' Vaheb in Suphah and the torrent-beds ; Arnon and the slope of the torrent-beds Which turueth to where Ar lieth. And which leaneth upon the border of Moab.'"
The next is a song which was sung on the digging of a well at a spot where they encamped, and which from this circumstance was called Beer, or " The Well." It runs as follows :
" Spring up, O well ! sing ye to it: Well, which the princes dug. Which the nobles of the people bored With the sceptre-of-oflice, with their staves."
This song, first sung at the digging of the well, was afterwards no doubt commonly used by those who came to draw water. The maidens of Israel chanted it one to another, verse by verse, as they toiled at the bucket, and thus beguiled their labor. " Spring up, O well!" was the burden or refrain of the song, which would pass from one mouth to another at each fresh coil of the rope, till the full bucket reached the well's mouth. But the peculiar charm of the song lies not only in its antiquity, but in the characteristic touch which so manifestly connects it with the life of the time to which the narrative assigns it. The one point which is dwelt upon is that the leaders of the people took their part in the work, that they themselves helped to dig the well. In the new generation, who were about to enter the Land of Promise, a strong feel- ing of sympathy between the people and their rulers had sprung up, which augured well for the future, and which left its stamp even on the ballads and songs of the time. This little carol is fresh and lusty with young life ; it sparkles like the water of the well whose springing up first occasioned it; it is the expression, on the part of those who sung it, of lively confidence in the sympathy and co-operation of their leaders, which, manifested in this one instance, might be relied upon in all emergencies (Ewald, Gesch. ii, '2M stj.). Im- mediately following this "Song of the Well" comes a song of victory, composed after a defeat of the Moab- ites and the occupation of tlieir territory. It is in a taunting, mocking strain, and is commonly considered to have been written by some Israelitish bard on the occupation of the Amoritish territory. Yet the manner in which it is introduced ^vould rather lead to the belief that we have here the translation of an old Amoritish ballad. The history tells us that when Israel approach- ed the country of Sihon they sent messengers to him, demanding permission to pass through his territory. The request was refused. Sihon came out against them, but was defeated in battle. " Israel," it is said, " smote him with the edge of the sword, and took his land in posses-
sion, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and as far as the chil- dren of Ammon, for the border of the children of Ammon was secure (i. e. they made no encroachments upon Am- monitish territory). Israel also took all these cities, and dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites in Ileshbon, and all her daughters" (i. e. lesser towns and villages). Then follows a little scrap of Amoritish history : "For Heshbon is the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and he had waged war with the former king of Moab, and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon. Wherefore the ballad-singers (C^buj^in) say:
' Come ye to Heshbon, Let the city of Sihon be built and established! For lire went forth from Heshbon,
A flame ont of the stronghold (tTi"lp) of Sihon, Which devoured Ar of Moab ! The lords of the high places of Arnon. Woe to thee, Moab ! Thou art undone, O people of Chemosh ! He (i. e. Chemosh thy god) hath given up his sous as fugitives, And his daughters into captivity, To Sihon king of the Amorites. Then we cast them down ; Heshbon perished eveu
unto Dibon, And we laid (it) waste unto Nophah, which (reacheth) unto Medebah.' "
If the song is of Hebrew origin, then the former part of it is a biting taunt. "Come, ye Amorites, into your city of Heshbon, and build it up again. Ye boasted that ye had burned it with fire and driven out its INIoab- itish inhabitants; but now ice have come in our turn and have burned Heshbon, and have driven you out as ye once burned it and drove out its Moabitish possess- ors."— Smith.
III. CredihiWy. — There have frequently been raised strong doubts against the historical veracity of the book of Numbers, although it is impressed with indubitable marks of the age to which it refers, and is of perfect au- thenticity. The numerical statements in ch. i-iv are such that the}' repel every suspicion of forgerj-. There could be no motive for any fabrication of this descrip- tion. The numbering of the people is in perfect har- mony with Exod. xxxviii, 26. The amount is here stated in round numbers, because a general survey only was required. When requisite, the more exact numbers are also added (iii, 39, 43). A later forger would cer- tainly have affected to possess the most exact knowledge of those circumstances, and consequently would have given, not round, but particularly definite numbers.