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The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 36:11
Mahlah, &c. It is a curious instance of the inartificial character of the sacred records that these five names, which have not the least interest in themselves, are repeated thrice in this Book, and once in Joshua (Josh…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 36:13
The commandments, הַמִּצוֹת. This is one of the words which recur so continually in Deuteronomy and in Psalms 119:1-176. It is found four times in Psalms 15:1-5, and in a few other passages of the earlier books, includi…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:1-5
In these verses we have the inscription and general introduction to the book, announcing the contents of the book, the author of it, the parties whom he addressed, and the time and place of his addresses.
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:1
These be the words. Some would render here "Such are the words," and understand the expression as referring to the preceding books. But it seems more natural to refer it to what follows—to the addresses in this book. Th…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:1-18
The impartiality of God to be reflected in the judges of his people. In the following Homilies we adhere to the traditional view of the Mosaic authorship of the book, believing that no sufficient evidence has yet been a…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:1-18
TITLE AND INTRODUCTION, Deuteronomy 1:1-5. EXPOSITION
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:1-5
The Word of God full of hidden treasure. We cannot get very far in these preliminary verses ere we are struck with a phrase which is a most suggestive one, and should not be lightly passed over, viz. "On this side Jorda…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:1-8
together with Exodus 23:20-33. The Hebrew right to Canaan. Moses is reviewing the career of Israel, and is endeavoring to set before the people the patience and faithfulness of God, as well as their own waywardness. In…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:1-8
Divine covenant and human conduct-the two hemispheres of a complete life. I. AN ELECT MAN, THE BEST OF THE AGE, BECOMES A MEDIUM OF REVELATION BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. As in nature, so in human life, there are numberless gr…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:1-4
The Deuteronomic discourses. I. THE SPEAKER. "Moses." Though an hundred and twenty years old, "his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated" (Deuteronomy 34:7)—a statement borne out by the sustained eloquence of th…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:2
Horeb. The name generally given to Sinai in Deuteronomy (see introduction, § 4). Sinai, however, occurs in Deuteronomy 33:2 of this book. By the way of mount Seir, i.e. by the way that leads to Mount Seir; just as in De…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:2
The might-have-beens of life. In its present setting this brief geographical note was, doubtless, meant to suggest the lesson of the evil results of disobedience. "Eleven days' journey," yet the fortieth year still saw…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:5
The locality is again described as beyond Jordan (see on Deuteronomy 1:1), and in the land of Moab. This designates the region elsewhere called Arboth Moab—the Plains of Moab (Numbers 22:1; Deuteronomy 34:1, etc.), the…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:6-8
The Lord's command to depart from Horeb, and his promise to the people.
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:6
With this verse begins Moses' first address to the people, which extends to the end of Deuteronomy 4:1-49. It is of an introductory character, and is occupied chiefly with a retrospective survey of the events that had o…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:6-9
A summons to advance. Moses begins by reminding the Israelites how God had formerly summoned them to march upon Canaan. The summons came to them at Horeb, after a sojourn of eleven months. The verses may be applied to i…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:6-18
Rules to be observed in choosing rulers. This paragraph may with advantage be compared with Exodus 18:1-27; in which there is a fuller account of the circumstances under which the choice of judges and magistrates was pr…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:6
The Lord our God—Jehovah our God. The use of this epithet implies the covenant union of Israel with Jehovah, and presupposes the existence of that covenant which was entered into at Sinai. In Horeb. This was the startin…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:7
Go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all that dwell thereon; literally, its dwellers or inhabitants ( שְׁכֵנָיו). The mountain range of the Amorites, afterwards called the hill country of Judah and Ephraim, was the…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:8
Behold, I have set the land before you: literally, have given the land before you, i.e. have made it over to you, that you may go and take possession of it. The Lord had placed this land in the power of the Israelites,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:9-18
The blessing of good government. I. A WISE MAN DISAVOWS ABSOLUTE MONARCHY. Legislation, the most difficult department of government, had been furnished for Israel by the Supreme Mind of the universe; yet Moses found the…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:9-16
Division of labor. (Cf. Exodus 18:13-27.) An instance of a good idea Reminds us that division of labor is as important in Church work as in the arts. I. THE NEGLECT OF DIVISION OF LABOR LEADS TO SERIOUS EVILS. 1. The wo…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:9
I spake unto you at that time. The somewhat indefinite phrase, "at that time" (comp. Genesis 38:1), does not refer to the time after the people departed from Horeb, but to the time generally when they were in that regio…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 1:9-18
Moses reminds them that he had done all that was required on his part to conduct the people to the enjoyment of what God had freely given to them. The people had so increased in number that Moses found himself unable to…