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For they shall sit down at his feet; And they shall receive of his words. 4 A law hath he commanded unto us; The inheritance of the congregation of faithful, and it is no patronymic of the Is

be the meaning of the word. In either sense, of "the well-beloved," or "the justified," it denotes the whole family of the

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raelites. When it is applied to them, it is in their spiritual character, as for a time they made the whole of God's acknowledged church.

Ged.-1-5 Now this is the benediction, with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death; the chiefs of the people of the tribes of Israel, being assembled [transposed from ver. 5]. O Lord (said he), who camest from Sinai; dawnest upon them from Seir; shonest on them from the mountains of Pharan! and from whose right hand came streams of water for them, from the copious springs of Kadesh! O loving Father of [Sam., so Durell, Horsley] the people [i.e., of the tribes of Israel]! all thy hallowed ones are in thine hands; at thy feet they fall down, to receive thy behests the law which thou hast enjoined to us, as the inheritance of the people of Jacob: for, THOU art king in Israel.

2 From whose right hand came streams of water for them, from the copious springs of Kadesh. I follow the Sam. copy, and

ואתו מרבבות קדש' מימנו : arrange the text thus . אשדות למו in this זרח

We have not only the authority of Sam. for 8, but of Sept., Vulg., Onk, Syr., who all must have found 18, not 78, or rs (which is the reading of several MSS.), in their Hebrew exemplars. I have more than once already remarked, that the

Jacob is the inheritance of the Preacher. He [i. e., the Preacher] shall be [LXX, Vulg.] king in Jeshurun, When the chiefs of the peoples [LXX] gather themselves together In union with the tribes of Israel. 2 His uprising was from Seir. line, as in the fifth, I take to be a noun substantive, and in both places I suppose an ellipsis of the verb. The 2, at the end of both lines, I take for the pronoun of the third person singular, rehearsing the proper name Jehovah. Of this use of, and have been often interchanged, from for, Bishop Lowth, in his Third Prelec- their resemblance in the antient alphabet. tion, has produced many instances. The In the next place, I read with Sam. construction of the Hebrew, according to my and not less than seventy-eight MSS. Thirdly, notion of it, may be more exactly repre- I read "" with Sam. and one MS. Fourthly, sented in the Latin language than in the I read in one word, with Sam, and more English: "Exortus ei erat a Seir; a dextrâ than fifty MSS. I reject ♫, not merely ejus [prorumpebant] ei [ignes]." Streams because ♫ is a Chaldee term; but, both be[of fire]. For ns, I read, with the Sa-, cause it is a novel Chaldee term, and never maritan text, a great number of the very used, not even here, by Onkelos or the Tharbest MSS., and with Dr. Durell, 8. gumists; and because Perhaps the best of all would be me, any grammatical propriety be rendered a which some copies of the Samaritan text fiery law. To resume, then, in an inverse give. But whethers, or s, the order, s can mean nothing else than word is certainly plural, &c. 3 And have streams of water; particularly such as issue received. I read, upon the authority from rocks or mountains. We have now a of the Samaritan version, the Syriac, Arabic, proper nominative to the verb ; and we Chald., and Kennicott. 4 In Jeshurun. The have only to explore the meaning of LXX render "Jeshurun" by ó áуaпnuevos, and 7. The learned and most inwhich is very consistent with the senses they genious Mr. Bradley thinks that is give to the root. “The justified" seems to, the same with 727, n, or man; for

cannot with אש

so it is written in Ezek. xlvii. 19, and even | second comma thus: "From his right hand joined with the same word which fol-issued streams to them." Green makes the lows it here. Hence he would make the preceding the nom. to 8, but, with two words the name of a place, and render: Sept., makes a proper name; and, supFrom his right hand came streams for them plying the preposition before it, he renders from Meriboth-Kadesh, or Meriba-Kadesh. the first comma thus: "and marched with And this explanation once pleased Kennicott his ten thousand men from Kadesh:" and (1 Dissert., p. 423), and Archbishop Secker the second comma he renders: "Fire from (in his MS. notes). There are, however, his right hand was a signal to them." That two objections to it: first, there wants the is (says he), Fire proceeding from the right preposition. This indeed, it may be hand of the cloud of glory was a signal to replied, may have been dropt, from its the Israelites, when to strike their tents and contiguity with the following: but this is, march forward, and when to pitch again. at least, improbable: nor is there a vestige He refers to a passage in Habakkuk iii. 5, to be found of it in any MS. or any of the He had beams of light issuing from his antient versions. Secondly, the word is hand." Geddes thus arranges the text, "O Lord! all the antients, referring it not to 217, from (said he) who camest from Sinai; dawnest which the name of is derived, but to upon them from Seir; shonest on them from 11. Suppose, then, this latter to be the the mountains of Pharan! and from whose root; or will denote a copious right hand came streams of water for them, quantity of anything; and more especially from the copious springs of Kadesh!" He a copious quantity of water. See the Arab. considers the nominative of the verb 22.-Geddes. . The rendering of Green is, in my

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, ואתו מרבבות קדש מימינו אשרות למו uniformly with a double beth: and so read

Booth.-1 Now this is the blessing, with judgment, entitled to preference, if be which Moses, the man of God, blessed the the genuine reading; for in Syr. sigIsraelites before his death, when the chiefs nifies, signum. See Castel in verb. If we of the people, of the tribes of Israel, were assembled [transposed from verse 5];

2

And he said,

Jehovah came from Sinai,

And dawned on them from Seir;

He shone forth from mount Paran!

The holy one came with multitudes;

reads, then the rendering of Durell will be the most proper. If the text be considered as corrupted, no conjectural emendation pleases me more than that of Ken. who instead of n from the Sam. version imagines was the genuine lection. From his right hand fire shone on them.”

66

Fire from his right hand was a signal to See 1st Dissert., p. 424. The pertinent them.

3 Yea, he loved the people;

observation of Rosenmüller ought to have a place here. "Observa perpetuam meta

All his hallowed ones he blessed [Syr.]: phoram a sole desumptam, qui initio lucem They sat down at his feet, And they received of his words: 4 The law which he enjoined us for an

; מורשה מורשה heritance [reading

Ged.],

præmittit (2), postea oritur ipse (), tandem terras illustrat (), et totum cœlum in-percurrit (778). Sic gradatim Deus præso sentiam suam in populo declaravit, quacunque iter fecit, inde a termino Egypti, usque ad fines Cananæos.”—Booth.

An inheritance for the assembly of Jacob; 5 For he was king in Jeshurun.

Rosen.-2 Jova e Sinai venit, i. e., obviam Then of Reuben and Simeon he said; venit Israelitis ad montis pedem accedcn2 The two last distiches of this verse are tibus, respectu habito ad illud Ex. xix. 17: allowed to be obscure; and critics have Moses populum e castris Deo obviam duxit. taken different methods to elucidate and Ortusque est ex Seire eis Isexplain them. Durell makes the nominative to 8, and thinks it means here the Holone. He thinks 7227 means the house of Israel; and renders the first comma thus: "And the Holy One came with multitudes He then reads 8, in one word, with a great number of MSS., and renders the

raelitis, qui vs. 3, 4, nomine designantur. Pronomina haud raro spectare constat ad nomina nondum quidem expressa, sed tamen ex iis, quæ sequuntur, et orationis nexu facile intelligenda; vid. Jes. xiii. 2, coll. 17; Ps. xviii. 15, coll. 18, et plura exempla in Gesenii Lehrgeb., p. 740. Pro LXX,

Onkelos, Syrus, et Vulgatus

1 Pers. Plur. nobis, non quod

exprimunt Israeliticum legibus ei datis contulit, celelegerunt, brando versari videtur.

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sed ut conveniret cum vs. 4. Seir mons est 3 Et amat, sc. Jova, populos, i. e., tribus Idumææ, vicinus deserto montis Sinai, vid. populi Israelitici, quæ et vs. 19 et Jud. ii. 1. E o rein, Illuxit e monte Pha- v. 14 y vocantur. Omnes sancti ejus, ran, qui est inter montem Seir et Sinai, populi Israelitici, sunt in manu tua, O Deus! prope Kadesch in limite Idumæorum, Gen. i. e., custodis et tueris pios populi Hebræi. xiv. 6; Num. x. 12; xiii. 3, 26. Intelli- Suffixum 3 masc. sing. ad subjectum, uti gendus est hic locus de statione Israelitarum loquuntur, illud, quod proxime præcedit, ad montem Sinai, et de glorioso Jovæ ad- populum Hebræum, nomine insigventu in illum montem; ita, ut terribilis illa nitum, est referendum. Constructio ad sentempestas, quæ respicitur etiam Jud. v. sum, cujusmodi in V. T. innumeræ. Recte 4, 5; Habac. iii. 3, sqq.; Ps. lxviii. 9, Onkelos: omnes sancti domus Israelis. SaaIsraelitis exorta sit primum versus Seir, et dias: et omnes præstantes eorum. plenius illuxerit de monte Pharan, usque, Et illi, Israelitæ, procubuerunt ad dum tandem in monte Sinai subsisteret, pedes tuos, O Deus! stabant ad montis Sinai unde porro populo suo obviam ivit. radices, ex quo tu tonabas, leges accepturi. Venitque e myriadibus sancti est præt. Pyal verbi 77, ejusdem cum tatis, sanctis, i. e., e sede sua cœlesti, ubi Arab. & significationis: nixus fuit rei, myriades angelorum thronum ejus circum-recubuit in latus. In verbis Tzan Nien stant, ad mandata sua exequenda parati, verbum singulare est distributive capiendum : vid. Dan. vii. 10; Jes. vi. 6; 1 Reg. xxii. unusquisque illorum, Israelitarum accepit, 19; Apoc. v. 11. Ante verba i, i. e., omnes illi receperunt de enunciatis tuis, Mendeli Fil. in Commentario Hebr. recte i. e., enuntiata, præcepta tua. notat repetendum esse, ut ita sint 5 Estque in Jeschurun rex. Rege Abeninterpretanda: et e dextra ejus venit iis, Esra Mosen intelligit, quem legem expoIsraelitis, ignis legis. conflatum est e nentem audiverint capita populi, quæ mox duobus vocc., ignis, et 7, lex (unde memorantur; et ante subaudiendum in codd. haud paucis divisim est scriptum putat similitudinis. Sed Moses numquam ), quod præter hunc locum nonnisi in se regem gessit, quin xvii. 14 minime se duobus serioribus V. T. libris, Esth. i. 13, talem esse innuit. Recte Jarchi, et post 15, 19, et Dan. vi. 9, 13, 16, occurrit. eum plerique interpp. hic intelligunt Deum, Convenit cum Persico 7, jus, justitia, et qui eo, quo lex Israelitis data, tempore, Armenorum Dat, judicium. Est igitur solus agnoscebatur Israelitarum rex, “cui," quasi ignis edictalis, diciturque ita Lex Is- ut Clericus ait, "soli tributum solvebant raelitis a Deo per Mosen tradita, quod media Hebræi, solisque ejus legibus obsequi teneinter fulgura promulgata esset; vid. Ex. bantur; vid. Jud. viii. 23; 1 Sam. viii. 7. xix. 16, sqq. Hoffmannus per 8, ignis Regis autem est, leges condere, præmiisque præceptum significari existimat columnam et poenis cas sancire, quod fecit Deus; ignis et nubis, quæ Israelitis per Arabia internuncii contra, seu ministri regii, eas deserta iter facientibus præviret. "Ap-acceptas ad populum ferre, quo ministerio tissime," inquit, "ita nominari poterat functus est Moses." De ry vid. xxxii. 15, signum illud miraculosum divinæ majes—NT ENTE, Cum congregarent se tatis splendorem oculis quasi ingerens, et capita populi, scil. eo die, quo lex a Deo quovis tempore profectionem vel quietem data est, unde ille, dies congredemandans.' Negat enim, hunc vs. ad pro- gationis vocatur x. 4; xviii. 16. Cf. Ex. mulgationem legis in monte Sinaitico re- xix. 7, 17. Alii de tempore futuro hoc inferendum esse; sed hoc potius illum dicere: telligunt. Ita Jarchi: "omni tempore quo Deus suis auxilium allaturus ex illa regione sese congregant capita populi." Ante verba iis obviam venit, in qua perpetuo habitat; est repetendum 8, cum poetico autem modo vatem descendere in sese und congregarent tribus Israelis. singulas illius regionis partes etiam in aliis carminibus distinctas, videlicet Jud. v. 4; Habac. iii. 3; Ps. lxviii. 9. Nobis tamen, uti supra diximus, totum hoc proœmium in beneficio illo insigni, quod Deus in populum

Ver. 6.

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ζήτω Ρουβὴν, καὶ μὴ ἀποθανέτω, καὶ ἔστω Gen. xliii. 9; Prov. xxx. 3; Jes. xxiii. 4, hoc sensu nec sint viri ejus numerus, i. e.,

πολὺς ἐν ἀριθμῷ.

Au. Ver.-6 Let Reuben live, and not pauci, qui facile numerari possunt; cf. ad die; and let not his men be few.

And let not his men be few. So Rosen. Ged., Patrick.-Although his men be but few in number.

:

Gen. xxxiv. 30; Jes. x. 19. Sit semper numerorissima hæc tribus! Postquam Rubeni bene precatus esset Moses, aut qui eum loquentem hic facit, vota facienda erant pro Bp. Patrick. In the last clause of this Simeone, qui filiorum Jacobi ordine secundus verse, we repeat the word not (which is erat, Gen. xxix. 32, 33. Sed nulla plane wanting in the Hebrew) without any neces- Simeonis fit mentio. Erant, qui Simeonis sity for the words may be thus translated nomen librariorum negligentia excidisse, exactly, "let Reuben live, and not die, illudque post inserendum conjicerent, though his men be few." Which seems to cui conjecturæ favet, quod in versionis be a confirmation of the prophecy of Jacob Græcæ cod. Alex. et aliis nonnullis illius (Gen. xlix. 4), “that he should not excel," vers. codd. legitur: kaì Evμewv čσtw toàùs and yet should live, and not perish; that is, ev apibμ. Sed in longe plerisque codd. measure a flourishing tribe, Simeonis nomen omissum est. Vix dubium, though not so numerous as some others (see illud ex mera conjectura a quopiam additum there). And possibly it may be here sug- esse, quum nec in cod. ullo Hebræo, nec in gested, that though they passed armed over ceteris versionibus antiquis Simeonis nomen Jordan before their brethren to settle them compareat, Jonathanem si excipias, qui in there (according to their engagement, Numb. sua versus 7 paraphrasi hæc habet: et hæc xxxii. 27; Josh. iv. 12, 13), yet none of est benedictio tribus Judæ, et conjunxit in them should perish, but both they, and their parte et in benedictione ejus Simeonem, wives, and children, that stayed behind them, should be all preserved. Booth.-And Simeon [Alex.], let not his men be few.

be in some

fratrem ejus. Votis pro Juda et vota pro Simeone tacite contineri existimarunt et in

terpp. quidam alii, quod Simeoniticæ tribus agri ambirentur agris tribus Judæ, imo per Dr. A. Clarke. And let not his men be hujus agros diffusi essent, Jos. xix. 1, 9; few.] It is possible that this clause belongs 1 Chr. iv. 27, 28 sqq. quare expeditiones to Simeon. In the Alexandrian copy of the hisce tribubus communes erant, Jud. i. 3. Septuagint the clause stands thus: Ka Alii alia conjecerunt. Sed veram causam Συμεων εστω πολυς Ev apioμos, and let haud nominatæ tribus Simeon non dubitamus SIMEON be very numerous, but none of the esse hanc, quod eo, quo hæc pericopa literis other versions insert the word. As the consignata est, tempore, Simeonitæ numero negative particle is not in the Hebrew, but ita imminuti essent (jam in itinere per deseris supplied in our translation, and the word tum nulla tribus tantam imminutionem passa Simeon is found in one of the most ancient erat, ac Simeonitæ, vid. Num. xxvi. 11, and most authentic copies of the Septuagint coll. ibid i. 23), et cum Judæis, in quorum version; and as Simeon is no where else parte agri eorum siti erant, ita coaluissent, mentioned here, if not implied in this place, ut propriam et distinctam tribum non amplius probably the clause anciently stood, Let constituerent, nec digni igitur poetæ videReuben live, and not die; but let the men of rentur, quos peculiaribus votis impertiret. Simeon be few. That this tribe was small, Eadem fere nonnullorum ex Hebræis interwhen compared with the rest, and with what 'pretum sententia fuit, a Jarchio ad vs. 7 it once was, is evident enough from the first commemorata, voce re, qua incipit votum census, taken after they came out of Egypt, pro Juda, innui, comprehendi illo et votum and that in the plains of Moab nearly forty pro Simeone ( a, cf. Gen. years after. In the first, Simeon was xxix. 33), atque etiam, quando diviserunt 59,300; in the last, 22,200, a decrease of Israelitæ terram, tulisse Simeonem partem 37,100 men!

Rosen.-6 Sequuntur nunc vota pro singulis tribubus, initio facto a primogenito. Tivat Ruben, nec moriatur! i. c., ca tribus numquam intercidat. Ad verba TEP "PP MY repetendum est *2, ut alias haud raro, veluti

suam inter sortem tribus Judæ, Jos. xix. 9. Porro quod attinet ordinem, quo pro singulis tribubus vota fiunt, vates non sequitur eum, quo illarum conditores, Jacobi filii, sunt nati, sed, uti vere observat Aben-Esra, illorum dignitatis ratio habetur. Hline post Rubenem,

Au. Ver.-7 And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies.

natu maximum, cui, ex ætatis prærogativa, | νόμον σου τῷ Ἰσραηλ. ἐπιθήσουσι θυμίαμα
primus locus debebatur, sequitur Juda ἐν ὀργῇ σου διαπαντὸς ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριὸν
(vs. 7), quod is in expeditionibus bellicis σov. 11 εὐλόγησον κύριε τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτοῦ
ceteras tribus dux anteiret (cf. ad Gen. καὶ τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ δέξαι. κάταξον
xlix. 8 sub fin.); tum sequuntur Levi et ὀσφῦν ἐχθρῶν ἐπανεστηκότων αὐτῷ, καὶ οἱ
Benjamin, propterea quod Levitæ versari in μισοῦντες αὐτὸν μὴ ἀναστήτωσαν.
urbe Hierosolymitana solebant, quæ Judaicos
inter et Benjaminiticos agros media sita
erat; illos excipit Josephus, quem loco pos-
teriore ponere haud commode potuit, quum
jam fratrem suum natu minorem, Benja-
minem, præmisisset. Tum ponit Sebu- 8 And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim
lonem, quod fortis et animosus in bello esset and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom
(Jud. v. 18), et post eum Issascharem. Ab- thou didst prove at Massah, and with
solutis filiis Jacobi iis, qui ex legitimis ejus whom thou didst strive at the waters of
uxoribus nati essent, transit ad ceteros, ex Meribah;
ancillis natos, inter quos primum locum 9 Who said unto his father and to his
assignat Gado, quod Gaditæ in terræ Ca- mother, I have not seen him; neither did
naanis expugnatione fratres suos expediti he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his
præcederent (iii. 15), tum ponit Danem, e own children: for they have observed thy
tribu dux populi, Simson, oriundus word, and kept thy covenant.
erat; deinceps sequitur Naphtali, denique
Ascher, qui eo natu minor erat.

qua

Ver. 7-11.

10 They shall teach [or, let them teach, &c.] Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law they shall put incense [or, let them put incense] before thee [Heb., at thy nose], and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.

:

11 Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the

8 Thummim and Urim. See notes on

Pool-7 Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, i.e.,

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loins of them that rise against him, and of לוֹ וְעֵזֶר מִצְרָיו תִּהְיֶה : .them that hate him, that they rise not again אָמַר תְּפִיךָ וְאוּרִיךְ לְאִישׁ חֲסִידֶךָ .30 .Exod. xxviii אֲשֶׁר נִשִׁיתוֹ בְּמַכָּה תְּרִיבֵהוּ עַל־מִי

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-God will hear his prayer for the accomplish רְאִיתִיו וְאֶת־אֶחָיו לֹא הִכִּיר וְאֶת־בָּנָו

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,Geod.], i. e., either to the rest of his tribe חֵילוֹ וּפָעַל יָדָיו תִּרְעֶה מְחַץ מָתְנַיִם קָמָיו וּמְשַׂנְאָיו מִן־יְקוּמוּן : .7.v ר' בקמין

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ment of those great things promised to that
tribe, Gen. xlix. 8-11. Bring him unto his
people; either, 1. When he shall go forth to
battle against God's and his enemies, bring
him

back with honour, and victory, and
safety to his people [so Patrick, Rosen.,

who were left at home when their brethren went to battle, or to his brethren the other tribes of Israel. Or, 2. When that tribe 7 καὶ αὕτη Ἰούδα. εἰσάκουσον κύριε φωνῆς | shall go into captivity, let them not always Ἰούδα, καὶ εἰς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἔλθοις ἄν. [be kept in captivity, as the ten tribes are αἱ χεῖρες αὐτοῦ διακρινοῦσιν αὐτῷ, καὶ βοηθὸς [like to be, but do thou bring him again to ἐκ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἔσῃ. 8 Kai To Sevì eine. his people. Or, 3. As thou hast promised δότε Λευὶ δήλους αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀλήθειαν αὐτοῦ τῷ the gathering of the people to him, even to ἀνδρὶ τῷ ὁσίῳ, ὃν ἐπείρασαν αὐτὸν ἐν πείρα. the Shiloh, who was to come out of his ἐλοιδόρησαν αὐτὸν ἐφ ̓ ὕδατος ἀντιλογίας. 9 ὁ loins, Gen. xlix. 10; so do thou bring him, λéyшv TO TαTρi kaì tỷ μŋtpì oỷx éwpaká σe, i. e., the Messias [so Ken.], who may be καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐπέγνω, καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ ἀπέγνω. ἐφύλαξε τὰ λόγιά σου, καὶ τὴν διαθήκην σου διετήρησε. 10 δηλώσουσι τὰ δικαιώματά σου τῷ Ἰακώβ, καὶ τὸν

understood out of that parallel prophecy,
and who may be here called Judah, because
he was to come from him, as he is for that
reason called David in divers places, to his

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