wanting, and leaves the land to him: but if the cloud stood over the tabernacle, they the fruits received, and the expenses laid out, thought proper to stay in the same place, as prove equal, the present possessor relinquishes supposing that God there inhabited among it to the former owner. Moses would have men, but when that removed they journeyed the same law obtain as to those houses also also.† which were sold in villages: but he made a different law for such as were sold in a city; for if he that sold it tendered the purchaser his money again within a year, he was forced to restore it but in case a whole year had intervened, the purchaser was to enjoy what he had bought. This was the constitution of the laws which Moses learned of God when the camp lay under mount Sinai, and this he delivered in writing to the Hebrews. Moses was also the inventor of the form of the Hebrew trumpet, which was made of silver. In length it was little less than a cubit. It was composed of a narrow tube, somewhat thicker than a flute, but with so much breadth as was sufficient for admission of the breath of a man's mouth; it ended in the form of a bell, like common trumpets. Its sound was called, in the Hebrew tongue, assosra. There were two of them made; and Now when this settlement of laws seemed when the first of them gave a signal, the to be well over, Moses'thought proper to take heads of the tribes were to assemble, and a review of the host, in order to settle the consult about the affairs to them properly beaffairs of war: so he charged the heads of longing: but when both of them sounded they the tribes, excepting the tribe of Levi, to called the multitude together, which was done take an exact account of the number of those when the tabernacle was to remove. When who were able to go to war; for as to the the second signal was given, those that were Levites they were holy, and free from all on the south quarter did the like. In the such burdens. Now, when the people had next place, the tabernacle was taken to pieces, been numbered, there were found six hundred and was carried in the midst of six tribes thousand that were able to go to war, from that went before, and of six that followed. twenty to fifty years of age, besides three Now all the Levites were about the tabernathousand six hundred and fifty. Instead of cle. When the third signal was given, that Levi, Moses took Manasseh, the son of Jo-part which had their tents towards the west seph, among the heads of tribes, and Ephraim instead of Joseph. It was indeed the desire of Jacob himself to Joseph, that he would give him his sons to be his own by adop-nistrations, when they were bringing their tion, as I have before related. When they set up the tabernacle, they received it into the midst of their camp; three of the tribes pitching their tents on each side of it; and roads were cut through the midst of these tents. It was like a well-appointed market, and every thing was there ready for sale in due order, and all sorts of artificers were in the shops, and it resembled nothing so much as a city that sometimes was moveable, and sometimes fixed. The priests had put themselves in motion; and at the fourth signalt those on the north did so likewise. They also used trumpets in their sacred mi sacrifices to the altar, as well as on the sab baths, and on the rest of the festival days. And now it was that Moses offered that sacrifice which was called the Passover in the wilderness, as the first he had offered after the departure out of Egypt. CHAP. XIII. OF MOSES'S REMOVAL FROM MOUNT SINAI TOWARDS THE the Levites, who, because their whole mul. A LITTLE while afterward Moses rose up, titude was reckoned from thirty days old, were twenty-three thousand eight hundred and eighty males; and during the time that + Exod. xl. 36, 37. * Book II. chap. 8. ing passed through several mansions, of which we will speak anon, he came to a place called Hazeroth, where the multitude began again These two signals are wanting in the Hebrew and Samaritan, but extant in the Septuagint, as in Josephus. to be mutinous, and to blame him for the || multitude together; and, standing in the midst misfortunes they had suffered in their travels; of them, he said: "Of the two things that and that when he had persuaded them to leave God determined to bestow upon us, liberty, a good land, they at once had lost that land, and the possession of a happy country, the one and, instead of the happy state he had pro- ye are already partakers of, by the gift of mised them, they were still wandering in their God, and the other you will quickly obtain; for present miserable condition, being already in we now have our abode near the borders of want of water; and if the manna should hap- Canaan, and nothing can hinder the acquisipen to fail, they must then utterly perish; yet, tion of it, when we now at last are fallen upwhile they generally spake many bitter things on it: I say not only no king, nor city, but against the man, there was one who exhorted neither the whole race of mankind, if they them not to be unmindful of Moses, and of are all gathered together, could do it. Let what great pains he had been at about their us, therefore, prepare ourselves for the work; common safety, and not to despair of assist- for the Canaanites will not resign up their ance from God. The multitude, however, land to us without fighting, but it must be became still more unruly,,and more mutinous wrested from them by great struggles in war. against Moses than before; hereupon Moses,* Let us then send spies, who may take a view although he was so basely abused by them, of the goodness of the land, and what strength encouraged them in their despairing condi- it is of; but, above all things, let us be of one tion, and promised that he would procure mind, and let us honour God, who is our suthem a great quantity of flesh meat, and preme helper and assister." that not for a few days only, but for many days; and when they could not believe him, and one of them asked, whence he could obtain such vast plenty of what he promised? he replied," Neither God nor I, although we hear such opprobrious words from you, will leave off our labours for you; and this shall soon appear. As soon as he had said this, the whole camp was filled with quails, and they stood round about them, and gathered them in great numbers. However, it was not long ere God punished the Hebrews for that insolence and those reproaches they had used towards him, for no small number of them died; and to this day the place retains the memory of their destruction, and is named Kibroth Hattaavah, which is, the graves of lust.t When Moses had said thus, the multitude requited him with marks of respect, and chose twelve spies of the most eminent men, one out of each tribe, who, passing over all the land of Canaan, from the borders of Egypt, came to the city Hamath and to mount Lebanon; and when they had learned the nature of the land and of its inhabitants, they returned home, having spent forty days in the whole work. They also brought with them of the excellent fruits which the land bare, and gave an account of the great quantity of the good things the country afforded, which were motives to the multitude to go to war; but then they terrified them again with the great difficulty there was in obtaining it, saying, that the rivers were so large and deep that they could not be passed over, the hills were so high that they could not travel along for them, and the cities were strengthened with walls and firm fortifications. They told them also, that they found at Hebron the posterity of the giants. Accordingly these spies, who had seen the land of Canaan, when they ceived that all these difficulties were greater there than they had met with since they came out of Egypt, were affrighted at them them per in most men; but on him it had no other effect than to CHAP. XV. selves, and endeavored to intimidate the multitude also. From this account the people supposed that it was impossible to get the possession of the OF THE PUNISHMENT THREATENED TO THE ISRaelites on country,* and, when the congregation was dissolved, they, their wives, and children, ACCOUNT OF THEIR REBELLION: SKETCH OF THE POWER FOSES now came boldly to the multitude, continued their lamentation, as if God would Man informed them that God was moved MOSE not indeed assist them, but only promised them fair; they also again blamed Moses, at their abuse of him, and would inflict punishand made a clamor against him and his bro-ment upon them, not indeed such as they ther Aaron, the high-priest; accordingly they deserved for their sins, but such as parents passed that night very ill, and with contume- inflict on their children, in order to their corHious language against them; but in the morn-rection; for, he said, that when he was in ing they rau to a congregation, intending to stone Moses and Aaron, and then to return into Egypt.t their tabernacle, and was bewailing with tears that destruction which was coming upon them, God put him in mind what things he had done for them, and what benefits they had received from him, and yet how ungrateful they had proved: that just now they had been induced by the timorousness of the spies to think their words truer than his own promise to them, and that on this account, though he would not destroy them all, nor utterly exterminate their nation, which he had honored more than any other part of mankind, he would not permit them to take possession of the land of Canaan, nor enjoy its happiness, but would make them wander in the wilderness, and live without a fixed habitation, and without a city, for forty years together, as a punishment for their transgression; but at the same time he promised to give that land to their children, and to bestow on them those good things which their fathers had forfeited by their ungoverned But of the spies there were Joshua the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, and Caleb, of the tribe of Judah, who were afraid of the consequence, and came into the midst of them, and stilled the multitude: desiring them to be of good courage, and neither to condemn God, as having deceived them, neither to hearken to those who had affrighted them by telling what was not true concerning the Canaanites, but believe those that encouraged them to hope for good success, and that they should gain possession of the happiness promised them, because neither the height of mountains, nor the depth of rivers, could hinder men of true courage from attempting them, especially while God would take care of them beforehand, and be assistant to them. "Let us go then," said they," against our enemies, and have no suspicion of ill suc-passions. cess, trusting in God to conduct us, and fol- When Moses had discoursed thus, accordlowing those that are to be our leaders." ing to the direction of God, the multitude Thus did these two exhort them, and endea-grieved, and were in affliction; and intreated vor to pacify the rage they were in; but Moses and Aaron fell on the ground, and besought God, not for their own deliverance, but that he would now put a stop to what the people were unwarily doing, and would bring their minds to a quiet temper, which were now disordered by their present passion. The cloud also now appeared, and stood over the tabernacle, declaring the presence of God to be there.‡ **This was the effect of their unbelief; a sin with which they are repeatedly charged in the Scriptures, and which was the more aggravated in them, as they had witnessed Moses to procure their reconciliation to God, so many signal and repeated exertions of the Divine + Numb. xiv. 4. when they were in anger, and converted them sacrifices in an imperfect condition: nay, to a mildness of temper; for God was with many were not able even at first so much as him, and prepared the way to his persuasions to enter into the temple, but went their ways of the multitude; and, as they had often been in this state, as preferring a submission to disobedient, they were now sensible that such the laws of Moses before the fulfilling of their disobedience was disadvantageous to them, own inclinations, even when they had no fear and that they had thereby fallen into calami- upon them that any body could convict them, ties. but only out of a reverence to their own conThis man was indeed admirable for his vir- science; so that this legislation, which aptue, and powerful in making men give credit peared to be divine, made this man to be to what he delivered, not only during the esteemed as one superior to his own human time of his natural life, but even there is still nature. Nay, farther, a little before the beno one of the Hebrews who does not act, ginning of this war, when Claudius was emeven now, as if Moses were present, and ready peror of the Romans, and Ismael was our to punish him if he should do any thing that high-priest; and when so great a famine* is indecent; nay, there is no one but is obe-was come upon us, that one tenth deal of dient to what laws he ordained, although wheat was sold for four drachmæ, and when they might be concealed in their transgres-no less than seventy corit of flour were brought sions. There are also many other demonstra-Linto the temple, at the feast of unleavened tions that his power was more than human; bread, not one of the priests was so hardy as for some have even come from the parts be- to eat one crumb of it, even while so great yond Euphrates, a journey of four months, a distress was on the land, and this out of a through many dangers, and at great expenses, dread of the law, and of that wrath which in honour of our temple; and yet when they had offered their oblations could not partake of their own sacrifices, because Moses had forbidden it, by somewhat in the law that did not permit them, or somewhat that had befallen them, which our ancient customs made inconsistent therewith; so that some of these did not sacrifice at all, and others left their God retains against acts of wickedness, even when no one can accuse the actors; whence we are not to wonder at what was then done, whilst this very day the writings left by Moses have so great force, that even those that hate us confess, that he who established this settlement was God, and that it was by the means of Moses, and of his virtue. BOOK IV. Containing an Interval of Thirty-eight Years. FROM THE REJECTION OF THAT GENERATION TO THE DEATH OF MOSES. CHAP. I. they were so uneasy at it, that although God had forbidden them to meddle with the Canaanites, yet could they not be persuaded to be obedient to the words of Moses, and to HE residence of the Hebrews in the wil-be quiet; but supposing they should be able derness was so disagreeable to them, and to beat their enemies, even without his appro OF THE ENGAGEMENT WHICH TOOK PLACE BETWEEN THE OF MOSES. TH *This famine, as Dr. Hudson observes, in the days of + These cori are thirty-one Sicilian, or forty-one Athe Claudius, is mentioned in the Antiquities XX. 4. and Acts,nian medimni. xi. 28. as also by Tacitus, Phlegon, Dio, and Africanus. bation, their troops, were pursued, and fled after a When Moses saw how deeply they were affected with this defeat, and when he was afraid lest the enemies should grow insolent upon this victory, and should attack them in order to gain still greater glory, he resolved that it was proper to withdraw the army into the wilderness, to a farther distance from the Canaanites. So the multitude gave themselves up again to his conduct; for they were sensible that, without his care, their affairs could not be in a good condition: and he caused the host to remove, and he went farther into the wilderness; as intending there to let them rest, and not to permit them to fight the Canaanites before God should afford them a more favorable opportunity. bation, they accused him; and suspected that he made it his business to keep them in a distressed condition, that they might always stand in need of his assistance. Accordingly they resolved to fight with the Canaanites, and said, that God gave them his assistance, not out of regard to their leader's intercessions, but because he took care of their entire nation, on account of their forefathers: whose affairs he took under his own conduct: as also that it was on account of their own virtue, that he had formerly procured them their liberty, and would assist them, now they were willing to take pains for it. They also said that they were of themselves of abilities sufficient for the conquest of their enemies, although Moses should have a mind to alienate God from them; and that however it was for their advantage to be their own masters, and not so far to rejoice in their deliverance from the indignities they endured under the Egyptians, as to bear the tyranny of Moses, and to suffer themselves to be deluded, and live according to his pleasure: as though God did only foretell what concerned them, out of his kindness to him; and as though they were not all the posterity of Abraham, and that God made OF THE SEDITION OF CORAH AND OF THE MULTITUDE him alone the author of all their knowledge, and they must still learn it from him. They said it would be prudent to oppose his arrogant pretences, and to put their confidence in God; and to resolve to take possession of that land which he had promised them, and not to give ear to him, who, on this account, and under the pretence of divine authority, forbade them so to do. Considering, therefore, the distressed state they were in at present, and that in those desert places they were still to expect things would be worse with them, they resolved to fight with the Canaanites; as submitting only to God, their supreme commander, and not waiting for any assistance from their legislator. When they had come to this resolution, they went against their enemies; but those enemies were not dismayed either at the attack itself, or at the great multitude that made it but received them with such courage, that many of the Hebrews were slain, and the remainder of the army, upon the disorder of * Numb. xiv. 45. CHAP. II. AGAINST MOSES AND AARON, CONCERNING THE PRIEST- THAT which is usually the case of great armies, and especially upon ill success, to be hard to be pleased, and governed with difficulty, did now befall the Jews: † for being in number six hundred thousand, and by reason of their great multitude not readily subject to their governors, even in prosperity, they at this time were more than usually angry, both against each other, and against their leader, because of the distress they were in, and the calamities they then endured on which account such a sedition overtook them as we have not the like example either among the Greeks or the Barbarians; by means of which they were in danger of being all destroyed, but were notwithstanding saved by Moses, who would not remember that he had been almost stoned to death by them. Nor did God neglect to prevent their ruin; but, notwithstanding the indignities they offered the legislator and the laws, and their disobedience + About An. 1512. |