answer. Exod. xv. 1; Psa. cv. 2; cvi. 12.- d Heb. ascend. Or, Isa. xxxiii. 22. Hebr. field. Or, the hill. Chap. xxiii. 28.- Or, the wilderness. Deut. ii. 26, 27; Judg. xi. 19. a common proverb in those days, and Vaheb to be a proper name, I therefore propose the following translation, which I believe to be the best: From Vaheb unto Suph, and unto the streams of Arnon. If we allow it to have been a proverbial expression, used to point out extensive distance, then it was similar to that well known phrase, From Dan even unto Beersheba. Verse 17. Spring up, O well, &c.] This is one of the most ancient war songs in the world, but is not easily understood, which is commonly the case with all very ancient compositions, especially the poetic. See the remarks Exod. xv. 1, &c. 25 And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the 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 proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be. built and prepared : r 28 For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, Chap. xx. 17. Deut. xxix. 7.— - Deut. ii. 32; Judg xi. 20. Deut. ii. 33; xxix. 7; Josh. xii. 1,2; xxiv. 8; Nea ix. 22; Psà. cxxxv. 10, 11; cxxxvi. 19; Amos ii. 9.daughters.- Jer. xlviii. 45, 46. - Heb It appears therefore that the territory now taken from Sihon by the Israelites was taken from a former king of Moab, in commemoration of which an epikedion or war song was made, several verses of which, in their ancient poetic form, are here quoted by Moses. Verse 27. They that speak in proverbs] D'ban hammoshelim, from mashal, to rule, to exertise authority; hence a weighty proverbial saying, because admitted as an axiom for the government of life. The moshelim of the ancient Asiatics were the same, in all probability, as the Poeta among the Greeks and Latins, the shaara among the Arabs, who were esteemed as Divine persons, and who had their name from shaara, he knew, understood; whose poems celebrated past transactions, and especially those which concerned the military history of their nation. These poets were also termed sahebi deewan, companions or lords of the council of state, because their weighty sayings and universal knowledge were held in the highest repute. Similar to these were the Verse 18, The princes digged the well-with their staves.] This is not easily understood. Who can suppose that the princes dug this well with their staves? And is their any other idea conveyed by our translation? The word on chapharu, which is translated they digged, should be rendered they searched out, which is a frequent meaning of the root; and any bemishanotham, which we render with their staves, should be translated on their borders or confines, from the root jy shaan, to lie along. With these correc-bards among the ancient Druids, and the Sennachies tions the whole song may be read thus :among the ancient Celtic inhabitants of these nations. The ode from the 27th to the 30th verse is comthe other part posed of three parts. The first takes in verses 27 and 28; the second ver. 29; and the third verse 30. The first records with bitter irony the late insults of Sihon and his subjects over the conquered Moabites. Spring up, O well! Answer ye to it. i. e. Repeat of the song. This is the answer. This was the chorus. This is the whole of the quotation from what is called the book of the wars of the Lord. But see Dr. Kennicott's remarks at the end of this chapter. Verse 26. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, &c.]| 684 ites over the desolations of Moab, with a bitter sarcasm The second expresses the compassion of the Israelagainst their god Chemosh, who had abandoned his votaries in their distress, or was not able to rescue them out of the hands of their enemies, The Israelites fight with and A. M. 2553. An. Exod. Isr. 40. of Arnon. a flame from the city of Sihon : they took the villages thereof, and it hath consumed Ar of Moab, drove out the Amorites that were and the lords of the high places there. VERSE 27. PART I. Come ye to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; For from Heshbon the fire went out, Alas for thee, O Moab ! VERSE 30. PART III. But on them have WE lifted destruction, See Kennicott's Remarks. Verse 35. So they smɔte him, and his sons] There is a curious note of Dr. Lightfoot here, of which I should think it wrong to deprive the reader. "Sihon and Og conquered, A. M. 2553. Of the life of Moses, 120. From the Exodus, 40. It is now six and twenty generations from the creation, or from Adam to Moses; and accordingly doth Psa. cxxxvi. rehearse the durableness of God's mercy six and twenty times over, beginning the story with the creation, and ending it in the conquest of Sihon and Og. The numerals of the name Jehovah amount to the sum of six and twenty.” A. M. 2553. An. Exod. Isr. 40. 33 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 Edrei. Chap. xxxii. 1; Jer. xlviii. 32.- - Deut. iii. 1; xxix. 7. y Josh. xii. 12.- Deut. iii. 2.—a Ver. 24; Psa. cxxxv. 10, 11; cxxxvi. 20.- b Deut. iii. 3, 4, &c. ON some difficulties in this chapter Dr. Kennicott makes the following observations: "This one chapter has several very considerable difficulties; and some verses, as now translated, are remarkably unintelligible. A true state of this chapter is not, however, to be despaired of; and it has in it some circumstances which merit more than common attention. It contains the history of the last part of the travels of the Israelites in their way to the promised land; beginning with them at Mount Hor, the thirty-fourth encampment, and concluding with them, as in their forty-second and last encampment, near Jordan, in the country which they had acquired by conquest over Sihon, king of the Amorites. "It begins with saying-that King Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the south, (in the land of Canaan, chap. xxxiii. 40,) attacked Israel and was defeated, and that Israel destroyed their cities; and that, after destroying these Canaanite cities, and consequently after being in a part of Cannaan, a part of the very country they were going to, on the west of the Dead Sea, they returned towards the Red Sea, and near the eastern tongue or gulf of the Red Sea, on the south of Edom, marched round Edom to the east of the Dead Sea, in order to enter Canaan from the east side of Jordan! "This surprising representation of so vast and dangerous a march, quite unnecessarily performed, is owing to two circumstances. The first is, (chapter xxi. 1,) the Canaanites heard that Israel was coming by the way of the spies, meaning, by the way the spies went from Kadesh-Barnea into Canaan. But this being impossible, because Israel had now marched from Meribah-Kadesh to Mount Hor, beyond Ezion-gaber, and were turning round Edom, to the south-east; it is happy that the word rendered spies, in our version, is in the Greek a proper name, (Atharim,) which removes that difficulty: and the other difficulty (verses 2, 3) is removed by the Greek version likewise, according to which, the vow made, with the facts subsequent, does not signify destroying the Canaanite cities, but devoting them to destruction at some future time. See Wall's Crit. Notes. Critical remarks on several NUMBERS. difficulties in this chapter. almost on the banks of Arnon, the last river they were to pass, in their way to their last station, east of Jordan. No wonder they should sing in poetic rapture, that after the wilderness was (Mattanah) the GIFT of God; meaning the great well in Moab, dug by public autho rity; and no wonder that, after such a gift, there were (Nahaliel) blessed streams, by which they passed, till they came to (Bamoth) the high places from which, per "It proceeds with saying, that after defeating the Canaanites at Mount, Hor, they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, (in the road from Ammon, Midian, &c., to the eastern gulf of the Red Sea,) to compass the land of Edom; that on their murmuring for want both of bread and of water they were punished by fiery serpents, after which they marched to Oboth, and thence to Ije-abarim in the wilderness, east of Moab. The encampments of the Israel-haps, these streams descended. And the thanksgiving ites, amounting to forty-two, are recorded all together, in historical succession, in chap. xxxiii., where Ijeabarim is the 38th; Dibon-gad, 39; Almon-Diblathaim, 40; mountains of Abarim, 41; and the plains of Moab, by Jordan, 42. This regular detail in chap. xxxiii. has occasioned great perplexity as to chap. xxi., where, after the stations at Oboth and Ije-abarim, in verses 10 and 11, we have, in verses 19 and 20, the words Mattanah, Nahaliel, and Bamoth; which are usually considered as the proper names of three places, but widely different from the three proper names after Ije-abarim in the catalogue at chap. xxxiii, "But there is, in reality, no inconsistency here. In the plain and historical catalogue (chap. xxxiii.) the words are strictly the proper names of the three places; but here the words Mattanah, Nahaliel, and Bamoth follow some lines of poetry, and seem to form a continuation of the song. They evidently express figurative and poetical ideas. The verbs journeyed from and pitched in are not found here, though necessary to prose narration: see verses 10. and 11 here, and chap. xxxiii. Lastly, verse 20th, (in this 21st chapter,) usually supposed to express the last encampment, does not. Pisgah signifies a hill; and the Israelites could not encamp on the top of any single hill, such as this is described. Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which looketh toward Jeshimon, (chap. xxiii. 28,) which Peor undoubtedly was in Moab. He took him to another hill in Moab, when he took him (chap. xxiii. 14) to the top of Pisgah, in the field of Zophim. And if the Pisgah or hill in chap. xxi. 20, was in the country of Balak, it could not point out the last encampment, which was not in Balak's country, but north of Arnon. "The word Mattanah probably alludes to a place distinguished by some gift or blessing from God. Fa gius says: Nomen loçi, ab eventu aquarum quas Dominus ibi dedit, sic appellati; nn nam significat donum The name of the place was so called, from the circumstance of the waters which the Lord gave there; for Mattanah signifies a gift. Nahaliel is torrentes Dei ;'i. e., great streams, particularly seasonable or salutary. And ♫ɔ Bamoth (ver. 28) may point out any high places of signal benefit in the country of Moab, or it may answer to the last station but one, which was the mountains of Abarim. If, therefore, these words were meant to express poetically some eminent blessing, what blessing was so likely to be then celebrated as copious streams of water? And after they had wandered nearly forty years through many a barren desert, and after (compare Deut. viii. 15) having passed through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents and drought, where there was no water, it is no wonder they should shout for joy at finding water in plenty, and finding it ends, where the blessing was no longer wanted, on their coming down into the valley, along the banks of Arnon, which was then the north boundary of Moab. "The Israelites had spent no less than thirty-eight years in coming from Kadesh-Barnea to their encampment north of Zared. Here, at this fortieth station, they were commanded to pass through Moab by Ar, the chief city; but were not to stop till they came to the valley on the south of Arnon. At this last station but one they probably continued no longer than was necessary for sending messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, at Heshbón, and receiving his answer. They then crossed the Arnon; and having vanquished Sihon and Og, took possession of the forty-second and last encampment. "This one chapter has three pieces of poetry, either fragments or complete; and poetry, seldom found in a historical narrative, may be here accounted for from the exuberance of joy which must have affected these wearied travellers, when arriving thus happily near their journey's end. What occurs first is in ver. 14; and has often been called the fragment of an old Amorile song. But it may have been Amorite or Moabite, or either or neither, for the subject matter of it, as it is generally understood, if indeed it can be said to be understood at all. The words 1 nx, o usually supposed to contain this fragment, do not signify; as in our English versión, What he did in the Red Sea, and in the brooks of Arnon. Without enumerating the many interpretations given by others, I shall offer a new one, which seems to make good sense, and a sense very pertinent. "Observe first, that there must have been a place called Suph, near the conflux of the Arnon and Jordan; because Moses, whilst in that last station, begins Devteronomy with saying, he was on this side (i. e., east) of Jordan, over against Suph. By this word is not here meant the Red Sea; partly, because that has every where else the word for sea before it, and partly, because of the great distance of the Red Sea now from Moses. The single word, therefore, signifies here some place in itself obscure, because no where mentioned but in these two passages. And yet we cannot wonder that Moses should mention it twice, as the word Suph, introduced in speaking of the two last encampments, recalled to mind the Sea of Suph, so glorious to Israel, near the beginning of their march towards Canaan. "Moses had now led Israel from the Red Sea to the river Arnon, through many dreadful dangers, partly from hostile nations, partly from themselves; such dangers as no other people ever experienced, and such as no people could have surmounted, without the signal favour of the Almighty. And here, just before the battles with Sihon an Og, he reminds them of Pha raoh, &c.; and he asserts, that in the history of the wars it shall be recorded that JEHOVAH, who had triumphantly brought Israel through the Sea of Suph, near Egypt, at first, had now conducted him to Suph, near Arnon; that JEHOVAH went with him to SUPH, And he came to the streams of Arnon. "This version removes the difficulties urged by Hobbes, page 266, fol. 1750; by Spinoza, page 108, 4to., 1670; and retailed in a deistical pamphlet called The Doubts of the Infidels, page 4, 8vo., 1781. "The general meaning of the next piece of poetry seems to be this: that at some distance from the city of Ar, by which the Israelites were to pass, (Deut. ii. 18,) they came to A WELL of uncommon size and magnificence, which seems to have been sought out, built up, and adorned for the public, by the rulers of Moab. And it is no wonder that, on their arrival at such in the plains of Moab. a well, they should look upon it as a blessing from. Heaven, and speak of it as a new miracle in their favour. 17. Then Israel sang this song :Spring up, O WELL! Sing ye thereto ! 18. THE WELL! princes searched it out; The nobles of the people have digged it; By their decree, by their act of government. So, after the wilderness, was Mattanah! 19. And after Mattanah were Nahaliel! And after Nahaliel were Bamoth! 20. And after Bamoth was the valley; Where, in the country of Moab, Appeareth the top of Pisgah, Which is over against Jeshimon. See Dr. KENNICOTT's Remarks upon Select Passages in the Old Testament. He commu The Israelites pitch in the plains of Moab, 1. Balak, king of Moab, is greatly terrified, 2-4; and sends to Balaam, a diviner, to come and curse them, 5, 6. The elders of Moab take a reward and carry it to Balaam, 7. He inquires of the Lord, and is positively ordered not to go with them, 8–12. nicates this to the elders of Moab, 13. They return to Balak with this information, 14. He sends some of his princes to Balaam with promises of great honour, 15-17. He consults God, and is permitted to go, on certain conditions, 18-20. Balaam sets off, is opposed by an angel of the Lord, and the Lord miraculously opens the mouth of his ass to reprove him, 21-30. Balaam sees the angel, and is reproved by him, 31-33. He humbles himself, and offers to go back, 34; but is ordered to proceed, on the same conditions as before, 35. The king of Moab goes out to meet him, 36. His address to him, 37. Balaam's firm answer, 38. Balak sacrifices, and takes Balaam to the high places of Baal, that he may see the whole of the Israelitish camp, 39–41. A. M. 2553. An. Exod. Isr. AND A. M. 2553. the children of Israel round about us, as the ox licketh set forward, and pitched in up the grass of the field. And An. Exod. Isr. the plains of Moab, on this side Balak the son of Zippor was Jordan by Jericho. king of the Moabites at that time. 40. b 2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that 5* 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. d 4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are Chap. xxxiii. 48.- b Judg. xi. 25.- c Exod. xv. 15. 4 Chap. xxxi. 8; Josh. xiii. 21.- Deut. xxiij. 4; Josh. xiii. 22; NOTES ON CHAP. XXII. 40. 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: xxiv. 9; Neh. xiii. 1, 2; Mic. vi. 5; 2 Pet. ii. 15; Jude 11; Rev. with any place in any country where there is a river; Verse 1. And pitched in the plains of Moab] They for he lived by Pethor, which is by the river of the had taken no part of the country that at present apper-land of the children of his people. But was Pethor tained to the Moabites; they had taken only that part which had formerly belonged to this people, but had been taken from them by Sihon, king of the Amorites. On this side Jordan] On the east side. By Jericho, that is, over against it.. then near the Nile in Egypt? Or in Canaan, near Jordan? Or in Mesopotamia, near the Euphrates, and belonging to the Ammonites? This last was in fact the case; and therefore it is well that twelve Hebrew MSS. (with two of De Rossi's) confirm the Verse 5. To Pethor, which is by the river of the || Samaritan text here in reading, instead of iny ammo, land of the children of his people] Dr. Kennicott his people, y Ammon, with the Syriac and Vulgate justly remarks, that "the description now given of versions." Houbigant properly contends for this readBalaam's residence, instead of being particular, agrees ing; and necessity urges the propriety of adopting it. Balak desires Balaam A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. An. Exod. Isr. 40. A. M. 2553: 6 Come now, therefore, I pray | peradventure I shall prevail, that thee, 1curse me this people; for we may smite them, and that I An Exod. Isr. they are too mighty for me: may drive them out of the land: ↳ Numbers, It should therefore stand thus: by the river of the land of the children of Ammon; and thus it agrees with Deut. xxiii. 4. Verse 6. Come now, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people] Balaam, once a prophet of the true God, appears to have been one of the Moshelim, (see chap. xxi. 27,) who had added to his poetic gift that of sorcery or divination. It was supposed that prophets and sorcerers had a power to curse persons and places so as to confound all their designs, frustrate their counsels, enervate their strength, and fill them with fear, terror, and dismay. See Gen. ix. 25; Psa. eix. 6, 20; Josh. vi. 26; Jer. xvii. 5, 6. chap. xxiii. 7. $40. nomine. fas. est. nominare. ut. omnes. illam. urbem. Karthaginem. exercitum. que, quem. ego. me. sentio. dicere. fuga. formidine. terrore. que. compleatis. qui. que. adversum. legiones. exercitum. que. nostrum. arma. tela. que. ferent. Uti. vos. eum. exercitum. eos. hostes. eos. que. homines. urbes. agros. que. eorum. et. qui. in. his. locis. regionibus. que. agris. urbibus. ve. habitant. abducatis. lumine. supero. privetis: exercitum. que. hostium. urbes, agros. que. eorum, quos. me. sentio. dicere. uti. vos. eas. urbes, agros. que. capita. ætates. que. eorum. devotas. consecratas. que. habeatis. illis. legibus. quibus. quando. que. sunt. maxime. hostes. devoti. eos. que. ego. vicarios. pro. me. fide. magistratu. que. meo. pro. popolo. Romano. exercitibus. legionibus. que. nostris. do. devoveo. ut. me. meam. que. fidem. imperium. que. legiones. exercitum. que, nostrum. qui. in. his. rebus. gerundis, sunt. bene. salvos. siritis. esse. Si. hæc. ita. faxitis. ut. ego. sciam. sentiam. intelligam. que. tune. quisquis. hoc. votum. faxit. ubi. ubi: faxit. recte. factum. esto. ovibus. atris. tribus. Tellus. mater. te. que. Juppiter. obtestor. Macrobius has a whole chapter De carmine quo evocari solebant dii tutelares, et aut urbes, aut exercitus devoveri, "Of the incantations which were used to induce the tutelary gods to forsake the cities, &c., over which they presided, and to devote cities and whole armies to destruction." See Saturnal., lib. iii., cap. ix. He gives us two of the ancient forms used in reference to the destruction of Carthage; the first, to call over the protecting deities, was pronounced by the dictator or general, and none other, when they began "Dis. Pater. Vejovis. Manes., or by whatsoever the siege. It is as follows, literatim et punctatim: name you wish to be invoked, I pray you to fill this Si. Deus. si. Dea. est. eui. popolus. civitas. que. city of Carthage with fear and terror; and to put that Karthaginiensis. est. in. tutela. te. que. maxime. ille.army to flight which I mention, and which bears arms qui. urbis. hujus. popoli. que. tutelam. recepisti. precor, veneror. que. veniam. que. a. vobis. peto. ut. vos. popolum. civitatem. que. Karthaginiensem. deseratis. loca. templa. sacra. urbem. que. eorum. relinquatis. absque. his. abeatis. ei. que. popolo. civitati, que. metum. formidinem. oblivionem. injiciatis. proditi. que. Romam. ad. me. meos.) que, veniatis. nostra. que. vobis. loca. templa. sacra. urbs. acceptior. probatior. que. sit. mihi. que. popolo. que. Romano. militibus. que. meis. præpositi. sitis. ut. sciamus. intelligamus. que. Si. ita. feceritis. voveo. vobis. templa. ludos. que. facturum.. or darts against our legions and armies: and that ye may take away this army, those enemies, those men, their cities and their country, and all who dwell in those places, regions, countries, or cities; and deprive them of the light above and let all their armies, cities, country, chiefs, and people be held by you consecrated and devoted, according to those laws by which, and at what time, enemies can be most effectually devoted. I also give and devote them as vicarious sacrifices for myself and my magistracy; for the Roman people, and for all our armies and legions; and for the whole empire, and that all the armies and le"Whether it be god or goddess, under whose pro-gions which are employed in these countries may be tection the people and city of Carthage are placed; and thee, especially, who hast undertaken to defend this city and people; I pray, beseech, and earnestly entreat that you would forsake the people and city of Carthage, and leave their places, temples, sacred things, and city, and depart from them: and that you would inspire this people and city with fear, terror, and forgetfulness and that, coming out from them, you would pass over to Rome, to me, and to mine: and that our places, temples, sacred things, and city may be more agreeable and more acceptable to you: and that you would preside over me, the Roman people, and my soldiers; that we may know and perceive it. If ye will do this, I promise to consecrate to your honour both temples and games." The second, to devote the city to destruction, which it was supposed the tutelary gods had abandoned, is the following: Dis. Pater. Vejovis. Manes. sive, vos. quo. alio. preserved in safety. If therefore ye will do these things, as I know, conceive, and intend, then he who makes this vow wheresoever and whensoever he shall make it, I engage shall sacrifice three black sheep to thee, O mother Earth, and to thee, O Jupiter." "When the execrator mentions the earth, he stoops down and places both his hands on it; and when he names Jupiter, he lifts up both, his hands to heaven; and when he mentions his vow, he places his hands upon his breast." Among the ancient records, Macrobius says he found many cities and people devoted in this way. The Romans held that no city could be taken till its tutelary god had forsaken it; or if it could be taken, it would be unlawful, as it would be sacrilegious to have the gods in captivity. They therefore endeavoured to persuade the gods of their enemies to come over to their party. Virgil intimates that Troy was destroyed, only because the tutelary gods had forsaken it : |