maritime trade and navigation. We have no data on which to form distinct conclusions on this matter; but it may fairly be conjectured, that being a trading people they would, when situated on the Red Sea, scarcely abstain from building some kind of vessels in which to explore the shores of the gulf and the contiguous coasts at the least. Josephus says the people of this part of Midian were not shepherds, which allows us to imagine that they were engaged in commerce. He adds, rather contradictorily, that they left the care of their sheep to women. This agrees with the fact of Jethro's flock being watered by his daughter; and, which is still more striking, it agrees with the existing practice in this part of Arabia, where the duty of attending the flocks is considered degrading by the men, and is more entirely left to the young women than perhaps in any other part of Arabia. The territory of these Midianites on the Red Sea would seem to have extended farther southward than that of the Edomites, as it is not unlikely that the latter people ultimately superseded them altogether in these parts. These were undoubtedly the Midianites who trembled for fear when they heard that the Israelites had passed through the Red Sea (Hab. iii. 7.) The Orientals do not appear to know any other land of Midian than this. Abulfeda says that the name is preserved in a ruined city, called Madyan, on the shore of the Red Sea, on the route of the pilgrims from Egypt to Mecca. This city, he says, was the capital of the tribe of Midian among the Israelites; and that there was still to be seen near it the famous well at which Moses watered the flocks of Schoaib, as the Moslems call Jethro. Josephus mentions the "city of Madian on the Red Sea ;" and it is no doubt the same that Ptolemy calls Modianam. MOUNTS SINAI AND HOREB, WITH THE CONVENT OF ST. CATHERINE, FROM THE NORTH. CHAPTER III. 1 Moses keepeth Jethro's flock. 2 God appeareth to him in a burning bush. 9 He sendeth him to deliver Israel. 14 The name of God. 15 His message to Israel. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a 'flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 1 Acts 7.30. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: 'put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whercon thou standest is holy ground. 6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 7 ¶ And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. 13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they Matt. 22. 32. Acts 7. 32. | shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said. Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. 16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: 17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. 18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. 20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: 22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians. 6 Or, Egypt. 2 Josh. 5. 15. Acts 7.33. 4 Or, but by strong hand. 5 Chap. 11. 2, and 12. 35. Verse 1. "Horeb."-We shall give some account of this mountain when tracing the course of the Israelites in their march from Egypt to the land of promise. We may here observe, that the sacred locality is under the guardianship of a body of Greek monks, who occupy an ancient convent at the foot of the mountain, called the "Convent of St. Catherine;" by whose name also the mountain, supposed to be Horeb, is now distinguished. The monks indicate, as the spot where Moses fed the flocks of Jethro, a valley at the back of the mount, between two ranges of mountains, in the centre of which is a solitary group of trees. They state that the original church, built here by the empress Helena, the mother of Constantine, was built over the spot were the Divine Presence was manifested to Moses; and where, afterwards, the present fortified convent was erected under the direction of the emperor Justinian, it was made to include the same sacred spot. (See Carne's Letters from the East;' and Burckhardt's 'Tour in the Peninsula of Sinai.") 5. "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet."-The reverence indicated by putting off the covering of the feet is still prevalent in the East. The Orientals throw off their slippers on all those occasions when we should take off our hats. They never uncover their heads, any more than we our feet. It would every where, whether among Christians, Moslems or Pagans, be considered in the highest degree irreverent for a person to enter a church, a temple, or a mosque, with his feet covered; and we shall observe that the priests under the law officiated with bare feet. And not only is this form of showing respect exhibited in religious observances, but in the common intercourse of life. Few things inspire an Oriental with deeper disgust, than for a person to enter his room with shoes or boots on, regarding such conduct both as an insult to himself and a pollution to his apartment. These usages influence the costume of the head and feet. The former, being never uncovered, is in general shaven, and the head-dress generally is such that it could not be replaced without some degree of trouble; while for the feet they have loose and easy slippers, which may be thrown off and resumed with the least possible degree of inconvenience. 'JEWELS OF GOLD AND JEWELS OF SILVER." COMPOSED FROM EGYPTIAN DRAWINGS AND SCULPTURES IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. CHAPTER IV. 1 Moses's rod is turned into a serpent. 6 His hand 2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. 3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. 4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: 5 That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. 6 And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. 7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. 8 And it shall come to pass, if they will 10 And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not 'eloquent, neither 3heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. 11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be 'with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. 13 And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou "wilt send. 14 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. 15 And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. 16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. 17 And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs. 18 And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life. 20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. 21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. 22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: 23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. 24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. 25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. 26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. 27 And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. 29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: 30 And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. Matt. 10. 19. Mark 13. 11, 19 And the LORD said unto Moses in 1 Heb. shall be and shall be. 2 Heb. a man of words. 3 Heb. since yesterday, nor since the third day. Luke 12. 11 5 Or, shouldest. 6 Chap. 7. 1. 7 Or, knife. 8 Heb. made it touch. Verse 25. "Zipporah took a sharp stone."-Flints and other hard stones formed the tools and cutting instruments of almost all nations before the art of working iron was discovered. We find such instruments still in use among savages, and discover them occasionally buried in different parts of Europe and Asia, showing the universality of their use when the people were ignorant of iron. They were no doubt formed, as savages form them at present; that is, they were shaped and sharpened on a kind of grindstone, until, at a great expense of time, labour and patience, they were brought to the desired figure. They were then fitted to a handle. and used nearly in the same way as we use our instruments and tools of iron. From the act of Zipporah, we are, however, not authorized to infer that instruments and tools of metal were not common at the time and in the neighbourhood before us. We shall soon have occasion to see the contrary. The fact seems to be, that Zipporah knew that sharp stones were exclusively used in Egypt and elsewhere, in making incisions on the human person; and she therefore either used such an instrument, or employed in its room one of the flints with which the region they were traversing is abundantly strewed. [B.C. 1491.. 15 1 Pharaoh chideth Moses and Aaron for their message. 5 He increaseth the Israelites' task. He checketh their complaints. 19 They cry out upon Moses and Aaron. 22 Moses complaineth to God. AND afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. 2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go. 3 And they said, 'The God of the He 142 brews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the 4 And the king of Egypt said unto them, people from their works? get you unto your burdens. of the land now are many, and ye make 5 And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people them rest from their burdens. 6 And Pharaoh commanded the same officers, saying, day the taskmasters of the people, and their 1 Chap. 3, 18. |