The command not to touch A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. Sebat. DEUTERONOMY. the Edomites nor Moabites. 6 Ye shall buy meat of them. 13 Now rise up, said 1, and get. An. Ex. Isr. 40. for money, that ye may eat; and you over the brook Zered. ye shall also buy water of them And we went over the brook for money, that ye may drink. Zered. For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing. h 8 And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Ezion-gaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab. 9 And the LORD said unto me, i Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession. 10 m The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as Anakims; 1 the 11 Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims. 12 The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of. Esau P succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their a stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the LORD gave unto them. Chap. viii. 2, 3, 4.- Judg. xi. 18.b1 Kings ix. 26. Or, Use no hostility against Moab.- k Num. xxi. 28. Gen. xix. 36, 37.- Gen. xiv. 5. Num. xiii. 22, 33; chap, ix. 2. Ver. 22; Gen. xiv. 6; xxxvi. 20. Heb. inherited them: ¶ Or, room. Verse 7. The Lord hath blessed thee, &c.] God had given them much property, and therefore they had no need of plunder; they had gold and silver to buy the provender they needed, and therefore God would not permit them to take any thing by violence.. Verse 10. The Emims dwelt therein] Calmet supposes that these people were destroyed in the war made against them by Chedorlaomer and his allies, Gen. xiv. 5. Lot possessed their country after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha. They are generally esteemed as giants; probably they were a hardy, fierce, and terrible people, who lived, like the wandering Arabs, on the plunder of others. This was sufficient to gain them the appellation of giants, or men of prodigious stature. See below. Verse 11. Which also were accounted giants] This is not a fortunate version. The word is not giants, but D' Rephaim, the name of a people. It appears that the Emim, the Anakim, and the Rephaim, were probably the same people, called by different names in the different countries where they dwelt; for they appear originally to have been a kind of wandering free 14 And the space in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; "until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them. 15 For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed. W 16 So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, 17 That the LORD spake unto me, saying, 18 Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day: 19 And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distrèss them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession. 20 (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; 21 A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them Num. xxi. 12. Or, valley; Num. xiii. 23.-' Numbers xi. 26" Numbers xiv. 33; xxvi. 64. Numbers xir. 35; chap. i. 34, 35; Ezek. xx. 15. Psa. lxxviii. 33; cvi. 26. Gen. xix. 38. Gen. xiv. 5, Zuzims. See verse 10. booters, who lived by plunder. (See on the preceding verse.) It must be granted, however, that there were several men of this race of extraordinary stature. And hence all gigantic men have been called Rephaim. (See on Gen. vi. 4, and xiv. 5.) But we well know that fear and public report have often added whole cubits to men's height. It was under this influence that the spies acted, when they brought the disheartening report mentioned Num. xii, 33. Verse 12, The Horims also dwelt in Seir] The whole of this verse was probably added by Joshua or Ezra. Verse 20. That also was accounted a land of giants] That was accounted the land or territory of the Rephaim. Zamzummims] Supposed to be the same as the Zuzim, Gen. xiv. 5. Of these ancient people we know very little; they were probably inconsiderable tribes or clans, "pursuing and pursued, each other's prey," till at length a stronger totally destroyed or subdued them, and their name became either extinct or absorbed in that of their conquerors. From the 10th to the 12th, and from the 20th to the 23d verse inclusive, we have certain historical remarks introduced The command to possess the A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. Sebat. before them; and they succeeded the land which the LORD our God An. Ex. Isr. 40. them, and dwelt in their stead: 22 As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day: ver. 12. a Gex. xxxvi. 8. Gen. xiv. 6; xxxvi. 20-30; Josh. xiii. 3.-d Jer. xxv. 20. Gen. x. 14; Amos ix. 7. Num. xxi: 13, 14; Judg. xi. 18, 21. Heb. begin, possess. h Exod. xv. 14, 15; chap. xi. 25; Josh. ii. 9, 10.- Chap. xx. 10: Num. xxi. 21, 22; Judg. xi. 19. Num. xxí. 19.- See Num. xx. 18; chap. xxiii. 3, 4; Judg. xi. 17, 18. which do not seem to have been made by Moses, but rather by Joshua or Ezra. By the introduction of these verses the thread of the narrative suffers considerable interruption. Dr. Kennicott considers both these passages to be interpolations. That they could not have made a part of the speech of Moses originally, needs little proof. giveth us. A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. An. Ex. Isr. 40. Sebat. 30. But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. 31 And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. 32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. t 33 And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. 34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain : 35. Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took. w 36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us 37 Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbade us. Verse 29. As the children of Esau which dwell in xx. I, &c., and committed the most shocking cruelSeir] See the note on Num. xx. 21. Verse 30. The Lord-hardened his spirit] See the notes on Exod. iv. 21, and ix. 15, &c. Verse 36. From Aroer-by the brink of the river of Arnon] See on Num. xxi. 13, &c. a ties; see Amos i. 13. Hence God enacted a law, that none of these people should enter into the congregation of the Lord even to their tenth generation; see chap. xxiii. 3-6. 741 The war with Oo, king of Bashan, 1, 2. He is defeated, 3. discomfit Og, king of Bashan. Sixty fortified cities with many unwalled towns taken, 4, 5. The utter destruction of the people, 6. The spoils, 7; and extent of the land taken, 8-10. Account of Oc's iron bedstead, 11. The land given to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh, 12, 13. Jair takes the country of Argob, 14. Gilead is given unto Machir, 15. And the rest of the land possessed by the Reubenites and Gadites, 16, 17. The directions given to those tribes, 18-20. The counsel given to Joshua, 21, 22. Moses's prayer to God for permission to go into the promised land, 23–25; and God's refusal, 26. He is commanded to go up to Mount Pisgah to see it, 27; and to encourage Joshua, 28.. They continue in the valley opposite to Beth-peor, 29. A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. An. Ex. Isr. 40. Sebat. A. M. 2553. Sebat. we turned, and went 8 And we, took at that time out THEN we turned, and went up the way to Bashan and of the hand of the two kings of An. Ex. Isr. 40. Og the king of Bashan came the Amorites the land that was out against us, he and all his people, to battle on this side Jordan, from the river of Arnon bat Edrei. unto Mount Hermon ; a 6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we did 13 And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, unto Sihon, king of Heshbon, utterly destroy-being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the ing the men, women, and children, of every city. half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Ar7 But all the cattle, and the spoil of the gob, with all Bashan, which was called the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves. land of giants. NOTES ON CHAP. HI. Remnant of giants] Of the Rephaim. See on chap. ii. 10, 11. the last king of the Amorites; his kingdom appears Verse 4. All the region of Argob] an col to have taken its name from the hill of Bashan; the chebel Argob, all the cable or cord of Argob; this ex-country has been since called Batanæa. pression, which is used in various other parts of Scripture,) see, in the original, Amos vii. 17; Mic. ii. 5; Deut. xxxii. 9; Pșa. xv. 6,) shows that anciently land was measured by lines or cords of a certain length, in a similar way to that by the chain among us, and the schoenus or cord among the Egyptians. Some think that it was the region of Argob that was afterwards called the region of Trachonitis. His bedstead was of iron] Iron was probably used partly for its strength and durability, and partly to prevent noxious vermin from harbouring in it. Is it not in Rabbath, of the children of Ammon?] The bedstead was probably taken in some battle between the Ammonites and Amorites, in which the forVerse 9. Hermon the Sidonians call-Shenir] Imer had gained the victory. The bedstead was carsuppose this verse to have been a marginal remark, | ried a trophy and placed in Rabbath, which appears, which afterwards got incorporated with the text, or an from 2 Sam. xii. 26, to have been the royal city of addition by Joshua or Ezra. the children of Ammon. Verse 11. Og king of Bashan remained] Og was Nine cubits was the length-four cubits the breadth] Inheritance of Reuben and Gad. A. M. 2553. `B. C. 1451. Sebat. CHAP. III. An. Ex. Isr. 40. took all the country of Argob sunto the coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi; and called them after his own name, Bashan-havoth-jair, unto this day. 15 " And I gave Gilead unto Machir. Moses is excluded from Canaan. d A. M. 2553. Sebat. 14 Jair the son of Manasseh | 20 Until the LORD have given rest 16. And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border even unto the river Jabbok," which is the border of the children of Ammon: 17 The plain also, and Jordan, and the coast thereof, from Chinnereth even unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, under Ashdoth-pisgah eastward. 18 And I commanded you at that time, saying, The LORD your God hath given you this land to possess it: ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war. 19 But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, (for I know that ye have much cattle,) shall abide in your cities which I have given you; : 22 Ye shall not fear them for f the LORD your God he shall fight for you. 23 And I besought the LORD at that time, saying, 24 O LORD God, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand for what God is there in heaven or in earth that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might? 25 I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.. 26 But the LORD was wroth with me for e r1 Chron. ii. 22. Josh. xii. 13; 2 Sam. iii. 3; x. 6. c Heb. sons of power.- d Josh. xxii. 4. Num. xxvii. 18. Num. xxxii. 41. u Num. xxxii. 39.2 Sam. xxiv. 5.Exod. xiv. 14; chap. i. 30; xx. 4. See. 2 Cor. xii. 8, 9. Num. xxi. 24; Josh. xii. 2. Num. xxxiv. 11. Chap. Chap. xi. 2.- Exod. xv. 11; 2 Sam. vii. 22; Psa. lxxi. 19; iv. 49; Numbers xxxiv. 11; Joshua xii. 3. Genesis xiv. 3. lxxx. 8; lxxxix. 6, 8.- - Exod. iii. 8; chap. iv. 22. Num. Or, under the springs of Pisgah, or, the hill. b Numbers xx. 12; xxvii. 14; chap. i. 37; xxxi. 2; xxxii. 51, 52; xxxiv. 4; xxxii. 20, &c. Psa. cvi. 32. Verse 14. Bashan-havoth-jair] Bashan of the cities of Jair; see Num. xxxit. 41. Allowing the bedstead to have been one cubit longer From this account the distance from the sole of Og's than Og, which is certainly sufficient, and allowing foot to his ankle was thirty cubits in length! I give the cubit to be about eighteen inches long, for this is this as a very slight specimen of rabbinical comment. perhaps the average, of the cubit of a man, then Og I could quote places in the Talmud in which Og is was twelve feet high. This may be deemed extraor-stated to be several miles high! This relation about dinary, and perhaps almost incredible, and therefore Og I suppose to be also an historical note added by a many commentators have, according to their fancy, subsequent hand. lengthened the bedstead and shortened the man, making the former one-third longer than the person who lay on it, that they might reduce Og to six cubits; but Verse 17. From Chinnereth] See on Num. xxxiv. 11. even in this way they make him at least nine feet high. Verses 24, 25. The prayer of Moses recorded in On this subject the rabbins have trifled most sinfully, these two verses, and his own reflections on it, ver. I shall give one specimen. In the Targum of Jona- 26, are very affecting. He had suffered much both than ben Uzziel on Num. xxi. 35, 36, it is said that in body and mind in bringing the people to the borders "Og having observed that the camp of the Israelites of the promised land; and it was natural enough for extended six miles, he went and tore up a mountain him to wish to see them established in it, and to ensix miles in its base, and put it on his head, and car-joy a portion of that inheritance himself, which, he ried it towards the camp, that he might throw it on knew was a type of the heavenly country. But notthe Israelites and destroy them; but the word of the withstanding his very earnest prayer, and God's espe Lord prepared a worm, which bored a hole in the cial favour towards him, he was not permitted to go mountain over his head, so that it fell down upon his over Jordan! He had grieved the Spirit of God, and shoulders at the same time his teeth, growing out in he passed a sentence against him of exclusion from all directions, stuck into the mountain, so that he could the promised land. Yet he permitted him to see it, not cast it off his head. Moses, (who was himself and gave him the fullest assurances that the people ten cubits high,) seeing Og thus entangled, took an whom he had brought out of Egypt should possess it. axe ten cubits long, and having leaped ten cubits in Thus God may choose to deprive those of earthly posheight, struck Og on the ankle bone, so that he fell sessions to whom he is nevertheless determined to give and was slain." a heavenly inheritance. Moses exhorts the people A. M. 2553. Sebat. 28 But charge Joshua, and A. M. 2553. Sebat. your sakes, and would not hear An. Ex. Isr. 40. me: and the LORD said unto me, encourage him, and strengthen An. Ex. Isr. 40. Let it suffice thee; speakno him for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see: more unto me of this matter. n 27 Get thee up into the top of a Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward,and behold it with thine eyes for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. in Num. xxvii. 12.- Or, the hill. Num. xxvii. 18, 23; Verse 26. Let it suffice thee] rab lach, there is an abundance to thee-thou hast had honour enough already, and may well dispense with going over Jordan. He surely has no reason to complain who is taken from earthly felicity to heavenly glory. In this act God showed to Moses both his goodness and severity. Verse 28, But charge Joshua, &c.] Give him authority in the sight of the people, let them see that he has the same commission which I gave to thee. Encourage him; for he will meet with many difficulties in the work to which he is called. And strengthen him-show him my unfailing promises, and exhort him to put his trust in me alone; for he shall go over before this people, and shall cause them to inherit the land; of this let him rest perfectly assured. 29 So we abode in the valley over against Beth-peor, chap. i. 38; xxxi. 3, 7.- -P Chap. iv. 46; xxxiv. 6. It is very likely that what God speaks here, both concerning Moses and Joshua, was designed to be typical of the procedure of his justice and grace in the salvation of man. 1. The land of Canaan was a type of the kingdom of heaven. - 2. The law, which shows the holiness of God and the exceeding sinfulness of sin, could not bring the people to the possession of that kingdom. 3. Moses may probably be considered here as the emblem of that law by which is the knowledge of sin, but not redemption from it. 4. Joshua, the same as Jesus, the name signifying a Saviour, is appointed to bring the people into the rest which God had provided for them; thus it is by Jesus Christ alone that the soul is saved-fitted for and brought into the possession of the heavenly inheritance, (see Verse 29. Beth-peor.] This was a city in the king-John i. 17; Gal, ii. 16; iii. 12, 13, 24 ;) for he is. dom of Sihon king of the Amorites; and as 'beth signifies a house, the place probably had its name from a temple of the god Peor, who was worshipped there. Peor was nearly the same among the Moabites that Priapus was among the Romans-the obscene god of an obscene people. This we have already seen. the end of the law-the great scope and design of the law, for righteousness—for justification, to them that believe; Rom. x. 4. Such a use as this every pious reader may make of the circumstances recorded here, without the danger of pushing analogy or metaphor beyond their reasonable limits. CHAPTER IV. Exhortations to obedience, 1. Nothing to be added to or taken from the testimonies of God, 2. The people are exhorted to recollect how God had destroyed the ungodly among them, 3; and preserved those who were faithful, 4. The excellence of the Divine law, 5, 6., No nation in the world could boast of any such statutes, judgments, &c., 7, 8. They are exhorted to obedience by the wonderful manifestations of God in their behalf, 9–13. Moses exhorts them to beware of idolatry, and to make na likeness of any thing in heaven or earth as an object of adoration, 14–20. He informs them that he must die in that land, as God had refused to let him go into the promised land, being angry with him on their account, 21, 22. Repeats his exhortations to obedience, 23, 24. Predicts the judgments of God against them, should they turn to idolatry, 25-28. Promises of God's mercy to the penitent, 29-31. The grand and unparalleled privileges of the Israelites, 32-40. Moses severs three cities on the east side of Jordan for cities of refuge, 41, 42. Their names, 43. When and where Moses gave these statutes and judgments to Israel, 44-49. A. M. 2553. An. Ex. Isr. 40. NOW therefore hearken, O Is-in and possess the land which A. M. 2553. rael, unto the statutes and the LORD God of your fathers An. Ex. Ist. 40. unto the judgments which I teach giveth you. you, for to do them, that ye may live, and `go Sebat. 2 b Ye shall not add unto the word which I •Lev. xix. 37; xx. 8; xxii. 31; chap. v. 1; viii. 1; Ezek. xx. 11; Chap. xii. 32; Josh. i. 7; Prov. xxx. 6; Eccles. xii. 13; Rev. Rom. x. 5. NOTES ON CHAP. IV. Verse 1. Hearken-unto the statutes] Every thing that concerned the rites and ceremonies of religion; judgments—all that concerned matters of civil right and wrong. xxii. 18, 19. Verse 2. Ye shall not add] Any book, chapter, verse, or word, which I have not spoken; nor give any comment that has any tendency to corrupt, weaken, or destroy any part of this revelation. Neither shall ye diminish] Ye shall not only not |