10. He found him in a desert land,] There He first took the Israelites to be His peculiar people.

he kept him as the apple of his eye.] Protected the Israelites from all dangers with extraordinary care.

11. As an eagle stirreth up her nest,] As an eagle rouseth up her young nestlings to fly, hovering about them to assist their weak endeavours, so God alone conducted His people.

13.-ride on the high places of the earth,] Or, of the land: that is, conquer, and in a triumphant manner possess, Canaan, full of lofty and fruitful hills.

honey out of the rock,] The honey of wild bees, which live in rocks.

oil out of the flinty rock;] That is, the oil of olives, which commonly grow in the crevices of rocks, and thrive in stony and barren places.

14.-rams of the breed of Bashan,] That is, of the fairest and best kind. Bashan was famous for cattle. Numb. xxxii. 4.

15.-Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked:] That is, Israel grew rich, &c. "Jeshurun" comes from a word, that signifies upright; and it is evidently put for Israel, who were under great obligations to be upright; but instead of that, in their prospe rity they rebelled against God, as a pampered horse kicks.

Moses, by divine inspiration, perceiving the wickedness, into which the Israelites would in after times fall, speaks of their crimes, as if already committed. This method of using the past for the future was very common in the prophetical writings, and was intended to give a more clear representation of the events foretold, and more fully to express the certainty of their accomplishment.

17.-new gods that came newly up,] Newly invented gods, such as the imaginary dæmons of the Gentiles

18.-the Rock that begat thee] That is, the Eternal God who created and preserved them.

19.-because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.] On account of the sins of the Israelites, whom before He esteemed as his sons and daughters.

20.-1 will see what their end shall be:] I will not cease my judgments, till I have brought the greatest calamities upon them, and made an end of their polity and government.

21.-have moved me to jealousy with that which

is not God;] Have provoked Me, by worshiping false gods.

- I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people;] The meaning is, that God would, by a people that was not peculiar to Him, as the Israelites were, provoke them to jealousy. And this He fulfilled, by delivering them to the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and other enemies, who were not His people; and by rejecting them, and taking the Gentiles into His favour; and into the Church of Christ. And to this purpose the Apos tle applies the words of the prophet, "I will call them my people, which were not my people;" Rom. ix. 25. This greatly" provoked" the Jews, "6 a foolish nation" taken into God's Church: for such the Gentiles were, while they served idols, and divers lusts. Rom. i. 21, 22.

to see

22. For a fire is kindled in mine anger,] This verse gives an account, in a figurative manner, of the destruction of the land, in words which seem to import the total consumption of it. Great calamities are compared to "fire" in Scripture.

24.-I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, &c.] I will cause wild beasts to devour them, and serpents to bite and poison them. This threat was partly fulfilled, when the Jews were thrown by the Romans to wild beasts in the theatre, as Josephus relates. Or the words may be a prophecy of the desolate state of the country, which should be overrun with wild beasts and serpents.

27. Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy.] God who is omnipotent is not capable of fearing any thing: But He speaks after our manner, and gives this reason why He did not make them cease to be a nation, because He would not have their enemies insult, and ascribe to themselves the destruction of His people.

28. they are a nation void of counsel,] They, that is, the Jews are a people who take such couns sel and pursue such courses, as lead to their ruin. The wicked are frequently and justly represented in Scripture as fools and without understanding.

30.- except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?] If God had not delivered them into the hands of their enemies, and had, as it were, "shut them up," so that they could not

works (called fruit in Scripture) are wicked and displeasing to God.

33. Their wine is the poison of dragons,] This still represents their fruit, or works, to be most pernicious, being compared to the poison of

serpents.

34. Is not this laid up in store with me, &c.] That is, is not this vengeance, with which I now threaten them, reserved for them against the time, when their iniquities shall be full and shall require it?

35.-their foot shall slide] Though they think themselves immoveably fixed in their dominion, they shall certainly fall.

36.-the Lord shull judge his people, &c.] After having punished them, "the Lord shall judge" or plead the cause of "His people," and act as one that

repents himself" for the evils which He has been obliged in justice to bring upon "His servants:" "when He sees that their power is gone," so that they cannot help themselves; and that "there is none shut up or left;" that is, that they have neither garrisons nor army left sufficient for their deli

verance.

38. Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices,] It is not here meant, that the false gods did really eat and drink of the sacrifices offered to them; but the words seem to be spoken ironically and in derision of them.

40. For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.] That is, I lift up my hand to heaven in token of swearing, as sure as " I live for ever," to do what follows.

41.-mine hand take hold on judgment;] Begin to punish.

42. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, &c.] A figurative expression signifying that He would make an exceeding great slaughter.

-from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy. That is, from such time as I shall begin to take vengeance.

43. Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: &c.] In this verse the Gentiles are commanded to rejoice together with the Jews for their conversion to the true religion; and all true believers are encouraged to persevere it their obedience, since God will certainly avenge His servants who suffer for His sake, and will punish their enemies.

St. Paul cites this verse to prove the future conversion of the Jews and of the Gentiles to Christ. Rom. xv. 10.

44.-Hoshea That is, Joshua.

47.-because it is your life:] Your happiness both in this life and the next depends on your observance of my laws.

CHAP. XXXIII.

Verse 2.-The Lord came from Sinai, &c.] As

3.— all his saints are in thy hand :] God's people are under His special care and protection. The change of the person from his to thy is very frequent in the Hebrew language.

they sat down at thy feet; received instruction from thee. St. Paul says, I was brought up maliel. Acts xxii. 3.

Meaning, they To the same effect at the feet of Ga

5.-he was king in Jeshurun,] Moses was king; that is, under God the supreme governor of Israel. Many persons are called kings in Scripture, whom we should rather call chiefs or rulers. Such is the sense of the word in this passage.

6. Let Reuben live, and not die;] The tribe of Reuben shall continue in some measure to flourish, though not so numerous as some others. The words translated " And let not his men be few," signify in the original "though his men be few."

7.-and bring him unto his people :] Judah was not only to be the royal tribe, but the principa! tribe in war: Moses therefore says, "hear, Lord, the voice of Judah," when he calls for Thy help at going out to war; "and bring him home unto his people" again, safe and victorious: "let his hands," or power, "be sufficient for him" to conquer his

enemies.

12.--The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him;] The tribe of Benjamin, favoured of God, shall have its inheritance in a safe place.

he shall dwell between his shoulders.] That is, the Lord's temple shall be situated in his land.

13. Blessed of the Lord be his land, &c.] Joseph's tribe shall have a country fall to its share, most plentifully blest with every thing that can render it fruitful and pleasant: with seasonable rains, dews, and convenient springs of water: with a soil yielding the fattest crops and fairest fruits. Such will be the ancient and famous hills and valleys of Ephraim, Samaria, and Bashan.

the deep that coucheth beneath,] Springs of water which burst out of the bowels of the earth.

14.-the precious things put forth by the moon,] The precious fruits nourished by the kindly moisture of the night, under the influence of the moon.

16.-the good will of him that dwelt in the bush:] The favour of God, who appeared to Moses in the bush.

-him that was separated from his brethren.] That is, Joseph, who was first sold into Egypt, and there advanced to the dignity of governor of the land.

17. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock,] A bull was considered as the emblem of kingly power. The meaning is therefore, that this tribe should have royal authority established in it.

18.-Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and Issachar, in thy tents.] Zebulun and Issachar are here joined together; they were brothers by the same mother; but the disposition of their respective posterities was to be very different: the former, it is intimated, would delight in commerce, the latter in agriculture.

19. They shall call the people unto the mountain:] Here Moses predicts, that the house of God should be set upon a mountain; to which Zebulun should invite the rest of the tribes, by their forwardness and zeal, to go up and worship God.

-they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, &c.] They shall grow rich by importing abundance of commodities, such as gold and precious stones, which are dug out of the earth. Or the first part of this passage may refer to the produce of the sea.

20.-he dwelleth as a lion, &c.] Shall live secure and fearless, though encompassed by enemies; and shall overcome those who assault him.

21. And he provided the first part for himself,] That is, he chose his inheritance with the first on this side Jordan. Numb. xxxii. 1. &c. " in a portion of the lawgiver;" that is, in that part of the country, which Moses the lawgiver entered upon, and which he divided. "And he came with the heads, &c." That is, after he had made provision for his family and cattle, he accompanied the leaders

of the people, and assisted them in conquering the land, and destroying the inhabitants, who were justly devoted by God to destruction.

22.-Dan is a lion's whelp :] The Danites will be eminent for stratagems and strength of war; and may be compared with the lions of Bashan, which was celebrated for its breed of very fierce ones, that leap upon their prey with great force and subtilty. This was eminently verified in Sampson, who was of the tribe of Dan.

24. let him dip his foot in oil.] He shall inhabit a country so abundant in olive trees, that oil might be said to be as plentiful as water.

25. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass;] Or, under thy shoes, &c. That is, the country inhabited by this tribe, shall abound in such metals.

-as thy days, so shall thy strength be.] Thy strength shall bear proportion to thy days. That shall be great; and these shall be many.

26.—who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, &c.] Who commandeth in heaven, as well as in the earth; and sends help to thee from thence by thunder, lightning, and hail.

27.-underneath are the everlasting arms:] To support all those continually, who commit themselves unto Him.

28. the fountain of Jacob &c.] That is, his posterity (who were derived from him, as a river from a fountain) shall dwell in a land fruitful in corn and wine.

29.-thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee;} Being deceived in their vain hopes of getting the better of thee. Or, with feigned stories, courting thy friendship.

CHAP. XXXIV.

Verse 5. So Moses-died] Most probably the account of the death and burial of Moses, was added by Joshua his successor. Or perhaps Moses himself at the command of God, and under His special guidance and direction might write the account of his own death, &c. before the event took place.

6. And he buried him] That is, God buried him; orcaused His angels to do so. The Almighty disposed of the body of Moses, and saw fit that the place of his sepulchre should not be known, most probably to prevent the people from paying any idolatrous worship to him, who, during his life, had been so great, and so justly celebrated among them.

With the death of this eminent Prophet and Lawgiver endeth the Pentateuch; containing the history of the world, for the first two thousand, five hundred, and fifty-three years: namely from the creation to the arrival of the Israelites in Canaan.

CHAP. I.

Verse 1.-Joshua the Son of Nun,] His original name was Hoshea or Oshea, Deut. xxxii. 44. which Moses, whose minister he was, changed into Jehoshua, Numb. xiii. 16; and by contraction, Joshua or Jeshua, or Jesus (according to the Greek pronunciation), Acts vii. 45. Hebr. iv. 8. signifying "Saviour." He therefore was a type of Christ, both in his name and in his actions.

8. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;] Thou shalt not forget to study it thyself, nor neglect to instruct others out of it.

CHAP, II.

Verse 1.—into an harlot's house, named Rahab,] Rahab probably kept a publick house, for the entertainment of strangers, by going into which the spies thought that they would be less suspected of any design. She is called harlot either because persons who kept publick houses in those days often made their persons as common as their houses, or because Rahab had formerly been of this description, although she was now converted to better sentiments. So that there is no necessity to suppose that Rahab ever had been a woman of bad character, and still less that she was so at that time.

4.- wist not whence they were:] In judging of Rahab's conduct on this occasion in telling an untruth, we should remember, that she had suthcient intimations of what God intended for His people Israel; and she expressed her faith in Him, by saying, "The Lord your God, He is God in

heaven above, and in earth beneath." She was deeply sensible that the Lord had given that land to the Israelites, and she acted under a full persuasion of it; which faith of her's is that commended at Hebr. xi. Therefore, not doubting but that the God of the universe had an absolute right to dispose of all countries according to His good pleasure, she judged it reasonable to obey God rather then man; and therefore she endeavoured, as much as in her lay, to deliver up the land to the true owners, to those whom God had made the rightful proprietors. She would have been treacherous both to God and to them if she had not done it, when she knew, as she expressly says, that the Lord had given them the land. On the supposition that Rahab acted on this occasion in conformity with the intimation she had received of God's design towards the inhabitants of Canaan, her whole conduct will not only stand clear of every criminal imputation, but be highly commendable, and justly deserve a rank among those illustrious patterns which the Apostle proposes to our imitation, as being a person justified not only by her faith, but also by her works.

6.-brought them up to the roof of the house,] The houses in Eastern countries had flat roofs, so that men might walk or lie upon them. The stalks of flax were probably laid upon the roof of the house to be dried by the sun. In the East, they still use the roofs of their houses for drying raisins, flowers, &c.

9.-1 know that the Lord hath given you the land.] She here tells them the reasons for which she had ventured on an action so contrary to the common interests of her country, and to the

duties of a subject towards her prince: namely, that in reality she was a servant of the same God with themselves, and that she was fully convinced that He would give the whole country into the hands of His chosen people, as a punishment on the sins of these Canaanitish nations.

14.-Our life for your's,] They here pledge their lives for her's, and wish they might perish themselves, if they performed not what she desired; provided, on the other hand, she and her kindred did not make known the business they came about, and the agreement they had made with her.

17. We will be blameless of this thine oath] Meaning, that the fault should not be their's, if this oath were not duly kept.

CHAP. III.

Verse 4. that ye may know the way by which ye must go The ark was to go before them, as the cloud had formerly done, to lead them the way, for they were to go by an untrodden path, which the power of God made for them.

5.-Sanctify yourselves:] They were commanded to prepare themselves, by the means of sanctification, usual on extraordinary occasions, for receiving the divine benefits with proper feelings and meditations.

15.-Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,] This is meant of barley harvest, which began about the Passover: the snows now melted from the neighbouring mountains, particularly Lebanon, at the foot of which are the springs of Jordan. By this overflowing of the river, the miracle was increased.

16.-the waters-stood and rose up upon an heap] The waters above were miraculously made to stand still, rising up as waters do when stopt by a dam. And the waters below not being supplied from above, failed or ran off, leaving a passage for the people to go over on dry land.

CHAP. IV.

Verse 9.- and they are there unto this day.] That is, they were remaining at the time when this book was written.

20. And those twelve stones,-did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.] The setting up of these stones at the very time of the performance of the miracle, and the command to the people to teach their children from age to age, and to instruct them in the meaning of this monument, are an incontestible proof of the reality of the fact, which the monument was raised to commemorate.

the second time.] This does not imply that those who had been already circumcised were now to be circumcised again, but that another general circumcision was to be held, of those on whom the rite had been omitted during their wandering in the wilderness. It is probable that the first general circumcision had been held at mount Sinai, when they kept the passover, Numb. ix. The Israelites, on the present occasion, gave a signal proof of their faith, in submitting to this painful operation in the face of their enemies, relying on the Divine protection till they were healed. The conduct of Joshua in directing this circumcision if he had not acted by the express command of God, would have been little less than madness.

9.- have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from of you.] I have taken away that which you esteemed the reproach of all other nations, and particularly of the Egyptians, among whom you lived, namely uncircumcision.

The word " Gilgal" signifies rolling.

12.—the manna ceased] As being now no longer necessary. God does not make use of miraculous and extraordinary means to supply men's wants, when ordinary means are sufficient.

13.-there stood, a man over against him] That is, one in a human form, whom he took to be a man. See Exod. xxiii. 23. It is generally sup posed to be the Son of God, who appeared to Joshua in human shape, as captain of the Lords host, whom Joshua worshipped, and who made the ground holy, whereon he stood.

The design of this appearance was to assure Joshua, that the same God, who had appeared to Moses, ordering him to pull off his shoes, because he stood on holy ground, had now appeared to him and to serve as an encouragement to him in the war; as a confirmation of his faith; and as a lesson to him to obey in all things the commands of God, and to give the glory of his conquests te the Author of them.

CHAP. VI.

Verse 3.-ye shall compass the city, &c.] In stead of a formal siege they are commanded to use only some particular circumstances and forms, which might shew the more plainly the subversion of that idolatrous place to be from the miraculous hand of God.

17.-the city shall be accursed.] Shall be devoted to perpetual destruction.

18. And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing,] Take heed lest you meddle with any of the spoils which are devoted to God, and appropriate them to your own use, lest you bring yourselves under the same sentence of being devoted to destruction, and more than that, lest ye expose the camp to the same danger.