Numbers 25:1 - Exposition

Abode in Shittim. For a considerable time; from their first arrival in the Arboth Moab until the crossing of the Jordan. Shittim is the shortened form of Abel-Shittim, "Field of Acacias" ( Numbers 33:49 ). It seems to have been the northernmost part of the last encampment of Israel on that side Jordan, and the head-quarters of the host ( Joshua 2:1 ; Joshua 3:1 ). Began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. This commencement of sin seems to have been made by Israel without special provocation. The very victories won, and the comparative ease and affluence now enjoyed, after long marches and hardships, may well have predisposed them to this sin, for which they now for the first time found abundant opportunity.