Deuteronomy 2

THen we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness, by the way of the Redsea, as the LORD spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir The Mountainous Countrey of S... r or E.... many days Or, Many years, even for 38 years..

And the LORD spake unto me, saying,

Ye have compassed this mountain long enough, turn ye northward Towards the land of the and Canaanites..

And command thou the people, saying, ye are to pass through the coast Or, by, or near the coast or border: for they did not pass through their borders, as it is said, Numb. 20. 21. And the particle Beth does oft signifie by or n... ar, as Gen. 37. 13. Io.... 5. 13. Iudg. 8. 5. Ier. 32. 7. Thus that difference may be reconciled, which others reconcile thus, that they at first denyed it, but afterwards granted it. of your brethren, the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir These words restrain the prohibition to these particular Children of Esau for there were another sort or branch of Esau's Children, which were to be medled with and destroyed, even the, Exod. 17. 14.. 25. 17. who were Esaus posterity, Gen. 36. 12., and they shall be afraid of you But, I charge you take no advantage of their fears, which you will be very apt to do.: take ye good heed unto your selves therefore.

Meddle not with them To wit, in battel at this time., for I will not give you of their land, no not so much as a footbreadth, because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.

Ye shall buy meat of them For though the Manna did yet rain upon them, they were not forbidden to buy o... ner meats when they had opportunity, but only were forbidden greedily to hunger after them when they could not obtain them. for money, that ye may eat, and ye shall also buy water of them For water in those parts was scarce, and therefore private persons did severally dig pits for their particular use. See Gen. 26. 18. Numb. 21. 18. for money, that ye may drink.

For the LORD thy God has blessed thee By Gods blessing thou art able to buy thy conveniencies, and therefore thy theft and rapine will be inexcusable, because without any pretence of necessity. in all the works of thy hand; he knoweth Heb. He has known, i. e observed, or regarded with care and kindness which that word oft notes, as Psal. 1..... and 31. 7. Which experience of God's singular goodness to thee, should make thee trust him still, and not use any undirect and unjust practices to procure what thou wantest or desirest. thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God has been with thee, thou hast lacked nothing.

And when we passed by from our brethren, the children of Esau which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Ezion-Gaber Of which see Numb. 33. 35. which may be either that place upon the Red-sea, 1 King. 9. 26. or another of the same name., we turned To wit, from our direct road which lay through Edoms land. and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battel: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar The chief City of the Moabites, Numb. 21. 15, 28. here put for the whole Country which depended upon it. unto the children of Lot So called to signifie that this preservation, was not for their sakes, for they were a wicked people, but for Lets sake whose memory God yet honours. for a possession.

(The Emims Men terrible for stature and strength, as their very name imports. See Gen. 14. 5. whose expulsion by the is here noted as a great incouragement to the, for whose sake he dri... e out the wicked and accuried Ca.... dwelt therein in times past, a people great and many, and tall as the Anakims:

Which also were accounted giants; as the Anakims: but the Moabites call them Enims.

The Horims Of whom see Gen. 14. 6. and 36. 2.... also dwelt in Seir beforetime, but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead, as Israel did unto the land of his possession which the LORD gave unto them Obj. God had not yet given it unto them. Answ. 1. The past tense is here put for the future, will gi..., after the manner of the Prophets. 2. Things are oft said to be done when they are only resolved or decreed, or attempted to be done, in which sense Reuben is said to Joseph, Gen. 37. 21. Balak to fight against Israel, Ios. 24. 9. Abraham to have offered his son, Heb. 11. 17. 3. God may well be said to have given it, not only because he had purposed and promised to give it, but also because he was now about to give it, and had already given them some part of it, and that as an earnest of the whole. 4. This may be particularly understood of that part of possession which was beyond, which God had actually given to them, that is, to some of them for even the land of on this side Iordan was not given to all of them, but only to some of the tribes..

Now rise up, said I, and get ye over the brook Zered: and we went over the brook Zered.

And the space in which we came from Kadesh-Barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years, until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them.

For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.

So it came to pass when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people.

That the LORD spake unto me, saying,

Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab Or, to pass by the border of Moab, by Ar., this day.

And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession, because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.

(That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt thereinin old time, and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; Which signifies men m... st wicked and abominable, or most presumptuous, or m... st crafty.

A people great, and many, and tall as the Anakims: but the LORD destroyed them before them Who therefore will certainly do as much for his own people., and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:

As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them, and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead, even unto this day.

And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims A people akin to the, Gen. 10. 14. and confederate with them in this enterprize, and so dwelling together and by degrees were probably uni...... ether by Marriages or otherwayes and... came one people. the Ca... torims being at last swallowed up in the. See I... r. 47. 4. Amos 9. 7., which came forth out of Caphtor Which is by the Learned thought to be Cappadocia. Whither these people might make an expedition out of Egypt either because of the report of the great Riches of part of that Countrey, which drew others thither from places equally remote, or after the manner of those antient times or for some other reason now unknown., destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)

Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thy hand Sihon the Amorite, King of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battel.

This day will I begin to put the dread of thee, and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven Which is a Syneedoche and an Hyperbole but is explained by the following words which restrain the sentence to those nations that heard of them., who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth So called from a city of that name, Ios. 13. 18. and called Iesimon, Numo. 21. 20., unto Sihon King of Heshbon, with words of peace With offers of peace, which they refusing, their destruction was highly just and reasonable., saying,

Let me pass through thy land; I will go along by the high way In my direct road to Canaan, from which I will not turn aside into thy Fields, or Vineyards, or Houses., I will neither turn unto the right hand, nor to the left.

Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet Or, with my Foot-, or with which are: o... foot: which is added significantly, because if their Army had consisted as much of Horsemen as many other Armies did, their passage through his land might have been more mischievous and dangerous: but they were generally on foot.:

(As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me Obj. The King of Ed..., i. e. of the children of Esau, did not grant them passage, Numb. 20. Answ. They did permit them to pass quietly by the borders, though not through the heart of their Land, and in their passage the people sold them meat and drink, being it seems more kind to them than their King would have had them; and therefore they here ascribe this favour not to the King, though they are now treating with a King, but to the people, the children of Esau.) until I shall pass over Jordan, into the land which the LORD our God giveth us.

But Sihon King of Heshbon would not let us pass by him i. e. By his Borders.: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate Unmovable and inexorable to our desires., that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.

And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee, begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.

Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.

And the LORD our God delivered him before us, and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed By Gods command, these being a part of those people who were devoted by the Lord of Life and Death, to utter destruction for their abominable wickedness. See Deut. 7. 2. and 20. 16. the men, and the women, and the little ones of every city, we left none to remain.

Only the cattel we took for a prey unto our selves, and the spoyl of the cities which we took:

From Aroer Which was in the border of Moab, but now in the hands of the Amorites., which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river Heb. In the river, wherewith it was encompassed, Numb. 21 15, 28. Ios. 12. 2. and 13. 9. He speaks exclusively for this was Ar, which now was in the Moabites Jurisdiction, above v. 9., even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us.

Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok i. e. Beyond Ia... ok: for that was the border of the Ammonites, Ios. 12. 2. Obj. Half the land of the Ammonites is said to be given to the tribe of Gad, Ios. 13. 27. Answ. This is true of that half of it which the Amorites had taken from them, but not of the other half which yet was in the possession of the Ammonites., nor unto the cities in the mountains The mountainous Country of the Ammonites., nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us Heb. commanded us: commanding is put for forbidding, here, as Gen. 2. 16. and 3. 11. Levit. 4. 2. Deut. 4. 23. The words may be thus rendred, Concerning which the Lord gave us command or charge, to wit, that we should not meddle with them, as was said before. So it is only an ellipsis of the preposition, which is very frequent..