The Mystery of Esau and Ephraim

“And now, behold, I go unto my people. Come therefore, and I will warn thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days,” Numbers 24:14;

— these Words, prophecised by Balaam, especially in regards to the house of Jacob, “in the latter days,” are prophecies for our times!

Numbers 13

¹ And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

² “Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel. Of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.” — a ruler; a person of wisdom and authority, which might make his witness more considerable with the people;

³ And Moses by the commandment of the Lord sent them from the Wilderness of Paran. All those men were heads of the children of Israel. — those men were heads of the children of Israel, not the princes who are named, but chiefs, leading men though not of the first rank.

— the tribe of Levi is not represented as the Levites were to have no inheritance in the land, and the number of twelve is made up by the division of the tribe of Joseph into the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

⁴ And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; — there is nothing but the names of the persons, whose sons they were, and of what tribe; and the several tribes are mentioned, not according to the order of the birth of the patriarchs,

⁵ of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori;

⁶ of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; — Caleb the son of Jephunneh; in three places, in Numbers 32:12; and in Joshua 14:6; Joshua 14:14; Caleb is described as the Kenezite (or rather, the Kenizzite);

— now in Genesis 15:19 the Kenizzites are mentioned as one of the Canaanite tribes, and in Genesis 36:11; Genesis 36:15, Kenaz occurs as an Edomite; hence it has been conjectured from these facts, but, as it should seem, on insufficient grounds, that Caleb was of foreign origin, and that he had been incorporated into the tribe of Judah;

⁷ of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph;

⁸ of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea [or Joshua] the son of Nun; — Jehoshua, contracted into Joshua who bears this name as the servant of Moses at a still earlier period, as to point to any diversity of authorship; and by which Hosea in the family name of Joshua had become best known in history, could be used proleptically in them all;

— it is very probable that Moses may have given him the new name either before or after the defeat of the Amalekites (Exodus 17:9), or when he took him into his service, though it has not been mentioned before;

⁹ of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu;

¹⁰ of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi;

¹¹ of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi;

¹² of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli;

¹³ of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael;

¹⁴ of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi;

¹⁵ of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

¹⁶ These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

— Jehoshua; Joshua denotes a desire of salvation, signifying, Save, we pray thee; but Jehoshua, or Joshua, includes a promise of salvation, He will save. So this was a prophecy of his succession to Moses in the government, and of the success of his arms. Joshua is the same name with Jesus, of whom Joshua was a type;

¹⁷ And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, “Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain.

— Get you up this way southward; rather, by the Negeb, or south country (comp. Numbers 13:22); the southern part of Palestine was known by the name of the Negeb. It formed the transition from the desert to the more highly cultivated land, and was more fitted for grazing than for agricultural purposes.

¹⁸ And see the land, what it is, and the people who dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; — and see the land what it is, and the people that dwelleth therein; the situation and condition of the country, and the nature, temper, disposition, and constitution of the inhabitants;

— whether they be strong or weak, few or many; whether able-bodied men fit for war, and of strength, and courage, or feeble and pusillanimous, weak and timorous; and whether their number was small or great, by which they would be capable of judging whether they were in a state and condition to defend themselves or not, and whether a conquest of them was easy or not;

¹⁹ and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad, and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents or in strongholds; — and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; whether the air is good, the climate temperate, and the earth well watered, and has good convenience of springs, fountains, and rivers, and so wholesome or healthful;

— and what cities they be they dwell in, whether in tents or strong holds; or who dwelt in villages, and unwalled towns, unfortified cities; or whether in fortified cities, towns, and garrisons; by which it would appear whether it would be easy to come at them, and fall upon them, or difficult to subdue and conquer them; 

²⁰ and what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

— and what the land is, whether it be fat or lean; that is, what the soil of it is, whether it be rich and fertile, or whether it be poor and barren, which would be seen by the fruits it produced, this being now the fruitful season of the year;

— and so the Targum of Jonathan, “and what is the reputation of the land, whether its fruits are fat or lean;” plump and full, rich and juicy, or otherwise, as their grapes, olives; whether it was a land flowing with milk and honey, Exodus 33:3;

²¹ So they went up and searched the land from the Wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. — the wilderness of Zin was the northeastern portion of the wilderness of Paran;

— Rehob; or, Beth-rehob, was a city and district situated, according to some, eastward of Sidon; or Beersheba?

²² And they ascended by the south and came unto Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt: Numbers 13:22) — before Zoan in Egypt; Zoan, or Tanis, on the eastern bank of the Tanitic arm of the Nile, appears to have been the residence of Pharaoh in the days of Moses (Psalm 78:12); but Hebron was in existence in the days of Abraham (Genesis 13:18; Genesis 23:2).

²³ And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates and of the figs. — the searchers of the land brought a bunch of grapes with them, and other fruits, as proofs of the goodness of the country; 

— and they bare it between two upon a staff; it was so big; and which was not done only for the ease of carrying it, but that it might not have any of its grapes squeezed, bruised, and broken off, but that they might carry it entire and whole for the Israelites to behold: these two men were probably Caleb and Joshua; 

²⁴ The place was called the Brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. — because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence; the word “Eschol” signifying a “cluster”

²⁵ And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. — they returned after forty days, when they were just ready to enter Canaan, under all the assurances of success they could have from the divine power, proved by a constant series of miracles, that had hitherto attended them; but they distrusted God;

— the Targum of Jonathan adds, on the eighth day of the month Ab (third month); some Jewish writers (k) say it was the ninth of Ab; hence the tradition, that it was decreed on the ninth of Ab concerning their fathers, that they should not enter into the land;

²⁶ And they went and came to Moses and to Aaron and to all the congregation of the children of Israel unto the Wilderness of Paran to Kadesh, and brought back word unto them and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.

— and they went, and came to Moses, and to Aaron; they proceeded on their journey from Eshcol, till they came to the camp of Israel; and as soon as they came there, went directly to Moses and to Aaron, before they went into their own tents;

²⁷ And they told him, and said, “We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. — and surely it floweth with milk and honey; they own that the land answered to the description which the Lord had given of it when it was promised them by him, Exodus 3:8.

²⁸ Nevertheless the people are strong who dwell in the land, and the cities are walled and very great; and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. — and moreover we saw the children of Anak there: whom they had heard of before, and so had the congregation of Israel, and many terrible and frightful stories were told of them,

— and these they now saw with their eyes, and very formidable they appeared to them; this seems to prove that others beside Caleb and Joshua were at Hebron, where the sons of Anak lived, Numbers 13:22; and so they might, and yet not be together with them.

²⁹ The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and by the coast of the Jordan.” — the Amalekites; these are descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:12) formed wild roving bands, the Amalekites dwell in the land of the south; better, of the south country, or the Negeb;

— like the Bedouins of the present day, the Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; on the southern side of the land of Canaan: not in it, for they were not Canaanites; between the Dead and the Red Seas, skirting the borders of Canaan.

³⁰ And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it.” — Caleb alone is here mentioned, possibly because he spoke first and most, which he might better do, because he might be presumed to be more impartial than Joshua, who, being Moses’s minister, might be thought to speak only what he knew his master would like;

— stilled the people; which implies either that they had begun to murmur and mutiny, and to speak against Moses for bringing them out of Egypt into a wilderness; and in their wrath they might be making up to him, threatening to pull him to pieces;

³¹ But the men who went up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” — the men that went up with him; all of them, Joshua excepted;

— they are stronger than we, both in stature of body and numbers of people; thus they wickedly question the power and goodwill of God, of all which they had such ample testimonies.

³² And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.

— the singular number, “men of stature,” such persons did undoubtedly exist in the land of Canaan, but there is no evidence that the inhabitants generally were of extraordinary size.

³³ And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come of the giants. And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” — and there we saw the giants; the same word, nephilim is here used which is found in Genesis 6:4;

— we were in our own sight as grasshoppers; thus their fear magnified these sons of Anak above measure, so that in comparison of them they thought themselves as weak and contemptible as insignificant insects.

Numbers 14

¹ And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried, and the people wept that night. — weeping and crying, those who do not trust God, continually vex themselves;

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!

— would God we had died in the land of Egypt; and then what they left behind they thought might have come into the hands of their children or relations; but now they concluded it would become a prey to the Canaanites;

³ And why 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?”

— wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land; unto the borders of it: their murmuring did not cease at Moses and Aaron, the instruments, but proceeded against God himself, who had done such wonderful things for them, not only in bringing them out of Egypt;

— were it not better for us to return into Egypt? and so escape the hands of the inhabitants of Canaan, of whom they had terrible apprehensions from the report made of them.

⁴ And they said one to another, “Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.” — Let us return into Egypt; stupendous madness! Whence should they have protection against the many hazards, and provision against all the wants of the wilderness?

— could they expect either God’s cloud to cover and guide them, or manna from Heaven to lead them? Who should conduct them over the Red Sea? or, if they went another way, who should defend them against those nations whose borders they were to pass?

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. — then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces; through shame and confusion of face for them, at hearing so shocking a proposal made, and such wretched ingratitude expressed;

⁶ And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of those who searched the land, rent their clothes; — Joshua and Caleb, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes; the two honest spies testified their grief and horror, in the strongest manner, at the mutiny against Moses and the blasphemy against God;

⁷ and they spoke unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, “The land which we passed through to search it is an exceeding good land. — and they had not only entered into it, or just looked at a part of it, but they had gone through it, and taken a general survey of it; and they could not but in truth;

⁸ If the Lord delight in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which floweth with milk and honey. — a land flowing with milk and honey; a general expression, descriptive of a rich and fertile country.

⁹ Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their defense has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Fear them not.” — only rebel not ye against the Lord; nothing, it is suggested, could hinder them from the, possession of it but their rebellion against the Lord; which might provoke him to cut them off by his immediate hand, or to deliver them into the hands of their enemies;

— for they are bread for us; as easy to be cut to pieces, and to be devoured, consumed, and destroyed as thoroughly, as bread is when eaten; and their fields, vineyards, all they have without and within, even all their substance, will be a prey to us;

— their defence is departed from them; they had no heart nor spirit left in them; no courage to defend themselves, and therefore the strength of their bodies and their walled towns would be of no avail unto them;

— fear them not; the Canaanites, even the Amalekites, notwithstanding the strength of their bodies, or of their cities, the Lord is mightier than they are;

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.

— but all the congregation bade stone them with stones; namely, Joshua and Caleb, who had made such a faithful report of the good land, and had delivered such an animating and encouraging speech to the people;

— and the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation, before all the children of Israel; the Shekinah, which dwelt between the cherubim in the most holy place, came into the court of the tabernacle; for judgement;

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 all the signs which I have shown among them? — how long will this people provoke me? which suggests that they had often provoked him, and had done it long ago, and still continued to do so;

— for all the signs which I have showed among them; the wonders and miracles he had wrought in Egypt, at the Red sea, and in the wilderness, and in their sight;

¹² I will smite them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.” — I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them; deprive them of inhabiting the land; so as many as died of the pestilence were even all the spies who brought an evil report of the good land;

¹³ And Moses said unto the Lord, “Then the Egyptians shall hear it (for Thou broughtest up this people in Thy might from among them), — then the Egyptians shall hear it; that the Lord had smitten the Israelites with the pestilence; it will be a pleasure to them;

¹⁴ and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land; for they have heard that Thou, Lord, art among this people, that Thou, Lord, art seen face to face, and that Thy cloud standeth over them, and that Thou goest before them by daytime in a pillar of a cloud and in a pillar of fire by night.

¹⁵ Now if Thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of Thee will speak, saying, — as one man; altogether, or to a man; and suddenly as it were by one blow, as if all had but one neck;

¹⁶ ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which He swore unto them, therefore He hath slain them in the wilderness.’ — because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them; that though he brought them out of Egypt, he was not able to bring them through the wilderness into Canaan;

— therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness; because he could not fulfil his word, and so made short work of it, destroying them all together, which Moses suggests would greatly reflect dishonour on him; and in this he shows, that he was more concerned for the glory of God than for his own.

¹⁷ And now, I beseech Thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as Thou hast spoken, saying,

¹⁸ ‘The Lord is longsuffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.’

— the LORD [יְהוָ֗ה] is longsuffering; towards all men, and especially towards his own people: and of great mercy, being abundant in goodness, and keeping mercy for thousands: forgiving iniquity and transgression, all sorts of sin;

¹⁹ Pardon, I beseech Thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of Thy mercy, and as Thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even until now.”

— and as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even until now; which shows both that these people had been continually sinning against the Lord, ever since they came out of Egypt; and therefore it was hoped and entreated that he would still continue to pardon them;

²⁰ And the Lord said, “I have pardoned according to thy word; — the Lord granted the prayer of Moses so far as not at once to destroy the congregation;

²¹ but as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. — but as truly as I live; which is the form of an oath, as the Targum says; the Lord swears by his life, or by himself, because he could swear by no greater;

— all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord; as it had been with the fame of what he had done in Egypt, and at the Red sea; or as it “should be” filled with it in later times, especially in the kingdom of the Messiah in the latter day;

²² Because all those men who have seen My glory and My miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted Me now these ten times and have not hearkened to My voice— — these ten times; ten is the number which implies completeness; the sense is that the measure of their provocation was now full; and thus judgement is due;

— ten times; which were reckoned thus; twice at the sea, Exodus 14:11; twice concerning water, Exodus 15:23; twice about manna, Exodus 16:2; twice about quails, Exodus 16:12; once by the calf, Exodus 32:1; and once in the wilderness of Paran, Numbers 14:1, which last and tenth was the present confrontation;

²³ surely they shall not see the land which I swore unto their fathers, neither shall any of those who provoked Me see it. — henceforth God’s judgement is that they would not see the land which he had swore unto their fathers;

²⁴ But My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him and hath followed Me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went, and his seed shall possess it.” — my servant Caleb; Joshua was also excepted, but he is not named because he was no longer in the ranks of the people, being a constant attendant on Moses.

²⁵ (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) “Tomorrow turn you and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.” — the Amalekites were the nomad bands that roved through the open pastures of the plain Numbers 14:45; by the way of the Red sea; that leadeth to the Red sea, and to Egypt, the place whither you desire to return.

²⁶ And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

²⁷ “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who murmur against Me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against Me. — how long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? the Lord speaks as one weary of forbearing, so frequent and aggravated were their murmurings;

²⁸ Say unto them, ‘As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in Mine ears, so will I do to you. — Say unto them, as truly as I live, saith the Lord; the form of an oath, as in Numbers 14:21;

— as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do unto you; the Israelites had exclaimed in their sinful murmuring against God, “Would God we had died in the wilderness” (Numbers 14:2); and God declares in His wrathful displeasure that the judgment which they had thus invoked should be inflicted upon them, and that their carcases should fall in the wilderness.

²⁹ Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all who were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against Me,

— Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; they had wished they had died in it, Numbers 14:2, and the Lord here declares they should, which is signified by the falling of their carcasses in it, or their bodies, which when dead fall to the ground, having no strength to support themselves;

— which have murmured against me; which shows, that not the spies only, who caused the people to murmur, but the people themselves who murmured, and had been numbered, from twenty years old and upward, are the evil congregation the Lord thus threatened with death.

³⁰ doubtless ye shall not come into the land concerning which I swore to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. — Doubtless ye shall not come into the land; the land of Canaan; or “if ye shall come” that is, I swear ye shall not;

— save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun; who brought a good report of the land. Caleb is mentioned first, because he first appeased and quieted the people;

³¹ But your little ones, whom ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. — them will I bring in; into the land of Canaan, and so fulfil the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for the unbelief of this congregation did not make the faith, or faithfulness of God, of none effect;

³² But as for you, your carcasses, they shall fall in this wilderness.

³³ And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years and bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness. — wander, like sheep, feeding in the deserts; or shall be shepherds, that is, shall live like the shepherds of Arabia, in tents, and removing from place to place, having no certain dwelling;

— your whoredoms, that is, the punishment of your whoredoms, to wit, of your apostacy from, and perfidiousness against, your Lord, who was your husband, and had married you to himself. See Jeremiah 3:14; whence idolatry is called whoredom.

³⁴ After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, for each day a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know My altering of My purpose. — each day for a year; reckoning each day for a year, forty days for forty years, as in Ezekiel 4:6,

— the Lord granted the prayer of Moses so far as not at once to destroy the congregation; those who despise the pleasant land shall be shut out of it.

³⁵ I, the Lord, have said: I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’” — I the Lord have said; determined, resolved on doing what I have declared, and again repeat it; the decree is absolute and peremptory, and will never be revoked;

³⁶ And the men, whom Moses sent to search the land, who returned and made all the congregation to murmur against him by bringing up a slander upon the land, — and made all the congregation to murmur against him; against, Moses that sent them; they murmured themselves, and made others murmur:

³⁷ even those men who brought up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord. — even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land; they, and they only at this time: died by the plague before the Lord; either by the pestilence immediately sent upon them by the Lord, or by a flash of lightning from him, or in some other way;

³⁸ But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of the men who went to search the land, lived still. — but Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh; here Joshua is set first, which shows that they were equal in dignity, and therefore are indifferently put, sometimes the one first, and sometimes the other;

³⁹ And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly. — and the people mourned greatly; it appears from what follows that the sorrow which the Israelites felt was sorrow for the punishment which their sin had entailed, not godly sorrow for the sin itself.

⁴⁰ And they rose up early in the morning and got them up into the top of the mountain, saying, “Lo, we are here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised; for we have sinned.” — saying, lo, we be here; this they said either to one another, animating each othe; or to Moses and Joshua, pretending they were ready to go up and possess the land, if they have taken the direction given to them;

— for we have sinned; in not going up to possess it, when they were bid to go, and in listening to the spies that brought an ill report of it, and by murmuring against Moses and Aaron, and the Lord himself, and proposing to make them a captain and return to Egypt, Numbers 14:2, but this acknowledgment and repentance were not very sincere;

⁴¹ And Moses said, “Why now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord? But it shall not prosper. — and Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord? which was to turn back into the wilderness, and go the way that leads to the Red sea, Numbers 14:25; instead of which now they were for going forward into the land of Canaan.

⁴² Go not up, for the Lord is not among you, that ye be not smitten before your enemies.

— Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; and therefore could not expect success, for victory is of the Lord; the Targum of Jonathan adds, “the ark, and the tabernacle, and the Shekinah proceed not,” which were a plain indication that the Lord would not go with them, and therefore could not hope to prevail over their enemies and conquer the land, but on the contrary might expect to be defeated by them;

⁴³ For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword. Because ye have turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you.” — and ye shall fall by the sword: by the sword of the Amalekites and Canaanites: because ye are turned away from the Lord: from the word of the Lord, from hearkening to and obeying his command;

— the Canaanites, and contenting himself with naming the leading foes with whom the Amalekites who wandered about in the Negeb, or the Southland had allied themselves with, as Bedouins thirsting for booty;

⁴⁴ But they presumed to go up unto the hilltop. Nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord and Moses departed not out of the camp. — they presumed to go up; that is, they made a bold attempt to ascend the mountain. Their enemies appear to have encountered and discomfited them before they had actually gained the summit;

— nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp; the cloud not being taken up, but abiding on the tabernacle, which was the signal for resting, both for the ark, and for the camp, the Kohathites did not move with the ark;

⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites came down and the Canaanites who dwelt in that hill, and smote them and discomfited them, even unto Hormah. — then the Amalekites came down; the hill; met the Israelites as they ascended: and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill; the same with the Amorites, one of the seven nations of Canaan;

— and smote them and discomfited them even unto Hormah; the name of a place, so called from what happened there; this destruction of the Israelites at this time by these their enemies, the Amalekites and the Canaanites.

~ by Japheth on February 27, 2024.

Posted in Books of Moses