A. M. 2515. A. C. 1489; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 3765. A. C. 1646. NUM. xviii. TO THE END OF DEUT. immediately despatched, and none but virgins to be saved alive; and yet, what shows the greatness of the victory, the virgin captives amounted to 32,000, and the plunder of cattle and flocks consisted of 675,000 sheep, 72,000 oxen, and 61,000 asses, besides a great quantity of rich goods and ornaments: and, what makes the victory still more miraculous, not one man on the Israelites' side, as appears from the report of the officers made upon the muster, was lost in this engagement. with the half tribe of Manasseh, observing that the country was fertile, and stored with good pasturage, desired of Moses that they might be permitted to settle there, as a place very commodious for them, who had large stocks of cattle; which, upon condition that they should go over Jordan, and assist their brethren in the conquest of the land of Canaan, Moses consented to. And as they were now in the neighbourhood of Canaan, and just ready to enter upon the possession of it, he took this opportunity to appoint the limits of what they were to conquer, and the distribution of it by e way of lot, which he committed to the management of Joshua and Eleazar, at the head of the chiefs of each tribe. The officers of the army were very sensible, that in saving the captive women alive, they had transgressed their commission; and therefore they presented a great quantity of jewels, and other rich spoils, both as an expiatory offering to atone for their offence, and for a gratulatory offering, in acknowledgment of God's good-his commission; and therefore, to prevent any contest ness, in giving them so great and signal a victory. The Israelites, by this time, had made themselves masters of the country that lay on the Midianitish side of Jordan; and the tribes of a Reuben and Gad, together a The Jews have a tradition, that in order to find out who were real virgins, the young women were placed at a proper distance with other women, and all commanded to fix their eyes upon the high priest's mitre; whereupon those who had known man turned instantly as pale as ashes, and those that had not became as red as fire. But there seems to be no great occasion for this miracle, when either the appearance of an unqualified age, or the examination of some select matrons, might determine the matter as well.- Bibliotheca Biblica on Num. xxxi. 18. 6 In the fifth chapter of the 1st book of Maccabees, we have an account of another victory of the like nature, when Judas, after having several times defeated Timotheus, the heathen general, assaulted the city of Ephron a whole day and a night, and all without the loss of a man. For they went up to mount Sion with joy and gladness, where they offered burnt-offerings, because not one of them was slain, until they had returned in peace.' And, if other historians may be credited, the like has happened among other nations. After the famous and bloody battle of Leuctra, the Lacedemonians and Arcadians had a very sharp engagement, in which the latter lost many thousands of men, and the former not one; and in a sea engagement, between the Portuguese and the Indians, Osorius Lusitanus tells us, that the Portuguese admiral, Pacheco, succeeded so well, that he killed above 1500 of the infidels, without the loss of one man. (De Rebus Emman. b. 3.) But whether this had any thing miraculous in it, or was only the effect of God's ordinary providence, we shall not pretend to determine.-Bibliotheca Biblica on Num. xxi. 49. с c The Jerusalem Targum supposes, that when these officers made their offerings, they addressed themselves to Moses in the following manner. 'Forasmuch as the Lord has delivered the Midianites into our hands, and we have subdued the country, entered into their chambers, and seen their fair and charming daughters, took their crowns of gold from off their heads, their rings from their ears and fingers, their bracelets from their arms, and their jewels from their necks and bosoms; therefore far be it from us to have turned our eyes towards them. We had no manner of concern or conversation with them, lest we should thereby die the death of the wicked in Gehenna. And let this be had in remembrance on our behalf, in the day of the great judgment, to make a reconciliation for our souls before the Lord.' d In the division of the country, which the Israelites took from Sihon and Og, two vanquished kings that lived on the east side of Jordan, and whose dominions extended from the river Arnon even as far as mount Hermon, (Deut. iii. 8.) Moses gave to the tribe of Reuben the southern, or rather the south-west part of the country, so that they were bounded to the south with the river Arnon; to the west with Jordan, and to the north and east with the tribe of Gad. In this tribe stood Heshbon, the capital Joshua was appointed by God to succeed Moses in after his death, he first laid his own hands upon him, and then presented him to Eleazar the high priest, who in a solemn form of admission, and in the presence of all the people invested him with the office of being the leader and general of all Israel, after Moses had given him several directions relating to his office, and one more especially, which concerned his consulting of God by way of Urim and Thummim upon every great emergency. In the division of the country, Moses assigned eight and forty cities, together with their suburbs, for the Levites to live in, and withal ordered, that six of these should be made cities of refuge, whither the innocent man city of the kingdom of Sihon, situate on the hills over against Jericho, about twenty miles distant from the river Jordan. The tribe of Gad was bounded with the river Jordan to the west; with the half tribe of Manasseh to the north; with the Ammonites to the east; and with the tribe of Reuben to the south. In this tribe stood Ashtaroth, the capital city of the kingdom of Og, which very likely obtained its name from an idol, which was much worshipped in those times and parts. How the half tribe of Manasseh came to choose to stay on the east side of Jordan, the sacred history makes no mention; but it is reasonable to suppose that after they found that the tribes of Reuben and Gad had succeeded in their petition, they likewise might represent to Moses the great stock of cattle which they had; that the country would be equally commodious for them, and was over large for two tribes alone to occupy; nor is it to be doubted, but that Moses was inclinable to listen to their allegation, because the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh, had by their valour subdued a great part of the country, where they settled; which was bounded by the tribe of Gad to the south; with the sea of Cinnereth, afterwards called the lake of Gennesareth, or the sea of Galilee, together with the course of the river Jordan, from its head to the said sea to the west; with Mount Lebanon, or more peculiarly Mount Hermon, to the north and north-west; and with the mountains of Gilead to the east.-Wells' Geography of the Old Testament, vol. 2. e Nothing could more prudently be contrived, than this partition of the country by lot, and making Joshua and the high priest superintendents of it; since it was the only one that could effectually prevent all murmurings and quarrellings among sach an obstinate people as the Jews were. However, as the lots were to bear a proportion to the bigness of each tribe and family, it is supposed from what followed, that every tribe first drew its lot for its own canton, and that then there were proper persons appointed to measure out a quantity of land for each family, according to their bigness; but whether this last was done by this or any other method; whether the subdivisions between the families were likewise carried on by lot or otherwise, sure it is, that we read of no broils or jealousies that it ever occasioned among them.-Universal History, b. 1. c. 7. ƒ The person, who without any premeditated malice, killed his neighbour accidentally had the best provision imaginable made for his escape. For the ways that led to the cities of refuge, were to be made very plain and broad, and kept in good repair. Two students of the law were to accompany him, that A. M. 2561. A. C. 1443; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 3849. A. C. 1564. JUD. i. TO THE END OF RUTH. But though the eastern coast was at rest, yet the west | mitted Jabin, who, at that time, assumed the title of king part of the kingdom was sadly molested by the incur- of Canaan, and had fixed his imperial seat at Hazor, sions of the Philistines, who dwelt upon the same shore to oppress them with great severity for forty years. of the Mediterranean sea. Upon this occasion, a Sham- This prince had made Sisera, d an experienced soldier gar, the son of Anath, asserted the cause of Israel ; and no doubt, general of his forces, wherein, besides great having received extraordinary vigour from above, with store of other military munition, there were 900 armed no better weapon than an ox-goad, slew, at divers chariots, which terrified the Israelites to such a degree, times, six hundred of these invaders, and preserved the thate several tribes,' despairing of relief, sat still under peace of the country for eight years. their oppression, and some of them were going to transport themselves into other countries. For their enemies were so very cruel to them, that they durst not travel the common roads, nor dwell in villages, for fear of being murdered or plundered; and having no arms left to defend themselves, they were forced to retire to fortified places, and there live together, in the utmost consternation. In the north part of the country, however, the idolatry, which Micah began, propagated apace ; so that God being highly incensed at the people's impieties, per the eastern part of it only, which had shaken off the yoke of Mosh, while, in the mean time, the Philistines invaded the western parts, even as Jabin afflicted the northern, as we may see in the following chapter.-Poole's Annotations, and Patrick's Commentary. It a of what tribe this valiant person was, we are nowhere informed; but it is not unlikely, that he was one of those tribes which bordered upon the Philistines, Judah, Dan, or Ephraim, because what he did was against them. It is disputed by some, whether he is to be reckoned among the number of the judges; but for this, I think, there is no foundation. The short account which the Scripture gives of him, is this:- And after him,' that is, after Ehud, ، was Sharmgar, the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox-goad, and also delivered Israel.' (Judges iii. 31.) After Ehud was Shamgar, that is, he succeeded him in the office of a judge, for this is the natural sense of the words; and 'he also delivered Israel,' which is the very phrase whereby the judges are described. is not said, indeed, from what oppressions he delivered them; but he is a deliverer who preserves a nation from being oppressed, as well as he who rescues them from an oppression when they groan under it. This, in all probability, was Shamgar's case, who, when the Philistines invaded his country, gave them a repulse, with the loss of 600 of their men, which was enough to discourage them from all future attempts. And indeed, the great slaughter which he made among them, with a weapon, in all appearance, so incompetent for the work, argues him to have been a judge, and possessed of a divine power, as much as Samson was, who slew 1000 of his enemies with the jaw-bone of an ass.' (Patrick's and Le Clerc's Commentaries.)-Dr Hales supposes Shamgar's administration in the west to be included in Ehud's administration of 80 years in the east; and as Shamgar's | administration might have been of some continuance, so this servitude of the Philistines, which is not noticed elsewhere, might have been of the same duration, as may be incidentally collected from Deborah's thanksgivings.-ED. Sow cotton. 6 Judges iii. 31. ، And after him was Shamgar, the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox-goad.' Mr Maundrell, (Journey, at April 15,) has an observation which at once explains this transaction, and removes every difficulty from the passage. He says, "The country people were now every where at plough in the fields, in order to It was observable, that in ploughing they used goads of an extraordinary size; upon measuring of several, I found them about eight feet long, and at the bigger end, six inches in circumference. They were armed at the lesser end with a sharp prickle for driving the oxen, and at the other end with a small spade, or paddle of iron, strong and massy, for cleansing the plough from the clay that encumbers it in working. May we not from hence conjecture, that it was with such a goad as one of these that Shamgar made that prodigious slaughter related of him, Judges iii. 21. I am confident that whoever should see one of these instruments, would judge it to be a weapon not less fit, perhaps fitter, than a sword for such an execution. Goads of this sort I saw always used hereabouts, and also in Syria; and the reason is, because the same single person both drives the oxen, and also holds and manages the plough; which makes it necessary to use such a goad as is above described, to avoid the incumbrance of two instruments." From Homer, (Iliad vi, line 130, &c.) it should seem that the ox-goads used in his time and country were of a similar kind; since he there describes the votaries of Bacchus as pursued and slain by Lycurgus with an ox-goad.-ED. e It is very certain that Joshua burnt the city Hazor, and slew the king thereof, whose name in like manner was Jabin, which might possibly be the common name to all the kings of the country, as those of Egypt were called Pharaoh. But it seems not improbable, that this Hazor might be retaken, and rebuilt by its ancient inhabitants, and this king might be a descendant of the other. Some, indeed, interpret the words thus: That this Jabin was king of that part of Canaan which lay in the country where Hazor formerly stood, and whose seat then was at Harosheth of the Gentiles; for they understand this place to be mentioned in the text, as the dwelling-place, not of Sisera, but of Jabin himself, whose general Sisera was. But there is no reason for this inversion of the order of the words, since the Canaanites might, between the time of Joshua and Deborah, find frequent opportunities, considering the corruption and idleness of the Israelites, to re-establish their ancient kingdom in these parts, to rebuild their former capital, and to set up one of the old royal line to be their king; who, according to the common usages of those ages, retained one and the same name with his predecessors.-Wells' Geography of the Old Testament, vol. 2. c. 6. d This Sisera, as Josephus informs us, was a very great favourite of the king, for the services he had done in reducing the Israelites, whom he worsted upon several encounters, time after time, and would never give over the pursuit, till he brought them at last to be absolute slaves, and tributaries to his master. - Antiquities, b. 5. c. 6. e This is the sense of those obscure passages in the song of Deborah: For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart. Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? Gilead abode beyond Jordan, and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his creeks,' &c. (Judges v. 15, &c.) f The words prophet and prophetess, are of very ambiguous signification in both Testaments: sometimes they denote persons extraordinarily inspired by God, and endued with the power of working miracles, and foretelling things to come; and sometimes they are used for persons endued with special, though not miraculous gifts or graces, for the better understanding and explaining the word of God; and of this sort were the sons of the prophets, or such as were brought up in the schools of the prophets. As, therefore, we read nothing of any miraculous action that Deborah did, she perhaps was only a woman of eminent holiness, and prudence, and knowledge of the holy Scripture, by which she was singularly qualified to judge the people, that is, to determine causes and controversies among them, according to the word of God. For though Jabin oppressed them sorely, yet it was rather by rigorous taxations, than infringing their laws, which he still suffered to be administered by their own officers; and of this he might take the less notice, because the supreme judicature was exercised by a woman, from whose power and authority he thought there was no reason to apprehend any danger; though this certainly gave her an opportunity of endearing herself to the people, and made her, by this means, the fitter an instrument to rescue them from oppression.-Poole's Annotations. A. M. 2561. A. C. 1443; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 3985. A. C. 1426. JUD. i. TO THE END OF RUTH. a woman of great eminence, and who, for some time had administered justice to the neighbouring tribes, sent to Barak, the son of Abinoam, a message from God, that he should get together 10,000 men of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, and march them to a Mount Tabor, whither Sisera, with all his numerous army, coming to give him battle, should infallibly be routed. Barak readily agreed to the motion, upon condition that the prophetess would go with him: and so having mustered up all his complement of forces, they both went together, and posted themselves upon Mount Tabor. Sisera had soon intelligence of this, and, getting a powerful army together, he made hasty marches from Harosheth; passed the river Kishon; and encamped a Tabor is a very remarkable mountain in Galilee, not far from Kadesh, in the tribe of Zebulun, and in the confines of Issachar and Naphtali. It has its name from its eminence, because it rises up in the midst of a wide champaign country, called the valley of Jezreel,' or the great plain' (Esdraelon), two leagues south-east of Nazareth. Josephus tells us, that the height of this mountain is thirty stadia, and that on the top of it, there is a beautiful plain of twenty stadia in circumference.-[According to the statements of Burckhardt and Buckingham, it appears to be 1400 or 1500 feet high, and is represented as entirely calcareous. Dr Richardson describes it as a dark-looking, insulated, conical mountain, rising like a tower to a considerable height above those around it.-ED.] By all which it appears how commodious a place this mountain was, to be the rendezvous of Barak's forces, since it stood upon the confines of so many different tribes, was not accessible by the enemies' horses and chariots, and had, on the top of it, a spacious plain, where he might conveniently marshal and discipline his army. What modern travellers tell us of this mountain is much to the same purpose :-" After a very laborious ascent," says Mr Maundrell, "we reached the highest part of the mountain, which has a plain area at top, fertile and delicious, and of an oval figure, about one furlong in breadth, and two in length. This area is enclosed with trees on all parts, except towards the south, and from hence you have a prospect, which (if nothing else) well rewards the labour of ascending it; for it is impossible for the eyes of man to behold any greater gratification of this nature. The top of this mountain was anciently environed with walls and trenches, and other fortifications, of which some remains are still visible; and, for many ages, it has been believed that here it was that our blessed Saviour was transfigured, in the presence of his three apostles, Peter, James, and John, though some late writers have made a doubt of it.—Calmet's Commentary, Poole's Annotations, and Maundrell's Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem. b A place situate upon the lake Semechon, in the Upper Galilee, and is in Scripture called Harosheth of the Gentiles,' because the people of several nations fled thither to be under Jabin's protection, when they heard that he had possessed himself of that country, and kept the Israelites out of it.-Wells' Geography of the Old Testament, vol. 2. c This river rises up out of Mount Tabor, and passing along the valley of Jezreel, now the plain of Esdraelon, empties itself into the Mediterranean Sea. Some geographers will needs have it, that this river runs two ways, partly westward into the Mediterranean, and partly eastward, into the Sea of Galilee; but this is a thing incredible, and what is known of no other river in the world; and therefore, if there be any thing in it, the matter must be this,-that, from Mount Tabor, as it happens from many other hills, there flow waters out of its two sides, some shaping their course westward, to the Mediterranean, and others eastward, into the Sea of Galilee: so that there are two spring heads, and two distinct rivers, though both arising from the same mountain, and perhaps both called by the same name. But whatever becomes of the river that runs eastward, it is plain, from another passage, that the Kishon which is mentioned in Scripture, ran westward into the Mediterranean sea; for when Elijah had convinced the people assembled together at Mount Carmel, that Baal was not the true God, he enjoined them to seize all his priests, and to bring them down to the brook Kishon, there to be slain (1 Kings xviii.) So that the brook Kishon, which rises out of Mount at the foot of the mountain, in hopes of cutting off Barak's retreat. Upon this Deborah advised Barak not to stay till Sisera came up to him, but early next morning, to march directly down, and fall upon him, with all the assurance imaginable of success. The Hebrew general followed her directions; and coming down upon the enemy before they were aware, he charged them with such fury, d whilst God, at the same time, by a driving storm of rain and hail in their faces, struck with such terror, that they were not able to stand before the Israelites, but were soon broken, and put to flight. The pursuit, however, continued all day; and as the night approached, the stars shone with an uncommon brightness, to give light to the pursuers; and the river Kishon, being swelled with the hasty rain, drowned the pursued, and carried the dead bodies away towards the Mediter e ranean sea. Sisera, in the mean time, seeing his whole army broken and dispersed, quitted his chariots, and was making his escape on foot, when Jael, the wife ƒ of Heber Tabor, must run by Mount Carmel, which stands on the seashore: and as Carmel stands west of Mount Tabor, the course of this river, which extends from the one to the other, must be so likewise.-Wells' Geography of the Old Testament, vol. 2. c. 6. [After a course of thirty miles it falls into the Mediterranean at a place called Caipha, in a gulf formed by Mount Carmel and the Point of Acre. Near the mouth of this river, in the same gulf, another smaller stream discharges itself, which was called by the ancients Belus, and was celebrated for its sands, which were used in making glass. It is at present called Nahr Haloro.] -ED. d Josephus relates the matter of God's interposition in this action in the following words:-"The armies were no sooner engaged, but there arose a violent wind, with a most impetuous tempest of hail and rain along with it. The storm, driving just in the face of the Canaanites, made not only their bows and slings useless, but their weapons likewise designed for close fight; for they could not so much as open their eyes against the weather; and their fingers were so benumbed with cold, too, that they could not handle their arms. In the conclusion, it came to pass, that the Canaanites' army was broken, dispersed, and cut to pieces: so that betwixt those that fell by the sword, and those that were trampled to death under the horses' feet, those that were torn to pieces by the chariots, and those that fled away, and fell into the hands of the Israelites in their flight, this prodigious army, which, according to our author, consisted of thirty thousand foot, ten thousand horse, and three thousand armed chariots, was, in effect, totally destroyed."-Antiquities, b. 5. c. 6, e Mr Maundrell tells us, that in the condition wherein he saw this river, its waters were low and inconsiderable; but in passing along the side of the plain, he discerned the tracts of many lesser torrents falling down into it from the mountains, which must needs make it swell exceedingly upon sudden rains.—Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem. f He was of the posterity of Hobab, the son of Jethro, fatherin-law of Moses, and is here called a Kenite, because originally he descended from those people who dwelt westward of the Dead Sea, and extended themselves pretty far into Arabia Petræa. The word Ken, from whence they took their name, signifies a nest, a hole, or a cave; and to this the prophet might allude, when he addresses himself to them in these words: Strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest on a rock: neverthe less the Kenite shall be wasted, until Ashur shall carry thee away captive, Num. xxiv. 21. These Kenites, indeed, were some of the people whose lands God had promised to the descendants of Abraham; nevertheless, in consideration of Jethro, all that submitted to the Israelites were permitted to live in their own country. In Num. x. 29, we find that Hobab was invited by Moses to accompany him into the land of Canaan, and, in all probability, he accepted the invitation. At their first coming, they settled themselves in the territories of Jericho; but having contracted a particular friendship with the tribe of Judah, they removed with them into |