Annotations upon the remaining historicall part of the Old Testament. The second part. to wit, the books of Joshua, Judges, the two books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, and the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther : wherein first, all such passages in the text are explained as were thought likely to be questioned by any reader of ordinary capacity : secondly, in many clauses those things are discovered which are needfull and usefull to be known ... and thirdly, many places that might at first seem to contradict one another are reconciled ... / by Arthur Jackson.

CHAP. VI.

Vers. 2. ANd the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the Ark of the Lord, &c.] Thus was God the more glorified, when their very priests, the most zealous maintainers of their idol-gods, were brought to give this following advice, which tended so much to the honour of the Lord, and the shame of their idols. The question they propounded to their priests was not, What shall we do with the Ark? but What shall we do to the Ark of the Lord? Tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place, that is, in what man∣ner, and with what gifts shall we send back the Ark? Being convinced by the heavy hand of God that lay upon them, that they had trespassed some way against the Ark; it seems their reason led them to think, that some satisfaction or other was to be made; and thereupon, being resolved to send it away, they consulted wherewith they should send back the Ark,

Vers. 3. Then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you, why his hand is not removed from you.] That is, if they were healed, as they confidently assured themselves it would prove, then hereby they should know why hetherto his hand had not been removed from them.

Vers. 4. They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines.] These were the trespasse-offerings which their priests and diviners advised them to send back with the Ark, to wit, as by way of acknowledgement, that the God of Israel had brought upon them those plagues of the emerods, and mice, for their holding of the Ark of God captive amongst them; and therefore the reason given in the following verse, why they would have these presents sent back with the Ark, is that they might hereby give glory to the God of

Israel, namely, by an acknowledgement and confession of their sinne, and the just hand of God that had been upon them for their sinne: vers. 5. Ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice, that marre the land, and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel; the very same expression which Joshua used when he advised Achan to confesse his fault, Josh. 7.19. My sonne, saith he, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel. It may well be indeed which some conceive, that the sending of such absurd and ridiculous gifts with the Ark, as emerods and mice, was suggested by Sathan to their diviners in contempt of God: but if it were so, whilst Sathan intended hereby to dishonour God, the Lord by his alruling pro∣vidence, intended hereby to cast the shame upon them, and to bring great glory to his own name; whilst the Philistines themselves, were made to send into the land of Israel such things, as might there remain perpetuall monuments and memorialls of those shamefull punishments, wherewith God had humbled them. It cannot well be conceived how they could make images of their emerods, without making images of their secret parts, where they were smitten with those ulcers, which we call piles or emerods. Now what a shame must it needs be to the Philistines to send to the Israelites the images of their secret parts, thus tortured with an ignominious disease? Doubtlesse they must needs judge it a great reproch to their nation; but when men are under the wrath of the Almighty, what will they not do to be rid of the judge∣ments that lie upon them.

Vers. 5. Peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods.] From this passage some Expositours gather that not Dagon onely, but ma∣ny other of their idol-gods were thrown down and broken to pieces, by a secret hand of God, in all the cities whither the Ark was brought, as indeed it is probable the like was done in Egypt, when the Lord punished Pharaoh and his people because they would not let the Israelites go. Against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgement, saith the Lord, Exod. 12.12. and Num. 33.4. it is said, The Egyptians buried all their first-born—; upon their gods also the Lord executed judgements. But yet because this is not expressed in the story, others understand this which is said here, of the hand of the Lord which was upon their gods, onely of the reproch and dishonour, that was brought upon their idols, partly by the Lords casting down Dagon, and partly by the heavy judgements he had infflicted upon the people that served them; and that this hand of God it was, which the Philistine-priests hoped would be lightned from off their gods, if the Ark were sent back with those trespasse-offerings they had now prescribed.

Vers. 6. Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardned their hearts, &c.] By this it may seem. that though the greatest number enclined to the sending of the Ark back, vers, 2. What shall we do, say they, to the Ark of the Lord, Tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place; yet some were of a contrary judgement, and opposed it, and therefore are here blamed for hardning their hearts against the means which God had used to convince them of their sinne.

Vers. 7. Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch-kine, on which then hath come no yoke, &c.] It may well be, that these idolatrous priests and diviners of the Philistines, did not merely of their own invention prescribe this strange way of sending home the Ark, to make tryall whether the God of Israel, would by a su∣pernaturall

power, cause these milch-kine to go the right way with it; but were herein directed to do what they did by their practices of sorcerie and divination: but if it were so, even herein too there was an over-ruling hand of providence, that dis∣posed of all as might be most for Gods glorie. A new cart was doubtlesse appointed as a signe of their reverencing the Ark: their choosing young heifers that had never been employed in any profane service, might also be done for the same cause out of reverence to the Ark; but the main end was to make the hand of God the more ma∣nifest, if they should go along the right way to the land of Israel. Custome might make cattel used to the yoke to go on right forward, when they are once entred into a beaten way; but young things not used to the yoke, especially when their calves were shut up from them, were not like to do so; it was a wonder that they should endure the yoke at all.

Vers. 8. And put the jewels of gold which ye return him for a trespasse-offering in a coffer, &c.] These jewels of gold were the golden images of the emerods and mice; which they put in a coffer, as not daring to venture it seems, to put them into the Ark.

Vers. 9. And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh.] A citie of Judah, Josh. 15.10. close by the confines of Judea and Philistea, and in the way to Shiloh; and therefore propounded here by the Philistines Priests, as the citie whither the kine would go if Gods hand were in the businesse.

Vers. 12. And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, &c.] And thus did the Lord by his all-ruling power and providence, prosper the device which they had contrived to discover whether it was by him, and for their detaining the Ark, that they had been of late so severely punished, that he might confound them by their own inventions. Bethshemesh was one of the Priests cities, Josh. 21.16. so that the kines carrying the Ark thither, was as if they had intended to deli∣ver it up into their hands to whom the custodie of it did of right appertain.

And the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshe∣mesh.] Thus by the providence of God it was brought about, that they who ere-while as victours did carrie away the Ark as their captive, do now as servants and pages attend upon it, when it returned home into the land of Israel.

Vers. 13. And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat-harvest.] Wheat-harvest in that countrey used to be in our May, at the feast of Pentecost, Lev. 23.16. Whence we may gather, that the Ark was taken about November, since it was vers. 1. seven moneths in the countrey of the Philistines.

Vers. 14. And they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt-offering unto the Lord.] That this is spoken of the men of Bethshemesh, and not as some would have it, of the Lords of the Philistines, that came after the Ark to see what would become of it, is evident by the very connexion of the words: In the foregoing verse it is said, that they of Bethshemesh were reaping, &c. and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the Ark, and rejoyced to see it; and in this verse now it follows; And they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine, a burnt-offering to the Lord. Besides, when the men of Bethshemesh came flocking about the Ark, and the Levites had taken down the Ark out of the cart, as it followeth in the next verse; is there any likelihood that they would suffer the uncircumcised Phi∣listines

to come amongst them to offer up a sacrifice to the God of Israel, they stand∣ing by, and as it were communicating with them in their sacrifice? Surely no; rather we may well think that the lords of the Philistines followed the Ark aloof off, onely desiring to see what would become of it, and came not near the Israelites; and there∣fore it is said vers. 16. that when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it; that is, when they had seen what was done, they returned to Ekron the same day. The greatest difficultie is concerning the offering up of kine, which we know was not according to Gods Law, and therefore liker to be the act of the Philistines, then of the Priests of Israel; for the Law did expressely command that none but males should be offered in burnt-offerings: Levit. 1.3. If his offering be a burnt sacri∣fice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish. But to this it may be answer∣ed, that either the men of Bethshemesh did sinne herein, being transported by the excesse of their joy: and that this might be one thing wherewith they displeased God, and provoked him to bring the following judgement upon them: or rather that this was an extraordinary act of devotion whereto the Priests were led, by reasons grounded upon this strange and extraordinary work which God had wrought, and perhaps also by a speciall instinct of Gods Spirit; and is not therefore to be judged of according to the rules of other ordinary burnt offerings: They con∣sidered that these kine had been given up by the Philistines to the service of the Lord in bringing home the Ark; and that having been employed in so sacred of ser∣vice, it was not fit they should be imployed to any other use; or much lesse that they should be sent back to the Philistines again; and therefore they resolved by this way of an extraordinary burnt-offering to yield them up to the Lord, by whose all-ruling providence they were so miraculously swayed to bring back the Ark unto that place. And indeed had they sinned in offering these kine for a burnt-offering, why should not this be mentioned vers. 19. as the cause of Gods displeasure against them, as well as their looking into the Ark.

Vers. 15. And the Levites took down the Ark of the Lord, &c.] That is, the Priests who were of the tribe of Levi: for Bethshemesh as is before noted, was one of the Priests cities, Josh. 21.16. nor was it lawfull for the Levites to touch the Ark: Num. 4.15. And when Aaron and his sonnes have made an end of co∣vering the Sanctuarie, and all the vessels of the Sanctuarie, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sonnes of Kohath shall come to bear it; but they shall not touch any holy thing lest they die.

Vers. 18. And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of countrey villa∣ges, &c.] That is, according as all the cities and villages of the Philistines were di∣vided into five parts, and were under the command of their five great lords, each of those cities before mentioned being the mother citie in each division; so accordingly there were five golden mice given (as was said before, vers. 4.) and that in the name (and happely at the charge) not of the mother-cities onely, but of all the severall circuits or provinces that belonged to them, because all had been punished with that plague of mice which were sent amongst them; even all the land of the Philistines unto the great stone of Abel; that is, mourning; so called doubtlesse, because of the peoples lamentation (vers. 19.) as upon a like occasion the floore of Atad where

the sonnes of Jacob with the Egyptians mourned for the death of Jacob, was called Abel-mizraim, Gen. 50.11. that is, the mourning of the Egyptians.

Vers. 19. And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the Ark of the Lord.] It was not lawfull for any but the Priests, no not the Levites who carried it, to look upon the Ark bare and uncovered: Num. 4.20. But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die. It was there∣fore sufficient to render the people obnoxious to the judgement that fell upon them, if we suppose that it came covered from the Philistines, and they uncovered it to look upon it; or that it came uncovered, and they took libertie without any fear or reverence to stare and gaze upon it: But yet the words seem to import that they proceeded further, even to look into the Ark; either merely out of curiositie, or per∣haps to see whether the Philistines had not put any thing into it, or taken any thing out of it; onely I see not how so many could offend in this kind.

Even he smote of the people fiftie thousand, and threescore and ten men.] That is, of them, and of the people together that came flocking from all parts to see the Ark, there were slain fiftie thousand, and threescore and ten men. It were much that there should be so many found in so little a citie as Bethshemesh was; but amongst those multitudes that might come from all parts to see the Ark, there might well be fiftie thousand, and threescore and ten slain.

Vers. 21. And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, &c.] Pretending happely that their citie of Bethshemesh was not a place of such safetie for the Ark to be in, as Kirjath-jearim was; they sent to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jea∣rim to desire them to fetch the Ark thither: The Philistines, say they, have brought again the Ark of the Lord, come ye down, and fetch it up to you.