ber. The tribe of Gad had diminished by 5150. Judah had increased 1900. Zebulun had increased by 3100. The increase of Manasseh was 20,500. The decrease of Ephraim was 8000. The increase of Benjamin was 10,200. The increase of Dan was 1700. The increase of Asher, 11,000. And the decrease of Napthali, 8000. Taking all the tribes together, there was a decrease of 1820. This census, however, does not include the tribe of Levi; but they were numbered by themselves; and their increase during the forty years of their sojourning in the wilderness was 1000. The reason why this tribe was not numbered with the others, was, that they had no inheritance among the children of Israel; and the intention of taking an accurate census of the tribes was, to prepare the way for an equitable distribution of the land of Canaan among them. For the Lord said unto Moses, "unto these shall the land be divided for an inheritance, according to the number of names. To many thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to few the less inheritance. To every one shall his inheritance be given according to those that were numbered of him."

By the census now taken in the plains of Moab, by Jordan, near Jericho, the fulfilment of God's threatening against the rebellious Israelites was most manifest; for among those now numbered, there was not a man whom Moses and Aaron the priest had before numbered, when they took the census of the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, "they shall surely die in the wilderness, and there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun."

But as the males alone were numbered, and the inheritances were to be distributed according to the enumeration, it is obvious, that if in any family the male line should fail, and females only remain, they would be deprived of their just share of property. A striking instance of this kind actually occurred. For the children of Zelophehad, of the tribe of Manasseh, were all daughters, five in number; and finding, that by the operation of the general law they would be deprived of their share of the inheritance, stood before Moses and Eleazar and the princes of the congregation by the door of the tabernacle, saying, "our father died in the wilderness, and he was not of the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons, why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore, a possession among the brethren of our father. And Moses brought the case before the Lord; and the Lord said, "The daughters of Zelophehad speak right; thou shalt surely give them an inheritance among their father's brethren; and cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. And this became a statute

in Israel, that where there were no sons, daughters should inherit; only they were required to marry within their own tribe, that the possession of one tribe might not be transferred to another.

SECTION XLVI.

OVERTHROW OF THE MIDIANITES.

As the Midianites, had a chief hand in seducing the Israelites from their duty, God commanded Moses, to avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites, before he was gathered to his people. Moses, therefore, directed that each tribe should furnish a thousand men for the war; and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest was sent with the army, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand. And they warred against the Midianites, and slew all the males. And they slew the five kings of Midian; and also Balaam the son of Beor they slew with the sword. And they burnt all their cities and their goodly castles, and took the women and children captives; and took possession of all their flocks, and all their goods. But when they returned to the congregation, Moses expressed strong displeasure with the officers of the army because they had saved the women alive; for these, said he, caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor; on which account there was a plague sent among the people. The order was therefore given to slay all the male children and all the women, except virgins who had not been contaminated. But the men who went on this military expedition, as having been stained with blood, and as having necessarily touched the dead bodies of the slain, were not permitted to come into the camp for seven days; and all their raiment, and all their vessels were required to be purified; and all the metallic substances were ordered to be made to go through the fire; the purification of other things to be by water.

And on the seventh day they were all required to wash their clothes, and then to come into the camp.

As a very rich prey had been taken, Moses, by the command of God, directed that it should be divided into two equal parts; the one moiety to be given to the men of war who went out to the battle; and the other to the congregation; and from the part allotted to the army one five-hundredth part was to be levied, and given to Eleazar the priest; and of the part assigned to the people, a levy of one-fiftieth to be given to the Levites. The number of sheep taken was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand. And the beeves seventy-two

thousand; sixty-one thousand asses; and of human persons, thirty-two thousand virgins. These females, it is highly probable were all children; and therefore unpolluted with the vices which were prevalent among the adult women. According to this calculation, the number of persons slain must have been very considerable. It was remarkable evidence of an extraordinary protection, that when the officers mustered their men, on their return, there was not one man missing. And the officers who went out on this expedition, having been so remarkably preserved and prospered, "brought an oblation for the Lord, what every man had gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, ear-rings, and tablets, to make an atonement for their souls before the Lord." And the sum of their offering was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, which Moses and Eleazar brought into the tabernacle, for a memorial of the children of Israel before the Lord.

SECTION XLVII.

THE TRIBES OF REUBEN AND GAD ASK PERMISSION TO TAKE THEIR INHERITANCE ON THE EAST OF JORDAN-ALSO THE HALF TRIBE OF MANASSEH-THEIR REQUEST IS GRANTED.

THE children of Reuben and of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle; and seeing that the land of Jazar and the land of Gilead was a place for cattle, they came to Moses and Eleazar, saying, "If we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan." To which Moses answered with displeasure, "Shall your brethren go to war, and shall you sit here? And wherefore discourage you the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land, which the Lord hath given them? Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. For when they came up into the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the Lord had given them. And the Lord's anger was kindled the same time; and he sware, saying, Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, because they have not followed me fully, save Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord. And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed. And behold ye are risen up in your father's stead, an increase of sinful men,

to augment yet the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel. For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people." And they came near to him and said, "We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones. But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place. We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. For we will not inherit with them on yonder side of Jordan, because our inheritance is fallen to us, on this side Jordan, eastward. And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the Lord to war, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, and the land be sudued before the Lord, and before Israel, then afterwards ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord and before Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the Lord. But if ye will not do so, ye have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out." So the children of Reuben and Gad fully assented to the proposal of Moses, and answered, "as the Lord hath said unto thy servants, so will we do."

And Moses gave unto the tribe of Reuben and the tribe of Gad, (and now the half tribe of Manasseh had united with them,) the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, the land with the cities. thereof, and all the coasts round about.

And they immediately began to build cities, and prepare places for their families, and for their flocks; or rather, they repaired the cities which already existed in that country, and changed their names. In this distribution, Gilead fell to Machir, the son of Manasseh; and Heshbon, Elealeh, and Kirjathaim, to Reuben; and Dibon and Aroer and Ataroth, to Gad. Thus two tribes and a half, out of the twelve, were already provided for; and their armed men were in a much better condition to carry on the war against the Canaanites, than those who were accompanied by their families.

SECTION XLVIII.

A RETROSPECT OF THE JOURNEYINGS OF ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS.

FOR forty years this whole nation were made to wander in the wilderness, on account of their sins and rebellion against God, and against his servant Moses. Where they spent the greater part of their time, or how they were occupied, during this long period, we have no means of knowing. It is not improbable, that they remained years in the same place;

but in all their movements they were guided by the pillar of cloud in the day, and of fire by night; so that they were never at a loss when they should march, or where they should encamp. And during all this time they were regularly supplied with "angel's food;" and with water from the rock, which followed them. But respecting a large portion of the incidents which befell them in their journeying, we have no record; and we may be sure therefore, that the knowledge of these things is no how necessary for the edification of the Church. As it is, we have a number of striking facts, well suited to furnish admonition and warning to all who seriously consider them. And in a country so barren, and to a people who had no occupation but marching from station to station, there must have been great sameness in the transactions of every day.

Moses, it is true, has given us, in the 33d chapter of Numbers, forty-two stations, where the Israelites successively encamped; but we are not informed of the distances between these stations; nor of the time spent at any one of them; and it is now impossible to ascertain where they were situated; or in what direction they were journeying when passing from one to another.

There are some difficulties attending this long residence in the wilderness, which we know not how to solve; as, for example, how the numerous flocks and herds were supplied with pasturage; but we need not perplex ourselves about such matters, because He who could provide food for more than two millions of human beings for forty years, could easily provide provender for the sheep and cattle also. Indeed, it is probable, that the same manna which furnished sustenance to the men, was made use of to feed the beasts which accompanied them. A greater difficulty would be to understand, how so great multitude of people could be furnished with decent clothing during their residence in this inhospitable region, if we were not expressly informed that their shoes and raiment did not wear out during the whole journey. As, at the end of their march, Moses says, "And I have led you forty years in the wilderness, your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy feet." Deut. xxix. 5.

The whole distance from Mount Horeb to Kadesh-barnea, which was on the borders of the wilderness next to Canaan, was no more than a journey of eleven days. And from the time of leaving Kadesh-barnea, until they crossed the brook Zered, was no less than thirty-eight years. Thus long did they remain in the wilderness after they once came almost in sight of the promised land.