(21) And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. (22) Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them? (23) and the LORD said unto Moses, a Is the LORD's hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.

Prophecy in the Camp.

of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle and they prophesied in the (27) And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. (28) And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. (29) And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them! (30) And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. (26) But there remained

two of the men in the camp, the name

(21) Six hundred thousand footmen.-In chap. i. 46 the number is stated to be 603,550; but here, as elsewhere, a round number is mentioned.

(22) Shall the flocks and the herds Rather, Shall flocks and herds..? The definite article is not used here, nor the possessive pronoun, as elsewhere, where the flocks and herds of the Israelites are denoted. (Comp. Exod. x. 9, xxxiv. 3; Deut. xii. 6.) There is no evidence, therefore, that Moses alluded exclusively, or even primarily, to the flocks and herds which the Israelites had brought out of Egypt. Moreover, a large number of the sheep and goats must have been recently slain at the Passover. Whether the encampment was, or was not within an easy distance of the Elanitic Gulf, the gathering together of the fish of the sea in sufficient quantities to satisfy such a multitude for so long a time would require a miraculous agency; and the same agency could also bring together from unknown sources flocks and herds. The expres sion may be regarded as a form of natural hyperbole.

(24) And Moses went out . . .-i.e., as it should seem, from the tabernacle of the congregation, where he had been conversing with God.

Round about the tabernacle.-This does not necessarily imply that the seventy men were placed so that they surrounded the whole of the tent of meeting. Comp. Exod. vii. 24, where the word means on both sides of the river; also Job xxix. 5, where the same word is rendered about.

(25) In a cloud.-Hebrew, In the cloud. And gave it unto

as in Lev. ii. 15.

.-Better, and put it upon,

They prophesied, and did not cease.-Better, they prophesied, but did so no more. Comp. Gen. viii. 12; Exod. xi. 6; 2 Sam. ii. 28; so the LXX. The word prophesy does not necessarily denote the prediction of future events. It is elsewhere employed to denote the celebration of the praises of God, either with the voice or with instruments of music. (Comp. 1 Sam.

(31) And there went forth a wind from

sea, and let them fall by the camp 1as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of

x. 6; 1 Kings xviii. 29; 1 Chron. xxv. 1, 2, 3; Jer. xxix. 26.)

(28) My lord Moses, forbid them.--The motive which prompted Joshua in making this request appears to have been similar to that which led St. John to forbid the man to cast out devils who did not follow with the Apostles (Mark ix. 38, 39; Luke ix. 49, 50). But as the man did not cast out devils in his own name, but in that of Christ, so in this case Eldad and Medad prophesied in virtue of the spirit which rested upon them from above, of which the Holy Ghost, not Moses, was the giver. The motives which deterred Eldad and Medad from going to the tent of meeting are unknown. The history teaches the freeness and the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit's influences, as afterwards did that of Cornelius, when the Holy Ghost fell upon him and upon those who were with him, previously to the reception of baptism, and they spoke with tongues and magnified God (Acts x. 44-48).

(29) Enviest thou for my sake ?-Better, Art thou zealous for me? or, Art thou displeased on my account? (Comp. chap. xxv. 13; 1 Kings xix. 10, 14.) (31) And there went forth a wind.-In Ps. lxxviii. 26 we read thus: "He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven and by his power he brought in the south wind." A south-east wind would bring the quails from the neighbourhood of the Red Sea, where they abound.

:

And let them fall.-Better, and scattered them (or, spread them out). Comp. 1 Sam. xxx. 16: They were spread abroad upon all the earth," or, over all the ground.

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Round about.-See Note on verse 24.

As it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.-Or, about two cubits over (or, above) the ground. Had the quails lain upon the earth in a heap for any considerable time, life could only have been preserved by miraculous interference with the ordinary laws of nature, and the Israelites were not

Quails given in Wrath.

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the earth. (32) And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the (33) And while the flesh was yet camp. between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague. (34) And he called the name of that place 1 Kibroth-hattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted.

allowed to eat of that which had died of itself. Quails commonly fly low, and when wearied with a long flight might fly only about breast-high. On the other hand, the more obvious interpretation of the words is that the quails were spread over the ground, and covered it in some places to the height of two cubits. They were probably taken and killed immediately on their descent, as the following verse seems to indicate, and then spread out and dried and hardened in the sun. Some think that the word which is here rendered quails denotes

cranes.

(32) Ten homers.-The homer, which was equal to ten ephahs, or a hundred omers, appears to have contained between five and six bushels, according to the Rabbinists, but according to Josephus about double that quantity.

(33) With a very great plague. The noun, maccah, plague, is cognate to the verb which is rendered smote. It is frequently used of a stroke inflicted by God, as, e.g., pestilence or any epidemic sickness. A surfeit, such as that in which the Israelites had indulged, especially under the circumstances in which they were placed, would naturally produce a considerable amount of sickness. Here, then, as in the account of the plagues of Egypt and in other parts of the sacred history, the natural and the supernatural are closely combined.

(31) Kibroth-hattaavah-i.e., the graves of lust (or, desire). In Numbers xxxiii. 16, Kibroth-hattaavah is mentioned as the first station after the departure from Sinai, whereas it is obvious that there must have been an encampment at Taberah. Taberah may have been the name given to a part of Kibroth-hattaavah, or the two names may have belonged to the same place.

XII.

(1) And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses.-Miriam appears to have been the leader in this insurrection against the authority of Moses. Her name occurs before that of Aaron, either as the nearer or as the more prominent subject; and the verb which is rendered "spake" is in the feminine gender. Moreover, the judgment which was inflicted (verse 10) fell upon Miriam, not upon Aaron, who seems to have yielded to the suggestions of Miriam, as he had previously done to the request of the Israelites in regard to the golden calf.

Because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married.-Some suppose that the reference is to Zipporah, who may have been included amongst the Asiatic division of the Ethiopians, or Cushites (comp. Hab. iii. 7, where the tents of Cushan, or Cush, are coupled with the curtains of Midian), and that the occa

Moses' Ethiopian Wife.

sion of the opposition to Moses was the undue influence which he is supposed to have allowed Hobab and other members of Zipporah's family to exercise over him. This supposition, however, seems improbable on many accounts. The words, "for he had married an Ethiopian (or Cushite) woman," naturally point to some recent occurrence, not to one which had taken place more than forty years previously, and which is, therefore, very unlikely to have given occasion to the murmuring of Miriam and Aaron at this time. Moreover, the murmuring is expressly connected with the Cushite herself, not with any of the subsequent or incidental results of the marriage. It seems, therefore, much more probable that Zipporah was dead, and that Moses had married one of the African Cushites who had accompanied the Israelites in their march out of Egypt, or one of the Cushites who dwelt in Arabia, and who were found at this time in the neighbourhood of Sinai. A similar marriage had been contracted by Joseph, and such marriages were not forbidden by the Law, which prohibited marriage with the Canaanites (Exod. xxxiv. 16).

(2) Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses ?-There is probably a reference in these words to the facts related in Exod. iv. 10-16, where Moses speaks of his own slowness of speech (verse 10), and where it is said of Aaron, " And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people" (verse 16). Miriam also is spoken of in Exod. xv. 20 as "the prophetess." "Such is the depravity of human nature," writes Calvin," that they not only abuse the gifts of God towards the brother whom they despise, but by an ungodly and sacrilegious glorification extol the gifts themselves in such a manner as to hide the Author of the gifts.”

(3) Now the man Moses was very meek... -These words have been urged by some as an argument against the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch generally, or of the Book of Numbers in particular, but whether they may or may not have been inserted by a later writer, this inference is altogether unfounded. It is possible that the writer of Deut. xxxiv. 10 may have inserted these words in this place. On the other hand, there is no necessity for such a supposition. An objective statement, such as that contained in these words, is perfectly consistent with true humility and with a deep sense of sinfulness and frailty. When such expressions are required in order to a full understanding of all the circumstances of the history, they afford no just ground of objection either against the writer, or against the genuineness of the writing; and least of all can they be justly objected to in the case of those who, like Moses and St. Paul, were ever ready to sacrifice their

(4) And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. (5) And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. (6) And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him Ex. 33. 11. in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. (7) My servant Moses is not so, a who is faithful in all mine house. (8) With him will I speak mouth to

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own personality in the cause to which they had devoted their lives (comp. 2 Cor. xi. 5). It may be observed, further, that the word anav, meek, is frequently interchanged with the cognate word ani, and that the meaning may be bowed down, or oppressed. (4) Come out ye three There is nothing in these words which implies that Miriam entered into the Tabernacle itself. Moses, Aaron, and Miriam were summoned to go out of the camp (comp. chap. xi. 30), and to come to the entrance of the Tabernacle, or rather of the court, inasmuch as the command to come as far as the entrance into the Sanctuary appears to have been given afterwards (verse 5). It must be remembered that there was but one court at this time.

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(6) If there be a prophet. -Better, If there be to (or, among) you a prophet of Jehovah, I will make myself known unto him in a vision, and speak unto him. The LXX. and Vulgate connect the word 'Jehovah " with the former, not with the latter part of the clause. The mode of communication between God and Moses differed in the respects which are enumerated in verse 8 from the mode of communication by visions or dreams, in which God communicated His will to others.

(7) My servant Moses .-Better, Not so (in regard to) my servant Moses: he is faithful. Reference is made to these words in Heb. iii. 5: 66 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house," i.e., in the whole of the Mosaic economy or dispensation, or the house of Israel, which is spoken of as God's house. trast is drawn in verse 6 between the vocation of Moses as a servant in the house of God and that of Christ as a Son over His own house.

A con

(8) With him will I speak.-Better, do I speak, mouth to mouth. Comp. Exod. xxxiii. 11.

Even apparently.-The noun mareh, which is here used, is cognate with that which occurs with the preposition in verse 6, and which is rendered a vision." It differs from it only in punctuation, and is sometimes identical in meaning. It appears, however, here to denote an objective reality, as in Exod. iii. 3, where it is rendered sight. The clause might be rendered, and (as) an appearance, and not in riddles (or, enigmas).

And the similitude of the Lord . . .-Or, and the form of Jehovah doth he behold. The word which is here rendered similitude (temunah) is the same which occurs in Exod. xx. 4; Deut. iv. 15, 16, 23, 25, v. 8; Ps. xvii. 15. It is sometimes rendered likeness, and sometimes similitude. The noun march, which is here rendered "apparently," and that which is rendered similitude, are found in conjunction in Job iv. 16: “I

Miriam's Leprosy.

mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses ? And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. (10) And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. (11) And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. (12) Let her not be as one

could not discern the form (or appearance), mareh, thereof an image (or form), temunah, was before mine eyes." (Comp. Exod. xxxiii. 20-23.)

(10) And the cloud departed. .-The withdrawal of the cloud was the visible token of the Divine

displeasure. The word sar, departed, which is here used, is an entirely different word from that which occurs in chap. ix. 17: "When the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle." The lifting up of the cloud was the signal for the breaking up of the camp and the resumption of the march; the withdrawal of the cloud was the token of the withdrawal of the Divine presence and direction.

Leprous, white as snow.-Better, was leprous as snow, as in Exod. iv. 6, where the same words occur; or, a leper (as white), as snow, as in 2 Kings v. 27. In an ordinary case of leprosy, when the disease covered the whole body, and the whole of the flesh had turned white, the man was to be pronounced clean. It was otherwise in cases in which persons were smitten with leprosy by the immediate hand of God, as in the case of Moses and in that of Gehazi.

And Aaron looked upon Miriam ...-Or, and Aaron turned towards Miriam-i.e., directed his attention to her, &c. This may have been the first case in which Aaron was required to carry into execution the laws laid down in Lev. xiii., xiv., respecting the inspection of the leper; and the duties which devolved upon him must have been doubly painful from the fact that the leper stood in a near relationship to himself, and that he had been a participator in the sin which had called for so severe a punishment.

(11) Alas, my lord.-The word rendered alas! is an exclamation of entreaty rather than of lamentation. It is used towards superiors in conjunction with adoni (my lord) in Gen. xl. 20; 1 Kings iii. 17.

Lay not the sin upon us... -Better, lay not sin (ie., the punishment which is due to it) upon us, for that (or, inasmuch as) we have done foolishly, &c. Aaron does not seek to shift the guilt which had been incurred from himself and Miriam to any others, but prays that they may not be constrained to bear the punishment which their sin had justly deserved. In Zech. xiv. 19 the same word hattath is rendered punishment.

(12) Let her not be as one dead.-This is another of the places in which the Scribes are said to have altered the text. The original is said to have been as follows:-Let her not be as one dead, who proceeded from the womb of our mother, and half of our flesh be consumed. The leper was "as one dead in two respects-(1) as being shut out from inter

dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb. (13) And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. (1) And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. (15) And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.

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course with his brethren; and (2) as causing ceremonial defilement in the case of those who were brought into contact with him, similar to that which was caused by touching a dead body. 'He was," as Archbishop Trench has remarked, a dreadful parable of death (On the Miracles, p. 214). In the most severe types of leprosy there was, as the same writer has observed, a dissolution, little by little, of the whole body, so that one limb after another actually decayed and fell away (Ibid, p. 213).

(13) Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.— Better, O God, I beseech thee, heal her, I besecch thee.

(14) If her father had but spit in her face.— Or, in her presence. Spitting in the presence of any one, much more spitting in the face of any one, is regarded in the East as an indication of the utmost degree of abhorrence and indignation. Comp. Deut. XXV. 9; Job xxx. 10; Is. 1. 6; Matt. xxvi. 67.

Seven days.-This was the time during which the person suspected of being leprous was to be shut up in the first instance (Lev. xiii. 4, 21, &c.); and this was also the time during which the leper, when cleansed, was to "tarry abroad out of his tent," after he had come into the camp, before the appointed sacrifices were offered on his behalf (Lev. xiv. 8, 10). It was thus that she who had placed herself on a level with the divinelyappointed head and ruler of her nation was to be excluded for seven days from any part or lot in the privileges which were enjoyed by the humblest member of the congregation.

(15) And the people journeyed not The law for the purification of the leper, as prescribed in Lev. xiv., had already been delivered.

(16) In the wilderness of Paran.-See Note on chap. x. 12. It appears from the 26th verse of the following chapter that the encampment was at Kadesh, which has been supposed by some to be identical with Rithmah (chap. xxxiii. 18).

sent to Search the Land.

men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. (3) And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel. (4) And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur. (5) Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori. (6) Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. (7) Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. (8) Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun. (9) Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. (10) Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel, the son of Sodi. (11) Of the tribe of Joseph,

people. It is there said that the saying pleased Moses well; but it would be wholly inconsistent with the character and conduct of Moses to suppose that in a matter of such importance he should have acted in accordance with the suggestion of the people, or upon his own judgment, without seeking direction from God. The command which was given to Moses must not be regarded as implying of necessity that the expedition of the spies was, in the first instance, ordained by God, any more than the command which was afterwards given to Balaam to accompany the messengers of Balak was any indication that God originally commanded, or approved of his journey.

(2) Every one a ruler among them.—Or, a prince among them, as in chap. i. 16. A comparison of the names which follow with those which are given in chap. i. 5-15 will show that the persons selected were not the tribal princes who are mentioned in connection with the census. The tribe of Levi, as in the former case, is not represented, as the Levites were to have no inheritance in the land, and the number of twelve, as in chap. i., is made up by the division of the tribe of Joseph into the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

(3) And Moses, by the commandment of the Lord, sent them, &c.-Better, And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command (literally, the mouth) of the Lord, i.e., as appears from Deut. i. 19, from Kadesh-barnea.

(6) Caleb the son of Jephunneh.-In three places-viz., in chap. xxxii. 12; and in Josh. xiv. verses 6 and 14-Caleb is described as the Kenezite (or rather, the Kenizzite). Now in Gen. xv. 19 the Kenizzites are mentioned as one of the Canaanite tribes, and in Gen. xxxvi. 11, 15, Kenaz occurs as an Edomite name. It has been conjectured from these facts, but, as it should seem, on insufficient grounds, that Caleb was of foreign origin, and that he had been incorporated into the tribe of Judah.

(8) Of the tribe of Ephraim.-It has been supposed that there is some displacement of the text in this verse. Thus far the order of the tribes is the same as in chap. i. 5-8. After Issachar, Zebulun (the sixth son of Leah) would naturally follow, as in chap. i. 9, and Ephraim and Manasseh would naturally be connected, as in chap. i. 10. This supposition is supported