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B. C. 1491.

up, but rebelled against the command- 1 Heb., melted.
ment of the LORD your God: (27) and ye
murmured in your tents, and said, Be-
cause the LORD hated us, he hath
brought us forth out of the land of
Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of
the Amorites, to destroy us. (28) Whi-
ther shall we go up? our brethren have
1 discouraged our heart, saying, The
people is greater and taller than we;
the cities are great and walled up to
heaven; and moreover we have seen the
sons of the a Anakims there.

a Num. 13. 29.

b Ex. 13. 21.

(29) Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. (30) The LORD Num. 14. 29. your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that

go after.

27. 14.

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of the People.

(34) And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying, (35) Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers, (36) save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath 2 wholly followed the LORD. (37) d Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. (38) But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. (39) Moreover your little

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and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto

he did for you in Egypt before your 2 Heb., fulfilled to ones, which ye said should be a prey, eyes; (31) and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until m. 20. 12, & them will I give it, and they shall posye came into this place. (32) Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God, (33) who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.

e ch. 3. 26. & 4. 21.
& 34. 4.

Num. 14. 40.

A most

(27) Because the Lord hated us. astounding commentary on the events of the exodus up to that date. It is a stronger expression than any recorded, even in Num. xiv. 3.

(28) Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart.-So Caleb says in Josh. xiv. 8, "My brethren made the heart of the people melt." For the rest of the verse see Num. xiii. 28.

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(29) Dread not, neither be afraid of them. -The reminder that "Jehovah went before them " did not avail, for they had already chosen men to go before them.

(31) The Lord . . bare thee, as a man doth bear his son.-From this comes the expression in Acts xiii. 18," He bare them as a nursing father in the wilderness."-Rev. N. T., margin.

(33) Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place.-Comp. Num. x. 33, "The ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them

to search out a resting place for them;" and St. John xiv. 2, "I go to prepare a place for you; " and Heb. vi. 20," Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus." On the whole manner of this cloud-guidance, see Num. ix. 15-23.

(34) Was wroth, and sware.-See Ps. xcv. 11, "I sware in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest."

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(40) But as for you, turn you,
and take your journey into the wilder-
ness by the way of the Red sea.

(41) Then ye answered and said unto me, f we have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us.

Moses' substitute, the exception among the recognised leaders, is named separately.

(37) Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes. Here, again, Moses combines his own rejection, an event of the fortieth year of the exodus, with the rejection of the people in the second year. The reason was the same unbelief. "Because ye believed me not" was the reason given to Moses in Num. xx. 12. "Ye did not believe the Lord your God" is the reason for the rejection of the people, given above in verse 32. As the spies presumed to investigate the route and order of the conquest, a matter of Divine guidance, so Moses presumed to alter the prescribed order for the miracle in Kadesh. Like transgressions incurred like penalties. The fault for which the people had suffered could not be overlooked in the leader. (See also Notes on chaps. iii. 23—28; xxxii. 49.) This and verse 38 should be taken as a parenthesis.

(39) Moreover your little ones.-This continues the sentence of Jehovah from verse 36.

Which ye said should be a prey.-In Num. xiv. 3, "that our wives and children should be a prey." (See also verse 31.)

(40) But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way (in the direction) of the Red Sea.-In Num. xiv. 32 the parallel sentence is, "As for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness."

(1) We have sinned . . . we will go up and fight. The emphatic we of this verse may be compared with the "we" of verse 28. In both instances it was we, without Jehovah. It was a change from cowardice to presumption, not from unbelief to faith.

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And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill. (42) And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies. (43) So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but revelled against the commandment of the LORD, and I went pre-1 sumptuously up into the hill. (44) And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. (45) And ye

returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. (46) So ye abode in Kadesh many days,

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Ye were ready to go up into the hill.-Some render, Ye made light of going up.

(43) The last clause comes from Num. xiv. 44.

(44) As bees do.-This should be observed as illustrating what is said of the hornet in Exod. xxiii. 2830, and further on in Deut. vii. 20; Josh. xxiv. 12. The incidental mention of the bees in this place shows that the writer of Deuteronomy was familiar with the spectacle of a company of men pursued by bees.

In Seir, even unto Hormah.- Čonder (Bible Handbook, p. 250) understands this Seir as the range of hills round Petra. There is another Seir in the territory of Judah (Josh. xv. 10). As to Hormah, the Jewish commentator Aben Ezra says, "the name of a place or the verb," i.e., either unto Hormah, or unto utter destruction. But in our version the word Hormah is always taken as a proper name. The situa tion of Hormah is unknown.

(45) And ye returned and wept before the Lord. This fact is not related in Num. xiv. It shows the personal knowledge of the writer, and that the narrative is not simply drawn from the earlier books.

We

(46) So ye abode in Kadesh many days.Better, and. In Num. xiv. 25 the command was, "Tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness." This command was broken by the attack on the Canaanites, made on the morrow after the command. cannot be certain that the many days spent in Kadesh were spent after the defeat. It may be merely a note of the fact that the time spent in Kadesh was considerable. The mission of the spies alone occupied forty days.

According unto the days that ye abode there. -The Jewish commentator Rashi, quoting from Sêder 'Olam, says they spent nineteen years in Kadesh, and nineteen in their wanderings.

II.

(1) Then. In the original simply "And." There is no note of time.

By the way of the Red sea.-i.e., in the direction of the Gulf of Akabah, southwards.

As the Lord spake unto me.- In Num. xiv. 25, as noted on chap. i. 40.

Many days.-Until near the close of the thirtyninth year of the exodus.

in the Wilderness.

according unto the days that ye abode there.

CHAPTER II.-(1) Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the LORD spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days. (2) And the LORD spake unto me, saying, (3) Ye have compassed this mountain long enough turn you northward. (4) And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore: (5) meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their

(3) Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. Apparently this command must have been issued when they were in Kadesh the second time, at the commencement of the fortieth year (Num. xx. 1). It was from this encampment that Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom, asking permission to pass through his territory. It would be interesting to know when it was decided that Israel should enter the land of promise by passing over Jordan, instead of going through the Negeb. Did Mount Seir, or the territory of Edom, lie wholly on the east, or partly on the west of Israel when they were encamped in Kadesh? If Edom had acquired any territorial rights to the westward during the thirty-eight years' wandering, it might have been necessary for Israel to ask his permission to go by the way of the spies, and in that case the decision to pass Jordan may have been taken in consequence of Edom's refusal. But if, as Conder (Bible Handbook, p. 250) appears to think, the permission asked was to go eastward between the mountains by the W. el Ghaweir to the north of Mount Hor, or the W. Ghurundel to the south of it (see Stanley's Map in Sinai and Palestine for these), then the decision to pass the Jordan must have been taken before this period. The reason for the step would then be similar to what we find in Exod. xiii. 17, that the people might not have to fight their way into the country through the land of the Amorites. The miraculous eisodus across Jordan would thus become still more analogous to the miraculous exodus from Egypt.

(4) Ye are to pass through the coast.-Literally, Ye are passing through the border. This was apparently said before the permission was asked, and in view of the request made for it (Num. xx. 17). But Edom refused to let Israel pass through his coast or border (Num. xx. 21).

They shall be afraid of you.-According to the prophecy in the song of Moses (Exod. xv. 15), “Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed."

(5) I have given mount Seir unto Esau.It is worthy of notice that the development of Ishmael preceded that of Isaac, and the inheritance of Esau was won earlier than that of Jacob. (Comp. Gen. xxv. 16 with chap. xxxv. 23-26, and Gen. xxxvi. 31 with chap. xxxvii. 1.) Isaac and Israel were still strangers

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(7) For the LORD thy God hath blessed 2 or, Use no hos them Emims. (12) The Horims also

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tility against
Moab.

b Gen. 36. 20.

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(6) Ye shall buy meat. and . . . water. -Comp. Gen. xiv. 23, Lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich," and chap. xv. 1, "I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."

Esau

(7) The Lord thy God hath blessed thee.There is nothing unreasonable in the view suggested by these words, that the Israelites acquired wealth by trade or by ordinary occupations during their wilderness journey. They had skilled workmen among them. (8) When we passed from through the way of the plain from Elath. -The route from Seir, after Esau's refusal, was southward to Ezion-geber, at the head of the Gulf of Akabah, and Elath, a few miles south-east of Eziongeber, on the same coast. They then turned northward, and going round the territory of Edom, reached the country of Moab.

(9) Distress not the Moabites I have given Ar unto the children of Lot.-The children of Lot, like those of Ishmael and Esau, had their earthly inheritance before the children of Abra

ham.

(10-12) These three verses which follow should be read parenthetically.

The Emims. See Gen. xiv. 5, 6, for the first mention of Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim, and Horim. (The termination im is plural in Hebrew, and, like cherubim, does not need the additional s.) These tribes were flourishing in the time of Abraham, but were conquered before the exodus.

The children of Esau succeeded them.A partial mixture of the two races resulted in this case, and from their union sprang the Amalekites, Israel's inveterate foes (Gen. xxxvi. 12, 22).

As Israel did unto the land of his possession. On the east of Jordan in Moses' lifetime, as well as on the west of Jordan under Joshua. It is not necessary, therefore. to make the parenthesis (verses

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10-12) editorial, though it forms no essential part of Moses' speech.

(13) Now rise up, said I. A continuation of the order in verse 9. The words "said I" are not needed.

The brook Zered is not yet identified. (See Num. xxi. 12.) Several streams run into the Dead Sea on its eastern side south of Arnon; Zered is possibly one of these. Or it may be a tributary of Arnon, which has one large tributary running from south to north.

(14) Until we were come over the brook Zered. The root zârad in Chaldee means to prune. The name "Zered" signifies the luxuriant foliage and the young shoots, especially of the willow, which are cut off with the knife: so the Targum takes it (Num. xxi. 12). Probably the valley was so named from the willows of the brook" which grew there. But it was the "valley of pruning" to the "vine" which God had brought out of Egypt" in another sense. The last of the fruitless branches was here taken away, and the vine "purged, that it might bring forth more fruit."

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Thirty and eight years; until all . . men of war were wasted out from among the host. The census did not take place until some months later. A plague intervened, which cut off twenty-four thousand. The observation that at the brook Zered all the men of the older generation were "wasted out of the host" indicates an intimate knowledge of the incidents of the exodus. But it is quite natural to suppose that, as the survivors of that generation became fewer, those who remained would become marked men. Every man of the twelve tribes (excluding Levi ?) who passed the census at Sinai was doomed. The fortieth year of the exodus had more than half expired when they came to the brook Zered. All who remained alive in that year knew that they had a short time to live. Probably more notice was taken of the last few deaths than of all the rest of the six hundred thousand put together.

The Victory

DEUTERONOMY, II. `

sware unto them. (15) For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.

(16) So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, (17) that the LORD spake unto me, saying, (18) Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day: (19) and when thou comest nigh over against the children. of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession. (20) (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; (21) a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;

over the Amorites.

Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.) (2) Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. (25) This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, 1 Heb., begin, pos- who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

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(26) And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, (27) Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left. (28) Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and

but the LORD destroyed them before a Num. 21. 21, 22. give me water for money, that I may

them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead: (22) as he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day: (23) and the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of

(15) The hand of the Lord was against them. -The best comment on this discipline is to be found in Psalm xc. 8, 9, "Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance; for all our days are passed away in thy wrath."

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(18) Ar.-According to Conder, Rabbath-Moab," the present ruin Rabba, north of Merah.

(19) And when thou comest nigh.-Compare Note on verse 9.

(20) In old time.-See Gen. xiv. Zamzummims = Zuzims (Gen. xiv. 5).

(21) The Lord destroyed them before them. -It is noticeable that the conquest of Canaan is here brought into the domain of common history, by comparison with the conquests of gigantic races accomplished by Edom, Moab, and Ammon. The value of this analogy to Moses and Israel is plain. If the children of Lot, Ishmael, and Esau-who were but Gentiles, although they were Abraham's seed-were able to dispossess these gigantic races, how much more would Israel be able to dispossess the Canaanites under the personal guidance of Jehovah?

(23) The Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims destroyed.

"In Hazerim" should apparently be rendered "in villages." It does not occur elsewhere as a proper name; it is plural in form, and is found in this sense in some other places. "Azzah," i.e., Gaza. The Caphtorim: comp. Amos ix. 7: "The Philistines from Caphtor." (See Gen. x. 14.) Some make the country of Caphtor

drink only I will pass through on my feet; (29) (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me ;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the LORD our God giveth us. (30) But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart

to be Cyprus or Crete. But at least this statement makes Philistia the scene of a conquest, and the Philistines of the time of Joshua would thus appear to be a mixed race.

(24) Pass over Arnon. The territory from Arnon northward to Jabbok had been taken from Moab by the Amorites, and was to be possessed by Israel. (See on Num. xxi. 24.)

(25) The fear of thee.-Compare Exod. xv. 15, 16: "All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away, fear and dread shall fall upon them."

(26) Kedemoth.-Mentioned as a city in the plain of Jordan, belonging to Heshbon (Josh. xiii. 18).

Words of peace. By this message Sihon was excepted from the catalogue of the doomed kings and nations, according to the distinction drawn in chap. xx. 10, 11, 15, 16. He therefore brought his fate upon himself. He was offered the privileges of the Moabites whom he had conquered, and refused to accept the position.

(29) Until I shall pass over Jordan. This was already determined.

(30) The Lord thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate.-Jehovah gave the strength to Sihon, as He had done to Pharaoh, and as He does to all. Sihon was responsible for using the strength which God gave him in opposition to the Divine purposes. To "harden" a man's spirit is not necessarily a moral process any more than the hardening of steel. Made obstinate" is the same verb used

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obstinate, that he might deliver him ja Num. 21. 23. into thy hand, as appeareth this day.

(31) And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. (32) a Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. (33) And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. (34) And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed 1the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain: (35) only the cattle we took for a

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Heb. every city
men, and little

of men, and wo

ones.

and of Og.

'Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. (2) And the LORD said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. (3) So the LORD our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. (4) And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them,

prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the Num. 21. 33, &c. threescore cities, all the region of Argob,

ch. 29. 7.

cities which we took. (36) From Aroer,
which is by the brink of the river of
Arnon, and from the city that is by the
river, even unto Gilead, there was not
one city too strong for us: the LORD
our God delivered all unto us: (37) only
unto the land of the children of Ammon e Num. 21. 24.
thou camest not, nor unto any place of
the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in
the mountains, nor unto whatsoever
the LORD our God forbad us.

CHAPTER III.-(1) Then we turned,

and went up the way to Bashan and a Num. 21. 33.

in Joshua i. 6, for "Be of a good courage." An unyielding spirit and a courageous heart are good or bad according to the use made of them. Sihon used them badly, Joshua used them well. God's gifts were the same to both. (See also Josh. xi. 20.)

(31) Behold, I have begun to give Sihon.— Notice that in all the conquests of Israel Jehovah gave the order to begin the attack. (See chap. vii. 2, and Note on Josh. xiii. 1.)

(33) And his sons.-As the Hebrew is written, it should be his son (possibly a person of distinction).

(34) And utterly destroyed.-i.e., devoted to destruction. They made them chêrem, like the spoil of Jericho. This could only be by Divine direction. The word implies nothing less. It will be seen, therefore, that the narri live asserts in this case an extermination of Sihon's people by the express command of Jehovah.

(36) Aroe-According to Conder, "the ruin 'Ar 'Air, on the north bank of Wâdy Môjib." (But he makes the Aroer of Num. xxxii. 34 a different place, and marks it as unknown. Why ?)

The city that is by the river. The description suggest Rabbath-ammon, but this cannot be referred to here:

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the kingdom of Og in Bashan. (5) All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many. (6) And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Šihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city. (7) But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves. (8) And we took at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites the land that was on this side Jordan, from the river of Arnon unto mount Hermon; (9) (Which Hermon

For I will deliver him should be rather read thus, for into thy hand have I delivered him.

(4, 5) These details are not given in Numbers. Professor Porter, in the Giant Cities of Bashan, has well described the impression made upon him by verifying this description in detail. "The whole of Bashan," he says, "is not larger than an ordinary English county." That "sixty walled cities, ‘besides unwalled towns a great many,' should exist in a small province, at such a remote age, far from the sea, with no rivers and little commerce, appeared to be inexplicable. Inexplicable, mysterious though it appeared, it was true. On the spot, with my own eyes, I had now verified it. A list of more than one hundred ruined cities and villages, situated in these mountains alone, I had in my hands; and on the spot I had tested it, and found it accurate, though not complete." Many of the cities in the mountains are not ruins. Rooms, doors, bars are entire to this day. The region of Argob is distinctly marked out by its natural boundaries, and well described by the same writer.

(6) We utterly destroyed them. - Devoted them, made them chêrem, as above (chap. ii. 34).

(9) Sirion.—(Sion, chap. iv. 48.) Sirion, or Shirion, and Shenir, are thought to have similar meanings. But the Targum inteprets Shenir as the "rock of snow." Shirion, according to Gesenius, means "glittering like a breastplate." It would not be safe to assert that the mention of the Sidonian name of Hermon makes this verse an addition after Israel was in Palestine, though it might be so. The Jewish commentator Rashi points out that, including the name Sion (chap. iv. 48), "this mountain has four names. Why mention them? To declare the

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