ncre over tlie Nethi- 
 
 ',"2 Tlie overseer also of the Levites at 
 Jerusalem aOi Uzzi the son of Bani, the 
 son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, 
 the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph, 
 the singers uxre over the business of the 
 house of God. 
 
 23 For // 'dcas the king's commandment 
 I Or, conccrnins:; them, that II a certain portion 
 'J^^,''*^ should be for the singers, due for every day. 
 '2t And Pethaluah the son of Mesheza- 
 becl, of the children of Zerah the son of 
 Judali, was at the king's hand in all mat- 
 ters concerning the people. 
 
 '25 And for tlie \ illages, with their fields, 
 some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kir- 
 jath-arba, and in the villages thereof, and 
 at Dibon, and in the villages thereof, and 
 at Jekabzeel, and in the villages thereof^ 
 
 20 And at Jeshua, and at Moladah, and 
 at Beth-phelet, 
 
 27 And at Hazar-shual, and at Beer- 
 sheba, and in the villages thereof, 
 
 28 And at Ziklag, and at Mekouah, and 
 in the villages thereof, 
 
 29 And at En-rimmon, and at Zareah, 
 and at Jarmuth, 
 
 So Zanoah, Adullam, and in their vil- 
 lages, at Lachish, and the fields thereof, at 
 Azeka\\, and in the \ illages thereof. And 
 
 21.— dmlt IN OM Q See note at 2 Cliron. xxvli. 3. 
 23. Fur il fi-as llir kings commaitdmciit'] Some suppose this 
 to refer to kinp David, who fim appointed the sinsrers to attend 
 in a »ettleil course. But it is more probable the king of Persia is 
 meant, who munificently made tlicm a daily allowance lor their 
 In tter support. Bp. Paliich. 
 
 ^ i^. — ir.u ai the hing's liand — concerning I he people.l Or 
 ' w;is (,M thv kii.v^^ part concerning him and tlie people." The 
 c>.T»r.«.on w nmbi^ous. The plainest meaning seems to be, that 
 lu. w,js a, ,v,,nte, to aec jastice done f. the interests of the crown, 
 auU the n^jhts ot the people. Pifle. 
 
 Ch^ip. XH. ver. 1. Now these are the.priesh &c.l As the 
 •ntor ,s now .bout to piv. an acco.nit of tlie eokmn procession, 
 flZ-h '*'"^°"^/«J.'cat.on of the city walUr thlnk^^ving 
 
 rner ot that mbe, coniprismg th- diief heads of their se 
 thrir^;* V""-l '■-"> -P'ivity with ZernbLb r A 
 
 they dwelt from Beer-sheba unto the valley chrTst 
 of Hinnom. 445. 
 
 31 The children also of Benjamin || from n Or, 
 Geba d'd-elt II at Michmash, and Aija, and 'J^^;'';; 
 Beth-el, and in their villages, Mkhmas/u 
 
 32 And at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 
 
 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 
 34. Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, 
 
 35 Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen. 
 
 36 And of the Levites "were divisions in 
 Judah, a?id in Benjamin. 
 
 CHAP. XIL 
 
 1 The priestx, 8 and the Levites, nhich came up with 
 Zcrubbahel. \0 The ■succession of high priests. 23 
 Certain chief Levites. 27 The solemnitij of the dedi- 
 cation of the wails. 4.-1 The offices of priests and Le- 
 vites appointed in the temple. 
 
 NOW these are the * priests' and the about .wc. 
 Levites that went up with Zerubba- ' ^"=' '•^- '■ 
 bel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua : Se- 
 raiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 
 
 2 Amariah, || Malluch, Hattush, n Or, Mc- 
 
 3 11 Shechaniah, II Rehum, || Meremoth, J"'^,;"""^''- 
 
 4 Iddo, 11 Ginnetho, Abijah, ' syuuniaii, 
 
 5 II Miamin, || Maadiah, Bilgah, "for! h«- 
 
 6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah, wm.ver. 15. 
 
 7 llSallu, Amok, Hiikiah, Jedaiah. These \iJniM, 
 •were the chief of the priests and of their ^er. 15. 
 brethren in the days of Jeshua. cmnMon, 
 
 8 Moreover the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, ""^l^-- 
 Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, a??c? Mattaniah, mniaviin, 
 which rcas over lithe thanksgiving, he and "J^'^- 
 his brethren. ' jwmA, 
 
 9 Also Bakbukiah ^and Unni, their bre- ^0!^!- 
 thren,Kwc over against them in the watches, im.yet.20. 
 
 10 % And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joia- ]l That is. 
 
 11 T-<i' 1 -1 1 T-ii- Ml tlie psalms 
 
 kim also begat Ehashib, and Lliashib begat .fthanks- 
 Joiada, ^,^-" ^;/^_^: ^■■''"'- 
 
 11 And ^oiada 'Bega^ Jonathan, and Jo- . 
 
 nathan begat Jaddua. 
 
 ■'■'■ ^■•' ■' '. .■■■■ '. -J y : . 
 
 8. — which was over the thanksgiving,^' Was appointed to see 
 the psalm of thanksgiving sung every morning and evening at 
 the burnt sacrifice. Bp. Patrick. ............ 
 
 9. — were over against them in the matches."!]^ That is, minis- 
 tered in their courses, as did the others, and kept their stations 
 over against them in their turns of attendance, wliiclf are called 
 their watches or wards. Bp. Pal rich: , .(,(.,,.; .• 
 
 10. U. — Joiuldm — Jaddua r\ In these twQ yejr^es is an ac-' 
 count of the succession of the high priests, from the retiirn from 
 captivity, till the time when they began to bear the greatest sway 
 in the Jewish nation. 
 
 11. — Jaddua^ It is commonly supposed that this is the same 
 person as Jaddus the high priest mentioned in profane history, 
 who went out in his pontifical habit to meet Alexander the Great 
 when he came from the conquest of Tyi-e and Gaza, and who 
 procured from him great privileges for the Jewish nation. Bp. 
 Palricli. If this be the case, that Jaddua is the same as Jaddus 
 in the time of Alexander, then w hat is related here and at verse 
 22, must have been added to this book by some later hand than 
 tliat of Nehemiali, as it is highly improbable that Nehemiah can 
 have lived so long as the time of Alexander's coming into Asia. 
 Dr. Jfclls.
 
 The succession of high priests. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 ch'iust ^~ -^"^ ^" the days of Joiakim were 
 about 53G. priests, the chief of the fathers : of Seraiah, 
 
 Meraiah ; of Jeremiah, Hananiah ; 
 
 13 Of Ezra, Meshullam ; of Amariah, 
 
 Jehohanan ; 
 
 It Of Melicu, Jonathan ; ofShebaniah, 
 Joseph ; 
 
 15 OfHarim, Adna; of Meraioth,Helkai; 
 IG Of Iddo, Zechariah ; of Ginnethon, 
 Meshullam ; 
 
 17 Of Abijah, Zichri ; of Miniamin ; of 
 Moadiah, Piitaij 
 
 18 Of Bilgah, Shammua ; of Shemaiah, 
 Jehonathan ; 
 
 19 And of Joiarib, Mattenai ; ofJedaiah, 
 Uzzi; 
 
 20 Of Sallai, Kallai ; of Amok, Eber ; 
 
 21 Of Hilkiah, Hashabiah ; of Jedaiah, 
 Nethaneel. 
 
 22 ^ The Levites in the days of Eiiashib, 
 Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were re- 
 corded chief of the fathers: also the priests, 
 to the reign of Darius the Persian. 
 
 23 The sons of Levi, the chief of the 
 fathers, were written in the book of the 
 
 > 1 chron. " chroniclcs, even until the days of Joha- 
 ' '^' nan the son of Eiiashib. 
 
 24 And the chief of the Levites : Ha- 
 shabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of 
 Kadmiel, with their brethren over against 
 them, to praise and to give thanks, accord- 
 ing to the commandment of David the man 
 of God, ward over against ward. 
 
 25 Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, 
 Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, xcere porters 
 
 II O'. . keeping the ward at the II thresholds of the 
 
 treasuries, '^ *^ 
 
 or, astern- gatCS. 
 
 bius. 26 These were in the days of Joiakim 
 
 the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and 
 in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and 
 of Ezra the priest, the scribe. 
 -i^^- 27 ^ And at the dedication of the wall 
 
 of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out 
 
 22. — also the priests, lo the reign of Darius^ This is under- 
 stood to mean Darius Codomannus ; and this verse, together with 
 ver. 11, affords a proof tJiat Nehemiah did not put a finishing 
 hand to this book; for, to be able to speak of this Darius, he must 
 Iiave lived at least 131 years, and at that age must have written 
 or enlarged this book, which is highly improbable. X-e Clerc. 
 Oi- the Darius msant may be Darius Nothus, who reigned 
 B. C. 423, much earlier than Darius Codomannus, who began to 
 reign B. C. 3o5. It is probable, that the whole, or at least the 
 latter part of the register contained in the twenty-six first verses 
 of this chapter, was a subsequent addition to the book, made by 
 those who superintended the forming of the canon of the Scrip- 
 tures. Dr. Gray. 
 
 04,. — i^lth /lieir brel/iren over against them, &c.] Though we 
 are somewhat at a loss for information respecting the usual man- 
 ner and ceremony of chanting the Hebrew poems, and though 
 the subject of the Hebrew sacred musick in general is involved in 
 doubt and obscurity, thus (ixr at least is evident from many ex- 
 VOL. I. 
 
 The solemnity of the dedication oftlie walls. 
 
 of all their places, to bring them to Jerusa- Before 
 lem, to keep the dedication with gladness, ^^^l^^ 
 both with thanksgivings, and with singing, 
 5X77/? cymbals, psalteries, and with harps. 
 
 28 And the sons of the singers gathered 
 themselves together, both out of the plain 
 country round about Jerusalem, and from 
 the villages of Netophathi ; 
 
 29 Also from the house of Gilgal, and 
 out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth : 
 for the singers had builded them villages 
 round about Jerusalem. 
 
 30 And the priests and the Levites pu- 
 rified themselves, and purified the people, 
 and the gates, and the wall. 
 
 31 Then I brought up the princes of Ju- 
 dah upon the wall, and appointed two great 
 companies of them that gave thanks, whereof 
 one went on the right hand upon the wall 
 toward the dung gate : 
 
 32 And after them went Hoshaiah, and 
 half of the princes of Judah, 
 
 33 And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam, 
 
 34 Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, 
 and Jeremiah, 
 
 35 And certain of the priests' sons with 
 trumpets; namely y Zechariah the son of Jo- 
 nathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of 
 Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son 
 of Zaccur, the son of Asaph : 
 
 3Q And his brethren, Shemaiah, and 
 Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, 
 and Judali, Hanani, with the musical in- 
 struments of David the man of God, and 
 Ezra the scribe before them. 
 
 37 And at the fountain gate, which was 
 over against them, they went up by the 
 stairs of the city of David, at the going 
 up of the wall, above the house of David, 
 even unto the water gate eastward. 
 
 38 And the other company of them that 
 gave thanks went over against them, and I 
 after them, and the half of the people up- 
 
 araples, that the sacred hymns were alternately sung by opposite 
 choirs, and that the one choir usually performed the hymn itself, 
 while the other sang a particular distich, which interposed regu- 
 larly at suted intervals : see Exod. xv. 20, 21 ; Erra iii. 11,1 Sam. 
 xviii. 7- Bp. Loivth. 
 
 27. And at the dedication of the wall &c.] As Solomon and all 
 Israel dedicated the house of God when it was built, (see 1 King* 
 viii ; 2 Chron. vii,) so now Nehemiah, having set things in good 
 order, thought fit to dedicate the city, whose wall was rebuilt and 
 gates set \i\->, as a place in which God had chosen to place His 
 name. Accordingly he assembled the people to beseech His 
 blessing and protection on the city, in which, being now pro- 
 vided with proper defences, they hoped to be permitted long to 
 serve Him in quiet and security. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 By this ceremony of dedicating of the walls, they acknow* 
 ledged that their hope and confidence were placed in God, 
 and not in the strength of tjieir walls and bulwarks. Bisliop 
 Wilson. 
 
 5S
 
 The offices ofp-iests and Levites 
 
 NEHEMIAH. 
 
 appointed in the temple. 
 
 BrCur* 
 CM HIST 
 
 t Heb. 
 node ihcir 
 voice til be 
 heard* 
 
 P Thtl!>, 
 upftoinied 
 by tkelavB. 
 fHcb. 
 jfur thtjiiy 
 ffjudak. 
 t Htb. 
 that Uood. 
 
 Oil the wall, from beyond the tower of the 
 liirnaces even unto the broad wall ; 
 
 :i[} And from above the gate of Ephraim, 
 and above the old gate, and above the fish 
 gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the 
 tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate : 
 and they stood still in the prison gate. 
 
 40 So stood the two cumpanies of them 
 that gave thanks in the house of God, and 
 I, and the half of the rulers with me : 
 
 41 And tiie priests ; iiliakim, Maaseiah, 
 Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, 
 and Hananiah, with trumpets ; 
 
 ¥1 Antl Maaseiah, and Shcmaiah, and 
 Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and 
 Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the 
 singers t sang loud, with Jezrahiah their 
 overseer. 
 
 43 Also that day thej^ offered great sa- 
 crifices, and rejoiced : for God had made 
 them rejoice with great joy : the wives also 
 and the children rejoiced : so that the joy 
 of Jerusalem was heard even afar off. 
 
 44 % And at that time were some ap- 
 pointed over the chambers for the trea- 
 sures, for the offerings, for the firstfruits, 
 and for the tithes, to gather into them out 
 of the fields of the cities the portions II of 
 the law for the priests and Levites : t for 
 Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the 
 Levites t that waited. 
 
 45 And both the singers and the porters 
 kept the ward of their God, and the ward 
 
 43. AUo tliat dni) Ikcij offered great sacrifices,'^ The dedication 
 •if the walls of Jerusalem was an instance of tlie piety of Nehe- 
 muih, and of the rest of the Jews. By this ceremony, by the 
 sacrifices they offered, and by the hymns of praise wliicli they 
 nmfT iip^in the occasion, they meant to ascribe to God's mercy 
 llic restoration of their city and nation, and to secure His protec- 
 tion tor the future. Zealous persons take occasion from every 
 unR 10 exprcs. their piety and gratitude, to render homage to 
 the Lord lor a 1 the temporal advantages they enjoy ; and wise 
 a,;d pious magutrates i.K,k upon His protection at the fountain 
 li ^f";, ''•'l'!""'"*'^. and of a I the security both of cities and 
 T^{ h'-.st.ans ought to imitate the zeal of Nehemiah and his 
 people, and like them promote the good of religion, provide for 
 Je support of the Divine service, and the advancement of Cod" 
 glorj, evcrj- one according to liis power and abilities. Chtervald 
 J~r r -'r'' "JJ''-"""!'^" &f-] The emperour Augustus boast 
 
 i mihle'"'v';'"' '!T '7'^"'^'' '"^■''^' -WitS 
 TnVl 1 ^ ^^l';•nllah found Jerusalem a heap of rubbish 
 
 i1\' i::„7lf ''^''^'^' "^'-r'' •-'-i ^-'ifi^? that ^ 'S; 
 
 E.^ nXrl^ ' ""'' '''"'''"^ '" " S'-^-^" '"^««"'-« "^ farmer 
 X^:lZtTlI,-^'-^ ■^' duly observed Vhe ordeXou 
 
 ^u> the j^S'iL ;^^^^^-r%. 
 
 th•^^XIII.ver.l. Onthalday:^ It seems not on the day of the 
 
 Before 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 '145. 
 
 " 1 Chroii. 
 
 That is, 
 
 and the f ^^IJX 
 
 of the purification, 'according to the com- 
 mandmentofDavid,flnrf of Solomon his son. 
 
 46 For in the days of David "and Asaph 
 of old there were chief of the singers, and f;^,;G;, 
 songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God. 25. 1, &c. 
 
 47 And all Israel in the days of Zerub- 
 babel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave 
 the portions of the singers and the porters, 
 every day his portion : and they || sancti 
 
 fied holt/ things unto the Levites ; " and th( 
 
 Levites sanctified them unto the children 18.20. 
 of Aaron. 
 
 CHAP. XIIL 
 
 1 Upon the reading of the law separation is made from 
 the mixed midlitude. 4 Nehemiah at his return caiis- 
 clh the chambers to be cleansed. 10 He reformeththe 
 offices in the house of God. 1 5 The violation of the 
 sabbath, 23 and the marriages with strange wives. 
 
 ON that day t they read in the ^ book of l^^f^^^^ 
 Moses in the t audience of the peo- ttarf.""" 
 pie ; and therein was found written, that ^Numb.2?. 
 the Ammonite and the Moabite should not Deut 33. 3. 
 come into the congregation of God.fbr ever: t Hch. 
 
 1 1 1 -1 1 ',, ears. 
 
 2 Because they met not the children or ''Numb.22. 
 Israel with bread and with water, but hired joj,, o^.y, 
 Balaam against them, that he should curse 
 
 them : howbeit our God turned the curse 
 into a blessing. 
 
 3 Now it came to pass, when they had 
 heard the law, that they separated from Is- 
 rael all the mixed multitude. 
 
 4 ^ And before this, Eliashib the priest, t Heb. 
 t having the oversight of the chamber of 0"": ^' 
 
 dedication of the city wall, related in the last chapter, but oil 
 some day after Nehemiah had returned to Jerusalem I'rom Persia, 
 where, as is related at ver. 6, he had gone to wait upon the king: 
 as soon as he returned, all the abuses which had crept in were 
 corrected. It is probable, that he continued the publick reading 
 of the law at stated times, on the great festivals especially ; and, 
 on one of these days that portion of Scripture was read at Deut, 
 xxiii. 3, which forbids the admission of the Ammonites and 
 Moabites into " the congregation of God." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 into the congregatioji of God~\ See note at Deut. xxiii. 3. 
 
 The expression there is to be understood as a prohibition of in- 
 termarriages with these nations ; and so all the Jewish doctors ex- 
 pound it. It did not exclude any one, of any nation whatever, from 
 entering into the congregation as a proselyte, nor did the Jews so 
 interpret it, for they freely admitte;! into their religion all tliat 
 would embrace it, and treated them in all respects as true Isi-acl- 
 ites, except in the case of marriage. Bean Prideaux. 
 
 3. — they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.^ They 
 separateH from the true Israelites those who were born of strangers, 
 whom the law would not allow to pai-take c'£ the rites of marriage 
 with Israelites. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ^- — Eliashib the priest, having the oversight (f the chamber'^ 
 It has been doubted, whetlier he was only a common priest, or 
 whether the high priest of this name is meant, mentioned at chap. 
 111. 1. It is most probable, that the high priest is meant, and 
 that the expression, " having the oversight of the chamber," (or 
 chambers, the singular put for the plural,) implies his having tlie 
 whole government of the temple, especially since it is not to be 
 conceived how any one, less than the chief governour of the 
 temple, could make so great an innovation as tliat here described. 
 Dean Prideaux.
 
 IVie chambers are clea7ised. 
 
 CHAP. XIIL 
 
 Certain abuses reformed. 
 
 CHRIST ^'?^ house of our God, was allied unto To- 
 445. biah : 
 
 5 And he had prepared for him a great 
 chamber, where aforetime they laid the 
 meat offerings, the frankincense, and the 
 vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new 
 
 t Hcb. the wine, and the oil, t which was commanded 
 ^™t ^0 *^ ^'■^''^'^« to the Levites, and the singers, 
 Lcviics. and the porters j and the offerings of the 
 priests. 
 
 6 But in all this time was not I at Jeru- 
 ai)out434. salem: for in the two and thirtieth year of 
 
 Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto 
 Inhe'enu ^hc king, and t after certain days || obtain- 
 «f,inys. ed I leave of the king: 
 fearnesi/y 7 And I Came to Jerusalem, and under- 
 reguestej. stood of the evil that Eliashib did for To- 
 
 biah, in preparing him a chamber in the 
 
 courts of the house of God. 
 
 8 And it grieved me sore: therefore I 
 cast forth all the houshold stuff of Tobiah 
 out of the chamber. 
 
 9 Then I commanded, and they cleansed 
 the chambers: and thither brought I again 
 the vessels of the house of God, with the 
 meat offering and the frankincense. 
 
 10 ^ And I perceived that the portions 
 of the Levites had not been given them: 
 for the Levites and the singers, that did 
 the work, were fled every one to his field. 
 
 11 Then contended I with the rulers, 
 and said, Why is the house of God for- 
 saken ? And I gathered them together, and 
 
 1 1 Keb. set them in their t place. 
 
 aanuing. j^ Xhcn brought all Judah the tithe of 
 the corn and the new wine and the oil 
 
 li Or, luito the II treasuries. 
 
 xorekouses. jg ^^^^ j ^^^^^^ trcasurcrs over the trea- 
 suries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the 
 scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and 
 
 f Heb. ni t next to them was Hanan the son of Zac- 
 
 ,A.,r /,„„,/. ^^j.^ ^,^g ^^^ ^^ Mattaniah: for they were 
 
 n-as allied unto Tobiah :~\ He had married his grand- 
 son to the daughter of Sanballat tlie Iloronite, who was the 
 firm friend of this Tobiah, chief of the Ammonites, ver. 2S. 
 Pjjk. 
 
 5. And he had prepared for him a great chamber, Sic.~\ It seems 
 he had pulled down the partitions of several of the temple cham- 
 bers, where the tithes, offerings, and other sacred things used to 
 be laid up, to make large and spacious lodgings for this heathen, 
 to the scandal of his religion, and tlie great damage of the coun- 
 try. Pyk. 
 
 fi. — and after certain days] In the Hebrew the words are, 
 "at the end' of days," meaning perhaps "the end of the year." 
 It has been the prevailing opinion, that Nehemiah returned to 
 Jerusalem in the same year, and this is adopted in the dates given 
 in the margin of our Bible, according to Archbishop Usher. On 
 the other liand, Dean Prideaux is of opinion, that he was ab- 
 sent for not less a space than five years: he grounds his opinion 
 principally on the idea, that a considerable time was required 
 for those great abuses to grow to such a height, as is describ- 
 ed in this chapter; and he observes, that the word translated 
 
 counted faithful, and t their office ivas to ^'^'""^ 
 distribute unto their brethren. a"uM34!" 
 
 11- ^ Remember me, O my God, concern- 1 Heb. 
 ing this, and wipe not out my t good deeds %^^ "'"'" 
 that I have done for the house of my God, ' vw. 22. 
 and for the || offices thereof. t^,*''- 
 
 15 ^1 In those days saw I \i\ Judah some U ot.oo- 
 treading wine presses on the sabbath, and '"^'"'"'"• 
 bringing in sheaves, and lading asses ; as also 
 wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner o/"bur- 
 dens, which they brought into Jerusalem on 
 
 the sabbath day: and I testified against them 
 in the day wherein they sold victuals. 
 
 16 There dwelt men of Tyre also there- 
 in, which brought fish, and all manner of 
 ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the 
 children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 
 
 17 Then I contended with the nobles of 
 Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing 
 is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath 
 day? 
 
 18 Did not your fathers thus, and did 
 not our God bring all this evil upon us, 
 and upon this city? yet ye bring more 
 wrath upon Israel by profaning the sab- 
 bath. 
 
 19 And it came to pass, that wlien the 
 gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before 
 the sabbath, I commanded that the gates 
 should be shut, and charged that they 
 should not be opened till after the sabbath : 
 and some of my servants set I at the gates, 
 that there should no burden be brought in 
 on the sabbath day. 
 
 20 So the merchants and sellers of all 
 kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem 
 once or twice. 
 
 21 Then I testified against them, and 
 
 said unto them, "NMiy lodge ve t about the + j^'^-,. 
 wall? if ye do so again, 1 will lay hands waur 
 on you. From that time forth came they 
 no more on the sabbath. 
 
 " days" very frequently signifies a number of years in Scrij)- 
 ture. 
 
 10. — the portions of the I.n-ites had not been givctQ The 
 titlics which had been "assigned to maintain the ministers of the 
 temple in their offices and stations, had been either embezzled by 
 the high priest and other rulers of the temple under him, or else 
 withdrawn by the people, and not paid at all; and, for want of 
 these, the Levites and singers were driven from the temple, each 
 to his home, to seek subsistence in some other way ; a circum- 
 stance which had occasioned the neglect of llie chiily service in 
 the house of God. Deun Prideaux. 
 
 ] 5. In those days &c.] Although these things arc .ill related 
 in one chapter, yet it does not follow that all the reformations 
 took place at one time; but Nehemiuh probably brought them 
 about as occasions called for them, and as he saw opportunities 
 for effecting them with success. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 and I testified against them] Some translate tliese word-s 
 
 " and I contested'with'them that they should sell jirovisions on 
 those days when they might be sold," (and not on the sabbatli.) 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 ^ . SS2
 
 Sehctniah nformeth 
 
 N E H E M I A H. 
 
 the strange marriages. 
 
 Bcftrr q^i And I commanilcd the Levites tluit 
 
 ^"uh'J they slioiiia cleanse themselves, and that 
 
 tljcy should come and keep the gates, to 
 
 sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, 
 
 C) my God, conccrniiii^ "tliis also, and spare 
 
 I Or. me accordins; to the II greatness of thy 
 
 multitude. ,,^prcy. 
 
 •bout 431. .j3 ^ III those days also saw I Jews 4hat 
 t Hcb. t luul married wi\ es of Ashdod, of Amnion, 
 
 ,/,w/-ith and ol .Moab: , , ,r. • , 
 
 »»>«"■ iJl And their children spake halt in the 
 
 t iKi.. speech of Ashdod, and t conld not speak 
 '^",,„ in tlie Jews' language, but according to 
 lo iptaic. the language t of each people. 
 ^" 'id And I contended with them, and 
 
 "" . . ,, cursed them, and smote certain of them, 
 la^'Ju'm. and plucked off their hair, and made them 
 swear by God, satjhtg. Ye shall not give 
 your daughtei-s unto their sons, nor take 
 their daughters unto your sons, or for your- 
 selves. 
 
 iBt) Did not Solomon king of Israel sin 
 
 --. — / cumiiumdcd the J.cvilcs Ihat Ilia/ should clfaiisr Ihem- 
 «7iw,3 ^'^ desired the Lcvites to attend at tlie gates instead of 
 Tiis own sorvants, and commanded them to cleanse themselves by 
 some knuMii i)urification, whicii might procure for them the 
 greater revereucc. Up. Patrick. 
 
 wul .spare me accvrdini; lo &c.] He had before besought 
 
 God to rcmcnibfT his good deeds, ver. 11; but, to shew that he 
 did not think, tliere was any proper merit or worthiness in them, 
 •which retjiiirwl a reward, as a debt of justice due to them, he here 
 expliiins liiiuself, ntul prays to be rewarded, or rather pardoned, 
 out of CJod's fi-ee goodness, according to the greatness or multi- 
 tude of His mercies. Bp. Palrick: 
 
 '-'.".. — and cursed l/iem,'] Denounced the curses of God which 
 would Wl ujwn them if they did not reform. Dr. JVclls. 
 
 "«</ fi'itJlc ccrlaiii of them, &c.] Ordered the pnblick of- 
 ficers to beat some of the most notorious offenders with rods or 
 scourges according to Deut. xxv. 2; "and plucked off their 
 hair. This punishment was esteemed a peculiar disgrace in 
 l-.aslem countries; Is. 1. 6; Jerem. xlviii. 37. The hair was 
 rcckon«l_a |mat ornament, and a distinction of a free man; thus 
 lo plucn It off was to brand a jicrson with shame, and to give him 
 the appearance ot a slave. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 dip I..';/J"r' T*"'"*^ 1 1"^ ^^"^'""^ ^°"1 i^' that they tore off 
 i™c^. 1 T. • ' L '"?V' '^"•;M'""«hment was painful asw'ell as dis- 
 graceful. This kind of piimshroent was common in Persia. Calmct 
 
 „f (, '■ TJk , v"* *''"•'■'' "'' '•'" ^■'^'3 ^"^"^ tl>e name given him 
 at his birth, 2 Sam. x... 25, and the several marks of Divine fa 
 voiir bestowetl upon him, 1 Kings ii. 9 
 
 J.'<». lianembcr them O ,„,, Cud, &c.j He prays to God to re- 
 member to pun.sh them according to their deLts if thev re- 
 naiued impenitent, because they Imd hereby defiled tl.c order of 
 
 otheKiit^/^T/S.^'' '^''"'■^'' ''-'- puHtyr;-: 
 toSdTtL^*l'"?''"'."\'*'?'?^"'y ^■""''^ ''° ^■'^1' -seriously 
 
 their pku V J'mmh • ''^7/,?°«'' f ^ ^' the rewarder of 
 Cod-/K.^ and ,Tl '" "" ^ """''"?' '^'^^^^ Srcat zeal for 
 =^d ci^S^^celn th^D^"^' ""' n^ucl, prudence, resolution, 
 n-shouiareaa^i-l^-Jt{;-andg^. 
 
 by these things? yet among many nations ^.^f^.^. 
 was there no king like him, who was be- about ^i*. 
 loved of his God, and God made him king 
 over all Israel: '' nevertheless even him did " i Kings 
 outlandish M^omen cause to sin. ' ' 
 
 ?,'7 Shall we then hearken unto you to do 
 all this great evil, to transgress against our 
 God in marrying strange wives ? 
 
 '2S And one of the sons of Joiada, the 
 son of Ehashib the high priest, was son in 
 law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I 
 chased him from me. 
 
 '29 Remember them, O my God, t be- t Ueb. 
 cause they have defiled the priesthood, and^^/nV^'' ** 
 the covenant of the priesthood, afid of the 
 Levites. 
 
 30 Thus cleansed I them from all strang- 
 ers, and appointed the wards of the priests 
 and the Levites, every one in his business; 
 
 31 And for the wood offering, at times 
 appointed, and for the firsttiuits. Re- 
 member me, O my God, for good. 
 
 and derive improvement from the noble examples of jjiety and 
 wisdom contained in it. Oslervcdd. Nehemiah probably con- 
 tinued in liis government to the time of his death, which seems 
 to have been in a very old age, when he was full of years and 
 honour. K" he had lived in some polite age and country, he 
 would have had statues erected in the publick pL-ices, and all the 
 regard paid to him, which a generous and ingenious people can 
 bestow upon true merit. But, as he performed his good works 
 principally for the service of God and of religion, he desired to 
 have his reward rather from God than from men; and therefore 
 he breaks out, once and again, in these words, " Think upon me, 
 my God, for good, and spare me according to the greatness of 
 Thy mercy." He prays that God would accept his good inten- 
 tions, and forgive his imperfections. He had his recompense in 
 both worlds; happy in the love of his people, happy in seeing 
 his honest labours blest witli great success: and his own history, 
 written by himself, and being part of the holy Scriptures, trans- 
 mits his name and his reputation to all generations, while statues, 
 and pillars, and other frail monmnents of human grandem', 
 moulder away and fall into oblivion. 
 
 In the character of Nehemiah we see liberality, disinterested- 
 ness, courage, industry, uniformity of conduct, and every social 
 accomplishment. Though our situation and circumstances per- 
 niit us not to do what he did, yet we may shew the same temper, 
 by acting boldly and honourably in our station, by discounte- 
 n;incing profaneness and immorality, by encouraging virtue, 
 knowledge, learning, and useful arts and sciences, by reject- 
 ing all unlawful gain, all private profit which is dctriment.il to 
 society, by relieving the wants of our brethren, by submitting to 
 the inconveniences and hardships which the publick good may at 
 any time require, by loving our religion and liberties better tlian 
 the wages of slavery and iniquity, and by acting thus constantly 
 and steadily, whether it be fashionable or unfasliionable, whether ■ 
 It be safe or dangerous. This is the general duty of subjects: 
 and, as to the ministers of the Gospel, they are more particularly 
 obliged both to teach and to practise obedience to the govern- 
 ment in all things lawfid; not for fear of punishment, which is 
 servile; nor for lucre, which is sordid; but, from obedience to 
 the will of God, and for the sake of a good conscience, of their 
 own solemn engagements, and of the publick ti-anquillity and ! 
 welfare. Br. Jortin. 
 
 Nehemiah was probably the last governour delegated by the 
 Persian kings; who possibly, after his death, Ictl the government 
 ol Judea to the high priest of the Jews, till the Persian empire 
 was destroyed by Alexander the Great. Dr. Gray. 1
 
 THE BOOK OF 
 
 ESTHER. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THIS book is in the Hebrew styled " the Volume of Esther:" it was received into the Jewish canon with particular veneration; and 
 esteemed above many of the prophetitk books, probably because therein are described the origin and ceremonies of the feast of Purim. 
 It is called the Book of Esther, because it contains the history of this Jewish captive, who, by her remarkable accomplishments, trained 
 the affections of Ahasuerus ; and by a mamage with him was raised to the throne of Persia. The author of the book is nf)t certainly 
 known. Some of the Fathers suppose it to have been written by Ezra ; others contend that it was composed by Joachim, high priest 
 of the Jews, and grandson of Josedech. Tlie Talmudists attribute it to the joint labours of the great synagogue, which succeeded 
 Ezra in the superintendence of the canon of Scripture. The 20th verse of the 9th chapter of the book has led others to believe that 
 Mordecai was the author ; but what is there related to have been written by him, seems only to refer to the circular letter which he 
 distributed. There are, lastly, other writers, who maintain that the book was the production of Esther's and Mordecai's united in- 
 dustry ; and prol>ably they may have communicated an account of events so interesting to the whole nation to the great synagogue 
 at Jerusalem, some of the members of which may with great reason be supposed to have digested the information thus received into 
 its present form. We have, however, no sufficient evidence to determine, nor is it, perhaps, of much importance to ascertain precisely, 
 who was the author : but that the book contains a genuine and faithful description of what did actually happen, is certain, not only 
 from its admission into the canon, but also from the institution of the feast of Purim, which from its first establishment has been re- 
 gularly observed as an annual solemnity, on the 14th and 15th of the month Adar, in commemoration of the great deliverance which 
 Esther, by her interest, had procured ;'and which is even now celebrated among- tlie Jews with many peculiar ceremonies, and with 
 rejoicings even to intoxication. This festival was called Purim, or the feast of lots, (Piir in the Persian language signiAing a lot,) 
 from the events mentioned in chap. iii. 7 ; ix. 24. 
 
 The book describes the advancement of Esther ; who, by the interest which she conciliated widi Ahasuerus, delivered the Jews from a 
 great destruction which had been contrived for them by Haman, an insolent favourite of the king. It presents an interesting descrip- 
 tion of mortified pride, and of malice baffled to the destruction of its contrivers. It likewise exhibits a very lively representation of 
 the vexations and troubles, of the anxieties, treacherj-, and dissimulation of a corrupt court. The manners are painted with great 
 force and fidelity ; and the vicissitudes and chai-acters are displayed with dramatiek effect. The author seems to ha\'e been so inti- 
 mately acquainted with the Persian customs, that some have conceived a notion that he transcribed his work from the Persian chro- 
 nicles. It has been remarked, that the name of God is not mentioned throughout the book ; His superintendent Providence is how- 
 ever frequently illustrated ; it is shewn, indeed, in every pait of the work, disconcerting evil designs, and producing great events by 
 means seemingly inadequate. Dr. Gray. 
 
 Respecting the time when the events recorded in this history took place, there has been great difference of opmion among learned men. 
 We are told, chap. i. 1, that the event's happened in the reign of Ahasuerus king of Persia, who " reigned from India even to Ethiopia, 
 over 127 provinces:" and this extent of dominion plainly proves that he was one of the successors of Cyrus; but it is by no means 
 agreed who is the person here meant by Ahasuerus, a name which does not occur in profane Iiistory. Archbishop Usher supposes 
 that by Ahasuerus is meant Darius Hystaspes, who began to reign B. C. .521 ; and agreeably to this supi>osition, the dates of the se- 
 veral events are given in the margin of our Bibles. Scaliger contends that Xerxes is meant; and various authors of high authority 
 maintam that Artaxerxes Longimanus, who began to reign B. C. 464, is the Ahasuerus here mentioned. " In my judgment Dean 
 Prideaux has very satisfactorily shewn tliat by Ahasuerus we ai-e to understand Artaxerxes Longimanus. Josephus also considered 
 Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes to be the same person ; and we may observe that Ahasuerus is always tr;mslated Artaxerxes m the Greek 
 version, and he is called by that name in the Apociyphal part of the book of Esther. Upon these authorities, I place the commence- 
 ment of this history about the year B. C. 460, and it continues through a space not exceeding twenty years." Bp. Tomhne. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 CHAP. L 
 
 1 Ahasuerus mahcth royal fcastx. 10 Vashti, sent for, 
 refuaeih to come. 13 Ahasuerus, hy the counsel of 
 Memucan, makeih the decree of men's sovereignly. 
 
 NOW it came to pass in the days of 
 Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which 
 
 ' ' 'Ctap. t. ver. l.— qf AhasMcrus,'] See the Introduction. ^ 
 
 7vhich reigned, from India even nnlo Ethiopia,'] We are 
 
 informed by Herodotus,' that Darius conquered India ; and there 
 might be the number of provinces here mentioned between that 
 country and " Ethiopia," whetlier we luidersUind by Ethiopia the 
 
 reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, chr'ist 
 over an hundred and seven and twenty about 521. 
 provinces :) 
 
 2 That in those days, when the king 
 Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his king- 
 dom, which "was in Shushan the palace, 
 
 country near Arabia, or diat beyond Egypt. Bp. Palrick. See 
 note at Numb. xii. 1. , . • , i_ . 
 
 2. — sat on the throne of his kingdom,'] These words imply that he 
 enjoyed peace and quietness throughout his kingdom. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 _I — in Shushan the palace,] See note at Neh. i. I.
 
 Ahasuertis malceth royal feasts. 
 
 ESTHER. 
 
 Vashii, sentfoi', refiiseth to 
 
 come. 
 
 Ikfore 
 CHRIST 
 
 t H(b. 
 
 P Or, 
 vioitt. 
 
 il Or. 
 
 and rruiridcy 
 and iita- 
 ba^er, and 
 j/unt' nfhliu 
 colour, 
 f Hcb. 
 trine lifthe 
 lcinc;d'jm. 
 t Heb. 
 mixtirdingto 
 the hand >tf 
 tlte king. 
 
 3 In the third year of his reign, he made 
 a feast unto all his princes and his ser- 
 vants ; the power of Persia and Media, 
 the nobles and princes of the provinces, 
 bei/ig before him : 
 
 t When he shewed the riches of his glo- 
 rious kingdom and the honour of his ex- 
 cellent majesty many days, even an hun- 
 dred and fourscore days. 
 
 5 And when these days were expired, 
 the king made a feast unto all the people 
 that were t present in Shushan the palace, 
 both unto great and small, seven days, 
 in the court of the garden of the king's 
 palace ; 
 
 6 Where were white, green, and Hblue, 
 hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen 
 and purple to silver rings and pillars of 
 marble : the beds -cvere of gold and silver, 
 upon a pavement || of red, and blue, and 
 white, and black, marble. 
 
 7 And they gave them drink in vessels 
 of gold, (the vessels being diverse one 
 from another,) and t royal wine in abun- 
 dance, t according to the state of the 
 king. 
 
 8 And the drinking "icas according to 
 the law ; none did compel : for so the king 
 had appointed to all the officers of his 
 house, that they should do according to 
 every man's pleasure. 
 
 3. — ihc poiver of Persia and Media,'] The men in powei- (as 
 ■we now speak) of Persia and Media " being before liim." 
 
 (). Where nere vhite, green, and blue, linngiiigs,'] At Aleppo, at 
 present, hangings are never employed, except in the winter on 
 some occasions, to cover the side of a room, when the windows 
 are too much exposed to the cold winds. The hangings men- 
 tioned in this passage were probably not the hangings above, but 
 curtains dividmg the court of the garden into different booths ; 
 for the guests entert.uned were of different ranks. Harmcr. 
 
 upon a pavement of red, and blue, &c. • — marhlc.'} Dr. 
 
 Jlussell says, that they pave their courts at Aleppo with niaible, 
 and oftentimes witii a mixture of yellow and white, red and black, 
 by way of ornament. In the middle of the court there is very 
 commonly a fountain, and a kind of little garden about it, which 
 in that climate must be peculiarly agreeable. This may be expla- 
 natorj- ot the words " court of the garden" at ver. 5. Manner. 
 
 8. And the drinking iras- according to the law ; &:c.'] The word 
 " was" is not in the Hebrew; but tli'e true translation .«;eems to be, 
 " The drinking according to custom none did compel," that is, 
 the law or cu.>tom was to compel, but tliis was now superseded. 
 It seems that, whereas it was customary amongst the Persians to 
 urge one anotlier to hard drinking, the emperour, the better to 
 preserve the peace and decorum of this solemnity, ordered that 
 every one should have his full hberty and drink' as he pleased. 
 Vyle. ■ 
 
 9- T~ " fi"-^ ./""'■ "'« nomen'} The women do not cat with the 
 men m tl>e Eastern feasts : it is however usual for them to fea^t 
 at the same time by tiiemselves. Thus Maillet, after havin-r criven 
 an account of the extraordinary feasting at the castle of^Grand 
 Cairo, upon the circumcision of the son of the bashaw of F-rvpt 
 tells us, that he was assured that the expense which was incmned 
 at Uie same time m the apartments of the women of the bashaw 
 was not much less considerable than what appeared in publick • 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 3 1 9. 
 
 II Or, 
 cunuc/u- 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 COUlUC' 
 
 iwnce. 
 t Heb. 
 
 u'/ticft was 
 t>!/ tfie hand 
 (|/'his eu- 
 nuchs* 
 
 " E«ra 7. 
 14. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 irhat to do. 
 
 9 Also Vashti the queen made a feast 
 for the women in the royal house which 
 belonged to king Ahasuerus. 
 
 10 IT On the seventh day, when the heart 
 of the king was merry with wine, he com- 
 manded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Big- 
 tha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the 
 seven 11 chamberlains that served in the 
 presence of Ahasuerus the king, 
 
 11 To bring Vashti the queen before the 
 king with the crown royal, to shew the 
 people and the princes her beauty: for she 
 •was t fair to look on. 
 
 12 But the queen Vashti refused to come 
 at the king's commandment t by his cham- 
 berlains : therefore w-as the king very wroth, 
 and his anger burned in him. 
 
 13 ^ Then the king said to the wise men, 
 which knew the times, (for so was the king's 
 manner toward all that knew law and judg- 
 ment : 
 
 14- And the next unto him was Carshena, 
 Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Mar- 
 sena, and Memucan, the " seven princes of 
 Persia and Media, which saw the king's 
 face, a?id which sat the first in the king- 
 dom ;) 
 
 15 t What shall we do unto the queen 
 Vashti according to law, because she hath 
 not performed the commandment of the 
 king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains ? 
 
 there being there the same liberalities, the same pleasures, the 
 same abundance, and the same magnificence, that appeai-ed out 
 of those apartments. Harmer. 
 
 As in former ages, so at present, it is tlie custom in the Eastern 
 countries, at all their festivals and entertainments, for the men to 
 be entertained in apartments separate from the women ; not the 
 least intercourse or communication being allowed on these occa- 
 sions between the two sexes. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 11. To bring Vashti tlie queen &c.] We are assured by Hero- 
 dotus, that die Persians did, on festival occasions, produce their 
 women in publick: he relates a story of seven Persians being sent 
 to Amyntas, a Grecian prince, who received them hospitably, and 
 gave them a splendid entertainment : when after the entertain- 
 ment they began to drink, one of the Persians thus addressed 
 Amyntas, " Prince of Macedonia, it is a custom with us Persians, 
 whenever we have a publick entei-tiiinment, to introduce our con- 
 cubines and young wives." On this principle Ahasuerus gave 
 command to bring his queen \'ashti into tile publick assembly. 
 Script, ilhist. Exp. hid. 
 
 13. — wise men, which knew the limes,'] Men of judgment and 
 knowledge in affairs, able to give advice for the fittest times and 
 manner of performance of all actions. Bp. Hall, 
 
 CJor so jvas the king's manner &c.] It was his usual prac- 
 tice to consult witli his counsellers who were skilled in the 
 laws of tlicir countrv, before he resolved on any measure. Dr. 
 Wells. 
 
 14. — which saw the king's Jace, and which sat llu\first in the 
 kingdom ;')'] Wiio were his principal ministers, and were admitted 
 into his presence, wliich was allowed only to the great men of the 
 kingdom. In rank they were tlie first of all his subjects. 
 
 The seven counsellers of the king are spoken of in Ezra vii. 14, 
 as being his advisers in granting Ezra his authority. Bp. P(t- 
 trick.
 
 2'he king piiUelh her a.'way. 
 
 CHAP. I, ir. 
 
 A new queen to be chosen. 
 
 chrTst 16 And Memiican answered before the 
 about5i9. liing and the princes, Vashti the queen 
 hath not done wrong to the king only, but 
 also to all the princes, and to all the peo- 
 ple that are in all the provinces of the 
 king Ahasuerus. 
 
 17 For iJiis deed of the queen shall come 
 abroad unto all women, so that they shall 
 despise their husbands in their eyes, when 
 it sliall be reported, The king Ahasuerus 
 commanded \' ashti the queen to be brought 
 in before him, but she came not. 
 
 18 Ltkexi-ise shall the ladies of Persia 
 and Media say this day unto all the king's 
 princes, which have heard of the deed of 
 the queen. Thus shall there arise too much 
 contempt and wrath. 
 
 X)^.f' , 19 t If it please the king, let there go a 
 with the royal commandment t irom hun, and let it 
 fHeb. ^^ written among the laws of the Persians 
 from before and the Medes, t that it be not altered, 
 t'Seb. That Vashti come no more before king 
 ihutiipuss Ahasuerus; and let the king give her 
 tHeb?' ^'o}'^! estate t unto another that is better 
 unto her than she. 
 
 campumon. ^q ^^^^ ^^.j^^^^ ^j^^ ^^^^,^ ^^^^^^ ^^,j^j^j^ ^^ 
 
 shall make shall be published througliout 
 all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives 
 shall give to their husbands honour, both 
 to great and small, 
 ■f Heb. oj And the saving t pleased the kinej 
 
 was good in 1 ., • "■ T^, S . ,- , P 
 
 the eyes >f and the princes ; and the king did accord- 
 
 thekms- ing to the word of Memucan : 
 
 2'2 For he sent letters into all the king's 
 provinces, into every province according 
 to the writing thereof, and to every people 
 after their language, that every man should 
 
 t Hci.. bear rule in his own house, and t that it 
 
 'a"Lw"vu«- should be published according to the lan- 
 
 lish it ac- guagc of cvcry people. 
 
 cording to 
 
 the Ian- 
 
 linage. ,f CHAP. H. 
 
 *(5 ]ie<Hlle. f\ r t 1 • r ■ ■ 
 
 1 Ottl of the choice of virgins a queen ts to be chosen^ 
 
 1 S. — Thus shall there arise too much contempt and ivrath."] Too 
 much contempt in the wives, and wrath in their husbands, which 
 would cause gi-eat divisions and contentions in the several fami- 
 lies of the kingdom. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 21. — and the king did according to the word of Memucan ;] The 
 conduct of Ahasuerus -n-ith respect to queen A'ashti, it must be 
 recollected, was that of an heathen, acting under the influence of 
 anger and intemperance. It is recorded in Scrijiture, not that it 
 may be imitated or alleged as a pretence for sin, but that we may 
 derive improvement by observing the events to which it led : his 
 violent will, although apparently ungoverned, being nevertheless 
 so directed by Pro\-idence, that it brought forward the remark- 
 able preservation of the Jews, which forms the chief subject of 
 this book. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. II. ver. 1. — he remembered Va.shli,'} His former affec- 
 tion for her revived : he nevertheless remembered her undutiful 
 ■conduct, and the decree irrevocably passed against her, so that he 
 
 6 Murdecai the nursing father of Esther. 8 Esther Before 
 is preferred by Hegai before the rest. 12 The man- CHRIST 
 tier of purification, and going in to the king. 15 ^ 
 Esther best plca.iing t/ie king is made queeu. 21 
 Mordecai discovering a treason is recorded in the 
 chronicles. 
 
 AFTER these things, when the wrath ^" 
 of king Ahasuerus was appeased, 
 he remembered Vashti, and what she 
 had done, and what was decreed against 
 her. 
 
 2 Then said the king's servants that 
 ministered unto him, Let there be fair 
 young virgins sought for the king : 
 
 3 And let the king appoint officers in all 
 the provinces of his kingdom, that they 
 may gather together all the fair young vir- 
 gins unto Shushan the palace, to the house 
 
 of the women, t unto the custody of II Hege tHei.. 
 the king's chamberlain, keeper of the wo- u',"^' 
 men ; and let their things for purification H *) 
 
 unlii tkf 
 
 be given them : 
 
 llegau 
 ver. ?. 
 
 4 And let the maiden which pleaseth 
 the king be queen instead of Vashti. And 
 the thing pleased the king ; and he did 
 so. 
 
 5 % Note in Shushan the palace there 
 was a certain Jew, whose name xcas Mor- 
 decai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, 
 the son of Kish, a Benjamite ; 
 
 6 " Who had been carried away from • g Kings 
 Jerusalem with the captivitv which had -*■ '5. 
 been carried away with Jeconiah king of j ciiron. 
 Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of ^°- ''>• 
 Babylon had carried away. 
 
 7 And he t brought up Hadassah, that l^^^^j 
 is, Esther, his uncle's daughter : for she 
 
 had neither father nor mother, and the 
 maid u-as t fair and beautiful ; whom Mor- t Hck 
 decai, when her father and mother were •{°"""-^"'"" 
 dead, took for his own daughter. 
 
 8 f So it came to pass, when the king's 
 commandment and his decree was heard, 
 and when many maidens were gathered 
 
 d good of 
 eounte- 
 
 was greatly perplexed. Wherefore his counsellers sought to di- 
 vert his mind toward a new object of attachment. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 2. — that ministered unto him,'] That ministered unto him in 
 chief; Uiat is, his seven chief counsellers mentioned in chap. i. 14. 
 Dr. Wells. 
 
 (i. Who had beat carried aivaif\ Meaning that Kish, the ances- 
 tor of Mordecai, had been cairied away. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 nith the capticilif which had been carried unay with Jeco- 
 niah] Mordecai was a jew descended from one of those who had 
 been carried away captive with their king Jeconiah. At this time 
 a multitude of Jews were li\ing in the Eastern countries : a num- 
 ber comparatively small had retxirned to Jerusalem with Zerub- 
 babel. See Ezra ii. Pi/lc, Bp. Hall. 
 
 7. — Hadassah, that is, Esther,] Hadassah was her Jewish 
 name ; Esther her Persian name. Pi)le. Zerubbabel, Daniel, and 
 other Jews of the captivity, in like manner bore two names. See 
 the note on Ezra i. 8. The derivation of the Persian nanie Es- 
 ther, and its meaning, are unknown. Dean Prideaut.
 
 Esther is preferred. 
 
 ESTHER. 
 
 and made queen. 
 
 n«forc together unto Shushan the palace, to the 
 '^'ifs'^^ custody of Hegai, tliat Esther was brought 
 also unto tlie king's house, to the custody 
 of Hegai, keeper of the women. 
 
 !) And the maiden pleased liim, and she 
 
 obtained kindness of him ; and he speedily 
 
 gave her her things for purification, with 
 
 t Heb.Atr f sucli things as belonged to her, and seven 
 
 ,N«^/.\ms. niaijens^ y^./^y/, .^erc meet to be given her, 
 
 t Hcb. out of the king's house : and the preferred 
 
 the house of the women. 
 
 10 Esther had not shewed her people 
 nor her kindred : for Mordecai had charg- 
 ed her that she should not shew it. 
 
 1 1 And Mordecai walked every day be- 
 t Hcb. foj.g t|,g court of the women's house, t to 
 
 know how Esther did, and what should 
 become of her. 
 about 515. 12 ^ Now wheu every maid's turn was 
 come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after 
 that she had been twelve months, accord- 
 ing to the manner of the women, (for so 
 were the days of their purifications accom- 
 plished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, 
 and six months with sweet odours, and 
 with other things for the purifying of the 
 women ;) 
 
 13 Then thus came ever?/ maiden unto 
 the king ; whatsoever she desired was 
 given her to go with her out of the house 
 of the women unto the king's house. 
 
 14 In the evening she went, and on the 
 
 tft krujw the 
 place. 
 
 10. Esther had jiol shcmd tier people nor Iter kindred:'] Esther 
 took care, by the advice of Mordecai, to conceal her country and 
 l)arenUage, that she might not be subject to contempt on that ac- 
 coimt. Pi/le. 
 
 U. Andl Wdecai walked every day before the court of the women's 
 house, &C.3 It is evident to every reader that the anxiety of Mor- 
 decai tor Esther was extreme. But we cannot fully enter into the 
 circumst^mce of his walking day after day, for a long period of 
 Ume, probably upwards of a year, without recollecting the extreme 
 vigilance, with whicli the h.uems of the East are guarded. Sir J 
 Chardin says, " The place, wiiere the women are .shut up, is sa- 
 bred, espeaally among persons of condition ; and it is a crime for 
 any person whatever to be inquiring what passes within those 
 walls." " A man may walk an hundred days one after another 
 by the house where tlie women are, and yet 'know no more what 
 IS done therein, than at the fartiier end of Tartary." This may 
 account for the conduct of Mordecai, who " walked every day be- 
 lore Uie court of the women's house," to pick up any intelligence 
 that might chance to come within his cognizance, respectine his 
 niece. Scnpt. iUtist. Expos. Ind. ' f S » 
 
 17. And the king loved Esther above all &c.] Providence deter- 
 mined the choice of Ahasuerus in favour of one who should be 
 afterward an instrument of preserving His people in a time of 
 
 iT'.T'.u^""*',''; "^'^^ """^ °'^'"^ ^'^'l°'n '•=»J formerly pro- 
 dded for the wellai-eof His chosen race, by sending Joseph before 
 
 Ep Hall Collfer ^'^^^"'^ '" " '^^°" °*' f"'"'"''' Gen. xlv?7. 
 
 haTb^n^.nT /'f/^' 'u '■"•'"'' "'°""' "P°" ''^'■''^"d, &c.] It always 
 wiLt numhe/ f ■'■ "^^ 'w''°T' ^" "^'"g^ of Abyssinia to marry 
 wUat number of wives they choose: these are not therefore I\ 
 
 morrow she returned into the second house r.^nl%i 
 of the women, to the custody of Shaash- abomsis. 
 gaz, the king's chamberlain, which kept 
 the concubines : she came in unto the king 
 no more, except the king delighted in her, 
 and that she were called by name. 
 
 15 ^ Now when the turn of Esther, the about sis. 
 daughter of Abihail the uncle of Morde- 
 cai, who had taken her for his daughter, 
 
 was come to go in unto the king, she re- 
 quired nothing but what Hegai the king's 
 chamberlain, the keeper of the women, 
 appointed. And Esther obtained favour 
 in the sight of all them that looked upon 
 her. 
 
 16 So Esther was taken unto king Aha- 
 suerus into his house royal in the tenth 
 montli, which is the month Tebeth, in the 
 seventh year of his reign. 
 
 17 And the king loved Esther above all 
 the women, and she obtained grace and 
 
 II favour t in his sight more than all the II. O'. 
 virgins ; so that he set the royal crown ^"yi^!' 
 upon her head, and made her queen in- ''^'"^ '""*■ 
 stead of Vashti. 
 
 18 Then the king made a great feast about si 4. 
 unto all his princes and his servants, even 
 Esther's feast ; and he made a t release to + Heb. rest. 
 the provinces, and gave gifts, according to 
 
 the state of the king. 
 
 19 And when the virgins were gathered 
 together the second time, then Mordecai 
 sat in the king's gate. 
 
 queens ; but among them there is one, who is considered particu- 
 larly as queen, and upon her head is placed the crown, and she 
 is called the Iteghe. Thus, in Persia, we read that Ahasueitis 
 loved Esther, who had found grace in his sight more than the 
 other virgins, aud he placed a golden crown upon her head. 
 And Josephus informs us, that when Esther was brought before 
 the king, he was exceedingly delighted with her, and made her 
 his lawful wife, and, when she came into the palace, he put a 
 crown upon her head. Bruce. 
 
 1 8. Then the king made a great feast &c.] The royal marriage 
 was celebrated with magnificent entertainments ; all the provinces 
 were released from a certain portion of their taxes, in honour of 
 the new empress, and vast presents were made to her, and to the 
 court favourites. Pi/le. 
 
 i^. — irlten the virgins were gatliered together titc second time,'] 
 That is, at the time of this present marriage of Ahasuerus with 
 Esther : Vashti having been also before chosen in the same man- 
 ner from among the virgins gathered together out of different 
 parts of his empire. Pyle, Dr. Wells. 
 
 Mordecai sat in the king's gate.^ Mordecai was an officer 
 
 in the court of Ahasuerus; his service CiJIed him daily to attend 
 in the king's gate. Bp. Hall. It appears from several passiiges of 
 Scripture, that the king's gate was the place in which pulilick af- 
 fairs were transacted. Bp. Patrick. The Scripture says of Daniel, 
 (after having stated that Nebuchadnezzar made him a great man, 
 and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole 
 province of Babylon, and chief of the governours over all the wise 
 men of Babylon,) that lie " sat in the gate of the king," Dan. ii. 
 48, 49. Of the meaning of these words we have the following illus- 
 trations : "If we (jiiit then the sti-eets of these cities, and enter into 
 any of the principal houses, we shall first pass through a porch or
 
 Mordecai dtscovereth a treason. 
 
 CHAP. II, III. Human seeketJi to destroy the Jews. 
 
 chrTst ^^ Esther had not yet shewed Iier kin- 
 »bo«tiH. died nor her people; as Mordecai had 
 charged her : for Esther did the command- 
 ment of Mordecai, Hke as when she was 
 brought up with him. 
 
 21 ^ In those days, while Mordecai sat 
 in the king's gate, two of the king's cham- 
 
 iv(/,'n„« ^'^^■^^"i^» 'I Bigthan and Teresh, of those 
 ehVe'-i which kept t the door, were wroth, and 
 t He'. y«r sought to lav hand on the king Ahasuerus. 
 
 22 And tlie tlnng was known to Morde- 
 cai, who told it unto Esther the queen ; 
 and Esther certified the king thereof in 
 Mordecai's name. 
 
 23 And when inquisition was made of 
 the matter, it was found outj therefore 
 tiiey were both hanged on a tree : and it 
 was written in tlie book of the chronicles 
 before the king. 
 
 lifi di/od« i<:iAi>''A '.. 
 
 hoA urM^'u iGrHAJP. HI. 
 
 I Human, advanced hi/ the /iing, and despised ht) Morde- 
 cai, seeketh revenge vpon all the Jews. 7 -He casielh 
 lots. 8 He oblaiiicllt bij calumnialion a decree of the 
 
 king to put the Jews In death. 
 
 gateway, with benches on each side, wliere the master of the 
 family receives visits and despatdies his business ; few persons, 
 not even the nearest relations, having admission any farther, ex- 
 cept upon extraordinary occasions." Dr. Shaiv. The square tower 
 forming the principal entrance to the Alliambra, or Red Palace of 
 the Moorish kings in Grenada, from its bt'iiig the place where 
 justice was sunimaiily administered, was styled the Gate of Judg- 
 ment. Parkh'irsl. '■ . '■ ^1^ \ A 
 
 20. — for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as nhen 
 she tvas brought up with hinuj That mind is truly great and 
 noble that is not changed with the highest prosperit}' : and such 
 was the disposition of <iueen Esther, whom even the splendour of 
 royalty could not induce to disregard her kinsman and friend, or 
 to depart from a dutiful observance of his directions. Bp. Hall. 
 
 22. And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto 
 Esther'] Moixlecai sets before us the example of a faithful subject, 
 in counteracting the treasonable designs of these men : and it may 
 be remarked, that lie shewed this loyalty toward an heatlien sove- 
 reign, and one under whom he lived as a captive, true religion 
 and loyalty being insepai-able ; and that herein he exemplified the 
 injunction of the Lord by the Prophet Jeremiah, " Seek tlie peace 
 of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives," 
 Jer. XX ix. 7. lip. Andrcwes, Dr. Isaac Barrow. 
 
 Mordecai disci-eetly communicated his discovery, not to indif- 
 ferent persons, but to the queen : Esther, in laying it before the 
 king, <lutifully remembered Mordecai, and commended him to 
 tlie royal favour, by mentioning him as the author of her infor- 
 mation. Bp. Andrcwes. 
 
 ■23. — and ii was irrilten in the book of the chronicles before the 
 king.2 Mordecai was thus registered in the publick annals, as tlie 
 autiior of this service done to the crown ; the circumstance of liis 
 nanie being so recorded, became afterward the occasion of liis ad- 
 vancement, and of great events treated of in the sequel of this 
 book. Pi/le. 
 
 ,Chap. III. ver. 1. — t/ic Agagiic,^ Haraan was by descent an 
 Amalekite, of the posterity of Agag, who was king of Amalek in 
 the time of Saul, 1 Sam. xv. Dean Pridcaux. 
 
 2. — nor did him reverence^ It is probable that he denied Ha- 
 inan this honour on account of the curse under which lie lay, as 
 being an Amalekite, Exod. xviL It; 1 Sam. xv. 1, 2. It is pro- 
 VoL. I. 
 
 A 
 
 FTER these things did king Ahasu- b^'""™ 
 erus promote Haman the son of Ham- ^zllu.lf^ 
 
 medatha the Agagite, and advanced him, 
 and set his seat above all the princes that 
 "d'ei-e with him. 
 
 2 And all the king's servants, that xt-ere 
 in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced 
 Haman : for the king had so commanded 
 concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, 
 nor did him reverence. 
 
 3 Then the king's servants, which rcere 
 in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, 
 Why transgressest thou the king's com- 
 mandment ? 
 
 4. Now it came to pass, when they spake 
 daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto 
 them, that they told Haman, to see whe- 
 ther Mordecai's matters would stand : for 
 he had told them that he vcas a Jew. 
 
 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai 
 bowed not, nor did him reverence, then 
 was Haman full of wrath. 
 
 6 And he thought scorn to lay hands on 
 Mordecai alone ; for they had shewed him 
 the people of Mordecai : wherefore Hainan 
 
 bable also that all the Jews did the same ; otherwise there would 
 have been no ground, even in the most malicious mind, for such 
 a design of destroying the entire people. Bp. Wilson. Or perhaps 
 the reverence, which it was commanded should be paid to this 
 great man, was a kind of divine honour, such as was sometimes 
 addressed to tlie Persian monarchs themselves. And this, being 
 a species of idolatry, Mordecai refused to pay on conscientious 
 principles. Perhaps too, it was Haman's understanding that his 
 refusal was the result of his Jewish principles, whicli was the 
 very thing that determined him to attempt the destruction of the 
 Jews in general, knowing they were all of the same mind. Dr. 
 Jennings. 
 
 To bow to all great persons was a common mark of respect ; 
 and for this a particidar command was not necessary, nor would 
 Mordecai have refused it at the peril of his countrymen as well aa 
 himself In the reverence therefore here commanded, something 
 more than common respect, and bordering on adoration, appears 
 to have been intended. The author of the .Apocrjphal additions 
 to the book of Esther has thus interpreted the conduct of Mor- 
 decai, and representetl liini as praying in these words : " Tliou 
 knowest all things, and Thou knowist. Lord, that it was neitlier in 
 contempt nor pride, nor for any desire of glory, that I did not 
 bow down to proud Haman. For I could have been content 
 with good will for the saUation of Israel to kiss the soles of his 
 feet. But I did this, that I might not prefer the glory of man above 
 the glory of God : neither «ill I worship any but Thee, O God," 
 Apocr. Esth. xiii. 12 — U. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ■t. — whether Mordecai's matters would stand (2 V^'hether Mor- 
 decai would jiersist in his conduct, and what w;oald be the ev'ent 
 of it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 for he had told them that he was a Jcw.^ ^^^ ''■'''' probably 
 
 been much pressed to give his reason, and he wislicd to shew that 
 it was not pride, or humour, which made him unwilling to com- 
 ply witli the king's order, but that he was influenced by his re- 
 ligion, which required those of his nation to ile^troy the Ama- 
 It kites, and to pay worship to none but God alone. Dr. WdU. 
 
 Ci. — for Ihci/ had shewed him the people of Mordecai ;] That 
 is, Haman had been informed that Mordecai was a Jew. Dr. 
 
 Wells. ■ ■/ : - ■"■; '"■■; 
 
 — nhcrefore Haman soiisht l6 dislrdy all the Jcks'\ Mordecai 
 ^5 T
 
 Haman obtaineth by calunmiation 
 
 ESTHER. 
 
 a decree of the ling 
 
 ^f^" sought to destroy all the Jews that tie/-*? 
 
 ^J^^ilw. throughout the whole kingdom oi" Ahasue- 
 rus, even the people of Mordecai. 
 310. 7 % In the first month, that is, the month 
 
 Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasue- 
 rus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before 
 Haman from day to day, and from month 
 to month, to the' twelfth month, that is, the 
 month Adar. 
 
 8 % And Haman said unto king Ahasue- 
 rus, There is a certain people scattered 
 abroad and dispersed among the people in 
 all the provinces of thy kingdom ; and 
 their laws are diverse from all people ; nei- 
 ther keep they the king's laws : therefore 
 
 t Heb. it is not t for the king's profit to suflfer 
 
 OTfrt, or, tu„.„ 
 
 ,^„„,. them. 
 
 t Heb. 9 If it please the king, let it be written 
 
 'thtm!'"'' + that they may be destroyed : and I will 
 
 alone had offendetl him ; yet such was his pride or malice, or 
 both, that I know not how many thousands, men, women, and 
 children, must die all, for no other cause but that Mordecai hap- 
 pened to be their countryman. Bp. Andrewes. 
 
 From hence we may take occasion to consider the miserable 
 influence of pride and ambition; which intoxicate the mind, mak- 
 ing men insolent and outrageous, willing to burst all the bonds of 
 humanity on tlie sliglitest and most trivial occasions, and unable 
 to endure any thing which stands in their way, or tends to shew 
 them the falsehood of those arrogant notions which they enter- 
 tun of themselves. Hence too we may obser^•e the pernicious 
 effects of ungovemed anger, which being once kindled, quickly 
 rises into a raging fire, and spreads destruction far and wide. Dr. 
 J. Bulging. 
 
 7. — i/ici/ cast Pur, that is, tfie lot.'} It was the superstitious 
 manner of the Eastern countries to inquire, by casting lots, what 
 time would be fortunate or unfortunate for the execution of any 
 considerable design. Accordingly Haman gatliered together his 
 magicians, and lots were cast before him : and it being firrt in- 
 quired what month would be most favourable, by their rules of 
 divination, tliey supposed that the month Adar, the last month of 
 the year, would be such; and afterward, by the same rules, the 
 thirteenth day of that month was chosjti for Haman's purpose. 
 Pi/le, Dr. Wells. This day being full eleven months after the 
 time when the lots were cast, the lot which pointed it out seems 
 to have been du-ected by the especial providence of God, that, by 
 80 long an interval occurring, there might be time enough to take 
 the measures requisite to prevent the intended mischief. Dmn 
 Prtdeaujr. And this remarkably exemplifies the words of Solo- 
 raon m Prov. xvi. ,3.'?, " The lot is cast into the lap ; but the whole 
 disposing thereof is of the Lord." Bp. Andrcives. 
 
 S. And Haman said &c.] Hamuli's accusation of the Jewish 
 people abounds with malicious insinuations, accompanied by pre- 
 tences of regard for the pnblick welfare. H;mian conceals his 
 pnvate resentment against Mordecai, as if fearful of exposing the 
 £ > UaT^ ^^""^ actuated him in Jiis application to the king. 
 > ~~T '''^l^sed among Ike people in all t/,e provinces of thy kiwr. 
 t^l^'iK-VL^T "r'j" °' ^'-''^' i-emaineti settled in the coiin- 
 Lrin, f '-^''^ ^'"'^ ^^'" '^"■'^'^ ^•■'P*'^'^' "»' accepting the 
 grant of permission to return, offered them by Cyrus. Bn Patrick 
 
 «itS U t tf '""^^'"^ ''">' P"^^^^«^ '"^^^ religion inf; ani 
 ^ Se al V .fc: P^f'^'^y- , ^."-^ •■" ^'"'•*™^^ ^'''^^^ ^'^« Jews 
 vve^read LtT^r^'r'' ^'l^^bitable world, that in Acts ii. 5, 
 Jcrus^l wf I ^T'' °* Pentecost "Uiere were dwelling a 
 
 and iMr lans are di,>crse from aUpeople,-^ One great pur. 
 
 t pay ten thousand talents of silver to the chuTst 
 hands of those that have the charge of the sio. 
 business, to bring it into the king's trea- t "ei,, 
 suries. ""'«*• 
 
 10 And the. king took his ring from his 
 hand, and gave it unto Haman the son 
 of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews* 
 
 II enemy. s Or, 
 
 1 1 And the king said unto Haman, The "i''"-"""" 
 silver ?.f given to thee, the people also, to 
 
 do with them as it seemeth good to thee. 
 
 12 Then were the king's || scribes called ii Or, 
 on the thirteenth day of the first month, ''"'""■'"■ 
 and there was written according to all that 
 Haman had commanded unto the king's 
 lieutenants, and to the governors that were 
 
 over every province, and to the rulers of 
 every people of every province according 
 to the writing thereof, and to every people 
 
 pose of many peculiar rights and customs enjoined to the Jew.9 
 evidently was, that tliey might be kept separate from other na- 
 tions, and not adopt the manners and practices connected with 
 idolatry. The peculiarity of their customs frequently drew on 
 them the reproaches of lieathens: Haman here makes it a ground 
 of accusation against them : Tacitus represents them as a people 
 whose religious rites were contrary to all the world beside ; that 
 they accounted profane what to others was most sacred, and, on 
 the contrary, allowed and observed what by others was forbidden. 
 Collj/er. Cicero said of the Jewish religion, that it was wholly 
 inconsistent with the splendour and ancient institutions of the 
 Roman empire, and with the dignity of the Roman name. Dr. 
 Jackson. 
 
 9. — and I mill pat/ ten thousand talents of silver"} A sum of 
 more than two millions one hundre<l thousand pounds sterling 
 of our money. Dean Prideaux. To compensate for tlie loss of 
 the tribute paid by the Jews. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 If revenge were not very sweet to the malicious man, he could 
 T:ot be content to purchase it at so high a rate. How do we see 
 daily that the thirst hereof carries men to a ruinous prodigality of 
 estiite, body, and soul ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 10. — and gave it unto Haman"} Thus placing the royal seal 
 under Haman's discretion. Dr. Wells. 
 
 11. — The silver is given to tkee,} " I do not require thee to 
 pay the ten thousand talents of silver which thou offerest." See 
 ver. 9. Dr. Wells. 
 
 So great was at this time the king's favour towards Haman, 
 that he remitted all the sum which he engaged to give by way of 
 compensation, and granted to him all that he desired without it. 
 Dean Prideati.v. 
 
 the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee.} 
 
 Thus, without any examination into the real state of things, 
 Ahasuerus consented to the destruction of the whole Jewish 
 race : so unwilling are men that love their pleasure to take 
 any pains in distinguishing between truth and falsehood. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 In all this behaviour of Ahasuerus, who sees not too much ve- 
 hemence of headstrong passion ? Vashti is cast off for a trifle ; the 
 Jews are given to slaughter for nothing : his rage in the one, his 
 favour in the other, is too impotent : as he was a bad husband, so 
 he is an equally bad king. Bp. Hall. Hence also we may take 
 warning not to lend our ear to detractors, or to credit evil reports 
 and unfavourable representations, till we have examined their 
 foundation, and know them to be true. Ostervald. 
 
 12. — of every province according to the writing thereof, &C.3 
 That is, it was wTitten in the language of every people, and in the 
 character which they could read. Bp. Patrick. See Apocryphal 
 Esther, chap, xiii, where this decree is given at length.
 
 to put the Jews to death. 
 
 CHAP. Ill, IV. 
 
 Mordecai and the Jeus mourn. 
 
 I 
 
 chrTst ^^^'^^ ^^^^^ language; in the name of king 
 iio. Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with 
 the king's ring. 
 
 13 And the letters were sent by posts 
 into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to 
 kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both 
 young and old, little children and women, 
 in one day, eveii upon the thirteenth day 
 of the twelfth month, which is the month 
 Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a 
 prey. 
 
 14- The copy of the writing for a com- 
 mandment to be given in every province 
 was published unto all people, that they 
 should be ready against that day. 
 
 15 The posts went out, being hastened 
 by the king's commandment, and the de- 
 cree was given in Shushan the palace. 
 And the king and Haman sat down to 
 drink; but the city Shushan was per- 
 plexed. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 1 The great mourning of Mordecai and the Jervs. 4 
 EsOier, understanding if, sendelh to Mordecai, who 
 sheiveth the cause, and aduiselh her to undertake the 
 
 sealed with the king's ring.'^ The very ancient custom of 
 
 sealing despatches with a seal or signet set in a ring is still re- 
 tained in the East. Thus in Egypt, Dr. Pococke says, they make 
 the impression of their name with their seal, generally of corne- 
 lian, which tliey wear on tlieir finger, and which is blacked when 
 they have occasion to seal with it. And Mr. Hanway remarks, 
 that the Persian ink serves not only for writing, but for subscrib- 
 ing with a seal: indeed, many of the Persians in high office 
 could not write. In their rings they wear agates, which serve for 
 seals, on which is frequently engraved their name, and some 
 verse from the Koran. So also Dr. Shaw: As few or none of the 
 Arab Shekhs, or of Turkish and Eastern kings, princes, or ba- 
 shaws, know to write their own names, all their letters and de- 
 crees are stamped with their proper rings, seals, or signets, (see 
 1 Kings x.\i. 8; chap. iii. 12,) whicii .ire usually of silver or cor- 
 nelian, with their respective names engraved upon them on one 
 side, and the name of their kingdom or principality, or else some 
 sentence of the Koran, on the other. The art and practice of en- 
 graving names on a signet is as old as Moses. See Exod. x.vxix. 
 14, 30. Parkhurst. 
 
 13. And the letters were sent hi/ posts into all the king's pro- 
 vinces,'^ Herodotus thus describes these posts which were in use 
 among the Persians. There is no method of conveyance more 
 expeditious than these messengers. They are ordered in the fol- 
 lowing way. Men with horses are kept in readiness at stations 
 distant one day's journey from each other. Intelligence is for- 
 warded by tile first of these messengers to the second, and by 
 him to the thirtl, and so on to the last. Neither snow, nor rain, 
 nor heat, nor darkness, prevent them from performing their 
 course with the greatest speed. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Xenophon also saj's of them: I find that Cyrus set on foot an- 
 other contrivance beneficial to his vast empire, by means of which 
 he gained early information of what was doing in remote parts of 
 his dominions. He formed establishments of stables, horses, and 
 attendants, as far distant from each other as an horse could travel 
 with ease in one day; and at each of these stations he appointed 
 a person to receive and transmit the letters brought by the mes- 
 sengers, and to see that the men and hojses were taken care of 
 
 suit. 10 She excusing herself is threatened by Mor. Before 
 decai. 15 She appointing a fast nndertakcth the suit. CHRIST 
 
 WHEN Mordecai perceived all that 
 was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, 
 and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went 
 out into the midst of the city, and cried 
 with a loud and a bitter crv ; 
 
 Q, And came even before the king's 
 gate : for none might enter into the king'.s 
 gate clothed with sackcloth. 
 
 3 And in every province, whithersoever 
 the king's commandment and his decree 
 came, there -was great mourning among the 
 Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wail- 
 ing; and t many lay in sackcloth and ashes, t h*. 
 
 4 f So Esther's maids and her t cham- T^^^ti*. 
 berlains came and told it her. Then was "-"''"'^ 
 the queen exceedingly grieved; and she ™n^. 
 sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to J^^*- 
 take away his sackcloth from him: but he '"""^ '' 
 received it not. 
 
 5 Then called Esther for Hatach, one 
 
 of the king's chamberlains, t whom he had t "*• 
 appointed to attend upon her, and gave him 7wTlet he- 
 'd commandment to Mordecai, to know /"*■" *''' 
 what it was, and why it was. 
 
 after their journey, and that fresh ones ■were sent forward. Some- 
 times these journeys were not intermitted during the night; the 
 messenger to whose turn it fell to travel at night proceeding a£ 
 he who had travelled during the day. Parkhurst. 
 
 and to take the .tpoil of them for a prey."] Tliia permission 
 
 would act as a strong motive for putting the decree in execution. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 15. — And the king and Haman sat down to drink;'] They sat 
 down to enjoy themselves after having given orders Tor the exe- 
 cution of the plan, and despatched the posts. Herodotus assures 
 us, that the Persians were great drinkers of wine, and that, when 
 filled with wine, they were wont to deliberate on the most im- 
 portant affairs of state. Script, illust. Expos. Ind. 
 
 the citif Shushan was perplexed.] The Jews at Shushan, 
 
 getting intelligence of the matter, were reduced to a great degree 
 of perplexity ; and the people of other nations, who had been con- 
 quered and taken captive as well as they, fell into great appre- 
 hensions, not knowing but that they in their turn might expe- 
 rience the same barbarous treatment. Pyle, 
 
 Chap. IV. \er. 1. — and went out into flic midsl qfthecily, &c.] 
 We may admire the courage of Mordecai in standing forward at 
 this critical juncture, and so strenuously asserting the interest of 
 his countrymen and of his religion, endangered by a sanguinary 
 project for their utter destruction. Di. Coney. 
 
 The Targum states, that when Mordecai had cried aloud in 
 the midst of the city, tlie Jews gathered round him, and that he 
 caused the book of the law to be brought to the gate of Shushan, 
 and read therein these wortls of Moses, in Deut. iv. 30, 31,~* 
 " When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come 
 upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy 
 God, and shalt be obedient unto His voice ; (for the Lord thy God 
 is a merciful Gotl;) He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, 
 nor forget the covenant of thy fathers whicli He sware unto 
 them." After which he exhorted them to fasting, humiliation, 
 and repentance, according to tlie example of the Ninevites. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 5. — and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, Sec] And gave 
 5T2
 
 Esther, advised hy Mordecai to intercede ESTHER. 
 
 "uiili the king, undertalcth the svit. 
 
 B»forr () So Hutiich wciit fofth to Moidecai 
 ^""mo*^ unto the street of tlie city, which aas be- 
 loie llie kiiitr's gate. 
 
 7 AiuJ Mordecai told him of all that had 
 happened unto him, and of the sum of the 
 money that Haman had promised to pay to 
 the king's treasuries for the Jews, to de- 
 stroy them. 
 
 8 Also he gave him the copy of the 
 writing of the decree that was given at 
 Shiishan to destroy them, to shew it unto 
 Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to 
 charge her that she shoukl go in unto the 
 king, to make supplication unto him, and 
 to make recpiest before him for her people. 
 
 <) And llatach came and told Esther 
 the words of Mordecai. 
 
 10 % Again Esther spako unto Hatach, 
 and gave him commandment unto Morde- 
 cai; 
 
 11 All the king's servants, and the peo- 
 ple of the king's provinces, do know, that 
 whosoe\er, whetiier man or woman, shall 
 come unto the king into the inner court, 
 who is not called, there is one law of his to 
 put him to death, except such to whom the 
 
 him a commandment to go to Mordecai, and " to know wliat it 
 •wds" for which he thus grieved. Dr. Ji'tlls. 
 
 11- — Iherc h one law of tiis to put liim lo death, '^ One law ox- 
 tending to all that were so presumptuous, whatever might be 
 their rank. This seems to be an ancient law of the countrj-, for 
 it is mentioned by Herodotus; altliough, according to some, it 
 was procured by Haman, in order that none miglit come into tlie 
 king's presence without introduction from liim. Up. Patrick. 
 
 — '■ — but I have not been called &c.] This might justly make 
 her fearful that the king's affection toward her was diminished, 
 and that her petition would not be favourably received. Bp. Pa- 
 trick: 
 
 1+ from another place;"] He knew not whence, but he 
 
 confided in God, that by some means or other He would pre- 
 »erve them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Mordecai tells her, that the decree extended universally to all 
 of her nation, and that, if it came to execution, she must not ex- 
 pect to escape more than any other of the people; that Provi- 
 dence seemed to have advanced her on purpose for this work; 
 but that, if she refused to act her part in it, then deliverance 
 would come in some other way, and she and her fatlier's house 
 would |K'rish. Dean Pridcaiix. 
 
 The faiti) of Mortlecai descries nniid all these clouds a cheerful 
 prosjiect of deliverance. He saw tlie day of their common de- 
 Mruction fixed, he knew the Persian decrees to be unalterable; 
 but witlial he knew there was a Messias to come. Supported by 
 the remembrance of God's covenant to His church, he can foresee 
 Israel's safety, in spite of the sanguinary purposes of its adver- 
 •anes; trusting the promises of Gotl rather than the threatenintrs 
 of men. Bp. Hall. *' 
 
 but t/iou and th/ father's house s/tall be destroyed:! Deli- 
 verance shall certainly come to the people of God; but if thou 
 refuse to .ict thy part as an instrument of their preservation, thou 
 "lalt surely perish, and thy father's house w-ith thee, for thy self- 
 
 deZ^P^lT "'" ""^ ^"' ^^^' ^''"""■^' ''"'^ '^''S'""- ^'"" ^''■'■ 
 
 -JaT/""'' "'*^ .*""«•«'* whether thou art come to the kinedom for 
 
 ■t^nderS^V"''^ '''^''\'^ "' '' ^' ^--"^ -■'»' Consider 4e 
 wondertul and gracious providence of God, in raising thee from 
 
 king shall hold out the golden sceptre, ^.^'j^j'^,- 
 that he may live: but I have not been abmusio. 
 called to come in unto the king these 
 thirty days. 
 
 12 And they told to Mordecai Esther's 
 words. 
 
 13 Then Mordecai commanded to an- 
 swer Esther, Think not with thyself that 
 thou shalt escape in the king's house, more 
 than all the Jews. 
 
 14- For if thou altogether boldest thy 
 peace at this time, then shall there ten-fHcb. 
 largement and deliverance arise to the *■"''"■""""• 
 Jews liom another place; but thou and 
 thy father's hou.se shall be destroyed: and 
 who knoweth whether thou art come to 
 the kingdom for such a time as this ? 
 
 1.5 % Then Esther bade them return 
 Mordecai this ansxcer, 
 
 lO Go, gather together all the Jews that 
 are t present in Shushan, and fast ve for t Hcu 
 me, and neither eat nor drink three days, ^""" ' 
 night or day: 1 also and my maidens will 
 fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the 
 king, which is not according to the law: 
 and if I perish, I perish. 
 
 among a despised people to be the consort of the greatest monarcll 
 upon earth. Think not but the Lord therein certainly intended 
 that some great work should be accomplished by thy hand in fa- 
 vour of His afflicted church. And now the hour is come for 
 thee to make use of the advancement gi\'en thee by the Lord; 
 and to try, by that power and interest which thou hast with the 
 king, to reverse the decree of our adversary, and effect the deliver- 
 ance of our whole nation. 
 
 The argument used by Mordecai to Esther is one of general 
 application and use, namely, that one great purpose for which 
 men are entrusted by Providence with power or riches, is that 
 they may therewith do good, and succour those who require their 
 assistance; that thej' may help those to right who suflVr wrong, 
 may stand by their poorer brethren in the day of caLmity and 
 distress, and may minister to the comfort of the afflicted; and 
 that it is their sin, if they neglect to make these uses of their su- 
 periour advantages. Bp. Sander.mn. 
 
 ^ 6. — neither eat nor drink three days,] The usual way of ob- 
 serving such a fast, was to eat nothing until the evening, and then 
 sparingly. Bp. IVilson. 
 
 which is not according to the tan:] Being thus recom- 
 mended to God, she resolved not so much to regard the law as 
 the preservation of her people; for there ai-e some cases in which, 
 to observe the laws of man, would be to offend against the laws 
 of God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and if I perish, I peri.th.] Her meaning is, I will put my 
 
 life in hazard; 1 cannot venture it in a better cause; I will do 
 the act, let God give what issue He pleases. Heroical thoughts 
 do well befit great actions. Life can never be better adventured, 
 than where it shall be gain to lose it. Where the necessity of 
 God's church calls for us, no danger should withhold us from all 
 honest means of relief. Bp. Hall. 'I'his is a mode of expression 
 resembling the words of Jacob in Gen. xliii. 14., " If I be be- 
 reaved of my children, I am bereaved;" and signifying. If it 
 please God that I perish in my undertaking. His will be done; I 
 am content to die in my duty. These words therefore are ut- 
 tered, not in despondence, or in presumptuous h;irdihootl, but in 
 genuine and virtuous courage, grounded in the fear of God, and 
 strengthened by the means of those religious exercises iu which
 
 Esther, standing before the Icing, 
 
 CHAP. V 
 
 is encouraged by him in her suit. 
 
 chrTst . ^'^ ^° Mordecai t went his way, and 
 about .510. did according to all that Esther had com- 
 t Hti,. manded hiin. 
 
 jinsscd. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 1 Esther, advenlitring on the king's favour, ohtaineih the 
 grace of the golden sceptre, and inviteth the king and 
 Human to a hanquet. 6 She, being encouraged by the 
 tibig in tier suit, inviteth them to anollier banquet the 
 next day. 9 Haman, proud of his advancement, re- 
 jiineth at the contempt <;/' Mordecai. li Biy the coun- 
 sel of Zcresh he buildeth fur hint a pair (f gallows. 
 
 NOW it came to pass on the third day, 
 that Esther put on her royal apparel, 
 and stood in the inner court of' the king's 
 house, over against the king's house : and 
 the king sat upon his royal throne in the 
 royal house, over against the gate of" the 
 house. 
 
 2 And it was so, when the king saw 
 Esther the queen standing in the court, 
 that she obtained favour in his sight : and 
 the king heiil out to Esther the golden 
 sceptre that icas in his hand. So Esther 
 drew near, and touched the top of the 
 sceptre. 
 
 3 Then said the king unto her, What 
 wilt thou, queen Esther ? and what is thy 
 request ? it sliall be even given thee to the 
 half of the kingdom. 
 
 4 And Esther answered, If it seem good 
 unto the king, let the king and Haman 
 come this day unto the banquet that 1 have 
 prepared for him. 
 
 5 Then the king said. Cause Haman to 
 make haste, that he may do as Esther hath 
 said. So the king and Haman came to the 
 banquet that Esther had prepared. 
 
 Esther had coramendeil liersclf to His tlisposa]. Bps. Kidder 
 and Patrick. 
 
 Esther is the pattern of a truly great character ; of love to her 
 cou;itr\', of compassion, of generous resolution, courage, and 
 patience. P.yle- 
 
 See, in the 1 4th chapter of the Apocrj'phal book of Esther, the 
 prayer attributed to Esther on this occasion. 
 
 Chap. V. ver. 8. — and I will do to morrow as the king hath 
 said.'] That is, I will then make known my request. Dr. ll'clls. 
 Her intention in thus desiring to entertain the king twice at her 
 banquets before she made known lier petition to him, was, that 
 she might thereby the more endear herself to him, and dispose 
 him the better to grant the request which she had to make to 
 him. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 There was also a singular providence of God in so disposing 
 her mind, that the high lionour, wliith the king bestowed on 
 Mordecai the next day, miglit in the mean while fall out, and so 
 make way for her petition ; as also that Haman might in the 
 mean whde make his preparations for tlie execution of Mordecai. 
 Dr. Welh. 
 
 13. Yet all this availelh me nothing, .ro long as I see Mordecai 
 the Jew .•tilting at the king's gate.] These words of Haman, spoken 
 thus deliberately after he had called together his friends, are 
 evidently the expressions of a real and jwinful feeling, and shew 
 
 6 if And the king said unto Estlier at chr'ist 
 the banquet of wine, Wiiat is thy petition? about sio. 
 and it shall be granted thee : and what is ■ 
 
 thy request ? even to the half of the king- 
 dom it shall be performed. 
 
 7 Then answered Esther, and said, My 
 petition and my request is; 
 
 8 If I have found favour in the sight of 
 the king, and if it please the king to grant 
 
 my petition, and t to perform my request, ^ ^*''- 
 let the king and Haman come to the ban- '""' 
 quet that I shall prepare for them, and I 
 will do to morrow as the king hath said. 
 
 9 IF Then went Haman forth that day 
 joyful and with a glad heart : but when 
 Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, 
 that he stood not up, nor moved for him, 
 he was full of indignation against Morde- 
 cai. 
 
 10 Nevertheless Haman refrained him- 
 self: and when he came home, he sent 
 and t called for his friends, and Zeresh his t Heb. 
 
 wife ca,iscjt0 
 
 ""C. come. 
 
 11 And Haman told them of the glory 
 of his riches, and the multitude of his chil- 
 dren, and all the things wherein the king 
 had promoted him, and how he had ad- 
 vanced him above the princes and servants 
 of the king. 
 
 12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther 
 the queen did let no man come in with the 
 king unto the banquet that she had pre- 
 pared but myself; and to morrow am I 
 invited unto her also with the king. 
 
 13 Yet all tiiis availeth me notiiing, so 
 long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at 
 the king's gate. 
 
 that vexation and resentment troubled him to an excessive degree, 
 and had gained entire possession of his mind. Ahab, under the 
 tyranny of similar p;issions, when he could not liave his will con- 
 cerning N'aboth's vineyard, " came into his house heavy and dis- 
 pleased — and laid him down upon his bed, and turned away Jiis 
 face, and would eat no bread :" nor could all his worldly magni- 
 ficence give him relief. 
 
 Those things which availed notlung to the happiness of Haman, 
 imder his vexation of spirit, are enumerated by him in his com- 
 phiint uttered in the presence of Ids friends. Tliej- consist of the 
 greatest distinctions and favoui-s that he coidd tiesire from the 
 king, and the most alluring objects of human wishes. Nevertlie- 
 less his enjoyment of all this prosperity is aIlo3'ed by tlie single 
 circumstance of Mordecai's disrespect, which was made a source 
 of misery by his own passions and imagination. 
 
 We may hence take occasion to obser\e, that the proud, the 
 revengeful, the discontented, the untliankful and impatient, are 
 their own tormentors; wiietlier GikI immefUately execute His 
 judijments on them or not, tlieir own temper of mind is their pu- 
 nislunent: that, on the other hand, the various natural pa.-si<)ns 
 antl affections of the heart work together for good, tlirough tlie 
 Divine grace, to those who govern them rigluly ; that humility !.•> 
 a great source of happiness ; Uiat it is a joyful and pleasant things 
 to be thankful ; and that it is for our benefit to receive chcer- 
 I'ully our appointed portion, having our desires and purposes
 
 Haman bccomclh himself 
 
 ESTHER. 
 
 the instrument of doing honour 
 
 BrfoTf 14«[ Then said Zeresh his wife and all 
 
 'IL'I'fo' his friends unto him, Let a t gallows be 
 
 t Hob • made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow 
 
 ""•• speak thou unto the king that Mordecai 
 
 may be hanged thereon : then go thou in 
 
 merrily with the king unto the banquet. 
 
 And the thing pleased Haman; and he 
 
 caused the gallows to be made. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 1 Jhasueru.1, reading in (he chronicles of the good scriire 
 done hi) Mordecat, taketh care for his reward, -i H(t- 
 man, coming lo sue that Mordecai might be hanged, 
 unamircs giveth counsel that he might do him lionoiir. 
 12 CompUiining of his misfortune, his friends tell him 
 of his Jinal destiny. 
 
 ON that night t could not the king 
 sleep, and he commanded to bring 
 the book of records of the chronicles ; and 
 they were read before the king. 
 
 2 And it was found written, that Mor- 
 decai had told of II Bigthana and Teresh, 
 
 t Heb. 
 the king') 
 tier p fled 
 tiway. 
 
 (1 Or. 
 
 fhap!"'!*!!. two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers 
 
 f H»b. 
 
 tkrethotd. 
 
 of the t door, who sought to lay hand on 
 the king Ahasuerus. 
 
 3 And the king said, What honour and 
 dignity hath been done to Mordecai for 
 this? Then said the king's servants that 
 ministered unto him. There is nothing 
 done for him. 
 
 4 % And the king said, Who is in the 
 
 resigned to the disposal of God, and ever praying that His will 
 be (lone. 
 
 We may hence observe farther, that man's life consisteth not 
 in the abundance of things that he possesseth ; tliat happiness 
 does not depend \ipon the outward appearance and condition of 
 any person, and that the greatest eartlily jirosperity is not proof 
 against vexation of spirit, since a small accident, and even an 
 imaginary misfortune, may spoil the enjoyment of it ; and that 
 we can have no solid comfort in any state of life, if our mind be 
 out of Older, and if our heart be not right with Gotl. For the 
 foundation of all happiness is a wise and undersUinding heart, 
 endued with the faith and fear of God. With this, through His 
 grace, we shall know both " how to be abased, and how to 
 abound ;" and shall learn " in whatsoever state we are, therewith 
 to be content," Phil, i v. II, 12. Thced, Dr. J. Balgiiy. 
 
 Chap. VI. ver. 1. On that night kc.l The revengeful projects 
 of Haman were no sooner concerted, than they were followed by 
 a wonderful turn of affairs, in which several instances of provi- 
 dential interference concurred towards the rescue of the inno- 
 cent, and the mortification of this haughty and injurious man. 
 Pyle. 
 
 The Scriptures relate many events brought to pass by means 
 which seem disproportionate, unsuitable, and even contrary to 
 the effect. Such events speak God to be their cause, His invisi- 
 ble power supplying the apparent defects in the means. Thus 
 plots contrived in darkness, with all possible caution and secrecy, 
 are l>y improbable means and unaccountable accidents disclosed 
 and brought to light ; " a bird of the air," as the wise man speaks, 
 • tellmg the matter," or " the stone," according to Uie expression of 
 the 1 rophet, " crying out of the wall." In the book of Esther we 
 read, 1 he kmg cannot sleep ; to divert him, the chronicle is called 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 510 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 in whose 
 honour the 
 king de- 
 lighteth .' 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 m whose 
 honour the 
 king de- 
 lightelh. 
 t Hel.. 
 Let them 
 tiring the 
 rui/ul ap- 
 lUirel. 
 t Heb. 
 wherewith 
 the king 
 dolhctk 
 himself. 
 fHeb. 
 cnuse liim 
 to ride. 
 
 court? Now Haman was come into the 
 outward court of the king's house, to speak 
 unto the king to hang Mordecai on the 
 gallows that he had prepared for him. 
 
 5 And the king's servants said unto 
 him, Behold, Haman standcth in the court. 
 And the king said. Let him come in. 
 
 () So Haman came in. And the king 
 said unto him. What shall be done unto 
 the man twhom the king delighteth to ho- 
 nour? Now Haman thought in his heart, 
 To whom would the king delight to do ho- 
 nour more than to myself? 
 
 7 And Haman answered the king, For 
 the man t whom the king delighteth to 
 honour, 
 
 8 t Let the royal apparel be brought 
 t which the king ttseth to wear, and the 
 horse that the king rideth upon, and the 
 crown royal which is set upon his head : 
 
 9 And let this apparel and horse be de- 
 livered to the hand of one of the king's 
 most noble princes, that they may array 
 the man withal whom the king delighteth 
 to honour, and t bring him on horseback 
 through the street of the city, and pro- 
 claim before him. Thus shall it be done 
 to the man whom the king delighteth to 
 hoiK)ur. 
 
 10 Then the king said to Haman, Make 
 haste, and take the apparel and the horse, 
 
 for ; Mordecai's service is there pitched upon, and inquiry made 
 concerning his recompense; honour is decreed him ; so the cruel 
 device of Haman comes out, and he himself suffers. Whence 
 can such events proceed but from the ever watchful care of Him, 
 wliose eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his 
 goings ? Dr. Isaac Barrow, Bp. Home. 
 
 2. And it was found written, that Mordecai &c.] It was a sin- 
 gular interposition of Divine Providence, that among the volumin- 
 ous registers of occurrences, afforded by the affairs of so many 
 provinces, the reader should turn to that part in which Mordecai's 
 service was recorded. Bps. Hall and Patrick. 
 
 8. — the crown royal which is set upon his head :~\ That is, upon 
 the head of the horse, as is commonly understood : the f lebrew 
 word signifies any ornament about the head or neck. Bp. Patrick, 
 
 Dr. mils. 
 
 9. — and bring him on horseback through the .street &c.J Pitts 
 gives an account of a person, who had turned Mahometan, having 
 honours paid to him, very similar to those here described as paid 
 to Mordecai. Strange as the custom may seem of paying honour to 
 a person by putting vestments on him above his degree, and which 
 it is not designed that lie should keep, together with the carrying 
 him thus equipped about a large town on horseback, attended by 
 a cryer ; we perceive from this instance that it has prevailed no 
 less with Africans, than anciently with Asiaticks. Harmer. 
 
 10. — Make haste, — and do even .w to Mordecai^ A marvel- 
 lous concurrence of circumstances drawn together by the infinite 
 wisdom and power of the Almighty. Who but Haman should be 
 called by the king ? And when should Haman be called to advise 
 of Mordecai's honour, but in the very instant when he came to 
 petition for Mordecai's destruction ? Bp. Hall. Thus Haman's 
 thirst of revenge caused him to minister to his own grief and hu- 
 ipiliation. Bp. Patrick,
 
 to Mordecai. 
 
 CHAP. VI, vir. 
 
 The queen accuse th Haman. 
 
 CHR°isT ^^ ^^^^ '^^^^ ^^''^' ^"^ ^^ ^^'^" so to Mor- 
 abowsia decai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's 
 t Hci.. • gate : t let nothing fail of all that thou hast 
 
 suger not a (jrvnl-pn 
 
 whit tofuu. spoKen. 
 
 11 Then took Haman the apparel and 
 the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and 
 brought him on horseback through the 
 street of the city, and proclaimed before 
 him. Thus shall it be done unto the man 
 whom the king delighteth to iionour. 
 
 12 ^ And Mordecai came again to the 
 king's gate. But Haman hasted to his 
 house mourning, and having his head co- 
 vered. 
 
 13 And Haman told Zeresh his wife and 
 all his friends every i/mg that had be- 
 fallen him. Then said his wise men and 
 Zeresh his wife unto him. If Mordecai 
 be of the seed of the Jews, before wliom 
 thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not 
 prevail against him, but shalt surely fall 
 before him. 
 
 14 And while they were yet talking with 
 him, came the king's chamberlains, and 
 hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet 
 that Esther had prepared. 
 
 CHAP. vn. 
 
 i Esther, entertaining the ling and Haman, malcelk suit 
 for her own life and her people's. 5 She accitscth Ha- 
 man. 7 The king in his anger, understanding of the 
 gallons which Haman had made for Mordecai, caiiseth 
 him to be hanged thereon. 
 
 t lleh. 
 to drink. 
 
 SO the king and Haman came + to ban- 
 quet with Esther the queen. 
 
 2 And the 
 
 king 
 
 said again unto Esther 
 
 on the second day at the banquet of wine. 
 
 12. — came again to the king's gatc.~\ To perform the business 
 of the place which he held, and to shew that he was not elated 
 with the high honour which he had received. It is probable he 
 looked upon this honour as a happy omen of the successful events 
 which followed. Dr. Wells. 
 
 having his head covered.'2 This was a token of sorrow. 
 
 See 2 Sam. xv. 30; xix. 4; Jerem. xiv. 3, 4. The same was cus- 
 tomary with other nations. Thus Panthea, the wife of Abradatas, 
 when taken captive by Cyrus, is described by Xenophon as sitting 
 covered with a vail, and looking upon the ground ; and, among 
 the Greeks, vailing the head is spoken of as a sign of grief. 
 Parkhitr.it. 
 
 13. — If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, &c.]J They con- 
 sider the favour shewn to Mordecai to be a certain prelude of 
 Haman's fall ; because the new favourite, being a Jew, would 
 shew no mercy to the irreconcilable enemy of the Jewisii na- 
 tion. They had probably observed too the wonderful intei-posi- 
 tions of Providence in favour of the Jews during the captivity, 
 and thence concluded that they were especial objects of the Di- 
 vine protection. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. VII. ver. 4. — although the enemy could not countervail Ike 
 king's damage.'} Although the enenjy of our nation, who thus de- 
 
 Before 
 CHIUST 
 
 alwuiflOk 
 
 t Heb. 
 thai they 
 slrivld tle- 
 utrui/^ nnti 
 kit/, and 
 Cdiaete pe- 
 rish. 
 
 fHeb. 
 vhose heart 
 halli filled 
 him. 
 t Heb. 
 The man 
 adversary/. 
 II Or, 
 
 at tht JtTC 
 senct i<f. 
 
 What is thy petition, queen Esther ? and 
 it shall be granted thee : and what is thy 
 request ? and it shall be performed, even to 
 the half of the kingdom. 
 
 3 Then Esther the queen answered and 
 said. If I have found favour in thy sight, 
 O king, and if it please tlie king, let my 
 life be given me at my petition, and my 
 people at my request : 
 
 4- For we are sold, 1 and my people, t to 
 be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. 
 But if we had been sold for bondmen and 
 bondwomen, I had held my tongue, al- 
 thougli the enemy could not countervail 
 the king's damage. 
 
 5 % Then the king Ahasuerus answered 
 and said unto Esther the queen. Who is he, 
 and where is he, tthat durst presume in 
 his heart to do so ? 
 
 fci And Esther said, t The adversary and 
 enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Ha- 
 man was afraid |1 before the king and the 
 queen. 
 
 7 IT And the king arising from the ban- 
 quet of wine in his wrath 'ucent into the pa- 
 lace garden : and Haman stood up to make 
 request for his life to Esther the queen; 
 for he saw that there was evil determined 
 against him by the king, 
 
 8 Then the king returned out of the pa- 
 lace garden into the place of the banquet 
 of wine ; and Haman was fallen upon the 
 bed whereon Esther ti'«5. Then said the 
 king, Will he force the queen also t before 
 me in the house ? As the word went out 
 of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's 
 face. 
 
 9 And Harbonah, one of the chamber- 
 
 signed our destruction, could not countervail the king's damage ; 
 forasmuch as the king would have lost more than he had gained, 
 had we been sold. Dr. U'clls. 
 
 6. — this wicked Haman.} Never till now did Haman bear his 
 true title. Before, some had styled him noble, others great; some 
 magnificent, and some perhaps virtuous ; only Esther gives hitn 
 his own. Wicked Haman. Ill-deserving popularity doth in vain 
 promise to itself a perpetuity of appl.iui-e ; if our ways be really 
 evil, the time shall come when, after all vain flattery, after all our 
 short-lived glory, our sins shall be drawn forth to light, and our 
 iniquities laid before us, to our utter confusion. Bp. Hall. 
 
 8. — Haman was fallen tipon the bed} It was the custom in 
 those times to sit or lay upon beds, as they ate and drank, and 
 Haman was now in the posture of a person who had fallen as a 
 suppliant at the feet of Esther. 
 
 Then said the king. Sec.} The king, finding him in this 
 
 posture, interpreted his conduct as if he were so impudent as to 
 take liberties with the queen's person in his own palace. Not tliAt 
 he could believe this was really the case, but, in his furious pas- 
 sion, he turned every thing to the worst sense, and made use of it 
 to aggravate Haman's crime. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Ihcy covered Haman's face.} It was the custom so to 
 
 cover the faces of condemned criminals : a custom also found 
 
 fHeb. 
 with ffuf.
 
 Hainan is hanged. 
 
 ESTHER. 
 
 Mordecai is advanced. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 trtt. 
 
 Before lains, Said before the king, Behold also, the 
 ^""''at gallows Hfty cubits high which Haitian 
 hail made for Mordecai, who had spoken 
 good for tlic king, standeth in the house 
 of Hainan. Tiien the king said. Hang him 
 thereon. 
 
 10 JSo they hanged Haman on the gal- 
 lows that he had prejjarcd ibr Mordecai. 
 Then was the king's wrath pacified. 
 
 CHAP. VHI. 
 
 1 Mordecai ix inhanccd. 3 Esther makclh suit to reverse 
 
 anionp the ancient Romans, both in tlieir punishment of a parri- 
 cide, who, when convicted, was immediately hooded, as unworthy 
 of the common light; and in that fonn of pronouncinji" sentence 
 on a criminal aH'ribcd by Livy to Tidhis Hostilius: " Go, officer, 
 bind his hands, vail his "head, han^^- him on the fatal tree." This 
 custom w;is noticed in F,f;ypt by Dr. Pococke, wlio speaks of a 
 man brought before the Hoy, like a malefactor, with his hands 
 behind liim as if tied, and a nai>kin put over his head, as malefac- 
 tors commonly have. Purhhuvst, llnrmer. 
 
 (). the snlloir.t'] In the margin, " the tree." Crucifixion ap- 
 
 |>ears to have been the punishment inflicted by Ahasuerus upon 
 I laman. Polycrates of Samos, Cicero tells us, was crucified by 
 order of Oroetes, ))ra'tor of Darius. One of the capital punish- 
 ments in Abyssinia is tlie cross. linitr. 
 
 Hang him Ihereuii.'] Thus, within the compass of a day, 
 
 Haman's fortune was com])letely reversed : but a few hours after 
 he imagined his success most cert;iin, this sentence of condemna- 
 tion was pronounced upon him. 'I'luis also we find many in- 
 stances in Holy Scripture in which the security of the wicked is 
 suddenly disturbed by the Divine summons: "Thou fool, this 
 night thy soid shall be required of thee," Luke .\ii. 20. Bp. 
 Andrctres. 
 
 When iniquitous enterprises, managed by subtilty or violence, 
 are sutideiily and seasonably defeated, then the ever-vigilant Eye, 
 and the all-powerful Hand, are concerned. God doth ever see the 
 deceitful workers of iniquity, though they devise their wickedness 
 in secret. He often doth suffer it to grow on to a pitch of matu- 
 rity, till it be thoroughly formed, till it be ready to break forth in 
 fearfid effects ; then in a moment He erushcth it to nothing. God 
 behiildeth unjust men setting out in their designs ; He letteth 
 thenj proceed in full career till they are reaching the object of 
 their wishes ; then instantly He checketli, He turneth them back. 
 He overthroweth them. Thus was Haman's plot confounded, 
 when he had procured a royal decree, when he had fi.xed a time, 
 when he had i>sued fi.rth letters to destroy the people of God. 
 Thus was Pharaoh overwhelmed when he had just overtaken the 
 children of Israel. Thus perished the designs of Abimelech, of 
 Absalom, of Adonijah, of Sanballat. Thus, when .Sennacherib had 
 encamped against .lerusalem with a miglity host, and to all ap- 
 pearance had the city in his jjower, the Lord did put a hook in 
 iiis nose, and turned him back into his own land. Almighty 
 God could prevent the very beginning of wicked desio-ns, or 
 couKl subvert them in any stage of their progress; but He" rather 
 w inketh for a time at their success, and suffereth the designers 
 to go on till they are elevated to the height of confidence, and till 
 the good are on the brink of ruin : then surprisingly He striketh 
 in with effectual succour: thus declaring liow vain is the pre- 
 sumption of the ungodly, how needful "and how certain is His 
 protection over His good and faithful servants; how much reason 
 the one hath to dread Him, and the other to confide in Him. Dr. 
 Isaac Burniw. 
 
 10. — on the nalloifs that he had prepared for Mordecai.l That 
 »ame instrument, which he had reared on Ingh for Mordecai's de- 
 struction, is appointed by Providence for his Own ; and his shame 
 am punishment are rendered as conspicuous as his former honour 
 and prosperity. Dr. J. Baltcm,, Bp. Hall. 
 
 In Abyssinia, when the prisoner is condemned in capital cases, 
 
 Human's letters. 7 Ahasuerus granleth to the Jems 
 to defend thanselves. 15 Mordecai's honour, and the 
 
 Jews' joi). 
 
 ON that day did 
 give the house 
 
 Kcfoic 
 CHRIST 
 .ibout510. 
 
 the king Ahasuerus 
 of Haman the Jews' 
 
 enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mor- 
 decai came before the king ; for Esther had 
 told what he xvas unto her. 
 
 '2 And the king took off his ring, which 
 he had taken from Haman, and gave it 
 unto Mordecai. And Esther set Morde- 
 cai over the house of Haman. 
 
 he is not again remitted to prison, but is immediately carried 
 away, and the sentence executed upon him. Among other in- 
 stances of tiiis, Abba Salama was condemned by the king the 
 morning he entered Gondar, on his return from Tigie, and 
 immediately hanged, in the garment of a priest, on a tree at the 
 door of the king's palace, 'the same was the practice in Persia, 
 as we learn from Xenophon, and more plainly from Diodorus. 
 Bruce. 
 
 In that deliverance of the Jews from Haman's conspiracy, there 
 is no extraordinary manifestation of God's power ; no particular 
 cause or agent was in its working advanced above the ordinary 
 pitch of nature ; and yet the contrivance or suiting of these ordi- 
 nary agents appointed by God, is more admirable than if the 
 same end had been effected by means truly miraculous. For a 
 king not to Uike kindly rest by night, though in a bett of ease, is 
 not unusual : for a king again to seek to solace his waking 
 thoughts by hearing the annals of his kingdom, is more com- 
 mendable than rare : but tiiat king Ahasuerus should lie awake 
 at that time, specially when Haman did watch and plot the de- 
 struction of the .Jews ; that, causing the chronicles of his king- 
 dom to be read, the reader should light on the place wherein was 
 recorded Mordecai's unrewarded good service, in discovering the 
 treason intended against the king's person ; this was from the 
 Keeper of Israel, who neither slumberetli nor sleepeth, and who 
 was marvellous in His peoi)le's sight. 
 
 It was His doing, likewise, that Esther, by Mordecai's ad- 
 vice, should conceal her nation and parentage until she came in 
 such high favour with the king ; that queen Vashti should be 
 diBplaced, and Esther preferred, about the same time wherein 
 Haman was advanced, and by his advancement enabled to do a 
 remediless mischief to the .Jewish nation, if the Lord had not, 
 as the wise man speaks, " made one thing against another." Dr. 
 Jackson. 
 
 As miracles display the infinite power of God, so His direction 
 of human affairs exhibits His infinite wisdom, and proves the sub- 
 ordination of all the several ranks of creatures, with whatsoever 
 strength or efficacy they be endowed, to His providence. In 
 wisdom He made them all : in wisdom He marshalleth. He or- 
 dereth them all. Dr. .fackson. 
 
 The succession of events which led to the deliverance of tlie 
 Jews from Haman, shew that the providence of God may be at 
 work where men least suppose it ; that He in His infinite wisdom 
 makes unlikely accidents subservient to His ends ; and that the 
 minute parts of His dispensations may not always afford sufficient 
 ground for our limited faculties to estimate the great purposes of 
 His will. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. VIII. ver. 1. — the house of Hainan'^ That is, the whole 
 estate which Haman had possessed ; his dwelling, lands, cattle, 
 goods, and treasure. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ivhal he was vnto her.'] That is, Esther had made known 
 
 to the king how Mordecai was related to her. Dean Fri- 
 deaux. 
 
 2. — took off his ring, — and gave it unto Mordecai.^ The 
 king made Mordecai the kee[)cr of his seal, in the same manner 
 as Haman had been before. Dean Prideaux. 
 
 The bearing of a seal is a token of an high office, either by
 
 Ahasuerus uranieth to the Jetcs 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 to defend themselves. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 5 10. 
 
 t Heb. 
 and she 
 wept, and 
 besovf^ht 
 
 V Hel). 
 
 the device. 
 11 Or, 
 teko wrole. 
 
 t Hell. 
 
 be nUe that 
 I nmy see. 
 
 3 *[[ And Esther spake yet again before 
 the king, and fell down at his feet, tand 
 besought him with tears to put away the 
 mischief of Hanian the Agagite, and his 
 device that lie had devised against the 
 Jews. 
 
 4* Then the king held out the golden 
 sceptre toward Esther. So Esther arose, 
 and stood before the king, 
 
 5 And said, If it please the king, and if 
 I have found favour in his sight, and the 
 thing seem right before the king, and I be 
 pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to re- 
 verse t the letters devised by Hainan the 
 son of Hammedatha the Agagite, || which 
 he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in 
 all the king's provinces : 
 
 6 For how can I t endure to see the evil 
 that shall come unto my people ? or how 
 can I endure to see the destruction of my 
 kindred ? 
 
 7 IF Then the king Ahasuerus said unto 
 Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, 
 Behold, I have given Esther the house of 
 Haman, and him they have hanged upon 
 the gallows, because he laid his hand upon 
 the Jews. 
 
 8 Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh 
 you, in the king's name, and seal it with 
 the king's ring : for the writing which is 
 written in the king's name, and sealed with 
 the king's ring, ^ ma}' no man reverse. 
 
 9 Then were the king's scribes called at 
 that time in the third month, that is, the 
 month Sivan, on the three and twentieth 
 dai/ thereof; and it was written according 
 to all that Mordecai commanded unto the 
 Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the de- 
 puties and rulers of the provinces which 
 are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred 
 twenty and seven provinces, unto every 
 province according to the writing thereof. 
 
 succession or deputation. Thus in Gen. xli. 42, Pharaoh, setting 
 Joseph over the whole land of Egypt, gives him his ring ; that is, 
 his seal, as Josephus the historian explains it. Antiochus, declai'- 
 ing his son successor in his kingdom, sends him " the crown, and 
 his robe, and his signet," 1 Mac. vi. 14, 15. Thus in Aristo- 
 phanes, the taking away of the ring signifies the discharging of a 
 chief magistrate : and a little after, the giving of a ring to another 
 is the making another steward or chief magistrate, by delivering 
 to him the badge of his office. To these instances it may be added, 
 that, in our own nation, the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper of 
 the Great Seal, and other high officers of state, are appointed by 
 the King delivering to them the seals of tlieir respective offices. 
 Parkhurst. 
 
 Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.~\ Esther 
 
 appointed Mordecai to conduct for her the affairs relating to 
 Haman's estate. Dean Pridcaux. 
 
 9. — in the third month, &c.] That is, a little more tliail two 
 months after the former decree. Bp. Patrick. 
 Vol. L 
 
 Sec chap. 
 
 I. 19. 
 
 and unto every people after their language, chrTIt 
 and to the Jews according to their writing, aboutsio. 
 and according to their language. 
 
 10 And he wrote in the king Ahasue- 
 rus's name, and sealed it with the king's 
 ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, 
 and riders on mules, camels, and young 
 dromedaries : 
 
 11 Wherein the king granted the Jews 
 which "were in every city to gather them- 
 selves together, and to stand for their life, 
 to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, 
 all the power of the people and province 
 that would assault them, both little ones and 
 women, and to take the spoil of them for a 
 prey, 
 
 12 Upon one day in all the provinces of 
 king Ahasuerus, nameli/, upon the thir- 
 teenth daij of the twelfth month, which is 
 the month Adar. 
 
 13 The copy of the writing for a com- 
 mandment to be given in every province 
 
 "was t published unto all people, and that + ^^'^ 
 the Jews should be ready against that day ^""°' ' 
 to avenge themselves on their enemies. 
 
 14- So the posts that rode upon mules 
 and camels went out, being hastened and 
 pressed on by the king's commandment. 
 And the decree was given at Shushan the 
 palace. 
 
 15 ^ And Mordecai went out from the 
 presence of the king in royal apparel of 
 
 II blue and white, and with a great crown i| Or, 
 of gold, and with a garment of fine linen 
 and purple : and the city of Shushan re- 
 joiced and was glad. 
 
 16 The Jews had light, and gladness, 
 and joy, and honour. 
 
 17 And in every province, and in every 
 city, whithersoever the king's command- 
 ment and his decree came, the Jews had 
 joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. 
 
 1 1. Wherein the king granted the Jetrs — to stand for their life,'] 
 The decree procured'by Haman against the Jews being by jui 
 unreasonable custom irreversible, ;jl that the king could do, in 
 compliance with Esther's request, was to give the Jews, by a new- 
 decree, such a power to defend themselves as might render the 
 former decree ineffectual. Dean Prideanx. 
 
 1 •i, — iqyon the thirteenth dm/ &c.] The very day appointed by 
 Haman for their destruction. 
 
 15. — in roi/al apparel^ See the note on Dan. v. 7. 
 
 a great cron'ti of gold,'} Not a royal crown, but such an 
 
 one as was^ worn by the highest princes of Persia. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 16. The Jews had light,'} Light is often figuratively applietl in 
 Scripture to denote prosperity. Bp. Lou-lh. 
 
 The eyes of the Lord ai-e e\cr upon His church, and though He 
 sometimes suffer it to be brought into tribulation, yet He haUi 
 promised concerning it, " Xo weapon that is formed against thee 
 shall prosper; and c\CY\ tongue that sh;dl rise against thee ill 
 judgment tliou shall condemn/' Lsai. liv. 17. Bp. Home. 
 
 5 U 
 
 ij.'/ff.
 
 The Jews slay their enemies, 
 
 ESTHER. 
 
 '■iiith the ten sons ofHaman. 
 
 Btfore And many of the jjcople of the land be 
 ^L'llfo^ came Jews ; for tlie fear of the Jews fel 
 upon tliem. 
 
 fell 
 
 about rim 
 
 t Htb. 
 thase which 
 did the Inisi' 
 ttessthathc- 
 loiiged /<f 
 Ihe kins- 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 according! to 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 1 The Jt'n:t {Ihe rulers, fur fear of Murtlccirl, lulping 
 t/iem) slaif llitir niewiex, ivil/i llic ten suns of Hainan. 
 12 Ahasnerus, al Ihe rrtjiicsl of Esther, grunteth an- 
 other ttaif t)f slaughter, and Ilaman's sons to he hanged. 
 20 The tiro days of Piirtm are made festival. 
 
 ^TO^V in the twelfth month, that is, the 
 ^' month Adar, on tlie thirteenth day 
 of the same, when tlie king's connnand- 
 ment and his decree drew near to be put 
 in execution, in the day that tlie enemies 
 of the Jews hoped to have power over 
 them, (though it was turned to the con- 
 trary, that the Jews had rule over them 
 that hated them ;) 
 
 2 The Jews gathered themselves toge- 
 ther in their cities throughout all the pro- 
 vinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand 
 on such as sought their hurt: and no man 
 could withstand them ; for the fear of 
 them fell upon all people. 
 
 3 And all the rulers of the provinces, 
 and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and 
 t officers of the king, helped the Jews ; be- 
 cause the fear of Mordccai fell upon them. 
 
 4 For Mordccai teas great in tlie king's 
 house, and his fame went out throughout 
 all the provinces : for this man Mordecai 
 waxed greater and greater. 
 
 5 Thus the Jews smote all their enemies 
 with the stroke of the sword, and slaugh- 
 ter, and destruction, and did t what they 
 would unto those that hated them. 
 
 6 And in .Shushan the palace the Je^vs 
 slew and destroyed five hundred men. 
 
 7 And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and 
 Aspatha, . 
 
 n. — And manij of the people tf Ihe laud became Jews; for the 
 fear of the Jews fell njxm them.'} When Hainan's conspiracy was 
 defeated, and the destruction designed against the Jews was, by 
 a wonderful cliain of providences, turned "upon their enemies, it is 
 Siiid that " many ot the people of the land became Jews ; for the 
 fear of the Jews fell upon them." Their enemies, though hea- 
 thens, saw plainly, from what had liappened, that the Jews had 
 more than ordinary favour shewed them from heaven, and from 
 thence mferred that their law s and religion must needs be more 
 acceptable there than any other ; and therefore left their own for 
 theirs, and became Jews themselves that they might partake of 
 the same privileges and favours with them. Bp. Beverid^e. 
 
 The dispersion of the Jews throughout the numerous provinces 
 ot the Babylonian and Persian empires, became providentially the 
 means of publishing the true religion among the people with 
 IiUhl,! r J"' "''^""■''«'- Being often eminently distin- 
 Vnn»f I ^' 'X'^y-"' /"'■""'■' ^^"y ""'^^^ '^"'•'Wed to convey a 
 ferao Sn, f r^'""''u'"'' -'''''^' advantage: the evident in- 
 terposiiions of God in the cause of His people also raisin- ex- 
 alted sentiments of His religion. Dr. Owen. " 
 
 8 And Poratha, and Adalia, and Arida- chrTst 
 
 tha, about 509. 
 
 9 And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Ari- 
 dai, and Vajezatha, 
 
 10 The ten sons of Haman the son of 
 Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, slew 
 they ; but on the spoil laid they not their 
 hand. 
 
 11 On that day the number of those 
 that were slain in Shushan the palace t was fHeU. 
 brought before the king. 
 
 12^ And the king said unto Esther the 
 queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed 
 five luuulred men in Shushan the palace, 
 and the ten sons of Haman ; what have 
 they done in the rest of the king's pro- 
 A'inces ? now what is thy petition ? and 
 it shall be granted thee : or what is thy re- 
 quest further ? and it shall be done. 
 
 13 Then said Esther, If it please the 
 king, let it be granted to the Jews which 
 are in Shushan to do to morrow also accord- 
 ing unto this day's decree, and t let Ha- tHcb. 
 man's ten sons be hanged upon the gal- a<,„j!" 
 lows. 
 
 14 And the king commanded it so to 
 be done: and the decree was given at Shu- 
 shan ; and they hanged Haman's ten sons. 
 
 15 For the Jews that Xi'ere in Shushan 
 gathered themselves together on the four- 
 teenth day also of the month Adar, and 
 slew three hundred men at Shushan ; but 
 on the prey they laid not their hand. 
 
 16 But the other Jews that were in the 
 king's provinces gathered themselves toge- 
 ther, and stood for their lives, and had rest 
 irom their enemies, and slew of their foes 
 seventy and five thousand, but they laid 
 not their hands on the prey, 
 
 17 On the thirteenth day of the month ^°^- 
 Adar ; and on the fourteenth day t of the L u. ' 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. M. — they hanged Haman's ten .?ons.'] A farther 
 instance of the retribution awaiting guilt. Haman had flattered 
 his malicious and sanguinary spirit with the cruel hope of de- 
 stroying the whole Jewish kindred : now his own sons (of the 
 number of whom he had before boasted) are all cut off, and on 
 the gallows share the reproach of their father. Bp. Hall. 
 
 16. — and slew of their foes seventy and five tkmtsand,'] It is 
 probable tliat these persons were destroyed in consequence of 
 their having obstinately j>ersevered in measures of active hostility 
 against the Jews, notwithstanding the change in the disposition 
 of the king. On this occasion was displayed the mischievous ef- 
 fect of that absurd law of the Medes and Persians, that the king's 
 decree, when signed by him and sealed with his seal, could not 
 be changed or repealed. For the king was obliged to issue a 
 counter-decree, empowering the Jews to take up arms in self- 
 defence ; and in consequence of this, eight hundred men were 
 slain in Shushan, and in the provinces seventy-five thousand. 
 Such was the calamitous result of a rash and unjust decree, rati- 
 fied at a banquet ; when " the king and Haman sat down to 
 drink ; but the city Shushan was perplexed." Dr. Hales.
 
 The two days ofPurim 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 are made festivaL 
 
 CHRIST ^^"^^ rested they, and made it a day of 
 obout509. feasting and gladness. 
 
 18 But the Jews that were at Shushan 
 assembled together on the thirteenth day 
 thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; 
 and on the fifteenth day of the same they 
 rested, and made it a day of feasting and 
 gladness. 
 
 19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, 
 that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the 
 fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of 
 gladness and feasting, and a good day, and 
 of sending portions one to another. 
 
 20 ^ And JNIordecai wrote these things, 
 and sent letters unto all the Jews that were 
 in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, 
 both nigh and far, 
 
 21 To stablish this among them, that 
 they should keep the fourteenth day of 
 the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of 
 the same, yearly, 
 
 22 As the days wherein the Jews rested 
 from their enemies, and the month which 
 was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, 
 and from mourning into a good day : that 
 they should make them days of feasting 
 and joy, and of sending portions one to 
 another, and gifts to the poor. 
 
 23 And the Jews undertook to do as 
 they had begun, and as Mordecai had 
 written unto them ; 
 
 18. — and on the fifteenth day — they rested,'] The Jews of 
 Shushan rested a day later than the Jews of the provinces, having 
 had two days of slaughter. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 22. — and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the 
 poor."} They made it a day both of thanksgiving and praise to 
 God, and of feasting with one another : and they sent portions 
 and gifts to their poorer neighbours, that they might partake in 
 the festival. Bp. Patrick. In like manner almsgiving and atten- 
 tion to the poor ought to make part of every Christian festival. 
 Bp- Andremes. See the note on Neh. viii. 10. 
 
 25. — should return upon his own head,] For while he sought 
 direction from the false gods of Persia, his whole undertaking 
 was overruled by the God of Israel. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 When such men as Haman are not only supplanted in their 
 wicked contrivances, but dismally chastised for them, these oc- 
 currences do more than insinuate Divine wisdom to intervene, 
 countermining and confounding such devices. For He it is 
 who, as the Scripture telleth us, maketh the diviners mad ; that 
 tumeth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge fool- 
 ish ; disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands 
 camiot perform their enterprise; taketh the wise in their own 
 craftiness, and turneth down the counsels of the froward head- 
 long. Dr. Isaac Barrow. 
 
 28. — and that these days of Purim should not fait] Josephus 
 bears testimony to the observance of this festival in his time, 
 in the following words : " Hence even now all the Jews that are 
 in the habitable earth keep these days festival, and send presents 
 to one another." It has also been regularly observed by the Jews 
 to this day as an annual solemnity : and it forms a standing mo- 
 nument of the events recorded in this book. Dr. Gray. 
 
 The following accounts are found of the ceremonies used at tliis 
 festival in different ages : some savouring the superstition of the 
 apostate Jews ; others, the piety of their forefathers. 
 
 24 Because Haman the son of Hamme- "^fo" 
 datha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the about sog. 
 Jews, had devised against the Jews to de- 
 stroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the 
 
 lot, to t consume them, and to destroy t "«b. 
 them ; '^'^'"''■ 
 
 25 But t when Esther came before the t Heb. 
 king, he commanded by letters that his ^*„"!.**'' 
 wicked device, which he devised against 
 
 the Jews, should return upon his own head, 
 and that he and his sons should be hanged 
 on the gallows. 
 
 2G Wherefore they called these days 
 Purim after the name of II Pur. Therefore II Tiiatis 
 for all the words of this letter, and of that '"'' 
 which they had seen concerning this mat- 
 ter, and which had come unto them, 
 
 27 The Jews ordained, and took upon 
 them, and upon their seed, and upon all 
 such as joined themselves unto them, so as 
 
 it should not t fail, that they would keep t Heb. 
 these two days according to their writing, ''"" 
 and according to their appointed time every 
 year ; 
 
 28 And that these days should be remem- 
 bered and kept throughout every gene- 
 ration, every family, every province, ^nd 
 every city ; and that these days of Purim 
 should not t fail from among the Jews, ^ Heb, 
 nor the memorial of them t perish from /""'• 
 their seed. u cndoi. 
 
 The festival has been generally observed by a total rest from 
 labour, by attendance in the synagogues, by sending presents to 
 one another, by giving portions of food and gifts to tlie poor, and 
 by great rejoicing and festivity. In the synagogue, the book of 
 Esther is solemnly read from beginning to end ; all Jews, whether 
 men, women, children, or servants, being required to attend, be- 
 cause they all had a share in the deliverance obtained by Esther. 
 Before the reading begins, three thanksgivings are briefly offered 
 up ; in the first, they praise God for counting them worthy to 
 attend this sacred solemnity ; in the second, for His wonderful 
 preservation of their forefathers; and in the third, for their hav- 
 ing lived to keep another festival in memory of it. The history 
 of Esther is always read on this occasion from a copy written on 
 a roll of parchment, and never from a printed book, it bearing 
 peculiarly the title of the Mcgillah, or roll of Estlier. (See the 
 Introduction.) As often as the name of Haman is read, tliey 
 beat upon the seats and floors, uttering such exclamations as 
 this, " Let his memory perish :" the very children joining in this 
 outcry. 
 
 The book of Esther is read over twice at this festival : first in 
 the evening of the l.'Jth day of Adar, which with the Jews is 
 reckoned the beginning of the 1 4th ; and secondly, on the morn- 
 ing of the 1 4th." When the reading is ended, they praise God, who 
 pleadetli the cause of His people; and afterward pronounce alter- 
 nately with loud voices. Cursed be Haman, Blessed be Mordecai ; 
 Cursed be Zeresh, (the wife of Haman,) Blessed be Estlier; Cursed 
 be all the wicked. Blessed be all the Jews. They also read in the 
 synagogue some passages of the Pentateuch relating to the per- 
 petual enmity between Israel and Anialek. The synagogue is 
 not open after the morning of the 14th, and the remainder of the 
 festival is spent in rest and mirth. 
 
 Their feasting on this occasion has among degenerate and 
 unbelieving Israelites been accompanied by intemperance and 
 
 5 U 2
 
 The days of Purim. 
 
 ESTHER. 
 
 Ahasuerus' s greatness. 
 
 Before OQ Then Estlicr the queen, the daugliter 
 ^""loJof Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote 
 t Hcb with t all authority, to confirm this second 
 "" "r^'n"'- letter of'Purini. 
 
 30 And he sent the letters unto all the 
 Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven 
 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, 
 liitfi words of peace and truth, 
 
 ol To confirm these days of Purim in 
 
 their times appuinled, according as JNIorde- 
 
 cai the Jew and Esther the queen had en- 
 
 f- iKh. joined them, and as they had decreed t for 
 
 "(uu/j!" themselves and lor their seed, the matters 
 
 of the fastings and their cry. 
 
 32 And tiie decree of Esther confirmed 
 these matters of Purim ; and it was writ- 
 ten in the book. 
 
 licentious diversions ; their doctors, as blind and h3'pocritical 
 guides, forj^inj; various excuses and pretences to justify the trans- 
 gressions of the law which were at these times wantonly com- 
 mitted. Bp. Palricic, Dean I'ridi'oii.v, Lewis. 
 
 At one time they used to erect a gibbet, and upon it to bum 
 the effigy of Hainan. In this iiowever it was thought that they 
 had an intention of insulting Christians, by turning into ridicule 
 the de.ith of Christ ; and therefore the emperours forbad this part 
 of their ceremonies, under the penalty of forfeiting all their pri- 
 vileges. Calmet. 
 
 Esther and Mordecai appear to liave ordained only a feast on 
 the 14 th and 15th days of the month Adar: but the Jews observe, 
 as they profess long to have done, a fast on the 1 .'5th day of Adar, 
 the day destined by Haman for their cxtiqiation. The montli 
 Adar corresponds with pai-ts of our February antl Maixh. Dr. 
 Cray. 
 
 29. — to conjrm this second letter of Purim.'] The Jews every 
 where cheerfully agreed to the injunction of Mordecai : but, for 
 fear of any neglect, and to give the greater authority to it, and 
 prevent the memorial of so remarkable a blessing from decaying 
 in after-generations, a second injunction was sent by the queen 
 to confirm it, and exhort all to the careful observance of it. 
 Pule. 
 
 31. To confirm these days of Purim SiC.'\ The former Targum 
 thus paraphrases this verse : " To Confirm these days of Purim as 
 Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen appointed concerning 
 them ; and as the Jews ordained for themselves and for their pos- 
 terity to keep in memory the matter of their fastings and their 
 prayers." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 32. And the decree of Esther &c.] Thus the forementioned de- 
 cree which confirmed the days of Purim, was recorded and made 
 a pubhck act. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Chap. X. ver. \. —the isles of the sea.-] Perhaps the isles of 
 the tgean sea, conquered by Darius Hystaspps. Abp. Usher. 
 
 3. —Mordecai — was ncrt unto king Ahasuerus, and great 
 amons the .Tews, Sec] Such were the temporal rewards of Mor- 
 decai s exertions m behalf of his countrymen, and dutiful regard 
 tor the safety of his sovereign. This may afford us encoui^e- 
 mcnt to be zealously affected in every good"thing ; to stand to our 
 principles with clieerfidness and courage, to own the doctrines of 
 our church, and to be true to our king, in the most perilous times. 
 Wicked persons act but by a limited commission in this world • 
 ami in spite of all their rancour and malice, success will some time 
 or other crown the righteous : and though the followers of Mor- 
 mem'If.'i." "\='y ""^.^e made like him in his earthly advance- 
 gLi ^R ^7 ;''=»" «"J°y P«^ce of conscience and the favour of 
 «J<HI. Bp. Andrewcs, Dr. Coney. 
 
 thell^soSf ''"" "•."'.'"'//« l>eople,-] Under all revolutions, 
 tUe Jews of the captivity had the comfort to see that some persons 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 1 Ahasuerus' s greatness. 3 Mordecai' s advancement. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 aboul IM. 
 
 AND the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute 
 upon the land, and upon the isles of 
 the sea. 
 
 2 And all the acts of his power and oi' 
 his might, and the declaration of the great- 
 ness of Mordecai, whereunto the king 
 
 t advanced him, «re they not written in t Hd,. 
 the book of the chronicles of the kings of jj."!). " ' 
 Media and Persia? 
 
 3 For Mordecai the Jew xcas next unto , 
 king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, } 
 and accepted of the multitude of liis bre- 
 thren, seeking the wealth of his people, 
 
 and speaking peace to all his seed. 
 
 of their own body were surprisingly advanced into power and au- 
 thority to patronise and defend their cause : which as it shewed 
 the concern of the Almighty for the welfare of the Jews, must 
 also have excited in then- minds a regard for His honour and 
 glory : and must have confimied their dependence upon His great 
 and precious promises. Dr. Otven. 
 
 After the events here related, no man dares frown upon a 3evr. 
 They are now become lords in the midst of their captivity : no 
 marvel, if they ordain and celebrate their joyful Purim, for a per- 
 petual memory to all posterities of their happy deliverance. It 
 were pity that the church of God should not liave seasons' of sun- 
 shine, as well as of storm ; and should not meet with interchanges 
 of joy in their warfare, before they enter upon the unchangeable 
 joy of their endless triumph. Bp. Hall. 
 
 The Jews from the time of the captivity are no more to be 1 
 looked upon as that free, rich, and glorious people, which they had 
 been either under their former theocrac}', as Josephus rightly 
 terms it, or under their opulent and warlike monarchs, and the 
 direction of their Prophets. Their condition, government, man- 
 ners, their very name, and every thing but their religion, are now 
 entii-ely changed. And indeed it could hardly be expected other- 
 wise, when we consider, that those that had been carried away 
 into Babylon, were solil for slaves, and dispersed far and wide 
 through that vast empire, according to the custom of those con- 
 querors ; and though some of them we find to have attained to 
 very considerable posts, or grown exceeding rich in the land of 
 their captivity, yet these are but few in comparison of those who 
 groaned under the heavy hand of their oppressors ; neither were 
 they the former, but the latter, that is, the poorer sort, that came ; 
 back into Judea; and even of these the whole number that ' 
 came, either with Zerubbabel, Ezra, or Nehemiah, scarcely a- 
 mounted to 70,000 ; among whom a multitude of strangers was 
 likewise intermixed, either by marriages, or otherwise, most of 
 them so indigent, that they were forced to be supported in their • ' 
 journey by the charitable contributions of those that stayed 1 
 behind. 
 
 They were indeed to be governed by their own laws ; but, a» 
 they still continued in subjection to other nations, to the Persians, 
 Syrians, and Romans, that privilege, as well as the exercise of 
 their religion, very much depended on the arbitrary will of their 
 conquerors, and was often curtailed, and sometimes wholly taken 
 away. Even whilst they were under the Persians, tlie lives and 
 estates of the whole nation were on the brink of being sacrificed 
 to the ambition of a favourite Haman, had not Esther's interest 
 miraculously prevented the execution of that bloodj- edict ; and so 
 weak did thej' continue under them, that they were a long time 
 exposed to the injuries of even the neighbouring Samaritans. 
 They seera however to have recovered themselves by degrees, and
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 to have lived in more peace and plenty during the two following 
 centuries; and this is perhaps the reason of that vast chasm of 
 near 250 years in their history, between tlie death of Nehemiah 
 and the times of the Maccabees, when those illustrious heroes not 
 only shook off the foreign yoke, but raised the glory of their na- 
 tion by their victories and conquests, and by obliging other na- 
 tions to embrace the Jewish religion. 
 
 But this epocha was but short-lived, and eighty years were 
 hardly expired, before tlie ungovernable ambition of some of their 
 unworthy successors introduced a general apostasy, and brought 
 them under subjection to the Romans, which they could never 
 more shake off. Herod indeed, whom tlie Romans raised to the 
 royal dignity, greatly increased tlie glory and ojiulence of the Jew- 
 ish nation; but as he was an Idiunean who had gained the crown 
 by the destruction of the Asmonean race, as he was a vassal to the 
 Romans, and a tyrant of the Jews, they could not be said to be 
 either free or happy during his hateful reign, much less luider the 
 reigns of his successors, when the government of Judea was spUt 
 into so many toparchies: so that the nation went from thence- 
 forward from bad to worse, till their total destruction. They were 
 changed in their very name, the title of Israelites being quite lost, 
 and the names of all the other tribes being absorbed in that of 
 Judah; so that, from the period of their return, the wliole people 
 were chiefly known by the name of Jews, in opposition to the Sa- 
 maritans, who were a mixture partly of the ten tribes, partly of re- 
 volted Jews, and of other nations. Religion was the thing that re- 
 ceived the least change from their reestablishment; and, if we ex- 
 cept some apostasies occasioned by persecutions, or the ambition of 
 some of their high priests, we shall find them in the sequel more 
 averse to idolatry, and to all heathenish superstitions, than ever 
 their forefathers had been prone to them before the captivity; such 
 strict observers of the sabbath, as to suffer themselves to be mur- 
 dered by whole annies, rather than violate it by standing on their 
 defence; in a word, so zealous for their religion, and such strict 
 observers of their oaths, whether of allegiance or confederacy, as 
 to suffer the most bloody persecutions, and horrid butcheries, with 
 the utmost courage and constancy, rather than violate their fide- 
 lity to their laws. This was indeed a virtue, which, as Josephus 
 rightly observes, was peculiar to the Jews, and to which no other 
 nation or religion could ever lay any claim, till the sufferings, 
 number, and constancy of the Christian martyrs, did in a great 
 measure eclipse the glorj' of the Jewisli ones. Universal History. 
 
 The Jews had many revolutions of peace and war, and some 
 dianges in the mode of their government, from the time of their 
 return from the Babylonian captivity, to their complete subjection 
 to the Romans; but their sacerdotal government, as it is some- 
 times called, continued with but little interruption through this 
 whole space of about (iOO years. Having returned into their own 
 country under the sanction and authority of Cyrus, they acknow- 
 ledged the sovereignty of tlie kings of Persia till that empire 
 was overturned by Alexander the Great, (according to Dean Pri- 
 deaux, B. C. 330:) they tlien became subject to his successors, 
 first in Egypt, afterwai-ds in Syria, till, having been deprived of 
 their civil and religious liberties for three years and a half by An- 
 tiochus Epiphanes, (B. C. 168,) they were restored, both to the 
 exercise of their religion, and to their ancient independence, by 
 the piety and bravery of Mattathias and his descendants, (B. C. 
 165.) Under these Maccabean princes, they became an entirely 
 free state, supported by good troops, strong garrisons, and al- 
 liances, not only with neighbouring powers, but with remote 
 kingdoms, even Rome itself This glory of the Jews was but 
 of short duration: for, though tlie dechne of the kingdoms of 
 Egypt and Syria prevented their interference in the affairs of 
 other states, yet the entire ruin of these two kingdoms, by the 
 great accession of power which it brought to the Romans, 
 paved the way for the destruction of the Jewish commonwealth. 
 Pompey compelled the Jews to submit to the arms of Rome, 
 (B. C. G3,) and from that time their country was tributary to the 
 Romans, although it was still governed by Maccabean princes. 
 Tiie last of that family was conquered and deposed by Herod 
 the Great, an Idumean by birth, but of the Jewish religion, 
 (B. C. 37,) who had been appointed king of the .lews by the 
 Romans, and enjoyed a long reign over the whole of Palestine, in 
 the course of which he greatly diminished the civil power of the 
 
 Iiigh priests. He was succeeded in the government of the greater 
 part of Palestine by his son Archelaus, (B. C. 3,) whose miscon- 
 duct caused Augustus to banish him, and to reduce his domi- 
 nions into the form of a Roman province, (A. C. 8.) And thus it 
 appears, that, with the exception of the short predicted periotl of 
 Aiitiochus Epiphanes, the kingdom of Judah, for some time in- 
 dependent, but generally tributary, continued to enjoy its own 
 religion, and the form of its civil government, till after the birth 
 of the Messiah. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 In the periods which succeed, we find the Jews placed in a dif- 
 ferent situation from any preceding part of their history. While 
 a sufficient portion of the nation had been restored to Judea, and 
 there settled, to answer the primary purpose ol' forming a separate 
 people, in order to preserve the Law and the Prophets, rebuild the 
 temple, and prepare the scene where the Messiah was personally 
 to appear, where He was to verify the prophecies, particularly with 
 respect to His descent, the place of His birth, and the minutest 
 circumstances of His personal character and sufferings; where He 
 was to promulgate His religion, and lay down His life for man; 
 another great body of the nation, as we are infonned by Josephus, 
 retired into Egypt, built a temple there, publickly exercised their 
 religion, and flourished in such multitudes, under the protection 
 of Alexander and his successors, that the Jews in Egypt nearh', if 
 not entirely, equalled those of Judea in number, wealth, and in- 
 fluence; and at the same time adopted the Grecian language so 
 universally, that it became necessary to translate the Scriptures 
 into Greek for their use, and thus make them accessible to the 
 learned and inquisitive in every country-, whenever their attention 
 should be excited to this study. It should be remarked too, that 
 so necessary was such an adjustment of circumstances to produce 
 this salutary effect, in opposition to the exclusive temper of the 
 Jews settled in Judea, that this translation, which must have been 
 received with such joy bj- the Jewish colonies, was regarded as 
 the subject of national mourning by the .lews at Jerusalem. 
 
 The importance of this translation was extremely great By it 
 the grand truths of religion, the history of Divine providence, 
 and the prophecies announcing tlie Messiah, became accessible to 
 the learned and inquisitive in every part of the then civilized world. 
 All possibility of either questioning the existence, or falsifying 
 the contents of those prophecies was thus precluded, .ind the sta- 
 bility of this signal proof of revelation secured; though the rulers, 
 doctors, and priests of that nation, with whom they had been 
 originally deposited, rejected that Divine Personage whom these 
 prophecies announced; and must therefore have wished, had it 
 been in their power, to alter their contents in order to disprove 
 their application. 
 
 About the time when this translation was completed, we see the 
 Ptolemies collecting the celebrated library at Alex.andria, which 
 for such a length of time Conned the greatest depository of learn- 
 ing in the world, and which was so much admij-ed and imitated 
 by other princes. And the circumstiince of its being formed in 
 the very same city with the most numerous colony of the Jews 
 in Egypt, while it must have attracted thither all foreigners who 
 were solicitous to acquire learning, must also have given them an 
 opportunity of observing a form of religion so singular as that 
 which the Jews maintained, and of inquiring into its principles 
 and origin; an inquiry which the translation of the Scriptures 
 into Greek rendered practicable: while the cessation of prophecy 
 amongst the Jews, soon after their restoration from captivity, 
 closed the canon of the Jewish Scriptures, and proved that tlie 
 knowledge which that translation could supply was perfect and 
 complete. 
 
 The same providential system of preparation for the introduc- 
 tion of a pure and universal religion was equ.iUy conspicuous in 
 many other gradual movements in the workl, all concurring to 
 promote the same effect. The inquisitive anil vainglorious turn 
 of the Grecian character multiplied philosophick sects, which by 
 their perpetual disputations directed the attention of mankind to 
 religious and moral si>eculations; gi-adually undermined the in- 
 fluence, by exposing the absurdity, of Pagan superstition and idol- 
 atry ; and', though they did not substitute in their room any per- 
 fect system of natural religion, yet many of its great truths were 
 occasionally debated upon with spirit and subtlety; and, thougli 
 they were not clearly proved or practically inculcated, they yet
 
 ESTHER. 
 
 bfoamc the objects of general interest and curiosity: so that the 
 want of further information, and, above all, of Divine instruction, 
 which inifiht remove men's doubts and erroiirs on these most aw- 
 ful subjects, was felt and acknowledged by the most sagacious 
 and reflecting minds; and therefore such instruction would be 
 more attentively listene<l to, and more thankfully and joyfully 
 received. 
 
 Connected with the same system, and tending to promote the 
 sacne effect, was the great and permanent extension of the Roman 
 empire, which broke down all tlie barriers of separation between 
 the eastern and western worlds, united the Euphrates and the 
 Thames under the same masters, and blended all the civilized 
 BUtes of Greece and Asia, of Africa and Europe, in one great 
 
 community: in every part of ■which the Grecian language, now 
 the language of the sacred records, became as it were the com- 
 mon tongue of the learned and polite; while a perpetual inter- 
 course between the various parts of this mighty empire, the 
 establishment of a firm and regular police througli its whole ex- 
 tent, and, above all, that universal j>eace, which its undisputed 
 ascendancy secured througli the entire civilized world, when the 
 Gospel of peace was first promulgated; all these circumstances 
 secured to the teachers of that Gospel ready access to all the na- 
 tions of the world capable of profiting by the sacred truths they 
 taught, and gave men leisure to consider their unspeakable im- 
 portance, and examine the evidence to which they appealed. Dr. 
 Craves, 
 
 I
 
 THE BOOK OF 
 
 JOB. 
 
 » 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE celebrated Patriarch, whose history is recorded in the following book, has been represented hy some sacred criticks as imaginary, 
 and his book as a fictitious dramatick composition. But he was evidently considered as real by the Prophet Ezekiel, who ranks Noah| 
 Daniel, and Job together, as powerful intercessors with God ; the first for his family, the second for the wise men of Babylon, and 
 the third for his friends, Ezek. xiv. 14. And the Apostle James celebrates the exemplary "patience of Job," James v. 11. And 
 the book itself, the early admission of which into the Sacred Canon is strongly in favour of its veracitj', describes the residence of Job 
 and his friends with all the geographical precision of true history. Dr. Hales. 
 
 The Book of Job was certainly written as a literal relation of actual events j for this is evident from the style of the author, from his 
 mode of introducing the subject, and also from the circumstantial detail of habitation, kindred, and condition, as well as from the 
 names of the persons therein mentioned, which correspond with other accounts of the age and country, in which Job is generally 
 supposed to have existed. 
 
 It must be observed, that the veracity of the book is not invalidated by the allegorical manner in which some things are related. Human 
 events are literally described ; but the proceedings of Providence, of which we are unable to form any apprehension, unless from figu- 
 rative illustration, are perhaps here, as in other parts of Scripture, parabohcally represented under familiar allusions. Dr. Gray. 
 
 When Job lived, seems deducible from his being contemporary with Eliphaz the Temanite ; thus : 
 
 Abraham 
 
 1. Isaac 
 
 Jacob 
 
 
 2. 
 
 
 Levi 
 
 
 3. 
 
 
 Kohatli 
 
 
 4. 
 
 
 Amram 
 
 Job 
 
 5. 
 
 
 Moses 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 Dr. Kennicoll 
 
 2. Esau 
 
 3. Eliphaz 
 
 4. Teman 
 
 5. Eliphaz, Temanite 
 
 It appears probable that Job himself was the writer of his own story : of whose inspiration we seem to have very clear evidence in this 
 book : namely, from those remarkable words of his to God, chap. xlii. 5, " I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear : but now 
 mine eye seeth Thee." 
 
 It is plain, that here is some privilege intended which he never had enjoyed before, and which he calls the sight of God. He had " heard 
 of Him by the hearing of the ear," or the tradition delivered down from his forefathers : but he had now a clear and sensible percep- 
 tion of His being and Divine perfections: some light thrown in upon his mind, which carried its own evidence, and of wliich perhaps 
 we can form no notion, because we never felt it ; but which to him had all the certainty and clearness even of sight itself; in short, 
 some manifestations of the Deity made to him, in vision, such as the Prophets had, and from whence they derived their very name 
 of Seers. 
 
 If we allow Job himself to have been the writer of the book, there will be evidently two advantages hereby gained to it : as first, that 
 all objections to the historical truth of it will vanish at once. 
 
 None could tell us his own story so well as Job ; nor have we any reason to question his veracity. The dialogue too will then appear 
 to have been the substance of a real conversation, as no dialogue was ever more natural. If the story be told us in verse, or in the 
 prophetick style and langUiige ; as the first of these was a practice of the highest antiquity, the other adds the most sacred and un- 
 questionable authority to it : so that neither trutli nor ornament is here wanting, any more than the dignity of the subject, to render 
 this a book of inestimable value. 
 
 The other advantage is this : that if Job himself were the writer of the book, then every point of history, and every doctrine of religion 
 here treated of, wliich coincide with those delivered in the books of Moses, are an additional proof and confirmation of these latter : as 
 being evidently derived from some other source, not borrowed from tlie Pentateuch. Peters. 
 
 But whether we suppose Job the author of the book or not, its great antiquity, and even its priority to the age of Moses, seems to stand 
 on strong grounds. And, upon the whole, jjerhaps we may not unreasonably conjecture the history of the book to be this.— The 
 poem being originally written either by Job, or some contemporary of his, and existing in the time of Moses, might fall into his hands, 
 whilst residinglii the land of Midian, or afterwards when ui the neighbourhood of Idumea ; and miglit naturally be made use of by 
 
 ■ him, to represent to the Hebrews, either whilst repining under their Egyptian bondage, or murmuring at their long wanderings in 
 the wilderness, the great duty of submission to tlic will of God. The encouragement which the book h«lds out, that every good man.
 
 JOB. 
 
 n<T natiiiulv will finally be rewarded, rendered it a work peculiarly calculated to minister mingled comfort and rebuke to tlie 
 
 i^irrssed and dik'oiitcated Israelites, and which iiiiglit therefore well have been employed by Moses for this purpose. We may also 
 
 ""^uose that Moses in transcril)in{;, might have made some small and unimportant alterations, which will sufficiently account for 
 
 occasional and partial resemblances of expression between it and the Pentateuch, if any such there be. 
 
 siifTcrinn 
 tlistresse 
 su 
 occasioii, 
 
 This hviKJthesis both furnishes a reasonable compromise between tlie opinions of the great criticks, who are divided upon the point of 
 Moses bein<^ the author ; and supplies an answer to a question of no small difficulty, which hangs upon almost every other solution ; 
 namely, wh'en, and wherefore, a book, treating manifestly of the concerns of a stranger, and in no way connected with their affairs, 
 w as re'c'cived bv the .lews into their sacred canon .> For Moses having thus api)lied the book to their use, and sanctioned it by his 
 authority it would naturally have been enrolled among their sacred writings: and, from the antiquity of that enrolment, no record 
 would consequently appear 'of its introduction. Dr. Magce. 
 
 External happiness and misery are not always in this life the consequences of virtue and vice; this world is not the theatre of Divine 
 retribution ; but there is a life beyond the grave, where the good will receive tlieir reward, and the wicked be punished : this is the 
 moral of the book of Job. Mic/uiclis. 
 
 The general conduct of this book, as a poem, is of the most interesting kind. It opens with a prefiice, which describes the person, and 
 advantageous situation of a most worthy and excellent man, called by some a king: see note at ch. i. .3. Then it relates by wliat means 
 he was deprived of these blessings, and reduced to distresses proportionate to liis former prosperit}': it describes certain of his former 
 friends as visiting him, and endeavouring to excite his repentance for some secret sins, as they suppose, committed by him ; while he 
 protests his innocence of any such guilt. After many charges and vindications between the elder and perhaps more dignified friends 
 of Job, and the PatrL-irch himself, a person, younger than those friends who had already spoken, then assumes the discourse, and gra- 
 dually prep;u-es the way for an appearance of the Deity Himself, who reasons on the vai-ious works of His creating hand, and the 
 various course of His I'rovidence in respect to them, all of which exceed th.e ability, conception, or direction, of the human mind: 
 leaving the inference, that He, who thus wisely, though diversely, directs the course of nature, does equally wisely, though equally 
 diversely, direct the ways of good men, who trust in Him. Scii])t. illusi. Expos. Ind. 
 
 The poem consists of five parts : the first part, containing the first dialogue, or debate between Job and his three friends, occupies chap, 
 iij — xiv ; the second, chap, xv — xxi ; the third, chap, xxii — xxxi ; the fourth part contains the speech of Elihu, chap, xxxii — 
 xx.\vii ; and the fifth, the answer of God, and Job's submission, chap, xxxviii — xlii. Dr. Hales. 
 
 The whole Book of Job, with regard both to sublimity of thought and morality, exceeds beyond all comparison the most noble parts of 
 Homer. Pope. 
 
 The style of the book, and the customs incidentally described in it, bear the marks of Patriarchal antiquity. The book contains most 
 sublime descriptions of the power and other attributes of God ; and is expressly cited by St. Paul as sacred Scripture, 1 Cor. iii. 1$. 
 Gisborne. 
 
 Before P H A P T 
 
 CHRIST v^XA xi. X • X* 
 
 about 1320, ^ ^^'^ holiness, riches, and religioits care of Job for his 
 children. 6 Satan, appearing before God, bij calumni- 
 ation obtaineth leave to tempt Job. 13 Understanding 
 of the loss of his goods and children, in his mourning 
 he blesseth God. 
 
 'HERE was a man in the land of Uz, 
 whose name was Job ; and that man 
 *Chap.2.3. was ' perfect and upright, and one that 
 feared God, and eschewed evil. 
 
 2 And there were born unto him seven 
 sons and three daughters. 
 
 Chap. I. ver. 1. — in the land of Vz,'] Concerning the situa- 
 tion of this country of Job, different opinions are entertained. It 
 was most probably on the confines of Idumea, if not a part of it. 
 The daughter of Edom is said to dwell in the land of Uz, Lam. 
 IV. 21. Uz was the son of Nahor, Abraham's brother. Gen. xxii. 
 «V . ?''• ^'".V'^.V- See its supposed situation in the Map of the 
 World, east of the Dead sea. 
 
 3. His substance also nas seven thousand sheep, Ac") The 
 pnnc.i)al riches of the Bedoween Arabs, no less than of the 
 princes and patriarchs of old, continue to be estimated from the 
 number and quality of their cattle.— Several Arabian tribes can 
 ormg into the field only three or four hundred horses, at the 
 same time that they are possessed of more than so many thoii- 
 c^tlr T. ' !"^'^, ^S^'" '^** ""'"'^«''' of sheep and black 
 
 Smilk nrVT^ """/"y "^ '^''" fl"^-'<s. living chiefly upon 
 fhei^ wS 'd. i;:;;,' "^'^ "P°° ^■''"' '^^y ^'^ in%xchange for 
 w that thU man nas the greatest ofaU the men of the east.-} 
 
 3 His II substance also was seven p5r'',''|t 
 thousand sheep, and three thousand about 1520. 
 camels, and five hundred yoke of ox- 11 9r, 
 en, and five hundred she asses, and a '^""''' 
 very great II houshold ; so that this man 11 or, 
 was the greatest of all the t men of the ^"Hr'''^- 
 
 east. sotis •fihe 
 
 4 And his sons went and feasted in their '"*'' 
 houses, every one his day ; and sent and 
 called for their three sisters to eat aud to 
 drink with them. 
 
 That Job was certainly a magistrate, a judge at the least, is evi- 
 dent from ch. xxii. 7; and not improbably he was a king; not 
 such as the kings of the earth now are, whose dominions are wider, 
 and power more absolute, yet possibly such as were called kings 
 in those ancient times, and in those eastern parts of the world: 
 that is, a kind of petty monarch and supreme governour within 
 his own territories, though perhaps but of one single city Vfith 
 the suburbs, and some few neighbouring villages. It is here 
 said, that he was " the greatest of all the men of the East ;" and 
 in the twenty-ninth ch;ipter he saith of himself, that when he 
 came in presence " the princes and the nobles held their peace," 
 and that he " sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army." Bp. 
 Sanderson. Perhaps we may be not far from right in con- 
 templating the modern sheiks in Arabia, as bearing considera- 
 ble resemblance to this holy personage. Script, illust. Expos, 
 Ind. 
 
 4. — every one his dai/;"] His birthday, as was the custom 
 among those nations. See Gen. xl. 20. Grotius,
 
 Satan obtainelh leave 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 to tempt Job. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1520. 
 
 ' 1 Kings 
 
 21. 10, 13. 
 t Heb. 
 all llie days. 
 t Heb. the 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 til ll:e mi/lsl 
 
 cf^ them. 
 
 5 And it was so, when the days of their 
 feasting were gone about, that Job sent 
 and sanctified them, and rose up early in 
 the morning, and offered burnt offerings 
 according to the number of them all : for 
 Job said, It may be that my sons have 
 sinned, and "cursed God in their hearts. 
 Thus did Job t continually. 
 
 6 ^ Now there was a day when the sons 
 of God canie to present themselves before 
 the Lord, and t Satan came also t among 
 them. 
 
 To celebrate a birthday with great tokens of rejoicing and 
 triumph, was tlie custom of fonner ages. Herodotus says, " of 
 all days the Persians shew the liighest regard to their birthday :" 
 and he gives us an account of the particular ceremonies which 
 were appropriated to tliat festival. Chappdoiv. 
 
 5. — sanctified Ihem^ Required them, by messengers, to pre- 
 pare themselves by washing, and such rites as were then in use ; 
 as also by prayer, repentance, &c. to join with him in offering 
 sacrifices for tlieni. Clark. 
 
 Il mat) be that mt) sons have sinnerl,'] This was a suspi- 
 cion in Job concerning his children. Hence we may observe, 
 that it is no breach of charity to suspect ill of others, while we 
 intend their good. Indeed, upon a surmise to accuse and charge 
 another, is very uncharitable ; but upon a surmise that such an 
 one, my child, or my friend, or my brother, hath sinned, to be 
 induced to pray for him — this is very chaiitable. A good heai-t 
 turns its suspicions of others' sinnings and failings into prayers 
 and intercessions, that they may be pardoned ; not into accusa- 
 tions and slanders, that they may be defamed. The use which 
 Job made here of his suspicion of his sons' sinning, was to turn 
 it into prayer and sujjplication for the pardon of their sin. Caryl. 
 
 Unfavourable suspicions are not unlawful, if they proceed, not 
 from any corrupt affections, but only from a charitable jealousy 
 of those, over whom we have special interest, so that it may en- 
 gage us to admonish, reprove, or correct them, when they do 
 amiss : so was Job suspicious of his sons, for sinning and cursing 
 God irk their hearts. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 cursed God in their hearts^ Some way dishonoured God 
 
 by neglecting to give Him the praise and glory of His mercies. 
 Clark. 
 
 Let slip some irreverent words of God. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 It is hardly to be imagined, that they, whose hves had been 
 formed by the e.xample of so good and religious a father, could 
 ever be guilty of so aggravating a crime, as, strictly speaking, to 
 curse God. We may suppose, that their elegant and sumptuous 
 entertainments might raise such an excess of mirth, as to occasion 
 an absence of mind, and make thenj think of God less reverently 
 than they ought. Chappelon'. 
 
 Job was only apprehensive, lest, in the gaiety of a festival, 
 his children had let loose their minds from the restraints of reU- 
 gion. Scott. 
 
 6. — the sons uf God "] The good angels, ch. xxxviii. 7 ; Dan. 
 iii. 25, 28. Clark. 
 
 came to present themselves before the Lord,'] Appeared 
 
 before God in a special manner, for some special end. A para- 
 bolical representf'tion of God's providence in the government of 
 the world. Clark. 
 
 The decrees of God, the ministry of good, and the machina- 
 tions of evil angels, are usually expressed in the form of the judg- 
 ments or counsels of a king; 1 Kings xxii. ly ; Zechar. iii. 1. 
 Grolius. 
 
 Satan] Foe to God and man, and the accuser of the 
 
 brethren. The Greek version in this passage of Job, and in 
 Zechar. iii. 1, renders " Satan" by a wox'd signifying the accuser. 
 Parkhurst. 
 
 The grand spiritual " adver<arj'" of markind is here first in- 
 troduced in Scriptiue, under his proper name " Satan," and un« 
 Vol. I. 
 
 7 And the Lord said unto Satan.'WTience "«*"* 
 comest thou ? Then Satan answered the a^iTuIVs^ 
 Lord, and said, From 'going to and fro m reus. 8. 
 in the earth, and from walking up and 
 
 down in it. 
 
 8 And the Lord said unto Satan, t Hast t "«»>. hast 
 thou considered my servant Job, that there w^L'** 
 is none like him in the earth, a perfect and 
 
 an upright man, one that feareth God, and 
 esclieweth evil? 
 
 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, and 
 said. Doth Job fear God for nought.^ 
 
 der the character assigned to him from hence in the New Testa- 
 ment, of " walking about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he 
 may devour," 1 Pet. v. 8, with allusion to Job i. 7, and ii. 3 ; and 
 as " the accuser of the brethren, who accused them before God 
 night and day," Rev. xii. 10. Dr. Hales. 
 
 The name " Satan," as denoting an enemy, frequently occurs 
 in the Old Testament : see 2 Sam. xix. 22 ; 1 Kings v. 4 ; where 
 the word for " adversary" is in the original " Satan." It is ex- 
 tremely probable to me, that the root Satan was inti-oduced into 
 the Hebrew and other Eastern languages, to denote an adversary, 
 from its having been the proper name of the great enemy of 
 mankind. Bp. Watson. See the note on ch. ii. ]0. 
 
 — ^— and Satan came also among them.] It is not said, that 
 the sons of God and Satan came and presented themselves before 
 tlie Lord : Satan did not join himself m with them ; Satan did 
 not offer himself for any good service ; but thither he came, 
 being so ordered by the overruling power of God. Caryl. 
 
 7. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou ?] The 
 Lord, to inake him sensible that he was not an absolute prince, 
 but His subject, called to him and demanded an account of him, 
 where he had been, and from whence he came. To which lie 
 gave an answer, which expressed, as the restlessness of his mind, 
 and his unwearied diligence, so the limitation of his power, 
 which extends only to this lower world ; for he told Him, that 
 he came " from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking 
 up and down in it." Bp. Patrick. 
 
 God employs Satan as His instrument, either to inflict punish> 
 ment, or to bring evils on man, for whatever cause may seem 
 good to the Divine will. But Satan, though hostile to man, and 
 desirous of doing him injurj', is bound as it were with a chain, 
 and can never even touch the righteous unless when let loose by 
 God. While " going to and fro, and walking up and down in the 
 earth," Satan might watch Job, but he could not hurt him with- 
 out permission from God. Roscnmuller. 
 
 God decreed to give power to Satan, for the proof of Job's 
 fidelity and patience ; and permitted the several calamities which 
 were brought upon Job to make trial of him. Bp. Hall. 
 
 —— From going to and fro in the earth,] To find advantage 
 to tempt men, 1 Pet. v. 8. Clark. 
 
 The most important truths, as we are framed at present, can 
 make but a slight impression on the mind, unless they enter first, 
 like a picture, into the imagination, and from thence are stamped 
 upon the memorj'. 
 
 The Scripture speaks of God after the manner of men ; for 
 there is a necessity of condescending to our cnpacities, and of 
 suiting the revelation to our apprehensions, and to the ideas we 
 are furnished with. As kings therefore transact their most im- 
 portant affairs in a solemn council or assembly, so God is pleased 
 to represent Himself as having His council likewise, and as pass- 
 ing the decrees of His providence, in an assembly of His holy 
 angels. Peters. 
 
 Q. — Doth Job fear God for nouglU f] It is an argument of a 
 most malignant spirit, when a man's actions are fair, then to ac- 
 cuse his intentions. The devil had nothing to say against the 
 actions of Job, but goes down into his heart, and accuses his in- 
 ter.tions. Malice misinterprets the fairest actions, but love puts 
 the fairest interpretation it can upon foul actious. Caryl. 
 
 5X
 
 Job, umkrslanding of the loss of his goods J O B. and children, in his mourning hlesseth God. 
 
 Dcfor* 
 
 cniusT 
 
 »l)OUl l.'-O. 
 
 I Or. 
 
 calllt. 
 
 + Hcb. 
 if he curst 
 thee Hoi to 
 thyfitct. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 honJ. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 ^grentfirt, 
 
 10 Hast not thou made an hedge about 
 him, and about his house, and about all 
 that he hath on every side ? thou hast bless- 
 ed the work of liis hands, and his il sub- 
 stance is increased in the land. 
 
 11 But put forth thine hand now, and 
 touch all that he hath, t and he will curse 
 thee to tliy face. 
 
 V2 And the Loud said unto Satan, Be- 
 hold, all that he hath is in thy t power; 
 only upon himself put not forth thine hand. 
 So Satan went forth from the presence of 
 the Lord. 
 
 13 If And there was a day when his sons 
 and his daughters xvere eating and drinking 
 wine in their eldest brother's house : 
 
 14 And there came a messenger unto 
 Job, and said. The oxen were plowing, and 
 the asses feeding beside them : 
 
 15 And the Sabeans fell zipon them, 
 and took them away ; yea, they have 
 slain the servants with the edge of the 
 sword ; and I only am escaped alone to 
 tell thee. 
 
 16 While he was yet speaking, there 
 came also another, and said, || The fire of 
 God is fallen from heaven, and hath burn- 
 
 10. Hast not Ihou made an hedge about him, &c.] A figurative 
 expression, signifying. Hast not Thou secured liim from injury ? 
 See the notes on Hos. ii. 6; Mic. vii. 4. 
 
 11. — he ivill curse lliee lo thi/ J'acc.^ The phrase is stronger 
 than that used at ver. 5. It imports here an utter and publick 
 renunciation of religion as a vain tiling. Scoli. 
 
 12. — all Ihcil he lialh is in thy potvcr ;'] It is here observable, 
 that the devil could have no power over Job, (nor consequently 
 can h.ive over any other of God's servants,) without having first 
 obt;iIned it from God. Cvll^cr. 
 
 onlij upon himself put not furlh thine hand.'] Hence we 
 
 may remark, that God Himself sets bounds to tlie afflictions of 
 His people. He limits how far every affliction shall go, and how 
 far every iu'^trument shall prevail. Caryl. 
 
 15. And the Sabeans fell upon them,'] The Sabeans were a peo- 
 ple (as is concluded by most intei-preters) inhabiting Arabia Felix, 
 near the country where Job dwelt: they were famous only for 
 robberies, and lived by pillage and plundering their neighbours. 
 Cartjl. 
 
 17. — The Chaldeans'] Chaldea, a country lying between Me- 
 sopotamia to the north, Susiana to the east, the Persian bay to the 
 south, and Arabia Deserta to the west. Dr. Wells. 
 
 Chaldea was at a vast distance from the land of Edom. But 
 these were a set of profligates, who followed the pilfering life of 
 the wild Arabs ; and, like them, it is probable they made excur- 
 sions through the Arabian deserts, to any distance where there 
 was any hope of plunder. The Arabs deemed it heroism to 
 make long journeys over patllless solitudes in quest of daring ad- 
 ventures. Scott. 
 
 19- — a great n'ind] A whirlwind. Clark. 
 
 -from Ike wilderness^ It is conceived, that this was either 
 
 the wilderness of Edom, spoken of -2 Kings iii. 8 ; or else it was 
 Arabia the Desert, which is by way of eminency called the Wil- 
 derness. Caryl. 
 
 ~ — ™'0'c the four corners of the house, and it fell] The fol- 
 lowing account of a whii-lwind is given by Mr. Bruce : " We had 
 Bcarcely advanced two miles into the plain, when we were in- 
 dosed by a violent whirlwind, or what is called at sea the water- 
 
 ed up the sheep, and the servants, and ^hr'ist 
 consumed them ; and I only am escaped about 1520. 
 alone to tell thee. 
 
 17 While he was yet speaking, there 
 came also another, and said. The Clialdeans 
 made out three bands, and tfell upon the fHeb. 
 camels, and have carried them away, yea, '"'''"'■ 
 and slain the servants with the edge of the 
 sword ; and I only am escaped alone to tell 
 thee. 
 
 18 While he was yet speaking, there 
 came also another, and said, Thy sons and 
 thy daughters were eating and drinking 
 wine in their eldest brother's house : 
 
 19 And, behold, there came a great wind 
 tfrom the wilderness, and smote the four t Heb. 
 corners of the house, and it fell upon the "& ™' "*"^''' 
 young men, and they are dead ; and I only 
 
 am escaped alone to tell thee. 
 
 20 Then Job arose, and rent his || mantle, II Or, 
 and shaved his head, and fell down upon 
 
 the ground, and worshipped, 
 
 21 And said, "Naked came I out of my "Eccies.*. 
 mother's womb, and naked shall I return i Tim. 6. 7. 
 thither : the Lord gave, and the Lord 
 
 hath taken away ; blessed be the name of 
 the Lord. 
 
 spout. — The unfortunate camel, that had been taken by the 
 Cohala, seemed to be nearly in the centre of its vortex. It was 
 lifted, and thrown down at a considerable distance, and several of 
 its ribs broken. Although, as far as I could guess, I was not near 
 its centre, it whirled me off my ftet, and threw me down on my 
 face, so as to make my nose gush out with blood. Two of the 
 servants likewise had the same fate. — It demolished one half of 
 a small hut, as if it had been cut through with a knife, and dis- 
 persed the materials all over the plain, leaving the other half 
 standing." Script, illusl. Expos. Ind. 
 
 20. Then Job arose, &c.] Job, who had beard all the rest 
 without disturbance, was overcome with grief at this last word. 
 Bp. Patrick: 
 
 a7id shaved his tiead,] Michaelis remarks, that this was 
 
 done in token of great grief; and cites Curtius in proof, that the 
 Persians did the same on the death of Alexander the Great, ac- 
 cording to their custom in mourning ; and refers to Lucian, that 
 thus likewise the Egyptians lamented the funeral of their Apis, 
 and the Syrians tlie death of Adonis. Parkhurst. 
 
 Herodotus speaks of it as a general practice among all people, 
 except the Egyptians, to cut off their hair as a token of mourn- 
 ing. At the Friendly Isles in the South Sea, " cutting off the 
 hair is one of their mourning ceremonies ;" Cook's and Clarke's 
 Voyage : and at Otalieite, Forster says, " the hair was cut ofT 
 and thrown upon the bier." Dr. Hales. 
 
 fell down upon the ground, and morshipped,] Whence we 
 
 may observe, that it becometh us to worship God in a humble 
 manner : and farther, that afflictions send the people of God home 
 to God : afflictions draw a godly man nearer unto God. Caryl. 
 This behaviour was truly sublime : tho noblest homage that 
 could be paid by a reasonable being to his great Creator. Scott. 
 
 21. — naked shall I return thither:] Into the earth, the com- 
 mon womb or receptacle and repository for aU the dead. Clark. 
 
 the Lord gave, and the Lord liatli taken away ; &c.] Job 
 
 overlooks all secondary causes, and owns God in all; acknow- 
 ledging Him to be both just and good in all His ways, and bless* 
 ing Him for all, whether giving or taking away. Clark. 
 
 The things we have are not properly given, but lent. Whea
 
 Satan ohtalneth fur titer leave to 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 tempt Job, and smiteth him •wit/i boils. 
 
 A' 
 
 CH rTst ^^ ^" ^^^ ^'^'^ "^^^ sinned not, nor || charg- 
 aboiit i5ao. ed God foolishly. 
 
 nltribxited CHAP. II. 
 
 fdlytoGod, 1 Salan appearing again hefore God ohtaiiicth furlhcr 
 leave to tempt Jub. 7 He smiteth him with sore hoils. 
 9 Job reproveth his wife, moving him to curse God. 1 1 
 His three friends condole 7vith him in silence. 
 
 GAIN there was a day when the sons 
 of God came to present themselves 
 before the Lord, and Satan came also 
 among them to present himself before the 
 Lord. 
 
 2 And the Lord said unto Satan, From 
 " Chap. t. 7. whence comest thou ? And " Satan answer- 
 ed the Lord, and said, From going to and 
 fro in the earth, and from walking up and 
 down in it. 
 
 3 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast 
 thou considered my servant Job, that there 
 
 " Chap. 1. is none like him in the earth, •" a perfect 
 
 ' ■ and an upright man, one that feareth God, 
 
 and escheweth evil ? and still he holdeth 
 
 fast his integrity, although thou movedst 
 
 ■God lent us tlie use of them. He did not mean to forego the pro- 
 perty too: and therefore they are His goods still, and He may re- 
 quire them at our hands, or take them from us when He will, and 
 dispose of them when He pleases: see Hos. ii. Q. What we have, 
 we hold of Him as our creditor: whensoever therefore He shall 
 think good to call in His debts, it is our parts to return them, 
 not with patience only, but with thankfulness, that He hath suf- 
 fered us to enjoy them so long; and certainly without the least 
 gi-udging or repining (as too often we do) that we may not hold 
 them any longer. Thus did Job : when all was taken from him, 
 he still " blessed the name of the Lord." Bp. Sanderson, 
 
 Chap. n. ver. 3. — without cause.'\ Without his desert, ac- 
 cording to the usual way of speaking, or without any signal 
 guilt to draw upon him so signal a calamity : not but that there 
 might be other very weighty causes or reasons for it ; for the 
 Divine wisdom neither does nor suffers any thing " without 
 cause," that is, without a siifficient reason. Peters. 
 
 4. — Skin for skin, &c.] The meaning is, " Who is there that 
 will not give another skin to save his own ; nay part with his 
 children, as well as his goods, to save his life ?" Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Rather, " skin after skin." The expression alludes to the well- 
 known fact of the renovation of the skin on any part of the 
 body that has been excoriated, and is plainly proverbial, import- 
 ing that a man ma}' bear to part with all that he has, and even to 
 have his skin, as it were, stripped off, again and again, provided 
 only that his life be safe. All other losses and calamities may be 
 well borne, as external and superficial, and not coming home to 
 the man's self. Parkhurst. 
 
 7. — smote Job with sore boils &'C.]] Or with a loathsome and 
 universal leprosy ; a scrophulous disease common in the East and 
 in hot countries. It is of two kinds, the white and the black. 
 This latter is commonly called elephantiasis, because it renders 
 the skin, like that of the elepliant, uneven and wrinkled, with 
 many furrows. Dr. Hales. 
 
 The Hebrew words describe Job's disease as a grievous inflam- 
 matory ulcer : how long it might last, is unknown ; some have 
 conjectured many months ; others some years. The name, used 
 in the text for the disease, is rendered in Deut. xxviii. 27, " the 
 botch," or ulcer, " of Egypt :" whence we conclude, that it was 
 no new disease. It has usually been thought to be the elephan- 
 , liasis. Script, illiist. Expos. Ind. 
 
 Job is struck with the elephantiasis, a disorder, which, when it 
 
 me against him, tto destroy him without ^f'^°l^.^ 
 
 ^^^'^^' about 1520. 
 
 4. And Satan answered the Lord, and ^ Heb. 
 said, Skin for skin, vea, all that a man hath 'otuaiiow 
 will he give for his'life. *"""''• 
 
 5 But put forth thine hand now, and 
 touch Iiis bone and his flesh, and he will 
 curse tl'.ce to thy face. 
 
 G And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, 
 he is in thine hand ; |1 but save his life. II Or, only. 
 
 7 IF So went Satan forth from the pre- 
 sence of the Lord, and smote Job with 
 sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his 
 crown. 
 
 8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape 
 himself withal j and he sat down among 
 the ashes. 
 
 9 ^ Then said his wife unto him. Dost 
 thou still retain thine integrity ? curse God, 
 and die. 
 
 10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest 
 as one of the foolish women speaketh. 
 What ? shall we receive good at the hand 
 
 attains a certain height, (as it appears to have done in this in- 
 stance,) is incurable, and therefore affords the patient no prospect 
 but that of long continued misery. The reader, vho is thus ap- 
 prised of the Divine motives for allowing this model of hiunan 
 excellence to undergo so hard a trial, anticipates the result ; but 
 Job and his friends, we must remember, were ignorant of them, 
 and therefore had no reason to look for the Divine interference. 
 Michaelis. 
 
 8. And he took him a potsherd &c.] At the beginning of this 
 disorder (the elephantiasis) an intolerable itching is felt. Hence 
 Job is said to have taken " a potsherd" (or earthen vessel) " to 
 scrape himself withal." Rosemmdlcr. 
 
 and he sal down among the ashes.'] Sprinkling or covering 
 
 themselves with, rolling or sitting in ashes, &c. were emblemati- 
 cal acknowledgments, as of being obnoxious to the wrath of God, 
 so of grief and contrition: see 2 Sam. xiii. 19; Esth. iv. 1 ; Jer. 
 vi. 26. We find the Greeks likewise, in violent grief, sprinkling 
 ashes on their head, and lying in ashes. Parkhurst. 
 
 9. — Dost thou still retain &C.3 Dost thou still retain thy in- 
 tegrity towards God, though thou reapest no advantage from it ? 
 It were better to be at once freed fi-om thy misery. Curse God ; 
 and He will, by His judgment, make a speedy way for thee out 
 of this torment. Bp. Hall. 
 
 —— curse God, and die.'} Cast off thy reverence of the Di- 
 vine Majesty, and spare not to reproach that God who has dealt 
 so hardly with thee, though thou die for it. Clark. 
 
 10. — the foolish women'} So the Hebrews styled idolaters, 
 Psal. Ixxiv. 1 8. The heathens, when any misfortune befell them, 
 were wont to revile their gods. Scott. 
 
 shall we receive good &c.] This return Job made, when 
 
 tempted to "curse Go<l, and die." He remembered the several 
 prosperous years which had passed over his head, and he knew 
 by whose providence they had been prosperous. Swely tliere 
 was a debt of gratitude owing on this account, wJiich it became 
 him, as far as possible, to answer. This he considered thoroughly ; 
 and therefore, instead of any imjiatient murmuring at his pre- 
 sent sufferings, he resigned himself up entirely to God, and 
 blessed the very hand under which he suffered. If the example 
 of this great man, who is so highly celebrated in hoi}' writ, be of 
 any moment, we may apply it in some measure to every other 
 person who labours under affliction. For though it may not be 
 frequent to be so highly favoured by Providence, as this great 
 man had been in his more early years ; yet, who is there that 
 
 5X2
 
 Job*s three friends 
 
 JOB. 
 
 condole ivlth him in silence. 
 
 B«forr of God, and shall wc not receive evil ? In 
 Si'uui!"! ^11 this did not Job sin with his lips. 
 
 1 1 ^ Now when Job's three friends heard 
 of all this evil that was come upon him, 
 they came every one from his own place ; 
 Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the 
 Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite : for 
 they had made an appointment together 
 to come to mourn with him and to com- 
 fort him. 
 
 12 And when they lifted up their eyes 
 afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up 
 tlieir voice, and wept ; and they rent every 
 one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon 
 tlieir heads toward heaven. 
 
 13 So they sat down with him upon the 
 
 hath enjoyed nothing, and received no ad\'antage from the in- 
 fluence of Heaven ? Bp. Cotii/beare. 
 
 and shall lie not receive evil ?] As all sin is supposed in 
 
 Scripture to be from the divil, so whenever any number of na- 
 tural causes conspire to produce any very remarkable ill effect 
 upon men, especially upon ffood and virtuous persons, this is gc- 
 nerally ascribed to the devih But as God Himself is the supreme 
 Govemour of the world, nodiing- can be done but by His permis- 
 sion and consent. Satan is only a mere instrument, and can £jo 
 no farther tlian he is allowed ; and so we find represented in this 
 book. Dr. John Clarke. The patience of Job is much talked of, 
 and we seldom look farther for any use of this book. But pro- 
 bably it was written in opposition also to the very ancient opinion, 
 ■which introduced two independent princijjles ; one, good, the 
 other, evil : for this reason, Satan, the author of Job's misfortunes, 
 appears to be brought in with jiermission from God to afflict Job; 
 and one moral of the history is in Job's reflection, " The Lord 
 gave, and the Lord hath taken away ;" and again, " Shall we re- 
 ceive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil.?" 
 Bp. S/ierloct. 
 
 In all this did ?ml Job sin with his lips.'] We should here 
 
 notice, on the one hand, the behaviour of Job's wife, who, instead 
 of encouraging and comforting him, tempted him to murmur 
 against God, and curse Him : and on the other, the wonderful 
 constancy of Job, who always preserved his integrity, and said 
 to his wife, "What.? shall we receive good at the hmid of God, 
 and shall we not receive evil ?" Persons, united by marriage or 
 otherwise, are guilty of a great sin when they do not endeavour 
 to comfort one another, and mutually e.xhort each other to holi- 
 ness. Hence also we may learn, that when it pleases God to 
 afflict us, it behoves us humbly to submit to His will, and ac- 
 quiesce in all His dispensations ; knowing that evil, as well as 
 good, proceeds from Him, and that afflictions are not less useful 
 to us, than prosperity and success. O.ilervald. 
 
 II.— Eliphaz &C.J Teman was a city of Edom, Jer. xlLx. 
 7, 20; Ezek. xxv. 12, 13; Amos i. 11, 12. Shuah was a district 
 m the " east country" of Arabia Petrea, where Abraham's sons 
 by Ketiirah were settled. Gen. xxv. 2, 6. Naamah was a city of 
 tdom. Josh. XV. 21, 41. Dr. Hales. 
 
 12. — and sprinkled dn.<!t upon Ihcir heads tonard keaven.l This 
 place would be more intelligible were it rendered. And threw dust 
 through the air upon their heads; see Acts xxii. 23, where this 
 wistom IS alluded to. Dr. Durell. 
 ., c-t- '''" """^J"' 'lown with him upon the ground seven days &c."l 
 
 Bati nT^.K"".- ^^'"T'^", ■' ''" °"^"*^' P'^'^^e' to express their 
 ^mg the time in the deepest mourning: this, according to the 
 Eastern manner, was for seven days ; see Gen. 1. 10. Heath. 
 
 vro^e^'\n\h.'^it- T'u ^"* ^^^.'^P*^'"^ "^ *^'^ ^^''^ ^^ ^"tten in 
 ag cai awress, wlych «, lofty m ,ts conceptions, and highly 
 
 ground seven days and seven nights, and chr^i'It 
 none spake a word unto him : for they saw about 152a 
 that his grief was very great. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 1 Julf curses the dai/ and services of his birth. 1 3 The 
 ea.fc of death. 20 He complaineth of life, because of 
 his anguish. 
 
 AFTER this opened Job his mouth, 
 and cursed his day. 
 
 2 And Job t spake, and said, f lUb. 
 
 3 ' Let the dav perish wherein I was 'I""'""''- 
 born, and the night in "which it was said, i.^, vj. 
 There is a man child conceived. "^*''' ^^' **• 
 
 4 Let that day be darkness ; let not God 
 regard it from above, neither let the light 
 shine upon it. 
 
 figurative in its language ; which labours for the strongest images, 
 and most energetick word.s, to express its feelings, and to spread 
 o^•er all objects around it its own gloominess and horrour. A pa« 
 roxysm of such violent grief vents itself in the following impre* 
 cations. The passion however subsides a little in the latter part 
 of the speech, and flows in the soft complaining strain of elegy. 
 Tiiis impotence of mind in Job, so inconsistent with his former 
 firmness, may probably be accounted for in part from the in- 
 fluence of his disease: to which must be added, his not having 
 obtained any abatement of his affliction, notwithstanding his sub- 
 mission ; and his suspicion, from the silence of his friends, that 
 he was to expect no consolation from them. Scott. 
 
 Those, who have been affected with Job's disorder, are said to 
 have been weary of life, and to have wished for nothing so much 
 as death : it made them impatient, passionate, discontented with 
 every thing, wild, and desperate. Michaetis. 
 
 Ver. 1. — cursed his flai/.^ Job wishes he had never been 
 bom, or, at least, that lie had died immediately after his birth ; 
 and describes the happiness of the dead. He then ventures to 
 ask, why God has given existence to the miserable, and why He 
 does not rather put an end to their unhappiness by death, which 
 they long for. Michaelis. 
 
 Job is neither rigidly to be taxed with blasphemy or profane- 
 ness, nor totally to be excused, especially not flatteringly com- 
 mended, for this high complaint. It must, as it appears, be 
 granted, that Job discovered much frailty and infirmity, some pas- 
 sion and distemper, in this complaint and curse : yet notwith- 
 standing we must assert him to be a patient man, yea, a mirror of 
 patience ; for consider the greatness of his suffering, the midtipli- 
 city of his troubles ; that his complainings and acts of impatience 
 were but few, but his submissions and acts of meekness under the 
 hand of God were very many : take also into consideration, that, 
 though he did complain, nnd complain bitterly, yet he recovered 
 out of these complainings ; he recalls what he had spoken, and 
 repents of what he bad done. Caryl. 
 
 These are infirmities proceeding from excessive grief, and are 
 not to be brought forward to excuse our repining against God's 
 providence. All that follows the second verse is expressed in the 
 style of poetry. Bp. Wilson. See the note on Jer. xx. 14'. 
 
 3. Let the day perish] " The day," namely, his birthday. 
 " Let the day perish," by being deprived of the light of the sun; 
 " the night," by losing the light of the moon and stars : to which 
 he adds other circumstances, to aggravate the horrour. Scott. 
 
 There is a man child conceived.] The bearing of a son was 
 
 a matter of great consequence among the Arabians : the form of 
 their appreciation of happiness to a new married woman being, 
 " May you live happily, and bring forth male children." SchuUens, 
 Heath. 
 
 4. — let not God regard it from above,] In Deut. xi. 12, the 
 word, here rendered " regard," is translated " care for." God is 
 here represented, sitting on His throne in heaven, and surveying
 
 H€ curseth the day of his birth. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The ease of death. 
 
 CH lu ST ^ .^^.^' darkness and the shadow of death 
 about 1520. II stain it ; let a cloud dwell upon it ; || let 
 i Or, the blackness of the day terrify it. 
 chMeyeu. Q ^^ for that night, 'let darkness seize 
 themterrify upon it ; II Jet it not be joined unto the 
 Jt'ho'have'a ^^js of the year, let it not come into the 
 buterday. number of the months. 
 UH^'notre. . 7 Lo, let that night be solitary, let no 
 >i"« a wuing joyful voice come therein. 
 
 days. g j^^j, ^YxQia curse it that curse the day, 
 U O":- who are ready to raise up H their mourn- 
 
 a leviathan. ■ •' ^ 
 
 ing. 
 
 9 Let the stars of the twilight thereof 
 
 be dark ; let it look for light, but have 
 
 t Heb. none ; neither let it see t tiie dawning of 
 
 the euelids . i i '-' 
 
 o/ihemom. the day : _ 
 
 '"s- 10 Because it shut not up the doors of 
 
 my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from 
 
 mine eyes. 
 
 1 1 Why died I not from the womb ? ichi/ 
 did I nut give up tlie ghost when I came 
 out of the belly ? 
 
 12 Why did the knees prevent me ? or 
 why the breasts that I should suck ? 
 
 13 For now should I have lain stiU and 
 
 the universe, to see that all its movements be carried on accord- 
 ing to the laws which He has established. Job wishes that the 
 day of his nativity may be rejected from the care of that Provi- 
 dence, by which the constant vicissitudes of day and night are 
 preserved. Scolt. 
 
 5. — shadow of deafh^ Such a dismal darkness as is in the 
 place of the dead. Clark. 
 
 let Ike blackness of the day terrify jV.] Let a continued 
 
 darkness make it terrible to all beholders. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Whatever can be imagined most dismal to make a day terrible 
 and abhorred, such as destructive .storms, lightnings, thunder- 
 ings, portents, and the like, I conceive to be comprehended in this 
 phrase. Scott. 
 
 7- Lo, let that night be solitary, "^ In that night let none assem- 
 ble to converse, or to rejoice. The Arabs h.id their meetings for 
 •onversation in the night ; and among the Eastern nations in ge- 
 neral, the night was devoted to festivity. Matt. x.w. 1, &c. It is 
 so still among the Moors in Barbary, as Dr. Shaw says. Scolt. 
 
 8. Let them airse it thai curse the day. Sec.'] Let those men be 
 hired, whose business and employment it is to " curse the days" 
 that are esteemed ominous and inauspicious : let them apply all 
 their skill in " raising" their mournful voices to the highest pitch. 
 CkappcloTV. 
 
 According to the marginal reading, the verse may be thus 
 translated; " Let them execrate it, who curse the (natal) day 
 (compare ver. 1) of those who are about to, or who shall, rouse 
 the '•■ Leviathan :" which was almost sure to be attended with im- 
 mediate and horrid destruction. See chap. xli. 8 — 10. " The 
 crocodile," says Hasselquist, " does inexpressible mischief to the 
 people of upper Egypt, often killing and devouring women, who 
 come to the river to fetch water, and children playing on the 
 shore, or swimming in the river." Parkhursl. 
 
 It was natural to mention such a terrible casualty in the strong- 
 est terms of abhorrence ; and to lament those, who so miserably 
 perished, with most bitter imprecations on the disastrous day. 
 Job here calls for the assistance of such language, to execrate the 
 fatal night of his nativity. Scott. 
 
 11. iVhy died I not from the nomb f} As soon as I had life in 
 « the womb. Clark. 
 
 12. Why did the knees prevent me ?2 Why did the knees of 
 
 been quiet, I should have slept : then had before 
 I been nt rpst CHiiiST 
 
 14 With kings and counsellers of the 
 earth, which built desolate places for them- 
 selves ; 
 
 15 Or with princes that had gold, who 
 filled their houses with silver : 
 
 16 Or as an hidden untimely birth I had 
 not been ; as infants xthich never saw light. 
 
 17 There the wicked cease Jroin trou- 
 bling ; and there the t weary be at rest. + w^''- . 
 
 18 There the prisoners rest together ; uTmgti,!'^ 
 they hear not the voice of the oppressor. 
 
 19 The small and great are there ; and 
 the servant is free from his master. 
 
 20 Wherefore is light given to him that 
 is in misery, and life unto the bitter in 
 soul ; 
 
 21 Wliich t long for death, but it cometh t Hcb. 
 not ; and dig for it more than for hid trea- "^""' 
 sures ; 
 
 22 Which rejoice exceedingly, a7id are 
 glad, when they can find the grave ? 
 
 23 JVhi/ is light given to a man whose way ^ 
 
 is hid, ^ and whom God hath hedged in ? s. ^ ' 
 
 the midwife assist at my birth in preserving my life ? Dr. 
 Durell. 
 
 M. With kings and counsellers of the earth,'] This beautiful de- 
 scription of the grave contains a fine obhque satire on ambition 
 and avarice. Scott. 
 
 . nhich built desolate places for themsches ;] By " desolate 
 places," we may understand tombs and sepulchres, which kings 
 and counsellers build for themselves : and the word, which we have 
 here for " desolate places," is in Scripture clearly applied to the 
 grave, or place of burial. We have it in Ezek. xxvi. iiO. Caryl. 
 
 " Desolate places," those dreary sepulchral mansions, where the 
 body is wasted or consumed. Such for instance as the pyramids 
 of Egypt, some of which were probably older than the times of 
 Job. Parkhurst. 
 
 1 8. — they hear not the voice of the oppressor.] Of the taskmaster, 
 or driver, cliap. xxxix. 7- The account given us of the treatment 
 of the Christian slaves in.Mequinez, is a lively comment on tliis pas- 
 sage: " Their respective guardians, or taskmasters, deliver them 
 over at night, as so many sheep, to another, who is appointed to 
 take charge of all; who secures them in one house till next morning, 
 and then they hear the doleful echo of Coine out lo nork." Scolt. 
 
 19. The small and great are there;] Rather, " there the small 
 and the great are the same ;" for that seems to be the precise 
 meaning of the passage. Dr. Durell. 
 
 21. — dig for it more tlianfor hid treasures ;] Compare Prov. 
 ii. 4; Is, xlv. 3, &c. These expressions of Scripture, wliich refer 
 to hidden treasures, wiU perhaps derive a spirit fnmi knowing, 
 that a custom prevails among the Eastern people of burying their 
 riches, by which means vast sums have been lost ; that the great 
 as well as the small are persuaded of all the ancient monuments 
 containing some hidden treasures ; and that in fact a number of 
 men make a kind of business of going about pretending to dis- 
 cover such treasures. Fragments to Calmet. 
 
 23. — lo a man who.se way is hid, &c.] ^^'hy is light cast upon 
 a man whom God hath made so miserable, that there is no way 
 to be hoped of his deliverance from this calamity ; whom God 
 hath shut up in this distress, without the possibility of escape .* 
 Bp. Mali. 
 
 " Whose way is hid," so that he cannot see how to get out of 
 his miseries. Bp. Wilson.
 
 t Hcb. 
 itfiu my 
 meal. 
 t Heb. 
 IJ'tared a 
 ftnr, nnJ it 
 enme up^n 
 vif. 
 
 Eliphaz rejrroveth Job 
 
 Before 24. For my sighing cometh t before I 
 ^^l?Z eat, and my roarings are poured out like 
 
 the waters. , . , x .^ c 
 
 -25 For t the thmg which I greatly fear- 
 ed is come upon me, and that which I was 
 all-aid of is come unto me. 
 
 -26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, 
 nefther was 1 quiet ; yet trouble came. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 1 Eliphaz reprovelh Job fur want of religion. 7 He 
 teacheth God's judgments to be not for the righteous, 
 hut for the wicked. 12 His fearful vision, to humble 
 Ike 'e.xcellcncy of creatures before God. 
 
 ^HEN Eliphaz the Temanite answered 
 ^ and said, 
 
 2 If we assay t to commune with thee, 
 wilt thou be grieved ? but t who can with- 
 hold liimself from speaking ? 
 
 3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and 
 thou hast strengthened the weak hands. 
 
 4 Thy words have upholden him that was 
 
 JOB.' 
 
 for liwit of religion. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 It word, 
 t Hcb. 
 Kki> can re- 
 frainfrom, 
 vyrdiT 
 
 24. — ;ny sis/ling cometh before I cat,"] So that I eat only to 
 prolong; my rnisery. All these are no more than the natural 
 ways of expressing great affliction in the Eastern countries, and 
 woulil at tliis verj' day be so understood. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 It is in the Hebrew, as the margin notices, " before," that is, 
 in the presence of, " my meat." The sight of his food renewed 
 his distress, because it was the means of prolonging a miserable 
 life; or because, as Peters ingeniously conjectures, it brought to 
 his remembrance those happy hours, when " his children were 
 about him," chap, xxi.x. 5. Scott. 
 
 25. For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me,"] The 
 thing which Job meant here as the greatest of his fears, and 
 which was now come upon him, was probably the loss of his 
 children ; for whom an over-tender parent is in continual soli- 
 citude. And that Job was such, appears plain from that re- 
 markable circiunstance in his story, his constant sacrificing upon 
 occasion of his children's feasting, lest any impiety might have 
 been committed by them in those unguarded liours, that might 
 provoke the Deity to punish them, chap. i. 5. Peters. 
 
 26. / was not in safety, &c.] I did not lull myself into se- 
 curity, (chap. i. 5,) and yet that did not prevent me from being 
 miserable. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 I never confided in my power, or ■wisdom, or holiness. The 
 thought of his innocence was the only comfort which Job had : 
 the devil had deprived him of all else, and his friends strive to 
 deprive him of this. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Chap. IV, V. Eliphaz, the first of Job's friends, reproves him 
 for grieving so excessively himself, who had formerly preached 
 patience to others in affliction. He represents God as afflicting 
 the wicked, but not good men. He relates a vision which he had 
 seen, wherein God had convinced him of His justice, and of the 
 meanness and corruption of human nature. He erdarges upon 
 God's judgments on the wicked and their posterity. And he 
 speaks of the usefulness of God's corrections; exhorts Job to im- 
 prove by Uiose, with which he was visited, and to acknowledge 
 his sms : giving him hopes that he would then be delivered from 
 
 his misfortunes, and restored to his former condition" 
 
 Osier- 
 
 This address of Eliphaz has the appearance of friendship. But 
 several strnlroo o,„i.i,„. i-..i.-''i. i. . , • , , "^ , 
 
 «verai strokes, and the tenour of the whole, too plainly shew, that 
 ^J.IS^'*''^ *'.'^ afflictions of his friend to be tiie punishment of 
 
 preceding guilt. .Scoli. 
 
 punishment of 
 
 Chap. IV. ver. 5. But now U is come upon thee, &c.J But now 
 
 falling, and thou hast strengthened tthe (.^"("Hj 
 feeble knees. about 1520. 
 
 5 But now it is come upon thee, and t Heb. 
 thou faintest ; it toucheth thee, and thou tlt'^"' 
 art troubled. 
 
 6 Is not l/'iis thy fear, thy confidence, thy 
 hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? 
 
 7 Remember, I pray tliee, who ever pe- 
 rished, being innocent.-' or where were the 
 righteous cut oft"? 
 
 8 Even as I have seen, ^ they that plow ' Prov. 22. 
 iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the hos. 10.13. 
 same. 
 
 9 By the blast of God they perish, and 
 
 II by the breath of his nostrils are they !l ti.'»"s. 
 
 •^ ■, by bu un- 
 
 COnSUmed. ger, as Isai. 
 
 10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice ^- ^^• 
 of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the 
 young lions, are broken. 
 
 11 The old lion perisheth for lack of 
 prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scat- 
 tered abroad. 
 
 thou canst not learn the same lesson thou did.st teach others ; 
 for now that affliction is come, thou canst not bear it patiently. 
 Clark. 
 
 6'. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, &c.] That is, 
 thy fear of God should be thy confidence : and thy hope and thy 
 integrity should go together. Peters. 
 
 The original is a period, divided into two members, and may 
 be translated thus : " Should not thy piety be thy confidence * 
 and the uprightness of thy ways, thy hope?" The words may be 
 construed as a friendly admonition to recollect his religious prin- 
 ciples, and to support himself b}' the clearness of his conscience. 
 On the other hand they maj- import, that no good man would fall 
 into despair under affliction, as he had done. Scott. 
 
 thyfear,2 Michaelis remarks, that the word " fear," re- 
 verence, is used Tor piety, or the fear of God, though the name of 
 God is omitted. See also chap. xv. 4. Parkhurst. 
 
 7, 8. — who ever perished, being innocent ? &c] The strong 
 terms which Eliphaz here uses, " who ever perished, being inno- 
 cent }" and his adding what he had observed himself of the pu- 
 nishment that sometimes remarkalily befalls wicked men, contain 
 a shrewd insinuation that he believed Job to have been guilty of 
 some secret sins, for which the hand of God was thus heav)' upon 
 him. What follows (ver. 16 — 19) more and more confirms this 
 notion ; for, by the recital of a vision which he had, he intimates 
 to him what a folly it would be to presume to justify himself be- 
 fore God, in whose sight the angels themselves were not pure or 
 perfect. Peters. 
 
 Although it be true in general that the innocent never perish, 
 and that God afflicts men for their sins, yet Eliphaz was to blame 
 for concluding from thence, that Job's virtue had not been sin- 
 cere; since God does also send misfortunes upon the virtuous. 
 It would be a rash and hasty judgment, to believe that men are 
 wicked, or hypocrites, only because they are afflicted ; on the 
 contrary, justice and piety require us to judge charitably of 
 them, especially when their lives have been innocent, as Job's had 
 been. Oitervald. 
 
 10. The roaring of the lion, &c.] And not only such wicked 
 men as are weak, but the strongest, stoutest, and fiercest, with all 
 their dependents, are destroyed by God. Clark. 
 
 By the lions ai-e meant the wicked.: t!iey roar over their prey; 
 then* roaring beir.g silenced is equivalent to the failure of their 
 schemes. Michaelis. 
 
 11. The old lion — the stout lion's whelps'^ Tyrants and their* 
 cluldren soon pcrisli. Bp. Wilson. We have here in the original
 
 Eliphaz's fearful vision. 
 
 CHAP. IV, V. 
 
 The harm of inconsideration. 
 
 Before 
 CHKIST 
 
 abdut 1,20. 
 
 t Hcl). 
 ly slenlt/i. 
 
 t H<-b. 
 met me. 
 t Heb. 
 
 twte of in if 
 tunes. 
 
 1 Or, 
 
 J heard a 
 Still voice. 
 
 » Chap. 15. 
 15. 
 
 2 Pet. 2. 4. 
 I Or, 
 
 nor in his 
 angel St in 
 whoBi he 
 put light. 
 
 12 Now a thing was t secretly brought to 
 me, and mine ear received a httle thereof] 
 
 13 In thoughts from the visions of the 
 night, when deep sleep talletii on men, 
 
 14 Fear tcame upon me, and trembh'ng, 
 which made t all my bones to shake. 
 
 15 Then a spirit passed before my face; 
 the hair of my flesh stood up : 
 
 16 It stood still, but I could not discern 
 the form thereof: an image "was before 
 mine eyes, || there "was silence, and I heard 
 a voice, saying, 
 
 17 Shall mortal man be more just than 
 God ? shall a man be more piue than his 
 maker ? 
 
 18 Behold, he ''put no trust in his ser- 
 vants; II and his angels he charged with 
 folly: 
 
 no less than five different -words to express a Hon. This animal 
 ■was esteemed by the Eastern people a creature of so much 
 strength and courage, so far superioiir to other beasts, that the 
 Arabians put their invention to the utmost stretch to find out 
 names suitable to his quaHties. There are, it is said, more than 
 five hundred appropriated to him. Chappelow. 
 
 12. Now a thing was secretly brought tome,~\ If these observa- 
 tions be not sufficient to convince tliee, hear what God Himself 
 secretly whispered to me. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 There are different opinions concerning this " thing," -word, or 
 oracle, as it may be interpreted; and whether it w;is real or ima- 
 ginary only. The circumstances attending it, though it was mis- 
 appHed by Eliphaz, would incline one to think it was more than 
 a speculative imagination. Revelation by dreams was, we are as- 
 sured, one of the means that God vouchsafed to make use of to 
 signify His will and pleasure. As to revelations, they were not 
 always m.ide to the best of men: witness the corrupt and deceit- 
 ful heart of Balaam. And if this was a true revelation, Eliphaz's 
 great fault was in not applying it to a right purpose, but rather 
 to vex and disquiet a gootl man. Chappelow. 
 
 15. — the hair of my flesh stood ^</).•] Thus Homer, speaking 
 of Priam, when terrified at the appearance of Mercury, " His 
 hairs stood upright on his bending limbs." Parkhiint. 
 
 17. Shall mortal man be more Just than God ^"2 The important 
 instructions conveyed in this Divine vision are, the absolute rec- 
 titude of God, the exceeding imperfection of human virtue, and 
 the impiety of arraigning tlie justice of His moral government. 
 The manifest design of Eliphaz in relating it was, to fix a Divine 
 censure on the latter part of Job's speech, and to warn him again.-it 
 falling into such querulous language any more: since all com- 
 plaint supposes, that the complainant thinks himself injured by 
 the party of whom he complains. Scolt. 
 
 18. Behold, he put no tru.it in his servants; &c.] The imper- 
 fection of the most exalted spirits is meant to be pointed out, in 
 comparison with the infinite perfection of the Deity. Scott. Ho- 
 liness is a communicable perfection: but no creature can partake 
 of it in such a manner and degree, as the Divine nature possesseth 
 it. God is eternally holy, the fountain of holiness: the creatures 
 are derivatively and by partici))ation holy. God is eminently 
 and transcendently so: the creatures in a finite degree. God is 
 inmiutably so; it is impossible it should be otherwise: but no 
 creature is out of an absolute possibility of sin. In this sense it 
 is here said, that " He putteth no trust in His servants, and His 
 angels He charged with folly:" and chap. xv. 15, " He puttetli 
 no trust in His saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in His 
 sight." Abp. Tillotson. 
 
 J 9. — in houses ofclai/, &c.^ Frail mutable bodies, whose ori- 
 ginal is from the dust, which are crushed sooner than a moth. 
 Cbrk. 
 
 " Houses of clay," or of mud. This description of our frail 
 
 puces. 
 
 19 How much less in them that dwell in "«''<"* 
 
 ' houses of clay, whose foundation is in the a'lll.usla 
 du.st, xihich are crushed before the moth ? ' •_' Cor.s. 1. 
 
 20 They are t destroyed from morning t Heb. 
 to evening: they perish for ever without t^,'" *' 
 any regarding it. 
 
 21 Doth not their excellency "ichich is in 
 them go away? they die, even without 
 wisdom. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 I The harm (f inconsideration. 3 The end of the nicked 
 is misery. 6 God is to be regarded in affliction. 1 7 
 The happij end of God's correction. 
 
 CALL now, if there be any that will an- 
 swer thee ; and to which of the saints 
 wilt thou II turn ? 
 
 2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and 
 
 II envy slayeth the siLly one. 
 
 t|Or. 
 
 hok r 
 
 J Or, 
 
 ituUgna- 
 tion. 
 
 perishing bodies receives additional force from remarking, tliat 
 one usual mode of building in the E.-ist is literally with mud dried 
 in the sun; and that of course such mud-houses soon decay, and 
 are of short duration. Parkhurst. 
 
 which are crushed before the moth ?] Or, more strictly, 
 
 the moth-worm. Parkhurst. 
 
 This creature is usually taken for the moth, which consumes 
 clothes and wool, by reducing them to a dust and powder. The 
 signification of the passage may be; As the habitation of a worm 
 is consumed by its inhabitants, so is the person of man ; it is no 
 more cipable of resisting tUsease, than a woollen cloth is capable 
 of resisting decay, when devoured and demolished by the worm 
 appointed to it: otherwise, crushed as a feeble and contemptible 
 insect is crushed; as we crush a moth-worm, without compnnC'- 
 tion or reluctance. Script, illust. Exjms. Ind. 
 
 20. They are destroyed from morning to evening :'\ They are 
 subject or liable to destruction the whole day. Caryl. There 
 is not a moment, wherein man is not sinking and drawing on to- 
 wards death and corruption. Poole. 
 
 21. Doth not their excellency which is in them go away P"] Ra- 
 ther, Doth not their excellency go away with them } Dr. Durell. 
 
 they die, even without wisdom.'] Though they are masters 
 
 of never so much wisdom in their lifetime, 3'et in death it all 
 vanishes, together with their other excellencies. Clark. 
 
 " They die, even without wisdom:" like beasts, who never 
 think of death, which will deprive them of all that they possess. 
 Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Chap. V. ver. 1. — to which of the saints will thou turn f] The 
 voice of the spirit or apparition evidently ceases with the last 
 verse of the foregoing cliapter; so that what follows must be 
 the words of Eliphaz. Chappelow. 
 
 " To which of the saints, &c." of the holy beings, that is, of the 
 angels. Those exalte<l spirits know themselves to be fallible: 
 which of them, therefore, will countenance tliee, in justifying^ 
 thyself, and complaining against God .' Scoll. Or, " to which of 
 the saints w ilt thou turn .'" Canst thou give any instance of holy 
 men afflicted as thou art ? Bp. Wilson. 
 
 2. — wrath killeth the foolish 77W«,] Wrath may be taken here 
 two ways, eitlier for the wrath of G(h1, or for the wrath of man: 
 in the former sense the meaning is, that the wratli of God kills 
 foolish men; which is an undoubted truth. But the latter seems 
 preferable, which gives the meaning thus: that tlie wrath of a 
 foolish man kills himself; hi* own wrath is as a knife at liis 
 throat, and as a sword in his own bowels. Caryl. 
 
 Eliphaz resumes his position, that men reap what they sow: 
 their sufferings are the fruit of their own criminal pas.-ions, Prov. 
 i. o\, 32. He protluces another example in support of this prin- 
 ciple, and traces up the matter to its source in a fixed law of Pro- 
 vidence, which hath ordained natural evil to be the pvjiiihment of
 
 The end oftlie wicked is misery. 
 
 JOB. 
 
 God is to he regarded in affliction. 
 
 CHRIST 
 ■boul l^'-'O. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 ItdquiKj- 
 Or. 
 lalniur. 
 t lU'k 
 
 lUt JKII f 
 
 tht hurnmi; 
 coal lift up 
 
 • Chap. 9. 
 10. 
 
 PsaL72.1S. 
 Rom. 11. 
 33. 
 
 t Hib. 
 and tlicrc is 
 no Knrch, 
 t Hcb. 
 till tlicrc be 
 n-i nunU'Cr. 
 
 3 I have seen the foolish taking root: 
 but suddenly I cursed his liabitation. 
 
 4 His children are far iiom safety, and 
 they are crushed in the gate, neither is 
 tlicrc any to tleliver them. 
 
 5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, 
 and taketh it even out of the thorns, 
 and the robber swalloweth up their sub- 
 
 stance. 
 
 6 Although II affliction cometh not forth 
 of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out 
 of the ground; 
 
 7 Yet man is born unto II trouble, as 
 t tlie sparks fly upward. 
 
 8 I would seek unto God, and unto God 
 would I commit my cause: 
 
 9 * Which docth great things t and un- 
 searchable ; marvellous things t without 
 number: 
 
 moral. It is to be observed, by what cautious gradations this 
 speaker opens his xinchari table judgment of the case of his friend. 
 Scott. 
 
 —— the foolish man, — the stih/ oiic.^ These are terms in 
 Scripture for impious and wicked men, Prov. i. 7, 32; marking 
 them as persons of a stupid under.standing, and seduced by their 
 corrujit passions. The first, " foolisli," is applied by Zechariah 
 to an oppressive ruler, chap. xi. 15, l6. The passions of " wrath" 
 and " envy" are specified, because these are two principal sources 
 of injustice and cruelty. Scott. 
 
 3. — / cursed his hal)ilation.~\ I judged him unhappy; and 
 saw a curse hanging over :J1 that belonged to him. Clark. 
 
 This passage appc.-irs to be explained by Ps. xxxvii. 35, 36. 
 Roseiivinllcr. 
 
 \Vhat Kliphaz says concerning the judgments of God upon the 
 wicked, and tlie short duration of their happiness, is true: but his 
 application of it to Job is wrong. Ostervald. 
 
 4. — the gate,'\ The coui-t of justice held at or over the gate. 
 2?/). Stock. 
 
 See the note on Gen. xxiii. 10. In the place of judgment, jus- 
 tice took hold of them. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 To Dr. Shaw's remark, quoted in the note on Gen. xxiii. 10, 
 may be added, that the square tower, which is the present princi- 
 pl entrance to the Alhambra, or red palace of the Moorish kings 
 in Grenada, from its being the place where justice was summarily 
 administered, was styled " the gate of judgment." Parkhiirst. 
 
 5. fVhate harvest the hungry eatellQ " The hungry," that is, 
 a starveling, a man almost starved with hunger and thirst, a 
 meagre wretch. There seems in this place a manifest allusion to 
 the half-starved Arabs of the desert, wlio were always ready for 
 plunder, as their descendants are to this day. Parkhurst. 
 
 — — taketh it even out of the thorns,'^ As a man is said to fetch 
 a thing out of the fire, or out of the lion's mouth, when he gets it 
 with much jicril and hazard; so, what a man gets with much 
 difficulty and kboiu- he is said to get out of the tliorns: and the 
 reason is tills; because men were wont, wlien they had gathered 
 in their harvest, to secure it with a thorn hedge, or to lay bu.shes 
 about their sucks, to keep off cattle or any other annoyances. Cari/l. 
 Or, '• whose harvest the hungry taketh even out of the thortis:" 
 for, bemg overrun with briars, it is not worth reaping. The 
 plunderer took the r. mainder. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 . 6, 7. Atlhouqh affliction &c. &c.] The Hebrew is rather, " For 
 iniquity cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring 
 TrZ 1 P «'""""'*;" 'hat is, as the wickedness of men does ncft 
 ^^^1 any natural cause, but from their own fiee wills; 
 
 tura c',L"'^ "■ "u"!''^'* '" ^^ «^"»^i''ered as the effects of na- 
 fiNmen-r;. ■ .''' """ distributions of a free agent likewise, who 
 
 pronetosuris'! '"''"' ^ .'^''^ "''""''■ -'1 hence man, being 
 prone to bui, IS necessarily bom to suffer. Peters. 
 
 Before 
 CHKIST 
 
 »l)Out IS'-'O. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 (lutptncei. 
 "I's. 113.7. 
 
 I Sam. 2. 7. 
 
 'Nch.4. IS. 
 I'm 3:!. 10. 
 1?. l<. 10. 
 
 II Or. 
 cannot per-. 
 
 J'^rjfi untf 
 Ihing. 
 « 1 Cor. 3. 
 ly. 
 
 ' Dcul. 28. 
 29. 
 II Or, 
 run ini». 
 
 < Psal. lOT. 
 42. 
 
 10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and 
 sendeth waters upon the t fields: 
 
 11 "To set up on high those that be 
 low J that those which mourn may be ex- 
 alted to safety. 
 
 12 ' He disappointeth the devices of the 
 crafty, so that their hands || cannot perform 
 t/ieir enterprise. 
 
 13 '^ He taketh the wise in their own 
 craftiness : and the counsel of the froward 
 is carried headlong. 
 
 14 " They II meet with darkness in the 
 daytime, and grope in the noonday as in 
 the night. 
 
 15 But he saveth the poor from the 
 sword, from their mouth, and from the 
 hand of the mighty. 
 
 16 "^ So the poor hath hope, and iniquity 
 stoppeth her mouth. 
 
 God, in His luibounded wisdom and power, is the disposer of 
 all events, and especially of those that happen to men, dispensing 
 them with perfect righteousness and goodness, insomuch that, 
 sooner or later, the wicked are confounded, and the righteous de- 
 livered. This every day's experience confirms: and it should 
 be a powerful motive to engage us to forsake sin, and to put our 
 whole trust in God alone. Ostervald. 
 
 8, 9- J would seek unto God, &c.] That is, (f t Eliphaz had 
 precluded Job from all attempts to justify liimself in the fore- 
 going part of his advice,) I woukl yp))ly to God by a full and 
 free confession of those sins, which have ch-awn this sad calamity 
 upon me; to God, who was able to do wonders, (as he presently 
 adds,) and who could and would restore him to his former happy 
 state, if He saw him truly penitent for his past transgressions: 
 for this is the whole purport of the following part of the speech, 
 ver. 17 — 27; namely, to give Job hopes of a happy turn to his 
 condition, if he would but <\o, what Eh'pliaz thought was abso- 
 lutely necessary to be done in liis case; namely, make a frank 
 confession of those secret crimes and enormities, which had pulled 
 down this severe chastisement on his head. Peters. 
 
 10. Who giveth iy/ih] We may note, that the common bless- 
 ings of God are not dispensed without a directing Providence. 
 Nature works not without the Grxl of nature. Carijl. 
 
 In those hot climates the spring is of short duration. All sum- 
 mer the earth is without rain: every thing is burnt up, and the 
 fields are turned into a desert. But when the autumnal rains fall, 
 a few plentiful showers produce a sudden resurrection of vegeta- 
 ble nature: the pastures are clothed again with grass, the trees 
 are covered with green leaves, and all things assume a fresh and de- 
 lightful aspect. Dr. Russell. Eliphaz appears to allude in this place 
 to such a great and beautiful operation of Providence; as a fitting 
 emblem of its effecting a like wonderful transition from a condi- 
 tion of despairing affliction to a state of prosperity and joy. Scott. 
 
 11. To set up on high those thai he Ion,- &C.3 From the works 
 of nature, ver. 10, Eliphaz jiasses on to man, and describes at large 
 instances of supreme power which God is wont to display in His 
 dealings with him. This verse is to be connected with ver. 9, 
 in the following manner: God doeth great and marvellous things 
 by setting up on high those that be low. Rosenmuller. 
 
 13. — the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.'^ That is, 
 they rush to tlieir own ruin. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 14. They meet with darkness SiC."]^ They trip in the plainest 
 way; anil see not tlieir danger when it is visible to every body 
 but themselves. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 5. from tlieir mouth,'] That is, from the reproaches of those 
 crafty ones. Clark. 
 
 16. So the poor katk hope,"] Great cause to hope in God's 
 mercy for deliverance, by this experience of the Divine goodness 
 to him. Clark.
 
 The happy end 
 
 CHAP. V, VI. 
 
 of God's correction. 
 
 Before 
 CHUIST 
 
 about 1520. 
 
 * Prov. S. 
 IS. James 
 1.12 Helw. 
 1-2.5. Rev. 
 5.19. 
 
 * Deut. 32. 
 39. 1 Sam. 
 2. 6. Isai. 
 
 Hos. 6. 1. 
 ' Ps. 91. 3. 
 t Heb. 
 
 J^rom the 
 hands^ 
 n Or. 
 when the 
 tungiii; 
 
 SKUUT^etk. 
 
 *Hos.2. IS. 
 
 li Or, 
 
 thaljieace'is 
 Ihtf tahcr~ 
 rtacle. 
 II Or, err. 
 
 17 ^ Behold, liappy is the man whom 
 God correcteth : therefore despise not thou 
 the chastening of the Almighty: 
 
 18 " For he maketh sore, and bindeth 
 up : he woundeth, and his hands make 
 whole. 
 
 19 'He shall deliver thee in six troubles: 
 yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. 
 
 20 In famine he shall redeem thee from 
 death : and in war t from the power of the 
 sword. 
 
 21 Thou shalt be hid II from the scourge 
 of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid 
 of destruction when it cometh. 
 
 22 At destruction and famine thou shalt 
 laugh : neither shalt thou be afraid of the 
 beasts of the earth. 
 
 23 ^ For thou shalt be in league with 
 the stones of the field : and the beasts of 
 the field shall be at peace with thee. 
 
 24 And thou shalt know || that thy ta- 
 bernacle shall be in peace ; and thou shalt 
 visit thy habitation, and shalt not II sin. 
 
 iniquity stoppeth her mouth.'] Such examples of the jus- 
 tice and goodness of Providence silence the objections of infidels, 
 and the murmurs of all complainants. Scutl. 
 
 17- Behold, happy is the man &c.] As a further motive to re- 
 pentance, he represents afflictions as Divine remedies, and dis- 
 plays the blessings they procure to those who are reformed. Scott. 
 
 19. — in six iroublci : yea, in seven] This expression " six; yea, 
 seven," seems to be a fixed number put for an unfixed, a certain 
 number for an uncertain. We find this kind of speaking fre- 
 quently in .Scripture: in the thirty-third chapter of this book, 
 ver. 29, " Lo, all tliese tilings worketh God twice and thrice," we 
 translate, " these things worketh God oftentimes." Caryl. 
 
 21. — destruction'] Itather, ruin, by calumny or false accusa- 
 tion ; as appears from its connexion with " the scourge of the 
 tongue." Scott. 
 
 when it cometh.] Upon others. Clark. 
 
 22. — destruction and famine] " Destruction," dcwlation, by 
 the incursions of lawless men and wild bea.sts: see Lev. xxvi. 
 22 ; Jer. v. 6 ; Ezek. xiv. 15 ; Ps. Ixxx. 13. " Famine," extreme 
 •poverty, the effect of the incursions and depredations above men- 
 tioned. Accordingl}- it follows, " neither shalt thou be afraid of 
 the beasts of the earth." See Hos. ii. 12, 18. Scott. 
 
 23. Tor thou shall he. in league with the .itones of the field :] 
 The stones of the field shall not hurt thee, though thou walkest 
 with naked feet. Grotius. 
 
 This strong figure of speech may import protection in travel- 
 ling. The sandals, which the ancient.s wore, were a very slight 
 guard to the feet in the rough and stony ways of their mountiins. 
 Compare Ps. xci. 1 1, 12. In the former verse he assures security 
 to his vineyards, &c. from the depredations of noxious animals; 
 in the latter part of this, lie engages for the security of his person, 
 pai-ticularly from the various kinds of serpents, which infested 
 the desert of Arabia, iuid rendered travelling dangerous, Deut. 
 viii. 15. Scott. 
 
 24. — and thou shall visit thy habitation, and shalt not «'m.] The 
 words signify, Thou shalt superintend thy affairs with good suc- 
 cess, and not err or fail in the administration of them. Bp. Hall. 
 " Shalt not sin," shalt not miscarry. The original word is a me- 
 taphor from skilful slingcrs, who never miss the inai'k: Judg. xx. 
 16, " every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not 
 miss." Scott. It signifies to miss of happiness, " our natures end 
 and aim." Parkhurst. 
 
 26. — like as a shock of corn comelh in in his season.] Cometh 
 to the tlireshingfloor at Uie season of harvesU Bp. Stock. 
 V«L. 1. 
 
 25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed (.Hn"j|.p 
 shall be II great, and thine offspring as the abounsa). 
 grass of the earth. y Or. 
 
 26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a "'"'^' 
 full age, like as a shock of corn t cometh t Heb. 
 in in his season. 
 
 27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is ; 
 hear it, and know thou it t for thy good, t ^i*. 
 
 •' O JorthytelJ. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 1 Job sheweth that his complaints arc not causeless. 8 He 
 wisheth for death, jvherein he is assured of comfort 
 14 He reprovelh his friends of unkindness. 
 
 BUT Job answered and said, 
 2 Oh that my grief were throughly 
 weighed, and my calamity t laid in the ba- ^ "**• 
 lances together ! "'' 
 
 3 For now it would be heavier than the 
 
 sand of the sea : therefore II my words are a Th" '* 
 swallowed up. llTtoer- 
 
 4 ' For the arrows of the Almighty are r^"' "y 
 
 within me, the poison whereof drinketh up 
 
 grief. 
 
 ' Ps. 38. «. 
 
 The Eastern people used not anciently to stack their com in 
 the straw, to remain for a considerable time, as we do ; but to 
 carry it together in heaps, and tlien presently thresh it in the 
 field : and they observe the same practice to this day. " As a 
 heap of corn comes up" (on the threshingfloor, namelj-) " in its 
 season," that is, when fidly ripe. Parkhurst. 
 
 An easy death in a good old age, a worthy and respected cha- 
 racter, and an honourable interment, are the ideas conveyed in 
 this rural comparison. Scott. 
 
 27- Lo this, tve have .searched it,] They had, it seems, conferred 
 together on the case of their friend, agreed in their judgment 
 of it, and concerted the plan of their discourse to him. Job ac- 
 cordingly addresses his answer to them all. Scott. 
 
 The intent of this speech, however sot\ and insinuating, is very 
 plain : it was to bring Job to a confession of some secret wicked- 
 ness, some great enormity, of which his friends supposed him to 
 be guilty. And so, we find, Job understood it ; for he complains 
 of the unkindness of the suspicion in the following reply, chap. 
 vi. 14, 15, 25. Peters. 
 
 Chap. VI, VII. Job excuses his ebullition of impatience by the 
 greatness of his sufferings, which his friends have not duly ajv. 
 preciatcd. He rejects in very unfriendly terms the consolation 
 offered by Eliphaz, probably because he knows his disaster to be 
 incurable, and feels no right to expect a miraculous interference 
 to effect his recovery. He declares expressly that he does not ex- 
 pect a cuje, and that a six-edj' death is his only desire : he com- 
 jilains that his friends do not sympatliize with him ; he Lunents' 
 the general lot of human nature, and his own in particular ; he 
 confesses at last, that he is not unjustly punished, but comjilains 
 that God should so strictly obser\e and so rigidly punish, ofienoea 
 that camiot injure Him. Michaelis. 
 
 Chap. VI. ver. 3. — therefore my n-ords arc sn-allowed up.] By 
 my grief, which drowns them that I cannot speak, and stops my 
 mouth that I am not able to utter what I would say. Clark. 
 
 4. For the arrows of the Almighty are nithin mc,] I'his is ut- 
 tered by tlie patient man, when he w ould excuse his passion by 
 the terrour and agony he was in. He had patience enough tor the 
 oppression and rapine of liis enemies, for the unkindness and re- 
 proach of his friends, and for the cunning and malice of the de- 
 vil ; but he was so transported with the sense of God's anger, he 
 could not bear that with temper : the apprehension that all these 
 miseries, of so piercing and destroying a nature in tliemselves, 
 fell upon him, not only by God's permission, to try and humble 
 hira, but proceedetl direcUy from His indignation and resolution-
 
 Job •xishethfor death, 
 
 JOB. 
 
 'whcre'm he is assured of comfort. 
 
 Before mv spirit I tlic tciiors of God do set them- 
 ^"",'-^J selves in army acjainst me. 
 Hi'b!" 5 Doth the wild ass bray + when he hath 
 ./trau. grass? or lowcth tlie ox over his fodder? 
 
 6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten 
 without salt ? or is there atiy taste in the 
 
 white of an egg ? . ^ , 
 
 7 The things that my soul refused to 
 touch are as my sorrowful meat. 
 
 8 Oh that I might have my request; and 
 t Hob. that God would grant me t the thing that 
 
 *""" 9 Even that it would please God to de- 
 
 stroy me ; that he would let loose his hand, 
 and cut me off' ! 
 
 10 Then should 1 yet have comfort; 
 
 to destroy liiin, almost confounded him. We want this apprehen- 
 sion of God's anger, and the pious passion that would attend it ; 
 and find out a hundred reasons for any affliction that befalls us, 
 in the iiride, and envy, and injustice of men, before we resort to 
 the least consideration that they flow from His displeasure to- 
 wards us ; and ore so far from being terrified or perplexetl with 
 the sense of His anger, that we seem to be of opinion, that He 
 cannot he angry at all, otiierwise we would use the same provi- 
 dence to prevent it, and the same diligence and application to pa- 
 cify it, as we do towards the anger of those whom we think able 
 or willing to do us gootl or harm. LonI Clarendon. 
 
 the arroirs — tite poison vhercof drinhcth up my spirit .-^ 
 
 This alludes to the custom that prevailed among the ancients, of 
 dipping arrows in poison, which appears to have had the effect 
 of producing thirst. Tlie " poisoned arrows" of Horace are fa- 
 mous : and Homer speaks of " poison for smearing arrows." 
 The C'haldee Paraphrast on Ps. Ixiv. 3, alludes to this practice : 
 for what is in Hebrew, " they bend their arrows, bitter words," he 
 renders, " they anoint their arrows with poison." Script, illust. 
 
 do set tkanselves in array against 7nc.'] Make war against 
 
 me ; or, attack me in the order and disposition of a regular army. 
 C/utpjw/ow. The thick succession of his past calamities, and his 
 apprehension of many more sufferings still to come, seem to be 
 painted in this high colouring. Scott. 
 
 5. Dot/i the wild ass liraij &c.] As if he had said. Thou won- 
 derest that my disposition and carriage are so greatly altered from 
 what they were ; see chap. iv. 3 — .'5 : but thou mayest easily 
 learn tlie reason of it from the brute beasts, the ass and the ox ; 
 which, when they have convenient food, are quiet and contented, 
 but complain when they are in want : see Jer. xiv. 6. And 
 therefore my carriage is agreeable to those common principles of 
 nature, which are both in men and beasts ; by which their dispo- 
 sition and deportment is generally suited to their condition. It 
 is no wonder that you, who live in ease and prosperity, do not 
 complain ; nor did I, when it was so with me : but ii" you felt 
 what I feel, you would be as full of complaints as I am. Poole. 
 
 6. Can that tvhich is iinsavoiiry be eaten &c.] Can, or do, men 
 use to eat unsavoury meats, with delight, or without complaint? 
 I'hat is, Men commonly complain of their meat, when it is un- 
 savoury ; how much more, when it is so bitter, as mine is? See 
 the next note. Puole. 
 
 7. The things that my soul refused &c.] The words are to be 
 imderstood metaphorically : the sense may be. Those grievous 
 afflictions, which according to the common inclinations of human 
 nature I dreaded the very touch and thought of, ;u-e now my 
 daily tliough sorrowful bread ; I am forced constantly to feed 
 upon them. Compare Psal. Ixxx. 5; cii. 9. Poole. 
 
 9 that he nould let loose his hand, and cut me off!'] As God 
 
 toade, so doth He still " uphold all things by the word of His 
 power," Heb. i. 3, insomuch, that, should He let go His hold of 
 us, and not keep us up in our being, we should immediately fall 
 down into nothing. Job was sensible of this ; and it gave occa- 
 sion to the present e:iclamation. He knew, that if God did but 
 
 yea, I would harden myself in sorrow : let chkTst 
 him not spare ; for 1 have not concealed about lyio. 
 the words of the Holy One. 
 
 11 What is my strength, that I should 
 hope ? and what is mine end, that I siiould 
 prolong my life ? 
 
 12 Is my strength the strength of stones? 
 
 or is my flesh t of brass ? t Hcb. 
 
 13 Is not my help in me? and is wis- ''"'"""" 
 dom driven quite from me ? 
 
 14 tTo him that is afflicted pity should t "'"j- • 
 be shewed from his friend; but he for- „,",(^'"ft." 
 saketh the fear of the Almighty. 
 
 15 My brethren have dealt deceitfidly 
 as a brook, and as the stream of brooks 
 they pass away ; 
 
 " let loose His hand," so as not to support him in liis being, he 
 should the same moment be " cut ofl'," and cease to be. .So ne- 
 cessarily do all the creatm'es upon earth subsist and depend upon 
 the will and power of their Creator. Bp. lieveridge. 
 
 10. — / fvould harden myself in sorrow .-] I would set myself 
 to bear the pangs and agonies of death, if I had but this hope, 
 that my misery was near expiring ; for I have the testimony of a 
 good conscience, whicii tells me, that I have not smothered any 
 light which God hath sent me, but that I have been faithful to 
 Him, His cause, and His truth. Caryl. 
 
 Jbr I have not concealed the n-ords of the Holy One."] The ' 
 
 great Prophet, the Messiah, appeals to God for His fidelity in si- 
 milar language, Ps. xl. 10. Scott. His words mean. It has been i 
 the business of my life to profess and vindicate piety and religion. 
 So far from concealing those qualities which are peculiar to the 
 Holy One, such as His goodness, kindness, and beneficence ; so 
 far from not publishing them to the world, I have laboured, both 
 by precept and example, to influence mankind with becoming 
 sentiments of such Di\'ine excellences. Chappelon-. 
 
 II. What is my strength, &c.J What evil can there be in my 
 end ? I see little hope of Ufe, and have but little comfort in it to 
 desire it ; nor any hurt in death that I should dread it. Clark. 
 
 13. /* not my help in me? &c.] Do not think that my reason 
 hath forsaken me, and that I do not understand myself. Bp. 
 Patrick. This verse maj' be rendered, agreeably to the Hebrew, 
 " What if 1 have no help in me," that is, if I cannot help myself, 
 if my outward condition be helpless and hopeless, as I confess it 
 is, " is wisdom driven quite from me ?" Have I therefore lost 
 my understanding and common reason ? Cannot I judge whe- 
 ther it is more desirable for me to live or die ; whether I am an 
 hypocrite or not ; whether your words have truth and weight in 
 them, or not ; whether you take the right method in dealing with 
 me ; whether you deal mercifully and sincerely with me, or not ? 
 Poole. 
 
 11. To him that is afflicted kc."} The meaning is, they who 
 treat a friend with such cruelty, will easily cast off the fear of 
 God. Grotius. This verse yields an excellent moral instruction, 
 very proper to inti'oduce the reproof that follows. Scott. 
 
 15. — as a brook,] This simile is exquisitely beautiful, con- 
 sidered as a description of a scene of nature in the deserts of 
 Arabia. But its principal beauty lies in the exact correspon- 
 dence of all its parts to the thing it is intended to represent. The 
 fulness, strength, and noise of these temporary streams in winter, 
 answer to the lai-ge professions made by a man's friends in his 
 prosperity ; the drying up of the waters at the approach of sum- 
 mer, to tJie failure of their friendship in his affliction ; and the 
 contusion of the thirsty caravans, on finding the streams vanished, 
 strongly illustrates liis feelings on being disappointed of relief 
 from their friendly counsels. Scott. 
 
 Though the metaphor from overflowing waters is very frequent 
 in other sacred writers, yet the author of the book of Job nev« 
 touches upon it but once or twice throughout the whole poem, 
 and that very slightly, though the subject afforded liim frequent
 
 He reprovelh his 
 
 CHAP. VI, VII. 
 
 friends ofunkindness. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 jboiit 1520. 
 
 t He!). 
 tlietf arc cut 
 off 
 
 t Heb. 
 in Ike heat 
 therc'if. 
 t Heb. 
 f riinguish- 
 •f. 
 
 liOr, 
 
 F<:r now ye 
 are like to 
 them. 
 Heb. ffj it. 
 + Heb. 
 
 IG Which are blackish by reason of the 
 ice, and wherein the snow is hid: 
 
 17 What time they w^ax warm, t they 
 vanish: t when it is hot, they are t con- 
 sumed out of their place. 
 
 18 The paths of their way are turned 
 aside; they go to nothing, and perish. 
 
 19 The troops of Tema looked, the com- 
 panies of Sheba waited for them. 
 
 20 Tiiey were confounded because they 
 had hoped; they came thither, and were 
 ashamed. 
 
 21 II For now ye are t nothing; ye see 
 ?ni/ casting down, and are atiaid. 
 
 22 Uid I say, Bring unto me ? or. Give 
 a reward for me of your substance ? 
 
 23 Or, Deliver me from the enemy's 
 hand? or. Redeem me from the hand of 
 the mighty ? 
 
 21 Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: 
 and cause me to understand wherein I have 
 erred. 
 
 25 How forcible are right words ! but 
 what doth your arguing reprove ? 
 
 opportunit)' to do so. Indeed a different face of nature pre- 
 sented itself to him, if, according to the opinion of several learned 
 men, the book was written in some part of Arabia: an opinion 
 rendered more probable by this remarkable comparison, in which 
 Job likens his three friends to a deceitful torrent, which is mani- 
 festly taken from the dry and sandy places of Arabia, and adorned 
 with many images peculiar to that country. Bp. Lorrl/i. 
 
 The Arabians have several proverbial sayings concerning pre- 
 tended false friendship. Some are taken from a pool which is 
 filled by sudden hasty showers, and is extremely grateful to a 
 thirsty traveller; but so deceitful, that, when he returns, he finds 
 it quite exhausted. In the same manner they compare a trea- 
 cherous friend to a torrent, or land flood, which is soon raised, 
 and as soon disappears. Chappeloiv. 
 
 hrook.f\ Or torrents. The beds of those winter rivers 
 
 are also called torrents: they are deep vallies between high rocks 
 of granite. Bp. Pococke saw several of them perfectly dry in 
 liis journey to mount Sinai, in April. One in particular, which 
 he passed through, was a quarter of a mile broad. Scott. 
 
 l6. Which are blackish bi) reason of the ice^ These streams are 
 first formed by the autumnal rains: the warmth and rains of the 
 spring melting the ice and snow on the mountains increase them; 
 they then rush down into the vaUics in a large body of turbid 
 water, and assume the appearance of deep rivers. Scott. 
 
 18. The paths of their irat/ are turned a.tide;^ Or, "they are 
 shortened :" the currents rim shorter and shorter, as the sun con- 
 tinues to beat on them, and their supplies from the mountains 
 fail. Scott. 
 
 19. The troops of Tema looked, &c.3j That is, the caravans of 
 travellers and merchants: or the wandering Arabs, who lived in 
 tents, may be here likewise understood, who removed with their 
 cattle from one place to another, for the convenience of pasture 
 and water. Chappetow. The road of the caravans, that went with 
 merchandise from Arabia Felix to Egypt, lay tJirough Arabia Pe- 
 trea. Job's country. The yearly caravan, wfiich goes from Grand 
 Cairo to Mecca, in Arabia Felix, passes the same way. Scott. 
 
 The same thought is expressed, Jer. xiv. 2, 3. Peters. 
 
 21. For now i/e are nothing; &c.] Job at length applies the 
 similitude to his friends. I say this, he observes, because ye are 
 now nothing; ye are of no service in assuaging my affliction, ye 
 have deceived even the lowest expectation of relief, as a torrent, 
 •whose waters have passed away, frustrates the hopes of a thirsty 
 traveller. Rosenimlier. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about ISeO. 
 
 t Heb. 
 ye cnuK tv 
 Jail upon. 
 
 t Heb, 
 befhre your 
 face. 
 
 II Thatu, 
 iii thiifnnt- 
 ler. 
 t Heb. 
 
 I 
 
 26 Do ye imagine to reprove words, and 
 the speeches of one that is desperate, "which 
 are as wind ? 
 
 27 Yea, t ye overwhelm the fatherless, 
 and ye dig a pit for your friend. 
 
 28 Now therefore be content, look upon 
 me; for it is t evident unto you if I lie. 
 
 29 Return, I pray you, let it not be ini- 
 quity; yea, return again, my righteous- 
 ness is II in it. 
 
 30 Is there iniquity in my tongue ? can- 
 not t my taste discern pei-xerse things ? 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 1 Jol) excuseth his desire of death. 12 He compUiineik 
 of his own restlessness, 17 and God's watchfulness. 
 
 S there not || an appointed time to man ii Or. 
 upon earth ? are not his days also like " "■'"'f"'- 
 the days of an hireling ? 
 
 2 As a servant t earnestly desireth the t Heb. 
 shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the f^'"'* ''•^' 
 reward of his work: 
 
 3 So am I made to possess months of 
 
 26. Do ye imagine to rejyrove words, &c.] Do you imagine that 
 all your arguments are solid and unanswerable, and all mj- an- 
 swers but iiHe and empty words.' Or, do you think it sufficient 
 to cavil and quarrel with some of my words and expressions, 
 without giving allowance for human infirmity, or for my extreme 
 misery, which may easily force from me some unbecoming ex- 
 pressions > Poole. 
 
 27. Yea, ye ovemhehn the fatherless, ~\ That is, you overwhelm 
 me who am a poor, destitute, helpless man, who have no friend, 
 succour, or support. Caryl. 
 
 29. Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; &c.] Bethink 
 yourselves of the wrong you have done me, and repent of it. Let 
 me not be charged wiUi sin and hj-pocrisy for what I have said. 
 Think again, and better of it. I doubt not bnt upon farther con- 
 sideration the righteousness of my cause and person will fully ap- 
 pear to you. Clark. 
 
 30. Is there iniquity in my tongue? &c.] See whether I utter 
 any thing that is false; and whether I possess not a sound judg- 
 ment to distinguish between right and wrong. RoscnmiiUer. 
 
 Chap. VII. ver. 1. Is there not an appointed time to man upon 
 earth?^ This question appears to mean, in general, that, whereas 
 before tlie flooil men lived many hundred years, and after the 
 flood some held out a considerable time, yet now the general pe- 
 riod of human life is determined by God to be much shorter. 
 This passage, as well as tliat in chap. xiv. .'i. has been applied to 
 ill purposes, as if every particular man's time were so strictly as- 
 signed him by God, that nothing could lengthen or shorten it. 
 But. as for particular persons, it does not hereby appear, that God 
 has determined the time of their death by any absolute or uncon- 
 ditional decree; nor does sucii an interpretation seem consistent 
 with the promises of long life to pious persons, where God sees 
 best for tliem, and tiie threatenings of cutting off the lives of the 
 wicked. See Prov. x. 27; Exod. xx. 12; Ps. Iv. iS. Collyer. 
 
 arc not his days also like the days (f an hireling ?] Who 
 
 has a set time for his painful service, ancl longs till night comes 
 
 to put an end to it. Clark. 
 
 • 2. As a servant earnestly desireth the .thadorr,^ V^Tiy rna)- not 
 
 I as passionately wish to see an end of life, as tlie sLnve in a hot 
 
 day gasps for the refreshment of the shade; or the labourer longs 
 
 for the evening when he may rest and be paid for his pains ? Bp. 
 
 Patrick. 
 
 3. So am I made Sx.! As il' Job had said. When die servant 
 5 Y2
 
 Job exctiseth his desire of death. 
 
 JOB. 
 
 He comphineth of his own restlessness^ 
 
 CHIIIST 
 
 (bcvt am. 
 
 f Heb. 
 the avail's 
 te mcusur- 
 
 •Cb.lG ei. 
 Pi. 90. fi. 
 & lO-J. II. 
 ft lOJ. li. 
 tc 14-1. 4. 
 Is. 40. C. 
 James 4. 1 4. 
 t Hcb. 
 ghall not re- 
 turn, 
 a To see, 
 tliac is, to 
 enjoy. 
 t That is, 
 / can Hie 
 ua longer. 
 
 vanity, and wearisome nights are appoint- 
 ed to '"e- . „n u 11 
 
 4 When I He down, I say, When shall 
 I arise, and t the night be gone? and I am 
 full of tossings to and fro unto the dawn- 
 ing of the day. 
 
 5 My flesh is clotlied with worms and 
 clods of dust ; my skin is broken, and be- 
 come loathsome. 
 
 G ' My days are swifter than a weaver's 
 shuttle, and are spent without hope. 
 
 7 O remember that my life is wind: 
 mine eye t shall no more II see good. 
 
 8 The eye of him that hath seen me 
 shall see me no 7nore: tliine eyes are upon 
 me, and II I am not. 
 
 9 As the cloud is consumed and vanish- 
 eth away: so he that goeth down to the 
 grave shall come up no iiiore. 
 
 10 He shall return no more to his house, 
 neither shall his place know him any more. 
 
 11 Therefore I will not refrain my 
 
 hath xvroujflit all day and is weary, he can lie down at night 
 <iuietly and rest himself; but alas, the night is as troublesome 
 and laborious to me as the day : when the hireling hath la- 
 boured and taken pains, he receives his reward at evening; but 
 my wages are months of vanity, and my rewards are nights of 
 trouble. Caryl. 
 
 4. lihen I lie clovii. &c.] Two medical writers of antiquity, 
 Areta?us and Celsus, mention dreams as attending on the ele- 
 phantiasis, and describe them to be such as disturb the rest. 
 liMenmultei: 
 
 5. Ml) Jlcsk is clothed with worms &c.] What a tragical object 
 is lierc presented to our view ! a living corpse. Mamidrell, in 
 his description of the ten lepers whom he saw at Sichem in the 
 Holy Land, remarks, " The whole distemper indeed, as it there 
 appeared, was so noisome, that it might well pass for the corrup- 
 tion of the human body on this side the grave." Scott. 
 
 mi/ skin is broken,'] That is, cracked and peeled off. Mi- 
 
 chaelis observes from the ancient physicians, that in the elephan- 
 tiasis the skin in some places laps over, in others it chaps. Park- 
 hurst. 
 
 6. Ml/ days are swifter iJian a weaver's shuttle,'] All my happy 
 days are run away in a moment, and there is no hope that I shall 
 recover them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. remember that my life is wind:] The same sentiment 
 occurs in Ps, Ixxviii. 39, " For He remembered that they were 
 but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again." 
 Rosenmuller. 
 
 9, 1 0. As tlie cloud is consumed &c.] When Job saith he shall 
 " come up no more," it is not a denial of a dying man's resurrec- 
 tion to life, but of his restitution to the same life; therefore he 
 adds, ver. 10, " he shall return no more to his house:" he doth not 
 say absolutely " he shall return no more," but " he shall return 
 no more to hjs house." Caryl. 
 
 1 1 . Therefore I will not refrain my moulh ; &e.] Since there is 
 no hope that my condition shall be better in this world, I will 
 therefore give some vent to the extremity of my sorrow by my 
 complaints. Clark. 
 
 12. Am I a sea, or a whale, kc] Job e.\claims against his in- 
 flictions, as having neither so fierce and intractable a spirit as to 
 >*quire, nor so much strength as to bear, these severe assaults. 
 ocliuUens. 
 
 ^m I a sea,] The NQe is probably meant, which is called a 
 
 K^Z ^l'""/', ^?^^- '''""'■ -'• ^"'^' ^« Michaelis observes, in the 
 a-oraii. ihe daily increase of the NUe is made the subject of a 
 
 mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my citrTst 
 spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of ai.out i5-.'o. 
 my soul. 
 
 1^ Am I a sea, or a whale, that tliou 
 settest a watch over me ? 
 
 13 When I say, My bed shall comfort 
 me, my couch shall ea.se my complaint; 
 
 14- Then thou scarest me with dreams, 
 and terrifiest me through visions: 
 
 15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, 
 
 and death rather t than my life. t "'^i'- 
 
 16 I loathe it; I would not live alway: i',",",'"'" 
 let me alone; for my days are vanity. 
 
 17 "What is man, that thou shouldest ' Ps- s. -». 
 magnify him ? and that thou shouldest set Hcbr ;i! e. 
 thine heart upon him ? 
 
 18 And that thou shouldest visit him 
 every morning, and try him every mo- 
 ment ? 
 
 19 How long wilt thou not depart from 
 me, nor let me alone till I swallow down 
 my spittle ? 
 
 kind of proclamation at Cairo: and should it be more or less thar» 
 so many cubits, it would create a publick alarm. When it over- 
 spreads its proper limits, it <locs great damage, by carrying away 
 large portions of its banks, sonietimcs towns and villages. The 
 sense may be, Am I an inundation, that thou settest a watch 
 about me.'' Script, ilhtst. Expos. IiiJ. 
 
 or a ivhak, &c.] Probablj' the creature here inteiuled is 
 
 the crocodile, which is watched wherever its haunts are known; 
 as there have been melancholy instances of its seizing dogs, cattle, 
 and even women, who going to draw water have ventured too 
 much into the river. In such cases, no doubt, the adjacent inha- 
 bitants would watch with great anxiety the motions o^ so terrible 
 a neighbour. Am I a crocodile, that thou settest a watch for me.-* 
 Script, itlusl. Exjms. Ind, 
 
 In this view how forcible is the complaint of Job, that God had 
 tlealt with him as men do with crocodiles; watching them with 
 great attention, falling upon them with repeated blows, and giv- 
 ing not over until they have destroyed them. Harmer. 
 
 13. .See ver. 4. 
 
 1 5. "So that my soul chooseth strangling, &c.] So that, if I had 
 my free choice, my soul would wisii to end my sorrow by a 
 violent death, rather than to linger thus in continual torment. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 So that my soul chooseth — death rather than my life.] Or, 
 literally, " rather than my bones," as in the margin: that is, than 
 life in such a skeleton-like body, so emaciated by my distemper. 
 " Bones" denote the remains of a dead body, Gen. 1. 25. Park- 
 hurst. 
 
 \6. I loathe it; I would not live ahvay :] My life is a burden 
 to me, I would not live long; I would rather be cut oft" in the 
 midst of my days, than live to the end of them. Caryl. 
 
 17. What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him?] Why 
 should the great, the powerful, the glorious God, contend with 
 weak, miserable, vain man ? How unequal is this match ! 
 Caryl. 
 
 18. And that thou shouldest visit him every mm-nitig,] Why 
 shouldest Thou send new afflictions on him every morning; 
 nay, try his strength and courage every moment.-' Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 19. How long tvilt thott not depart from me,] Must I endure 
 fatigue and trouble to such an excess as to hope for no inter- 
 mission.? Shall my spirits be quite spent and exhausted without 
 being allowed time to take my breath ? Chappeloiv. 
 
 ttor (el me alone till I stuallorv down my spittle ?] This is
 
 and God's "watchfulness. 
 
 CHAP. VII, VIII. 
 
 Bildad shervelh God's Just dealitig. 
 
 ohpTst 20 I have sinned; what shall I do unto 
 »i>oi.t 1,520. thee, U thou preserver or men ? why hast 
 thou set me as a mark against thee, so that 
 I am a burden to myself? 
 
 21 And why dost thou not pardon ray 
 transgression, and take away mine iniqui- 
 ty ? for now shall I sleep in the dust ; and 
 thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I 
 shall not be. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 1 Bildad sheweth God's juslice in dealitig with men ac- 
 cording to their works. 8 He alledgeth antiquity to 
 prove the certain destruction of the hypocrite. 20 He 
 aj>plieth God's Just dealing to Job. 
 
 THEN answered Bildad the Shuhite, 
 and said, 
 
 2 How long wilt thou speak these things? 
 and how long shall the words of thy mouth 
 be like a strong wind ? 
 
 3 ^ Doth God pervert judgment? or 
 doth the Almighty pervert justice? 
 
 4 If thy children have sinned against 
 
 ° Dent. S2. 
 4. 2CIiron. 
 19.7. 
 Dan. 9. 14. 
 
 •now a proverbial expression among the Arabs, and signifies tlie 
 same as " give me time to breathe." Dr. Diirell. 
 
 20. I have sinned ; what shall I do unto thee,'^ Job having in 
 the former part of this chapter contested with his friends, and 
 expostulated the matter with God, now turns himself to another 
 posture, even to humble his soul, and make confession of his 
 sin. He had justified himself against the accusations of men, 
 but now he accuses and judges liimself in tlie presence of God. 
 Cari/l. 
 
 irhi/ hast thou set me as a mark against thee,~\ A mark to 
 
 intercept Thy arrows upon my breast, so that I know not what to 
 do, I am so burdensome to myself Hence we may remark, that 
 what presses and burdens the soul above all, is the apprehension 
 that God is against us. Caryl. 
 
 21. And win/ dost thou not pardon my transgression,"] WTiy 
 dost Thou not remove the punishment of my transgression.'' if 
 Thou tlost not come speedily to help me, it will be too late. 
 Clark. 
 
 for now shall I sleep in the dust;'] For now I am dying; 
 
 and when that event is past, if Thou wouldest make farther use of 
 me, for the manifesting of Th}- power and my patience, I shall 
 not be at all. Up. Hall. 
 
 In this chapter we are reminded of the vanity and shortness of 
 human life, and of the numerous miseries to which man is here 
 exposed. This truth Job teaches us, when he says, " that there 
 is a kind of warfare appointed to man upon earth ;" and when 
 he sets before us his own example, and the greatness of his suf- 
 ferings. If such is our condition in this world, and Job, a man 
 80 holy and so acceptable to God, was treated thus, we ought not 
 to set our hearts too much upon tilings here below, nor be sur- 
 prised if God exposes us to divers afflictions ; we should rather 
 consider, that He does all in goodness and wisdom ; that He sends 
 afflictions to make us sensible of the vanity of this life, and to 
 wean us from t*he world ; and therefore that it is our duty to sub- 
 rait with humility to His will, to acknowledge our unworthiness, 
 and to intreat that He will consider oui- weakness, and pardon our 
 sins. Ostervald. 
 
 Chaj). VIII. Bildad infers, fi-om the justice of God, that chas- 
 tisement implies guilt, and that one is as surely the consequence 
 of the other, as effects in the natural world are inseparable from 
 their causes. This position, he says, was not a discovery of yes- 
 terday ; it had been imilbxmly maijitained by wise men through 
 
 him, and he liave cast them away t for 
 their transgression ; 
 
 5 ^ li thou wouldest seek unto God be- 
 times, and make thy supplication to the 
 Almighty ; 
 
 6 If thou ivert pure and upright ; surely 
 now he would awake for thee, and make the 
 habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. 
 
 7 Though thy beginning was small, yet 
 thy latter end should greatly increase. 
 
 8 " For enquire, I pray thee, of the 
 former age, and prepare thyself to the 
 search of their fathers : 
 
 9 (For '' we are but of yesterday, and 
 know t nothing, because our days upon 
 earth are a shadow :) 
 
 10 Shall not they teach thee, and tell 
 thee, and utter words out of their heart ? 
 
 1 1 Can the rush grow up without mire ? 
 can the flag grow without water? 
 
 12 'Whilst it is yet in his greenness, 
 and not cut down, it withereth before any 
 otiier herb. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 152a 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 in tlte hand 
 
 nf their 
 
 transgre$~ 
 
 siim. 
 
 » Chap. 22. 
 
 23. 
 
 ' Deut 4. 
 32. 
 
 ••.ScccIi.T.S. 
 Gen. 47. 9. 
 1 C'hrOD, 
 29. 15. 
 Ps. 144.14. 
 & 39. 5. 
 t Hcb. not. 
 
 ' Ps. 1 29. 6. 
 Jer. 17.6. 
 
 all ages past. Job therefore must have been guilty. His chil- 
 dren had perished because they acknowledged not their sins : but 
 Job might yet be restored, if he confessed his evil doings, and 
 asked pardon for them. Bp. Stock. 
 
 Ver. 2. Ho7v long wilt thou speak these things ?] This is the first 
 time of Bildad's speaking. There is something pecuhar in the 
 manner of his address, whieli is sudden, passionate, and without 
 preface. Chappeloir. 
 
 a strong wind ?] Boisterous and violent, swelling and 
 
 furious, opposing all persons and things that stand in thy way. 
 Poole. The meaning of the ^erse is, \Vhy dost thou persist to 
 talk in this manner, and with such vehemence expostulate with 
 God } Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ■I. //' //(;/ children have sinned against him,] Though 'tis true 
 thy children are destroyed, yet thou art still in a capacity to re- 
 ceive mercy, if thou seekest to Goil for it, and desistest from those 
 cau.seless and imtliankful complaints. Clark. 
 
 8 — 13. For enquire, I pray thee, Sec] This natural and beau- 
 tiful corai)arison appears plainly, by the way of introducing it, to 
 have been a proverbial saying delivered down from their fore- 
 fathers, and perhaps taught them from their cradles, " Enquire, I 
 pray thee, of the former age, &c." Have not they then trans, 
 mitted to thee this wise lesson ? tliat as the rush cannot grow up 
 without mire, nor tiie flag without water, so neither can any thing 
 flourish or prosper long without the blessing of Almighty God : 
 and how should the ungodly or hypocrite expect His blessing ? 
 One scarcely knows wliich to admire most, the piety of the senti- 
 ment, or the elegance and justness of the comparison. Peters. 
 
 1 1. Can the rush grow up without mire.''] The word rendered 
 " rush," is probably "the papyrus, which, having been anciently 
 manufactured for the purpose of writing on, has given name to 
 our paper. It grows in marshy grounds; formerly in great 
 plenty in the canals of the Nile, where it is now scarce ; but, ac- 
 cording to Bruce, it abounds in the waters of Abyssinia. Script. 
 illu-Kt. Eapos. Ind. Lucan describes the papyrus by the epithet 
 " bibulus," drinking, soaking, thirsty : which corresponds with 
 great exactness to me nature of the plant, and to its Hebrew 
 name, derived from its remarkably supping up the water in which 
 it grows, according to this passage in Job. It is the same plant 
 of which Moses's ai-k was made, Exod. ii. 3. The " flag," next 
 spoken of, appeius to be a sort of reed, described by Hasselquist 
 as growing near the Nile. Parkhursl. 
 
 12. — it withereth before any other herb.] These marsh vege-
 
 Bildad alkdgcth antiquity to prove 
 
 JOB. 
 
 the certain destruction of the hypocrite. 
 
 Before 13 So are the paths of all that forget God ; 
 
 and 
 
 ^""'•''^ and the ' hypocrite's hope shall perish : 
 
 about I52(). 
 
 'Chap. II. 
 20.4 18. 
 14. 
 
 ri.112.10. 
 
 Prov. la 
 S3, 
 t Hel>. 
 
 hou$e. 
 
 \\ Wlio'se hope shall be cut off, 
 whose trust shall be t a spider's web. 
 
 15 He shall lean upon his house, but it 
 shall not stand : he shall hold it fast, but it 
 shall not endure. 
 
 If) He is green before the sun, and his 
 branch shooteth forth in his garden. 
 
 17 His roots arc w rapped about the heap, 
 and seeth the j)lace of stones. 
 
 18 If he destroy him from his place, 
 then it shall deny him, saying, I have not 
 seen thee. 
 
 19 Behold, this /,v the joy of his way, and 
 out of the earth shall others grow. 
 
 tibles required a great (leal of water : wlien they were not sup- 
 plied with their usual moisture, they perisheil sooner than any 
 other plants. What a just image is this of transient prosperity ! 
 Scotl. 
 
 I a. So arc the paths of all that forget God ; &c.] We may ob- 
 serve, that they who forget God shdl quickly wither, how great 
 and flourishing soever they are. Caryl. 
 
 Though this be true, yet it was wrong in its application to Job. 
 Bp. Wilson. 
 
 14. ti'hose hope nhall be cut off, &c.] A proverbial expression. 
 The same occurs Isaiah lix. 5, " they weave the spider's web." 
 Grotius. 
 
 a spider .<! wel).'^ Wrought indeed with great labour, but 
 
 so thin, that the texture of it is easily broken and dissolved. See 
 Is. lix. 5. In the Koran, Infidels, that is, those who do not be- 
 lieve in Mahomet, but particularly Christians, are compared to a 
 spider, wiiich prepareth a house ; but verily, it is there said, " a 
 spider's house is the weakest of all liouses, did they, the Infidels, 
 but know or consider it." Chappclotr. 
 
 1.5. He shall lean upon his house, but- it shall not .':tand .-^ He 
 may fancy his family to be so great and potent that it will sup- 
 port him ; but it shall fall as well as himself: he may endeavour 
 to keep it up by strong alliances, but to no purpose. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 l6 — 18. He is green before the sun, &c.] The hypocrite was 
 first compared to a rush, secondly to a' spider's web, but now 
 to a gootlly tree. This third similitude grants the hypocrite the 
 best of liis condition, and puts him in the fairest posture that can 
 be imagined, .-.nd yet all proves nought : his root is but rottenness, 
 and his blossom shall go up as the dust, or his branches shall be 
 cut down, and his root stubbed up. Cari/l. 
 
 17. His roots arc wrapped about the heap^ The heap of stones; 
 this denotes his tln'iving against all opposition : heaps of stones 
 are hindrances to the growing of a ti-ee, to the rooting of it; 
 therefore we set or plant trees in places free from stones : but to 
 shew that he may even overcome, conquer, and subdue those dif- 
 ficulties which hinder his growth, it is here said, that his roots are 
 wrapped about the stones : he grows in places of greatest disad- 
 vantage. Or the words may signify the finnness and the seeming 
 strength of his staijchng. He is rooted, not in some loose and 
 sandy earth, or in tougher clay, but liis roots ai-e wrapped about 
 a heap of stones. Caryl. 
 
 — — almut the heap,"] Or, " about a spring," so our translators 
 render the ongmol word in Cant. iv. 12. It seems to allude to a 
 plant, throwing out suckers by the water side. " The place of 
 stones 'is, in the original, " the house of stones," which is a He- 
 ^l^Z ', °' V"'' ^''■""^ S'-o"»d. " Seeing the place of stones" is an 
 animated phrase for growing in a strong soil. Scott. 
 
 coii^«^''lT"'n"" '''"'' f '"""''■^ That is, he lives, abides, 
 bmuThil r'"',!'''"^'^^'^ '^''"^ ^^^™^ '° be the least probal 
 bil.tj of his slay ; he stayeth in the place of stones. Car, I. ' 
 18. JJ he destroy hv„ fijc.] That is, if God shall put forth 
 
 20 Behold, God will not cast away a Christ 
 perfect man, neither will he t help the evil .^bout 1520, 
 doers : t Hcb. 
 
 01 Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, ':i^J,!l'tyZ 
 and thy lips with t rejoicing. 'im,,',!. 
 
 22 They that hate thee shall be clothed L"'l^f/„r 
 with shame ; and the dwelling place of the >y- 
 wicked t shall come to nought. I^^^^J j,. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 1 Job, acknowledging God's Justice, sheweth there is no 
 contending with him. i>2 Man's innoccncy is not to be 
 condemned by afflictions. 
 
 THEN Job answered and said, 
 2 I know it is so of a truth : but how '" ^s- 143.2. 
 should "man be just || w^ith God? hfma.d. 
 
 His hand, and touch him, he shall be forgotten. Bp. H'il- 
 son. 
 
 Mr. Heath justly refers this action to tlie sun, mentioned ver. 
 16. Tlie plant endureth the sun, so long as the spring, that 
 nourisheth its roots, continueth to flow ; but when that is dried 
 by the increasing heat, his pai'ching beams destroy the plant. 
 Scoff. 
 
 if shall deny /»'w,] His place shall deny him. liosen- 
 
 muller. This is a strong manner of expressing utter aboli- 
 tion. The figure is a bold personification. Scott. Compare Ps. 
 ciii. 16. 
 
 19. Behold, this is the joy of his n'ay,~\ This is that firm and 
 secure happiness which lie promised to himself in this life. 
 Bildad, with keen irony, calls the destruction of the hypocrite 
 " the joy of his way." Capcllus. 
 
 others grow."] Other plants shall succeed to Iiis place : 
 
 tliat is, his estate shall pass into another family. Scott. 
 
 20. 2 1 . Behold, God will nut cast away Scc.^ The meaning is. 
 If you are what you pretend to be, God will certainly restore you 
 to your former happy state. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 The whole passage may be connected thus : God will not be- 
 friend the hypocrite, but will vather destroy him, and not desist 
 till he has granted to thee such a restoration as shall cause tliee to 
 break out into shouts of joy. Rosenmulkr. 
 
 21. — thy moiifh2 This sudden turn of the style to the second 
 person is spirited, .md catches the attention by surprise. See 
 Bishop Lowth's note on Dent, xxxii. 5. " The mouth being 
 filled with laughter," denotes tliat smile of joy which is spread 
 over the countenance in some happy change of condition, Psal. 
 cxxvi. 2. Scoff. 
 
 It is perfectly true, as Bildad here observes, that God is just 
 and wise in all His dispensations ; that He is gracious to those 
 who diligently seek Him ; and that the wicked always feel the 
 effects of His wrath. Still it is not to be believed that the right- 
 eous are never afflicted : and though Bildad's observations be 
 generally true, yet he was hasty and rash in concluding that Job 
 was not acceptable to God, because he was in adversity. God 
 often exposes good men to very great evils, in order to try them, 
 and to make them examples to otliers ; though after all, accord- 
 ing to the remai-k of Bildad, " He will not cast away a perfect 
 man." Ostervald. 
 
 Chap. IX, X. The unkind speech of Bildacl, the obvious 
 charges of irreligion and hypocrisy, and the taunting irony with 
 which it concludes, overpowered the patience of Job, and in his 
 reply betray him into inconsistencies ; at one time he acknow- 
 ledges the Divine justice, and his own submission to its decrees ; 
 at anotlier he seems to arraign it, and complains rather impatient- 
 ly of his sufferings, as greater than he deserved, and wishes for a 
 publick trial before God with his c;dumniators, to clear his inno- 
 cence before his speedy death. Dr. Hales. 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. 2. / know it is so of a truth :'^ Job alludes here to
 
 Job s/tewetk there is no 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 contending "with God. 
 
 chrTst ^ ^^ ^^ ^'^^^ contend with him, he can- 
 ahmit 15-20 ttot answci' him one of a thousand. 
 
 4 He is wise in heart, and miglity in 
 strength : who hath hardened himself a- 
 gainst him, and hath prospered ? 
 
 5 Which removeth the mountains, and 
 they know not : which overturneth them 
 in his anger. 
 
 6 Which shaketh the earth out of 
 her place, and the pillars thereof trem- 
 ble. 
 
 'Gen. i.G. 7 Wliich commandcth the sun, and it 
 teijits. riseth not ; and sealeth up the stars. 
 *^Amos5.8. 8 i) Which alone spreadeth out the hea- 
 siflic/ vens, and treadeth upon the t waves of the 
 t Hth. sea. 
 
 undchnuu. 9 ' Whicli uiakcth t Arcturus, Orion, 
 
 tlie oracle urged against him by Eliphaz, chap. iv. 1 7, wliich he 
 thinks totally irrelevant to the present question. I never tliouglit, 
 he says, ot" charging God with injustice. I was well aware that 
 no injustice could attach to Him. And how could man be just 
 before his Maker .'' Who denies that the Deity possesses the right 
 of inflicting, if it please Him, severe sufferings on frail and cor- 
 rupt man ? But does it follow from hence, that I am wicked, or a 
 crafty pretender to piety .'' RosemnuUer. 
 
 o. — one of u thousand.'^ It would be better expressed thus, 
 " once in a thousand times." Dr. Diircl/. 
 
 " How should man be just with God ?" How should he justify 
 himself before God.'' No, not in one thing of a thousand that 
 might be objected against him. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Though the uncharitableness and reproaches of Job's friends 
 transported him into some passionate and bold expressions of his 
 ^^wn innocence and integrity ; yet he no sooner jjerceived that 
 they took advantage of those expressions to charge him with pre- 
 sumption, as if God had unjustly afflicted him, but he made haste 
 to free himself of that imputation. " How should a man be just 
 with God ;" even he who is best prepared for an account with 
 Him, can pay Him nothing but His own coin; and that rather laid 
 up in a napkin, than husbanded and employed as it ought to have 
 been. If he can offer Him a good thought, an honest purpose and 
 intention, he had received them from Him, and, it may be, want- 
 ed courage to improve and execute them; and so the world had 
 r.o more i'riiit of them, than if his heart had been as wicked as his 
 neighbour's. So that, when he hath said the best he can for liim- 
 self, there will be no abiding the judgment which must still be 
 deprecated; mercy must be implored; no satisfaction or payment 
 pretended ; but an entire release and pardon begged and relied 
 upon. Lord Clarendon. 
 
 5,6. Which removeth the monntain.i, — overturneth them — .«/(«^- 
 etk the earth out of her place,'] This is evidently a description of 
 an earthquake. During the terrible earthquake at Jamaica, IdyS, 
 the mountains were split, they opened, they closed again, they 
 leaped, they fell in heaps. The same prodigious motions attend- 
 ed the earthquakes during an eruption of Vesuvius. Scott, Script, 
 illust. Expos. Ind. 
 
 7. Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not ; and sealeth up 
 ihe stars.] Or forbiddeth them to appear. Bp. Hall. This may 
 refer to that thickness of the atmosphere, which occasionally pre- 
 cedes or accompanies an earthquake. Of this we have many in- 
 stances. Scott, Script, illust. Kvpos. Ind. 
 
 8. Wliich alone spreadeth out the heavens, &c.] " WIio boweth 
 the heavens ;" so Psalm xviii. 9, where, as Scott remarks, is a de- 
 scription at large of the scene, which is here drawn in miniature. 
 Bp. Stock. 
 
 By " bowing the heavens/' the Hebrew poets express the de- 
 scent of those black heavy clouds, charged witli thunder, lightning, 
 vain, and wind, that are the prelude of a stonn at sea. The storm 
 
 and Pleiades, and the chambers of the 
 south. 
 
 10 ^ Which doeth great things past find- 
 ing out ; yea, and wonders without num- 
 ber. 
 
 11 Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him 
 not : he passeth on also, but I perceive him 
 not. 
 
 12 " Behold, he taketh away, t who can 
 hinder him ? who will say unto him. What 
 docst thou ? 
 
 13 If God will not withdraw his an- 
 ger, the t proud helpers do stoop under 
 him. 
 
 14 How much less shall I answer him, 
 and choose out my words to reason with 
 him ? 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 alxiut 1520. 
 
 ■= Ch. 5. 9. 
 
 • Isai.45.9. 
 Jer. 1 S. G. 
 Rom. 9. 20. 
 t Heb. u'h» 
 ran turn 
 tiini away .' 
 f Heb. 
 Iidpers I'J' 
 jiridf, or 
 itren^th. 
 
 itself, and the power (jf the Deity in conducting it, ore represent- 
 ed in the next member of the period. Scott. 
 
 alone] This word is not superfluous : it asserts the unity 
 
 of God, in ojiposition to polytheism. Scott. 
 
 treadeth upon the wares] In tlie original, as the margin 
 
 notices, " the high places," or " heights." Our translators render 
 it " high places" of the earth, Deut. xxxii. 1 3 ; that is, the moun- 
 tains. " The high places," or " heights," of the sea, must there- 
 fore mean its billows, rising to a vast height in a storm. The 
 prodigious swell, agiUition, and tumult of the sea during an earth- 
 quake may be referred to here. Scott. 
 
 9. Which maketh &i.c.] Shepherds seem to have been the first 
 astronomers. The pastoral life of the Arabs led them very early 
 to observe the rising and setting of the stars, in relation to the 
 changes -of weather that ensued. The heat of their climate 
 obliged them to feed their flocks by night; and the clearness and 
 beauty of their noctm-nal sky drew their attention and admiration. 
 Seolt. 
 
 When he saitli, " which maketh Arcturus, &c." Job means, 
 which makes them appear, or do then- office : for die discourse is 
 not about Creation, but about Providence : so that the meaning is 
 only this, God orders the times of tlieir rising and setting, to 
 distinguish the seasons of the year, and to produce their se- 
 veral effects in every season. Carifl. He ordereth and dispos- 
 etli them, as tlie word " maketli" is sometimes used in Scripture. 
 Poole. 
 
 No doubt but tlie names Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, are of 
 late invention in comparison with the Hebrew, Ash, Cesil, and 
 Ciniidi. It must be a fruitless attempt for any one to ascertain 
 the exact meaning of tlie Hebrew ; it can at the best be only con- 
 jecture. After all the ingenious, studied tliought.^ of commenta- 
 tors, no more perhaps is intended by Arcturus, Orion, &c. than to 
 point out to us, as Bishop Patrick writes, that all the constellations 
 of heaven obey God in their several seasons ; both those which we 
 see, and those" in the other hemisphere. To the same purpose is 
 that which St. Jerome, or rather Venerable Bede, delivers in his 
 comment on tliis text : " By these constellations, whidi are more 
 celebrated than almost all tlie stars in the firmament of hea\en, 
 it is signified, that the whole system of the heavenly bodies is 
 under the governance of God." Chappclorv. 
 
 1 1 . Lo, he goeth bi/ nw, ami I see him not :] A description 
 of the inscrutable and often unobserved ways of Providence. 
 Michaelis. 
 
 12. Behold, he taketh awai/, who can hinder him ?] Who ^hall 
 say unto him. What doest thou ? Whatsoever God resoheth and 
 detemiinetli concerning us, we must beat it, and quietly submit. 
 Carvl. 
 
 is. — the proud helpers do stoop under him.] They who are so 
 highly conceited of themselves, that they will undertake to defend 
 liim whom God intends to destroy, Isaiah xxx. 7. Clark.
 
 Job disclaimeth all thought 
 
 JOB. 
 
 of justifying himself. 
 
 Bofori- 15 Whom, though I were righteous, ^f/ 
 ^{.njfu would I not answer, but I would make sup- 
 plication to my judge. 
 
 16 If I had called, and he had answered 
 me ; yet would I not believe that he had 
 hearkened unto my voice. 
 
 17 For he breakcth me with a tem- 
 pest, and multiplicth my wounds without 
 cause. 
 
 18 He will not suffer me to take my 
 breath, but tilleth me with bitterness. 
 
 19 If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: 
 and if of judgment, who shall set me a 
 time to plead? 
 
 20 It' I justify myself, mine own mouth 
 
 15. Whom, though I were righleim.s, ivrc] Job here opposes 
 this sentiment of his to the unjust cliarges of his friends, as 
 if lie was guilty of contumacy and perverseness against God. 
 SL-kitllens. 
 
 10'. If I had called, &c.] Rather, " But if I should call, that 
 He might answer me, I could not exsily believe that He would 
 bear my voice : 1 ". Since He bath broken me with a tempest, 
 and inflicted many wounds upon me witliout cause: 18. Nor hath 
 given me space to take my breath, so hath He killed me with bit- 
 terness." Hoitbiganl. 
 
 17. — rvilhoul caiise.^ Without any extraordinary guilt which 
 should procure such punishment. Clai/c. " Without cause ;" that 
 is, a cause known to me. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 It). — It ho shall set me a time to plead .•^] Who will, or can, ap- 
 point me a time? namely, for trial. Who can sit as judge be- 
 tween God and me> Parkhinsl. 
 
 The meaning of the verse is, If I think to right myself by 
 force, it is in vain ; for He is infinitely stronger than I : if 1 
 choose to decide our dispute by law, who' hath autliority to call us 
 before him ? Heath. 
 
 ~^- U' U"^fify "{yself, &€.] If I should justify myself there 
 would be something in my very plea to condemn me : it will ren- 
 der my cause worse to pretend I am innocent. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Job here teaches us, that man cannot be justified before God : 
 that if tlie Lord should enter into judgment with him, he could 
 not " answer him one of a thousand ;" and that sinful men, how- 
 ever treated, have no right to complain ; hut must all be con- 
 demned in God's presence, and implore His mercy. What Job 
 here says, shews, that though he insisted he was not a wicked 
 man, he did not ])retcnd to be just before God. We ought all to 
 entertain the same thoughts; continually and seriously to re- 
 flect ujjon these truths ; and thereby animate ourselves to the 
 tear of God, submitting to I lis will, and putting our trust in Him. 
 Ostervald. 
 
 21. Though I were perfect, Scc^ Although I were not con- 
 scious of any transgression, still 1 would not judge myself; 1 Cor. 
 IV. 3, 4. Grotius. 
 
 I would not attempt my justification in Hi.s presence: but if 
 He have determined my death, would willingly surrender mv 
 hfe into His hands. Bp. Hall. 
 
 22. This is one thing, &c.] All that I affirm is this, and I per- 
 sist in the opinion, that He lets the innocent suffer sad things as 
 well as the guilty. Bp. Patrick. ^ 
 
 Thus m time of plague or famine all suffer. Bp. Wilson. 
 i,.7.^ {/ "'^ woargc slay suddenly, lie mil laugh at the trial of the 
 ."«aco,/.] Or, ,/ will laugh ; namely, the scourge. So Schultens, 
 i ne hgure is bold, but not too bold for poeti-y. Peters By tlie 
 &c'^'wl.'i^'"^*"\P''^''''h '•^•amities, war, for instance, pestilence, 
 are'srid lV"'"^V,"S "" characters in one common destruction; 
 
 f" J^ Vtle^n"nt:nrTo'?'"^ '^""' ^" " '^"»'^" ^' *^^ ''^■ 
 
 moiit^Hrna^X^^' Y^'" ^ P^"S"" ^°-^^'' ^^^^ ^ill^ i" ^ 
 moment, Hc, namely Goil, regard, not tJiough it fall upon the 
 
 Before 
 CHUIST 
 
 about 152a 
 
 shall condemn me: if I .my, I atn perfect, 
 it shall also prove me perverse. 
 
 21 Jliough I were perfect, yet would I 
 not know my soul : I would despise my life. 
 
 22 This is one thing, therefore 1 said 
 it. He destroyeth the perfect and the 
 wicked. 
 
 23 If the scourge slay suddenly, he will 
 laugh at the trial of the innocent. 
 
 24< The earth is given into the hand of 
 the wicked : he covereth the faces of the 
 judges thereof; if not, where, and who is 
 he? 
 
 25 Now my days are swifter than a 
 post : they flee away, they see no good. 
 
 innocent. Bp. Pairich. If some common and deadly judgment 
 falls upon a people, so as to destroy both good and bad ; or if 
 God inflicts some grievous and unexpected stroke upon an inno- 
 cent person ; His outward carriage is the same both to the good 
 and to the wicked. He neglects the innocent, and seems not to 
 answer their prayers, and suffers them to perish with others, as if 
 He took pleasure in their ruin also. But at the same time Job 
 intimates the cause of God's complacency in the afflictions of the 
 innocent, because to them they are but " trials" of their faith, and 
 patience, and perse\'erance, tending to God's honour, and their 
 own eternal advantage. Poole. 
 
 24. The earth is given into the hand of'tlte wicked : &c.] Is not 
 the government of tlie world given often into the hands of wick- 
 ed men, who bribe and pervert justice, and thereby injure the 
 innocent ? Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Job pursues his argument. The truth of what I have .said, that 
 the good and bad sufft-r promiscuously, is evident from this, that 
 " the earth is given into the hand of the wicked." Roscnmiilkr. 
 
 And as He destroys the righteous, ver. 23, so He prospers the 
 wicked. He blinds them that they cannot discern right from 
 wrong. If it be not as I say, where is any one else that could do 
 so ? certainly none else could manage the afl^airs of the world 
 after this manner but He. Clark. 
 
 he covereth the faces of the judges thereof;'] Not that God 
 
 is any way instrumental in covering the faces of the judges ; in 
 making them pass a w rong and unjust sentence. " He cover- 
 eth &c." is the same thing in Scripture phrase, as, the faces of 
 the judges are covered. Chappelow. 
 
 " The judges," being in conti*ast here with the wicked, that is, 
 a tyrannical ruler, must mean good governours, who administer 
 justice impartially to all. Thus " a man" signifies one who has 
 the \irtues proper to the male sex, Eccles. vii. 28 ; see also Prov. 
 xxviii. 12: "a woman," one who is adorned with the qualities 
 becoming the female sex, Prov. xxxi. 10 : and " a king" is a king 
 indeed, who acteth worthy of his royal dignity, j'rov. xvi. 10. Of 
 these good rulers he says, God " coveretii their faces ;" that is, 
 God treats them as condemned malefactors, overwhelming them 
 in calamities, disgrace, and ruin ; Job himself being one example 
 of this melancholy truth. See 2 Sam. xv. 30 ; Esth. vii. 8 ; Jer. 
 xiv. 3 ; Isa. xxii. 17; Mic. iii. 7 ; Mark xiv. 6.0. Scott. 
 
 25. Koh! my days &c.] This and the following verse are a 
 confirmation of Job's former argument. As he had shewed in 
 general that the wicked are exalted, and the innocent afflicted, so 
 now he shews the latter branch from his own experience or ex- 
 ample. " My days," that is, my prosperous days, are gone in 
 a moment. Caryl. 
 
 swifter tlian a post .•] A messenger or regulated courier, 
 
 appointed to cairy with expedition despatches of princes, or letters 
 of private persons. Calmct. 
 
 Those who carried despatches sometimes rode dromedaries, a 
 sort of camel whicli is extremely swift. Lady Montague says, 
 " that after the defeat at Peterwaradin, they far outran the swift- 
 est horses, and brought the first news of the battle at Belgrade." 
 
 t 
 ■J" 
 
 I
 
 Man's innocency is not to he 
 
 CHAP. IX, X. 
 
 condemned by afflictions. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about li'.'O. 
 
 t Heb. 
 shifs of de- 
 sire. 
 II Or. 
 ihips uf 
 Ebch. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 make mc to 
 be abhorretl. 
 
 f Heb. one 
 tkat should 
 arsue. 
 11 Or, 
 umpire. 
 
 26 They are passed away as the t II swift 
 ships : as the eagle that hasteth to the 
 prey. 
 
 27 If I say, I will forget my complaint, 
 I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort 
 7nysel/\- 
 
 28 I am afraid of all my sorrows, I 
 know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. 
 
 29 If' I be wicked, why then labour I in 
 vain ? 
 
 30 If I wash myself with snow water, 
 and make my hands never so clean ; 
 
 31 Yet shalt thou plunge me in the 
 ditch, and mine own clothes shall || abhor 
 me. 
 
 32 For he is not a man, as I ««?, that 1 
 should answer him, and we should come 
 together in judgment. 
 
 33 Neither is there t any || daysman be- 
 twixt us, that might lay his hand upon us 
 both. 
 
 Agreeably to this, Dr. Shaw assures us, that the sheik who con- 
 ducted him to mount Sinai, and rode on a camel of this kind, 
 would depart from the caravan where he was, " reconnoitre an- 
 other just in view, and return in less than a quarter of an hour." 
 With what energy then might Job saj-, " My days are swifter 
 than a post !" Instead of passing away with a slowness of motion 
 like that of a caravan, my dajs of prosperity have disappeared 
 with the swiftness of a messenger carrying despatches, mounted 
 on a dromedary. Harmer. 
 
 26. — as the sn'ift ships : &c.] There are but two places in 
 the book of Job, that I remember, where there is any allusion to 
 navigation. One is the present passage, where Job compares the 
 course of human life, and the rapidity with which it passes, to 
 " the swift ships ;" (swiftest ships, xiiost excellent for sailing. 
 Houbigant.) Or, as in the margin, " ships of desire ;" that is, 
 such as are longed for, and long to be at their destined port, and 
 crowd all the sail they can for that purpose. Peters. Or, " ships 
 of Ebeh," (see the margin,) that is, of the Egyptian papyrus, 
 ■which seems here to be meant, the wootly part of which was an- 
 ciently used to build vessels with. Parkliur.it. 
 
 Schultens very ingeniously suggests, that Job compares the 
 days of his prosperity in three several degrees with what we 
 esteem the swiftest in the three elements : namely, with the 
 quick despatches of the jK)st by land ; with the more expeditious 
 motion of papjT- vessels by sea ; and, which exceeds them both 
 for swiftness, with the flight of the eagle in the air to his prey. 
 C/iappelvw. 
 
 27. // / .m;/, I will forget my complniiil, &c.] These words 
 contain" u jiroof of the latter part of Job's assmnption. He had 
 affirmed, that an innocent and righteous person may quickly lose 
 all his outward comforts ; now he proves that he may be entangled 
 with afflictions beyond hope of escape. This he does, ver. 27 
 —29, which he ami)lifies, ver. 30 and 31. Cari/l. 
 
 28. I am afraid of all mi/ .mrro?vs,2 That is, I no sooner en- 
 deavour to comfort myself, but presently my sorrows throng 
 about me ; they charge and assault me iifrcsh, when I am pur- 
 posing to make an escape from them. Cari/l. 
 
 / hioia l/uif llwu n-iU not hold mc innocent.'^ That Thou 
 
 wilt not deliver me, as an innocent man, from these sufferings, 
 but wilt afflict me, w ithout measure, as a guilty person. Rosen- 
 rmUler. 
 
 29. If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain ?3 If I n»ust be 
 condemned as a wicked man, say what I can for myself, then it 
 is in vain for me to endeavour to clear mysell', and maintain my 
 own innocence. Clark. 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 31 Let him take his rod away from me, 
 and let not his fear terrify me : 
 
 35 Then would I speak, and not fear 
 him ; t but it is not so with me, 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 1 Job, taking liberty of complaint, expositJalcth with 
 God about his afflictions. 1 8 He complaineth of life, 
 and cravelh a little case before death. 
 
 MY soul is II weary of my life ; I will 
 leave my complaint upon myself; I 
 will speak in the bitterness of my soid. 
 
 2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn 
 me ; shew me wherefore thou contendest 
 with me. 
 
 3 Is it good unto thee that thou should- 
 est oppress, that thou shouldest despise 
 t the work of thine hands, and shine upon 
 the counsel of the wicked ? 
 
 4 Hast thou eyes of flesh ? or seest thou 
 as man seeth ? 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about! sea 
 
 t Heb. 
 biu I am 
 not to untk 
 m^ielf. 
 
 il Or. 
 
 out offwhile 
 
 I lite. 
 
 t Heb. 
 thelnb^mrnf 
 thine /tufuU. 
 
 30. — with snow water, 2 ^V^]ich is thought to possess the 
 property of cleansing in a greater degree than otlier water. Ro- 
 senmidler. 
 
 31. Yet shall thou plunge me in the dilch,'\ Thou wilt ad- 
 judge me sinful, notwithstanding all my purifyings. Carul. 
 Though I may seem innocent to myself, and may defend my own 
 cause, yet before God I shall appear most unclean and unright- 
 eous, as if I were plunged into a miry ditch. External things 
 are used figuratively for internal ; impurity of body for impurity 
 of soul. See Zech. iii. 3, 4; Rev. vii. 13.' Poole. 
 
 5S. — daysman^ Or umpire. In some of the northern parts 
 of England, any arbitrator, umpire, or elected judge, is com- 
 monly termed a diesman or daysman. The word " day" in all 
 idioms signifies Judgment. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 that might lay his hand upon us both.'] " The laying the 
 
 hand, like a just umpire, on both parties," implies a coercive 
 power to enforce the execution of his decrees : this no one could 
 have on the Almighty ; it was therefore vain to contend with 
 Him. Heath, Scott. 
 
 3 1, 35. Let him take his rod &C.3 I would open my case, if, 
 while I am speaking, God would remove from me that domi- 
 nion and authority, which He possesses over me, or that sore 
 affliction which His sovereign power has laid upon me : but " it 
 is not so with me ;" I do not find that thdlfe,ord hath done any 
 of these things for me. Caryl, Poole. 
 
 Chap. X. Job having in the former chapter justified God in 
 afflicting him, and maintained his own integrity, notwithstanding 
 tliose afflictions, now remonstrates with greater earnestness, that 
 he conceived himself more hardly dealt with tlian was consistent 
 not only with the goodness of God in His natiu^, but with that 
 goodness which He had formerly shewn' both towards others and 
 towards himself. Caryl. 
 
 Yer. 1 . — / will leave my complaint upon myself;'] I will leave 
 my complaint unrestrainetl, I will give free scope to it. Rosen- 
 muUer. 
 
 2. — Do not condemn me ; &c.] Do not deal with me as a 
 wicked wretch, and such as my friends take me to be; but ac- 
 quit me from this censure by withdrawing Thy hand, or shewing 
 me for what great sin it is that I should be more heavily afflicted 
 than others. Clark. 
 
 3. — ihine upon the counsel of the nicked ?] Countenance the 
 rtasons and designs of evil men. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4 — 7- Httsl thou eyes of flesh ? &c.] Job proceeds upon the 
 same argument, and as he acquits the Locd of injustice or un« 
 
 5 Z ^
 
 Job crposliilaleth ti/VA God 
 
 JOB. 
 
 about his (0ictions. 
 
 Bifore 
 CHKIST 
 mbout laJO. 
 
 f Ileb. It is 
 u/wn /Ay 
 knuieMge. 
 
 t Hcl>. 
 Iihtk jmins 
 abaul me. 
 
 ' Psal. 139. 
 14, 15, 16. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 hedged. 
 
 5 Arc thy days as the days of man ? are 
 thy years as man's days, 
 
 6 Tliat thou eiiquirest after mine ini- 
 quity, and searchest after my sin ? 
 
 yt Thou knowest that 1 am not wicked ; 
 and there h none that can deliver out of 
 thine iiaiid. 
 
 8 Thine hands \ have made me and iii- 
 shioned me together round about; yet thou 
 dost destroy me. 
 
 y Remember, I beseech thee, that thou 
 hast made me as the clay ; and wilt thou 
 bring me into dust again ? 
 
 10 ^ Hast thou not poured me out as 
 milk, and curdled me like cheese ? 
 
 11 Tiiou hast clothed me with skin and 
 flesh, and hast t fenced me with bones and 
 sinews. 
 
 12 Thou hast granted me life and fa- 
 vour, and tliy visitation hath preserved my 
 spirit. 
 
 ripfhteous (Idling with him, so he ajipeulci to the Lord, (who was 
 able, he knew, to do it upon certain knowledge,) to acquit him of 
 all the unjust charges with which his friends had burdened him : 
 It is not with thee, O Lord, as with mortal judges, who, having 
 " eyes of flesh," can see no farther than the outside of things, 
 and know no more than is told them. " Thy days are not as the 
 days of man." Why then dost Thou deal thus severely with me, 
 as if Thou wert afraid that Thou shouldest overslip Thy day, or 
 want a season for dealing with me } Thou knowest that 1 am 
 not wicked ; there is some other cause for my sufferings : shew 
 me wherefore Thou contendest with me. We may hence observe, 
 that God knows the state of every man and every thing exactly ; 
 and that it is a matter of highest consolation to good men to re- 
 member that God knows them. Caryl. 
 
 7- ThoH knonest that I am not wicked; &c.]] That is, flagi- 
 tious. Houhi^uiU. It would be injurious to the character of Job, 
 should we interpret in a severe and rigorous sense, as it is certain 
 his friends too often did, his frequent protestations of his inno- 
 cence, and his bold appeals to the supreme Judge to prove and 
 try him ; for where he is thus strenuous in asserting his integrity. 
 It IS only in opposition to the notion which those mistaken friends 
 had entertained of him; namely, that he had been guilty of some 
 gross sins, which he had the art to hide from the world, but that 
 he was in reality a wicked man, and a hypocrite in his behaviour. 
 This IS what Job utterly denies and disclaims ; though he no 
 where arrogates to himself perfect innocence, or freedom from 
 sin. Peters. 
 
 8 — 13. Thine hands have mafle me &c.] At ver. 3 of this chap- 
 ter we found Job questioning with the Lord, " Is it good unto 
 1 hce that 1 hou shouldest oppress, that Thou shouldest despise the 
 work ot Thire liands.'" In the following passnge he insists upon 
 and illustrates that argument by fitting it to his own condition • 
 as it he had said, Am not I the work of Thine hands^ ver 8 
 and " yet Thou dost destroy me." Cari//. 
 
 9. Remanher, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me &c."| Need 
 I put Thee in mind, that I was formed bv Thee, as the potter 
 works the clay into what shape he pleases.? and now Thou art 
 crumbling me m pieces again. Bp. Patrick 
 
 ^hl^'B^'mlj:! '''" '^'""'^ '^^' "' ^'""^^^ "^ '"'" 
 
 nir^fj ■?"•'. '"''f''"''* "^f ''^ '° S""^^' ^ '^'^""g*-- <'»-^ t" l^c brought 
 near to It, dissolution? This substance, which Thou wert solicit- 
 
 d^m whpri'""^' •""^"' •"'""•■" a"'^""«l.V curious in its forma- 
 
 Somt ir"" '" '^ '^'' "{"^ ''^^'y''' blending and pro- 
 ix^rtiomng the several parts of the body to each other, so as to 
 
 13 And these things hast thou hid in thine christ 
 heart: I know that this is with thee. about i5Jo. 
 
 1 4 If I sin, then thou markest me, and 
 thou wilt not acquit me from mine ini- 
 quity. 
 
 15 If 1 be wicked, woe unto me ; and z/" 
 I be righteous, i/et will I not lift up my 
 head. / (nn full of confusion ; therefore 
 see thou mine affliction ; 
 
 16 For it increaseth. Thou huntest me 
 as a fierce lion : and again thou shewest 
 thyself marvellous upon me. 
 
 17 Thou renewest || thy witnesses a- 
 gainst me, and increasest thine indignation 
 
 II That is. 
 llii/ plagues. 
 
 upon 
 me. 
 
 me 
 
 changes 
 
 and war 
 
 are aganist 
 
 11. 
 
 18 '^ Wherefore then hast thou brought ' ciiap. s. 
 me forth out of the womb ? Oh that I had 
 given up the ghost, and no eye had seen 
 
 me] 
 
 19 1 should have been as though I had 
 
 bring them to a beautiful perfection. This substance, which was 
 " curdled like cheese ;" the several members of which were 
 once a rude iincongealed mass, without conte.xture, without 
 beauty; but by Thy Almighty power secretly and surprisingly 
 wrought: every loose divided limb receiving from Thee its pro- 
 per shape and ligament, and taught by Thee its distinct use and 
 office. Chappeloii'. 
 
 13. And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: &c.] Thou 
 hast conferred upon me great and signal blessings ; but these 
 evils, which I now suft'er. Thou didst reserve for nie, and appoint 
 them to be inflicted ujion me. Rosenmuller. " This is with Thee" 
 is a phrase, which denotes the secret decree of God, chap, xxiii. 
 14. Scott. 
 
 It. //'/ .lin, then thou markest me, &c.] I cannot oflend Thee 
 in the least, but Thou, by whom I was thus formed, must needs 
 know and observe it, antl I cannot avoid Thy punishment for it. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 5. //' 1 be wicked, rvoc unto me ; and if I he righteous, yet will 
 I not lift up mi/ head.~\ That is, I cannot, will not hoj)e for any 
 such tem]ioral deliverance upon account of my righteousness, as 
 you are endeavouring to persuade me of, from a mistaken princi- 
 ple ; and according to which, if no such deliverance should hap- 
 pen, you are still resolved to condemn me as an innocent man. 
 Peters. 
 
 16. — Thoxi huntest me as ajierce lion ;] That is, as if I were 
 a fierce lion : compare chap. iv. 10. The allusion, in this and 
 the following verse, is to that manner of hunting the lion, 
 wherein the hunters, armed witli spears and javelins, formed 
 themselves in a ring about the beast, and threw their wea- 
 pons at him one after another. By this image. Job represents 
 in lively colours the violent .and rapid succession of his calami- 
 ties. Scott. 
 
 thou sheivest thijself marvellous upon me.'] Thou proceed-. 
 
 est after an unusual and extraordinary manner with mc, so that 
 every one will wonder at it. Numb. xvi. 29, 30. Clark. 
 
 1 7. Thou renewe.it Ihi/ witnesses against me,'] Fresh witnesses 
 of Thine anger rise up against me : Thou nuiltipliest Thy plagues 
 upon me, so that there is no end, but only a change of my con- 
 flicts. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The word, rendered " witnesses," may be translated weapons, 
 or attacks, or troops : in either of tlicse Avays, the allusion to the 
 chace will be preserved. " Changes and war" means " changes 
 of war ;" or successions of war : denoting the war of the chace, 
 carried on by repeated attacks. Scott. 
 
 '% 
 
 I
 
 He craveth a Ultle ease before death. 
 
 CHAP. X, XI. 
 
 Zophar reproveth Job. 
 
 chrTst "^*' ^^^" ' ^ 'should have been carried from 
 about 1520. the womb to the gra\e. 
 ' See chap. 20 " Are Hot iiij days few ? cease then, 
 8.9.&7.«. ^^jj |g^ jj^g alone, that I may take comfort 
 a little, 
 
 21 Before I go "whence I shall not return, 
 even to the land of darkness and the sha- 
 dow of death ; 
 
 22 A land of darkness, as darkness it- 
 self; and of the shadow of death, without 
 any order, and "where the light is as dark- 
 ness. 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 1 Zophar reproveth Job Jhr justifying himself. 5 God's 
 wisdom is unsearchable. 1 3 The assured blessing of 
 repentance. 
 
 THEN answered Zophar the Naamath- 
 ite, and said, 
 
 20. — cease then, and let me alone^ Hence we may observe, 
 that e.\cept the Lord withdraw His hand, nothing in the world 
 can give us ease. Caryl. 
 
 22. A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadmv of 
 death,"] Rather, " a land of darkness, as the darkness of the sha- 
 dow of death." Dr. Durell. 
 
 The original of this gloomy picture, drawn in the deepest 
 shades of horrour, is probably the subterraneous chambers of the 
 sepulchral grottoes. Scotl. 
 
 without any order,] Where every thing is in such dis- 
 order as to resemble the primeval chaos. Capellus. 
 
 The conduct of Job is an example of piety and of weakness : of 
 piety, in acknowledging that the Almighty Being, from whom he 
 received his life and all things, was perfectly righteous in all His 
 ■ways ; of weakness, in complaining that it would have been better 
 he had never been bom. Let us imitate his piety, and acknow- 
 ledge at all times the goodness of our Creator : let us avoid his 
 ■weakness, and submit without murmuring to God's chastening 
 hand. Ostervald. 
 
 Chap. XL Zophar goes beyond Eliphaz and Biklad in the as- 
 sertion, that none are visited by Divine chastisement but such as 
 deserve it : he maintains that Job's affliction is far short of his 
 desert ; and that Job himself would acknowledge it to be so, if 
 he were able to fathom the counsels of God. He urges the va- 
 nity of attempting to flee from Divine justice and power, which 
 are exerted always with a view to tame the wildness of human 
 nature ; and he concludes with an exhortation to Job to call to 
 mind his past acts of injustice, and presently to make the best re- 
 paration for them in his power : the consequence of which would 
 be the recovering of the favour of God, and his former prosperity'. 
 Bp. Slock. 
 
 Ver. 2. — should a man full of talk he justified ?] Acquitted 
 from the crimes with ■which he is charged, and be accounted 
 righteous merely because of his multitude of words ? Clark. 
 
 3. — shall no man make thee ashamed ?] By confuting thee 
 put thee to shame. Caryl. 
 
 ■i. — My doctrine is pure,] The word " doctrine" is here, by a 
 latitude of signification, used for discourse. Rosen miiller. 
 
 5. But oh that God would speuk, &c.] Zophar here alludes to 
 the wish expressed by Job, chaji. ix. So. l{o.ienmiiller. 
 
 6. — that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are 
 double to that which is I] The methods of His providence and 
 wise disposal of tilings, with which thou art imacquainted, tliat 
 thou hast deser\ed far more than He hath laid upon thee. Clark. 
 
 that theif arc double to thai which is !~\ That in strict jus- 
 tice He might inflict upon thee double to what thou now sufferest 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 2 Should not the multitude of words be 
 an.swered? and should ta man full of talk 
 be justified? 
 
 3 Should thy || lies make men hold their 
 peace ? and when thou mockest, shall no 
 man make thee ashamed ? 
 
 4 For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, 
 and I am clean in thine eyes, 
 
 5 But oh that God would speak, and 
 open his lips against thee ; 
 
 6 And that he would shew thee the se- 
 crets of wisdom, that they are double to 
 that which is ! Know therefore that God 
 exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity 
 deserveth. 
 
 7 Canst thou by searching find out God ? 
 canst thou find out the Almighty unto per- 
 fection ? 
 
 8 It is t as high as heaven ; what canst 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1520. 
 
 t Heb. a 
 man vf lips. 
 II Or, 
 devices. 
 
 t Hd>. 
 tlie heie^lt 
 ,>f heaven. 
 
 7 — 9. Canst thou by searching find out God ? &cj These three 
 verses arc an illustration or a comment upon the sixth. Zophar 
 having breathed out his wish, that " God would speak, and shew 
 Job the secrets of wisdom, &c." proceeds to prove, that it is need 
 He should, those secrets being such as none can see till they are 
 shewed. Caryl. 
 
 These are very reasonable questions which Zophar put to him. 
 It must be owned, that we are not able to account for the method 
 of Divine Providence in many instances ; and whosoever is not 
 abandoned of all modesty, must teadily acknowledge that it is 
 reasonable that it should be so. For we have not the entire 
 scheme of Providence in our heads at once ; we cannot see from 
 the beginning to the end of God's ways ; we know not what are 
 the designs, and what will be the issues, of His counsels : and 
 therefore ought to suspend our judgment till the concliuion and 
 ■winding up of things. Bradford. 
 
 7. Canst thou by searching &c.] " Canst thou by searching 
 find out God ?" Dost thou know God intimately, and thoroughly 
 within and without ? Canst thou pierce into the centre of His 
 perfections, and dive into the bottom of them ? And " Canst 
 thou find out the Almighty unto perfection }" Canst thou find 
 out the Almighty to the very last and utmost of Him ? so that 
 thou crinst say after a thorough search and inquiry. There is no 
 perfection in God bc3'ond this, there is nothing of Him now that 
 remains to be known : this He is, and no other ; that He is, and 
 no otherwise ; this He can do, and no more ; hither doth His 
 power, and knowledge, and wisdom reach, and no farther. " Canst 
 thou do this ?" These interrogations have the force of a vehement 
 negation : as if he had said, Ko, thou canst not : God is unsearch- 
 able. He is incomprehensible. Abp. Tillolson. These words re- 
 present to us the \anity of an inquisitive temper, and the defect 
 of our knowledge in respect to spiritual ob_^ts ; but they are 
 not designed to exclude our cndeavoiu-s after the proof of a Deity, 
 or to stifle those limited notions and apprehensions of the Divine 
 nature and attributes, which Gotl has thought fit to communicate 
 to us. We are to make a right use and exercise of our reason, 
 and to get as fully acquainted ■«-ith the object o{ our worship as 
 we can ; but we are not to suffer our knowletlge to move out of 
 its sphere, or to presume that a finite being can comprehend the 
 nature, or account for all the actions, of an infinite God Dr. 
 Coney. 
 
 8.' // is as high as heaven ;] The meaning is. The nature and 
 pertections of God are above the understanding of any of His 
 creatures. It is only His own infinite iniderstanding that can 
 frame a perfect idea of His own perfection, .ibp. Tillolson. 
 
 When we cannot comprehend a thing, we say it is beyond our 
 reach ; or, it is too high or too deep for us. But in what a noble 
 manner does Zophar here express such an impossibihty ! Bishop 
 
 Z 2
 
 I Or, mate 
 a eliuiife. 
 t Hcl>. who 
 Clin turn 
 him awai/ .' 
 
 t Hel) 
 
 fmpty. 
 
 God's wisdom is unsearchable. 
 
 Before tliou ilo ? decpcr than hell ; what canst 
 CHRIST , , n ' 
 
 i*ou. ly.u tlioii know ? 
 
 !) Tlie measure thereof is longer than the 
 earth, and broader than the sea. 
 
 10 IF he II cut off; and shut up, or gather 
 together, then t who can hinder him ? 
 
 1 1 For he knowetli vain men : he seeth 
 wickedness also; will he not then con- 
 sider // .'' 
 
 1'2 For tvain man would be wise, though 
 man be born like a wild ass's colt. 
 
 13 If thou prepare thine heart, and 
 stretch out thine hands toward him ; 
 
 14. W iniquity be in thine hand, put it far 
 away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy 
 tabernacles. 
 
 15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face 
 
 I.owth produces this passage as an example of the grand manner, 
 in which the Hebrew poets speak of the attributes of God, abso- 
 hitely considered, without particular mention of the operations 
 and eflects tiiat How fiom them. Scotl. 
 
 — — dcipcrlhan lull ;'^ The concealed or unseen place of the 
 dead : see the note on ciiap. xxvi. 6. But it may be a question, 
 whether the word, translated " hell," does not signify sometimes 
 a great invisible depth under ground, without any reference to 
 tlie dead. See Deut. xxxii. '.^2 ; Ps. cxxxix. S ; Ezck. xxxi. 17 ; 
 Amos ix. 2. Parhlutrst. 
 
 10. — .shut up, or gather together,'] Deliver into the enemies' 
 hand, Ps. xxxi. 8, or bring them back after they have been scat- 
 tered abroad. Clarl\ 
 
 , ,j} 1 • Fur he hnoircth vain men ;] For He knows vain men, (who 
 wind not what they say or do,) He sees their most hidden wick- 
 edness; and will He not punish it.^ Up. Patrick. 
 
 ^l~- — though man he burn like a nitd ass'.i culir\ That is, were 
 hejeft to liiiuself, and suffered to take his own course without 
 Iicing coiitJ-olli'd, did he follow the dictates of his natural appe- 
 tites, and, void of discipline and instruction, yield to the dominion 
 of headstrong- passions, he is then in etfect no better than a wild 
 ungovernable creature. This is true in a general sense, but it is 
 .'.■lid with a particular view, we may supjiose, to Job. The re- 
 flection is perhaps the more severe, because robbers and plunder- 
 ers are distinguished by the odious title of " wild asses in the 
 desert, rising betimes for a prey," chap. xxiv. 5. It was more- 
 over a connnon reproach among" the Arabians, when they spoke 
 of a perverse obstinate man, tenacious of his own wiiys, and a 
 despiser of other people's advice, to say, " Such an one is a young 
 wud ass by himself." Chappclow. 
 
 . 14. — lalernades.'] Tents having been the ancient dwellings 
 of men, the term wajs retained after the invention of more durable 
 and fixed habitations. Job, it is certain, lived in a city, chap, 
 xxjx. 7 ; yet his house is called a " tabernacle," or tent, chap. 
 XXU..4. ScoU. 
 
 1.^. — wtlkoid spot ;] This is a sci-iptural phrase to denote in- 
 nocence :uk1 mtegrlty. Numb. xix. 2; Heb. i.v. It ; Eph. v. 27. 
 "Fair m calamity" is a character, among the Arabians, of one, 
 who bears his misfortxmes with a composed steadiness. They 
 likewise distinguish a man of honour, true nobility, and figure, 
 as luvmg "a tair unspotted countenance." On the contrary, 
 
 a tace as black as a coal," is imputed to the base dishonourable 
 person. Chappelow. 
 
 «h»u'r^'''"""'"'*r '' "■' """'"■•^ "'"' P"^' ""■"'/ .H That is, thou 
 17 1 y,,*" ^''Smmr,^ of summer, chap. vi. 1 .5, 1 7. Scott. 
 
 the e 1 ity of h^ ^*-'" "^ """fort^-'nd thou shalt rejoice in 
 -«;reiuty ot thy condiUon. Car^l. ■* 
 
 JOB. 
 
 I'lie assured blessing of repentance. 
 
 without spot ; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, 
 and slialt not fear : 
 
 16 Because thou shalt forget thy misery, 
 and remember // as waters that pass away: 
 
 17 And thine age t shall be clearer than 
 the noonday ; thou shalt shine forth, thou 
 shalt be as the morning. 
 
 18 And thou shalt be secure, because 
 there is hope ; yea, thou shalt dig about 
 thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. 
 
 19 * Also thou shalt lie down, and none 
 shall make thee afraid ; yea, many shall 
 t make suit unto thee. 
 
 ^0 But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, 
 and t they shall not escape, and ** their 
 hope shall he as II the giving up of the 
 ghost. 
 
 Before 
 CHUI.ST 
 
 ubuiit 152U. 
 
 + Heb. 
 
 sliall arise 
 above tlie 
 iLoondai/. 
 
 " Lev. 26. C. 
 t Hel). 
 intrcal iliij 
 face. 
 t Ileb. 
 fiiiikt s/iult 
 peris/i J'rnm 
 them. 
 '' Ch.ap. S. 
 14.8: 18. H. 
 II Or, 
 n iwjf of 
 t*rent/i. 
 
 18, 19. And thmt shalt be secure, Sec] These two verses con- 
 tain, if I mistake not, a pleasing rural scene; green pastures, wells 
 of water, flocks and herds couched around them, and a little camp 
 of Arabian shepherds inclosing the whole. The expression " thou 
 shalt dig," refers most probably, as Heath remarks, to digging of 
 wells or springs, a circumstance frequently mentioned in the pa- 
 triarchal history. The wortl translated " thou shalt lie down," 
 denotes properly the decumbent ])osture of cattle, after they have 
 well fed, and when they repose at night. As to the encampment, 
 it was the custom, as Heath observes, of the Eastern people to 
 pitch their tents nigh wells, for the conveniency of water for 
 their cattle. The security also, here promised, ex])resses the pro- 
 tection wanted to defend them from wild beasts, and from tlie 
 incursions of the thievish Arabs of the desert. The " hope," 
 mentioned in the former of these two verses as the ground of 
 security, can be no other than hope in God : that firm dependence 
 on Divine Providence, which good men are warranted to enter- 
 tain. Scott. 
 
 If). — many shall make suit unto thee.] Shall court thy friend- 
 ship, as in the instances of Abraham and Isaac, Gen. xxi. 22; 
 xxvi. 28. Grot ins. 
 
 20. Bui tlie eijes of the nicked shall fail,] By being intently 
 fixed on thy happiness, which they cannot enjoy ; as the siglrt is 
 dimmed, while we gaze incessantly on one object. Michaclis. 
 
 " Failing of the eyes" is one of those expressions in .Scripture 
 to be admired for their beautiful simplicity. It represents a very 
 eager and passionate desire to obtain that which we are in pursuit 
 of, and at the same time the great uneasiness which must una- 
 voidably follow from a disappointment. One of the appeals which 
 Job makes in vindication of his integrity, is, " If I have caused the 
 eyes of the widow to fail," chap. xxxi. lb': that is. If I have frus- 
 trated her expectations, when she applied to me for relief and 
 assistance in her distress. See Ps. Ixix. 3 ; and compare chap, 
 xvii. 5. Chappelow. 
 
 Chap. XII, XIII, XIV. These three chapters contain Job's 
 answer to the counsels and objections of his third friend Zophar, 
 not excluding what had been said by the two former. 'Fhere 
 are four things most to be noticed in it: 1st, Job sharply rebukes 
 that kind of spirit and confidence in their own opinion, which 
 he observed in his friends. He pursues this point frbm the be- 
 ginning of the twelfth chapter to the end of ver. 4. 2dly, He 
 refutes that opinion which the three had maintained against him; 
 namely, tliat good or evil things distinguished good or evil men; hira- 
 .self shewing by many arguments, taken from the various admi- 
 nistrations of God, that outward evils are often the lot of good 
 men in this lii'e : the theme begins at ver. .5, and is enlarged to 
 the end of the chapter. 3dly, He rejects his friends as physicians 
 of no value; yta, as having wronged God, whilst they seem to 
 be advocates for Him. This subject he prosecvites with much va-
 
 Job maintaineth himself against his friends, CHAP. XII. He ackno^'di'ledgeth God*s omnipote?2C7/, 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1620. 
 
 f Heb. 
 
 an heart, 
 t Hob. 
 IJiiU not 
 loivcr than 
 you. 
 t Heh. 
 with whom 
 are not such 
 as these F 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 1 Job maintainelh himself against his frietuh that re- 
 prove him. 7 He acknowledgcth the general doctrine 
 of God's omnipotenci). 
 
 AND Job answered and said, 
 2 No doubt but ye are the people, 
 and wisdom shall die with you. 
 
 3 But I have t understanding as well as 
 you ; 1 1 am not inferior to you : yea, t who 
 knoweth not such things as these ? 
 
 4 I am as one mocked of his neighbour, 
 who calleth upon God, and he answereth 
 him: the just upright maji is laughed to 
 scorn. 
 
 5 He that is ready to slip wVCa his feet 
 is as a lamp despised in the tliouglit of him 
 that is at ease. 
 
 6 The tabernacles of robbers prosper, 
 and they that provoke God are secure; 
 into whose hand God bringeth abundantly. 
 
 7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall 
 teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and 
 they shall tell thee: 
 
 8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach 
 
 i-iety fi-om the beginning of chap. xiii. to ver. 7- 4thly, He re- 
 news his former plea with Go(l, putting many requests to Him, 
 and strongly arguing for a release from, or at least a mitigation 
 of, his trouljles. Caryl. 
 
 Chap. Xn. ver. 2. No doubt biU ife are the jKople, &c.] This is 
 ironically spoken. Ye are the only wise; with you shall all wis- 
 dom expire. Capellus. 
 
 3. — yea, relio knorvelh not such things us these ?] Even the 
 lueanest understand that God is infinite in wisdom, power, and 
 justice: but that is not the question between us. Clark. 
 
 4. / am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth. upon God, 
 und he answereth him:'] These are the words of one, entertain- 
 iag good hopes of God's assistance. As if he had said, God has 
 heard me before, when I have called upon Him: He will do the 
 same now. Nevertheless you deride me. Poole. 
 
 5. He that is ready to slip with his feet'] To slip with the feet 
 i.s to fall into affliction. A despised lamp is of the same significa- 
 tion with a smoking firebrand, which last is a proverb for that 
 which is almost spent, and therefore despised and thrown away 
 as useless. Caryl, Poole. 
 
 The meaning is. He that is in affliction is despised by them 
 that are in full prosperity. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 6. The taberiMcles of robbers pro.'tper,] As if Job had said; 
 Zophar, thou hast affirmed, that the righteous man is as a shining 
 light: I say, he is but a despised lamp: thou affirmest, that the 
 eyes of the wicked shall fail, &c. but I have seen that the taber- 
 nacles of robbers prosper, and that they wlio provoke God are se- 
 cure. Caryl. 
 
 7 — 9. But ask now the beasts, &c.] The connexion here is to 
 be traced Ijack to the end of the third \'erse: " yea, who knoweth 
 not such things as these .'" Rosenmidler. 
 
 This beautiful apostrophizing of tiie inanimate and brute crea- 
 tion, is onlv a poetical way of saying, that tlie great Autlior and 
 Disposer of life had given into the hands of robbers the beasts of 
 the field and the fowls of the heaven, &c. Such men, he com- 
 plains, possess the largest iiroperty and use of the brute creation, 
 and of lhepro(hice of the earth; which they abuse to the purposes 
 of hiMuy and riot. Scott. 
 
 7. But ask now the ficasls, and they shall leach thee;] The crea- 
 tures teach us that there is a God, and mucli of that wliich God 
 
 thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare ^E^^°^%t 
 unto thee. about 1520. 
 
 9 Wlio knoweth not in all these that 
 the hand of the Lord hath wrought 
 this ? 
 
 10 In whose hand is the II soul of every !l Or, /./«. 
 livinec thing, and the breath of t all man- t Heb. aii 
 knid. ■' '' 
 
 1 1 " Doth not the ear tr}^ words? and the ' '^' ^''- ^ 
 t mouth taste his meat ? + ^J^^'- 
 
 12 AVith the ancient is wisdom; and in ''""'"■ 
 length of days understanding. 
 
 13 II With him is wisdom and strength, l^"'^^ 
 he hatii coimsel and understanding. 
 
 14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it 
 cannot be built again: he '' shutteth t up 'j^^^^.*|-^^ 
 a man, and there can be no opening. t Heb. 
 
 15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, "J""'- 
 and they dry up: also he sendeth them 
 out, and they overturn the earth. 
 
 16 With him is strength and wisdom: 
 the deceived and the deceiver are his. 
 
 17 He leadeth counsellers away spoiled, 
 and maketh the judges fools. 
 
 is — they teach us also ready obedience to the will of God: all 
 creatures obey the law of their creation: they teach us also de- 
 pendence upen God: the eyes of all wait or look up unto Go<l 
 (Ps. cxlv. l.";) that thev may receive good. Caryl. 
 
 9. — hath wrought this ?] H;is by His Divine power and pro- 
 vidence disposed of all things that concern theiu. Clark. 
 
 1 1. Doth not the ear try words?] We may read these words 
 comparatively, (as we find them, chap. xx.\iv. 3,) " the ear trieth 
 words, as the moutli tasteth meat." Caryl. 
 
 1 1 1,'J. Doth not the ear try words? &c.] Doth not the un- 
 derstanding .judge of the truth of what is spoken ? therefore do 
 not rashly coiidenm me or my doctrine without a due trial; much 
 more may they who have lived to a great age attain the knowledge 
 of Divine trutlis: and though these should want it, still with Him, 
 ver. 1 li, that is, with God, " is wisdom, &c." Clark. 
 
 " Doth not the ear try words, as the palate tasteth food ?" Job, 
 being about to speak of the supreme and absolute dominion of 
 G(k1 over His creatures, begins with two proverbial expressions, 
 in winch he seems to insinuate that he wished for other judges of 
 what he had to say; who, endued with a more mature and solid 
 understanding of spiritual things, were better able to distinguish 
 sincere piety and the just complaint of oppressed innocence from 
 impiety and hypocrisy, and to dispute more prudently concernmg 
 God and His providence. Schiillens. 
 
 13. Kith him is wisdom &c.] The design of this grand dis- 
 course on the ways of God to men is, I apprehend, to establish 
 his position, chap. ix. 22, " He destroy eth the perfect and the 
 wicked." lliat proposition is here proved by inducUon. He 
 allegeth those great and general calamities, drought, inundaUon, 
 and tiic overduow of kingdoms; which make no distinction be- 
 tween the innocent and tlie guilty, but invoUe tlie most virtuous 
 characters, and the noblest and most important talent:;, in distress, 
 disgrace, and ruin. Scott. r. ■> ■\^ \ 
 
 1(). — the deceived and the deceiver are his.] God wiU make 
 both the deceiver and the deceived accountable to Himselt: it is 
 irom His suiferance that there ai-e any such: in infinite wisdom 
 .md holiness He disposeth of theerrours of men andot those Uiat 
 lead tliem into errour, ordering how far any man shall deceive, 
 and to what extent his deceit shall prevail: and further, the Lord 
 improves both to serve His own ends, to bring about H»s coun- 
 scls, and promote His ow n glory. Caryl.
 
 Job ad-nou-kdgelh God's ommpotenq/. 
 
 JOB. 
 
 He reproveth his friends of partiality. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 •)xiut 1520. 
 
 'Oi. 32.9. 
 f Heb. 
 
 thelipKflhe 
 
 I Or. 
 
 ItiniHh the 
 girdle ofthe 
 "slraiig. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 lendeth in. 
 
 fHeb. 
 uumdcr. 
 
 IS He looseth the bond of kings, and 
 girdcth their loins with a girdle. 
 
 19 He leadetli princes away spoiled, and 
 overthroweth the mighty. 
 
 20 ' He removeth away t the speech of 
 the trusty, and taketh away the under- 
 standing of tlie aged. 
 
 Cil He poureth contempt upon princes, 
 and II weakeneth the strength of tlie mighty. 
 
 22 Ho discovereth deep things out of 
 darkness, and bringeth put to light the 
 .sliadow of death. 
 
 23 He increaseth the nations, and de- 
 stroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, 
 and't straiteneth them again. 
 
 21. He taketh away the heart of the chief 
 of the people of the earth, and causeth 
 them to wander in a wilderness xvliere there 
 is no way. 
 
 25 They grope in the dark without light, 
 and he maketh them to t stagger like a 
 driniken man. 
 
 18. //<• /ooscl/i l/ic LotiJ of kings, &C.'] He dissolves tlieir au- 
 Uiority, and reduces them to the condition of servants, attending 
 on their maaters with loins girt up, to execute their commands. 
 Bp. Stock. 
 
 " He looseth the bond of kings," He destroys their binding 
 jxm'er, tlieir authority, by dethroning them. The expression may 
 allude to the royal Leil, one of the insignia of majesty ; compare 
 Is. xlv. 1. " And girdeth, &c." The tenourof the discourse re- 
 quires these expressions to be taken in a calamitous sense. The 
 " girdle" therefore must here mean the cord or chain, that was 
 tied about tlie waist of captives; see Vs. cxlix. 8. The manner of 
 making war in our days is very different from what it was in 
 ancient times. We now see no such catastrophes as jirinccs and 
 their people led into captivity: but these were the usual effects of 
 conquest in lormer ages. Scolt. 
 
 20. — laket/t ntvay Ihc nndcrstanding of the aged."] WTien Job 
 would set out the uncontrollable power of God to defeat all the 
 counsels and purposes of men, one of the strongest phrases he 
 could finil to express it by, was this: for in those early days the 
 highest veneration passible was paid to old age. Peters. 
 
 21. — ireiikcnclh the strength of the might tf.'^ The margin reads, 
 " loosetii the girdle of the strong," the valiant, or hero. The gir- 
 dle in 1 .Sam. xviii. i, is connected with the sword and the bow, 
 as part of the military' dress: so we read in 2 Kings iii. 21, "^The 
 Moabites gatherctl all that wei-e able to gird themselves with a 
 girdle," as it is in the margin; that is, to oppose the enemies; " to 
 put on armour," as in our translation. Fragments to Cnlmel. A 
 zone or girdle was a token of strength. Chappelow. See the 
 note on Is. v. 27. 
 
 a. He diwoivretk deep things out of darkness, &c.] The senti- 
 ment U, that, wliile these terrible revolutions remain in the Divine 
 counsels, they are darkness, utter darkness to us, deep impenetra- 
 ble secrets: and, when tliey are discovered in the execution, they 
 astoniih and terrify mankind, as though sepulcliral darkness co- 
 vered the face of the earth. The Prophet Daniel speaks in like 
 figurative language of the counsels of God, relating to the four 
 great empires of the world, chap. ii. 21, 22. Scutt. 
 
 , ' ^f shadow of death.'} That which hath been contrived in 
 
 the greatest obscurity. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 h ~rt ^f '''*^'' """■'' ^'^ *^'"'' ^^-^ When God takes away the 
 nearte of men, they run strange courses, and go ways which the 
 
 mt^s'^^^'cVj*!"'' ^^^ ^°°' of honesty or of justice treads not their 
 Divine infatuation of the governing powers is here described in 
 
 CHAP. xni. 
 
 1 Job reproveth his friends of partiality. \i He pro- 
 
 fes.telh his conjidence in God: 20 and intrcateth to 
 
 hnmv his own sins, aiid God's purpose in ajjlicling 
 
 liim. 
 
 Before 
 CHEIST 
 about 1520. 
 
 L 
 
 O, mine eye hath seen all this, mine 
 ear hath heard and understood it. 
 
 2 What ye know, the same do I know 
 also: 1 am not inferior unto you. 
 
 3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty, 
 and I desire to reason with God. 
 
 4' But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all 
 physicians of no value. 
 
 5 O that ye would altogether hold your 
 peace 1 and it should be your wisdom. 
 
 6 Hear now my reasoning, and hearken 
 to the pleadings of my lips. 
 
 7 Will ye speak wickedly for God ? and 
 talk deceitfully for him ? 
 
 8 AVill ye accept his person? will ye con- 
 tend for God ? 
 
 forcible language and striking resemblances. Privation of judg- 
 ment and courage is expressed by God's " taking away their 
 hearts:" in their confusion, mistakes, perplexity, and distress, 
 they resemble persons who have lost themselves in the Arabian 
 solitudes; without a path, without a way-mark, without a light 
 to guide them ; and their irresolution and unstable counsels are 
 like the reeling motions of a drunken man. Scott. 
 
 25. They grope in the dark without light, &c.] See Is, xix. 14; 
 xxiv. 20; XXIX. 9; 10. RosenmiUkr. 
 
 Chap. XIII. The friends of Job charged him witli ignorance 
 of God and His ways: to refute which, he made that excellent 
 confession both of the power and wisdom of God in the foregoing 
 chapter; and concludes his discourse upon those points, at the 
 beginning of this, with an attestation to all from his own know- 
 ledge and experience. Caryl. 
 
 \er. 1. Lo, mine eye halli seen all this ^ I know, by my own 
 observation and exjierience, all that I have spoken concerning 
 God's power and wisdom; so that I need not your discourses 
 about them. Clark. These two verses ought not to have been, 
 disjoined from the former chapter. They authenticate the facts 
 contained in it. Scott. 
 
 3. Surely I would .'.peak to the Almighty, &c.] As if Job had 
 said, I see that I shall avail or profit myself but little by any fiir- 
 ther conference with you; therefore, I desire to turn myself to 
 God, from whom I am sure of a good answer. Caryl. 
 
 4. But ye are forgers of //<"•$,] My integrity is such, that I 
 dare undertake to clear myself before God; but as for you, ye 
 are authors of false doctrine, namely, that great afflictions are 
 peculiar to hypocrites and wicked men; ye are unskilful and un- 
 faithful, prescribing bad remedies, and misapplying good ones. 
 Clark. 
 
 5. — and it should be your wisdom.'} To keep the tongue within 
 proper restraint was always reckoned one of the qualities of a 
 wise man. Solomon delivers his opinion in very strong terras, 
 Prov. xvii. 28. The Arabians are remarkable for their proverbs 
 of the same kind. Chappelmv. 
 
 7. Witt ye speak 7cickedly for God? Sec.} Doth God stand in 
 need of untruths to justify His proceedings? cannot He be right- 
 eous unless I be wicked ? Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. jrm ye accept liis person ?'} Will you seek to win the favour 
 of God by assailing me unjustly, as is the practice towards earthly 
 princes > Grotius. 
 
 will ye contend for God?"} As if Job had said. If you will 
 
 1
 
 He professetk his confidence in God, 
 
 CHAP. xiir. 
 
 and inlreateth to know his own sins. 
 
 CHiasT ^ ^^ ^^ good that he should search you 
 about 1520. out ? OF as oiic man mocketh another, do 
 ye so mock him ? 
 
 10 He will surely reprove you, if ye do 
 secretly accept persons. 
 
 11 Shall not his excellency make you 
 afraid ? and his dread fall upon you ? 
 
 12 Your remembrances are like unto 
 ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay. 
 
 t He!). 1.3 t Hold your peace, let me alone, that 
 
 from ml ^ ^^7 spcak, and let come on me what 
 will. 
 
 14 Wherefore do I take my flesli in my 
 teeth, and put my life in mine hand ? 
 
 15 Tiiough he slay me, yet will I trust 
 t Heb. in him : but I will t maintain mine own 
 algue."''' ways before him. 
 
 16 He also shall be my salvation : for an 
 hypocrite shall not come before him. 
 
 engage as patron.? of God's cause, and contend fov Him, you must 
 do it so as becomes the cause of God ; you must not, to gratify 
 God, oppress the poorest man. Caryl. 
 
 9 — 13. Is it good that he should search ijou out .?] The ninth 
 and tenth verses are an appendi.v to, or an enlargement of, his 
 second argument, which began at the seventh verse. There he 
 expostulates thus : " Will j'e speak wickedly for God } and talk 
 deceitfully for Him.^ will ye accept His person.'" Will ye make 
 such adventures, will ye run such hazards as these .'' Here he dis- 
 suades them from it; " Is it good that He should search you out.'" 
 ver. 9; if He do, 3'ou will suffer for your iniquity ; for, " He will 
 surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons," ver. 10. If 
 you give wrong judgment for God, you shall not escape His just 
 judgment. Job's third argmnent is grounded upon the majesty 
 and greatness of God, ver. 11;" Shall not His excellency make 
 you afraid.' &c." His fourth, upon their frailt)' and weakness, 
 ver. 12; " Your remembrances are like unto ashes:" and will you, 
 who are dust and ashes, speak thus, not only before, but concern- 
 ing the high and the holy God? From all these premises, he 
 draws the wish of the fifth verse ; '• O that ye would altogetlier 
 hold your peace !" into a conclusive charge at the thirteenth 
 verse, " Hold your peace, &c." Cciri/l. 
 
 12. Your rememhranccs are like unto ashes,"] Whatsoever thing 
 of yours seems memorable, or wliat monument soever ye shall set 
 up to yourselves, it shall vanish away, and be scattered like 
 ashes. Bp. Hall. 
 
 your bodies to bodies of clay.] He threatens them with 
 
 punishment, for acting so rashly and presumptuously concerning 
 God : or rather he describes their abject state in comparison with 
 the sublimity of the Divine nature. Whatsoever is eminent in 
 you, is like a iieap of clay, and shall be reduced to claj-. Why 
 then do you flatter yourselves, and thus exalt yourselves above 
 others, and despise me ? Poole. 
 
 13. Hold your peace, &c.] Job being provoketl speaks here 
 with some heat, and is desirous rather to cast himself wholly on 
 God, than to hear his friends any longer. Caryl. 
 
 14. Wherefore do I take my jlesh in my teeth ^ &c.] Why is my 
 heart torn with anguisli, and wherefore am I involved in the 
 greatest danger? Grotius. 
 
 The putting any thing valuable " in one's hand," may signify 
 exposing it to danger, on this account ; because it is then ready 
 to be snatched away by one that is stronger : whereas a treasure 
 locked up and kept in a retired place is not so Ciusy to be come at, 
 nor affords the like temptjition. Dr. DurcU. 
 
 14, 15. Wherefore do I take my flesh &c.] You ask me, Why I 
 should consider mj' case as desperate ? Why I should be thus slow 
 to believe that God will deliver me out of my troubles ? You say 
 tliis looks as if I were conscious of some wickedness that rendered 
 
 17 Hear diligently my speech, and my ^^^1%^ 
 eclaration with your ears. about 1520. 
 
 lb Behold now, 1 have ordered my cause ; 
 1 know that I shall be justified. 
 
 19 Who is he ///«/ will plead with me? 
 for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give 
 up the ghost. 
 
 20 Only do not two things unto me : 
 then will I not hide myself from thee. 
 
 21 Withdraw thine hand far from me : 
 and let not thy dread make me afraid. 
 
 22 Then call thou, and I will answer : or 
 let me speak, and answer thou me. 
 
 23 How many are mine iniquities and 
 sins ? make me to know my transgression 
 and my sin. 
 
 24- Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and 
 boldest me for thine enemy ? 
 
 25 Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and 
 
 me unworthy of such a deliverance. No : it is not the want of a 
 due hope or trust in God, occasioned by any wickedness I am 
 conscious of, that makes me thus despair of my condition ; for 
 " though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him : but I w ill main- 
 tain mine own ways (my integrity) before Him." Peters. 
 
 We may hence observe, that trust is due to God in all estates, 
 that it is the l)est ease to the soul, and the best reniedv in e\'ils 
 and that we can never trust God too much. Gin//. 
 
 15. Though he slay me, &€.] Though He slay me here, yet I 
 am sure that He will save me hereafter, and be my portion for 
 ever. Caryl. 
 
 \6. — for an Jiypocrile s/tall not come before liim.'] Rather, bid 
 an hypocrite, &c. In this latter clause. Job secretly refutes tlie 
 censure of his friends, who had aspersed him as ,iu hypocrite. 
 Bildad did so obliquely in chap. viii. 13. Job looking up to God 
 as his " salvation," expresses his confidence that he should come 
 " before" God, that is, into His presence, whither no hypocrite 
 could come. Caryl. 
 
 IS. Beliold now, I have ordered my cause;'] As if .Job had said, 
 I address myself to my trial, and plead not guilty. Peters. I am 
 so sure of the goodness of my cause, that I know I shall be ac- 
 (juitted. Bi). Patrick. 
 
 19- — ij I hold my tongue, Ac.]] I am so full, and my impa- 
 tience for a trial is so great, that if I have not liberty to give it 
 vent in vindicating myself, I shall expire. Clark. 
 
 20 — 23. Only do not tno things unto me : &c.] This holy man 
 seems here to recollect himself; and, .as fearing that he might 
 have been too bold in his appeal, adtlrcsses himself in these verses 
 to the Judge Himself, and beseeches Him, in the most submissive 
 manner, before He enters into judgment with him, to grant hira 
 two things ; to withdraw His afflicting hand from him, and to 
 vail the terrours of His majesty, that it might not strike him with 
 too great a dre.ad ; and then to question him, and he would an- 
 swer, or permit him to speak, and vouchsafe to inform him what 
 his guilt w:is, and what were tlie reasons of these severe afflic- 
 tions. Several passages in his speech shew very evidently, that 
 Job looked forward to a day of judgment, in which he hoped to 
 have his innocence clearetl. The whole tenour of his argument 
 must therefore be referred to a futtire, not a temporal deliver- 
 ance. Peters. 
 
 23 — 25. How many are mine iniquities &c.] Scarcely ever 
 were the feelings of the human heart, oppressed with such a load 
 of grief, expressed in a more natural or less blamable way : in 
 the last pait Job confesses his own meanness, or rather nothing- 
 ness, ill comparison of God, and that in a mamier so ingenuous 
 and simple, as to shew that his complaints, however passionate 
 and moving, had but a small mi.\ture of pride and stubbornness 
 at the bottom of them. Peters.
 
 Job intreateth God fur favour, by the 
 
 JOB. 
 
 shortness of life, and certainty of death. 
 
 Before fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stub- 
 
 CHRIST,, 
 
 «uiut MM. uie . ..... . 
 
 ' Pi. 25. 
 
 t Hil>. 
 thienest. 
 t Heb. 
 
 TMtS. 
 
 26 For thou writest bitter things against 
 me, and ' niakcst me to possess the iniqui- 
 ties of my youth. 
 
 27 Tiiou puttest my feet also in the 
 stocks, and t lookest narrowly unto all my 
 paths; thou settest a i)rint upon thetheels 
 of my feet. 
 
 28 And he, as a rotten thing, consum- 
 eth, as a garment that is moth eaten. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 ] Job iiilrfalcllt God /or favour, hi/ the shortness of life, 
 atul cerltiinJi/ of dealh. 7 Though Ife once latt be ir- 
 recoverub/c, i/i I he miilcth for his change. \6 By sin 
 the cretUurc is snJijecl lo corruption. 
 
 'AN that is born of a woman is t of 
 . few days, and full of trouble. 
 2 ' He cometh forth like a flower, and is 
 cut down : he fleeth also as a shadow, and 
 
 M- 
 
 tHcb. 
 
 3/l0r( 1/ 
 itays. 
 * Vi. lOQ. 
 11.& 10:!. 
 15. & M-l. 
 
 4. ch. 8. 9. continueth not. 
 
 26 — 28. For thou writest bitter things &c.]] The whole relation 
 is carried on in a continued metaphor, alluding to a judiciary 
 proceeding, as if liimself were a guilt}' malefactor, and God the 
 supreme Judge : first, aggravating his faults and pronoimcing 
 senteiKe upon him, ver. 20"; secondly, executing the sentence, 
 vcr. 27 ; " Thou puttest my feet in the stocks." In the close of 
 all Job declares the effect whicii that sentence, pronounced and 
 executed, wrought upon him, ver. 28 ; " He, as a rotten thing, 
 consumeth, &c." 
 
 Job may have here had respect to some actual sins of liis j-outh, 
 without any detriment to his argument drawn from tliat present 
 uprightness of heart and life, which he now pleads, and had so 
 long practised ; for it is not his innocence, strictly speaking, which 
 Job insists on, but his integrity. Peters. 
 
 27- — tlie sloclcs,'2 Tlie original word appeal's to signify a clog, 
 er lo^er, probably such an one as used to be put on the feet of 
 fugitive slaves, or rather malefactors. Parkhurst. 
 
 Ihou sellesl a print &c.] The shackles and qhains which 
 
 are upon me leave their marks behind them in my flesh ; my feet 
 swell with my heavy fettci-s. Curi/l. 
 
 Otherwise, '■ Thou imprintest thyself, tliat is. Thy wrath, on 
 the soles of my feet :" Thou treatest me as the vilest slave : for 
 perhaps he alludes to the bastinadoing of the feet, which has 
 lon^ been a common punishment in the East ; but whether as 
 ancient as the time of Job, or whetlier some other impression on 
 the feet be not intended, I will not take upon me absolutely to 
 determine. Michaelis thinks, that Job moreover refers to the 
 tumours and ulcers in his feet, such ;is are usual in the elcphan- 
 tLisis, the distemper under which he suffered. Parkhurst. 
 
 28. Anil he, as a rotten thing, &a] The person is here changed 
 from the first to the third. Job being still tlie subject of the de- 
 scription. A similar comparison to the latter occurs in Ps. xxxix. 
 11. Cari/l. Such changes of person are verj' common in the 
 sacred poems. The usage also of the third person for the first, 
 thts man for / or me, is frequent in the tragedies of Sophocles. 
 Schulieiu, ScoU. 
 
 , ^'^"P, ^^^'- ^" '•'e '«t verse of the former chapter Job 
 shewed how weak and miserable a creature man is under the 
 attlicting hand of God: he prosecutes the same argument in the 
 hrst and second verses of this chapter ; from all drawing down 
 this expostulatory conclusion, ver. 3, "and dost Thou opeSTliine 
 eye* upon such an one?" Caryl. P x une 
 
 Before 
 
 3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon Christ 
 sucli an one, and bringest me into judg- about i.'.aa 
 ment with thee ? 
 
 4 t Who ^ can bring a clean thin": out of t Heb. 
 an unclean? not one. ^i^^., 
 
 5 " Seein<T his days are determined, the "Ps-sui 
 number of his months are with thee, thou 
 
 hast appointed his bounds that he cannot 
 pass ; 
 
 6 Turn from him, that he may t rest, t Heb. 
 till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his '''""' 
 
 7 For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut 
 down, that it will sprout again, and that the 
 tender branch thereof will not cease. 
 
 8 Though the root thereof wax old in 
 the earth, and the stock thereof die in the 
 ground ; 
 
 9 Yet through the scent of water it will 
 bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. 
 
 10 But man dieth, and t wasteth away : f Heb. 
 yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where or"cu(^!'' 
 is he ? 
 
 An air of sad solemnity is diffused over this whole chapter. It 
 is a train of gloomy ideas, rising successively in a melancholy 
 mind, and closing with a scene highly tragical, the deplorable 
 condition of man in the grave. Scott. 
 
 \er. 2. — like a fimver, — as a shadow.'] The first of these 
 similies beautifully represents the tender composition of mail's 
 elegant frame, which is easily destroyed by the smallest acci- 
 dent: the other illustrates the emptiness of his enjoyments, 
 and the celerity with which his life is continually hasting to its 
 period. Scott. 
 
 3. And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an owe,] Dost Thou 
 observe all his ways to find some occasion for punisliing him, and 
 deal with me according to rigid justice .i" Clark. 
 
 3, 4. And dost thou ojicn thine eyes &c.] These last words 
 plainly refer to the first, and shew the ground of other expos- 
 tulations ; see chap. xv. li, and xxv. 4. This seems to be the 
 sense of Job's expostulation ; " Why art Thou extreme to mark 
 all my errours .'' Is it reasonable to expect purity from a man 
 boi-n of a woman, who is, by the very condition of his birth, 
 unclean .'" The expostulation lias a plain reference to the intro- 
 duction of vanity and corruption by the sin of the woman ; and 
 is an evidence, tnat this ancient writer was sensible of the evil 
 consequences of the fall upon the whole race of mankind. Bp. 
 Sherlock. 
 
 5. — his days are determined,] Or ait short. Job probably 
 thought of the longevity ol' the antediluvian men, and the pre- 
 sent abbreviation of human life. Scott. See the note on chap, 
 vii. 1, from Collyer. 
 
 6. — till he shall accompl'isk, as an hireling, his day.] "Till, 
 wearied with life, lie shall look to deatli for relief, as the hireling 
 eagerly expects the evening, that he may secure his wages, and 
 rest from his labour. Roscnmuller. 
 
 7 — 12. For there is hope of a tree, &c.] The death of man is 
 not like the cutting ilov/n of a tree, which soon sprouts again 
 and flourishes in the saxne place ; but rather, like the drying up 
 of a river whose waters disappear, and we see no more of them. 
 So man appears no more upon the stage of this world ; 
 " he lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more." 
 Peters. 
 
 9. Yet through the scent of water it mil bud,] The sensitive 
 faculty of smelling is here elegantly ascribed to the root. As 
 soon as it shall have smell, that is, felt the influence of, the water, 
 it will bud. CAappeloK.
 
 Bij sin the creature 
 
 CHAP. XIV 
 
 is suhject to corruption. 
 
 fHRisT 11 ^•^ the waters fail from the sea, and 
 shmit 1520. the flood decayeth aiKi drieth up : 
 
 12 So man lieth down, and riseth not : 
 till the heavens be no more, they shall not 
 awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. 
 
 13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the 
 grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, 
 until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest 
 appoint me a set time, and remember me! 
 
 14 If a man die, shall he live again? all 
 the days of my appointed time will I wait, 
 till my change come. 
 
 15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer 
 thee : thou wilt have a desire to the work 
 of thine hands. 
 
 "Ps. 133.2. 15 d Por now thou numberest my steps : 
 dost thou not watch over my sin ? 
 
 11. — fhe sea^ .So the Orientals style a lake, or any large 
 body of water. Scott. 
 
 lii. — till the heavens lie no more,"^ We know from writers 
 both sacred and profane, that it was a very old opinion, that the 
 present frame of nature should be one day dissolved, and be suc- 
 ceeded by a renovation of all things, by new heavens and a new 
 earth. Bp. Sherlock. 
 
 Our blessed Saviour speaks in the same language, Matth. v. 18, 
 " Till heaven and earth pass," that is, so long as the world en- 
 dures. Chappetow. 
 
 13 — 17. O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, &c.J As if 
 he had said, ' Tired out with the calamities of life, let me then 
 presently undergo my lot, tlie effect of Adam's sin, and of Thy 
 wrath against it, till the time appointed for us to remain in this 
 separate state be fulfilled ; and then remember me, and raise me 
 to that better state, which Thou hast prepared for Thy faithful 
 servants." And here he breaks off into an expression of joy antl 
 admiration, ver. li, ' If a man die, shall he live, or revive.' Is 
 it true, that we shall rise again to a new and better life hereafter.' 
 Let me with hope and patience wait this happy change, (my re- 
 novation,) how long soever it may be in coming.' He adds, ver. 
 15, " Thou shalt call, and I will answer Thee; Thou wilt have a 
 desire to the work of Thine hands." He trusted that God would 
 call him forth to judgment ; that he sliould then be admitted to 
 answer for himself before a just and equitable Judge, who knew 
 the uprightness of his heart, and had a love for all His creatures 
 that did not render themselves unworthy of it ; and that then he 
 should receive a different sentence from that which his rash ill- 
 judging friends had passed upon him, and be acquitted before 
 them and all the world : though now (as it follows in the next 
 verses) God had seemed to deal so harclly with him, had " nmn- 
 bered his steps, and sealed up his transgression in a bag ;" 
 that is, had seemed to take account of every the smallest trans- 
 gression of his life, and, by the severe chastisements inflicted on 
 him, had laid him open to the bitter censures and reproaches of 
 his three friends : for his hopes of being acquitted in the day of 
 judgment could not entirely subdue that grief and indignation 
 which he had conceived at the cruel usage given him by these 
 men, who measured his guilt by his afflictions, and treated him, 
 upon this account, in all their speeches as a wicked man and a 
 liypocrite. Peters. 
 
 1 3. O that thou wouldest hide me — wilil thy wrath be past,'] We 
 may hence remark, that our only refuge from the wrath of God, 
 is God Himself; that it is our duty to refer all the circumstances 
 of our petitions to the wisdom of God : that there is nothing 
 more desirable than to be remembered by God, which to the 
 righteous is the accomplishment of ;ill their desires : and finiilly 
 it behoves us to consider, that if it be such a blessing to be had 
 in remembrance by God, what wrath and misery must be re- 
 served for those whom God shall be provoked to cast out of His 
 sight ! Caryl. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 17 My transgression is sealed up in a ^«'°" 
 bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity. ai>outi52o. 
 
 18 And surely the mountain falling 
 
 t Cometh to nought, and the rock is re- t Heb. 
 moved out of his place. f>"ictii. 
 
 ly The waters wear the stones: thou 
 t washest awav the things which grow out t Heb. 
 of the dust of the earth; and thou destroy- '"^>"'"'- 
 est the hope of man. 
 
 20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, 
 and he passeth : thou changest his counte- 
 nance, and sendest him away. 
 
 21 His sons come to honour, and he 
 knoweth it not ; and they are brought low, 
 but he perceiveth it not of them. 
 
 22 But his flesh upon him shall have 
 pain, and his soul within him shall mourn. 
 
 1-J-. If a man die, shall he lire again P] This question does not 
 denote any doubt on the part of Job, for see chap. xix. 2.5, &c. ; 
 but is an expression of joyful admiration, like that of Solomon, 
 1 Kings viii. 27. Parkhurst. See the note from Peters on ver. 
 13—17. 
 
 16. — thou numberest my steps : J Thou seemest to call me to 
 an account for e\'ery step of my past life. Bp. IVilson. 
 
 1 7. -Vy transgression is sealed] That is, the scroll or record 
 of it, in a bundle ; " and Thou tiest up mine iniquity." 
 
 The money that is collected together in the treasuries of Eastern 
 princes is told up in certain equal sums, put into bags, and seal- 
 ed; and it appears to have been so anciently : see 2 Kings xii. 10. 
 Job seems to allude to this custom. Manner. 
 
 18 — 22. And surely the mountain fal/ins Sec] All these simili- 
 tudes appear to aim at the same point, wliich Job had been pur- 
 suing a little before, namely, that a man dying shall return no 
 more to his former state; this he shadows out by mountains, rocks, 
 stones, trees, and the fruits of the earth, which are changed and 
 consumed, as if they had never been. Caryl. 
 
 19. — and thou dcstroycst the liojic of man.] Thou tokest from 
 me all hope of returning to this world again. Clark. 
 
 20. — and he passeth :] That is, he dieth ; so the word is u3e<l 
 chap. X. 21 : death is our passage out of the world. Caryl. 
 
 tJiou changest his countenance, &c.] That lively look which 
 
 he had before, and makest him pale and ghastly. Clark. 
 
 and sendest him away.] , Into another world. Bp. Pa- 
 trick. 
 
 21. His sons come to tionour, &c.n And then, whether his chil- 
 dren whom he leaves behind be rich, or whether they be poor, 
 it is indifferent to him ; for he knows not what passes there. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 22. But his flesh upon liim shall have pain, Sec] But while he 
 is in the flesh, he cannot but be in pain for them ; and his soul is 
 inwardly grieved to see their misery. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Or the twenty-first and twenty-second verses may be inter- 
 preted thus : 21. When he is now in the agony of death, striving 
 with his last pangs, he little regards what honour his son has re- 
 cently acquired, or what sliame he hath incurred. 22. But his flesh 
 upon him is in extremity of jiain, which takes up all his thoughts 
 and senses ; and his_.^ul within him mourns for the present vio- 
 lence of his torment, and for the expectation or fear of the future. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 •Job in this chapter presents us with a lively representation of 
 tiie frailty of human life, of the miseries to which man is subject in 
 this world, and of the condition to which he is reduced by death. 
 Wliilst our experience teaches us that the representation is correct, 
 we ought to i)raise God that we have in the Gosjicl, and in the 
 sure and certain hope of the resurrection, strong consolation, and 
 an unfailing remedy against the vanity of this life, and against 
 deatli itself. Meanwhile our great care should be, to improve the 
 time and other talents with wliich God hath entrusted us ; tliat so 
 
 6 A
 
 Eliphaz reproreth Job of 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 JOB. 
 
 ivipiettj injusiify'mg himself. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 knouleilgt 
 ttf wind. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 thou mukcst 
 
 void. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 sptech. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 leucheth. 
 
 * Horn. 1 1. 
 31. 
 
 Ikfor. C li A p. XV, 
 
 C H III ST 
 
 ■bout liJo. I Eliphaz reprovcth Job of impicljj iiiju.tli/'i/iii!: himstlf. 
 1 7 He prvivth by I radii ion the iiiiquicliicss of wicked 
 men. 
 
 THEN answered Eliphaz the Temanite, 
 and said, 
 
 2 Should a wise man utter t vain know- 
 ledge, and fill his belly with the east wind ? 
 
 3 Should he reason with unprofitable 
 talk? or with speeches wherewith he can 
 do no good ? 
 
 4 Yea, t tliou castest off" fear, and re- 
 strainest II prayer before God. 
 
 5 For thy mouth t uttereth thine ini- 
 quity, and thou choosest the tongue of 
 the crafVy. 
 
 6 Tliine own mouth condemneth thee, 
 and not I : yea, thine own lips testify a- 
 gainst thee. 
 
 7 Art thou the first man that was born ? 
 or wast thou made before the hills ? 
 
 8 ^ Hast thou heard the secret of God ? 
 and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? 
 
 9 What knowest thou, that we know 
 not? xc/iat understandest thou, which is 
 not in us ? 
 
 10 With us are both the gray headed and 
 
 we may be enabled by His mercy in Christ Jesus to support our 
 present sufferings with patience, and be secured in tlie possession 
 of unmingled and never-fading happiness in the life to come. 
 Oslen-ald. 
 
 Chap. W. Eliphaz observes, how idly Job talks, and how 
 little proof he exhibits of wisdom, when he is not afraid to defy 
 the Almighty to a contest with him. His own language condemns 
 him as the presumptuous offender, wlio merited the punishment 
 which had fallen upon him. VVhy should he be so positive in 
 maintaining his innocence against the concurrent opinions of his 
 friends, who had at least as good opportunities of forming a cor- 
 rect judgment .-us himself? What folly was it to pretend exemp- 
 tion from blame in tlic presence of that Being who discovers im- 
 perlection in the most exalted of His creatures, but still more in 
 one so tainted witli corruption as man ! Eliphaz then returns to 
 his first position, that misery implies guilt, which he confinns by 
 the authority of ancient sages, and quotes their description of the 
 progress and perio<l of a wicked man. Bp. Stovk. 
 
 Ver. 2. — ami Jill his belly with the east wind fj Eliphaz com- 
 pares Job's speeches to the wind, and to tlie east wind: to the 
 wind, because of the vanity of them ; to the east wind, because 
 they are so hurtful. Cari/l. 
 
 Pernicious doctrine is here corapaied to the Simoom, or wind, 
 whidi blows occasionally in the deserts of Arabia. MichacUs. la 
 those climates, both in spring and summer, il'the east wind blows 
 for some days, all die fields are burnt, so that scarce any green 
 thing remains ; most of the rivers and fountains are dried up, and 
 nature itself seems almost to die. Scott. 
 
 4. Yea,lhoH catlest off fear,'] The sentiment conveyed here is 
 plainly this: If once Job can persuade men, that God does not 
 mterpose to execute judgment in this life, but reserves all things 
 to a distant day of vUitaUon, when the heavens shall be no more, 
 mere wiU be an end of all fear of God, an end of all prayer and 
 supphcation to Him. Bp. Slierlock. 
 
 7. Art thou tlK first wan that nas born ?1 Thou speakest of 
 Providence as if thou wert older than the world, and hadst 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 162a 
 
 >■ Ch. 14.4. 
 
 1 Kings 8. 
 16. 
 
 2 Cbron. e. 
 
 P. 
 
 1 Julm 1. 8. 
 ' Ch. 4. 18. 
 
 very aged men, much elder than thy fa- 
 ther. 
 
 11 Are the consolations of God small 
 with thee ? is there any secret tiling with 
 thee ? 
 
 12 Wliy doth thine heart carry thee 
 away? and what do thy eyes wink at, 
 
 1.^ That thou turnest thy spirit against 
 God, and lettest such words go out of thy 
 mouth ? 
 
 14- " What is man, that he should be 
 clean ? and he xvhicli is born of a woman, 
 that he should be righteous ? 
 
 15 = Behold, he putteth no trust in his psai. 14.3. 
 saints ; yea, the heavens are not clean in Prov. 20.9. 
 his sight. 
 
 IG How much more abominable and 
 filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like 
 water ? 
 
 17 I will .sliew thee, hear rae ; and that 
 which I have seen I will declare ; 
 
 18 Which wise men have told from their 
 fathers, and have not hid it : 
 
 19 Unto whom alone the earth was 
 given, and no stranger passed among 
 them. 
 
 20 The wicked man travaileth with pain 
 
 been present in council with the Deity at the creation. Mi~ 
 chaclis. 
 
 8. Hast thou heard the secret of God?"] Hast thou been ad- 
 mitted as a hearer into that great assembly where God's consul- 
 tations are held? and hast thou drawn wisdom to thyself from 
 thence ? Peters. 
 
 11. Are the consolations of God small ivilh thee?'] Why dost 
 thou shght those Divine consolations which we have given 
 thee ? Hast thou some secret ones unknown to others ? Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 12. — and what do thy eyes wink at,~\ In token of contempt 
 and scorn. Clark. Wherefore do thine eyes look fierce ? Excru- 
 ciating pain, anguish of mind, and indignation at their cruel 
 treatment, had given jierhaps an air of wildness and fierceness to 
 his countenance, which this inhuman censor attributes to passion 
 against God. Scott. 
 
 1 4-. What is man, &c.J See the note on chap. xiv. 3, 4. 
 
 1 .5. — yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.] We liave 
 here, and at cliap. iv. IS, the fall of angels plainly intimated to us. 
 Peters. 
 
 Hi. How much more abominable and filthy is man,~\ How loath- 
 some a creature then is man, who is as prone to sin, as he is dis- 
 posed to drink when he is thirsty. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 17 — 19. / will shew thee, hear me; &c.] The characters here 
 laid do^vn thus distinctly can belong to none so properly as to 
 Noah and his sons ; from whom, in reality, the ancient traditions 
 were dehvered down. And it is evident from the Scripture his- 
 tory, that the earth was divided amongst these ; that they were 
 all of one family, and that " no stranger passed among them." 
 Peters. 
 
 20. The wicked tnan travaileth with pain all his days,] Eliphaz 
 having argued against Job's supposed opinion of his own righte- 
 oxusness, proceeds to confirm his own position, which he largely 
 handles, and illustiates to ver. 31. Caryl. He describes with 
 great .strength the terrours of the wicked, and the troubles of an 
 evil conscience. He tells us, that the wicked are as a woman in 
 travail all the days of their life ; that they are in perpetual fear ;
 
 He proveth by tradition 
 
 CHAP. XV, 
 
 the unqnietness nf'iiiclced men. 
 
 chrTst ^'/ '"* ^^y^' ^"'^ '^^ number of years is 
 abouU52o. hidden to the oppressor. 
 tHeb. 21 t A dreadful sound is in his ears: in 
 
 A sound of prosperity the destroyer shall come upon 
 him. 
 
 22 He believeth not that he shall return 
 out of darkness, and he is waited for of the 
 sword. 
 
 23 He wandereth abroad for bread, say- 
 ing. Where is it? he knoweth that the day 
 of darkness is ready at his hand. 
 
 24 Trouble and anguish shall make him 
 afraid ; they shall prevail against him, as a 
 king ready to the battle. 
 
 25 For he stretcheth out his hand a- 
 gainst God, and strengtheneth himself 
 against the Almighty. 
 
 26 He runneth upon him, eveii on his 
 neck, upon the thick bosses of his buck- 
 lers: 
 
 27 Because he covereth his face with his 
 fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his 
 flanks. 
 
 that they never enjoy any solid peace; and that their prosperity 
 quickly passeth away. This is a truth, which is confii-med by the 
 sense of all men, and the experience of all ages; and ought to in- 
 spire us with a gfeat dread of sin. Ostervald. 
 
 the number of years is hidden &c.]] His prospect of many 
 
 years to com« may be suddenly shortened: he may be cut off in 
 tlie height of his career by the stroke of death, when he least ex- 
 pects a change. Chappelow. 
 
 21. /I dreadful sound is in his ears: &c.] The wicked is here 
 described as threatened by various dangers, though one only ca- 
 lamity may be destined to strike him: his misery is thus multi- 
 plied, because his conscience, and Providence, wliich conceals its 
 intention, threaten him with all. Michaelis. 
 
 " A dreadful sound is in his ears, that in peace the destroyer 
 will come upon him." When there are no signs of invasions, in- 
 surrections, or plots against him, his disturbed imagination is Con- 
 tinually presenting destruction to him. This is strong painting. 
 Scolt. 
 
 22. He helievelh not thai he shall return out of darkness, ~\ If he 
 fall into trouble he despairs of deliverance: instead of being deli- 
 vered from this, a farther evil, even utter destruction, is ready to 
 seize on him. Clark. 
 
 I 23. He wandereth abroad for bread, &c.] This abrupt transition 
 
 to the punishment of the wicked transgressor, admirably cx- 
 
 I presses the suddenness of the event, and presents him to our 
 sight in a most deplorable state of calamity. Scolt. 
 
 I 26. He runneth upon him, even on his neck,~\ The wicked man 
 
 maketh violent and presumptuous opposition to God, as if he 
 could grapple with and overcome the Almighty; and fearlessly 
 runs upon the most conspicuous judgments of God. Bp. Hall. 
 
 These images are borrowed from the single combat, which was 
 much practised in the ancient wars. " Stretching out the hand" 
 is the attitude of defiance: " strengthening himself," or behaving 
 himse/f insolently, may denote the haughty terms of the challenge; 
 and " running, &c." the intrepidity and fury of his attack. These 
 bold metaphors are intended to express the most daring impiety, 
 atrocious violation of the laws of God, with contempt of His vin- 
 dictive justice. The whole may be thus translated: " For he 
 stretched out his hand against God, and bade defiance to the Al- 
 mighty. He ran upon Him with his neck," that is, with his neck 
 stooping and stretched out, the very attitude of a combatant run- 
 ning upon his adversary, " upon the thick boss of His buckler." 
 
 28 And he dwelleth in desolate cities, -^^"[l^ 
 a7ul in houses which no man inhabiteth, about 1520. 
 which are ready to become heaps. 
 
 29 He shall not be rich, neither shall 
 his substance continue, neither shall he 
 prolong the perfection thereof upon the 
 earth. 
 
 30 He shall not depart out of darkness; 
 the flame shall dry up his branches, and 
 by the breath of his mouth shall he go 
 away. 
 
 31 Let not him that is deceived trust 
 in vanity: for vanity shall be his recom- 
 pence. 
 
 32 It shall be II accomplished before his II Or, 
 time, and liis branch shall not be green. """ff- 
 
 S3 He shall shake off his unripe grape 
 as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as 
 the olive. 
 
 34 For the congregation of hypocrites 
 shall he desolate, and fire shall consume the 
 tabernacles of bribery. « r so < 
 
 35 " They conceive mischief, and bring pJV. 14. * 
 
 The Scripture poets represent the Almighty armed with a shield, 
 a sword, and a bow. Scott. 
 
 27. Because he covereth hhface mth his fatness^ Because he 
 is grown rich, powerful, and successful; and his only care is to 
 pamper and please himself. Clark. 
 
 28. And he dwelleth in desolate cities,'] He possesseth cities 
 which he hath laid desolate; and houses out of which he hath 
 driven the owners, and which are running to ruin. Bp Patrick. 
 
 The foregoing verse marked the sensuality of this wicked man. 
 The character would have been left unfinished, had nothing been 
 added concerning the oppressions by which that luxury was sup- 
 ported. I think, therefore, that by " dwelling in desolate cities, 
 &c." must be understood his getting possession of them by con- 
 quest, and depopulating them, partly by his sword, and partly by 
 severe contributions and taxations. Scoft. 
 
 29. — neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof iijx)n the 
 earth.'] The verse may be thus rendered: " He shall not (conti- 
 nue to) be rich, neither shall his might endure, and their prospe- 
 rity shall not extend," or " spread abroad in the eartli," like a 
 flourishing tree. Parkhurst. 
 
 30. He shall not depart fcc] He shall not come out of his ca- 
 lamities. The destruction of the tyrant, with his whole family 
 and fortunes, is here represented by that of a lofly tree, which on 
 some dark tempestuous day is fired by lightning, torn up by the 
 wind, and hurled doM-n the precipice on which it grew. Scott. 
 
 31 — 35. Lei not him that is deceived trust in ranili/:] Eliphaz 
 laid down his doctrine at the 20th verse of this chapter, that a 
 wicked man's life is full of misery; and haying insisted long upon 
 the proof, he now gives the application of it. Cari/l. 
 
 31. Let not him that is deceived Sec] Let not him that is 
 seduced into evil Mays trust to uncertain greatness; for disap- 
 pointments shall be all that he will gain by it: and he shall meet 
 with these where he least exi>cets them ; and shall see his children 
 wither away as well as himself. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 32. // shall be accomplished before his time, &c.] Affliction shall 
 come when he least thinks of it, like fruit withered before it be 
 ripe. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 his branch shall not be green.] Shall not continue green. 
 
 His fate shall be like that of a vine or olive, that is withered 
 by drought, or by a poisonous east wind: see the next verse- 
 Scott. 
 
 35. They conceive mischief and bring forth vamft/,] See Ps. ni. 
 ■ 6 A 2
 
 Job reprove th his friends ofwimercijidiiess. 
 
 BiTurc 
 C II 11 1 ST 
 
 iiUmt i3'.'0. 
 
 II Or, 
 injyui'3'- 
 
 I Or. 
 
 trnuUe- 
 
 some. 
 
 • Chop. 13. 
 
 4. 
 
 t Heh. 
 
 u'onls of 
 
 wind. 
 
 t Hcl). 
 
 forth li vanity, and their belly prepareth 
 deceit. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 I Job reprovelh lii.i fricnth of unmerciful ncss. 7 He 
 shen-elh the pilif'ulness of his case. 17 He mainlain- 
 el/i /lis iiinociiicy. 
 
 THEN Job answered and said, 
 2 I have heard many such things: 
 
 II * miserable comforters are ye all. 
 
 3 Shall t vain words have an end? or 
 what emboldeneth thee that thou answer- 
 
 est? 
 
 4 I also could speak as ye do: if your 
 soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap 
 up words against you, and shake mine 
 head at you. 
 
 5 But I would strengthen you with my 
 mouth, and the moving of my lips should 
 asswage your grief. 
 
 G Though I speak, my grief is not as- 
 swaged: and though I forbear, t what am 
 I eased ? 
 
 7 But now he hath made me weary: 
 thou hast made desolate all my company. 
 
 8 And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, 
 xchich is a witness agaijist me : and my lean- 
 ness rising up in me beareth witness to my 
 face. 
 
 \i; Is. lix. 4. All his attempts are rendered abortive; yet lie 
 btill persists in continuing new schemes of fraud. Groliux. 
 
 their belli/ prepareth deceitJ^ Their secret thoughts do but 
 
 in the end deceive themselves. Up. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XVI, XVII. Job answers th^t Eliphaz liad said nothing 
 new, nothing worthy of notice. Piety and virtue would not be 
 extinguished, if they had no ceitain rewards in this life; the truly 
 pious, he declares, would still persevere: he maintains his inno- 
 cence, and calls God to witness that he is not polluted with secret 
 sins. Mlchaelis. 
 
 Chap. XVI. ver. 4. — I could heap up words against //o«,] I 
 could tack together (old) sayings against yon; alluding to the 
 speech of Eliphaz, who in the preceding cha])ter had urged such 
 sayings against Job. Parkhur.it. 
 
 shake mine head at you.l As a mark of scorn: so Ps. 22. 
 
 7, " All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the 
 lip, they shake tiie head." Carijl. 
 
 ■ 7. — thou ha.it made desolate all my company.'] Thou, Eliphaz, 
 by tliy slanders, sanctified by thy "years and character, drivest 
 away the few friends my adversity had left me. It is supposed 
 he alludes to chap. .w. 34, " the congregation of hypocrites shall 
 be desolate." ScoU. 
 
 8. Ami thou hast ^filled me with wrinkles, &c.] That is, my 
 fricn<ls reproach me with it, as if it were a proof of mv beine 
 wicked. Fdcrs. J b 
 
 Or thus: the wrinkles that are suddenly grown in my face, 
 bear witness to my extreme suffering. lip. Hall. 
 
 9. He tcareth me in his wrath, &C.3 This jiassage is generally 
 referred to God as the agent. CaryL Or, by a sudden change 
 of the person, expressive of great emotion, he turneth from Eli- 
 phaz to the audience; and, instead of continuing his address to 
 him, complainetli bitterly of him. " He," tliis man, my pro- 
 tessetl Iriend, is become my false accuser. Scott. Tlie metaphor 
 IS taken from a beast of prey, who rends and tears his prey in 
 wcces; and the same metaphor is carried on through the whole. 
 
 JOB. He shcwcth the pitifulness of his case. 
 
 9 He tcareth me in his wrath, who hatcth «„ uTsi 
 he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; about ism 
 
 t Hcl>. 
 
 Iialli skill 
 ine v;>. 
 
 me 
 
 mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me 
 
 10 Tiiey have gaped upon me with their 
 mouth; they have smitten me upon the 
 cheek reproachfully; they have gathered 
 themselves together against me. 
 
 11 God t hath delivered me to the un- 
 godly, and turned me over into the hands 
 of the wicked. 
 
 12 I was at ease, but he hath broken me 
 asunder : he hatli also taken 77ie by my 
 neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me 
 up for his mark. 
 
 13 His archers compass me round about, 
 he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not 
 spare; he poureth out my gall upon the 
 ground. 
 
 14 He breaketh me with breacl\ upon 
 breach, he runneth upon me like a giant. 
 
 15 I have sewed sackcloth upon my 
 skin, and defiled my horn in the dust. 
 
 16 My face is foul with weeping, and on 
 my eyelids is the shadow of death; 
 
 17 Not for ant/ injustice in mine hands: 
 also my prayer is pure. 
 
 18 O earth, cover not thou my blood, 
 and let my cry have no place. 
 
 10. Theij have gaped tipon me nilh their mouth;] My friends, 
 tlie instruments of God's anger, have treated me with the greatest 
 contempt, anil combined to grieve me. Clark. 
 
 This was the case with Christ, as it Iiad been with Job. In 
 this, and in many other things, the .Jews, who received this book, 
 as written under the influence of the Spirit of God, might have 
 seen that the best of men may suffer wrongfully; and suffer 
 by the malice of men and devils. Such is God's will. Bp. 
 IVdson. 
 
 Iheij have smitten me upon the cheek reproach fuUii ;] A 
 
 |)roverbial form of speech for atrocious defamation. I>am. iii. .30. 
 Scott. 
 
 1,3. — he poureth out my gall upon the ground.] A proverbial 
 expression, whicli a])poars to be derived from hence; When a beast 
 is taken and slain, it is usual, on taking out the bowels, to pour 
 the gall on tlic ground, lest the overflowing of it should give a 
 disagreeable flavour to the adjoining parts: so that Job only pur- 
 sues here tiie former tlicme of his sufferings; that he was (as St. 
 Paul speaks of himself, 2 Cor. i. 8,) " pressed out of measure, 
 above strength, insomuch that he despaired even of life:" which 
 he gives yet more fully in the next verse, " He breaketh me, 
 &c." Caryl. 
 
 1 5. / have sewed .sackcloth upon my skin, &c.] I have humbly 
 submitted myself to receive and sustain these dispensations. 
 " The horn" is often put for power and dignity. " There shall I 
 make the horn of David to flourish," Ps. cxxxii. 18. Can/l. See 
 note at 1 Sam. ii. 1. 
 
 As " exalting the horn" intimates the highest degree of honour 
 and power, so this phrase of "defiling one's horn in the dust," 
 is an expression of the greatest ignominy and abasement that 
 a person can suffer, especially after having been exalted to a high 
 station. Chappclom. 
 
 IS. O earth, cover not thou my blood. Sac] Commentators are 
 divided in their interjiretations of this passage. Some suppose 
 that Job utters here an imprecation on himself, if he lias been 
 guilty of any such offences as his friends would, by insinuation, 
 fasten upon him- According to which interpretation the sense
 
 Job mainiaineth his innocency. 
 
 CHAP. XVI, XVII. 
 
 He appealeth from men to God. 
 
 CHRIST ^^ ^^^^ "*^^' behold, mywitness win 
 
 about 1520. heaven, and my record is t on high. 
 
 t Hei>. 20 My friends t scorn me : b7it mine eye 
 
 ;'Lttl'"°'' poureth out tears unto God. 
 
 tHeb. 21 O that one might plead for a man 
 
 TtVnm-s. 'with God, as a man pleadeth for his II neigh- 
 
 II o--- hour ! 
 
 t Heb. 22 When t a few years are come, then I 
 
 years, f ghall go the wav whence I shall not return. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 1 Joh appealeth from men to God. 6" The unmerciful 
 dealing of men with the afflicted may astonish, but not 
 discourage the righteous, 1 1 His hope is not in life, 
 but in death. 
 
 Spirit is 
 sjyent. 
 
 M 
 
 Y II breath is corrupt, my days are ex- 
 tinct, the graves are ready for me. 
 2 Ai^e there not mockers with me ? and 
 
 may be. If it be not true that there is no injustice in my hands, 
 and that my prayer is pure, let my blood be left for the dogs to 
 lick, when I am dead, and let neither God nor man regard my 
 complaint, while I am alive. Others understand him to pray, 
 that his innocence may be cleared, and that his grief and his cries 
 may be every where made known. The sense will then be, " O 
 earth, cover not my blood," so as to withdraw it from the sight of 
 God; see Gen. iv. 10, 11; xxxvii. 26"; 1 Sam. xxvi. 20 ; Is. xxvi. 
 21 ; in other words, O that my afflictions may be disi)la}'ed before 
 the eyes of God and man ! a wish, that the earth may not cover 
 liis blood before it has made manifest his innocence, which he as- 
 serts in the preceding verse : " and let my cry have no place," 
 where it may be concealed ; but let it be carried up to heaven. 
 Jip. Patrick, Rosenmidler. 
 
 ] [). Also nwv, behold, mij witness is in heaven^ As if Job Jiad 
 said, I fear no evidence that can be brought against me on earth, 
 and I rejoice in the witness which I have in heaven : though I 
 have none to testify for me here, yet I have One who will testify 
 for me above : " my witness is in heaven, and my record is on 
 high." We may hence remark, that a good man dares appeal to 
 God, and commit his cause to Him, deriving joy and comfort 
 from the reflection, that there is a God in heaven who knov s his 
 heart, and is the witness of all his ways. Caryl. 
 
 21. O that one might plead for a man with God,"^ That I might 
 argue my cause as freely with God, as men of the same rank and 
 <legree debate their own cases with each other. All that Job 
 seems to intend by uttering this wish, is the desire he has to gain 
 an opportunity of setting himself right in the opinion of men, by 
 that impartial decision of his cause which, he was well assured, 
 God would give upon the whole matter in question between him 
 and his friends, if once He would be pleased to vouchsafe a free 
 and familiar hearing. Can/l. 
 
 22. — whence I shall not return.'} A return to this world is all 
 that Ciui be reasonably understood both here and chap. x. 21 : 
 and it is remarkable, that in both places the words are introduced 
 by a reflection on the bitter usage given to Job by his friends. 
 Peters. 
 
 As for the complaints that Job makes in this chapter, and his 
 protestations of innocence, they are not to be interpreted into a 
 declaration that he was exempt from all sin, or into a pretence of 
 justifying himself before God. But as his friends had accused 
 him of bringing on himself by his sins all the miseries which he 
 endured, he meant only that he was not guilty of those heinous 
 sins, by which wicked and ungodly men exjiose themselves to the 
 Divine vengeance. Every one, who sincerely fears God, should 
 be able to say as much : and this should make us sensible of the 
 happiness of those who endeavour to live upriglitly, and can call 
 (iod to witness their sincerity in studying to serve Him and keep 
 His connnandraents. O.Ttervald. 
 
 doth not mine eve t continue in their pro- ^^*''"*.„ 
 
 *' ' cn II I ST 
 
 vocation ? about 1520. 
 
 3 Lay down now, put me in a surety t "cb- 
 with thee ; who is he that will strike hands '"'""■ 
 with me? 
 
 4 For thou hast hid their heart from 
 understanding : therefore shalt thou not 
 exalt them. - -" •'■ c. 
 
 5 He that speaketh flattery to his friends, 
 even the eyes of his children shall fail. 
 
 6 He hath made me also a byword of 
 the people ; and II aforetime I was as a II ^'• 
 tabret. '''^"""""■ 
 
 7 Mine eye also is dim by reason of sor- 
 row, and all II my members are as a shadow, ii Or. m« 
 
 8 Upright men shall be astonied at this, """'''"'■ 
 and the innocent shall stir up himself a- 
 gainst the hypocrite. 
 
 Chap. XVII. ver. 1. Mt/ breath is corrupt,} In the margin, 
 " My spirit is spent." The verse may run, " My breath is con- 
 fined, straitened, oppressed ; my days are extinct ; the sepulchral 
 cells are ready for me :" for in the elephantiasis. Job's distemper, 
 death is usually caused by a violent suffocation. Parkhurst. 
 
 the graves} The cells or holes in the sepulchral cham- 
 bers for the coffins ; see Ezek. xxxii. 22, 23 : the walls of these 
 subterraneous rooms, hewn in the rock, were sometimes scooped 
 into rows of cells, like the holes in a pigeon house, wide and deep 
 enough to receive a coffin of seven or eight feet long. Scutt. 
 
 2 — 4. Are there not mockers with me? &c.] As in the fourth 
 verse Job addresses his speech to God, so in the two preceding 
 he points at and addresses himself to his mistaken friends. " Are 
 there not mockers with me ? lay down now (some pledge,) put 
 me in a surety with thee ; who is he that will strike hands with 
 me?" VV'hich of you, who thus mock and insult me, will venture 
 to try your cause before the Supreme Judge? No, they shew a want 
 of understanding in thus rashly censuring me; and were they to 
 bring their cause before Thee, O God, " Thou wouldest not exalt 
 them," that is, they would be cast in their trial. The sense is very 
 obvious and easy : the change of the person addressed, and the 
 several breaks in the sentence, only shew the earnestness of the 
 speaker, and are both natural and elegant. Peters. 
 
 2. — doth not vane eye continue in their proi'ocalion ?} Is not 
 their unjust provocation continually in mine eye ; so that I cannot 
 but be a witness of their injury ? Bp. Hall. 
 
 3. — n'ho is he that will strike hands with vie?} In the days of 
 ancient simplicity, " striking hands" was thought a sufficient rati- 
 fication of the most solemn engagements. Scott. 
 
 5. He that speakeJh Jialleri/ lo his friends, &c.] This is to be 
 understood as an apology for the contemptuous mention of his 
 friends just before. I cannot flatter you, says Job : the man that 
 will give u)) truth for a compliment, deserves to be punished even 
 in his posterity. Up. Stock. 
 
 6. — aforetime I was as a tabret.} I was in goo<I repute, was 
 as welcome as a tabret. Can/l. Or, " He," namely Elii>haz, •' has 
 made me a byword of the people, and I shall be," or " that I may 
 be, an example before them. " The word, rendered " tibret" in 
 our version, may signify a sigu or ejcample to others, according to 
 the Latin N'ulgate. Parkhurst. 
 
 7. Mine eye also is dim lii/ reason ofsorrotv,} It is evident even 
 to common observation, that gieat sorrow and weeping will have 
 neaily the same effect on the eyes as old age. Compare Ps. vi. 7; 
 xxxi. 9. Parkhurst. 
 
 S. Upright men .ihall be astonied at this,} Upright men here- 
 after will be astonished at the ci-uel sentence which my friends 
 pass upon me; anil the innocent will resolutely oppose the 
 wicked, when he judges the worse of piety because of iny affic- 
 tiou. Bp. Patrick.
 
 Job's hope is not in li/'e, but in de^th. 
 
 JOB. 
 
 Bildad reproveth him of presumption. 
 
 Before 
 CUBIST 
 
 abotit IJ'JO. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 ihalt add 
 Urenglli. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 the jHtsset- 
 sious. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 nenr. 
 
 t Heb. 
 <-nVrf, or, 
 rxUied. 
 
 9 The righteous also shall hold on his 
 way, and he that hath clean hands t shall 
 be stronger and stronger. 
 
 10 But as for you all, do ye return, and 
 come now : for I cannot find one wise man 
 among you. 
 
 11 My days are past, my purposes ar6 
 broken oft", even t the thoughts of my 
 heart. 
 
 12 They change the night into day: the 
 light is t short because of darkness. 
 
 \3 If I wait, the grave is mine house : 
 I have made my bed in the darkness. 
 
 14 I iiave tsaid to corruj)tion, Thou art 
 my father : to the w'Orm, 2hou art my mo- 
 ther, and my sister. 
 
 15 And where /*• now my hope ? as for 
 any hope, who shall see it ? 
 
 16 Tliey shall go down to the bars of 
 the pit, when our rest together is in the 
 dust. 
 
 CHAP. XVIll. 
 
 1 Bildad rcpruvelh Joh of presumption and impatience. 
 5 Ttie calamities of the wicked. 
 
 THEN answered Bildad the Shuhite, 
 and said, 
 2 How long "will it be ere ye make an 
 
 9. The righteous also shall hold on his tvai/,'] Shall not leave 
 the ways of piety, notwithstanding his crosses, or your wrong 
 censures. Bp. Wilson. Notwithstanding this scandal of my suf- 
 ferings, and all other discouragements which he may meet with. 
 Clark. 
 
 10. — do ye return, and come now :'^ Give up your unjust 
 opinion of me, and listen to my words, which declare the truth, 
 and contain wholesome instruction. Rosenmuller. 
 
 11. — the thoughts of my heart.'^ Literally, the possessors of 
 my heart : that is, thoughts or purposes, which had taken entire 
 possession of it. Parkhurst. 
 
 12. Thri/ change the night into day ;] My great afflictions 
 change my night into day ; causing me to pass over that time 
 of darknuss without any rest, so that my thoughts are no less 
 busy than in the day ; and so great is the dai-kness of my misery, 
 that It echpseth my day, and makes it either short or none. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 15. And irhere is now my hope?"] WTiere is my hope of future 
 prosperity, with which you seek to delude me ? Clark. 
 
 16. Theu shall go down to the bars oft lie pit, 2 Those hopes you 
 sneak of shall go down with me to the bottom of the grave, and 
 shall rest with me together in the dust. Bp. Hall. 
 
 You see me dying, and yet you bid me hope for better days ■ 
 (see chap. v. 19—26; viii. 5—7, 20— 22 ; xi. 15—20;) instead of 
 comlortmg me with a prospect and hope of a reward hereafter, 
 tor mine integrity here. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 . ""^ *"" °f '*e ;«■',] Or, the hidden recesses of the grave • 
 
 the same with "the gates of death," ch. xxxviii. 17; and "gates 
 ol the grave. Is. xxxviii. 10. Chappelmv. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. Bildad has nothing to add to the argument, that 
 n. seo' IS tlie lot only of the wicked, except an invmive against 
 much n resisting m his opinion, and for expressing it with so 
 kbour^l n •":'• '"''^.""^y °f petulance. He concludes with a 
 
 end of words? mark, and afterwards we (■h'iust 
 will speak. nboutisso. 
 
 3 Wherefore are w'e counted as beasts, 
 and reputed vile in your sight ? 
 
 4 He teareth t himself in his anger : shall t "'''i 
 
 , , „ , ,. 1111 '"■' ■'""'• 
 
 the earth be forsaken lor thee ? and shall 
 
 the rock be removed out of his place ? 
 
 5 Yea, the light of the wicked shall be 
 put out, and the spark of his tire shall not 
 shine. 
 
 6 The light shall be dark in his taber- 
 nacle, and his || candle shall be put out il Or. 
 With hira. 
 
 7 The steps of his strength shall be 
 straitened, and his own comisel shall cast 
 him down. 
 
 8 For he is cast into a net by liis own 
 feet, and he walketh upon a snare. 
 
 9 The gin shall take him by the heel, 
 a7id the robber shall prevail against him. 
 
 10 The snare is t laid for him in the f Hci,. 
 ground, and a trap for him in the way. '"''<'"'• 
 
 1 1 Terrors shall make hiin afraid on 
 every side, and shall t drive him to his t Heb. 
 
 ,, •' scalier liim. 
 
 feet. 
 
 12 His strength shall be hungerbitten, 
 and destruction shall be ready at his side. 
 
 13 It shall devour the t strength of his tan^ ' 
 
 Ver. 4, 5. — shall the earth be forsaken for Ihce? &C.3 As if Bil- • 
 dad had said. What is this wonderful man, that he expects to see 
 all things destroyed, the earth and the heavens to pass away, that 
 there may be a proper time to do him justice .'' Is it not more 
 reasonable to think that God will do justice here, than that all 
 the works of nature should be destroyed to make way for judg- 
 ment > " Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the 
 spark of his fire ihall not shine." Bp. Sherlock. 
 
 6. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, &c.] The houses 
 of Egypt, according to Maillet, are never without lights in the 
 night-time. If such was the ancient custom, not only of Egypt, 
 but of the neighbouring countries of Judea and Arabia, it will 
 strongly illustrate this passage, ch. xxi. 17; Ps. xviii. 28; cxxxii. 
 17; Jer. xxv. 10; and other passages. In ch. xxix. 3, there is 
 probably an allusion to the lamps, which hung from the ceiling 
 in the banqueting rooms of the wealthy Arabs. Parkhurst. 
 
 An Arabian poet expresses the permanent prosperity of his 
 family, almost in the very words of Bildad : " Neither is our 
 fire, lighted for the benefit of the night-stranger, extinguished." 
 There is an allusion to the Arabian ^re* of hospitality, or beacons 
 lighted on the tops of hills by Arabians of distinction, to direct 
 and invite travellers to their houses and tables. Scott. 
 
 8. — he n-alketh upon a snare.'\ Or, " he runneth to and fro in 
 the toils." The metaphor is taken from a beast, which tlie hunters 
 have driven into the toils. He runs here and there striving to 
 find a way out, tiU at length it fastens upon him. The word 
 " robber" in tlie next verse having no relation to the preceding 
 metaphor, it would be rendered more properly, " and the noose 
 fasteneth close upon him." Healh. 
 
 11. — shall drive him to his feet."} They shall make him flee 
 or run ; force him to have recourse to his feet. Caryl. 
 
 This seems to be a metaphor taken from a warriour, who is so 
 sorely pressed in battle, that he has no hope of saving himself, 
 but by betaking himself to his feet and running away. Heath. 
 
 12, His strength shall be hungerbitten,^ Shall decay for want 
 of food. Clark.
 
 The calamities of the wicked. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII, XIX. Job complaineth of his friends' cruelty. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1520. 
 
 ' Chap. S. 
 14. & II. 
 
 ao. 
 
 Psal. 112. 
 10. 
 I'iov. 10. 
 
 ' Prov. 2. 
 
 22. 
 
 tHeh. 
 
 They shall 
 drive him. 
 
 II Or, ^ 
 lu-ed with 
 hi HI. 
 t Heb. 
 laid hiild 071 
 horror. 
 
 skin : even the firstborn of death shall de- 
 vour his strength. 
 
 14 =" His confidence shall be rooted out 
 of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to 
 the king of terrors. 
 
 15 It shall dwell in his tabernacle, be- 
 cause it is none of his : brimstone shall be 
 scattered upon his habitation. 
 
 16 His roots shall be dried up be- 
 neath, and above shall his branch be cut 
 off. 
 
 17 " His remembrance shall perish from 
 the earth, and he shall have no name in 
 the street. 
 
 18 t He shall be driven from light into 
 darkness, and chased out of the world. 
 
 19 He shall neither have son nor ne- 
 phew among his people, nor any remaining 
 in his dwellings. 
 
 20 They that come after him shall be 
 astonied at his day, as they that || went 
 before twere affrighted. 
 
 21 Surely such are the dweUings of the 
 wicked, and this is the place of him that 
 knoweth not God. 
 
 13. — even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength.^ The 
 most cruel and painful death shall make an end of all his power 
 and glory. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Tlie sentence of death, pronounced on all mankind, gave birth 
 lo diseases ; which therefore by a sublime allegory are styled tlie 
 oftspring of death : and the most hoi-rible disease, that which hath 
 the preeminence in cruelty, is called his " firstborn," his might 
 and the beginning of his strength. Scott. 
 
 14. His coiifidcHce &c.] That is, his hopes, his fortune, liis 
 family. Heath. 
 
 — — it shftll bring him to the king of terrors.^ His broken 
 confidence sliall bring him to death : the ruin of all his hopes 
 shall hasten his death. Caryl. 
 
 1 5. // shall dwell in his tabernacle,'^ Yea, this terrour shall dwell 
 and continue in his tabernacle, which, though he possesses it, his 
 conscience tells him is not liis own, since he has gained it by ex- 
 tortion and violence ; and God shall rain down brimstone upon it, 
 as He did upon Sodom. Bp. Hall. 
 
 The Hebrew poets and Prophets used the overthrow of Sodom 
 and Gomorrah as an image of all other desolating judgments of 
 God. Bp. Lowth. 
 
 1(5. His roots shall be dried up benealh,'\ He shall be like a wi- 
 1 thered tree, whose roots being once dried up below, the branches 
 I are presently cut down for fire-wood. Bp. Hall. 
 
 1 7. — he shall have no name in the street.^ Perhaps an allusion 
 is here made to tlie custom of placing monumental inscriptions 
 near the road. Dr. Durell. 
 
 The word rendered "street," means " an out-place ;" "afield:" 
 
 j and it is so translated in the text and margin of chap. v. 1 0. It 
 
 I seems to allutle to the want of a sepulcln-al monument ; for the 
 
 Eastern nations still bury their dead without their cities, in the 
 
 fields. Parlchursl. 
 
 20. — at his dat/,2 The word " day," without any addition, 
 is frequently used in Scripture to signify an eminently evil day, 
 as in Ps. cxxxvii. 7, " Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom 
 in the day of Jerusalem." The meaning of the whole verse is 
 this ; As they who lived at tlie time when God brought those 
 evils upon him were affrighted, so they wlio come after shall be 
 a&tonished at him ; the fonner were terrified by the sight of the 
 judgments, the latter shall be astonished at the report of them. 
 Caiyl. 
 
 Of. 
 
 t'Ljlener. 
 
 -CHAP. XIX. Before 
 
 , . , , . . CHIUST 
 
 1 Jol), complaining ol his frtends' rtiu'lli/, shewelh there about 1520. 
 ii misery enough in him to feed their cruelty. 21, 28 
 He cravcth pily. 23 He believeth the resurrection. 
 
 THEN Job answered and said, 
 2 How long will ye vex my soul, 
 and break me in pieces with words ? 
 
 3 These ten times have ye reproached 
 
 me : ye are not ashamed that ye || make K Or, 
 yourselves strange to me. f^urS»M 
 
 4 And be it indeed that I have erred, °s"""' '"«• 
 mine error remaineth with myself. 
 
 5 If indeed ye will magnify yourselves 
 against me, and plead against me my r^ 
 proach : 
 
 6 Know now that God hath overthrown 
 me, and hath compassed me with his net. 
 
 7 Behold, I cry out of |1 wrong, but I am 
 not heard: I cry aloud, but thei-e is no 
 judgment. 
 
 8 He hath fenced up my way that I 
 cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in 
 my paths. 
 
 9 He hath stripped me of my glory, and 
 taken the crownjrom my head. 
 
 An allusion is liere made to the eightli verse of the former 
 chapter : men will be astonished, not, as Job observed, at the fate 
 of the innocent, but at the severe judgment that befalls the 
 wicked. Michaclis. 
 
 2 1 . Siireh) such are the dweUings of the wicked,'] Though all 
 these observations concerning affliction are true of the wicked, 
 yet they must not be applied to all that arc visited with affliction: 
 for affliction is sometimes the portion of God's children, as it w«s 
 in this case of Job. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Chap. XIX. Wearied with incessant reproaches and accasa- 
 tions, Job, in his reply to Bildad, laments the estrangement of his 
 friends and family in the most patlictick terms ; and attributes it 
 to the Divine wrath : and despairing of redress, or tlie vindica- 
 tion of his innocence in this life, he makes a solemn appeal to his 
 Redeemer ; and professes his belief, that he shall be acquitted at 
 liis resurrection, in the general judgment : and bids his friends 
 beware, lest God should afflict them with those common visita- j 
 tions here of the sword, &c. which were designed to shew God's , 
 judgment on sinners. Dr. Hales. ^^ 
 
 Ver. 3. — ye make yourselves strange lo nic] You act as stran- 
 gers, not as friends. You reproach me, as if my mamier of hfe 
 had been unknown to you. Bp. JVilson. 
 
 4. And be it indeed thai J have erred, &c.] If I have erred, I 
 am the sufferer, not you. Roscnmiillcr. 
 
 4 — 6. And be it indeed &C.'] Let it be granted that I am in 
 an errour ; if ye upon that ground " magnify yoiu-selves against 
 me, and plead against me my reproach," then " know tliat God 
 hath overtlirown me, and Iiatli compassed nie with His net :" this 
 answer may put you to silence. As if he had said. The hand of 
 Got! is upon me ; why do you lift up your heads against mc ? 
 doth it become you to magnify yourselves, because God hath 
 brougiit me low .' Caryl. 
 
 7. — there is no judgment.] There is no one to judge between 
 me and my brethren in this case. Caryl. 
 
 c). — the croivn] This may mean the richer kind of turban, 
 which is worn by persons of distinction among the Arabs at this 
 day. It appears to have been the same with the tiara or diadem. 
 Or tlie expression may be metaphorical ; and the " glory" and 
 " the crown" may denote liis dignity, and the houours paid to his 
 authority, justice, and beneficence. Scott,
 
 Job shexveth his misery, 
 
 JOB. 
 
 and craveth j)i/j/. 
 
 »u 
 
 ••Brfore • 10 He hath destroyed mc on every side, 
 fhm.lV.52^ and I am gone: and mine hope hath he re- 
 nio\od like a tree. 
 
 11 He hath also kindled his wrath a - 
 trainst me, and he counteth me unto him 
 as one o/'his enemies. 
 
 12 liis troops come to<rether, and raise 
 up their way against mc, and encamp round 
 
 "about my tabernacle. 
 
 IJ He Iiatli put my brethren far from 
 ,me, and mine acquaintance are verily es- 
 tranged from me. 
 
 It My kinsfolk have failed, and my fli- 
 miliar friends have forgotten nie. 
 
 1.5 They that dwell in mine house, and 
 my maids, count me for a stranger : I am 
 an alien in their sight. 
 
 16 1 called my servant, and he gave me 
 no answer; I intreated him with my mouth. 
 
 17 My breatli is strange to my v/it'e, 
 though I intreated for the children's sale 
 of t mine own body. 
 
 ! h 
 
 f HeK 
 
 mj( belly, 
 
 10. He hath deslrm/ed me on even/ side,~\ He hath brought me 
 to such utter nu'n, that, like a tree phicked uj) Ijy the roots, I 
 have not so nuicli as liope remaining, which is the only comfort 
 of the wretched. Bp. Palrick. 
 
 1 2. His Irof/ps come logel/icr,'] Whole armies of evils, by His 
 order, have at the same time invaded me, and luid so close a siege 
 to mc, that not the smallest comfort that I had could escape their 
 fury. Bj). Palrick. These metaphors are borrowed from the works 
 cast up by a besieging army, for the annoyance of a city with 
 their arrows and engines of war, Isai. xxxvii. S'A. Scoll. 
 
 1 ;>. Thei/ thai dirc/l in mine hmisc,'] The clients of my house. 
 The word is th.it by which the Arabs denote such as put them- 
 selves under a great man's protection, are adopted into his family, 
 and become dependent on him for maintenance and security. 
 Sc/iiiltenr, Scott.' 
 
 1 7. Mr/ brenth is strange to my wife,2 She will not listen to 
 my words. •Can/l. 
 
 20. My bone cleavcth lovui skin &c.] I am become a very ske- 
 'l^oh. Up: mism. 
 
 The latter \niTt of the verse may be rendered, "And I have 
 shed (the hair.) or h»ve become bald on tlie skin of, or which co- 
 vers, my teeth ;"'that i*. My mustaches are, or the hair is, shed or 
 fallen otf fix>m my emaciated lip; which was one symptom of the 
 ele])hantiasis, Job's distemper. Michnclis, Parkhinst. 
 
 22. Whf do ye persecute me as G'or/,] Why should you per- 
 secute me as God, or claim to yourselves the prerogative, like 
 Him, to know the very secrets of my heart? Are the miseries 
 ■you see me sufl'er in my flesh too little to satisfy you, that you are 
 resolved to jiierce my very soul with your unjust reproaches? 
 Peters. 
 
 ; ami are not snti.vfied with my flesh ?] That is, why ai'e ye 
 
 Tiot satisfied w ith the reproaches aiid' slanders with wliich ye have 
 already worried me ? To " eat the flesh" of another is an Arabian 
 phrase for calumniating him. Schidlcns, Scott. 
 
 '23. Oh that mi/ words iverc now written ! &c.] It has been 
 supposed, that Job alludes in this passage to letters hollowed in 
 the rock with the iron pen or chisel, and filled up with melted 
 lead, ill order to be more legible. The Septuagint, however, seem 
 to have supjiosed, that he meant the recording of things by en- 
 graving accounts of them on sheeU of lead. " Who will cause 
 my words to be written, to be put in a book that shall last for 
 ever; w,th an iron )>en and lead," (that is, upon lead,) "or to be 
 engraven on the rocks?" Which cuUing of letters on lead marks 
 S^iigs" 'T"^ "^'^''^ ""^^^'^ "*" ^''Pe'ua'ing the memory of 
 
 18 Yea, 11 young children despised me ; 
 I arose, and they spake against me. 
 
 19 * AH t my inward friends abhorred 
 me : and they whom I loved are turned 
 against me. 
 
 20 My bone cleaveth to my skin II and 
 to my flesh, and 1 am escaped with the 
 skin of my teeth. 
 
 21 Have pity upon me, have pity upon 
 me, O ye my friends ; for the hand of God 
 hath touched me. 
 
 22 Why do ye persecute me as God, 
 and are not satisfied with my flesh ? 
 
 23 t Oh that my words were tjow 
 written ! oh that they were printed m a 
 book ! 
 
 24 That they were graven with an iron 
 pen and lead in the rock for ever ! 
 
 2.5 For I know thai my redeemer liveth, 
 and that he shall stand at the latter clajj 
 upon the earth : 
 
 26 II And though after my skin -iVorms de- 
 
 Bcfoie 
 Oil U I ST 
 oliout 1.520. 
 
 11 Or. 
 tlie wickril. 
 ' Psnl. 41. 
 !». & .'55. 20. 
 t Hdi. 
 tfifi men gf 
 mt/ secrete 
 I] Or, (IS. 
 
 t Hil). 
 
 ir/io wui 
 
 jdvc, &c. 
 
 II Or.^er 
 / sitall 
 awakct 
 tinnigh tliis 
 body be de- 
 stroyed, yet 
 nut of my 
 flesh slm'n / 
 see God. 
 
 23, 24. Ok tliat my words &C.3 " Oh that my words were en- 
 graved in a memorial with an iron pen and lead ;" the lead being 
 to grave upon with the iron pen or style. Pliny informs us, that 
 writing on lead, rolls of lead, was of high antiquity, and came in 
 practice next after writing on the barks and leaves of trees, and 
 was used in recording publick transactions. And " the cutting 
 or sculpturing in the rock for ever," seems to be here mentioned 
 as a different and more durable method than even the engraving 
 on lead. Scott, Parkhnrst. It is easy to imagine, that the first 
 inscriptions on stones were engraved on some places of the rocks 
 which were accidentally smoothed and made pretty even. And 
 in fact we find some, that are very ancient, engraved on the natu- 
 ral rock, and, what is remarkable, in Arabia, where it is supposed 
 that Job lived. The Prefetto of Egypt describes some such in- 
 scri{)tions, cut in the hard marble rock, in none of the characters 
 now in use in the East, nor in any of those in which ancient in- 
 scriptions before known are found written in those countries. 
 By the expression rendered " printed" in our translation. Job 
 meant to convey the idea of perpetuating his words, as is apparent 
 from the twenty-fourth verse. Harmer. 
 
 oh that they were printed in a book /] Oh that they were 
 
 noted in a register ! He wishes that his memorable words might 
 be transmitted to posterity ; first, by writing, the usual method 
 of preserving past transactions ; secondly, by the still safer me- 
 thod of lodging this writing in the publick archives ; thirdly, by 
 inscribing them on lead, as more durable than linen or paper ; 
 and lastly, by engraving them in the natural rock, as the most 
 durable of all. Scott. 
 
 25. For I know that my redeemer liveth,'} However I am judg- 
 ed by you, yet this is my comfort, that I know I have a .Judge 
 and a gracious Redeemer to come, who lives eternally when ye 
 shall be gone to dust, and shall one day come down to judge the 
 quick and the dead ; and shall in that last day of our general ac- 
 count present Himself here upon earth to the eyes of all flesh. 
 B}). HaU. 
 
 26, 27. And though after my .tkin &c.] And though after my 
 skin, which you see so miser,ibly aff'ected, this whole frame shall 
 be dissolved and turned to dust; yet I believe that I shall live 
 again hereafter, as truly and as certainly as I do now, and shall 
 appear personally before my Judge, whom I shall see for myself, 
 
 ;pr: in niy own cause, prepared to do me justice; and, conscious 
 of my innocence, shall look up to Him with joy and hope; whilst 
 others, my accusers, unable to behold Him, shall look down with 
 shame and confusion. Peters. 
 
 That Job spoke not of any sudden restitution, or any change 
 
 I
 
 He belleveth the resurrection. 
 
 CHAP. XIX, XX. 
 
 The state and portion of the •wicked. 
 
 ,-5nTI-r stroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see 
 
 about 15l'0. LrOd: 
 
 27 Whom I shall see for myself, and 
 fHeb. mine eyes sliall behold, and not t another; 
 t nlbf'^' though my reins be consumed t within me. 
 inmybn- 28 But ye should say, Why persecute 
 i Or. we him, || seeing the root of the matter is 
 and what found iu me ? 
 
 Tcrisfiund ~9 Be yc afraid of the sword : for wrath 
 
 m me? briiigeth the punishments of the sword, that 
 
 ye may know there is a judgment. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 Zop/iar sliewclh the stale and portion of the ivicked. 
 
 THEN answered Zophar the Naamath- 
 ite, and said, 
 t Hei). 2 Therefore do my thoughts cause me 
 
 TnmT. " '^ to answer, and for this 1 1 make haste. 
 
 in his temporal condition, is evident from the remarkable preface 
 which ushers in this exjiression, " Oh that my words were now 
 written! oh that they were printed in a book! that they were 
 graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!" He desires 
 that his words may continue as long as his expectation ; that they 
 may remain in the rock, together with his hope, so long as the 
 rock shall endure, even to the day of his resurrection. The same 
 appears from the objections of his friends, who urged against 
 him that he was a sinner, and concluded from thence that he 
 should never rise again; for his sins he pleaded a Redeemer, and 
 for his resurrection he shewed an assurance through the same 
 Redeemer. It is further confirmed by the expressions themselves, 
 which are by no means proper for his temporal restitution: the 
 first words, " I know," denote a certainty ; whereas tlie blessings 
 of this life are under no certainty, nor did Job pretend to it: 
 / know certainly and infallibly, whatsoever shall become of my 
 body at this time, which I know not; but this I know, that I 
 shall rise: the title which he gives to Him on whom he de- 
 pends, " the Redeemer," shews that he understands it of Christ; 
 the time expressed denotes futurity, " at the latter day." The de- 
 scription of that Redeemer " standing on the earth" represents 
 the Judge of the quick and the dead; and seeing God with his 
 eyes declares his belief in the Incarnation. Bp. Pearson. 
 
 In this noble declaration of faitii in a futin-e resurrection. Job 
 evidently had no more notion of a miraculous recovery, tlian 
 Martha of the immediate resurrection of her brother Lazarus, 
 when she professed her faith in the language of Job, " / kiioiv 
 that he shall rise again at the last day," John xi. 24. Dr. Hales. 
 
 Job, being tired with the opposition of his friends, and the per- 
 verse construction they put upon his misfortunes, as if he must 
 needs be wicked as he was miserable, appeals from them to an- 
 other judgment, ver. 23 — 25. He insists strongly on his plea; 
 though men would not receive it, yet he wishes it were " graven 
 in the rock for ever;" that it might remain till the time when 
 God would come to judge his cause ; for " I know," he adds, 
 " that my Redeemer liveth." Though I myself shall soon be 
 gone, yet my Redeemer lives, and will at the last day call me 
 Irom the grave; and with my own eyes shall I see God my Sa- 
 viour. Bp. Sherlock. 
 
 Children of God ought to encourage themselves with the same 
 hope in the midst of affliction, and in death itself; and these 
 words of Job's ought to raise their minds to a firm expectation of 
 the resurrection, and of the life to come through Jesus Christ our 
 Saviour. Ostervald. 
 
 27. — my reins be consumed within me.'] I feel my very vitals 
 fail me, and am hastening on apace towards that death, which 
 shall consign me to a future judgment. Peters. 
 
 28. BiU ye should say, Sic.^ But ye should rather »ay, Alas! 
 why do we persecute this distressed man any more, since we find, 
 -if we look to the very root and bottom of this our dispute, that 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 3 I have heard the check of my re- christ 
 proach, and the spirit of my understanding about 1520. 
 causeth me to answer. 
 
 4 Knowest thou ?iot this of old, since 
 man was placed upon earth, 
 
 5 'That the triumjiliing of the wicked 'Ps-st.ss. 
 is t short, and the joy of the hypocrite but ^ Heb. 
 for a moment ? /"^ ""^ 
 
 6 Though his excellency mount up to 
 the heavens, and his head reach unto the 
 
 t clouds; t^„^^- 
 
 7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his 
 own dung: they which have seen him shall 
 say, Where is he ? 
 
 8 He shall fly away as a dream, and 
 shall not be found : yea, he shall be chased 
 away as a vision of the night. 
 
 9 The eye also -which saw him shall see 
 
 he is upright, and innocent of those things whereof we have ac- 
 cused him. Bp. Hall. 
 
 29. Be ye afraid of the sivord:] Job bids his friends beware, 
 that they were not convinced to their cost of the certainty of a 
 righteous judgment hereafter, by the experience of some one or 
 other of those common plagues, which God was often seen to 
 distribute in this life. He mentions the sword particularly, which 
 destroys promiscuously the good and bad; and is sent or suf- 
 fered by God with this intent, that men may from thence infer 
 that there is a judgment. The expression in the Hebrew is re- 
 markable, " For wratli (that is, the wratli of God) bringeth the 
 punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment:" 
 intimating, that the violence and iniquity, which always accom- 
 pany the ravages of the sword; the many unjust and cruel things 
 which are done and suffered amidst the rage of war; and, in 
 short, every dispensation of Providence which levels die good 
 and bad in this life, are a demonstration of a righteous judgment 
 to be expected hereafter. Peters. 
 
 the smord:] The sword in the hand of earthly magistrates 
 
 is the emblem of punitive justice. The Scripture accordingly 
 puts a sword into the hand of God, the supreme Magistrate, to 
 signify His retributive justice. And the greatest of all Teachers 
 represents the future punishments of wicked men in terms of al- 
 lusion to the punishments inflicted by tlie courts of human judi- 
 cature. Matt. \-. 22. Scott. 
 
 Chap. XX. Zopliar retorts upon Job for tlie threat at the close 
 of his last speech, by declaiming like the rest on tlie transient 
 prosperity and fearful end of great wicked men, insinuating co- 
 vertly, that Job had all along deserved to be reckoned in this 
 class, although Heaven had not till now been pleased to reveal his 
 guilt. Bp. Stock. 
 
 The flaw in Zophar's discourse is this, (which was common to 
 him with all the rest,) that he imaginecl God never varied from 
 this method, and that therelbre Job was, without doubt, a bad 
 man, though it did not appear that he was so, any otlier way but 
 by his misfortunes. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Ver. 2. Therefore do my Ihwighls cause me to answer. Sec.'] Be- 
 cause of thy coiitumelious words and threatening-s, (which I have 
 fully weighed.) I have bethought my.self what to answer. Clark. 
 
 3. I Itave heard the check of my reproach. &c.] What Zophai- 
 calls " tlie check of his reproach," was probably Job's stiffness, 
 and persistauce in liis opinion, still dissenting from his friends, 
 and refusing to be brought over to their judgments. Caryl. 
 
 4—7. Knowest thou not this of old. Sec] It seems thou dost not 
 yet un<lerstand, though it is a truth as old as the world, that the 
 happiness, boasted of by the wicked, and by him w ho counter- 
 feits piety, is of no long standing, and will continue but for a few 
 moments. Though he should be advanced to the highest pitch 
 of human greatness, he shall at la^t be cast out with contempt. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 (i B
 
 Zophar sherceth 
 
 JOB. 
 
 the state and portion 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 •txmt 15^'0. 
 
 II Or, 
 TAf /inor 
 ihnll ojf' 
 yrgst his 
 cliildrtn. 
 
 + Hcb. 
 in tha rnittst 
 n/ hit i>a- 
 
 II Or. 
 
 streaming 
 
 brotks. 
 
 him no more; neither shall his place any 
 more behold him. 
 
 10 II His children shall seek to please 
 the poor, and his hands shall restore their 
 goods. 
 
 11 His bones are full (f the sin of his 
 youth, which shall lie down with him in 
 the dust. 
 
 12 Though wickedness be sweet in his 
 mouth, though he hide it under his tongue; 
 
 13 Though he spare it, and forsake it 
 not; but keep it still t within his mouth: 
 
 14 Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, 
 it is the gall of asps within him. 
 
 15 He hath swallowed down riches, and 
 he shall vomit them up again: God shall 
 cast them out of his belly. 
 
 16 He shall suck the poison of asps: 
 the viper's tongue shall slay him. 
 
 17 He shall not see the rivers, II the 
 floods, the brooks of honey and butter. 
 
 18 That which he laboured for shall he 
 restore, and shall not swallow it down: 
 
 10. His children shall seek lo please the poor,'] This is much 
 stronger than if he iiad said, " they shall become poor." It is 
 placiuf; them below poverty itself. They shall court the good- 
 will and assistance of the most destitute and abject. Scoll, Park- 
 hnrsl. God many times suffers an estate got by oppression to 
 prosper for a little while: but there is a curse attends it, which 
 <lesccnds upon the estate like an encumbrance; and parents, 
 when they think they entail an estate, often entail poverty upon 
 their children. Abp. Tillolson. 
 
 12. — though he hide it under his toniguef] As a glutton that 
 gets a sweet morsel between his teeth is loth to lose the taste of 
 it, and therefore does not hastily swallow it down; thus does the 
 carnal man deal with his sin: he kiepeth it close, and hideth it 
 under his tongue. Cari/I. 
 
 14. Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, &c.] As meat mixed 
 with poison, his sin will at last be his ruin. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 the gall of asps'] yElian s.tys, that the poison of asps is 
 
 extremely subtile, and extends its effects very rapidly over the 
 whole body. Hence the proverb, " bite of an asp," to express an 
 incurable wound. With this verse is connected ver. 16", where 
 " the viper" answers to several Eastern names, which are very 
 near to the original Hebrew word, and which signify a serpent 
 remarkable for a (juick and penetrating poison. Script, illusl. 
 Expos. Ind. 
 
 1 .5. He hath swallowed down riches,] The original word is very 
 forcible: it denotes vast avidity and rapacity; being a metaphor 
 from a ravenous beast devouring his prey. Compare Jer. li. 34. 
 Scoll. 
 
 he sltall vomit them up again:] He shall be forced to re- 
 store with sorrow his ill-gotten riches. God, by His providence, 
 shall take them away, with plagues that will attend the loss of 
 them. Bp. Ifihon. 
 
 I(). He shall i-uck the poison of asps:] His ill-gotten riches 
 shall prove a-s great and as deadly ji torture, ;is if, wiien he 
 squeezed the poor, he had sucked the poison of asps, or been bit- 
 ten by the viper. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 17. He .ihalJ not see the rivers, &c.] He shall not see the plenty 
 ami happmess which he proposed to himself. He shall have no 
 Mtisfactwn m what he gets by his industry. Such is the certain 
 fruit ol ii),ustKc and oppression. Bp. Wilson. 
 , ■ T "''■ ''"'*^* of *"''<•.'/ ond Imtter.] We in these cooler coun- 
 tries Jiave no great notion of butter being described as so ex- 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1520. 
 t Hel). 
 acc»rdingt« 
 the sub- 
 stance uf hit 
 cxcttange. 
 \ Hell. 
 crushed. 
 '■ Eccles. S. 
 l;i, 14. 
 t Hcb. 
 Imow. 
 II Or, 
 
 There sliall 
 be nniie left 
 Jiirltismeal. 
 
 II Or, (mu- 
 blesume. 
 
 t according to his substance shall the resti- 
 tution he, and he shall not rejoice therein. 
 
 19 Because he hath t oppressed and hath 
 forsaken the poor; because he hath vio- 
 lently taken away an house which he 
 builded not; 
 
 20 '' Surely he shall not t feel quietness 
 in his belly, he shall not save of that which 
 he desired. 
 
 21 II There shall none of his meat be left; 
 therefore shall no man look for his goods. 
 
 22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he 
 shall be in straits : every hand of the 
 II wicked shall come upon him. 
 
 23 When he is about to fill his belly, God 
 shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, 
 and shall rain it upon him while he is eating. 
 
 24< He shall flee from the iron weapon, 
 and the bow of steel shall strike him 
 through. 
 
 25 It is drawn, and cometh out of the 
 body ; yea, the glittering sword cometh 
 out of his gall : terrors are upon him. 
 
 tremely liquid: it appears among us in a more solid state. But 
 as the plentiful flowing of honey, when pressed from the comb 
 into jars, in which it is wont to be kept, may be compared in 
 strong language to a little river; so, according to the Eastern 
 management, butter is equally fluid, and may be described in the 
 same way, when poured from the skin, in which it is made, into 
 jars for the purpose of being preserved. Harmer. 
 
 The Eastern butter is a kind of thick cream, not solid, like our 
 lumps of butter. This butter and honey compose the same mess 
 of food, and are eaten mixed together. D'Arvieux says of the 
 Arabs, " One of their chief breakfasts is cream, or fresh butter, 
 mixed in a mess of honey: these do not seem to suit very well 
 together, but experience teaches that this is no bad mixture, nor 
 disagreeable in its taste, if one is a little accustomed to it." Theve- 
 not also says, " the Arabs knead their bread-paste afresh, adding 
 thereto butter, and sometimes also honey." See the same mixture 
 noticed in Isa. vii. 15,22. Fragments to Cabnet. 
 
 20. — lie .ihal/ not feel quietness in his belli/,] " Keitiier is his 
 belly satisfied," as the Latin Vulgate translates it. His vice is de- 
 .scribed: it is an insatiable appetite of rapine. Scott. 
 
 22. In the fulness of his siijflciencij he .shall be in straits:] The 
 greater his supply of worldly goods, the more he shall be dis- 
 tressed. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 24. He shall flee from the iron weapon, &c.] Wiicn lie desires 
 and hopes to avoid a less danger, he shall fall into a greater. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 " He would flee from the weapons, but the brasen bow shall 
 strike him through." The word rendered " weapons," signifies 
 arms, or weapons of every sort, as the bow, shield, arrows, &c. 
 Ezek. xxxix. 9; and is here put for the armed host, that is, of 
 evils. God is at war with him. The Scripture arms the Divine 
 Being with a sword, a bow, and arrows, to represent His venge- 
 ance, Ps. vii. 12, 13. Compare chap. vi. 4; xv. 24; .see also the 
 note on chap, xviii. 14. All his efforts to ward off the calamities* 
 which fall upon him will be ineffectual. The Arabian writers are 
 very fond of the idea of a bow, and frequentlj' use it to represent 
 extraordinary, inevitable, and destructive calamities, from the 
 hand of God. Scott. 
 
 25. // is drawn, and cometh out of the bodij; i^tc] He is 
 mortally wounded by these judgments: horrours of conscience 
 seize upon him, because he cannot live, and dai-es not die. 
 Clartc.
 
 of the "wicked. 
 
 CHAP. XX, XXI. 
 
 Job's reasons for grief. 
 
 chrTst ^^ ^^^ darkness shall he hid in his se- 
 about 1520. cret places : a fire not blown shall con- 
 sume him ; it shall go ill with him that is 
 left in his tabernacle. 
 
 27 The heaven shall reveal his ini- 
 quity ; and the earth shall rise up against 
 him. 
 
 28 The increase of his house shall de- 
 part, and his goods shall flow away in the 
 day of his wrath. 
 
 29 This is the portion of a wicked man 
 from God, and the heritage t appointed 
 
 f Heb. 
 
 of his decree ^ . - 
 
 from G,id. unto hmi by God 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 1 Job skeivelh t/ial even in Hip jiidgmenl of man lie hath 
 reason to be grieved. 7 Sometimes the wiched do so 
 prosper, as they despise God. 1 6 Sometimes their de- 
 struction is manij'est. 22 The happy and unhappy 
 are alike in death. 27 The judgment of the wicked is 
 in another ivorld. 
 
 2f). All darkness shall be hid in his secret jilaces :~] Unforeseen 
 danger shall arise, which he never suspected ; and none of his 
 house shall prosper. Bp. fiilson. 
 
 Rather, " a total darkness shall be reserved for his treasui-es ;" 
 that is, he shall for ever be as much deprived of them, as if 
 they were still buried in the bowels of the earth; see ver. 21. 
 Dr. Durcll. 
 
 ajire not bhtvn shall consume him yj] A fire not kindled 
 
 by man, but sent down from heaven, in the just judgment of 
 God, shall consume him, as thou, O Job, hast, liot long since, 
 had lamentable proof. Bp. Hall. 
 
 27- The heaven shall reveal his iniquity ;] The heaven, by 
 thunder, lightning, or tempests, shall declare itself his enemy ; 
 and the earth, by wild beasts or serpents, or some other way, 
 shall make war against him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 28. — in the day of his mrath.^ That is, of God's wrath upon 
 him : perhaps, more properly, though less strictly, " in the day of 
 his sufferings;" that is, of the criminal's punishment. Script, 
 illusl. Expos. Ind. 
 
 29. This is the portion of a wicked man from God, &,c.~\ The 
 jiosterity of the wicked do many times inherit the fruit of their 
 fathers' sins and vices ; and that, not only by a just judg-ment of 
 God, but from the natural course and consequence of things. And 
 in this sense that expression of Job in the following chapter is 
 often verified, that " God layeth up the iniquity of wicked men 
 for their children," chap. xxi. 19- And experience testifies, that 
 the intemperate and unjust do many times transmit their bodily 
 infirmities and diseases to their children, and entail a secret curse 
 upon their estates, which does either insensibly waste and consume 
 them, or eat out the heart and comfort of them. Abp. Tillotson. 
 V\^e have here a most admirable account of great wicked men : the 
 only fault in Zophar was, in misapplying it to Job ; as if God 
 could not in justice afflict any but wicked men. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Chap. XXI. This chapter contains Job's reply to Zophar ; in 
 which he enters at large into the momentous question of God's 
 dealings with mankind, in order to shew the falsehood of Zophar's 
 argument of the shortlived triumph of the wicked. 
 
 He begins his speech with a gentle complaint of tlieir severe 
 treatment of him, and calls their attention to his reasoning upon 
 this delicate subject, which he reflected on with awe and reve- 
 rence, " Wherefore do the wicked live, &c." ver. 2 — 7- He then 
 shews, that the wicked sometimes live long, and prosper, and 
 die in peace ; and yet tliat all this only hardened them in their 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about liSa 
 
 t Heb. 
 s/tortened f 
 t Heb. 
 
 = Ps.l7. 10. 
 & 73. 12. 
 Jer. 12.1. 
 Hab. 1. IC. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 are peace 
 Jramjear. 
 
 BUT Job answered and said, 
 -1 Hear diligently my speech, and 
 let this be your consolations. 
 
 3 Suffer me that I may speak ; and after 
 that I have spoken, mock on. 
 
 4 As for me, is my condplaint to. man? 
 and if it "were so, why should not my spirit 
 be t troubled ? 
 
 5 t Mark me, and be astonished, and lay 
 T/our hand upon i/our mouth. 
 
 6 E\en av hen I remember 1 am afraid, 
 and trembling taketh hold on my flesh. 
 
 7 * Wherefore do the wicked live, be- 
 come old, yea, are miglity in power ? 
 
 8 Their seed is established in their sight 
 with them, and their offspring before their 
 eyes. 
 
 9 Their houses t are safe from fear, nei- 
 ther is the rod of God upon them. 
 
 10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth 
 not ; their cow calveth, and casteth not 
 her calf. 
 
 wickedness, and led them to cast off all regwd to God and reli- 
 gion, ver. 14, 15. 
 
 But in touching on this tender ground, the prosperity of the 
 wicked, which his adversaries might misinteqjret, as if he were 
 pleading the cause of impiet}-, he adds an ajwlogj- for himself, 
 that he was not of the " counsel of the wicked," neither of their 
 opinion nor society ; for that he did not consider their prosperity 
 to be owing to themselves, or in their own " hand" or power: 
 that oftentimes God made them teiTible examples of His jus- 
 tice, and their children after them: thus admitting his adver- 
 saries' arguments, as far as they M-ere just, \ei-. I6 — 21. 
 
 Still however he contends, in opjx)sition to them, that, in the 
 general course of God's providence, as it appears in fact, howe\er 
 mysterious His ways, good and evil are not seldom dispersed here 
 promiscuously, without any strict regard to merit or demerit, 
 during the whole period of human life, ver. 22 — 2(). 
 
 Job next touches on their uncharitable jierversion of his cala- 
 n\ities into judgments ; and as he iiad before stated his own hope 
 of a resurrection, and a gracious sentence from his Redeemer, so 
 now he closes and completes his masterly argument with a de- 
 claration, that the wicked who prosper in this life, and leave 
 their proud monuments behind them, shall receive a dreadful 
 recompense in the future day of judgment, ver. 27. Peters, Dr. 
 Hales. 
 
 ^ er. 2. Hear diligently my speech,'^ Let me prev,iil with you 
 to attend to my discourse: do me this kindness, and it shall serve 
 instead of those consolations which I promised myself from you. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 4. As for me, is my complaint to man?'] If I had only to do 
 with man in this my misery, and had no other to make my com- 
 plaint to, I should "have just reason to be utterly dejected ; but 
 now, I have a Ciod to make my moan unto. Bp. Hall. 
 
 .') — 1 .^. Mark me, and be astonished, &c.] As Job well knew, 
 that this account of the prosperity of the wicked, however ne- 
 cessary to his argument, would have something shocking in it to 
 the eai-s of those to whom it was adtlressed, the delicacy with 
 which he introduces it is inimitable. Ver. 5 — 7, as if he had said. 
 That thus it is in foot, is plain. It is with .iwe and reverence 1 
 speak it. But as for you, I am persuade<l, that you %vill never be 
 able upon your principles to account for it. Peters. 
 
 7 — l.-i. IVherefore do the n-ickcd ii-c] We have here a lively 
 description of worldly felicity, drawn from the manners of 
 Arabia, and adapted to the mode of wealth and sensual gratifi- 
 cation in ajicient times. Scott. 
 
 6B2
 
 Jficked men sometimes prosper. 
 
 JOB. The wicked are judged in another liorld. 
 
 Berurc 
 CH lUST 
 ■bout IS-JO. 
 
 II O'. 
 IN mirth* 
 
 * Chip. 2a. 
 17. 
 
 II Or, 
 lamp. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 tifalelh 
 awn;/. 
 J llmtis 
 the puniih- 
 mrnl nfhis 
 iniquity. 
 
 1 1 Tliey send forth their little ones like 
 a flock, and their children dance. 
 
 12 They take the timbrel and harp, and 
 rejoice at the sound of the organ. 
 
 Id They spend their days || in wealth, 
 and in a moment go down to the grave. 
 lit" Therefore they say unto God, De- 
 
 S)art from us ; for we desire not the know- 
 edge of thy ways. 
 
 • 15 What is the Almighty, that we should 
 serve liini? and what profit should we have, 
 if^we i)ray unto him ? 
 
 16 Lo, tiieir good is not in their hand: 
 the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 
 
 17 How oft is the II candle of the wicked 
 put out ? and hoxv qfl cometh their destruc- 
 tion upon tliem ? (.iod distributeth sorrows 
 in his anger. 
 
 IS They are as stubble before the wind, 
 and as chafl'that the storm tcarrieth away. 
 
 lU God layeth up || his iniquity for his 
 children : he rewardeth him, and he shall 
 know /'/. 
 
 20 His eyes shall see liis destruction, 
 and he shall drink of the wrath of the 
 Almighty. 
 
 21 For what pleasure hath he in his 
 house after him, when the number of his 
 months is cut off in the midst ? 
 
 12. — the orgnn.'^ Tlic instrument here spoken of seems to 
 have resenibletl the modern organ, so far as it consisted of a num- 
 ber of pipes set close, or joined together. We can hardly iraa- 
 ffine it was verj- like the modern organ ; it appears rather, from 
 Ezck. xxxiii. 32, to have been, as Calmet observes, " a kind of 
 flute composed of se^•eral pipes of unequal length and thickness 
 joined together, which gave an harmonious sound, when they 
 were blown into by moving them successively under the lower 
 lip." It was probably not unlike the pastoral instrument, which 
 the Roman poets ascribe to Pan. Parkhtirst. 
 
 18. The\f are as stubble before the wind,~\ In order to perceive 
 the beauty and propriety of these images, we should recollect 
 the practice in the East of threshing their corn in the open field, 
 so that, if the wind happen to rise, the shattered straw and chaff 
 are easily carried away. Scott. 
 
 24. His breasts are full of milk,'] Rather, " his pastures are 
 full of milk ;" that is, of flocks and herds ; he dies in opulence. 
 ficoti. Or, " his bowels" or intestines " are full of," or abound 
 with, " fat." Parkluirsl. 
 
 27. Beliold, I knoic i/otir l/ioug/its,'] I know what you would 
 
 ingmuate by the speeches which you make, such as this which 
 
 follows, ver. 28, " For ye .oav, &c." As if you should say, what 
 
 IS become of the house of .Fob, who lived like a prince ? or what, 
 
 in general, is the portion of the wicked > Does not a great and 
 
 sure destruction overtake them ? This is evidently the meaning 
 
 of the question. The answer foUows immediately, ver. 29, 30. 
 
 ^ow if they were meant of a temporal destruction, it directly 
 
 <^ntirms the insinuation of the friends ; and the inference would 
 
 oe unavoulable; therefore Job must needs be wicked. 
 
 Hi^^l the true key to it appears to be this : It was the custom of 
 
 ind r.r ' ''"7.n«a'- the high roads, or in the most publick 
 
 the S^T'""' '''"''^"^i ^"'' *" '^'■^" =» P'"=»^ "^ monument over 
 
 any h^H,^..J''rn'' '''u '"""°''>'- '^^''^ P"'^^^' ^^ ^hey had 
 
 ^tL o7T n.r '^^'-^^^ '^'''"'^''^' "« ^°^^'' the name and 
 
 t.ue^ 01 Uie person, and perhaps some of the happiest circum- 
 
 22 Shall any teach God knowledge ? see- 
 ing he judgeth those that are high. 
 
 23 One dieth t in his full strength, be- 
 ing wholly at ease and quiet. 
 
 21 II His breasts are full of milk, and his 
 bones are moistened with marrow. 
 
 25 And another dieth in the bitterness 
 of his soul, and never eateth with plea- 
 sure. 
 
 26 They shall lie down alike in the dust, 
 and the worms shall cover them. 
 
 27 Behold, I know your thoughts, and 
 the devices u-hich ye wrongfully imagine 
 against me. 
 
 28 For ye say. Where is the house of 
 the prince ? and where are t the dwelling 
 places of the wicked ? 
 
 29 Have ye not asked them that go 
 by the way ? and do ye not know their 
 tokens, 
 
 30 " That the wicked is reserved to the 
 day of destruction ? they shall be brought 
 forth to t the day of wrath. 
 
 31 Who shall declare his way to his 
 face ? and who shall repay him uhat he 
 hath done? 
 
 32 Yet shall he be brought to the 
 t grave, and shall t remain in the tomb. 
 
 33 The clods of the vallev shall be sweet 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1520. 
 
 t Heb. 
 IH his very 
 jit^fecti'jnt 
 i>r, in lite 
 strenzth {if 
 his pcr/'eC' 
 tioii. 
 II Or, 
 milk puis. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 the lent of 
 the tnhema- 
 clei of the 
 wicked ? 
 
 Prov. 16. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 the liny (J" 
 rvraths. 
 
 tHcb. 
 
 graves. 
 t Hcb. 
 watch in 
 the heap. 
 
 Stances of his life, or what was most remarkable in his death. 
 These inscriptions, moreover, usually bespoke attention by " Stop, 
 Traveller;" or words to that purpose. These then probably are 
 the marks or tokens, to which Job directs his friends ; and which 
 he advisee them either to consult themselves, or to ask the travel- 
 lers about them : and from thence they would be naturally led to 
 make the inference or conclusion which follows in the next verse. 
 For as they might observe several monuments among the rest, 
 erected for such as had been notoriously wicked in their lives, and 
 yet had run out a long course of years in prosperity, and had been 
 buried at last with great pomp ; it is with reason he bids them 
 infer from lience, that the punishment of such as these was re- 
 served for a more solemn season, which was the proper time of 
 retribution, and not the mixed uncertain state of this life, ver. 
 27—30. Peters. 
 
 30. — the day of destriiclioii — the day of ivralh.] By the 
 " day of destruction" and the " day of wrath," it will appear 
 from the context, that no other can be meant than the future day 
 of judgment ; which to the wicked and ungodly is every where 
 represented in Scripture as a day of wrath, a day of destruction. 
 " They shall be punished (says St. Paul) with everlasting de- 
 struction from the presence of the Lord, and from the gloi-y of 
 His power," 2 Thess. i. 9. And so St. Peter (2 Pet. iii. 7) calls 
 the day of judgment, " the day of perdition of ungodly men." 
 And it is remarkable, that where Job declares to his friends, 
 that he had been all along withheld from sinning by a pious awe 
 of the Divine justice, (meaning, probably, the thought of a fu- 
 ture judgment,) he uses a similar expression, chap. xxxi. 23, 
 " Destruction from God was a terrour to nie." The Hebrew word, 
 as well as that in our translation, is the same that is used liere. 
 
 To understand it of a temporal destruction, is to suppose Job 
 to cut the neck of his own argument at once, and to fall in with 
 the meaning of his friends. Peters. 
 
 33, 34. The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, Ac] 
 There he lies quietly in the earth, and none disturbs his ashes.
 
 Man's goodfiess prqfiteth not God. 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 Eliphaz accuse th Job of divers sins. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about I/JSO. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 ii Or, 
 
 thereon ? 
 
 unto him, and every man shall draw after 
 him, as tliere are innumerable before him. 
 
 34> How then comfort ye me in vain, 
 seeing in your answers there remaineth 
 t falsehood ? 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 I Eliphaz shemclh thai man's goodness projilelh not God. 
 5 He accuselk Job of divers sins. 21 He exhorlelh 
 him to repentance, with promises of mercy. 
 
 THEN Eliphaz the Temanite answered 
 and said, 
 2 Can a man be profitable unto God, 
 
 II as he that is wise may be profitable unto 
 
 if he maybe V,;™„„]fp 
 pr.ifitahle, Uimseil .'' 
 
 dothius 3 js it any pleasure to the Almighty, 
 
 depend""' that thou art righteous ? or is it gain to him, 
 that thou makest thy ways perfect ? 
 
 4 Will he reprove thee for fear of thee ? 
 will he enter with thee into judgment ? 
 
 5 Is not thy wickedness great ? and 
 thine iniquities infinite ? 
 
 He suffers nothing but what all men shall suffer after him, as in- 
 numerable have suffered before him. See then how ill you dis- 
 charge the office of comforters, whose answers have so little truth 
 in them ! 
 
 For you maintain, that prosperity is the inseparable companion 
 of piety : when every one can tell you, that none flourish more 
 than the wicked, and that calamities are common to all mankind. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The liveliness of Eastern poetry here represents the dead as 
 having the same perceptions as if they were alive in their sepul- 
 chres : " He shall watch in the heap" of earth or stones that cover 
 him ; for such, the margin of our translation tells us, is the more 
 exact import of the Hebrew : " the clods" around him, like those 
 in some pleasant valley, or on the border of some torrent, " shall 
 be sweet unto him ;" alluding probably to the manner of orna- 
 menting their sepulclires, by planting on or about them flowers 
 and odoriferous herbs or shrubs. Harmer. 
 
 Chap. XXII. Job having constantly affirmed, in opposition 
 to his friends, that God equally afflicts the righteous and the 
 wicked ; and having intimated, chap. .xxi. 4, that his complaint 
 was not to man but to God, Eliphaz asks him, whetlier God hath 
 any interest in refusing to bring him to that trial which he is so 
 ready to call for. If, Eliphaz adds, God declines Job's challenge, 
 it can be for no other reason, but that He is already fully aware of 
 Job's misconduct, and needs not to investigate the matter. This 
 seems to be the intent of the whole chapter, which may be divid- 
 ed into two distinct parts : the first is reprehensorj- ; for Eliphaz 
 reproves Job severely to the end of ver. 20 : the second is hortii- 
 tory, Eliphaz earnestly moving Job to repentance by many pro- 
 mises, and by assurances tliat his repentance will not be in vain, 
 from ver. 20 to the end of the chapter. Bp. Stock, Caryl. 
 
 Ver. 3. Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, thai ihou art righte- 
 ous ?] If thou art as upright as tliou pretendest to be, still Go<l 
 is not indebted to tliee for thy righteousness. Clark. 
 
 The.se words teach us that man, by doing good, cannot be pro- 
 fitable to God ; tliat there is no accession of happiness to the Al- 
 mighty, when we are righteous and walk in integrity ; but that 
 the adVanUge is all to ourselves. If God gives us laws, and com- 
 mands us to observe them. He only does it for oiur good ; and if 
 we offend and disobey Him, we only hurt oursebes. Oslcrvald. 
 
 4. JVill he reprove' thee for fear of thee?'] Will it turn to God's 
 profit, if thou livest never so unblamably } ver. 3. Or, on the 
 contrai-y, ver. 4, Is He afraid that thou sliouldcst hurt Him by 
 thy sins, and will He therefore punish thee ? Is this the reason 
 
 6 For thou hast taken a pledge from 
 thy brother for nought, and t stripped the 
 naked of their clothing. 
 
 7 Thou hast not given water to the 
 weary to drink, and thou hast withholden 
 bread from the hungry. 
 
 8 But as for t the mighty man, he had 
 the earth ; and the t honourable man dwelt 
 in it. 
 
 9 Thou hast sent widows away empty, 
 and the arms of the fatherless have been 
 broken. 
 
 10 Therefore snares are round about 
 thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee ; 
 
 11 Or darkness, that thou canst not see; 
 and abundance of waters cover thee. 
 
 12 Is not God in the height of heaven ? 
 and behold t the height of the stars, how 
 high they are ! 
 
 13 And thou sayest, II How doth God 
 know ? can he judge through the dark 
 cloud ? 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1520. 
 
 t Heb. 
 stripped the 
 ct'4/ies iif 
 the naked. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 the man nf 
 
 arvu 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 eminentt or, 
 
 accejttedj'vr 
 
 counte- 
 
 nnnce. 
 
 t Heb. 
 llie head of 
 the stars. 
 II Or, 
 ll'hat. 
 
 that He now afflicts thee, to prevent the damage they might do 
 Him ? Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, &c.] 
 Amongst Job's many and grievous afflictions, a.s it is hard to say 
 which was the greatest, so we are sure this was not the least, 
 that he was to wrestle with the unjust and bitter upbraidings 
 of unreasonable and incompassionate men. They came to visit 
 him as friends, and as friends tliey should have comfortetl him. 
 But sorry friends they were, and " miserable comforters," chap, 
 xvi. 2 ; indeed not comforters, but tormentors ; and accusers, ra- 
 ther than friends. Seeing God's hand hea\'y upon him, for want 
 of better or other proof, they charge him with hypocrisy. And 
 because they would not seem to deal all in generalities, for 
 against this general accusation of hypocrisy it was sufficient for 
 him as generally to plead the truth and uprightness of his heart, 
 they therefore ^o on more particularly, out as falsely, and as it 
 were by way of instance, to cliarge him with oppression. Thu> 
 Eliphaz by name taxes him in this chapter. Against these foul 
 aspersions, the good man defends himself something lai-gely in 
 the twenty-ninth chapter, in which he declares how he demeaned 
 himself in the time of his prosperity in the administration of 
 his magistracy, far otherwise than was laid to his charge. Bj>. 
 Sanderson. 
 
 stripped the naked of their clothing.'} The Arabs call their 
 
 upper garment a hyke; which is a blanket, or gown, five or sax 
 yards long, and five or six yards broad. Tliis is wrapped over 
 the tunick, or close-bodied frock, which is the inner garment, a^id 
 girded about their waist in time of work or action. Persons, vipo 
 have no hyke or upjier garment, but only tlicir tunick and shirt, 
 may be said to be " naked," according to tlie mode of speaking 
 in the East. Dr. Shaiv, Scott. The sense is. Thou hast stripped 
 of their garments even those, who had no more but just enough 
 to cover their nakedness. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 7. Thou hast not given tvater to the weary to drink,'] Thou liast 
 been hardhearted to the weary traveller, when thou sawest him 
 ready to die with thirst or hunger. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Entertainment of travellers, and charity to the poor, were lock- 
 ed upon by the Arabs, and by the ancient Greeks, as duties of \he 
 most sacred obligation. The Gdyssey of Homer has some noJ)le 
 sentiments on this subject ; and the poems of the Arabs abound 
 with them. The vilest of all ch:uracters among them was the in- 
 hospitable and avaricious man. Scott. 
 
 13. And thou .latfest, Hon' doth God knotv? &c.] It may )be, 
 you are so wicked as to imagine, tliat God amnot, or that He will
 
 Eliphaz eiliorleth Job lo repentance. 
 
 JOB. 
 
 "iiith pi'omises of mercy. 
 
 Btfore 
 CHRIST 
 
 •bout 1520. 
 
 tHeb. 
 ajiood vns 
 poured upon 
 their Joun- 
 tiiition. 
 •Cb.21.I4. 
 II Or. 
 to them. 
 
 »Ch.2I.lfi. 
 
 ' Ps. 107. 
 42. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 estate. 
 
 II Or, (*«> 
 
 eicdlency. 
 
 II Thai is, 
 Kith God. 
 
 * Chap. 8. 5. 
 
 14 Thick clouds arc a covering to him, 
 that he seeth not ; and he walketh in the 
 circuit of lieaven. 
 
 15 Hast thou marked the old way which 
 wicked men have trodden ? 
 
 1(3 Wliicii were cut down out of time, 
 t whose foundation was overflown with a 
 
 flood : 
 
 17 ' Which said unto God, Depart from 
 us : and what can the Almighty do II for 
 them ? 
 
 18 Yet he filled their houses with good 
 tlmigs : but •> the counsel of the wicked is 
 far from me. 
 
 ly ' The righteous see it, and are glad : 
 and the innocent laugh them to scorn. 
 
 20 ^^^lereas || our substance is not cut 
 down, but II the remnant of them the fire 
 consumeth. 
 
 21 Acquaint now thyself II with him, and 
 be at peace: thereby good shall come unto 
 thee. 
 
 2'2 Receive, I pray thee, the law from 
 his mouth, and lay up his words in thine 
 heart. 
 
 23 " If thou return to the Almighty, thou 
 shalt be built up, thou shalt put away ini- 
 quity far from thy tabernacles. 
 
 not, see the wickedness done upon earth : but consider how He 
 drowned the world for their wickedness. Bp. Il'ilson. 
 
 1.5. Ifa.it thou marked the old trail &c.] This was the way of 
 rcasoninjj in the old world, till Ciod convinced them of their er- 
 rour by destroying them with a deluge of water. Let me there- 
 fore advise voii not to follow these men's steps, but make your 
 peace with CJod, by a timely repentance, ver. 21. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 1,5, Ifi. llaM thou 7)iarkcd &c.'^ As the universal deluge was a 
 most signal and memorable instance of God's displeasure against 
 wickedness and wicfkcd men, Eliphaz takes occasion here to en- 
 large uj)on it as a proper lesson (so he thought it) for his friend, 
 ana then closes it with the mention of another destruction either 
 past or to be expected, which is described to bo as general, and 
 as fatal to the wicked ; see ver. 20. Pctci.^. 
 
 l(i. — whme ftinmtation'] Whose habitation ; denominated here 
 from its essential part, the better to express the durable materials 
 of which their palaces were formed. Scott. 
 
 20. Whereas our siih.slanre i.t not cut doivii, Szc.'] This is the lot 
 of wicked men ; whereas we, who are righteous and godly, speed 
 otherwise ; our substance is both continued and multiplied ; but 
 as for them, that which remiu'ns of their riches, together with 
 their persons, shall be consumed witli the fire of Ood's displeasure 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 21. Acquaint now ihijself with him, '\ To "acquaint ourselves 
 with Ood," is a phrase of the same import with coming lo God, 
 and .seeking for Him, and many other expressions in Scripture, 
 which signify nothing else but to become religious. Ahp. Tillotson. 
 
 23. If thou return to the .Umi^hti/, thou shalt be built up, &c.] 
 Thou slialt soon feel the comfortable friuts of it : for if thou re- 
 turn to the Almighty, who hath laid thee thus low. He will re- 
 turn to thee, and raise thee up as high a.s ever : He will pardon 
 thine iniquity, and remove the punishment of it far from thee and 
 thine. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 29. When men arc cast doivn,"] When thou scert good men 
 rast down, then shalt thou, by the strength of thy faith, say. 
 There shall be an exalt;ition for these men ; and God will Jind a 
 Ume to deliver and honour the humble person. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1520. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 oil the dust. 
 II Or, gold. 
 t Heb. 
 silver of 
 itrenglh. 
 
 t Heb. /,im 
 tlml Itatli 
 tow ei/es. 
 P O/, Tlie 
 iimocent 
 shall deliver 
 the island. 
 
 24 Then shalt thou lay up gold ll as dust, 
 and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the 
 brooks. 
 
 25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy II de- 
 fence, and thou shalt have t plenty of sil- 
 ver. 
 
 26 For then shalt thou have thy delight 
 in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face 
 unto God. 
 
 27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, 
 and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay 
 thy vows. 
 
 28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and 
 it shall be established unto thee : and the 
 light shall shine upon thy ways. 
 
 29 When men are cast down, then thou 
 shalt say, There is lifting up ; and he shall 
 save t the humble person. 
 
 30 II He shall deliver the island of the 
 innocent : and it is delivered by the pure- 
 ness of thine hands. 
 
 CHAP. XXHI. 
 
 1 Job longetk lo appear before God, G in confidence of 
 his mercy. 8 God, who is invisible, ohscrvclh our 
 ways. 11 Job's innoccncy. 13 God's decree is im- 
 mutable. 
 
 "<HEN Job answered and said, 
 
 2 Even to day is my complaint bit- 
 
 so. He shall deliver the island of the innocent ;] Rather, " He," 
 that is, God, " shall deliver the habitation of the innocent ;" see 
 Is. XX. 6, and the note there. Parkhurst. Or, " The innocent 
 shall deliver a country, and it sliall be delivered by the pin-enass 
 of his hands." Men of exemplary piety and virtue are some- 
 times the preservers of a whole people, by means of their favour 
 with God. This gi-and idea of the efficacy of true religion, and 
 the vast utility of virtuous men, is derived from the jjatriarchal 
 historj' ; see Gen. xviii. 23, &:c. Scott. Yea, a whole country 
 shall owe its safety to thy innocence ; it shall be delivered by thy 
 pious prayers and blameless actions. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It is " the innocent that delivereth the land," and reprieveth it 
 from destruction, when the sentence of desolation is pronounced 
 against it ; " and it is delivered by the pureness of his hands." 
 How great was the goodness of God, which would have spared 
 the fi\'e cities of the Salt sea, if among so many thousands of aban- 
 doned sinners there had been found but ten righteous. Gen. xviii. 
 32 : nay, which would have pardoned Jerusalem, if in all the 
 " streets and broad places thereof," replenished with a world of 
 idolaters, and swearers, and adulterers, and oppressors, there had 
 been found but one single man, " that executed judgment, and 
 sought the truth" from his heart ! Jer. v. 1. When the wrath of 
 God would be let loose to overwhelm a guilty nation, there is 
 some godly Jehoshaphat or other, whose presence God regard- 
 eth among them, 2 Kings iii. 14; tliere is some zealous Moses 
 or other, that " standeth in the gap" to protect them. Bj). San- 
 derson. 
 
 Chap. XXIII, XXIV. In the former chapter Job holds forth 
 an answer to what EUphaz had laid to his charge, and being still 
 so virulentlj' opposed, he first defends his own integrity, and 
 secondly, in the latter chapter, overthroweth the foundation on 
 which liis ii-iends built their general opposition ; affinning that 
 there is neither any certain time nor way in which the Lord pu- 
 nisheth wicked men in this world ; and that therefore no argu- 
 ment can be framed, nor judgment given, of any man's condition 
 by his present state, or the external dispensations of God towards 
 him. Caryl. 

 
 Job longeth to appear before God. 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 God's decree is immutable. 
 
 CHRIST ^^^ '• ^ ™y stroke is heavier than my groan- 
 about lASO. lllg. 
 
 tHeb. S Oh that 1 knew where I might find 
 
 '"^ '"""'• him! that I might come even to his 
 seat ! 
 
 4 I would order my cause before liim, 
 and fill my mouth with arguments. 
 
 5 I would know the words "which he 
 would answer me, and understand what 
 he would say imto me. 
 
 6 Will he plead against me with his 
 great power ? No ; but he would put 
 strength in me. 
 
 7 There the righteous might dispute 
 with him ; so should I be delivered for 
 ever from my judge. 
 
 8 Behold, 1 go forward, but he is not 
 there; and backward, but I cannot per- 
 ceive him : 
 
 9 On the left hand, where he doth work. 
 
 Chap. XXIII. ver. 2, 3. Even to dai/ is my complaint bitter .'2 
 Jobj being provoked to a high degree by the freedom Eliphaz had 
 taken with him in his last speech, in charging Iiim directly with 
 the most enormous sins, (chap. xxii. 5, 6,) turns to God, accord- 
 ing to his custom, and earnestly begs that He would bring him 
 to his trial ; that He would hear the matter fully, and determine 
 between him and his friends. " Oh that I knew where I might 
 find Him ! (that is, God;) that I might come even to His seat !" (or 
 tribunal.) Peters. 
 
 Even still I have ever}' day more cause than another to com- 
 plain of my great affliction, and the stroke that I feel from God 
 is more heavy than my groaning can express. Bp. Hall. 
 
 3 — 10. Oh that I tmetv where I might find him! &c.] What 
 exalted and sublime conceptions Job entertained of the Deitj', 
 and how firmly he trusted in Him, under all the pressure of his 
 accumulated trials, may appear from the present specimen, se- 
 lected out of many, stating His omnipresence and spirituality or 
 invisibility. Dr. Hales. 
 
 6, 7- Will he plead against me &c.] I know He is gracious : 
 He would not stand either upon His rigour or His power over 
 me ; but would mercifully sustain me, and give me courage and 
 ability to stand out in the maintenance of my sincerity before 
 Him. Upon these terms, a man of upright heart might hold a 
 lowly contention with Him ; which once done, being absolved 
 by His most just sentence, I sliould be delivered for ever from 
 the slanders and condemnations of my unjust censurers. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 8 — 10. Behold, I go furrvard, kc.'\ We may observe, that the 
 thought which gives, or ought to give the wicked pain, namely, 
 that the eye of God observes them, and that His power and jus- 
 tice reach to a future and invisible state, is what Job takes re- 
 fuge in, as the only source of comfort to him in the depth of his 
 distress. The present passage is remarkable to this purpose, 
 where, after expressing the greatest earnestness to come before 
 God and take his trial ; turning himself this way and that way, 
 and as it were feeling after Him, to find Him out, but in vain, 
 (ver. 8, 9,) he cheers himself at last with this reflection, (ver. 10,) 
 " But He knoweth the way that I take : when He hath tried 
 me, I shall con)e forth as gold." If we compare this with the 
 several passages in Job's speeches, where he absolutely desjiairs 
 of any temporal deliverance, we must of necessity understand it 
 of the hope he entertained of having his innocence cleared in the 
 day of judgment. 
 
 There is a passage in the Book of Wisdom, which, if not bor- 
 rowed from this of Job, affords at least a fine illustration of it, 
 ch. iii. 4 — 6. Speaking of the happy lot of good men after death, 
 who had been wretched and afflicted here, " Though they be pu- 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 alHjlit \S-20. 
 t Hel>. 
 tlic uuiif that 
 is wiili me. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 I tiave ttidt 
 or, taid up. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 Tny appoint- 
 cd portion. 
 ' Ps. 1 15. 3. 
 
 but I cannot behold him : he hideth himself 
 on the right hand, but I cannot see him : 
 
 10 But he knoweth t the way that I 
 take : •whe?i he hath tried me, I shall come 
 forth as gold. 
 
 11 My foot hath held his steps, his way 
 have I kept, and not declined. 
 
 12 Neither have I gone back from the 
 commandment of his lips ; 1 1 have esteem- 
 ed the words of his mouth more than [1 my 
 necessary y6o(/. 
 
 13 But he is in one 7nind, and who can 
 turn him ? and ivhat ' his soid desireth, e\en 
 thai he doeth. 
 
 14 For he performeth the thing that is 
 appointed for me : and many such things 
 are with him. 
 
 15 Therefore am I troubled at his pre- 
 sence : when I consider, I am afraid of 
 him. 
 
 nished," says the author, " in the sight of men, yet is their hope 
 full of immortality. And having been a little chastisetl, they shall 
 be greatly rewarded : for God proved them, and found them 
 worthy for Himself. As gold in the furnace hath He tried them, 
 and received them as a burnt offering." Peters. 
 
 11, 12. My foot hath held his steps, &c.] The morality of Job 
 was not less excellent than his theology ; in these verses he ex- 
 presses his undeviating obedience to the law of God, and his de- 
 light therein. It is evident from this passage, and others, that 
 there was some collection of precepts, or rules of religion and 
 morality in use among the Patriai-chs; such were the precepts 
 of the sons of Noah ; and there is great reason to believe, that the 
 substance at least of the Decalogue given in Sinai was of primi- 
 tive institution. The decree of the first council held at Jerusalem 
 by the Apostles seems to refer to such. Acts xv. 28, 29. Com- 
 pare Gen. ix. 1 — 6. Dr. Hales. 
 
 13. But he is in one mind, and trho can turn him?"] But, O vain 
 man that I am ! how should I hope to alter the determinations of 
 that wise and powerful God ! wliat He hath decreed must be ; 
 and who can change His purposes ? Bp. Hall. 
 
 1 4. For he performeth the thing that is apjxjinled for nic ;] For 
 what He hath resolved to inflict upon me, that I find He will ac- 
 complish. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 and many such things are with him.'X Many such things, 
 
 as these proceedings with me, doth He, in His great and unlimited 
 power, and unsearchable wisdom, bring to pass ; whereof we can 
 give no reason or judgment. Bp. Hall. 
 
 15. Therefore am I troubled at his presence:'] These words pro- 
 bably are an answer to an objection ; for Job's friends had charged 
 him with fear and trouble of spirit at the presence of God, upon 
 .mother account, even because of the guiltiness of his conscience, 
 or because of his great wickedness; so (chap. xxii. 10) Kliphax, 
 having shewed him his sin, jjresently adds the sad effects which 
 were upon him ; " therefore snares .ire round about thee, and sud- 
 den fear troubleth thee :" as if he had said. Thou hast been very 
 wicked in thy actions, and therefore thou art so unquiet in thy 
 spirit ; thou liast been uncharitable and injurious to men, " there- 
 fore thou art troubled at the presence of God." No, fays Job, my 
 trouble of ?pirit docs not arise from guilt, (tliough I have iniquity 
 enough to deserve greater chastenings than those which are upon 
 me,) but the cause of my trouble iu-iseth from the knowledge and 
 apprehensions which I have of God. who " is in one mind, and who 
 can turn Him ? He performeth the thing that is apjjointed for roe ; 
 and many such things are with Him." This is the spring and 
 ground of my troubliT; I am troubled both with the feehng of my 
 present calamities, and with fear of greater ; lest the Lord should 
 .again act, and put forth His tenible power upon me. Cart/l.
 
 jyickedncss goeth 
 
 JOB. 
 
 often unpunished. 
 
 Before Hi For God makcth my heart soft, and 
 ZlV/i the Almighty troubleth me : 
 
 17 Because I was not cut on betore the 
 darkness, neither hath he covered the dark- 
 ness from my face. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 1 Wickedness goetli oficn unpunished. 17 There is a 
 secret jiiilgvicnl for the wicked. 
 
 'HY, seeing times are not hidden 
 from the Ahnighty, do they that 
 know him not see his days ? 
 • Dcut 19. 2 Some remove the " landmarks ; they 
 M^4 27.i7. ^,ioig„j.]y take away flocks, and 11 feed 
 
 feed them, thereof. 
 
 3 They drive away the ass of the father- 
 less, they take the widow's ox for a pledge. 
 
 4 They turn the needy out of the way : 
 the poor of the earth hide themselves to- 
 gether. 
 
 w 
 
 16. For God makHh my heart soft, &c.]] By a weight of afflic- 
 tions God hath broken 1113' spirit, and made me so timorous, that 
 I cannot but dread the tlanger I am in of suffering more fi-om His 
 Almighty hand. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 17. Because I tva.i not cut off before ttte darkness,'] I am 
 astonished at the hand of tlie Almighty, for I am still upheld by 
 His power in these extremities, and not cut off by death before 
 this darkness of sorrow and miserj' overwhelmed me ; neither yet 
 hatli He restraineil these intolerable evils from seizing upon me, 
 but hath caused me to feel tliem, and not to be swallowed up by 
 them. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XXIV. ver. 1 . Why, seeing times are not hidden from the 
 Alniigbiy,'] But to answer a little what you have so often assert- 
 ed: If punishments from the Almighty be so apparent and visible 
 upon tlie wicked, why do not they, who are truly pious, see the 
 publick and open judgments .> In what follows, Job confutes the 
 rash assertions of his iritnds about the plagues, which always be- 
 fall the wicked, by an induction of particidars that prove the 
 contrary. Bj). Patrick. 
 
 2. Some remmv the landmarks;"} As in these countries the pas- 
 tures and com fields were not enclosed, they had no otlier way of 
 distinguishing the limits of eacli other's grounds but by boundary 
 ■tones. He here describes that sort of injustice which the Prophet 
 complains of, Mic. ii. 2. Scott. 
 
 .1. — the ass of the fulherkss, — tlie nidiw's ojQ This is an- 
 other species of wron-r. They dejjrive Uie fatherless and widow 
 of their only means of supporting themselves : for they could not 
 prepare their little farm for sowing without an ox, or beeve, to 
 till it ; or bring in their corn, if they had any, without an ass to 
 carry the burden. Scott. 
 
 5. — as n-ild asses in tlie desert, &c.]] Robbers are here well 
 compared to wild asses, as they lie hid in solitary places. Grotius. 
 
 Bochart observes, that a robber can he compared to a wild ass 
 in no other respect, tJian as he lives in the desert ; for a wild ass 
 is not a rapacious .-ininial. Dr. Durcll. 
 
 6. They reap even/ one his corn in the field: &c.] The follow- 
 ing is a more mtelligible reading of this verse, " they reap corn in 
 the field which is not their own : and the wicked gather the vin- 
 tage of others." RosenmuUer. 
 
 " Com," in the Hebrew, " mingled com, or dredge," «ays the 
 "*^P"- Jol' apparently alludes to the provender, heap of chop- 
 ped straw and corn lying mingled together in the field, after hav- 
 mg passed under the threshing instrument. Harmer. 
 
 f'\,'~\^^'^ '""^^^ "" cweri/ifi- in the cold.'] Irwin found the cold 
 •t tUe desert which he passed through very severe at times : and 
 
 Before 
 
 5 Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go phIjot 
 they forth to their work ; rising betimes about ihm. 
 for a prey : the wilderness yieldeth food 
 
 for them and for their children. 
 
 6 They reap every one his t corn in the t Hei. 
 field : and t they gather the vintage of the "i'^f or, 
 wicked. • <ire'ige. 
 
 7 They cause the naked to lodge with- L Lcked 
 out clothing, that theti have no covering in «'"'"^'' '*« 
 the cold. ^ """''"• 
 
 8 They are wet with the showers of the 
 mountains, and embrace the rock for want 
 of a shelter. 
 
 9 They pluck the fatherless from the 
 breast, and take a pledge of the poor. 
 
 10 They cause him to go naked without 
 clothing, and they take away the sheaf 
 
 from the hungry ; 
 
 1 1 Which make oil within their walls, and 
 tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst. 
 
 very cold rains and snow descend in some of the hilly parts of 
 these southeastern countries. Harmer. 
 
 in the cold.] In Arabia Petrea, Job's country, the day ig 
 
 intensely hot, and the night intensely cold. Dr. Shaw. See the 
 note on Gen. xxxi. 40. 
 
 8. embrace the rock for trant of a shelter.] They, that is, 
 
 " the naked," in the preceding verse, are fain to seek shelter of 
 the rock, to keep them from the violence of the weather. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 This exactly agrees with what Niebulir says of tlie modern 
 wandering Arabs near mount Sinai : " 'Those who cannot afford a 
 tent, spread out a cloth upon four or six stakes ; and others spread 
 a cloth near a tree, or endeavour to shelter themselves from the 
 heat and the rain in the cavities of the rock. Parkhurst. 
 
 9. They pluck the fatherless from the breast,] Nay, the persons 
 of men are not safe from the violence of these outlaws : but they 
 snatch away young children from their mothers' breasts, and 
 caiTy away the poor, pretending they owe them something, to 
 make them their slaves. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 atid take a pledge of the jxxjr.] '• And take that which is 
 
 upon the poor for a pledge :" that is, his upper g.nrment, or hyke, 
 for security of a debt. See the note on chap. xxii. 6. Scott. 
 
 10. — take away the sheaf f rem the hungry;] fhey will not 
 suffer him who is ready to starve to eat of the siieaf which he 
 hath gleaned. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 1 . Which make oil &.C.] They cause these miserable creatures 
 to press out their oil and their wine in their cellar . but let them 
 not taste a drop, though they be ready to die wii!i thirst. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepre.fses, 
 and suffer thirst.] Ratlier, " they work at midday among tlieir 
 walls, they tread winepresses, and suffer thirst." For it is diffi- 
 cult to say what greater hardships attended makiiig oil within 
 walls than in the open air, nor does any contrast appear between 
 their labour as to this and what followed ; but a contrast does ap- 
 pear between treading winepresses, and suffering tliirst, in tlie 
 latter part of the verse, as in Micah vi. Id, and tlii» thirst maybe 
 expected to be most oppressive at midday. Harmer. 
 
 " Between, or witliin their walls they make or press out oil ;" 
 or rather,, " between their walls," with which the vineyards were 
 enclosed, Prov. xxiv. 31, " they labour at noonday," or bear the 
 noonday heat. Matt. xx. 12, which it is well known, in those hot 
 Eastern countries, is in the summer time almost insupportable, 
 particularly near walls. Parkhurst. 
 
 and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.] Addison 
 
 describes the misery of the oppressed peasants of Italy with the
 
 There is a secret judgment 
 
 CHAP. XXIV, XXV. 
 
 for the wicked. 
 
 Before 
 
 I 
 
 CHRIST ^~ ^^^" groan from out of tlie city, and 
 ;L'x.ut 1520. the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet 
 God layeth not folly to them. 
 
 13 They are of those that rebel against 
 the light; they know not the ways there- 
 of, nor abide in the paths thereof. 
 
 14 The murderer rising with the light 
 kUleth the poor and needy, and in the 
 night is as a thief. 
 
 15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth 
 for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see 
 
 t Hcb. nie: and + disguiseth his face. 
 fac^in"' 16 In the dark they dig through houses, 
 i«rrt. xi'kich they had marked for themselves in 
 the daytime: they know not the light. 
 
 17 For the morning is to them even as 
 the shadow of death : if o?ie know them, 
 tliey are in the terrors of the shadow of 
 death. 
 
 18 He is swift as the waters; their por- 
 tion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth 
 not the way of the vineyards. 
 
 t Hcb. 19 Drought and heat t consume the 
 
 Takiy " snow waters : so doth the grave those "which 
 have sinned. 
 
 same beautiful energy: The poor inhabitant of that fruitful 
 country 
 
 Sfcirves, in the midst of nature's bounty, curst, 
 And in the loaden vineyard dies for thirst. Scott. 
 
 In the East they still " tread" their grapes after the ancient 
 manner. Dr. Chandler says, " August 20th; the vintage near 
 Smyrna was now begim: the juice of the grapes was expressed 
 for wine; a man with feet and legs bare treading the fruit in a 
 kind of cistern, with a hole or vent near the bottom, and a vessel 
 beneath to receive the liquor." Parkhurst. 
 
 12. — out of the cili/,'^ The peaceful inhabitants of towns, who 
 have been plundered by these rovers of the desert, cry to Heaven 
 for redress, but in vain. Bp. Stock. 
 
 ^et God layeth not folly to tliem.^ Doth not presently call 
 
 them to account, nor charge their sin upon them. Caryl. 
 
 15. They are of those that rebel against the light;'] They sin 
 shamelessly in the face of the sun, against the light of nature, 
 conscience, and Divine revelation: they neitlier delight nor will 
 walk in those ways to whicli by this light they are directed. 
 Clark. 
 
 " They know not the ways thereof;" either, they do not de- 
 sire or care to know them, they are willingly ignorant of them; 
 or, they do not approve, nor love, nor choose to walk in them, 
 as " knowing" frequently signifies in the language of Scripture. 
 " Nor abide in the paths thereof:" that is, if they do some good 
 actions, yet tliey do not persevere in well-doing; they are not 
 constant and fixed in a good course of life. Poole. 
 
 1 6". — they dig through houses,] The materials used for build- 
 ing in Job's country seem to have been mud and slime, which 
 are frequently employed in the East i'or this purpose: these walls 
 of sunburnt brick, when moistened with coi)ious showers, must 
 have been liable to atucks of this kind; at the same time tliat 
 the thickness of them makes the term digging peculiarly expres- 
 sive. Manner. 
 
 18. He is sn'ijl as the waters; &c.] Thus doeth the evil man: 
 but shall he prosper in his mischief.' No: God shall be avenged 
 of him; he shall pass away swiftly, even as a ciurrent of watcr;^: 
 and while he continues here, he enjoys what he has with a curse: 
 liis lot shall be barrenness, so that he shall not so much as look 
 Vol. I. 
 
 20 The womb shall forget him; the ^'f'"' 
 worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall a\^Lm. 
 be no more remembered; and wickedness 
 
 shall be broken as a tree. 
 
 21 He evil entreatcth the barren that 
 beareth not: and doeth not good to the 
 widow. 
 
 22 He draweth also the mighty with his 
 power : he riseth up, || and no man is sure il Of, 
 
 of life hetrvtlrth 
 
 23 Though it be given him to be in safe- ''/'• 
 ty, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are 
 upon their way.s. 
 
 24 They are exalted for a little while, 
 
 but tare gone and brought low; they are t Heb. 
 t taken out of the way as all other, and ^''h'^,' 
 cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. doted vp. 
 
 25 And if it be not so now, who will 
 make me a liar, and make my speech no- 
 thing worth ? 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 Bildad shemeth that man cannot hcjustijkd before God. 
 
 THEN answered Bildad the .Shuhite, 
 and said. 
 
 towards the way of the vineyards; he !>hall have no hope of re- 
 ceiving the benefit of his seasonable culture of the earth. Bv. 
 Hall. ' 
 
 20. TJie ntonib shall forget hitn;] His mother shall be ashamed 
 to own her relation to him: he shall not be reniembereil witli ho- 
 nour, but consigned to infamy: the wickeil oppresSKjr shidl be 
 utterly and irrecoverably destroyed, as a tree broken to pieces, 
 which will never grow again. Clark, Poole. 
 
 23. Tliough il be given him to be in safety. Sec] Though fbe 
 wicked man seems to pass his time in much secnrity and confi. 
 dence, yet the eyes of God are go open ui>on his wnj-s, that He 
 observes him to take His advantages against him, ami to inflict on 
 him suitable judgments. Bp. Hall. i'.> ' 
 
 25. And if il he vol so now, Sic] If this be not a truth vrhiA I 
 have maintained, namely that God many times prospers the 
 ■wicked and afflicts the righteous, let any one Confute me if h« 
 am, and shew that my argtunents are weak. Clark. 
 
 Job, having first described the impiety, the injustice, the enielty, 
 and other sins of the wicked, and having then desired his friends 
 to take notice that God does not always displav His vengeance 
 upon them, but suffers them to succeed in their evil dt^sigii--, finally 
 observes, that God nevertheless sees ihcm, an:l that His ri^hteout 
 judgments overtake them. This doctrine higlil)- deser\es our s». 
 rious meditation: that, when we see .so nnich wickedness and imi 
 piety prevailing in the world, even among those who profess to 
 know God, our faith may not fail; but we may remember thai 
 God sees it as well as we, and in a manner infinitely more j)er- 
 feet; and as nothing escapes His cognizance, so nothing can 
 escape His judgment. Oslerrald. 
 
 Chap. XXV'. This chapter contains Bildad's third contest with 
 Job, in which, waving altogether the point in question, tfinectrt- 
 ing the present troubles of" the righteous and the piMsperity'"6r 
 die wicked, he first falls into a description of the glory, power, 
 and'majesty of God ; and 2dly, by v ay of opposition and coni)).iri- 
 son, he sets forth the misery and impurity of man. C^aryl. 
 
 The foregoing discourse of Job was so undeniable, that Bildad 
 here begins to break off the dispute: for he says not a woftl to it, 
 but only advises him to speak more reverently of the majesty of 
 Gad, than he imagined Job bad done in his aj^ieal to Him, e)ta[f 
 xxiii. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6 C
 
 ifak cannot hejuslified before God. 
 
 :\\T/'/ T'/7X '' /■ H • > ^^iisoc\ t'bop A^3•!^i^^Viyo5t■bo IM^.^ 
 
 • Chap. 4. 
 17, &c. ic 
 15. 14, &c. 
 
 » Ps. 82. 6. 
 
 B«M« 2 Domiiiiou and fear are, with luiu, he 
 fbfuns" inaketh peace in his high places. 
 
 3 Is there any number of his armies? 
 and upon \vhom"doth not his Ught arise? 
 
 4 ' How then can man be justified witli 
 God? or how can lie be clean that is born 
 of a woman ^^' ^■'■^^•^ ^1,-•.:,,,^u\ jvVV ^v »• u..^ 
 
 5 Behold even to the moon, and it shin- 
 eth notj yea, the stars are not pure in his 
 sight. 
 
 How raucli less man, that is a worm ? 
 and the son of man, xuhich is a worm ? 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 i Job, repromtig the uncharitable sjnrit of Bildad, 5 ac- 
 knonkdgelh )hc power of God to be iiijiiiile and itn- 
 sfarchable. 
 
 Ver. 2, 3. Dominion and/ear are with him, &c.] He is an awful 
 God, who hath the absohite dominion over all the world: He or- 
 dereth the very heavens so, tliat there is a pei-fect harmony in all 
 the apparently contrary motions thereof: and contriveth all things 
 5o, that they agree to glorify Him! What innumerable troops of 
 glorious angel.-> hath He there above, and what infinite armies of 
 His creatures to execute His will upon all occasions! And how 
 gracious Is He in sending forth His liglit into all the corners of 
 the earth • and how wise in searching all the secrets of human ac- 
 tions jnd coun.-^els ! Bp. hhdl. 
 
 4. Iloiv then can mini be justified with God ?~\ As to the origin 
 of the general corruption and depravity of mankind, it seems to 
 be here plainly intimated, that all men are corrujit by descent and 
 inheritance. Bp. Sherluck. Sec chap. xiv. S, 4; and the note on 
 that passage. 
 
 5. — and it shinetk not;~\ In comparison of Hiin. Clark. 
 Chap. XXVI. This chapter contains .lob's answer to Bildad, in 
 
 which he derideth Bildad's dealing with him, as if what he had 
 urged were not only very little to the purpose, but very wide 
 from it; and dwclL at large, and in a very lively mamier, on the 
 power and porrtctions of God, His wonderful works and acts of 
 provitlence; which Bildad had but lightly touched. Caryl, Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 Ver. 2. How hast thou helped him that is without power ?] 
 What powerful support hast thou given to one (Job himself) 
 who is deprived of all strength > A saicastick rebuke of Bildad. 
 BoscnmuUer. 
 
 4. To whom hast thou uttered words .^^ Dost thou think me ig- 
 norant of the.se things? or canst thou pretend to any extraor- 
 dinary inspiration concerning them ? Bp. Patrick. 
 
 5, 6. Dead things are formed from under the waters, &C.3 In 
 the Old Testament the region of departed souls, called in tlie 
 Hebrew " Sheol," was supposed to be divided into two parts, the 
 upper and the lower : David makes mention of the latter, Ps. 
 Isxxyi. \3, "Thou hast dehvered my soul from the nethermost 
 hell." Gehenna, or the place orperdition, was the name given to 
 this lower part by the later Jews, who, in order to express the 
 great depth to which they conceived it to be sunk, used to de- 
 scribe It as beneath the waters; their notion being, that the wa- 
 ters were placed below the earth, and that the earth floated upon 
 them like a slu'p. 
 
 The above statement may seem to explain the following ren- 
 dering of ver. :>, 6. 
 
 The souls of the dead tremble; 
 
 [The places^ below the waters, and their inhabitants. 
 
 The seat of spirits is naked before Him; 
 
 And the region of destruction hath no coverino-. 
 
 hlw u .'" u' "*' '*?^ '^"'''" =""1 " *''« inhabitants of the places" 
 ^^TJ abyss ot waters," appear to bear to each other the 
 »ame proportion, that is found in the next verse to subsiH between 
 
 reproveth Bildad, 
 I U T Job answered and said, 
 
 II Or, 
 
 witli llie iii- 
 habitants, 
 ' ProT. 15. 
 11. 
 
 BUT Job answered and said, rri-.dt '^nmar 
 2 How hast thou helped him that If about ism 
 without power? ho'<i) sayestthou the arm 
 that hath no strength ? ,r,f,-, (\< 
 
 3 How hast thou counselled him that hath 
 no wisdom ? and hoxv hast thou plentifully 
 declared the thing as it is ? <;\ j j 
 
 4 To whom hast thou uttered words? 
 and whose spirit came from thee ? 
 
 5 Dead thijigs are formed from under 
 the waters, || and the inhabitants thereof. 
 
 C ^ Hell is naked before him, and de- 
 struction hath no covering. 
 
 7 He stretcheth out the north over the 
 empty place, and hangeth the earth upon 
 nothing. 
 
 8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick 
 
 "the seat of spirits" and "the region of destruction;" or the 
 Gehenna of the later Jews: so that the passage, on tlie whole, 
 conveys this meaning; that nothing is or can be concealed from 
 the all-seeing eye of God: that the souls of the dead tremble 
 under His view, and the sliades of the wicked, sunk to the 
 bottom of the abyss, can even there find no covering from His 
 sight. Peters, Dr. Magee, ff'indet. 
 
 The Hebrew word " Sheol" signifies " the invisible state of the 
 dead:" and it seems nearly to answer to the Greek " Hatles," 
 by which the Septuagijit almost constantly render it; that ie, 
 " the invisible place;" and to our old English word " Hell/' 
 which, though now scarcely used but for the place of torment, 
 yet being derivative from the Saxon " Hillan," or " Helan," lo 
 hide, or from " hole," a cavern, anciently denotetl the concealed 
 or unseen place of the dead in general; as is manifest from the 
 version of Ps. xlix. 14; Iv. 16; Ixxxviii. 9; Ixxxix. 44; in King 
 Henry the Eighth's Great Bible, which is retained in our I.itnrgy ; 
 and so it ought to be understood in other places of tliat transla- 
 tion. Parkhurst. 
 
 6. Hell is naked before him^ The meaning is, not merely that 
 the region of death lies in prospect before Him, but that it is 
 under His eye as pai-t of His domimon. Death is the effect of 
 His moral kingdom ; and the consequences of death, the destruc- 
 tion of the body in the grave, and the disposal of imbodied soide 
 in Sheol, are operations of His power. Scott. 
 
 7- He stretcheth out the north &c.] He hath spread out this 
 glorious hemisphere of the heavens upon the void and empty 
 space of the light and thin air; and hangeth the great ball of the 
 earth in the midst of heaven without any prop or foundation. 
 Bp HaU. 
 
 The " south," in chap. ix. 9, means the southern hemisphere of 
 the heavens: by the " north," therefore, he here intends the 
 northern half of the heavens. The expression " He stretcheth 
 out" is that which the Hebrew poets generally use when they ce- 
 lebrate the formation of the heavens. It is a metaphor from a 
 tent or pavilion. Is. xl. 2SJ. Scott. 
 
 hangeth the earth upon nothing."] This has been formerly 
 
 questioned by some, and denied by others. But now all agree in 
 it, since so many have sailed round the earth; for that coul4 
 never have been done, if the earth did not hang in the air, with- 
 out any thing but the immediate hand of God to support it. But 
 this is no new discovery: for here we see tliat Job, one of ths 
 oldest writers extant in the world, if not the oldest of all/ kBeiV 
 it in his day. Bp. Bevcridge. ^ ^ 
 
 8. He bindeth up the waters &c.]] He binds up the waters, and 
 keeps them suspended in the clouds; through which they do not 
 burst all at once, but distil by drops to moisten the earth in due 
 season. Bp. Patrick. • * ,^,,1 
 
 This verse comprehends the whole process of Almighty powpr 
 in making the air, raising the watery vapours, condensing them
 
 about 1520. 
 
 t Heb. 
 until the 
 end iif Itglil 
 wilk dark- 
 nets. 
 
 t Heb. 
 pride. 
 
 but acknowledgeth God's poiver 
 
 CHRIST <^'o"ds ; and the cloud is not rent under 
 them. '*'^'' ' 
 
 9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, 
 and spreadeth his cloud upon it. 
 
 10 He hath compassed the waters with 
 bounds, t until the day and night come to 
 an end. 
 
 11 The pillars of heaven tremble and 
 are astonished at his reproof. 
 
 12 He divideth the sea with his power, 
 and by his understanding he smiteth 
 through t the proud. 
 
 13 By his spirit he hath garnished the 
 heavens ; his hand hath formed the crook- 
 ed serpent. 
 
 14 Lo, these are parts of his ways : but 
 
 into clouds, and sustaining them in that form, so that their con- 
 tents may not burst all at once upon the earth. Scolf. 
 
 9. He holdeth hack the face of his throne,'] He keeps the higli- 
 est heavens, which is His throne, (Is. Ixvi. 1,) from our view, that 
 its lustre and glory (Ezek. i. 26) shoidd not reach us and dazzle 
 our sight. Clark, Michaclis. 
 
 11. The pil/nrs of heaven tremble 8iC.2 When God shews Him- 
 self angry by sending thunder, tempests, and earthquakes, the 
 very lieavens seem to tremble, and the whole universe to be 
 moved by these tokens of His displeasure. Clark. 
 
 The figurative expression, " the pillars of heaven," seems in- 
 tended to represent the heavens under the idea of an immense 
 fabrick supported on stately columns. Their " trembling" and 
 " astonishment" is the animated style of sublime poetry, to de- 
 note violent concussions of the air, and agitation of the clouds. 
 The cause is God's " reproof;" that is, thunder, lightning, and 
 tempestuous winds, which are represented by the heathen, as 
 well as by sacred poets, as effects and tokens of God's displeasure 
 at the sins of men. Scott. 
 
 12. He divideth the sea with his power,'] Tliis passage proba- 
 bly refers to the separation of the waters at the creation: like 
 the parallel passage chap, xxxviii. 8 — 1 1 . In both places Rahab 
 or " proud" is an ejiithet of the sea. Dr. Hales. 
 
 Or it may be no more than the description of a tempest : and 
 if the former part of ver. 12 mean, that God sometimes by His 
 power raises a violent storm at sea ; the latter may be well enough 
 understood of the pride or swelling of the sea itself, allayed again 
 by the same Divine power and will that raised it. Peters. 
 
 1 3. By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; &c.] Finally 
 by His wise contrivance the heavens were adorned and made thus 
 beautiful as we behold them : His power made the celestial signs. 
 Bp. Patrick. " The crooked serpent" may mean an heavenly 
 constellation, called the great dragon or .serpent ; wfiich being most 
 eminent, as taking up a considerable part of the northern hemi- 
 sphere, may well be put for all the rest of the constellations or 
 fX-AVS, with which the heavens are garnished. Job was well ac- 
 quainted witl) the doctrine of astronomy ; and knew the nature 
 and names of the stars and constellations, as appears also from 
 chap. ix. 9, and xxxviii. 31. Poole. 
 
 14. Lo, these are parts of his irai/s: Sec] The works of God 
 are many and wonderful : we know but a very small part of 
 them, and we cannot comprehend all the reasons of His conduct 
 in the government of the world. God is so great, so powerful, 
 so just and wise, that we ought not to presume to question any 
 thing that He does, nor pry into His works with too mucli cu- 
 riosity. We ought rather to be firmly pursuaded that He go- 
 verns all things with wisdom, justice, and goodness, and humbly 
 submit to all His dispensations. Ostervald. 
 
 Chap. XXVII. Job, having refuted the principle on which his 
 friends had argued, and having silenced them, now undeitakes 
 
 CHAP. XXVI, xxvn. 
 
 and wisdom to be infinite. 
 
 how little a portion is heard of him ? but 
 the thunder of his power who can under- 
 
 stand ? 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 153a 
 
 CHAP. xxvn. 
 
 I Job prolesfeth Ids sincerily. 8 The hypocrite is rvilk- 
 otit hoj)€. 1 1 The blessings which the wicked have are 
 turned into curses. 
 
 MOREOVER Job t continued his pa- tHeb. 
 rable, and said, "akeip. 
 
 ii As God livetli, who hath taken away .,. Heb. 
 my judgment ; and the Almighty, xcho hath ">"'^' ™y 
 t vexed my soul; ^^t^^ 
 
 3 All the while my breath is in me, and ">« i^r^A 
 
 II the .spirit of God is in my nostrils ; "a^ehim. 
 
 to pro%'e to them, on their own principles, tliat their reasoning 
 was false. Having first declared his resolution to maintain his 
 innocence, he bids them consider how, upon their own princi- 
 ples, they could suppose him a hypocrite ; for as he was cut off, and 
 had abandoned all hope of life, what end could it answer to play 
 the hypocrite ? a pai't which could not deceive the all-seeing eye 
 of God: what reliance could such an one have on the Almighty, 
 or how could he dare to call on Him in the day of calamity .> But 
 to put the matter beyond all dispute, I will prove to you, says 
 Job, by irrefragable arguments, sucli as you at least cannot but 
 allow them to be, for they are your own, that it must be, in my 
 condition, to the last degree foolish to play the hypocrite : for 
 all I could propose to gam by it is the long catalogue of misery 
 which I shall run over, whicli you must allow to be true, having 
 yourselves declared that you have been eyewitnesses of it ; (re- 
 ferring to chap. iv. 8 ; xv. 17 ; xx. 4.) Why tlien will you tri^e 
 in this manner .'' Heath. 
 
 Ver. 1. — his parable,] See the note on Numb, xxiii. 7. 
 
 The original word " Mashal" I take to be the general name for 
 poetick style among the Hebrews, including every sort of it, as 
 ranging under one or other, or all of the characters, of sententious, 
 figurative, and sublime ; which arc all contained in the original 
 notion, or in the use and application, of tlie word mashal. Para- 
 bles or proverbs, such .is those of Solomon, are alwa}'s expressed 
 in short pointed sentences; frequently figurative, being formed 
 on some comparison ; generally forcible and authoritative, both in 
 the matter and the form. And such in general is the style of the 
 Hebrew poetry. The verb mashal signifies to rule, to exercise 
 authority ; to make equal, to compare one thing with anotlier; to 
 utter parables, or acute, weighty, and powerful speeches, in the 
 form and manner of parables, though not properly such. Thus 
 Balaam's first prophecy. Numb, xxiii. 7 — 10, is c;Jled his mashal, 
 though it has hardly any thing figurative in it ; but it is beauti- 
 fully sententious, and, from the very form and manner of it, bas 
 great spirit, force, and energy. Tims Job's last speeches, in 
 answer to the three friends, are called tnashals; from no one par- 
 ticular character, whicli discriminates them from the rest of the 
 poem, but from the sublime, tlie figurative, the sententious 
 manner, which equally prevails tlirough the whole jioem, and 
 makes it one of the first and most eminent examples extant of tlie 
 truly great and beautiful in poetick style. Bp. Lvivth. 
 
 2. As God liveth, Si.c] As Got! liveth, who hath not yet given 
 any outward and sensible signification tliat He hath taken notice 
 of my cause, to cle;ir and avenge me ; but, on the contrary, hath 
 laid many sore afflictions upon me. Bp. Hall. 
 
 o — J.. As God lireth, &c.] I'he whole pass<age will be equally 
 clear, if literally rendered thus: "The living Gotl hath taken 
 away my judgment ; and the .Mmighty hath inibittere<l my soul ; 
 but all the while my breath is in mc, and the Spirit of God is in 
 my nostrils, surely my lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my 
 tongue utter deceit." Dr. Durell.
 
 Job's sinanti/. The hypocrite is vithout hope. JOB- 
 
 Tlie blessings "which the tcicked have 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ■Ixiul 153V' 
 
 t Hit>. 
 
 from my 
 dayt- 
 
 ' Matt 16. 
 ■J6. 
 
 » ■'■"'' 
 £cek.aj8. 
 Juhn!>. SI. 
 Jam. ■). 'J. 
 
 nor, 
 
 b«inpin Hi 
 hatui, &c. 
 
 j(l o) t-U 
 
 'h My lips shall not speak wickedness, 
 nor my tongue utter deceit. 
 
 5 God forbid that I should justify you : 
 till I die I will not remove mine integrity 
 iiom me. 
 
 6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will 
 not let it go : nw heart shall not reproacli 
 mc t so long as I live. 
 
 7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and 
 he that riseth up against me as the un- 
 rigliteous. 
 
 8 ^ For what is the hope of the hypo- 
 crite, though he hath gained, when God 
 taketh away his soul ? 
 
 9 " Will God hear his cry when trouble 
 cometh upon him? 
 
 10 Will he delight himself in the Al- 
 mighty? will he always call upon God ? 
 
 1 1 I will teach you II by the hand of 
 God : that which is with the Almighty will 
 1 not conceal. 
 
 12 Behold, all ye yourselves have seen 
 it J why then are ye thus altogether vain ? 
 
 •IXii 
 
 -.1.. I 
 
 fj 
 
 5 — 8. Go<l forbid thai I shoultl justifi/ i/ou : &c.] Though I 
 am qtiite cast down, as miserable as it is possible to be, in this 
 life : yet God forbid that I should justify your censures of me, 
 by owning that I have played the hypocrite, or been secretly 
 ■wicked. No, -whatever shall befall me, I am resolved that I will 
 Btill maintain and still hold fast my integrity : I will sooner die 
 than confess the guilt you charge me with. " Let mine enemy 
 be as the wicked ;" let him flourish and prosper here as much as 
 his heart can wish, (and he had before shewn that they often do 
 so ;) but " what is the hope of the hypocrite, thougli he hath 
 gained, when God taketh away his soul f" that is, what can he 
 think will become of him after death ? what comfort can such an 
 one possibly entertain in the prospect of futurity ? Peters. 
 
 10. IVill he delight himself in I he Almiglil}/?'] Can he find com- 
 fort in God, when the world affords none > which I do now. 
 Will he call upon Ciod in prcsperity as well as adversity ? There 
 must be a delight in God before there will be any perseverance 
 ill duty. Clark. 
 
 W.I nUl teach yon by the hand of God .•] Rather, " I will in- 
 struct you in the power of God ;" as the word is rendered, Prov. 
 xviii. 21. Dr. Durell. 
 
 ' 12. Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it ;'] Behold, there is not 
 one of you but hath, by his own experience, found what I am 
 about to say to be ccrtiiiiily true: and yet, such is your vanity, 
 you will delcnd an ungrounded opinion, hp. Patrick. 
 
 13. This is the /yortiun of a wicked man with Uod,'] I grant that 
 a wicked roiui (but nf>t all wicked men, as you mainuin) some- 
 times receives such punishmenU from God as he deserves ; which 
 might make otlicr tyrannical oppressors fear to meet with the 
 wme vengeance. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 14. — ihali not be mtisjicd with bread:] Sliall be stai-ved for 
 w:mt of food. Clark. 
 
 \n. —shall be buried in death q " Shall rot unburied." The 
 learned Schultens seems to have given the true meanino- of the 
 passage, " they shaH have death for their burial ;" that is, they 
 shall be reduced to so great a degree of misery, that where they 
 Uie, there they shall rot ; and no person shall bury them. This 
 w put in contrast with the costly monuments' of the 
 H*alh. 
 
 rich. 
 
 .u. fn k'""'" 'T "P *''''^'" "* '^ ''"*''] Sir J. Chardin tell; 
 ihi ?■ ,'""'•' 1>" '"'s passage, that it is customary through ah 
 and rwLc" f V together an immense collection of furniture 
 and clothes, tor Uieir tashions never alter. They keep them up 
 
 « Chap. 18. 
 
 11. 
 
 s 
 all 
 
 13 This is the portion of a wicked man ^y*,j",'s^ 
 with God, and the heritage of op))ressors, ai,out u'ao. 
 'jchich they shall receive of the Alniiglity. 
 
 14- If his children be multiplied, it is for 
 the sword : and his offspring shall not be 
 satisfied with bread. ' ''' 
 
 15 Those that remain of him shall be 
 buried in death : and " his widows shall not ' p» ■»•"'» 
 weep. 
 
 16 Though he heap up silver as the 
 dust, and prepare raiment as the clay ; 
 
 17 He may prepare it, but the just shall 
 put it on, and the innocent shall divide 
 the silver. 
 
 18 He buildeth his house as a moth, and 
 as a booth that the keeper maketh. 
 
 19 The rich man shall lie down, but he 
 shall not be gathered : he openeth his eyes, 
 and he is not. 
 
 20 "Terrors take hold on him as wa- 
 ters, a tempest stealeth him away in the 
 night. 
 
 21 The east wind carrieth him away. 
 
 in wardrobes, as they heap up mud for mortar in building. 
 Harmer. 
 
 18. — as a inoth,'\ His house shall be as easily destroyed 
 as the dwelling of the moth, which tiills a prey to Jierself. 
 Grotius. 
 
 as a booth'] Like a temporary hut in a garden or vine- 
 yard to shelter the guard, who suffers it to fall when the 
 season is over. The same image occurs, Isai. i. 8 ; Lam. ii. 6. 
 Bp. Stock. 
 
 Job here teaches us, that although worldly men may live in 
 aflSuence, heap up riches, and leave them to their children, their 
 ill-gotten wealth soon passes awa}', and their posterity arc often 
 exposed to want and disgrace. These are visible marks of God's 
 justice towards the wicked ; and should serve as a powerful 
 antidote against injustice, piidc, and the love of the world. 
 OslervaUl. 
 
 19. The rich man shall lie down, &c.] Peters thus ingeniously 
 explains this important passage ; " The wicked rich man" (for of 
 such Job was speaking) " shall die, but shall not be gathered" to 
 the assembly of good and pious souls : " he openeth his eyes" in 
 the other world " and is not," or finds himself lost and miserable. 
 He observes, that the phrase of " being gathered to their fathers," 
 or " to their peoples," is confined in Scripture to the eminently 
 good and pious. Thus it is applied to Abraham, Gen. xv. 15; 
 XXV. 8; to Isaac, Gen. xxxv. 29; to Moses, Numb, xxvii. 13; 
 xxxi. 2; to David, .'Vets xiii. 36; to Josiah, 2 Kings x.\ii. 20; 
 whereas the general expression applied to good and bad indif- 
 ferently is, to "lie down," or " sleep with their fathers;" as Jero- 
 boam, 1 Kings xiv. 20; Rehoboam, 1 Kings xiv. 31, &c. To " lie 
 with the uncircumcised" is .ipplied to the wicked ; as Ph;iraoh, 
 Ezek. xxxii. 19 — 28, &c. for " the uncircumcised shall be cut off 
 from his peoples," Gen. xvii. 14. 
 
 By these expressions was denoted the happiness or misery of 
 good or bad souls, in the intermediate state between their death 
 and resurrection. Dr. Hales. 
 
 20. 21. Terrors take hold on kini] The horrour and distraction 
 of a wicked man on his death-bed are here described in a very 
 lively manner. He dies, as most wicked men do, iu the utmost 
 timiult and confusion. Peters. 
 
 A sudden landflood in the night, no uncommon thing in Ara- 
 bia, and a furious storm of wind, arc the strong images by which 
 such a death are represented. Scott. 
 
 21. The eail wind'] This is the most boisterous and the most
 
 are turned into curses. ^^ 
 
 CHAP. XXVII, XXVIII. Man may search deep into nature. 
 
 CHRIST ^"^ ^^^ departeth : and as a storra hurleth 
 about lo'jo, liioi out of his place. 
 
 22 For Gud shall cast upon him, and 
 t Hei). not spare : t he would fain flee out of his 
 
 injleeinghe i i 
 
 u'ouldfee. "•l"'-l. _ ^^ 
 
 23 Men shall clap their hands at him,' 
 and shall hiss him out of his place. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 1 There is a knowledge qfntUural l/diigs. 12 But wis- 
 dom is an excellent gift of God. 
 
 destructive wind that blows in these countries ; see the note on 
 chap. XV. 2. It is most violent in the night. Scott. 
 
 23. Men sliall clap their hands at him,'] The striking of one 
 hand against the other with some smartness, which we mean by 
 the term " clapping of the hands," might, and I believe did, ob- 
 tain anciently, as an expression of joy; not unfrequently, if not 
 always, of the malignant kind. Compare what Jeremiah says of 
 Jenisalem, when it was destroyed. Lam. ii. 15. Harmer, 
 
 Chap. XXVIII. This chapter, as it is one of the most beau- 
 tiful and instructive, so perhaps we might add, it is the most ob- 
 scure of this book. The subject proposed in it is an inquiry after 
 wisdom ; not the wisdom of God, by which we mean the un- 
 seai'chable depth of His counsels, but wisdom in general, or ra- 
 ther the wisdom proper to man, which therefore, in the last verse, 
 is pointed out as the result of the preceding inquiry. 
 
 The chapter begins with a fine description of the indefatigable 
 industr)- and ardour of mankind in searching after other things, 
 which contribute either to the uses or the ornament of life : how 
 they dig into the bowels of the earth for metals, gold, silver, iron, 
 brass. And though the great Creator hath placed a boundary 
 betwixt light and darkness, yet the industry or avarice of man is 
 without bounds. He searcheth into the land of darkness itself for 
 hid treasures. Peters. 
 
 Ver. 1 — 11. Surely there is a vein, &c.] The first verse speaks 
 of mines : the eleventh verse, wliich concludes the paragraph, 
 mentioneth man's bruiging the riches of them into daylight : the 
 intermediate verses, therefore, may in rea-son be supposed to relate 
 to the same subject. Scott. 
 
 a place for gold] So the Arabians called the mine. 
 
 " Gold," says one of their poets, " is thrown away like earth in 
 fts places :" it h;is no value in the mine. Scott. 
 
 ivhere I key fine it.] Rather, " which (both the silver and 
 
 the gold) they fine." Neither silver nor gold is fined in the mine 
 itself. The fining of the»e metals is mentioned as another in- 
 stance of man's ability, distinct from his searching them out in 
 the mine. Arabia Felix had anciently its mines of gold, Ps. Ixxii. 
 15, '•■ to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba;" in the Septua- 
 gint and Arabick versions, " the gold of Aral)ia." Sheba was the 
 ancient name of Arabia Felix. Job, who dwelt in Arabia Petrea, 
 coidd be no stranger to the riches of that neighbouring country. 
 Scott. 
 
 2. — brass] He probably means the natural or red brass, 
 which is copper. The modem brass, which the French name 
 yellow copper, is factitious, being made of copper fused with the 
 calamine stone. Scoll. 
 
 out of' Ike stone.] Witli which it is mixed and incor- 
 porated in the earth ; but by fire and the art of the metallist is 
 separated from it, and taken out of it. Poole. 
 
 3. He selleth an end to darkness, &C.] " Tlie stones of dark- 
 ness," and " the shadow of death," must surely mean the metal- 
 lick ore in the deep and dark parts of the earth. The agent then 
 who searcheth them out must be man. He also it is whose pride 
 and presumption " setteth an end to darkness ;" that is, contracts 
 its bounds by carrying light into the subterraneous caverns when 
 he works the mines. Scott. 
 
 and searcheth out all perfection :] Or, more cl^ly^ ". he 
 
 SURELY there is il a vein for the silver, Christ 
 and a place for gold ivhere they fine it. about isga . 
 
 2 Iron is taken out of the II earth, aad ;i or,-.— j^ 
 brass is molten out qfihe. stone. y or^* 
 
 3 He setteth an end to darkness, and dun! 
 searcheth out all perfection : the stones of 
 darkness, and the shadow of death. 
 
 4 The flood breaketh out fi-omthe hi- 
 habitant ; even the u-aters forgotten of the 
 foot : they are dried up, they are gone 
 away from men. '<^ 4^ ''■'^ *'■ 
 
 5 As for the earth, out of it cometh 
 
 searcheth to every extremity the stones of darkness, &c." that is, 
 he follows the vein of metaUick ore as far as it goes. Scott. 
 
 4. The jlood hreaheth out &c.] As the author of the book of 
 Job was perhaps the most concise writer that ever appeared in 
 the world, and his language the most concise; he just gives a 
 glimpse of things, and leaves the rest to be supplied by the ima- 
 gination of the reader. His thoughts are, like tlie gold and 
 jewels he speaks of, precious in themseUes : but we must feme- 
 times labour hard and go deep for them. Of this we have a iar- 
 ther proof in what follows ; where he proceeds U>- give another 
 instance of the daring spirit and ingenuity of mankind. I low 
 they cross the broad rivers and arms of the sea for commerce ; 
 where there is no path for the foot of man ; where they lessen to 
 the sight, and are tossed upon the waves. This appears to be 
 the meaning of the fourth verse, which may be literally rendered 
 thus; " the flood interrupts from the stranger; forgotten of the 
 foot, they appear less than men, they are tossed ;" their feet for- 
 get them, and are no longer serviceable to them in dus very dif- 
 ferent way of travelling ; they lessen to the sight, as they go ofl' 
 farther and farther from the shores ; and lastly, are tossed up and 
 down upon the billows. The same expressiort is n£ed,fi. csiLS?. 
 Peters. ^r ~ ~ :.ij 
 
 Otherwise, it is evident that this chapter of Job reUrtes to mine- 
 ralogy and mining: thus then I would explain this ditEcidt verse: 
 " A torrent bursteth forth from the rubbish, forgotten, ' not 
 thought of, or in a word unexpectedly. " By the foot," that is, an 
 engine worked by the foot, " they are drawn off, by man they are 
 removetl." The following quotation from Mr. Catcott's treatise on 
 the Deluge is an excellent though undesigned comment oa this 
 passage : " The vast profusion of water, tiiat sometimes ensues 
 the breaking up of the strata in coal-pits, is well known to those 
 who are in the least conversant in that affair ; and what amazing 
 quantities are drawn off from deep mines, either by drains, or 
 levels, or raised by engines, is also well known : nay, in digjjing 
 common wells and ponds, in places where there are no sprmgs 
 above ground, it frequendy happens that such a glut of water 
 issues forth, as to endanger the bves of the workmen." Park- 
 hurst. 
 
 5. As for the earth, &c.] Here he appears to represent the 
 dangers to which miners are exposed, and which avarice is bold 
 enough to venture through. The surface of the earth producetli 
 com and other fruits for the sustenance of man and beast : but 
 underneatli it is tume<l to be as it were fire. Its caverns abound 
 with inflammable minerals, for instance sulphur. The sul- 
 phureous air in mines has been known sometimes to take fire 
 from the candles of the workmen, and to destroy the miners. 
 Or perhaps he referreth to the " slime-pits" in " the vale of Sid- 
 dim," near the place which was afterwards turned into a lake, 
 and called the Dead sea. Those slime-pits were holes, out of 
 which issued a liquiil bitumen or naphtha, an oily substance. 
 Hanway, in his Travels into Persia, describes some fountains of 
 naphtha, which were actually burning near Baku on the western 
 coast of the Caspian sea. Chaldea abounded widi them. The 
 walls of Babylon were cemented with the bitumen or sHme. 
 Scott. 
 
 5 — 11. As for the earth, oyt (fit cometh bread: 8iC.] Job con- 
 tinues in the following verses to give farther instances of the
 
 Tliere is a hiiowledge 
 
 JOB. 
 
 of natural things. 
 
 Brforo bread : and under it is turned up as it were 
 
 CHBIvST^ lot M'JHV. 
 
 About IS'JD. 
 
 n Or. 
 
 gold ore. 
 
 y Or. 
 jfirU. 
 
 6 The stones of it are the place of sap- 
 phires : and it hath li dust of gold. 
 
 7 Tfiere is a path which no fowl know- 
 eth, and which the vulture's eye hath not 
 seen : 
 
 8 The lion's whelps have not trodden 
 it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. 
 
 9 He putteth forth his hand upon the 
 II rock ; he overtumeth the mountains by 
 the roots. 
 
 10 He cutteth out rivers among the 
 rocks ; and his eye seeth every precious 
 thing. 
 
 daring and yet successful attempts of mankind to provide them- 
 selves with every necessary and convenience of life : such as corn 
 for bread, ver. 5 ; fountains of water in the dry places, where 
 they are wanted, cut out of the hard rock, ver. 1 ; and rapid 
 rivers restrained within their channels to prevent tlie mischiefs 
 of their overflow, ver. II : to which he adds again, gold, and sap- 
 phire, and other precious stones, dug deep from the caverns of 
 the earth, where " the lion's foot never trod, nor the vulture's 
 eye hath reached," ver. 7, 8. In short, that there is scarcely any 
 thing so concealed but wliat the industry of man had brought to 
 light, wisdom alone excepted ; for all this is designed to introduce 
 tlie great question, ver. 12, " But where shall wisdom be found ? 
 and where is the place of understanding.''" Peters. In the notes 
 which follow, to the end of the 1 1th verse, a different interpreta- 
 tion is given of some parts of tliis obscure passage. 
 
 6. The stones o/' it are tlie place &c.] Here is the temptation 
 to risk the aforementioned dangers : the rocky earth in those 
 subterraneous caverns is the country and birth-place of sapphires, 
 and other precious stones. There also men find glebes of gold, 
 or golden ore. Scott. 
 
 7, 8. There is a path &c.n These two verses are a poetical il- 
 lustration of man's intrepidity in penetrating these dangerous re- 
 gions of darkness. The fiercest and most daring creatures of 
 prey would not venture into them : " A path which the fowls of 
 prey know not, &c." He means, the path which leads to the 
 place of sapphires and golden ore; the way into the mines. Scott. 
 
 9—11. He puttelh forth &c.] These verses appear to de- 
 scribe the proiligious labour of working a mine : for the effect of 
 the operations here specified is, man's bringing forth to light 
 the thing that is hid ; that is, the hidden treasure of the earth. 
 Scoit. 
 
 -— he overlurtielk the mountains &c.] The operation, de- 
 scribed here, seems to be the breaking in pieces and dislodging, 
 in order to come at the ore, the hardest flint or marble ; which 
 are the roots, that is, the foundation of the mountain. Or per- 
 haps the poet means a still greater work ; such as Pliny, quoted 
 by Schultens, strongly paint.* : " Yet the labour of hewing the 
 rock is comparatively easy. For there is an earth compounded of 
 a kind of clay ami grit that is almost impenetrable. This the 
 miners assail with iron wedges and mallets. Nothing is imagined 
 to be harder, except the insatiable hunger after gold, which of all 
 things is the hardest to subdue. Having finished this labour, they 
 cut the props of their arch-work, the prelude and signal of the 
 fall of the mountain. The sentinel on the top of the mountain 
 pcrceivmg the ground under his feet to sink, immediately gives 
 notice of It to the workmen below by his voice and repeated 
 thumps. Away he flies. The mountain splits, and falls with a 
 contmued thundermg sound, and an incredible blast of wind. 
 Ihe victonous mmers gaze upon the overthrow of nature." Scott 
 10. He cultelh out rivers &c.] The next operation is to clear 
 away the stones and rubbish, that " his eye may see every pre- 
 cious ttung;" Uiat is, lay bare the precious gems and the ''old. 
 hodvT^'t-'' which this is accomplished, is turning a farge 
 body of water upo.i the rmns. But so wonderful is man's in- 
 
 11 He bindeth the floods tfrom over- 
 flowing ; and the thing that is hid bringeth 
 he fortn to liglit. 
 
 12 But where shall wisdom be found? 
 and where is the place of understanding ? 
 
 13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; 
 neither is it found in the land of the living. 
 
 14 * The depth saith, It is not in me : 
 and the sea saith, It is not with me. 
 
 15 t It '' cannot be gotten for gold, nei- 
 ther shall silver be weighed Jbr the price 
 thereof. 
 
 16 It cannot be valued with the gold of 
 Ophu', with the precious onyx, or the sap- 
 phire. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1520. 
 
 t Hel). 
 yVunt wee}>- 
 ing. 
 
 • Rom. II. 
 
 33, 34. 
 
 fHeb. 
 Fine gold 
 shall not he 
 c.ivenjor it. 
 *• Prov. 3. 
 H.&8. II. 
 19.&I6.I6. 
 
 vention, and so indefatigable his avarice, that he cuts a passage 
 even through rocks to collect and convey a strong stream down 
 to the miue for that purpose. " To wash the ruins," says Pliny, 
 " they bring rivers from the tops of mountains a hundred miles 
 off. They carry aqueducts over the valleys, and sonjetimes hew 
 a way for those pipes through the rocks : they gather the waters 
 into large reservoirs, make .sluice-gates to those reservoirs ; then 
 let oat such a torrent as bears down the largest stones with the 
 violence of its course." Scott. 
 
 11. He bindeth the floods &c.] There remaiiieth still a third 
 operation to exercise the art of man. The subterraneous waters 
 sometimes burst into the mine in great abundance. These he 
 must tlioroughly drain off by machines, before " he can bring 
 forth into lijht the hidden treasures." Scott. 
 
 l.S — 20. Man knmveth not the price thereof ; &c.] In the in- 
 termediate verses betwixt the first and last proposal of this great 
 question, there is made a beautiful repetition of several of the 
 particulars which had been mentioned before, and a fine turn 
 given to each ; " The depth saith. It is not in me : and the sea 
 saith. It is not with me :" as if Job had said. Men may dig into 
 the bowels of the eai-th, and find gold and treasures there ; but 
 they will be as far from finding wisdom as ever : and could they 
 traverse the great sea itself, as they run across a river or a strait, 
 yet they would learn that wisdom is not to be acquired in the 
 way of commerce or exchange. One thing we cannot but remark 
 from this passage, how early the race of men had learned to set 
 a value on those precious trinkets which are here so lavishly ex- 
 posed to view. Peters. 
 
 15. — neither shall silver be weighed Jbr the price thereof. 1^ 
 Compare Gen. xliii. 21. The practice of weighing money, says 
 Mons. Volney, is customary and general in Syria, in Egypt, and 
 in all Turkey. No piece, however light, is refused : the trades- 
 man takes out his money-weights, and values it. It is the same 
 as in the time of Abraham, when he bought his bxirying-ground. 
 Parkhursl. 
 
 16. // cannot be valued tvith Ike gold of Ophir,'] That is, esti- 
 mated, or compared with it. The word strictly signifies, to be 
 strewed, or laid on the ground, as the ancient mercliants laid their 
 commodities to be bartered or exchanged for others: a method of 
 traffick still practised by some nations to this day ; as, for in- 
 stance, by the Moors and Negroes of Africa, in bartering salt and 
 various trinkets for gold. Parkhursl. 
 
 the precious onyx,'] It was observed on ver. 1, that Arabia 
 
 Felix, now called Yaman, had formerly its golden mines. It still 
 boasteth its gems. We are assured by an eyewitness, that pre- 
 cious stones for rings and bracelets are brought thence in great 
 quantities, to the annual fair held at Mecca during the last ten or 
 twelve days of the stay of the pilgrims there. 
 
 It is doubtful what gem is meant by that which we translate 
 the onyx : the epithet precious, as Schultens remarks, gives a 
 distinction to it; which the onyx, a sort of agate, does not merit. 
 The Chaldee interpreter renders it beryls. The beryl of the an- 
 cients was a transparent gem of a sea-green colour. Scott. 
 
 ■— ike sapphire.'} The sapphire is of a beautiful sky-blue.
 
 Bi^f^isS^l^lm 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1520. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 vessels of 
 fine g'jl'i. - 
 II Or, 
 BaTnoih. 
 
 Yet. 12. 
 
 (I Or, 
 
 heaven. 
 
 17 The ' ^otr'aticf' tlie 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII, XXIX 
 
 ,r..-lrfi ■ 
 
 g.^iix aiiu Liic crystal 
 and the exchange of it shall not 
 
 cannot 
 equal it; 
 
 be for II jewels of fine gold 
 
 18 No mention shall be made of || coral, 
 or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is 
 above rubies. 
 
 19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal 
 it, neither shall it be valued with pure 
 gold. 
 
 20 " Whence then cometh wisdom ? and 
 where is the place of understanding ? 
 
 21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all 
 living, and kept close from the fowls of 
 the II air. 
 
 22 Destruction and death say. We have 
 heard the fame thereof with our ears. 
 
 23 God understandeth the way thereof, 
 and he knoweth the place thereof. 
 
 24 For he looketh to the ends of the 
 earth, and seeth under the whole hea- 
 ven; 
 
 Some will have the Hebrew word to signify the ruby; others the 
 carbuncle, which is a stone of the ruby kind, very rare, and of a 
 rich glowing blood colour. Scolt. 
 
 17- — the cryslaQ Or glass, according to the Greek, Latin, and 
 S3rriack versions: no wonder that it is here mentiuned with gold, 
 and other things of great value, since howe\er cori'mon and 
 cheap glass is now among us, yet it is very conceiA able, that iu 
 the age and country of Job, this beautiful artificial crj'stal was 
 very scarce, and of consequence highly precious. Parkliurst. 
 
 jewe/.iofjiiiegoldr] Scmie ornaments or vessels of gold 
 
 that were of high value for the workmanship as well as for the 
 materials. Scotf. 
 
 18. No mention shall be made of coral, "^ According to Pliny, 
 coral was highly esteemed among the ancients. " The Indians 
 value coral as highly as we value pearls, which come from India. 
 The men esteem these gems, as our women do Indian pearls. 
 Their priests and predictors attribute to it something sacred, and 
 affiiTn that it has the virtue of protecting from dangers those who 
 carry it. So that two things contribute to render it valuable, 
 superstition and beauty." Experience confirms the relation of 
 Pliny : for often in that coimtrj' a collar of coral sells for a price 
 equal to one of pearls. Script, illust. Expos. Ind. 
 
 22. Destruction and death sat/, Stc.'] By " destruction and death" 
 must be meant the dead: this interpretation gives a clear and 
 natural sense to the passage. Job had before told us that wisdom 
 and her place were " hid from the eyes of all living," ver. 21, and 
 therefore whitlier should we go to look for it, but among the 
 dead ? " Dcatli and destruction," two synonymous words, are 
 used probably, after the Hebrew manner, to increase the signifi- 
 cation, and to denote a long race of their dead ancestors from the 
 beginning of the world downward. 
 
 We have here then an answer to the great inquiry, " Where 
 shall wisdom be found, and where is the place of understanding.'" 
 " Destruction and death say," that is, the generations of the 
 dead have told us, '' we have heard the fame tliereof with our 
 ears." We have had something relating to tliis question about 
 wisdom delivered down to us by tradition from our forefathers: 
 amongst others, these important particulars, that " God under- 
 standeth the way thereof," ver. 23 ; for His knowledge reaches 
 to all things and places: " He looketh to tlie ends of tlie earth, 
 and seeth under the whole heaven," ver. 24; and that with a 
 wisdom so inlallible, and a power so uncontrollable, as to give 
 a certain weight and measure to things the most uncertain and 
 inconstant witll respect to us, the winds and waters; " to make 
 the weight for the winds; and He weighetli the waters liy mea- 
 sure," :ven"26."^ We have had it moreover delivered down to us, 
 
 Befori 
 CHKlSt 
 about 1520. 
 
 !l Or, 
 num'ftr U. 
 
 excellent gift of God. 
 
 25 To make the weight for the winds; 
 and he weigheth the waters by measure. 
 
 26 When he made a decree for tiie rain, 
 and a way for the lightning of the thun- 
 der: 
 
 27 Then did he see it, and ll declare it; 
 he prepared it, yea, and searched it Out. 
 
 28 And unto man he said, Behold, "^ the " ?«. m. 
 fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to p";,,. , ^ 
 depart from evil is understanding. & 9. lo. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 Job bcmoattelh himself of his farmer prosperity and''<f 
 lumour. '■ ' 
 
 MOREOVER Job t continued his pa- t Heb. 
 rable, and said, tiring. 
 
 2 Oh that I were as in months past, as 
 in the days xihen God preserved me; 
 
 S When his jj candle shined upon my i Or, 
 head, and xvlien by his light I walked ''""^• 
 through darkness; 
 
 says Job, in the same traditional way, tliat this infinitely wise 
 and glorious Being, when He made the world, not only displayed 
 His own wisdom in the admirable contrivance of it, but at the 
 same time declared what was the wisdom proper to man, the bert 
 and truest wisdom to which he could attain ; which was, to ao- 
 knowlciige and adore his Maker, and to pay all due obedience to 
 His laws, ver. 26 — 28. " Unto man He said. Behold, the fear 
 of the Lord, that is wisdom ; and to de|)art from evil is under- 
 standing." 
 
 We see now the reason why this holy man, amidst all the cala- 
 mities that had overwhelmed him like a fioofi, still persists in that 
 well-weighed and generous resolution, which he expiresses in the 
 foregoing chapter, and which points out the connexion between 
 these two chapters; " Till I die, I will not remove mine integrity 
 from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: 
 my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live." He then adds, 
 " Let mine enemy be a-s the wicked, and he that risetb up against 
 me a-s the unrighteous. For what is the hope of the hy|x>critp, 
 though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul ?" chap. 
 xxvii. 5 — 8. Well might Job thus reason and resolve, who had 
 leiu-ncd from the Divine Oracle this important lesson; that, be 
 circumstances or events of things what they will in this world, 
 yet " to fear God is wisdom, and to depart from evil is under- 
 standing." This he was sure of, because God had said it. And 
 here therefore he fixes his foot, where every wise man gladly will, 
 every man of sense and sobriety, wljo, like .Job and his friends, 
 has ever experienced the embarrassments of his own reasoning«j«i' 
 upon a Divine revelation. 
 
 What the traditions of their ancestors were to these men, that 
 the Bible is to us : and happy were it for us if we paid it the 
 same pious regard; if we would give it its due weight in <leter- 
 mining our religious controver.>nes; be studious to enrich our 
 ininds with the knowledge of its awful truths, and to form our 
 lives by the simphcity of its admirable precepts: if we would 
 allow these sacred books the privilege, at le;ist, wliich we so sel- 
 dom deny to others of any merit, the privilege of a serious and 
 attentive reading! we should then find that they want nothinjf 
 to recommend them, but their being thoroughly understood. 
 Peters. 
 
 Chap. XXIX. Job breaks out into a passionate wisli foe the 
 retiun of his past felicity, which he describes at large, together 
 witll the good uses that he made of it, and the reverence he im- 
 pressed on all ranks of people. Bp. Stock. 
 
 Ver. 3. Jflien /lis candle shined upon m^ head,'] The candle or 
 lamp is probably an allusion to the lamps which hung from the
 
 Job calleth to mind his 
 
 JOB. 
 
 Jbrvier prosperity and honour, 
 
 ■UMl I 
 
 Btfor* 4 As 1 was in the days of my youth, 
 c"jVi^ when the secret of God was upon my ta- 
 bernacle ; 
 
 5 When tlie Almighty um yet with me, 
 when my children -were about me ; 
 
 6 When I washed my steps with butter, 
 and the rock poured t me out rivers of oil ; 
 
 7 When I went out to the gate through 
 the city, -when I prepared my seat in the 
 street ! 
 
 8 The young men saw me, and hid 
 themselves : and the aged arose, and stood 
 up. 
 
 9 The princes refrained talking, and 
 laid tlieir hand on their mouth. 
 
 f Heh. 
 viitk me. 
 
 ceiling of the banqueting rooms of the wealthy Arabs. The lat- 
 ter clause, •' by his light I walked, &c." refers to the Eastern 
 practice of guiding caravans at night by torches, carried aloft be- 
 fore each division of the travellers. Scott. 
 
 4. — when the seeret of God was upon my tabernacle /^ When 
 there was a secret blessing of Gml ujwn me and my family, 
 protecting, directing, and prospering us in all our affairs ; 
 whereas now there is a visible ciu-se of God on me and mine. 
 Poole. 
 
 C. When I washed mu steps with butler,'] When I abounded in 
 •11 sorts of blessings, wnich is often signified by this and the like 
 phrases ; as Gen. xlix. 1 1 ; Deut. xxxiii. 24 ; Job xx. 17; Ps. Ixxxi. 
 U). When I had such numerous herds of cattle, and consequently 
 such plenty of butter, that, if I pleased, I might have washed my 
 leet with it. Poole. 
 
 and the rock poured vie out rivers of oil ;] Cattle and olive 
 
 gi-oves made the principal wealth of the Arabs. The best olives 
 grow upon rocky mountains. Hence these bold figures to express 
 uncommon felicity. Scott. 
 
 7. IVhcn I went &c.~\ Having described his domestick happi- 
 ness, he proceeds to represent the honours paid him in publick 
 life. This representation is judiciously intermingled with an ac- 
 count of his impartial and intrepid administration of justice; 
 which is a noble answer to tlie accusation of Eliphaz, chap. xxii. 
 6—9. Scott. 
 
 the gale"} The court of justice, where was the meeting 
 
 of the elders to try causes. Bp. Stock. See the notes on Gen. 
 xxiii. 10, and on chap. v. 4. 
 
 Khcn I prepared my seat in the street .'] When I sat on 
 
 the bench in the open place where the people are wont to have 
 their causes heard. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Sitting on a cushion is an expression of honour in the East : 
 and the preparing of a seat for a person of distinction seems to 
 mean, laying things of this kind on a place where such an one is 
 to sit. When Job speaks of " his preparing his seat," it is ex- 
 tremuly natural to understand him of his sending his servants to 
 lay a cushion and a carpet on one of the publick scats, or some- 
 tliing of that sort, as Sir Jolm Chardin supposes. Manner. 
 
 S. — hid thaiuulves :] Being struck with such reverence of 
 Job's person, that they durst not appear openly before hun. 
 Caryl. 
 
 The slavish homage of prostration to princes and great men, 
 which prevailed in Egypt, Persia, and the East in general, and 
 still subsists there, was unknown in Arabia at that time. Though 
 Job was " tlie greatest of all the men of the East," we do not 
 find any such adoration paid to him by his contemporaries in 
 the zenith of his prosperity, among the marks of respect here 
 so minutely described. "When the young men saw him, they 
 ^id themselves," in token of reverence; " the aged arose, and 
 stood, up ,n his presence : " the princes refrained from talking, 
 and laid their hand upon thetr mouth ; the nobles held theu- 
 
 f^lw . V\^- *!' ^''I'"'"" *'"'^ ^^ ^P"l'«- All this was 
 lughlj lopectful indeed, but stUl it was manly, and shewed no 
 
 10 t The nobles held their peace, and cjuusx 
 their tongue cleaved to the roof of their about isiio. 
 mouth. t Hci). 
 
 11 When the ear heard me, then it bless- ^f""?, 
 
 , ' . of tlie nnbtet 
 
 ed me ; and when the eye saw me, it gave u.«j im. 
 witness to me : 
 
 12 Because I delivered the poor that 
 cried, and the fatherless, and him thai had 
 none to help him. 
 
 13 The blessing of him that was ready 
 to perish came upon me : and I caused the 
 widow's heart to sing for joy. 
 
 14 I put on righteousness, and it cloth- 
 ed me : my judgment xvas as a robe and a 
 diadem. 
 
 cringing or servile adulation. And so Sir WDliam Jones de- 
 scribes the genuine Arabs at the present day as a majestick race, 
 who were never conquered, and who have retained their primi- 
 tive manners, features, and character, with scarcely any alteration. 
 Peters, Dr. Hales. 
 
 11. — it gave witness to me:] They who saw me bore testi- 
 mony to my uprightness and the integrity of my heart. Chap- 
 peloiv. 
 
 13. — ready to perish] Through false accusations, whereby 
 his estate or life was in danger. I caused the widow's heart to 
 sing for joy, on account of her great and unexpected deliverance. 
 Clark. 
 
 14. / put on righteousness, and it clothed me : See] In all his 
 proceedings, as a magistrate, or a man in authority. Job sought 
 to do justice to all. Caryl. 
 
 Where silence against tbiil and false imputations may be inter- 
 preted a confession, there the protestation of a man's own inno- 
 cency is ever just, and sometimes necessary. When others do ii9 
 open wrong, it is not vanity, but charity, to do ourselves open 
 right: and whatsoever appearance of folly or vain boasting there 
 is in so doing, they are chargeable with all that compel us there- 
 unto, and not we. " I am become a fool in glorying," saith St. 
 Paul, "ye have compelled me," 2Cor. xii. IJ. It was neither 
 pride nor passion in Job, but such a compulsion as this, that 
 made him so often in this book proclaim his own righteousness. 
 See chap. xxii. 6, and the note there. Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 it clothed me: &c.] This metaphor of clothing is much 
 
 used in the Scriptures in this notion, as applied to the soul and 
 things appertaining to the soul. See Ps. cix. 29 ; Isa. xi. 5 ; Rom. 
 xiii. 14; 1 Tiin. ii. 9, 10 ; Eph. vi. 14,&c. By his speech of " put- 
 ting on righteousness and judgment as a robe and a diadem," Job 
 signifies that the glory and pride, which kings and potentates are 
 wont to take in their crowns and sceptres and royal vestments, is 
 not more than the glory and honour w-hich he placed in doing 
 justice and judgment. He considered that to be true honour, 
 not which is reflected from these empty marks and ensigns of 
 dignity, but which springs from those virtues, whereof these are 
 but dumb remembrances. " He put on righteousness, and it 
 clothed him :" and " judgment" was to him, what to others " a 
 robe and a diadem" are, honourable and delightful. 
 
 In this and the three following verses we have to consider as 
 laid down to us in the person, and from the example of Job, some 
 of the principal duties which attend any situation of eminence or 
 authority, either in church or state ; more especially any office ap- 
 pertaining to the administration of justice, ver. 1 4 : secondly, a 
 forwardness in the w-orks of mercy, compassion, and charity, ver. 
 1 5 : thirdly, diligence in examination, ver. 1 () : and fourthly, cou- 
 rage and resolution in executing, ver. 1 ". Bp. Sanderson. 
 
 a diadem.] The usual headdress of the Turks, Persians, 
 
 Arabs, and other Eastern nations to this day, is the turban, which 
 consists of a cap, and a sash of fine linen or silk wound round the 
 bottom of the cap ; and which appears from the present passage 
 to have been worn iii the East as early as the time of Job. In
 
 and the "worthy use 
 
 CHAP. XXIX, XXX. 
 
 he had made of it. 
 
 CHRIST ^"^ ^ ^^^ ^y^^ *^ ^^^ blind, and feet "was 
 about V^yo. I to the lame. 
 
 16 1 n-as a father to the poor : and 
 
 the cause -ii:]uch I knew not I searched 
 
 out. 
 fHeb. 17 And I brake t the jaws of the wick- 
 
 *^h,"or, ed, and t plucked the spoil out of his 
 
 tKegritulers. teeth. 
 
 least'. 18 Then I said, I shall die in my nest, 
 
 and I shall multiply my days as the sand. 
 t Heb. ig ]Yjy root "was t spread out by the wa- 
 
 ters, and the dew lay all night upon my 
 
 branch, 
 t Heb. yo My glory tvas t fresh in me, and my 
 
 tltieb. bow was t renewed in my hand. 
 tkanued. 21 Unto mc meti gave ear, and waited, 
 
 and kept silence at my counsel. 
 
 2'2 After my words they spake not again ; 
 
 and my speech dropped upon them. 
 
 23 And they waited for me as for the 
 
 Is. Ixii. 3, it is used for the royal turban ; and iu Zech. iii. 5, for 
 the hif^h priest's. Parkhursl. 
 
 This beautiful manner of speaking is still preserved among the 
 Arabs. One of their proverbs is, " Knowledge is a diadem to a 
 )<iung person, and a chain of gold about liis neck." Scott. 
 
 1 8. Then I said, I s/uill die in niy nesl, &C.3 Then did I please 
 myself in the confidence of my continuing happiness; and durst 
 1 i)ldly resolve, I shall die in peace and fulness oi days in my own 
 liouse. Bp. HalL 
 
 The image is taken from the eagle, who builds his nest on the 
 1 inmit of a rock. Security and ease ai-e the points of resemblance 
 tended. Scott, 
 
 19. — the dew lot/ all night upon nifi hranchi^ It is well known 
 tliat in the hot Eastern countries, where it rarely rains during the 
 i^ummer months, the copious dews, whicli fall there diunng the 
 night, contribute greatly to the nourishment of vegetables in ge- 
 neral. And " this dew," says Hasselquist, speaking of the exces- 
 -ively hot weather in Egypt, " is particularly serviceable to the 
 
 «s', wliich would otherwise never be able to resist the heat; but 
 llh this assistance they thrive well, and blossom, and ripen theur 
 iViiit." Parkhurst. 
 
 -20. — mij bow was renciied in my hand.'] A bow always bent 
 an image employed to represent unabated power and strength. 
 • licnmullei: 
 
 22. — my speech dropped upon them.2 Like rain, refreshing 
 I em. Fragments to Calmet. 
 
 z3. — as for the rain; — the latter rain.] In the foregoing 
 
 , LTse, the soft insinuating force of his political and rebgious in- 
 
 .-tiuction was compai-ed to the dropping dew. Here the copious- 
 
 icss of his eloquence is likened to the abundant rains which fall 
 
 autumn in those countries ; and the high acreptableness of it, 
 
 ;.i tlie avidity witli which the earth, burnt up by the sunmier's 
 
 drought, devours those rains. Tlie alteration which they pro- 
 
 'iice in the withered fields is so astonishingly great, that Dr. 
 
 aissell scruples not to call it " a resuirection of vegetable nature." 
 
 The same ingenious, author infonus us, that the first autumnal 
 
 .Ins fall about the middle of September; the sec(.nd, or latter, 
 
 ,out twenty or thirty days after. Tiie first are inconsiderable, 
 
 i..; latter foil in great abundance. Scolt. Concerning w hat are 
 
 usually called the former and the latter rains, see the notes on 
 
 Deut. xi. It; xxviii. 12. 
 
 24. //' / laughed on them, kc] Or sported and jested with 
 them, that, is, carried myself familiaily and pleasantly w itli them, 
 it was so acceptable to them to see me w ell pleased with them, 
 that thgy could scarce believe their senses. Yet my famdiai-ity 
 did not breed in them contempt or pres\miption, so as to grieve 
 me or make my countenance tall, as it does in cases of shame or 
 
 V(,L. I. 
 
 rain; and they opened their mouth wide r^n[\-^ 
 as for the latter rain. about 152a 
 
 24 7/" I laughed on them, they believed 
 it not ; and the light of my countenance 
 they cast not down. 
 
 2.5 I chose out their way, and sat chief, 
 and dwelt as a king in the army, as one 
 that comfbrteth the mourners, 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 1 Job's honour is turned into extreme contempt. 15 His 
 prosperiti/ into calamity. 
 
 BUT now they that are t younger than I ^il^'^ 
 have me in derision, whose fathers I dayuhanT. 
 would have disdained to have set with the 
 dogs of my flock. 
 
 2 Yea, whereto might the strength of 
 their hands irrojit me, in whom old age was 
 perished ? , . . , t . ■ . S St ' a 
 
 3 For want and famine they were 11 soli- ,^gh" 
 
 sorrow, (ien. iv. 5. They were very cautious not to abuse my 
 smiles, or to give me any occasion to change my counteoance or i 
 carriage towards tJiem. Poole. •« 
 
 25. I chose out their n-ay, &c.] The phrase of "choosing oiit\ 
 their way," denotes supremacy both in the state and in the afiaiM 
 of religion, Exod. xviii. 20. a 
 
 The next sentence represents him encamped witli his subjectili] 
 on some military expedition, with tlie authority of a royal gene-| 
 ral : " I sliall pitch my tent as a king in the army. " 
 
 The last clause, " as one that comforteth the mourners," may 
 mean, animating his troops when they were dispirited : or, in a 
 larger and more noble sense, his being the fatlier of his people, 
 ever touched with their distresses, and ready to exert his utmost 
 ability for their relief. Scott. 
 
 Whilst Job was in prosperity, he was respected by all ; but as 
 soon as he fell into adversity, every one forsook him. Thus it i 
 happens every day: men make their court to those that have I 
 riches, and honours, and credit in the world; but abandon thcra aa^% 
 soon as they are deprived of these advantages: and virtue is .r 
 commonly but little esteemed when it is not attended with-« 
 worldly prosperity. The opmions of men are extremely vain 
 and unreasonable : we ought not, therefore, to make any great 
 account of them, nor buikl our happiness upon them. OsterraU. 
 
 Chap. XXX. .Job pauits his miserable reverse of tortunc, tlie 
 universal contempt into which he is fallen, the dreadful and un- 
 ceasing torments of his disease ; breathing at the same time a pe- 
 tition to God for mercy, antl begging tliat his persecutiorv might 
 not be extended to his very ashes. Bp. Slock. 
 
 The section, ver. 1 — 14, appears to be a strong and spirit«l de- 
 scription of those villanous Arabs, who, when Job was in his 
 prosperity, h.nd felt the severity of his justice, and tied ijito the 
 lurkingpiaces of the desert 'U|)on the lo.ss of Ill's authority, 
 these miscreants came out of theii- dens to revenge Llieins.lves 
 upon him by tlie most scurrilous abuse. In drawing tlicir cha- 
 racter, he insists much on the misery of their habitation and way 
 of living, as circumstances very expressive of tlie turpitude and 
 barbarity of their manners. Sc^Al. 
 
 \er. i. iiounger] The vast respect paid to tlicir ekler^ hj 
 
 the Eastern people, quickened their sensibility of contempt Ironi 
 their junior*. Scoit. 
 
 — ^ nhuxi fathers I would hare disdained to have sei mtJt Uie 
 doas of mil JhK-k.] Whose fathers I woidd have disdained to make 
 the keepers of those dogs which tended upon my flocks. Bp. llall. 
 
 2. Yeuyiihercto might the strength of llieir luindx prti/il mt,] For 
 what use could 1 make of tliem, who had wholly lost their time, 
 and lived idly and nnijrofitably ? Bp. Hall. 
 
 3. For want and famine they were solitary;'] Though tliey 
 
 6D
 
 JoFs honour is turned 
 
 JOB. 
 
 into extreme contempt. 
 
 Befure 
 CHKIST 
 ■bout Ii20. 
 
 t Heb. 
 t/citermght. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 holes. 
 
 fHcb. 
 
 men tifno 
 name. 
 •Ps.3S.15. 
 & C9. 12. 
 t Heb. 
 and tvith- 
 liolil not 
 tpuilejrom 
 my/ace. 
 
 tary; fleeing into the wilderness t in former 
 time desolate and waste. 
 
 4 Who cut lip mallows by the bushes, 
 and juniper rootsjor their meat. 
 
 5 They were driven forth from among 
 men, (they cried after them as after a 
 
 thief;) 
 
 6 To dwell in the cliflfe of the valleys, in 
 t caves of the earth, and in the rocks. 
 
 7 Among the bushes they brayed ; un- 
 der the nettles they were gathered toge- 
 ther. 
 
 8 Thej/ 'were children of fools, yea, chil- 
 dren of t base men : they were viler than 
 the earth. 
 
 9 • And now am I their song, yea, I am 
 their byword. 
 
 10 They abhor me, they flee far from 
 me, t and spare not to spit in my face. 
 
 were in want, and ready to perish with hunger, yet no man could 
 look after them, or pay them any regard. Cari/l. 
 
 Jiffing into the ivilclerness in former time desolate and n'oste."] 
 
 These words would be clearer, if tliey were rendered thus/t Flee- 
 ing lately into the wilderness which is desolate and waste ; or, 
 into the wilderness, unto desolation and destruction. Dr. Dttrell. 
 
 4. li'ko cut up maUirws hi) the liushes^ The word, here trans- 
 lated " mallow," seems to signify a herb of a saltish taste, which 
 grows in salt places, whether near the sea, or in the desert. 
 Athenaeus says, it is the food of the miserable. Script, illusl. 
 Expos. Ind. The plant is descriljed by Job as " cropped upon 
 the shrub ;" which exactly agrees with what the Arab writers 
 say of the Maluck or Halimus, namely, that they ate the tops of 
 it. Parkhursl. 
 
 Biddulpli says, that " he saw many poor people gathering mal- 
 lows and three-leaved grass, and asked them what they did with 
 it ; and they answered, that it was all their food, and that they 
 boiled it, and did eat it. Then we took pity on them, and gave them 
 bread, which they received very joyfully, and blessed God that 
 there was bread in the world." This was in Syria, not far from 
 Aleppo. Whether mallows was one of the herbs Job precisely 
 meant, may be doubted. As Biddulph went to Jerusalem some 
 time before the Bible was undertaken by the command of King 
 James I. the observation he made of the poor people's eating 
 mallows in Syria, might engage the learned translators so to ren- 
 der the word used in this passage of Job. Hanner. 
 
 — — and juniper roots for their meat.'] Rather, the Genista or 
 Spanish broom. I cannot find any modem instance of the root of 
 this slu-ub being eaten for food ; but it is certain tliat the shoots, 
 leaves, barks, and roots of other shrubs and trees, have been eaten 
 among many nations in times and places of famine and scarcity. 
 Parkhurst. 
 
 5. They were driven forth from among men,"} This verse dis- 
 covers the true cause why the men before spoken of lived solitary 
 in the wilderness; their retirement was not voluntary but com- 
 pulsory. Caryl. 
 
 They were cast out of all civil society, as pests not to be en- 
 dure<l: and whenever they were discovered lurking about towns, 
 an outcry was raised against them as against the pilfering Arabs 
 of the desert; with whom, it is Ukely, they herded. Scolt. 
 
 6. To dwell — in caves of the earth, &:c.2 -St. Jerome says, that 
 ine southern parts of Judea are full of caves under ground, and of 
 caverns in the mountains, to which the people retired in time of 
 
 Tk""V ,,^°'"Pa'"« Judg. vi. 2 ; 1 Sam. xiii. 6. Parkhurst. 
 
 1 He tollowing passage, in which notice is taken of the like cir- 
 cumsunces m these deserts, is not inapplicable : " If m the 
 7l^\J "•"• travelling we did not fall in with the hovels of the 
 K.aDyle=„ or the encampments of the Arabs, we had nothing to 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 abuut 1^'.20. 
 
 11 Because he hath loosed my cord, and 
 afflicted me, they have also let loose the 
 bridle before me. 
 
 12 Upon 7)11/ right hand rise the youth ; 
 they push away my feet, and they raise up 
 against me the ways of their destruction. 
 
 13 They mar my path, they set forward 
 my calamity, they have no helper. 
 
 14 They came upon me as a wide break- 
 ing in <)f "waters : in the desolation they 
 rolled themselves tipon me. 
 
 15 Terrors are turned upon me : they 
 pursue t my soul as the wind : and my t Hi^i' 
 welfare passeth away as a cloud. pai on""' 
 
 16 And now my soul is poured out upon 
 me ; the days of affliction ha\e taken hold 
 upon me. 
 
 17 My bones are pierced in me in the 
 night season : and my sinews take no rest. 
 
 protect us from the inclemency either of the heat of the day, or 
 the cold of the night, unless we met with some accidental grove 
 of trees, the shelve of a rock, or sometimes by good fortune a' 
 grotto. At these times our horses were the greatest sufferers: 
 and as they were always our first care, we gathered for them stub- 
 ble, grass, boughs of trees, and such like provender, before we sat . 
 down and examined what fragments of some former meal were 
 reserved for ourselves." Dr. Shnw. 
 
 The rocks of Arabia Petrea abound in caves. At this day, 
 the Arabs who dwell in the mountains of that country are a bad 
 people; tlie worst of all the Arabs, as Bishop Pococke informs us. 
 Scott. 
 
 7. Among the hushes they brayed /"^ Made a noise like wild asses 
 through hunger, cold, and other sufferings. Clark. See chap. vi. 5. 
 
 under the nettles they were gathered together.'] The nettle 
 
 is a plant so low, that no persons could assemble under it : the 
 Latin Vulgate always renders the word brier, bramble, or the 
 like : and Scheuchzer says, We must absolutely have recourse to ' 
 tall shrubs, which are thorny, prickly, and burning. Dr. Shaw 
 says, " There is no great variety of plants to be met with in these 
 deserts. Those wiiieh I have seen are generally indebted to the 
 cleft of some barren rock, or to the sandy plain, for their support, 
 and to the nightly dews for their nourishment." Script, illtist. 
 Expos. Ind. 
 
 11. — loosed my cord,~\ This seems to be an allusion to the 
 " stretched cords," by which Job's tent was fixed to the ground. 
 Dr. Diirell. Because God hath bereaved me of that power and 
 honour which I formerly enjoyed, therefore tiiey let loose the 
 reins of their obedience and respect to me. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Perhaps, " Because He (God) hath loosened my bow-string," 
 that is, hath made me weak and helpless, in opposition to what he 
 had said by a like image, (ch. xxix. 20,) " and .ifflicted me, there- 
 fore they," my rascally persecutors before described, " have let go 
 the rem," that is, thrown off all restraint, " before me." Parkhursl. 
 
 Or, the phrase " He hath loosed my cord," seems equivalent to ' 
 that in chap. xii. 18, " He looseth the bond of kings." Scolt. 
 
 13. — they have no helper^ Rather, there is no helper among 
 them, none ready to assist me. Dr. Durell. 
 
 14. They cavie upon me as a wide breaking in of waters :] Ra- 
 ther, They came as a wide torrent ; they rolled themselves in 
 order to destroy. Dr. Durell. 
 
 15. — they pursue my soul as the wind :~\ With rapidity and 
 violence, as when a person is attacked by a storm. RosemntiUer. 
 
 16. — my sutd is poured out upon me ;] Job's soul was once a 
 cistern full of strength, liveliness, joy, and comfort ; but his long 
 sufferings and afflictions had almost emptied and drawn him dry 
 to the bottom. Caryl. 
 
 17. My bones are pierced in me'] My substance is bored or
 
 His prosjterity 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 into calamty. 
 
 t Heb. 
 turned to 
 be cruet. 
 tHeb. 
 
 ■ /> i Strength 
 j thy hand. 
 
 il Or, 
 
 vjisdom. 
 
 chrTst is By the great force of my disease is 
 iU)out 1320. my garment changed : it bindeth me about 
 as the collar of my coat. 
 
 19 He hath cast me into the mire, and 
 I am become like dust and ashes. 
 
 20 I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear 
 me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not. 
 
 21 Thou art t become cruel to me : with 
 t thy strong hand thou opposest thyself 
 against me. 
 
 22 Thou liftest me up to the wind ; thou 
 causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest 
 my II substance. 
 
 23 For I know that thou wilt bring me 
 to death, and to the house appointed for all 
 living. 
 
 corroded from ofFme, eaten into holes with sores. MichaeJis ob- 
 •erves, that in the elephantiasis. Job's distemper, " in process of 
 time tmnours are formed, and these tumoiu-s degenerate at length 
 into incurable sores, which penetrate one after another." Park- 
 hurst. 
 
 It is too common a spectacle to see even among Europeans, at 
 Rio de Janeiro, as well as native whites and negroes, that dread- 
 ful disease, the elephantiasis, which, destroying the sound texture 
 of the integuments of the human trame, swells, distorts, and dis- 
 colours wherever it attacks ; enlarging the patient's niLssliapen 
 limbs to the bulk of those of the huge animal, the resemblance to 
 whom, in that particular, occasioned the appellation which this 
 horrid disorder has received. Sir G. SlaunlOHS Embassij lo China. 
 
 18. Bij the great force of my disease is my garinent changed: &c.] 
 The passage may be rendered, " with great force He layeth hold 
 of my garment, and enfolds me by the collar of my robe. He 
 hath cast me into the mire, &c." The idea is taken from a man 
 struggling with another, laying hold of his garment, casting him 
 to the earth, and rolUng him in the mire. Job compares the dis- 
 tase and affliction which laid hold of him to such a struggle. 
 Uoubigant. Or, it requires great force, when I would shift my 
 clothes, to pull them off: my outward garment, by the filthy 
 matter of my sores, being glewed as fast to me, as the collar of 
 my shirt. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 20. — / stand up,'} I offer myself to Thy view as an object of 
 compassion, and pray to Thee. Clark. 
 
 Standing was the usual posture of prayer among the Hebrews. 
 Scott. 
 
 21. Thou art become cruel to me :'\ It is remarkable, that the 
 very same word is used, Jer. xxx. It, where CJod Himself declares 
 liow He had dealt with His own people, and e.vpresses it in the 
 t'ollowing terms : " I have wounded thee with the wound of an 
 enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one." Peters. 
 
 with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself agai/isl me."} 
 
 The turn of the sentence in the original is somewhat different, 
 and is literally thus, " With Thy strong liand Tliou Iiatest me ;" 
 which gives us a plain direction how the passage ought to be un- 
 derstood ; Thou hast dealt with me as if Thou hatest me, or as 
 men use to deal with those whom they hate. Peters. 
 
 22. Thou liftest me up to the wind ; j Thou tossest me up with 
 Thy judgments, as dust or chaff is blown up by the wind. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 It is very probable that this remarkable figurati\e representa- 
 tion refers to a sand-storm ; especially such an one as IJruce de- 
 scribes, when, says he, we saw a number of prodigious pillars of 
 sand at different distances, at times moving with great celerity, at 
 others stalking on with a majestick slowness ; at intervals coming 
 as if in a very few minutes to overwhelm us; again re'reating so 
 as to be almost out of sight, then- tops reaching to the \ery clouds. 
 There the tops often separated from tlie bodies ; and these, once 
 disjoined, dispersed in the air, and did not appeal- more, &c. 
 The comparison may represent Job's dignity t^ialted in the air, 
 
 24 Howbeit he will not stretch out his 
 hand to the t grave, though they cry in his 
 destruction. 
 
 25 ^ Did not I weep t for him that was 
 in trouble ? was not my soul grieved for 
 the poor? 
 
 2G When I looked for good, then evil 
 came unto me .- and when I waited for light, 
 there came darkness. 
 
 27 My bowels boiled, and rested not: 
 the days of affliction prevented me. 
 
 28 I went mourning without the sun : 
 I stood up, a7id I cried in the congre- 
 gation. 
 
 29 ' I am a brother to dragons, and a 
 companion to || owls. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1520. 
 
 tHeb. 
 heap. 
 
 ' Rom. 12. 
 15. 
 
 Ps. 35. 13. 
 t Heb. 
 yor him that 
 was hard of 
 day ? 
 
 ' Ps. 102.6. 
 U Or, 
 utriehes. 
 
 rising to great grandeur, importance, and even terrour in the eyes 
 of the beholders ; riding upon the wind ; and at length dissipated 
 and dispersed, like a pillar of sand melting into the undistin- 
 guislied level of the desert. This comparison seems precisely 
 adapted to the mind of an Arab, who must have seen or heard of 
 similar phenomena in the countries aromid him. Frag, to Calmet. 
 
 2.S. — to the house uppoinledfor all living.'} The ancient belief 
 was, that the souls of all men went to Sheol ; (see the note on ch. 
 xxvi. 5, 6:) which, ;is in the largest sense it took in the receptacle 
 of good and bad souls, was in Job's phrase the house of assembly 
 for all the living. Of the state or condition of the souls there, 
 \ery little is said in the Old Testament ; because good men look- 
 ed beyond it for a reward of their piety, wlien they should be re- 
 leased from this state of death, and obtain a blessed resurrection: 
 which hope they expressed by the care bestowed upon their dead 
 bodies, to have them decently interred, and, if possible, in the se- 
 pulchres of their ancestors. And as for their souls, thej' believed 
 that they should be gatliered to their fathers, or their people; that 
 is, to their religious ancestors, or to the abode of the blessed, there 
 to remain in a state of peace and hope till the grand periotl of 
 the resurrection, when they were to emerge into a new state of 
 life and being. This seems evidently to have been the ancient 
 notion of the state of death, and to have obtained universally in 
 the first ages of the world. Peters. 
 
 24. Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave.} God's 
 iifflicting hand will not pursue me to the grave ; for though men 
 cry out when they are sent thither, yet when they are there, all 
 their sufferings and complaints are ended. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The passage may be rendered, '• But yet He will not stretch 
 out His hand against the grave : surely in His destruction or de- 
 stroying" (namely, of me) " a shout (would be) to them ;" that is, 
 to death and the grave before mentioned. The sense of this vio- 
 lently pathetick and obscure passage seems to be, that Gotl would 
 not extend Job's punishment beyond the grave, and tlierefore 
 that even in death and the grave he would shout for joy in being 
 relieved from his present sufferings. Parkhurst. 
 
 27 prevented me.} Rather, rushed in upon me. Dr. Diirell. 
 
 28. / went mourning without the sun :} I spend my days in 
 mourning without any comfort, and am so oppressed with sadness, 
 that I neither care nor desire to seethe light of the sun. Clark. 
 
 and I cried in the congregation.} Among that company 
 
 that came about me to behold me. Clark. 
 
 2g. / am a brother to dragons, Sec.} Affinity in disposition and 
 circumstances, as well as in blood, is denoted by the term •' bro- 
 ther" among tlie Eastern nations. Scott. 
 
 The verse may be paraphrased thus : My pain forccth me to 
 such hunentable cries, that I might seem to be associated with dra- 
 gon? ai.d owls in some horrible desert, whose bowlings and shrieks 
 are wont to be held most mournful and ominous. Bp. Hall. 
 
 The purport of the passage is, I am like to wild creature* ; 
 first, to tlie tanim or phoca% which frequent the inliospitable 
 shores of the sea, and are notorious for mourning and whining ; 
 
 6 D 2
 
 Job maketh 
 
 JOB. 
 
 a solemn protestation 
 
 Deforc 30 Mv skin is black upon me, and my 
 ,i,...,i liao. bones are burned with lioat. 
 
 31 My harp also is tunicd to mourning, 
 and my organ into the \'oice of them that 
 weep. 
 
 CHAP. :JvXXI. 
 
 Job makelk a solemn proteslalion of his inlegriit) in seve- 
 ral duties. 
 
 I MADE a covenant with mine eyes; 
 why then should I think upon a maid? 
 '2 For what portion of God is there from 
 above? and ic/iat inheritance of the Al- 
 mighty from on high ? 
 
 3 is not destruction to the wicked ? and 
 a strange pimisJiment to the workers of ini- 
 quity ? 
 » 2 chron. 4 ^ Doth not he see my ways, and count 
 
 d?.M 21. ^^^ '"y -steps ? 
 
 Prov. 5. 21. 5 If I have walked with vanity, or if my 
 foot hath hasted to deceit ; 
 
 & 15. 3. 
 
 •ee the note on Lam. iv. 3 : and secondly, to the ostrich of the 
 ilesert, (a.s in the margin,) whose mourning and lamenting is often 
 of long continuance. See Mic. i. 8, where the same creatures are 
 associated : and tile remark of Dr. Shaw on that place. Script, 
 iliii.st. Ejcpos. hid. 
 
 30. My xtin is hlark upon me,'] In the elephantiasis, as Michaelis 
 observes, which appears to have been Job's disease, " at first the 
 whole .skiTi becomes red, then of a leaden colour, or even quite 
 black." Agreeably to this, the 28th verse may be rendered, " I 
 go," or " am grown black without the heat," namely, by his dis- 
 temper. Parkhiir.it. 
 
 3 1 . Ml/ harp also is turned to mourning, &c.] These seem jjro- 
 verbial expressions for a most melaiiclioly change of condition 
 from happy to wretched. We cannot form an adequate idea of 
 the force of the latter expression, " the voice of them that weep," 
 wthout reading the accounts which travellers have given us of 
 the excessive lamentations of the Easterns in their funeral proces- 
 sions. Scoll. 
 
 Notwithstanding the complaints which Job makes of his friends, 
 his chief complaint is, that God Himself seemed to have forsaken 
 him. It is a small thing to be rejected of men, if God with His 
 favour look ujwn us ; but our condition is really deplorable, when 
 God seems to hide His face fi-om us, and imswers us not in the 
 time of trouble. The condition to which Job was reduced, 
 ought to comfort those whom God causes to pass through the like 
 trials. However, from what befell Job, they should likewise 
 learn to moderate tlicir complaints, to undergo their sufferings 
 ■with patience, and to wait with resignation till it shall please Gotl 
 to deliver them in His due season. Ostervald. 
 
 Chap. XXXI. In this chapter Job makes a full profession of 
 his integrity, and declares at large his strict adherence to the 
 rules of duty, as tiiey relate to God and man ; binding the hea- 
 viest curses on himself, by imprecations of Divine veno-eance if 
 he >wervc(l from the truth. And this he did to wipe off the as- 
 persions which his friends had cast on him, to clear himself from 
 tne charge ot hypocrisy, or ojjen transgression. Caryl. 
 
 Here is an amazing instance and example of a very great prince 
 Who, when he had no superiour to control him. gave such in- 
 
 SL°^f' "-''r*,''-'"P*T'^^' ■i"'*'"'-'' '•■'^'-'"'y' compassion, 
 de>„t on &c. as few of his quality have imitated, (vorthy as the^ 
 Meall of imitation. Bp. JVilson. ^ ^ 
 
 lion o> G^- 1^"-^"%"JT\"'^ 'f' f"\'^''' ^"—^'^ '"*«' /«"■- 
 to r<ivp . ft V ,'' ' ^'-"^ suffered my eyes and my heart 
 
 " '^'^ °» God but due vengeance ? lip. UalL 
 
 6 t Let me be weighed in an even ba- ^huTst I 
 lance, that God may know mine integrity, about i.v.-o. j 
 
 7 If my step hath tinned out of tlie way, t Heb. 
 and mine heart walked after mine eyes, ^,!,'„'"^^,„ 
 and if any blot hath cleaved to mine balances 'f 
 hands ; ''■'""■^'■ 
 
 8 'fhen let me sow, and let another cat ; 
 yea, let my offspring be rooted out. 
 
 9 If mine heart have been deceived by 
 a woman, or if I have laid wait at my 
 neighbour's door ; 
 
 10 Then let my wife grind unto another, 
 and let others bow down upon her. 
 
 1 1 For this is an heinous crime ; yea, it 
 is an iniquity to he punished l)y the judges. 
 
 12 For it is a fire that consumeth to de- 
 struction, and would root out all mine in- 
 crease. 
 
 13 If I did despise the cause of my 
 manservant or of my maidservant, when 
 they contended w-itli me ; 
 
 2 — -1. For what portion of God is there from above ?] When 
 Job asserts the same thing with his antagonists, namel_v, that a 
 sure destiiiction attends the wicked, that it is their portion, their 
 inheritance from God ; he must certainly be understood in a sense 
 different from theirs, and can onl}' refer to a final retribution in a 
 future state: for the intimation conveyed in the 4-th Aerse, had 
 he meant it of a tem]}oral destruction, was what his antagonists 
 had repeated to him again and again, and had urged it as an 
 argument of his guilt, that he was thus miserably destroyed. 
 Peters. 
 
 .5. If I have wallied ivilh vanity, &c.] The word rendered 
 "vanity" signifies falsehood, and is properly applied to idols: 
 and the phrase is here peculiarly adajitcd to that signification ; for ' 
 " I walked with," signifies in Scripture phrase paying acceptable 
 service to the Deity. So Enoch is said to have " walked with 
 God." So that the meaning is, If I have paid religious worship 
 to idols. The word " deceit" seems to look the same way ; as 
 all idols in Scripture language are a lie, an imposture, a fraud. 
 A parallel passage is Ps. xxiv. i: Heath. 
 
 6. Let me be weig/ted in an even halunce,'\ Similar allusions to 
 weighing the characters of mankind are frequent in Scripture. 
 See Is. xxvi. 7 ; Dan. v. 27 ; 1 S;mi. ii. 3. Fragments to Calmet. 
 
 10. Then let my wife grind unto another, ] That is. Let her be 
 so degraded, that, insteael of having her corn ground for her, she 
 shall perform that servile office herself; not for herself, nor for 
 me, but let her grind for another. Grinding was the work of the 
 women in the East, and esteemed a very servile, as Avell as labori- 
 ous employment. Frag, to Calmet. See the note on Exodus xi. ,5. 
 Otherwise the jihrase here used is a decent expression for her 
 committing adultery, as manj' learned men have understood it. 
 This sense seems best to suit the context, and particidarly the 
 latter part of the verse, in which, as usual in Hebrew poetry, tliG 
 same sentiment is repeated in other words. Parkhurst. 
 
 Then let my wife become false to my bed, and repay my sin 
 •with the like adultery ; let me be plagued, as I deserve, in my 
 own kind ; for this had been a capital offence, worthy to be pu- 
 nished by the sword of authority. Bp. Hall. 
 
 12. For it is afire that consumeth to destruction^ Such great 
 wickedness would .have called down upon me the Divine venge- 
 ance, which would have spent its fury against me, like a fire laj-- 
 ing all things waste, and consuming the fruits of the earth. 
 Boscnmuller. 
 
 1 3, 1 4. If I did despise the cause of my maitservant &c.] Job 
 here speaks plainly of the future, of something which he was in- 
 fiUlibly to expect, had he behaved unjustly to his slave : whereas 
 could we suppose him to mean it of any temporal judgment or
 
 of his tjiteginty 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 171 several duties. 
 
 did he not 
 J'ashion us 
 in one 
 womb ? 
 
 the widow. 
 
 chrTIt ^^' ^^^^* *^^" ^'i^ll I ^o ^^'hen God ris- 
 abouti52o. eth up? and Mheii he visiteth, what shall I 
 answer him ? 
 
 15 Did not he that made mc in the 
 p Or. womb make him? and II did not one fashion 
 
 us in the womb ? 
 
 16 If I have withheld the poor from 
 their desire, or have caused the eyes of the 
 widow to fail ; 
 
 17 Or have eaten my morsel myself 
 alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten 
 thereof; 
 
 18 (For from my youth he was brought 
 up with me, as nith a father, and I have 
 
 II Tiiatis, guided II her from my mother's womb;) 
 "' ' 19 If I have seen any perish for want of 
 
 clothing, or any poor without covering; 
 "■20 If his loins have not blessed me, and 
 
 if he were not warmed with the fleece of 
 
 my sheep; 
 
 21 If I have lifted up my hand against 
 the fatherless, when I saw my help in the 
 gate: 
 
 22 Then let mine arm fall from ni\- 
 
 visitation of God, what is it that he had to expect ? he seems to 
 think his condition so miserable ah-eadj', that it M'as scarcely pos- 
 sible for him to fall lower; and therefore he often and earnestly 
 wishes for death, as the happiest event that could befall him. We 
 need not question, therefore, but that he had here an eye to the 
 future judgment; and it is remarkable, that he expresses himself 
 in the same phrase here as in chap. xix. 25. Peters. 
 
 17. Or have eaten my morsel mi/self alone,~\ This verse affords 
 us a beautiful picture of liberality and tender charitj-, which 
 would not eat even the least morsel of bread without imparting 
 some little portion to the poor and needy. SchuUens. 
 
 The following passage, describing a custom that prevails among 
 the Arabs, is illustrative of their hospitality: " Xo sooner was 
 our food prepared, than one of the Arabs, after having placed 
 himself upon the highest station he could find, invited three times 
 with a loud voice all liis brethren, the sons of the faithful, to 
 come and partake of it; though none of them were in view, or 
 perhaps within a hundred miles of us. This custom however 
 they maintain to be always a token of their great benevolence, as 
 it would be of their hospitality likewise, if they had an oppor- 
 tunity to shew it." Dr. Shan: 
 
 As we were at table, there came by a stranger wearing a white 
 turban, who, after having saluted the company, sat down to the 
 table without ceremony, cat with us during some time, and then 
 went away, repeating several times the name of God. They told 
 us, that it was some traveller who, no doubt, stood in need of re- 
 freshment, and who had profited by the opportunity, according 
 to the custom of the East, which is to exercise hospitality at all 
 times, and to all persons. De la Roque, Fragmenls to Calmet. 
 
 21. If I have lifted up mi/ hand against the fatherless^ If I 
 have used my power injuriously against the fatherless, when I 
 saw that my sentence would have been seconded, and would 
 have prevailed on the bench. Bp. Hall. See chap. sxix. 7, ami 
 the notes there. 
 
 Such was Job's 'religion pure and undefiletl," who "visited" 
 the orplian and " widow in their affliction, and kept himself un- 
 spotted from the ^vorld:" no wonder then that it was accepted 
 before "God, even the Father," James v. 11. This surely is 
 Gospel faith; and the Apostle James, in his excellent practical 
 Epistle, seems to allude particularly to the case of Job, whose 
 " patience" he expressly celebrates in the following marked pas- 
 sages, chap. i. 2, and 26. Dr. Hales. 
 
 shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken ^.^\ 
 II from the bone. 
 
 Before 
 tIST 
 about 1320. 
 
 23 For destruction from God "was a ter- l' Or, 
 ror to me, and by reason of his highness I j^U''""''' 
 could not endure. 
 
 24 If I have made gold my hope, or 
 have said to the fine gold, 2hou art my 
 confidence; 
 
 25 If I rejoiced because my wealth 
 •was great, and because mine hand had 
 
 t gotten much ; + ^^''• 
 
 2C If I beheld t the sun when it shined, m'^h. 
 or the moon walking t in brightness; ^ "f"*;. 
 
 27 And my heart iiath been secretly en- t Heb. 
 ticed, or t my mouth hath kissed my hand : x'h*{; 
 
 28 This also xvere an iniquity to be my ham 
 
 and 
 
 punished by the judge: for I should have '';,'J'^",t. 
 denied the God that is above. 
 
 29 If I rejoiced at the destruction of 
 him that hated me, or lifted up myself 
 when evil found him : 
 
 30 Neither have I suffered t mv mouth + "''''; , 
 to sin by wishing a curse to Ins soul. 
 
 31 If the men of my tabernacle said not, 
 
 23. For destruction from God was a terror to me, &c.] For I 
 never thoueht that I could escape the Divine vengeance; the 
 dread of which affrighted me, when men could not, from all such 
 insolence; for I know that I could not support myself against the 
 majesty of God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 26 — 28. If I beheld kc.'] If, when I have beheld Thy glorious 
 creatures, the sun and the moon, I have given way to any idola- 
 trous conceits, and have ascribed Divine honour unto them, as 
 my heathen neighbours do; this were indeed a heinous and 
 caj)ital wickedness. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Tlie only species of idolatry noticed in this book is Zabianian, 
 or the worship of the heavenly bodies, which is the earliest on re- 
 cord, and an additional proof of tlie high antiquity of the compo- 
 sition; especially as it is noticed with abhorrence, as a novelty, 
 deserving judicial punishment. We learn from Sir ^^"illiam Jonej!, 
 that the people of Arabia very soon fell into the common, but 
 fat;d, errour of adoring the sun and the firmament, the planets 
 and fixed stars. Dr. Hales. 
 
 27. — or my mouth hath kissed my hand:'] So Lucian mentions 
 tlie Greeks, even in his time, worshipping the :un by kissing 
 their hand, and then thinking their adoration complete. Minu- 
 cius Felix remarks, that when the heathen Ca-cilius observe<l the 
 statue of Serapis, " he, according to die custom of the superstitious 
 vulgar, moving his hand to his moutli, kisse<l it with his lips." 
 Apuleius, who lived in the second centurj-, >peaking of one 
 .(Emilian, probably a Christian, says, " If he passes by a temple, 
 he thinks it wicked to move his hand to his lips, as a sign of ado- 
 ration." Parkhurst. 
 
 We are told that the Malioniedans begin their worslup with 
 brin"-ing their two thumbs together, and kissing them three times, 
 and at everj- kiss touching their forelieads with their thumbs. 
 \\'hen tlicy cannot kiss the hand of a superiour, tliey kiss their 
 own, and put it to their foreheads; they venerate an unseen 
 being, whom they cannot touch, iu the same manner. Harmer, 
 Dr. Durell. 
 
 31. If the men of my tabernacle said not, &-c.] He appeals to his 
 own domesticks for liis bounty towards them and liberality to all 
 otliers. The clearest translation of this verse is, '• If the man of 
 mv tabernacle do not say, Who can produce a person not satisfied 
 from his flesh.-" that is,'fTom his provisions. The Chaldee inter- 
 preter understood it in the same manner, " who cutteth of his 
 flesh unsatisfied .*" Scull.
 
 Job's mtegritif 
 
 JOB. 
 
 in several duties. 
 
 Before 
 CHKIST 
 •bout 15-20. 
 
 y Or. 
 
 lu the mat/. 
 
 U Or. 
 nfter the 
 manner of 
 rutn. 
 
 iOr.hehM, 
 flly si^n 
 is that the 
 ^tniighty 
 viUantwer 
 me. 
 
 Oh that we had of his flesh ! we cannot be 
 satisfied. 
 
 3'2 The stranger did not lodge ni the 
 street: Intt I opened my doors Hto the tra- 
 veller. 
 
 S3 If I covered my transgressions 1| as A- 
 dam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom: 
 
 34. Did I fear a great multitude, or did 
 the contempt of families terrify me, that I 
 kept silence, and went not out of the door? 
 
 35 Oh that one would hear me! II behold, 
 my desire is, that the Almighty would an- 
 swer me, and that mine adversary had 
 written a book. 
 
 33, 34. If I covered my transgressions as Ada7ii,2 The passage 
 lOiould be thus translated: 
 
 Did I cover, like Adam, my transgression. 
 By hiding, in my lurkingplace, mine iniquity; 
 Then let me be terrified at the great assembly. 
 And let the contempt of the families strike me down; 
 Let me be cut off and never go out of my door. 
 The preceding passage contains a reference to the history of the 
 first man, and hjs endeavours to hide himself afler his transgres- 
 sion. Dr. Magee. 
 
 Amongst the particulars wherein Job vindicates his integrity, 
 one is, that he was ready to acknowledge his errours. The allu- 
 sion to Adam's hiding himself is proper and apposite; but if the 
 passage be rendered, as in the margin, " after the manner of men," 
 It becomes an accusation of others; and the vindication of him- 
 self has a mixture of pride in it, which does not suit the character 
 of the speaker. Bp. Sherlock. 
 
 " Covering of sin" is spoken in several senses. God covers sin, 
 when He hides it, as it were, from His sight, and will not observe 
 it, Neh. iv. 5; Ps. Ixxxv. 2; compare Ps. xxxii. 1. Man covers 
 his own sin, when he clokes or palliates it, Ps. xxxii. 5; Prov. 
 xxviii. 13: that of another, when he conceals or says notliing of 
 it, Prov. xvii. 9; compare Prov. x. 12. Farkhur.st. 
 
 34, Did I fear &C.3 This passage seems to intimate, that it 
 was customary among the Arabs to assemble all the families in a 
 tribe for trying a delinquent of high rank. Job imprecates on 
 himself such a solemn condemnation, in case he had concealed, in 
 this apology, any crime whereof he had been guilty. The punish- 
 ment which he imprecates, is, execration by the whole tribe, a life 
 of obscurity, and perpetual imprisonment in his own dwelling. Scoil. 
 
 35, 36. Oh that one would hear me! &c.] Oh that mine adver- 
 sary had written a book, that is, a roll, accusation, or bill! surely 
 I would take it on my shoulder, and would bind it as a crown 
 upon me, that is, upon my head. Fragments to Calme.t. 
 
 3G. Siireli/ I would take it upon m\f shoulder, SiC."} Surely I 
 would not endeavour to obsciu-e it, but openly expose it to be 
 read by all; nay, wear it as a singular ornament, which would 
 turn to my honour, when the world should see it disproved. Bp. 
 Patrick. ^ 
 
 and bind it as a crown to ;nc.] As a tiara, diadem, or 
 
 turban. Linen is one of the oldest materials that ever were 
 written upon, as appears by the bandages of the Egyptian mum- 
 mies still preserved; and to this Job here probably alludes: this 
 might readily be not only " taken on liis shoulders," but " bound 
 about his head." Parkhnrsl. 
 
 However dissimilar " binding a writing about the head" may 
 •be from our customs, yet we meet with such a practice in the 
 tast even to our days. For when a governour under the Great 
 >>ogiil IS recemng letters or orders from his master, the moment 
 le sees the packet, he alights from his horse, and falls prostrate 
 to the ground: which done, he takes the present from the mes- 
 senger, binds It fast upon his own head, and returning to the 
 court room, where he usually despatches business, readS it, and 
 returns an answer immediately. Parkkurst. 
 
 36 Surely I would take it upon my 
 shoulder, and bind it as a crown to 
 me. 
 
 37 I would declare unto him the number 
 of my steps; as a prince would I go near 
 unto him. 
 
 38 If my land cry against me, or that 
 the furrows likewise thereof t complain ; 
 
 39 If I have eaten t the fruits thereof 
 without money, or have t caused the own- 
 ers thereof to lose their life : 
 
 40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat, 
 and II cockle instead of barley. The words 
 of Job are ended. 
 
 IJefore 
 CHKIST 
 
 about li'JO. 
 
 i Heb. 
 
 wt;ep. 
 tlleb. 
 the slrengtlt 
 thereof'. 
 t Heb. 
 caused the 
 sout uf the 
 Dwners 
 therctifto 
 eijnrct or, 
 breathe <nU. 
 II Or, 
 noisume 
 weeds. 
 
 37. / tvould declare unto him the number of my steps;'] I would 
 help him with such informations against myself as he would never 
 be able to find out; and when I had done, 1 would encounter him 
 boldly and courageously, as some warlike ]irince would come into 
 the field against a weak enemy. Bp. Hall. 
 
 38. If mi/ land cry against mc, &c.] If any part of my land 
 was unjustly gained, or I have defrauded of their wages those 
 who ploughed it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 39. — have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:'] Killuig 
 them, that so I might have quiet possession of it. Clark. 
 
 40. — thistles — cockle] What is precisely meant by the He- 
 brew words cannot be ascertained. In general, however, he im- 
 precates barrenness upon his land. Scott. 
 
 This chapter deserves to be read and meditated upon with 
 great attention; for it contains noble sentiments concerning the 
 principal duties of religion, and particularly purity and chastity, 
 justice and charily, the dread of God's judgments, alms, and 
 compassion on the miserable, contempt of worldly goods, piety 
 towards Go<l, the love of our enemies, and confession of sins. 
 If Job had such pure and exalted notions, and behaved with 
 so much prudence and piety in his time; much more must it 
 be the duty of Christians to think and act as he did. Osler- 
 vaUl. 
 
 Here ends the controversj' between Job and his friends. The 
 grand question in debate between them was. Whether Job was a 
 sinner and a hypocrite, or not. Both pai-ties draw their argu- 
 ments from the provideftce of God, which, they both agreed, 
 could not act wrong. 
 
 The friends represent his extraordinary calamities as a visible 
 judgment on him for his sins: and because he had none that were 
 publick and notorious, they at first insinuate, and afterwards 
 plainly assert, that he must needs have been guilty of some se- 
 cret bosom sin, and that of the deepest die, that could subject him 
 to such extreme misery: for that God never afflicts in so remark- 
 able manner, but for sins of great magnitude. For which they 
 appeal to experience: " Recollect, I pray thee," says Eliphaz, 
 " what innocent person ever perished .'' and when were the right- 
 eous cut off.^" chap. iv. 7. " Behold," says Bildad, " God will not 
 cast off the perfect man, neither will He help the e\'il doers," 
 chap. viii. 20; and Zophar tells him bluntly, " Know therefore, 
 that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth!" 
 chap. xi. 6. 
 
 Job, on the other hand, defends himself, by .setting before them 
 another view of Providence. He denies an exact retributive jus- 
 tice in this life, arguing from the general course of it; whereas 
 they argued chiefly from extraordinary exceptions: they had seen 
 a good man sometimes remarkably delivered; and oftentimes a 
 wicked man remarkably punished. But he bids them reflect, how 
 many they had known, who were notoriously wicked, and had 
 nevertheless prospered a long time, and no extraordinary calamity 
 befell them in the course of their lives, nor in their deaths. And 
 though it was not so easy to discern who were really good, (a bad 
 inside being often covered by a good outside,) yet he l)ids them 
 consider what ravages were sometimes made, either by the pesti-
 
 Elihu is ang7-y xii/h Job. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 He reproveth his three friends. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 from an.' 
 swering. 
 
 f Heb. 
 Ms iotU. 
 
 t Heb. 
 expected Jul) 
 in vHirdi. 
 t Heb. 
 eldci fur 
 iitnjs. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 jivi uf days. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 I feared. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1520. 1 Elihu h angrij nilli Job and his three friends. 6 Be- 
 cause wisdum cnmclh >wl from age, he excuseth the bold- 
 ness of his youth. 1 1 He reproveth them for not satis- 
 fying of Job. 16 His zeal lo speak. 
 
 SO these three men ceased t to answer 
 Job, because he was righteous in his 
 own eyes. 
 
 2 Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu 
 the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kin- 
 dred of Ram : against Job was his wrath 
 kindled, because he justified t himself ra- 
 ther than God. 
 
 3 Also against his three friends was his 
 wrath kindled, because they had found no 
 answer, and ijet had condemned Job. 
 
 4 Now Elihu had t waited till Job had 
 spoken, because they ivet^e t elder than he. 
 
 5 When Elihu saw that there rvas no an- 
 swer in the mouth of these three men, then 
 his wrath was kindled. 
 
 6 And Elihu the son of Barachel the 
 Buzite answered and said, I am t young, 
 and ye are very old ; wherefore I was 
 afraid, and t durst not shew you mine 
 opinion, 
 
 7 1 said. Days should speak, and mul- 
 titude of years should teach wisdom. 
 
 lence or the sword ; and they must needs be convinced that many 
 good men must unavoidably >utFer with tlie bad, in such great and 
 general devastations. So that no certain conclusion could be 
 drawn of men's being either good or bad, from what they enjoy- 
 ed or what they suffered in tliis world. And therefore it was 
 rash, and even wicked in them, to charge him with heinous sins, 
 without any apparent foundation besides the gi-eatness of his 
 sufferings. 
 
 This is evidently the way of reasoning on both sides ; and the 
 leading object for Job's repeated wishes for an immediate trial 
 before God with his accusers : and when that failed, his hope of 
 a future resurrection at the day of judgment was, by such a so- 
 lemn appeal, to convince them, if possible, of his innocence. 
 Peters, Dr Hales. 
 
 Chap. XXXII, XXXIII. When the opponents of Job had 
 been put to silence, Elihu takes up the subject, and blames both 
 parties : Job, for having been hurried away, by the violence of 
 his feelings, "to strive against God;" his three ad versai-ies, for 
 having brought charges against Job which they could not prove. 
 He solves the question between them, by affirming lliat calamity 
 is not to be regarded as an evidence of guilt; but still, that even 
 in the good there lurks a certain taint of sin of which themselves 
 are not conscious: ; and that this must be corrected by some se- 
 vere remedy, lest the righteous fall insensibly into impiety : and 
 moreover, that these are salutary inflictions, not punishments. 
 Roscnm'tdler. 
 
 Cliap. XXXII. ver. 1. — because he was righteous in his own 
 eyes.'} They found that he v.as resolutely bent to justify himself, 
 let them say what they could. Clark. 
 
 2. — the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram :'} Of Syrian extraction : 
 for Buz was the son of Nahor, who was a Syrian. Grotius. See 
 Gen. xxii. 20. 
 
 3. — because they had found no answer,^ No convincing reply, 
 such as could silence Job. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 6. — I am young, &c.] For a youth to speak in such an as- 
 
 8 But there is a spirit in man : and ' the 
 inspiration of the Almighty giveth them 
 understanding. 
 
 9 Great men are not alwai/s wise : nei- 
 ther do the aged understand judgment. 
 
 10 Therefore I said, Hearken to me ; I 
 also will shew mine opinion. 
 
 1 1 Behold, I waited for your words ; I 
 gave ear to your t reasons, whilst ye 
 searched out t what to say. 
 
 12 Yea, I attended unto you, and, be- 
 hold, there xcas none of you that convinced 
 Job, or that answered his words : 
 
 13 Lest ye should say. We have found 
 out wisdom : God thrusteth him down, not 
 man. 
 
 14 Now he hath not li directed his words 
 against me : neither will I answer him with 
 your speeches. 
 
 15 They were amazed, they answered no 
 more : t they left off speaking. 
 
 16 When I had waited, (for they spake 
 not, but stood stiD, atid answered no 
 more;) 
 
 17 I said, 1 will answer also my part, I 
 also will shew mine opinion, 
 
 18 For I am full of t matter, t the spirit 
 within me constraineth me. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1520. 
 'Ch.38.3C. 
 ProT. 2. 6. 
 Eccle».2.2«. 
 Dan. 1.17. 
 & 2. 21. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 uniUr- 
 slandingi. 
 t Heb. 
 words. 
 
 il Or, 
 
 ordered bis 
 mtrdt. 
 
 tHeb. 
 the^ mnav- 
 ed speeches 
 from (Acni- 
 selves. 
 
 tHeb. 
 v>jrds. 
 tHeb. 
 the spirit of 
 mi/beJJi/. 
 
 sembly on so delicate and difficult a subject, and alter liis supe- 
 rionrs in age, and men renowned for wisdom, had given up the 
 dispute, exposed him to the danger of discovering his weakness 
 and folly, and of being thought forward and presumptuous. 
 Scott, Poole. 
 
 7, 8. / said. Days should sfxak, &c.] I said, as in good man- 
 ners I ought, those who are ancient and full of days should speak; 
 and those who had the ex|)erience of many years, should be most 
 able to teach wisdom to such as are j-oiuiger ; but I see, all is not 
 in age ; there is a Spirit of God w hicli, breathing where it listeth, 
 maketh a difference in men. Bp. Hall. 
 
 S. — inspiration of the Almighty'] The word used here, which 
 we translate " inspiration," is used by Moses, Gen. ii. ", to signify 
 the inspiration or breath of life: and therefore we may justly take 
 it to mean here, not what Christians call the grace of God, but 
 rather that original ability of mind which God has given to man. 
 Shuckford. 
 
 13. Lest ye sJiould say, IVe have found out trisdom :'] Do not 
 think or say, that jou have, by your great wisdom, convinced 
 .lob, upon this ground, that God hath afflicted him, not man ; that 
 God, being just, punishes none hut a sinner ; and that there- 
 fore ,Iob is a hypocrite : I shall deal with him in another way. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 14. Now lie hath not directed his words against me:'] I am not 
 engaged in this discourse, by any provoking words ol Job, as you 
 have been, but merely out of zeal for God, and love to truth, and 
 a sincere desire to minister to Job matter both for conviction and 
 comfort ; neither will I answer him with such weak arguments 
 and provoking language as you have used. Clark. 
 
 1 5. They were amazed, &c.] Here Elihu turns his speech to the 
 auditors. Clark. As if he had said. See, I beseech you, all that 
 hear us, how these disputants are amazed ; how silent they are, 
 as if their speech had forsaken them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 18. — ttie spirit within me constraineth me.] As he was a j'oung 
 man, he does not claim much authority from his own sayings; 
 but he claims it from the inspiration of the Almighty, by whose
 
 f Ilcb. is 
 
 f H»b. 
 Ikat I mat) 
 
 Elihu qfercth himself instead 
 
 Boforo 10 Beliokl, my belly /•< as wine •which 
 S,Il'Sthath no vent; "it is ready to burst like 
 new bottles, 
 
 20 I will speak, t that I may be refresh- 
 ed : I will open my lips and answer. 
 
 21 Let me not, I pray you, accept any 
 man's person, neither let me give flattering 
 titles unto man. 
 
 22 For I know not to give flattering 
 titles; in so doing my maker w^oukl soon 
 take me away. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 1 Eli/iH offerelh himself instead of God, with sincerilt/ 
 and meekness, to reason with Job. 8 He excuscth God 
 from giving man an aceonut of his nw/s, bi/ his great- 
 ness. " 14 God calleth man lo'reimitance bij visions, ]<) 
 bi/ afflictions, 23 and bt/ his ministry. 3\ He inciteth 
 Job to attention. 
 
 WHEREFORE, Job, I pray thee, hear 
 my speeches, and hearken to all my 
 words. 
 
 2 Behold, now I have opened my mouth, 
 t Heb. m mv tongue hath spoken t in my mouth. 
 mypniate. "3 ]y,jy words sholl hc of t\\e upiightness 
 
 Spirit he was actuated, ver. 8, and whose oracles hS was deliver- 
 ing. Heath. 
 
 19. — as nine which hath no vent ; if is ready to burst like new 
 bottles.'] Bottles made of skin were used anciently by most na- 
 tions, and still are used in the East. It appears from a figure 
 found among the ruins of Hercidaneum, that, after the skin had 
 been stripped off the animal, and properly dressed, the places 
 where the legs had been, were strongly closed up ; and where the 
 neck was, an opening was left for receiving and discharging the 
 contents of the bottle. Such bottles, when full, must have dif- 
 fered greatly from the same when empty. On receiving the 
 liquor they must be greatly swollen and distended ; and no 
 doubt, they must be swollen still further by the fermentation of 
 the liquor within them, as that advances to ripeness: so that in 
 this state, if " no vent" be given to it, the liquor may overpower 
 the strength of the bottle ; or, b_v searching every crevice and 
 weaker jjart, if it find any weaker part, it may penetrate by that. 
 Hence arises the propriety of " putting new wine into new bot- 
 tles," which, being in the prime of their strength, may resist the 
 expansion, the internal pressure of their contents, and preserve 
 the wine to due maturity ; wliile old bottles may without danger 
 contain old wine, the fermentation of which is already past. See 
 Matt. ix. 1 7 ; Luke v. 38. 
 
 The Arabs use a larger kind of bottle, named girba, which is 
 thus described by Bruce : " A girba is an ox's skin squared, and 
 the edges sewed together very artificially by a double seam, which 
 does not let nut water, much resembling that upon the best En- 
 glish cricket balls. An opening is left at the top of the girba, in 
 the same manner as the bunghole of a cask. Around this, the 
 skin is gathered to the size of a large handful, which, when the 
 girba is full of water, is tied round with whipcord. These girbas 
 generally contain about sixty gallons each, and two of them are 
 the load of a camel. Tliey are then all besmeared on the outside 
 witJi grea.sc, as well to hinder the water from oozing through, as 
 to prevent its being evaporated by the heat of the sun, which in 
 fact happened to us twice, so as to put us in imminent danger of 
 perislung by thirst." Fragments to Cahnet. 
 
 2i. For I know not to give flattcrins titles ;] I dare not soothe 
 and Hatter any man in a false conceit: if I should do so, I know 
 that (jvd would be sure to be speedily avenged of me. Bp. Hall 
 
 JOB. 
 
 of God to reason "with Job. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1520. 
 
 ' Chap. 9. 
 3.5. & 1:1. 
 20. 
 
 tHeb. 
 according: tu 
 till/ motitlt. 
 + Heb. 
 cut out nf 
 tlie clay. 
 t Heb. in 
 mine eari. 
 
 of my heart : and my lips shall utter know- 
 ledge clearly. 
 
 4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and 
 the breath of the Almighty hath given me 
 life. 
 
 5 If thou canst answer me, set thy words 
 in order before me, stand up. 
 
 () " Behold, I am t according to thy wish 
 in God's stead : I also am t formed out of 
 the clay. 
 
 7 Behold, my terror shall not make thee 
 afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon 
 thee. 
 
 8 Surely thou hast spoken t in mine 
 hearing, and I have heard the voice of thi/ 
 words, saying, 
 
 9 I am clean without transgression, I am 
 innocent ; neither is there iniquity in me. 
 
 10 Behold, he findeth occasions against 
 me, he counteth me for his enemy, 
 
 11 He piitteth my feet in the stocks, he 
 marketh all my paths. 
 
 12 Behold, iti this thou art not just : I 
 will answer thee, that God is greater than 
 man. 
 
 The protestation, here made by Elihu, that he would speak 
 freely and impartially, should prompt us always to speak with 
 sincerity, without being restrained by any regard to men ; esjie- 
 cially when the glory of God, and theii'good, require us to speak 
 the truth. Ostcrvald. 
 
 Chap. XXXIII. ver. 4. The Spirit of God hath made me,"] Crea- 
 tion being proper to the true God, the Holy Ghost, or Spirit of 
 God, is therefore the true God. Wiien God said, " Let L^s make 
 man," He spake to the Son and Holy Ghost, Gen. i. 26. Such a 
 wonderful harmony is there betwixt all parts of Holy Scripture ! 
 Bp. IVilson. 
 
 Elihu here alludes to Gen. ii. 7- Bosenm'uller. 
 
 6. — in God's stead:'] To plead His cause against thee, and 
 answer thee, as thou desiredst. Clark. 
 
 7. Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid,] Look upon 
 me; the combat. is not unequal, as thou coniplainedst when tliou 
 lookedst upon God, chap. ix. 34 ; xiii. 21 : thou seest no dreadful 
 majesty in me to affright thee, nor any power to oppress thee. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 10. Behold, he findeth occasions against jnc,] He seeks to over- 
 throw all my purposes and pursuits. Boscnmidler. 
 
 These words are not taken exactly from the speeches of Job, 
 but are charged upon him by Elihu, who puts this construction 
 upon .lob's words. The first branch of this sentence, " Behold, He 
 findeth occasions against me," is not to be fi)und in Job's speeches : 
 and as for the other w-hich occurs, chaj3. xiii. 24, " Wherefore 
 hidest Thou thy face, and lioldest me for Thine enemy ?" though 
 there may be something faulty in the expostulation, yet it is very 
 much alleviated by those expressions of humility and self-abase- 
 ment which irmnediately precede and follow it. See ver. 23, 25. 
 Peters. 
 
 1 1. He pullet h my feel in the stocks,] He presseth me with very 
 close and sore afflictions. Caryl. See the note on cliap. xiii. 27- 
 
 12. Behold, in this thou art not just :] Though in the former jjart 
 of thy life thou mightest carry thyself a\ ithout blame, yet in this 
 thou deservest censure, that tliou hast so obstinately maintained 
 thy innocence, as if God dealt too hardly with thee. Clark. 
 
 God is greater than num.] He is too great to be with- 
 stood, too just to do wrong, too good to delight in any man's
 
 God callelh ma7i to repentance 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 by Visions, afflictions, S^-c. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1520. 
 
 t Hel). he 
 
 ansKcrCJi 
 not. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 fterevealeU:, 
 or, iincover- 
 
 t Hel). 
 
 li^ork. 
 
 t Hell. 
 Jrom pasS' 
 rug by the 
 sword. 
 
 13 Why dost thou strive against him ? 
 for t he giveth not account of any of his 
 matters. 
 
 14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, 
 t/et man perceiveth it not. 
 
 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, 
 when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slum- 
 berings upon the bed ; 
 
 16 Then the openeth the ears of men, 
 and sealeth their instruction, 
 
 17 That he may withdraw man^ron? his 
 t purpose, and hide pride from man. 
 
 1 8 He keepeth back his soul from the pit, 
 and his life t from perishing by the sword. 
 
 19 He is chastened also with pain upon 
 his bed, and the multitude of his bones 
 with strong imin : 
 
 miserj-. We ought therefore quietly to submit to His dispensa- 
 tions, as the very best. Bp. JVilson. 
 
 14. — God speaketh once, yea twice, &c.] Many times and di- 
 vers ways God solicits and admonishes men ; yet such is tlie dul- 
 ness and security of their hearts, that they either do not, or will 
 not, hear and understand them. Bp. Hall. 
 
 1.5 — 18. In a dream, in a vision of the ?iight. Sec.'] Elihu ha\ing 
 said in the former verse, that " God speakctli once, yea twice, yet 
 man perceiveth it not," proceeds to give an instance of the several 
 Ways by which God speaks to man : as first, ver. 1 .5, in dreams 
 and visions ; for his instruction, ver. l6; next, to encourage re- 
 pentance and li'amiliation, ver. 1 7 ; and lastly, to secure his safety, 
 ver. 18. Caryl. 
 
 16, 17- Then he openeth the ears of men, &c.] Then and by 
 these means He causeth men to hear, and imprinteth in their 
 hearts His instructions ; that He may prevail with man, to with- 
 draw him from those evil courses and i-esolutions which he hath 
 undertaken ; and that He may convince him of his proud and 
 insolent conceits, which he hath harboured in himself. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 17- That he may rvitkdraw man from his pur/iose,'] Rather, his 
 " doing," or " work," as in the margin ; namely, all actions and 
 words which proceed from pride, mentioned in the next clause, 
 or from any other corrupt anection. Scoll. 
 
 ... and hide pride from vian.] That is, keep him humble. 
 Want of true humility was Job's great fault. Elihu takes pains 
 to convince him of this, but all in vain, till God awakened him, 
 ch. xlii. 6; then he saw his fault and was humbled. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 15. — the pit,] This is one of the names of the sepulchral 
 «frot, denoting it to be a jilace of putrefaction. Scott. 
 
 If) — 22. He is chastened &c.]] Tliese verses point out the se- 
 cond method which the wisdom of God cmjiloys for the humilia- 
 tion of man, and for the revelation of His mind unto him : God 
 5j)eaketh unto him by pain and sickness. Caryl. 
 
 22. — the destroyers.'] The instruinents of death and de- 
 ytruction : probably the diseases, which by (nxl's appointment 
 are ready to give the fatal blow. Poole. The sense of the \-erse 
 is. There is but a step between him and his grave ; tlie pangs of 
 death being ready to seize upon him. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 23 — 26. If there he a messenger ivitJi him, Sic] When a man 
 IS thus soundly humbled, if a faithful messenger and minister of 
 God, which is' not easy to be found, shall shew that man liis U'ue 
 estate, then will God be gracious to him. Bp. Hali. 
 
 a tnessengrr] One sent by the providence of God, or by 
 
 special commission from Him, to assist the sick man with his in- 
 structions and prayers. Scott. 
 
 an interpreter,'] A rare person, that can expound the 
 
 mind of God. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 " One among a thousand" is an expression to signify the diffi- 
 culty of meeting with such a person. Chappelow. 
 
 his uprightness :] His duty ; what right reason and re- 
 
 VoL. I. 
 
 Before 
 CHKIST 
 about 1520. 
 ' Psal. 107. 
 18. 
 
 t Heb. 
 meat ofde- 
 fire. 
 
 i Or. 
 
 an atone* 
 
 lie shall return to the days of hi3 t Heb. 
 
 than child' 
 hood. 
 
 20 " So that his life abhorreth bread, and 
 his soul t dainty meat. 
 
 21 His flesh is consumed away, that it 
 cannot be seen ; and his bones that were 
 not seen stick out. 
 
 22 Yea, his soul draweth near unto the 
 grave, and his life to the destroyers. 
 
 23 If there be a messenger with him, an 
 interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew 
 unto man his uprightness : 
 
 24 Then he is gracious unto him, and 
 saith. Deliver him from going down to the 
 pit : I have found i) a ransom. 
 
 25 His flesh shall be fresher t than a 
 child's 
 youth : 
 
 26 He shall pray unto God, and he will 
 
 ligion required from a man in his situation ; repentance, submis- 
 sion, and prayer to God for pardon. The instruction is supposed 
 to be effectual ; as appears from the following verses. Scott. 
 
 24. Then he is gracious vnto him, Sic] Grxl mercifully accepts 
 his repentance, and saith, " Deliver him," tliat is, He sliall be de- 
 hvered, " from going down to the pit." Scott. 
 
 A blessing or benefit is here promised on God's j>art, which is 
 deliverance from the ill consiquences and punishment of sin : 
 and though temporal dealii be here immediately intended, yet 
 that is a type of our deliverance from eternal death, which is ex- 
 pressl}' promised in the Gospel. But then there is a condition 
 required on our part : " If any say, I ha\'e sinned, and perverted 
 that whicli was right, and it profited me not," ver. 27. In which 
 Words are contained, fii-st, a penitent confession of our sins to 
 God: '■' If any say, I have sinned," that is, if he make a peni« 
 tent confession of his sin to God : secondly, a true contrition for 
 our sin, not only for fear of the pernicious consequences and the 
 punishment that will follow it, implied in these words, " and it 
 profited me not," for this is but a ver}' imperfect contrition ; but 
 i'rom a just sense of the evil nature of sin, and the fault and of- 
 fence of it against God, that we have done contrary to right and 
 our duty: " If any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which 
 was rigi'it." Thus a true and perfect contrition for our sins is 
 made a necessary condition of our deliverance from tlie punish- 
 ment due to them. Abp. Tillolson. 
 
 / have found a ransom."] Or, " an atonement," as in the 
 
 margin. Whatever is a means of averting punishment, and con- 
 ciliating the Divine favour, is termed in Scripture an atonement. 
 The intercession of Moses, Exo<l. xxxii. ."O ; and the act pt' Phi- 
 nehas. Numb. xxv. 13; ;u-e so cidled: and here tliG sick njaii's re- 
 pentance. See Ecclus. xxsv. 3. Scott. 
 
 25. His flesh shall befraher Sec] A beautiful descnplion of 
 the sick man's recovery. Tiie word, translated '■ shall be freslwT," 
 is an elegant metaphor from plants ; which, having been withered 
 l)y a long drought, recover their vigour and verdure on the fall, 
 ing of a shower of rain. Scott. 
 
 fresher than a child's :] This w.is prolwbly a prov erbial 
 
 form of expression. Compare 2 Kings v. 1 1. Schullcns, Chap- 
 pelow. 
 
 26. He shall pray unto God.] Prayer is a duty never out of 
 season, yet at some times more in season th.in at o(hcr.-i, and most 
 of all in time of affliction : " Is any man afflicted r let him pray," 
 James v. 13. And among all afflictions, that of .^^ckness seems to 
 be a special call for this duty ; therefore in tlie fourteenth verse of 
 the same chapter, soon after the Apostle had .saiil, '• Is any af- 
 flicted .> let him pray ;" he .idds, " Is any sick among you.^" let 
 iiim call for the elders of the thurc'i, and let them pray over 
 him." But to desire others to pray for us in bodily sicknes-s, and 
 neglect it oui-selves, is an ill symptom of a sick soul : the prayer* 
 of others are rarely beneficial to any. unless they either pray, or 
 have a desire to pra3', for themselve.*. Cnr^i'. 
 
 6 E
 
 J-:iiliu incitcth Job lo attention. 
 
 JOB. He accuse Ih J oh for charging God with injustice. 
 
 ■ n.fore 
 
 cniiisT 
 
 about JJ20. 
 
 { Or, 
 He ihalt 
 
 liiJs u;H)n 
 fiirn, and 
 >atf, I luiv*i 
 
 (J Or, 
 
 llr hnlh dc- 
 
 Uicrtrd my 
 
 a ttd my lift* 
 t Htb. 
 lake and 
 thrice. 
 
 be favourable unto him : and he sliall see 
 liis fiicc w itii joy : for he will render unto 
 man his righteousness. 
 
 ^7 II He looketh upon men, and if ant/ 
 say, I have sitmed, and perverted t/iat -which 
 rias right, and it profited me not ; 
 
 28 II He will deliver his soul from going 
 into the pit, and his life shall see the light. 
 
 29 Lo, all these things worketh God t of- 
 tentimes with man, 
 
 .'^U To bring back his soul from the pit, to 
 be enliglitened with the light of the living. 
 
 31 Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me: 
 Iiold thy peace, and I will speak. 
 
 32 If thou hast any thing to say, answer 
 me : speak, for I desire to justify thee. 
 
 33 W not, hearken unto me: hold thy 
 peace, and I shall teach thee wisdom. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 I Eliliu accuscih Job for cliargirig Cod ivitli injustice. 
 10 Gnd omnipotent cannot he unjust. 31 Man must 
 humlilc himself unto God. 3'1 EUku rcprovcth Juh. 
 
 FURTHERMORE Elihu answered and 
 said, 
 2 Hear my words, O ye wise men ; and 
 give car unto me, ye that have knowledge. 
 
 lie shall see his face nilhjoy:'\ He shall be sensil)le that 
 
 CckI is pleased witli, or looks graciously iijKin him. Chappclon: 
 
 his rightroiisncss.^ The reward of liis present holiness ; 
 
 and>vill deal with hir.i according to that, and not according to 
 his former wickedness. Clark. 
 
 '27, '28. He looketh upon men, and if am/ say, &c.] The mar- 
 ginal reading is, " He shall look iijion men, and say, I have 
 sinned, &e. He hath delivered my soul from going into the pit, 
 and my life shall sec the light." The passage may be thus para- 
 phrased : And lie, as becomes a true penitent, easting his eyes 
 upon his neighl)ours, shall openly confess and say, I have offend- 
 e<l God, and He hath justly chastised me; I have done wickedly, 
 and He hath punished me according to my desert : but hath re- 
 deemed nie from that death into which I was going; and not 
 only maile me live, but given me hope that I shall enjoy pros- 
 perous days. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 Tlie words of his confessional and thanksgiving hymn, or ra- 
 ther the substance and burden of it, are, " I have sinned &c " 
 Scott. 
 
 28. — his life sliall see the light.^ Shall be prolonged in com- 
 fort and prosperity. Clark. 
 
 30. To bring back his soul from titc pit,"] He repeats, from ver. 
 18, tlie merciful design of Divine admonitions and corrections, in 
 oilier to fix the persuasion of it in the mind of Job. Eliiihaz 
 and Zophar had liintcd this, chap. v. 17, 1 8 ; and xi. 1 1, 12. But 
 Khhu expatiates on tlie subject. His aim likewise ditfers from 
 theirs. The reclaiming of a wicked man, such as they supposed 
 Job to be, was tlie point they had in view; whereas Elihu speaks 
 of these IJivine rebukes, applied to tlie cure of fkults which ai-e 
 not inconsistent with general goodness, ficott. 
 
 Job seems to have considered the subject' in this view; for 
 
 when he is called upon "to answer, if lie had any thing to sav," 
 
 by hlihu Ins youthful but friendly monitor, who, unlike the rest 
 
 desired to justify Inm" where he was right, and to " teach him 
 
 r,»l iS ^'^ ^"^ "''" '"°"f^' '''^'■- ^1—23, he held his peace; 
 ana listcnetl in respectful silence to his sage admonitions, though 
 
 Ch'^XXxTv "" A ^«,'^'?:P^i"S -"y ^^Ply- Dr. Hale... " 
 
 P- '^^^^^- As Job makes no reply to Eliliu, being con- 
 
 3 " For the ear trieth words, as the 
 t mouth tasteth meat. 
 
 4 Let us choose to us judgment : let us 
 know among ourselves what is good. 
 
 5 For Job hath said, I am rigliteous: and 
 God hath taken away my judgment. 
 
 (i Should I lie against my right? t my 
 wound is incurable without transgression, 
 
 7 AV^hat man is like Job, tcho drinketh up 
 scorning like water ? 
 
 8 Wiiich goeth in company with the 
 workers of iniquity, and walketh with 
 wicked men. 
 
 9 For he hath said. It profiteth a man 
 nothing that he should delight himself with 
 God. 
 
 10 Therefore hearken unto me, ye tmen 
 of understanding: "far be it from God, 
 that he .should do wickedness ; &x\Afrom the 
 Almighty, tlial lie sliuuld commit iniquity. 
 
 11 " For the work of a man shall he ren- 
 der unto him, and cause every man to find 
 according to liis ways. 
 
 12 Yea, surely God will not do wicked- 
 ly, neither will the Almighty pervert judg- 
 ment. 
 
 13 Who hath given him a charge over 
 
 Iicfore 
 CHRIST 
 
 al«)iit 1520. 
 
 Til. 12.11. 
 t Hell. 
 pulale. 
 
 t Hcl). 
 mincarruw. 
 
 f Hel). men 
 ofltt-iirl. 
 » Deut. :i2. 
 4. cji 8. 3. 
 & 30. '-'3. 
 I's. 92. 15. 
 Horn y. 14. 
 ' Pi.fiS. 12. 
 Prov.'.M.lC. 
 JiT. ;)■-'. 19. 
 Ezek.33.20. 
 Mat 16.27. 
 Rum. 1. 6. 
 2 Cor. 5. 10. 
 1 Pet. 1. 17. 
 Rev. 22. 12. 
 
 scious probably that he was in part, at least, obnoxious to the 
 charge brought against him, Elihu renews the subject, and shews, 
 in answer to Job's comjilaints, tliat it is the height of presumption 
 to impute injustice to God; who, as the Governour of the world, 
 if He were not influenced by kindness in His conduct towards 
 His creatures, but were to deal with tlicm according to His 
 power, would utterly destroy them. Elihu remarks fartlier, Iiow 
 indecorous and ra.sh it is to accuse of injustice a Eeing, infinite in 
 wisdom as well as power. Rosenmiiller. 
 
 \cv. 1. — answered and suid,'\ Ratlier, " spake and said," as 
 ch. iii. 2, and xxxv. 1 ; for none had replied to Elihu. Dr. DurelL 
 
 4. Let us choose to us judgment .•] Elihu requests liere that 
 .Job's friends would proceed judiciously and fairly in the cause 
 before them. Can/l. 
 
 5. .See note on chap xxvii. 2. 
 
 C. Should I lie against my right ?] Rather, I am dis.'ippointed 
 or frustrated of my right. Dr. Durcll. 
 
 7. IVhat man is like Job, &C.3 Tliere is no m.in, that pretends 
 to be wise and \\ij\y as Job, who would thus expose liimself to 
 the scorn of the world in his insolent challenges ; or would thus 
 tui'n off the grave admonitions of his friends with scorn and con- 
 tempt. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Elihu's expressions may seem too severe in this place. They 
 are only a strong way of saying, that Job's complaints were too 
 much akin to those of atheistical men, who revile Providence, and 
 ridicule religion. Scott. 
 
 8. Which gocth in company with the workers of iniquity,'] Who 
 speaks o( God's service and dispensations as wicked men are 
 wont to do, ver. 9, .'is if he were one of theu- society ; and acts like 
 the wicked when God afflicts them. Clark. 
 
 Q. For he hath said. It pro/ilcth a man nothing &c.] Job, so far 
 from using such infidel language, had entered his protest against 
 it, cliup. xxi, 11' — 16". Notwithstanding which, his complaint of 
 hard measure from God, and of the frustration of all the hopes 
 he had fcjrmed of a reward to his virtue, would scarce admit of 
 any other construction. See chap. xix. 10 ; xxix. 18 ; xxx. 21, 26. 
 ScoU. 
 
 1 3. Who hath given him a cliarge over the earth ?3 This argu-
 
 God omnipotent 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 cannot be utijust. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1520. 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 allnfW 
 "Ps. 104.29. 
 t Heb. 
 upnn him. 
 'Eccles.l2. 
 7. Geu. 'i. 
 19. 
 
 + Heb. 
 
 hind ? 
 
 ' Deut. 10. 
 17.2Cliron. 
 1 9. 7. Acts 
 10. 34. 
 Rom. 2. 11. 
 Gal. 2. G. 
 Ephes. I). 9. 
 Colos.3.25. 
 1 Pet. 1. 17. 
 
 t Hel). 
 they shall 
 take nicai/ 
 the might)/, 
 « Prov.5.-.'l. 
 & 15. 3. 
 chap. 31.4. 
 aChron.lG. 
 9. Jer. lU. 
 17. 
 
 the earth ? or who hath disposed t the 
 whole world ? 
 
 14 " If he set hi.s lieart t upon man, if 
 he gather unto himself his spirit and his 
 breath ; 
 
 15 ^All flesh shall perish together, and 
 man shall turn again unto dust. 
 
 16 If now thou hast understanding, hear 
 this : hearken to the voice of my words. 
 
 17 Shall even he that hateth right t go- 
 vern ? and wilt thou condemn him tliat is 
 most just? 
 
 18 /5 it Jit to say to a king, IViou art 
 wicked ? and to princes, Ye are ungodly ? 
 
 19 How much less to him that ' accepteth 
 not the persons of princes, nor regardeth 
 the rich more than the poor ? for they all 
 are the work of his hands. 
 
 20 In a moment shall they die, and the 
 people shall be troubled at midnight, and 
 pass away: and tthe mighty shall be taken 
 away without hand. 
 
 21 ^ For his eyes are upon tlie ways of 
 man, and he seetli all his goings. 
 
 22 Tliere is no darkness, nor shadow of 
 death, where the workers of iniquity may 
 hide themselves. 
 
 23 For he will not lay upon man more 
 
 ment is founded on the sovereijjntj' of God over all men; the sum 
 and force of it may be stated thus: He cannot do injustice to any, 
 who of right possesseth an absolute power to do what He will 
 towards men. But God hath such a power; therefore He cannot 
 do any injustice. Caryl. 
 
 14, 15. If he set his lieart upon man, &c.] If God should resolve 
 to deal with man according to Hia absolute power; if He should 
 call back that life and soul which He hath given him; there 
 would be no abiding, all flesh would perisli at once. Bp. Hall. 
 
 1 7. Shall even he tluit hateth right govern ? &c.] "What ? shall He 
 who hateth right" (as Job in his impatience had supposed God to 
 do) "govern.? and wilt thou condenm Him who is evidently just.''" 
 That is. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right.? Parkhnrsl. 
 17 — 19. Shall even lie that hateth right govern? &:c.] Miss 
 Smith, in her translation of this passage, by a close adherence to 
 the original, has given an excellent sense to the whole. She ren- 
 ders these verses thus: 
 
 Shall He who hateth right govern .'' 
 
 And wilt thou condemn Him who aboundcth in justice.'' 
 
 Who saith to the king. Thou art luiprofitiible; 
 
 Wicked to the nobles: 
 
 Who liftetli not up the faces of prince.s. 
 
 Nor turneth away from the cry of the poor; 
 
 For they are all the work of His hands. Dr. Magee. 
 
 20. In a moment shall thet/ die, &c.] He shall fetch away the 
 great commanders of the earth at a time when it is least expected; 
 €ven in the deepest secui-ity s'lall He cause a>toni>hnK'nt and tu- 
 mult in the death of the mighty ones. Bp. Hall. 
 
 22. There is no dartcncss, &c.] Not death itself shall conceal 
 " the workers of iniquity" from the eye of (Jod. or withdraw them 
 from His justice. Men may flatter themselves, if they please, 
 with the hope of annihilation; but they will find themselves fa- 
 tally disappointed when they come to m;ike triiJ of the other 
 state. Peters. 
 
 S.*?. — that he should enter tntojudgmenf with God.^ That man 
 should therefore have any just cause of contention with God, or 
 any groiind of evil against Hiin. Bp. Hall. 
 
 than right; that he should t enter into 
 judgment with God. 
 
 24 He shall break in pieces mighty men 
 t without number, and set others in their 
 stead. 
 
 2.5 Therefore he knowetli their works, 
 and he overturneth them in tlie night, so 
 that they are t destroyed. 
 
 26 He striketh tliem as wicked men t in 
 the open sight of others; 
 
 27 Because they turned back t from him, 
 and woiUd not consider any of his ways: 
 
 28 So that tltey cause the cry of the poor 
 to come unto him, and he heareth the cry 
 of the afflicted. 
 
 29 When he giveth quietness, who then 
 can make trouble? and when he hideth 
 his face, who then can behold him ? whe- 
 ther // be done against a nation, or against 
 a man only: 
 
 30 Tliat the hypocrite reign not, lest the 
 people be ensnared. 
 
 31 Surely it is meet to be said unto God, 
 I have borne chastisement, I will not oftend 
 any inore: 
 
 32 lliat rvhich I see not teach thou me : 
 if I have done iniquity, I will do no more. 
 
 33 t Should it he according to thy mind ? 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 aliout 1520. 
 
 f Heb. go. 
 
 t Heb. 
 witliuut 
 ictrcliing 
 vut. 
 
 tHeb. 
 cruihcd. 
 tHeb. 
 ill tlie placr 
 nfbckotiUrt. 
 t Heb. 
 frnm afur 
 tiim. 
 
 t Hob. 
 Siiould it 
 be,/rom 
 ivith thee? 
 
 24. — without number^ " Without searching," xs in the mar- 
 gin; without a formal process, which He needeth not. Park- 
 hurst. 
 
 25. Therefore he knonelh tlieir worhs, &c.] Forasmuch as God 
 overturneth them, it is an argument that He knoweth what they 
 are, and what they have been doing. Canjl. 
 
 in the night,'] Suddenly, imexpectedly. Canjl. 
 
 26. He striketh them as vicked men &c.] This is a metaphor 
 taken from publick executions, vrhich ivce performed in publick 
 places, amidst a variety of spectators, for the sake ot the e.\amplc. 
 Heath. 
 
 Their punishment is open and exemplary. It is tlie triumjih 
 of Providence over tyrants. The expressions of the sacred writer 
 allude to the publick execution of malefactors. What is translated, 
 " in the open sight of others," is, in the original, in the place of 
 spectators. And what is rendered " He striketh them," is lite- 
 rally. He clappeth His hands at them, as in chap, xxvii. 2S, and 
 in the last verse of tiie present chapter. It is a gesture of exulta- 
 tion and derision. Compare Lam. ii. 15; Ezck. xxv. (>. Scoll. 
 
 29. When he giveth quietness, trho that can make tronlk ?]] If He 
 show s favour to the poor .tnd oppressed persons last mentioned, 
 or to any other persons or people, .is it follows in the latter part 
 of the verse; or if He withdraws His favour and assistance irom 
 them, anil thereby exposes them to oppression and calauiitj-; no 
 man or creature can hinder God's design and work. Poule. 
 
 SO. Tliat the hypocrite reign not, ic] Yea, not only docs God 
 execute Hi.< judgments upon the peoiile, but .-Uso upon die great 
 potentates of the eartli, striking wicked tyrants with His pkigues, 
 lest the ])ooplc should be too mucli oppressed by their injustice. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 S\. Sureli/ it is meet to be said unto God, &c.] Instead of com- 
 plaining of God and His dealings with thee, it would Iiave better 
 become thee to submit patiently, saying. Since it is Thy pleasure 
 to chastise me, I will endeavour to bear the affliction witliout 
 murmuring. Clark. 
 
 3:i. Should it be according to thi) mind ? &c.|] Dost thou think 
 it meet that Gotl shoidd proceed in His judgments according to 
 
 () E 3
 
 EUhu trpfovetfi Job. 
 
 JOB. 
 
 Comparison is not to be vuide xvith God, 
 
 Pi-forr 
 
 rniiisT 
 
 ■buul \bM. 
 
 f Ilctn 
 ff heart. 
 
 II Or. 
 
 J/y fillhfr, 
 tft Job be 
 tried. 
 
 he will recompense it, whether thou refuse, 
 or whether tliou ciioose; and not I: there- 
 fore s])eak what thou knowest. 
 
 34- Let men t of understanding tell me, 
 and let a wise man hearken unto me. 
 
 35 Job iiath spoken without knowledge, 
 and his words xcere without wisdom. 
 
 3(5 I! My desire is thai Job may be tried 
 unto the end because of his answers for 
 ■wicked men. 
 
 37 For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, 
 he claj)peth his hands among us, and mul- 
 tiplieth his words against God. 
 
 CHAP. XXXV. 
 
 1 Compnrisoti is not to he made tvith God, because our 
 good or evil cannot extend unlo him. f) Mamj crij in 
 their afflictions, but are not heard J'or ivunt of faith. 
 
 ELIHU spake moreover, and said, 
 2 Thinkest thou this to be right, that 
 thou saidst. My righteousness is more than 
 God's? 
 
 thy conceits? If you and I should determine what were fit for 
 Him to do. Fie would still tike what course He thought best, 
 whether we liked or disliked it. Bp. Hall. 
 
 36, .37. Mfi desire is &c.] My desire is, that Job's speeches 
 concerning; God's j)rovidence may be fully scanned, till the point 
 he brouj^ht to an issue; because he speaks in behalf of the wicked, 
 teachin": them how to argue against God and His providence, 
 f|aarrelling with fiod, justifying himself in the evil he hatli 
 -poken, and insulting over us. Clark. 
 
 :>!. For he uddelk rebellion &c.] .Job's discontent with the 
 measures of Pro\i(lencc towards him broke out in his very first 
 speech, grew r.K)ie loud and vehement in the course of the dis- 
 pute, and arrived to its height in his presumptuous challenge of 
 Ciod, chap. .vxxi. ,i5 — SJ. This progress and increase are what 
 ■EUhu marks by the e.vpression, " he addeth rebellion unto his 
 sin." The phi-aseology denotes continual augmentation; like that 
 in Ps. Ixix. t>7, " add iniquity unto their iniquity." Compare Ps. 
 Ixxxiv. 7. Scott. ^ 
 
 /'« dnppeth his hands &c.] He exults not only over his 
 
 three opponents, but iJso over God Himself, particularly in chap. 
 xxxi. S5— ,'?7. Scott. 
 
 Chap. XXXV. Elihu, who has undertaken to instruct at the 
 Mrac time both Job and his friends, observes that our jiietj' can 
 tie of no advantage, nor our wickedness injurious to the Deity ; 
 Inrt that God punishes the wicked for the sake of mankind, though 
 not so quickly as the impatient sufferers expect, who in their mi- 
 sery are apt to forget all former blessings, and the Being who be- 
 stowetl them. Mic/iaelis. 
 
 \'er. 2. Thinkest thou this to be rishl. &c.] By insisting so much 
 on your own righteousness, and complaining of CJod's dealintrs 
 with thee, thou m effect makest thyself more righteous than God. 
 Llark. 
 
 4~S. 7 nitl ansteer thee, &c.] As if Elihu had said, I know 
 th.-it neither thy sms can do any luirt to God, nor can thy righte- 
 ousness do Him any good; but thy sins may hurt thee, and thy 
 righteousness advantage thyself: therefore lay aside such wicked 
 and desperate thoughts as these. Cart/l. 
 
 4. — „,„/ ,/,y companions^ For they also had erred with Job, 
 hiS'^r"/" that temporal prosperity ought to be annexed by the 
 
 n "rest ;r h ' '^'""g'\'.y '^ "^liged, by any regard to His own 
 imprest or happiness, to distribute rewaixl vv punishment. Bp. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 .iboiit 1520. 
 
 II Or, 
 by il more 
 than by in^f 
 sin .' 
 t Hoi). 
 httill return 
 I'l thee 
 vjurdi. 
 
 ' Ps. jr,.i'. 
 Rom 11 S.'.. 
 ch. 22. ;i. 
 
 3 For thou saidst, What advantage will 
 it be unto thee ? and. What profit shall I 
 ha\'e, II if I be cleansed from my sin ? 
 
 4 1 1 will answer thee, and thy compa- 
 nions with thee. 
 
 5 Look unto the heavens, and see ; and be- 
 hold the clouds xvhich are higher than thou. 
 
 6 If thou sinnest, what doest thou against 
 him ? or ?/'thy transgressions be multiplied, 
 what doest thou imto him ? 
 
 7 * If thou be righteous, what givest 
 thou him ? or what receiveth he of thine 
 hand ? 
 
 8 Thy wickedness may hurt a man as 
 thou art ; and thy righteousness may profit 
 the son of man. 
 
 9 By reason of the multitude of oppres- 
 sions they make the oppressed to cry : they 
 cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty. 
 
 10 But none saith, Where is God my 
 maker, who giveth songs in the night; 
 
 1 1 Who teachcth us more than the beasts 
 
 5. Look unto the heavens, &c.] This is a sublime sentimerft in 
 a plain dress. Oiie view, says he, of the magnificent scenery of 
 the lofty sky will extinguish all low conceptions of its almighty 
 Author. It will strike the mind with a vast idea of His infinite 
 superiority to all other beings, and of the impossibility of His 
 gaining or suffering by the good or bad behaviour of His reason- 
 able creatures. Scott. 
 
 6. If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him P'J If thou sin- 
 nest, what dost thou hurt Him .'' Is His holiness, justice, power, 
 the less, because thou hast transgressed ? Is aught diminished 
 from His essence by this offence.'' Bp. Hall. 
 
 9. Bij reason of the multitude of oppres.nmis &c.] Tiii^ offended 
 Job: the poor crj', and they have no helper, no deliverer. .See 
 chap. xxiv. 12. Elihu grants these general truths, that many are 
 oppressed, that many cry out under their oppressions, and that 
 many remain undelivered from, and unrelieved in their opj)res- 
 sions. God seems sometimes not to regard the cries of the af- 
 flicted, nor does He presently take vengeance on oppressors ac- 
 cording to their folly; yet he acquits CJod of any such imputation 
 as the words of .lob seem to insinuate. " The oppressed cry," 
 (saitA Elihu,) but not with a right frame of heart; they cry, ra- 
 ther as oppressed with the weight of their own sufferings, than as 
 touched « ith a sense of their sins, or reverence for the sovereignty 
 of God, who has given them up to the power of their oppressors; 
 or as having faith in Him for their deliverance, or quiet submis- 
 sion to His will: these may either be said not to pray at all, or 
 they ])ray not with such holy aims and designs, with such inte- 
 grity and uprightness of heart, as become the people of God. 
 They pray under the control of impatience, or moved with envy 
 at the power of their adversaries, or with a desire of the utmost 
 revenge; and therefore God takes no notice of their prayers, ver. 
 1 2, 1."?, " There they cry, but none giveth answer; surely God will 
 not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it." Caryl. 
 
 10. But none sailh, &c.] Many make formal flourishes, but 
 none heartily ackno\sledge the powerful awd just hand of God, 
 who gives due and seasonable comfort to the soul, in the deepest 
 and darkest night of our solTows. Bp. Hall. 
 
 When God avengeth not the oppressed, it is to be attributed to 
 their want of piety: He neglecteth them, because they neglect 
 Him. They murmur, but they do not pray; they are clamorous, 
 but they are not humble. Bp. Stock. 
 
 11. Who tcaehelh ns more &.c.'\ By bestowing the noble gift of 
 reason, God hath qualified us for religion; and laid us under th& 
 highest obligation to be religious. Scott,
 
 Elihu she'weth how God 
 
 CHAR XXXV, XXXVI. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1320. 
 
 ' Ch. 27. 9. 
 Prov. I. 28. 
 Is. I. 15. 
 Jer. II, II. 
 
 II Tliat is, 
 
 God. 
 
 II That is, 
 
 Job. 
 
 f Hel). 
 tital tUcre 
 are yet 
 wordajbr 
 God. 
 
 of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the 
 fowls of heaven ? 
 
 12 There they cry, but none giveth an- 
 swer, because of the pride of evil men. 
 
 13 ''Surely God will not hear vanity, nei- 
 ther will the Almighty regard it. 
 
 14 Although thou saye.st thou shalt not 
 see him, 7/e/ judgment is before him ; there- 
 fore trust thou in him. 
 
 15 But now, because it is not so, ||he 
 hath visited in his anger ; yet || he knoweth 
 // not in great extremity : 
 
 16 Therefore doth Job open his mouth 
 in vain ; he multiplieth words without 
 knowledge. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 1 Elihu sheiveth fiuiv God is just in his tvays. 1 6 How 
 Joh's .tins hinder God's blessings. 24 God's works 
 are lo be ■nuinnijlcd. 
 
 ELIHU also proceeded, and said, 
 2 Suffer me a little, and I will shew 
 thee t that / have yet to speak on God's 
 behalf. 
 
 3 I will fetch my knowledge from afar, 
 and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. 
 
 4 For truly my words shall not be false : 
 he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee. 
 
 12. There theij cry, &c.] The oppressed cry for help ; yet as 
 tliey are wicked men, who still cherish the pride of their hearts 
 against God, God regards tliem not. Clark. 
 
 I'i. Althoiig.h thou sat/est Ihon shalt not see him, &c.'2 Although 
 thou sayest, that God gives thee no assurance of His presence by 
 .any sensible demonstration ; yet He will be sure to execute true, 
 though secret judgment, in all the cases of men : and therefore 
 acknowledge thou Him, and trust in Him. Bp. Hall. 
 
 1.5, l6. But now, becav.ie it is not -w, &:c.3 But now, because it 
 is not so, namely, that Job humbleth himself before God, and 
 trusts in Him for deliverance, He hath visited in His anger : yet 
 though Job is in great extremity of suffering, he is not brought 
 thereby to the knowledge of God and himself: and hence it is 
 manifest, that he pours forth complaJnts without success; thereby 
 tliscovering liis ignorance of God and himself. Clark. 
 
 Chap. XXXVI, XXXVH. In this last address to Job, Elihu 
 brings forward no new assertion or saying of his to be proved 
 against him ; nor does he reprove Job for any new faidt : but in- 
 .'ists on the proof of what himself had asserted before, to shew 
 that God is righteous, which he docs by looking through the 
 various works of God, those especially which are wrought on 
 high, the meteors of the airy region, the rain, the snow, the 
 lightning, and the thunder; which all declare, as tlie wisdom and 
 power, so the justice and righteousness of God, who proclaims 
 by these teachers how terrible He is, and will be to wilful and 
 impenitent sinners. Caryl. 
 
 C'lL-ip. XXXVl. ver. ii. — from afar,'] From God's wonderful 
 works in nature since the beginning of the world, ver. 20", and 
 chap, xx.wii. Clark. 
 
 4. For truly my words shall nut be false ;] Be assured that I 
 will not seek to baffle thee with sophistical arguments: he that 
 discoui-ses with thee is none of those subtle disputers, but loves 
 sincere and solid reason. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 6. He preserveth not the life of the tricked :'] Suffers them not 
 ill to go unpunished ; but will, in due time, execute judgment 
 upon them. Clark. 
 
 is just in all his 'ijcays. 
 
 Before 
 . CHRIST 
 ajlu about )5'J0. 
 t Hcb. 
 heart. 
 
 11 Or, 
 afflicted. 
 *Pe. 34. 15. 
 
 5 Behold, God is might}', and despiseth 
 not any .- he is mighty in strength 
 t wisdom. 
 
 6 He pi-eserveth not the life of the wick- 
 ed : but giveth right to the II poor. 
 
 7 ' He withdraweth not his eyes from 
 the righteous : but with kings are ihety on 
 the throne; yea, he doth establish tliem 
 for ever, and they are exalted. 
 
 8 And if they be bound in fetters, and be 
 holden in cords of affliction ; 
 
 9 Then he sheweth them their work, 
 and their transgressions that thev have 
 exceeded. 
 
 10 He openeth also their eai- to disci- 
 pline, and coinmandeth that they return 
 from iniquity. 
 
 1 1 If they obey and serve hi?)}, they shall 
 
 '' spend their days in prosperity, and their ''Ch.21.13. 
 years in pleasures. 
 
 12 But if they obey not, t they shall pe- t Hcb. 
 rish by the sword, and they shall die with- ""^ '''"" 
 
 ,11. '' jiiiisftwau 
 
 out knowledge. iylhesw'rd. 
 
 13 But the hypocrites in heart heap up ,f Heb. 
 wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them. Th,-irs«vi 
 
 14 t They die in youth, and their life is J|"or", 
 among the || unclean. j.wu»«v«. 
 
 15 He delivereth the Ijpoor in his afflic- l^'aeu. 
 
 7- He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous ,•] He nei- 
 ther forgets nor neglects to reward them, though never so poor 
 and afflicted: these rigliteous poor are sometmies adv;uiced by 
 God to royal dignity, 1 Sam. ii. 8 ; Psal. cxiii. 7, S ; .and continue 
 in their dignity, yea, and increase in it in spite of all opposition. 
 Clark. 
 
 8—10. And if they be bound in fetters, &c.] Though all af- 
 flictions are evils in themselves, yet they are good for us, because 
 they discover to us our disease, and tend to our cure. They are 
 a .sensible argument and conviction to us of the evil and danger of 
 sin. We are not sufficiently sensible liow great an evil sin is, ull 
 we feel the dismal effects and consequences of it. And tlierefore 
 to rectify our apprehensions concerning it. God makes us to suffer 
 by it. Thus Elilni describes tlie happy effects of affliction in tliese 
 verses. God doth but invite and inti-eat us by His mercies, but 
 His judgments have a more powerful and" comm.-mding" voice. 
 When He" holds man in cords of affliction, then He <'i>eiieth their 
 ear to discipline." In prosperity we ai-o many times incapable of 
 counsel and instruction, but when we arc under (Jod's correcting 
 hand, then we are fit to be spoken with. Abp. Tillol.wn. 
 
 10. He openclh also their car to discipline,'^ To fit them for in- 
 struction, that they may listen to God's chastening. Caryl. 
 
 12. — they shall /x-rish by the sword, and Ihcy shall die without 
 knowledge.^ They shall die bj- some violent death for their folly, 
 bec.-uise they would not learn by God's* correction. Clark. 
 
 l.'> — 1.'). But the hypiwrites in heart &c.] The difference be- 
 tween him who makes a specious display of piety, and him wlio 
 possesses it in sincerity, is manifested by the effect of afflictions 
 on each. The hypocrite, while under cha.^tisenient, is so far 
 from calling on God suppliantly, that he provokes Him more ainl 
 more to anger by an obstinate refusal to amend : hence he comes 
 to an untimely end, and is involved in tlie s:mie destruction with 
 the most abandoned ; see chap, xxvii. S. The righteous, on the 
 contrary, as being more open to instruction, when they have been 
 tniight by misfortunes, are delivered by God out of their troubles. 
 RosenmiiUer, 
 
 15, He delivereth the poor in liis aJJliction,'\ God delivers tliejn
 
 clod's zcorks 
 
 JOB. 
 
 are to be magnified. 
 
 Vtlon 
 rUBIST 
 
 aUiur M}'SO. 
 
 t Heb. 
 the rat ff 
 thy taUe. 
 
 I Or, 
 
 judumfnt 
 and justice 
 thoutd ujt' 
 hM tlicc. 
 
 fHcb. 
 turn thee 
 mside. 
 
 tion, and openeth their cars in oppres- 
 sion. 
 
 16 Even so would lie have removed thee 
 out of the strait into a hroad pUice, where 
 the?'e is no struitncss ; and t that which 
 should be set on thy table shotild be full 
 of fatness. 
 
 17 But thou hast fulfilled the judgment 
 of the wicked: || judgment and justice take 
 hold on thee. 
 
 IS Because there is -wrath, beware lest he 
 take thee away with his stroke : then a 
 great ransom cannot t deliver thee. 
 
 19 Will he esteem thy riches? tio, not 
 gold, nor all the forces of strength. 
 
 20 Desire not the night, when people are 
 cut off in their place. 
 
 21 Take heed, regard not iniquity : for 
 this hast thou chosen rather than affliction. 
 
 22 Behold, God exalteth by his power : 
 who teacheth like him ? 
 
 23 Who hath enjoined him his way ? or 
 
 in affliction, wlien He hath opened their ears by oppression. 
 Caiyl. 
 
 17. But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked:'] Thou 
 hast fully pleaded the cause of the wicked, and justified their 
 hard and reproachful speeches, uttered in rage against God, con- 
 dcmning Him, and justifying themselves. The just indignation 
 of God hath already seized upon thee. Clark. 
 
 19. — not ^uld, nor nit the forces of strenglh.] These -words 
 would be more intelligible, if they were rendered, as they min-ht 
 be, " not gold, nor all the powers of wealth." Dr. Diirell. 
 
 20. Desire vol the night,'] Do not thou wish for the niglit, as 
 thinking that that silent and quiet time might give thee ease from 
 thy thoughts, while thou hast to do with a God, who can in an 
 instant cut off whole nations, much more thee, who art but a 
 weak and frail man. Bp. Hall. 
 
 21. Take heed, regard not iniquity: Scc] Thou hast rather 
 chosen to tax the proceedings of God in thy weak impatience, 
 th.iu meekly to suffer his infliction. Bp. Hall. 
 
 22. 23. Belmld, God exalteth by his power : &C.1 Elihu, by 
 Uus commendation of the power and wisdom of God, seems to 
 c<mifort Job in the hope of better things if he would hearken to 
 his counsel: for as Cio.! had greatly afflicted and broken him, so 
 l\o was as mighty to heal those breaches and deliver him- He 
 only waited to see him in a better frame of mind, that He mi^ht 
 be gracious; see Is. XXX. I «. Caryl. " 
 
 23. U'ho hath enjoined him his nw,?] This passage ought to 
 be rendered^ " \\ho can charge Him with His waj^Tor, animad- 
 vert upon Him for His way.'" Dr. Durcll. 
 
 ^\. Remember !hal thou magnify his work, which men behold.l 
 i he Creator doubtless did not bestow so much curiosity, and ex- 
 rjuisite workmanship and skill upon His creatures, to be looked 
 upon with a careless inturious eye; especially to have them 
 * ighte.1 or contemned : but to be admired by t!,e rational part of 
 the world, to magnity His own power, wisdom, and goodness 
 throughout .all the world, and the ages thereof. The more w 
 
 ^t.Uh T°r °\ "■' '''"'^'' '^^ ^''■^''' «"'! ^°'^ glorious 
 
 7o nr i .K° ^' ' "'V°'""' '^""^y °*' ^"1 '^'^ "lore expressly 
 
 o proclaim, their great Creator. To make such researches then 
 
 ^weriXuV"'^'^"'" ^II'"' ""f ""'''' ^^^'--d so much art" 
 to vte'w Ti, "" ^'T" "■' 7°'^'' '"^ ^^^" ''^ gi^*^" "^ senses 
 
 tose^chTnlT''^ '?1'^' ^"'^,i^ "nderstanding and curiosity 
 
 wSoursel^ J"' '^V"^ ""^y '^^ ^"'l ^''■"ire His handy 
 ^qrk our^cUes. and set it forth to others, that they may see, ad- 
 
 hast wrought ini- 
 aiagnify his 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 15':iO. 
 
 man 
 
 may 
 
 t Htfi>. 
 
 titc r(>Li(« 
 
 who can say. Thou 
 quity ? 
 
 2i Remember that thou 
 work, which men behold. 
 
 25 Every man may see it 
 behold it afar off. 
 
 2G Behold, God is great, and we know 
 him not, neither can the number of his 
 years be searched out. 
 
 27 For he maketh small the drops of 
 water : they pour down rain according to 
 the vapour thereof: 
 
 28 Which the clouds do drop and distil 
 upon man abundantly. 
 
 29 Also can a?ii/ understand the spread- 
 ings of the clouds, or the noise of his ta- 
 bernacle ? 
 
 30 Behold, he spreadeth his light upon 
 it, and covereth t the bottom of the sea. 
 
 31 For by them judgeth he the people ; 
 he gi\eth meat in abundance. 
 
 32 With clouds he covereth the light; 
 
 mire, and praise it also. Such is the recommendation of Elihu : 
 " Renieniber that thou magnify His work, which men behold. 
 Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off." Dr. 
 Derham. 
 
 This verse ought to have begun a new chapter : for it begins a 
 new head of discourse, which is continued to tlie end of the en- 
 suing chapter. The subject is the incomprehensible wisdom and 
 power of God, in forming the meteors of rain, thunder, tkc. and 
 using them to serve the ends of His moral government. Tlie 
 scope of the discourse is, to convince Job of his ignorance of the 
 ways of Providence, by his ignorance of the works of creation ; 
 and to humble him for his presumption in finding fault with 
 what he did not, could not, understand. Scotl. 
 
 his irork,] The visible creation, the Iieavens in parti- 
 cular ; ill which He has made manifest His eternal power and 
 Godhead, Ps. xix. 1 ; cii. 2o ; Rom. i. 20. Scott. 
 
 27- For he maketh small the drojis of water : they pour down 
 rain according to the vapour thereof:] This passage may be ren- 
 dered, " For He maketh small the drops of water, which poureth 
 down rain through His vapour." Dr. Durell. 
 
 29 — 31. Also can any understatid the spreadings of the clouds, 
 Sic] " The spreadings of the clouds ;" that is, the covering of 
 the skj' with clouds, the prelude to a thunder storm. l?y " His 
 tabernacle" are meant, the clouds; see Psal. xviii. 11. Scott. 
 
 It is wonderful to observe with what a variety of natural and 
 sublime expressions the thunder is described to us in this book, 
 and all of them with reference to the Deity ; as " the noise of 
 His tabernacle;" the " murmurs of His mouth;" that " bj' wliich 
 He judgeth His people ;" and the like. Peters. 
 
 30. Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it,] Behold, when the "^ 
 heaven is overcast with clouds. He sendeth forth His bright 
 beams, and enlighteneth and cheereth the face thereof; and again 
 He sendeth such gloomy and dark clouds, that the blackness 
 and obscurity thereof shade even to the bottom of the sea. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 Or, " Behold, He spreads upon it," that is, the cloud, " His 
 light," or lightning ; " and overspreads," namely with the lustre 
 of it, " the bottom of the sea." Parkhurst. 
 
 31. For by them judgeth he the people;] He makes use of the 
 clouds for quite contrary ends ; both to punish mankind by storms, 
 tempests, and floods ; and to make a plentiful provision for them 
 by fruitful showers. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 32. With clouds he covereth the light ;] By clouds also He 
 sometimes hideth the sun from us, so that it cannot ripen tlie
 
 God is to he feared 
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 because of his great xcorks. 
 
 chr'ist ^"^ commandeth it not to shine by the cloud 
 about 1520. that Cometh betwixt. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 thnt which 
 
 giieth up. pour 
 
 3S The noise thereof sheweth concern- 
 ing it, the cattle also concerning t the va- 
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 t Heb. 
 Hear in 
 huariii^. 
 
 t Htb. 
 
 I:gh/. 
 fHeb. 
 'lings of the 
 airth. 
 
 1 God is to be feared because of his great works. 15 
 His wisdom is unsearchable in them. 
 
 AT this also my heart trembleth, and is 
 moved out of his place. 
 
 2 t Hear attentively the noise of his 
 voice, and the sound that goeth out of his 
 mouth. 
 
 3 He directeth it under the whole hea- 
 ven, and his t lightning unto the t ends of 
 the earth. 
 
 4 After it a voice roareth : he thunder- 
 eth with the voice of his excellency ; and 
 he will not stay them when his voice is 
 heard. 
 
 5 God thundereth marvellously with his 
 
 fruits ; and sometimes only intercepts its beams awhile, that it 
 may not burn them up with immoderate heat. Ep. Patrick. 
 
 33. The noise thereof sheireth concerning itf] The noise of 
 thimder, which is in the clouds, sheweth and presageth the rain, 
 which will pour down from it ; and the very cattle have a kind 
 of notice, and give a certain intimation, by signs and tokens, of 
 the falling of that moist vapour. lip. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XXXVII. ver. 1. At this~\ At the consideration of the 
 thunder. Bp. Hall, Clark. 
 
 2. Hear attentively the noise of his voice,"] So as to observe 
 God's great power manifested therein. It seems not improbable, 
 that Avhile Elihu was speaking, it thimdered greatly : and that 
 that tempest began, with which Ciod ushered in His speech. Ep. 
 Hall, Clark. 
 
 4. — with the voice of his excellency ;] With His majestick 
 voice. lir. Durell. 
 
 he will not stay them when his voice is heard.'] He will 
 
 not check the rain and storm, (chap, xxxvi. '_'7,- &"c.) which come 
 quickly after the thunder. Clark. 
 
 7. He sealelh up the hand qfcceri/ man j-] He stops the labour 
 of those whose business is in the fields ; and maketh the hus- 
 bandmen know that He disposeth of all things as He pleaseth. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 8. Then the beasts go into dens, &c.] The low grounds are co- 
 vered with water ; the bea.5ts of prey flee to tlie caverns of the 
 mountains for safety ; they couch there, and watch impatiently 
 for the drving of the valleys. Scott. 
 
 9. Out of the -louth &c.] I'he marginal rendering is juster. 
 The period will then be, " Out of the chamber cometh the storm, 
 and cold from the scattering or dispersing winds." The " cham- 
 ber," or rather the " secret chamber," denotes those unknown re- 
 gions, whence the winds have their origin: or the meaning "lav be, 
 that winds are part of the treasures of God, always in readiness 
 whene\ er He pleases to employ them ; see Ps. cxxxv. 7 ; c.vlviii. 8. 
 The " dispersing" winds are supposed to be those whicli blow 
 from the northern points, and by scattering the clouds or dissolv- 
 ing them, make such a clear sky in sharp frosty weather, as is de- 
 scribed in ver. ] 1. These three verses are a description of stormy, 
 cold, and frosty weather: winds cold and freezing are still among 
 " the great things which God doeth, and which we cannot com- 
 prehend." Scott. 
 
 10. — and the breadth of the waters is straitatcd.] Those 
 xiver.s, which before had no confinement or restraint, but were at 
 
 voice; great things doeth he, which we can- 
 not comprehend. 
 
 For ' he saith to the snow, Be thou on 
 the earth ; t likewise to the small rain, and 
 to the great rain of his strength. 
 
 7 He sealeth up the hand of every man; 
 that all men may know his work. 
 
 8 Then the beasts go into dens, and re- 
 main in their places. 
 
 9 t Out of the south cometh the whirl- 
 wind : and cold out of tiie t north. 
 
 10 Bv the breath of God frost is given : 
 and the breadth of the waters is strait- 
 ened. 
 
 11 Also by watering he wearieth the 
 thick cloud : he scattereth t his bright 
 cloud : 
 
 12 And it is turned round about by his 
 counsels : that they may do whatsoever he 
 commandeth them upon the face of the 
 world in the earth. 
 
 13 He causeth it to come, whether for 
 t correction, or for his land, or for mercy. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about M'M. 
 
 * Psal. 147. 
 IC, 17. 
 t Heb. 
 and to the 
 shower i>f 
 rain, and to 
 tite thowert 
 itfruin iifliis 
 Urengtii, 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 Out oftlie 
 
 chamber, 
 
 fHeb. 
 
 scattering 
 
 winds. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 the ct.md >f 
 
 liis light. 
 
 fHeb. 
 u rod. 
 
 liberty to enlarge and widen their surface, are now retarded in 
 their course. Chappclon-. Snow, cold, frost, and ice, were no 
 strangers in Judea, which bordered on Arabia Petrea, supposed 
 by some to be Job's country, 1 Chron. xi. -2-2 ; Psal. cxlvii. 10, 17: 
 nor yet in Arabia Petrea; see chap. vi. l6. It may be thought 
 incredible, that there should ever be such sevei-c cold in those 
 warm climates as to freeze lakes and rivers. But Mr. DaM es in- 
 forms us, that in the year 1756-7, at Aleppo, they had a very sharp 
 winter, which destroyed all the fruits of the earth. The cold was 
 so very intense, that the mercurj- in Falirenheit's thermometer, 
 exposed a few minutes to the open air, sunk entirely into the ball 
 of the tube. Millions of olive trees, tliat had witlistood the se- 
 verity of fifty winters, were blasted in this ; and thousands of 
 souls perished merely from cold. Was not tliis a frost sufficient 
 to freeze a lake or river.' and yet Aleppo is so wann a climate, 
 that the same author tells us, they were obliged to sleep on the 
 terrace of their houses in the summer. Scoil. 
 
 11. Also by natcring he nearicth the thick cloud :] He expends 
 all tlie moisture of the thick cloud in watering the earth. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 Rather, " Even by serenity He wearieth tlie thick cloud." 
 CItappeloiv. 
 
 he scattereth his bright cloud. 1 Ratlier, "He scattereth 
 
 the cloud bv his light or darkness." Dr. Durell. 
 
 The whole verse may be thus translated, " -Also tlie clear sky 
 dispelleth the thick cloud. His sun scattereth the e.\tended 
 clouds." We have here a picture of the sky in a clear sliarp 
 freezing day. Scott. 
 
 1-2 And it is turned round about by his coutiseh: &(.:] The un- 
 settled and irregular motions of the clouds pr<wec<l, not from any 
 power of their own, but from His superiour direction: they, like 
 all other created things, may be said in some sense to receive 
 their commission from tlieir Maker. Cliappelou: 
 
 1.'5. He causeth it to come, nhcthcr for correction, Sic] The 
 moral use, which God makes of meteors, wind, rain, &c. can b« 
 but twofold. They are either for correction or for mercy. The 
 situation of the words, " or for His land," between those members 
 of the partition, seems very uncouth, and j^rplcxes the sense. A 
 small transposition will render the perioil deal- and easy : 
 Whether for correction or for mercy, 
 X'crily for His earth He causeth it to come. Scott. 
 
 {n That is, the work which He comm.indetli the meteor* 
 
 to do upon the habitable parU of the earth. Scott.
 
 God's •xisdom is tmsearchable 
 
 JOB. 
 
 in his works. 
 
 crforr 11. Hearken unto this, O Job: stand 
 l^^hll still, and consider the wondrous works of 
 God. 
 
 15 Dost thou know when God disposed 
 them, and caused the light of his cloud to 
 shine? 
 
 16 Dost thou know the balancings of the 
 clouds, the wondrous works of him which 
 is perfect in knowledge ? 
 
 17 How thy garments are warm, when 
 he quieteth the earth by the south xcind ? 
 
 18 Hast thou with liim spread out the 
 sky, tvIiicJi is strong, a7id as a molten look- 
 ing glass ? 
 
 19 Teach us what we shall say unto him; 
 
 It deserve? our regard, that all the works of Nature are pre- 
 pared by God to be His instruments, eithcT for judgment or for 
 mercy : " The treasures of snow and hail are reserved against 
 the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war," chap, 
 xxxviii. 22, 23. Bp. Sherlock. 
 
 U. Hearken tinlo l/iis, O Jof) :'] Hearken unto this discourse 
 of God's various proceedings: then say, whether it be fit to nnir- 
 niur against so great a Being; and whether it be possible for thee 
 to compreliend His secret counsels, who canst not comprehend 
 His ordinary works. Clark. 
 
 15. Dusl thou know ii'hen God disposed Ikem,'] He means God's 
 disposing of His " wondrous works" or operations, ver. 14, in 
 such a manner as to produce such and such effects. Scott. 
 
 ciiiised the light of his cloud to shine ?] Caused the light 
 
 to illuminate the cloud. Dr. Durcll. 
 
 Or " caused his Imninous clouds to shine." He means per- 
 haps those bright clouds, fringed with gold, and stained with the 
 richest tints, whicli often in a summer evening attend the setting 
 «un. Some eminent commentators explain this passage of the 
 rainbow ; but the expressions may appear too vague to allow that 
 limitition. Scolt. 
 
 16. Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, &c.] The clouds 
 remain suspended, so long as their pressure is exactly balanced 
 by the counter pressure of the air, which is underneath them. 
 When the equipoise is destroyed, they often i)recipitate in rain. 
 Biit the law of tlie equilibrium, and the causes which destroy the 
 balance, are so mysterious in their o])eration, that our knowledge 
 of these matters is extremely superficial. Scott. 
 
 17- How thy irarmenls arc ivarm, itc] How comes it to pass, 
 that the air is so hot, as that thou canst not bear thy clothes, when, 
 in a calm season, the south sun shines upon thee, and the warm 
 touthern winds blow in thy face ? Bp. Hall. 
 
 He describes an Arabian noonday in the height of summer, 
 •when tlie sun is in liis full strength, and not a breath of wintl 
 stirring to cool the sultry air. 'fhe word " wind" is not in the 
 original. " The south" means tlie south quarter of the heavens, 
 when the sun is in the meridian. The excessive heat, and bright 
 transparency of the air, in a summer's noon, especially in the 
 warmer climates, perplex philosophy with many difficult ques- 
 tions. Scott. 
 
 18. — which is strong, and as a molten looking glass ?2 Which 
 seems to us so firm and solid, as if it were a mirror of some 
 strong polished metal. Bp. Hall. 
 
 The Eastern mirrors are of polished steel, and for the most 
 p;irt convex. Sir J. Chardin. 
 
 which i 
 
 Polished steel has m\ich of that brilliant deep blue gray cast, 
 h is very striking in an Arabian sky, of whose depth of tint 
 we are very mcompetent judges : in fact, tlie higher we ascend on 
 niountams, the deeper, the blacker, the sky becomes; so that, as 
 wi. tie baussure informs us, tlie deepest blue riband was hai-dly 
 :,!pfnn"°^^ • ^^'^ "'^y therefore understand tliis passage, as 
 speakmg ot an atmosphere, extended, resplendent, clear, brilliant 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about IS'JO. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 CM. 
 
 fur we cannot order our speech by reason 
 of darkness. 
 
 20 Shall it be told him that I speak? if a 
 man speak, surely he shall be swallowed up. 
 
 21 And now 7)iefi see not the bright light 
 which is in the clouds : but the wind pass- 
 eth, and cleanseth them. 
 
 22 t Fair weather comcth out of the 
 north : with God is terrible majesty. 
 
 23 Touching the Almighty, we cannot 
 find him out : he is excellent in power, and 
 in judgment, and in plenty of justice : he 
 will not afflict. 
 
 24 Men do therefore fear him : he re- 
 specteth not any that are wise of heart. 
 
 as a mirror, polished with the utmost skill and assiduity. Script, 
 illust. Expos. Ind. 
 
 If). Teach Its what we shall sat) &c.] 1'hese concluding 
 verses are the peroration ; wherein he represents to Job the rash- 
 ness and danger of disputing with God ; sets forth the incompre- 
 hensibility of the schemes of Providence ; insists that they are 
 planned and executed with most perfect equity and justice ; and 
 exhorts liim and all mankind, to annihilate themselves before 
 their Maker, in profoundest reverence of His adorable majesty. 
 Scott. 
 
 20. — if a man speak, surely he shall he swallowed np.'^ If a 
 man will be opposing Him in his speech, and questioning His 
 justice, surely he shall be confounded. Bp. Hall. 
 
 21. And 7tow men see not the bright light &c.] Rather, And now 
 men see not the light, which is bright above (or witliin) the 
 clouds, till the wiiul passeth and cleanseth them. 'Dr. Durcll. 
 
 21, 22. — men .ice no/] Or, men cannot look at the bright 
 line which is in the sky, when the wind hath passed and cleansed 
 it. That is, when the sky is in such a clear and dazzling state as 
 he had described, ver. 18. He beautifully applies that resplen- 
 dent image to the purpose of shewing the insufferable splendour 
 of the Divine majesty. Scott. 
 
 1 f men be not able with their weak eyes to behold the bright- 
 ness of the sun, which .shineth in the light clouds when the wind 
 passes through and disperses them, and when the air is cleared by 
 the north winds ; how shall they be able to stand before God, and 
 to hold contention with Him, wlio'^o majesty is terrible beyond 
 the powers of our apprehension .'' Bp. Hall. 
 
 22. — with God is terrible viajesli/.'] Rather, .\bove is God of 
 tremendous majesty. Dr. Durcll. 
 
 2.3. Touching the Almightij, wc cannot Jind him out:'] This great 
 and worthy sentiment is the sum of his whole sjjeech in justifica- 
 tion of God. The incomprehensibility and infinite perfection of 
 Goil silence all objections to His government. This is a sufficient 
 answer even to those two perplexing difficulties in the measures 
 of Providence, which .Job had st!irted ; the destruction of the 
 righteous with the wicked in general calamities, and the pros- 
 perity of so many profligate men to the very end of their lives. 
 " For as the heavens are higher than the e.vth, so are His ways 
 higher than our ways, and His thoughts than our thoughts," 
 Isai. Iv. 9 ; and the ways and thoughts of an infinitely perfect 
 Being cannot be otherwise than right. Scott. 
 
 in plenty of Justice .•] Rather, plenteous in justice. Dr. ■ 
 
 Durcll. 
 
 he will not afflict.'] Willingly, (Lam. iii. 33,) or without 
 
 just cause, or beyond what is necessary. Clark. 
 
 24. Men do therefore fear him : Scc.^ The best wisdom of man 
 is but foolishness to Him : He makes no reckoning therefore of 
 that vain wisdom, with the conceit of which men are wont to 
 please themselves. Bp. Hall. 
 
 These words of Elihu engage us most seriously to reflect upon 
 the wonders of nature, and particularly upon the thunder, snow, 

 
 God challengetk 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 Job to ansiuer. 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 about 1520. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 1 God chaUengelh Job to answer. 4 God, by his mighli/ 
 works, convi/iai/i Job of ignorance, 31 and of imbe- 
 cility. 
 
 HEN the Lord answered Job out of 
 the whulwind, and said, 
 2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by 
 words without knowledge ? 
 f Heb. 3 Gird up now thy loins like a man ; 
 
 w'"' for I will demand of thee, and t answer 
 = Ps. 104.5. thou me. 
 
 fWeh. if ' 4> =* Where wast thou when I laid the 
 thnuknow- foundations of the earth? declare, t if thou 
 
 est under- i , i . t 
 
 standins- "ast understanclmg. 
 
 rain, clouds, the wincls, and the various seasons of the year. In 
 all these things we discover, first, the infinite power of God ; and 
 next, His wisdom, justice, and goodness: since God makes use of 
 all these things, and of their different effects, as means to promote 
 the good and happiness of mankind ; and sometimes He makes 
 them serve as instruments of correction. We are here tlierefore 
 called upon to consider attentively the wonderful manner in 
 which the world is governed : and to make use of the mercies 
 which God vouchsafes us, and of His chastening dispensations, 
 which are all designed to teach us to know and fear Him. Here 
 ends the dispute between Job and his friends. Uslcrvald. 
 
 " Let men therefore fear Him who beholdeth all the wise in 
 heart as nothing." This great instruction is the point of aim 
 throughout Elihu's speech : this is the sublime moral of the 
 whole poem. To establish this primary duty of all religion by 
 His own authority, the Deity Himself at last appears ; the design 
 of whose speech to Job is to reduce liim to this reverent submis- 
 ■iion, and by his example to enforce it upon all others. Scolt. 
 
 Chap. XXXVni— XLH. Jehovah Himself is introduced with 
 an answer to Job, which shall bring his mind to a better temper, 
 and fit him for his restoration. The manner in which this latter 
 part of the poem is conducted, has been well delineated by Scott. 
 
 " The design of this ajjpearance of the Almighty is not to 
 vindicate the injured character of Job. That is done by a second 
 appearance, which was afterwards made to Elipliaz singly, cliap. 
 xlii. 7, 9 ; and which comes not within the limits of the poem. 
 
 " Neither is the design of this speech to decide the controversy 
 in the dialogues about the ways of Providence : for the decisioji 
 of that dispute was not intended by the jwem, but was reserved 
 for the subsequent liistori/. The scope of the speech is to humble 
 Job ; and to teach others by his example to acquiesce implicitly 
 in the disposals of God, from an unbounded confidence in Hi« 
 wisdom, equity, and goodness. This surely is an end worthy of 
 the interposition of the Deity. 
 
 " The method taken in the sjieech to acconiplisli its design, is 
 a series of questions and descriptions relative to natural things, 
 admirably fitted to convince this complainiuit, and all others, of 
 their incapacity to judge of God's moral adniinistralion, and of 
 the danger of striving with their Maker." Bp. Shx:/:. 
 
 The Almighty's, speech, in this and the following chapters, is 
 by much the finest part of the noblest and most ancient poem in 
 the world. Bp. Pati-ick says. Its grandeur is as much above all 
 other poetry, as thunder is louder than a whisper. Longinus has 
 a chapter on interrogations, wlrich sliews that tliey contiibute 
 much to the sublime. This speech of the Almighty is made up 
 of them. Interrogation seems indeed the proper style of Majesty 
 incensed. It differs from other manner of reproof, as bidding a 
 person execute himself does fi-om a common execution : for he 
 that asks the guilty a proper question, makes him in effect pass 
 .■sentence on himself. Dr. Young. 
 
 Chap. XXXVIII. ver. 1. Then the Lord answered Job out of 
 Vol. 1. 
 
 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, ^'fo'^ 
 if thou knowest ? or who hath stretched IZ^hll 
 the line upon it ? 
 
 6 WTiereupon are the t foundations t Heb. 
 thereof t fastened ? or who laid the corner I'^T 
 stone thereof; ««</«<• 
 
 7 When the morning stars sang toge- ""*' 
 ther, and all the sons of (Jod shouted for 
 
 joy:' 
 
 8 "Or xcfio shut up the sea with doors, "Ps.ioi.g. 
 when it brake forth, ai if it had issued out 
 
 of the womb ? 
 
 9 When I made the cloud the garment 
 thereof, and thick darkues.s a swaddling- 
 band for it, 
 
 the ?rhirln>ind,2 No sooner l)ad Elihu sjioken tlie foregoing 
 words, but thero was a sensible token of tfie presence of that 
 most dreadful majesty of God, cliap. xxxvii. ii2. For there arose 
 an unusual cloud, and a voice came out of it as loud as a tem- 
 pest, which addressed itself to Job. It is probable that God ap- 
 peared and spoke to Job in this manner, pju-tly because this was 
 His usual method in those times, as we see, E.\od. xix. 18; 
 Numb. ix. l.'i, 16: see also 1 Kings xix. 11; Ezek. i. 4: and 
 partly that Job and his friends might be more thoroughly hum- 
 bled and abased within themselves, and prepared the better to 
 receive, and longer to retain, the instructions which God was 
 about to give them. Bp. Patrick, Poole. 
 
 2. — that darkeneth cowi,sel &c.] Who by his vain and igno- 
 rant speeches throws a cloud, as far as he is able, over tlie minds 
 of men, concerning the purposes of God in the administration of 
 human affairs. Cupcllus. 
 
 3. Gird up now thy loins like a man ; &c.] Prepare thyself f'or 
 the combat with Me, which thou hast oflen desired, like a valiant 
 man who means to grapple with his adversary, i'lark. 
 
 4. Where wast thou &c.] Tlie sentiment con\eyed in these 
 striking interrogations is, that He alone, who made the world, is 
 capable of judging how it ought to be governed. This and the 
 three following verses speak of tlie creation of tlie eai-th ; and in 
 terms of architecture, which denote exact proportion, nice ar- 
 rangement, and durable solidity. Scott. 
 
 7. — tlie morning stars'^ That is, the holy angels, glorious and 
 shining like the moniing star. Compare 1 Kings xxii. ig ; Dan. 
 xii. 3 ; 1 Cor. xv. 41 ; Euke xx. S6. Parkhurst. 
 
 8 — 1 1 . Or who shut up the sea SiC.'] The waters were coeval 
 with the earth, and covered it in the beginning. The gathering 
 of them together into a proper receptacle was the great work of 
 the third day of creation. They then took the denomination of 
 " seas," or •'' the sea ;" and likewise retained the n.imc of " the 
 deep." This operation of Almighty power, together witli the 
 measures taken to prevent tlie scii iVoni overflowing the earth, is 
 the subject of these four verses. SciAt. 
 
 8. —with doors,'] See also ver. 10, " .Vud set bars and doors." 
 The shores, Prov. viii. -29 ; Jer. v. 2:^ ; promontories in particular, 
 and high rocky coast, are a restraint upon the ocean, and a secu- 
 rity to the earth. These are the •' barred doors," whidi in part 
 keep the waters of the sea within the boiuids assigned to tlieni. 
 
 nhen it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?'] 
 
 Simply thus: " when' it brake forth, issuing out of tlic womb." 
 Dr. Diirell. The subject here is the coUeclion of part of the mass 
 of w aters into a cluumel, to form the sea and surround the earth. 
 " Tiie womb" therefore, out of which the waters of the sea is- 
 sued, seems to ha^e been the subterraneous abyss ; the sea under 
 icroiind, as the Arabs call it. Scntl. 
 
 I). JVhcn I made — thick darkness a stvaddlinsband for it,] 
 Rather, " a swaddlingcloth : " when I enveloped it in thick 
 clouds for its immediate clotliing, and surrounded it by extensive 
 darkness as a wrapper, involving it wholly. It was a custom 
 
 () ]•"
 
 God, by an enumeration 
 
 JOB. 
 
 of his mighty 'works. 
 
 Befnre 
 CM 1(1 ST 
 
 about \yM. 
 
 I) Or. 
 tttablished 
 my decree 
 Ufon U. 
 t Heb. 
 the I'riile if 
 lAif vaves. 
 
 t Heb. 
 
 vings. 
 
 10 And II brake up for it my decreed 
 place, and set bars and doors, 
 
 11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, 
 but no further : and here shall t thy proud 
 waves be stayed ? 
 
 1^2 Hast thou commanded the morning 
 since thy days ; aiicl caused the dayspring 
 to know his place ; 
 
 13 That it might take hold of the t ends 
 of the earth, that the wicked might be 
 shaken out of it? 
 
 14 It is turned as clay to the seal ; and 
 they stand as a garment. 
 
 among the ancients, when they had washed a new-born child, to 
 wrap it in a clotli. Fraiiments to Calmet. 
 
 The eruption of tlie sea from the great abyss, was compared, 
 in the preceding verse, to the breaking forth of an infant out of 
 the womb. This image is naturally followed by the " garment" 
 and the " swaddlingband," to which are resembled those thick 
 and dark clouds, that frequently arise over the sea, and encompass 
 it Scult. 
 
 10. And brake up for it my decreed place,'] In the margin we 
 read, " and established my decree upon it ;" which is a much 
 better sense. Dr. Durell. The phrase is of the same import as 
 that in Prov. viii. 29. The decree, which God imposed on the 
 mighty ocean, is that wonderful law of gravitation in fluids, by 
 which, all the parts of them exerting an efjual pressure upon one 
 another, the equilibrium of the whole mass is maintained. Scott. 
 
 1 1 . And said, Hitherto shall thou come, &c.] There is a cha- 
 racter of great magnificence in all that precedes ; but this is sig- 
 nally sublime. We are struck with admiration to see the vast 
 and ungovernable ocean receiving commands, and punctually 
 obeying them : to find it, like a managed horse, raging, tossing, 
 and foaming but by the rule and direction of its Master. 2>r. 
 Young. 
 
 12 — 1.5. Hast thou commanded the morning &c.] Raise up thy 
 thouglits still liigher, and tell Me, dost thou remember since the 
 morning light was made.'' Bp. Patrick: 
 
 12. — since thy days;'] These words imply, that this had taken 
 place before the birth of Job, and that the settled course of na- 
 ture had been ordained by Goil from the creation of the world. 
 RoscnmiilJer. 
 
 and caused the dayspring to know his place/] " The 
 
 morning" and " the dayspring" are but two different names for 
 one and the same thing ; break of day until sunrising. Its re- 
 gular appearance in the East is here marked. In the first sen- 
 tence of verse 13, the diffusion of the morning light over the 
 whole face of the earth is expressed by the beautiful figure of 
 " taking hold of the ends of the earth." In the second sentence, 
 the moral benefit of the morning to mankind is noticed : " that 
 the wicked might be shaken out of it." In those times and 
 countries the courts of justice sat in the morning. Judges vi. 31 ; 
 Ps. ci. 8 ; Jer. xxi. 12. ficolt. Or, as Dr. Hammond argues, the 
 passage more jirobably refers to the dispersing of those, whom 
 the darkness of the night encourages to wickedness ; thieves, 
 treacherous persons, and others, whom the light would discover. 
 Chappelow. 
 
 14. It is turned as clay to the seal;] Or, " It," that is, the 
 earth, " is changed as clay by the seal." During the darkness of 
 the night, the earth is a perfect blank ; in whicii state it resem- 
 bles clay that has no Impression. By the morning light falling 
 upon the earth, innumerable objects make their appearance upon 
 It : It is then changed, like clay whicli has received the stamp of 
 we seal. Such appears to be the meaning of this elegant simile, 
 sealing upon rlay is still practised in the East. When the coni- 
 granary at Grand Cairo, belonging to the Sultan, is full, the 
 inspectors, says Norden, having shut the door, i)ut on their 
 
 15 Andfrom thewicked their light iswith- f,u*,f7|.i. 
 holden, and the high arm shall be broken, about 1520. 
 
 16 Hast thou entered into the springs of 
 the sea ? or hast thou walked in the search 
 of the depth ? 
 
 17 Have the gates of death been opened 
 unto thee ? or hast thou seen the doors of 
 the shadow of death ? 
 
 18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of 
 the earth ? declare if thou knowest it all. 
 
 19 Where is the way "where light dwell- 
 eth ? and as for darkness, where is the place 
 thereof, 
 
 and they stand as a garment.] All things upon the earth 
 
 present themselves to our view, and are like a garment, with 
 which the earth is, as it were, clad and adorned. ClarL: Or, men, 
 especially guilty malefactors, are shifted by the breaking forth of 
 the light, like so many separate garments. Bp. Hall. 
 
 1 5. And from the wicked their light is niilhholdcn, Sic] By a 
 bold figure tlie wicked ai-e here said to be deprived oi' tlieir light, 
 when tlie morning has dispelled the darkness ; for darkness is 
 light to them, whose " high arm" is said to be " broken :" because 
 in the morning they lose their boldness, and hide themselves 
 through fear ; but in the night they are daring and resolute. 
 Rosenmuller. 
 
 16. Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea ? &c.] We now 
 descend into the lower parts of the earth. For it should seem 
 that by " the sea," or " deep," we are to understand the sea beloro 
 ground, the waters of the great abyss : and that by " the gates of 
 death," and " the doors of the shadow of death," is meant the en- 
 trance into Sheol, the world of departed spirits, which these men 
 supposed to be placed under the waters of the abyss. Scott. 
 
 God, by the display of His omnipotence, not only shews Job 
 what large amends He could make good men for all their suffer- 
 ings in the great day of the resurrection ; but liints to him by 
 the question, that He could as easily do it before, and admit them 
 to what degree of happiness He pleased immediately on their 
 dissolution. " Hast thou," says God, " looked into Sheol, tlie in- 
 termediate state, the region of departed spirits i Hast thou seen 
 how the souls of men are disposed of after death, and how amply 
 the afflictions of good men may be made up to them there } What 
 room then for such complaints as thou hast now been uttering }" 
 This seems to be the drift of the question. In short, the great 
 lesson which we are to learn from this Divine speech, and the de- 
 cision here put to the controversy, is, that our disputes about the 
 providence of God proceed from ignorance and folly ; that the 
 first duty of a creature is to resign himself to the will of his Cre- 
 ator; to do His commands with pleasure; receive His dispensa- 
 tions with submission ; he thankful to Him for the good, and 
 patient under the evil, that He sends ; to consider life with its 
 appendages as the free gift of God, which therefore we should 
 employ in His service, be ready to give up freely when He calls 
 for it, and trust to Him for a future happy state. Peters. 
 
 1 8. Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth ? 8iC.] Nay, 
 so far from having penetrated into all the dark caverns of the 
 earth, dost thou so much as understand all that grows upon the 
 surface of it } Bp. Patrick. We now ascentj from below the 
 centre of the earth to its surface; from the region of death to 
 the world of life. Scott. 
 
 19- Inhere is the rvay where light divelleth ? &c.] This question 
 differs from that in ver. 12 — 15. That related to tlie morning, 
 and its benefit to mankind : this to settling the precise boundary 
 of light and darkness, that is, day and night. One half of the 
 earth is enlightened, the other half is in darkness, at the same 
 instant. Job is now asked, whether he was witness to that ope- 
 ration of creation, by which the limits of light and darkness were 
 fixed, and knew the extent both of one and the otlier. The ques- 
 tion is put in figurative language : Light d Darkness are repre- 
 sented as persons; each has its separate dwellingplace and pe-
 
 convince th Job 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 oftg7iorance. 
 
 CHRIST ^^ '^^^^'^ *^°" shouldest take it l|to the 
 about 1520. bound thereof, and that thou shouldest 
 J Or, at. know the paths to the house thereof? 
 
 21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast 
 then born ? or because the number of thy 
 days is great ? 
 
 22 Hast thou entered into the treasures 
 of the snow? or hast thou seen the trea- 
 sures of the hail, 
 
 23 Which I have reserved against the 
 time of trouble, against the day of battle 
 and war ? 
 
 24 By what way is the light parted, which 
 scattereth the east wind upon the earth ? 
 
 25 Who hath divided a watercourse for 
 the overflowing of waters, or a way for the 
 lightning of thunder ; 
 
 26 To cause it to rain on the earth, 
 •where no man is ; on the wilderness, where- 
 in there is no man ; 
 
 27 To satisfy the desolate and waste 
 ground ; and to cause the bud of the ten- 
 der herb to spring forth ? 
 
 culiar jurisdiction ; the bounds of one never encroach on those 
 of the other. Scott. 
 
 20. That thou .shouldest take it to the bound thereqf,~\ Or, 
 " Surely thou canst guide (take) us to its border ; yea, certainly 
 thou canst shew the roads whicli lead to its house. Thou must 
 know, for thou wast born at that time ; as to the number of thy 
 years, they are many." This is lofty irony. Heath, Scott. 
 
 22 — 38. Hast thou entered &c.] This whole passage relates to 
 those changes in the state of the atmosphere, which we call the 
 ■weather. Scott. 
 
 22. Hast l/iou entered into the treasures of the snow ? &c.] Didst 
 thou ever enter into My storehouse of meteors, whicli I have de- 
 creed to bring forth upon all occasions of My judgment upon 
 men .'' Bp. Hall. The inspired poet still keeps in view the moral 
 purposes, for which the Deity employs His natural works. " The 
 time of trouble" may signify, not winter in general, but those se- 
 vere winters, in which there falls such abundance of snow and 
 hail, as does infinite damage to the fruits of the earth, to cattle, 
 and to human kind. Scott. 
 
 24. Bi/ what way is the light parted,!^ The word should be 
 rendered " lightning," as in chap, xxxvii. 3 ; on account of its 
 accompaniments, wind, rain, and thunder. Bp. Slock. 
 
 Dost thou know how the lightning comes to break forth from 
 the cloud ; and how that vapour, there included, scatters with 
 great violence a blustering wind upon the earth .' Bp. Halt. 
 
 2.5. Who hath divided a watercourse &c.] Who hath caused the 
 clouds to pour down stores of rain by drops on such and such 
 places, as if it were guided by pipes or channels ? Clark. 
 
 26. To cause it to rain — where no man is ;3 This circum- 
 stance, " where no man is," is dwelt upon, to shew the provision 
 which the Creator makes for the sustenance of wild beasts. Com- 
 pare Psal. civ. 10, n ; Joel ii. 22. This instance of the power 
 and providence of God might also be intended to suggest, that 
 He, who turns the barren wilderness into fruitful pasture, is 
 equally able to change a miserable condition into a happy one. 
 Such an instruction is a strong motive to confidence in God in 
 the most desperate situation, as Job thought his own to be. 
 Compare ch. v. 9 — 1 1 ; and see the note there. Scott. 
 
 28. Hath the rain a father ?] Rather, " Wio is the father of 
 the rain ?" and so it corresponds witli the next sentence, " Or 
 who hath begotten the drops of dew ?" The first mechanical 
 agents in the production of " rain" and " dew," are known only 
 to Him, whose name is Wonderful. ScoU. 
 
 28 Hath the rain a father ? or who hath 
 begotten the drops of dew ? 
 
 29 Out of whose womb came the ice ? 
 and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath 
 gendered it ? 
 
 30 The waters are hid as "with a stone, 
 and the face of the deep t is frozen, 
 
 31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences 
 of II t Pleiades, or loose the bands of t O- 
 rion? 
 
 32 Canst thou bring forth || Mazzaroth 
 in his season ? or canst thou t guide Arc- 
 turus with his sons ? 
 
 33 Knowest thou the ordinances of hea- 
 ven ? canst thou set the dominion thereof 
 in the earth ? 
 
 34- Canst thou lift up thy voice to the 
 clouds, that abundance of waters may co- 
 ver thee ? 
 
 35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they 
 may go, and say unto thee, t Here we 
 are ? 
 
 36 ' Who hath put wisdom in the in- 
 
 Bcfore 
 CHRIST 
 about I5im. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 u talien. 
 
 II Or, 
 the inim 
 stars. 
 t Heb. 
 Ciniah. 
 t Heb. 
 C^sil. 
 H Or, Me 
 twetue signs, 
 t Heb. " 
 guide Ihem. 
 
 tHeb. 
 
 Behold us, 
 ' Chap. 32. 
 8. Eccles. 
 
 2. 26. 
 
 30. The waters are hid as tvilh a stone,'] The waters, hardened 
 into the substance of stone, and losing fo» a time their natural 
 character, " hide themselves;" because no trace of water appears, 
 while every thing is bound by frost. Rosenmuller. 
 
 The Son of Sirach has given a beautiful description of this 
 wonderful operation and appearance of nature, Ecclus. xliii. 20. 
 Scott. 
 
 — — the deep'] This cannot here mean the sea. A frozen sea 
 was never seen in Arabia, or its neighbourhood. Neither could 
 such a phenomenon be so much as heard of in those days, when 
 navigation had not reached to the high northern latitudes. The 
 word signifies, in the Arabick language, any deep gathering to- 
 gether of water, whether fountain, ri\er, or lake. A frozen lake 
 miglit be known even in Arabia, or in some of the adjacent coun- 
 tries. See the remark on chap, xxxvii. 10. Scott. 
 
 31, 32. Canst thou bind Sic] See chap. ix. Q, and tlie note 
 tiiere. Canst thou alter the seasons of the year, or cause a re» 
 straint of the spring, summer, autumn, &:c. ? Canst thou bring 
 forth those hidden stars of the south ? or direct the northern con. 
 stellations in their courses .' Bp. Hall, He is now asked, whether 
 he has power over the heavenly bodies, to direct their motions, 
 control their action upon the eai'th, and prevent the seasons and 
 weather which they are apt to produce. Scott. 
 
 31. — the sweet influences &c.] " The sweet influences" are 
 the pleasant season of spring : " the bands" are the rigours of 
 winter, when the earth is bound with frost. The chief atten- 
 tion of the Arabs was, not so much to the planets, as to the fixed 
 stai-s ; their rising and setting, and their supposed influence in 
 producing rain, wind, heat, cold, and all otlier changes of wea- 
 ther. Scott. 
 
 32. Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth &c.] St. Chrysostom ex- 
 plains Mazzaroth of the twelve signs of the zodiack. Our mar- 
 ginal version adopts that explanation. Scott. 
 
 33. Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven ?] Knowest thou 
 what laws Gotl hath made for tlie motions and influences of the 
 heavens ; and what power He hath given to their operations on 
 the earth ? Bp. Hall. 
 
 35. — Here we are ?] This surprising figure of speech, which 
 gives intelligence ami a voice to tlie lightnings, expresses w^ith 
 great sublimity the punctuality witli which inanimate creatures 
 observe the laws prescribed to them, and pertbrm die service en- 
 joined them by their Creator. The author of Baruch has iioit.HUd 
 this wonderful prosopopoeia, chap. iii. 34. Scott. 
 
 6 F 9
 
 God convinceth Job ofimbecilitij. 
 
 JOB. 
 
 Coforc 
 CHKIST 
 about liSO. 
 
 t Hcb. 
 
 who cttn 
 cauie t^ lie 
 
 U Or, When 
 the dust is 
 lumetl into 
 mirg. 
 t Heb. 
 
 is JIOUTClt. 
 
 ' Vial. 104. 
 21. 
 
 t Heb. 
 the life. 
 • Fa. 147.0. 
 Matlli. C. 
 2C. 
 
 ward parts? or who hath given under- 
 standing to the heart? 
 
 37 Who can number the clouds in wis- 
 dom? or t who can stay the bottles of 
 heaven, 
 
 88 II WHicn the dust t growcth into hard- 
 ness, and the clods cleave fast together? 
 
 39 " Wilt thou hunt the prey for the 
 lion ? or fill t the appetite of the yoinig 
 lions, 
 
 40 When they couch in tJieir dens, a?id 
 abide in the covert to lie in wait? 
 
 41 ' Who provideth tor the raven his 
 food ? when his young ones cry unto God, 
 thev wander for lack of meat. 
 
 God proceedeth to shew his oivn pouter, 
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 37. Who can number the clouds in msdom ? &c.] With all the 
 nisdom that thou hast, canst thou count the number of the clouJs, 
 whose showers thou art as unable to slop, as to make them run ? 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 71 ho can stay the bottles of heaven, &c.] Canst thou " stay 
 
 the bottles of heaven," when they have given as much ram as 
 may fit the earth for bearing fruit, the light dust being now 
 turned into lumps of earth .^ Caryl. 
 
 Or, as in the margin, " Who can cause the bottles of heaven to 
 lie down f " The work of Providence described in these verses, is 
 the collecting and arranging of the clouds in the most fitting sea- 
 son, and then disposing them in the most proper manner for 
 emptying themselves in profitable showers on the arable lands. 
 The clouds are compared to those earthen jars, in which the 
 Eastern people keep their water and their wine ; " the bottles," or 
 pitchers, " of heaven." See 1 Sam. 10. 3 ; Isa. xxx. 14 ; Lam. iv. 2. 
 The disposing of the clouds in a proper maimer for emptying 
 themselves is denoted by the position into which a pitcher or jar 
 is put for pouring out its contents : who can " lay along" the 
 pitchei-s of heaven ? This image is similar to the inclined urn, 
 Avhich the heathen poets place in the hand of a river-god. The 
 urn represents the fountain from which the river flows : and what 
 fountains are to rivers, the clouds are to rain. Schultens, Scott. 
 
 S8. fVheit the dust groweth into harilnexs, kc.'\ These showers 
 nre sent to soften the glebe, and prepare it for plowing, when it 
 has been baked and hardened by the long drought of summer. 
 Compare Psal. l.w. 9 — 13. Scott. 
 
 39. Wilt thoti hunt &c.] This verse should have begun a new 
 chapter : for we here pa.<!S to quite a new topick, the brute ani- 
 mals which inhabit the air, the land, and the water. The subject 
 is continued with a few short inten-uptions unto the end of the 
 Ahuighty's speech. Those s)iecies of animals are selected, in 
 which the wisdom, power, and providential care of the Creator 
 are most eminently displayed. The tendency of the descriptions 
 is, to raise in our minds such admiration of the Deity, as will ef- 
 fectually extinguish discontent, and silence murmurings against 
 His dispensations. Scott. 
 
 for the lion ?] The word signifies " a lioness," properly 
 
 •when giving suck. Parkhurst. The i|uestion turns upon making 
 pro\ision for the lioness, and her family of sucking whelps. The 
 wonderful providence of God effects this, by the tender i'eelings 
 of parental affection which He has infused into this savage ani- 
 mal, and by the peculiar fierceness and swiftness which he has 
 given to it, to hunt the prey that she may have a supply of milk 
 for her young. Scott. 
 
 — — or fill the appetite of the young lions,'] This is a different 
 question. It relates to qualiiying the young weaned lions to pro- 
 vide for themselves. Scott. 
 
 41. Who provideth for the raven his food ?] The providence of 
 nod, particularly in the supplies afforded to the ravens, is divers 
 times taken notice of in the Scriptures. Thus our Savioiu-, Luke 
 f "■ f ■^' ." Consider the ravens, &c." It is a manifest argument of 
 the Divme care and providence, in supplying the world with food 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 1 Of the wild goals and hinds. 5 Of the vild ass. f) about 1520. 
 The unicorn. 13 The peacock, stork, and ostrich. 
 19 The horse. 26 The hawk. 27 The eagle. 
 
 KNOWEST thou the time when the 
 wild goats of the rock bring lorth ? 
 or canst thou mark w^hen 'the hinds do Tsai.og.g. 
 calve ? 
 
 2 Canst thou number the months that 
 they fulfil ? or knowest thou the time when 
 they bring forth ? 
 
 3 They bow themselves, they bring forth 
 their young ones, they cast out their sor- 
 rows. 
 
 4 Their young ones are in good liking. 
 
 and necessaries, that the ravens, accounted as unclean, and little 
 regarded by man, destitute of stores, and that live by accidents, 
 by what falleth here and there ; that such a bird, I say, should be 
 provided with sufficient food : especially if that be true which 
 Aristotle, Pliny, and .'Elian report, of their want of affection and 
 cruelty to their young ; that they expel them their nests as soon 
 as they can fly, and then drive them out of the country. Dr. 
 Derham. 
 
 The reason given why the raven is particularly mentioned as 
 an object of the care of Providence, is because, by her clamorous 
 and importunate voice, she particularly seems to be always call- 
 ing upon Him. Hence in Greek, a verb, derived from the word 
 which signifies a raven, means to ask earnestly. Dr. Young. 
 
 Perhaps the raven is mentioned here, instead of being intro- 
 duced among other birds in the next chapter, because he lives on 
 carrion, and may be supposed to feed on carcasses which the lion 
 leaves. The difficulty of meeting with such kind of food ren- 
 ders the Divine power more illustrious in preserving this species 
 of creatures. Compare Psal. cxlvii. 9- Scott. 
 
 Chap. XXXIX. ver. 1. Knowest thou the lime &.c.~\ Canst thou 
 understand or dispose of the conceptions and births of the wildest 
 creatures ? Bp. Hall. Not mere knowledge, but providential care 
 and protection is intended here. " To know" is used in this 
 sense, Ps. xxxi. 7, " Canst thou mark," ratlier, " Canst thou watch 
 over and preserve the calving of the hinds >" that is, the hinds 
 when they calve. Scott. 
 
 the wild goats of the rock] This animal is called also ibex, 
 
 and in French bouquetin, which name means "goat of the rock." 
 It is a species of wild goat, so called from the wonderful manner 
 in which they mount to the top of tlie highest rocks; to which 
 quality the sacred writers allude in the other two passages, be- 
 sides this, where the word occurs, 1 Sam. xxiv. 2 j Psal. civ. 18; 
 and to this natural historians bear abundant witness. Johnston, 
 in his Histoiy of Quadrupeds, saj's, " It is certain there is no crag 
 of the mountains so high, prominent, or steep, but this animal 
 will mount it in a number of leaps, provided only it be rough, and 
 have protuberances large enough to receive its hoofs in leaping." 
 .-^nd Buffon, after observing that this animal and the chamois 
 greatly resemble each other, adds, " but the rock-goat, as being 
 more nimble and strong, mounts to the very top of the highest 
 mountains, whereas the chamois inhabits only the second stage." 
 Parkhurst. 
 
 2. CansI thou number the months that they fulfil? &c.] " Canst 
 thou number" is here equivalent to " Canst thou appoint the 
 number :" see chap. xi^'. 5. And " knowing" means operative 
 providential care, as in ver. 1. Scott. 
 
 3. — their sorro^rsr] That is, their young ones, brought forth 
 with severe tliroes. Caryl. It is observed by Bochart and others, 
 that hinds bring forth their young with gi-eat difficulty. Dr. 
 Durell. 
 
 4. Their young ernes are in good liking. Sec] Their young ones 
 are lusty and strong ; they grow up in the open fields; they leave 
 their mothers, and rctiu'n to them no more. Bjk Patrick.
 
 and man's xveakness and ignorance, CHAP. XXXIX. hy instances from the animal creation. 
 
 chr"ist ^^^y S^'^^ "P with corn; they go forth, 
 about 1520. and return not unto them. 
 
 5 Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or 
 who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass ? 
 
 6 Whose house I have made the wilder- 
 t Hei'- ness, and the t barren land his dwellings. 
 "" ' '' ""'■ 7 He scorneth the multitude of the city, 
 
 f Heb. ■ ' . , , , . .- y 
 
 of I lie er- , . 
 
 «ctor. driver, 
 
 neither regardeth he the crying t of the 
 
 8 The range of the mountains is his pas- 
 ture, and he searcheth after every green 
 
 thing. 
 
 9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve 
 thee, or abide by thy crib ? 
 
 Ihei/ grow up j/'il/i corn;2 The word rendered "corn" 
 
 means the clear open field or country, as opposed to the dwellings 
 and culti^'ation of men. The animals here mentioned do not 
 thrive with corn, but with the few shrubs and hardy plants grow- 
 ing in the open country or desert: a circumstance which makes 
 their preservation and " good liking" more wonderful. Parkhurst, 
 Scoll. 
 
 Perhaps " the hind" is associated in this passage with the 
 " rock-goat," because the former inhabits the forest, and roams 
 amid its wildnesses, as the rock-goat roams amid the fastnesses of 
 the mountains. Script, il/iist. Expos, hid. 
 
 3. — the wild ass^ This animal is found in considerable num- 
 bers in the desei-ts of Libya and Numidia; in the eastern and 
 southern Tartary; in Persia, Syria, &c. '•' The wild asses," saj's 
 Button, " differ from the tame ones, only by tlie effects of inde- 
 pendence and liberty: they are more sti'ong and nimble, more 
 courageous and lively; but they are the same in the shape of 
 tiieir bodies." Parkhurst. 
 
 free?'\ This word does not here imply an antecedent 
 
 state of bondage. It signifies freedom in opposition to slavery; 
 an exemption from the servitude to which the doraestick ass is 
 made subject: which exemption is expressed in the next sentence 
 by " loosing the bands of the wild ass." Scolt. 
 
 6. Jf'/tose Itoiise I have made the wilderness,'] See above. Park- 
 hurst's note on ver. 5. The wild ass is a gregarious animal, for 
 they go in herds to pasture and to watering; yet in Hos. viii. y, 
 he is said to be " solitary," because he frequents lonely places. 
 Scott. 
 
 and the barren knd] In the Hebrew, as the margin no- 
 
 tices, the " salt places:" either salt marshes, or salt deserts. Pro- 
 fessor Pallas, describing a female wild ass, brought to Petersburg!], 
 says, " She preferred brackish water to fresh, and never di-ank of 
 what was troubled. She loved bread sprinkled with salt, and 
 sometimes would eat a handful of salt. I was told, that, when at 
 Derbent, she always ran to drink of the Caspian sea, though fresh 
 water was nearer to her. She also selected plants impregnated 
 with saline particles, or those of bitter juices." This circumstance 
 greatly adds to the expression and correctness of this passage. 
 Animal*, which inhabit the desert, must often be at a loss for wa- 
 ter; and this anim;i], the Professor says, would often pass two 
 whole davs without drinking. Script, illiist. 
 
 7. He 'scorneth the multitude of the city, &c.] The wild asses 
 tiave their sight, hearing, and smelling, equally good; so that it is 
 impossible to approach" them in an open country. They are 
 ■idapted to rmining, and of such swiftness tliat the best horses 
 cannot equal them: all the ancient writers do justice to their 
 fleetness, and their Hebrew name expresses this quality. Profes- 
 sor Pallas, Script, illust. 
 
 S. The range of tlte mountains is his pasture,] The Persians 
 call this animal by a name signifying the mount;un-ass; because 
 he prefers the most arid deserts of the mountains. Professor 
 Pallas. 
 
 9. — the unicornj Most probably the rhmoceros; in the ori- 
 ffinal, the lea^' In Numb, sxiii. i22, (see the note there.) the 
 
 e x^/0 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1520. 
 
 10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his 
 band in the furrow ? or will he harrow the 
 valleys after thee ? 
 
 11 Wilt thou trust him, because his 
 strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy 
 labour to him ? 
 
 12 Wilt thou believe him, that he will 
 bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy 
 barn ? ^ 
 
 13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto 
 the peacocks ? or ll wings and feathers unto B Or. 
 the ostrich ? '!!^fr":'"! 
 
 14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, •""'•"tnch. 
 and warmeth them in dust. 
 
 strength of Israel is compared to " the strength of the reem." 
 Job makes frequent allusion to his great strength, and ferocity, 
 and indocility. He asks, " Will the reem be willing to serve 
 thee, or abide by thy crib?" that is. Will he willingly come into 
 thy stable, and eat at thy manger? And again: " Canst thou bind 
 the reem with a band in a furrow, and will he harrow the valleys 
 after thee?" In other words. Canst thou make him to go in tlie 
 plough or harrow ? The rhinoceros does not eat hay or grass, 
 but lives entirely upon trees. Bruce. He is also extremely ill- 
 suited to domestick labours; since, when of full age, he is jierhaps 
 as untameable and untractable as any creature living. BufFon 
 says, " In Bengal, Siam, and other southern part* of India, where 
 the rhinoceros is perhaps still more common than in Ethiopia, 
 and where tJie natives are accustomed to train elephants, he is re- 
 garded as an irreclaimable animal, of which no doraestick use can 
 be made." Fragments to Calmel, Script, illust. 
 
 13. Gavest thou the goodly nings unto the /yeacocks?] The ori- 
 ginal word is one of the Hebrew names of the ostrich. The pea- 
 cock was probably not known in S}Tia, Palestine, or Arabia, be- 
 fore the reign of Solomon, who first imported it. It was ori- 
 ginally from India. Besides, the ostrich, not the peacock, is al- 
 lowed on all hands to be the subject of the follo%\ing p;u-ts of the 
 description. Scott. 
 
 — Gavest tliou the goodli/ nings &c.~| The pas.«age may be 
 rendered thus from the original": " The wing of the ostrich is 
 quivering or expanded: the \evy feathers and plumage of the 
 stork." \Mien the ostrich is full grown, the neck, particularly of 
 the male, which before was almost naked, is now very beautifully 
 covered with red feathers. The plumage likewise upon the 
 shoulders, the back, and some parts of the wings, from being 
 hitherto of a dark grayish colour, becomes now as black as jet; 
 whilst the rest of the feathers retain an exquisite whiteness. 
 They are " the very feathers and plumage of the stork:" that is, 
 they consist of such black and white feathers as the stork is known 
 to have. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 Or, " The wing of the ostriches is fluttered or quivered:" This 
 camel-bird, as the Persians call it, caimot fly from the ground; 
 but, assisted by the quivering motiort of its wings, moves at an 
 astonishing rate. But " is it like the wing of the stork and its 
 plumage?" Is it, like that, employed in protecting and providing 
 for the creature's oli'spring ? No: " tor she (the lien ostrich) de- 
 positeth her eggs in the earth, &c." ParUiur.^t. 
 
 14. Which leaveth her rgss in the earth, &c.] As for the stork, 
 the lorty fir trees are her house, Ps. civ. 17: but the improvident 
 ostrich depositeth her eggs in the earth. Scott. She dejv)sits or 
 trusts them there. Several natural historians have sup|iose<l the 
 eggs of the ostrich to be hatched entirely by the sun ; wliereas the 
 original word signifies activelj', that " she heateth them," namely, 
 by incubation. The ostrich lays from thirty to fifty eggs: the 
 first egg is deposited in the centre; the rest are planted as conve- 
 niently as possible round about it. In this manner she is said to 
 " lay," deposit, or trust, " her eggs in the earth, and to warm 
 them in the sand ; and forgetteth," as they are not placed. Like 
 those of some other birds, upon trees, or in the clefis of rociis, &:c.
 
 God proceedeth to shew his oivn power, 
 
 JOB. and man*s weakness and ignorance. 
 
 ncfor.- 15 And torgettoth that the foot may 
 ^fun^io^ crush them, or that tlie wild beast may 
 break them. 
 
 16 She is hardened against her young 
 ones, as though thcif xcere not her's: her 
 labour is in vain without fear; 
 
 17 Because God hath deprived her of 
 wisdom, neither hath lie imparted to her 
 understanding. 
 
 " that the foot" of the traveller " may crush them, or that the 
 wild beast may break them." Dr. Shaw. 
 
 16. She is hardened againal her young ones, &c.] A very little 
 share of that natural aflection, which so strongly exerts itself in 
 most other creatures, is observable in the ostrich: for upon the 
 least distant noise or trivial occasion, she forsakes her egfjs or her 
 young ones, to which perhaps she never returns; or, if she does. 
 It may be too late, either to restore life to the one, or preserve the 
 lives of the others. The Arabs meet sometimes with whole nests 
 of their eggs undisturbed; some of which are sweet and good, 
 others are addle and corrupted: others again have their young 
 ones of different growths, according to the time it may be pre- 
 sumed they have been forsaken by their dams. They oftener 
 meet a few of the little ones, no bigger than well-grown pullets, 
 half-starved, straggling and moaning about, like so many dis- 
 tressed orphans, for their mother. Thus the ostrich may be said 
 to be " hardened against her young ones, as though they were 
 not her's; her labour," in hatching and attending them thus far, 
 " being in vain, without fear," or the least concern of what be- 
 comes of them afterwards. This want of affection is also record- 
 ed, Lam. iv. 3. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 17. Bccau.<:e God hath deprived her (if wi.tdom,'] The want of 
 that natural instinct to provide for, and nurse up, her young, 
 which most other creatures are endowed with, is here attributed 
 to God: " Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, &c." And 
 the singular care of the Creator in this case is very remarkable, in 
 supplying some other way the want of the parent animal's care 
 and affection; so that the young should notwithstanding be bred 
 up in those large and barren deserts of Arabia and Africa, and 
 such like places, where those birds dwell: the most unlikely and 
 unfitting, in all human opinion, to afford sustenance to young 
 helpless creatiu'es; but the fittest, therefore, to give demonstra- 
 tions of the wisdom, care, and especial providence of the infinite 
 Creator and Conservator of the world. Dr. Derham. 
 
 Considering the great voracity of this camel-bird, and the ex- 
 treme barrenness of those parts of the desert which they chiefly 
 frequent, it is wonderful not only how the little ones should be 
 brought uj) and nourished ; but even how those of fuller growth, 
 and much better qualified to look out for themselves, are able to 
 subsist. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 18. What time she Ufteth up herself on high, &c.] Or, as the 
 words may be translated, " when she raiseth herself up to run 
 away," namely, from her pursuers, " she scorncth," or laughs at 
 " the horse and his rider." Dr. Shaw. The ostrich usually ap- 
 pears in a couchant posture, but rises suddenly to her full height, 
 when alarmed and prepai-ing to move forward. Bp. Slock. When 
 these birds are surprised by persons coming suddenly upon them, 
 whilst they are feeding in some valley, or behind some rocky or 
 sandy eminence in the deserts, they will not stay to be curiously 
 viewed and examined. Nor are the Arabs ever dexterous enough 
 to overtake them, even when they are mounted on their most 
 esteemed horses. " They, when they raise themselves up for 
 flight, laugh at the horse and his rider. " They afford him an op- 
 portunity only of admiring at a distance the extraordinary agility 
 and the statelincss likewise of their motions, the richness of their 
 plumage, and the great propriety of ascribing to them " an ex- 
 panded quivering wing;" see ver. 13, and the note. Nothing 
 cerumly can be more lieautiful and extraordinary than such a 
 sight. The wings, by their repeated, though unwearied, vibra- 
 Uons, equally serving them for sails and oars; whilst their feet. 
 
 18 What time she lifteth up lierself on c^^^^dT 
 high, she scorneth the horse and his ri- about 1320. 
 der. 
 
 19 Hast thou given the horse strength ? 
 hast thou clothed his neck with thun- 
 der ? 
 
 20 Canst thou make him afraid as a 
 grashopper? the glory of his nostrils is 
 
 t terrible. t„orl 
 
 no less assisting in conveying them out of sight, are no less insen- 
 sible of fatigue. Dr. Shaw. 
 
 Adanson, in his voyage to Senegal, speaking of two ostriches 
 tiken in Africa, gives this account of their motion, which he had 
 particularly observed. " To try their strength, I made a full 
 grown negro mount the smallest, and two others the largest. 
 This burden did not seem to me at all disproportioned to their 
 strength. At first they went a pretty high trot: when they were 
 heated a little, they expanded their wings, as if it were to catch 
 the wind, and they moved with such fleetness as to seem to be off 
 the ground. Every body must have seen a partridge run, and 
 must know that there is no man whatever able to keep up with 
 it: and it is easy to imagine, that, if this bird had a longer step, 
 its speed would be considerably augmented. The ostrich moves 
 like the partridge, with both these advantages; and I am satisfied 
 that those I am speaking of would have distanced the fleetest race 
 horses that ever were bred in England." Par/chiirst. 
 
 19. Hast thou given the horse strength? &c.] It is very difB- 
 cult to e.Kpress violent motions, which are fleeting and transitory, 
 either in colours or in words. In poetry it requires great spirit 
 in thought, and energy in stj'le, which we find more of in the 
 Eastern poetry, than in either the Greek or Roman. The great 
 Creator, who accommodated Himself to those He vouchsafed to 
 speak to, hath put into the mouths of His Prophets such sublime 
 sentiments and exalted language, as must abash the pride and 
 wit of man. In the Book of Job, the most ancient poem in the 
 world, we have such paintings and descriptions in great variety. 
 The description of the horse in particular, under all the disadvan- 
 tages of having been written in a language little understood; of 
 being expressed in phrases peculiar to a part of the world, whose 
 manner of thinking and speaking seems to us very uncouth; and, 
 above all, of appearing in a prose translation; is nevertheless so 
 transcendently above all heathen descriptions, notwithstanding 
 there are two very fine ones by Homer and Virgil, that hereby 
 we may perceive how faint and languid the images are, which are 
 formed by mortal authors, when compared with that which is fi- 
 gured, as it were, just as it appears in the eye of the Creator. 
 In this description are all the great and sprightly images that 
 thought can form of this generous beast, expressed in such force 
 and vigour of style, as would have given the great wits of anti- 
 quity new laws for the sublime, had they been acquainted with 
 these writings. I cannot but particularly observe, that whereas 
 the classical poets chiefly endeavour to paint the outward figure, 
 lineaments, and motions; the sacred poet makes all the beauties 
 to flow from an inward principle in the creature he describes, 
 and thereby gives great spirit and vivacity to his description. Steele. 
 
 hast thou clothed his neck with thunder f ] Homer and 
 
 Virgil mention nothing about the neck of the horse, but his mane. 
 The sacred author, by the bold figure of thunder, not only ex- 
 presses the shaking of that remarkable beauty in the horse, and 
 the flakes of hair, wliich naturally suggest the idea of lightning; 
 but likewise the violent agitation and force of the neck, which in 
 the Oriental tongues had been flatly expressed by a metaphor less 
 bold than this. Steele. 
 
 20. — the glorif of his nostrils is terrible.'] The disdainful snort- 
 ings which he sends out of his nostrils in his pride and courage, 
 are terrifying like thunder, ver. 19. CV/ny/. This is more strong 
 and concise than that of Virgil, which yet is the noblest line that 
 was ever written without inspiration; " And in his nostrUs rolls 
 collected fire." Steele,
 
 hy instances from 
 
 CHAP. XXXIX, XL. 
 
 the animal creation. 
 
 hy thy 
 mouth. 
 
 chr'i'st ^^ " ^® paweth in the valley, and re- 
 »bouti52o. joiceth in his strength: he goeth on to 
 It Or, meet t the armed men. 
 Hjsteet 22 He mocketh at fear, and is not af- 
 tlicb. frighted; neither turneth he back from 
 •*"'""«"^- the sword. 
 
 23 The quiver rattleth against him, the 
 glittering spear and the shield. 
 
 24 He swalloweth the ground with fierce- 
 ness and rage : neither believeth he that it 
 is the sound of tlie trumpet. 
 
 25 He saith among the tnimpets, Ha, 
 ha ; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the 
 thunder of the captains, and the shouting. 
 
 26 Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, 
 and stretch her wings toward the south ? 
 
 f Heb. 27 Doth the eagle mount up t at thy 
 
 command, and make her nest on high ? 
 
 28 She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, 
 upon the crag of the rock, and the strong 
 place. 
 
 S*. He swaUoiveth the ground &c.]] This expression intimates 
 the rapidity and eagerness of the horse. He is described as rush- 
 ing forward to battle, and, as it were, devouring the intermediate 
 space ; that is, traversing it with such speed, as to appear to swal- 
 low it down with one effort. Rosenmuller. 
 
 " He swalloweth the ground" is an expression for prodigious 
 swiftness in use among the Arabians, Job's countrymen, at this 
 day. It is indeed the boldest and noblest of images for swiftness. 
 Steele. 
 
 neither believeth he &c.] Neither doth he conceive any 
 
 terrour at the signal for battle, but believeth it not for joy. Bps. 
 Hall and Stock. 
 
 " He rejoiceth in his strength ;" " he mocketh at fear ;" " nei- 
 ther believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet ;" " He saith 
 among the trumpets. Ha, ha ;" are signs of courage, as was before 
 said, flowing from an inward principle. There is a peculiar 
 beauty in his "not believing it is the sound of the trumpet ;" that 
 is, he cannot believe it for joy ; but when he is sure of it, and is 
 " amongst the trumpets, he saith, Ha, ha ;" he neighs, he rejoices. 
 Steele. 
 
 It is natural, that when things come to pass which are most of 
 all agreeable to our wishes, but beyond our hopes, we scarcely 
 believe our senses that they have happened. Job, speaking of 
 God, says, " If I had called and He had answered me, yet would 
 I not believe that He had hearkened unto my voice," chap. ix. 16; 
 whereby he at the same time intimates the Divine Majesty and 
 awfulness, and his own humility and desperation. " If I laughed 
 on them, they believed it not," says Job of his dependents, chap, 
 xxix. 24: magnifying hereby his own extreme dignity and autho- 
 rity, blended with condescension ; and their unmingled vene- 
 ration towards him. By one and the same circumstance, applied 
 to the war-horse, his ardour and eagerness and impatient thirst 
 for the battle, are wonderfully depicted. " He swalloweth the 
 ground with fierceness and rage ; neither believeth he that it is 
 the sound of the trumpet: he saith among the trumpets. Ha, ha; 
 and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and 
 the shouting." From which passage, most dit^tinguishcd by uni- 
 versal admiration, it is abundantly manifest, how greatly this poem 
 excels in description : at the same time we maj; conclude, that in 
 other instances the correctness and be;uity of its representations 
 would not be less evident, if we were equally well acquainted with 
 the animals themselves and their properties. Bp. Loivlh. 
 
 26'. Doth ike hank pj by thy ivisdom,!, Is it by thy appoiiitment 
 that the hawk stretches her wings, to fly into the warmer climates 
 of the soutli ? Bp. Hall. 
 
 29 From thence she seeketh the prey, ^^^'"' 
 anrf her eyes behold afar off. ^ STuTia" 
 
 30 Her young ones also suck up blood : 
 
 and " where the slain are, there is she. 'Matth.24. 
 
 CHAP. XL. I;"''*"- 
 
 1 Job htimbleth himself to God. 6 God slirretb him up 
 to shew his righteousness, power, and wisdom. 1 5 Of 
 the behemoth. 
 
 MOREOVER the Lord answered Job, 
 and said, 
 
 2 Shall he that contendeth with the Al- 
 mighty instruct him? he that reproveth 
 God, let him answer it. 
 
 3 if Then Job answered the Lord, and 
 said, 
 
 4 Behold, I am vile ; what shall I answer 
 thee ? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. 
 
 5 Once have I spoken ; but I will not 
 answer : yea, twice ; but I will proceed no 
 further. 
 
 Some of the genus of hawks are, as Bochart and others obser\'e, 
 birds of passage. The hawk therefore appears to be intrmluced 
 here as a specimen of that astonishing instinct, which teaches 
 birds of passage to know their times and seasons ; when to mi- 
 grate out of one country into another for the benefit of food, or a 
 warmer climate, or both. The stork is of this kind, Jer. viiL 7, 
 Scutt, Park hurst. 
 
 27. Doth tlte eagle mount up at thy command,'] Fly directly up- 
 ward, which no other bird is able to do .> Clark. BufTon observes, 
 that the eagle is of all birds tliat which mounts to the greatest 
 height. Parkhurst. 
 
 28. She dwelleth and abideth on the rock,] To illustrate this 
 passage, it may be remarked from Buffon, that the eagle usually 
 constructs its aiery, which is flat, and more properly a flooring of 
 sticks and twigs than a nest, between two rocks, in a dry and 
 inaccessible place. Parkhurst. 
 
 29. From thence she seeketh the prey, Sic] The eagle is said to 
 be of so acute a sight, that when she is so high in air tliat man 
 cannot see her, she can discern the smallest fish under water. 
 Dr. Young. 
 
 The eagle has an excellent sight, but little smell in comparison 
 of the vulture : he therefore hunts only by view. Buffon. 
 
 30. Her young ones also suck up blood : &c.] The young eagle 
 is wont (and who taught it him ?) to suck in the blood of his 
 prey ; and where carcasses are, thither, by a strange sagacity of 
 nature, he is drawn to resort. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Chap. XL. ver. 2. Shall he that contendeth with the .ilmishty 
 instruct him ?] Shall he that pleads ag;unst God's proceednigs 
 teach Him how to govern the world better ? " he that reproveth 
 God, let him answer it." Let liim that censures God's actions 
 answer what has been already advanced. Clark, Dr. Durell. 
 
 The design of this and of the other chapters is, to shew us how 
 little we understand of the works of God ; and that therefore it 
 is the highest presimiption to question the reasons and justice of 
 His providence. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 5. Once have I s/mkai ; &c.] I have spoken once and again 
 foolishly, but I will not defend what 1 have unadvisedly said, 
 nor proceed further in such presumptuous expressions and ac- 
 cusjitions of Thy providence. Clark. 
 
 The confession which Job makes of his own vileness and pre- 
 sumption, should teach us what effect ought to be produced in 
 our minds by the wonderful works of creation; namely, that 
 they ought to con\ ince us of our own weakness and ignorance, 
 and so humble us before God, that we may never think or say
 
 God stin-eth up Job to shew 
 
 JOB. 
 
 his righteousness, iWieer, and wisdom. 
 
 6 % Then answered the Lord unto Job 
 
 Before „ „ _ 
 
 fb^.ui?I out of the whirlwind, and said, 
 
 ^ Chap. 
 C8.3. 
 
 •rs.ja21. 
 Hum. 3. 4. 
 
 '■P».1(M.I. 
 
 7 ' Gird up thy loins now like a man : 
 I will demand of thee, and declare thou 
 
 unto me. 
 
 8 " \Vilt thou also disannul my judg- 
 ment ? wilt thou condemn me, that thou 
 maycst be righteous ? 
 
 9 Hast thou an arm like God ? or 
 canst thou thunder with a voice like 
 him i* 
 
 10 " Deck thyself now with majesty and 
 excellency ; and array thyself ^vith glory 
 and beauty. 
 
 1 1 Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath : 
 and behold every one that is proud, and 
 abase him. 
 
 any tliiiif: contrary to the profound submission which •we owe 
 Him. Oslcnmld. 
 
 6. Then (iiixncred the Lord &c.] Then, the more to humble 
 and convince him, the Divine Majesty spake again after the same 
 manner as before. Bp. Patrick-. 
 
 7. (.urd up Ihi/ loins &C.J See note on cliap. xxxviii. 3. 
 
 8. fVill thou aim disannul m)/ Judgment ? ice] Is there any 
 reason to suspect My care of mankind, who hav^e shewn it so 
 much about otiier creatures ? Canst thou not defend thyself, but 
 thou must also complain of Me? Must I be condemned that thou 
 mayest l)e justified i" Bp. Patrick. By " disannulling God's judg- 
 ment" is meant " condemning God," as the latter sentence ex- 
 plains it. Job's complaints and manner of justifying himself 
 amounted to charging God with injustice. Scott. 
 
 10. Deck thij.icif now with majesty &c.] The magnificent 
 scenery in this and the four following verses presents to ns the 
 Almighty arrayed in the splendours of Divine majesty, exerting 
 His supreme dominion, and manifesting His righteous vengeance 
 by thunderiiig and lightning on the heads of haughty tyrants, 
 and hurling them down to the bottom of Hades. See Isai. xxx. 30.. 
 Job is ironically required to invest himself with the attributes 
 of Deity, and to assvnne the glorious ensigns of Divine majesty ; 
 that he may execute judgment on prnud oppressors, and other 
 profligate men, of whose impunity and prosperity he had so 
 loudly complained. Scott. 
 
 arrai/ th/self with glory and hcautyr\ To understand 
 
 those exprcs.sions in Scripture which speak of Jehovah being 
 arrayed or clothed with majesty, strength, honour, or the like, 
 we must recollect the glorious manner in which He vouchsafed 
 to appear to His people in fire, light, and clouds. Parkhurst. 
 
 1-. — tread down the wicked in their place.^ In the very place 
 of their exaltation. Scotl. Permit no one of an infamous cha- 
 racter to continue easy and undisturbed : put a stop as soon as 
 possible to their vicious example. Chappelow. 
 
 13. Hide them in the dust &C.3 Cast them down from their 
 splendid elevation into the obscure abodes of death, as condemn- 
 ed malefactors. " To bind the fiwe" is a phrase for treating a per- 
 son as a convict condemned to die. See the note on chap. ix. 24. 
 " The dust" is the grave, chap. xvii. 16 ; and the "secret" place 
 is anotlier expression for the sepulchre ; or else it means the se- 
 cret abodes of Sheol, the receptacle of departed souls. Scolt. 
 
 \4- — Jluit thine own right hand can save thee.'] That thou art 
 selt-sufficient, the author and preserver of thy own happiness ; 
 therefore a god, and a match for Me. Tiiis humiliating sarcasm 
 makes way for another mortification: for the Almighty next sends 
 him to two of His creatures, behemoth and leviathan ; and bids 
 him prove his liigh courage in an open encounter with either of 
 
 .1-1^^,!''^'' "<"" *«"''e'no'/',] The learned Bochart contends, 
 Uiat the behemoth is the hippopotamus ; that is, the sea-horse, or. 
 
 Or. 
 
 ilie df' 
 phmil, 
 a>; sonic 
 think. 
 
 Or, /fc 
 
 12 Look on every one that is proud, and before 
 bring him low ; and tread down the wick- aijout isjo.. 
 ed in their place. 
 
 13 Hide them in the dust together ; and 
 bind their iaces in secret. 
 
 14 Then will I also confess unto thee 
 that thine own right hand can save thee. 
 
 15 ^ Behold now || behemoth, which I 
 made with thee ; he eateth grass as an 
 ox. 
 
 16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, 
 and his force is in the navel of his belly. 
 
 17 II He moveth his tail like a cedar : the 
 sinews of his stones are wrapped toge- '"'"'' ^' 
 ther. 
 
 18 His bones are as strong pieces of 
 brass ; his bones arc like bars of iron. 
 
 more properly speaking, the river-hor.se ; which the ancient 
 Greek writers, and the Praenestine pavement described in Shaw's 
 Travels, represent as an amphibious quadruped found in the Nile, 
 and which is still sometimes to be met with in Upper Egj'pt. 
 And he has supported his opinion with so much learning and 
 plausibility, that I believe it has been generally embraced and 
 acquiesced in by the learned since his time. It must be con- 
 fessed, however, that most of the characters given of the behe- 
 moth correspond also to the elephant. Parkhurst. 
 
 ivhick I have made with thee /] Ratlier, " near thee ;" 
 
 that is, in thy neighbourhood. As if God had said. There is no 
 need to seek for arguments of My power from a distance, since 
 they lie close at hand. Among tlie beasts which I have made in 
 the .Nile, which borders on thy country Arabia, how wonderful 
 is the river-horse ! Bochart. Or, " whom I made thy fellow- 
 creature." This is a humbling stroke. Scott. 
 
 he eateth grass as an o.r.] That the river-horse, an aqua- 
 tick animal, living for the most part at the bottom of the Nile, 
 should eat grass as an ox, is a surprising and singular cir- 
 cvunstance, and therefore not omitted by otl>er authors. Bo- 
 chart. 
 
 16. — his strength is in his bins, &c3 It is well kno^vn that 
 the loins are the seat of strength : compare Nahuin ii. 1 ; Ps. Ixix. 
 24. As to the latter part of the verse, the river-horse is protected 
 all over his body, no less in his navel and his belly, than in other 
 parts, by a skin of impenetrable solidity and thickness. This is 
 not the case with the elephant, whose softest and most vulnerable 
 part is the belly. Bochart. 
 
 1 7. He moveth his tail like a cedar ;] " He moveth his tail, 
 which is as a cedar." The tail of the hippopotamus might be 
 compared to a cedar, on account of its smoothness, roundness, 
 thickness, and strength. Bochart. BufFon says, that " his tail is 
 like a tortoise's, only incomparably thicker :" and Scheuchzer, that 
 " though short, yet it is tiiick, and may be compared to the ce- 
 dar, for its tapering, yea conical shape, its smootiniess, thickness, 
 strength, and rigidity." Parkhurst. 
 
 1 8. His bones &c. j " His (smaller) bones are compact bars of 
 brass, his (larger, projecting) bones like a forged bar of iron."' 
 No doubt these words are intended to express the extraordinary 
 hardness of the behemoth's bones ; but it does not appear that 
 the bones of the elephant are in this respect difterent from, or 
 harder than, those of other animals : whereas, the bones of the 
 liippopotamus are probably much harder than those of the ele- 
 phant, if we may judge by the superionr hardness of his tusks : 
 of which BufTon says, " they are very strong, and of a substance 
 so hai-d as to strike fire with steel." Parkhurst. 
 
 The meaning is, that the bones of the river-horse are not, 
 as in most fishes, mere cartilages, but like brass and iron, very 
 hard, firm, and strong. They are, in fact, extremely strong; 
 the tooth of this animal surpassing in hardness, and in the diffi-
 
 God's great power 
 
 CHAP. XL, XLI. 
 
 is seen m the behemoth. 
 
 sbout 1530. he that made him can make his sword to 
 approach unto him. 
 
 20 Surely the mountains bring him forth 
 food, where all the beasts of the field play. 
 
 21 He lieth under the shady trees, in the 
 covert of the reed, and fens. 
 
 22 The shady trees cover him "ivith their 
 shadow ; the willows of the brook compass 
 
 1 Heb. him about. 
 
 Hh"'""' 23 Behold, t he drinketh up a river, and 
 
 culty with which it is carved, that of the elephant, whose tooth 
 is as hard as any part about him. Bochart. No creature is 
 known to have stronger limbs than the river-horse. Manner. 
 
 19- He is the chief of the ways of God .-'^ That is, one of the 
 most remarkable quadrupeds He hath made. The word " way" 
 denotes the manner of God's acting or proceeding ; also, as in 
 this place. His works or actions themselves. See Prov. viii. 22. 
 " Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of His way;" that is, of 
 His work of creation. Parkhurst. 
 
 he that made him can make his sword to approach unto 
 
 himr\ That is, can put forth His power and destroy him. Caryl. 
 Rather, the words may be rendered, " He who made him has 
 made fast his weapon ;" (Parkhurst ;) alluding to the tusks of the 
 hippopotamus, the fixed insertion of which is remarkable in this 
 animal. Fragments to Calmet. The word, rendered " sword," 
 properly means that sort of sword which the Greeks called harpe, 
 and which was crooked or bent like a sickle. The river-horse is 
 here said to be furnished with such a sword, because he has teeth 
 standing out of his mouth, gently bent, sharp, and long, with 
 which he cuts down and destroys the corn, &c. as with a harpe, or 
 sword crooked like a sickle. The Greek poets and other writers 
 speak of the teeth of the river-horse by this name ; and describe 
 his voracity in laying waste the fields. It is more agreeable to 
 the general sense of the context to understand the words in this 
 manner, than to suppose them to signify that God alone is able to 
 destroy the animal by His power, as by a sword. Bochart. 
 
 20. Surely the mountains bring liini forth food, "^ This is the true 
 reason why the behemoth, though a water animal, is armed with 
 such teeth as have been just noticed ; namely, because he feeds, 
 not so much in the water, as on land, where grass as well as corn 
 is cut down with a sickle, or instrument of the like shape. By 
 " the mountains" may be imderstood the hills and eminences bor- 
 dering on the Nile. And they are the rather specified, by reason 
 of the strangeness and wonderfulness of an aquatick animal feed- 
 ing, not only on land, but in such a situation M-ith other beasts 
 and cattle. Bochart. 
 
 where all the beasts of the field play.~\ It appears to be 
 
 the intention of this passage, to express the security of the in- 
 feriour creatiu-es from injury by this inoffensive animal, which 
 permits even their frolicks and sportiveness without inteiTuption. 
 Fragments to Calmet. 
 
 21. He lieth — in the covert of the reed, &c.] This is agreeable 
 to the description which other writers give of the river-horse. 
 Bochart. In the Praenestine pavement the river-horse is repre- 
 sented hiding and sheltering himself among the reeds of the Nile. 
 He is properly an amphibious animal, living constantly in fens 
 and rivers. Harmer. 
 
 23. — he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not .] That is, he 
 drinks at his leisure, without fear. Caryl. 
 
 Rather, " Behold, the stream may press upon him, he will not 
 be terrified ; he \vill be secure, though Jordan rush against his 
 mouth." So Bochart excellently renders this passage. Buffon, 
 speaking of the hippopotamus, says, " He is pleased with being 
 in the water, and steys there as willingly as upon the land. He 
 remains a long time at the bottom of the water, and walks there 
 as in the open au-." To the same purpose Mr. Watson, in his 
 Animal World Displayed, " The hippopotamus spends part of its 
 life under water; it comes out of the water in an evening to 
 Vol. I. 
 
 hasteth not : he trusteth that he can draw 
 up Jordan into his mouth. 
 
 24 II He taketh it with his eyes : his nose 
 pierceth through snares. 
 
 CHAP. XLI. 
 
 Of God's great power in the leviathan. 
 
 C'lANST thou draw out || leviathan with 
 yf an hook ? or his tongue with a cord 
 t which thou lettest down ? 
 
 Before 
 CHRIST 
 
 alwut 1 520. 
 
 II Or, 
 
 ITiIt aUT 
 tnke Aim in 
 '/usijj/ir, or, 
 Iwrehiinosg 
 with a gm T 
 
 II Tliat is, 
 a iv/iale, or, 
 u wtiirlpoot- 
 t Heb. 
 nhicb thru, 
 drtnvrutt. 
 
 sleep ; and when it goes in again, it' walks very deliberately in 
 over head, and pursues its course along the bottom as easy and 
 unconcerned as if it were in the open air. The rivers it frequents 
 are very deep ; and, when they aj-e also clear, this affords a most 
 astonishing sight." Other writers speak to the same effect. And, 
 further to illustrate this passage, it may not be amiss to add 
 from Maundrell's Travels, that, when he visited the river Jordan, 
 March 30, " the water was very turbid, and too rapid to be swum 
 against. For its breadth, it might be about twenty yards over ; 
 and in depth, it far exceeded his own height." Parkhurst. 
 
 24. He taketh it with his eyes : &c.] This verse may be thus 
 rendered : " Though one seize him in a trap by the eyes or visage, 
 yet his nose forces itself through the snares;" which agrees very 
 well with what is said above of his vast force, and the impene- 
 trability of his skin by iron. Dr. Durell. 
 
 Chap. XLI. The irony is continued. Job is now addressed as 
 a man of prowess, sufficient to combat and subdue another crea- 
 ture, much more formidable than the behemoth, in regard of the 
 armour with which it is furnished, both for defending itself and 
 attacking its enemy. This creature is named Leviathan. The 
 crocodile has found so powerful an advocate in Bochart, that all 
 other claimants are put to silence. The characters in tlie de- 
 scription perfectly correspond to that animal, allowance being 
 made for jjoetical ornaments and heightenings. The description 
 is not intended merely for the purpose of embelUshment. It has 
 a nobler design. Tliat design is clearly explained, ver. 10, " None 
 is so fierce that dare stir him up ; who then is able to stand be- 
 foj-c Me ?" Hence Job is taught to tremble at his danger, in 
 having provoked bj' his murmurs and htigation the displeasure 
 of the ^laker of this dreadful animal. His high spirit is now 
 brought down, his conviction is completed, and his repentance 
 and submission satisfy the Almighty. Scolt. 
 
 Ver. I. Canst tliou draw out leviathan with an hook?'\ From 
 this passage Hasselquist observes, that the leviathan " means a 
 crocodile by that which happens daily, and without doubt hap- 
 pened in Job's time, in the river Nile ; to wit, that this vora- 
 cious animal, far from being drawn up by an hook, bites off and 
 destroys all fishing tackle of this kind which is thrown out in 
 the river. I found," adds he, " in one that I opened, two hooks 
 which it had swallowed, one sticking in the stomach, and the 
 other in a part of the thick ,juenibrane which covers the palate." 
 Parkhurst. 
 
 The taking of the crocotlile is most difficult Diotlorus says, 
 they are not to be taken but by iron nets. \Mien Augustus con- 
 quered Egypt he struck a medal, the impress of which was a 
 crocodile chained to a palm tree, with this inscription, " No one 
 has bound me before." Dr. Young. 
 
 The crocodile is of too great weight and magnitude to be 
 drawn out of the river, as fish usually are, with .in hook. And 
 from the scaly quality, Ezek. xxix. 4, and the hardness of his 
 coat, or because " his scales stick (so thick) togetlier that they 
 caimot be sundered," (below, \er. 17,) there is therefore no danger 
 of having " his skin filled with barbed irons, or his head with 
 fish spears," ver. 7. From tiicse apposite character! sticks the 
 crocodile may be well taken for the levtatlian, as described in this 
 chapter of Job, and elsewhere alluded to in the Holy Scripture: 
 where the leviathan is called " the piercing serpent," or " dra- 
 
 GG
 
 OJ' God's great poiver 
 
 JOB. 
 
 in the kviatlian. 
 
 Before Q Canst thou put ail hook into his nose? 
 ib^ulV/J or bore his jaw through with a thorn ? 
 
 3 Will he make many supplications 
 unto thee? will he speak soft rcords unto 
 
 thee ? 
 
 •i. Will he make a covenant with thee ? 
 wilt thou take him for a servant for ever ? 
 
 5 Wilt thou play with him as tvith a 
 bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy mai- 
 dens ? 
 
 6 Shall thy companions make a banquet 
 of him ? shall they part him among the 
 merchants ? 
 
 7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed 
 irons ? or his head with fish spears ? 
 
 con," Is. xxvii. 1 ; where Pbiraoh is called " the great dragon," or 
 Icviatlian, Ezek. xxix. o ; wliere " the heads alio of the leviathan," 
 that is, of Piiaraoh or of Egypt, arc said to be " broken in pieces," 
 Psal. Ixxiv. 14; otherwise expressed in tlie preceding verse, by 
 " breaking the heads of the dragons in the waters/' or in the Red 
 sea. Haniicr. 
 
 or his tongue with a cord which ihou leltest dnivn ?] Ra- 
 ther, " or tie his tongue with a coril." Dr. Diirell. 
 
 2. Canst t/iou put tin houk into his noser or bore his jaw ihrousli 
 with a thorn 'f'J Rather, " Canst thou put a rope about Iiis nose, 
 or bore his jaw through with a hook?" Dr. Durell. The former 
 word in the original means a rope or muzzle, properly a rope 
 made of bulrushes. The latter, which properly signifies a thorn, 
 is also used for a hook, sharp like a thorn. Bochart. Or it sig- 
 nifies a clenched ring of iron, passed through the nose of a beast, 
 in order tlie better to manage him by means of a rope fastened to 
 it: as is still inual in the East with regard to camels and buffa- 
 loes. See 2 Kings xix. 28 ; Is. xxxvii. SJ). The question then is, 
 " Wilt or canst thou put a rope in his nose }" that is, in a hole 
 bored through his nose; " or bore his cheek through with a 
 ring.'" Com|Kire Ezek. xxix. 4, where Pharaoh king of Egypt is 
 described under the similitude of this same dreadful animal. 
 Parkhurst. 
 
 4. tVill he make a covenant with thee.'' &c.] In the same man- 
 ner as the conquered are wont to redeem their lives from their 
 conquerors at the price of their liberty. " A servant for ever ;" 
 that is, for the whole of his life. Bochart. 
 
 5. — }vilt thou hind him for thij maidens ?] That they may 
 play with him. The crocodile is particularly hostile to boys and 
 girls, who sometimes, approaching the Nile too incautiously, have 
 fallen a prey to him. JV.Wnn mentions several instances of the 
 crocodile devouring children: and Maximus Tyrius relates a 
 story of an Egyptian woman, who had a .son of the same age 
 with a young crocodile. He says, the animal was gentle, as long 
 as It continued weak ; but when it increased in size, it discovered 
 its natural disposition, and killed the child. Bochart. See the 
 note on chap. iii. 8. 
 
 6. — among the merchants ?] The word seems to denote the 
 associated merchants, or merchants companions, who belonged to 
 the same caravan. Parkhurst. 
 
 '. Canst t/iou fill his skin irilh barbed ironsfl Canst thou 
 pierce his skin with barbed hooks? Bp. Hall. This question is 
 not applicable to the whale ; but it is to the crocodile, whose skin 
 IS impenetrable to weapons. Bochart. See the note from Harmer 
 on ver. 1 . 
 
 Jish .ipears ?] Instruments, not very unlike the Eastern 
 
 ox-goads, (see the note on Judges iii. VA,) have been used for 
 catclnng fish ; and were meant by our translators, when they em- 
 ployed the term " fish spears" in this place: but then they must 
 nave been sharper than goads, in order to secure the fish. So 
 
 ^•^o Uv^T I """?"'" f.T ""'''■'^ ''^•■^"''' *^"^ "«' t'>at those 
 there rJ^ 1° f'^-ro^ So way Frith hunt salmons, whereof 
 there is great plenty there, with spears, on horseback. Harmer. 
 
 8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember ^h'iust 
 the battle, do no more. about isaa 
 
 9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain : 
 shall not one be cast down even at the 
 sight of him? 
 
 10 None is so fierce that dare stir him 
 up : who then is able to stand before me ? 
 
 11 Who hath prevented me, that I should 
 repay him ? * whatsoever is under the whole ' I's. 21. i. 
 hea\en is mine. tcor.jo. 
 
 1(J I will not conceal his parts, nor his 26. 
 power, nor his comely proportion. 
 
 13 Who can discover the face of his 
 garment ? or who can come to him H with II Or, 
 his double bridle ? 
 
 The weapons mentioned in this verse are undoubtedly such aa 
 fishermen used for striking large fish at a distance. Scott. 
 
 8. Laji thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more."^ 
 The latter clause would be clearer if it were rendered, " but re- 
 member that thou wilt have no other conflict ;' for this is doubt- 
 less the sense. The note in the old version is, " if thou once 
 consider the danger, thou wilt not meddle with him." Dr. Du- 
 rell. Such dread >vill come upon thee, that thou wilt think of 
 flight, rather than of battle, when by the very touch thou shalt 
 have discovered that his skin is capable of resisting every stroke. 
 Bochart. 
 
 9. Behold, the hope of him-is in vain :'] The hope of making 
 liim a prey is vain. Grotius. Or, the hope of him who shall 
 have laid hands on the crocodile. Bochart. 
 
 10. N^onc is su fierce that dare stir him up:^ What is said of the 
 lion. Gen. xlix. <); Numb. xxiv. 9; is here said of the crocodile: 
 " None is so fierce or so bold as to stir him up," when, satiated 
 with the fishes which he has devoured, he reposes asleep upon 
 the shore. Pliny and others describe this as tlie custom of the 
 crocodile. Bochart. 
 
 1 1 . Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him ?'\ Who 
 hath done Me any favour in helping Me to make or govern the 
 world, or in lurthering My actions, that I may repay it unto him.* 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 The sentiment in this verse demonstrates the folly and impiety 
 of contending with God, as Job had done. He is all-sufficient and 
 independent, and therefore cannot be indebted to any for their 
 service. He is the Proprietor of all beings ; He therefore cannot 
 injure any one by taking away his possessions and enjoyments ; 
 for He takes only what He gave. Submissive resignation to His 
 disposals therefore is the duty of every reasonable creature. 
 Scott. 
 
 12. — his comelij proportiotir\ The comeliness of his form; 
 that is, for fighting or combat : the advantage of his structure, 
 both for his own security, and for destroying and devouring, &c. 
 Parkliurst. 
 
 13. IVho can discover the face of his garment ?] Rather, " wlio 
 can uncover the face of his garment ?" for " the face of his gar- 
 ment" would by a common hebraism signify the upper or ex- 
 ternal garment. Dr. Durell. Who is able to turn over that skin, 
 with which he is covered as with a garment ? Bp. Hall. The 
 crocodile never casts his skin, as serpents do. Bochart. 
 
 This obscure sentence seems to describe that terrible helmet, 
 which covers the head and face of the crocodile. Tlie translation 
 might be, " Who can uncover his mailed face?" If in Job's days 
 they covered their w;u- horses in complete armour, tlie question 
 may refer to t;iking off the armour, and leviathan's skin be repre- 
 sented by such an image. Scott. 
 
 who can come to him with his double bridle ?] " Who can 
 
 come upon him with the doubling of his rein ?" that is, with ^ 
 bridle having two reins. Parkhurst. Rather, " Within his double 
 bridle who will come?" The expression used here means the 
 double fold of his jaws. Bjx Stock. In Greeks as in Hebrew,
 
 Of God's great poti:er 
 
 CHAP. XLI. 
 
 in the kviathan. 
 
 + Hel). 
 
 strung 
 pieces uf 
 thiclds. 
 
 up 
 
 chrTst ^^ ^^^^ ^^" ^P^" '^^^ doors of his face? 
 about 1520. his teeth are terrible round about. 
 
 15 His t scales are his pride, shut 
 together as rcif/i a close seal. 
 
 16 One is so near to another, that no 
 air can come between them. 
 
 17 They are joined one to another, they 
 stick together, that they cannot be sun- 
 dered. 
 
 18 By his neesings a light doth shine, 
 and his eyes are like the eyelids of the 
 morning. 
 
 19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps, 
 and sparks of fire leap out. 
 
 20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as 
 out of a seething pot or caldron. 
 
 21 His breath kindleth coals, and a 
 flame goeth out of his mouth. 
 
 those parts of the lips, which terminate on both sides at the jaw- 
 bones, are called " bridles." Bockart. This interpretation of Bo- 
 chart best agrees, not only with the structure of the preceding 
 hemistich, but with the following verse. Parkhtcrst. 
 
 14. TV/io can open the doors of his face ,^] That is, his immense 
 jaws, which he separates at pleasure with a vast and horrible 
 opening, like folding doors. It has been said, that " when the 
 crocodile begins to gape, in order to take in his prey, he becomes 
 all mouth." Bockart. 
 
 his teeth are terrible round ahoui^ Rather, perhaps, " the 
 
 rows of his teeth are terrible." His mouth is said to be so large 
 that he can take in a whole sheep: and he has thirty-six sharp 
 pointed teeth in each jaw. Dr. Durell. 
 
 15. His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close 
 teal.'] The latter clause should be rendered, " He is shut up 
 close as with a seal." Dr. Ditrell. In this and the two following 
 verses is described the compactness of the scales, by which the 
 whole body of the animal is covered, as if by iron plates closely 
 united together. This circumstance, which is notoriously true 
 of the crocodile, cannot be applied to the whale, whose skin is 
 smooth and free from scales. Bochart. 
 
 18. By his neesings a light doth shine, &c.] When he sneezeth, 
 he maketh as it were a fire to break forth at his nostrils and eyes; 
 and when thou beholdest his eyes, thou wouldeat think that thou 
 sawest the sun rising in the morning. Bp. Hall. 
 
 The former clause is nearer the literal truth than at first view 
 may be imagined. The crocodile, say the naturalists, lying long 
 under water, and being there forced to hold his breath, when he 
 emerges, the breath long repressed is hot, and bursts out so vio- 
 lently that it resembles fire and smoke. The horse suppresses 
 not his breath by any means so long, neither is he so fierce or 
 animated: yet Virgil, the most correct of poets, ventures to use 
 the sanie metaphor concerning him. This may afford a caution 
 against a false opinion of the Eastern boldness from passages ill 
 understood. As to the latter clause, " his eyes are like the eye- 
 lids of the morning," I think this gives us as great an image of the 
 tiling it would express, as can enter the thouglit of man. It is 
 Hot improbable that the Egyptians stole their hieroglyphick for 
 the morning, which is the crocodile's eye, from this passage. Dr. 
 Young. 
 
 The Egyptian painters of hieroglyphicks, for die purpose of 
 representing the morning, paint the eyes of the crocodile; be- 
 cause, as that animal emerges from the water, his eyes appear be- 
 fore the rest of his body. Bochart. 
 
 19. Out of his mouth go burning lamps, &C.3 Much the same 
 tilings as are said in this and the two following verses concerning 
 the crocodile have been said by other writers concerning the 
 river-horse. In fact, there is a relation between these two animals, 
 and they resemble each other particularly in tlieir mode of 
 
 22 In his neck remaineth strength, and Before 
 
 t sorrow is turned into joy before him. fb^uim 
 
 23 t The flakes of his flesli are joined t Heb. 
 together: they are firm in themselves; they fr"""''- 
 cannot be moved. t Heb. 
 
 24. His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, l^^Y""' 
 as hard as a piece of the nether milslGnc. "^'' 
 
 2.5 When he raiseth up himself, the 
 mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings 
 they purify themselves. 
 
 26 The sword of him that layeth at him 
 cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the 
 
 II habergeon. il Or, 
 
 27 He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass ^"•'''•'""' 
 as rotten wood. 
 
 28 The arrow cannot make him flee : 
 slingstones are turned with him into stub- 
 ble. 
 
 breathing: for, having kept in their breath a long time whilst 
 under the water, they breathe with so much the more earnestness 
 when they begin to emerge. As torrents which have burst their 
 barrier, the breath, having been long repressed, then becomes so 
 hot, and breaks forth with such violence, that it seems to vomit 
 out flames from the mouth and nostrils. Bochart. 
 
 22. — sorrow is turned into Joy before him.] Rather, " sorrow 
 goetli before him;" that is, he causes sorrow wherever he goes. 
 This animal, it is well known, occasions great ravages in a coun- 
 try. See ver. 25. Dr. Durell. The phrase is not unusual among 
 the poets, who ascribe Anger, Rage, and Terrour, to Mars, the 
 god of war, as his companions and attendants, who accompany 
 and go before him on his way. Bochart. 
 
 The word, rendered " sorrow," signifies fainting from ter- 
 rour; and the whole verse may be thus translated: "Strength 
 dwelleth on his neck, and fainting exulteth before him;" that 
 is, as soon as men see him, they immediately faint. But both 
 the image and the expression in Job are wonderfully sublime. 
 Parkhurst. 
 
 23. The flakes of his flesh are joined together:] " The flakes;" 
 that is, the more prominent parts of his flesh. Bochart. " The 
 ribs (or bones) of his body cleave fast together." Dr. Durell. 
 
 25. ff'hcn he raiseth up himself, &c.] When he begins to shew 
 himself on the top of the waters, the fearless mariners and seamen 
 tremble, by reason of the dasliing of the waves one against an- 
 other, caused by his violent motion, which threatens them with 
 death; they betake themselves to their devotions, confess their 
 sins, and beg pardon that they may be cleansed from tliera, and 
 call upon God for mercy, JoniJi i. 5. Clark. 
 
 Or, " On his rising up the \aliant shrink ; on tlie breakings 
 (of wliatever he is ass.ivilted with, see tlie following verses) they 
 are out of their wits." So tlie French translation; "and they 
 know not where, or whereabouts they are, seeing how he breaks 
 every thing." Parkhurst. 
 
 26. — the halicrgcon.] The original word, which occurs onljr 
 in this place, is supposed to mean a coat of mail ; but this Is evi- 
 dently inconsistent with the context, which treats not of defensive, 
 but of offensive annour. Bochart. It signifies a kind of strong 
 javelin, spear, or halberd: and it seems to have been of a stronger 
 make than either of the other weapons noticed in this verse, and 
 therefore is mentioned ;it\er them. Parkliurgi. It probably mean* 
 a trident or fishing spear. Bruce. 
 
 28. — slingslomx arc turned with him into stubble.] Or, " He 
 thioweth about slingstones as stubble," he dasheth them about 
 with as much ease. An extraordinary instance of the force of a. 
 crocodile is related by Maillet: " I saw one la*t year twelve feet 
 long, which had not eaten for five and thirty days, having had his 
 mouth closed during the whole of that time. With one stroke of 
 his tail, he uiiset live or six men and a bale of roffee, as easily as I 
 
 6G a . 
 
 1
 
 Of God's great povier in the leviathan. 
 
 Vctart 
 CHllIST 
 
 atioul li\X). 
 
 f Hi'b. 
 piecft ofUie 
 
 II Or. 
 who hthttve 
 Ihtmselrei 
 vilhout 
 Jear. 
 
 29 Darts are counted as stubble: he 
 lauglietli at the shaking of a spear. 
 
 30 t Sharp stones are under him : he 
 spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the 
 uiire. 
 
 31 He maketh the deep to boil like a 
 pot: he maketh the sea hke a pot of oint- 
 ment. 
 
 32 He maketh a path to shine after him ; 
 one would think the deep to be hoary. 
 
 33 Upon earth there is not his like, II who 
 is made without fear. 
 
 31. He beholdeth all high things: he is a 
 king over all the children of pride. 
 
 CHAP. XLH. 
 
 1 Job submilteth himself unlo God. 7 God, preferring 
 
 could upset six chess-men." What strength then must one of 
 twenty feet have, and in its full strength, not weakened by so 
 long a fast ! Heath. 
 
 30. Sharp stones are under him: &c.] The meaning of this may 
 be, that, on account of the hardness of his skin, the crocodile can 
 recline at ease on rocks, stones, and the sharpest things. Bochart. 
 The belly of the crocodile is penetrable by a bullet, and perhaps 
 also by a sword. Nevertheless it is hard enough to be insensible 
 of pain, when he lieth on sharp stones and nigged rocks, which 
 are in the bed of the Nile. In that part of the Nile, where the 
 cataracts are, and which the crocodiles mostly frequent, its bed is 
 of granite marble. Scott. 
 
 31. — he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.^ " The sea," 
 that is, the Nile; as in Is. xi. 15: the Nile is often so called 
 by the Arabian writers, on account of tlie size of the river, and 
 beciiuse at certain times it is spread over the whole of the Delta, 
 like a sea. " Like a pot of ointment," by reason of the mud and 
 slime which he stirs up, when he agitates the waters; probably 
 also with a view to the sweet smell, which many writers have no- 
 ticed as belonging to the crocodile. Bochart. 
 
 34. He beholdeth all high things: &c.] That is, he looks upon 
 them with disdain; he despises them: see Cant. i. 6. Many sto- 
 ries are on record of crocodiles destroying and devouring other 
 animals, greatly their superiours in height: men, oxen, buffaloes, 
 boars, horses, camels, &c. Bochart. 
 
 TT~J^ <^'"ldren of pride.l Literally, " the sons of elation or 
 height." The phrase plainly means, as Bochart observes, the 
 larger and stronger kinds of animals or wild beasts. Parkhursl. 
 
 There is in this speech a most happy gradation. After a mag- 
 nificent but just description of the terribleness of the river-horse, 
 the Almighty is represented as going on with His expostulations, 
 something after this manner. But dreadful as this animal is, 
 barbed irons and spears have sometimes prevailed against him: 
 but what wilt thou do with the crocodile } " Canst thou fill liis 
 skin with barbed irons, or his head with fish spears ? The sword 
 ot him that layeth at him cannot hold, &c." See verses 7, 26—29. 
 Wliat wilt thou do with this creature, O Job.? This is to finish the 
 expostiUation in the strongest and most majestick manner. Harmcr. 
 
 1 he argument of Omnipotence, insisted on in these four chap- 
 ters, wlicn duly considered, as Peters justly remarks, includes in 
 it a toll, perfect, and sufficient vindication of the ways of God 
 with man. For if " He can do all things," and " nothing is im- 
 possible with God," He can have no temptation to do wrong; for 
 
 Ood cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any 
 man, Jam. i 13; though for wise and salutary purposes, for cor- 
 nli'r"' c '^''^'P'^ne^ for pnrification of heart and life, and pre. 
 
 fortMik^"i}".'^u/"?"'? °^ ^®"*'°"' 'l^^t "t^^y '"ay come 
 Sdencf h; ^^^'' ^^'^'' ^1-goveming and all-conLlling 
 prwaeace, He restrains the craft and subtUty of the devil or 
 
 JOB. Job suhmitteth himself unto God. 
 
 Job's cause, maketh his friends submit tliemsclves, and Before 
 accepteth him. 10 He masnifidh and blesseth Job. CHRIST 
 
 about 1520. 
 
 II Or, 
 no tliought 
 oflliine can . 
 be liindered. 
 ' Ch. 38. 2. 
 
 1 6 Job's age and death. 
 
 THEN Job answered the Lord, and 
 said, 
 
 2 I know that thou canst do every tlung, 
 and that || no thought can be withholden 
 from thee. 
 
 3 * Who is he that hideth counsel with- 
 out knowledge? therefore have I uttered 
 that I understood notj things too wonder- 
 ful for me, which I knew not. 
 
 4 Heai', I beseech thee, and I will speak : 
 I will demand of thee, and declare thou 
 unto me. 
 
 5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of 
 the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 
 
 man, working against them, to shake their faith, and " sifl them 
 as wheat;" saying to the former, as to the ocean originally, " Hi- 
 therto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud 
 waves be stayed." At the same time, of His infinite mercy and 
 goodness, He is not severe to mark what they have done amiss, 
 upon their hearty repentance and true faith : for '■ He knoweth 
 whereof they are made. He remembereth that they are but dust." 
 Dr. Hales. 
 
 Chap. XLII. Jehovah, having confounded all the false rea- 
 sonings of Job, and sufficiently humbled him, proceeds now to 
 condemn the principle maintained by the three friends, which He 
 affirms "'not to be right." As an atonement theiefore for their 
 behaviour. He commands them to offer a sacrifice for themselves; 
 and, as some compensation to Job, they have the mortifying pe- 
 nance enjoined them of begging his prayers in their behalf. He, 
 whom they had represented as the vilest of men, was the only in- 
 tercessor whom God would accept. Job is at length not only re- 
 stored to his former prosperity; but, as a recompense for his past 
 sufferings, blessings Bow in upon him in a double tide, which he 
 enjoys to a very old age, and leaves to a numerous posterity. 
 Healh. 
 
 Ver. 2. / know that thou canst do every thing, &c.] This com- 
 plete submission contains, 1st, A full acknowledgment of God's 
 almighty power and supreme dominion, ver. 2; by thus glorify- 
 ing the sovereign authority of God, Job tacitly condemns himself 
 for not having meekly submitted to it: 2dly, A like acknowledg- 
 ment of the unsearchable wisdom of Divine Providence, with an 
 explicit condemnation of himself for his objections and murraur- 
 ings against it, ver. 3: Sdly, He humbly begs of God to vouch- 
 safe a gracious audience to his petition, and to instruct him far- 
 ther in his duty, ver. 4: 4thly, He declares that tliis visible ma- 
 nifestation of the Almighty to him had impressed him with a 
 deeper and more reverent sense of the Divine perfection and 
 majesty, than he had before conceived by means of instruction 
 only, ver. 5: Lastly, he expresses his repentance in the strongest 
 terms of self-condemnation and humble sorrow, ver. 6". This 
 compete submission may not improperly be called the cata- 
 strophe of the poem : it is not indeed a change of Job's outward 
 condition: it is an alteration infinitely more important and bene- 
 ficial; an alteration in the tempei and state of his mind. He i» 
 brought back to his duty, and his soul returns to its rest. The 
 restoration of his health and prosperity quickly followed, and is 
 the subject of the ensuing narrative, where the style changes to 
 historical prose. Scott. 
 
 3. Who is he that hideth &c.] I am sensible of the justice of 
 Thy reproof, (see chap, xxxviii. 2,) and confess my presumption 
 in speaking of things above my reach, which I ought humbly to 
 admire, not arrogantly censure. Bp. Patrick. Our own humiUa^ 
 tion begins at the exaltation of God. Caryl.
 
 His friends submit themselves. 
 
 CHAP. XLIL 
 
 God magnifieth and bksseth Job. 
 
 CHRIST . ^ Wherefore I abhor mt/seff, and repent 
 about 1520. in dust and ashes. 
 
 7 f And it was so, that after the Lord 
 had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord 
 said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is 
 kindled against thee, and against thy two 
 friends : for ye have not spoken of me the 
 iking that is right, as my servant Job kath. 
 
 8 Therefore take unto you now seven 
 bullocks and seven rams, and go to my 
 servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a 
 burnt offering ; and my servant Job shall 
 
 t Heb. pray for you : for t him will I accept : lest 
 «^>c,,or, J deal with you ajler i/our foWy, in that ye 
 
 have not spoken of me the thing which is 
 
 right, like my servant Job. 
 
 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad 
 the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite 
 went, and did according as the Lord com- 
 
 t Heb. manded them : the Lord also accepted 
 
 IdHedM 10 And the Lord turned the captivity 
 thM bad of Job, when he prayed for his friends : 
 ,*!!*," .'"f"'' ^Iso tlie Lord tgave Job twice as much 
 as he had before. 
 
 tintn Ike 
 double. 
 
 6. Wherefore I abhor myself, &C.2 This humble confession 
 and self-abasement of Job was graciously accepted : it covered 
 all his imperfections ; his passionate complaints wrung from him 
 by the extremity of sufferings, corporeal and mental ; his despair 
 and weariness of life ; his frequent wishes for death ; his eager- 
 ness to enter upon his trial ; his earnest request, and even expos- 
 tulations with his Judge, to bring him to it, or at least to acquaint 
 him with the reasons of such severe afflictions. Such shades and 
 blemishes in the character of this illustrious Patriarch argue some- 
 what of impatience in this heroick pattern of patience. But God 
 is ever ready to pass over the frailties and infirmities of human 
 nature, where there is a tried and resolute integrity, determined 
 to adhere to God in all trials and temptations, whatever may be 
 the result Dr. Hales. 
 
 7, 8. — the Lord said to Eliphaz &c.] Here is a repetition of 
 the same declaration, in express terms, by God Himself, that Eli- 
 phaz and his companions " had not spoken of Him the thing 
 that was right," and that Job had. Now it is impossible to find 
 any thing in their speeches, which should make the difference 
 here supposed, if we set aside the doctrine of a future state. For 
 in this view the others would really speak more worthily of God 
 than Job, by endeavouring to vindicate His providence in the 
 exact distribution of good and evil in thib life : whereas Job's as- 
 sertion, chap. ix. 22, that " this is one thing, therefore I said it, 
 He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked," which is the argu- 
 ment that he insists upon throughout, would, upon this supposi- 
 tion, be directly to charge God with making no distinction be- 
 tween the good and bad; which in a ruler is an errour, that 
 reflects both on his wisdom and on his justice. 
 
 But now take the other life into the account, and the subject 
 will appear in a contrary light ; and we shall easily see the reason 
 why God approves of the sentiments of Job, and condemns those 
 of his friends. For let us suppose the friends of Job to argue, 
 which seems to be the general tendency of their arguments, that 
 the righteous are never afflicted without remedy here, and the 
 wicked never prosperous upon the whole in this life, which is a 
 wrong representation of God's providence ; and Job to argue on 
 the other hand, that the righteous are sometimes afflicted here, 
 and that without remedy, but shall be rewarded in a life to come; 
 and that the wicked prosper here, but shall be punished here- 
 
 11 Then came there unto him all his ^'^'""^ 
 brethren, and all his sisters, and all they ^^fLM 
 that had been of his acquaintance before, 
 
 and did eat bread with him in his house : 
 and they bemoaned him, and comforted 
 him over all the evil that the Lord had 
 brought upon him : every man also gave 
 him a piece of money, and every one an 
 earring of gold. 
 
 12 So the Lord blessed the latter end of 
 Job more than his beginning : for he had 
 fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand 
 camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and 
 a thousand she asses. 
 
 13 He had also seven sons and three 
 daughters. 
 
 14 And he called the name of the first, 
 Jemima ; and the name of the second, 
 Kezia ; and the name of the third, Keren- 
 happuch. 
 
 15 And in all the land were no women 
 found so fair as the daughters of Job : and 
 their father gave them inheritance among 
 their brethren. 
 
 16 After this lived Job an hundred and 
 
 after ; which is the true representation of the Diiane proceed- 
 ings ; and here is a very apparent difference in the drift of the 
 one discourse and of the other : for Job in this view speaks wor- 
 thily of God, the rest unworthily. 
 
 The best moral argument, which mankind ever had, to believe 
 a life to come, is this, on which Job insists : that good and evil 
 are for the most part dealt out here proraisciiously. On the con- 
 trary, the topick urged by his friends, and which they push much 
 too far, that Go<l rewards and punishes in this world, tends in its 
 consequence, like that other opinion, which was held in after- 
 times, that virtue is its own reward, to sap the very foundation 
 of that proof, which we have from reason, of anotlier life. It is 
 no wonder therefore, that the sentiments of the one are approved, 
 and those of the other condemned. 
 
 And, taking the matter in this light, we may be almost led to 
 conclude, that as God bestowed upon Solomon all other temporal 
 advantages in reward for his asking wisdom, so He restored Job 
 to all his temporal prosperity and happiness, and gave him a long 
 enjojTnent and increase of it, as a recompense to him for having 
 so well defended the doctrine of a future state. Peters. 
 
 9. — Ihe Lord also accepted .fob.'] The Lord also heard the 
 prayer that he made for his friends, and so acceptetl of his person 
 and devotion, that He forgave their offence upon his intercession. 
 Bp. Hall 
 
 10. And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, Sec,] And the 
 Lord released tliat miserable affliction, under which Job had been 
 held bound, when out of his meekness and charity he was con- 
 tent to pray for his persecuting friends. Bp. Hall. 
 
 To " turn the capti\aty," seems to have been a proverbial phrase 
 for a happy reverse of condition. For certainly it here includes 
 all that Goil did for this excellent man. Scott. 
 
 11. Then tame there Sec] \Mien Job had humbled himself, 
 and God had accepted him, He quickly turned the hearts of his 
 friends to regard him with kindne>s, Prov. xvi. 7. Clark. 
 
 every man also gave him a piece of money,] It was an ancient 
 
 custom, which is still observed in the East, never to visit a person 
 of distinction without paying him the compliment of a present 
 It is uncertain, whether one kind of present made to Job on this 
 occaaon, was a sheep, or a piece of money, that had the fipuf e of 
 a sheep stamped upon it Scott. See the note on Gen. xxxiii. 19.
 
 Job's children, 
 
 JOB. 
 
 age, and death. 
 
 Befor* forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' 
 
 (bout 1520. 
 
 sons, even four generations 
 
 17 So Job died,'] It has been urged as an objection against 
 Tob bein" the author of this book, that his death is mentioned at 
 ilie concfusion of it. But this is easily accounted for, in the same 
 way as the death of Moses recorded at the conclusion ot the 
 Book of Deuteronomy, which is generally believed to be an ad- 
 dition by some other hand. See the note there. The story, as 
 told by Job himself, might probably conclude at the tenth, or be 
 continued to the twelfth verse of this chapter. Peters. 
 
 The circumstance of the remote antiquity of this book, it being 
 presumed to be prior to the Pentateuch, and therefore the oldest 
 book in the world, stamps the highest value upon it, as a most 
 faithful and authcntick monument of the language, the learning, 
 the manners, and the religion, of the earlier and purer patriarchal 
 ages : it is a valuable voucher for all those historical facts and 
 doctrines, which it notices jointly with the books of Moses, such 
 as the creation of the world, the ministry of good angels, the 
 agency of bad, the fall of Adam, the universal deluge, &c. : while 
 the difference of the manner, and the new circumstances which it 
 incidentally relates, not to be found in the Pentateuch, prove it to 
 be also an'independent voucher, which derived information from 
 different sources or traditions, preserved in Aram's and Jocktan's 
 families. Dr. Hales. 
 
 There is one thine to be observed on the conduct of Job's 
 friends, and their rash unkind censures of him, which may help 
 to set the poem in a proper light. Their harsh and unfounded 
 reproofs were made admirably subservient to the great design of 
 Providence with respect to Job, and the end proposed by the Di- 
 vine wisdom to exhibit him as a pattern to all succeeding gene- 
 rations. For neither could his sufferings have been so complete, 
 nor consequently his patience so exemplary, had not God per- 
 
 17 So Job died, being old and 
 days. 
 
 full 
 
 of Before 
 CHRIST 
 about 1520. 
 
 mitted this, which may be almost called the severest trial of all, to 
 befall him. There is scarcely any thing, which a man of a gene- 
 rous mind is so little able to bear, as ignominy and reproach ; 
 especially the reproaches of those, who have been his friends. 
 This therefore is a very delicate circumstance, that could not be 
 omitted, if the afflictions of this good man were intended to be 
 shewn in their proper light, so as to make his virtue, and the re- 
 ward of it, the more conspicuous. Peters. 
 The grand moral of the book is to shew, 
 
 1st, That God sometimes permits the best men to be afflicted 
 by Satan, and that most grievously, in this life, to prove their 
 faith, patience, humility, and resignation to His will : 
 
 2dly, That this world is not a perfect state of retribution for 
 virtue and vice : but that 
 
 Sdly, All the inequalities, which ai-e to be found here, will be 
 completely redressed in a future state, at the general judgment, in 
 which the good will be finally rewarded, and the wicked punished- 
 Job indeed was one of the best men that ever lived ; but he 
 w-as not exempt from the frailties and infirmities of human na- 
 ture : and he failed in some measure under his last and sorest 
 trial. Still, with all his imperfections, he M'ill shine forth to the 
 end of time an admirable example and an heroick pattern of 
 piety and patience; to be exceeded only by that inimitable 
 Standard of perfection, who, in His state of humiliation, was 
 " meek and lowly of heart ;" who was " in all points tempted 
 like as we are," and that " by the devil," but yet " did no sin, 
 neither was guile found in His mouth ;" and who was " perfected 
 by sufferings" in this life, that He might be transcendently " ex- 
 alted at the right hand of God :" the blessed " Seed of tlie 
 woman," the man Jesus Christ. Dr. Hales. 
 
 -^ 
 
 The following are the Chapters from the Book of Job, appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holydays. 
 
 Chap. I. - - 
 
 XXIV, XXV. 
 
 XLII. . 
 
 St. Luke, 
 
 St Simon and St. Jude, 
 
 Ditto. - . . 
 
 Evening. 
 Morning. 
 Evening, 
 
 s
 
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