The Pulpit Commentary — Numbers — Section 299

Yer. 24.-And Isre.el smote him with the was little diffel'ence between poetry e.nd rhe- edge of the sword. This wns the first time toric, and when the distinction was hardly tbe.t generation h&d seen we.r, if we except drawn between the inventive fe.culty of m1m. the nncerte.in episode of the king of Arad, and the Divine afflatus, it is not surprising e.nd they could he.ve he.d no weapons but to find the word masluil e.pplied to the BUch e.s their fathers he.d brought out of rhapsody of Balaam (eh. xxiii. 7), to the Egypt. It was, therefore, a critical moment "taunting song" of Isaiah (xiv. 4), to the in their history when they met the forces of "riddle" of Ezekiel (xvii. 2), as well as Sihon, confident from their recent victory to the collection of earthly and heavenly over Moab. We may suppose that Joshua wisdom in the Book of Proverbs. The.t we.s their military leader now, as before e.nd which follows is a taunting song, most like after. From Arnon unto J'abbok. The to the ons cited from Isaiah, the archaic Ja.bbok which formed the boundary of Sihon character of which is marked by its strongly on the ;orth towards the kingdom of Og, e.nd antithetic form and abmpt transitions, as on the ea.st towards the Ammonites, is the well as by the peculiarity of some of the modern Zerka: it runs in a large curve north- words. Come to Heshbon. This may be ea.st, north-west, and west, until it falls into ironically addressed to the Amorites, lately Jordan, forty-five miles north of the mouth so victorious, now so overthrown ; or, pos- of the Arnon. Even unto the children of sibly, it may be intended to express the Ammon : for the border of the children of jubilation of the Amorites themselves in the Ammon was strong. This is perhaps in- day of their pride. tended to expkin rather why the Amorites Ver. 28.-There is a fire gone out of had not extended their conquests any further, Heshbon. This must refer to the war-fire than why the Israelites made no attempt to which the Amorites kindled from Heshbon cross the border of Ammon ; they had when they made it the capital of the new another and more sufficient reason (see Deut. kingdom. Ar Moab and the (northern) ii. 19). Rabbah of Ammon, which stood upon heights of Amon were the furthest points to the right (here the eastern) bank of the UpPE:r which their victory extended. Jabbok was an erlremely strong place which Ver. 29 .-0 people of Chemosh. l&~t.:,:p·c,v. eff'ectna'ny protected the country behind it, even until the reign of David (see on 2 Sam. Chemosh was the ne.tional f,od of the Moab- :ri., riL). ites (1 Kings xi. 7; Jer. x viii 7), and also to some extent of the Ammonites (Judges Ver. 25.-.And Israel dwelt in all the :ri. 24). It is generally agreed the.t the cities of the Amorites. The territory over• name is derived from the root ll:l:i:,, to sub- rnn at this time was a.bout fifty miles north due and thus will have substantially the e.nd south, by nearly thirty ea.st a.nd west. sarr{e meaning e.s Milcom, Molech, and Baal ; It was not permanently occupied until e. indeed it appears probable that there ~as e. some1,hat later period (eh. xxxii. 33); bnt strong family likeness among the idolatries of we may suppose that the flocks and herds, Palestine, and the.t the various names repre- with sufficient forces to guard them, spread sented different attributes of one supreme be• them.selves at once over the broad pa.store ing rather than different divinities. Thus lands. Heahbon, and all the villages there- Baal and Ashtaroth (Judg. ii: 13) repres~n~ed of. Literally, "the daughters thereof." By a for the Zidonians the masculine and fe1mnme similar figure we speak of a "mother city." elements respectively in the Divine energy. Hesh bon occ:npied a. central position in the Baal himself was plural (Bao.lim, 1 Kings kingdom of Sihon, haU way between .Amon xviii. 18) in form, and either male or female and J abbok, and about eighteen miles east- (~ {Jira-,._ in Hosea. ii. 8; Rom, xi. 4). In the ward of the point where Jordan falls into the inscription on the Moabite stone a god Sa.It Lake ; it stood on a table-land nearly "Ashtar-Chemosh" is mentioned, and thus 3000 feet above the sea, and had been made Chemosh is identified with the male deity his city (i. e. his capital) by Sihon nt the of Phrenicia. (Ashta.r being the masculine time of his victories over Moab. form of Ashtoreth), while, on the other h&Dd, Ver. 26.-All his land. This is qualified it was almost certainly the same divinity by what follows: "even unto Amon" (cf. who was worshipped under another name, Judges :ri. 13-19). and with other rites, o.s Baa.1-Peor (see on Ver. 27.-They that speak in proverbs. eh. xxv. 3). On the coins of Areopolis c,l;,~lJ- Septuagint, oi a/v,yµ.ar,aral. A Chemosh appears ns a god of we.r e.rme~, cla.s; of penons well m !!.rked among the with fire-torches by his side, Human sacn- Hebrews, as perhaps in all ancient countries. fices were offered to him (2 Kings iii. 26, 27), It we.s their gift, and almost their profession, to o.s to Baal and to llfoloch. He hath given express in the sententious, antistrophic poetry his sons, i. e. Chemosh, who c?uld not so:i:e of the e.ge such thoughts or such facts as took his own votaries, nor the children of hl8 hold of men's miTJ.ds, At a time when there people. cm. xxr. 10-nn. 1.J THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. 283