Deuteronomy 11

Chap. XI. Ver. 1—32. Moses exhorts the people to obedience. —The first verse of this chapter, as Scott remarks, belongs evidently to the preceding, of which it is clearly a practical God hath fulfilled his promise, and multiplied thee as the stars of heaven, ‘‘ THEREFORE thou shalt love the Lord thy God,” &c. The venerable prophet then addresses himself to that part of the congregation which came up out of Egypt, of whom, though all then under twenty years, a great number were probably ten or a dozen years old; and must have not only remembered the passage through the Red sea, but also have witnessed the various rebellions of their fathers, and the judgments with which those rebellions had been corrected, of which they are here reminded.

And those who were then too young to remember the former of these events, must have often heard of it from their fathers, who were strictly enjoined to teach these things in every practicable way unto their children. Having reminded them of these circumstances, Moses then directs their minds forward to the land which they were going to possess; and on comparing it with the far-famed Egypt, from which they came, he gives it the most decided preference. That was “watered by the foot;” and whether all this refers to the digging of trenches, and the formation of little banks by the foot, or to the raising water from the Nile by means of a kind of tread-mill, as the children of Israel were employed in all their most laborious services, at the brick-kilns and the iron mines, so there is no doubt but they were employed in this also when necessary, and perhaps in early life; and therefore is this circumstance particularly mentioned, as likely to impress them, in a comparison with a land watered by rain from heaven, and springs from the hills running through the valleys.

But the principal circumstance in commendation of this land of promise is, that it was a land which the Lord ‘‘ cared for,’’ and watched over continually, to give them “the former and the latter rain,” each in its season, so long as they continued faithful and obedient: but if they did not, he who blesses his obedient people, hath also curses for the rebellious and disobedient. “ Behold, (saith the prophet,) I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; a blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God;’’ and, if not, ‘Sa curse.”

Notes on the verses

Chap. XI. Ver. 10. And waterest it with thy foot—Dr. Shaw illustrates this from the present practice of the Egyptians, who preserve the water of the Nile in large cisterns, from which, in the dry seasons, they draw the plugs, and “then the water gushing out is conducted from one rill to another by the gardener, who is always ready, as occasion requires, to stop and divert the torrent, by turning the earth against it with his foot, and opening at the same time with his mattock a new trench to receive it.” This method, however, though applied to certain productions of Egypt, (as pulse, melons, &c.) does not appear to be applied to corn, which seems to be here chiefly referred to. Parkhurst, therefore, thinks it more probable, that by ‘‘ watering by the foot,’’

Moses alluded to ‘a machine for drawing up water, which was worked by the foot,” (a kind of tread-mill.) Such a one, Grotius long ago observed, that Philo, who lived in Egypt, has described as used by the peasants of that country in his time. Niebuhr also gives a representation of a kind of “* hydraulic machine, worked by the feet;” and it is well known that the Chinese have a machine of this kind in use to the present day. Ver. 19. And thou shalt teach them nah sos unto thy children, &c.— Among the Chinese, moral maxims are inculcated by the aged on the younger branches of the family, and plain sentences of morality are hung up in the common hall, where the male branches of the family assemble.

‘This appears to be exactly the same method as was practised by the ancient Hebrews in the time of Moses. See Macartney’s Embassy to China. We have given (note on ch. vi. 8.) the manner in which the Jews observe this precept respecting their door-posts; but it seems much more rational to suppose that the passages were to be posted, or placarded open, as by the Chinese and Europeans, than folded up like the Mezuza, which, in fact, degenerated into a superstitious charm, as Ver. 24. From the river, even Euphrates, unto the uttermost sea;—namely, the Mediterranean’ Compare (Numbers 34:1-12). This was not fulfilled in its utmost extent until the reign of Solomon. See (2 Chronicles 9:26). Ver. 29. Gerizim,….

and Ebal.—(Gerizim and Ebal, mountains west of Jordan, and in the tribe of Ephraim, are opposite or parallel to each other, extending from east to west; mount Gerizim being on the south, and mount Ebal on the north. They are separated by the beautiful valley in which Shechem or Nablous is situated, which is only about 200 paces in width. Both mountains are much alike in length, height, and figure; being about a league in length, in the form of a semicircle, and so steep, on the side of Shechem, that there is scarcely any shelving: their altitude appeared to Buckingham nearly equal, viz. exceeding 700 or 800 feet from the level of the valley, which is itself elevated. But though they resemble each other in these particulars, yet in another they are very dissimilar; for, says Maundrell, ‘though neither of the mountains has much to boast of as to their pleasantness, yet, as one passes between them, Gerizim seems to discover a somewhat more verdant, fruitful aspect, than Ebal.

The reason of which may be, because fronting towards the north, it is sheltered from the heat of the sun by its own shade; whereas Ebal, looking southward, and receiving the sun that comes directly upon it, must by consequence be rendered more scorched and unfruitful.”}—Bagster. For the blessings and curses, see ch. xxvii. 12. &c. Ver. 30. The champaign.—That is, open country, or plain.——Beside the plains of Moreh—Or “oaks of Moreh,” (Ainsworth.) See note on (Genesis 12:6).