Numbers · Chapter 21

V. 1. King Arad-Or rather, the Canaanite King of Arad: for Arad is not the name of a man, but of a city or territory. And he seems to be called a Canaanite in a general sense, as the Amorites and others. The south-Of Canaan, towards the east, and near the dead sea. Of the spies-Not of those spies which Moses sent to spy the land, for that was done thirty eight years before this, and they went so privately, that the Canaanites took no notice of them, nor knew which way they came or went; but of the spies which he himself sent out to observe the marches and motions of the Israelites. Took some of them prisoners-Which God permitted for Israel’s humiliation, and to teach them not to expect the conquest of that land from their own wisdom or valour.

Verse 1. The way of the spies] אתרים atharim. Some think that this signifies the way that the spies took when they went to search the land. But this is impossible, as Dr. Kennicott justly remarks, because Israel had now marched from Meribah-Kadesh to Mount Hor, beyond Ezion-Gaber, and were turning round Edom to the south-east; and therefore the word is to be understood here as the name of a place.

Verse 1. The armies of Israel now begin to emerge out of the wilderness, and to come into a land inhabited; to enter upon action, and take possession of the frontiers of the land of promise. King Arad — Or rather, according to the Hebrew, and all the ancient versions, The Canaanitish king of Arad; for Arad was not the name of a man, but of a city or territory, Judges 1:16; and he seems to be called a Canaanite in a general sense, as the Amorites and others. Which dwelt in the south — Of Canaan, toward the east, and near the Dead sea. By the way of the spies — For though the spies, whom Moses had sent thirty-eight years before, then went into Canaan, and returned unobserved, yet their coming, and their errand, it is likely, were afterward known to the Canaanites, gave them an alarm, and obliged them to keep an eye on Israel, and get intelligence of their motions. The Seventy, however, and others, take the word Atharim, which we render spies, for the name of a place. Took some of them prisoners — God permitting it for Israel’s humiliation, and to teach them not to expect the conquest of that land from their own wisdom or valour.

Verse 1. King Arad; that is, Arad king of Arad.—The way of the spies, is understood to be the route of the twelve spies sent from Kadesh-Barnea. But the LXX not understanding it so, render it, ‘by the way of Athairm;’ and as the Israelites did not follow the route of the spies, they seem to have rendered the words properly.

DEFEAT OF THE CANAANITE KING OF ARAD, 1-3.

1. King Arad — The Authorized Version is mistaken in making Arad a person and not a place. It is mentioned in Joshua 12:14, between the names Hormah and Libnah. In Judges 1:16, we read: “The wilderness of Judah lieth in the south of Arad.” Robinson identifies it with a hill, Tell-Arad, twenty miles south of Hebron, “a barren looking eminence rising above the country around.” By the way of the spies — The word µyrta, translated spies, occurs only here, and is regarded by Furst and Gesenius, following the Septuagint, as the name of an unknown place, Atharim. This removes the difficulty in the way of identifying Kadesh with Ain Gadis, or Kadis, fifty miles west of Mount Hor, since the routes from these two places into Canaan must be different. See note on Numbers 20:1. The Authorized Version, Vulgate, Syriac, and Targum, translate this word spies as if it were written without the initial aleph, and were a participle of the verb rwt, because it has the article. But names of places, especially if celebrated, generally take the article in prose. (Nordh., Gram., § 721.) Fought against Israel — It is not probable that the king of Arad made this attack after Israel had left his borders and marched east-by-south fifty miles, and was encamped at the foot of Mount Hor. The attack would naturally take place when the camp in Kadesh was breaking up, and the king suspected that his territory was to be immediately invaded. “The order of the narrative in these chapters, as occasionally elsewhere in this book, is not that of time but of subject-matter; and the war against Arad is introduced here as the first of a series of victories gained under Moses which the historian now takes in hand to narrate.” — Speaker’s Com. Took… prisoners — A slight repulse is often beneficial in its effects. This taught Israel to look to Jehovah for help, as we find in the next verse.

V. 2. I will utterly destroy them-I will reserve no person or thing for my own use, but devote them all to total destruction.

Verse 2. Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord — Being unexperienced in war, and sensible of their own weakness, they were afraid of these Canaanites, and therefore thus endeavour to engage God to help them in the war which they intended to renew. I will utterly destroy their cities — I will reserve no person or thing for my own use, but devote them all to total destruction. The Israelites knew that the destruction of the seven nations of Canaan was predetermined in the counsels of heaven, on account of their excessive national wickedness, (Genesis 9:25-27,) and that it had only been deferred till their incorrigible iniquity, having baffled all the gentler methods of Providence, which, during the course of some hundreds of years, had been employed for their reformation, had proved itself to be full, as God himself expresses it, Genesis 15:16. They believed, it seems, that the time for effecting this destruction was now come, and hence made the vow here recorded.

The reader will observe, that it appears from all historical records of the seven Canaanitish nations, that before they were given up to utter destruction they were sunk into the deepest degeneracy and depravity. Thus (Leviticus 18.) where the Israelites are cautioned against the commission of several enormous crimes, such as offering their children to Moloch, lying with mankind as with womankind, lying with beasts, and women standing before beasts to lie down to them, it is added, For in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you. And again, — For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you. Thus it appears that the destined period for their extirpation was arrived; their iniquities were full, and they brought down this desolation upon themselves. It must be observed, however, that this decree of utter destruction only extended to the seven nations of Canaan, all, it seems, equally sunk in guilt and depravity. The Israelites were at liberty to offer, nay, were commanded to offer, peace to other cities or states that were not of those nations, on condition that they became tributaries to them. See the whole command on this subject, (Deuteronomy 20:10- 18,) with the reason assigned for destroying the seven nations, which is thus expressed: That they teach you not to do after their abominations, which they have done unto their gods, so should you sin against the Lord your God. It may be proper to observe further here, that the extirpation of this people, so sunk in idolatry and wickedness, was intended to be a warning to the Israelites themselves, and a most awful one it certainly was; and it was one which they had great need of; for such was their proneness to idolatry in that age of the world, that nothing less seemed likely to be effectual to restrain them from it, than to impress their minds with the most horrid idea of that crime, as what rendered nations accursed in the sight of God and men, and destined to be utterly extirpated from the face of the earth.

Ver. 2. I will utterly destroy their cities. I will utterly devote, raze, or anathematize their cities. When a city or a nation was devoted, no spoil could be taken, as is exemplified in the case of Jericho, and of Amalek. Now, though they utterly destroyed those cities, yet the king of Arad and of Hormah escaped, it is thought, for the present, with part of their people, and were afterwards destroyed: or if they did not escape, they are enumerated among the vanquished kings. Joshua 12:14.

2. Vowed a vow — The Hebrew has two verbs to express a vow, one to do, and the other to abstain from doing, a certain act. The former is used here. Utterly destroy their cities — Consecrate or devote them all to destruction. The person or thing thus devoted could never be redeemed. The cities were razed to the foundations, and the inhabitants, both man and beast, were slain. See note on Leviticus 27:28, 29. Up to this time we find no command to exterminate the Canaanites by the sword. But we have in the promise to Abraham (Genesis 15:16) an intimation of great judgments when the iniquity of the Amorites should be full. As this was the divine purpose, we are prepared for the record that the Lord hearkened — granted their desire.

V. 3. They utterly destroyed them-Neither Moses nor the whole body of the people did this but a select number sent out to punish that king and people, who were so fierce and malicious that they came out of their own country to fight with the Israelites in the wilderness; and these, when they had done this work, returned to their brethren into the wilderness. But why did they not all now go into Canaan, and pursue this victory? Because God would not permit it, there being several works yet to be done, other people must be conquered, the Israelites must be farther humbled and tried and purged, Moses must die, and then they shall enter, and that in a more glorious manner, even over Jordan, which shall be miraculously dried up, to give them passage. Hormah-That is, utter destruction.

Verse 3. The Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel] The whole of this verse appears to me to have been added after the days of Joshua. It is certain the Canaanites were not utterly destroyed at the time here spoken of, for this did not take place till after the death of Moses. If, instead of utterly destroyed them, ויחרם vaiyacharem, we translate they devoted them to utter destruction, it will make a good sense, and not repugnant to the Hebrew; though some think it more probable that the verse was added afterwards by Joshua or Ezra, in testimony of the fulfilment of God’s promise; for Arad, who is mentioned as being destroyed here, is mentioned among those destroyed by Joshua long after, (see Joshua 12:14:) but this is quite consistent with their being devoted to destruction, as this might be fulfilled any time after. See Clarke’s note on “Leviticus 27:34”.

Verse 3. They utterly destroyed them — That is, as many of them as they took at that time; but it is plain that all these Canaanites were not destroyed at this time, for we find the king of Arad and the king of Hormah mentioned among the kings whom Joshua smote some time after this, Joshua 12:14; and several of their cities were not taken and destroyed till after the death of Joshua, Judges 1:16, 17. Indeed, all that the Hebrew here (µrjy, jacharem) signifies is, that they now devoted them and their cities to destruction, and when their cities came into their possession they fulfilled their vow. He called the name of the place Hormah — That is, devoted to destruction, or, Anathema.

3. They utterly destroyed them and their cities — It is supposed by some that the actual destruction of the cities did not take place then, for two reasons: 1.) It would have required an entrance into Canaan in order to destroy Arad and its allied cities; and, 2.) it was standing after Joshua led in the nation, and its king was destroyed by him. Joshua 12:14. The difficulty all disappears when the word destroyed is rendered, as it should be, anathematized, or put under the ban. The identification of Hormah with Sebaita, (see below,) only twenty-five miles north of Kadesh, (Gadis,) leads others to interpret the ban as executed at that time. But when the Israelites retired the fugitive Canaanites returned and rebuilt the city, which was again taken and destroyed in the conquest of southern Canaan by Judah and Simeon after the death of Joshua. Hormah — Derived from a Hebrew word signifying to anathema, or a devotement to destruction. Its earlier name was Zephath. Judges 1:17. Robinson identifies it with the pass Es-Sufa, both on account of the name and the situation in the mountain, which, running southwest and northeast, completes the plateau of southern Palestine. But the true identification is Sebaita, twenty-five miles southwest of Beer-sheba. See notes on Joshua 12:14, and Judges 1:17. It is evident, if it was not destroyed now, that till its actual conquest by Judah and Simeon it was called Hormah proleptically. Keil suggests that it may have been captured in the time of Joshua and retaken again by the Canaanites, who restored its old name, Zephath, and that it was subsequently permanently conquered by Judah and Simeon, and received its new name once for all.

V. 4. By way of the Red-sea-Which leadeth to the Red-sea, as they must needs do to compass the land of Edom. Because of the way-By reason of this journey, which was long and troublesome, and unexpected, because the successful entrance and victorious progress which some of them had made in the borders of Canaan, made them think they might have speedily gone in and taken possession of it, and so have saved the tedious travels and farther difficulties, into which Moses had again brought them.

Verse 4. By the way of the Red sea — The way which led to the Red sea, which they were under a necessity of taking, that they might compass the land of Edom. But as they had gained an advantage over the king of Arad, why did they not pursue their victory, and now enter Canaan? Because God would not permit it, there being several works yet to be done; other people must be conquered, the Israelites must be further humbled, tried, and purged, Moses must die, and then they shall enter, and that in a more glorious manner, even over Jordan, which shall be miraculously divided to give them passage. The soul of the people was much discouraged — Or, they grew fretful and impatient, as the words import. Having met with so many difficulties and discouragements in their way to Canaan; particularly being now obliged, by the Edomites refusing to give them a passage through their country, to retire back southward, and thence again to turn eastward, and to take a round by the territories of the Moabites; they began to think they should never come to the promised land, and so fell into their old spirit of murmuring against God, and throwing reflections on Moses. They seem to have been the more excited to this by the successful entrance and victorious progress which some of them had made in the borders of Canaan; because they concluded from this that they might speedily have gone in and taken possession of it, and so have saved the tedious travels, and further difficulties, into which Moses had again brought them.

COMPASSING EDOM VIA RED SEA, 4, 5.

A glance at the map will reveal the necessity of this countermarch down the Arabah to the head of the eastern arm of the Red Sea, called the Elanitic Gulf. From Mount Hor the march into southern Canaan was impracticable on account of the mountains. The short cut through Wady-el-Ghuwier, fifteen miles north of Petra, or through some other pass farther north, as Seil Dhalal, or Wady T’lah, had been refused by the king of Edom, who held Mount Seir. There is no reason given in the Book of Numbers why they could not have marched northward along the Arabah and descended by the Acrabbim (see note on Joshua 15:3) into the soft and fertile plain called the Ghor, at the south of the Dead Sea, and thence through one of several wadies turned eastward, and thus compassed Edom on the north. But in Judges 11:17, 18, we learn that Moab, who controlled these wadies, had also refused a passage to Israel. It was not expedient to meet the enemy in one of these ravines, as narrow as the pass of Thermopylae. The only other course was to march round Mount Seir on the south, and thus avoid a war with Moab at such a disadvantage, or with Edom in his impregnable fastnesses.

4. Discouraged because of the way — Hebrew, short, impatient, vexed. The Arabah is a horrible desert, shut in by the limestone cliffs of the Tih on the west, and the granite range of Mount Seir on the east. The soil is loose sand and drifts of fine granite and other stones, and is exposed to suffocating sand-storms. The heat in this deep, treeless trench is at times intense. There is little vegetation except at the mouths of the valleys opening into this desert. All this was enough to discourage the people; but the reflection that every step was taking them farther away from the Land of Promise was still more disheartening.

V. 5. Against God-Against Christ, their chief conductor, whom they tempted, 1 Corinthians 10:19. Thus contemptuously did they speak of Manna, whereas it appears it yielded excellent nourishment, because in the strength of it they were able to go so many and such tedious journeys.

Verse 5. This light bread.] lqlqh hakkelokel, a word of excessive scorn; as if they had said, This innutritive, unsubstantial, cheat-stomach stuff.

Verse 5. The people spake against God — Against Christ, their chief conductor, whom they tempted. Our soul loatheth this light bread — Thus contemptuously did they speak of manna, whereas it appears it yielded excellent nourishment, because in the strength of it they were able to go so many and such tedious journeys.

5. Spake against God — This is the new Israel raised up in the wilderness. Their disobedient fathers have perished since the sentence of exclusion from Canaan, pronounced at Kadesh-barnea thirty-eight years before. But the new Israel is strikingly like the old, faltering and murmuring in hardships, blaming their leaders, and distrusting God. But the sequel will show that there was faith and courage in them sufficient to fight their way into Canaan and partially conquer it. This light bread — Hebrew, exceedingly vile. The manna is thus contemned. Similar language will be found in chap. 11:6, where a description of the manna is given. Says Professor Bush: “This was not only a wicked disparagement of the material gift which the Lord bestowed upon them from heaven, but it was a virtual turning away with loathing from that spiritual or heavenly manna which we are taught to recognize in the Lord our Saviour, whose words authenticate this interpretation.” John 6:48-51. The manna had fallen upon the encampment during thirty-eight years, an almost daily miracle of goodness, and yet, because of its commonness, it was despised. Even miracles, repeated for a long time, cease to convince men, and come to be regarded the same as the operations of nature. There is no record that any Hebrew perished in the wilderness from hunger or thirst.

V. 6. Fiery serpents-There were many such in this wilderness, which having been hitherto restrained by God, are now let loose and sent among them. They are called fiery from their effects, because their poison caused an intolerable heat and burning and thirst, which was aggravated with this circumstance of the place, that here was no water, Numbers 21:5.

Verse 6. Fiery serpents] µyprch הנחשים hannechashim hasseraphim. I have observed before, on Genesis 3:1, that it is difficult to assign a name to the creature termed in Hebrew nachash; it has different significations, but its meaning here and in Genesis 3:1 is most difficult to be ascertained. Seraphim is one of the orders of angelic beings, Isaiah 6:2,6; but as it comes from the root ãrc saraph, which signifies to burn, it has been translated fiery in the text. It is likely that St. Paul alludes to the seraphim, Hebrews 1:7: Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a FLAME of FIRE. The animals mentioned here by Moses may have been called fiery because of the heat, violent inflammation, and thirst, occasioned by their bite; and consequently, if serpents, they were of the prester or dipsas species, whose bite, especially that of the former, occasioned a violent inflammation through the whole body, and a fiery appearance of the countenance. The poet Lucan has well expressed this terrible effect of the bite of the prester, and also of the dipsas, in the ninth book of his Pharsalia, which, for the sake of those who may not have the work at hand, I shall here insert. Of the mortal effects of the bite of the dipsas in the deserts of Libya he gives the following description:—

“Signiferum juvenem Tyrrheni sanguinis Aulum Torta caput retro dipsas calcata momordit.

Vix dolor aut sensus dentis fuit: ipsaque læti Frons caret invidia: nec quidquam plaga minatur. Ecce subit virus tacitum, carpitque medullas Ignis edax, calidaque incendit viscera tabe. Ebibit humorem circum vitalia fusum

Pestis, et in sicco linguam torrere palato

Cœpit: defessos iret qui sudor in artus

Non fuit, atque oculos lacrymarum vena refugit.” Aulus, a noble youth of Tyrrhene blood,

Who bore the standard, on a dipsas trod;

Backward the wrathful serpent bent her head, And, fell with rage, the unheeded wrong repaid. Scarce did some little mark of hurt remain,

And scarce he found some little sense of pain. Nor could he yet the danger doubt, nor fear

That death with all its terrors threatened there. When lo! unseen, the secret venom spreads,

And every nobler part at once invades;

Swift flames consume the marrow and the brain, And the scorched entrails rage with burning pain; Upon his heart the thirsty poisons prey,

And drain the sacred juice of life away.

No kindly floods of moisture bathe his tongue, But cleaving to the parched roof it hung;

No trickling drops distil, no dewy sweat,

To ease his weary limbs, and cool the raging heat. ROWE.

The effects of the bite of the prester are not less terrible:— “Nasidium Marsi cultorem torridus agri

Percussit prester: illi rubor igneus ora

Succendit, tenditque cutem, pereunte figura, Miscens cuncta tumor toto jam corpore major: Humanumque egressa modum super omnia membra

Effiatur sanies, late tollente veneno.”

A fate of different kind Nasidius found,

A burning prester gave the deadly wound;

And straight, a sudden flame began to spread, And paint his visage with a glowing red.

With swift expansion swells the bloated skin. Naught but an undistinguished mass is seen;

While the fair human form lies lost within.

The puffy poison spreads, and leaves around, Till all the man is in the monster drowned.

ROWE.

Bochart supposes that the hydrus or chersydrus is meant; a serpent that lives in marshy places, the bite of which produces the most terrible inflammations, burning heat, fetid vomitings, and a putrid solution of the whole body. See his works, vol. iii., col. 421. It is more likely to have been a serpent of the prester or dipsas kind, as the wilderness through which the Israelites passed did neither afford rivers nor marshes, though Bochart endeavours to prove that there might have been marshes in that part; but his arguments have very little weight. Nor is there need of a water serpent as long as the prester or dipsas, which abound in the deserts of Libya, might have abounded in the deserts of Arabia also. But very probably the serpents themselves were immediately sent by God for the chastisement of this rebellious people. The cure was certainly preternatural; this no person doubts; and why might not the agent be so, that inflicted the disease?

Verse 6. Fiery serpents — Hebrew, µyvjn, nechashim, the plural of the word translated serpent, Genesis 3:1, where Moses speaks of the temptation and fall of our first parents, and which, when intended of a living creature, we believe, always means a serpent of one species or other, and is accordingly uniformly so rendered, not only by our translators, in the Scriptures, but by the Seventy, and in most or all other versions whatever; and, what certainly ought to have great weight with Christians, by the evangelists and apostles, whenever they quote or refer to those passages of the Old Testament where the word occurs: see on Genesis 3:1. There were many such serpents as Moses here speaks of in this wilderness, which, having been hitherto restrained by God, were now let loose and sent among them: see Jeremiah 8:17. They are called fiery from their effects, because their poison caused an intolerable heat, burning, and thirst, which was aggravated with this circumstance of the place, that there was no water, verse 5.

Ver. 6. Fiery serpents; this text is cited, Deuteronomy 8:15, which the LXX render biting serpents. Here they read it, deadly serpents. St. Paul merely says, that they were destroyed of serpents. Herodotus says that he saw some preserved flying-serpents in Egypt, which resembled water-serpents. Their wings were destitute of feathers, and resembled those of the bat.—Euterpe. These semi-wings were designed to assist them to leap on their prey.

FIERY SERPENTS AND THE BRAZEN SERPENT, 6-9.

Though human probation is not the theatre for the display of exact justice in the punishment of sin and the reward of obedience, yet we see in divine providence the intimations and outlines of a perfect future state, so that no man can have any reasonable ground for doubting that God smiles upon righteousness and frowns upon iniquity. Hence his frequent interpositions by the infliction of suffering upon the wicked are rather educational and disciplinary than penal. Hence natural evil is merciful, inasmuch as it is designed to deter from that eternal punishment which awaits incorrigible sinners.

6. The Lord sent fiery serpents — The Alexandrine Septuagint renders “fiery” by qanatountev, deadly. Popularly this “serpent” is erroneously identified with the fiery flying serpent of Isaiah 14:29, and 30:6. As all the plagues of Egypt were the intensification of natural evils, so we may suppose that these serpents existed in the region of the camp, and were gathered to this place to afflict the murmuring Israelites. They are called fiery because of the inflammation resulting from their poisonous bite. The Greeks have three different names for snakes, derived from verbs signifying to burn. These serpents may have had a fiery appearance also. Schubert saw in that vicinity a very mottled snake of a

large size, marked with fiery red spots, which belonged to the most poisonous species, and he was told by the Bedouins that they were very common there. The region east and south of Mount Seir still abounds in venomous reptiles, especially lizards, which raise themselves in the air and swing from shrubs, and scorpions lying in ambush in the grass, which sting the barelegged, sandalled natives. It is not possible to point out the species of deadly serpents which afflicted Israel. According to Niebuhr, there is in the Arabian desert a small, slender species called baetan, spotted black and white, whose bite is instant death causing the body to swell in an extraordinary manner. The cerastes is another venomous species frequenting Arabia. Much people… died — With these few words before us, it needs no very strong imagination to portray the magnitude of this calamity and the intensity of the suffering. The agonies of the bitten, the vain attempts to heal, the groans of the dying, the burial of the dead, the torturing terrors of the living, in momentary dread of the fatal wound, all come vividly before our minds. We are prepared for the penitence expressed in the next verse.

7. We have sinned — Man’s moral nature is so constituted that he instinctively ascribes natural evil to a moral cause — suffering to sin. This judgment was designed to arouse the torpid conscience. The awakened moral sense unerringly discovers the sin. We have spoken against the Lord — The quickened memory brings back every word which has impeached the divine goodness and wisdom. So it may be in the judgment. Against thee — The thoroughness of the confession is proof of its sincerity. It is easier to confess our sins against God than it is to make acknowledgment of wrong to man. Pray unto the Lord — The religious nature of man shines out in the darkness of great calamities. He turns to some power above nature and implores its interposition. The pagan rushes to his temple, the Hebrew turns toward the tabernacle or temple, the Christian to the throne of grace. And Moses prayed — There is scarcely any record of Moses’s prayers for himself; his prayers are generally for others. He was the mediator of the old covenant as Jesus is of the new. Galatians 3:19. The burden of Moses’s prayer was, that the fiery serpents might be taken away. Like many of our prayers, it was not answered in form but in fact.

V. 8. A fiery serpent-That is, the figure of a serpent in brass, which is of a fiery colour. This would require some time: God would not speedily take off the judgment, because he saw they were not throughly humbled. Upon a pole-That the people might see it from all parts of the camp, and therefore the pole must be high, and the serpent large. When he looketh-This method of cure was prescribed, that it might appear to be God’s own work, and not the effect of nature or art: and that it might be an eminent type of our salvation by Christ. The serpent signified Christ, who was in the likeness of sinful flesh, though without sin, as this brazen serpent had the outward shape, but not the inward poison, of the other serpents: the pole resembled the cross upon which Christ was lifted up for our salvation: and looking up to it designed our believing in Christ.

Verse 8. Make thee a fiery serpent] Literally, make thee a seraph. And put it upon a pole] sn l[ al nes, upon a standard or ensign.

Verses 8, 9. A fiery serpent — That is, the figure of a serpent in brass, which is of a fiery colour. This would require some time: God would not speedily take off the judgment, because he saw they were not thoroughly humbled. Upon a pole — That the people might see it from all parts of the camp, and therefore the pole must be high, and the serpent large. When he looketh — This method of cure was prescribed, that it might appear to be God’s own work, and not the effect of nature or art: and that it might be an eminent type of our salvation by Christ. The serpent signified Christ, who was in the likeness of sinful flesh, though without sin, as this brazen serpent had the outward shape, but not the inward poison of the other serpents: the pole resembled the cross upon which Christ was lifted up for our salvation: and looking up to it designed our believing in Christ. He lived — He was delivered from death, and cured of his disease.

8. Make thee a fiery serpent — This was an astonishing answer to the prayer. Moses doubtless expected that the serpents would disappear, as the plagues had vanished from Egypt when he interceded in behalf of Pharaoh. But instead of this he is directed to provide an antidote for those who may be bitten now or in the future. It was to be set upon a pole or standard, that it might be seen in the extremities of the camp, probably two miles distant from the tabernacle. When he looketh — The healing involved, 1.) A confession of inability to heal himself; 2.) The exercise of his own volitions in a manner arbitrarily prescribed by God, and for which no reasons are assigned; 3.) Simple faith in God was requisite for putting forth the action necessary to the cure. The condition was so simple that every one could perform it. Even the apparently dying could turn his languid eye toward the brazen serpent and be healed. It is evident that every one who, being bitten, perished in the camp after this great antidote was devised died as wilful a death as the suicide.

V. 9. He lived-He was delivered from death, and cured of his disease.

Verse 9. And Moses made a serpent of brass] tvjn cjn nechash nechosheth. Hence we find that the word for brass or copper comes from the same root with nachash, which here signifies a serpent, probably on account of the colour; as most serpents, especially those of the bright spotted kind, have a very glistening appearance, and those who have brown or yellow spots appear something like burnished brass: but the true meaning of the root cannot be easily ascertained.

On the subject of the cure of the serpent-bitten Israelites, by looking at the brazen serpent, there is a good comment in the book of Wisdom, {Apoch.} Wis 16:4-12, in which are these remarkable words: “They were admonished, having a sign of salvation, (i.e., the brazen serpent,) to put them in remembrance of the commandments of thy law. For he that turned himself towards It was not saved by the THING that he saw, but by THEE, that art the Saviour of all.” To the circumstance of looking at the brazen serpent in order to be healed, our Lord refers, John 3:14,15: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” The brazen serpent was certainly no type of Jesus Christ; but from our Lord’s words we may learn, 1. That as the serpent was lifted up on the pole or ensign, so Jesus Christ was lifted up on the cross. 2. That as the Israelites were to look at the brazen serpent, so sinners must look to Christ for salvation. 3. That as God provided no other remedy than this looking for the wounded Israelites, so he has provided no other way of salvation than faith in the blood of his Son. 4. That as he who looked at the brazen serpent was cured and did live, so he that believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ shall not perish, but have eternal life. 5. That as neither the serpent, nor looking at it, but the invisible power of GOD healed the people, so neither the cross of Christ, nor his merely being crucified, but the pardon he has bought by his blood, communicated by the powerful energy of his Spirit, saves the souls of men. May not all these things be plainly seen in the circumstances of this transaction, without making the serpent a type of Jesus Christ, (the most exceptionable that could possibly be chosen,) and running the parallel, as some have done, through ten or a dozen particulars?

Verses 8, 9. A fiery serpent — That is, the figure of a serpent in brass, which is of a fiery colour. This would require some time: God would not speedily take off the judgment, because he saw they were not thoroughly humbled. Upon a pole — That the people might see it from all parts of the camp, and therefore the pole must be high, and the serpent large. When he looketh — This method of cure was prescribed, that it might appear to be God’s own work, and not the effect of nature or art: and that it might be an eminent type of our salvation by Christ. The serpent signified Christ, who was in the likeness of sinful flesh, though without sin, as this brazen serpent had the outward shape, but not the inward poison of the other serpents: the pole resembled the cross upon which Christ was lifted up for our salvation: and looking up to it designed our believing in Christ. He lived — He was delivered from death, and cured of his disease.

9. Serpent of brass — The material was not prescribed in the command. Brass was selected, doubtless, because its lustre would enable it to be seen at a great distance. Possibly the fiery serpents may have had a coppery hue, like the copperhead of America. The size of this piece of brass was probably many times that of the fiery serpent, in order to be seen from afar. That the Israelites had abundance of metals is seen from the amount contributed to the tabernacle. If a serpent had bitten any man — This would imply that the antidote was only for those bitten previous to the lifting up of the brazen serpent; but a critical examination shows that the merciful Healer provides also for those who may be bitten subsequently. Nordh. (Gram., § 1090, 2) translates the passage thus: “And it came to pass when a serpent bit a man, and he looked at the serpent of brass, that he survived.” See Furst’s Lexicon. “It (µa) is but seldom a sign of the actual past.” This justifies the conclusion that the fiery serpents were not taken away, but that they continued to annoy the people and to kill such as despised the remedy, while the virus was harmless in the veins of him who immediately looked toward the antidote. How long the brazen serpent continued to be “lifted up” in the camp we know not; but it is probable that it continued during the remainder of the march to Canaan, and that it had a conspicuous position near the tabernacle after it was set up in the Land of Promise. We find it existing eight hundred and twenty-five years afterward (2 Kings 18:4) as an object of idolatrous worship, when the reformer, Hezekiah, because of this, broke it in pieces. He stigmatized it as “Nehushtan,” a mere piece of brass. Rationalistic writers, both Jewish and Christian, have endeavoured to divest the cure by looking at the brazen serpent of its miraculous character by the theory that Moses, by his knowledge of astrology, devised this as a talisman or charm to operate on the imaginations of the people. The more pious Jews regard the cures as the result of a lively faith in Jehovah. See Targum of Onkelos. Evangelical writers ascribe the healing power of this serpent-form to its great Antitype, lifted up in crucifixion for the salvation of all believers.

V. 10. In Oboth-Not immediately, but after two other stations mentioned, Numbers 33:43,44.

Verses 10-13. In Oboth — Not immediately, but after two other stations, mentioned chap. 33. The valley of Zared — Or rather, by the brook of Zared, which ran into the Dead sea. On the other side — Or rather, on this side of Arnon, for so it now was to the Israelites, who had not yet passed over it. Between Moab and the Amorites — Though formerly it and the land beyond it belonged to Moab, yet afterward it had been taken from them by Sihon. This is added to reconcile two seemingly contrary commands of God; the one, that of not meddling with the land of the Moabites, (Deuteronomy 2:9,) the other, that of going over Arnon and taking possession of the land beyond it, (Deuteronomy 2:24,) because, saith he, it is not now the land of the Moabites, but of the Amorites.

THE CONTINUED ITINERARY OF ISRAEL, 10-20.

The journey from Mount Hor was southward to the end of Mount Seir, around which the Israelites swept, then marched northward along the eastward border of Edom. In this narrative there is at this point a wide gap. We are told nothing of the march along the eastern edge of Edom, but suddenly find ourselves transported to the borders of Moab. But we do not need to draw upon our imagination for a description of the journey, since the natural features of the country remain unchanged. In passing northward from a point a few hours north of Ezion-geber (the giant’s backbone) the Israelites would enter the mountains, marching to Moab by the road which runs between Edom and the limestone plateau of the great eastern desert. Comp. Deuteronomy 2:8. Their route was in part the same as that of the caravans from Mecca to Damascus. The researches of modern travellers enable us almost to accompany the Hebrew host on its march. “The wonderful tenacity with which the old names keep their hold in the far East helps us to discover the exact spots of biblical scenes, while the descriptions of the localities throw most vivid light on the scriptural narratives, and afford evidence of their trustworthiness.” — Edersheim.

10. Oboth — Hebrew, hollow passes. The exact site is unknown, but from the fact that the next station was in the border of Moab, it is probable that Oboth is east of Moab. In the full itinerary, Numbers 33:41-43, two stations, Zalmonah and Punon, of doubtful identification, intervene between Mount Hor and Oboth.

Verses 10-13. In Oboth — Not immediately, but after two other stations, mentioned chap. 33. The valley of Zared — Or rather, by the brook of Zared, which ran into the Dead sea. On the other side — Or rather, on this side of Arnon, for so it now was to the Israelites, who had not yet passed over it. Between Moab and the Amorites — Though formerly it and the land beyond it belonged to Moab, yet afterward it had been taken from them by Sihon. This is added to reconcile two seemingly contrary commands of God; the one, that of not meddling with the land of the Moabites, (Deuteronomy 2:9,) the other, that of going over Arnon and taking possession of the land beyond it, (Deuteronomy 2:24,) because, saith he, it is not now the land of the Moabites, but of the Amorites.

11. Ije-abarim — Literally, the ruins of the further regions. In chap. 33:45, it is abbreviated to Iim, or “the hills of the passages.” It was on the south-east boundary of Moab, not in the pasture grounds of modern el-Belka, but in the uncultivated wilderness at some point which has not been identified. If there is any connexion between this place and Har-Abarim, the range opposite Jericho, then Abarim is doubtless a general appellation for the whole plateau east of the Dead Sea. See verse 20, note.

V. 12. The valley of Zared-Or rather, by the brook of Zared, which ran into the dead sea.

Verse 12. They-pitched in the valley of Zared.] drz ljn nachal zared. This should be translated the brook Zared, as it is in Deuteronomy 2:13, 14. This stream has its origin in the mountains eastward of Moab, and runs from east to west, and discharges itself into the Dead Sea.

Verses 10-13. In Oboth — Not immediately, but after two other stations, mentioned chap. 33. The valley of Zared — Or rather, by the brook of Zared, which ran into the Dead sea. On the other side — Or rather, on this side of Arnon, for so it now was to the Israelites, who had not yet passed over it. Between Moab and the Amorites — Though formerly it and the land beyond it belonged to Moab, yet afterward it had been taken from them by Sihon. This is added to reconcile two seemingly contrary commands of God; the one, that of not meddling with the land of the Moabites, (Deuteronomy 2:9,) the other, that of going over Arnon and taking possession of the land beyond it, (Deuteronomy 2:24,) because, saith he, it is not now the land of the Moabites, but of the Amorites.

12. The valley of Zared — More accurately, Zered. Deuteronomy 2:13. Literally, the willow brook. It is a boundary stream between Moab and Edom, flowing into the Dead Sea, supposed to be mentioned in Isaiah 15:7. It is identified by Robinson, Palmer, and Tristram as the Wady-el-Ahsa, at the very south of the Dead Sea. From this time the trials of wilderness life may be said to have ended. Crossing streams shaded by abundant vegetation, they left Edom and the desert behind them and entered on the rich uplands of Moab. To reach a region of flowing water must have put new life into the host. Memorable, indeed, was the order of the day: “Up and cross the stream Zered.” Deuteronomy 2:13. They could now dig wells and dip their pitchers in fountains.

V. 13. On the other side-Or rather, on this side of Arnon, for so it now was to the Israelites, who had not yet passed over it. Between Moab and the Amorites-Though formerly it and the land beyond it belonged to Moab, yet afterwards it had been taken from them by Sihon. This is added to reconcile two seemingly contrary commands of God, the one that of not meddling with the land of the Moabites, Deuteronomy 2:9, the other that of going over Arnon and taking possession of the land beyond it, Deuteronomy 2:24, because, saith he, it is not now the land of the Moabites, but of the Amorites.

Verse 13. Arnon] Another river which takes its rise in the mountains of Moab, and, after having separated the ancient territories of the Moabites and Ammonites, falls into the Dead Sea, near the mouth of Jordan.

Verses 10-13. In Oboth — Not immediately, but after two other stations, mentioned chap. 33. The valley of Zared — Or rather, by the brook of Zared, which ran into the Dead sea. On the other side — Or rather, on this side of Arnon, for so it now was to the Israelites, who had not yet passed over it. Between Moab and the Amorites — Though formerly it and the land beyond it belonged to Moab, yet afterward it had been taken from them by Sihon. This is added to reconcile two seemingly contrary commands of God; the one, that of not meddling with the land of the Moabites, (Deuteronomy 2:9,) the other, that of going over Arnon and taking possession of the land beyond it, (Deuteronomy 2:24,) because, saith he, it is not now the land of the Moabites, but of the Amorites.

13. Arnon — “The rushing river,” dashing through a tremendous chasm, was the first river they had seen since leaving the Nile. “Looking across its width of about three miles from crest to crest, and into its depths over two thousand feet below, its sides rich with permanent verdure, and floods of bright water sparkling far underneath, the joy after a long life in the thirsty and barren wilderness must have been indescribable.” — Geikie. The Arnon rises in the mountains of Arabia, flows westward about eighty miles through the desert, and falls into the Dead Sea. Joshua 12:1, note. The Arnon is the modern Wady Mojib. Israel encamped on its south side waiting the return of the embassy to Sihon sent to ask for a passage through his territory. Tristram has given a most vivid description of the gorge through which the Arnon flows. From crest to crest is three miles, the height of the southern bank is 2,150 feet, and that of the northern is 1,950. “Of course, the army of Israel could not have passed the river here, but higher up, to the east, ‘in the wilderness.’” The Revised Version translates verses 14, 15, and 18 in poetical form, also verses 27-30.

V. 14. The book of the wars of the Lord-This seems to have been some poem or narration of the wars and victories of the Lord, either by: or relating to the Israelites: which may be asserted without any prejudice to the integrity of the holy scripture, because this book doth not appear to have been written by a prophet, er to be designed for a part of the canon, which yet Moses might quote, as St. Paul doth some of the heathen poets. And as St. Luke assures us, that many did write an history of the things done, and said by Christ, Luke 1:1, whose writings were never received as canonical, the like may be conceived concerning this and some few other books mentioned in the old testament. The brooks-The brook, the plural number for the singular, as the plural number rivers is used concerning Jordan, Psalm 74:15, and concerning Tigris, Nahum 2:6, and concerning Euphrates, Psalm 137:1, all which may be to called because of the several little streams into which they were divided.

Verse 14. The book of the wars of the Lord] There are endless conjectures about this book, both among ancients and moderns. Dr. Lightfoot’s opinion is the most simple, and to me bears the greatest appearance of being the true one. “This book seems to have been some book of remembrances and directions, written by Moses for Joshua’s private instruction for the management of the wars after him. See Exodus 17:14-16. It may be that this was the same book which is called the book of Jasher, i.e., the book of the upright, or a directory for Joshua, from Moses, what to do and what to expect in his wars; and in this book it seems as if Moses directed the setting up of archery, see 2 Samuel 1:18, and warrants Joshua to command the sun, and expect its obedience, Joshua 10:13.”

What he did in the Red Sea, and in the brooks of Arnon] This clause is impenetrably obscure. All the versions, all the translators, and all the commentators, have been puzzled with it. Scarcely any two agree. The original is hpwsb bhw ta eth vaheb besuphah, which our translators render, what he did in the Red Sea, following here the Chaldee Targum; but not satisfied with this version, they have put the most difficult words in English letters in the margin, Vaheb in Suphah. Calmet’s conjecture here is ingenious, and is adopted by Houbigant; instead of bhw vaheb, he reads drz zared. Now a z zain may be easily mistaken for a w vau, and vice versa; and a h he for a r, resh, if the left limb happened to be a little obliterated, which frequently occurs, not only in MSS., but in printed books; the b beth also might be mistaken for a d daleth, if the ruled line on which it stood happened in that place to be a little thicker or blacker than usual. Thus then bhw vaheb might be easily formed out of drz zared, mentioned Numbers 21:12; the whole might then be read, They encamped at the brook Zared, and they came to Suphah, and thence to the brook Arnon. Take the passage as we may, it is evidently defective. As I judge the whole clause to have been 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 14. The book of the wars of the Lord — This seems to have been some poem or narration of the wars and victories of the Lord, either by, or relating to the Israelites: which may be asserted without any prejudice to the integrity of the holy Scripture, because this book doth not appear to have been written by a prophet, or designed for a part of the canon, but which Moses might quote, as St. Paul doth some of the heathen poets. And, as St. Luke assures us that many did write a history of the things done and said by Christ, (Luke 1:1,) whose writings were never received as canonical, the like may be conceived concerning this and some few other books mentioned in the Old Testament. The brooks — The brook, the plural number for the singular, as the plural number, rivers, is used concerning Jordan, (Psalm 74:15,) and concerning Tigris, (Nahum 2:6,) and concerning Euphrates, (Psalm 137:1,) all which may be so called because of the several little streams into which they were divided.

Ver. 14. The book of the wars of the Lord. A book of poetry, containing the fugitive odes, which celebrated the victories that the Lord had accorded to his people. It is presumed that some of those songs are still extant in the Psalms. This book of the wars was in high repute among the Hebrews, and was more ancient than the Pentateuch. It was lost by the Jews, as also the book of Gad, of Nathan, of Iddo, and of others. From odes of this kind, as well as histories, Homer composed his Iliad.

14. Book of the wars of the Lord — This was probably a collection of ballads composed beside the watchfires of the camp in commemoration of the victories of the Israelites over their enemies. From the title we infer that religious inspiration mingled largely with the poetic. In the spirit of true piety the victories are ascribed, not to the prowess of Israel, but to the might of Jehovah. Possibly this book is referred to in Exodus 17:14-16. The fragment here quoted is obscure because it is sundered from the context. It is quoted simply to confirm the statement that the Arnon is the boundary of Moab. What he did — This is an erroneous translation of bhw, Vaheb, the name of a place on the border of the Amorite and Moabite territories where Israel conquered in battle. In the Red Sea — This is another erroneous translation of Suphah, mistaken for Suph, the Red Sea. The exact location of Suphah is as little known as is that of Vaheb, both being found in no other place than in the following fragment of the old song:

“Vaheb in Suphah.

And the valleys of Arnon,

And the slope of the valleys

That inclineth toward the dwelling of Ar,

And leaneth upon the border of Moab.”

V. 15. Ar-A chief city in Moab.

Verses 15, 16. Ar — A chief city in Moab. Beer — This place, and Mattanah, Nahaliel, and Bamoth, named here, (verse 19,) are not mentioned among those places where they pitched or encamped, chap. 33. Probably they did not pitch or encamp in these places, but only pass by or through them. I will give them water — In a miraculous manner. Before they prayed, God granted, and prevented them with the blessings of goodness. And as the brazen serpent was the figure of Christ, so is this well a figure of the Spirit, who is poured forth for our comfort, and from him flow rivers of living waters.

15. Ar is identified by Dr. Robinson with the modern Rabbah. But Ritter, Hengstenberg, Keil, Kurtz, Dietrich, and Raumer in his later view, all agree that it was situated near Aroer, on the Arnon. Dr. Ridgaway sustains Dr. Robinson. “The ruins here are second in extent and interest only to those of Rab Ammon. The Roman road appears to have divided the city into two parts. The more extensive ruins lie on the eastern side. On the west are two Corinthian columns, very graceful indeed, and about two hundred feet apart. If these belonged to the same building, as they probably did, it must have been very large and grand. Among the ruins on the east side are several large mounds, which probably cover fallen buildings. I observed one large depression into which access was gained by what at first seemed to be a succession of steps, and in the bottom of which was an extensive pavement. This I took to have been a theatre.” — The Lord’s Land.

V. 16. Beer-This place and Mattanah, Nahaliel, and Bamoth named here, Numbers 21:19, are not mentioned among those places where they pitched or encamped, Numbers 33:1-49. Probably they did not pitch or encamp in these places, but only pass by or through them. I will give them water-In a miraculous manner. Before they prayed, God granted, and prevented them with the blessings of goodness. And as the brasen serpent was the figure of Christ, so is this well a figure of the spirit, who is poured forth for our comfort, and from him flow rivers of living waters.

Verses 15, 16. Ar — A chief city in Moab. Beer — This place, and Mattanah, Nahaliel, and Bamoth, named here, (verse 19,) are not mentioned among those places where they pitched or encamped, chap. 33. Probably they did not pitch or encamp in these places, but only pass by or through them. I will give them water — In a miraculous manner. Before they prayed, God granted, and prevented them with the blessings of goodness. And as the brazen serpent was the figure of Christ, so is this well a figure of the Spirit, who is poured forth for our comfort, and from him flow rivers of living waters.

16. Beer, so called because of the well which was there dug by the princes, is possibly the modern Beer-elim, or “well of heroes.” Isaiah 15:8. Gather the people together — They were to be witnesses of the last miraculous production of water. According to Jewish tradition a spot, dry and sandy, was pointed out by Moses. The princes surrounded with their staves the place where the water was to burst forth. The parched soil was pierced by the staves and a cooling stream gushed forth. Later commentators think that there is no trace of a miracle in this account. I will give them water — According to the tradition in part adopted by St. Paul, this was one of the appearances, the last before crossing the Jordan, of the water which had “followed” the people from Rephidim through their wanderings. After Miriam’s death special acts were necessary to evoke the water. See especially 1 Corinthians 10:4, note.

V. 17. Spring up-Heb. ascend, that is, let thy waters, which now lie hid below in the earth, ascend for our use. It is either a prediction that it should spring up, or a prayer that it might.

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 Clarke’s remarks “Exodus 15:1”, &c.

Verses 17, 18. Spring up — Hebrew, ascend; that is, let thy waters, which now lie hid below in the earth, ascend for our use. It is either a prediction that it should spring up, or a prayer that it might. With their staves — Probably as Moses smote the rock with his rod, so they struck the earth with their staves, as a sign that God would cause the water to flow out of the earth where they smote it, as he did before out of the rock. Or, perhaps, they made holes with their staves in the sandy ground, and God caused the water immediately to spring up.

17. Israel sang this song —

“Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it;

The well which the princes digged,

Which the nobles of the people delved

With the sceptre and with their staves.”

“The arrival in Moab marks, indeed, the first outburst of Hebrew poetry. Ordinary words would no longer suffice to give expression to the joy at entering on fertile regions, and leaving the desert behind them.” — Geikie. This song, first sung at the digging of the well, was afterward, no doubt, commonly used by those who came to draw water. The maidens of Israel chanted it one to another, verse by verse, as they toiled at the bucket, and thus beguiled their labour. But its peculiar charm lies in the characteristic touch which manifestly connects it with the life of the time to which the narrative assigns it. The leaders were not above doing some part of the work. “This little carol is fresh and lusty with long life; it sparkles like the water of the well whose springing up first occasioned it; it is the expression of lively confidence in the sympathy of their leaders, which might be relied on in all emergencies.” — Ewald.

V. 18. With their staves-Probably as Moses smote the rock with his rod, so they struck the earth with their staves, as a sign that God would cause the water to flow out of the earth where they smote it, as he did before out of the rock. Perhaps they made holes with their staves in the sandy ground, and God caused the water immediately to spring up.

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 there any other idea conveyed by our translation? The word wrpj chapharu, which is translated they digged, should be rendered they searched out, which is a frequent meaning of the root; and במשענתם bemishanotham, which we render with their staves, should be translated on their borders or confines, from the root שענ shaan, to lie along. With these corrections the whole song may be read thus:—

Spring up, O well! Answer ye to it.

(i.e. Repeat the other part of the song.)

The well, the princes searched it out.

(This is the answer.)

The nobles of the people have digged it.

By a decree, upon their own borders.

(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.

Verses 17, 18. Spring up — Hebrew, ascend; that is, let thy waters, which now lie hid below in the earth, ascend for our use. It is either a prediction that it should spring up, or a prayer that it might. With their staves — Probably as Moses smote the rock with his rod, so they struck the earth with their staves, as a sign that God would cause the water to flow out of the earth where they smote it, as he did before out of the rock. Or, perhaps, they made holes with their staves in the sandy ground, and God caused the water immediately to spring up.

18. Mattanah cannot be identified. Le Clerc suggests that it may be the same as the mysterious Vaheb, (verse 14, note,) since its meaning in Arabic is the same as that of Mattanah in Hebrew. Neither this nor the other names occurring in this context are found in the catalogue of stations in chap. 33. This discrepancy may arise from the fact that the same station had several names, or from two contiguous stations being occupied at the same time. Kurtz thinks that the object of the writer in the thirty-third chapter is statistical, that is, to set forth, not all the halting places but the regular camps where the tabernacle was erected, while in earlier passages the object is historical. Hence more places are enumerated, as in verse 11 and Numbers 22:1, seven places are mentioned between Ije-abarim and the plains of Moab; in Numbers 33:44-48, only three places.

19. Nahaliel to Bamoth — Neither of these can be certainly identified. The former is supposed to be some wady north of the Arnon, and the latter Knobel identifies with “the high places of Baal,” or Bamoth-baal (Numbers 22:41) on the modern Jebel Attarus, the site being marked by stone heaps. See Joshua 13:17, note.

V. 20. Pisgah-This was the top of those high hills of Abarim.

Verse 20. Pisgah — This was the top of those high hills of Abarim.

20. In the valley — Rather, to the valley, which is in the fields of Moab upon the top of Pisgah. The height of Pisgah is in grammatical apposition with the field of Moab, a portion of the perfectly treeless table-land stretching from Rabbath Ammon to the Arnon. Among biblical problems on the east of the Jordan the solution of none has enlisted deeper interest than the identification of long-lost Pisgah. The great mistake for ages was in the attempt to find some peak higher than the general level of the table-land of Moab, from which all the Land of Promise can be seen. But Dr. J.L. Porter, on the south bank of Wady Hesban, about seven miles west of Heshbon, recently noticed some projecting swells of the range, not higher than others, but shooting out farther west, so as to command the Jordan Valley, and suggested that one of these might be Nebo. Professor Paine, in the third statement of the Palestine Exploration Society, in 1873, in an elaborate monograph of nearly ninety pages, entitled, The Identification of Pisgah, cogently argues, after a month’s investigation of all the district, that a double peaked hill or swell called Jebel Siaghah is the true Pisgah. The view from the southwest peak, 2,360 feet above the sea, extending from Dan on the north to the far distant Negeb, fulfils every requisite of the view which Moses beheld from Pisgah, unless it be all Judah unto the Mediterranean Sea, for which there is no peak east of the Jordan high enough. See Bibliotheca Sacra, Jan., 1876. Dr. Ridgaway dissents from the conclusion of Professor Paine, and sides with Tristram and M. de Saulcy, in the identification of Jebel Neba as the true Pisgah, chiefly because this affords an eastward view, which Jebel Siaghah does not. See Deuteronomy 3:27. “My own impression is, that Abarim was the name of the whole cluster of hills immediately overlooking the Jordan in this region, as the term signifies ‘borders;’ that Nebo was the title of a particular mountain, with one or more peaks, and that Pisgah was the special summit of Nebo. I remember very clearly that its top looked, as we rode by, just like a hill, and seemed relatively so little elevated, as we approached from the east, that we hardly thought it worth while to go on to it. Taking the itinerary of Israel, as given in Numbers 33:46-48, nothing can seem more natural.” — Ridgaway. Jeshimon — Literally, the wilderness. It is doubtful whether it is a proper or a common noun. Edersheim says that it is the tract of land which extends to the northeastern shore of the Dead Sea. Tristram identifies it with “the barren plain of the Ghor,” about the mouth of the Jordan. But Professor Paine, from every mention of the place, comes to the following conclusion: “So Jeshimon is the wilderness where a line drawn to the north from Maon (1 Samuel 23:24) intersects another drawn west from Pisgah, and just there is a region every way worthy of the name.”

V. 21. Sent messengers-By God’s allowance, that so Sihon’s malice might be the more evident and inexcusable, and their title to his country more clear in the judgment of all men, as being gotten by a just war, into which they were forced for their own defence.

Verses 21, 22. Sent messengers — By God’s allowance, that so Sihon’s malice might be the more evident and inexcusable, and their title to his country more clear in the judgment of all men, as being gotten by a just war, into which they were forced for their own defence. Let me pass — They spoke what they seriously intended, and would have done, if he had given them a quiet passage.

VICTOR OVER SIHON AND OVER OG, 21-35.

The Moabites and the Amorites having refused to Moses passage through their countries, an entrance to Palestine could now only be gained by war, a resort which he much desired to avoid, especially a collision with Moab, whom Jehovah forbade Israel to “distress.” Deuteronomy 2:9. But the result was decisive. The Amorites under their king Sihon, who had years before invaded both Ammon and Moab, and wrested from them almost the whole country between the Arnon and the Jabbok, bore the brunt of the fight with the Israelites, and were defeated with great slaughter.

21. Sihon — “The Destroyer,” literally, “He who swept all before him.” This formidable chieftain was evidently a man of great courage and daring. He did not hesitate or temporize like Balak, but at once gathered all his people, and attacked Israel as soon as he appeared on his borders. Amorites — See Joshua 2:10; 3:10, notes.

V. 22. Let me pass-They spoke what they seriously intended and would have done, if he had given them quiet passage.

Verses 21, 22. Sent messengers — By God’s allowance, that so Sihon’s malice might be the more evident and inexcusable, and their title to his country more clear in the judgment of all men, as being gotten by a just war, into which they were forced for their own defence. Let me pass — They spoke what they seriously intended, and would have done, if he had given them a quiet passage.

VICTOR OVER SIHON AND OVER OG, 21-35.

The Moabites and the Amorites having refused to Moses passage through their countries, an entrance to Palestine could now only be gained by war, a resort which he much desired to avoid, especially a collision with Moab, whom Jehovah forbade Israel to “distress.” Deuteronomy 2:9. But the result was decisive. The Amorites under their king Sihon, who had years before invaded both Ammon and Moab, and wrested from them almost the whole country between the Arnon and the Jabbok, bore the brunt of the fight with the Israelites, and were defeated with great slaughter.

21. Sihon — “The Destroyer,” literally, “He who swept all before him.” This formidable chieftain was evidently a man of great courage and daring. He did not hesitate or temporize like Balak, but at once gathered all his people, and attacked Israel as soon as he appeared on his borders. Amorites — See Joshua 2:10; 3:10, notes.

23. Jahaz — “A place trodden down.” See Joshua 13:18, note. Fought against Israel — According to Josephus the Amorite army contained every man in the nation fit to bear arms. Being unable to fight when away from the shelter of their cities, and being galled by the slings and arrows of the Hebrews, in their intense thirst the Amorites rushed to the stream, and to the shelter of the ravine of the Arnon, and were slaughtered in vast numbers.

V. 24. From Arnon-Or, which reached from Arnon; and so here is a description or limitation of Sihon’s conquest and kingdom, that is, extended only from Arnon, unto the children of Ammon; and then the following words, for the border of the children of Ammon was strong, come in very fitly, not as a reason why the Israelites did not conquer the Ammonites, for they were absolutely forbidden to meddle with them, Deuteronomy 3:8, but as a reason why Sihon could not enlarge his conquests to the Ammonites, as he had done to the Moabites. Jabbok-A river by which the countries of Ammon and Moab were in part bounded and divided. Strong-Either by the advantage of the river, or by their strong holds in their frontiers.

Verse 24. From Arnon — Or, which reached from Arnon; and so here is a description or limitation of Sihon’s conquest and kingdom, that it extended only from Arnon unto the children of Ammon — And then the following words, for the border of the children of Ammon was strong, come in very fitly, not as a reason why the Israelites did not conquer the Ammonites, for they were absolutely forbidden to meddle with them, (Deuteronomy 3:8,) but as a reason why Sihon could not enlarge his conquests to the Ammonites, as he had done to the Moabites. Jabbok — A river by which the countries of Ammon and Moab were in part bounded and divided. Strong — Either by the advantage of the river, or by their strong holds in their frontiers.

24. Jabbok — This is one of the two important streams flowing into the Jordan on the east. It was the scene of Jacob’s wrestling with the angel, and of his meeting with Esau. See Genesis 30:22; Joshua 12:2, notes. Unto the children of Ammon — This difficult passage is thus explained. The Ammonites at one time possessed the whole country between the rivers Arnon and Jabbok. Being driven out by Sihon they took possession of the eastern plain and the eastern defiles of Gilead, around the sources and upper branches of the Jabbok. For this reason the border of the children of Ammon was strong, that is, well fortified, so that Sihon had only been able to push his conquests to the upper Jabbok, not into the territory of the Ammonites which Israel was forbidden by Jehovah to enter. See Deuteronomy 2:19.

25. Heshbon — See Joshua 13:17, note. Villages — Hebrew, daughters, that is, lesser towns.

V. 26. Was the city of Sihon-This is added as a reason why Israel took possession of this land, because it was not now the land of the Moabites, but in the possession of the Amorites. The former king-The predecessor of Balak, who was the present king. See the wisdom of providence, which prepares long before, for the accomplishing God’s purposes in their season! This country being designed for Israel, is before-hand put into the hand of the Amorites, who little think they have it but as trustees, till Israel comes of age. We understand not the vast reaches of providence: but known unto God are all his works!

Verse 26. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, &c.] 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 26. Heshbon was the city of Sihon — This is added as a reason why Israel took possession of this land, because it was not now the land of the Moabites, but in the possession of the Amorites. The former king — The predecessor of Balak, who was the present king. See the wisdom of God’s providence, which prepares long before for the accomplishment of his purposes in their season! This country, being designed for Israel, is beforehand put into the hand of the Amorites, who little think they have it but as trustees, till Israel comes of age. We understand not the vast schemes of Providence: but known unto God are all his works!

VICTOR OVER SIHON AND OVER OG, 21-35.

The Moabites and the Amorites having refused to Moses passage through their countries, an entrance to Palestine could now only be gained by war, a resort which he much desired to avoid, especially a collision with Moab, whom Jehovah forbade Israel to “distress.” Deuteronomy 2:9. But the result was decisive. The Amorites under their king Sihon, who had years before invaded both Ammon and Moab, and wrested from them almost the whole country between the Arnon and the Jabbok, bore the brunt of the fight with the Israelites, and were defeated with great slaughter.

21. Sihon — “The Destroyer,” literally, “He who swept all before him.” This formidable chieftain was evidently a man of great courage and daring. He did not hesitate or temporize like Balak, but at once gathered all his people, and attacked Israel as soon as he appeared on his borders. Amorites — See Joshua 2:10; 3:10, notes.

V. 27. In proverbs-The poets or other ingenious persons, of the Amorites or Canaanites, who made this following song of triumph over the vanquished Moabites: which is here brought in, as a proof that this was now Sihon’s land, and as an evidence of the just judgment of God in spoiling the spoilers, and subduing those who insulted over their conquered enemies. Come into Heshbon-These are the words either of Sihon speaking to his people, or of the people exhorting one another to come and possess the city which they had taken. Of Sihon-That which once was the royal city of the king of Moab, but now is the city of Sihon.

Verse 27. They that speak in proverbs] המשלים hammoshelim, from lvm mashal, to rule, to exercise 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 Poetæ among the Greeks and Latins, the [Arabic] shaara among the Arabs, who were esteemed as Divine persons, and who had their name from [Arabic] 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 [Arabic] 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 bards among the ancient Druids, and the Sennachies among the ancient Celtic inhabitants of these nations.

The ode from the 27th to the 30th verse is composed of three parts. The first takes in verses 27 and 28; the second verse 29; and the third verse 30. The first records with bitter irony the late insults of Sihon and his subjects over the conquered Moabites.

The second expresses the compassion of the Israelites over the desolations of Moab, with a bitter sarcasm against 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 third sets forth the revenge taken by Israel upon the whole country of Sihon, from Heshbon to Dibon, and from Nophah even to Medeba. See Isaiah 15:1,2.

The whole poem, divided into its proper hemistichs, as it stands in Kennicott’s Hebrew Bible, is as follows:—

VERSE 27. PART I

Come ye to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt;

The city of Sihon, let it be established.

VERSE 28

For from Heshbon the fire went out,

And a flame from the city of Sihon:

It hath consumed the city of Moab,

With the lords of the heights of Arnon.

VERSE 29. PART II

Alas for thee, O Moab!

Thou hast perished, O people of Chemosh!

He hath given up his fugitive sons

And his daughters into captivity,

To the king of the Amorites, Sihon.

VERSE 30. PART III

But on them have WE lifted destruction,

From Heshbon even to Dibon;

We have destroyed even to Nophah,

The fire did reach to Medebah.

See Kennicott’s Remarks.

Verse 27. In proverbs — The poets or other ingenious persons of the Amorites or Canaanites, who made this following song over the vanquished Moabites, which is here brought in as a proof that this was now Sihon’s land, and as an evidence of the just judgment of God in spoiling the spoilers, and subduing those who insulted over their conquered enemies. Come into Heshbon — These are the words either of Sihon speaking to his people, or of the people exhorting one another to come and possess the city which they had taken. Of Sihon — That which once was the royal city of the king of Moab, but now is the city of Sihon.

27. They that speak in proverbs — The ballad-singers. Here we have a scrap of Amorite poetry in three strophes: —

“Come ye to Heshbon,

Let the city of Sihon be built and established!

For fire went forth from Heshbon,

A flame out of the stronghold of Sihon,

Which devoured Ar of Moab,

The lords of the high places of Arnon.

“Woe to thee, Moab!

Thou art undone, O people of Chemosh!

He hath given up his sons as fugitives,

And his daughters into captivity,

To Sihon, king of the Amorites.

“Then we cast them down; Heshbon perished even unto Dibon, And we laid (it) waste unto Nophah, with fire unto Medeba.” If this song be of Hebrew origin, then the former part of it is a biting taunt: “Come, ye Amorites, into your city of Heshbon and build it up again. Ye boasted that ye had burnt it and driven out the Moabites; but now we are come in our turn, and have burnt Heshbon and driven you out.”

V. 28. A fire-The fury of war, which is fitly compared to fire. Out of Heshbon-That city which before was a refuge and defence to all the country, now is turned into a great annoyance. It hath consumed Ar-This may be understood not of the city Ar, but of the people or the country subject or belonging to that great and royal city. The lords of the high places-The princes or governors of the strong holds, which were frequently in high places, especially in that mountainous country, and which were in divers parts all along the river Arnon. So the Amorites triumphed over the vanquished Moabites. But the triumphing of the wicked is short!

Verse 28. A fire — The fury of war, which is fitly compared to fire. Out of Heshbon — That city which before was a refuge and defence to all the country, now is turned into a great annoyance. It hath consumed Ar — This may be understood not of the city Ar, but of the people or the country subject or belonging to that great and royal city. The lords of the high places — The princes or governors of the strong holds, which were frequently in high places, especially in that mountainous country, and which were in divers parts all along the river Arnon. So the Amorites triumphed over the vanquished Moabites. But the triumphing of the wicked is short!

Ver. 28. A fire; the flame of war, as in Isaiah 47:14. Amos 1:7.

28. Ar — See verse 15, note. The high places of Arnon are mentioned as the limits to which Sihon had carried his victorious supremacy. The lords are the Moabites.

V. 29. People of Chemosh-The worshippers of Chemosh: so the God of the Moabites was called. He, that is, their God, hath delivered up his own people to his and their enemies; nor could he secure even those that had escaped the sword, but suffered them to be carried into captivity. The words of this and the following verse seem to be not a part of that triumphant song made, by some Amoritish poet, which seems to be concluded, Numbers 21:28, but of the Israelites making their observation upon it. And here they scoff at the impotency not only of the Moabites, but of their God also, who could not save his people from the sword of Sihon and the Amorites.

Verse 29. People of Chemosh — The worshippers of Chemosh; so the god of the Moabites was called. He — That is, their god, hath delivered up his own people to his and their enemies; nor could he secure even those that had escaped the sword, but suffered them to be carried into captivity. The words of this and the following verse seem to be, not a part of that triumphant song, made by some Amoritish poet, which seems to be concluded verse 28, but of the Israelites making their observation upon it. And here they scoff at the impotency, not only of the Moabites, but of their god also, who could not save his people from the sword of Sihon and the Amorites.

29. Chemosh was the chief god of the Moabites and of the Ammonites, akin to Milcom, Baal, and Moloch. He was both a war-god and a sun-god, being found in both these characters upon the coins of Areopolis, standing upon a column, with a sword in his right hand and a shield in his left, and with two blazing torches by his side. Children were sacrificed to him in times of great distress. 2 Kings 3:27.

V. 30. Though you feeble Moabites, and your God too, could not resist Sihon, we Israelites, by the help of our God, have shot, with success and victory, at them, at Sihon and his Amorites. Heshbon-The royal city of Sihon, and by him lately repaired, Is perished-Is taken away from Sihon, and so is all his country, even as far as Dibon.

Verse 30. Though you, feeble Moabites, and your god too, could not resist Sihon, we Israelites, by the help of our God, have shot — With success and victory; at them — At Sihon and his Amorites. Heshbon — The royal city of Sihon, and by him lately repaired; is perished — Is taken away from Sihon, and so is all his country, even as far as Dibon.

30. Dibon — See Joshua 13:17, note. Which reacheth — Here there is supposed to be an error in the Hebrew rva, which, being written for d[ va, with fire unto. Thus the Masoretic mark. The Seventy render it pur epi, fire upon. Medeba — “Here,” says Dr. Ridgaway, “are some of the most remarkable ruins of the country.” See Joshua 13:16, note.

VICTOR OVER SIHON AND OVER OG, 21-35.

The Moabites and the Amorites having refused to Moses passage through their countries, an entrance to Palestine could now only be gained by war, a resort which he much desired to avoid, especially a collision with Moab, whom Jehovah forbade Israel to “distress.” Deuteronomy 2:9. But the result was decisive. The Amorites under their king Sihon, who had years before invaded both Ammon and Moab, and wrested from them almost the whole country between the Arnon and the Jabbok, bore the brunt of the fight with the Israelites, and were defeated with great slaughter.

21. Sihon — “The Destroyer,” literally, “He who swept all before him.” This formidable chieftain was evidently a man of great courage and daring. He did not hesitate or temporize like Balak, but at once gathered all his people, and attacked Israel as soon as he appeared on his borders. Amorites — See Joshua 2:10; 3:10, notes.

V. 32. Jaazer-One of the cities of Moab formerly taken from them by Sihon, and now taken from him by the Israelites.

Verse 32. Jaazer — One of the cities of Moab, formerly taken from them by Sihon, and now taken from him by the Israelites.

32. Jaazer — See Joshua 13:25. After this reconnaissance it was captured and destroyed, as we infer from Numbers 32:35.

V. 33. Og-Who also was a king of the Amorites. And it may seem that Sihon and Og were the leaders or captains of two great colonies which came out of Canaan, and drove out the former inhabitants of these places. Bashan-A rich country, famous for its pastures and breed of cattle, and for its oaks.

Verse 33. Og — Who was also a king of the Amorites. And it may seem that Sihon and Og were the leaders or captains of two great colonies which came out of Canaan, and drove out the former inhabitants of these places. Bashan — A rich country, famous for its pastures and breed of cattle, and for its oaks.

33. Bashan is thus bounded: on the north by Mount Hermon, on the east by Salcah, the Geshurites, and the Maachathites, on the south by the “border of Gilead,” and on the west by the Jordan valley. This, with “half Gilead,” was allotted to the half-tribe of Manasseh. Recent explorers have discovered in this region almost fabulous wonders in the number of ruined cities, their cyclopean architecture and surprising preservation confirming the scriptural statement that the Rephaim, the giants, once flourished here. “The cities built and occupied some forty centuries ago by these old giants exist even yet. I have traversed their streets; I have opened the doors of their houses; I have slept peacefully in their long-deserted halls.” — J.L. Porter. “The richness of the whole district was of itself sufficient attraction for the invaders, for the oaks of Bashan and the vast herds of cattle that roamed its forest glades and green meadows were its boast and glory, while the landscapes and pastoral wealth of Gilead were hardly less famous. Lovely natural parks, frequent glades covered with heavy crops of wheat and barley, and with trees and shrubs grouped in charming variety, dark forests forming the background, charm the traveller even now.” — Geikie. Og, the last representative of the giant race, was lord of sixty fenced cities. Himself, his sons, and his people were defeated and exterminated by Israel at Edrei after the conquest of Sihon, his friend and ally according to Josephus. His enormous stature is corroborated by an appeal to a relic still existing in the time of the author of Deuteronomy 3:11. His unusual size and prowess as a warrior excited among the Israelites a dread which God himself alleviated by his special encouragement to Moses before the battle, “Fear him not.” Edrei — “The Strong.” There were apparently two towns in Bashan of this name. One is mentioned in Deuteronomy 1:4, and Joshua 12:4, identified as the modern Dera, or Draa, on the east of the pilgrim-road between Remtha and Mezareib. At this southern Edrei Keil supposes that the great battle was fought, from the improbability that King Og would suffer Israel’s invading army to march to the northern frontier of his kingdom, the site of the other Edrei, without contesting his advance. See Joshua 13:31, note. The capital of Og was almost unassailable, being built in a hollow artificially scooped out of the top of a hill, which the deep gorge of the Hiero-max isolates from the country around. Its streets may be still seen running inall directions beneath the present town of Adraha.

34. I have delivered — The promise is strengthened by the past tense. Israel’s fidelity is the implied condition. Israel’s unbelief would have lost the battle.

Verse 35. So they smote 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. 136, 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 hwhy Jehovah amount to the sum of six and twenty.”

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, Numbers 33:40,) 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 Canaan, 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, (Numbers 21:1,) 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 (Numbers 21:2,3) 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.

“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 Israelites, amounting to forty-two, are recorded all together, in historical succession, in Numbers 33:1-49, where Ije-abarim 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 Numbers 33:1-49 has occasioned great perplexity as to Numbers 21:10-20, where, after the stations at Oboth and Ije-abarim, in Numbers 21:10, 11, we have, in Numbers 21:19, 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 Numbers 33:44-48. “But there is, in reality, no inconsistency here. In the plain and historical catalogue (Numbers 33:44-48) 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 Numbers 33:44-48. 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, (Numbers 23:28,) which Peor undoubtedly was in Moab. He took him to another hill in Moab, when he took him (Numbers 23:14) to the top of Pisgah, in the field of Zophim. And if the Pisgah or hill in Numbers 21:20, 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. Fagius says: Nomen loci, ab eventu aquarum quas Dominus ibi dedit, sic appellati; hntm 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.’ laylhn Nahaliel is torrentes Dei; i.e., great streams, particularly seasonable or salutary. And twmb Bamoth (Numbers 21:28) 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 Deuteronomy 8:15) 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 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 authority; 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, perhaps, these streams descended. And the thanksgiving 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 r[ 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 Heshbon, 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 Numbers 21:14; and has often been called the fragment of an old Amorite 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 taw hpwsb bhw ta ארנון syltnh, usually supposed to contain this fragment, do not signify, as in our English version, 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 Deuteronomy 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 and Og, he reminds them of Pharaoh, &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, (Deuteronomy 2:18,) 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 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 hitherto!

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.

NUMBERS

35. There was none left him alive — As in the case of Sihon and his kingdom — “We utterly destroyed the men and the women and the little ones of every city; we left none to remain.” Deuteronomy 2:34. Such was the command, Numbers 33:52; Deuteronomy 7:2, and the promise, Exodus 34:11; Leviticus 26:6-8. No fewer than sixty cities, “fenced with high walls, gates, and bars,” (Deuteronomy 3:4, 5,) had to be taken, but they all fell before the vigorous assaults of the invaders, who trusted in Jehovah, their great ally. A notable trophy of this campaign, (Deuteronomy 3:11,) the gigantic iron bedstead, or, as some think, sarcophagus, of King Og, was laid up in Rabbath.

That the whole of the country was not conquered before the invasion of Western Palestine is evident from notices of a later date, but it was so thoroughly subdued that preparations could now be safely made to move on the enemy’s fortified cities west of the Jordan. Hence the camp was pitched, apparently for a long time, in the fertile trench of that river immediately above its entrance into the Dead Sea.