God reveals his name to Moses, B. C. 1491. B. C. 1491. A. M. 2513. What is his name? what shall I of your fathers, the God of Abra- A. M. 2513. say unto them? ham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.. 17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my milk and honey... name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. 16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God 18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and ethou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met w Chap. vi. 3; John viii. 58; 2 Cor. i. 20; Heb. xiii. 8; Rev.1. 24; ch. ii. 25; iv. 31; Luke i. 68. Gen. xv. 14, 16; ver 8. i. 4. Psa. cxxxv. 13; Hos. xii. 5. Ch. iv. 29. Gen. Ch. iv. 31. Ch. v. 1, 3.- d Num. xxiii. 3, 4, 15, 16. have no distinct notion of the Divine Being.. Moses here referred to is that which immediately precedes, himself might have been in doubt at first on this sub-on Yehovah Elohim,, which we translate the ject, and he seems to have been greatly on his guard against illusion; hence he asks a variety of questions, and endeavours, by all prudent means, to assure himself of the truth and certainty of the present appearance and commission. He well know the power of the Egyptian magicians, and he could not tell from these first views whether there might not have been some delusion in this case. God therefore gives him the fullest proof, not only for the satisfaction of the people to whom he was to be sent, but for his own full conviction, that it was the supreme God who now spoke to him. Verse 14. I AM THAT I AM] 77 EHEYEH asher EHEYEH. These words have been variously understood. The Vulgate translates, EGO SUM QUI SUM, I am who am. The Septuagint, Eyo eu o Qv, I am he who exists. The Syriac, the Persic, and the Chaldee preserve the original words without any gloss. The Arabic paraphrases them, The Eternal, who passes not away; which is the same interpretation given by Abul Farajius, who also preserves the original words, and gives the above as their interpretation. The Targum of Jonathan, and the Jerusalem Targum paraphrase the words thus: "He who spake, and the world was; who spake, and all things existed." As the original words literally signify, I will be what I will be, some have supposed that God simply designed to inform Moses, that what he had been to his fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he would be to him and the Israelites; and that he would perform the promises he had made to his fathers, by giving their descendants the promised land. It is difficult to put a meaning on the words; they seem intended to point out the eternity and self-existence of God. Plato, in his Parmenides, where he treats sublimely of the nature of God, says, Ovd apa ovoua eotiv avro, nothing can express his nature; therefore no name can be attributed to him. See the conclusion of this chapter, and on the word Jehovah, chap. xxxiv. 6, 7. LORD GOD, the name by which God had been known from the creation of the world, (see Gen. ii. 4,) and the name by which he is, known among the same people to the present day. Even the heathens knew this name of the true God; and hence out of our Yehovah they formed their Jao, Jeve, and Jove; so that the word has been literally fulfilled, This is my memorial unto all generations. See the note on the word Elohim, Gen. i. 1. As to be self-existent and eternal must be attributes of God for ever, does it not follow that the Dhy leolam, for ever, in the text signifies eternity? "This is my name to eternity-and my memorial," ledor dor, "to all succeeding generations.". While human generations continue he shall be called the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; but when time shall be no more, he shall be Jehovah Elohim. Hence the first expression refers to his eternal existence, the latter to the discovery he should make of himself as long as time should last. See Gen. xxi. 33. Diodorus Siculus says, that "among the Jews, Moses is reported to have received his laws from the God named Jao," law, i. e., Jeue, Jove, or Jeve; for in all these ways the word Yehovah may be pronounced; and in this way I have seen it on Egyptian monuments. See Diod., lib. I., c. xciv. Verse 16. Elders of Israel] Though it is not likely the Hebrews were permitted to have any regular government at this time, yet there can be no doubt of their having such a government in the time of Joseph, and for some considerable time after; the elders of each tribe forming a kind of court of magistrates, by which all actions were. tried, and legal decisions made, in the Israelitish community. I have surely visited you] An exact-fulfilment of the prediction of Joseph, Gen. 1. 24, God will surely visit you, and in the same words too. Verse 18. They shall hearken to thy voice] This assurance was necessary to encourage him in an enVerse 15. This is my name for ever] The name terprise so dangerous and important. e Chap. v. 2; vii. 4. Or, but by strong hand. Ch. vi. 6; vii. 5; ix. 15.- h Chap. vii. 3; xi. 9; Deut. vi. 22; Neh. ix. 10; Psa. cv. 27; cxxxv. 9; Jer. xxxii. 20; Acts vii. 36; see Three days' journey into the wilderness] Evidently intending Mount Sinai, which is reputed to be about three days' journey, the shortest way, from the land of Goshen. In ancient times, distances were computed by the time required to pass over them. Thus, instead of miles, furlongs, &c., it was said, the distance from one place to another was so many days', so many hours' journey; and it continues the same in all countries where there are no regular roads or highways. The people not to go out empty. B. C. 1491. 21 And I will give this people A. M. 2513. favour in the sight of the Egyptians : and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty. 22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and mye shall spoil the Egyptians. n chap. vii. to xiii.- - Chap. xii. 31. Chap. xi. 3; xii. 36; Psa. cvi. 46; Prov. xvi. 7.- Gen. xv. 14; ch. xi. 2; xii. 35, 36. In Job xxvii. 17; Prov. xiii. 22; Ezek. xxxix. 10. Or, Egypt. are the same as the Hebrew. The European versions are generally correct on this point; and our common English version is almost the sole transgressor: I say, the common version, which, copying the Bible published by Becke in 1549, gives us the exceptionable term borrow, for the original shaal, which in the Geneva Bible, and Barker's Bible of 1615, and some others, is rightly translated aske. God commanded the Israelites to ask or demand a certain recompense for their past services, and he inclined the hearts of the Egyptians to give liberally; and this, far from being a matter of oppression, wrong, or even charity, was no more than a very partial recompense for the long and painful services which we may say six hundred thousand Israelites had rendered to Egypt, during a considerable number of years. And there can be no doubt that while their heaviest oppression lasted, they were permitted to accumulate no kind of property, as all their gains went to their oppressors. Verse 19. I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand] When the facts detailed in this history have been considered in connection with the assertion as it stands in our Bibles, the most palpable contradiction has appeared. That the king of Egypt did let them go, and that by a mighty hand, the book itself amply declares. We should therefore seek for another meaning of the original word.. velo, which generally means and not, has sometimes the meaning of if not, unless, except, &c.; and in Becke's Bible, 1549, it is thus translated: Our exceptionable translation of the original has I am sure that the kyng of Egypt wyl not let you go, given some countenance to the desperate cause of inEXCEPT wyth a myghty hand. This import of the fidelity; its abettors have exultingly said: "Moses renegative particle, which is noticed by Noldius, Heb. presents the just God as ordering the Israelites to borPart., p. 328, was perfectly understood by the Vul-row the goods of the Egyptians under the pretence of gate, where it is translated nisi, unless; and the Septuagint in their eav un, which is of the same import; and so also the Coptic. The meaning therefore is very plain: The king of Egypt, who now profits much by your servitude, will not let you go till he sees my hand stretched out, and he and his nation be smitten with ten plagues. Hence God immediately adds, ver. 20: I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders-and after that, he will let you go. Verse 22. Every woman shall borrow] This is certainly not a very correct translation: the original word shaal signifies simply to ask, request, demand, require, inquire, &c.; but it does not signify to borrow in the proper sense of that word, though in a very few places of Scripture it is thus used. In this and the parallel place, chap. xii. 35, the word signifies to ask or demand, and not to borrow, which is a gross mistake into which scarcely any of the versions, ancient or modern, have fallen, except our own. The SEPTUAGINT has airnoel, she shall ask; the VULGATE, postulabit, she shall demand; the SYRIAC, CHALDEE, SAMARITAN, SAMARITAN Version, COPTIC, and PERSIAN, VOL. I. ( 21 ) returning them, whereas he intended that they should 305 Jewels of silver, &c.] The word keley we have already seen signifies vessels, instruments, weapons, &c., and may be very well translated by our English term, articles or goods. The Israelites got both gold and silver, probably both in coin and in plate of different kinds; and such raiment as was necessary for the journey which they were about to undertake. Ye shall spoil the Egyptians.] The verb natsal signifies, not only to spoil, snatch away, but also to get away, to escape, to deliver, to regain, or recover. SPOIL signifies what is taken by rapine or violence; but this cannot be the meaning of the original word here, as the Israelites only asked, and the Egyptians without fear, terror, or constraint, freely gave. It is worthy of remark that the original word is used, 1 Sam. xxx. 22, to signify the recovery of property that had been taken away by violence: "Then answered all the wicked men, and men of Belial, of those that went with David, Because they went not with us we will not give them aught of the SPOIL ( mehashSHALAL) that we have RECOVERED, 1737 asher HITSTSALNU. In this sense we should understand the word here. The Israelites recovered a part of their property-their wages, of which they had been most unjustly deprived by the Egyptians. In this chapter we have much curious and important information; but what is most interesting is the name by which God was pleased to make himself known to Moses and to the Israelites, a name by which the Supreme Being was afterwards known among the wisest inhabitants of the earth. He who Is and who WILL BE what he IS. This is a proper characteristic of the Divine Being, who is, properly speaking, the only BEING, because he is independent and eternal; whereas all other beings, in whatsoever forms they may appear, are derived, finite, changeable, and liable to destruction, decay, and even to annihilation. When God, therefore, announced himself to Moses by this name, he proclaimed his own eternity and immateriality; and the very name itself precludes the possibility of idolatry, because it was impossible for the mind, in considering it, to represent the Divine Being in any assignable shape; for who could represent BEING or Existence by any limited form? And who can have any idea of a form that is unlimited? Thus, then, we find that the first discovery which God made of himself was intended to show the people the simplicity and spirituality of his nature; that while they considered him as BEING, and the Cause of all BEING, they might be preserved from all idolatry for ever. The preceding chapter. very name itself is a proof of a Divine revelation; for it is not possible that such an idea could have ever entered into the mind of man, unless it had been communicated from above. It could not have been produced by reasoning, for there were no premises on which it could be built, nor any analogies by which it could have been formed: We can as easily comprehend eternity as we can being, simply considered in and of itself, when nothing of assignable forms, colours, or qualities existed, besides its infinite and illimitable self. To this Divine discovery the ancient Greeks owed the inscription which they placed above the door of the temple of Apollo at Delphi: the whole of the inscription consisted in the simple monosyllable EI, THOU ART, the second person of the Greek substantive verb εiμu, I am. On this inscription Plutarch, one of the most intelligent of all the Gentile philosophers, made an express treatise, Tɛрi Tov El ev Aɛλpois, having received the true interpretation in his travels in Egypt, whither he had gone for the express purpose of inquiring into their ancient learning, and where he had doubtless seen these words of God to Moses in the Greek version of the Septuagint, which had been current among the Egyptians (for whose sake it was first made) about four hundred years previously to the death of Plutarch. This philosopher observes that "this title is not only proper, but peculiar to God, because He alone is being;' for mortals have no participation of true being, because that which begins and ends, and is continually changing, is never one nor the same, nor in the same state. The deity on whose temple this word was inscribed was called Apollo, Añoλ2wv, from a, negative, and ñoλvç, many, because God is ONE, his nature simple, his essence uncompounded.” Hence he informs us the ancient mode of addressing God was, “ ΕΙ ΈΝ, Thou art One, ου γαρ πολλα το Oetov εOTIV, for many cannot be attributed to the Divine nature: και οὗ προτερον ουδεν εστιν, ουδ' ύστερον, ουδε μελλον, ουδε παρωχημένον, ουδε πρεσβύτερον, ουδε νεως repov, in which there is neither first nor last, future nor past, old nor young; ahλ' eiç wv evɩ tọ vvv To aɛi TETAпpoke, but as being one, fills up in one NOW an eternal duration." And he concludes with observing that "this word corresponds to certain others on the same temple, viz., гNNOI ZEAYTON, Know thyself; as if, under the name EI, THOU ART, the Deity designed to excite men to venerate HIM as eternally existing, is оνта diañavтos, and to put them in mind of the frailty and mortality of their own nature." What beautiful things have the ancient Greek philosophers stolen from the testimonies of God to enrich their own works, without any kind of acknowledgment! And, strange perversity of man! these are the very things which we so highly applaud in the heathen copies, while we neglect or pass them by in the Divine originals! ( 21 ) The rod changed into a serpent. CHAP. IV. The hand of Moses becomes leprous. CHAPTER IV. Moses continuing to express his fear that the Israelites would not credit his Divine mission, 1, God, tó strengthen his faith, and to assure him that his countrymen would believe him, changed his rod into a serpent, and the serpent into a rod, 2-5; made his hand leprous, and afterwards restored it, 6,7; intimating that he had now endued him with power to work such miracles, and that the Israelites would believe, 8; and farther assures him that he should have power to turn the water into blood, 9. Moses excuses himself on the ground of his not being eloquent, 10, and God reproves him for his unbelief, and promises to give him supernatural assistance, 11, 12. Moses expressing his utter unwillingness to go on any account, God is angry, and then promises to give him his brother Aaron to be his spokesman, 13-16, and appoints his rod to be the instrument of working miracles, 17. Moses returns to his relative Jethro, and requests liberty to visit his brethren in Egypt, and is permittted, 18. God appears to him in Midian, and assures him that the Egyptians who sought his life were dead, 19. Moses, with his wife and children, set out on their journey to Egypt, 20. God instructs him what he shall say to Pharaoh, 21-23. He is in danger of losing his life, because he had not circumcised his son, 24. Zipporah immediately circumcising the child, Moses escapes unhurt, 25, 26. Aaron is commanded to go and meet his brother Moses; he goes and meets him at Horeb, 27. Moses informs him of the commission he had received from God, 28. They both go to their brethren, deliver their message, and work miracles, 29, 30. The people believe and adore God, 31. C. 1491. A. M. 2513. AND Moses answered and said, put forth his hand, 2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, a A rod. 3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. 4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he Ver. 17, 20.- Chap. xix. 9.- - Chap. iii. 15. NOTES ON CHAP. IV. Verse 1. They will not believe me] As if he had said, Unless I be enabled to work miracles, and give them proofs by extraordinary works as well as by words, they will not believe that thou hast sent me. Verse 2. A rod.] matteh, a staff, probably his shepherd's crook; see Lev. xxvii. 32. As it was made the instrument of working many miracles, it was afterwards called the rod of God; see ver. 20. Verse 3. A serpent] Of what sort we know not, as the word will nachash is a general name for serpents, and also means several other things, see Gen. iii. 1: but it was either of a kind that he had not seen before, or one that he knew to be dangerous; for it is said, he fled from before it. Some suppose the staff was changed into a crocodile; see on chap. vii. 7. 5 That they may believe that the LORD. God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. 6 And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. d Num. xii. 10; 2 Kings v. 27. ample of what is called an imperfect or unfinished speech, several of which occur in the sacred writings. It may be thus supplied: Do this before them, that they may believe that the Lord-hath appeared unto thee. Verse 6. His hand was leprous as snow.] That is, the leprosy spread itself over the whole body in thin white scales; and from this appearance it has its Greek name λέπρα, froin λεπις, a scale. Dr. Mead says, “I have seen a remarkable case of this in a countryman, whose whole body was so miserably seized with it, that his skin was shining as if covered with snow; and as the furfuraceous scales were daily rubbed off, the flesh appeared quick or raw underneath." The leprosy, at least among the Jews, was a most inveterate and contagious disorder, and deemed by them incurable. Among the heathens it was considered as inflicted by their gods, and it was supposed that they alone could remove it. It is certain that a similar belief prevailed among the Israelites; hence, when the king of Syria sent his general, Naaman, to the king of Israel to cure him of his leprosy, he rent his clothes, saying, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? 2 Kings v. 7. This appears, therefore, to be the reason why God chose this sign, as the instantaneous infliction and removal of this Verse 5. That they may believe] This is an ex-disease were demonstrations which all would allow of Verse 4. He put forth his hand, and caught it] Considering the light in which Moses had viewed this serpent, it required considerable faith to induce him thus implicitly to obey the command of God; but he obeyed, and the noxious serpent became instantly the miraculous rod in his hand! Implicit faith and obedience conquer all difficulties; and he who believes in God, and obeys him in all things, has really nothing to fear. the sovereign power of God. We need, therefore, seek for no other reasons for this miracle: the sole reason is sufficiently obvious. Verse 8. If they will not believe the voice of the first sign, &c.] Probably intimating that some would be more difficult to be persuaded than others: some would yield to the evidence of the first miracle; others. would hesitate till they had seen the second; and others would not believe till they had seen the water of the Nile turned into blood, when poured upon the dry land; dor of God. 3. Though Moses was slow of speech, yet when acting as the messenger of God his word was with power, for at his command the plagues came and the plagues were stayed; thus was he mighty in words as well as in deeds; and this is probably the meaning of St. Stephen. By the expression, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant, he might possibly mean, that the natural inaptitude to speak readily, which he had felt, he continued to feel, even since God had begun to discover himself; for though he had wrought several miracles for him, yet he had not healed this infirmity. See on chap. vi. 12. Verse 11. Who hath made man's mouth? &c.] Cannot he who formed the mouth, the whole organs of speech, and hath given the gift of speech also, cannot he give utterance? God can take away those gifts and restore them again. Do not provoke him he who created the eye, the ear, and the mouth, hath also made the blind, the deaf, and the dumb. Verse 12. I will be with thy mouth] The Chaldee translates, My WORD, meimeri, shall be with thy mouth. And Jonathan ben Uzziel paraphrases, I and my WORD will be with the speech of thy mouth. See on Gen. xv. 1, and Lev. xxv. 10. sephathayim, a man of lips, signifies one that is talkative. Psa. cxl. 12, 'sish lashon, a man of tongue, signifies a prattler. But how could it be said that Moses was not eloquent, when St. Stephen asserts, Acts vii. 22, that he was mighty in words as well as in deeds? There are three ways of solving this difficulty: 1. Moses might have had some natural infirmity, of a late standing, which at that time rendered it impossible for him to speak readily, and which he afterwards overcame; so that though he was not then a man of words, yet he might afterwards have been mighty in words as well as deeds. 2. It is possible he was not intimately Verse 13. Send—by the hand of him whom thou acquainted with the Hebrew tongue, so as to speak wilt send.] Many commentators, both ancient and moclearly and distinctly in it. The first forty years of dern, have thought that Moses prays here for the imhis life he had spent in Egypt, chiefly at court; and mediate mission of the Messiah; as if he had said: though it is very probable there was an affinity between "Lord, thou hast purposed to send this glorious person the two languages, yet they certainly were not the at some time or other, I beseech thee send him now, same. The last forty he had spent in Midian, and it for who can be sufficient to deliver and rule this people is not likely that the pure Hebrew tongue prevailed but himself alone?" there, though it is probable that a dialect of it was shelach na beyad tishlach literally translated is, Send there spoken. On these accounts Moses might find now (or, I beseech thee) by the hand thou wilt send; it difficult to express himself with that readiness and which seems to intimate, Send a person more fit for persuasive flow of language, which he might deem es- the work than I am. So the Septuagint: Προχειρισας sentially necessary on such a momentous occasion ; as | δυναμενον αλλον, ὃν αποστελεις Elect another powerfu he would frequently be obliged to consult his memory person, whom thou wilt send. It is right to find out for proper expressions, which would necessarily pro- the Messiah wherever he is mentioned in the Old Tesduce frequent hesitation, and general slowness of utter-tament; but to press scriptures into this service which ance, which he might think would ill suit an ambassa- have not an obvious tendency that way, is both impro שלח נא ביד תשלח The Hebrew |