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(5) And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and "our soul loatheth this light bread.

(6) And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

a ch. 11. 6.

b Wisd. 16. 1,5; 1
Cor. 10.9.

e 2 Kings 18. 4;
John 3. 14.

d ch. 33. 43.

1 Or, Abarim.

Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. (8) And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. (9) And Moses made a serpent of 2 or. Vaheb brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

C

Suphah.

8 Heb., leaneth.

(5) This light bread.-The word rendered light denotes something vile or worthless. It was thus that the Israelites regarded the manna which was given to them from heaven; even as the "spiritual meat" which is given to Christ's Church in His word and ordinances is too commonly regarded amongst ourselves.

(6) And the Lord sent fiery serpents Hebrew, the serpents, the seraphim (i.e., the burning ones). (See Deut. viii. 15; Isa. xiv. 29, xxx. 6.) The word appears to denote a particular kind of serpent, as in the following verse. Some think that they were so called because of the bright fiery red upon their heads; others because of the blazing sunbeams on their scales; and others because of their inflammatory and poisonous bite. Venomous snakes are said to abound still in the Arabah.

(8) Make thee a fiery serpent.-The single Hebrew word which is here employed is saraph (a seraph), or burning one, as in verse 6, where the word nehashim-serpents-occurs also. The meaning is explained in the following verse, in which it is said that Moses made " a serpent of brass."

Set it upon a pole.-Better, a standard. The LXX. have σnueîov, the Vulgate signum.__ The Hebrew word (nes) is the same which occurs in Exod. xvii. 15, "Jehovah-nissi"-i.e., Jehovah is my standard or

banner.

(9) And Moses made a serpent of brass.— The old serpent was the cause of death, temporal and spiritual. Christ Jesus, "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Rom. viii. 3), was made sin for us (2 Cor. v. 21), and thus fulfilled, as He Himself explained to Nicodemus, the type of the brazen serpent (John_iii. 14, 15). The meaning of this type, or sign of salvation," is explained in the Book of Wisdom in these words, "He that turned himself toward it was not saved by the thing that he saw, but by Thee, that art the Saviour of all" (chap. xvi. 7). This serpent was preserved by the Israelites, and taken into Canaan,

in

Their Journeys.

(10) And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth.

(11) And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at 1Ije-abarim, in the wilderness which which is before Moab, toward the sun-rising.

(12) From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared.

(13) From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. (14) Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, (15) and at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab.

(16) And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.

and was ultimately destroyed by King Hezekiah, after it had become an object of idolatrous worship (2 Kings xviii. 4).

(10) And pitched in Oboth.-The intermediate stations between Mount Hor and Oboth were Zalmonah and Punon (chap. xxxiii. 41–43). The former of these places is thought by some to have derived its name from the Hebrew word zelem (image, or likeness), and to have been the place at which the likeness of the serpents which bit the Israelites was set up.

(11) At Ije-abarim.-This word seems to denote the heaps (or, ruins) of passages or of coast or river lands-i.e., of districts bordering upon the sea or a river. It is called Iim or Iyim simply in chap. xxxiii. 45.

(13) On the other side of Arnon.-Better, by the side of the Arnon. (Comp. Deut. ii. 24, 26.) The Hebrew word which is here used does not determine on which side of the Arnon the encampment was. (Comp. chap. xxii. 1, and Note.)

(14, 15) The book of the wars of the Lord.Nothing is known about this book. The last days of Moses, as Baumgarten has observed, may have been a suitable time for the commencement of such a work. The history of the journey from Kadesh to the Arboth Moab was not written by Moses until after the defeat of the two kings of the Amorites, and the subjugation of the land on the east of the Jordan.

What he did in the Red Sea

-The original

is very obscure. It is probable that some such verb as They conquered (or, subdued) is understood, and that the words may be rendered Vaheb in Suphah and the valleys (by) Arnon, and the bed (or, ravine) of the valleys which inclines towards the dwelling of Ar, and leans upon the border of Moab. Vaheb was probably the name of a town, and Suphah the district in which that town was situated, so called from its reeds and rushes. Some, however, think that Suphah here denotes a storm or hurricane, as in other places. Ar is supposed to be the same as Areopolis.

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(17) Then Israel sang this song, 1Spring | Heb., Ascend
up, O well; 2sing ye unto it: (18) the
princes digged the well, the nobles of 2 or, answer
the people digged it, by the direction of
the lawgiver, with their staves. And
from the wilderness they went to
Mattanah:

3 Heb., field.

(19) And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: 4 Or The hill. and from Nahaliel to Bamoth: (20) And from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward 5 Jeshimon.

3

5 Or, The wilder-
ness.

is Overcome.

of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. (25) And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the 6 villages thereof. (26) For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon. (27) Wherefore they that speak in proa Deut.3. 27; Juds. verbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared: (28) for there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon. (29) Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites. (30) We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba.

1 1. 19.

B. C. 1452.

b Deut. 29.7.

(21) And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, (22) "Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king's high way, until we be past thy borders. (23)And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. And Israel smote him with the edge 1 Kings 11. 7, 33.

(24)

mos Josh 122

135. 11; 2.

9.

Heb., daughters.

(18) By the direction of the lawgiver.-Better, with the ruler's staff. The same word occurs in Gen. xlix. 10, where it stands in parallelism to "the sceptre." (See Note in loc.)

And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah.―The Targums interpret this and verses 19 and 20 of the well, And from the wilderness it was given to them for a gift, and from thence it was given to them in Mattanah, &c. The Targum of Onkelos is as follows: "And from the time that it was given to them, it descended with them to the rivers, &c." The Targum of Palestine is-" And from the wilderness, &c." (as above).

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(20) And from Bamoth in the valley.-Better, and from Bamoth to the valley that is country (or, rather, field) of Moab was a portion of the table-land which stretches from Rabbath Ammân to the Arnon. The valley in this table-land was upon the height of Pisgah-i.e., the northern part of the mountains of Abarim.

Toward Jeshimon. - Or, desert).

across the waste (or,

(24) For the border of the children of Ammon was strong.-These words assign the reason why the conquests of the Amorites were arrested, not why the children of Israel did not take possession of the land of the Ammonites, with whom they were forbidden to meddle, and whose land they were not to occupy. (See Deut. ii. 19.)

(25) And Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites.-If, as appears most probable, this and the thirty-first verse form a part of the original narrative, the word which is rendered dwelt should be rendered sojourned, or abode, and understood, in accordance with the frequent use of the word (as, e.g., in chap. xxii.

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Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon:
Yea, we laid them waste even unto Nophah,
Which (reacheth) even unto Medeba."

Or, if we read esh (fire) instead of asher (which), a
reading which derives some support from the Masoretic
point over the last letter and from the context (verse
28), as well as from the LXX., the last words may be
rendered, "With fire, even unto Medeba."

The Targum understands by "the lords of the high places of Arnon" the priests and worshippers in the temples and at the altars of the idols in Moab. Medeba, now Medaba, was situated at the south of Heshbon. The position of Nophah is unknown. It has been

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(33) a And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Ps. 135. 11 Edrei. (34) And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and 'thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. (35) So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.

CHAPTER XXII.-(1) And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.

c Josh. 24.9.

1 Heb., eye.

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(1) In the plains of Moab.-The Arboth Moab extended from Beth Jeshimoth (the house of wastes) to Abel Shittim (the meadow of acacias) (chap. xxxiii. 49), in the upper Arabah, the present Ghor. These plains had belonged to Moab, and, since the victory over the Amorites, were possessed by the Israelites.

On this side Jordan.-Better, alongside of the Jordan. It cannot be determined, from the use of the word eber, or me-eber, to which side of the Jordan reference is made. (See chap. xxxii. 19, where me-eber occurs twice, and is rendered in the Authorised Version on yonder side in the first case, and on this side in the second case. See Deut. i. 1, and Note, and Isa. ix. 1, where Galilee is described by Isaiah as "beyond Jordan.")

(3) And Moab was sore afraid of the people. -There was no ground for this apprehension, inasmuch as the Divine command given to Moses was "Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle" (Deut. ii. 9). It does not appear, however, that Balak was aware of the prohibition; and the recent conquests of the Israelites naturally filled the Moabites with alarm, especially inasmuch as when the Israelites sent to the King of Moab to ask permission to pass through his land he did not consent (Judg. xi. 17).

(4) And Moab said unto the elders of Midian. -It has been thought that Balak was a Midianite, who had been imposed upon the Moabites as their king by their Amoritish conquerors. (Comp. chap. xxi. 26.) The concluding words of the verse may be understood as denoting a recent change in the dynasty.

Balak Sendeth unto Balaam.

C

(2) And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. (3) And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. (4) And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. (5) He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me: (6) come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot

As the ox licketh up the grass of the field. -The comparison is one which well accords with the occupation of the Moabites as a pastoral people.

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(5) Balaam the son of Beor.-The name of Balaam is probably derived from bala (to devour), with the terminal syllable am, or from the two words bala (he devoured), and am (people). His father's name (Beor), from baar (to consume), has been thought to denote that Balaam belonged to a family in which the magical art was hereditary. He is described in Josh. xiii. 22 as 'the soothsayer" (Hebrew, kosem)—i.e., one of that class of persons who were not to be tolerated amongst the Israelites, and who are spoken of as "an abomination unto the Lord" (Deut. xviii. 10-12). The form Bosor (2 Pet. ii. 15) probably arose from a peculiar mode of pronouncing the guttural letter Ain in baar. (See Keil, On the Pentateuch, iii. p. 159, and Note.) On the character and history of Balaam, reference may be made to Bishop Butler (Serm. vii.); Waterland (Works, ix. 397); Keil, On the Pentateuch, in loc.; Hengstenberg (Dissertation on the Histories and Prophecies of Balaam, p. 747, Clark, 1848); and to the Article in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, by Professor Stanley Leathes.

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To Pethor, which is by the river of the land .-Better, To Pethor, which is by the river, (even to) the land of the children of his people. Pethor was in Mesopotamia (chap. xxiii. 7), where Lot, from whom the Moabites were descended, had dwelt (Gen. xii. 5). "The river" is the Euphrates here, as elsewhere. (See, e.g., Gen. xv. 18, xxxi. 21; Exod. xxiii. 31; 2 Chron. ix. 26.)

They cover the face of the earth.-Literally, the eye of the earth (or, the land). (Comp. Exod. x. 5.) (6) Curse me this people.-Balak undoubtedly believed in the efficacy of Balaam's magical incantations. It is deserving of observation, moreover, that, as has been remarked by Keil (in loc.), "it is frequently celebrated as a great favour displayed towards Israel

Balak's First Message is Repulsed.

NUMBERS, XXII.

that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed. (7) And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand: and they came unto unto Balaam, and

He Sendeth again.

refuseth to give me leave to go with you. (14) And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.

(15) And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they.

spake unto him the words of Balak. 1 Heb, I shall pre- (16) And they came to Balaam, and said

(8) And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.

(9) And God came unto Balaam, and said, 'What men are these with thee?

vail in fighting
against him.

to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me: (17) For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.

(10) And Balaam said unto God, Balak 2 Heb., Be not thou (18) And Balaam answered and said unto

the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying, (11) Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure 1I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out. (12) And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.

(13) And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD

letted from, &c.

a ch. 24. 13.

that the Lord did not hearken to Balaam, but turned the curse into a blessing" (Deut. xxiii. 5; Josh. xxiv. 10; Neh. xiii. 2).

(7) And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian.-The close alliance which existed between the two nations appears throughout the whole of the narrative.

The rewards of divination.-Literally, the divinations. Some think the meaning to be instruments of divination; but as besorah means not only tidings, but also the reward for tidings (2 Sam. iv. 10), so kesamim may mean not only divinations, but also the rewards of divination.

(8) Lodge here this night.-These words indicate the true character of Balaam. As a prophet of the Lord, he must have known that in seeking to curse the Israelites he was sinning against the Lord, who had chosen them for His own people.

As the Lord shall speak unto me.-It appears from this verse, as from verses 18, 19, that the name of Jehovah was known to Balaam.

(9) What men are these with thee ?-This inquiry, like that addressed to Elijah, "What doest thou here?" (1 Kings xix. 9), or that to Hezekiah, “What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? and "What have they seen in thine house? (Isa. xxxix. 3, 4) was calculated to arouse the slumbering conscience of Balaam, and to open his eyes to a perception of his sin and of his danger.

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(11) A people come out of Egypt...-Better, the people which came out from Egypt, it covereth

(14) Balaam refuseth to come with us.-It does not appear that Balaam had told the messengers of Balak the ground of the Divine prohibition; viz.,

the servants of Balak, "If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. (1) Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the LORD will say unto me more.

(20) And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.

(21) And Balaam rose up in the morn

"for they are blessed." Balak accordingly entertained the hope that stronger inducements would prevail with Balaam.

(18) I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord -These words may have been nothing more than an ostentatious semblance of disinterestedness and superiority to worldly considerations; or it is possible that Balaam may have been conscious that "he spake not of himself," and that, as regards his prophetic utterances, he was but the mouthpiece of the Lord.

(19) Tarry ye also here this night.-Balaam knew that God was "not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent" (chap. xxiii. 19); and yet he indulged the vain expectation that he might be allowed to curse those whom God had declared to be blessed.

(20) If the men come to call thee.- The words may be rendered Since (or, forasmuch as) the men have come to call thee. The messengers had already come for that purpose, as it is stated in verse 16, where the same verb is used. The phrase which is here rendered to "call" occurs also in verse 5.

Rise up, and go with them.-There is no real inconsistency with verse 12. The absolute and immutable prohibition had reference to the cursing. The going with the messengers, which was forbidden in mercy at first, was enjoined in judgment at last. God often punishes disobedience to His declared will by permitting the transgressors to "eat the fruit of their own way, and to be filled with their own devices" (Prov. i. 31). "He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul" (Ps. cvi. 15). Comp. Ps. lxxxi. 12; Isa. lxvi. 4; Jer. ii. 19.

An Angel on the Way.

NUMBERS, XXII.

The Ass Speaketh.

ing, and saddled his ass, and went with a 2 Pet. 2. 16; Jude to the right hand or to the left. (27) And

the princes of Moab. (22) And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. (23) And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. (24) But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. (25) And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again. (26) And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either

11.

ridden upon me.

when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam : and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. (28) And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I 1 Heb. who hast done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times ? (29) And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. (30) And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, 'upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.

2 Or, ever since
thou wust, &c.

3 Or, bowed him
self.

(22) Because he went.-Literally, because he was going. The participle denotes the continuous act. He deliberately and resolutely proceeded on his journey with the messengers of Balak, in defiance of the warnings which he had received.

Stood in the way.-Better, placed (or, stationed) himself in the way.

(24) In a path of the vineyards.-Better, in the hollow pass of the vineyards.

A wall.-Or, a fence.

(28) And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass. Many critics, who admit the miraculous character of the events recorded in this and the following verses, maintain the subjective character of some of the incidents, and they adduce arguments to show that, whilst the same results might have been brought about in either manner, it is more in accordance with the general analogy of Scripture to assign a subjective than an objective interpretation to the language which is here employed. The following remarks may be made in regard to this interpretation:-(1) Consistency requires that the whole of the narrative should be interpreted either objectively or subjectively; and hence, that if the voice of the ass be interpreted as a subjective impression made upon the mind of Balaam, the appearance of the angel must be understood in the same manner. In this case, however, a difficulty arises which is as great, or greater, than that which the subjective theory is thought to remove. If the appearance of the angel to Balaam was subjective, the appearance must have been subjective also to the ass. In this case, moreover, it may be fairly alleged that if the line which divides the intelligent from the brute creation is transgressed by ascribing articulate speech to the ass, much more is that line transgressed by the supposition that an impression was produced in a subjective manner upon the mind of the ass. But (2) the real question at issue is not whether the recorded results might have been accomplished on the supposition that the incidents are to be explained subjectively, but what is the interpretation which the narrative itself suggests, and which the words

(31) Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.

any

of St. Peter (2 Pet. ii. 16) require? In regard to the narrative itself, there is no intimation given that its respective portions are to be differently interpreted; nor is it possible, without doing violence to its obvious meaning, to interpret some parts of it objectively and other parts subjectively; whilst in regard to the testimony of St. Peter, it would be impossible to conceive of a statement couched in terms more directly suggestive of a literal fact than the following-" The dumb ass, speaking with man's voice, forbad the madness of the prophet.' In regard to the objections which have been raised to the literal interpretation, grounded on the absence of any expression of surprise on the part of Balaam, and of allusion to the effect produced upon the Moabitish princes and Balaam's servants, it will suffice to observe (1) that here, as elsewhere, no just inference can be drawn from the silence of Scripture; and (2) that, as in the case of those who were with St. Paul as he went to Damascus, we have no means of determining, on the assumption of the presence of witnesses throughout the miraculous occurrences described, what amount of those occurrences they may have seen and heard. The angel was visible, in the first instance, only to the ass. In like manner the angel may have been visible only to Balaam, not to those who were with him. So also in regard to the voice: it may have been audible only to him to whom it was addressed.

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(30) Ever since I was thine.-Literally, ever since thou livedst,-i.e., all thy life long. The Targums of Jonathan and of Jerusalem paraphrase thusupon which thou hast ridden from thy youth unto this day." "An Arabic writer," says Dr. Gill, in his Commentary, in loc., "makes mention of an ass that the owner rode on forty years."

. . unto

Unto this day.-The use of these words in this place serves to throw light upon such passages as Deut. iii. 14, "called them after his own name this day," and shows that they do not necessarily denote that the events to which reference is made were separated by any very long interval.

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