Commentary on Exodus, Commentary · Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
Verſe 1. NOW Moſes kept the Flock.] So Moſes was taken from the Sheepfold (as David was in after times) to be the Ruler of God's People, LXXVII Pſal. 70. For as hunting of wild Beaſts (ſaith Philo) is proper to Men of a Martial Genius, and fits Men to be Captains and Generals of Armies; ſo the feeding of Sheep is foreign, &c. the beſt Exerciſe and Preparation for a Kingdom, and the gentle Government of Mankind. Clemens Alexandrinus hath the ſame Notion, and the ſame words, L. I. Strom. p. 345. God's Power alſo herein appeared the more wonderful, that he delivered his People from the Egyptian Tyranny, by one that was contemptible, or rather abominable to that Nation, viz. a Keeper of Sheep.
Of Jethro.] It is moſt likely that Reuel mentioned in the foregoing Chapter, Ver. 18. was now dead; to whom Jethro his Son ſucceeded in that Principality where he Ruled: for it was now Forty years ſince Moſes came firſt into Midian.
His Father in Law.] This ſhows that the Seven Daughters ſpoken of II. 16. were the Children of Jethro and Reuel their Grandfather: unleſs we will ſay, as a great many do, that Jethro had two Names. Nay, they fancy he had three, being called Hobab they think, IV Judg. 11. where Hobab is ſaid to be the Father in Law of Moſes. But the word Son is there to be ſupplied (which in other places is ſometime to be underſtood) he ſeeming to be Jethro's Son, Brother to Zipporah: And accordingly is ſaid, X Numb. 29. to be Son of Raguel the Midianite, i. e. of Jethro, as many underſtand it. See there.
And he led the Flock to the backſide of the Deſert.] Or as St. Hierom underſtands it, ad interiora deſerti, to the inner parts of the Deſert (where there was better Paſture, than in the place where he was before) to which he was conducted, by the Providence of God, who intended here to reveal himſelf more fully to him.
And came to the Mountain of God, even to Horeb.] Sheep delight to feed on Mountains, as Bochart obſerves out of Theocritus and Virgil. Whence ſuch mountainous Places are often called in Homer foreign, Sheep-walks; they being wont to feed there, as Euſtathius and Heſychius interpret it. See Hierozoic. p. 1. L. II. c. 46. And this is called the Mountain of God, becauſe when Moſes wrote this Book there had been a Divine appearance upon Horeb; which St. Stephen calls Sinai, VII Acts 30. For Horeb and Sinai ſeem to have been two tops of one and the ſame Mountain: which it is plain by this was not far from the Country of Midian. We underſtand alſo by St. Stephen's words, when this fell out, viz. after he had dwelt Forty years in Midian: for ſo long, it is certain, he continued there, VII Exod 7. But how he imployed all that time, we are not told. No doubt, in ſomething elſe than meer feeding Sheep. For, being learned in all the Egyptian Wiſdom, we may well think he both taught others, and made alſo great improvements himſelf; in ſtudying the Records of that, and all other Neighbouring Countries: and beſides, received it is likely Divine Revelations. There are thoſe likewiſe, who think he now wrote the Book of Job, to comfort the Iſraelites, by the example of his admirable Patience, under their heavy Oppreſſions in Egypt: and the Book of Geneſis alſo; that they might the better underſtand what Promiſes had been made to their Noble Anceſtors, Abraham, Iſaac and Jacob; and that the Time drew near when they would be fulfilled.
It is noted by Ludovicus Capellus in his Chronolog. Sacra, that the Number Forty was much obſerved in the Adminiſtrations of Divine Providence: Moſes being XL years old when he fled into Midian, and ſtaying there another XL years, and then leaving the World in the end of the next XL years of his Age. It was ſo many years before the Iſraelites got to Canaan, after they were delivered out of Egypt. Forty days Moſes continued with God in the Mount; both the firſt and ſecond time of his going up thither. So many days the Spyes were in ſearching out the Land: and the Iſraelites had juſt ſo many Manſions in the Wilderneſs. Their firſt Judge governed juſt XL. years; and the next twice as many. Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Eli all judged XL years: and ſo long David reigned.
Ver. 2. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him.] So St. Stephen alſo, VII Acts 30. By which ſome underſtand the Eternal WORD, the Second Perſon in the Bleſſed Trinity. But I think he is not called ſimply an Angel any where, but with ſome addition, as the Angel of the Covenant: for it would be a dangerous inſinuation, that he was but a meer Creature. Yet I believe he is not here to be excluded: for I take this to have been the Appearance of the SCHECHINAH; which comprehended both the LORD himſelf, and the Angels that attended him, as his Miniſters. One of which now appeared ſo gloriouſly, that he ſhowed God to be preſent: and accordingly we find, in the following words, that he himſelf ſpake to Moſes. And thus the LORD is ſaid to have ſent his Angel, when they cried to him, and brought them out of Egypt, XX Numb. 16. Which Angel is called Michael by Menachem; and the ſame which they alſo call Goel, who redeemed Jacob from all evil, XLVIII Gen. 16.
In a flame of ſire.] The Glory of the LORD (as the SCHECHINAH is frequently called) appeared in a flaming manner like fire: exceeding bright, and with an amazed ſplendor. So it appeared, though not ſo bright, when the firſt Promiſe was made of their Deliverance, XV Gen. 17, 18.
Out of the midst of a Buſh.] To ſhow, ſay the Jews, in Pirke Eliezer, Cap. XL. that God was preſent with them, in their great Affliction and Tribulation: which was repreſented by this Buſh of Thorns or Briers (for ſo the Hebrew word ſignifies, ſuch a Buſh as pricks thoſe that touch it) or, as the Prophet Iſaiah ſpeaks, LXIII. 9. in all their affliction he was afflicted. And by his Providence ordered things ſo, that their Affliction did not conſume them, but rather multiplied and increaſed them; for, as it there follows, the Angel of his preſence ſaved them. And thus Euſebius tells us (in the latter end of L. V. Demonſtr. Evang. c. 13.) ſome Chriſtians underſtood it, foreign, &c.
This Fire alſo in the Buſh might be intended to ſhow, that God would there meet with the Iſraelites, and give them his Law in Fire and Lightning; and yet not conſume them. For this is the place where God, after they came out of Egypt, delivered the Law to them: which thence was called Sinai (ſaith the fore-named Author in Pirke Elieſer) from this Buſh; which in Hebrew is Sene, and ſignifies in Arabick a Thorn-buſh: whereas before this it was called Horeb, from its drineſs and barrenneſs, as that word imports.
And behold the Buſh burnt with ſire, and the Buſh was not conſumed.] The Heathens had either read, or heard of this wonder, as appears by Artapanus who mentions it (in Euſebius, L. IX. Praepar. Evang. c. 27.) but he diſguiſes it and miſreports it; ſaying it was a Fire which ſuddenly broke forth out of the Earth, and flamed, foreign, when there was no Matter, nor any kind of Wood in the place to feed it. But in the next Chapter but one an ancient Tragaedian reports it exactly, ſaying juſt as Moſes doth here, That the Buſh burnt in a great fire, and yet remained intire and green in the ſlame, which he calls foreign, the greateſt Miracle. The meaning of which I have already explained, in the foregoing Obſervation. There is a Story ſomething like this in Dion Pruſaeus, Orat. XXXVI. where he ſaith the Perſians relate concerning Zoroaſter, that the Love of Wiſdom and Vertue leading him to a Solitary Life, ſeparate from Company, upon a Mountain, he found it one day all in a flame, ſhining with Celeſtial Fire: out of the midſt of which he came without any harm, and inſtituted certain Sacrifices to God, who then he made account appeared to him. Which Joh. Henricus Ʋrſinus a good while ago endeavoured to prove, was nothing elſe but a corruption of this Apparition to Moſes. And Huetius lately (in his Demonſtr. Evang. Propoſ. IV. Cap. V.) had made ſuch a laborious compariſon between what is ſaid of Moſes and of Zoroaſter, as is ſufficient to make it probable the ancient Perſians derived their Religion from theſe Books of Moſes.
Ver. 3. And Moſes ſaid, I will now turn aſide.] It ſeems this glorious Appearance, was not directly before him, but on one ſide of him, and ſome diſtance from him.
And ſee this great ſight.] This wonderful Appearance; or, as Philo tranſlates it, foreign, this moſt ſtupendious and aſtoniſhing Sight or Viſion.
Why the buſh is not burnt.] A Fire which did not burn (that is, conſume what it laid hold on) was very amazing. Yet the Gentiles did not think ſuch things incredible, as appears out of Seneca in his Thyeſte, where he ſpeaks of a Foreſt which appeared all on a flame, without fire: and out of Lucan, and divers other Authors, among the Pagans, produced by the Learned Huetius in his Queſtiones Alnetanae, L. II. Cap. XII. n. 10.
Ver. 4. And when the LORD ſaw that he turned aſide, &c.] It is plain by this, that the LORD himſelf was here preſent: his Angels being but Attendants, as I ſaid, upon his Majeſty. See XXII Gen. 11.15.
God called unto him out of the midſt of the Buſh.] He now calls him God, whom juſt before he called LORD. Both which are ſometimes put together, as comprehending all the Divine Attributes. Maimonides, who makes Eleven Degrees of Prophecy (or Divine Communications to Men) juſtly thinks this the very higheſt of all, and it was peculiar to Moſes, to hear God himſelf ſpeaking to him in a Viſion, when he was intirely awake.
And ſaid, Moſes, Moſes.] He repeats his Name, to excite his attention. And ſome take it for a token of Familiarity. See XLVI Gen. 2. This is called by Gregor. Nyſſen (de Vita Moſis, p. 172.) foreign, &c. a Voice of that Light, or Splendour: i. e. of the Divine Majeſty which appeared to him.
And he ſaid, here am I.] A common expreſſion of readineſs to hearken and to obey.
Ver. 5. And he ſaid, draw not nigh hither.] He commands him to keep his diſtance, and not to approach nearer to him. This, and what follows, plainly demonſtrate what I ſaid before, that this was an Appearance of the SCHECHINAH, or Divine Majeſty; to whom he could not pay too great a Reverence.
Put off thy ſhoes from off thy feet.] Many frivolous Reaſons have been given of this Precept, as may be ſeen in Braunius, L. I. c. 3. de Veſtitu Sacerd. Hebr. But the plain Reaſon is immediately added in the Text, becauſe the place where he ſtood was holy: into which it was irreverend to enter with their Shoes on; becauſe thereby it might be defiled with the dirt that adhered to them. Certain it is, that in the Temple afterwards, the Prieſts officiated barefoot; and all the Eaſtern People came into their Holy Places in the ſame manner: which Juſtin Martyr thinks they learnt from this Example of Moſes. But Mr. Mede's Opinion ſeems truer, That Moſes did not give the firſt beginning to this Rite; but it was derived from the Patriarchs before him, and tranſmitted to future Times from that ancient general Tradition. For we find no Command in the Law of Moſes, for the Prieſts performing the Service of the Tabernacle without Shoes; but it is certain they did ſo, from immemorial Cuſtom: and ſo do the Mahometans and other Nations at this day. See Mr. Mede, Book II. p. 442, &c. and p. 516. And Huetius in his Demonſtr. Evang. Propoſ. IV. Cap. XI. Sect. 2.
The place whereon thou ſtandest is holy ground.] It was made holy by the ſpecial Preſence of God, which was now there, who is moſt holy, and makes every thing relating unto him to be holy alſo. For thus the Tabernacle, the Temple, and the Utenſils thereof, with all things deſtined to the Divine Service, were called holy.
Ver. 6. Moreover he ſaid, I am the God of thy Father.] i. e. Of Amram: who it ſeems was a very pious Man.
And the God of Abraham, the God of Iſaac, and the God of Jacob.] Who were ſo dear to him, that he made a Covenant with every one of them (which is the reaſon he is diſtinctly called the God of each of them) as Maimonides obſerves, More Nev. P. III. c. 51. from XXVI Lev. 42. And this Covenant was that he would be their God after a peculiar manner. For otherwiſe, he was the God of Noah, and of all the holy Patriarchs before him: but he is called the God of Abraham, Iſaac and Jacob for a peculiar reaſon, becauſe of the Promiſe made to theſe three of the bleſſed Seed which ſhould ſpring from them; in oppoſition to the Pretenſions of other Neighbouring People; who (as the Learned Dr. Alix obſerves) were their Rivals in that Hope. Theſe words being as much as if he had ſaid, the God of Abraham, and not of Lot, as the Ammonites and Moabites pretended: the God of Iſaac, and not of Iſhmael, as his Poſterity pretended: the God of Jacob, and not of Eſau, as the Edomites boaſted.
And Moſes hid his face.] In token of Humility, Submiſſion and Reverence. So Elijah did in after times, 1 Kings XIX. 12. Nay, the Angels cover their faces in the preſence of God, VI Iſa. 2.
For he was afraid to look upon God.] The Splendour of the Divine Majeſty was ſo great, that it dazled his Eyes; and he was not able to behold it. For though he ſtirr'd not a ſtep further, after God prohibited him to come nearer, yet we may ſuppoſe him to be now nearer to it, than he was at the firſt, (Ver. 3.) and it's Glory alſo was much increaſed.
Ver. 7. And the LORD ſaid, I have ſurely ſeen the affliction, &c.] To ſee ſignifies more than to obſerve and take notice; including in it ſuch Reſolutions of Divine Providence, as would certainly produce their Deliverance. For the doubling of the Expreſſion (seeing I have ſeen, as it is in the Hebrew) denotes there was no doubt of it.
And have heard their cry.] Both this and the next Phraſe, know their ſorrows, ſignifie more than the ſimple words hear and know import, viz. ſuch a regard to their miſerable Condition, as moved him to order ſpeedy Relief to be given them.
Ver. 8. And I am come down to deliver them.] I now appear unto thee, for that purpoſe.
Out of the hand of the Egyptians.] From their tyrannical Power.
And to bring them up out of that Land.] Where they are Strangers, and uſed as Slaves.
Into a good Land.] A fruitful Country of their own.
And a large.] Where they ſhall not be pent up ſo as they are in Goſhen. And if it were conſidered according to the Extent of the Original Promiſe, it was large and ſpacious indeed, even from the River of Egypt unto Euphrates, XV. Gen. 18.
Ʋnto a Land flowing with Milk and Honey.] By which Phraſe the Poets expreſs the greateſt Plenty; as Bochart ſhows out of Euripides, Horace, Ovid, &c. Hierozoick. P. II. L. IV. c. 12. For abundance of Milk and Honey argue a Country to be well watered, fruitful, full of fair Paſtures and Flowers: from whence the Flocks may fill their Duggs with Milk, and the Bees their Cells with Honey. Aelian L. III. de Hiſt. Animal. c. 35. ſaith, the Goats of Syria (which includes this Country) afford ſuch plenty of Milk, as is in no other Country.
Ʋnto the place of the Canaanites, &c.] See concerning all theſe People here mentioned, XV Gen. 19, &c.
Ver. 9. Now therefore behold, the Cry of the Children of Iſrael is come up to me, &c.] This was ſaid before, Ver. 7. but here repeated, as a reaſon of the Commiſſion he intended immediately to give to Moſes, to go and Deliver them.
Ver. 10. Come now therefore, and I will ſend thee unto Pharaoh, &c.] Leave thy Flock; for I have another more weighty Buſineſs, wherein I will imploy thee. For thou ſhalt go with my Authority to Pharaoh; and command him not only to Releaſe my People out of their Servitude, but to let them go alſo out of Egypt. He had called them by the Name of his People, Ver. 7. and now mentions it again, to incourage their hope, that he would take care of his own.
What Pharaoh this was (it being a common Name to all the Egyptian Kings) is very much diſputed. The common opinion is, that after Orus (in whoſe time Moſes ſled into Midian, Acenceres (or Acherres) reigned Twelve years; and after him Achoris reigned Seven years more; and then ſucceeded Cenchres, the worſt of them all, to whom Moſes was now ſent. But Clemens Alexandrinus tells us that Apion (a great Enemy of the Jews, and who wrote againſt them) mentioning their going out of Egypt (in his fourth Book of his Hiſtory of Egypt) ſaith, it was in the the reign of Amoſis. For which he quotes Ptolomaeus Mendeſius an Egyptian Prieſt, who wrote three Books about their Affairs, in which he ſaith, foreign, L. I. Stromat. p. 320. But Tacitus calls him Bocchoris, or as ſome read it, Occoris, L. V. Hiſt. c. 3.
That thou mayest bring forth my People, &c.] From this time we are to conſider God as the King of this People: Not in general only, as he is Lord of the whole World; but in a proper and peculiar manner. For whatſoever Authority or Power of Juriſdiction the Kings of other Nations did exerciſe over their Subjects (as Power of Life and Death, of making Laws and Leagues, &c.) the ſame Prerogative did the Lord of Heaven and Earth reſerve to himſelf alone, over the Children of Iſrael. Upon which ground, as Dr. Jackſon well obſerves, Moſes was delegated to be his Ambaſſadour to the King of Egypt; and conſtituted (it appears by the whole Story) his Deputy or Viceroy over Iſrael.
Ver. 11. And Moſes ſaid unto God, who am I, that I ſhould go unto Pharaoh, &c.] He modeſtly declines the Service, conſidering how mean a Perſon he was, in compariſon with Pharaoh; and how unable to do any thing for the Iſraelites. He had felt ſome extraordinary motion in himſelf, Forty years ago; which he took to be an Indication, that God would uſe him as an Inſtrument of their Deliverance, (See Chap. II. v. 11, 12.) but at that time he was a far greater Man than now; and had more intereſt at Court: the Princeſs who adopted him for her Son being then perhaps alive, or having leſt him what made him very conſiderable. In ſhort, he was then the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter; but now a poor Shepherd.
Ver. 12. And he ſaid, Certainly I will be with thee.] In anſwer to his Objection, God bids him depend on this; that he would preſerve him by a ſpecial Providence, from being hurt by Pharaoh. So Maimonides ſhows this Phraſe (I will be with thee) ſignifies in Scripture, More Nev. P. III. c. 18. And the conſidence which God wrought in him of this, gave him Courage and Reſolution: which is alſo denoted by this Phraſe, as he ſhows, P. II. c. 38. For all the Prophets were endued with an extraordinary Fortitude and Magnanimity; which was in Moſes above all the reſt: he encountering a great King, and all his Court and People, barely with a Staff in his hand.
And this ſhall be a Token to thee that I have ſent thee; when thou hast brought forth the People out of Egypt, ye ſhall ſerve God upon this Mountain.] This could not be a Token to him now, but was afterward: when God by his Power brought them to this very place, to worſhip him, according to this Promiſe, upon this Mountain. In the mean time, there were many other Tokens God gave him (as we find in this Hiſtory) which were all confirmed by this at laſt.
Ver. 13. And they ſhall ſay unto me, What is his Name? What ſhall I ſay unto them?] This doth not argue that they knew not what the Name of their God was; for they and their Fathers had been long acquainted with him: and they cried unto him, and he heard them (II. 23, 24.) But Moſes being the firſt that ever ſpake to Men in the Name of God, (none of the Patriarchs, either before the Flood or after it, having ſaid any ſuch words as theſe, God hath ſent me to you: the Lord commands me to bid you do ſo or ſo, as Maimon. obſerves in ſeveral places of his More Nevoch. P. I. c. 63. P. II. c. 39.) is was natural for the Iſraelites to ask him by what Name, or peculiar Attribute, God had made himſelf known unto him, ſo as to authorize him to ſpeak to them, as never any Man before did. He had ſpoken unto Noah and unto Abraham, &c. but it was only for their own Inſtruction; He never bid them deliver any Meſſage unto others: and yet it is obſervable, that upon particular occaſions, he ſtill made himſelf known to them by different Names or Titles. As he ſaith to Abraham, XV Gen. 7. I am Jehovah, who brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees. But XVII. 1. he ſaith, I am Elſhaddai. And to Iſaac he ſaith, I am the God of thy Father Abraham, XXVI. 24. To Jacob he adds, I am the LORD God of thy Father Abraham, and the God of Iſaac, XXVIII. 13. And after this, I am the God of Bethel, XXXI. 13. No wonder then that Moſes ſhould think the People would expect, upon ſo great an occaſion, when he came to them as an Ambaſſadour from Heaven, that the God of their Fathers ſhould ſpeak to them in a New Stile, beyond all that had been known in former days.
Ver. 14. And God ſaid unto Moſes, I AM THAT I AM.] That is, ſaith Maimonides, in the place above-named; He that neceſſarily Exiſts. He who ſo is, that he muſt needs be. Or as ſome tranſlate it, I will be what I will be; i. e. the Eternal Immutable Being, (ſo Elmacinus interprets it, the Eternal that never dies) who am faithful to my Promiſes; and will be to you, what I told your Fathers I would be. Whatſoever I ſaid in the days of Abraham, concerning the giving the Land of Canaan, I will certainly perform; for I change not.
Thus ſhalt thou ſay to the Children of Iſrael, I AM hath ſent me unto you.] The former words were a Declaration of God's Nature to Moſes; and in theſe he bids him, in brief, only ſay to the Iſraelites that he was ſent by him Who is. That is (as was ſaid before) neceſſarily Exiſts: always was, and ever will be. Who alters not; but by whatſoever Name he makes himſelf known, is ſtill the very ſame God. Which was a Name not unknown to the Gentiles, as one would think by the word EI; which was inſcribed in the front of the Delphick Temple (as Plutarch tells us) and was nothing elſe but the contraction of EIMI, which ſignifies, I AM. Or if we take EI to be an intire word (as it is commonly thought) ſignifying thou art, Ammonius rightly underſtood it to be foreign, (as Plutarch reports his word, in a Treatiſe on this Subject) the moſt abſolutely perfect Name and Compellation of God. For God, ſaith he, in the other Inſcription on the Temple, ſpeaks to us who approach him, ſaying to every one KNOW THY SELF: and we are taught to anſwer to him again, in the words of this Inſcription, THOƲ ART: aſcribing to him foreign, &c. that true, undoubted, and only Appellation which belongs to him alone. For he only is; we are not, &c. Thus he declares this word, to expreſs moſt perfectly the Divine Eſſence; which is diſtinguiſhed hereby from all falſe Gods. See Euſebius, L. XI. Praep. Evang. c. 11. and in the two foregoing Chapters; where he takes a deal of pains to ſhow that Plato borrowed this Notion of foreign, a Being that is always, but had no beginning, from theſe words of Moſes. And Numenius a Pythagoraean ſpeaks it more plainly, when he ſaith, foreign, that which is; is eternal and ſtedfast, always the very ſame without variation. And no wonder theſe Men, if they met with this Paſſage in Moſes, were highly pleaſed with it; for St. Hilary himſelf tells us, that he lighting upon theſe words (as he was muſing about God and Religion) before he was a Chriſtian, was ſtruck with admiration: there being Nothing ſo proper to God as to be. And therefore he thought it worthy of God, to ſay of himſelf, I AM THAT I AM, and HE THAT IS (ſo he tranſlates the laſt words) hath ſent me unto you; L. I. de Trinitate.
Ver. 15. And ſaid moreover unto Moſes, Thus ſhall thou ſay, &c.] For a further Explication of what he had now ſaid, and a further Satisfaction of their Minds.
The LORD God of your Fathers, the God of Abraham, &c.] The Name JEHOVAH (as we pronounce it) ſeems to be in ſenſe the ſame with Ehjeh, before mentioned. Which, as it declares his Nature, ſo the word God added to it, expreſſes his Favour, Care and Providence. And conſequently he bids Moſes tell the Children of Iſrael, that He who is the Eternal, was the God of their Fathers, of Abraham, Iſaac and Jacob: To whom he had made many Promiſes that he would be gracious to their Poſterity. This was ſufficient for them to know of him.
This is my Name for ever, and this is my Memorial, &c.] Some refer the firſt words (this is my Name) unto the foregoing Verſe, I AM: and the next, (this is my Memorial) to thoſe which immediately preceed, the LORD God of your Fathers: which in truth include the whole, Jehovah being the ſame with I am. And the meaning is, I will be for ever remembred, celebrated, praiſed and invoked, by the Name of the LORD God of your Fathers, &c.
Ver. 16. Go, and gather the Elders of Iſrael together.] The word Elders in theſe Books, ſometime ſignifie the Men of the great Sanhedrin, as they ſpake in after times (or the Judges in the Higheſt Court) XXI Deut. 2, &c. Sometimes the Judges in the Lower Courts, XIX Deut. 12. XXII. 15. Sometimes it only ſignifies the Heads of the Tribes, as here in this place: For now there were no ſuch Courts of Judicature conſtituted. See Selden. Ʋxor. Hebr. L. I. Cap. XV. Some indeed (particularly Corn. Bertram) think it reaſonable to ſuppoſe that the Iſraelites had Judges among them, all the time they dwelt in Egypt, though not mentioned in Scripture; as they had, no doubt, a Form of Religion, though we read nothing of it. And Moſes, he thinks, is here ordered to ſend for theſe, who were their Rulers, and adminiſtred Publick Affairs among them. But there is this Argument againſt it, that after this time, when Moſes had brought them out of Egypt, there were no ſuch Judges among them, but Moſes (as we find XVIII Exod.) judged all himſelf, to his exceeding great trouble. And therefore by Elders we are here to underſtand only the Wiſeſt and graveſt Men of the Nation, who were in greateſt eſteem among them (as Mr. Selden afterwards ſpeaks, L. I. de Synedr. Cap. XV. p. 523, &c.) or, as was ſaid before, the Heads of their Tribes. The famous H. Grotius confirms this, by a nice Obſervation, that both here and Ver. 18. they are barely called Zikne, not Hazikne, becauſe there was not as yet, certum Collegium, ſed ſola qualitas denotatur (as he ſpeaks L. de Imp. Sum. Poteſt, circa Sacra, Cap. XI. n. 15.) a certain Colledge or Society of them, but their quality only is denoted. And no doubt the word always ſignified Men of Dignity, or chief Rank among others, both among the Iſraelites, and among the Egyptians; as I have obſerved on XXIV Gen. 2. L. 6.
And ſay unto them, The Lord God of your Fathers, &c.] See this explained, Ver. 6.
Hath appeared unto me.] Ver. 2, 4.
Saying, ſurely I have viſited you.] So Joſeph, when he died, aſſured them God would do, L Gen. 24. where I obſerved to viſit them, was to bring them out of Egypt. And ſo it ſignifies here, as is evident from what God ſaid to Moſes when he appeared to him, v. 8. I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. Which was not yet actually done, but ſo abſolutely decreed in the Mind of God, that he might ſay he had already done it. Or the word Pakad may be tranſlated here, as it is elſewhere, I have remembred you, (1 Sam. XV. 2.) that is, ſo as to reſolve to deliver them. And then the next words may depend on this,
And that which is done to you in Egypt.] For the word Seen is not in the Original. But either way, it relates to what God ſaith to Moſes, Ver. 7, 9.
Ver. 17. And I have ſaid.] Determined, or reſolved.
I will bring you out of the affliction of Egypt, into the Land of the Canaanites, &c.] See v. 9.
Ver. 18 And they ſhall hearken to thy voice.] A great incouragement to carry this Meſſage to the Elders of Iſrael: which God promiſes to incline their hearts to receive and obey.
The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us.] We have received a ſpecial Command from the Eternal God, whom we, and our Fore-fathers, worſhip: who hath appeared to us.
And now let us go (we beſeech thee) three days journey into the Wilderneſs. They intended to go quite away; but at firſt are directed to demand only to go as far as Mount Sinai: which was but three days Journey from Egypt, if they went the neareſt way to it. For this they were humble Petitioners; which is implyed in thoſe words, We beſeech thee.
That we may Sacrifice to the LORD our God.] When they delivered this Meſſage to Pharaoh (V. 1.) they call it holding a Feast to him: which was to be made upon the Sacrifices that they offered. For Ver. 3. of that Chapter, they ſpeak in the ſame Phraſe, which is uſed here.
Ver. 19. And I am ſure the King of Egypt will not let you go.] God underſtood before hand the hardneſs of his heart; and that he would not yield; no not to let them depart for three days, much leſs for altogether.
No not by a ſtrong hand.] In the Margin, But by a ſtrong hand; i. e. by cutting off all the Firſtborn in the Country: till which, he knew Pharaoh would be obſtinate.
Ver. 20. And I will ſtretch out my hand.] As the hand of God ſignifies his Power, ſo the ſtretching it out, ſeems to ſignifie the exciting of that Power in mighty Deeds.
Smite Egypt with all my wonders.] The Hebrew word for wonders, comes from a Root, which imports ſomething ſingular, and not common. Such were all the Plagues God ſent upon Egypt, which made them the more wonderful.
After that he will let you go.] They grew ſo terrible, at laſt, that he was afraid the next ſtroke would be upon his own Perſon: which made him content to diſmiſs them.
Ver. 21. And I will give this People favour in the ſight of the Egyptians, &c.]. Diſpoſe their hearts to be kind to them, ſo that they ſhould readily furniſh them, with any thing they deſired.
Ver. 22. But every Woman ſhall borrow.] The word Shaal is of a doubtful meaning: for it ſignifying, in general, to ask or to pray, one may pray another, either to give or to lend. And if the Iſraelites askt their Neighbours to beſtow ſuch things upon them, as are here mentioned; and they out of a deſire to be rid of them, or hoping ſpeedily to recover their Goods, granted their Requeſts; no wrong was done to them. And if they borrowed them of the Egyptians, it was by the Authority of God, whoſe the World is and the fulneſs thereof: and who doth no Man any wrong when he is pleaſed to transfer what he enjoys, unto another. See more XI. 2. XII. 35.
Of her Neighbour and of her that ſojourneth in her Houſe.] By this it appears that the Egyptians were intermixt with the Hebrews, in the Land of Goſhen: and ſo might the more eaſily go along with them when they left Egypt; as many of them did, XII. 38.
Jewels of Silver, &c.] Rather, Veſſels of Silver, &c. Which were of greater uſe to them than Jewels; unleſs they pretended to deck up themſelves, for the Feaſt they were to keep. See more XI. 2. XII. 36.
And ye ſhall ſpoil the Egyptians.] Not by Rapine or Stealth, but by their own Conſent.