or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel 'abode in their tents, and journeyed not but when it was taken up, they journeyed.

23 At the commandment of the LORD they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed: they kept the charge of the LORD, at the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

CHAPTER X.

1 The use of the silver trumpets. 11 The Israelites remove from Sinai to Paran. 14 The order of their march. 29 Hobab is intreated by Moses not to leave them. 33 The blessing of Moses at the removing and resting of the ark.

AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.

3 And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

4 And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee.

5 When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.

6 When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.

7 But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm.

8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.

9 And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

10 Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD God. your

11 ¶ And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony.

12 And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and

the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.

13 And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

14 In the first place went the standard. of the camp of the children of Judah according to their armies: and over his host was "Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

15 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethaneel the son of Zuar.

16 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon.

17 And the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward, bearing the tabernacle.

18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur.

19 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

20 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

21 And the Kohathites set forward, bearing the 'sanctuary: and the other did set up the tabernacle against they came.

22 T And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud.

23 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

24 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.

25 And the standard of the camp of the children of Dan set forward, which was the rearward of all the camps throughout their hosts: and over his host was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

26 And over the host of the tribe of the 4 That is, the Gershonites and the Merarites. See verse 17.

27 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan.

28 Thus were the journeyings of the children of Israel according to their armies, when they set forward.

29 ¶ And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses' father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel.

:

30 And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred.

31 And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to en

32 And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.

33 T And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days' journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them.

34 And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp.

35 And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, 'Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.

36 And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the 'many thousands of Israel.

7 Heb. ten thousand thousands.

Verse 2. Two trumpets of silver.'—-The number two is mentioned, probably, because there were at this time but two priests to blow trumpets. The number seems to have been enlarged as the priests increased, so that in Solomon's time we read of a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets. Josephus gives a particular description of them. He says they were little less than a cubit and a half long; and were composed of a narrow tube somewhat thicker than a flute, and ending in the form of a bell. He adds that they were like the common trumpets of his time; and, from his description and the concurrent testimony of those represented on the arch of Titus, they seem to have been also not unlike our own common trumpets. Josephus claims for Moses the invention of this form of the trumpet. The occasions on which these sacred trumpets were to be sounded, are particularly specified in the ensuing verses. They were to be blown softly when the congregation was to be assembled; but were sounded with a deeper note as a signal for the camps to move forward, or when employed to animate the army as it went out to battle.

6. When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey,' etc.-The text gives an account of the movement of only two of the grand divisions; but the Septuagint thus gives the account for the two other divisions:- When ye blow a third alarm, the camps which lie on the west side shall march; and when ye blow a fourth alarm, the camps which lie on the north side shall march.' In a note to chap. i. we have called attention to the admirable order and arrangement of the Hebrew camp; and the order observed in the march of this vast host deserves no less attention, and is not exceeded by any of those practices of the Greeks and Romans, in their military tactics, which have obtained a much larger measure of admiration. They marched by sound of trumpet, always in the same order, and quartered themselves always in the same situation about the tabernacle, which was in the centre of the camp. Every division was placed under the command of its own prince, and followed its own standard. We observe that, in the first place, the eastern grand division commenced its march, consisting of the tribe of Judah, followed by those of Issachar and Zebulun. Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and Merarites set forward with it. The southern grand division then commenced its march, consisting of Reuben, followed by Simeon and Gad; after whom, the Kohathites set forward with the sanctuary and sacred utensils-thus occupying the very centre of the line

of march; and on their arrival at the new camp they found that the tabernacle was set up and properly prepared to receive the precious charge entrusted to them. After them, the western division began its march, composed of Ephraim, followed by Manasseh and Benjamin, under their respective chiefs; and lastly the northern division moved from the ground, Dan, being followed by Asher and Naphtali, bringing up the rear of the whole host. Nothing could be better contrived than this order of march, regulated by sound of trumpet, to prevent confusion and facilitate the movements of so vast a body. There is nothing in the world resembling this march of the Israelites so much as that of the pilgrim caravans which at this day annually traverse nearly the same region in their way to Mecca, the holy city of the Mohammedans. We may quote the description given by Pitts as the best that has fallen under our notice. It describes the return from Mecca to Cairo:-The first day we set out from Mecca it was without any order at all, all hurly-burly; but the next day every one laboured to get forward, and in order to do it there was many times much quarrelling and fighting. But after every one had taken his place in the caravan, they orderly and peaceably kept the same pace till they came to Grand Cairo. They travel four camels in a breast, which are all tied one after another, like as in teams. The whole body is called a caravan, which is divided into several cottors or companies, each of which has its name, and consists, it may be, of several thousand camels; and they move, one cottor after another, like distinct troops. At the head of each cottor is some great gentleman or officer, who is carried in a thing like a horse-litter, borne by two camels, one before and the other behind....At the head of every cottor there goes likewise a sumpter camel, which carries his treasure, etc. This camel hath two bells, about the bigness of our market-bells, hanging one on each side, the sound of which may be heard a great way off. Some other of the camels have bells round about their necks, some about their necks like those which our carriers put about their fore horse's neck; which, together with the servants (who belong to the camels, and travel on foot) singing all night, make a pleasant noise, and the journey passes away delightfully. They say this music makes the camels brisk and lively. Thus they travel in good order, every day, till they come to Grand Cairo: and were it not for this order, you may guess what confusion would be among such a vast multitude. They have lights by night (which is the chief time of travelling, because of the ex

standard, and having portable fires to light them and serve

ceeding heat of the sun), which are carried on the top of high poles to direct the hagges (pilgrims) on their march. (See the note on John xviii. 3.) They are somewhat like iron stoves, into which they put short dry wood, which some of the camels were loaded with; it is carried in great sacks, which have a hole near the bottom, where the servants take it out as they see the fire needs a recruit. Every cottor has one of these poles belonging to it, some of which have ten, some twelve of these lights on their tops, or more or less; they are likewise different in figures as well as in numbers: one perhaps oval way, like a gate; another, triangular, or like N or M, &c.; so that every one knows by them his respective cottor. They are carried in the front, and set up in the place where the caravan is to pitch, before that comes up, at some distance from one another. They are also carried by day, not lighted; but yet, by the figure and number of them, the hagges are directed to what cottor they belong; as soldiers are, by their colours, where to rendezvous; and without such directions it would be impossible to avoid confusion in such a vast number of people.' Here we have a vast body of pilgrims divided into parties, each headed by its leader, and under its own

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as banners by night. The Hebrews in their journeyings agreed in all this, except that when they travelled by night they had no need of the portable beacons, the pillar of fire furnishing a sufficient light to them. Overlooking this fact, Harmer conjectures that the standards' of the tribes were of the same description as the stoves for holding fires described by Pitts. Pitts' own account omits one circumstance which suggests another analogy. The Mohammedan hadj caravan has an object to which general attention is directed, and which is regarded with peculiar reverence, answering, in a humble degree, to the ark in the Hebrew host. Each of the great caravans from Damascus and from Cairo has its holy camel, carrying on its back the mahmil, with presents for the Kaaba at Mecca, and which also serves as a sign or banner to the caravan. The mahmil of Damascus is described by Maundrell as 'A large pavilion of black silk, pitched upon the back of a very great camel, and spreading its curtains all round about the beast down to the ground. This camel wants not also his ornaments of large ropes of beads, fish-shells, fox-tails, and other such fantastic finery, hanged upon his head, neck, and legs. All this is designed for the Koran, which thus rides in state both to and from Mecca.' He then adds the usual story about the new carpet sent thus by the Sultan every year to cover the Prophet's tomb, the old one being brought back and treated as a most venerable relic. But this is known to be incorrect, as the mahmil contains nothing but two copies of the Koran, one on a scroll, and the other in the usual form of a little book, and each enclosed in a case of gilt silver, attached externally at the top. The mahmil is borne on a fine tall camel, which is generally indulged with exemption from every kind of labour during the remainder of its life. It is, in its true signification, an emblem of royalty; giving to the camp and procession the idea of the presence of the sovereign, and forming a central object of reverence and attention to both. In all these respects it offers some analogy to the ark in the great pilgrim march of the Hebrew host. There is no fixed pattern for the mahmil, and the form described by Maundrell, with long curtains to the ground, has given place to that represented in the opposite engraving.

31. We are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes.'-In answer to those who assign a mythical character to this book, attention has been directed to such passages as this, where Moses requests Hobab to aid the march of the Israelites through the wilderness by his knowledge of the country. Such passages must have been written by a conscientious reporter, whose

3 And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.

4 And the mixt multitude that was among them 'fell a lusting: and the children shall give us flesh to eat? of Israel also "wept again, and said, "Who

5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:

nothing at all, beside this manna, before our 6 But now our soul is dried away: there is

eyes.

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and the "colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.

8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.

9 And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.

10 Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased.

11 And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?

12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?

13 Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.

14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.

15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.

16 And the LORD said unto Moses, ¶ Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.

17 And I will come down and talk with thee there and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.

18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.

19 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;

you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?

21 ¶ And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month.

22 Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?

23 And the LORD said unto Moses, "Is the LORD's hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee

or not.

26 But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.

27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.

28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.

29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!

30 And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

15

31 ¶ And there went forth a "wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.

32 And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread

11 Heb. eye of it as the eye of.

14 Exod. 16. 13. Psal. 78. 25.