Deuteronomy · Chapter 3

Verse 1. Og, the king of Bashan, came out against us — As a further encouragement to the Israelites to confide in the power and faithfulness of God, Moses proceeds to remind them of the wonderful success they had had against Og, who appears to have been the first aggressor, Numbers 21:33.

THE CONQUEST OF THE KINGDOM OF OG — A VIEW OF THE LAND, 1-11. After the defeat of Sihon the Israelites were able to move on in their march toward Jordan. As Og held Bashan and the northern part of Gilead, they took the road to Bashan, and met and defeated this powerful Amorite king at Edrei.

1. Bashan — A region celebrated for its oak groves and rich pastures and fine cattle. We find many references to it in the poetical books. Psalm 22:12; 68:15; Isaiah 2:13; Zechariah 11:2.

THE CONQUEST OF THE KINGDOM OF OG — A VIEW OF THE LAND, 1-11. After the defeat of Sihon the Israelites were able to move on in their march toward Jordan. As Og held Bashan and the northern part of Gilead, they took the road to Bashan, and met and defeated this powerful Amorite king at Edrei.

1. Bashan — A region celebrated for its oak groves and rich pastures and fine cattle. We find many references to it in the poetical books. Psalm 22:12; 68:15; Isaiah 2:13; Zechariah 11:2.

THE CONQUEST OF THE KINGDOM OF OG — A VIEW OF THE LAND, 1-11. After the defeat of Sihon the Israelites were able to move on in their march toward Jordan. As Og held Bashan and the northern part of Gilead, they took the road to Bashan, and met and defeated this powerful Amorite king at Edrei.

1. Bashan — A region celebrated for its oak groves and rich pastures and fine cattle. We find many references to it in the poetical books. Psalm 22:12; 68:15; Isaiah 2:13; Zechariah 11:2.

Verse 4. All the region of Argob] bgra lbj lk col chebel Argob, all the cable or cord of Argob; this expression, which is used in various other parts of Scripture, (see, in the original, Amos 7:17; Micah 2:5; Deuteronomy 32:9; Psalm 16:6,) 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 schœnus or cord among the Egyptians. Some think that it was the region of Argob that was afterwards called the region of Trachonites.

4. Threescore cities, all the region of Argob — In every instance in which Argob is mentioned there is accompanying it the descriptive word lbj, rope. Our translators have rendered it “region” in one place and “country” in another. It evidently means a sharply defined border, as if measured by a line or rope. Porter’s Giant Cities of Bashan says: “It thus describes with singular accuracy and minuteness the rocky rampart which encircles the Lejah,” the modern name of Argob. The Argob is a vast field of basalt placed in the midst of a fertile plain. Its surface has an elevation of about thirty feet, and its border is clearly defined by a bank of broken cliffs. In this region were the sixty cities mentioned in the text.

5. These cities were fenced — The ruins of these cities are seen to-day. Porter thus describes the region of the captured cities: “The hills of Bashan were close in front, their summits clothed with oak forests and their sides studded with old towns. As we ascended them the rock fields of the Lejah were spread out on the right, and there too the ancient cities were thickly planted. Not less than thirty of the threescore cities of Argob were in view at one time on that day, their black houses and ruins half concealed by the black rocks amid which they are built, and their massive towers rising up here and there like the ‘keeps’ of old Norman fortresses.”

THE CONQUEST OF THE KINGDOM OF OG — A VIEW OF THE LAND, 1-11. After the defeat of Sihon the Israelites were able to move on in their march toward Jordan. As Og held Bashan and the northern part of Gilead, they took the road to Bashan, and met and defeated this powerful Amorite king at Edrei.

1. Bashan — A region celebrated for its oak groves and rich pastures and fine cattle. We find many references to it in the poetical books. Psalm 22:12; 68:15; Isaiah 2:13; Zechariah 11:2.

THE CONQUEST OF THE KINGDOM OF OG — A VIEW OF THE LAND, 1-11. After the defeat of Sihon the Israelites were able to move on in their march toward Jordan. As Og held Bashan and the northern part of Gilead, they took the road to Bashan, and met and defeated this powerful Amorite king at Edrei.

1. Bashan — A region celebrated for its oak groves and rich pastures and fine cattle. We find many references to it in the poetical books. Psalm 22:12; 68:15; Isaiah 2:13; Zechariah 11:2.

V. 8. On this side Jordan-So it was when Moses wrote this book; but afterward when Israel passed over Jordan it was called the land beyond Jordan.

Verse 8. On this side Jordan — So it was when Moses wrote this book: but afterward, when Israel passed over Jordan, it was called the land beyond Jordan.

8, 9. From… Arnon unto Mount Hermon — The river Arnon formed the boundary between the Moabites and the Amorites. Hermon is the southern spur of Antilibanus. This mountain was one of the great landmarks of the Israelites, being marked as their northern boundary as the “sea” was with their western. It bore different names, each significant. Hermon is the lofty peak. Sirion, as the Sidonians called it, and Shenir, its Amorite name, imply a glittering breastplate. It is now called Jebel es-Sheikh, or Jebel et-Tilj. It is also called Sion. See Deuteronomy 4:48.

V. 9. Sirion-Elsewhere called Mount Gilead, and Lebanon, and here Shenir, and Sirion, which several names are given to this one mountain partly by several people, and partly in regard of several tops and parts of it.

Verse 9. Hermon the Sidonians call-Shenir] I suppose this verse to have been a marginal remark, which afterwards got incorporated with the text, or an addition by Joshua or Ezra.

Verse 9. Sirion — Elsewhere called mount Gilead, and Lebanon, and here Shenir, and Sirion, which several names were given to this one mountain, partly by several people, and partly in regard of several tops and parts of it.

Verse 9. Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion. The LXX, willing to adapt the language of the sacred writings to their own age, say, “Which Hermon the Phœnicians call Sanior.” See notes on Psalm 133.

8, 9. From… Arnon unto Mount Hermon — The river Arnon formed the boundary between the Moabites and the Amorites. Hermon is the southern spur of Antilibanus. This mountain was one of the great landmarks of the Israelites, being marked as their northern boundary as the “sea” was with their western. It bore different names, each significant. Hermon is the lofty peak. Sirion, as the Sidonians called it, and Shenir, its Amorite name, imply a glittering breastplate. It is now called Jebel es-Sheikh, or Jebel et-Tilj. It is also called Sion. See Deuteronomy 4:48.

V. 10. All Gilead-Gilead is sometimes taken for all the Israelites possessions beyond Jordan, and so it comprehends Bashan; but here for that part of it which lies in and near mount Gilead, and so it is distinguished from Bashan and Argob.

Verse 10. All Gilead — Gilead is sometimes taken for all the Israelites’ possessions beyond Jordan, and so it comprehends Bashan; but here for that part of it which lies in and near mount Gilead, and so it is distinguished from Bashan and Argob.

10. Salchah — In 1 Chronicles 5:11, this place is mentioned in connexion with the tribe of Gad. This, it is thought, is identical with the modern town of Sulkhad, which is located at the southern extremity of the Argob of Scripture. Edrei — Comp. Numbers 21:33.

V. 11. In Rabbath-Where it might now be, either because the Ammonites in some former battle with Og, had taken it as a spoil: or because after Og’s death, the Ammonites desired to have this monument of his greatness, and the Israelites permitted them to carry it away to their chief city. Nine cubits-So his bed was four yards and an half long, and two yards broad.

Verse 11. Og king of Bashan remained] Og was the last king of the Amorites; his kingdom appears to have taken its name from the hill of Bashan; the country has been since called Batanæa.

Remnant of giants] Of the Rephaim. See on Deuteronomy 2:10, 11. 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 former had gained the victory. The bedstead was carried a trophy and placed in Rabbath, which appears, from 2 Samuel 12:26, to have been the royal city of the children of Ammon.

Nine cubits was the length-four cubits the breadth] Allowing the bedstead to have been one cubit longer than Og, which is certainly sufficient, and allowing the cubit to be about eighteen inches long, for this is perhaps the average of the cubit of a man, then Og was twelve feet high. This may be deemed extraordinary, and perhaps almost incredible, and therefore many commentators have, according to their fancy, 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 even in this way they make him at least nine feet high.

On this subject the rabbins have trifled most sinfully. I shall give one specimen. In the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel on Numbers 21:33-35, it is said that “Og having observed that the camp of the Israelites extended six miles, he went and tore up a mountain six miles in its base, and put it on his head, and carried it towards the camp, that he might throw it on the Israelites and destroy them; but the word of the Lord prepared a worm, which bored a hole in the mountain over his head, so that it fell down upon his shoulders: at the same time his teeth growing out in all directions, stuck into the mountain, so that he could not cast it off his head. Moses, (who was himself ten cubits high,) seeing Og thus entangled, took an axe ten cubits long, and having leaped ten cubits in height, struck Og on the ankle bone, so that he fell and was slain.”

From this account the distance from the sole of Og’s foot to his ankle was thirty cubits in length! I give this as a very slight specimen of rabbinical comment. I could quote places in the Talmud in which Og is stated to be several miles high! This relation about Og I suppose to be also an historical note added by a subsequent hand.

Verse 11. Only Og remained of the remnant of giants — Namely, in those parts; for there were other giants among the Philistines, and elsewhere. When the Ammonites drove out the Zamzummims, mentioned

Deuteronomy 2:20, Og might escape, and so be said to be left of the remnant of the giants, and afterward, fleeing to the Amorites, perhaps was made their king, because of his gigantic stature. His bedstead was a bedstead of iron — Bedsteads of iron, brass, and other metals, are not unusual in the warm countries, as a defence against vermin. In Rabbath — Where it might now be, either because the Ammonites, in some former battle with Og, had taken it as a spoil; or because, after Og’s death, the Ammonites desired to have this monument of his greatness, and the Israelites permitted them to carry it away to their chief city. Nine cubits — So his bed was four yards and a half long, and two yards broad.

Ver. 11. Og, king of Bashan, the remnant of the giants. Though Og was the last of the race east of the Jordan, there was a family of them in Philistia, in the west. 1 Samuel 17. The bedstead of this tyrant was preserved in Rabbath, (afterwards called Philadelphia) by the children of Ammon, as a monument of the enormous race. The oresh of Og, here rendered bedstead, was fifteen feet long, and nine feet six inches broad; he was a monster of bones and fat, and no doubt taller than Goliath. See on Genesis 6:4.

11. Only Og… remained of the… giants — In Abraham’s time the Rephaim were living in Bashan. Genesis 14:5. His bedstead was… of iron — It has been suggested that this was a sarcophagus of basalt. The black basalt of that region contains a large proportion of iron. Is it not in Rabbath… Ammon — Afterward called Philadelphia, now identified with Amman — about twenty-two miles from the Jordan. After the cubit of a man — That is, the ordinary cubit, usually reckoned as eighteen inches. That there was more than one cubit is clear. It has been supposed that Og, in preparing his sarcophagus, intentionally exceeded the necessary size, so as to convey an exaggerated impression of his extraordinary stature. In like manner Diodorus Siculus (xvii, 95) says that Alexander, in his march to India, caused two couches to be prepared for every footsoldier, each five cubits long.

DIVISION OF THE LAND THAT WAS CONQUERED, 12-20.

The territory taken on the east of the Jordan was given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to the half tribe of Manasseh. The southern part, from Aroer in the valley of Arnon, and Gilead as far as the Jabbok, to the Reubenites and Gadites; the northern part of Gilead, with Bashan — that is, the Argob — to the half tribe of Manasseh.

V. 14. Unto this day-This must be put among those passages which were not written by Moses, but added by those holy men, who digested the books of Moses into this order, and inserted some few passages to accommodate things to their own time and people.

Verse 14. Bashan-havoth-jair] Bashan of the cities of Jair; see Numbers 32:41.

Verse 14. Unto this day — This must be put among those passages which were not written by Moses, but added by those holy men who digested the books of Moses into this order, and inserted some few passages to accommodate things to their own time and people.

14. Jair the son of Manasseh — Meaning, descendant of Manasseh. He was of the tribe of Manasseh on his mother’s side. Coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi — That is, the Geshurites and Maachathites. The Geshurites are often named in connexion with Bashan. David married the daughter of Talmai, king of the Geshurites. Absalom was born of this marriage. After the murder of his brother Amnon by his command, Absalom fled to Geshur, and lived three years in exile among his mother’s kindred. 2 Samuel 13:37. The precise location of Geshur is not decided. It was somewhere near Hermon, on the eastern side of the upper Jordan. The exact location of Maachathi is not settled. It was probably in the neighbourhood of Hermon, not far from Geshur. Havoth-jair — The dwellings or abodes of Jair. Havoth is from the Hebrew word which means life, as the Germans use Leben in such forms as Eisleben.

V. 15. Gilead-That is, the half part of Gilead. To Machir-That is, unto the children of Machir, son of Manasseh, for Machir was now dead.

Verses 15, 16. Gilead — That is, the half part of Gilead. To Machir — That is, unto the children of Machir, son of Manasseh, for Machir was now dead. Half the valley — Or rather, to the middle of the river: for the word rendered half, signifies commonly middle, and the same Hebrew word means both a valley and a brook, or river. And this sense is agreeable to the truth, that their land extended from Gilead unto Arnon, and, to speak exactly, to the middle of that river; for as that river was the border between them and others, so one half of it belonged to them, as the other half did to others; see Joshua 12:2, where the same thing is expressed in the same words, in the Hebrew, though our translators render them there, from the middle of the river, and here, half of the valley.

15. Machir — He was the eldest son of Manasseh. His name is put for the tribe.

V. 16. Half the valley-Or rather to the middle of the river: for the word rendered half signifies commonly middle, and the same Hebrew word means both a valley and a brook or river. And this sense is agreeable to the truth, that their land extended from Gilead unto Arnon, and, to speak exactly, to the middle of that river; for as that river was the border between them and others, so one half of it belonged to them, as the other half did to others, Joshua 12:2. The same thing is expressed in the same words in the Hebrew which are here, though our translators render the self-same words there, from the middle of the river, which here they render, half of the valley. There the bounds of Sihon’s kingdom, which was the same portion here mentioned as given to Reuben and Gad, are thus described, from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river of Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon.

Verses 15, 16. Gilead — That is, the half part of Gilead. To Machir — That is, unto the children of Machir, son of Manasseh, for Machir was now dead. Half the valley — Or rather, to the middle of the river: for the word rendered half, signifies commonly middle, and the same Hebrew word means both a valley and a brook, or river. And this sense is agreeable to the truth, that their land extended from Gilead unto Arnon, and, to speak exactly, to the middle of that river; for as that river was the border between them and others, so one half of it belonged to them, as the other half did to others; see Joshua 12:2, where the same thing is expressed in the same words, in the Hebrew, though our translators render them there, from the middle of the river, and here, half of the valley.

16, 17. Reubenites… Gadites — The territory allotted to the tribes of Reuben and Gad is more fully described. They were to have Gilead to the south of the Jabbok as far as the Arnon — to the middle of the valley. (The gorge or valley of the Arnon is eighty miles long and about two miles wide.) On the western side they were to have the Arabah or plain, and the bank of the Jordan from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. Ashdoth-pisgah probably means the slopes of Pisgah.

V. 17. The plain-The low country towards Jordan. The sea of the plain-That is, that salt sea, which before that dreadful conflagration was a goodly plain.

Verse 17. From Chinnereth] See Clarke on “Numbers 34:11”.

Verse 17. The plain — The low country toward Jordan. The sea of the plain — That is, that salt sea, which before that dreadful conflagration was a goodly plain.

Ver. 17. Chinnereth; called in the New Testament, Genesareth.—The sea of the plain was the sea of Sodom, once a plain.

16, 17. Reubenites… Gadites — The territory allotted to the tribes of Reuben and Gad is more fully described. They were to have Gilead to the south of the Jabbok as far as the Arnon — to the middle of the valley. (The gorge or valley of the Arnon is eighty miles long and about two miles wide.) On the western side they were to have the Arabah or plain, and the bank of the Jordan from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. Ashdoth-pisgah probably means the slopes of Pisgah.

V. 18. You-Namely, the Reubenites and Gadites. All that are meet-In such number as your our brethren shall judge necessary. They were in all above an hundred thousand. Forty thousand of them went over Jordan before their brethren.

Verse 18. I commanded you — Namely, the Reubenites and Gadites. All that are meet — In such number as your brethren shall judge necessary. They were in all above a hundred thousand. Forty thousand of them went over Jordan before their brethren.

18-20. Moses herein reminds the people of the conditions under which the territory spoken of had been given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. Comp. Numbers 32:20-32. THE APPOINTMENT OF JOSHUA AS THE SUCCESSOR OF MOSES, 21-29. In Numbers 27:12-23, the death of Moses is foretold, and the appointment and consecration of Joshua related. Moses here reminds the people of this, and tells them that, notwithstanding his prayer that he might go over and see the goodly land, his request is not granted. This prayer of Moses is not mentioned in Numbers. It undoubtedly preceded the request for the appointment of a leader for the congregation.

18-20. Moses herein reminds the people of the conditions under which the territory spoken of had been given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. Comp. Numbers 32:20-32. THE APPOINTMENT OF JOSHUA AS THE SUCCESSOR OF MOSES, 21-29. In Numbers 27:12-23, the death of Moses is foretold, and the appointment and consecration of Joshua related. Moses here reminds the people of this, and tells them that, notwithstanding his prayer that he might go over and see the goodly land, his request is not granted. This prayer of Moses is not mentioned in Numbers. It undoubtedly preceded the request for the appointment of a leader for the congregation.

18-20. Moses herein reminds the people of the conditions under which the territory spoken of had been given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. Comp. Numbers 32:20-32. THE APPOINTMENT OF JOSHUA AS THE SUCCESSOR OF MOSES, 21-29. In Numbers 27:12-23, the death of Moses is foretold, and the appointment and consecration of Joshua related. Moses here reminds the people of this, and tells them that, notwithstanding his prayer that he might go over and see the goodly land, his request is not granted. This prayer of Moses is not mentioned in Numbers. It undoubtedly preceded the request for the appointment of a leader for the congregation.

V. 23. I besought the Lord-We should allow no desire in our hearts, which we cannot in faith offer unto God by prayer.

Verses 23, 24. I besought the Lord — We should allow no desire in our hearts, which we cannot in faith offer unto God by prayer. Thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness — Lord, perfect what thou hast begun. The more we see of God’s glory in his works, the more we desire to see. And the more affected we are with what we have seen of God, the better we are prepared for further discoveries.

V. 24. Thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness-Lord, perfect what thou hast begun. The more we see of God’s glory in his works, the more we desire to see. And the more we are affected with what we have seen of God, the better we are prepared for farther discoveries.

Verses 24. - 25. The prayer of Moses recorded in these two verses, and his own reflections on it, Deuteronomy 3:26, are very affecting. He had suffered much both in body and mind in bringing the people to the borders of the promised land; and it was natural enough for him to wish to see them established in it, and to enjoy a portion of that inheritance himself, which he knew was a type of the heavenly country. But notwithstanding his very earnest prayer, and God’s especial favour towards him, he was not permitted to go over Jordan! He had grieved the Spirit of God, and he passed a sentence against him of exclusion from the promised land. Yet he permitted him to see it, and gave him the fullest assurances that the people whom he had brought out of Egypt should possess it. Thus God may choose to deprive those of earthly possessions to whom he is nevertheless determined to give a heavenly inheritance.

Verses 23, 24. I besought the Lord — We should allow no desire in our hearts, which we cannot in faith offer unto God by prayer. Thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness — Lord, perfect what thou hast begun. The more we see of God’s glory in his works, the more we desire to see. And the more affected we are with what we have seen of God, the better we are prepared for further discoveries.

V. 25. Let me go over-For he supposed God’s threatening might be conditional and reversible, as many others were. That goodly mountain-Which the Jews not improbably understood of that mountain on which the temple was to be built. This he seems to call that mountain, emphatically and eminently, that which was much in Moses’s thoughts, though not in his eye.

Verses 24. - 25. The prayer of Moses recorded in these two verses, and his own reflections on it, Deuteronomy 3:26, are very affecting. He had suffered much both in body and mind in bringing the people to the borders of the promised land; and it was natural enough for him to wish to see them established in it, and to enjoy a portion of that inheritance himself, which he knew was a type of the heavenly country. But notwithstanding his very earnest prayer, and God’s especial favour towards him, he was not permitted to go over Jordan! He had grieved the Spirit of God, and he passed a sentence against him of exclusion from the promised land. Yet he permitted him to see it, and gave him the fullest assurances that the people whom he had brought out of Egypt should possess it. Thus God may choose to deprive those of earthly possessions to whom he is nevertheless determined to give a heavenly inheritance.

Verse 25. Let me go over — For he supposed God’s threatening might be conditional and reversible, as many others were. That goodly mountain — Which the Jews not improbably understood of that mountain on which the temple was to be built. This he seems to call that mountain, emphatically and eminently, that which was much in Moses’s thoughts, though not in his eye.

Ver. 25. That goodly mountain and Lebanon. By the goodly mountain, some have thought that Moriah, on which Solomon built the temple, was understood. It is not however improbable, that Moses here calls Lebanon a high or goodly mountain, which was famed for its tall cedars. Sir J. Maundrell measured one tree, twelve yards and six inches in the girt; the spread of its branches was thirty seven yards. This range of hills, extending from the vicinity of Sidon toward Damascus, is divided by a pass at the entering of Hamath. The eastern range was called Anti-Libanus, and is higher than the western. Its elevation is about nine thousand feet, and covered with snow nine months in the year; but is very fruitful in grass, vines, and corn. Two streams issue from it, the Jor and the Dan, which unite in the Jordan. At Easter, the time of barley harvest, this river overflows its banks by the melting of the snow. See Joshua 1:4.

25. That goodly mountain — Not one particular portion of the Promised Land is referred to, but the whole as a hilly region. As Moses stood on the plains of Moab the land across the Jordan would be to his vision mountainous throughout.

Verse 26. Let it suffice thee] Ël br 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.

26. The Lord was wroth with me — See notes on 1:37.

Ver. 27. Get thee up to the top of Pisgah, the highest summit of the ridge of Abarim. See chap. 34.

V. 28. He shall go over-It was not Moses, but Joshua or Jesus that was to give the people rest, Hebrews 4:8. ‘Tis a comfort to those who love mankind, when they are dying and going off, to see God’s work likely to be carried on by other hands, when they are silent in the dust.

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.

Verse 28. He shall go over — It was not Moses, but Joshua, or Jesus, that was to give the people rest, Hebrews 4:8. It is a comfort to those who love mankind, when they are dying and going off, to see God’s work likely to be carried on by other hands when they are silent in the dust.

Verse 29. Beth-peor.] This was a city in the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites; and as tyb 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. 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 John 1:17; Galatians 2:16; 3:12, 13, 24;) for he is the end of the law-the great scope and design of the law, for righteousness-for justification, to them that believe; Romans 10:4. 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.

DEUTERONOMY

29. So we abode in the valley — Here the people were encamped a long time. The transactions related in Numbers 28-34 took place here. Here these discourses of Moses were spoken. Near this spot he was buried. Beth-peor — See on Numbers 23:28.