EXPOSITION. Ver. 17-20.-TBE DIRECTION OF THE JOUR- not determine their own route ; and 2, God NEY,-The direct road from Tanis to Palestine would not lead them by the direct route, -a road much frequented under the nineteenth because it would have conducted them tl) the dynasty-lay a.long the coast of the Mediter- Philistine country, and the Philistines were ranean, and conducted to Philistia. If we strong, and would have resisted the invasion look at the map, and observe the position of by force of arms. Hence it wa.s that the Tanis (now San) on the old Tanitic branch southern or south-ea.stem route wa.s taken in of the Nile, now nearly dried up, we sho.11 preference to the northern one-and that the see that the route which would naturo.lly second stage in the journey was from Succoth suggest itself to any one wishing to proceed to Etham (verse 20). to the Holy Land from Tanis would be one Ver. 17.-Althongh that was near. Ra- running al.most due east, from Tanis to Pe- ther "because it wns near" (8-n ,-y-yi,, -i?v, lusium, and from Pelusium, south of Lake LX.X.)-i.e., "God did not, because it was Serbonis, to Rhinocolurn; and thence, follow- near, lead them this way, but a longer one." ing the course of the coast to Gaza., Ascalon, Lest peradventure the people repent when and Ashdod, the chief towns of the Philistine they see war. The Philistines were a power- ful and warlike race half a centnry nfter this, country. It is true that a marsh region in- in the time of Joshua, and were masters of tervenes between Tanis and Pelusium which the five important cities of Gaza, Ascalon, might seem to bar the route ; but the Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron, which seem to Egyptian remains show that, in the times of have formed a confederacy (Josh. xiii. 31. the eighteenth and nineteenth dyne.sties, this It would appear that their strength was already considerable, and that the Israelites, obstacle was surmounted by means of an though perhaps more numerous, were in- embankment which was carried across it, and capable of copmg with them, being wholly that a direct road thus connected the two unaccustomed to war. The Israelites were cities therefore not allowed to take this route, Moses, at this point of his narrative, be- which would have brought upon them at once a severe trial, and might have led to ing about to trace the onward mnrch of the their voluntary return into Egypt. Israelites from Succoth to Etha.m, in the Ver. 18.-God led the people about. Or direction of the Red Sea, anticipnted, it "led the people a circuit," i.e., made them would seem, an objection on the part of his take a circuitous route to Cana.an, the way reader, who would nntura.lly ask, Why was of the wildemess of the Bed Sea-i.e., by the southern wilderness, or what jg now co.lled not the direct route eastward taken and "the wilderness of Sinai." Kalisch shows Canaan entered on the south-west after some the wisdom of this course-how it gave time bolf-dozen marches? In verses 17, 18, he for the nation to be "gruduo.lly 11ccustorned gives the reply-1. God led them, they did to fatigues and hardships by a. lOL,g and EXODUS, X THE BOOK OF EXODUS. [en. xm. 18--21.
tiresome me.rch in the desert "-to learn gi,·e C11J111&11 to the descendants of Ahraluun obedience to their ch.ief-&nd fina.lly to be bad made them s'l\·ear to take hie body with "trained to military discipline and me.rtial them when they left Egypt. The des,rn to ,irtue by occasion&l expeditions against the be le.id in their native earth was common to weaker tribes of the desert.. " He errs, how- most of the nations of antiquity, and, in t.he ever, in ascribing the wisdom of the conrse case of the Israelites, was intensified bv ta.ken to Moses, since Moses expressly de- Can&An being the "land of promise." J ncob cle.res that the conception was not his, but had had the same feeling as Joseph, o.ud ho.d Gotl's. And the ohildren of Israel went up been buried by Joseph in the cave of Mo.ch- he.rne1111ed. The word here translated "he.r- pelah (Gen. 1. 13). nes.sed," is generally thought to mean either Ver. 20.-And they took their journey 'with their loins girded" (Onkelos, Kimchi, from Succoth and enoamped in Etham. On Kali,;ch) or" in military order" (Gesenius, Lee, the probable position of Etham, see the Knobel). Ewald, who inclines to the latter " Introduction " to this book. The word of these two senses, suggests that, strictly, it probably means "House of Tum," a.nd im- means "in fiye divisions "-Tiz., van, centre, plies the existence at the place of a temple two wings, and ree.rgue.rd. The word is, ap- of the Sun-God, who wo.s commonly wor- pe.rently, a derivatiYe from khonnesh, "fi.,.e." shipped as Tum or Atum. The name, there- Ver. 19.-Moses took the bones of Joseph fore, is nee.rly equivalent to Pithom (eh. i.11), -i.e.. his body, which had been embnlmed, which means " City of Tum ; " but it is not and deposited in a mummy case (Gen. I. 26), likely that Moses designated the same place most probably at Tanis, which was the by two distinct appellations. The site of capital of the Shepherd kings, no less than Etham, moreover, does not agree with that of Menephthe.h. He had straitly sworn the of the Patumos of Ilerodotus (ii. 15S), which ohildren of Israel. See Gen. l. 25. Joseph, is generally allowed to be Pithom firmly believing in the promise of God to