the spiritual and Be<'ular rulers of the ron- pillar of a oloud (cf. Exod. :nxlii. 9; xl. 88: gre!!"nti0n: and hence the singular, Thou Lev. xvi. 2; Numb. xii. 5). eha!t rcRd this Law to nil Israel" (Keil). Ver. 16.-Behold, thou aha.It sleep with B~- the Law here is meant the Pentntcuch; thy fathers (cf. 2 Snm. vii. 12; Ps. xiii. 3; but it docs not necessnrily follow thRt the lxxvi. 5; Dan. xii. 2; Mntt. xuii. 52; ,rlwle of the Penlateuch wns to be thus read. John xi. 11; 1 Thess. iv. H). "The death As the rending Wnll to be only once in seven of men, both good nnd bad, is often called e. years, it may be concluded that it was not sleep, bccnnso they shall cel'tninly a.wake out so much for the information of the people of it by resmrection" (Poole). Go a. whoring thnt this was done, as for the purpose of (cf. Exod. xxxiv. 15; Ju,lg. ii. 17) after publicly declaring, nnd by a solemn cere- the gods of the strangers of the land; mony impressing on their minds the con- li tcm lly, after gods of sfra.ngenes• of the dition on which they held their position land; i.e. after gods foreigu to the land, as and pri,-ilcgcs as the chosen people of opposed to Jchornh, the aloue proper God the Lord; ::rnd for this the rending of of the land ho had given to them. select porti,1ns of the Torah would be sufficient. The Feast of Tabernacles was Ver. 17.-I will bide my faoe from them; appointed as the season for the reading, will not look on tlJem with complacency, doubtless because the.re was a connection will withdraw from them my favour and between the end for which the Law wo.s help (cf. eh. xxxii. 20; Isa. viii. 17; lxiv. 7; read and the spirit and meaning of that Ezck. xxxix. 23). fe•tival ns a fosti-rnl of rejoicing because Ver. 19.-Write ye this song. This refers of their d,·livero.ncc from the nncertaiuty to the song which follows in next chapter. and unsettledness of their state in the l\loses and Joshua were both to write this wilderness, and their esmhlishment in a song, Moses probably as the author, Joshua 'I.ell-ordered state whne they could in as his amanuensis, .because both of them pear.e and quietness enjoy tho blessings were to do their endeavour to keep the which the bounty of God bestowed. When people from that apostacy which God had all Israel is come to appear before the Lord foretold. (cf. eh. x.i. 16). Thon shalt read this law Ver. 23.-And he gave, etc. The subject ( cf. Josh. ,iii. 34 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 2 ; N eh. here is God, not Moses, as is evident p[lrtly ,iiL 1, etc.). from ver. 14, and partly from the expression, \' ers. 14--23.-After nominating J oshna. the land which I sware unto them ; and I as his successor, and assigning the keeping will be with thee (cf. Exod. iii. 12). of the Law to the priesthood and body of Vere. 24-29.-After the installation of elder,, Moses was summoned by the Lord Joshua, only one thing remained for Moses to appear with JoslJua in the tabernacle, to do that all things might be set in order that Joshua might receive a charge and before bis departure. This was the finishing appointment to bis office. At the same of the writing of the Book of the Law, and time, God nnnonnced to Moses that after tlJe committing it finally to the priests, to be hie death the people would go astray, e.nd by them placed by the ark of the covenant, turn to idolatry, e.nd viol:J.te the covenant, that it might be kept for all future genora- so that God's anger shonld be kindled tionA as a witness against the people, whose against them, and he would leave them to apostacy and rebellion were foreseen. suffer the consequences of their folly and Whether this Eection is to be 1·egarded e.s sin. hi view of ihis, Moses was directed to wholly written by Moses himself, or as e.n write a song and teach it to the people, appendix to his writing added by some that it might abide with them ae a witness other writer, he.a been ma.do matter of age.inst them, rising up, as songs will do, in question. It is quite possible, however, the memory of the nation, even after they tlJat Moses himself, 81'8 ho laid down had apostatized from the path in which the the pen, may have recorded what he so.id nuthor of the song had led them. when delivering the Book of the Law to Ver. 14.-The tabernacle of the congrega- the priests, and there is nothing in the , tion; properly, th£tent of meeUnu(cf. Exod. manner or style of the record to render it x.xxiii. 7 ; x.xxix. 32)- May give him • probable that it was added by another. charge ; may constitute him (;,)~ ; ef. Numb. What follows from ver. 80 to the end of the nvii. 19; "and constitute him in their eight," Gesenius), appoint and confirm him book was probably added to the writing of in this office. Moses by some one after his death, though, Ver. 15,-The Lord appeared . . . in a of course, both the song in eh. xuii. and en. xxxt. :i. -30.] 'l'HE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY.
the blessing in eh. xxxiii. are the compo- the Decalogue (' Baba Batbro,' H); bnt sition of Moses (eoe IntroclucUon, § 6). see 1 Kings viii. 8. Ver. 25.-The Levites, which bare the ark; Ver. 27.-I know thy rebellion· rather i.e. tho priests whoso business it was to rel,elliousne.,s, i.e. tendency to rebel. I~ gunrcl a.ncl to carry tho ark of tlio covenant; Nu_mb. xvii. 25 [!OJ, the people are de- "tho priests the sons of Lovi," ns in ver. !l. scribed as •;r.i •,::i, "sons of rebelli<,usness · " According to Numb. iv. 4, etc., it was lho Autborizea' Ve~~ion, " rebels." ' Koha.thitcs who carriccl tho ark on tho Ver. 28.-Call heaven and earth to record journey through the clescrt; but they seem against them (cf. eh. xxxii. I). These words· merely to havo aetod in this respect as the the words of his char2;e, and especially th~ servants or helpers of tho priests, who alone song he had composer!, and which it would might touch the ark, and by whom it was be the business or these officers to teach Cllrefully wrapped up before it was handecl to the congregation. to the Kohathites. On special occasions Ver. 29.-Ye will utterly corrupt your- the priests themselves carried the ark ( cf. selves; literally, corrupting, ye will corrupt Josh. iii. 3, etc.; iv. 9, 10; vi. 6, 12; viii. (pnr:,!in nri~C!, sc. □:i;~:.7); i.e. your ways (cf. 33; 1 Kings viii. 3). for the phrase, Gen. vL 12). The latter days· Ver. 26.-In the side of the ark; at or by the ajter-t~me, the future, as in eh. iv. 30; the side of the ark. According to the Numb. xx1v. 14, etc. The work of your Targum of Jonathan, it was in a coffer by hands; the idols they might make (cf. eh. the right sido of the ark that the book was iv 28). By some, however, the phrase is placed ; but the Talmudists say it was put interpreted of evil deeds in general. within the ark, along with the two tables of