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the travail that had come upon them by | thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not the way, and how the LORD delivered able to perform it thyself alone.

them.

9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.

10 And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.

12 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.

13 ¶ And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.

14 And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto

even?

15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God:

16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between "one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.

19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:

20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.

21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:

22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.

23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.

24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had

said.

25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

26 And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

27 And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.

17 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. 18 "Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this * Heb. found them. 7 Chap. 1. 10. 16. 22, and 5. 7, and 14. 18. 8 Heb. a man and his fellow. 9 Heb. fading thou wilt fade. 10 Deut. 1. 9.

Verse 2. "After he had sent her back."-We do not read in Exod. iv. of Moses sending back his wife and sons to Midian. He certainly took them with him when he set out for Egypt. It is concluded that he sent them back after the transaction, by the way which the fourth chapter records; but some of the Rabbins say that he took this course by the advice of his brother Aaron, when the latter came out to meet him on his approach to Egypt. Jarchi even gives the conversation that is pretended to have taken place on the occasion. The fact probably is, that he sent them back when he found that their safety might he endangered if they went with him, or from feeling that his care for them would, for the time, interfere too much with the due discharge of the great duty he had undertaken.

25. "And Moses chose able men," &c.-Many writers think that, notwithstanding the subsequent appointment of the great council of seventy elders (Num. xi. 16), the constitution here established continued to operate not only during the forty years' wanderings, but after the settlement in Canaan. In Egypt the Israelites were probably subject to the Egyptian judges, and hence, no rules for the administration of justice being in operation among them when they left Egypt, Moses necessarily remained the sole judge of the nation until the present very judicious plan was adopted. The institution is on a peculiar arithmetical principle, associated, apparently, with the military division of a host into thousands, hundreds, and tens. This was a model proper for them when encamping and marching in military array; but, if it continued to exist, it must have undergone considerable modification when they came to settle in irregular masses in the land of their possession. It seems that the judges of tens decided small matters, but referred causes that could not be decided by them, or in which their decision was appealed from, to the judges of hundreds, and these again to the judges of thousands: Moses himself remaining the last resource. This arrangement is not in its principle

unlike our own old Saxon constitution of Sheriffs in counties; hundredors, or centgraves in hundreds; and decinors, or tythingmen in tythings: and it probably affords the idea on which the latter institution was formed. Alfred, its author, was well acquainted with the Bible. In his institution the centgrave was subordinate to the sheriff, and the tythingman to the centgrave; and that the case was the same among the Hebrew judges is an obvious conjecture. Alfred's plan applied the principle to the state of a settled country, and furnishes an illustration of the manner in which it might have been, if it was not, applied when the Hebrews had obtained possession of Canaan. The Saxon plan made a territorial division into counties, hundreds, and tythings, corresponding to the division of jurisdiction; and this indeed seems an essential feature in the application of the principle to the state of a settled country. There must have been in the host of Israel sixty thousand judges of tens; and, as Michaelis observes, it is by no means probable that, in the public deliberative assemblies, they all had seats and voices. It is more probable that only those of hundreds, or even thousands, are to be understood when mention is made of judges in the great councils of Israel.

CHAPTER XIX.

1 The people come to Sinai. 3 God's message by Moses unto the people out of the mount. 8 The people's answer returned again. 10 The people are prepared against the third day. 12 The mountain must not be touched. 16 The fearful presence of God upon the mount.

IN the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.

2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.

3 And 'Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;

4 'Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.

5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people for all the earth is mine:

6 And ye shall be unto me a 'kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.

8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.

9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.

10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to

1 Acts 7. 38.

2 Deut. 29. 2. 3 Deut. 5. 2. Chap. 24. 3. 7. Deut. 5. 27, and 26. 17.

day and to-morrow, and let them wash their clothes,

11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.

12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: "whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:

13 There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

14 ¶And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.

15 And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.

16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

18 And 'mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.

20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

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Verse 2. "They...were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness, and there Israel camped before the mount."-We must first say something about the mountain, and then concerning the wilderness; because the wilderness being before or around the base of the mountain, we can determine nothing about the desert until we become acquainted with the mountain. The geography of this region has received much elucidation from the arduous researches of Burckhardt; but little has been done to render the information furnished by him and other modern travellers applicable to the elucidation of the Scripture narrative; it only therefore remains to employ such information, in connection with that which had been previously furnished as material, the analysis and comparison of which may enable us to arrive at as clear and consistent views as the present state of our knowledge will allow us to obtain. We have hitherto proceeded on this principle, and shall continue to do so, although the necessary limits of a note preclude that minuteness of detail on which the effect of such elucidations greatly depends.

The breadth of the peninsula of Sinai is intersected by the chain of mountains called El Tyh, which run from east to west, and cut off a triangular portion of the peninsula, to which, for the sake of distinctness, we will restrict the term "peninsula" to the region south of the El Tyh chain, this being the portion to which our statement must exclusively refer. In the very centre of this peninsular region occurs the most elevated group of mountains in which we are to look for the Mount Sinai of the Bible. This upper mountainous region, with its various valleys and ravines of different dimensions, may be described as being comprehended within a diameter of about forty miles. This group is not connected with the intersecting chain of El Tyh; for the central group is separated therefrom, not only by wide sandy plains and valleys, but by an intermediate and unconnected range of inferior mountains called Zebeir. To the east, however,

and to the south, the country between the central group and the gulf is more or less occupied by inferior eminences; while to the west-that is towards the Gulf of Suez-the upper group has an abrupt appearance, and no inferior mountains intervene, so that the country is left open from thence to the coast, where a low chain of calcareous mountains, called Djebel Heman, fronts the shore. The intermediate country between this ridge and the Upper Sinai is occupied by a wide gravelly plain or desert called El Kaa, and which is regarded as the desert of Sin by those who place Élim near Tor. Thus much for the general physical features of the peninsula.

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The two most elevated and conspicuous summits or peaks of the central group adjoin each other, and are respectively distinguished by the names of Djebel Katerin (Mount St. Catherine) and Djebel Mousa (Mount Moses): the former is locally identified with the Horeb of Scripture, and the latter with Sinai. But besides these mountains there are two others very conspicuous, which, although they stand somewhat apart, and unconnected with the upper cluster, must in a general view be considered as belonging to it. These are Om Shomar, which fronts the upper cluster on the southwest, and is nearest towards the extremity of the peninsula and to the port of Tor; the other is Djebel Serbal, which fronts the upper group to the north-west, and is nearest to those who come from Suez or any where in the north-west to Sinai. It is certain, on every theory, that this Mount Serbal must have been the first of the Sinai mountains which the Israelites saw and as Burckhardt's statements render it probable that pilgrims once regarded it as the Sinai or Horeb of Scripture, it becomes necessary to examine its claims to attention, in common with those of the other mountains. But as we shall in such considerations be perplexed by the manner in which "Sinai" and "Horeb" seem to be mentioned in Scripture as convertible names, it will be well, in the first place, to obtain a distinct understanding on this point. In some passages of the Pentateuch the law is described as having been delivered from Mount Horeb, and in others from Mount Sinai, and this is one of the apparent contradictions, of which scepticism has availed itself to throw doubt on the verity of the narrative, or at least to question that the books in which these seeming discrepancies occur were written by the same person. The answer to this has been by a reference to Mounts Catherine and Moses, as distinct but adjoining peaks of the same range of mountains; and we have no doubt but that it was this view of the subject which occasioned the summits which now pass for Sinai and Horeb to obtain the distinction they now bear. But it does not appear to us how this answers the objection we have stated, because if Sinai and Horeb are only distinct summits of the same range, how could the same transaction take place in both at once, any more than if they were perfectly distinct mountains. From a careful examination of the various passages in which the names of "Horeb❞ and Sinai" occur, we think it might be easy to show that these names are different denominations of the same mountain. But it seems to us that it is susceptible of being still more distinctly shown that "Horeb" is the name of the whole mountainous region generally, while "Sinai" is the name of the particular summit. It appears to us that Horeb is usually spoken of as a region, the common form of expression being generally, " in Horeb,” and that where spoken of as a mountain, it is in the same general way as when we speak of Mount Caucasus, meaning thereby an extensive range of mountains. But "Sinai” is usually spoken of as a distinct mountain; "on," or "upon Sinai," being the most common mode of expression, as we should speak of a particular mountain or peak in a mountainous or any other region. We believe there is no instance in which the name of Horeb occurs so as to convey the idea of ascent, descent, or standing upon it as a mountain, whereas this is invariably the idea with which the name of Sinai is associated. It is true that there are two passages which appear to militate against this view, but when carefully considered, they do in fact confirm it. Thus in Exod. iii. 1, Moses..came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb ;" and in 1 Kings xix. 8, Elijah goes "unto Horeb, the mount of God." In both these places it would be most obvious to understand that Horeb denotes the whole, and the "mount of God" the part; which will be the more evident when it is recollected that the term "mount of God" would be no distinction at all, unless the region were also mentioned; because this distinction is not peculiar to the mountain on which the law was delivered; and although we believe that when the expression is applied to a mountain in the peninsula of Sinai, it does denote that particular mountain, it is right to state that it may, in the texts just quoted, only denote the eminency of the Horeb mountains, or of some particular mountain in the group; and might therefore be read "Horeb, the great mountain," or "the great mountain in Horeb." The Hebrew language has no proper superlatives, and therefore the words " of God," or " of the Lord,” are added to denote greatness or superior excellence. Thus the expression "mountains of God" means "great mountains." Our translation very properly retains the Hebraism where Mount Sinai, or the Mount Moriah of Jerusalem, on which the Temple was built, are intended, but in other cases renders it by "high" or "great mountains" (as in Ps. xxxvi. 6). In Ezek. xlv. 15, the term "mountain of God" is applied to what our translation rightly renders "altar." The reader who wishes to verify the view we have taken, will moreover find further confirmation by observing that actions are mentioned as having been done "in Horeb," which were certainly not done upon any particular mountain, but in the surrounding valleys or plains. Thus the Israelites are said to have "made a calf in Horeb,” (Ps. cvi. 19)—certainly not in a mountain, but in the wilderness of Sinai while Moses was in the mountain. The rock smitten by Moses for water is called the "rock in Horeb" (Ex. xvii. 6), which according to the view we take, is compatible with the situation we have indicated for Rephidim; whereas those who regard Horeb as a particular mountain, and determine that mountain to be Djebel Katerin, have been necessarily obliged to fix the smitten rock in a wholly unsuitable situation, in the narrow valley of El Ledja at the foot of that peak. It also deserves to be noticed, that Josephus does not notice any mount called Horeb. He speaks exclusively of Mount Sinai, and after noticing the transactions at Rephidim, says that, on leaving that station, the Israelites went on gradually till they came to Sinai.

These considerations simplify our task, for now we have only one mountain to look for as the "Mount Sinai" of the Bible; and as it is possible that a mistaken view of the subject occasioned Mounts St. Catherine and Moses to be regarded as the Sinai and Horeb of the Scriptures, we feel quite at liberty to deal freely with their claims. The only mountains that require our attention are the twin summits of Mount St. Catherine and Mount Moses, and the more detached Mount Serbal.

Djebel Mousa, the supposed Sinai, is that which pilgrims usually ascend in the first instance. Regular steps have been cut all the way up (said to be 1400 in number), but they have been so much damaged by time and the winter torrents as to be of very little use. The ascent, which is very steep, occupies nearly two hours, exclusive of pauses for rest. The second of these pauses is about two-thirds way up on a small plain where a tall cypress tree grows beside a stone tank which receives the winter rains. Here there is a small chapel dedicated to the Virgin, and a little below a large forsaken convent bearing the name of Elias, who, it will be remembered, fled to Horeb from the wrath of Jezebel. Local traditions state that Moses communicated with God in this part of the mountain. From hence a very steep ascent leads to the summit, the plane of which is about 60 paces in circumference, and is occupied by a church, which forms the principal object of pilgrimage to the Christians, as does to the Moslems a poor mosque, standing about thirty paces distant on a somewhat lower peak. This mosque is much frequented by the Bedouins of the peninsula, as well as by Mohammedan pilgrims from distant parts. The Arabs believe that the tables of the

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ten commandments are hidden under the floor of the church on the summit, and they have made excavations in every direction in the hope of finding them. They the more particularly revere this spot, from the belief that the rains of the peninsula are entirely under the control of Moses, whose name they have given to the mountain. Mr. Carne (Letters from the East), who does not generally question the identity of the sites which are any where indicated to him, was here struck by a very obvious difficulty. He says: "What occasions no small surprise at first is the small number of plains, valleys, or open places, where the children of Israel could have stood conveniently to behold the glory on the mount. One generally places in imagination, around Sinai, extensive plains or sandy deserts, where the camp of the hosts was placed, where the families of Israel stood at the door of their tents, and the line was drawn around the mountain which no one might break through on pain of death. But it is not thus: save the valley by which we approached Sinai about half a mile wide, and a few miles in length, and a small plain we afterwards passed through, with a rocky hill in the middle, there appear to be few open places around the mount. We did not however examine it on all sides. On putting the question to the superior of the conveut, where he imagined the Israelites stood: Every where,' he replied, waving his hand about-in the ravines, the valleys, as well as the plains.""

The neighbouring peak, supposed to be the Horeb of Scripture, is called Djebel Katerin, which name it derives from some legend about the body of St. Catherine being transported by angels to its summit. The ancient Greek convent, which is at the foot of the mountain, is so called from the same circumstance. The mountain is much higher than its neighbour, and its difficult ascent was formerly facilitated by steps as in the other. Luxuriant vegetation reaches up the sides of this mountain to the large mass of granite which forms its summit, the top of which is occupied by a small chapel, or rather hut. The view from hence is similar in character to that from Djebel Mousa, but much more extensive. The best account of it has been given by Burckhardt as follows: "From this elevated peak, a very extensive view opened before us, and the direction of the different surrounding chains of mountains could be distinctly traced. The upper nucleus of Sinai, composed almost entirely of granite, forms a rocky wilderness of an irregular circular shape, intersected by many narrow valleys, and from thirty to forty miles in diameter. It contains the highest mountains of the peninsula, whose shaggy and pointed peaks and steep and shattered sides render it clearly distinguishable from all the rest of the country in view. It is upon this highest region of the peninsula that the fertile valleys are found which produce fruit trees; they are principally to the west and southwest of the convent, at three or four hours' distance. Water, too, is always found in plenty in this district; on which account it is the place of refuge of all the Bedouins when the low country is parched up." He adds, "I think it very probable that this upper country or wilderness is exclusively the Desert of Sinai, so often mentioned in the account of the wanderings of the Israelites. Mount St. Catherine appears to stand nearly in the centre of it." This conjecture of course proceeds on the hypothesis that either Mount St. Catherine or Mount Moses is the Sinai of Scripture; and on this hypothesis certainly there seems no alternative but to consider, with Burckhardt and the prior of the convent, that the host of Israel was encamped in the several valleys of the upper Sinai. Nor is there any thing improper in this, as we find that in future encampments the principle of separation into tribes was carried into full effect; and thus, although there might be no single plain or valley large enough to receive the whole host, the separate tribes might receive adequate accommodation. This distribution would no doubt have been advocated by the Jewish Rabbins, to exemplify that favourite principle of distribution which led them to consider that twelve passages were made in the Red Sea for the twelve tribes to pass separately: and as they had doubtless some knowledge of this region, their not taking this further corroboration of their hypothesis seems to look as if they did not identify Mount Sinai with either Mount Catherine or Mount Moses. If we do so, it seems most reasonable to fix upon the former of the two, not only because it is more elevated than the other, but because it is very conspicuous from the surrounding valleys, which the other is not. It is certain that the encampments of Israel were very visible from Mount Sinai, and the mount from the encampments.

This

Mount Serbal, the relative position of which we have already indicated, is the only other mountain that can be thought to dispute the claims of Mount St. Catherine. It forms one of the most prominent features of the peninsula; and as the Israelites must have passed it, and as it at all times formed a point on which their eyes must have frequently rested, it would deserve to be noticed, even had it no claim to be regarded as the Mount Sinai. It cannot, strictly speaking, be considered as part of the Upper Sinai, to which the two mountains of which we have been speaking belong, being separated therefrom by several gently descending valleys. And yet, although it thus stands on lower ground, Burckhardt hesitates to say whether it is not the highest summit in the peninsula, and as it stands so much apart as a detached cluster, whereas the others are merely peaks crowning steep ascents, it necessarily follows that Mount Serbal, as a more single object, appears to more advantage and grandeur than the others, its actual height being more distinctly apparent to the eye. The ascent is very difficult, although there are traces of a broken path with steps leading to the summit. Burckhardt walked over sharp rocks without any path till he came to the almost perpendicular side of the upper Serbal, which he ascended by a narrow and difficult cleft. It took him four hours to climb to the lower summit of the mountain, where he found a small plain with some trees and the ruins of a small stone reservoir for water. lower summit is crowned by five peaks, the two highest of which are the one most to the east, and another immediately west of it. These rise like cones, and are distinguishable to a great distance, particularly on the road to Cairo. Burckhardt ascended the former, and the ascent took him three quarters of an hour, being an ascent of nearly five hours (exclusive of rest) from the base to the highest summit. This eastern peak is so steep, slippery, and smooth, that our traveller, although barefoot, was frequently obliged to crawl upon his belly, to avoid being precipitated below; and had he not casually met with a few shrubs to grasp, would have been obliged to relinquish his attempt, or have rolled down the cliff. The summit of this peak consists of one enormous mass of granite, the smoothness of which is broken by only a few partial fissures, presenting an appearance not unlike the ice-covered peaks of the Alps. The peak looks as sharp as a needle from below, but a platform, fifty paces in circumference, is found on its summit, on which is a heap of loose stones, forming a circle twelve paces in diameter. The sides of the peak, at a few paces below its top, are formed of large insulated blocks, twenty or thirty feet long, as if suspended in the act of rushing down; and wherever these blocks presented a smooth surface ancient inscriptions were found, the greater part of which were illegible. Between some of the masses of stone there are small caverns, large enough to shelter a few persons, and having their walls covered with inscriptions similar to those on the external surface. These inscriptions, and others in the valley leading from the base of the mountain to Wady Feiran, as also the existence of the laboriously-formed path with steps to facilitate the ascent, induced Burckhardt to believe that Mount Serbal was at one time considered to be the mountain on which Moses received the tables of the law, and consequently the chief place of pilgrimage in the peninsula. He observes, that there are no inscriptions to be found on either Mount St. Catherine or Mount Moses; but there are some very similar to them in the valley of El Ledja, at the foot of the former mountain, being evidently the work of the pilgrims visiting the smitten rock in that valley. Burckhardt thinks that the proximity of Serbal to Egypt caused that moun

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