“Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven,”
This day, very soon, (Menochius) within the space of a month. (Calmet) — Sky: an hyperbole to denote their surprising height. (Worthington)
“A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak!”
Stand. Hebrew, “who can stand before the sons of Enak?” as if this were a sort of proverb. (Calmet) — The spies had formerly terrified the people with the report of the high walls and gigantic inhabitants of Chanaan, Numbers xiii. 18.
“Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.”
Fire. See chap. iv. 24. The conducting angel would fight for the Hebrews. (Haydock)
“Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.”
Strove. Hebrew, “irritated.” (Calmet) — Septuagint, “continually disbelieved the Lord.” Moses hence takes occasion to lay before the people their frequent and most heinous offences, on account of which they might justly have feared being destroyed, as much as the infamous nations whom they were about to supplant. They might thus be convinced that they had been chosen gratuitously. (Haydock) — For God hates nothing more than ingratitude and presumption. (Calmet)
“Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you.”
Would, if He had not been appeased by earnest supplication, as [in] ver. 20.
“And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.”
Have quickly. Hebrew, “have become corrupt; they have quickly abandoned the way which I commanded them.” (Haydock) — Septuagint, “the people hath sinned….they have quickly transgressed,” &c. (Calmet) — Idol. Protestants have “image.” The Hebrews had called the similitude of a calf their god, Exodus xxxii. (Haydock)
“And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.”
Sinned, by idolatry, which comprises every sort of sin. Hence the Scripture only specifies that Jeroboam caused Israel to sin, when it means to assert that he engaged the people in the worship of idols. (Calmet)
“And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.”
Sins. Many believe that Moses spent the whole time in obtaining pardon. Hiscuni agrees herein with the other Rabbins, only he thinks Moses was all the time in the tabernacle. Other 40 days, or a third rigid fast, were requisite to obtain the second tables of the law, as the text seems to insinuate, (ver. 25., and chap. x. 10,) unless Moses repeat what he has here asserted, as many able chronologers suppose. (Torneil; Usher; &c.) (Calmet) (Tirinus) — The former opinion is maintained, however, by Salien, &c., Exodus xxxiv. (Haydock)
“And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.”
Sin. The Scripture designates by this name not only the evil action, but also the propensity to it, the object, matter, occasion, punishment , or victim of sin. — The calf. He broke the idol in pieces, and then ground it small, Exodus xxxii. 20. (Calmet)
“And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath.”
Burning, &c. The places called in Hebrew, “Tabera, Masa, and Kibroth Hattaavah.” (Haydock) — At the first, the murmurers were burnt; (Numbers xi. 1) at the second, or at Raphidim, (Calmet) the people demanded water, and were supplied from Horeb; (Exodus xvii. 2, 7.; Menochius) though some confound this with the former place. It seems rather to refer to the temptation, or murmur of the people, on account of quails, Numbers xi. 34., and Psalm lxxvii. 18. (Calmet)
“Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.”
Slighted. Hebrew, “rebelled against,” &c., as [in] ver. 24. Septuagint, “you were incredulous to.” See Numbers xiii. 3.
“Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.”
To know you. When Moses slew the Egyptian, and would have pacified two of his contending brethren, they refused to receive his mediation; so also, when he returned from Madian, to rescue them from slavery, they presently began to murmur against him, and continued to do so frequently for 40 years. (Haydock) — Septuagint refers this to God, “from the day that he was known to you,” and received you for his peculiar people, Exodus xi. 25.
“Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you.”
Nights. See ver. 18. (Calmet) — After specifying various seditions of the people, Moses returns to what he had been saying respecting the tables of the law, and shews with what difficulty he obtained pardon for the people, and the second tables. (Haydock) — Some people believe that Moses was thrice 40 days in the mountain. He mentions the prayer which he addressed to God before his first descent, Exodus xxxii. 11. (Menochius)