The Pulpit Commentary — Deuteronomy — Section 468

PART IV. FAREWELL ADDRESS OF MOSES, WITH HIS PARTING SONG AND BENEDICTION. CHAPTER XXXI.-CHAPTER XXXIII. EXPOSITION. MOSES hocl now finished his work e.e the with Rnschi and others, to the expedient of legislator and ruler e.nd leacler of Israel. reading "for" instead of "and" in tbo But ere he finally retired from his place, be following clause: e.s if the cause why Moses could no longer go in and out among the he.d to take order for the carrying forward the people was God's prohibition of his of the work by the nomination of e. suc- going over Jordan. This is simply another cessor to himself in the leadership; by and collateral reason why he had now to committing the keeping of the Le.w to the retire from hls post as leader. priests ; e.nd by anew admonishing the Vers. 3--6.-Bnt though Moses wae no people to obedience, encouraging them to longer to be their leader, he assnres them that the Lord would fulfil his engagement go forward to 1he conquest of Ce.ne.e.n, to eond net them to the possession of Cana.an, animating them with the aRsure.nce of the even a.a he had e.lree.dy given them the Divine favour e.nd blessing, e.nd pronounc- territ.ory of the kings of the A.morites; ing on them his pe.rting benediction. e.nd he therefore exhorts them to be of good conrage and fe,arlessly go forward to CHAPTER XXXI. the conquest of the land (cf. eh. i 21 ; L 3). Vere. 7, S.-Moses, having in view the MosEs' FINAL ARRANGEMENTS AND HAND- appointment of Joshua as his successor, ING OVEB OF THE LAW TO THE PRIESTS. also encourages him to go forward on tho Vere. 1-13.-Last acts of Moses. strength of the Divine promil!e. Thou must Ver. 1.-And Moses went; i.e. disposed go with this people. This is a correct or set himself. The meaning is not that he rendering of the words as they stand in the " went oway" into the tent of teaching, 118 Hebrew text. The Samaritan, Syriac, and one of the Te.rgums explains it (London Vulge.te have, "Thou she.It bring this Polyglot, tom. iv. p. 377), which does not people ; •• but this is probnbly a.n arbitre.ry agree with what follows; nor is "went" correction in order to assi.mila. te this to merely equivalent to "moreover;" nor is it ver. 23. And thou llhalt ea.use them to simply redundant ;-it intimntes that the inherit it; i.e. ehalt conduct them to the speaking we.s consequent on Moses having full possession of the land. arranged, disposed, or set himself to speak Vers. 9-13.-Moses turns next to the (cf. Exod. ii. 1; Josh. ix. 4; Job i. 4). priests a.nd the elders, e.nd to them he Ver. 2.-1 e.m e.n hundred e.nd twenty commits the Law which he bad written, years old this de.y. When Moses stood with the injunction to read it to the before Pho.mob he wns eighty years old people nt the end of every seven yeors (Exod. vii. 7) : since then forty years had during the festival of the yee.r of releuse, elnpsed during the wanderings in the viz. e.t the Feast of Tabernacles (cf. Lev. wilderness. I ce.n no more go out e.nd come xxiii. 34), when they appeared before the in; I e.m no longer able to work among and Lord. At the end of every seven years (cf. for the nation e.s I have hitherto done (cf. eh. xv. 1). The La.w was committed to the Numb. xxvii. 17). 'fhis does not conflict priests and elders, not merely to preserve it with the statement in eh. xxxiv. 7, that up in safe keeping, but that !hey might see to to the time of his deoth his eyes were not its being observed by the people; else why dim nor his natural strength Bbated, for commit it to tho elders whose it was to ad- this is the statement of an observer, nnd it minister rule in the nation, as well as to often hoppena thot an individunl feels him- the priests who a.lone bad access to the ark self to be foiling, when to thoso around him of the covene.nt where the Law was de- he appeora to possess tmobnted vigour. posited P Moses "entrusted the reading to 'l'hcro is no need, therefore, for resorting, the priesthood and the college of elders, ua (80 THE BOOR. OF DEUTERONOMY. [err, xxx. 1-30,