1 These are the mansions of the children of Israel, who went out of Egypt by their troops under the conduct of Moses and Aaron,
v.1
VERS. 1.-- *These are the stations,* etc. God created divers differences of foods, etc., *as far as* but another, by which, being about to ascend to the heavens after the resurrection, she does not come down suddenly nor unseasonably, but through many stations, in each of which, enlightened by the light of wisdom, she may come to the Father of lights himself. *By their troops.* The Septuagint thus: *With his own power,* Christ, namely, who is the power of God and the might of God. With him therefore is the ascent made, who came down to us that we might ascend. *For he that descended, the same is he that ascended,* etc.. Whence: *I will go down with thee into Egypt,* etc.. Therefore, *there was not among their tribes one that was feeble.* *In the hand of Moses and Aaron, which he described,* etc. For not only the knowledge of the law and of faith, etc., *as far as* for the work of both hands is one, and the fulfilling of perfection is one.
2 Which Moses wrote down according to the places of their encamping, which they changed by the commandment of the Lord.
v.2
VERS. 2.-- *Moses according to the places of the camps, which by the Lord's command,* etc. And Moses wrote their goings forth and their stations by the word of the Lord, so that we, reading how many goings forth and stations hang over us, may prepare ourselves for this way, and may not sluggishly waste our time: lest, while we linger among vanities and are delighted with the several things which come to sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste, the time pass by, and we fulfil not the space of the way, but fail in the middle as it were in the desert. For to this end we came into this world, that we might pass from virtue to virtue, and not remain on earth for the sake of earthly things, like him who said: *Soul, thou hast many goods: eat, drink and be merry*. For the Lord said to him: *Fool, this night shall thy soul be taken away from thee*. He did not say in this night, nor in this day, but this night: for it is by night that a man is destroyed, like the firstborn of the Egyptians, because he loved the world and its darkness, a companion of the rulers of this world, of these darknesses. But this world is called darkness and night, for those who live in ignorance, and receive not the light of truth, and therefore pass not over from Rameses to Soccoth.
3 Now the children of Israel departed from Ramesses the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the phase, with a mighty hand, in the sight of all the Egyptians,
v.3
VERS. 3.-- *They set forward therefore,* etc. The children of Israel, being as yet placed in Egypt, kept the pasch on the fourteenth day, and a certain beginning of the festival. On the following day therefore, which is the first of the unleavened bread, on the fifteenth, namely, of the first month, they set forward from Rameses, and come into Soccoth, that there they may keep the festivals of unleavened bread, or the day. Who may understand these things? Who may know them even in part? as the Apostle says: *We know in part, and we prophesy in part*. For who understands how we keep festival days in part, so that *no man judge us in part of a festival day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath?* For every festival day which is kept here is carried on in part, not in the whole: but when thou shalt have gone out of Egypt, then shall there be for thee a perfect festival. Yet know that after that pasch which was made in Egypt once, another is found celebrated in the desert when the law was given: and after these things, that it was nowhere kept save in the land of promise. This order and distinction of the stations is very necessary, etc., *as far as* he sets forward from Soccoth, and comes to Ethan. *With a high hand.* Where there is no human work, nor earthly, but divine, there a high hand is named: for by the hand the work is understood.
4 Who were burying their firstborn, whom the Lord had slain (upon their gods also he had executed vengeance,)
v.4
VERS. 4.-- *And on their gods. All the gods of the Gentiles are demons.* On whom the Lord will take vengeance in the day of judgment. He does so even now, when he who had been deceived by them, so as to worship idols, being converted through the word of the Lord worships God; or when a fornicator is converted to chastity, and bewails that he has erred, the demon is burned by the tears of that very penitence; or from pride to humility, from luxury to frugality. With how great torments dost thou think they are driven, if they should see anyone sell all that he has, and give to the poor, and take up his cross, and follow Christ: or when they shall have seen the clouds of their fraud unlocked by the acknowledgment of the divine law? For sin is not accomplished without them. We must therefore act with all our might, lest we raise up again in ourselves the firstborn of the Egyptians, or their gods, whom the Lord destroyed, if we give them place to work in us the things which the Lord hates. For so the Lord will punish the gods of the Egyptians by our amendment and conversation.
5 And they camped in Soccoth.
v.5
VERS. 5.-- *At Soccoth.* In tabernacles. For while we are pilgrims in the body, we dwell in tabernacles. When we shall have gone out of Egypt, that is, out of the world, we first pitch tabernacles, knowing that we hasten to things beyond, and to the holy land, the heavenly, namely.
6 And from Soccoth they came into Etham, which is in the uttermost borders of the wilderness.
v.6
VERS. 6.-- *From Soccoth.* They set forward from Soccoth, etc., *as far as* that he tarry not there, but that he obtain the victory. *At Etham.* Etham, sound strength, or profession, in which we take up strength and vigour, lest we fail in the way. The fourth station is Phihahiroth, etc., *as far as* falsely taking to himself the name of strength and of the right hand, when he is wholly on the left.
7 Departing from thence they came over against Phihahiroth, which looketh towards Beelsephon, and they camped before Magdalum.
8 And departing from Phihahiroth, they passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness: and having marched three days through the desert of Etham, they camped in Mara.
v.8
VERS. 8.-- *At Mara,* etc. The fifth station is Mara, etc., *as far as* do not therefore refuse to draw near to bitterness.
9 And departing from Mara, they came into Elim, where there were twelve fountains of waters, and seventy palm trees: and there they camped.
v.9
VERS. 9.-- *At Elim where there were.* And setting forward from bitterness they came into Elim, where there are twelve fountains of waters, and seventy palm trees were. Thou seest after bitternesses and the harshnesses of temptations what pleasant places receive thee! Thou wouldst not have come to the palms, hadst thou not endured the bitternesses of temptations; nor to the sweetness of the fountains, hadst thou not overcome things sad and harsh. Not that in these is the end of the journey and the perfection of all things, but God the dispenser of souls interposes among the labours certain refreshments, by which the soul, being restored, may be rendered readier for some labours. Elim is interpreted rams: rams are the leaders of the flock, these are the apostles, leaders of the flock of Christ, who are also the twelve fountains. But because Christ chose not only them, but also other seventy, therefore seventy trees are written to be of palms, for they too are called apostles; whence Paul: *Then to all the apostles.* May this pleasantness after bitterness receive thee, this rest after labour, this grace the temptation.
10 But departing from thence also, they pitched their tents by the Red Sea. And departing from the Red Sea,
v.10
VERS. 10.-- *But going out from thence also,* etc., *upon the Red Sea.* Because after the apostolic teaching and the sweet fruits of the triumphs, past perils sometimes appear. And setting forward from Elim they came up beside the Red Sea. Note that they now enter not into the sea; it is enough to have entered once; but they come up beside it, and they see indeed the sea and the waves, but they fear not its motions and its assault. *From the Red Sea,* etc. In Hebrew etc., *as far as* after they were gone out from Rameses.
11 They camped in the desert of Sin.
v.11
VERS. 11.-- *In the desert of Sin.* And setting forward from the Red Sea they pitched their camp in the desert of Sin, etc., *as far as* because the children of the desolate are more than of her that hath a husband. *And setting forward from the Red Sea they came to the desert of Sin.* Sin is interpreted a bush, or a temptation: there already the hope of good things begins to smile, where the Lord appeared out of the bush, and gave answers to Moses, and the beginning of the visitation to the children of Israel. For in visions there is wont to be temptation; for the angel of iniquity is wont to transfigure himself into an angel of light, and therefore it must be carefully seen to that thou discern the visions. Whence Josue the son of Nun, when he saw visions, asks him who appeared, *Art thou one of ours, or of our adversaries?* Thus therefore the soul, setting forward, when it shall have found the discernment of visions, will be proved to be spiritual. For among the gifts of the Holy Spirit is the discerning of spirits.
12 And they removed from thence, and came to Daphca.
v.12
VERS. 12.-- *At Daphca.* In Hebrew *Daphquah,* that is, a knocking. After the answers of the Lord, after the eighth number of the resurrection of Christ, we begin to knock at the sacraments. Setting forward from the desert of Sin, they came into Daphca, which is interpreted health. Note the order of the goings forward. Where the soul is made spiritual, and has the discernment of visions, it comes to health, so that it may deservedly say: *Bless the Lord, O my soul, who healeth all thy diseases.* Many are the diseases of the soul, namely covetousness, pride, boasting, dread, inconstancy and the like. *They pitched their camp.* The tenth station is not had in Exodus, etc., *as far as* and that the Scripture be fulfilled: *Man shall eat the bread of angels*. And setting forward from Daphca they come into Alus, that is, labours. And wonder not if labours follow health, because the soul is therefore healed that it may labour delightfully, and that it may be said to it: *For thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands, blessed art thou and it shall be well with thee*.
13 And departing from Daphca, they camped in Alus.
14 And departing from Alus, they pitched their tents in Raphidim, where the people wanted water to drink.
v.14
VERS. 14.-- *Raphidim.* They pitched their camp at Raphidim, etc., *as far as* the temptations of demons are wont to rise up. After these things they come into Raphidim, which is interpreted the praise of judgment. Well does praise follow after labours, but the praise of judgment: the soul therefore becomes worthy of praise which judges rightly and discerns, which namely judges all things spiritually, and is judged of no man.
15 And departing from Raphidim, they camped in the desert of Sinai.
v.15
VERS. 15.-- *In the desert of Sinai.* Sinai is the twelfth station. Let the number of the apostles come at once into thy mind. One out of many, but greater than all, it is not separated in order, it excels in merit. To this they come on the forty-seventh day, the Scripture saying: *In the third month of the going out of the children of Israel from Egypt, on this day they passed over into the wilderness of Sinai*, and afterwards one comes into the desert of Sina. Sina indeed is a place of the desert, which above he named Sin: but here rather the place of the mountain, which is in that very desert, is so called, which from the name of the desert is called Sina. After therefore the soul has been made of praiseworthy judgment, and has begun to have a right judgment, a law is given her by God, because she is capable of divine secrets and of heavenly visions.
16 But departing also from the desert of Sinai, they came to the graves of lust.
v.16
VERS. 16.-- *To the graves of lust,* etc. The thirteenth station is the graves of lust. But that sense is from the Gospel, that the Lord Jesus, being baptized, was straightway led by the Spirit into the desert, and was tempted by the devil. And so Israel, after the familiar discourse with God, after it had stayed beside mount Sinai for one year and four days, with a wonderful ordering of the camps went out into the wilderness of Pharan, which is interpreted a wild ass, or wildness; and there, loathing the heavenly bread, it succumbs to the evil beast. Setting forward from Sina, they come to the graves of lust, where namely lusts are buried and overwhelmed, and all cupidity extinguished, that the flesh may no more lust against the spirit, being mortified, namely, by the death of Christ.
17 And departing from the graves of lust, they camped in Haseroth.
v.17
VERS. 17.-- *At Haseroth.* The fourteenth station is in Haseroth, which is interpreted courts. There Aaron and Mary murmur against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman, and, as a type of one murmuring against the Church gathered out of the Gentiles, the people of the Jews is overspread with leprosy, and returns not to the tabernacle with its former soundness, until the appointed time of the fulness of the Gentiles be accomplished. After these things one comes into Haseroth, which is interpreted perfect courts or blessedness. Look, O traveller, more diligently what is the order of the goings forward: after thou shalt have buried and mortified the concupiscences of the flesh, thou shalt come to the breadths of the courts, and thou shalt come to blessedness. For blessed is the soul which is now urged by no vices of the flesh.
18 And from Haseroth they came to Rethma.
v.18
VERS. 18.-- *At Rethma.* They pitched their camp at Rethma, etc., *as far as* and let us preach the Gospel with a clear sound. Thence one comes to Rethma or Pharan. Rethma is interpreted a vision completed; Pharan, a visible mouth. What is this, unless that the soul so grow that, when it has ceased to be pressed by the troubles of the flesh, it may have visions completed, and receive a perfect understanding of things? knowing, that is, more deeply the causes of the incarnation of the Word of God, and the reasons of his dispensations.
19 And departing from Rethma, they camped in Remmomphares.
v.19
VERS. 19.-- *At Remmomphares.* The division of a pomegranate, in which is signified that the Church, like many grains, is covered by one rind: while it shuts up the whole crowd of believers into the unity of faith. Or the variety and concord of the virtues, whence: *The multitude of believers had one heart and one soul*; and thus the several ranks are divided, that all may be held together in the same framework. Thence one comes to Remmomphares, where, that is, the discernment of riches and of heavenly things from earthly and lowest things is made, for as the understanding of the soul grows, knowledge of high things is afforded it, and judgment is given whereby it may know how to separate eternal things from temporal, and things that fall from things that endure.
20 And they departed from thence and came to Lebna.
v.20
VERS. 20.-- *At Lebna,* etc. A brick, namely. For in this passage we now grow, now decrease, and after many advances we often return to the brick, that is, to carnal works. After these things one comes to Lebna, which is interpreted a whitening. I know that in other places a whitening is set down blameworthily, as when a wall is called whited, and sepulchres whited. But here the whitening is that of which it is said: *Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow*; and, *if your sins be as Phoenician purple, I will whiten them as snow.* And elsewhere, *They shall be whitened with snow in Selmon.* And the hairs of the Ancient of days are said to be gleaming white, that is, white as wool. This whitening therefore is understood to come forth from the splendour of the true light, and to descend from the brightness of heavenly visions.
21 Removing from Lebna they camped in Ressa.
v.21
VERS. 21.-- *At Ressa.* Bridles, namely. For if we go down to muddy works, we must be bridled, and, wandering and headlong in our course, must be guided by the reins of the Scriptures. After these things the station is made at Ressa, etc., *as far as* it is therefore a visible or a praiseworthy temptation.
22 And departing from Ressa, they came to Ceelatha.
23 And they removed from thence and camped in the mountain Sepher.
v.23
VERS. 23.-- *At mount Sepher.* Of beauty. But the mountain of beauty is Christ. The twentieth station is set upon the mountain of beauty, of which it is said: *Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle?* etc.. Thou seest what bridles avail: they draw us back from vices, they bring us in to the choirs of the virtues, and they make us dwell in Christ, the most beautiful mountain. Another reading. *Thence one comes to mount Sepher,* which is called a trumpet-blowing. The trumpet is the sign of war, for when the soul feels itself armed with virtues so many and so great, it necessarily goes forth to the war which is against principalities and powers, and the rulers of this world. Or the trumpet sounds in the word of God, that is, of teaching and of preaching: that he who has heard the trumpet may be able to prepare himself for war.
24 Departing from the mountain Sepher, they came to Arada,
v.24
VERS. 24.-- *At Arada.* A wonder. And note the order, after the bridles we are brought into the Church, thence we ascend to the mountain of Christ, and set upon it we wonder at the things which neither eye has seen nor ear has heard. From mount Sepher they came to Arada, which is interpreted a fit result, so that he says, namely: *He hath made us fit ministers of the New Testament*.
25 From thence they went and camped in Maceloth.
v.25
VERS. 25.-- *Maceloth.* An assembly; this is the Church of which it is said: *Behold how good and how pleasant it is, brethren, to dwell in one*. Or the concord of all the virtues. Thence one comes to Maceloth, which is interpreted from the beginning. For he who tends toward perfection contemplates the beginning of things, nay rather he refers all things to him who was in the beginning with God, nor does he ever depart from that beginning. From this one comes to Maceloth, which is a principality or rods, by either of them power is signified, and that the soul has so far advanced that it rules over the body as though holding the rod of power, nay rather over the whole world, when it says: *The world is crucified to me,* etc..
26 And departing from Maceloth, they came to Thahath.
v.26
VERS. 26.-- *Thahath.* Dread, which is the guardian of blessedness, that he who has ascended so far may not be proud; as if to say: Thou hast come to the church, thou hast ascended to the most beautiful mountain, by thy amazement and wonder thou confessest the greatness of Christ. Thou seest there many companions of virtue: *Be not high-minded, but be wise unto sobriety [Rom. XII]*. Fear is the guardian of the virtues, security is slippery, whence: *Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me*. That is, while I dread torments, I keep the grace I have received. After these things the station is made at Thabath, which is confirmation or patience. For it is necessary that he who wishes to profit others should suffer many things, and patiently bear all things; whence: *For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name*.
27 Removing from Thahath they camped in Thare.
v.27
VERS. 27.-- *They pitched their camp at Thare.* That is, malice, etc., *as far as* and Elias is fed by ravens. Thence one comes to Thare, which is the contemplation of amazement, that is, ecstasy, when the mind is stupefied with wonder at some great thing. Thare is malice or pasturage, which is referred to the prelates of the Church, or to the guarding of the soul, that he who feeds may be watchful, lest the devil thrust himself into the sheepfolds, that is, the churches, through some hole of the vices.
28 And they departed from thence, and pitched their tents in Methca.
v.28
VERS. 28.-- *Methcha.* Sweetness. As if to say: thou hast ascended into the high mountain of the father, and hast wondered at the choirs of the virtues, thou hast feared ruin, thou hast cast off the liers in wait, therefore the sweet fruit of thy labour follows thee, so that the Psalmist says: *How sweet are thy words to my palate*! Samson, who had driven the birds away from his fruits, and had bound together the foxes that lay waste the vineyards, and had also slain the roaring lion, found a honeycomb in the mouth of the dead one. After these things they came to Methcha, which is interpreted a new death: but a new death is when we die together with Christ and are buried together with him, that we may live together with him.
29 And removing from Methca, they camped in Hesmona.
v.29
VERS. 29.-- *Hesmona.* Which is interpreted haste, because after the sweet fruits of labour we ought not to be idle, but, forgetting the things that are past, let us stretch ourselves forth to the things that are to come. Thence one comes to Seman, which is said to signify a bone, or bones, in which the strength and vigour of patience is declared.
30 And departing from Hesmona, they came to Moseroth.
v.30
VERS. 30.-- *Moseroth.* Bonds, or discipline. That we may wear the thresholds of our masters; and may think the precepts of the virtues, and the mysteries of the Scriptures, to be eternal bonds against the power and the bonds of the devil: which being burst, Samson overcame his enemies. Of which it is said: *Thou hast broken my bonds*. He who has been bound with the bond of Christ will say: *His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me*. Thence to Moseroth, which is that which shuts out, that it may now shut out from its own thoughts the suggestions of the adverse spirit; whence: *If a spirit shall rise up over thee for him that hath power, forsake not thy place*. The place therefore must be held, and the adversary shut out, lest he find a place in our heart, whence: *Give not place to the devil*.
31 And removing from Moseroth, they camped in Benejaacan.
32 And departing from Benejaacan, they came to mount Gadgad.
v.32
VERS. 32.-- *From Benejaacan they came,* etc. The sons of necessity or of gnashing, the twenty-eighth station. Note the number, because if thou begin from one, and adding little by little come as far as the seventh, the twenty-eighth is made. Benejaacan is interpreted the sons of necessity or of gnashing. Of these sons it is said: *Bring to the Lord the sons of rams*. But when thou hast been instructed in the divine Scriptures, and hast known that their laws and testimonies are the bonds of charity, and contending with adversaries thou shalt bind them, and lead them bound into captivity, and out of enemies and captives shalt make free men of God; and the sons of gnashing, for fear of the punishment where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, forsaking the bonds of the devil, will bow their necks to Christ. After these things one comes to Benejaacan, which signifies fountains or strainings, where, that is, he draws the fountains of the divine words, until he shall have strained them by drinking, so that he may not pass over even the least commandment, nay rather that not one iota, or one tittle of the word of God be held idle in his understanding. *The mountain.* Gadgad or Galgath is interpreted a messenger, or an action, or a cutting. For we cannot make sons of necessity, unless we have slain their teachers, nor let our hand spare to draw out a shoulder or the tip of an ear from the mouth of the lion, and have announced the rewards to come, and have taught them to be girded for rebelling; whence: *Cursed is he that doth the work of God negligently and withholdeth his sword from blood*. And David: *In the morning I put to death all the sinners of the land*. After these things he comes to Gadgad, which is interpreted a trial, or a thronging. A certain strength in God and a defence is the trial of the soul. For it is so mingled with the virtues that up to that point they seem neither comely nor full, and therefore for those who set out toward virtue various and frequent stations are made among temptations. And when thou hast passed through them, thou shalt come to Jetebatha: Jetebatha is interpreted good things; to the good therefore one comes not save after the trials of temptations. *Jetebatha.* Goodness, which is Christ: that when we have come to the perfect man, to the priestly degree, and to the age of the fulness of Christ, in which Ezechiel was beside the river Chobar, we may be able to sing with David in the psalm: *O Lord, in thee have I hoped, let me not be confounded for ever*. *For a shepherd, a good one, layeth down his life for his sheep.*
33 From thence they went and camped in Jetebatha.
34 And from Jetebatha they came to Hebrona.
v.34
VERS. 34.-- *Hebrona.* A passing over, that is, the world. *For the figure of this world passeth away,* and the saints coming into it desire to pass over to better things. To this station comes the true Hebrew, that is, a passer over, who can say: *Passing over, I shall see this great vision*; whence: *And they that passed by said not, The blessing of the Lord be upon you.* Thence they came to Hebrona, which is a passing over: for all things must be passed over, because even if thou come to good things, thou must pass over to better, until thou come to that good in which thou oughtest always to abide.
35 And departing from Hebrona, they camped in Asiongaber.
v.35
VERS. 35.-- *At Asiongaber.* Asiongaber, the wood of a man. Because, namely, the kinds of woodlands and of all trees can figure the multitude of the nations. Thus far the wilderness of Pharan contains the eighteenth stations, which, described in the catalogue, are not set down in the journey above. After these things one comes to Asiongaber, which is interpreted the counsels of a man. If anyone has ceased to be a boy in his senses, he arrives at the counsels of a man, like him who said: *But when I was made a man, I did away the things that were of a little one*. Great therefore are the counsels of a man; whence: *Deep water is counsel in the heart of a man.*
36 They removed from thence and came into the desert of Sin, which is Cades.
v.36
VERS. 36.-- *Into the desert,* etc.. It is asked, etc., *as far as* of this station it is said: *The Lord shall shake the desert of Cades.* Hence again Sin, that is, temptation, because it is not expedient to make this journey otherwise. For the goldsmith, wishing to make a necessary vessel, often puts it to the fire, sets it under the hammers, scrapes it with files, that it may become the more purified, and may come to the form which the craftsman foresees.
37 And departing from Cades, they camped in mount Hor, in the uttermost borders of the land of Edom.
38 And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the Lord: and there he died in the fortieth year of the coming forth of the children of Israel out of Egypt, the fifth month, the first day of the month,
v.38
VERS. 38.-- *Aaron the priest went up into,* etc. Aaron died in the same year in which the new people were about to enter the land of promise. And although upon the mountain he left the priesthood to Eleazar, and the law brings those who have fulfilled it to the height; yet that height itself is not beyond the streams of the Jordan, but in the utmost bounds of earthly works. And the people mourn for him thirty days: Aaron is mourned, Jesus is not mourned; in the law, a descent to hell; in the Gospel, an ascent to paradise.
39 When he was a hundred and twenty-three years old.
40 And king Arad the Chanaanite, who dwelt towards the south, heard that the children of Israel were come to the land of Chanaan.
v.40
VERS. 40.-- *And he heard.* The Chanaanite also heard that Israel had come, and in the place of the spies, where he had known that the people once gave offence, he joined battle and led Israel away captive. Again in the same place he is stormed, according to the vow the victor is conquered, the conquered prevail. By which we understand that when enemies have taken us captive, destitute of the help of God, we should not despair of salvation, but should fight again. It may come to pass that we conquer where we have been conquered. And the name of that place is called Horma, that is, anathema.
41 And they departed from mount Hor, and camped in Salmona.
v.41
VERS. 41.-- *At Salmona.* They pitched their camp at Salmona, etc., *as far as* they loathe the manna, they are wounded by serpents. There follows, etc., *as far as* is Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Salmona, a little image, because there the image of the Saviour was expressed by the brazen serpent which hung upon the wood.
42 From whence they removed and came to Phunon.
v.42
VERS. 42.-- *Phunon.* A mouth, because when we know the passion of the Son of God, what we believe with the heart we utter with the mouth, according to that: *With the heart we believe unto justice,* etc. Hence one comes to Phunon, which we think to be a sparingness of the mouth; for he who has been able to behold the mystery of Christ and of the Holy Spirit, and has seen or heard the things which it is not lawful for a man to speak, will necessarily have a sparingness of the mouth, knowing to whom, when, or how it behoves him to speak of the divine mysteries.
43 And departing from Phunon, they camped in Oboth.
v.43
VERS. 43.-- *Oboth.* Magicians or pythons, because after the image of God which is shown in the heart by reason, and the confession of faith which is uttered by the mouth, serpents rise up, and evil arts provoke us to wars. But keeping our heart with all watchfulness, let us stop our ears, that we may not hear the voices of enchanters and the songs of the sirens. After this one comes to Oboth. And although we have not found the interpretation of its name, we do not doubt that in this also, as in the rest, the sequence of advances is preserved.
44 And from Oboth they came to Ijeabarim, which is in the borders of the Moabites.
v.44
VERS. 44.-- *In the borders.* It signifies according to the letter, that thus far they had been in the borders of the Idumaeans, and now they come to the confines of Moab. There follows after these things the station of Gai, that is, Chaos: for by this the advance draws near to the bosom of Abraham, who says: *Between us and you a great chaos is fixed*, that he may rest with Lazarus. *At Dibongad.* Dibongad, etc., *as far as* but on the contrary let us know that a wilderness is set before us. Thence one comes again to Dibongad, etc., *as far as* it may be known how perfectly and piously he thinks concerning God.
45 And departing from Ijeabarim they pitched their tents in Dibongab.
46 From thence they went and camped in Helmondeblathaim.
v.46
VERS. 46.-- *Helmondeblathaim.* Which is interpreted, etc., *as far as* scarcely set free by the prayers of the people. After these things one comes to Helmondeblathaim, which is interpreted the contempt of figs, that is, where earthly things are utterly despised: for unless the things which seem to delight on earth have been despised, we cannot pass over to heavenly things.
47 And departing from Helmondeblathaim, they came to the mountains of Abarim over against Nabo.
v.47
VERS. 47.-- *They came to mount Abarim over against Nabo,* etc. The forty-first station is turned into the mountains of those who pass over, and it is over against the face of mount Nabo. There follows the station of Abarim, which is a passing over, over against Naban, which is a departing. For when the soul has passed through all these virtues, and has ascended to the height of perfection, it now passes over out of the world, and departs like Henoch, who was not found, because God took him. But if it seem to be still in the world, and to dwell in the flesh, yet it is not found in any worldly act, because God has taken it into the region of the virtues. Here Moses dies, the land of promise having first been beheld. Nabo is interpreted a conclusion, in which the law is ended, and the memory of it is not found, but the grace of the Gospel endures without end. And it is to be noted that the station of those who pass over is set among the mountains, and still needs advance: for after the mountain country we go down to the plains of Moab and the streams of the Jordan, which is interpreted a going down. For nothing is so dangerous as the desire of glory and boasting, and a mind puffed up with the consciousness of its virtues.
48 And departing from the mountains of Abarim, they passed to the plains of Moab, by the Jordan, over against Jericho.
v.48
VERS. 48.-- *To the plains of Moab.* In the forty-second station, etc., *as far as* and the thorns which choked the sowing of the word of God, of which it is said: *I have been turned about in wretchedness, while the thorn is fastened in me*. It is the last station, etc., *as far as* they show the advance of the mind and the increases of the virtues.
49 And there they camped from Bethsimoth even to Ablesatim in the plains of the Moabites,
50 Where the Lord said to Moses:
51 Command the children of Israel, and say to them: When you shall have passed over the Jordan, entering into the land of Chanaan,
v.51
VERS. 51.-- *You shall have passed over the Jordan,* that is, when you shall have been baptized, as it were, when, the old man with his acts being laid aside, you shall have put on the new, who is renewed in the knowledge of God.
52 Destroy all the inhabitants of that land: Beat down their pillars, and break in pieces their statues, and waste all their high places,
v.52
VERS. 52.-- *Destroy ye all.* When we enter the holy land of promise through faith, let us extinguish together with idolatry all vices also. *The inhabitants.* The malignant spirits, the phantasms of the vices, with their suggestions; whence: *Blessed is he that shall take and dash his little ones against the rock*.
53 Cleansing the land, and dwelling in it. For I have given it you for a possession.
54 And you shall divide it among you by lot. To the more you shall give a larger part, and to the fewer a lesser. To every one as the lot shall fall, so shall the inheritance be given. The possession shall be divided by the tribes and the families.
v.54
VERS. 54.-- *To the more you shall give the larger portion.* Because they who have abundance of virtues hope for a breadth of rewards: but they who are content with fewness of virtues receive their recompense according to their merit; whence: *He that soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he that soweth in blessings, of blessings,* etc..
55 But if you will not kill the inhabitants of the land: they that remain, shall be unto you as nails in your eyes, and spears in your sides, and they shall be your adversaries in the land of your habitation.
56 And whatsoever I had thought to do to them, I will do to you.