1._And all the congregation lifted up their voice. _Here we see how easily, by means of a few incentives, sedition is excited in a great multitude; for the people, unless governed by the counsel of others, is like the sea, exposed to many tempests; and the corruption of human nature produces this am... [ Continue Reading ]
3._And wherefore has the Lord brought us into this land? _The pride, and even the madness of their impiety here more fully betrays itself, when they accuse God of deception and cruelty, as if tie were betraying them to the Canaanitish nations, and leading them forth to slaughter; for they conclude t... [ Continue Reading ]
5._Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces. _It is doubtful whether they so humbled themselves towards the people, as to he prostrate before them, or whether it was in prayer that they fell with their faces on the earth; the latter, however, seems more likely to me, as if, by thus turning themselve... [ Continue Reading ]
6._And Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb. _The magnanimity of Joshua is here specified, whereas, before, only Caleb had been praised. But Moses says that they both rent their clothes in token of their excessive sorrow, and even of their abhorrence. For, as is well known, this, amongst the Orientals,... [ Continue Reading ]
10._But all the congregation bade stone them. _When these wicked men began by murmuring against God, and openly casting censure upon Him, no wonder that they should also rage against His servants; for, when we endeavor to subdue pride, it generally begets cruelty; and so also, when iniquity is repro... [ Continue Reading ]
11._And the Lord said unto Moses. _God remonstrates with respect to their indomitable obstinacy, because they had just now hesitated not petulantly to despise and reject Him with the most atrocious insults, and notwithstanding all the clearest manifestations of His power. For I know not whether the... [ Continue Reading ]
13._Then the Egyptians shall hear it. _Moses here, according to his custom, stands “in the breach” of the wall, as it is said in Psalms 106:23, to sustain and avert the anger of God, which else would burst forth, since through his intercession it came to pass that the fire was speedily extinguished,... [ Continue Reading ]
17._And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great. _He derives another ground of confidence from the vision, in which God had more clearly manifested His nature, from whence it appears how much he had profited by it, and what earnest and anxious attention he had paid to it. Hence, howev... [ Continue Reading ]
Since I have expounded the 18th verse elsewhere, (59) let my readers refer to that place.... [ Continue Reading ]
19._Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people. _In order to encourage his hope of pardon, he first sets before himself the greatness of God’s mercy, and then the past instances by which it had been proved that God was inclined to forgiveness. And, indeed, the mercy of God continually invit... [ Continue Reading ]
20._And the Lord said, I have pardoned, according to thy word. _God signifies that tie pardons for His servant Moses’ sake, and makes, as it were, a present to him of those whom He had already devoted to destruction. Hence we gather how much the entreaties of the pious avail with God: as He is said,... [ Continue Reading ]
21._But as truly as I live, all the earth. _It is, indeed, plain that God here swears by His life and glory: the meaning is only ambiguous in this respect, that some translate it in the past tense, that the earth had been filled with His glory, which had already been displayed in so many miracles. A... [ Continue Reading ]
24._But my servant Caleb. _By _synecdoche _Caleb alone is now excepted, although Joshua was a partaker of the same grace, as he had been also a sharer in his courageous conduct; but Caleb is especially distinguished, because he had, as it were, uplifted the banner, and had stood forth first to encou... [ Continue Reading ]
25._Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites. _Some thus resolve these words; “Although the Amalekites dwell in the valley;” and others thus: “Since the Amalekites abide in the valleys to lay ambuscades.” Others think that their object is to inspire terror, lest the Israelites should remain too long in... [ Continue Reading ]
26._And the Lord spoke unto Moses. _(63) I have translated the _copula _by the word _itaque _(therefore,) to indicate the connection with what precedes: for Moses does not here recount anything new, but, by way of explanation, repeats a point of great importance, viz., that they, who had refused to... [ Continue Reading ]
33._And your children shall wander in the wilderness. _(67) He here pronounces that their children shall be in some measure partakers of their punishment, inasmuch as they shall wander in the desert until the time prescribed: for by the word shepherds, He means sojourners, (68) who have no certain o... [ Continue Reading ]
36._And the men, which Moses sent to search the land. _I do not at all approve of the view which some take, that this is recorded by anticipation; for there is no question but that Moses recounts the special punishment which was inflicted by God upon the perfidious spies. He had previously treated o... [ Continue Reading ]
39._And Moses told all these sayings. _It was, indeed, a just cause for mourning, when they heard that God, whose longsuffering they had so wantonly abused, would hereafter be inexorable. Yet here we have set before our eyes that “sorrow of the world which worketh death,” as Paul says, (2 Corinthian... [ Continue Reading ]
41._And Moses said, Wherefore do ye now transgress? _He rejects this feigned penitence, whereby the sinner tries all sorts of shifts, (78) so as not to submit himself to God. “If thou wilt return, O Israel, return unto me,” saith the Lord by Jeremiah, (Jeremiah 4:1.) The first thing, therefore, whic... [ Continue Reading ]
44._But they presumed to go up unto the hill-top. _It was not, indeed, their intention deliberately to array themselves against God, but rather did they endeavor to appease Him by this means of propitiation. Nor was their self-deceit devoid of a colorable pretext, inasmuch as they were ready cheerfu... [ Continue Reading ]