their Court which was in the Gate For there as I observed XXXIV Gen. 24. all Publick Business was transacted in the time of Abraham and Jacob and continued so afterward Insomuch that the highest Court in Moses his time met at the Door of the Tabernacle XI Numb 24. the Gate among the Hebrews being the same with the Forum as I observed among the Romans As we see by 1 Kings VII 1. where Elisha foretells at what low rates Provision should be sold on the morrow in the gate of Samaria Where it is evident there was a place so spacious that Ahab assembled Four hundred Prophets there before him and King Jehoshaphat who had no doubt both of them numerous Attendants 2 Kings XXII 10. And before this time David it is said upon the news of Absolom's Death went up to the Chamber over the Gate and wept which we may well think was the Council Chamber 2 Sam. XVIII 33. And when Joab advised him to come down and show himself publickly it is said he rose and sat in the Gate and all the People came before him XIX 6. And therefore in these Gates which were so large there was some place I make no question where there were Benches for the Judges Which the LORD thy God giveth thee throughout thy Tribes In the Cities of every Tribe there was to be such a Court erected that People might have Justice easily and speedily done them And the Talmudists unanimously agree that the number of Judges was proportionable to the greatness of the City wherein they were placed and of the Causes which they judged Where there were less than an Hundred and twenty Families in any Town or City there was seated the lowest Court of all consisting of three Judges which tried only Actions of Debt or Damages done by Man or Beast or Defamation c. But in Cities where there were above an Hundred and twenty Families there was placed an higher Court consisting of Three and twenty Judges who tried Capital Causes Josephus indeed differs from the Talmudists about the number for he saith they were but Seven Both of them it is likely may say true with respect to different times and places for it cannot but be presumed that both he and they understood the state of their Country in such Publick Matters But at the place where God chose to settle his Sanctuary unto which all the Country resorted at certain times there was the Supream Court of all consisting as the Talmudists say of Seventy Persons besides their President who judged all manner of Causes and none but they could judge a false Prophet or a City fall'n to Idolatry All Appeals were made to them but from them there was none their Sentence being final See Selden Lib. II. de Synedr Cap. IV. Such a Court it is certain there was in future Ages whose number was according to that of the Seventy Elders chosen by God himself to assist Moses in the Government and indued with the Spirit of Judgment to qualifie them for that Office XI Numb 25. In Moses his time they sat at the Door of the Tabernacle as I observed before and afterward at Shiloh or wheresoever the Sanctuary was Though it may be doubted whether after Moses his death and the death of the Elders there was a Court consisting of so many Judges Nay it is highly probable that this Consistory it self was not constantly settled there according to Law till the time of Jehosaphat at least not the Inferior Consistories before-mentioned which were to be settled in every City For if they were what Reason can be given why the Judges V Judg. 10. X. 4. XII 14. and Samuel should ride Circuit up and down the Country to minister Justice according to the Law when the People might have had it every day in their several Cities And for this Reason it is likely Jehosaphat himself desiring to put this Law in force first sent some great Men who went about through all the Cities of Judah 2 Chron. XVII 8 9. and then settled Judges according to this Law throughout all the fenced Cities of Judah City by City as well as in Jerusalem 2 Chron. XIX 5 8. See Mr. Thorndike in his Rights of the Church in a Christian State Chap. IV. p. 226. where he observes that Josephus in express terms rendring a Reason of the great Leudness upon which the War against Benjamin followed attributes it to this that these Courts of Judgment were not established according to this Law Lib. V. Antiq. Cap. II. But though this I think be very evident yet it is scarce credible that David after he was set upon the Throne of God in Peace did not take care to settle these Courts as he did to regulate a great many other things And indeed we find a plain intimation of it in 1 Chron. XXVI 29. but succeeding Kings it is probable were negligent in keeping up this Constitution till the time of Jehosaphat who exercised his Authority to inforce the exact practice of this Law And they shall judge the people with just judgment According to the Rules of this Law The Judges saith R. Solomon were to judge the People and the Officers to constrain them to do as the Judges commanded Ver. 19. Thou shalt not wrest judgment See XXIII Exod. 6. Thou shalt not respect persons See XIX Levit. 15. Verse 19 and I Deut. 17. Neither take a gift for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise and pervert the words of the righteous The very same is said XXIII Exod. 8. Verse 20 Ver. 20. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow The words in the Hebrew are far more emphatical as they are in the Margin justice justice shalt thou follow Mind nothing but the justice of the Cause and do it to all Persons equally That thou mayest live and inherit the Land which the LORD thy God giveth thee Be happy and continue long in the Land of Canaan For nothing contributes more to the Establishment of a Government than the exact and impartial Administration of Justice Verse 21 Ver. 21. Thou shalt not plant thee a Grove of any Trees near unto the Altar of the LORD thy God which thou shalt make thee It is evident from this that his great aim is to keep them from Idolatry which he still pursues as he hath done from the beginning of his Exhortation in this Book And their History teaches us that it was very needful to inculcate this so often for notwithstanding all that Moses could say they fell immediately after Joshua's death into the idolatrous Customs of Canaan and could never be wholly purged from their Idolatry till the Captivity of Babylon And these words may be translated Thou shalt not plant thee a Grove nor make any Wood i. e. a wooden Image near to the Altar of the LORD thy God So the LXX for the very word we translate Grove sometimes imports the Idol in the Grove as well as the Grove it self See 2
the Jews did not differ in its form or substance from that which commonly fell in those Countries and doth so at this Day But herein consisted the Miracle that he gave it them in a prescribed Measure and so abundantly as to suffice such a vast Number and that every Morning in all Seasons of the Year This made it a Divine Manna for the common fell only in small Quantities and not always but at some times in the Year That he might humble thee This word is commonly understood of humbling by Affliction which may seem not to belong to Manna For that was a singular Benefit being an excellent Nourishment and of a delicious Taste But they having nothing else beside this to live upon were soon tired with it as we find XI Numb 6. and much more did it seem an Affliction to them to live upon one thing alone for forty Years together And God intended by it to humble them at the same time that he was extraordinary kind to them And that he might prove thee Whether they would be thankful that they were not starved and submit to his wise Providence and obey his Laws which they had the greater reason to observe because it was evident they owed their very Life and Being to him every Moment For without new Supplies every Day from Heaven they had been famished in that desolate Wilderness And do thee good at thy latter end That in Conclusion his kindness to them might be more thankfully received and more safely enjoyed So Maimonides expounds this Passage in his More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XXIV God was pleased to accustom them to labour in the Wilderness that he might increase their happiness when they came into the Land of Canaan For this is certain A transition from labour to rest is far sweeter than continual rest Nor could they so easily have subdued the Land and overcome the Inhabitants of it unless they had indured some hardship in the Wilderness For rest and idleness takes away Mens Courage but labour and hard fare augments it And this is the good saith he which was in the issue to redound to them by this wise dispensation of God's Providence Verse 17 Ver. 17. And thou shalt say in thine heart my power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth Such vain Conceits are apt to arise in Mens minds if they preserve not a sence of God and of all his Mercies to them Verse 18 Ver. 18. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth Continually call to mind that they owed all they had and the increase of it to his Almighty Providence without whom they could never have gotten possession of this Land nor have prospered in it That he may establish his Covenant which he sware unto thy Fathers c. He would have them sensible of their own unworthiness also which would make them more grateful to him of all the Blessings God had bestowed on them and acknowledge them to his meer goodness and fidelity to his Promises for they had been a murmuring and rebellious People Ver. 19. And it shall be if thou do at all forget the Verse 19 LORD thy God Luxury and Pride the usual effects of Fulness naturally made them unthankful and unmindful of God And neglect of God's Service made them easily fall to Idolatry And walk after other Gods and worship and serve them The two last Expressions are the Explication of the first for then they walked after the Idols of the People as Onkelos paraphrases it when they worshipped and adored them It is evident by this that the drift of Moses in all this Discourse is as I observed before to press upon them the first and great Commandment I testifie against you this day that ye shall utterly perish See IV. 26. Ver. 20. As the Nations which the LORD destroyeth Verse 20 before your face He speaks in the Present Tense because he was about to destroy them and when he began he destroyed them by little and little VII 22. and there were still more to be destroyed So shall ye perish because ye would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God It was but just that they should perish as those Nations did because they fell into their Sins Chapter IX CHAP. IX Verse 1 Verse 1. HEar O Israel He begins a new Exhortation to them at some distance of time from the former but still aiming at the same thing to represent to them the danger of Idolatry Thou art to pass over Jordan this day That is shortly not long hence for it cannot be meant precisely all these things being spoken in the eleventh Month of the last Year of their Travels and they passed not over Jordan till the first Month of the next Year Between which and this time Moses died and they mourned a whole Month for him To go in to possess Nations A Country inhabited by Nations for the People themselves they were to destroy Greater and mightier than thy self Whom notwithstanding God would deliver up into their Hands Cities great and fenced up to Heaven As the Spies had represented them I. 28. and they were indeed very strong Cities whose Walls could not easily be scaled Verse 2 Ver. 2. A People great and tall XIV Numb 28 32. The Children of the Anakims whom thou knowest Who seem to have been the chief of those Nephilim or Rephaim which we sometimes translate Giants in those parts XIII Numb 22 28 33. Of whom thou hast heard say who can stand before the Children of Anak A common Proverb in those days The Children of Anak being so famous that the whole Nation as Bochartus thinks took it's Name from them For Bene-Anak i. e. Children of Anak or Pheneanak is easily changed into Phaenicia These Anakims were vanquished by Joshua who drove them out of the Cities where they dwelt and made them flee to the Philistims Where a Remnant of them seem'd to have liv'd till the days of David For Goliah and his Brethren Lahmi Sippai and Ishbibanob 1 Chron. XX. 4 c. were Anakims and so was that Man with six Toes on each Foot and six Fingers on each Hand 2 Sam. XXI 16. for they were all born at Gath which was one of the Cities to which the Anakims fled XI Josh 22. Some think that from hence Kings among the Greeks were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because commonly they chose those to rule over them who were Persons of a great Stature and carried Majesty in their Faces But it is not improbable as I observed before that some of the Anakims fled into Greece and settled there when they were driven out of Canaan Ver. 3. Vnderstand therefore this day Settle this Verse 3 therefore in your Minds before you go over Jordan as undoubted truth That the LORD thy God is he that goeth before thee Over Jordan III Josh 3 4 c. As a consuming fire Before
and Dizabah There was a place called Hazeroth where they had encamped a long time ago XI Numb 35. XXXIII 17. but it was in another Wilderness far from this place as appears by the account Moses gives of their Removals from that place to this where they now lay XXXIII Numb 17 48 49. And therefore I take this and the other three places here mentioned to have been frontier Towns in the Country of Moab which lay upon the borders of this Plain The last of which Dizabah is translated by the LXX and the Vulgar as if it signified a place where there were Mines of Gold Onkelos and the Hierusalem Targum who take Suph to signifie the Red Sea and Paran for the Wilderness through which they had come many years ago c. are forced to add several words to make out the sense of this Verse in this manner These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan c. reproving them because they sinned in the Desert and provoked God in the Plain over against the Red Sea and murmured in Paran about Manna and at Hazeroth for Flesh c. And so they proceed to mention other Sins committed in other places but not in these here named which they force from their natural sense to comply with this Conceit Verse 2 Ver. 2. There are eleven days journey from Horeb c. Or eleven days we were a coming from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir unto Kadesh-Barnea Which cannot be understood of the whole time they spent between these two places but only of the time they spent in travelling For they stayed a Month at Kibroth-Hattaavah and a Week more at Hazeroth XI Numb 21. XII 15 16. before they came to Kadesh-Barnea This he represents to them to make them sensible they had been kept in the Wilderness so many years as had passed since they came out of Egypt not because it was a long way to Canaan but for the reason mentioned in the XIVth of Numbers For from Horeb whither he order'd them to go when they came out of Egypt they came in eleven days and took no long Journeys to the borders of the Land of Canaan where Kadesh-Barnea lay So Maimonides the way was plain and known between Horeb whither God brought them on purpose to serve him and Kadesh which was the beginning of an habitable Country according to what he saith XX Numb 16. See More Nevochim P. III. Cap. L. See XIII Numb 26. By the way of Mount Seir. The Country of the Edomites Chapt. II. v. 12. Vnto Kadesh-Barnea How they were ordered to come hither and what they did here he relates v. 6 19. and so proceeds to give an account of several remarkable things which befell them unto the time when he wrote these things which he sets down in the next Verse Ver. 3. And it came to pass in the fortieth year Verse 3 After they came out of Egypt In the eleventh month on the first day of the month In the first Month of this fortieth Year they came into the Wilderness of Zin unto another Kadesh XX Numb 1. From whence they removed to Mount Hor where Aaron died on the first Day of the fifth Month of this Year See there v. 28. Where it appears v. 29. they mourned for him thirty days that is till the beginning of the sixth Month. In which they fought with King Arad XXI Numb and from Mount Hor travelled from place to place as we read there and XXXIII Numb till they came to these Plains of Moab In which Journeys and in the rest of the Transactions mentioned in the latter end of the Book of Numbers they spent the other five Months of this Year as I have observed in their proper places And now began the eleventh Month when Moses being to leave the World before the end of this Year spake all that follows in this Book And this Speech which he begins v. 6. and continues to the fortieth Verse of the fourth Chapter the great Primate of Ireland thinks he made to the People on the twentieth of February and on the Sabbath-day as the Reader may find in his Annals That Moses spake unto the Children of Israel according unto all that the LORD had given him in Commandment unto them Made a Rehearsal of all that at several times he had received from the LORD and delivered unto them Ver. 4. After he had slain Sihon the King of the Amorites Verse 4 which dwelt at Heshbon About five Months ago for it was after Aaron's death which was the first Day of the fifth Month XXXIII Numb 38. and they mourned for him all that Month. See XXI Numb 21 c. And Og the King of Bashan which dwelt at Astaroth This was a City in the Country of Bashan XIII Josh 31. and a City it was of very great Antiquity as appears from XIV Gen. 5. See there From whence some think the famous Goddess Astarte had her Name being here worshipped But whether that Goddess took her Name from this City or the City from the Goddess is not certain as Mr. Selden observes in his Syntagma II. de Diis Syris cap. 2. But that the Heathen Deities were wont to have their Names from the Groves Mountains Cities and Caves where they were worshipped is as certain as it is uncertain from whence Astarte or Astoreth as the Scripture Name is was so called In Edrei His Royal Palace was at Astaroth as Sihon's was at Heshbon but he was slain in Edrei XXI Numb 33. Verse 5 Ver. 5. On this side Jordan in the Land of Moab In the Plains of Moab before they passed over Jordan See v. 1. Began Moses to declare this Law saying To call to remembrance that which any one had forgotten and to explain that which any one did not understand So Maimonides expounds these words in Seder Zeraim In the end of the fortieth Year in the beginning of the Month Shebat Moses called the People together saying The time of my Death draws near if any one therefore hath forgot any thing that I have delivered let him come and receive it or if any thing seem dubious let him come that I may explain it And so they say in Siphri If any one have forgotten any Constitution let him come and hear it the second time if he need to have any thing unfolded let him come and hear the Explication of it For which he quotes this Verse and says that Moses spent all his time in this from the beginning of the Month Shebat to the seventh day of Adar And what he now said was likely to be the more regarded because these were in a manner his dying words for he lived but till the seventh day of the next Month and seems to have composed this Book as a Compendium of his whole Law for the familiar use of the Children of Israel from whence it is called Deuteronomy i. e. a second Law See Huetius in his Demonstr Evang.
LORD our God commanded us i. e. not to meddle withal 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 Vnto 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 Edrâ—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 Sâ—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
4. By Signs Which are mentioned IV Exod. 9. VII 9 10. And by Wonders This signifies all the Ten Plagues of Egypt For Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go till God had multiplied his Wonders on the Land of Egypt as we read VII Exod. 3. X. 1 2. XI 9 10. And by War This seems to relate to the Overthrow of Pharaoh in the Red Sea where the LORD is said to fight for Israel XIV Exod. 14. XV. 3. while they which is the greatest Wonder of all were delivered without striking a stroke And by a mighty Hand and a stretched-out Arm. These are Phrases which we often meet withal when Moses speaks of their Deliverance out of Egypt III Exod. 19. VI. 6. XV. 12. and many other places And the Hebrews think that his mighty Hand particularly refers to the grievous Murrain and the Pestilence which are called the Hand of the LORD X Exod. 3 15. And his stretched-out Arm to have a particular respect to the killing of the First-born the Angel that was going to smite Jerusalem appearing with a drawn Sword and his Hand stretched out I Chron. XXI 16. And by great Terrors Wherewith the Minds of those were stuck who heard of these things XV Exod 14 15 16. Or else he means the Frights in which the Egyptians were while they remained three Days in most dismal Darkness X Exod. 23. for the conclusion of this Verse signifies that he speaks of all that the LORD their God did for them in Egypt before their Eyes Verse 35 Ver. 35. Vnto thee it was shewed This was a particular kindness to the Israelites which God never before manifested to any other Nation That thou mightest know that the LORD he is God there is none else besides him That they might believe him to be the only true God and worship none but him Which two Articles saith Maimonides More Nevochim P. II. Cap. XXXIII that God is and that he is but One are Fundamentals of Religion which were known not only by Prophets but by every Body else Verse 36 Ver. 36. Out of Heaven he made thee to hear his Voice See XX Exod. 22. That he might instruct thee Teach them his Will which was chiefly declared in the Ten Commandments And upon Earth he shewed thee his great Fire He means either that they saw it as they stood upon the Earth or that it burnt upon the top of the Mount in their sight XXIV Exod. 17. And thou heardest his Words out of the midst of the Fire Ver. 11 12. and XX Exod. 18 19. Verse 37 Ver. 37. And because he loved thy Fathers therefore he chose their Seed after them See XV Gen. 5 6 7. And many other Places in that Book III Exod. 15 16 17. And brought them out in his sight with a mighty power For as he led them the way out of Egypt in a Pillar of Cloud and of Fire XIII Exod. 21. So when they were in danger by Pharaoh's pursuit of them he came behind them and they marched in his sight XIV Exod. 19. Out of Egypt This is mentioned in Scripture as the highest Benefit never to be forgotten by them So G. Sckickard observes in his Mischpat Hamelek Cap. III. Theorem X. That they are put in Mind of this in the Frontispiece of the Decalogue XX Exod. 2. in the Institution of Sacrifices XXII Levit. 33. in the Promise of a Blessing XXVI 13. and here in the enumeration of God's wonderful Works and afterwards in the commendation of his Love VII Deut. 8. in his Dehortation from Ingratitude VIII 14. in his Institution of the Passover XVI 6. in the Speech which the reproving Angel made to them II Judges 1. in the hope he gave them of Victory over the Midianites VI. 9. in his Answer to their Petition for a King I Sam. X. 18. and on a great many other occasions For this was Velut Fundamentum initium Reipublicae c. as another learned German speaks Gierus on IX Dan. 15. the Foundation as we may call it and the Beginning of their Commonwealth founded by God which comprehended in it abundance of Miracles far exceeding all the Power of Nature Ver. 38. To drive out Nations before thee greater Verse 38 and mightier than thou art So mighty that they frighted their Fathers from attempting the Conquest of them XIII Numb 28 29 31. To bring thee in to give thee their Land for an Inheritance as it is this day That is as he had given them a late Experiment by overthrowing the two Kings of the Amorites and giving them their Land for a possession Verse 39 Ver. 39. Know therefore this day and consider it in thy Heart that the LORD he is God in Heaven above and upon the earth and there is none else Be sensible therefore and settle this Belief in thy Heart that the LORD is the sole Governour of the whole World Verse 40 Ver. 40. Thou shalt therefore keep his Statutes and his Commandments which I command thee this day c. Worship and obey him as the only way to make them and their Posterity live happily in the Land which God was about to give them That it may be well with thee and with thy Children after thee and that thou mayst prolong thy days upon the earth c. Tho' Moses speak of their long Life upon Earth yet the better sort of Jews did not set up their rest here but from this word prolong extended their hope as far as the other World For thus Maimonides saith in his Preface to Perek Chelek they were taught by Tradition to expound these Words That it may be well with thee in the World which is all good and mayest prolong thy days in the World which is all long i. e. never ends Verse 41 Ver. 41. Then Moses severed three Cities I observed in the Preface to this Book that Moses did not deliver all that is contained in this Book in one continued Speech but at several times as appears even by the beginning of the next Chapter where it is said He called all Israel and said unto them c. Which supposes that after this Preface in these four Chapters he dismissed them to consider what he had said and then some time after assembled the People again to put them in Mind of the Laws which he so earnestly pressed them to observe But between these two times after he had spoken all that is contained in these four Chapters and before he rehearsed the Decalogue he put in execution the Command of God lately given to set apart three Cities of Refuge on this side Jordan Which he here relates in the order I suppose wherein it was done On this side Jordan towards the Sun-rising On the East-side of Jordan according to what was ordered XXXV Numb 14. Ver. 42. That the Slayer might flee thither which Verse 42 should kill his Neighbour unawares c. See there v. 11 12 c. Ver. 43. Namely Bezer in the Wilderness in
without repeating them all again In every place that thou seest To be beautiful lovely and inviting by its situation and shady Trees and Fountains c. Such as are mentioned v. 2. Which the Gentiles chose perhaps wherein to Sacrifice because they were more delightful or solemn than other Whence Ezekiel VI. 3. mentions Rivers and Valleys together with Mountains where there were fine Pastures and Springs of Water which were so pleasant and refreshing in those Countries that they fancied the gods delighted in them So St. Hierom notes upon VII Jerem. that this Gentile Error omnes provincias occupavit c. spread it self in all parts of the World That they should offer their Sacrifices at the heads of Fountains and delightful Groves Verse 14 Ver. 14. But in the place which the LORD shall chuse in one of thy Tribes there shalt thou offer thy Burnt-offerings This he had said before v 5 6 11. but repeats it again because of the great importance of it to prevent all strange Worship Elijah indeed offered upon Mount Carmel after the Temple was built but it was by a Prophetical Inspiration and if any one at that time had askt him if they might take that liberty he would have answered by no means but he that offers out of Jerusalem shall be cut off XVII Levit. 4. As for what I do now it is an extraordinary Case to convince the lying Prophets of Baal c. Thus Maimonides in Geder Zeraim And there thou shalt do all that I command thee Bring their Tithes and First-fruits before-mentioned v. 6. and eat and rejoyce before the LORD v. 7. Ver. 15. Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat Verse 15 flesh For common Food In all thy Gates In any City Town or House While they were in the Wilderness indeed they might not kill their Beasts but only at the Door of the Tabernacle and consequently they eat nothing but Peace-offerings which had been first presented unto God and part of them burnt at his Altar XVII Levit. 3 4 c. But when they went into Canaan they were freely indulged to kill their Beasts in any place without bringing any part of them to the Altar Whatsoever thy Soul lusteth after Of all sorts of Creatures not prohibited in the XIth of Leviticus According to the Blessings of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee Suitable to every Man's Estate and Condition The unclean and the clean may eat thereof They who were under any Legal Uncleanness might not eat of the Sacrifices but of common Food at their ordinary Tables they might as well as others As of the Roe-buck and as of the Hart. He instances in these because there was great plenty of them in that Country as Aelian observes in the end of his fifth Book Where he saith they were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the highest Mountains of Amanus Libanus and Carmel These Creatures might not be sacrificed to God but they might eat of others which were used in Sacrifice Sheep Goats Oxen as freely as of these which were not Verse 16 Ver. 16. Only ye shall not eat the Blood But of the Blood of those Creatures they might no more eat than of those that were sacrificed at the Altar But as there it was to be sprinkled upon the Altar and then poured out at the foot of it so here it was to be poured on the Earth Ye shall pour it upon the Earth as water So that it might sink into the Ground and disappear as Water doth when it is poured on the Earth Which is so strictly enjoyned though it was not the Blood of an Oblation to prevent those Superstitions which were exercised by the old Idolaters about the Blood of their Sacrifices In which they thought their Daemons delighted and by eating of which they hoped to have Communion with them as Maimonides observes in his More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XLVI Verse 17 Ver. 17. Thou mayest not eat within thy Gates In their own private Habitations The Tithe of thy Corn or of thy Wine or of thy Oil. This cannot be meant of the Tithe paid to the Levites which the People might not eat any where being appropriated to the Levites alone He speaking therefore of a Tithe which the People might eat though not at home yet in the place where the Sanctuary was it must be meant of that which the Hebrews call the second Tithe which was set out after that to the Levites was paid Concerning which he speaks XIV 22 23 c. Or the firstlings of the Herds or of thy Flock These were entirely the Priests Portion by an express Law XVIII Numb 15 17 18. and therefore could not lawfully be eaten by the People either at home or at the Sanctuary Which makes it necessary to understand this of some other Firstlings and it is not improbable that it is meant of the Females which opened the Womb. For the Males only were the LORD's as appears from XIII Exodus and other places who gave them to his Priests but he would have the First-born Females also to be in some sort Sacred by requiring them to be eaten at his Sanctuary where his Priests had their share of them For I see no ground to think that as there was a secondary Tithe so there was a secondary Firstling set apart by every Man to this use Nor any of thy Vows which thou vowest c. All such things were also wholly the LORD's XXVII Levit. 28. and given by him to his Priests XVIII Numb 14. But that is only to be understood of what was vowed to God absolutely without mentioning any particular use to which it was designed Besides which they might vow what they pleased to be spent in Solemn Feasts with the Levites the Widows the Fatherless and other poor People and of such Moses here speaks Or Heave-offerings of thine hand These were First-fruits of Corn Wine and Oil as I said upon v. 6. which were also the Priests Portion XVIII Numb 12. Therefore this can be meant of no other First-fruits but such as Men freely offered without any obligation to it to be spent in this fashion for he was speaking before of such kind of things Unless we will understand this of the First-fruits of young Trees which might not be eaten in three Years after they were planted but in the fourth Year were to be holy to praise the LORD withal XIX Levit. 24. which as Josephus saith were spent in these Sacred Feasts See there Verse 18 Ver. 18. But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall chuse thou and thy Son and thy Daughter c. See before v. 11 12. Verse 19 Ver. 19. Take heed to thy self that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the Earth He gives this Caution lest Covetousness should make them defraud the Levites of their Tithes and not let them have convenient Habitations or prophaneness make them not invite
translate withdraw is twice before v. 5 10. translated thrust away signifying only earnest endeavours to seduce Men from their Religion But here it seems to signifie also the Effect of those Endeavours whereby they had prevailed with Men to forsake the God of Israel or to worship other gods with him Saying Let us go and serve other gods which ye have not known Strange gods as they are often called in Scripture which the Nations round about them worshipped v. 7. but were always abhorred by true Israelites Ver. 14. Then shalt thou enquire and make search Verse 14 and ask diligently The great Sanhedrim who only could take Cognizance of this Crime were upon this Information to send some on whose fidelity they could rely to examine the truth of the Report which was spread abroad concerning the defection of a City to the worship of other gods Who were to use their utmost care and diligence in this inquisition and by all possible means endeavour to find whether or no the Information was true For it was a matter of great concernment that neither the Innocent should suffer nor Apostates go unpunished But the Punishment being so dreadful there was the greater exactness used to be certain of the Crime and there were likewise a great many temperaments as Mr. Selden calls them found by the Jewish Lawyers partly from the nicest Interpretation of every Syllable in these two Verses and partly from the pretended Tradition of their Elders whereby they mitigated the sharpness of this Law For they would not proceed upon it to destroy a City though they found them Idolaters unless the Seducers were two or more and those also Men not Women because the Law here speaks in the Plural Number of certain Men Children of Belial As if their forsaking God was not a Crime whether they were perswaded to it or no by others They say also it was not to be a meer Town or Village but a City because the words here are In one of thy Cities in which there were more than an hundred Houses If there were fewer it was no City in their account and so escaped They who seduced a City also were to be of the same City because it is said here These Men of Belial are gone out from among you All which are meer quirks which have no solid Reason in them They are all mentioned together in the Title Sanhedrim set forth by J. Coch. Cap. XI Sect. 4. and by Maimonides more largely in his Avoda zara and our Selden Lib. III. de Synedi Cap. V. N. 2. But there are other temperaments of this Law which have better Foundation in Reason As first that a City was not to be destroyed unless the major part of the Inhabitants were fall'n off to serve other gods And secondly that the Law speaks only of lesser Cities not of those which were so large that the greatest part of a Tribe lived in it for God would not have a whole Tribe cut off by the Senate Thirdly They might not destroy any of the six Cities of Refuge because they were none of theirs but God's and the words of the Law are in one of thy Cities which the LORD hath given thee to dwell in whereas these were given for a further purpose And fourthly some add not a frontier Town because it is said in the midst of thee so the words are in the Hebrew which we translate among you to which they subjoyn a better Reason because the whole Country might have been exposed to be over-run with the Gentiles And lastly they except Jerusalem from this Law because it was God's Seat and as Maimonides will have it it was not distributed to any particular Tribe Which how it is to be understood see Selden in the place above-named Sect. III IV. where he touches upon all these But if Jerusalem was to be excepted from the Judgment of Men God took care to have this Sentence executed upon it by his own judgment for he sent Nebuchadnezzar against it whose Souldiers burnt with fire both the House of the LORD and the House of the King and all the Houses of Jerusalem LII Jerem. 13. And behold if it be truth and the thing be certain that such abomination is wrought among you If the Inquisitors found upon due Examinations that there was a plain and evident Proof of their Guilt they were to make their Report to the great Sanhedrim who being satisfied that either the whole City or the greater part of them were fall'n to Idolatry sent to them two Men of extraordinary Wisdom who were Candidates for the Senatorial Dignity to admonish them and by Arguments and Perswasions to endeavour to reduce them to the Worship of the LORD God of Israel And if they prevailed they were pardoned and no further Proceedings against them but if they continued obstinate then the Sanhedrim commanded the People of Israel to raise an Army and besiege the place and enter it by force if they could not otherways And when the City was taken several Courts were appointed to try and condemn all that were guilty Thus Maimonides in the forenamed Treatise reports the method of proceeding out of their ancient Authors See Selden Sect. VI. Verse 15 Ver. 15. Thou shalt surely smite the Inhabitants of that City with the edge of the Sword The same Author there saith that in the hearing of their Cause every one who was found guilty of Idolatry after admonition by two Witnesses was set aside And if they proved to be the lesser part of the City they were stoned according to the Law against single Apostates the rest being freed from Punishment but if they were the greater part of it they were sent to the great Sanhedrim who adjudged them to be cut off by the Sword together with their Wives and Children And thus the whole City was to be punished if there was an Universal defection Destroying it utterly and all that is therein and the Cattle thereof with the edge of the Sword In the Hebrew the word is thou shalt make it a Cherem or an accursed thing And so the LXX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where the Vulgar translate it as we do thou shalt utterly destroy it which is consonant to the notion of the Hebrew word See Selden L. I. de Synedr Cap. VII p. 131. So that if any righteous Man had any thing therein at that time it was to be destroyed as the very words are in the Title Sanhedrim Cap. XI Sect. 5. But it is to be supposed that all who feared God would remove their Effects together with themselves from so wicked a place before Sentence was pronounced against them On the contrary they say the Goods of the Idolaters wheresoever they were found whether within the City or without were to be burnt Ver. 16. And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into Verse 16 the midst of the street thereof Into the Market-place as the Jews interpret it Or if it had none they
Kings XXIII 6. and Selden de Diis Syris Syntagma II. Cap. II. Certain it is that nothing was more ancient in the East than Altars with Groves of Trees about them which made the place very shady and delightful in those hot Countries They are so often joyned in Scripture that it would be tedious to number all the places XXXI Exod. 13. XII Deut. 3. VI Judges 25 c. Cadmus is thought by some to have brought this Custom into Greece out of the East And they planted the Trees so thick and they were so large and shady as to make the place very dark and solemn whereby a kind of Horror was struck into those who went into them And they became hereby the fitter for the Devil to play his Pranks there and for the practise of those obscene and uncouth Rites whereby he was worshipped For the Gentile Custom had made these places proper to the Infernal Gods and anciently consecrated them as Sepulchres or Temples for their Heroes That the Israelites therefore might be preserved from sacrificing to the Dead and from filthy Lusts by both which they afterwards polluted themselves they are forbidden to place a Grove near to God's Altar nay so much as any Tree as the words may be translated for the Heathen thought there was a sacredness in Trees themselves which they dedicated to their gods and honoured several ways See XII 2 3. And therefore the Jews say they might not plant Trees in the Court of the Temple or in the Mountain of the House as they call it for the Ornament or Beauty of God's House And they give this reason for it because it was an idolatrous Rite to plant Trees near their Altars that the People might there meet together See Selden Lib. II. de Jure Nat. Gent. Cap. VI. p. 186. and Dr. Spencer Lib. II. Cap. XVI Sect. 1 2. And more lately Ezekiel Spanhemius in his most Learned Observations upon Callimachus hath shown that they planted odoriferous Trees in some Groves to make them more inviting Whence the Grove dedicated to Pallas is called by that Poet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though chat may signifie only a Grove consecrated by many Sacrifices And the vulgar Groves were planted with Pines Fir-trees Cypress Laurel Olives Vines and other lovely Trees especially Oaks which grew to a great height in which both Altars and Temples were erected See in Hymn in Dianam vers 38. p. 156. and in Palladem vers 61. p. 595. and in Cererem vers 38 39. p. 689. where he mentions the black Poplar as a Tree of which her Grove consisted under the shade of which the Nymphs delighted to Dance at Noon And thence these shady places consecrated to their gods were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of their refreshing Coolness as he observes out of Athenaeus ad v. 47. p. 695. And indeed nothing is plainer in the holy Scripture than that these Groves related to Idolatry for all pious Princes took them away and bad ones planted them See 1 Kings XVIII 4. 2 Kings XXIII 14. 2 Chron. XIV 3. XV. 16. And they are frequently joyned with Statues and Images both here and VII 5. XII 3. 1 Kings XIV 23 c. Verse 22 Ver. 22. Neither shalt thou set thee up an Image The Hebrew word Matzebah is commonly translated by the LXX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Pillar and so we translate it in the Margin For as it was unlawful to set up the Statue of a Man or any other Creature so it was as contrary to Religion to set up a Pillar or an Altar or any such like Structure for Publick Assemblies to be held about them though they worshipped there the true God So Maimonides reports the sence of their Doctors A Statue or Pillar signifies any Work raised up that Religious Assemblies may be made there though they be for the Worship of the Divine Majesty for this is a practice among Idolaters And so Pausanias confesses in Achaicis that in the most ancient times among all the Graecians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rude Stones had Divine Honours given them instead of Statues or Images See Selden Lib. II. de Jure Nat. Gent. Cap. VI. in the beginning And Maimonides of the Worship of the Planets Cap. VI. Sect. 8 9 10. and Dionys Vossius his Annotations there Which the LORD thy God hateth Hence it sufficiently appears that this was an idolatrous practice which is more odious to God than any thing else And thus the Israelites we see understood it being ready to take Arms against their Brethren on the other side Jordan when they heard they had erected an Altar there taking it to be such a Structure as is here forbidden but were appeased when they understood that it was not intended for Worship XXII Josh 18. Chapter XVII CHAP. XVII Verse 1 Verse 1. THou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any Bullock or Sheep wherein is any blemish Having warned them as he had done often against idolatrous Practises he here interposes a Caution against Prophaneness in the Worship of the true God For it was a great disrespect to him to offer him any thing that was not perfect the Heathens being ashamed of such Sacrifices Wherein is any blemish Of this see XXII Levit. 20 c. Or any evil-favouredness In the Hebrew any evil thing or matter That is if it had any disease or was sick For that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God This is more than is said in Leviticus where the words are for it shall not be acceptable for you For here he expresses the greatest disdain and abhorrence of such Sacrifices Verse 2 Ver. 2. If there be found among you within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee In any Cities or Towns within their Country Man or Woman that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God Now he returns to the business of Idolatry which is the wickedness here said to be wrought as appears by the next words In transgressing his Covenant For this was the principal part of the Covenant That they should have no other Gods but him XX Exod. 22 33. upon this all depended so that the whole Covenant was void if they served other gods Which was so foul a sin that he would have none spared who were guilty of it Which is the reason as Maimonides thinks More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XXXVII why he here saith Man or Woman because Men are naturally more tender towards the Female Sex and inclinable to be favourable to them against which he warns them in case of Idolatry and of prophaning the Sabbath in which two Cases only he uses these words He had shown in the Thirteenth Chapter what they should do with him that seduced others to Idolatry whether he were a pretended Prophet or a private Man v. 1 9 10. And then what should be done with a whole City that was seduced v. 12 13 c. And now he
speaks only of Fruit-trees From whence Grotius thinks that saying of the Pythagoraeans took its original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Trees that do not grow wild and bear fruit ought not to be hurt much less cut down And yet it seems to be more agreeable to the Hebrew words than our Marginal Translation which makes this sense That there are Trees of the Field sufficient to employ in the Siege so that they need not cut down Fruit-trees to carry it on Ver. 20. Only the Trees which thou knowest that they Verse 20 be not Trees for Meat thou shalt destroy and cut them down If it were necessary for the raising Bulwarks as it here follows or otherways to distress the Enemy they had liberty to cut down Trees that did not bear Fruit but not meerly to make Waste and Desolation And thou shalt build Bulwarks against the City that maketh war with thee From whence they battered the City and threw great Sones into it as well as begirt them round that no Provisions might be brought in to them Thus we find they did in after times 2 Chron. XXVI 15. 2 Sam. XX. 15. And they must have some such Inventions in Moses his days or else how could they take Cities fortified with such high Walls as are mentioned I Deut. 28. Or to what purpose should they build Bulwarks and cast up Banks but from thence to batter the City with some Engine or other Vntil it be subdued From these words the Jewish Doctors conclude that it was lawful to make War even upon the Sabbath because having set down before a City they were to proceed till it was subdued which these words suppose might not be in a short time Only they say that the Siege was to be begun at least three days before the Sabbath Thus these Superstitious People not thinking common reason sufficient to justifie them in so plain a case Chapter XXI make the Scripture speak what it intended not for their warrant See Schickard in his Jus Regium Cap. V. Theorem XVIII where he alledges Maimonides in his Hilkoth Melachim to this purpose And Joh. Benedictus Carpzovius produces a plainer out of Hilkoth Schabbath where he delivers their sense in these words A Siege is to be begun three days before the Sabbath and then it may be continued every day even upon the Sabbath until the City be taken and this may be done in a War that is voluntarily undertaken For thus our wise Men understand these words by ancient Tradition until it be subdued CHAP. XXI Verse 1 Verse 1. IF one shall be found slain in the Land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess This follows very properly after the Law he had delivered about making War because then the Bodies of dead Men were most frequently found About which the wisest Law-givers took the greatest care that Inquisition should be made how and by whom they were slain This appears by Plato who in his Ninth Book de Legibus hath a Law something like to this though far short of the Solemnity that is here required to be used as I shall observe in the Conclusion of this Statute Lying in the field and it be not known who hath slain him The Hebrew Doctors here stick too much to the letter of these words for they will not have them reach to a dead Body hanging in the Air upon a Tree or hid in the Sand or Dust or floating upon the Water which is extream absurd Ver. 2. Then thy Elders and thy Judges shall come forth The great Sanhedrim were to send forth some Verse 2 of their Members so the Jews interpret it to do what here follows And indeed it may be thought that none but they could take care of this matter the doubt being to which of the neighbouring Cities where the other Judges lived it belonged Therefore the Paraphrase ascribed to Vzielides saith Two of the wise Men or Elders and three of the Judges were sent by the great Sanhedrim about this business See Selden Lib. III. de Synedr Cap. VII N. 2. Yet he observes in another part of that most Learned Work Lib. II. Cap. VII N. 3. that there were a sort of Elders who were not ordained by laying on of Hands but only were venerable Persons for their Age and Prudence who some think might serve for this Employment And they called such Elders Zikne Hashuk Elders of the Street or Vulgar Elders But none I think hath discoursed more critically upon these words thy Elders and thy Judges than our Mr. Thorndike who observes that there had been Judges constituted to determine Causes by Jethro's advice XVIII Exod. the greater Causes being reserved for Moses alone For whose Assistance God afterward appointed Seventy Elders Numb XI who made up the great Court of Judgment in that Nation Now they of this great Consistory are called the Elders of Israel but they of other Consistories or Inferiour Courts are called barely Elders or Elders of such a City See Review of the Rights of the Church p. 70. where he alledges this very place for it and by thy Elders understands the Elders of Israel the lower Elders being mentioned in the next Verse And so those of the great Consistory are commonly called in the Gospel And in like manner the Scribes of the People and thy Scribes signifie there those of this High Court. Whereas the bare Name of Scribes is extended further to the inferiour Doctors of the Law As also the Name of Rulers and that of Rulers of the People are to be understood with the like difference And they shall measure unto the Cities that are round about him that is slain That is if it were dubious what City lay nearest to the dead Body as it sometimes hapned But commonly it is probable at the first view they easily discerned this and so did not trouble themselves to measure It is a frivolous dispute in the Mischnah from whence they were to measure whether from the Navel or the Nose or the Forehead which last seems most rational to Maimonides who calls it the Center of the Body But they did not if we believe the Jewish Doctors in their measuring take notice of any City wherein there was not a Court of XXIII Elders and Jerusalem was always excepted See Selden in the place forenamed N. III. and L'Empereur upon Bava kama p. 173. and Wagenseil upon Sota p. 899. If the dead Body lay nearest to the Country of the Gentiles then they did not measure at all but it was presumed the Man was killed by them Verse 3 Ver. 3. And it shall be that the City which is next to the slain Man From whence it might be presumed the Murderer came or was fled thither as Abarbinel discourses Even the Elders of that City Who were different from the Elders before-mentioned See the foregoing Verse for they returned to Jerusalem when they had seen the Body buried if there was no discovery of the Murderer and
is another difference between this Case and that in Exodus where the Man was bound to settle a Dowry upon her but here to pay a Fine unto her Father The reason is plain because there was no need of settling a Dowry in this Case as in the former for the Dowry was settled upon her in that Case lest the Husband might lightly and wantonly put her away by Divorce and she have nothing to maintain her of which there was no danger here because this Law saith expresly in the conclusion of this Verse that he may not put her away all his days Yet there are those who think it likely that in this Case also he settled a Dowry of fifty Shekels upon her besides what he paid for her further for otherwise the Condition of a Virgin deflowred by Force was worse than hers deflowred by her own Consent They have some Exceptions concerning this Payment to her Father which are not very material nor certain But this is considerable That this Fine was the same whether the Woman was of Noble or of Mean Parentage neither more nor less was paid by the Law But in after times the Sanhedrim they tell us added some other Mulcts besides this here mentioned because it seemed so small that the Honour of a Virgin was not thought sufficiently repaired by it Therefore he that inticed a Virgin paid other two one for the Shame and Dishonour he had done her and the other for the loss of her Virginity and vitiating her Body And he that forced a Virgin paid a third besides these two upon the account of the Pain unto which he was supposed to have put her And in these three they proportioned the Penalties to the quality of the Person and other Considerations which made them vary See Selden in the forenamed place p. 123. And she shall be his wife because he hath humbled her Though she were blind or lame or leprous he could not refuse her if she and her Father required him to marry her He may not put her away all his days This was a third part of his Punishment for the force he had committed that he should be forced not only to take her to Wife but constrained also to keep her as long as she lived and not have the liberty of giving her a Bill of Divorce as other Men might do who were desirous to part with their Wives If it be askt How it could be known whether she was inticed or forced They answer as was observed before that it was reasonably presumed that he forced her if the thing was done in the Field or in a Place far from Inhabitants Chapter XXIII but if in the City or Town that she consented unless the contrary was evidently proved Verse 30 Ver. 30. A man shall not take his fathers wife That is shall not marry her Nor discover his father's skirt Nor so much as lie with her For this is a modest Phrase borrowed from the ancient Custom in those Countries where the Bridegroom when he brought his Bride into the CHVPPA as they called it or Bridal Chamber spread the Skirt of his Robe over her to signifie his right to her and power over her and that he alone might lawfully enjoy her III Ruth 9. XVI Ezek. 8. And this Verse seems to me to be here inserted as a short Memorandum that they should be careful to observe all the Laws which he had delivered against Incestuous Marriages in the Eighteenth Chapter of Leviticus See there v. 8. and XX. 11. CHAP. XXIII Verse 1 Verse 1. HE that is wounded in the stones Bruised or compressed in those parts as the manner was of making Eunuchs who are here spoken of and were sometimes made that way when they were Infants or by taking them quite away which was done in some when they were grown up And there were those who had none of these Parts left remaining as it follows in the next words Or hath his privy members cut off In whole or in part which was not used till they found the other did not effectually answer their purpose in this unnatural practise Wherein some thought they honoured their gods particularly Cybele the Mother of the gods unto whose Service her Priests devoted themselves by cutting off their Genitals So not only Minutius Foelix Tertullian and several other of the ancient Christian Writers testifie but many also of the Pagan See Joh. Geusius de Victimis Humanis Pars II. Cap. I. Shall not enter into the Congregation of the LORD These Persons were so much abhorred by some among the Pagans that Lucian saith they were excluded not only from the Schools of Philosophers but which was more 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from their holy Offices and their Sprinklings and all common Meetings So Diocles is introduced speaking in his Eunuchus But no Body thinks this to be the meaning here that they should not entertain such a Person as a Proselyte or that he should not come to worship God at the Temple for that was free for all Nations if they renounced Idolatry But the meaning of this Law is either to forbid the Israelites to marry with such Persons or not to admit them to bear any Office in the Jewish Commonwealth The Hebrew Doctors generally take it in the first sense See Selden de Jure Nat. Gent. Lib. V. Cap. XVI and so do a great many among Christian Writers And there is an eminent Example of the use of this Phrase in this sense XIII Nehem. 1 2 3. But some think it was superfluous to forbid this because none would marry with such Persons as were uncapable to perform the Marriage Duty And therefore they follow the second sense it being certain that the Hebrew word KAHAL Congregation signifies in many places not the whole Body of the People of Israel but the great Assembly of Elders into which no such Person was to be admitted because they were unfit for Government Eunuchs being observed generally to want Courage Thus Simeon de Muis and others who seem to have great reason on their side Yet it is so plain that the Congregation of the LORD in the following part of this Chapter signifies the People of Israel who might not marry with the Persons mentioned v. 2 3 8. that I cannot but think it ought to be so interpreted here For though such Marriages were useless and unprofitable as Maimonides speaks yet they made a distinction between those who were made Eunuchs by God that is born so and those made by Men And this Law they say is not to be understood of the former but only of the latter Some of which it is certain were left in such a Condition that they were desirous of Marriage as appears by the Constitution of the Emperour Leo who did not think it superfluous to forbid Marriage with them For it appears by it that some Women chose such Husbands See also XXX Ecclesiasticus 20. but especially the Book ascribed to St.
after till the Feast of Dedication which was in our November after which they were not accepted Of the manner of going up with a Bullock before them whose Horns were gilt and Head crown'd with an Olive Garland with Musick and singing in the way the first Verse of the CXXII Psalm c. See Wagenseil in the place above-mentioned and Selden Lib. III. de Synedriis Cap. XIII N. III. with Dr. Light-foot in his Temple-Service And here I cannot but think fit to note that the Heathen in all probability from hence derived the Custom of carrying their First-fruits as a Tithe every year unto the Island Delos where Apollo was supposed to have his special Residence And this not only from the Islands thereabouts and the neighbouring Countries but from all parts of the World as the Jews we find every where sent from the Countries where they dwelt a Sum of Money every year instead of First-fruits and Tithes unto Jerusalem which Priviledge the Romans allowed them after they had conquered them as Josephus tells us Lib. VII de Bello Jud. Cap. XIII That Heathen Custom now mentioned is expressed by Callimachus in his Hymn upon Delos in those remarkable words v. 278 279 c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The sense of which is this That First-fruits were sent for Tithes every year from all Countries not only from the East and West and South but from the North also And they were sent with such Joy as the Jews expressed on this occasion for all Cities he saith did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And so we read in several Authors that there were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as they called them Solemn Embassies sent from several People by chosen Persons unto Delos to celebrate there the Feast of Apollo with Musick and Dancing c. Particularly the Athenians Peloponesians and Messenians c. of whom see Ezek. Spanhemius in his Observations on Callimachus p. 487. And which is most strange the Hyperboreans a very northerly People sent frugum primitias to this Island as Pliny and I know not how many other Authors testifie Only what he calls the First-fruits of their Corn and such like things they call the First-fruits of their holy things as the same excellent Person observes there p. 490 492 c. Which was done to testifie their honour to this god and for the maintenance of his Priests and other Ministers who attended upon him there For Delos of it self was but a barren Isle the Soil being dry and stony and called therefore by Callimachus v. 208. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There are other footsteps of this among the Heathen the Mystica vannus Jacchi mentioned by Virgil in his Georgicks being nothing else according to Servius but vas vimineum a wicker Basket in which their First-fruits were carried See the same Spanheim p. 495. Verse 3 Ver. 3. And thou shalt go unto the Priest that shall be in those days Who was then in attendance at the Sanctuary and particularly appointed to wait for their coming When they entred the Gates of the City they sung the second Verse of Psalm CXXII Our feet shall stand in thy gates O Jerusalem And then they went to the Mountain of the Temple and sung the whole Hundred and fiftieth Psalm And as soon as they entred the Court of Israel the Levites began to sing XXX Psal 1. I will extoll thee O LORD my God c. And say unto him The following Confession in this Verse was made by them with the Baskets on their shoulders to stir them up to Humility as Maimonides interprets it His words are these While they were compelled to carry their Baskets on their shoulders and in that manner to proclaim the Divine Benefits it signified that it was a considerable part of God's Worship and Service for a Man to be mindful of his Afflictions and Tribulations when God had given him ease and rest from them This the Law takes care of in several places as when it saith Thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant c. With this intention that he who lived in Riches and Pleasure might be secured from the Vices which spring from thence such as Pride Haughtiness Apostasy and the like According to what is said in this Book VIII 12. Lest thou eat and art full and XXXII 15. Jesurun waxed fat and kicked c. To prevent which God commanded the First-fruits to be thus offered every year to his Divine Majesty More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XXXIX I profess this day unto the LORD thy God that I am come into the Country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us This is a thankful acknowledgment of God's faithfulness to his promise whereby they were put in mind to be faithful unto him of whom they held this good Land by his gracious and free Gift and held it by this Tenure of paying to him this yearly Rent Ver. 4. And the Priest shall take the basket out of thy Verse 4 hand and set it before the Altar of the LORD thy God After the foregoing words were said the Basket was taken down from their shoulders and every one holding his Basket by the handle or the rim of it the Priest put his hands under it and waved it about according to the Prescription in the Law while the Men recited the following words v. 5 6 c. This waving was a manifest token that it was offered to the LORD of the World as an acknowledgment that he was in a peculiar manner their LORD and Soveraign of whom they held this Land Ver. 5. And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD Verse 5 thy God Audibly pronounce in the presence of God A Syrian ready to perish was my father Their Father Jacob was not a Syrian by birth for he was born in the Land of Canaan But one and the same Person may be said to be of divers Countries as Bochartus hath observed with regard either to the Place of his Nativity or of his Education or of his Life and Conversation which occasioned three Countries to be ascribed to our blessed Saviour viz. Bethlehem Nazareth and Capernaum See his Phaleg Lib. II. Cap. V Thus Jacob who was born and bred in Canaan is notwithstanding called a Syrian because he lived Twenty years with his Uncle Laban who was a Syrian XXV Gen. 20. and consequently Jacob's Mother was so as were both his Wives and all his Children who were born there except Benjamin But he is more particularly here called a Syrian to put them in mind of his Poverty when he went first into that Country and there lived as a Servant under an hard Master which is expressed in these words ready to perish that is very poor and reduced to great straits being forced to flee from the fury of his Brother Esau and to travel on foot to Padan-Aram which was comprehended anciently under the name