PREFACE TO DEUTERONOMY. that very few parts of the Old Testament scriptures can be read with greater profit by the genuine Christian than the Book of Deuteronomy. The contents of the different chapters may be thus briefly summed up : On the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, after the departure from Egypt, the Israelites being then on the east side of Jordan, in the land of the Moabites, Moses gives them a brief recapitulation of what took place in the wilderness, from their leaving Mount Horeb till they came to Kadesh; chap. i. Their travels from Kadesh till they come to the country of the Amorites, with the defeat of Sihon their king; chap. ii. The war with Og, king of Bashan, with the dividing his land and that of Sihon among the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; chap. iii. Moses exhorts them to observe the divine precepts; threatens those who should violate them; and appoints Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan, to be the cities of refuge on the east side of Jordan; chap. iv. Repeats the decalogue, and tells the people what effect the publication of it had on their fathers, when God spoke to them from the mount; chap. v. Exhorts them to love God with all their heart, and promises them an abundance of good things; chap. vi. Repeats the command to exterminate the Canaanites, and all vestiges of their idolatry; chap. vii. Recites the many interpositions of God's kindness which they had received during their forty years' travel in the wilderness, and strongly exhorts them to remember those mercies, and not to forfeit a continuance of his favours by ingratitude and disobedience; chap. viii. Shows them that they were to pass Jordan in a short time, and that God was about to bring them in, not on account of their goodness, but of his mercy; chap. ix. Gives an account of the second tables of the law, which he made at the command of God; mentions their journey from Beeroth to Jotbath, the choosing of the Levites, and the necessity of having the heart circumcised; chap. x. Continues an account of God's mighty acts in their behalf, and shows the blessings which should come on them who kept his law, and the curse on those who were disobedient. The blessings to be pronounced on Mount Gerizzim, and the curses on Mount Ebal; chap. xi. Commands them to destroy all monuments of idolatry in the land, to offer the different offerings and sacrifices, and to avoid eating of blood; chap. xii. Ordinances against false prophets, idolatrous cities, &c.; chap. xiii. Forbids their cutting themselves at funerals, recapitulates the law concerning clean and unclean animals, and exhorts them to remember the Levites; chap. xiv. Every seventh year shall be a year of release for the poor; of usury; first-born, &c.; chap. xv. Concerning the annual feasts, passover, pentecost, and tabernacles; the establishment of judges and officers; no groves to be planted near the altar of God; chap. xvi. Idolaters are to be put to death; difficult cases in equity to be referred to the superior judges; of a king and his duties; chap. xvii. All divination is prohibited. The grand promise of an EXTRAORDINARY PROPHET. How false prophets are to be distinguished; chap. xviii. The laws relative to the cities of refuge, and how the intentional murderer is to be treated; chap. xix. Laws relative to the carrying on of war; who should be sent back from the army, how they are to treat the Canaanites, and how they are to commence sieges; chap. xx. How to make expiation for an uncertain murder; marriages with captives; rights of the first-born, &c.; chap. xxi. Things lost or strayed are to be restored to their right owners; men and women must not interchange apparel; improper mixtures to be avoided; of the tokens of virginity; adulterers and adulteresses to be put to death; chap. xxii. Eunuchs, bastards, Moabites, and Ammonites, are not to be permitted to enter into the congregation of the Lord. Harlots not to be tolerated; chap. xxiii. Laws relative to divorce; privileges of the newly-married man; concerning pledges, wages, gleanings, &c.; chap. xxiv. More than forty stripes shall not be given. If a man die childless, his brother shall take his wife. Of weights, measures, &c.; chap. xxv. Different ceremonies to be used in offering the first-fruits; tithes. Of full self-consecration to God; chap. xxvi. PREFACE TO DEUTERONOMY. The words of the law to be written on stones, and to be set up on Mount Ebal. The tribes which stand on Mount Gerizzim to bless the obedient, and those which should stand on Mount Ebal to curse the disobedient. Who they are that are to be cursed; chap. xxvii. The blessings of those who are faithful; curses against the disobedient; chap. xxviii. A recital of the covenant of God, made not only with them, but for their posterity; chap. xxix. Promises of pardon to the penitent; good and evil, life and death, are set before them; chap. xxx. Moses being now 120 years old, delivers a copy of the law which he had written into the hands of the priests, to be laid up in the ark, and to be publicly read every seventh year; a charge is given to Joshua; chap. xxxi. The prophetical and historical song of Moses: he is commanded to go up to Mount Nebo that he may see the promised land; chap. xxxii. The prophetical blessing of the twelve tribes. The indescribable happiness of Israel; chap. xxxiii. Moses views the promised land from the top of Mount Nebo, dies, and is privately buried by the Lord. The Israelites mourn for him thirty days. Joshua takes the command of the people. The character of Moses; chap. xxxiv. At the close of this book I have added a number of useful TABLES, such as no edition of the Bible ever could boast, viz.: Table I. A perpetual table, showing through the course of 13 lunar cycles (which embrace every possible variation) the day of the week with which the Jewish year begins, and on which the passover is held; as also the lengths of the months Marchesvan and Cisler. Table II. Containing the whole variations in the reading of the Pareshioth or sections of the law for every year of the Jewish cycle of 247 years. Table III. To find, with the help of Table IV., the day of the week upon which any Jewish new moon or festival happens. Table IV. To determine upon what day of the week any Jewish month commences for any given year; as also the day of the week upon which the Jews celebrate their principal fasts and festivals. ac Table V. Containing the order of reading the Pareshioth and Haphtaroth for 90 Jewish years, i. e., from A. M. 5572 to A. M. 5661, both inclusive, connected with the corre sponding dates in the CHRISTIAN ERA, according to the Gregorian or new style. Table VI. Containing the year of the Jewish lunar cycle, the golden number, the first dayef the Jewish passover, Easter Sunday, and the commencement of each Jewish year, cording to the Gregorian Calendar, A. D. 1812 to A. D. 1900, both inclusive. All concluded with an explanation of the preceding tables. To them succeeds A Chronology of the Pentateuch, with the Book of Joshua; or a Systematic Arrangement of Events from the creation of ADAM, A.M. 1, to the birth of Peleg, A.M. 1757, and thence to the death of Joshua, A. M. 2561. This chronology includes two tables, viz.: Tablel The birth and death of all the patriarchs, from Adam, A. M. 1, to Rhea, son of Peleg A.M. 1787. Table II. A chronology of ancient kingdoms synchronized with the sacred history, from A. M. 1757, B. C. 2247, to A. M. 2561, B. C. 1443. The whole so cal culated as to prevent the necessity of having recourse to systems of Chronology for historic facts in anywise connected with those mentioned in the SACRED Writings. The great utility of these tables will, I think, be at once evident to every biblical critic. chronologist, and antiquary; and for the immense labour employed in their construction the editor, no doubt, will have their hearty thanks. ADAM CLARKE. THE FIFTH BOOK OF MOSES, CALLED DEUTERONOMY. Year before the common Year of Christ, 1451.—Julian Period, 3263.—Cycle of the Sun, 10.-Dominical Letter, B.-Cycle of the Moon, 10.-Indiction, 15.-Creation from Tisri or September, 2553. CHAPTER I. Introduction to the book, 1, 2. Moses addresses the people in the fortieth year after the exodus from Egypt, 3-5; and shows how God had spoken to them in Horeb, and the directions he gave them, 6-8. How, at the commandment of the Lord, he had appointed officers, judges, &c., to share the government with him, 9-18. Of their travels in the terrible wilderness, 19-21. The people's request to have spies sent to search out the land, 22-25. Of their murmuring and rebellion when they heard the report of the spies, 26-28. How Moses encouraged them, 29-33. The displeasure of the Lord against them because of their murmurings, and his purpose to exclude them from the good land, and give it to their children only, 34-40. How they repented, and yet, without the authority of God, went against the Amorites, by whom they were defeated, 41–44. Their return to Kadesh, where they abode many days, 45, 46. NOTES ON CHAP. I. Verse 1. These be the words which Moses spake]| The five first verses of this chapter contain the introduction to the rest of the book: they do not appear to be the work of Moses, but were added probably either by Joshua or Ezra. On this side Jordan] y beeber, at the passage of Jordan, i. e., near or opposite to the place where the Israelites passed over, after the death of Moses. Though eber is used to signify both on this side and on the other side, and the connexion in which it stands can only determine the meaning; yet here it signifies neither, but simply the place or ford where the Israelites passed over Jordan. In the plain] That is, of Moab; over against the Red Sea-not the Red Sea, for they were now farther from it than they had yet been: the word sea is not in the text, and the word suph, which we render red, does not signify the Red Sea, unless joined with yam, sea; here it must necessarily signify a place In or adjoining to the plains of Moab. Ptolemy men e A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. An. Ex. Isr. 40. Sebat. 3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the d Numb. xiii. 26. Ch. ix. 23. -e Numb. xxxiii. 38. tions a people named Sophonites, that dwelt in Arabia Petræa, and it is probable that they took their name from this place; but see the note from Lightfoot, Numb. xx., at the end. Paran] This could not have been the Paran which was contiguous to the Red Sea, and not far from Mount Horeb; for the place here mentioned lay on the very borders of the promised land, at a vast distance from the former. Dizahab.] The word should be separated, as it is in the Hebrew, Di Zahab. As Zahab signifies gold, the Septuagint have translated it ra xpvoia, the gold mines; and the Vulgate, ubi aurum est plurimum, where there is much gold. It is more likely to be the name of a place. Verse 2. There are eleven days' journey] The Israelites were eleven days in going from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea, where they were near the verge of the promised land; after which they were thirtyeight years wandering up and down in the vicinity of this place, not being permitted, because of their The boundaries of the land A. M. 2553. An. Ex. Isr. 40. g A. M. 2553. Sebat. month, that Moses spake unto | sware unto your fathers, Abrathe children of Israel, accord- ham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give An. Ex. Isr. 40. ing unto all that the LORD had unto them and to their seed given him in commandment unto them; after them. 4 After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei: 5 On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying, 6 The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: 7 Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea-side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 Behold, I have 'set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD a Numb. xxi. 24, 33.- b Numb. xxi. 33. Josh. xiii, 12. Exod. iii. 1. -d See Exod. xix. 1. Numb. x. 11. e Heb. all his neighbours.- f Heb. given.- 8 Gen. xii. 7. xv. 18. xvii. 7, 8. xxvi. 4. xxviii. 13.- h Exod. xviii. 18. Numb. rebellions, to enter into the promised rest, though they were the whole of that time within a few miles of the land of Canaan ! Verse 3. The fortieth year] This was a melancholy year to the Hebrews in different respects; in the first month of this year Miriam died, Numb. xx. ; on the first day of the fifth month Aaron died, Numb. xxxiii. 38; and about the conclusion of it, Moses himself died. 9 And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone: 10 The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. 11(The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, ' as he hath promised you!) 12 "How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife! 13 Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. n 14 And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do. 15 So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over xi. 14.- Gen. xv. 5. Ch. x. 22. xxviii, 62.- 2 Sam. 1 Kings iv. 21. So that in his time, at least, the pro- Verse 10. Ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.] This was the promise God made to Abraham, Gen. xv. 5, 6; and Moses considers it Low as amply fulfilled. But was it really so? Many suppose the expression to be hyberbolical; and others, no friends to revelation, think it a vain empty Verse 5. Began Moses to declare this law] Began, boast, because the stars, in their apprehension, amount hoil, willingly undertook; to declare, a beer, to innumerable millions. Let us consider this subto make bare, clear, &c., fully to explain, this law.ject. How many in number are the stars which ap See the conclusion of the preface. pear to the naked eye? for it is by what appears # Verse 6. Ye have dwelt long enough, &c.] They the naked eye we are to be governed in this business. came to Sinai in the third month after their departure for God brought Abraham forth abroad, i. e., out d from Egypt, Exod. xix. 1, 2; and left it the twen-doors, and bade him look towards heaven, not with tieth of the second month of the second year, so it telescope, but with his naked eyes, Gen. xv. 5. Now appears they had continued there nearly a whole year. I shall beg the objector to come forth abroad, and Verse 7. Go to the mount of the Amorites] On the look up in the brightest and most favourable night, south of the land of Canaan, towards the Dead Sea. and count the stars-he need not be terrified at their Land of the Canaanites] That is, Phoenicia, the coun- abundance; the more they are, the more he can count; try of Sidon, and the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and I shall pledge myself to find a male Israelite, in from the country of the Philistines to Mount Libanus. the very last census taken of this people, Numb. xxvi. The Canaanites and Phoenicians are often confounded. for every star he finds in the whole upper hemisphere The river Euphrates.] Thus Moses fixes the of heaven. The truth is, only about 3,010 stars car bounds of the land, to which on all quarters the terri- be seen by the naked eye in both the northern and tories of the Israelites might be extended, should southern hemispheres; and the Israelites, independ the land of Canaan, properly so called, be found in-ently of women and children, were at the above time sufficient for them. Their SOUTH border might extend more than 600,000. And suppose we even allow to the mount of the Amorites; their wEST to the that, from the late discoveries of Dr. Herschel and borders of the Mediterranean Sea; their NORTH others with telescopes which have magnified be to Lebanon; and their EAST border to the river Eu-tween 35 and 36,000 times, there may be 75 millions phrates: and to this extent Solomon reigned; see of stars visible by the help of such instruments, which B The civil constitution of A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. Sebat. A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. An. Ex. Isr. 40. Sebat. hundreds, and captains over | you, and said, We will send men An. Ex. Isr. 40. fifties, and captains over tens, с e 23 And the saying pleased me well: and *I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe : 24 And 'they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out. 25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, TM It is a good m 18 And I commanded you at that time, all land which the LORD our God doth give us. the things which ye should do. 22 And 26" Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God: 27 And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the 'Anakims there. 29 Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither P ye came near unto me every one of be afraid of them. Ch. xvi. 18. John vii. 24.- b Lev. xxiv. 22.- Lev. xix. 15. Ch. xvi. 19. 1 Sam. xvi. 7. Prov. xxiv. 23. James ii. 1.- d Heb. acknowledge faces.- e 2 Chron. xix. 6.- Exod. xviii. 22, 26.- - Numb. x. 12. Ch. viii. 15. Jer. ii. 6.- b Numb. xiii. 26. Josh. i. 9.- k Numb. xiii. 3. 1 Numb. xiii. 22, 23, 24.- m Numb. xiii. 27. n Numb. xiv. 1, 2, 3, 4. Ps. cvi. 24, 25.-—o Ch. ix. 28. P Heb. melted. Josh. ii. 11. 4 Numb. xiii. 28, 31, 32, 33. Ch. ix. 1, 2. Numb. xiii. 28. employed by the different chiefs in executing particular commands. All these held their authority from God, and yet were subject and accountable to each other. See the notes on Numb. ii. is the highest calculation ever made, yet still the divine word stands literally true: St. Matthew says, chap. i., that the generations from Abraham to Christ were 42; now we find at the second census that the fighting men among the Hebrews amounted to Verse 17. Ye shall not respect persons] Heb.faces. 603,000; and the Israelites, who have never ceased Let not the bold, daring countenance of the rich or to be a distinct people, have so multiplied as far to mighty induce you to give an unrighteous decision; exceed the number of all the fixed stars taken together. and let not the abject look of the poor man induce Verse 13. Take you wise men] chachamim, you either to favour him in an unrighteous cause, or such as had gained knowledge by great labour and to give judgment against him at the demand of the study. Understanding, □ɔɔɔ nebonim, persons of dis-oppressor. Be uncorrupt and incorruptible, for the cernment, judicious men. Known, yeduim, judgment is God's; ye minister in the place of God, persons practised in the operations of nature, capable act like HIM. of performing curious and important works. Verse 15. Captains over thousands, &c.] What a curious and well-regulated economy was that of the Israelites! See its order and arrangement: 1. GOD, the KING and Supreme Judge; 2. Moses, God's prime minister; 3. The priests, consulting him by Urim and Thummim; 4. The chiefs or princes of the twelve tribes; 5. Chiliarchs, or captains over thousands; 6. Centurions, or captains over hundreds; 7. Tribunes, or captains over fifty men; 8. Decurions, or captains over ten men; and 9. Officers, persons who might be Verse 22. We will send men before us] See on Numb. xiii. Verse 28. Cities-walled up to heaven] That is, with very high walls which could not be easily scaled. High walls around houses, &c., in these parts of Arabia are still deemed a sufficient defence against the Arabs, who scarcely ever attempt any thing in the way of plunder but on horseback. The monastery on Mount Sinai is surrounded with very high walls without any gate; in the upper part of the wall there is a sort of window or opening, from which a |