with a grievous murrain ;- the Egyptians, including the magicians, were covered with boils, or ulcerous swellings; the land of Egypt was visited with a tremendous storm of hail, attended with thunder and lightning of unparalleled severity; the face of the earth was covered with a consuming swarm of locusts; it was afterwards visited with a thick darkness of three days' duration; and, at length, God smote all the firstborn of the Egyptians with death. By the force of this last visitation, and after various pretensions, and several insincere compliances with the demands of Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh and the Egyptians were constrained to let the people go.

The miraculous character of these plagues of Egypt has been described by a modern writer, as "unmistakeably observable in the following points: 1. They take place at a time contrary to their usual occurrence; 2. They happen within a space of a few months in rapid succession, whilst at least some of them are of very rare occurrence; 3. Their injurious character is infinitely aggravated,―as, for instance, by the first plague not only the water of the Nile was converted into blood, but also all its numerous fishes die; 4. They occur at the time predicted by Moses, and at his command; 5. They generally cease at his prayer; and, 6. The Egyptians only are afflicted by them, whilst the Israelites are exempted from their calamitous effects. "That God inflicted ten successive plagues to break the king's contumacy, whilst He might have annihilated him with one mighty stroke, shows that God mercifully tried to convince and move the tyrant by less dangerous visitations, calculated merely to impress him with some idea of the unlimited means at His command; and only when Pharaoh's obstinacy grew more and more inveterate, the number and formidable character of the plagues were increased. And, as in the hand of Providence, every event becomes a means to a higher aim, the miseries which befel Pharaoh, in consequence of his own obduracy, were at the same time intended by God to manifest to all the nations of the earth His supreme power, and to induce them to abandon their idolatrous worship, and to acknowledge His exclusive sovereignty."

In recording those events of sacred history which occurred between the Deluge and the Exodus, we have already taken

*Kalisch, on Exodus vii. 13.

some notice of the early Assyrian Empire, and of the kingdom of Egypt. Concerning all other ancient history during this period, the notices which have come down to us are scanty and uncertain. This was, in fact, but the very dawn of the mythic or fabulous era of Greece and Italy. Greece was probably inhabited by the Pelasgi and Hellenes, who came perhaps from Asia. Italy, having been at first inhabited by aboriginal tribes from some unknown period after the dispersion of mankind, is said to have received its first colonists under Enotrus and Peucetus (Argives), according to some, about the year B. c. 1680, i. e. about the time of the death of Jacob,-but, according to others, not until a century or two later.

ELEMENTARY AND GENERAL QUESTIONS.

168. What led to the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt?

169. How were the Israelites employed during their period of slavery?

170. By what means did Pharaoh attempt to stop the increase of the Hebrew population?

171. Who were the father and mother, — the brother and sister, — of Moses?

172. Relate the circumstances of his infancy and education.

173. What was the occasion of the flight of Moses to Midian, and what was the result of his visit to that country?

174. Relate the circumstances of the call and mission of Moses. 175. Where did Aaron meet Moses on his return to Goshen?

176. What demands did Moses and Aaron make in favour of the Israelites, and how did Pharaoh receive them?

177. Describe the increasing labour which Pharaoh afterwards imposed on the Israelites.

178. Under these circumstances, how did the Israelites treat Moses and Aaron, and what course did Moses pursue in consequence of that treatment?

179. Relate the further interview of Moses and Aaron with Pharaoh. 180. Describe the ten Plagues, and their circumstances. 181. What was the result of this contest?

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.

182. Who were (probably) the Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings; and what was their date?

183. What were the store cities, which the Israelites built for Pharaoh, and what their probable sites?

184. What were (precisely) the materials of the vessel in which Moses was preserved, and the weeds among which it was laid?

185. Who were the Midianites, and what region did they occupy? 186. What was, generally speaking, the great design of God with reference to the Israelites?

187. Describe the nature of the office and mission of Moses; and

point out the great link between the Patriarchal and Mosaic dispensations.

188. Explain the miraculous character of the Plagues of Egypt. 189. How was God now dealing with the king and people of Egypt morally?

190. What do we know of common history during this period? 191. Give the meanings of Jochebed, — Amram,— Miriam,— Moses, -Gershom,- Eleazar.

192. Give the dates of

his mission to Pharaoh.

the birth of Moses,—his flight to Midian, –

CHAPTER XII.

INSTITUTION OF THE PASSOVER. -DEPARTURE OF THE ISBAELITES FROM EGYPT.-PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA.

(Exodus xii. 1.—xv. 22.)

SOME time before the departure of the Israelites from Egypt (B. C. 1491)*,-perhaps in the interval between the ninth and tenth plagues, or during the three days' darkness which constituted the ninth, while it was light in the land of Goshen,God prescribed to His people a solemn institution, to be observed for the first time in Egypt, and afterwards (in commemoration of their deliverance) every year. The Israelites, through Moses, were commanded to take a lamb or kid† for every household, and to separate it from the rest of the flock,

*We find mention of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, but with several distortions and misrepresentations of the facts of the case, in Lysimachus (ap. Joseph. cont. Apion, i. 34.); Manetho (ap. Joseph. cont. Apion, i. 114.); Chæremon of Alexandria (ap. Joseph. cont. Apion, i. 32.); Diodor. Sic. Hist. i. 28.; ib. Eclog. xxxiv. 1.; ib. xl. 1.; where he speaks of the Israelites as having been dismissed, with others, because they would not worship the gods of Egypt; and mentions but with some confusion of facts-their division into twelve tribes,-the leadership of Moses, and the fact that he received a Divine revelation, the monotheism of the Jews, and their abhorrence of image-worship, the appointment of priests and sacrifices, the conquest and partition of Canaan, and the laws against the alienation of landed property. See also Tacitus, Hist. v. 2, 3.; Justin. xxx. 2. Strabo (xvi. 2.) relates a confused rumour in his day to the effect that the ancestors of the Jews were Egyptians (so also xvii. 1.); and says that the people with Moses quitted Egypt on account of their abhorrence of the prevalent idolatry. Diogenes Laertius, in his Lives of the Philosophers, proœm. vi., says, "Some report that the Jews were descended from the Egyptians."

+ Jewish tradition afterwards fixed upon a lamb exclusively.

on the tenth day of the month Abib, afterwards (i. e. in the later period of Jewish history) called Nisan (viz. March— April), which month was now fixed as the first of the sacred or ecclesiastical year. The lamb or kid was to be a male, without blemish, not more than one year old. On the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening (literally, between the two evenings; i. e. according to the traditional interpretation, between the first evening, which began at the ninth hour, about three o'clock, and the second, which began at the eleventh hour, or five o'clock), the animal was to be killed, in such a manner as that none of its bones should be broken. Some of its blood was to be put in a basin, and to be sprinkled, with a bunch of hyssop, on the two side-posts and the upper door-post (or lintel) of the house in which the family was assembled.* The flesh was then to be roasted entire, and afterwards to be eaten with unleavened bread (symbolical of holiness or moral purity), and with bitter herbs (symbolical and commemorative of the affliction of Israel in Egypt). None of the flesh was to remain until the morning; what the family could not eat was to be consumed by fire. It was also enjoined that the Israelites should eat the roasted flesh in haste, in the attire and posture of travellers, with their loins girt, their shoes on their feet, and their staff in their hand. And to the due observance of this institution God attached a promise that when the angel, appointed to destroy the first-born in Egypt, should see the blood sprinkled on the door-posts, he should pass over the houses distinguished by this mark. Hence the rite was called the Passover, or the Paschal festival (Heb. Pesach, from pasach, to pass over; whence the Greek word pascha; and thence "paschal," of or belonging to the Passover). It was appointed that, in future times, the commemorative festival should extend over a period of seven days, during which no leaven should be found in any of the Israelites' houses; and hence the institution was called also the Feast of Unleavened Bread. (Exod. xii.) It was afterwards enacted, that on the sixteenth day of the month,―i. e. on the second day of the festival,— the first ripe ears of corn should be solemnly offered to the Lord, accompanied by a burnt offering, and a meat and drink offering†;

* Afterwards the animal was slain at the altar of burnt-offering, and the blood was poured out by the priest at the foot of the altar; Deut. xvi. 2. 5, 6. According to the terms of the institution, every Israelite was entitled to kill the lamb, the whole people being regarded as a nation of priests. Subsequently, however, the office was executed only by Levites.

These terms will be explained in a subsequent chapter.

which was the appointed signal for the commencement of the early harvest. (Lev. xxiii. 9—14.)

The natural or agricultural feature of the Passover was altogether secondary to its historical and covenant significance. Under that higher point of view, this rite was regarded by the Jews as being not only a festival commemorative of deliverance or redemption from Egypt, but also as the token of the national covenant between God and Israel as a people; while circumcision continued to be the token of the covenant between God and each individual Israelite. And, in a still further sense, the paschal lamb and the observances connected with it, are expounded in the New Testament as typical (i. e. prophetically symbolical) of the sacrifice of Christ, and as emblematic of the Christian character. (See 1 Cor. v. 7, 8.). The analogy may be traced in various particulars:-1. The animal chosen was a lamb; and Christ is the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. (John i. 29.; see also Rev. v. &c.) 2. The lamb was of the first year, in its prime; and Christ was perfect in His human nature. 3. It was to be without blemish; and Christ was morally pure, a lamb without blemish, and without spot." (1 Pet. i. 19.) 4. It was to be set apart four days before it was offered; and Christ began His public ministry at a set time before His death: (it has also been remarked that He made His solemn entry into Jerusalem four days before His crucifixion). 5. It was to be slain, and roasted with fire; which points out the painful sufferings of Christ. 6. Not a bone was to be broken; this was exactly fulfilled as to our blessed Lord. (John xix. 33-36.) 7. The blood was to be sprinkled, as well as shed; and the merits of Christ's death must be applied to us in order that we may be benefited by them. 8. It was to be sprinkled on the door-posts; which some regard as intimating that we must profess Christ openly. 9. It was the appointed means of preserving the Israelites from the destroying angel; and the blood of Christ, applied to the conscience, preserves from condemnation. (Rom. viii. 1.) 10. None of the Israelites were to go out of their houses until the morning, but to remain within the doors, which were sprinkled with the blood of the lamb; and thus there is no safety for any, unless they abide in Christ. 11. The lamb was to be eaten; and we are to feed on Christ by faith. (John vi. 53-55.) If we believe in Him, we shall receive from Him strength for our souls, as our bodies do from food; and we shall delight ourselves in Him, as we naturally find pleasure in satisfying hunger and thirst. 12. The lamb was to be eaten with bitter herbs; emblematic, perhaps, of repentance, or signifying that it is a good