The Pulpit Commentary — Deuteronomy — Section 489

dt1m p1111os moB, Vnl_g-ate. This is the expln- Fat of lambs; lnmbs of tho best, "fut 11 nat.ion uauRlly ~h·eu of the init-iltl c,rrnsc of being a fig11mtivo l'Xpression for tho boat this ..-erse: but its ncrumcy has been ques- (Numb. XYiii. 12). Rama of the breed of t.ionl"d. Fiirst would render the ,·erb by Be.shan; literally, mms, sons of Bashan; "wRtcheson'r; ., but though i•J)('.1,as the Hiph. i.e. reared in 13:tshnu, ci district famous for of,,,•, to WR tch, ma~· hnvc this meaning, it is its cnttlo. With the fat ofkidneya of wheat: und<>ubtl"dly med gencr.1lly in the sense of ,l'ith the l.-id11ey-jat of ,~heat; i.e. tho l'ousing, exciting. stirring up. Knobel re- richest fat, tho best and most nutritious tains this rncnning, but understands the whent. And thou didst drink the puro blood clause of the exciting of the nestlings by the of the grape. The blood of the gr~pe is the parent bird corning to them with food. This expressed jnico of the grnpe, which, being is certainly more in keeping with whnt red, is compnred to blood. Tho rendering follows; for when the eagle nestles or broods "pme" here is not innpt. The original over her young, she does not excite them to word (i1~r:,, from ii;i:;,, to boil up, to fonm, to fly. Flnttereth over her young; rather, rise in bubbles) describes this juice as it lwocd, over, nestles, or cherishea ("]~:,; ). appears when pressed into a vessel, when Spree.dethe.broe.d her wings, eto. "I once saw the surface of the liquid is covered with n -rcry interesting sight above one of the froth or foam. There is no ground for the rrn~ of Ben N eds, as I was going in pursuit explanation "fiery wine" (Keil); wine in of black i;ame. Two parent eagles were such a state was never among the Hebrews tcnching their offspring. two ~·oung birds, the counted a blessing. That they had and munreunes of flight. They began by rising used fermented wine is certain; but what from the top of a mountain, in the eye of they specially esteemed os a luxury was the sun ;-it we.s about midday, and bright the pure unadulterated juice of the gmpe for this climate. They at first made smiill freshly pressed out and drunk with the circles, and the young imitated them; they foam on it. paused on their wings, waiting till they had Vers. 15-18.-Isrnel's ungrateful return rnnde their first flight, holding them on their for the Lord's benefits. expanded wings when they appeared ex- Ver. 15.-Jeshurun. This no.me, formed h:rnsted, and then took a second and larger from ,.;:, righteous, design a tcs Ismel as gyration, always rising towards the sun, and chosen to be a righteous nation ; and in the enl:irp:ing their circle of flight, so as to make use of it here lies the keenest reproo.ch of a gradually ascending spiral" (Davy, 'Snl- apostate Israel, as fallen into a state the rnonia;' see also Bochart, 'Hierozoicon,' ii. opposite of that to which it was destined. IS!). The general reference is to God's " Uy using the name righteous in place of fostering care of Israel, and especially his lsrae"l, Moses ironically censures those who dealing with them when" he suffered their had_ swerved from rectitude; by recalling to manners in the wilderness'' (Acts xiii. 18), memory with what dignity they had been disciplined them, and trained them for what endowed, he the more sharply rebukes the they were appointed to do. perfidy which was their crime" (Calvin). Ver. 12.-The Lord alone did lead him ( cf. This nAme appears also in eh. xxxiii. 5, 26, Exod. xiii 21 ; xv. 13). With him; i.e. and in Isa. xliv. 2; but in these places with- along with Jehovah, as aiding him. out any implied censure. By some the Yer. 13.-He made him ride on the high word is regarded as a diminutive from ,1ei:, places of the earth. To ride over or drive the same as iel•, in the sense of rectulus, over the heights of a country is figuratively justulus, "the good little people" (Gesenius): to subjugate and take possession of that others as a diminutive from ,~~~.', Israel, ae country (cf. eh. xxxiii. 29; Isa. )viii. 14). Israel, having subjugated Cane.an,could eat a sort of term of endearment (Grotius). But of its produce, the increase of the fields, as his the latter of these derivations is impossible: o\\-n. Honey out of the rock, and oil out of and as to the former, there lacks evidence the flinty rook. Canaan abounded in wild of the termination un having a diminutive ])(:cS, which had their hives in crevices of significance in Hebrew. Besides, neither the rock, and in olive trees, which grew on here nor in eh. xxxiii. 5 would a term of a rocky soil ; as is still the case in Palestine. endearment be suitable. Waxed fat, and kicked (cf. eh. vi. 11 ; viii. 10 ; xxxi. 20). The Ver. 14.-Butter of kine. The Hebrew allusion is to an ox that had grown fa.t word (nt:tz;ii::;) here used designates milk in through good feeding, and had become un• a solid o,: semi-solid slate, as thiek cream, manageable in consequence (cf. 1 Sam. ii. curd, or butter. As dietinguished from this 26; Hos. x. 4). Lightly esteemed. The i£ the milk of sheep; wt.ere the word used Hebrew is strongly expressive here: Thou c:i7r:-,) properly denotes fresh milk, milk in a hast treated as a fool (',,1/1, from '~b to be flnid state, and with all its richness (:i~n, foolish (cf. Micah vii. 6). • fatness) in it (cf. Gen. :z:viii. 8: :iaa. vii. 2'2), Ver. 16.-They !lfovoked bµn to Jealolllf, orr. x:un. 1-52.J 'fHE nooK OE' DEUTERONOMY, 601