thus intended to describe the country as unhealthy, although fertile; and they consider them to wherever they came they saw the people burying the dead as if there had been a plague among them. think that there actually was a plague sent by the Lord to weaken the inhabitants of the land; and instead of recognising the Divine intention, attributed it to the unwholesomeness of the country.

have said, that Some of them that the spies,

"All the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature."-In the Hebrew "men of measures;" that is, men above the ordinary standard. This could hardly be true of all the inhabitants, although it seems to be so stated. They probably either spoke falsely, or made an unfounded inference as to all the inhabitants, from the sons of Anak, whom they saw in one part of the country.

66 a

33. "Giants, the sons of Anak."”—py, anak, means, as a verb, "to surround like a necklace;" and, as a noun, necklace," or "neckchain," whence it is thought by some that these men were so distinguished on account of certain collars or chains which they proudly wore around their necks. But it is clear that they derived their name from Anak, the son of Arba (Josh. xv. 14), who, however, may have obtained his on account of some such ornament. We think that we must allow this family of Anakim to have been men of great stature. However doubtful the word "giant" may be in ordinary cases, the context states circumstances of comparison which make it evident that it is here correctly employed to translate the word, nephilim. (See the note on Gen. vi. 4.) It is a question which has been often started, whether the early inhabitants of the world were larger than at present. Considering that the duration of human life was much greater in the early ages after the deluge than at present, and assuming that the period of growth was longer in proportion, many have thought that men generally were of larger stature till the term of human life was reduced to its present standard. This reduction took place at so early a period, that perhaps this theory cannot be fairly disproved by reference to skeletons, monuments, mummies, personal ornaments, or sepulchral remains; for although we generally find these adapted to the present stature of men, we do not know that any of them are more ancient than the period when it is allowed that human life and human stature became reduced as we now find them. There seems to us, however, a fallacy in the reasoning from the greater duration of human life. It is true the period of growth may have been longer; but it does not follow that the growth was as rapid in the longer as in the shorter period. The analogy of other existences would rather say the contrary, as we generally see short-lived animals grow faster than those that are long-lived. Long-lived animals, also, are not generally larger than the short-lived; and in the existing human race we do not find that the people or families who attain a great age are generally larger than others. It is well here to notice this impression; but in admitting that the Anakim were a gigantic race, we are not required to suppose more than the existence of a family of men above the ordinary stature, and in this there would be no improbability even at the present time.

"And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."-This is of course an hyperbolical exaggeration; but although they might know what they were in their own sight, how came they to know what the sons of Anak thought of them? Some of the Rabbins have the bluntness to call them liars; but the majority do not consent to lose the opportunity of relating a story. One of their stories is given by Bishop Patrick from the Gemara ; but other Jewish writers give a shorter one, to the effect that the spies were perceived by the Anakim, and heard them observe to one another, "There are pismires in the vineyards like unto men.'

CHAPTER XIV.

6 Joshua and

1 The people murmur at the news.
Caleb labour to still them. 11 God threateneth
them. 13 Moses persuadeth God, and obtaineth
pardon. 26 The murmurers are deprived of en-
tering into the land. 36 The men who raised the
evil report die by a plague. 40 The people that
would invade the land against the will of God are
smitten.

AND all the congregation lifted up their
voice, and cried; and the people wept that
night.

2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!

3 And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:

7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.

8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.

9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their 'defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.

10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.

11 ¶And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for

1 Heb, shadow.

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25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaan- 40 And they rose up early in the mornites dwelt in the valley.) To morrow turning, and gat them up into the top of the

2 Exod. 32. 12. 3 Exod. 13. 21. 4 Deut. 9. 28. 5 Exod. 34. 6. Psal. 103. 8. 6 Exod. 20. 5, and 34. 7. 7 Or, hitherto,

10 Chap. 26 65, and 32. 11.
14 Or, altering of my purpose.

Verse 4. "Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt."-It appears from Nehem. ix. 17, that they actually did appoint a leader for this purpose. Nothing can more strikingly exhibit the utterly debased state of their minds than their design to return to the bondage of Egypt, rather than undergo those privations and make those exertions which were required to establish and secure their independence. And when we see them so insultingly ungrateful to God as to desire to return to the miserable condition from which, by so many signs and wonders, he had gloriously redeemed them, we are constrained to bow in devout acquiescence to the wisdom and justice of that decree which shut them out from that rich inheritance which they had so lightly esteemed.

8. "A land which floweth with milk and honey."-This is a proverbial expression, characterizing a land exuberantly productive, not only in the necessaries but the luxuries of life. It includes more than it expresses; yet even as more strictly understood, it is particularly applicable to Palestine, the rich pastures of which secure an ample supply of very excellent milk, while, for the superior quality of its honey, it seems at all times to have enjoyed a high reputation. We have already had occasion to notice the prominent place which milk and honey, in various preparations, occupy in the dietary system of the people of western Asia.

9. "Their defence is departed from them."-The margin reads "shadow ;" but as this word has a common application, which the original has not in view, perhaps "shade" would be better; but as even this is not unambiguous, perhaps the paraphrase "protecting shade" would be best of all. The force of this and other similar allusions in the Bible is in a great degree lost upon those who, under the scorching sun of the east, have not had occasion to experience that the shelter of some shady place is an enjoyment of such essential importance, as to be only inferior in value and gratification to that of drink to one who is dried up with thirst under the same circumstances. Hence, in the language of Asia, we generally find that the word "shade," or "shadow," is used as a metaphor to express defence and shelter; but it must be admitted that it is not always easy to understand where a person's own shadow, or a protecting shade for him is expressed. Both senses seem to be in use, the former implying the protection and favour he has the power to bestow, and the latter the protection and favour which he enjoys. Hence, in Arabia and Persia particularly, complimentary expressions continually refer to the shadow, in such phrases as-" May your shadow be continually extended;" "May your shadow never be diminished;" May your shadow be extended over the heads of your well-wishers;"" May your shadow be a continual shelter to me," &c. Sometimes the phrase runs: "May the shadow of your prosperity"-" of your protection," &c. Mr. Roberts notices a similar use of the word in India, where a poor man, speaking of a rich friend, says, "He is my shadow," that is, he is my defence; "My shadow is gone," meaning, he has lost his defence; "Alas! those poor people have lost their shadow," &c. The Sultan of Turkey and the Shah of Persia are both styled "The Refuge of the World," unquestionably with a primary reference to a shadow: indeed both these monarchs lay claim to the title of "The Shadow of God” (Zıl-ullah); and the idea which such a title is intended to convey will, after this explanation, be comprehended without difficulty.

22. "Ten times."-This is no doubt a definite for an indefinite number, in which sense it is often used by the sacred writers. Indeed this use of the word ten, as representing an indefinite number, is common in all countries, our own not excepted: and it probably arose from the original use of the fingers in counting or expressing numbers; when a person, not feeling quite certain about a precise number below ten, or wishing to use a round number, would naturally exhibit the collective amount which the fingers of both hands represent. We say "below ten," in the impression that the word "ten" is seldom or never thus used to express a number larger than ten.

25. ("Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.")—This should be read without the parenthesis, and with the verb in the present tense. As it stands, it is not only obscure, but seems to contradict verse 45:-"Then the Amalekites came down and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill." The meaning of verses 25, 43, and 45 will, with a little consideration, appear to be this:-The Lord tells them that the Amalekites and Canaanites were in readiness to oppose them, and held in military occupation (not resided in) the valley on the other side of the hill; and therefore tells them not to go forward, lest they should fall into their ambuscades; but to turn, on the morrow, and get into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. Instead of obeying, they determined the next morning to go up the mountain (verse 40); but were again dissuaded and assured (verse 43) that their enemies, ascending the valley on the other side, would gain the advantageous post on the hill top before them. But they persisted; and what might have been expected happened:-the Amalekites and Canaanites, who had gained previous possession of the summit, poured down upon them, and became the instruments of punishing them for their mutiny and rebellion.

26 And it shall be forgiven all the con13 All that are born of the country shall gregation of the children of Israel, and the do these things after this manner, in offering stranger that sojourneth among them; seean offering made by fire, of a sweet savouring all the people were in ignorance. unto the LORD.

3 Heb. separating.
7 Heb. from the eyes. 8 Or, ordinance.

LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.

29 Ye shall have one law for him that 10 sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. 30 ¶ But the soul that doeth ought "presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

31 Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off: his iniquity shall be upon him.

32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. 33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.

34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.

man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones. without the camp.

36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.

37 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a riband of blue:

39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:

40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. 41 I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to 35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The be your God: I am the LORD your God.

10 Heb. doeth. 11 Heb. with an high hand.

12 Levit. 2. 4, 12. 13 Deut. 22. 12. Matth. 23. 5.

24. "If ought be committed by ignorance."-This law is different from that concerning sins of ignorance as specified in Levit. iv.: and it is therefore probable that a different class of offences is intended. It is very commonly thought that the law there is for the less aggravated infractions of the moral law, and that now before us for those of the ceremonial law, that is, of that law which prescribed the usages of divine worship; and the different ceremonies of purification which were to be performed in the various instances which the law specifics.

30. "Presumptuously.”—, be-yad ramah, “with a high hand." It is desirable to obtain a clear idea of what is here meant, as this will enable us the better to understand the apparent severity of the ensuing punishment of the sabbath-breaker, and of other punishments of a similar character. Upon the whole we think that the most explanatory understanding is that stated by Michaelis; who is of opinion that while it certainly implies will-trangression, it does not apply to the wilful violation of every Mosaic commandment, but only of the ceremonial law as distinguished from the criminal. This is indeed evident from the fact that many offences, which the criminal law must regard as wilful and deliberate, have a much milder punishment than is here assigned to sins of presumption. Sinning" with a high hand" would therefore indicate an offence against the ceremonial law, open and daring, in which the sinner has no desire to conceal that he has transgressed the law of God. Thus in the strongest manner he "reproacheth the Lord," and "hath despised the word of the Lord." "It appears to me," says Michaelis, "that transgressing the law presumptuously, or with a high hand, is here to be understood of transgressions committed publicly in defiance of the law, and therefore amounting to a sort of renouncement of religion."...." Capital punishments," he continues, "on account of transgressions of the ceremonial law, must have been very frequent indeed, if we are to understand the phrase, with a high hand, as equivalent to wilful or deliberate in a moral sense; and yet in the Biblical history, we find but very little notice of the infliction of such punishments." (Commentaries,' Art. 249.)

32. "They found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.”—This remarkable incident will perhaps be the better understood when regarded in connection with the immediately preceding law, relative to sins of presumption as distinguished from sins of ignorance and as to be punished with extirpation. It seems indeed that the fact is related as an example of the application of the preceding law. This is the only example in the Bible of a person punished capitally for breaking the sabbath, although the crime itself is often mentioned in the Prophets; and this therefore is the place for a few observations as to a punishment which to us is apt to seem severely disproportioned to the offence, which, taken in its mere external aspect, was merely that of picking up some sticks, or straw, or stubble. Was this labour? Might not the man have thought such an act allowable without infraction of the law? Few people have read this passage without asking such questions. The act itself of gathering sticks was certainly not forbidden on the sabbath; but the having a fire in a house, and the employment of it for dressing victuals, was expressly forbidden. Thus then if we acquit the man of one branch of offence, we must find him guilty of the other-guilty of sabbath-breaking. But then the question recurs, on what ground the crime itself of sabbath-breaking was made so highly penal by the Hebrew law? The answer is found in the strong probability that the man "sinned with a high hand"-audaciously, and with open contempt of a well known command. Let us therefore look to the declared object of the institution, to ascertain the degree of criminality which its presumptuous infraction involved. The seventh day was to be kept holy in remembrance of God's having, after the six days of creation, rested on the seventh day from all his works. The imitation of this rest was to be to the Hebrews a sign of the covenant between the God who made heaven and earth, and them-of his being peculiarly their God (see Exod. xxxi. 13. 17); and therefore the prescribed observance of this institution was equivalent to a weekly profession that the people acknowledged and revered the Creator of heaven and earth