Deuteronomy 1:10

The Lord your God hath multiplied you,.... Which was the reason why he could not bear them, or the government of them was too heavy for him, because they were so numerous, and the cases brought

And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone: I spake unto you at that time - a little before their arrival in Horeb.

(9-18) In these words Moses appears to combine the recollection of two distinct things: (1) the advice of Jethro (Exodus 18), by following which he would be relieved from the ordinary pressure of litigation; (2) the still further relief afforded him by the appointment of the seventy elders. These last received the gift of prophecy, and were thus enabled to relieve Moses from some of the higher responsibilities of his office by representing his mind and reproducing his personal influence in many parts of the camp at once. Jethro’s advice was given on their first arrival in Horeb: when it was carried into effect we are not told. The seventy elder were appointed (Numbers 11) between Sinai and Kadesh-barnea, shortly after they left Sinai. It is quite possible that both institutions came into existence at the same time. The seventy elders would have been of great service in the selection of the numerous judges and officers who were required.

Verse 10. Ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.] This was the promise God made to Abraham, Genesis 15:5-6; and Moses considers it now as amply fulfilled. But was it really so? Many suppose the expression to be hyperbolical; and others, no friends to revelation, think it a vain empty boast, because the stars, in their apprehension, amount to innumerable millions. Let us consider this subject. How many in number are the stars which appear to the naked eye? for it is by what appears to the naked eye we are to be governed in this business, for God brought Abraham forth abroad, i. e., out of doors, and bade him look towards heaven, not with a telescope, but with his naked eyes, Genesis 15:5. Now I shall beg the objector to come forth abroad, and look up in the brightest and most favourable night, and count the stars-he need not be terrified at their abundance; the more they are, the more he can count; and I shall pledge myself to find a male Israelite in the very last census taken of this people, Num. xxvi., for every star he finds in the whole upper hemisphere of heaven. The truth is, only about 3,010 stars can be seen by the naked eye in both the northern and southern hemispheres; and the Israelites, independently of women and children, were at the above time more than 600,000. And suppose we even allow that, from the late discoveries of Dr. Herschel and others with telescopes which have magnified between 35 and 36,000 times, there may be 75 millions of stars visible by the help of such instruments, which is the highest calculation ever made, yet still the Divine word stands literally true: St. Matthew says, Matthew 1:17, that the generations from Abraham to Christ were 42; now we find at the second census that the fighting men among the Hebrews amounted to 603,000; and the Israelites, who have never ceased to be a distinct people, have so multiplied as far to exceed the number of all the fixed stars taken together.

10. the Lord your God] See on Deuteronomy 1:6. as the stars in heaven] So Deuteronomy 10:22; Deuteronomy 28:62; and Genesis 22:17; Genesis 26:4; Exodus 32:13, in contexts that otherwise betray the editorial hand. It is one of the many hyperboles in D and is not found in the parallel E, Exodus 18.

THE OF JUDGES AND THE OF THEIR DUTIES, Deuteronomy 1:9-18.For a more particular statement see Exodus 18:13-26, where it is said Moses adopted this plan at the counsel of Jethro.