BOOK III. Containing an Interval of Two Years. FROM THE EXODUS OUT OF EGYPT, TO THE REJECTION OF THAT GENERATION. CHAP. I. OF THE VICISSITUDES EXPERIENCED BY THE HEBREWS IN THEIR JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI. WHEN the Hebrews had obtained such a wonderful deliverance, the country was a great trouble to them, for it was entirely a desert, and had not water enough to suffice any of the cattle; for it was parched up, and had not moisture that might afford nutriment to the vegetables. So they were forced to travel over this country, as having no other route. They had, indeed, carried water with them from the land over which they had travelled before, as their conductor had bidden them; but when that was spent they were obliged to draw water out of wells, with pain, by reason of the hardness of the soil. The water thus obtained, also, was bitter, and unfit for drinking, and this in small quantities. And as they thus travelled, they came late in the evening to a place called Marah,* from the * Dr. Bernard takes notice here, that this place Mar, where the waters were bitter, is called by the Syrians and Arabians, Mariri; and by the Syrians sometimes Marath, all derived from the Hebrew Mar; as also he takes notice, that it is called the bitter fountain, by Pliny bimself. Which waters are bitter still, as Thevenot assures us; as there are also abundance of palm-trees. See his Travels, part I. chap. xxvi. page 166. Thither badness of its waters: for Mar denotes bitterness. they came afflicted, both by the tediousness of the journey, and by want of food; for it entirely failed them at that time. Now here was a well, which induced them to stay in the place; for although it was not sufficient to satisfy so great an army, it afforded them some comfort in such a desert place; for they heard from those who had been to search, that there was nothing to be found, if they travelled farther. The water, however, was bitter, and not fit for men to drink; and not only so, but it was intolerable even to the cattle themselves. rance. When Moses saw how much the people were cast down, and that the occasion of it could not be contradicted; for the people were not in the nature of a complete army of men, who might oppose a manly fortitude to the necessity that distressed them; and the multitude of the children and of the women, being of too weak capacities to be persuaded by reason, blunted the courage of the men themselves; Moses was in great difficulties, and made every body's calamities to be his own; for they all ran to him, and begged of him; the women begged for their infants, and the men for the women, that he would not overlook them, but procure some way or other for their deliveHe therefore betook himself to prayer to God, that he would change the water, and make it fit for drinking. And when God had granted him that favour, he took the top of a stick that lay at his feet, and divided it in the middle, and made the section lengthways; he then let it down into the well, and persuaded the Hebrews that God had hearkened to his prayers, and had promised to render the water such as they desired it to be, in case they would be subservient to him in what he should enjoin them to do, and this not after a remiss or negligent manner. And when they asked, what they were to do in order to have the water changed for the better; he bid the strongest men among them that stood there, to draw up water; and told them that when the greatest part was drawn up, the remainder would be potable.† So they laboured at it till the water was so agitated and purged as to be fit to drink. * Exod. xv. 23. ↑ The additions here to Moses's account of the sweetening the waters at Marab, seem derived from some ancient profane author, and he such an author also, as Removing from thence, they came to Elim,* which place looked very well at a distance, for there was a grove of palmtrees, but when they came nearer, it appeared to be a bad place, for the palm-trees were no more than seventy, and they were ill-grown, and creeping trees, by the want of water, for the country about was all parched, and no moisture sufficient to water them, and make them hopeful and useful, was derived to them from the fountains, which were twelve in number; they were rather a few moist places, than springs, which not breaking out of the ground, nor running over could not sufficiently water the trees. And when they dug into the sand, they met with no water, and if they took a few drops of it into their hands, they found it to be useless on account of its mud. The trees also were too weak to bear fruit, for want of being sufficiently cherished and enlivened by the water. So they laid the blame on their conductor, and made heavy complaints against him; and said, that this their miserable state, and the experience they had of adversity, were owing to him: for that they had then journeyed thirty days, and had spent all the provisions they had brought with them, and meeting with no relief, they were in a very desponding condition. Thus by fixing their attention upon nothing but their present misfortunes, they were hindered from remembering what deliverances they had received from God, and those by the virtue and wisdom of Moses also; so they were very angry at their conductor, and were looks less authentic than are usually followed by Josephus. Philo has not a syllable of these additions; nor any other ancient writer that we know of. Had Josephus written his Antiquities for the use of the Jews, he would hardly have given them these very improbable circumstances; but writing to Gentiles, that they might not complain of his omission of any accounts of such miracles derived from Gentiles, he did not think proper to conceal what he had met with there about this matter. Which procedure is perfectly agreeable to the character and usage of Josephus upon many occasions. This is, however, barely conjectural; and since Josephus never tells us when his own copy, taken out of the temple, had such additions; or when any ancient notes supplied them; or indeed when they were derived from Jewish, and when from Gentile antiquities, we can go no farther than bare conjecture in such cases. Only the notions of Jews were generally so different from those of Gentiles, that we may sometimes make no improbable guesses to which sort such additions belong. See also somewhat like these additions in Josephus's account of Elisha's making sweet the bitter and barren spring near Jericho. Of the War, IV. 8. * Exod. xv. 27. zealous to stone him, as the direct occasion of their present miseries. But while the multitude were irritated and bitterly set against him, Moses cheerfully relied upon God, and upon his consciousness of the care he had taken of his own people, and he came into the midst of them, even while they clamoured against him, and had stones in their hands, in order to despatch him. Now he was of an agreeable presence, and very able to persuade the people by his speeches: accordingly he began to mitigate their anger, and exhorted them not to be over mindful of their present adversities, lest they should thereby suffer the benefits that had formerly been bestowed on them, to slip out of their memories; and he desired them by no means on account of their present uneasiness, to cast those great and wonderful favours and gifts, which they had obtained of God, out of their minds: but to expect deliverance out of their present troubles, which they could not free themselves from; and this by the means of that Divine providence which watched over them: as it was probable that God merely tried thier virtue, and exercised their patience by these adversities, that it might appear what fortitude they had, and what memory they retained of his former wonderful works in their favour and whether they would not think of them upon occasion of the miseries they now felt. He told them, it appeared they were not really good men, either in patience, or in remembering what had been successfully done for them, sometimes by contemning God, and his commands, when, by those commands, they left the land of Egypt; and sometimes by behaving themselves ill towards him who was the servant of God, and this when he had never deceived them, either in what he said, or had ordered them to do by God's command. He also reminded them of all that had passed: how the Egyptians were destroyed when they attempted to detain them, contrary to the command of God; and after what manner the very same river was to the others bloody, and not fit for drinking, but was sweet and potable to them; and how they went a new road through the sea, which fled a long way from them by which means they were themselves preserved, but saw their enemies destroyed; and that when they were in want of weapons, God gave them plenty of them. Thus he recounted all : the particular instances, when they were in appearance, just going to be destroyed, but God had saved them in a surprising manner that he had still the same power, and that they ought not even now to despair of his providence over them, and accordingly he exhorted them to continue quiet, and to consider that help would not come too late, though perhaps not immediately, if it were present with them before they suffered any great misfortune. "You ought," said he, "to reason thus, that God delays to assist you, not because he has no regard to you, but because he will first try your fortitude, and the pleasure you take in your freedom; that he may learn whether you have souls great enough to bear want of food, and scarcity of water on its account; or whether you really love to be slaves, as cattle are slaves to such as own them, and feed them liberally, but only in order to make them more useful in their service. As for myself, I shall not be so much concerned for my own preservation, for if I die unjustly, I shall not reckon it any affliction but I am concerned for you, lest by casting stones at me, you should be thought to condemn God himself.” : By this means Moses pacified the people, and restrained them from stoning him, and brought them to repent of what they were going to do. And because he thought the necessity they were under made their passion less unjustifiable, he thought it needful to apply to God by prayer and supplication; and going up to an eminence, he requested some succour for the people, and some way of deliverance from the want that they were in; because in God, and in him alone, was their hope of salvation.He also desired that he would forgive what necessity had forced the people to do: since such was the nature of mankind, hard to please, and very complaining under adversities. Accordingly God promised he would take care of them, and afford the succour they were desirous of. Now when Moses had heard this, he came down to the multitude; and as soon as they saw him joyful at the promises he had received from God, they changed their sad countenances into gladness. So he placed himself in the midst of them, and told them he came to bring them from God a deliverance out of their present distress. Accordingly a little time after came a vast number of quails, (which birds are more plentiful in this Arabian Gulf than any |