Annotations on the Pentateuch, Psalms, Song of Songs, Biblical commentary 4 · Chapter 34
CHAP. XXXIV.
1 The Lord by Moses declareth unto Israel the borders of the land of Canaan which they should inherit. 16 The names of the Princes that should divide the land.
ANd Iehovah spake unto Moses, saying; Command the sonnes of Israel, and say unto them; When yee come into the land of Canaan, that is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan with the borders thereof. And your South quarter shall be from the wildernesse of Zin, by the sides of Edom: and your South border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea Eastward. And your border shall turne about from the South, to the ascent of Akrabbim, and passe on to Zin; and the goings out thereof shall be from the South to Kadesh-barnea, and it shall goe out to Hazar Addar, and passe on to Azmon. And the border shall turne about from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea. And the sea border, you shall even have the great sea and the border thereof: this shall be your sea border. And this shall be your North border: from the great sea you shall point out for you mount Hor. From mount Hor ye shall point out unto the entrance of Hamath: and the goings out of the border shall be to Zedad. And the border shall goe out to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazar Enan: this shall be your North border. And yee shall point out for you for the East border from Hazar Enan, to Shepham. And the border shall goe downe from Shepham to Riblah on the East side of Ain: and the border shall goe downe, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth Eastward. And the border shall goe downe to Iordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the borders thereof round about. And Moses commanded the sonnes of Israel, saying; This is the land, the which ye shall inherit by lot, which Iehovah commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the halfe tribe. For the tribe of the sonnes of the Reubenites, according to the house of their fathers; and the tribe of the sonnes of the Gadites, according to the house of their fathers, have received; and halfe the tribe of Manasses have received their inheritance. The two tribes, and the halfe tribe, have received their inheritance on this side Iordan …re Iericho, Eastward toward the Sunne rising.
And Iehovah spake unto Moses, saying; These are the names of the men which shall divide the land by inheritance unto you: Eleazar the Priest, and Iosua the son of Nun. And ye shall take one Prince, one Prince of a tribe to divide the land by inheritance. And these are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Iudah, Caleb the sonne of Iephunneh. And of the tribe of the sonnes of Simeon, Samuel the son of Ammihud. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the sonne of Chislon. And the Prince of the tribe of the sonnes of Dan, Bukki the sonne of Iogli. Of the sonnes of Ioseph, the Prince of the tribe of the sonnes of Manesses, Hanniel the son of Ephod. And the Prince of the tribe of the sonnes of Ephraim, Kemuel the sonne of Shiphtan. And the Prince of the tribe of the sonnes of Zabulon, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. And the Prince of the tribe of the sonnes of Issachar, Paltiel the sonne of Azzan. And the Prince of the tribe of the sonnes of Aser, Ahihud the sonne of Shelomi. And the Prince of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali, Pedahel the sonne of Ammihud. These are they whom Iehovah commanded to divide the inheritance unto the sonnes of Israel, in the land of Canaan.
Annotations.
COmmand the sonnes of Israel] After the commandement to destroy the Canaanites, and to root out the monuments of their idolatry, the Lord now giveth lawes for Israels quiet inheritance of the promised land: which first hee limiteth out unto them, then sheweth who should possesse it, and appointeth twelve men by name to divide the possession. And this is by command from God, to signifie the weight of the precept and care which Israel should have to observeit. shall fall unto you] to wit, by lot, or by line: as, hee made them fall by line of inheritance, Psal. 78. 55. and, The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places, Psal. 16. 6. and, there fell tenne lines, (that is, tenne portions) to Manasses, Ios. 17. 5. with the borders] or, according to the borders or coasts, bounds, limits, or confines. God who set all the borders of the earth, Psal. 74. 17. and limited the bounds of all mens habitations, Act. 17. 26. doth here in speciall and exact manner determine the limits of the holy land, called the border of his holinesse (or Sanctuary) Psal. 78. 54. to the end that his people might behold his bounty and providence in giving them so large and good a land: wherefore hee after expostulateth with Israel, whether the border of the neighbour kingdomes were greater than their border, Amos 6. 2. Also that his people might not be defrauded of their right by other n…ons which sometimes fought with Israel hereabout, Iudg. 11. 13. &c. as the Ammonites ript up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border, Amos 1. 13. Likewise, that Israel …ight rest conte…ted with their limits allotted them … …od, both generally and particularly, and not remove the ancient bound, Prov. 23. 10. and 22. 28. Deut. 2. 5. 9. 19. And these limits of Canaan figured the state and condition of the Church of Christ, (who rejoyceth that the lines are fallen unto him in pleasant places, and that he hath a goodly heritage, Psal. 16. 6.) which therefore is shewed to the Prophet in a vision, like the land of Canaan, inherited by the tribes of Israel, and the borders appointed of their habitations, Ezek. 47. 13, 14, 15, &c.
Vers. 3. South quarter] or So…th corner, which the Chaldee calleth the South wind: as in Matth. 24. 31. the foure w…nds are put for the foure quarters of the world. The limits here are set towards all the foure quarters, South, West, North, and East: the order of proceeding is thus; for the South-side he beginneth at the East corner, and goeth along to the West; the West side beginneth at the South end, and extendeth to the North; the Northerne quarter likewise is from the West to the East; and the Easterne side from the North to the South. But in Ezek. 47. 15. &c. hee beginneth with the North, which here is begun at the South, and endeth at the West, as here at the East. wildernesse of Zin] whereof see Num. 33. 36. This was the uttermost part of the South coast, and …ell by lot unto the tribe of Iudah, Ios. 15. 1. the sides of Edom] Hebr. the hands of Edom, that is, the border of Edom, as is explained in Ios. 15. 1. the salt sea] or, sea of salt, so in vers. 12. This was the lake of Sodom, called also the dead sea, for that it had no fish or living thing in it; whereof see Gen. 14. 3. From the end of that sea, from the tongue (or …ay) thereof that looketh Southward, was their South border, Ios. 15. 2. This sea is in humane writers called Asphaltites, Plin. l. 5. c. 16.
Vers. 4. shall turne about] that is, fetch a compasse; as the Greeke translateth it, shall compasse, for which in Ios. 15. 3. is said, it went out. from the South] or, on the South-side: so after. the ascent of A…rabbim] or, Maaleh Akrabbim, as in Ios. 15. 3. which is by interpretation, the ascent (or going …) of Scorpions: which place some thinke was so named of the Scorpions which were in the wildernesse, Deut. 8. 15. the goings out thereof] for this, in Ios. 15. 3. is said, it ascended up. it shall go … to Hazar Addar] by going out is meant a passing along, as is expounded in Ios. 15. 3. where Hazar Addar are two places, Hezron and Addar; for it is said, it passed along to Hezron, and went up to Addar. to Azmon] in Ios. 15. 3. 4. there is added, that it turned about (or fetched a compasse) to Karkaa, and passed on to Azmon. This Azmon is in Targum Ionathan called Kesam; in Greeke, Asel….
Vers. 5. unto the river of Egypt] it went out unto the river of Egypt, Ios. 15. 4. the river called Sihor, Ios. 13. 3. in Targum Ionathan, Nilos. goings out of it] namely, of the coast (or border) Ios. 15. 4. at the sea] to wit, the great Sea, as the Greeke translateth it, whereof Moses speaketh in the verse following: the Chaldee calleth it the West sea.
Vers. 6. the sea border] that is, as the Chaldee explaineth it, the West border: so called because the great sea lay Westward from the land of Canaan: see Gen. 12. 8. you shall even have] or, shall bee to you: which two phrases expound one another; as is noted on Gen. 12. 16. So after in vers. 7. and 12. the great sea] so called in respect of the lesser inland seas, as the salt sea, vers. 3. and the sea of Chinnereth, vers. 11. This great sea is commonly called the Mediterrane sea. and the border thereof] so the Chaldee here translateth it, supplying the word thereof: and so it is Englished in Ios. 15. 12. 47. The Greeke interpreteth it, the great sea shall bound (or shall limit.)
Vers. 7. you shall point out] or, shall marke out, shall designe; in Greeke, yee shall measure out: so in vers. 8. and 10. mount Hor] This is not that mount Hor where Aaron died, which was South-ward in the edge of Edoms land, Num. 33. 37, 38. but another mountaine on the North side of Canaan, which in Ios. 13. 5. is called mount Hermon, and neere the entring into Hamath, as mount Hor is here. And Hermon had many names, as Moses sheweth in Deut. 3. 9. and 4. 48.
Vers. 8. the entrance of Hamath] or, the entring into Chamath: this Hamath (in Greeke, Emath) is in Amos 6. 2. called Hemath the great. See the Annotations on Num. 13. 21. Hamath is also mentioned among the Northerne borders of the land, in Ezek. 47. 16, 17. Zedad] in Greeke, Sedada: so in Ezek. 47. 15.
Vers. 9. Hazar-…nan] in Ezek. 47. 17. Hazarenon: in Greeke, Arsenain. This was the North-East part of the land.
Vers. 10. Shepham] called in 1 Sam. 30. 28. Siphmoth: in Greeke, Sepphama: by Targum Ionathan, and some other, it is called Apamiah.
Vers. 11. Riblah] a citie in the land of Hamath, where God executed his judgements on the Kings of Iudah, for their sinnes, by the Kings of Egypt and of Babylon, 2 King. 23. 33. and 25. 6. 20, 21. Ier. 39. 5, 6. east of Ain] Ain by interpretation is aneie, or a fountaine, and so is translated here in Greeke, Fountaines: and by the old Latine interpreter, the fountaine Daphnis. the side] or, the shoulder, that is, the shore of the sea. the sea of Chinnereth] called in Greeke, Chenereth; in Chaldee, Ginnosar; and in the New Testament, the lake of Gennesaret, Luk. 5. 1. and in 1 Mac. 11. 67. there is mentioned the water of Gennesar. And the countrey adjoyning was called the land of Gennesaret, Mat. 14. 34. Mar. 6. 53. This sea is also named the sea of Galilee, & the sea of Tibertas, Ioh. 6. 1. & a lake and sea are the same; as, they ran into the lake, Luk. 8. 33. that is, into the sea, Mat. 8. 32. Of the sea Chinnereth there is mention also in Ios. 12. 3. & 13. 27. & of a citie so named, Ios. 19. 35. and of the countrey, Ios. 11. 2. 1 King. 15. 20. It is thought to be called in Chaldee, Ginnosar and Genesar, of Princely gardens which were in those parts. This sea had store of fishes, and from hence our Lord tooke his foure first Apostles, fishers of Galilce, and made them fishers of men, by the preaching of his Gospell, Mat. 4. 18, 19, 20, 21. On this sea Christ walked, and allayed the waves thereof, Mark. 6. 45. 48. 51. 53. Iohn 6. 16,—21. and here he appeared to his Disciples after his resurrection, at what time they tooke at one draught an hundred fiftie and three great fishes, Iohn 21. 1,—11.
Vers. 12. Iordan] in Hebrew Iarden; in Greeke, and in the New Testament, Iordanes. It was the goodliest river of all Canaan, famous thorowout the Scriptures. The waters of this river God did cut off, and made them stand upon an heape, (at that time when Iordan over-flowed all his bankes) untill his people Israel passed over it on dry groūd into the land of Canaan, Ios. 3. 13,—17. Elijah and Elisha the Prophets divided also the waters thereof, and went over on drie ground, 2 King. 2. 8. 14. Naaman the Syrian washing seven times in it, by the word of the Prophet, was cleansed of his leprosie, 2 King. 5. 10. 14. In this river our Lord Iesus him-selfe, and the nation of the Iewes were baptized, Marke 1. 5. 9. salt sea] or sea of salt: See vers. 3. The river Iordan ranne all along by the land of Canaan on the East side, from the North end of the countrey to the South, beginning at the foot of mount Lebanon, (where it is said to spring out of two fountaines, the one called Ior, and the other Dan,) and passed on to the lake of Merom, (by the waters whereof Ioshua vanquished the Canaanites, Ios. 11. 4, 5, 7, 8.) and from thence it ran and emptied it selfe into the sea of Chinnereth forementioned: and from that sea it passed along, till it ended at the salt sea, here spoken of, where also the limits of the land began, in vers. 3. The promised land being thus inclosed and guarded with the maine sea Westward, the inland seas and the river Iordan Eastward, and at each end North and South with mountaines, fore-shewed Gods providence towards his peple for their safe defence on every side. And so it is written, As the mountaines are round about Ierusalem, so the LORD is round about his people, from henceforth even for ever, Psal. 125. 2.
Vers. 14. sonnes of the Reubenites] Hebr. of the Reubenite, and after, of the Gadite; which the Greeke and Chaldee translate, sonnes of Reuben, and of Gad. Of these two tribes receiving their inheritance, see Numb. 32.
Vers. 17. shall divide the land by inheritance unto you] or, shall inherit the land for you, that is, shall take possession of the land for you, and in your names, and after divide it unto you, as in vers. 29. See vers. 18. Eleazar the Priest, and Ioshua] in Greeke, Iesus. These were the two chiefe Princes, and both of them figures of Christ, who divideth to his people the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven: the one figuring him in his Priesthood, the other in his kingdome: for if Iesus (that is, Ioshua) had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day, Hebr. 4. 8. The Priest had an hand in parting the inheritance, to signifie that it was an holy worke, and a shadow of heavenly things. Also, that if difficultie did arise, he might aske counsell for Ioshua, after the judgement of Vrim before Iehovah, Numb. 27. 21. And likewise for that the Priests and Levites, though they had no inheritance as the other tribes, yet had they cities and suburbs from among their brethren, Numb. 35. which also the Levites claimed of Eleazar the Priest, and of Ioshua, and the other Princes, and had the cities and suburbs given them by lot before the Lord, Ios. 21. Thus also the truth of Gods promise to Abraham was manifested; for hee had said, that in the fourth generation they should returne from their affliction and servitude into the land of Canaan, Gen. 15. 14, 15, 16. And so it came to passe, for Kohath the sonne of Levi was one of them that went with Iakob into Egypt, Gen. 46. 11. 26. of Koath proceeded Amram, of him Aaron, and of him Eleazar, 1 Chron. 6. 1, 2, 3.
Vers. 18. one Prince, one Prince of a tribe] that is, of every tribe one Prince. See the like phrase in Numb. 13. 2. and 17. 6. Ios. 3. 12. and 4. 2. 4. to divide the land by inheritance] or, to inherit the land, as the Hebrew properly and usually signifieth; and this latter some of the Hebrewes, as larchi and Kimchi, do retaine, expounding it of the Princes, who in stead of the people, and as their tutors and governours, first tooke the possession in the name of their tribes, and after distributed it unto them by their families. But the Chaldee here, and againe in Ios. 19. 49. (where the like phrase is also used) both the Chaldee and Greeke doe there translate it, cause to inherit, or divide by inheritance; and so Moses explaineth it in vers. 29.
Vers. 19. Caleb] he was one of the Spies sent to view the land: of whom see Num. 13. 7, 31. and 14. 24. Ios. 14. 6. &c.
Vers. 20. Samuel] or Shemuel: the notation of which name, see in 1 Sam. 1. 20. The Greeke calleth him Salamiel, by a mistaking from Num. 1. 6. Ammihud] in Greeke, Semioud: so in Numb. 1. 10.
Vers. 21. Elidad] in Greeke, Eldas the sonne of Chaslon.
Vers. 22. Bukki] in Greeke, Bokk…r sonne of Iekli.
Vers. 23. Hanniel] in Greeke, Aniel sonne of S…phid.
Vers. 24. Kemuel] in Greeke, Kamouel sonne of Saphtan.
Vers. 25. Parnach] or, Pharnach; in Greeke, Charnach.
Vers. 26. Paltiel] or, Phaltiel; in Greeke, Phantiel sonne of Oza.
Vers. 27. Ahihud] or, Achihud; in Greeke, Achiod sonne of Selemi.
Vers. 28. Pedahel] in Greeke, Phadiel. Observe here the order of the tribes, as they were named with their Princes; 1. Iudah, 2. Si… 3. Benjamin, 4. Dan, 5. Manasses, 6. Ephraim, 7. Zabulon, 8. Issachar, 9. Aser, 10. Naphtali. This order agreeth not with that in Numb. 1. nor with that in Numb. 7. nor in Numb. 26. nor any before set downe; but is thus disposed by Gods wisdome and providence before hand, as they did after inherit the land. Iudah is first, having the first lot, and he dwelt in the South part of the land, Ios. 15. 1, &c. Simeon is next him, because his inheritance was within the inheritance of the sons of Iudah, Ios. 19. 1. The next was Benjamin, who had his lot by Iudah, betweene the sons of Iudah and the sons of Ioseph, Ios. 18. 11. The fourth was Dan, for his lot …ell by Benjamins westward, in the Philistines country, as is to be seene by his cities, in Ios. 19. 40, 41, &c. Then Manasses, and by him Ephraim his brother, whose inheritances were behind Bejamins, as before is noted, Ios. 16. and 17. Next them dwelt Zabulon and Issachar, of whose lots see Ios. 19. 10. 17. Last of all dwelt Aser and Naphtali in the North parts of Canaan, of whose lots see Ios. 19. 24. 32, &c. And as when they encamped about Gods Tabernacle, they were ordered according to their brotherhoods, as is noted on Numb. 2. so in the dividing and inheriting of the land we may see the like. For Iudah and Simeon, both sonnes of Leah, dwelt abrest one by another. Benjamin of Rachel, and Dan of Rachels maid, dwelt next abrest, Manasses and Ephraim, both sons of Ioseph, by his mother Rachel, had the next place one by another. Zabulon and Issachar, who dwelt next together, were both sonnes of Leah. So the last paire were Aser of Leahs maid, and Naphtali of Rachels maid. Thus God, in nominating the Princes that should divide the land, foresignified the manner of their possession, and that they should be seated to dwell as bre… together in unity, for the mutuall helpe and comfort one of another, as is noted of the first two, Iudah and Simeon, who joyned together in warre against the Canaanites, Iudg. 1. 1, 2, 3.
Vers. 29. to divide the inheritance unto] or, to give the sonnes of Israel inheritance. According to this commandement, so was it fulfilled by Eleazar the Priest, and Iosua the sonne of Nun, and the beads of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel, who divided the inheritance unto the people by lot, in Shiloh, before the LORD, at the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, Ios. 19. 51.