; om Daz. 11. 29,30. and ſometimes both, as in this place: ng ay bo here of the Peowd e that God hath appointed for = Aſſrian afrer he had done God $ work in punijhing of his peOp e and the bordering nations. Now although the Aſjrian is _ dan empire vas ſubdued by the Medes and Perſians, yet the © _ aMi&ions and calamities of that people came from two hands,bot beyond the fea and, brought to them by ihips,as is here expreſled ; {irit from the Greciaws under Alexand:r and his Succeſlors, by whom thar people were grievouſly oppreſſed and waſted ; then from the Romans, who ſubdued all the Grec/an empire, one great part where- of were the Aſjrians largely ſo called, and after many bloody wars made them a colony. # ( 7. e. ) The poſterity of Ever, Gen. han the Hebrews, who were the chiefand flower of Ebers goes. ps therefore are here de{igned by that general name, ſuch genera = preſſions being oft uſed concerning one particular and the _ eminent of its kind. And it pleaſed God to exprels it thus _ [ly here.becauſe though he would foretell this for the comfort an hn iruction «| his people in after ages, yet he would not have Bs ws nor Balaam neither, underſtand or utter any thing which _—_ r ſ::m to thwart that happy eſtate of 7/-aet, which Balaam c_ ſaw and openly applauded. x Not the Hebrews, as ſome underſtand, for his affliction was now mentioned before, and other FA tell us rhey ſhall have a better end, and that all Jſrael ſhall be ſave . and therefore not periſh for ever, bur the afflifter or ſcourge 0 Aſher and Eber, to wit, the Grec:an and Roman Empire. ,
25 And Balaam roſe up, and went, and returne
to his place y : and Balak alſo went his way.
7 (i.e.) To Meſopotamia. Obj.He went only to Midian,where he was ſlain, Nwmb,z 1.8.4nſw.1i. He is faid to return home, becauſe _ inten- ded and began to doſio, tho' he was diverted by the Miazamres: for men in Scripture are oft ſaid to do what they deſign or — ro do as Exod. $8.18. Numb. 14.40. Anſw: 2, He did go home - - 's) afterwards he returned to the Midjanites, either becauſe they _ for him, or to recover his loſt cregir, and to do that by pony which he could not do by charms,to which purpoſe he gave h _ that deyiliſh counſel which was pur in praftice, Nums. 25. and that by his advice, Num. 31. 16. Rev. 2. 14.
CHA FP, AXF:
l try : God commands tie guilty to be put #0
rhe Hats 7 s —_ : for which God ance hin the
priefthood, E---15. God commands the Midianites to 62 ſlain far this their Tyeachery in drawing the People 7d ſin, 1 Gonee 18. |
N D Ifrael abode in * Shittima «, and the people
þ began to commit whoredom c with the daugh-
of Moab 4. Ns res” place called more largely, Abel-Shittim, Numv.33.49. it being uſual with the Hebrews to abbreviate long proper names,as Hermon 1s ut for Baal-hermon, Judg. 3.3. Tholad for Ei-tholad, Fol, 19.4. Nimrim,
iſa15.6. for Beth-nimrim,Numb.32.36. And this was their laſt ſtation, from whence they paſled immediatly into Canaan.So this is here no- ted as a great aggravation of their ſin, that they committed ir, when God was going to put them into the poſſeſſion of their long-expetted and much defired land. + Not all, but many of them, as appears from Deut. 4. 3, 4. 1 Cor. 10.8. c Both corporally and ſpiritually, either becauſe they proſtituted themſelves tothem upon condition of worſhipping their god ; or becauſe rheir filthy god was worſhipped by ſuch tilthy atts, as Priapus and Yenus were. d And of Mid:an too, as is evident from ver.6.17,18. and Numb.z 1. 16. for borh theſe peo- ple being confederated in this wicked deſign, the one 1s put for the other, and the daughters of Moab may be named, either becauſe they began the tranſgreſſion, or becauſe they were the chief per- ſoas, poſſibly, the relations or courtiers of Balak king of Moas.
2 And * they calied e the people unto the ſacrifices e of their gods f': and the people did cat, and bowed
to their gods þ: ;
downs may be 94 either 1. as the conſequent of their whoredom, an invitation to further ſociety in their ſacred feaſts ; or rather 2. as the cauſe or occaſion of their whoredom, the He- brew wvau here ſignifying for, as it oft doth. The Meabires being now neighbours to the Jſraelires, and finding themſelves unable to effe& their deſign againſt 17a] by war and witchcraft, they now fell another way to work, by contrafting familiarity with them, and, perceiving their evil and Juttful inclinations, 7hey, 7. e. their daughters, laſt mentioned, invited them co their feaſts. e (7. e.) Unto the feaſts which were made of their parts of their ſacrifices, after the manner of the Jews and Gentiles too, the par- ticipation whereof, was reckoned a participation in the worſhip of that god to whom the ſacrifices were offered, 1 Cor. 10. 8. and therefore was forbidden to the 1ſraelizes when ſuch feaſts and ſacri- fices belonged to a falſe god, Exod. 34.15. Yet this was aleſsand more modeſt kind of Idolatry, and therefore is firly uſed to uſher in whar was more groſs and impious. f(.e. ) Of their god, Baal- peor, the plural Eloim being here uſed, as commonly it is, for one God. g Which properly notes the outward a& of worſhip, which here conſiſting in, or being accompanied with filthy a&ions, may either ſignifie or connote them. þ Before their gods, or, to the honour and worſhip of their gods.
2 And Iſrael joyned himſelf ; unto Baal-peor k.: and the anger of the LORD was kindled / againtt Iſrael.
7 The word implies a forſaking of God to whom they were and ſhould have been joyned, and a turning to, embracing of, ſtrick conjunGion with, and fervent affe&ion after, this falſe god. Com- pare Hoſ. 9. 10. and 2 Cor. 6. 14. k Called Baal, by the name com- mon to many falſe gods, and eſpecially ro thoſe rhar repreſented any of the heavenly bodies, and Peor, either from the hill Peor,where , he was worſhipped, Nu. 23. 28. or rather from a verb ſignifying to open and wicover, either becaule of the obſcene poſture in which poſlibly rhe Idol was ſer, as Priapus was: or becauſe of the tilthineſs | which was exerciſed in his worſhip. / (:. e.) Diſcover it ſelf jn a | dreadful plague, ?ſal. 106. 29.
* 4 And the LORD ſaid unto Moſes, * Take all the * heads of the people, and hang them up m before che
LORD = againſt the ſun o, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Iſrael],
BE BE R-S”
Chal |