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Numbers Chapter
Fourteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 14
This
chapter treats or the murmurings of the children of Israel upon the evil report
of the spies, which greatly distressed Moses and Aaron, Numbers 14:1; and
of the endeavours of Joshua and Caleb to quiet the minds of the people with a
good account of the land, and of the easy conquest of it, but to no purpose, Numbers 14:6; and
of the Lord's threatening to destroy the people with the pestilence, Numbers 14:11; and
of the intercession of Moses for them, which so far succeeded as to prevent
their immediate destruction, Numbers 14:13;
nevertheless they are assured again and again, in the strongest terms, that
none of them but Joshua and Caleb should enter into the land, but their
carcasses should fall in the wilderness, even all the murmurers of twenty years
old and upwards, Numbers 14:21; and
the ten men that brought the evil report of the good land died of a plague
immediately, but the other two lived, Numbers 14:36; and
the body of the people that attempted to go up the mountain and enter the land
were smitten and discomfited by their enemies, after they had with concern
heard what the Lord threatened them with, Numbers 14:39.
Numbers 14:1 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the
people wept that night.
YLT
1And all the company lifteth
up and give forth their voice, and the people weep during that night;
And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried,.... This is
not to be understood of every individual in the congregation of Israel, but of
the princes, heads, and elders of the people that were with Moses and Aaron
when the report of the spies was made; though indeed the report might quickly
spread throughout the body of the people, and occasion a general outcry, which
was very loud and clamorous, and attended with all the signs of distress
imaginable, in shrieks and tears and lamentations:
and the people wept that night: perhaps throughout the
night; could get no sleep nor rest all the night, but spent it in weeping and
crying, at the thought of their condition and circumstances, and the
disappointments they had met with, as they conceived, of entering into and
possessing the land.
Numbers 14:2 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses
and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the
land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!
YLT
2and all the sons of Israel
murmur against Moses, and against Aaron, and all the company say unto them, `O
that we had died in the land of Egypt, or in this wilderness, O that we had
died!
And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses, and against
Aaron,.... They being the instruments of bringing them out of Egypt,
and conducting them hither:
and the whole congregation said unto them; some of them,
the rest assenting to it by their cries and tears and gestures:
would God we had died in the land of Egypt; and then what
they left behind they thought might have come into the hands of their children
or relations; but now they concluded it would become a prey to the Canaanites:
or would God we had died in this wilderness; the
wilderness of Paran, at Taberah, where many of them had been destroyed by fire,
Numbers 11:1, and
now they wish they had perished with them.
Numbers 14:3 3 Why has the Lord brought us
to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become
victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
YLT
3and why is Jehovah bringing
us in unto this land to fall by the sword? our wives and our infants are become
a prey; is it not good for us to turn back to Egypt?'
Wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land,.... Unto the
borders of it: their murmuring did not cease at Moses and Aaron, the
instruments, but proceeded against God himself, who had done such wonderful
things for them, not only in bringing them out of Egypt, but since they had
been in the wilderness; and yet so ungrateful to complain of him and argue with
him about favours bestowed on them, as if they were injuries done to them; and
particularly as if God had no other intention in bringing them out of Egypt to
the place where they were, but
to fall by the sword: the sword of the
Canaanites, as the Targum of Jonathan adds:
that our wives and our children shall be a prey? to the same
people; they supposed they should be killed, their wives abused, and their
children made slaves of:
were it not better for us to return into Egypt? and so escape
the hands of the inhabitants of Canaan, of whom they had terrible apprehensions
from the report made of them.
Numbers 14:4 4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader
and return to Egypt.”
YLT
4And they say one unto
another, `Let us appoint a head, and turn back to Egypt.'
And they said one to another, let us make a captain,.... An head
over them instead of Moses, who they knew would never take the government and
care of them, should they resolve to return to Egypt as they proposed, and
besides were now so disaffected to him, that they might not care he should.
Captains they had over their several tribes, but they chose to have one chief
commander and general over them all; Nehemiah says they did appoint one; which
they either actually did, or this proposal was interpreted as if really put in
execution, they being so desirous of it, and bent upon it; wherefore their will
is taken for the deed, and so understood; see Nehemiah 9:17,
and let us return into Egypt: which was downright
madness, as some interpreters have justly observed; they must not only expect
to be deserted by Moses, through whose means so many miracles had been wrought
for them, and who was so wise and faithful a governor of them; and by Aaron
their priest, who offered their sacrifices, and prayed for them, and blessed
them; and by such a valiant general as Joshua, who had fought for them against
their enemies; but by the Lord himself, so that they could not expect the manna
to be continued as food for them, nor the pillar of cloud and fire as a guide
unto them, nor to be protected from their enemies, on the borders of whose
countries they must pass; so that their destruction in the wilderness seemed
inevitable; and if they could have surmounted these and other difficulties,
what manner of reception could they expect to find in Egypt, on whose account
all the firstborn of man and beast among them were slain, whom they had spoiled
of their riches, and whose king and his army, and in it perhaps the, flower of
the nation, were drowned in the Red sea, for their sakes? What therefore could
they think of, if they had any sober thought at all, but utter ruin, should
they return there again?
Numbers 14:5 5 Then
Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation
of the children of Israel.
YLT
5And Moses falleth -- Aaron
also -- on their faces, before all the assembly of the company of the sons of
Israel.
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces,.... Through
shame and confusion of face for them, at hearing so shocking a proposal made,
and such wretched ingratitude expressed; they blushed at it, and were in the
utmost distress on account of it, and therefore threw themselves into this
posture; or it may be this was done either to beg of them that they would lay
aside all thoughts of this kind, or to supplicate the divine Majesty that he
would convince them of their sin and folly, and give them repentance for it and
forgiveness of it; and this they did
before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of
Israel; to affect them the more with a sense of their sin and danger.
Numbers 14:6 6 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of
Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their
clothes;
YLT
6And Joshua son of Nun, and
Caleb son of Jephunneh, of those spying the land, have rent their garments,
And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh,.... Rose up
and interposed in this affair, looking upon themselves under a special
obligation so to do, as they were capable of confronting the other spies, and
contradicting what they had said:
which were of them that
searched the land; they were two of that number, and were the more concerned to
hear such a false account given, and distressed to observe the mutiny of the
people, and therefore judged themselves in duty bound to do all they could to
stop it:
rent their clothes; in token of sorrow for the sins of the
people; and at their blasphemy and ingratitude against God, and in dread of his
wrath and fury breaking forth upon them.
Numbers 14:7 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children
of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an
exceedingly good land.
YLT
7and they speak unto all the
company of the sons of Israel, saying, `The land into which we have passed over
to spy it, [is] a very very good land;
And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel,.... To as
many as could hear them, to the heads of them:
saying, the land which we passed through to search it, is
an exceeding good land; they observe that they were of the number of the spies that were
appointed and sent to search the land of Canaan, and they had searched it, and
therefore could give an account of it from their own knowledge; and they had
not only entered into it, or just looked at a part of it, but they had gone
through it, and taken a general survey of it; and they could not but in truth
and justice say of it, that it was a good land, delightful, healthful, and
fruitful; yea, "very, very good"F17טובה
הארץ מאד מאד "bona terra, valde valde", Montanus,
Vatablus. , exceeding, exceeding good, superlatively good, good beyond
expression; they were not able with words to set forth the goodness of it; this
they reported, in opposition to the ill report the other spies had given of it.
Numbers 14:8 8 If the Lord delights
in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which
flows with milk and honey.’[a]
YLT
8if Jehovah hath delighted
in us, then He hath brought us in unto this land, and hath given it to us, a
land which is flowing with milk and honey;
If the Lord delight in us,.... Continue to delight
in them as he had, and as appears by what he had done for, them in Egypt, at
the Red sea, and in the wilderness; see Deuteronomy 10:15,
then he will bring us into this land, and give it us, as he has
promised:
a land which floweth with milk and honey; as the Lord
himself hath described it, and as the unbelieving spies themselves had owned it;
Numbers 13:27.
Numbers 14:9 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread;
their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is
with us. Do not fear them.”
YLT
9only, against Jehovah rebel
not ye: and ye, fear not ye the people of the land, for our bread they [are];
their defence hath turned aside from off them, and Jehovah [is] with us; fear
them not.'
Only rebel not ye against the Lord,.... Nothing, it is
suggested, could hinder them from the, possession of it but their rebellion
against the Lord; which might provoke him to cut them off by his immediate
hand, or to deliver them into the hands of their enemies; for rebellion is a
dreadful sin, and highly provoking, 1 Samuel 15:23,
neither fear ye the people the land; on account of their
number, strength, the walled cities they dwell in; they had nothing to fear
from them, so be it they feared the Lord, and were not disobedient to him:
for they are bread for us; as easy to be cut to
pieces, and to be devoured, consumed, and destroyed as thoroughly, as bread is
when eaten; and their fields, vineyards, all they have without and within, even
all their substance, will be a prey to us, and furnish out sufficient provision
for us, on which we may pleasantly and plentifully live, as on bread: see Psalm 14:4,
their defence is departed from them; they had no heart nor
spirit left in them; no courage to defend themselves, and therefore the
strength of their bodies and their walled towns would be of no avail unto them;
see Joshua 2:9; or
"their shadow"F18צלם "umbra
eorum", Montanus, Tigurine version, Fagius, Vatablus; so Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator. , which covered and protected them, the providence of God
which was over them, and continued them in the land, and quiet possession of
it, until the measure of their iniquity was filled up, and the time come for
his people Israel to inhabit it; but now it was departed:
and the Lord is with us; as was evident by the
cloud upon the tabernacle, and by the manna being spread around their camp
every morning: the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan are,"the Word of the
Lord is for our help:"
fear them not; the Canaanites, notwithstanding the
strength of their bodies, or of their cities, the Lord is mightier than they.
Numbers 14:10 10 And all the congregation said to stone them with
stones. Now the glory of the Lord appeared
in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.
YLT
10And all the company say to
stone them with stones, and the honour of Jehovah hath appeared in the tent of
meeting unto all the sons of Israel.
But all the congregation bade stone them with stones,.... Namely,
Joshua and Caleb, who had made such a faithful report of the good land, and had
delivered such an animating and encouraging speech to the people. This is not
to be understood of the body of the people, and of all the individuals thereof,
for who then should they bid to stone Joshua and Caleb? unless the sense is,
that they stirred up and animated one another to it; but rather it means the
princes and heads of the congregation, who commanded the common people to rise
up and stone them; for notwithstanding the affecting behaviour of Moses and
Aaron, and the arguments of Joshua and Caleb, they still persisted in their
mutiny and rebellion, until the Lord himself appeared as he did:
and the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the
congregation, before all the children of Israel; the Shechinah, or divine
Majesty, which dwelt between the cherubim in the most holy place, came into the
court of the tabernacle; for neither in the holy nor in the most holy place
could the people see it, or the token of it: in Deuteronomy 31:15
it is said, "the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the
tabernacle"; and NoldiusF19Concord. Ebr. Part. p. 164. No. 737.
renders it here, "and the glory of the Lord appeared above the tabernacle
of the congregation"; with which agree the Targum of Jonathan and the
Vulgate Latin and Septuagint versions; and so Jarchi says, the cloud descended
there, and from thence very probably some coruscations, or flashes of lightning
came forth, which plainly showed the Lord was there; and this was done to
terrify the people, and restrain them from their evil, purposes; and to
encourage the servants of the Lord, who hereby might expect the divine
protection.
Numbers 14:11 11 Then the Lord said to
Moses: “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not
believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?
YLT
11And Jehovah saith unto
Moses, `Until when doth this people despise Me? and until when do they not
believe in Me, for all the signs which I have done in its midst?
And the Lord said unto Moses,.... Out of the cloud
upon the tabernacle:
how long will this people provoke me? which
suggests that they had often provoked him, and had done it long ago, and still
continued to do so; and he had long bore their provocations; but it was not
reasonable, nor could it be expected by Moses or any other, that he would bear
them much longer:
and how long will it be ere they believe me; unbelief was
a sin they had often and long been guilty of, and which greatly prevailed among
them, and was the root of all their murmurings, mutiny, and rebellion; and what
was highly provoking to the Lord, since they ought to have believed him, and
that he was able to make good, and would make good his promises to them:
for all the signs which I have showed among them; the wonders
and miracles he had wrought in Egypt, at the Red sea, and in the wilderness,
and in their sight; on account of which they should have given credit to his
word, and which were strong aggravations of their unbelief; and is the true
reason why they entered not into the good land, Hebrews 3:18.
Numbers 14:12 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit
them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”
YLT
12I smite it with pestilence,
and dispossess it, and make thee become a nation greater and mightier than it.'
I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them,.... Deprive
them of inhabiting the land; so as many as died of the pestilence were even all
the spies who brought an evil report of the good land, Numbers 14:37; with
respect to the body of the people, this is to be considered not as a peremptory
decree or a determined point; but is delivered partly by way of proposal to
Moses, to draw out from him what he would say to it; and partly by way of
threatening to the people, to bring them to a sense of their sin and repentance
for it:
and will make of thee a greater nation, and mightier than they: this
anticipates an objection that might be made, should the people of Israel be cut
off by the plague, and so disinherited of the land of Canaan, what will become
of the oath of God made to their fathers? to which the answer is, it would be
fulfilled in making the posterity of Moses as great or a greater and more
powerful nation than Israel now was, and by introducing them into the land of
Canaan, who would be of the seed of the fathers of Israel, as Jarchi observes,
as those people were; and this was said to prove Moses, and try his affection
to the people of Israel; and give him an opportunity of showing his public and
disinterested spirit.
Numbers 14:13 13 And Moses said to the Lord: “Then the
Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up
from among them,
YLT
13And Moses saith unto
Jehovah, `Then have the Egyptians heard! for Thou hast brought up with Thy
power this people out of their midst,
And Moses said unto the Lord,.... In an abrupt manner,
as the following words show, his mind being greatly disturbed and distressed by
the above threatening:
then the Egyptians shall hear it; that the Lord
had smitten the Israelites with the pestilence; the Targum of Jonathan
interprets it of the children of the Egyptians who were suffocated in the sea:
for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them; they were
once sojourners among them, and slaves unto them, and they were delivered from
them by the mighty hand of the Lord upon the Egyptians, destroying their
firstborn; and therefore when they shall hear that the Israelites were all
destroyed at once by a pestilence in the wilderness, it will be a pleasure to
them, as follows.
Numbers 14:14 14 and they will tell it to the inhabitants of
this land. They have heard that You, Lord, are
among these people; that You, Lord, are seen
face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a
pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.
YLT
14and they have said [it]
unto the inhabitant of this land, they have heard that Thou, Jehovah, [art] in
the midst of this people, that eye to eye Thou art seen -- O Jehovah, and Thy
cloud is standing over them, -- and in a pillar of cloud Thou art going before
them by day, and in a pillar of fire by night.
And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land,.... The land
of Canaan, between which and Egypt there was an intercourse, though not by the
way of the wilderness, being neighbours, and their original ancestors brethren,
as Mizraim and Canaan were; or "they will say"F20יאמרו "et dicent", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius,
&c. , and that with joy, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; but what they
would say does not appear so plain; either it was that the Israelites were
killed in the wilderness, a tale they would tell with pleasure; but that the
Canaanites would hear of doubtless before them, and not need their information,
since the Israelites were upon their borders; or that the Lord had brought them
out of Egypt indeed, but could carry them no further, could not introduce them
into the land he had promised them; or rather they would say to them what
follows, for the preposition "for" is not in the text, and may be
omitted; and so the sense is, they will tell them:
they have heard that thou Lord art among this people; in the
tabernacle that was in the midst of them, in the most holy place of it:
that thou Lord art seen face to face: as he was by
Moses, who was at the head of them:
and that thy cloud standeth over them; and sheltered
and protected them from the heat of the sun in the daytime, when it rested upon
them in their encampment:
and that thou goest before them, by daytime in a pillar of
a cloud,
and in a pillar of fire by night; in their journeys; they
will tell of those favours thou hast shown Israel; and yet, after all, will
observe that thou hast destroyed them, which will not redound to thine honour
and glory.
Numbers 14:15 15 Now if You kill these people as one man, then
the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying,
YLT
15`And Thou hast put to death
this people as one man, and the nations who have heard Thy fame have spoken,
saying,
Now if thou shall kill all this people, as one man,.... Suddenly,
and at once, as might be done by a pestilence; and as 185,000 were smitten at
once, and as thought by the same disease, by the Angel of the Lord in the camp
of the Assyrians, in later times, 2 Kings 19:35,
then the nations which have heard the fame of thee; the
Egyptians, Canaanites, and others, as Aben Ezra observes; who had heard the
report of the wonderful things done by him for Israel, and of the great favours
he had bestowed upon them, and so of his power, and goodness, and other
perfections displayed therein, which made him appear to be preferable to all
the gods of the Gentiles:
will speak, saying; as follows.
Numbers 14:16 16 ‘Because the Lord was not
able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He
killed them in the wilderness.’
YLT
16From Jehovah's want of
ability to bring in this people unto the land which He hath sworn to them -- He
doth slaughter them in the wilderness.
Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land
which he sware unto them,.... That though he brought them out of Egypt, he was not able to
bring them through the wilderness into Canaan; and that though he had wrought
many signs and wonders for them, he could work no more, his power failed him,
he had exhausted all his might, and could not perform the promise and oath he
had made:
therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness; because he
could not fulfil his word, and so made short work of it, destroying them all
together, which Moses suggests would greatly reflect dishonour on him; and in
this he shows, that he was more concerned for the glory of God than for his
own.
Numbers 14:17 17 And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great,
just as You have spoken, saying,
YLT
17`And now, let, I pray Thee,
the power of my Lord be great, as Thou hast spoken, saying:
And now, I beseech thee, let the power of Lord be great,.... That is,
appear to be great; the power of God is great, not only mighty, but almighty; it
knows no bounds, nothing is impossible with him, he can do whatever he pleases,
Psalm 147:5; his
power, and the greatness of it, had been seen in bringing the children of
Israel out of Egypt, and through the Red sea, and in providing for them,
protecting and defending them in the wilderness; and the request of Moses is,
that it might appear greater and greater in bringing them into the land of
promise; or else he means an exceeding great display of the grace and mercy of
God in the forgiveness of the sins of the people; for as the power of God is
seen in his forbearance and longsuffering with the wicked, Romans 9:22; much
more in the forgiveness of the sins of men, there being more power and virtue
in grace to pardon, than there is in sin to damn; and as it is an indication of
strength in men, and of their power over themselves, when they can rule their
own spirits, keep under their passions, and restrain their wrath, and show a
forgiving temper, Proverbs 16:32; so
it is an instance of the power of God to overcome his wrath and anger stirred
up by the sins of men; and, notwithstanding their provocations, freely to
forgive: pardon of sin is an act of power, as well as of grace and mercy, see Matthew 9:6; and
this sense agrees with what follows. The first letter in the word for
"great" is larger than usual, that it might be taken notice of; and
to signify the exceeding greatness of the power of God, Moses desired might be
displayed in this case: and the letter numerically signifies ten, and has been
thought to respect the ten times that Israel tempted the Lord, Numbers 14:22; and
to suggest, that though they had so done, yet the grace and mercy of God should
ten times exceed the ingratitude of the peopleF21Baal Hatturim in
loc. & Buxtorf. Tiberias, c. 14. p. 38. :
according as thou hast spoken, saying; as in Exodus 34:6; and is
as follows.
Numbers 14:18 18 ‘The Lord is
longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but
He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
on the children to the third and fourth generation.’[b]
YLT
18Jehovah [is] slow to anger,
and of great kindness; bearing away iniquity and transgression, and not
entirely acquitting, charging iniquity of fathers on sons, on a third
[generation], and on a fourth; --
The Lord is longsuffering,.... Towards all men, and
especially towards his own people:
and of great mercy, being abundant in goodness, and keeping
mercy for thousands:
forgiving iniquity and transgression, all sorts of
sin:
and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity
of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation; which may
seem to make against the plea of Moses for mercy and forgiveness; but the
reason of these words being expressed seems to be, because they go along with
the others in the passage referred to, and are no contradiction to the
forgiving mercy of God in a way of justice; nor did Moses request to have the
guilty cleared from punishment altogether, but that God would show mercy, at
least to such a degree as not to cut off the whole nation, and leave no posterity
to inherit the land; which is supposed in visiting the sin of the fathers to
the third or fourth generation.
Numbers 14:19 19 Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according
to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from
Egypt even until now.”
YLT
19forgive, I pray Thee, the
iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of Thy kindness, and as
Thou hast borne with this people from Egypt, even until now.'
Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people,
according unto the greatness of thy mercy,....
Intimating, that though the sin of this people was great, the mercy of God to
pardon was greater; and therefore he entreats that God would deal with them,
not according to the greatness of their sins, and the strictness of justice,
but according to the greatness of his mercy, who would, and does, abundantly
pardon:
and as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even until now; which shows
both that these people had been continually sinning against the Lord, ever
since they came out of Egypt, notwithstanding the great goodness of God unto
them, and that he had as constantly pardoned; and therefore it was hoped and
entreated that he would still continue to pardon them, he being the same he
ever was, and whose mercy and goodness endure for ever: he had pardoned already
sins of the like kind since their coming out of Egypt, as their murmurings for
bread in the wilderness of Sin, Exodus 16:1, and
for water at Rephidim, Exodus 17:1, and
even a greater sin than these, idolatry, or the worship of the calf, Exodus 32:1.
Numbers 14:20 20 Then the Lord said: “I
have pardoned, according to your word;
YLT
20And Jehovah saith, `I have
forgiven, according to thy word;
And the Lord said, I have pardoned, according to thy word. So as not to
kill them utterly as one man: which is an instance of his being plenteous in
mercy, and ready to forgive; and of the virtue and efficacy of the effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man, and of the great regard the Lord has to the
prayers of a good man for others. The Jerusalem Targum is,"and the Word of
the Lord said, lo, I have remitted and forgiven according to thy word;'which
must be understood of Christ, the essential Word, and shows, according to the
sense of the Targumist, that he has a power to forgive sin, and must be a
divine Person, for none can forgive sin but God; see Mark 2:7.
Numbers 14:21 21 but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled
with the glory of the Lord—
YLT
21and yet, I live -- and it
is filled -- the whole earth -- [with] the honour of Jehovah;
But as truly as I live,.... Which is the form of
an oath, as the Targum; the Lord swears by his life, or by himself, because he
could swear by no greater:
all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord; this is not
the thing sworn unto or confirmed, but that by which the oath is made and
confirmed; and the sense is, that as sure as the earth "had been"
filled with the glory of the Lord, as it may be rendered, as it had been with
the fame of what he had done in Egypt, and at the Red sea; or as it
"should be" filled with it in later times, especially in the kingdom
of the Messiah in the latter day; see Isaiah 6:3; so sure
the men that had provoked him should not see the land of Canaan.
Numbers 14:22 22 because all these men who have seen My glory and the
signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test
now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice,
YLT
22for all the men who are
seeing My honour, and My signs, which I have done in Egypt, and in the wilderness,
and try Me these ten times, and have not hearkened to My voice –
Because all those men which have seen my glory,.... His
glorious Majesty, or the emblem of it in the cloud, on the tabernacle, which
had often appeared to them, and the glorious things done by him; the glory of
his power, wisdom, goodness, faithfulness, and truth, displayed in bringing
them out of Egypt, through the Red sea, and thus far in the wilderness, even to
the borders of the land of Canaan; it should be rendered, not "because",
but "that", for this is the thing sworn to, or the matter of the
oath:
and my miracles which I did in Egypt; by the hand
of Moses, both before them, when he was sent to them, as a proof of his divine
mission, and before Pharaoh and all his court, Exodus 7:10,
inflicting plagues upon him and his people, Exodus 7:20,
and in the wilderness; in raining manna from
heaven about their tents, Exodus 16:14;
sending them quails, Exodus 16:13; and
giving them water out of the rock, Exodus 17:6,
and have tempted me now these ten times; which the
Jews understand precisely and exactly of such a number, and which they reckon
thusF23T. Bab. Eracin, fol. 15. 1. Bartenora in Pirke Abot, c. 5.
sect. 4. Jarchi in loc. ; twice at the sea, Exodus 14:11; twice
concerning water, Exodus 15:23; twice
about manna, Exodus 16:2; twice
about quails, Exodus 16:12; once
by the calf, Exodus 32:1; and
once in the wilderness of Paran, Numbers 14:1, which
last and tenth was the present temptation: these are reckoned a little otherwise
elsewhereF24Maimon. in Pirke Abot, c. 5. sect. 4. ; but perhaps it
may be better, with Aben Ezra, to interpret it of many times, a certain number
being put for an uncertain, they having frequently tempted the Lord:
and have not hearkened to my voice; neither to his word of
promise, nor to his word of command, and particularly his late order to go up
and possess the land, Deuteronomy 1:21.
Numbers 14:23 23 they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore
to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.
YLT
23they see not the land which
I have sworn to their fathers, yea, none of those despising Me see it;
Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their
fathers,.... Not possess and enjoy the land of Canaan, which the Lord by
an oath had promised their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give it to
their seed; and now he swears that these men, who had so often tempted him, and
been disobedient to him, should not inherit it; so the Targums of Jonathan and
Jerusalem take it for an oath; see Hebrews 3:11,
neither shall any of them that provoked me see it; that provoked
him by the ill report they had brought of the land, by their unbelief, by their
murmurings, and mutiny.
Numbers 14:24 24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different
spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he
went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
YLT
24and My servant Caleb,
because there hath been another spirit with him, and he is fully after Me -- I
have brought him in unto the land whither he hath entered, and his seed doth
possess it.
But my servant Caleb,.... Who was one of the
spies, and brought a good and true report of the land; and so in that, as well
as in other things, approved himself to be a faithful servant of the Lord, and
who had stilled the people at the beginning of their murmur, and with Joshua
had attempted to quiet them afterwards; and though Joshua is not here
mentioned, because, as some say, he had no children, and therefore it could not
be said of him that his seed should possess the land, as is said of Caleb; or
rather, because he was to be the general and commander of the people, who was
to introduce them into the land of Canaan, and therefore there was no necessity
of expressing him by name, yet he is afterwards mentioned, Numbers 14:30,
because he had another spirit with him; different
from that of the rest of the spies, excepting Joshua; a spirit of faith, and of
the fear of the Lord, of might and courage, of truth and faithfulness;
believing in the promise of God, which the spies distrusted, being persuaded
the land might easily be conquered, which they feared; and bringing a true
report of the land, the reverse of the ill and false one they brought. For this
is to be understood not of the Holy Spirit of God, nor of his work upon the
hearts of good men, which is different from the spirit of the world, though
Caleb was possessed of that also:
and hath followed me fully; with full purpose of
heart whithersoever he led him, or directed him, in every path of duty, and in
the exercise of every grace; or "hath fulfilled after me"F25וימלא אחרי "et implevit post
me", Montanus, Tigurine version, Fagius, Drusius. ; obeyed his word of
command, fulfilled his mind and will, by going after him, and acting according
to the rules and directions he gave him:
him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; the land of
Canaan he went into to spy and search:
and his seed shall possess it; not the whole land, but
Hebron, and the parts about it, where he particularly went, and which he and
his posterity afterwards enjoyed, see Numbers 13:22. The
Targum of Onkelos is, "shall expel it"; the inhabitants of it; for
the word signifies both to inherit and disinherit; and so Jarchi interprets it,
shall disinherit the Anakim, and the people that are in it, that is, drive them
out of it, as Caleb did, Joshua 15:13.
Numbers 14:25 25 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the
valley; tomorrow turn and move out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red
Sea.”
YLT
25`And the Amalekite and the
Canaanite are dwelling in the valley; to-morrow turn ye and journey for
yourselves into the wilderness -- the way of the Red Sea.'
And now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley,.... By the
Canaanites are meant the Amorites, as Aben Ezra, which were a principal people
of the land of Canaan, and which may be confirmed by Deuteronomy 1:19;
this may seem contrary to what is said Numbers 13:29;
where they are said to dwell in the mountain; but it may be reconciled by
observing, that indeed their proper settled habitation was in the mountain; but
now they went down from thence, and "sat"F26יושב "sedet", Drusius, Piscator. in the valley,
as it may be rendered, in ambush, there lying in wait for the children of
Israel, as in Psalm 10:8; and so
Aben Ezra interprets it of their sitting there, to lie in wait for them: and
now, though these people had so sadly provoked the Lord, yet such was his
goodness to them, as to warn them of the design of their enemies, and of the
danger by them, to provide for their safety, by giving them the following
instruction:
tomorrow turn you; do not go forward, lest ye fall into their
ambushment, but turn about, and go the contrary way; return in the way, or
towards the parts from whence ye came: this they are bid to do tomorrow, but
did not till some time after; for, contrary to the command of God, they went up
the mount, where they were defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites, after
which they stayed in Kadesh some days, Deuteronomy 1:44,
and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea; or in the way
towards it; and so they would be in the way to Egypt, where the people were
desirous of returning again; but as they were always a rebellious and
disobedient people, and acted contrary to God, so in this case; for when he bid
them go back towards the Red sea again, then they were for going forward, and
entering into the land of Canaan, Numbers 14:40;
though when he bid them go up, and possess it, then they were for returning to
Egypt, Numbers 14:4.
Numbers 14:26 26 And the Lord spoke to
Moses and Aaron, saying,
YLT
26And Jehovah speaketh unto
Moses, and unto Aaron, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron,.... Before he
had been only speaking to Moses, who had interceded with him to pardon the
people, which he had granted; but at the same time assured him they should not
enter into and possess the land of Canaan, and the same he repeats to him and
Aaron together:
saying: as follows.
Numbers 14:27 27 “How long shall I bear with this evil
congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the
children of Israel make against Me.
YLT
27`Until when hath this evil
company that which they are murmuring against Me? the murmurings of the sons of
Israel, which they are murmuring against Me, I have heard;
How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur
against me?.... Bear with their murmurings, spare them, and not cut them
off? how long must sparing mercy be extended to them? the Lord speaks as one
weary of forbearing, so frequent and aggravated were their murmurings. The Jews
understand this not of the whole congregation of Israel, but of the ten spies,
from whence they gather, that ten make a congregation; and they interpret the
phrase, "which murmur against me", transitively, "which cause to
murmur against me"; made the children of Israel murmur against him, so
Jarchi; but rather all the people are meant, as appears from Numbers 14:28, and
from the following clause:
I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they
murmur against me; for their murmurings were not only against Moses and Aaron, but
against the Lord himself, Numbers 14:2.
Numbers 14:28 28 Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you:
YLT
28say unto them, I live -- an
affirmation of Jehovah -- if, as ye have spoken in Mine ears -- so I do not to
you;
Say unto them, as truly as I live, saith the Lord,.... The form
of an oath, as in Numbers 14:21,
as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you; what they had
wished for, and expressed in the hearing of the Lord, he threatens them should
be their case.
Numbers 14:29 29 The carcasses of you who have complained against Me
shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your
entire number, from twenty years old and above.
YLT
29in this wilderness do your
carcases fall, even all your numbered ones, to all your number, from a son of
twenty years and upward, who have murmured against Me;
Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness,.... They had
wished they had died in it, Numbers 14:2, and
the Lord here declares they should, which is signified by the falling of their
carcasses in it, or their bodies, which when dead fall to the ground, having no
strength to support themselves:
and all that were numbered of you: but a few months before
this time, when their number was 603,550, Numbers 1:46,
according to your number from twenty years old and upward; which is
observed, as Jarchi thinks, to except the Levites, for they were not numbered
with the other tribes; and when they were numbered by themselves, their number
was taken from a month old and upwards; wherefore it need not be wondered at,
if we find that there were of them who did not fall in the wilderness, but
entered into the land of Canaan, as it is certain Eleazar the priest, the son
of Aaron, did, Numbers 34:17,
which have murmured against me; which shows, that not
the spies only, who caused the people to murmur, but the people themselves who
murmured, and had been numbered, from twenty years old and upward, are the evil
congregation the Lord thus threatened with death.
Numbers 14:30 30 Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the
son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you
dwell in.
YLT
30ye -- ye come not in unto
the land which I have lifted up My hand to cause you to tabernacle in it,
except Caleb son of Jephunneh, and Joshua son of Nun.
Doubtless ye shall not come into the land,.... The land
of Canaan; or "if ye shall come"F1אם
א־תאם תבאו "si vos
ingressi fueritis", Pagninus, Montanus. ; that is, I swear ye shall not,
so the Targum of Jonathan:
concerning which I sware
to make you dwell therein; not them personally, but the people and
nation of which they were, and to which they belonged, the seed and posterity
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to whom the oath was made:
save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun; who brought a
good report of the land. Caleb is mentioned first, as Aben Ezra thinks, because
he first appeased and quieted the people; but in Numbers 14:38
Joshua stands first, so that nothing is to be inferred from hence; these were
the only two of the spies that went into the land of Canaan, Numbers 13:4; and
the only two of the Israelites that were numbered, from twenty years old and
upwards, Numbers 14:29;
those of the tribe of Levi, not being in that account, must be remembered to be
excepted also.
Numbers 14:31 31 But your little ones, whom you said would be victims,
I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised.
YLT
31`As to your infants -- of
whom ye have said, A spoil they are become -- I have even brought them in, and
they have known the land which ye have kicked against;
But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey,.... To the
Canaanites, Numbers 14:3,
them will I bring in; into the land of Canaan,
and so fulfil the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for the unbelief
of this congregation did not make the faith, or faithfulness of God, of none
effect:
and they shall know the land which ye have despised; shall know
what a good land it is by experience, and shall possess and enjoy it with
approbation, delight, and pleasure, which they, believing the spies, rejected
with, loathing and disdain.
Numbers 14:32 32 But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in
this wilderness.
YLT
32as to you -- your carcases
do fall in this wilderness,
But as for you, your carcasses,.... Which way
of speaking seems to be used to distinguish them from their children:
they shall fall in this wilderness: which is repeated for
the confirmation and certainty it, and an emphasis is laid on the words, this
which are pronounced with an accent, to put them in mind of their wish, Numbers 14:2.
Numbers 14:33 33 And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness
forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are
consumed in the wilderness.
YLT
33and your sons are evil in
the wilderness forty years, and have borne your whoredoms till your carcases
are consumed in the wilderness;
And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years,.... Or
"feed"F2יהיו רעים
"erunt pascentes", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius, Junius &
Tremellius; "pascent", Tigurine version, Piscator. , as shepherds,
who go from place to place, and seek fresh pasture for their sheep; it being
the custom of a shepherd, as Aben Ezra observes, not to stand or rest in a
place; and so like sheep grazing in a wilderness, where they have short
commons, and wander about in search, of better. These forty years are to be
reckoned from their coming out of Egypt, from whence they had now been come about
a year and a half:
and bear your whoredoms; the punishment of their
idolatries, which are frequently signified by this phrase, and particularly of
the idolatry of the calf, which God threatened to punish whenever he visited
for sin, Exodus 32:34; and
of other sins, as their murmurings, &c. for it was on account of them their
children wandered so long in the wilderness, and were kept out of the
possession of the land of Canaan:
until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness; everyone of
them be consumed by death, save those before excepted, Numbers 14:30.
Numbers 14:34 34 According to the number of the days in which you spied
out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely
forty years, and you shall know My rejection.
YLT
34by the number of the days
[in] which ye spied the land, forty days, -- a day for a year, a day for a year
-- ye do bear your iniquities, forty years, and ye have known my breaking off;
After the number of days in which ye searched the land,
even forty days,.... For so
long they were searching it, Numbers 13:25,
each day for a year; reckoning each day for a
year, forty days for forty years, as in Ezekiel 4:6,
shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years: which number
is given, being a round one, otherwise it was but thirty eight years and a half
ere they were all cut off, and their children entered the land:
and ye shall know my breach of promise; God never
makes any breach of promise; his covenant he will not break, nor alter what is
gone out of his lips; men break their promises, and transgress the covenant
they have made with him, but he never breaks his, Psalm 89:34; this
should rather be rendered only, "ye shall know my breach"; experience
a breach made upon them by him, upon their persons and families by consuming
them in the wilderness: the Targum of Jonathan is,"and ye shall know what
ye have murmured against me;'this same word is used in the plural in Job 33:10, and is
by the Targum rendered "murmurings" or "complaints"; and so
the sense is, ye shall know by sad experience the evil of complaining and
murmuring against me. The Vulgate Latin version is,"ye shall know my
vengeance;'and so the Septuagint,"ye shall know the fury of my anger'which
give the sense, though not a literal version of the words.
Numbers 14:35 35 I the Lord have
spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who are gathered
together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they
shall die.’”
YLT
35I [am] Jehovah, I have
spoken; if I do not this to all this evil company who are meeting against me;
-- in this wilderness they are consumed, and there they die.'
I the Lord have said,.... Determined, resolved
on doing what I have declared, and again repeat it; the decree is absolute and
peremptory, and will never be revoked:
I will surely do it to all this evil congregation, that are
gathered together against me; against his ministers, Moses the chief
magistrate, and Aaron the high priest; and this is interpreted gathering,
conspiring, and rebelling against the Lord himself, on account of which they
might be truly called an evil congregation, and therefore it was a determined
point with him to destroy them:
in this wilderness they shall be consumed; by wasting
diseases:
and there they shall die; as they wished they
might, Numbers 14:22; with
respect to which this was so often repeated, Exodus 16:3; and
which the Jews interpret not only of a corporeal death, but of an eternal one;
for they sayF3Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 11. sect. 3. "the generation
of the wilderness (of those that died there) have no part in the world to come,
nor shall stand in judgment, as it is said, "in this wilderness",
&c. Numbers 14:35.'
Numbers 14:36 36 Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who
returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad
report of the land,
YLT
36And the men whom Moses hath
sent to spy the land, and they turn back and cause all the company to murmur
against him, by bringing out an evil account concerning the land,
And the men which Moses sent to search the land,.... Ten of
them:
who returned; as they all did, who were sent to search
it:
and made all the congregation to murmur against him; against,
Moses that sent them; they murmured themselves, and made others murmur:
by bringing up a slander upon the land; that it ate
up its inhabitants, and that the inhabitants of it were of such a stature, and
so gigantic and strong, and dwelt in such walled cities, Numbers 13:28, that
there was no probability of subduing them, Numbers 13:31.
Numbers 14:37 37 those very men who brought the evil report about the
land, died by the plague before the Lord.
YLT
37even the men bringing out
an evil account of the land die by the plague before Jehovah;
Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land,.... They, and
they only at this time:
died by the plague before the Lord; either by the pestilence
immediately sent upon them by the Lord, or by a flash of lightning from him, or
in some other way; however, by the immediate hand of God, and in his presence,
being in the tabernacle of the congregation, Numbers 14:10;
though the Jews differently relate the manner of their death; some say worms
came out of their navels, and up to their jaws, and ate them and their tongues;
and others that they came out of their tongues, and entered their navels, which
they take to be a just retaliation for sinning with their tongues: and the time
of their death they differ about; some say, as the Targum of Jonathan, that it
was upon the seventh, and others that it was on the seventeenth of Elul or
August they diedF4Schulchan Aruch, par. 1. c. 580. sect. 2.
Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 7. 2. .
Numbers 14:38 38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of
Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.
YLT
38and Joshua son of Nun, and
Caleb son of Jephunneh, have lived of those men who go to spy out the land.
But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh,.... Here
Joshua is set first, as Caleb is in Numbers 14:30;
which shows that they were equal in dignity, and therefore are indifferently
put, sometimes the one first, and sometimes the other:
which were of the men
that went to search the land; were two of the spies, and were for the
tribes of Judah and Ephraim, Numbers 13:6,
lived still; were not stricken with death, when the
other spies were; though perhaps upon the very spot, and in the same place, and
among them, when they were struck dead; but these remained alive, and continued
many years after, and entered the good land, and possessed it.
Numbers 14:39 39 Then Moses told these words to all the children of
Israel, and the people mourned greatly.
YLT
39And Moses speaketh these
words unto all the sons of Israel, and the people mourn exceedingly,
And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel,.... That all
that had murmured, who were of twenty years old and upwards, should die in the
wilderness, and never see nor enter into the land of Canaan, on the borders of
which they now were:
and the people mourned greatly; because of their unhappy
case, that they should be cut off by death in the wilderness, and be deprived
of the enjoyment of the good land; their sorrow seems to have been not a godly
sorrow, or true repentance for sin committed, but a worldly sorrow that works
death; it was not on account of the evil of sin, the pardon of which they did
not seem to seek after, but on account of the evil that was likely to come to
them by it.
Numbers 14:40 40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the
top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which
the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!”
YLT
40and they rise early in the
morning, and go up unto the top of the mountain, saying, `Here we [are], and we
have come up unto the place which Jehovah hath spoken of, for we have sinned.'
And they rose up early in the morning,.... The next
morning after they had heard the bad news of their consumption in the
wilderness; not being able, perhaps, to sleep that night with the thoughts of
it, and being now in a great haste to go up and possess the land of Canaan, as
they were before to return to Egypt:
and gat them up into the top of the mountain; which was the
way the spies went into the land of Canaan, Numbers 13:17; this
they did not actually ascend, as appears from Numbers 14:44; but
they determined upon it, and got themselves ready for it:
saying, lo, we be here; this they said either to
one another, animating each other to engage in the enterprise; or to Moses and
Joshua, signifying that they were ready to go up and possess the land, if they
would put themselves at the head of them, and take the command and direction of
them:
and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised: the land of Canaan:
for we have sinned; in not going up to possess it, when they
were bid to go, and in listening to the spies that brought an ill report of it,
and by murmuring against Moses and Aaron, and the Lord himself, and proposing
to make them a captain and return to Egypt, Numbers 14:2, but
this acknowledgment and repentance were not very sincere, by what follows.
Numbers 14:41 41 And Moses said, “Now why do you transgress the command
of the Lord? For this will not succeed.
YLT
41And Moses saith, `Why [is]
this? -- ye are transgressing the command of Jehovah, and it doth not prosper;
And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of
the Lord?.... Which was to turn back into the wilderness, and go the way
that leads to the Red sea, Numbers 14:25;
instead of which now they were for going forward into the land of Canaan,
though averse to it just before:
but it shall not prosper; their attempt to enter
into it.
Numbers 14:42 42 Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies,
for the Lord is not among you.
YLT
42go not up, for Jehovah is
not in your midst, and ye are not smitten before your enemies;
Go not up, for the Lord is not among you,.... And
therefore could not expect success, for victory is of the Lord; the Targum of
Jonathan adds,"the ark, and the tabernacle, and the cloud of glory move not,'which
were a plain indication that the Lord would not go with them, and therefore
could not hope to prevail over their enemies and enter the land, but on the
contrary might expect to be defeated by them, as follows:
that ye be not smitten before your enemies; of which they
would be in great danger should they attempt to go up the hill, and the Lord
not with them.
Numbers 14:43 43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there
before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from
the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.”
YLT
43for the Amalekite and the
Canaanite [are] there before you, and ye have fallen by the sword, because that
ye have turned back from after Jehovah, and Jehovah is not with you.'
For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you,.... Having
removed from the valley, Numbers 14:25; or
else had detached a party to defend the pass on the top of the mountain, and
where perhaps they designed to feign a retreat if they found it proper, and
draw them into a combat in the valley:
and ye shall fall by the sword: by the sword of the
Amalekites and Canaanites:
because ye are turned away from the Lord: from the word
of the Lord, from hearkening to and obeying his command:
therefore the Lord will not be with you; the
consequence of which must be bad for them.
Numbers 14:44 44 But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop.
Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp.
YLT
44And they presume to go up
unto the top of the mountain, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah and Moses
have not departed out of the midst of the camp.
But they presumed to go up unto the hill top,.... In a
bold, audacious, and presumptuous manner; they attempted to go up to the top of
the hill, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Moses against it, and the danger
they would be exposed unto; but withdrawing themselves from God and his
ministers, and lifted up in themselves, and confident of their own strength,
ventured on this rash enterprise: the Vulgate Latin version is, "being
darkened they went up": either having their understandings darkened, and
being given up to a judicial blindness and hardness of heart; or else they went
up in the morning while it was dark, before daylight; which latter sense is
favoured by the Targum of Jonathan,"and they girded (or armed) themselves
in the dark, before the morning light;'and the former by an ancient exposition,
called Tanchuma, mentioned by Jarchi,"they went obscure (as it were in the
dark) because without leave:"
nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses,
departed not out of the camp; the cloud not being taken up, but abiding
on the tabernacle, which was the signal for resting, both for the ark, and for
the camp, the Kohathites did not move with the ark: the JewsF5T.
Hieros. Sotah, fol. 22. 2. have a notion, that there were two arks which went
with Israel in the wilderness, one in which the law was put, and another in
which the broken pieces of the tables were left; that in which the law was, was
placed in the tabernacle of the congregation, and of this it is written,
"the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not",
&c. but that in which the broken pieces of the tables were, went in and out
with them: but this does not clearly appear; and it is highly probable no ark
went with them at this time; nor did Moses, the leader and commander of the
people, stir from the camp of the Levites; wherefore it was a bold and
hazardous undertaking the other camps engaged in without God going with them,
and their general before them, or Joshua his minister; for if one did not go,
the same may be concluded of the other.
Numbers 14:45 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in
that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as
Hormah.
YLT
45And the Amalekite and the
Canaanite who are dwelling in that mountain come down and smite them, and beat
them down -- unto Hormah.
Then the Amalekites came down,.... The hill; met the
Israelites as they ascended: and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill; the
same with the Amorites, one of the seven nations of Canaan, Numbers 13:29,
and smote them; with the sword, having the advantage of
them in coming down the hill upon them:
and discomfited them even unto Hormah; the name of a
place, so called from what happened there; as Jarchi says; either from this
destruction of the Israelites at this time by these their enemies, or from the
destruction of the Canaanites by Israel, Numbers 21:4; and
so here has its name by anticipation; or it may be from both these events, and
seems to be confirmed by a third of the like kind, having been in former times
called Zephath, Judges 1:17; see Joshua 15:30;
though some take it to be an appellative here, and not the proper name of a
place, and render it even unto destruction, as the Targum of Jonathan, denoting
the very great destruction and havoc that were made among them: how many were
destroyed is not certain; the judgment threatened them of God soon began to
take place, that their carcasses should fall in that wilderness.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)