The Pulpit Commentary — Numbers — Section 271

eongregation into the land. That they spee.king, far greater tha.n any thef would should die in the wilderness was implied in have encountered in any other direotion • but this sentence, but wa.s not strictly a part of this was part of their necessary discipline.• the sent.>nee itself. Moses, indeed, altho~h Thy brother llrael. This phrase recalled he did not enter the land of promise in its the history of Esau and Ja.cob, and of the narrower sense, yet he died within the in- brotherly kindness which the former ha.d heritance of Israel. Since they he.d behe.ved shown to the latter at a time when he had unworthily of their high office as leaders of him in his power (Gen. .x:uiii. ). Thou the people, therefore the.t office should be lmoweat &ll the travel that hath befallen ta.ken from them before the glorious end. v.e. Moses assumed that Edom would take Yer. 13.-This ia the water ot ][eribah. a fraternal interest in the fortunes of Israel. or "water of strife." Septuagint, ;;i,..,p dv~ The f&r&llel \VllS singularly close between the ,-,>.oyfoc. The word "Meribah" a.ppee.rs, position of Ja.cob wnen he met with Esau however, to form pa.rt of a proper name in and the present position ~f Israel ; we ma.y Dent. xrni. Sl. A similar use of the word is well suppose that Moses tntended to make recorded in Exod. xviL 7. That the sa.me this felt without directly asserting it. no.me was more or less definitely attached to Ver. 16.-And sent an angel, It is pro- these two scenes is only another way of say- ~ble ~at M?5es purposely used an expres- ing that there was a strong similarity between sion which mi.ght be understood in variowi the two sets of a.ssoci&tions. At the same senses, because he could not explain to the time the differences are so marked in the kins( of Edom the true relation of the Lord nami.tives that they leave very distinct im- to liis people. At the same time it was in pressions npon the mind. And he W8II sano- the deepest sense true (cf. Exod. .xiv. 19; ti.11.ed in them, i & he revealed there his .xniL 84), because it was the uncreated holiness and power, and pnt to silence their angel of the covenant, which was from God, evil murmurings against him. He was sanc- and yet was God (cf. Gen. x:uii. 30; Josh. tified in them all the more abundantly be- v. 15; vi. 2; Acts viL 35), who wa.s the real muse Moses a.nd Aaron failed to sanctify him captain of the Lord's host. 111 Xadesh, a in the eyes of the people ; but what they city in the uttermost of thy border. See failed to do he brought to pass without their note on Kadesh. It ill clear that Kadesh agency. itself was outside the territory of the king of' Ver. U.-And ][oaes sent messengers Edom, although it lay close to the frontier. . from X&deah Ullto the king ot Edom. On Ver. 17. - Let ue pass, I pray thee, the kings of Edom see on Gen. :a:xvi 31. through thy country. Moses desired to It would seem probable from Exod. xv. 16 march through Seir eastwards and north- that the government was at that time (forty eastwards, so as to reach the country beyond years before the present date) still in the Jordan. If the northern :eortion of the bands of "dukes,' and that the change had wilderness of Paran was at thlS time held by but recently taken place. It is stated in the king of Edom, it would be through this Judges ri. 17 that Moses sent messengers at region that Israel would first seek to make this time with a. like request to the king of their way from Kadesh to the Are.bah ; Moab. We a.re not indeed obliged to Slip• thence the broad and easy pass of the Wa.dy pose that Jephthah, living 300 years after, Ghuweir would lead them through Mount st.ated the facts correctly; but there is no Seir (properly so called) to the plains of particula.r reason to doubt it in this case. Moab. Through the lelde, or through the That no mention of it is made here would be vineyards. These words attest the change sufficiently explained by the fact that the for the worse in the condition of theso re• refllllal of Edom made the answer of Moab of gions. Even in the Wady Ghuweir, although no pre.ctica.l moment. That .Moses asked a springs and pasturage are abundant, fields pa.ssa.ge through the territory of Edom im- and vineyards hardly exist. Neither will plies tha.t he had renounced the idea of in- we drink, i. e., as appears from ver. 19, with- vading Ca.mi.an from the south. This was out obtaining leave and making payment. B:, not on account of any iW1uperable difficulties the king's highway. 'll~'?iJ 'l)j~. The state presented by the cha1:1LCter of the country or road used for military purposes. of its inhabitants, for such did not exist; Ver. 18.-A:nd Edom said, . . Thou shalt llor on account of any supposed presence of not pus by me. This wos the first of a Egyptian troops in the south of Pa.lestine ; series of hostile acts, prompted by vindictive but simply on aceount of the fact that Israel jealousy, which brought down the wrath or had deliberately refused to take the straight God upon Edom (compare the prorhecy of road into their land, a.nd were therefore C-On• Obadiah). See, however, on Deut. ri. 29. demned to follow a long and circuitous route Ver. 19.-And the children of Israel said, ere they reached it on an altogether different i. e., probably, the messengers sent by Mosea. side. 'fhe dangers a.n,l difficulties of the .road they u.ctue.lly traYe~ ..ere, humanly By the highway. r?Qt;)~. The Septuagb.\ CB, XX. 1--29.] THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. 255