Deuteronomy 1:13

1:9-18 Moses reminds the people of the happy constitution of their government, which might make them all safe and easy, if it was not their own fault. He owns the fulfilment of God's promise to Abraham, and prays for the further accomplishment of it. We are not straitened in the power and goodness of God; why should we be straitened in our own faith and hope? Good laws were given to the Israelites, and good men were to see to the execution of them, which showed God's goodness to them, and the care of Moses.

Take ye wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes,.... Not only whose persons were well known, but their characters and qualifications, for their probity and integrity, for their wisdom and prudence in the management of affairs, for their skill and knowledge in things divine and human, civil and religious, and for their capacity in judging and determining matters in difference; see Exodus 18:21 . and I will make them rulers over you; the people were allowed to choose their own officers, whom they were to bring to Moses, and present before him, to be invested with their office. A like method was taken in the choice and constitution of deacons in the Christian church, when the secular affairs of it lay too heavy upon the apostles, Acts 6:3.

Verse 13. - Take you ; literally, give to you or for you , i . e . yourselves . The selection was to be made by the people themselves. Jethro, in giving Moses the advice on which he thus acted, described the men who were to be selected as "such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness" ( Exodus 18:21 ). Moses here describes them rather by qualities, indicating ability and fitness for such a post as that to which they were to be called; they were to be wise (which, indeed, may be regarded as comprehending all good moral qualities); understanding men, men of discernment and sagacity, as well as intelligence; and known among their tribes, men of good repute in the community ("quorum conversatio sit probata," Vulgate; comp. Acts 6:3 ; 1 Timothy 3:7 ). And I will make them rulers over you ; literally, will set them for your heads , i . e . will appoint them to act as superintendents, managers, and judges over you. Deuteronomy 1:13

This appointment of the "captains" (compare Exodus 18:21 ff) must not be confounded with that of the elders in Numbers 11:16 ff. The former would number 78,600; the latter were 70 only. A comparison between this passage and that in Exodus makes it obvious that Moses is only touching on certain parts of the whole history, without regard to order of time, but with a special purpose. This important arrangement for the good government of the people took place before they left Horeb to march direct to the promised land. This fact sets more clearly before us the perverseness and ingratitude of the people, to which the orator next passes; and shows, what he was anxious to impress, that the fault of the 40 years' delay rested only with themselves!

10. ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude—This was neither an Oriental hyperbole nor a mere empty boast. Abraham was told (Ge 15:5, 6) to look to the stars, and though they "appear" innumerable, yet those seen by the naked eye amount, in reality, to no more than three thousand ten in both hemispheres. The Israelites already far exceeded that number, being at the last census above six hundred thousand [Nu 26:51]. It was a seasonable memento, calculated to animate their faith in the accomplishment of other parts of the divine promise.

13 . Take you ] Heb. Give yourselves : Joshua 18:4 . The people themselves are to elect as in Deuteronomy 16:18 , consistently with the emphasis, so frequent in D, on the judicial responsibilities of the whole people. In E, Exodus 18:25 (cp. Numbers 11:16 ), Moses chooses . wise men, and understanding, and known ] With the LXX some take the last term as synonymous with the others; either reading as in the Heb. the pass. part. experienced , or the act. Part. knowing . The pass. part. is perhaps the better, but as meaning known : men reputed for their judicial gifts, as among the Arabs to-day. While here the emphasis is laid on intellectual gifts, which, however, in D always include the moral; E, Exodus 18:21 , more definitely expresses the latter: men of power (Dri. capable, worthy), fearing God, men of troth, hating unjust gain . according to your tribes ] E, Exodus 18:21 ; Exodus 18:25 : out of , all the people, all Israel . E and D use shebet for tribe, but P’s usual term is maṭṭah . make them heads over you ] Rather, set them as your chiefs .

לכם הבוּ, give here, provide for yourselves. The congregation was to nominate, according to its tribes, wise, intelligent, and well-known men, whom Moses would appoint as heads, i.e., as judges, over the nation. At their installation he gave them the requisite instructions ( Deuteronomy 1:16 ): "Ye shall hear between your brethren," i.e., hear both parties as mediators, "and judge righteously, without respect of person." פּנים הכּיר, to look at the face, equivalent to פּנים נשׁא ( Leviticus 19:15 ), i.e., to act partially (cf. Exodus 23:2-3 ). "The judgment is God's," i.e., appointed by God, and to be administered in the name of God, or in accordance with His justice; hence the expression "to bring before God" ( Exodus 21:6 ; Exodus 22:7 , etc.). On the difficult cases which the judges were to bring before Moses, see at Exodus 18:26 .