13 Take H3051 you wise H2450 men, H582 and understanding, H995 and known H3045 among your tribes, H7626 and I will make H7760 them rulers H7218 over you.
Moreover thou shalt provide H2372 out of all the people H5971 able H2428 men, H582 such as fear H3373 God, H430 men H582 of truth, H571 hating H8130 covetousness; H1215 and place H7760 such over them, to be rulers H8269 of thousands, H505 and rulers H8269 of hundreds, H3967 rulers H8269 of fifties, H2572 and rulers H8269 of tens: H6235
And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 Gather H622 unto me seventy H7657 men H376 of the elders H2205 of Israel, H3478 whom thou knowest H3045 to be the elders H2205 of the people, H5971 and officers H7860 over them; and bring H3947 them unto the tabernacle H168 of the congregation, H4150 that they may stand H3320 there with thee. And I will come down H3381 and talk H1696 with thee there: and I will take H680 of the spirit H7307 which is upon thee, and will put H7760 it upon them; and they shall bear H5375 the burden H4853 of the people H5971 with thee, that thou bear H5375 it not thyself alone.
Wherefore G3767 of these G5130 men G435 which have companied G4905 with us G2254 all G3956 the time G5550 that G1722 G3739 the Lord G2962 Jesus G2424 went G1831 in G1525 and G2532 out G1831 among G1909 us, G2248 Beginning G756 from G575 the baptism G908 of John, G2491 unto G2193 that same day G2250 that G3739 he was taken up G353 from G575 us, G2257 must G1163 one G1520 be ordained G1096 to be a witness G3144 with G4862 us G2254 of his G846 resurrection. G386 And G2532 they appointed G2476 two, G1417 Joseph G2501 called G2564 Barsabas, G923 who G3739 was surnamed G1941 Justus, G2459 and G2532 Matthias. G3159
Then G1161 the twelve G1427 called G4341 the multitude G4128 of the disciples G3101 unto them, and said, G2036 It is G2076 not G3756 reason G701 that we G2248 should leave G2641 the word G3056 of God, G2316 and serve G1247 tables. G5132 Wherefore, G3767 brethren, G80 look ye out G1980 among G1537 you G5216 seven G2033 men G435 of honest report, G3140 full G4134 of the Holy G40 Ghost G4151 and G2532 wisdom, G4678 whom G3739 we may appoint G2525 over G1909 this G5026 business. G5532 But G1161 we G2249 will give ourselves continually G4342 to prayer, G4335 and G2532 to the ministry G1248 of the word. G3056 And G2532 the saying G3056 pleased G700 G1799 the whole G3956 multitude: G4128 and G2532 they chose G1586 Stephen, G4736 a man G435 full G4134 of faith G4102 and G2532 of the Holy G40 Ghost, G4151 and G2532 Philip, G5376 and G2532 Prochorus, G4402 and G2532 Nicanor, G3527 and G2532 Timon, G5096 and G2532 Parmenas, G3937 and G2532 Nicolas G3532 a proselyte G4339 of Antioch: G491 Whom G3739 they set G2476 before G1799 the apostles: G652 and G2532 when they had prayed, G4336 they laid G2007 their hands G5495 on G2007 them. G846
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Deuteronomy 1
Commentary on Deuteronomy 1 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 1
De 1:1-46. Moses' Speech at the End of the Fortieth Year.
1. These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel—The mental condition of the people generally in that infantine age of the Church, and the greater number of them being of young or tender years, rendered it expedient to repeat the laws and counsels which God had given. Accordingly, to furnish a recapitulation of the leading branches of their faith and duty was among the last public services which Moses rendered to Israel. The scene of their delivery was on the plains of Moab where the encampment was pitched
on this side Jordan—or, as the Hebrew word may be rendered "on the bank of the Jordan."
in the wilderness, in the plain—the Arabah, a desert plain, or steppe, extended the whole way from the Red Sea north to the Sea of Tiberias. While the high tablelands of Moab were "cultivated fields," the Jordan valley, at the foot of the mountains where Israel was encamped, was a part of the great desert plain, little more inviting than the desert of Arabia. The locale is indicated by the names of the most prominent places around it. Some of these places are unknown to us. The Hebrew word, Suph, "red" (for "sea," which our translators have inserted, is not in the original, and Moses was now farther from the Red Sea than ever), probably meant a place noted for its reeds (Nu 21:14).
Tophel—identified as Tafyle or Tafeilah, lying between Bozrah and Kerak.
Hazeroth—is a different place from that at which the Israelites encamped after leaving "the desert of Sinai."
2. There are eleven days' journey from Horeb—Distances are computed in the East still by the hours or days occupiesd by the journey. A day's journey on foot is about twenty miles—on camels, at the rate of three miles an hour, thirty miles—and by caravans, about twenty-five miles. But the Israelites, with children and flocks, would move at a slow rate. The length of the Ghor from Ezion-geber to Kadesh is a hundred miles. The days here mentioned were not necessarily successive days [Robinson], for the journey can be made in a much shorter period. But this mention of the time was made to show that the great number of years spent in travelling from Horeb to the plain of Moab was not owing to the length of the way, but to a very different cause; namely, banishment for their apostasy and frequent rebellions.
mount Seir—the mountainous country of Edom.
3-8. in the fortieth year … Moses spake unto the children of Israel, &c.—This impressive discourse, in which Moses reviewed all that God had done for His people, was delivered about a month before his death, and after peace and tranquillity had been restored by the complete conquest of Sihon and Og.
4. Ashtaroth—the royal residence of Og, so called from Astarte ("the moon"), the tutelary goddess of the Syrians. Og was slain at
Edrei—now Edhra, the ruins of which are fourteen miles in circumference [Burckhardt]; its general breadth is about two leagues.
5. On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law—that is, explain this law. He follows the same method here that he elsewhere observes; namely, that of first enumerating the marvellous doings of God in behalf of His people, and reminding them what an unworthy requital they had made for all His kindness—then he rehearses the law and its various precepts.
6. The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount—Horeb was the general name of a mountainous district; literally, "the parched" or "burnt region," whereas Sinai was the name appropriated to a particular peak [see on Ex 19:2]. About a year had been spent among the recesses of that wild solitude, in laying the foundation, under the immediate direction of God, of a new and peculiar community, as to its social, political, and, above all, religious character; and when this purpose had been accomplished, they were ordered to break up their encampment in Horeb. The command given them was to march straight to Canaan, and possess it [De 1:7].
7. the mount of the Amorites—the hilly tract lying next to Kadesh-barnea in the south of Canaan.
to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon—that is, Phœnicia, the country of Sidon, and the coast of the Mediterranean—from the Philistines to Lebanon. The name "Canaanite" is often used synonymously with that of "Phœnician."
8. I have set the land before you—literally, "before your faces"—it is accessible; there is no impediment to your occupation. The order of the journey as indicated by the places mentioned would have led to a course of invasion, the opposite of what was eventually followed; namely, from the seacoast eastward—instead of from the Jordan westward (see on Nu 20:1).
9-18. I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone—a little before their arrival in Horeb. Moses addresses that new generation as the representatives of their fathers, in whose sight and hearing all the transactions he recounts took place. A reference is here made to the suggestion of Jethro (Ex 18:18). In noticing his practical adoption of a plan by which the administration of justice was committed to a select number of subordinate officers, Moses, by a beautiful allusion to the patriarchal blessing, ascribed the necessity of that memorable change in the government to the vast increase of the population.
10. ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude—This was neither an Oriental hyperbole nor a mere empty boast. Abraham was told (Ge 15:5, 6) to look to the stars, and though they "appear" innumerable, yet those seen by the naked eye amount, in reality, to no more than three thousand ten in both hemispheres. The Israelites already far exceeded that number, being at the last census above six hundred thousand [Nu 26:51]. It was a seasonable memento, calculated to animate their faith in the accomplishment of other parts of the divine promise.
19-21. we went through all that great and terrible wilderness—of Paran, which included the desert and mountainous space lying between the wilderness of Shur westward, or towards Egypt and mount Seir, or the land of Edom eastwards; between the land of Canaan northwards, and the Red Sea southwards; and thus it appears to have comprehended really the wilderness of Sin and Sinai [Fisk]. It is called by the Arabs El Tih, "the wandering." It is a dreary waste of rock and of calcareous soil covered with black sharp flints; all travellers, from a feeling of its complete isolation from the world, describe it as a great and terrible wilderness.
22-33. ye came … and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land—The proposal to despatch spies emanated from the people through unbelief; but Moses, believing them sincere, gave his cordial assent to this measure, and God on being consulted permitted them to follow the suggestion (see on Nu 13:1). The issue proved disastrous to them, only through their own sin and folly.
28. the cities are great, and walled up to heaven—an Oriental metaphor, meaning very high. The Arab marauders roam about on horseback, and hence the walls of St. Catherine's monastery on Sinai are so lofty that travellers are drawn up by a pulley in a basket.
Anakims—(See on Nu 13:33). The honest and uncompromising language of Moses, in reminding the Israelites of their perverse conduct and outrageous rebellion at the report of the treacherous and fainthearted scouts, affords a strong evidence of the truth of this history as well as of the divine authority of his mission. There was great reason for his dwelling on this dark passage in their history, as it was their unbelief that excluded them from the privilege of entering the promised land (Heb 3:19); and that unbelief was a marvellous exhibition of human perversity, considering the miracles which God had wrought in their favor, especially in the daily manifestations they had of His presence among them as their leader and protector.
34-36. the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth—In consequence of this aggravated offense (unbelief followed by open rebellion), the Israelites were doomed, in the righteous judgment of God, to a life of wandering in that dreary wilderness till the whole adult generation had disappeared by death. The only exceptions mentioned are Caleb and Joshua, who was to be Moses' successor.
37. Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes—This statement seems to indicate that it was on this occasion Moses was condemned to share the fate of the people. But we know that it was several years afterwards that Moses betrayed an unhappy spirit of distrust at the waters of strife (Ps 106:32, 33). This verse must be considered therefore as a parenthesis.
39. your children … who in that day had no knowledge between good and evil—All ancient versions read "to-day" instead of "that day"; and the sense is—"your children who now know," or "who know not as yet good or evil." As the children had not been partakers of the sinful outbreak, they were spared to obtain the privilege which their unbelieving parents had forfeited. God's ways are not as man's ways [Isa 55:8, 9].
40-45. turn you, and take your journey into the … Red Sea—This command they disregarded, and, determined to force an onward passage in spite of the earnest remonstrances of Moses, they attempted to cross the heights then occupied by the combined forces of the Amorites and Amalekites (compare Nu 14:43), but were repulsed with great loss. People often experience distress even while in the way of duty. But how different their condition who suffer in situations where God is with them from the feelings of those who are conscious that they are in a position directly opposed to the divine will! The Israelites were grieved when they found themselves involved in difficulties and perils; but their sorrow arose not from a sense of the guilt so much as the sad effects of their perverse conduct; and "though they wept," they were not true penitents. So the Lord would not hearken to their voice, nor give ear unto them.
46. So ye abode at Kadesh many days—That place had been the site of their encampment during the absence of the spies, which lasted forty days, and it is supposed from this verse that they prolonged their stay there after their defeat for a similar period.