3 Yes, he loves the people. All his saints are in your hand. They sat down at your feet; (Everyone) shall receive of your words.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Yea, he loved the people. If it be preferred to apply this to the Gentiles, the sentence must be thus resolved, "Although He loves all human beings, still His saints are honored with His peculiar favor, in that He watches over their safety;" but it is more correct to expound it as referring only to the children of Abraham, whom He calls "peoples," because, on account of the multitude into which they had grown, in their several tribes, they might be reckoned as so many nations. And since the particle 'ph, aph, [1] signifies prolongation of time, like adhuc in Latin, the following sense will be very satisfactory, that, Although the descendants of Abraham were divided into various races, and might therefore seem to be no longer a single family, nevertheless God still continued to regard them all with affection, and their numbers and divisions did not prevent Him from accounting them to be a single body. The sum is, that God's favor towards them was not extinguished, either by the progress of time, or the increase of the people; but that it was constantly extended to the race of Abraham, however far or widely it might be spread. It must, however, be observed, that in proof of His love, it is presently added, that they were in the hand of God. Hence we infer that, from the time that God has embraced us with His favor, He is the sure guardian of our safety; whence also arises the firm assurance of eternal life. The change of person, from the third to the second, throws no obscurity on the meaning. Since many hypocrites were mixed up with the faithful -- for the Church of God has always been like a threshing-floor [2] -- Moses restricts this special grace of God to those who willingly submit themselves to Him, and with pious teachableness embrace this instruction, by which sign he distinguishes between the true children of God, and those spurious or degenerate ones, who falsely assume the name. Where my translation is, "They cleaved to thy feet," others render the words, "They were struck at thy feet," but in my judgment constrainedly. Others extract from it a useful piece of instruction, that "they were subdued by God's chastisements, so as to render Him obedience;" but the metaphor is rather taken from disciples, who, according to the common usage of the Hebrew language, are said to sit at their master's feet, in order to attend more diligently. And this is confirmed by the context, for the faithful are said to have attached themselves to God's feet, that they might receive of this words, i.e., profit by His instruction.
1 - A. V., "yea."
2 - In the Fr. this expression is thus explained, -- "ou les grains de ble sont cachez sous la paille;" where the grains of wheat are hidden beneath the straw.
"The people" are the twelve tribes, not the Gentiles; and his saints refer to God's chosen people just before spoken of. Compare Deuteronomy 7:18, Deuteronomy 7:21; Exodus 19:6; Daniel 7:8-21.
Yea, he loved the people - This is the inference which Moses makes from those glorious appearances, that God truly loved the people; and that all his saints, קדשיו kedoshaiv, the people whom he had consecrated to himself, were under his especial benediction; and that in order to make them a holy nation, God had displayed his glory on Mount Sinai, where they had fallen prostrate at his feet with the humblest adoration, sincerely promising the most affectionate obedience; and that God had there commanded them a law which was to be the possession and inheritance of the children of Jacob, Deuteronomy 33:4. And to crown the whole, he had not only blessed them as their lawgiver, but had also vouchsafed to be their king, Deuteronomy 33:5.
Dr. Kennicott proposes to translate the whole five verses thus: -
Yea, he loved the people; (c) all his saints [are] in thy hand: and they sat down at (d) thy feet; [every one] shall receive of thy words.
(c) Hebrew, his saints, that is, the children of Israel.
(d) As thy disciples.
Yea, he loved the people,.... The people of Israel, of which his giving the law to them in such a glorious manner was an instance, and was a distinguishing blessing which other nations were not favoured with, see Deuteronomy 4:6; how much more is the love of God shown to his spiritual Israel and special people, by giving them his Gospel, the precious truths, promises, and ordinances of it, and, above all, in giving them his Son to be the Redeemer and Saviour of them, as revealed therein! these he embraces in his arms and in his bosom, as the word here signifies; admitting them to great nearness and familiarity with him, to commune with Father, Son, and Spirit, to a participation of all the blessings of grace here, and to the enjoyment of glory hereafter:
all his saints are in thy hand; not the sons of Levi, who were round about the ark, as Aben Ezra interprets it; rather all the people of Israel, who were chosen to be an holy people to the Lord above all people, and who were the care of his providence, protected by his power, and guided with his right hand; and were in a wonderful manner kept and preserved by him, both at the time of the giving of the law, and in their passage through the wilderness; it is eminently true of the chosen people of God, who are given to Christ, and made his care and charge, as all such who are sanctified and set apart by God the Father are, they are preserved in Christ, Jde 1:1; and these are sanctified in and by Christ, and by the Spirit of Christ, and so may be truly called his saints; and they are in the hands of Christ, as dear to him as his right hand, highly valued by him, held in his right hand; they are in his possession, are his peculiar people, portion, and inheritance, they are at his dispose, under his guidance and direction; and are in his custody and under his protection, and where they are safe from every enemy, and can never be snatched, taken, or removed from thence; see John 10:28; here they are put by the Father, as an instance of his love to them, and care of them, though not without the consent and desire of the Son, and this was done in eternity, when they were chosen in him:
and they sat down at thy feet; which may respect the position of the Israelites at the bottom of Mount Sinai, while the law was giving, which may be said to be the feet of the Lord, he being on the top of the mount, see Exodus 19:17; all the Targums interpret it of the feet of the cloud of glory, they pitching their tents where that rested, Numbers 9:17; some think it an allusion to scholars sitting at the feet of their masters to receive instructions from them, see Acts 22:3; so the disciples and followers of Christ sit at his feet, attending on his word and ordinances with calmness and serenity of mind, with much spiritual pleasure and delight, and where they continue and abide; and which may denote their modesty and humility, their subjection to his ordinances, and readiness to receive his doctrines, and their perseverance in them, see Mark 5:15; the word signifies, in the Arabic language, to sit down at a table (e), and so the word is used in the Arabic version of Matthew 8:11; and the ancient manner being reclining, the guests might be said to sit at the feet of each, especially at the feet of the master; so Christ sits at his table, and his people with him at his feet, Song 1:12,
everyone shall receive of thy words; of the words of the law, as the Israelites, who heard them and promised obedience to them, Exodus 24:7; and would hear and receive them again, Joshua 8:34; and so Christ's disciples, everyone of them that hath heard and learned of the Father, and comes to him, and believes in him, receives the words or doctrines given him by the Father, John 17:8; so as to understand them, approve of them, love them, believe them, and act according to them; these they receive into their hearts as well as into their heads, with all readiness, gladness, and meekness; even everyone of the persons before described or loved by the Lord, are in the hands of Christ and sitting at his feet.
(e) Hence "a table", with the Talmudists. T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 42. 1. Pesach. fol. 110. 2. Kiddushin, fol. 81. 1.
"Yea, nations He loves; all His holy ones are in Thy hand: and they lie down at Thy feet; they rise up at Thy words." עמּים חבב is the subject placed first absolutely: "nations loving," sc., is he; or "as loving nations - all Thy holy ones are in Thy hand." The nations or peoples are not the tribes of Israel here, any more than in Deuteronomy 32:8, or Genesis 28:3; Genesis 35:11, and Genesis 48:4; whilst Judges 5:14 and Hosea 10:14 cannot come into consideration at all, for there the word is defined by a suffix. The meaning of the words depends upon whether "all His holy ones" are the godly in Israel, or the Israelites generally, or the angels. There is nothing to favour the first explanation, as the distinction between the godly and the wicked would be out of place in the introduction to a blessing upon all the tribes. The second has only as seeming support in Daniel 7:21. and Exodus 19:6. It does not follow at once from the calling of Israel to be the holy nation of Jehovah, that all the Israelites were or could be called "holy ones of the Lord." Least of all should Numbers 16:3 be adduced in support of this. Even in Daniel 7 the holy ones of the Most High are not the Jews generally, but simply the godly, or believers, in the nation of God. The third view, on the other hand, is a perfectly natural one, on account of the previous reference to the holy myriads. The meaning, therefore, would be this: The Lord embraces all nations with His love, He who, so to speak, has all His holy angels in His hand, i.e., His power, so that they serve Him as their Lord. They lie down at His feet. The ἄπ. λεγ. תּכּוּ is explained by Kimchi and Saad. as signifying adjuncti sequuntur vestigia sua; and by the Syriac, They follow thy foot, from conjecture rather than any certain etymology. The derivation proposed by modern linguists, from the verb תּכה, according to an Arabic word signifying recubuit, innixus est, has apparently more to support it. ישּׂא, it rises up: intransitive, as in Habakkuk 1:3; Nahum 1:5; Hosea 13:1, and Psalm 89:10. מדּבּרתיך is not a Hithpael participle (that which is spoken); for מדּבּר has not a passive, but an active signification, to converse (Numbers 7:89; Ezekiel 2:2, etc.). It is rather a noun, דבּרת, from דּבּרה, words, utterances. The singular, ישּׂא, is distributive: every one (of them) rises on account of thine utterance, i.e., at thy words. The suffixes relate to God, and the discourse passes from the third to the second person. In our own language, such a change in a sentence like this, "all His (God's) holy ones are in Thy (God's) hand," would be intolerably harsh, but in Hebrew poetry it is by no means rare (see, for example, Psalm 49:19).
The people - The tribes of Israel. The sense is, this law, though delivered with fire and smoke and thunder, which might seem to portend nothing but hatred and terror, yet in truth was given to Israel, in great love, as being the great mean of their temporal and eternal salvation. Yea, he, embraced the people, and laid them in his bosom! so the word signifies, which speaks not only the dearest love, but the most tender and careful protection. All God's saints or holy ones, that is, his people, were in thy hand, that is, under God's care to protect, direct and govern them. These words are spoken to God: the change of persons, his and thy, is most frequent in the Hebrew tongue. This clause may farther note God's kindness to Israel, in upholding them when the fiery law was delivered, which was done with so much terror that not only the people were ready to sink under it, but even Moses did exceedingly fear and quake. But God sustained both Moses and the people, in or by his hand, whereby he in a manner covered them that no harm might come to them. At thy feet - Like scholars to receive instructions. He alludes to the place where the people waited when the law was delivered, which was at the foot of the mount. Every one - Of the people will receive or submit to thy instructions and commands. This may respect either, the peoples promise when they heard the law, that they would hear and do all that was commanded. Or, their duty to do so.
*More commentary available at chapter level.