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Matthew Henry on Numbers 35:1-8
The cities of the priests and Levites were not only to accommodate them, but to place them, as religious teachers, in several parts of the land. For though the typical service of the tabernacle or temple was only in one…
The Cities of the Levites. (b. c. 1452.)
THE CITIES OF THE LEVITES. (B. C. 1452.) The laws about the tithes and offerings had provided very plentifully for the maintenance of the Levites, but it was not to be thought, nor indeed was it for the public good, tha…
Matthew Henry on Numbers 35:9-34
To show plainly the abhorrence of murder, and to provide the more effectually for the punishment of the murderer, the nearest relation of the deceased, under the title of avenger of blood, (or the redeemer of blood,) in…
The Cities of Refuge. (b. c. 1452.)
THE CITIES OF REFUGE. (B. C. 1452.) We have here the orders given concerning the cities of refuge, fitly annexed to what goes before, because they were all Levites' cities. In this part of the constitution there is a gr…
Matthew Henry on Numbers 36:1-4
The heads of the tribe of Manasseh represent the evil which might follow, if the daughters of Zelophehad should marry into any other tribes. They sought to preserve the Divine appointment of inheritances, and that conte…
The Law of Inheritance. (b. c. 1452.)
THE LAW OF INHERITANCE. (B. C. 1452.) We have here the humble address which the heads of the tribe of Manasseh made to Moses and the princes, on occasion of the order lately made concerning the daughters of Zelophehad.…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 36:1
The chief fathers. The same phrase is more correctly translated in Exodus 6:25 "heads of the fathers." It is, however, probable that הָאָבור (fathers) is a contraction for בֵּית־הַאָבוֹת (fathers' houses). The fathers'…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 36:1-13
EXPOSITION THE MARRIAGE OF HEIRESSES (Numbers 36:1-13).
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 36:1-13
THE SURE INHERITANCE The decision here recorded, and expanded into a general law, was wholly intended to preserve to each tribe and each family its own inheritance in the land of promise inviolate and undisturbed. Spiri…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 36:2
My lord. אֲדֹנִי. The singular form is constantly used in Hebrew, as in other languages, together with the plural personal pronoun (see at Genesis 23:6). The deference now paid to Moses (cf. Numbers 32:25, Numbers 32:27…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 36:3
Whereunto they are received. Literally, as in the margin, "unto whom ( לָהֶם referring to the men of the tribe) they shall be."
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 36:4
When the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be. It is remarkable that this is the only reference by name to the Jubilee ( יוֹבֵל, jubeel; not jubilee, which is the vulgar form of the same word derived from the Lati…
Matthew Henry on Numbers 36:5-12
Those who consult the oracles of God, concerning the making of their heavenly inheritance sure, shall not only be directed what to do, but their inquiries shall be graciously accepted. God would not have one tribe enric…
Matthew Henry on Numbers 36:5-13
Here is, I. The matter settled by express order from God between the daughters of Zelophehad and the rest of the tribe of Manasseh. The petition is assented to, and care taken to prevent the inconvenience feared: The tr…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 36:5
The tribe of the sons of Joseph. "The tribe (matteh) of the Beni-Joseph." There were two, or rather in effect three, tribes of the Beni-Joseph; Moses referred, of course, to the one which had come before him.
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 36:6
Only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry. The direction is not altogether plain, since the tribe (matteh) contained several families (mishpachoth), and in this case one or more of the families we…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 36:7
Every one … shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. This was to be the general rule which governed all such questions. Every Israelite had his own share in the inheritance of his tribe, and wi…
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…
Matthew Henry on Numbers 36:13
These are the judgments the Lord commanded in the plains of Moab. Most of them related to the settlement in Canaan, into which the Israelites were now entering. Whatever new condition God, by his providence, brings us i…
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…
Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 1:1-8
Moses spake to the people all the Lord had given him in commandment. Horeb was but eleven days distant from Kadesh-barnea. This was to remind them that their own bad conduct had occasioned their tedious wanderings; that…
Israel's History Repeated. (b. c. 1451.)
ISRAEL'S HISTORY REPEATED. (B. C. 1451.) We have here, I. The date of this sermon which Moses preached to the people of Israel. A great auditory, no question, he had, as many as could crowd within hearing, and particula…
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 1:1-18
TITLE AND INTRODUCTION, Deuteronomy 1:1-5. EXPOSITION