77, e. God will hear his Prayer for the accompliſhment of thoſe great things premiſed to thar Tribe, Gen. 49. 8,9, 10, 11. Thisim- plies the delays and difficulties Judah would meet with herein, which would drive him to his Prayers.and that thoſe Prayers ſhould be crowned with ſucceſs. z Either 1.When he ſhall go forth ro Bat- tel againſt God's and his enenues and ſhall fall fiercely upon them, as was forerold,Gen.q9.8,9. bring him back with honcur and viQory and ſafety ro his people, 7. e. either to the reſt of his Tribe who were left at home when their brethren went to batte]: or to his brethren the other Tribes of 1r7ael. Or 2.When that Tribe ſhall go into cap- tivity, let them not always be kept in captivity, a+ theten Tribes are like to be, bur do thou bring him again to his people. Or 4. As thou haſt promiſed the gathering of the people to him, even to the Shi. loh, who was to come out of his Joyns, Ger. 49. 10. ſo do thou bring him, 7. e, the Meſſias who may be underſtood our of that parallel pro- phefie, and who may be here called Judah, becauſe he was come from him, as he is for that reaſon called David in Civers places, 70 his people, i. e« to that people which thou haſt given to him. Or 4 Bring him in, to wit, asa Prince and Governour, as thcu hit Pre= miſed Gen: 49: to his people, 7. e. to thy people of Iſrael, now to be reckoned as his people, becauſe of their ſubje&ion ro him. Or rather 5. Bring himin ro his people, to that people which theu haſt promi- ſed and given to him, z.e. to thar portion of Land which thou haſt allored ro him,ſettle him in his poſſ*flion : the people or inhebitanrs being here put for the Land inhabited by them, as the 1/raclires are told they ſhould poſſeſs che Nations or people of Canaan, Deuz, 11. 23. and 12. 2. 7.e. their Land as itis explained, Deur. 17. 14. and 30. 18. for the peoplethey were not to poſſeſs but to diſpoſſels 2nd to root out. & This Tribe ſhall be ſo numerous and potent and vali- ant, that it ſhall ſuffice ro defend it ſelf withour any aid either from forreign nations or fiom other Tribes : as appeared when this Tribe alone was able to grapple with nine or ten ofthe other Tribes. b Thou wilt preſerve this "Tribe in a ſpecial manner, ſo as his ene- mies ſhall nor be able ro ruine it, as they will do other Tribes.and that for the ſake of Meſias who ſhall ſpring our of it.
8 And of Levi he ſaid, 7 Le thy Thummim and th
Urim be with thy holy one c, * whom thou didſt A
. Prove 3o., d at Maſlah e, and with whom thou didft ftrive f at the *Num.2v waters of Meribah ; 136
c The Thummim and the Urim, which are thine, O Lord by ſ pecial inſtitution and conſecration, by which he underſtands the ephod in which they were put,Exod. 28. 30. by a ſynecdoche,and the High Prieſthood, to which they were appropriated by a Meronymy; and withall the gifts and graces ſignified by the Urim and Thummim, and neceſſary for the diſcharge of that high office, ſhall be with thy holy one, 5. e.with that Levitez that Prieſt, which thou haſt conſecrated to thy ſelf, and whictis holy in a more peculiar manner than all the PEO ple were, 7. e. The Prieſthood ſhall be confined to and continued in Aarons Family. d This ſeems added by way of anticipation,although thou didſt try him, and rebuke him,and ſhut him out of Canaan for his miſcarriage about fetching water eur of the rock, yet thou didit not therefore take away the Prieſthood from him. e Not at that Maſa
ſah mentioned Exod. 17. which is alſo called Meribah where neither Moſes nor Aaron are reproved, nor is Aaren ſo much as named, but
Chap. XXXI1, © Fe
Ghar
mnen[e.
+ Heb thy noſ
* Gen 25.
tHeb
thruft tf Heb, mens,
at that other Meribah, Nymb, 26, where this is #xprefiod, whigh as
43
ir Ghap- X XXII. ; | *+is called by one of the names of that place, Exog. 17. to wit, Me- ribah, Numb. 20. ſo it may be here called by its ether name, Maſſah ; and well may the ſame names be given to thoſe two places,becauſe the occaſion of them was in a great meaſure one and the ſame. Though this place may be otherwiſe rendred, whom thou didſt try in +rying or with trial, 7. e, whom thou didft exattly and throughly try, ſuch repetitions being very frequent and elegant in the Hebrew language. And it may be obſerved, that in the Hebrew text here are two ſeveral prepoſitions, though the Engliſh tranſlation render them both by at, here, beth, in or with, and in the next branch, al, #7 or near or concerning the waters of Meribah ; which may ſeem to intt- mate that the former is not the name of the place as the latter 15: why elſe ſhould they not have been expreſſed by the ſame prepolt- tion ? f Or, contend, 7. e. whom thou didſt reprove and chaftile, as
_ that phraſe ſignifies, Iſs: 49: 25: Jer: 2: 9. : 9 Who ſaid to his father, and unto his mother, 1 havenot ſeen him g, neither did he acknowledge his *Mal2:5- brethren, nor knew his own children : * for they have
obſerved thy word, and kept thy covenant +: g (i. e.) T have noreſpe& unto them, for ſo knowledge is oft uſed, as Job 9:21: Prov:12:10,11: I Theſ. 5: 12. The ſenſe is, who followed God and his command fully, and executed the judgment enjoyned by God without any reſpe& of perſons, Exod:32: 26,27. This ſeems better than to refer it, either ro their not mourning for their next kindred, for that was allowed to all but the high Prieſt in caſe of the Death of Father or Mother, and that was only a ceremonial Rite and no matter of great commendation ; or to their impartiality 1n executing the judgments committed ro-them, Deut: 17:9: of which they had as yet given no conſiderable proof. +(7. e.) When the reſt broke their covenant with God by that foul ſin of Idolatry with the calf, that Tribe kept themſelves more pure . from that 1n- feftion. and adhered to God and his Worſhip and Service, as ap- pears from Ezod 32: 26, 28. Compare Mal: 2: 6, 7. | | Or /et 10 || They # ſhal teach Jacob thy judgments, and I{ra- tem reach, C1 thy law : || they ſhal put incenſe + before thee &, and
whole burnt-ſacrifice upon thine altar. j( i.e.) The Prieſts and Levites. &k (7. e. ) Upon thine Altar of incenſe which ſtood before the-Ark, the place of Gods ſpecial pre=
ſence.
"I Bleſs, LORD, his ſubſtance 7, andaccept the work of his hands ws ; ſmite throughthe loins of them that riſe againſt him », and of them that hate him, that chey riſe
not again.