certain tradition, on the circumstance, that God spoke to Aaron already in Egypt before the return of Moses (ver. 27). And equally in the sphere of a free application lies the other supposition of Rashi and Ebn Ezra (which is adopted and more copiously developed by Abarbanel): "Send to Pharaoh him whom Thou wilt ultimately send to conquer and possess the land of promise"; for Moses inferred from the words of God (iii, 10), which do not include any promise to enter Canaan, that he was only destined to break the contumacy of Pharaoh, and to lead the Israelites from Egypt. "Besides, Moses felt that Aaron, who was superior to himself in age and eloquence, had a higher claim to the honour of this divine charge, and that the heart of his brother would be estranged from him if he accepted the commission" (Ebn Ezra). Not less objectionable are the two other explanations offered by Abarbanel, which distort still more our simple and clear text. The modern translations express the sense correctly, although some of them are not free from inaccuracy in the rendering of the words.

14. And the anger of the Lord glowed against Moses, in consequence of his obstinate hesitation in accepting the glorious charge, which God intended to entrust to him. Maimonides (Moreh Neb. i. 36) observes, that the terms of wrath or anger in connection with God, are in the Scriptures exclusively used with reference to idolatry, and Moses, by evading the command of God, abetted the idolatry of the Israelites in Egypt, from which his mission was intended to free them (see our notes on xx. 4-6).—The Levite. This word is neither used here in anticipation of the future offices of

the descendants of Aaron, nor is it used to distinguish the brother of Moses from others also bearing the name Aaron; nor does it show, that it was originally intended by God to endow Aaron only with the functions of a Levite, and Moses with those of the High Priest, but that the latter forfeited this distinction by his blamable reluctance in executing the command of God; nor does it intimate that Aaron had gained great reputation in Egypt under the name of the Levite; all which opinions have been advanced by different ancient and modern commentators; but it indicates merely the tribe, to which Aaron belonged in common with Moses, and is simply descriptive, like the preceding word, thy brother, A similar minute accuracy in designating a well-known individual is, for instance, found in Gen. xxii. 1: "Take thy son, thy only one, whom thou lovest, Isaac."And he will be glad in his heart, that is, he will be heartily glad; he will rejoice with all his heart. The Septuag. takes heart here as a mere pronoun, and renders iv avry. The fear, which might have arisen in the mind of Moses that Aaron, more fit for the honorable commission, both by his age and his distinguished fecundity, would look with envy and jealousy at the partiality displayed towards himself, this apprehension was at once dissipated by the assurance of God, which shows the modesty and moral rectitude of Aaron; "and, as a reward for these rare virtues of the heart, Aaron obtained the dignity of High Priest, and the ornament of the breastplate, which is borne on the heart" (Rashi, Abarbanel).

15. The sense of the words, and put the words into his mouth, are more dis

tinctly explained in the next verse.— -And I shall be with thy mouth. Nachmanides makes the following sagacious, but artificial combination: "God promised Moses to direct his words before Pharaoh, as He undertook to assist Aaron in his addresses to the people (see ver. 16); but when Moses, at the close of his interlocution with God, still exclaimed: 'Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken to my words'? God confided the harangues before Pharaoh also to Aaron" (vii. 1). But in fact, no distinction is made in the sacred text between the appearance of Moses before Pharaoh and before the people (see iii. 10, 11). And I shall be with his mouth, that the words which he-inspired by thee-will pronounce, may win the ears of his hearers, enter into their hearts, and carry conviction to their minds.

16. He shall indeed be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. Onkelos already, whom Rashi and Rashbam follow, expresses the sense of these words almost correctly: "He shall be to thee as an interpreter or agent, and thou shalt be to him as a teacher or master." Targum Jonathan offers the same version, but with the addition: 66 seeking information from the Lord." The translations of the Septuagint and of the Vulgate are indistinct, concealing rather than disclosing the sense. However, the general meaning is unmistakeable: Aaron shall adorn with elegance and eloquence of expression the ideas which Moses, inspired by God, will request him to represent to the people and to Pharaoh. See especially vii. 1, et seq. And in this sense says Ebn Ezra: It was no derogation for Moses to be sent to Pharaoh accompanied by Aaron; on the contrary,

a distinction; for Aaron resembled only the mouth, which expresses the reflections of the soul, which is invisible, like the incorporeal angels; thus Moses stood to Aaron in the category of an angel; and this is the meaning of the words: "thou shalt be to him as a God." Abarbanel is on this point also the most explicit and clear: "God said to Moses: The divine inspiration will descend upon thee without any medium or mediator, and thou shalt transfer it upon Aaron; the whole honour of the mission will therefore be thy own; and Aaron will only be like thy interpreter; compared with him, thou wilt be like a God; and he will be at thy side like a prophet, who pronounces that which God commands him.""

17. And this staff, to which the Sept. freely adds: "which had been converted into a serpent," wherewith thou shalt do the signs, viz., which I shall command thee to do. As Moses had hitherto performed but one miracle with the staff, Nachmanides observes: "That when God spoke to Moses (iii. 20) of all the wonders which He would do in Egypt, He communicated them to him individually, and that He thus could here allude to the signs which Moses would do with the staff. They were to convert it into a serpent before the Israelites and before Pharaoh, to smite with it the Nile, to call forth the frogs, to bring over the land the gnats, to make the hail descend, to cover the country with the locusts, and to produce darkness." From a similar reason, no doubt, the English Version does not translate the definite article in the Hebrew words" wherewith thou shalt do signs." But the ellipsis above stated, is simple and natural; and the text stands neither in need of an alteration, nor of

artificial explanations. Abarbanel finds in the staff of Moses, which God here expressly and distinctly commands him always to bear in his hand, six different symbols, very happily substantiating them with Scriptural sentences. It represents: 1. The support of, and confidence in God; 2. The rule and sovereignty of Moses; 3. The humiliation and thraldom of the Israelites; 4. The gathering of the scattered members of the nation like a shepherd gathers his flock; 5. The chastisement to be inflicted upon the refractory and disobedient king; and 6. Justice and equity in all judicial decisions.

18. And said, Let me return to my brethren, that is, my family; as he could not suppose, that all the Israelites had died out during his sojourn in Midian. Moses did not communicate to Jethro the real purport and aim of his departure; for if he was afraid that even his own coreligionists would not easily believe him and trust in his mission, how much less could he expect to escape the reproach of a deceived enthusiast, from one who was no direct descendant of their patriarchs, and had no knowledge of the revelations which they had received, and of the promises which they cherished as a dear and sacred pledge. Abarbanel sees in the concluding words, go in peace, more than a simple expression of farewell wishes; namely, a warning to take care, lest similar accidents befall him now in Egypt, as those with which he usually met when he went out to see his brethren (see ii. 11); and therefore God assured him, as the following verse relates, that all his enemies were dead.

19. And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, etc. As the communication here made

to Moses is so important for his return to Egypt, that it might be considered as the first condition, ancient commentators believe that God must have made it to him already long since, recurring here to the often applied principle: "the chronological order of events is not strictly adhered to in the holy writ," and translating: "God had already said to Moses." But we have nowhere seen that the consideration of personal danger had any influence upon the resolutions of Moses, either in his past or future conduct, or in the present communion with God (see our note on iii. 11). From the same reason the opinion of others must be rejected, who believe that Moses, even after having taken leave from bis fatherin-law, hesitated anew, pretending that he was afraid of the persecutions of his enemies in Egypt: on which point, therefore, God found it necessary to calm and to satisfy him. Such idea is not in the remotest sense hinted at in our text.For all the men are dead who sought thy life, namely, the relatives of the Egyptian whom he killed, who had persecuted him for this deed. According to the Egyptian law, exiles were allowed to return to their homes at the death of the Pharaoh under whom they had been expelled. It has been observed above (on ii. 13), that tradition names Dathan and Abiram as "the two Hebrews contending together," and that these were naturally also inimical to Moses, whom they reproached with an arrogant assumption of authority; the same tradition must, therefore, include them here also among the deceased enemies of Moses; but as we find them living long after this period, recourse has been taken to the very questionable device, that they were im

poverished, "and that a poor man is like to a dead one." It is sufficient to have mentioned this opinion.

20. And Moses took his wife and his sons. In ii. 22, we read only of the birth of one son of Moses and Zipporah, namely Gershom; and several interpreters have, therefore, considered the plural, his sons, as an inaccuracy of expression as it sometimes occurs, for instance, Num, xxvi. 8: And the sons of Pallu, Eliab (Gen. xxxvii. 35; xlvi. 7, 23). There is, however, no occasion for such conjecture, and nothing prevents us from supposing that the second son of Moses, Eliezer, was born immediately before his departure from Midian, so that he was not yet circumcised (ver. 25). — And he made them ride upon the ass. It is not impossible that Zipporah, with her new born child in her arms, rode together with her son Gershom on the same animal; it is, therefore, unnecessary to take here ass as the name of the species, signifying several asses (as Gen. xxxii. 6, Sept. ¿ñì rà vñošúyia). It is, however, not inadmissible to translate: "he made them ride each upon his ass." Some ancient commentators found it derogatory to the dignity of the Lawgiver, that his wife and children rode on an ass. This animal, however, is of a far superior quality in Arabia and Egypt than in the northern countries. It is livelier, quicker, more stately, courageous and robust. In Persia a good ass is often valued at a hundred pounds sterling. The Arabian ass goes considerably quicker than a camel; for whilst the former makes, in an hour, 31 English miles, the latter goes only 2 miles. It is very susceptible to dampness of the atmosphere; and is in the rainy seasons much

less spirited and quick-footed; and to this circumstance the fact is, perhaps, to be traced, that the Oriental asses are so remarkably superior to those in our countries; and as in Egypt rain belongs to the rare phenomena, the asses there have a peculiar excellence. The ass was, and is still, much valued in the East; and whilst it is in the modern languages used as an insult and a by-word, it is perfectly the contrary in Oriental phraseology (see Gen. xlix. 14; Iliad. xi. 588, et seq.). On account of its safe step, it was, in mountainous regions, the only riding animal in the times before Solomon, even for females and wealthy individuals (1 Kings ii. 40).—And he returned to the land of Egypt, with his wife and children, whom he, however, most probably sent back to Midian after the event related in ver. 24-26, as appears from xviii. 2—6; for, as Ebn Ezra remarks, it would not have been wise for Moses to take his family to Egypt, from whence he intended to lead forth all the Israelites. Abarbanel, however, observes that Moses took his wife and children with him to Egypt, in order to convince the Israelites of his unlimited confidence in the promise and assistance of God; for if he had feared the least danger, he would not have exposed his family to it by bringing them to Egypt. But with this opinion it would be difficult to understand the beginning of the 18th chapter, where the wife and children of Moses are said to have been with Jethro, "after Moses had sent them back."-The staff of God is the staff with which Moses performed the miracles before the Lord (see ver. 17). The Sept. translates inaccurately, "the staff which he had receivd from God” τὴν ῥάβδον Tην πарà тоυ Oɛov (see ver. 2). Our verse

is closely connected with ver. 24, et seq. With great propriety the inspired author introduces, on the momentous point of the departure from Midian, once more a concise summary of the whole end and course of the great mission; and this insertion is therefore so far from interrupting the context that it is a peculiar beauty of composition.

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21. We have translated literally with the Septuagint, "see or consider well all the wonders," etc. The English Version (as also the Vulgate, Luther, and De Wette) render more the sense than the words: see that thou do all those wonders."- Which I shall have put into thy hand. As Moses was not only to perform the three signs above mentioned (ver. 2-9), but also all the wonders not yet communicated to him, it would be improper to translate, as the English Version does: Do before Pharaoh the wonders which I have put into thy hand. are therefore compelled to take the verb here as a futurum exactum, at the time when it will be necessary to perform the wonders before Pharaoh, I shall have put them into thy hand"; or as a simple future: "I shall put them," etc. But I shall harden his heart and he will not let the people go. It is well known, that this and the similar passages, which appear to make God the author and originator of sin and refractoriness, have, from the earliest times, caused violent attacks, which theologians and philosophers have always found necessary to refute ancw. We can hardly agree with those who assert, that Pharaoh forfeited, by the cruelty which he perpetrated against the Hebrews, every claim or right to forgiveness, and that he therefore fell a prey to divine revenge: which opinion certainly disregards the all-merciful Father of mankind, who is " good and just, and shows the right way to the sinner" (Ps. xxv. 9). However, the same idea

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is implied in Whiston's remark (on Josephus, Antiq. VII. ix. 6): This reflection of Josephus, that God brought to nought the dangerous counsel of Ahithophel, and directly infatuated wicked Absalom to reject it (which infatuation is what the Scripture styles the judicial hardening the hearts, and blinding the eyes of men, who by their former voluntary wickedness have justly deserved to be destroyed, and are thereby brought to destruction), is a very just one, and in him not unfrequent.. Nor does Josephus ever puzzle himself, or perplex his readers, with subtile hypotheses as to the manner of such judicial infatuations by God, while the justice of them is generally so obvious." But with such apodictic sentences we gain nothing, and the solution of that highly important and interesting problem, which involves the momentous question about predestination and free will, is thereby in no manner promoted. We pass by such opinions as that of Hales (Chron. II. i. 194), who infers from Matthew xii. 43, that "when God is said to harden Pharaoh's heart, it was in reality hardened by diabolical influence or demoniacal possession"; for such views, far from removing the difficulty, render it still more obscure and intricate, by introducing notions absolutely foreign to the Pentateuch. It is a remarkable circumstance, that the expression, "God hardened Pharaoh's heart" recurs seven times (Exodus iv. 21; vii. 3; ix. 12; x. 1, 20, 27; xi. 10), and that the phrase, "Pharaoh himself hardened his heart," is as often repeated (Exod. vii. 13, 22; viii. 11, 15, 28; ix. 7, 34); further, that the first and last time, when similar expressions are used, God is represented as the source of the obstinacy of Pharaoh, so that the contumacy of the king seems to be only the effect of the intention of God to obdurate his mind. For the explanation of these momentous questions, which belong more to the phi