He found him in a desert land, in a place of horror, and of vast wilderness: he led him about, and taught him: and he kept him as the apple of his eye.

“ימצאהו בארץ מדבר HE FOUND HIM IN A DESERT LAND — for them (Jacob’s sons) he found to be faithful to Him in the desert land, when they accepted His Torah, His sovereignty and His yoke, something that Ishmael and Esau had refused to do, as it is said, (Deuteronomy 33:2) “And He shone from the Seir (Esau) unto them, He appeared from Mount Paran (Ishmael)” (cf. Rashi on that verse). ובתהו ילל ישמן AND IN THE DESOLATE HOWLING SOLITUDE — i.e. in a land of drought and desolation, a place of screeching monsters and ostriches; even there they adhered to their faith and did not say to Moses, “But how can we go out into the wilderness, a place of drought and desolation?” — just as it is stated, (Jeremiah 2:2) “[I remember the loving kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals,] When you went after Me in the wilderness, [in to a land that was not sown]” (cf. Rashi on Exodus 12:39). יסבבנהו HE SURROUNDED HIM — there He surrounded them and encompassed them with the “clouds of Glory”; He surrounded them with the banners on their four sides; he surrounded them by the underside of the mountain (Sinai), which He arched over them like a cask (cf. Sifrei Devarim 313:11). יבוננהו HE INSTRUCTED HIM there in Torah and wisdom. יצרנהו HE GUARDED HIM from snakes, serpents and scorpions and from hostile nations, כאישון עינו AS THE אישון OF HIS EYE — that is the black in the eye from which the light comes. Onkelos, however, rendered ימצאהו by “He provided Him” with all He needed in the wilderness. It took the words to be of the same meaning as, (Numbers 11:22) “[Shall the flocks … be slain for them] to suffice (ומצא) them?” and (Joshua 17:16) “The hill is not enough (ימצא) for us”. יסבבנהו — Onkelos renders this by “He made them abide round about His Divine dwelling place” — the “tent of congregation” in the middle and the divisions of the tribes (lit., the banners) on the four sides.”

“The expression [He kept him] as the apple of His eye alludes to watchfulness, the verse stating that G-d watched over him as He would shield “His own eye.” Or it may be that the word “man” is missing here: He watched over him as a man shields the apple of his eye, for generally [where there is no specific reference to the contrary, it is assumed that] Scripture speaks of man. There are many similar verses.”

“As an eagle stirreth up her nest,.... Her young ones in it, to get them out of it: Jarchi says the eagle is merciful to its young, and does not go into its nest suddenly, but first makes a noise, and disturbs them with her wings, striking them against a tree or its branches, that so they being awakened may be fitter to receive her: with respect to literal Israel, Egypt was their nest, where they were who were then in their infant state, lay like young birds in a nest; and though it was a filthy one and where they were confined, yet they seemed sometimes as if they did not care to come out of it; until the Lord made use of means to get them out, by the ministry of Moses and Aaron, by suffering their taskmasters to make their bondage heavier, and by judgments inflicted on the Egyptians, which made them urgent upon them to depart: with respect to spiritual Israel, their nest is a state of unregeneracy, in which they are at ease, and do not care to be awakened and stirred out of it; but the Lord, in love to them, awakens them, stirs them up, and gets them out, by sending his ministers to arouse them, by letting in the law into their consciences, which works a sense of wrath, by convincing them by his Spirit of their sin and danger, opening their eyes to see their wretched and miserable estate and condition, and by exerting his almighty power, plucking them as brands out of the burning: fluttereth over her young; by that means to get them out of the nest, and teach them to fly, as well as to preserve them from the attempts of any to take them away; for though some writers represent the eagle as hardhearted to its young, casting them out of the nest, when they are taken care of by the offifrage; yet this is to be understood of it when tired with nursing, and when its young are capable of taking care of themselves; or of some sort of eagles; for Aelianus (r) testifies, that of all animals the eagle is most affectionate to its young, and most studiously careful of them; when it sees anyone coming to them, it will not suffer them to go away unpunished, but will beat them with its wings and tear them with its nails: Jarchi thinks this phrase is expressive of the manner of its incubation on its young; it does not, he says, lie heavy upon them, but lifts up herself, and touches them as if she did not touch them; but it rather signifies the motion she makes with her wings to get her young, when fledged, out of the nest, and to teach them to make use of their wings, as she does; and we are told that young eagles, when their wings are weak, will fly about their dams and learn of them to fly (s); and hence it is that young eagles while they are eating flutter their wings, that motion being so natural to them, and seeing their dams do so likewise (t): this passage seems to contradict a notion that has obtained with some, that an eagle only breeds one at a time; the philosopher says (u), the eagle lays three eggs and casts out two of them; according to the verse of Musaeus, it lays three, casts out two, and brings up one; and so, he says, it commonly is the case: but sometimes three young ones are seen together; and the black eagles are more kind to their young, and careful in the nourishment of them; and the same says Pliny (w); yea we are told, that sometimes seven are seen in a nest (x): spreadeth abroad her wings taketh them, beareth them on her wings; that is, spreads forth her wings when she flutters over her young to instruct them; or she does this in order to take up her young and carry them on them: it is said that eagles fly round their nest, and vary the flights for the instruction of their young; and afterwards taking them on their backs, they soar with them aloft, in order to try their strength, shaking them off into the air: and if they perceive them too weak to sustain themselves, they with surprising dexterity fly under them again, and receive them on their wings to prevent their fall (y); See Gill on Exo 19:4; thus the Lord, comparable to this creature for his affection to the people of Israel, his care of them, and his strength to bear and carry them, did bear them as on eagles' wings, and carried and saved them all the days of old; even Christ, the Angel of Jehovah's presence, the rock of salvation they rejected, see Exo 19:4; and all this in a spiritual and evangelic sense may be expressive of the gracious dealings of God with his spiritual Israel; teaching and enabling them to mount up with wings as eagles, to soar aloft in the exercise of faith, hope, and love, entering thereby within the vail into the holiest of all, and living in the constant and comfortable expectation of heaven and happiness; and of the Lord's taking his people up from the low estate in which they are, and raising them up to near communion with himself, bearing them on his heart, in his hands, and on his arm, supporting them under all their afflictions, and carrying them, through all their troubles and difficulties, safe to eternal glory and happiness. (r) Hist. Animal. l. 2. c. 40. (s) Suidas, vol. 1. p. 89. (t) Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 2. c. 3. col. 178. (u) Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 6. c. 6. (w) Nat Hist. l. 10. c. 3. (x) Vid. Bochart ut supra. (t)) (y) See Harris's Voyages, vol. 1. B. 1. c. 2. sect. 14. p. 486.”

“He found. Septuagint and Chaldean, “he gave him what was sufficient, in the desert land.” God made a choice of a nation destitute of every thing, that they might confess with gratitude that they had received all from him. (Calmet) — “Taught him” both by “instructions,” and by various “chastisements.” Septuagint, epaideusen. (Haydock) — The space of forty years was necessary (Calmet) to eradicate the propensity to evil, and the corrupt manners of the Hebrews, who were therefore conducted through a wilderness, where they might not be contaminated by the company of other nations, (Haydock) but might have leisure to meditate on the law of God. (Calmet) — Eye, with the utmost care. (Menochius) — He protected those whom he had chosen out of pure mercy. (Worthington)”