Commentary on Deuteronomy, Commentary · Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
Verſe 1. THen we turned and went up by the way of Verſe 1 Baſhan: and Og the King of Baſhan came out against us, &c.] See XXI Numb. 33. where there are the very ſame words.
Ver. 2. And the LORD ſaid unto me, Fear him not; Verſe 2 for I will deliver, &c.] The ſame words in XXI Numb. 34. Only there he ſaith, I have delivered him into thy hand; that is, reſolved to do it. Which may interpret what is ſaid in the foregoing Chapter of this Book, v. 31. concerning Sihon.
Verſe 3 Ver. 3. So the LORD our God delivered into our hands Og alſo the King of Baſhan, &c.] See XXI Numb. 35.
Verſe 4 Ver. 4. And we took all his Cities at that time, all the Cities, &c. threeſcore Cities.] See upon XXXII Numb. 41.
All the Region of Argob.] A ſmall Province lying between Jordan and the Mountains of Gilead; a little above the Sea of Tiberias: which Region was afterwards called Trachonitis, from the aſperity of the Mountains.
The Kingdom of Og in Baſhan.] Belonging to his Kingdom in Baſhan, v. 13. and 1 Kings IV. 13.
Verſe 5 Ver. 5. All theſe Cities were fenced with high Walls, Gates and Bars, &c.] So they are deſcribed 1 Kings IV. 13.
Verſe 6 Ver. 6. And we utterly deſtroyed them, &c.] For they were Amorites, and therefore under the Curſe of God: being part of the ſeven Nations of Canaan, devoted to deſtruction. See II. 34.
Verſe 7 Ver. 7. But all the Cattle, and the Spoil of the Cities, we took for a prey to our ſelves.] As they had done before, when they deſtroyed Sihon and his People, II. 35.
Verſe 8 Ver. 8. And we took at that time out of the hand of the two Kings of the Amorites, the Land which was on this ſide Jordan.] Which was given to the two Tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half the Tribe of Manaſſeh, v. 12, 13. If Men were not blinded with prejudice, they could not but ſee from hence, that the word beeber, in the firſt Verſe of this Book, is rightly tranſlated on this ſide: for beyond Jordan (as they would have it ſignifie) in the Land of Canaan, theſe two Kings had no poſſeſſions; nor did Moſes make any Conqueſt there.
From the River of Arnon unto Hermon.] This River was the Bounds of their Country on the South: and Hermon which was one of the Mountains of Gilead, (where it joyns to Libanus) was their Bound on the North.
Ver. 9. Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion.] Verſe 9 And ſo it is called in XXIX Pſal. 6. and joyned with Lebanon: for it was as much a part of Libanus, as of Gilead; theſe two Mountains there meeting together. Whence Jeremiah calls Gilead the Head of Lebanon, XXII. 6. becauſe Libanus begins where Gilead ends.
And the Amorites call it Shenir.] And ſo it is called XXVII Ezek. 5. and had this Name, as Bochart conjectures, from the multitude of wild Cats which were in this Mountain. For the Arabians called that Creature Sinaur or Sinar. See Hierozoicon. P. I. Lib. III. Cap. XIV.
Ver. 10. All the Cities of the Plain.] All the flat Verſe 10 Country which the LXX thought was called Miſor; for they retain here that Hebrew word.
And all Gilead.] i. e. All that part of it, which belonged to him: which was but half, as I obſerved before, II. 36.
And all Baſhan.] That part of his Country, which was properly and peculiarly called Baſan: which being the moſt rich and fertile, (as the word ſignifies) gave denomination to his whole Kingdom.
Ʋnto Shalchah and Edrei, Cities of the Kingdom of Og in Baſhan.] The former of theſe is mentioned XIII Joſh. 11. (juſt as it is here) as the Bounds of Baſhan towards Mount Hermon or Lebanon: So Chytraeus, A Town in Baſan in the Mountains of Libanus near to Machati. And Edr…i was the place where they fought with Og and overthrew him, XXI Numb. 33.
Verſe 11 Ver. 11. For only Og King of Baſhan remained of the remnant of the Giants.] Or of the Rephaim, a very ancient People in this Country, (XIV Gen. 5.) who were either deſcended from the Amorites or mingled with them: and Og was the very laſt of them; ſo that he and his People being deſtroyed, none of them remained.
Behold, his Bedſtead was a Bedſtead of Iron.] Which was no unuſual thing in ancient days; though far later than this. For Thucydides ſaith, that when the Thebans took Plateae, they made Beds of the Braſs and Iron they found there: which they dedicated to Juno. And Beds of Silver and Gold are mentioned by divers Authors, as Huetius obſerves in his Demonstr. Evangel. Propoſ. IV. Cap. XIV. N. VII.
Is it not in Rabbath of the Children of Ammon.] This is thought by ſome to be a conſiderable Objection againſt Moſes being the Author of this Book. For how ſhould this Bedſtead, ſay they, come to the Children of Ammon in his days? No doubt, they imagine, it would have remained in Baſhan whilſt Og lived; though, in length of time, it might be carried into the Country of the Ammonites: As if Og, fearing the worſt, might not ſend his Bed, and his beſt Furniture, unto the Ammonites: knowing they would be ſafe among them, becauſe the Iſraelites were forbid to make War upon them. Or Moſes, having conquered the Country, and kept all the Spoil, (v. 7.) might not ſell this, among other Goods, to the Children of Ammon; who preſerved it in their capital City. No body can ſee an unreaſonableneſs in either of theſe Suppoſitions of the ſame Huetius. Nor do I ſee how the Conjecture of another learned Perſon, (Andraeas Maſius upon the XIIth of Joſhua) can be confuted; which is, That when the Ammonites drove out that monſtrous ſort of People, mentioned II. 21. Og might poſſibly eſcape, (and ſo is ſaid here, to be left of the remnant of the Giants) who flying hither to the Amorites, was made their King, becauſe of his goodly Preſence, and great Valour. But the Ammonites kept his Bedſtead, and ſhowed it as a Monument of that illuſtrious Victory: which they got over the Rephaim, or as they called them, the Zamzummims in that Country.
Nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits was the breadth thereof.] This is mentioned to ſhow of what a vaſt Stature Og was: For Bedſteads being, according to the common Cuſtom, made a third part longer than the Perſons that lye in them, he was ſix Cubits high, as Maimonides computes: that is, as high again as any other Man, More Nevochim. P. II. Cap. XLVII. Which is very ſober Diſcourſe in compariſon with what other Jews ſay of him. See S…kikkard in his Bechinah Happeruſchim, p. 120.
After the cubit of a Man.] According to the Cubit of ordinary Men, ſaith the ſame Maimonides (which is a little more than half a yard) not of Og before mentioned. But what need was there, ſay the former Objectors, to mention this, ſince the Iſraelites ſaw Og lye dead before them, on the Ground; and needed not to be told by Moſes how tall he was? And therefore they conclude this was written by ſome body elſe, in after times. As if Moſes did not write for the benefit of thoſe that came after, as well as for the preſent Generation. Who, that they might be ſatisfied what a vaſt Man Og was, he left it upon record how large his Bedſtead was, and where it might be ſeen; whereby they might judge of his Stature. Beſides, there were in the preſent Generation, great numbers of Children, old Men, Women and Servants, who could not go to ſee Og lye at length upon the Field: but by this means were inſtructed, from what a terrible Enemy God had delivered them.
They that queſtion the truth of this Relation, may read, if they be able, what the learned Huetius hath at large diſcourſed concerning Men of a portentous bigneſs in all Countries (in his Quaeſtiones Alnetanae, Lib. II. Cap. XII. N. III.) of which no Man can doubt, who is not reſolved to disbelieve all the World. In his Demonſtratio Evangelica alſo he obſerves that Homer makes Tityon, when he was dead, to have lain ſtretcht out upon (not nine Cubits, but) nine Acres of Ground: —foreign. Which Hyperbole may excuſe the Jewiſh Rabbins when they ſay, that Og was nine Cubits long, when he lay in his Cradle. See Propoſ. IV. Cap. VIII. N. IV.
Verſe 12 Ver. 12. And this Land which we poſſeſſed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon.] See II. 36.
And half mount Gilead, and the Cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites.] See XXXII Numb. 34, 35, &c. but eſpecially XIII Joſh. 15, &c. where he diſtinctly relates what Portion of this Country was given to the Reubenites; and v. 23, 24, &c. what was given to the Gadites. And it appears that none of Gilead belonged to the Reubenites; but the Gadites had one half of it, as the Manaſſites had the other.
Ver. 13. And the rest of Gilead.] Which was not Verſe 13 given to the Gadites.
And all Baſhan, being the Kingdom of Og.] That is, all that was taken from Og, of which he was King.
Gave I unto the half Tribe of Manaſſeh; all the Region of Argob, with all Baſhan.] It is repeated again, leſt any one ſhould think that Argob, which was a diſtinct Province in that Kingdom, was not given to them by this Grant. See v. 4.
Which was called the Land of Giants.] Where the Rephaims formerly inhabited; of whom Og was the laſt. See XIV Gen. 5. compared with XV. 20. XIII Joſh. 12.
Ver. 14. Jair the Son of Manaſſeh took all the Country Verſe 14 of Argob.] This is one reaſon why he gave this Country to them. See XXXII Numb. 41.
Ʋnto the Coaſts of Geſhuri and Maachathi.] We had no mention of theſe places before; which were in the Northern part of this Country; as appears from XII. Joſh. 4, 5. XIII. 11. But the People of theſe places they could not expel, XIII Joſh. 13.
And called them after his own Name.] XXXII Numb. 4.
Ʋnto this day.] From hence likewiſe Cavils are raiſed againſt Moſes being the Author of this Book: when the moſt that can be concluded from hence is, that upon the reviſing of theſe Books by Ezra, he put in theſe few words to certifie the Reader, that ſtill they retained this Name; as ſome body, no doubt, added the Hiſtory of Moſes his death, at the end of this Book. This the greateſt Defenders of the Authority of theſe Books, as written by Moſes himſelf, make no ſcruple to allow: particularly Huetius, and ſince him Hermannus Witzius in his Miſcellanea Sacra, Lib. I. Cap. XIV. Sect. 47. But there is no neceſſity to yield ſo much; for Moſes might ſay this himſelf, though it was not long before he wrote this Book. For ſo the holy Writers do ſometimes mention places, which had their Name but newly given them, from a particular Fact, that Poſterity might know the Original of it. See I Acts 19.
Verſe 15 Ver. 15. And I gave Gilead.] All that was not poſſeſſed by the Gadites.
Ʋnto Machir.] To the Poſterity of Machir, XXXII Numb. 40.
Verſe 16 Ver. 16. And unto the Reubenites, and unto the Gadites.] Here is a more exact Deſcription of that part of the Country, which was given to the other two Tribes.
I gave from Gilead.] Half of which, as I obſerved, was given to the Gadites, v. 12.
Even unto the River Arnon.] Which was the Bounds of the Country toward Moab. See II. 36.
Half the Valley.] The ſame word, in the Hebrew Language, ſignifies both a Valley, and a Brook or River: and being tranſlated in the foregoing words, the River, it ſhould be ſo here likewiſe, half the River. That is, to the middle of the River Arnon; by which the Bounds of their Country is moſt exactly ſet. And thus not only the LXX. and the Vulgar, but Onkelos alſo tranſlates it, the middle of the Torrent: yea, we our ſelves alſo in the XIIth of Joſh. 2. where there are the ſame words; which in the Hebrew run thus, Ʋnto the River Arnon, the midst of the River: where the City of Aroar ſtood, incompaſſed by the River, as I obſerved in the foregoing Chapter, v. 36.
And the border.] Something is underſtood, viz. went (as the Phraſe is XV Joſh. 6, 7, &c.) or reached, or ſome ſuch word. Or the meaning muſt be, the Country bordering upon that River.
Even unto the River Jabbok, which is the border of the Children of Ammon.] This River was the other Boundary of the Country.
Ver. 17. The Plain alſo and Jordan.] The flat Verſe 17 Country toward the River Jordan: which was the Weſtern Bounds of this Country of Sihon; as the River Arnon was the Southern, and the River Jabbok the Northern; the Country of the Children of Ammon being on the Eaſt.
And the Coast thereof, from Cinnereth.] The word thereof is not in the Hebrew: therefore theſe words may be better rendred the Coast from Cinnereth. Called the Sea of Cinnereth, XII Joſh. 3. XIII. 27. it lying upon a Country and a City called by that Name, XI Joſh. 2. XIX. 35. Which gave the Name to this Sea, called in the New Taſtament, the Sea of Galilee, and the Sea of Geneſareth, and at laſt the Sea of Tiberias; in honour of the Emperour Tiberius. See upon XXXIV Numb. 11.
Even unto the Sea of the Plain, even the Salt-Sea.] The Dead-Sea, as it is called in other places: which, before the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah, had been a moſt pleaſant Plain.
Ʋnder Aſhdoth Piſgah.] The Name of a City in this Country, XIII Joſh. 20.
Eaſtward.] Which lay Eaſt of the Salt-Sea and Jordan: which was the Weſtern Bounds, as I ſaid, of this Country.
Verſe 18 Ver. 18. And I commanded you at that time.] That is, he gave this Charge to the two Tribes of Reuben and Gad, and to the half Tribe of Manaſſeh before mentioned.
The LORD your God hath given you this Land to poſſeſs it, &c.] According to their own deſire: but on condition they ſhould help their Brethren to conquer the Land of Canaan. See XXXII Numb. 20, 21, 22.
Verſe 19 Ver. 19. But your Wives and your little Ones, and your Cattle▪ (for I know you have much Cattle) ſhall abide in your Cities which I have given you.] See XXXII Numb. 16, 24, 26.
Verſe 20 Ver. 20. Ʋntil the LORD have given rest unto your Brethren, as well as unto you, &c.] Brought them to a Settlement in the Land of Canaan, and given them a peaceable poſſeſſion of it. After which, we read that Joſhua diſmiſſed theſe Tribes, and ſent them to their Wives and Children, XXII Joſh. 4.
Verſe 21 Ver. 21. And I commanded Joſhua at that time.] About that time; when by God's order he appointed Joſhua to be his Succeſſor, and took him to be his Aſſociate in the Government, XXVII Numb. 18, &c.
Thine eyes have ſeen all that the LORD your God hath done unto theſe two Kings: So ſhall the LORD do unto all the Kingdoms whither thou paſſest.] This ſeems to be the Preface to the Charge, which by God's Command he gave to Joſhua at that time, XXVII Numb. 19, 23.
Ver. 22. Ye ſhall not fear them: for the LORD your Verſe 22 God fighteth for you.] This is part of the Charge it ſelf; which he had heard him give all the People, eight and thirty years ago, I. 21, 29, 30.
Ver. 23. And I beſought the LORD at that time, Verſe 23 ſaying.] Being told by God at the ſame time (XXVII Numb. 12, 13.) that he ſhould ſhortly dye, and only ſee the Land of Canaan, but not enter into it; Moſes made his humble Supplication to God that he would not execute the Sentence, which he had denounced againſt him. For the word beſought ſignifies Supplication to one that is offended.
Ver. 24. O LORD God, thou hast begun to ſhew Verſe 24 thy Servant thy greatneſs, and thy mighty hand.] In ſubduing the two Kings of the Amorites.
For what God is there in Heaven, or in Earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?] He ſpeaks according to the Language of thoſe times, when Men worſhipped many Gods, of ſeveral ſorts: None of which, he acknowledges, were able to bring to paſs, ſuch things as the LORD had done.
Ver. 25. I pray thee let me go over, and ſee the good Verſe 25 Land that is beyond Jordan.] To ſee is here to enjoy it, as the reſt of the Iſraelites were to do: For God bad him go up into a Mountain and behold it; but threatned he ſhould not enter into it. Which Threatning he might well think was reverſible, as others had been againſt the People of Iſrael upon his Prayer for them; though they had more highly offended the Divine Majeſty than he had done. For though he doubted at the firſt, eſpecially when he ſaw no Water come out of the Rock at the firſt ſtroke; yet he preſently recovered himſelf, and ſmote it the ſecond time, believing God would relieve them.
That goodly Mountain.] Moſt think that he deſired to go ſo far into it, as to ſee the place where God intended to ſettle his Divine Preſence: which proved to be Mount Moriah. But nothing was known of this, a long time after: unleſs we ſuppoſe it was revealed unto him, that where Abraham offered Iſaac, there the LORD would dwell. It ſeems to me that he means, that goodly Country, full of noble Mountains: for thus the word Mountain is often uſed; particularly XIII Numb. 29. where the Spies ſay the Amorites dwell in the Mountain, i. e. in that mountainous part of Canaan.
And Lebanon.] He deſired to go through the whole Country, as far as Lebanon; which was the moſt Northerly part of it, (famous for goodly Cedars) as the Mountain before ſpoken of, was in the South of Canaan.
Verſe 26 Ver. 26. But the LORD was wroth with me for your ſakes.] See I. 37.
And would not hear me.] Refuſed to grant my Petition.
And the LORD ſaid unto me, Let it ſuffice thee, ſpeak no more unto me of this matter.] This ſuggeſts that Moſes renewed his Petition, after the firſt denial; and more earneſtly begg'd this Favour of God: which he could not obtain; but was enjoyned ſilence. This argues great diſpleaſure: and is mentioned by him, as an Admonition to the Iſraelites, Chapter IV.to be fearful to offend the Divine Majeſty.
Ver. 27. Get thee up to the top of Piſgah.] See what I have noted upon XXVII Numb. 12. Verſe 27
And lift up thine eyes Weſtward, and Northward, &c.] Take a full view of the Country in all the Quarters of it: which might be ſeen from the top of this Mountain, which was called Nebo. See XXXIV. 1, 2, 3.
Ver. 28. But charge Joſhua, and incourage and Verſe 28 ſtrengthen him, &c.] Bid him not doubt, that I will bring my People thither under his Conduct; though I deny thee entrance into it.
Ver. 29. So we abode in the Valley over against Verſe 29 Beth-peor.] It is likely that there was a Temple built to Baal-Peor which fronted this Valley: for ſo Beth ſignifies an Houſe or Temple of Peor. Which gave the Name to a City wherein it ſtood; which was part of the Inheritance of the Reubenites, XIII Joſh. 20. In this Valley Moſes was buried, XXXIV. 6. where he made this moſt excellent Exhortation to all the People.