^^' Wx .'■ft- ■ Ui-i ■>', i ' ,' •» /Z./SL.o^-. from f^e fei6rarg of in (^emorg of 3ubge ^dmuef (gtifPer Q0recftinribge g}re0ente^ fig ^dmuef (ttttffer Q^rectortb^e feon^ to t^ Eifirarg of (prtncefon C^cofogicaf ^emindr^ sec A NEWHISTORY OF T H E Q^jfeAyi^^/r' HOLY BIBLE, FROM THE Beginning of the World, T O T H E Establishment of Christianity. WITH Answers to moft of the Controverted Queftions, Dissertations upon the moft remarkable Passages, and a Connection of Profane History all along. To which are added. Notes, explaining difficult Texts, reaifying Mif-Tranflatlons, and reconciling feeming Contradidions. The Whole illuftrated with proper Maps. By the Reverend THOMASSTACKHOUSE, A. M. Vicar of Beenham in Berkftiire. VOL. III. T> U B L I Ni Printed for Edward and John Exsiiaw at the Bilk on Cork-Hill M,DCC,XLviii. > - ERR AT A to VOL. III. Ploy./er is hard r. it is hard 2p 1. p. lyt, L 7. /or Sefera r. Sifera. ^ p. 283 1. 1 for Chmpion's r. Champion's, p. 284 ]. 15,' note, for where r, were, p. 360 1. 29, for Phaniton r. Phantom, p. 465 1. 14, note for Supulchre r. Sepulchre, p. 490, laft word for Lomcu r. Losutn. 509, 1. 7, note for Tour r. Tower, THE HISTORY O F T H E B I B L J* B O O K IV. Continued. CHAP. III. From the Death of Korah, /o /)?>/? Israelites En- trance into Canaan. In all 38 Tears. The History. AFTER the Eftabliftiment of the High Priefl's a. m. Office in Jaron, and his Family, the IfrasUtes'^'i^Sy (^c. moved about, from Place to Place, in the Defarts "^^g ^^^' of Arabia.^ but chiefly about the Mountains of Idumtsa^ FromNumb. until! God, * by ftiortening the Period of human Life, had '^''"'- ^^ ^e taken away almoft all that Generation, (a) of whom he had^^^^^l^^"^' /worn in his Wrath (as the Pfalmijl exprefles it) that they '_— ^-'__f Tiflfraelites * -After the many Judgments and Calamities fent upon IMelJ^l''"''!i"f. '" by Reafon of their Rebellions againft God, Mo/es, perceiving ^1 the divine Threatnings to be daily accompliftied, by the frequent Deaths of thofe who came out ot Egypt, and nx>hofe Carcajfes^ere to fall in the Wildernefs, compofed the Ninetieth Pfalm, where- in he mentions the Reduftion of human Life to the Term of Years, wherein it has ever fmce ftopped, and makes feveral whol- fome Refleftions thereupon : The Days of our Age are three/core Years and ten ; and though Men he Jo Jlrong, that they co?ne to four/core Years, yet is their Strength then but Labour and Sorrciv j Jo foon pajjeth it a-way, and ^"^^ mil'ation of the reft, he commanded Mofes to caft a * bra>- 1489. &c. zen Serpent, of the fame Size and Figure with thofe, that From Numb, infefted them, and to fix it upon a Pole, fituate on fome End'of Deu- ^"^''"^"' Ground, that as many, as were bitten by the living teronomy. ^erpents, might look up to the brazen one, and be healed. *— — V*'—' Which accordingly was done, and had its intended mira- culous EfFe6l. Ti&f iiraeiites SEVERAL Were the Marches and Encampments, which overcome Si- the Ifraelites^ without committing the leaft Hoftilities, hon j'"^Og,ni?de between the Countries of Moab and Amtnon^ till they TbJllwntT-^^'"^^-' ^^ length, to the Country of the Amorites. And from hence Mofes || fent Ambafladors to ^ihon their King, demanding a Pafiage through his Country, and offering to pay for all Manner of Neceflaries, without giving him the leaft and cover all their Heads over, except their Eyes, becaufe their biting is very dangerous. Bochart, de Animal, facr. Part. II, Lib. 3. c. 13. * This brazen Serpent continued among the ye'ws above feven hundred Years, even to the Time of Hezekiah, King of Judah ; but, when it came to be made an Obje£l of Idolatry, and the People, for feme Time, had paid their Incenfe and Adoration to it, that pious Prince caufed it to be broken in Pieces ; and, by way of Contempt, called it Nehujhtatty that is to fay, a brazen Baivble or Trifie, At Milan however, in the Church of St. Amhrofe, they pretend to fhew you a Serpent made of Brafs, which they tell you is the fame with that of Mofes. But every one may believe of this as he pleafes. Calmefs Diftionary, un- der the Word Serpent. If It may here be propofed as a Difficulty, how Mofes came to offer the Amorites Terms of Peace, confidering that the Ifrae- lites were commanded to deftroy them, and to take Pofleffion of their Country. But to this it has been anfwered by fome learned Men, that, notwithftanding God had exprefsly doomed this People to an Extermination, yet Mofes thought himfelf at Li- berty to indulge his ufual Meeknefs, and to begin with gentle and amicable Meafures, though he might at the fame Time be perfuaded, that they would avail nothing ; and this probably at the Suggeftion of God himfelf, to cut off all Occafions or Pre- tence of Complaint from the Amorites, as if they had not been honoirably :;!... lairiy dealt with, and that the Equity and Righ- teoufnefs of God's Proceeding with a Prince of fo favage and ob- ilinate a Temper might appear in a ftronger Light, when the Confequence of his refufing a free Pafiage to the Ifraelites, and bringing his Army into the Field againft them, fhould happen to be his own Defeat and Deftruftion. Bibliotheca Bibl. on Numb. xxi. 21. Chap. III. from the IfraeJItes Departure from Egypt, ^c. 7 leaft Diflurbance. But f the Amorite Prince, not thinking A. M. it fafe to receive fo numerous a People into the Heart of Antf'chrift. his Kingdom, not only denied thern a Paflage, but ac- 1489, &c. counting it better Policy to attack, than to be attacked, ^'^°.^'^^'^- gathered what Forces he could together, and marched out gnd of Deu- to give them Battle. But not far from Jahazy u^here theteronomy. Engagement was, the Jfra^lites overthrew him j and, ha- ^ ving made themfelves Mafters of his Country, put all, both Man, Woman, and Child, to the Sword j And not long after this, Og, f King of Ba/han, ■\ a Man of a prodigi- A 4 ous 'f- Grottus (in his fecond Book de Jure Belli (ff Pads, Cap. 2. Seft. 13.) is of Opinion, that, according to the La'^ of Nati- ons, the Highways, Seas, and Rivers of every Country ought to be free to all PafTengers, upon juft Occafions. He produces feveral Examples from Heathen Hillory of fuch Permiffion being granted to Armies, and thence he infers, that Sihon and Og, denying the Ifraelites this Privilege, gave a juft Ground of War ; nor does he think, that the Fear, which thefe Princes might conceive, is any Excufe at all for not granting the Thing, be- caufe no Man'sFear can take aivay another Mans Rights efpeci- ally, when feveral Ways might have been found out to have made their Paflage fafe on both Sides. But, when all is faid, it feems not clear, that all Men have fuch a Right as this great Man thinks they may claim. No Man, we know, can challenge a Paflage through a prin;ate Man's Ground without his Leave ; and every Prince has the fame Dominion in all his Territories, that a pri- vate Man has in his Land. As for tKe Examples therefore of thofe, who had permitted Armies to pafs through their King- doms, they are Examples of FaB, rather than of Right, and of fuch as were not in a Condition to refufe what was demanded of them. For the Thing is notorious, that feveral Countries have fufFered very grievoufly by granting this Liberty ; and there- fore no Prince, who confuks his Subjefts Safety, is to be blam- ed for not granting it ; nor was the War with the Amorites founded upon this Reafon, as we Ihall fee hereafter. Patrick ■^ Commentary. f The Land of Bajhan was one of the moft fertile Cantons of Canaan, which reached on the Eaji to the River "Jordan, on the Weft to the Mountains of Gilead, on the South to the Brook Jahhock, and on the North to the Land of Gejhur. The whole Kingdom took its Name from the Hill of Bajhan, which is fitu- ate in it, and has fmce been called Batanaa, Jt had no jefs than fixty walled Towns in it, befides Villages. It afforded an ex- cellent Breed of Cattle, and {lately Oaks, and v/as, in fhort, a plentiful and populous Country. Univerfal Hiftory, Lib. i . c. 7. \ The Defcription of this gigantick King, who was the laft •f the Race of the Rephaims, or vajt prodigious Men, we have m 'S The Hipry of the B I B L E, Book IV. A. M. ous gigantick Size, attempting to obfl:ru6l their Pafiage, Antf 'chrift. ""'^^'■w^^' the fame Fate. For they feized his Country, - 1485, &c. and utterly deftroyed the Inhabitants tiiereof, referving only FromNumb^ {^e Cattle, and Spoil of the Cities, as a Prey to themfelves. End of Deu- ^^ they had done before in the Cafe of Slhon. teronomy. Encouraged by thefe Succefles, the //r^^AV^5 march- *— -V""*^ ed to the Plains of Moab, and encamped on the Banks of ^^^°"'"^^g the River Jordan, oppofite to Jericho. This put Balak Borden o/( who was then King of Moab) into a terrible Confternation : Moab, Baiaic _Pqj.^ fuppofing hlmfelf not able to engage the mighty Force laam. ^" '^'^ Ifrael, he had not only made a ftrong Alliance with the Midianites and Ammonites, his Neighbours, in order to flop their Progrefs, but thought it advifeable likewife, be- fore he began any Hoftilities againft them, to try how far the Power of Balaam's Enchantments (a noted Magician in Pethor, a City of Mefopotamia) might go, in turning ^the Fortune of the War towards his Side. To this Purpofe he difpatched a feleft Number of his loobies, with coftly Prefents, to |1 Balaam, intreating him in the King's Name to come, and curfe him a People, who were in Deuteronomy iii. 1 1 . and from the Size of his Bed (which was preferved a long Time in the City of Rabbal, the Capital of the Ammo7iites) we may guefs at his Stature. It was nine Cubits long, and four Cubits broad, /. e. fifteen Feet four Inches and a half long, and fix Feet ten Inches broad. But the Je^^ijh Doftors, not content with fuch Pigmy Wonders, have improved the Story to their own liking. For they tell us, that this Bed of nine Cubits could be no more than his Cradle, fince himfelf was fix Score Cubits high, when full-grown ; that he lived before the Flood, and that the Waters of it, when at the higheft, reach- ed only up to his Knees ; that however he thought proper to get upon the Top of the Roof of the Ark, where Isloah fupplyed him with Provifion, not out of any Compaffion to him, but that the Men, who came after the Deluge, might fee, how great the . Power of God was, who had deftroyed fuch Monjiers from the Face of the Earth. Calmet and Munfier in Deut. Chap. iii. II In 2 Pet. chap. ii. ver. 15. Balaam is faid to be the Son ^ BosOR, according to our Verlion; but as the Words, the Son, are not found in the Original, but were inlerted by the Tran- flators, to fupply the Senfe, as they imagined ; the Word Bofor may denote a Place, as well as a Per/on, and accordingly, Groti- us underftands St. Peters Words, not as li Bofor was the Father, but the City of Balaam ; For what was antiently called Pethor, the Syria?is, in After-Ages, called Bofor, by an eafy change of two Letters, which is a Thing not unufual. Univerial Hiftory, Lib. 1. c. 7. Ch A p . III. from the Ifraelites "Departure from Egypt, ^c. 9 were arrived upon the Borders of his Territories; but God, A. M. for that Time, would not permit him to go : Whereupon ]^nt^'(|[[^^ Balak, fuppofmg either that the Number and Quality of 1489, &c. his Meflengers did not anfwer Balaam's Ambition, or the^".^^"™^« Value of the Prefents his Covetoufnefs, fent Meflengers, of e^j of Deut a more honourable Rank, with larger Propofals, and Promi-teronomy. fes of high Promotion, if he would but gratify him in this *-*"v*^ one Thing. {e) BALAAM loved the Wages of Unrl^hteoufnefs ', andBaiaam'i therefore blinded with this Paflion, he addrefled God ior Journey, and Leave to go ; which God in his Anger granted, but under ^**''''^''*"' fuch Reftri£tions, as would neceflarily hinder all his Fafci- „-^J, * nations from doing the Ifraelites any Harm. With this Permiflion he fet forward with the Princes of Moab ; but as he was on the Road, an Angel met him, whom (tho' he perceived him not j his Afs plainly faw, and there- fore turned afide into the Field to avoid him. With much ado, Balaam beat his Afs into the Road again ; but when the Angel ilood in a narrow Paflage between two Walls, which inclofed a Vineyard, the Afs for Fear ran againlt one of the Walls, and crufhed Balaam's Leg, which provoked him fo, that he beat him again. At lafl:, the Angel removed, and flood in a Place fo very narrow, that there was no Poffibility of getting by him, whereupon the Afs fell down ^ under his Rider, and would go no farther. This enraged the Prophet ftill more ; and, as he was beating and bela- bouring the poor Creature moft unmercifully, God was pleafcd to give the Afs the Faculty of Speech, wherein he expoftulated the hard Ufage he had met with ; and, as Ba~ laam was going to juftify himfelf, he was likewife pleafed to open the Prophet's Eyes, and let him fee the Angel Handing in the Way with a nftked Sword in his Hand, which fo terrifyed him, that he fell down upon his Face, alked Pardon for his Trefpafs, and offered to return home again, if fo be his Journey was difpleafing to God. That his Journey was difpleafing to God, he himfelf could not be ignorant, becaufe, in his firft Addrefs, God had exprelTly interdidled his going. Being refolved how- ever, out of the Man's wicked Inclination, to raife fome Kind of Advantage, and to make him, who was hired to curfe, the Inftrument of pronouncing a Bleffing upon his People, God gave him now free Leave to proceed. When Balak underflood that Balaam was on the Road, himfelf went to receive him upon the Confines of his Dominions ; and (p) 2 Pet. ii. 1 5, lo ^he Hijiory of the B I B L E, Book IV. A. M. and having, in a friendly Manner, blamed him for not co- ^tf'cSi^ft."^'"? at his firft fending, which Balaam excufed upon Ac- 1489, &c. count of the Rejiraint, which God had laid on him, he con- FroriiNumb.du(a:ed him to his capitaiCky, and there entertained himpuB'- mtofTfl^^-^^^^^y* w^*^ ^'5 Princes and Nobles, that Day; and the next teronomy. Morning, carried him to the high Places confccrated to * ' Baal, that from thence he might take a View of the Extremity of the Ifrael'ttifh Camp. Whilft they were here, the Prophet ordered f feven Altars to be eredted, and feven Oxen, and feven * The Word Baal fignifies Ltrd, and was the Name of {%- veral Gods, both MaleZxA Female, as Selden [de Diis Syrif, c. I.) fliews. The God of the Moabites was Chemoft, but here very probably is called by the common Name of Baal, And, as all Nations worfhipped their Gods upon high Places, fo this God of Moab, having more Places of Worfhip than one, Balak carried Balaam to them all, that from thence he might take the moil advantageous Profpeft of the Ifraelites. Thefe high Pla- ces were full of Trees, and Ihady Groves, which made them commodious both for the folemn Thoughts, ahd Prayers of fuch as were devout, and for the filthy Inclinations and abominable Praftices of fuch as affefted to be wicked. Patrick'^ Commen- tary. f According to the Account, which both FeJIus and Servius give us of antient Times, the Heathens facrificed to the Celejiial Gods only upon Altars : To the Herrejirial, they facrificed upon the Earth J and to the Infernal, in Holes digged in the Earth. And tho' the Number fe--ven was much obferved among the He- hreivs, even by God's own Appointment, Levit. iv. 6. yet we do not read of more than one Altar built by the Patriarchs, whei^ they offered their Sacrifices, nor were any more than one allowed by Mofes : And therefore we may well fuppofe, that there was fomething of heathen Superftition in this Ereftion of /even Altars, and ihcLt the Moahites, in their Worfhip of the Sun, (who is here principally meant by Baal) did at the fame Time facrifice to the feven Planets. This was originally a Part of the Egyptian Theology ; for as they worfhipped at this Time the Lights of Heaven, fo they firft imagined the feven Days of the Week to be under the refpedlivp Influence of thefe feven Luminaries. Belus, and his Egyptian Priefts, having obtained leave to fettle in Baby- lon, about half a Century before this Time, might teach the Chaldeans their Aftronomy, and fo introduce this Egyptian No- tion of the Influence of the feven ruling Stars, which Balaam, being no Stranger to the Learning of the Age and Country he lived in, might pretend to Balak to proceed upon in his Divi- nations and Auguries. Le Clerch Commentary in Locum, and Shnckford\ Connexions, Vol. III. Lib, xii. Chap. III. from the Ifraelites "Departure from Egypt, ^c. 1 1 feven Rams to be got ready ; and having * offered an Ox ■^- ^• and a Ram on each Altar, he left Balak to ftand by the Sa- Anc?'chri(t. crifices, while himfelf withdrew to confult the Lord ; and 1489, &c. upon his Return, acquainted the King, " How impoffible^'^°JJ^Numb^ *' it was for him to do the Thing, that he might expedi from End of Deu- *' him, viz, the curfing a People who were fo fignally un- teronomy. *' der the Protection of Heaven; and fo magnifying their' *' Profperity and Increafe, he concludes with a Wifti, that ** his Fate might be theirs, both in Life and Death." BALAK, at thefe Words, exprelTed no fmall Surprize ; but ftill not difcouraged he hoped that the Change of the Place might poffibly produce fome better Luck : and there- fore taking Balaam to the Top of Mount Pifgah, he tryed whether he might not be permitted to curfe them from thence. But all in vain. The fame Number of Altars were eredled, the Bullocks and Rams were offered, and the Prophet withdrew to confult God, as before ; but ftill he returned with no better News : For the Purport of his Declaration was, *' That God was fixed and immutable in his Favour '' to the Ifraelites ; that he would not fuffer any bloody *' Defigns, or any Frauds, or Inchantments to prevail *' againft them, but would finally make them viftorious, *f wherever they came." This was fo great a Mortification to Balak, that, to filence Balaam, he forbad him either to curfe or blefs ; but he foon changed his Mind, and defired him to make a far*- ther Trial at another Place. Accordingly another Place was made Choice of. Frefh Altars were raifed, and frefh Sacrifices * In the Text It is faid, that Balak and Balaam offered on e'very Altar a Bullock and a Ram, Numb, xxiii. 2. But, though it was cuftomary, in thofe early Days, for Kings to officiate as Priefts, yet it is rather to befuppofed, that Balak only prefented t\iG^ Sacri- fices, and that Balaam performed the Office of facrificing them ; but then it may be made a Queftion, to whom the Sacrifices were offered. And to this it may be anfwered, that they might both have a different Intention ; that Balak might fupplicate Baal, while Balaam was making his Addrefles to the Lord, though with fuch fuperftitious Ceremonies, as, it is likely, were ufed by the Worfhippers of Baal. Or why may not we fuppofe, that Ba- laam, telling Balak, that he could effeft nothing without the Lord, the God of I/rael, perfuaded him to join with him at that Time in his Worfhip, that they might more powerfully prevail with him to withdraw his Prefence from the Ifraelites P For there is no Reafon to imagine, that Balaam wo aid go to enquire of the Lord, immediately after he had facrificed to other Gods. Patrick^s Commentary. 12 ^he Hifiory of //&^ B I B L E, Book IV, A. M. Sacrifices offered, but all to no Purpofe : Balaam.^ percei- Ant!"chr[ft.'^^"S '^at God was refolved to continue bleffing Ifraely 148c), &c. without retiring, as aforetimes, under Pretence of conful- F^°°^^"^^jting God, at the firft Caft of his Eye upon the Tents of the En'dof Deu--(^^^'''^^-f> brake out into Ejaculations of Praife ; and then, terouomy. in proper and fignificant Metaphors^ foretold their Extent, *—'V"*-' Fertility, and Strength, and that thofe that bleffed them, Jhould be hlejfed^ and thofe that cur fed them, fhould be curfed. Uh Prrfhe- By this Time Balak, enraged to hear Balaam, whom cui ccrcern.\\e had fent for to curfe the Children of Ifrael, thus three Ikes' ' Times fuccej/ively blefs them, could no longer contain him- felf, but fmiting his Hands together, he bad him hafte, and be gone, fince, by his foolifh Adherence to God's Sug- geftions, he had both abufed him, and defrauded himfelf. * Balaam had Recourfe to his old Excufc, of not daring to tranfcend the divine Commands ; but, being willing to gratify the King, and, in Compliance to his covetous Tem- per, to gain fome Reward to himfelf, he offered to advertife him of what the Ifraelites would do to his People in fubfe- quent Ages 5 but ftill, (againft his own Inclination) he be- ftowed Bleflings on Ifrael, and prophefyed, " That a Star * ' fhould come forth from facob, and a Rod from Ifrael ; " that it fhould fmite the Chiefs of Moab, and deflroy the ** Children of Seth; that Edom^oxA^ fall under its Power; *' and that the Amalekites and Kenites fhould be extirpated: ** In fine, that the weft em Nations, the Greeks and Romans, «« fhould * Jofephus brings in Balaam making his Apology for himfelf, in order to pacify Balakh Rage, for his having bleffed the Ifrae- lites, inftead of curfing them. " And does King Balak think, *' that, where Prophets arc upon the Subjeft of Fatalities, or ** Things to come, they are left to their own Liberty, what to ** fay, and what not, or to make their own Speeches ? We are *' only the paflive Inftruments of the Oracle. The Words are *' put in our Mouths ; and we neither think, nor know what we ** fay. I remember well, fays he, that I was invited hither with ** great Earneftnefs, both by yourfelf and by the Midianites ; h " and that it was at your Requeft I came, and with a Defire to " do all, that in me lay, for your Service. But what am I able " to do againft the Will and Power of God ? I had not the leaft " Thought of fpeaking one good Word of the Ifraelites Army; " or of the Bleffings, which God hath in Store for them ; but, " fince God has decreed to make them great and happy, I have *' been forced to fpeak, as you have heard, inftead of what !-> " had otherwife defigned to fay." Jeivijh Antiq. Lib. iv. cap. 6. Chap. III. from the ICrsithtes Departure fromEgyipt, &c. i j *' fhould vanquifh the Jj/yrians, deftroy the Hebrews, and ^- ^-^ " perifh themfelves." Ant. 'chrift. After thefe Prediftions, as if vexed at his own Difap- 1489) ®'c- pointment in miffing the Reward he expefted, and with a^^J^j"^^^""^^ Purpofe to revenge himfelf on the Ifraelites, as the Occafion End of Deu- of it, he inftruded the Moabites and Midianites in a wicked * teronomy. Device ; which was to fend their Daughters into the Camp^^'^'J^^^J^^ of the Ifraelites, in order to draw them firft into Lewdnefs, commit and then into Idolatry, the fure Method to deprive them o^Whoredorn the Affiftance of that God, who proteaed tliem. This^";;^^;-^;^-V Artifice fucceeded ; (for the very next Account we have oi Women, and the Ifraelites, is, that they lay encamped at Shittim, whtxe^re punijhed many of them f were dehided by thefe flrange Women,'' *'^ "* not only to commit Whoredom with them, but to affift at their * Tkough Mo/es mzhes no Mention of this Contrivance, where he defcribes the Interview between Balaam and Balak % yet in the xxxift Chapter of 'Numbers, Ver. 16. he lays the whole Blame upon Balaam; and Jofephns accordingly informs us, that, after he had gone as far as the River Euphrates, he bethought himfelf of this Projeft, and having fent for Balak, and the Princes of Midi- an, he thus addreffed himfelf to them. " To the End that King •' Balak, fays he, and you the Princes of Midian, may know the *' great Defire I have to pleafe you, though, in fome Sort, againft *' the Will of God ; I have thought of an Expedient, that may ** perhaps be for your Service. Never flatter yourfelves that the " Hebre;^„. very commodious for them> who had large Stocks of Cat- B 3 tlei • The Jerufalem Targum fuppofes, that when thefe Officers made their Offerings, they addrefT^d themfelves to Mofes in the following Manner. " Forafmuch as the Lord has delivered the " Midianitts into our Hands, and we have fubdued the Country, *' entered ihto their Chambers, and feen their fair and charming *' Daughters, took their Crowns of Gold from off" their Heads, " their Rings from their Ears and Fingers, their Bracelets from ** their Arms, and their Jewels from their Necks and Bofoms ; " therefore far be it from us to have turned our Eyes towards " them. We had no Manner of Concern or Converfation with *' them, left we fhould thereby die the Death of the Wicked in " Gehenna. And let this be had in Remembrance on our Be- *' half, in the Day of the Great Judgment, to make a Reconcilia- " tion for our Souls before the Lord." f In the Divifion of the Country, which the Ifraelites took from Sihon and Og, two vanquifhed Kings, that lived on the Eaft Side of "Jordan, and whofe Dominions extended from the River Arnon, even as far as Mount Herman, Deut. iii. 8. Mofes gave to the Tribe of Reuben the Southern, or rather the South-ivejl Part of the Country, fo that they were bounded to the South with the River Amon j to the Wefi, with Jordan ; and to the North and Eafi, with the Tribe of Gad. In this Tribe ftood Hefbon, the capital City of the Kingdom of Sihon, fituate on the Hills over againft Jericho, about twenty Miles diftant from the I^iver Jor- dan. The Tribe of Gad was bounded \yith the River Jordan, to the Wefi ; with the half Tribe of Manaffeh, to the North ; with the Ammonites, to the Eafi ; and with the Tribe of Reuben, to the South. In this Tribe ftood Afiaroth, the capital City of the Kingdom of Og, which very likely obtained its Name from an Idol, which was much worfliipped in thofe Times and Parts. How the half Tribe of Manaffeh came to chufe to ftay on the Eaft Side of Jordan, the facred Hiftory makes no Mention ; but it is reafonable to fuppofe, that, after they found that the Tribes of ' Reuben and Gad had fucceeded in their Petition, they likewife might 0,1 . The Hijlory ro^^^//Vi Bleffing,^j*^*/J^,^ which he pronounced upon each Tribe, as yacob had done Land, and juft before his Death, he went up * to the Top of Pifgah, tbert 4icu over-againft Jericho, from whence he might take a full View of the Country, which God had promifed to Abra^ ham's Pofterity. For, though he was an hundred and twen- ty Years old, yet his natural Strength and Vigour was not impaired, nor had his Eye-fight in the leafl: failed him ; fo that he was able to furvey the beauteous Profpeft, which the deh'ghtful Town and Plains of Jericho, and the fair Cliffs, and lofty Cedars of Lebanon afforded him ; and, having done this, he refigne^ his Soul into the Hands of Seraphimsy who were waiting to convey it into a happier Canaan, than what feveral Authors mentioned by Huetius (Demonflxat. Evang. Propof. 4 Chap. 2,) do abundantly teftify. Nay, he obferves, that this Cuftom continued long after the Invention of Paper, ef- pecially if Men defired, that any Thing Ihould be publickly known, and tranfmitted down to Pofterity. ShuckfortTs Con- nexion, Vol. III. 1. 12. and Pa^r/Vi's Commentary. * The Mountains of Abarlm were a Ridge of Hills between the two Rivers Amort and Jordan. One Part of thefc Mountains was diftinguilhed by the Name of IJebo, as appears from Deut. xxxii. 49. and comparing this with Deut. xxxiv. 1 . we (hall find that J 7- A 1 -i- Endof Deu- ^^^ twenty Years old, yet his hyes were not dim : And if teronomy. we fuppofe, that, upon this Occafion, God ftrengthen'd **"^^"*^them, with a greater Vigour than ordinary, to enable him to take a larger Profpeft of the Country, fo that, from this Eminence, he might fee Dan and Mount Lebanon, to the North ; the Lake of Sodom and the City Zoar, to the Sou h ; the Mediterranean-Sea to the (Veji ; and (as the Town and Country of Jericho was juft at Hand) he might eafily difcern the Land of Gilead to the North-Eaji. This indeed may be a Compafs, above the Stretch of human Sight; but if God was pleafed to affift his vifive Faculties a little, the Matter might eafily have been done : And, accordingly (f), fome of the "Jewijh Do6lors have been wife enough in putting together both the natural Clearnefs of Mofesh Eyes, and the additional Strength^ which God, at this Time, vouchfafed to give them j *' For God {hewed him, fay they, *' the whole Land, as in a Garden-plat ; and gave his Eyes *' fuch Power of contemplating it, from the Beginning to *' the End, that he faw Hills and Dales, what was open, " and what was enclofed, remote or nigh, at one fmglc *' View, or Intuition." jJii OfftHce, Th e Talmudijis have a very odd Conceit, that the great end vihy gin, for which Mofes was hindered from going into the Land criminal n^^ (^o^oan^ was, becaufe he called the People of God (d) toexcudebim Rebels ; and from thence they have formed a Maxim, that from Canaan, /jg^ ^jj^ treats the Churchy which ought to be honoured, with Contempt^ is, as if he blafphemed the Name of God. But, in Oppofition to this, it fliould be conftdered, that Mofes, on this Occafion, ufes the very fame Language, that God himfelf does, when he bids him (e) lay up the Rod of Aaron, as a Token againjl the Rebels ; and that, if this was the Thing, wherein he offended God, he not long after committed the fame Thing f which he would hardly have done, confidering already that it had coft him fo dear) when he told the People plainly, (/) ye have been rebellious againfi the Lord, ever fine e 1 knew you. Several Chrijllan, as well as fewijh Expofltors, think, that the Tranfgreffion of Mofes lay in fmiting the Rock, when (c) Patrick's Commentary, on Deut. xxxiv. (d) Numb. XX. 10. (e) Ibid, chap, xvii. 10. [f) Deut, ix. 24. Chap. 111. from the Ifraeiites Deparlure f rem Eg)yt^ &c. 3^ when his Inftrudions only were iofpeak to it ; and, for the A. m. Support of this, they alltdge, that God is an abfclute Sove-^^J^'Q^.j'jJ reign, expecting an abfoJutc Obedience, and exading Pu- 14851, fefc. nifhment even of his greateft Favourites, when they pretend FfomMumb. to vary from his Commands, or to mix their own Concep End of Deu- tions with his Directions : And that there was fome fuch te.onomy. Prevarication in the Condufl of Mofes and Aaron^ feemsto' be imply'd in God's Remonftraiice, which immediately fol- lows ; {g) becaufe ye believed ?ne not^ or, as it fhould be tranf- Jated) becaufe ye were not faithful to »/ fefc, therefore we find God efpoufing the Deed, and, in a Kind FfoniNumb.Qf Exultation, declaring {s) Phineas, the Son of Eleazar, End'ofDeu-'^^ 5'!^i!,'jS'' like an over- fond Parent, he was blind to their Faults. The Word Aven, which we tranflate Iniquity, and the Word Amal, which we render Perverfenefs, do both very frequently fignify in Scripture the higheft Kind of Wickednefs, /. e. Idolatry ; and fo the Reafon, which Balaam afllgns, why God had blefs'd the Ifraelites, an4 would not curfe them, is, that they had not as yet incurr'd the Sin of Idolatry. Some private Men might perhaps be guilty of it, but it was not yet become National, and Epidemical ; nor were there any Hopes, that God would ever deliver them into the Power of their Enemies, unlefs, fome Way or other, they fhould be fcduc'd into that Sin . C 4 and fa) Le Clerc's Comitient. in Deut. viii. 4. ix) Devit, ;cxix. 5. (y) Deut. ii. 7, 40 The Hiftory of the BIBLE, Book IV. ^- ^ and therefore Balaam odvis'd the Prince of Moah:, by the Ant. Chrift. Allurements of fome beautiful Women, to entice them 1489. &c. into it, as the iike'ieU: Way to deprive them of the divine From Numb. pj.„t^^Ci|Qj^_ xvui. to the ^-^ . r> <- 1 EntlofDeu- wTHERs taJce the Words in a common Senfe, to de- teronomy. note Sin^ OX IVickednefs in general j but then, by the Words y^^, ox behold^ they underftand fuch an Obfervation of this Wickednefs, as marks it out for Punifnment. Ac- cording to this Obfervation, they make the Meaning of the Phrafe to be, that, " tho' the Ifraelites weie confefledly ^' guilty of many great Crimes, yet, fince they were not *' univ erf ally fo, Caod vvou'd have more Regard to his own *' Promifes, than to the Sins of fome Particulars ; becaufe *' he is a God of perfect Veracity, and the Unbelief and *' Impiety of /// Men fhall not have Force enough with *' him, to recal and annul his Promifes to the Good." There is another Signification of the Word, which \ve render behold, and that is, to look upon with Plea Cure and Approbation : And (z) therefore, as the Particle Beth docs frequently fignify againji, as well as ;'«, (imd (