salah, to be quiet, easy, or secure; and hence the quail from their remarkably living at ease and plenty among the corn. An amazing number of these birds," says Hasselquist, Travels, p. 209. "come to Egypt at this time, (March) for in this month the wheat ripens. They conceal themselves among the corn, but the Egyptians know that they are thieves, and when they imagine the field to be full of them, they spread a net over the corn, and make a noise, by which the birds being frightened, and endeavouring to rise, are caught in the net in great numbers, and make a most delicate and agreeable dish." The Abbé Pluche tells us in his Histoire du Ciel, that the quail was, among the ancient Egyptians, the emblem of safety and security. Several learned men, particularly the famous Ludolf, Bishop Patrick, and Scheuchzer, have supposed that the O sclavim eaten by the Israelites were locusts. But not to insist on other arguments against this interpretation, they are expressly called N sheer, flesh, Psal. lxxviii. 27. which surely locusts are not: and the Hebrew word is constantly rendered by the Septuagint eruyounrea, a large kind of quail, and by the Vulgate coturnices, quails. Compare Wied. xvi. 2. xix. 12. Numb. xi. 31, 32. Psal. ev. 40. and on Numb. xi. observe, that DOND keamathayim, should be rendered not two cubits high, but as Mr. Bate translates it, "two cubits distant, i. e. one from the other; for quails do not settle like the locusts one "And had the upon another, but at small distances." quails lain for a day's journey round the camp, to the great height of two cubits, upwards of three feet, the people could not have been employed two days and a night in gathering them. The spreading them round the camp, was in order to dry them in the burning sands for use, which is still practised in Egypt." See Parkhurst, sub voce abe salah. The difficulties which encumber the text, supposing these to be quails, led Bishop Patrick to imagine them to be locusts. The difficulties are three; "1. Their coming by a wind. 2. Their immense quantities, covering a circle of thirty or forty miles, two cubits thick. 3. Their being spread in the sun for drying, which would have been preposterous, had they been quails, for it would have made them corrupt the sooner; but this is the principal way of preparing locusts, to keep for a month or more, when they are boiled, or otherwise dressed." This difficulty he thinks interpreters pass over, who suppose quails to be intended in the text. Mr. Harmer takes up the subject, removes the bishop's difficulties, and vindicates the common version. "These difficulties appear pressing; or at least the two last: nevertheless I have met with several passages in books of travels, which I shall here give an account of, that may soften them; perhaps my readers may think they do more. No interpreters, the bishop complains, supposing they were quails, account for the spreading them out in the sun. Perhaps they have not. Let me then translate a passage of Maillet, which relates to a little island which covers one of the ports of Alexandria. It is on this island, which lies farther into the sea than the main land of Egypt, that the birds annually alight, which come hither for refuge in autumn, in order to avoid the severity of the cold of our winters in Europe. There is so large a quantity of all sorts taken there, that after these little birds have been stripped of their feathers, and buried in the burning sands for about half a quarter of an hour, they are worth but two sols the pound. The crews of those vessels, which in that season lie in the harbour of Alexandria, have no other meat allowed them. Among other refugees of that time, Maillet elsewhere expressly mentions quails, which are, therefore, I suppose, treated after this manner. This passage then, does what, according to the bishop, no commentator has done: it explains the design of spreading these creatures, supposing they were quails, round about the camp; it was to dry them in the burning sands in order to preserve them for use. So Maillet tells us of their drying fish in the sun of Egypt, as well as of their preserving others by means of pickle. Other authors speak of the Arabs drying camel's flesh in the sun and wind, which, though it be not at all salted, will, if kept dry, remain good a long while, and which oftentimes, to save themselves the trouble of dressing, they will eat raw. This is what St. Jerom may be supposed to refer to, when he calls the food of the Arabs 1 a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost A third thing which was a difficulty with the bishop, was their being brought with a wind. A hot southerly wind, it is supposed, brings the locusts; and why quails migh not be brought by the instrumentality of a like wind, or what difficulty there is in that supposition, I cannot imagine. As soon as the cold is felt in Europe, Maillet tells us, turtles, quails, and other birds, come to Egypt in 243 great numbers: but he observed that their numbers were 15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, "It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, "This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, ° an omer P for every man, accord m Or, What is this? or, it is a portion.-n John 6. 31. 49, 58. 1 Cor. 10. 3. not so large in those years in which the winters were favourable in Europe; from whence he conjectured, that it is rather necessity than habit which causes them to change their climate: if so, it appears that it is the increasing heat that causes their return, and consequently that the hot sultry winds from the south must have a great effect upon them, to direct their flight northwards. "It is certain, that it is about the time that the south wind begins to blow in Egypt, which is in April, that many of these migratory birds return. Maillet, who joins quails and turtles together, and says that they appear in Egypt when the cold begins to be felt in Europe, does not indeed tell us when they return: but Thevenot may be said to do it: for after he had told his readers that they catch snipes in Egypt from January to March, he adds, that in May they catch turtles; and that the turtles return again in September: now as they go together southward in September, we may believe they return again northward much about the same time. Agreeably to which, Russel tells us, that quails appear in abundance about Aleppo in spring and autumn. "If natural history were more perfect, we might speak to this point with great distinctness; at present, however, it is so far from being an objection to their being quails, that their coming was caused by a wind, that nothing is more natural. The same wind, would, in course, occasion sickness and mortality among the Israelites, at least it does so in Egypt. The miraculousness then in this story, does not lie in their dying, but the prophet's foretelling with exactness the coming of that wind; and in the prodigious numbers of the quails that came with it, together with the unusualness of the place, perhaps where they alighted. ing to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. 17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. 18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much, had nothing over, and he that gathered little, had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.. o Ver. 36-p Heb. by the poll, or head.-q Heb. souls.-r 2 Cor. 8. 15. ver. 31. we learn that this substance was afterward called man, probably in commemoration of the question they had asked on its first appearance. Almost all our own ancient versions translate the words, What is this? What this substance was, we know not. It was nothing that was common to the wilderness. It is evident the Israelites never saw it before; for Moses says, Deut. viii. 3, 16. he fed thee with manna which thou knewedst not, neither did thy fathers know; and it is very likely, that nothing of the kind had ever been seen before; and by a pot of it being laid up in the ark, it is as likely, that nothing of the kind ever appeared more, after the miraculous supply in the wilderness had ceased. It seems to have been created for the present occasion; and like him, whom it typified, to have been the only thing of the kind, the only bread from heaven, which God ever gave to preserve the life of man; as Christ is the true bread that came down from heaven, and was given for the life of the world. See John vi. 31–58. Verse 16. An omer for every man] I shall here once for all give a short account of the measures of capacity among the Hebrews. OMER, Dy from the root damar, to press, squeeze, collect and bind together: hence a sheaf of corn, a multitude of stalks pressed together. It is supposed that the omer, which contained about three quarts English, had its name from this circumstance; that it was the most contracted, or the smallest measure of things dry, known to the ancient Hebrews; for the ap kab, which was less, was not known till the reign of Jehoram, king of Israel, 2 Kings vi. 25. Parkhurst. ephah contained seven gallons, two quarts, and about half a pint wine measure: and as the omer was the tenth part of the ephah, ver. 31. it must have contained about sir pints English. The KAB P is said to have contained about the sixth part of a seah, or three pints and one third English. The EPHAH, DN or DN eiphah, from ne aphah, to bake, because this was probably the quantity which was "Nothing more remains to be considered, but the gath-baked at one time. According to Bishop Cumberland, the ering so large a quantity as ten omers by those that gathered fewest. But till that quantity is more precisely ascertained, it is sufficient to remark, that this is only affirmed of those expert sportsmen among the people, who pursued the game two whole days and a whole night, without intermission; and of them, and of them only, I presume it is to be understood, that he that gathered fewest, gathered ten omers. Hasselquist, who frequently expresses himself in the most dubious manner in relation to these animals, at other times is very positive, that if they were birds at all, they were a species of the quail different from ours, which he describes as very much resembling the 'red partridge, but as not being larger than the turtle-dove.' To this he adds, that the Arabians carry thousands of them to Jerusalem about Whitsuntide, to sell there, p. 442. In another place he tells us, it is found in Judea as well as in Arabia Petræa, and that he found it between Jordan and Jericho, p. 263. One would imagine that Hasselquist means the scata, which is described by Dr. Russel, vol. ii. p. 194. and which he represents as brought to market at Aleppo in great numbers in May and June, though they are to be met with in all seasons. 'A whole ass-load of them, he informs us, has often been taken at once shutting a clasping net, in the abovementioned months; they are in such plenty." Harmer, vol. iv. p. 367. Verse 14. Behold, on the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing] It appears that this small round thing fell with the dew; or rather the dew fell first, and this substance fell on it. The dew might have been intended to cool the ground, that the manna, on its fall, might not be dissolved; for we find from ver. 21. that the heat of the sun melted it. The ground therefore, being sufficiently cooled by the dew, the manna lay unmelted long enough for the Israelites to collect a sufficient quantity for their daily use. Verse 15. They said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was] This is a most unfortunate translation, because it not only gives no sense, but it contradicts itself. The Hebrew man hu, literally signifies, What is this? for, says the text, they wist not what it was; and therefore they could not give it a name. Moses immediately answers the question, and says, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. From The HOMER, on chomer, mentioned Lev. xvii. 16. was quite a different measure from that above, and is a different word in the Hebrew. The chomer was the largest measure of capacity among the Hebrews, being equal to ten baths or ephahs, amounting to about seventy-fire gallons, three pints, English. See Ezek. xlv. 11, 13, 14. win supposes that this measure derived its name from chamor, an ass, being the ordinary load of that animal. Good The BATH was the largest measure of capacity next to the homer, of which it was the tenth part. It was the same as the ephah, and consequently contained about seven gallons, two quarts, and half a pint, and is always used in Scripture as a measure of liquids. The SEAH, AND was a measure of capacity for things dry, equal to about two gallons and a half English. See 2 Kings vii. 1, 16, 18. The HIN, according to Bishop Cumberland, was the one-sixth part of an ephah, and contained a little more than one gallon and two pints. See Exod. xxix. 40. The LOG, was the smallest measure of capacity for liquids among the Hebrews, it contained about three quarters of a pint. See Levit: xiv. 10, 12. Take ye-for them which are in his tents.] Some might have been confined in their tents through sickness or infirmity, and charity required, that those who were in health should gather a portion for them. For though the Psalmist says, Psal. cv. 37. There was not one feeble person among their tribes, this must refer principally to their healthy state when brought out of Egypt: for it appears that there were many infirm among them when attacked by the Amalekites. See the note on chap. xvii. 8. Verse 17. Some more, some less.] According to their respective families, an omer for a man; and according to the number of infirm persons, whose wants they undertook to supply. Verse 18. He that gathered much had nothing over] Because his gathering was in proportion to the number of persons for whom he had to provide. And some having 19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 27 ¶ And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people, on the seventh day, for to gather, and they found none. 28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long 20 Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: andrefuse ye to keep my commandments and my Moses was wroth with them. 21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. 22 And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over, lay up for you to be kept until the morning. 24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. 25 And Moses said, Eat that to-day; for today is a sabbath unto the LORD: to-day ye shall not find it in the field. 26Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 8 Gen. 2 3 Ch. 20. 8. & 31. 15. & 35 3 Lev. 23. 3-t Ver. 20.-u Ch. 20. 9, 10. ▼ 2 Kings 17. 14. Psa. 78. 10, 22. & 106. 13. fewer, others more in family, and the gathering being in Here Verse 19. Let no man leave of it till the morning] For God would have them to take no thought for the morrow; and constantly to depend on him for their daily bread. And is not that petition in our Lord's prayer, founded on this very circumstance, Give us, day by day, our daily bread! Verse 20. It bred worms] Their sinful curiosity and covetousness led them to make the trial; and they had a mass of the most loathsome putrefaction for their pains. How gracious is God! He is continually rendering disobedience and sin irksome to the transgressor; that, finding his evil ways to be unprofitable, he may return to his Maker, and trust in God alone. Verse 22. On the sixth day they gathered twice as much] This they did, that they might have a provision for the sabbath, for on that day no manna fell, ver. 26, 27. What a convincing miracle was this! No manna fell on the sabbath. Had it been a natural production, it would have fallen on the sabbath, as at other times; and had there not been a supernatural influence to keep it sweet and pure, it would have been corrupted on the sabbath, as well as on other days. By this series of miracles, God showed his own power, presence, and goodness, 1st. In sending the manna on each of the six days; 2d. In sending none on the seventh, or sabbath; 3d. In preserving it from putrefaction, when laid up for the use of that day, though it infallibly corrupted, if kept over night on any other day. Verse 23. To-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath] There is nothing either in the text or context, that seems to intimate that the sabbath was now first given to the Israelites, as some have supposed; on the contrary, it is here spoken of as being perfectly well known, from its having been generally observed. The commandment, it is true, may be considered as being now renewed; because they might have supposed, that in their unsettled state in the wilderness, they might have been exempted from the observance of it. Thus we find, 1st. That when God finished his creation, he instituted the sabbath; 2d. When he brought the people out of Egypt, he insisted on the strict laws? 29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. W 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. 31 And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32 ¶ And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. 33 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. 34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. w Numb. 11. 7, 8.-x Heb. 9. 4.-y Ch. 25. 16, 21. & 40. 20. Numb. 17. 10. Deut. 10. 5. 1 Kings 8. 9. observance of it; 3d. When he gave the LAW, he made it a tenth part of the whole; such importance has this institution in the eyes of the Supreme Being! Verse 29. Abide ye every man in his place] Neither go Sabbatha sancta colo, De Stercore surgere nolo. For holy sabbath-day I prize." The Christians finding him thus disposed, determined he should honour their sabbath in the same place, and actually kept the poor man in the slough all Sunday, giving their reasons in nearly the same way: Sabbatha nostra quidem, Solomon celebrabis ibidem. This might have served to convince him of his folly; but, certainly, was not the likeliest way to convert him to Christianity. FABYAN, in his Chronicles, tells the following story of a case of this kind. "In this yere also (1259) fell that happe of the lewe of Tewkysbury, which fell into a gonge upon the Satyrday, and wolde not, for reverence of his sabot-daye, be pluckyd out; whereof heryng the Erle of Gloucetyr, that the lewe dyd so great reverence to his sabot-day, thought he wolde doo as moch unto his holy daye, which was Sonday; and so kepte hym there tyll Monday, at whiche season he was foundyn dede." Verse 31. Called the name thereof manna] See note on verse 15. Verse 32. To be kept for your generations] See note on verse 9. Verse 34. Lay it up before the Testimony] The y eduth, or testimony, belonged properly to the tabernacle; but that was not yet built.-Some are of opinion, that the tabernacle, built under the direction of Moses, was only a renewal of one that had existed in the patriarchal times. See the note on ver. 9. The word signifies reference to something beyond itself; thus the tabernable, the manna, the 245 tables of stone, Aaron's rod, &c. all bore reference and The Israelites journey from the wil lerness of Sin to Rephidim, 1, where they murmur for lack of water, 2, 3. Moses asks counsel of God, 4, who commands him to take his rod and smite the rock, and promises that water should proceed from it for the people to drink, 6. The place is called Massah and Meribah, 7. The Amalekites attack Israel in Rephidim, 8. Joshua is commanded to fight with them, 9. Moses, Aaron, and Hur, go to the top of a hill, and while Moses holls up his hands, the Israelites prevail, when he lets them down, Amalek prevails, 10, 11. Moses being weary, sits down, and Aaron and Hur hold up his hands, 12. The Amalekites are totally routed, 13, and the event commanel to be recorded, 14. Moses builds an altar; and calls it Jehovah-Nissi, 15. Amalek is threatened with continual wars, 16. An. Exod. Isr. 1. Ijar or Zif. Ahildren of Israel journeyed from ND all the congregation of the the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. testimony to that spiritual good which was yet to come, viz. JESUS CHRIST and his salvation. Verse 35. The children of Israel did eat manna forty years] From this verse it has been supposed that the book of Exodus was not written till after the miracle of the manna had ceased. But these words might have been added by Ezra, who, under the direction of the Divine Spirit, collected and digested the different inspired books, adding such supplementary, explanatory, and connecting sentences, as were deemed proper to complete and arrange the whole of the sacred canon. For previously to his time, according to the universal testimony of the Jews, all the books of the Old Testament were found in an unconnected and dispersed state. Verse 36. Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.] About six pints, English. See the note on ver. 16. The true place of this verse seems to be immediately after verse 18; for here it has no connexion. 1. On the miracle of the manna, which is the chief subject in this chapter, a good deal has already been said in the preceding notes. The sacred historian has given us the most circumstantial proofs, that it was a supernatural and miraculous supply: that nothing of the kind had ever been seen before, and probably nothing like it had ever afterward appeared. That it was a type of our blessed Redeemer, and of the salvation which he has provided for man, there can be no doubt; for in this way it is applied by Christ himself; and from it, we may gather this general conclusion, that salvation is of the Lord. The Israelites must have perished in the wilderness, had not God fed them with bread from heaven. And every human soul must have perished, had not Jesus Christ come down from heaven, and given himself for the life of the world. 2. God would have the Israelites continually dependent on himself for all their supplies; but he would make them, in a certain way, workers with him. He provided the manna; they gathered and ate it. The first was God's work; the latter their own. They could not produce the manna, and God would not gather it for them. Thus the providence of God appears in such a way, as to secure the co-operation of man. Though man should plant and water, yet, it is God who giveth the increase. But, if man neither plant nor water, God will give no increase. We cannot do God's work: and he will not do ours. Let us, therefore, both in things spiritual and temporal, be workers together with HIM. 3. This daily supply of the manna, probably gave rise to that petition, Give us to-day our daily bread. It is worthy of remark, 1st. That what was left over night, contrary to the command of God, bred worms and stank; 2dly, That a double portion was gathered on the day preceding the sabbath; 3dly, That this alone continued wholesome on the following day; 4thly, And that none fell on the sabbath! Hence we find that the sabbath was considered a divine institution, previously to the giving of the Mosaic law; and that God continued to honour that day by permitting no manna to fall during its course. Whatever is earned on the sabbath, is a curse in a man's property-they who WILL be rich, fall into temptation and into a snare, &c. for, using illicit means to acquire lawful things, they bring God's curse upon themselves; and are drowned in destruction and perdition-Reader, dost thou work on the sabbath to increase thy property? See thou 2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? 3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? 4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. h 5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before thee there, upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. e Ch. 16. 2-f Ch. 14. 15-g 1 Sam. 30. 6. John 8. 59. & 10. 31.- Ezek. 2 & iCh. 7. 20. Numh. 20. 8-k Numb. 20. 10, 11. Psa. 78. 15, 20. & 105. 41. & 114. 8. Wisd. 11. 4. 1 Cor. 10. 4. do it not! Property acquired in this way, will be a curse both to thee and to thy posterity. 4. To show their children and children's children what God had done for their fathers, a pot of manna was laid up before the testimony. We should remember our proví dential and gracious deliverances, in such a way, as to give God the praise of his own grace. An ungrateful heart is always associated with an unbelieving mind, and an unholy life. Like Israel, we should consider with what bread God has fed our fathers; and see that we have the same: the same Christ, the bread of life, the same doctrines, the same ordinances, and the same religious experience. How little are we benefited by being Protestants, if we be not partakers of the Protestant faith? And how useless will even that faith be to us, if we hold the truth in unrighteousness? Our fathers had religion enough to enable them to burn gloriously for the truth of God!-Reader, hast thou so much of the life of God in thy soul, that thou couldst burn to ashes at the stake rather than lose it? In a word, couldst thou be a martyr? Or hast thou so little grace to lose, that thy life would be more than an equivalent for thy loss? Where is the manna on which thy fathers fed? NOTES ON CHAPTER XVII. Verse 1. Pitched in Rephidim] In Numb. xxxiii. 12 -14. it is said, that when the Israelites came from Sin, they encamped in Dophkah, and next in Alush, after which they came to Rephidim. Here, therefore, two stations are omitted; probably because nothing of moment took place at either.-See the notes on Numb. xxxiii. Verse 2. Why chide ye with me?] God is your leader, complain to him: Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? As he is your leader, all your murmurings against me, he can, siders as directed against himself: why therefore do ye tempt him? Has he not given you sufficient proofs that he can destroy his enemies, and support his friends? And is he not among you to do you good? ver. 7. Why there fore do ye doubt his power and goodness, and thus provoke him to treat you as his enemies? Verse 3. And the people murmured] The reader must not forget, what has so often been noted, relating to the degraded state of the minds of the Israelites. A strong argument, however, may be drawn from this in favour of their supernatural escape from Egypt. Had it been a scheme concerted by the heads of the people, provision would necessarily have been made for such exigencies ns these. But, as God chose to keep them constantly dependent upon himself, for every necessary of life; and as they had Moses alone, as their mediator to look to, they mur mured against him when brought into straits and difficulties, regretted their having left Egypt, and expressed the strongest desire to return. This shows that they had left Egypt reluctantly; and as Moses and Aaron never appear to have any resources, but those which came most evidently in a supernatural way, therefore the whole exodus, or departure from Egypt, proves itself to have been no human contrivance, but a measure concerted by God himself. Verse 6. I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb] THE rock n ha tsur. It seems as if God had directed the attention of Moses to a particular rock, with which he was well acquainted; for every part of the mount, and its vicinity, must have been well known to Moses " 7 And he called the name of the place Massah, "and" Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not? 8 Then came Amalek and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said unto P Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, with the rod of God in mine hand. 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur, went up to the top of the hill. 11 And it came to pass, when Moses held 1 Numb. 20. 13. Psa. 81. 7. & 95. 8. Hebr. 3. 8-m That is, tentation.-n That in chiding, or strife-o Gen. 36. 12. Numb. 24. 20. Deut. 25. 17. 1 Sam. 15. 2. Wisd. 11. 3. during the time he kept Jethro's flocks in those quarters. Dr. Priestley has left the following sensible observations upon this miracle: "The luminous cloud, the symbol of the divine presence, would appear on the rock, and Horeb was probably a part of the same mountain with Sinai. This supply of water, on Moses only striking the rock, where no water had been before, nor has been since, was a most wonderful display of the divine power. The water must have been in great abundance to supply two millions of persons, which excluded all possibility of artifice or imposture in the case. The miracle must also have been of some continuance; no doubt, so long as they continued in that neighbourhood, which was more than a year. There are sufficient traces of this extraordinary miracle remaining at this day. This rock has been visited, drawn, and described by Dr. Shaw, Dr. Pocock, and others; and holes and channels appear in the stone, which could only have been formed by the bursting out and running of the water. No art of man could have done it, if any motive could be supposed for the undertaking in such a place as this." The rock mentioned above, has been seen and described by Norden, p. 144. 8vo. Dr. Shaw, p. 314. 4to. where there is an accurate drawing of it; Dr. Pocock, vol. i. p. 143, &c. where the reader may find some fine plates of mount Horeb, and Sinai, and four different views of the wonderful rock of Meribah. It is a vast block of red granite, fifteen feet long, ten broad, and twelve high.-See Dr. Shaw's account at the end of Exodus. Verse 7. He called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah] no Massah, signifies temptation or trial; and Meribah, n, contention or litigation. From 1 Cor. x. 4. we learn that this rock was a type of Christ, and their drinking of it, is represented as their being made partakers of the grace and mercy of God through Christ Jesus; and yet many who drank, fell and perished in the wilderness in the very act of disobedience!-Reader, be not high-minded, but fear! On the smiting of the rock by the rod of Moses, Mr. Ainsworth has the following pious note:-"This rock signified Christ, and is therefore called a spiritual Rock, 1 Cor. x. 4. He being smitten with Moses's rod, and bearing the curse of the Law for our sins: and by the preaching of the Gospel, crucified among his people, Gal. iii. 1. from him floweth the spiritual drink, wherewith all believing hearts are refreshed." John vii. 37. and Isai. liii. 1-3. Verse 8. Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel] The Amalekites seem to have attacked the Israelites in the same way, and through the same motives, that the wandering Arabs attack the caravans, which annually pass through the same desert. It does not appear that the Israelites gave them any kind of provocation; they seem to have attacked them merely through the hopes of plunder. The Amalekites were the posterity of Amalek, one of the dukes of Eliphaz, the son of Esau; and consequently Israel's brother, Gen. xxxvi. 15, 16. Fought with Israel] In the most treacherous and dastardly manner; for they came at the rear of the camp, smote the hindmost of the people, even all that were feeble behind, when they were faint and weary, see Deut. xxv. 18. The baggage, no doubt, was the object of their avarice: but finding the women, children, aged and infirm persons, behind with the baggage, they smote them, and took away their spoils. up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 8 12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people, with the edge of the sword. 14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for "I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. p Called Jesus, Acts 7. 45. Hebr. 4. 8.-q Ch. 4. 20-r James 5. 16.-s Paa. 35. 3. Janies 1. 6. Heb. 12. 12-t Ch. 34. 27-u Numb. 24. 20. Deut. 25. 19. 1 Sam. 15. 3, 7. & 30. 1, 17. 2 Sam. 8. 12. Ezra 9. 14. cessor in the government. Joshua was at first called Hoshea, Numb. xiii. 16. and afterward called Joshua by Moses. Both in the Septuagint and Greek Testament, he is called Jesus: the name signifies saviour; and he is allowed to have been a very expressive type of our blessed Lord. He fought with and conquered the enemies of his people, brought them into the promised land, and divided it to them by lot. The parallel between him and the Saviour of the world is too evident to require pointing out. Top of the hill] Probably some part of Horeb, or Sinai, to which they were then near. Verse 10. Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up] It is very likely that the Hur mentioned here is the same with that Hur mentioned 1 Chron. ii. 19. who appears, from the chronology in that chapter, to have been the son of Caleb, the son of Ezron, the son of Pharez, the son of Judah. The rabbins and Josephus say, he was the brother-in-law of Moses, having married his sister Miriam. He was a person in whom Moses put much confidence; for he left him conjoint governor of the people with Aaron, when he went to confer with God on the mount, Exod. xxiv. 14. His grandson, Bezaleel, was the chief director in the work of the tabernacle.-See chap. xxxi. 2-5. Verse 11. When Moses held up his hand] We cannot understand this transaction in any literal way; for the lifting up or letting down the hands of Moses, could not, humanly speaking, influence the battle. It is likely that he held up the rod of God in his hand, ver. 9. as an ensign to the people. We have already seen, that in prayer, the hands were generally lifted up and spread out, (see the note on chap. ix. 29.) and therefore it is likely, that by this act, prayer and supplication are intended. The Jerusalem Targum says, that "when Moses held up his hands in prayer, the house of Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hands from prayer, the house of Amalek prevailed." We may therefore conclude that by holding up the hands in this case, these two things were intended: 1. That hereby a reference was made to God, as the source whence all help and protection must come, and that on him alone they must depend. 2. That prayer and supplication to God were essentially necessary to their prevalence over all their enemies. It is indisputably true, that while the hands are stretched out, that is, while the soul exerts itself in prayer and supplication to God, we are sure to conquer our spiritual adversaries: but if our hands become heavy, if we restrain prayer before God, Amalek will prevail: every spiritual foe, every internal corruption, will gain ground. Several of the fathers consider Moses, with his stretched-out hands, as a figure of Christ on the cross, suffering for mankind, and getting a complete victory over sin and Satan. Verse 13. Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people] Amalek might have been the name of the ruler of this people, continued down from their ancestor, (see on ver. 8.) as Pharaoh was the name of all succeeding kings in Egypt. If this were the case, then Amalek and his people mean the prince and the army that fought under him. But if Amalek stand here for the Amalekites, then his people must mean the confederates he had employed on this occasion. Verse 14. Write this for a memorial in a book] This is the first mention of writing on record: what it signified, or how it was done, we cannot tell. It is very likely, that the first regular alphabetical writing in the world, was that written by the finger of God himself, on the two tables of stone. What is said here was probably by way of anticipation, or means some other method of registering events than by alphabetical characters, if we allow that God gave the first specimen of regular writing on the tables of stone; which did not take place till some Verse 9. Moses said unto Joshua] This is the first place in which Joshua the son of Nun is mentioned: the illustrious part which he took in the Jewish affairs, till the settlement of his countrymen in the promised land, is well known. He was captain-general of the Hebrews under Moses; and on this great man's death, he became his suc-time after this. |