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A56632
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A commentary upon the fourth Book of Moses, called Numbers by ... Symon, Lord Bishop of Ely.
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Patrick, Simon, 1626-1707.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing P774; ESTC R2078
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399,193
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690
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so constant was God to his Promise that he preserved his Line in a continued Succession of twelve Persons from Phineas to Azariah who executed the Priest's Office in the Temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem as we read 1 Chron. VI. v. 4. to the 10th From which time to the Captivity of Babylon there were nine more as we read there in the following verses And after the end of the Captivity unto the time of Antiochus Eupator the Jews reckon fifteen more the last of which Onias was killed by Lysias And after him there were eight of the Family of the Asmonaei the last of which Aristobulus was killed by Herod who after that made whom he pleased Because he was jealous for his God God who searches the hearts saw that this motion proceeded not from any private Passion but out of pure Love and fervent Affection to him and from Indignation to see his Divine Majesty so affronted For Zeal is a mixed Affection of Love and Anger And made an Atonement for the Children of Israel Procured a Pardon for all his Brethren 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Philo expresses it by his uncommanded and spontaneous diligence to vindicate God's Honour flowing from his sincere Devotion to God's Service Verse 14 Ver. 14. Now the name of the Israelite that was slain even that was slain with the Midianitish Woman God would have his Name stand upon record partly to make it infamous and partly to do honour to Phineas who durst venture to set upon a Man who had so great an interest in his Tribe as is mentioned in the next words Zimri the Son of Salu a Prince Not the chief of the whole Tribe but of a great Family in that Tribe Of a House among the Simeonites In the Hebrew the words are of a House of a Father For the Tribes were divided into Families and these into Houses every one of which had a Head or Chief See the first Chapter of this Book v. 2. and Zimri was one of those principal Persons though not Prince of all the Simeonites Verse 15 Ver. 15. And the name of the Midianitish Woman that was slain was Cozbi the daughter of Zur This is set down also to show how little Phineas feared the great Men either in Israel or elsewhere For Zur is reckoned afterwards as one of the Kings of Midian XXXI 8. or Princes XIII Josh 21. He was Head over a People and of a chief House in Midian The Hebrew word Vmmoth which we translate People signifies Nations So that if we translate these words exactly they sound thus He was Head of Nations of a House of a Father in Midian that is Chief of divers Families who all sprung from the same Father or Original in that Country Ver. 16. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying Verse 16 Some time after this though not long as appears from XXXI 1 2. but a little before Moses his death Ver. 17. Vex the Midianites Among whom this Verse 17 pernitious Contrivance was hatched For Balak being so incensed against Balaam that he bid him be gone in all haste out of his Country XXIV 11. Balaam would not stay to propound unto him this mischievous Advice which was in his Head but went to the Midianites and there discovered it Which was the same thing he knew as if he had acquainted Balak with it there being a great Friendship between the two Nations XXII 4. It is likely also that the Midianites were the first that advised Balaam should be sent for which made their Guilt the greater but the Moabites did not escape though for Lot's sake perhaps II Deut. 9. their Punishment was deferred till future times as Balaam prophesied XXIV 17. And they were also excluded by a Law made immediately after this from the Society of the Israelites for this very Fact XXIII Deut. 3 4. And smite them With the Sword as we find they did Chapt. XXXI Ver. 18. For they vex you with their wiles Have Verse 18 sorely distressed you by their subtil Devices Wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor Drawn you in to commit foul Idolatry Here Peor which was a Mountain in Moab where Baal had a Temple as I observed XXIII 28. is used for the Idol it self which was there worshipped being a contraction of Baal-Peor And so it is XXXI 18. XXII Josh 17. And in the matter of Cozbi And into lewd filthiness with Idolatrous Women The Daughter of a Prince of Midian By whose consent no doubt she went upon this wicked design that by her noble Garb and Attendance she might the more powerfully intice the great Men of Israel to Idolatry Their Sister Whom the whole Family were content to prostitute that they might compass the destruction of the Israelites But by Sister may be meant one of the same Country or Nation the same kind of Language being used among them that was among the Jews who called one another Brethren and Sisters being descended from the same stock as Christians did all those that were of their Religion Which was slain in the day of the Plague When so many Thousands fell by the Pestilence For Peor's sake For worshipping Baal-Peor into which they were inveigled by the Women who invited them to a Feast and there by their Charms excited another fleshly Appetite in them which they would not let them satisfie unless they would both eat of their Sacrifices and worship their Idol And perhaps they told them it was not lawful for them to consent to their desire unless they would be of their Religion CHAP. XXVI Chapter XXVI Ver. 1. AND it came to pass after the Plague Mentioned Verse 1 in the foregoing Chapter v. 9 17. Though some fancy it refers unto all the Plagues that had swept away all the former Generation except two Persons It is likely this may be done in the eighth Month of the fortieth Year after they came out of Egypt The LORD spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar the Son of Aaron the Priest saying As God had formerly joyned Aaron with Moses I Numb 1 17. II. 1. IV. 1 c. So now Aaron being dead he joyns his Son Eleazar with him to show that he succeeded not only in his Place and Office but also in his Authority Ver. 2. Take the Sum of all the Congregation of the Verse 2 Children of Israel They had been twice numbred before this Once before the building of the Tabernanacle in the first year after they came out of Egypt when they paid every Man half a Shekel towards it XXX Exod. 11 13. XXXVIII 25. And again when they were to be encamped in the second month of the second year I Numb 1 2 c. And now all those Men who had been then numbred thirty eight years ago being dead as appears from v. 64. of this Chapter God commands them to be numbred a third time Partly that he might demonstrate his faithfulness to his word in multiplying them vastly notwithstanding all their
or both of them because they were near Jordan which ran into them And by the Coast of Jordan Where the Canaanites were also seated as is evident from XI Deut. 30. For there were both Western and Eastern Canaanites as appears from XI Josh 3. and they are frequently joyned with the Perizzites particularly I Judg. 4. who were a fierce sort of rough People that dwelt in the woody part of the Mountains So that the Intentions of the Men who made this Report was to represent to the People that whether they invaded the Land by the Southern Parts or the Eastern they would find both strongly guarded by a mighty People much superiour to them in force Which account the following verse shows put the People into a Tumult Ver. 30. And Caleb stilled the People It is plain by this that the People understood by their way of speaking Countenances and Gestures that the meaning of these Men who made this Report which was not false in it self was that though the Country indeed was very rich and desirable yet it was impossible for them to drive the Inhabitants out of it Which put them into a mutinous Disposition as Caleb perceived by their Looks and their Muttering and therefore stept forth before it brake out to quiet their Spirits with his Account of the Country and Inhabitants in which Joshua no question joyned with him It is not indeed here mentioned because Caleb perhaps stood next to those who began to make a Commotion and therefore spake first but he was seconded by Joshua we may be sure because we find him mentioned in the next Chapter and in the first place together with Caleb as indeavouring to appease the Tumult And he is not only exempted from the Punishment inflicted upon the People for their Rebellion XIV 30 38. but is expresly said to have followed the LORD fully as well as Caleb XXXII 12. Before Moses The Hebrew Phrase El Moscheh may signifie that he stilled them as they were coming towards Moses in a Seditious manner or quieted them so far as to make them hearken to Moses or as we render it in his Presence when they were ready to fly in his Face One of the Doctors in the Gemara before-mentioned cap. 9. saith That Joshua being about to speak they bitterly reproached him and would not suffer him to proceed And therefore Caleb thought good to give them a great many blandishing words and to call Moses this Son of Amram which lookt like Contempt of him whereby he stilled them and disposed them to listen to him And then he said Is not he the Person that brought us out of Egypt that divided the Red Sea for us to pass through it that gave us Manna from Heaven What if he should bid us make Ladders and climb up into the Skies should we not obey him And said Let us go up at once Or go up immediately without a stop And possess it He speaks as if it were already their own as indeed it was by God's gift and they need only enter and take possession of it For we are able to overcome it There will be no such difficulty as these Men represent in the Conquest of it Ver. 31. But the Men that went up with him The Verse 31 rest of the Company that went to search the Land who if they had not persisted in their Unbelief the People perhaps might have been perfectly appeased by Caleb and Joshua Said We be not able Now they open their Minds more plainly in their Reply to Caleb Whom they oppose directly and declare their Opinion downright that they were not an equal Match for their Enemies To go up against the People To beat them out of the Mountains which they inhabited For they are stronger than we These Men had no confidence in the Promise and Power of God on which Caleb and Joshua relyed but measured all things by Human strength Ver. 32. And they brought up an evil report of the Verse 32 Land which they had searched unto the Children of Israel In the heat of their Opposition they now disparage the Country which they had before praised v. 27. and also stretch their Report of the Inhabitants beyond the Truth Saying The Land through which we have gone to search is a Land that eateth up the Inhabitants thereof Unless we suppose that there was a great Plague at this time in the Country as the Hebrews do who love to excuse their Fore-fathers sins this was a gross lie But take it as they suppose yet this was a very malignant Report For if they saw the People of the Country every where as they passed along carrying their Neighbours to their Graves as the Jews tell the Tale this which they should have ascribed to the Providence of God who sent this Mortality that they might have fewer Enemies to oppose them and that these Spies might pass more freely and less observed they most wickedly ascribe to the badness of the Air which being very unhealthful to the Natives might well be thought would be much more so to Strangers Thus bad Minds as the aforesaid Gemara glosses well enough upon this Story turn that which God intends for their Benefit into their Hurt And if we had any better Authority for this Story the word achal which we translate eat up would well enough agree with it For as Maimonides observes in the first part of his More Nevoch cap. 30. it is used in the Holy Scriptures concerning any kind of Consumption Destruction or Desolation As here in this Book XI 1. XXVI Lev. 38. 2 Sam. II. 26 c. And all the People that we saw in it were Men of great Stature The Hebrew Phrase is Men of Measures 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the LXX translate it Men of larger size than the rest of Mankind Which we have no reason to think was true But having seen the Sons of Anak in one part of the Country they imagined all the rest of the People to be near unto their Stature For this is the Description of that Giant of Gath mentioned 1 Chron. XX. 6. where he is called a Man of Measure and 2 Sam. XXI 20. where he is called in the Plural Number as they are here a Man of Measures 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Man above the common bigness And thus very great Houses are called Houses of Measure XXII Jerem. 24. Ver. 33. And there we saw the Giants Men of Verse 33 greater Bulk and Strength than the biggest of those very great Men see VI Gen. 4. which they spake of in the foregoing words The Sons of Anak They had mentioned this once before v. 28. and now repeat it again because they were struck with such a Terror at the sight of them that they were always at their Tongues end Just as Homer mentions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Bochartus makes the Comparison Lib. I. Canaan cap. 1. Which came of the Giants Who were descended from a Gigantick Race of Men