He assigneth them the land Before CHRIST 1452. c Josh. 1. 13. d Josh. 4. 12. for CHAP. XXXII. 18 We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.. 19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward. 20 ¶ And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war, 21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, 22 And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. 23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. 24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth. 25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth. 26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead: 20.—if ye will go armed before the Lord to war,] That is, before the ark, the symbol of the Lord's presence. These two tribes always lay encamped before the sanctuary, chap. ii. When the camp removed, they marched before it, chap. x. so that Moses here requires them only to hold their usual place, which it is expressly said that they did, Josh. iv. 12, 13. Bp. Patrick. 23.- your sin will find you out.] You shall be punished your disobedience. Bp. Kidder. Moses consents to the request of the Reubenites and Gadites on certain conditions; but is very earnest that the conditions, which he prescribed, should be punctually observed. Accordingly he represents sin, by which he means the consequence of sin, under the strong image of a person, who should certainly find out every transgressor among them, that did not punctually perform the condition, to which he had agreed. Gilpin. "If men sin against the Lord, their sin will surely find them out:" that the world may be convinced, that God governs it in truth and justice, and that He sees all things that are done under the sun; that good men may on the east side of Jordan. 28 So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel: 29 And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession: 30 But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. 31 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do. 32 We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be our's. Before CHRIST 1452. e Deut. 3. 12. Josh. 13. 8. & 33 And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to 22.4. the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about. 34 And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, 35 And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah, 36 And Beth-nimrah, and Beth be reclaimed by his fatherly corrections; that wicked men may be left without excuse; and that all may be awakened to a due care of their ways, that so they may avoid what will otherwise certainly come upon them. Bp. Wilson. 27. But thy servants will pass over,] Not strictly, all the men of war among them; but as many as could be spared, and as were thought sufficient. There went in fact 40,000 out of, probably, 100,000. Bp. Patrick. 33. half the tribe of Manasseh] The history does not mention how this half tribe chose to stay. Probably, when they saw the success of the other two tribes, they might represent to Moses their great stock of cattle; and that the country would be equally commodious to them, as well as too large for only two tribes to occupy. Without doubt Moses was inclined to listen to them, because the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had by their valour subdued a great part of the country where they settled. Stackhouse. 34.-built] Repaired and fortified. 38.(their names being changed,)] Nebo, as well as Baal, was the name of a god, Isa. xlvi. 1, probably an Assyrian deity. It is not unlikely that the Israelites changed the names of these cities, that they might abolish all remains of idolatry in the country. Bp. Patrick. 40. Moses gave Gilead unto Machir] He half gave of mount Gilead to the descendants of Machir, Deut. iii. 12, 13. 41.- Havoth-jair.] That is, the habitations of Jair. Chap. XXXIII. ver. 1. These are the journeys &c.] The travels of the Israelites from Egypt to the promised land of Canaan are a matter of such important consideration, so abounding with the instances of miraculous power, of Divine wisdom, and the wonders of Providence, in behalf of his Church and people, that for the more perfect preservation of the memory of so great a work of God, Moses was, by his express command, obliged to recapitulate the several principal stages of this long journey, and set them all in one view for the benefit of posterity. Pyle. As the best comment on this chapter the reader is referred to the Map of the Journeyings of the Israelites; together with the subjoined Table of Stations, from Dr. Hales. of the Israelites. 41 And Jair the son of Manasseh Before went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havoth-jair. 42 And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name. CHAP. XXXIII. 1 Two and forty journeys of the Israelites. 50 The Canaanites are to be destroyed. children of Israel, which went HESE are the journeys of the forth out of the land of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. Y. M. D. 11 15 1 Rameses, near Cairo...... Exod. xii. 37. 2 Succoth... xii. 37. xiii. 20. xiv. 2. Numbers xxxiii. 3. xxxiii. 5. xxxiii. 6. xxxiii. 7. 5 Shur; Ain Musa ....... 6 Desert of Shur, or Etham 7 Marah,-"bitter" wa-1 ters healed xv. 22. xxxiii. 8. XV. 23. xxxiii. 8. XV. 27. xxxiii. 9. xxxiii. 10. xvi. 1. xxxiii. 11. .or} Quails, for a month....... Plague of the people...... Council of LXX appointed 18 Hazeroth...... Miriam's leprosy. 19 Kadesh-barnea in Rithmah or "the Desert of Sin," or Paran .... Twelve spies sent out Their return Num. xxxiv. 4. Josh. xv. 3. xxxiii. 25. xxxiii. 26. xxxiii. 27. xxxiii. 28. xxxiii. 29. 23 Kehelathah.................... 24 Mount Shapher.......... 25 Haradah, or......... Hazar-addar, or Adar... 26 Makheloth 27 Tahath ....................... 28 Tarah 29 Mithcah 30 Hashmonah, or ......... Azmon, or Selmonah... 31 Beeroth........................ 32 Moseroth, or Mosera...... 33 Bene-jaakan, or Banea... 34 Hor-hagidgad, or......... Gudgodah... 35 Jotbathah, or ......... Etebatha, or Elath...... 36 Ehronah 37 Ezion-gaber, or Dizahab 38 Kadesh-barnea again," after thirty-eight years.... Miriam's death Water from the rock) Moses and Aaron of- 39 Mount Hor, or Seir, on the edge of Edom ...J The journeys Before CHRIST 1452. a Exod. 12. 37. 1491. b Exod. 13. 20. 22. CHAP. XXXIII. 2 And Moses wrote their goings | of the wilderness of Sin, and out according to their journeys by ed in Dophkah. the commandment of the LORD: and these are their journeys according to their goings out. a 3 And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. 4 For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments. 5 And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth. b 6 And they departed from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness. 7 And they removed from Etham, and turned again unto Pi-hahiroth, which is before Baal-zephon: and they pitched before Migdol. 8 And they departed from before c Exod. 15. Pi-hahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah. of the Israelites. encamp 13 And they departed from Dophkah, and encamped in Alush. Before CHRIST 1491. 14 And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where f Exod. 17. 1. was no water for the people to drink. 18 And they departed from Hazeroth, and pitched in Rithmah. 19 And they departed from Rithmah, and pitched at Rimmon-parez. 20 And they departed from Rimmon-parez, and pitched in Libnah. 21 And they removed from Libnah, and pitched at Rissah. 22 And they journeyed from Rissah, and pitched in Kehelathah. 23 And they went from Kehelathah, and pitched in mount Shapher. 24 And they removed from mount Shapher, and encamped in Haradah. 25 And they removed from Haradah, and pitched in Makheloth. 26 And they removed from Makheloth, and encamped at Tahath. 27 And they departed from Tahath, and pitched at Tarah. 28 And they removed from Tarah, and pitched in Mithcah. 29 And they went from Mithcah, and pitched in Hashmonah. 30 And they departed from Hashmonah, and roth. Y. M. D. Num. xxi. 8. xxi. 10. xxxiii. 42. xxxiii. 43. xxxiii. 44. 40 11 L xxi. 12. Deut. ii. 13. Num. xxi. 13. 40 12 1 { 45 The valley and brook Zered 46 Arnon 47 Beer, or Beer Elim 49 Heshbon Sihon defeated 50 Jaazah VOL, I. xxi. 16 Isaiah xv. 8. Num. xxi. 23. xxi. 25. xxi. 32. That is, 34. lust. the graves of Chap. 11. 35. 41 1 1 411 10 60 Num. xxvii. 18. 9 Deut. xxxiv. xxxiv. 5. iv. 19. 2 B The journeys of the Israelites. Before CHRIST 1452. NUMBERS. The Canaanites are to be destroyed. 31 And they departed from Mose- | diblathaim, and pitched in the moun- 33 And they went from Hor-hagidgad, and pitched in Jotbathah. 34 And they removed from Jotbathah, and encamped at Ebronah. 35 And they departed from Ebronah, and encamped at Ezion-gaber. 36 And they removed from Ezion1 Chap. 20.1. gaber, and pitched in the 'wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh. 1453. m Chap. 20. 22. n Chap. 20. 25. 37 And they removed from m Kadesh, and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom. 38 And Aaron the priest went up Deut. 32. 50. into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month. &c. 1452. 39 And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor. 48 And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. Before CHRIST 1452. 50 And the LORD spake unto a Chap. 25.1. Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, r 51 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When yer Deut. 7. 2. are passed over Jordan into the land Josh. 11. 12. of Canaan; 52 Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: 53 And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it. o Chap. 21. 1, 40 And king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of† give the more inheritance, and to Heb. the children of Israel. the fewer ye shall give the less in-mily his heritance: every man's inheritance +Heb. shall be in the place where his lot inheritance. falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit. - destroy all their pictures,] All those images and representations, upon what material soever they were wrought, which were worshipped or designed for such an use. Compare Deut. xvi. 22, with Lev. xxvi. 1. Bp. Kidder. high places] That is, all groves or buildings for worship, which were generally in high places. See Deut. xii. 2. Bp. Kidder. 55 - if ye will not drive out &c.] At first they could not drive them out, for it was not God's design. Therefore Joshua would not attempt it, while he lived: but left several nations, or part of them, unsubdued, Judg. ii. 21. 23; of which he himself takes notice a little before he died, Josh. xxiii. 4. 7, where he warns the Israelites to have nothing to do with them, promising diminish his 55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your t Josh. 23. 13. eyes, and thorns in your sides, and Judg. 2. 3. shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. 56 Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them. that God would in time expel them quite, chap. v. 5. But when the Israelites grew slothful and cowardly, and negligently suffered the people of Canaan to dwell among them, and make friendship with them, as they did after Joshua and all that generation were dead, then followed what is here threatened in the next words. Bp. Patrick. shall be pricks in your eyes, &c.] Bring very sore calamities upon you: as grievous and as mischievous as a wound made in the eye, which is a most tender part; or in the side when a thorn sticks and festers in it. Bp. Patrick. 56.-I shall do unto you as I thought to do unto them.] As I purposed to do unto them: that is, I will make you their slaves, as the Israelites became to several peo The borders Before CHRIST 1452. CHAP. XXXIV. CHAP. XXXIV. 1 The borders of the land. 16 The names of the men which shall divide the land. of the land. CHRIST 1452. 3 Then your south quarter shall Before be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south a Josh. 15. 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses, border shall be the outmost coast of saying, 2 Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:) ple, whom they served many years, Judg. iii. 8. 14; vi. 2, and many other places. Or, make you flee before them; and at last expel you from the land which I give you. Bp. Patrick. Chap. XXXIV. ver. 2. When ye come into the land of Canaan; &c.] By the Abrahamick covenant the original grant of the promised land to the Israelites was "from the river of Egypt" (the Nile southwards) "to the great river the river Euphrates," (northwards,) Gen. xv. 18. The boundaries of it are accurately described by Moses in this chapter, before the Israelites entered into it. "When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:) "Your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom," or Idumea. This was its general description. The boundary itself is next traced: "And your south border shall be the outmost coast of the Salt sea eastward;" or as explained by Joshua's description afterwards, chap. xv. 2-4, "the south border of the tribe of Judah began from the bay of the Salt sea that looked southward;" or by combining both, from the south-east corner of the Salt sea, or Asphaltite lake. "From thence, your border shall turn southwards to the ascent of Akrabbim," or the mountains of Accaba, (signifying "ascent" in Arabick,) which run towards the head of the Elanitick or eastern gulph of the Red sea; passing, we may presume, through the seaports of Elath and Ezion-gaber on the Red sea, which belonged to Solomon, 1 Kings ix. 26, though they are not noticed in this place. "Thence it shall pass on to (the wilderness of) Zin," on the east side of mount Hor, including that whole mountainous region within the boundary; "and the going forth thereof shall be to Kadesh-barnea southwards, and it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon." "And the border shall fetch a compass," or form an angle, "from Azmon," or turn westwards towards the river of Egypt, or Pelusiack branch of the Nile; "and its outgoings shall be at the sea," the Mediterranean. This termination of the southern border westwards is exactly conformable to the accounts of Herodotus and Pliny; the former represents mount Casius lying between Pelusium and the Sirbonick lake, as the boundary between Egypt and Palestine Syria, the latter reckoned the Sirbonick lake itself as the boundary. "And as for the western border, ye shall have the Great sea for a border: this shall be your western border." The Great sea is the Mediterranean, as contrasted with the smaller seas or lakes, the Red sea, the Salt sea, and the sea of Tiberias, or Galilee. "And this shall be your north border: from the Great sea you shall point out Hor-ha-hor," (not "mount Hor," as rendered in our version, confounding it with that on the southern border, but) "the mountain of the the salt sea eastward: 4 And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon : mountain," or "the double mountain," or mount Lebanon, which formed the northern frontier of Palestine, dividing it from Syria; consisting of two great parallel ranges, called Libanus and Antilibanus, (derived from leban, "white," because their summits are usually covered with snow,) and running eastwards from the neighbourhood of Sidon to that of Damascus. 'From Hor-ha-hor you shall point your border to the entrance of Hamath;" which Joshua, speaking of the yet unconquered land, describes, "All Lebanon, towards the sunrising, from the valley of Baal-gad, under mount Hermon, unto the entrance of Hamath,' Josh. xiii. 5. This demonstrates, that Hor-ha-hor corresponded to all Lebanon, including mount Hermon, as judiciously remarked by Wells; who observes, that it is not decided which of the two ridges, the northern or the southern, was properly Libanus; the natives at present call the southern so, but the Septuagint and Ptolemy called it Antilibanus. From Hamath it shall go on to Zedad, and from thence to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazar-enan, (near Damascus, Ezek. xlviii. 1,) this shall be your north border. "And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham: and the coast shall go down to Riblah, on the east side of Ain ("the fountain" or springs of the river Jordan); and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the (east) side of the sea of Chinnereth" (or sea of Galilee, or lake of Tiberias, thence probably called Gennesareth in our Saviour's time). And the border shall go down to Jordan on the east side, and the goings out of it shall be at the Salt sea." There it met the southern border, at the south-east corner of that sea, or the Asphaltite lake. "This shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about" in circuit. Such was the admirable geographical chart of the land of promise, dictated to Moses by the God of Israel, and described with all the accuracy of an eye-witness. In his first expedition Joshua subdued all the southern department of the promised land, and in his second the northern, having spent five years in both, Josh. xi. 18. What Joshua left unfinished of the conquest of the whole, was afterwards completed by David and Solomon. In the reign of the latter was realized the Abrahamick covenant in its full extent. "And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river (Euphrates) unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt :-for he had dominion over all the region on this side of the river (Euphrates) from Tiphsah (or Thapsacus situated thereon) even to Azzah (or "Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the river of Egypt," southward, "and the Great sea," westward, Josh. xv. 47,) over all the kings on this side the river," (Euphrates,) 1 Kings iv. 21. 24. Dr. Hales. For a farther explanation of what is here said concerning the borders of the land of Canaan, the reader is referred to the map. |