to the priests' office; " some time after, twelve persons were named, one out of every tribe, to be princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel, and assistants to Moses and Aaron in the government of the people." The Levites were selected to be over the tabernacle, and to minister unto it, and upon Moses' complaint, that his burden was too great, and that he wanted more assistants, GoD appointed seventy elders, and put his spirit upon them, that they might bear the burden of the people with Moses, and that he might not bear it himself alone. These all were indeed appointed to their respective offices by divine institution, and these were all the officers who were really so appointed. As to the rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, when Jethro advised Moses to appoint them; he indeed intimated to him to consult, if Gop would command him to institute them; but we are not told that Moses did so; but that he hearkened to the voice of his fatherin-law, and did all that he had said, and chose able men, and made them rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens." So that the text evidently suggests that Moses first instituted these officers, not by divine command; but by Jethro's direction. In like manner, when Moses afterwards revived these officers; (for upon God's giving the law, and appointing priests and Levites, heads of

m Exod. xxviii.

. Ver. 50. See chap. iii. Exod. xviii. 23.

n Numbers i. 4-16.

P Chap. xi. 16, 17.

* Ver. 24, 25.

tribes, and princes of the congregation, the people must have been new modelled; and whatever appointments Moses had before made prudentially, must of course have gone out of use, and been abolished by the newer institutions.) I say, when Moses found it expedient to revive the offices of the rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, he in no wise hints that he had any direction from Gop for so doing; but entirely represents it as a scheme agreed upon by himself and the people. Moses found the people so multiplied, as to be too many to be well managed in the hands of those he had to assist him; this he represented to the people, and recommended to them to choose proper persons for him to make rulers over them. The people approved of what he had recommended," and accordingly with their consent he appointed these officers.* Moses spake unto the people, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone: The LORD your God hath multiplied you— How can I bear your cumbrance, and your burthen and your strife? Take ye wise and understanding men, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. And ye answered me and said, The thing which thou hast spoken, is good for us to do. So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men and known, and made them heads over you, captains ocer thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers

• Deut. i. 9, 10.

• Ibid.

t Ver. 12, 13,

a Ver. 14.

b

among your tribes. And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously, &c. Moses has pretty well fixed for us the time of his thus re-instituting these officers. It was upon the removal of the camp from Sinai to go into the wilderness of Paran. ▾ The LORD spake unto him, saying," Yo have dwelt long enough in this mount: turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto: and at that time * Moses spake unto the people, about appointing these officers. A few days after this, the seventy elders were appointed, for they were appointed at Taberah, or Kibroth Hattaavah; and the camp had marched three days successively, before they came hither. " Moses found that the appointment of the officers agreed upon by the people, did not fully auswer their occasions, and that he wanted not only officers under himself to execute his orders, and determine smaller matters, but assistants of more influence, who might with himself direct in matters of greater moment. But for these he does not apply to the congregation, as he did for the others, but immediately to GoD; and these were not instituted upon the people's approving the thing he had spoken to be good for them to do, but here GoD expressly ordered him to gather to him seventy men of the elders of Israel, and told him,

* Ver. 9.

d

Numb. xi.

Compare Deut. i. 6, 7, with Numbers x. 11, 12, &c, * Deut. i. 6, 7. Chap. x. 33.

a Deut. i. 14.

that he would come down and talk with him, and give them of his spirit to make them sufficient for the employment to which they were to be appointed. Thus we may see a very remarkable difference in the institution of the officers upon which our noble author has remarked; if compared with those who were appointed by divine direction. I might go farther and observe, that the several officers whom God had appointed, continued to have their name, title, and authority through all the changes of the Jewish state. The priests, the Levites, the heads of tribes, the seyenty elders had, all of them, their stated and respective offices and employments; not only under Moses, but under Joshua, in the time of the judges, under the kings, in all times, and under all revolutions. But as to the captains of thousands, hundreds, of fifties, and of tens; as their institution was not of divine authority, so their office was not thus fixed nor lasting. Moses did not bind his successors to the use of them. God had not prescribed them to him, neither did he prescribe them to them; for he only gave the Israelites a general rule, to make themselves judges and officers in all their gates throughout their tribes, to judge the people with just judgment. Accordingly, though indeed we find officers of these names in every age; yet we shall not find that the Israelites kept them up in the manner, and to the purpose, for which Moses appointed them; but rather that they varied both their number, and their office, as the

. Numb. xi. 16, 17.

Deut. xvi. 18.

circumstances of the state required, or the persons who had the appointing these officers, thought fit to employ them. Here therefore is the failure of our noble author's reflection; who designed to prove that some part of the Jewish polity was a contrivance of Jethro, and consequently a mere human institution ; but his instance is a point, which was indeed a human institution, but not an essential and established part of the Jewish polity. There are indeed some learned writers, who have thought these officers of divine appointment; but whoever will carefully examine, will find no good foundation for their opinion; and may thereby effectually silence a cavil, which our modern deists, from the hint I have considered, think to raise against the Jewish polity. Jethro made but a short stay with Moses; for before they departed from Rephidim, he went his way into his own land."

The Israelites, on the fifteenth day of the third month after their leaving Egypt, marched from Rephidim into the wilderness of Sinni, and pitched their camp at the foot of mount Sinai; where they staid

Vid. Sigon. de Rep. Heb. 1. 7, c. 7.

↳ Exod. xviii. 27.

xix. 1, 2. The words of Moses seem to me to intimate, that the Israelites came to Sinai on the 15th day of this month. They came here, Moses says, in the third month of their exit from Egypt [nn va] bejom harzeh, on the very day, i. e. of their exit, or on the 15th; for on that day of the first month they came out of Egypt. The most learned Archbishop Usher indeed took the words otherwise.

VOL. III.