the chiefs of P h a r a o h V people faid, Wilt thou let M o s f . s and his pe'oplégo;
that they may aft corruptly in the earth, and leave thee and thy gods*•?
P BAR A h anfwered, We will caufe their male children to be flain, and we will
fuffer their females to live *; and By that'mans we fhall prevail over them.
M o s e s faid unto his people, Afk afiiftance of G o d , and fuffer patiently: f o r
the earth is G od’ j, he giveth it for an inheritance unto fuch of his fervants
as he pleafèth ; and the profperous end Jhall be' unto thofe who fear him,.
They anfwered, We have been afflifted by having our male childrenflain, before
thou cameft unto us, and alfo fince thou haft come unto us. Moses
faid, Peradventure it may happen that your L o r d will deftroy your enemy,
and will caufe you to fucceed him in the earth, that he may fee, how yewilj;
aft therein. And we formerly punifhed the people of P i i a r a o h with dearth
and fcarcity of fruits, that they might be warned. Yet when go'od.happened'
unto them, they faid, This is owing unto us : but if. evil betel them,, they;
attributed the fame to the ill luck of Moses, and thofe wKb- 'tórf-with him «,
Was not their ill luck with God4? but moft of them knew it not. And they
faid unto M o s e s , Whatever fign thou fhew unto us, tot inchant, us therewith,
we will not believe on thee. Wherefore we fent upon them a flood % and lo-
cufts, and licef , and frogs, and blood diftinft, miraclesbut they behaved:
proudly, and became a wicked people. And when the plague6 fell on them,
they faid, O M o s e s , intreat thy L o r d for us, according to that which he'hktft
covenanted with thee: verily if thou take the plague from off us, we will fure-
Iy believe thee, and we will let the ,children of I s r a e l go with th.ee. But
when we had taken the plague from off. them,, until the term which God hd
granted them was expired,, behold, they broke their, promife. Wherefore
■ tH godsi\ Which were the ftars, or other ment for tKeir witkednefc
idols But fome of the commentators, from eer- 1 A. floods This inundation, they fay, was
tain impious expreffions of this ptince,recorded in pccaftoned by unufual rains’ which contiaoed.
the Koran ® whereby he lets up himfelfas the eight days together, and the-overflowing of the
only god of his fubjefts, fuppofe that he was the Nile-, and not only covered their lands, but came
objeft of their worfliip, and therefore inftead of into their houfes,. and rofe as high as i t j a i
alihataca, O t r d s . read ilahdtata, thy wi/rjhip*. andnecksj.but the children of had.'norain
► TP, will caufe their mate children to befain, in their quarters*. As' there is no ‘mention of
Sec 1 That Is, We will, continue to make ufe of any fuch miraculous'inundation in
the fame cruel, policy to keep the IfrUelites in writings, fome have imagined ;thisi plague to,
fubjeftion, as we have hitherto done. The Have been: either a peftilence, or the fmallpox,
commentators fay that Pharaoh came to this re- or fome other epidemicaldiftemper 5. For the
folution becaufe he had either been admoniffied in word tufin, which is ufed in this place, and is ge-
a dream, or by the aflrologers or diviners, that nerally rendered a deluge, may alfo iigmfy any
bne of that nation ihbuld fubvert his kingdom * , other univerfal deftruaion or mortality.
• %> the. ill luck of Mofes ,'&c.] Looking on him r; Licei\ Some will have thefe infetfs to have
and his followers as tbe occafion o f thofe cala- bet'n'a larger fort of tick; others, theyounglo-
jhities. T h e original wórd properly Cgnifies to cults before they have wings®. _
take an ominous and finifter prejage of any future * The plague t\piz. Any Of the calamities already
event, from the flight of birds, or the lik'e. mentioned, or the peflilende which G od tew
* Was not their ill luck with G od 1] By whofe upon them afterwards,
will and decree they were fo afflifted,as a puniihwe
took vengeance on them, and drowned them in the red fea* j becaufe they
charged our figns with falfhood, and negle&ed them. And we caufed the people
who had been rendred weak, to inherit the eaftenv parts of the earth and
Se weftern parts thereofb, which we bleffed with fe r tility ; and the gracious
word of thy L o r d was fulfilled on the children of Is r a e l , for that they had
.endured with patience : and-we deftroyed the ftru iïu r e s which P h a r a o h and
his people had made, and that which they had ereétëd c. And we caufed
the children of I s r a e l to pafs thróugkthe fea, and they came unto a people
who gave themfelves up to the'worfhip o f their idols \ and they faid, O M oses,
makeus a god, in like manner as thefepeople have gods. M o s e s anfwered,
Verily ye are an ignorant people: forAhe religion which thefe follow w ill be
deftroyed, and that which they do is vain. He faid, Shall I feek for you any
other god than G od ; I fince hé hath preferred you to the reft o f the world ? And
remember when we delivered you from thé people of P h a r a o h , who griev-
oufly oppréffed you *, they flew your male children, and let your females live :
therein was a great trial from your L o r d . And we appointed unto M oses
a faj i 0f thirty nights before we gave him the law e, and we completed them by
adding o f ten more \ and the ftated time of his L ord was fulfilled in forty
nights. And M oses faid unto his brother A a .r o n , Be thou my deputy among
my people during my abfencey and behave uprightly, and follow not the way
of thp corrupt doers. And when M oses came at Our appointed time, and
his L ord fpake unto'him f , he faid, O L o r d , Shew me thy glory, that I may
behold thee. G od anfwered, Thou fhalt in no wife behold me *, but look
towards the mountain V and if it ftand firm in its place, .then fhalt thou fee
me. But when his L ord appeared with glory in the mounth, he reduced it
S 2 to
a See this wonderful event more particularly
deicribed' in the tenth and twentieth chapters.
b The eaflern parts of the earth attd the mefiern
farts thereof y\ That is, the land ,of Syria, of
which the eaftem geographers reckon Pakßine
apart, and wherein the comjnenta tors fay the
children of Ifraet fucceeded the kings of Egfpi
and the Amalekite's 1.
c And we defiroyed the firuBufes' which Pharaoh
and his pedple had ntade» &c.] Particularly
the lofty tower 'vtixLcYiPharaoh Caufed to be built#
that he might attack the G od of Mofes 2.
4 And they came unto erpeople mho morjbipped i-
dols.] Thefe people fome will have to be of the
tribe of Amalek, whom Mofes was commanded to
deftroy) and others of the tribe of Lakhm.
Their idols, it is . faid, were images of oxeff,
which gave .the firfi: hint tp' the making of the
golden calf3
* We 'appointed unto Möfes ä fa ß of thirty
nights, and ioe compleatcd them by adding of ten
more, &c.] The commentators‘fay that God, having
promifed Mofes to give him the, law, directed
him to prepare himfelf for the high* favour of
fpéaking with G o d in perfon, by aTaft of thirty
days: and that Mofes accordingly failed the whole
month of Dhu'lkaada, but not liking the favour
pf his breath, hé rubbed his, teeth with a dentifrice,
upon which the angels told him, that his
breath before had the odour of musk but that
his tubbing his teeth had taken it away. Wherefore
G o d orderèd hihi to, fall: ten days more;
Which he did ; and'thefe were the firft ten days
bf the fuccèeding mbnth Dbtdlhajja. Others
however fuppofe that Mofes Was commanded td
faft and ptay thirty days only, and that during
the other ten G od difcourfed with him .
f And his LofeD fpake Unto him(\ Without th®
mediation of ariy other, arid face to face, as he
fpeaks untö the apgeis 6.
8 The iftountdin ;'] This mountain the Mobatrh]
medans name alTiabir.
'h When Ms' L o r d appeared with glory in the
moüntï]- Or, as it is literally, unto the mount.
For fome of the expofitors pretend that G od endued
the ihountain with life and the fenfe of fee-
ing.
1 Idem. 2 V. Kor.ch. 2%,andep. 3 Al Beid aw i. * Seethe Prelim. Dife. §. IV.
f.109., ' A l Be id aw i jJ allalo’ddir. 6 A l Beioawi. V. D ’H erbel.B iW. Orient.p. 65a,