The Fifth Book of Moses, called Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 1
Chapter I · Vol. I, pp. 478–479
3 Israel,3 according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them;
A.M. 2553. B.C. 1451.
3 It is important here to observe, that in this book, with a few exceptions, as ch. 31. 14; 34. 4, Jehovah does not speak as a revealer, but Moses as an inspired expositor.—C.
4 Aftere he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei:
e Nu. 21.21-35. ch. 2.26-37; 3.1-11. Jos. 12.2-6; 13.10-12. Ne. 9.22. Ps. 135.11; 136.19,20.
5 On fthis side Jordan,4 in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare5 this law, saying,
f ver. 1, for Moses never went over Jordan to the west side of it.
4 Hebrew, 'beyond Jordan.' See note on ver. 1.—P.
5 Hebrew, 'to expound.' His object was to explain what had been previously declared. He made no new revelation: he set forth no second law; his task was an humbler one. He simply desired, by divine direction, to enforce, and more fully to explain where necessary, those laws, moral and ceremonial, which were recorded in the previous books.—P.
7 Turn you, and take your journey, and hgo to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto,6 in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.
h Ge. 15.18-21. Ex. 23.31. Nu. 34.3-12.
6 Heb. all his neighbours.
8 Behold, I have set7 the land before you: go in and possess the land iwhich the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them, and to their seed after them.
10 The LORD your God hath lmultiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.
l Ge. 15.5,6; 22.17; 28.14. Ex. 12.37. Nu. 26.51.
11 (The LORD God of your fathers mmake you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and nbless you, as he hath promised you!)
m 2 Sa. 21.3. Ps. 115.14.
13 pTake9 you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.
p Ac. 1.15,23; 6.3,5,6. Ex. 18.25.
9 Heb. give.
14 And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.
15 So qI took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made1 them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.
q Ex. 18.25. ch. 16.18.
1 Heb. gave.
16 And I charged your judges at that time, saying, rHear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.
r Ps. 58.1; 82.3,4. Jn. 7.24. Ex. 23.3,6,7. Le. 19.15. ch. 16.19. Pr. 21.23. 2 Ch. 19.6-10. 2 Sa. 8.15.
17 Ye shall not respect persons2 in judgment: but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's: and sthe cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.
2 Heb. acknowledge faces.
s Ex. 18.22,23.
19 And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and uterrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.
20 And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the xmountain of the Amorites,3 which the LORD our God doth give unto us.
x Nu. 14.44. ver. 7, i.e. hill-country.
3 The Amorites were the most powerful of the tribes which inhabited Canaan at the time of the exodus. They had conquered nearly the whole country east of the Jordan, and they held more or less of the mountain strongholds on the west, from Kadesh on the south to Lebanon on the north. 'The mountain of the Amorites' here signifies the mountain chain at Kadesh.—P.
21 Behold,y the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.
22 And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before 4us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.
4 It was their doubting of God's promise that made them incline to send spies.—[The suggestion to send spies emanated from the people; Moses approved of it; he then asked counsel of Jehovah, and He sanctioned it. In the narrative in Nu. 13. 1, 2, the sanction and appointment of God are alone recorded.—P.]
24 And athey turned5 and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.
a Nu. 13.23-27.
5 Since the spies turned, they did not proceed in the route ordinarily given in the maps, for that represents them as pursuing directly the previous line of march.—C.
25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us.
26 Notwithstanding bye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God.
b Nu. 14.1-3. Is. 63.10. Ac. 7.51.
27 And ye murmured in your tents, and said, cBecause the LORD hated6 us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
c ch. 9.28. Nu. 14.1-3. Ex. 16.3.
6 Unbelief gives two characters to God, according to its circumstances. The unbeliever in prosperity and pleasure describes his God 'all mercy.' The same in adversity and pain, murmurs, rebels, and describes him all judgment. So Israel in the wilderness pronounced him. The believer ascribes both these attributes to God, and equally blesses him, and trusts him, and loves him, whether he give or take away.—C.
28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged7 our heart, saying, dThe people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great, and walled up to8 heaven; and, moreover, we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.
A.M. 2553. B.C. 1451.
7 Heb. melted.
d Nu. 13.28-33. ch. 9.1,2; 2.10. Ju. 1.10.
8 Passion and impatience always exaggerate—so we may easily account for this extravagant statement. C.——That is, with very high walls, which could not be easily scaled. High walls around houses, &c., in these parts of Arabia, are still deemed a sufficient defence against the Arabs, who scarcely ever attempt anything in the way of plunder except on horseback. The monastery on Mount Sinai is surrounded with very high walls without any gate; in the upper part of the wall, thirty-two feet from the ground, there is a sort of window or opening from which a basket, sometimes a rope with a loop at the end, is suspended by a pulley, by which both persons and goods are received into and sent from the place.—I.
29 Then I said unto you, eDread not, neither be afraid of them.
e ver. 21. Is. 41.10,14,15; 43.1,2. Ro. 8.31.
30 The LORD your God, fwhich goeth before you, he shall fight for you, gaccording to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;
f Ex. 14.14,25. Ne. 4.20. ch. 3.22; 20.4. Is. 31.4.
g Ex. vii.-xiv. Ps. 78.11-13,43-51; 105.24-36. Ne. 9.9-11.
31 And hin the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.
h Ex. xv. xxxiv Is. 63.9-14. Hos. 11.3. Nu. xi. Ac. 13.18. Ne. 9.12-22. Eze. 20.10-22.
33 Whok went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.
34 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,
35 Surelyl there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers,
l Nu. 14.23,24,29; 32.8,13. ch. 2.14,15. Ps. 95.11. He. 3.8-19.
36 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give mthe land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD.9
9 Heb. fulfilled to go after.—[This promise was fulfilled on the subsequent division of the country by lot. See Jos. xiv.—P.]
37 Alson the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.
n Nu. 20.12; 27.13,14. ch. 3.26; 4.21; 34.4. Ps. 106.32,33.
38 But Joshua the son of Nun, which ostandeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him; for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
o Ex. 17.9,10,13. ch. 3.28; 31.7,14. Nu. 27.18-23. Jos. 1.1-8.
39 Moreover, pyour little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.
40 But as for you, qturn you, and take your journey into the wilderness, by the way of the Red sea.
q Nu. 14.25. Eze. 20.18.
41 Then ye answered and said unto me, rWe have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.
42 And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them, sGo not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.
s Nu. 14.42. Ho. 9.12. Is. 59.1,2; 8.9,10.
43 So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but trebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously1 up into the hill.
44 And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and uchased you, as bees do,2 and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.
u Ps. 118.12. Nu. 14.45. Is. 7.18; 30.17. ch. 28.25; 32.30.
2 Creatures, each of which might be crushed beneath the finger of a child, and yet by their courage, fierceness, activity, and numbers, they either put their strongest assailants to flight, or destroy them by their stings. In well-inhabited and cultivated countries, where bees are comparatively few, the force of the comparison will not be easily perceived. Yet, even in the most improved districts they have been known to destroy dogs and horses. Pliny states, that from some districts of Crete they actually expelled the inhabitants, and Ælian declares that some parts of Scythia north of the Danube were so infested with bees as to be inaccessible; and Park, in his Travels in Africa, records an instance in which not only himself and his party were put to flight by them, but several beasts of their caravan actually stung to death. It is possible also there may be more in the comparison than meets the eye; for though we may not on a few examples affirm it for a general or universal rule, yet more than once have we seen it tried and verified, that he who has the coolness or courage to stand immovably still, and allow the exasperated bees to alight upon him, will remain untouched and unharmed, while those who run away are the object of their deadly hostility. May not the text, therefore, remind a people well accustomed to the dispositions of bees, that had the Israelites stood still the very show of courage would have repelled their enemies?—C.
45 And ye xreturned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.
46 So ye yabode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.
y Nu. 14.25-34.
Notes
[Ver. 1. Unto all Israel. Taking two scriptural examples as our guides, viz. 2 Ki. 23. 2; Ne. 8. 1-8; 2 Cr. 34. 30, in which we find 'all the people, great and small,' assembled to hear the reading of the law; both 'the men and the women, and all that could hear with understanding;' and considering the great extent to which a strong human voice, with a distinct enunciation, and in a still assembly, may be heard; and remembering that Moses might continue each day as long, at least, as Nehemiah did, ch. 8. 3, 'from morning until mid-day,' and repeat, day after day, the same instructions to different auditors, there will be no difficulty in understanding that he literally addressed this book in consecutive discourses to all Israel 'who could hear with understanding.' C.——This verse, when its purpose is understood, presents no serious difficulty to the interpreter. The object of the writer is to point out definitely where the words which follow were spoken:—Moses spake 'beyond Jordan;' so it is in the Hebrew. The Hebrew phrase 'beyond Jordan,' like the New Testament Peræa, was used as a proper name, to signify the country east of the Jordan independent altogether of the position of writer or speaker. Moses spake 'in the plain;' i.e., as the Hebrew has it, the Arabah, or great valley which intersects Palestine. This Arabah lay 'over against' the Red Sea; it began at the Gulf of Akabah, and extended from it in a straight line to the Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee. It lay between Paran on the west, and Tophel, a town of Edom (now Tufileh), on the east. Three other places are enumerated along its borders, in order to define more fully its extent. P.]
Ver. 2. [The mention of the Arabah appears to have suggested this incidental note of distance. A good part of the route of the Israelites from Horeb to Kadesh lay along it, for the Arabah is unquestionably 'the way of Mount Seir.' The mountain chain of Seir, or Edom, skirts the Arabah the whole way from the head of the Gulf of Elah to the Dead Sea. In fact, as the Gulf of Elah is the natural prolongation of the Arabah southwards, seven out of the 'eleven days' journey' from Horeb to Kadesh would be through the Arabah. This fact may possibly account for the statement in ver. 2, which most commentators have regarded as out of place. The distance from Horeb to Kadesh is about 160 miles. P.]
Ver. 7. [The terms employed in this verse are either proper names, or descriptive appellations, intended to define the country given in covenant-promise to the Israelites:—'The mount of the Amorites (eastern and central Palestine); in the Arabah (plain of Jordan); in the Mountain (hill country of Judah); in the Shephelah (plain of Philistia); in the Negeb (country along the south border of Palestine); by the shore of the sea the land of the Canaanites (Phœnicia); and Lebanon,' &c. This geographical description is exact and exhaustive. P.]
Ver. 14. [To do. In Ex. 18. 24, Moses, by advice of Jethro, chooses men to be, ver. 25, 'heads over the people, rulers of thousands,' &c., who 'judged the people at all seasons; the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.' Again, in Nu. 11. 16, Jehovah directs Moses to gather seventy elders to 'bear the burden of the people,' so that he should not 'bear it alone.' But this burden is not the burden of their legal questions, but of their murmurings and complaints; and these are distinct both in time, office, and endowments, from the rulers of thousands, &c.; for these rulers were appointed while Jethro was still at Sinai, Ex. 18. 27, but the seventy after Jethro was gone, and Hobab his son remained, Nu. 10. 29, and after the camp had moved from Sinai, Nu. 10. 12. Between the accounts of the appointment of the rulers of thousands, &c., in Exodus and Deuteronomy there is evident difference, but no contradiction. Jethro suggests referring the decision to God, Ex. 18. 23; God directs, and Moses submits the matter to the people's approval, and the rulers to their free election. C.]
Reflections.—It much becomes aged ministers, from time to time, to remind their people of the principal occurrences of Providence towards them, and of their carriage towards God under them: and the nearer their end, the more serious and diligent ought they to be in this work. In repeated views of the providences and oracles of God, some new and affecting circumstances will readily present themselves, to which we had not formerly adverted, and call forth new expressions of gratitude and praise: and it is beautiful when all the kindness of God is enjoyed, as founded on his spiritual promises. What a mercy is it to a nation when they have judges able, patient, pious, and impartial! But heinous is the guilt when, notwithstanding God's gracious promises and kind providences, we wickedly rebel against him; when, discrediting God's promise and care, we obstinately lean to our own understanding; and when we readily credit everything said in opposition to God's record, and disregard every encouragement to believe it! And men's wilfulness frequently manifests itself in such diversified contradictions to God's will! The most eminent saints share along with the wicked in their temporal miseries. And often they are forced to weep for their sufferings who would not weep for their sins. But, alas! to no purpose is weeping when the door of mercy is once shut. It is but the sorrow of the world, which worketh death.