Commentary on Numbers, Book · Chapter 21

Commentary on Numbers · Book · Chapter 21

p. 397CHAP. XXI.

Chapter XXI Ver. 1. AND when King Arad the Canaanite.] In Verſe 1 the Hebrew the words are thus placed, When the Canaanite King Arad: And ſo they are in the LXX. and the Vulgar: And Arad may as well ſignifie a Place, as a Perſon: nay, there ſeems more reaſon to tranſlate the words thus, The Canaanitiſh King of Arad: becauſe there was ſuch a City in Canaan, mentioned XII Joſh. 14. and I Judges 16. One of the Sons of Canaan being called Arad, (as both the LXX. and the Vulgar tranſlate the Hebrew word Arvad, X Gen. 18.) who it is likely gave his Name to this part of the Country; the chief City of which was alſo called after him.

Which dwelt in the South.] In the South part of the Land of Canaan, towards the Eaſtern Angle of it, near the Dead Sea. See XXXIII. 40.

p. 398Heard that Iſrael came by the way of the Spies.] Which were ſent by the King Arad (as many ſuppoſe) to bring him Intelligence which way the Iſraelites marched. For it being Eight and thirty Years ſince the Spies ſent by Moſes went that way; or rather, they going ſo ſecretly, that it was not known which way they went, it is thought, not probable that Moſes ſpeaks of them in this place. But there is no neceſſity of taking the Hebrew word Atharim to ſignifie Spies; but it may as well be the Name of a Place, as the LXX. underſtood it, by whom it is tranſlated foreign. And, if the ſituation would agree to it, one might probably conjecture, the place was ſo called from the Spies that went from thence by Moſes his order to ſurvey the Country. For that was a thing ſo memorable, that as it could not well ſlip out of the Minds of the People of Canaan, ſo they found, I make no queſtion, after they were gone, which way they came into their Country, (though for the preſent they paſſed unobſerved) and everafter called it the way of the Spies.

Then he fought againſt Iſrael.] He marched out of his Country with an Army; and fell upon the Iſraelites as they paſſed that way.

And took ſome of them Priſoners.] He attacked, it's likely, at firſt only the Skirts of their Camp, where he ſurpriſed ſome of them, and carried them away captive, as the words are in the Hebrew.

Verſe 2 Ver. 2. And Iſrael vowed a vow unto the LORD.] It was reſolved, it ſeems, that they ſhould engage them; but the Iſraelites being afraid of them, becauſe they were unexperienced in War, implored the Divine Aid by this Solemn Vow.

p. 399If thou wilt indeed deliver this People into my hand.] Give us the Victory over them.

Then will I utterly deſtroy their Cities.] They vow to reſerve none of the Spoil to their own uſe; but devote it all to deſtruction. For ſuch was the Nature of this Vow, called Cherem. See XXVII Lev. 29.

Ver. 3. And the LORD hearkned to the voice of Verſe 3 Iſrael.] He approved their Vow.

And delivered up the Canaanites.] The Iſraelites vanquiſhed their Army.

And they utterly deſtroyed them and their Cities.] Utterly devoted them to deſtruction, according to their Vow. For they did not now actually deſtroy them, they remaining when Joſhua came to Canaan, who executed this Cherem, or Curſe upon them, XII. 14. Which, if it had been executed now, they muſt have entred into the Land of Canaan at this time; from whence we cannot imagine they would have returned, to march further about before they got into it; but have gone on to proſecute their Victory, by ſubduing the Country, as they had begun.

And he called the name of the place Hormah.] From the Cherem (or Herem as ſome write it) which was pronounced againſt it. Which when it was put in execution, this Name became more proper to it, I Judges 17.

Ver. 4. And they journeyed from Mount Hor.] Where Verſe 4 their Camp was pitched, when the King of Arad aſſaulted them; and whither they returned, after they had overthrown him.

By the way of the Red Sea.] Towards Ezion-Gaber, as we read II Deut. 8.

p. 400To compaſs the Land of Edom.] Which extended it ſelf unto the Red Sea.

And the Soul of the People was much diſcouraged becauſe of the way.] The word we tranſlate diſcouraged, ſignifies two things; to faint, and to breathe ſhort, through the anguiſh and bitterneſs of ones Spirit, VI Exod. 9. And ſecondly, to be angry at, or at leaſt impatient, by reaſon of ſome Trouble. And ſo it may be beſt taken in this place, (as Buxtorfius obſerves in Hiſtor. Serp. Aenei, cap. 1.) not ſimply for their being tired, with a tedious, long, and troubleſome March; but that accompanied with no ſmall Indignation and Wrath. Which did not only burn within, but broke out into words of great Impatience, as appears by what follows. Whence the Hebrew words Ketzar-Ruach (ſhort of Spirit) ſignifies Angry or Haſty, XIV Prov. 29. and in XXI Job 4. we tranſlate it troubled, and in XI Zach. 8. loathed: where it had better been tranſlated, I was angry with them. Now that which made the People thus fret, or faint, (if we will have it ſo interpreted) was the way wherein they were now led; which was about the Land of Edom. For when they were come towards Canaan, in the middle of the fortieth Year, (at the end of which they were promiſed to enter in and poſſeſs it) they are carried back again towards the Red Sea, whether God had ſent their Fathers, after they had brought a falſe Report upon the Land, XIV. 25. This made them think, perhaps, that they ſhould never come to Canaan; or, at leaſt, it was tedious to march ſuch a great way about, after they had been kept ſo long from their Inheritance, and were lately in ſuch hopes of it, when Moſes demanded a paſſage into it through the Country of Edom.

p. 401Ver. 5. And the People ſpake against God, and against Moſes.] This ſhows they were in a very great rage; which made them ſo forgetful of their Duty, as to charge God himſelf with ill Conduct. Whereas Verſe 5 their Fathers were wont only to murmur againſt Moſes and Aaron.

Wherefore have ye brought us out of Egypt.] The Hebrew word heelithunu (made us to go up) is a ſtrange word, (as Dr. Lightfoot calls it) in this Language: declaring the great fume they were in when they uttered it.

To die in the Wilderneſs?] As if they had ſaid (ſo Abarbinel explains it) what can we expect or hope for but Death, from this long ſtay in the Wilderneſs?

For there is no Bread, neither is there any Water.] For we want the moſt neceſſary things for the ſupport of Life (as he alſo well explains it) which they ſpake in a rage: for they had both, by a miraculous Providence over them. They themſelves immediately confeſs they had Manna; and they had lately received Water out of a Rock. But nothing would ſatisfie, unleſs they were brought to a Country, where Bread and Water was to be had without a Miracle. For the meaning of their Complaint was, that God did not deal with them as he did with other People, who (to ſpeak in our Phraſe) do not live from hand to mouth: As the Iſraelites did, who had Bread given them only to ſuffice for one day, and no more; and that ſuch Bread as they deſpiſed. It is likely alſo they began now to want Water again, which did not follow them, as formerly, out of the Rock: and what they had in their Veſſels, perhaps was near ſpent.

p. 402And our Soul loatheth this light Bread.] As for the Bread God beſtowed upon them, they were ſo far from being ſatisfied with it, that they loath it, and call it by the ſcornful Name of Light Bread. So we tranſlate the Hebrew word Hakkilkel: which, being the doubling of a word which ſignifies light or vile in that Language, imports as much as very deſpicable, exceeding vile; or, as the LXX. tranſlate it, very empty; having no Subſtance in it to fill their Stomachs. So Abarbinel expounds this paſſage, We are tired with long Journeys, which require more ſolid Bread than this to ſupport us.

Verſe 6 Ver. 6. And the LORD ſent fiery Serpents among the People.] So moſt of the Jews tranſlates this place; taking Seraphim for an Adjective (as Grammarians ſpeak) and conſequently rightly tranſlated fiery. But there are thoſe who take it to ſignifie a peculiar ſort of Serpents; being added to Nechaſhim (Serpents) by way of oppoſition (as they ſpeak) and ſignifying ſuch Serpents as the Greeks call foreign and foreign, whom Pliny reckons among the Sceleratiſſimi Serpentes, moſt pernicious Serpents, Lib. XXIV. cap. 13. Or, as others will have it, thoſe called foreign, becauſe they made great Inflamations in Mens Bodies, and an unquenchable thirſt; being alſo of a flame colour. But the famous Bochartus hath alledged a great many Arguments to prove, that they were a ſort of Serpents, called Hydrus, becauſe in Winter they lived in Fens and Marſhes; which being dried up in Summer, they were called Cherſydrus, becauſe then they lived in dry places, and in the hot Seaſon had a moſt ſharp, ſtinging Poiſon. Which, as Nicander ſaith, made ſuch Inflamations, as brought upon him that was ſtung by them, foreign, innumerable griefs. See Hierozoicon p. 403P. II. Lib. III. cap. 13. where he ſhows alſo they were flying Serpents, of which the Prophet Iſaiah ſpeaks, XIX. 29. XXX. 6. and that now was a hot Seaſon, wherein they were wont to be moſt venomous. For Aaron dying the first day of the fifth Month, (which anſwers to the nineteenth of our July) and they mourning for him thirty days; after which followed their encounter with the Canaanites, and then this murmuring, and this puniſhment; it muſt fall out in the latter end of August, when the Dog-days were going out. See Voſſius de Orig. & Progreſſu Idolol. Lib. IV. cap. 56.

And they bit the People.] This Aben-Ezra, and others, think was a Puniſhment ſuitable to their Sin; which was evil ſpeaking againſt the LORD, by calumniating his Providence. For Solomon compares a Calumniator to a Serpent, which bites if it be not charmed, X Eccleſ. 11.

It is a ſtrange fancy of Fortunatus Licetus, that Moſes here ſpeaks of a Diſeaſe bred in the Body, which in Children is called Dracunculus; and not of the biting of Serpents from without, Lib. de Ortu Spontaneo Viventium, cap. 51. For which there is no ground at all; and on the contrary, nothing more certain than that in Arabia, and Egypt, and other Countries of Africa, there are ſuch Serpents as are here deſcribed. Yet Bartholinus ſeems to think that his Opinion may be defended againſt Ezekiel de Caſtro who confuted it. See Epiſtol. Medic. Centur. I. Epiſt. 32.

And much People of Iſrael died.] The whole Wilderneſs through which the Iſraelites marched ſo many years, was full of fiery Serpents and Scorpions, as Moſes his words import, VIII Deut. 15. which makes it the more wonderful, that we never hear of their p. 404being bitten and killed by them, until now. But it is to be conſidered, that they were protected by the Cloud from this, and from all other dangers, (as the Hebrews well obſerve) which now withdrew its ſhadow from them, and let in the Serpents upon them. Or rather (as Moſes here expreſly ſaith) God who had hitherto kept them off, now ſent them; and perhaps brought them from remote parts of the Wilderneſs, to infeſt the whole Congregation.

Verſe 7 Ver. 7. Wherefore the People came to Moses, and ſaid, we have ſinned.] It doth not appear, whether they were immediately ſenſible of their Sin, and confeſſed it, upon the biting of the Serpents, and the direful effects of it; or ſtaid till there … …reat Mortality among them. It is likely they … made their Addreſſes to him: but before a Remedy was found out, by erecting the brazen Serpent, many of them periſhed.

For we have ſinned against the LORD, and againſt thee.] They make a particular Acknowledgment of their Guilt, as a Token of the Sincerity of their Repentance.

Pray unto the LORD, that he take away the Serpents from us.] In the Hebrew the words, take away the Serpent, in the ſingular Number, about which the Jews make a great many curious Obſervations, as if there was one evil Angel that governed them all. And if there be any truth in this Obſervation, we Chriſtians cannot but think theſe words point to the old Serpent, the Devil, who loſt Sting by the lifting up Chriſt on the Croſs, as the brazen Serpent, it here follows, was lifted up for the Cure of the biting of thoſe Serpents. But the ſimple truth is, that in this Language the Singular Number is often uſed collectively p. 405for the Plural. As in VIII Exod. 6. The Frog came up and covered the Land, i. e. a vaſt multitude of Frogs. And ſo Moſes ſpeaks in the place juſt now named, VIII Deut. 15. where he calls this Wilderneſs wherein they travelled, a place of a fiery Serpent and Scorpion, i. e. ſaith Jonathan, full of ſuch Creatures.

And Moſes prayed for the People.] Here R. Becai and others obſerve the great Meekneſs and Charity of M ſes; and thence draw this Inſtruction, That he of whom any one asks pardon for an Offence, ought not to be hard-hearted, but ready to forgive. Thus Abraham prayed for Abimelech, XX Gen. 17. Job for his Friends, XLII. 10. It would be a ſin to do otherwiſe, 1 Sam. XII. 19, 20, 23.

Ver. 8. And the LORD ſaid unto Moſes.] In anſwer to his Prayer.

Make thee a fiery Serpent.] The Figure of one of thoſe Serpents which bite the People. Abarbinel thinks that upon Moſes his Prayer the Serpents were removed; but ſtill there remained many among the People ſorely afflicted by the venomous effects of their biting; for whoſe Cure God graciouſly gave this direction.

It is ſomething ſtrange that any learned Chriſtian, ſhould ſo much admire the Egyptian Learning, as not to forbear the mention of their incantations of Serpents, when they ſpeak of this relation which Moſes makes, concerning the brazen Serpent which God ordered him to ſet up. Yet Sir John Marſham (in his Chronicon, ſect. 9.) when he comes to treat of this Station of the Iſraelites at Tſalmona, hath a long diſcourſe to ſhow how famous the Egyptians, and other Nations were in this ſort of Magick: and thus concludes it, that Moſes putting this brazen Serpent upon p. 406a Perch, non tam Serpentes igneos incantabat ne nocerent, quàm eorum venenum extinguebant, did not ſo much charm theſe Serpents that they ſhould not hurt, as extinguiſh their Venom. This ſeems to me a Scurvy intimation, that Moſes had their Practiſes in his Mind; but went beyond them. He ſhould have ſaid Moſes abominated their wicked Arts, (if they had any ſuch in thoſe days) and directed the Iſraelites to look up to God for healing. So the Jews themſelves, particularly Aben-Ezra; who takes notice that ſome Superſtitious People fancied that this Serpent was a Taliſman, made to receive I know not what Influence from the Stars. But God forbid, ſaith he, God forbid, we ſhould have any ſuch thought. This was made by the Divine order; the reaſon of which let us not ſcrupulouſly ſearch. They thought, that is, there was ſomething extraordinary in it, as Jonathan plainly declares in his Paraphraſe of the laſt words of this verſe; he ſhall be healed if he direct his heart to the Name of the WORD of the LORD. Where no Chriſtian can forbear to think of our Bleſſed Saviour, the Eternal WORD, who was prefigured (as I ſhall ſhow in the following verſe) by the erecting of this Serpent here mentioned, upon a Pole, that all might look upon him, and live.

And ſet it upon a Pole.] So high, that every one in the Camp might ſee it. For the word ſignifies ſuch a Pole as made their Enſign or Banner, to which all the Army was to reſort. Concerning this word Nes, See Booetius, Lib. II. cap. 4.

And it ſhall come to paſs that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it.] The Jews generally have ſo much underſtanding as to ſay, that the mere beholding of it did not cure them; but that they were to p. 407look up to God (as the Scripture ſpeaks) when they beheld it, and expect a Cure from him. So the Author of the Book of Wiſdom, XVI. 7. He that turned himſelf toward it, was not healed by the thing which he ſaw, but by thee that art the Saviour of all. And therefore he calls it, in the foregoing Verſe, A Sign of Salvation, to put them in remembrance of the Commandment of the Law.

Shall live.] Be cured, and reſtored to perfect health. Which the Jews think the greater Miracle, becauſe naturally it would have made the Inflamation greater. So Nachmanides; this rather would have increaſed the Diſeaſe; for they who are bit by venomous Beaſts (according to the Preſcriptions of Phyſicians) muſt not ſee the Image of the Beaſt by whom they are bitten: But this was commanded by God, that the Iſraelites might know, both their Diſeaſe and their Medicine came from God, who made that whoſe Aſpect was hurtful, to be the Means of their Cure.

Ver. 9. And Moſes made a Serpent.] Whence this Verſe 9 place ſeems to have been called Zalmonah, XXXIII. 41. which imports an Image, Similitude, or Reſemblance of a Thing repreſented by it. And another place thereabouts, as Dr. Lightfoot obſerves, called Maaleh Akrabbim, ſeems to have had its name from the ſame thing, it ſignifying the going up of Scorpions, XV Joſh. 3.

Of Braſs.] Polliſhed; that it might reſemble a Serpent of a flaming Colour; and being very glittering, might be the better ſeen far and near. So ſeveral of the Hebrew Writers, particularly Nachmanides and Abarbinel, who obſerve that God did not bid him make a Serpent of Braſs, but only a Saraph, v. 8. p. 408i. e. a Reſemblance of a Flaming Serpent: which could not be made ſo well of any other Metal as of Braſs; thoſe Saraphs (which we render fiery Serpents) being fiery Red, like Copper or Braſs. Of which there was good ſtore not far off from this place: for the next Station to Zalmonah, where they now were, was Punon, or Pinon, as Moſes tells us, XXXIII. 42. a place belonging to the Edomites, (who had an ancient Duke of this Name, XXXVI Gen. 41. 1. Chron. I. 52.) famous for Mines of Braſs, as Bochartus ſhows out of ſeveral of the Fathers; who ſpeak of foreign. From whence Moſes perhaps had this Braſs, Hierozoicon, P. II. L. III. cap. 13.

And put it upon a Pole.] As he had been directed in the foregoing verſe.

And it came to paſs, that if a Serpent had bitten any Man.] Which was not preſent Death, but made an Inflamation, and ſuch Ulcers (as ſome conceive) as were incurable.

When he beheld the Serpent of Braſs, he lived.] Though Naturaliſts ſay the ſight of Braſs was hurtful to thoſe who were bitten; yet hence they received their Cure: as the ſight of Chriſt crucified naturally filled his Crucifiers only with Anguiſh, when they beheld him whom they had pierced, and were convinced he was their Meſſiah; but by the Grace of God, became their only Salvation through Faith in him.

The Hebrews cannot but acknowledge a Myſtery in this brazen Serpent, as Moſes Gerundenſis calls it: which our LORD Chriſt himſelf hath explained in his Diſcourſe with Nicodemus, III John 14. As Moſes lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderneſs, even ſo p. 409must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whoſoever believeth in him, ſhould not periſh, &c. Where he doth not compare himſelf to the Brazen Serpent, (for what likeneſs can there be found between the Serpent and the Seed of the Woman; or how ſhould Light, before-ſhadowed by Darkneſs, as Dr. Jackson ſpeaks) but he compares the lifting up of this Serpent on the Pole, with his Lifting up, or Crucifixion on the Croſs. For ſo he himſelf expreſſes his Death, and the manner of it, XII John 32. And I, if I be lifted up from the Earth, will draw all Men unto me. And their looking on the Serpent in the Wilderneſs, as evidently repreſented Mens believing on Chriſt; and their Cure, the powerful Vertue of Chriſt's Death to preſerve all thoſe that believe on him from periſhing, (as he ſpeaks in the place named before) and procuring for them everlasting Life. For by his Death, our Saviour deſtroyed him that had the power of death, that is the Devil, (as the Apoſtle's words are, II Hebr. 14.) which was notably repreſented in this Brazen Serpent put upon a Pole: which was not a Figure of Chriſt, but of the old Serpent himſelf (the Devil) as wounded, bruiſed, and dead, by the Lifting up of Chriſt upon the Croſs; where he intirely diſarmed him of all his Power to hurt us.

I cannot tell whence Juſtin Martyr concluded, this Brazen Serpent to have been made in the form of a Croſs, as he ſaith it was in his Second Apology; unleſs we conceive it to have been made with Wings at the bottom of its Neck, which might give it that Figure. But his obſervation in his Book againſt Trypho (p. 322, 338.) ſeems very conſiderable; that there muſt be ſome Myſtery in it, that God, who forbad all manner of Images, ſhould now command one to be made: p. 410of which, he ſaith, one of the Jews confeſſed he could never hear a Reaſon from their Doctors. Who cannot underſtand it, till they believe in Chriſt and him crucified; whoſe Victory over the Devil, by his Croſs and Paſſion, was herein moſt lively repreſented. I ſhall only add, that this Lifting up the Brazen Serpent, was a thing ſo publick, and ſo well known to all Neighbouring Nations, that the fame of it, in all likelyhood, went into India. Where they ſtill ſet up an Idol in form of a wreathed Serpent, upon a Perch ſix or ſeven Foot high, which they ſolemnly worſhip. And carrying it along with them in their Travels, ſet it up every Morning for the Company to pay their Adorations to it. So Taverneir relates in his Travels to that Country, p. 28. And ſee the preſent Lord Archbiſhop of Canterbury's excellent Treatiſe of Idolatry, p. 351, &c. with Huetius his Demonſtr. Evang. p. 96. and his Quaeſtiones Alnetanae, cap. 12. n. 25. where he ſhows the Taliſmans, in all likelyhood, were an imitation of this Serpent. Of which the Jews were ſo fond, that they burnt Incenſe to it in the days of Hezekiah, and had done ſo we know not how long, 2 Kings XVIII. 4. Which may make it the leſs wonder, that the poor Indians ſhould worſhip a Serpent upon a Pole, when they that ſhould have underſtood better, committed ſuch a foul Idolatry, as to do Divine Honour to the Figure of the greateſt Enemy of God and of Mankind.

Verſe 10 Ver. 10. And the Children of Iſrael ſet forward.] After they had been at two other places; which Moſes now omits for brevitys ſake, becauſe he intended hereafter to give an exact account of all their Removals, at one view: Which he doth in the XXXIIId Chapter of this Book. See v. 41, 42.

p. 411And pitched in Oboth.] Where, it is probable, they found Water; of the want of which they complained. See XX. 2.

Ver. 11. And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched Verſe 11 in Jie-Abarim.] Not that Mount Abarim where Moſes died, (XXVII. 12.) but another place in the Confines of Moab, as it here follows. See what I have obſerved XX. 2.

In the Wilderneſs which is before Moab.] Called the Wilderneſs of Moab, II Deut. 8.

Towards the Sun-riſing.] On the East part of it, as Jephthah obſerves a great many Years after this, That they came by the East ſide of the Land of Moab, XI Judges 18.

Ver. 12. And from thence they removed.] As they Verſe 12 were about to remove from this laſt place, they received a Command from God, not to meddle with the Country of Moab, II Deut. 9. Which is the reaſon (as Abarbinel obſerves) that Moſes here ſets down briefly, whence and whether they went, and where they pitched; that it might appear they did not tranſgreſs that Command.

And pitched in the Valley of Zared.] Or, as ſome tranſlate it, in Nachal-Zared: which is called Dibon-Gad, XXXIII. 45. For this place had two Names, (as the ſame Author obſerves) and it was juſt eight and thirty Years ſince the Spies went up to Survey the Country, from Kadeſh-barnea till their paſſing this Brook, as we tranſlate it, II Deut. 14. But I take Dibon-Gad rather to have been a place which lay upon the Brook Zered.

Ver. 13. And from thence they removed, and pitched Verſe 13 on the other ſide of Arnon.] The Hebrew word meheber, may be tranſlated on this ſide, or on the other ſide. p. 412And ſome think they were now on this ſide of the River, and not yet gone over it. Nor did they immediately come hither from their former Station; but firſt to Almon-Diblathaim, XXXIII. 46. which is alſo called Beth-Diblathaim in the Wilderneſs of Moab, XLVIII. Jerem. 22. and Diblah, VI Ezek. 13. And then, paſſing by Ar in the Confines of Moab, and approaching to the Country of the Children of Ammon, God commanded them not to invade the Ammonites, being Deſcendants from Lot, as well as the Moabites, II Deut. 18, 19, 37. but to paſs over the River Arnon, (II Deut. 24.) to that ſide of it which belonged to the Amorites. For this River, at that time, divided the Moabites from the Amorites, as it here follows.

Which is in the Wilderneſs, that cometh out of the Coaſts of the Amorites.] Runs by the Wilderneſs of Kedemoth, unto which the Amorites extended their Dominion, II Deut. 26.

For Arnon is the Border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.] This River flowed from the Mountains of Arabia, where it had its riſe, and fell into the Dead Sea, (as Joſephus ſaith, Lib. IV. Antiq.) foreign, bounding the Country of the Moabites, and of the Amorites; the Country of Moab lying on one ſide of it, and that of the Amorites on the other. For though the Moabites formerly poſſeſſed the Country on both ſides of Arnon, as far as Heſhbon, yet the Amorites had driven them out of that part of it which lay next to them; and made the River the Boundary of their two Kingdoms, v. 26, 27. This Moſes recites the more exactly, that it might appear the Iſraelites invaded none of the Moabites Poſſeſſions, but what was now poſſeſſed p. 413by the Amorites. By which Jephthah defended the Right of the Children of Iſrael, in future times, againſt the Ammonites, who pretended this Country belonged to them, XI Judges 13, 14, 15, &c.

Ver. 14. Wherefore it is ſaid in the Book of the Wars Verſe 14 of the LORD.] A proof of this Moſes thought good to alledge out of an Authentick Record in thoſe Countries, containing the Hiſtory of all the Wars that had been in thoſe Parts: which are here called the Wars of the LORD, becauſe he is the great Governour of the World, (as Abarbinel interprets it) from whom and by whom are all things, who putteth down one, and ſetteth up another (as the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks) at his good pleaſure. This Book, he thinks, was written by ſome of the Wiſe men of thoſe Naons, (and ſo thinks Nachmanides) who looking upon this Conqueſt made by Sihon, as a very memorable thing, put it down in their Annals; which, after the way of thoſe Countries, were written, he thinks, in a Poetical manner. There are thoſe who are of opinion, that this Book was written by Moſes himſelf; who left in it directions to Joſhua, how to proceed in the Wars of the LORD, when he conquered Canaan. So Dr. Lightfoot conjectures; and Bonfrerius doth not much differ from him. But I take the former account to be the more probable, that Moſes juſtifies what he writes concerning this Conqueſt, out of their own Books; which he quotes, juſt as St. Paul in the New Teſtament, doth one of the Greek Poets.

What he did in the Red Sea.] Theſe are the words of the Book, out of which he quotes a ſmall Fragment. And the Marginal Tranſlation of them is moſt proper, Vaheb in Supheh, only the word eth is p. 414omitted, which makes the Sence to be this, against Vaheb in Supheh. That is, he came (ſome ſuch word muſt be underſtood) againſt Vaheb (a King of the Moabites) and overthrew him in Suphah, a place in the Frontiers of Moab. See I Deut. 1. Others underſtand by Vaheb the place where Sihon gave the Moabites this blow; which he did by falling upon them on a ſudden, with a terrible Fury. So Nachmanides underſtands theſe words beſuphah; he ſtormed the City, and made a furious Aſſault, when they thought not of it. For Suphah ſignifies a Whirlwind, or ſtormy Tempest, V Iſai. 28.

And in the Brooks of Arnon.] The ſame Nachmanides takes the word veeth, which we tranſlate and in, to ſignifie rather and with: and, theſe being ſtill the words of the Book before-mentioned, the ſence is this: In the ſame manner he ſmote the Brooks or Torrents of Arnon; upon which he fell like a Tempeſt, and carried all before him.

Verſe 15 Ver. 15. And at the Streams of the Brook.] None, I think, hath given a better account of theſe words, than the ſame Nachman, who by Eſched hannechalim, (which we tranſlate the Streams of the Brooks) underſtands either a Cliff from whence the Torrents flowed, (as Aſchdod and Happiſgah, III Deut. 17. are the Hills from whence the Springs guſhed) or the Valley through which the Torrents ran; where they made a great broad Water, which is here called an Effuſion of Torrents, as R. Levi ben Gerſhom interprets the Hebrew words, Eſched hannechabim.

That goeth down to the dwelling of Ar.] Which extends it ſelf as far as Ar, a City of Moab, v. 28. R. Levi ben Gerſom takes the word Schebet (which we tranſlate dwelling) to ſignifie a Place as well as p. 415Ar; towards which theſe Torrents bent their Courſe.

And lyeth upon the Borders of Moab.] Which leaneth or belongeth unto Moab, being in the Border of that Country.

Thus far are the words of the Book of the Wars of the Lord: And the meaning of them is, That the King of the Amorites took all theſe Places by a ſudden, furious Invaſion: which Moſes therefore punctually recites, to ſhow that the Country of the Moabites now reached no further than Arnon: All the Brooks, or Torrents, and all the Effuſions of Water as far as Arnon, (i. e. all the Country about them) being taken from them by the Amorites, in whoſe poſſeſſion it now was, and perhaps had been a long time. And therefore the Iſraelites took nothing from the Moabites when they conquered this Country, (as was ſaid before) nor from the Ammonites neither; part of whoſe Country the Amorites alſo had got from them, (III Deut. 11.) and the Iſraelites took from the Amorites, when they conquered Sihon and Og; and it fell to the ſhare of the Gadites, XIII Joſh. 25.

Ver. 16. And from thence they went to Beer.] A Verſe 16 Place which took its Name from the Pit or Well, which was here digged by God's order, as the next words tell us.

That is the Well whereof the LORD ſpake unto Moſes.] That is, ſaith Abarbinel, that Place was remarkable for the Well that God gave us, of his own accord, without our Petition; which he prevented by bidding Moſes dig it for us.

Gather the People together, and I will give them Water.] Which they now again wanted, being removed from the River Arnon; but did not murmur about p. 416it, as they had done formerly: and therefore God moſt graciouſly, when he ſaw their Diſtreſs, provided it for them.

Verſe 17 Ver. 17. Then Iſrael ſang this Song.] This extraordinary Kindneſs of God, which prevented their Prayers, and gave them Water out of his own good Pleaſure alone, (as Abarbinel ſpeaks) tranſported them with ſuch Joy, that it made them expreſs their Thankfulneſs in this Song.

Spring up, O Well.] As ſoon as they ſaw Moſes, and the Princes, thruſt their Staves into the Earth, and the Water began to bubble up, they ſaid with a loud voice, Come up, O Well; that is, let Waters flow abundantly to ſatisfie us all.

Sing ye unto it.] Or, as it is in the Margin, Anſwer unto it. The manner of the Hebrews was anciently to ſing their Songs of Praiſe alternately, as appears from XV Exod. 20. And ſo one Company having ſaid, Spring up, O Well, (which it's likely they repeated often) they called to the reſt to anſwer to them; which they did, I ſuppoſe, in the following words.

Verſe 18 Ver. 18. The Princes.] i. e. The LXX. Elders, and Heads of the Tribes.

Digged the Well.] Very eaſily, only turning up the Earth with their Staves.

The Nobles of the People digged it.] The other ſide of the Quire, perhaps, took up the Song again, repeating the Sence of what the former Company had ſaid.

By the direction of the Law-giver.] Or, Together with the Law-givers, who began the Work, and whoſe Example they followed.

p. 417With their Staves.] With no more labour but only thruſting their Staves into the Ground, and turning up the Earth. For, as R. Levi ben Gerſom takes it, the Ground here being Sandy and very ſoft, was eaſily penetrated; though they were not likely to find Water in it. But they believing Moſes, and following his direction, God ſent it copiouſly unto them; and with no more pains, than a Scribe takes when he writes with his Pen. For ſo he tranſlates the Hebrew word Mechokek (which we render Law-giver) a Scribe, or Doctor of the Law.

And from the Wilderneſs.] Mentioned v. 13.

They went to Mattanah.] This, and the place following, are otherwiſe named in the XXXIIIth Chapter, as the forenamed ben Gerſom underſtands it. But others think theſe were not Stations (which alone Moſes gives an account of in the XXXIIIth Chapter) where the Iſraelites pitched their Tents, but Places through which they paſſed, till they came to the Station, from whence they ſent to Sihon for leave to paſs through his Country.

Ver. 19. And from Mattanah to Nahahel, &c.] This, Verſe 19 as well as the place next mentioned in this verſe, ſeems to have been on the Borders of Moab.

Ver. 20. And from Bamoth in the Valley.] Rather, From Bamoth (which ſignifies a very high place) to the Valley. Or, it may be tranſlated from Bamoth a Valley (that is, there is a Valley) in the Field of Moab, &c. unto which they came next; for ſome ſuch thing muſt be underſtood.

That is in the Country of Moab.] Or, near to it.

To the top of Piſgah.] Or, To the beginning (as the Hebrew word Roſch may be interpreted) of the high Mount Piſgah. That is, they pitched at the foot of p. 418it, where the Mountain began: which Mountain was a part of the Mountains of Abarim, as appears from XXXII Deut. 49. XXXIV. 1.

Which looks towards Jeſhimon.] Or, Towards the Wilderneſs. For ſo R. Levi ben Gerſom interprets it; to a Land that was ſhemumah, untilled and deſolate, viz. to the Wilderneſs of Kedemoth: where they pitched and ſettled their Camp; and from thence ſent Meſſengers to Sihon.

Verſe 21 Ver. 21. And Iſrael ſent Meſſengers to Sihon King of the Amorites.] Theſe Meſſengers were ſent from the Wilderneſs of Kedemoth, which was in the Skirts of his Country, (II Deut. 26.) or lay juſt upon it: For there was a City of this Name in that Country, which was given to Reuben, in the Diviſion of the Land, XIII Joſh. 18.

Verſe 22 Ver. 22. Let me paſs through thy Land.] They do not ſeem to deſire a Paſſage through the midſt of his Country, but only the extream Parts of it; which would have much ſhortned their Journey to the Fords of Jordan.

We will not turn into the Fields, or into the Vineyards, we will not drink of the Waters of the Well, &c.] This is the very ſame civil Meſſage which they ſent to Edom, XX. 17. By whoſe Example they preſſed Sihon to grant them, at leaſt, as much as the Edomites and Moabites had done. See II Deut. 28, 29.

Verſe 23 Ver. 23. And Sihon would not ſuffer Iſrael to paſs through his Border.] This ſhows that they askt only to paſs through the Skirts of his Country. See II Deut. 30.

But Sihon gathered all his People together.] He not only refuſed to grant their Requeſt; but came in an Hoſtile manner, with all the Forces he could p. 419raiſe, to oppoſe their paſſage over Arnon.

And went out against Iſrael into the Wilderneſs.] From whence they ſent their friendly Meſſage to him, v. 21. which Moſes in II Deut. 26. calls, Words of Peace.

And he came to Jahaz.] A City, it is probable, belonging to the Moabites; whether the Iſraelites, perhaps, retreated when Sihon denied them a Paſſage through his Country. For Iſaiah plainly mentions Jahaz, as a place either in the Country of Moab, or near it, XV. 4. and Jeremiah alſo, calling it Jahazah, XLVIII. 21.

And fought against Iſrael.] Who had orders from God, not to decline the Battle (as they did with the Edomites and the Moabites) and aſſured them of Victory, II Deut. 31. For they were Amorites, whoſe Country God promiſed to Abraham, (XV Gen. 21.) being part of the Canaanites, whom they were commanded to deſtroy; for they were deſcended from one of the Sons of Canaan, X Gen. 16. Which made this War with them to have a juſt ground; not becauſe they denied the Iſraelites a Paſſage through their Country, againſt the right of Nations, as Grotius thinks, (which was but the occaſion, not the ground of the War) but becauſe they were one of the Seven Nations condemned by God to deſtruction, (whoſe Land he beſtowed upon the Iſraelites, III Joſh. 10.) and becauſe Sihon came out armed againſt them, beyond the Bounds of his own Dominions; and fell upon them, when they had given him no provocation.

Ver. 24. And Iſrael ſmote him with the edge of the Verſe 24: Sword.] Utterly overthrew his Army; and, putting p. 420them all to the Sword, made themſelves Maſters of his Country.

And poſſeſſed his Land.] For they deſtroyed all the Inhabitants, Men, Women and Children, II Deut. 33, 34.

From Ammon unto Jabbok, even unto the Children of Ammon.] This is a brief Deſcription of the Extent of Sihon's Country; which reached from the River Arnon, the bound of the Moabites Country on the South (XXII. 36.) unto Jabbok, which was the bound of the Ammonites Country on the North, III Deut. 16. XII Joſh. 2. XIII. 10. But they meddled with no place that lay upon the River Jabbok, which belonged to the Ammonites; for that God had forbidden, II Deut. 37. By which Jephthah (as I obſerved before) Two hundred and ſixty Years after this, juſtified the Title of the Iſraelites to all the Country here mentioned; which they took not from the Ammonites, or Moabites, but from the Amorites, who were the Owners of it, when they conquer'd it, XI Judges 13, 15, 22, 23. For Sihon had got half of their Country, as well as part of the Country of Moab, as appears from III Deut. 11. and from XIII Joſh. 25. Where it is plain, Joſhua gave the Gadites half of the Country of the Children of Ammon, which was now taken from the Amorites, who had diſpoſſeſſed them. Joſephus deſcribes it as lying between three Rivers, like an Iſland; for the Banks of Arnon were the Bounds of this Region on the South ſide; and Jabbok on the North, which running into Jordan, loſt its Name; and the Weſtern Tract of it was waſht by Jordan it ſelf: and on the East part it was ſurrounded with the Mountains of Arabia.

p. 421For the Border of the Children of Ammon was ſtrong.] This is not mentioned here as a Reaſon why the Iſraelites did not ſet upon their Country, (for they were expreſly forbidden to do it, II Deut. 19.) but why Sihon conquered none of the Ammonites Country beyond Jabbok, (as he did all from Arnon thither) becauſe their Frontiers on that ſide of their Country were very ſtrong, by the Fortifications, which it is likely, they had made upon the River.

Ver. 25. And Iſrael took all theſe Cities.] All the Verſe 25 Cities of that Country, which lay between Arnon and Jabbok: Some of which are named v. 30.

And Iſrael dwelt in all the Cities of the Amorites.] Having deſtroyed the former Inhabitants, as I noted before, II Deut. 34.

In Heſhbon.] Even in their Royal City.

And in all the Villages thereof.] In Hebrew the Daughters; as Villages and Caſtles are called, which depend upon the Metropolis, as Daughters on their Mother.

Ver. 26. For Heſhbon was the City of Sihon the King Verſe 26 of the Amorites.] He had made this the Seat of his Kingdom, after his Conqueſt of this Country. Which Moſes obſerves (together with what follows) that it might appear to Poſterity, they Invaded no part of the Moabites Territories, or of the Ammonites, but what was in the quiet poſſeſſion of the Amorites, who had taken this Country from them, and perhaps in a juſt War, and long enjoyed it.

Who had fought against the former King of Moab, &c.] It is not certain that this Sihon, whom the Iſraelites now vanquiſhed, had diſpoſſeſſed the Moabites of this Country; but more likely ſome of his Anceſtors, who were all called by the Name of Sihon, (as the Kings p. 422of Paleſtine were all called Abimelech, XX Gen. 2. XXVI. 1. and the Kings of Egypt called Pharaoh) who had fought, not with the preſent King of Moab, but with one of his Predeceſſors, and conquered him and his Country.

The former King of Moab.] Theſe words are not to be underſtood, as if he fought with the King of Moab, who immediately reigned before Balak: but, as I ſaid, with ſome of his Predeceſſors. So the LXX. foreign, that heretofore was King of Moab: and in the Hebrew the words are literally, The King of Moab, the first: perhaps, of the preſent race.

Verſe 27 Ver. 27. Wherefore they that ſpeak in Proverbs.] In the Hebrew the words are, wherefore the Proverbialiſts: that is, the Poets, whoſe Compoſures, in thoſe days, were very Sententious.

Say.] Have this Song in their Mouths: which ſeems to have been compoſed by ſome of the Amorites, upon the Victory which Sihon got over the Moabites; particularly upon the taking of Heſhbon; which, I ſuppoſe, he beſieged immediately upon the Routing of their Army. This Moſes thought good to inſert in his Hiſtory, as an Evidence that this Country belonged to the Amorites, when the Iſraelites ſubdued it. Thus he quotes a common Saying about Nimrod, to juſtifie what he writes of his Greatneſs. See X Gen. 9.

Come into Heſhbon.] The words either of Sihon calling to his People; or of the Amorites exhorting one another, to go to Heſhbon, and help to repair the Ruins that had been in it by the War, that it might become the Royal City of their Country. For that's the meaning of the following words.

p. 423Let the City of Sihon be built and prepared.] Let that Place which Sihon hath choſe for his Seat, be built up again, and made fit for his Reception.

Ver. 28. For there is a Fire gone out of Heſhbon.] Verſe 28 Now the Poet riſes into a Rapture, and Prophecies the Conqueſt of the whole Country, by the Army of Sihon marching out of Heſhbon. For in the Prophetical Language, the Deſolations made by War, are compared to the Fire, and to Flames, which conſume all they come near, I Amos 7, 10, 12, 14. II. 2, 5.

A Flame from the City of Sihon.] This is but a Repetition (as the manner is) of what was now ſaid in other words; expreſſing the certainty of this Preſage.

It hath conſumed Ar of Moab.] He ſpeaks as if he already ſaw the thing done which he foretold: though it never came to paſs. For they did not conquer Ar, which remained in the poſſeſſion of Moab in Moſes his time, as appears from II Deut. 9, 18, 29. But in his Poetical heat, (or fury, as they ſpeak) he inſults as if they had actually taken the Capital City of Moab. For ſo Ar was; and afterwards called Rabbath, and Rabbath-moba, i. e. the great City of Moab; to diſtinguiſh it from Rabbah-Ammon, i. e. the great City of the Ammonites. For ſo we find in Stephanus (de Ʋrbibus) foreign (it ſhould be foreign as Bochartus hath truly corrected it, in his Preface to his Phaleg.) which he calls foreign. For Ar, as I ſaid, was the old Name of it, II Deut. 29. XVI Iſa. 1. from whence came the name of foreign, which it retained in later Ages.

p. 424And the Lords of the High-places of Arnon.] The Maſters, or Owners (as the word Baale may be tranſlated) of the High-places, &c. i. e. thoſe that dwell in the ſtrongeſt Forts of the Country. Or, as ſome fancy, the Prieſts of the Places are here meant; or, rather their Temple where Baal was worſhipped. For we find a place in this Country called Bamoth-Baal, XIII Joſh. 17. The High-places of Baal. And it is evident, this Poet triumphs in this foreign over their Gods and their Religion, as well as over them.

Verſe 29 Ver. 29. Wo unto thee, Moab.] He goes on to foretell the Calamity of the whole Country.

Thou art undone, O People of Chemoſh.] So he calls the Moabites, who ſerved (as the Chaldee tranſlates it) or, worſhipped Chemoſh as their God: For ſo we read he was, XLVIII Jerem. 7, 13. 1 Kings XI. 7. XI Judges 24. which St. Hierom thinks differs from Baal-Peor only in Name. See Voſſius de Orig. & Progr. Idolol. Lib. II. cap. 8. Some take Chemoſh to be Saturn; particularly Scharaſtanius: the manner of whoſe Worſhip ſee in Dr. Pocock's excellent Annotations in Specim. Hist. Arab. p. 316. I ſhall only add, That as the Moabites are called the People of Chemoſh, becauſe they worſhipped him as their God, ſo the Iſraelites are called the People of the LORD, and the People of God, becauſe they worſhipped the LORD alone, V Judges 11. 2 Sam XIV. 13. For in the Days of Paganiſm, as Mr. Mede obſerves, every Country, nay every City, had their proper and peculiar Gods, which were deemed as their Guardians and Protectors: From whence the Nations themſelves are expreſſed by the Name of their Gods. That is evident from this place; but it is not ſo plain, that when God threatens to deliver p. 425up Iſrael to ſerve other Gods, he means giving them up into the Hands of the People of ſtrange Countries; which he takes to be intended in IV Deut. 28. XXVIII. 64. XVI Jerem. 16, &c. See Book IV. p. 977. And ſo he thinks the words of David may be expounded, 1 Sam. XXVI. 19. They have driven me out this day from abiding in the Inheritance of the LORD, ſaying, Go ſerve other Gods; i. e. baniſhed me into the Country of Idolaters. See Book III. p. 823. where this is more largely explained.

He hath given his Sons that eſcaped, and his Daughters into Captivity, unto Sihon King of the Amorites.]

This is a manifeſt triumph over their god Chemoſh, who was not able to ſave his Worſhippers (whom he calls his Sons and his Daughters, i. e. his Children) who were under his Protection. No, he could not ſo much as preſerve thoſe that eſcaped the fury of the Sword, but they were afterward taken Captive; to make up part of the Triumph of Sihon King of the Amorites.

Ver. 30. We have ſhot at them, Heſhbon is periſhed Verſe 30 even unto Dibon.] The Hebrew words, vanniram abad Heſhbon ath Dibon, may as well, if not better, be tranſlated their Light is periſhed (or taken away) from Heſhbon unto Dibon. So Forſterus in his Lexicon, and the Tigurin Verſion, and others. That is, their Glory is gone, from one end of the Country to the other. For Heſhbon and Dibon were two famous places in this Territory, XIII Joſh. 17. And ſome think this is the place called Dibon-Gad, XXXIII. 45. Which was the more noted, becauſe there Nebo, one of their Gods, was worſhipped. For in XV Iſai. 2. Dibon is mentioned as one of their High-places; and there Nebo is lamented, i. e. their God which was there p. 426worſhipped. When Heſychius ſaith, foreign (which no doubt is this Dibon) foreign, a Place where the Moabites had a Temple. See Selden de diis Syris, Syntagm. 2. cap. 12.

We have laid them waſte even unto Nophah.] Another place in that Country, as appears by the words following.

Which reacheth unto Medeba.] That is, the Territories of Nophah extended as far as Medeba, which was certainly a place in the Country of Moab, XV Iſai. 2. But the word reacheth is not in the Hebrew, and the words without it may be thus truly tranſlated, and as far as Medeba. For ſo the Hebrew Particle aſcher is ſometimes uſed to ſignifie ſimply and, as VI Eccleſ. 12. aſcher mi, and who can tell, &c. So here aſcher ad, and unto, &c.

And here I think fit to note, That it is likely theſe Verſes were ſome part of the Hiſtory of thoſe Countries: For a Poetical way of writing was in uſe before Proſe, as Strabo tells us, Lib. I. Geograph. p. 18. where he ſaith, foreign, &c. All ſet or artificial Speech, (whether Hiſtorical or Rhetorical) was but an imitation of Poetical Compoſitions; the Ancients knowing no other: Cadmus, and Pherecydes, and Hecataeus, being the firſt who brought in this form of writing now in uſe. See Salmaſius in Solinum, p. 841. and Cuperus in his Apotheoſis Homeri, p. 55. However, this is certain, that they who would inſtruct the People, put their Leſſons into Verſe, as Strabo there ſhows: where he ſays, p. 15. foreign, &c. The Ancients call Poetry the first Philoſophy, forming our Lives from tender years, teaching good manners, governing p. 427the paſſions and actions with pleaſure. For which cauſe the Greeks inſtituted their Children in their Cities by Poety, foreign, not merely for the ſake of bare delectation, but to form them to ſobriety.

Ver. 31. Thus Iſrael dwelt in the Land of the Amorites.] Verſe 31 This he mentions again, to make it the more obſerved, that this was the Country of the Amorites, into which the Children of Iſrael entred, not of the Moabites; who had been expelled out of it, as was notoriouſly known; there being a Song in every Bodies mouth, which continued the memory of it.

Ver. 32. And Moſes ſent to ſpy out Jaazer.] Another Verſe 32 City formerly belonging to Moab, but now in the poſſeſſion of the Amorites. Which the Iſraelites did not take at the firſt; but after they had conquered all the Country before-mentioned, they ſent ſome Men to bring them Intelligence, which way it was beſt to attack that City alſo, and the Country about it. It was not far from Mount Gilead, 2 Sam. XXIV. 5, 6. 1 Chron. XXVI. 31. and both of them were famous for good Paſture, and therefore given to the Tribe of Reuben and Gad, who had much Cattle, XXXII of this Book, 1, 3, 4, 35, 36. After the ten Tribes were carried Captive from their own Land, it fell into the Hands of the Moabites again; as may be gathered from XLVIII Jerem. 32.

And they took the Villages thereof.] As well as the City it ſelf.

And drove out the Amorites that dwelt there.] If it had not been poſſeſſed by them, they would not have meddled with it.

p. 428Ver. 33. And they turned.] Or, returned (as the LXX. have it) from Jaazer.

And went up by the way of Baſhan.] A famous Verſe 33 Mountain (LXVIII Pſal. 15.) lying more Northerly than the Country of Sihon, and belonging alſo to the Amorites; where was very rich Paſture, and an excellent Breed of Cattle, XXXII Deut. 14. XXII Pſal. 12. and ſtately Oaks, XXVII Ezek. 6.

And Og the King of Baſhan.] The whole Country of which he was King, had its Name from that Mountain, and was called the Kingdom of Og in Baſhan, III Deut. 10. where he is ſaid, as well as Sihon, to be a King of the Amorites, v. 8. and v. 11. that he was of the Remnant of the Giants, or of the Rephaim; who were a mighty People in that Country of Baſhan, (See XIV Gen. 5.) which in after Ages was called Batanaea.

Went out against them.] To oppoſe their Paſſage.

He, and all his People.] With all the Men of War in his Country.

To the Battle at Edrei.] A City near that Country, afterward called Adara, as St. Hierom tells us in his Book de Locis Hebraicis. He offered the Iſraelites Battle; which, by God's order, they accepted.

Verſe 34 Ver. 34. And the LORD ſaid unto Moſes.] That he might report it to the People.

Fear him not.] They had reaſon to be courageous, (and not affrighted, becauſe he was a Giant) having lately overcome a mightier King than he; of which God puts them in mind in the end of this verſe.

For I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his People, &c.] For their greater incouragement, he adds his Promiſe, on which he bids them rely, as if p. 429they ſaw it already done, that he would give them the Victory over Og, and all his Forces, and beſtow upon them his Country. This Hiſtory Moſes reports more at large, III Deut. 1, 2, 3, &c.

Ver. 35. So they ſmote him, and his Sons, and all his Verſe 35 People, until there was none left him alive.] After they had overthrown him and his Army, they purſued the Victory, till they had deſtroyed all the People of the Country. Some part of which held out longer than the reſt, (as appears from XXXII. 39, &c.) but at length was wholly ſubdued by Jair the Son of Manaſſeh, who had all the Region of Argob given him for his pains, XXXII. 41. III Deut. 14.

And they poſſeſſed his Land.] Wherein were ſixty walled Cities, beſides a great many ſmall Towns, III Deut. 4, 5. XIII. Joſh. 30. All which was given to the half Tribe of Manaſſeh, III Deut. 13. XIII Joſh. 29, 30. 1 Kings IV. 13.