Numbers 1:1-54

1. The Lord JEHOVAH. The ineffable name was translated into the Greek by the Seventy by the word Κυριος , Lord. Our English translators unwisely followed the Septuagint, and adopted the appellative Lord for the significant, chosen, proper name Jehovah, the one eternal and immutable Being. We notify the reader that this is the ground of our preference of Jehovah to Lord throughout this Commentary. (See notes on Exodus 3:14, and Numbers 6:2.)

Spake Either to the ear in audible words, as is strongly suggested in Exodus 33:11, and Numbers 12:8; or by the urim and thummim, as in Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21; or to the spiritual perception of Moses in such a manner as to give certainty to the communication. A consideration of the three places in which Jehovah spake to him and gave him audience inclines us to the theory of uttered words as the usual mode of communication. These three places were, 1.) The mercy-seat in the most holy place, the principal abode of the oracle. Numbers 7:89. We believe that it was from the mercy-seat between the cherubim that Moses was addressed in this chapter. 2.) At the door of the tabernacle, near the altar of burnt offering. Exodus 29:42. Exodus 29:3.) Out of the cloudy pillar. Exodus 33:9; Numbers 12:5-6; Psalms 99:7.

Moses The reader of the three preceding books has already become too well acquainted with this great man to need an introduction. His character is above eulogy, his great deeds are too numerous for recital. He is the embodiment of the Old Testament as Jesus is of the New. “The law came by Moses, but grace and truth by Jesus Christ.” His agency in the religious instruction and spiritual elevation of mankind will have grateful mention in the anthems of the blood-washed throng in heaven, for they shall sing “the song of Moses and the Lamb.” See Exodus 2:0, Introductory, (3.)

Wilderness of Sinai A wild and mountainous region in Arabia Petraea, between the two branching gulfs of the Red Sea. It is a heap of lofty granite rocks, with steep gorges and deep valleys, abounding in water and luxuriant vegetation in the rainy season. These valleys are then beautiful. The Israelites sojourned in that part of the desert which lies north of Mount Sinai.

“Long as the Desert of Sinai has been known to Christian pilgrims, yet it may almost be said never to have been explored before the beginning of this century. We are still at the threshold of our knowledge concerning it. The older travellers never troubled themselves to compare the general features of the desert with the indications of the sacred narrative, and therefore they missed the cardinal points of dispute. We are still, therefore, in the condition of discoverers; and if we are thus compelled to abstain from positive conclusions, it is a suspense which we need not be afraid to avow, and which in this instance is the less inconvenient, because the very uniformity of nature by which it is occasioned, also enables us to form an image of the general scenes, even where the particular scene is unknown; and many will feel at a distance what many, I doubt not, have felt on the spot, that in speaking of such sacred events, uncertainty is the best safeguard for reverence, and suspense, as to the exact details of form and locality, is the most fitting approach for the consideration of the presence of Him who made darkness his secret place, his pavilion round about him, with dark water and thick ‘clouds to cover them.’” STANLEY’S Sinai and Palestine.

Tabernacle of the congregation Literally, the tent of appointment, or stated meeting, (with Jehovah.) The Septuagint calls it “the tent of witness,” and the Vulgate “the tent of the covenant.” The book of the Law, the witness of the covenant, was kept here. The tabernacle had been standing one month. Exodus 40:17. To distinguish it from the more temporary tent, the dwelling of Moses during the first year of the Exodus the ante-Sinaitic tabernacle this second structure is called the Sinaitic tabernacle. It was constructed by Bezaleel and Aholiab after the model shown to Moses on the mount. Exodus 26:30. It was a portable mansion-house and temple, the miniature of the great temple of Solomon. Its position was significant and commanding. On the east, between it and the camp under the lead of Judah, were the tents of the priests; southward, between it and the camp of Reuben, were the Kohathites placed; on the west, between it and the camp of Ephraim, the Gershonites had their abodes; and on the north, between it and the camp of Dan, was the station of the Merarites. In proportion to the wealth of the people, it was more costly and magnificent than the world-renowned edifice at Jerusalem. For a minute description see Exodus 36-38.

Second month This gives a clew to the period of time occupied by the events narrated in Leviticus, namely, one month, during the encampment at Mount Sinai.