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ing them, would have prevented their pursuing the If raelites; so that they had leisure to depart with every thing belonging to them. In what manner God executed judgment on the gods of Egypt except by fhewing that it was not in their power to prevent the plagues with which the country was afflicted, and the departure of the Ifraelites, does not appear.

8. In Exod. xv. 22. this is called the wilderness of Shur.

14. At this place was the miracle of bringing water out of the rock,

15. Here God delivered the ten commandments from mount Sinai,and many other things recorded in the book of Exodus took place.

16. In this place was the dreadful deftruction of the people in confequence of their expreffing a contempt of manna, and lufting for flesh meat.

35. This place is near the Red fea.

36. This wilderness of Tfin was to the East of that which is called the wilderness of Sin; having spent forty years in paffing from the one to the other.

42. In this place was the plague of the fiery ferpents, and the erection of the brazen one.

52. All the emblems of their deities, fuch as the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and other fculptures, of which great ufe was made in the worship of the heathens, were to be effaced; and the statues and pillars were to be demolished.

56. All this came to pafs. Some of the idolatrous inhabitants were left in the country, the Ifraslites adopt

ed

ed their cuftoms, for this they were driven out of it in their turn, and are not yet reftored to it; tho' there can be no doubt but they will be in due time; and that time we may now hope is not very diftant.

Ch. XXXIV. 1. The boundaries of the country fo exactly laid down in this chapter fhews how well Mofes was acquainted with it, and alfo the perfect confidence he had with refpect to the conqueft of it; tho' it was then occupied by nations far more powerful than the Ifraelites.

5. This river of Egypt fome think means a fmall river or brook between Egypt and Paleftine. But it is more probably the Nile, the proper river of Egypt.

6. This includes both the country of the Philiftines There and Tyre, which was to the South of Sidon. cannot be any doubt, therefore, but that the Hebrew nation, on their return from their prefent difperfion, will occupy the whole of this country.

7. This mount Hor was probably part of Lebanon.

8. There were two Hamaths, one called by the Greeks Antioch; called Hamath the Great, Am. vi, 2, and the other Epiphania. It is the latter that is intended in this place. Zedad was the northern boundary of the country in the prophecy of Ezekiel.

9. Hazar Enon was at the springs of Jordan.

11. Thefe places are near Jordan, beyond which the land of Canaan did not go,

19.The names of thefe heads of the tribes are fet down according to the order of their fituations, after they got poffeffion of the country,tho' it was to be divided by lot; The country to the Eaft of Jordan was not given by lot;

nor

nor is there any mention of a divine direction for the difpofal of it, tho' it cannot well be queftioned but there was. Mofes, who was directed what to do with respect to things of far lefs moment than this, would hardly determine by his own authority with refpect to it.

Ch. XXXV. 2 No divifion of the country being allowed to the tribe of Levi, they had particular cities given them, and a limitted space round them for their pas ture grounds, gardens, and other conveniencies.

4 There is a difference of opinion about the extent of the ground allowed to the Levites beyond the walls of their cities, fome reckoning three thousand cubits from the walls, and others from the extremity of the fuburbs. But the moft natural construction feems to be that the measuring commenced at the walls, and that all beyond this was called suburbs, whether in pasture ground, gardens, or built upon, all which was at the pleasure of the owners.

8 Of these forty eight cities, fix were places of refuge for perfons guilty of involuntary homicide; and confidering the fmall extent of the whole country, fix were abundantly fufficient for the purpose. No perfon living in any part of the country could be more than a day's journey from any of them.

21. By the law of nature they who receive the greatest injury by the death of any perfon, as the neareft relations, have a right to take their revenge on the murderer; and it was only by degrees, as Lord Kaimes has fhewn that this right was transferred from them to the civil magiftrate. Here we find the avenger of blood, or the nearest relation, had a right to kill the

murderer

murderer if he found him out of the bounds prescribed by the law.

24. In all heathen countries temples were places of refuge for the greatest criminals, but among the Ifraelites every cafe of death was tried by proper judges; and on no pretence was a wilful murderer fuffered to efcape; while the inconvenience to which involuntary homicide expofed a man, would be a leffon of caution in a case of fuch importance to fociety. This was a happy medium peculiar to the Hebrew conftitution.

31. In many countries, even among the Athenians, the relations of the murdered perfon might compound with the murderer for a fum of money; but this was not allowed to the Ifraelites.

34. This confideration must have had great weight with the pious Ifraelites. The creator of the world, the father of all mankind, was in a peculiar fenfe their God, and their civil governor, refiding among them, and giving particular attention to their conduct. On this account the greatest purity, natural and moral (the former an emblem of the latter) was required of them.

Ch. XXXVI. 6. It was provided Ch. xxvii, 6, that daughters fhould inherit when there were no fons, and it is here farther provided that fuch heireffes should not marry out of the tribe to which they belonged, left the inheritance should go to another tribe; which would occafion the inconvenience of an intermixture of poffeffions.

VOL. I.

W

NOTES

NOTES ON THE BOOK OF

DEUTERONOMY.

THIS

HIS book had its name from its confift ing in a great measure of the repetition of laws and injunctions contained in the former books. It was written in the last period of Mofes's life, and addreffed to a new generation, the offspring of thofe who had come out of Egypt, their fathers having died in the wilderness. It is the addrefs of an aged parent to his family, the affection and earnestness with which it is written making it peculiarly interesting; and to a reader of difcernment this circumstance alone is an abundant proof of its genuinefs. To my feelings no writings have fo much of what is called pathos. The exhortations of the writer are accompanied with prophetic denunciations with refpect to the confequence of obeying or difregarding his injunctions; and events have abundantly verified his predictions.

Ch. I. 1. The place here called Suph was probably near Jordan, abounding with flags or reeds, or fome

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