1._And it came to pass after the plague. _This is the second _census _which we read of having been made by Moses; nevertheless it is easy to perceive, from Exodus 38:0, that it was at least the third; although it is more probable that either yearly, or at stated times, those who had arrived at the a... [ Continue Reading ]
8_And the sons of Pallu; Eliab. _The curtailment which had occurred in the superior line is here introduced, either in exaltation of God’s grace, because, notwithstanding so great a loss, the tribe of Reuben was still numerous; or else to mark the cause of its diminution, for it might otherwise have... [ Continue Reading ]
19._The sons of Judah were Er and Onan. _Since the tribe of Judah was so numerous, Moses magnifies the greatness of God’s grace by this circumstance, that of the three sons which he begat, two perished in the land of Canaan, by whose loss he might have appeared to be condemned to perpetual sterility... [ Continue Reading ]
28._The sons of Joseph after their families. _The comparison of the two tribes, which sprang from the same head, is worthy of notice. By the fact that Manasseh was the father of only one son, (194) the prophecy of Jacob, when he declared that the first-born should be inferior to his younger brother... [ Continue Reading ]
51._These are the numbered of the children of Israel. _By this sum total, what I have above adverted to is more clearly shewn, that amidst so many losses, and especially after the terrible vengeance which God had recently executed, the race of Abraham was preserved in an incredible manner, so that t... [ Continue Reading ]
53._Unto these the land shall be divided. _This must have had great influence towards encouraging believers, when they gave in their names before God, and professed that they were heirs of the land; since it was exactly the same as if they actually had it in their grasp, when God called them to its... [ Continue Reading ]
57._And these are they that were numbered of the Levites. _He treats separately of the tribe of Levi, which God had dissevered from the rest of the people; and of the sons of Levi, the last mentioned is Kohath, the founder of the sacerdotal family. Hence we may probably conjecture that the law of pr... [ Continue Reading ]
60._And unto Aaron was born Nadab. _Since two of Aaron’s four sons were cut off by a sudden death, the dignity of the high-priesthood, which depended on the life of two persons, appeared to be endangered. And with this view Moses repeats the history already given, in order that God’s wonderful provi... [ Continue Reading ]
63._These are they that were numbered. _The former registration was made by Aaron. The difference between the two _census _is therefore specified, in order that Moses may take occasion to commemorate God’s judgment, which can never be sufficiently considered, that of 600,000, only two were found who... [ Continue Reading ]