EXPOSITION. CIIAPTER XIV. or "turn aside," and is translated here d1ro• <rTp/1/,a.v'Tua.nd not a.va.crTpe,j,a.vres by the Vers. 1-4. - THE DIRECTION 01!' THE LXX. Dr. Brugsch supposes that the turn JOURNEY CHANGED. Hitherto the ma.rch of made was to the north, and the " sea " reached the Israelites had been to the south-east. the Mediterranean ; but all other writers, re- Another day's journey in this direction would garding the sea. spoken of as the Red Sea have taken them beyond the limits of ( compare eh. xiii. 18), believe the divergence from the previous route to have been towards Egypt, iuto the desert region east of the the south, and place Pihahiroth, Migdol, and Bitter Lakes, which was dry, treeless, and Bo.al-Zephon in this quarter. Pihahiroth. waterless. In this tract there would have The exact position is unknown. Neither the been but scant nourishn..ent for their Egyptian remains nor the writings of the Greeks or Romans present us with any simile.r flocks and herds, and absolutely no wat.er for geographic name. If Semitic, the word themsP,}ves, nnless it had been obtained by should mean "the entrance to the co.ves," but miracle. God therefore changed the direction it is quite possible that it ma.y be Egyptian, of their route from south-east to due sonth, llligdol. There was undoubtedly a famous and made them take a course by which they Migdol, or Maktal, on the eastern frontier of Egypt, which was a strong fortified post, and pla.ced the Bitter Lakes on their left hand, which is often mentioned. Heco.tmus called it and so remained within the limits of Egypt, Magdolos (Fr. 282). In the Itinerary of Anto- in a district fairly well watered, but shnt off nine it is said to be twelve Roman miles from from the wilderness by the Bitter Lakes and Pelusium (p. 76). But this is too northern a. the northern prolongation of the Golf of position for the Migdol of the present fas- sage; which must represent a "tower or Suez, with which they were connected This " fortified post" not very remote from the route suited the immediate convenience of the modern Suez. Over against :Ba.a.1-Zephon host ; and, having no suspicion of any hostile The accumulation of names, otherwise un- movement on the part of the Egyptians, they known to the sacred writers, is a. strong indi- -not unnaturally-made no objection to it. cation of the familiarity possessed by the author of Exodus with the geography of It had, however, the disadvantage, in case of the country. No lo.ta writer could ho.ve a hostile movement, of shutting them in be- ventured on such local details. A name re- tween their assailants on the one hand, and sembling " Baal-Zephon" is said to occur iu the sea upon the other; and this circum- the Egyptian monuments. Dr. Brugsch reads stance seems to have led Pharo.oh to make his it as "Ba.al-Zo.puna." He regards it as the designation of a l'h(J)nicio.n god, and com- pursuit. pares "Baal-Zebu b.·• Others have compared Ver. 2.-Speak unto the children of llra.el the" Zephon" with the Grmco-Egyptia.n fonn that they tnm. .Kalisch translates "re- "Typhon," e.nd have supposed" Baal-Zephon" turn "-i. e., "retrace their steps," and sup- to be equivalent to "Baal-Set" or "Baal- poses that Etham lay far south of Piha.hiroth, Sutech "-a personifico.tion of the principle of on the west coast of the Golf of Snez. But evil. the Hebrew word means either " tnrn back " Ver. 3.-They 11.?'G enta.nglod in the land. CII. XIV. 1-4.] TllE BOOK OF EXODUS. 315
Or "they n.re confused," "perplexed "-i. e. Nile valley and the Re~ Sea. This desert, "they have lost their way.' Pharaoh conld he says, "blocks their way, e.nd shuts them not conccivo that they would have taken the in "-they cannot escape if he follows in their route to the wc.st of the Bitter Lakes, which steps, for they will he.ve the see. on one hand. conducted to no tolerablo territory, unless the desert on the other, and in their front, they wero hopelessly at sea with respect to while he himself }.'resses upon their rear. the geography of the country. In this "per- Ver. 4.-1 will be honoured_ See the plexity " of theirs he thought he saw hie commen,t on eh. ix. 16. That the Egyptian& own opportunity. The wilderness hath shut may know that I am the Lord. Compare them in. Pharaoh is thinking of his own above, eh. vii. 5 " wilderness," the desert country between the