to the commonwealth, and, in general, not of perpetual endurance. It was to a people who made vows of this sort that Moses gave his laws.' The Rabbins very properly observe, that no vow could be admitted as coming within the scope of these laws, if it bound the person to do a forbidden thing, or to anything contrary to the honour and known will of God. Such vows were in themselves void. According to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.'This phrase frequently occurs in connection with vows; and it would seem from hence, that to render a vow binding it was necessary that it should be actually uttered -not merely made in the heart. Such a mental act would appear to have been regarded rather as a resolution to vow than as a vow itself. This limitation is of more importance than would at first sight appear, and was probably intended to prevent the anxiety which conscientious persons might sometimes be led to entertain on account of the difficulty which might occur of dis

tinguishing between a bare intention and a vow actually completed.

3. In her youth.'-The Rabbins say that this means till she was twelve years of age. We should rather think that there was no distinct reference to age; for as we find the husband possessing a power of nullifying his wife's vows, without any restriction as to her age, it is but reasonable to conclude that the father possessed the same power till she was married. And this seems the more probable, when we consider that among the Hebrews, as at present in most nations of the East, it was a very rare circumstance for a female to remain unmarried beyond girlhood, and that she was often betrothed long before the actual marriage took place. The same authorities inform us that when a girl was betrothed, the concurrence of her father and betrothed husband was requisite to nullify her vow. We see from v. 9, that a woman seems never to have been independent in this matter, or perhaps in any other, until she either became a widow or a divorced wife.

5 So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

6 And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand.

7 And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.

8 And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, 'Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

9 And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.

10 And they burnt all their cities wherein.

1 Chap. 23. 17. * Chap. 25. 2.

VOL. I.

they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.

11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.

12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.

13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.

14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the 'battle.

15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?

16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the 'counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.

17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with 'him.

18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

19 And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.

20 And purify all your raiment, and all "that is made of skins, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood.

21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is

4 Josh 13. 21. 5 Heb. host of war. 11 Heh, instrument, or, vessel of skins. 449

the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;

22 Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

23 Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.

24 And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.

25 T And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

26 Take the sum of the prey 19that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation:

27 And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:

28 And levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:

29 Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the LORD.

38 And the beeves were thirty and six thousand of which the LORD's tribute was threescore and twelve.

39 And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD's tribute was threescore and one.

40 And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD's tribute was thirty and two persons.

41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD's heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.

42 And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that warred,

43 (Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,

44 And thirty and six thousand beeves, 45 And thirty thousand asses and five hundred,

46 And sixteen thousand persons ;)

47 Even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.

unto Moses :

13

31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.

32 And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,

33 And threescore and twelve thousand beeves,

34 And threescore and one thousand thousand asses,

35 And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.

36 And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep:

37 And the LORD's tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen. 12 Heb. of the captivity.

49 And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our "charge, and there lacketh not

one man of us.

50 We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath "gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD.

took

51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest the gold of them, even all wrought jewels. 52 And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.

53 (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)

54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD. 16 Heb. heave offering.

6

Verse 2. 'The Midianites.'-See the note on Exod. ii. 15. Whatever opinion be entertained concerning the origin of the Midianites on the Red Sea, among whom Moses found a refuge from the wrath of Pharaoh, there is no question that those who now engage our attention were the descendants of Midian, the son of Abraham by Keturah, who, together with his brethren, were sent away by the patriarch, during his lifetime, eastward into the east country; that is, into the country eastward from that part of Canaan in which Abraham then was. This was at Beersheba, in the south of Canaan; and now accordingly we find the Midianites settled in, or at least occupying the region where, after this indication, we should expect to find them, namely, to the east and south-east of the Moabites, who dwelt on the eastern coast of the Dead Sea. Or rather perhaps we should say, that, as they appear to have been to a considerable extent a nomade people themselves, they pastured their flocks in the unsettled country beyond the Moabites, with whom, as a kindred though a more settled people, they appear to have been on the most friendly terms; and on whose borders were situated those 'cities and goodly castles' which they possessed. It will contribute to the better understanding of the subsequent history of this people, as connected with that of the Israelites, to keep in mind this often-forgotten fact, that the Midianites were, to a considerable extent, a nomade tribe, extending their wanderings much beyond any limits which could be assigned to them as a territorial possession. This people were induced, by the wicked advice of Balaamand with an express and diabolical intention of depriving them of Jehovah's protection-to attempt to seduce the Hebrews to idolatry and idolatrous whoredom. To their success in this endeavour, the 24,000 lives which were lost in the matter of Baal-peor, bore awful testimony. Were the people of Israel to be thus punished, and should the primary instigators of the idolatry and rebellion escape? Such was not the Divine will; and now we find the Israelites ordered to execute the Lord's vengeance upon Midian. No one can doubt that, in this case, the Hebrews were the executioners of a judicial sentence; and it is well to remember this, that we may, from this affair, be led to draw no inference as to the conduct and results of a war in ordinary circumstances. The sequel exhibits the result. It appears, however, that only the Midianites who were in the neighbourhood of the Hebrew camp, and who were the actual criminals, were involved in the recorded destruction, great as it was; and this is one proof, among many, of the extended habitat and partially nomade character of this people. Accordingly, at no great distance of time afterwards, we find them so powerful as to render the Israelites their tributaries, and to oppress them greatly for seven years, obliging them to seek refuge in dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.' (Judg. vi. 2.) From this oppression the Hebrews were delivered by Gideon, who, with a very inferior force, almost annihilated the Midianites, so that from that time they appear to have lost their distinct national existence, and became mixed with the kindred nations, the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, and Arabians.

3.Arm yourselves.-The readiness here exemplified by Moses in having the command of God executed, well deserves particular notice, seeing that, according to the preceding verse, he was not to die till after this was done. This consideration seems to have quickened rather than retarded his proceedings.

6. The holy instruments and the trumpets.'-What these 'holy instruments' were, as distinct from the trumpets, is not very evident; and the Hebrew, as well as the Christian commentators, are much divided on the subject. Some think that the Urim and Thummim are intended, whereby the Lord might be consulted about any difficulty that might arise in the management of the war; others think it was the ark, which we in future times find, on some occasions, accompanying the army (Josh. vi. 4, 6, 7; 1 Sam. iv. 4, 5; xiv. 18; 2 Sam. xi. 1). There are serious objections to both of these opinions; and it seems more probable that we should regard the vau prefixed to the word 'trum

pets' not as copulative (and), but as explanative (even), and then read, the holy instruments, even the trumpets.' It will be recollected that the silver trumpets were to accompany the army, in charge of the priests, who were to sound the war alarm with them.

8. Balaam also......they slew with the sword.'-It is said, in ch. xxiv. 25, that Balaam went and returned to his own country, that is, Mesopotamia. It seems more probable that he stopped among the Midianites, after having set out with an intention to return home, than that he had already come back from so considerable a distance as Mesopotamia. However, if he did go home, there was certainly sufficient inducement for him to come back after he had learned the success of the villanous advice he had given to the Midianites on his way. This is the opinion of the Hebrew writers, who say, that when he heard that the Israelites had fallen into the snare which he had laid for them, he made no doubt that they would then be easily defeated, and hastened to obtain a share in the spoil. But others only say, that, on hearing of the plague which had swept away so many thousand Hebrews, he delayed not to return and claim the due wages of his iniquity from the princes of Midian. His iniquity found other wages.

'Sword.'-The history of warlike weapons forms a curious and instructive chapter in the history of man. Swords of metal could by no means be the earliest, or one of the earliest, of those weapons which in process of time men devised for the purpose of defending themselves or of offending others. Such an instrument as a sword cannot well be of anything but metal; and therefore a considerable advance in civilization, indicated by the existence of the art of working metals, must have been made before the sword was invented. Hence it is that swords and sabres have never been known to any but civilized or semi-civilized nations; nothing of the kind being ever found among savages. Yet we see this weapon in the most remote ages known in Asia. It is in fact the most early weapon mentioned in Scripture. It was with the sword that Simeon and Levi did such terrible execution at Shechem; and the patriarch Jacob mentions the sword and the bow, as the weapons with which he had defeated the Amorites (Gen. xlviii. 22). There is no doubt that the swords of the most ancient times were of brass, or rather copper. To speak of a copper sword may seem strange; but it is certain that copper was wrought long before iron, and applied to every domestic, operative, and warlike purpose for which metal was required. That this was the case in the time of Homer, we see from his poems, where we observe brass applied to almost every use. The Iliad, from its great antiquity, and from its frequent descriptions of arms and armour, is our most valuable guide in this class of subjects. We there find that there is no sort of weapon which is not in some instances, if not always, made of brass; and indeed where the material of a metallic weapon is mentioned at all, we usually find it to be brass. As to swords, their material is not generally mentioned; but the famous sword of Achilles himself was of brass, whence we may conclude that they were generally of that metal. Swords were also at that early time highly enriched, as we see by the description of Agamemnon's :-

'He slung his sword

Athwart his shoulders; dazzling bright it shone
With gold emboss'd, and silver was the sheath,
Suspended graceful in a belt of gold.'-COWPER.

The swords of the Greeks and Romans continued in times long subsequent to be of copper. Specimens also of swords of this metal, supposed to have belonged to the Phoenicians, and their descendants the Carthaginians, have been dug up in various countries. Some found in Ireland, Cornwall, and elsewhere, in countries known to that people, have been found to coincide with others dug up at Cannæ, where the Romans sustained their great overthrow, and which seem to have belonged to their conquerors. Such weapons must be of peculiar interest in our inquiry, as they may thus, with great probability, be traced to the near neighbours of the Israelites in Canaan, whence we

a

b

b

a

may be allowed to suppose that theirs, after their settlement in that country, were of similar form and material. There are specimens of them in Sir William Hamilton's collection in the British Museum. In their general form they resemble the Roman swords in the centre of the group represented in the preceding woodcut; but are not generally so broad in proportion to their length, and are without the cross bar as a guard. They are straight and tapering, with two edges and a sharp point, adapted either for cutting or thrusting; and their breadth somewhat contracts towards the haft, as in the second figure from the right hand in the above cut. These sorts of weapons vary in length, from a dagger of two spans, to a sword of two fect three inches; the last being the size of the largest of those found in Ireland, and described by Governor Pownall in the Archæologia, vol. iii. The general resemblance of these swords to those in most common use among the Romans is accounted for by the fact that they borrowed the shape of the blade from Spain, which country had immemorially been the seat of commercial colonies of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, and a considerable part of which the latter people ultimately held in military possession. As copper is a soft metal, and easily blunted, it may be asked how it could be adapted to form cutting instruments? Some means must certainly have been resorted to for the purpose of hardening it. Tempering seems to have been the means inost commonly used. The ancient writers themselves say this; and the observations which have been made on Greek and Roman antiquities seem to confirm this account. The Irish weapons were assayed by Mr. Alchorn, who says, the metal appears to me to be chiefly copper, interspersed with particles of iron, and perhaps some zinc, but without containing either gold or silver: it seems probable that the metal was cast in its present state, and afterwards reduced to its proper figure by filing. The iron might either be obtained with the copper from the ore, or added afterwards in the fusion, to give the necessary rigidity of a weapon. But I confess myself unable to determine anything with certainty. (Archæologia, iii. 355.)

Governor Pownall, in the same paper, says of this metal, that it is of a temper which carries a sharp edge, and is in a great degree firm and elastic, and very heavy. It does not rust, and it takes a fine polish. He indeed thinks it superior to iron for its purpose, until the art of tempering steel was brought to a considerable degree of perfection. It is probably on account of this perfection to which the preparation of copper had been brought in consequence of the want of iron, that it continued to be preferred long after the art of working iron had been acquired.

As a general remark upon ancient swords, it may be observed that the swords of civilized nations were generally straight, and those of barbarians curved. The swords used by cavalry were long; but antiquity bad ro such thin-bladed narrow swords as are in use in modern Europe; a guard for the fingers is also usually wanting in the most ancient swords. The Egyptians had the straight, tapering, two-edged sword and dagger, which we have described as so common in ancient times; and the handles of which were often richly inlaid. They had also curved, single-edged knives and falchions (see the cut under Exod. xiv. 7), the latter having the back often cased with brass to give it greater weight. The blades were either of bronze, or (as appears from the colours with which they are painted) of iron or steel. The hafts are often furnished with strings and tassels. It is interesting to note these forms, from the probability that the weapons of the Israelites in the wilderness were of a similar character. We learn from Scripture that the Israelites had daggers and swords, some of the latter with two edges, and were girded upon the thigh.' It does not appear that they wore them continually, but only as occasion required. The ancient Persians wore their swords suspended from a belt on the right side. Herodotus speaks of golden swords' as among the spoils taken by the Greeks from the Persians; by which he must probably be understood to mean that the Per sians had the art of inlaying with gold the hilts and blades of their swords-a practice in which that people

still excel. The cut from the ancient sculptures of Persia will exhibit the variety and style of their swords. Some of them have a resemblance to the Phoenician copper swords which we have mentioned; and their straightness would, according to the above-quoted Roman rule, shew the civilization of that people. But the same rule would make the Egyptians, with their curved weapons, barbarous; whereas, in truth, both the Persians and the Egyptians were at least as civilized as those who applied that degrading epithet to them. The early Greeks wore the sword under the left arm-pit, so that the pummel touched the nipple of their breast; it hung by a belt, and its length was nearly equal to that of the arm. The scabbard, of the same breadth as the sword, terminated in a nob like a mushroom. Dr. Meyrick describes different

sorts of Greek swords, but we cannot enter into the account further than to state that some sorts were straight for cutting and thrusting; some, intended for cutting, were curved, and had the edge on the inner curve of the blade. The hilts were sometimes of ivory and gold, and occasionally guarded by a cross-bar. The Romans, when they relinquished brass and copper for the blade, retained it for the hilt. Our cut will shew the principal varieties of the Roman swords. The resemblance of the favourite weapon to the Phoenician or Carthaginian has already been mentioned and accounted for. Several of those which the cut exhibits are only slight varietics of the same weapon; and those with the Lost obtuse points are thought the most ancient. The Romans wore the sword on the right thigh, probably that it might not obstruct the