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their route. But these asylums, which the quails have not always sufficient strength to reach, and the distance of which is frequently fatal to them, likewise prove to them places of destruction. Too much exhausted to fly, they suffer themselves to be caught without difficulty upon inhospitable shores: they are also easily taken by hand upon the rigging of ships; and when excess of fatigue prevents them from rising to that height, they strike with violence against the vessel's hull, fall back, stunned by the shock, and disappear in the waves. Whatever may be the danger of the long voyage to which these birds do not seem destined; whatever losses these bodies of feeble travellers may sustain in the course of the passage, there still arrives so great a multitude in the environs of Alexandria, that the number to be seen there is truly incredible. The Egyptian fowlers catch them in nets. During the first days of their arrival, such quantities are for sale in the markets of Alexandria, that three and sometimes four were to be purchased for a medine, or about fifteen or sixteen derniers.SONNINI.

That quails really are used to migrate in countless flocks, is known, not only in Asia, but in the southern parts of Europe; for instance, in the kingdom of Naples, and especially in the beautiful islands in the bay of Naples. Yet the opinion of those commentators who think that they were not quails, but locusts, that the wind brought to the Israelites, may be worthy of attention, especially on account of the circumstance mentioned in the holy scriptures, that the Israelites "hung them up round the camp," (so Luther has it, and not "spread them abroad," as in the English translation,) as the Orientals still do with locusts, which they dry in the sun.-(Stollberg's Hist. of Religion.) The common opinion that they were quails which collected in such numbers round the camp of the Israelites, is, however, favoured by this circumstance, that these birds are still designated by the Arabic word, which is the same as the Hebrew selav.--ROSENMULLER.

Ver. 32. And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers; and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.

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The surprising abundance of these birds may be inferred from the quantity which the tribes collected. The persons employed, were not a few of the people, but a great multitude that were not prevented by other domestic engagements or important reasons; and that discovered on this occasion, much alacrity and perseverance. Unwilling to lose so valuable an opportunity of gratifying their inordinate desires, and providing for their future wants, they continued their active exertions for several days; and that we may know the result of their diligence, and form some idea of the abundant supply with which divine providence had favoured them, the sacred historian states, gathered least, gathered ten homers." This word (D) homer, is properly distinguished from (y) omer, a much smaller measure, and from (7) hamor, an ass, or the load which is commonly laid upon that animal. But some writers make it equal to the cor, which is more than double the weight, and is the common load of a camel. But it was not necessary that every one should gather ten camel loads of quails; for God had promised his people flesh for a month, and would have fulfilled his promise by bestowing on every individual the third part of a cor, or camel's burden. The truth of this assertion will appear, when it is considered, that every Israelite received for his daily subsistence, an omer of manna, which is the tenth part of an epha. But an epha is the tenth part of a cor; and by consequence, a cor contains a hundred omers. If then an omer is sufficient for one day, a cor must be sufficient for a hundred days, that is, for more than three months. Hence, if every Israelite gathered ten cors of quails, they collected thirty times more than Gcd had promised. Bochart endeavours to remove this difficulty, by observing, hat Moses, in this verse, speaks only of the heads of families, leaving out of his enumeration, the women, children, and slaves. But it is evident that Moses did not use the word people in this restricted sense; for he states, that

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the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people that gathered the quails," and the Lord smote them with a very great plague." And the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah; but these things are surely said of the whole people. Dissatisfied with this solution, Bochart proposes another, with which he is better pleased: The ten homers are not ten cors, but ten heaps; for in this sense, the word is sometimes used. Thus, in the prophecies of Habakkuk, homer signifies a heap of many waters; and in the book of Exodus, a heap of frogs. Onkelos and other interpreters, accordingly render it in this passage ten heaps. If this be admitted, Moses has not determined the quantity of these birds which every one gathered; but only says, that every one at least gathered ten heaps, that is, by a familiar phrase among the Hebrews, a very great number; for ten is often used in scripture for many. This version ought to be preferred, both on account of what has been already stated, and because the cor is a measure of corn, not of flesh. The view now given is of some value; for if every Israelite gathered ten cors of quails, the number of these birds must have been so great as to exceed all belief. But it has been shown, that instead of ten cors, an Israelite did not collect and use the third part of one. It is not meant to limit the power of God; but surely no violence should be offered to human belief, by requiring more from it than God has revealed in his word.

The vast multitude of these birds, appears also from the long time that the many thousands of Israel subsisted upon them in the desert. Jehovah promises, with uncommon emphasis, "Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; but even a whole month." The complete fulfilment of this promise, although not recorded by Moses, may be justly inferred from the great quantity which the people gathered and laid up in store, after drying them in the sun, for their subsistence. The Psalmist distinctly alludes to it in these words: "So they did eat and were filled; for he gave them their own desire." Thus were six hundred thousand footmen, besides women and children, supplied with quails for a whole month, by the power and goodness of Jehovah. In quent, this could not have been done without a new creathe colder regions of Europe, where the quail is less fretion; but in warm climates, the case is very different.

There these birds are found in immense numbers. From Aristophanes it appears that no bird was more common in Greece; and Juvenal asserts, that none were of less value at Rome. Nor will that appear wonderful, when the assertion of some writers is considered, that, in the beginning of spring, within the space of five miles, a hundred thousand of these birds are sometimes caught in one day; and this astonishing number continues to be taken for nearly a whole month. Varro asserts, that turtles and quails return from their migrations into Italy, in immense numbers. Hence, their fight, when they approach the land, is alleged by Pliny, to be "attended with danger to mariners; for these birds, wearied with their journey, alight upon the sails, and this always in the night, and sink their frail vessels." The same fact is stated by Solinus, as quoted by Bochart: "When they come within sight of land, they rusl. forward in large bodies, and with so great impetuosity as often to endanger the safety of navigators; for they alight upon the sails in the night, and by their weight overset the vessels." Many places also have borne the name of Orty. gia, from the multitude of quails which crowded their fields. Thus, Delus was called Ortygia; the island of Syracuse was known by the same name; also the city of Ephesus, as well as a grove very near it, and another in the vicinity of Miletus. For the same reason, the whole country of Libya, received from the ancients the name of Ortygia. But quails abounded nowhere in greater numbers than in Egypt, and the surrounding countries, whither they were allured by the intense heat of the climate, or the great fertility of the soil. Hence, the remark of Josephus, that the Arabic gulf is peculiarly favourable to the breeding of these birds. We have also heard the testimony of Diodorus, concerning the countless number of quails about Rhinocolura; and the ancients mention a species of quail peculiar to Egypt, which is so numerous at a certain season of the year, that the inhabitants, un able to consume them all, are compelled to salt them for future use. This was done in times when, according to Theocritus, the vale of Egypt contained more than thirty

thousand cities; and by the testimony of Josephus, seven hundred and fifty myriads of people, without including the inhabitants of Alexandria. From this statement it must be evident, that in order to supply the many thousands of Israel with quails for a whole month, no act of creation was necessary; but only a strong breeze, to direct the flight of those innumerable flocks, which encumber the African continent, to the camp of Israel. We read that our Lord multiplied the loaves and the fishes, when he fed the attending multitudes; but no inspired writer insinuates, that Jehovah created or multiplied the quails with which he sustained his people in the wilderness. He had only to transport them on the wings of the wind, from the vale of Egypt, and the shores of the Red Sea. It was indeed a stupendous miracle, to collect such immense numbers, to bring them into the desert precisely at the time which he had appointed, and to let them fall about the camp, that they might be gathered by his people; but the provision itself existed already in the stores of common providence, and required only to be conveyed to the spot where it was needed.-PAXTON.

CHAPTER XII.

Ver. 14. And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.

Miriam had greatly offended God, and, therefore, she was to be as a daughter, whose father had spit in her face. In Deuteronomy xxv. 9, the widow was to spit in the face of her late husband's brother, if he refused to marry her. And Job (xxx. 10) in his great misery says of his enemies, "they spare not to spit in my face;" and in reference to our Saviour, they did " spit in his face." The most contemptuous, the most exasperating and degrading action, which one man can do to another, is to spit in his face. A person receiving this insult is at once worked up to the highest pitch of anger, and nothing but the rank or power of the individual will prevent him from seeking instant revenge. Indeed, such is the enormity attached to this offence, that it is seldom had recourse to, except in extreme cases. A master, whose slave has deeply offended him, will not beat him, (for that would defile him,) but he spits in his face. When his anger is at the greatest height, he will not even condescend to do that, but order a fellow-servant, or some one near, to spit in his face. Is a person too respectable for this indignity; then the offended individual will spit upon the ground. Schoolmasters, also, when very angry with a scholar, do not, as in England, begin to beat him, but spit in his face, or order some one else to do it. To a person making use of offensive language, bystanders say, "Spit in his face."—ROBERTS.

CHAPTER XIII.

Ver. 23. And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.

It appears that the cultivation of the vine was never abandoned in this country. The grapes, which are white, and pretty large, are, however, not much superior in size to those of Europe. This peculiarity seems to be confined to those in this neighbourhood, for at the distance of only six miles to the south, is the rivulet and valley called Escohol, celebrated in scripture for its fertility, and for producing very large grapes. In other parts of Syria, also, I have seen grapes of such an extraordinary size, that a bunch of them would be a sufficient burden for one man. It is not at all surprising, therefore, that when the spies, sent by Moses to reconnoitre the promised land, returned to give him an account of its fertility, it required two of them to carry a bunch of grapes, which they brought with them suspended from a pole placed upon their shoulders. (Mar.) Many eyewitnesses assure us, that in Palestine the vines, and bunches of grapes, are almost of an inredible size. Stephen Schultz relates, "At Beitdjin, a

village near Ptolemais, we took our supper under a large vine, the stem of which was nearly a foot and a half in diameter, the height about thirty feet, and covered with its branches and shoots (for the shoots must be supported) a hut more than fifty feet long and broad. The bunches of these grapes are so large that they weigh from ten to twelve pounds, and the grapes may be compared to our plums. Such a bunch is cut off and laid on a board, round which they seat themselves, and each helps himself to as many as he pleases." Forster, in his Hebrew Dictionary, (under the word Eshcol,) says, "that he knew at Nurnburg, a monk of the name of Acacius, who had resided eight years in Palestine, and had also preached at Hebron, where he had seen bunches of grapes which were as much as two men could conveniently carry." Christopher Neitzschutz, who travelled through Palestine in the year 1634, speaking of his excursions on the Jewish mountains, says, "These mountains are pretty high on the right, and most beautifully situated; and I can say with truth, that I saw and ate of bunches of grapes which were each half an ell long, and the grapes two joints of a finger in length." Reland says, "that a merchant, who lived several years at Rama, assured him that he had there seen bunches of grapes which weighed ten pounds each." Vines and grapes of an extraordinary size are found in other parts of the East. Strabo says, "that in the Margiana, a country southwest of the Caspian sea, now called Ghilan, there are vines which two men can scarcely span, the bunches of which are of extraordinary length." Olearius, in 1637, saw in this part vines, the stem of which was as thick as a man's body. At Iran, he states, there is a kind of grapes called Enkuri ali deresi, which are of a brown red colour, and as large as Spanish plums. The carrying of a bunch of grapes between two men was not merely for its weight, but that it might be brought uninjured, and without being crushed, into the Israelite camp.-ROSENMULLER.

The pomegranate, the malus punica of the Romans, the poa or pola of the Greeks, and the Rimon of the Hebrews, is a kind of apple-tree, whose fruit is covered without, with a rind of a reddish colour, and which, opening lengthwise, shows red grains full of juice resembling wine, with little kernels. The Hebrew term Rimon, which expresses both the tree and the fruit, from Rama, to project, seems to have its name from the strong projection or reflection of light either from the fruit or from the starlike flower with six leaves, or rays, at the top of the apple. The Greek name pou, which denotes the tree, and potekos, the fruit, by which the Seventy render the word Rimon, aim perhaps at the same thing, being derived from pew, to flow. We learn from Dr. Shaw, that August produces the first ripe pomegranates, some of which are three or four inches in diameter, and of a pound weight. The pomegranate, or malum punicum, as originally brought from Phoenicia, was formerly numbered among the most delicious fruits which the earth produces. That from Arabia is large, full of juice, and highly flavoured. The juice especially, when expressed from the seeds and interior film, by which the bitter flavour is avoided, is a delicate beverage: and one of those pomegranates will sometimes fill a small basin. The high estimation in which it was held by the people of Israel, may be inferred from its being one of the three kinds of fruit brought by the spies from Eshcol, to Moses and the congregation in the wilderness; and from its being spec fied by that rebellious people as one of the greatest luxuries they enjoyed in Egypt, the want of which they felt so se verely in the sandy desert. The pomegranate, classed by Moses with wheat and barley, vines and figs, oil olive and honey, was, in his account, one principal recommendation of the promised land. But no circumstance more clearly proves the value which the Orientals put upon this fruit, than the choice which Solomon makes of it to represent certain graces of the church: "Thy temples are like a piece of pomegranate within thy locks;" and in the thirteenth verse, the children of God are compared to an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits. Three sorts of pomegranates are used in Syria, the sour, the sweet, and another of aL intermediate taste, for the purpose of giving a grateful acidity to their sauces or liquids. A very refreshing draught, such as the Syrians use in hot weather, composed of wine mixed with the juice of the pomegranate, it would seem, the spouse proposed to make for her beloved: "I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegra

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ate;" a delicious and cooling beverage to the parched inhabitant of the equatorial regions; or perhaps she means a species of wine made of pomegranate juice, which we learn from Chardin, is drank in considerable quantities in the East, and particularly in Persia. Which of these is really intended, it is not easy to determine. Liquors of this kind are still very common in the East. Sherbet, which is a syrup, chiefly that of lemons mixed with water, is used by persons of all ranks.

"I think," says Mr. Harmer in a note, "it is highly probable, that in the time of remote antiquity, pomegranate juice was used in those countries where lemon juice is now used, with their meat, and in their drinks; and, that it was not till afterward, that lemons came among them. I know not how else to account for the mention of pomegranates, in describing the fruitfulness of the Holy Land: they would not now, I think, occur in such descriptions; the juice of lemons and oranges have at present almost superseded the use of that of pomegranates." But the opinion of this respectable writer, is opposed by no less an authority than Dr. Russel, who spent many years in Syria, and wrote the natural history of that country. According to that able historian, lemons have by no means superseded the pomegranate; the latter is more easily preserved through the winter, and is often in cookery preferred to the lemon. In describing the fruitfulness of a country, the pomegranate would be mentioned; and it is diligently cultivated even where lemons are plenty. What Chardin calls Roubnar, he would not understand to be wine; Rab-al-nar is the inspissated juice of the pomegranate, or the juice of grapes preserved with sugar.-PAXTON.

Ver. 32. The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof.

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Of a very unhealthy place it is said, "That evil country eats up all the people." "We cannot remain in these parts, the land is eating us up." I go to that place! never! it will eat me up." Of England it is said, in reference to her victories, "She has eaten up all countries."-ROBERTS. CHAPTER XIV.

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Ver. 9. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear the people of the land: for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us; fear them not. Hebrew, "shadow." A poor man says of his rich friend, "He is my shadow;" i. e. he is my defence. 'My shadow is gone;" meaning, he has lost his defence. "Alas! those poor people have lost their shadow."-ROBERTS. Literally, their shadow, a metaphor highly expressive of protection and support in the sultry eastern countries. The Arabs and Persians have the same word to denote the same thing: using these expressions, "May the shadow of thy prosperity be extended." "May the shadow of thy prosperity be spread over the heads of thy well-wishers."" "May thy protection never be removed from my head; May God extend thy shadow eternally."

At court, when mention is made of the sultan, the appellation of alem-penah, refuge of the world, is usually added to his title of padisha, or emperor. His loftiest title, and the most esteemed, because given to him by the kings of Persia, is zil-ullah, shadow of God.-BURDER.

CHAPTER XVII.

Ver. 6. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. 7. And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. 8. And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron, for the house of Levi, was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.

See on Jer. 1. 11, 12.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Ver. 16. And those that are to be redeemed, from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.

following manner. According to Leo of Modena, this was performed in the When the child is thirty days old, the father sends for one of the descendants of Aaron; several persons being assembled on the occasion, the father brings a cup, containing several pieces of gold and silver coin. The priest then takes the child into his arms, and addressing himself to the mother, says, "Is this thy son?" Mother. "Yes." Priest. "Hast thou never had another child, male or female, a miscarriage or untimely birth?" Mother. "No." Priest. "This being the case, this child, as first-born, belongs to me." Then turning to the father, he says, "If it be thy desire to have this child, thou must redeem it." Father. "I present thee with this gold and silver for this purpose." Priest. "Thou dost wish, therefore, to redeem the child?" Father. "I do wish so to do." The

priest then turning himself to the assembly, says, "Very well: this child, as first-born, is mine, as it is written in Bemidbar, Numb. xviii. 16, Thou shalt redeem the first-born of a month old for five shekels; but I shall content myself with this in exchange." He then takes two gold crowns, or thereabouts, and returns the child to his parents.-Burder. Ver. 19. All the heave-offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee, and to thy seed with thee.

Among other descriptions of a covenant, there is one which demands explanation, Numb. xviii. 19, "The offerings I have given to thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever; it is a covenant of salt, for ever, before the Lord." 2 Chr. xiii. 5, "Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David, for ever, to him, and to his sons, by a covenant of salt?" It is very properly, as we suppose, suggested, in answer to the inquiry, What means this covenant of salt? that salt preserves from decay and putrefaction; it maintains a firmness and durability. There is a kind of salt so hard, that it is used as money, and passes from hand to hand no more injured than a stone would be, says Mr. Bruce. Salt may therefore very properly be made an emblem of perpetuity.

But the covenant of salt seems to refer to an agreement made, in which salt was used as a token of confirmation. "He, We shall give an instance from Baron du Tott. (Moldovanji Pacha,) was desirous of an acquaintance with me, and seeming to regret that his business would not permit him to stay long, he departed, promising in a short time to return. I had already attended him half way down the staircase, when stopping, and turning briskly to one of my domestics who followed me, 'Bring me directly,' said he, 'some bread and salt. I was not less surprised at this fancy, than at the haste which was made to obey him. What he requested was brought; when, taking a little salt between his fingers, and putting it with a mysterious air on a bit of bread, he ate it with a devout gravity, assuring me that I might now rely on him. I soon procured an expla nation of this significant ceremony; but this same man, when become vizier, was tempted to violate this oath thus taken in my favour. Yet if this solemn contract be not always religiously observed, it serves, at least, to moderate the spirit of vengeance so natural to the Turks." The Baron adds in a note: "The Turks think it the blackest ingratitude, to forget the man from whom we have received food: which is signified by the bread and salt in this ceremony." (Baron du Tott, part i. page 214.) The Baro alludes to this incident in part iii. page 36. Moldovanj at it. I did not imagine I ought to put any great confiPacha, being ordered to obey the Baron, was not pleased dence in the mysterious COVENANT of the bread and salt, by which this man had formerly vowed inviolable friendship tu

me." Yet he "dissembled his discontent," and "his peevishness only showed itself in his first letters to the Porte." It will now, we suppose, appear credible, that the phrase "a covenant of salt" alludes to some custom in ancient times; and without meaning to symbolize very deeply, we take the liberty of asking, whether the precept, Lev. ii. 13, "With all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt," may have any reference to ideas of a similar nature? Did the custom of feasting at a covenant-making include the same? according to the sentiment of the Turks hinted at in the Baron's note. We ought to notice the readiness of the Baron's domestics, in proof that they, knowing the usages of their country, well understood what was about to take place. Also, that this covenant is usually punctually observed, and where it is not punctually observed, yet it has a restraining influence on the party who has made it; and his non-observance of it disgraces him.

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We proceed to give a remarkable instance of the power of this covenant of salt over the mind: it seems to imply a something attributed to salt, which it is very difficult for us completely to explain, but which is not the less real on that account: Jacoub ben Laith, the founder of a dynasty of Persian princes called the Saffarides, rising, like many others of the ancestors of the princes of the East, from a very low state to royal power, being in his first setting out in the use of arms, no better than a freebooter or robber, is yet said to have maintained some regard to decency in his depredations, and never to have entirely stripped those that he robbed, always leaving them something to soften their affliction. Among other exploits that are recorded of him, he is said to have broken into the palace of the prince of that country, and having collected a very large booty, which he was on the point of carrying away, he found his foot kicked something which made him stumble; he imagined it might be something of value, and putting it to his mouth, the better to distinguish what it was, his tongue soon informed him it was a lump of salt. Upon this, according to the morality, or rather superstition, of the country, where the people considered salt as a symbol and pledge of hospitality, he was so touched, that he left all his booty, retiring without taking away any thing with him. The next morning, the risk they had run of losing many valuable things being perceived, great was the surprise, and strict the inquiry, what could be the occasion of their being left. At length Jacoub was found to be the person concerned; who having given an account, very sincerely, of the whole transaction to the prince, he gained his esteem so effectually, that it might be said, with truth, that it was his regard for salt that laid the foundation of his after fortune. The prince employing him as a man of courage and genius in many enterprises, and finding him successful in all of them, he raised him, by little and little, to the chief posts among his troops; so that, at that prince's death, he found himself possessed of the command in chief, and had such interest in their affections, that they preferred his interests to those of the children of the deceased prince, and he became absolute master of that province, from whence he afterward spread his conquests far and wide." (D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. p. 466. Also, Harmer's Obs.)-TAYLOR IN CALMET.

CHAPTER XX.

Ver. 19. And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the highway; and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only (without doing any thing else) go through on my feet.

The scarcity of water, and the great labour and expense cf digging away so much earth, in order to reach it, render a well extremely valuable. As the water is often sold at a very high price, a number of good wells yield to the proprietor a large revenue. Pitts was obliged to purchase water at sixpence a gallon; a fact which illustrates the force of the offer made by Moses to Edom; If I, and my Cattle, drink of thy water, then will I pay for it." It is properly mentioned as a very aggravating circumstance in the overthrow of Jerusalem, that the ruthless conqueror forced the Jews to purchase with money, the water of their own wells and the wood of their own trees: "We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto

us." Even a cup of cold water cannot always be obtained in Syria, without paying a certain price. It is partly on this account our Lord promises, "Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of those little ones, a cup of cold water, in the name of a disciple, should in no wise lose his reward "

-PAXTON.

How little do the people of England understand feelingly those passages of scripture which speak of want of water, of paying for that necessary fluid, and of the strife for such a valuable article as a well! So we read," Abraham reproved Abimelech, because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away." Gen. xxi. 25. So, chap. xxvi. 20: "The herdsmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdsmen; and he called the well Esek, contention."-To what extremities contention about a sup ply of water may proceed, we learn from the following extracts:-" Our course lay along shore, betwixt the mainland and a chain of little islands, with which, as likewise with rocks and shoals, the sea abounds in this part; and for that reason, it is the practice with all these vessels to anchor every evening: we generally brought up close to the shore, and the land-breeze springing up about midnight, wafted to us the perfumes of Arabia, with which it was strongly impregnated, and very fragrant; the latter part of it carried us off in the morning, and continued till eight, when it generally fell calm for two or three hours, and after that the northerly wind set in, after obliging us to anchor under the lee of the land by noon; it happened that one morning, when we had been driven by stress of weather into a small bay, called Birk Bay, the country around it being inhabited by the Budoes, [Bedoweens] the Noquedah sent his people on shore to get water, for which it is always customary to pay."

This extract, especially illustrates the passage, Num. xx. 17, 19;" We will not drink of the water of the wells:if I, and my cattle, drink of thy water, then will 1 pay for it."-This is always expected; and though Edom might in friendship have let his brother Israel drink gratis, had he recollected their consanguinity, yet Israel did not insist on such accommodation. How strange would it sound in England, if a person in travelling, should propose to pay for drinking water from the wells by the road-side! Nevertheless, still stronger is the expression, Lam. v. 4; “We have drank our own water for money:" we bought it of our foreign rulers; although we were the natural proprietors of the wells which furnished it.-TAYLOR IN CALMET.

Ver. 22. And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor. 23. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, 24. Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah. 25. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor: 26. And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there. 27. And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.

The evidence already adduced leaves unquestionable the possibility that excavations in rocks may continue unimpaired for many ages. That monuments so extremely ancient as the days of Moses and Aaron should still bear their testimony to facts of other times, is too wonderful to be received without due circumspection.-If they were referred to buildings, to structures erected by human power, they would be something more than dubious: but this

hesitation does not apply to chambers cut in rocks, or on the sides of rocky mountains: if the identity of such places can be established, their antiquity need occasion no difficulty; if the tomb of Aaron be not the tomb of any other person, it may be admitted to all the honours of the distant age to which it is ascribed. The rock and the mountain originated with the world, and will endure to the end of time. At least, it is proper that what is said of the tomb of Aaron, should find its place in a work like the present.

Our travellers left Petra, and taking a south-westerly direction, arrived at the foot of Mount Hor, by three o'clock in the afternoon. They climbed the rugged ascent, and found "a crippled Arab hermit, about eighty years of age, the one half of which time he had spent on the top of the mountain, living on the donations of the few Mohammedan pilgrims who resort thither, and the charity of the native shepherds, who supply him with water and milk. He conducted us into the small white building, crowned by a cupola, that contains the tomb of Aaron. The monument is of stone, about three feet high, and the venerable Arab, having lighted a lamp, led us down some steps to a chamber below, hewn out of the rock, but containing nothing extraordinary. Against the walls of the upper apartment, where stood the tomb, were suspended beads, bits of cloth and leather, votive offerings left by the devotees; on one side, let into the wall, we were shown a dark looking stone, that was reputed to possess considerable virtues in the cure of diseases, and to have formerly served as a seat to the prophet."-TAYLOR IN CALMET.

CHAPTER XXI.

Ver. 6. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

The seraph, to a biblical student, is one of the most interesting creatures that has yet fallen under our notice. It bears the name of an order among the hosts of heaven, whom Isaiah beheld in vision, placed above the throne of Jehovah in the temple; the brazen figure of this serpent, is supposed to be a type of our blessed Redeemer, who was for our salvation lifted up upon the cross, as the serpent was elevated in the camp of Israel, for the preservation of that people. It is the only species of serpent which the almighty Creator has provided with wings, by means of which, instead of creeping or leaping, it rises from the ground, and, leaning upon the extremity of its tail, moves with great velocity. It is a native of Egypt, and the deserts of Arabia; and receives its name from the Hebrew verb saraph, which signifies to burn, in allusion to the violent inflammation which its poison produces, or rather its fiery colour, which the brazen serpent was intended to represent. Bochart is of opinion, that the seraph is the same as the hydrus, or, as Cicero calls it, the serpent of the waters. For, in the book of Isaiah, the land of Egypt is called the region from whence come the viper and flying seraph, or burning serpent. Elian says, they come from the deserts of Libya and Arabia, to inhabit the streams of the Nile; and that they have the form of the hydrus.

The existence of winged serpents is attested by many writers of modern times. A kind of snakes were discovered among the Pyrenees, from whose sides proceeded cartilages in the form of wings; and Scaliger mentions a peasant who killed a serpent of the same species which attacked him, and presented it to the king of France. Le Blanc, as quoted by Bochart, says, at the head of the lake Chiamay, are extensive woods and vast marshes, which it is very dangerous to approach, because they are infested by very large serpents, which, raised from the ground on wings resembling those of bats, and leaning on the extremity of their tails, move with great rapidity. They exist, it is reported, about these places in so great numbers, that they have almost laid waste the neighbouring province. And, in the same work, Le Blanc affirms that he has seen some of them of immense size, which, when hungry, rushed impetuously on sheep and other tame animals. But the original term a Moopheph, does not always signify flying with wings; it often expresses vibration, swinging backward and forward, a tremulous motion, a fluttering; and this is precisely the motion of a serpent, when he springs from one tree to another. Niebuhr mentions a sort of serpents at Bassorah, which they call Heie thiare. "They

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commonly keep upon the date trees; and as it would be la. borious for them to come down from a very high tree, in order to ascend another, they twist themselves by the tail to a branch of the former, which making a spring by the motion they give it, throws them to the branches of the second. Hence it is, that the modern Arabs call them flying serpents, Heie thiare. Admiral Anson also speaks of the flying serpents, that he met with at the island of Quibo; but, which were without wings." From this account it may be inferred, that the flying serpent mentioned in the prophet, was of that species of serpents which, from their swift darting motion, the Greeks call Acontias, and the Romans, Jaculus. The seraph is classed by the Hebrews, among those animals which emit an offensive odour; which corresponds with the character given of the hydrus by the poet: graviter spirantibus hydris." This circumstance is confirmed by Elian, who states, that in Corcyra, the hydræ turn upon their pursuers, and exhale from their lungs an air so noisome, that they are compelled to desist from the attack. It is an obvious objection to these arguments, that the hydræ are produced, and reared in marshy places; not in burning and thirsty deserts, where the people of Israel murmured because they could find no water. But, although that people might find no water to drink, it will not follow, that the desert contained no marshy place, or muddy pool, where the hydræ might lurk. Besides, it is well known, that when water fails, these serpents do not perish, but become chersydri, that is, seraphim or burners. Elian says they live a long time in the parched wilderness, and lie in wait for all kinds of animals. These chersydri, it is extremely probable, were the serpents which bit the rebellious Israelites: and in this state they were more terr terrible instruments of divine vengeance; for, exasperated by the want of water, and the intense heat of the season, they injected a deadlier poison, and occasioned to the miserable sufferer more agonizing torments. The time of the year when Jehovah sent these serpents among his people, proves that this is no vain conjecture. According to Nicander, the hydræ become chersydri, and beset the path of the traveller about the dog days. Now, Aaron died on the first day of the fifth month, that is, the month Abib, which corresponds with the nineteenth day of July. The Israelites mourned for him thirty days; immediately after which, they fought a battle with Arad, the Canaanite, and destroyed his country: then recommencing their journey, they murmured for want of water, and the serpents were sent. This, then, must have happened about the end of August; the season when the hydræ become seraphim, and inflict the most cruel wounds. Nor is it a fact, that the frightful solitudes which Israel traversed, were totally destitute of water; for, in their fourth journey they came to the river Arnon; in the fifth, to Beer, a well greatly celebrated in scripture; and soon after the death of Aaron, they arrived at a region watered by numerous streams. In these irriguous places, which were at no great distance from the camp of Israel, the hydræ might be produced, and sent to chastise the rebellious tribes. The words of Moses also seem to countenance the idea, that the hydræ employed on this occasion, were not generated on the spot, but sent from a distance: "And the Lord sent fiery serpents, or seraphim, among the people." From these words it is natural to conclude, that they came from that "land of rivers," through which the congregation had lately passed. Nor will this be reckoned too long a journey, when it is recollected that they travelled from both the Libyan and Arabian deserts, to the streams of the Nile. They inflicted on this memorable occasion, an appropriate chastisement on the perverse tribes. That rebellious people had opened their mouth against the heavens; they had sharpened their tongues like serpents; and the poison of asps was under their lips: therefore they were made to suffer, by the burning poison of a creature which they so nearly resembled. -PAXTON.

Ver. 18. The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah.

Michaelis observes on this passage, that Moses seems to have promised the Israelites that they would discover in this neighbourhood, and that by ordinary human industry

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