Numbers · Chapter 33

Verses 1, 2. These are the journeys of Israel — As the peculiar providence of God remarkably appeared in the protection and miraculous preservation of the Israelites, from the time they left Egypt till they came to the borders of Canaan, so Moses was particularly commissioned to preserve a history of them for the benefit of posterity. In execution of this commission, he wrote their goings out — Kept an account of their journeys, and of all the remarkable occurrences in the way, for his own satisfaction and the instruction of others. And he here recapitulates the principal stages of their long journey, and sets them all before the reader in one view, that those who would take the pains to examine might be satisfied that it was only by a train of unprecedented miracles that such a multitude of people had been fed and preserved every day, for forty years together, in a barren and unhospitable desert, Jeremiah 2:6; Deuteronomy 29:6. These are their journeys — It is to be observed that Moses only mentions those places where they encamped for some time, passing by others where they only halted for a little refreshment.

Verse 1. The journeys; the mansions, or resting places. Some divines have spiritualized these names very curiously, to illustrate our journey to heaven.

V. 2. And Moses wrote their goings out-When they set out, God ordered him to keep a journal of all the remarkable occurrences in the way, that it might be a satisfaction to himself and an instruction to others. It may be of use to Christians, to preserve an account of the providences of God concerning them, the constant series of mercies they have experienced, and especially those turns which have made some days of their lives more remarkable.

Verse 2. And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys] We may consider the whole book of Numbers as a diary, and indeed the first book of travels ever published. Dr. Shaw, Dr. Pococke, and several others, have endeavoured to mark out the route of the Israelites, through this great, dreary, and trackless desert, and have ascertained many of the stages here described. Indeed there are sufficient evidences of this important journey still remaining, for the descriptions of many are so particular that the places are readily ascertained by them; but this is not the case with all. Israel was the Church of God in the wilderness, and its unsettled, wandering state under Moses may point out the unsettled state of religion under the law. Their being brought, after the death of Moses, into the promised rest by Joshua, may point out the establishment, fixedness, and certainty of that salvation provided by Jesus Christ, of whom Joshua, in name and conduct, was a remarkable type. Mr. Ainsworth imagines that the forty-two stations here enumerated, through which the Israelites were brought to the verge of the promised land, and afterwards taken over Jordan into the rest which God had promised, point out the forty-two generations from Abraham unto Christ, through whom the Saviour of the world came, by whose blood we have an entrance into the holiest, and enjoy the inheritance among the saints in light. And Mr. Bromley, in his Way to the Sabbath of Rest, considers each name and place as descriptive of the spiritual state through which a soul passes in its way to the kingdom of God. But in cases of this kind fancy has much more to do than judgment.

Verses 1, 2. These are the journeys of Israel — As the peculiar providence of God remarkably appeared in the protection and miraculous preservation of the Israelites, from the time they left Egypt till they came to the borders of Canaan, so Moses was particularly commissioned to preserve a history of them for the benefit of posterity. In execution of this commission, he wrote their goings out — Kept an account of their journeys, and of all the remarkable occurrences in the way, for his own satisfaction and the instruction of others. And he here recapitulates the principal stages of their long journey, and sets them all before the reader in one view, that those who would take the pains to examine might be satisfied that it was only by a train of unprecedented miracles that such a multitude of people had been fed and preserved every day, for forty years together, in a barren and unhospitable desert, Jeremiah 2:6; Deuteronomy 29:6. These are their journeys — It is to be observed that Moses only mentions those places where they encamped for some time, passing by others where they only halted for a little refreshment.

Ver. 2. Moses wrote; for writing was then in common use. It is ridiculous to see every art approaching perfection, and to suppose that writing was unknown till Moses entered the desert.

2. Moses wrote their goings — This is a proof of the Mosaic authorship of this book. See Introduction, (2.) By the commandment of the Lord — While all Scripture is given by inspiration in some degree, this important record is written by commandment, implying the highest degree of inspiration.

Verse 3. From Rameses] This appears to have been the metropolis of the land of Goshen, and the place of rendezvous whence the whole Israelitish nation set out on their journey to the promised land; and is supposed to be the same as Cairo. See Clarke’s notes on “Exodus 12:37”. HERE FOLLOW THE FORTY-TWO STATIONS

STATION I.

Verses 3, 4. They departed from Rameses — Whither they repaired, by order of Moses, from all parts of the land. Upon their gods — Either their princes and rulers, who are sometimes called gods in Scripture; for God slew the firstborn, not only of the meaner sort, but even of their king and princes: or, their false gods, those beasts which the Egyptians worshipped as gods; for the firstborn of men and beasts were then killed. Probably their images also were thrown down, as Dagon afterward before the ark.

3. Rameses — Exodus 12:37, note. First month — The event was so important that it became the beginning of a new era. Exodus 12:2, note. With a high hand — Not the armed hand of the Israelites, but the hand of the omnipotent Jehovah. The high hand of man denotes defiant sin. Chap. 15:30, note.

V. 4. On their gods-Their false gods, namely those beasts which the brutish Egyptians worshipped as gods, which were killed with the rest, for the first-born both of men and beasts were then killed. Probably their images likewise were thrown down, as Dagon afterward before the ark.

Verses 3, 4. They departed from Rameses — Whither they repaired, by order of Moses, from all parts of the land. Upon their gods — Either their princes and rulers, who are sometimes called gods in Scripture; for God slew the firstborn, not only of the meaner sort, but even of their king and princes: or, their false gods, those beasts which the Egyptians worshipped as gods; for the firstborn of men and beasts were then killed. Probably their images also were thrown down, as Dagon afterward before the ark.

Ver. 4. Upon their gods. Upon their temples, as well as upon their great men, whose firstborn and cattle were destroyed.

4. Egyptians buried all their firstborn — Exodus 12:29, 30, note. Upon their gods… judgments — See Introduction to the history of the plagues. Exodus 7:8.

Verse 5. And pitched in SUCCOTH.] This name signifies

booths or tents, and probably refers to no town or village, but simply designates the place where they pitched their tents for the first time after their departure from Rameses.

STAT. II.

5, 6. Succoth,… Etham — Exodus 13:20, note. Succoth was probably a resting-place of caravans or a military station about fifteen miles due east of Rameses. It has left no trace.

Verse 6. ETHAM, which is in the edge of the wilderness.] This place is not well known; Dr. Shaw supposes it to have been one mile from Cairo. Calmet thinks it is the city of Buthum mentioned by Herodotus, which he places in Arabia, on the frontiers of Egypt. STAT. III.

5, 6. Succoth,… Etham — Exodus 13:20, note. Succoth was probably a resting-place of caravans or a military station about fifteen miles due east of Rameses. It has left no trace.

Verse 7. PI-HAHIROTH] See on Exodus 14:1,2. Baal-zephon Calmet supposes to be the Clysma of the Greeks, and the Kolzum of the Arabians.

STAT. IV.

7. Pi-hahiroth,… Baal-zephon:… Migdol — See Introduction to Exodus xiv, and note on verses 2, 3 of the same chapter.

Verse 8. And went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham] Called the wilderness of Shur, Exodus 15:22. And pitched in MARAH.] Dr. Shaw supposes this place to be at Sedur, over against the valley of Baideah, on the opposite side of the Red Sea. STAT. V.

8. The wilderness,… three days — The wilderness of Shur. Exodus 15:22, note. Marah — The modern ‘Aryun Hawwara. Dr. Strong and his party rode their dromedaries up to the mouth of one of the wells, and found it dry and nearly filled with sand. The ground is slightly elevated and crowned with a few stunted palm trees. Exodus 15:23, note.

Verse 9. And came unto ELIM] A place on the skirts of the deserts of Sin, two leagues from Tor, and nearly thirty from Corondel, a large bay on the east side of the Red Sea. Dr. Shaw, when he visited this place, found but nine of the twelve wells mentioned in the text, and instead of 70 palm trees, he found upwards of 2,000. See Clarke “Exodus 15:27”.

STAT. VI.

9. Elim — Trees. Says Dr. Ridgaway, “There are two or three streams of water running through the valley, though nothing in the shape of wells, and I counted forty-six palm trees, and did not go down far below our camp. The precision with which this spot is identified is a helpful key to the journeyings of Israel as marking an important step, and so indicating unquestionably the direction they took after leaving the Red Sea.” See Exodus 15:27, note. For the route from Elim to Sinai, see Exodus xvi, Introductory.

V. 10. By the Red-sea-By another part of that sea which they passed over.

Verse 10. Encamped by the RED SEA.] It is difficult to assign the place of this encampment, as the Israelites were now on their way to Mount Sinai, which lay considerably to the east of Elim, and consequently farther from the sea than the former station. It might be called by the Red Sea, as the Israelites had it, as the principal object, still in view. This station however is mentioned nowhere else. By the Red Sea we are not to understand a sea, the waters of which are red, or the sand red, or any thing else about or in it red; for nothing of this kind appears. It is called in Hebrew ãws my yam suph, which signifies the weedy sea. The Septuagint rendered the original by qalassa eraqra, and the Vulgate after it by mare rubrum, and the European versions followed these, and, in opposition to etymology and reason, translated it the Red Sea. See Clarke’s note on “Exodus 10:19”.

STAT. VII.

Verses 10, 11. By the Red sea — Not by that part of it where they had lately passed over, but more southerly, toward the Arabian desert. This station is omitted in Exodus. The wilderness of Sin — Where the manna first began to fall, Exodus 16:1.

10. Encamped by the Red Sea — Probably at Ras Abu Zenimeh, a flat, sandy strip of ground. “This is not given in Exodus as a station, but its distance from Elim, sixteen miles, indicates it as a fair day’s march from that point. I could imagine how the tired multitude felt, as, after a toilsome march through a net of low, barren hills and dry wadies, the sight of a broad, level beach and of the soft, quiet sea unexpectedly opened before them.” — Dr. Ridgaway.

Verse 11. The wilderness of SIN.] This lies between Elim and Mount Sinai. Dr. Shaw and his companions traversed these plains in nine hours.

STAT. VIII.

Verses 10, 11. By the Red sea — Not by that part of it where they had lately passed over, but more southerly, toward the Arabian desert. This station is omitted in Exodus. The wilderness of Sin — Where the manna first began to fall, Exodus 16:1.

Ver. 11. Sin; afterwards called Sinai, the final i being added, which signifies ten, from the decalogue or ten commandments. They stayed here eleven months.

11. The wilderness of Sin — This name applies to the whole sandy plain which runs along the shore of the Red Sea from Elim to the southern end of the Sinaitic peninsula. It is the modern El Markha. Exodus 16:1, note.

Verse 12. DOPHKAH.] This place is not mentioned in Exodus and its situation is not known.

STAT. IX.

Verses 12-14. Dophkah — Alush — Neither of these stations is mentioned in Exodus, nothing remarkable, it seems, having fallen out in those places. But several remarkable things happened in Rephidim, recorded Exodus 17.

12-14. Dophkah… Alush… Rephidim — Exodus 17:1, note. No water for the people — Exodus 17:1-8, notes.

Verse 13. ALUSH.] Neither is this mentioned in Exodus and its situation is equally unknown.

STAT. X.

Verses 12-14. Dophkah — Alush — Neither of these stations is mentioned in Exodus, nothing remarkable, it seems, having fallen out in those places. But several remarkable things happened in Rephidim, recorded Exodus 17.

12-14. Dophkah… Alush… Rephidim — Exodus 17:1, note. No water for the people — Exodus 17:1-8, notes.

Verse 14. REPHIDIM.] Remarkable for the rebellion of the Israelites against Moses, because of the want of water, Exodus 17:1-3. STAT. XI.

Verses 12-14. Dophkah — Alush — Neither of these stations is mentioned in Exodus, nothing remarkable, it seems, having fallen out in those places. But several remarkable things happened in Rephidim, recorded Exodus 17.

12-14. Dophkah… Alush… Rephidim — Exodus 17:1, note. No water for the people — Exodus 17:1-8, notes.

Verse 15. The WILDERNESS of SINAI.] Somewhere northward of Mount Sinai, on the straight road to the promised land, to which they now directed their course.

STAT. XII.

Verses 15, 16. The wilderness of Sinai — Here they arrived about forty-seven days after they left Egypt, and stayed almost a year, receiving the laws contained in Exodus and Leviticus, and the first twelve chapters of this book. Kibroth-hattaavah — Where such numbers were destroyed for despising the manna, and lusting after flesh, Numbers 11:33.

15. The wilderness of Sinai — Numbers 1:1, note.

Verse 16. KIBROTH-HATTAAVAH.] No city, village, &c., but a place in the open desert, which had its name from the plague that fell upon the Israelites, through their murmuring against God, and their inordinate desire of flesh. See Clarke on “Numbers 6:1” &c. But it appears that the Israelites had travelled three days’ journey in order to reach this place, Numbers 10:33, and commentators suppose there must have been other stations which are not laid down here, probably because the places were not remarkable.

STAT. XIII.

Verses 15, 16. The wilderness of Sinai — Here they arrived about forty-seven days after they left Egypt, and stayed almost a year, receiving the laws contained in Exodus and Leviticus, and the first twelve chapters of this book. Kibroth-hattaavah — Where such numbers were destroyed for despising the manna, and lusting after flesh, Numbers 11:33.

16. Kibroth-hattaavah — Also called Taberah. Numbers 11:3, 34, notes. A glance at Kiepert’s or any good map will show that from Sinai to Canaan there was a choice between two main routes, namely, that on the west of the high plateau called the Tih region, and that on the east going up the ‘Arabah or desert valley west of Mount Seir. There are good reasons for supposing that Moses took the eastern route, and that Kibroth-hattaavah is to be sought for in this direction.

Verse 17. HAZEROTH.] This place Dr. Shaw computes to have been about thirty miles distant from Mount Sinai. STAT. XIV.

17. Hazeroth — Enclosure. The meaning of Hazeroth “is one of the strongest arguments for identifying it with Hudhera. It lies on the most natural route from Sinai to the great valley of the ‘Arabah. It is evident, also, that tradition has long regarded this site as Hazeroth, from the indications that it was once occupied by a colony of monks.” — Dr. Ridgaway. See Numbers 11:35, note.

Verse 18. RITHMAH.] This place lay somewhere in the

wilderness of Paran, through which the Israelites were now passing. See Numbers 13:1,3. The name signifies the juniper tree; and the place probably had its name from the great number of those trees growing in that district.

STAT. XV.

Verse 18. They pitched in Rithmah — A place not mentioned in Exodus, but which appears, from Numbers 12:16, to have been in the wilderness of Paran, not far from Kadesh-barnea.

Ver. 18. Rithmah. Kadesh-barnea was nigh to this place, from which Moses sent the twelve spies. Here the men of war received their sentence to die in the wilderness; and many are the calamities of sin. From this time they seem to have rested thirty eight years, and little is said of their history.

18. Rithmah has not been identified. The name is kindred to the word rendered “juniper,” but more correctly “broom.” “It may therefore signify the valley of the broom-bushes.” — Edersheim.

Verse 19. RIMMON-PAREZ.] Unknown.

STAT. XVI.

19, 20. Rimmon-parez has not yet been found. Parez signifies a breach or cleft. Some scholars identify Libnah with Laban in Deuteronomy 1:1. Its location is unknown.

Verse 20. LIBNAH.] The situation of this place is uncertain. A city of this name is mentioned Joshua 10:29, as situated between Kadesh-barnea and Gaza.

STAT. XVII.

19, 20. Rimmon-parez has not yet been found. Parez signifies a breach or cleft. Some scholars identify Libnah with Laban in Deuteronomy 1:1. Its location is unknown.

Verse 21. RISSAH.] A place mentioned nowhere else in the sacred writings. Its situation utterly uncertain. STAT. XVIII.

Verse 22. KEHELATHAH.] Utterly unknown; though some conjecture that it might have been the place called Keilah, 1 Samuel 23:1, &c., but this is unlikely.

STAT. XIX.

22-29. The sites of these stations are at present unknown.

Verse 23. SHAPHER.] Where this mountain lay cannot be determined.

STAT. XX.

22-29. The sites of these stations are at present unknown.

Verse 24. HARADAH.] Unknown, Calmet supposes that it may be the place called Bered, Genesis 16:14, which was in the vicinity of Kadesh.

STAT. XXI.

22-29. The sites of these stations are at present unknown.

Verse 25. MAKHELOTH.] A name found nowhere else in Scripture.

STAT. XXII.

22-29. The sites of these stations are at present unknown.

Verse 26. TAHATH.] Unknown.

STAT. XXIII.

22-29. The sites of these stations are at present unknown.

Verse 27. TARAH.] Also unknown.

STAT. XXIV.

22-29. The sites of these stations are at present unknown.

Verse 28. MITHCAH.] Calmet conjectures that this may be Mocha, a city in Arabia Petraea.

STAT. XXV.

22-29. The sites of these stations are at present unknown.

Verse 29. HASHMONAH.] Supposed by some to be the same as Azmon, Numbers 34:4.

STAT. XXVI.

22-29. The sites of these stations are at present unknown.

Verse 30. MOSEROTH.] Situation unknown. In

Deuteronomy 10:6 it is said that the Israelites took their journey from Beeroth, the wells of the children of Jaakan, to Mosera, and there Aaron died. If so, Mosera, Moseroth, and Hor, must be different names of the same place; or Moseroth, or Mosera, must have been some town or village near Mount Hor, for there Aaron died. See Numbers 33:38. STAT. XXVII.

30-33. Moseroth is the Hebrew plural of Mosera in Deuteronomy 10:6. Hengstenberg thinks it lay in the ‘Arabah where Mount Hor overhangs it. Burckhardt suggests that Wady Mousa, near Petra and this mountain, is a corruption of Moseroth. Bene-jaakan — Sons of Jaakan. In the Hebrew of Deuteronomy 10:6, 7, the full name is given — Beeroth Bene-Jaakan, wells of the sons of Jaakan. There are trivial variations of names, such as Hor-hagidgad and Gudgodah, in the two passages. The account in Deuteronomy, which puts Bene-jaakan before Mosera, probably refers to a second visit, in the fortieth year of the wandering, in the reverse order of the two places named.

Verse 31. BENE-JAAKAN.] Unknown. The sons of Jaakan. See the preceding verse, Clarke “Numbers 33:30”. STAT. XXVIII.

Ver. 31. Bene-Jaakan. From this place, having turned their backs of God, they turned their backs of Canaan, and took a southern course on the west of Edom, to Ezion-gaber near the Red sea.

30-33. Moseroth is the Hebrew plural of Mosera in Deuteronomy 10:6. Hengstenberg thinks it lay in the ‘Arabah where Mount Hor overhangs it. Burckhardt suggests that Wady Mousa, near Petra and this mountain, is a corruption of Moseroth. Bene-jaakan — Sons of Jaakan. In the Hebrew of Deuteronomy 10:6, 7, the full name is given — Beeroth Bene-Jaakan, wells of the sons of Jaakan. There are trivial variations of names, such as Hor-hagidgad and Gudgodah, in the two passages. The account in Deuteronomy, which puts Bene-jaakan before Mosera, probably refers to a second visit, in the fortieth year of the wandering, in the reverse order of the two places named.

Verse 32. HOR-HAGIDGAD.] The hole or pit of Gidgad. Unknown. It was a place perhaps remarkable for some vast pit or cavern, from which it took its name.

STAT. XXIX.

30-33. Moseroth is the Hebrew plural of Mosera in Deuteronomy 10:6. Hengstenberg thinks it lay in the ‘Arabah where Mount Hor overhangs it. Burckhardt suggests that Wady Mousa, near Petra and this mountain, is a corruption of Moseroth. Bene-jaakan — Sons of Jaakan. In the Hebrew of Deuteronomy 10:6, 7, the full name is given — Beeroth Bene-Jaakan, wells of the sons of Jaakan. There are trivial variations of names, such as Hor-hagidgad and Gudgodah, in the two passages. The account in Deuteronomy, which puts Bene-jaakan before Mosera, probably refers to a second visit, in the fortieth year of the wandering, in the reverse order of the two places named.

Verse 33. JOTRATHAH.] Situation unknown. It is said in Deuteronomy 10:7 to be a land of rivers of waters. STAT. XXX.

30-33. Moseroth is the Hebrew plural of Mosera in Deuteronomy 10:6. Hengstenberg thinks it lay in the ‘Arabah where Mount Hor overhangs it. Burckhardt suggests that Wady Mousa, near Petra and this mountain, is a corruption of Moseroth. Bene-jaakan — Sons of Jaakan. In the Hebrew of Deuteronomy 10:6, 7, the full name is given — Beeroth Bene-Jaakan, wells of the sons of Jaakan. There are trivial variations of names, such as Hor-hagidgad and Gudgodah, in the two passages. The account in Deuteronomy, which puts Bene-jaakan before Mosera, probably refers to a second visit, in the fortieth year of the wandering, in the reverse order of the two places named.

Verse 34. EBRONAH.] Nowhere else mentioned. STAT. XXXI.

34. Ebronah — Passage or ford. The meaning may point to a ford across the head of the Elanitic Gulf.

Verse 35. EZION-GABER.] Dr. Shaw places this port on the

western coast of the Elantic gulf of the Red Sea. It is now called Meenah el Dsahab, or the golden port, by the Arabs; because it was from this place that Solomon sent his ships for gold to Ophir, 1 Kings 9:26. He supposes it to be about sixty miles distant from Mount Sinai.-Travels, p. 322, 4to. edition.

STAT. XXXII.

Verse 35. Ezion-gaber — A seaport town situated on the Red sea, in the land of Edom, near Arabia Felix, Deuteronomy 2:8; 2 Chronicles 8:17. All the encampments, from verse 16 to this place, were wanderings backward again toward the Red sea, for thirty-eight years together. They were led to and fro, backward and forward, as in a maze or labyrinth, and yet were all the while under the direction of the pillar of cloud and fire. He led them about, (Deuteronomy 32:10,) and yet led them the right way, Psalm 107:7. The way God takes in bringing his people to himself is always the best way, all circumstances considered, although it does not always appear to us the nearest way, and is often a way in which the Lord would not have led us, unless to chastise us for our sins, and save us from the love of them.

35. Ezion-gaber — The giant’s backbone, so called from the head of a mountain that runs out into a point. It is the name of a seaport at the northeast end of the Elanitic Gulf, not far from Elath. Says Stanley, “There is nothing to fix its site.” Kiepert’s map (in Robinson, 1856) locates it at Ain el-Ghudyan, about ten miles up what is now the dry bed of the ‘Arabah, supposed to have been anciently covered by the waters of the Gulf. Numbers 14:25, note. Here the Israelites, in the times of Solomon and Jehoshaphat, built a fleet to sail to Ophir. 1 Kings 9:26; 22:49, notes.

Verse 36. ZIN, which is KADESH.] A place remarkable for

the death of Miriam the prophetess, and bringing water out of the rock. As this place was on the borders of Edom, the Israelites, being denied permission to pass through their land, which lay on the direct road to the promised land, were obliged to turn to the right to Mount Hor, now called Accaba by the Arabs.

STAT. XXXIII.

36. Wilderness of Zin — Numbers 13:21, note. Kadesh is said to have been situated also in the wilderness of Paran. Numbers 13:26. To explain this difficulty there are three hypotheses: (1.) That there were two Kadeshes or “holy places.” (2.) That the name applied to a city and to an extensive region, as does New York. (3.) That Kadesh was on the border of both Paran and Zin. It is the theory of Fries, Hengstenberg, Keil, Kurtz, Raumer, Robinson, and others that the Israelites were at Kadesh once in the second, and again in the fortieth year of their wanderings. Numbers 20:16; Joshua 10:41, notes.

Verse 37. HOR.] Famous for the death of Aaron. See on Numbers 20:25-28. Perhaps Moseroth or Mosera, Numbers 33:30, was a village near this mountain. See Clarke’s note on “Numbers 33:30”.

STAT. XXXIV.

37. Pitched in mount Hor — On the slopes at its base. Numbers 20:22, note and cut. The place is called Mosera, verse 30, note. The edge of… Edom — Numbers 20:14-21, notes.

Verse 38. Aaron went up at the commandment of the Lord, and died — Good men’s goings are ordered of the Lord, and a peculiar providence, watching over all their concerns, appoints the time and place of their death. Let us go on in the way of duty, and leave it to him to call us hence, when, and where, and how he pleases.

38. Aaron… died there — Numbers 20:23-29, notes. In the fortieth year — An important note of time. See Introduction, (4.)

40. King Arad — A place, and not a person. Numbers 21:1, note.

Verse 41. ZALMONAH.] Probably in the neighborhood of the land of Edom. As µlx tselem signifies an image, this place probably had its name from the brazen serpent set up by Moses. See Clarke “Numbers 21:9”, &c. From the same root the word telesm, corruptly called talisman, which signifies a consecrated image, is derived. STAT. XXXV.

Verse 42. PUNON.] A place in Idumea. Nowhere else mentioned.

STAT. XXXVI.

42. Zalmonah — Probably Wady Ithm, which runs into the Arabah close to where Elath anciently stood. Punon is conjecturally identified with Phenan, a ruined castle on the caravan road east of Mount Seir.

Verse 43. OBOTH.] Mentioned before, Numbers 21:10.

STAT. XXXVII.

Verse 44. IJE-ABARIM.] The heaps of Abarim. See

Numbers 21:11. Situation uncertain. It is called Iim in the following verse. As the word signifies heaps or protuberances, it probably means tumuil or small hills near some of the fords of Jordan. STAT. XXXVIII.

44. Oboth,… Ije-abarim — Numbers 21:10, 11, notes.

Verse 45. DIBON-GAD.] Supposed to be the same as Dibon, Numbers 32:34, and to be situated on the brook Arnon. STAT. XXXIX.

45. Iim is Ije-abarim abbreviated. Dibon-gad — Dibon, rebuilt by the Gadites after the conquest of the land, (Numbers 32:3, 34, notes,) and allotted to Reuben.

Verse 46. ALMON-DIBLATHAIM.] Situation not known. It belonged to the Moabites in the time of the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah 48:22.

STAT. XL.

Verse 47. Mountains of ABARIM, before NEBO.] The mountain on which Moses died. They came to this place after the overthrow of the Amorites. See Numbers 21:34, 35. STAT. XLI.

47. Almon-diblathaim is probably the same as Beth-diblathaim in Jeremiah 48:22, and is to be sought for to the north or north-west of Dibon. Abarim — Numbers 21:11, 20, notes. Nebo is only another name for the valley in the field of Moab upon the top of Pisgah, as is proved by the fact that, according to Deuteronomy 34:1; 3:27; 32:48, Nebo was a peak of Pisgah upon the mountains of Abarim; from which it is evident that Pisgah was a portion of the mountains of Abarim opposite to Jericho. Numbers 21:20, note.

V. 48. Shittim-The place where the people sinned in the matter of Peor, is here called Abel-Shittim-Abel signifies mourning; and probably this place was so called, from the mourning of Israel for that sin, and the heavy punishment inflicted on the sinners.

Verse 48. The PLAINS of MOAB.] This was the scene of the transactions between Balaam and Balak; see chapters xxiii., xxiv., xxv. STAT. XLII.

48. Plains of Moab — Numbers 22:1, note. Jericho — Joshua 2:1, note.

Verse 49. From BETH-JESIMOTH even unto ABEL-SHITTIM]

The former of these places fell to the Reubenites, Joshua 13:15-20. The Israelites were now come to the edge of Jordan, over against Jericho, where they afterwards passed.

For farther information on the subject of these different encampments, the reader is requested to refer to the extracts from Dr. Shaw at the end of the book of Exodus. See Clarke “Exodus 40:38”.

Verse 49. Abel-shittim — The place where the people sinned in the matter of Peor, called simply Shittim, Numbers 25:1; but here Abel-shittim, for the grievous mourning (Abel signifying mourning) which was there, both for the heinous crimes committed, and the severe judgments inflicted. This was their forty-second and last station, before their entrance into Canaan, and here we left them in the last transactions of this history.

49. Beth-jesimoth — House of wastes. It was at the south end of the Jordan valley, the southern limit of the camp which stretched northward to Abel-shittim, or Shittim, or “acacia-groves,” which still remain, says Stanley, “marking with a line of verdure the upper terraces of the Jordan valley.” Joshua 2:1, note.

CONCLUDING NOTE TO THE ITINERARY.

This itinerary differs from that in chap. 21 in the mention of different stations and more of them. These apparent discrepancies may be easily accounted for by the fact that the space occupied by the encampment of the Israelites, an army of six hundred thousand men with their families and flocks, when once they reached the inhabited country with its towns and villages, where every spot had its own fixed name, must have extended over several places, so that the same encampment might be called by one or other of the places upon which it touched. See Numbers 21:18, note. Scholars are quite well agreed in the opinion that the stations given in verses 19-35, between Rithmah, near Kadesh, and Ezion-geber, refer to the journeys of Israel after the exclusion at Kadesh, during the thirty-seven years of wandering. “An examination of the names of the seventeen stations occupied by Israel during their wanderings shows that the encampments were selected in the neighbourhood of water and vegetation.” — Edersheim. Their fewness is because they were occupied for long periods.

THE COMMAND TO EXTERMINATE THE CANAANITES, AND TO DISTRIBUTE THEIR LAND. Numbers 33:50-34:29.

Verses 50-52. Ye shall drive out all the inhabitants — They were to be entirely rooted out, that the Israelites might not be seduced by their abominable idolatries, Exodus 23:33; Deuteronomy 20:16-18. And destroy all their pictures — Which seem to have been stones curiously engraven and set up for worship, Deuteronomy 16:22. Destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places — The chapels, altars, groves, or other means of worship here set up.

Verses 50-52. Ye shall drive out all the inhabitants — They were to be entirely rooted out, that the Israelites might not be seduced by their abominable idolatries, Exodus 23:33; Deuteronomy 20:16-18. And destroy all their pictures — Which seem to have been stones curiously engraven and set up for worship, Deuteronomy 16:22. Destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places — The chapels, altars, groves, or other means of worship here set up.

V. 52. Drive out-Not by banishing, but by destroying them. Pictures-Which seem to have been stones curiously engraven, and set up for worship. High Places-Chapels, altars, groves, or other means of worship there set up.

Verse 52. Ye shall-destroy all their pictures] µtykcm maskiyotham, from hjc sachah, to be like, or resemble, either pictures, carved work, or embroidery, as far as these things were employed to exhibit the abominations of idolatry. Molten images µtksm ymlx tsalmey massechotham, metallic talismanical figures, made under certain constellations, and supposed in consequence to be possessed of some extraordinary influences and virtues.

Verses 50-52. Ye shall drive out all the inhabitants — They were to be entirely rooted out, that the Israelites might not be seduced by their abominable idolatries, Exodus 23:33; Deuteronomy 20:16-18. And destroy all their pictures — Which seem to have been stones curiously engraven and set up for worship, Deuteronomy 16:22. Destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places — The chapels, altars, groves, or other means of worship here set up.

52. Destroy all their pictures — Literally, idols of stone, R.V., “figured stones.” Painting is the product of a more advanced civilization. Molten images — Idols cast from brass. This verse is not to be construed as a charter for universal iconoclasm. In the case of Israel, strongly inclined to idolatry, this was the only safe course.

53. Ye shall dispossess — The same in Hebrew as “drive out,” in verse 52, signifying to take possession of their land, to drive out and to exterminate all who remain.

Verse 54. Ye shall divide the land by lot — As they gradually conquered the country, they were to divide it among the tribes, according to the rules and proportions before prescribed them, Numbers 26:54, 55.

54. Divide the land by lot — The mode of determining the location of each tribe. Numbers 26:53-56, notes.

Verse 55. Shall be pricks in your eyes] Under these metaphors, the continual mischief that should be done to them, both in soul and body, by these idolaters, is set forth in a very expressive manner. What can be more vexatious than a continual goading of each side, so that the attempt to avoid the one throws the body more forcibly on the other? And what can be more distressing than a continual pricking in the eye, harassing the mind, tormenting the body, and extinguishing the sight?

1. IT has been usual among pious men to consider these Canaanites remaining in the land, as emblems of indwelling sin; and it must be granted that what those remaining Canaanites were to the people of Israel, who were disobedient to God, such is indwelling sin to all those who will not have the blood of the covenant to cleanse them from all unrighteousness. For a time, while conscience is tender, such persons feel themselves straitened in all their goings, hindered in all their religious services, and distressed beyond measure because of the law-the authority and power of sin, which they find warring in their members: by and by the eye of their mind becomes obscured by the constant piercings of sin, till at last, fatally persuaded that sin must dwell in them as long as they live, they accommodate their minds to their situation, their consciences cease to be tender, and they content themselves with expecting redemption where and when it has never been promised, viz., beyond the grave! On the subject of the journeyings of the Israelites, the following observations from old Mr. Ainsworth cannot fail to interest the reader.

2. “The TRAVELS of Israel through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water, Deuteronomy 8:15, which was a land of deserts, and of pits, a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt, Jeremiah 2:6, signified the many troubles and afflictions through which we must enter into the kingdom of God, Acts 14:22. The helps, comforts, and deliverances which God gave unto his people in their distresses, are examples of his love and mercy towards his followers; for he comforts them in all their tribulation, that as the sufferings of Christ abound in them, so their consolation also abounds in Christ, 2 Corinthians 1:5. The punishments which God inflicted upon the disobedient, who perished in the wilderness for their sins, happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come, 1 Corinthians 10:1, 11; Hebrews 3:17, 18, 19; Hebrews 4:1,

2. By the names of their encamping places, and histories adjoined, it appears how Israel came sometimes into straits and troublesome ways, as at Pihahiroth, Exodus 14:2, 3, 10, &c.; and at Zalmonah, Numbers 2:1, 4, &c.; sometimes into large and ample room, as at the plains of Moab; sometimes to places of hunger and thirst, as at Rephidim and Kadesh, Exodus 16:1-3; Exodus 17:1-3; Numbers 20:2-5; sometimes to places of refreshing, as at Elim and Beer, Exodus 15:27; Numbers 21:16; sometimes where they had wars, as at Rephidim, Kadesh, Edrei, Exodus 17:8; Numbers 21:1, 33; sometimes where they had rest, as at Mount Sinai: sometimes they went right forward, as from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea; sometimes they turned backward, as from Kadesh-barnea to the Red Sea: sometimes they came to mountains, as Sinai, Shapher, Hor-Gidgad; sometimes to valleys, as Tahath, &c.; sometimes to places of bitterness, as Marah; sometimes, of sweetness, as Mithcah.

3. “The SINS which they committed in the wilderness were many and great; as open IDOLATRY by the calf, at Horeb, Exodus 32:3, 4, and with Baal-peor, Numbers 25:16-18. UNBELIEF, at Kadesh, Numbers 14:11; and afterwards PRESUMPTUOUS BOLDNESS in the same place; MURMURING against God sundry times, with tempting of Christ, (as the apostle speaks, 1 Corinthians 10:9.) CONTENTION and REBELLION against their governors often; lusting for flesh to fill their appetites, and loathing manna, the heavenly food; WHOREDOM with the daughters of Moab, and many other provocations; so that this complaint is after made of them, How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Psalm 78:40. All sorts of persons sinned against God; the multitude of people very often; the mixed multitude of strangers among them, Numbers 11:4-6. The princes, as the ten spies, Dathan, Abiram, &c. The Levites, as Korah and his company; Miriam the prophetess, Numbers 12:1, 2; Aaron the priest with her, besides his sin at Horeb, Exodus 32:1-4; and at the water of Meribah, Numbers 20:24. Moses also himself at the same place, for which he was excluded from the land of Canaan.

4. “The PUNISHMENTS laid on them by the Lord for their disobedience were many. They died by the sword of the enemy, as of the Amalekites, Exodus 17:9-11, and of the Canaanites, Numbers 14:45; and some by the sword of their brethren, Exodus 32:25-29 Some were burned with fire, Numbers 11:1; 16:35; some died with surfeit, Numbers 11:34; some were swallowed up alive in the earth, Numbers 16:31-34; some were killed with serpents, Numbers 21:6; many died of the pestilence, Numbers 16:46, and Numbers 5:25; and generally all that generation which were first mustered, after their coming out of Egypt, perished, Numbers 26:64, 65. God consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror, Psalm 78:33.

5. “Nevertheless, for his name’s sake, he magnified his MERCIES unto them and their posterity. He had divided the sea, and led them through on dry land, drowning their enemies, Exodus 14:27, 28. He led them with a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, continually. He gave them manna from heaven daily. He clave the rock, and gave them water for their thirst. He fed them with quails, when they longed for flesh. He sweetened the bitter waters. He saved them from the sword of their enemies. He delivered them from the fiery serpents and scorpions. Their raiment waxed not old upon them, neither did their foot swell for forty years, Deuteronomy 8:4. He delivered them from the intended curse of Balaam, and turned it into a blessing, because he loved them, Numbers 22:13, 38; Deuteronomy 23:5. He came down from Mount Sinai, and spake with them from heaven, and gave them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and gave also his good Spirit to instruct them, Nehemiah 9:13, 20. In the times of his wrath he remembered mercy; his eye spared them from destroying them, neither did he make an end of them in the wilderness, Ezekiel 20:17, 22. He gave them kingdoms and nations, and they possessed the lands of their enemies; and he multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land promised unto their forefathers. Nehemiah 9:22, 23. Now whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope, Romans 15:4.” Let him that readeth understand.”

NUMBERS

Verse 55. If ye will not drive out the inhabitants — Those of them whom ye suffer to remain in the land through your cowardice, slothfulness, or friendship toward them, shall be a great plague to you, and bring sore calamities upon you; see Ezekiel 28:24. Joshua intimates the same to them before he died, Numbers 23:13. Of this also an angel puts them in mind, Judges 2:3. And so it came to pass, as we read there, (verse 14,) and throughout that whole book. Shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides — Both vexatious and pernicious. Whosoever, by neglecting, through the Spirit, (to be sought by prayer,) to mortify the deeds of the body, and to crucify the flesh, with its sinful lusts, shall permit sinful tempers and desires to remain in his heart, will one day find by experience that these evil dispositions will be to his soul what the ancient inhabitants of Canaan were to the Israelites; they will be as pricks in his eyes, and thorns in his flesh — A continual source of trouble and vexation, depriving him of true peace and comfort. But is it our privilege to be delivered from these corrupt passions and inclinations? Certainly it is, as much as it was the privilege of the Israelites to be delivered from the Canaanites. For Christ gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, (Titus 2:14,) might sanctify and cleanse his church, and render it without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, Ephesians 5:26, 27. And God promises, by Ezekiel, (Ezekiel 36:25,) From all your filthiness and idols will I cleanse you. And faithful is he that hath promised, who also will do it for all those that earnestly call upon, firmly confide in, and perseveringly seek him in the way he has appointed.

55. If ye will not drive out, etc. — If Israel should be perversely disobedient, Jehovah threatens to withdraw from them his help. Exodus 23:22, 23. Pricks in your eyes — Joshua, (Numbers 23:13,) in repeating this, says, “scourges in your sides and thorns in your eyes,” and adds, “they shall be snares and traps unto you.” These strong metaphors portray the infliction of the most painful injuries by the un-exterminated Canaanites.

Verse 56. I shall do unto you as I thought to do unto them — Make you their slaves; or rather, you shall flee before them, and be expelled the land, as they should have been.

56. I shall do unto you, as… unto them — God is no respecter of persons, nor of nations. The sins of the people are followed by the same punishments as the sins of Gentile nations. The land vomited out Israel as it rejected the Canaanites when the former had copied the vices of the latter. Joshua 6:21; 13:13, notes.