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NOTES,
CRITICAL
AND PRACTl C VeT'
ON THE BOOK OF ^^-^'T^V ^T TPMM^-
•* vJAN l6 1911 EXODUS;W ^.-.-^ .
DESIGNED AS A GENERAL HELP TO
BIBLICAL READING AND INSTRUCTION.
s/-
Bt GEORGE BUSH,
PROF. OF HEB. AND ORIENT. LIT., N. Y. CITV UNIVERSITV.
IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I.
FIFTH EDITION.
NEW YORK :
PUBLISHED BY MARK H. NEWMAN.
199 BROADWAY.
1846.
Entered According to act of Congress, in (he year 1841, by
GEORGE BUSH,
In the Clerk's t ffice of the District Court of the Southern District of
New York.
STKRKOTYrED BY
FRANCIS F. RIPLE-i
No. 128 Fulton Street, N. Y.
INTRODUCTION
§ 1. Title, Author, Scope, ^c.
The designation given in our version to the second book of the Pentateuch, viz. 'Exodus,' is derived directly from the Greek c^oSoi, exodos, varying only by the Latinised termination us for os. The import of the term is that of going forth, emigration, departure, and is significant of the principal event recorded in it, to wit, the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt. According to Hebrew usage, though no where in the text itself, it is called m?3!I3 11^6^1 ve- elleh shemoth, and these are the names, from the initial words of the book. This phrase, however, is sometimes abbreviated by the Jewish writers to the simple term rn^D^U shemoth, the names.
That the authorship of this book is rightly ascribed to Moses, is proved by the arguments which go to ascertain the entire Pentateuch as the production of his hand. These are so fully detailed in our Introduction to Genesis, that it will be unnecessary to repeat them here. But we have in addition still more explicit evidence on this point. Moses testifies of him.self, Ex.24. 4, that he 'wrote all the words of the Lord,' commanded him on a certain occasion, which words are contained in this book. Our Savior, also, when citing. Murk 12. 26, a certain passage from this book, calls it 'the book of Moses.' And again, Luke 20. 37, he says, ' Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush.' It is moreover to be observed that the books of the Old Testament are spoken of in the New, Luke 15. 31, as divided into two grand classes, 'Moses and the proph- ets,' and in v. 16, 'the law and the prophets ;' so that all the Scriptures, besides 'the prophets,' were written by Moses ; in other words, the four books of the Maw' were written by him. There remains, therefore, no room for doubt that Moses wrote the book of Exodus, and if any thing more were necessary to estab- lish its canonical character, it would bo found in the fact mentioned by Rivet, that twenty-five passages are quoted from it by Christ and his Apostles in express terms, and nineteen as to the sense.
As to the general scope of the book, it is plainly to preserve the memorial of the great facts of the national history of Israel in its earlier periods, to wit, their deliverance from Egypt, the kindness and faithfulness of God in their subsequent preservation in the wilderness, the delivery of the Law, and the establi-shment of a new and peculiar system of worship. All the particulars connected with these several events are given in the fullest and most interesting detail, and in such a manner as to compel in the reader the recognition of an overruling Providence at every step of the narration. There is perhaps no book in the Bible that records
4 INTRODUCTION.
siKih an illustrious scries of miracles, or that keeps the divine agency so con- siaiilly before the mind's eye. Nor are the moral lessons which it teaches less prominent and striking. We find the Apostle Paul, 1 Cor. 10. 11, after having adverted to the course of Israel's experience as a nation, immediately adding, 'Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples ; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.' No sooner had he adverted to their privileges than he describes their chastisements, as inflicted to the intent that we should not so imitate their sin, as to provoke a visitation of the same vengeance. Indeed their whole history forms one grand prediction and outline of human redemption, and of the lot of the churcli. In the servitude of Israel we behold a lively image of the bondage to sin and Satan in which the unregencrale are held captive. In the deliverance from Egypt is foreshown their redemption from this horrid thraldom ; and the journey through the wilderness is agrapliic program of a Christian's journey through life to his final inheritance in the heavenly Canaan. So also, without minute specification, the manna of which the Israelites ate, and the rock of which they drank, as well as the brazen serpent by which they w-ere healed, were severally typical of corresponding particulars under the Christian economy. Add to this, that under the sacrifices, and ceremonial service of the Mosaic institute, were described the distinguishing features of the more spiritual worship of the Gospel.
It is necessary to bear in mind, if we would adequately understand the drift of the peculiar institutions which we find prescribed in the pages of this book, that the grand design of Heaven was to form the Israelites into a distinct and independent people, and to unite them in one great political and ecclesiastical body of whom Jehovah himself was to be the ackowledged head, constituting what is familiarly known as the Jewish Theocracy. But upon this unique kind of polity, which never had a parallel in the case of any other nation on earth, we have reserved a more extended train of remark in the Introduction to the Second Volume of this work, where the reader will find the whole subject amply dis- cussed.
§ 2. Time occupied by the History, Divisions, ^-c.
The period embraced by the history will be seen from the following com- putation : —
Years.
From death of Joseph to birth of Moses, 60
From birth of Moses to departure from Egypt, .... 81 From departure from Egypt to Tabernacle erected, ... 1
142 Some make the period from the death of Joseph to the birth of Moses to be 63 years, which will increase the sum total to 145 years, but the difference is too slight to make it necessary to state the grounds of either calculation. It is to be observed, however, that nearly the whole book is occupied in the detail of the events which occurred in the last year of the period above mentioned.
According to the Jewish arrangement this book is divided into eleven TilTr'^iQ parashoth, or larger divisions, and twenty G'^MD siderim, or smaller divisions
INTRODUCTION. 5
In our Bibles it is divided into forty chapters, which, according to the different subjects treated, may be classified as follows: —
I. The oppression of the Israelites in Egypt, ch. 1.
II. The birth and early life of Moses, ch. 2.
III. The legation of Moses, ch. 3, 4. 1—29.
IV. The mission of Moses, and the infliction of the first eight plagues,
ch. 4. 29— 10. 21.
V. The institution of ihe Passover, ch. 12. 1 — 21.
VI. The conclusion of the ten plagues, ch. 10. 21—12. 21—31.
VII. The exodus, ch. 12. 31-37, and 40—42.
VIII. The wanderings in the wilderness, from Rameses in Egypt to Mount
Sinai, ch. 12. 37—40 to ch. 19. 1, 2.
IX. Moses called up into the mount, and tlie preparation of the people
for the renewing of the Covenant, ch. 19.
X. The moral law delivered, ch. 20.
XI. The judicial and ceremonial law delivered, ch.21 — 31.
XII. The idolatry of the Israelites, and their punishment with the re-
newal of the Covenant, ch. 32 — 34.
XIII. The oflTerings for and the construction of the tabernacle, ch.35 — 39.
XIV. The tabernacle erected, and covered by the cloud of the divine
Presence, ch. 40.
§ 3. Commentators.
Throughout the great mass of biblical criticism and exposition embodied in our own and foreign languages, there are comparatively few works devoted to the book of Exodus alone ; nor is it always from these that the student or commen- tator can expect to derive the most valuable aid. For the most part, the com- mentaries which embrace either the whole Scriptures, or extended portions of them, are the store-houses from whence the materials of exegetical illustration are to be sought. Of these the Critici Sacri, the Synopsis of Pool, the Scholia of Rosenmuller, the Annotations of Leclerc, Ainsworth, and Patrick, will always hold the chief rank in the estimation of the scholar, next to the Ancient Versions and Targums contained in Walton's Polyglot. These accordingly have been al- ways at hand, as a constant tribunal of reference, through every stage o£ the progress of the present work. But it is obvious at a glance, that so vast is the variety of subjects necessarily brought under review in the course of this book, that no one class of authorities will by any means suffice for its adequate elucida- tion. Philology, Geography, Antiquities, History, Architecture, the arts of Sculp- ture, Engraving, Dyeing, Weaving, Embroidering, to say nothing of the peculiar systemof Law, Jurisprudence, and Worship, enjoined upon the Israelites, all pre- fer their claims for more or less of illustration at the hands of him who assumes the task of expounding in order the chapters of Exodus. It would scarcely be pos- sible, therefore, to enumerate all the works which have gone to constitute the ap- paratus for the present undertaking, without citing the entire list of biblical helps appended to the Introduction to tl\p Notes on Genesis, besides a great multitude of others which are there omitted. In fact, we know of no book in the Bible
6 INTRODUCTION.
that demands so great a diversity of material for its exposition as the second book of the Pentateuch. How far the various and voluminous sources of in- formation, to which llie author has had access, have been made available to his grand purpose in the execution of the present work, is a question that awaits the decision of his readers. A very minute specification might invite a more critical comparison, and present a more palpable contrast, between his advan- tat^es and his achievement, than would redound to the credit of his work. At the same time, he cannot in candor confess to any conscious lack of effort to do the utmost justice to every part of his self-imposed labor — if that may be called a la- bor, which has proved, from beginning to end, an unfailing source of pleasure.
The following catalogue is not given as complete, but merely as indicating, in addition to those already specified, the most important collateral aids to a full critical and ethical developement of the sense of this remarkable book.
I. Jewish and Christiana- Rabbinical Commentators.
R. Salomonis Jarchi, dicti Raschi, Commentarius Hebraicus, in quinque Libros Mosis, Latine versus atque Notis Critics ae philologicis illustratus a JoH. Frederico Breithaupto. Gothae, 1713. 4lo.
Jarchi, or Raschi, as he is usually called from combining, according to Hobrew usage, the three initial letters of his name (■'"ii;"!), is generally ])]ated by the Jews at the head of their commentators. They call him ' the great light' and ' the lioly moutli,' from the value attached to his learned commrnts on the Law and th»^ Proj)hels. These I have found occasionally to contain some hapjiy verbal criticisms, and in the account of the construction of the tabernacle, in par- ticular, his remarks are plain, common-sense, and valuable ; but in the main lie indulges in the characteristic silly conceits of the Rabbins, and his style, with all the aid it derives from Breithau}it's excellent notes and ))ara)!hrases, is so ob- scure as to render him of little service to one who cares not for words without meaning. He was a native of Troyes in Champagne, and died, A.D. IISO.
R. IsAACi Abarbanelis Commentarius in Pentateuchum Mosis, cura Henrici J. Van Banshuisen. Hanovite, 1710. Folio.
Rabbi Abarbanel, or Abravanel, as the name is sometimes written, was a Portugupsp Jew, who flourished in the fifteenth century, and wrote commeritaries on the Pentateuch, the whole of the Prophets, and some other books of Scri))ture. He also is highly esteemed by his countrymen, and though an exceedingly bitter enemy of Christianity, yet Father Simon says of him, 'We may, in my opinion, rea^ more advantage in Scripture-translation from R. Isaac Abravanel, than from any other Jew. He has written in an elegant and perspicuous style, although he is too copious and sometimes affects rhetoric more than strict fidelity to the sacred text.' As the voluine abovemenlioned came into niy hands only at a very advanced stage of my own work, I have been unable to make any direct uf^e of it. Through the medium of Rosenmuller and Cartwright, however, his remarks have occasionally found their way into my Notes.
Christophori Cartwright Electa Targumico-Rabbinica ; sive Annotationes in Exodutn ex trijjlici Targum. Lond. ]Go3. Svo.
This is a valuable work, ptirely critical, made up almost entirely of materials drawn from the Rabbinical couimentaries and the Chaldee and other ancient versions. It is used much ofiener than quoted by Rosenmuller.
Ainsworth's (H.) Annotations upon the Second Book of Moses, called Exo- dus. Lond. 1639. Fol.
INTRODUCTION. I
This is the second part of the author's invahiable work on the Pentateuch. It is rich ill pertinent citations from Jewish sources, and in that kind ol verbal criticism which consists in laying open tiie u$us loqucndi of the original is en- tirely without a parallel.
Lightfoot's Handful of Gleanings out of the Book of Exodus. Works (Pit- man's Ed. in 13 vols.), Vol. II. p. 351—409.
This is a collection of remarks critical, chronological, historical, and tal- mndical upon detached portions of Exodus. As in all Ligiitlnot's works, some of his observations are of considerable value, olliers of very little.
II. Christian Commentators.
Willett's Hexapla in Exodum ; that is, a sixfold commentary upon the Book of Exodus, according to the Method propounded in the Hexapla upon Genesis. Lond. 160S. Folio.
A voluminous and tedious Commentary, but not without its value, especially as embodying and usually conluting ihe interpretations of the Romanists. He compares also the various versions and deduces doctrinal and moral inlcrences.
RivETi's (Andr.) Opera Theologica. Rotterdam, 1651. 2 Tom. Folio.
The first of these huge volumes contains the author's Exercitations on Genesis and Exodus. They are very elaborate and generally judicious, but marked with the prolixity of the seventeenth century. At the present day they are merely commentaries for commentators.
Hopkins' (Wm.) Corrected Translation of Exodus, with Notes critical and explanatory. Lond. 1784. 4lo. Said to be a work of little value.
III. Miscellaneous and Illustrative Works.
Pictorial Bible with Wood-cuts and Original Notes. Lond. 1S36-8. 3 vols. Roy. Svo.
For a character of this very valuable work see the Preface to my Notes on Genesis. The ' Pictorial History of Palestine,' now in course of publication by the same author, is a work of similar character, and abounding with rich ma- terials for illustrating the Old Testament history.
Buddicom's Christian Exodus, or the Deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, practically considered in a series of Discourses. Lond. 1839. 2 vols. 12mo.
Bahr's Symbolikdes Mosaischen Cultus (Symbolism of the Mosaic Worship). Heidelb. 1837—9. Svo.
An exceedingly curious and valuable work, entering into the most profound re- searches respecting the symbolical character of the Tabernacle and Temple ritual.
Graves' (Rich.) Lectures on the Four Last Books of the Pentateuch. Lond. 1815, 2 vols. Svo.
Faber's (G. S.) Horae Mosaicse ; or a Dissertation on the Credibility and Theology of the Pentateuch. Lond. 1818. 2 vols. Svo.
The leading olijt-ct of this york is to establish the authenticity of the Penta- teuch, by pointing out tlie coincidence of its facts and statements wit h the re- n.ains o( profane antiquity, and their connexion will) Christianity. It is a pro- duction of great value to the biblical student.
8 INTRODUCTION.
Treatise on the Patriarchal, Levitical, and Christian Dispensations.
Lond. 1823. 2 vols. 8vo.
This Treatise exhibits all the strong masculine sense, and extensive classical erudition lliat distinguish the author, but Irom its greater license of hypothesis in particular parts is perhaps generally less esteemed than the 'Horee Mosaicae' mentioned above. The attentive reader, however, cannot but derive lioni it many very imjiortant ideas on the subject of sacred antiquity. His refutation of some of Warburton's bold positions is eminently successful.
Outram's (\Vm.) Two Dissertations on Sacrifices ; translated by Allen. Lond. 1817. Svo. A standard work on the subject of which it treats.
MicHAELis' (J. D.) Commentaries on the Laws of Moses ; translated by Smith. Lond. 1S14. 4 vols. Svo.
The value of this, the main work of its author, depends upon the degree to which it is imbued with the genius of Orientalism, and the sagacity discovered in tracing the connexion between the institutions of Moses and the various influ- ences of climate, manners, hereditary usages, and other national characteristics which may be supposed to have governed their adoption. Its great fault is its treating the Mosaic jurisprudence and ritual as if it originated with Moses rather than with God. It is also occasionally disfigured with a levity and grossness very unsuited to its subject. Yet it throws too much light on the wisdom and design of the Levitical code not to be on the whole a very valuable, as well as very interesting work.
Robinson's (Prof. E.) Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai, and Arabia Petraea. A Journal of Travels in the year 1838, by E. Robinson, and E. Smith ; undertaken in reference to Biblical Geography ; with new Maps and Plans. New York, 1841. 3 vols. Svo.
From no source have I experienced greater regret in looking back upon the execution of my task, than in not having been able, from the late date of its pub- licaiion, to avail myself oi" the rich topographical treasures contained in this work. In all that relates to the geogra])hy of the land of Goshen, tlie region of the Israelites' sojourn in Egypt; to Ihe route from thence to the Red Sea ; to the passage of that sea ; to the wilderness of Sin ; and to the interesting local- ities of the Sinai tract, the researches of the American travellers have settled a multitude of disputed points, and in fact opened a new era in the progress of Biblical geography. The very maps themselves are sufficient to have produced this result, even had the matter of the journal been wanting. Both together form a noble contribution to the cause of sacred science, of which the age and the coimtry that have given birth to it may well be proud. The portion of the work which treats of Palestine I have not yet seen, though I am assured by the author that it contains more of discovery than any other.
THE BOOK OF EXODUS.
N
CHAPTER I. OW a these are the names of the children of Israel, which
a Gen. 40. 8.— ch. 6. 14.
CHAPTER I.
The prominent subject of the book upon which we now enter, as intimated by its title, is the wonderful deliverance of the nation of Israel from their bond- age in Egypt. But as this and all the great events in the history of that peo- ple were matters of express prediction and promise on the part of God ; the sacred writer commences his narrative with a virtual commentary on the prom- ise made to Abraham, Gen. 15. 5, that his seed should from small beginnings eventually become as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sands on tlie sea shore. Though the migration of Jacob's family from Canaan to Egypt, and the oppression to which they were subjected, would seem to have threat- ened the complete frustration of the divine puq:)0ses in regard to the increase of Abraham's seed, yet the writer shows that notwithstanding it was but a mere handful of that seed that was sown in the adverse soil of Egypt, yet the harvest which sprung from it was vast beyond conception, and such as to illustrate the divine veracity in the most glorious manner. Many interesting incidents had no doubt occurred between the death of Joseph and the incipient bond- age of Israel ; but these are passed over in silence because they did not bear particularly upon the fulfilment of any special prediction. But God would have nothing lost that was essential to the proof of his faithfulness in his covenant rel.itions. He deems it of more im-
came into Egypt ; every man and his household came with Jacob.
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
portance to confirm faith than to gratify curiosity.
I. Now these are the names. Heb, tTl^"I3 n^i<1 ve-elleh shemoth, and these are the names. The use of the Hebrew copulative 1 and is peculiar. Though its ordinary office in a continuous nar- rative is that of a connective, yet it frequently occurs at the beginning of a book where it can have no reference to any thing preceding, as Est. 1.1,' Now it came to pass.' Heb. And it came to pass. Compare Ruth 1.1, Ezek. 1. 1. Here, however, as well as in the com- mencemert of the two following books, it is probably to be taken in its con- nective sense, indicating the continua- tion of the foregoing narrative. The books of Moses appear not to have been orginally divided, as at present, into five separate portions, but to have con- stituted one unbroken volume. This is inferred from tlie manner in which the writings of Moses are quoted in the New Testament, where no such distinc- tion is recognized. See Luke 16. 31.
IT Which came. Heb. t:">i^in hab-
baim, which (were) coming. See Note
on Gen. 46. 8. TT Every man and his
household. Heb.in"im "i!;*ii< ishv-betho, every one and his house. Chal. ' Every one and the men of his household.' On this frequent sense of the term * liouse' see Note on v. 21. Gr. £Kar-o^ Truf tvi, each icith his whole household.
2 — 4. Reuben, Simeon, &c. In this enumeration the sons of tlie handmaids are reckoned last, which accounts for
10
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1706.
4 Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were ^ seventy
1> Gen. 46. t2(), 27.— ver 20. Deut. 10. 22.
Benjamin's occupying the seventh place instead of the eleventh. The frequent mention of the names of the twelve patriarchs in the sacred history lays a foundation for the numerous allusions in the sacred writings to this as a mystical number applied to the church of the New Testament. Thus in Rev. 7. 5 — 8, mention is made of the twelve tribes of Israel, and of tivelve thousand sealed out of every tribe ; ch. 12. 1, of the twelve stars upon the woman's crown ; ch. 21. 12 — 14, of the twelve gates, and twelve foundations of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem ; where it may be observed that the jasper foundation, the precious stone in the breast-plate ill which Benjamin's name was written, Ex. 28. 20, is the first in order. Moses also in Deut. 33. 12, assigns Benjamin his blessing before his elder brother Joseph.
5. All the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob. Heb. I^y^ ^va'^ rCD bl: -pS/"^ kol nephesh yotzee yerek Yaakob, all the soul (collect, sing.) of the pro- cceders-out-nf the thigh of Jacob ; the usual idiom for expressing phj'sical
generation. IT Seventy souls. Tliat
is, persons. See Note on Gen. 14. 21. By comparing this passage with Gen. 46. 27, it appears that the whole num- ber, exclusive of Jacob himself, amount- ed to 66 ; including him to 67 ; so that Joseph with his two sons are necessary to make up the complement. If it be objected that this mode of enumeration represents Jacob as coming out of his own thigh, we refer in replj' to the Note on a similar phraseology, Gen. 35. 22, 26. The Sept. version, which trans- fers the final clause of this verse to the beginning of it, states the number at 75, which is followed by Stephen, Acts
souls : for Joseph was in Egypt already.
6 And c Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
c Gen. 50. 26. Acts. 7. 15.
7. 14. For an explanation of this ap- parent discrepancy, see Note on Gen.
46. 27. IT For Joseph was in Egypt
already ; and therefore is to be except- ed from the number that came into Egypt, though not from the number of Jacob's descendants. Chal. ' With Jo- seph, who was in Egypt.'
6. And Joseph died, &c. After at- taining to the age of 110 years, during 80 of which he was a ruler in Egypt. Of tiis sepulture nothing is here said ; but we learn elsewhere that his re- mains, as well as those of his breth- ren, were carried out of Egypt and buried in Sychem in the land of Canaan,
Exod. 13. 19. Acts, 7. 16. H All that
generation. Not only the whole gene- ration of Joseph's kindred, but all the men of that age, Egyptians as well as Israelites. Compare Gen. 6. 9. Gener- ations are mortal as well as individuals, nor can the nearest relations keep each other alive. The term of their exist- ence, as well as the bounds of their habitation, is set by God himself A very considerable lapse of time how- ever is implied in this expression, as Levi lived to the age of 137, and con- sequently survived Joseph by 27 years. The passage forms a natural introduc- tion to the ensuing history of the great change that occurred in the condition of the Israelites under the next reign. During the long period of the sojourn- ing of Joseph and his brethren in Egypt nothing transpired to mar the peace and prosperity which they there enjoy- ed, or to prevent the men of that gene- ration passing off the stage in silent suc- cession, till a new race had impercept- ibly sprung up to occupy their places. Eccl. 1. 4, ' One generation passcth away, and another generation cometh,'
B. C. ]635.]
CHAPTER I.
U
7 H^And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abun- dantly, and multiplied, and waxed
<iGei).46.3. Deut.26.5. Fs.105.24. Acts 7. 17.
7. Were fruitful. Heb. l"iiD paru, a term often applied to the vigorous fructi- fication of trees and plants, and implying here that none of the Israelitish women ■were barren ; they began early and con- tinued long in bearing, and not unfre- quently perhaps brought forth more than one at a birth. Gr. r}vlri()r)(Tar, were
augmented. IT Increased abundantly.
Heb. "IS^'^ZJ"! yishretzu, bred swiftly, like fishes, or reptiles. See Note on Gen. 1.20. Gr. enXTiQwdrjiav, were mul- tiplied. Vulg. ' Quasi germinantes mul- tiplicati sunt,' as it were springing up
were multiplied. IT Multiplied. Heb.
13'^'^ yirbu, became numerous. Gr. ^vSai'H EytvovTo, became diffusely abund- ant. IT Waxed exceeding mighty.
Heb. I^DlHy^ yaatzmu, became strong. Gr. Kariu-^vov, prevailed. The accumu- lation of these nearly synonimous terms gives the utmost intensity to the wri- ter's meaning, and conveys the idea of amazing and unparalleled increase. This is elsewhere abundantly confirm- ed. It was 430 years from the call of Abraham to the deliverance from Egypt, during the first 21.5 of which the pro- mised seed increased to but 70 souls, but during the latter half of the same period these 70 were multiplied, Num. 1.46, to 600,000 fighting men; and if to these we add the women, the child- ren, and the aged, the whole number probably amounted to upwards of two millions ! Well then does the psalmist say, Ps. 105. 24, that < he increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their enemies.' See also Deut. 26. 5.
8. There arose up a new king over Egypt. Gr. avt<TrT\ (iaii\tv<; Lrepoi, there
I arose up another king. This rendering [ is somewhat remarkable, as the literal [ trinslation of IDin is not irepos, an-
exceeding mighty ; and the land was filled with them. 8 Now there e arose up a new
« Acts 7. 18.
other, but Kntvo^, new. It probably im- plies a king of another race, of a differ- ent dynasty, one who came to the throne, not by regular succession, but in consequence of intestine revolution or foreign conquest. This interpreta- tion seems to be warranted by the anal- ogous usage of the word ' new' in the following and numerous other passages ; Deut. 32. 17, 'They sacrificed unto devils, not to God ; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods tliat came newly up ;' i. e. to strange gods, to exotic deities. Judg. 5. 8, ' Tliey chose new gods ;' i. e. other or strange gods, the gods of the heathen. So Mark, 16. 17, ' They shall speak with new tongues ;' i.e.Avith foreign tongues, the languages of other people. The informations of profane history on this point are ex- ceedingly vague and meagre, but it is contended by some writers, that it was about thif time that Egypt was invaded and occupied by a powerful Asiatic people, whose rulers formed the dy- nasty of shepherd-kings, of whom so much is said in Manetho, Herodotus, and others. Josephus also (Ant. L. II. c. 9. § 1.) expressly affirms that the Israelites were oppressed by the Egyp- tians after the death of Joseph, ' the government having been transferred to another family.'' But even were this point involved in far less obscurity than it is, it would comport but little with our plan to enter into its discussion. Mattersof mere historical interest, of which the Scriptures say nothing, come rather within the province of the anti- quarian than of the commentator.
IT Which knew not Joseph. That is, who regarded not, who appreciated not. A like phraseology occurs Judg. 2. 10, ' And there arose anotlier generation which knew not the Lord, neither the
12
kinjf over Kf^ pt, JoM-ph.
EXODUS, wliioh kiu'W not
[B. C. 1635.
work<» which he hnd (I<»no for Israel.' Tlmt i-, which did not gratefully ac- knotritd^t the Lord, or his various vorks of mercy towards them. The memory of the name and services of so eminent a benefactor could not but have been preserved among the nation, and must, as a matter of report, have come lo the ears of tlie king, but it is a pe- culiarity of words of knoulcd^e^ in the Hebrew, that they imjily abo the excr- ciw of tlie affections. Thus, Ps. 1. 6, ' The Lord knoueth the way of the righteous,' i.e. loveth. Ps. 31.7,' Thou hast known my soul in adversities ;' i. e. thou hast tenderly regarded. Prov. 24. 23, * It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.' Heb. ' to knoiv persons.' Job. 34. 19, * How much less to him that acceptelh not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor.' Heb. ' nor knoweth the rich.' It was probably in this sense that the new king is said not lo have Amoim Joseph, and this is loss to be wondered at if, as sucgested above, he was of a foreign nation and another dynasty. The Chal. renders it, ' Who confirmed not the decree of Joseph,' i. e. according to Fagius, cither that he totally di>regarded all the ordinances and enactments which Joseph had orig- inatefl. antl intrwluced universal inno- Talion ; or that he utterly broke through ■11 the compacts and covenants existing hetwern Joseph as the representative of Israel, anfl the Pharaoh who then filled the throne, and began cruellv to oppress a people whom his predecessor had «wom to protect and befriend. Both the Tanpim of Jonathan and that of Jeniiabm adhere to the former sense ; ' Who considered not Joseph, nor walk- ed in his statutes.' The comment of Rabbi Solomon probably brings us still nearer to the true sense, ' Who acted
9 And he said unto his people, Bt'hold, <"llie people of the children
f Ps. 105.24.
as if he did not know him.' It is doubt- less to be set down to the account of an exemplary modesty in Joseph that no more eflectual means had been adopted to secure among the Egyptians the abiding memory and acknowledgment of his great services to that people. Had he been of an aspiring spirit, covet- ous of present or posthumous fame ; had he sought great things lor himsrll or his kindred, we cannot question but that monuments and various other me- ,
morials would have transmitted his I name to posterity as an illustrious bene- i
factor of his adopted country. But no prompting of this nature appears to have sw^ayed the bosom of Joseph. As his hopes were fixed upon the posses- sion of the promised inheritance, he seems to have accounted it sufficient simply to enjoy, for the time being, the hospitality of a foreign prince, till the destined period of removal should ar- rive, without multiplying the ties which would then have to be broken. But just in proportion as he was little anx- ious and aspiring on this score, was the ingratitude and forgetfulness of the j
Eg}'ptians the more culpable. It is only the basest spirit of the world that will take occasion, from the lowliness oi the claims of an eminent public servant, i
to bury in speedy oblivion the rcmem- | brance of his services. Yet his was but the lot of thousands, whose noblest benefactions to their fellow men have been repaid with the most imgrateful neglect. The poor man by his wisdom delivereth the city, yet no man remem- berelh that same poor man. Could we find a national conscience, we might look for national gratitude.
9. He said unto his people. To his people in the persons of their represent- atives, his counsellors. ^ Behold, *
the people of the children of Israel. Heb. f
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CHAPTER I.
13
ol Israel are more and mightier than we.
10 g Come on, let us i^deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and
S Ps. 10. 2. & 63. 3, 4. h'jol). 5. 13. Ps. 105. 25. Prov. 1(5. 25. & 21. 30. Acts. 7. 19.
^&i"iu;'' ^21 ^V am bene Yisrael. This is rendered in most of the ancient ver- sions as in ours ; but Aben Ezra re- marks, with undoubted correctness, that 'n'$ people is not here in the construct state, but in apposition with 'ijD child- ren, so as to require the rendering, ' the people, the children of Israel.' A dis- tinctive and not conjunctive accent is
placed upon people. IT More and
mightier. Heb. SI^S^I ^'^rahve-atzum., many and mighty bej^ond us. They had become mightier by becoming more ; that is, not perhaps absolutely more ; not so as to outnumber the population of all Egj-pt ; but more in proportion to the space occupied ; more within any given limits. ' He speaks,' saj^s Trapp, ' as if he had looked through a multi- plying glass ;' and it is scarcely extrav- agant to say, that such a multiplying glass was in fact the promise given to Abraham. By others, the words have been regarded as a false pretext for re- ducing the Israelites to bondage. But this we think less probable.
10. Let us deal wisely with them. Heb. 1^ ri?2:znri2 nithhakkemah lo, let us deal wisely against him (collect, sing, for plur.) ; i. e. cunningly, craft- ily ; let us devise some method of op- pressing them, of preventing their enor- mous increase, and at the same time avoid the show of oppression and down- right t}Tanny, and the danger arising from their great physical force. Gr. •ciTa- co)fi<T(.)fjcOn, let us outwit them. Vulg. Sapienter opprimamus eum, let us unsely oppress him {them). Chal. ' Let us deal wisel)^ against them.' The original term S«n hakam, is used for the most part in a good sense for acting wisely, .skilfully, prudently, yet it occasionally carries v,-ith it the import of cunning,
Vol. I 9
it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enen\ies, and tight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
subtlety, wiliness, and in Ps. 10.3. 20, in reference to this very event, we find the equivalent term ^^Drin hithnakkcl, from P-2 to coritrive deceitfully or insidious- ly, ' lie turned their hearts to hate liis people, to deal suhtilely with his serv- ants.' The icisdom here proposed to be eiT^plfijTed was the wisdom of the ser- pent; but with men of reprobate minds, governed solely by the corrupt spirit of this world, whatever measures tend to promote their own interests and cir- cumvent their opponents, is dignified by the epithet wise, though it be found when judged by a purer standard, to be in reality nothing less than the very policy of hell. So easily is language perverted, and made a sanction for the
most iniquitous proceedings. IT Lest
they multiply, &c. That is, lest they continue to multiply, and become more and mightier still. It is obvious, how- ever, that the mere multiplication of the Israelites was no just ground of alarm, so long as they were well used and no provocation given theni to turn against the people with whom they dwelt. They were a peaceful race of shei)herds, who looked upon themselves as mere temporary sojourners in Eg}^t, and who would therefore be the last to engage in plots and insurrections against the government. The promises given them by God, and the hopes which they entertained as a nation, were the strong- est security which the Egyptians could have that nothing was to be apprehend- ed from them on the score of rebellion. Indeed, a nation so evidently favored of Heaven, instead of being regarded as a source of danger, could not but prove a bulwark of defence to the country, if treated as friends. But the wicked fear where no fear is, and when intent upon
14
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1635.
11 Therefore they did set over them taskiiuisters, >to alllict ihem
«Gen. 15 1?. cli. 3. 7. Dcut. 26. 6.
oppression or wrong they will feign oc- casions for it, and pretend the existence in others of the same evil purposes which they cherish themselves. Look- ing throui^h the Himsy veil with which Iheir real motives were covered, we see plainly that hatred of their religion, envy at their prosj)erity, and a covetous <lesire of possessing their riches, prompt- ed the oppressors of Israel to tliese ne- farious counsels. But it should not be forgotten on the other hand, that the truly wi.te counsels of God in reference to his own people lay deeper than those of their enemies. It is clear from vari- ous intimations in tlie sacred writers, as Josh. 24. 14. Ezek. 20. 5—8, and 23. S, that the chosen people were beginning to lapse into the idolatry of Egypt, which justly subjected them to the hard- ships which they were now made to en- dure ; and the train of events was now also to be laid which was to result in their deliverance from the house of bondage. Their covenant God had a rich blessing in store for them, but he determines, by the antecedent bitter- ness of their lot, to enhance its sweet- ness when it came. IT When there
fallcth out any u-ar. Heb. nDS^^pri n'crip'^ tikrenah milhamah. The ori- ginal here presents a grammatical ano- maly in point of concord, the verb ' fall- eth out,' being in the plural, while the substantive, ' war,' is in the singular. Such instances occur where it is the ob- ject of the writer to give at once a col- lective and distributive sense to the term employed. This import of the phraso our translators have endeavored to intimate by introducing, very proper- ly, the rpithol ' any,' which does not occur in the Ilebrov.-. A usage precisely similar is met with in the following passages J Ps. 119. 103, ' Rovi sweet are
with their k burdens. And they built fur Pharaoh treasure-cities, Piihom, land Raamses.
kch.2. 11. &5. 4,5. Ps. 81.6. 1 Gen. 47. 11.
thy ivords unto my taste ;' i. e. all and singular of thy words. Prov. 28. 1 , ' The wicked flee when no man pursueth ;' i. e. the wicked, one and all, flee. So also 1 Tim. 2. 15, ' Notwithstanding she shall be saved in child-bearing, if they con- tinue in faith, and charity, and holiness.' 11. Set over them task-masters, or, tax-gatherers. Heb.i^IL" Ti^^J ^^D^'^^l Q'^D72 va-yashnu alauv sarii missim, and they placed over him (collect, sing.) masters of burdens. The original is frequently used to denote tribute, but here, and occasionally elsewhere, it doubtless has the sense of tasks, buT' dens, onerous services, such as were probably imposed upon those who could not or would not pay the appointed tribute. The term therefore which pri- marily signified tribute was employed to denote its substitute or equivalent service. Gr. epyoiv eniaTaTai, masters of works. Chal. ' Princes or prefects evil- entreating (them).' Syr. 'Worst of rulers.' Targ. Jon. ' Prefects who made
them to serve.' IT To afflict them
with their burdens. Heb. Cfi^^CD iri33> annotho bc-siblotham, to humble him (collect, sing.) uith their burdens ; i. e. with tlie burdens of their imposing ; the suffix ' their' having reference to the Egyptians and not the Israelites. It is worthy of notice that the term nS anah, afflict, here used is the very term in which God had predicted to Abra- ham, hundreds of years before the hard lots of his seed ; Gen. 15. 13, ' And they shall afflict (ID^I ve-innu) them four hundred years.' Their purpose evidently was by their severe exactions of tribute and labor not only to afflict and im- poverish them, but utterly to break down their spirits, to destroy their energy, and thus eventually to check their pro- digious increase. With this view they
B. C. 1635. j
CHAPTER 1.
15
were suddenly reduced to a state of vassalage \ thoy were declared to be the absolute property of the crown ; and the whole of the male population being told otf into companies, was employed night and day under their task-masters, upon public works, and driven like cat- tle into the fields. They were com- pelled to dig clay, to make bricks, to bear burdens, and to build cities, whilst at the same time no doubt the great- est cruelties were exercised towards them. Of this period of the Jewish histor)'-, Josephus thus speaks : ' And having, in length of time, forgotten the benefits the}' had received from Joseph, particidarly the crown being now come into another family, they became very abusive to the Israelites, and contrived many ways of afflicting them ; for they enjoined them to cut a great number of channels for the river, and to build walls for their cities, and ramparts that they might restrain the river, and hinder its waters from stagnating, upon its rim- ning over its own banks. They set them also to build p^Tamids ; and by all this wore them out, and forced them to learn all sorts of mechanical arts, and to ac- custom themselves to hard labor.' All this was done under the expectation that multitudes of them would perish from over exertion, whilst all would become so enfeebled as that the progress of population would be etfectually check- ed. But as usual where men set them- selves to counteract the fixed purposes of God, the result proved directly con- trary to their anticipations. When the language of his decree is, ' Increase and multiply,' it is equally idle and impi- ous for the edict of puny mortals to pro- claim, ' Abstain and be diminished.'
IT And they built treasure cities. Heb. mD-D?2 *i*i2' 'P'^T? va-yibcn arc miske- noth, and he built (collect, sing.) citie-s of store, as the phrase is rendered 2 Chron. 16. 4, < And they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store-cities (mj^0?3 miskenoth) of
Naphtali ;' and 17. 12, ' And Jchosha- phat waxed great exceedingly j and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store (m3^D72 miskenoth).'' Difterent ver- sions, however, present different ren- derings, among which are store-houses, granaries^ fortresses^ and nulled towns. The Chal. has ' Cities of the house of treasure j' i. e. cities in which treasures are deposited ; but what kind of trea- sures we are not informed. Probably they were cities that served not so much for places where the king laid up his riches, as for depots and granaries for corn. Syr. and Arab. ' Store-houses for corn.' This is confirmed by 2 Chron. 32. 28, from which we learn that Heze- kiah caused the erection of store-houses (mijSD^ miskenoth) for the increase of com, and wine, and oil.' The Gr. renders it by ttoAeis 0 y"P^'?j fortified cities, not because this is the primary meaning of the original words, but because it was proper and customary that cities which were to be made repositories for the safe keeping of any articles whatever should be enclosed by walls and strong- ly fortified. Large armies were no doubt subsisted even in times of peace by the kings of Egypt, which would make such depots necessary ; and per- haps the very force required to carry into execution the measures against the Is- raelites would lead to the erection of these places as public stores. The Vulg. has' urbes tabcrnaculorum,' cities of tabernacles, undoubtedly from mis- taking the original for rilDSII^^G mish-
kenoth, which signifies tabernacles.
^Pithom andRaamses. The Jerus. Targ. makes these places to be Tanis and Pelusium ; but nothing certain can be determined respecting their site. As the land of Goshen, however, is called ' the land of Rameses,' Gen. 47. 1 1 , there is reason to believe that the latter towTi was in that land, to which it gave or from which it received its name. See Professor Stuart's Course of Hebrew Study, Vol. II., Excursus II., which con-
16
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1G35.
12 But the morp they afTlicted i children of Israel to serve with ihein, the more they multiplied and ijrew. And they were irrieved berausf u( the children ol" Israel.
i:» And the Egyptians made the
tains a very able and interesting view of the topograjihy of tinshcn.
12. The more they aJJUcted them, &c. Hob. irH "Zy^ TrXl ka-a.sher- yc-annu otho, according as they afflicted him (collect, sing.), so he mxtUiplied and so he brake forth (into a multitude). The lallcr verb '^''■*,C"' yiphrotz is the same as that which occurs tlen. 2S. 14, to de- note a rapid and, as it were, a burst- inn; increase and dilfusion ; ' Thou shalt spread abroad (yiiir tiphrotz) to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south.' The liistorian's words depict to us the conflict between the favor of God and the cruelty of the Kgyptian king. Tlie more his people sulfered from the tyranny of their mas- ters, the more prolific the women proved to be, tlius showing, that ' there is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord.' Some com- mentators liave been disposed to resort to natural causes to account for tliis amazing increase, but we are satis- fied with tiie solution otfered by the words of the promise. Gen. 15. 5, ' Look now toward heaven and tell tlie stars, if tliou be able to number them — so shall
thy seed be.' tr They were grieved
because of the children of Israel. Heb. I^Tp"^ yakutzu. The leading idea is doubtless that of mmgled chagrin and abhorrence. Finding that, in spite of all their etforts, tlie people continued to increase, they were tilled with inward Texation, and there was something irk- some in the very thought of the hated race of Israel, "chal. ' There was tribu- lation (vexation) to the Egyptiaris by rea-son of the children of Israel.' (^r. tliic\vaaovT>, they uere abominated, just as one is said to be * scandalized' by that which is a cause of otTence j they
ngouT. 14 And they ^made their lives
> ch. 2. 23. & 6. 0. 19, 34.
NuiTib. 20. 15. Acts
regarded the Israelites as an abomina- tion. The import of the original word may be gathered from its use in the fol- lowing connexions. Gen. 27. 46, ' I am weary ("Ti^p) of my life, because of the daughters of Heth.' Num. 21. 5, ' Our soul loaf heth (H'^p) this light bread.' Lev. 20. 23, ' They committed all these things, and therefore I abhor- red (f p!^) them.' A passage still more to the point occurs Nurn. 22. 3, where a like cause of vexation is hinted at ; ' And Moab was sore afraid of the peo- ple, because they were many ; and Moab was distressed (f p*^!) because of the children of Israel ;' where Ainsw'orth renders, as in Gen. 27. 46, ' was irked.'
13. With rigor. Ueh.l^t'lbepharekj with fierceness. Gr. /Jki, with force. Chal. ' With hardness.' From the orig- inal "lis pherek comes the Latin ferox and the English fierce. The Israelites were subsequently prohibited from rul- ing in this manner over their brethren, Lev. 25. 46, ' But over your brethren, the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another tnth rigor ClISS bc- pherek) ;' i.e. without mercy. So far were the pretended fears of the Egypt- ians from working within them the least sentiment of clemency, that they were evidently goaded on by the frus tration of their hopes, to a still morf relentless course of oppression. Wicked men are slow to be taught, when theij mad schemes are defeated, that God figlits against them ; and even if suet a thought now and then glances upor» their minds, they seem to be stung and exasperated by it, to rush on yet more recklessly in the way of rebellion. This is strikingly evident from the sequel of the present narrative.
14, Made their lives bitter, &c. Gr
B. C. 1635.]
CHAPTER I.
17
KaToj^vviov avT(ov Tr]v ((orji^ made sori'oic- I ful their life. ' Of a bad man it is j said, in the East, ' He makes the lives { of his servants bitter.' Also, * Ah ! the fellow : the heart of his wife is made bitter.' < My soul is bitter.' < My heart is like the bitter ircc,^— Roberts. The intensity of their hardships could not well be better expressed, for as nothing is sweeter than life, it is only the ox- tremest misery that can render exist- ence itself grievous and burdensome.
IT In mortar. Heb. "l^OHD bchomcr ;
more properly < in clay' of which bricks are made. This is considered by some as subversive of the statement of Josephus, that the pyramids were built by the Israelites, as it is well known that they are constructed of stone, in- stead of brick. But all the pyramids are not of stone, as in the province of Fayoum, the ancient Arsinoe, as also at Dashour and Saccara, pjTamids of sun-dried brick are still found in a remarkable degree of preservation. Yet even if they were all of them stone structures, it is not a legitimate con- clusion that because the Hebrews work- ed in brick, they therefore did not work in stone also. After all, however, the agency of the Israelites in rearing the pyramids is a point on wliith nothing positive can be asserted, although it is no doubt safe to affirm that, (/"the pyramids were built during the bondage of the Is- raelites, they were engaged upon them, and indeed upon all the public works which were then undertaken. Prisoners and slaves would seem to have been generally employed in such labors ; for it was the proud boast of some of the princes of that country, that no Egyptian hand had labored in the greatest of their works. * What masses were employ- ed, and how profusely human life was wasted, is evinced by the statement in a previous note, that Necho worked away 100,000 lives in the attempt to cut a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea. Things are much the same now 2*
in the same country. Mehomct Ali, the Pasha of Egypt, obliged 150,000 men, chiefly Arabs from Upper Egj'pt, to work on his canal connecting the Nile with the sea at Alexandria : 20,000 of the number perished during the progress of tlie work. A new canal was in pro- gress when Came was at Alexandria. That writer says : ' The bed of the canal presented a novel spectacle, being filled with a vast number of Arabs of various colors, toiling in tlie intense heat of the day, while their Egyptian (?) task-masters, with whips in their hands, watched the progress of their la- bor. It was a just and lively repre- sentation of the children of Israel forced to toil by their oppressive masters of old. The wages Mahmoud allowed to these unfortunate people, whom he had obliged to quit their homes and families in Upper Egypt, were only a penny a day and a ration of bread.' (' Letters from the East,' p. 71, 72.) Thus were the lives of the Israelites ' made bit- ter with hard bondage.' ' — Pict. Bib.
IT In all manner of hard service in
the field. That is, in all kinds of agri- cultural labor. We may here remark, that although the condition of the He- brews in Egypt at this time was one of bondage, yet it does not appear to have been that of house-slaves or personal servants. It was rather a servitude which consisted in being subject to very grievous and excessive exactions im- posed by public authority. They were slaves to the state rather than to in- dividuals. In this respect their bondage differed very considerably from that which is unhappily common in our own country. It resembled more the con- dition of the serfs or vassals of feudal times, who held their lands at the pleasure of their lords, and who were subject to any exactions of rent or labor at the will of the baron. It appears clear from Ex. 12. 38, that the Hebrews as a body had continued to hold prop- erty of their own, though heavy bur-
18
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1635.
.81. 0.
bitter with Jmrd bondage, "in mor- \ service vrhercin ibey made them tar, and in hrick, and in all man- serve iras with riguur. ner of service in the tield : all their 15 ^ And the king of Egypt spake
to the Hebrew midwives (of which
quires to be somewhat more particular- ly considered. The original word for ' midwives' (ri"]^'^?^ mcyalledoth) is not a substantive, but a participle, sig- nifying those who cause to bring forth, and the words, accoiding to several of the ancient versions, and some modern critics, may be rendered, * And the king spake to those who made or aided the Hebrew women to bring forth ;' thus understanding from the original ' mid- wives of the Hebrew women,' instead of ' Hebrew midwives.' The construc- tion certainly renders it in a degree doubtful whether they were Egyptian or Hebrew women. On the one hand it is difficult to suppose that the king should have entrusted such an order to Hebrew women. Could he have sup- posed that they would conspire with him in an attempt to extinguish their own race ? And Avhen they excused themselves by the plea mentioned v. 19, could he have relied implicitly on their word, without suspecting fraud, had they been Israelitish women ? Yet he seems to have admitted the truth of their statement witliout the slightest hesitation. This was natural, provided the women were Egyptians, but less so if they were not. It is indeed said, ver. 17, tliat these women ' feared God,' and consequently refused to obey the royal mandate ; from which it is inferred that they must have been Hebrew women. But the original ' Elohim' is here pre- ceded by the article, and may, it is said, be rendered ' the gods,' i. e. the powers above ; implying merely such a belief in a divine being and a superintending providence, as was perhaps generally prevalent in lliis early age of the world. But then, on the other hand, (1.) The more obvious import of the text leads us to understand Hebrew women as
dens had been laid upon them ; and the accounts given elsewhere of the offer- ings and j)resenis made to the taberna- cle, &c., make it evident that the nation as such had not been reduced to pre- cisely that kind of slavery with which we are fanuliar in modern times. They had only been subject to severe and op- pressive demands of service, in behalf of the king of Egypt and his officers. Still it was a state of cruel suffering to which an innocent people, against the faith of covenants, were condemned, and such as could not but in the end draw down the judgments of Heaven. But let us not forget the wise and ulti- mately beneficent purposes which these afflictions were designed to subserve. To the suffering Israelites they were at once penal and disciplinary. One great end to be attained by them was, that they might be inspired with so deep an abhorrence of the land of their oppres- sions, that the prospect of returning to Canaan should become more and more refreshing to their hearts, and that when once embarked in the journey thither, they might , remembering the wormwood and tlie gall, feid no desire to retrace their steps, and fix themselves again in the house of bondage. And as tlie ensu- ing narrative acquaints us with the fact, that notwithstanding all their previous calamities, many of them, during tlie so- journ in the wilderness, did actually pro- ject a return to Egypt, we can easily con- jecture what would have been the case had they lived in ease, in fulness, and in pleasure, in the place of their sojourn.
1'). The king: of Es;yfit spake to the Hebrew midwives. Finding himself hafflpd in his first scheme of open and atrocious wrong, he now resorts to a secret stratagem of a more bloody char- acter to compass his ends. This re-
B. C. 1635.]
CHAPTER I.
19
the name of one teas Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah ;)
16 And he said. When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew
meant, whether we regard the construc- tion of the original, or of the transla- tion. Doubtless there were Hebrew wo- men capable of employing themselves in this service in behalf of their kindred, and if Egyptian women had been pro- cured, it would have excited suspicion at once, and perhaps prevented their access to them. (2) It cannot be de- nied that the character given of them, V. 17, as ' fearers of God,' applies more naturally to Hebrew women, who had been instructed in the religion of their fathers. The phrase, we think, is indi- cative of general character, and not of any sudden dread with which they may have been smitten on this occasion. Being habitually under the influence of a salutary fear of God, they could not be persuaded for a moment to entertain the thought of such horrid cruelty, though they may have been restrained, from motives of policy, from expressly saying to the king at the time that they would have no hand in the perpetration of such a deed. (3) Their names are purely Hebraic and not Egyjitian. (4) As to the improbability of Pharaoh's selecting Hebrew women to be the in- struments of such a cruel scheme against their own flesh and blood, it may be re- plied that the same reason held against his appointing Hebrew officers over their own countrymen, which yet we find he actually did, Ex. 5. 14. On the whole, therefore, we cannot but conclude that the midwives were Hebrew and not Egyptian women, notwithstanding that
Josephus affirms the contrary. TT The
name of the one was Shiphrah, &c. Two individuals only are mentioned, but as this number would be -wholly inade- quate to the service of so many thou- sand Israelites, it is with great reason supposed, that Shiplu:ah and Puah were
women, and see them upon the stools ; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him ; but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
the chief persons of the profession, hav- ing the direction of the rest. We learn from Plutarch, that some of the nations of antiquity had schools established among them where females were taught the obstetrical art. This was perhaps the office of these tAvo individuals.
16. See them upon the stools. Heb. ■0*^23X11 ^5" al ha-obnayim, upon the stones. Commentators have been much divided in opinion as to the natui'e and use of the objects intended by the term here translated stools, but which is liter- ally stones. It would seem perhaps at first view, that they were some contriv- ance for procuring a more easy delivery for Avomen in labor. But besides that, stone-seats were obviously very unfit for such a purpose, the Heb. word in Ex. 7. 19, signifies a vessel of stone for holding water, a:' trough. A far more probable interpretation, therefore, is made out by referring the pronoun ' them,' which it will be observed is not in the original, not to the mothers, but to the children ; * When ye see the new-bom children laid in the troughs or vessels of stone, for the purpose of being washed, ye shall destroy the boys.' A passage from the travels of Thevenot seems to con- firm this construction : ' The kings ol Persia are so afraid of being deprived of that power which they abuse, and are so apprehensive of being dethroned, that they destroy the children of their female relations, wlien they are brought to bed of boys, hy putting them into an earthen trough, where they suflTer them to starve ;' that is, probably, under pretence of preparing to wash them, they let them pine away or des- troy them in the water. This view of the meaning represents the midwives above spoken of, as acting in the capa- city of st/perin/endcnfs, for they are not
20
EXODUS.
fB. C. 1635.
17 But the niidwivcs f'fcart'd God, ! and did not ras the kinij of Egypt cuinniandt'd tlu-ni, but saved ilie nu'n-ohililr»'n alive. j
is Aiul the kini; of Ecr>pt called for the niidwives, and said unto j iheni, Why liave ye done this thins;, and have saved liie men-children alive ? I
o ProT. 16. 6. P Dan. 3. 16, 18. &, 6. 13. Acts 8.W.
supposed to place the children on the ' stools,' but to examine them after they arc placed there by others. It is evident that if they actually assisted at the birth, the sex of the infant would be j known without the necessity of inspect- j ing its person during its ablutions at
the trough. IT 1/ it be a son, &c. The
reason oftlie order is obvious ; the state had noihiug to apprehend on the score of insurrection from the weaker sex, and as they were fairer than the daugh- ters of Kgypt, they would naturally be preserved, with a view to their finally becoming inmates of the harems of their lords.
17. The miduives feared God, &c. Their faith shines conspicuous in this, for they must have been aware that it was dangerous to incur the king's wrath by disobeying his orders. T}Tants are not wont to suffer their decrees to be disregarded with impunity, and it wa,s no doubt at the peril of their lives that they gave way to the dictates of piety towards God rather than comply with the injunction of the king.
19. BecauMC the Hebrew vomcn are lively, &c. Heb. riTl ha-yoth ; i. e. quick and strong in bearing ; being pos- sessed of greater natural vigor and ro- bustness of constitution. It is well known that women inured to hard labor have but lilile pain in child-bearmg, compared with those who are accus- tomed to an easier mode of life. It is worthy of tu>te also that the original here is the term usually applied to tnld beast* (see Note on Gen. 1. 24),
19 And qthe midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew wo- men ore not as the Egyptian wo- men ; for tiiey are lively, and are delivered ere the mid wives come in unto them.
20 «• Therefore God dealt well with the mid wives ; and the people mul- tiplied, and waxed very mighty.
q See Josh. 2. 4, &c. 2Sarn. 17. 19, 20. rProv. 11.18. Eccles. H. 12. Isai. 3. 10. Ilebr. 6. 10.
and the latent implication may be, that they brought forth somewhat after the manner of the beasts of the forest, without requiring any obstetrical aid. Tliis assertion of the midwives was doubtless true in itself, although not the whole truth ; but the withholding a part of the truth from those who would take advantage of the whole to injure or destroy the innocent, is not only law- ful but laudable.
20. God dealt well u-ith the midwives. We may doubtless fairly infer from this that, in some way not expressly record- ed, they were favored with special to- kens of the divine approbation for the conduct they had evinced. At the same time, the fact of granting to the Israel- ites such a continued extraordinary mul- tiphcation was in itself a ' dealing well' with the midwives. They were no doubt many of them mothers themselves, and they could not but rejoice in the pre- servation and the increase of their fami- lies, nor could the general favor thus bestowed upon the nation fail to redound to them. Indeed, we are strongly in- clined to consider the final clause of this verse as perfectly synonimous with the expression '■ made them houses,' in the next. The connexion between the two will be obvious from the remarks that iumicdiately follow. In the mean time let us not fail to observe, that an up- right and exemplary conduct, by whom- soever displayed, may be of the most eminent service to a whole community. Even a few feeble but right-minded women may, without their dreaming of
B. C. 1635.]
CHAPTER I.
21
21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, sthat he made them houses.
» See 1 Sam. 2. 35. 2 Sam. 1 Kings 2. 24. All. 38. Ps.
7. 1!, 13,27 127. 1.
the effects of their deportment, be si- lently working out the welfare of the state to which they belong.
21. And it came to pass, because, Sic. The original will easily admit a slight variation in the rendering of this para- graph, which, if we mistake not, will throw light upon the whole context ; ' And it came to pass, because the mid- wives feared God, and (because) he made them liouses (i. e. increased the progeny of the children of Israel), that Pharaoh charged all his people saying,' &c. It is important for the English reader to be informed that the original for ' them' is in the masculine and not in the feminine gender ; so that, with- out a violent grammatical anomaly, it canno^ so properly or primarily be refer- red to the midwives, as to the families of Israel at large. If the expression, more- over, refers strictly to the midwives, it would have been more natural to insert it in the preceding verse, as explanatory of ihe manner in which God ' dealt well' with them ; ' Therefore God dealt well <vith the midwives, and made them houses.' But this is not the construc- tion. There is nothing to illustrate his ' dealing well' witli them but his mul- tiplying the nation, and as this is the undoubted import of the phrase ' made them houses,' we cannot but consider the two clauses as essentially synoni- mous. At the same time, there is perhaps no good reason to doubt that the hovses or families of the midwives were intended to be especially, but not exclusively, referred to. Their houses shared in a signal manner m the general prosperity. We may now, having endeavored to fix the connexion of the context, con- sider with more precision the import of the phrase ' made them houses.' We
22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, sayinij;, t Every son that is bofn ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.
t Acts 7. 19.
at length the ideal connexion between building and the begetting of children. In the scriptural idiom a hottse is a family, as the ' house of Judah,' ' the house of Benjamin,' the house of David/ &c., and to build or make one a house is to confer upon him a numerous pos- terit}\ To the examples there adduced, the following may be added, 2 Sam. 7. 11, ' The Lord telleth thee that he wdll make thee an house (1^ niCy tT^lZ) ;' i. e. will give thee a long line of des- cendants. 1 Kings, 2. 24, ' Now, there- fore, as the Lord liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has m,ade me an house (n^2 "^'^ riu^y), as he pro- mised, &c.,' i. e. given me a prosperous family. The phraseology might be still farther confirmed, but the above Avill be suflicieni to show that the 'blessing' in- tended w^as that of a nutncrotis increase, and not of a material habitation, or any thing of that nature, as some have sup- posed.
22. Charged all his people, saying, &c., leaving it no more to tlie care of the midwives alone. Frustrated in his former device, the king is now urged on to a higher pitch of enormity, and dis- carding all secret stratagems for effect- ing Ins object, commands all Ids people indiscrinunately to destroy the Hebrew male children wherever they should find them. The execution of this bloody command would no doubt lead to scenes of barbarity and cruelty at which every tender feeling of our nature revolts with an inward shudder. Helpless babes would be mercilessly torn from their mothers' arms, and if they did not fol- low their dear offspring, as they were ruthlessly thrown into the Nile, it was
22
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1635.
only booausc their religious sentiments were slronsjer than their iiiatiMn:il in- slinrt.s. Hilt wo read, in a suhM'qurnt | part of the hi>tory, a fearful requital of this ^an.;uimiry transaction, when Pha- raoh and hi.s Egyptian liost were over- I whelmed in the waters of the Red Sea. | ' Righteous art thou, O Lord, because j thou ha.st judged thus.' [
Rr.ji.\RKs.— (1,2.) In the history of ihe churdi, it is the special aim of the Spirit to present its humble beginnings in strong contrast witli the abundant increase and ample prosperity of its more advanced j)eriods.
(7.) The land of enemies, and the scene of the most grinding oppression, is easily rendered in the providence of God a nursery for the increase of his church.
(i<.) Peculiar blessings from God, and fierce opj)osition from worldly powers, arc not unfrequently connected in the lot of the church on earth.
(S.) The people of God would have experienced less ill treatment at the hands of civil governments, were the national benefits which they arc instru- mental in procuring better appreciated and remembered.
(b, 9.) The prosperity of the right- eous is doubtless an eye-sore to evil- minded oppressors ; but those who task iheir invention to devise methods of aflliction are dealing wisely to compass their own destruction. Eccl. 7. 16, 'Make not thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy tliyself?'
(10.) Much of tiie real suffering of the saints in all ages has been inflicted on the gminid of hypothetical offences. ' Lest when there fallcth out,' &c.
(11.) Counsels of wickedness ripen rapidly into acts and jjractices of cruelty.
(13, 14.) The favor of God toward hi» children in affliction, is often the signal for their oppressors to load them with new burdens of anguish.
(1.1.) How fiendish is the policy which would employ the tender and
susceptible nature of woman in execut- ing deeds of blood !
(17.) The true fear of God will deter the weakest creatures who are capabla of cherishing it, from the commission of sin, and when the command of man is put in competition with the command of God, they will boldly say with the intrepid disciples, Acts, 4. 19, ' Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.'
(20.) Even in this world a supreme regard to the will of God seldom goes unrewarded. This reward is sometimes entailed as a precious legacy to generzi- tions yet unborn.
(22.) Relentless persecutors proceed from secret subtilty to open cruelty, and downright murder is the resource when other stratagems have failed of effect- ing their object.
CHAPTER II. To what extent the murderous edict mentioned at the close of the foregoing chapter w as carried, or how long' it con- tinued in force, we are not informed. But when we consider that the love of offspring was an absorbing passion with the Israelites, inasmuch as all their future hopes depended upon and were connected with the possession of a nu- merous issue, we can easily conceive the horror that must have hung over that ill-fated people so long as the bloody statute remained unrepealed. Yet now, at this very time, when men in their weak counsels proposed utterly to root up the vine of Israel, which had already spread its branches so widely and borne such abundant fruit, it pleased God to call into existence the future Deliverer, and to make the very evils to which his infancy was exposed, the means of his preparation for that high oflice, which was, in a distant day, to devolve upon him. This remarkable event in the history of oppressed Israel it is the object of the present chapter lo relate.
B, C. 1573.]
CHAPTER 11.
23
CHAPTER n. A ND there went aa man of the -ty. house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
a ch. 6. 20. Numb. 26. 59. 1 Chron. 23. 14.
1. And there went a man, Sac, Heb. 'ib'^T va-yelck. According to Calvin, there had gone ; implying that the mar- riage had taken place some time previ- ous to the royal order for the drowning of the male-children. Certain it is that Aaron was three years old at the birth of Moses, and we have no intimation that his infancy was in any way ex- posed to peril. As such an order would naturally be executed with most severity immediately upon its being issued, and as Aaron's infancy was unmolested, it seems a fair presumption that the edict came forth not far from the birth-tim.e of Moses ; so that the pluperfect rend- ering of the verb may perhaps be con- sidered the most correct. The verb ' to go,' by a peculiarity of idiom in the original, is frequently employed in a sense including not the idea of locomo- tion, but simply that o{ commencing, or entering upon, an action or enterprise ; thus. Gen. 35. 22, ' And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in tliat land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine.' Deut. 31. 1, ' And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.' Hos. 3. 1, ' Then said the Lord unto me. Go, yet love a woman beloved of her friend.' The a\ jrd in such connexions may not improperly be considered as an expletive. Something similar occurs in the New Testament, Eph. 2. 17, ' And came and preached peace to you.' So also 1 Pet 3. 19, * By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.' — The nam.e of the man here mentioned was Amram, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, Ex. 6. 16 — 20, and the name of the woman whom he took to wife was Jochebed, the sister of Kohath, and consequently the aunt of Amram, Ex. 6. 20. Num. 26.
2 And the woman conceived and bare a son: and bwhen she saw him that he was a goodly child., she hid him three months.
b Acts 7. 20. Hebr. 11.23.
19. Marriage connexions between kin- dred thus nearly related was afterwards forbidden under the law, Lev. 18. 12, but more indulgence was granted in this and other respects in the early and un- settled state of the commonweal-lh.
2. And the woman conceived. The anxiety and apprehension naturally in- cident to the delicate situation in which Jochebed found herself, must have been aggravated by terrors more dreadful than the prospective pangs of child-birth, or the loss of life itself. As a Avife and a mother in Israel, she was looking and longing for the birth of another man- child ; but that fond expectation was as often dashed by the bitter reflection, that an order had gone forth which would in all probability consign her son, if she should bear one, to the jaws of the devouring crocodile of the Nile. Yet it would seem not improbable from the apostle's words, Heb. 11.23, that some extraordinary presentiments in the minds of his parents accompanied the birth of this illustrious child, and strengthened the faith under which he was hidden for three months from the rage of the Egyptian dragon, which stood eager for his prey as soon as it
should see the light, Rev. 12. 4.
IT Whe7i she saw him, that he was a goodly child. Heb. mt2 tob, good. The original term, as remarked on CTeu. 39. 6, is used to denote bodily endowments, as well as the qualities of the heart, and its import may be learned from the corresponding Gr. phrase employed by Stephen, Acts, 7. 20, ,i<jT£t>i rt.) 9(w, fair to God, i. e. divinely or exceedingly fair. In Heb. 11. 23, the epithet is the same (ao-rtni) but rendered 'proper.' The implication obviously is, that an extraordinary beauty distinguished the
24
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1571.
3 And when she could not longer i of bulrushes, and daubed it with hide him, she took for him an ark slime and with pitch, and put the
smiling babe that now reposed in his | mother's arms. To ihe fond eye of ma- \ ternalatfectionfiTTj/clnldis lovely, and ! we can only account for the strong lan- guage used licre and elsewhere in regard to Moses, by su})j)osing that his infant features possessed a grace and comeli- ness tliat were perliaps without a paral- lel. We must recognize in this a special providence, for there is no doubt that the uncommon beauty of the child was a stmng motive with llie parents for so anxiously aiming to secure it from harm. Tliis is clearly intimated in the words of the apostle, Heb. 11. 23, 'By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid throe months of his parents, because they saw that he was a proper child,' &c. It may be supposed moreover that this circumstance was ordered by provi- dence m order to afford to Pharoah's daughter a stronger motive for preserv- ing the child. But the dearer the com- fort the greater the care, and under their present circumstances we can easily imagine that every lovely linea- ment in the countenance of her child would weave a new fold of anguished anxiety in her own face as she gazed upon ii, and thought of the jeopardy to •which he was exposed. For the space of three months she was permitted, through her precautions, from day to day to fondle and nourish the helpless babe, though her heart trembled at the sound of every tread while so em])loyed, just as the miser dreads the noise of ap- proaching footstejts while surveying and counting over his lioarded wealth. But at th*' end of that jjeriod, ll)e rigor of the search on tlie part of her enemies con- vinced her that farther concealment would be impracticable, and that she must part with hej treasure.
3. S\e took for him an ark of bul- rvshet, &c. tieb. St?23 Tir tabafh gome, ark nfbulruih. The Plgyptian papyrus.
The original term is derived from a verb signifying to suallow, to sup up, to drink, and is so named from its re- markably absorbing the water where it grows, as appears from Job. 8. 11, ' Can the rush (j!i?23 gome) grow up without mire ?' It is a plant growing on the banks of the Nile, and in marshy grounds. The stalk is of a vivid green, of a triangular form, and tapering to- wards tlie top. At present it is rarely found more than ten feet long, about two feet or little more of the lower part ol the stalk being covered with hollow sharp-pointed leaves which overlap each other like scales, and fortify the most exposed part of the stem. It terminates in a luft or cro\vn of small grassy fila- ments, each about a foot long. Near the middle each of these filaments parts into four, and in tlie point of partition are four branches of flowers, the termin- ation of which is not unlike an ear ot wheat in form, but is in fact a soft silky luisk. This singular vegetable was used for a variety of purposes, the principal of which was tlie structure of boats and the manufacture of paper. In regard to the first, we are told by Pliny that a piece of the acacia-tree was put in the bottom to serve as a keel, to which the plants were joined lengthwise, being first sewed together, then gathered up at stcui and stern, and made fast by means of a ligature. These vessels are still to be seen on the engraven stones and other monuments of Eg5i3tian an- tiquity. According to Dr. Shaw, the vessels of bulrushes or papyrus men- tioned in sacred and ])rofane history were no other than large fabrics of the ' same kind with that of Moses, which I from the introduction of plank and I stronger materials, are now laid aside I The prophet's words. Is. 18. 2, ' That ' sendeth aml)assadors by the sea, even I in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters,'
B. C. 1571.]
CHAPTER II.
25
child therein ; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
are supposed to allude to the same kind of sailing craft. Pliny takes notice of the ' naves papyraceas armeutaque Nili;' ships made of the papyrus, and the equipments of the Nile ; and Lucan, tlie poet has, ' Conscritur bibula Memphi- tis cymba papyro/ the Memphian (or Egyptian) boat is made of the thirsty papyrus, where the epithet ' bibula/ drinking, soaking, thirsty is particular- ly remarkable, as corresponding with great exactness to the nature of the plant, and to its Hebrew name. The Egypfian bulrush or papyrus required much water for its growth ; when there- fore the river on whose banks it grew was reduced, it perished sooner than other plants. This explains Job, 8. 11, where the circumstance is referred to as
an image of transient prosperity.
IT Daubed it u-ith slime and with pitch. Heb. "l?2nn ba-hemor, with bitumen, or mineral pitch. See Note on Gen. 11. 3. The ' bitumen' cemented the rushes or reeds together, the pitch served to keep out the water. ' There seems to be con- siderable analogy between the ark or boat in which Moses was deposited, and the curious vessels which are at the present day employed in crossing the Tigris. They are perfectly circular in shape, and are made with the leaves of the date-palm, forming a kind of basket-work, which is rendered impervi- [ ous to the water by being thickly coaled
with bitumen.' Pict. Bib. IT Laid
it in the flags. Heb. t]"D3 bassuph, in the sea-weed, or sedge. The suph was probably a general term for sea or river- weed. The Red Sea is always called, in the Scriptures rjlC tj^ yam suph, or the weedy-sea, as some suppose, from the great variety of marine vegetables which grow in it, and wliicli at low water are left in great quantities upon the shores. But see Note on Ex. 13. IS. Vol. I 3
4 c And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
c ch. 15. 20. Numb. 26. 59.
4. And his sister stood afar off, &c. His sister Miriam undoubtedly, as we have no account of his having any other. She was unquestionably older than Aaron, or she would have been unfit for such an office on this occasion. The incident makes it plain that the little ark, though made water-tight, was not deposited on the bosom of the river, where it would be borne away by the current, but on the margin of the stream, where perhaps the finder would infer that it had lodged, after having floated down from above. Throughout the whole of this transaction, which was no doubt supernaturally suggested, no mention is made of the father. That every thing was done with his privity and consent we cannot doubt, lor the apostle couples both the parents in his encomium on their faith ; but the case was probably one in which the faith of the mother was more decided and active than that of the father, and has there- fore more prominence given it in the sacred narrative. The proceeding de- tailed is a beautiful illustration of the connexion wliich should always exist between the diligent use of means and a pious trust in Providence. Instead of sitting down in sullen despair, or pas- sive reliance on divine interposition, every thing is done which can be done by human agency to secure the wished- for result. The careful mother pitches every seam and chink of the frail ve- hicle as anxiously as if its precious de- posit were to owe its preservation solely to her care and diligence. Nor even yet does she think she has done enough. Miriam her daughter must go, and at a distance watch the event, and strange would it be if she did not herself in ihe mean time take a station where she could watch the watcher. And here we behold all the parties standing precisely
f^
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1571.
5 H And the J ilauc:hter of Pharaoh came down to Ava^-h /jrrsc/f at the river ; and her maidens walked ahmjj by the river's side : and when she saw the ark among the
d Acis 7.21.
upon the hne where the province of hu- iniin sir^iicity, foresight, and industry ends, and providential succor begins. The mother has done her part. The rusljos, the slime, and the pitch were her prudnit and necessary preparations ; and the great (iod has been at the same time pieparing his materials, and ar- ranging his instruments. He causes every thing to concur, not by miraculous influence, but by the simjJe and natural operation of second causes, to bring about the issue designed in his counsels from everlastmg. The state of the weather, the flux of the current, the promenade of Pharaoh's daughter, the state of her feelings, the steps of her attendants, are all so overruled at that particular juncture, as to lead to the discovery, t)ie rescue, and the disposal of the child ! But let us not anticipate the thread of the story.
5. The daughter of Pharoah came dou'ii to wash herself at the river. Heb. "St*"?! ^> al ha-yeor, at or by the river. (Jr. tTi T:)f TTOTiijt.v, to bc trauslatcd in the same manner, implying that the washing, which was probably a religious ablution, and not a proper bathing, was jierformed just at tlie river's brink. The wasliing of Naaman the Syrian, on the other hand, is said to have been in the Jnrdna ("("Il'^n ha-ynrdcn) and not at it, because he entered further into the stream. We advert to tlie phrase- ology here i)rinci))ally for the purpose of showing the relation of the (Jr. ren- df-ring to a parallel passage in Rev. 9. II, 'Loose the four angels which are biiund ftf ( -. n*, not in) the great river Kuphrates;' i. e. the four angels which n.id hithTto boen prcr.identially re- strained f>r confined /// the vicinity of
flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. 0 And when she had opened ?Y, she saw the child : and behold, the babe wept. And she had com- passion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrew's children.
the great river Euphrates. ' Angels' here is a symbolical term for the na- tions or people over wliich they are re- presented in prophecy as presiding. See Dan. 10. 3. The import of the com- mand is, that tliose obstructions which had hitherto opposed the issuing forth and the desolating spread of four great political powers in the region bordering upon the Euphrates, should now be re- moved and free scope given them. These powers were the origin of the Ottoman empire, which, as it was an- nounced by the sixth trumpet, was to be destroyed by the sixth vial. Rev.
16. 12. IT She sent her maid to take
it. Heb. rinpr;"! vattikkahcha, and took it ; i. e. she took it by the hand of her maid ; by which term is meant the maid who more immediately waited upon her, as the word (nn?2i^) is dif- ferent from that ("'^rilS'j) translated ' maidens.'
6. She saiv the child : and behold, the babe wept. Rather according to the Heb. ' And she saw him, the child j and behold a male-infant weeping ." The Eng. word ' babe,' as it does not dis- criminate the sex, is not an exact or adequate rendering of the original 15'2 naar, which strictly denotes a male child, and is here used expressly for
tliat ])urpose. IT She had compassion
on him. Or, Heb. ^!*2nri tahmol, mer- c if idly spared him. If there be an ob- ject in nature more calculated, than any other to interest and affect the suscepti- ble heart of woman, it was that which now presented itself to the eye of this Egyjttian princess — a beautiful infant, deserted by i*s parents, exposed to the most imminent peril, and expressing by the moving testimony of tears its sense
B. C. 1571.]
CHAPTER ^I.
27
7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go, and call to thee a nurse of the Hehrew wo- men, that she may nurse the child for thee ?
8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.
9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away and
of that misery of which it had not yet acquired the consciousness. The story told itself. The situation in which the child was foimd explained the cruel oc- casion. Tlie covenant-sign wMch he carried engraven on his flesh, declared to whom he belonged, and notwitlistand- ing the scruples which must have arisen from his parentage, his outcast condi- tion made an irresistible appeal to the bosom of Pharaoh's daughter.
7. Then said his sister, &c. Who no doubt came up and joined the train, as if by accident. If she had not been previously' instructed by her mother what to say on the contingency of such an occurrence as now actually took place, we cannot but refer tliis sugges- tion on the part of a little girl to an im- mediate inward prompting from above. How else should it have entered her thoughts to propose making the mother of the exposed infant its nurse ? Can we fail to acknowledge the secret hand of the Lord of hosts, ' who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working?'
9. Take this child away and nurse it for me, &c. No mere human writer could here haA^e well forborne to dilate in glowing terms on the transports of the happy mother as she again clasped her beloved babe to her bosom, free from the fear of having him again torn from her. What a joyful change ! The fond mother permitted to do that for prmcely hire and under royal protection which she would have given her life for the privilege of doing for nothing, could she have done it with safety to her j
I nurse it for me and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took I the child and nursed it. j 10 And the child grew, and she I hrought him unto Pharaoh's daugh- I ter, and he became e her son. And I she called his name Moses: and I she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
e Acts 7. 21.
child ! ' I will give thee thy wages.' Wages, indeed ! What ' wages' would not she have given for the extacy she now enjoyed in the prospect of acting the mother to the son of her womb ! What sentiments of adoring wonder and grateful praise must have thrilled her heart in view of the overwhelming good- ness so kindly and unexpectedly vouch- safed to her from the God of all comfort ! 10. She brought him, &c. At what age the future deliverer of Israel was transferred from the care of his mother to the palace and the court of Egypt, we are not informed. It would seem from the history that he was old enough to have learnt the principles of his an- cestral religion, in which his mother would not fail to instruct him ; and thougli it was somewhat of a renewed trial to her to part with her son, under the apprehension that the influence of a heathen and hostile court might alienate his tender mind from the love of God and his people, yet she would doubtless infer from the past incidents of his life that sometliing great was in store for him, and that the same tutelary provi- dence which had watched over his in- fancy, would make his childhood and youth and mature age its special care. He came accordingly into the relation of an adopted son to Pliaraoh's daugh- ter, and was by her, for an end of which she little dreamed, ' trained up in all the wisdom of the Egyjitians.' As the book of Revelation is constructed with a continual or running reference to the events of the Old Testament history,
28
FA'ODrS.
[B. C. 1571.
1 1 T \n(l it came to pass in those ' and loolvcd on their ghurdens : and dav«^ fwhen Moses was jrroAvn, he spied an Esfvptian smiting an that he went out unto liis brethren, j Hebrew, one of his brethren.
f Acts T. 23, 24. Hebr. 11.2J, 23, 26. ffch. 1. 11.
we cannot doubt tliat there is a real I 11. When Moses um grown. Hob. though covert allusion to the history ^-31 yigdal, had become great, not of .Moses in the vision, Ch. 12, of the I in stature only, but in repute, influ-
' ence, and consideration at court. This is in several unequivocal instances the
draijon, the sun-clad woman, and the child to which she gave birth. The dragon's standing before the woman ready to devour her child as soon as it should be born, is strikingly in analogy with the bloody edict of Pharaoh, whom the j)roj)hets denominate the Egyptian dragon, Kzek. 29. 3, while the child's being caught up to God and his throne, has an equally distinct reference to the wonderful preservation and elevation
of .Moses as here described. IT She
called his name Moses. Heb. riw?2 Mosheh, from the verb {1-72 mashah, to drau' out, a term occurring Ps. 18. 16, * He sent from above, he took me ; he drew me C^^TTi"^ yamsheni) out of many waters ;' where the Psalmist seems to liken his preservation to that of Moses, unless indeed, wdiich we rather incline to believe, he is giving an allegorical history of the church from its earlier periods, and has here a designed but mystic allusion to the very person and deliverance qf Moses, in whose j)reservation that of Israel was concentrated. It has indeed been a mat- ter of dispute among critics whether the name were truly of Hebrew or Egj-ptian origin. Yet the former is most proba- ble, a.s a Hebrew etymology seems to be d.-'signedly given it by the sacred writer. Although the Egyptians did not speak the Hebrew language, yet as it appears from P2x. 11.2, that the two people lived in a great measure inter- mingled togriher, the language of each might have been to a considerable ex- lent understood by the other ; and in ihc ])rospnt.case it woidd not be unnat- ural that a Hebrew child should have bestowed upon it a Hebrew name.
Mbrce of the original, and it is said of him by Stephen that he ' Avas mighty both in word and de/'d,' as well as that he had attained the full age of forty years.
IT Went out unto his brethren, and
looked on their burdens. Heb. J^l'^l DD^SC^ va-yar besiblotham. Gr. K-ara- vot)iai Tov TTovov (it-rwf, Considered their labor. Chal. ' Saw their servitude.' Verbs of the senses often imply in the Scripture idiom a connected working of the emotions or affections of the heart. Here ' looking upon' is viewing with sympathy and compassion, having his heart touched with the spectacle. Gen. 29. 32, ' And Leah conceived and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben : for she said, surely the Lord hath look- ed upon my afflictions ;' i. e. hath mer- cifully regarded. Eccl. 1. 16, ' My heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge ;' Heb. ' Mylieart saiv wis- dom and knowledge.' Eccl. 2. ], ' I said in my heart, go to now, I will prove thee v.'ith mirth, therefore enjoy plea- sure ;' Heb. ' see pleasure.' Ps. 118. 7. ' Therefore shall I see (my desire) upon them that hate me.' We must regard this as the incipient working of that noble spirit which finally prompted Moses to forego the honors of the court of Egy]it, and cast in his lot with the despised people of Israel. Ease and affluence generally tend to deaden the sensibilities of the heart to the wants and woes of others. But Moses seems never to have forgotten his extraction, nor to have lost his sj'mpathies with the chosen race. He remembered that the oppressed and suffering Israelites
B. C. 1571.]
CHAPTER II.
29
were his nearest and dearest relations, and though now ignorant perhaps of the part whicli he was destined to act in their deliverance, he was unable to rel- ish a solitary selfish joy, while they were eating the bread and drinking the water of affliction. He therefore goes out to look upon their misery, or as Stephen says, Acts, 7. 23, ' It came into his heart to visit his brethren,' and though for the present he can neither remove nor alleviate it, yet he is deter- mined to evince his willingness to be a partaker in it. But the most fitting commentary upon tliis passage is found in the words of the apostle, Heb. ll'. 23 — 26, ' By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter ; choosing rather to sufier affliction with the peo- ple of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season ; esteeming the re- proach of Clirist greater riches than the treasures in Egyjit : for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.' By his ' refusing to be called the son of Pha- raoh's daughter,' we are not probably to understand that he rejected the nom- inal appellation, but according to the true force of the orignal, which has reference rsUher to the reality of things than to their denomination, he refused to be treated as her son, he positively declined all the honor and aggrandize- ment which was implied in that rela- tion. This was his deliberate choice, and perhaps no man was ever called to make a cncice imder circumstances more trying, or made one which redounded more to his credit and glory than this of Moses. It is to be remembered that he was at this time of mature age, ' full forty years old,' says Stephen. He had reached the grand climacteric of life, all his faculties perfectly ripened, and his judgment calm, unclouded, and dis- passionate. Were not this the case, had he been now just emerging from youth, with all the sanguine and enthu- siastic ardor of dawning manhood upon 3
him, it might have been regarded as the effect of a rash excitement, as a sudden sally of the buoyant tempera- ment of liis age, and one which he would afterwards have regretted or condemned. Had it occurred later in life, when the powers and energies of liis mind were on the wane, when the pursuits of am- bition and tlie prospects of pleasure had vanished, it might have been stigma- tized as the act of an old worn-out courtier, whose disgusted satiety of this world's good had driven him to the sorry refuge of seeking something better in another. It might easily have been characterised as the mean compromise, of a man in his dotage with an uneasy conscience, for having squandered his youthful prime and his manly meridian in the service of the world to the neg- lect of his Maker. But every such im- putation is cut off by tlie facts of the case. It was not a step prompted by the precipitate ardor of youth, nor one dictated by the timid or sordid policy of age. It was a decision formed under f. circumstances in which deep principle, and not 3. passionate impulse, must have ' been the ruling motive ; for while in a worldly sense he had nothing to hope from a transfer of himself, he had, on the other hand, every thing to lose. We have only to appeal to our know- ledge of human nature to learn the dif- ficulty, and consequently the virtue, of such a sacrifice as Moses now made. When we compare the resjjective states of the Egyptian and the Israelitish peo- ple, it would seem to human view that the lot of the meanest Egyptian was pre- ferable to that of the highest Israelite. Yet Moses voluntarily gave up the one for the other ; ' the honors of the pal- are for the ignominy of tlie brick-yard.' Though he was tlie adopted son of Piia- raoh's daughter, and, for aught that ap- pears to the contrary, was the presump- tive heir to the crown, yet he refused not to come do^\Ti from this preeminent distinction, and to cast in his lot with
30
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1571.
iho dosjiisod and ombondagod seed of Jacob. History alfords us some few in- stances whore kings have laid aside their purple and abdicated their thrones. But in all such cases they have descended to a rank in jirivate life which was sur- rounded by ease, affluence, and coii- tinued respectability ; so that their sacri- fices were relieved by many counter- vailing considerations. But Moses de- scended from the dignity of a court to the degradation of a slave. What was there in the vaunted condescension of Dioclesian or Charles the Vth. to be compared with this ? And where, in all the annals of time, shall we find such a
surrender made from such motives ?
IT Spied an Ei^yptian smiting an He- brew. Probably one of the task-masters. As the original word for smiting {TllJ^ makkeh) is the same with that rendered sleir ("T'l yak) in the next verse, it is to be presumed that the Egyptian was act- ually attempting to kill the Hebrew, and tliat had it not been for the inter- im venlioii of Moses, he -u'ould have eftect- ed his jturpose. Thus Ps. 136. 17, ' To ' him which smote (nS?3 makkeh) great
kins
i. e. that slew. It is important
to view this incident in connexion with what Stejihen says of it. Acts, 7. 23 — 25, ' And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his breth- ren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppress- ed, and smote the Egyptian: for he 5^ijipo.scd liis brethren would have un- derstood iiow that God by his hand would flelivcr them: but they under- stood not.' It is undoubtedly to be sup- posed that Moses was now acting under a divine commission, and that an im- mediate iinjiulsp from the Spirit of God prompted him to the deed here record- ed. This is to be inferred from the words of Stejilien, ' for he supposed his brethren would have understood how that (Jod by his hand would deliver them :' imj.lyine that Moses himself
understood this to be the fact. It is however worthy of note that Diodorus Siculus informs us that a law existed in Egypt, which might have been at this time in force. ' That whoever saw his fellow-creature either killed by another, or violently assaulted, and did not either apprehend the murderer, pr rescue the oppressed if he could ; or if he could not, made not an information thereof to the magistrate, himself should be put to death.' For aught that can be affirmed to the contrary, Moses might have been warranted on this ground alone in pro- ceeding to the extremity he did. The act however cannot be pleaded as a pre- cedent on occasions that are not similar. It bore a striking resemblance to the conduct of Phineas on another occasion, Numv 25. 7, 13, a conduct Avhich was certainly approved of God. If it be ob- jected that the secrecy observed by Mo- ses both in performing the act and in dis})0sing of the body, is scarcely con- sistent with the idea of his being em- powered by the call and authority of God to execute his pleasure on this oc- casion, it may be observed, that as his calling, though clear to himself, had not yet been publicly manifested or ac- credited, it was fitting that^a temporary concealment should be drawn over the present occurrence. Thus Ehud, Judg. 3. 21, though moved by an influence from above, slew Eglon king of Moab in a private chamber ; and Gideon, Judg. G. 27, before his office o^ deliverer was ])ublicly known, demolished the altar of Baal by night. Again, if it be asked what reason Moses had to sup- pose that his brethren would have un- derstood that he was acting by a divine commission, it maybe answered, *.hat the marvellous circumstances of his birth and preservation, and subsequent training in the court of Pharaoh, were doubtless matters well known and much talked of among the nation of Israel, from which they might reasonably infer I that he was raised up for some extraordi-
B. C. 1531.]
CHAPTER 11.
31
12 And he looked this way and tliat way, and Avlien he saw liuit there was no man, he •» slew tlie Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
13 And iwhen he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together : and he said to him that did the wrong,
h Acts 7. 24. i Acts 7. 26.
nary end. It was before this time, tliat Stephen's testimony assures us he had ' become mighty in words and in deeds.' And when he was seen to come forth alone, and take vengeance on one of their oppressors, it might have been presumed that he regarded himself as directed by God in what he had under- taken. But the result showed that the expectation of being recognized in his true character was premature.
12. He looked this icay and that imy, &c. Evidently implying that he was not exempt from some inward wavering of spirit in thus entering upon his mis- sion. But if oppression maketh a wise man mad, we may easily perceive that his natural indignation, joined to a con- scious impulse from above, was suffi- cient to urge him forward to the act re- cordedj
13. Behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together. Heb. 'a^'2^ nitzim, fighting. Whatever were the occasion of this unhappy contest, it must have been mortifying to Moses to behold it. As if they had not enemies enough in their common cruel taskmasters, they fall into strife with each other ! Alas, that sufferings in common should fail to unite the professing people of God in
the strictest bonds of brotherhood.
IT He said to him that did the wrong. Heb. 5'Jlb larasha, to the wicked one. The Gr. however renders very correctly by TO) ii6tKo<'i'rt^ to the wrong-doer, and Stephen confirms the same version, Acts, 7. 26, ' Sirs, ye are bretliren, whj^ do ye wrong (nfH<eiTc) one to another?' in the case of the offending Egyptian
Wherefore smitest thou thy fel- low?
14 And he said, i«Who made thee a prince and a judge over us ? intendest tliou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian ? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.
k Act.s 7. 27, 28.
Moses administered reproof by a mortal blow, but he tries to gain a contending brother by mild and gentle means. In the former instance he acted more as a judge ; in the present, as a peace maker. His question has indeed the air of being sternly proposed, but there was nothing in it which could not or should not have been said by one Israelite to another ; and we ought never to think it going beyond the bounds of charity or duty, where we are satisfied on which side the wrong lies, to call an offender to ac- count by an equally plain interrogation. Every man should look upon himself as at least so far appointed a guardian of the general interests of justice and of right as to expostulate in pointed terms with the injurious and overbearing.
14. Who made thee a prince and a judge over us ? Heb. ' Who set thee for a man a prince and a judge over us V Moses intended merely to administer a mild and friendly reproof, and yet how roughly is his admonition received. The man could not easily have given a plainer testimony of his guilt than by such a choleric reply. What authority did Moses assume in thus gently re- proving a manifest outrage ? Does one need a commission to perform an act of real kindness, and to endeavor to make friends of apparent enemies? Yet how boldly does he challenge his au- thority as if he were imperious and pre- suming. It is rare virtue ingenuously to confess our faults and to receive cor- rection with meekness ! IT Intendest
thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian ? Heb. ^?3i< ntlji^ '^^ain^n
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1531.
15 Now when Pliaraoh heard this thing, lie sought to slay Mo- ses. But 'Moses lied from the »Act8 7. a«. Hebr. 11.27.
halhorgani aitah omer, say est thou to kill tne f Svc Note on tioii. 20. 1 1. We here bt-hohl a .«>trikii)g ^jieciiiu-n of the bas.0 ctmslruclions wliicli lui ill iniiul will put iijn)ii tla* best words and actions. What right had he to charge Moses with a niiirderous intention ? He had indeed slain an Egyptian, but an Egypt- ian was not a Hebrew, nor had he any grounds to su])pose tliat Moses would go farther than tlie provocation war- ranted. The occasion called simply for a reproof, and a reproof was the head and front of liis offending ; yet the ag- gressor would turn away the force of his rebuke by pretending that he aimed at nothing less than his life ! Besides, why should he cast the slaying of the Egyptian in Moses' teeth,* when he had really done it from his regard to his own countrymen ? Should not this quar- relsome Hebrew have taken it rather as a proof of Moses' favorable feelings towards himself than as an evidence of a wish to harm him? If he had not loved the Hebrews would he have dis- patched one of their enemies ? But reason and humanity speak in vain to those whom a guilty conscience leads to pervert the wisest and the kindest
counsels. IT Surely this thing is
knoicn ; i. e. his slaying tlio Egj^ptian. Heb. "ll~ri haddabar, this word. See Note on Gen. 15. 1. Moses was satis- fied from this that the Hebrew whom he had liberated the day before by slaying the Egyj)lian, had divulged the circumstance, and not doubting that it would soon come to the ears of the king, began to be in dread of his life,
1.'^. When Pharaoh heard this thing, &c. He soon learnt tliat his fears were well founded. Pharaoh was apprised of the fact of his having put an Egypt- ian to dcatbj and Moses was at once
lace of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of IMidian : and he sat down by •« a well.
m Gen. 24. 11. & 29. 2.
marked as the victim of his wrath. This was perhaps not so much with a view to avenge the death of a single in- dividual of the Egyptian race, as be- cause Moses had by this act discovered himself to be a friend and favorer of the oppressed Israelites, and given the king reason to suspect that he was se- cretly cherishing the purpose of one day attempting to effect their liberation. His only safety therefore was in flight. This would subject him to great trials and privations, and had his heart Ijeen less firmly lixed in the great purpose which he had adopted, he v.'ould have sought rather to make his peace wdth the king, his benefactor, and to retain his place at court. But he had made his election, and now chose rather to wander through dreary deserts than to be reconciled to the enemies of his people. The providence which thus withdrew the destined agent of de- liverance from the field of action in the very outset of his work, would seem at first view extremely mysteriows and adverse. But infinite wisdom saw that he needed a quite different training from that which he would receive in a luxurious court, in order to fit him for the hard services which awaited him. He sends him to school therefore for forty years in the desert to qualify him the better for leading his people through their forty years sojourn in the desert. < God,' says Henry, ' fetches a wide compass in liis plans, but his eye is continually upon the grand point at which he aims.' — It is not to be sup- posed that there is any real discrepancy between this passage and Heb. 11.27, ' By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king.' The Apostle alludes not to his flight into IMidian, but to liis final departure from Egypt at
B. C. 1531.]
CHAPTER II.
33
16 «Now the priest of Midian had seven dau^liters : "and they came and drew icatcr, and filled the troughs to water their father's Hock.
och,3. 1. oGen.24. 11.&29. 10. 1 Sam. 9. 11,
the head of the children jof Israel.
IT Dwelt in the land of Midian. Heb. n"«:'i yesheb, sat down ; the same word in the original with th.il applied in the ensuing clause to his sealing himself by the well. Probably in both cases the time implied is that of his./irsf arrival in Midian, the one referring us in gen- eral to the country in which he stopped on his route, the other to the particular place which was the scene of the inci- dents subsequently related. Coming to that land he halted in his sojourning, and finding a refreshing well of water he sat down or tarried a longer time than usual by the side of it. Otherwise we seem to be forced to the awkward construction that the dwelling men- tioned in our translation, which implies somewhat of a permanent abode, was prior to bis sitting by the well, which evidently is not the sense of the passage. — Midian was a country in Arabia Pe- traea, deriving its name from Midian, the fourth son of Abraham bjj^ Keturah. It was situated on the south of the Dead Sea and the land of Moab, and probably comprehended the wjiole country, as far south as the Red Sea. It is at least certain, that if the country of Midian did not actually reach to Sinai, there were colonies of the Midianites who settled near that mount, and who also gave the surrounding districts the name of the ' Land of Midian.' Among those emigrants who preserved the worship of God in comparative purity when lost amongst their countrymen in the north, was Jethro, with whose family Moses here comes into connexion.
16. The priest of Midian had seven dant^hters. Heb. y^'j kohen. Chal. ' The prince of Midian,' The original
word signifies
prmce
17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: hut AToses stood up and helped them, and p watered their flock.
PGon. 2a. 10.
'priest,' as is shown in the Note on Gen. 41. 18, and accordingl}'^ in the ear- 1}'^ ages of the world both tliese ollices were often united in one and the same person. The humble occupation of his daughters will be no objection to this view of the title, if tlie difference be- tween ancient and modern customs be duly considered. See Note on Gen. 48. 45. Nearly all the ancient versions, be- sides the Chaldee, adhere to the sense of ' priest j' but whether he w^ere the priest of a -true or false religion, is not so clear. Being in all probability de- scended from Midian the son of Abra- ham by Keturah, it is perhaps most reasonable to infer that he retained the leading doctrines of the faith of his great progenitor, though possibly cor- rupted in some measure by the admix- ture of errors originating in the sur- rounding systems of heathen idolatry. From what we are subsequently in- formed of Jethro, he seems to have possessed a kndwledge of the true God, and to have been imbued with senti- ments of piety ; and this supposition is strengthened when we consider the improbability of Moses'„eutering into a marriage alliance with the family of an idolater,
17. The shepherds came and drove them away. Heb. Dl^ZJia"' yegareshum, where the pronominal suffix answering to ' them' is in the masculine, and not in the feminine gender ; from which we are doubtless to understand that the daughters of Reuel were accompanied by men-servants who were under their direction. It would be strange indeed for a company of unprotected females to be thus employed, and equally strange, if tliey were without assistance, ttiat such savage rudeness should be ]jrac-
31
EXODUS.
[B. C. 15:^1.
18 And nlion tlM'Vcamo to^ricuel their father, he saul, IIow is it that ye are come so soon to-day ? ' m And they said, An Kiryptian delivered us out vC the hand of the slieplierds, and also drew ica-
S Numb. 10 29. rli 3. 1. A 4 18. & 18. 1. <kc.
tiscd toward thorn by the shepherds.
See Note on (k-n. 29, 3. IT Moses
$tood up and helped them. Heb. Gp"^ "p-T'l yakom va-yoshian, arose and saved them . Or. ciiovnaro unruj, deliver- ed them. Here again we are probably required to suppose a fact not expressly mentioned in the sacred record, viz. tliat Moses travelled with attendants. Join- ing his sersants \v'n\\ those of Reuel; a party was formed snfticiently strong to over]H)wer the shepl\erd-booi-s who had so rudely attempted to drive away the flocks of the young women. ir Wa- tered their flock. Heb. C2K2I tzonam. Helj)ed to water them. Here too the pronominal suffix ' their' is in the mas- culine gender.
18. Came to Rexiel their father. The assignment of the names Reuel, or Rag- uel (Num. 10.29), Jethro and Hobab, to the proprr persons is no easy matter. It is supposed by many that Jethro and Reuel were but different names of the same ])rrson. Others consider Reuel as the father of Jethro, and the grand-father of the maidens here spoken of, but call- ed their father in conformity to a very common idiom in the original, of which see examples, Gi-n. 31. 43. 2 Sam. 19.25. 2 Kings, 14. 3. 16.2. KS. 3. So Targ. Jon. ' They came to Reguel, their fa- ther's father.' Dut as Reuel seems ob- rionsly to have been the same person as the priest of Midian, who had the seven dau'.,'hters, an office which he probably would not have lield liad his father brrn alive, and as lie is the one who is said v. 21, to have given Moses his daughter to wifr, an act more ap- propriate to a father than to a grand- father, provided both were living, as it
trr enough for us, and watered llie ilock. 20 And he said unto his daugh- ters, And where is he ? why is it that ye liave left the man ? call him, that he may 'eat bread.
r Gen. 31. 54. & 43. 25.
is clear tliey were if they were different persons ; we cannot but give a decided preference to the former opinion, which makes Jethro and Reuel the same per- son, but, for reasons now unknown to us, called by different names. As to Hobab, mentioned afterwards, Num. 10. 29, he is expressly affirmed to be the son of Reuel (Raguel) ' Moses' father- in-law,' which would seem to preclude all controversy on the subject. But see
Note in loc. IT How is it that ye are
come so soon to-day. Heb. 542 'p'ln^ mihartcn bo, hastened to come.
19. An Egyptian delivered us, &c. This they inferred from his speech and dress, or they had learned from his own mouth the coimtry from which he came.
IT Drew (water) enough for us.
Heb. n^T n^T daloh dalah, drawing drew. The word ' enough' is inserted in our translation in order to bring the expression somewhat nearer to the eni phasis of the original.
20. UHiy is it that ye have left the man 1 It is not, we presume, to be con- strued as a breach of propriety on the part of the daughters, that they did not invite Moses home to their father's house. It would have had a very questionable air had they introduced a stranger into the patenial mansion with- out any previous notice- to its proper head. On the contrary, they demean themselves with all the decorous re- serv^e appropriate to their sex. It does not appear even that they solicited pro- tection, but modestly received it ; and when rendered they rather looked their tlianks than uttered them. This was sufficient, for no noble or sensible mind, like that of Moses, would be in danger
B. C. 1531.] CHAPTER II.
21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man : and he gave Moses *Zipporali his daugh-
35
L-h. 4. 25. & IS. 2.
of interpreting the instincts of maidenly reserve into an ungrateful return for generous services. But what tliey failed to say to Moses himself they no doubt said for him to their father, and were happy to be able, under his sanction, to express their thanks by ministering all in their power to his comfort as a guest.
IT That he may eat bread. That is,
partake of an entertainment. See Note on Gen. 21.14.
21. Moses was content to dwell icith the man. Heb. Ji^T^ yoel, was willing ; or perhaps more slrictly, prevailed wpon himself, adopted the resolution. The word t)ccurs in the following passages ; Gen. 18. 27, ' Behold now I have taken upon me to speak mito the Lord j' i. e. have persuaded myself. Josh. 7. 7, ' Would to God xre had been content^ and dwelt on the other side Jordan ;' i.e. had prevailed upon ourselves. Judg. 19. 6, ' Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night ;' i. e. consent. 2 Sam. 7. 29, ' Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant ;' i. e. be thou willing. With characteristic brevity, Moses says nothing of the ])rc- vious proposition and negotiation which led to this arrangement, but the simple fact of the compact to remain is alone mentioned. The nature of the services he was to perform is not here specified, as it was in the case of Jacob in similar circumstances, but we learn from the opening of the ensuing chapter, what might be inferred from the manners and habits of those pastoral tribes, that the humble occupation of a shepherd was that in which the illustrious e.xile now consented to engage. Being thus brought into daily intimacy with kindred minds, it was natural that his intercourse with Jethro's family should result, as it did,
22 And she bare hi.n a son, and he called his name ^ Gershom ; for he said, I have been " a stranger in a strange land.
t ch. 18. 3, u Acts". 29. Ilebr. 11. 13, 14.
in a union with one of the daughters.
IT He gave Moses Zipporah his
daugliter J to whom reference is made Numb. 12. 1, ' And Miriam and Aaroa .spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he liad mar- ried ; for he had married an Ethiopian.' The original has ' Cushite' instead of ' Ethiopian,' not, probably, because her family w^as descended from Cush, or that she had the features and com. plexion of the modern Ethiopian race, but simply from the fact that they in- habited a country to which the name of Cush or EtWopia was applied. See Pict. Bib. p. 137.
22. He called his name Gershom, &c. Heb. 'D^Z^")^ gcreshom, which appears to be a compound made up of "13 gcVj stranger, and ti'lj sham, there. Others take the final syllable Q'l; to be an ad- jective derived from the root tif2'22 sha- mam, to be desolate, implying a lonely or desolate stranger. The import how- ever of this member of the word is of little consequence, as its main signifi- cancy is concentrated in that oi stranger conveyed by the other. The Gr. versioa here adds : ^ And she conceived again and bare a second son ; and he called his name Eliezer, saying. For the God of , my father is my helper, and hath de- livered me from the hand of Pharaoh.' This addition, which is transferred also into the Vulg., was borrowed from Ex. IS. 4, where nearly the same words oc- cur. The birth of a second son is also expressly mentioned in this connexion by Stephen, Acts, 7. 29, < Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.'' At what period of Moses' forty years sojourning in Midian his marriage with Zijiporah, or the birth
36
EXODUS.
[B. C. ]531.
23 H Aiul it came to pass, Mn ' process i>f time, tlr.U the king of | Eg\\n died : aiul the cliildreii of j Israel > sii,'hed by reason of the bondage, and they cried; and » their
xch. 7. 7. Acts 7. 30. y Numb. 20. 16. Deut. 2t> 7. I's. 12 f). ^ Oen. IW. 20. ch. 3- 9. & 22 23, 27. Deul. 24. 13. Jarnes 5 4.
of his chiUlron took place, we have no means of ascertaining. From the inci- dent mentionod, Ex. 4. 24, 2.'), it has generally boon supposed that the chil- dren were then young, as one of them was circumcised on that occasion by his mother. But it strikes us as ex- tremely im])robabre that Moses should liave deferred his marriage for near forty years aCler entering Midian, or that be- ing married shortly after that time, so long an interval should have elapsed before he became a father. It is to be remembered that he was at the time mentioned, ch. 4. 24, 25, on the way to Kgypt, and is it conceivable that he was then the father of two small children ? True indeed it is said, Ex. 4. 20, ' that he took his wife and his sons and set them upon an ass, and re- turned to Egypt,' from which it is ar- gued that the sons must have been mere children, or they could not have been carried, with their mother, on a single ass. But this objection will be obviated in our note on that passage, and as the advanced age of the eldest son at this lime is an important item in our inter- pretation of the context in question, we are forced for the present to hiy great stress on the intrinsic probability that Moses was both married and begat one at least of his two sons very early during his residence in Midian.
23. It came to pn.i.s in process of time. Ileb. tnn l"*!*!" f?3'^Z ba-yainim ha- rabbim hahcm, in those many days. Gr.
after those many days. On this phrase- ology Ainsworth remarks that the Heb. n in is here rightly translated by the
cry came up unto God, by reason of the bondage.
24 And God a heard their groan- ing", and God t remembered his c covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
ach. 6. 5. bch. 6. 5. Ps. 105. 8, 42. & IDS 45. c Gen. 15. 14. & 46. 4.
Gr. //frri, after, as is clear from Num.28. 26, ' After your weeks (tS'^riS^^Il'D in your weeks).,' and elsewhere. So in the New Testament, Mark, 13. 24, ' In those days' is parallelled by Mat. 24. 29, ' A f- ter the tribulation of those days.' But it is perhaps sufficient to understand by the phrase simply that in the course and tou-ards the latter part of the forty years of Moses' sojourn in Midian the king of Egypt died. As to the precise date of the event, it was not important
that we_ should be informed of it.
IT Sighed by reason of the bondage. The time was now fast approaching in which the Most High had proposed to visit and redeem his people, and still no symptoms of favor as yet are per- ceived. On the contrary, though Egypt had changed its sovereign in the mean time, yet the seed of Jacob experienced no mitigation of their distress. Every change which they had undergone was rather a change from evil to worse, till at length their calamities are repre- sented, like the blood of murdered Abel, as having a voice and crying to heaven for vengeance.
24. God remembered his covenant, &c. There is a ^ pitch of oppression which will not fail to awaken the wrath of heaven. The groans and tears extorted by violent wrong, especially if they come from humbled and penitent hearts, will pierce the ear of God, and prove a presage of deliverance. ' Cum latera duplicantur Moses adest,' u-hen the bricks are doubled, Moses is at hand. Yet it seems that in the present case it was not solely from a regard to their miseries that God determined to inter-
B. C. 1531.]
CHAPTER n
25 And God d looked upon the
dch. 4. 31. 1 Sail Luke 1. 23.
1. 11. 2 Sam. 16. 12.
fere. His owu faithfulness was at stake. He remembered his covenant, and his covenant is his engagement. To the three jiatriarchs here mentioned he had solemnly bound himself to en- large, to prosper, and to bless their seed, and after the lapse of a certain period to bring them out of bondage and plant them in the land of promise. As this period had now nearly expired, and the enemies of Israel by making their condition to the utmost degree in- tolerable were doing v.diat in them lay to crush and exterminate the race, and thus counteract the fulfilment of the divine promises, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob saw that it was time to awake, and make bare his arm, lest iiis word should fail for evermore. What is meant by God's ' remember- ing' his covenant we have explained in the Note on Gen. 8. 1. It is an effective remembrance evinced 'by the perform- ance of some special act of his care. We may understand it the better by conceiving of its opposite. God is said to forget or not to remember, when he fails to assist or deliver. And in like manner his looking upon a people is the opposite of turning his back upon them, and the term for one of the most fearful forms of the divine judgments.
25. God had respect unto them. Heb. 35 T^ yeda, ^•7^ew;lhem. That is, compas- sionately regarded them, tenderly cared for them. On the peculiar import of the word ' know,' see Note on Ex. 1. 8.
Remarks. — (1.) The doctrine of a special overruling providence is no where more impressively taught than in the early history of Moses ; and in contrasting the perils which siuTounded his infancy with the security and com- fort v/ith which we can rear our outi offspring, we have abundant grounds of
Vol. I 4
children ^l Ifeiael, and God chad re-r»prt unto them.
gratitude. Yet it should not be for- gotten that whatever care we may exercise for our little ones, or what- ever guardianship we may afford them, they as really reqiare the preserving mercy of heaven when reposing in their cradles or sporting in our parlors, as did Moses when enclosed in his ark of bul- rushes and exposed to the waves or the ravenous tenants of the Nile.
(2.) It is doing no violence to the spirit of the sacred text to conceive of our heavenly Father as saying to the be- liever when presenting his infant-off- spring in baptism, ' Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.' Take him out of the pollution that is in the world through sin, and bring him up in the nur- ture and admonition of the Lord. Take him from the many perils which beset liini by the lusts of the flesh, the pride of life, and Ihe malice of Satan, and estab- lish him in faith, hope, and love, as a devoted seiwant of the Savior, and verily thou shalt by no means lose thy reward.
(3.) What a powerful principle is true faith! And how illustrious the exhibition of it in the choice of Moses ! We know how hardly men are persuad- ed to resign a little wealth, to forego a little honor, to resign l\\e faintest pros- pect of rank and power. Yet Moses freely gave up all that was tempting in this respect, as a noble sacrifice of sense to faith ! Several of the circumstances which rendered this sacrifice so remark- able have been already considered. Con- sider in addition, that there were other than solfi.'-h objections to be overcome. Pharaoh's daughter had strong claims on the gratitude of Moses. He was a poor foundling, rescued from the peril of a watery grave, by the kindness of his benefactor j and no one acquainted
38
EXODUS.
and Icndorncss of
[B. C. 1531.
•uilh Ihc syinpiilliy woman's licurt needs to be told, how strong is tlu- uttacluuent formed for a helpless inlant ilms strangely and unex- pectedly thrown upon her hands. .A deep and atfeetionate interest would in- evitably sjjring up in her bosom towards her orphan charge, an interest all the deeper and stronger from having no children of her own. Now can we sup- pose that Moses when he had attained to years of reflection and was made ac- quainted with the events of his history, could have been insensible to what he owed to his preserver ? Would it not be a mighty struggle to tear himself away from one who had been a mother to him from his infancy; who had watched with kind solicitude over his advances from childhood to youth, and from youth to manhood ; whose heart had exulted to note his expanding intel- lect as he grew learned in all the wis- dom of the Egj'ptians, and to see him entitling himself by his intrinsic merit to the station to which he had been for- tuitously raised? Shall he then sum- tion up an iron resolve, sunder the ties that bound him to his earliest bene- factor, and bid her adieu for ever ? Shall he do this when in doing it he would seem to be resigning the only hope of aiding and of finally emanci- pating his brethren ? For if he would consent to be called the son of his pa- troness, retaining his place in the court, and watching the events of providence, some opportunity might at length occur for effecting an object so near liis heart. But we see the conviction of present duty outweighing every other considera- tion, and triumphing over the prompt- ings of affection and the dictates of worldly policy. So complete is the dominion of Faith over his whole soul that he resolves to take the momentous step, though assured that he sliould thereby j)lunge into affliction and incur reproach. But the afflictions anticipated
were the ' alTliclions of the people of God,' and the reproach incurred ' the reproach of Christ/ and these he well knew would be sanctified to any one who should encounter them for conscience sake.
CHAPTER III.
Of the events which marked the his- tory of Moses during the forty years of his residence in the land of Midian. the Scriptures have furnished us with no detailed account. As Moses is him- self the historian of liis own life, it is reasonable to infer from his silence that the period was not distinguished by any occurrences sufficiently important in his view to deserve a record. His days probably passed quietly away in the w'onted discharge of his duties as a shep- herd, and the shepherd too of another man's flock. His situation was no doubt favorable to contemplation and commu- nion with God. He could scarcely fail to make progress in that divine know- ledge which would do more to qualify him for his future mission than all the learning he had acquired in Egypt. The life too which he led was happily- adapted to work within him that hardi-. hood of constitution and character, of which he would afterwards stand so much in need, and of which the sequel of his story affords us so many striking instances. Still, it could not but be a severe trial of his faith to find year after year elapsing, and the prime and vigor of his age apparently wearing away, while no tokens from above indicated that the great work of his vocation was any nearer at hand. Yet he seems meek^ ly to have endured as seeing Him who is invisible, and to have evinced that true wisdom which consists in waiting for and following the call of heaven, in- stead of running before it. It was evi- dently no part of his design to hold up for admiration his own example of sub- missive patience, yet the Holy Spirit is
B. C. 1491.]
CHAPTER III.
39
CHAPTER III. lY^W Moses kept the flock of -i-^ Jethro his father-in-law, ^the priest of Midian : and he led the
a cl). 2. 16.
not restrained from presenting liis con- duct in such a light as will suggest the most useful lessons to all succeeding ages,
1. Now Moses kej)t thejlock of Jethro. Heb. "p^i: rii< r!:^"l rr^n hayah rock efh tzon, was feeding the flock, or actiyig the shepherd towards. See Note on Gen. 37. 2. He who is before, Ex. 2. 18, called Reuel, is here denominated Jethro. Our reasons for thinking them the same person have already been given. In Num. 10. 29, he is called Raguel, and is expressly said to have been the father of Hobab. — There is no doubt a ver3'- marked contrast between Moses in the court of Egypt, making his abode in a palace, and surrounded with all the splendors of royalty, and Moses a humble hireling shepherd, lead- ing his flocks over the rough places of the desert, sleeping often in the open air, exposed to heat and to cold, to weariness and watchings, and living upon the coarsest fare. But as we know that he had voluntarily and deliberatel}'- made the exchange of one condition for the other, and as we know too the mo- tives by which he had been governed in domgit, it would be no matter of sur- prise could we be assured, as was doubt- less the fact, that he was as truly happy while thus traversing the rocky region of Midian, his tent his only shelter, as when treading the marble pavements of Egyptian halls, or reposing on couclies of state, with a crowd of menials prompt to do his pleasure. As it was from a su- preme regard to the glory of God that he had entered this humble sphere, so God was not unuiindful of the sacrifices he had made, nor did he leave liim without witness of his special favor. Desert
flock to the back side of the desert, and came to b the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
bch. 18. 5. 1 Kinj^s 19. 8.
and lonely places have often been those which God has selected for the most signal displays of hinaself to his serv- ants ; nor is it superfluous to remark, that such manifestations are usually made, as here, not to the idle or sloth- ful, but to those who are busied in the
duties of their calling. IT He led the
flock to the back side of the desert, &c Gr. v-o Tov tpniMv, under the wilderness. Vulg. ' Ad interiora deserti,' to the inte- rior parts of the desert. Chal. ' To the place of fair pasturage in the desert.' The expression is probably equivalent
to a great way into the desert.
IT Came to the mountain of God, so call- ed, not so much from its great height, as tall cedars are called cedars of God, &c. (see Note on Gen. 23. 6), as by an- ticipation, from several very remark- able events having afterward occurred upon this memorable mount tending to confer upon it a sacred character. It was here (1.) that God appeared to Moses in the bush; (2.) that he mani- fested his glory at the delivery of the law ; (3.) that Moses with his rod brought water out of the rock ; (4.) that by lifting up his hands he made Joshua to prevail against Amclek ; (5.) that he fasted twice forty days and forty nights ; (6.) that irom hence he brought the two tables of the law ; and (7.) that Elijah was vouchsafed a glorious vision. The Chal. renders it, ' the moimt where the Glory of the Lord was revealed.'
IT Even to Horeb. Heb. in^H horeh,
i. e. dryness, from the character of the soil ; it being a dry, sterile, bleak, rocky region. The names ' Horeb' and ' Sinai' are interchanged in the Scriptures : and modern travellers give such varied ac- counts of tliem, that we are left in great uncertainty with regard to their original
40
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1491.
2 And «" tin' Auircl vf the Lord appeared uiilo him in a llaine of lire out of the iiiidsl of a huth ;
c Ueul. 33. 10. Isai (13. i>. Acts 7. 30.
position. They may be considered as parts of one vast eminence in the midst of the surrounding desert, the upper re- gion of which forms an irregular circle of tliirty or forty miles in diameter. This region contains the higliest moun- tains of tlie peninsula, whose shagged and pointed p<^aks, and steep and shat- tered sides, render it clearly distin- guishable from all the rest of the coun- try in view. Abrupt clifls of granite, from six to eight hundred feet in height, whose surface is blackened by the sun, surroimd the avenues leading to the elevated region, to which the name of Sinai, at the present day, is specifically applied. The cliffs enclose the moun- tain on three sides, leaving the east and north-east sides only, towards the gulf of Akaba, more opon to tlie view. Fur- ther information re.'^pecting this remark- able mountainous tract will be given in tracing the course of the children of Israel in their march from Egj^jt to Canaan.
2. The angel of the Lord appeared unto him, &c. Of tlie scriptural import of the word ' angel' we have given a somewhat extended view in the Note 00 Gen. 16. 7, with which compare Note on Gen. 21. 7. It is properly a term of ojjlce, and not oi nature, and is used to denote not only human and spiritual messengers, but also any of the imper- sonal agents, such as winds, fires, pesti- lences, remarkable dispensations, &c., which serve as a medium to make known the divine ^iH, or to illustrate the divine operation in nature or provi- dence. In fact, one of the most frequent uses of the term is as a personification of divine jtid!::inents. Thus 2 Kings, 19. 3.'}, ' And it came to pass that the Angel of the Lord went out and smote in the cainp of the Assyrians an hundred
and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and llie bush was not con.sumed.
four score and five thousand.' The elTcct here described is very generally conceded to have been produced by a pestilential wind of tlie desert, which is personified, and termed an angel. So the pestilence which occurred in conse- quence of David's numbering the people, 2 Sam. 24. 15, 16, in like manner repre- sented as the work of an angel. The destruction of the first-born in Egypt, Ex. 12. 23, 29, is doubtless to be viewed in the same light. Though cut off by the direct supernatural judgment ot the ]Most nigh, yet the agency is per- sonified and represented as a destroying angel. The language of the Psalmist, Ps. 78. 49, undoubtedly requires the same construction ; * He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath and indignation and trouble hy sending evil angels among them ;' i. e. the judgments of the plagues. In the New Testament the same mode of speech occurs. Acts, 12. 23, ' And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory, and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.' Here the judgment itself, the fatal disease witt which Herod died, was the angel intend ed in the text. But if such language was used in reference to vindictive judg- ments extraordinarily inflicted, there is no reason to doubt that merciful visita tions, or in fact any kind of rare, iron- dcrful, and astounding occurrences that ha])pen somewhat out of the ordinary course of providence, should be set forth in a similar figurative or symbolical diction. Thus when it is said, Dan. 6.22, that ' God had sent his Angel and shut the lions' mouths, that they should not hurt Daniel,' it is not necessary to un- derstand the literal presence of an angel, or spiritual being, but simply, that by the special interposition or influence of
B. C. 1191.]
CHAPTER III.
41
the Almighty, the ravenous beasts were restrained from acting according to their instincts. The principle on which this interpretation rests is well expressed by Reland (Dissert, de Samarit. 7. § 7.), * That with whatever instrmnent God unites his own virtue, so as to animate it, and to work in, with, and by it, that instrument is called an angelJ Accord- ingly, even a dream, a vision, a voice from heaven, may be so denominated. But the appellation seems to be in a particular manner bestowed upon the theophanics, or special divine manifesta- tions of which we so frequently read in the Old Testament as made to the patri- archs and prophets. The Shekinah, or visible material symbol of glory, is un- doubtedly, in repeated instances, called the angel of the Lord, inasmuch as it was the medium or vehicle through which the Divinity was pleased to re- veal himself to the outward senses. Thus the Shekinah in the pillar of cloud and fire which guided the march of the Israelites is called, Ex. 14. 19, the angel of the Lord. At the same time, in all such cases an intelligent agent, a spirit- ual being, or, in other words, Jehovah himself, is doubtless to be considered as really but invisibly present in and associated with the visible emblem. Thus, in the present instance, the ap- pearance, the preternatural light or fire in the burning bush, we suppose to be what is truly and primarily meant by the angel of the Lord ; but it is clear from the sequel that in and under this outward symbol there was present the divine personage who styles himself, V. 6, ' the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob,' and who is also, v. 7, ex- pressly called ' Jehovah' (Lord). This is still farther manifest from Deut. 33. 16, where Moses, in blessing the tribes in the name of the Lord, invokes upon Joseph ' the good will of liim that divelt in the bushJ Still farther confirmation of this view will be given as we pro- ceed. IT In aflame of fire out of the
I midst of a bush. This appeared to ] Moses a natural fire burning with great I vehemence in the midst of Ihu bush, yet I we may suppose it to have been the supernatural fiery splendor which con- stituted the Shekinah, the symbol of ; the divine presence. The Hebrew word for ' bush,' (properly bramble bush) is ; ri20 sench, and from the ' bush' here I mentioned, in connexion with the divine 1 appearance, the Jewish writers, not im- j)robably, suppose that this mountain and desert Avere afterwards called by j the Israelites ' Mount Sinai,' and the j ' wilderness of Sinai.' Thus in Pirke Eliezer, ch. 41, ' From the beginning of the world this Mount was called Horeb, and when God appeared unto Moses out of the midst of the bramble-bush, from the name of the bramble (Seneh) it was called Sinai.' — The incident which so much excited the wonder of Moses is generally supposed to halve been de- signed as a representation of the con- dition of the Israelites in Egypt. ' The burning bush,' says Philo, ' was a sym- bol of the oppressed, and the flaming fire of the oppressors ; that what was burning but not consumed, did portend that these who were afflicted by the violence of their enemies should not perish ; and that the attempts of their enemies should be frustrated ; and that the present troubles of the afflicted should have a good issue.' There they were oppressed and cruelly treated, bound down with bondage, and suffer- ing every grievance that malice could devise and power effect to wear out their strength and diminish their num- bers. They were in a furnace of fire, and in themselves but as briars and thorns compared with those that kind- led it. But they were nevertheless not destroyed ; nay, they were still flourish- ing ; the nation continued to shoot forth vigorous branches, and a numerous ofi"- spring surrounded them in spite of their enemies. And whence tliis wonder, this apparent contradiction to the common
42
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1491.
'A And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this -iffrcat sight, why tiie l)ush is not burnt.
4 And when the Loud saw that
.1 Ps 111.2. Acts 7. 31.
course of nature ? It was bccau.se God wa.s in tlie midst of them. He, the im- perishable and eternal God, who now appeared to Moses in the bush, burning but unburnt, and wlio afterwards walked witli his three faitliful servants in the burning Jiory furnace of Nebuchadnez- zar, was continually with his oppressed people, and therefore they were not consumed. But farther, it will be no stretch of fancy if we consider the ap- pearance of tlie bush as an emblem of the present condition of the children of Israel. They are at this day strangers in foreign lands. They have been in circumstances which, according to the common operation of merely human and ])olitical causes, Avould have long ago amalgamated them entirely with other nations, and made them vanish, as a people, from the earth. But they are at this day a distinct and separate people ; they have survived the lapse of ages, which liave swept away others far more numerous and powerful ; they are scattered over the face of the whole earth, and yet their national character and name are ])reserved, and even their visages declare their origin. And why is this burning bush of the house of Israel yet unconsumed ? It is because God is with them. He remembers his cove- nant with their fathers. He has further mercy in store for them. ' There shall yet come out of Zif)n the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.' They shall again be gralted into their own olive-tree, for (iml is able to graft them in again, and his gifts and call- ings are without repentance. But again, this appearance may be considered as an apt eml)lem of the condition of even the spiritual church of Christ. Against himself and ilie cause of his gospel
he turned aside to see, God called eunto him out ol" the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses I And he said, Here am I.
e Deut. 33. 16.
did ' the kings of the earth set them- selves, and the rulers take counsel to- gether,' And ever since have the world and the devil been striving to crush his people, and to root out the memorial of them from the earth. Often have his witnesses prophesied in sackcloth, and often have his people suffered bonds and imprisonment and death for theii religion. Yet it remains, and is still } light shining in a dark place. This it because that God is Avith his church God is in the midst of her, and there fore she is not moved. ' When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee ; when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame kin- dle upon thee.' She is built upon a rock and the gates of hell shall not pre- vail against her. Her great head has declared, ' Lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world.' And herein consists the stability, perpetuity, and increase of the church.
3. Why the bush is not consumed. Heb. 135^'^ l^b lo yibar, is not eaten up ; i. e. burnt up, entirely consumed, for that it was apparently burning we are expressly informed in v. 2. A fire in the Scriptures is frequently said to ' eat' as Lev. 6. 10, ' And take up the a.shes which the fire hath consumed ;' Heb. ' hath eaten,' Ps. 50. 3, ' Our God shall come and shall not keep silence : a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.' It was matter of astonishment to Moses that this was not the efiect in the present instance.
4. When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, he called unto him, &c. As if to reward the religious awe and
B. C. 1491.]
CHAPTER III.
43
5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither : f put off thy shoes from off
fch. 19. 12. Josli. 5. 15. Acts 7. 33.
dread, and the sanctified curiosity, with which his spirit was touched. The phraseology shows that the term ' Lord' here is used interchangeably with 'An- gel,' carrying with it the idea of some- thing visible, or in other words of the Shekinah. God miglit have called to him without any such tokens of rever- ence on the part of Moses, but he does not see fit to make his communications to heedless minds. ' The desire of Moses to be taught,' says Calvin, ' as indicated by his drawing near, is espe- cially worthy of note. It often happens that God meets us in vain because we perversely spurn so great a grace. Let us learn from the example of Moses, as often as God, by any sign, invites us to himself, sedulously to attend, nor stifle the offered light by our sluggishness.' The vouchsafemcnt of visions of this nature was never intended to inspire a fruitless wonder or alarm in the minds of holy men. They were always sub- servient to some great moral end, and for the most part were attended with some express instructions in which the beholder was deeply concerned. It had now been a long time since any such personal intercourse with the Deity had been enjoyed by any of the chosen peo- ple. No instance of the kind is recorded as having taken place since God was pleased to speak to Jacob to encourage him to go down into Egypt ; but now after a lapse of two hundred years God again condescends to appear and to converse with Moses, in ord^r to en- courage him to go back to the same country to bring his people out of it. We are ready to say that those favored men of old were happy in being per- mitted to enjoy such immediate inter- course with God ; but happier are we who enjoy the full revelation of the pre-
thy feet ; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
cious gospel. Whatever they heard, they heard not the things which have come to our ears. Whatever were the promises given to them, Ave are in pos- session of better. Whatever the cove- nant made with the fathers, a better one has been established with us their spiritual descendants. Whatever the en- couragement granted to them, we have still greater afforded to us in every part of the work which we have to do, in every trial and danger to which we may be exposed. Let us then hear the voice of God speaking to us in the gospel, where no phenomenon of fire intimi- dates our spirits. Let us hearken in faith to all its declarations, and yield implicit obedience to all its commands. IT Here am I. A common expres- sion indicative of readiness to hearken or obey. See Note on Gen. 22. 1.
5. Draw not 7iigh hither. That is, approac?! not any nearer than thou art. The scrutiny of mere curiosity was re- pelled ; an undue familiarity was not permitted ; a deep and awful reverence was enjoined. He was forbidden to ap- proach too nigh unto God. The deepest awe which can possibly fill the soul is called for when a worm of the dust is admitted to stand within the precincts of the divine presence. We are indeed favored to live under a milder dispen- sation than was Moses, one under which we are not only bidden ' to draw nigh unto God,' but assured that ' he will draw nigh unto us.' We do not now draw nigh unto a burning bush or a flaming mount, but to a mercy seat to which we are commanded to come with filial boldness to obtain all needed grace. Yet even here there is nothing to warrant an unhallowed familiarity, nothing to abate the most profound rev- erence and godly fear when we enter
44
EXODUS.
[B. C. 149L
into the audience-chamber nf the King
of kings. ir Put off thy shoes from
off thy feet. Hy shoe here is meant the leathern or wooden sole attached to the bottom of tl>e foot by ' shoe-latchets' passing round tlic instep and ancle. See Note on Gen. IS. 4. Jerus. Targ. "|i";:D sandclnk, thy sandal. ' The reverence indicated by putting off the covering of the feet is still prevalent in the East. The Orientals throw off their slippers on all those occasions when we should take off our hats. They never uncover their heads, any more than we our feel. It would every where, whether among Christians, Moslems, or Pagans, be considered in the highest degree irreverent for a person to enter a church, a temple, or a mosque, with his feet covered ; and we shall observe that the priests under the law officiated with bare feet. And not only is this form of showing respect exhibited in reli- gious observances, but in the common intercourse of life. Few things inspire an Oriental with deeper disgust, than for a person to enter his room with shoes or boots on, regarding such con- duct both as an insult to himself and a pollution to his apartment. These usages influence the costume of the head and feet. The former, being never imcovered, is in general shaven, and the head-dress generally is such that it could not be replaced without some degree of trouble ; while for the feet they have loose and easy slippers, which may be thrown off and resumed with the least possible degree of inconvenience.' Pict.
Bih. IT The place whereon thou
standest is holy c^round. Heb. ^l>2")^^ DHp admath kodesh, ground of holi- ness; i. e. sanctified by the presence and manifestation of the Deity, who makes the hoavens,the earth, the sanc- tuary, or whatever place it be in which his glory is revealed, to be accounted ' Jioly,' and therefore to be occu])ied with devout reverence by his worship- pers. Accordingly the mount on which
Christ was transfigured, 2 Pet. 1, 18. is called the ' holy mount.' A * holiness' of this kind, founded solely upon divine appointment, and not upon the intrinsic nature of the subject, is termed ' rela- tive' in contradistinction from ' posi- tive,' or * absolute,' and ceases when the occasion creating it ceases. The same direction was afterwards given to Joshua, the successor of Moses, on a somewhat similar occasion, Josh. 6. 15, ' Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy.' That is, it was made temporarily holy by the divine manifestation there wit- nessed. We are not indeed in the Scriptures taught the intrinsic holiness of places, but there is no doubt tliat the spirit of this command enjoins upon us a peculiar awe and reverence of feeling whenever we enter a house of worship, or any other place, where God is con- sidered to be especially present. The impression that ' God is here' ought CTer to have a solemnizing effect upon our minds, and repress every thing like carelessness, listlessness, or levity. Had we a proper sense of the divine majesty resting upon our spirits, would it be possible that we could give way to that profane heedlessness of mind which often steals upon us ? Would one short hour's attendance betray us into slum- ber ? Would a crowd of worldly or sen- sual thoughts intrude into our minds ? Could the eye find leisure to roam over the assembly and upon the dress or de- portment of others ? Could a scornful or simpering countenance by significant smiles communicate its contemptuous or frivolous emotions to another ? As- suredly not. God is as truly, though not as visibly, in the midst of his worshipping assemblies, as he was in the burning bush at Horeb, and our most appropriate sentiments on such occasions are those which would utter themselves in the rev(irential language of Jacob at Bethel, ' How dreadful is this place !'
B. C. 1191. j
CHAPTER III.
45
6 Moreover lie said, gl am the God of thy father, llie God of A,brahani, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid
S Gen. 28. 13. ver. 15. di. 4. 5. Matt. 22. 32. Mark 12. 2(). Luke 20. .37. Acts 7. 32.
6. Moreover y he said, lam the God of thy father. That is, of each one of thy fathers, even Abraham, and Isaac, &c. The term here is usually understood of Moses' immediate father, Amram, but it is with more probability to be con- sidered as a collective singular, equiva- lent to ' fathers.' Accordingly it is rendered in Stephen's version of this event. Acts 7, 32, ' I am the God of thy fathers.^ A like sense, v,e presume, is to be given to the expression, Ex. 15. 2, ' He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation ; mj'- fafher^s God, and I will exalt him ;' i. e. the God of my an- cestors in general. We suppose the true import of the passage before us would be better expressed by the render- ing ; ' I am the God of thy fathers, (even) the God of Abraham, &c.' This is obviously confirmed by v. 15 of this chapter. While the Most High re- pressed presumption in Moses, and en- joined reverence, he encouraged him by reassuring him of tliat relation into which he had entered with the nation of Israel in the persons of their fathers. This declaration was made in order to assure Moses that even in the present oppressed state of his nation in Egypt, he had not forgotten them, or his re- lation to them as a God in covenant. This would be an unspeakable conso- lation to Moses, to find himself ad- dressed by that God of whose appear- ances and promises to his fathers he had often heard, and to know that his heart was as kindly aflccted to him as it ever had been to his venerated an- cestors. How comforting beyond meas- ure to the Christian, in his more favored moments, to be assured that the God of all the good who have ever lived is his God, and equally pledged by his
his iaee ; for •> he was afraid to look upon God.
7 II And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my peo-
h So 1 Kings 10. 13. Isai. 6. 1, 5. INeh. 9. 9. Ps. 100. 44. Acts 7. 34.
covenant faithfulness, to show to him the same loving kindness that he show- ed to them ! IT Moses hid his face,
for he u-as afraid to look upon God. Or rather perhaps, parentheticall}^, accord- ing to the Hcb. accents, ' And Moses hid his face (because he was afraid) from looking upon God.' A more literal rendering of the last v^■ords (S'^n^xn ^i^ c/ haelohim) is to or towards God, or towards the Elohim, as the article is prefixed, which is not the common usage. It would seem that the term ' Elohim' here is intended to signify simply that u'hich uas visible, the out- ward symbol representing the essential Godhead, ' which no man hath seen nor can see.' The Chal. has correctly, ' He feared to look towards the Glory of God ;' i. e. towards the overpowering brightness of the Shekinah, in which God manifested his presence. The effect described is what might have been anticipated. A consciously sinful creature may well fear and tremble when God comes to visit him, even though on a purpose of mercy. It is ignorance of God, not intimate com- munion with liim, that begets an unhal- lowed familiarity. The angels, who know him best and adore liim most pro- foundly, are most sensible of the infinite distance between him and them, and are therefore represented as ' covering their faces with their wings' when standing in his awful presence.
7. I have surely seen the affliction, &c. Heb. "Ti'^i^'l nX*! raoh raithi, see- ing I have seen, i. e. have intently con- sidered. Arab. ' Have regarded.' Thus Ps. 106. 44, ' Nevertheless he regarded their aflliction when he heard their cry.' Heb. ' He saw (Stl'^l) their allliction.' IT By reason of their task-masters.
46
EXODUS.
[B.C. 149],
plo which arc in Ei^ypt, and ihavc licard their cry ''by reason of tlieir taskmasters; for 'I know their sorrows :
• ch. 2. 23, 21. kch. 1. 11. iGen. 18.21.
Heb. T^ra3 nogesauv^ his task-masters ; the wliolo j)coj)le spoken of as one man, accoi(hn<; to common usage. The orig- iniil for task-mnsters^ tliough of equiva- lent import, is not the same word with that so rendered, ch. 1. 11, but properly signifies exarteis, translated in Job, 39. 7, driver, and in Zech. 9. S, oppressor. Tlie Gr. has E"yof\uKTat, workmasters, and the Chal. ' Those who cause them
to serve.' IT / know their sorroivs.
Heb. 1*^-Ht;^ makobauv, his sorrows, collect, sing, as before. For the import of know,' see Note on Ex. 1. S. Hos. 13. ."), presents a parallel phraseology, < I did knorc thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought ;' i. e. I com- passionately knew thee ; I knew thee so as to succor thee.
JS. lam come down to deliver them. Heb. 1^*^:rnb IchatzHo, to deliver him, collect. sing. In strict propriety of speech nei- ther ascent nor descent can be predicated of the Omni]iresent Being, but in adapt- ation to our modes of conceiving of the divine acts, God is said to ' come down' when he puts forth in the sight of men such striking exhibitions of his power, either for grace or judgment, as shall constitute an indubitable token of his special presence. It maybe remarked, moreover, that whenever the Most High is said, in the sacred volume, to 'de- scend,' some signal event of his provi- dence is uniformly represented as fol- lowing. Thus, when he is said to have resolved to ' go down' and see the sins of Sodom, the fearful overthrow of their city quickly ensued; when he 'came down' to thwart the building of Babel, the confusion of tongues followed, as it were, upon his footsteps ; and when, in the narrative before us, he announces his purpose of descending in behalf of
8 And >n I am come down to " de- liver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land, o unto a good lanfl,
n. Gen 11. 5, 7. & 18. 21. & 50.24. " ch. 6. 6, 8. & 12. 51. " Dent. 1. 25. '& 8. 7, 6, 9.
his people, their miraculous deliverance, with deserved vengeance upon Egypt,
is the memorable result. H Unto a
good land and a large. Not indeed a land very large in itself, but large in comparison with their territory in Go- shen, and of sufficient extent to contain with ease all the population of that race which was destined to inherit it.
IT Unto a land flowing with milk
and honey. An abundance of milk and honey indicates a country rich in pas- turage and flowers, of which the one is evinced by the teeming udders of the flocks and herds, and the other by large quantities of wild or cultivated honey. That this description held literally good of the land of promise, there is the most unquestionable evidence, not only from the declarations of Scripture, Deut. 8. 8. 32. 13. Judg. 14. 8. 1 Sam. 14. 25, 26. Ps. 81. 17, but even from what we know in modern times of the soil, climate, and productions of Palestine. But if this should be thought too rigid an in- terpretation of the words, ' milk' may be understood to denote all kinds of necessary food, and ' honey,' whatever is peculiarly agreeable to the palate, so that this expression, so often applied to the land of Canaan, may be simply intended to characterise a very fruitful and pleasant country, abounding in all the products necessarj^ to the subsist- ence of life, and rich in the dainties which minister to the gratification of the taste. See the emphatic commendation of the soil, productions, &c. of the promised land, Deut. 8. 7— 9. The same proverbial expression of plenty is fa- miliar to the classic writers. Thus Eu- ripides, Bac. v. 142^ ' The field flows with milk, wdth wme, and with the nectar of bees.' The enemies of reve-
B. C. 1491.]
CHAPTER III.
47
and a large, unto a land p flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of 4 the Canaanites, and the Hittitcs, and the Amorites, and the Perrizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Pver. IT. ch 13. 5. & 33. 3. Numb. 13. 27. Deut. 26. y, 15. Jer. 11. 5. <k 32. 22. Ezek. 20 6. q Gen. 15. lb.
latioii have drawn arguments irom the present neglected state of some parts of Palestine, to invalidate the statements of the sacred historians, who represent it as one of the most delightful spots upon the face of the earth. In this, however, they have not only utterly failed, but by drawing the attention of modern travellers on the subject, have unwittingly contributed towards the il- lustration and confirmation of the sacred records. The land has, indeed, suffered under the blighting dominion of the Saracens, Turks, and Egyi)tians ; agri- culture has been neglected ; and an air of desolation has crept over its once luxuriant hills and dales, but the traces of its original fertility and beauty are far from being wholly obliterated. We may infer, from the following passages from the pens of eminent travellers, what Palestine was in a state of pros- perity. ' We left the road,' says D'Ar- vieux, ' to avoid the Arabs, whom it is always disagreeable to meet with, and reached by a side path the summit of a mountain, where we found a beautiful plain. It must be confessed, that if we could live secure in this country, it would be the most agreeable residence in the world, partly on account of the pleasing diversity of mountains and val- leys, partly on account of the salubrious air which we breathe there, and which is at all times filled with balsamic odors from the wild flowers of these valleys, and from the aromatic herbs on the hills.' Dr. E. D. Clarke, speak- mg of the appearance of the country between Sychem and Jerusalem, says, ' A sight of this territory alone, can
9 Now therefore, behold, rthe cry of the chiUlren of Israel is come un- to me : and I liave also seen the s oi)prcssion wherewith the Egyp- tians oppress them.
10 t Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that
rch. 2. 23. sch. 1, 11, 13, 14 22. t Ps. 105. 26. Micah. 0. 4.
convey any adequate idea of its s>ar- prising produce : it is truly the Eden of the East, rejoicing in the abundance of its wealth. The effect of this upon the people was strikingly portrayed in every countenance. Under a wise and beneficent government, the produce of the Holy Land would exceed all calcu- lation. Its perennial harvests ; the sa- lubrity of its air ; its limpid springs ; its rivers, lakes, and matchless plains ; its hills and valleys ; all these, added to the serenity of the climate, prove this land to be indeed ' a field which the Lord hath blessed : God hath given it of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and
wine." ^Canaanites, Hittitcs, AmoV'
ites, &c. All singular in the original, Canaanite, Hittite, &c., and so in in- numerable other instances.
9. Now therefore behold the cry, &c. The Most High repeats this declaration from V. 7, in order to give stronger as- surance to Moses that he will be with him and not suffer him to go upon a fruitless embassy. His truth, his jus- tice, his mercy were all concerned in the liberation of his people. Such cruel- ties as they had suffered at the hands of the Egyptians would have awaked his vindictive providence in behalf of any people, and armed it against their oppressors. How much more when the sufierers were his own chosen people, whom he had taken under his special covenant care, whom he had sworn to protect, to befriend, to bless.
10. Come now therefore, &c. Heb, ni^ nt'iS'l ve-attah lekah, and now go. The secret impulse under which Moses
45
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1491.
thou mavcst brinsr forth my peo- ple, the children of Israel, out of
1 i II And Moses sa
id unto God,
had formcrl)' acted, in his incipient es- says towards the deliverance of liis peojile, ch. 2. 11, now becomes an open call anrl a full commission ; and he whom the Israelites, Acts, 7. 35, ' re- fused saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge ? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of ilie angel which appeared to liim in the busli.' The divine Sjieaker here passes from promises and assurances to commands. Moses is now required to address himself to the work which God had destined him to perform. He dealt kindly with liis servant in thus strength- ening and animating him with these precious hopes of success. Nothing could have been laid to his charge had he waved all such preliminary encou- ragements, and sternly bid him go for- ward without any intimations as to the result of his mission. But our merciful God deals more graciously with human infirmity. He excites a more prompt and clicerful obedience by assuring his serv- ants of a li:ippy issue to all the work in wliich tlioy engage for him. He thus leaves our perverse and selfish and re- fractory hearts utterly without excuse, if we decline his service.
11. And Moses said unfo God, Who am T, &r. Calling to mind the lively interest which Moses had formerly evinced in Itelialf of his people, and the ready zeal with wliich he had entered upon the redress of their wrongs, we should no doubt at first sup]iose that his inmost heart would have responded to the divine call, and that he would have discovered an almost eager jrompt- itudc to enter upon so congenial a serv- ice. Hut no ; he is aj-palled by the ap- pointment. He cannot beli-ne himself equal l*, it, or worthy of it. Forty
u Who am I, that i should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of EgJTt?
uSeerh. 6 12. ISam. 18. 18. Isai.6. 5.8. Jer. 1. 6.
years before, in the ardor of compara- tive youth, lie had made such an at- tempt, and failed. He slirinks back therefore from it now. But we are not to suppose that it was altogether from the recollection of the past that he de- clined the present service. He was in many respects a different man now from what he w-as then. He had long been leading a retired, quiet, and contem- plative life, and had gained a deeper knowledge of God and of himself. He had greater experience of the disposi- tions and motives of men, and had grouTi in humility and a diffidence of his owni powers. He could better esti- mate the magnitude and difficulty of the work. He could better understand the weight of opposition which would arise from a powerful king and a mighty nation ; and he might also well expect to have again to encounter fear or un- willingness in his owTi people. Now also he would feel that he could have no protection or favor from Pharaoh's daughter, and obscure as he was in Midian, he looked upon himself as al- together insufficient and incompetent for so great a.n undertaking. That his backwardness was excusable no one will affirm, yet it is probably no more than justice to Moses to say, that his reply did not flow from a positive- ly disobedient spirit, like that which prompted Jonah to flee from the pres- ence of the Lord, but from a ])rofoundly humble sense of his own unwortliiness and incompetence for such an arduous trust. From a similar consciousness, Isaiah shrunk from the duty to which he was called of being the Lord's mes- senger, sayiiTg, ' I am a man of unclean lips ;' and Jeremiah v,as led to exclaim ' Ah, Lord God ! behold I cannot speala
B. C. 1491.]
CHAPTER Hi
12 And he said, ^ Certainly I will be with thee ; and this shall be a
X Gen. 31. 3. Devit. 31. 23. Josh. 1. 5. Rom. 8. 31.
for I am a child.' Paul also was actu- ated by the same feeling when he anx- iously enquired, ' Who is sufficient for these things?' A due degree of distrust in ourselves is no doubt always proper, but we should not forget, that as there is a sinful pride which urges men to seek stations and employments to which they have no just pretensions, so there is a sinful humility which shrinks from the call of God, and which under the guise of self denial, or the affectation of under-valuing and debasing our own persons and qualities, indirectly char- ges God with foolishness in choosing instruments unsuited to his work. Let us ever aim then to observe a happy medium between self-complacency and self-disparagement. As it is God's pre- rogative to send by whom he will send, so he will never fail to qualify his emis- saries for the errand on which he dis- patches them. His commission is suffi- cient to empower the weakest man for the most arduous service.
12. And he said, Certainly I unit be irith thee. Chal. ' My Word shall be for thy help.' It no doubt for the most part holds true, that those who are in reality the best fitted for the peculiar work of God are usually prone to esteem themselves the least so ; yet the pro- mised presence of Jehovah is sufficient to silence every plea which would pre- vent the hmnble-minded from going forward in any prescribed deliverance, reformation, or change in the church or the world. No other than this simple consideration is afforded in order to re- move the misgivings of Moses. It was of no consequence who he was, or what he could do, as long as Omnipotence led the way before him. We render the highest honor to God when relying on liis proffered aid, we seek no groimd of
Vol. I 5
token 2M0 thee, that I have sent thee : when thou hast brought forth tJie people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
confidence out of himself, when in th5 deep sense of our own impotence we count it enough that he is with us and
for us. IT This shall be a token unto
thee that I have sent thee. Heb. "1^ HT ri15<n zeh leka haoth, this shall be to thee a sign. These words are under- stood by most of the Rabbinical com- mentators to refer to the supernatural appearance which Moses was now called to witness in the burning bush. Ac- cording to this mode of interpretation there is a two-fold assurance conveyed to him in the two several clauses of this verse ; first, that God would be with him, and protect him in his em- bassy to Pharaoh. Of this fact he might regard the spectacle before him as a sign or token ; for as he saw the burning bush subservient to the divine pleasure without being consumed, so he might be confident of being enabled to execute tiie commission assigned to him without personal harm. Secondly that when this was accomplished, when he had delivered his message to Pha- raoh, and brought out the people from Egypt, then both he and all the host of Israel should serve God, by oblations of sacrifice and praise, upon that very mountain where he now stood. The mass of modern interpreters, however, imderstand the tflken hore spoken of, to refer, not to the vision of the divine glory in the burning bush, but to the actual future result of the mission now devolved upon INIoses : the sign promised was no other than the event itself, which was predicted ; q. d. 'Go now and try, and you shall find, by the event, that I have sent you.' Of these interpretation.* the former is more agreeable to the lie brew accents, which indicate a marko distinction between the former and the latter clauses of the verse : and it seems
50
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1491.
13 And Moses said unro God, Be- hold, ir/irn I coiiio unto tlio children of Israel, and shall say nnlo them, The (lod of your lathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to
also better to accord with our ordinary concoj)tions of the use of a sign, which is undtTstood to be something addressed to the ouftrard senses rather than to the faith of the recijiient, and is of course naturally regarded ratlier as a cause, help, or confirmation of faith, than its object. The latter view of the passage, however, it must be admitted, is strong- ly corroborated by Isaiah, 7. 14. ' There- fore the Lord himself shall give you a sign ; Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.' Here both the sign and the thing promised are future. But, the point is one which after all we must leave undecided.
13. Behold, ivhen I come, &c. The diffidence of JMoses is not yet overcome. Still doubting and irresolute, he ven- tures to urge another difficulty in the words of this verse. He supposes lliat his own people will rigidly interrogate him by way of sifting the authority un- der which he acts, and will particularly require of him an account of the nature, character, and attributes of the Being whose commission he bore. This is undoubtedly the true sense of the term name in tliis connexion. It is not so nuich the common title by which he was Icnown that they would wish to learn — for it is suJtJ)n^ed by the wording of the t«'xt th.it li.- would announce him as ' tlie God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob' — as the ncio and significant de- nomination, which he might be expect- ed to as.sume on tliis occasion. The j)eoj)le were well aware by tradition that whenever (Jod had been pleased to honor any of tlieir ancestors with a new re.velation, it was liis wont, m order to give it greater weight, to assume a new characteristic denomination, expressive
me, What is his name ? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM : and lie said, Thus shalt thou say mito the chil-
mainly of that attribute wliich served as a security for the fullilment of the promise. Thus when he apoeared to Abraham, Gen. 17. 1, and promised him a son in his old age, he announced him- self as El Shaddai, God Almighty, in- finitely able to accomplish all his pur- poses. So also we find the occasional titles Most High, Ancient of Days, Jah, &c. In like manner, Moses took it for granted that on an occasion so moment- ous as the present, they would expect the announcement of some new and ap- propriate name, which should carry in its import a kind of pledge for the per- formance of all that he was pleased to promise.
14. God said unto Moses, I am that I am. Hcb. i-l^ni^ ^-J* n'^ub^ ehyeh asher ehyeh, literally, I will be that Twill be. The Gr. resolves it, eyu) ciju o ow, I am he that is, or the Existing One. Arab. ' The Eternal who passcth not away.' A somewhat similar denomination oc- curs, Rev. 1. 4, where John invokes grace and peace ' from Him wdiich is and which was, and which is to come,' which is supposed to be a paraphrase or exposition of the name tllu'^ Yeho- vah, a word derived from the same root rr^tl hayah, and of kindred import with the phrase before us. See Note on Ex. 6. 3. The title, ' I am that I am,' pro- perly denotes the underived, eternal, and unchangeable existence of the great Being to whom it is applied, carrying in it also the implication that He, in dis- tinction from all others, is the one only true God, the God who really is, while all the pretended deities of the Egyp- tians and other nations were a vanity, a nonentity, a lie. It implies, more- over, as founded upon the immutability of the Divine nature, the certain and
B. C. 1531.]
CHAPTER III.
51
drcn of Israel, yl AM hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreov^er unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lokd
y ch. 6. 3. John S. 58. 2 Cor. 1. 20. Hebr. 13 8. Rev. 1. 4.
faithful performance of every promise wliich he had uttered, so that whatever he had bound himself by covenant to do for Abraliam, for Isaac, and for Ja- cob, he pledges himself by the annun- ciation of this august title to make the same good to their seed. ' I am that (which) I will be, and I will be that (which) I am ; the same yesterday, to- day, and for ever.' We see then the purport of the passage. ' If they shall ask, what is he ? by what name is he known ? what are the nature and attri- butes of him who, as thou sayest, has sent thee to bring us out of Egypt ? tell them that thou art commissioned by him who describes his own nature by saying I am that I am ; I am the eter- nal, self-existent, and immutable Being ; the only being who can say, that he al- ways will be what he always has been.'
U I am hath sent me unto you.
Heb. rr^nx ehyeh, IwUl be; a proper future, but having the force of the con- tinuous present. The first person of the verb of existence is here used as a noun substantive, and made the nomi- native to another verb in the third per- son. Tliis is indeed a striking gram- matical anomaly, but it arises out of the nature of the subject. When God speaks of himself it is no matter of wonder that he should disregard all grammatical rules, for adequate expres- sions come not within the compass of any language or any possible form of t;peech. The Targ. of Jonathan thus feebly halts towards a fitting phrase- ology, ' The That-was and Hereafter- will-be hath sent me unto you.' And here we cannot but be reminded of the remarkable words of our Savior, John,
God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is 'my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
z Ps. 135. 13. Hos. 12. 5.
8. 58, ' Before Abraham was, I am.' The expression is so strikingly paral- lel, that we know not how to resist the conclusion that there was a real though mysterious identity in the essential na- ture of the two speakers, so that what- ever was meant by Jehovah in saying to Moses, ' I am hath sent me to you,' the same was meant by the saying of Jesus, ' Before Abraham was, I am.' And thus the Jews would appear to have understood it, for they immediately took up stones to cast at him, as being guilty of the highest blasphemy in thus appro- priating to himself the incommunicable name of God.
15. This is my memorial unto all generations. Heb. '^^IDT zikri. The name or character by which I Avill be remembered, celebrated, and invoked in all time to come. Accordingly'-, in allusion to this declaration, we have Hos. 12. 5, ' Even the Lord (Jehovah) God of Hosts ; the Lord (Jehovah) is his memorial.'' Ps. 135, ' Thy name, O Lord, (Jehovah,) endureth for ever ; and thy memorial, O Lord, (Jehovah,) unto all generations.' The words were evidently adapted, as they were doubt- less intended, to bring the chosen peo- ple to a devout recognition of God as emphatically and pre-eminently the God of their race, and to wake up to more lively actings that faith which had be- come dormant under the pressure of long continued aflliction. Their pro- tracted bondage, though it had not ut- terly extinguished the light of the great truth respecting the divine Being and his perfections, yet had no doubt very much obscured it. They had lost the practical sense of their covenant rela-
52
EXODUS.
iB. C. 1491.
16 Go, and ^£::ailier tlie cltU'rs of Israel together, and say unto them. The LoKD God of your fathers, the God of Ahraliain, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying,
a ch. 4. 29.
tion to Jehovah, and yet as this was the only true spring of all active faith, hope, and obedience, it was important that tliey should be freshly instructed on this head, and taught continually to speak of and to trust- in God as the God of their fathers, who would never be un- faithful to his engagements. Moses, therefore, by reminding them of this endearing title of the Most High, would be in fact furnishing them with a con- stant memorial of their own mercies.
16. Gather the elders of Israel toge- ther. Gr. Tr}v y£f)uv(Tiai> twv vimv JirffarjA, the senate or eldership of the children of Israel; not so much all the aged men of the congregation of Israel, as the elders in office, the persons of prin- cipal note and influence in the tribes, teachers and rulers ; men who were ^alified by age, experience, and wis- dom, to preside over the affairs of the nation, and who it appears were usually employed as organs of communication between Moses and the body of the people. Thus when INIoses and Aaron are said, ch. 12. 3, to have been com- manded ' to speak unto all the congre- gation of Israel, saying,' &c. wo And that in the account of the execution of lliis order, v. 21, ' Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them,' &c. See Note on Gen. 24. 2 — 4. As the distinction of tribes was undoubt- edly kept up among the Israelites in Egypt, and as it is clear from Num. 2, and elsewhere, that each of the tribes had one or mf)re presiding or ruling chiefs called elders, who formed col- lectively, at least in after times, the great counsel of the nation, it was to these individuals, as the natural heads Md representatives of the rest, that
b I have surely visited you, and seen
that which is done to you in Ejiypt:
17 And I have said, cl will bilng
you up out of the --Miction of Eg^D^
bGen. 50. 24. ch. 2. 25. <v :Gen. 15. 14, 16. ver. 8.
Luke 1.6c.
Moses in the first instance was com- manded to go, and summon them to- gether to a general assembly, when he would announce to them the fact and the object of his mission. The release of Israel was to be demanded of the king in the general name of the whole people, and this required the consent and concurrence of the entire body of their rulers, the proper organs of the national voice. When they were in- formed of the fact and convinced of the reality of JNIoses' mission, they would of course exert all their influence in preparing the people for the crisis be- fore them. H I have surely visited you
and seen, &c. Heb. "^tnpSj np5 pakod pakadti, visiting I have visited. That is, I have so absolutely purposed and decreed to deliver you from Egj'pt, that it may be said to be already done. Al- though the word ' seen' is supplied in our version, it is not indispensably ne- cessary to complete the sense, as the import of the preceding verb includes the idea of judicial or penal visitation, as well as merciful. To visit the doings of any one is plainly to punish them. The phrase therefore expresssively con- veys the assurance of visiting the Is- raelites in mercy and their oppressors in judgment.
17. And I have said I will bring, &c. That is, I have resolved. See Note on Gen. 1 . 3. The term ' affliction' here will appear very appropriate upon com- paring this with tlie original promise given to Abraham, Gen. 15. 13, ' ICnow of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them ; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.' From this affliction they were now to be delivered,
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unto the land of the Canaanites, and the llittites, and the Aniuriles, and the Perizxile?, and the llivites, and the Jehusites, unto a land How- ing wiih milk and honey.
18 And *! they shall hearken to thy voice ; and cthou shah come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto
dch, 4. 31. ech.5. 1,3.
I him, The Lord God of the He- brews hath ''met with us ; and now let us go (we beseech thee) three day's journey into the wilderness, that we may sacritice to the Lord our God.
19 11 And I am sure that the king of Egypt swill not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
f Numb. 23. 3, 4, 15, 16. e ch, 5. 2. & 7. 4.
and in order to stimulate their minds with the incentive of hope, the Most High recites a list of nations of whose territories they were to come into pos- session, and lest moreover they should be discouragofi by the recollection that several of the patriarchs had been for- merly driven out of that land by famine, he gives them adequate assurance on that head by telling them that it is ' a land flowing with milk and honey.'
18. And they. shall hearken to thy voice. That iS; shall believingly and obedient- ly hearken. See Note on Gen. 16. 2. This assurance on the part of God was peculiarly seasonable and precious. The Israehtcs had been so long de- pressed and dispirited by their bond- age, that they would naturally be slow to entertain any thoughts of deliver- ance, and a cordial willingness to use the means, encounter tlie difficulties, and face the dangers requisite for that purpose, could only be effected by a powerful divine influence on their hearts; and that influence God-here engages to put forth. Such an assurance is the grand encouragement of ail good men engaged in declaring useful and saving truths or commanding laborious duties to their fellow men. Their best Avords will be unregarded, their utmost efforts will fail, unless the Lord liimself infuse a vital efl[icacy into them, and give the hearing ear and the yielding heart
to their auditors. IT The Lord God
of the Hebrews hath met with us. Heb. nip!] nikrah, has beeti made to occur. The allusion is plainly to the visible
token of the divine presence which had been manii'ested, and they say * hath met with «s,' though Moses alone had witnessed it, from his constructive iden- tity, as leader, with the people, and from its having been vouchsafed for their benefit as well as his. The Gr. and the Vulg. both render, ' hath called
us.' IT Let us go three days' journey
into the xcildcrness, &c. Neither Moses nor he in whose name he spoke, can be justlycharged with falsehood or preva- rication in uttering this language. The utmost that can be alleged is, that he did not tell the whole truth, and this it cannot be shown that he was bound to do. See on this subject the Note on Gen. 12. 13. The command to make this request of Pharaoh shows, that it may sometimes be the way of true wis- dom to seek that as a favor, which may at the same time be claimed as a right.
19. I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go. Ileb. Cl^rS^ "^T:^ xb "j^n^ lo yitten ethkem lahalok, will not give you to go. See Note on Gen. 20. 6. God announces beforehand that their first application will be unavailing, in order that they may not be disheartened by the repulse, and give up the enter- prise as hopeless. Let it not be thought, however, derogatory to the divine glory thus to send men advisedly upon a boot- less errand ; for the result would tend far more strikingly to illustrate the equity of the subsequent proceedings of provi- dence in extorting, with tremendous judgments, that which had been unjustly
M
EXODUS.
[B. C. 1941.
20 And I will 1' stretch out my hand, and !«niite Ejjypt with iall mv wonders whicli 1 will do in the midst thereof: and ''alter that he will let you 2:0.
21 And ' I will give this people fa- vour in the sight of the Egyptians ;
h rh. fi. 6. & 7. 5. A" 9. 15. ' ch. 7. 3. & 1 1. 9. Deut. 6. -22. Neh. 9. 10. i's. 105, 27. ct 133. 9. Jer. 32. 20. Ails 7. 36. Sec ch. 7. to cii. 13. kch. 12.31. I ch. 11.3. & 12. 36. l\s, 10(i.4t;. Prov. 16. 7.
and impiously withheld. As the request was in itself simple and reasonable, his refusal to comply with it would disclose his real character, and show how truly he and his people deserved all the wrath tliat they were afterwards made to feel.
IT A'o, not by a mighty hand. That
is, he will at lirst resist and rebel, not- withstanding all the demonstrations of my great power against him ; but at length he shall yield, as is declared in the next verse. Or it may be rendered, with the Gr. and Vulg. ' Unless by a strong hand.'
20. And I will stretch out mine hand, &c. Heb. Vin?"-^1 vcshalahti,and I will send out. Chal. ' And I Avill send the stroke of my strength.' The connective particle 1 and may as properly here be rendered but or therefore ; as if the de- sign were to point to the opposition which God was to make to Pliaraoh's resistance ; or to indicate the reason of his stretching forth his hand ; ' There- fore will I stretch forth my hand, be- cause Pharaoh will not yield to my de- mand without it, I will see whose hand is the stronger, his or mine.'
21. / u-ill give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Here again we perceive that God has his eye upon the ancient promise, Gen. lo. 14, • And also tliat nation whom they shall serve, will I judge : and afterward shall they come out vith great substance.' He allures Ids people by an accumulation of pronuses, tliat thoy may engage in the work before them with more alac-
and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty : 22 mJBut every woman shall bor- row of her neighbour, and of her that scjourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and rai- ment : and ye shall put the//i upon your sons, and upon your daughters ; and »iye shall spoil the Egyptians.
m Gen. 15. 14. ch. 11. 2. & 12. 35, 36, n Job 27. 17, Prov, 13, 22, Ezek, 39, 10,
rity and vigor. He not only assures them of liberty, but of riches. But this could be accomplished onlj^ by turning the hostile hearts of the Egyptians to a posture of clemency artf! generosity, and this he engages to do. The words, however, ' I will give this people favor,' are not to be understood as intimating that he would conciliate toirards them the affection of their enemies. Un- doubtedly the reverse of this was the case, particularly at the time when the promised favor was shown them ; for they were then trembling for their lives under the repeated inflictions of the plagues ; but the meaning is, that God would so overrule their dispositions to- wards his people that they should be- stow upon them marked expressions of favor, they should be induced to treat them as if they loved them, though in reality they hated them as the procur- ing cause of all their troubles. Such an absolute control over the fiercest spirits of the enemies of his churcli shows that when God allows them to rage it is for the wisest purposes of discipline to his people. As he could soften them in a moment, if he does not do so, it is because he sees' it better that license should be afforded them for a season.
22. Every uvman shall borrow of her neighbor, &c. Heb. n^K'iD shaalah, shall cLsk. For a somewhat extended view of the moral character of this transaction see Note on Ex. 12.35. We shall there see that when God com- manded the Israelites to nossess them-
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A
CHAPTER IV. ND Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not be-
selves of the jewels and raiment of their enemies, and to ' spoil' them, they did not take them by rajnue and stealth, but as spoils vohmtaiil)' given up to them by the Egyptians ; in a word, that there is no ground in the import of the original for accusing the Israelites of fraud or injustice. Williout anticipat- ing the fuller canvassing the subject which we there propose, we may here remark, that the term ' borrow' has been somewhat unha])pily adopted in our translation, as it implies a. promise of return. But this is not the sense of the original ^lii'J shoal. This signifies to.^sk, demand^ petition^ request, and is the very word employed Ps. 2. S, ' Ask (ii<"J:r sheal) of me the heathen for thine inheritance,' &c. ; although m two passages, Ex. 22. 14, and 2 Kings,
6. 5, it cannot perhaps be doubted that its import is that o[ borrowing. But for borrow in the more strict and genuine sense of the word, the Ileb. has entirely another term nib lavdh, which occurs among other places, Deut. 28. 12, ' Thou shalt lend unto many