Chapter V: Front Matter (5)

Every word in Ezekiel is taken from Gen. xlix. and Ps. lxxii. From the latter are taken the words, "judgment," and "I will give it." (Compare Ps. lxxii. 1: "Give the King thy judgments.") The combination of these two passages points out their close connection, and indicates that Ps. lxxii. is to be viewed as a comment. _Onkelos_, who thus translates the passage in Gen. xlix., "Until Messiah comes, to whom the kingdom is due, and Him the people shall obey," has very properly only supplemented the declaration of Jacob from Ezekiel, or, at least, has taken thence the explanation of Shiloh.

But, at the same time, the words אשר לי המשפט, which, on the basis of Ps. lxxii., Ezekiel puts in the place of שילה, allude to the letters of the latter word which forms the initials of the words in Ezekiel. That ש is the main letter in אשר, is shown by the common abbreviation of it into ש; and that the י in שילה is unessential, is proved by the circumstance that the name of the place is often written שלה, and that even in Gen. xlix. 10, a number of manuscripts have this orthography.

"From the allusion to a prophecy so well known, and so frequently used, the brevity of the prophecy in Ezekiel is to be explained. It forms a most powerful conclusion and resting-point for the prophetic discourse." (_Hävernick_.)

There cannot be any doubt that Ezekiel found in Gen. xlix. 10, the prophecy of a personal Messiah. They, therefore, who assert that no such prophecy is contained in our passage, must, at the same time, assert that Ezekiel misunderstood it; yea, even more, that, even as early as at that period, a false view of that passage was generally prevalent. For, the manner in which Ezekiel alludes to it presupposes that, at that time, the view which found in it a personal Messiah was generally held. If we observe still further, that Ezekiel connected the allusion to Ps. lxxii. with that to Gen. xlix., we cannot hesitate for a moment to admit that he understood the name Shiloh to be Rest-maker, Peace-maker; only, that on the ground of Ps. lxxii., he mentions the cause instead of the effect. He had, moreover, the stronger reason for designating the bearer of peace as the bearer of judgment, [Pg 96] because, in his time, the want of judgment had evidently produced the absence of peace, and the general confusion, misery, and destruction.

"As in Gen. xlix. the Patriarch sees a light rising at a far distance, and spreading its brightness over the darkness of centuries, so in Ezekiel also, the same ray of glorious hope lightens through the dark night of confusion and unutterable misery in which he sees himself enveloped."

_Kurtz_, S. 266, has altogether denied the connection of the passage in Ezekiel with Gen. xlix. These two passages are, as he thinks, altogether different, inasmuch as Ezekiel announces destruction and desolation which shall continue until He comes to whom is the judgment, while Gen. xlix., when understood of a personal Messiah, announces dominion which shall continue until Shiloh comes. But Ezekiel does not contradict Gen. xlix. 10. He gives only the supplement necessary for preventing this passage from being considered as a permission to sin, and from becoming a support of false security. Ezekiel, too, assumes a continuation of the dominion. If that were not concealed behind the destruction, how could "the coming of Him to whom is the judgment" be pointed out as the limit of that destruction? The tree indeed is cut down, but the root remains in its full vigour.

When Jacob announces that the sceptre shall not depart until Shiloh, the prince of peace, cometh, he can thereby mean only that it would not depart _definitively_; for, otherwise, he would have belied his own experience. From the way by which the Lord had led him, he had sufficiently learnt that God's promises to sinful men must be taken _cum grano salis_; that they never exclude the visitation of the elect on account of their sins, and that it is only in the end that God will bring all to a glorious fulfilment. When he went to Mesopotamia, God had said to him, "I am with thee, and I will keep thee in all places whither thou goest," Gen. xxviii. 15; and yet the deceit which he had practised upon his father and brother was recompensed to him there by the deceit of Laban, and he was obliged to say, "In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from mine eyes," Gen. xxxi. 40. When he came from the land of the two rivers, God blessed him and gave him the honourable name of Israel, Gen. xxxii.; and yet [Pg 97] he had soon thereafter to experience grievous distress on account of Dinah and Joseph; and in chap. xxxvii. 34, 35, we are told concerning him: "And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, I shall go down into the grave unto my son in sorrow." In the kingdom of God there are no other promises than such as resemble those rivers which flow alternately above and below ground, since it is certain that all the subjects of the promises are affected by sin.

Ezekiel xliii. 15 likewise refers to the blessing of Jacob upon Judah. The altar for the burnt-offerings in the new temple is first called _Harel_ = the mountain of God, and afterwards _Ariel_ = the Lion of God,--indicating that what had been promised to Judah in Gen. xlix., viz., the Lion's nature and invincible power, victorious over all enemies, has its root in the altar,--in the circumstance that the people of God are a people whose sins are forgiven, who dedicate themselves to God, and give Him thanks and praise.

A very remarkable reference to Gen. xlix. meets us at the very threshold of the New Testament. In Luke ii. 13, 14, the heavenly host praise God, saying: "Glory be to God in the highest, and on earth peace." The words, "glory" or "praise be to God," are an allusion to Judah, and to the glorious things foretold in Gen. xlix. of him who centres in Christ. Christ is the true Judah,--He by whom God is glorified, John xiv. 13. The words, "on earth peace," contain the explanation of the name Shiloh, the first name under which the Saviour is celebrated in the Old Testament.

As the words with which the Saviour is first introduced into the world allude to Gen. xlix., so the Lord Himself, before His departure, alludes to this fundamental Messianic prophecy in John xiv. 27: "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you;" and in xvi. 33: "These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace." So also, after His resurrection, Christ says, in the circle of His disciples, "Peace be unto you," John xx. 19, 21, 26.

The last book of the entire Holy Scripture--the Apocalypse [Pg 98]--likewise points back to the remarkable prophecy of Christ at the close of its first book. In Rev. v. 5, we read: "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed." "The designation of Christ as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, rests on Gen. xlix. 9. Judah appears there as a lion, in order to denote his warlike and victorious powers. But Judah himself, according to the blessing of dying Jacob, is at some future period to centre in the Messiah. As a type, he had formerly centred already in David, in whom the lion-nature of the tribe of Judah was manifested." This allusion shows that even what Is said in vers. 8, 9, found its complete fulfilment only in Christ, and that vers. 8, 9, are parallel to the entire ver. 10, and not to its first half only.

_Bengel_ remarks on Rev. v. 6: "The elder had pointed John to a Lion, and yet John beheld a Lamb. The Lord Jesus is called a Lion only once in this prophecy, and that, at the very beginning, before the appellation Lamb appears. This indicates that as often as the Lamb is remembered, we should also remember Him as the Lion of the tribe of Judah."

As the designation of Christ as the Lion refers to what, in the blessing of Jacob, is said of the lion-nature of the tribe of Judah, so, in the "Lamb"--the emblem of innocence, justice, silent patience and gentleness--the name Shiloh is embodied.

Footnote 1: _Luther_ says: "No doubt the sons of Jacob will have waited with anxious desire, and with weeping and groaning, for what their father had yet to say; for, after having heard curses so hard and severe, they were very much confounded and afraid. And Judah, too, will certainly not have been able to refrain from weeping, and will have been afraid, when thinking of what should now become of him. There will have arisen in his heart very sad recollections of his sins, of his whoredom with Thamar, and of the advice which he had given to sell Joseph. Certainly, I should have died with sorrow and tears. But there soon follow a fine dew and a lovely balm, refreshing the heart again."

Footnote 2: _Bochart_ says: "When the whelp of a lion is weaned, and begins to go out for prey, and to seek his own food without the help of his mother, he then ceases to be a גור, and is called a כפיר." Deut. xxxiii. 22 must, therefore, not be translated, "Dan is a lion's whelp leaping from Bashan"--as if the גור אריה were already active--but thus, "Dan is a lion's whelp; he shall leap (_i.e._, after he shall have grown up) from Bashan." Dan is in that place styled a lion's whelp, just as is Judah in Gen. xlix. 9, because, as yet, he is only a candidate for future victories.

Footnote 3: The LXX. translate, ἐκ βλαστοῦ υἱέ μου ἀνέβης, "from a shoot, my son, thou hast grown up." They explain טרף by an inappropriate reference to Ezek. xvii. 9, where it is used of a fresh green leaf.

Footnote 4: Calvin says: "This dignity is bestowed upon Judah only with a view to benefit the whole of the people."

Footnote 5: In the first edition of this work, the author had likewise maintained that view.

Footnote 6: It was this difficulty which led _Grotius_ to adopt the feeble exposition, "That teachers out of Judah's posterity would lead the people until the times of the Messiah, who would be the highest leader and commander of Jews and Gentiles."

Footnote 7: Calvin says: "If any one should object, that the words of Jacob convey a different meaning, we would answer him, that whatever promises God gave concerning the outward condition of the Church, they were so far limited that God might, in the meantime, exercise His judgments in the punishment of men's sins, and prove the faith of His people. And indeed it was not a light trial when, at the third succession, the tribe of Judah was deprived of the greater part of his territory. A more severe one followed when, before the eyes of the father, the sons of the king were slain, his own eyes put out, and himself was carried to Babylon, and given over to servitude and exile along with the whole royal family. But the heaviest trial of all came, when the people returned to their land, and were so far from seeing their expectations fulfilled, that they were, on the contrary, subjected to a sad dispersion. But even then, the saints beheld with the eye of faith the sceptre hidden under ground; neither did their hearts fail, nor their courage give way, so that they desisted not from continuing their course."

Footnote 8: Many expositors, following the LXX. (ἐκ τῶν μηρῶν αὐτοῦ), the _Vulgate_ (_de femore ejus_), and the Chaldee Paraphrast, understand this expression as a designation of origin and production. But in that case, we must assume a very hard ellipsis, viz., "he who is to proceed." Moreover, this explanation is destructive of the parallelism, according to which, "from between his feet" must correspond with "from Judah."

Footnote 9: The signification, "expectation," given to this word by the LXX. (καὶ αὐτὸς προσδοκία ἐθνῶν), _Jerome_, and other translators, is founded upon the erroneous derivation of the word from קוה. In the other passage (Prov. xxx. 17), where the LXX. translate, "the age of his mother," they have confounded the root יקה with קהה, "to be blunted."

Footnote 10: _Gousset_ says: The word can signify something good only, on account of the passage, Prov. xxx. 17, namely, something which adorns the relation of the son to his mother, the despising of which is a crime on the part of the son, and which deserves that he should be sent εἰς κόρακας. And not less so from its being used in Gen. xlix. 10 in reference to the Shiloh, where, thereby, not one or a few, but all the nations without exception, are bound to Him by a tie similar to that which exists betwixt mother and son.

Footnote 11: Thus Luther says: "This sceptre of Judah shall continue, and shall not be taken from him, till the hero come; but when He comes, then the sceptre also shall depart. The kingdom or sceptre has fallen; the Jews are scattered throughout the whole world, and, therefore, the Messiah has certainly come; for, at His appearing, the sceptre should be taken from Judah."

Footnote 12: In the volume containing the _Dissertations on the Genuineness of Daniel_, _etc._ Edinburgh, T. and T. Clark.

Footnote 13: _Delitzsch_ (who had formerly been a defender of the explanation of a personal Messiah) differs, in his Commentary on Genesis, from this view, only in so far, that he supposes that, while Judah's dominion over the tribes comes to an end in Shiloh, his dominion over the nations dates from that period. But this explanation must be objected to on the ground, that the dominion bestowed upon Judah is not merely a dominion over the tribes, but over the world.

Footnote 14: _Knobel_ knows of no other expedient by which to escape from the force of this argument, than by changing the punctuation. He proposes to read שֶׁלֶה, a word which nowhere occurs.

Footnote 15: The rationalistic objection, that at so great an age, and on the brink of the grave, man is not wont to compose poems, may be refuted by a reference to the history of the ancient Arabic poetry. The Arabic poets before the time of Mohammed often recited long poems extempore,--so natural to them was poetry. (Compare _Tharaphæ Moallakah_, ed. _Reiske_, p. xl.; _Antaræ Moallakah_, ed. _Menil._ p. 18.) The poet _Lebid_, who attained to the age of 157 years (compare _Reiske prolegg. ad Thar. Moall._ p. xxx.; _De Sacy_, _Memoires de l'Academie des inscriptions_, p. 403 ff.), composed a poem when he was dying; compare _Herbelot Bibl. Or._ p. 513. The poet _Hareth_ was 135 years old when he recited extempore his _Moallakah_, which is still extant; compare _Reiske_ l.c. The objection, too, that it is inconceivable how the blessing spoken by Jacob could have been handed down _verbatim_ to Moses, finds its best refutation in the history of Arabic poetry. The art of writing was introduced among the Arabs only a short time before Mohammed. (Compare _de Sacy_ l.c. pp. 306, 348; _Amrulkeisi Moall._ ed. _Hengstenberg_, p. 3.) Up to that time, even the longest poems, of which some consisted of more than a hundred verses, were preserved by mere oral tradition (compare _Nuweiri_ in _Rosenmüller_, _Zoheiri Moall._ p. 11); and the internal condition of those which have been preserved to us bears the best testimony to their having been faithfully handed down. But in the case before us, something altogether different from a poem was concerned.

Footnote 16: _Onkelos_ paraphrases these words very correctly, thus: "Hear, O Lord, the prayers of Judah when he goes out to war, and bring him safely back to his people."

Footnote 17: It is probable also, that in the passage, Josh. xvi. 6, where Shiloh occurs for the first time as the name of a place, and which we have already discussed, there is not, as we assumed, a connection of the former name with the latter, but the complete appellation, of which the latter--Shiloh--is only an abbreviation. From the well ascertained and common signification of the verb אנה, we are entitled to explain Taanath-Shiloh: "the futurity, or the appearance of Shiloh." Shiloh shall come! Such was the watchword at that time. The word תאנה would then correspond to the יבא of the fundamental passage.

Footnote 18: That there exists a connection between Shiloh and Solomon has often been guessed at and expressed; but expositors have not succeeded well in determining it more closely. The Samarit. Arab. Translation here says expressly: "Until Solomon cometh." (Comp. _Lib. Genes. sec. Arab. Pent._ _Samarit. vers. ed. Kuenen_. _Leyden_, 51.)

Footnote 19: _Kimchi_ says: "As long as the Jews were doing the will of God, they could lie down like the lion without fear."

BALAAM'S PROPHECY.
(Numb. xxiv. 17-19.)

Carried by the Spirit into the far distant future, Balaam sees here how a star goeth out of Jacob and a sceptre riseth out of Israel, and how this sceptre smiteth Moab, by whose enmity the Seer had been brought from a distant region for the destruction of Israel. And not Moab only shall be smitten, but its southern neighbour, Edom, too shall be subdued, whose hatred against Israel had already been prefigured in its ancestor, and had now begun to display Itself; and In general, all the enemies of the [Pg 99] people of God shall be cast down to the ground by the Ruler out of Jacob.

Ver. 17. "_I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh. A star goeth out of Jacob, and a sceptre riseth out of Israel, and smiteth the borders of Moab, and destroyeth all the sons of the tumult._ Ver. 18. _And Edom shall be a possession, and Seir shall be a possession--his enemies, and Israel acquireth might._ Ver. 19. _And a Ruler shall come out of Jacob, and destroyeth what remaineth out of the city._"

The star is, in Scripture, the symbol of the splendour of power. The sceptre leads us back to Gen. xlix. 10; and, in general, the announcements of Balaam have, throughout, the promises and hopes of the Patriarchs for their foundation. As in the fundamental passage, so here also, the sceptre, the symbol of dominion, stands for dominion itself. The substance of the two figurative expressions is briefly stated in ver. 19, in the words, "They shall rule out of Jacob," which are tantamount to, "A Ruler shall come out of Jacob."

A difference of opinion exists regarding the glorious King who is here announced. From the earliest times, the Jews understood thereby the Messiah, either exclusively, or, at least, principally, so as to admit of a secondary reference to David. _Onkelos_ translates: "When a King shall rise out of Jacob, and out of Israel Messiah shall be anointed;"--_Jonathan_: "When a valiant King shall rise out of the house of Jacob, and out of Israel, Messiah, and a strong Sceptre shall be anointed." The Book of Sohar remarks on the words, "I see him, but now:" "This was in part fulfilled at that time; it will be completely fulfilled in the days of Messiah." (Compare the passages in _Jos. de_ _Voisin_, in the _Prooem._ on _R. Martini Pugio fid._ p. 68; _R. Martini_ iii. 3, c. 11; _Schöttgen_, "_Jesus Messias_," S. 151.) How widely this opinion was spread among the Jews, is sufficiently apparent from the circumstance, that the renowned pseudo-Messiah in the time of Hadrian adopted, with reference to the passage under review, the surname _Barcochba_, _i.e._, Son of the Star.--From the Jews, this interpretation very soon passed over to the Christians, who rightly found a warrant for it in the narrative of the star of the wise men from the East. _Cyril_ of Jerusalem defended the Messianic interpretation against _Julian_. (Compare _Julian_, ed. _Spanh._ p. 263 c. See other passages [Pg 100] from the fathers of the Church in _Calov._) According to _Theodoret_ (Quest. 44 in Numb.), there were, indeed, some to whom "Balaam appeared to have foretold nothing concerning our Saviour;" but this opinion was rejected as profane. The Messianic interpretation has, in a narrower and wider sense--_i.e._, as referring in the first instance to David, but in the highest and proper sense to Christ--become the prevailing one in the Evangelical Church also. It was defended even by such interpreters as _Calvin_ and _Clericus_, who, as to other passages, differed from the prevailing Messianic interpretation. (Compare especially _Mieg_, _de Stella et Sceptro Baleamitico_ in the _Thes. Nov._ p. 423 sqq., and _Boullier_, _Dissert. Syll. Amsterdam_ 1750, _Diss._ I.) On the other hand, the Messianic interpretation found a zealous and ingenious opponent, first in _Verschnir_ in the _Bibl. Brem. nova_, reprinted in his _Opusc._ He was joined by the rationalistic interpreters, who maintained an exclusive reference to David. But _Rosenmüller_ and _Baumgarten-Crusius_ (bibl. Theol. S. 369) returned to the Messianic interpretation.

The question at issue is chiefly this:--Whether by the star and sceptre some single Israelitish king is designated, or rather, an ideal person--the personified Israelitish kingdom. The latter view I proved, in my work on Balaam, to be the correct one, for the following reasons:--1. The reference to a certain Israelitish king is against the analogy of the other prophecies of the Pentateuch. A single person, especially a single king of future time, is nowhere announced in it,--except the Messiah, whose announcement, however, is different from that of David. But, on the other hand, the rise of the _kingdom_ in Israel is announced as early as in the promise to the Patriarchs, on which all of Balaam's declarations rest throughout. It is only to this that the words, "A star goeth out of Jacob, and a sceptre riseth out of Israel," can refer,--according to the analogy of Gen. xvii. 6: "Kings shall come out of thee;" ver. 16: "And she shall become nations, _kings_ of people shall be of her;" and xxxv. 11: "Kings shall come out of thy loins." 2. The reference to a single king would be against the _analogy_ of _Balaam's_ prophecies, inasmuch as these nowhere refer to a single individual. 3. The _sceptre_ does not, in itself, lead us to think of an individual, since it does not designate a ruler, but dominion in general. But that which especially militates against the reference [Pg 101] to an individual is the comparison with the fundamental passage, Gen. xlix. 10, in which Judah, and in him all Israel, does not receive the promise of a single king, but of the kingdom which shall at last be consummated in the Shiloh. 4. In favour of this general interpretation is also ver. 19, in which the words, "And dominion shall come out of Jacob," or literally, "They shall rule out of Jacob," may be considered as just a commentary on the words, "A sceptre riseth out of Israel." So also is ver. 7, "More elevated than Agag be his king," where the king of Israel is an _ideal_ person--the personification of the kingdom. Agag, _i.e._, the fiery one, is not a proper name, but a surname of all Amalekite kings. The Amalekite kingdom--which here represents the world's power, opposed to the kingdom of God, because at the time of the Seer the Amalekites were the most powerful among the people who were hostile to Israel (compare ver. 20, where they are called the _beginning_ of the heathen nations, _i.e._, the most powerful of them)--is here put in opposition to the Israelitish kingdom, and the latter will show itself superior to all worldly power.

The arguments which thus prove the reference of Balaam's prophecy to an Israelitish kingdom, disprove also, not only the exclusive reference to David, but also the exclusive reference to Christ; although they imply at the same time that the prophecy, in its final reference, has Christ for its subject. The Israelitish kingdom, indeed, attained to the full height of its destiny only in and with the Messiah; without the Messiah, the Israelitish kingdom is a trunk without a head. The prophecy thus centres in Christ. We are, however, not entitled to suppose that the prophet himself was not aware of this; on the contrary, we cannot but assume that Balaam must have known it. It is with intention that he does not speak of a plurality of Israelitish kings. The Israelitish kingdom, on the contrary, appears to him in the from of an _ideal_ king, because he knows that, at some period, it will find Its full realization in the person of one king. For the same reason, Moses also describes the prophetic order, in the first instance, as an _ideal_ prophet. That Balaam knew that the Israelitish kingdom would centre in the Messiah, is shown by the reference which his prophecy has to that of dying Jacob, in Gen. xlix. 10, from which the figure of the sceptre is borrowed. According to the latter passage, the whole dignity of Judah as [Pg 102] ruler and lord over the whole heathen world is to centre in one elevated individual--the Shiloh. As to the letter, Balaam's prophecy falls short of the prophecy to which it refers, and on which it is founded, in two points. Instead of Judah, it mentions Israel; and instead of the invincible kingdom which is at last to centre in the Messiah, it represents the invincible kingdom only in general. But in both cases, this generality is easily accounted for by the _external_ direction of Balaam's prophecy: a more definite tendency was of importance only for those who were _within_. We are fully entitled to suppose that Balaam himself knew what was contained in the fundamental passage. To the same result we are led by the contents of the prophecy itself. Balaam here brings into view an Israelitish kingdom, all-powerful on earth, and raised absolutely above the world's power. He does not stop with the victory over Moab and Edom--even this victory appears to him as an absolute and lasting one, and hence, essentially different from the temporary submission to David--but, from the particular, which only serves to exemplify the idea in reference to the historical relations existing at the present, he passes on, in ver. 19, to the general, the total overthrow of the whole hostile world's power. Indeed, such a progress is probably found even in ver. 17 itself. If at the close of it we read, "And destroyeth all the sons of the tumult," the word _all_, which is wanting in Jer. xlviii. 45, indicates that by the sons of the tumult we are to understand not only the Moabites, but the whole _species_ to which they belonged, the whole heathen world, whose nature is restlessness, desire for strife, and the spirit of conquest,--the opposites of meekness and gentleness, which are the virtues characteristic of the subjects of the kingdom of God. In ver. 18, the particular is likewise followed by the general. But while ver. 17 and 18 contain, in each of the two particular features, a previous short allusion to the general, ver. 19 most expressly and intentionally reduces the particular to the general. The absolute elevation above the world's power, attributed by Balaam to the Israelitish kingdom, leads not only beyond the idea of a single king of the ordinary stamp, but also beyond that of the entire ordinary kingdom.

The objections urged against the Messianic interpretation are based either on a misunderstanding, or upon a superficial view of the passage. They who maintain that the judging activity of [Pg 103] the Messiah is here brought forward in a manner too one-sided, forget that this part only could here be treated of. As Balaam's discourse formed the answer to Balak's message--"Come, curse me this people; peradventure we shall prevail to smite them and drive them out of the land,"--its natural subject was: _Israel's position towards their enemies_; and Balaam had expressly stated, in ver. 14, that he would treat of that subject. Balaam had to do with an enemy of Israel, and his chief aim was to represent to him the vanity of all his hostile efforts. The partial view arises, therefore, from the nature of the case; and only _in that case_ could doubts arise as to the ultimate reference to the Messiah, if the other view were altogether _denied_. But such is by no means the case; for the words in ver. 9, "Blessed is he that blesseth thee," distinctly point it out. They who object to the Messianic interpretation on the ground that, at the time of Christ, the Moabites had disappeared from the stage of history, overlook the circumstance, that the Moabites here, as well as in Is. xi., where the complete destruction of Moab is likewise assigned to the times of the Messiah, are viewed only in their character as enemies to the congregation of God. If the prophecy were fulfilled upon the Moabites, even at the time when they still existed as a nation, not as Moabites, but as the enemies of the people of God; then the limit of their national existence cannot be the limit of the fulfilment of the prophecy. A case quite analogous is found in Mic. v. 4, 5, where the prophet characterizes the enemies of the kingdom of God at the time of the Messiah by the name of Asshur, although it appears, from other passages, that he distinctly knew that Asshur must, long ere that time, have disappeared from the scene of history.

The Messianic character of the prophecy being thus established, it will be impossible to misunderstand the internal relation between the star of Balaam and the star of the wise men from the East. The star of Balaam is the emblem of the kingdom which will rise in Israel. The star of the Magi is the symbol of the Ruler in whom the kingly power appears concentrated. The appearance of the star embodying the image of the prophet, indicates that the last and highest fulfilment of his prophecies is now to take place.

[Pg 104]

MOSES' PROMISE OF THE PROPHET.
(Deut. xviii. 15-19.)

Ver. 15. "_A prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, Jehovah thy God will raise up: unto him ye shall hearken._ Ver. 16. _According to all that thou desiredst of Jehovah thy God in Horeb, in the day of the assembly, when thou didst say, I will not hear any farther the voice of Jehovah my God, and will not see this great fire any more, that I die not._ Ver. 17. _Then Jehovah said unto me. They have well spoken._ Ver. 18. _A prophet I will raise them up from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put My words into his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him._ Ver. 19. _And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him._"

If we leave out of view the unfortunate attempts of those who would understand by the prophet here promised, either Joshua--as is done by _Abenezra_, _Bechai_, and _von Ammon_ (_Christol_. S. 29)--or Jeremiah--as is the case in _Baal Hatturim_ and _Jalkut_ out of the book _Pesikta_, and in _Abarbanel_--we may reduce the expositions of this passage to three classes. 1. Several consider the "prophet" as a collective noun, and understand thereby the prophets of all times. Such was the opinion of _Origen_ (_c. Celsum_ i. 9, § 5, _Mosh._), of the Arabic translator, and of most of the modern Jewish interpreters,--especially _Kimchi_, _Alshech_, and _Lipman_ (_Nizachon_ 137); while _Abenezra_ and _Bechai_ conjoin this view with that according to which Jeremiah is meant. Among recent expositors, it is defended by _Rosenmüller_, _Vater_, _Baumgarten-Crusius_ (_Bibl. Theol._ S. 369), and others. 2. Some see in it an exclusive reference to Christ,--a view which has been held by most interpreters in the Christian Church, and from the earliest times. It is found as early as in _Justin Martyr_, _Tertullian_, _Athanasius_, _Eusebius_ (_Demonstr._ iii. 2, ix. 11), _Lactantius_ (iv. 17), _Augustine_ (_c. Faustum_, xvi. c. 15, 18, 19), and _Isidore_ of _Pelusium_ (c. iii. ep. 49). It was held by _Luther_ (t. 3. _Jen. Lat._ f. 123), became the prevailing one in the Lutheran Church, and was [Pg 105] approved of by most of the Reformed interpreters. Among its earliest defenders, the most eminent are _Deyling_ (_Misc._ ii. 175), _Frischmuth_ (in the _Thesaurus theol.-philol._ i. 354), and _Hasaeus_ (in the _Thes. theol.-philol._ nov. i. S. 439.) In recent times it has been defended by _Pareau_ (in the _Inst. interpr. V. T._ p. 506), by _Knapp_ (_Dogm._ ii. 138). 3. Others have steered a middle course, inasmuch as they consider the "prophet" to be a collective noun, but, at the same time, maintain that only by the mission of Christ, in whom the idea of the prophetic order was perfectly realized, the promise was completely fulfilled. Thus did _Nicolaus de Lyra_, _Calvin_, several Roman Catholic interpreters, _Grotius_, _Clericus_, and others.

In favour of the Messianic interpretation, the authority of tradition has been, first of all, appealed to. It is true that modern Jewish interpreters differ from it; but this has been the result of polemical considerations alone. It can be satisfactorily proved that the Messianic interpretation was the prevailing one among the older Jews. 1 Mac. xiv. 41--"Also that the Jews and priests resolved that Simon should be commander and high priest for ever, until a _credible prophet_ should arise,"--has been frequently appealed to in proof of this, but erroneously. For, that by the "credible prophet," _i.e._, one sufficiently attested by miracles or fulfilled prophecies, we are not to understand the prophet promised by Moses (as was done by Luther, and many older expositors who followed him), is shown, partly by the absence of the article, and partly by the circumstance that a _credible_ prophet is spoken of. The sense is rather this: Simon and his family should continue to hold the highest dignity until God Himself should make another arrangement by a future prophet, as there was none at that time (comp. Ps. lxxiv. 9: "There is no more any prophet"), and thus put an end to a state of things which, on the one hand, was in contradiction to the law, and, on the other, to the promise,--a state of things unto which they had been led by the force of circumstances, and which could, at all events, be only a provisional one. (Compare _J. D. Michaelis_ on that passage.) It is not on the passage under review that the expectation of a prophet there rests, but rather on Mal. iii. 1, 23, where a prophet is promised as the precursor of the Messiah. But the New Testament furnishes sufficient materials for proving the [Pg 106] Messianic interpretation. The very manner in which Peter and Stephen quote this passage shows that the Messianic interpretation was, at that time, the prevailing one. They do not deem it at all necessary to prove it; they proceed on the supposition of its being universally acknowledged. It was, no doubt, chiefly our passage which Philip had in view when, in John i. 46, he said to Nathanael: ὃν ἔγραψε Μωϋσῆς ἐν τῷ νόμῳ εὑρήκαμεν, Ἰησοῦν. For, besides the passage under consideration, there is only one other personal Messianic prophecy in the Pentateuch, namely, Gen. xlix. 10; and the marks of the Shiloh did not so distinctly appear in Jesus, as did those of the Prophet. The mention of the person of Moses[1] (which in Gen. xlix. 10 is less concerned), and of the law, clearly point to the passage under review. After the feeding of the five thousand, the people say, in John vi. 14: Ὅτι οὗτος ἐστιν ἀληθῶς ὁ προφήτης, ὁ ἐρχόμενος εἰς τὸν κόσμον. The Messianic interpretation was, accordingly, not peculiar to a few learned men, but to the whole people. Even with the Samaritans the Messianic explanation was the prevailing one,--based, no doubt, upon the tradition which had come to them from the Jews. The Samaritan woman says, in John iv. 25: οἶδα ὅτι Μεσσίας ἔρχεται, ὁ λεγόμενος Χριστός· ὅταν ἔλθῃ ἐκεῖνος, ἀναγγελεῖ ἡμῖν πάντα. Now, as the Samaritans acknowledged only the Pentateuch, there is no other passage than that under review from which the idea of the Messiah as a divinely enlightened teacher, which is here expressed, could have been derived. The last words agree in a remarkable manner with Deut. xviii. 18: "And he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." That too great weight, however, must not be attached to tradition, is shown by John i. 21, and vii. 40, 41; for these passages clearly prove that there were also many who thought it possible that Deut. xviii. contained not only the announcement of the Messiah, but of some distinguished prophet also, besides Him, who should be His precursor or companion. At the same time, we must not overlook the circumstance that, in both passages, the people are at a loss, and are thereby induced to deviate from the prevailing [Pg 107] opinion. Their uncertainty and wavering, however, is only about the person. In this they agree, notwithstanding, that in Deut. xviii. they find the announcement of one distinguished person.

But the Messianic interpretation may appeal, with still greater confidence, to the direct evidence of the New Testament. The declaration of the Lord in John v. 45-47 is here to be noticed above all: Μὴ δοκεῖτε ὅτι ἐγὼ κατηγορήσω ὑμῶν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα· ἔστιν ὁ κατηγορῶν ὑμῶν, Μωϋσῆς, εἰς ὃν ὑμεῖς ἠλπίκατε. Εἰ γὰρ ἐπιστεύετε Μωϋσῇ, ἐπιστεύετε ἂν ἐμοί· περὶ γὰρ ἐμοῦ ἐκεῖνος ἔγραψεν. Εἰ δὲ τοῖς ἐκείνου γράμμασιν οὐ πιστεύετε, πῶς τοῖς ἐμοῖς ῥήμασι πιστεύσετε;--It is clear that the Lord must here have had in view a distinct passage of the Pentateuch,--a clear and definite declaration of Moses. Dexterous explanations (_Bengel_: _Nunquam non_; _Tholuck_: The prophetical and typical element implied in the whole form of worship) are of no apologetic value, and it is not possible summarily, on such grounds, to call the enemies before the judgment-seat of God. It was not enough to allude, in a way so general, to what could not be at once perceptible; greater distinctness and particularity would have been required. But if a single declaration--a direct Messianic prophecy--form the question at issue, our passage only can be meant; for it is the only prophecy of Christ which Moses, on whose person great stress is laid, uttered in his own name. Moreover, Christ would more readily expect that the Jews would acknowledge our prophecy to be fulfilled in Him, than the prophecy in Gen. xlix., which refers rather to the Messiah in glory. The preceding words of Jesus likewise contain references to the passage now under consideration. Ver. 38--"And ye have not His word abiding in you; for whom He hath sent, Him ye believe not,"--contains an allusion to Deut. xviii. 18: "And I will put My words into his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him;" so that whosoever rejects the Ambassador of God, rejects His word at the same time. John v. 43--"I am come in My Father's name, and ye receive Me not,"--acquires both its significance and earnestness from its reference to ver. 19 of our passage: "Whosoever will not hearken unto My words, which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him." _Further_,--The point at issue in this discourse of Christ is an accusation of the Jews against Christ, [Pg 108] that He had violated the Mosaic law. (Compare John v. 10-16, and v. 18, which states the second apparent violation of the law.) It was thus highly appropriate that Jesus should throw back upon the Jews the charge which they brought against Him, and should prove to them that it was just they who were in fatal opposition to the enactments of the Mosaic law. _Finally_,--It is this same Moses in whom they trusted, whom they considered as their patron, and whom to please the more, they were so zealous for his law against Jesus,--it is this same Moses whom Jesus represents as their accuser. And he is such an accuser as renders every other superfluous, so that Christ did not need specially to come forward in such a character. The accusation of Moses must, then, according to this declaration, and in accordance with what follows, refer to the cause of Christ. But the passage under review is the only Messianic prophecy of a _threatening character_ which the Pentateuch contains,--the only one in which divine judgments are threatened to the despisers of the Messiah,--the only Mosaic foundation for the denunciation: "Woe to the people that despiseth thee." If it be denied that Christ refers to it,--if its Messianic character be not acknowledged, the first words of Christ are destitute of foundation. But if it be thus undeniable that Christ declared Himself to be the prophet of our passage, it must be considered an indirect attack upon His divinity to say, as _Dr Lücke_ does, that Christ did so by way of "adaptation to the interpretation of that time." It is just this appeal which forms the pith of Christ's discourse; it is the real death-blow inflicted by Him upon His adversaries. If this blow was a mere feint, His honour is endangered,--which may God forbid!--The Lord further marks Himself out as the prophet announced by Moses, and that, too, in a very distinct manner, in John xii. 48-50,--a passage which is evidently based upon vers. 18 and 19 of the text under review. (Compare John xiv. 24-31.)--To this we may add, further, that, according to St Luke xxiv. 44, the Lord Himself explains to His disciples the prophecies in the Pentateuch concerning Him; and we cannot well expect that Christ should have made no reference to a passage which one of the Apostles points out as being of greater weight than all others. This is done by Peter in Acts iii. 22, 23. The manner in which he quotes it, entirely excludes the notion that Moses was [Pg 109] speaking of Christ, only in so far as He belonged to the collective body of the prophets. Peter says expressly, that Moses and the later prophets foretold τὰς ἡμέρας ταύτας; and the words, τοῦ προφήτου ἐκείνου, show that he did not understand the singular in a collective sense. The circumstance that Stephen, in Acts vii. 37, likewise refers the passage to Christ, would not be, in itself, conclusive, because Stephen's case is different from that of the Apostles. But we must not overlook the passage Matt. xvii. 5, according to which, at Christ's transfiguration, a voice was heard from heaven which said: οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητὸς, ἐν ᾧ εὐδόκησα· αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε. As the first part of this declaration is taken from the Messianic prediction in Is. xlii., so is the second from the passage under consideration; and, by this use of its words, the sense is clearly shown. It is a very significant fact, that our passage is thus connected just with Is. xlii.--the first prophetic announcement in which it is specially resumed, and in which the prophetic order itself is the proclaimer of _the_ Prophet. And it is not less significant that this reference to our text, with which all the other announcements by Isaiah concerning the Great Prophet to come are so immediately connected, should precede chapters xlix., l., and lxi. It thus serves as a commentary upon the declaration of Moses. The beginning and the outlines receive light from the progress and completion.

He, however, who believes in Christ, will, after these details, expect that internal reasons also should prove the reference to Christ; and this expectation is fully confirmed.

That Moses did not intend by the word נביא "prophet," to designate a collective body merely, but that he had at least some special individual in view, appears, partly, from the word itself being constantly in the singular, and, partly, from the constant use of the singular suffixes in reference to it; while, in the case of collective nouns, it is usual to interchange the singular with the plural. The force of this argument is abundantly evident in the fact, that not a few of even non-Messianic interpreters have been thereby compelled to make some single individual the subject of this prophecy. But we must hesitate the more to adopt the opinion that נביא stands here simply in the singular instead of the plural, because neither does this word anywhere else occur as a collective noun, nor is the prophetic order ever [Pg 110] spoken of in the manner alleged. The expectation of a Messiah was already at that time current among the people. In what way, then, could they understand a promise, in which one individual only was spoken of, except by referring it, at least chiefly, to the one whom they expected?--_Hofmann_ (_Weissagung und Erfüllung_ i. S. 253) objects that the prophet here spoken of was, in no respect, different from the _king_ in Deut. xvii. 14-20. But the king mentioned there is no collective noun. An individual who, in future times, should first attain to royal dignity, forms there the subject throughout. This appears especially from ver. 20, where he and his _sons_ are spoken of. The first king is held up as an example, to show in him what was applicable to the royal dignity in general. On the other hand, it is in favour of our view, that, in the verses immediately preceding (vers. 8-13), the priests are, at first, spoken of only in the plural, although the priestly order had much more of the character of a collective body than the prophetic order.

A comparison between this prophecy and that of the Shiloh in Gen. xlix. 10 is likewise in favour of the Messianic interpretation. Even there. His prophetic office is alluded to in the kingly office. The ruler out of Judah is the Peaceful One, to whom the nations yield a spontaneous obedience, an obedience flowing from a pious source,--and He rules not by compulsion, but by the word.

The prophet is moreover contrasted with a single individual--with Moses; and this compels us to refer the prophecy to some distinguished individual. In ver. 15, Moses promises to the people a prophet _like unto himself_; and thus also does the Lord say, in ver. 18: "A prophet _like unto thee_ I will raise up." We cannot for a moment suppose that this likeness should refer to the prophetic calling only,--to the words: "I will put My words into his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." It must at the same time be implied in it, that the future prophet shall be as thoroughly competent for his work, as Moses was for that which was committed to him. If it were not so, the promise would be deficient in that consolatory and elevating character which, according to the context, it is evidently intended to possess. If we were to paraphrase thus, "The Lord will raise up a prophet, inferior, indeed, to myself, [Pg 111] but yet the bearer of divine revelations," we should at once perceive how unsuitable it were. _Further_,--It is quite evident that the "Prophet" here is the main instrument of divine agency among the Covenant-people of the future,--that He is the real support and anchor of the kingdom of God. But now the difficulties of the future were, as Moses himself saw, so great, that gifts in any way short of those of Moses would by no means have been sufficient. Moses foresees that the spirit of apostasy, which, even in his time, began to manifest itself, would, in future times, increase to a fearful extent. (Compare especially Deut. xxxii.) Against this, ordinary gifts and powers would be of no avail. A successful and enduring reaction could be brought about only by one who should be, for the more difficult circumstances of the future, such as Moses was for his times. But--and this circumstance is of still greater weight--it forms the task of the future to translate the whole heathen world into the kingdom of God. In it, Japheth is to dwell in the tents of Shem; all the nations of the earth are to become partakers in the blessing resting on Abraham. In the view of such a task, a prophet of ordinary dimensions, as well as the collective body of such, would dwindle down to the appearance of a dwarf. They would have been less than Moses. In Deut. xxxiv. 10, it is said, "There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face;"--a passage which not only plainly refers to the experience acquired at that time, but which expresses also what might be expected of that portion of the future which was more immediately at hand. When Miriam and Aaron said, "Doth the Lord indeed speak only by Moses, doth He not speak by us also?" the Lord immediately, Num. xii. 6-8, reproves their presumption of thinking themselves _like unto Moses_, as respects the prophetical gift, in these words: "If some one be your prophet,"--_i.e._, if some one be a prophet according to your way, with prophets of your class,--"I, the Lord, make myself known unto him in a vision, in a dream I speak unto him. Not so my servant Moses; in all My house he is faithful. Mouth to mouth I speak to him, and face to face, and not in dark speeches; and the appearance of the Lord he beholds." Moses, as a prophet, is here contrasted with the whole order of prophets of ordinary gifts. A higher dignity among them is claimed for him on the ground that not some special mission, [Pg 112] but the care of the whole economy of the Old Testament, was entrusted to him; compare Heb. iii. 5. His is a specially close relation to the Lord, a specially high degree of illumination. The collective body of ordinary prophets cannot, therefore, by any possibility be the "prophet" who is _like unto Moses_, as completely equal to the task of the future as Moses was for that of his day. But the greater the work of the future, the more necessary is it that the prophet of the future, in order to be _like unto Moses_, should, in his whole individuality, and in all his gifts, be far superior to him; compare Heb. iii. 6.

_Finally_,--The common prophetic order itself refuses the honour of being the prophet like unto Moses. The prophecies of Isaiah, in chapters xlii., xlix., l., and lxi., are based upon our passage, and in all of them the Messiah appears as the prophet κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν. It is to Him that the mission is entrusted of being the restorer of Jacob, and the salvation of the Lord, even unto the end of the world.

Whilst these reasons demand the reference of this prophecy to Christ, there are, on the other hand, weighty considerations which make it appear that a reference to the prophetic order of the Old Testament cannot be excluded. These considerations are, 1. The wider context. Deuteronomy is distinguished from the preceding books by this, that provisions are made in it for the time subsequent to the death of Moses, which was now at hand. From chap. xvii. 8, the magistrates and powers--the superiors, to whose authority in secular and spiritual affairs the people shall submit--are introduced. First, the civil magistrates are brought before them, xvii. 8-20; and then the ecclesiastical superiors, chap. xviii. Vers. 1-8 treat of the priests as the ordinary servants of the Lord in spiritual things. Everywhere else, offices, institutions, orders, are spoken of. In such a connection, it is not probable that _the prophet_ should be only an individual; and the less so, because evidently the prophet, as the organ of the immediate revelation of God, is placed by the side of the priests, the teachers of the law (compare xvii. 10, 11, 18; xxxiv. 10), as their corrective, as a thorn in their flesh, to make up for their inability. It is true that this wider connection is also against those who would here _exclude_ Christ. If it be certain that Moses already knew the Messianic promises (compare the remarks on Gen. xlix.), then, just in this context, the reference [Pg 113] to Christ, the head of the authorities of the future, could not be wanting.