remained of the remnant of giants; | was the length thereof, and four behold, his bedstead was a bedstead | cubits the breadth of it, after the of iron: is it not in Rabbath of the cubit of a man.

children of Ammon? nine cubits

516. The bedstead of the king may be mentioned as indicative of his size; but another explanation is possible, and it seems to us more probable. Kings are not without their weak points; and we can easily conjecture, that some such may have desired to be referred to, in after times, as men of great stature. And with this view, they may have occupied bedsteads much larger than was required for their accommodation, and to have them made of iron, not so much for strength as for durability and permanence.

517. This country has been visited by modern travellers, who tell us that the whole country abounds in ruins. Burckhardt says, "The ruins of Elealeh, Heshbon, Meon, Medeba, Dibon, Aroer, still subsist to illustrate the history of the sons of Israel." Mount Nebo was completely barren when Burckhardt passed over it, and the site of the ancient city had not been ascertained. "None of the ancient cities of Moab now remain, as tenanted by men. But the most populous and fertile province in Europe, especially any situated in the interior of a country like Moab, is not covered so thickly with towns, as Moab is plentiful in ruins, deserted and desolate though now it be. Burckhardt enumerates about fifty ruined sites within its boundaries, many of them extensive. In general, they are a broken down and undistinguishable mass of ruins, and many of them have not been closely inspected. But, in some instances, there are the ruins of temples, sepulchral monuments, the ruins of edifices constructed of very large stones, (in one of which buildings some of the stones are twenty feet in length, and so broad that one constitutes the thickness of the wall,) traces of hanging gardens, entire columns, lying on the ground, three feet in diameter, and fragments of smaller columns, and many cisterns out of the rock."*

* Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Art. Moab.

518. The land of Ammon, mentioned in connection with Moab, was anciently no less distinguished, and in the lapse of ages has shared the same fate. Volney says "that in the immense plains of Hauran, ruins are continually to be met with; and what is said of its actual fertility corresponds with the idea given of it in the Hebrew Scriptures." "It is evident," says Burckhardt, "that the whole country must have been extremely well cultivated, in order to have afforded subsistence to the inhabitants of so many towns," as are now visible only in their ruins.

SECTION VIII.-BALAK AND BALAAM.

NUMBERS XXII.

1. And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab, on this side Jordan by Jericho.

2. And Balak, the son of Zippor, saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

3. And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.

4. And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak, the son of Zippor, was king of the Moabites at that time.

5. He sent messengers, therefore, unto Balaam, the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against

me.

6. Come now, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people, for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.

7. And the elders of Moab, and the elders of Midian, departed with the rewards of divination in their hand: and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.

8. And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me: And the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.

9. And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?

10. And Balaam said unto God, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,

11. Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth; come now, curse me them: peradventure shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.

12. And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.

13. And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you.

14. And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.

15. And Balak sent yet again princes, more and more honorable than they.

16. And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak, the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:

17. For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou_sayest unto me: come, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.

18. And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If|

Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot gɔ beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.

19. Now, therefore, I pray you, tarry ye here also this night, that I may know what the LORD will say unto me more.

20. And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.

519. One of the things we learn from this narrative, is the nature of the pagan religion, in respect to certain features here brought to view. Balaam was obviously a great prophet among the pagans of that country and time. His reputation had extended far from his own land. And when Balak sought for his influence against Israel, he did it plainly in accordance with the prevailing convictions of the people over whom he ruled, and the usual custom of the surrounding nations in such cases. Such prophets could evidently be bought and sold. They could be hired to make any announcement that should be desired, provided a sufficient bribe were offered. The whole transaction shows this. This was what Balak expected; and his expectations were based on the prevailing practice. That such predictions had any foundation in truth, Balak did not probably believe; but he knew that the effect of any contest he might have with the Hebrews would depend greatly on the nature of the prediction; since it would assure or discourage his people, according to its character as favorable or unfavorable. And judging his enemies, according to the same standard, as he naturally would, he knew that if a prophet, so distinguished as Balaam, were to pronounce a curse upon Israel, it would tend to dampen their ardor, in proportion as it encouraged and strengthened his own people. It was with Balak, probably,

nothing more than a wise stroke of policy, but with the people (and perhaps with him,) it was a divine arrangement, in which they were to place implicit confidence.

520. Whether he was honest and true to his convictions, or whether he was false and deceptive, we can not positively say. We incline to the belief that he was not honest. That he did not allow himself to be bribed by Balak, is not opposed to this view. He may have expected a greater good from some other source. Either he believed that the children of Israel would reward him for the blessing he pronounced upon them, or he expected to increase his reputation, and derive a corresponding benefit from other sources and at other times. And, besides, he had very good grounds for expecting the success of the Israelites. They had just overcome two of the most powerful kings in all that part of the world; one of whom, in a strife with Moab, on a former occasion, had been the conqueror; and it was natural to conclude that the Israelites who had triumphed over the conqueror of Moab, would not be beaten by Moab herself.

NUMBERS XXII.

21. And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.

22. And God's anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.

23. And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.

24. But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.

25. And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall; and he smote her again.

26. And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn, either to the right hand or to the left.

27. And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam; and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.

28. And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass; and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?

29. And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me; I would there were a sword in my hand, for now would I kill thee.

30. And the ass said unto Ba

laam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.

31. Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.

32. And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? Behold, I went out to withstand

thee, because thy way is perverse before me;

33. And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times; unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.

34. And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.

35. And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

521. The story of Balaam's ass that spake, has been the occasion of much reproach to the Scriptures with no just reason therefor. We place the same confidence in the story, that we do in his predictions. They are all of a piece. The whole is a fabrication by the prophet himself. Moses had no means of knowing what Balaam had seen, except as he got it from Balaam himself; and the latter would relate whatever might serve his purpose. Besides, we do not feel quite certain that Moses did not believe in the divine inspiration of the heathen prophets, or some of them; and, if so, he would be very likely to believe this of Balaam, since the general import of that prediction was highly favorable to the success of his people, and was indeed in harmony with the divine promise. And if he had any confidence in its truth and divine authority, he would not be likely, at this critical moment, when his people needed all the encouragement it afforded, to deny its truth, or throw any doubts upon the prophet's

statements.

522. One or two other things may be added here. I am not quite certain that we rightly understand Balaam himself. I am not sure but we do him injustice, without any good reason for so doing. As Balaam ex