CHAPTER XXXIV.

1 The borders of the land. 16 The names of the men which shall divide the land.

AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof :)

3 Then 'your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward:

4 And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon:

5 And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea.

6 And as for the western border, ye even have the great sea for a border shall be your west border.

shall this

7 And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor:

8 From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad:

9 And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazarenan: this shall be your north border.

10 And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham :

11 And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward:

12 And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about.

13 And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall

inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe:

14 For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance :

15 The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising. And the LORD spake unto Moses,

16

saying,

17 These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: 'Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun.

18 And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance.

19 And the names of the men are these: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

20 And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.

22 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli.

23 The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod.

24 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.

25 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.

26 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan.

27 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi.

28 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.

29 These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.

the translation. In such a description as this, the sense often entirely depends on which one out of several senses we may assign to a particular Hebrew preposition, the correct rendering of which, in many instances, required a larger measure of local knowledge than was possessed at the time our translation was made; and, indeed, than can well be said to be possessed at present. We shall therefore take the liberty of giving Dr. Geddes's translation of this

passage, which we consider particularly happy, and which claims the more attention from the fact that the learned translator has not, so far as we can perceive from his notes, any topographical theory calculated to exercise any influence upon his version. 3 The south-west corner of your southern boundary shall be where the wilderness of Zin toucheth on the border of Edom; so that your southern boundary shall run eastward from the outmost point of the salt sea; 4 And winding about the south side of the heights of Akrabbim, shall pass on to Zin; thence extending to the south of Kadesh-barnea, it shall pass on to Hazar-addar, and thence to Azmon; 5 From Azmon the boundary shall wind about to the torrent of Egypt, and terminate at the great sea.' Thus much for the south border, which is more difficult to define than any of the others. From the general specification in verse 3 we learn the breadth of the southern boundary, namely, from the great desert valley of Zin to the Mediterranean, and this there is no difficulty in understanding; but the remaining verses, which specify where and how the boundary line is to be drawn between these two points, are not equally clear. The only two views we have met with on the subject, whether in maps or books, are these:-one of which draws the line just from the south of the Dead Sea to the supposed river of Egypt, at el-Arish, the ancient Rhinocolura-that is from N. lat. 31° 5' to 31° 15'; while the other draws the same line from the Gulf of Akaba to the eastern or Pelusiac branch of the Nile. The text must now be necessarily obscure which admits so wide a difference in the interpretation. The former understands that the statement refers to the country actually occupied by the Jews; and the latter, that it comprehends the region southward over which, in the time of Solomon, their power for a time extended. The whole of the positions are fixed according to these views. Thus the ascent of Akrabbim' is fixed by one class of interpreters to the range of hills adjoining the Dead Sea on the south-west; whereas the other find it in the mountains of Akaba near the town at the head of the gulf of that name. We are strongly disposed to think that the truth lies between the two opinions. It is not likely that in this place Moses, who does not even take into account the country beyond Jordan, where the two tribes and a half were settled, should, in one direction only, speak with a view to the remote and future extent of Solomon's dominion. And still less was it likely that he, who had been so much troubled by the Egyptian tendencies of the people, and their inclination to return to Egypt, should fix their frontier in one place at the Nile. Besides, the topography of this chapter forbids this interpretation; for Kadesh-barnea is stated to be to the south of Akrabbim, and therefore, according to this theory, Kadesh-barnea must have been in the peninsula of Sinai!-an opinion which no one has ventured to advocate, though it necessarily results from advocated opinions. Thus, in perfect conformity with the sacred text-particularly of the Hebrew text itselfwe avoid the difficulties of the larger, and intangible boundary on the one hand; and, on the other, add to the limit commonly assigned (and properly, so far as the actually settled country is concerned) a district, which not being wholly desert, might furnish useful pastures to the southern tribes, while at the same time it gave them on their weakest border a frontier of open country, such as most people desire to possess in similar circumstances, and the right to which, properly asserted, would enable them to exclude strangers or enemies from establishing themselves in the immediate vicinity of their cultivation and their towns. This consideration alone would, in our opinion, sanction the conclusion to which we have been led, even with weaker corroborations than we have been enabled to adduce.

6. The great sea.'-The Mediterranean is the only western border recognised in this verse. It is properly called 'great,' as contrasted with the smaller seas and lakes known to the Jews, namely, the Red Sea, the Dead Sea, and the Sea of Chinnereth, or of Galilee. The territory actually possessed, however, was not so simple and

distinct as here defined, since the Israelites desisted from expelling the Canaanites and Philistines, and left them in possession of some important points on the coast. David first executed the intentions of the lawgiver in this matter; but even he seems rather to have subdued than dispossessed them. We shall see the consequences of this neglect as we proceed; for, as Michaelis remarks, 'The clear possession of the sea coast is of infinite consequence to a state established in Palestine, even though it carry on no commerce; for without it the boundary can never be secure. The consequences of this neglect fully verified the prophecy in v. 55 of the preceding chapter. It is to be observed that even David made no attempt against the Phoenicians, known in Scripture as the people of Sidon and Tyre,' who occupied the northernmost portion of the coast; but that, on the contrary, both he and Solomon were on the most friendly terms with the sovereign of Tyre. As the Sidonians are never mentioned in the list of the nations to be dispossessed and exterminated, it has been questioned whether it was at all the intention of Moses that they should be disturbed in their small but important domain, or whether, indeed, the ancient and more northern territory of Sidon was included within the northern limit assigned in this chapter to the Promised Land. We find, however, in Josh. xix. 28, 29, that the boundary of Asher was to reach 'unto great Zidon;' but we might understand this not to include Sidon, were it not that it is afterwards mentioned, to the reproach of that tribe, that it had not expelled the inhabitants of Sidon (Judg. i. 31). We are therefore left to infer, that from their not being expressly mentioned in the Pentateuch among the devoted nations, the Israelites may have felt it more at their option than in other instances to leave them undisturbed, and even to cultivate amicable relations with so ingenious and enterprising a people, whose commerce and manufactures may have been of considerable benefit to themselves. And although the Lord does not say in the Pentateuch (to which the Jews have always paid more particular attention than to the rest of their Scriptures), that the Sidonians were to be driven out, he does say so in Josh. xiii. 6, where, however, the "Zidonians' may very properly mean, not the inhabitants of Sidon itself, but the Sidonian colonies in Mount Lebanon. But we must defer some further considerations on this subject to the texts with which they are more immediately connected.

7-9. And this shall be your north border,' etc.—We here give, as before, Dr. Geddes's reading of these verses: 'Your northern boundary shall be as followeth: From the great sea ye shall draw a line to the summit of Mount Lebanon; and from the summit of Mount Lebanon ye shall draw a line the way to Hamath, and the boundary shall extend to Zedad; thence it shall pass on to Ziphron, and terminate at Hazar-enan: such shall be your northern boundary. The principal improvement in this version is the substitution of Mount Lebanon' for 'Mount Hor,' the occurrence of which name on the northern frontier, after having already found it, or another of the same name, beyond the southern, is well calculated to perplex the reader of the English Bible. The words rendered 'Mount Hor' in the common version, and 'Mount Lebanon' by Geddes, are hor ha-hor; hor means 'mountain,' and our translators so render the first hor, but regard the other as a proper name. Literally, however, it is the mountain of the mountain,' which, according to the usage of the Hebrew language, means the eminent mountain,' or, the double mountain,' as Dr. Hales understands. This palpably means Lebanon, which it would be surprising to find omitted, as in our version, in a description of the northern boundary. But Lebanon occurs by name in Josh, xiii. 5, in such a sense as to shew that 'the mountain of the mountain' can mean no other than Lebanon. No doubt the names here specified all indicate different places along the different parts of the two ranges of Lebanon, which were required to form a northern frontier. For although it is not necessary to suppose that

6 Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.

7 ¶ And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.

8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims 'a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen ? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand.

9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, "to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

10 Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa 'oppressed some of the people the same time.

11 ¶ And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

12 And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.

13 ¶ And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.

14 And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had "made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries' art: and they made a very great burning for him.

It is

Verse 1. In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.'-Compare 1 Kings xv. 33, and xvi.; from which we learn that Baasha began to reign in the third year of Asa, that he reigned twenty-four years, and that his son succeeded in the twenty-sixth year of Asa's reign. therefore probable that the present text is corrupted, being contradictory to three other dates, which shew that Baasha died ten years before the date here given to his enterprise. Josephus seems accordingly to preserve the true date of this undertaking, which he places in the twenty-sixth year of Asa-the year in which Baasha died-which agrees with what he says, that Baasha was prevented by death from resuming his enterprise which the Syrians had interrupted. The Jewish chronology, followed by many modern chronologers, explains the present text to be correct, by supposing that, instead of reign,' we should read 'kingdom; and, consequently, that the date is not from the beginning of Asa's reign, but from that of the separate existence of the kingdom of Judah, commencing with Rehoboam. Thirty-six years from that event bring us only to the sixteenth year of Asa; in which date there is certainly no historical or chronological impropriety, although it may be difficult to explain how so peculiar a mode of computation should in this particular instance be adopted, and which seems less likely than the easy alteration of 'twenty-six into thirty-six.' Whatever explanation be chosen must also be extended to the last verse of the preceding chapter.

-That he might let none go out or come in to Asa.'It appears that the effect of the manifest tokens of the Divine favour which Asa received, especially in the signal victory over Zerah, was felt in the neighbouring kingdom, and induced a large number of the subjects of Baasha to migrate into his dominions. A constant and large accession of men, induced by such considerations, and by revived attachment to the theocratical institutions, was calculated to give, and doubtless did give, a vast superiority of moral character to the kingdom of Judah over that of Israel. It was no doubt the object of checking this tendency of his most valuable subjects to quit his territories that induced Baasha to take the town of Ramah and fortify it for a frontier barrier.

12. Diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great. It was a disease which began in the feet, and gradually mounted upward to the superior parts of the body, for the last clause might more properly be rendered to convey this meaning, as his disease moved upward.' Some medical inquirers into the diseases of Scripture think it was the gout, which, as is well known, is dangerous when it reaches upward to the superior parts of the person. It was probably something of the sort.

He sought... to the physicians.'-This is the first time we read of physicians among the Hebrews, as a distinct class of persons. Whatever has a medical appearance in the books of the Law, we find associated with the priests (see the note on Lev. xiii. 2), and subsequently we find diseased or injured persons resorting to gods and prophets (1 Kings xiv.; 2 Kings i. and viii.), chiefly, it would seem, for the purpose of learning whether or not they should recover. It appears to have been the general feeling, that in diseases medical and human agencies were of no avail, and that a cure was to be looked for to the immediate exercise of the Divine power. This feeling is still very general in the East. Therefore priests and prophets were resorted to in most nations, for the purpose, as it were, of drawing the attention of the god to the case, and of propitiating his favour. Hence arose a class of pretenders, who professed by means of certain secret charms, incantations, and powerful rites or applications, to draw down and fix, if we may so express it, the healing power of the god. From the manner in which Asa's application to the physicians is mentioned, it is fair to presume that they were of this class, still so common in Asia and Africa, and not yet extirpated from Europe-who, on the one hand, were ignorant of any useful science, and, on the other, by their unlawful pretensions drew away the mind from its true confidence in God, and fixed it on their puerile spells and amulets. Indeed, as the earliest physicians in most countries were foreigners, it is not unlikely that those to whom Asa resorted professed to work cures through the power of the heavenly bodies, or of some famous foreign idol. Even when some useful applications and medicines crept into the practice of physicians,' it remained mixed up with so much mystery, idolatry, and superstition, that,

481

Brown sums up the days excluded as unfit, by different ancient authorities, as making up nearly three-quarters of the year, so that little more than a fourth of the year was left for the administration of medicine. Sir Thomas, himself a physician, objects to this, but observes, guardedly, that a sober and regulated astrology,' in medicine, was not to be rejected or condemned. If, even in Europe, the practice of medicine has not from any very remote date been divested of mystery and superstition, we may readily understand that in its early state, as now in the East, the little that was useful in it was buried under such a mass of absurd and idolatrous rites and observances, that the more instructed Jews regarded it with abhorrence, and considered it a most objectionable course to apply to a physician.' Probably the customary course was to employ such common remedies as were popularly known; and in cases of difficulty to apply to the priests, who, from their cognizance of diseases involving ceremonial uncleanness, probably accumulated such information as enabled them to give useful medical advice when required. In more recent times medicine has become a favourite pursuit with the Jews. This was especially the case in what are called the middle ages,' the most famous physicians of Western Asia, Northern Africa, and of Spain (under the Moors), having been of the Hebrew race. Nor has the skill of the Jewish physicians been unrenowned even in Christendom, and in days still more recent. See Carmoly's Histoire des Médecins Juifs, Anciens et Modernes, Brux. 1844. See also generally, the Note on Gen. 1. 2; and the author's Pictorial Hist. of Palestine, ii. 561-563.

JEWISH PHYSICIAN.-Modern Oriental. cven at a period much later than the present, the stricter Jews were disposed to look upon the whole art as an abominable thing. Gill quotes the Rabbins as entertaining a very ill opinion of physicians, saying that the very best of them deserved hell, and as advising faithful Jews not to live in a city where the chief man was a physician. Even when medicine had attained the rank of a science, founded, as all true science must be, on experience and observation, and spells and charms were in a great degree banished, astrology was still considered by the most famous ancient physicians, and down to comparatively modern times, as an essential part of medical education, principally with the view of determining, it seems, the proper or improper times for administering medicine. Sir Thomas

14. They made a very great burning for him.'-He was honoured with a magnificent public funeral, in testimony of their final approbation of his government and of their sorrow for him. It would seem that his body, laid in a bed of state, was burned with vast quantities of aromatic substances, and the ashes, collected with care, were afterwards deposited in the sepulchre which he had prepared for himself on Mount Zion. The burning of the dead, as a rite of sepulture, had originally been regarded with dislike by the Hebrews. But a change of feeling in the matter had by this time taken place; for the practice is not on this occasion mentioned as a new thing, and had probably been some time previously introduced. Afterwards, burning was considered the most distinguished honour that could be rendered to the dead, and the omission of it, in the case of royal personages, a disgrace (see 2 Chron. xxi. 19; Jer. xxxiv. 5; Amos vi. 10). But in later days the Jews conceived a dislike to the rite; and their doctors endeavoured in consequence to pervert the passages of Scripture which refer to it, so as to induce a belief that the aromatic substances alone were burnt, and not the body itself.

CHAPTER XVII.

1 Jehoshaphat, succeeding Asa, reigneth well, and prospereth. 7 He sendeth Levites with the princes to teach Judah. 10 His enemies being terrified by God, some of them bring him presents and tribute. 12 His greatness, captains, and armies.

AND 'Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel. 2 And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land. of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.

3 And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat,

11 Kings 15. 24.

2 Heb. gave.

because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim ;

4 But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.

5 Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah 'brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance.

6 And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.

7 ¶ Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Ben-hail, and to

3 That is, was encouraged.

Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah.

8 And with them he sent Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah, Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests.

9 And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.

10

And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.

11 Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats.

12 ¶ And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah 'castles, and cities of store.

4 Heb. was.

13 And he had much business in the cities of Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in Jerusalem.

14 And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers: Of Judah, the captains of thousands; Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand.

15 And next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand.

16 And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour.

17 And of Benjamin; Eliada a mighty man of valour, and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand.

18 And next him was Jehozabad, and with him an hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war.

19 These waited on the king, beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah.

Verse 9. And went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.'—This commission of five princes, two priests, and nine Levites, going about from city to city, with the book of the Law to instruct the people, forms one of the most interesting circumstances that we meet with in the history of any of the kings. Not only was the heart of Jehoshaphat lifted up in the ways

6 Ileb. at his hand.

of the Lord,' but he desired the hearts of his people to be lifted up in like manner. We read of another good king (Josiah), who caused the law to be read to the people assembled at Jerusalem (chap. xxxiv. 30); but we read of no other than Jehoshaphat who sent instruction to the homes of his people.

CHAPTER XVIII.

1 Jehoshaphat, joined in affinity_with_Ahab, is persuaded to go with him against Ramoth-gilead. 4 Ahab, seduced by false prophets, according to the word of Micaiah, is slain there.

Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab.

2 'And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead.

3 And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramoth-gilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war. 4 And Jehoshaphat said unto the king

1 1 Kings 22. 2.

of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.

5 Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the king's hand.

6 ¶ But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD 'besides, that we might enquire of him?

7 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

8 And the king of Israel called for one of