“Quando dividebat Altissimus gentes, quando separabat filios Adam, constituit terminos populorum juxta numerum filiorum Israël.”
“When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.”
“When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.”
“When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the children of men, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel.”
“When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, When he separated the children of men, He set the bounds of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel.”
When God by his providence divided the world, he lent for a time that portion to the Canaanites, which should after be an inheritance for all his people Israel.
Israel. He suffered the people of Chanaan to occupy as much land as would be requisite for the Israelites. Septuagint, “according to the number of the angels of God.” Hence many of the ancients gathered that there were seventy angel guardians of provinces, and as many languages; while others did not pretend to determine the exact number. But the version which they have followed, is in opposition to all the rest. (Calmet) — They have also disputed on this occasion, whether the elect will be equal in number to the good angels, as St. Gregory thinks; (hom. 34, in Luke xv.) or they will only fill up the places of those who have fallen. See Mag. Sent. ii. 9. Abenezra observes, that interpreters understand this text as alluding to the dispersion of nations, (Genesis xi.) when God decreed that the land of the seven nations should belong to and be sufficient for the Israelites. (Amama) (Haydock) — The Hebrew may be rendered, “He fixed the limits of each people. At that time the children of Israel were few in number, (9) when the Lord chose his people,” &c. Long after the division of the earth, (which the Lord had ordered, Acts xvii. 26,) the Israelites were very few in number, as Jacob observes, Genesis xxxiv. 30. See chap. xxvi. 5., and Psalm civ. 9, 12. (Calmet) — But this explication does not satisfy Houbigant, (p. 76, Prol.) no more than that of Le Clerc. He is convinced that a word has been transposed, and another left out, as the Samaritan copy has Israel twice, and he would therefore translate, “He divided his people according to the number of the sons of Israel.” In his eternal decrees, He allotted twelve portions of land in Chanaan to the descendants of Jacob, and these Josue was ordered to mark out for them. See Josue iv. 5. (Haydock)
I. The early designation of the land of Canaan for their inheritance; for herein it was a type and figure of our heavenly inheritance, that it was of old ordained and prepared in the divine counsels, v. 8. Observe,
Verses 7-14 Moses gives particular instances of God's kindness and concern for them. The eagle's care for her young is a beautiful emblem of Christ's love, who came between Divine justice and our guilty souls, and bare our sins in his own body on the tree. And by the preached gospel, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, He stirs up and prevails upon sinners to leave Satan's bondage. ( deuteronomy 32:13-14 ) their spiritual enemies, sin, Satan, and the world, in and through Christ. Also of their safety and triumph in him; of their happy frames of soul, when they are above the world, and the things of it. This will be the blessed case of spiritual Israel in every sense in the latter day.
“By these were divided the islands of the Gentiles in their lands, every one according to his tongue and their families in their nations.”
“And Chanaan begot Sidon his firstborn, the Hethite,”
“And to Heber were born two sons: the name of the one was Phaleg, because in his days was the earth divided: and his brother’s name Jectan.”
“And so the Lord scattered them from that place into all lands, and they ceased to build the city.”
“That day God made a covenant with Abram, saying: To thy seed will I give this land, from the river to Egypt even to the great river Euphrates.”