Deuteronomy 1:14

Jarchi observes, that the unclean birds are particularly mentioned, to teach that the clean sort are more than the unclean, and therefore the particulars of the fewest are given: these are all the same names as in Leviticus 11:13, excepting one, "the glede", Deuteronomy 14:13 which is a kind of kite or puttock; the Jerusalem Targum renders it the vulture, and the Targum of Jonathan the white "dayetha" or vulture; and Aristotle says {q} there are two sorts of vultures, the one small and whiter, the other larger and of many forms or colours; in Hebrew its name here is "raah", and is thought to be the same with "daah" in Leviticus 11:14 there translated the "vulture", which has its name there from flying, and here from seeing, for which it is remarkable; see Job 28:7 and the letters d and r are pretty much alike, and are sometimes changed, but there is another here, in Deuteronomy 14:13 mentioned, the "dayah", which is not mentioned in Leviticus 11:1, though some think it the same with the "ayah", rendered both here and there the "kite"; perhaps it means another sort of vulture, the black vulture, as the Targum of Jonathan. {q} Hist. Animal. l. 8. c. 3. Deuteronomy 14:13 Ver. 13. See Gill on "Deuteronomy 14:12" Deuteronomy 14:14 Ver. 14. See Gill on "Deuteronomy 14:12" Deuteronomy 14:15 Ver. 15. See Gill on "Deuteronomy 14:12" Deuteronomy 14:16 Ver. 16. See Gill on "Deuteronomy 14:12" Deuteronomy 14:17 Ver. 17. See Gill on "Deuteronomy 14:12" Deuteronomy 14:18 Ver. 18.

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.

And ye answered me and said,.... As the speech of Moses to the people is not expressed before, so neither this answer of theirs to him: the thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do; to look out for and present persons to him as before described; this they saw was for their own good and profit, as well as for the ease of Moses, and therefore readily agreed to it.

Verses 14, 15. - The people approved of the proposal, and acted upon it; and Moses accordingly appointed the persons selected to be chiefs over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and ever tens ( Exodus 18:21 ); he appointed men also to be officers , that is, persons who should preserve order in the tribes, keeping the registers, acting as scribes, to prescribe and to take account of work, and perhaps also attending to fiscal arrangements ( שֹׁטְרִים , shoterim , a word of general application; cf. Exodus 5:6, 10, 14 ; Joshua 3:2 ; 2 Chronicles 26:11 , etc. LXX. γραμματεῖς and γραμματο εισαγωγεῖς ). In Exodus, Moses is said to have chosen these functionaries (Exodus 18:25); but what many do under the direction of one may be said to be done by him. Deuteronomy 1:14

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.

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 .

[Reformed Biblical] ## Heathenish rites of mourning prohibited, #Deuteronomy 14:1,2 ; and the eating of any abominable thing, #Deuteronomy 14:3 . All unclean beasts, #Deuteronomy 14:4-8 , fish, #Deuteronomy 14:9,10 , and birds, prohibited, #Deuteronomy 14:11-20 . True tithing commanded, #Deuteronomy 14:22 ; and where it was to be eaten, #Deuteronomy 14:23-27 . A command about the third year’s tithing, #Deuteronomy 14:28 ; and who should eat it, #Deuteronomy 14:29 . ## Ver. 1. Of the Lord your God; whom therefore you must not disparage by unworthy or unbecoming practices, such as here follow, and whom you must not disobey. Ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes, which were the practices of idolaters, both in the worship of their idols, as #1 Kings 18:28 ; or in their funerals, as here, and #Jeremiah 16:6 ; or upon occasion of public calamities, as #Jeremiah 41:5 47:5 . See Poole "Leviticus 19:27" , See Poole "Leviticus 19:28" . See Poole "Leviticus 21:5" . For the dead; through excessive sorrow for your dead friends, as if you had no hope of their happiness after death, #1 Thessalonians 4:13 . Ver. 2. No text from Poole on this verse. Ver. 3. i.e. Unclean and forbidden by me, which therefore should be abominable to you. ## Ver. 4. Of which see #Le 11 . The small differences between some of their names here and there are not proper for this work. The learned reader may find them cleared in my Latin Synopsis.

10 . The rest is to be a general one: no work is to be done either by the Israelite himself, or any member of his household (including his servants), or by his cattle, or by the ‘sojourner’ settled in his cities. in it] LXX. Pesh. Vulg. express this; Sam. and the Nash papyrus read it. manservant … maidservant ] bondman … bondmaid : the meaning is (as always) male and female slaves. Cf. Exodus 21:2 ; Exodus 21:7 . stranger ] sojourner , or foreigner settled in Israel (see on Exodus 12:48 ): he also is to enjoy rest from his toil on the sabbath. Cf. the injunction not to oppress him ( Exodus 22:21 , with the note). For the enumeration, cf. Deuteronomy 12:12 ; Deuteronomy 12:18 ; Deuteronomy 16:11 ; Deuteronomy 16:14 . thy gates ] i.e. thy cities, a distinctively Deut. expression, occurring 26 times in Dt., and only 1 Kings 8:37 = 2 Chronicles 6:28 (Deut. compiler) besides; comp. esp. (with ‘within‘) Deuteronomy 12:12 ; Deuteronomy 12:18 ; Deuteronomy 14:21 ; Deuteronomy 14:27 ; Deuteronomy 14:29 ; Deuteronomy 16:11 ; Deuteronomy 16:14 ; Deuteronomy 24:14 ; Deuteronomy 31:12 . In Deuteronomy 5:14 a clause is added, emphasizing the humanitarian purpose of the observance; cf. Deuteronomy 12:7 ; Deuteronomy 12:12 ; Deuteronomy 14:29 .

26–33. The Disaffection of the People Israel defied the command to go up ( Deuteronomy 1:26 ), murmuring that in hate God had brought them from Egypt, to be destroyed by the Amorite ( Deuteronomy 1:27 ). quoting the spies that the people of the land were taller with fenced cities, and the ‘Anakim were there ( Deuteronomy 1:28 ). Moses exhorted them not to fear, Jehovah would fight for them ( Deuteronomy 1:29 ff.). But they persisted in unbelief ( Deuteronomy 1:32 ), though God had never failed to guide them ( Deuteronomy 1:33 ).—In the parallel account which is compiled from JE and P the few J E fragments, Numbers 13:30 f., Numbers 13:33 , Deuteronomy 14:1 b , Deuteronomy 14:3 f., Deuteronomy 14:8-9 b , imply the people’s disquietude at the spies’ report and state that Caleb quieted them, but the other spies contradicted, affirming that the giant ‘Anakim (J), the Nephîlim (E), were in the land. The people wept, Why doth Jehovah bring us to this land to fall by the sword? were it not better to return to Egypt under another captain? Someone (Caleb?) exhorted them not to fear, Jehovah is with us.—P, Numbers 13:32 ; Numbers 14:1 a , Numbers 14:2; Num 14:5; Num 14:9 a , Numbers 14:10 a , states that on the evil report of the spies, that the land was hungry and the men of great stature, the congregation murmured (a different term from that in the deuteronomic review) against Moses and Aaron. Would God we had died in the wilderness!